For the final four paragraphs, listen to the song Never Say Never (Don't Let Me Go) by The Fray.

Chapter Seven: Damaged

When Spyro woke, he found Cynder still curled up next to him. He could see a smile on her face, which made him smile. She stirred and then opened her eyes slowly. She turned her head to look at him.

"Good morning," she greeted. "I haven't slept that well in a long time."

"I'm glad you slept," he said. "You deserve it. But for today, we need to go to the village and see if we can find Hunter and Mara. I need to speak with them. I know they'll be shocked to see me, and even now I still wonder how I am alive, but what matters is that I have you by my side."

He kissed her on the head, and she lovingly nuzzled him. But soon their romantic moment was broken by the sound of Sparx's voice. As soon as she heard it, Cynder sighed, wondering why he was always there. While she'd become accustomed to it, she still wanted him to stop for once.

"Hey guys," Sparx said. "What's going on?"

"We're going to the Cheetah Village," Cynder said. "If you'd wish to come along with us, you have to promise you won't be a jerk towards me."

"Well, I'm not trying to be one," Sparx said. "I only say these things towards you because I still don't trust you. You may have the trust of others, but that doesn't mean you'll be getting it from me anytime soon! Got that?"

"Sparx, for once, be quiet!" Spyro told him. "I don't know why you can't accept Cynder? She kept me safe as well as she could through the Belt of Fire and when Zyla came around. At that time, we weren't expecting Zyla to be so powerful. She was injured the worst, and that's why she couldn't protect me as much. Just realize that before you start talking, okay?"

Sparx didn't know how to respond after that. Spyro seemed to be speaking the truth, he found, but he didn't want to allow them to know it.

Spyro got up, and Cynder did so after him. She asked, "Are we going right there, or do you wish to do something before then?"

"I think we should go right there," Spyro said. "I don't know what they'll think when I arrive there. Many of the soldiers will most likely believe I am a ghost."

"You have me to help you. When they ask the questions, I'll just try to help you. You don't need to worry. When they see me, they'll know you're real."

They started off slowly, and soon enough the Cheetah Village was in sight. They were ready for the reactions of the soldiers, ready for the reactions of Hunter and Mara. No matter what they thought, Spyro and Cynder knew the truth.

As they entered the village, Cynder could already see some of the villagers staring at them strangely. She understood why, but decided to brush it off.

Both she and Spyro noticed Hunter standing with his back turned to them. He didn't know they were there.

"Hunter," Cynder said. At hearing her voice, he turned around. His jaw opened in surprised as he saw her, but then it opened more when he saw Spyro there as well.

"How is this possible?" he said. "You were thought dead."

"I know," Spyro said. "I've gone through many explanations of what happened during that time. I'm not sure how I'm alive or who might have kept me alive, but I am. I'm sorry if I'm scaring you."

"I was hoping you would be alive," Hunter said. "Only because I wanted Cynder to be happy. I believe you have learned of what happened in your absence."

"Mostly," Spyro said. "Cynder has given me some, but I would like to know more. Is Mara around?"

"Give me a moment."

As Hunter walked away, Cynder placed her head on Spyro's shoulder.

"Are you tired?" Spyro asked.

"A little. After going a long time without sleep, I always am now," Cynder explained. "I just hope I don't start sleeping when everything is explained."

"Yeah, me too," Sparx said. "I wonder how you were able to stay up so long. Didn't you get sleepy at all then?"

Cynder was about to give an answer, but then she saw Hunter coming back with Mara and kept quiet. The cheetah tribe leader seemed tired herself, and it was not a surprise to she and Spyro.

"Greetings, young ones," she said. "It is an honor to see you again, Spyro. And you as well, Cynder."

"Thank you, Mara," Spyro replied. "I believe you are wondering why and how it is I am alive?"

"You would be correct. But I do not wish to push you into your explanations. I understand if you are tired and wish to talk of something else."

"No," Cynder said. "I believe I will tell what I know. And then Spyro will tell what it is he knows. As you know, after I thought he was dead, I was angry."

"And I am sorry for the words I spoke," Mara apologized.

"As am I," Hunter agreed. "What we said hurt you more, we realized. Unfortunately we never realized such a thing until we returned here to the village."

