TLoS: Shadow of Doom
Chapter 9
Doom stretched himself out, hearing every organic bone he had left give out a soft crack, he let out a massive yawn, groaned softly and fell to the ground for a long overdo rest. It had been a solid week since the trials had started, and the guardians were taking every opportunity to get him, Spyro, and Cynder involved. It wasn't to bad when they had him do some heavy lifting, but when they called him for the more acrobatic challenges he fell flat, Doom let out a low groan as he remembered his words to the guardians after a particularly embarrassing failure, "If you need a Golem clobbered to death, call me. If you need me to literally jump through hoops, find someone else." No surprise they'd called him to help with another acrobatic challenge the day after, and his muscles burned simply from thinking about the incident, so he pushed it out of his mind,
He was lying on the roof of the temple looking out over the gardens, Doom took a deep breath and let out a loud yawn, feeling the sunlight warm his body as it was absorbed by his black scales, "This is what I missed most." Doom thought, remembering back to the years before he'd been captured, "Those days in the mountains when I could just lye on top of a peak somewhere and soak in the sunlight." He sighed, all those years he'd spent as Daedalus's lab rat, the one thing he'd hoped to see again before he died was the sun, it was one of the few things that had ever made him feel comfortable, the one thing that had helped him relax back in the days he'd been afraid of his own shadow. Even now it seemed to have that strange effect on him, relaxing his muscles, clearing his mind, and basically helping him forget the abomination he was.
Doom sighed again and looked down into the gardens were the candidates were enjoying the fact that they'd gotten the day off, mostly because Explosion had accidentally damaged a large portion of the dummies that were going to be used in the days trial. Dooms gaze shifted to the yellow dragon, who was happily launching fire balls into the air and watching them explode.
Explosion, true to his word, was a total pyro. In every elemental challenge there'd been he'd just blasted his way through it with no regard for finesse or accuracy, every sparring match he'd unleash barrages of explosive blasts to demolish his enemies at a distance, and when his elemental power ran out he'd start swinging his massive, axe-like tail blade around with reckless abandon, to add to that he was hard to pin, if you tried to pin him on his stomach his spikes would jab into you, and if you pinned him on his back you had to make sure he couldn't take a shot at you otherwise you'd get your face burned off. But despite his rough nature he'd shown that he was extremely caring, often settling disputes between the candidates, trying to help everyone get along, and doing his best to get Coal and Fireball to warm up to the others. Doom looked over to Coal, the strange black dragon had five books open in front of him.
If Volteer had swallowed a thesaurus, then Coal had swallowed a library. When he wasn't starring off into oblivion he was always reading; history, science, medicine, strategy, architecture, magic, herbalism, the topics were endless, and he sometimes used words that even Volteer didn't know the meaning of! It was no surprise that he'd aced the intellectual challenges, and it was also no surprise that he didn't do so well in the physical ones, he was somewhat weaker than most of the candidates, even the shortest run or flight winded him, and he seemed average when it came to his element, but he made up for his weaknesses with intuition and creativity. Strangely he'd seemed to do fairly well in sparring matches, using his two tusk-like horns for both offense and defense, his razor edged wings made it difficult to approach from the side, and he took any advantage he could get, sometimes throwing sand into his opponents eyes, Cyril had often chastised Coal for his dishonorable tactics, Coal would always counter by saying "There's no honor on the battlefield." Something that had earned him quite a few angry glares from Fireball. Doom looked over at Fireball, the dragon was tossing blows at the air, sparring with some invisible opponent, Doom let out a low growl.
In the week he'd been there Fireball had done nothing but get on everyone's bad side, showing absolutely no respect for anyone but the guardians, it was needless to say that he hadn't made any friends and wasn't about to start anytime soon. But despite this, and it hurt Doom to admit it, Fireball was a very capable candidate, winning most of the fights he'd been in and showing superb strength, speed, stamina, agility, and elemental mastery, he could also take a lot of pain, something he'd proven by frequently cauterizing his wounds in combat. The little information about himself Fireball had revealed was that he was born and raised a member of a nomadic warrior group known as the Wanderers, who had believed Malefor would return and had sworn that they would be ready, no mater how many years or generations it took. Needless to say he hadn't been to happy when Spyro told him that Malefor was sealed in the planets core rather than rotting there, in fact, if Drake hadn't intervened it was almost certain that Fireball would have attacked the purple dragon then and there. Doom looked over at Blake and Drake, the twins were in the middle of a wrestling match.
