Finally, Spyro and Cynder are together once more... and i think it's obvious just by reading this, but one, i'm a horror fan, and two, i'm not very good at writing romantics. oh, and no flames about Cynder's so called family, please?

Chapter 36: Reunited at last.

Location: Riftside. Two blocks from barricade.

Date: January 9th, 12:49 PM.

Character: John.

John looked in the window of a building that looked like it had guns at one point, but now it was empty of anything but one walking corpse that had both eyes completely rotted away.

He shook his head and walked away. Ron was talking with Flame about something, and Will was sitting on a bench a few yards away. Maria was currently reloading her combat rifle.

"Well, anyone figure out what the hell that sound was?" John asked.

Maria looked at him. "Nope. Nothing at all." She looked at Will and Ron. "Anything on your side?"

Will shook his head. "No. All we found was a few common infected."

John sighed. "Flame?"

Flame sighed. "Well, I did smell something a bit odd… but that was it. I didn't see anything what-so-ever."

"What do you mean odd?" Maria asked.

Flame shrugged. "Well, it was almost like blood, except it was a bit… off. It was like it was mixed with a few other things I can't quite identify."

"And where was it?"

"It was over –" Flame stared at John.

"What?" John asked.

Maria, Ron, and Will looked at John, then they were staring at him.

John looked at them all. "Okay, staring contest is over, what's wrong?"

Flame swallowed. "John... look behind you."

John turned around – then swore explosively and jumped back as something lunged at him. It looked like a Schism from Silent Hill: Homecoming, as far as John could tell. "SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!" John yelled, getting up and running so fast he almost fell again.

He heard electrical arcs flare and flesh being torn and he ducked, hitting the pavement face first.

"Okay, that's it; for F-'S SAKE, SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

"Oh, Spyro, nice to see you're calm."

John got up, finding himself next to Flame's left paw, and turned around.

The creature… whatever it was… was torn to shreds, and the white-haired kid was behind the remains of hit. Spyro was behind the kid, and both of them were eyeing the beast oddly.

"Flame, with some of the things I have seen in the last ten minutes, I'm anything but calm." Spyro said, looking around.

"Meaning?"

The white-haired kid looked at John. "Meaning it's something out of a Silent Hill game, or Resident Evil, or something along that line!" he said. "What ever the hell is going on, I'm sure that it has nothing to do with the virus, this time!"

John was about to say something when a gunshot rang out.

"That was right by the barricade." Will said.

"Great, now whatever is going on here is at the barricade too!" Ron yelled.

Character: Spyro.

Spyro ran next to Flame as everyone followed Ron's lead, looking around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. "Flame, tell me; did the creature back there look somewhat familiar to you?" he asked.

Flame shook his head. "Well, not that I know of…"

Spyro growled and looked around again. "Light, tell me; do you have any theories about what's happening in that thick head of yours?" he asked.

"What do I look like? A scientist?"

"Is that a no?"

"What the hell do you think, you-"

"HELLO! FRIENDS, NOT ENEMIES!" John yelled.

Spyro and Light simultaneously yelled, "Him, a friend? Like hell he is!"

Flame growled with aggravation. "Guys, can we just leave that whole 'attempted-to-kill-each-other' thing behind? I'd rather we stuck to directing insults and attacks at the enemy, not each other!"

Light skidded to a halt, along with the other two he was with. "We're here." The younger one yelled.

Spyro looked around. There was a large wall of debris in front of him, mostly made up of broken down vehicles and the like.

Grey and Angie were sitting outside the barricade. "Oh, good timing, guys." Angie said. "I was getting worried, with all the gunfire."

Spyro sighed. "At least you're okay…" he said. "Anything happen?"

Grey shrugged. "Well, I think the virus had a second mutation, because we found this one humanoid creature that looked like a weird ghost of some sort."

"How can there be a third mutation?" Maria asked.

"Guys, I'd rather carry out this conversation INSIDE the barricade." Light yelled. "Because I'm not risking any more of those weird creatures coming this way!"

"For once, I agree." Spyro growled, walking toward the gate at a fast pace.

"Dante, open the damn door!" Will yelled. "There's way too many freaky things going on out here!"

Spyro sighed. "You know what, I'm just going to open it from the other side." he said, crouching down to jump.

"Hey, wait a minute, that is NOT a good idea-" Light started.

Spyro ignored him, jumped over the barricade, landed on the other side - and immediately was sent flying as some kind of invisible force hit him head on. He hit the wall of the building next to the barricade, got thrown clear across the street, creating a large trench with his body as he skidded down an alley.

