Chapter 1- Realignment

A/N- Hello everybody! I am pleased to report that this is my very first fanfiction and is by far one of the longest things I have ever written apart from school essays. It would be nice to see how other people view my writing, so reviews are welcome, but not required. Also I regret to say that I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, but I will try to soon. I would also like to apologize in advance for any typos that I have missed in this or any future chapters. I have a bad habit of repeating verbs or adjectives too much, so if you see any repetitive statements, feel free to point them out and I will fix them. Hope you enjoy the story!

A/N: August 2016 – Well, now that everything is all said and done, I'm really happy with the way this story panned out. Not perfect of course, but hey, how else are you going to improve if you don't keep trying?

The only main complaint I have with this story is the first ten chapters or so. Honestly, I have a hard time reading through some of this stuff without cringing. So that's why I'm back here now, to rewrite these parts and basically fix all the plot holes I left when I haphazardly speed through writing the first act. Nothing that really changes that plot or the characters, just minor fixes to some scenes and dialogue.

With all that said, sit back and enjoy the hopefully improved Chapter 1 of Resurgence.

The cool wind buffeted Pyrus's wings as he soared across the blissful landscape. Caught off guard, he was knocked down a few feet before he could react. Angling his body to compensate, he resumed a steady flight, falling back into formation with the other two dragons soaring next to him.

"What's a matter Pyrus? Not able to handle a small breeze?" Pyrus twisted his head and growled at the speaker, another young dragon flying beside him. The other dragon was primarily covered in dark blue scales, with the exception of his chest and wings which bore a lighter, more mellow shade. His tail stretched out behind him, gently swaying in the wind before terminating in a sharp point. His face was round and youthful, giving off a childish appearance. Apart from his hazel eyes, which didn't seem to match the color of anything else on his body, the horns were by far his most unusual feature. They were stark white and angled back toward his body until they made an almost comical 90 degree turn upward. Plastered on his face was the usual maniacal grin that usually meant he was trying his best to get on someone's nerves, the current target of which was Pyrus.

"Shut it Connan! I'm surprised you can even get that thick skull of yours off the ground!" Pyrus retorted angrily.

Connan flapped his wings a few more times and drew closer to Pyrus, a spark of mischief dancing in his eyes. "My my, those sound like fighting words Pyrus. Care to back them up?"

Pyrus was about to tackle the insolent dragon out of the air when the voice of the lead dragon, a dark green dragon who much larger that the either of them, interrupted.

"Cut it out both of you! We don't have any time for messing around." The booming voice belonged to the current Earth Guardian Terrador, the imposing dragon craning his neck back to level a disapproving glare at the young dragons.

"Come on Master Terrador! We've been flying for hours and hours and hours and I'm bored." Connan whined.

"I don't care. This mission is of the utmost importance to dragon kind as a whole, and both of you should be grateful to even be included. Your boredom is irrelevant." Terrador turned back around and refocused on their flight path as Connan sighed and moved back into formation without further complaint.

Shaking his head, Pyrus resumed scanning the ground below with is bright yellow eyes. Pyrus liked to consider himself what you would consider a normal, nothing special about him dragon. Vibrant red scales covered most of his body while his chest and wing membranes were a dull gold. His tail was thick and muscular even at his young age and extended out behind him until branching out and ending in a trident. He had a square jaw line and a somewhat crude face, but it was his face, so he liked it. His golden horns gently curved back and up from his head, completing his figure.

Things had been more than chaotic recently, with the end of the war and everything that had happened. Just two days ago the world had been on the verge of tearing itself apart and now everything was... peaceful. Well, mostly peaceful Pyrus thought with a snort. Although they had suffered horrendous casualties in their siege of Warfang, Malefor's army was still undefeated. Large groups of grublins still roamed the countryside, looking for anything to kill or pillage. The majority of the now leaderless army was still situated around the Mountain of Malefor, while Pyrus' patrol was over the calm and serene valley of Avalar. Pyrus grimaced at the thought of doing nothing but flying in a search pattern all day long with absolutely no change of anything even remotely interesting happening. He had to agree with Connan here, it was very boring work. And something that was not well suited to his capabilities.

It was the Guardians that were holding him back. Pyrus had trained for years to have a chance to fight in the war, to make a difference. And what did the Guardian's do? Keep him as far away from the fighting as possible. Even during the great battle of Warfang, he was sequestered away, serving only as an ammo courier. Pyrus knew he should be grateful for the Guardians even taking him in after what happened to his parents, but it was getting to be beyond frustrating. If he ever got the chance to encounter a real foe, Pyrus resolved to incinerate it, tear it to shreds, and then burn it again, for good measure. But as far as things were going now, he wasn't going to get that chance.

