Chapter 9 The Great Purge
Inside the small portal station under the Dragon's Palace, a rainbow of light is displayed for a blind Spirit dragon, as many different colorful auras surround him. Jak and Daxter's Spirit sparkle, as does his valet Nightshade, seeing the scene unfold before their eyes. They fill the room with bright oranges and yellows. However, the darker spectrum is cover by Cynder, whom he has not seen this aggravated in a long time.
"HOW COULD THE TWO OF YOU LEAVE MALEFOR ALONE ON HIS TENTH BIRTHDAY?!"
The room shudders with her rage, and both Spyro and Sparx cower down to a very angry mother's fury.
"But, honey..."
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT DUTY!" She spits out the word, cutting Spyro off mid-sentence as if hearing his response before it is said, then looks at her son as his mouth begins to open.
Sparx, with his mother's heritage, quickly reads a thought from her enraged mind and thinks better not to say a word. He lowers his head to the ground, like his father, and offers only a whimper of his stupidity, while begging forgiveness with his thoughts.
Sorry, Mom! We weren't thinking...again.
Jak, seeing his superiors cowering to Cynder, can no longer contain himself and begins laughing loudly.
"Ahhh, Jak!" Daxter remarks, as the dark purple and scarlet red dragoness' attention is taken by his outburst, and before he can warn his best friend, Cynder's narrow muzzle is in his face.
"DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, CAPTAIN JAK?!"
The long-eared humanoid quickly stands at attention, suddenly seeing her aggressive eyes inches from his face. However, he remains nonchalant in his attitude, knowing she would never attack him without a justified reason.
"I have no issues, Commander Cynder..." He replies calmly, and glances over at Spyro and Sparx still lowered to the ground. "...Daxter and I shall leave...so you can continue yelling at our brave Generals."
"Oh... No you won't, Captain," She replies with a calmed but firm voice of her own, then smiles in his face. "You are going to stay here, and help me find Mya's mother. Because my husband and son are not leaving this planet until they fix their problem!"
"WHAT? You can't order me to stay... "He barks back defiantly, knowing he outranks the retired Skylander dragoness.
"I'm on leave and I made plans with Keira for the next two weeks. So I'm not going anywhere!"
"CAPTAIN!" General Sparx barks out.
With a stern stare from his superior, Jak quickly changes his tune.
"Yes, Commander Cynder!" he replies, slumping his shoulders and staring at Sparx with a bit of disgust in his eyes.
The dark dragoness turns to her son, flashes him a slight smile, before returning an angered look to the king.
The Spirit dragoness lock eyes with her former Master and a chill shoots down his back. He can tell she is ready to burst and for all the right reasons. They both glance at Mya and notice the anguish in her eyes of what is going on around her.
This new world is nothing like she expected, seeing several different species living together. And though they argue, there is a peace that is unlike anything Mya has seen in her life. Her aura is brighter than the rest in the room, as so many things have lightened her Spirit in a single day. However, Cynder can see a dark spot, tainting this rainbow with a dark fear.
The fate of her mother.
The thought consumes her, though she will not speak out, and this begins to hurt the Spirit Elder most. Cynder's eyes return to Malefor's, and her blood begins to boil. Finally fed up with his silence and knowing the longer he remains quiet the longer it will take Mya to find her mother, the Spirit dragoness strides directly up to her king.
His eyes open wide with shock as Cynder places a paw against his chest and digs her claws in deep. She quickly overpowers the purple dragon with multiple questions, ripping answers from his mind as he cannot keep his silence inside. However, Cynder quickly tears up, hearing only a protecting father's concerns and removes her paw from the gold scale she dug in to.
The thought of bringing up the past haunts Malefor as Mya's book was devastating for him to read and he does not want her to relive such a painful moment.
"Please, Cynder..." he says, looking down at Mya with tears in his eyes."...don't make her relive that moment!"
"You have to tell us what the Great Purge is, Malefor..." Cynder says with an emotional voice, looking over towards the shy red dragon whom continues to stay quiet.
"...we need that information to find Mya's mother. And though you think you are protecting her, your silence is only making it harder."
The large purple dragon holds his tongue and looks down with depression. He knows he must talk but does not want to start with Mya in the room.
"It was the day the dragon race came to an end!" The young red dragoness suddenly blurts out, taking everyone's attention with her blunt statement.
"Or at least, that is what my mother told me."
