CHAPTER 8

My xmas present to you guys!

Ria spent the entire night crying in her cell. She was going to die. That thought dominated her conscience. How could a seven year old girl comprehend death? The life after? The thought of death scared her, more than anything ever had before. More than a thousand Alexis' or a million uncaring brothers. Why would they kill her just because some stick burned her scales? Everyone thought she was evil, but she didn't know why. Ria hadn't ever gotten in trouble before, and the first time she did she's going to be killed for it! Just her luck...

Every now and then she would glance out of the window to see if the dawn was near. With every look, the night became lighter, making Ria more apprehensive. She prayed that Mr. B would show up before dawn and save her, but as the hours drug on, her hope began to dwindle. The entire night, she had to hear the construction of the very place she would spend her last agonizing moments. It seemed like they were right outside her window, though she was too short to see for sure. The constant pounding of nails and laying of lumber was an ever present reminder of what the dawn would bring.

Finally, though she tried to keep it away through sheer will alone, rays of sunlight shone through the barred windows of her cell. As soon as she noticed this, the heavy padlock on her door was unlocked, and two huge dragons in armor with spears at the ready came to retrieve her.

"Come now Heretic. Time to go." He said as she stepped to them, and they cautiously applied the shackles, being careful not to touch her. She was harshly lead via a leash out of the temple and out onto a stage that had been built for the occasion, as it always was. There was a large stake surrounded by a pile of wood, along with the executioner, a dragon in a black hood, holding a lit torch.

She began to cry loudly as she realized that this was it. No rescue, no parents coming to save her, no Mr. B to help her out of this situation. This was her end.

The guards tied her with chains to the stake as she stood on top of her kindling, staring out over the large crowd that had gathered, despite the early hour. The fiercely cold winter winds numbed her face and threatened to freeze her tears.

They where whispering to each other, and wondering why a child was set to be purged by the mighty pyre before them.

After about half an hour of waiting, the elders also assembled on stage, each dressed just as they were in the trial, while Trias held the staff of truth.

"My fellow dragons and dragoness'! The noble elder council has uncovered evil in our town!" Gafron began. Apparently he was the one in the black hood.

This sent more whispers through the crowd.

"Yes, this heretic used her dark powers on an innocent child no less!" He said trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

"She is but a child herself!" One called from the crowd.

Gafron sensed dissent in the crowd, so he decided to play his trump card.

"She posses the same dark power that brought about the great pestilence!" He lied.

The gasp from the crowd was almost simultaneous as the cries for blood Gafron was looking for began to appear out of fear of another outbreak.

He smiled from beneath his black hood as the crowd did indeed clamor for her death. Their panic was so widespread that if killing a child is what it took to keep the rest of them alive, then so be it. They knew no better.

Gafron removed his hood and tossed it to the ground, turning to Trias.

"But first. Elder Trias, have you made your decision?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes. You are now the Head elder." He said handing him the staff of truth.

He grasped it and grinned evilly.

"Guards! Arrest them!" He said referring to the elders. The guards quickly did so.

"Gafron what is the meaning of this!?" Kairo asked.

"This is the end of the line for you! I am in control now." He said turning back around to address the crowd who was already threatening to become violent if nothing was done about the 'evil one' before them.

"The elders were in league with the dark one! Luckily I, am here to protect Megaton! And my dragon brothers, this darkness runs deep in our race! The grand dragon council in Warfang sent her to exterminate the populous! She was sent to infect you all!" He said referring to the still crying Ria.

"Kill her!"

"Burn the heretic!"

Gafron stepped closer to Ria as he continued.

"May the fires cleanse your soul, and prepare you for the flames of hell that surely await you." He said turning to face her.

"Any last words?" He said vindictively as he prepared to set her ablaze.

She seemed to look past him and she began to smile, which perplexed him.

"Mr. B..." She said. It was him alright.

"I'm getting you outta here!" He said smiling at her, approaching with his glowing tail tip.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"Who are you talking to?" Gafron demanded.

Ria seemed to tense up, and stood rigid for a few seconds, then went limp. Gafron had enough of her games, and was within inches of setting her alight. She rolled her head towards him and stared into his very soul. He noticed and stopped, looking up at her. Her eyes were a glowing dark purple instead of the light green they had been, and she smiled a toothy grin at him.

She blew on his torch and it froze solid, to his shock. She was an earth dragon. How could she control ice?

"Any last words?" She growled.

The dark crystals on the staff of truth began to glow intensely bright as it was ripped out of Gafrons hand and the necklaces around the elders necks were also sucked toward Ria. They touched her scales but instead of burning her, she absorbed them. Stormclouds not seen for hundreds of years quickly covered the skies.

