CPS Chronicles: Soul Gem Saga

by largefish8

Set several weeks after CPS Chronicles: Outbreak. Matt gets a job as a pilot on the Maelstrom Star, a ship assigned to a simple object retrieval and delivery contract. But nothing is ever simple for Matt... First Spyro fic...please give nice R&R's!

12. The Battle of Warfang

Spyro, Cynder and the other spyro chars minus striker belong to Sierra studios...for now

The other chars belong to me and Cydra

C.P.S Chronicles: Soul Gem Saga

Chapter 12: The Battle of Warfang

The group had been following the tunnel for ages by Matt's thoughts. In that time he'd been thinking about several things...top of the agenda being that he might end up stuck in a similar situation to Sonya. If that happened he'd never be able to go back home...not without the NSC wanting to run tests on him.

"It's not so bad being a dragon," said Striker to Matt, "For instance, you can cover greater distances than as a human." "But...well there's no dragons in my home dimension...if me and my sister ever get the opportunity to return...I won't be able to." said Matt gloomily. Sonya looked over at this and Matt realized he'd said it out loud. "What?" she said. Matt sighed. "It's nothing."

Spyro thought it might be a good idea to change the subject. "Who built this tunnel?" "It was built for the dragons by the moles," said Hunter, "along with the city of Warfang in gratitude for the dragons who protect them."

Matt thought about this and wondered how it had slipped by the Maelstrom star when they'd arrived. "Must be well hidden." he said as they turned a corner, revealing the end of the tunnel. "Not anymore, these days," said Hunter, "I fear our enemies will be concentrating their attacks on this place more than ever."

Genghis nodded. "Indeed. This 'Malefor' has quite the armed forces." Matt was first out the tunnel. "If he's anything like what we've faced he should be a piece of..." he said and was nearly flattened by a fireball and landed a inch from him. "...urk." he said

The others quickly got out. "The city is under attack!" cried Hunter, "We must get to the battlements!" Hunter and Genghis headed forward just as another fireball smashed into a tower, sending it down between them and the dragons. "Oh come on." said Matt, angrily. "Just find another route," called Hunter, "We'll meet you at the battlements!"

The group headed down a side street. "What the hell is Malefors damage? He must have known we were nowhere near here." said Matt as more fireballs shot overhead.

Suddenly the group heard cries for help. They looked at a burning building to see moles at the windows and yelled for help. "We have to put out that fire," said Cynder. Matt looked at the fire. "With what? Harsh language?" he said. Spyro spotted a spring that had been shut off. "If we can turn this back on we can use it to put the fire out." he said.

"The switch for it shouldn't be too far away," said Sonya, "And I saw some buckets over that way." The group split up, Spyro and Cynder heading for the switch while Matt and Sonya headed for where she'd seen the buckets. "So...what'll you do when we've finished off Malefor?" said Matt, peering round a corner into a courtyard. The buckets were in the corner...along with several taller versions of the grublins, a few holding swords.

"Well that depends if we live long enough to see that," said Sonya. She sent a stream of ice that froze most of the grublins while Matt torched the rest. "Hopefully I'll be able to find a good sorcerer to change me back." Matt ran over to the buckets and said, "Crap, how are we supposed to carry them? No thumbs." "I guess we'll have to use our mouths," said Sonya.

"Great." said Matt, gloomily and picked one up. "Bleah...it tastes of rust." he said as Sonya grabbed hers. The two of them flew back to see that Spyro and Cynder had already gotten the water flowing. The fire didn't last very long under the impromptu bucket chain that the gang made, despite interference from grublins that arrived.

Matt spat out the bucket handle and said, "Now that that's taken care of, let's get up to the battlements. I'm pretty sure they need our help." The group headed down the street towards the stairs to the battlements. "It won't be too hard...he'd need thousands to get over walls this tall." he said. Sonya, who had gotten up first said faintly "How about millions?" she said faintly. "What are you talking about...oh bugger." Matt said. The lands outside the walls went up to the horizon with grublins, as far as the eyes could see.

