-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Man, I'm really digging the responses granted by the previous chapter. It's not the quantity that counts for me – it's the reactions, and I'm pretty damn happy for it.
I shouldn't be surprised about all the comments about the deaths in the previous chapter. The plan for Ango was one of the aspects that were established from the beginning – a connection with the adversary meant a chance to play around the aspect and drive him away from the standard Gary Stu concept as a result. Making Spyro and Cynder fall alongside it weren't exactly planned to begin with, though when the development became more precise and especially when the original ninth chapter was cut into two halves with a revamped intro for the first half, I saw it as a neat way to form another one of those feelings of despair to hang right at the end of the chapter.
Zerodius, I praised your speculations on MSN the other day so it's best not to repeat it for the blurb :) That third idea could have been really cool, though yes, the concern was wondering what could happen if they won the battle. Even though it won't be considered an option for this story, it might be a direction to play around with in the future, depending on what I feel like writing and so forth.
So yes, it's time for the tenth chapter. Any mention about the content would be really unnecessary. Thanks very much for reading :D
Peace out,
-Rexy-
It had only been a couple of hours since Spyro, Sparx, Cynder and Ango left the Dragon Village to take on the Sorcerer, destined to put their mark on a long struggle that the latter was able to take hold upon the almost helpless residents that were residing there.
But even minutes after their departure, most of which still showed pessimism nonetheless. Some of which even ended up going as far as to shut themselves in their own houses, out of the way of the reality of the darkening outside world that was rapidly consuming the area.
Even the Professor and his comrades felt the same way, knowing the exact reason for everyone's move. Their discussion over the loss of the incarnation of Spyro that they knew had left most of them to show dwindling spirits as time went on, pessimistic about the village's future.
The only personnel that came close to boosting confidence were Bianca, Red and Ignitus - the rabbit was waiting inside the lab, sitting on a stool in an opposing corner, and the latter pair were standing side by side and looking out to the distant horizon. Though the winds that blew were cold enough to almost put out a single torch, their expressions still showed enough self-belief on order being restored.
Even the sight of some of the Dark Master's creatures around the campfire came as an interesting surprise; most of which had faded away into absolutely nothing, with various others doubling up in pain and assisting others in similar situations – the wounds apparently arriving from out of nowhere.
It wasn't long until a faint purple spark made its way through the air from out of nowhere, soaring through the air like a burning ember. It soon landed on Ignitus's nose, and upon feeling it, his facial expression started to drop. His reaction left Red to look on at him curiously, wondering what he sensed from the object.
"I still can't believe that Spyro has gone", sobbed Ember from the interior of the building. "I'm never going to get over this."
"Neither am I, but we need to remain strong", Bandit replied calmly yet sternly.
Gracefully, Bandit brought his arm around Ember's back and stroked her gently, trying to calm her down. It had been shown that she didn't subside much since the previous talk, her looks maintaining the same amount of grief if not having significantly more.
"Everyone, please", Bianca soon stood up and addressed everyone around her. "Red didn't mean much harm. But trust me, as long as Spyro is in our hearts, he will be there with us."
Gently and in an assuring fashion, Bianca made her walk across the room, looking on at everyone as if to say "relax" with a neutral-looking facial expression. In spite of that, most of the personnel didn't look too sure, especially Ember, whose glance still showed traces of frustration regardless.
"How can I feel it?" she asked, her voice breaking up.
"I think I can", Flame replied, showing signs of self-recovery. "Even though he's not physically with us, he needs to be around us in some form or other if the Sorcerer's actions will eventually cease and desist."
As Flame sat down - his looks becoming more confident - his attention soon shifted towards the window. And there, he saw Red looking on at Ignitus with grave concern, the latter twitching his nose at the touch of the ember that sizzled on top of it.
"Ignitus, what is it?" Red asked him, concerned about the feelings transferred from the feather.
"Spyro wasn't strong enough", frowned the Guardian. "The Sorcerer has won the battle. But I am really sure that there is a way to turn the situation around."
"How is that possible?" the Elder continued to enquire him. "I mean, if he killed THAT incarnation of Spyro as well-"
Ignitus quickly raised a front paw in front of Red's face, causing him to freeze in mid sentence. While that happened, Flame brought himself towards the window, unable to hear the conversation but wanting to listen in either way. Quickly, he got a hold of one of the handles with his front paws and pulled it, allowing for the window to open and allowing their conversations to be heard by everyone else, with the subtle sound of wind being heard in the background.
