The Legend Of Spyro: Love And War Book 2

by Spyro and Cynder lover

Continuation Of Book One! With Malefor returned to normal, Spyro and Cynder in love, and everyone now back to their normal lives, another threat, Flint, the new Dark Master will put everyone and friendships to the test, mixing lies and threats against one another. Death is around every corner, lives at risk, and sometimes, not even being dead means you're forgotten.

44. Chapter 44: Fear For The Future

Chapter 44: Fear For The Future

"Serena! Serena, wait!"

Out in the openness of the woods; free and exposed ran a white dragon: tall in height, well built in muscle, and incredibly agile. This was easily thanks to many scars that ran throughout his body. Being an adult made room for many adventures, and each showed for plenty of memories: mentally and physically. His focus was easily able to catch up to and lock on with the two dragons he was after thanks to the sun's light showing a highpoint in positioning: an hour or so after sunrise. The two females responded to him, however, only one garnered the name he was looking for. Off to his right vision was a green female. She, same for the white female beside her, had many scars to their bodies. Both dawned scars, entry points into their right eyes, impairing their vision completely. For their wings, each side was cut, crusted over from battle damage, holes drilled in the flaps all around, rendering them completely useless. These wounded warriors suffered more from head to toe, and that included the smaller wind female next to the larger one. Serena, the green female in the powers of poison, was the one to have been addressed, "Halton? What's wrong?"

Trying to catch his breath after the long run he had, Halton gave some disheartening news, "It's about... it's about Amara, and the... purple dragon..."

Serena immediately showed a shiver, "No... don't... don't tell me she..."

"She made contact before we could..." The news stunned her, "We don't know much about what was talked about or what all had happened. There was a point in time where we saw one of the dragons, Axel, run out from the building to do something, but he later returned through the walls of the building."

"No..." At a loss on what to do now, Serena saw they had lost; trying to hide her emotions by turning from the two and taking a few steps forward, "No no no no... NO!" Slamming a fist to the ground, her shivers were uncontrollable, and for good reason considering the circumstances, "If she's already made contact with him... then we've already lost..." Hope was all but gone for her, "Knowing her... she told them about what the Rebels had done... what we've... done... even though not a single time had any of those deaths been on us! And for them to have Axel there; for the possibility of him talking to Spyro about what happened to his squadmates that day... it only dooms any chance we have to tell him the truth... about what really happened that day."

"Not to ask such a stupid question but... how will we convince Spyro we're not his enemy?" Halton made it worse for her; speaking out loud on the issue and making things stand out more than being laid down, "There's no telling what they did to him, what they told him. If we walk up there and try to convince him we're not the enemy, he may very well kill us, considering we've been played almost all our lives."

"And you don't think I know that?!" She turned around to face him, yelling to a point he ducked for.

"Mom... it's... it's okay..." The white wind female: Serena's daughter, tried her best to help soothe her mother, "Maybe there's some good news to be had. Halton... did anything else happen afterwards? Did you see Spyro leave with them or did they leave with what they came with?" She was on to something, "Considering we know Amara wants Spyro to be his mate, something must've gone down that we don't know about. Which..." Her body jumped, coming to a realisation that beyond scared her, "Wait... she... if she left alone... then that could mean... she killed, Spyro! But if she left with him, they'd be mates!"

"We... honestly don't know if he's alive or not... We didn't investigate further considering we knew contact was over. If only we had planned ahead and weren't dealing with these terrorists, we could've gotten to him sooner..." There was much to discuss: plenty of information needed to be formed or found, "I'll be honest, Ava... knowing who Amara is... how she acts, and the way she pushes to force everything her way... there's... a high possibility that... our only true saviour... our... last ray of hope... is gone."

"NO!" Serene thought differently, "I don't believe Spyro's dead! We've seen him, we've all seen him! The way he fights, the way he negotiates; the help he gives to his enemy in hopes of change... I know he'll hear us out... And even if he doesn't... that just means... my death will come sooner, rather than later..." Ava walked to the side of her mother, wishing desperately to use her broken wings in comfort, but a paw to rub her back had to do, "If we don't act soon, my husband will be killed... so it's either I give up and fail, or I give it my all right here and now. I... we... we have to put our trust in this purple dragon... we have to hope that there is someone out there who's truly the saviour this world has needed for so long."

"Where should I be then?" Ava asked, "They... probably told Spyro that you'll use me as a weapon against them. No offence to the others at camp, but I feel much safer around you than I do our soldiers. But would it be good for me to go and tell them the truth? Or would you want me to sit back and out of sight?" The three had to all think on what was best, "Maybe... he'd understand me being with you... I don't like the fact that I'm viewed as some... bitch, to so many people... I stay with you because I'm too weak to do anything else in this world, but others see that as a farce..." Hating what people saw her as, it brought tears to her eyes and frowns to the other two, "I know I can clear my name... clear our names... I know... Spyro will be our hero..."

It was settled for the three on what they wanted to do. A few preparations were in order before they'd be able to move through with what they wanted. Serena tried to stay calm, composed, and looked to this as a glass half full, "This is our only chance to make things rights. We've suffered long enough, and have lost too much," Her focus was to the wind male, "Halton... we'll head back home and grab a few things. Get yourself ready in some armor along with one other. We don't need him to think we're trying to take over: just a defense against what he might try."

"If things go south... promise me you two will run..." Halton knew it was life or death on this decision.

"I... I..." Having trouble answering honestly, Serena couldn't admit to losing someone else.

"It won't come to that," Ava's hope helped the other two, "Spyro is a living legend... We've purposefully scooped out and asked hundreds around Warfang what they thought of Spyro, and the only bad thing that ever came up was their fear of how powerful he is. It's a long shot... and we all know that... But we need to go into this thinking in a way to ease both sides of fear and hope," The mother and friend smiled in slight ways to hear her saying, though she had her reasons why, "I'm... scared... I won't lie about that..."

"Don't worry, my child," Nuzzling her daughter's cheek, the mother tried her best, "You'll see your father again... I... will see him again... Either on this soil... or in the afterlife if we fail..."

"I really hope Spyro lives up to his reputation, that's for sure," Halton gave his words of hope.

---

"I'll never give in to you!"

Spyro, seeming weak, defeated, and falsely afraid, hug low, down on his room floor. Sweat dripped from his face, fatigue was clearly shown, and with not even strength to hold himself together, his right eye closed in help of conserving energy. Even with all the power in the world, there was one above him that even he couldn't compete against. Slapping her paw down to the ground, Cynder; The Terror of The Skies, had taken a toll on him. Standing high and mighty in the middle of their room, it was clear who was the victor. For Spyro, he had no room to run. Backed nearly fully against the left side wall, his options were limited. He knew of his options, but that didn't stop Cynder from easing in her voice to assert dominance on what he should choose, "Come now, purple dragon. We've been at this for hours, and clearly, there's no winning for you. You know of your options as I've given them plenty of times over," Her body, being so perfectly slim; keeping hold of muscle, features, and a delicate balance between deadly and gentle made Spyro shiver beyond belief in pleasure just from her looks, "But I'll humor you and give them once more," Walking around him now, there was enough space behind him for her to circle, trying to really get into his mind on the choices, "You get up on that bed, and become mine. You walk out through that door, and I'll surely put you down. Or... I'll let you go. But as I've asked plenty of times before... you give me the locations of the Guardians, and I'll let you free."

"No!" Spyro stood firm on his decision, causing Cynder to stop at his front, "You'll bring back the Dark Master, you'll kill them: you'll kill me! I know there's good in you!"

The two stopped dead with wide eyes to where they were, to what they were doing. Even for someone like Cynder, being in her Terror Form, she noticed it just the same as Spyro. Like history was repeating itself, the positioning of the two made it a clear cut image of how they had first met in a way. Spyro, being off to the left, like how he was on the platform, and Cynder, being near the middle: it was a near exact replication of their first meeting. While so deep into their story, it scared Cynder to see where they were, and she didn't know if she could go through with it: showing fear in her voice, "Sp... Spyro... I... I..."

"Hey..." He knew he needed to change up his attitude to help her, "I love you, Cynder..." Making sure to start off with this, it helped her breathe, "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't trust you... I wouldn't be enjoying such a moment if I didn't love you... It's okay..." Cynder took a sigh, knowing this was all a play and a story to them, and if needed to be taken seriously, things would still end up all right, "Now... where were we...?" Helping her get back on track to the story she wished to have, he continued, "Look inside yourself! I know that you know this is wrong!"

"So... your fall back plan for not having the power to cleanse me of my darkness, is to make me feel pity?" This was humorous to her, "I knew you were powerful, but cute too...?" He didn't seem to be wavering, so another approach was clearly needed, "You know... I've grown quite a liking to you, I won't lie," Walking up to him, her paw extended, trying to get a hold of his chin to which he jerked away from, "Hmm," Her growl directed to this hostility, "Fine then," Spyro jumped to a feeling; looking down and noticing his paws were covered in shadow, holding him down and preventing the use of any ability to escape, "I guess you'll just be stuck here like a good dragon. I shall return with the Guardians... or rather... their corpses?"

"Wait!" Out of options on what to do, Spyro started to give in, "Please... they've been through enough... Don't hurt them..."

A deal was slowly being shown and making itself known, "Finally... I believe there's a deal we can cut to..." Turning away from him, she let know her conditions on this deal, "I have four females who I've carefully chosen who could easily seduce the Guardians: to turn them to our side. However, one or two could easily be let off a lease, and I'm not sure Cyril or Ignitus would survive. It all comes down to what you say here and now," Spinning back around to face him, she got close, nearly nose to nose, "Become mine... rule with me... and I'll allow... input, into decisions, from here on out. But if you don't fulfill my needs; if you don't kiss me when I need to be kissed, I'll feel obligated to act on my own. That could be deadly... or forceful," Going back to what she had done before, her claw gripped his chin, and he didn't fight back this time, "So... what will it be? Retaliate, and I will too. Or will you become mine...? Just know you won't be the only one benefiting from a woman's touch. Think of the Guardians, too."

Out of options, power, and energy, he gave into her, "You promise you won't harm them...?"

"You don't really have a reason to go against me, so promise or not, you should know which side you should choose... who you should honestly be agreeing with," At a lost, he sighed, letting his body give to what she was saying, "There's the good dragon... But I feel like I should... test... my product..." His shivers showed out of love, not fear, wanting this to have happened for a while, "I need to inspect every part of you... inside, and out, to make sure you'll make a good rule over this world."

The kiss the two shared started off tame like any other. A couple pecks here and there helped excite the other. However, this excitement grew more exotic. The gentle presses turned into cuffs around one another's mouths, following close was the use of one another's tongue. Another battle was to take place, being the dominance over who's tongue stayed on top of the others; wrestling and curling their tongues around the other's. Her focus couldn't stay on the shadow anymore, releasing him of his captivating without her knowing. He felt it from the shift in weight, and while wanting to act on it, he couldn't. There was a point where he made his advancement, trying to push against the female to get her down on her back, but she was not having it. Her lips backed, drooling and dripping down salvia to which neither knew who's was who's, but that wasn't her focus, "NO!" Keeping her strength known, her paw placed to his chest, "It's you who will lay to their back, not me! You don't have power here!"

There lips quickly connected back together, going through in a bliss of love and care. Her chest wanted to connect with his but was blocked by her paw. Her force helped push him down to where he curled downwards. Laying back, she was careful, and so was he. First, his tail bone touched the ground, then his back, neck, and finally, his head. The entire way down, Cynder made sure to support him with her wings in case she was being too forceful. This only sparked more love to be had from the two. Spyro felt the comfort he gave to her, and Cynder felt the trust he had for her in letting his weight go into the safety of her wings. Now down to the floor, the paw placed to his chest moved, allowing the two a connection of chests: allowing the feeling and hearing of each other's heartbeats. The nature of their love became something more, growing the desires the two had for each other, wanting more from the other. Cynder didn't realize it, and the same went for Spyro. Having her paws to his cheeks to hold him while her tongue dug deep within, his paws grabbed her ass, holding firm and forcing her movements. These movements made her body move forward and back: signifying a form of dry humping, though their bodies didn't completely connect down below. The moans and groans the two gave off didn't help calm their sexual desires, fueling more moments and actions from the two. Cynder couldn't help herself, moving her tongue from out of his mouth and preceding to wet his neck with the liquid in her mouth. His body fully extended from her actions, allowing a complete show of his neck, adding to the already needy feelings building within the two. She could feel herself warming to a fiery point, and where it could've just been from Spyro's heat, she felt it coming from within her. The fire made her stop, having a good look now and a focus to what she had been doing. Her heart pounded, shaking her every being. Her legs started to give way, almost like they wanted her to fail down onto him. Understanding it more and more, her eyes went wide to see Spyro laying there in a pool of his own drool: having his tongue hang out from such pleasure. Not understanding these feelings, it was at first up to her to figure them out, Why do I feel... so... hot...? Why... and... what about these feelings, makes me want to... mate, with Spyro, that much more?! She was able to come to an understanding with her body movements. My... legs... They're shivering to fall not because I'm weak... but because... they want to connect with what he has?! The more she thought about it, the more she was stuck on what to do. Does Spyro feel the same?! Does he have these... sexual desires... to me?! Spyro noticed she wasn't doing anything else to him which was very saddening, considering how much enjoyment he was having. Bringing his tongue back to his mouth, he looked to her. His body shivered, seeing that she looked scared, and he took major worry as to why, "Cynder... my love...?"

She couldn't respond; couldn't even hear him, and how could she with the thoughts that raced in her mind. I... I almost lost, Spyro! So many times now, and because I've been too weak! I may act calm, but when Spyro shows me this... this, side of him... how couldn't I be afraid! Amara could've taken him; all of Warfang, those females out there! Everyone's a competition, and not only are they a threat, but so is those out there who wish to hurt him! His paw placed to her chest. His whole body jumped, noticing one awful shift in her darkness. True anger started to show: fear, and hatred. It was like her body couldn't handle all these emotions that were being thrown her way, and the darkness was feeding off this. I can't lose... Spyro! I... he's... I... I can't... I don't... what... what is going on with me...?! Please... don't... don't do this...! Injecting his darkness from his paw, it shot through every part of her. Veins, heart, brain, and blood: nearly all parts of her needed to be calmed. This explosion of his darkness rid the impurity out of her, being pushed back and out through her back: dissipating in the air in black smoke. This ejecting on her darkness brought her back to her normal form and colors. Her body kicked up from what he did, and on her way back down, all of her fell to his chest. She was scared, shivering, afraid of even where she was. Her body couldn't move, simply laying still and having her head rest to his neck. Trying his best to get through to her, one paw held hers; his tail wrapped to hers, and gently rubbing her cheek, his voice was full of nothing but support: completely absent of the pleasure the two had just shared, "Cynder...!" He got her attention, and her head raised, however, when she looked to his eyes, she couldn't stop shaking; the frown she had felt permanent, and her body moments weren't her own on the tremors, "Whoa whoa whoa, Cynder, what's wrong?" She still couldn't respond: listening closely to his voice solely, "That took one seriously different turn... Hehe... though, I guess that's a good thing. I know you wanted me to stay on my back as we promised yesterday, but... I was seconds away from rolling you over and licking you the way you did me," He tried a positive attitude, laughing and smiling in hopes of turning things around for her, "I guess you could say... I was about to, sin... with Cynder? Ha-ha!"

