-AUTHOR'S NOTES-
We have a quiet response but I'm glad there was something that came through with that. Thanks for the support!
I see how Sparx's random commentary for Spyro and Cynder's joint Banish work got a good kick out of you all, and that was cool. I see it as a neat light moment to add into this moodier chapter than the usual – something to heighten spirits before we get a deadly reunion with the Sorcerer.
What I seemed surprised with was that no one pointed out the reference to the Legend of Zelda TV show, most notably Link's catchphrase for that. Then again, if I'm the only person at that knew it existed, it goes to show that my head lives in the 90s, lol.
And so here we are. Like I said in the previous chapter, this one was so big I had to cut it into half and redo the original ending for the previous as an intro to this one. I have to tell you though, this scene was actually pretty fun to write, especially when it comes to all the details and whatnot during many of the actions around here.
I might as well give up on a writer's blurb for now; the moral of the day is, never try and write one at 1 in the morning. Either way, I hope this chapter goes down well. Thanks for your time and patience so far.
Peace out,
-Rexy-
The Sorcerer's lair was shown to be untouched since the last encounter. Various burn marks were shown on the ground, along with the ceiling being nothing more than a roof panel that opened up into space above and the walls looking equally damaged thanks to the array of attacks that were there.
The feel of the area was enough to send chills down the spines of Spyro, Sparx and Ango, all three of them having been their previously, unexpectedly having to combat the Sorcerer before. Though this time, they were there, with Cynder by their side as well – now with a purpose defined in their mind; a purpose to change the world as they knew it.
"Way to go, boss", Sparx sternly remarked as he went slightly further ahead from the others. "Now where's that sorcerer you have been complaining about?"
Sparx looked ahead with a light eye twitch, curious over the exact location of the Sorcerer. He soon scouted ahead on his own accord, but just as quickly, a puff of black smoke erupted in front of him – the sight of which being enough for him to make his heart skip a beat, making him hover back towards his companions. And there the figure formed – their target figure, the Sorcerer.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Spyro. We meet once again, in the same place where we fought bravely, TWICE."
"I know what you did, and you know that I know what you did", Spyro leered back, his wings twitching more tensely than the usual. "You killed another purple dragon, right here! And then I came in here to attack you unknowing of your true intensions."
The remark wasn't quite enough for the Sorcerer to suddenly change expressions. He knew that that remark was something heard before, along the pathway to the vortex east of the village. Calmly, he just looked on at the dragon, tapping his feet in a gentle pacing rhythm.
"You know way too much."
Clutching ever so tighter upon his staff, he made a pace towards the left of the area, leaving his long cloak to trail behind like a carpet being rolled out for royalty to walk across. It wasn't long until after that that he soon came to a stop, refocusing his vision upon Spyro's chest, meeting his eyes with the emblem that graced his neck.
"Still, I see you now don the Shadowstone", he frowned, shaking his head, "How pathetic of it for you to know that its magical potential hasn't been restored since its last battle."
Spyro's eyes started to tremble in place. "What do you mean?"
The Sorcerer responded with a sinister laugh, one that mixed both cruelty as well as traces of irony. All that resulted with was leaving the purple dragon to look directly back at him, his eyes getting tenser and his expression showing further irritation by the minute.
"You can't rely on that worthless tool alone to defeat me!" the Sorcerer taunted back towards him viciously. "My magic has risen beyond all comprehension, and there's no way you can use it to take me down in one hit, you purple beast!"
With a devious smile, he brought his hands together, causing a sudden purple mist to surround him. His confidence was enough for Spyro's muscles to tighten drastically and his blood to almost boil in place, his teeth forming a dynamic growl showing right upon his face.
"Spyro, calm down", Cynder supported him, stepping towards him from his right hand side. "He's probably just bluffing. He might be saying it to get our guard down."
"Maybe you're right", the purple dragon started, looking increasingly annoyed. "But what if he's telling the truth?"
Almost as if he needed to hit something back, he was just about to bring up one of his front legs to strike Cynder's back, but before he could even strike her… he soon repented, placing the foot back onto the ground and refocusing his attention towards his opponent, his expression still showing no signs of calming down any time soon.
"There's only one way to find out about all this!" the Sorcerer boomed viciously. "It's time I launch the technique that I used to claim the life of the other Spyro – the one the Dragon Realms residents knew."
