Chapter 43: The Power Of Love

"S-S-S-Spyro... please, you're... you're scaring me..." Completely backed to the wall, right to where the two normally cuddled as couples, Cynder sat up-right to her backend, paws to the sides of the wall, making herself venerable to any attack, "We have that night promised... remember... Y-y... you were gonna help with... m-my new... from..." He stood there at first, almost like he was hearing her out and attempting to turn around to fight back, "Hehe... how... how about I... I be on bottom... t-t-tonight... We can forget about what was said for me being on top all night... I'll let you have all the-ugh!"

Not able to finish quite just yet, in a swift, sudden movement, Spyro's paw gripped Cynder's neck. Showing veins almost in his paw, and the struggling sense of fear Cynder gave; trying to claw at his arm to get him to loosen up while attempting not to cause him any harm, they could all tell she wasn't able to breathe. Now completely shocking all, Malefor had enough of this show too, "ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" Bursting into his pitch black form, the gust and show kicked up air, whipping throughout the Chambers before making its exit, "Spyro! I knew you were one dumb son of a bitch, but not even I! Even when the Dark Master was controlling me, did I put a single paw on Carith! Since you won't get your shit together, I'll fix it for you by shoving my fist straight down your throat!"

Taking one step, he was met by one of the liquid clones. Not going down without a fight, that's exactly what the two did. It was fast. In a quick show, fists hit fists, claws connected with cheeks, and heads slammed against the other. However, for a form such as his compared to Spyro's strength, it was easy for the clone to get the upper hand. As Malefor went in to punch, an easy grab was given, followed up by a punch to the throat before being punched to the chest. This knocked him back to where he was seconds ago, showing no progress was being made. The Guardians wanted to do something too, standing up and stepping forward, but immediately being stopped by the other clone: some even being shoved back like Terrador and Ignitus who took this very seriously. Bullshit! Malefor spit blood to the floor, wiping off the remainder from his mouth.

"Malefor, I... I... I can distract th-"

"No!" He was quick to decline Carith's offer, "I have an idea... I just need a second."

"Oh please. You have no idea what you're going to do," Making matters worse, the Dark Master showed his voice. Do you really have to be annoying right now of all times?! Malefor didn't appreciate having another headache to deal with. "Ungrateful piece of shit. I was going to help, but if you're gonna act like the bitch Celina was, I could back off." This made Malefor chuckle, Help?! From you?! Yeah, okay. I think your time being alone has made your lies worse, having no one to manipulate and practice on and whatnot. A sharp pain stabbed his heart, just not enough to have a response given. "Because I'm not lying for once! I don't appreciate knowing your stupid ass will try and kill me with the help of those other shitheads that work in the city! But... I'm sure we can cut a deal." Having an idea of where this was going, instead of saying it out right, Malefor wanted the Dark Master to explain, What deal? The Dark Master smiled, "Forget those nobodies, forget that you can kill me, and I'll lend you a favor. Once in a life time opportunity." Things weren't getting any better the longer they spoke, Just hurry up and tell me! "Hehe... promise not to kill me, and I'll do the same for you and your family, however just this once. Give me full control over your body, I'll handle this debacle, and I'll willingly give it back after I'm done." Malefor's eyes shot wide to hear this, What?! That's the worst idea I've ever heard! Struggling to come to an agreement, Cynder continued her battle with Spyro, "Back when we were on our way to Warfang, we were scared that the other would leave. I feared for so long, even tried to get you not to return out of fear you'd leave me: abandon me. Yet you fought for me, stood up for me, woke up in the middle of the night to help me after a nightmare. My love... please... please tell me you remember this..."

Spyro didn't seem fazed. His grip now raised her from the floor, both stood to their feet and at max height. Not understanding exactly what he was doing, knowing death could come from this either way, Flair still continued with her support filled voice, "What about your purple flames, Spyro?! You fought teeth and nail to get those flames under control just so your first... tongue, session, with Cynder would be special! Even as stupid and embarrassing as it is to say out loud, you've always been mushy when it came to Cynder, because you love her! Hell and high water you two fought through, and nothing on this earth could possible break or change the love you have for her!"

"I could be making everyone's life a living hell right now. Just think. You're standing here now without a care in the world. But now imagine what would happen if I brought you to your knees again: to force my darkness through your veins, insight the crushing weight on your heart, and pound at your head as if it was the worst headache you've ever had," The Dark Master made very good points to what it was he could be doing right about now, making it all the more difficult for Malefor to make a decision, I just want to be mates with Carith! To have a happy life, to live in peace with my family! I lived in darkness for years! And all that time, I never had a say in anything! "You have a say now. So why not make the decision?" Because I need to know! Tears showed, knowing that he was coming close to agreeing, We've never seen eye to eye, and you being so much more active means you'll join the world once again here soon... I need to know that you really are a Dark Dragon... that what I'm about to agree to shows that I care... that I want us to be better together rather than enemies... Please... just tell me that you'll remember... and maybe down the line, we could do this more often. The Dark Master stayed quiet, not answering the question on a firm yes or a no. The most information he got was all Malefor knew he would get, for now he hoped, "I don't trust you or your kind, and I'm simply doing this because I know that after the throat choking Spyro's giving Cynder, her darkness will break his. Then it will be easy for my darkness to take over, and just like that, I'll rain back over this world in my glories return. Understanding it now made him hate the Dark Master that much more, and he went against the idea now. You really do deserve to die. After thinking you'd be different, after having talked with you and letting control be taken by you... nothing's changed in your... black heart. "Ah. So, by me trying to save Cynder's life, that makes me evil? There's no guarantee they'll break up, though I hold onto hope." You know what, fine! You can take control. The more power you use, the less you'll have to take me over later. It's gonna hurt getting my ass kicked, but I'm sure I can fight through it just to listen to you bitch. "Awww. Is someone mad their little pissy moment doesn't matter to me and I have my own ideas and memories?" Malefor didn't respond, giving up on this conversation all together and letting his body go.

The more they talked to Spyro, the longer it seemed to drag on. Their words seemed to be working, causing a stop in what he wanted to do for some reason. It was like he had his eyes on something that wasn't his goal, or anyone else's. His eyes were blank thanks to the whiteness, so any attempts to try and figure him out were fleeting ideas. Cynder's attempts to keep strong continued. Her eyes were full of tears, her heart pounded out of uncertainty, and in shivers to her body and eyes, her voice kept calm, "Hehe... you know, Spyro, I'm kinda... excited, about you and I... If I'm the only one you're looking to as a mate as of right now, I really have to wonder just how amazing you really are. I've only seen half of you... no... it's more like... I've seen less than half of you... I've seen you as a friend, and as a lover. Maybe later down my life, I'll have you as a mate, husband, and father of one or two... Hehe... and I'm... I'm okay with that... because... I... I love you... Spyro... I..."

"Finally," Slapping a fist to his paw, hearing and seeing such a different attitude and voice to Malefor was offsetting, adding to the stress and anxiety others were already feeling to know it was the Dark Master, "Back... in full... control."

The more control he gained, the more differences came back in what would normally be the Dark Master. This was more so thanks to control being handed over, in a way that made the Dark Master a layer ahead of Malefor. This extra layer took shape of his previous form. Now Malefor's body shaped more to the Dark Master's design, taking parts of Malefor himself to reshape his body in a more combat ready form. This design was surprisingly different to what everyone else was use to, sporting different shapes and sizes to his horns, deadly facial details, and a deeper darker purple. Getting the view and feeling for his surroundings, his focus gained to his paws; shifting them from one side to the next to feel such power. "I gave you more control than I did last time out of trust. I hope at least this one time, you'll see me as something more than your enemy," Malefor was still able to talk and discuss with the Dark Master himself, acting on behalf of a co-pilot to his own body. I'm letting you see the world, am I not? Though it's more to keep you from whining like a little bitch and annoying me when I've taken control, The Dark Master saw this simply in means to benefit himself. Full control and ready to go, seeing familiar faces made him trial off just out of spite, "Heh-heh... Hello, Guardians. Pleasure to see you all again," Terrador, Volteer, Ignitus, and Cyril now readied for another front to fight on, "Oh please. Embarrassing yourselves in front of your females is the last thing you four should do. Heh-heh... after all, you already embarrassed yourselves to the whole world by not winning the war. Could your egos really take another hit?" No one had anything to say to him, viewing this situation as an attack on mental stability and nothing else, so they stayed back, "Weak ass Guardians, poorly handled females, and... as for you, Carith."

"Don't say anything to her! I've played nice. If anyone deserves heat for you to really get that anger out, I wouldn't mind you going after, Celina," Malefor didn't expect much from his words, fearing he'd ignore him and things would go down hill from there. Surprising all, the Dark Master obeyed to his own hidden reasons, "Whatever," Standing up tall, strong, and proud, the muscular build, the deadly looks and tail, even for Celina, she shivered, "Oooooh... fear. I like the smell of that. Tell me, Celina. Do you hate what Spyro is because you wanted to be like him and failed? You wanted your morals to be the same, didn't you-and you hate the fact that someone else had a better life than what you have?"

"Keep digging. You won't get anything from me," Past such drive and dedication to keep being who she wanted, the Dark Master was able to get under the scales of anyone.

"My claws aren't 'digging' into anything yet. But tell me, how did it feel to lose everything? Granted, it must've been horrible for you to know you're a woman."

"Excuse me?"

"Females are nothing more than items to men. You're simply there to serve our purpose, our needs, and we could tell you to piss off the next day, and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it. Your gender is weak, made to be dominated: told what to do without any second opinion. And you hate that. You hate knowing you're female, that you couldn't do anything to save anyone, and that your every being is solely meant to be slapped around as it's all you're good for," The Dark Master was successful in digging deep within Celina's mind, making tears shed on reasons she thought about on her own, "You don't give numbers to those you kill because they don't deserve recognition. Or..." An evil smile crossed his lips, "Is it because you're nothing. So you try to put yourself higher than a nobody even though you yourself knows you're exactly like the dragons you kill: soulless. A single no-one with no friends, or family."

"Shut up!" Everything in her body told her to kill him.

"Don't beat yourself up over your death, Celina. After all, just like them, you won't be remembered by anyone: closely relating you to a villain. Scary to think, isn't it? Though I'm sure you aren't afraid of anything. The thoughts you fake are to soothe you: helping you in thinking people care that you're somebody. So you kill, go on dangerous missions in hopes you'd be remembered, personified and praised as someone. Yet your life means nothing. And all these missions you go on, turn against you, making you more into a monster than a hero: staining your image as a mommy and daddy screwup."

Words couldn't show to Celina's lips: same went for many others to see her be knocked down so low. The Dark Master didn't even need to move to inflict his damage, acting completely out of words and not movements. She simply sat there; head hung low in a broken piece of her former self, shedding tears and having nothing to say otherwise. "Are you sure that wasn't a little... too far," Even after the fight he had against her, Malefor felt awful to see what he had done to her. Heh-heh... honestly? I wish I could've done more. But in any case, she's upset at me, not you. So it doesn't matter in the end anyway, The Dark Master dusted off his shoulder hypothetically, knowing it didn't really matter what was said or done since it was all from him and him alone. Now, where were we. The deal between Spyro and Cynder still continued, and from the looks of it, it hadn't gone any further, and it looked like Spyro had been watching.

"So... This is suppose to be Spyro's power? A little clone?" He wasn't impressed, "You know what would be funny? If these clones are here instead of Kettu and Xvar because you rejected them. Now you have to rely on these clones rather than those two. It only makes me want to help you more, Spyro," Confused looks were shown from nearly all, and they weren't surprised when he admitted why, "You're choking Cynder, losing the only two Dark Dragons that could've helped you, and I could only imagine how horrible your life will go from here on out. I've never been so excited for something."

One of the clones went in for an attack to shut him up itself. The Dark Master gave a rather sadistic smile to the advancement. Where the clone attacked in a lung forward, in swift movements, the Dark Master made this fight look all too easy. Tripping the front left paw the clone was using for support, it slipped forward to a nose first dive. Bringing up his elbow wide to the air, the power of wind helped him bust it down from the sky. The force of contact impacted the sound. Similar to the sound of a shotgun going off, followed close by a cracking, skull destroying sound, the clone body crashed to the ground below. Spawning a spear in his paws made of earth, just to show off, the Dark Master spun it around in a circular motion: acting out of show to how child's play this way. Jamming it down into the clone body below, fire bursted out after its entrance, blowing out the mouth of the clone. Snapping the spear in half, the piece down the middle was jagged, yet with the helping of the Dark Master's scales, he scrapped it against his flesh, sharpening it, and affecting him none, "How... unassuming you are, Spyro."

The sharpening worked, making a small knife with it. Flicking the knife into the air, the front faced forward where the back faced him. Now flicking the back, his claws connected to it. Swishing past the openness of the Chambers, the knife nailed the other liquid clone in the head, going so far and fast to pass through its back skull. It jammed itself into the wall on contact, wiggling there and ready for another use if need be. His show of ease in taking these liquid clones down, his confidence, and the sarcastic nature he had scared all. The Dark Master was sure to ready himself, knowing this wasn't over, "Damn. I forgot how good it feels to kick your ass, Spyro. I haven't really been able to flex my muscles in so long, I've forgotten what it's like. Heh-heh... And trust me when I say, this doesn't even tip the iceberg of what I can-ugh!"

Touching the side of his neck, he felt something to the side of his neck. Digging his nails deep into his scales, once grabbing the object, a firm yank was given. Inspecting the mess of blood in his paws, the other thing he noticed was a silver line: shaped thinly and tightly. What the... Where the Dark Master was confused, Malefor knew what that was, "Shit! That's one of those needles!" Having said this now, the Dark Master felt what Malefor was use to when he was to try and take over. The poison within the needle latched to the darkness, and acting in a way of a leech, started to suck out the power and gain in lead he had over Spyro. Using this opportunity, two liquid clones appeared to where the other two had disappeared, retaking their spots and making the Dark Master's fight pointless. Dropping the needle to the floor and knowing exactly who it was that did this to him, both him and Celina looked eyes, each showing teeth to one another.

"You... bitch..." The Dark Master spat weakly, feeling all power being lost within him.

"Amara... give the order. It's done," Celina kept her show of tears to a minimum.

Amara nodded, "Spyro. Kill Malefor with one of your clones. The needle is slowly neutralizing the darkness within him. It will stop about around his heart, but he'll be weak enough for you to easily take him down. You can kill both, or the Dark Master, I couldn't care either way. Just be prepared for the ride we'll have when we get back to the city. I'ma need one heavy ass stress reliever."

Just as before when it came to Cynder, Spyro obeyed Amara's orders. The needle had taken an effect very quickly against the Dark Master, forcing him to his knees in a loss of power. "Is there anyway I can help?! Or is it best for you to back off, let me take control, and I'll allow my darkness to slow the deterioration of yours?!" Malefor tried his best to help the pilot of his body. No... you... He wasn't able to give a response. This was thanks in part to the clone shutting him up before he was able to answer. With a firm grip to his neck, almost to the point of chocking, the clone dragged his body on the ground before pinning him with a hard slam against his back to the wall. To make matters worse, it looked like the clone was going through with the plan, stabbing Malefor straight through his heart, and from what Carith could see, the blade came out from his back. Red flags and tears showed in her eyes, being felt in her body, and no matter the threat, Carith attempted to help, "SPYRO! STOP!" Grabbing his right arm that extended to Malefor's neck, she continued, "Listen to me... please, LISTEN! You just talked about how much of a living hell you made Malefor's life, how you wished to have done better! Don't you remember that?! I know you may still be upset, and I know the Dark Master doesn't help that, but even still... I know you enough to know this isn't how you'd handle things!"

