And I'm back, FINALLY! Sorry, had a lot on my plate again, but it's finally done. Oh, and great news, I'm finally back into my story writing mood again so this means possible faster updates. YAY! ^^ My plan it to get the next chapter up two weeks from now. (I hope)
uh, oh, thanks to all who are reading, reviewing, and faving this, I deeply appreciate it. :D um...not sure what to say...oh well, on with the chapter.
Chapter 8
All four dragons froze like statues. No one flexed a muscle. Spyro and Cynder stared at the unexpected dragons with complete shock and a touch of apprehension in their eyes; they didn't know if they should run, or fight, or just do nothing. They were unsure if the other dragons would attack them. Their hearts pounded against their chest and the cringe in their stomachs tightened. Spyro and Cynder started to back away slowly with their eyes locked on the two mid-size dragons. However, as they were doing so, Cynder noticed the larger red dragon holding his right paw in the air. Cynder instantly knew the dragon was injured, and stopped her slow retreat. She then looked over to Spyro and spoke quietly.
"Spyro, he's injured." She guessed it was a he by the look of his features. Spyro looked and noticed it too.
"You're right," he spoke softly. Cynder took a step closer but the red dragon showed his teeth and gave an intimidating growl. The black dragoness stopped and backed up even further.
"Don't come any closer," the red dragon threatened. He stared at the intruders with his glowing blueeyes.
"Please, we're not here to hurt you," Spyro spoke quietly
"Then why are you here?" the larger dragon questioned with a suspicious voice. "Dragons haven't been here in over a decade."
"We-we're kinda lost," Spyro stuttered.
"Lost? Ha. You think I'm going to fall for that?" the other dragon snorted."Now tell me, where did you really come from?"
Spyro paused for a few moments. He was curious why this dragon would ask these questions but nonetheless, he answered anyway.
"Well, we just came from 'The Mountain of Malefor.' We were trapped there for two days," Spyro replied.
"What?" The red dragon shouted. "The Mountain of Malefor? B-b-but that means…you must be…you're the legendary purple dragon?" Singe asked because he couldn't tell what color his scales were, but now that he asked, he could make out a purple other than a dark blue from the crystal light.
The purple dragon gave a firm nod in confirmation. The red dragon's jaw hung open a little; he was so shocked that he and his brother was standing in front of the dragon that saved everyone from the disintegrating of the world. The same dragon Singe could only dream of meeting.
The purple dragon looked at his companion and smiled before looking back at the red dragon. "Yes, my name is Spyro."
Instantly, the younger black dragon's eyes grew wide in shock and a faint gasp could be heard. He was full of happiness to know that this was no ordinary dragon, but the legendary purple dragon who saved to whole world. But then he looked over to his companion. His eyes nearly bulged out of his eyes sockets when he noticed under the dim, blue light that it was a black dragoness. But not just any black dragoness; the same black dragoness from his nightmare. Cynder, 'The Terror of the Skies.'
His heart pounded against his rib cage, his nerves twitched, and his natural instincts kicked in and told him to run. However, he couldn't run. He was in shock and all he could do was back away slowly with a scared expression.
"I-I apologize for my behavior," Singe told them. "My brother and I have always dreamed of meeting you. We—" He trailed off when he noticed his brother with complete terror on his features and backing away slowly. He was puzzled as to why.
"Zackary? What's wrong?" Singe asked, worried. But he didn't get an answer.
"Zack!" He said more firmly.
"T-t-that's, C-Cynder."
Singe hesitated, puzzled. "What?" he questioned. Then helooked over to the two dragons quickly. "That can't be Cynder."
"…How did you know that?" Cynder questioned. How could this younger dragon know who I am? How could he tell right away when no one has seen me in my younger form? The thoughts rushed into Cynder's mind. She then started to take a step closer but suddenly was frightened by the younger black dragon.
"Stay back!" he shouted. "Please,don't kill me!"
"What?" all three dragons said in unison.
"She's not going to kill you," Singe said as he started to walk a few steps towards his brother.
"She's in disguise. She's The Terror of the Skies. She's going to kill us!" Zackary shouted. He didn't waste any more time and turned around, facing the back of the cave. Then in fear, he ran as fast as he could deeper into the cave and further away from the black dragoness as much as possible.
Singe couldn't understand what was going on with his brother. He looked back and forth between the other dragons and where his brother had run off, confused and unsure what to do.
"I-I'm sorry," he apologized, "I-I'll be right back." Then he too ran into the cave. However, just as he started to run back, he felt a sharp pain flow up his leg and he collapsed head first onto the stone floor. He hollered out in pain because of his right forepaw; he had completely forgotten about his injury.
Spyro and Cynder rushed over to help him but there was only little they could do. "Are you alright?" Cynder asked in fear at the sight of his collapse.
"No, Ah! I-I injured my right forearm earlier today," the red dragon spoke with gritted teeth.
Cynder felt sympathy for the red dragon growing inside her. If only there was something she could do. Then it hit her. She had discovered the power to heal on Spyro. Maybe she could do it on this dragon, if she remembered how to do it. The black dragoness then looked over to the purple dragon. Spyro gave her a strange look when he saw her staring at him but soon realized the reason. He then gave her a nod in agreement. Cynder waited almost as if she was asking for permission but she just wanted him to know what she was going to do.
Cynder then sat down next to the red dragon. "Hey, uh?"
