Spyro: Bridge Across Worlds

by tallonran

After the defeat of Malefore, Spyro and Cynder are thrown into a new adventure, meeting new and unlikely friends and enemies along the way. Spyro must wrestle with his unspoken feelings for Cynder and unravel the mystery behind a new dragon in the realm.

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: look, I don't know the answer to that question either, so stop asking me.

Terador and Spyro shot Zach a glance. "What do you mean you can't fly?"

"Hey, don't laugh at me. If I remember correctly, someone didn't know how to fly for a long time either."

Spyro just stared at Zach, he really had to stop doing that, it would just make things more difficult to explain, and he didn't need them to be asking questions now. For the first time Zach wondered what he would really tell them. Would he tell them he was human, and if he did, would they believe him, it was likely, enough weird stuff happened on this world anyway. But what if they didn't believe him, would they think he was crazy, and did he want them to know anything about his world.

"Zach, you ok?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking. But you guys can go without me, I can't fly and I can't fight either. I would just be slowing you down."

"Zach you may be the only one who can find Cynder again. You know what the place looks like, and if they haven't moved Cynder, you can lead us right to her. Not to mention the fact that wee will need all the help we can get."

Zach just shook his head. "What part of, I don't know how to fly didn't you understand. I would just get in your way"

Terador addressed Zach "we still could use your help, form what Spyro tells me, he couldn't see you when you landed, if you could do that again, it would help us get in undetected. Then there's the fact that Cynder might not be in the best condition when we get there. We may need you to help get her on her feet."

While what Terador said made sense to Zach, they didn't seem to be getting one crucial detail. "I understand that, but it doesn't solve the problem of me getting back there, It took me hours to walk here following the river. You can get there much faster if you go by yourselves."

Spyro broke into the conversation. "If you can't fly, then how did you get up here?"

"There's a clearing around the base of the temple, when I walked into it, I was caught in an updraft, all that I had to do was glide over here after it threw me high enough."

"Hmm… I didn't know there was one around the temple, ill have to remember to check it out some other time"

"Can we focus here" Spyro was beginning to get frustrated, "you two are talking while Cynder's siting in a cell somewhere."

"Easy Spyro. Your right, you two should get going."

"You really should come with us Zach, we could use your help"

"Unless you can find some way to get me there quickly, or teach me to fly in the next five minutes, I'm not going with you."

Terador had a grin on his face, and Spyro looked like he was doing all he could from bursting out in laughter. "That can be arranged."

This did not sound good.

Cynder was thrown back into her cell. It had been the third time today that the ape had come to "talk" to her… Yeah right, talk… Cynder sat up from where she had landed and shifted to a more comfortable position, taking care not to aggravate any of the injuries she had accumulate through all of her "talks". At least now she could get some rest. She had to stay strong. She would not give in to the darkness, not again. If she did, she would never be able to forgive herself. She still had hope, but even that was waning. It had been hours since Zach had left. While she didn't think that the temple would be very close she figured Zach could have found it by now. Maybe Zach really was dead. He didn't seem to know exactly what he was doing, what if the apes really had caught him. And even if he had made it to the temple, What if Spyro wasn't there, what if he was dead? Would Zach just have given up and left her here? There were too many ifs in what could have happened. While it hadn't been that long since Zach left, there were too many things that could have gone wrong, too many unexplained things that had happened recently.

Cynder tried to get a better look at her wounds, she had multiple bruises on her sides and back as well as countless scrapes and small wounds. But the most troublesome thing was the long jagged wound that ran down he side, across her arm, and then down her chest. It was a deep wound, but it had missed everything vital. The apes had made sure of that. They wanted her alive for something, but for what, she still didn't know. The large wound was a constant pain, every time she moved, the pain would flair up again. So Cynder tried to stay as immobile as possible. But even then, she could feel the wound sapping every last bit of her strength. She could barely move anymore. Cynder lay back down on her side. Why did everything like this happen to her? What was so special about her, why did everyone go after her?

Cynder looked out of the window again. No moon, no stars, no sky. Just darkness. Zach had said they were in a giant cave, so it would make sense. But the lack of these things just made her capture more complete. They had taken everything away from her. Her power, her freedom, her friends, her hope…

Cynder put her head down and cried herself to sleep.

Zach stood out on the central platform. He was beginning to think that these people were crazy. He had spent the last few minutes trying to "feel the power of the ancestors flow through him." or something like that. But he didn't really believe that kind of stuff. However, he did feel need to at least try to fly. Zach tried flapping his wings hard and fast a few times, but all he did was tire himself out.

"Not like that Zach, you're trying too hard. Just relax and do what comes naturally. Let your instinct guide you."

Zach was seriously wondering if these dragons were sane, but then again, noting in this world had made sense so far. And they could fly, so why shouldn't he be able to. So there must be some truth to their statement. But Zach didn't think it should work. How could his wings lift his whole body and not get tired after five seconds? Maybe that was his problem. Zach always had a problem of overanalyzing a situation. And that usually made things harder. Zach looked over at Spyro. He could fly, and he was about the same size as Zach. If Spyro could. Why couldn't he? He was in a different world. He would just have to accept the fact that there were going to be things he didn't understand, and boy were there were a lot of things he didn't understand.

"Zach you're still trying too much. You can do this you just need to let your instinct take over. Now try one more time. But close your eyes and listen to my voice."

Zach closed his eyes and let the world around him melt away. He had nothing to lose.

"Zach you are a dragon. You have powers that you have only begun to discover. Flying is no different. It is a part of who you are. All you need to do is let that part come out. You can fly Zach. All you need to do is listen to what comes naturally to you. Don't try to force yourself to fly, but let your wings carry you up into the air… there that's it… good…"

Zach didn't feel any different, what was Terador mumbling about?

"Perfect… let the power of the ancestors flow through you… that's it… now…"

Terador's voice drifted off.

"Now what? What were you going to say?" There was no reply. Zach was getting nervous. Something was going on and he couldn't see. Zach opened his eyes…

And found himself forty feet above the platform.

