Chapter 10: Darkness

"Bianca, how much farther do you think it'll be before we reach the barrier tear?" Ember asked.

"I'm not sure. The compass hasn't been showing any wild spinning." The rabbit replied.

"That's strange because I can feel the magic growing more turbulent." Elora said. Normally the closer they got to the barrier tear the more wild the compass's needle would swing. So far it had been maintaining its slight twitching, but it still pointed in a definite northwest direction.

"If we don't get there soon we'll have to camp out." Hunter said.

"I really don't want to sleep in this place." Rali said quietly. The thick, dark forest gave him the chills, and it wasn't just the turbulent magic. The bare trees stretched up overhead looking like long spindly claws reaching down. The forest also looked as if it could conceal something dangerous behind its thick trees waiting to pounce.

"I know that this place is pretty creepy, but we don't have much of a choice. I doubt we'll find a hotel or something out here." Flame's words didn't make Rali feel any better. For a split second Rali could feel something staring at him. He whipped his head around to see nothing but the dimming forest behind him.

"What's wrong?" Ember asked noticing Rali's sudden movement.

"Nothing, it felt like something was watching me, but nothing's there." Ember looked back too, but she didn't see anything either. With a shrug they continued on.

It was pretty much dark when the compass's needle began spinning wildly out of control. Bianca studied the compass under the light of a lantern.

"I think we're here." She said. The group looked up into the sky only to see faintly shining stars. Up ahead of them was an abandoned warehouse that had a cleared lot in front of it. It would make a good place to set up camp. Just as the group was about to walk down the small hill towards the cleared space something slinked out of the warehouse through its partially open door. The shape moved slowly until it was standing in the middle of the lot. A pair of glowing yellow eyes peered out from the shadow of the building sizing up the intruders. With a jolt Spyro recognized the eyes burning through him. It was Shadow. Spyro could barely make out the other dragon's black body from the shadows around him.

"It's him." Spyro growled to his friends. Shadow raised his head.

"It took you less time than I expected for you and your companions to get here Spyro." Shadow said in a casual tone. Spyro wondered how Shadow could know his name, but then he remembered what he had said during their previous encounter: Shadow could read minds. Just the thought of someone flipping through his memories and thoughts like an open book made the purple dragon's scales crawl.

"I can't let you close the barrier Bianca. It would upset Them if I did." Shadow said. Bianca said nothing, but she and the others wondered who Shadow was referring to.

"You should know that we won't heed your warning Shadow so you might as well save your breath!" Spyro said in a challenging tone.

"How right you are." As soon as the sentence left Shadow's mouth his shadow beasts began emerging from the darkness of the warehouse. Their glowing red eyes seemed to illuminate the area around them. Even though the sun was down their fangs and claws still shown white in the blackness. Spyro and his companions stared in horror at how many there were. There were far too many for them to take on by themselves. Fear rooted them to the spot. Despair began to swallow Spyro; they couldn't possibly challenge that many. Spyro had never truly feared death before, and now he felt as if he were staring it in the face.

"Knowing that you would challenge me I have prepared." Shadow's voice arose from the sea of writhing beasts his yellow eyes still clearly visible.

"That is unless you know that you can't win and back down like the sensible dragon I know you are. You wouldn't risk your life and the life of your friends to fight an utterly useless battle would you? I guess the Realms will suffer and be overwhelmed with Their darkness then wouldn't it? And it's all because you couldn't win one battle."

"You talk too much Shadow!" Spyro roared. "You may think you know me, but you don't know a thing about me! No matter the odds I never back down as long as something threatens my world." Shadow only shook his head at the purple dragon's words. A look of serious regret crossed his face for a brief moment. Something inside of Shadow didn't want to kill Spyro, but the feeling was quickly replaced with an intense bloodlust. A malicious grin spread across his face; he would enjoy this fight. Shadow gave the signal for the beasts to attack. The cacophony of their roars shook the forest as they thundered towards the heroes. With their weapons at the ready the heroes braced themselves as they stared down the stampede of shadow beasts.

"Looks like you're not going to be the only hero this time Spyro." Flame said with a mocking tone.

"You sound as though we're going to win." Spyro replied.

"Of course we are. The heroes always win." Flame replied with a grin, but behind it Spyro could see the fear in his friend.

