*2,000+ reads! :D Thanks, everyone!
Ps, I'm sorry if this fight is a bit dull, I'll try my hardest, but fight scenes are not really my strong point. As I said, though, I'll do my best.*
Without a seconds delay, Cynder pounced forward and began to attack Spyro. Luckily he had managed to dive out of the way. Overcoming his surprise, he began to fight back, with great difficulty. Her tail, wings, legs and mouth made it hard to attack from any angle.
"There's no way you're winning this, boy!" shouted Cynder, taking a wicked swipe at him, which thankfully missed. Spyro fought back with a wave of fire. It seemed to hurt Cynder briefly, but she got over it very quickly.
"You'll have to do better than that!" she shouted. She picked Spyro up and threw him off the balcony. Spyro corrected the flight and returned with a spike of ice, that grazed Cynder's front leg, leaving a small wound. She held it in pain, then looked back at Spyro with total fury in her eyes.
Spyro knew he could keep this up forever, but he would never be able to beat Cynder. He needed to think of something, and fast.
"Sparx!" Spyro called out, dodging a vicious swipe from Cynder's tail.
"Me?!" said Sparx, who had been cowering on the side, "I don't know!"
"Just thought you might want to join in," said Spyro.
"Thanks, but I'll pass!" said Sparx.
Spyro kept fighting, running out of breath and energy fast. Cynder kept going like a machine, not wanting Spyro to escape from her again. Spyro needed a distraction, and fast, so he could think about what he had to do next.
Cynder swept Spyro off of his feet without any warning, knocking him onto his side. He looked up again to see her walking toward him.
It happened again, this time much more prominently. Their eyes met, and Cynder changed. She looked lost, afraid, sad, helpless, and young. Spyro felt an unusual and unexplained urge to help her.
But again, the moment passed as quickly as it had come. Cynder shook off the change and went to attack him again. Spyro just managed to move out of the way.
"I've had enough of you," said Cynder, "You've done nothing but hinder me this entire time, no wonder the dark master wants you dead."
Spyro tried, and failed to stand up. As Cynder watched him struggle, Ignitus fell to the floor, the cuffs having opened. The crystal beneath him was glowing bright red.
"I have places to be," said Cynder, "You are on your final chance. Interfere again, and you will die."
She turned away from him to pick up the crystal, then went to the edge of the balcony and opened a white, swirling vortex, into which she vanished.
Spyro got slowly to his feet and looked up, watching Cynder vanishing into the portal. He limped over to Ignitus too check on him.
"Where did she go?" asked Sparx, coming to join Spyro.
"Convexity," said Ignitus weakly, "The realm between realms. In there she will be able to free the dark master."
"Are you okay?" Spyro asked, walking over to Ignitus.
"Yes, I'm fine," said Ignitus, "I'm fine. Are you?"
"Yes," said Spyro, "But she got the last crystal."
"I know," said Ignitus, "She has to be stopped. You have done brilliantly, Spyro."
"I'm not finished yet," said Spyro, "But there is something I'd like to ask you."
"What is it?" asked Ignitus. Spyro thought for a second. How was he to explain it?
"Well, you see..." said Spyro, "Every time I look into Cynder's eyes, she… changes. Her eyes change colour, all her scars vanish, and she seems… almost friendlier. Why does that happen?"
Ignitus sighed. He looked as though he had been expecting this to come.
"Spyro, I… I haven't been entirely honest with you about Cynder," he told Spyro, "There is much more to her than you may think."
"How so?" Spyro asked.
"It was the night of the raid, the day I took your egg to the silver river," said Ignitus, "I returned to the grotto to find a scene of total devastation. All the eggs had been smashed, the dragons within killed, and the apes had overrun the guardians. In a rage, I went to attack their leader, the ape king, Gaul. I should have realised I wasn't a match for him. He has unnatural powers bestowed to him by the dark master that I cannot even begin to imagine. He defeated me with ease, and left the temple. Just before he did, however, I noticed something. He was carrying one last egg, the only surviving one, and he was protecting it."
"I heard you talking about another survivor," said Spyro, "But what does that have to do with Cynder? Was that egg her child or something?"
Ignitus didn't answer, and Spyro stopped talking and listened.
"Gaul took the egg back to his fortress. It hatched later that same day, giving birth to a healthy female wind dragon. A promising life, if they hadn't ruined it," said Ignitus, "They tortured her, filled her with dark power and rage, twisted her mind and body, turning her into a monster, that to this day still does the dark master's bidding."
"You mean that egg… was Cynder?" said Spyro. Ignitus nodded sadly.
"You must understand, Spyro," said Ignitus, "Nothing that Cynder has ever said nor done is a reflection on her personality. It is the dark master using her like a puppet, a costume. That is why she can cross the barrier, Spyro, her soul is pure, and untarnished, as she has never committed an act of evil under her own influence. That is what you see when you look into her eyes, her true self, fighting to get out."
"Can it?" asked Spyro. Ignitus stuttered on his words, trying to find the right way to explain.
"Well… yes," said Ignitus, "But I'm afraid as she is so young, and has been under this curse her entire life, there won't be much more time to release her. The curse is destroying her soul. If she remains like this much longer, then I am afraid to say that she will die."
Like he had done when Cynder had changed, Spyro felt remorseful and sorry for Cynder, and had a burning desire to help her.
"How long has she got?" Spyro asked.
"That doesn't matter any more," said Ignitus, "Tonight may be her final night. There is one element the dark master still lacks to open the portal."
"Wind..." said Spyro, putting two and two together, "Is there still time?"
"Yes," said Ignitus, "Convexity exists on a separate reality. Time moves at a fraction of what it does here. She won't have got far just yet. But I warn you, once you enter, you will slow to it's level, meaning it will move in real time. Once inside, you must hurry!"
"Alright," said Spyro, he hovered off the ground, but Ignitus held him back.
"Spyro," he said quietly, "I ask only one thing from you. Please, if you manage to save her, bring Cynder back to the temple. Bring her home. She deserves no less, and so much more, after what she has endured."
Spyro nodded, and turned and flew into the portal.
"May the ancestors look after you," said Ignitus, adding in an undertone, "May they look after us all..."