He found this joke extremely funny. Even for Cynder, who wanted so desperately to show she could hear him, showed only tears to his nature: on who he was as a human being. Still, without a response to what was going on, the last thing he wanted was for her to feel alone; to feel like she was tackling what ever was going through her head all by her lonesome. Until she could find her voice, he knew he needed to use his own, "I have an idea of what's going through your head, Cynder. Even with someone like me who's rather efficient in controlling the darkness, it'll take more than a day for you to get used to it. However, I'm sure if I understood your powers more, I could see your fear powers coming in hand when it comes to the darkness. You can control that, I can't. So, hopefully, with some extra practice, you may be even more fluid in using the darkness than I can," He could see she was calming, slowly; watching her attempts to round her surroundings in understanding to where she was, "You've definitely shown more strength than I did when I was trying to control my darkness. Remember the night, when we saved, Cora? Hehe... that was a stressful-"

"I need to talk to the Dark Master," Finally having words, what she said was beyond anything he could've thought about coming out of her mouth.

"You... you what?!"

"I need to talk to him!" Her shivers suddenly reappeared, and he couldn't tell what for, "Do you remember, back when Celia first got here: the paint... the nightmare I had given to me by, Ignitus."

"I... remember... That's when you were upset because I was so willing to throw my life away."

"Every single day, there's a fear that rest inside my heart, my mind, and brightly in my soul. Losing you, I've always had trouble coming to terms with, and I never will. And the more I think about it, the... closer and closer we're getting to one another, the more I feel worse... the more I feel... chest pain over what the future holds," Letting this all out now, it was the perfect time for her, "Every time we bring up how awful things could be, the Dark Master is another problem: another big point of controversy that scares us all. Even when it came to the City of Prosperity, the Dark Master couldn't take it on... but you can... With your power... with his power... there's almost nothing you two couldn't do. Stack that on top of Kettu, Xvar, Malefor, and even me, wanting to learn more and be your army... That... that thought right there, brings me so much comfort..."

"Even more than a kiss from me?"

"That kind of comfort lasts for seconds. I know I can have one at any point, but I also know I could lose that... at any point... Right now, our biggest threat, is him. Even if there is another dark master out there, he or she still seems inexperienced. And from those other group of dragons, they are much weaker: probably the weakest threat you have to deal with," Even after Spyro had asked his question, Cynder still needed to take a breath to get a hold of what she wanted to say, "Look at how scared everyone is of him... We all know what the Dark Master is capable of, and every day always comes down to that fear now of what he'll do... and when he'd do it..." Spyro could feel her weight wanting to fully drop to his chest once again, but the thoughts and fears she had going wild wouldn't allow her to calm, "I want to talk to him... Somehow, someway, there's gotta be something we can agree on... something that I can... trust... I know how you feel on the situation. You're tired of everyone bashing you for wanting to help the Dark Master for what he's done."

"Being reminded definitely doesn't help anything."

"And that's the problem for me!" Her voice let out anger, "I know what he's done! I know I was forced to kill my parents, and I know the same went for me killing your parents! You've moved on because you know nothing will come out of revenge... A kill shouldn't equal another kill... The Dark Master probably hates love and affection, so we should make his life miserable like he did ours by showing that we care about him! I don't want revenge for what's happened either... I just want... to be happy... to be safe... with you... to have someone else who understands there's more to life than being evil."

Spyro was stuck on what to do when it came to a situation and dilemma to which they were in now, "The Dark Master seemed rather aggressive when it came to his parents. Maybe there's something there we could use. Though talking about it upsets him more. It does help us to know someway, and somehow, he does have a heart. You know... also considering the fact that I felt it when my blade entered both his and Malefor's yesterday."

"Thought you said that was Kettu and Xvar?"

"Okay, you caught me... we all pitched in for our own reasons," Spyro chuckled, "I got to stab the Dark Master; Kettu and Xvar stabbed Malefor. Win-win all around."

"Hehehe..." Cynder felt bad for laughing, "I can't believe I'm laughing at something so mean."

"Don't you like being bad some times?" He raised a brow to which she did too, "Seducing the purple dragon when you should be killing me. I wonder how disappointed the Dark Master would be."

"Do you think... that day would come...?" She didn't give too much at first, once again causing a raised brow to her words, "The Dark Master... when it comes to my Terror Form, it used to be a rather serious situation... Now... we look on the bright side of almost anything compared to back then... The Dark Master's a joke, my Terror Form is a joke, hell, even Malefor himself for so long was viewed evil, but now even he himself we joke about..." She got to her point, "I'm asking... do you think the day will come... when me being, controlled, by the Dark Master, will all just be a joke? Like, if he was more friendly, and as a way of play for me and you, I'm forced to attack you with my lips, or to seduce you so he can, 'go off and be evil without anything to stop him'... Or is that all... a dream...?"

Being such a high ask, even for Spyro, he didn't know if saying yes or no was good either way. Saying yes would give her hope on a possibly impossible situation. Whereas saying no would make her feel even more down to know that even he didn't believe such a future was possible. All he could do now was attempt to avoid the question, "It's getting pretty late... what do you say me and you head off to bed and we can talk about it more in the morning?" He wasn't slick about it, and she easily could tell he didn't want to answer, "Maybe in the morning, I could get him out to talk to you. But being so tired, I don't want to not be at full strength if he's out and about," She understood, "So, come on. Let's..."

Stopping mid-sentence, Spyro's eyes went wide as he looked at her. His eyes didn't directly stare into hers: a little more off to the left than anything. She was confused in his staring, and seeing him raise a paw to her left cheek, she didn't move: afraid of what he might be after. His paw touched her cheek; moving away for a second, and then returning back. Not really knowing what was going on, she gave a nervous chuckle, "Hehe... my... love... are you... alright?"

Squinting her eyes some to see a bright light coming from her right, at first she thought it was Spyro's paw, but he already backed it from her. The two faced each other before looking together off and towards the window. Noticing a beam of yellowish light, their eyes directed from the floor, to the bed, then finally to the glass of the window. The sun had risen, lightning the room in a bright light and attacking the dark all around: killing what little shadow they could've had to at least get some sleep. The two looked back to each other now in complete horror. Both knew what this meant, and they spoke in unison, "We've been awake all night!"

Now really seeing each other in the light, they noticed purple bags underneath their eyes, showing how much time was lost for what felt like only minutes. Each didn't know how to feel, wondering if they should just head to bed and try their bests. Spyro, suddenly now feeling rather tired, tried to stay positive, "Hehe... well, I do hope that means I turned what would've been twenty-four hours in twenty-five. The unfortunate part is... even if we were to go back to bed, Malefor and Carith would surely come in here to wake us up, and Ancestors only knows how little time we'd get."

"Maybe... maybe Ignitus could use his powers to help us feel well rested?"

"That's not a bad idea... though, I'm a little sad I can't curl up to you to really end off this night... I'm pretty sure if I did lay with you... Hehehe... I'd be out," While he was speaking, Cynder's eyes closed, her head laid to his chest, and he could feel her heart trying to slow, "Cy... Cynder... you still awake...?" She growled slightly, wishing not to be, "Oh no... Cynder... you're making me tired now too... not that I already wasn't but..."

"Shut up," Her voice shut his lips immediately; telling right away that she was comfortable, happy, and content, "Hold me... and if you end this off just perfectly... I may feel obligated to allow a training session... for two..." Snuggling to him, his head raised, his lips formed a smile, and to the feeling of her scales and beauty, he blushed, "To hell with Amara and her army... I can be both for you... an army... and mate..."

Not realizing what she had said at first, both being so tired, it hit Cynder before it did Spyro. Though for him, he didn't think too much on it, Did she just say what I think she did? And... if so... does that mean she liked me calling her, my pen... and for me to be her cob...? Time for him felt at a standstill; wanting desperately to rest with the sleepy Cynder already on top of him. Feeling every part of her slow, from breath to heartbeat, his body relaxed the same. Even without being on a bed, all seemed perfect to him, and from how her body rested on his; entrusting love and comfort, she didn't mind it either. Even as bad as yesterday was... it feels like me and Cynder are getting so much closer than ever before... but other people could use that... Remembering back to what Cynder had said, it dawned on him as well in the making of a decision. We have to talk to the Dark Master. If we can't turn him to our side... or at the very least; find common ground... I feel like our love will be used as a weapon... a way to tear us down at the peak of our relationship... possibly driving one of us to suicide over the other's... death. Not liking the idea at all, there was one piece of help that blocked these horrible memories. Kettu and Xvar were at the ready, thinking of the best way to speak with him to help. All the gentle thoughts; some darker than others, and the hope to sleep all but diminished. In one, very powerful, very womanly voice, a scream was heard from the hallway, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Both bodies jumped, especially Cynder for having dosed off for a couple seconds. The two locked eyes in fear for what that could've been, but they both knew who it was, "Carith!"

---

"D-d-don't you think you're playing a little d-d-dangerous, my love?"

Being held down by the neck, Ignitus, laid to his back and on his bed, had no control over the rather powerful Claire. She stood: figure over his to assert dominance. Her paw grabbed his neck gently, but firmly, and her blade placed to his gut. Where Ignitus dropped sweat, she dropped drool; one having the feeling of fear, and the other: extreme lust. He didn't understand where such powerful desires were coming from, or even why she was acting so forceful. His only saving grace was her voice, and her actions to show she was both serious, yet caring, "You've evaded me for far too long. I get you don't want to do it because you fear many things... but why fear for our, hatchling, being used against us, when there's plenty of fun to be had outside with other forms of play?"

"Claire! I...!"

"Shhhhh~" Letting go of his neck, her claw blocked his lips, and now he couldn't tell if he was against what she was doing, or all for it, "You're far too stressed. For someone like you, simple lips and tongue just won't do... well, against your own that is. The problem you're facing has been, building up, for so long, and it's up to someone like me, to deal with this, build up~," Swallowing hard to what she wanted to do, it felt like nothing would stop her drive to be pleased, and to please who she loved, "Lay back... and enjoy..." Fully turning herself around to allow an easy access look to the middle of her hind legs, Ignitus's face lit red, and he quickly looked away, "If you want to help me as well, you can do so, but this is about you~."

The position he was in was beyond sexual. It was obvious what she was aiming for when it came to their sixty-nine positioning. To make it all the more embarrassing for him, Claire had taken notice to the way his body acted. Where his head looked away out of embarrassment to see her womanly parts, his legs stayed as they were, almost opening in a way, and she took notice to this, "What's the matter, Ignitus~? Is your mind telling you no... but your body is telling you yes?" She looked back just to see the tension he had: unknowing what to do in a situation like this to someone he deeply loved, "Relax... you're gonna be fine~..." His body jumped to feel her paws try and push his legs more outwards to expose his posterior, "I will take care of everything~. Enjoy the release~."

"Terrador and Trish are in the room!" Ignitus quickly found something to blurt out, and to his surprise, it worked.

She stopped, forgetting that the two had come back because of the whole rooming situation between the other four. Raising her head to look over, the expressions the two had were out of pure discomfort. Terrador had his arms next to his ear holes, and both paws resting to the top of his head, trying to clamp down as hard as possible to block all sound and thought. Same went for his eyes, though for those, he tightly clamped them shut. Trish did the same in a way, but for her vision, she ducked her eyes to the side of Terrador's neck. Being on his left made it more bearable since she couldn't see all that he could, yet that still didn't help the situation. Knowing how bad the situation was; considering the two were right next to them, Claire didn't want that to stop her advancements, "Trish understands how much her Guardian needs help, so she would understand why I'm doing this. After all, where Ersa and Volteer's brownies tasted amazing, I know that will be true for... your... cream..."

Looking down to inspect her property, her eyes shot open to see nothing but the whiteness of the bed. Turning her head to the back left, and even the right, Ignitus was nowhere to be seen. Hearing the clicking of claws to the floor below, her head shot forward to see him running for the door. Teeth showed wide to see him running from her, and giving no care in the world to who would hear, Claire let her voice be heard, "IGNITUS!" Jumping off the bed and running after him, she continued, "Don't you dare try to run from your future! We will have sex with me sooner or later!"

---

Rushing out the door and to their hallway, Spyro stood fast, being the first out to protect Cynder of a possible threat. They both made it near halfway into the hallway before noticing Carith sitting by herself near the front door. She didn't look to be alone, in danger, or anything else to signify a threat. Her focus was directed to her room with somewhat opened eyes, almost like she was confused as to what was happening. Either way, not seeing a potential fight or enemy, Cynder stood to Spyro's left, still hiding in a way that his wing could easily flick up to and block, "Carith!" Noticing and hearing her voice, she looked over to the two, "What happened?! We heard you scream!"

"That... wasn't me..." Carith's voice wasn't the one they heard.

"What?" That confused the two, "But the scream was so... womanly..." Gasping as an idea came to mind, she didn't dare wish for this to be true in the slightest, "Malefor's not cheating on you, is he?! Is there another girl in there?!"

"No... I think there's a-"

"SPIDER!" Dashing out from the door, Malefor zipped around to the back of Carith, hiding behind her and shivering to high hell, "Burn it... burn it all! This whole place must be set ablaze!"

"So the womanly scream... was, Malefor..." Spyro shuck his head.

"You're bitching over a spider?!" Cynder showed teeth, even a slight shift and glow to her darkness.

"Oh, my bad for being scared of something poisonous! With huge fangs that dig deep and stab like a needle! And their hairy bodies with their eight or twelve eyes!"

"You literally got stabbed by a needle yesterday... twice... and you didn't bitch about that pain," Spyro sighed to see such weakness, "If they have two fangs and you took two needles, you should already know how it feels."

"Getting stabbed by a needle at near instant speed and unknowing is WAY better than knowing and being hit at the slowest of speeds."

"Just go in there and kill it, pussy."

"Damn right I am! I once tried to kill a cockroach that made its way into the Dragon Temple being so close to the forest, and once I tried to attack it, it attacked me! Flew right at my face!" Malefor had his reasons for being so afraid, "Worst part, I didn't kill the bitch, and it came back for revenge. Woke up feeling something tickling my body, and the son of a bitch was crawling around me in my sleep!"

"What does this have to do with a spider?"

"Insects, damnit, INSECTS!"

"I don't have time to be wasting with your stupid games!" Cynder wanted to be back on Spyro's chest immediately, "I'll just go in there and kill the damn thing myself!"

"Cynder! Don't!" She didn't listen; her focus was head first into the supposed battle ground of Malefor and Carith's room, "You brave, brave soul..."

"Where the hell did you last see it?!" She spoke in the room, looking all around from left, right, up, down, and middle.

"Near my bed... left side!" Malefor gave directions, "Hey, Spyro... if the spider bites her and she gets hurt..."

"I'll blame it on you and kill you," Spyro was honest.

"Aw, bitch."

"Yeah, well, be prepared, because the Dark Master's gonna need to take over your body again."

"What?! Why?!"

"A purple dragon beaten by a fricken spider... And to think he once ruled the world! " Being so upset for what she was having to do, Cynder spoke out loud to herself in the room, still on the search for this illusive creature.

