To be honest I really didn't know what to do after that last chapter XP

Still, I hope it came out good, and I hope you enjoy it!

(Spyro's POV)

"Where did you take Cynder!?" I cried out, more worried than anything. I strained my neck in an attempt to look around, the tightly-bound ropes becoming even tighter as I did so. I stopped when I realized I was nearly choking myself, causing a stifled laugh to come from the source of the crackling voice.

"Face him towards me. I want to see the fear on his face, the fear that I ultimately caused."

I knew who was behind me by now. Malefor was the only one I had ever heard with a voice like that, a voice that came from something with so much evil that the pain and suffering of others was a simple pleasure much like flying through a forest on a nice day. I tried my best to force a flat expression to sweep across my face; I wanted to drive that pleasure away from him. Yet, I knew that he would just find a way to hurt me more. I couldn't hide my fear; my expression showed it quite clearly, and the apes could smell it. Sweat ran down my face. I wondered if it was from the stress and fear of the situation, or if it was the fact that we were standing in the middle of a volcano. I tried my best to not make eye contact with him, but something inside me forced me to keep my eyes glued to his. I barely even blinked.

"Oh, don't worry, your precious Cynder is safe, but won't be for long if you don't comply with me. Not that you won't, of course, because I could always make you. Take it as me being the nice guy in this situation."

Oh, yeah sure. Him, the nice guy. His logic was so messed up that I couldn't reply to it. Or was it just because of the still-growing thoughts of what he might just do to me or Cynder?

I shook my head, trying to clear these thoughts out of my head and calm down. Panicking in a situation like this would just make it worse, as it would be harder to concentrate and really think through what I should do. But, the problem was, I had no idea where to start. I simply couldn't move, the ropes bound so tightly that I was afraid of the marks they would leave. I couldn't help but just struggle, to try to get out, even though I knew it wouldn't work.

"Spyro!"

I heard a shout echo from across the large room we were in. There was no doubt in my mind it was Cynder's voice; I would recognize it from anywhere. The apes around me tugged on the ropes until I had done a complete one-eighty, enough that I could see the contents of the room I had entered. The first thing I saw was a large dragon, large enough that I suddenly felt like an annoying fly. I then spotted Cynder in a bird-like cage hanging next to him, ropes binding her in a similar fashion to mine.

"So, first off, let me set things clear." Malefor's voice was even worse when I was facing him, bad enough that I wondered if it hurt him to talk.

"So, first off, welcome to what I call my living quarters! Make sure to make yourself at home, because, this will be the last room you ever enter." He didn't laugh after that or anything; he instead just glared at me, a large smirk plastered on his face as if he was already playing out what would happen next in his twisted imagination.

To my surprise, he simply said, "Guards, release her. This'll be boring if they aren't at least trying." The guards listened, cutting through the ropes which bound Cynder with deadly-looking blades and unlocking the cage. Cynder quickly flew down to the ground near me, not wanting to get too close and be cut by the apes surrounding me. Plus, with Malefor standing over us, there would be no way to cut my ropes and run before being roasted alive.

"So, you see, I'm going to give you a choice." He nodded toward Cynder, indicating that he was directing his speech toward her. "You can run off, go back to your normal life, do whatever it is you want to do, but you'd have to leave 'mister hero' here with me." I let out a low growl at what he called me, but was quickly silenced by the tight ropes around my neck being tugged on for a second. "Or, you could stay, and partake in the same treatment he's going to face. I could really care less about you, irrelevant dragoness, but I could never put down a plaything that willingly stays. So, what will it be?"

I quickly turned my head to face Cynder, hoping she'd listen. "Cynder, go on without me. There'd be no point in you staying here. I know the kinds of things they do here, and I couldn't imagine any of it happening to you. I-I don't-"

Malefor quickly interrupted me before I could say any more. "Enough chat. Pick your decision before I quickly exterminate you to get it over with."

Cynder shuffled around a bit, and I could tell she was under a lot of pressure. She opened her maw to speak, but it was a few seconds before she could form the words she wanted to say.

"I-I'm... I'm... I'm staying."