Zach panicked and faltered. How had he gotten up here? He wasn't flying was he? Zach started to fall back towards the platform and realized that he had stopped flapping his wings. Zach threw them out to slow his fall. He must have flown some. How else would he have gotten up so high? But he hadn't thought about moving his wings, and he hadn't felt himself leave the ground.

He needed to relax. He had flown some, even if it was only for a short time, so he could do it again. It should be just like walking in the sense that he could just do it without thinking. Zach closed his eyes again and started moving his outstretched wings in the air currents. Zach moved his wings through the air, dipping and weaving, letting his wings go where it felt natural, not where he thought they should go. He hadn't hit the ground yet so he must be doing something right.

Zach felt the wind against his face and opened his eyes. This time he was well above the temple moving in a slow lazy circle. It felt so good to be up the air. The freedom of the skies, the wind against his body. It was pure joy. Nothing could ever compare to this. Zach looked back at his wings, watching them as the moved gracefully through the air. If there was one thing he loved out of his situation, this was it. Up here he felt free from the world, free from his problems and responsibilities. As Zach became more confident he started to experiment with different dives and turns, but never trying anything too dramatic. It felt so good to be up here.

Zach looked down at the temple and saw Spyro take off from the platform and head towards him. He did have responsibilities right now. They needed to find Cynder, well go get her actually; they knew where she should be. Zach waved Spyro back and headed down to the platform. As Zach got closer to the platform one thing became clear. He still didn't know how to land.

When Zach approached the platform, he tried to pitch his body up, and pumped his wings quickly in an attempt to slow him down and soften his landing. However this didn't work quite as he had expected and ended up with him hitting the ground and then rolling a few times before coming to a stop on the other side of the platform.

"Don't worry about the landings. I wasn't very good when I started either. But it will come with time." Spyro came over and helped Zach to his feet.

"Thanks. Now lets get going before I start thinking to much and forget how to fly."

"Where are we going again exactly?"

"Up the Silver River to a large cliff face with a water fall"

"I still don't know what cliff your talking about."

Zach looked out towards the direction they were going to be headed. Large storm clouds and a shroud of mist covered everything in that direction. No wonder they couldn't see it from here. "Believe me, its there."

"Ok then. Let's set off." Spyro was getting very impatient. You could see that every part of him wanted to be on the way already. Nothing was going to stop him or slow him down from saving Cynder.

All three dragons took off from the outside platform of the temple, with Zach in the lead on shaky wings.

Cynder drifted back into consciousness. She didn't know how long she had been out. She barely knew what was going on. All she knew was that she was in trouble and that she felt like crap. Cynder tried to clear her head. The pain was clouding her thoughts. She had to focus; she needed to be ready for whatever was going to happen. Cynder shifted to a position where the pain was less noticeable. She needed to keep conscious. She had to figure out some way out of here. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out. Cynder tried to raise her head, but it was no use. Maybe if she could get some sleep… some real sleep, she could think clearly. Cynder closed her eyes, but as she did she heard footsteps come down the hall and the guard outside scramble to his feet.

Cynder tried to turn her head to see who it was. But before she could she was kicked in the side and sent sprawling across the room. Cynder cried out in pain.

"You have been the source of my trouble all day, do you know that? And since you've made my life hell, I'm going to do the same to you."

"What did I ever do to you?"

The ape looked at Cynder with a snarl on his face "You existed, that's what you did. If I had it my way you would be dead by now. But lucky for you master wants you alive, who knows why. You've been a great pain to him as of late."

"Who are you talking about? Who is your master?"

"Oh you'll find out soon enough. He wants to talk to you later tonight, so as much as I would like to kill you know, I will just have to wait."

"What does he want with me"

"I don't know. He's so secretive with his plans now, won't tell anyone what he's doing. I think he's gone crazy, wont…" The ape snapped back to attention. "But I've said too much already… you'll just have to wait to find out. I just came to tell you what to expect."

"But you haven't told me anything"

"That's the point now isn't it. Humph… I still don't understand why you haven't given up yet… there is no hope of anyone saving you." The ape turned his back to Cynder and pulled something out of his pocket. Cynder expected the green gem she had seen multiple times now, but he chain never shifted. "You know, we can make you join us, it's just that the master wants you to come of your own free will." When the ape turned he had a red snake coiled around his arm. "Beautiful isn't it, only one of them was made before Malefore died, it is much like the one you have around your neck now, except it is much stronger. Instead of simply restraining the person its on, this little wonder taps into the persons nervous system and brain, effectively making the person a puppet to be commanded by the creator." Cynder looked in horror at the red snake, surely it couldn't do what the ape had said, nothing could be that strong. But even then she could feel the great power within the device. As the ape turned and walked towards her, Cynder backed into a corner. "It was originally intended for Spyro, it was made shortly after you two were broken out of the crystal and was intended to be used while you were in captivity. With both Spyro and you under his control, Malefore would have been unstoppable."

The ape continued "but seeing as how you foiled that plan, and Spyro is now dead, the only person left to use it on is you Cynder." The ape held the snake in front of Cynder's face and brought it up so Cynder was staring into its eyes. The snake seemed to come alive as it started to sway back and for the in front of Cynder as if preparing to strike. The snake shot out to wrap around Cynder's neck, but the ape caught it before it could leave his hand. "Fortunately for you, Master has forbidden me to use it on you…"

The ape turned to leave the room, leaving Cynder collapsed and shaken in the corner, was there any hope left, what could she do to get out of this place, after all, someone should have found her by now, how long had it been anyway, she didn't even know.

As the ape left the room he stopped in the doorway with a smirk on his face "…yet"

"Who are you?"

"All you need to know about me, Cynder, is that I am your worst enemy." And with that Cynder was once again alone in her cell, with more to think about than she could handle.

"Down over there" Zach pointed to a clearing near the base of the waterfall. It surprised him how much faster he had gotten here while flying. What had taken him almost six hours on foot took less then thirty minutes in the air, and that was with him barely able to control his flight. All three dragons flew down to the clearing. Spyro and Terador made easy landing in the small clearing. But Zach, knowing how bad his landing was, opted to land in the shallow end of the reservoir around the edge of the clearing. Zach pulled in his wings and landed with a big splash.

