Ember stalks the streets of Warfang, ignoring the calls of any concerned but ultimately far too busy to care guardsmen. Ember continues to patrol the area around the Temple, she cannot afford to stray from her mission for even a second. The storm continues to grow in severity around her, "Cynder's done her work well" Ember shudders from the cold. Cynder had retreated so Ember could get into the right head-space for this mission, although she was already plenty ready. She was finally ready to end this terror that had plagued the land for so long, even if everyone else was too foolish to have noticed it.

"Finally" Ember mutters as she spots Flame leaving the Temple, finally the time had come to make her move. "He's gone, Cynder" Ember says shuddering a bit from the feeling of the spirits' power returning. Cynder was the name the spirit wanted to be called by, despite how the spirit seemed bothered by it Ember obliged; at times it did make communications tough with the distinction between Terror-Cynder and the Cynder that is currently possessing her. Ember had used the time Cynder had offered her to search for any holes in her plot, both their plot to kill Terror-Cynder but especially Cynder's story. Cynder's story made sense, it was logical that the Terror's spirit would return to claim its original body after so many years dormant; if only she could ask her friends for help, she wasn't a very good thinker, or fighter, or anything really. But if there is finally something that Ember can do to stop this looming disaster she will. She doesn't have Flame's power, Nero's brain, Winter's dedication, Spyro's Elements, the Guardians' wisdom, Cyril's pride, Volteer's mind, Terrador's parenting nature, Aqua's medical skill, Nix's knowledge and experience, Cynder's confidence and planning, Geal's engineering, Joshua's work ethic, Kayla's fashion sense; compared to everyone else Ember knows that she has nothing, except for this opportunity. She finally has the opportunity to live up to everyone's expectations of her, rather than the constant burden that she seems to be to everyone else.

"I thought I told you to get into the right head-space?" Cynder asks as she finally arrives to bond with Ember.

"I did, but revenge isn't the right reason anymore; I won't lie, revenge was my original reason for doing this. But now that I've had more time to think, I'm really doing this to protect those I love and care about and to finally prove myself to everyone. I'm sure you have no complaints?"

"None" Cynder acknowledges as Ember heads into the Temple's courtyard.

Passing by the statue of Spyro Ember admits that she hadn't lied to him, he truly was one of the most handsome dragons she'd ever met, but his heart clearly belongs to another. She was a little salty that he didn't give her even a second of consideration, but she knows it was wrong and won't hold it against him. She hates what she's about to subject Spyro to, he may not understand, he may not be able to forgive her. But this merciful salvation from the Terror's corruption is all that she can do to repay him for everything he's done for her and the world as a whole.

Ember enters the same service door that she had watched Spyro go through earlier, knowing the Temple should be deserted she walks confidently in. She had planted the idea in the serving staff that the Guardians wanted them to go home, to prevent them from getting in the crossfire of tonight's looming threat, not that they had realized that the looming threat was already inside awaiting upstairs. The only one she should encounter on her way is Cyril who, although she hates to have to do it, she can defeat easily. Thankfully she knows that he hates the way that sand feels on his paws and knows that he'll avoid the training room because of it, there's a staircase nearby up to the floor where the Terror is likely concocting plans.

Ember raises the powers of Darkness she had been granted. Unlike Shadow, it's lighter and weaker derivative, Darkness is powerful and uncontrollable by mortal means. Thankfully Cynder's here to keep that power in check, despite the admission that she wasn't capable of wielding it in life. Dark wisps of flame rise around her scales; the flames are otherworldly and alien, leaving no trace that they were there and burning nothing until they're ready for use. Despite their seemingly harmless nature Cynder had warned her that if they were to lose control of them that they cannot be put out easily through magically means, only magically enchanted water can hope to douse the flames of the Abyss. The Blackfire will continue to burn as long as it has a sufficient mana source nearby, as long as Ember is in the presence of her target it will continue to burn to ashes. Ember knows that this is the point of no return, although she might be able to convince the Guardians that she's suddenly developed this mythical power they'll certainly stop the mission, she knows that if she gets spotted she'll have to either fight or surrender. Steeling her heart she lets Cynder guide her down the hall towards the training room.