"Just link your hands and think of the happy times you've had with him, whether it's the one you knew or the one Cynder and I have known."
Calmly, Ignitus looked on at Red with his own pair of eyes, shifting his tail gently from side to side. And knowing by instinct, the Dragon Elder placed his hand upon the Dragon Guardian's back, and took a hold onto them like a jockey brushing his own horse.
The example was enough for Flame to jump up at the sight of it, yet when he turned back to see everyone else, most of them didn't show the same level of enthusiasm back at them. All… but one – Hunter gave off a brief twitch of the tail, holding onto his bow as loosely as he could.
"Yes, I can think so much about him", Hunter smiled as he stood up. "Spyro and I did all sorts of crazy stunts together while in Avalar. I'll never forget the times we spent together."
"He also worked really hard in gathering the materials I needed to power my gadgets!" the Professor followed suit, taking a hold of Hunter's right hand. "I'm never going to forget that either."
"He was one of my most favorite customers in my shop!" Moneybags exclaimed with his eyes widened. "I don't know how he felt about me, but I feel just as grateful!"
Jumping up and down in place, Moneybags locked his hand with Hunter's left, and together they all looked towards the window, straight at Ignitus's eyes. He then smiled back at them, knowing that all three of them had the right idea with their actions, as well as knowing that thinking of happier times would further boost their inner selves as time went on.
"He helped me stop me from stealing dragon eggs for the immortality of a sorceress back in the Forgotten Realms", reflected Bianca as she held onto the Professor.
"And he helped destroyed a dark gem just for me!" Ember exclaimed with tears of joy as she locked her front leg around one of Moneybags's legs. "I've treasured the shards broken off ever since!"
"It was amazing just to see him fight Gnasty Gnorc two years ago!" Flame galloped around the scene looking powerfully optimistic. "I'll never forget his courage in seeing that!"
Before Flame came close to Ember, he looked towards the ceiling and breathed out a small speck of fire in the room, granting a sense of temporary warmth all around them. Continuing to smile, he brought out a front leg and locked it with one of Ember's, leaving both young dragons to look up simultaneously.
Blink came to hold onto Bianca's hand before he expressed his words. "He helped me when I was trapped inside a bamboo cage in a nearby swamp, and to repay him I explored below ground and found all sorts of treasure!"
"He was able to accept us armadillos into the Dragon Realms, as well as unite me with Ember", reminisced Bandit as he came closer to the line. "Those were the sweetest moments I can think of!"
As soon as he got to one end of the line, he shifted his eyes straight towards Ember, stretching his hand out before crouching down and grasping her cheek with a proud expression. He then moved on to the other side, linking his hands with Blink. But not long after he did so, Red made his way inside the room, proudly clutching onto his staff as he advanced.
"And he also freed me from madness when it consumed me the most", he spoke softly in a deeper voice tone than the usual. "Thanks to him, I'm a Dragon Elder once again!"
Smiling proudly, he took a hold of Bandit's hand with his free arm. And then, almost as if he was guiding a tow rope, he brought the entire line of personnel straight towards the open air outside, now knowing that each of them were as hopeful as the last.
As soon as they got out, Red instantly dropped his staff at the door and walked towards Ignitus, where as soon as he got to him he placed a hand straight onto one of his front legs. The guardian looked back at the group with an expression filled with hope.
Flame soon followed, holding onto Ignitus's other front leg with his own. Together, they were connected as if they were in a circle - as if they were around their own campfire, ready to rejoice once more. They all looked up to the sky – even though they knew that they were almost shrouded in complete darkness, they know that there was still a trace of light within them regardless.
"Spyro, if you can hear us, we all believe in you!"
Ignitus's comment soon summoned a speck of light coming from his right. They all looked in the direction, and right there, they saw Red's sceptre glowing all on its own, reflecting with an assortment of spectrum colors. The sight of them left them to look on at it with wonder, with Ember and Flame especially almost having their jaws dropped at the sight of it.
And just like it had a mind of its own, it floated straight towards the sky, floating as elegantly as a peacock feather. And then, it finally made its way to the tallest pylon that stood around the Professor's lab, continuing to hang there while radiating the light.
All of a sudden, a burst of white energy was reflected around them, temporarily granting a peaceful daylight burst during that moment in time, all before turning into darkness and back once again. The repeating cycle continued for so long in the village, to the point that various passers by stopped in their tracks, trying to understand what was going on.
Meanwhile, back at the Sorcerer's lair, the effects were also taken on another object – the Shadowstone. That in turn caused the entire area to flash from an uneasy combination of a foreboding room to a golden palace area and back, all before it finally started to calm down and channel through one object only – the wielder of the amulet.