"Let's just say... after yesterday... she's been feeling a lot more... emotions... and I can say the same for myself," An answer was given from Spyro, "Me and her were up all night, as you can tell from her anger and the purple bags under our eyes. We were having fun: much more driven in emotion thanks to what all had happened. The more we learn about what's going on outside of Warfang, the more she fears of my death... and the death of others. The last thing she wants is to lose what we have... to lose... me..."

"That's what I'm here for, is it not?" Looking on the brighter side, Malefor kept positive, "Me and you have been handling jobs pretty well in terms of keeping everyone safe. They can get stronger, but so can we. And while I don't much care for Amara and her city, she'd do almost anything to mate with you. Worst comes to worse, we use that, and Axel will clean up the mess by giving her what she wants, only from him doing it. So what threat are you worried about?"

"It all comes back, and down to... the Dark Master..."

"What's the color of the spider?! " Cynder yelled out, her voice echoing in the slightly empty room

"I'm pretty sure it was black in coloring," Carith answered her.

"Of course... of course it's the one color that'll blend in with all this shadow! "

"Oh..." Sighing to hear this, a solution was still ready to go to which Malefor suggested, "Spyro... listen... After yesterday's mess, I noticed that almost-if not more than half of his energy was in a way, deleted. You may be against it, but right now, this is the perfect opportunity to kill him," It was true, and while the Dark Master would've liked to make a move against him, the same way he did when he grabbed Malefor's heart, the power wasn't there, "We can end this now."

"No matter how you put it, as of right now and for hopefully the foreseeable future, his death will stand as a no," Hearing this from Spyro made Malefor sigh, wishing there could've been some kind of agreement, "Cynder has a big heart... I understand where she's coming from, and I'm the same way. The Dark Master isn't a villain... at least... I'd like to think so..." His smile turned grey, "There could still be threats out there that none of us could handle: things that only the Dark Master knows about. I don't want to use him, I don't want to manipulate him, I..."

"Stop being noble when he's never given you a reason to trust him!" Still no one wavered to how they felt on their decisions, "What he knows, I know. The power he has, I could possess if only he was dead! You know just as much as I do that if he wasn't alive inside my body, you could help train me even further beyond what I am now! The Dark Master showing himself proves to you that I'm not evil, that I never was the one in control in the first place, and ALL THIS TIME, it was just the Dark Master playing you like he always has!"

"Malefor..."

"If he was dead, just imagine how much higher my power could be! I could be just as if not stronger than you. You already know of your capabilities, so just imagine what would happen if I was that powerful too!" Spyro tried time after time to get him to listen, but it seemed neither was changing their views, "I have nothing against the Dark Dragons and have grown quite fond of Kettu and Xvar slowly but surely. But the Dark Master... for what he's done, for who he is, and what terror he'll bring if we don't kill him, it's just... it's not worth the risk."

"You need to give him a chance," Spyro growled, "The growth you two had yesterday was beyond anything I could've ever imagined. I don't know what you two discussed or what agreements you came to, but... stop holding a grudge!" Malefor growled back, however, the more Spyro spoke on it, the more he did realize what all had happened that day, "You worked with the Dark Master; you two talked, communicated, fought, and worked together through so much! Whether it be Celina, dealing with me who was supposedly a threat; when he tried to take over your body! All that was progress to something more!" He still had more to say, "Like it or not, we all saw how he helped Ignitus. Even if it was because of a det, that means, so, much."

Spyro took a deep breathe, coming down from what all he had to say. It was nice to not have to hear Malefor going against him so quick and so suddenly, so it gave him room to breathe and time to think. This short yet massive amount of valuable time helped him stay calm, "Cynder is... exactly what I want... who I want... because she's the most perfect... most innocent... and most loyal female I've ever met... same goes for the other girls here," Not having noticed, Cynder was done in her investigation and heard him say this on her way out: standing in front of Carith now and listening, "She wants to give the Dark Master a second chance because he's never even had his first... not in the time or family he has now. Killing him proves nothing, and where everyone can say they've lost something, me and Cynder both have too... Kettu and Xvar are like brothers to me now, and I couldn't imagine missing the day I met them. I want... The Dark Master there... I want him... to stand tall and proud with us... We know what life is like when he's a villain... but what about him being a hero?"

"It's amazing to me, and a little aggravating, that I was fouled by a kid or two. Though his hopes, same for Cynder's, is fun to watch. They have no idea who I am or what I'm capable of. So while I can't kill you now, and where I may have lost my power... it'll all come back to me soon, and with nothing happening to me, I can safely ride steady to the day of your deaths," The Dark Master spoke with ease and joy to see such an easy life, an easy road away with no work being done by him. Malefor growled to hear this, once again having another reason not to trust him. Noticing now that Cynder had made it out from the room, it was Carith who asked her, "Did you find the spider?"

"Yeah... I did..." Bringing up her paw that she had cuffed to the ground, holding onto something, once her wrist twisted to lay like a flat platform, she let her grasp go to open, "This was really what you're afraid of?! A simple jumping spider?!"

"AAAAAAH!" Malefor cried, jumping back away from it, "Why do you have it on your paw?! 'HOW' do you have it on your paw?!"

"I can control the fear in animals," It was an essay explanation, "Did you seriously have to scream over this small little thing? You do realize that a bite from them would be considered a blow in the wind to many."

"It's still a spider! Kill the damn-!"

Mid-sentence and doing as the little one's name suggested, the spider jumped from Cynder's paw and right to the middle nose of Malefor. The three gave wide eyes to see this, but for Malefor, he stopped dead, focusing his vision heavily on it to make sure it didn't do anything. It didn't move at first. Though, the sight alone, and watching its little fangs move, Malefor lost it, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

---

How could anything be more perfect than what life is right now? Laid to his side, Cyril, waking in parts thanks to the sun's light, had some gentle thoughts to think on. Having what he had wanted to do from before, the two laid in a spooning position. Flair faced the left wall of the room with her forehead angled to the back wall, laid to her right side and breathing in a way that showed trust and comfort to who she was with. Cyril, laid to his right as well, had one arm under her, and another over her. His legs, in a way, did the same. One tried to dig underneath her back end, but wasn't very successful. However, his other leg, hung over her back-end. His head rested behind hers, giving him clear view of the back of her neck and head. Thinking about how they were and positioned, he couldn't get this idea out of his mind, and his paw forcefully moved down her: caressing her side at first. Why do I feel such an urge to do more for her? She's already happy: seeing me as hers, rather an enemy. The circle motions he did with his paw directed to her chest now, giving easy yet tender movements. Should I stop?! What if she thinks I'm trying something else?! Something worse! Even with all the thought power in the world, that didn't stop his paw from moving to her stomach now. Rubbing round in a circle, he enjoyed it: acting out of what he felt as a father to his mate. She'd kill me if she were awake right about now. His soul left him to hear her give a threat, "If your paw goes any further down, you lose it."

He jumped, but it was pleasuring to hear her voice. She sounded understanding, comfortable, and in many ways, still attempting to get some rest while enjoying what was happening. Her fins hadn't sharpened, it didn't sound like teeth were shown, and from her resting still body, he continued to do as he wanted. His head raised for a better view of her. Moving his arm from under her neck to place an elbow down into the bed as support, this helped him lay slightly upright. Seeing her body in the sunlight made him stop, inspecting her in such shine. The rubbing motion stopped. All brain power was directed into looking at her. Slick like water, as smooth as silk, and looking to a body that was so well designed from features, to colors, and body shape, he couldn't help but sweat, blush even. Noticing he had stopped, her body shifted, waking herself now, "Didn't say to stop, now did I?" Her stretching figure made him jump one again, seeing her arms and legs stretch where her toes and fingers curled, "Calm down and give it another couple of months or so. You'll see an adjustment to my stomach," Every word she spoke was so lust filled, and to make matters worse, and in many, many ways, better, her head turned up, her eyes opened, and the two cleanly locked views, "Thanks in all part to your help. But now the question is, are we to have one, or two? Guess that all comes down to what we're feeling."

His chest still pressed to her back, so every beat, she felt. His heart started soft, but the more she spoke, and especially after she had locked eyes with him, his heart jumped. To, in a way, add a nail into his coffin, her giggle to see the embarrassment he was going through, made his body lock. At any moment, he felt like doing something in a hormonal response. She saw this, noticing the wet lips that started to shine, and the twitch from his back to thrust. Just to mess with him, knowing what she was doing, she blamed this whole ordeal on him, "Hey, you didn't want to kiss me. That's on you. Guess you'll probably have to wait another week or so to get any of this," Wiggling her ass against his underneath, he yelped, showing teeth and trying his best to stay strong, "This is way better than any death I could've given you. Teasing seems to be the best kind of torture that we can both enjoy... but more so me."

"Don't think you'll get off easy," He stayed strong, and she raised a brow to this.

"And what could you possibly-AH~!" His mouth still had clear view of her neck, and from the shine it gave off from the sun, he couldn't resist getting the taste of her scales, "Damn you~!" Her teeth showed, and starting a fight of dominance, he was first to get atop of her, "Let's play then~."

---

Walking down the hallway and to the Chambers, the four had successfully made it out the house after a little while of back and forth. Cynder walked ahead with Spyro, and for Malefor and Carith, they walked behind. Rubbing his snout, Malefor still felt pain, swearing up and down that he had been attacked, "Damn... for a jumping spider, that little shitter hurt."

"For the last time, its all psychological pain!" Cynder had said this many times, "I've been bit by many spiders of all kinds, and I can promise you; as Kettu and Xvar would put it, I've felt grass more painful than that."

"Sorry I wasn't there to prevent that..." Being so young and inexperienced, Spyro had no reason to blame himself, though that didn't stop him from feeling guilty.

"Hey," Slapping her ass against his, he chuckled, and she smiled to him, "Yeah, you better not be upset about something you couldn't do anything about," The two in the back smiled, really seeing that their love had only gotten stronger after yesterday, "Being honest, it's another reason for me to thank, the Dark Master. I've become a quite the... zoologist, I guess you'd say. I've found and seen many different species of all kinds. Insects, bugs, birds, carnivores, herbivores, and just, so much more. It's what helped me, or rather, her, find ways to use my powers to deal with certain creatures. Like when a rhino tried to charge at me. A simple flick with my wind, and it fell right to its side. But being bloodthirsty, much more blood was to be had."

"So you've learned to survive on your own with plenty of skills to back you?" Malefor asked in a sum up.

"Hehe... that's true, but... I feel like I lose those skills the more and more days pass by. Living on my own was fun and all... but nothing beats being with those you love," Cynder made sure to smile to Spyro, and he did the same to her, "Kinda wonder if I could put my killing skills to use. I've killed animals like cows and pigs, and I've found them to be quite delicious when sinking my teeth into their bodies. Makes me wonder how you'd taste, Spyro," He chuckled, dropping some sweat to see she wanted a piece of him, "Don't worry... The piece of meat I'm after from you," Her body nuzzled to his side, "I'll take gentle care of it~... and I promise not to bite, as long as you 'deal' with me, properly~..."

Malefor and Carith backed their heads to see such a hot and heavy conversations for the two. Spyro couldn't help but smile a little wide, trying to laugh in some kind of way to hide his embarrassment, "Now now, my little shadow... I don't think you know what you're talking about."

Cynder raised a brow, and in some way, backed, feeling like she was going too far and believed he would dodge their love, "What's that supposed to me?" Carith frowned, same for Malefor to see that she was hopeful that their love was evolving, but after that, they didn't know where this would be taken direction wise, "Never mind... I... I shouldn't have..."

"What makes you think it would fit in your mouth~?" All three jumped to hear this, and where Cynder gave wide eyes, the two in the back shivered and covered their heads from blushing, to which Spyro smirked, "The purple dragon is a thing of legend, don't you know~? Legendary power, agility, stamina, and most importantly, size~," Spyro seemed so against the thought of sex when Amara had spoken on it, yet, when it came to Cynder, he seemed all for it: inviting such conversation now, "It's not biting I'm worried about from you, but rather... chocking~."

"Hahahaha-HA!" Malefor couldn't help but laugh, "Wow! This is uncomfortable!"

Cynder had no words to say to him, only bouncing here and there for her heartbeats. The look of confidence he had, having no regret to what he was saying, made a tear show to see and hear that he was loving their new, more developed and evolved feelings for one another more than ever before. Unfortunately for the two, especially Cynder, the two had made it to the Chamber entrance. Once turning in, Spyro stopped dead, and for Cynder, it took her a second to get her eyes off of his figure. Once she had, she jumped, too. Malefor and Carith stopped from behind, still able to look in and see what was happening as well. Ignitus was being held against the right wall, near to where Malefor and Carith normally sat. The one holding him, was Claire, and the two stood to their feet. One of her paws grabbed his right horn, another, rested to his chest, and her blade cuffed his neck. He was sweating, shivering, and looked afraid. Claire on the other hand seemed pissed, desperate, and forceful. Reaching out a paw to ask what was happening, Spyro couldn't, and had his question answered from Claire, "Stop trying to run from me. Just take me to the White Isles already!" He didn't respond, "Is that what this is about?! Are you afraid of breaking Ancestor property? So, you know I'd give you the ride of your life that would even break the bed, but you still go against me? Well where that bed is their property, you are mine, and I will make that known~."

Trying for any way out, Ignitus was in luck, noticing his son and the other three, "Spyro!" She looked over to see the four really were there, "H-h-help! Please!"

"Imagine not wanting to have sex with the one you love and going against them instead, even though they love you and are trying to do it for a good reason," Malefor's words beyond upset Carith.

"I'll poison you if I have to just to mate with you," Carith hissed with the flick of her tongue.

"Did you say something, Carith?"

"Shut up," Her paw grabbed his ass, making him jump from the sudden move and low growl.

"You stay out of this, Spyro!" Claire was hell-bent on having what she wanted, "Ignitus needs this, and you should known better than anyone else that I can provide the comfort he's needed for years!"

"Claire..." Spyro sounded so defeated, so drained, and even for the other two who's hearts raced at the back and forth battle, they felt a little down from him speaking, "Ignitus... has been through a lot... and even for someone like me, or someone like the Guardians, it feels like you know that: you know him, better than anyone else. This is also considering the fact that you stay awake with him, talk to him, communicate, and love him... All that shows you're more than the perfect fit to be with my dad... to be... someone I call... a mother..." This shocked and stunned her to hear him say so joyfully, so easily, and with a smile to boot, "So... this should come as no surprise when I say... Ignitus has had it rough..." Just as Claire was about to back away, and Ignitus could feel her grip loosening, an unexpected turn was given, "You better make sure to do your worst to him."

"WHAT!" Ignitus cried, now without any help from anyone.

"So I guess we will be breaking your bed here soon," Claire held Ignitus firm, trying to swallow the drool that started to fall out from her mouth.

"Kinda surprised we haven't broken ours," Ersa said nonchalantly, entering into the Chambers off to the left of the group, and they all looked to her and Volteer.

"We don't always do it on the bed though," Volteer chuckled, to where Ersa giggled.

"You two are so-ho-hooooooo, gross," Malefor laughed while others blushed.

"It's not just them though," After a little rest, Terrador and Trish exited out from the back, sitting down with Trish next to the other two during his talk, "I can only imagine how big of a bullet me and Trish dodged sleeping back there instead of out in one of those other rooms. Being honest, I don't know which one is worse. The two who know they're mates and aren't afraid to show it. The two who want to be mates but one is more needy than the other. Or the two who play around with the idea of dominance and threats for role play, considering they aren't lovers."