Mya looks around at the group of startled dragons and Skylanders, then locks eyes with Malefor. A gentle smile crosses her face, hearing he was concerned for her emotions. However, wanting to find her mother, Mya breaks her silence and the smile fades from her muzzle as memories of the past begin returning.
"I was only six when it happened..." she remarks, then shudders with several tough images.
Mya pauses for a moment, then slowly walks toward Malefor and Cynder, sitting beside her great ancestor. The young red dragoness looks straight up and both stare at one another. The large dragon then wraps his right wing around her, holding Mya gently to his side, and she quickly finds comfort in a room filled with friends...and family.
"...but I remember everything!"
"Is everyone here?" Ajax shouts, echoing against the solid walls of the Palace's underground shelter, and several guards acknowledge him with a nod.
"Good!" he replies, placing his paw upon his daughter's head, and making her feel comforted in this crisis.
However, the look on his face is still grim, and Mya knows it.
"Is Mommy coming back soon?" she asks, and the red and black dragon's heart begins to pound in his chest.
"Yes," he replies with difficulty, knowing he has lied to her as fear of this army has been haunting him for a week.
The red dragon looks around the room filled with his kind and becomes overwhelmed with emotion. He begins to cry, knowing this army has destroyed every other dragon settlement and New Warfang is all that remains.
"Why are you crying, Daddy?" Mya asks, and tears flow from her eyes seeing the instability in her father.
"My dad picked me up in his arms, and never did he hold me tighter," Mya remarks, wiping the tears from her eyes, and taking a deep breath. She pauses for a moment. But seeing the entire room enthralled in her words, Mya continues to talk about the most painful day of her life.
"The ground shook hard only a moment later," she says, recalling the images in her head in perfect detail and even smiling as she remembered the stunned look on her father's face as he lost his balance.
"My dad fell on his butt!" Mya says with a humorous tone, allowing some of the tension in the room to be released. However, her the tension returns quickly and Cynder, Diamond, Sparx, and even Malefor watch her Spirit plummet.
"That was the last time I saw him smile."
"What's so funny, little girl?" Ajax remarks with a wide grin, unable to feel concern in the moment, as Mya's laughter consumes him.
"You fell on your butt, Daddy!" The young red dragon remarks through her laughter, feeling comfort in her father's arms and more so as he smiles again.
Mya's worries about the fight her mother is involved in, and Ajax knowing this is the dragon race's last stand, fade with the moment. The two dragons comfort each other, as the battle rages on outside.
Anxiousness fills Danielle's lavender-blue eyes, waiting by the door of Bosco's ship, and anticipating the view in real life of what she saw on the viewer before.
The same anxiousness fills the island, as a holographic image was projected in the town's center, and a message from someone they thought lost during her last stand.
Feeling the spacecraft's landing gear touch down, the long thin dragoness begins shuddering harder, as she can hear hundreds of dragons cheering the return of their Queen.
"Stand back Danielle!" Bosco orders, and she turns her head to him, showing a bit of anger.
"JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" The blue dragon orders back, and Bosco shows a slight smile before pressing the button to his right.
"Very well!" He replies, and suddenly Danielle understands his request.
The door opens quickly and the gang-plank, which she is standing on, shoots out several feet before dropping. Danielle loses her balance, falling flat on her face as the plank stops even more violently on the ground.
Oohs and ahhs of pain fill her ears, until the inevitable sounds of laughter overtake them from the large bear behind her.
"I warned you to stand back!" Bosco howls, grasping his stomach with uncontrolled laughter, as Danielle's embarrassed eyes turn back to him.
"Just open the damn door!" He continues, taunting her with her own words, while helping the blue and white dragoness back up on her feet.
"Shut up!" She replies with embarrassed anger, looking around at dozens of startled dragons and suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"That's her alright!" A voice calls out from the gathered group and Danielle's eyes open wide before she turns her head toward an armor-clad dragon that is approaching.
"Terrance?"
"I remember my Master was never nimble on her feet..." The Earth dragon remarks, removing his helmet to show Danielle his still loyal eyes. "...but that would never stop her from taking a stand."
"How is this possible?" She asks with a whisper of a voice, recalling the last time she saw him, and the fatal slashing he took before she blacked out.
"I saw you die."
The smug grin he would always show his Queen clears most of the doubt in Danielle's mind but the touch of his paw makes her know he is real.
"I have you to thank for that, Master..." He replies, turning towards a group of dragons that are waiting to greet her as well. "...and so do they."