He also saw them pushing siege towers towards them, which undoubtedly filled to the brim with grublins. "Hey!" called a voice. The group looked to see a mole working a dragon-shaped catapult. "You guys need to protect the catapult, it's the only thing that can stop those siege towers from getting here!" cried the mole.

The group ran over to the cannons just as several Grublins teleported in. Matt rammed two of them over the battlements. "NO VISITORS!" he yelled after them as they landed with an auditable crunch and dissolved into gems.

Suddenly a large rock struck the catapult. "Help me fix the catapult!" yelled the mole. "How?" asked Sonya. "The gears are down there," said the mole, pointing to two panels on either side. Matt and Sonya ran forward and opened the grille next to the catapult cannon. "Dammit…talk about a gearbox of teeth." said Sonya, pulling a half-smashed gear out and throwing it aside. The two mercs turned dragons began fiddling with the workings.

"Well, compared to how tech is back where we come from, this isn't so complicated," said Sonya. Matt nodded and began moving the gears around. As they worked on it several grublins managed to climb back over the wall. One had a large lump on his head and focussed on Matt. Grublins weren't exactly clever but this one had enough to know that the little red lizard had kicked him over the wall.

"Hey! I'm working here!" yelled Matt. The grublins didn't seem to care and started throwing spears at them. A hail of plasma blasts blew several of the Grublins to pieces and Genghis hovered into view, yelling in his G.I voice "DIDN'T YOU LITTLE WORMS HEAR THE CAPTAIN? NO INTERRUPTIONS!" and with that blasted the grublins back over the battlements.

"Kinda nice to know your back is covered," said Sonya as they finished up and flipped the panel back down. "All done." said Matt. The mole nodded and fired a blast into a siege tower, blowing it apart. However another had just reached the wall futher down and opened to let two dozen Grublins out. "Ah great." said Matt as Spyro and Cynder headed down the wall to attack them. A second tower clunked into place at the opposite end. "Looks like we're up." said Sonya.

The two of them flew over to the other siege tower, shooting out bursts of fire and ice as they went. But as they got closer, their breath attacks seemed to get weaker. "I feel ill." muttered Matt and Sonya had to use the energy chain linking them to drag him out of the way of a grublin. "How are we gonna wreck it if we can't even get close enough?" she said angrily, both of them seeing that Spyro and Cynder were having similar trouble with their tower.

Then Sonya noticed the dark crystal sticking out of the tower. "Those things act as batteries for Malefor's creations, right?" she said. "Yea...but the last time we say one it exploded in my face and sent me mental...remember?" said Matt. Sonya glared. "Then this time get out of its way."

"And don't use blast it, smash it," she added. As she whacked the crystal with her tail, causing some bits to come off. The grublins didn't seem to like that. One of them raised his arm and a bolt of black energy nearly gave Matt a third nostril. "Oh come on...how come they get guns?" he said, hitting the crystal and using the rebound to land on a Grublin.

With one final smash from Sonya, the crystal shattered. And as it did so, the siege tower began to crumble. "TIMMMBEEER!" yelled Matt as the tower wobbled...and screamed a bit when the tower began to fall on them. They managed to get out the way just as the tower crumpled.

"Ok, let's get back to defending that catapult," said Sonya. The two reached the catapult just as the tower Spyro and Cynder were dealing with exploded as its crystal was smashed. There was a roar and Ignitus flew overhead, sending a stream of flame onto a squad of Grublins. "I guess that explains his interest in the city." said Matt as the cannon fired again and blew another tower to matchsticks.

Then Spyro and Cynder flew back from the tower they had just destroyed. Spyro looked down and said, "Uh oh." They looked down to see a large battering ram heading towards the gate. "Oh thats just cheating...why not bring a strider while you're at it?" yelled Matt at them and had to duck back as some ranged grublins took a few pot shots. Spyro looked up at the mole on the catapult cannon. "Can the catapult stop that?"

"Maybe," said the mole, "But I need to reload it now. The levers are back there." He pointed behind him to where two levers were. Spyro and Cynder ran over to the levers as more grublins piled over the wall to meet a hail of ice shards and fireballs from Sonya and Matt.