The energy was channelled directly through Spyro, allowing his still body to flash from its deep shade of purple to a haunting tone of lilac and back again. The sudden glow was soon caught in Sparx's field of view, leaving him to widen his eyes at the sight. What the heck is going on, he thought confusedly to himself.
Hesitantly, he went towards his head and looked towards his body, and it was there that he saw the dragon's wings just stir slightly, with that feeling passing towards the rest of his body. It then trickled his head, and several moments later, his eyes flickered themselves open.
The dragonfly's mouth widened at the sight. Spyro was alive!
"The…" he weakly tried to string some words together. "The Shadowstone?"
Sparx gave off a concerned blink before he hovered closer to the floor. And there, he saw the Shadowstone flashing and conducting them around Spyro's body when appropriate. The dragonfly could only look on at wonder – maybe there was some good about that decaying amulet after all.
The energy possessed soon got to the point that it started to lift Spyro above the ground, without the need for him to flap his wings for support or anything. And just like the staff, the glow caused for brief spurts of sunlight before fading into darkness, in a repeated cycle.
And finally, there was a giant flash of white around the immediate area. It soon faded out gently, and as soon as it faded, Spyro was left to just float towards the ground, landing on all fours and looking completely re-energised. That expression was more than enough for Sparx to approach the dragon and take a hold of his neck, rubbing his cheek with one of his hands while showing an expression of happiness. Yet, for obvious reasons, not everyone in the room was completely satisfied with the revival.
"What's going on?" the Sorcerer bitterly roared at the spectacle. "What are you trying to pull off?"
The sorcerer was left to growl under his breath, waving his tail into the air as he did so. Growling bitterly, he was left to swipe it directly to the ground, vibrating the ground with heavy thunderous pounds thus shaking the entire ground from directly beneath his feet.
Yet, the thunderous pulses were nothing of concern to Spyro, as he was left to look down at himself and the Shadowstone hanging gently on his neck. He didn't know how it managed to act as a bracer for him, but he knew that something was flowing through it, thus he was determined to come to a conclusion.
"This power!" he continuously exclaimed joyfully. "It feels very different to what I'm used to, but I'm sure I know what it is."
Sparx released his grasp from Spyro's neck and looked on at the Shadowstone with him, its glowing energy radiating brightly into their eyes like an unspoilt treasure. With the sight in mind, Spyro pointed his head up towards the sky like a lion looking over its pride.
"It's the power of trust. As long as you are remembered fondly, you'll never die in spirit. And for that reason, the incarnation of Spyro as the villagers knew won't be going away for a long time."
"Okay, this is starting to get confusing", Sparx rolled his eyes and scratched his head at the same time. "Perhaps we need an explanation about this 'trust' issue from old man Ignitus again when we're done with this doofus."
"Maybe so", shrugged the purple dragon. "But thanks to this power, I'm back on top once again!"
With a confident smile, Spyro knew that this was the time when he will be able to combat the Sorcerer to his advantage, in spite of having lost two comrades in the same battle. All that remained from the scourge was him and Sparx, fighting against a dragon larger than any monster that he ever faced before.
Maintaining his expression, he made his walk directly towards the Sorcerer, twitching his tail gently as he went closer and closer towards him with gentle steps taken in his stride. His confidence was enough for the Sorcerer to growl in place, twitching his tail around further and further.
"That doesn't mean you'll seal my fate!" the monster leered back angrily. "Take this!"
And then, it made a progressive step forward, shaking the ground with a quake that could have almost knocked a scarecrow from its stand. From its mouth, there came a large beam that ended up engulfing the entire area, being launched straight towards Spyro without any time for him to deflect it back.
The beam then ceased, leaving him to see into a sequence of smoke drilled into a wall. However, what he didn't expect was for the dragon to make his re-arrival onto the scene, coming out from a nearby alcove from the interior of the wall, his face showing cockiness as he escaped.
"What?" the Sorcerer exclaimed as he saw Spyro's re-emergence.
"Say your prayers, Sorcerer!"
The Sorcerer tried to launch the light beam from its mouth again, but Spyro's elegant running speed made it completely unable to damage him as he made his way straight towards his adversary, his teeth clutched together and his horns lowered down once again.
It wasn't long until he managed to reach the feet in particular, and then, he made his strategy by jumping up onto the Sorcerer's leg and climbing his way towards his back, performing several tail swipes there, leaving him to flinch with every strike that struck him.
