The skylanders had set up camp, in the destroyed village of Kimaka. They had volunteered to help the maubu rebuild there village. Hex was shoving a pile of burnt logs away from a villager's home when Sophia darted up to her.
"Cynder is awake and she wants to talk to you." Sophia reported.
Hex nodded in acknowledgement, and ran to find Cynder. Hex's stomach churned when she saw the state her friend was in. Cynder's face and body were covered with bruises and scratches, her wings were torn and her face drooped. Hex wondered if the villagers had tortured Cynder. Hex's unease grew as she noticed that Cynder was chained on a wooden platform. Metallic shackles were wrapped around her paws and wings, and her body was stretched in a very uncomfortable looking position. The dragoness continued to radiate dark magic.
"Hi Hex its great to see you. Is Spyro, Sophia, and Flameslinger here as well?" Cynder said in a drugged voice.
"No… I can bring them to you though." Hex replied.
"Good, because Sophia and Flameslinger really need to hear what I must say." With those words Cynder closed her radiant silver eyes.
Hex was glad that her friend was in control of her dark form, but she still wanted Cynder to be back to normal. Hex found Sophia and Flameslinger by a hollow log; she ran up to them and bluntly said, "Cynder wants to see you two."
Flameslinger and Sophia nodded there heads in acknowledgement, and followed Hex.
"Ah, you brought them." Cynder said her voice still drugged.
"Yes… what did they put you on Cynder?" Hex replied.
"Oh, some random sedative. That's unimportant though. What is important is that those two idiots start giving you some credit." Cynder said, pointing at Flameslinger and Sophia.
"What do you mean give her some credit?" Sophia asked.
"Because with out Hex, Flameslinger would never have found you." Cynder replied.
"Why?" Sophia questioned.
"Hex somehow knew where Darko was hiding out. She brought me and six others to the ice cave. If it weren't for her you could have died…" Flameslinger explained to Sophia, his voice starting to tremble.
Sophia nodded to Flameslinger, curling herself close to him. Flameslinger managed to get a grip on his emotions as he choked out the words "Thank you for helping me save her Hex…"
"Your welcome." Hex replied.
"What time are you guys going to attack Darko?" Cynder asked.
"Were going after him in the morning." Hex replied.
Cynder's eyes turned red for a moment as she said, "I look forward to our final fight."
"I doubt it will be our final fight." Hex grumbled bitterly.
"Mark my words Hex; this will be our last stand against him." Cynder responded, her eyes starting to change to a controlled silver color.
"Cynder, do you know what Darko meant when he said the skylanders would pay for exiling him?" Hex asked.
Cynder hesitated for a moment before saying, "Darko was once a skylander Hex. He came to us at the ruins, and requested to join us shortly after Malefor's defeat. Master Eon knew there was something wrong with Darko, and denied his request, I however persuaded Master Eon to let Darko become a skylander. For a while everything seemed perfectly okay, no one could deny that Darko was dedicated when he was sent on a mission. The problem was that he was too dedicated. Whenever Darko was sent to simply capture an enemy he would kill them. Darko would stop at nothing to complete his mission, even if the others he worked were put at risk. Often times I was sent to be his partner considering no one else could stand his brash attitude. He would normally leave me to fend for myself on missions. Those were the times when I relied upon my dark magic to save my life. One day we were sent on a mission to track an army of wasps that were terrorizing a clan of griffins. The wasps attacked the gryphon's camp, and killed many of there soldiers. Darko came up with a plan to lead the wasps in to a cave, and then blow up the cave. Everyone agreed until they realized they had no way to lead the wasps in to the cave. Darko proposed that a gryphon should give up its life and be wasp bait. As you can imagine the clan was outraged by this, and denied Darko's plan. For a long time he just sulked around and bugged the griffins, then suddenly he stopped sulking and became incredibly bitter….
Flash back to the night before the attack on the wasps.
Cynder walked through a pine forest searching for her partner Darko. The two dragons had been sent on a mission to stop a colony of wasps from attacking a clan of griffins. Cynder had her doubts about how useful she and Darko would be, but Darko had accepted the mission, and she knew it was a bad idea to leave him unsupervised, considering his brash personality. For two whole months the two skylanders had lived away from the skylands, having to live with the griffins in order to help them. Cynder and Darko had just left a meeting about how to best solve the wasp problem. Darko had suggested the idea of leading some wasps in to a cave, and blowing up the cave. Everyone agreed to this plan. The second step was to come up with a way to put this plan in action. Since no one could figure out decent wasp bait, Darko had suggested using a gryphon to lure the wasps to there doom.
