Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long. To be honest, I was trying HARD to pick someone other than Cynder to do chapters on because I don't want to make this all about her but...she's also the character I'm best at. So today, I'm doing my take on her meeting with Gaul in the Well of Souls. Ok, let's go! Choices
Cynder struggled against the cold shackle clamped tightly around her throat, she didn't want to be here, this was quite honestly the last place she ever wanted to be again. The Well of Souls…last time she'd been here was when she'd been exposed to the Dark Master's power and transformed into that…monster! She looked at the purple beam of light radiating from the ground nearby; that horrible place were HE was imprisoned. Deep down in her soul, she was afraid, not just because the Dark Master's resurrection was imminent, not to say she wasn't terrified of that. No…what she feared was much, much more. She done horrible things in her life…unspeakable things. That pit was the resting place of all evil spirits…and being this close made her so afraid that's were her soul was going.
She found herself dragged before the king of the Apes and his group, staring up into the eye of Gaul. "So the traitor returns," said Gaul, venom in his voice. She could tell he hated her, though she didn't care; she'd done the right thing by turning her back on the Dark Master and she knew it.
"You can't go through with this Gaul!" shouted Cynder, knowing what Gaul intended. But it wasn't just for her own sake, or even just for the dragons'…she knew what that monster had in mind for the Apes. Gaul hadn't had that devil inside his mind, forcing his thoughts and will over his own for nearly 12 years. As much as she hated to admit, she knew just how the Dark Master thought. That evil creature had no intent of rewarding the apes, if the Dark Master was freed from his prison, the Apes would suffer like everyone else…perhaps even more….too bad she knew they'd never listen until it was too late.
Gaul merely laughed at Cynder's warning. "Nothing can prevent this! We're merely here to welcome our master back into this realm and join him at his side," explained the Ape king. "But fear not Cynder, you've been such a faithful servant. I'm sure he will take you back!"
At that, Cynder tried to leap at Gaul but was held back by the heavy chain around her throat. She wasn't a faithful servant, she'd been a slave! Gaul had no idea how terrible it was to have no will of his own, to only be the puppet of a demented and evil devil…Cynder couldn't stand the thought of turning back into Dark Cynder. She'd made so many people suffer, killed so many people. She was just a 12 year old child and she had memories of herself doing things most adults would be horrified to see. The worst part was sometimes she didn't know if the nightmares she had were memories or things she'd done for real…she never wanted to be the Dark Master's slave again.
"And if not…" started Gaul, rising from his throne. "You'll have the honor of being the first to perish by his hand."
That changed things. The thought of death, of dying with all this sin she'd never made up for. If she'd not been chained above that awful place as its energy flowed into her and turned her into that monster, if she'd had time to make up for all those horrible things she'd done, then maybe she could bare the choice of sacrificing her life like that…but she'd seen into the Well of Souls. That place was full of horrible, twisted, evil spirits…they would not be kind to her. If she died now, she was going down there, there was no doubt in her mind about that. With everything she'd done, she was sure her soul was condemned to be banished to the Well of Souls for an eternity of torture and torment at the hands of thousands of dark souls…that thought terrified her even more than turning into Dark Cynder again, at least then there was the chance she'd be freed some day.
Gaul began to speak to the Apes, but Cynder wasn't listening anymore. She was going over her choices. On one hand, she could sacrifice her freedom and become the Dark Master's puppet again, but stay alive. On the other hand, she could turn away the promise of survival for the hope that by some slim chance, Spyro could make it here and save her. If he failed, she would die…and she would be banished to the Well of Souls for an eternity of torment…its funny, after spending 12 years not having any choice at all, she was now faced with the most sadistic choice one could have. Did she sell her soul to that devil again and live as his slave, or bet her soul being banished to a horrible fate till the end of time on the slim chance that Spyro would find his way to the Mountain of Malefor, defeat Gaul, and stop the Night of Eternal Darkness from allowing the Dark Master to resurrect? Spyro didn't even know were she was, he didn't even know what Gaul was up to, how would he find his way here in time? At least if she turned back into Dark Cynder he could free her again someday.
Cynder's heart was split…if she willingly went back to that terrible life of evil and darkness, could she ever forgive herself? Would the Guardians forgive her?…Would Spyro? If he did come here to save her and she'd already agreed to become the Dark Master's slave again, would he forgive her? And more importantly, even if he did come, could he stop Gaul? She knew how strong Gaul was, he was even higher ranked than she was in the Dark Master's horde, and smart. If Spyro was coming, Gaul would be three steps ahead of him and Spyro wasn't even at full power, at least not to her knowledge, he wouldn't stand a chance against Gaul…What could she do? She needed time to think this out…this choice was the most important one she'd ever make, one between life and death…between good and evil…and she didn't want to make it rashly.