Chapter 4 - New Enemies and Allies

A low, mournful howl echoed around Cynder as she slowly returned to the world. Straining her eyes, she tried to see where she was, but the pitch black room offered no clues. She felt oddly drained and cold, more so than should be expected given her circumstances. The attack, the fight and finally the apes taking her captive. She had to get out of here, whatever it was that they had in store for her, it wasn't going to be pleasent.

Carefully moving her legs below her, Cynder attempted to stand. She gasped as pain shot through her body, causing her to collapse and almost black out again. Moving one of her free paws, Cynder felt along her left side for the source of her distress. A large, bloody gash covered most of her left flank. Wincing each time she touched it, Cynder quickly accessed the wound. Although the bleeding had stopped, the scab limited her movement and made her unable to support any weight. She would also hazard a guess that the blow had broken at least two of her ribs.

As she continued to look at her injury, a faint rattling caught her attention. Craning her neck around to look behind her, she could faintly make out the outline of a metal chain clamped firmly around one of her rear legs. She shivered, realizing that she could not feel any sensations from that leg, the only feeling that of cold and numbness. If she didn't know any better, it almost felt as though that part of her had died.

In the distance, a loud tramping could be heard outside of her cell door, drawing ever closer. The footsteps stopped right outside the door and Cynder could hear the faint screech of bolts being undone. The door swung open, spilling orange torch light into the room. The light dimmed as a figure stooped through the doorway to fit himself into the small cell.

Even in the dim light, Cynder could tell that this must be the ape commander. Although certainly not the largest she had ever seen, his grotesque figure took up the entire space in front of her. Graying fur stuck out from underneath the battle armor that he wore, while a sword hung securely at his side. The open face helmet he wore was adorned with two long, pale horns that stretched and bent slowly towards the ceiling. With a chill, Cynder recognized them as dragon horns. His face was one that not even a mother could love, covered as it was in numerous scars. His black eyes stared down at her, hatred glistening within.

"Looks like my scouts were not exaggerating when they said they had caught Cynder." The ape snarled. "I have waited a long time for this."

Cynder attempted to rise, but quickly ran out of energy and slid back to the floor. What was wrong with her?

The ape grinned, obviously amused at her effort. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Drakken, the dragon slayer. I am leader of the Shadow Claw ape clan. And you are just a poor, washed up dragon that is completely at our mercy."

As Drakken finished his monologue, Cynder gathered herself together and leaped at him, a defiant roar on her lips. The chain holding her foot snapped tight and she fell just short, landing of the hard ground of the cell. The pain in her side swelled to a crescendo, and it was all she could do to avoid crying out.

Drakken laughed, the sound grating against Cynder's ears. "Nice try Cynder, nice try. If you actually posed the slightest threat to me at all, I would simply of run you through with this." Drakken lightly gripped the pommel of the black sword at his belt. "If you get stabbed with this, you will die." He tapped the horns attached to his helmet. "No exceptions."

Cynder growled. "What do you want from me anyway?"

"I just want two things from you Cynder." Drakken said as he folded his hands behind his back. "First, I want you to tell me everything that has happened in the war, ending with the massive earthquakes that have killed over a dozen of my men in the past week. Leave out any detail and you will be punished."

"Then the second thing I need from you is to die. Preferably in an excruciatingly painful way." Drakken spat out, venom now evident in his voice.

Cynder felt her spirits drop as she drew her wings closer around herself. It seemed that everything except Spyro and the guardians wanted her dead. All because her past. No matter how much she tried, would she really never be able to wipe the blood from her scales? Although it was futile to expect an ape to care anyways.

Drakken snarled, his features twisting into an even more unpleasant arrangement. "So that's it! You just curl up into a little ball and cry! You need to answer for what you did to my race, even if that answer is nothing more than screams."

Perhaps noticing the brief flash of confusion that passed over Cynder's face, Drakken seemed to calm down a hair. "You see Cynder," Drakken said, turning away from her to stare at one of the blank walls. "Long before any of you whelps where born, the apes lived in separate clans like this one. We fought the dragons and occasionally each other. It seemed like the perfect way of existence, something that could endure and save our culture until the end of time."

Drakken's tone hardened slightly as he continued. "Then that idiot Gaul began to rally the clans with some big pronouncement that the Dark Master would destroy any who opposed him. Many apes flocked to his banner and the army grew daily. Not wanting to be beholden to another power, the other clan leaders and I united and stood in opposition to Gaul. We were on the brink of a civil war that I was sure to win."