They pulled down the levers. As soon as the catapult was reloaded, it concentrated its attacks on the battering ram. Matt watched as the battering ram shuddered under the blows before collapsing. "Chalk one up for the good guys." he said. The good mood was ruined when a bang from one of the courtyards was heard. "Ok...what was that?" said Sonya.

"I think they sent something at the gate," said Sparx, "Something big." "Oh goody...it's only been 8 minutes since a giant monster tried to maul us." said Matt, sarcastically.

--

The gate was linking to a huge courtyard. The gate had several grooves in them that linked to two un-lit braziers. The gates themselves were shaking under repeated blows. "Ok, that does not sound good," said Cynder. "We better get ready for whatever's coming through," said Spyro. The gates flew open with an extra large punch and a huge grublin walked through the gates. It seemed to be a bit out of it...till it focussed on them and roared before charging at them.

"Great, a bloody ogre," muttered Matt. The ogre lunged at them, trying to grab them. "Has anyone got a fury to spare? And where's Genghis?" Several blasts were heard from a section of the wall a long way away. "Guess he's busy."

"I don't think just breath attacks will work against this guy," said Spyro, "We need to outmaneuver him." Matt thought about this, dodging an attack. "Least that should be easy. I don't think this guys real brainy." he said and screamed as he was grabbed by the tail and thrown across the courtyard to splat against the wall.

"Matt! Are you okay?" called Sonya. "Easy, peasy, lemon squeezie," said Matt in a dazed voice. "Guess he'll be ok." she said and had to settle for sitting on the ledge Matt was on and spitting ice blasts at the ogre. The Ogre made a swipe at Cynder, narrowly missing before turning to try and block a hail of fireballs from Spyro.

Then Cynder let out a Banshee Wail that startled the ogre. Spyro used the distraction to headbutt the ogre in the gut. The ogre doubled up before a hail of ice blast hit it in the back. "Nice one guys." called Sonya. About that time, Matt started to regain his senses. "Leave something for me!" he called.

The ogre turned at Matts voice in time to meet a quartet of fireballs. It wailed, holding its face before falling backwards. "He's all yours, Spyro." called Matt. Spyro used his Earth Breath to case himself in a large ball of green energy. Then he slammed down into the ogre, causing him to burst into gems.

"Nice...now...about that door." he said, looking over at the gate. Several dozen grublins could be seen on the other side, heading for the open gate. "Time to lock the door." Matt sand and the four dragons began pushing on the door to try and shut it. Hunter had managed to fight his way down there. "You must lock the gate," said Hunter as he indicated the two dragon seals on either side of the gate, "Use your fire breath to light them."

Matt and Spyro both nodded and the four dragons split up, heading for the braziers near the seals. Matt blasted his alight and watched as flames shot up the grooves in the wall towards the dragon seal, causing it to blaze into life.

Spyro did the same on the other side. However, a few more grublins managed to get through the gate. Fortunately, the girl dragons were able to take care of them. Matt watched as Sonya froze a grublin solid before smashing it. "Wow...she's got anger issues." he muttered.

"You would too if your body was being used by an evil dragon spirit," remarked Striker. After an awkward moment, he said, "Oh, right, us." Matt leapt down, landing on a Grublin trying to line up a shot on Cynder before blasting another one. The last few Grublins were quickly got rid of shortly after. "Is that the best Malefor has in his sleeves?" said Matt to Spyro. "This'll be a piece of cake."

Suddenly, an earthquake started to rock the street beneath them. "Haven't you learned not to say those kinds of things?" said Sonya. "Yeah, what she said," said Sparx. "So what was that then?" said Matt and went rigid as a familiar roar was heard. "Oh no, not that guy again." he said weakly.

Suddenly the golem from back in the caverns burst out of the ground, roaring loudly. "Well," said Matt weakly, "At least he still has only one arm." This idea was quickly quashed as the Golem smashed the tower and the rubble began to form into a new arm. "Oh...thats just cheating." said Matt as the Golem headed further into the city.

Spyro was first to realise where it was heading. "The mole families are that way." he said horrified as the Golem headed for the buildings set into the cliff wall. They heard the flapping of wings and they looked up to see Terrador. "We'll try to stop that creature," he said, "You need to get out of here."

