Chapter 20: The Long Road
A day had passed since I fully mastered my elements, everything seemed to be in place for us to finally take the fight to Malefor, Cynder and I were recovering from our injuries pretty quickly thanks to a few magical healing gems, which I had learned were known as "Spirit Gems". My leg was already starting to feel better, although Cynder was clearly still in pain from her stab wound, as i could see her grimace in pain with each footstep she took. But she insisted she could deal with it, neither of us were all that willing to wait to confront Malefor, we've both had enough of the old Dark Master and his sick games.
Cynder, Sparx, and I all made our way to the Guardians chambers together, despite me wanting to strike out on this journey two days ago, I was still feeling a bit nervous now that it seemed the time had finally come to face Malefor. With all the emotion and worry I had felt at the time, I had forgotten about my fear of what would happen once we did finally confront each other. I didn't want to sacrifice myself again, I couldn't put my friends through that a second time. But yet… Malefor was among the most powerful creatures in existence from what I understood, how was I going to beat something like that? I mean, I almost got choked out by a Grublin of all things, what chance did I realistically have against someone like Malefor?
I was scared, very scared, I didn't want to die again, not after I had spent so long trying to regain what I had lost here, not after how attached I've become to everyone here. But I knew if I didn't stop Malefor, I'd lose them regardless, so what else could I do? It's funny, at this time yesterday I couldn't wait to beat Malefor's face in, now I was terrified to face him, there's an irony in there somewhere I'm sure.
"Spyro? Are you okay? You seem distracted," Cynder suddenly asked me, pulling me right out of my thoughts. Once again I wasn't hiding my worry very well, I really need to work on that at some point.
I took a deep breath, knowing Cynder and I have had a conversation about this before, "Yeah, I'm just… a little nervous is all," I said, being a bit more vague than I probably should have been. I didn't want Cynder to worry about me, we both needed to be laser focused if we were going to have any hopes of beating Malefor.
However, "Spyro I told you before, we can beat him, we've done it before, you don't need to be scared," she told me, once again reading me like an open book. It sometimes terrified me how easily she was able to do that, to see right through me and find out exactly what I was really thinking.
"I just… I don't want to die again Cynder, what if I have to sacrifice myself again?" I said, I would have said more but Cynder suddenly moved herself right in my path, forcing me to stop in my tracks.
I couldn't help but shrink inwardly a little, Cynder could be very intimidating sometimes, even when she really didn't mean to be, "That's not going to happen Spyro," she said, rather bitterly too, as if offended by the very suggestion that I could die again. "No one's dying here except Malefor," she added. It was clear from her body language she was worried about something, as I could see her visibly shaking, she was trying her hardest to hide it though, forcing an intense glare. Was she scared I was going to die too? That had to be it, what else could it be? I mean, it was possible she was scared for her own life, but something about the way she spoke, the way she was looking at me, told me her concern was for me not herself.
Cynder then suddenly wrapped her neck around mine, resting her chin on the back of my neck, "We'll get through this Spyro, and after it's all done and over with we'll get back to work on getting the rest of your memories back," she said. I wanted to believe her, that we'd get through all of this in one piece, but the realist in me know it wouldn't be so simple, but I couldn't tell her that, not when it was so clear she was desperately clinging to that hope that we could ride off into the sunset together after all this was done.
"Oh don't mind me you two, I'll just float here while you two get... unsettlingly cuddly," Sparx suddenly chimed in. Cynder and I both pulled back the second we realized what this must have looked like from Sparx's perspective. "Well, now that you two are done with… whatever the hell that was… I believe we have three old guys to talk to?" Sparx said before flying off towards the Guardian's chambers.
Cynder and I shared an awkward chuckle before following the dragonfly, soon we found all three Guardians gathered around that weird pool of water thing, Cynder and I sat ourselves at the opposite end of the pool.
A few seconds of silence ticked away before someone decided to finally speak, "Spyro, Cynder," Terrador spoke, "While I would prefer to allow you two more time to fully heal, I fear we cannot ignore Malefor for much longer, it's been three days since his last attack and I do not wish to risk another," he said before turning to me, "Spyro, you have regained mastery over your dragon elements, and as much as I would love to allow you time to regain your lost memories, time is of the essence, and you seem to be as ready as you can be to face Malefor once more," he said.
Volteer stepped forward a little, "We've been having the city guard track Malefor's movements while you were busy training Spyro, they've narrowed his location to the northernmost regions of the continent, you and Cynder are unfortunately going to have to ascertain his exact location yourselves," he explained. Of course it was never going to be easy was it?