"I forgive the both of you," Cynder said. "I do not believe any of us were ready for what happened. I most certainly wasn't." Spyro, Sparx, Hunter, and Mara saw tears in her eyes. "But let's put that behind us for now. The day on which Spyro's funeral was held, I arrived there at the temple, although it had been weeks since the event that emotionally scarred me. I hadn't slept at all, and I'd become thinner. I was plagued by nightmares of Zyla and of seeing Spyro inside the castle as it crumbled. Of course, I'd experienced the same nightmare before we'd gone to Kasi. But the nightmare returned, and it was worse than ever, because I'd actually seen it. My own scales started losing their color. They became a pale black, and the purplish hue was going away. I didn't know what to do, because my mind was kept only on Spyro. When I arrived there, some of the attendants asked me questions too fast, and I burst into tears. It was then that I ran into the room containing the Pool of Visions. As I cried, I stared into the pool and saw my fortress from the days in which I was corrupted by Malefor. I decided I should try to find something there. Terrador tried to stop me, but I succeeded in getting away from him. When I arrived there at my fortress, I couldn't find anything. But then I saw fire at the top. I flew to that part, and at first I saw nothing, but then…I saw Spyro. But he was in a form that I've called 'Dark Spyro.' What happened then is…" She gasped, and Spyro looked over to her. She was now crying and shaking her head.

Spyro put his paw on her shoulder and took over from there, although it was hard for him. "I attacked her. In that corrupted form I clawed her and beat her. She finally snapped me out of it by telling me how much she loved me, that without me she had nothing left to fight or live for. But by that time, I'd clawed her across the chest and broken one of her legs and wings. When I realized where I was, and when I found what I'd done, I felt so terrible. I felt like there was no hope left in me, no happy thoughts. When I found her injured, and the wounds having been from my own claws, I wanted to throw myself off the fortress and fall into the sea below. But I knew that there was some way I could save her. She went unconscious because of her pain and blood loss, and it was then that I picked her up and brought her back to the Temple. After explaining what I could to Terrador, I learned of the Parts of Malefor." He saw Hunter and Mara raise an eyebrow. "Cynder and I already found one, and she destroyed it. But now we need to find more. Our problem is, we're not sure where any of the others are. We just want to know if you've heard of them and if you might be able to help us?"

Now that the explanation was over, Mara sighed, which sounded as if she hadn't taken a breath since the explanation had begun. She blinked. And then she said, "I have heard of the Parts of Malefor before. But they are only a legend."

"Wait, what?" Spyro said.

"What do you mean?" Cynder asked, having dried her tears. "How would you explain the crown we found in the Ruins? You might not have been there, but we saw it! It was there, and…"

"We're not saying they don't exist," Hunter told her. "But they're not 'Parts.' They are Keys."

"Keys?" Spyro asked.

It was Mara who explained.

"There is a legend known as the Five Keys. In it, Malefor talks to one of the Elders who trained him about keeping himself alive longer than normal. But the Elder only believed he meant it as a joke. That Elder saw he was wrong much later. Malefor decided he would wait until he was older. After he was exiled, he started looking around for things to use as his Keys. In the legend, which comes to a recent time, he used a crown given to him by his Elders. It is said he hid it in the Ruins of Warfang, which means you found it and have destroyed it. That means there are four Keys left."

"Wait," Cynder said. "Who or what are the other four Keys? Does the legend say?"

"Unfortunately, no. All it says is that one of them would be a monster whose eyes are pure red," Mara said. "And the other would have a close relation to the monster. As for the last two, the legend does not say. I am sorry about that."

Silence fell over them. Neither Spyro nor Cynder could speak, and Hunter and Mara were waiting on them to say something. Finally Spyro broke the silence.

"Is it okay if we stay here in the Valley for a small time?" he asked Mara.

"This was once your home, was it not?" she asked. "You are allowed to do so for as long as you wish. You deserve it, most certainly. From what I heard in your stories, you've both gone through much and deserve to rest." She smiled, which to both Spyro and Cynder was a first. "I will be retreating into my quarters for now. Hopefully we can go for some time before fighting again."

As she left them, Cynder looked to Spyro. "I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish my life was normal. I wish I'd never been taken by Malefor."

"I know," Spyro said. "But some things happen for a reason. If it hadn't been for that, I would possibly have never met you. And even if I had, we would've never fallen in love." He nuzzled her.

Cynder sighed. "I know, but it's still hard, with all that we've gone through. I want it to end. I want to live our happily ever after already!"

Her bottom lip was quivering.

"Cynder, not everyone knows the true pain you've gone through," Hunter said. "You've gone through more than any of us, and I'm sorry for that. But maybe soon it will end."

She nodded a little. At the same time she was thinking everything through. She realized something pivotal was missing from the legend, and now she wished to know why.

"Hunter, in the legend, what happens if the Keys aren't destroyed in the right time?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "There is one answer I have, but I hope I'm wrong."

"And that would be?" Sparx asked.

"I don't want to speak of it any longer," Hunter told them. He walked away suddenly.

"Well, that was weird," Sparx said out loud. "Ah well. I guess it's just one of those very uncomfortable subjects. It must be as uncomfortable as being anywhere near Cynder. Am I right, Spyro?" He laughed.

Cynder became rigid.

