Mating Season

Chapter 10
Destructive Consequence

I watched each and every movement of the two battling dragons intently as Spyro moved himself over top of Bradley's body. I hoped and prayed to the ancestors that Bradley would surrender, but there was nothing of the like fourth coming. Spyro shook his head sorrowfully and mouthed something to his adversary that nobody else could have understood.

Everybody could hear the torn and battered dragon's reply, "I wouldn't surrender," and I knew for certain that I'd have to save one of their lives in the near future. Before anything else happened I felt talons penetrate my back, and I whirled around to stop whatever it was that was attacking. My vocal chords emanated a loud yelping sound compulsorily, and I could see all of the faces in the large crowd turn towards me.

Conversation shrouded the entirety of the crowd now as I flipped my tail over and sent a small body to the turf in front of my face, "Paige?"

She looked up at me with wide glassy eyes that seemed as though they were about to cry, and I knew that something wasn't right with her. Before I could utter a single word though, the crowd gasped loudly, and a few screams arose throughout the attendance.

I looked over to the scene of the battle and found a purple body flopping over top of Bradley's and disappearing there. A purple and red sphere with horns rest upon the sandy arena floor, a few feet in front of Bradley, gushing blood and devoid of life.

I leapt into the air and rushed towards the scene screaming, "Crystals!"

It was much too late for that though.

Landing beside of Bradley I saw his eyes large, his expression bright and smiling, and I knew that he didn't care what had just happened. He'd won the match, and that's all that mattered to him.

An orange dragon walked up to the scene, green faced and obviously frightened, and set red health crystals next to Bradley. She moved towards the headless body of Spyro and considered placing them there, but instead decided to give them to me.

Wings, teeth, and scales hit the ground on each side of me and looked down at the scene with matching expressions as Bradley wriggled towards the heath crystals he had been provided. He wouldn't get to them though as Terrador landed there and whipped them into his wing, "These are for those who fight fairly."

Terrador then looked down at the scene too, and shook his head before looking to me, "Announce the winner Cyril."

"Why this is the most despicable way that any dragon could ever win," I demanded angrily. My anger was neither towards Terrador nor any other member of the guardianship, but towards myself, and my foolishness. It had caused the loss of the greatest warrior and our race's savior, and I would never let myself live that down as long as I would live.

Terrador glanced up from the sight and grimaced "I know, Spyro has won, Cyril."

I finally understood.

I nodded at him and progressed to place myself over top of the bodies in order to grab Spyro's paw. Turning my stomach down and holding the vomit that raced to the surface, I gripped Spyro's limp paw and raised it to the sky.

There were no cheers, there were no boos, there was only a consensus of understanding in the crowd that yielded silent nods. It was not enough to ease my pain and regret, though; nothing would do that.

I looked over at the scene that I had created and contemplated killing myself, but there was one last thing that I had to do: I was going to make sure that my husband was dead. Slipping between the legs and tails of the larger adult dragons I arrived at Bradley's side, and I saw the carnage that had happened there, blood splatters everywhere, burn marks covered my mate's body, and tears dipped down creating patches of darker colored sand.

I crawled to my mates face and looked him in the eyes, "You will not do this to anybody else, ever again, Bradley!"

Something grabbed my hind and I was pulled slowly into the air removing the possibility of me slicing his throat, so I launched a bolt of lightning directly into his eye socket extinguishing the final traces of life from his body.

"Paige, stop!" demanded a vain Volteer as he pulled my body away from Bradley.

Though nothing had gone right in my life up until then, at least, now, something had.

I arrived at the scene and found Summer opposite of the headless body of the most beautiful dragon to have ever lived. Never again would I enjoy a sweet moment with his wonderful eyes, his faithfully caring persona, or his uplifting laugh. Hopes and dreams with him as my mate and husband were suddenly taken from "likely" to "utterly impossible" and I couldn't believe that it had all happened so quickly.

Looking at Cyril's face I could tell that he was going to take this one hard, his eyes were sunken, his swagger all but purged from his body. He didn't even notice as Terrador put his wing over his back to comfort him.

I knew that tears were soon to engulf me, vomit churned in my stomach.

I turned around and saw my sharp tail barb, and considered how quickly it could slice through my neck and airway. No I couldn't do that to myself; after all, I could still have my family and give my life purpose once again.

I heard Ignitus whisper into the back of my mind from somewhere in the afterlife, "The promise of tomorrow is always greater than the burdens of the present, and the misfortunes of the past."

I nodded my head looking into the sky, thanking Ignitus for the direction, and then turned to the young dragon beside me as he reached his wing around.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Cynder." Neal comforted me wrapping me into the warmth of his body.

Spyro would never be replaced, but at least there was somebody to ease the pain.

In the chronicler's chambers I watched as it all unfolded and wrote down the events as they happened placing them into the appropriate books. Looking into the seeing glass I saw the images of war, and death disappear and be replaced by arguments in the dragon temple. The world had been saved from war by this unfortunate tragedy, but it still welled tears from my eyes.

With Spyro having so much life before him, and having so much that he could have done with his life, it made it all hard to swallow. The least that could have happened was that he'd die of a noble cause, but alas he died of a terrible accident of fate.

Outside of Convexity the group of dragons assembled around the body began crying one by one as the whole thing set it upon them. I too lost control of myself when Terrador broke down, as I had only once before seen him in tears.

I felt something enter the chambers behind me, and, attempting to control my emotions, I turned to face it, "Spyro?"

He nodded, his face wet, his cheeks red, "Are they all alright?"

"Well, not at the time being, Spyro, but with time I'm sure that all will be ok."

He nodded swallowing the heavy load, "Good"

I walked over to him and wrapped my wings around him, "You're home now though, and I'm sure that there is no better place for you to be. Here, I'll show you to your eternity."

I disembraced and allowed him to pull up beside me before I walked towards the opposite exit. There I found the door on the wall and opened it up causing pure white light to shroud the entire darkness of the chambers. Through the doorway I could see nothing but pure white light, but to Spyro there was so much more there.

"Go on, Spyro, there is nothing wrong with letting go of this life and moving to the next."

He turned to me and considered me for a moment, "Thank you, Ignitus, for everything."

Pride welled up from deep within me, and I made every effort to hold back the tears for until he had gone, "No, thank you, Spyro; now go on. The ancestors are waiting."

"Uh-Hu" Spyro nodded to me before transcending into the doorway. I watched as his body slowly dissolved from the front to back as it entered.

His body was gone, but the spirit now remained inside of each and every one of us, and should the need ever arise he would be right there on the wings of justice. In life he had done everything that was asked upon him, but in death he would be able to stop so much more.

A/N: Yes, it has come to this. 5,000 views and counting I think that I have finished the final chapter of this the first leg of the "Salute to You" series of my stories. My other works will be finished next week and starting Monday afternoon there will be a second and final leg of the "Salute to You" Series which will be entitled When Love is Not Enough. It will not be in this plot line though and will be entirely separate from the events here in Mating Season. It will document the trials and tribulations between a Spyro and Cynder relationship strained by outside and inside forces. There will be lemons, but not quite as many as in the first half of this fan fic. I hope to hear back from all who have read this work of fan fiction.

I was going to write an epilog, but actually the part that I had planned to place into it has already been place into this chapter, so, until the advent of When Love is Not Enough, so long. This has been a pleasure.

Without you, the readers, none of this is possible,
Cornys