"Singe," he replied
"Singe, I'm going to help you. Where does it hurt?" she asked
The red dragon then pointed with his left talon where his injury was. Cynder didn't do anything else. She didn't feel if he had a broken bone or anything. She just closed her eyes and dropped her heart rate. She didn't know exactly what she was doing but she just let her natural instincts kick in and it seemed to work. Just like the last time, the sounds around her went silent, and she could feel the warm and cooling sensation build and rise up.
In the other dragons' view, they both saw a purple aura swirling around the black dragoness. Spyro knew what she was doing but to the red dragon, he had no clue what was happening. This scared Singe and he started to squirm to get away but then the purple dragon spoke.
"It's ok; you're not in any danger. She's trying to help you, just let it happen." The red dragon didn't know if he should believe in the purple dragon but something told him to do so and he did.
Cynder felt the two sensations collide together inside of her. This meant to her it was time. She then pressed her snout on the red dragon's forearm but not too tightly. Cynder felt the energy flow through her and into the dragon. Singe felt a sharp pain through his arm and he gave a quick yelp but soon the pain was extinguished by the healing of his arm.
Cynder felt the sensation and the silence fade away so she backed up slowly. However—unlike last time—she didn't feel dizzy. Not even a little drained. This surprised the black dragoness a little that she has already gotten stronger with her new ability.
Singe stared at the black dragoness as the aura faded away. He couldn't believe what just happened. He then looked back at his forepaw. He picked his arm up and extended it, then moved it back and forth several times but didn't feel a thing.
He was healed.
Singe couldn't believe what had just happened. He just witnessed another dragon heal his injured forepaw, something he had never heard, seen, or let alone imagined was possible. Now that the black dragoness had backed away from the red dragon, he then stood up on all four paws. He looked at his paw as he applied pressure and even stomped on it a few times, but he felt no pain. He then set his gaze back to the other dragons.
"How did you…How could you…Thank you." That was all the red dragon could say, completely stunned by this amazing miracle.
"It was nothing. Do you feel better?" Cynder asked.
"Better?" he blurted out. He then realized he shouted it and calmed his excitement. "I feel no pain… You healed me, but how?"
"…I honestly don't know, it just…came to me, I guess," Cynder answered.
Singe didn't reply; he was still in shock over what had happened. Then he thought about what his brother said. 'Cynder' still rang in his mind. He didn't believe his brother at first, but then he remembered when the black dragoness said he was right, and he didn't know what to believe. However, after a few more moments, Singe finally spoke up.
"So…was my…brother right…when he said that y-you are…Cynder?" He hesitated, trying to think of a nice way saying it. He thought back to when his brother ran off scared. It almost made sense now, but there were still gaps that had to be filled.
Cynder looked at the ground where her paws were. Then she gave a heavy sigh before nodding her head. Singe's heart sank. His brother was right; this was 'The Terror of the Skies.'
"Unfortunately, yes, I am," the black dragoness said. "But I'm not proud of the things I've done."
Singe's heart sank even more when she answered. His eyes grew wide and he started to back away slowly, but he soon stopped. Something still didn't make sense. Clearly this was Cynder, but what happened to her massive size? Her voice doesn't sound threatening. And finally, what confused the red dragon the most: Why did she heal him?
Every instinct in his body told him to run, but something told him he wasn't in any danger. Should he listen to this feeling or was it a trick? He didn't want to take a chance, but he still had questions.
"Why did you heal me?" he snapped unexpectedly with his teeth showing and in a fighting stance, worried it was a trick. Cynder didn't speak for a few moments.
"…Because you were hurt, and I couldn't let you suffer," she said.
"Then why did you kill thousands of lives?" Singe asked
"I was tricked…" she spoke with her head sagging, "I was raised by The Dark Master. I didn't know what was right or wrong. That is, until Spyro freed me from his powers." Singe's expression saddened from the beginning of her story. "And now I look back to all the things I've done, the lives I took, and I realize that what I have done was wrong… Everyday I feel guilt, everyday I am questioned about it, and now, after three years, I still feel regret." Once she finished, Spyro draped a wing over the black dragoness and licked the fresh tears from her muzzle. Then he rested his head against hers.
Singe stood there in shock. He actually felt for the black dragoness. He now knew what the rest of the story of The Terror of the Skies was. The thought of this being a trick seemed to vanish, and most of his instincts told him he could trust her. He tried to speak to say something but didn't know what was right to say.
"I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't know… I didn't know that was what happened," he stuttered. He didn't say anything more for a while, but then he thought about his brother. He had to go get him.
"I'm sorry, but I got to go check on my brother. I-I'll be back," he finished as he started to run away further into the cave until he vanished into the darkness.
"You ok, Cynder?" Spyro asked, still with his head against hers.
"I-I'm fine." She was crying but tried not to show it.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this," Spyro apologized and kissed her on the side of her muzzle.
A few more moments pasted since the red dragon left and Cynder started to feel a little better. She then moved away from the purple dragon. This caught the purple dragon off guard when she moved away so quickly.
"Cynder, what's wrong?" Spyro asked worriedly.
"Wha-? Oh, sorry, nothing." She paused for a few moments, then said, "I was just thinking about what the other dragon said. What do you think he meant when he said I was in… 'disguise'? How did he even know I was…that in this poor lighting? I don't even look like my evil self, do I?"
"No, no, not at all… Well, maybe a little."
"Well, thanks for the understatement," she spoke, a little discouraged.
"No, I didn't mean it like that," Spyro announced. "It's hard for me to say because I have been with you ever since."
"True, but something doesn't make any sense," she said thoughtfully. "That dragon knows something, but I can't quite figure it out just yet."