If I'm going down... I'm taking you with me... The Dark Master made his attempts to kill Malefor, only adding on to the already hellish pains he was enduring from his wounds. "No...! Dark Master... wait..." Malefor's voice was weak, and if seen now rather than the Dark Master, surely they'd see his weak and lifeless body on the floor. "I will... protect you... Listen to me when I say... you have to trust me... The needle is only targeting your darkness... I can keep you alive by focusing on ridding the poison... but you have to use all you can... Your heart is behind mine... use that... to protect me... to heal... my heart..." Not wanting to owe him anything, a swift growl showed as a decline, I'd rather die! Malefor wasn't surprised, "I'll still... protect you... the best I can... I know you don't want to owe... anyone, anything... but by you saving my life... and me saving yours... that makes us even..." Backed against a wall on what to do, the Dark Master was running out of time on his decision. The loss of darkness kicked him back, putting Malefor in the driver seat again and showing his normal self. Seeing the weaker and weaker he got, Carith knew she needed to do something, and fast, "You wouldn't dare kill him! Corrupted or not, you'd fight back! You'd show a tear at the very least! Malefor's always been there for you ever since his return! You two laughed, cried, exchanged fears and hopes that you want to look for, to look out for in the future! If you know Malefor being my mate would make him all too happy, to the point where the Dark Master would lose all control, then I'll admit to being his mate right now!" Being so weak; completely zapped of energy, Malefor heard none of this, focusing on his survival above all else, "Please, Spyro... don't do this..."

"Amara, we've wasted enough time here," Seeing that this whole event was taking longer than she would've liked, Celina suggested a hurry, "I have other jobs I could be doing right about now. Get Spyro to kill her, let's just leave, and you get to have... ugh, sex with him tonight. It's a win-win all around."

Amara understood, giving a nod to show that, "Spyro... Kill, Cynder."

"Spyro, don't you DARE!" Flair tried to get him to back down.

Even Cynder, who still had tears to her eyes even though many had dried up, tried to look deep into her lover's, "Spyro... my love... please listen to my voice... Last night meant so much to me. The love you showed, the occasional corny but heartwarming quotes," She giggled, remembering nearly all of them, "It feels like... after that night... our love transcended anything compared to before. And... maybe... it was just me... but it felt like... we were getting... closer, somehow... Almost as if our love for each other was becoming more... like a pen and the cob."

Hoping for any kind of reaction what so ever, the backing of his paw from her neck was a great sign for all to see. However, as heart rates declined, the sudden shock kicked them back over high gear for what they watched happen. He wasn't backing his paw; rather he was getting a more firm grip over her neck. This tight tension he had over her neck showed veins in his paw, pulsing out from his scales just to make things worse for all who watched.

"CYNDER!" Everyone cried, aside from the obvious odd balls like Malefor, Celina, and Amara.

His paw pulled forward to push back. The force sent her body to the wall with a very powerful and loud crash. Adding on to the danger and damage he had done, her horns dug to the wall behind, sending rubble up and out from the wall around the rest of her body and to the floor. The hit made her show teeth to the pain, unable to handle how strong Spyro really was. Everyone's eyes grew wide, but not from embarrassment: singling in on horror. Hearing the cry Cynder had given out after the crash, Flair cried her friend's name once again, "CYNDER!" Rushing head first to stop this, her body seized to the floor, causing her to crash down with no way of movements being acknowledged to the rest of her body, "What the... hell?!" She noticed the clone standing next to her body, holding down the fort and making sure no one else tried anything, "If you kill her, I'll make sure to pierce your body with stones in hell! DO YOU HEAR ME! DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID!"

The others watched his grip loosen, easing himself more down her neck to hold up her body, just not really her head. Cynder breathed a heavy sigh of relief, one eye closed out of pure pain just from the hit alone. She tried to show a smile, tried her best to keep things well after what had happened, "Hehe... I'm... not gonna lie... that... hurt... But after what I did to you... how I attacked you in the volcano... I definitely deserve that..."

"You don't deserve any of this pain!" Flair defended her, "He's just as all males are: abusive! It should've been a joke, it should've stayed a joke... but are you really going to prove Malefor right by abusing her, Spyro?! Is that what you want?!" The worst part about all of this is the stuck seriousness of it all: no tear shed, no frown, no wiggling as to fight, and all took notice to this, "You don't even care, do you?! This blank emotion you have is simply because you've never cared!" Her speaking helped everyone realize it, "YOU DO LOVE AMARA! After seeing her, you wanted an escape, and this is how you choose to do it?! BY KILLING HER?!"

Spyro ignored Flair's constant barrage of comments and threatens. The others watched in hope that something would turn around for the better, not having much else to say as Flair was saying it all. Matters were only made worse when Cynder gave a weak, scared, yet hopeful smile that everything would be okay. They all held their breaths in hopes this would work: to change him back to who he once was with time to spare. Though, the next move he made all but destroyed their minds and soul. As he ignored Flair, he did the same to Cynder, reaching his wide open mouth straight to Cynder's neck and clamping down onto it. At first, some believed this to be just a joke: his way of turning back by licking and nibbling her neck: proclaiming his love and safety to her. This wasn't the case. Her jump was real, her cry of pain was screech-ly horrid, and the tears came back to her eyes.

"NO!" Now nearly everyone acted.

Ignitus, Terrador, Volteer, and even Cyril all rushed in to help but were met with the same fate as Flair. Their bodies were paralysed by the fast acting clone near Flair's body. Each of the four fell to the floor in different ways, causing cries from each of their females. Now everyone was down for the count with no real way of stopping what he was to do. The situation escalated, and with the Guardians feeling weak and out of place in this world for their failures, Cynder's desperate plea made everyone shed tears, "Spyro... please... don't... I... I can't... I don't want to die..." Volteer was successful in getting himself back up, dashing as quick as he could to help, but swiftly being met with the same fate once again by the clone, "Spyro... I... I love you..."

Not many knew what would come from what was next, but for what was, they rather wished to have never known. The sound of shredding filled peoples minds. Those around watched in dread, experiencing the sight at near slow motion. Cynder's eyes opened wide: joining the others at the same time as theirs. For the biggest difference between the two, her eyes slowly came to a close. No voice was given to her: no scream, no cry, nothing. Sounds of dripping, as if water filled the chambers and rain started to drop down on it below, started to infect their fears. Their eyes focused down, noticing a pool of blood below the two. Nightmares ensued to all, watching Cynder's arm drop from Spyro's. The blood dripped down from her arm and to her claws, slithering down and off from there too. Amara and Celina were in complete shock to see he had really gone through with it: to see that their plan had worked. Cynder's body laid there, lifeless: stuck within the jaws and teeth of Spyro. The job was done. His paw pushed against her chest to yank out his teeth from her neck. Done with her body and life: as if she were garbage, he simply slid her body down and to the floor, landing her to her side and right in front of Flair. Flair's soul left her, burning her scales white and cold to see what Spyro had done to her. The bite marks he made to her neck couldn't be seen, being showered in blood from both sides. The blood had traveled all down her body from head to tail, leaving the wings mostly untouched and her face. Though her mouth being left slightly opened, and her closed eyes made Flair nearly lose it, "No..."

"Spyro! Wait!" Fazing through the back wall from one of the rooms and through the bed even, Axel appeared, running straight to the middle of Amara and Celina before blurting out, "I have the antidote! I can...!"

Axel stopped dead. His eyes focused first to Cynder's laid out body before adjusting and looking to the blood covered mouth of Spyro. Showing no mercy to what happened either, with the job now being done, Spyro turned his back on her, preceding to walk away and to the left side of Amara. There, he stood, to what showed in his new found female: his mate. Out of the line of fire now, the clone went around: blinking and reappearing near everyone to un-paralyze them. Ignitus was first to get up, making mad dash over to her in hopes of using his powers. Trying his best to tap the sides of her body to let the time power show, nothing happened, "No... no no no no no no NO!"

The clone who had been dealing with Malefor wasn't done from the looks of things. His blade pulled back and through him, being brought back around and to his side for another attack. Not feeling like this was needed, the clone let Malefor's body go, letting him fall to the ground for Carith to catch. She held a paw to his chest for where the wound had been, and surprisingly, it had been healed. Wh... what...? Bu... but... how... Instead of asking herself the details, she simply cried against Malefor's chest, "Malefor... please... I know this is horrible to ask, and for what you've been through, I will do anything to make it up... but Cynder needs you..." Backing her head now and seeing he was completely out of it, she tried her best, "You wanted to be her father, remember...? Get up... get up and help her with all the power you have left... please..."

Scooping Cynder's body into her arms, Flair, and many others looked down on her: missing what felt like a piece of their heart to see this was actually happening. Tears already showed to all, but Flair's voice topped it off. She tried to stay contained, yet she cracked in her voice. Her lips slipped from her tears that dripped down: stumbling on some words thanks to this. And even with all the blood, her forehand touched Cynder's neck, holding her as close as she could, "Cynder... please don't do this to me... please don't leave me..." Knowing this was to do little, her sadness quickly grew to anger, "CAN ANYONE HELP HER?!" Her teeth clenched tightly before giving off a roar, "IGNITUS...! MALEFOR...! SPYRO...!"

Malefor couldn't move, Ignitus couldn't even use his abilities, and Spyro stood there, simply watching what he had done. Trish backed away from everyone, Ersa couldn't understand or process how this had happened, same for Volteer. Terrador, Ignitus, and Cyril all felt like failures, agreeing and believing now that Celina was right, same went for Amara about how they viewed them. Carith's tears grew too, hearing the desperate cries Flair gave off for anyone to help her. Malefor heard these cries and knew his time to rest was over. His body was weak, stiff, and barely working. Carith jumped to see him moving, and knowing where he was trying to go, she helped him all the way through. Fair didn't stop what she had to say, "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, YOU GODDAMN... BASTARDS?! NOW YOU CAN BE A WHORE, A GODDAMN BITCH WHO I HOPE HAS THEIR MOUTH SPLIT OPEN DOWN TO THEIR TAIL!"

"Flair..." Celina tried to warn her.

"PISS OFF, YOU BITCH FROM HELL!" There was no stopping what she had to say, "You all didn't even know who Cynder was, what she wanted! You all only saw her as a villain: someone who came into this world simply to be stepped on before being dispossessed of! BUT YOU WERE ALL WRONG!" Trying to take a breath, from how loud she was yelling, her voice started to crack under pressure, "All she wanted, was someone to love her... for someone to know she existed... and rather taking that only for herself, she gave back to others...! She helped me feel right at home even when I had lost one... She made me feel... she... gave me a reason... to believe in the hearts of others..." Holding Cynder's body to her chest like a newborn hatchling, this only made it worse for her: giving herself the impression that she failed as a mother, "Why is it... everything I fear from this family... it has nothing to do with them but other people... I was scared they'd take advantage of us... that they'd use us... that they'd abuse us... but all this time... I was looking at the wrong people, and I should've known that..."

Malefor made it over mid speech from Flair, plopping down and nearly falling to his back. Thankfully, he was saved by his lover and her wing. As Flair continued her rage and others continued their cries, Malefor tried his best to help Cynder, "Spyro... I trusted you... I envied who you were, and couldn't stand the thought that someone like you existed because I knew you had a fault somewhere..." Her vision blurred too heavily, and with a tense close of her eyes, many more tears fell, "I was starting to warm up to this family... finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel to know that my mom could still be alive! And you... being a male... took the chance to be with someone else... someone who you thought was better..." The loss of voice and cracking gave way to her once again, "BUT NO ONE WAS BETTER THAN HER... NO ONE... AND YOU'RE A GODDAMN FOOL... A... fool..." Her voice gave away, "A stupid... fool... for not seeing what you had... not knowing your life... was everything I've always wanted..."

Since Malefor hadn't given a sign of bad or good to whether or not she was alive, his paw had simply backed, and all believed the worst. Flair knew this just as much as anyone else. Wishing to give up on life all together, her head ducked to Cynder's neck once again, begging with the remaining power in her voice for this all to be a dream, "Ancestors please... please... hear my plea... Don't take her... I'll give me life to protect her... to save her... I... I can't lose someone... who replaced my lost sibling..." While heartwarming and understandable, her words made it worse for all, "Cynder was the sister I never had... the sister... I've always wanted... don't... do this... please..."

Silence, aside from a sniffle or cry here and there were heard from many. Amara was ready to take her leave now, seeing as the job was done, "Hey... you," Pointing to a soldier closest to the left side of the Chambers, she wanted confirmation, "Go check and tell me honestly if she's dead. If she is, we can pack up and head home. There's no reason for us to stay here any longer than we need to be."

"You all really are the definition of sick, sadistic animals," Ersa spat, trying deeply; joined with others, to see this as a dream.

The soldier did as he was told. Walking into hostile territory at this point, he kept his wings to himself, his body nearly zipped closed, and his tail tucked under his legs. Axel couldn't believe what he was seeing, wanting this all to be fake just the same as the others were hoping for. Still, he had the antidote and knew he could still do some good. Celina stopped his walk, wrapping her tail around his and telling him what to do, "Stand down. Even if you were to help him, what good would come from it? You give him that antidote, and he sees what's happened, you'll surely send him into a rage, possibly causing the extinction of all life on this planet."

"As long as you and Amara are dead, I couldn't care less," His voice hit Amara straight in the heart, ducking a tad low to feel the pain from him saying.

The dragon successfully made it to the body of Cynder. However, it wasn't going to be that easy, and he knew that, "I'm... sorry to... ask this... but..."

"I will shove your guts down your throat and burn your lips closed so the explosion will come out your head when you throw up if you DARE TOUCH HER!" Flair wasn't about to let her friend's body be any more thrown around than what it had already been.

Snapping his fingers, Spyro gave the clones the order. To keep her down, the two clones grabbed the same part of her body just on different sides. They held her arms and wings, keeping her down and at bay. As desperately as she wanted to move, doing so, she feared losing Cynder's body all together. And where she knew she could've used her flames, just the sight alone from the inside of her mouth let show purple flames from the other two. The shadow dragon was now free to check as he pleased. First, and the most obvious check, was her heart. Letting still a paw to her chest, he waited ten seconds before moving on. Gently gripping her arm, he then checked for a pulse: doing the same and waiting ten seconds. Lastly, he checked her breathing. Moving his paw to the front of her mouth, it was only inches from her lips to truly get the feel if it was her breath, or the wind. All checks were done, and unfortunately, that was exactly what the news was going to be, "I... can confirm..." No one was surprised to hear the truth, still stuck on what had happened in the first place, "She's... died..."

It was only a matter of time for Amara, knowing that this was to happen either way, "She could've walked out of this alive. But look what happens when you think you're royal: deserving of someone like the purple dragon. Her death was well deserved anyway. After all, look at all she killed. I bet they begged for her not to kill them, and she did so anyway. Guess karma really is a bitch."

"Ma'am... I'm... going to politely ask that you never call for me to defend our city," The shadow dragon turned his back to the others, showing more trust in the Guardians than her.

"Excuse me?"

"Axel was right... We should've stayed together, but instead, by you acting out on your own, you failed to uphold what we all thought you would. You lied to us, told us you were after the benefits of our fair city, but all I see is your father. It's like we mean nothing to you, and the only thing that should matter is your problems, not other peoples."

"Hehe... rather foolish to stand up to me when Spyro's not here to protect you," Waving a paw, she commanded her military, "Guards, seize him. He shall be thrown in prison for the next couple of years, or when ever I see he be justified to leave," The Guards stood there, looking to her like she was crazy for suggesting something like this, and Celina grew defensive, "Uh... I believe I asked you all to do something. I expect you to follow orders before your jail times come too. If you dare try and retaliate against me, I shall have you all executed."

"Who the hell even are you," Another guard stood against her.

"You're not our queen. You're just like any other bitch that walks the streets," All guards turned against her, unbelieving this was truly their leader.

"I'm doing what's right. Children like you I'm not surprised don't understand the difference between what is or isn't true justice," Amara had her reasons, "Look at my father. Everyone believed he'd be the savior our city needed, the shine or light to come down and unite the city in one big smile. But then he turned against my mother, our kind, and has simply been doing as he pleases without a care or thought to anyone around him simply because he thinks he knows everything."

"Oh, wow, so exactly like you," Axel showed teeth.

"Axel... please, don't do this."