Drake had told him that there mother died and there father sank into a deep depression shortly afterward, basically leaving them to fend for themselves, Drake knew that one of them had to grow up, one of them had to be the older brother, and he decided it was going to be him, though Doom wished that Drake stopped Blake from setting up pranks all over the temple instead of helping him with them, "It would be nice to be able to walk down the hall without having to look for tripwires." Doom thought, where Drake was somewhat mature and had a good sense of when a joke was going over the line, Blake seemed to lack this internal censor, saying whatever was on his mind, which had landed him in hot water more than once. Volteer had explained that Blake's lack of maturity was common among younger siblings who were protected by there older sibling, still, they'd both proven to be rather smart, in good physical shape, and were skilled with there element, and Doom could easily see one of them becoming fire guardian. Then Dooms thoughts shifted to Inferna.
It was no secret that most of the candidates had thought she would fail the trials almost instantly, Blake had even joked about starting a betting pool on when she failed, though he won him was a punch in the gut from his brother. It wasn't that no one liked her, it was her wing, everyone thought it would hold her back or that the guardians would have to toss her out when they got to the arial challenges, but the guardians always seemed to have some alternative test specially designed for a flightless dragon, clearly this wasn't the first time one had been nominated to become a guardian. Any doubts about Infernas capabilities had been erased after seeing her in action, she was arguably the fastest of the candidates, and she was just as impressive in the ring as she was in the obstacle course; dodging every blow that came her way, unleashing furious elemental assaults on anyone who took to the air, and she wasn't afraid to use dirty tactics. But the thing that truly amazed Doom was her personality, after spending there entire life in a slum you would expect someone to be bitter, cynical and generally unpleasant, but Inferna was anything but; she funny, caring, sometimes even sweet, but at the same time she was also a complete tomboy, tough, resilient, and able to take the harsh jokes that some of the other candidates gave her, and send them back tenfold, her sharp tongue giving her an advantage. And she had such an unbreakable spirit, Doom really found her inspiring, she didn't let everything that had happened to her in the slums change her, she didn't break, unlike him, he'd given up back when he was a prisoner, he'd stopped fighting back, but Inferna... Where was Inferna anyway, she wasn't down in the gardens?
"So, what are you doing up here?" Doom looked back and saw Inferna walking toward him, sunlight glinting off her red scales, and he couldn't help but smile at the dragoness that had been helping to ease his nightmares,
"Just enjoying the view." Doom replied, Inferna smiled back at him and he feel his heart warming, "Though I really should be asking you why your up here." Her smile was replaced by an annoyed glare,
"I climbed up here if that's what your asking." She growled,
"I wasn't, I just wanted to know why you were up here." Doom replied calmly, "I stopped underestimating people after Coal pinned Explosion." Her face softened,
"I was looking for you."
"Any particular reason why?"
"I just wanted to see you, I figured it would be nice to be able to get some time alone."
Doom smiled and let out a low chuckle, of all the candidates, Inferna was the only one he truly considered a friend, Explosion was nice but he was to interested in his past, Blake was afraid of him, Drake always seemed to think he was going to hurt Blake, Coal hadn't said more than five sentences to him, and Fireball; enough said. Inferna was the only one he thought of as a true friend; she knew she could trust him, just like he trusted her, they always knew how to make each other laugh, and she'd been willing to risk her place in the trials to help him with his nightmares, staying by his side each night, he just felt.. safe when he was around her. "Alright then," he said softly, "Come over here." She walked over and laid down next to him,
"So what are you doing up here anyway, I mean sure the view is nice but can tell your thinking of something else." She asked, stretching her sore muscles, cracking her joints and splashing Doom across the face with a quick flash of red light from her scales, he smiled again,
"I came up here to enjoy the sun, it's something I haven't been able to do since-" he paused suddenly, how could he have nearly told her about that, he was usually so careful when it came to slipping information about his past, and yet he'd nearly given her the start of the whole emotional story, what in Dante's Freezer was wrong with him? "-a long time ago." He finished,
"Never pictured you as the 'Find a quiet place to lye down and soak in the sun' type of guy." She replied,
"Yeah, well," sadness filled his voice as he gazed at his reflection in his leg, "Like I said I haven't been able to do this for a long time." Inferna moved closer to him, "Why am I doing this?" Doom thought, "I'm practically screaming for her to ask about my past, and that hell is not something I can ever tell someone else about." Tears formed on his eye as the memories drifted through his head,
"What happened to you?" Inferna thought, she was lying to his right so she couldn't see the tears, but she could tell they were there, "Who did this?" Then she noticed Doom had a small smile on his face, "What's with the rapid mood shift?" She asked somewhat confusedly, Doom just kept starring at something in the courtyard, Inferna followed his gaze, and even she had to give off a soft 'aww' when she saw what he was looking at.