Spyro listened but didn't know how to respond, but after a few moments he opened his maw to answer. "Shall we continue and catch up with them?
"I-I don't know, maybe we should give them a little time first?" Cynder asked while she looked at the purple dragon with a question waiting to be answered.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Shall we walk slowly then?"
Cynder didn't say a word; she just smiled and pressed her body against his and they slowly walked down the poorly lit cave.
*.*.*
Zackary curled up into a ball in the corner of their room. He couldn't control his body as it shook rapidly from fear. Tears slowly ran down his muzzle, fearing that Cynder would find him and end his life. He felt guilty for leaving his injured brother behind with a terrifying beast like Cynder. Even though Singe was a great fighter, he wouldn't stand a chance against The Terror of The Skies with a wounded forearm, or even if he was fully healed. He cried harder at the thought of what Cynder could do to his brother. Zackary just listened for the cries of the purple dragon and his brother, but he didn't hear anything.
But then, all of a sudden, Zackary heard paws padding against the stone floor. The sound was getting close. The black dragon pushed out more tears from his eyes as he thought the black dragoness was coming to get him. Now, as the sound grew even closer, he could hear claws clanging against the stone floor at a rapid rate, as if something was running. Zackary couldn't do anything but lay there as he was about to see his nightmare come to life. The black dragon had a wing over his body to protect him as much as possible, knowing that it wouldn't help. He also had his wing over his head so he couldn't see the monstrous beast, but nevertheless he shifted his wing back to his flank so he could still see a little of the cave entrance.
Surprisingly, instead of seeing a massive black dragoness standing over him, he saw a familiar red dragon running towards him with a concerned look on his features.
"There you are," the red dragon said with relief as he walked up to his younger brother, out of breath.
"Singe!" Zackary shouted as he realized it was his brother and the black dragoness didn't hurt him. He then jumped up off the ground and directly at his brother, wrapping himself around Singe in a somewhat hug. Singe nearly fell backwards from the weight of his brother hitting him but managed to catch himself before he did.
"I thought she killed you, Singe," Zackary said while he looked at his brother. He then buried his muzzle into the red dragon's chest. "I thought she killed you."
"What!? What are you talking about? No one is going to kill me," Singe said, shocked by what his brother said.
"Cynder…" His voice was muffled as he still had his muzzle pressed against the red dragon's chest. "That's Cynder, Singe. I recognize that form of her from my nightmare a few days ago. She grew to her massive size and killed the purple dragon, and then she tried to kill me. She's trying to trick us."
Instantly, Singe knew the rest of the story, now understanding what his little brother had dreamt about. He had known that Zackary had dreamt about Cynder but nothing else, but now he knew why he ran off, and now he knew that was indeed Cynder. But something still confused the red dragon: Why and how did he dream that? Singe soon snapped back into reality and looked back at his younger brother.
"Zack, she's not trying to trick us, trust me," Singe spoke.
"Yes she is, Singe. She is going to kill us," Zackary said as more tears started to fall from his eyes.
"Zack, I talked to them after you left, and you're right, she is Cynder."
"I told you! I—" He was suddenly cut short as his brother barged in.
"Let me finish! Anyway, I started to run back after you but I collapsed because of my injured forearm. She told me that you were right, she was Cynder; I started to snap and ask questions. I asked why she was here, what did they want. I wanted to strike until I heard the true story behind The Terror of the Skies…" He stopped to take a breath. "Zack, the stories we heard of Cynder, they were all true but incomplete. We didn't know what else happened to her."
"I still don't trust her." Zack spat.
"I know you still don't, I know what she did to our family. I know how hurt we felt, but sometimes we just need to look forward," Singe spoke.
"And how do you know she's not lying?" Zackary blurted out.
"I-I don't know…" he trailed off. "But some things you just have to believe, and I believe she's telling the truth."
Zackary still seemed unconvinced. The red dragon then looked at his paw—the same paw that was injured—and then, instantly, a thought came to him. "Zack, look." The red dragon then raised his paw up a little for his brother to see. "See, she healed me. Now why would a killer do that? Why would a killer heal a victim?" the red dragon asked with a grin on his muzzle.
The black dragon's head shot up as he studied his brother's forearm. Sure enough, it was healed. He couldn't believe it. How was it possible? He never heard of a dragon with the ability to heal before.
"Wha? H-how?" That was all Zackary could say; he was shocked.
"I told you, Cynder saw I was hurt and healed me." His brother still looked in shock, but Singe noticed he wasn't cutting in with another 'I don't trust her' saying so he proceeded on. "I was scared at first and didn't know how to react but once it was all over, I didn't feel any more pain."
Zackary was still silent for a long time, bug finally he managed to say, "B-but why would she do that?"
Singe took a long pause. "…Because she wasn't truly evil...I told you before, Cynder isn't The Terror of the Skies as we knew. There's more to that story than we knew. I'm telling you, Zack, she's not evil," Singe progressed on.
"Then why was she monstrous?" Zackary asked, still unsure if to believe in his brother or his dream.
"Because she was raised by The Dark Master, but now she is free from that life. You need to trust me."
Zackary then looked around the poorly lit cave. Now he didn't know what to believe. His mind started to hurt as a million thoughts flowed through his head at once. Who was right? Or, what was right?
"I-I'm sorry, Singe, but I still have my doubts." Although he was surprised she healed his brother, he still wasn't sure if he should believe she wasn't evil anymore. He kept thinking back to his dream, where she tricked the purple dragon by acting like she was nice, but only to turn against him. He still didn't trust her as this could still be part of her plan.