"NATALIE, HOLD ON A FREAKING SECOND!" Spyro got up. There was a little girl just standing a few yards away with some kind of aura enveloping her.

Light ran up to her and grabbed her. "Light, what the heck?" she yelled.

"Natalie, look, that thing over there isn't an enemy... and i can't believe i just said that."

The girl gave him an odd look. "Pardon? And what do you mean 'you can't believe you just said that'?"

"Spyro, are you okay?"

Spyro got up and shook himself. "'I've seen better days." he said. "But i'm okay"

Flame walked around the corner. "You're sure? You look dead."

"Shut up." Spyro answered. "I just got hit with a power I have no knowledge about, and it was right after some kid tried to kill me -"

"Don't pin this on me, you overgrown snake!" Light yelled. "I did try to warn you that jumping over the barricade was a bad idea!"

Spyro growled and looked around. He could smell Cynder close by, but she wasn't in sight.

Character: Flame.

Flame looked around the safe area. There wasn't all that much here, besides from a few buildings, vehicles, and a few mutant corpses here and there. Cynder's scent was very strong next to this one huge building, but Flame couldn't see her anywhere. Spyro was a little worried that she might've gotten caught in the energy waves Light was sending out during the fight, but Flame shook his head and said that she's probably fine.

He sighed and continued helping this one human repair the barricade. Somehow, half the city was completely gone, along with a huge chunk of the barricade. The human Flame was working with said that the little girl Flame saw was behind the half-destroyed city, but Flame didn't believe him.

"So, what was that whole fireworks display we saw a little while ago?" The human asked.

Flame sighed. "Let's just say it was a really bad case of mistaken identity." He said. "My friend thought Light was Cauldur, and Light thought my friend was-"

"Malefor?" The human interrupted. "i'm not going to lie; that other dragon does resemble Cauldur's pet."

"Master."

"Pardon?"

"Cauldur serves Malefor, not the other way around."

"Oh. What do you know about him, anyway?"

"Who? Cauldur or Malefor?"

"Malefor."

Flame sighed. "Well, for starters he's supposed to be dead." he said.

"How?"

"Getting sealed in the core of the world does tend to be a death sentence."

The human stared. "You know what, can you run that by me again? Or better, can you start from the beginning and tell me what happened from start to finish?"

So Flame explained the whole story, everything from the temple raid to the point where Spyro and Cynder returned to Warfang after prevailing over the Dark master. The whole discussion lasted a few hours.

The human nodded. "Well, Cynder DID say that she was captured in the temple raid..." He said.

Flame started. "So she's here?" he asked.

Spyro by now had been listening to the whole discussion (Flame noted that he was a little uncomfortable with the fact that he had just told Spyro's whole story), and what the human had said about Cynder really got his interest. "Wait, so where is she right now?" he asked, walking up beside Flame.

The human turned around, finishing a weld on the barricade. "Well, at the moment she's at the northern end of the barricade, looking for materials to help repair this damn wall. hey, purple dragon, do you mind helping me out here-" he turned around. "Okay, where did he go?"

Flame looked down the street. "He left about thirty seconds ago."

Character: Cynder.

Cynder sighed as she looked around. After the whole "weird-monster-out-to-kill" incident, and the whole family problem Cynder now has, Dante told her that it might be a good idea to just walk around and cool off, just as long as she doesn't go outside the barricade.

But mentioning that other dragon just made Cynder feel worse, not to mention not being able to go out and find Spyro, if he was still here.

Cynder absently flipped a piece of sheet metal over. This is just insane. She thought. I shouldn't be stuck here. I should be trying to find Spyro while I still have the chance.

She sighed again, looking around. She almost wanted to cry. If she could just see him again, but everything seems to be getting in the way of that happening.

"Cynder?"

Cynder froze. That… that voice… is that?

She turned around slowly, and found herself staring into the amethyst-colored eyes of a dragon she missed so much. "Sp…Spyro…" she asked slowly.

Spyro nodded. "Cynder, I came. I came just like I promised I would."

Cynder walked to him slowly, almost thinking that she was dreaming even as she came to within an inch from him. "Is… is that really you, Spyro?"

Spyro closed the distance between them and folded her in his wings. "Yes, Cynder, it's really me. I'm really here."

Cynder felt a tear roll down her cheek as she leaned into Spyro's embrace, burying her face in the scales covering his neck. Spyro wrapped his forearms around her, nuzzling her gently. "Are you okay, Cynder? You're unhurt, right?"