Rali couldn't even begin to fathom why they were still standing here. It was going against everything Rali knew, everything his instincts said, every fiber of his being, but something kept him rooted to the spot, something other than fear. It must've been seeing his friends stand strong against nearly a hundred beasts that gave him the strength to resist running away. If he didn't help fight the beasts, and they lost then he wouldn't be able to return home. He fixated his mind on returning home, and the only way to do that was to overcome this last obstacle even though it was like his very worst nightmare. But one thing differentiated it from being a nightmare: he wasn't alone.


Gyra, Clenten, and Genus sat around the seer orb in one of their smaller cabins. They each looked intently into the crystal as they watched a battle unfold. A massive wave of blackness seemed to pour over the seven heroes devouring them completely. A break in the mass of black showed that the heroes stood firm against the onslaught dispatching shadow beasts left and right. They all waited until the moment the beasts were solid which was when they attacked. Then they struck. Arrows pierced through heads, flames engulfed dark bodies, strikes of lightning zapped through chests. Beams of light penetrated the darkness of the shadows. It seemed as though the heroes might stand a chance against Shadow, but when one beast fell two took its place.

"Quite a hardy bunch they are." Clenten said.

"That Spyro and his friends, they never give up no matter the odds, do they?" Gyra said as she stared at the raging battle. She glanced over at Genus who sat still like an ominous statue, an unreadable look carved onto his face.

"Shadow better not loose or else we'll lose the opportunity to take the Realms while it's at its weakest." Genus growled.

"I trained him in nearly everything I know." Clenten said with pride. "Coupled with the dark powers he has, he'll be unstoppable."

"And he'll also be unpredictable. You know how the dark magic affects the minds of those too inexperience to control it." Gyra said. "He'll be a liability once this is all over and we'll have to deal with him."

"I know." Clenten said. "It's a shame that it has to come to that. He was such an eager student." Clenten's voice was tinged with sadness. They watched as Shadow loomed around the very edges of the battle, stalking like a tiger waiting to pounce. One by one his beasts fell, banished back into the darkness from which they came.


Spyro's claws ripped through a beast's head just before it could land a heavy blow. The monster screamed as its ink-black blood dripped to the ground before it faded back into nothingness. The beasts numbers were falling, although slowly. It was from a hundred to about sixty-five. However the heroes were tiring fast, the onslaught seemed to keep coming and would continue on forever.

A heavy thud against Spyro's head sent him rolling across the ground. Sparx changed from blue to green. Stunned Spyro struggled to stand, his vision blurred. He heard someone call his name, but he couldn't place who. He looked up to see the glistening fangs of a beast over him, but his mind couldn't process the danger fast enough. A burst of flames sent the beast crumpling to the ground engulfed in fire. Spyro looked to his right to see Flame running to his side.

"You alright?" He asked quickly, out of breath. Spyro regained his senses and nodded his head. Flame disappeared into the fray of the battle again.

"Gotta watch my back." Spyro said before striking another beast down.

Blasts of aurora beam erupted from Ralicamur's jaws. The concentrated beams of light seemed to be the most effective against the beasts, but Rali couldn't use his breath power much. It drained him of his energy rapidly if he used it too much. Another blast tore through a beast killing it with one hit. All thoughts left the young dragon's mind. He was fighting for his life, his very existence; nothing else mattered as his self preservation instinct completely took over. For a moment though, he thought about the fact that he was fighting and someone else wasn't fighting for him. It empowered him like the time back in Cloud Temples where he was surrounded and his friends were too far away to help him. Rali's heavy tail came down on a shadow beast crushing it, banishing it.

Shadow watched as the heroes fought. They lasted a lot longer than he had expected. He would have to take care of things himself, or They would be angry with him if he didn't stop the heroes. With a burst of speed Shadow launched himself into the air with a powerful leap. He landed in the middle of the raging battle. Immediately the beasts leapt away as if Shadow's landing produced as shockwave that pushed them back.

Confused with the beast's sudden move back the heroes stood battered and panting in the middle of the small clearing. They turned to see Shadow standing in the rough middle of them.

