A/N: Update 6-16-13: I removed the swearing from this chapter due to a few complaints from readers.
The Spyro and Cynder Adventures: Eternal Slumber
Chapter 9: Up to Speed
A young dragoness opened her eyes and peered out from the confines of her dark sleep. She was lying in a medium sized bed in a medium sized room on the second floor of a medium sized house. The dragoness yawned slightly and moved her four paws off of the bed and plopped down onto the cold stone floor below. She then proceeded to walk to the small dresser on the right hand side of the room and look into the mirror that hung on the wall.
The dragoness smiled to herself. Despite sleeping for over twelve hours, according to the small timekeeper on the dresser, she still looked as good as she had the night before. Her light blue scales were still in their well-polished condition and her snow-colored underbelly still shined in the bright light that came from the window looking outside. Her white horns and claws were still trimmed and sharpened from her last trip and her sky blue tail snaked around and ended in that familiar, sharpened pike blade that had been there since her birth. The only blemish on the dragoness' body was the small scar that ran from just under her neck down to the middle section of her underbelly. She shivered slightly and put the the wound from her mind.
Tamara's day was finally starting off right.
A soft knock came from the door. "Tamara? Are you alright? You've been in there for thirteen hours...I just wanted to check on you."
Tamara sighed and went to open the door. She turned the handle and peered out through a tiny crack between the wall and the door. A large green dragoness stood in the doorway, a look of relief washing over her face. "Good, you're alright. I'm sorry for intruding, it's just that Peron and I were so worried..."
Tamara opened the door wide and smiled. "I'm okay, Belinda. Just had a long night, I guess. I was awake all night...thinking."
Belinda nodded her head. "About what?"
Tamara lowered her head. "Richter." She said softly.
Belinda smiled to herself and placed a comforting paw on her shoulder, causing Tamara to look up. She brought the ice dragoness' head up slowly to look straight into her eyes. "I understand your concern, but I promise you, Richter can take care of himself. His father and I wouldn't have sent him on the trip if we didn't think that he was capable now of doing this kind of thing on his own."
Tamara nodded. "I know. It's just that...he's my best friend and I don't want anything bad to happen to him, is all."
"I understand, but you don't need to worry. I'm sure Richter will be back soon."
"I know. I just worry too much sometimes. By the way, Belinda...thank you again for letting me use your home for these past few weeks. I really appreciate it." Tamara said as she bowed her head lowly.
Belinda laughed slightly. "Tamara, you don't need to thank us. We are happy to do this for you. You are, maybe unofficially, a part of this family, even if you're not one of our bloodline. You and Richter have been friends for many years and we are glad to provide you a place to rest your wings while you search for a home for yourself."
Tamara smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you, Belinda...for everything."
Belinda nodded and turned back around towards the stairs and walked back down to the first floor. The green Earth Dragoness had been a friend of Tamara's ever since they had met, despite their large age difference. Belinda had always said that Tamara acted 'mature beyond your years.' The family almost thought of her as one of their own, because of her close relationship with Richter.
Richter...he had been gone for two weeks now and hadn't done as much as send a letter, message or any other type of communication. Tamara was worried. Richter had said that he would be back within two weeks, and that threshold had passed the day before. Tamara was always worried about her friend, if he was on a long trip, or if he was fighting the wolves or any other dangerous task. She cared for the Earth Dragon, that was certain.
The ice dragoness sighed and turned around, closing the door behind her. She walked on her fourpaws towards the small door on the other side of the room that led out to a balcony. Tamara opened the small entryway and stepped out onto thebalcony and looked out on the village below.