"Zach!" Spyro ran over to the edge of the water.

"Zach surfaced spraying water droplets everywhere. " What?"

"Don't you know how dangerous that is, you could have drowned."

"Relax, it shallow there, and I t makes for a softer landing then crashing into the ground."

"You still shouldn't do that, you should know how dangerous the water is."

Zach cocked an eyebrow. "Umm… ok. Whatever. But you can lecture me later. I want to get out of this place ASAP."

"What?" This time it was Spyro that was confused.

"ASAP, you know A-S-A-P, as soon as possible."

"Never heard it before."

Zach chaste himself in his head. He couldn't use anything that would show he wasn't from around here. That meant movie quotes, idioms, foreign languages, and the like. Zach almost laughed to himself as he thought in his head. "I wonder if they can speak Spanish"

"Are you sure we're in the right spot Zach? I don't see anything around here."

"Yes I'm sure, is there any other mile high cliff with a waterfall within a fifty mile radius… I don't think so."

Terador looked up the cliff face. "Who would have thought that this was here all this time, hidden by the mist."

Zach wondered how you could not notice a huge cliff face, even if it was shrouded in mist. Wouldn't someone have noticed the change in weather, or at least flown near enough to it to notice, it wasn't more than a half-hour flight right to the face of the cliff.

Spyro, who was getting more impatient by the second, interrupted Zach's thoughts. "There's nothing here! You lied to us. There's no cave, no apes, and no Cynder. You better give me a good reason why we shouldn't just leave you here."

"Slow down Spyro. This is the right place. And I have two reasons as to why. One, I was right about the huge cliff wasn't I?"

The tension in Spyro eases a little as he considered what Zach said. " I suppose… but…"

"And two… the cave is in the cliff, not out here. There's a path that goes behind the waterfall, we follow it to get to where were going." Zach stopped for a second. "Spyro, I don't know you. But I do know you care for Cynder. But even then, you can't let you emotions fuel your actions. I don't know if it's my place to say this, but you need to get a handle on your emotions, if you let them control you, your going to do something rash or stupid and get into more trouble than your already in.

Spyro stood in shock, but as the initial blow of Zach's statement wore off Spyro seemed to mellow out, realizing the truth in Zach's statement. "I… I guess your right."

Spyro was not the only one that was stunned by the statement. Zach was shocked that he had just been able to do that. While he barely knew Spyro. He had essentially slapped him in the face, and it hadn't had any repercussions. And what he had said… it had made sense. What had come over him?

Terador just sat back and watched their conversation unfold. This new dragon was a good thing. While he didn't know where he had come from, or why here was here. He knew one thing. Watching how he interacted with Spyro had proven it to him. This could prove to be very interesting.

"Hmm… as iron sharpens iron."

Spyro looked up from where he was standing. "What was that Terador?"

"Oh nothing Spyro… So Zach, where are we going. You've gotten us this far."

Zach and Spyro both shook themselves out of the daze they were in. "Uh yeah… this way" Zach led them to the spot in the cliff face where he had first found the path. And fortunately for him it was still there.

Fortunately for all of them they did not run into any patrol or such on their way up the path. Unfortunately they did run into another problem, when the path started to turn into a cave near the waterfall.

"Well I suppose you two will have to go on without me."

Zach turned around from where he was ahead of Terador on the path. "Woah, hey, what?"

Spyro turned around as well. "Yeah Terador what are you talking about?"

"I'm afraid that I can not fit through here. I am much larger than you two and cant get through this tunnel. But you two need to continue on. I'll wait here for you when you get back."

Zach started back towards Terador. "Maybe I should stay here with Terador. I can just tell you where to find Cynder and…"

"No! You need to go with Spyro. It's safer if you go together, and you have skills that might be needed."

Zach stopped again. Terador was right. Ugh. He hated it when logic was used against him. As much as he didn't want to trek back into the caves, what Terador said made sense… again. "Alright, come on Spyro we still have a way to go." Zach started his walk back into the caves.

Spyro spoke to Terador before following. "Should we really trust him this much? He could be luring me into a trap."

"Easy Spyro, you have nothing to fear from him right now. I can see he just wants to do what is right. He reminds me of another young dragon I know…"

"What?" Spyro shook his head. "Ok Terador, ill trust him for now. You stay safe out here"

"Its more you that I am worried about Spyro"

With that Spyro followed Zach into the caves.

As Zach and Spyro walked farther away from Terador, it struck Zach how awkward it was to be walking alone with Spyro. He had only known this dragon for less than a half hour and he was now on a quest to walk through caves, potentially fight apes, and rescue Spyro's girlfriend (whether Spyro would actually admit to that part Zach wasn't sure). Zach laughed to himself, he had been in this world for less than a day and so much weird stuff had happened to him already, nothing really shocked him anymore. It would seem normal that a giant chicken lived somewhere in these caves. Well… he better be careful what he wished for, because it might come true in this bizarre world.

Zach looked over at Spyro. He walked looking straight forward, scanning the area ahead. He had this air about him. Not cocky, but determined. He was going to get this job done no matter what. He had been through so much in his life already. The poor guy couldn't seem to ever get a break. It was amazing that Spyro had trusted him at all, Zach didn't think that he would have.

"Hey Spyro, I wanted to thank you… for trusting me. And I'm sorry for going after you like that outside."

"No, that's ok. I needed to hear that. Your right tough, my emotions have caused me problems on more than one occasion." The two dragons walked side by side in silence for a few seconds.

"You love her don't you."

"What?"

"You love her, Cynder."

Spyro started to stammer as he answered. "I… Uh… well I suppose that…"

"Nevermind Spyro." Zach chuckled to himself. Spyro wore his heart on his sleeve, especially when it came to Cynder. Zach and Spyro walked in silence for a while again.

"So you seem to know a lot about me Zach, but I know nothing about you. So where do you come from, and why did you come here?"