"After what we've been through together... The nights we stayed awake, talking about all the worlds problems and what we could do to fix them... I... I..." His tears made some form for Amara, "I loved you... and not because you were beautiful, or because you had power and status, but because you were the only one I trusted in this world..." Amara's heart skipped a beat to hear him opening up to her, "I trusted you'd take us to new horizons: to be everything your father wasn't. I stood by you, took heat for you when something went wrong, and never went against you as I believed in you... I can't believe you're wearing that scarf right about now. If your mother was looking down on us, if she truly is dead, I feel sorry for her to know she failed."

"I did this to protect you, too!" She showed her heart, "After what you went through, I wanted Spyro to keep peace in our city by removing the corrupted and evil. Then we'd roam the streets together, I'd give you tips on how to find the right girl, and be able to stand by you for the rest of my life to keep you from ever feeling alone ever again!" Her words didn't faze him, "Axel... we've been together for six years... and every night, I lie awake... thinking about you... Where you are, how you're feeling, or... heavens forbid if you killed yourself for what's happened. I don't want to go back without knowing I've accomplished something to truly help you from now and forever."

"What does it matter anyway... really... I'm not going back with you. It doesn't matter what you say or do, from here on out, I'm working against you."

"What?!" Stress showed to her voice and body.

"Enjoy finding a way to deal with your dad, considering you have to deal with the other three consul members as well. But in all my years, I always thought you'd go down as a queen who stepped up when their people needed her. Instead, you're stepping on them to get to where 'you' want to be, without finding a middle ground to where all could be happy. You're scared, lazy, and panicking because you can't handle it all, so you're only focusing on yourself."

"I didn't want for you to be in anymore pain!" Amara desperately wanted him to understand, "I want you by my side, I want to see you when I wake up, and to know everything is going to be okay... But in order to do that, I need someone strong... someone who I can safely send in to do things that doesn't interrupt or backlash everything we've built!" Axel tried not to tear up: keeping strong to act like he didn't care to bring out the truth in her, "Those first couple of days when we were together, even when we were crying together, I never felt happier. Nowadays, I barely see you: barley spent time with you. I know why you have the position you do, but... I... FINE!" She wanted to admit this, "I am selfish! I want things, and I need things! I want you to be with me everywhere I go because I don't want to be alone! I need someone I can trust, someone I can tell the truth to, and it's why I contact you so frequently during all hours..."

Axel had noticed this for a while. The thing he didn't understand was why she was bringing this up now, "Amara... if you wanted me beside you... why haven't you told me this before...?"

"Because I didn't want to scare off the only person who makes me human..." Amara admitted the truth, "I knew you didn't like me because of my looks... because of anything outside what normal men looked for. I didn't want to scare you away and lose the only dragon I trust with my heart, my secrets, and the hidden location to where I hide my scarf... I... Axel... please... I'm sorry... I just... I wanted to make you happy... to do something for you for once... I didn't expect Spyro to go against my body the way he did, and things just... went to shit."

"You forced Spyro to kill Cynder. Do you honestly believe I'd ever stand by your side after what you did?"

"You never would've anyway..." Her claws, body, and wings clenched tightly in sadness.

"Two days ago, you checked my house, did you not? You asked why everything was packed, as if I was moving, and I told you I was looking to move in with someone. You started teasing me, asking if it was a girl, and I gave in, saying yes."

"Which only proves my point that you would've declined!" Amara cried out, looking deep to his tear shedding eyes too.

"Amara... I was going to move in with you..." Her heart sunk to hear this now, not believing what he said was true for a second, but the more he spoke, the more she felt pain to know she was wrong, "After I showed you that book early morning about what Spyro had written, I went to prepare but stopped at the door. I looked around and said as a joke that your room looked rather big for one dragon: I wonder how it would feel in here if it housed two. You sighed, and told me you wondered the same. I then asked how you would feel if I stayed the night, just to keep company. You said you didn't want to keep me away from moving in with my new female. I chuckled, knowing I could stay the night, and said... 'Depending on how things go today, I have an idea of where I'd like to move to... permanently'."

"'Depending... on how things... went...' You meant... today, didn't you?" Pain hit her heart, tears touched her cheeks, and agony was felt all around.

"I knew Spyro would reject you and was ready to be there for you all the way, wanting to move in with you as soon as I could after. It worked out to be perfect timing, considering the fact I wanted to move in with you this day, and once Spyro sent back that note, I knew today would be perfect. Even if I had moved in with you before all this, I... would've been there... I would've been the shoulder for you to lean on... and... I wouldn't have minded if... we cried ourselves to sleep together..."

"You would've taken advantage of her being vulnerable and tried your best to bang her," Celina rolled her eyes, knowing his true intentions.

"Oh, so, you're telling me, the amount of times I already helped her, and how she helped me past what either of us were going through, none of those times mattered? Out of the near thousand times we've been together, and she was clearly at my mercy, I'm still some pig to you?" Amara knew this to be false on him being anything less than a true father figure, believing in Axel all the way through, "Having sex so early and without true love only leads to problems. I've seen enough and have dealt with enough in this world to want to ruin my life with someone I love. Then... I'd simple be a hollow shell... but I guess I am now considering what you did, Amara."

"Axel... I... I know I can't change what I've done, but... please... please, I'm begging you," She surprised him by even getting on her knees, "I will change... I promise you... If you're serious about moving in... making a real change to how me and you operate... there's nothing I'd love more than for us to share a room... a bed... and... maybe even... a kiss..."

This frustrated Axel beyond belief, "Why didn't you say this sooner?! I would've agreed, I would've easily flown into your arms, and could see the amazing life we could've had!" Amara envisioned their joy as well, making this that much harder to know where they failed, "I'm not going to return either way... and even if I did, what of Spyro... what will you do with him now that he's some... slave? We have to keep him this way now or else he'll kill us all. Or are you still looking to have sex with him?"

"Would you... be upset if me and him did it... at least once...?" Trying to make a bad situation good, she made it worse.

"Unbelievable..." He tried not to spit.

"I take it back!" Amara was quick, moving forward and holding both paws over Axel's, "Promise... to be with me... promise... that we will be together... and I will... back off from the Spyro mate thing. I know a way to erase some of his memory to get Cynder from ever existing... It will take some time, but..."

"Amara, I just... I can't..." Axel backed from her, "I'd promise this if Cynder was still alive... if we weren't leaving a family so broken and divided... if I hadn't... betrayed Spyro's trust by not being faster... But even then... how could I tell you'd really change? That you'll listen to me, and trust me more to make calls when they're needed to protect you, or someone else?"

Amara chose the perfect time to go through with what she's wanted to do for so long now. Grabbing both sides of his cheeks, his eyes went wide where hers closed. Her lips covered his, and in a explosion to his brain, heart, and especially hormones, Axel's body stood straight up. Her lips sent him into a trance, giving him a feeling of secretly being poisoned by a needle. However, this psychological needle poked all throughout his lips ever so gently, forcing off one of the loudest moans and groans the two had ever heard. This excelled the kiss beyond what they could've ever imagined, and it was exactly what they wanted together. It went on for a couple more seconds, passing by a minute of the two wrestling in passion over the other. Extreme dismay showed to both as her lips backed, and she was quick to slide them off his one last time, going in for a quick grab at the wet saliva on his lips. Her eyes opened, revealing the remaining tears she had, and while both were still in a daze of bliss and blushes, her voice was still heard and felt to every part of his body, "Because... I love you, too..."

Clapping was heard from someone, confusing all who stood or sat in the building. The sound was slow, easy going, and free, drawing more confused looks since no one was in the best of mood or spirits to be doing something so inappropriate at this time. Amara felt like she knew who it was, and as her teeth showed and her lips smacked open, she stood to her fours and opened her mouth wide to yell. She stopped cold, dead, and where her mouth opened to yell, it now stayed open from awe. The Guardians, Malefor, and their females looked to see who was the cause of the clapping as well, and with each look, either wide eyes were given, or disbelief was shown. The clapping of a paw to another one, came from Spyro, and he gave his congratulation, "Now that's what I call a happy ending. However, I would've liked it more if the part where my lover's suppose to hit her death bed would be," He clicked his tongue, "Thrown out the window. But hey! Good news is good news, and I can finally live in peace knowing my crotch isn't going to be looked at! Then again, if Cynder were to look then, hehe, oh well. After all, I wonder who will be the one looking at the others underbelly when being held up?" Spyro shivered in delight just at the thought, "Oooooh... just thinking about Cynder licking up my stomach, to my neck and in my mouth. Or... should I do that to her?"

No one had any words for what they were seeing, now believing they had all passed out at the same time and this was all just a dream. Flair's heart raced like any other, and once feeling something touch her cheek, she jumped in a show of tears. The feeling alone, she knew who it was, and it caused everything to flood back to her, Cy... Cynder...? Everyone was just as interested as well to see if what they were seeing was true. All eyes directed to Cynder's body, and upon Flair looking down to her, Cynder looked up with a smile. Her paw rested to the side of Flair's cheek, wanting to help out in some way. No amount of joy, happiness, and sadness could've been felt all at once for many, and trying to hold on her excitement and tears, it didn't work, and Flair blurted out, "CYNDER!"

Happy cries and smiles were felt all around from everyone, giving them the energy to stand and chuckle all about. The feeling of light returning to everyone was what they thought would be lost forever, and many gave heavy sighs to see she was alive. Flair's tail waged from side to side as fast as it could go, and she made sure to nuzzle her friend in love and support. This happy, smiling, and energetic version of Flair made many laugh, bringing the family back together again. Trish walked from behind the sitting Terrador, and her head buried to his shoulder in a heavy, hefty sigh. He felt her tears run down his shoulder, and she wasn't the only one. Claire gave a tight huge to Ignitus to which he gave back, Cyril rubbed Flair's back in support over her, and for Ersa, she looked Volteer dead in the eye to say, "After that scare..."

"Sex?" Volteer chuckled.

"Hehe, oh yeah... a lot..."

"Weak legs I'm assuming are going to be a given?"

"Any position, you name it. Including your favourite."

"Hehe, hey, Volteer," Malefor chuckled in wanting to know.

"I'm not going to tell you what my favourite is!" Volteer growled to him.

"It's sixty-nine," Ersa willingly said.

"HAH-HAH-HAH!" Malefor laughed out loud, forcing Volteer to grumble but Ersa to snuggle up to her mate, "My boy Volteer wants to be Wined, Dined, and Sixty-Nined! Hey man, it's okay, I understand. It's one I've always wanted to try to."

"Tonight, I'm assuming?" Carith tapped her claws on the ground, trying not to face him in hope.

"Hehe... I'm sure you wouldn't be able to swallow that much."

"MALEFOR!" Ignitus, Terrador, and Volteer were disgusted to hear.

"Oh! Yeah! You're right. Gotta make sure it all goes in the right hole," Carith saw where she was wrong.

"That's... disgusting..." Ignitus sighed.

"Yet exciting!" Malefor chuckled.

"What do you mean, disgusting?" Claire called Ignitus out, "For my mate, I wish to be absolutely covered."

"Covered in what?" Malefor wanted to see if she would actually say it, "Does she have the guts to say it."

"I'd have the guts to swallow it," Claire's claw circled around Ignitus's chest, making him jump for a number of reasons.

"Trish... after that... I think I wouldn't mind having a little fun tonight, that's for sure," Terrador gave a heavy sigh.

"Tongue?!" Trish jumped for joy.

"Heh-heh... where ever you want my tongue to go on or in your body, I'll agree."

"Yes!" She cried for joy.

Realising what she was doing a little late, Flair backed her head from Cynder and cried, "Wait! But, Cynder... your... your wounds. The bite marks!"

"Hehe... don't worry... Let's just say I felt more from his tongue than I did his teeth," Cynder seemed so happy, almost as though she had never taken damage in the first place.

Flair didn't want to sit around and wait any longer: she wanted answers, "I'm sorry for this... please cover your, I guess you could say ear holes. I'm going to have to yell, okay?" Cynder giggled again, understanding why she was so upset, and obeying her completely, "SPYRO!" Spyro stood straight up to hear her very obviously pissed off voice, "YOU BETTER HAVE THE GREATEST EXPLANATION AS TO WHY YOU HURT HER!" She wanted to stand so badly to do something, anything to dish out what he did to her, "You choked her, slammed her against the wall, and basically broke her neck yet she lays here and smiles?! Bullshit! You're manipulating her: forcing her to forget what you did!"

"What?!" Spyro showed nothing but fear, "I didn't hurt her, I swear!"

"Cynder... please hop off my wings... I have a dragon to crack open like a soft egg."

Cynder did so, climbing up and off just to see if she would go through with it. The minute Flair knew Cynder could support herself, making sure she stood to all fours, her body flung up from the ground. Cyril even had to back his paw, and the second he did, her fins sharpened all the way. One step was all it took before Spyro collapsed. Going back to his bright colors of purple, gold, and orange, the two liquid clones disappeared as well. Now to his knees and paws held together, he begged for his life, "Please! Flair, I'm sorry! I'm innocent!"

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that!"

"Actually, now that I'm thinking about it..." A different approach was taken' by him: just to add a little fun to a stressful situation, "Oh please, you won't kill me," Spyro's words made everyone show wide eyes, including Flair to see such a sudden turn around once stood to his fours again, "If you want to prove me wrong, than kill Malefor. Then I'd believe you."

"Ah! What! You're a big belly bitch for saying-EUGH!" Malefor's lips snapped shut, feeling Flair's blade cuff his neck in a show of wanting to go through with it, "Flair, come on! I just had my heart stabbed through by the big belly bitch over there. Cut me some slack. Your boy, that being me, is still a virgin, so you can't kill me."

"I'm sorry... what?" Flair hissed.

"Hehe, yeah. That's how I've always thought about it. If I'm ever about to die, I'll just say I'm a virgin, get some puss, find out the guys are actually cool, and live in the end. Kinda like when Carith told me to take the spider out. So I did. We had a few drinks, talked about life, and I found out he was a web-designer."

"Ha!" Volteer laughed.

"Volteer, it pains me to know you're like, my best friend, and I wish I had treated you better."

"Shut, UP!" Answers that she wanted weren't being given, "Spyro! Explain everything! I don't like the thought of you actually manipulating her memories to make it look like something else had happened. Cynder didn't know if you were corrupted or not: none of us did. Her cries, her screams, her tears: they were all real! So how the hell did you do it all? Or are you lying and everything you did was for real, but you used the darkness to weaken the damage and pain?!" Spyro opened his mouth to explain, but Flair was so heavily defensive and protective of Cynder that she couldn't calm herself, "BUT EVEN THEN! She doesn't deserve to be abused! She loves you, and deserves nothing but the same back."

"So... The whole thing about Spyro abusing Cynder was real?" Malefor nearly blew his mind, "I called it!"

"For the last time... SPYRO DOESN'T ABUSE ME!" Cynder let show her darkness from this, "Shut up and listen!"

"Okay-heh-hehe... first off... Amara. Are you, lying to me about how strong your military is?" She was ready to answer, but Spyro suddenly flipped out, "I swear I'm not trashing on you or anything! I don't mean to be rude when asking, just wanted to simply know whether or not this was a lie to get me to go with you."

"I... can assure you, we've tested and I've inspected many workings in our military to make sure it's at its highest..." Amara still sounded confident, "Yet... the poison... the needle... how did you..."

"Stop speaking to him like you mean something," Nothing for Flair had changed, "You're a bitch from hell, and you're acting like you didn't make the kill order on Cynder. Spyro, I expected you not to forget that."

"Spyro... I... I..."

"This is why I wanted to start off on an even ground," Spyro didn't seem upset in the slightest, "I didn't know so much was going on between you and Axel. Seems in a way you wanted to make him jealous by trying to get with me so he'd fight for you some more," Amara blushed, though not bright red, showing that this both was and wasn't the case, "Before we do get to the whole story reveal, there's just one more dragon I'd like to know about."

"Hang yourself," Jumping the gun, Celina was against her being looked at by him.