Drakken turned back to Cynder, pointing an accusing finger. "Then you showed up. You butchered the other clan leaders and the rest of the apes all cowered and went to Gaul. You are the dragon that made them all slaves!"

"And now look at them!" Drakken ranted. "Thousands dead, the war with the dragons lost, and the survivors twisted into horrible forms. You, Cynder, are to blame for this. I will personally ensure that you pay for this to the utmost extent before you die."

"But first," Drakken reached out and roughly grabbed Cynder by the throat with his crude hands. "You're going to tell me every single little weakness that the dragons have so we can rise from the ashes and defeat them."

"N-Never." Cynder managed to choke out. Drakken just sighed and gave a disappointed shake of the head.

"Too bad, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." He roughly threw Cynder against the far wall. The blow reopened the gash on her side and blood began dripping out again. Drakken watched, a demonic glint in his eyes as he watched his prisoner cower.

"Guards!" He shouted. The two apes that had been standing outside cautiously peeked into the room.

"Give her what ever you think is the bare minimum amount of water to survive. She will talk soon, I guarantee it." Drakken took one last look at Cynder and grinned. "See you soon, Cynder." He walked out, pulling the door closed behind him, leaving her in total darkness.

Carefully laying down as to not disturb her wound any more, Cynder mournfully looked around the bleak cell. Her whole life had always been some sort of cruel joke. All she had ever done was bring suffering and pain to others, even when they were trying to help her. There was no way to hope that she could ever be forgiven. Perhaps it was an appropriate fate for her to meet her end at the hands of these apes. The others would finally have some peace in their lives.

And Spyro? The dragon that had always believed in her and helped her through the tough times? She didn't deserve him. He was the hero of the ages and it would not be right for him to suffer just because she was close by. "Oh Spyro," she thought dejectedly as her quiet sobs began to fill the room. "Where ever you are, I hope you're happy."

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Pyrus groaned and stretched as he finally dragged his tired body out of bed. Taking a few more minutes to allow his body to fully boot up, he opened the door out into the hall. After doing a careful check to make sure that there were no treacherous ice patches, he stepped into the hall and slowly began making his way towards the dining hall.

Nothing much had happened the past few days and Pyrus liked it. He and Connan had spent the time getting to know Spyro better and Pyrus found out that he was quite wrong about the purple dragon. He a coward in the slightest and always seemed to have others best interests at heart. Pyrus was glad to count him as a friend. As for what he said about Cynder, Pyrus reflected that he would have to see it first in order to believe it.

Spotting a blue dragon making his way down an adjacent hall, Pyrus moved to catch up to the basically sleepwalking Connan. "Good morning Connan." Pyrus called out.

Connan looked up, glanced at Pyrus briefly before incoherently muttering a response. The two slowly continued down the hall in silence, with Connan occasionally stumbling as he tried to stay awake.

"Finally, I thought I'd never find you chaps." A voice behind them suddenly barked. Connan visibly jumped a few feet before spinning around, his posture now fully awake and alert. Pyrus turned to see Cyril making his way towards them down the hall.

The Ice Guardian stopped and examined the two dragons standing at attention. "Glad to see that both of you are awake, especially you Connan." Connan gave a sharp nod, not showing the slightest signs of sleepiness.

"Now come." Cyril said, moving past them at the same brisk pace as they did before. "You're wanted in the Guardian's chambers."

The two dragons quickly fell in line as Cyril lead the way through the marble corridors. Speaking softly as to not be overheard, Pyrus whispered to Connan. "What did you do this time Connan? Freeze the Guardian's breakfast? Desecrate Volteer's precious archives?"

Connan held a paw up defensively. "Nothing, I swear! I don't know what's going on either."

Eventually, they arrived at the grand wood doors that led to the Guardian's quarters. Pushing the doors open with a light push, Cyril strode inside, closely followed by the two young dragons. The remaining Guardians sat in a rough semicircle at one side, quietly talking among themselves. Spyro paced the floor impatiently, continually pausing to look back at the Guardians.

Once the large doors slowly swung closed again, Terrador stood and addressed the assembled dragons. "Good, everyone is here. We have much to discuss."

"Yes, quite." Cyril said. "Now Spyro, over the past three days you have recovered from your ordeal sufficiently to assist in the search for Cynder."

"But there is one more provision that you must accept before you leave." Terrador said. "We have decided that in light of recent victories, it would be good to have Pyrus and Connan accompany you and assist you if necessary. I don't anticipate trouble, but they can hold there own and it would help to have a few more pairs of eyes along with you. Do you have any objections?" Pyrus blinked in surprise, taken aback by Terrador's statement. A mission? With the purple dragon? Finally, it was about time.