Danielle looks to the group pointed out, and her heart begins beating stronger than ever as many familiar faces from her city show a grateful smile.
"Your Last Stand saved us all!" Terrance remarks, grasping tightly to Danielle's paw, showing his gratitude with a powerful stare. "You stopped the Great Purge!"
"NO, SHE DIDN'T!" Another voice calls out, and everyone lowers to a knee as the leader of the dragon race emerges from the largest structure on the island.
"Oh good...his majesty is coming," Terrance whispers sarcastically, then lowers in respect to his Master for the past few years.
"All you did was slow down the inevitable and condemned us to die on this island!" The two-tone red dragon barks, as he strides up to Danielle, showing great rage within his eyes.
Bosco quickly cocks his shotgun.
"That's my only daughter, Red!" He remarks with his own anger, slowly raising the gun up towards the aggressive dragon's chest.
"So back away or these guys will need to find a new King!"
Several dragons within earshot begin laughing, including the king whom he threatens. They all know Danielle's father, as he was once the leader of the dragon race himself.
The tall thin blue and white dragoness places a paw on the barrel of Bosco's shotgun, lowering it back to the ground, and shakes her head no.
"Forgive him, Sterno..." She replies, and Bosco's eyes open wide with embarrassment, realizing she knows this dragon by name. "He means only to protect his friend."
"So, Danielle, you remember us..." The red dragon remarks sarcastically, looking into her eyes with anger. "...I figured you'd want to forget the dragons you left behind for six years!"
"Left behind!" She replies with shock in her voice, showing a buildup of anger in her eyes as well. "Why would you say that?"
Terrance becomes angry too, knowing his Queen never did that, but his were the only eyes that saw her last stand.
"I'm sorry, Master. No one believes what I witnessed," he replies somberly, seeing the anger swelling inside his former Queen. "And now that you are here...I don't know what to believe myself."
Danielle can feel pain within his voice, and places a paw upon Terrance's shoulder. It soothes his emotions quickly, as her touch is still as gentle as he remembers.
"What happened?" She says with the same emotion, as she herself is unsure of those last moments. Her touch sends a wave of memories into the Earth Dragon's mind, and quickly he recalls the last time she placed this paw upon his shoulder.
The day the Great Purge ended
Standing upon the western wall, Danielle's eyes are filled with the sight of the inevitable outcome and a quick waged war that has changed the face of her home forever.
"This is it!" She says, looking over to Terrance, as he shudders beside her. "Stay focused, my friend, and we will win this day!"
"You're a hell of an optimist!" Terrance replies to her pep-talk, knowing this massive group of Raptors heading for their city has already destroyed every other dragon settlement.
Danielle gives her friend a wide smile, then looks back towards the palace. She can see her husband gathering the remaining population into the sturdy structure and finds more comfort in the fact she can use her full powers.
"This is where we make our stand!" She barks, placing a paw upon her frightened friend's shoulder.
Danielle's blue scales darken to black, her chest takes on a gold tinge, and her lavender pupils turn full purple before disappearing with rage.
"The dragon race will not end today!"
Danielle snaps her head towards the charging horde and fires the first shot in this battle.
Terrance's eyes open wide as a plume of light pink energy is released from Danielle's open mouth and he quickly blocks his face with his wings. The energy felt from this blast forces the Earth Dragon to protect himself but the impact upon the ground is even more intense. The stable footed Terrance falls to a knee, as the entire wall shudders from this epic display of power, and he slowly lowers his wings to see the carnage.
"By the Ancestors!" He remarks, looking in shock at the hole she made in the mob and a slight smile fills his muzzle. "Maybe we do have a chance!"
Danielle removes the paw from his shoulder and taps her friend towards the direction she fired.
"Let's go show these bastards what we can do!"
"Yeah right!" He says with a smirk, knowing the battle is hers to win. "I think you meant to say, what you can do!"
Danielle and Terrance quickly leap from the wall, gliding down towards the attacking army of mindless creatures, and lacing them with a myriad of different elements.
Though Malefor's heritage is fifty-six generations separated from her, Danielle still carries the dominant gene of a purple dragon, passed down from her father. But also being born from an Ice dragoness, she takes on the characteristics of her mother.
Ice and water are the primary elements she uses, as these are stronger attacks. However, they also use the most magic, forcing her to use Fire and Earth.