Chaos had broken out at the meeting when Darko suggested this, and they quickly ditched the idea of trapping the wasps and exploding them. Darko had stormed out of the meeting upon hearing the griffins reject his idea, and Cynder had pursued him to make sure he didn't get himself in to trouble.
"Darko! Darko!" Cynder called out, praying Darko would respond to her calls. There was no answer.
She was deeply concerned about her friend. Darko had been around Cynder for her entire life, and Cynder often wondered if the mighty black dragon was her brother. After all they had both hatched in the Underworld on the night of the lunar eclipse.
"Darko! Where are you?" Cynder cried out again.
"I'm up here Cynder!" A muffled voice called down to her.
Cynder sighed in relief and leapt up to the tree Darko perched at.
"We have to go back to camp Darko, the griffins are wondering where were at."
"They won't be wondering for long…" Darko muttered.
"What do you mean?" Cynder asked.
"I saw the swarm coming towards the camp." Darko responded.
"We have to warn them!" Cynder shouted, bracing herself to leap off the branch.
Darko pulled her back roughly and shouted, "We can't go to the camp!"
"But the griffins need to know there about to be attacked!" Cynder exclaimed attempting to fly away, only to be pulled down by Darko again.
"Don't worry about them; the wasp problem will be solved, by nightfall."
"What makes you say that?" Cynder asked, surprised by how confident Darko was.
"I met up with a rogue gryphon by the name of Cyross shortly after the meeting. He told me that the only way to stop the wasps was to have them come to the gryphon camp, and decimate them by bombing the gryphon camp." Darko responded.
Cynder stared blankly, and felt herself tremble as Darko's words sunk in.
"You're going to bomb the camp….?" Cynder choked out.
"Of course. Its time we solve the wasp problem once and for all Cynder. I'm getting tired of putting up with these pigheaded assholes. There idiots and nothing more. If they were stupid enough to stand in front the fire, then there obviously going to get burnt. Darko growled.
"But there are women and children in the camp… Darko think about all the innocents who could die tonight because of what you're planning to do. "Cynder said, desperately trying to get her partner to see sense.
"If a few women and children die then so be it. It isn't my problem, its there problem." Darko said coldly.
"Darko it's not just a few innocents who will die! Families will die! People with children or siblings to look after will die! How can you not see how wrong this is?" Cynder roared at Darko, anger bubbling up inside her. How could he fail to see what destruction he could cause?
"ENOUGH CYNDER!" Darko roared in fury.
Cynder flattened herself to the tree limb she perched on and glared at Darko. She spread her wings and took to the sky. She screamed as fury, grief, betrayal, and guilt surged through her. She knew she had to warn the griffin clan, and yet she could not betray Darko. Horrible thoughts spun in her mind, and she suddenly felt claws gripping at her back. She turned her head to see Darko glaring at her.
"You better not even think about ratting me out you little bitch! Now come with me, I don't know if the fire will reach this far in to the forest, but we better be on the safe side."
With those words Darko grabbed Cynder and dragged her away.
At the end of the day, Cynder didn't even get to make the choice to warn the griffins, or to stay silent. She had taken to long in contemplating what to do. The sun had set, and the sky ignited with bomb fire. The acidic scent of smoke filled the air and screams echoed throughout the canyons that Darko and Cynder sat in. Darko had taken Cynder up to a high cliff overlooking a canyon. The canyon was the passage way to the gryphon's camp. Cynder and Darko sat side by side, watching the bombs go off. Every time a particularly powerful bomb went off Cynder would shield her face. Darko however wouldn't even blink.
"How many bombs did you plant?" Cynder asked trying not to throw up while she spoke.
"Fifty two. Number thirty eight just went off." Darko responded.
Cynder continued to watch the sad scene below her. Shock ran through her as she saw a small gryphon flying out of the flames. The hatchling looked like it was going to fall out of the sky. Its feathers were black, and it no longer had a beak. Blood dripped from the child's wings and feathers rained off of him. Cynder felt her heart drop as she recognized the hatchling. It was her friend and adopted child, Oakwin.
