There are many reasons for this late update, but please, just enjoy! Have a nice day, and God bless!


Chapter Seven: Traveling

"So who in the name of God is Gaul?" Chill asked. By now, they had boarded one of the ships down at the docks and were on their way to the forest where Spyro and the Skylanders who had followed him had gone to. By this time, Cynder's heart was beating quick and hard in her chest.

"Gaul is the Ape King," Cynder said. "There's this colony of Apes from the North, and they're all ruled by one large Ape, and that is Gaul. He received his title from Malefor, and Gaul served under him, like Aemus. When I was corrupted, Gaul was there, and he led me in battle at times, because he was above me. I may have been the general for Malefor's army, but Gaul was his main advisor, the true leader besides Malefor himself. Most of the destruction I caused while under Malefor's corruption was because of Gaul. Malefor made me do some of it, but Gaul had more control over me during those missions. It was horrible, but it happened." She sighed. "This is all so stressful. It's obviously not the first time that this has happened. I just wish it could have all ended after Aemus. That was the darkest time of my life, almost. I didn't know what I was supposed to do back during that time. I still thank all those who helped me during that time, but it is so unfortunate that I'm being forced through some more Hell! How much of it do I have to go through before this is finally over? Is there someone who can answer that question for me? Good God, this is so freaking stressful! Why couldn't Spyo have looked closer at the letter and put everything together from the too-hard-to-make spelling errors? I noticed it right away! He's smart, so he should have been able to do the same thing! But why in the name of God didn't he? Why in the name of God am I being forced through this?" She groaned and put her head in her paws.

Sonic Boom placed a paw on her right shoulder. "He was probably too busy spending time with you," she said to Cynder. "He was too worried about how you and the rest of us would react to something like that. It's not completely his fault, you know."

"Yes, I understand that," said Cynder. "But I can't take this much stress all over again! Do you understand what I've gone through?" Suddenly she remembered a conversation she'd had with Sonic Boom back when she'd gone to save her from Aemus, and she immediately felt sorry for her words. "I'm sorry, of course you know. You saw the memory of that day when I was corrupted. I should have remembered that. I'm really sorry."

"It's alright," Sonic Boom assured her. "I understand. There's a lot going on right now, and your mind isn't working the best when it's under so much pressure. Right now, you just need to rest. Go find somewhere to sleep, and I'll wake you when we're near the destination. Okay?"

Cynder nodded. "Alright," she said. "But if there's anything I can do, just ask me. I'm always here for you. There's no reason for you to be—"

She zoned off, realizing that it was too painful for her to even say those words. There was so much going on in her mind that she couldn't think straight. She sighed, placed a paw on Sonic Boom's shoulder, and then walked off. She needed time to herself. She remembered Sonic Boom's words suddenly, and she remembered that was what she was meaning to do. Her thoughts were so clouded that she couldn't even remember what she'd been meaning to do...laying down was the best possible thing that she could do. That much was obvious.

As she walked, she thought to herself, hoping she could uncloud all her thoughts and think straight about the horrible situation they were finding themselves in.

I can't believe this. Gaul is our villain now. First, when I first joined the Skylanders, it was Deathmatch, as well as Kaos. Then it was Malefor, who Kaos was following. Then it was Kaos, who I allowed to corrupt me. That was the worst decision I've ever made. Of course he was going to corrupt me. Why wouldn't he? Before I allowed him that chance, he was one of the few around during the Battle of the Ruins that knew my backstory as the corrupted Terror of the Skies! He was going to corrupt me, because he knew he'd have a chance against the Skylanders with me on his side. Thanks to him, I nearly killed many of the Skylanders, even my mate. Even though I hate what Slam Bam did to me, I'm grateful that he knocked me out of that form. He's definitely more of an ally now than he was back then, because he trusts me now, I believe. But that doesn't mean I completely trust him. Just a little. She sighed, realizing her thoughts were moving off-track. And...And then, there was Aemus. That God-forsaken white demon, the one that caused so much of my life to be a living Hell for that time. I still remember that time and shudder and shiver because of it. Because of the pain he forced me through, because of the stress I was put through, because of the fact I nearly lost my mate and my friends...and I nearly died twice. I had that near-death experience, and Aemus beat me within an inch of my life later on. I was so relieved when it finally ended, when I ended Aemus once and for all. But now...