Zach had been dreading this question ever since he had decided to go find help at the temple. What was he going to answer that he came from some other world where dragons were just a myth? Even though this place was weird, he didn't think anyone would believe him. Maybe he could get some answers before he had to answer that question. For now he should keep where he came from a secret, but he could answer some of Spyro's other questions truthfully. "I don't remember where I came from, or why I'm here, I don't really remember anything past the last few days. That's why I came to the temple to find help."

"But how did you know to come to the temple if you needed help?"

"I asked around, some villagers told me about it and pointed me in the right direction" Zach couldn't help but feel horrible inside, he was telling the partial truth, but the part that he wasn't telling was eating at him. He just knew this was going to come back to bite him. But it couldn't be helped right now.

"What kind of villagers?"

"Dragonflies, they acted like they'd never seen a dragon before."

Spyro perked up a bit. "Was one of them yellow, talkative, and really annoying?"

"No, not that I remember" as Spyro lost a little enthusiasm, Zach remembered why Spyro would be so interested. He was sure Sparks was ok somewhere and it was probably a good thing he wasn't here right now. Zach thought about saying something, but letting Spyro know he knew about Sparks would only dig him deeper in his hole.

"We should probably keep quiet from here on in. The sound might carry through the caves, and the last thing I want is to run into some apes."

Zach and Spyro walked into the large cave that Zach knew well by now. Just as he remembered it. They had walked in on the same side that Zach had the first time, which made sense since they had taken the same path. Various holes in the cave led to different passages that stretched to who knows where, except for the large center passage that they would take to the center cavern. And on their right, the waterfall was visible through the opening of the cave. Zach shuddered as he remembered his last trip out of here; he wanted to avoid that if all possible.

"What?"

"Let's just say the last time I left this room, it wasn't in the manner I would have liked."

"What do you mean?"

"See the waterfall over there?"

"Yeah"

"I know for a fact it's a straight fall from here to the bottom of the cliff."

"You jumped out through there?"

"Yes, and it wasn't a fun ride."

"So where are we going now"

"Down through there." Zach pointed to the center passage. "If we follow that straight through, we should end up near where Cynder is being held."

"Then lets get going."

Zach and Spyro walked down the passage. As they were walking they started to hear lots of footsteps and an occasional grunt coming from somewhere in the tunnels. Zach looked over at Spyro, who nodded. Whoever it was chances were that they weren't going to be friendly. Fortunately they were still far enough away to not be a problem; they may be able to slip by them without a problem. Zach and Spyro continued to walk down the passage, but as the footsteps got louder, it became obvious that avoiding them was not going to be an option. Spyro and Zach stopped in the next large cave they found, it had only two exits, where they had just came from, and where the patrol was coming from. Zach immediately started scanning the area for someplace to hide. The best option was behind some rocks along one side of the cave. It wouldn't completely hide him from anyone looking at him, but it was out of the way and he could cloak the parts of himself that were uncovered. As Zach went over and hunkered down behind the rocks, he turned to see Spyro still standing in the center of the cave.

Zach shouted in a hoarse whisper. "Spyro what are you doing. We have to hide before the apes get here."

"No way, I've never let a few apes stand in my way and there's no way I'm going to start now."

"It's not that I don't think that you can take them, but what if they raise an alarm before you can get all of them. Do you know how much harder that will make things for us, they will put even more guards on Cynder, they might even move her, and we cant afford to go searching around this place for her."

The footsteps were even closer now and conversations could be heard through the tunnels

"Well what do you expect me to do."

"Hide first, if don't see us, great. If they do, then you can go to town on them, you won't be down anything for trying it."

Spyro growled in frustration, as much as he wanted to get rid of these apes, what Zach said had made sense. Spyro raced over to where Zach was hiding behind the rocks. Zach started to bend the light over the exposed parts of their bodies just as the first apes walked into the cave. He didn't know if he could do it around other people, but now was as good of a time to try it as ever.

The apes walked into the room in a lazy double file line. Some of them dragging their weapons on the ground, others in casual conversation with comrades. They weren't as much patrolling as taking a stroll throughout the caves. Most of them didn't even bother to look around. But some others took quick glances around the outsides of the cave, most of them glancing over or not even looking at their position. However, one ape in particular looked straight at where Zach and Spyro were hiding. Zach felt Spyro tense up ready to spring at the ape, but before he could do anything to restrain him, the ape looked away and Spyro relaxed again. Zach released the light he was bending as soon as the apes were out of the cave, but the two dragons stayed in their hiding spot until the footsteps faded away, and all he they could hear was their own hoarse breathing. Spyro was the first one to speak.

"There long gone now."

"I think your right let's go."

The two dragons resumed their long walk through the passages. Whenever they came to a split in the passage or a room with multiple passages out, they would take the path that was the straightest shot from the one they had entered from, or the path that was the largest. Using this strategy, they managed to avoid any other patrols, and end up in the exact same place that Zach had first entered the giant cavern.

Spyro whistled as he looked over the vast complex. "You weren't kidding."

"What? You mean you didn't believe me when I said there was a in underground cave filled with apes?" Zach stopped, "yeah, never mind that does sound crazy, even standing here."

Zach and Spyro moved over behind some rocks on a ledge that gave them an overview of the compound. It was just as Zach had remembered. The structure in the center resembled a large castle, mush like one you would picture from mediaeval times. The castle surrounded an open courtyard in the middle, littered with training dummies and targets. Flickering torches were the only source of light in the cavern, giving everything an eerie orange glow. The only difference from the last time was that there were apes, lots and lots of apes. There was no way that they were going to be able to just walk in like Zach had the first time.

"So where are we going?"

"See that opening there, along in the far wall." Zach pointed, "last time that window was in Cynder's cell, hopefully all we will have to do is just get in it like I did last time"

Spyro got up and started to move out into view.

"Woah! Spyro where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going! I'm going to get Cynder!"

"And you're going to bash your way through how many apes to get there? Do you really think that you can get through all of them, get Cynder, and get all the way back out by yourself?"

"I'm not by my self, I have you."

"What part of 'I can't fight' didn't you understand earlier."

"Well I'm going anyway...."