Draxis was a small village, the population being slightly under one hundred creatures. Dragons, cheetahs, moles and the uncommon bipedaled wolf species lived in the small confines of the village. The bipedaled wolves had come under much scrutiny lately as their close cousins, the feral wolves, had been raiding the small village for the past few weeks. What the feral wolves lacked in intelligence and strategy, they made up for in brute strength and numbers. The Guards of the village fought valiantly, but whenever they killed a wolf, two more would take its place. Their numbers never seemed to dwindle, while the Guards were cut down every raid, one by one. Almost half of the village had been pressed into active duty under the command of Peron, but it had not been enough. Parts of the village had been lost entirely to the wolf raids and most of the village's small amount of wealth had been stolen. The one small market in the city mostly ran on a barbaric barter system now, with creatures trading items of value for basic necessities. It was unfortunate, but Peron constantly told the citizens of the village that it was only temporary. There was no way to be sure, but Peron was a skilled leader, not only in wartime, but in peacetime as well. He certainly knew how to manage the small village.
Tamara sighed and leaned up against the railing around the balcony. There was only one thing on the young dragoness' mind.
Richter.
She hadn't stopped thinking about the Earth Dragon and his words to her before he had left for the Dragon City. He had promised to come back and to bring something back for her from the Dragon City. He had smiled, blushed and fumbled over his words when she had come to his room to say goodbye.
"He's so cute like that." Tamara thought as she giggled to herself.
She knew that the Earth Dragon had feelings for her, but he was too nervous around her to admit it. It had been fun for the ice dragoness, knowing what she knew about him. She had dropped subtle hints to him over it, but Richter was too blind at times to notice. Tamara giggled again at this thought and shook her head. She blushed to herself; she shared the same feelings for Richter that he did for her, but she was one of the shyest dragonesses in the Realms. She had a hard time talking to anyone else besides Richter and his family, so talking to Richter about her feelings was out of the question for the young ice dragoness. She was content for now just to be friends with the Earth Dragon, until the right moment when she could finally tell him.
Tamara smiled and looked up at the horizon. It was morning and the sun that shone down on the Dragon Realms was just starting to show itself above the mountains in the distance. The sky above the small village was a bright purple hue, with long streaks of red, orange and yellow dancing across the endless blue void. Light clouds hovered below the bottom of the sky and cast small shadows on the rolling hills around the tiny village.
It was beautiful.
Tamara stared at the endless landscape before her. This was the best view in the entire village, you could see for miles in every direction. The ice dragoness could hear the birds singing from the trees and few buildings around Draxis, the stalls from the marketplace down the street and...cries from the guards? Why were the guards shouting this early in the morning? Tamara leaned a bit further over the railing, craning her neck to hear what the guards on the wall below were shouting to one another.
"What did you say?" One of the guards further down the wall shouted.
"Two forms approaching from the northwest!" The other said.
Tamara, out of curiosity, craned her neck to look to where the second guard was pointing. Sure enough, two figures were approaching from that direction, flying extremely fast. Tamara squinted as she tried to make out the figures that were flying in. Both were dragons by the look of their body shape, and both had darker green scales.
"Earth Dragons." Tamara said to herself.
One was larger than the other and had darker green scales, as well as having brown membranes on his wings. The bigger one looked much older than the smaller dragon that flew on its side. The smaller dragon had lighter green scales and black membranes on its wings. The wings were much larger than most dragons'. Tamara gasped as she realized who the smaller dragon actually was.
"Richter!"
Richter smiled as the familiar setting of the village of Draxis came into view. The village was situated in a small valley, and sat up against the Draxis River, from which the tiny settlement got its name. The river flowed east and west, then flowing southwards again just south of the Dragon City where it finally met the sea. The river began only thirty miles from Draxis in Lake Myore, the largest body of water in the Realms. The village was in a remote location, cut off from the rest of the Realms; Warfang was the closest city, and it was still a four to five days flight for most dragons.
Richter looked to his right side and looked at the large Earth Dragon flying beside him. His Uncle was clearly taking in the sight of the beautiful settlement, but his facial expression gave nothing away. The Master Guardian soon noticed Richter staring at him and he turned and smiled at his nephew. "We're here, Richter."
Richter nodded at Terrador and continued to smile. "Glad to see that the village is still in one piece."
