CBNS 2 ch.17

Artisans: 10 years ago

Listen well, young boy. What you’re seeing now is the longest, if not the largest, historical collection we’ve been preserving from centuries ago.

Wow…

Come closer. Do not be afraid, for each piece, record and painting narrates every achievement we mages have accomplished so far in the Dragon Realms. It is thanks to our always diligent work and efforts that the world is currently balanced.

What about this?

That, my curious student, is the most important piece of all. What you’re currently seeing is a depiction of our ancestors making their very first contact with the almightiest creatures that once ruled this world: the dragons

Dragons?! So that’s how they looked?!

Chuckle why yes. We prefer that our students appreciate their magnificence here at first sight than through the lessons we teach at classes, that’s how grateful we are to them.

Amazing…

Well, now that we’re here, I might as well get to the point and stop beating around the bushes. I suppose you already know why I brought you to this place, young one, for it is that time in which young apprentices move to a new stage in their lives. From this moment on, you shall be trained in the arts of combat magic so that: not only you join to our honorable cause of protecting the Dragon Realms, but also so that your teachings can be passed to the generation that are to come in a far future when we elders leave this land. Do you fully understand the weight of that responsibility, Spyro?

Nod! I sure do, Master Nestor!

Spyro (6 years old): Don’t worry, I will roast any enemy that tries to destroy this world!

Present time

“Ughh…that same dream again” cursed the sixteen year-old as he massaged his temples with his right hand.

He was grateful that his caretakers had removed the shackles from his wrists, that way he could take a look around and get used to his room at the top of the tower. So far his head was still spinning and his memories were as blurry and blank as those of an amnesiac person. It’s not like he was making an effort to remember (hell no, those awful migraines were starting to become painful headaches to bear with), but that memory in particular just keep repeating in his head over and over.

“Who’s ready for a warm dinner?” said a cheerful Mia while entering the room. In her hands, she had a dish that by mere looks looked perfect in all senses. Not only did the steak smell good, but it was also tender and juicy as the subtle flavor filled Spyro’s mouth (probably it was cooked à point). The accompaniments the girl chose, maybe by preference, were a smooth and creamy mix of mashed potatoes with a delicious gravy sauce on top, and some fresh mushrooms with vegetables.

Delightful would be too little to describe the heavenly treatment his tongue just received

“Thanks. It was, perfect” was the only good rating a baffled Spyro could give at the moment.

“Of course it was!” pouted Mia a little angry with her hands on her hips, surprised that someone would ever dare to doubt her faultless cooking skills.

“So…you still don’t remember anything?” asked the girl curiously from a safe distance, as if it she wanted to test Spyro’s lack of memory.

“No, I’m sorry. Up to now my memory is blurry and distorted. I just can’t put my head straight” he commented naively without imagining that this outcome promised to play an even better part on the evil twins’ plan.

“Well that’s ok, dear Spywo” teased Mia playfully as she embraced a now surprised Spyro.

“My brother and I are here to help you. Just sit tight, and don’t worry about those pesky memories in your head” she added with an odd malicious tone that took aback Spyro a little. However, right now the twins were the only living things he could trust among the soulless beings that wandered in this repulsive industrialized area that was apparently under the control of a person that the two siblings refer to as: Admiral Razorwife

While this was happening, deep underground, we see Lia and a large pack of his gray dogs from different ages digging on the cave’s thick walls and floors in order to obtain the valuable minerals and crystals hidden in the ground. Just like his thorough twin sister Mia, Lia was also very meticulous with his work.

There was indeed a reason behind him bringing the pack-besides just being his bodyguards when not using the scarecrow outfit with his sister-. The younger members of the pack did the hard work of digging for the puppies, who just needed to pick the raw materials from the small holes dug with their little muzzles.

Obviously, such act of thievery had to be executed in a stealthy way (the mages would have Lia’s head for extracting the minerals without their permission to do it). That’s where the wrinkly Cuddles, the oldest of the pack, entered in the boy’s formula. With his accurate sense of smell, he could warn everyone if an unwanted company dared to disturb them.

“Mmmm, perfect” pointed Lia interested after inspecting a fine piece of gold that his dogs had found.

“Let’s hope that scrap hag gets satisfied this time” he added just before being surprised a noisy ruckus a few levels above them.

“Geez, what’s wrong with those mages up there?” he wondered a little annoyed.