She stopped and rubbed her face with her right paw. And now there's all this. We don't even know where Kaos is, either, meaning that he could still be out there. Maybe he's even working with Gaul. If that's true, then I'm going to kill him. I had the chance that one night, and I failed to do so. I was too tired then, however, and I was injured, so I can't blame myself too much for it. I just wish none of this had happened. I've wished this before, and I'm going to go ahead and wish it now: I wish Malefor had never taken my egg, hatched me, and corrupted me. I would have never had to go through this if he hadn't done what he did. But then, I would have never met Spyro. That's one thing I can say is a good thing that came out of this. That, and all those I've become friends with along the way. Thank God for so many of them. I'm sad that many of them are having to go through some of the same ordeal as I am, but it's something that has to happen, it seems. For the moment. We'll get to the forest soon, and we'll make sure everyone is alright. I have faith that they will be. I have faith, and that's what matters. It's one of the things that matters most. Faith, love, and hope.

She felt a paw on her shoulder, and she turned around to find Flashwing. "Are you okay?" she asked her. Cynder sighed, looking her friend in the eyes, which were the same sapphire color as hers.

"No, and I won't be, not until we save Spyro and the others. This is one of our most serious situations, because Gaul is an enemy who knows Malefor so well, who followed him farther than anyone else, even Aemus. This madness won't be ending anytime soon, but that doesn't mean we can't try. Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to my quarters so I can rest."

She made her way to the sleeping quarters, and when she reached them, she slowly opened the door. She hoped to find peace inside that room, but she was not sure if it would happen. There was so much still left to think about.

What will be his state when I find him? How will I find him? Will I find him fine, without wounds, without having dealt with Gaul and his soldiers? Or will I find him beaten and bloodied, with scars across his scales, blood pouring from his mouth, and—

She gasped, unable to imagine that happening to the Dragon she loved. She'd gone through something similar before, however. At the end of the Battle of the Ruins, Kaos had been defeated, and he'd wanted revenge. Cynder remembered that moment very well, that time when she'd felt so helpless, so horrible.

Cynder felt somone shaking her and calling her name. "Cynder," they called. "Cynder! Are you okay?"

She stirred, and although she felt no true pain in her body, she felt her head throbbing from the impact.

"What happened?" she asked. "Is the robot destroyed?"

"Yes," came Sunburn's voice. "You did it. And luckily, you're not too hurt. You're bleeding from the mouth a little, but it's not too serious."

Cynder smiled, and then opened her eyes. She saw Spyro, Sunburn, Whirlwind, Camo, and Sonic Boom standing near her. Hex was not far from her.

"How do you feel?" Spyro asked.

"I feel fine," she told him. "Wow, that was a painful hit on the ground. But the good news is that Kaos is defeated, because I'm pretty sure that robot was the main thing he'd use to kill all of us."

"The whole army's gone, too," Camo told her. "We defeated the last of them just as you destroyed the robot's heart."

"Where's Kaos?" Cynder asked. "Was he killed as the robot came down, or-"

"NO!" came Kaos's high-pitched voice. From the sound of it, he was angry, and none of the Skylanders could really blame him. "THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING! I WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN THIS BATTLE, AND THEN YOU HAD TO COME AND STOP ME! WHY?!"

"You lost because you resorted to something that, despite it being so big, it was so easy to defeat," Hex told him. "And since Cynder was the one to go in there, it doesn't surprise me."

"But what will you be doing to me now? Are you going to kill me? Are you going to cut off my head or hang me?" Kaos ranted. "If you even dare to touch me, I will kill all of you when I have more power!"