"Where are we headed now?"
"To the main gate. The guardsmen all know me on a familiar basis, so it should be easy getting into the village. After that, we're headed to my home. We need to talk to Peron and...Belinda before we do anything else."
Terrador was not used to taking orders from a young dragon, but he trusted Richter's judgment and his experience inside the tiny village.
"Of course, Richter. Lead on."
Richter nodded and soared down towards the ground, with his Uncle following close behind. The two Earth Dragons touched down on the soft soil below and walked slowly towards the gate. The walls around the city were heavily reinforced and the gate was surrounded by several stockades to block intruders into the village. A guardsmen on top of the medium-sized wall ran up to the wall above the gate and called down with a harsh voice. "Halt! State your name and business inside Draxis, or turn around and leave at once."
Richter stepped forward, a large grin on his face. "Tyron...I thought you would know me by now!"
The guardsmen, a brightly colored dragon, gave himself a small slap on the forehead. "Of course, Richter. But, you know standard procedure!"
Both dragons shared a laugh and then the dragon on the wall spoke again. "Who is your large friend there?"
Terrador stepped forward and lowered his head in a bowing motion. " My name is Terrador, Master Guardian of the three Guardians of Warfang, It's an honor, Tyron."
Tyron's maw fell open. "Terrador, sir...the honor is...uh...all mine."The dragon bowed himself. "I'll...uh...open the gate at once!" The dragon took off running and opened the gate from an adjacent tower.
Richter motioned with his paw for the large dragon to follow him. He smiled back at his uncle. "I'm impressed, Terrador. That's the first time I've ever heard someone shut his mouth before."
Terrador let out a small chuckle and shook his head. He did not respond, however.
The two Earth Dragons walked slowly into the village. The soft dirt quickly changed into cobblestone as they entered the main village. Creatures off all kinds stared at the two dragons as they passed by, some coming up to Richter and thanking him, others just stood on the edge of the road and murmured amongst themselves. The village itself was small, probably only being two miles at its largest. The structures themselves were largely made of loosely packed stone or basic wood housing. The moles in the Dragon City would be impressed by the settlement's resourcefulness.
The small, brightly colored dragon from the gate ran up behind the two Earth Dragon and almost tackled Richter to the ground in excitement.
Richter laughed and shoved the young dragon off of himself. "Tyron, do you have to do that EVERY time I get back from a trip?"
Tyron just laughed and raised his paw up to Richter's and the two dragons pounded eachothers paw in a brotherly fashion. "It's good to have you back, my friend."
Tyron was a small dragon, looking a bit smaller than Richter, despite the two dragons being the same age of sixteen. His light scarlet colored scales shown out in the sunlight and his golden underbelly almost caused a glare that caused a light aura to surround the young dragon. His red and golden scaled wings were folded behind his back in a comfortable fashion, as was his tail and its circular like blade. Tyron was a skilled fire dragon in combat and was once of the best warriors in the village. He was impulsive by his nature and always rushed into many situations. He had a fiery attitude, to say the least. The dragon was always the life of the party and was known by everyone in Draxis for being the first to show up and the last to leave. He had been a good friend of Richter's for many years; the Earth Dragon had almost known Tyron as long as Tamara.
"It's good to BE back. How is everyone?" Richter said, a wide grin still on his face.
Tyron chuckled and stared off into space for a moment. "Well, your parents have been worried sick ever since you left, Nerie and I have been playing soldier and.." Tyron looked back at Richter and gave him a mocking wink. "Your Tamara has been asking about you ever since you left."
Richter gave the fire dragon a slight shove. "We'll talk about that LATER. Got it?"
Tyron laughed and gave his friend a mocking salute. "Yes sir, Captain Richter, sir!" He waved with his right paw and ran off down another side street.