After several in a row, the Sorcerer brought himself on all fours, brought his tail out and used it to swat Spyro away like a physical bug repellent. After several swipes and misses, it finally caught him, leaving him with no choice but to let go and land on the ground on all fours, several feet away from his opponent.
"Spyro, don't let your guard down!" Sparx brawled out from nearby, trying to assure the dragon.
"It's never going to happen now! I'm destined to defeat him!"
And with a confident charge, Spyro made his dash straight towards the Sorcerer, edging his horns straight forward, hoping to strike as much as a single stroke of damage towards his form regardless of how big or intimidating that he could end up being.
As soon as he reached him, he almost finalised the charge, but before anything else could happen the Sorcerer flew out of the way and made his move towards the other side of the room. Yet in spite of the quick dodge, the purple dragon looked confident enough to try again.
Once again he got so close to knock him over once again, but before anything else could happen, a bright ball formed inside the mouth of the Sorcerer before being launched in the direction of the roof panel, once again being formed with the same awkward black overcoat.
"Take this, you mongrel!" he roared back towards his opponent.
The black ball then dropped its altitude and zoomed straight towards Spyro, whom quickly reacted with a screeching halt and standing upright, thrusting his front legs forward and forming the Banish barrier once more. The sight of it left the Sorcerer to look on with a concerned glance over the dragon's quick reaction.
"What are you doing?" he leered back with impatience.
Spyro, however, completely ignored his question. "It's time we took care of business, you monster!"
And just like that, the Banish barrier collided with the black ball, once again causing the same white and pink sparks that formed upon previous collisions; however the intensity of the light was more than enough to even cause significant damage to the ball itself, almost as if it was getting absorbed by the light.
Instead of vanishing, it started to change. Gone were the black mist and the electric currents that surrounded it, and there went a sign of pure light that surrounded it, with radiant rays bursting out from it - looking as if they were omitted directly from the sun.
Finally, the dragon released his grasp from it and sent it straight towards the Sorcerer. He tried to fly out of the way of it, but as soon as he did he noted that the ball was making its way straight towards him like a homing missile, and it was there that he knew that he was in an instant predicament.
All of his attempts to dodge it included barrel rolling, taking cover behind any stone pillars, and even taking the opportunity to fly out of the window and back inside the room through the roof panel. Yet regardless of the chase, the white ball came faster and faster towards him.
Finally, the ball got close enough to start singeing his tail. And slowly but surely, it started to affect the rest of his body, before burning his entire back. The very motion was enough to send the Sorcerer flying out of control, heading towards the ground uncontrollably.
"Attaboy, Spyro!" Sparx applauded brashly. "I know you can do it!"
There, the Sorcerer landed upon the cold floor head first, causing a giant scratch upon the ground with his chin. The landing left him dazed for several seconds at a time, making him temporarily unaware of what exactly was going on in the time that passed since then.
Finally he felt a nudge near him. Quickly he opened his eyes and looked straight on towards the scene, and there he saw Spyro ramming into his body every way he can. Except, this time his attacks resulted in the inflicting body parts glowing with a white aura before striking, and his flames were shown to be significantly more intense than they were before.
The amount of pain inflicted on his body was soon enough to boost him from his state of hopelessness, thus standing up upon the ground. He thundered his legs right in front of Spyro, encouraging him to stop any attempts to be made in damaging his body.
"Don't even think about it", he whispered under his breath before growling deeper.
A giant roar was sensed from his body, yet in spite of having a face full of exhaled air from his mouth, there was no change done towards Spyro's attitude. As soon as the roar ceased, he brought himself back into a firm fighting stance, continuing to growl towards the giant monster.
"There's no rest for the wicked! Your time is ticking away, dragon!"
And just like that, he raised his head straight up into the air. Right above came several darkened shapes all at once – eight round objects showing. All of them had the same death-inflicting purple aura that Spyro had to deal with before countless times before, in any shape or form, whether alone or with an accomplice by his side.
And just like that, the balls were launched straight in his direction, all coming together simultaneously to form a network of balls though not necessarily fusing. Quickly the purple dragon reacted by standing up on both hind legs, bringing his front arms out to form the familiar white barrier summoned from his front paws together.
Just in the nick of time, all eight balls were caught onto the barrier, all fusing upon it and turned in color to its white counterparts as it happened. What once were eight black balls colliding with it soon fused together and formed four larger ones in the space of five seconds.
"Banish, NOW!" he exclaimed his command with a glowing tint in his eye.