"But you don't have enough power right at this moment, you little tyrant," Cynder told him. "You need to leave. I'm giving you the chance of leaving before we get angry at you. Once we get angry, we'll be attacking you, and I know you don't want that to happen. Am I right?"

"Y-yes," Kaos said fearfully. "I don't want to die! Please don't hurt me! I'll comply with you, I swear!"

He began leaving, but Cynder realized that something was right with the way he was doing so.

Kaos whirled around, looked right at Spyro, and threw a ball of light at him. Spyro was hit hard by the attack, sending him flying through the air. Cynder felt her rage beginning to rise, meaning that it wasn't safe to be anywhere near her.

"SPYRO!" she yelled. She ran to her mate, who was bleeding from a wound in his side. "Are you okay?"

She checked his pulse and realized he was almost unconscious. She turned around to face Kaos, who was now regretting what he'd done. But before Cynder could do anything, Spyro got back to his feet and attacked Kaos.

Although Spyro was powerful, without his elemental abilities, he was weaker.

Kaos was able to get the upper hand on him just as Spyro hit him in the stomach hard. Spyro once more went flying, and the other Skylanders around him could only watch as their leader was pummeled. But Cynder decided that she wouldn't just stay there and watch her mate die. It was time to stop Kaos before he could do anything else.

Kaos cornered Spyro against a wall of rock, and blasted him once more. Spyro felt his ribcage break from the intensity; his pain was becoming too much for him to handle.

With a last amount of strength, Spyro attempted to breathe fire, although he knew it was impossible.

However, as he tried, a short burst of fire came out and burned Kaos's right hand. Amazed, Spyro smiled to himself, but then felt the pain in his side starting to take over, and making him come closer to unconsciousness.

Kaos laughed at Spyro's injured, unmoving body, and was about to kill him with another blast, when Cynder appeared, slapping Kaos with her tail and knocking him on his back.

"OW!" Kaos yelled. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"You deserve it, Kaos," she told him. "If you dare to hurt my mate, then you're going to push me closer to killing you, right here and right now. Leave, before I do it! Don't try to get out of it, because it won't work, Kaos. I know what kind of tricks you play. Leave, before I go ahead and kill you!"

Kaos opened his mouth one more time, but then felt a painful zap of electricity coursing through his body. He knew it wasn't time to argue with her, but he knew she would soon be coming to him.

With an evil smile, Kaos began disappearing, but not before telling her, "Don't forget!"

He vanished into thin air, leaving the Skylanders to look at Spyro's unconscious body. Stealth Elf ran over to him, worried about the damage Kaos's attacks had done.

"I think the blasts broke his ribcage," she told Cynder. "We need to get him to the medical tent now!"

She picked Spyro up gently, and began running towards the medical tent, Cynder not far behind.

As she laid him down on the bed, Cynder saw the scars and wounds Kaos had inflicted upon him, making her even angrier at the little tyrant, causing her to think of killing him in the most horrific way possible.

"What should we do?" Cynder asked.

"He needs to be resting for now," Cali told her. "As soon as he wakes up again, we can try to heal his bones. This is something we've never experienced before."

Cynder felt tears streaming down her face, and wanted to finally destroy Kaos for his actions. He'd gone over the edge this time by hurting Spyro, and he would pay for it soon enough.

Although Cynder knew of the fact she'd have to live up to the deal she'd made with him, she hoped she'd still have the power to get out of the corrupted form and defeat Kaos before he made her destroy anything.

She started walking away. "Just take care of him," she called back to Cali and Stealth Elf. "I'll be at our treehouse if you need me."

That horrible memory...She couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to remember it. It was such a horrible memory, one that she'd hoped she could forget for good. But it seemed that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. There were so many memories stuck in her mind. Unfortunately, all of those that were there now were horrible memories, those she felt horrible for.

The reason behind the fact she'd hadn't stayed with Spyro any longer was because of her guilt, because of the fact that she hadn't realized Kaos still had so many tricks up his sleeve despite being defeated. Her guilt stemmed from that, as well as the fact that she had made the deal, and that she had to live up to it.