She rounds the corner and walks into the unlit room; the training room was typically lit at night, but to discourage Winter and Flame from doing any reckless last minute training, as they're known to do, it was kept unlit. The darkness presses in around her as she walks into the room, Ember feels the magical tug of the seal that quiets any sound and helps soften injuries as it pulls around her. Although the night is dark it fails to hold a candle to the utter blackness of Ember's flame, still Ember's always been a little apprehensive of walking through dark rooms since she can be clumsy at times. Remembering the two braziers positioned on opposite sides of the room Ember flicks a normal-Fire smoldering ember to each to light them.

The oil soaked resin and wood mix lights excellently and illuminates the room around them brightly. The flaming light illuminates a great, proud, and powerful armored figure, Terrador the Elder Guardian; one of the great heroes of the War Against Malefor, stands in the full battle armor that he hasn't worn since the defeat of the dark purple dragon Malefor. The silver-shinned armor had been polished regularly, after nearly twelve years it still snugly fits Terrador's muscular body. "I had hoped he was lying," Terrador whispers out in a fearful and stricken voice. Here, Ember, the one whom he had trained and considered a pseudo-daughter, now stands across from him; her once beautiful pink scales pitifully warped by the flames of Darkness into vile scales of utter blackness.

"Stand aside…. Please" for all her boasting, Ember's voice cracks and a single tear descends her face. When finally confronted with the fact she might have to slay her mentor to go past her will almost breaks, but quickly her eyes and heart resteel and she faces her master with all the pride she can muster.

"You know I can't do that, Ember. I had thought, no wished, that you had grown old enough and experienced enough to understand what had happened. But I see that I, no we all, had placed too great of a burden on you. We had trusted that you wouldn't be susceptible to the Terror's corruption, without doing anything to make that certain. In all regards, despite the fact you will be held wholly accountable for your actions, we have all managed to colossally fail you in every way possible. I apologize, my student" Terrador bows his head briefly before preparing his powers that allow him mastery over Earth.

"I'm sorry too" Ember sheds the second tear as the Flames of Darkness forms a cloak around her, immolating her entire body.

"I can't think of her as my student anymore, '' Terrador thinks. Until she's freed of her corruption she can only be his opponent. His stance widens and lowers, uncertain of what this new power can do.

Ember opens her maw and a small ball of Blackfire comes out, Terrador kicks up and solidifies a wave of sand only to have it blown away as the ball explodes. The flames attach to the sand and follow it leaving small embers of black fire scattered around the room, Terrador goes to stamp out an ember that had landed near him only to recoil his paw in pain and surprise. An intense burning pain fills his paw but doesn't spread, the ember wasn't warm and doesn't pose a threat of lighting anything else on fire except for its target. Despite his attempt to smother it the Blackfire continues to burn, unheeded by a lack of flammable materials to burn with,

"If I get hit by that I'm done for" Terrador mutters as Ember stares at him waiting for his next move. Terrador also reasons that direct physical attacks would likely damage him far more than her, besides with the smaller stature of a teenage dragoness she's much faster and unlikely to be caught by his slow attacks. He needs to end this battle before she decides to bring her full advantages to bear against him. Terrador kicks some obscuring sand up to block Ember's vision.

Ember responds by letting loose a continuous jet of Blackfire through the raining sand only to find it blocked by a thick column of stone. The stone burns but does manage to briefly stop Ember's assault as Terrador gathers his power. "He's doing something" Cynder mentally warns her, "prepare a powerful counter attack!"

Complying Ember gathers a massive ball of Blackfire in her maw preparing to stop his next attack. Terrador hides behind his pillar of stone and cracks a sad smile, he's won. Digging his claws into the sand and bracing his paws against the stone of the hallway behind him he twirls, slamming his bolder-like tail into the stone pillar and throwing it at Ember.