With a confident glare, Spyro pushed the barrier forward, thus sending the balls straight back towards its caster. Quickly the Sorcerer took action by dodging the first one, but he was unlucky to end up facing one of which clashing his back, and the two others making collisions with his feet.
With the pain filling his mind, he made his hovering straight towards the open window panel. In a quick reaction, he jumped his way down, and soon used his wings to hover himself up, yet this time there was one direction that he focused on – escaping from the lair.
"He's out of the window!" shouted Sparx, pointing on at the fleeing Sorcerer. "Quick! Go after him!"
"I'm on it, Sparx!"
Spyro made his run straight towards the empty window panel for himself, being careful to dodge all the broken glass shards on the floor in the process. Though, given his slightly worrying facial expression, it seemed as if the shards would be the last thing on his mind.
Would he really be able to fly his way towards the Sorcerer? Had the fight from Cynder left him unable to fly for a long period of time? Either way, his thoughts ended up coming all back to one thing – the ability to fly rested inside the knowledge of his ancient blood, and his expression was unwilling to let it go.
And then, he reached the panel, jumping straight down into the abyss below. He tried to flap his wings, yet… in spite of his best efforts, he was unable to carry himself up. All of this arrogance and confidence seemed to have led to nothing, he upsettingly thought as he was left falling to where he did not know.
The Sorcerer brawled viciously as he witnessed Spyro's failed flight attempt. "You deserved it, you irritating monster!"
The Sorcerer's vicious laughter faded out into the distance, showing itself as nothing more than a distant cry as he went further down. Knowing that he was unable to fly to his opponent, all that Spyro could do was seal his eyes and get absorbed by the impending darkness beneath him…
"Feel the power of your ancestors coursing through your body. In times of crisis they will come to you and teach you... unlocking powers you never knew you had."
His heart quickly skipped a beat. Exactly why was he hearing Ignitus's voice, or rather, a command that he spoke before? An instant memory sprung through to his mind – the time when that guardian in particular briefly hypnotised him into seeking for his ability to fly.
"Just forget everything you ever though you knew... forget yourself. Only through forgetting will you remember what your ancient blood already knows..."
Almost on his own accord, his wings started to flap, increasing in speed as time went on. And then, it grew fast enough that his fall in the abyss completely stopped; that feeling was more than enough for Spyro to open his eyes widely and face his situation.
"You can fly!"
Quickly he turned himself onto his chest, looking around as he hovered up within the darkness. And finally, a speck of light was shown above him – a pink dot that shone as bright as a shooting star. And so he used his wings to push himself up towards it, ready to reach for its contents.
As it got bigger, it didn't show itself to be an actual star, but rather the edge of the abyss that surrounded the Sorcerer's lair. And just like the randomly bursting rocks from around it, he shot up into the sky, located the Sorcerer and flew towards him to his mind's content.
"How…" the Sorcerer showed an expression of shock at the dragon's recovery. "How did you do that?"
Spyro didn't answer the question. Instead, he hovered further ahead with his wings taking him as close as possible towards the Sorcerer, ready to make a potent move towards his adversary. This was it, he thought to himself. This could be the moment when the magic would come alive.
Confidently, he looked back towards the Sorcerer's lair, which it became nothing more than a fading landmark in the distance. He then assumed that it would be an empty building once he made his finishing moves towards the Sorcerer; flight coupled with a powered up Shadowstone made him feel like an unstoppable force of nature.
"Spyro, look out!" Sparx pointed out to him from the side. "He's sending larger projectiles at you!"
Spyro quickly looked ahead, and right there he saw that Sparx's word was right. Several crystal shards were seen coming his way, all of which significantly larger than those he faced previously as well as looking more dangerous thanks to the electric tips that were placed on their sharpest points.
With extreme caution, he made his flight past them all, making sure to barrel roll some of which that came dangerously close, knocking them out of the way when required. Some of which came close to try to pierce his wing, yet his face showed that he was either barely scratched or able to retain any signs of damage.
And then it wasn't long until they faced a large cloud ahead. The Sorcerer flew straight through it, going through a dense patch of air ahead. As soon as Spyro went through, his view was completely obscured by the mist, leaving his facial expression to show uncertainty as he went through it.
"Maybe it's time I tried to send things up a notch as well!" shouted an almost-too-familiar voice from behind.
Almost out of the blue, he felt a pain pull onto his horns. Having faced the same experience for several previous encounters, he knew that there was only one possible method of knowing what was going on. And his suspicions were confirmed when a familiar tail was brought straight between his eyes.
