"Hey, Lilac! How've you been?"

I smile and hug Adrian when he opens the door. "Good, thanks. Finally got my full power now, so watch out!" I tease. "Oh yeah, you remember Spyro, right?"

"Uh... Yeah, but I thought he was purple," Adrian replies in 'confusion'. "Fight with Malefor," I shrug. "Something weird happened, apparently. I dunno."

"Ah, alright, then... so, any reason you both stopped by?" "We need your help," I reply. "Well, everyone's help. How soon can we get the gang together?"

"Time me," Adrian smirks.

~•~

"Freya, know anything about Strykore?"

All eyes dart to the sorceress, who's already prowling through all her books. "Hm... nothing more than you've already told us, Lilac. Though there is something about his illegal spell books that might be useful to find out... if we figure out what spells he uses, maybe we can find counter spells or ways to prevent his magic?"

"Maybe," I nod. "We'll look into that. Any other ideas?" "Easy, we go all 'Wong against Cull Obsidian' on him and slice him in pieces with Freya's portals," Adrian points out. "As cool as that would be, no," I reply with an eyeroll. "It's still Eon's brother we're talking about and I don't think he'd overly appreciate him being sliced to pieces."

There's an audible sigh of relief from Spyro, so we all look at him. "Uh... I was just... so relieved that... I have WiFi down here," Spyro lies, taking out his phone. We all keep looking at him weird for a moment, then turn back to the conversation at hand.

Eventually the fake plan's been decided; we're all gonna attack the castle Strykore's taken over. Spyro's trying to hide his panic, albeit not well. He's been trying to find an excuse to leave. This is likely so he can report to his new master. Pitiful.

"We attack from the south," I fake strategise, choosing any old thing to say. I can tell the others are only feigning interest, knowing this isn't something they have to memorise. I already informed them last night about what's going on and we already discussed our actual plan, so they can just chill.

"... then through the hatch and into the meditation chamber. When we get that book, we'll see what kinds of spells are in there that might let us trap Strykore again."

"How do you know so much about the castle layout?" Freya asks curiously. "Oh, you remember when I got sent there by the Doom Raiders? Not only did I take an aura layout, Kaos' mother - the weird lady I saw there - is staying at the Academy now. Crazy, right?"

"Wow, that's a coincidence and a half," Adrian comments absentmindedly. "Yeah, it really is," Spyro agrees. "Hey, so is there a, uh, bathroom around here, or...?"

Adrian points Spyro the right way and he flies off quickly, ducking inside. I keep an eye on their auras out of amusement.

When I notice a floating head appear - a lot like Eon's one, but smaller and more fiery - I smirk. "They're talking right now," I whisper. "Ashlyn, can you hear what they're saying?"

Ashlyn, a quiet, winged girl with enhanced senses, nods. "Tell you later," she mouths. We all nod. It's probably for the best since it doesn't take long for Spyro to return, radiating anxiety. Guess Strykore believes in being feared, not respected. Not that I'm surprised, obviously.

"So there's the plan. Think that's about it," I finish. "Any notes?" "Nope, sounds good," Adrian replies with a nod. "We'll see you there tomorrow morning, then."

"Thanks for the help," I smile. "No problem, at least it gives me the chance to do this," Adrian replies, teleporting behind Spyro. "Boo!"

"Yah!" Spyro yelps, crashing into a bookcase and knocking down some of Freya's books. "Hey! You guys better pick those up!" Freya demands. "Ugh..." Spyro groans, rubbing his head as he sits up. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking, guys," He retorts sarcastically, picking up a book.

He pauses as he stares at the pages. "Woah... is this... my dragon kind?"

I approach, looking at the page. "Yup, that's the stuff on Light Keeper Dragons," I nod. "That's your dragon kind. What book is this?" I glance at the front cover. 'A Guide To Dragon Species and Classifications' by Pomfrey LeFuzzbottom. Heh, nice name. Note the sarcasm.

"Oh Yeah, I got that book when we found Lilac and she started hanging out with us," Freya nods, smiling slightly. "You can take it with you, if you'd like. Just don't ruin it. I want it back once you're done with it. Dragons and their species and classifications are really cool."

"Bo-RING!" Adrian shouts jokingly, pointing at the book. He then points at Freya and takes a deep breath.

"NEEERRRRRRRRRD!"

"For the love of all the gods, will you please stop shouting?!" Ashlyn shrieks, covering her ears in visible pain. Right, enhanced hearing. Poor girl. "Sorry..." Adrian mumbles.

Adrian and Spyro then return the books to their shelves at Freya's demand. I help out a bit, mainly due to my increasing curiosity of them all. I glance at the titles as I set all of them back into place.

At long last, when Freya is satisfied, we can head back to the Academy. I send the others a text as we fly.

'Heading back now. Need me to stall him or are you good to go?'

I get a reply about half of the way back to the Academy. 'The Skylanders have left on a mission to acquire Fire Viper venom for a potion that will free Spyro from his dark side that Malefor has manifested within him. Keep Spyro with you for just a little longer. I will let you know when the Skylanders have returned

- Master Eon'

That guy signs his texts? Who is he, Captain Holt?

Either way, guess I'll have to stall Spyro. Hm...