Lying in the shadow of a large tree were Spyro and Cynder; his wing draped over her, her head on his shoulder and his head on top of hers, there eyes closed and just enjoying each others company.
"That's good for them." Inferna said, happy to see Spyro and Cynder finally getting some time together,
"Yeah, it is." Doom agreed with a chuckle, "Even if they don't know it yet."
"Ha ha, very funny." Inferna replied, Doom just starred at her, "Wait, your SERIOUS?! How do they not know they love each other."
"I'll tell you as soon as I find out, then we'll tell them together and time how long it takes them to stop starring at us." The two of them broke out laughing, but when they stopped Inferna let out a small sigh, in the time she'd known Doom she'd noticed that his smile never fully spread across his face, his laugh always sounded sad and somewhat forced, he never really seemed happy.
"You okay Inferna?" Doom asked,
"Yeah, it's just-" She paused, "What happened to you?" She wanted to ask, but she knew she couldn't, she remembered the times she'd snapped when someone asked her about he past, it never ended well, "Sometimes I wish I had what those two have, even if they don't know it yet." She said, hiding her true thoughts, though her answer was still true, the slums weren't exactly the best place to form a deep, personal relationship.
Doom just sighed, becoming depressed again, "Sometimes I wish it was possible for me to have what they have." Doom said, his voice filled with sorrow.
"Hey, don't talk like that." Inferna said, unable to believe what he had just said, "Your a great guy, I'm sure that someone would love to be with you."
"Really?" Doom said disbelievingly, "Because I find that hard to believe, every time someone sees me they either run away screaming or assume I'm going to kill someone, never mind the fact that my name is Doom, which doesn't exactly help things, how do you think I could possibly find ANYONE who would care about me that way!?"
"Well that attitude isn't helping." Inferna replied bluntly, "And you need to stop thinking your appearance is going to play into it so much." Doom anxiously sat up,
"I think that because its true, no one EVER sees past the metal." Sorrow was returning to Dooms voice,
"That's because it's hard to see anything when the suns bouncing off you." Inferna replied, squinting as some sunlight bounced off of one of the plates on Dooms chest, "Lye down again, would ya."
"Sorry." Doom replied, lying back down "It's just, you don't know what it's like, everyone immediately thinking your some kind of abomination just because you look like one."
"Yes I do!" Inferna said forcefully,
"Oh please." Doom said, "Just look at yourself, even with your wing, your... Beautiful." Why had he just said that? Inferna was a good friend, but so was Cynder, and he didn't go just blurting stuff out like that with her! He nervously looked back at Inferna, ready for her to shove her fist down his throat, but to his surprise she just had the same shocked look he had, "I'm s-sorry, that j-just came o-out of n-nowhere." He said, his face suddenly became hot and he hoped his black scales hid if he was blushing. Inferna just smiled at him.
"See, that's the kind of thing that will get someone to like you." She said in a soft, soothing voice, "And... Thanks."
"S-sure thing." Doom said, he suddenly felt a warm, soothing sensation in his chest, "What is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?" He thought,
"Stop acting so nervous, that was nice, even if it did 'come out of nowhere,' you have seriously got to stop worrying so much."
"Sorry. It's just..." He paused, "Don't say anything else." He thought, "If I keep talking I'm bound to make her curious, and then she'll ask about my past for sure." He thought, but for some reason, he kept talking. "I haven't exactly had a good life." He mentally slapped himself "Okay, now I'm just begging for her to ask me something."
"Neither have I." Inferna said in a soft, sad voice, "I spent my whole life in those slums, never knowing who I could trust and who would try to stab me in the back, or worse." She was lying, her past was far more painful then her being just another orphaned slum kid, but she couldn't tell anyone about it, the memories were to much. "Everyday I had to fight for everything, food, water, a place to sleep for the night, and sometimes I had to fight because some moron was angry and wanted to get in a fight. It's the only life I've ever known," Tears formed in her eyes as she kept lying, kept erasing her village from history, "But it's not the life I would have wanted." She managed to keep the tears from leaving her eyes, Doom looked away. Inferna had told him that in the slums, showing any weakness would lead to a savage beating, so she'd learned to keep her emotions hidden, and yet here she was on the verge of tears right next to him, he was looking away out if respect, he knew she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this, then he felt something on his back, he looked over and saw Inferna had her wing draped over him.
For a few minutes they just lied their together, Doom looking away while Inferna cried, her wing draped over him, then she looked back and saw her wing draped over Doom and quickly pulled away, her face filled with shock and embarrassment, "I'm sorry." She said frantically, "I d-don't use this thing much, I-I don't always k-know what it's d-doing." Doom couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"Now who's the one who's worrying to much?" He asked slyly, Inferna couldn't help but smile,
"Okay, you got me." She said, blushing slightly, "I won't give advice that I don't follow."
