Author's Note:

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to another chapter. The last chapter was received really well and I'm glad that you all enjoyed it. In this one however, some of you may find it hard to read at some points, due to the nature of the scenes in this chapter. In any case, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Thanks to all of my recent reviewers!:

- IllusionMaster
- Dragon of Mystery
- TARDIS
- Just Shooter

Hope you guys enjoy today's chapter and leave a follow to know when the next chapter is up and a review of what you thought and how I could improve. Now without further ado…

Let the story continue…

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic gore, mild language and some scenes which readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter 15: Amethyst's Agony

Spyro heard nothing but the ringing in his ears, piercing through them like a needle on skin. He felt nothing, only his heart beating rampantly and a sense of exhaustion fill his body. With a slight groan, he tried to open his weary eyes, his muscles screaming and aching as he attempted to wake. He was disoriented, his vision nothing but an unintelligible blur of colours. Spyro attempted to raise his head, but it was all of a sudden too heavy for his neck. He lifted it slightly, wincing as his head slumped back down, pain seething through his cranium. A shockwave of aches and pains spread all the way down the back of his neck, burning his spine. Pulling his lips back and gritting his teeth together, Spyro squeezed his eyes shut to try and help with the pain. He hissed air through his teeth, but the throbbing in his brain just kept getting worse. His hissing and huffing became more and more erratic as pained, croaky whimpers slithered their way off his tongue.

The purple dragon let out an exhausted groan as the pain slowly began to subside, giving him time to regain his breath. Spyro opened his eyes slowly, breathing heavily and his head spinning. He suddenly noticed the ground below him was further than his paws could reach, making a sense of dread enter his mind. Seeing his violet paws hanging loosely in the air, dangling freely, Spyro soon realised he was suspended in mid-air. His ankles were bound with metal shackles, cutting into his scales and rubbing against his flesh. Thick chains protruded from the ends of them, tying him to whatever was behind him.

Worst of all were his forepaws, stretched out on either side of him. His muscles were tensile, stretched far as they would go. They too were chained up in heavy shackles, leaving him completely immobilised. He suddenly registered pain in his paws as the rest of his pain receptors got back into work. Pain was everywhere, but the most excruciating pain came from all four of his paws. The shackles were so tight they were constricting his wrists and ankles, stopping adequate blood flow. He didn't know how long he had been hanging here in chains, but he feared if he didn't get out, he would lose all his paws.

Spyro groaned in agony as his ankles burned, his wrists crumbling as they were deprived of the blood they craved. Trying to move, Spyro gritted his teeth and groaned, barely able to move at all.

The purple dragon's mind tracked back to the events of the past few days. His body getting taken over, getting sucked into his own subconscious, and then tortured and mocked by a dark ancestor who was fully set on possessing him completely. A low growl escaped his throat at the thought of that monster. He had tortured the poor purple dragon over and over again, assaulting him with heavy verbal insults and accusations.

Noticing the chains once more, a heavy weight fell on his heart and his chest suddenly became heavy and painful to hold up. This looked very much like preparation for torture. Physical torture.

Spyro looked around him, trying to see if there was anything that could help get him out of the chains, but there was nothing. Not even a wall. Just the floor and the chains, which stretched off into the reaches of his mind.

The purple dragon turned his head once more to look in front of him, and this time he was met with Mortem, a hulking black figure with hideous white eyes that pierced his very soul. Spyro swallowed his scream, not wanting to show any weakness in front of this evil creature. Mortem just smirked, parting his lips to show his hideous, long fangs that glistened with saliva.

Spyro never noticed how much they stood out against his pitch-black scales until now, and it unnerved him even more. The pure, unnaturally white fangs seemed to glow against the dark scales surrounding Mortem's maw, but the scariest part was the wet, pink gums covering the roots of each tooth. The flesh was bright, glistening in its lavish coating of saliva, also contrasting heavily against the black scales. The contrast was unearthly, and Spyro had to swallow his whimpers, unable to tear his gaze away from that sickly maw.

The maw opened, allowing Spyro full view of the deadly set of teeth on those jaws, as well as the thick, snaking tongue and the gaping throat at the back of it. A slow, calm breath entered Mortem's mouth, travelling down into his lungs, before his lips moved, forming words.

"I see you're finally awake, Spyro," Mortem rumbled, his voice low and sinister, tones of sadistic humour edging the words.

"W-W-What… what… are… you…-"

"What am I going to do to you? Very stupid question if I do say so, Spyro. Being the saviour of the world, you are very thick, aren't you?" Mortem hissed, Spyro giving him a look of hatred.

