"Are you alright, Cynder?" Terrador asked as he entered the infirmary to see how Cynder was recovering from the terrible wounds left from the battle.

The wound on Cynder's back that the shadow dragon that had pinned her down had given her had been cleaned thoroughly, but it was still open and glistening with small beads of dark red blood. It was partially closed, the healing process increased by red health gems. The healers, however, had said that it was quite a deep wound, and therefore meant that it couldn't be healed completely by red gems, so must be left to heal naturally over time. But that only went for a few of Cynder's wounds; most of them were small cuts and were healed completely by the red gems she was given, some of which left scars, and the few wounds that remained were still slightly open and excreting either blood or pus. The only other wounds in the same state as the long wound along her back were the wounds on her forelegs: The wound on her left foreleg from the savage bite of the shadow dragon that attacked her, Pyron and Freeze, and the wound on her right foreleg from the agile strike from Spyro's tailblade. They weren't bleeding as much as the deep wound on her back, but the red flesh was still visible. Her left foreleg had been mangled to the point where a small amount of bone was visible.

Cynder was in agony, but none compared to her emotional pain. It had been a day since the siege, and Cynder had been bawling her eyes out for almost the whole day, the shock of what happened the day before getting to her more than it ever had. It made it even worse when she reminded herself over and over again that this was Spyro. He had been her mate, her beloved. He had done this. He had done this to her. Every time she thought of Spyro, the forepaw that Spyro had stabbed stung even more. She didn't know what drove him to become this monstrous being, but right now, she couldn't care less.

Terrador sighed. Cynder hadn't made any move of acknowledging his presence. He cleared his throat with a deep rumble, startling her. The dark purple dragoness looked to Terrador and glared at him, eyes red and wet with tears. Terrador's heart fell at the sheer emotion behind Cynder's glare. Cynder opened her mouth and spoke, her voice hoarse from her screams and cries as she grieved for the life that once was and the events of yesterday's siege. "Do you think I'm alright?" Cynder croaked. "I've lost everything. My life is falling apart! I don't deserve this!"

The guardian mouthed wordlessly, stepping backwards. He had never seen this much emotion in Cynder. Ever. To be honest, it scared him; not much ever scared the strong, calm earth guardian. He had always hated seeing people emotional. He had always hated being emotional. It hurt to see others that he cared about struggling in life. He always knew that life was going to be tough for him and those he loved, but this was entirely different to anything that he could ever imagine. The pain behind Cynder's gaze was too much for him to bear, and he knew that when Cynder was upset, she would get angry, and she was not a girl to mess with when she was angry.

He was treading on dangerous ground here. He remembered what had happened a few days ago when he had spoken without thinking and told Cynder blindly that she had murdered his family during her time under Malefor's control. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what's in your head right now. I just wanted to let you know that we're here for you. There are others who love you, Cynder." Terrador said, pausing before adding, "We loved Spyro, too. I don't know why he did what he did. It hurts us, too. We're grieving like you are. We're in this together."

Cynder opened her mouth to spit a retort back at Terrador, but the earth guardian quickly cut her off, raising his voice slightly to get Cynder's attention. "And don't say I don't know what you're going through! Because I know that. Nothing I have been through could have ever prepared me for any of this, nor will it ever compare to what you're going through. But we're here for you. Cyril, Volteer, and I are here for you. Pyron and Freeze, too. I'm sure Rubblerust, as well." he said. "You can come and talk to us if you need to. I just… I just hate seeing you like this."

The dragoness continued to stare at Terrador before looking away again, staring at her paws. Her bright silver claws were still stained black from the oddly coloured blood of the shadow dragons. Terrador saw more tears welling up in Cynder's eyes, and he swallowed nervously, before taking a step forward. Then another. He slowly made his way up to Cynder, before he embraced her in a hug with his large wings. Terrador felt Cynder lean into his chest as she began to weep. The guardian began to tear up as well. It had been about eighty years since his last hug. It felt good to finally embrace someone again, even though he wasn't the one that was in need of it.

Terrador heard footsteps and slowly turned his head towards the sound, still holding Cynder in the embrace, not caring about what anyone thought. Luckily, it was only Cyril. But as Cyril turned his head around and looked at Terrador, the earth guardian could only gasp with shock at the sight of Cyril's face. A bandage was wrapped around the top left side of Cyril's face, running around his left horn (although there were several bits of plaster around his horn to put it back in place) and over his left eye. Small blotches of blood showed through the bandage where the wounds continued to bleed, and small bits of some wounds and scars showed from underneath the bandage, continuing to run down his face. The wound that ran from the left corner of his mouth to the edge of his jawline was nothing but a small line, but Terrador could see by the red around the line that it was still incredibly painful. "I'm okay." Cyril reassured Terrador. "It just hurts a little, and they said that the wounds need time to heal naturally. The healers said I'm alright to leave today. Is Cynder okay?"