Ember sweeps her paw and a small sweep of Blackfire follows it, deflecting the now greatly reduced rock to her side and releases the pent up Blackflame in a powerful ball of Darkness. Terrador responds by letting loose a giant boulder of rock and sand at her, a rock much larger than any normal Earth dragon would be able to use, Terrador's Earth Fury. The two powerful magics collide resulting in a colossal explosion that sends burning materials and destruction flying around them. Ember, in turn, also digs in her heels and manages to prevent any slide back from the explosion, looking up despite being a little drained the obscuring dust prevents her from seeing the results of her attack.

Finally, after a painstakingly long time the dust clears, revealing her victory as Terrador lies still, thankfully still breathing lightly, small burning debris burning him as they lay on his armored back. Ember rises to her feat only to suddenly collapse back down, to her surprise a purposefully sharpened spike of rock is stabbed into one of her hind-legs. He had used the confusion of the attack to stop her from moving further past him. The pain had thankfully not quite set in yet, "hold on" Cynder consoles, "remove it and I can heal you."

"But Terrador-!" Ember protests removing the stake of stone from her leg, grunting in pain.

"He can wait, the Blackfire is painful but shouldn't be enough to kill or cripple him. He made his choice, he can live with it."

Ember bites her tongue, after everything Terrador's done for her he certainly doesn't deserve to be treated so disrespectfully. As Cynder quickly heals Ember's wound she hears claws on stone coming from the corridor Terrador was guarding. "Claws!?" Ember asks, her eyes widening in realization.

"He used the stone pillar to hide him erasing the magic seal on the room!" Cynder explains as the flames that had illuminated the room start to burn out and darken. Shadows start stretching to invade the room as it darkens slowly.

Terror-Cynder, Spyro, and Cyril all arrive at once to find the source of the noise that had rocked the Temple. The three arrive to find Terrador unconscious and Ember rising to her paws, the powerful and sinister wisps of Blackflame rising from her scales. Her feral stance and appearance shocks all of her friends into silence, darkness suddenly shrouds the room concealing their friend.

Spyro relights the destroyed brazier with his limited Fire power, the room reilluminates only to find Ember gone. She had fled without having the chance to achieve her goal.

{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}

Flame remains huddled, cold, and wet waiting for Ember to return, Flame had taken shelter under the measly tarp lean-to that Ember had clearly left for him. The cold rain chills him to the bone, with every shutter Flame releases a small breath of Fire heating his small cold shelter only briefly. It had only been a few minutes since Flame had arrived at their designated meet-up-point, but Flame's patience grew thin. Although he'd normally bear this for her any other time of year, winter was fast approaching. The cold was simply growing too dangerous for Flame to safely remain much longer, he could continue using Fire to heat himself up, but it's doing nothing to thaw the pain in his heart. Ember had abandoned him to the cold.

A couple of guardsmen he had talked to mentioned that they had seen Ember heading towards the Temple. Flame rises to his feet, his burning ash colored scales flaring with Fire magic. Shaking the cold from his bones, Flame departs his small shelter back towards the Temple, he's more determined than ever to find the truth about what's happening to his friend.

Flame rushes back to the Temple making great time despite the terrible storm surrounding him, Flame had just reached the courtyard when a large, albeit muffled explosion comes from the Temple. Despite its size and intensity Flame determines that unlike Red's explosion it probably wasn't heard by anyone much further out than the Temple. As Flame stands surprised at the sudden noise the service door in front of him slams open and black figure runs out. "Who are you!?" Flame demands, despite his question it ignores him and tries to run past. Flame leaps to intercept the figure when its cloak fails and Ember's distinctive pink scales shine through. As she finally looks to acknowledge him Ember can only match Flame's expression of horror and surprise.