"Just… leave… u-u-us alone…." Spyro strained, his voice low and hoarse.

"Now where's the fun in that? You're practically half-dead anyway, so why would I stop now?" Mortem smirked, making Spyro's heart skip a beat in dread and fear. "Now then… shall we get started?"

"Please… if you take over… just… just don't hurt Cynder… please…" Spyro pleaded, tears forming in his eyes.

Mortem snarled and smacked him across the maw, stinging pains coursing up the side of Spyro's face.

"Soft bastard! Love is a lie! It does nothing but cause pain and misery," Mortem snarled, raising his tailblade and clutching Spyro's neck. "I'll show you what love did to me!"

With his fangs bared, Mortem repeatedly slammed blows into Spyro's face, the purple dragon barely keeping consciousness. For a very long time, the abuse went on and on, Spyro grunting as each blow met him. At long last, Mortem finally relented, blood streaming from Spyro's nose and mouth. The purple dragon coughed hoarsely, before spitting a large, dark glob of blood at Mortem, glaring at him angrily. With one of his claws, Mortem wiped the blood off of his face, staring at Spyro with malicious intent.

The dark ancestor just gave a low growl before raising his claws, shoving them deep into Spyro's right shoulder, feeling thick, hot blood welling up over his talons. Slowly, Mortem ran his claws along the length of Spyro's arm, causing the purple dragon to let out a pained whimper as his purple limb slowly became red with flowing torrents of blood. Mortem kept going, over Spyro's elbow and down his forearm, before stopping at the edge of his wrist where the tight shackle covered. Spyro was hoping Mortem would pull his claws out of his burning, bleeding flesh, but instead he let out a chuckle and turned around, walking back up the length of his arm, pulling his blood-drenched claws with him.

A loud scraping sound reached Spyro's ears as an unpleasant, painful sensation tore down his upper arm, and he realised Mortem was starting to grind his claws along bare bone. Spyro quivered, feeling tears stream down his face, contorting with agony as a silent scream wracked his throat.

"Please… please… just… just stop…" Spyro sobbed, feeling his arm become deprived from blood.

Mortem just smirked, pushed his claw back in and cutting further into his flesh.

"Look at you. The purple saviour reduced to a sobbing mess over a cut to the arm," Mortem sneered. "This isn't near the pain of being torn to pieces! Or watching your loved one bleed in front of you!"

"L-L-Loved… one?" Spyro choked, spitting out blood that was still spilling out of his mouth. "You are i-i-incapable of love, you s-s-sadistic… b-b-bastard."

Mortem boiled with anger, clenching his paws and baring his teeth. He let out a loud, deafening roar, his face twisting with rage and saliva dripping from his jaws, before jolting his arm downwards, slicing down from Spyro's shoulder into his chest.

"You're lucky I need you alive…" he whispered, getting into Spyro's face so the purple dragon could smell his foul breath. "If not, I would kill you right now and it wouldn't be pretty."

As if to prove his point, he reached up to the back of Spyro's neck with both paws, digging his talons into the flesh, before raking them slowly around to the front of his neck, stopping before he could tear out the purple dragon's throat. Spyro gagged and whimpered, begging the ancestors for the pain to stop.

"They won't help you now, jikmadator seian. After all, you're with me, and those damned ancestors want me dead," Mortem snarled. "Plus, you call me 'dark ancestor' in that laughable realm of yours. So… you can say you're with an ancestor now. But this one won't make the pain stop."

Spyro looked up, staring into Mortem's lifeless eyes with the same stare that he gave Malefor all those years ago.

"I… don't see myself… as a hero. I don't… see myself… as the purple dragon. I see myself… as a dragon… who was born to protect… to endure the hardships… of evil. I never kill… as a true hero should be… You're merely a hardship… katima di whedabra… but… if you touch… my Cynder…"

"You'll what?" Mortem interrupted, mockingly. "You can't even break free of those damn chains you're in, let alone fight me, and win! You don't scare me! I am an ancestor, you whelp!"

"Mobi geou qe nowhere shafaer nomeno achuak edar svaklar wux shilta houpe de ve wux hawrk'ghukech slug," Spyro warned, his eyes hard as iron as he stared. "If you dare lay a paw on her, I will kill you…"

"I don't think you're in a position to be giving out threats Spyro," Mortem smirked. "Especially death threats."

