Chapter Ten: Provocation
Deathmatch was put into a large sphere-like structure. As Cynder watched, she couldn't help but think about what she would be saying to him. How she would force the information out of him. She wanted to know where Emily had been taken. When the interrogation began, she would be ready for what would be coming. Nothing would dare to stand in her way as she searched for Emily and the rest of the Mabu who had been taken.
As she and Spyro waited outside for their cue to go inside and begin, Spyro looked to Cynder and asked, "Will you be okay?"
"I think so," she said. "I'm so angry at Deathmatch for what he and Kaos have done. They will pay for this crap! Emily was such a sweet little girl, and they just took her!" Spyro saw the tears in her eyes. "My life has been filled with so much pain, and I just want it all to be over. I thank you for all you've done to help me. It's been a hard road so far, of course, but if we get past this, I think I'll make it. I don't know if I want to become a Skylander just yet, though. It's a lot of work, I can see."
Spyro nodded. "I understand," he said. "I understand if you want to go back to what you did before. It's your choice, of course."
Cynder still didn't smile. Spyro wanted her to, as he believed it was the way he knew he was getting through to her. But it seemed that whenever he or someone else came close to doing so, Cynder only half-smiled.
Finally Cali and Eon came out of the interrogation cell. "He's ready for you guys," Cali told them. "Just be careful. He is chained to the chair, but he might still be dangerous. I don't want either of you to be hurt. Do you both understand me?" Spyro and Cynder nodded.
As they entered the interrogation room, the door closed behind them. Deathmatch looked up at them and smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Cynder," he said.
Cynder became frozen in her place. She breathed in and out deeply and slowly. Spyro knew she was trying to be careful.
"Cut the crap, Deathmatch," she finally said. "Where have you taken the Mabu?"
"Why should I tell the either of you?" he asked. Deathmatch stared into her sapphire eyes with his dark gray eyes. "I don't think you should know. Either way, you will be too late when you arrive, even if I do tell you!" Deathmatch laughed, causing Cynder's blood pressure to spike and her blood to boil.
Spyro saw Cynder's tail was flicking back-and-forth, the blade on the end scraping the stone ground. He could see Deathmatch was getting to her. He just hoped nothing more happened.
"Fine, so you wish to know where the Mabu have been taken?" Deathmatch asked. Both Spyro and Cynder nodded. "Okay. So I will tell you. Kaos and I found this abandoned castle near here. When we took it, we decided to use the dungeons to torture the Mabu to learn of their plans, and that was when we found out you all would be coming. We were so happy, because we wanted to see who had joined. When I learned you had come along, and with Spyro, I was surprised. But that's beside the point. So we imprisoned the Mabu who had not been tortured and who were too young. Of course, once the torture was finished for some, if they did not die of blood loss, we put them there in the dungeons, anyway. The castle has many tricks up its sleeve. If you go there, you will not know what to do. The world is full of many strange things. You would be one of them, Cynder." He winked at her, and she suddenly growled. "I must tell you, I am not someone to mess with, and neither is Kaos. He may not seem to be a formidable opponent, but he has many tricks up his sleeve. It is best to tread lightly. If you step on the head of the snake, do not be surprised if it strikes at your heel." He laughed once more.
Spyro looked to Cynder. Her eyes were blazing with Electricity. He just hoped she was careful.
"Cynder," he said, "I think we might be done here. Can I see you outside?" He made his way to the door, and Cynder followed him.
Once they were away from the cell, in a place where they believed Deathmatch would not hear, Spyro said to her, "Is he getting to you?"
She nodded. "I can't take it too much longer," she admitted. "You know how I am. It's not easy, being me. When it comes to Deathmatch or someone else like him, I feel I want to kill them. But something holds me back, of course. I know I shouldn't do it, because something bad could come out of it. You're helping me a lot, and once more I thank you for it."
"You're welcome," Spyro told her. "I am doing my best to make sure Deathmatch doesn't get to you too much. There are times when I might not be able to do it, especially if we have to interrogate him again. I'm doing my best to find where the Mabu are, where Emily has been taken. He's told us about the castle, and while that's a start, we don't know exactly where the castle is located. We need to continue this on a little more, and when it's all done, I'll allow you to rest. How does that sound?"
"Good. It sounds good," Cynder said, still not smiling. Spyro had been hoping for one, but he guessed he'd have to wait a little longer.
They went back inside the room. When Deathmatch saw them, he smiled a little more.
"I thought we were finished," he said. "I thought it was all over. What's the matter? Do you just want to keep hanging out with me? I know, I'm an interesting guy. That's how we Dark Elves are. I believe there's a Dark Elf on your side. Isn't her name Hex? Ah yes, I believe so. I've heard of her before, most certainly. Let me ask—"
He was cut off by Cynder.
