Chapter 74

Return to Darkness

Flashwing was flying around the Outlands when she saw a column of smoke in the distance. She flew towards it to find a smoking ruin of a castle.

Flashwing ran in to find bodies lying all over the place, and at the throne sat Kaos still alive.

"Kaos?" Flashwing ran over to him. "What happened here?"

"He happened." Kaos coughed. "Your friend." Kaos then lost conscious. Flashwing picked him up and flew him back to the Ruins.

Sunburn was sitting on the edge of the Ruins. Already two months had passed since Spyro had been buried in the Hell's Mouth but it had felt as if had been two years. Cynder hadn't really talked to anyone since their talk in Sonic Boom's tree house.

Sunburn looked at the sky to see Flashwing returning with someone. He ran up to the Core of Light to find Flashwing was carrying Kaos. "Why have you got him?"

"He was in a destroyed castle in the Outlands." Flashwing looked a bit nervous. "He said one of our friends did it."

"But everyone is here." Sunburn looked around. "Even Cynder who usually is gone."

"It was her mate." Kaos had woke up. "That purple dragon."

"What are you on about?" Sonic Boom looked confused. "Spyro's buried in the Underworld. How did he get out?"

"My minions found him in the castle." Kaos got up. "He was...different." Kaos got up. "He was all black and had Malefor's eyes."

"So you freed him." Cynder was standing in the forest. "You freed Malefor and now he is destroying things already. What have you done?"

"It wasn't my fault." Kaos narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know that Malefor had taken over his body. I was staying low."

"Whatever." Cynder walked into the forest. She couldn't handle the fact that see wasn't going to see Spyro for ten years but now Malefor was on the loose in control of Spyro's mind.

"Cynder?" Hex was in the forest. "Are you all right?"

"Malefor is back." Cynder looked down. "Only he's in control of Spyro's mind and body."

Hex was shocked. "How far will he go?"

"I don't know, that's what I'm afraid of." Cynder sat down on a rock. "He always bounces back, no matter what we do. We trap him in the Core of the World, he escapes. We kill him, he gets resurrected. Spyro finishes him in the Convexity, Starstrike kills everyone making Spyro travel through time. Spyro destroys him, he takes over Spyro's body. I don't know what we have to do to get rid of him."

Hex went over to her. "We can do whatever we have to. We will get Spyro back."

Cynder smiled. "Thank you Hex."

"Hey, you aren't the only one who is haunted by him." Hex and Cynder went out of the forest together to where Kaos was.

"So you stopped stropping then?" Kaos walked away.

"Kaos, I want to know what happened at the castle." Cynder sighed. "If we can piece together the puzzle we could find out where Spy- Malefor is hiding."

Kaos groaned. "It's always about your mate isn't it? Fine. I'll help you but I don't know everything."

"That's fine." Cynder smiled. "I know someone who does."

Chapter 75

The Dragon King

Spyro walked through the Dragon Temple. It was empty of all life. "Seems like I scared everyone off when I blew the roof off."

"Not everyone." Terrador stepped out from a doorway. "I have been expecting you Malefor."

"And I you." Spyro smiled. "Only as you can see, I'm no longer Malefor, I am Spyro."

"You can't be him." Terrador got ready to fight. "You're a monster."

"Oh no, I am not a monster." Spyro got ready. "I am a God." Spyro ran forward and Terrador met him.

Meanwhile, Cynder was flying over the Dragon Temple towards the place where Ignitus lived when an explosion blew the Dragon Temple apart. Cynder dropped down to find Terrador dying at the centre of the Dragon Temple.

"Terrador!" Cynder felt for a pulse. "What happened?"

Terrador just pointed to behind Cynder. She turned around to see Spyro standing there. He was purple but still had Malefor's eyes.

"Sorry about the mess." Spyro laughed. "I didn't have time to take out the trash. I know this is a shock but this is my way of cleaning up."

"What have you done Malefor?" Cynder looked at Terrador to see he had died.

"Malefor, where?" Spyro shook his head. "He died in Hell's Mouth. Now I have taken his place as the Dragon King."

Lightening cracked across the sky and rain poured down from the clouds. "So, care to dance?" Cynder bent down, ready to leap. Spyro shrugged and went straight for her heart.