He remembered the turning point in the war just three days ago when the legendary purple dragon, Spyro, returned after three year's absence. For the first time in months, there was actually hope of victory against the endless hordes. Then the Great Destroyer arose and the world began shaking itself apart. The purple dragon had abandoned them again and Pyrus became convinced that he wouldn't live to see the next day. He hated the thought of himself cowering in those caves, unable to help anyone or do anything. Just like that one night so long ago. It was that feeling of helplessness that he couldn't stand and he would make sure that it would not happen again.

Pyrus looked around, taking in the scenic terrain. Small animals were moving back into their homes and birds were beginning to sing again. Flowers bloomed and grasses gently swayed in the wind. It was so different from the devastation of a few days ago and Pyrus sometimes had a hard time believing that he wasn't dead and in some sort of afterlife. There were floating islands for goodness sakes, and everybody knew that just wasn't natural. But then again, what really was natural anyway?

Pyrus' wandering mind eventually settled on the whole reason that they were out here in the first place. Just yesterday, the Guardians gathered up a majority of the remaining dragons and instructed them to sweep the landscape for any sign of Spyro, the Fire Guardian Ignitus, or the black dragoness, Cynder. The mission was so important that even the students of the Guardians like Pyrus and Connan were pressed into service, even though they were placed with a heavy hitting adult escort. But still, why was Cynder one of the objectives? Pyrus' face hardened at the thought.

Although his family had escaped the early devastation that Cynder had caused, he had heard more than enough tales to draw his own conclusions. Why did the Guardians even want her anyway? She hadn't been seen much in the past few years, so maybe she was in hiding. Maybe the Guardians wanted to put her on trial for war crimes. But if that was the case, why did they divide the patrols into such small groups? It would take a lot more than three dragons here to subdue Cynder, even if one of them was Terrador. Unless they found Spyro first, of course.

Still, Pyrus thought, a smile spreading to his face, this could be his one chance to finally prove himself to the Guardians. If he brought down Cynder, maybe they would get off his back about always training all the time and actually let him have a normal life with friends. Well, there was Connan, but he didn't really count as all he ever did was play games or jokes, something which was frowned upon at the newly established dragon temple back in the city.

As for Ignitus, Pyrus could only hope the patrols were successful in locating him. Despite being under the Guardian's care for the past year or so, Pyrus didn't really know Ignitus that well. He always seemed so distant. The other Guardians said it was because Ignitus and Spyro were close and the purple dragon's disappearance had hurt him greatly. It was a pity really. From what Pyrus had heard, there wasn't much that Ignitus could have done. Still, with any luck the old dragon was still alive and kicking, someone as kind and understanding as him deserved a long and peaceful life.

As for finding the purple dragon, well, Pyrus had a very low opinion of someone who always ran away when people needed him the most.

"Hey wait! Wait!" Connan suddenly shouted, his head snapping toward a densely forested hillside. "I think I see something!"

"For the last time Connan, we don't have time for any of your funny business!" Terrador turned, sounding even more irritated than before. "If you think you can trick us into setting down just so you can take a break, then you have another thing coming!"

"No, no really, I thought I saw something. Great, now I can't find it again." Connan said as he slowed to a hover, peering around desperately.

"It couldn't possibly be a tree that you saw now, could it?" Pyrus asked, earning him a brief smile from Terrador. "Or maybe a butterfly with pretty little wings?"

"Hey, at least I don't confuse a bush with a grublin." Connan replied with a grin.

"It's not my fault, the branches looked like limbs." Pyrus said defensively.

Connan rolled his eyes. "Oh please, next thing you know you'll think that the boulder over there is Cyril."

"I still don't see anything." Terraodr interjected, speaking up over the arguing pair. Connan gulped apprehensively.

Pyrus sighed and ran his eyes over the area that looked identical to everywhere else they had been today. Connan's imagination was probably just acting up. Nothing but trees, grass, and flowe...There! For the briefest of instances Pyrus saw a flash of color that didn't match up with anything else in the forest.

"Uh, Master Terrador, I see it too." Pyrus said, straining his eyes to make sure of what he was seeing.

"Oh really, where?" Terrador asked. The Earth Guardian seemed more prepared to give anything Pyrus said much more credibility. Of course, half of what Connan said was always a joke and the other half some sort of trick or lie, so Pyrus couldn't really blame him.

"Over there in the clearing by that mangy old tree that looks like it got struck by lightning." Pyrus directed. It was too far off to be sure, but could this finally be the opportunity he was hoping for? Or was it just a closely clustered clan of similarly colored flowers?

Connan instantly focused on the spot Pyrus described and sighed in relief. "See? Told you it was there." Connan declared triumphantly.

"Sure, but you lost sight of it as soon as you found it, so it doesn't count." Pyrus said, still trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at.

"You're just jealous because I found it first and I'm going to be the first one there." Connan said as he gave a powerful flap and took off towards the object with an arrogant grin.