"Oakwin!" Cynder shrieked, preparing to fly to him and save him.
Cynder felt Darko's teeth sink in to her tail.
"Let go! I have to save Oakwin!" Cynder screamed.
Darko did not release his grip on Cynder. Cynder watched numbly as another bomb went off sending a wave of fire at Oakwin. She watched as her adopted son became a living torch.
"NO!" Cynder wailed.
All that was left of the young gryphon were ashes. The ashes of Oakwin rained down on the blazing camp.
"No, no, no…" Cynder sobbed.
Darko released his grip on Cynder, and she ran to the back of the cave. All through the night she screamed her grief to the sky, not caring who heard her. Her terrible screams finally stopped when Darko knocked her unconscious.
Darko and Cynder had left the gryphon's territory in the afternoon. The reason why they hadn't left earlier was because Darko insisted on investigating the ruined camp and making sure no life remained. When the two skylanders finally reached there home they were immediately greeted by Eon.
"I assume you have successfully completed your mission?" Eon asked.
"Indeed. No wasps remain." Darko declared.
"No griffins remain either." Cynder said coldly.
Darko didn't respond to Cynder's comment, he simply flew home.
"Cynder, I must speak with you and the other skylanders." Eon said.
"Should I fetch Darko?" Cynder rasped.
"No, just come with me." Eon said.
Cynder asked no questions and followed Eon.
Cynder saw the other skylanders gathered around the shade tree. The shade tree was a tall pine tree that stood over the skylands. The skylanders gathered here often because of how pretty the tree was. The skylanders turned to face Cynder.
"Welcome back Cynder!" they exclaimed. Cynder smiled weakly at them.
"How was your mission Cynder?" Spyro asked.
"Terrible…" Cynder sighed.
"Cynder, are the griffins still under attack by the wasps?" Sonny (Sonic boom) asked.
Cynder's stomach churned as she remembered that Sonny had once been apart of the decimated gryphon clan.
"There free of the wasps." Cynder choked out.
"Great! How are they recovering from the war? Did you and Darko help them to rebuild?" Sonny continued to question Cynder.
Cynder decided that Sonny had to know the truth. Cynder tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn't move. When she finally managed to open her mouth a small squeak emerged. Cynder had to swallow multiple times before she could say any words.
"I'm sorry Sonny. Your clan is dead. They all died in a bombing incident…"
The pleasant smile dropped off of Sonny's face as she heard this. Tears filled her eyes and she said "There all dead…."
Cynder nodded mutely. Sonny threw back her head and wailed in sorrow. Her screams echoed off of the tree they sat under and sent shivers down Cynder spine. She realized that this was how she screamed when Oakwin died.
"Why was there a bombing incident?" Spyro asked.
Cynder stayed silent, not wanting Darko to be hurt.
"Cynder what happened?" Eon asked.
Cynder took a deep breath of air and said, "I bombed the camp so the wasps would die… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. It was a stupid idea…"
Spyro's eyes widened in shock, and his mouth gapped open. An odd gurgling sound came from him, as if he was trying to say something, but it got stuck in his throat.
Eon stared at Cynder and said, "I'm not mad you for the bombing incident. I am however disappointed that you are lying about who caused it. I know you would never have bombed a camp that had children in it, and I know that Darko would. Why are you lying for him?"
"He's my brother…" Cynder sighed sadly.
"Bring him to the shade tree at 6:00 tonight. Don't be late, and don't ask why." Eon said to Cynder. "You are dismissed."
Cynder limped to her home and slept until 5:55, all the while trying to get Sonny's grief stricken wails out of her head.
Cynder watched as Darko stood before a clan of furious skylanders. Eon stared down at Darko and spoke.
"Darko, there have been to many instances where you have put the skylanders in danger, to many times where you have disobeyed orders, and to many times when you have crossed the line on a mission. You are no longer worthy to hold the title of skylander. If you are not gone before dawn, then we will have you imprisoned. "
Darko stared at Eon murderess rage in his eyes. He began to snarl at the old portal master.
"You have no rights to outcast me! I simply did what had to be done on those missions!"