Cynder dodged left and hit Spyro with a volt of Lightening. Spyro returned it with a Fireball and Ice Shard. Cynder got out of the way of the Ice Shard but was hit by the Fireball. She felt warm but not hurt. She found that she couldn't feel the cold as much as before. "You gave me my body heat back." She was surprised.

"Oh well, you'll be dead in a few minutes." Spyro let out a Dragon Beam. Cynder jumped to the right and used her Shadow Dash to slip past him and fly off. "You will not live while I haunt this word Cynder! I am eternal and you aren't! You will DIE!"

Chapter 76

The Chronicler

Cynder went into the cave to find Ignitus wasn't there. She waited until he came through the door with several injuries. "Hello Cynder. I know why you are here. It's about Spyro."

"Why are you bleeding?" Cynder looked worried.

"I went to the volcano where the End of the World was based." Ignitus pulled a book out from a shelf. "I found Spyro there. I should have foreseen this. Malefor is crafty." Ignitus opened the book that belonged to Spyro. "Here we are."

Cynder looked inside the book. She saw Spyro succumbing to Malefor's will and something being poured into Spyro's body.

"Do you see what I see Cynder?" Ignitus pointed to the thing being poured into Spyro. "I think I know how Malefor is surviving the attacks."

Cynder looked at the liquid. "It seems that Spyro got something from Malefor."

"I think it resembles Malefor's soul."

Cynder's eyes widened. "So Malefor is inside Spyro's body? That's how he is controlling him?"

"Yes. I believe Malefor places his soul into a vessel until a follower of his finds the vessel and brings it to a place where the Darkness can spread. When I sent Spyro back in time, I knew if he could kill Malefor without him being in the Convexity there was no other way Malefor could come back. Of course, I didn't think Malefor could transfer his soul to another living being."

Cynder couldn't believe it. "So to kill Malefor we have to kill Spyro?"

"No." Ignitus smiled. "But it does require a sacrifice. We need to allow Malefor to become restored before we make a move on him. But for that we must remain in hiding. This place won't be enough." Ignitus got a book down that contained the deaths of all the dragons. "Oh Terrador. You were a good friend." The book had become very thick. "We must go." He turned around to find Cynder had disappeared. "She never gives up, does she?"

Chapter 77

Restoration

Spyro found himself in the volcano. Blood was on the floor from his fight with Ignitus but he had teleported to his Room of Knowledge. But for now he had business to take care of.

Spyro pressed a secret panel on the wall that opened up a hidden room. Inside was a large crystal. Spyro placed his paw onto it.

Cynder ran into the room to find Spyro transferring Malefor's soul to the crystal. Cynder waited for the transfer to be complete and then Spyro collapsed.

Cynder ran over to him as the crystal glowed brighter. Malefor's laughter filled the room and the crystal exploded. Malefor stood there.

"Hello Cynder." Malefor smiled. "I wanted both you and Spyro to be here for the resurrection. I knew that you would want to get me here to kill me."

"I never thought you would have guessed." Cynder ran at him. Malefor easily grabbed her and threw her into the wall. "So your plan worked. You're back and Spyro will now be questioning if he is worthy of being the bearer of the Light."

"Well done." Malefor slammed Cynder into a shard of crystal that was sticking out the ground. The shard went into Cynder's stomach. "Now if you excuse me I have a few things to attend to."

Cynder looked at Malefor as he walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him and Cynder's vision went black.

Chapter 78

Forever in the Dark

Spyro woke up in the room. He saw the shattered remains of the crystal and Cynder lying down with a shard sticking in her.

"Cynder?" Spyro took the shard out and placed her on an area which was clear. "No, don't be dead. Please." He bowed his head.

"Spyro..." Cynder opened her eyes. "Malefor's back. He's outside the door."

"I did it didn't I?" Spyro was worried. "He made me. I couldn't stop him."

"He was using you as vessel for his soul." Cynder got up. "He stores it until he can get his followers to find a large source of Darkness. Then he merges with it and he comes back. That's how he survived so long and why he comes back every time."

Spyro nodded. "He told me. He told me everything. I now know everything he knows and he knows everything I know, including our strengths and weaknesses."

"Maybe we should focus on getting out of here." Cynder began to feel for a hidden button to open the door.

"It only opens one way." Spyro sighed. "We're trapped."

Cynder hit the door. It wouldn't budge. She could hear Malefor laughing. She placed her ear to the door.