Richter waved his paw and turned back to Terrador who was smiling and looking off into space. Richter gave his Uncle a slight nudge and motioned again for the Master Guardian to follow him. Terrador nodded and the pair of dragons set off down the main street of the village. The two passed by the small main marketplace and by one of the two blacksmiths in the city. Richter turned down a familiar street and continued to walk up a slight slope towards his own home. The home was largely made of stone and sat on a slight incline towards the west side of the village. The house itself was of an average size by Warfang's standards, but in Draxis, it was the largest structure in the village. The home featured two floors and a small underground section. There were five dormitories to the home and several wash rooms for dragons and other visiting creatures. Both the matriarch and the patriarch of the family lived on the upper floor, as well as Richter in a separate room.
The two Earth Dragons walked slowly up the slight incline and Richter moved up to the medium-sized door and rasped lightly four times. He stepped back and waited for a response from the inside. A series of loud, booming footsteps thundered into Richter's ears from the interior of the home and the door opened slowly with a familiar 'CREEK' echoing through the entry hall.
A familiar red dragon stood in the doorway. The dragon smiled and spoke through his deep baritone voice. "Richter. Welcome home."
Richter approached his father and embraced him. "Thank you, father. It's good to be home."
The older fire dragon looked up and stared at the other Earth Dragon in front of him. "Who is your compatriot here, Richter?"
Richter stepped away from the fire dragon and smiled. "Father, this is the Master Guardian of the Guardians of Warfang, Terrador."
Peron's eyes opened wide and the expression on his face became stone cold. He opened his maw to speak, but no words came out.
Terrador noticed this action and bowed slowly. "It has been a long time, Peron. I hope that the years have treated you well."
Peron's maw finally opened into a bright smile. "Terrador...Master Guardian?" He shook his head. "Never thought I'd live to see the day. Welcome to Draxis, old friend. Why did you come with Richter? We only requested troops, not the Master Guardian himself. You are still welcome, of course, though. This is just...unexpected."
Terrador nodded. "After conversing with Richter, I felt like it was my duty to come here. There is...something I need to discuss with you and your family, Peron. It is of great importance."
Peron was slightly confused, but he trusted the Master Guardian's words. "Of course. Please, come in. We can all sit down and discuss this whole affair.
Both of the Earth Dragons glanced at each other and then nodded simultaneously at the Fire Dragon.
The trio of dragons walked through the entry hall and strode into a large sitting area. There were several rugs spread out around the room where most dragons could lay down and be comfortable for a conversation. The room itself had a large amount of natural light filtering in from its plentiful windows. The room was also decorated with many works of art, ranging from landscapes to pictures of the family. There was also a small altar on the right side of the room, with a statue dedicated to the glory of the Ancestors. Richter lied down next to Terrador and at his uncle and smiled. Terrador returned the favor and waited for Peron and the others to enter the room.
"RICHTER!" A voice suddenly rang out from the next room. Before the young Earth Dragon had time to react, a huge wave of force hit from behind, causing him to fall over once again.
Richter looked up on his back only to find himself face to face with a pair of glowing sky-blue eyes. A young dragoness was staring him in the face and had a huge grin on her face. Richter's maw formed into a smile. "Tamara." He said brightly as he laughed and stared into Tamara's eyes for a moment. Both dragons looked away for a moment, slight blushes on both of their faces.
Tamara returned her gaze after the red color in her cheeks had faded and she smiled again, bouncing with excitement on top of Richter. "You're finally back! I...WE were so worried while you were gone!"
Richter grinned again. "Just met a few people and learned some things. Warfang is amazing, you have to come with me the next time that I have to go!"
Tamara smiled back and slowly got off of the Earth Dragon, letting him stand off of the floor. "I'm sure I'll hear about it."
Richter chuckled. "Of course you will." Then he remembered something. "Oh, Tamara!"
"What, Richter?"
"I keep my promises." He smiled lightly and gazed into Tamara's confused blue eyes again.