"Celina... I... apologize for the Dark Master's behavior. I've been trying to start my own anger management classes for him to take, but as you can see, he's been missing some lessons," Jokes were his specialty in a bad time, "Anyway, I definitely do see a lot of what we went through with Flair being the same for you," He made his way over to her, "You definitely seem stressed, and not out of being rude, but you also look to be a loner. Do you, like, not having friends, or... do you kill most of them?"

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's working."

"Oh, no no no! I was just... making a bad example... But, hey... If there's something you're going through that you can't... live, through, not necessarily handle as you're a very strong and intelligent woman, I can tell," He trailed off to keep her easy, "After all, I live with Cynder, so I'm use to seeing the same from her every day," Cynder smiled to hear him complement her, "My darkness, and even my friend, Ersa, we can help you. Living your life in pain is torture, and getting use to that pain is even worse. You shouldn't have to live with something that should've never been there. So... I... want to know if there's... anything I can do to help you."

"Like I said. Hang yourself."

"Oh! Actually, I have the perfect idea!" She wondered like anyone else, "I want you to hit me as hard as you could."

Some blinked while others weren't surprised, and one of these such people was Celina, "You want me... to hit you?"

"Yeah!"

"Why? So you can have an excuse to hit me back later? I'm not trying to die here."

"And that's a good thing! That means you have something to look forward to in life, right?"

"No! I just want to die anywhere else that isn't in my house. That means I'd have a funeral, I'll have people take care of me, and I'm not about to go through all that shitty, mushy, bullshit."

"At least you acknowledge the fact that you have others who are looking out for you. And I am one included."

"You barely even know me! For all you know, I could kill hatchlings for a living!"

"Even I know that's not who you are," While wanting to keep joy between the two and many more for what's already happened, a serious tone was needed to convey honest emotion, "Celina... I... I wish I could help you more by understanding what you went through... and from the sounds of it, you were... betrayed... forgotten about when everyone moved forward, but in your life, it felt like only backwards," Her teeth showed, yet surprisingly, she heard him out, "I couldn't imagine what life would be like after having someone you love... a parent... a brother, sister, close friend... turn their backs on you. The worst part is the fall. You lean on them for support, and when they walk out on you, you drop unexpectedly... and the ground below that you hit was just pure... concrete..."

"Congratulations. You figured me out," He couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

"I... hope I can make things better for you though," Spyro raised his head and smile, "Instead of falling, I'll catch you. And if I don't, then let's turn the concrete to carpet floor instead. Even if I'm not there to keep you safe, I'm sure many more will be around the corner: specifically, right under your nose."

"Just... stop trying. I don't even know why you're bothering to help me in the first place."

"I'm supposed to bring peace to the world, aren't I? While peace is nice and in the endgame: having a family there to experience it with you is the true journey. As I see it now, in hopes and dreams, we all stand atop this building looking down on the peaceful world from a wide view. You've found love. The remaining group of guys that we call The Friends, will find love, and at the true end of it all, there's nothing we'd ever look back on and regret. Aside from the time we could've been spending... together... with someone..."

"You are the most, mushy, corny, and childish dragon I've ever met."

"Oh, hehe, sorry. My child side mainly comes from my brother, Sparks. As for the corny and mushy stuff, well... it did work enough to seduce the Terror Of The Skies, though I'm scared it might not work tonight..." Spyro could hear Cynder growling in anticipation, begging for their night to arrive, "I just want you to know, from here on out, you'll never be alone... Aside from like, times when you wish to be alone. I don't mean I'll be stalking you or anything, I just meant..." Celina shuck her head to his jumble mess of words, "Ahem! My point is... if you need to talk to someone... just... know I'm here."

"I have myself, thank you very much. Relying on others will only get you nowhere. And by the time you need to man up and do something on your own, you'll be too weak. Take this personally, but you've done nothing but waste your time talking to me. I'm much more interested on how you're even still alive right now. Tell me your survival strategy, and I'll accept that as your help."

"Oh, right!" Finally a little off track, her saying got him back to the previous conversation, "So, about the needle. Yeah, well... hehehe... hahaha... hahahahahaha!" Spyro's sudden laugher confused all, yet many smiled to see him back in action, "Heheheh..." He wiped a tear from his eye that had formed from his laughed, "Sorry, I just... heh-heh-heh... I keep thinking about how you all made such a big deal about how powerful the needle was. Meanwhile, as soon as it hit my neck, Kettu was like, 'I think that needle that hit us is trying to take control over your body'. And I was like, 'What?' And then Xvar laughed, talking about how he's stepped on grass that did more damage than this needle."

"Alright! We get it! You're overpowered as shit! Can you move on to the explanation?!"

"Hehehe..." Getting this last bit of laughing gas out, an explanation was finally given, "Okay... Ahem... So, basically, the entire time I was, 'corrupted', I was simply using this as a way to stall to do more behind the scenes, mainly thanks to Kettu and Xvar. Such as how I now know you brought seven others here to hold hostages as you said. Two to the left side, two to the right, and three in the middle. It took some time for my friends to find your third. He was trying to bang some chick but she wasn't haven' it."

"And what are you going to do now that you know their location?"

"Simply put a little darkness in each of them. I'm being serious when I say this, so don't let my smile fool you. If you, Amara, or any one else from your little posse tries and threatens my city or my family again, you'll be surprised at how much you can lose in a single hour."

"What does the darkness do for you?" Axel questioned.

"Whatever the hell I want. Best part, I could blow up someone's heart and kill them, yet revive them with the darkness before they basically flatline to the afterlife. I could squeeze your lungs, your eyes, your throat: all from the inside. I took the liberty of not going against you all since I trust you more than those I don't know."

Axel took a huge sigh, "Hehe... thanks, Spyro. I was... little scared I had darkness rolling around in me ready to pop my eye holes, or worse."

"For you, your death would be instant, don't worry," Axel didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing: either-or caused him a nervous chuckle to Spyro's words, "Your little hullabaloo about the power of control over me was so beyond far off. Kettu and Xvar took control immediately, however, the reason I did what I did, was because I knew nothing I would've said or done would've changed your views unless someone you knew close did that for you, Amara. So, I simply stayed along for the ride, acted like you had control over my every thought and movement, and bada bing bada boom!"

"But that doesn't explain what you did to, Cynder," Flair was still very much up in arms about what they had all seen.

"Oh, well... it was all staged. None of it really happened. Well... it did, but, not in the way your minds perceived it."

"So wait... You're telling me that what you did, Cynder had no idea you were even doing it?" Celina questioned, putting pieces together faster than the others could, "But that's impossible. She was afraid of you, begged for you to hear her voice, and every step of the way, you never once showed her you were really you. So how the hell did you get her to go along with a plan she knew nothing about?"

"Oh! Was it the darkness at your hearts?!" Malefor believed he knew the perfect answer.

"It... actually wasn't..." Spyro hesitated a little, revealing more slowly but surely, "I... hid my darkness from her, or, encased it. So even if she were to attempt a look through to see if I was okay, she'd admittedly assume her darkness was gone, and I truly was corrupted beyond belief," Wide eyes and confused looks were given: some understanding what he meant, others not knowing what this meant or why he'd do this even with the explanation, "You all may not believe me... but... this whole plan that I had... came down to... Cynder's trust in me."

"Bullshit," Celina hated hearing mushy stuff, "You're just saying this so you can get laid."

"I wouldn't mind it," Cynder gestured a paw out nonchalantly, caring no other way.

"Really, the only time she would've known would've been after I grabbed her neck. Where you all saw tension, she saw, and felt, just a normal grab: much weaker though as I wanted at all cost to show as much but do as little to keep her safe. I simply tensed up my paw, pushed around the inside to show strain, and that's how the supposed choking started."

"Okay, wait," More questions were to be had, and Amara was next, "Let's say that is true. Cynder now knows you aren't corrupted and it's simply you. How and why would she continue her pleas, her cries, her shocked and fearful looks?"

"Like Spyro said, it all came down to trust," A smile of love showed from Cynder, a blush even just thinking about their connection, "I knew he had a plan the minute he threatened me. First off, that's a death sentence, aka, no training at all for that day. Second: while I couldn't see his eyes, feel his heart, or understand what was going on, I knew that Spyro had a plan. And since he never signalled me to tell me otherwise for what he was doing, I kept acting."

"That was way too realistic to be acting," A good point by Celina.

"That's... why I used my fear to purposely cause me shivers."

"What?!" Many cried in awe.

"Me and Spyro have had many adventures; stories in our room that we play out over and over again. It's helped me become a... better actor, I guess you could say. I knew I could give a good performance but... I knew it wouldn't sell if I got off track or blushed. So I forced fear... The... only reason I felt safe doing so was because I knew... at the end of it all... I'd still wake up just fine next to, Spyro."

"You forced her to be afraid?!" That's how Flair took it.

"Flair, it was my decision, not Spyro's."

"But he put you in that position! He made you be a pawn to his own game!"

"I wasn't a pawn. If I was, why the hell would he bother caring for me-rather than just killing me and helping me later to make it look more authentic?" Her ground was known, and Cynder stood on it, "Flair... thank you... I... heard all of what you had said... how you thought of me... That's something I will never forget... and after how this day's been so far... you alone have made it one of my bests," Flair growled, blushed even to see her delicate innocence once again, "Don't worry. More will be explained. Spyro; my love, if you will."

The two shared a smile before he continued, "That's when..."

"WAIT!" Malefor's yell scared all: forcing a rather sacred and defensive position to Celina, "YOU... BITCH! You're telling me you treat her like royalty up in this bitch, but for me, you go all in and try to bourgeoisie my damn chickens!"

"I... don't think you know what bourgeoisie means..." Volteer picked out his poor choice of words.

"Seppuku then! God-damn!"

"You're not a samurai, nor do you deserve an honorable death," Celina hissed.

"Bayonet! Skewer! Mother fricken' transpierce! Why did you go balls deep into my heart!" Terrador slapped Malefor in the back of the head for that one, "OUCH...! IT'S A METAPHOR! YOU DICK!" Another firm slap was given to the back of his head, burning more and more each time, "FINE! YOU PUSSY, THEN!" One last firm slap was needed to knock him back into gear, though a show of a single claw to Terrador was needed by Malefor, "Slap me one more time, and I'll show my blade straight UP YOUR DI..."

"Can I please explain!" Spyro finally let his voice be heard.

"If he would've finished, we could've considered that a hyperbole," Volteer gave some lessons.

"Thanks, Casa de la-nobody gives a shit. Now I get to be reminded of your teacher days. Would you like me to go into personification? Onomatopoeia? Or how about I bash your skull in with that stupid bell you put up, and you'd always be a little bitch about it, talking about how the bell does not dismiss you, I do! You know what it's called to hold someone against their will?! And do you also know that I found such pleasure in showing you both fingers when I walked out the door to show you how much I didn't give a shit!"

"No wonder your grades were always so low," Cyril poked fun for the hell of it.

"Yet look and me, and look at you. Bitches be lining up to ride me. Who you got? Little miss temper tantrum? Hehe, let me guess, the next thing coming out of Flair's mouth will be a resistance to attempts at pacification-UGH!" Mid-sentence, Flair didn't hesitate to make her way over just to get her paws over his neck: and a successful, tight, near blood busting grip she sure gave, "HoLy... SHIiIIiiIt..."

"The next thing coming out of your mouth, will surely be blood, followed by your esophagus, tongue, and every single tooth," Her claws begged to high hell to dig deep within his neck.

"Should we... do something?" Axel asked in concerns.

"Nah. Hopefully she'll kill him this time," Cyril waved a paw.

"Malefor, shut your ass up before I let Flair kill you," Spyro wanted to diffuse the situation, watching Flair now shake Malefor's head violently back and forth.

"I. Will. Kill. You. Where. You. STAND!" Flair didn't listen, continuing her violent back and forth on his neck.

"But-KR! I'm... sii-i-i-I-iting..." Malefor could feel blood going to his eyes.

"Okay, before he dies, I'll just continue and hope something comes from it," Giving up all together, knowing those two would fight for hours, Spyro started back up again, "Malefor, I did let... Kettu and Xvar have their little revenge against you. Also, I needed them to get as close to the Dark Master's heart as possible to keep him from going against you as he was. They got their revenge, and you live to fight another day... or rather, annoy everyone to death, another day," Shoving her paws from his neck, Flair kept show of her row of teeth even as Malefor coughed to the ground in agony, "Which... Dark Master... you were afraid I'd do something against you. I could've killed you, could've used that opportunity to handicap you, but I didn't. I hope it wouldn't be too much to ask for an understanding that I'm a friend," The Dark Master didn't responded, not really surprising anyone, "Anyway, to continue back to where we were, I think next would be the slam against the wall."

"There's no way you could've faked that," Amara had paid close attention, "I watched it all. The way her body moved, the rubble that kicked up from the power. I mean, hell, the wall cracked around her, and the horns to her head dug deep in the wall."

"I used a secondary barrier with my darkness to protect her 'in case' I failed to act rightly and near inch perfectly," All eyes and ears were ready and directed to him, "The slam I made against the wall, was from my feet. I kicked the ground forward not just to adjust myself, but to break it at the right time, too. This helped line up her body with the impact to make it look like the force was from her. And the holes I made were thanks to some... calculating of how hard and fast she was going back to ease her horns into the pre-made holes. This insured no part of her was damaged."

"But it's just her horns. Why protect those?"

"They're still a part of her, and I'd never cause harm to anything on her majestic body," Spyro smiled, knowing behind his back, Cynder was smiling too, "And once again, just in case, there's no telling what could've happened if I didn't keep all of her body safe from the impact. I needed to make it look real, sure, but for her... it didn't need to feel real. Don't want what I'm doing to become something she'd get use to, or see me as... So I needed to look different, while still maintaining the feel and love she's use to from me."

"Everything about you disgusts me," Out from leftfield, Celina tried not to spit, "You try so hard to be noble when you're simply a pathetic nobody. You try to put yourself out there to make yourself seem like someone who could save the world; to hide the fact that you're a purple dragon through-and-through, and nothing you'd do would matter to anyone," In a way, she was right, and he didn't admit that; at least, not yet, "You're nothing more than a weapon. Everyone has their bad days that hit one after the other. My question is, what would happen when you got knocked down and nobody was there to care? Not even your own family."

"Spyro... ignore her. That's what we all try to do," Wanting to have been a better person on this, a fight with Celina was a losing battle, and Axel knew this well.

"And maybe that's the problem," Surprisingly, Spyro stood up for her, "You're right, Celina. I try to be more than what the purple dragon is viewed as because I don't want a repeat of who he was. There could've been more that were born that I didn't know about who terrorized the world just as badly. I don't want to be seen as someone, or... something, that everyone views as a monster."

"This your way of talken' shit about me?" The teeth showed from Celina.

"Celina... I know you hate me to your core... when it comes to my ideas, my ideology, or how I operate... Yet... so far... I've really found no reason to hate you even when I supposedly should," She, like many others, wondered what he meant by this, and he was sure to give his reasons why to show in voice and action: conveying that he truly meant it, "You've mainly sat on the sidelines all day today. You haven't hurt anyone, you used the needle against Malefor which, hehe, oh well, he deserved it, but..."

"Hey!" Malefor felt offended.

"I feel like... I... hope... we're not enemies, nor friends. I'm saying this from what I've gathered. You don't want friends because of something that's happened, and your enemies you care zero for. I hope me and you can be more... acquainted. One step at a time, and hopefully... there will be something you'll see in me to trust in something other than yourself."

"You already have a lover. Don't be a cheating shitfaced loser," Her words were rather powerful on that.

"Hehe, I've already made it very clear many times that I won't change who I'm devoted to: who my life belongs to. I just... I see someone in pain and want to help, that's all. If this goes back to the whole thing where Person A is scared of me because of my powers, or, something that happened in the past with the previous purple dragon, Malefor... I want you to know who I am for real. I can't tell you that since it would make things worse by you not believing me all the way through. So... out of your judgment so far: what do you think of me?"