I could have stopped it all from happening, and I didn't, and I allowed my mate to be injured. I allowed him to feel so much horrible pain. I can't believe what I did to him. I can't believe that I allowed him to feel so horrible and so broken. I left him. I left him. I left him, despite the fact that he never gave up when I had been taken from him, despite only one of those being against my will. I've failed him as a mate. I allowed him to go on this journey. I allowed him to go on this journey, and as a result, he'll have to face Gaul. I can stop this, though. I can stop it.

Two more memories entered her mind, and she tried to get them out of her mind. But it wouldn't work. She was forced to see them again, two that she felt remorse for even now.

Cynder knew that tonight was the only time she'd be able to do it, to live up to the deal she'd made. But she didn't want to, knowing it would cause many of her friends to become distraught.

But she knew that she was only doing this to save the dragon she loved, not to hurt anyone else.

She looked over the treehouse and smiled grimly, knowing how it could possibly be the last time she'd ever see it.

She was leaving without anything, other than her choker and bracers, not wanting to lose anything else.

She flew out of the opening of the treehouse, ready to be on her way and to get it all over with.

She was near the end of the row of treehouses when she heard a voice.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

Cynder whirled around to see it was Sonic Boom.

Sighing, Cynder said, "Why are you here? You know I have to do this. I don't need anybody to judge me for it!"

"To judge you for it?" exclaimed Sonic Boom. "The only one who's judging you is your own self! There are other ways to do this, but you're deciding to go ahead and give yourself up to Kaos!"

"I made the deal, now I need to live up to it! Can't you just understand me for once, or are you going to keep being stupid for the rest of your life?"

Her eyes widened when she realized the words she'd used against her friend, and immediately felt deep remorse for it.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean that. I just want you to understand that this is the only possible way I can stop Kaos from killing Spyro, or you, or anyone else!"

"I don't want you to go," Sonic Boom said. "You're my best friend, and if I lose you, then all I can do after that is just mourn over the fact that I wasn't able to stop you from making this terrible choice."

"Please, just let me go. It's time I live up to the deal, and I don't need to deal with any of this."

She saw tears streaming down Sonic Boom's face, and was sad about what she was doing. She knew that this was the last time she'd ever see her friend, and the last time she'd possibly ever see the Ruins.

"So is this it?" Sonic Boom asked. "Is this the end?"

"Yes," Cynder admitted. "Good-bye." She hugged her friend one last time, and then disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving Sonic Boom behind.

She no longer felt quite as much remorse for that memory, however, as she'd been able to make it up to her best friend by saving her from Aemus. But that didn't mean there was no pain in her heart whenever she remembered that memory. While Sonic Boom forgave her for that night, having known about the deal due to the fact she'd tracked Cynder down and learned of it from her right after she'd made it.

Cynder remembered the pain she'd seen in Sonic Boom's emerald eyes, and she remembered the words she'd spoken to her friend, how she'd called her a stupid idiot, how she'd apologized right after. The remorse she felt for those remarks were still fresh, and she didn't know what she could do to forget all of it, as horrible as it was.

Out of those two memories, however, that wasn't the worst one. Cynder entered the castle, moving through the rooms without having to deal with guards stopping her in her tracks.

She was crying, sad that she'd have to do this, yet knowing that it was the only way her friends' pain would be gone for good.

She saw the light of the candles in one of the rooms, knowing it was where the deal would take place.

She entered slowly, and then looked for Kaos. She saw him, sitting on his throne, smiling at her. She felt rage at him for hurting Spyro, but knew that rage would only make the corruption worse.

"Are you ready?" he asked her softly, but in an evil way.

"I am," she said.

He nodded to one of his soldiers, who ran into a room, and brought out a dark crystal radiating with darkness. Cynder saw how it resembled the one Malefor had used on her to get her under his control.

She closed her eyes as it was placed close to her, and felt it coursing throughout her body.