"Connan, get back here! We still don't know what it is!" Terrador shouted, but his words went unheeded by the ice dragon. With a sigh, Terrador took off in pursuit with Pyrus close behind.

They made good time towards the clearing and landed on the edge only to find Connan hesitantly walking to the small purple object in the center. Pyrus made to follow him but was stopped when Terrador held out a paw.

"Wait. This could be a trap. Stay close and keep your eyes peeled." Terrador said as his eyes warily swept the clearing. Pyrus nodded and fell in behind the towering Earth Guardian. Unlike Connan, Pyrus was all to happy to follow Terrador's orders, as he was widely regarded as the most competent of the four Guardians when it came to commanding a battle. If he said to be careful, you had better be careful.

As they got closer, Pyrus could tell more and more details about the purple lump. It was obviously a dragon, with two tall gold horns similar to his own and two matching gold wings tucked against his back. Could finding the purple dragon really be that easy?

Connan was bending over the prone dragon when he suddenly stirred in his sleep, mumbling some nonsensical phrase. Connan jumped, then turned back to the rest of the patrol, who were still only about half-way across the clearing. Ignoring the harsh stare directed his way by Terrador, he shouted, "Hey guys! I think he's waking up."

Terrador made a low growl, angry at his pupil's obliviousness to danger. He remained at the same, slow pace however, still trailed by Pyrus.

"I haven't seen anything suspicious Terrador, maybe this isn't a trap after all." Pyrus said, redirecting his attention to the purple mass that was now visibly moving around in an attempt to wake up.

Terrador performed a final check around the clearing before nodding in agreement."Very well, if this is an ambush, we ought to have enough time to take off before they reach us. I want you to remain alert all the same." Pyrus grunted in response and resumed watching the tree line for movement.

"I can't believe it! I, Connan, am the first one to find the great purple dragon!" Connan declared as he stood over the still unconscious body of Spyro. Terrador strode up to the pair and matter-a-factly smacked the back of Connan's head with his wing tip.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Connan said, rubbing the sore spot with one paw. "What did I do?"

"For breaking formation without do cause and disobeying direct orders. But I'll deal with you later, we have more pressing matters at the moment." Terrador growled, leveling his most withering stare down on the ice dragon. Connan meekly nodded and backed away, knowing now was not the time to try and argue.

Spyro groaned and slowly lifted his head, blinking his eyes in the unexpected sunlight. "What? Where am I?" He said, slowly looking around with a look of confusion etched on his face. As his sleeping mind slowly booted up, a new thought entered his head, causing him to bolt upright. "Where's Cynder?"

"Take it easy young dragon, you've been through a lot." Terrador said consolingly. "Rest a minute and get your thoughts in order, we need to know what happened if we're going to find the others."

Spyro nodded and focused on the scene around him, taking in the three other dragons still standing around him in a circle. They all looked both concerned for him and at the same time alert for any possible attack. Sighing, Spyro took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He reflected on the last memories that he had: watching Malefor being sucked into the crystal prison, the world shaking and shuddering as its end came near, the vision of Ignitus that appeared to help give him piece of mind and a new purpose, of Cynder pledging to stay with him, and finally of the great flash of light as he restored the world. That last memory nagged at him, almost as if he was leaving out something important. But he could figure that out later, right now, he had to find Cynder and make sure she was safe.

"We need to find Cynder and quick." Spyro said, staring up at the larger dragon.

Terrador's brow crinkled in concern. "Was she with you when you were last conscious?"

"Yes, she was." Spyro replied, glancing around as if expecting to see her pop up any second.

"Hmmmmm. Then it would be expected that she would end up in the same place." Terrador mused, deep in thought. His attention shifted to Connan, who was still dejectedly rubbing the back of his head. "Connan, did you see anyone else when you first arrived here?"

"No Terr-, I mean no sir. He was the only thing here, sir." Connan said, wisely choosing not to aggravate the Guardian any further today.

Pyrus snorted angrily. Why were they wasting time trying to find a traitor and a monster? The way Terrador and Spyro were talking it sounded like they expected her to greet them like old friends. If even half the stories about her were true, then she would kill them all without a second thought. There was something that he was not being let in on here and he didn't like being left out in the dark.

Terrador looked up, coming out of his rumination and quickly shot out orders. "Pyrus, Connan, do a quick sweep of the area and see if Cynder is anywhere in the immediate vicinity. Come back in an hour if you don't find anything." The two dragons nodded and prepared to take off.

"I'll help too." Spyro said as he slowly struggled to his feet. He stood there for a moment, legs quivering, before collapsing again from sheer exhaustion.

"I don't think so young dragon. I have never seen anyone as exhausted as you. Still, can't say I'm surprised considering whatever you must of done." Terrador smiled gently down at Spyro. "Now rest. If she is near by, the we'll find her." Unable to come up with a rebuke, Spyro laid back down in the grass, silently fuming over his inability to do anything to help.