"I think you're a sack of wordless meat who's opinions and views don't matter since, A: we'll all die in the end. And B..." She hesitated to even give out this much information, though to her, learning her target was a must, "I don't want you to feel anything for me. You may think I'm simply a one-sided die, but everything you're doing, I take in: words, sights, movements, and sounds. I already have you all figured out. Even still, that doesn't stop you from surprising me. So go ahead, keep talking. I'm curious to know more on your lies when it comes to Cynder's wounds."

"So then... this actually works out better for all of, doesn't it?!" A rather big smile showed to Spyro, confusing Celina at first, "That would mean, by me showing you I didn't hurt her, and by you knowing the truth, I could turn some negativity into trust! You said I don't stop surprising you, so what would happen from the surprise of the truth? That she was never injured in the first place?"

"Enlighten me."

This gave Spyro hope, and for being so close to Celina, she didn't admit seeing this in his eyes. This now gave him even more of a drive to tell the story in detail to get her on his good side, "Going back! After the pin, I was supposed to go for the kill. I needed to think of something fast. After all, I had been stalling for Axel, the Dark Master, or Amara to make some kind of slip up and reveal something hiding within. Since my stall didn't last very long, I went with my next best thing. The kill was actually more pleasure for her than anything else."

"Pleasure? Her cry was practically tear-jerking: like she had just been killed by someone she loved for so long."

"Me and Spyro's love is very... unique..." Cynder wanted to answer this for him, "Not to say we joke about abusing one another but, after the war we went through together, and... the cries and pleas I tried to make even against the darkness when I was corrupted... I've learned to cry more than laugh... I... know more negative than I do positive... It's... much easier for me to sound, act, or look scared and afraid because... I've lived with those emotions for so long... and like I said, with the help of my fear... it only enhanced those emotions..." This was understandable to all, making a very clean and valid point that not even Celina could go against, "I expect the ride of my life tonight, Spyro. Especially after all this."

"Spyro Promise has already been sent your way," Even he knew damn well not to let her down for the tremendous help she's been to him so far: going above and beyond just from the past hours alone and in a single day, "It did feel like she was scaring herself too much at points as I could feel the shivers when my teeth connected to her neck. I didn't want her to have to do much from her on out, so, faking her death sooner rather than later was better for the both of us. My teeth never sank into her neck at all," No one called bull on this, wondering just as much as anyone else how this could've happened without them knowing, "The snap you heard from her neck... was me dislocating my jaw..." All gave wide eyes, "My darkness snapped my jaw out of place to also give the look and feel that I went too hard on her neck to break it. The blood that followed afterwards... was all mine. I punctured my gums to fill my mouth with blood, thanks to my earth powers. Because I made so many holes, the blood was quick to explode out, showing what you all believed to be Cynder's blood. I didn't go too far by throwing her body away, which is why I backed instead of being a wild animal about it."

"Wait! So then, the holes in Cynder's neck," Flair wanted to know the truth for sure, "Cynder... can I... feel... your neck?"

"Hehe... go right ahead," Cynder showed her neck, blood and all in exposure.

Flair tried to be gentle at first, touching the blood spots to find any signs of the supposed holes. Her gentle touch became more firm, really trying to press the scales now to see if the wounds were just further down. The entire time she struggled: going back and forth between easy and more firm presses out of fear that her claws would dig into the wound, making things worse. Touching both sides of her neck to make sure it was true, she did feel very slight inwards lumps, understanding that this was where Spyro's teeth implanted. However, from what she could gather, there really wasn't any sign of entry, not even a healing point to cover up that she really had been injured. The massive sigh Flair gave helped many others believe Spyro's truth now. This angered Celina, believing none of the truth, "So then one of our soldiers lied to us?!" Her gaze snapped to the dragon: immediately, he ducked low, "You said she had no pulse! No heart beat! No breath! Was that all a lie?!"

"N-n-n-no ma'am! I-I-I-I-swear!" Nothing but fear and honesty showed to his voice.

"That was something me and Cynder worked together on," Once again, Spyro had the reason to this too, "Her wind powers concealed her breathing. Her heart and pulse, I covered with my darkness. Being completely honest, I have another ability that could've put her in a... coma like state. During this time, no one would know she was alive, only me. And it would've been only me, who could've saved her."

"I'm sorry, what?" Fear shot through Celina in a form of adrenaline and despair, "Care to explain what you mean?"

"I'd... rather not reveal the time power's secrets. Not that I don't trust you all or anything but... I don't really trust any one of you that well."

"To hell with trust! Just tell me what the hell you mean! It puts someone in a coma that only you can save them from?!"

"Spyro, don't tell her anything," Axel fought against Celina's advancements.

"Butt-out!"

"You're scared of me for that... aren't you?" Hiding nothing, Spyro outright asked her for the truth, and where she wanted to respond, her lips didn't move, just her body from the shivers, "Would it make you feel any better if I told you the truth?"

"It'd make me feel better if you were dead!" She was completely honest, "This is exactly why I became who I am! Men like you don't deserve to live. The minute you realize the power you have over someone, you try at all cost to use that, to manipulate it, and to put yourself higher than anyone else! There's nothing noble about you: you're simply arrogant! The way you behave is exactly like a child! You're rude to other people, you're confident in what you do, and you think you're more important than everyone else-simply because you have power! A purple dragon! A pure definition of an arrogant pig!" Spyro simply sat there and took it all in to which Malefor and some others weren't having, ready to come to his defense in her wrongdoings, "I can see it now. You cheating on Cynder for someone else, and if they get in your way down the line, you'll simply put them into a coma with no hope of escape. IS THAT IT?!"

The thought alone scared him, "I'd never live with myself to know that's who'd I become..."

"What do you mean?!"

"As scary as it is... I both love... and hate my powers..." He had this resting on his soul for a while now, and feeling I'd be best to let this out for all to hear, he did so, "Powers protect, powers show love, progress, and maturity... but... for me... they're also a curse... My powers to those who know me, have the feeling of a blanket... a secondary wing that's never really over their backs. But for those who don't... like you... they fear me for it... Ersa wanted to kill me, thinking I was someone out to use these powers for my own gain... Flair was the same way, and I'm sure many others believe this too..." Spyro took a sigh having to talk about this, downing himself for what strength meant, "I have this power to protect... Cynder... It was the one and only reason I trained... and the more I found a family with her, the more powerful I knew I needed to become to protect everyone... even at the cost of my own life."

"And what do you have the gain from that?" She stayed low on her growl, truly hearing the defeat in his voice.

"Hopefully... in the end... joy... I stand her now and talk to you about who I am and what my views are. I see you... I hear you... and I listen with love and support. I've seen, and some how... experienced, what life is like in love... Treat people how you want to be treated, I've heard before... And... I..." His voice trailed, "Celina... can I... ask you a question about something..." It was weird for him to sound so openly to someone that wasn't his family, especially since it wasn't Cynder, "I want to be a good father... a great... father... when I grow up. But there's this other saying that stays stuck to my mind that I just... can't get rid of..." She listened closely, "'Our parents stay so strong for us that, we often forget just how weak and fragile they are too'..."

"Why is that... bugging you?" Her interest peaked.

"I want to be strong for those around me to feel that secondary comfort. For my mate, and hatchling, I want them to see me as a ray of light even when the sun goes down. But if I'm too strong, I'm viewed as abusive, and people fear that. But if I'm too weak, others will use that against me..." Feeling as though he was going a little too deep into what he was saying, he rounded it up, "Sorry, heh-heh..." His chuckle was sad, "Just scaring myself at this point. My whole point was just... I feel good where I'm at, though I know improvements are always needed. I fear the day when I'm not strong enough to do something, but what if I lose control and become... what I fear?"

"Then I'll let the Dark Master kick your stupid purple ass," Malefor stepped up, "He only lost because of Celina's cheap shot. But I'm sure he would've given' you a run for your money."

"Also, I'd kill you before that happens," Celina had her own view, "If this is your way of saying you want death, just say it."

"Not yet... I... still have so much to live for... so much to look forward to..." Spyro chuckled, more now to joy, "Plus... if I died before giving Cynder the night we've been looking forward to, no amount of pain would equal the bitch slap she'd give me in the afterlife. Pretty sure I'd be enough to send me to a double layered afterlife," His chuckle made Cynder smile, seeing he was the same old lover she held close to her heart and soul, "Thanks for... listening to my sad-ass rant. If it makes you feel any better on the time power, the thought of enslavement makes me vomit. It's mainly used to heal a body over time in a much more detailed way than simply using it. It's what started the war after all since Malefor believed he was too late, but rather he just was lied to."

"Yeah... I read the briefing on him."

"But, hey! Hopefully progress was made either way around here," Showing a smile and giving a nice heartwarming chuckle, Spyro turned things around from the doom and gloom, "Amara and Axel, I hope your relationship takes flight in all the best ways. Guards, thank you for backing me and my family up. It's hard standing up to a higher power out of fear, but you all showed true strength standing up for what was right. And, Celina..." Her face was blank, so he couldn't tell what she was thinking, "I don't care when or where, if you ever need to talk to me, please do so. I live up stairs in my little but comfy house. If you'd also like to battle it out, we can in my training room."

"Damn, Spyro. You're gonna hit on Celina right in front of, Cynder?" Malefor said what many were thinking, "So, it wasn't Amara she had to worry about, but Celina?"

"Not a fan of this either," Celina too felt what others were feeling, "You said you were devoted to Cynder, yet you're up my ass, trying to get my like, approval or something. If you'd be so kind, considering you're not explaining your time power, I'd like to know why you're advancing so heavily."

"Oh... sorry about that," Spyro's innocent smile and chuckle made some question either way of what was going to be said, "I guess it's just that... I... know you're suffering... and as of right now... I can't do anything to help you... You... remind me of Cynder... or at least... what would've happened had I not been with her..." He still had more to say to clarify the truth, "Many suffer in silence, afraid of rejection, not being cared for, or being manipulated... but... when it comes to me... even the girls here..." His wings opened wide as he sat, smiling in a show of support, "We will always welcome you here with open arms."

"Don't you mean wings? Would've made more sense since you opened your wings," Malefor just wanted to start something.

"Weren't you supposed to die?"

"I'm death itself. I can't be killed."

"Any one of us here could beg to differ," Flair wanted to test this, "Give me two seconds. I'll kill you like how I did, Carter."

"You can't kill me! I'm a virgin!"

"Oooooh. The blood of a virgin. My favorite in sacrifices and rituals."

"Hehe, what you gonna summon? Cyril? A virgin for a virgin, am I right?"

"Well, I would be summoning something like a demon, and they usually look ugly so, I'd fit."

"Usually? How many demons have you summoned before?"

"Just myself. And I'm one nasty bitch."

"You gonna give Cyril a three-ninety slurpee? And by that, I mean a blow-"

"I know what you meant!"

"It has gotten pretty late, so... I'm unfortunately going to guess that peace talks are still on going between you and me now, Amara?" While his family continued back and forth in the background, some business still needed attending to by Spyro, "But if Axel is now your lover, I'm hoping me being your mate is off the table? I'd be open for other forms of peace talks. Oh! The rebels. Would it be beneficial to you if I dealt with the rebels so you wouldn't need to send anyone else in to basically die against these... monsters?"

"Lover or not, I still have my eyes on you, Spyro. Just in case my relationship with Axel doesn't work out," Axel frowned to hear Amara say this, and she saw, changing what she had to say in seconds, "But I see nothing wrong ever happening between the two of us! After all, we've been together on and off for six years now, and we've have the greatest days of our lives being together!" Axel now smiled, helping Amara sigh a nice relief, "I guess... we could use your help with that. The rebels are led by a leader: a green female, secondary poison. She has a daughter who she likes to use as a weapon before ambushing our men during peace talks and whatnot. She's ruthless, and stops at nothing to try and destroy our city."

"Any idea why? Or just a bad childhood?"

"Can't find out any information. Most of the time, our men come back wounded, scared, or afraid to ever go back: to even speak on the encounter. We've had no luck in communications, only being met with arms and death. If you could fair in getting them off our backs, that'd help tremendously, considering most of our army is fighting on that front."

"I would probably need someone who knows more about what's going on though."

"I could help," Axel suggested.

"No... I need someone who can join me on the front lines. Cynder isn't trained yet in her new dark form, the Guardians are needed here, and with the Dark Master being so active, I don't need him taking over and making an unwanted alliance. I guess that just leaves..." Directing his gaze to Celina with a smile, she blushed, at a complete lost why he'd choose her, "Celina...? What do you say? Want to go on a mission together."

"Absolutely not!" Cynder and Celina both agreed in unison for different reasons, and Celina followed up, "Why the hell would I go on a mission with you, someone who I already don't feel fond of, and who could easily leave me for dead if things go south?! To hell with the money or the risk. You can do that shit yourself."

"We could catch up and truly get to know each other more. Maybe at some point, you'd tell me what's happened and trust me to know of your pain. What better way to do that than a trust exercise? Come on, go ahead, fall back: I'll catch you."

"Piss. Off. You want my trust, do this job, let me see how it goes, then we'll talk."

"I'll absolutely take the job!" Spyro was happy to see things were really getting places now, "I can help everyone in your city by doing this; you'll all see me more as your ally, and slowly, just a little more sped up, we'll be able to make peace. Which, maybe there's something else I can do on top of what I'm already doing!" The three raised brows to what he could want to do as well, "Amara... I don't wish to bring up bad memories, but... your mother. Is she... really dead?"

Amara couldn't answer this, and in a show of love that even she had to blush in secret thanks, Axel stepped slightly off to her side shoulder, "No, she's not dead. At least, we don't believe so. She disappeared a long time ago, and past surveillance systems, patrols, and even a wanted poster for a rather high reward of a million dollars, no one has found her: not even the body. So either she's still alive, or... passed at a far point in her secret escape from Prosperity."

"A chance is still a chance, and I'd be free and willing to help you, Amara," Speaking with such ease and joy, this confused the others a tremendous amount.

"You... would?" Amara raised her head.

"Don't fall for his bullshit," Seeing what felt like into the future, Celina didn't like where this was going, "After all we did to you, you're just up and at the ready to help us? Everything about you is just... off! I don't believe you or anything you have to say! Knowing you, you'd use that time power on her, wouldn't you! You'd hold her hostage to get what you wanted: complete control over the city and anything else you could possibly please for," Amara feared that to be true now, and it didn't help that Spyro seemed all too supportive after what's happened, "We don't need him, Amara. Coming here was a mistake, and Warfang should've been blocked off from our world indefinitely. We should just build our army, and steamroll this shit-show."

"Her mother was a wind female going by the name of, Elivia," All the information dumped from Axel's mouth in a swift motion.

"AXEL!" Teeth showed wide from Celina.

"Elivia... that's... a beautiful name. I see where you get your looks from, Amara," Amara gave a blush to be complemented by Spyro, and where Cynder would've been jealous, she understood he did this out of help in her lowest moments of despair, "Alright... I have the mission and the information I need. I'll be sure to take action whenever I can. It might take me a couple of days to get prepared as I'd like to train a bit and get ready for what's to come. Once I'm ready, I'll start my search," He missed one thing, "Oh! Actually, do the rebels have a base of operations I can target, or do I just walk around until I find them?"

"Celina, I know you're against it but... mission success would only grow if you went with him," Axel wished for her to go along with him.

"What was with all that shit talking you did, about how bringing me here was a bad idea? I ESCALATE, situations, NOT, the other way around," She made her stance known.

"Celina..." Spyro wanted to say something to help her.

"Shut your goddamn purple lips!" Having about had it at this point, her teeth and every part of her clenched in a fit of rage, "Why should I even care?! I have nothing to live for anyway!" She had her mind made up on it, "FINE! But expect one BIG ASS paycheck for this shit! Toss in the fact I'm going in with an enemy, into enemy lines, to possibly fight an army all by my lonesome. The least you could do to honor my death is putting two middle fingers on my grave stone that said, 'I told Axel's stupid ass this would happen'!"