A few moments after he finished the statement, the orbs of blue on Tamara's face lit up, as did her entire facial expression. "Oh! That's what you mean!" She then smiled at Richter. "So, what did you get me?"
Richter kept grinning and he took out the necklace. Before he showed it to Tamara he spoke lightly. "Close your eyes."
Tamara's eyes closed shut and Richter brought the symbol of the Ancestors up between her eyes and let it dangle off of its metal chain slightly. The Earth Dragon admired her for a moment before shaking off the thought and whispering softly. "Now, open."
Tamara's eyes opened and she gasped in surprise at the jewelry hanging in front of her. Her maw formed into the brightest smile that Richter had ever seen and she flung herself onto Richter's frame, causing him to stagger once more, but not fall.
She embraced him tightly and the Earth Dragon blushed heavily. Tamara's head came to rest on the Richter's left shoulder. Tears filled up the ice dragoness' eyes, but they weren't because she was sad.
"Richter, it's perfect! I can't believe you'd get something like this for me!"
Richter felt his cheeks warm up even further, but he pulled the ice dragoness further into the embrace for a moment before he tore himself away, as painful as it was. "I really wish that those hugs could last forever. She's just so...warm."
Richter smiled to himself and spoke up as Tamara returned to standing in front of his vision. "I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure..."
"Yes you were. You know me better than anyone else."
Richter blushed and looked down at the ground, suddenly interested in his pearly white claws. Tamara giggled and sat down on a rug right next to Richter's. She smiled at him once more before turning her attention to the Earth Dragon in the room. "Master Terrador, I presume?" The ice dragoness bowed her head sightly. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Tamara. I'm Richter's best friend."
Terrador bowed his head in return. "The honor is all mine, Tamara."
All three dragons left in the room returned to silence as they waited for Peron to summon the remaining member of the family. After a few minutes passed without any sign of either dragon, Richter finally spoke up. "What could be taking them so long?" Both of the other dragons shrugged. No one had any ideas for the older dragons' absence.
After another few minutes of silence, Richter stood up. "I'm going to go look for them. I'll be right ba-"
"That won't be necessary, Richter."
Richter spun around and came face to face with a large green dragon. He smiled warmly. "Hi, Mom."
Belinda smiled back and patted Richter on the shoulder. "Welcome back, my son. I'm glad to see that you're returned to us without any injuries."
"I told you that he wouldn't." Peron's voice suddenly boomed from behind Belinda.
Belinda nodded. "I know...I know...don't give me grief."
Peron chuckled lightly and moved to take a rug at the head of the circular formation. Belinda walked around the circle to take a seat to take a seat next to Peron before she stopped dead in her tracks and her facial expression turned stone cold. Her eyes were wide open, in shock as she stared at something in the center of the room.
"Terrador."
Spyro growled lowly and erected his body into a defensive posture. "You don't fool me, Dark Spirit!"
Cyril's eyes opened up even wider. "Spyro, it's Cyril, the Ice Guardian! I'm not a dark spirit, or whatever you just said..."
Spyro's eyes narrowed. Cyril was acting like himself, he looked the same and Warfang looked alright..."Am I really awake?" The purple dragon thought to himself.
As if reading his thoughts, Cyril spoke up again. "Spyro, this is the real world. You are in the Dragon Realms. It has been a month since you defeated Malefor."
Spyro's memory banks clicked and thoughts flew through his head. "One month...One month? I WAS ASLEEP FOR A MONTH?" Spyro looked back up and stared coldly at Cyril. "If you're lying or if you falter, I won't hesitate."
Cyril glanced nervously around the room. "I assure you, Spyro, you have nothing to fear from me. You can trust me."
Spyro issued a low growl. "I can't trust anything anymore, Cyril."
Cyril mulled the idea for a moment and then spoke up again. "What if I showed you where Cynder is?"
Spyro's maw wavered slightly and his defensive posture was relaxed a bit. The purple dragon relaxed and bowed his head. "I would like that, Cyril."