"Like hell...we beat it once..." started Matt. "There's no time to argue," said Terrador, "You need to take shelter. We'll deal with the golem." He then flew off after the rampaging golem. "Ok...group vote...do we listen or go help?" Matt said, watching as the Golem swiped at the circling Terrador.

"I vote for fleeing," said Sparx. "Of course you would," said Matt unsurprisingly, "Anyone else?" Spyro said. "We can't let that thing get to where the cities people are hiding." Sonya nodded. "I have to go where Matt goes but I'd love to add blowing up a golem to my record." she said.

"You can count on me," said Cynder. "Ok, four-to-one, we go," said Matt. The group ran along the roofs following the Golem and were in time to see it hit Terrador out the sky. "Dammit...I'm sure he's fine." said Matt to Spyro when he saw the purple dragons expression. The golem however had just noticed them. "Which is more then we can say for us we we don't move." said Sonya as the Golem took a swipe at them.

The dragons flew up and out of the Golem's reach. Then Volteer flew over to them. "How relieving it is to see that all of you are in moderate health," he said. "Still an incomprehendable chatterbox as always," muttered Sparx.

"I think he said he's happy we're not dead." said Matt uncertainly as the golem roared angrily below them before continuing up the side of the wall. "I would normally be delighted in catching up on lost times," said Volteer, "But it would seem that an evasive strategy would be more appropriate for this moment."

"I like that plan...LOOK OUT!" Matt yelled as Volteer was hit by a fireball. He peered over. "He's ok...I think...lets cream that golem." However, the stairs in front of them were badly cracked and damaged. "I don't think it's quite so safe to go up those," said Cynder. Suddenly the staircase became coated with ice, which solidified it a bit more. "Nice job, Sonya," said Matt. "That wasn't me," said Sonya. "Then, Spyro?" "Nope," said Spyro.

The group looked up to see Cyril. "Now that's just cool." said Matt, as Cyril finished off his strengthening of the steps. "You must take shelter immediately," called Cyril, "I will deal with this beast."

Of course, Cyril didn't fare any better. He was struck down, but not killed, by one swipe from the golem's tail. "Why is everyone telling us to hide?" said Sonya. "Probably because it's a bad idea to go up against this thing in the first place," said Sparx.

"Yeah...I'll hide when they actually do a better job than we've done so far." said Matt as they climbed up higher, following the Golems progress. Matt looked back to see faint green flashes on a point on the wall...Genghis having fun probably.

The next Dragon Elder they met was Ignitus. "Young ones?" he said, "What are you doing here?" "Chasing Rocky over there." said Matt, indicating the golem. "It's too dangerous," said Ignitus, "You should take shelter with the others." "For the last time, we're not running away," said Matt, "We're helping you beat this thing whether you like it or not." Ignitus sighed and said, "Very well, if you insist on helping, try to help me lure it near that tower."

The dragons nodded. Sonya looked at Matt then at the others. "Matt's the best bet...his file says he has a knack for annoying people." she said earning a glare from Matt. Matt and Sonya headed towards the Golem and Matt yelled. "Hey there, Rocky...you look a bit hot." Sonya glared at him and he said "Best I could come up with at short notice." he said as the Golem processed the insult and decided to try and grab them.

"You're gonna have to be faster that that!" yelled Matt, "But I guess that's as fast as I can expect a gravel pile to move." By now the Golem was furious and was intent on turning the two annoying fleshies into greasy smears on the floor, following them as they headed for a tower. Ignitus tried to bombard it with flames, but the Golem simply smacked him out of the air. "IGNITUS!" yelled Spyro, running to the edge in time to see Ignitus stopping his fall.

"Ok, so attacking head-on won't work," said Cynder, "Let's try to be quick and precise." "Quick and precise on what?" asked Matt. "If smashing just one of those dark crystals destroyed its arm," said Sonya, "Imagine what would happen when we do it to all the crystals on its body."