Just then, Singe was about to reply to his brother's decision when suddenly, they heard claws clanging against the stone floor. Both dragons looked at the hallway of the cave and noticed, out of the shadows, two more dragons entered. They were Spyro and Cynder.
Singe didn't even flinch but his brother took precaution as his muscles tightened. From the sight of the black dragoness, the black dragon slowly crouched down low to the ground and backed up closer to the cave wall. Cynder noticed the young dragon was still scared so she slowly backed away a little further from Spyro to give the black dragon some comfort. Spyro also noticed the young, frightened dragon and understood why Cynder backed off.
"I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" Spyro asked. Singe looked at his brother and saw he was back in the corner.
"No, no, not at all," Singe answered. "Please, come in."
The two visitors walked in the somewhat small room and looked around. They noticed there wasn't much to it. It just seemed like a normal cave, nothing for two young dragons to live in. After a short walk, the two new dragons sat down on their hunches close to the red dragon who also sat down. However, the black dragon was still a few meters away from the group, still in a ball in the corner of the room-like cave.
None of the dragons said a word to each other; they all just sat there, except for Zackary who lay in the corner, now shaking from fear. It wasn't much longer when Cynder broke the silence.
"I-is your brother ok?" She asked timidly.
Singe then looked to his right and saw his younger brother. He almost seemed sad by the position he was in but Singe could tell his eyes showed fear. "Yeah, he had a bad experience a few nights ago and is a little frightened."
"…I know what he is afraid of," Cynder announced. Singe had a puzzled look to the black dragoness words.
"What?" That was all Singe could say.
Cynder then dropped her head towards the ground in shame before saying. "…Me…he doesn't trust me."
"H-how can you tell that?" Singe wondered.
"I can tell when someone is frightened; I know what it looks like." Cynder remembered the looks of dragons when she was enslaved. She knew what true fear was, and she mastered the sights for it, almost as if it was a tool to hunt for defenseless dragons, something she was trained in her early years of life.
Spyro slowly draped a wing around the black dragoness and pulled her close to him, in hope to comfort her. Cynder loved the feel of the purple dragon's wing over her; she loved the warmth it brought. She gave him a quick smile but it was soon to disperse. Even though Spyro got a semi-smile, he still could tell she was feeling dreadful. There was something the black dragoness knew and was keeping from Spyro and the other dragons; this, he could detect.
"…I'm sorry you had to go through that, live the life you had." Singe didn't know what to say, he thought what he said could cheer her up but it didn't work.
"It's ok, it's just…" She trailed off for a few moments. "It's just, where ever I go, I'm always brought up as the killer I used to be, the thing I never asked for. They don't know what it's like."
No one said another word; all dragons lay in their place for a few more minutes. Zackary was still in the corner with his head resting on his paws, constantly staring at the black dragoness, watching her every move, a good five meters away from the other dragons. A few more moments flew by and Spyro finally broke the silence.
"H-how long have you and your brother been living here?" Spyro asked.
Singe looked at his younger brother and back at the purple dragon before speaking. "About ten years."
"What?" Spyro and Cynder spoke in unison to his answer; both were completely stunned by how long they both lived here, but the next question was, were they alone?
"You've been staying here for a decade?" Spyro asked. Singe gave a firm nod to his question. "You at least have family living with you, right?" Spyro hoped to hear a yes; two dragons at about the same age as them living in a cave for ten years by themselves just sounded preposterous. However, he didn't receive the answer he was hoping.
"…Actually, no…our family is…dead." Singe paused for a moment as he tried not to get saddened. "They were killed ten years ago by…" He cut himself short before he could finish the sentence. He didn't want to tell them now, not when Cynder was there.
"Singe, what's wrong?" Cynder asked. "By whom?"
"By you."
All three dragons' heads turned towards where the voice came from, and they all noticed the voice came from the young black dragon. Singe's heart sank when his brother spoke; he knew nothing good would come from this.
"You're the reason why our family is dead, you!" he shouted as he started to get up from his current position. His eyes started to water, with fresh tears starting to form around his eyes and his voice cracked up when he spoke. "You came here, ten years ago, and destroyed our home. You killed every last one of our clan, even our parents!" Zackary shouted out in a mix of fear, anger, and sadness. "Our once beautiful home was turned into rubble in a matter of minutes, all because you found it amusing."
"No, No! You don't understand," Cynder cried out as tears started to fall out of her eyes.
"No, I do understand. You haven't changed like you say you did. You're trying to trick us, attack when our guard is down. But you know what, you can't trick me, I know your secret," Zackary raged with anger, tears now poured out of his eyes like a heavy storm. Cynder, on the other hand, was confused and hurt by what he was saying. Tears also trickled down her cheeks. However, Cynder knew what he was talking about; she could remember when she attacked their home. Now it all made sense.
Cynder could see herself attacking a small tribe of dragons, killing every dragon she could see just because her master told her to kill. She also could remember a tiny, young dragon in front of her; she remembered staring in the eyes of the hatchling and saw pure fear and sadness in its eyes. She now realized that hatchling was Zackary.
The black dragoness soon snapped out of her trance. She bowed her head in shame and tears flooded out of her eyes. She was the cause of their family's death. She was the one who made them live alone. Cynder couldn't take much more, the strength in her mind slowly weakened by every time that horrible day was brought up.
"Zackary, enough!" the eldest brother shouted.
"H-how can y-you say that? I-I'm nothing like I was," Cynder cried out. Spyro was still by her side and he tried his hardest to comfort her but there was nothing he could do at this point.