She felt a small amount of pain, and knew it was almost over, that she was no longer her normal self.

Her thoughts of Spyro being her mate were erased, with her now thinking of him being her enemy.

"Now, will you follow me, little dragoness? Will you be my general and follow my every order?" Kaos asked, looking into her evil red eyes.

At first she did not answer, but when she opened her eyes, she saw a dark crystal necklace around her neck.

Finally, she told him, "Yes, master."

How was it that memories such as that were so poignant and potent? Well, when it came to that specific memory, there was a major reason. That was the memory in which Kaos had corrupted her, the memory that caused her more remorse than almost anything else. She didn't know what she was going to be able to do when she finally found Spyro and the others. She knew that when she found him, she would have to make sure he was prepared for what was to come, for the fight that would surely occur when Gaul arrived. She hoped the Ape King had not done so already.

She yawned, feeling the tiredness in her eyes. She needed sleep, and she was beginning to give in. There was no way she could keep her eyes open the whole time until the journey was over.

She got on the bed, covered in white linen, and curled up, pulling the blanket over herself. It was a soft, comfortable bed, surprisingly, and the blanket kept her warm. She closed her eyes, thinking of her mate. She did not know why this all had to happen...Or, rather, she wished it had never happened. She wished Gaul had never returned to these realms.

Too bad you can't always get what you want, she thought, then fell asleep.

She saw the grass around her. Some of it was green, some of it was brown, and some was so charred that it had turned black. That was a surprising sight. But she knew that with the phenomenon that surrounded the realms now, it didn't matter. The Darkness had taken over.

The Darkness had finally won.

But she was going to continue on her way until she had reached the tower, where she could end this threat once and for all. She just hoped there was nit much in her way.

Yeah, like that's going to happen, she thought. I have a better chance of being killed than I am of waking up after taking a good rest.

The tower was in the distance, in an area where none journeyed. It was unable to be seen from where she stood now, but as she neared it, it would come into focus, as would, likely, the soldiers of the Dark Master.

She walked as fast as she could toward the tower, a limp preventing her from moving at her top speed. Though she could still fly, she decided it would be suicide. It would be suicide, because of the sentries that lay in wait at the tower, both on top, and down below. They were well-trained.

So well-trained, in fact, that not even she could take on more than ten of them at once. The last time she had done so, she'd barely escaped with her life. Her blood had been spilling from her mouth as she flew away. Her best soldiers had died in that confrontation. She'd seen their heads be cut off, their arms hacked off.

It was disgustingly beautiful, some might say, in the way the blood had fallen to the ground for it to be sucked up by the dirt and ash beneath her feet.

There were footsteps behind her, and she turned to find a Phoenix-Dragon Hybrid standing there. He had lost his mate to the Dark Master, just as he had lost his best friend, her mate. The rest of their friends had died, as well, leaving them as the last main two remaining. There were other soldiers with them, but they were not as elite as they were. They were much stronger and faster than the soldiers that followed them.

"Is it all ready?" she asked.

"Almost," he replied. "Sonic Boom would love this, I'm sure. If the Dark Master had not killed her, she would have cherished this moment, the fact we're about to take him down once and for all. I'm sure I will see her again someday, but for now, this is all I need. I need my revenge."

"As do I," the leader agreed. "There's too much going on. We need to move, and soon. We have to be on our way. We cannot fly there, however. The Dark Master and his lackies will just as easily track us down and kill us before we even reach the Dark Master himself."

"Good point," came another voice. It was one of their top soldiers. His name was Hunter, and he came from the realm known as Avalar. "This is basically a suicide mission. Doing this requires a lot of determination, and the both of you surely have it."

"Yes, Hunter," said the leader. "We know. I've had it since my mate died. Since he died, I've become a new person. I hate what's happened to Skylands, and I feel remorse, because I could have freaking stopped it! This Hell could have been averted if I hadn't screwed up and allowed Spyro to go through with that blasted plan of his! This would have never freaking happened! But it has...and there's no way to change that now. The only thing we can do is march at first light, until we reach the tower. Then we kill all the guards, infiltrate the tower, and find the Dark Master. There is no way he can be expecting us."