Just like that, the Sorcerer clapped his hands together, and all of a sudden the room was brought straight into an envelope of darkness with only the stars from the ceiling and its nearby windows lighting the area. A thunderous black cackle was shown between his hands, focusing into a ball that felt just as warm as the boulders rising outside.
"Die, NOW!"
Cackling, the ball was sent straight into the air, and as it did that, it surrounded itself with an eerie cackle of lilac lightning around it, making it almost impossible to hit back physically. Both dragons looked on at it, knowing that the ball itself would be difficult to counter.
Spyro, with his jaw almost dropping at the sight of the object, quickly shifted his eyes to his accomplice. "Cynder, we need to banish this, now!"
Cynder looked back at Spyro and confidently smiled back, and then once again they locked their front paws together and waited for the ball to make its arrival straight towards them. And just as soon as they were prepared, the ball began to move at a blistering speed towards the pair.
The action however left Sparx's face to start turning white once again. "I can't watch this! Ango, cover me!"
Shaking on the spot, Sparx covered his face behind Ango's back, leaving him to start trembling at the coming monstrosity that would come nearby. As far as he would know, he would never see the results that would end up coming as a result from the clash between the dragons and the ball.
As soon as it was about to touch them both, they both raised their opposing paws, summoning the same white light that countered the scorpions previously. Yet, in spite of that, the ball held back an incredible resistance, leaving behind a rapid trail of white and pink sparks in the air.
The sparks soon become too bright for Spyro to see properly, leaving him having to channel his body with his sight being sealed closed by his eyelids as they were a pair of umbrellas trying to shield him from a heavy rainstorm. He was unable to notice Cynder's reaction, yet he assumed that she would end up doing the same thing.
And then, the white light gave out a radiating glow, completely illuminating the entire surrounding. This glare was enough to blind just about every figure in the area for several seconds, unable to see beyond this powerful burning flare. And then, it slowly faded, with Ango showing curiosity as he tried to see through it.
"What…" the kid winced, closing his eyes amidst the burning light. "What happened?"
"Look!" shrieked Sparx as he looked clearly through it.
The light then faded out bit by bit. There, they both noted that the ball that attempted to take Spyro and Cynder had completely vanished into nothing. All that remained of it was a hole in a nearby wall, crumbling with smoke coming out of it. The silence soon left Spyro to open his eyes and look on towards it for himself, his expression showing amazement at the glance of it.
"The magic…" he then gasped with surprise. "I can't believe it's been deflected!"
Beaming with happiness he made his way towards the crevice for himself, observing the ruins for himself. All that remained of its outer surface was a set of crumbling rubble that piled up like dust upon the ground, the sight of which being one that left him to show fear yet excitement at the same time.
"Cynder, we made a great team! If we can do that, we can do anything!"
Beaming gently, he continued to focus towards the extent of the damage, expecting to hear her make a response from behind. But yet… there was no response granted at all. His eyes left him to show an empty glance, concerned over the reasoning for her lack of response.
"Cy… Cynder?"
He looked to the left, and there he saw Sparx and Ango standing there, worried for the situation. And then he looked to the right – the very side that Cynder stood at. And there she was, stretched out across the floor, her body looking almost limp aside from her head.
"Not bad channelling, Spyro", she remarked in a weak, wheezy voice tone. "We tried really hard to work on that, but…"
She soon ran out of breath, leaving her to wheeze on the spot. The sight of her weakness was more than enough for Spyro to make her way towards her from the other side, crouching down to her level, looking closer towards her numb body as well as several deep scratches etched right onto it.
"That magic", she struggled to inhale, her voice croaking in the process. "It completely overwhelmed me. I think… I think the Sorcerer claimed me."
"No, don't say that", Spyro shook his head as he focused closer towards her. "You're still here. You might be weakened, but I'm sure you can pull through."
"I can't."
Cynder's whisper was enough to send shivers down the purple dragon's spine. Why can't she pull through, he questioned nervously to himself. It was bad enough to see her struggle to talk, but to see her accept the damage was another worrying thought that started to plague his mind.
"The intensity of the dark magic had to completely ripple through my body", she barely got the words out, trying to speak. "I… I can barely stand up… I can barely breathe… my heart… my heart…"
"Cynder, just hold on", Spyro commanded with determination, clutching onto her body with his claws. "I'll take you to safety!"
"I'm sorry, but not even that can happen."
