All I could see was fire. Buildings burning, walls falling, people dying. And I couldn't do a thing about it. In fact, for some reason, I couldn't move at all. All I could do was watch as the city went down in a gigantic fireball.
And it was all my fault. I don't know how it was, but I just knew it. I looked at my hand, which was covered in lava, then I looked ahead of me, where I found Spyro and Cynder, they looked at me like I was some kind of monster.
"What have I done?"
"GAH!" I screamed as I woke up.
"What is it? Something wrong?" Spyro asked.
"No, just a dream. How long until we reach Warfang?" I said.
"We're close, maybe ten, fifteen minutes." Hunter replied.
After we had rescued Meadow, Chief Prowlus gave us permission to leave the Valley of Avalar. Hunter showed us this tunnel that went straight to Warfang, it had some mysterious name to it, but I forgot what it's called. Turns out, the tunnel is very, very long. We must have spent hours just walking in a straight line.
"So, what was your dream about?" Spyro asked.
"It was more of a nightmare." I responded.
"Well, then what was your nightmare about?" Spyro said.
"Well, you remember when you said that I could have serious power behind my anger?" I asked.
"Of course I do." Spyro answered.
"That's what it was about. I saw a city on fire, and it was my fault." I said.
"There's going to be nothing in Warfang to set you off, the city was built in honor of the alliance between the Moles and the Dragons. No racists there." Hunter said.
"Well, let's hope nothing happens." Spyro said.
"Yeah, it was just a nightmare. It won't happen." I said.
"Did you feel some kind of dark presence in your dream?" Cynder asked.
"Dark as in seeing a building full of people collapse right in front of you, or something more sinister?" I replied.
"Something more sinister, like something was watching." Cynder said.
"Well, I kind of did. You don't think Malefor can manipulate dreams, do you?" I said.
"Maybe, if he can, he might be trying to mess with you. Just try to block him out." Cynder said.
"Is that what you did?" I asked.
"Yes, it was." Cynder replied. The manner in which she said that made me shut up, she obviously doesn't like talking about her relationship with Malefor, or her history in general. Which really is kind of a bummer, I want to get to know her more, since I don't really know her that well, same with Spyro. Except Spyro is willing to talk about his experiences. Cynder, on the other hand, isn't. But I think there is one question that they can both answer honestly.
"So, are you two, you know, together?" I asked.
"What are you talking about?" Spyro asked.
"Oh, come on. You've been through all this crap together, and you aren't dating?" I said.
"What!? No! We're not!" Cynder said.
"I don't believe you." I said.
"Sparx wouldn't let that happen." Spyro said.
"He's right, if I found out my brother was dating her, I'd freak out." Sparx said.
"Not even a crush? It's impossible that neither one of you have feelings for the other." I said. Cynder looked away, and without intending to, she confirmed my suspicions.
"Ha! Cynder has a crush on Spyro!" I nearly yelled.
"No, I don't!" Cynder said.
"I can understand you not wanting to talk about your past, but this is just silly. Just admit it." I said.
"But I don't! Honestly!" Cynder responded.
"Alright, whatever. I'll take your word for it, but you were making it obvious." I said.
"Ahem, we're here." Hunter blurted. We exited the tunnel, and went straight into the city of Warfang.
"Woah, this is much bigger than I expected it to be." I said. I was surprised that the architecture was so similar to ancient cities on Earth, like Rome, or Athens, something like that. Most of the buildings had round roofs, and the streets were made of cobblestone. It looked like something straight out of Europe.
You know, there seems to be a theme of when things start to get peaceful, the chaos goes to eleven shortly afterwards. There was no exception in Warfang, because as soon as we set foot in the city, the earth began to quake. Hunter squatted and felt the ground, his eyes widened, and when he got back up, all he did was stare at the wall barricading the city.
"It has begun." He mumbled.
"What? What has begun?" I asked.
"You go find Ignitus, I need to be somewhere." Hunter said. He ran off, leaving us to fight the incoming storm.
I didn't know what he was talking about until they showed up. Malefor's minions. That's when it finally hit me.
Warfang was under siege.
"Come on, we need to find Ignitus, and fast." Spyro said. We started running, but we didn't get far, we turned a corner, and saw a burning building, with many people trapped inside. I spotted a fountain, we could use that to put out the fire. But we needed a way to transport that water, and so I ran off to find a bucket, while Spyro and Cynder went to fill the pool in front of the fountain filled with water.
After that, everything came crashing down.
I found the bucket I was looking for, but I was ambushed by Malefor's minions. Unfortunately for me, they weren't the little guys. They were either really buff and had big hammers, or they were really thin, but incredibly quick.
I didn't stand a chance. They rushed me, and before I even knew it, I was on the ground, getting my ass kicked. One of the buff guys whacked me with his hammer, and it went right into the Maneuver Gear. I watched as the right side of it was completely shattered, the box splitting into two pieces. The sword getting damaged beyond repair.
I worked so hard on it. Nonstop, for three long years. Ever since I watched Attack on Titan back in 2013, and building my own Maneuver Gear, finally finishing it in 2016. Even if it was too big for me, I was proud of my creation. And to see it getting destroyed just like that. Add that on top of trying to kill innocent civilians, burning down their homes, destroying their lives.
That was where I drew the line. Once you crossed it, you don't have a chance of coming back alive.
You know how a volcano erupts? After building up pressure and heat, and when it builds it up to a certain point, when everything inside can't stay there any longer, you know what it does? It explodes. And, depending on the type of volcano, composite, cinder cone, or shield, the eruption can be violent, or it can be calm.
Right now, I felt like Mount Vesuvius right before it erupted on Pompeii. Pressure and heat building up inside of me, eventually getting to the point where it can't stay there anymore.