"No, that's fine by me." Spyro stated. "Now could we please just leave? We need to find Cynder. She's in danger, I just know it."

"Of course young dragon." Volteer said. "But you still have to decide where to start your search before you go."

"How about the valley of Avalar?" Pyrus asked, gulping as all the dragons turned to him. "I mean, since we found you there she still might be nearby."

Terrador shook his head. "I don't think so. We redirected several patrols to the area and they haven't found anything. The cheetahs are also scouring the valley and have found nothing to report. If she was there, we would have found her."

"What about Dante's Freezer? Have you tried there?" Spyro asked, looking between the three Guardians.

"We deployed several squadrons of the finest fire dragons around to search there. Not a single black scale to be found." Cyril said, with a small frown.

"Munitions Forge? Cynder's old fortress? The Mountain of Malefor?" Spyro was getting desperate, spewing out any locations that came to mind.

"All thoroughly searched, even the Mountain, which is still enemy territory I might add." Terrador sighed and cast a look of melancholy at Spyro. "I'm sorry Spyro, but I really don't know of anywhere to start that hasn't already been covered."

Spyro snorted angrily, a small jet of flame escaping out of his nostrils. Connan stepped forward. "Spyro, just chill out. She's out there, we'll find her, don't worry. I for one think that the Mountain of Malefor could use a more through scouting." Connan turned, winking at Pyrus.

Spyro stopped pacing to glare at the ice dragon. "This isn't a game! She could be in real danger, and we don't even know where to start."

Silence stretched inside the room. The Guardians sat with bowed heads. Connan looked apprehensive and Pyrus bit his lip nervously. Spyro turned and resumed his pacing. Suddenly, a new voice sounded out into the room. "I know where she is."

All heads turned as the large doors opened again to admit the newcomer, who was escorted by two mole guards. The stranger was a dragon, well built but still quite young. His sharp talons clicked against the marble floor and his tail dragged slowly behind him, the two edged blade on the end lightly scratching the floor as he went. But the first thing everybody noticed were his scales. They were a pure white, marred only by a few spots of dirt and dust. Metallic gray scales completely covered his chest and two dull gray horns stretched slowly above his head. The most vibrant color on him was his bright, electric blue eyes, which methodically scanned the room in front of him.

Even as Terrador dismissed the guards, Spyro quickly jogged over to the dragon and stared at him with a pleading expression in his eyes. "Where?"

The blue eyes moved to focus on the purple dragon with an unnatural coolness. Pyrus eyed the new dragon suspiciously. Unlike anybody else, this dragon didn't seem overawed by meeting the purple dragon. If anything, he seemed rather bored. There was something off with this dragon, something wrong. Whoever he was, he didn't sit well with Pyrus.

After taking a few moments to evaluate Spyro, the dragon responded. "She is being held captive by a renegade group of apes. It is unlikely to end well."

Spyro snarled. "Where is she?"

The white dragon looked at him calmly. "Spyro, you should know that nothing is free in this world. If I tell you, you have to promise to do something in return."

Before anyone could object, Spyro pounced, slamming into the dragon and pinning him against the wall. Sypro's claws wrapped around the dragons neck, cutting off his air flow. "No. You probably are in league with whoever took her. So you tell me now, or I will kill you."

Spyro relaxed his grip slightly, allowing the other dragon to respond. "Careful Spyro," he wheezed out. "Kill me, and you'll have nothing to go on."

Spyro growled and began to tighten his grip again before he felt paws clinging to him, pulling him away. With a great heave, Pyrus and Connan pulled Spyro off the other dragon, who slid limply to the floor. The Guardians were on their feet, each of them trying to regain control of the situation. After ensuring that Spyro was not about to attempt to charge again, Connan and Pyrus released their holds on him. Spyro still glared at the other dragon angrily, his distrust still quite evident.

"Silence!" Terrador's booming voice rang out over the din. "We shall remain civilized as long as we are within the dragon temple. Spyro, please try to behave yourself."

"Yes, there is no need to be so rude to guests." Cyril said. "Now let's be at peace and do this the proper way. What is your name young dragon?"

The white dragon sat on the floor, checking his throat for injuries. His face had remained expressionless throughout the ordeal and he didn't even look remotely frightened at being threatened by the purple dragon. There definitely was something off with him.

"Zero." He said, slowly standing back up.