Spyro inhaled, a curse on his lips, until Mortem thrust his claws forward into his stomach, causing a constricted squeal to leave his throat. Mortem's teeth were gritted tightly, his brow furrowed with rage. His expression hardened even more as he pushed his claws further into Spyro. Tears streamed down the purple dragon's face as he stared up at Mortem, unable to form words through the immense pain he was experiencing.

The want to get out and fight back was evident by the gleam in the purple dragon's eyes, and Mortem smirked horribly.

"I see that look in your eyes. Fine, get out and fight me. Get out of your damn chains, and fight me," Mortem taunted, knowing the purple dragon couldn't get out of his bonds.

"Don't… you ever… shut up...?" Spyro hitched, panting as he tried to ignore the pain.

Mortem merely snarled and stabbed Spyro's left leg with his claw, the purple dragon crying out yet again due to the crushing force of the pain he was enduring. The dark ancestor dug his claws deeply into the purple dragon's flesh, drawing even more blood. He slowly dragged his paws down the length of Spyro's leg, the terrible sound of tearing flesh piercing Spyro's ears as he whimpered in pain. Mortem reached Spyro's ankle, pulling his claws out before reaching up to the top of the leg and inserting his claws again, repeating the action and dragging them down slowly. He continued this another three times, getting slower and slower each time to the point where the pain felt like it would never stop.

The dark ancestor pulled his bloody claws out once more, placing his paws on Spyro's red, lacerated leg, one paw above the knee, another paw below. With an evil chuckle, he quickly twisted his paws in different directions, growling at the heavy shunt he gave and forcing both bones to snap with great force. Spyro reared his head back let out a loud shriek, having never experienced pain like it. His scream drawled on until he had no breath left, his throat raw and burning. He couldn't think or speak, the crushing sensation of agony was too much for him to bear. He wanted to free himself, wanted to break out of this torture he was enduring. Reduced to nothing but tears, Spyro lowered his head and sobbed, his pitiful moans hoarse and croaky due to the ring of fire burning his throat.

Mortem reached forward, grabbing the purple dragon's jaw and lifting his face so that he was eye level. Spyro was barely breathing, barely keeping consciousness. He was afraid, scared and in agony. His warrior spirit had completely diminished, and he had lost the will to fight. His eyes were bloodshot, glistening with a heavy onslaught of tears, and remained focused at the ground, even with his face aimed directly at Mortem.

"Look at me…" Mortem whispered menacingly, holding Spyro's jaw in a crushing grip. "LOOK AT ME!"

Mortem smacked Spyro across the jaw, sapping the last of Spyro's will from his mind. For the first time in his life, Spyro knew he couldn't win or fight back. He just had to endure and accept defeat. He had to comply to what this monster wanted. Hesitantly, he lifted his eyes, turning his gaze to Mortem, only to be met with those horrible, soulless, white eyes. Spyro suddenly wanted to turn away, free his eyes from the horror in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, however, he found he couldn't, ensnared by the devilish orbs that turned his soul to steel.

The dark ancestor gave a low chuckle, before he moved in closer to Spyro. He could feel his breath against his scales, and a shiver of pure terror went down his spine. Spyro still couldn't keep his gaze off Mortem, turning to follow him as his torturer's head stopped in front of his bloodied neck. His maw parted, revealing a long tongue that slithered out of his mouth. The wet muscle was pressed against Spyro's scales, digging into the deep, bloody wound positioned on the side of his blood-soaked neck. Saliva mixed with blood, and Spyro cringed in pain, his sobs continuing to wrack his form relentlessly. As the tongue travelled across his neck, he found he still could not avert his eyes from Mortem, his teary eyes following the long tongue.

Mortem pulled away from Spyro, blood staining his tongue, strings of saliva and blood combined sticking between the bloodied neck and the snaking, slithering muscle. Mortem's tongue disappeared inside his maw, teeth bared in a hideous smile that made Spyro shiver. Throughout this whole time, Spyro's eyes remained fixed on Mortem, unable to avert his gaze from him and watching in horror as his torture continued. For a while, he stared at those glistening white fangs that he awaited to end his life, but his gaze slowly returned to Mortem's own gaze.

Spyro's vision suddenly blurred as the white glow in Mortem's eyes intensified, temporarily blinding him. He groaned, trying to regain his vision. At the same time, however, he hoped that he would lose the rest of it so that he would never see Mortem again. When his vision cleared however, he was not met by the form of Mortem, but the form of Cynder, mangled and hideously malformed. Spyro knew it was Mortem posing as Cynder, but seeing her in what was now Mortem's dominion, a hideous, devilish smirk on her face, broke him beyond comprehension. His attempt to control his sobbing failed as he fell further and further into despair, long whimpering wails starting to tear from his throat.