Of course I'm fine. I just had a visit from a brother I didn't even know I had and he told me the worst news of my life. So yes, I'm perfectly fine. "Yeah, I'm not sick or anything, Spyro." She answered, resting a claw on his chest. She stopped, then looked at her claws. "Spyro, you're hurt. What happened?" she asked after she saw the blood on it.

Spyro sighed. "You know that Light human?" Cynder nodded. "Well, he thought I was Malefor." Cynder shuddered at the name. "Cynder, is something wrong?"

She sighed. "Well, I've had quite a misadventure, that's for sure." She said.

Spyro sighed, looking around. "I don't suppose you know a better place than here to talk." he said.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, I know a place. We could head there right now, if you want."

Character: Natalie.

"OW! SON OF A! WILLIAM, WHAT THE F-?"

"Sorry, sorry. I don't really know if I used a needle before." Will said apologetically. He was busy trying to stitch shut a wound on Light's shoulder, though he's probably doing it wrong.

Natalie sighed and looked at the lady. "Hey, lady, you did say you were a paramedic, right?" she asked.

The lady nodded. "Yeah, why?" she asked.

"Just make sure they don't kill each other by accident, okay?" Natalie replied. "I don't know anything about medicine."

Without waiting for a reply, she walked away and headed back to the warehouse to try and sleep off some of the exhaustion she's been feeling lately.

She walked through the streets, looking at the red dragon that was busy talking with Dante and Ron.

She sighed. Just when I was starting to get used to things here, more people have to come along. Not to mention two more dragons. And what was that other dragon that came by?

And where's Cynder? I need to talk to her about this.

Natalie turned a corner - and stopped as she saw Cynder with that purple dragon she saw earlier. They were walking into the warehouse, and Cynder looked happier than ever.

Okay, so that is the Spyro Cynder's been talking about. Natalie smiled as the two dragons disappeared into the warehouse.

I think I'll let them be, for now. Cynder deserves it.

Character: Spyro.

Spyro looked around the room he was in at the moment. He had to crouch slightly to fit in this room, and even then his wings brushed the walls and ceiling. Cynder had a little easier time, considering she was only a little over half his size.

Spyro noted that Cynder's temporary sleeping quarters are just as clean as their old room (which was the only thing they actually argued about; Cynder's personal tick caused some problems between the two sometimes), and in one corner of the room there was a few mattresses laid out for her.

Cynder coiled up on them, looking up at him. "Care to join me?" she asked.

Spyro smiled as he walked to her and coiled around her, covering her with a wing. Cynder sighed happily, huddling against his side. It's been too long since the last time we were together like this. Spyro thought. It made him feel a lot better to know that Cynder was safe and sound, and was even better to feel her under his wing again.

Cynder looked up at him. "Spyro, how long has it been since we were together like this?"

Spyro nuzzled her. "About ten, eleven days. But it felt like eleven years for me, Cyn." he said, breathing in her scent.

Cynder nodded in agreement, letting him lick her. "At least we're both okay." She said.

Spyro smiled. "So, what happened to my little Cyn since the last time I saw her?" he asked, kissing her neck just behind the head.

Cynder made a purring sound as she felt his gentle touch, closing her eyes and leaning into his warm embrace. She sighed sadly. "Well, starting off from when I was snatched away, when I woke up I was in this cell of some kind. I couldn't really remember much at first, but a few minutes later I remembered what had happened." She looked sad for a moment. "I could still feel your paw around mine. I found a door, but it wasn't until I made a dash for it that I found that my paw was chained to the wall."

Spyro, understanding what she meant, licked her paw in a kind gesture to reassure her. "It's alright, Cyn. I'm here now." he said, licking her. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't really have to."

Cynder sighed. "Well, you have to know, because you might know the reasons for what they did." She said. She sighed. "Anyway, it was cold and dark in that cell. The only source of light there was came from these glow-stick things along the ceiling. I guess I should count myself lucky that the room wasn't airtight. But only a few hours later these soldiers came in the room. They were kind enough to give me food and water," she grimaced. "Even though it was just fetid meat and water that might as well could've come from the sewer."

Spyro cuddled her. "Well, at least that's over, right?" he asked.

Cynder looked at him. "Spyro… I saw him." she said.

"Who?"

"Cauldur, the human Malefor's in league with." She said.

Spyro looked at her. "You did?" he asked.

Cynder nodded. "He does look somewhat like Light, but he's much older, his hair's longer, and his skin is much paler." She said. "He came in… oh, I don't know how long I was kept there. It could've been weeks, for all I know."