Flame stops his pursuit allowing Ember to pass, just after she finally flees the courtyard Spyro and Cynder come out following her, having left Cyril to treat the wounded Elder Guardian. "Flame! Something's wrong with-" Spyro tries to explain but Flame doesn't hear it as he runs out after her, ignoring the growing pain from the chilling rain.

Flame sprints out into the streets despite the protest of his friends far behind him, however Ember had already recklessly taken to the skies. Flame, less confident in his flying skills, sprints after her; taking no heed for his own health and safety, Flame recklessly runs despite constantly slipping on the torrents of rain falling on stone. Flame quickly loses sight of the much faster Ember. With his paws perpetually falling out from under him Flame runs home, the only place he knows she can run to. He can only hope that he can find her and dispel whatever evil that has taken over her.

Flame remains hopeful that he can save his friend as he arrives home, having swiftly left both of the heroes behind Flame has plenty of time to find her, assuming she's here. Despite the obvious signs that she didn't return here, such as the door still being locked and there being no lights on despite Ember's fear of the dark, Flame still looks for her. Producing the key that they keep under the doormat, Flame unlocks the door and enters the cold empty house. Flame looks around the base floor of the small home that they had together, all the memories of better times come flooding back; living here with Ember, being able to talk openly with her about anything, all of that had changed when he fell in love with her. Flame pounds his paw on the wooden flooring, if only he had worked up the courage to tell her how he truly feels, this might all of been avoidable.

Climbing the stairs he approaches Ember's room, knowing she's not in there he asks anyway "Ember?" Hearing no reply Flame goes to open the door only to find it locked, "odd, I don't remember this door even having a lock…." Flame mutters out. "I'm sorry about this'' Flame says incinerating the lock on the door. Flame recognizes what this lock represents, it represents all the things that he should have noticed that had hinted that something was wrong with Ember, somehow he had failed to notice any of them. Flame closes his eyes in apology, and using his claws, burns through the lock.

Opening the door into the dark room Flame fumbles for any kind of light, before he can though an awful sooty smell assaults his nostrils, coughing Flame mercifully finds a lantern and lights it. Illuminating the dark room finally reveals the source of the awful stench, a fine layer of blackened soot covers most of the floor and some of the furniture of the room. Although Flame's investigative skills are nothing compared to, well anyone else, he can see that the bed doesn't have any soot on it. She must have cleaned the bed, but not gotten to the rest of the room, Flame shakes his head again, how could he not notice any of this?

Before he can stop himself Flame lets out a chuckle, this was originally their foster uncle's room before he moved back to the Tall Plains. He had placed a spell on the room because Ember's nightmares kept waking him up, just like the training room back at the Temple. Ember's nightmares had slowly, but thankfully, gotten over her memories of Cynder's corrupted form, or so they had thought. Flame doesn't know what's happened to her, but now with a second to think about the possibilities Flame starts to suspect that with Cynder's return, the nightmares probably came back too. Flame wishes that he could go back and be there when Ember clearly needed him, but now he can only hope to learn everything that he can use to help save her.

Flame casts his eyes over the room, looking for anything not covered in soot, he spots the clean closet door. Although the door isn't exactly clean it's less filthy than the rest of the room, Flame walks over, trying futility to shake the soot off his paws. Hooking a claw on the door Flame slides the door out of the way to inspect the closet, there's nothing hanging up on the clothes rack, since dragon's obvious don't need to wear much clothing. However looking down is a large stack of paper, at least nearly fifty pages extending up to his paws.

The first page is almost completely drawn with scribbles, completely blacked out with a pencil like utensil. Ember had been given a drawing kit by Nero a few years back once she had shown an interest in the subject, she had cherished the high-quality materials so much that she hadn't used them in place of her cheaper materials. Flame spots the broken and depleted materials next to the stack as he starts to look through them, like a reverse flip-book an image slowly clears out. She had drawn this image over and over, presumably every day, the image that adorns Cynder's forehead with mini versions of the symbol on her shoulders on the sides. The simple easily traceable geometric shapes had been distorted day after day until it became unintelligible and alien, "Ember…" Flame mutters "what happened to you?"