Terrador sighed, feeling Cynder shiver in his embrace as she wept, her tears wetting his chest. "She's fine physically, but mentally and emotionally, she's a wreck." Terrador said sadly. "I don't know what to do."

Cyril walked towards Cynder and Terrador and sat down next to them. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened, Cynder. I wish we could have stopped it." Cyril said softly, and Terrador pulled back his wings so Cynder could hear Cyril properly, revealing her red-eyed, teary face that rested against Terrador's chest. "If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know. I… I'm not great in moments like these, I never have; but I want to help, I really do."

"I know." Cynder croaked, and Terrador's heart sank at how helpless the normally strong Cynder sounded.

Cynder pulled herself away from Terrador and shuffled painfully over to the corner of the room and rested her head against where the walls joined and continued to sob in anguish. Terrador sat and watch Cynder weep, before he eventually sighed and stood up before walking away, leaving Cynder alone in her recovery room, as Cyril followed. "I feel so bad for Cynder right now. I just don't know what we can do for her." the ice guardian said as they left the infirmary.

"I know. I'm exactly the same." Terrador replied. "I hate seeing anyone like this, and I want to help Cynder get through it, but I don't know how. This is something far beyond me for once. If Ignitus were here I even think he'd struggle with a situation like this."

Cyril just mumbled in agreement. "I wish he was still here." Cyril murmured. "The world just feels… so empty without him. I know he died eight years ago, and we all got ourselves past it, but in a time like this where we need him…" Cyril paused as he held back a choking sob, trying to fight the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. "It's hitting me once more, although much harder than last time."

"I know." Terrador said as they made their way down the streets of Warfang to head back to the Temple. "He was a great friend. We've been friends since I was six. I think he was about ten when we first met. He was so pure, so kind-hearted, so… so selfless. Even at such a young age. He didn't change much as we got older. He just got wiser, and he would walk around with a sense of maturity that I didn't see in many dragons older than Ignitus was. He knew what he was doing when he sacrificed himself. But it doesn't make it hurt any less."

Cyril mumbled once more, before silence settled over them for the rest of the trip back to the Warfang Temple. They arrived and walked into the Temple, expecting Volteer to be there to greet them, but they were surprised when he wasn't there. Terrador tried calling out his name. Nothing. "Where is he? This is kind of peculiar for Volteer to just go missing like this." Cyril said. "Was he here before you left?"

"Yes, he was." Terrador said, scrunching up his face. "I wonder where he could be."

"I'm right here, guys." Volteer's voice sounded from behind him.

Terrador and Cyril turned around to greet Volteer and gasped with shock as they realised that Volteer had been crying, his eyes red and watery. "Are you alright?" Cyril asked.

"My, uh… my daughter. She died in the attack." Volteer murmured. "Her mate said Spyro killed her. It wasn't quick either. He cut out her eyes, amputated her forepaws, and left several bites and tailblade wounds in her body. She bled to death in pure agony, unable to see her mate's loving face as she died, unable to hold his paws as she had none to hold them with. I saw the corpse, and she was a terrible, bloody mess!"

Terrador and Cyril looked at each other with increasing worry in their eyes as Volteer's voice gradually increased into a savage growl, showing such sheer emotion from someone who was always so incredibly happy and optimistic. Volteer inhaled with a shuddering breath and continued speaking through gritted teeth. "How could he have done this?" he snarled, his voice continuing to rise into a savage growl as spittle flew from his mouth. "Spyro was the most loving dragon I had ever met, and then he goes and does this?! How could he?! I hope he dies the same way Verah did!"

"Volteer, calm down." Terrador said calmly.

"Shut up!" Volteer growled, looking up at Terrador with bloodshot eyes and clenched fangs. "Just shut up!"

Volteer stormed past Terrador and Cyril and into the Temple, turning into the hallway and disappearing from their view. A loud slam sounded from down the corridor, and Terrador and Cyril could only stare down the hall. "What do we do now?" Cyril asked after a long time of silence, turning back to look at Terrador.

"Volteer can't be gone. We need his optimism in a time like this." Terrador said. "There's been so many times where his optimism has helped us get through grief and tough situations, as much we never wanted to admit it."

Cyril could only nod. He averted his gaze, a tear forming in his right eye. "For once, I feel helpless as a guardian." Cyril muttered. "I don't know what to do."

"Where's Ignitus when we need him?" Terrador asked once more, tears forming in his eyes as he turned and walked out of the Temple, looking up into the grey, cloudy sky above him and raising his voice in a pained shout. "Help us, Ignitus! Wherever you are, give us the strength to keep going! Give us the power to help others! I don't know what to do anymore; you were always there for me! Why did you have to die?!"

Terrador lowered his haunches to the ground as he sat, mourning for his old childhood friend. Cyril could only watch. This was something he knew he couldn't interrupt. Terrador hardly ever mourned openly. But he needed this. He needed to cry out to Ignitus, wherever he was in the Ancestral Realm. "We played together. We laughed together. We cried together. We argued together. We fought together." Terrador cried. "We did everything together! You were an only child, and you were all I had! You were my friend! You were my family!"