"No... that doesn't fit you..." Having something better, his words brought tears to her eyes, "'Beloved mother of two. While her time on this earth was sort, the positivity and love shall leave a forever lasting impact to all those who knew her'," Anger and frustration boiled within her to hear such support from someone she barely knew, and he didn't stop there: noticing the tears that showed true emotion, "'A positive impact on all who knew her'. Sounds to me, you have a lot to live for, and many you should be spending your time with. You've already made a lasting impact on me and my life... now imagine how much more you could do for not only others... but the one you love, too... and your children after..."

Many smiled, seeing the support he was giving to her in all the best ways. But one was to show teeth, upset at that fact, and it was Celina herself. Clapping his paws together, Malefor remembered something perfect for the occasion, "Oh! Shit! Amara!" She faced him, "You know, I know someone who would totally bang you and still give you exactly what you wanted from, Spyro!" Amara was interested, Axel was hesitant, and Ignitus was pissed, "My boy, Ignitus over here!" Swinging his arm around the back of his neck, he gave Ignitus's resume, "He's got the knowledge of all dragon history being the Chronicler, which means he knows all the ins and outs of how to please a women, and best of all, if you're looking for size... heh-heh... my boy's a twelve!"

"STOP TELLING PEOPLE THAT!" Ignitus slapped him to the back of the head, nearly sending him to the ground.

"Da-ha-ha-hamn, bro! I felt my brain touch my eyes! You outta be a pimp with that slap, goddamn..." The pain was so unbearable, his head ducked to the ground, covering the back of his head with both paws.

"Um... how does he... know that?" Amara was afraid to ask, blushing just like any other.

"Hehe... because Ignitus was dreaming about a girl who touched his paw," Even after the pain he was in, Malefor continued.

"Goddamn, Ignitus... Stop acting like a virgin and just have sex with me already," Claire sighed.

"I!" Ignitus had no words to any one, "This is bullshit."

"That a girl wants to ride your junk? I'd call that awesome! Wish I had that happening to me," Malefor decided to dig his own grave.

"Flair, you can kill him now. I think me and him are done," Carith crossed her paws purely in frustrated and boiled rage.

"If it's all right with you three, I'd like to head to bed now," Getting their attention, the two, and somewhat of Celina, focused to Spyro, "Today has been beyond informative, eventful, and in more ways than one, helpful. I can't wait to see where we go from here, and I'm excited to meet so many more friendly faces who I can humanize with. Amara, don't ruin the love you have now, same for you, Axel," He wanted desperately to say something to Celina, but at this point, it looked like he'd do more bad than good, "Oh, and, Axel... just a friendly heads up. Respect Celina a little more. Invite her to your room with Amara every once and a while. Give her a family to look forward to coming home to."

Her actions from his words surprised all. Celina couldn't sit still any longer, beyond upset for who he was, and especially what. Doing what he said she should've done, her fist flung in a right hook, going full force and leaving nothing back. The fist connected. The sounds in order acted as a growl, a slap, gaps, and a slight sniffle from Celina herself. The punch was enough to turn Spyro's head. Other than that, not much was shown. His face seemed hard as steel, hurting her more rather than him. Because of how she had hit him, the only thing holding her top half up was the fist she dug to his cheek. Digging it more with the weight of pressure, it helped her use something to push off of, landing back down to all fours a couple more steps back. Spyro didn't give a response, didn't even fix himself after the punch. He looked pissed, more directed on a resting face, and though this scared her for the power he'd use back, that didn't stop her from asserting where she stood, "I should've stabbed you through the heart, but at this point, I don't even believe you can be killed! Stop telling others what to do for me: stop telling me what to do for myself! I live my life, and you live yours. You can't save everyone, and I'll be the first for you to understand that," There was no reason for her to stay any longer, caring zero for how Spyro felt, "Axel, I expect my check to be hand delivered. I've been on this mission for a long enough period of time, so me leaving now shouldn't cut any amount from my payment."

"We can... head out together..." Axel was ready to leave the same, weighted down from emotional stress and time spent away from home.

Celina showed her teeth to him, then Spyro, inspecting him for a second before letting off a scoff. Turning away from everyone, she made her way out, scaring the Guards that blocked her, and they were quick to move. The remaining two didn't know what his reaction would've been to her punch, and still, it took him some time to give a proper response. Finally, the response he did give was unlike anything they would've thought. His teeth showed, in a smile, and rolling his neck back and around, he chuckled, "Hehe... Celina would kill me for saying but, damn! I should thank her later," No one noticed it, but Celina had stopped a couple of steps away, out of sight yet wanting to know how he'd respond, "My neck has been soooooo, stiff, like, all day. That really helped loosen me up."

"You're not.. upset?" Amara questioned, "She's picked fights with many before, and a punch like that would send all of them on their asses."

"She's not weak, that's for sure. Celina just seems... misguided..." He wondered why, "Axel... do you have information on her that I could work with to help her?"

"Oh, well..." Thinking about it all, he had plenty to give, "There's definitely plenty to talk about. She was abused by her parents as they were upset for having a baby girl instead of someone who could actually stand up for themselves. She was aggressive to many others of course but, at some point, she just snapped, and we don't know what caused it."

"Snapped how?"

"We got a call that a murder had been committed in a apartment building. There were witnesses saying they had seen Celina leaving the building shortly after. Once a team had entered, they found two dead bodies on the floor. One was male, and another was female. The female was one of her friends, and the male was what we believed to have been someone she saw as her lover, though we could never tell," Spyro sat there and took all the information in, to where Celina listened in a demoralised state, keeping her tears hidden, "An hour later, we got another call that screams and explosions were coming from where she had lived. Another team investigated, and sure enough, her mother and father had been killed in a rather... brutal way."

"When all did this happen? Like, how old was she?"

"Nineteen years old. She's the same age as me, twenty-seven."

"Eight whole years..."

"We tried to apprehend her, though it was met with lethal force by her. She was sentenced to death for being too much of a liability against the entirety of our city. Later, she went after the remained of her friends, killing the remaining two, and even their males. It got so bad for us that, even though I delisted in the military at twenty-one, she was the first priority I had to deal with."

"What did you do?"

"Gave her job. I helped her getting into the assassination business, and there's been no job, no dragon she hasn't been able to kill. She's second in our ladder of assassin tier list, and she's been trying to gun it for first. However, our top assassin has been very illusive. Similar to Celina, Atlas has never failed in his journeys."

"So than that would just upset her more!" Spyro already made the connection, "If her parents abused her for being weak, being outclassed by a male would haunt her," Celina rasied her head to hear someone understood this, and she had no control over her looking back, "I wouldn't be surprised if what her parents said echoed in her mind, haunted her, and the pains they caused her resurfaced on every failure. Celina doesn't strike me as someone to kill without reason. She killed her parents because they were abusive, she kills her targets because it's her job, and she wants to be the best. Did you treat her with care when you came to her to give her the job, or did you send a military?"

"I... sent... a military."

"She's not a goddamn animal. Stop treating her like one. I don't want to completely blame you as the years in your life haven't been kind to you either, but I just want to give some advice," Axel understood, and was thankful at the same time to see Spyro understood why he did what he thought was best, "Who controls the leader boards in this... assassination contest?"

"Our higher ups depending on how severe or dangerous a job is. She's close to first, but every step of the way, a look back shows her falling behind. Our jobs range from a gentle tier to death. These five tiers consist of: easy, medium, hard, extreme, and hell."

"Hell?"

"This tier we've had only twice in the hundreds of years that the City Of Prosperity has been built. We call it Hell because of what you'd be experiencing on the mission. We had a previous top contender, but once having gone on this mission, suffered a traumatic death that many try to hide out of its severity. Hell consists of mutilated bodies, dragons or a singular who acts, looks, and gives off the sense of a possessed devil, and locations that are unlike what this world should be able to house. They fear not for casualty. One used a hatchling's corpse as a toothpick."

"And is he dead?!" This disgusted many, frustrated more, and activated the darkness within Spyro.

"Both have been taken care of... To... give you more of an idea with less detail on bad these missions can get, Malefor, or rather, the Dark Master, would only be considered a difficulty of hard, maybe extreme when he went to destroy the world. He doesn't come close to what these dragons were."

"Even I'm not that sadistic," Even for someone like the Dark Master, he was disgusted to hear such things, "And you wonder why I try to purge the world of this filth." Trying to get this image out of his head, and for the sakes of others, Spyro had a perfect idea, and a little information was needed, "What if I helped Celina get to that top spot?" The two were confused what he meant, "They, the higher ups, believe she's working on her own. So, if she goes on a high level mission, I can watch her back. I can heal in many ways, and while I would love to just end the fight all together, I feel like Celina wouldn't appreciate a male doing the job, and not her own blood, sweet, and tears."

"Considering she could as there is one mission she could do to boost herself, I don't think she'd trust you enough. Not even Atlas has taken on this mission, and where Celina could exceed to the top, even she knows she'd die trying. Unfortunately, I feel like it'd be a fight or flight situation, and where I trust you, Spyro, there's no one in this world I'd ever consider this mission for in co-op fashion, that's how confident we are someone will die on this mission."

"Hmmmm..." He wanted so desperately to help, and they all saw that, "She might come with me on the mission to deal with the Rebels. That's pretty dangerous. Could she get credit for that, or does someone have to die because it's all considered assassination?"

"I mean... bringing back alive deals more of a reward considering the target could be rather dangerous. It could do something to benefit, not doubt in my mind."

"Awesome!" Spyro gave a chuckle and smile, glad to hear there was something he could do, "Then I'd definitely like to have her on mission with me. Though, knowing her, I feel like they'd know her, and assume I'm coming back to destroy rather than negotiate."

"Don't worry about that. Celina, being a shadow dragon, can hide in your shadow."

"She... what...?"

"You didn't know that about us shadow dragons? We can do many things, and are considered the more dominant power users over the other secondary power users: like how fire is more dominant over the other three. Shadow powers as we discussed have the ability of night vision. Not only that, you can premake an attack to line up with the shadow from the sun, you can hide deep within any surface aside from one made by an earth dragon since it can be manipulated, and..."

"What about bringing others into the ground?" Spyro was quick to question, "Me and Cynder tried... ahem... kissing, while she used her shadow, however, I could barely breathe when down there. Is there anything we can do about that? And if she were to let go of me while under, could she crush me? Or would I forever be stuck underground like a lake frozen over by ice."

"Oh, that's all an easy thing to answer," Cynder and Spyro both listened with raised heads, "Yes, she could crush you, though you could still break through the floor above if strong enough to survive being squished in the first place. If you're not able to breathe, that's understandable for not having the power. A simple fix to that is actually... grossly enough... spit transfer," Spyro's head snapped over to see Cynder's reaction, and react she did with salvia dripping down her mouth now, "When her powers are going, they transfer down below the ground, so rather her holding your neck the entire time to help your lungs, her saliva will protect a specific area for a certain duration. The more spit, the longer it would last. Think of it like a reverse bomb. The power expands and your body absorbs it, and slowly, the explosion goes down, so you have to keep the explosion at max."

"So... what I'm hearing is... I won't be leaving our room for the next sixteen hours, Cynder?"

"SIXTEEN?!" Cynder's anger exploded in her voice, ducking the heads of many to hear her lust.

"Sorry-sorry-sorry!" It scared Spyro to see her angry, "I meant... the next twenty-four hours...?"

"No!" No one knew how they could do any better than that, but Cynder had her ideas, "For someone of your power, you better make it twenty-five hours... in a day."

"So... if I kiss you well enough... if our night goes perfect... I could make time... turning what felt like an hour into a lifetime of pleasure!" She nodded to him, seeing he understood her completely, "Hehe, well, damn..." To finish their conversation, Spyro called things a day, "So then, Amara, Axel, and to where ever Celina is right now, I wish you all a goodnight, and I hope to talk to you all again soon. I'll see what I can do when it comes to the Rebels and finding your mother, Amara. Just gotta have a talk with Kettu, Xvar, and maybe the Dark Master, just to sprinkle on some more work."

"Well... if you ever need us, our city is some miles away. Easiest method would be to your northwest if you're facing out from Warfang: east if your facing Warfang directly. Just head there, and after some time, you'll see our city," Axel gave the directions, "We should hopefully still be in contact at some point, but definitely not tomorrow."

"Is someone going to enjoy their time with their new lover?" Spyro picked on Axel.

"Yeeeeeeeah... I hope I don't get demoted... I'd like to spend a day for once, just me and Amara."

"I got your back, don't worry. Don't know what I could do but, as a cover up, just say you need a whole day to process the information I've given you. Though I'm sure you already have an idea as to what you'll do, so just ignore me."

"One last time, Spyro... are you one hundred percent sure you don't want to be my mate?" Amara still had little hope, yet most of her knew what she had and didn't want to ruin that, "I love Axel, obviously, but there's no harm in you two taking turns on me."

"Amara..." Being more defensive now to his lover, Axel growled.

"Heh-heh... Don't worry, Axel, I have the one I want already. I'm not sure if I'll survive my battle against the Beauty of The Skies, but I'll definitely try," Fear, hope, and joy all showed for Spyro, wondering immensely how changed and different their night would be with these new powers and knowledge Cynder gained, "And... hey... I'm serious about Celina. I didn't want to upset her, and after feeling that punch... it was like she needed it... almost like she's never had someone to really let loose on. Please make sure she's okay."

"I'll make sure, don't worry," It assured Spyro to hear Axel's understanding, "Sorry what happened today. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again," The Guards grabbed what was left of their armor, weapons, and shields to clean up, though the damage was more than what they could do, "Do you... need some help cleaning up around here? You got blood on the walls, missing walls, cracks and holes in the walls, and even destroyed furniture."

"That's something we can handle on our own. Don't worry about it. You just go have your fun. And Amara," She jumped to hear her name be called, "This goes for you too. If you supposedly loved me, I expect you to treat him right. You two have a foundation of love and trust: build on it, and keep moving forward. You'll see very quickly that life with someone you have an emotional attachment to is far better than some stranger like me."

"I won't let you down, handsome," Amara purred, Axel growled, and she corrected, "Whaaa-ha-haaaaat?! I was talking about you, Axel! I swear."

"I'll find out in our next kiss if that's true or not," He turned with his Guards to leave.

"Your name is all I'll moan! I promise!" Following close behind, now with Amara gone, it just left the family to themselves at last.

Now that everyone was back to where they were, at least in terms of it just being the family, Flair let some more rage show, "Spyro!" He ducked having turned, afraid what the anger was for, "A little warning next time to those around! I get you were trying to make it authentic or whatever the shit, but unlike you, Cynder means something to us!" Spyro smiled, ready to tease her about what was said by her, but she was sure to not allow this, "Tease me, you break, I swear to everything," His lips smacked close on his approach to Cynder, "Is any one else going to address the fact that Amara's a total bitch?"

"Hell yeah I am!" Cynder was in all agreements.

"Girl, you're just mad Amara was after your dragon's meat," Ersa knew where the anger came from.

"Meat as in..."

"I mean... technically both, yeah," Volteer answered before Malefor could finish.

"Thinking back to it, it's crazy how easy we can get laid now!" Malefor chuckled on the thought, "Not gonna lie, I always thought my brothers would die a virgin. Then Volteer got some and I was like, 'Damn, Cyril's gonna die a virgin'," Cyril's mouth opened wide, same for Flair, but he was faster, "You haven't proven me wrong! Go ahead, Flair, prove me wrong. I'm waiting... Though take as much time as you need. Because out of all of us, I'm going to absolutely TRASH who ever has sex last."

"Ah, so, you," Flair hissed.

"She's not wrong... and unfortunately, the same will go for me," Carith sighed.

"You know what they say, the longer the man waits, the longer the man has... Size wise I mean."

"Goddamn, that would mean Ignitus should be a thirteen since he's taken so damn long..." Claire huffed and puffed.

"Claire..." Ignitus did feel bad as he knew why she was needy, and in a way, he liked that, "I know you love me... and I know that's why you want us to be mates, because you don't want to lose me..."

"And the fact that you already send me into pleasure seizures just when you kiss me, so having sex would probably send me to another dimension..."

"How about this..." He had an idea, "What would you say to us at least getting engaged?"