"Hey... Spyro..." Surprised to hear Trish speak, the others didn't mind her voice at all, yet it still shocked some for her to start a conversation, "Are you... doing okay?" He smiled, as did others to see her innocence, "I can see purple bags under not only your eyes, but Cynder's the same. Did you two have nightmares, or... was there something more going on? Maybe... thinking about what life means and crying together about it?"

"Just... up all night trying to tame the Terror Of The Skies," Spyro chuckled in honesty.

"Was it a success?" Ersa asked.

"Hehe... no... I... I very much failed..."

"So what's next then?"

"I have collected the information from the willing purple dragon, and now with the locations of the Guardians, I shall send my team; that being you four, to take down the other four," Cynder had done her part, now it was up to the other group members to do as they pleased, "I would hope for their return alive per my and Spyro's agreements. Do what ever you can to take them down as they are a threat to my plans."

"I already have Ignitus," Claire growled, holding her blade against his neck to where he raised his paws for.

"Volteer's definitely going to be a 'hard one', but I'm sure I have ways of dealing with that," Ersa purred and he smiled.

"And I can... I... can..." Trish didn't know what to think about, considering she didn't wish to do anything bad.

"Just be you..." Terrador smiled, and from his words alone, she blushed, "I can... feel a grip to my heart wanting to be with you already."

The two gave a nice kiss to the lips for this; loving what he had said and wanting to give back for it. Having heard some of what Cynder had said, and collecting information on her own from how others responded, Flair, under the wing of Cyril, walked into the Chambers. Heading to the back, conversations were engaged by her, "Cyril's proving to be a rather troublesome dragon," All eyes were to her, quickly changing these eyes to widened ones, seeing her sit down and face forward to the others with such an open viewed smile, "He seems desperate for love, but is a real pain in the ass when it comes to foreplay. Always nipping me in the ass before flying off a safe distance. May take me a while to apprehend, but his blue ass is mine."

"I'd expect nothing less from you, Flair," Cynder's smile got her attention, but what also did was the drained look in her eyes.

"Why do you look like you've been crying?" Immediate defense was given to Cynder, and offense to Spyro, "Spyro, what did you to her. Because I swear, if you're taking her on a downwards spiral..."

"It's okay-it's okay-it's okay!" Where Spyro wanted to say something, doing so would've made things worse, so coming from the mouth of Cynder made her believe the truth, "Me and Spyro we're just... experiencing love on a larger scale. We were up all night playing around with stories and ideas. If I'm... being completely honest... I haven't been happier," Her words, smile, and looks showed to be true, "Two days ago, when Spyro was going around Warfang... I felt so defeated, and felt like my time with Spyro was coming to an end... But when I was at my lowest, Spyro saw that... And there's no doubt in my mind, at least for now, that he'd choose anyone else but me."

Even with the passion and love, something just felt off to her, and Flair still had some words, "Ersa, paralyze Spyro."

"What!" He cried, "But I didn't do anything!"

"You're mind controlling her, I just know it!"

"But if I was, being a, disgusting male, why wouldn't I make her mate with me?"

"You said it yourself that you were afraid of me chocking~," All gave wide eyes, aside from the other three who already heard this, and where Cynder smiled, Spyro blushed, "You wouldn't want to hurt me after all, so, to think that you know what you could do with me but don't for reasons to protect me... only makes me want you more~."

"I get sex is supposed to be fun and relaxing, but it's more aggravating when all you men do is talk, and talk, and talk about it," Flair sighed, now seeing it a little more than before.

"Oh please," Claire sighed, "This son of a bitch over here won't even have sex with me. The only thing he's thinking about is how to avoid such pleasures."

"It was just because Terrador and Trish were back there, I promise," Ignitus tried his best to calm her, and him saying this forced her eyes to look deep in his soul, to which he dropped sweat for, "Any second now, I'm sure something will come up... both mentally and physically... Mentally being the idea and physically being... you know..."

"Your rooster?"

"We should do that!" Malefor agreed in a way that made everyone back before he could give his true meaning, "We should get a rooster!"

"NO!" The Guardians all suddenly yelled out to which no one understood.

"Awwwwwwwww, guuuuuuyyyyyyyyssssss... pleeeeeease!"

"We are not going through that bullshit again!" Terrador showed teeth.

"What... happened?" Flair asked.

"Malefor wasted our goddamn time, that's what happened," Cyril crossed his arms

"But it was funny!" Malefor still laughed to this day about it.

"Yeah, practically hysterical!" Ignitus growled, "Considering one jammed its beak into my flippen' eye!"

"Okay, time out," Claire wanted answers as much as anyone else, and thankfully, she finally backed from Ignitus, "What 'exactly' happened."

"I'll... ugh... I'll explain," Volteer sighed, remembering the day like it was yesterday thanks to his smarts, "One day, Malefor decided it'd be funny to let loose a good number of chickens around the interior of the Dragon Temple. Not only were their feathers getting everywhere, but it was like these chickens knew karate... and proceeded to kick our asses. Luckily though, nice guy Malefor, decided to put numbers on each of the chickens. We were so traumatized by the havoc they were causing, and quickly tried to rid the infestation... while Malefor sat there and laughed..."

"And that's not even the best part!" Malefor chuckled here and there, snickering even, whereas the Guardians had raised tail blades.

"We found chicken number one, two, three, so on and so forth till we got to thirty-nine. However, in our counting, we noticed we hadn't found chicken number eleven..."

"Where in the hell did you get that many chickens?" Spyro asked.

"My uncle: he's a farmer up north. Got supplies out the ass. Wanted to do cows, but, there were enough of those already in the Dragon Temple! HA-HA!" Nothing but jokes and laughs were to be had by Malefor.

"Wow. You really are a bitch," Flair didn't like him saying.

"I'm just joking..." He whimpered.

"I'd say Malefor's more of a man of focus, commitment, and sheer flocking will," Volteer had other ideas, "Flocking... cause of chickens?" Ersa shook her head while many others didn't understand the reference, "Ahem! Anyway, we found out after hours of searching... the one we were looking for... there wasn't one..."

"Oh, there was one, just not thirty-nine in total!" Once again, Malefor dawned a happy smile.

"Turned out, we didn't lose count, nor were we going crazy. He purposefully left out a number so we'd go mad trying to find the last one... even though it never existed."

"You're a monster," Cyril felt the memories flood in from that day, "We couldn't sleep for hours until after you told us you had lied!"

"He was very much a child back then..." Terrador shivered at the pranks.

"Then? He still is," Ignitus hated yet loved the past when he was around.

"I can still gut him right here right now. All in favors, raise your paw-"

"NO!" Malefor knew where this would go and tried his best to stop Flair from continuing her arrangement, "All of y'all will think you're funny and raise your paws in agreements with her. Well guess what! Unless it's a raise paw from everyone, the vote won't be passed, and since Carith knows that I want to have some fun, she needs me as much as I need her."

"Is it really all because of the Dark Master!" Carith wanted, leaning more on needed to know if this was the truth or not, "Malefor..." Her head ducked a little, bringing things back down for many to see she was serious, and in many ways, desperate, "You say that the Dark Master is the only thing keeping us apart... keeping us from becoming something more... and I feel like that's the problem for most of us around here..." Holding his paw, she continued, "How do I know that once he's dealt with, you'll stay true to your words, and not avoid them? And if you are telling the truth, then... maybe... maybe keeping the Dark Master alive is a bad idea..."

Cynder and Spyro were against it for there own reasons. Wanting to have spoken to him upstairs but not having the chance, now was the time for Cynder, "Carith... even you know that's not the right way..." She knew this, however, after all she's been through, what she's seen and heard to what Malefor's been through, her feelings of wanting to settled down grew above all else, "I need... we need... to talk to the Dark Master... Maybe I'm stupid for falling for a story he could've made up... maybe all of this is just a simple lie... but we've never given him a chance before. For what he's done... for who he's killed, I know many will hate him, and I do still too... But that doesn't mean we can't look at what we have and know that things could've been worse."

"So then, because Spyro isn't dead, you're looking at things at a glass half full?" Flair didn't agree with what Cynder had to say, not when it came to keeping the Dark Master alive.

"And he may very well die if we don't do something now," Keeping her voice low and easy, more so because of fatigue, Cynder continued, "Spyro means... so much to me... We've see the devastating powers that the Dark Master possesses, how he basically destroyed the world... If we had someone like that, someone aside from Spyro, who could help us... these... fears... the fears you had, Ignitus... they'd never be needed ever again..."

"But then we'll forever have to live with the fear of being backstabbed," Malefor was against it.

"And do you think he doesn't fear that too?" Spyro defended the Dark Master, "We as purple dragons were supposed to help both sides, but the only purple dragon who could've stapled our names down as the hero's, painted us as a villain to one side, and a hero to the other. Our battle in the Volcano was bloody, the second showing was even worse. Blood after blood, scars after nightmares... I feel like our next battle... may be my last with him... or maybe others depending on who he kills."

The biggest problem many faced is the idea and factual nature that no side was a winning side. A backstab scared many: an alliance seemed too far fetched. Killing him was against what Spyro stood for, and for even Cynder, she didn't see where killing him would benefit any one; at least not in the ways they were hoping for, considering it was all a game of revenge. Spyro had already talked a lot on when it came to defending the Dark Master. Another voice needed to show, and that's where Cynder wanted to let her stance be known, "Right now... I'm... afraid... Me and Spyro are tired... basically at our weakest state... and where I know you, Malefor, could defend the family long enough or well enough... having the Dark Master by your side would dip the idea of your possible death... He could cover your rear in case of a sneak attack that would leave you defenseless."

"Speaking of... Ignitus..." Spyro knew an easy fix to their sleep deprived states, "Could you please help me and Cynder out. Every minute I can feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier."

"Oh. Yeah, I can absolutely... not... help... with... that..." Ignitus seemed so sure at first, though he trailed off for some reason, and before any one could ask, he answered in a hefty sigh, "Apparently... something is going on... today... again..." No one liked the sound of that, seeing this as another potential death for the family, "They... won't allow me to help with your sleepy deprived states..."

"This is what I'm talking about!" This was unfortunately a perfect example Malefor was able to use to show they were in trouble, "Spyro, you saw what happened yesterday, how the Dark Master took over, and tried so many times to screw us over! What if today, he uses that opportunity again, but succeeds! Someone will probably die today, so if it's not him, it will be us!" The Dark Master wanted to shut him up in the use of his dark powers, but after what happened yesterday, he was much weaker, to a point not even Malefor could feel, "Please... I can train with you... We can become more powerful, together! I've gained trust in Kettu and Xvar because they've given me reasons, unlike the Dark Master."

"You need to stop crying like a little bitch," To Spyro's right, Kettu emerged out in full display, standing tall and proud without worry.

"You act like today will be the end of the world," Xvar, passing through Cynder's body from the left, stood by her.

"And it could be if-"

"Shut... up..." Kettu sighed to which Malefor growled.

"Ignitus, tell your little owners to your leashed dog ass self that they're not smart," Xvar and Kettu always showed displeasure when talking about the Ancestors.

"What do you mean?" Ignitus kept calm.

"They're not smart," Kettu followed up, "They think with Spyro not having gotten any sleep, that immediately makes them think we haven't gotten any sleep. Like how the Dark Master takes over Malefor's body, we can do the same to Spyro. So where he can only run for an hour, or maybe even minutes with the energy he has, me and Xvar can take turns on who controls Spyro's body."

"He rests up inside his own body, I could even take over Cynder's to let her rest, and none of their shitty plan would even work," Xvar finished off the point, and even for Ignitus, he didn't know what to say about what their plan was and what it takes to execute it, "The only problem we would run across which we'd... still understand... is just the willingness of..."

"Don't down yourselves," Spyro smiled to the two, "I wholeheartedly trust you both. You've had plenty of opportunities, and I've even purposefully given chances for you two to take advantage of my downed defenses. I said I trusted the Dark Dragons more than my own kind at this point, and I'm not about to go back on that decision," Kettu and Xvar knew they shouldn't have expected anything less from someone like Spyro, "Malefor... would it be okay if we did talk to the Dark Master... just for a little bit."

"I don't really have choice, do I?" Malefor growled.

"How come you don't just let the Dark Master show out in his form like how Kettu and Xvar do?" Cynder wondered.

"Probably because the Dark Master's a massive pussy," Kettu laughed.

"Us being outside of your body puts us at a very vulnerable position, Spyro," Xvar explained a little further, "When we clone ourselves outside of your body, it's not truly us: simply a mirage. Our hearts stay within your body, so when ever we show as we do now, if we are to lose a battle, or be completely drained of energy, all this; our bodies that you see now, need time to regenerate lost energy before we can appear again. That, or, we separate our heart from yours and appear like that."

"So then... The Dark Master is afraid of dying?" This is how Spyro viewed it.

"That could be one reason. He's trying to build up power to later kill someone. Him shadowing a clone makes him an easier target. Also, it takes, a lot of trust from us to do such a thing even with you. When we are letting our bodies out there, the only thing protecting our hearts; our lives, from that point on, is you. We leave ourselves wide open for you to kill us since there's not much we can do. Either we fight and die... or we suffer the fate of the Dark Dragons before us..."

"But that won't happen! And you both should know that," Kettu and Xvar fully believed and trusted their lives with him: slightly smiling in glee to see Spyro never changed, "Malefor... I trust Kettu and Xvar... I trust my speed, my skills, and my abilities to help you if anything goes wrong, or if the Dark Master ever tried anything. For now, and until something else happens otherwise, he's a friend. The Dark Master doesn't need to be treated like a villain, or else that's all he'll ever see himself as."

Malefor sighed, knowing there was no way of winning even if he did have the backing of others, "Fourteen years of darkness... Fourteen years I will never get back... same for the many hatchlings or parents who will never have back with the ones they've lost... I'll... agree... to giving him one chance. But if the moment comes up where he tries to do something I can't control: that'll threaten the lives of those around me..."

"Don't you remember your favourite line? Every journey begins with a single step. This is simply step one," Having a smile to his lips, Spyro hoped that would help him feel a little more comfortable, "Just do what you did yesterday. You and the Dark Master worked amazingly well. You had the power to see, hear, and communicate with him into making different decisions: or ones that you knew he'd benefit more from. Once we start talking, let us know you're there. I'll keep tabs to make sure your darkness doesn't shut you up in case he tries to take control or something else."

"Then everyone needs to just... back away... I don't want anyone being close to..."

"No," Standing firm on his voice, that wasn't what Spyro wanted, "Don't treat him like a wild animal. Carith was right next to you the entire time. The Guardians were inches away, near centimeters yesterday, but he didn't attack," Matters got worse and worse for Malefor, knowing that what had happened truly did, and it wasn't all a weird dream, "You've trusted me... told me how much you saw me as a friend... a brother... And while I still need time to admit that to you, getting this off my shoulders will be a heavy weight off from everyone."

"And... look on the bright side... Maybe you and the Dark Master could come to some sort of, murder agreement," Readying themselves for the Dark Master's showing, Kettu and Xvar joined back within Spyro's body, whereas Ignitus and Claire moved back to sit next to Terrador and Trish, and though this was going on, Cynder didn't stop what she had to say, "The Apes did kill your parents. So maybe... you and the Dark Master could do some bonding by going around and exterminating the whole population. Nothing like fighting to get bros talking," Malefor took a heavy sigh, preparing himself to once again relive the nightmares of having his body not be his own, "You're going to do just fine... I know it, Spyro knows it, and Carith knows it. Especially for her, she knows you're just as much of a lover, as you are as fighter."