"Stop trying to trick us. I know your secret. And I suppose you're going to kill us now, but what good what that give you? Nothing! Or maybe you'll take us away like you took our sister Ellie!" Zackary's voice cracked up. In his mind he knew they were going to die, but he wanted to make his point before he was killed.
Cynder slowly backed up. Her head was facing the floor and tears rapidly dripped off her muzzle. She couldn't take it any more. She couldn't handle anymore sorrow. "No, no, no!" She shouted before looking at Spyro with guilt among her features. Spyro could see what she was planning on doing and quickly shook his head to stop her, but it wasn't enough. Cynder turned around as fast as she could and ran out the cave room.
"Cynder!" Spyro shouted. He then looked at Singe with sadness in his eyes.
Singe gave the purple dragon a simple nod before speaking. "Go get her."
Without wasting a second, the purple dragon took off after the black dragoness as fast as his legs wound carry him. It was hard for him to see in the cave because of the poor lighting of the blue crystals, but nonetheless he pushed forward after his dragoness and hoped he wouldn't run into anything.
Every turn he'd make, he hoped to see Cynder, but to no luck. This worried the purple dragon. He wanted to catch up to her so he could calm her down and prevent her from doing something she would regret, or worse. His heart pounded hard against his chest, growing harder every passing second. Still no sight of Cynder and he could tell he was nearing the end of the cave.
A long and winding cave seemed to go by in minutes. He knew he was getting closer to her; his instincts told him he was gaining on the black dragoness. However, not as close as he anticipated. Flashes of light grew brighter as he closed in on the end of the cave. Sound from the storm could be heard, but still no Cynder. It wasn't until he made it to the compete end of the cave where something could be seen. Harsh wind, pounding rain, blinding lightning, and crackling thunder was the first thing the purple dragon noticed, indicating the storm still raged on.
Then, out of the corner of his eyes, Spyro noticed a slender dragoness running towards the edge of the cave, only visible by the flashes of lightning from the storm.
"Cynder, wait!" Spyro shouted, but to no success. His voice was muted by a loud clash of thunder. It was too late. Cynder already flapped her wings and flew off into the storm. Spyro didn't hesitate. A wave of endurance kicked in and he too jumped off the ledge and into the brutal storm. The purple dragon struggled desperately. He wanted to get to his dragoness and nothing was going to stop him. He flapped hard in the wicked storm, the only light available from the lightning, but that only lasted for a split second at a time. Painful rain hit his body like tiny razor-sharp barbs, and horrific winds threatened to tear off his wings, but none of this was stopping the purple dragon.
Spyro struggled hard to catch up and it seemed to him that he wasn't making any progress. The direction that Cynder flew off in was against the wind, which made this extremely hard for even an adult dragon to fly. But his mind was still set. He WAS going to get to her, no matter what. A few more minutes passed and Spyro had now lost sight of the black dragoness. Even when the lightning flashed, he still couldn't see anything. His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He had lost her. Deep down he felt like he had no choice but to give up, but nonetheless, he still wasn't going to quit on her. He pushed on for another ten minutes but there no sight of Cynder. But he knew he had to be close because she also would have trouble in this storm. This seemed to motivate him to continue on further, to know he was close.
A few more minutes passed by and the purple dragon started to wear down. The wind was so strong and the rain stung so badly, it started to really take a toll on his body. However, somehow, he didn't feel exhaustion or pain. His mind was so focused on one thing and that was Cynder, he didn't care what it would take to get to her, as long as he succeeded.
A little while passed and there hadn't been a lightning flash in about a minute so all was pitch black. He thought the lightning just stopped all of a sudden, and now he and Cynder wouldn't be able to see where they're going and this could be dangerous. However, to his luck, the brightest lightning flash yet struck the ground about a mile away in the large valley and Spyro instantly could see everything around him. On instinct, he used his dragon time ability and slowed down time. The lightning flash normally would last a split second but to Spyro, it lasted more than few seconds. The purple dragon scanned the air as well as the ground, in the hope of seeing his black dragoness. To his remarkable fortune, he saw a dark figure on the ground running under a well-shaded tree. Spyro gave a big sigh of relief and dove down towards the tree and to the possible Cynder sighting.
Time went back to normal and the buffeting of the storm resumed full force. Spyro was now speeding down towards the ground with his wings against his side, hurrying as fast as he could. Within a matter of seconds, the purple dragon neared the large umbrella-like tree. At the last second, the purple dragon spread out his wings with one flap and slowed his fall into a hover-like position. Once his feet were on the ground, Spyro took off running to the tree where indeed, Cynder was under. Once he was near the opening of the tree, Spyro shouted over the loud thunder.
"Cynder!"
*.*.*
Several miles to the east stood a large, tall mountain and it too was getting its share of the brutal storm, the winds strong enough to rip massive trees out from the ground, rain flowing in sheets and also traveling at high rates of speed, bombarding everything in its way with tiny razor-like drops. Lightning so bright to give out temporarily blindness to whoever stared at it flashed in the sky, and in all it was a place where no one would want to be. However, high up, on the peak of the mountain stood a large figure. This figure was a dragon; it had three long horns that came out of its head, piercing yellow eyes, talons that were razor sharp, and dark purple scales. This dragon was Malefor.
Rain poured off his body and on the ground, and he stood not caring at all about the weather conditions but actually as if he was enjoying it. He stared at the ground below, almost as if he was daydreaming—which he was—but then a familiar evil smirk started to form across his features. He was planning something and something big.