Flame tears his eyes away from the strangeness before him, trying to find something that maybe someone as dull as him can try to piece together. Flame turns back to the only thing not completely trashed in the room, the bedside table. Opening the plain drawer he finds the drawer cluttered with seemingly random things like pins, paperclips, etc, however the only clue he can find is a small wax model of a key. As he picks it up he finds a small string wrapped around the head leading to a note, "Moonlight Café copy #3" Flame reads aloud.

The owners of the café had given them a copy of the key, in case anything happened and they needed a place to go. The owner of the café was the brother-in-law of the same uncle who had allowed them to stay with him so they felt comfortable giving them a spare. But the key was actually hanging downstairs by the door…. "Ember must have made copies…." It takes him a minute but Flame had finally figured out where Ember's had gone.

{~~~~~~~~~~~}

Ember was frustrated and confused, but Cynder was practically seething in anger "we had played right into his hands…."

"Red's?" Ember asks knowing that their plan had been a complete failure, not only had she betrayed and harmed her mentor Terrardor, but her alliance with Cynder had also been revealed.

"It couldn't have been anyone else, he had let himself get knocked unconscious to fool us into thinking he'd be out of the picture, only to warn the Guardians of our attack. We can still salvage this, now that the Terror knows that we're here and active, she'll surely come after us. If we draw her out she might follow us, if we can suppress the purple dragon who'll likely follow her, then we can strike" Cynder schemes already thinking up a plan b.

"Will it work this time?"

"I'm a spirit, not a seer" Cynder retorts. "Go back to the café, you planted the key under the mat remember-" Cynder advises before realizing that Ember had already stopped outside the café. Sheets of violent rain still hammer against her scales, Cynder's mystical storm was still covering her movements throughout the city.

"I'm starting to pick up on your little scheme" Ember gives a half-hearted chuckled response.

"Good, if we take a moment to recharge the Blackflame we can face her at full strength."

{~~~~~~~~~~~~~}

Spyro and Cynder also run through the rain covered streets of Warfang, although they're unfamiliar with the city's layout they're making relatively good time. After they had gotten outside and wandered for nearly an hour Cynder began to feel something; similar to Red's presence outside her parents house, but smaller, less intense, yet somehow radiating even more malicious intent. Knowing that this can only be a trap they decide to play along with Ember's ploy, although they still don't have any idea what's actually happening anymore. "I still don't understand what's happening. Why did Ember attack Terrador?"

"If you want me to guess… Ember's been manipulated by the Terror, likely using her memories of me to convince her that I'm the real bad guy."

"But why? Why Ember?"

Cynder stops walking for a second but quickly resumes pace with him, unheading of the torrents of rain falling around her. "Because she watched me kill her original foster parents."

Spyro looks at her surprised, "when you were the Terror of the Skies?"

"Obviously" Cynder replied dryly and noncommittally.

Spyro doesn't want to constantly pester her about the subject so he falls silent as they finally approach the Moonlight Café. "Is this where she went?" Spyro asks, looking at his partner.

"I can only assume as much, I suppose it makes sense, this place does seem to be important to her for some reason."

"Isn't this the place where she and all of her friends met up the first time we came here?" Spyro asks.

"I think so… I'm not sure what exactly to expect when we get in there, but I doubt she'll be open to negotiation…" Spyro nods in agreement as they approach the door. Opening the front door they surprisingly find it unlocked, "unless someone's working the night-shift on a night like this…. She's inside."

Stepping inside the once warm and homely building they find it dark and foreboding, despite the calm chiming of the doorbell above them, all of the lights had been doused and no one is to be seen. The place had clearly been abandoned with only the barest of minimums being done to close for the night, the tables hadn't been cleaned and the floor hadn't even been swept. Shaking their scales dry the cold building doesn't provide much refuge from the cold, but thankfully the rain will stop soaking their scales.