"It couldn't be, Cyn. It hasn't even been more than two weeks since we left Avalar."

"Spyro… it just started out as only asking me questions. He said that if I complied and answered him, then everyone would get along just fine. I… I kinda believed him. Later after I met Natalie she said that Cauldur, even though he's completely psychotic, he is a man of his word. But, the first question out of his mouth was who my family was. Brothers, sisters, mother," She flinched here. "Father, a question I didn't even know the answer to myself. It got worse than worse, then Cauldur…" She shuddered. "Spyro, his abilities mirror Light's and the Chronicler's, among others. He used them on me. I… oh, Spyro."

She buried her face in his scales. Spyro sighed, licking her. "Cynder, it's okay now. You're safe." He said. "Cauldur can't hurt you now. Not with me around."

Cynder nodded. "I know but… it… it hurts just remembering it. I've never experienced pain like that in my life. Well, first it wasn't really pain. He just caused a very scary feeling, like when we were first sealed in that crystal we spent three years in. Remember how that felt? That's what Cauldur made me feel, only it was more of a crushing feeling after a little bit." She rubbed her head just under his chin. "When Natalie and the others helped me, I couldn't have been happier. Just to be away from him was enough for me."

Spyro smiled. "Well, at least you're okay now, right?" he said, kissing her passionately. Cynder closed her eyes and purred, her breathing speeding up slightly.

Cynder sighed as he broke the kiss. "Okay, now what happened to you?" she asked.

Spyro shrugged. "Well, I immediately tried to dive in after you, but before I could reach the rift the portal ended. I turned around and launched myself at the portal, but it closed right in front of me." he sighed, nuzzling his beloved. "Cynder… I was a bit out of it for a while after that. I… I-I thought I lost you. It took finding the grave of a young girl to get me back up on my feet and start trying to find Cauldur's lab, which was where I also thought you might be. Even if all I found of you was a lifeless body. Flame didn't really help, saying that Malefor needed you alive in order to possess you, but I just had to find you." Spyro sighed. "It was Clara's grave that I found, the same girl that Light had to bury. I even found something of a testament he left behind. And a map of where Cauldur's lab was."

Cynder sighed. "Well, if it wasn't for that one act of kindness, we wouldn't be here right now." she said.

Spyro nuzzled her. "I know that now. Anyway, when I found the lab, it was destroyed. I was devastated; I thought I had lost the only chance of ever finding you." he smiled. "To think that something like a cough would give me some hope."

"Huh?" Cynder asked, perplexed.

Spyro sighed. "Well, I didn't exactly like the carnage I found at the lab. I…" he shifted a little. "I kinda vomited. The blood in the air was just too much for me to handle." He sighed. "And I was looking around, and I coughed, and as I was inhaling afterward I caught your scent. I even found one of your scales." He reached into the bag he had set down a few feet away. "In fact, I still have it." He said, taking the scale out.

Cynder looked at it, a tear in her eye. "You kept it?" she asked, smiling a little.

Spyro nodded. "I couldn't bear the thought of discarding it." He said. He licked her. "Cynder, thank you for leaving that box behind. I wouldn't have found you otherwise." He sighed, "Only, I would've found you sooner if Flame hadn't heard somebody crying out. We spent another day in Flint, then we met Grey and his group." He sighed. "Cynder, I'm glad I finally found you."

She smiled, purring as Spyro gently and playfully mouthed the top part of her neck. "Spyro, that tickles!" she said, laughing as his tongue slid around her horns.

Spyro licked her face repeatedly, Cynder purring louder as she felt his breath on her face. Spyro smiled; it's been much too long since they had moments like this. Only… "Cynder, how long has it been since you had a bath?" Spyro asked.

Cynder blushed. "Oh… not since the one I had back at the temple just a couple days before we left." She said.

Spyro laughed. "Well, I don't care at the moment." He said. He smiled. "You know, I was thinking, after all this is over… do you think that we should raise a family?" he asked.

Normally Cynder would brighten up at thinking about bearing kids. This time though, she sighed sadly and said, "Spyro… there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" he asked, folding his wing tighter around her.

Cynder sighed. "Earlier today, I… I had a visit from another dragon."

Spyro growled. "Malefor -"

"No. It wasn't him. It was another Shadow dragon. A male, much older than me and with only two horns and red eyes." She looked at him. "Spyro… he's under Malefor's influence as well."

"Oh, damn." Spyro growled.

"Spyro… that's not just it." She said. "He… he said that he was… was my brother."

Spyro's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" he said.

Cynder nodded. "Yes. Dante confirmed it."