Carith made sure this was known: snuggling up to his side for love and support, still holding gently onto his paw she had grabbed earlier. While Spyro and Cynder made their way back to the left wall, a conversation needed to be had. Malefor himself needed any kind of support, and not from someone he knew, but rather the source himself. Firstly, he wanted the Dark Master to know where he was wrong, Listen... I'm sorry for wanting you dead... I'm sorry for not... giving any kind of opportunity to show you a way of a pardon for what you've done. But you need to understand... I don't give a shit about the Dark Dragons! And I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean it in a way where I'm a lazy ass bum. I don't care to exterminate your kind or, become a mass killer of my own. I want to settle down... I want to be Carith's mate... and that's it... From there on, I can die happy with her. So what would it take for you to know I'm not your enemy? The Dark Master didn't respond at first, almost as if he was upset for how he was being treated, or maybe for just not caring at all. This made matters worse for Malefor, wishing there would be some middle ground they could come to agree on. Even when the Dark Master spoke, there still wasn't much to go on, "Just swap places with me. I don't have time for a back and forth." Malefor wasn't going to allow this, No! Not unless you promise me not to hurt anyone! Carith's paw is holding firm on mine, and if you hurt her...! If you... If... Trying to be the better man, a big sacrifice needed to be made. No... I should... I should trust you... You didn't attack her yesterday... you didn't attack the Guardians yesterday... And so far, the only one who's made things worse for the other... is me. I'm sorry for saying I want you dead. While you take over, I'll think of a more... proper, apology.

"I don't know what would happen if I threw up inside your own body, so I suggest you don't do something so corny and annoying to save us both the trouble," A conversation was still being had with the Dark Master, and since his voice seemed per the usual, just with a hint of energy loss, Malefor still felt a little better having him speaking. "Now. You know me when it comes to asking twice. So I hope you were paying attention to what I said earlier before you really start forcing my paw to make a mess of things." The others sat in wait, afraid all the same of his showing in just scales alone. They all knew what to expect when it came to the voice, movements, language, and even threats. It was a two way mirror for most. While scared, the males showed their best when protecting their females. But even for them, they wished their strength was more known had it not been for a weak feeling in all their muscles. The Guardians and their females jumped mentally, seeing black liquid smoke emerging from the scales of Malefor. His eyes stayed closed shut, his body moved only from breaths, and any sign showing a different side of him was unknown. Though dismay was to be had for many once his eyes opened. They showed in a darkened purple look. His body color changing more to what the Dark Master usually showed, however, many realized that his colors had changed. Rather a corrupted purple, it seemed more softly black. Now with the Dark Master in full control over Malefor's body, Carith wanted to hold on with all her heart and paw to her lover. The Dark Master doesn't appreciate this feeling, and his eyes directed to her. His voice was different as well. Rather a tough, severe, and threatening one, he seemed exhausted for what he had to say: almost as though he was tired of being who he was, "Let go of my paw before I break yours."

Two directions were taken for many who noticed his voice. Some saw his words as a good thing. Him warning her rather than attacking was a major step for many. On the other, he still showed signs of bloodthirst: an unkempt rage that never strayed for its original owner. His voice was heard and made known to her. Her paw stayed firm at first, afraid of this being the last time she felt her lover's touch. Though the more she looked to his eyes, the easier it was to see that light still shined well enough to give her hope. This led her to do as told, dropping the weight of her paw from his and backing down. She still stayed close: body near touching and paw ready to go over and grab his. With the weight now gone, the Dark Master wiped his paw on the floor, disgusted by the touch, "You... creatures, are utterly abhorred," Moving his neck up to the left, then to the right, a crack or two was heard from his stretching, "Females of your kind are so repulsive. You all go around and complain about one thing, or another, and then another, and no matter what happens, you're never satisfied with anything. And that to which you are satisfied with, you whine and cry about how it could be better and expect everyone else to do it for you. Then the males on this planet act in such overt fashion that it's hard to believe you all can consider yourself human beings."

"Hehe... Alright, alright, I'll destroy the world with you," Spyro chuckled, but for the Dark Master, his face turned blank, "Hey... I know you being out and about right now isn't ideal... considering your loss of power... But I wanted to thank you for coming out and talking to us."

"Not like I'd have a choice. Rather get you to think I'm good and weak to rebuild on power to kill you later with."

"Which... Dark Master... can we please... talk about that..." Cynder kept her head low, her voice light, and her movements to a minimum.

"About your resignation? Unfortunately, I feel like the apple has fallen too far from the tree for me to consider your rejoining. However," The Dark Master still tried his best to turn things in his favor, even as fleeting as they were, "Kill Spyro here and now, and I'll hear you out. Granted, I'll be nice enough to allow a death from anyone here. Just make it quick. You have a lot to prove after your failures."

"I brought Spyro to you, did I not?" A small smirk showed to her lips, trying to take different approaches to see how he'd respond, "I feel like the plan to kill him is always going to be met in failure. So... why don't we meet halfway? I make Spyro a villain, turn him over by giving him a choice of my love or his family, and at the end of the day, he'll rule with us. I keep my lover. You get to have power over the world again, and it's a win-win."

"Why are you trying to compromise so poorly?" Flaws were obvious in her words, "You all have flaws that tear down your characteristics no matter who you are. You've all made mistakes, and have shown no reason in trusting, or even at the very least, have safety over threats being thrown your way. I don't agree with Amara, so I'll make my own claims when I call you all, failures."

"Says the one who failed to destroy the world because of a couple of kids," Volteer found pleasure in saying this to him, "Guess you're no different than the filth you destroy."

"Excuse me? You should be lucky you're even still alive. After yesterday, I expected a brain out of you, and now you speak to me even as feeble as you are?" The Dark Master let his displeasure be known, "Keep talking, and I'll make sure your mate is my first target to kill. I'm in no mood to deal with you, so making a choice for Ersa to kill herself for you to live, or for her to kill you and she lives-"

"DOESN'T NEED TO HAPPEN!" Cynder, like many others, didn't want this thought in their minds for such a death, and the yell made sure this was put to a stop, "Please... Dark Master, just listen!" She had his attention, "I agree, and I'll say it right now that Volteer needs to shut up!" Not really responding to this, Volteer simply sat there, caring little to none for the enemy, "I've wanted to talk to you... I needed, to talk to you, when it came to this... war, and Spyro's death that you want to achieve so badly..." At first, she stayed strong, letting her voice be known one way or another, "What about me, do you hate? What distaste do you have for me that makes you feel the need to kill me? All my life, I've done nothing but kill on your orders. I wake up to kill, I go to sleep by killing: I rinsed and repeated for ten years! And even as I am now, you still hate me... why is that...?"

Many had hoped that this would faze the Dark Master in anyway, considering this was true, and they saw it that way. For him, however, this wasn't how he saw it at all, "Oh please. Don't give me that sentimental crap. You failed to bring me back sooner, you failed to destroy the world with me, you failed by breaking free of the darkness and joining Spyro to defeat me! Every step of the way, you were a failure. And even if you were working against me, you brought me back in the first place: that makes you a failure. You let Spyro live throughout the journey back to Warfang: that makes you a failure. Stop trying to be, or act like something you're not. I should've killed you when I had the chance."

Cynder's head hung low for this: beating herself up now on reviewing all that she had down and realizing that her past was nothing but lies and displacements. Flair was through the roof in anger; same for the rest of the girls, ready now more than ever to take action against what he was saying. Spyro especially wasn't too pleased with what was being said, excepting a little more, something of a show in care, "Stop trying to act like you don't have a heart," Raising a brow, the Dark Master wondered where this was going, "I felt it when we: me, Kettu, and Xvar, stabbed you yesterday. I felt your heart... The beat was quick... acting out of fear... afraid to die in the situation that you were in. You talk about how you don't care for others, but you do care for yourself, which means there's some kind of love that you have for something. And I want to know... is that love... from your parents?"

The reaction he got from the Dark Master was a little surprising. Spyro knew talking about them would invoke a reaction, and the best part for all, they could tell it wasn't fake. The Dark Master's teeth showed from him saying this. His body shifted in a way of attack, and he let his displeasure be known, "Talk about them one more time and see what happens. Low on energy or not," Swinging his blade up fast, near close to the blink of an eye, it touched Carith's neck, and she jumped because of it, "I'm still within rage to kill-UGH!"

"Clam it down!" Malefor wasn't about to sit by and let Carith be threatened by the Dark Master. The force he put on him forced a slight knee; paw held to his head in the worst pain he's ever felt. This only furthered the anger building in the Dark Master. Not only was he being talked down on about his parents, but the weakness he felt, and the pressure Malefor was putting on him boiled his blood. Many hadn't noticed it, and where Spyro did, he wanted to say something. But Cynder, changing her attitude to an aggressive one, had her voice heard, "Malefor! Let him go!" Her paw slapped to the ground, as did her tail, surprising all, "I will handle this! Piss off for now and be annoying later, but now isn't the time!"

No one heard, but Malefor growled to hear this."I have more power than you do right now, so if you dare try and hurt her..." A follow up wasn't needed, hoping that the point was gotten across in a psychological way: leaving room for interpretation for what he might do. The Dark Master felt his body come back to him, allowing him to sit once again to all fours. Cynder saw he wanted to say something, he wanted to threaten someone, so she was quick to show where she stood, "Spyro was wrong in saying, and I'm disappointed that he'd bring that up!" Spyro ducked his head, feeling pain to his heart for her saying, however, her tail groped his, showing she loved him still, and didn't truly mean it, "I need... to tell you the truth... about what I've been feeling."

"And why should I care?" Shaking his head, the Dark Master used his paw to rub the side of his scalp.

"BECAUSE...! Because... because... I'm... scared..." Her anger wanted to show, but at the same time, thinking about the topic that needed discussing, it was hard for her, "I... love, Spyro. And I know you hate us... our kind... the purple dragons for what they've done. Where fights happen... sparring matches and simple fun... that's understandable. But waking up every day in fear, having the thought of seeing Spyro's sleeping body next to me, but in reality he's... dead... I can't handle that!" A tear or two shed from her eyes, "If you want to kill, kill the apes! If you want to torture, go do that to the apes! Or your own dark creatures! Just... not... Spyro... no one here deserves any of that... and while you may think you're a villain... I see otherwise..."

"If you see differently, than you're either colorblind, or just straight up blind."

"I use to be blind to everything around me... emotions, sights, sounds... and after ten years... I had a purple light shine down on me and save my life... and to shape it for years to come," Her smile made Spyro smile, as so for others, "Ignitus talks about where you've won... where we all die, and even where you die as well... Think about that right now... You kill us and win... what happens to the Dark Dragons if we're all dead?" He seemed to be listening, "If your plan is to kill us... there's a high possibility you'll end up dying too. Doesn't that mean that... the Dark Dragons... they'll all simple just... slowly kill themselves as time goes on?"

"You really think I care about my own kind? I told you what happened, or does your brain have an on and off switch?"

"Then kill the ones that wronged you! And since Spyro can't do it, than I will!" Finding anything at all to agree on, her hopes and pleas were there, "I just want to be with Spyro...! That's... all I want... I want this love that me and him have together... and I'm begging for you to give us, one, chance..." He didn't seem assumed by what she was saying, only looking down on her for this weakness, "If we fail... if we mess up at something... there will always be someone to have your back... and that someone will always be me. That's coming from someone who's life never even started until ten years down the line, who'll never be able to see their parents, who will never be able to hide from the screams of the dead in their head..." Reaching up a paw and rubbing her back, Spyro wanted to try his best to help her breathe, "I hate what you've done... but you've given me this opportunity... this family... being with Spyro is everything I could ask for and more, and I can see why you'd want to take that from me... But..." Her Giggle confused many, though with the wipe of her tears thanks to her arm, she smiled at him, "Don't think I'm not continuing my mission. I'm keeping tabs on Spyro daily, and one day, I'll deal with him. Hehe... though he's pretty troublesome. Always kissing me, showing love, and holding me close when I'm cold or scared... it's... probably going to take until the afterlife before I can do anything but... let's not tell him that I'm secretly spying on him, alright?"

Waiting for a response, none was given. The Dark Master's face held strong, his body stood still, and even for someone like Malefor, who was already directly connected with his body and kind, had no clue to what he was thinking. Uncomfortable feelings and emotions showed to all, worried to what he could be planning. A slight movement was given, though not one many would've liked. His claws started to twitch inwards; jerking forward and back to ball a fist, or to show claws. Cynder still showed her true emotions, wanting anything at all to come from this, as long as it wasn't deadly, "It's... scary... you know..."

"Please. Do tell me of your fears," His voice didn't seem caring in a way of use for what she had to say; more aggravated than anything.

"Looking at someone you love... someone you know... and knowing that, at some point, they may leave you... it's... something I can never stop thinking about when it comes to everyone," Even as the Dark Master stood, she didn't waver, keeping strong on what needed to be said, "And to know that, no matter your strength, death comes at a force no one is safe from... I... I want... to look Spyro in the eyes when we're old... I want... to tell him, that I love him... I don't want everything to end so soon..." Her head ducked and the Dark Master's body moved: heading straight at the two, "I want you to be there too... like everyone else who I see... as a family."

Past her and what her voice held, his focus wasn't to her, but rather Spyro. His paw swung up, giving a firm grip to his neck before tossing him up and onto the back wall. The stance and power needed for this neck grab forced both to stand by their feet to support themselves. Everyone stood, and many let there voices be heard, "Let him go!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Malefor showed teeth to this as well. Cynder was the only one who really showed support. Her paw grabbed a hold of the arm that held Spyro, and she begged for him to understand, "He won't hurt-!"

"Shut up!" The anger and tone of the Dark Master's voice upset all, including someone who saw her so dear as a friend: Flair.

Being so weak and without much sleep, most Spyro could do was hold on tight to his opponents paw. Kettu and Xvar were sure and at the ready, however, they didn't act out from Spyro's orders, Kettu... Xvar... wait! Maybe... maybe this is a good thing... Usually I'd have a blade in my gut right about now... so hopefully that means he has something to say. They understood. Trying to stay calm and collected as he normally was, a little bit of a breather was needed for the Dark Master, "If I had the power now, I'd squeeze your neck till your eyes popped."

"Hehe... shouldn't be so afraid of me, Dark Master," Spyro could see it in his eyes, "You're supposed to be immortal, remember? What happened to all that?"

"Your Ancestors are what happened!" Pulling him off the wall just enough, it gave him a driving force to bash his head back into the wall to which Spyro coughed for, "After I was forced into that crystal, my powers were zapped away from me, and at this point, for how long it's been and for what they've done, I can't even remember how I got to where I was in the first place. Every where I look; every step of the way, I always come back to finding what hell is truly like. And you'd think for someone like me, it's paradise. But how could anything be enjoyable when the peace you have after killing everyone, a single fly; a single cockroach, just won't stay dead."