"Sparx, what are you doing?" he questioned the dragonfly, looking moderately annoyed.
"Sheesh, I'm only trying to be your personal fog light here…"
Sparx growled, knowing that he wasn't being given much credit for almost any amount of help he would grant. He almost repented from his role, but that was before seeing Spyro struggle to keep up with the Sorcerer through the mist… that he knew that he could be required for use after all.
And thus, the dragon's viewpoint had a blistering light from the dragonfly's body projected straight ahead; he now knew that this could be what can be required to try and locate the Sorcerer's shadow, wherever in the thick cloud he could be and whatever kind of trick he could be trying to do.
And finally, he managed to spot what looked like a black mass towards his left. Like a jet fighter, he quickly turned in that direction and started hovering closer to it. A steady advancement soon saw him face to face with the Sorcerer once more, just as when they were about to escape from the cloud.
"It's time I finished you off real good!" he leered back at the dragon as he summoned a combination of black energy balls and icicles. "You're going down!"
Spyro looked on at the lethal combination ahead. Not only would he have to dodge the icicles but he would also need to evade the lethal hitting black balls at the same time. Biting his teeth together, he hovered further ahead and raised his front paws in the air as he did so.
His expectations for the matter were to deflect the black balls and take damage from the icicles, releasing the balls when in a weakened state. And then he did deflect the balls thanks to the banish barrier summoned in front of him, but before he could notice anything else… the icicles were rebounded as well.
"Not today!"
Blinking with amazement, Spyro fixed his eyes towards the top of his head. And there, Sparx was seen sitting firmly on top of the dragon's head, in a comfortable position between two of the ridges on his head. His hands were raised in the air, showing that he too was participating in the development of the glowing aura.
The aura soon grew strong enough to absorb the shattered icicle particles into the regenerating balls, and there they started to glow with a golden thunderous power. Yet he held onto it for a little while longer, leaving Spyro to chase the Sorcerer up vertically before letting go.
And when he did, it instantly made its way towards the Sorcerer, whom had absolutely no room to escape. And when struck, he felt the thunderous yet cold particles go straight through his body. Much like the ball that struck Cynder earlier, the ripple was enough to leave his body to go into a state of paralysis.
"Look out!" Sparx quickly reacted to seeing the results of the ball striking him. "The sorcerer's falling towards you!"
The dragonfly's words were absolutely right; there, they saw the Sorcerer's body ceasing in ascending through the air, and slowly yet accelerating in speed over time, he started to make his fall towards the ground – directly falling in the direction of Spyro and Sparx.
The Sorcerer's fall was enough for the pair to end up making their descent far away from the falling monster. While the dragon looked more convinced than ever that he managed to finish him off, his eyes looked as if the fight wouldn't be over yet in more ways than one.
Finally they made their way towards his lair, soaring straight towards the wide open roof panel. Yet they noted that as they went closer, the Sorcerer ended up falling in a different direction – to the left of them, in the direction of the left of the broken window panel.
"Incoming!" the dragon beamed as he outstretched his paws for landing.
Spyro finally made his way inside the large dome inside, landing on all four feet as soon as he got there, coming to a stop with a skid in his step. The feeling of the landing instantly had Sparx widening his eyes - releasing his grip from his horns and hovering on his own record, applauding as he did so.
"Whoo! That's the best landing I've seen from you yet!" he smiled widely as he patted one side of his comrade's head.
Spyro reacted with a warm glance in return. "Thanks, but what do we make of the Sorcerer?"
Sparx hovered close towards the dragon, shrugging as he did so. What was the point in asking a mere travelling accomplice about what might have happened to what was arguably one of the most dangerous adversaries that they might have had the pleasure of coming against?
With the thought steadily coming towards the back of his mind, the dragon started to make his way back towards the open window panel, being careful not to step onto any of the broken glass shards on the way through. One of which ended up being close enough to reach one of his toes, yet he carefully managed to evade stepping into it right at the last minute.
And then he reached the window panel. There he looked straight on ahead, looking at the abyss that surrounded the lair – the eerie, lilac void that surrounded the entire scene, still spewing out burning rocks and light bridges that traversed their way from area to area.
Aside from the sound of the rising boulders and the calmness of the interiors of the room, the entire area was brought straight into silence. Not a single roar or sign of panic was heard around the void; nothing at all aside from this still and tense backdrop.
Steadily over time, Spyro's face started to turn from one of sentiment to one that flowed full of optimism. For he knew, that after everything that he managed to do, after even having to lose Cynder and Ango to the line of fire… that he had managed to defeat the Sorcerer.