"You did what had to be done! You dare claim that the destruction of an entire clan is justice!" Eon bellowed.
Cynder shrank back as she heard Eon's voice. She had never heard her master this furious before.
"They were idiots Eon, and if the bombs didn't kill them then something else would have. I'm surprised that I'm being cast out over something as trivial as this."
Shrieks of fury rose up as Darko said that. Sonny lunged at Darko, and was quickly pulled back by Sunburn. Camo reared up and spat a solar seed at Darko. Darko deflected the attack with his wings.
"Be gone now Darko! And never come back!" Eon ordered the black dragon.
Darko turned to run away but then looked back.
"Here me skylanders, and know I will return. Maybe not today, or even a year from now, but I will return, and mark my words that when I do you'll all wish you had never known the name of Darko!"
"We all ready do wish we never knew you!" Spyro called out.
Darko lunged at Spyro and slashed at his face. Spyro reeled back and covered his face with his paw in an effort to stop the bleeding. Darko then rose in to the air and shrieked with fury. Cynder watched him fade from her sight regretting the fact that she had even spoke of the bomb incident. His words echoed in her ears filling her with dread. She could only pray that Darko never returned.
"I had always feared that he may return ever since that dreadful day, but I guess I never really thought about the consequences of him returning…" Cynder concluded, her silver eyes filled with sorrow.
Hex, Flameslinger, and Sophia stayed silent for a long while not knowing how to respond to hearing such a dreadful tale. Hex finally broke the silence by saying "Why did no one tell me that Darko was once a Skylander?"
"We didn't think it was important." Cynder replied in an apologetic tone.
Hex's hands trembled, and she turned to run away when Sophia called to her.
"How do you know Darko Hex? You must have had some type of history with him. Every time we confronted him you seemed so determined to kill him. Why is that?"
Hex whipped around ready to respond sharply to Sophia's question, but she decided that she didn't want to get in an argument right now, not when she was still dazed over what Cynder told them.
"I knew Darko really well. There was a time when I considered him a friend…."
Flash back to Hex's misadventure in the underworld
Hex looked around the dark and gloomy place she had wandered in to, fear filling her. There was no light in this gloomy place, and many spiders roamed about. Hex had always been terrified of spiders. She searched around for any sign of her little sister. She was after all in this hell hole because her beloved younger sister had been taken here. Hex walked around the deathlike realm praying that she would find her sister.
A snapping sound caught Hex's attention, and she turned to see three skeletons armed with bows and arrows, advancing toward her. Hex chanted a spell quickly, and the three skeletons caught fire. They screamed in agony as the fire burnt them. Hex fled from the scene terror coursing through her. She didn't want to watch the skeletons burn, she just wanted to find her sister and get home.
Hex ran through a river, trying to cross it. The river held her tightly though, and she couldn't escape its deathly embrace. The ten year old apprentice sorceress flailed desperately in an effort to pull herself out of the river. She finally pulled herself out when she hit shallow water. Hex continued to run until she smacked in to something.
The thing she crashed in to had felt wet and slimy, reminding Hex of a time when she picked up a slug and tried to eat it. She was only five at the time, and knew better then to eat slugs now. Hex looked up and saw a hideous face. It was the face of a goblin, except it was stuck on a box. Hex laughed nervously at its stupid and somewhat creepy expression.
"What are you laughing at odd one?" the box shaped goblin asked.
Hex screamed as she heard it speak. She had no clue boxes could talk! The young elf then ran away as quick as she could. Hex stopped running when she felt something slippery beneath her feet. She fell to the ground, and heard an angry clicking sound. Hex looked down to face a huge black widow with glowing green spots on her back. The black widow's eyes glowed with red light. Hex screamed again and continued to run away. Unfortunately she ran right in to a hole.
Hex trembled as cold skeletal hands gripped her. She looked around and stared in to the face of an angry skeleton. Hex screamed, waking all the dead around her. Hex slapped the skeleton making it lose its grip on her. She then saw a vine dangling in to the hole and leapt at it. Hex climbed the vine and ran as quick as she could until she found an unoccupied boulder. The poor child hid behind the boulder and cried.
"Hush little child don't make a sound. T-bone's gonna give you a broken bone." An eerie and somewhat demented voice sang.