A single bolt of lightning stuck the ground, indicating it was time to start his evil plan. He then focused all his energy, saving it inside him as it built up. Then, all of a sudden, the ground from the edge of the mountain and on down to the field started to glow. A thick purple aura then came from the ground. A few seconds later, the ground started to shake as if there was an earthquake, but something far different was happening than an earthquake. Part of the ground started to float upwards. The dirt that floated then started to form into hideous creatures; grublins. Within a matter of minutes, the whole place was crawling with tens of thousands of grublins, all in different sizes, from the short ones with their tiny clubs, to the larger ones and their axes or cross bows, all coming back from the dead. Malefor was rebuilding his army.
"Rise my minions, Rise!" Malefor shouted over the field of reforming creatures.
After a few more moments, Malefor's army has now fully awoken from the dead. Before the only noise that could be heard was thunder but now the howls and roars from the massive amount of grublins overpowered the deep rumbling. Malefor couldn't help but laugh when he heard the sound of his creatures reforming back to life, his plan finally being put to action. The sound of weapons clanging together was pure music to him, and with the added thunder, it seemed to make it perfect.
A few minutes passed and a large grublin with a massive club approached the large purple dragon. "Your troops have fully regenerated and are under your control, master," the massive creature spoke in a voice barley able to make out. However, Malefor understood easily.
"Excellent," he spoke. The purple dragon then looked over his army; the sheer size of it brought his usual evil smirk. He then inhaled, getting ready to speak to his troops.
"Silence!" Malefor shouted over the thunder to get all the grublins' attention. Every creature immediately stopped what they were doing at the sound of their master's voice.
"A week ago we were brought down by a peasant named Spyro!" All the grublins booed and shouted at the mention of the other purple dragon's name. "We have failed to complete our quest on ending this pathetic world. However, this time we will become victorious." Once he paused, all the creatures started to clang their weapons and shout as loud as they could.
"I have brought you all back from your graves because we have been given a second chance, and we will NOT waste it! My job for you is to kill anything you see! You are dismissed."
Once he finished his speech, all the grublins dispersed on their search for any victims, the weapons they carried and the bloodthirsty appearances showing they were ready to kill. Malefor stood on the top of the mountain while the storm still raged on, overlooking his slaves as they wandered off. So far his plan was going perfectly. The only creature left was the large grublin standing next to Malefor.
"What else do you wish for us to do, master?" questioned the grublin.
"…Search for the cave of crystals and report back to me when you find it," Malefor ordered.
The grublin gave a nod. "Yes master." Then it continued down the mountain for its search.
Once all the grublins were gone, Malefor spread out his wings and with one flap, he was in the air and heading the opposite way from the grublins, searching for shelter from the storm.
*.*.*
"Cynder!" Spyro shouted, running closer to the tree. Once Spyro entered the opening, he stopped his running and walked in slowly. He looked inside the tree and noticed it was a weeping willow, but what puzzled him the most was there was no rain seeping through. However, that was the least of his worries. His main concern was Cynder. He walked even closer and heard she was crying.
"Cynder?" the purple dragon spoke quietly.
"Go away Spyro." She spoke firmly but her voice cracked up a little. Spyro was taken aback by her remark but nonetheless, he didn't care. He knew she had to be hurt.
"Cynder, I'm here to help. Please let me talk to you," he spoke. However, he didn't receive an answer. Spyro sighed. He wanted to talk to her but she wouldn't cooperate, which he expected from her. Spyro then realized he barely could see under the tree. He then noticed a pile of dead sticks from the tree. As hard as it was to see, he still managed to collect a good amount and formed a bigger pile. He then used his fire element and spat out a tiny fireball to light the dried up sticks. Now the tree was fully lit from the inside. Now that Spyro could see better, he walked even closer to the black dragoness but once he was close enough to see her features, Cynder got up and walked a few yards away.
"Spyro, please, I don't want to talk," Cynder announced.
"Cynder, I know what you're thinking. Please let me talk to you."
Cynder started to get a little mad at the purple dragon. However, she knew he was only trying to help, even though she didn't want it. The black dragoness didn't speak for a few long minutes, but finally, she gave a long sigh and began to speak.
"Spyro, I told you this would happen," she said.
"You told me what?" Spyro asked with his head cocked to the side, even though Cynder wasn't looking.
"I told you everybody would recognize me as the killer I was, not who I am now… And we haven't even made it back to the city." Once she finished to take a breath, tears started to flow from her eyes even more.
"He just overreacted, that's all," Spyro spoke in hope of perking up the sad dragoness. However, it didn't work.
"Spyro, he didn't overreact. What he said was true…You see, Spyro? I attacked their home, I killed their family. Me. I am the reason why they live in a cave alone, without a loving family. I even took their older sister away from them, and I don't even remember where or what I did to her," Cynder finished and a downpour of tears seeped from her eyes. She felt so hurt, so guilty for what she had done. Spyro didn't know what to say. He wanted to cheer her up but he didn't know what words to say. But eventually, he did speak.
"Cynder, you cannot blame yourself for what happened against your will. You were controlled. None of it you did willingly."
"Spyro, you don't understand. I did do all those things on my own. I was told to do it but my actions were me, all me. I killed them because I was told it was right." Cynder lowered her head once she finished speaking.
"You see? You were told it was the right thing to do. Malefor taught you the wrong meaning, but now you know the right way, and you're not like you were," Spyro persisted.