"Is this it?" Spyro asked with wonder, his jaw almost dropping. "He's finally gone?"
The purple dragon focused his attention straight towards Sparx, whom ended up almost speaking directly in front of him. But before he could even make a statement, a rumble was heard above, leaving them to look straight up and see some small rocks falling towards the ground – all breaking from the walls of the lair.
"Spyro, look!" gasped Sparx as he pointed to the ceiling. "The roof is starting to cave in! We need to get out of here as soon as we can!"
Looking hesitant at the sight of seeing bigger slabs break off as they fall, the dragonfly started to hover his way straight towards the exit, but before he could even get through the door… he realised that Spyro wasn't near him. Quickly he turned back and found him in the most likely location – standing around Cynder's body, again.
"Hey, what are you doing?" the dragonfly awkwardly asked him.
"I'm not leaving without Cynder! Ignitus would see it best for us to get her out of here."
"What's the point? She's gone! What's the point in carrying her away from this decaying ruin?"
"We can at least be honorable for her", the dragon clarified the situation for him. "She would have wanted it this way too."
Showing a determined yet sympathetic glare, he took a tight grasp upon Cynder's body and lifted it into the air, using his wings to hover himself up off the ground, ready to transport her straight out of the room. A tight grasp was secured around her before he could even make his way forward.
And then, he made his way towards the double doors that formed as the entrance to the room, exiting almost straight away. That left Sparx remaining behind, his face looking perplexed over Spyro's decision on briefly staying behind – a sacrifice to claim a friend that he once knew, regardless of whether she was dead or alive.
"Okay, why does barely anyone listen to old man Sparx these days?" he frowned briefly, shrugging to himself.
Sparx growled bitterly to himself as he went back towards Spyro, at that point now being able to lift Cynder from the ground. The pair then left the building together, now curious over what would become of it now that the Sorcerer had perished right in front of them.
The question remained in their mind as they made their way down the outdoor steps and through the abyss outside it. As soon as they left, they turned back towards the lair, and right there they saw it crumbling into pieces, with each rock falling into the rubble slowly and gracefully.
The same situation occurred with all the platforms beneath them – whether they were made of rock, light or any other substance. In response, they both made their way back towards the mountain slopes that they came from, the area soon engulfing itself in an intense white light as soon as they left.
Back at the Dragon Village, the scene remained exactly how it was for moments at a time – Red's sceptre was still left hanging above the peaks of the Professor's home, glowing gently, allowing for temporary brightness to occur with every flash of white and restoration of darkness with every contraction.
Its actions were enough for everyone to focus closer and closer at it, curious over its precise actions beyond attempting to provide a temporary lightshow towards its target audience. Yet it wasn't until a trace of lilac was thrown into the light that things started to become more consistent.
Ignitus focused his attention towards it more than ever, his eyes keen on seeing what was shown through it. There he saw a blur of darker purple shapes, moving among one another, almost clashing valiantly with one another. There, his eyes widened with anxiety, puzzling over its precise meaning.
"Spyro…!"
Ignitus's eyes started to radiate more and more with the flashing sceptre, almost in unison with said instrument. And then, he then noticed that it completely stopped glowing, once again bringing the entire area back into its usual darkened state once again.
"Well, what is it?" Red asked him worryingly.
Lowering his head, he looked towards the ground, observing the darkened village once more. Yet, he noted that not everything was darkened – he saw a single flower brought into view, blowing as if it managed to spring to life on its own accord in spite of the surroundings.
"Look at the world around us", Ignitus softly addressed the surrounding personnel. "The power is being reversed. The Sorcerer's magic has been reverted back."
Red's chest suddenly froze in a mid-inhale. "So that can mean…!"
Ignitus looked back at Red, and then back at the lone growing flower. In response to the Dragon Elder, he looked at him with what looked like a melancholy glance back. And then, he brought it down into a gentle nod, reforming his mouth into a smile in that space of time.
The reaction was enough for confidence to be boosted gently around the personnel once more. Over time it got to the point that some of them started to look more hopeful and optimistic – an almost ironic set of feelings considering the current state of the village.
"Ignitus is right", Hunter gasped deeply as he looked straight up to the sky. "Spyro has killed the Sorcerer!!"
The shout was enough to make its echo across the village. And just like that, a radiant glow was felt, though not from his body but rather radiating from Red's floating staff. And just like that, the entire scene was engulfed in a thick and heavy canvas of white light.
