Chapter 6: A Taste of Sydney's Past

(A/N: Slight Spyro the Dragon/Tremors cross-over here. Graboid OC is not in Tremors canon.)

After Tatum explained everything to Bianca, Hunter, and Spyro, Sydney decided that it was enough eavesdropping and stalked off toward the lake in a huff. She couldn’t believe Tatum actually told three strangers about her position as well as her own. 'How could she?' she thought, 'after all those times she told me and the other elements to keep to ourselves, she decides to go and blow everything! Uggghhh!' She decided to blow off steam by going for a little swim in the lake.

She walked over to the top of a nearby cliff, took a deep breath, and head-bash dived into the lake. The coolness of the water was refreshing and was already taking away the stress. She rolled, twisted, back flipped, and did all kinds of graceful movements under the water. As she twirled while doing figure eights, she suddenly got a memory she thought she’d forgotten a long time ago…

(Flashback)

She was little, very little. She was just waking up from a nap she’d taken just after she finished lunch. She looked around the underground den her mother had dug out for her when she was still an egg. She walked up the bumpy ramp to the trapdoor made from mud and cattail grass. She pushed upward and looked out around at the forest of cattails she loved to explore in.

She found, however, that neither her mother nor her father were anywhere to be seen. 'Where are they?' she thought. She took a few steps away from the den and called out to them. From somewhere far off, she heard a bunch of rustling in the cattails. Then, she heard a blast and smoke erupted over the sea of swamp grass.

Someone screamed and she heard footsteps hurrying her way. She instinctively backed up, getting ready to run for it when her mother, a dark blue-scaled dragon with green eyes, came out. She was breathing very heavily. The end of her tail was split and hardened. 'Something bad just happened' Sydney thought.

“ Sydney… Come on, we have to go…” Her mother said in a choked voice.

“ What’s happened? What’s wrong?” She asked worried. Thunder sounded above them and it started to downpour.

“ There’s no time to explain… We have to-"

Another blast; it sounded closer this time. Sydney’s mother ran over to her.

“ Let’s go!” She said picking her up by the scarf of her neck and carrying her through the cattails to an opening. Here, the waves of the sea were lapping against the cliffs of the island. Some sharp rocks were protruding up from the water. Her mother carefully climbed on a thin, slippery platform that stretched towards a small crevice in the wall of the cliffs.

It was just small enough for Sydney to fit through. Her mother placed her inside and gave her a small push to help her in all the way. It was a small, moist, bumpy space in the rocks, nothing more. Sydney looked back at her mother’s tear-stained eyes. 'Something really bad happened' she thought.

“ What happened? Where’s dad?” She asked. Her mother swallowed before she answered.

“ He’s…not coming…” She choked on her words and it seemed that each word was causing her harm. Sydney didn’t need any more explanation…Her father was dead.

She looked down and tried to fight back tears. Her mother took a deep breath before she continued, “ You are to stay here…Understand? Stay here until I come back for you…”

Sydney nodded solemnly. Her mother then climbed back up the rocks and ran off back into the cattails. Sydney curled up in the small space she was hiding in and listened to the continuous pounding of the rain against the rocks, slowly drifting off to sleep…

'How long has it been since I fell asleep?' she thought. She looked through the opening she had come through and saw that it was night and that it was still raining. How late at night, she didn’t know. She couldn’t see the moon’s position from here. Her parents had taught her how to tell time by the moon and the sun’s positions in the sky.

'My parents,' she thought, 'where’s my mom? She should’ve been here by now…' She couldn’t hear any footsteps coming. Only the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky wall and the rapping of the pouring rain. Everything else was silent&#133, dead silent. It creeped her out.

She sat alone in the dark, small, moist space listening hard for anyone coming. No one came, until finally after a few hours, she heard soft, long strides coming through the cattails. Then, they stopped at the edge of the cliff. In a moment, the thin platform her mother climbed magically grew out to be wide enough for just about anything to walk on. Once again she heard the long strides coming straight for the small space she was hiding in.

'This is definitely not my mom,' she thought. She didn’t care; she’d fight her way away from this stranger. When the figure got there, however, all she saw was white through the opening of the space. Then, the figure bent down and she came face to face with a pair of icy blue eyes. The figure tapped the wall of the cliff and the small opening stretched out so she could see this stranger more clearly.