Hex stopped crying and looked up to see an odd skeleton holding out a broken bone to her.
"Go on take it, it can't poison ya." The skeleton said.
Hex sniffed and took the bone from the strange skeleton who found her. The skeleton smiled at her, and patted Hex on the head. Hex felt awkward about being patted on the head by a skeleton, but she smiled at him, and thanked him for the bone.
"Your welcome. What's your name little mite?" The odd skeleton asked.
Hex hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell this stranger her name or not. For one thing she knew nothing about him, and for another she didn't appreciate him calling her a mite. She finally decided to give him her name.
"My name is Hex."
"Hex. It sounds like a curse to me!" The skeleton laughed.
Hex glared at him.
"My name is T-bone." The skeleton told her completely oblivious of her annoyance.
"What brings you to the underworld Hex?" T-bone asked.
"My sister was taken here." Hex replied.
"Oh so your on a rescue mission!" T-bone exclaimed clapping his hands.
"Yes…" Hex replied.
"Why didn't you say so! I can lead you around the Underworld! You'll find your mite in no time with me as your guide!"
T-bone grabbed Hex by her hand and started to drag her around the underworld, pointing out various places such as Skeleton's rest, Widow's refuge, and Box goblin swamp. Hex was rather amused by the fact that the box shaped goblins were called box goblins, and asked T-bone why they couldn't come up with anything more creative.
"Well you know, when you die you loose your brain cells, and when you loose your brain cells you can't be creative anymore."
"Well that's dumb!" Hex exclaimed angrily.
"Heh, if you want dumb talk to Malefor's apes, there the living definition of dumb."
"Who's Malefor?" Hex asked.
T-bone covered her mouth with his hand and hissed "Do not speak his name!"
Hex moved T-bone's hand off her mouth and asked "Why not?"
T-bone looked around nervously before saying, "Because he can hear us. Malefor has eyes and ears everywhere."
"Why is that bad?"
"Malefor is king of the undead, and he often punishes the undead down here for unjust reasons. There is a girl I know, she is cursed to forever sing her words because she failed to please Malefor."
With those words Hex heard a loud wailing sound. She realized that the wailing was some one singing a song filled with sorrow. Hex shivered as the sad song vibrated in the core of her being.
"Do you hear that? It is Slavaka. She is the one I was telling you about. The one who was cursed by Malefor." T-bone said.
Hex nodded her head, signaling that she understood. An odd slithering sound caught Hex and T-bone's attention and they turned to see an army of spiders facing them.
"Spiders! I'm out of here!" T-bone yelped. He then ran away leaving Hex to fend for herself.
A spider leapt on top of Hex and tried to sink it fangs in to her skin. Hex swatted the spider away from her, not wanting it to bite her. She had heard tales of people who died from a spiders bite. A large black widow lunged forward and spat a ball of poison at Hex. Hex fell to the floor as the venom struck her. She tried to stand, but she kept slipping in the venom she was coated in. tears filled her eyes as she realized she was going to die.
Just as the black widow was about to strike again, a strange creature landed on top of it's back and sank his claws in. the black widow howled in agony, and then fell lifelessly to the ground. The spiders began to shriek as they saw there comrade die. They then leapt toward Hex and tried to kill her again. The creature that killed the spider landed in front of Hex and called to her.
"Don't just sit there! Scram!"
Hex stumbled to her feet and fled, then turned back. She couldn't leave the creature to die! Hex took a deep breath and ran back in to the fight.
"What the hell are you doing!" The creature spat as he saw her.
"I'm helping you!" Hex replied.
Hex's eyes glowed silver and radiant white light surrounded her. A wave of light flowed from her fingers and struck the spiders. The spiders made no sound as they fell to the floor. The larger spiders had survived the blast, but the smaller ones had died. Hex fell to the floor as her sudden burst of energy left her. She felt very weak and afraid at the moment.
The creature that saved her stared in awe.
"Ho- how did you do that?" He choked out.
"I don't know…" Hex said weakly.
A cunning look came to the creatures eyes as he stared at Hex. It vanished in a flash.
"Are you alright?" he asked Hex.
"I'm fine. Can you tell me who you are, and what you are?" Hex said.
The creature looked oddly at her and then said, "I am a dragon, and my name is Darko. How is it that you've never seen a dragon before?"