"Spyro wait," Zach grabbed his arm. "Just listen to me for a second. I have no idea whether you can take them or not. If you can… great. But think what will happen if you can't, or even if take too long to defeat them."

Spyro stopped pulling against Zach and settled down. Zach continued "all I want you to do is to try to do this quietly first. Ok?"

"Ok"

Zach and Spyro crept quietly along the outside of the castle. Taking care to press against the outside wall of the cave and to stay in the shadows. As they were walking Zach looked at the gatherings of apes. They all seemed to be casually standing around the courtyard; none of them really seemed to be standing guard. This could be a good thing. Zach and Spyro ended up behind the same patch of rocks that Zach had found earlier. Zach could even see scratches on the ground from where his claws marked them earlier.

"Ok. Last time she was in that window just over there."

"Ok. Lets go then."

"Alright, you want to go first, or should I?"

"You go first, that way I can watch your back"

"Ok then." Zach paused and looked over at their destination. "Don't worry Spyro I'm sure she's alright, she can take care of herself, and we'll get her out of here in a minute, right."

"Right."

"See you again over there then"

Spyro watched as Zach disappeared before his eyes. How he wished he could do that, it would make this so much easier… Spyro watched the space in-between his hiding place and the window in the wall for several uneasy moments, watching for apes to come from either side. After what seemed like eternity, Zach appeared before the window, turned and raised one wing in the direction of Spyro, then disappeared inside. Spyro sighed, it was his turn now, and he would have to make the distance alone in full view of anyone who could be looking at the time. Spyro took some time to calm himself down before he started. He was full of mixed emotions. What would he find when he went in that room? Would he find Cynder, or was it wild goose chase. And if he did find Cynder, would she be ok, he couldn't imagine what he would do if she were… And the apes, they had been chasing and fighting him since the day that he learned he was a dragon. He'd like to give each of them a piece of his mind…

But Zach was right, he needed to keep his emotions in check, his emotions influenced his powers in ways he didn't think were possible. Whatever he felt was reflected in his powers. It could cause miraculous things to happen, but it had also caused terrible things as well. Spyro took another moment to calm himself, he would be ready for anything that faced him in that room, well almost. Spyro took one last check to make sure no one was in view, and sprinted from his hiding place.

Zach dropped down into the cell again, just as he remembered. Dark, damp, gloomy, and with a black blob in the center. As Zach's eyes adjusted to the light the dark blob became the form of Cynder, although he had expected that. But as his eyes adjusted further he saw something he hadn't expected. Long jagged cuts and gashes ran the length of he body, her wing membranes were shredded into strips, and she was lying on a pool of her own blood.

"Oh god…"

Zach ran over and immediately placed his hand next to her throat, at least he learned something from health class. She had to be alive. Zach placed his ear to her chest and heard a faint throbbing that matched the pulse he felt in his hand. Zach let out a sigh of relief, she was alive.

"Spyro?"

"Good to se your still with us."

"Who..?"

"Hey, stay quiet we need to get out of here. Now let me see if I can do anything about those wounds."

"Ignitus?"

Zach let out a nervous laugh. "Wrong again."

Cynder lifted her head off the ground and turned it towards Zach. Her eyes were glassed over and she blinked a few times before the recognition showed in her eyes. "Zach?"

"There you go, now hold still, I need to heal you so we can get out of here."

"Heal me? How?"

"Long story, but you need to be quiet, we got in here unseen so we might still be able to sneak out unnoticed."

"We? Where's Spyro?"

"He will be here in a second" at least he should be… Zach looked back out the window, something must have held him up, and that meant trouble. "Now hold still, were going to have to move once he gets here."

Cynder lay her head on the ground and closed her eyes, she would be ok. But Spyro wasn't going to be very happy to see her like this. As Zach went to start on Cynder, he started to hear sounds of a struggle outside. Grunts, moans, and growls came through the sound of feet scuffing against the ground. Zach turned back to the window just as Spyro dove through it from the other side. As soon as Spyro hit the ground he turned and shot something form his mouth, slamming against the wall above the window, causing it to collapse.

"What was that?"

"There were too many of them out there, we will have to find another way out."

"Well that make things more difficult."

"Yeah…" Spyro scanned the room in anticipation, looking for Cynder, confusion written all over his face when he could not find her. "Where's Cynder?"

Zach realized that he was standing directly between Spyro and Cynder. Zach looked back at Cynder, he hadn't had time to do anything for her yet, but he couldn't keep Spyro waiting any longer. Zach backed out of the way.

Spyro followed Zach's gaze to where Cynder was lying on the ground. "Cynder!" Spyro rushed over to her. "Cynder tell me your ok…"

"It's ok Spyro, she's still alive, and stable, just unconscious. I'm not sure how much I can do for her, but I'll try to get her on her feet again. We need to get out of here fast, apes are probably already on their way"

Spyro draped his head over Cynder's body, "oh, Cynder, who did this to you and why…"

As if to answer Spyro's question, Zach heard multiple sets of footsteps running down the hall, this was not good. They were trapped, and only one of them could fight and he was almost drained. But they would put up a fight. After almost getting killed twice and seeing what they did to Cynder, there was no option of surrender. It was all or nothing.

But Spyro had other plans, getting up from next to Cynder. Spyro walked out through the doorway and planted himself in the center of the hall. Zach was terrified by the Spyro's anger, it permeated the air and the stress was visible throughout his body, but the most frightening thing was the orange-red aura that had started to form around Spyro's body. Zach could feel the energy being drawn from the air and collecting around Spyro. This was going to be big.

Vaguely remembering something from his dreams, Zach realized that this wasn't just going to be big, it was going to be huge. "Oh crap!" Zach ran back into the cell and threw himself over Cynder just as the apes turned the corner to face a really pissed off dragon. A massive explosion ripped through the cell, showing Zach with chunks of debris as he tried to cover Cynder from the shrapnel. Zach could feel the heat from Spyro's attack, but it didn't burn him or Cynder in any way.