"You three have quite the journey ahead of you," Cyril said, "But we all have confidence in your abilities, although," Cyril added before shooting me a glare, "Try not to die again Spyro," he said. I wasn't exactly planning on it Cyril! But I understood why he felt the need to mention it, it was clear he still hasn't completely forgiven me for my first death, and wanted to make it clear he didn't want there to be a second one.
"We wish you three good luck on your journey," Terrador said, "May your ancestors guide you to victory," he added. With that, the three of us left to finally begin our journey to stop Malefor once and for all. Stepping out of that temple for the first time in what's felt like an eternity, the sky was dark, grey, almost foreboding, which in hindsight, given the circumstances, was quite fitting.
The city was still damaged from Malefor's last attack, with some buildings and homes sporting large holes or cracks. Few townsfolk could be seen walking the streets, I did wonder if my outburst from the last time I was out in the actual city was still on their minds or not, this almost seemed confirmed when some passers by gave me nervous looks or awkwardly shuffled away from me as if I was going to randomly pounce on them and tear their throats out or something.
I wasn't proud of how out of control I had gotten that night, of how close I had come to hurting innocent people. But being out here, being regarded with a degree of fear, it made it almost impossible to do so. Every frightened face was a living reminder of the line I had almost crossed, something I was beginning to have a hard time dealing with. It was a thing that had been pushed from my mind in favor of the panic and worry I had felt over Malefor himself, but was suddenly coming back with a vengeance, almost as if making up for lost time.
I tried my best to push it out of my mind, I had to keep my mind focused, I couldn't afford to psych myself out before even confronting Malefor. But my anxiety refused to leave it alone, demanding I put my focus on my darker half. Even as Cynder and I finally reached the gates of Warfang, thus leaving those frightened faces behind, my fears still lingered, unwilling to be let go.
Come on Spyro, put it out of your mind! You have bigger problems to deal with right now! Just relax you big purple spaz! Ugh! I needed to focus my mind on something else, anything else!
"Spyro!"
I jumped, Cynder's commanding voice violently tearing me from my introspection like a driver slamming on the breaks. "Did you hear me? I said that we should start flying towards the north," she said, apparently she had been talking while I was lost in my own thoughts and I had managed to completely tune her out. "Are you alright? You're not still on that whole dying thing are you?" she asked me.
Good job Spyro, now she's worried. Granted, it wasn't because of what she believed it to be, but I didn't know if I wanted to discuss my other half again. "I… uh… I'm okay," I lied. I just wanted to stop thinking about it was all, and the last thing I needed was for Cynder to be distracted worrying about me.
But sadly, the look on her face told me she saw right through my fib. "You're a terrible liar Spyro," said Cynder, "Talk to me, what's on your mind?" she added. I guess my poker face was in desperate need of refinement.
Cynder began to walk alongside me, seemingly tabling the flying idea to have an earnest conversation with me. A conversation I really didn't want to have, but I knew Cynder too well to think she'd leave it alone. "Did Volteer tell you what happened after you got stabbed?" I asked her.
Cynder's expression was that of confusion, "Not really, just that you tried to go after Malefor by yourself," she said. I should have figured that, Volteer must have either forgot about my outburst or tried to help me save face by not mentioning it.
"Directly after you got stabbed, the Grublins… they… they began to laugh… or at least… what seemed like laughter to me, it's kinda hard to tell with those things," I began to explain. "It… it was like they were mocking you… it… it made me so angry… and coupled with how scared I was that you might have died… I… I shifted to my darker self again… killed them all.." I continued.
Cynder still seemed confused, "Spyro, Grublins aren't really "alive", you shouldn't feel bad about killing them," she said, well I was aware of that Cynder! That wasn't the point.
"That's not what's bothering me," I stated, "It was what I did after that bothers me," I said before taking a deep breath, I was kind of scared of what she would think of me for doing what I did back then, I remembered she had told me once she didn't want me picking fights for her sake, and that was exactly what I almost did. "There were… a group of townsfolk watching from a distance… and… all I could think of when I saw them was how the city had been treating you… combined with the anger I felt for the Grublins and what had happened to you, I… I lashed out at them… I… I actually wanted to hurt them! I probably would have too if Terrador hadn't stopped me," I explained, "Seeing the townsfolk as we walked by earlier, seeing their frightened faces… I couldn't help but remember that, remembering how close I came to hurting innocent people… now I can't get my mind off it, I… I'm scared I might hurt someone, or worse," I finished explaining.
Cynder just sort of glared at me for a moment, making me fear that I had made a huge mistake telling her this, "Spyro I told you not to pick fights for my sake!" she snapped at me. But, she quickly composed herself, understanding that wasn't really the point either. "Spyro, I don't blame you for being afraid of that darker side of you, trust me, if anyone knows what it's like to fear their own darkness it's me," she said. "But you can't let your mind focus on something like that, especially now when we have Malefor to worry about," she pointed out.