Apart from the sopping wet, white cloak and blue eyes she had, the stranger had dark hair that was dripping wet from the rain and a silvery, white staff. The stranger was still bent low enough for them to be face to face. She finally spoke in a deep, womanly voice.

“ Hello, Sydney…” She said calmly.

“ W-Who’re you? How do know my name? And where’s my mom?” She asked giving the last question a more demanding tone.

“ I’m Tatum…” She replied, “ I’m here to take you to someplace safe…”

“ Someplace safe? I can’t…I have to wait here for my mom…” Tatum’s calm face fleetingly showed a small-mourned expression.

“ You’re mother’s left me the responsibility of taking you away from here…”

“ What do you mean? Where is she?”

“ She’s not coming, Sydney…” Sydney shook her head in disbelief.

“ N-no…She told me she’d be here…She’d come back for me…”

“ I’m sorry, Sydney… I know this must be difficult for you…” Sydney let the tears she’d held back before stream down her face. In one day, in only a few hours, she had become an orphan. 'I didn’t even get to say goodbye,' she thought sadly.

Tatum placed a sympathetic hand on her back. Sydney moved forward to bury her face in her cloak. She needed a shoulder, or rather a knee, to cry on. Tatum smoothly stroked her back to comfort her. A few moments later, Tatum scooped her up in her arms and strode to the top of the cliffs.

Sydney didn’t mind too much. As long as this stranger knew her mother somehow, she was okay to being carried. She decided she would ask her about that later. When they were at the top of the rocks, Tatum used her free hand to tap the edge of the cliffs, putting the thin platform back to its original state. Then, Sydney looked up at her with a questioning glance and as if reading her mind, she said, “ Don’t worry… As soon as it’s safe enough for you…I’ll bring you back here to Krayle…” Sydney nodded and they disappeared from the cliffs. The thunder still rolling and the sheets of rain still pouring.

(Flashback ends)

Sydney burst through the surface of the water, taking in great breaths of air. She leaned up against a nearby rock, breathing heavily.

“ Get out of there…” She said to herself hitting her head against the rock, “ stop haunting me…”

A shadow moved over her and an eagle’s cry sounded through the air. Sydney wheeled around to look up and saw a giant eagle flying overhead. She smiled and quickly swam to the edge to meet this eagle as he landed nearby.

“ Sky!” She called. The eagle turned around to look at her as he pushed his helmet up a little more to see her better.

“ Hey, kid.” He said greeting her. She rolled her eyes at him. She hated it when he called her kid. He knew perfectly well they were about the same age.

Sky was the wind element. She had known him since she had first found out she was an element a long time ago. They became quick friends even if he was a smartass. Though, she really had no room to talk. She had her moments when she out-remarked him.

“ So, what brings you here?” She asked.

“ Tatum’s orders… She said she wanted all of us to meet here for ‘something important’.” He said as he gave the quotes fingers, or wings, as he said the last couple words.

“ Any idea why?”

“ Not really… You never know with Tatum.”

“ True…”

“ So, whatcha been up to?”

“ Not much… Being moved off Krayle again… and getting some action…”

“ E-hunters were after you?” He looked a little concerned.

“ Yeah, but don’t worry… I can take care of them any day.”

He gave her a you-really-shouldn’t-be-proud-of-that look. She rolled her eyes again. 'He hasn’t changed a bit,' she thought, 'still acting like he’s my older brother when I’m a day older than him.'

“ I can’t wait to see the others,” She said changing the subject, “ it’s been so long since I’ve seen them.”

“ Me neither… I wonder if Devon’s starting to get too senile for a comeback…”

“ Devon? No way… He’s always got at least one good one up his sleeve.”

Devon was the earth element- a graboid (from the movie Tremors if you’ve seen it). He was pretty old. Sky never spared a moment to crack an old guy joke on him whenever he saw him. Of course, Devon usually seemed to be anticipating them so he always had a good comeback in mind. Sydney couldn’t wait to see what new one he’d say to keep Sky quiet.

Sydney and Sky walked side-by-side with one another in deep conversation until they heard someone shriek in fear not to far off.