Zach stood up coughing in a cloud of dust and smoke, he couldn't see anything in the could of dust that Spyro had kicked up. As the dust settled, Zach began to see the outline of the room and the newly enlarged doorway that led out into the hall. As his vision sharpened Zach saw scorch marks all along the inside of the cell, as well as a ten foot wide black ring encircling Spyro, Zach had no idea what happened to the apes.

Spyro came walking back into the room. "Is there anything you can do for Cynder?"

Zach just stood in shock, all that power, and Spyro was as god as new.

"Is there anything you can do for Cynder?!?"

Zach snapped himself out of his daze. "Yea, just give me a second." Zach walked back over to Cynder. She was so broken, there was no way he could completely heal her, or even get close, the most he could do was try to get her on her feet again. Zach started the process he had already done many times that day, placing his had on Cynder and starting to breath over her wounds. It was so new to him, yet it felt so natural, like he had done it all his life.

Zach tried to concentrate on the areas that needed the most attention, including her neck, legs, side, and wings. All of which were seriously wounded. Zach completely healed her side and neck, as the areas were vital, and concentrated on other areas that involved movement, she was going to have to help walk herself out of here so it might as well be as painless as possible. Zach cringed when he started to focus on her wings. They were stripped to ribbons, there was no way she could fly and they would cause her great pain if she moved, but he needed the energy for other areas and she wouldn't be flying any time soon anyway so Zach resigned himself to just stitching the membranes back together. Zach pushed himself farther then he should have to get Cynder as much help as possible, draining himself of most of his physical energy as well as the energy used for his powers.

"Isn't there anything more you can do for her?"

"It's either this, or you're dragging two dragons out of this cave by yourself."

Spyro walked over to Cynder again. "Cynder, Cynder can you hear me?"

"Hmm…" Cynder stirred lifting her head off the grounding and blinking her eyes, "Spyro, is it really you, is it really you this time?"

"Yes it is, It's me Cynder," Spyro and Cynder booth broke into tears over each other, sobbing just that they were together again. Zach, who was watching this, was also on the verge of tears, but was holding them back thinking to himself that guys don't cry especially over things like this.

After a few minutes, they stopped, and Spyro was the first one to speak. "Come on Cynder, were here to get you out of here, so let's go."

Cynder, who had pushed herself onto all fours by now started to get up, but stopped herself. "I thought Zach would have told you, I can't get out of here, I'm chained to this gem." As if on cue, the collar around Cynder's neck flashed and the rope became visible again.

Spyro looked softly at Cynder. "I came all this way to get you. Do you really think that something as trivial as this would stop me?" Spyro reached out with one talon and grasped the magical rope. As Spyro looked at Cynder, his hand grasping the rope flashed a deep purple. The rope then flashed as well and started to dissolve starting by Spyro's hand and working its way towards Cynder till it reached her collar, which shattered into thousands of small green crystals.

Zach let out an annoyed groan. "And you told me you didn't think it was possible, while here you just did it in five seconds trying to do I don't know what." Zach shook his head, "oh well, I'm not trying to complain, that less time we have to spend in this room and more we have to get out of here."

"Right, let's get out of here."

Cynder got up and leaned against Spyro, using him as support as she limped though the doorway, Zach followed behind. As the walked down the hall, Zach got a clear glimpse as to what had actually happened in the hallway. Around where Spyro had stood there was a ten-foot wide ring of charred rock that extended up the walls and across the ceiling. Outside of the ring there was a line of broken rock, about five feet up on the wall that extended all the way down the hall on both sided, presumably caused by the shock wave. But the most shocking thing was not the damage to the hall, but what happened to the apes. There was nothing within ten feet of the charred circle, no bodies, no armor, no nothing. As they continued walking, Zach started to notice pieces of metal armor, most of which were partially melted. Further down the hall there were pieces of clothing, but still no bodies. Zach didn't find one, what was left of one anyway, till the turned a corned in the hallway, a good fifty feet from the center of the charred circle. The bottom half of the body had been burned away, Zach had to turn his head.

"Remind me NEVER to tick you off Spyro"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, moving as fast as Cynder's injuries would allow, taking turns and trudging down hallways. Zach couldn't tell if they were headed deeper in to the castle or out into the open. Zach walked the hallways in silence. Sometimes thinking about the pair of dragons ahead of him, what kind of a bond they must share, what they went through. But mostly he thought of himself and the questions that still bounced around in his head. Why was he here, so far he hadn't been very helpful to anyone, he felt like he was just getting in the way. Was he even supposed to be here? Maybe this was just a huge mistake. And how would he get home… would he ever be able to go home? Well maybe he could finally get some answers once they got back to the temple, that is if they go out of here.

They turned a last corner and Zach could tell they were almost out. The light changed outside of one of the doors and the temperature was cooling down. They had to be close. Either Spyro had an impeccable sense of direction or they had gotten lucky, Zach was just glad they were almost out of this creepy castle. But who knew what was waiting for them on the other side, they hadn't even seen a trace of an ape since they had encountered them outside the cell, which seemed very odd to Zach.

"Hey Spyro wait up."

Spyro stopped where he was up ahead helping Cynder, they had been talking quietly to each other since they found each other, Zach couldn't tell what they were talking about, and he didn't want to know either. It was best to give them their space right now. "What is it Zach?"

"Don't you think its odd that we haven't seen a single ape since we walked out of the cell. I mean where did they all go?"

"Yeah I noticed it too. There probably waiting for us somewhere."

"Like up ahead?" Zach motioned towards the door in front of them"

"Yeah like up there"

"Well what are we going to do? None of us can use any powers and you're the only one of us that can fight."

Cynder broke into the conversation, "What about you Zach? Spyro and I could take a bunch of apes by ourselves, you and Spyro should be able to get this easy"

Zach shook his head, "not exactly, it's a long story, but what it boils down to is that I can't fight… at all…"

Cynder had a surprised look on her face

"What? You think I'm kidding? No I seriously can't fight." Zach let out a heavy sigh. "So what are we going to do about the apes when we find them. We can't run, we can't hide, and we can't stand and fight."

"I don't know Zach. Lets just hope we don't run into them. But if we do find them, I want you to take Cynder and get out of here."