This light persisted for several seconds, before it gently started to fade out. Gone were the remaining traces of any of the Dark Master's monsters that swarmed the area. Even the campfire that they mainly hung out in was peacefully changed to nothing more than a stack of firewood for anyone to use.
The black cloud that once hung over the village soon started to evaporate into nothing but a brilliant vapour of silver gas, soon making a gentle rise towards the sky to form a cloud with a brilliant silver lining. It glistened towards the village with the same radiance as a gentle starlit sky.
And then, the rocks and the red weeds then started to make a radical change upon the village. The moisture of the ground was making its return once more and a brilliant display of grass and flowers then started to take their place among the ground, making the plains look more like a gorgeous plain than the desert than it once felt like.
And finally, a brilliant light made its arrival from above, shining straight down on the village like a spotlight of success. There it was – a round and yellow object floating above them in the sky. The sun had managed to make its return, illuminating the sky in a beautiful color scheme once again.
"I knew I could believe in you! Well done, young dragon!"
Ignitus felt a feeling of joy upon his chest, happy to finally see that the village had been restored. Gone were the traces of the Sorcerer's magic. Gone were all traces of any signs of the power of the Dark Master. Gone was all the suffering that had completely swarmed the area.
It was a fresh start, and the beginning of a new era. The signs of the sun and the grasslands were beautiful enough for many of the civilians beyond the others to soon come out and look straight up towards the beautiful day that managed to hang straight above them.
Some of the residents looked keen enough to be able to return towards their daily business with the market place. Some of which even showed keenness to randomly stop in front of any of the civilians, ready to greet them with a cheery expression that they might have left aside for so long.
Yet it didn't change the fact that they too would remain in awe at the first sign of a beautiful day in so long. And as they looked upon it, they knew that it just can't have arrived as naturally as it did. There had to be a force for them to thank for the scenery's restoration.
Together, they focused their attention straight towards the mountain peaks, and there, they focused their attention directly at the skies that hung above them. A purple glimmer was seen right in front of them, and there, they found their figure to thank. Though that incarnation of Spyro wasn't the one that they knew intimately, they knew that they had to offer their gratitude to him for saving the realm from the Sorcerer's reign of terror.
Though some of the parts of the mountain's slopes were still as dry and rocky as they were, the flatlands that managed to cover the peaks were soon covered in a faint display of shrubs and exotic plants that were left to grow and breed gently in the newly formed weather.
That was even transferred into the narrow passageways and the enclosed clearings. All the trees in the area were blossomed once again, and all traces of decaying material were left to dissolve and blow in the wind as if they never came to exist at all.
The only material that ended up being left aside, however, was the skeleton of that for the incarnation of Spyro that the village once knew, left untouched inside the tight clearing towards the west of the mountain peaks. Thanks to the blossoming organic life, it was now shown to be fitting to be a hero's resting place.
And as it stood, it looked as if it was fitting to be a resting place for Cynder, if Spyro's eyes were of any indication as he made his way directly over it. Carefully and gracefully, he fluttered his way down towards the ground, twitching his tail as he got closer towards it.
And then he reached the surface, carefully placing Cynder right next to the skeleton before landing. Looking down at her, she looked so peaceful being placed upon her side as she was - as if she was facing a dreamless sleep that she may never wake up from.
"Promise Ignitus that he will take care of everyone back home. Tell him to stay strong."
The reminder of her last remark went straight through his mind, leaving him to look up and think about his home at the Dragon Temple. He, Ignitus and the other dragons might end up feeling the same way about Cynder, in spite of the short time that they came to know her.
Several memories flashed right in front of his mind – the fight he had with her corrupted form, soon following into his rescue from Convexity as soon as she was restored, and then going straight through to all the brave moments that they encountered together, side by side – the first time working together as allies…
An upsetting feeling then swirled through his mind – there will never be a chance that he will encounter that situation ever again. The thought soon led to a damp feeling that filled his eyes with anguish before flowing down his snout with a gentle trickle – the form of a pair of small tears.
He maintained his upset expression as he walked further and further away from Cynder and towards the crack in the wall that she, Sparx and Ango previously used to make their entrance into the area. The dragonfly then followed him, showing an equally hurt yet sympathetic expression, clearly understanding of the loss.
And finally, he made his departure from the scene, walking through the hole and making a slow march back towards the Dragon Village. As far as he knew, he saw that the Dragon Realms faced a fresh start all over again, but for him, it was the start of a new type of era – an era where he would reside at the Dragon Temple with a new destiny – a destiny to become the last of the dragon race.
-end of chapter-