"Cynder… Cyn… der…" Spyro's voice quivered as the sight before him proved too much to bear, causing more tears to emerge from his eyes.

Cynder's eyes were hideous, red sclerae vibrant and evil, her irises yellow and her pupils… non-existent. Her eyelids appeared to have been ripped off, blood streaming down from around the orbs which bulged unnaturally out from her face. Her teeth were large and crooked, appearing to be too big for her lips to hold with how far apart her lips were spread. Cynder's head was tilted at a slight angle, trying to come off as innocent despite the devilish facial expression. The face was just the start; she was missing a horn… missing a wing… bloody wounds covering a large majority of her body and painting it a scarlet red instead of black. She was missing a great deal of scales, exposing rotting flesh. Her left forepaw was lumpy, resting on its side, and each talon twitched.

"Spyro," she replied, her voice low and bubbly, sounding as if she was choking on phlegm or blood that was caught in her throat.

Cynder paused, and Spyro thought that was it, but what she said next haunted him to his very core.

"My love."

The broken purple dragon tried to hold in his agony, but was unable to. He let loose the longest, loudest howl he ever had, voice cracking several times due to the stress he was putting on his throat and vocal chords, tears streaming relentlessly down his face, blinding him once more. The tail of Spyro's scream wavered tremendously, tremors overtaking his body as he finally gave into his despair.

He was not coming back from this. He was not coming back to Cynder. Everything was gone.

The darkness around him began to rumble and shake from the force of his scream, the echoes of his scream pounding through his ear drums. Spyro's vision returned as his tears slowly began to subside. He had cried everything out, and although he hated crying, he wished he still had tears to spare. Mortem stood in front of him, smiling ominously. Spyro should have been relieved to see Mortem's real form instead of that hideous zombie that was Cynder, but seeing Mortem just put even more dread slamming into his heart.

Spyro spat a low curse at Mortem, but the dark ancestor just growled, clicking his talons. Spyro fell to the ground, finally free of his chains, scars from the shackles painting his wrists and ankles. The purple dragon looked up at Mortem, who just looked down at him, unimpressed.

"You'll see more of me, hawrk'ghukech wopsit," Mortem growled, before turning and walking away.

Spyro calmed his breathing, before looking down at his paws. He was suddenly taking a liking to those claws of his. He wanted to get out of this torture. He didn't see any other way out. Almost as soon as he looked at them however, they all started to disintegrate, leaving him clawless. Spyro looked behind him and saw his tailblade was missing too.

"Just because I know you'll try and get out of this," Mortem's voice echoed, before Spyro was left alone in silence. "Enjoy your solitude… while you can…"

"Cynder… Cynder… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Spyro curled himself up and closed his eyes, feeling only sorrow and hopelessness. He knew that it was hopeless trying to get out by force, so all he could do… was pray. Spyro pushed himself onto his haunches, gritting his teeth and cursing at the pain he was in. Closing his eyes and bowing his head, he began to speak to the ancestors.

"Ancestors, nymuer sia relgr ekess wux. Troth Cynder, troth jacioniv mrith dout ingowil vur dout nobility. Troth jacioniv mrith usk paws vur vi versvesh kornari, ihk si mi jikmadator. Petranas, si drekik di wux, letoclo jacioniv…"

Spyro heard quiet whispers in front of him, causing him to open his eyes. It was another memory, but this time, sweet. Spyro was lying in bed, sick with fever and sweating wildly. Cynder was by his side, pressing his forehead gently with a damp cloth and giving him water every now and then. Spyro remembered her soft touch on his face, the tenderness of her paws. How he longed to feel that same sensation now.

"Hey, I'm here. Always will be," Cynder's voice called as Spyro began to cry. "I'll never leave your side, never."

A sad smile came to Spyro's face as the memory began to disappear. Those sweet words warmed his heart, and he was certain that it was because of those words that he got better. Now however, stuck in his subconscious, Spyro was deprived of all hope, but with the image of Cynder in his mind, maybe… he could finally find some salvation.

Well, there you have it guys! Like I said, very graphic chapter here but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. I'm sorry for this being so short, but there wasn't really much else going on and we wanted this to be entirely revolved around Spyro and Mortem so I apologise for the short chapter. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the double upload this week. Bit of a surprise for you I bet!

I hope you guys have an amazing morning, afternoon or evening...

And this is Mystic, Cheetah and SKda… signing off ^_^