"What?" Cynder protested, "there is no way I am leaving you again, not now, not so soon."

"I hope it doesn't come down to it either, but if it does I want you to be ready."

"No way!" Cynder got up by herself and started to limp towards the door, as if to make a statement that she was not going to run away.

Spyro looked at Zach for a moment and nodded before going up aside Cynder to help her. Zach understood, even if he didn't like the idea either. If it came down to it, he was going to get Cynder out of here, even if she didn't want it.

Spyro and Cynder stopped just inside the exit. This touched Zach. What they were going to do, they were going to do together, at least they trusted him that much. They all walked out the door together.

But they walked out unopposed.

Zach looked around outside "ok… so no apes in the castle, dungeon place, none in the halls, and none outside. Where did they all go?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that they haven't left. Keep your eyes open."

The trio kept walking words the exit tunnel that would take them back to where Terador was waiting, ever step straining Zach's nerve, him expecting an attack at every step. But it never came while they were walking out the door of the castle, it never came when they were walking across the courtyard, and it never came as they started to walk into the connected tunnel system. It was if the entire place had turned into a ghost town in the five minutes they had spent in Cynder's cell.

Spyro led them back up the set of passages that they had used earlier, taking various turns and stopping on some occasions to decide on a passage. Eventually they came to a passage that had been blocked by falling rocks.

"Hmm… the path we used is blocked, we'll have to find another way around…" Spyro looked around for a different passage to take that would lead them in the same direction that they needed to go. He eventually settled on an adjacent passage that curved slightly to the left.

Zach didn't protest. While he thought going off the path wasn't the best idea, he didn't see another way, so he followed in silence. They walked down the new passage until they came to a new cavern. This cavern was much like all the other ones in the caverns, but this one had two of the three passages blocked off with what looked like a rock slide, forcing them to follow the their path. After walking down the new passage they came to another passage with similar results, all but one of the passages were blocked off in some way or another. Zach didn't like this, someone was directing them. Once was a shock, twice was a coincidence, but these passages were blocked for a reason. They were being led somewhere, but where? Zach had an idea that it would lead them into the "missing" apes.

"Spyro…"

Spyro looked back at Zach and nodded, he was thinking the same thing, but it was best not to talk and give away the fact that thew were coming. The dragons followed the path into the next passage. But this passage was different, instead of staying narrow with a low ceiling, it broadened out and the ceiling raised to almost double height. But the most concerning thing about this particular passage was that it looked like they were walking in a head high rut in the ground, right between two ledges. Perfect place for an ambush. Zach started to look around for any signs of attack, a reflection off armor, an odd smell, an off sound, but couldn't discern anything. He was about to tell Spyro of his findings but when he looked ahead he could tell Spyro already knew. Every muscle in Spyro's body was tense and ready for action, his head swiveling to take in his surroundings. Cynder even looked ready and determined, walking completely by herself even though Zach could tell it caused her a great deal of pain. They walked in silence, waiting for an attack.

There was no warning, all of the sudden multiple apes jumped down from the ledge, some jumping up in front of the group, others behind, and two landing between Zach and Spyro and Cynder. Spyro immediately sprang to action, charging the first ape in front of him, somehow shattering his armor and knocking him to the ground, either unconscious or dead. Spyro then turned and engaged the remaining apes in front of him, but Zach didn't have much time to watch him, he had his own problems to worry about.

There were multitudes of apes behind Zach, but they were still a ways away, his real problems were the two apes between him and Spyro and Cynder. This was the first time Zach had a chance to get a good look at his attacker. It was an ape, much like all the other ones he had seen today, but this one was covered in slate black metal armor, making him very difficult to see against the background of the cave walls. The ape nearest to him held a sword while the one behind him held a sword and shield. But Zach didn't have much time to scrutinize his enemy either, as the ape soon growled and raised a sword to attack him and charged. Zach dropped to the ground to avoid the swing that was aimed to take off his head and rolled out of the way. After getting back on his feet he found himself between the two apes, in no better position than where he had started. The apes took up positions surrounding Zach, the one brandishing a shield attempting to push Zach up against the wall where he would have no room to maneuver. Zach knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he was pushed in the corner, so the next time the ape trust the shield at Zach, he turned and aimed a well placed kick to the center of the shield. Zach almost cried out as the reverberations ran up his leg, he was lucky he hadn't broke it with such a stupid move, but either the power from his kick, or the shock from someone actually kicking a shield, knocked the ape off balance. This gave Zach enough time to duck around the ape and deliver another well placed kick to the ape's side, knocking him over into the ape behind him, playing soccer really came in handy sometimes.

Zach raced up to where Spyro and Cynder were fighting, stepping around or jumping over the occasional ape body. Spyro had pushed the apes back into a part of the passage where the rut widened out into a small circular room. Spyro and Cynder were standing with their backs to an exit passage with the apes pushed against the opposing wall. Spyro was fighting the occasional ape that attempted to charge him, while Cynder stood back and growled threateningly at any ape that came her way.

"What's the hold up? Shouldn't we get out of here."

Spyro yelled back between breaks in the fighting. "Well we were waiting for you, and Cynder won't leave."

Cynder yelled back at Spyro, " I told you I'm not leaving without you."

Spyro yelled back, addressing Zach, "get her out of here, ill catch up with you later…"

Zach turned to Cynder, "come on, we need to get you out of here…"

"No I'm not leaving without Spyro."

"Look I don't want to leave him as much as you do… but you are in no condition to fight right now, it will be better if Spyro doesn't have to worry about us while he is fighting… now lets go." Zach started to gently push Cynder towards the exit, but still allowed her to use him as support. Cynder, who was too weak to protest, had no choice but to follow.

Zach and Cynder walked down the hall as fast as Zach thought it was safe to push Cynder, they needed to get he to safety, that's why they had came here in the first place. Zach occasionally looked over his shoulder to see what was happening. At first it had seemed like Spyro wasn't having any trouble, but once the apes that had been behind Zach finally caught up, they surrounded Spyro, making it very difficult for Spyro to fight apes, and watch his back at the same time. After that the fight got progressively worse, with the apes starting to score numerous small hits against Spyro's arms and legs. Zach had to do something, but what? Spyro would kill him if he let anything happen to Cynder. But then again, Cynder would probably kill him too if anything happened to Spyro, he really couldn't win in this situation. Zach made up his mind.