"Yes but…" She trailed off as she didn't know what to say after what Spyro said. In a way, he was right, but there were still some things he wouldn't understand from her life ordeal. The two dragons didn't say a single word for another five minutes, but then, Spyro broke the silence.
"…Cynder, I know what you are thinking and I don't want you to do it." Spyro feared that Cynder would have the thought he was afraid she might, but he just prayed to the ancestors that she wouldn't attempted it.
"Spyro, I-I killed so many lives. I hurt so many. I-I don't want to hurt anyone else," she spoke as the suicidal thought popped into her mind.
"…But you will hurt me if you do what you're thinking…" Spyro looked at the black dragoness's back, hoping his words would enter her mind. Cynder then slowly turned around. She saw Spyro only a few feet away, just waiting for her to look at him. She thought about what he said. He was right. He cared for her and if she would have done such a thing, it would crush him.
"Even the guardians would be hurt if they found out you were no longer with us," Spyro added in.
Spyro smiled when she looked at him. He then spread out his left wing, waiting for her to walk under it. "Come on, please don't do this." Once he finished, his smile grew bigger. Cynder kept thinking back and forth, but it didn't take her long to decide. She then slowly walked towards Spyro and then under his wing in a somewhat hug. Spyro then kissed her on the cheek and Cynder blushed by the sensation. Cynder's crying slowed down but did not stop; there was something else on her mind.
"Spyro?" Cynder asked while looking up at him.
"Yes, Cynder?" he asked back.
"What if this happens again?" she questioned. Spyro thought about it for a few seconds.
"Well, I know your past will be brought up again. There is no stopping it. However, I will always be here for you and I will always make sure you'll feel safe. I will always help you out of these circumstances," Spyro finished and gave her another kiss.
"Thank you, Spyro. You always make me feel so confident inside."
"Just remember, even though it will be brought up again, just let go of the past and focus on your future. I know it's going to be hard but y—" He was suddenly cut off when Cynder pressed her lips against his in a romantic kiss.
"I will," Cynder said once she broke away. Spyro smiled in a goofy way, completely taken off guard by her friendly gesture.
Once she let the words free from her muzzle, they both smiled and hugged each other once more. After a few seconds, they let go of their hug but they still stood side by side with Spyro's wing around Cynder's body. A few more moments went by until Spyro broke the silence.
"Now, are you ready to head back to the others?" Spyro asked.
Cynder sighed at his question. She wasn't sure if she should return. "I-I don't know. I hurt them many years ago. I don't think I should go back. Besides, I wouldn't think they'd want me back."
"Of course they'd want you to come back. Singe understands the pain you went through. And as for Zackary, well, he's just a little... confused. I'm sure he'll understand sooner or later."
"I don't know, Spyro," Cynder said, still conflicted.
"Come on, I'll be here for you," Spyro said as a grin started to form around his muzzle.
Cynder also smiled and gave a simple, "Ok." Spyro still had his wing around the black dragoness; Cynder pressed her body close to his for a few moments. A little while later, she released and walked out of Spyro's wing. However, she didn't walk far, only a few meters away so their wings wouldn't collide. They then slowly walked outside from the safety of the willow tree and into the intense storm. They expected to be literately blown off their feet and have a hell of a time flying in it, but once they were completely out of the umbrella-like tree, everything they just thought of didn't happen. It appeared that the storm was dying down. It still would be hard to fly in it and the danger of lightning strikes remained but the risk was far less than earlier.
"Well would you look at this. It appears the storm is finally moving past us," Spyro spoke with a little excitement. Both young dragons looked at each other and smiled. To Cynder, this was more than a storm moving on; to her this was a brand new life style, the light at the end of the tunnel. She now felt like her past was leaving with the storm, away from her, and her future was going to be brightened.
Cynder didn't realize that she was staring directly at Spyro. The purple dragon cocked his head to the side, not understanding why she was staring. Was it something he said, or the way he looked? A few more moments passed by and Cynder then saw Spyro looking at her with a weird look across his features. She didn't know why at first but then it hit her; she was staring. She instantly shook her head and felt a little embarrassed by her actions.
"Oh…uh, I-I'm sorry, I was thinking of uh…" She trailed off, her features turning red from the embarrassment.
"It's ok. So what were you thinking of?" Spyro asked.
Cynder looked up at the sky. "Oh nothing. Just that the storm is going away but we still can't see anything. Stuff like that." She laughed a little and Spyro came in with a light chuckle.
"Yeah, that is true," Spyro spoke. "So, you ready to head back?"
Cynder ran over to the purple dragon, gave him a kiss on the side of his muzzle, and then ran back to her position. "I am now," she giggled. Now it was Spyro's turn for his features to turn red, but only for a few seconds.
After his features went back to their normal color, both dragons spread their wings wide and looked at each other to see if one another were ready. Each dragon gave a firm nod and jumped into the air with a single flap of their wings. It didn't take them long before they were at a steady flight. Still there was a heavy rain but it seemed to be much warmer than before. Most likely it had been cooler from the tremendous winds but now that the winds had subsided the air as well as the rain seemed a tad warmer.
A few small lightning flashes in the distance still lit up the sky enough for the two dragons to know where to go to head back to the safety of the cave. Spyro then looked back behind him. He saw a dim glow of a fire in the middle of the old weeping willow tree they were in. For some odd reason, Spyro seemed to like the tree, giving him warmth and protection from the storm, almost like a small home. This put a small grin of the purple dragon's features as he flew ever farther away from it.