"I'm not from around here. I used to live in a fishing village but it was destroyed by the undead." Hex replied.
"If you live in a fishing village then you should have seen a dragon a few times in your life." Darko stated bluntly.
"But dragons live down here don't they?"
"Hell no! Dragons need to fly in order to survive. We are creatures of the sky! Do you not see my wings?"
"I see them…" Hex murmured.
"Go home kid, you don't belong here."
"I can't go home! My sister could still be trapped down here! I need to find her! And for the record you don't belong here either! You said so yourself that you're a creature of the sky!"
"I'm on a mission though…" Darko responded.
"So am I. I have to save my sister!" Hex yelled.
"Perhaps we could team up, after all two sets of eyes see farther then one." Darko proposed.
Hex liked the idea of having an ally. She didn't like being on her in this place.
"Okay we can team up. My name is Hex by the way."
"Great, now let's go to the citadel of Malefor, your sister will most likely be there."
The duo traveled through the Underworld for five days and had gotten to know a lot about each other. Darko had told Hex that he was on a quest to find his family, who had been snatched by some undead. Hex had shared a secret with Darko that she only shared with people she truly trusted. She had told him that Hex was just a nickname and that her true name was Hexsesia.
"Why do you go by the name of Hex then?" Darko asked as the two friends rested under the Bone tower.
"I don't really like my true name, a lot of the kids in my home had trouble pronouncing it, and often teased me about how odd it sounds, and so I simply choose to go by the name of Hex."
Darko looked at the sky and said "In two days time we will reach Malefors citadel, and find out what happened to our families.
"I can't wait to see Sophia again…" Hex sighed in contentment as she thought about reuniting with her little sister.
"Indeed and I can't wait to see my sister again." Darko responded.
"What is your sister's name?" Hex asked.
"Her name is Cynder. You'll probably meet her when we reach Malefor's citadel."
The two companions stayed silent until they set off again. The two days of the journey passed like lightning to Hex, and the stood before a forbidding citadel.
The citadel stood approximately one hundred feet tall. Statues of gargoyles surrounded the citadel and glared down angrily at Hex and Darko. There teeth were bared in a hideous snarl.
"This is the home of your king?" Hex asked nervously. wondering how anyone could bear living in a place as gloomy as this.
"My dear Hexsesia you do not have to worry so much, we are on safe land here." Darko told her.
"Right… safe land…" Hex muttered.
The two companions walked to the door of the citadel, and Darko emitted a loud call.
"I seek a conference with king Malefor. I have news of importance to him!"
Silence. And then the wooden doors of the citadel opened. Darko and Hex walked in to the citadel, searching for Malefor's throne room. Hex looked around the inside of the citadel, taking in its appearance. Torches lit with green flames lined the stone walls, water dripped from cracks in the ceiling. Hex saw Darko descending a stone staircase, and quickly ran after him.
The duo emerged in a small, dark room. Hex felt herself step in a warm thick liquid. She drew her foot back in disgust knowing that she hadn't stepped in water.
"Is this the one?" a deep voice boomed.
Hex leapt in fright as she heard it, and she moved closer to Darko.
"Indeed master…" Darko said.
The dark room suddenly became illuminated as purple light bounced off the wall. Hex squinted, trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden illumination. Hex gasped as she saw a large dragon towering over her.
The dragon had hideously decayed black flesh. Some patches of flesh had been scraped away causing the bones to show through. The decayed dragon had a fang that jutted out of his chin. His wings were torn, and littered with patches of dead skin. He had a purple eye in his left eye socket and an amber one in his right eye socket. The powerful scent of death struck Hex, causing her to gag.
"Do not show such disrespect in the face of the master!" Darko snarled whacking Hex over the head with his tail.
Hex fell in front of the decayed dragon, and stared in horror at him.
"Who are you?" Hex choked out.
"My name is Malefor, and you will be my apprentice."
"What do you mean? I don't want to be your apprentice! I just want to find my sister and go home!" Hex cried out.
"So you refuse to accept me as your mentor?" Malefor asked.
"Yes! Take me to my sister!"
"Your sister isn't here…"
Hex froze up as she heard those words.
"What do you mean she's not here?" Hex gasped.