Gafron took a tentative step backwards as she was struck by purple lightning and immediately broke from her bonds. She began to grow at an alarming rate, becoming much larger than an adult in only a few seconds. The crowd cried in terror and began to scatter as Ria smashed the pyre meant for her and scooped Gafron up in both paws. She then began to crush him between her now much larger paws. He screamed in agony as he was further compressed until he literally exploded out of both ends of himself. The stage was coated with his remains as Ria flung the rest of him onto the terrified crowd. She had killed. This was her Rubicon. She had crossed it and there was no going back now. This wasn't Ria anymore, this was all Malefor.

The former elders ran from the stage as the guards tried to fight the dark master, but it was no use. Reliance on tools like spears and swords had weakened their mastery of the elements. He blew purple fire onto the remaining dragons on the stage, burning them to a cinder. After the crowd had dispersed in terror, He set his sights on the thing he needed to increase his powers even more. The large mass of dark crystals at the center of town.

xXx

(Jerrath and Co. a few minutes before dawn.)

Jerrath had come a long way in one night. From barely being able to roast a marshmallow to a column of fire to rival Spyro himself. This, along with close quarters combat tactics, made him easily the toughest in Megaton.

"You have done well Jerrath, as it is almost time for you to face your greatest challenge to date." He said

"Really? What?" He asked.

"Me." Ignitus answered getting in a battle stance.

"B-but how can I fight you? You're a spirit." He asked nervously.

"I don't think the Creator will mind if I interact with the living just this once." He said turning completely solid, instead of slightly transparent like Spyro and Cynder were.

Just as Ignitus was going to attack, Cynder collapsed in pain as the spots under her eyes and on her forehead began to glow dark purple. She placed a paw on her head and moaned.

Spyro immediately caught his weakened mate.

"Cynder are you OK? Whats wrong?" He asked holding her.

"Ahh...Its...him. He's so powerful now...he must have possessed Ria." She said weakly.

"Then there is no time for this. Jerrath you must go, you have no time to lose!" Ignitus said urgently.

"Ok, I'm ready." He said heading for the door.

"Wait, one more thing." Spyro said.

He turned around and Spyro put his paw on Jerraths forehead. It glowed purple like his scales and he felt a tingling run from where Spyro was touching him all the way down to his paws.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"That was the purple dragons fury. You can only use it once, so be sure not to waste it. At the right moment, it will rid your sister of Malefor." He said removing his paw.

"Thank you Spyro...thank you all." He said

Cynder walked beside Spyro and kissed Jerrath on the cheek, turning his normally black scales bright red.

"Good luck Jerrath." she said.

"T-thanks..." He stammered. He had never been kissed before, especially not by anyone as pretty as Cynder, even if she was a spirit.

He left the temple, a huge burden now weighed heavily on his young shoulders, but he was determined to save his sister, at any cost.

xXx

Ria had taken on more of Cynder-esque appearance since Malefor had taken control. Her light green outer scales had darkened considerably, but her white belly scales remained a radiant white. But it was unfair to refer to her as Ria. Truth be told, Malefor was a more appropriate title. She in fact had no control over the actions of her body. As soon as Mr. B had taken control of her, she felt like she had been submerged in a bath of ice water. She was then pulled away from her world as 'Mr. B' took over. It was like her body was a stage, and Malefor had pushed her backstage, with no intention of her re emerging. This was different than Cynders possession, as Cynder was never 'possesed' in the traditional sense, she was just controlled by his magic. Ria however, had the Dark master inside her, controlling her every thought and action. She went along with him however. After all, she had no one else...

Every now and then, a squad of draconic temple guard would muster the courage to try and fight him, but it was always useless. he was just too strong. He eventually reached the 'holy crystals' in the center of town. This was the first piece of the puzzle in his plan. He stood on his back legs and grabbed hold of the mass with both paws as its energy coursed through his stolen body. The same purple lightning from earlier struck him, further increasing his size and strength as Ria was pushed further into darkness, deep within her own body.

"Yes! This is it! I will live again!" He shouted in her voice. He absorbed all fifteen feet of it and was now almost unstoppable. He raised a paw into the air as a ball of lightning gathered in his palm. He slammed it into the ground and it coursed through the ground and set anything in its path on fire. There was chaos in the streets as families ran for cover, and fathers fought to protect their young and their mates. After only twenty minutes, the center of town was quiet, save for the cackle of the burning structures. There was no movement to be seen as the bodies of the slain lay in the street, staining the snow red. Malefor surveyed his handy work and laughed.

"Now for part two!" He said flying off into the northern sky, toward Warfang.