Sunburn and Hunter nodded. Hunter left to tell the soldiers their plan. Sunburn stayed with her. "If only Flashwing and Whirlwind and Camo could have survived just as long, eh? They would have loved for this to happen."

"They wouldn't have loved it, Sunburn," she reprimanded him. "They hated that this even happened. They only came along because they believed it would all be over soon, that they could be back by the Ruins by the next month, or maybe even year. But instead, Hell took over, and here we are. Just remember that they're all dead. Flashwing's final battle was in the Badlands, where the Dark Master came and threw her into the lava pits. He'd already broken most of her, but it doesn't matter. She died truly in the lava. I was distraugt for three weeks."

"You attempted suicide," Sunburn reminded her. "You were a fool when you stabbed yourself with the blade. Your entire army could have given up hope if I hadn't found you and nursed you to health, making up the cover story that you'd been hit by a mine blast."

She ignored him. "Then there were the deaths of Whirlwind and Camo. They died in Zephyr, where the Dark Master, the Apes, and the Breezebuilders ambushed us. We escaped, hoping to do so along with them. But Whirlwind was taken by a blast of Dark Magic in the shape of a blade. It blew inside her, killing her instantly. I remember my last look at Camo being when he lay there by her side, begging them to kill him, saying he had nothing to live for. The Dark Master ordered Sadiki to kill him, and the Undead Violet Dragon did it for him. He slit his throat."

"Then..." Sunburn began, "...there was Sonic Boom."

The leader nodded. "That was, and remains to this day, the second worst day of my life. The first was losing my mate. But when that happened, I didn't know what I'd do. I still remember it so clearly. It was so horrible, so...wrong, for lack of a better word. You remember it best, however. But that doesn't mean I don't remember it at all. We were in the Winter Tundra, where we hoped we could rest. But they ambushed us yet again, like they had in Zephyr. We fought, but a stray arrow hit her in the chest, even though I could have stopped it. Then he came. The Dark Master came. He took her head in his hands and snapped her neck in front of us. He tore out her heart, and then ate it. I remember the snow turning red in front of us. We barely escaped with our lives. While I'm glad we did, I still can't believe that we lost her. She was everything to you, and my greatest friend. I'm not sure if I'm going to kill the Dark Master, but the next time I see him, I'll make sure he pays for what he's done. I swear it."

"I know," Sunburn said. "We'll both make sure of it. But for now, we both need to rest. I'll tell Hunter to wake you when we're ready. He's keeping watch, along with Flame. Go sleep, and they'll wake you when it's time. Okay? You can take your mind off this crap for at least a little while. Maybe not for good, but for at least a little, you know?"

She nodded and did as he said. Before she left, she moved up to him and kissed him on the lips passionately.

They remained like this for several moments. Then she walked into her tent and closed her eyes as she lay on the bed.

Suddenly, an explosion went off, and she heard the screams of her soldiers. She jumped out of the bed and ran out of the tent, hoping to stop the danger in her camp before it became serious.

It probably isn't anything, she said to herself. It's probably just one of the soldiers being stupid, ready to be reprimanded by someone. Either me, Sunburn, or Hunter.

But when she arrived outside, she found the cause of the disturbance: a group of soldiers. But they were not her soldiers. They belonged to him.

To the Dark Master.

She quickly sprang into action, beheading one soldier with her tail blade, then snapping the neck of another. She breathed Electricity onto a group, killing them all instantly as the volts stabbed through their hearts.

"Take that!" she yelled out.

She heard a grunt behind her, and she turned to see Sunburn battling a Troll. He took the creature down with one of his Fire attacks. He was obviously saving energy to release a Nova Blast later on.

"Are you ready to use that soon?" she asked him.

"Almost," he replied. "Just have to hurry up here, then we can group the soldiers together and take them out."