Once again, her statement was enough to make him freeze in his tracks. Yet in his heart, he knew that he would do anything to take her away from the lair and escort her straight back towards the Dragon Village no matter what the risks involved. Not long after registering the thought, she gave off another gentle cough and a struggling inhale, before trying to speak again.
"I don't think I'll be able to survive the way back."
"Don't say that!" the purple dragon started to cry out for her. "Just hang on for a little while longer!"
Quickly, Spyro rushed to her side and used his horns to attempt to lift her off the ground and onto his back, but… Cynder refused to be carried. She raised a front paw weakly, her expression now showing further limpness and a struggle for stimulation, her breathing now becoming more and more forced and slower.
"Promise Ignitus that he will take care of everyone back home", she spoke in a shallow and feeble tone. "Tell him to stay strong. Tell everyone… to stay strong…"
Silence then went around the immediate area. Even Cynder remained silent as her body then became limp, her head gracefully rolling in place, her eyes sealing shut and her breathing coming to a stop. Right there, Spyro managed to sense the reality of the situation – the Sorcerer had killed her.
In a delayed reaction, he quickly placed one of his front paws onto her body, trying to tap her in an attempt to bring her back. Yet, regardless of his attempts on doing so, seeing nothing felt left him to suddenly crouch down and start nudging her with his horns.
"Cynder!" he cried out towards her. "Cynder, please, no!"
"It's too late, Spyro", frowned Sparx. "We have to accept the fact that she's gone."
However, Spyro was unable to accept it. He kept nudging her to the best of his ability, whether it be with his horns or his front paws, though it wasn't until Sparx and Ango came towards him from opposing sides and started to drag him away that he started to understand that she might never come back.
Heartbroken, he looked straight towards her limp body, knowing that pleading for her to return to his side would do nothing more than to slow down his encounter with the Sorcerer. Gritting his teeth in a more furious manner than before, he turned straight towards his opponent, twitching his tail from side to side.
"This will not be tolerated!" the dragon exclaimed straight towards the Sorcerer furiously.
His shouts caused for a series of echoes to go right across the room, each of which reaching their hearing with half a second separating each other. However, his shouts were nothing more than amusement to those of the Sorcerer, whom held onto his staff with a proud yet unsettling facial expression.
"Oh, so you want to play mind games, do we?" he chuckled back disturbingly.
"Not exactly", Spyro reacted with a shake of the head. "Even if one of my friends has fallen, I'll keep fighting until the end."
Knowing that there was nothing that could be done for Cynder's life, he looked back at her with a grim expression, knowing that no matter what he would do in the room, nothing could ever be done to bring her back to his side, fighting by him in graceful teamwork, ever again.
With the worrying thought in mind, he tried to look back towards the Sorcerer, hoping to do anything possible to try and inflict any damage once he would make the charge towards him. All the focus and tension was focused right at him, ready to be knocked over like a domino.
Yet, his confidence had been dropped significantly. The thoughts that remained in his mind won't stop leaving. Though he barely knew Cynder for very long, he felt every powerful flashback with her echo through his mind, like a video montage permanently etched inside. There was no way to escape from the thought, and no way that he would be able to fight in such a weakened emotional state.
"May the ancestors look after you. May they look after us all."
The sound of the comment caused Spyro to quickly look up in the air, trying to locate it. There, he realised that that was a comment of encouragement granted from Ignitus – where to be more precise, he didn't know, but he gave out a hesitant nod, knowing what had to be done.
Looking back at his partners one by one was more than enough to fuel his strength once more – Sparx and Ango showing their support in a distant corner, and Cynder with her lifeless body spread across the floor. He knew that if anything needed to be done, his thoughts needed to be put aside, ready for him to make his assault upon the Sorcerer.
"Cynder, this one's for you."
The Sorcerer viciously laughed, assuming that dedications would fail to work. "Bring it, purple beast!"
And so, the Sorcerer raised his staff once more, causing a fury of purple geysers to be launched among the floor, trying to block the dragon from making his way towards him. To make matters worse, various blazing boulders were left to fall from the roof panel directly above the room.
Growling with determination, Spyro made his dash through the wider gaps between the geysers, being careful to dodge the falling boulders as well and being careful not to let the ashes touch his body at the same time. As soon as he found himself in a free spot, he only just managed to make out the sight of several spiked objects coming straight towards him.
"Spyro, watch out!" Ango started to warn him from afar, right in the last minute. "He's sending all sorts of strange projectiles in your direction!"