Terrance, a Master Earth Dragon uses his talents to keep them off balance, shaking the ground with giant meteor bombs from his muzzle. Hundreds of thousands of Raptors are slaughtered in the initial wave of attacks. However, it is only a dent in the massive army of millions and Danielle becomes concerned. She has already used up half of her magic, and without crystals to regenerate, the purple dragon must rely on her strength as she slowly accumulates more elemental power.
Danielle hits the ground with a single foot and lunges towards the approaching mobs. She slashes her way through the pack, taking down dozens of these small wingless dragons without effort, and receiving a boost of power from each one she kills.
The icy blue dragon uses that power to freeze the remaining group around her and quickly nods to her companion for a final blow.
Terrance drops from the sky, slamming the ground beside Danielle and causing an earthquake with his last bit of magic. Thousands fall into the fissure opened by the powerful Earth dragon, however, he knows his battle is already over.
"I have nothing left, Danielle." he says with fear in his voice, knowing he can only be a hindrance in this fight and Danielle gives him a smile.
"You gave me all you have, Terrance..." She says placing her paw upon his shoulder again, and looking over to the group of Raptors that have paused their attack. "...and now I will take care of the rest."
"But, Master..."
"Go, Terrance..." She cuts off the armor-clad dragon, removing his helmet to see his determined eyes better. "...go and help my husband keep everyone calm."
"No, Master!" he replies with depression, lowering his head with shame and feeling regret in disobeying his Queen.
"I beg you to forgive me but I will never leave your side in battle."
Danielle gives the back of his lowered head a hard stare before placing a paw between his horns.
"Why did I know you'd say that?" She remarks with a sarcastic tone, pulling his horn gently to raise an honorable dragon's head from the ground.
"Just stay back and make sure nothing gets by you, Terrance!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The dark brown Earth dragon replies with a resurgence of pride as Danielle's eyes show him great respect.
The black and gold dragon quickly takes off towards the mob again, using her Fury to clear another spot for an assault before landing in the middle of the stunned army of raptors.
Terrance awaits another onslaught of elemental power as Danielle has strategically placed herself in the center of the army. However, his eyes fill with shock as Danielle does the unthinkable.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He yells, as his Queen lays down upon her stomach and covers herself with her wings.
Thousands of Raptors take their cue to leap at the defenseless dragoness, overwhelming Danielle with countless slashes, as the swarm covers her entirely.
"NOOOOOO!" He screams, and quickly charges himself, but the ground suddenly shudders with Danielle's Fury, causing Terrance to lose his footing.
"What the -!" He remarks, as his eyes fill with purple light
He watches as his Queen rises from the pack without using her wings. The glow around Danielle intensifies and Terrance freezes solid with awe as he has never seen her power sky-rocket this like this before.
He quickly looks for a place to hide, knowing her rage is about to be unleashed in a single wave of power.
"I never felt anything like that before."
Mya looks up at Malefor and Cynder as she recalls the last moments of that day in a stream of powerful memories.
"The entire palace shook, and every dragon fell to the ground..." She continues, looking around at everyone and making sure they know of her father's heroics.
"My dad was quick to notice the wall started to crack and helped get everyone out before the palace collapsed."
The young dragoness takes Malefor's large paw, and holds tightly. Both knowing this is the hardest part.
"We ran to the catacombs as fast as we could, but he didn't know they had been overrun with Raptors," she says with pain, recalling the desperate look on her father's face at seeing thousands of the ravenous creatures blocking their path.
"They were quick to attack and overwhelmed my dad in seconds," Mya continues, gasping Malefor's paw harder as the most painful image returns.
"I watched them kill my father..." She whimpers, looking up to her great ancestor. "...and I did nothing to stop it!"
Malefor lifts her up quickly as Mya breaks down crying and whispers something she never knew in her ear.
"You did do something, Mya..." he says with conviction.
He knows the past himself, as he read the book of every dragon she protected with her power that day. He holds Mya out before his eyes, showing the pride he has in what she did, even though she has no recollection.
"...you stopped them all, and saved everyone else."
Several large boulders lay across his body after the wave of energy passed, but with the power of Earth within, Terrance uses little effort to sweep them from his flank.
"DANIELLE!" He barks, seeing nothing through the dust cloud left from her attack and feeling sickened with the thought of her loss. However, the sounds of crumbling rock from behind him takes the large brown dragon's attention to the city.
"By the ancestors...NO!" He cries, watching the palace slowly topple to the ground, and quickly fearing the worst.