She nodded. Looking to her right, she found Hunter there, shooting bows and arrows at his enemies. The rest of her soldiers were attacking their enemies. Many of them killed their oponents, only a few falling to the other side's forces.

"Kill them all!" commanded the leader.

She released a torrent of blue Lighting, which took out at least twenty soldiers. She began panting, however, the attack taking a lot out of her. "Haven't done that in a while," she said to herself. "I have to be more careful."

The fighting last for a long time. The other side was dwindling fast, allowing the leader to know her group had succeeded. She smiled to herself, knowing they were one step closer to winning the war.

And then, everything went bad.

A soldier who was believed dead, one of Hunter's arrows in his throat, opened his eyes, which were glossed over like those of the deceased, jumped to his feet, and tore the arrow from his throat, resulting in a spray of blood. He threw the arrow at Hunter, whose back was turned as he fought another enemy.

"HUNTER!" came the voice of Flame, a Red Fire Dragon. But it was too late.

The arrow passed through his stomach, and Hunter sputtered. Blood dribbled down his chin and profusely gushed from his stomach wound.

Flame was too busy watching this to see the soldiers behind him. They grasped his shoulders, to which the young Fire Dragon gasped. He was whirled around, but before the soldiers could do anything, Flame spat Fire at them, burning the face of one and killing another.

But by then, it was too late.

The blade sliced across Flame's throat, and he fell facedown on the ground, a pool of blood forming around his head.

"Oh God," the leader said. "We have to do this, though! There's no way we can allow them to win! Do you understand me, Sunburn?"

"I understand," he told her. "Does that mean"

"Yes."

He nodded, then ran to a group of soldiers. The leader watched as he drew upon all his strength. A fiery aura formed around him, and he closed his eyes. Then he rose up and opened his eyes, releasing the huge explosion of Fire.

Almost all the soldiers were killed by the blast, and the leader smiled at this. She saw Sunburn had been wounded by his own blast, bleeding from the nostrils and mouth.

"Well done," came a cold voice. Sadiki appeared from the sky, landing in front of Sunburn. "You've done very well, Hybrid. You should be proud of yourself."

"Sadiki," said Sunburn angrily.

"Sunburn," Sadiki said. He was Undead, with his eyes having no pupils, the signs of his throat being slit visible. "Let's fight, shall we?"

Sunburn and Sadiki prepared themselves. The leader was about to get into it when she noticed something was wrong. She could smell it.

Her eyes widened, and she yelled to Sunburn, "We have to move! Come on!"

He nodded, then prepared a blast of Fire at Sadiki. But before he could do anything, a blast of purple energy came down and hit him with full force in the chest. Sunburn went flying, hitting a rock and falling to the ground. The sound of one of his wings breaking sounded, and he screamed.

The second blast hit him in the back, and he was crippled. Blood poured from his mouth.

"You want to kill me?" he asked. "Fine. At least I can see my mate again."

And for the last time, Sunburn released a Nova Blast that killed himself and Sadiki, leaving behind only two skeletons.

The leader gaped at this, unable to believe it.

She heard something crash into the ground behind her, shaking it. Before she could turn around, something grasped the leader's neck. She gasped for air, unable to understand what was about to happen.

She was turned around, and she found herself staring into the demonic yellow eyes of a large Purple Dragon. It was the Dark Master..

"A new era begins," they said.

"No!" she snapped. "It won't happen!"

"Too late," he said. "I once loved you, but now you are my sworn enemy, and for that, you will pay dearly. I once loved you, but I feel none of that now. You have failed this world and your soldiers. Welcome to Hell, Cynder."

And as she was crushed into oblivion, she still heard from Spyro, "I love you."

Cynder woke up, sweating badly. She wiped the sweat off, unable to believe what had just happened. That dream...

There was the sudden knock on the door. "Come in!" she called. It was Flashwing who opened the door. "What is it?"

Flashwing eyed her for a moment, wondering why she was sweating. But then she put that behind her and gave her the news: "We've arrived."