"Me and Cynder were talking, and I was hoping... ugh... that you could help her out," Keeping a smile while staying clam, he remembered what his lover had wanted, "Do you think you could send Cynder to attack me? She was... hoping these fears... these, nightmares, would all go away, and for you to show a smile. I know that last one is pretty far out there, but... what do you say?"

"Stop acting like a child."

"Stop acting like a villain!" Cynder didn't want this conversation to turn sour, so she let her voice be heard, "I don't want you dead! You're afraid of the purple dragons; for what they've done, and you think Spyro will be the same! You've seen what lovers do for those they're with. If Spyro ever tried to turn, I'd put him in his place, and even you know the power I have now would be more than enough! Your power, his family, Malefor, me, the Friends, and even his and my own hatchling, Cora! Do you really think we'd just... throw that out the window! Or are you that dead set on killing us all when all we've wanted was peace!"

"You know nothing about what you're talking-"

"Then enlighten me!" She took a page from his book, "Is this because I'm a woman that you think I can't take Spyro on?! That he'll dominate me?! He does that ever night, but when it matters, I step up to the plate!" Mixed reactions were given to all: smiles, blushes, and even small chuckles as they could see she wanted to be serious and understanding, while at the same time making the best of a bad situation, "Spyro could've died against you, but we helped him. He could've lost his life to the Destroyer, but Kettu and Xvar helped him. Every step of the way, we've been there for him. He sees that, and he knows that, and we'd do the EXACT same thing for anyone in our family. That. Includes. You."

He simply stared at her, as she did to him, each having their own looks to how they felt on this situation. Cynder's was calm, collected, and hopeful. In contrast, the Dark Master's was aggravated, bloodthirsty, and disgusted. While knowing what this could hold for the future, the sight of him still holding Spyro down was a scare for all. It didn't show progress for many, and while a bad thing to do in a quiet time, Volteer's mind didn't sit still, and he whispered to his mate, "What does it matter to any one else? He doesn't want to hurt Cynder since she's a secret weapon. So him holding Spyro by the throat still proves nothing."

"I know how you feel, Dark Master," Once again showing an extreme amount of bravery, even though she cared little on life and death, Flair came to her friend's defense, "Life has no meaning when you think about it. We give meaning to life and things that seem so minimalistic. Consider the fact that we as living beings could hide anything from anyone, and when it comes to Spyro's case, he knows where he stands in terms of power. But unlike you, I've used my brain and have found that loving something means a lot more than being an ass," He looked to her, and where Cyril shivered, her body did nothing, "Listen to Cynder. Your parents may be dead, but that doesn't mean you don't still have a family."

"Why must you protect her, Flair?" Intrigued, he wanted desperately to ask her this, seeking answers to use later, "She's never really done anything for you, yet you treat her like a pet. You should know life is meaningless, so why not convince Cynder to turn to my side once again? I'd be so easy to kill everyone from that point forward, and I know your claws still itch to scrape something off from Cyril."

"Holy hell you're dense," Where Flair shuck her head, he showed teeth, "Clearly, you haven't been paying attention either. Maybe it's because with the possible sister my mother could've had that she lost, I see Cynder as the sister I never had. She came to my aid no matter the challenge, showed me support at the edge of every day, and where her innocence shows, mine does the same. She's done nothing to harm you, and where she has, you've been the instigator, and I'm sure for a slap she's done to you, a gallon of blood you'd drop from her."

"Makes you wonder why he's even still alive," Ignitus felt a little safe to say something as well.

"Ignitus!" Cynder didn't want anyone attacking him for what he's done as she already knew, "My scars are gone! I'm with Spyro, and I'm happy, that's all that matters now!"

"So then... would it be wrong if I... agreed with you... Cynder," Trish made her head show, surprising most to hear her voice, "Dark Master... You may not care to hear my say, but... I should actually be thanking you in a way for helping save my mother..." His head directed, but not to a point most could see, "There was a scuffle on our way to Warfang one day. Tensions were high and, many were looking for an easy way out. When my parents were attacked, he held my mother hostage with his blade. Dark Creatures swarmed the area rather fast, and some how, not a single one attacked my mother. Even as we backed away, some looked at us, but turned back to rip the dragon apart."

"And what about Flair's mom?" Cyril stood against the Dark Master, "What she had to go through: for how she suffered!"

"But... in a way... they helped me too," Ersa said in defense, going back in forth in surprise for many, "Remember that dragon that clawed my eye out? Dark Creatures killed him, and where I did paralyze him, they still did something I never would've done. Though as I am now, I feel like I would've killed him... but because I was, in a way, protected by the Dark Creatures everywhere I went, I never really needed to fear sleeping out in the open."

"Ersa..." Volteer frowned, wishing to have been with her through it all.

Carith sighed as well, knowing she had something to say as well. It was more for keeping the Dark Master from doing anything rash rather than actual help; still believing full heartily that anything they were saying was doing nothing, "The Dark Master killed my parents... as he had to many of yours... But at the very least... I still have Malefor..." She looked up, facing to the Dark Master's back since he wasn't facing anyone else, "The darkness protected him... and you... haven't killed him. I see no reason that should happen now, or why it should even happen in the future."

"Hehe... you sound like a rather nice guy, Dark Master," At the worst time, Spyro made a chuckle, "If you look at Claire's past too, your forces killed her previous lover and ended her up here. Cyril's brother: his death wasn't even on you. It's amazing how much help you provide to others without even realizing it."

"All of you, shut, up," The Dark Master about had it with the lovey dovey stuff from the others that was now surfacing, "All this back and forth; blah blah blah nonsense is getting on my nerves, and if I hear one more word out of any of you..."

Cynder's paw held strong to his arm, desperate, and wishing for him to understand that they didn't want conflict. She didn't see it, but he was looking to the corner of his eye just to see hers: to truly see to her core what she was feeling. For someone like him, he didn't really need to see her: already knowing and experiencing the body languages of thousands more. The other free paw he had balled to a fist. Cynder held strong onto hope, many held close to their instincts to ready an attack, and this was the same for the Dark Master. Jerking his fist back before swinging it forward, all jumped aside from Spyro who was about to take the attack. When his fist hit, so did the hearts of many others to their chests. Everyone had a different view, causing reactions to come at different times for all. Once they all had finally saw, shock and awe showed to everyone's face. The hit connected to the wall, not Spyro himself. Cynder took a very heavy sigh, laying her forehead down to his arm in a thank you. However, the Dark Master wasn't about to let such a thing slide, and he had his demands, "Listen up! I hate repeating myself so I'm only going to say this once!" All eyes and ears were at the ready and focused on him, "If I hear one cry, one peep, one little boohoo cry baby about anything at all from any of you! I will first throw up, and then I will take control over Malefor's body and kill every last one of you!"

Even though she knew speaking was a bad idea, considering what he had just said, Cynder's head backed, asking him straight up; looking him in the eyes over hope, "You're... giving us a chance?!"

His look made both paws slap to her mouth, realizing now what she had done. The Dark Master didn't like it, especially not how it sounded, and he needed a change, "It doesn't matter anyway considering I don't have the power any more because of that... woman, Celina! So quit your whining! I don't have the power to do anything today anyway, so you shouldn't fear me attacking today," Wide eyes were given from many to truly hear what sounded like help from him, and for Cynder, who did believe in what he was saying, shed a tear for the excitement she had, "But listen..." The Dark Master faced back to Spyro, "Every bone, blood, and working power in my body is ready for a reason to gut you. So please... give me a reason."

"He won't!" Cynder made that very clear to where even Spyro couldn't respond, "I'll keep him in line like I always have! And I'll keep the deal to silence any one I have to so you can rest!"

"Don't let him turn you into a monster down the way, Cynder," Flair didn't want this to be one of many secret agendas for some plan.

"Monsters make monsters," Making sure her eyes were clearly visible to his, she kept a smile, a firm stance, and a hopeful mindset, "Heroes makes heroes. Heroes make hope. And as of right now, all I feel is hope," She could see some kind of reaction wanting to start from what seemed like his eye, but from how dead his face looked, it was thought to be her imagination from how hopeful she was, "You have my word, Dark Master. You get some rest. If Malefor's being annoying or tries to bother you, let me know. I'm sure a nice big bitch slap would be well earned."

"What the hell did I do?!" Malefor cried, unbelieving that he was being targeted even though he wasn't in control. Of course and to no surprise, the Dark Master chose not to respond. Instead, his teeth showed. Struggling on the decision, it didn't stay dormant in his head. Rather, it let itself be shown out of force. His grip around Spyro's neck tighten, more and more by every second. It got to a point where even Spyro struggled to breathe, stretching his neck upwards and holding the Dark Master's paw in agony. If only a couple seconds more, Cynder would've reacted, but she held strong and on to hope he would've done the right thing. Pushing his paw off from his neck and back down onto all fours, with the grip loosened from his neck, Spyro fell to the floor and onto his knees, holding his neck and coughing in deep exhales and inhales. Scoffing to the sight of this, no altercation was made, but rather, the Dark Master took his turn to leave, heading straight back to where Carith was.

"Dark Master, wait!" Cynder, comforting the weak and in pain Spyro, had some words she needed to say, and he stopped just to hear them, "Thank you... I know this probably means nothing to you, but it means everything to all of us, and I will never forget this..." His body now regretted what he had just done, wanting desperately now to go back and finish the job, to which Cynder saw, and a change of tone was needed, "WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS! Damn you, Dark Master! You never change from your evil ways!"

Those who saw and those that didn't couldn't tell where his mind was at. It seemed to work at the very least. His teeth disappeared behind his lips, the darkness slowly faded and gave control back over to Malefor, and rather the confrontation continuing, it looked like all that needed to be said or done was already so. Even though things seemed to have died down, Cynder couldn't stand, nearly collapsing back to the ground. Her only save was her own ass, having no eyes on, including Spyro. Now back, sat, and turned around to face the others, Malefor's eyes blinked before showing himself back in control and to his original form. Two different reactions were given. For Cynder's condition, she seemed more afraid than what she was prior, and for Spyro, he didn't know if talking to him made things worse for her, "What a cheap shot," Cuffing his paws around his neck, even at the worst of times, he always found a way to smile, "I'll remember that next time when..."

"There won't be a next time!" Cynder made this a fact very quickly and aggressively, showing teeth to her lover over his need to fight, "Next time, you'll be friends. Next time, will be nothing more than a spar! The Training Room works for your mind, so if you want to fight him that battle, you'll do so mentally!" She put her foot down, lowering Spyro's head from her asserting where the two stood in terms of power, and relationship, "Damn it, Spyro!" Tears wanted to form, but she kept strong, "Look at what we have! Where we could've been! There's nothing I'd want more in this world than to grow up with you; to be with you, to love you, to just... see how we fair as adults! How we'd... look... as adults..."

"Couldn't Ignitus show that kind of future?" Ersa wondered, wanting to help out her friend.

"That's... complicated..." Ignitus didn't want to leave things as they were and tried his best to explain, "You see... our... universe, is different from many others. Where we go through what we have now on a timeline basis, there's other universes that house different varieties of who we are and what. That includes gods, Ancestors, or even the way our world works."

"It's a multiverse theory," Volteer saw where his friend was trying to go, "Me and Ersa have studied such a questionable and highly debatable topic before. You see, what Ignitus is trying to say is, Spyro's adult form, yours included, Cynder; as well as the rest of the world, will always look different or have some kind of change, depending on what multiverse you're in."

"There's a multiverse where the Guardians don't even exist," Continuing what was previously discussed, Ignitus had something to build off of, "There's a multiverse where you don't know how to fly, Spyro, and though you're a purple dragon, you only ever use... fire... and you collect... gems? Wait, where the hell does that Spyro even put all those gems?"

"That Spyro must have trouble with the trolley," Malefor laughed.

"You even play carnival games at one point..." Getting off track in his confusing look abouts into another reality, Ignitus got back on track, "Anyways, there's also ones where you become a crime fighter I guess you could say in some sort of organization. 'Sky'... something... all I know is, your figure in that multiverse is very... off putting... and Cynder somehow knows how to use lightning."

"Is the Dark Master or Malefor alive in that universe?" Flair wondered, looking for a way out.

"Malefor exists, though... it's far beyond too complicated. Like I said, it's one reality I don't like looking at. Hell, the worst kinds revolve around-"

"RULE SIXTY THREE?!" Malefor jumped with a wide smile.

"Malefor, no!" Volteer, Ersa, and Ignitus were all against that idea.

"What's rule sixty three?" Trish asked out of innocence.

"For every given female or male character, there's always a different gender of that character," Malefor didn't need anyone else to tell him this, or for them to say it themselves as he already knew, "So for example, Spyro, could end up flip-flopping into a female rather a male. OH! SPYRO! I have the perfect name for your female counterpart!"

"Please don't..." Spyro cried.

"Spyra!" Holding his chest in a laugh, some sighed, others smiled but weren't happy about it, and for Spyro, he shivered, "It's so easy to think about the names too since, every male name could almost easily be made female! Like, take Terrador's name for example. Supposedly big and strong, and yet, what if we called him... 'Terradora'!"

"I will kill you if you ever call me that!" Terrador rejected the name all together.

"Terradora the Explorer," Volteer said out loud.

"HAHA! Volteer, you're my man!" Malefor was all for the name now, "But now I'm scared! Because... think about, Flair."

"I knew you were gonna say some shit about me," Flair showed teeth.

"If she's already killed plenty of dragons before, imagine if she were male. Hah-hah! Then Cyril really would be a bitch! And the perfect name for the two? Flar, and Cyrilena!"

"Flar?" She questioned her odd name.

"Do I look like a Disney princess?!" Cyril gave a hard growl.

"Flar cause it rhymes with Tar. And, from Volteer's teachings, it's made through destructive distillation, and you are rather destructive," Malefor had his reasoning, "As for you, Cyril... eh... I'd say you look more like a simp."

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

The banter and discussion continued for many. However, two that didn't involve themselves any further were Spyro and Cynder. The heavy feeling of energy loss and sleep deprived states left the two wiggling in their arms and legs. It was rather a good thing to see the others talking as this now gave Cynder time to recollect herself with who she loved, "Spyro, I'm sorry, I just..." He wasn't mad in the slightest about it, but she seemed so determined to say what she had to, "Life's been... amazing... No matter when, as long as I'm with you, I feel safe... I feel happy. I don't know what you see in me, but when I look at you..."

She paused, looking up and down her lover's figure and blushing to see such detail, muscle, and a well built exterior. His tail was thick, same for his wings, like his body was ready to grow at any minute. The way his face connected in a way to rid chubby features of himself before helped define who he was. Nothing about him showed weakness, fear, or a faulty side to him. All this was enough to once again give Cynder a reason to fear, "I would die for you... and you've said the same to me before. I look up at the sky and see us... our family... flying up together. But then when I look at what is out there... the challenges still left to face... Do you... fear that... we may never see who we'll become in the future? We'll never see ourselves as... adults?"

"Heh-heh... are you kidding?" Being his usual self, he trusted what he knew and saw.

Just as she had inspected his body, Spyro did the same to her. To what she was previously, he had seen and experienced the growth she had taken since they first met. Her body, same to his, was much taller, close to the size of a full grown adult. Though being a female, she was slightly smaller than him. The features she had drove him wild when sitting down to inspect who she was on the outside. Slim from top to bottom; deadly from blade to claws, beautiful from head to toe; everything he loved seeing from her. The topping for him was her emerald green eyes that showed in a beacon of hope, "No way I'd lose out on having our adult selves wrestle tongues. Just feeling your scales alone already makes me burn hotter than fire, and to think what we'd become in the future only excites me more!"