She was right of course, but that didn't change the fact I had this other self just waiting to take me over again, "Spyro, I know you a lot better than you think I do," she told me, taking my front paws in her own, "Whatever darkness is inside you, if someone like me could beat it… you can too," she said.
I don't know what it was about Cynder, just something about her made those words hold far more meaning to me than normal. Like she was the final authority on everything as far as I was concerned. I guess it was just how much I trusted her, how close we had become as friends.
However, the moment was suddenly ruined when we heard Sparx suddenly cry out. Both Cynder and I turned to see we were suddenly surrounded by… mandrills? Or were they baboons? I don't know, I'm not a zoologist! There was something unsettlingly familiar about them though, they gave off a similar vibe to the Grublins, this primal feeling of dread that, while not nearly as strong as the one given off by Malefor, was still there.
The primates were all dressed in makeshift armor, crafted by tattered pieces of leather, scavenged hunks of metal, or in some cases, even animal skulls. They all looked disheveled, their fur matted and disgusting, their eyes sunken in, their skin covered in ghastly warts and scabs. The stench they gave off was nauseating, almost enough to make me violently ill.
One was holding Sparx tightly in it's fist, the poor dragonfly trying in desperation to pull himself free, but he clearly lacked the strength required to do so. "Well well… would you look who it is boys?" the primate said with an insidious smirk. "Spyro and Cynder… the two dragons most responsible for the sorry state our once proud race finds itself in," it added.
I just stood there, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to save Sparx, I couldn't take my eyes off my dragonfly brother, terrified the monkey would crush him in it's fist like a styrofoam cup any second. But I knew if I made too sudden of a move the primate would do just that. "Do you two know how long it took us to recover from that curse Malefor put us under?" the primate asked. I of course, had no clue what it was talking about, I didn't even know who these guys were.
But Cynder clearly did, wearing this disgusted look on her face, "That was your own fault if I remembered correctly, Malefor only cursed you because you turned on him in a desperate power grab," she corrected the baboon.
The baboon squinted it's eyes, staring daggers at Cynder, "Semantics," it said, "The point is, we apes have been waiting too long to get revenge on you dragons in particular for far too long," it growled. Apes? Part of me wanted to correct the "ape", but something inside me, for whatever reason, felt the title of "ape" fit for some bizarre reason.
The other apes then began to whip themselves into a frenzy, screeching and waving their tattered weapons in the air like barbarians prepared to go to war. "You two are going to die today… and when you're dead… Malefor is next," it said. I really doubted these losers could take Malefor, but something about the situation made me a touch fearful.
Snow began to fall, gradually at first, but quickly picking up, as if the weather were trying to set the mood for the battle that was no doubt about to take place. Cynder seemed all too ready to tear into these apes, but I was still fixed on Sparx, who was still in the ape's clutches, beating on its hand with his tiny little fists.
The ape, to my horror, suddenly noticed how fixated I was on Sparx. "What's the matter purple dragon? Are you afraid I'll kill your worthless insect? Don't think I haven't noticed you gawking at him the whole time," the ape said, my heart began to race, fearing he was about to kill Sparx! Please god… don't kill him! Please! "You know, I haven't eaten a dragonfly in a while… I bet this little pest is quite… crunchy," the ape said as he brought Sparx closer to his face.
I began to hyperventilate, poor Sparx shared my terror, faced with the very real possibility this ape was about to literally bite his head off. "Come on man! You don't want to eat me! I'm full of fat and cholesterol! I'll go straight to your hips!" Sparx said, trying and failing to use humor to mask how terrified he was. "S… Spyro! Do something! HELP!" Sparx cried.
I couldn't watch this anymore! I felt my anger building, until finally I couldn't stand it anymore! "Leave him alone!" I screamed before launching myself at the ape, cracking my horns against his skull like a ram, the impact forcing the ape to let Sparx go. Sparx quickly flew himself behind me, however the apes soon began to surround me on all sides.
The ape I headbutted began to rise to its feet, running it's palm across it's forehead, noticing blood from the wound I had made with an odd disinterest, "You really should have thought that through better little dragon," it said before bringing it's gaze back to me, "Kill them," it said flatly before the apes sprang into an attack…
A/N: I wanted to add a bit more to Spyro and Cynder's journey to confronting Malefor other than just them flying around before finding him like I did in the original. That and I didn't want to leave than mention of the apes I made waaaay back in the early Spyro chapters unresolved like that.
In the meantime though, enjoy your cliffhanger! See ya next chapter!