"I mean exactly what I said. Darko lied to you about taking you to your sister. Darko is my apprentice. Unfortunately he lacks the skills that I require him to have, so I had him search the underworld for someone who was actually useful. When the spiders attacked you, you didn't run, instead you helped Darko fight them off. What was more interesting was the fact that you unleashed quite a powerful wave of magic despite being so young. Darko was at least intelligent enough to know you could be useful to me, so he brought you here. You have one last chance Hex accept my offer to train you or else.
Fury flooded Hex and she shouted, "I will not be your apprentice! I just want to go home!"
Malefor glared in disapproval and flicked his tail.
Cynder, Darko, take Hex to her prison cell.
Darko and a black dragoness leapt towards Hex. Cynder pinned Hex down while Darko struck Hex on the head with his tail. Hex's vision blurred as the stinging strikes continued. She took seven more strikes to her head before loosing consciousness, and for a brief moment Hex wondered if she had died.
When Hex awoke she found herself chained in a cage made out of bones. She tried to move, but was pulled to the ground by the chains she wore. Suddenly Hex remembered everything that had happened to her and she began to cry.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Hex wailed. She wanted to go home, she wanted out of this cage, most of all she wanted to see Sophia again.
Grief filled Hex as she remembered who had brought her to this hell hole. Darko, someone she had thought of as her best friend had betrayed her. Hex spent her time in a delirium, feeling as if she was floating outside her body. No one came to speak to her, so she had taken to talking to herself. She kept dreaming about home, and she truly believed that when she awoke she would be home.
Other times Hex dreamed that Darko would say he was pretending to work for Malefor and he would set her free. She wanted to die and yet she still lived. Day in and day out she would cry and scream until her voice died. Hex had no clue how much time had passed, and she didn't have the energy to think about it. Her stomach felt like it was being torn apart, and her arms and legs felt limp. Hex's wrists began to bleed from there constant rubbing against there chains, and her feet had lost all feeling in them. The worst part was that her thoughts felt mangled. Hex started to forget who she was, and why she was in the Underworld. There were times when she woke up and didn't even know she was in the Underworld; she simply believed that she was at her home.
Hex lay against the wall of her prison, trying to remember where she was when she heard an odd clicking sound. Hex tried to stand because she figured a spider was going to attack her, but once again the chains pulled her down. Hex began to cry in hysterics and pull at her chains. Oh how she wished this torment would end.
Hex watched as a black dragoness crawled to her cage. The dragoness inserted her tail in to the lock on the bone cage, and the door swung open. The dragoness stepped inside the cage, and brought her tail down on Hex's chains. Hex flexed her wrist, trying to dispel the stiffness.
"You must go free. Malefor will find us soon, and then you'll have no chance."
Hex didn't reply.
"Hurry up!" the dragoness hissed in desperation.
"Who are you, and why are you setting me free?" Hex rasped.
"You don't deserve to be punished by Malefor. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. My name is Cynder, and you are Hex. I'm sorry that I can't show you the way out of here, but if my master doesn't know where I am I'll be punished."
"Thank you…" Hex said.
Cynder shook her head and said, "Go now!" Hex leapt out of her cage and ran. She had no clue how she was going to escape this world, but in that moment she didn't care. She simply wanted to be away from Malefor and Darko.
"So you see, I thought Darko was my best friend. Turns out that he was a good for nothing rotten little pest!" Hex said to her companions.
"So Cynder saved your life?" Flameslinger asked.
"Yes. I later learned that Cynder truly was my friend…" Hex murmured.
"Your sister has the same name as me." Sophia stated.
"Yes I assume that's why I hated you so much when we first met."
"How does that work again?" Sophia asked.
"When I first heard of the skylanders I heard that there was a she elf by the name of Sophia. I immediately set out to find the skylanders, hoping that the Sophia that worked with them was my sister. I was wrong of course; I find that I am often wrong…" Hex explained.
Sophia nodded, pondering Hex's words.
"When are we going to fight Darko?" Cynder asked.
"We resume our march to the Rumbling Ravine tomorrow." Flameslinger said.
"Good. Good night guys…" Cynder sighed closing her eyes and sleeping.
Flameslinger and Sophia departed. Hex said good bye to Cynder, and walked back to her makeshift bed. Memories of her journey with Darko flying through her mind.