Cyril nodded and turned around. He walked through the open door and walked out of the open door and into the hallway beyond. Spyro followed the Ice Guardian a few steps behind and constantly looked over his shoulder, scanning his surroundings for any sign of trouble. The hallway was long and had many identical rooms on either side. "The Sleeping Quarters, apparently." Spyro thought to himself. The pair of dragons trotted a short distance down the hallway past two rooms, one of which had been used it looked like to Spyro, and stopped two doors down from where the purple dragon had been resting.
Cyril turned around and looked at the young dragon, who was standing a few feet away from the Ice Guardian and looking over his left shoulder. Cyril cleared his throat, which caused Spyro's head zip back around and his amethyst eyes to lock onto Cyril's. "Before you enter, you need to know that Cynder is...not well. She is, obviously, in a state of near death and she will not look as if she is among the living. Her natural scales have withered away and she isn't moving. You should exercise the most extreme cau-"
"Cyril, I know. You don't need to worry. I thought by this time that you would trust me, but I know you, and you're slow to trust and very proud of yourself." Cyril grunted at this and murmured something that was inaudible to the young purple dragon. "I'm going in. Can I have some privacy with her, at least?"
Cyril grunted again and mumbled a barely audible. "Do as you must." The Ice Guardian then quickly walked away, heading towards the other side of the Temple. Spyro issued a small chuckle to himself and shook his head. Cyril was an experienced warrior and a natural leader, but he was arrogant and impatient. Terrador was much more relaxed and level-headed in times of crisis, which was why the Earth Guardian had been chosen as the Master Guardian instead of Cyril. Spyro himself found the Ice Guardian to be annoying, especially when the old dragon got talking about his 'pure lineage of the best of the best of the Ice Dragons to ever walk the Dragon Realms.' The two dragons had never seemed to get along, and Spyro harbored a personal distrust for the Guardian as a result.
The purple dragon shook his head once more and moved around to open the small door into Cynder's dormitory. The black handle felt unusually cold to the purple dragon, as if the slab of metal had not been used in generations. Spyro frowned at this, but he pushed the handle and walked slowly into the room as the door opened in front of him. Spyro turned around and shut the entryway with his back right paw and then spun back around to face the slumbering form of Cynder. As he turned back around, Spyro stopped dead in his tracks and his amethyst eyes grew wide in terror.
In front of him, lying on a queen sized bed was a gray dragoness. The natural shade of jet-black scales that had become so familiar to the Purple Dragon were gone, replaced by a lighter granite color. The dragoness had six horns dotting the top of her head, but the horn on the furthest right side had chipped and withered away somewhat. Her natural shade of magenta on her underbelly had withered away to a dark pink color, almost looking like a grayish-red tint. Her tail blade and claws were withered away as well, looking as dull as Spyro had ever seen them.
And on top of it all, she wasn't moving.
Spyro moved quickly to the dragoness' side of the bed where she was resting and laid his head next to the area of her underbelly where Cynder's heart was supposed to be. There was no vibration, just as Cyril had told him.
Spyro stepped away from the bed, tears now starting to fall down his face. "Oh, Spirits, what have I done? This is all my fault...I should have stayed with her...Cynder..."
The purple dragon sniffed and felt his eyes water even further. "Cynder...if you can hear me, I'm so sorry...so, so sorry..."
Spyro, through his own power, moved to the side of the bed again and lied down next to the dragoness. He draped his wing over her and continued to sob softly to himself. The purple dragon again laid his head on top of Cynder's heart and closed his eyes.
"All of this is my fault...I've let everyone down. The Guardians when I didn't come back in time from The Night of Eternal Darkness in time, Sparx when I almost left him in the swamp and Cynder...I've let you all down."
As negative thoughts continued to dominate his consciousness, the purple dragon quietly cried to himself and drifted off into sleep once more.
"...Cynder...I've let you all down."