"You've lasted too long." He said calmly. "Now it's time for you all to die!" The black dragon roared as he launched himself at the nearest target: Ember. With her wits still about her Ember leapt out of the black dragon's path. Shadow turned and lunged at her again. A heavy blow to his side knocked Shadow off his feet. He quickly looked up to see the person who charged him. It was Spyro. With a snarl Shadow loosed a stream of dark-light from his body aimed at the purple dragon. Not having enough time to dodge the magic attack Spyro threw up his wings in front of himself using his wing-shield ability. The dark-light collided with the young hero and got thrown back. Before Shadow could attack again arrows whizzed past his head. He narrowly dodged the next arrow. Shadow leapt backward, mental crosshairs honing in on Hunter. Hunter did the same, an explosive arrow aimed at the black dragon. The arrow was sent sailing through the air and exploded on impact creating a cloud of dust and dirt. When the dust finally settled it revealed a shimmering dark-light barrier in front of Shadow. The dragon stood unaffected by the arrow.

"If this is the best you can do then… you'll all fall!" The barrier dissipated and Shadow disappeared in a twist of dark-light. The heroes whipped their heads around trying to spot their enemy. Shadow was no where to be seen. The shadow beasts stood like statues in a ring around the group unmoving.

"Where did he go?" Spyro asked under his breath. A thought pierced his mind, but it wasn't his own. "Over here!" It said as a blast of dark-light flashed from a nearby tree. Spyro barely had time to look around completely as a scream of pain tore through the air.

"HUNTER!" Bianca yelled as the cheetah fell to the ground unconscious. Bianca rushed over to the cheetah to see that he was still breathing, but a gapping wound was left in his shoulder and he was bleeding heavily. Thinking fast Bianca cast a quick healing spell on Hunter. It wouldn't completely heal the wound, but it would stop the bleeding.

As Bianca tended to Hunter the others formed a defensive ring around them. Without warning Shadow leapt from the tree and landed in front of the group and with a roar lunged for Flame. The red dragon braced himself and dodged the attack by mere inches leaving Shadow's flank open to attack. With a swift swing of his tail Flame sent Shadow reeling back in pain. Taking advantage of the moment Spyro charged the black dragon, but his horns only slashed through air. Shadow had teleported away again. He reappeared, diagonal to Rali. The Chinese dragon unleashed a blast of light from his jaws, but the beam was deflected by Shadow's dark-shield. Shadow's eyes blazed white as dark-light enveloped his body. With a roar Shadow released a blast of dark-light at the green dragon. Rali didn't have enough time to evade the attack and was sent flying backward. Rali hit the ground and tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. The young dragon's head pounded from the impact and slowly his vision faded to black.

Spyro and Flame both went after the black dragon and used their flame breath when they were in range. Shadow easily dodged the attack and counterattacked with a blast of dark-light. Spyro and Flame narrowly avoided the beam, but before they could attack again Shadow teleported away.

"Where is he now?" Flame asked under his breath.

"Behind you." A cold voice sounded that sent shivers down Flame's spine. Before he could turn a blast of dark-light collided with the red dragon. He fell to the ground unconscious. Spyro lunged for Shadow with his claws splayed. The black dragon leapt away with cat-like agility eyeing Spyro trying to anticipate his next move. Shadow's blazing yellow eyes glanced over at Elora for a split second. Again his body was enveloped with dark-light and he sent a blast towards the faun. Elora threw up he arms in front of herself in a futile attempt to shield herself, but there was a flash of purple and the dark-light beam never reached her. There was a thud behind her and she turned to see Spyro lying in the dirt struggling to get up.

"Spyro!" She yelled as she was about to run to him, but he stopped her short.

"Stay there with Bianca." He said his voice tinged with pain. "I'm fine." He lied. His vision blurred every now and then, but he could see Shadow advancing towards him. There was only a wild excitement and blood lust in the black dragon's eyes. Spyro gritted his teeth in a snarl as Shadow stood only a few feet away from him.

"You and your friends were no match for me." He said inching ever closer to Spyro. There was a quick but heavy blow from Shadow's tail against Spyro's head which knocked him back down to the ground. Dazed, Spyro didn't know why Shadow cried out in pain.

Shadow looked at his left hind leg to see a dagger sticking out of it, his blood trickling down. Elora had thrown the dagger in an attempt to strike Shadow in the head or chest, but her aim was off. With a snarl Shadow released a blast of dark-light at the faun.