"I love the way girls think sometimes." said Matt happily to Spyro as he entertained what would happen when the dark crystals were wrecked. However the way they were headed ended up inside the tower. "How are we supposed to hit it now?" said Matt and jumped as one of the pouter walls fell away as the Golem clambered over it. "...never mind." he said weakly.

"We just have to climb up and hit those crystals," said Spyro. "You make it sound so easy," said Matt. The four dragons began jumping up, quickly reaching one of the crystals and smashing it. However the golem seemed to have wised up a bit since their last meeting and it screamed at them, blowing them off the steps. "Ow...loud." said Matt, wincing.

"We can't let that stop us," said Spyro as they headed up the steps again. "We'll just keep at it till there's no crystals left," said Sonya. It was slow going, hacking away at the crystals and making sure to use what cover was left to avoid the roars bot slowly they began to make progress. However the last crystal was on the Golems shoulder. "Getting to that one will be fun...I don't think." said Matt

"We'll just have to wear it out enough so it will stop moving," said Cynder. The golem however didn't seem very tired. Eventually it swiped down with too much force and its arm got stuck. "Now we've got a chance..." said Matt.

The group ran up the golem's arm and quickly started smashing the crystal on its shoulder. Chips of it flew off everywhere with each blow. Spyro finally finished smashing it off and the Golem began to shudder. "Erm...abandon golem." yelled Matt. The group quickly got off the golem as it fell back down to the ground. The lava parts on its body cooled into black rock before breaking into pieces.

"Well...thats that." said Matt, looking down as the golem finished falling apart. "I wonder if Malefor will take the hint now?" said Sonya.

There was a flapping of wings as Ignitus landed near them. "Young dragon," he said to Spyro, "You never cease to amaze me." Terrador landed next to him and said, "We never lost hope that you would return. Ignitus made sure of that." "I should have come back sooner," said Spyro, "I've let you all down. But that won't happen again." "Spyro, you've done more than anyone could expect of a dragon your age," said Ignitus, "What matters now is that you are here and, what's more, you've returned with your companions."

"Well, it's not like I've had much of a choice in the matter," said Cynder as the snake-like collars revealed themselves, "Seeing how we're stuck together." Matt sighed happily. "The group thats chained together, splats together." he said and was slapped by Sonya.

Ignitus stared closely at the collar on Cynder's neck. "Interesting," he said, "This device is foreign to me. Mason, what do you make of this?" One of the moles came close and took a good look at the collars. "Never have I seen such a thing. It has the mark of evil." "Likely crafted by Malefor himself," said Ignitus, "I fear we shall not be able to remove it."

"Oh great...I'm sure Malefor will just love to hand the keys over." he muttered. "But there has to be a way," said Cynder, "How can we fight back if we have to fight like this?" asked Spyro. "You four have done well to get this far despite this. Do not view these chains as a hindrance, but allow it to be a reminder of the bond you share. Your destinies are now intertwined. And that thought is a hopeful one."

"Yeah...beating the smeg out of evil is easier with friends then on your own." said Matt. Sonya just sighed. "I think the adrenalines gone to his head." she said. Ignitus said, "The battle is over, but I fear this is not over. I believe Malefor will send a more powerful strike against us."

"Let them come..." said Matt, a bit high on the adrenaline of victory. He nearly died from fright when a sneering voice said behind him. "Don't be so sure."

A cloud of purple smoke crackling with dark energy came out of the ground. From it, a dark voice said, "Citizens of Warfang, congratulations. You shall be the first to witness the resurrection of the Destroyer and the end of the world." Matt got over his fright and glared at Malefor. "YOU! You did this to me and Sonya...You'd better hope the others are near me when we meet cause if not I'll turn you inside out!" he snarled.

Suddenly a flare of red light lit up the night. The dragons flew up to a battlement to see the volcano on Malefor's territory erupting furiously. And then an extremely large creature emerged from its crater. "Oh. My. God." said Matt slowly as the group got a good look at the huge monster. "I can see how it earned the name." said Sonya, weakly.

Malefor continued, "The Destroyer has commenced its journey to form the ring of annihilation. At the end of its journey, the Belt of Fire will spread across the surface of this world in a torrent of fire and ash. There will be no escape."