Zach helped Cynder over against the wall and helped her lay down.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to help Spyro, do you think you can handle yourself?"

"I thought you said you couldn't fight."

"I did, and I still cant, but I have to do something."

Zach turned and sprinted back down the passage, they had made it a good hundred yards from where Spyro was fighting the apes. As he was running he though he head Cynder shout something after him, but he couldn't tell what. As Zach was running he noticed an ape sneaking up behind Spyro, but Spyro was too engaged with another ape to notice. Another fifty yards to go, the ape inched closer to Spyro, Zach had to get there in time, Spyro was still to busy with the other ape. Forty yards, the ape pulled out a long gagged dagger, Spyro was still oblivious, Zach pushed himself harder. Thirty yards, the ape was almost close enough to strike at Spyro who was still engaged, Zach put everything he had into his sprint. Twenty-five years, the ape was close enough to get to get Spyro who still had his back turned, Zach could see the dagger shaking with anticipation, Zach tried to call out but his lungs wouldn't work. Fifteen yards, the ape raised his dagger, he wasn't going to make it in time, the ape stopped at the pinnacle of his swing, he wasn't going to make it, it was too late.

"Noooo!!!!!!"

Still at least ten yards from the ape, Zach opened his mouth, letting lose a massive streak of white light. The light streaked across the distance, slamming into the ape and throwing it against the far wall. Everyone stopped, shocked at what had just happened; no one had seen anything like it. Spyro took advantage of this to finish off the ape he was fighting and bolt though the rest of the group into the tunnel with Zach. The apes then snapped back into attention and started to chase Zach and Spyro into the tunnel.

"Zach… what was that?"

Zach answered between pants, "I… don't really… know… I was hoping… you could tell me"

"Well whatever it was it worked"

Zach looked back at the apes. Something wasn't right, they had stopped chasing them, and one had something in his hand… something that looked a lot like… A detonator! What was going on? Maybe Zach had seen it wrong. But sure enough an ape was holding an old style plunger detonator. Zach watched as the ape pushed down the trigger. Why? Why was this messed up world trying to kill him?

It started as a dull thud, but gradually grew louder. Zach heard a series of explosions trigger somewhere behind him. but they weren't in the passage he was in, but they were in the passages surrounding it. Zach and Spyro ran on, Zach starting to fall behind Spyro from exhaustion. The explosions started to catch up to them the dull thuds becoming resounding bangs and the walls and floors starting to shake. Zach pushed himself harder, he needed to catch up with Spyro, they were almost to Cynder, who had gotten up and had a terrified look on her face. The explosions finally caught up to Zach, turning the tunnel into a massive jumble of explosions and reverberations, the explosions seeming to come from everywhere. Zach was forced to stop when a large crevice opened up in the floor after on of the explosions. Zach prepared to jump over it, but stopped as rocks started to fall from the ceiling after another explosion. Zach was forced to take cover under a stable part of the wall. Through the falling derbies Zach could see Spyro and Cynder on the other side, Spyro trying to come back. But as soon as Spyro would try to come back, something else would fall in his way, forcing him to take cover or dive out of the way.

"No Spyro, get out of here"

Spyro stopped and gave Zach a blank stare.

"Get out of here, I can find another way out…"

Spyro stared at Zach through the cascade of falling rocks, which had started to pile up. Zach could tell that he wanted to do more, but there was noting he could do anymore. "Go!" Through the wall of debris that was piling up in between them, Zach saw Spyro slowly turn back to Cynder. The last he saw of them, they were running out of the cave together.

Zach huddled in the corner until the cascade of rocks finally stopped. When the dust cleared he found the passage in front of him blocked, and the only way out was back through the apes. Zach turned back around. The apes had started to make their way towards him, with as many apes fit across the hallway as possible. Zach looked for another way out, but there was none. There was only one way out, through a bunch of angry apes. Zach tried to call up some power, anything. But he was too worn out. Every one of Zach's muscles ached. Zach knew he had no chance of getting through the apes, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

Zach tried to rush in between two of the closest apes, but got the shaft of a spear across the back for his attempt, sending him against the wall. Zach tried to get to his feet, but was kicked in the side again. As darkness started to could his vision, Zach waited helplessly to see what the apes would do next. The last thing he saw was the closest ape raise his sword above his head…

Spyro and Cynder weaved their way though different passages, trying to find there way out of the maze of passages. As they scrambled along, Spyro could feel Cynder sobbing quietly beside him. She had been through so much… too much… and having Zach get separated from them had been too much for her. They may not have known him well, but he had helped save Cynder. Spyro hoped he got out ok.

After many twist and turns, Spyro and Cynder somehow ended up in the same chamber that Zach and Spyro had entered first, the one with the opening to the waterfall. They should be home free now, all they needed to do was get out the last passage to where Terador was hopefully waiting. The two dragons limped their way over to the last passage, Spyro started to se the light filtering through from the outside world. Finally they limped out into the cool night air, the moons casting a glow over the whole landscape. Thankfully Terador was waiting there for him, exactly where they had left him.

"Spyro, Cynder, your ok… I was starting to think that…" Terador looked around and behind Spyro, "Where's Zach?"

Spyro helped Cynder lay down, where she immediately passed out. "We got separated from him, he's still in the caves… I have to go back for him." Spyro turned around and started to go back into the caverns.

"No Spyro wait," Terador caught Spyro with one of his claws, but drew back his had to examine it. "Spyro, your hurt!"

Spyro looked back over himself, the numerous small nicks that he had accumulated during his fights turned out to be more serious than he though, some widening from the stress, and others bleeding out profusely. "Terador, I need to go back for him, I'm fine…" But Spyro was not fine. His vision started to blur and tilt as his body finally caught up with him. Spyro crumpled to the ground as his vision flickered in front of him. The last thing he saw was Terador 's concerned face looming over him.