"Tell us where the castle's location is!" she exclaimed. "We have ways of forcing you to tell! I have the blade on the end of my tail. That would be a good start, now wouldn't it?"
But Deathmatch said nothing more for another five minutes. As time ticked on, Cynder became more and more agitated. Spyro kept shooting her glances to make sure she wasn't allowing her dark side to show through. He was fearful of that outcome.
"Okay, so I will tell you," Deathmatch finally said. "I don't believe I can hold it back much longer. It is near the swamp. The Mistlands are strange, and so is the swamp. There are many things there, hidden in the darkness. When you go there, you must be very careful. The castle is just at the end of the swamp. You will see its outline in the mist just before you get out of the swamp. The castle has many defenses, so don't be surprised if something attempts to kill you. You both are young enough to understand that you must be careful when around things you do not understand. It'll be hard for you both, I am sure. And that is what I am counting on. I want it to be hard for the both of you. I want the both of you to see how painful it is to live a life like this!"
Cynder turned her head away. Spyro decided it was best to end the interrogation. He wasn't sure if Deathmatch was completely telling the truth, but he could guess there was some type of the truth in there. Or so he hoped.
"Alright," Spyro said with a tone of finality. "We're officially done here. Come on, Cynder."
She followed him as he left the room. Spyro knew Deathmatch was beginning to get to her. He wanted to get her out of the room before something bad happened.
Both of them went to where Eon, Cali, and Bly stood. They had obviously been waiting on them.
"How did it go?" Cali asked.
"It went fine," Cynder said. "We learned most of what we needed to know. We now know where the Mabu have been taken. Now I know where I can find them…"
Cali noticed something was going on with Cynder. But she didn't open her mouth, knowing that it was possibly the stress.
Spyro quickly explained it all to them, and when he finished, Sunburn and Sonic Boom came running to them. Both of them had surprised expressions on their faces.
"What is it?" Spyro asked.
"We need you to come with us!" Sunburn finally told him as he caught his breath. "We think we might have found something."
As Spyro, Cali, and Eon started following them, Cynder attempted to do so, but Spyro turned around and said, "You should watch Deathmatch for right now. I know it's not something you want to do, Cynder, but it's the best thing to do. Okay?"
Cynder wanted badly to protest against him, but finally she decided not to. She decided it was best to do what he said. If Deathmatch were to find some way out, someone would have to be there to watch him and make sure he did not get too far.
Cynder nodded at him solemnly, and made her way back to Deathmatch's cell. As she did so, Sunburn said to Spyro, "You didn't have to do that. She could have come with us. I could've stayed here to watch Deathmatch. She looks like she needs a break."
"I know," Spyro said. "But Slam Bam will be there with us, won't he? If he's there, I don't want him to speak to Cynder the way he has been. I'm sick of it."
Sunburn noticed something was up with the way Spyro was speaking. But he didn't want to get into it. He knew it was something only Spyro and Cynder should be involved in. But he hoped something would soon happen in their favor.
As Cynder went back into the interrogation room, Deathmatch looked up at her and smiled once more.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Were you left behind? Did they decide they finally want to leave you behind because of the terrible things you've done in the past? It hurts, doesn't it? To have no one in your life that trusts you, understands you, or loves you, I mean. If you decide on the right things, I can help you. I can help you come back to the right side. You might have left, but there are still some who remember you and would like to see you again. When I learned you were alive, I was shocked Malefor would dare to leave you in that strange world. Yes, he told us of some of his plans before he went away. He told us he would enter that world and do something. But I was so surprised he left you. It hurt me; and it hurt me more when I learned Spyro had turned you back to normal. It must be painful to have to give up the amazing power Malefor gave you. By doing so, you have decided to give up your true destiny. You've given up everything, Cynder." As Cynder listened, her blood pressure spiked. She couldn't take it for too much longer. She hoped it was almost over. "You've refused to accept the true role of those who have been given the most extreme form of power from Malefor! If you keep doing this, soon something terrible will happen. Maybe to one of your friends? Maybe to the Griffiness or the Hybrid? Hex? Or maybe even Spyro? Oh, I would love to just sink my claws into his—"
Cynder couldn't take it anymore. She released her dark violet Electricity at him. However, as she did so, Deathmatch broke the chains binding his hands and caught the Electricity. Seeing this made Cynder's eyes widen in deep horror.
"How—?" she began, but Deathmatch cut her off.
"I have abilities you could never dream of," he said. "And now, thanks to you, I am free from here."
"I can stop you!" Cynder yelled at him.
"Oh, I don't think so," Deathmatch told her. Using his other hand, he pulled the Electricity attack apart. He threw one at the door to the room, blowing it apart, and just as Cynder ran at him, he threw the other at her, hitting her right in her chest and into a wall hard, knocking her unconscious.