"Sparx!" Spyro exclaimed. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"Well…Alright. I'm still weary of being around her!" Sparx said. "I know that to you both, it's wrong, but ever since I first saw her, I didn't know what I was supposed to do! After she returned to normal, I still wondered if she was evil or not."

"I'm not," Cynder cried. There was sadness in her voice. "I've done my best to put my past behind me, and if you haven't noticed, it isn't easy!"

"Cynder, calm down," Spyro said. "And Sparx, please be quiet. I don't think it's right, what you're saying about her. She's not corrupted anymore. She's more than a friend. She's my mate."

Sparx sighed. "Alright," he gave in. "I'll be over there for now." He flew away.

"Are you alright?" Spyro asked.

"I think so," Cynder replied. "I'm just sick of all that. I thought it would end after we defeated Malefor and you repaired the world. I kept you safe, after all, through the Belt of Fire and everything else as well as I could!"

"He doesn't understand right now, Cyn," Spyro said. "But he will soon, I promise you."

As the day wore on, both she and Spyro dined with the cheetah tribe, and while Cynder seemed cheerful there, to Spyro's delight, but when it came time for sleep, Spyro could see something was different about her.

Spyro knew she'd said that she was okay, but he noticed something was wrong. As he did not know completely, he fell asleep, with her by his side.

As he closed his eyes, he looked over at her and saw she was turned the other way. He fell into a deep sleep then, and his thoughts came no more.

Suddenly he felt something move near him. He opened his eyes and thought he saw something exit through the village's main entrance.

Spyro got up and saw Cynder was no longer near him. He made his way over to where Sparx had fallen asleep. He whispered, "Sparx," to which the Dragonfly opened his eyes.

"What?" he grumbled.

"I need you to follow me," Spyro told him. And despite not wanting to, Sparx did so.

Spyro now knew it was Cynder they were following.

But he didn't know why she had gotten up in the first place. It scared him.

Seeing that there was a path up to a small cave, naturally carved into the side of the rock, Spyro followed it. He and Sparx to hid behind a wall.

Sounds of sniffling and sobbing reached their ears. Spyro didn't understand what was going on. But he wanted to know, and knew it was time he found out.

As he appeared out of his hiding place, he found Cynder holding a sharp rock in her injured paw, balancing on the good paw, the jagged and sharp point of the rock aimed at her chest. Right where her heart was.

"Cynder?" Spyro said.

Having not known he was there, Cynder gasped. She began sobbing again and started explaining herself.

"I'm sorry, Spyro," she said. "I just can't take it anymore. All these things that have happened, from Zyla, to your supposed death, to what Sparx said to me earlier, has hurt me so badly, and I don't know what to do. My thoughts are all conflicted! The only thought that comes clearly is this, and I don't know what else to do!"

"Cynder, there are many other ways to deal with this," Spyro told her. "Please, don't do this."

"I don't know what else to do!" Cynder snapped. "I feel like I'm nothing anymore. I feel like crap all the time now."

"You don't have to feel that way," Spyro told her. "Just put the rock down, and then I can help you. Please, Cyn. I can help you a lot. I love you more than anything, and without you, I have nothing to live for, as well. If you do this, what do you think that will do to me? You'd be doing Zyla more of a favor than anything. She wants you dead, and if you do this, she'll get her wish."

Cynder realized he was right. Still sobbing, she put the rock down gently. She then ran to Spyro and hugged him hard.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't know what to do."

"It's not your fault," Spyro said. "Due to this events, you've been emotionally scarred. But I'm here, Cyn. I'm here, and I'm not letting go. I love you too much to let go."

He hugged her close to him until her tears dried, and soon they began making their way back to the village.

Sparx flew near Cynder.

"Look, Cyn, I'm sorry about all I said," Sparx apologized. "I shouldn't have said those things. I never knew the effect they had on you, and after tonight I see what my words have done. I'll make it up to you somehow. I just hope you forgive me."

"I do, Sparx," Cynder told him softly. "It's not all you, though. All the other pain I've gone through with Zyla did a lot of it to me. So did your supposed death, Spyro. When it comes to this stuff, I don't always know what to do. That's my problem. It was easier when Ignitus was around. He made a lot of our problems go away. I mean, with me, they've never completely gone away, but he definitely came close."

"He did," Spyro agreed. "I'll help you through everything, Cyn. I won't leave you no matter what. And when Zyla comes, we'll be ready."

They reached the spot where they'd slept earlier, and as Cynder laid back down, Spyro kissed her. Sparx was close by, sleeping in a place where he hoped nobody would walk. As both Spyro and Cynder drifted off to sleep, Spyro touched Cynder's uninjured front paw. As he believed, it was a way to let Cynder know he was there by her side and that he would never leave her.