Cynder spots a stairway leading to the story above back behind the bar, "the entire main floor is the café, the owners might live upstairs."

"Wouldn't they have heard us come in? And Ember for that matter?"

Cynder shakes her head in denial, "the rain probably covered up the noise of the bell. That being said, I think we should try to keep this quiet, we don't want to get civilians involved in this matter if we can."

"If Terrador and Ember's fight is any indication it might not stay that way."

Nodding she approaches the stairs and beside them she spots another staircase leading downstairs towards the cellar. Taking an educated guess they assume that that's where she intends to make her stand against them. Descending the spriling steps as carefully as their paws allow, trying not to bump into the railing, they arrive in the large cellar.

The cellar, unlike the floor room above, has been kept relatively clean. Containing the main storage areas for the café it has been meticulously cleaned despite the threatening storm outside. Moving away from the food storage area is several large keg storage units for drinks, both alcoholic and otherwise. Once they had arrived the dark presence had ceased, making it impossible to track Ember down here; having never been here before they're surprised to find that the area is very large, with many sight obscuring racks for storage, finding Ember might be more difficult than they had thought. Compounding this issue is the lighting, although there are some lit lanterns near the staircase, the only other lighting is the pale light coming through the small ground-level windows.

"Come on out Ember, we would prefer to do this without violence if we can to-"

"Really, would you?" Ember, or maybe the Terror, mocks all around them; it's impossible to tell who's in control at this point. "Like you slaughtered most of my village, and there's something else I found out since you fled. Someone chronicled all your killings, not only did you kill my foster parents, you killed my biological one's too."

Ember lets the sentence hang for dramatic effect. Cynder's eyes narrow in frustration "I had assumed that I had; I only knew their faces and sometimes their names, I couldn't of known that-"

"Oh really now? And why should I believe you? I know the truth about you, Cynder told me the truth." Spyro looks to the real Cynder with a disbelieving look before Ember continues. "Oh I know you wouldn't just betray her by believing me so easily, thankfully I have proof: You remember her Terror of the Skies form don't you? The one who chased you across the Dragon Archipelago? That is the version of Cynder standing beside you, when you pulled the world back together Cynder was knocked unconscious for nearly twelve years. In that time the Terror infiltrated that body of hers and expelled her, having thoroughly impersonated the hero Cynder she has you wrapped around her thumb. She intends to bring you to the Abyssal Forge, corrupt you, and use that same power you used to repair the world to spread her dark corruption across the land."

"Abyssal Forge?" Cynder questions, the name certainly sounds familiar…

"Yes the object of your creation, the place you were born from by corrupting the soul of the child your master had kidnapped. But you've been influenced by Cynder haven't you, rather than killing him and corrupting the land, you want to make him the new Dark Master don't you? Your previous master was destroyed, so you want a new one. But there's something else you didn't count on, why Cynder's so desperate to save her friend. Cynder loves Spyro, something that a dark beast like yourself couldn't possibly understand."

Cynder growls and her claws start to dig into the stone at her comments, "you bitch..." she mutters.

Before Cynder can retort, Ember continues, "Cynder has underestimated her connection with me. She had told me about her feelings for the purple dragon, my previous actions were an attempt to draw you away from the coming conflict, but I know that they were genuine. I can't sense everything, but I can feel her anguish for having to bring someone she loves to harm. Spyro, do you remember when she told you? As the world collapsed around you, she told you the truth at the center of the world? No-?"

"Cynder, is this true?" Spyro asks, looking at her with mixed emotions.

Lowering her head in shame, "yes…. I've felt this way for awhile now… I…." Cynder stops. She should have told him the truth a long time ago, concealing it only hurt their relationship.

Spyro doesn't know how to feel, the second he had realized his own feelings he went straight to her and told her the truth. This was why she had been acting so strangely around him; he's not angry, he knows that it would have been hard to confess. But they had been the closest of friends, yet she had kept this a secret from him for so long. "Spyro?" Cynder interrupts his thinking, "you don't… believe her, do you?"