She smiled, sighing even, to see such optimism, "Another reason I love you..."

"I know I haven't helped your fears... always trying to jump head first into saving the world over anything else. But the further we go, the more I don't see my death being needed... nor anyone else's," She scooted close, hugging his side in a way to where her tail dropped over his, and he could tell he had her full attention, "The Dark Master... told you the truth... His powers are too weak right now to do anything, so you shouldn't worry about his return for a while. But if, or when, he does... I feel like... I... hope... me, Kettu, and Xvar will work together to take him down in means that doesn't require a fight."

"Is it weird that I... miss being a mother..." Spyro's eyes went wide to hear Cynder say this, and she seemed so open and honest about how she felt, "That's... one day I'll never forget... one day that we... haven't really had a chance to relive... Cora is still young, and I know I might not be the best parent in the world, but... it's nice to see a hatchling by my side who isn't afraid of me... who isn't... dead... because of me..."

"Noooooo... That's a bad, Cynder..."

"You're right... I... I'm just scared, Spyro..."

Feeling her tears flow so freely, her head nuzzled to his neck, allowing another feeling of his scales to help calm her. However, this only furthered her need to cry, thinking more on loss and what that could mean for her and those around her. It didn't help that she knew, and remembered what the Dark Master had said as the deal. All I want to do now is curl into a ball and cry... cry into the arms of, Spyro... but if the Dark Master hears those cries... it's over. Spyro supported her all the way down, laying now to their stomachs and to the floor. Her head ducked down and to his paws, still keeping her head and tears hidden by pushing up against his neck. He made sure to stay in support, draping his wing over back of her now and holding her close. She willingly snuggled more, causing a somewhat surge of pleasure from the two to feel each other's scales. It was unfortunate for him to think about this, but Spyro saw a loss for what she was going through, Had we gone to sleep sooner, I would've said the end was a success... but... having Cynder cry herself to sleep over pain instead of joy... I... I need to do something for her... anything to help ease her fears. Finally getting the sleep that the two had been wanting for awhile, being curled up now helped one another drift off.

"Oh, yeah, hey, Volteer, I actually have a question," Malefor asked his yellow friend, "I wanted to ask this yesterday but didn't get the chance to with all that was going on."

"Does it involve my sex life?" Volteer grumbled.

"Do you... want it to?"

"What's the question?!"

"Oh, right! So, um... what does being engaged, mean? Because, like... doesn't that mean you're married, or like, mates now? Isn't engaged just another word for marriage?"

"What? No. Being engaged is a mutual promise made by two people who 'want' to marry. By being engaged, you're testifying that who you are with is who you'd want as a mate. It's more of the... third step in a cycle. You have care, love, engagement, and marriage. There's more to it than that but, let's just keep it simple."

"Oh, so... by telling someone I want to engage, that doesn't mean mates right away, but rather me putting my 'mark' as to say, on the female I'm claiming as my own?"

"Pretty much. Why do you ask is my question?"

"Hey, Carith," Turning to face her, Malefor looked her dead in the eyes, showed a smile, and in a easy, nonchalant attitude, he outright asked her, "Do you want to get engaged?" Her eyes shot open wide, her body turned stiff, and from the jump she made, he thought he had done it wrong, "Wait wait wait wait! I feel like I said it wrong...! Ahem..." He wanted to have a second take, "Carith... we've been together for a while now and... I feel like all I've been doing is avoiding what I know we both want. I should've said something sooner, I should've... done something sooner. And while I can't fix what I've done back then, I don't want to cause you any more pain, stress, or worry. So... I want you to know that no matter who or what's out there... you're mine, and it will forever stay that way," Anger showed in a vein to her head, and while he didn't know why yet, he still kept up his act, "Carith... will you be my engaged partner? I will need to think of something better in the future as a speech, and I don't really-OOF!"

Both of Carith's paws grabbed the side of Malefor's face, causing him to jump from the sudden movements she was making. He was afraid, very afraid to what was going to happen: same for those around them. Her claws twitched, the vein to her head pulsed, and while she tried to stay calm, her voice was very aggravated, "Do you know how long I've waited for you to say that? To get me out of this hell hole of a feeling that you didn't love me... that you really were looking for someone else. But now... you're telling me, you didn't take the next step for us to get engaged because you thought BEING ENGAGED AND MARRIED WERE THE SAME THING?!" He bravely gave a nod, showing some sadness to see her distress, and she saw that from him, "I'm going to suck every bit of power you have from those lips because I love everything about you. Our tongues are going to wrestle till they ache, and if you grab my ass and start a fire within, you're finishing me, or else I'll finish you!"

"So then... is that a yes?" He nervously chuckled.

"OF COURSE IT'S A YES!"

Tears dripped out of her eyes as her lips connected to his, throwing herself against him in a pure bliss of love. It was everything she's been wanting, and while it wasn't the action of being conjoined as mates, progress to her was progress, and after hearing what he had said, Carith knew this, Damn that son of a bitch, Dark Master! If he weren't alive... if we could just, kill him! I know... me and Malefor both know that, us being mates would happen right then and there! Smiles went all around for all in support. Trish being her innocent self, scratched the side of her cheek with one claw, blushing as she spoke to Terrador, "Hey, so, uh... Terrador..." He knew where this was going already and smiled to her, forcing a jump to her body and heart to see he already knew of her needs, "What do you say about us getting... you know...? If it's too soon I totally understand! I just... it's a no rush thing, you know? I... want you to know you're loved, that's all."

"Yet you haven't had sex with me yet," Terrador laughed, and at first, it made her heart flutter in joy, but then burn in anger.

"You...! I...! Uuuugggghhhhh!" Not knowing what to feel, her body did the next best thing and just simply snuggled up to Terrador's side, pouting with a red face, "Ignitus might've been able to stop Claire, but the next time your legs open up, you better expect me down there..."

"Hehe, don't worry, Trish. Me and Volteer should have that concoction ready by tonight. That way, you two can have your own rooms without the fear of sounds pouring into another," Ersa was happy and ready to help her friend.

"Now I can finally stop covering your mouth for moaning my name so loud~," Volteer raised a brow to his mate, teasing her to which she enjoyed.

"Not my fault you 'come' out of nowhere and completely, 'defile', my ins and outs~," She happily purred back.

"That could be US, Ignitus!" Claire was beyond jealous of what the two could talk about and experience.

"We're one step closer, are we not?" Ignitus dropped a nervous sweat, knowing he was in deep trouble when it came to her needs.

"Stop teasing and just put it in!" She openly blurted out to which many backed their heads for, "You tease me this goddamn much during foreplay, and I will turn on you. Don't think I'm done with my mission as an assassin. If you want your life to be saved," Hugging up to his side, her paw reached down and grabbed his thigh, and with her warm breath to his neck, Ignitus's body shot stiff, "Then you have to make one with me~."

"Just like Final Destination!" Malefor, now having been concluded with his kiss, remembered something he had read.

"I will ruin you like how Malefor ruins good movements~," Claire still made sure Ignitus knew where he stood, only letting him go after some time of groping.

"You talking about the second one?" Volteer knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah! The whole, new life, thing! She like, died, but was resurrected, which thus granted new life!"

"But what does that have to do with a newborn?"

"I thought it was said that having a child makes new life, so then, you couldn't die."

"Oh, yeah!" Volteer remembered now, "Yeah 'cause, new life means having a child. But the female would have to be pregnant 'after' the disaster since the baby wasn't supposed to die during, so death can't kill you."

"What the shit are you two talking about," Flair found disgust in whatever this conversation was, "That sounds disgustingly morbid."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-hooooo, you have no idea," Malefor still remembered his time reading, "Think of that kill you did on Carter. Everyone in the five or six book series dies like that, every single time. Scares the shit out of me every time I think about it. Considering the fact 'I've' been close to death many times before, I hope me cheating death doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. Though I'm sure we don't have race tracks, airplanes, roller coasters, escalators, or movie theaters."

"How many ways did these people die?!"

"A fricken shit load! Bro, they had enough time in the fourth book to have a premonition of the characters deaths in a mall, just to kill them later in like a coffee shop. They got destroyed!"

"Once again, that sounds horrible, morbid, and a little psychopathic to enjoy the deaths of other people."

"I didn't say I liked it. Though, it had a good idea... until everyone died... BUT! Get this! The last book, number six which is title number five because number four was just titled 'The Final Destination', looped at the end! The first one had to deal with a plane explosion, the last one, looped back around to that same event but with different people! And on the same flight number: One eighty! Unless... it was just talking about-NO WAIT THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

Volteer and Malefor both had the ideas at the same time and spoke in unison, "How could the loop be fake if the girl in the first book survives which means it's not a trilogy but rather a STATE OF PURGATORY!"

"HAHA! YES! VOLTEER!" Malefor was beyond happy that the two came to the same conclusion.

"It's rather complicated either way. Though I understand where you're coming from," Volteer smiled to see his purple friend had actually read a book.

"Because here's the thing! If she does survive and it goes into the second one, then that means that the beginning will always have the same ending! Kinda like groundhogs day! Unless you change an event that brings you back to where you were previously, you'll never break the loop! So does that means someone isn't doing something right to break the constant loop of death?"

"Never came out with a squeal, so we'll never know," It was an unfortunate sigh for the two, "Got anything else on your mind?"

"Um... want to talk about Sharknado?"

"Dear holy father and spirit, what the hell is a Sharknado?" Flair was afraid to ask.

"Shark-danko... Oh, wait! Actually, I have one other thing to ask," Malefor trailed off to something else that's been bugging him, and he directed his eyes to Carith, "Hey... my love," His blush and gentle actions helped her feel more love to see how serious he was about their future, "I'm... confused about one more thing, and I don't want to mess this up as you deserve the best everyway around. The... engagement ring. If I gave you one, what's the difference between that and a marriage one? Are they not..."

"They're not the same thing," Volteer answered for Carith.

"Malefor..." Carith's voice ducked low, as did her head, though she still faced up and into his eyes, "You put a ring on my finger or horn, and I can guarantee you, we will bang that night," He jumped, giving wide eyes to hear her open and honesty, but at this point, she needed to tell him, "Nothing scares me more than losing you... losing this family... and the amount of joy I'd feel... to see a ring placed on me by you after so, many, years... I love you... and I want you to know that even now... knowing that we are finally engaged... there's nothing more I'd want to do then to cry on your chest."

"You know I'd hold you close, right?" Her words and actions made small tears drop from Malefor's eyes as well, feeling over joyed with how their love was evolving as well, "I would never let go of you."

"I know... and I want you to prove that now."

Carith wanted, and needed the feeling she was begging for the second Malefor asked to take a step forward in their love together. Sitting in front of him, right side against his chest and curving her head like a hook to his neck, she purposefully left her left side exposed, knowing what was next. Malefor, hanging his head over her head and neck, brought both his wings around her body. One curved across her back, and the other, past her chest and to her side. His wings connected, covering her in a blanket to which she happily snuggled to. It was everything and more for her to have this movement, to feel such satisfaction and safety to know their love would never waver. The hold he had over her, the trust he knew she felt towards him, it all led back to one fear and one fear alone. Hey... Dark Master... It was a long shot, but any progress forward was all he could hope for, I know things keep coming back to this, and it seems like ever since yesterday, so much has started to take form for many of us. Please, just... tell me what I have to do. I don't want this feeling to fade, I don't want Carith to fear me, I don't want... what should be love, turn to pain. This hold I have of her now, I know the power you have... and at the point you gain that strength back, I fear you'll crush her with my own wings... So I will beg and plead if I have to... just, please... give us a chance. The Dark Master this time around waited no time in his response, "Oh, shut up. After what you've already made abundantly clear; after what you've already shown, to how you feel about my life. Fear for me is delicious, because where there's fear, there's weakness." Malefor put a quick stop to his rambling, That's my fault for what I said! And damnit, from here on out, mark my words if you will! I will not speak poorly of you or your kind... I will make attempts with Spyro to help you, not harm. And as we've already promised, I will not make an attempt at your life. If I ever break any of these promises, then you can call me out. You can take control all you wish. Not having seen this action, the Dark Master gave a raised brow, "You do realize my first target and kill will be on your lover. Carith will surely break, and even as she begs for her life, my foot to her skull will not waver." Still holding on to hope, Malefor gave it his all, I need to admit it as others have. There's good in you, and I know even for someone like you, I've seen you save lives. Remember that mother and father? The parents that were protecting their hatchling? Carith noticed sweat had started to form to Malefor's chest. The more she fell out from her moment with him, the more she noticed it. His body seemed to tremble, even if it was slightly. Her head backed ever so slowly from his, sneaking her way out from his comfort. Seeing his face now, he looked to the floor. Desperation and fear surely showed, and even with her voice, he didn't hear her, "Malefor... are you... okay?"

Those two were on the brink of death. That hatchling begged, cried, and screamed for mercy. What would've been their dying breaths, they held their hatchling close to shield it from your attacks, Continuing the story he remembered so clearly, Malefor had plenty nice to say, just as he did bad, And yet... you helped them. You told them of the nearest gem spot, you told them of a clear path to Warfang, and you saved, that family. You had plenty of times before to kill people with your dark army, but you spared so many lives at the same time. Being in the spotlight of a good guy wasn't something the Dark Master wished to be pinned as, and he made his intentions clear, "For those lives I let free, it gives me time and space to play out a better kill, so don't put me in the same place as you filth. Why kill the weak when you can bully them for years? I kill the strong so an actual fight would be avoidable. You know so little about me, yet you try your hardest to befriend me now." He knew a back and forth would ensue, so a stand was needed for Malefor, Do you want to make the deal or not?! Your heart beats, just the same as mine, and... damnit, why can't you see what the future holds if you'd just be...! Someone... we could all call... a friend. The conversation went quiet for a second or so, giving room and time for thought to both parties. The Dark Master already had his deal met, "Leave, me, be. I've already made it clear that I can't even do anything today, so..."

But what about tomorrow?! Or the day after! Malefor was desperate for anything, Doesn't that mean that, every time your power builds, we have to rid you of it just to feel safe?! I know that even you see it that way! But why not roam free with us?! Take down villains like that toothpick shitstick that we all agree is horrible! Live a life that consists of something more outside of death! Be... something more... something... someone else... could love. This was about all Malefor had. No other idea really came to mind, and for some reason, when it came to talking with this threat, exhaust hit him to all parts of his body. "Do not make me repeat myself. And interrupt me one more time, and I'll surely try and break your lover's paw with what little power I have," Malefor knew where he was wrong and agreed with the Dark Master in a way by easing his body, "If you try and call upon me again while I'm resting, I will not hesitate to act." Even for Malefor, he knew this was as good as it would get, and it was easy for him to compile all that was known in his head. So then... breathe... and trust the Dark Master. That was a laugh Malefor needed, Easier said than done.

"Malefor," Now hearing her cry and feeling a cool yet warm paw held to his, he noticed the worried look of Carith.

"Hehe... don't worry, gorgeous, I'm..." Malefor tried to take a sigh, knowing even himself that what he said was basically a lie, "I'm fine... Scared, but... fine."