"Well done Kaos on sending her to me." Malefor's voice came through the door. "Now I have my two greatest threats in my lair."

"I only wish to help you Malefor." Kaos was right outside the door. "I know what it is like to have them as a thorn in your side."

"So your castle is rebuilt and I wish to have all your troops ready for war." Malefor got up out of his throne. "I am bringing everyone I can, including some old friends that are dead."

"I look forward to it." Kaos then left.

"So what's the plan?" Sparx was in the cave.

"Sparx?" Spyro was shocked. "How did you get in here?"

"With my help." Hunter had come through a hole in the wall. "Quickly, in here."

Spyro and Cynder went through the trap door and into a tunnel that led to the exit of the Catacombs. Spyro took in the fresh air for what felt like forever. "I never thought I would be so happy to feel fresh air on my face."

"We're not out of here yet." Hunter pointed to the Valley of Alavar. "We need to go to the village. My friends are expecting us."

"You haven't changed at all Hunter." Cynder flapped her wings and flew towards the village. Spyro followed closely. They flew to the village to find Chief Prowless waiting for them.

"Hello young dragons. I've been expecting you ever since I heard you were still alive."

"And we've been expecting to see you since we found out the world wasn't destroyed." Spyro smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"And I you." Chief Prowless nodded. "And I'm sure Meadow will be as well. But now I must ask what you need."

"To get ready for war." Cynder explained. "Malefor is building a massive army to take all of us out."

"All right." Chief Prowless led them to a house where a plan was left out. Hunter and Sparx went in with them. "We knew that war may be an inevitability. We have prepared for this. I will send messages to Warfang. This will be our main fortification to defend from Malefor. It is directly opposite from his main base of operations."

"Thank you Chief Prowless." Spyro smiled.

"Jeez, does this plan have to be so complex?" Sparx rolled his eyes. "I mean, can't we just rush in, beat him like we've always done?"

"Sparx, you've seen what Malefor can do." Spyro looked at his friend. "We can't just go in and defeat him straight away. He's come back more than a few times, each time stronger than before. He even almost ended the World. He is the most dangerous foe we have ever faced and to be honest, I've enjoyed the challenge."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Sparx sighed. "Let's go to war!"

"We can't fight a war alone, we need the Skylanders." Cynder grinned. "They and the combined efforts of the residents of the Dragon Realms should be enough to face this army."

"All right then." Spyro smiled. "Let's do this. Whatever happens, we know we have done our best to protect the World from the Darkness. Now, let's plan our attack."

Chapter 79

There is only the War

Spyro sat in the War Room. He felt that whatever was coming would be impossible to beat. But he had found a good plan of defence.

Malefor stood in his throne room planning his attack. He knew Spyro was going to do everything he could to stop him but he felt he had every angle covered. Then Dread walked into the room.

Spyro woke from his dream. He had fallen asleep while planning. He had seen Malefor's plan and saw his plan was going to walk right into Malefor's hands. He changed it over and over again for a week until he realised his mistake.

"Malefor's expecting me to defend and protect everyone I can..." Spyro decided his plan.

Malefor felt restless. He knew Spyro was unpredictable and couldn't decide what he could do to counter Spyro's defence. He could only wait to see.

The time was approaching. Spyro walked out of the War Room to find everyone was ready and armed. He nodded to Hunter and Cynder who were on the outside of the group. Sparx hovered above Spyro's head. Chief Prowless and Meadow nodded.

"All right then." Spyro smiled. "Let's get to Warfang and end this fight once and for all."

The cheetahs cheered and went towards the Forbidden Tunnel. Spyro made his way to Cynder and walked beside her and Hunter.

"This is it." Hunter sighed. "We live or die. No going back."

Spyro nodded. "Are you with me?"

The group nodded. "Always."

Spyro got to the Forbidden Tunnel and opened it. This is it. The Final War.

Epilogue

"My friends, we face a foe that has flawed each of our plans every time we face him." Malefor got off his throne. "But I believe together we can stop this hero of the Light forever. Spyro is not without allies but if we weaken his defences, crush his kingdom and kill him once and for all. So I have one question. Will you stand with me, or against me?"

Not one word was heard. Everyone was afraid that if they spoke Malefor would rip them apart.

"So then, Dread, Kaos, Gnasty Gnorc, Red, Ripto, let us prepare for the War!"