"I'm alone!" He thinks to himself, knowing everyone was in that structure, and an eerie silence fills the air.
Suddenly the sound of heavy breathing takes his attention, and Terrance cringes with anticipation of his death.
"Just do it quickly!" He remarks, turning around and seeing only a few feet into the dust cloud, feeling the inevitable attack coming from nothingness.
"Do what?" Danielle coughs, stumbling from the dense cloud, and placing a solid paw upon the armored dragon's shoulder. However, her eyes lock upon the city, and the palace where her husband and daughter are hiding. The one that no longer stands tall on the horizon.
Danielle grasps Terrance in her light blue paws, as the attack she used emptied her magic power, returning the black dragon to her normal color. She takes flight towards the city, scaring the Earth dragon with the blazing speed that she can fly, and returning to the wall in only a few seconds time.
Both dragons cringe at the sight of the mighty Palace of New Warfang, and the last safe haven in the world, now laying as a large pile of rubble.
"What did I do?" Danielle cries out, lowering to her stomach, believing she just ended the dragon race with her own overwhelming rage. However, a sudden explosion of power from underground rattles her soul with a familiar energy.
"MYA!" She yelps, feeling the same power that courses through her veins, being unleashed from under the city.
Her eyes quickly focus upon dozens of dragons, scurrying from an opening to the underground chambers, and a wave of energy that follows them. Everyone is knocked to the ground, showing the fear of their maker within their eyes. However, none are hurt from this blast.
Danielle and Terrence look at each other with total shock as everyone returns to their feet and then look back into the cave with awe. They fly down toward the survivors, quickly landing by the remains of the palace.
"She saved us!" a red dragon remarks as Mya's mother lands close to him. And he quickly embraces her, showing the gratitude in his eyes.
"Where's Ajax and Mya?" She barks, but his expression of shock never leaves his face and all he can say is.
"She saved us!"
Danielle quickly removes the tightly clinched arms of a stunned dragon and tares off towards the cave. A dozen more dragons emerge, showing a greater amount of pain on their faces, as they were up front for the initial assault, and Danielle stops again.
"Where's my daughter?" The Queen cries out, and a familiar voice returns her call.
"I'm sorry!"
Danielle can see the pain of what she has witnessed through the scars on her face. She doesn't wait for her words, reading a good friend's eyes with ease, and quickly running into the catacombs herself.
"You disappeared and I chased after you," Terrance says with heavy emotions, recalling the last moment of the Great Purge.
"I watched your eyes glaze over as we came upon Mya's unconscious frame lying next to her father. I knew then it was a stupid idea to follow you that time."
Danielle's heart pounds as her last memories of that day flash before her eyes as well as the look on his face when he said those same exact words.
"Then they attacked us!" he remarks sternly, knowing this is all new to Danielle's memory because she had gone into a trance of power with one quick slash of a Raptorian claw.
"I fell to the ground in pain and then I saw a bright light...so of course, I thought I was dead!" He says, looking down upon the scar across his chest that is barely visible after so long. However, a wide smile crosses his muzzle as he returns his eyes to Danielle.
"But that is when I saw your true strength."
The entire catacombs fills with the power of Danielle's Fury, and Terrance's eyes open wide, knowing it is the last thing he will see. But thinking what a sight to behold.
The wave incinerates every Raptor it touches, expanding out quickly in all directions. However, as the wave strikes the Earth dragon's paw, it opens around his body and passes over him without harm. His eyes follow it out the cave entrance, watching in awe as it misses everything important and destroys only what was intended: the remaining Raptor army.
"By the Ancestors!" He says, and suddenly a paw is placed upon his chest and across his eyes.
"Relax, my son...it is over!" A calming voice whispers, and Terrance can feel his wound being healed without pain. A soothing energy never felt before consumes his soul and the Earth dragon falls fast asleep.
He loses time for only a moment, before opening his eyes wide, and looks down at his chest with shock. However, he also notices at that moment, Danielle and Mya are gone.
"MASTER!" he cries out, looking around for his friend and the one who saved his life, but hearing only an echo of his call in return.
Depression fills his heart, as only Ajax's lifeless body remains in the cave and Terrance lowers to his haunches. He can hear the cheering from hundreds of survivors outside the cave entrance but knows better than to think Danielle would leave her husband behind like this.
The brown dragon removes his helmet, placing it upon the ground, and scoops Ajax up in his arms.
"I promise I'll never forget what you did for us."