"You see? He's lost all hope without you." The dark spirit laughed maniacally and closed the vision to the outside world. The Dark Spirit had vision into the outside world too, apparently.
"NO! YOU'RE LYING!" Cynder shouted at the form of Dark Spyro. "HE WOULDN'T!
The Dark Spyro, through his violently distorted voice spoke up once more. "He was only able to wake up because his passion to see you again drove him...now, he has NOTHING." The spirit laughed again. "Face it, you have nothing left. Cease your struggle!"
Cynder thought for a second to regain her composure. She and the Dark Spyro were pacing around in a circle, both sides throwing threats and insults to each other. The room that the two individuals were standing in was on the top of a dark citadel. The room had a glass roof that partially broken down in one place where a creature of some sort had flown through it prior to Cynder's arrival. The citadel lied in the middle of a large crystal forest. The crystals made the ground sparkle with light, but the citadel itself was dark and foreboding. Cynder had been to this place before, but against her own will. The environment of the dream world had changed to form into a dark memory for Cynder, one that the black dragoness wished that would never come back into her mind ever again.
The citadel was Cynder's Fortress in the region of Concurrent Skies.
The Terror of the Skies had returned home.
Cynder returned herself to consciousness and stared down the Dark Spyro. "I have plenty left to fight for. You have NOTHING. You're motivated by greed and dishonor." She said as she raised her paw in a defiant manner. "You'll never win, because I have something that you will never understand."
The Dark Spyro growled and cringed his teeth. "And that is...?"
Cynder smiled and raised her maw. "Love."
Before the Dark Spyro could react, Cynder rolled to her right and launched a quick poison shot at the form of the dark spirit. It let out a loud yelp and was struck with the green energy. The shot landed on the front right foreleg of the spirit. It howled out in pain as the poison melted away part of its scales again, in the same place that Cynder had hit in the battle before.
The spirit winced in pain and let loose a low growl at Cynder. "You insolent...taking the first shot like that."
Cynder grinned. "Early dragon catches the mole!"
The Dark Spyro roared at Cynder and flung itself at her, claws outstretched. Cynder activated her shadow powers in response and sunk below the ground. The spirit contacted with the cold stone floor without hitting anything. It roared in anger and searched the ground for the illusive dragoness.
"Surprise."
A force hit the Dark Spyro's back with strength that the spirit had never felt before. It yelped in pain once more and fell to the floor, bruised and broken.
Cynder raised herself back out of the ground and grinned again at the dark spirit. "Had enough?"
Dark Spyro growled and turned his head back up to Cynder and launched a fireball at Cynder's form above his body on the ground. Cynder sidestepped and launched a cyclone. It hit the dark spirit at full force and launched its body at a nearby wall. Cynder could hear the audible sound of bones cracking in the spirit's body as it collided with the wall and fell to the ground.
The spirit cried out in pain and moved around for a moment before it ceased its struggle and kept its limp body on the ground. It growled for a moment and looked back at where Cynder had been. The black dragoness now stood towering over the dark spirit's body.
But this time, she wasn't grinning.
Cynder growled herself opened her maw to speak. "You ruined our lives. All we wanted was a life of peace together. Instead, you force me to fight for Malefor AGAINST my will and force Spyro to undertake a journey that a thirteen year old should never have to go through. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Cynder screamed at the limp body of the Dark Spyro.
The spirit looked up and grinned. "You...brought this...upon yourselves. All we wanted was...to cr-create a n-new world. Instead...we have to f-fight all of you annoying dragons, even though you were doomed to..f-fail."
Cynder shook her head and issued another growl "The world that YOU would create would be shrouded in darkness! We fight to protect the Realms as they should be, peaceful and free from your rage and malice!"
The Dark Spyro shook his head. "No...you're w-wrong...but...I don't expect a...traitor...like you to un-understand" The spirit spat as it said 'traitor.'
Cynder roared and raised one of her claws to the spirit's chest, digging her sharpened blades into the spirit's chest. "I AM NOT A TRAITOR!" She screamed.