So it explodes.
I felt my whole body become immersed in lava, I grabbed the minion's hammer, and I incinerated it upon contact. I jumped up and threw my claw into him, and ripped him apart. I whacked another one with my tail, and it cut right through him. I made quick work of the rest, obliterating them with my lava breath.
I went for the bucket again, but I didn't feel right. I felt like I was losing control, like something else was trying to take over. I was stumbling and tripping, trying to keep control over my body, I slammed my head into a wall, but the fight was futile.
I felt my consciousness slipping away, and my sight went black.
Something else took over.
(Spyro's POV)
We had just finished filling the pool full of water, now we just had to wait on Dylan to get the bucket. We flew back to the burning building, only to see that Dylan wasn't there.
"Where's Dylan?" Cynder asked.
"He must have gotten caught up in something, I'm sure he'll be fine." I replied. I noticed something turn the corner, I looked over, expecting to see Dylan with the bucket in tow.
What I saw, was a confirmation of what I feared.
It was Dylan, but his entire body was covered in lava, his eyes were glowing white, he had fangs so large they came out of his mouth, and spikes running down his back, and all over his tail. His claws were a terrifying size. And the right side of his Maneuver Gear was destroyed.
"Oh, no." Cynder said.
"Dylan? You okay?" I asked. He didn't respond, he just looked at us, like a predator watching its prey.
"Cynder, we need to run." I said.
"But that's Dylan! He wouldn't hurt us!" Cynder replied.
"That may be his body, but he's not in control. He doesn't know what he's doing. I don't think he's even aware of what his body is doing." I said.
"What are you saying, Spyro?" Cynder asked.
"I'm saying that right now, that isn't Dylan. Right now, that thing is a monster. We need to get out of here, right now." I said. Before Cynder could respond, Dylan charged at us. We jumped out of the way, but he kept going. I watched as he tackled one of Malefor's minions, and he ripped it to shreds. Dylan bit its head, and ripped it off with violent force.
"We need to leave! Now!" I yelled. Cynder nodded, and we took off. Dylan may not be after us, but this kind of destructive nature could destroy the city before the siege does. I looked down, and I could see a path of lava being laid out, and Dylan killing anything that attacked him. I watched as he knocked down a building by trying to kill Malefor's minions, firing lava at them, and whatever missed went right into the building, causing it to collapse.
Suddenly, he made a break for the wall. He flew up to the top of it, and continued his rampage. He took out entire siege towers with minimal effort, but at the same time, he was causing serious damage to the wall. He was flinging lava everywhere, which burned right through the concrete, weakening the wall.
"Maybe we can talk some sense into him." Cynder suggested.
"Maybe, that's the only way we can get him to stop." I replied. We landed near him, and he noticed us immediately.
"Dylan? Can you hear me? We need you to calm down, you're destroying the city!" I said. Dylan didn't respond, he just kept staring at us.
"We know you're in there somewhere, Dylan! You need to control yourself!" Cynder said. Dylan started growling at us, I turned around, and there was nothing behind us.
"Dylan! We're your friends! You don't have to feel threatened by us!" I said. Suddenly, Dylan slowly began walking towards us, but he kept the same angry scowl on his face.
"You're not talking to Dylan anymore." Dylan said. His voice was very different, it was warped, much deeper than his usual voice, like he had been possessed by something.
"Then who are we talking to?" I asked.
"His dominant counterpart. Draco." Dylan said.
"Give Dylan back! You're doing more harm than good!" Cynder yelled.
"But being in control for once is fun. I'm the reason for his anger issues. The angrier he gets, the weaker he becomes, and when he gets to this point, I take control, and I don't plan on giving it back." Draco said.
"There has to be some way we can bring Dylan back." Cynder said.
"Yeah, there has to b-" I was interrupted by something coming under the wall. The earth quaked as what was coming through dug its way in. When it came up, we were all shocked.
It was the Golem.
I saw Draco grab his head, like he was fighting Dylan for control. I saw his eyes flickering between the glowing white eyes of Draco, and the blue eyes of Dylan. He smacked his head, and the glowing white eyes stayed firm.
He looked at us again, and he flew off to fight the Golem. We took off after him. He flew right into the Golem, managing to damage it. The Golem tried to smack him out of the sky, but he was just too quick for him. Draco collided with the Golem again, inflicting more damage. I noticed he was aiming for the dark crystals all around the Golem, so Draco clearly knows more than Dylan does. Draco landed on the Golem's head, and attacked the remaining dark crystal. Suddenly, he flew straight upwards, and just kept going. You could see the streak of lava he was making, thanks to his body being covered in it.
I saw the streak curve, and he came back down. He went maybe, two thousand feet into the air, so this is going to be quite the impact. He crashed right into the Golem's head, there was a little spark, and out of nowhere, the Golem's head erupted like a volcano. Lava went everywhere, easily covering three or four blocks of the city. The Golem fell, and Draco landed right in front of us.
"You're a monster." Cynder mumbled.
"I just killed the biggest threat to this city, and you call me a monster?" Draco responded.
"Look down below. You just destroyed a big part of the city." Cynder said. Draco looked over the edge, and saw buildings burning down as the lava he used to kill the Golem set fire to everything. He grabbed his head again, his eyes flickering between Draco and Dylan. This time, however, it appeared Dylan won, the lava on his body disappeared, his teeth went back into his mouth, the spikes on his back and tail retreated, and his claws went back to normal.
He looked at us, and only asked us one thing.
"What have I done?"
So, how about that? I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and as a little note on the future of this story, that won't be the last you see of Draco. So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Let me know. Thanks for reading!