"I WOULD SAY YES!" Claire jumped from a sitting position to all fours, getting wide eyes from all, and a smile from Ignitus, "Goddamn it, Ignitus, I... I can't keep hiding the fact that I want you. I wanted you as my lover back then, I wanted you as my mate days later, and to still be here... I... I know it takes time... to build up trust, understanding, memories, and a symbol of what love should be between two partners but..." She showed anger, tensing while holding back tears, "You've suffered alone long enough! You should've already had a child, you should've already been happy day one: not forced into a war that wasn't even your fault! It was none of your faults!" Her help gave smiles to the Guardians, and for Ignitus, a sigh of relief showed, "The life we have now, I know it will continue: I know you won't change on me. So then... why... why do you show the most intense, exciting, and body-burning-mate-ready-actions... but back off at the last second... or avoid the idea all together?"

Ignitus was quick to act, seeing already in her eyes and open mouth to what she was to say, "I can tell you right now, it's not because I don't love you, Claire," That helped her, "It's just... even when I'm not the Chronicler, I still need to know what's going on in the world. When I look around and see what's out there, I... fear for everyone... what could happen, what could be taken advantage of: what could be lost by one event alone..." All energy left him having to talk on this, "I told you about the failed timeless... my brothers... how they're suffering alone while we enjoy a good life... Even for me... I know we can't save everyone... but... saying it out loud... trying to understand what you know as the truth, even when it hurts... that doesn't help..."

"Are one of these such scares coming from, the Dark Master?" Spyro wondered, "Or is it from those threats that Axel had spoken about?"

"All of it... I looked into the hatchling-toothpick... incident... What the mother and father did... when they learned of their hatchlings demise... they... went out together... They looked at their tail blades, at each other, and died together on their bed for regret over their failures..." All ducked their heads back to hear, unbelieving that such a event could've actually happened, "Their suicide is just one of many deaths... and I fear of what mine would be... what those of who are close to me, would be..." Ignitus couldn't hold his tears unlike how Claire had, showing teeth even, "For what Amara had said... to what we look like to them... if we were to die, we'd be nothing more than collateral damage to them!"

Dark Master... could I... ask for you to take over again? Malefor asked, and with such an outwardly ask, surprise was in his voice. "You want me to take over? What for?" The Dark Master was all for it. I don't give a shit about Amara or the City Of Prosperity, and neither do you. Please... just once... help Ignitus out. You'll freely be able to trash on others all you'll like, and there'll be no repercussion to you taking over. Staying quiet for a second, the Dark Master thought on it, and agreed: on one condition. "Alright. But! My request. I get to use up the one free save. I help him, you don't kill me: you don't even think about it... That should be an easy deal, no?"

"That's what you're so flustered about?" Flair didn't understand him at all, "My goodness... not to be a downer as well, but if I had known you all were this weak from the very beginning, you know how easy my kills would've been?" This didn't help anyone even though some did see the joke in it, "The Guardians are supposed to stand tall and proud. Never had I ever thought you'd all look so sluggish. My point is, stop letting the little shit get to you. If I say you're a bitch, you'll know that's not true. If I say you're fat, you'd know that's not true. Don't blame her for not understanding what real war is, that she wasn't in your scales when all this went down. Bitch looks like she was cared under a bunker: hidden from all manners of war since birth."

"Heh-heh... or maybe she's a sadistic killer," Everyone jumped to hear the Dark Master's voice, and with a quick glance, the dark purple glow showed from Malefor's body, signifying who was in control, "From what I've seen, they execute naughty little dragons who do bad things, however, some of those executions were actually innocent dragons."

"And how would you know?" Spyro didn't fear talking to the Dark Master.

"My little spies, of course. I've tried killing dragons before, but just as I was to send troops, a scuffle would happen. Heh-heh, oh how the world works. You see, two dragons tried to attack one. In self-defense, the one protected himself, killing one in the process. The survivor told nearby guards what had happened. The who who self defended got put on death row, and with no say or anyone to help him, he was killed."

"And you watched that happen?!"

"Unfortunately for me to say, she would've bested me. Their military truly was vast. I simply watched in disgust, giving myself a perfect birds eye view of why this world needed to be destroyed."

"Says the one who was going to kill the man before it had happened," Flair decided to join in as well.

"I'm a villain for him crossing into my territory? Going in alone out in the middle of nowhere? Don't expect that he was innocent all because I said so. You don't know his past, why those dragons were trying to kill him, or even what could've transpired afterwards. All I know is that orders for executions go from three branches. The info guys, Amara, and then the higher ups."

"Can't even be serious for one second, can you," A brow was raised to Flair's speaking, "You're not telling the truth, are you. This is simply a ploy to get Spyro upset and attack the city all by himself."

"I really wish I had met you so long ago, Flair," He took a liking to her, "So upset, so ready to kill, I mean, you and Celina could probably take out all of Warfang in one swift and silent night. Heh-heh... though, don't get me wrong. Our relationship would end by your death. Your kind all sicken me, so don't expect some sort of love to form," Flair, knowing she was to be weaker, still found ease knowing she'd be able to off herself before the Dark Master had a chance, "Please don't speak on things you don't understand, Flair. While I'd love to see Spyro burn the city to the ground, Ignitus, knowing all, can easily back up every, single, one, of those innocent dragons that get killed. Silence is an option too in agreement."

Ignitus did stay silent, giving another reason for him to look so down, knowing deaths like those happen often with nothing for him to do. "Help him... that was the agreement," Malefor growled, becoming forceful to see he wasn't doing much but rambling on. Awwww... and here I thought trying to fit in to a family would help you admit to Carith about wanting to be her mate. Shame, The Dark Master knew what he was doing, and even for Malefor, he simply growled to no say, "Before this gets said, I should make it clear that I'm doing this because of a deal, not because I want to," This confused all on what he was talking about, "Quit your bitching and stand up!"

This yell forced responses from all. Spyro and Cynder didn't take it lightly, having bad flashbacks of what the Dark Master truly was. Volteer blocked Ersa fully with his wing, and Trish, feeling weak and frail, hid behind Terrador. Cyril tried to help defend Flair, but her reaction was different. Her body stiffened, like it wasn't afraid of a fight, just rather the voice alone. Claire tried her best to do something for Ignitus since he simply sat there, almost as if he didn't care either way for death. Continuing what he had to say, the Dark Master scuffed, "She's right about one thing: you're all pathetic. What happened to the Guardians that gave me hell and wouldn't just accept Warfang's downfall?! What happened to the stubborn yet consistent defenders that wouldn't die no matter what I threw at them?! You sit here now like a pile of flesh and bones when you should be standing tall and proud for actually accomplishing something. Don't listen to a literal loner about how she views you. She did that for attention, to get Spyro to see what she saw and turn him against you. It's stupid to see you like this, to know you should've looked like this years ago when I was trying to kill you all. So why the hell are you sitting down now!"

"MAYBE BECAUSE I'M TIRED!" Ignitus had enough, slapping his paw down and sending his shadow all throughout the room in a massive, muscular display, "I've already dealt with enough from the past! When it came to the war, relationship problems, seeing suicides, being attacked by other dragons-for not ending the war sooner when THEY NEVER EVEN UNDERSTOOD WHAT WE WERE STUCK WITH!" No one had seen this side of Ignitus before, at least not the girls, but the Guardians surely had, "I've never been high and mighty, I've been hopeful. That's all I've ever been. We're simply relics of the past at this point... Our time has come and gone, and now it's time for a new generation to which we don't fit in. It must be nice to enjoy doing bad all your life... to not have to be weighed down be emotional stress... trauma... the feeling of losing something or someone you love..."

"Don't you dare act like, Malefor," He was cryptic at first, but the growl the Dark Master had wasn't fake: it was pain, "You think I just walked around and did what ever the hell I wanted? Tell me... you had to deal with war for fifteen years. Now how would you feel if that happened for hundreds?" They didn't understand what he had meant: no one aside from Spyro knowing his age up until now, "I'm hundreds of years old, and for all my life, inside of the Convexity, I was chased: hunted down by thousands for something I had no control over. And they all did it for fun, for sport, because of what the purple dragon had done: leaving us with nothing to do," Ignitus thought about it, as did the other Guardians when it came to the age gap difference, "Just like you, I woke up to stab wounds, screams, blood of my own, and was forced to wake up every morning in a pool of water, either from my blood, or from a dragon trying to drown me. I didn't have friends because everyone rejected me. I didn't have family because they were all dead. And I didn't have a lover since I looked so damn ugly."

"Genetics?" Spyro took in everything, stepping closer to see and hear all that he went through.

"Damage over time," The Dark Master revealed what happened to him, and why his figure looked so broken, "I looked much like Malefor: any adult sized dragon with muscles, horns, and wings. I looked well and ready to take on the world around age twenty-three, though I knew there'd be more room to grow. But overtime, and with all the battles I took on, my figure was ripped away... My soul being so torn destroyed my scale color... holes were easily found in my wings and fins. I use to have two fins that curved over my shoulder... like a hero's cape with no flap. My face grew so deformed from all the beating I took... and where I said there was room to improve... my body morphed into something more... something to better suite my... environment."

"Epigenetic change?" Volteer answered bravely, no thanks to his brain speaking out loud.

"My fins were seen as a liability. Most if what I had that was ripped off or torn was gone for good, considering we didn't have red gems like you all do to heal. My body changed... taking shape of much uglier horns around my face to protect myself... my sides... and where my hero's cape was... all turned to thick horns... My nails and fingers grew longer than most, helping me give easier access to dig into the scales of my victims."

This was a turn around for some: others showing more sympathy while some still weren't fazed by this. Spyro was immensely supportive. This information was all he needed to see he was truly good, only misguided. Even for all that was said, Ignitus took this as a joke, a way to manipulate his son to turn him over to the other side, "Oh please..." The Dark Master jumped hearing him say this even if it was to be expected, "You're lying through your teeth. That never happened. You're simply trying to give a pity story on something that never happened to turn my son to your side in support."

"Heh-heh..." This laugh led many to believe that was the truth, "Why do I even bother. You're all going to end up died soon anyway, I can just feel it. There's nothing more I'd love to see then the fear in your eyes when I step on your skulls one by one. Don't get me wrong, you'll very much still be alive. Actually... speaking of stepping on skulls... Volteer..." Being signaled out, Volteer knew he shouldn't have said something to make himself a target, "A shame, your mother. So smart, so... intelligent. Sad to see that brain couldn't protect her from my blade..."

"WHAT!" Volteer's anger bursted out, completely being taken over in rage over the Dark Master's manipulative words.

"Hehe... Hah-hah-hah-hah! It was funny too! Your dad said he could think of something. Kinda hard to think when you ain't got no brain too!" Enjoyment was found to himself talking about how he killed his parents.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"You're funny," No fear showed in the Dark Master's voice on Volteer's barreling approach.

"Enough!" Stepping between the two before things got out of hand, Spyro placed both wings out and to the chests of Volteer and the Dark Master's, "We are not going to repeat history!" The two were ready to dig at the other's throats, caring little to none for who they were, simply what they had done, "There doesn't need to be anymore fighting, especially not between the Guardians and the Dark Master. That time is over, and nothing should put us back to that! Dark Master, ease off."

"Oh, Spyro... You're such a joy," Every sentence and word was always met with malice, "It's a shame I have to kill you one day. Even now, with all the power you have, you, still, fear me," It was true: where Spyro's wing kept steady on Volteer's chest, his other wing wiggled, afraid of a movement being followed up in by an attack, "That's good. It helps me know that my presence alone causes you discomfort. Though, so will my blade to your heart. Heh-heh... and especially Cynder's."

"You don't have to be upset..." Cynder's voice was easy for some reason, surprising the others while making the Dark Master hesitant on a rasied brow, "Even if you're lying or telling the truth about your past... I... just want you to know... I do... hold hate... but in some ways... I do forgive you..." He was confused in her choice of wording, wondering where she was going with this, "I've lost... so much in my life... time I could've spent with my parents, friends, or a different group... But in a way... you steered me in the right direction... like a father would."

"Heh... you calling me a father because I abused you? I remember our second battle. The way my claws cut every corner of your body was so satisfying. Where you animals find gratification and pleasure in sexual activities, all my emotions stem in love for murder. Women have soft scales: easy to cut like meat. Men have tough scales: giving yourself a tougher time to truly dig through the meat and bones of your prey. You should know what I'm talking about, Cynder. Considering you've dug your claws into all. Males... females... hatchlings... even unborn eggs."

"Stop trying to...!"

"No, Spyro, it's fine..." Spyro didn't understand what Cynder was planning, and neither did the Dark Master, "But even still... in the process of being endangered from the Ape King, while it was from your orders, it's because of you I've found myself where I am today. It took some time to get the Guardians to see I wasn't a monster... but because of you... you... protected me..."

"Elaborate."

"When it comes to what I've seen, what I've heard, and what I've experienced... this life that I have truly is the best of its kind. Flair's on the run and had to deal with her abusive relationship and father. Trish was attacked: scarred straight down her wing. Ersa, Carith, Claire... they've all had their troubles... but I... haven't..." She took a moment to look the Dark Master into his eyes, making sure she saw his soul at the same time, "The Guardians, while afraid at first, protected me. There's no one here I'd ever replace, and if you hadn't directed me to being saved by the purple dragon, I would've never met, Spyro. I'm not saying death was justified... especially to those young, and parents... but in the process of my murders, you gave orders to kill bad guys too, which means... in a way... you've saved more than one life... and that means a lot even to just one person."

Many were surprised to see her standing up for what he had done, shining a bright light down on him in a way of understatement and support. However, for someone of his nature, he still didn't understand why she was saying any of this at all, "Don't mix actions to reactions: consequences to repercussions. I act and move in more of a skillful manner simply to benefit my own needs, and those who benefit for free when I should make all the profits, will suffer. What I don't understand is, why are you bothering to say what you are? Trying to manipulate the one who invented it? What exactly do you hope to gain?"

"A new friend..." This caught everyone off guard, including the Dark Master himself, "If that's truly what you had to live with, then that would mean... you never had anyone. No one to help steer you in the right direction; to talk to, to understand with, to feel... anything else that didn't involve death. You hate the purple dragons because they took hundreds of years from your life. So I understand why you wouldn't care to start living now... having been dead for so long..." It was such a flip of a coin on a deciding factor of what was right, who was right, and the opposite around, "Life right now as I see it, will only continue to go up. And while there may be a decline as everyone's life is nothing but a story... like with Spyro... with my friends and family... I don't want you to not be there either."

"You suddenly changed so heavily to me simply because I may or may not have told you a false story? Do you not remember the past ten to eleven years you suffered because of me?"

"Hehehe!" Her giggle was pure, innocent, and full of joy, "Spyro's been more than enough to heal my scars, thanks to his words, powers, and slow, gentle care. As for your story... maybe... I am just falling for it... hoping that there is good inside of you... Hearing you talk about how you saw yourself as a hero... stamping down on the idea that not all hero's wear capes... Your world must've been shattered when you were turned into a villain... You felt this world was set on a direct path for you to follow, so why fight against it? You can't achieve a lot on your own... but with a friend... one singular person by your side, you could build faster, stronger, and just that one person alone could change the course of your history... Like... how Spyro... changed mine..." The tension between Volteer and the Dark Master ceased, letting Spyro back his wings to look at her, "You want others to fail because you had... but... you still live and breathe, and while I may only speak for myself here... you have help... And remember what I just said... all it takes is that one person to change someone's history... so what should stop me from helping you to a hero's dream?"

No one had words, in awe that a conversation like this was even happening, never having even the slightest image from then till now of what this conversation would be like. The Dark Master simply stared, trying his best to come up with something. Yet, to add on to support, Spyro slapped a fist down to his paw as he had the perfect idea, "We could actually do that!" The others all focused to him now, "Volteer, Ersa, I know this may be a heavy ask, but what would be the chances we could heal his body back to its original glory?" The two mates looked to each other in worry, "With my darkness, your minds, and maybe even my light, we could change him back! Maybe with the help of some pills too, or medications, slowly but surely, he could get better without feeling like his transformations is being forced! Instead of you being a villain, why not be an anti-hero?!" The Dark Master didn't respond, "That way, it'll still be like we're living in the past! As long as I'm strong, you'll stick to the winning team. We save your world, help out the City Of Prosperity, and bing-bang-boom, we're all done!"