"What? Of course not" Spyro reassuringly nuzzles her as she stands back up in relief, "I just wish that we could of talked about this sooner than last night-"

"Last night!?" Ember growls loudly, "how dare you! Apparently it's not enough for you to take him from Cynder, but you're imitating their relationship!? What's your aim here?" Ember's foot steps begin to betray her presence on the other side of the cellar, she's ruining her plan with her anger. "To breed a new Dark Master? You vile, skanky, demonic who-"

Her tirade is interrupted by a small explosion near her, the lock falls loudly to the ground as Flame throws open a previously unseen entrance to the cellar. The pale light casts rays into the cellar illuminating Ember who had been making her way towards the pair of heroes. Flame descends the steps silently before standing before his childhood friend, his completely unrecognizable friend covered in wisps of fiery darkness. Wasting absolutely no time to address the situation, "Ember what's going on?"

Ember lowers her head knowing what he really means, "the Cynder we've been working with isn't the real Cynder. It's actually the same Terror who killed our foster village…."

"Why did you attack Terrador?" Flame flatly asks.

Shaking her head, "I didn't mean to hurt him, I just want to….I just wanted to…." Ember cries as the flames of darkness go out, finally returning her scales back to her beautiful pink. "I wanted to save everyone…" she eventually gets out.

"Ember…" Flame whispers, he doesn't understand anything about what's happening anymore. "I don't know what's happening right now, or what's happened to you. Can you please just come home? You've been gone for such a long time" Flame requests trying to ignore the awful things she's done today.

Ember shakes her head, "I can't. The world faces disaster on an unimaginable scale, I can't run away, because there'll be nowhere safe to run to." Ember tries to explain, but without anything to really prove it to him "please, move aside. I have to do this or we'll lose everything that-"

"Please" Flame starts to approach her, his expression stern not giving her an inch but trying to be understanding.

"Stay back!" Ember suddenly yells out, rearing back a paw as the Blackflame suddenly roars back to life when the Terror suddenly takes back control of her body.

Unheeded by the sight Flame walks closer within a legs distance "please just come-"

{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}

Before he can finish the sentence Flame is transported to a desert, "what…?" Flame asks in confusion looking around the place he had been transported to. The cold wavy hills of sand beneath his paws brings an odd sense of comfort to the situation he's not smart enough to understand, distracting him from what had just happened to him. Looking around the desert is darkly illuminated by red wisps floating above him in the air, their beauty draws his eyes to the horizon. Far out, farther than he could ever go in his lifetime is a circle of large monolithic structures surrounding him. The structures extend up far above with a shining yellow light at the top, the imposing sense of scale towers above the young dragon but he doesn't shy away from it.

"Do you know what this place is, young one?" an ancient blue scaled dragon with a light blue crystal hanging from his neck speaks, his tone is oddly sorrowful but Flame doesn't understand why. Flame suddenly becomes aware of this dragon's sudden appearance, the large dragon hadn't been there a second before.

"No…. I don't, who are you?" Flame asks confused, he doesn't understand anything about what just happened.

"I am…. Many things, young one. This place, however, is more important; this is a spirit world of sorts, one generated as a mental image of your mind as you speak with me." Flame just cocks his head in confusion. Ignitus sighs "it's a world created by your mind to provide a visual explanation for your-" Flame only looks more confused. "You're unconscious."

"Unconscious? I was just talking to Ember about…. I don't actually understand, but I was just talking to her a moment ago?" Flame sits down on the sand trying to understand what this mysterious dragon is saying.

"Ember attacked you, if unintentionally" Ignitus closes his eyes mournfully.

"What happened to her, why is Ember doing all of this?"