"That's nothing in comparison to what he did to Cynder!" he responded back with a faint leer.
Almost as gracefully as a swan, Spyro leapt straight towards the projectiles in a dare-devil fashion, using his tail to instantly block off every single last one of them from even coming close to him. And just as when he managed to squeeze past them, he made his pounce straight towards the Sorcerer.
"Take that!!"
With his claws outstretched, he made a tail swipe straight towards him, an attempt to trip him from place and a bash straight across his chest through his horns. But in spite of his best melee moves, the Sorcerer still managed to remain standing, cackling at that.
And there, he responded back with raising his hand into the air, now omitting an eerie black color after having it hold onto the sceptre for a reasonably long period of time. He then pushed it forward, causing a sudden gale current to push the dragon straight back towards the other side of the room, being lucky to only just skim the surface of the geysers.
"You're quite a nimble fella, aren't you?" the Sorcerer humbly questioned the dragon with a sneer.
Raising his staff directly into the air once again, he then summoned another deep purple mist. This time, it offered a scent that could almost relax the stimulus, yet Spyro managed to resist it, clutching his eyes and holding his breath at exactly the same time.
As soon as the mist cleared and the scent had vanished, he opened his eyes and right there, he was brought eye to eye with another electric black ball, hurtling faster and faster towards him like an incoming jet plane. He then saw his own reflection on it, shivering, as it got closer and closer.
"Not again!" he gasped, looking on at the incoming ball.
"Quick!" Sparx called out to him from the wall. "Get out of the way and burninate him!"
Spyro looked back at the ball and knew that there was no way that he could deflect it – at least, not without Cynder's help. And so, in response, he quickly dodge rolled out of the way, allowing the ball to smash its way straight into the wall, drilling a hole and revealing the spiral staircase that they previously ascended.
As soon as the last traces of the collision vanished into silence, Spyro focused his attention towards the Sorcerer, whom by then was summoning another large ball in his hand. Quickly he graced his way around the geysers, and leapt into the air as soon as he did so.
"I'm not letting you claim anyone again!" the dragon valiantly called out as he got higher and higher in altitude.
As soon as he reached the highest height, he pointed his head straight up towards a floating piece of rock above his head. Quickly he blew a stream of fire straight towards the ceiling, instantly cracking it from its place and allowing it to make its fall towards the ground.
Its shadow increased and increased rapidly over time, making a stealthy fall towards the Sorcerer as it came further and further down. And finally, he noticed the falling object, though in the last minute; the sight was enough for him to raise his staff into the air, his eyes almost widening at it.
"Now what?" he almost gasped at the sudden sight of the falling projectile.
He tried to run out of the way, but nothing could be done. The stalactite instantly got a hold of his right sleeve and the bottom of his cloak at the same time, leaving him to drop his staff as well as being unable to make his run from the scene. The trapped situation left him vulnerable to Spyro's arsenal of melee attacks, whichever method he would approach them.
The swipes and slashes were shown through the eyes of Sparx as a spectacle of faint lights among the otherwise monochrome appearances of the room. With each one that managed to flash in front of him, he lightly punched the air, hovering up a little bit higher and literally doing any other action possible to cheer the dragon on.
"That's it!" the dragonfly cheered on happily. "Start sending your energy through!"
Spyro continued to make a close assault onto the Sorcerer, which by that time he ended up being able to engulf his cloak in flames. A trail of smoke was seen rising into the air, showing a dense set of black mist that was making a gradual rising towards the ceiling.
But… the dragonfly was able to sense the burning smoke before it could even reached his nose. And then he looked straight towards the direction of the scent, and it was there that he saw Ango, his head suddenly being set on fire without as much of a reason on why.
"Gee, short john silver", Sparx leered at him, irritated and confused at the same time. "What's the matter?"
"The…" He paused with unexplainable pain. "The Sorcerer's hits…"
Before he could even finish, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, leaving him to fall straight to the ground, holding onto it. Shakily, Sparx looked towards Spyro and the Sorcerer, and right there in front of him, he saw said antagonist doing exactly the same thing.
"They seem to be getting me too!" cried the kid. "But… why?"
The dragonfly focused back towards the kid, and looked deep into his eyes. There he saw an expression filled with pain and horror, increasing with every hit that the Sorcerer managed to inflict. With fear filling his face again, he hovered further out slightly, bringing his hands over his face, ready to call out towards the dragon.