"Nooo!" Spyro roared trying to stand as his friend was struck down. Shadow watched the faun fall before pulling the dagger out with his teeth and casting it aside.

"You'll pay!" Spyro snarled and loosed a jet of flames from his jaws. Shadow quickly put up his dark-shield protecting himself from the fire. Before Spyro could flame again Shadow pounced and pinned the purple dragon to the ground. He dug he claws into Spyro's shoulders causing him to growl with pain. Spyro tried to lift Shadow off him with his hind legs, but his strength was failing him. Sparx was no where to be seen.

Shadow parted his jaws and bared his fangs.

"This will be the end for you… hero." But before Shadow could clamp his jaws down around Spyro's throat an intense blast of white suddenly appeared illuminating the immediate area. Around the flash the shadow beasts that were too close were banished. A shape stepped out from the intense light that slowly faded. When the light was gone a dragon stood where the flash had been.

"M-master?!" Shadow stammered. The other dragon stepped forward towards Shadow and Spyro. Spyro turned his head to see who was coming. It was a black dragon with a pearl-white front side. His wings were golden and his wing membranes were the same color as his front. Charcoal grey horns and crest decorated the dragon's head along with a short grey beard. The dragon held as staff in one hand that had a light-gem and a dark-gem on opposite ends. The old dragon's piercing ice-blue eyes looked down at Shadow. The young black dragon stepped backward off of Spyro looking up at the old dragon with fear in his eyes. Shadow's mind raced.

"W-what are you doing here?" He asked in a shaky voice. The other black dragon said nothing as he slowly advanced towards Shadow with a cold look on his face. Shadow could sense the immense dark power radiating from the old dragon. Instinct told him that the old dragon was a threat and had to be stopped. With a snarl Shadow shot a beam of dark-light at the old dragon. Expecting the move the old dragon raised his staff in front of him and the beam of dark-light was absorbed into the dark-gem on the top of his staff.

"You should know by now that that won't work Shadow." The old dragon said in a calm voice. Shadow only snarled.

"Look at you, at what you've become; nothing more that a scared animal. The dark magic you have has torn you, it's eating away at you." The old dragon stepped around Spyro and walked towards Shadow who still backed away his blazing yellow eyes wide with fear.

"I should've known that even with Their blood in your veins that you still wouldn't have been able to handle your powers. You're still too young." The old dragon lifted his staff towards Shadow who remained rooted to the spot. The dark-gem end of the staff began to glow with dark-light. Shadow crumpled to the ground in pain. The old dragon ignored Shadow's growls and snarls as he concentrated. Slowly a dark-gem shard began to push through Shadow's forehead. Once the shard was completely out it was absorbed into the dark-gem on the old dragon's staff. Since it was removed with magic, taking the gem shard out of Shadow left no physical wound. The old dragon sighed as he looked down at Shadow who stopped writhing in pain. The old black dragon's ice blue eyes looked from Spyro to each of his friends then back to Spyro. The purple dragon only stared back in silence.

"What did you do to him?" He finally managed to say as he glanced at Shadow who lay motionless. The old dragon said nothing. A blast of white appeared behind him and the black dragon stepped in. The flash of light was gone and so was the dragon.

Spyro looked back to Shadow who still remained motionless. He wasn't sure that he was still alive until he could hear short rapid breaths coming from the black dragon. Footsteps sounded to Spyro's right causing him too look back around. Bianca was rushing around with what little healing potion she had left to stabilize her friends. A healing spell to heal the amount of wounds that each of them had accumulated would be a bit lengthy to set up and she didn't want her friends' conditions to get worse while she prepared. Finally she made it over to Spyro.

"I know it would be dumb to ask if you're okay." She said quietly to him as she examined his wounds.

"How are the others?" Spyro asked.

"They aren't doing too well. Rali has a badly sprained leg, Hunter, Flame, Elora have serious open wounds. Ember's helping me to take care of you all. There isn't that much I can do without all of the proper equipment." She said with despair beginning to rise within her.

"You've done a lot Bianca. Just think of where we would be without you." Spyro said as he struggled to his feet.

"Thanks." The sorceress said.

"Once everyone is well enough to get back to the balloon we're getting out of this dump." Spyro said.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Bianca replied.

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