The two dragons actually seemed to enjoy their flight back. Even though it was still raining and there was still lightning, the rain was warmer and the lightning was now too far away to strike them. The rain seemed to sooth the dragons a bit, how it splashed against their scales and ran down their body, almost as if they were swimming but in air.
After about five minutes of flying in the rain, Spyro and Cynder finally reached the cave entrance. The flight didn't seem to take as long than they expected it to be. However, considering they were flying against the wind on the way down, flying back up with no resistance from the wind took a lot less time and effort, and even safer.
The two young dragons finally flew into the opening in the cave and landed back on their feet. Spyro looked over to Cynder and noticed she was already looking at him. He smiled at her and she returned a smile back.
"Thank you, Spyro," Cynder whispered.
"For what?" Spyro asked dumbly.
"For all your help, your trust, everything."
"Cynder, you don't need to thank me for all that. I told you I'll do anything for you," he insisted
"No, Spyro, I do." She paused for a moment. "I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't because of you."
"Cynder, I couldn't let you leave like that. I had to go after you in that storm. I—" he suddenly was cut off when Cynder interrupted.
"No, Spyro, I wasn't talking about tonight. I was talking about saving me from Malefor, trusting me, helping me get through when everyone says I'm still evil. You've done so much for me; I wish I could repay you," Cynder said with sorrow.
"Repay me? Cynder, you don't need to repay me. I did all that because I love you, and you loving me back and being by my side, well, that's all I ever need," Spyro announced.
"Really, you mean that?" Cynder questioned.
"Absolutely. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," Spyro smiled.
"Well, I still wish I could do something for you," Cynder sighed.
Spyro thought about it for a few seconds and then an idea popped into his mind. "How about you come in the cave with me and let's see if we can convince Zackary that what you say is true?" Spyro suggested.
"Um… ok, let's go." Cynder didn't quite like the way Spyro suggested for her to repay her debt to him, since were going to do that anyway. However, she didn't dwell on it and followed the purple dragon into the poorly lit cave. She knew she could think of something one day and that was exactly what she was going to do.
Cynder eventually caught up with the purple dragon. Spyro notice she was by his left side so he flexed out his wing and draped it over her body. They then continued further down the cave in silence. Another ten minutes had passed and they were still walking down the cave, however they knew they were getting close to the end. Cynder's stomach churned as they came closer to the other dragons. The thought of what the younger dragon would say or even do frightened her a bit. Was Singe able to convince him I wasn't evil or does he still not trust me? Is he going to be mad that I came back or does he feel sorry? Cynder didn't know what to expect when they enter the room. She just hoped he would understand her past.
A few more minutes passed andit now had been a whole hour since the rage of the black dragon. Now they were only a few meters away as they could tell from their previous trip into the cave. Finally, after what felt like hours to Cynder, they made it to the room entrance. Cynder froze and stopped dead in her tracks. Spyro instantly noticed she stopped when her body started to slip out from his wing. He looked at her, puzzled.
"Are you ok, Cynder?" he asked worriedly.
"…huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm ok, sorry," she apologized and walked back under Spyro's wing.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
"Yeah, I'll be ok. I trust in what you said earlier."
Spyro smiled which caused Cynder to smile back. They then walked into the room simultaneously, Cynder's body pressed tightly against Spyro's. They finally made it into the cave-like room and saw Singe on his hunches waiting by the entrance about three or four meters away, and on the other side of the room, Zackary lay on the cave floor with his head resting against his paws, glaring at Cynder when she entered. Nevertheless, Cynder didn't feel threatened by his intimidating stare. She knew he had every right to be heartbroken and furious at her for what she had done in the past. She just thought back to what Spyro said earlier and it seemed to work. However, Cynder did feel for the younger dragon. She knew exactly how he was feeling to be ripped apart from a family. Cynder then was snapped out of her thoughts when Singe spoke.
"I'm glad you two came back, especially you, Cynder. I'm sorry for what my brother said." Singe felt guilty for his brother's actions. Before he didn't know why he was acting the way he did but now it all made sense.
"No, I'm sorry…for what I've done to you two." Cynder lowered her head in shame.
"You shouldn't feel guilty for something you couldn't control. Here, it's late, why don't you get some sleep and we can talk about it in the morning?" Singe suggested.
Spyro and Cynder nodded their heads in agreement. "Ok. Thank you, Singe, for letting us stay here for the night." Spyro said.
"Any time, I'm glad you guys found the cave. Well, if you like, you can sleep over to the right and I'll sleep closer to my brother over to the left. Will that be fine?" Singe asked.
"Yeah, that will be perfect," Cynder spoke.
"Good. Well, goodnight," Singe said before turning around and laying down a little closer to his brother.
Spyro and Cynder then went over to where Singe mentioned and lay down on the surprisingly soft cave floor. Cynder curled up next to Spyro and Spyro covered her body with a wing. Then the two dragons slowly drifted off into a relaxing slumber.
Zackary still watched from the other side of the room, but nonetheless, he too drifted off and didn't pay any mind to Cynder. Within a matter of minutes, all four dragons were sound asleep in a peaceful cave, a dim light from a torch on the wall being the only thing illuminating the cave, but it too slowly died off until the cave was left in complete darkness.
And done, whoo, took me a while to write but it's done. ^^ I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
And as for Zack, wow, harsh...didn't think he had it in him now did ya? Only if he knew, right? oh, and Zackary and Singe has a sister named Ellie? who would have known? XD
Well, that's about it from me, hoped you like it and please review. PLEASE! I love it when I get one. Also, I reply to every question, hi, or review I get and very, VERY fast too.
Til next time. :)