"She has been manipulated by a creature far older than the modern era, centuries older than even myself" Ignitus pauses but ultimately decides that it's pointless to elaborate further.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?" Flame asks scratching an itch on his neck. A sharp pain stops him and when he retracts his paw he finds it covered in thick viscous blood. Flame suddenly finds himself unable to breathe as blood starts to trickle down his neck and chest, Ignitus bows his head mournfully for the fallen dragon.

"I'm sorry Flame, I did everything I could to-" Ignitus stops as Flame falls to the ground, but as he does though something else happens. A soft white light begins to radiate from his neck as Flame's presence fades from the mental spirit world, "Light…" Ignitus murmurs in sad wonder as his successor fades away.

{~~~~~~~~~~~~}

"Stay back!" Ember once again commands as Flame keeps walking forward towards her. Ember's shoulder twitches as Cynder takes back control, he'll burn himself if he gets too close to Ember's Blackflame, unwilling to hurt her friend Ember also tries to take control of her body. Swigging her paw, Ember tries to pull back to avoid his snout as Cynder aims to knock him away, trying to do both Ember's outstretched claw swipes right through Flame's exposed neck. "No! Flame, I-!" Ember starts in horror as he falls only to be instantly and bodily tackled away by the real Cynder.

Before either one could get another word out the Terror takes back control and jumps into a portal of Darkness to swiftly escape, "dammit!" Cynder growls out angrily.

"Cynder!" Spyro calls her over to the unconscious bleeding body of Flame, Cynder slowly walks over looking at the wound.

Shaking her head as Spyro looks to Cynder for help, "she cut into the windpipe, all of his blood is flowing into his lungs. If the world still had crystals we might be able to, but without any health crystals… I don't think anything can be done." Cynder explains trying to keep him calm, we can't afford Dark Spyro appearing here after this, there really is nothing they can do.

"Can you please at least try!?" Spyro angrily growls. How can she say that, they're two of the most powerful dragons in the land, surely they can do something?

Cynder moves Spyro over and tries to put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding, but the cut isn't clean, and more blood just flows back into his airway. Cynder feels around his heart with another paw, and then his neck for a pulse "his pulse has already stopped?" Cynder asks, confused. Saving Flame is hopeless, they need to pursue Ember so she doesn't hurt anyone else. It's not that she doesn't want to save Flame's life, but it's obviously hopeless; she might not know him well but he seems like a good dragon and doesn't deserve such a cruel fate.

"Try getting help?" Spyro pleads when it doesn't seem to be working. "Maybe there's something Aqua can do?"

"Aqua?" Cynder starts, maybe her special attunement to Water might be able to do something to draw the liquid from his airway. Jumping up Cynder leaves Spyro to try to get her help, Flame deserves them doing everything they can.

Spyro closes his eyes and looks back down at Flame, the puddle of disturbing red liquid continues to grow around Spyro's paws only just now slowing down. "There has to be something" Spyro pleads with himself, something he can do to patch this mortal wound. Spyro scans his powers, but finds only one with even the most remote chance of helping. The power that had healed him after he was broken against that rock during Ineptune's storm.

Spyro searches within himself pushing away the world around him trying to find a way to use this power of his. Spyro doesn't know how, so he puts a paw on Flame's bleeding throat and just… hopes that something will happen. Spyro had much more time to get to know Flame, although he was a little nervous talking to the purple dragon of legend he opened up a little during training. Flame was powerful but a little inept and worried about harming his friends with that same immense power, he doesn't deserve to die alone with a stranger.

For several seconds nothing happens, but through Spyro's closed eyelids a soft warm light shines through. Opening his eyes Spyro finds his paw wrapped in a gentle calming light; Spyro gasps as the jagged wound leaking blood starts to stitch back together. Slowly Flame' s jugular pieces itself back together with rapidly growing strands of flesh. Before he can even register what had just happened Flame's healed, suddenly he twitches and starts coughing up blood but remains unconscious. "Was that Time?" Spyro ponders yawning, "or like Lux's L-" before collapsing into a deep sleep beside Flame's immobile body in the pool of blood.