"Zero, that's an unusual name." Terrador mused. "Why don't you tell us what you want in return for information on Cynder's whereabouts."

"No." Zero's blunt answer caught everybody by surprise.

Volteer issued a low growl. "Now listen here you disrespectful impudent youngster. You are speaking to what amounts to the four most influential dragons currently alive. Your current attitude is inadmissible repugnant and completely out of line."

Zero turned to look at Volteer, his face still unreadable. "If I told you now, it is unlikely that you would agree and would merely force me to give up the information without giving me anything in return."

"I don't like this." Pyrus said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, me neither." Connan agreed, still carefully eying Spyro in case he decided to charge again.

Spyro grunted and turned to see the Guardians deep in thought. "Wait, you can't seriously be considering this, could you?"

Terrador sighed. "I'm sorry Spyro, but we need Zero's cooperation if we are going to find Cynder before it's too late."

"Yes, but that's no excuse for walking headlong into a trap." Cyril stated. "Now Zero, does this task of yours have anything to do with an attack on a peaceful settlement, injury or harm to Spyro, Cynder or any of the dragons and their allies or the resurrection of Malefor?"

"No." Zero said flatly. There was a short pause before the Guardians nodded in mutual agreement.

"It's settled then. We'll help you to the best of our abilities if you lead us to Cynder." Terrador said, still looking warily at Zero. "However, though we will help you in exchange, we do reserve the right to withdraw that help at any point of time. Are we clear?"

Connan and Spyro both growled angrily at the announcement, but Pyrus was outright indignant. "What!? How do you know he's not working with the enemy anyway?"

"We don't." Terrador said simply. "Which is why at least two of us will be accompanying you. But if what he says is true, then we need to free Cynder as soon as possible."

"It still feels like a setup." Pyrus said all the while casting a suspicious look at Zero. For a moment, Pyrus wondered if the change in circumstances meant that he and Connan were off the mission. Probably best not to bring that up at the moment, just in case.

Spyro marched up until he was nose to nose with the white dragon. "Fine, since the Guardians agreed, I'll do whatever you want. But we get Cynder first, alright?"

Zero nodded. "I would expect nothing less. She is being held in a network of tunnels under the great desert to the north-west."

"The Badlands!?" Volteer exclaimed. "But that place is so unforgiving, inhospitable and completely uninhabited. How could anything live up there?"

A look of concern crossed Cyril's face. "It's so uninhabited that we didn't bother to send any patrols that way. Even if we did, our dragon's aren't exactly checking underground as they go. Why do these blighters always have such an affinity for tunnels?"

"Well then, we shall leave immediately if it is convenient to everyone." Terrador declared. "I would have preferred to wait for more dragons to get back, but I guess this will have to do. Cyril, stay here and watch over the city. Volteer, you're with me. Pyrus, Connan..." Terrador paused, evaluating the two dragons with steady eyes. With a sigh, Terrador continued. "You can come as well. Provided that both of you, and Zero as well, act as the vanguard and leave most of the fighting to us. Do not attempt to push my patience." Pyrus gulped nervously and nodded. It least it was still an important mission outside the temple. And besides, it wasn't like they were prohibited from fighting if something managed to get past the others...

As Terrador began to make arrangements to acquire the necessary supplies, Pyrus paused to look at Zero, who was sitting in a corner of the room, checking his claws for a nonexistent blemish. This dragon was hiding something, that was for sure. Also, no one could remain that calm whilst being held against a wall with a paw wrapped around their throat. Pyrus didn't know if Zero was telling the truth about Cynder, but it was the wrong choice to trust him either way. Still, Pyrus would make sure to keep a close eye on the white dragon throughout the mission. The last thing they needed was for a white tail blade to stab them in the back.

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Pyrus' wings ached as he flew through the whipping winds. The mid day sun beat down on him, the bright rays threatening to overheat his exhausted body. Reaching behind him into the bags slung across his back, he sighed in relief as he grasped a green gem, its energy flowing in to replenish his own. A temporary solution at best, but it would have to do. Re-energized, Pyrus gave a few powerful flaps to catch up to the others.

They had been flying for almost two days straight. They had made a brief stop last night to get what sleep they could before rushing off again as soon as dawn broke. The lack of rest was most evident in Pyrus' aching muscles as they approached the last leg of the journey.

Ahead of him, Connan and the two Guardians flew in a loose line, all of them looking just as exhausted as Pyrus felt. But they all pushed onward silently, with not even Connan daring to complain about the harsh pace.