"Spyro, be careful! Every hit you pass onto him also seems to affect the pirate kid!"
The shout quickly made him freeze in the middle of a claw swipe. "What was that?"
Spyro focused his attention towards Sparx and Ango, the latter still wincing in pain from the blow to the stomach that the Sorcerer faced before albeit only just being able to stand up. Yet by then, said antagonist was easily able to recover himself from the ground, standing upright with his hands hanging like a set of eerie claws.
The dragon countered his next move by using his tail to trip him up, with success shown upon the landing. As he did that he looked on at Ango, where directly in sync with the Sorcerer's fall, he lost his own balance and fell straight back onto his side once again.
"Sparx, you weren't kidding!"
The sight was enough for Spyro to try and make his dash towards the pair, but before he could even get a clear run… the Sorcerer quickly teleported directly in front of the dragon, with a faint mist being left behind showing the exact direction that he came from.
"How foolish of you", he chuckled, revealing his tongue lifting inside his mouth. "You know you want to defeat me, so give me everything you've got!"
The Sorcerer cackled vilely as he brought his hands together, knowing that regardless of the outcome of the fight, Ango would be heavily weakened and be of little aid towards the dragon. It felt like a win-win situation for him, a smirk forming upon his teeth as he knew it.
All that Spyro could do was look back and forth between the two situations. Should he sacrifice Ango to defeat the Sorcerer? Or should he protect him and find another means? Whichever method he would choose would vary his mood significantly, perhaps even tightening his tense angered mood in a further direction.
"That's it", the Sorcerer nodded slowly. "Channel your rage!"
The smirk upon the Sorcerer's face remained in place as he clutched tighter onto his staff, all before he circled around the dragon, knowing that he was facing a situation that he would easily prevail from. And all that Spyro could do was find a way to calm the situation down.
Then he found his chance. The Sorcerer was positioned right in front of the window, and there, he found the chance to break into a run and charge straight into his chest. Miraculously, his horns pierced into his cloak, leaving him to push him straight towards the glass.
"What the heck are you trying to pull off…!"
And then, the Sorcerer collided with the window, breaking it into a series of shards that rained across the stone floor with some being lucky enough to fall straight outside. And with those that fell outside, there went the Sorcerer, fading into the abyss as he went further and further down. And as his screams quietened, Spyro was convinced that his move meant the end of his tyrannical reign.
"Wow!" Sparx shouted in awe as he came towards Spyro, his jaw dropping after seeing the tactic. "That was a smart move you managed to pull off, pushing him down there like that!"
"Thanks, Sparx. It was the least I can do to reduce any damage to Ango."
With his face starting to become more relaxed, Spyro made his walk towards the shattered window, looking carefully through the remaining panes to see the empty void that was outside. Looking hopeful to know that the Sorcerer had gone, he soon turned back towards Sparx and Ango, one of his eyebrows rising subtly in the process.
"Now that I think abut it, what link do you have with him?" the dragon cautiously asked the kid, raising an eyebrow.
"I… I don't know…"
The dragon then focused his attention to Ango in particular. He knew that from the start it was only his species in general that couldn't be trusted, yet witnessing him getting hurt alongside the Sorcerer simultaneously was enough to make him look on at him with awe, curious over hearing the truth behind him.
But he saw that his eyes showed that he really didn't mean anything. They were almost widened, looking watery in places, leaving them to remain in place with fear creeping upon him like a bad dream being developed. He then crouched down to his knees maintaining that look, knowing that there was nothing that could be done to escape the thought of a connection with their adversary.
"This sorcerer", he quivered, holding his hands to his head. "He can do just about anything…!"
Before he could even finish speaking, Sparx came to his side and slapped him on the head. "Come on, spit it out. You were unnatural from the beginning. I never heard of a pirate descendant that can channel magic before, so surely you must be hiding something!"
"I don't know!" he cried out in a more hesitant high-pitched squeal. "No one ever told me that this would happen!"
Quickly, he brought his arms towards Sparx and hastily embraced him as tears started to flow down him. While the dragonfly looked really annoyed, Spyro noticed his worrying composure during that time. All these seem like signs of confusion and anxiety, and a potential feeling of worry over a foreign yet connecting sensation.
But in spite of witnessing Ango's tense emotions, there was something else that was felt around him. If the Sorcerer had vanished, wouldn't the mist and the Convexity-like void vanish as well? With that worrying thought put to his mind, he walked cautiously towards the middle of the room, his eyes looking keen to investigate further.