"You make it sound so easy," Flair knew there was a fault somewhere in there.

"It won't be... but having a family to back you up and support you makes any journey bearable. However for now..." Spyro had to stop himself, opening his lips to yawn rather loudly and powerfully, causing others to yawn as well, "We should all get some rest. Once we wake up in the morning all well and rested, we can continue this conversation. If need be... Dark Master...?"

They noticed the dark black liquid streams to show who was in control were gone from Malefor's body, and from here on out, it was him who came back to control. Raising both paws to his chest, he was quick to say something before getting bit, "Before you bite my head off, no, I didn't force my way back in control. He just kinda... walked back and out..." That was surprising to many, considering no one was hurt, and no snarky remarks, "I know, right. I'm about as surprised as you all are."

"Ignitus... you... gonna be okay?" Terrador asked his weakened friend.

"Yeah... yeah..." Ignitus sat back down, "I guess... after that little show Spyro and Cynder had... it brought up so many memories... fears, even... I truly thought that was going to be it..."

"Sorry... dad..." Spyro wished he had found a better way to get the confessions from Axel and Amara.

"It's not your fault, young one. I'm just... just needing some love, that's all," Claire very happily agreed to what he wanted, nuzzling the side of his cheek and under his neck to which he purred to, "Grrrrrrrr~..." She backed, wanting to look him in the eyes to say something, to which he said something first, "I really would be lost without you, Claire. Maybe that's been my problem... I've been so caught up worrying that I forgot about living... and to think... because of my sad-ass... we could've already had sexy time by now."

"Ignitus..." Her paw grabbed his chin, helping her feel the smoothness of his scales, "Literally... if you need, anything... I will do it."

"Hehe... what was that about having the stomach to swallow it all?"

"Oh no. First, you know where it's going."

"Okay! Time to head to bed," Flair knew everyone was safe at this point now and decided it'd be best to head off to bed, but after walking past Cynder, she stopped, turned around on a foot and a paw, and directed to Spyro, "HEY!" Everyone jumped from her sudden yell, "It's great and all that you can walk around with a smile on your face while Cynder had blood on her neck, but I don't appreciate the image! So get this cleaned off!"

"Oh, I should probably do that real quick," Ignitus remembered his duty: bringing two claws up to snap his fingers.

A white bubble appeared from within, heading out and consuming the area the bigger it got. The white lines passed through everything, and from everything it touched, it repaired. The holes in the walls were fixed. The book shelf, the destroyed walls, and the rubble that scattered to the floor was all repaired. The lines passing scales for many cleaned dust, dirt, and the blood to Cynder's neck and the others bodies. The Chambers in, and the hallway out, had all been fixed and repaired. This helped many already feel at ease to see the smiling Cynder without blood going down her neck. From Flair's anger, some saw frustration, and they couldn't pinpoint why. Cyril, though, was spot on in figuring her out, "Awwwww. What's wrong, Flair? Saw that I didn't go for Amara so now you know that kiss is all but mine?"

"What kiss!" The girls all jumped on and asked.

"Just get in our goddamn room!" She pointed out the Chambers, showing teeth to him for it being true.

He smirked the entire way, doing as he was told and knowing he was both right, and untouchable by her: at least for now. Flair didn't answer the girls either, rather just following behind and heading off to bed. After having such a bad memory being brought up, Ersa wanted to assist her mate in cleaning up, "Hey... Volteer..." He looked to her, seeing blushes and twirling fingers, "Since the Dark Master brought up some bad memories... what do you say... to help get your mind off things... we continue our jungle story?"

"Jungle sto-"

"Yes!" Volteer suddenly jumped to agree, scaring the others and keeping Malefor from asking fully.

"Hehe, I knew that would jump start you."

"Okay, hold up," Terrador needed a time out, "Where the hell are me and Trish going to sleep? Because of how you two spaced the room, if we sleep off to the right room, I'm assuming we're going to be hearing some loud ass smooching from Flair and Cyril. However, if we go and sleep next to your two's room, I'll have the mental image and hear every single thing you two are doing at night."

"Oof. That is a predicament," Volteer didn't know what to do.

"And sleeping back there in the Sleeping Chambers, you'll hear Ignitus and Claire getting all mushed up, so no dice. Or rather, no privacy," Ersa understood that their sleep would be impossible to have, "I'm sure I can find something out tomorrow. I've dabbled in silence before when sneaking my way past groups of Apes and Dark Creatures. It's helped me in a way where, even stepping on a leaf and cracking it, it didn't make any noise yet I felt the crunch. With Volteer's help, I'm sure we can apply it to our walls at night to keep things silent. But tonight... yeah... that's not gonna happen."

"Pick your poison?" Claire shrugged her shoulders, understanding his situation, "No offence, but me and Ignitus are going to need that mushy time. Tensions seem rather high with the Dark Master, and comforting Ignitus is my top priority. If you really want to sleep well, just lick Trish's neck," This confused the two, however they weren't against the idea, "Licking her neck will sooth her, it'll make you feel sleepy, and being so deep into your thoughts thinking about how much you love her, you'll drown out our sounds."

"How do you... know this?"

"Ignitus, of course. He's licked my neck to bed plenty of times."

"You know, to be honest, I never expected you, Terrador, of all dragons to be the outcast," Malefor snickered, "I thought Volteer for sure, maybe Cyril. Ignitus I was sure would get his dragon-stuff wet, same for you, yet here you are."

"Please don't ever say that again," Ignitus felt discomfort.

"It's fine either way, I guess," Terrador didn't much mind it, "I'll just wait till tomorrow."

"Hey... not to be rude or anything but... can we hurry up back to our room, Spyro?" Spyro saw fear in her asking, seeing her duck as though she were to be attacked for it, "I know tonight's going to be a little scary, what with me getting a hold over my darkness, the use of my shadow powers again, and whatever else crazy stuff we'd do. Though... I guess I'm more excited than afraid... You... you've taught me a lot on how to conquer my fears: water, snow, and the day you transferred your darkness to keep me safe... I just... I... I want to be with you... Spyro..."

"I didn't leave you for Amara, Cynder," His focus directed to hers fully, "I didn't leave you for all the girls in Warfang, because I have you. Hehe... since we're being honest, I'm pretty scared yet excited at the same time for tonight as well," She wanted to look him the eyes to see if he was lying, and it wasn't a surprise that he wasn't, "Since we know more on... saliva transfer than anything else, we're going to be focusing on getting control over that darkness of yours."

"You... liked... that form...?" She rubbed her arm, "I thought it'd bring up nothing but horror memories for you."

"The only true horror in this world is Malefor smiling. You see his creepy ass when he does that?"

"Hey," Malefor grumbled.

"Hehe..." Cynder giggled.

"Also... being... a little more honest..." Spyro scratched the back of his head, blushing intensely, thinking about it even more so now, "The way your body looks... without the chains and all exposed... your scales just look so... smooth... and after grabbing your... ahem... ass... I have no idea what will come of tonight... There's a pretty high possibility I could get... too... excited."

"And do what?" Her voice suddenly turned tender: seductive, "You gonna make me yours? Make me moan as loud as the legend says?" Spyro shivered in no way of saying what he'd do, "Well then... come... Spyro... let's head up to our room so you may feel such... release..."


"This is such... bullshit!"

Walking around back and forth on her bed and in her room, Cyril laid off to the left side, waiting and letting pass Flair's frustrated feelings. Her movements kept the same for a while: a walk towards him, a turn, a walk to the end of the bed, and then a turn back. She didn't face him, only the bed for the time she walked, processing that she would have to go through with her promise. Cyril simply laid there: crossed pawed and head held high in watching her movements. The anger continued in an outspoken manner, "How the hell could you have acted so... so... fatherly?! To only stay by me, to keep your eyes on me, and to not even show a hormonal response aside from some drops of sweat is just... it... I...!"

"You were looking between my hind legs to see if I'd get happy seeing her?" Cyril blushed in his question.

"IS THAT A PROBLEM?!" She finally stopped, halfway from the end of the bed and halfway from him, "Am I not, 'allowed', to see what my future mate is packing?! Or maybe it's just that goddamn small and I'm being lied to!" Cyril opened his lips, but she was much faster, "NO! I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT! Not yet, at least!" She closed some of the gap, getting closer with a couple of steps, "You know what I think?! I think this was all a set-up. You all planned this to happen! You planned her coming her, the act... everything! Just to get your lips wet on mine! It's the only logical conclusion I can come to!"

"I can give you something else to 'come to'," His eye brows raised slightly, trying to give her a hint at what he was saying, "Give me three seconds, for you at least."

"Hmmm... let's see... how about, NO!" Because he was laid down, her figure was able to seem rasied from him, however her head ducked down to his, soul searching when she spoke, "Men are nothing but hormonal messes. You all only want to bang a women and leave, never actually showing you cared. Your personality is spot on, your emotions are in check, and you're telling me that you're packing yet you chose me?!"

"I... didn't use to be like this... Or rather, as gentle," He was honest, "I use to think of myself as an Ancestor. I believed to be above everyone else and no one had such superior blood as I did. I walked around like everyone didn't matter and that I should've been the main focus. That's... just another reason me and Volteer were also so hateful to one another. I didn't like his smarts, and I hated that he seemed better than me," Flair sat back and continued to listen on this story, "I only changed after the world was destroyed because... I knew I'd never be as strong as, Spyro. Ignitus was gone... Terrador and Volteer were in disarray... and I knew a change needed to happen... though it took longer than most."

"You thought of yourself as a god?" Flair didn't like the sound of that.

"That mentality... put me into more losing fights than those I won... I guess it's because I saw my brother as someone so powerful... Asking him a question, he'd always have the answer. And even when he didn't, he'd make a joke of it. I wanted someone to look up to, and he was my best bet, aside from my parents. But when they all... passed... I was left trying to come up with my own attitude: my own way of thinking."

"So why kneel so easily to me? You like getting on your knees to see my womanly parts?"

"Hehe, that's one reason. But the other... acting like you're better only makes you a lesser person. There's always a bigger bully, and my eyes opened to see just what strength was held in purple dragons, even Cynder with her four unique abilities. Acting like an ass never got me anywhere. It got me into an abusive relationship, but... other than that... I don't know... I'm sure if I acted the way I did back in the day, hehehe... you would've already killed me."

"You talken' about me? About, being, in an abusive relationship?"

"Flair... you... see my weakness... but you don't exploit it... You're nothing like, Freya... and I'm... so thankful for that..." Cyril was honest with her, helping her calm some from how his voice had changed up, "About our... kiss..." She showed teeth, ready to say something against it, but he was already against it, "I think I'll pass..."

"I DIDN'T...! Wait..." She was in complete shock, "Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait... What do you mean, you'll pass? Am I not good enough for you?!"

"We are to be mates, aren't we? I don't what our love to be formed off of a bet... I don't want us becoming mates simply because I know it'll happen..." Her eyes widened to hear such a mature response, "That's like saying... you should immediately trust me, all because I saved your life once. You build trust, not make it. My idea for our first kiss is under the stars... under a midnight sky... resting in the grass on the top of mountains... And even if that doesn't happen... admitting that I'd want you as my mate there too... that would work... anything... aside from a... reward, I guess you'd say."

"Bu... Bu..." Tears showed in her eyes, loving everything about his response, "But what if I like it?! You... I... it's been forty years and you still haven't even had sex yet! What if the kiss leads into something more; something exotic! You should want that! Most men force women for that, so then... why... why are you just... laying there..."

"Because this is the bed of Flair, my future lover, my future mate... I don't want my memories of this room to be forced... Crying with you, cuddling with you, and feeling your heart... I think back to the day you rested your blade against my heart..." Cyril had some tears of his own, thinking back and using his memory to his advantage, "You... heard me... you... saw I was afraid... and you helped me... something Freya never did... It's memories like those... the ones where we connect... that I wish to make more of..." Flair had no anger, she had no fear; surprisingly, it was all just hopes and dreams, "Can I instead... make another demand... aside from a kiss...?"

"Anything!" She dashed forward some, begging to be in his arms.

"Hehehe..." The two felt that connection he was talking about, "My heart feels... lonely... not having yours over it... and my paw has been shaking for some time now... not being able to pet your fins."

It was the exact response she knew he'd give, making this connection all the more perfect. Her head dug to the side of his neck, letting tears go, and showing such weakness to Cyril: the only one she truly trusted to see. Cyril smiled. To have her the way she was, to know now that his presences alone gave her the comfort she's been looking for: their relationship together felt like one big step forward, "Hehe... Hey... Flair... You know... I do have a grudge against you for last night."

"Hehe..." She felt no fear in what it was, and as her head backed to show her watery and loving eyes, she smiled, "You can't really still be upset about that, can you?"

"You held me down, licked and bit my neck, threatened me in such a... a... oooooooh~... You're a naughty girl."

"You got your revenge, didn't you? You were so into it, you couldn't resist grabbing my ass over and over again."

"Then the moans started from you."

"I'm very surprised you stood strong, too. After all that, no one else from, 'you', came to visit me. Even though I could feel your paws wanting so desperately to push down so I could... bounce, on you?"

"I don't think I could handle just talking about last night. It doesn't help the ideas I have for us during."

"You talken' about the one where I lay next to you, upset, while you lay to your back and my tail does some work?"

"Up, and down, up, and down... Now the question is, what are you gonna do, before, I'm done? Take it, or let it free?"

"Alright! Enough!" Flair couldn't help herself, and it was a good thing she said something too as her heart started racing just as fast as his, "It's stupid how excited I am about your... disgusting nature as well... But... after today... I... don't know how long we can keep going as just me and you... I... miss, calling someone, my love... gentle lip presses... maybe... the... occasional tongue... Actually... if you were wondering... me and Argus never kissed like that..."

"He never used tongue?!"

"He was wholeheartedly against it."

"Damn...!" Flair's eyes widened to see Cyril's mouth suddenly water, to a point even he couldn't contain, dropping some on the bed, "I knew I'd have to put my tongue to work on you sooner or later, but now you'll have two new experiences to enjoy in our relationship?!"

"The two new being my mouth and..."

"The place I look when I bend my knees," Cyril chuckled, and Flair giggled to see he brought that back up, "But... hey... what are the odds you fall asleep on my chest?"

"Oh, very, very high."

"Think we could spoon again?"

She sighed, still holding a very large smile, "And why's that?"

"Just... want to rub your stomach is all. Gotta get practice in when our little one is resting inside you."

"Damn you..." More tears started to grow for him having said that, "To think I wanted to kill myself thinking about us being in love... about the word alone when it came to you... but now... I can't stop thinking about it..." He smiled to hear her say this, rolling to his back and awaiting her rest, "Keep it up, Cyril..." Heading up and over his body, she stood straight as he laid straight, lining up their bodies perfectly to rest with one another, "By the end of the week, unless you come up with the actual location, I'll be taking your heart this time around..." His wings draped to her back; helping the two feel one another's hearts right against the other being pulled so close, and the job left for her was to circle tails around one another: which she happily did, "Mentally, speaking..." He smiled to her, "And damn you again!"

"You think I fear your fins?" Cyril chuckled, knowing perfectly well why she was upset.

"No..." She cried, ducking her head low and to his neck, "And somehow... you... don't even fear me..."

"And why would I fear my mate? Our hatchling won't... I won't... and all the friends and family you've made... they all won't fear you either... Hehe... why would they...? After all, our hatchling just told everyone how amazing you are as a mother anyway. Something about how you hummed her to sleep, how you kicked my butt and got off a free kiss... about how... beautiful... you are..." Flair had no words, simply cuddling closer to him, letting her body rest to a point his wings couldn't even feel her fins, "Thank you... Flair..." Just barely able to succeed in backing his head, he kissed the top of her forward before gently rubbing a paw over the top of her head, "Goodnight... my angel."