"Scared of being a pussy?" Flair out right said to him, and even what looked to be him in a downed state, she still showed care, "I don't know how everyone's brain works. Hell, when I look around, all I see are meat bags and bones that will betray me at some point in the mist of life going right. But from what I've learned, I know when I need to be strong, who I need to be at that time, and in what way a situation can easily be diffused," She didn't want to help him too much, feeling like he didn't deserve it, but help was still there, "Unfortunately with yesterday's case, while Spyro didn't hurt Cynder, that feeling of weakness nearly killed me. But when it comes to the Dark Master, he has no control over anyone here. And even if he 'did' try something, you already know Spyro would end him."

"I just don't want this cycle to keep continuing," He sighed, exhausted just to the thought, "I am still upset for what he's done... though I know that shouldn't blind me in revenge. But... what am I to do when I don't know something? Something that could be the death of who I love?"

"Even the Dark Master knows, right now isn't the time to do anything. If all he cares about is death and murder, then why would he kill us now? Considering the fact that it's already been proven time after time as of now that he isn't the strongest dragon in the world anymore. For all we know, he's never had anyone to rival him, and maybe Spyro could give him a sense to live once again."

"Or, the reason he wanted to blow up the world so soon and quickly was because he knew there were threats out there he couldn't deal with, so he found the alternative, that being the Destroyer," Volteer had his idea as well, having plenty of time to think on what his plan was or could've been, "Maybe... the Dark Master coming back to full power is a good thing."

"Damn, Volteer... After I thought me and you were bonding like brothers, you know want me dead?" A tear wanted to show in Malefor's eye.

"No no no, that's not what I meant. What I'm saying is, the Dark Master really doesn't have anyone to trust. Having someone as powerful as Spyro is scary, but for him, that could be a good way to work around his fears. The Dark Master knows Spyro could kill him, but by the death never coming to fruition, and having that fun fueled adrenaline of battle, the two could become close friends from their deadly fights," More of an idea formed in the mind of Volteer, "That's actually... not a bad idea. Many people have fears and anxiety to many kinds of actions or reactions. No one likes the feeling of being powerless, and maybe, the reason the Dark Master isn't killing any one, is simply because he knows he's powerless. He's afraid of Spyro now, and any confrontation with us he knows would end in his death."

"But why does he care is what I want to know. The death of any one of us would send an ever lasting shock wave to the whole world. I'm beyond overjoyed that he hasn't acted, but I don't want to have that crushing feeling in my soul for when we get too comfortable, and suddenly, I taste Carith's blood."

"It's all about finding something that he feels something towards. We know he hates our guts, but maybe someone else in Warfang could help, or even further out. Being completely honest, there's one thing I think back to when it comes to last night's little... discussion, with the Dark Master," Having talked about this behind the scenes with his mate, Ersa, he let this out into the open for all to hear, "Even with the small amount of power he had, after losing it all because of Celina, he still had the ability to hurt me, to hurt Ersa. He knows Spyro wouldn't kill him, and he was already so weak at the time with nearly no power, so why didn't he attack even though he knew there wouldn't be any consequences towards his actions? Worst thing Spyro could've done since the Dark Master was already so weak was to take more power away. So why didn't he attack?"

"Maybe because... the story he told... wasn't a story," Carith wondered if this was it, "Maybe what he told us... was the truth."

It was a thought many were stuck on since he had told this story, yet being so unrealistic and unclear, it was hard for anyone to really know what the Dark Master's true intentions were. However, going so deep in what felt like depression, Malefor didn't wish for this to stay long since he knew what they had as of right now. Knowing no matter how they looked at it, at the very least, the Dark Master wasn't a threat, so he had other things to focus on, "Well, in any case, I feel like that mystery is for another day. However, there is just one more tiny little thing that I would like an answer to, and this question goes off to you, Flair."

"I'm not having sex with, Cyril!" She already had an idea what it could be.

"Let's put a pin or that, or a nail, cause nails last longer. But the question I want answered is... who gave you the bite mark on your neck?" Malefor smirked, Flair locked in embarrassment, and for Cyril, he chuckled to see all eyes were on the two now, "Not only is there a bite mark on your neck, but the same goes for Cyril. Don't tell me you're letting yourself fall for such a... disgusting creature?"

Flair tried with all her power to stay calm in this kind of situation, but now that it was out in the open, and many gave reactions such as the girls who smirked too, her anger exploded, "I TOLD YOU TO GO EASY!" Her voice scared out, but surprisingly, she didn't wake the two sleepy lovers of Spyro and Cynder, "Damn it, Cyril, why do you never listen to me!"

"I tried to go easy!" Cyril cried in defense, "You got pissed off and bit my neck because I listened to you!"

"THAT'S... I... UGH!"

"You know, Flair, you should be a little thankful," Ersa saw this as a good thing, "Bite marks are small and cute for many, however, there could've been a possibility of what is known as a hickey."

"I know what a hickey is! That bastard Argus gave me a few."

"So then... in a way, you should feel more inclined to love Cyril," Flair didn't wish to admit it, but Ersa wanted some good to come from this, "Cyril, do you know how a hickey forms?"

"Yeah, it's when the tiny blood vessels under your skin break. I never saw such a thing to be enjoyable and never gave one to Freya or Flair. Even in our movements of... hyper activity, I still try to control myself to keep me from leaving a mark," Cyril chuckled, "Also considering a mark on her, she'd surely do the same to me. With her blade that is and not her lips."

"Hear that, Flair? Seems like he has self control, and is even paying attention in ways that keep you happy," Ersa raised a brow, wondering what her response would be.

"I already said I liked him, alright!" Flair admitted it, but she didn't wish to face anyone in the embarrassment she had, "He declined my kiss last night simply because he didn't want our love and future to be built off of deals... He wants our love to be real... he wants our future together to hold value... And I hate how much I'm falling for him," Everyone was happy to hear they were getting along so well, especially with what happened a couple of days ago, "Now stop making me feel such annoying heat! For someone like me, I enjoy the feeling of winter more than summer."

Cyril was sure to give what he could to help her in that field. His side snuggled to hers, purring upwards to feel Flair's warming body. This feeling excited her, but she didn't want others to know that. Her blush stayed, but her smiled quickly disappeared; facing the right wall next to her in a show of teeth. He wasn't complaining: rather he enjoyed the view of seeing half her check colored red from a blush. It still hurt to know she was afraid, but he didn't want to push that any further and simply kept to his job. Trying her best to keep back while facing forward, she needed to show teeth, "Something's supposed to happen today, so these smiles you all have are sure to disappear," They all knew this to be true, and many looked to Spyro and Cynder in hopes they'd be able to stand their ground and fight, "What ever happens today, I want you all to understand and look around at what you have. Don't take that for granted. I know you all have hearts, and if you men start showing some kind of primal evil or aggressiveness towards your own family, I'll make sure to rip those hearts from your chests and shove them in your eyes to get you to understand."

Suddenly, and out of nowhere for many, just as Flair was coming down from what she was saying; in a way demoralizing most, water splashed in her face and hit her like a hose. This random slash of water caused her eyes to close, whereas those who saw had widened their eyes to the max. Wondering who would've wanted to die today, they noticed the puddle of water that trailed from the source. Their eyes followed close, and making it to the source, they noticed it was Malefor who had shoot her. Their eyes directed back to the soaked fire dragoness. Her scales were wet from head to toe, considering the amount of water she was hit with was enough to do mass amounts of what was presumed to be damage. Cyril's wing jumped off her back, and slowly but surely, her fins all sharpened. Flair didn't yet know who had done what they did. With a balled up paw, squishing the water within, her teeth rumbled, "I'm going to shove your ass so far down your throat, your existence will end with you eating yourself."

"Flair, you need to lighten up! Mainly in terms of cooling down and chilling out that is," The only reason for him taking on such a challenge was simply because of the good feeling Malefor had in his chest.

"You've lived for far too long. So let me give you a countdown to when your life ends. Three..."

"What?!" Carith cried, "Flair, please, don't do this! Me and Malefor JUST got engaged!"

"Two..."

"Quick! Someone mess her up!" Malefor had the perfect idea, "Twenty-five, sixty-three, eighty-one! Aw, shit! What was Volteer's favorite sex position with Ersa?! Sixty-nine!"

"FLAIR, COUNT FASTER!" Volteer showed teeth to Malefor.

"One."

"I'm a virgin! You can't kill me!" Malefor knew a fight with her was a losing battle, and while he now saw that what he did was incredibly stupid, his next best hope was simply to run, "Carith!" Running in front of her where Flair took a single step, he gave his good luck, "Quickly! We need to head upstairs! Maybe me being a virgin means she can kill me, but if we head up right now, and knowing your tight, cool, yet probably beyond warm honeypot, it'd probably only take us a couple of seconds!"

"Then we should ABSOLUTELY hurry!" Carith jumped to all fours, "Oh no! Malefor, don't look behind you! Flair's right there! Quickly head upstairs so we can have coitus!"

"Uh... what does that word mean?" Malefor stopped for a second, looking his lover in the eyes to see nothing but lust and warmth.

"JUST GO!"

"AH!"

Running ahead and looking back to see Flair had taken some more steps, he wasn't focused ahead of himself. Slamming into something at the entrance, the power in which he hit and what he hit forced out a loud 'Oof' from Malefor. His body bounced off whatever it was that connected with him, and as his body hit the ground, everyone stopped what they were doing. The game was over, and even for Flair, her eyes finally opened to see what had happened. Being on his ass and a little in a daze, Malefor rubbed his head in agony over what he had connected with, "Holy... shit...!" Trying to keep himself entertained, he gave a chuckle and a joke, "Is that how hard you want it, Carith? Though I'm sure after that, you're gonna need to take... the... lead."

Opening his eyes now to see who it was, where he believed it to be Carith, many already saw the truth. History once again repeated itself from what had happened yesterday. The feeling of a brick wall wasn't that, but rather a strong looking dark dragon in a full set of armor. Malefor was quick to get serious, spinning himself around and jumping back to all fours, landing in a way that erupted his darkness outwards. Now getting a clear view over what they were up against, this positioning was just like last time, only with less forces. To the far left and right, at the corners of the entrance to the Chambers stood two dark dragons. Each dawned gear and weapons identical to the City of Prosperity. The guards showed to be protecting the two in the middle: a female of green coloring, standing tall and proud in true adult form. Another female stood to her side, a white wind female. And from the looks of things, she was the age of an adult, but no more than twenty or so years old. No one knew what to expect, no one knew what to say, and it was both awkward and uncomfortable for both parties. For the four visitors, they seemed ready for a fight, showing a resting face of anger that rivaled even that of Flair. They didn't seem to care much for any one they looked at, however their faces changed, and showed what seemed to be hope when seeing the bodies of Spyro and Cynder. Staying strong and keeping her chest shown, the green female to the middle spoke, "I have hope the two are still alive. Or did you all keep their decaying bodies after Amara murdered them?"

"The hell kind of question is that?" Malefor tried not to spit, "All because you're missing an eye doesn't mean you have to act completely blind."

The family all took time to notice what they were up against. The green female, while seeming to show such a powerful voice and sturdy body, looked in no shape to fight. Her body like most was smooth, gentle to the touch, and easily maneuverable. Where her colors of primary were emerald green, the secondary showed a color of pebble, though her eyes kept her green coloring. She had the same features as most when it came to her body too. Two horns on each sides of the top of her head. Fins connected together from head to tail, appearing smaller and smaller the further down they went. Though her other feature of fins were rather unique. They curved over her shoulder and connected to her back, same went for the ones that curved over her back-end and connected near her middle fins, too. Her tail blade didn't seem battle ready either, showing to each side; left and right, in the shape of dolphin's fin. The wind female shared many similarities to that of the green female. Where her primary colors were white, her secondary was an emerald green. Keeping the same as well, her horns were almost identical to the other female, though her fins were different. Rather staying together, they separated. From head to tail, her fins curved off in two rows, one facing left and the other facing right. This gave her body more of a defining feature, showing growth, color, and pizzazz, where as under her body was exposed, soft, and vulnerable. Even for her tail blade, it was almost the same from the emerald female, aside from some different geometry to it. Seeing these two females gave Malefor and many others the impression of dropping their guards, but for what Ignitus had said, many wondered if they were the threat. However, another reason they felt bad was the damage they saw from all four. The females were beyond damage from war: slashed eyes, marked wings, missing fin clips, and holes to their wings. For the other dragons, while the armor did protect most of what they could see, even the armor itself seemed so bashed in: already in a torn and run down state. Everything in Malefor's body told him not to trust who these dragons were, trying to hide his sympathy for how they looked, "We have houses you can live in here in Warfang. No need to pick up scraps and look so damn homeless."

"Maybe if you didn't destroy half the world and then some, people like us wouldn't look so demoralized and without a reason to live," The green female snapped back at him to which Malefor growled for, "Don't care if it was the Dark Master or not; it must feel nice knowing your mistakes hurt other people, whereas our mistakes could get ourselves killed. You want to redeem yourself for what's happened? Then why didn't you hang yourself for what you've done, and suffer at least a few minutes, unlike the years you made all suffer through."

"For what ever you went through, I'm sorry," He tried his best to keep calm, "I lost plenty of who I love too, and living every day knowing that I killed my family's family is haunting."

"Then stop living. Stop breathing, stop existing. If you know you're nothing more than a monster, why do you bother trying to act like your image matters? Just disappear already so you can be forgotten."

"And what makes you think people like me would ever forget him?" Carith remembered his fears; remembered how her lover felt when it came to being forgotten, and she stepped away from the wall to make her stance against this woman, "Don't come in my home and act like you run the place. What ever you want, stop beating around the bush and just say it. The sooner you leave would clearly be the better for us all."

"None of you matter anyway," The poison female scoffed, "I'm simply here for Spyro alone. All you can piss off and die for all I care."

"Well, you're shit out of luck. Those two aren't exactly in the best of moods, so waking them now would be as stupid as your threats," Malefor hid the fact that the two lovers hadn't gotten any sleep last night.

Surprisingly, his words had some effect. Their bodies shivered, enough so to make them jump. Though the emerald female didn't waver, "I didn't ask for your opinion now did I? Wake them for me, or I will. The screams of pain and bloody murder that I will cause to you will surely get their attention. I know you men like power, but you have no power here. So do as I say."

"How about you leave before I say go to hell and take you down with me?" Letting his darkness past his scales, Malefor was ready for a fight, and it seemed like that was so for the others, "Unlike you, I wouldn't mind having your names to remember. It'd be funny when I'm down with the devil drinking and laughing about four idiots who tried to make an attempt at a dark master."

"Name's, Serena," She didn't mind giving out her name, "And my daughter here, her name is, Ava."

"Wait, what?!" No one else had caught on as fast as Volteer and Ersa had, and they were beyond floored to hear what the two had to say.

"What what?" Malefor asked as many also wondered.

"Do you all not remember what Amara talked about yesterday?" Volteer asked the group, and upon him saying, the four at the front entrance showed teeth.

"The Rebels are led by a leader: a green female of secondary power: poison. She has a daughter who she uses as a weapon. And just as she had said before, they've never had luck in communications, only ever being met with arms and death," Ersa summed it up, now getting everyone defensive against what the next move of either of the groups would be, "That would make Serena the leader, and Ava the weapon. They're the Rebels!"