Spyro smiled. "Well, that's good news!" he said. "Finally, you got a hint to who your family is. You just need to find out your parents, now!"

Cynder sighed sadly, and to Spyro's surprise she moved away from him. "Spyro… my brother told me who my father is…"

He would've smiled, but Cynder's expression told him that it was a painful memory. "And it's…"

Cynder looked straight at him. "Spyro… it's him."

"Who?"

"He, he enslaved his own children, just for his own gain… he even tortured his own daughter…"

"Cynder… you're starting to scare me a little…"

"Spyro…" Cynder backed away from him, looking away with tears in her eyes. "Spyro… I'm… I'm Malefor's daughter."

Spyro froze. No… no, that isn't true. That other dragon had to be lying; Cynder wouldn't even be here if that was true! Hell, she wouldn't even be this nice if it was true!

Cynder turned away. "Spyro… my entire family is steeped in the darkness… remember what happened, back when Malefor somehow got me back under his control temporarily, just before we fought him? That… that proves that the darkness hasn't left me yet. Spyro, what if it's inherited? What if our children end up like me or Malefor and end up evil, even if it's only for a part of their lives? I… I can't handle that…"

"Cynder." Spyro got up and walked toward her, covering her with a wing. "My little Cyn, Malefor's daughter…? Nah, I can't believe that."

Cynder looked at him. "Spyro…"

"Cynder. We don't know for sure if that's true, don't we?" Cynder hesitantly nodded. "Well, we only start believing it when we have proof of it. I'm sure it's someone else, Cyn. And even it was true, you fought against him; that basically means he's no longer a part of your family." He nuzzled her. "And I don't give a damn about who your father is. You're my little Cyn… I'll always protect you, and I'll always love you."

Cynder sighed. "That doesn't mean our family won't be affected, Spyro." She said.

Spyro nuzzled her. "Cyn... just try not to worry about it. It's got to be someone else, I'm sure of it."

A few hours later...

Character: Cynder.

...Cynder leered. "If you're really my brother, than tell me; who are our parents?" she asked.

The other dragon smiled. "Sister, you should already know." he said.

"Pardon?"

"Let me put it like this; who's soldiers took you away from the temple? Who raised you as a part of his army? Who did you try to kill?"

Cynder tried to figure out what he was saying... and her heart stopped when the answer came to her like a cold knife. "N... no... it can't be..."

The dragon laughed. "It is, Sister. Our father is the Dark master himself, Malefor."

Cynder's old wounds opened p again; she had ben telling herself all of her life that she belonged with Spyro and the others, far away from Malefor's reach. She always thought that she belonged with the good side, standing side-by-side with the savior as they tried to protect everything that held dear.

But all that hope was now just broken shards, and all that was left was cold, empty feelings of regret of everything she did and fear of who she was...

Cynder opened her eyes as tears fell to the floor. She curled up a little tighter, shivering a little. Cynder had told herself all of her free life that she belonged with her new friends. That hope acted like a shield of sorts, warding off all the regret, fear, and sadness of what she went through.

Now, that hope was in pieces, which left her open to all the bad memories and feelings that she kept buried deep within as she tried to run from her past.

Cynder was trying to be happy, and being able to have Spyro as a mate did help a little, and the support of her friends helped even more. She was fine as long as she was being supported by those she considered to be friends and soon-to-be family, and she liked all the warmth they gave her.

Then that other dragon came, and when he left he took all that warmth away, leaving her cold and broken again.

Just like that, Cynder was back in the hell she was trying to escape. Just like that, Cynder felt like she didn't belong with her new friends.

She sighed, feeling more tears fall. Why did this have to happen? She thought.

She curled up tighter, hiding her head under a wing.

"Cynder?" Cynder started, looking up. Spyro was looking down at her, concern filling his eyes. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close, licking her. "Cyn, it's okay, really." He said. "You're not alone, I'm with you."

Cynder looked at him. "Um, how did you know that's what I was thinking?" she asked.

Spyro blushed a little. "Well, over the last week I've been experimenting with my abilities a little." he said.

Cynder gaped. "Wait, now you can read minds?"

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, i can." he said. he nuzzled her again. "Cyn, don't worry. If it makes you any better, we can just never talk about it. Hell, the only people that will know about this is me and you."

Cynder pressed herself against him. "Spyro, how can I forget that?" she said.

Spyro licked her. "Just fight him." he said. "Malefor can't claim you as his daughter if you're fighting him."

Cynder sighed sadly. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Spyro licked her again. "I'm sure, my love."