Up in the front was Spyro, who was doggedly following Zero as he lead the whole procession. Spyro was determined, no, obsessed with finding Cynder. He would have kept flying all through the night had Terrador not forced him to land and take a break. It was getting increasing clear that he would not stop until Cynder was safe. No matter the cost.

He wasn't the only one it seemed. Zero showed no signs of fatigue and would have also continued flying had Terrador not forced the landing last night. Pyrus had the feeling that this stemmed less from a desire to save Cynder than the simple fact that he was accustomed to long flights without stopping often. They still knew very little about him as he had not spoken a single word since the temple. And so far, he had made no effort to make the others trust him. It was as if he was purposefully trying to push them all away.

Pyrus' eyes moved from the white dragon to the sand dunes below. The Badlands were aptly named, as even the impervious weeds could grow here. The area was a massive desert, completely devoid of any water. Occasional windstorms could quickly escalate into billowing sandstorms, killing anything unlucky enough to be caught outside. During the war, the desert held no strategic value to either side, so it had been avoided by apes and dragons alike. If a rouge ape clan did indeed live here, they would have avoided the whole conflict.

Zero suddenly adjusted his wings, beginning the descent. Touching down next to a rock outcropping, Pyrus heard the tail end of Zero's explanation about the hidden entrance.

Spyro did a quick stretch to limber up before purposefully stepping toward the rock. "Well, what are we standing around for, let's go."

"Wait." Everyone turned to face Zero, who was sitting causally next to the rocks. "Before you continue, you need to know what the task you agreed to do for me is."

"What?" Pyrus said, looking at Zero in disgust. "Someone's life is at stake and you're worried about this task that we agreed to do?"

"Yeah, get your priorities straight." Connan said, backing up Pyrus.

Zero looked at them coldly. "They are. Besides, I never said that the two objectives were in separate locations."

"You never said they were together either." Connan scoffed.

Zero ignored him. "When the apes captured Cynder, they were trespassing in my valley. It is highly probable that they will continue further intrusions and will disrupt my way of life." Zero stood, showing for the first time some slight agitation. "I need you to help me cripple their base here to prevent this."

"Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Terrador asked. "If these apes pose a threat to dragons, we would have taken care of them ourselves."

"I had to be sure." Zero said, looking as emotionless as ever. "Even still, the apes have an...advantage."

"Explain." Terrador barked shortly. He was not one for inexcusable stalling.

Zero took a breath and began in the same flat tone. "When the apes were fighting Cynder..."

"You saw them fighting Cynder and you didn't help?" Spyro interrupted, clearly outraged.

Zero raised an eyebrow at the purple dragon. "The best way to kill a weed is to pull it out by the roots, not trim a few leaves." Spyro's face took on an expression of intense dislike, and Pyrus could almost hear the purple dragon's teeth grinding together from several meters away.

"As I was saying, Cynder seemed to be handling herself quite well and there was no need for me to intervene." Zero continued. "Then a new ape showed up. He was wearing a black suit of armor that seemed impervious to any elemental or physical attack."

"How is that even possible?" Connan said as murmurs of doubt began to spread across the small circle. Only Volteer looked intrigued by the news.

"Was this armor so dark that it appeared to eat up any light that struck it?" He asked, his brisk tone convening immense concern.

Zero nodded once. "Yes."

"Incredible astounding and completely diabolical." Volteer looked quite contemplative.

"What is it Volteer?" Terrador asked, voicing the question for the rest of the assembled dragons.

Volteer explained rapidly. "It appears that these apes have found a way to refine pure malatrite, an extremely rare mineral named after its discoverer..."

"Malefor." Spyro finished, grimacing at the accursed dragon's name.

"Exactly." Volteer continued unabated. "This mineral appeared to have an adverse affect on dragons, draining their energy and resisting every element thrown at it. Not even Malefor himself was immune to its effects. Thankfully, not enough has ever been discovered to be forged into a weapon, so how did the apes collect enough to make a full armored suit?"

"What if there was a huge vein under this desert?" Pyrus inquired. "The apes would have discovered it when they were building this hideout and been able to mine it without anyone else knowing."

"Good thinking young dragon. I fear you may be right." Terrador shook his head. "This a threat that needs to be dealt with immediately before it spreads to any nearby regions."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Spyro spoke, jumping up as he quickly pushed open the entrance. Terrador stomped at large foot into the ground, sending a mini wave of sand outward. The roughly hewn hole quaked for a second before expanding to allow the larger dragons passage. Then, as one, they dropped down into the dark abyss below.