The dark spirit tried to resist by raising his own tail blade up to Cynder's neck, but he missed. Cynder drilled her claws further into the spirit's chest, hoping to extinguish its life force once and for all.
As the last bits of life clung to the Dark Spyro, it issued one last cry. "See you...soon."
Cynder finished drilling her claws into the spirit's chest and the body of it became calm and still. Suddenly, its body somehow exploded in a torrent of shadows before Cynder's eyes in a dark flash. Cynder shut her eyes to avoid looking into the shadows before she opened them again and looked around.
The body had vanished. There was no trace of blood, burns or charred scales anywhere. The spirit had vanished into thin air.
Cynder was shocked at first, but she eventually growled once more and spat on the spot where the Dark Spyro had been. "And for the record, my Spyro is better looking."
Cynder shook her head and turned around to face the thing that had brought to the citadel here in the first place. In the same place where she had imprisoned Ignitus three years prior, a large current of Convexity Energy coursed through a hole in the fortress. Cynder had spotted the tower of energy after her conversation with Emuleta and had quickly flown to find the source of the ray. The environment had altered before her eyes, changing from the Convexity like world into the now familiar realm of Concurrent Skies.
The beam also held something in the center of its wide radius that hovered just above the platform that the stream of energy jutted out from. It was a crystal like object, but it stood out from the rest of the beam. The crystal was jet-black, despite the Convexity's dark purple color. It looked exactly like the shade of Cynder's scales.
The young dragoness became transfixed on the crystalline structure. She began inching closer and closer to the beam, as if she was in some sort of trance. All the dragoness could think about was the beauty of the black stone.
As Cynder got closer and closer to the beam, she felt a powerful and familiar energy build up inside of her body. The level of the energy continued to climb as the black dragoness got closer and closer to the beam. Her eyes closed slightly and she felt the familiar energy of Convexity build up even further. She began to float off of the ground, despite the fact that she hadn't moved her wings.
Cynder felt her body leave the ground and begin to hover towards the crystal in the center of the beam. Her eyes opened again, but were now glowing with a bright white hue. Purple energy began dancing off of the black dragoness' scales. She held out her left paw to touch the crystal and relaxed the rest of her body.
As the dragoness' paw came into contact with the crystal, the powerful energy of Convexity left her and the energy stopped propelling off of her scales. The dragoness' entire body was flung backwards and she landed with an audible thud onto the stone floor below.
Cynder groaned in pain and felt the last bit of energy leave her body. Her eyes were closed tight and her body ceased all movement.
The dragoness had become unconscious.
Cynder's eyes shot open as soon as she regained consciousness. She picked her head up and tried to move her body, but her underbelly was held down by something heavy. She yelped in surprise from the sudden pressure on her body. She looked down and was surprised to witness what held her down.
A young dragon was lying next to her in a queen-sized bed. The dragon was snoring loudly and his chest rose up and down at regular intervals. His two horns were jutting into Cynder's thigh slightly as his head lied on her underbelly. Cynder blushed and smiled at the sight. The dragon was handsome with his golden underbelly...two golden horns and...purple scales!
Cynder yelped in surprise and screamed the dragon's name as she realized the truth.
"SPYRO!"
A/N: Thanks for reading Chapter 9! Another big chapter here, and Chapter 10 will be even better. I hope you guys enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave me a review and tell me how I did!
I'm going to start a new poll on my profile after next chapter and include my next two O/C's to be introduced, Tyron and Nerie. Stay tuned next chapter for that.
Special thanks goes out to Morning Frost on Leaf this time for agreeing to design a cover to Eternal Slumber! I can't thank her enough for her help with this!
Thanks again to Airchi this week for being such an awesome Beta! Airchi tends to notice faulty details that I always seem to miss myself. Thanks as always.
Stay tuned for Chapter 10! I promise that it will be worth the wait!
Best regards. -Unit Omicron