As Deathmatch left the room, he smiled at Cynder's unmoving body and said, "I warned you, didn't I?" He threw his head back and laughed, ready to make his escape.
Thirty minutes later, Spyro and the others found themselves near the room. They'd found what they'd believed to be something that could help them to be a hoax. Now Spyro, Sonic Boom, Slam Bam, and Sunburn made their way to the room. Slam Bam was only going with them to see about Deathmatch. Eon and the others were still looking over the area where they'd believed something had happened.
"I wonder if Cynder's okay," Spyro said.
"Why does it matter?" Slam Bam snapped.
"Slam Bam, please, don't say that!" Sonic Boom protested. "We all trust Cynder, so if you distrust her, keep your opinions to yourself."
As they came closer to the room, Spyro realized something was wrong. Smoke and dust billowed from the entrance. It made Spyro wonder what could have done such a thing.
When they arrived at the entrance, Spyro looked through the smoke and found Cynder lying there on the ground. He ran to her, all of a sudden afraid. When he got to her body, he checked her pulse and found himself relieved when he found she was only unconscious. He wondered what had happened before they'd arrived. Deathmatch was obviously gone.
Cynder stirred and groaned, then opened her eyes.
"Spyro?" she mumbled. "What—?" Her eyes widened. "Oh no."
"Cynder, what happened?" Spyro asked.
"He somehow broke free of his chains and then he attempted to escape. I breathed one of my Electricity attacks at him, but he caught it," Cynder explained. "I don't know how it happened. It's just so weird."
Spyro knew she was leaving one part out, but he wasn't going to make her say it until they were out of earshot of the others.
"So you allowed him to escape?" Slam Bam exclaimed. "Why, you piece of crap! It should have been me who guarded Deathmatch! I wouldn't have messed up like this!"
"Slam Bam, get out," Spyro commanded him.
Slam Bam spit on the ground, right at Cynder's feet, and then left the room. Spyro looked to Sunburn and Sonic Boom.
"Would you guys mind leaving for now? Cynder and I need to speak alone for now," he said.
They both nodded, and left the room as well.
When Spyro was sure they were gone, he turned back to Cynder. "Did Deathmatch provoke you?" he asked. Cynder looked up at him with surprised eyes.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"It's just a guess," he answered. "I know you well enough to know something like that, Cynder."
Cynder sighed. "Yes, he provoked me. I couldn't take it after a while," she admitted. "He mentioned things that had to do with my past, and because of that, I just needed to make him shut up. I really wasn't trying to allow him to escape. I thought my attack would hit him and knock him unconscious. But he broke his chains, caught the Electricity, and then somehow split the attack in half. He used one to break the door, and then he used the other to knock me unconscious. I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."
"It wasn't your fault," Spyro told her. "I know you well enough to say that you normally would never do something like that unless someone did something that hurt you. From what you told me, his words did hurt you. I'm sorry about what Deathmatch might have said. It's time we start on our way to that castle. When we get there, we can take Kaos and Deathmatch, save Emily and the rest of the Mabu, and when it's all over, you can choose whatever you wish to do. I'll allow you to choose whichever path you wish. I won't hold you back, Cynder. I can see that it would be useless if I did so. You're strong enough to get past everything. There was this one instance, but this is only a bump in the road."
Cynder half-smiled once more. Spyro wished she would smile normally for once. But he still couldn't blame her when it came to not wanting to do so. She'd gone through so much, he knew, and she had the right to do whatever she wanted. He still wasn't going to dare to try to stop her. He believed it would be useless.
As they made their way out of the room, they found Slam Bam, Sunburn, and Sonic Boom, as well as Eon, Cali, and Bly standing around the corner. Slam Bam glared at Cynder.
"I accidentally let Deathmatch get away," Cynder admitted. "He broke the chains somehow. I attempted to stop him, but he caught my Electricity and knocked me unconscious. I'm okay, but I feel terrible for allowing him to escape. I'm sorry, Eon." She hung her head.
"It was not your fault, young Cynder," Eon said. Hearing this caused Slam Bam's jaw to drop. "You did what you could, but Deathmatch was stronger than we thought. We must leave tonight to find the castle. When the Skylanders confront Deathmatch and Kaos, I am sure you will all succeed. We are sending in all of the recruits we have. Yes, it is something we must be careful about, but it is the easiest way to save the Mabu."
He smiled at them both and then walked away. Bly smiled at Spyro and Cynder and walked away as well. Slam Bam soon left, unable to understand what he was hearing.
Sunburn and Sonic Boom turned to Spyro and Cynder.
"So what do we do next?" Sonic Boom asked.
"We go on our first true mission tonight," Cynder said.