“Hurry, Parappa, hurry!”

Zaaap!

”Wah! He’s right behind us!”

“Did you think that hiding in the caves was going to help you? I’ll just have to drive you out like the rats you are!”

Ever since the trio encountered the fuming Flame-which resulted in a shocking outcome-it quickly became a game of cat and mouse between the four youths. The only problem was that one of the playmates was playing a little rough, to the point he put one of the mice out of commission.

“Pant…pant...pant. I think we lost him, pant…” panted Crash very tired after he turned at a bifurcation in the multiple cave tunnels. Not only was he losing energy because of the endless running, but he was also getting exhausted from carrying an unconscious Klonoa around. True, he was being assisted by Parappa, but that didn’t change the fact that the red haired teenager was on their heels constantly.

“K is still out cold” pointed the young rapper, worried about his fainted friend.

“I should have stopped him back there…” he blamed himself, feeling guilty for having left Klonoa got injured unnecessarily; when in reality, that department was already filled by the one that was against the idea of interacting with the inhabitants from this world in the first place.

“Nughgh…” muttered the sore dark haired boy after finally regaining consciousness. Surprisingly, it took him near one hour to recover from that shock attack (something neither Crash nor Parappa could have accomplished)

“Klo-Klonoa! A-are you ok?” stuttered the male bandicoot worried since his friend was refusing his and Parappa’s help.

“Easy bro, don’t strain yourself that much” suggested him the young dog after his cat friend decided that he had enough of being carried like a lifeless doll by the two.

“Don’t worry….I’m fine” replied Klonoa the moment he moved Parappa’s arm away from him.

“What about…that guy…where is he?” he panted while holding his knees in a crouched position.

“We-we lost him when we entered in this tunnel. Bu-but don’t worry about it! We can keep moving and we’ll be fine!” stated Crash, panicking.

At the eyes of his friends, the bandicoot’s behavior could be misinterpreted as his usual apprehension when facing a foe. But like stated beforehand, that would be a mistake. What was really troubling the young man was the guilt; that remorseful feeling that was constantly blaming him for his friend’s injuries.

“No…we don’t have to…” heaved Klonoa confident, surprising both Crash and Parappa.

“I can…beat him…I just need…more time to recover” he told them, pretty convinced of himself and his abilities.

It was a stroke of luck for them that the caves had these many rock tunnels for hiding. So far, Flame was having trouble locating the trio due to his poor sense of direction and the fact that neither he nor Toons had explored this part of the caves before.

“Let’s just fall back and wait for them to come out” he suggested to his dragonfly, fearing that they could get lost if they were not careful enough.

Bwak! Bong-bong-bong…

Almost immediately, the young lightning mage turned his head quickly to spot the responsible of making that echo sound with that rock that had just being kicked, and what a surprise he received when he saw a baffled Crash standing like an idiot just in front of him.

“Got you!” cheered Flame excited.

“Eek!” shrieked Crash scared before making a run for it.

“Oh no, you won’t run away from me again!” he said, then, using the same strategy as before, he tried to shock the male bandicoot with his powers.

Unknown to him, Crash’s performance was nothing but a pantomime carefully prepared so that Flame could use his powers blindly-and it paid off perfectly-. Just as the lightning was about to strike our young hero, a reckless Klonoa jumped on the way and used his wind sword as a lightning rod to reflect the magic attack against the mage.

“Ughraaargh!” cried Flame in pain after being catapulted backwards by his own attack. Like being rammed by a big warthog from Beast Makers, the sheer force, literally, sent him out of the caves and into the midnight garden where they were once were.

“Wha-what happened?!” stuttered the lightning mage, baffled by this sudden turn of events that caught him off guard. Even his dragonfly Toons was shocked by how easy his friend was subdued.

As the dust spread and small rock fragments fell piece by piece, the upright figure of Klonoa emerged from the ruckus; prepared to face their attacker with his newly improved weapon: the thunder sword

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Flashback

Volk City. 2 years ago

Klonoa (thoughtful): Ummm…which one should I use?

Balue: Well-well, if it ain’t the fearless Klonoa? What brings ya’ here, squirt? I thought you were in the middle of ya’ youngsters’ crazy adventures

Klonoa: Not now Balue…(thinking:if I want to defeat Joka, I need to learn a really powerful attack)

Balue: Looking for a new special technique I see, well, ya’ come to the right place! Move aside will ya’! Let a grown up help you out

Klonoa: He-hey!