"Alright." Doom chuckled again, then he became serious, though somewhat awkward, "Inferna," she looked at him, still blushing, and felt his cheeks go hot, "I, um, I didn't really mind..." Infernas face filled with surprise,
"Well, i-if you don't mind..." She draped her wing back over him and pulled herself closer until their flanks touched, Doom jolted slightly at the strange contact, "What happened to you?" Inferna thought for the third time that day, she'd never known any dragon to jump after something as simple as that, she had to know. They'd been friends for a week and he hadn't shared one thing about his past, other than growing up in the mountains, she had to know, but she also knew she had to ease her way into it, his past was painful, then she remembered a name.
"Doom."
"Yes." He replied distractedly,
"Who's Daedalus?" Doom suddenly went rigid, thousands of emotions flashed across his face, then his head turn towards her, his face was an emotionless mask, but his eye was filled with anger, fear, and sadness, then he spoke in a low whisper, Inferna wasn't sure if he was going to start crying or try to kill her,
"Where did you hear that name?"
"Y-You said it o-one night, w-while you were a-asleep." She said fearfully, she knew she'd hit a nerve, and experience told her that the best thing to do was to back off slowly, "I was just curious." Doom just kept starring at her for a moment, then he looked away, his face filled with pain,
"Forget it." He groaned, Inferna slowly laid back down, cautiously moving closer to Doom and draping her wing over him, when he didn't react she pulled herself closer until she felt there flanks touch, Doom still didn't react,
"Hey, I'm sorry, I was just curious, I wanted to know more about you." Doom didn't respond for a few seconds, then he let out a heavy sigh,
"I'm sorry, but my past is not something I can share with anyone... Ever." He said in a pain filled voice, tears forming in his eye, Inferna pulled closer to him, feeling the scales and metal plates on his side rub against her, for a few moments they just laid there together until finally Doom broke the silence. "Inferna."
"Yeah."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why is that necklace so important to you?" Inferna froze as the memories surged back into her head.
Flashback
A soft rain poured down over the Warfang Slums, mixing with the tears running down Infernas face as her mother hugged her,
"It's okay Inferna," her mother said soothingly, "We made it to Warfang, you'll be safe here."
"Mom," she whimpered, "Why did you bring me here? When are we going home?"
"We can't go home, the apes destroyed everything." Pain crept into her mothers voice,
"But what about Dad, and everyone else?"
Her mother began crying as well, "There gone Inferna," she weeped, "The apes killed them all, your the only one from are village who survived."
"What do you mean I'm the only one? Your still here."
"I know, and perhaps if it hadn't taken three days to reach Warfang I might have had a chance, but I'm too weak Inferna, I can already feel myself fading, I fear I won't last much longer." Inferna pulled away from her injured mother, shock and sadness in her eyes as she realized what her mother was saying,
"MOM, NO, YOU CAN'T DIE, PLEASE!" She cried helplessly,
"Inferna." Her mother said, putting a talon under her daughters chin and raising her head to make eye contact, "Listen to me, I don't want to leave you but there's nothing I can do, my time has come. But before I go..." She moved her paws behind her head and untied her necklace, then she retied it around her young daughters neck, "I want to give you this, and I want you to promise me that you'll be strong."
Inferna looked down at the wooden dragon fang carving that was now hanging from her neck "I'll try Mom." She whimpered,
"Good." Her mother said weakly, "At least I can leave you knowing you'll be safe here," then she collapsed, the little strength she had leaving her body, "Goodbye my beautiful daughter, I'll always love you." And then she was gone, leaving Inferna alone in the Slums of Warfang.
Present
Inferna snapped out of the flashback, she could tell she'd been crying, it had been years since that day, since her mother died in her arms, but it never got any less painful to remember. She looked over at Doom, who was starring at her with a regretful, caring look on his face, "I don't want to talk about it." She said,
"Alright." Doom replied, and the two of them just laid there in silence until the sun began to set.
Just a few things for this AN
ONE THOUSAND VIEWS! YEAH!
sorry it took me so long to post this, I was reading The Broken Line by Dragonmaster000, (Best, Spyro fic, ever!)
Next chapter maybe a little short, like this one it's a bit of a filler
and another reason it took so long to get this up is because, well, if I'm not that good at writing non-fight scenes, you can only imagine how long it takes me to write big emotional scenes, especially love scenes.
(sound of door exploding)
and before Doom strangles me to death I just want to say this again
ONE THOUSAND VIEW- (choking noises)