"Don't you have something to do?" Pyrus looked up to see Terrador giving him a hard stare, with one of his eyebrows raised in an expecting manner. Pyrus took off without further delay, hoping that he could avoid being stuck with what ever punishment assuredly awaited Connan upon return to Warfang. As the clearing diminished in size and Connan became a rapidly disappearing speck traveling in the opposite direction, Pyrus thought back on what happened in the last few minuets. Although they had succeeded in finding one of the missing dragons, Pyrus had a feeling that this was far from over.

/~\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

It was all calm now except for the occasional, tentative bird song. For the first time in months, peace and quiet reined in the secluded mountain valley. Half of the valley had been completely torn to sheds in the numerous earthquakes that had struck the area just two days ago. Plates of land jutted up at odd angles, creating new cliffs and disrupting the path of the normally docile river. Not even the protective mountains escaped harm. Many of them had experienced catastrophic landslides that leveled many trees and animals that were not quite fast enough to escape. One of the larger peaks, with a healthy crown of white still clinging around the summit, was even floating a few thousand feet in the air, looking extremely out of place.

Down in the valley, a herd of deer slowly made their way towards the river. All the deer were tense and wide-eyed, with each twig snap being almost enough to send them fleeing. No matter how far they ran though, they would still have to drink sometime.

The lead stag stopped next to the bank and stood attentively, trying to see all and at the same time to not be seen. One really couldn't blame their caution, after all it was the perfect spot for an ambush and who even knew what horrors lurked in the now heavily muddled water.

One by one, the deer made their way down to the water and took a drink. The river bank was still, with not even the innocent chirping of the birds sounding out over the gently shifting waters. That should have been the deer's first clue that something was wrong.

Suddenly, the water next to one of the older does exploded into a whirlwind of teeth and claws. The doe tried to move away, but before she could, a set of large talons savagely ripped a huge gash along her throat. She collapsed in the shallows, desperately trying to inhale through her crippled windpipe. The rest of the herd scattered and could still be heard bounding off into the distance and away from what ever lurked in the dark water. The doe watched with primal horror as her killer rose out of the water, shaking himself off as he looked down at his kill.

Zero watched impassively as the doe's eyes glazed over and she became still. It didn't really bother him, he had killed before and likely would have to again. Once he was sure she was dead, he picked up the carcass with his teeth and with a mighty heave, threw it onto his back. Securing the body with his wings, Zero began to make his way back to the cave.

It was unusual to see a dragon living out in the wilderness all by himself, but it had been that way for well over seven years now. It was harder to keep track of time out here and it didn't really serve any purpose, so Zero usually just estimated.

After a while of trudging through the still forest, Zero finally spotted the shallow cave that he stayed in. He really wouldn't go as far as to call it home, but it was cozy enough. Never the less, it was lucky that the cave had avoided all the rock slides and had been strong enough to hold up against a possible cave in.

Zero set the deer down outside the entrance and set about getting some fire wood from his nearby stash. Once he had had placed them in the ring of rocks that served as his fire pit, he selected two rocks from the ground and proceeded to scrape them against each other. It took longer than usual to produce a large enough spark, but in the end his patience paid off as the fire roared to life.

Carefully slicing the carcass with his claws, Zero placed the good slices of meat on a flat rock next to fire where they began to cook and simmer. Deciding that the rest of the body could wait until morning, Zero settled down to watch the fire as the sun set over the mountains.

He really was lucky that deer herd had decided to come back into the valley. Apart from having to wait in the frigid water for most of the day hoping for a catch, he had also completely run out of any food that he had stored and was for once in actual danger of starving. Assuming that the herd hasn't gone to far he would be able to get enough meat at avoid going hungry, for now at any rate. Still, he would eventually have to head toward town soon to get information on what exactly happen a few days ago anyway. Huge cracks in the ground, all the small animals, himself included, running through the woods as trees splintered around them and whole mountains collapsing into huge piles of dust and rock. Then there was a bright, purple blast and everything just stopped moving. Most of the mountains actually reformed themselves and the planet's crust clicked back into place. Some of the land didn't move back and just hung there eerily, always threatening to come crashing back to earth any second.

Zero turned to look at the nearest floating mountain, which was still bathed in the sun's golden radiance. If it wasn't so far out of the way, he would go investigate. But then he remembered the prime directive: get food, water, shelter, and stay alive. Speaking of which...

Zero reached out and snagged a piece of the rib cage that had been sitting near him and took a hardy bite into it. The hot meat burned his throat on the way down, but he ignored it. He supposed that he really shouldn't worry about what had happened anyway. Everything was calm, peaceful and back to the way it was before. His solitary existence would endure, just like he always had.