Balue: Mmmmm…oh! How about the Balue G kick or the Balue crash. I just made them out and I can sell ya’ both for a cheap price

Klonoa: Ummm…I’m not sure…(I’m not exactly that large or strong to face Joka in close combat)

Balue: Harrumph! A picky client I see! How about the Balue lightning slash or the Balue megaton fillip. Ain’t no enemy capable of enduring one of those! Guaranteed!

Klonoa: I can hardly imagine… (if my wind weapons alone didn’t stand a chance against Joka this time, I will need something with more potency)

Balue: Well, how about the Balue sexy kiss then!

Klonoa: Ok, now I know you’re just fooling around! If you’re not going to be serious about this, then I won’t be needing your help!

As they pushed each other, Klonoa-accidentally-tripped on a wire (unplugging it), which immediately released an electric discharge that electrocuted the two.

Klonoa and Balue: Aaarrgh!

Klonoa: Ugh-ghh…what, what happened?

Balue: Zzz…

Klonoa: Last thing I remember is being struck by this weird light and then passing out, it was really shocking. Shockingly…like thunder

Klonoa: Huh? What’s this? (picks a burnt paper from the floor). Balue thunder hurrican

Klonoa: Thunder hurrican…mmm…that’s it! I have it! I’ll call it: Klonoa Thunder Hurricane! Now I have to practice before facing Joka, thanks Balue! See ya’ around!

Balue: Zzz…Lephise-chan…zzz…

End of the flashback

Learning the different detailed fighting poses wasn’t something Klonoa of the wind would normally do. Like an uncontainable whirlwind, the black haired boy will just struggle bravely with only his will on the line. However, after seeing some sword fighting poses of his skeleton friend, he was more than willing to put them into practice.

He separated his feet a little after opening his legs, then-slowly afterwards-he moved his arms backwards and placed them as close as possible to his body. That way, he could face Flame with the pointed edge of his thunder sword.

“Woah, K sure looks badass with that shining sword! Don’t you agree, C?” stated Parappa after he and Crash finally caught up with him.

“Heh, yeah…” was the only reply the male bandicoot could come up with. Afterall, he was still feeling guilty for having let his friend getting hurt hours ago.

“Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt?!” buzzed Toons worried as his human companion stood from the ground.

“I’m fine, Toons” replied Flame calmed. After that, he cleaned some of the bruises and dust on his body and clothes.

“That sure caught me off guard. I didn’t expect his weapon was capable of absorbing my lightning magic. Hehe…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m the worst possible match-up for that kid” he thought a little ashamed by his current situation.

In that instant, a swift shadow quickly entered on the battlefield and, without wasting any second, used its ice breath to freeze Klonoa in his place like a human popsicle in matter of seconds; shocking the three spectators.

“Klonoa!” cried Crash and Parappa worried from a safe distance, completely forgetting the presence of the female mage responsible of such surprise attack.

“E-Ember?! What are you doing here?! Why’d you leave your post at the gateway?!” asked Flame nervously.

“And leave you alone when they’re clearly outmatching you? I don’t think so. The less I need is to lose another precious friend to me” she admitted a little afflicted.

“Hmm…” he mused with guilt. It wasn’t his intention to make Ember worry more than she was. Afterall, it had been too long since Spyro left Dragon Realms to find the gems thief; and until this day, they hadn’t yet received an inkling of his current status.

“I’m sorry” apologized Flame-slightly guilty-as he approached his friend calmly.

“But don’t worry. I’m pretty sure those two can’t use magic at all” he added, obviously referring to the scary duo.

“Wha-what are we going to do now, C?!” asked Parappa to his bandicoot friend panicking.

“I-I!” stuttered the so called leader of the PSX heroes in fear as the two mages began their silent approach towards the two.

“Ready in 3…2…1…” counted Flame in a low voice while moving to the right since Ember decided to move to the left.

“Now!”

“Wait! Flame, Ember, stop!” called them a female voice from afar, stopping the young mages on their track before someone else would get injured unnecessarily.

It really seemed as if someone from above was watching Crash and constantly making sure he was safe from every life or death situations. Or maybe it was just pure luck that outsiders would meddle in his affairs at the very precise moment to save his butt.

“Bianca, Hunter!” said Ember after noticing the two running towards them. However, they weren’t alone. Behind them, there was a small group formed by Crash’s and Parappa’s friends.