The earth guardian sniffled and let out a loud roar of sheer emotional pain, throwing his head back as he did so. The roar faltered, losing its force, and he lowered his head, sitting with his jaws open in a soundless wail as he tried to get his breath back. He inhaled sharply, before throwing his head back again, letting out another howl. It took Terrador a few minutes to calm himself down, and when he finally recomposed himself, he suddenly felt very embarrassed for screaming and howling in public where everyone could see him. But the faces that he did see as he looked up weren't faces of judgement or criticism like he thought they would be. They were faces of concern and shared pain. Scars and blood still covered some of their bodies, and some of them were crying as well, mourning for those they loved who had died in the siege, taking Terrador's mourning as a sign that they weren't alone, as they began to cry along with the earth guardian. Terrador turned his head as he saw a young fire dragon walk up to him from his periphereal vision. The fire dragon stopped in front of Terrador, and Terrador saw that the eyes of the young dragon were reddened with tears of pain. The red eyes also burned with such passion, that Terrador couldn't look at them any longer, and he looked away.

Terrador suddenly felt wings around him, and realised that the dragon had embraced him, the same way he had done so with Cynder. But he could feel tears on his shoulder, and he turned to see the fire dragon crying softly. Terrador smiled sadly and closed his eyes, letting more tears slip out of his eyes as he returned the hug. For a moment, Terrador felt like a child again, stuck in an embrace with a young Ignitus. Then he heard the fire dragon speak. Although he was young, the fire drake's words were wise. "I'm not Ignitus, but I know, wherever he is, that he'll be proud of you. You've pulled through the hurt for these eight long years and kept the guardian team going. Keep Ignitus' memory flowing, and he will always live in your hearts." he said, tears streaming from his eyes. "You're not the only one mourning. We've all lost people. But don't forget to seek help, and mourn in your own way, in a way that helps you get over the loss and remember those you loved. If it means getting out in public and doing this, then so be it. We're all with you, Terrador."

The fire dragon pulled away from Terrador, and they stared into their eyes for a moment. Terrador thought he could see a little of Ignitus in the young dragon's eyes and face. But then Ignitus' presence was gone, and the fire dragon turned and left. Terrador smiled as he called after the fire dragon. "Thanks! I needed that!" Terrador called.

But the fire dragon didn't answer. He continued to walk into the distance, and then he was gone, left behind other dragons and many buildings. Terrador brought up a paw and wiped his eyes and smiled. He heard Cyril walk up behind him. "You were brave, Terrador, you know that?" he said. "I'm sure Ignitus is proud of you, and he's watching you. He's watching all of us."

Terrador turned to Cyril and smiled, standing up. "Thank you." Terrador said.

"Like that dragon said, we're all mourning, and we all mourn in our own ways. And it takes time." Cyril said as a warm smile tugged on his lips. "Let's rest now. We'll see how Cynder and Volteer are doing tomorrow."

Wow, last month has been my most inactive month; I only posted four chapters in total (three on Demonsied, one on Bitten). I sincerely apologise for that, but I have to prioritise. School is really important, and I have a lot of stuff on my plate for school alone, as well as all my other hobbies. I'm currently learning how to do 3D modelling (I use Blender; it's great and completely free), and I'm really enjoying it. I'm currently modelling Lefty from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, and although I've made a few mistakes, I'm pretty happy with it for a first-time attempt doing 3D modelling. I've also been spending a lot of time on Ultimate Custom Night, trying to beat 47/20 mode. I've beaten 45/20, which has increased my high score to 9000, but darn, it's getting hard now (took two hours to beat 45/20, and currently at an hour for 47/20).

I'll try to get extra work on this done, but I can't guarantee that the next chapter will be up too soon. It'll probably be at least another two or three weeks before the next chapter comes out, so I'm really sorry for that. But thanks for showing your support and interest in the reviews.

To a guest, the reason behind Spyro's corruption will come soon, but it won't be for a while unfortunately. Basically, it's speculation time for the readers, because I don't think I have the main reason behind Spyro's corruption until early- or mid-Part 3 (really sorry, but with the events of Parts 1 and 2 in mind, I can't really get it done sooner). I do have little hints being thrown out there throughout Parts 1 and 2, however, so pay close attention. I also believe Part 2 is one of the shorter ones, if not the shortest, so depending on how things go, I should be able to get Part 2 over and done with fairly quickly.

To 'Derick Lindsey', just like your question with how long Spyro will be dark for, I'm not going to say how many Parts Drachen will be in. He does play a major role, especially in later Parts, but I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one. He does have a major scene in Demonised however, so you can look forward to that one.

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this one. Sorry for the wait, and it's probably going to be a bit of a wait for the next chapter, too. Well, there's a bit more action in a few chapters' time (two or three I think), so get prepared for that one.

Bye!