"The Destroyer?" said Terrador, "But that's impossible." "Ignitus, I don't understand," said Spyro. "Nor do I," said Ignitus, "The ancients believed this creature brings about the birth of a new world." See," said Sparx, "That sounds like a good thing." "By issuing the destruction of the old world," finished Ignitus.

Matt looked down at Malefor and walked towards him, ignoring the others protests of alarm. "Hey...hey you...yea I'm talking to you, ugly." he said rudely. A bit of the smoke cloud separated to reveal a dark crystal underneath. Malefor's eyes shown from it. "Yeah...if I still had opposable thumbs I'd drop a few nukes on that thick skull of yours." said Matt, angrily before smirking his usual annoying smirk and said "What's the matter? Your regular army doesn't cut it?"

"Savour the breath you hold in your lungs," said Malefor, "There shall not be many more to come." With that, Malefor's crystal went back into the ground. Matt glared after it. "Smug git...thinks he can ruin mine and Sonya's lives and just slink off...coward." he muttered.

"Matt, that was very unwise," said Ignitus, "We have precious little time already without you wasting it with impotent threats and insults." Matt looked a bit glum. "He's just lucky he wasn't here." Cyril spoke next. "This is not a game...this is very real, human."

"But I'm gonna be stuck like this, like Sonya. No offense intended. And I'll probably never be able to get home," said Matt. The others were silent as Matt carried on "Chloe'll have to find a way home alone...all cause I was an idiot and stuck my nose in where I shouldn't have..." he, said, yelling now. He stopped and turned away before lowering his head and saying quietly "I promised her we'd get home together...I deserve this..."

"Matt, I believe your destiny is greater than you think," said Ignitus, "If you truly have come from other worlds, than you're sure to have more worlds to visit. However, if we don't stop the destruction of this one, that will be impossible." Matt was silent before saying. "Yeah...you're right. I still have a job to do." He turned back to them. "Where too next?"

"The beast moves too quickly," said Terrador, "We can't possibly catch up with it. To set out in pursuit would be useless." "Then we shall wait for it to come back," said Ignitus, "and intercept it before it completes its circle. We must pass underground if we are to possess the element of surprise. Besides, it is our only hope of getting into position in time without allowing Malefor to know the city has been left unguarded.

"How we gonna do that? I'd usually say to take the Maelstrom star but I think that's still under a pile of rocks somewhere." said Matt. Genghis, who had hovered over said "Indeed...though it should be operational again in 24 hours." He noticed their glares. "...that's too late, isn't it."

"Fortunately," said Volteer, "I am familiar with a certain cropping of subterranean spaces that should allow us to arrive in position before the Destroyer complete its circumnavigation." The others were silent. Matt finally said apologetically. "I'm sorry...he lost me after 'cropping'."

"I believe he was referring to the old catacombs," said Terrador, "If we can get through them, we should pop in front of the Destroyer as it comes back." "Sounds simple enough." said Matt before stopping, thinking about what had happened so far. "...what's the catch?"

Later, the Dragons, Genghis, and Sparx followed a mole to a large pair of doors. "These doors were built as an exit to our city, not for going back in," said the mole, "They have to be opened from the inside." "Of course...the catch." said Matt glumly. Sonya said. "Where are the switches?"

"They are hidden in various parts of the catacombs," said the mole. Noting their expressions, he said, "They had to be hidden in case someone tried to invade through the catacombs. There are four locks, each one is activated by a gem that is hidden in another part of the catacombs." "Oh great..." said Matt glumly. Genghis began to say "You know...I could always go to the ship and fetch a..." and was drowned out by the "NO!" everyone screamed. Genghis glared. "I'm just saying...its a waste to have nukes and not use them." he muttered.

"Fortunately, there's a crack that leads into the caverns," said the mole, "But it's too small for adult dragons." Sonya muttered "Figures." as they flew up to the crack, Genghis hovering after them.

This doesn't look good. Malefor's unleashed the Destroyer and our heroes are in a race against time to beat it in a round the world race…and losing is not an option. Please R&R!