“Crash, Parappa! You’re ok!” stated Rayman happy while approaching the two who were still fine.

“R, Aku Aku! It’s great to see that ya’ and everyone are alright as well!” cheered the young rapper contented.

“Ok…can someone explain what’s going on? How come we’re having too many unexpected visitants today?” asked Flame very confused while scratching the back of his head.

“They’re telling the truth, they’re really Spyro’s friends!” replied Hunter hastily due to his surprise by such astonishing news.

“What?!” exclaimed both Ember and Flame, shocked by their friend’s statement. Declaration that was quickly confirmed as Sparx quickly greeted his dragonfly friends Toons and Pliskin.

“No way! That’s Sparx!” commented the red haired teen surprised.

“But…if that’s true. Where’s Spyro?” asked the pink haired youth with a concerned tone.

“That’s why we’re here. We followed his kidnappers to this place. We’re really sorry if we frightened you with our sudden appearance, but you have to trust us. We just want to find our friend”, explained them Rayman while Aku Aku used his mystical powers to defrost a now shivering Klonoa.

“Are you ok?” asked Croc a little worried for his friend.

“Brrrr! Ye-yeah, I-I’ll be f-fine!” stuttered the black haired boy, trembling by the cold.

Surely this looked unbelievable at first, but it was actually happening. All the pieces were falling into place so perfectly that their current situation couldn’t go wrong anymore. Now they just needed to rescue Spyro ASAP, and return before something could go wrong during their absence.

“Hey…” called him a soft voice accompanied by a gentle touch on his tensed shoulder.

“O-oh!” staggered Crash, startled by Bianca’s silent approach.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to fear us any longer” she reassured him warmly.

At first, he wasn’t sure of what he was going to say. It wasn’t a matter of distrust (not at all); it was more a problem of anxiety, the apprehension of leaving his sister and friends behind without knowing what Cortex might do them. However, there was something really comforting in Bianca’s personality that eased Crash a bit.

“Thank you… really” he managed to say with a more relaxed tone.

“Ummm…Crash, where’s Polar?” asked Rex confused after noticing that the little one wasn’t around.

“Huh?” he muttered, both perplexed and surprised by the boy’s question.

“Wasn’t he with you?” he asked bluntly even if his gaze was focused on Rayman.

“We thought he was with you guys” replied the blond directly. Even if his answer may have sounded a little straightforwardly, the youth believed that there wouldn’t be any point in lying to Crash about this new serious matter they now had on their hands.

Fearing the worst, the male bandicoot quickly walked away from the group and began to survey the area, hoping that the young polar bear would just be wandering around in confusion. But when that feeling faded away in the silent midnight darkness, Crash resorted to the very last thing someone could do in this type of situation.

“Polar! Polar! Where are you, Polar!” he cried at the top of his lungs desperately.

“All right, that’ll be enough” called Lia sharply, stopping his canine friends from continuing digging in the soil.

“What in the world does she plan to do with all these resources?” he wondered with curiosity while looking at the filled wagon, when…

“Sniff, sniff. Grrr…” growled Cuddles, alerting the curly haired boy of said unwanted company.

“A mage?!” thought Lia shocked as the whole pack growled at the mysterious visitor hiding in the shadows.

“Why don’t they come at me?” he wondered a little nervous, scared that they could ambush him if he wasn’t careful enough.

“Well, mysterious mage, if you don’t want to come out and play, I’ll just have to drag you out from your hideout Whoot!”

Following his orders (strictly implanted in their minds through the sound of the whistling with the fingers), two of the younger dogs quickly leaped into the cave’s shadow to seize the not so stealthy mage.

“Woof, woof! Chomp”

“A-ah!” cried a boyish voice that surprised Lia a little (he didn’t expect the snooper mage would be so young).

“Huh? What’s this supposed to mean?” he asked, baffled by the sight of a terrified white haired boy, younger than him, in the dog’s muzzle. There was no doubt, those characteristic blue eyes filled with fear-plus his distinctive appearance-belonged to no other than the PSX heroes little friend and Crash’s protégée Polar



Things couldn't be worse for our brave heroes! With Spyro and Polar in the hands of the mischievous Mia and Lia, how will Crash and the others react?! Will their new allies help them rescue the two and fight villanous duo and the uncanny Admiral Razorwife? Find it out in the next episode
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