"So, the boy refuses to share the truth", a distant voice spoke calmly. "If that's the case, then you're in a bigger predicament than you'll ever imagine, Spyro."
The dragon's heart skipped a beat. "What?"
Before he could even absorb the shout of the familiar voice, a rumble was soon felt directly beneath the dragon's feet, leaving him to look straight towards the window in front of him. The cause was seen starting to make its rise, taking the form of a graceful yet sickening shadow.
And then it arrived at the window, landing right there, taking the form of a giant brown and red dragon. It looked on at Spyro, Sparx and Ango and gave out a giant roar in front of them that sent a warm yet awkward gale force straight into their direction.
"Oh my God!" Sparx almost froze on the spot. "That… thing!"
Spyro looked back at Sparx with an almost obvious facial expression. "That 'thing' is the Sorcerer. I can feel it!"
The large dragon then gave off an ear-piercing roar into the air, echoing around its immediate area and causing several slabs of rock on the walls to just slide and smash into pieces upon contact. It was by that showcase of power that they knew that they were standing face to face with the Sorcerer once more, albeit in a different form.
"He may be at least three times as big as Ignitus, but I'm not letting that get the better of us", the purple dragon remarked determinedly.
"But he…" Sparx refused to stop shivering. "He looks impossible to deploy a single stroke of damage!"
"Not as long as I'm here. I'm ready for him!"
Leering eye to eye with the giant dragon, Spyro knew that there was no way that he would back away regardless of the cost. He twitched his tail from side to side, with the occasional flap of the wing to match, knowing that he would do anything to stop the Sorcerer in its schemes for the village nearby.
"You've just about faced your demise, once again!" he exclaimed as he leered on at the scene beneath his feet.
Growling bitterly, the Sorcerer stood majestically, his head almost touching the ceiling. And then, it raised both of its front paws in the air, creating a giant electric ball ten times as large as the one that previously took Cynder's life – a threatening force that was enough for Spyro's heart to sink deep into his chest.
"Not again!" Spyro blinked at the sight of the forming ball.
"Quick!" Sparx cheered from behind. "Banish the sucker!"
Sparx's remark left Spyro to take several steps back at the sight of the forming ball. He knew that without Cynder, gathering the strength to form the barrier that based the magic attack would make things difficult. But despite the consequences, he knew that it had to be done regardless.
The ball was then formed and launched towards him, and right in the last second he launched both front paws forward as if he was attempting to stand up. And right there, a white barrier was formed around the front of his body, instantly clashing with the ball as soon as it matured.
"His attacks…!" he showed weakness as he struggled to control the force of the ball. "They're… they're getting more powerful!"
"Quick!" Ango almost mimicked Sparx's cheer from before. "Push it aside!"
Spyro leered on at the ball as he felt its power start to grow more and more with every passing second. Taking in a deep breath of air, he then plucked up the courage to build up frontal body strength and thrust his front legs, pushing the ball straight back like a basketball.
And then, it made its way towards the Sorcerer, instantly making contact with his tail. However, in spite of its best moves, it was unable to make much damage on him at all, leaving nothing more than a slight burn in the tail area that left him with more of an annoyed expression than anything else.
"Never fall under my power," he cackled at the 'force' of the counterattack.
The Sorcerer then gave off what sounded like a combination of a cackle and a roar, before he started to make a slow yet threatening run towards Spyro. The purple dragon however started to make his dash underneath his foe's legs, doing his best to inflict damage upon them and/or his tail, yet as soon as he would get to them they would instantly raise in the air before he could do as much as a scratch.
"He won't stop moving around!" the dragon panicked as he kept on trying to reach for his opponent. "I need to find a way to strike him!"
"Be careful, Spyro!" exclaimed Sparx from the other side of the room. "Remember, every scratch you deal on him seems to affect Ango as well!"
Sparx's remark left Spyro to suddenly turn towards Ango, whom for some reason started to look less and less enthusiastic about the fight. Quickly, he jumped up towards the thigh of a back leg and scratched it; turning back to the pirate kid saw him on one leg, clutching the other with pain. Gasping, he made his run straight back.
"Hang on, Sparx! I'm coming back!"
Grasping his teeth tightly together, he made his dash straight towards the kid, weaving his way straight through the dragon's legs and making a dash straight among the floor, aiming for Sparx and Ango and looking considerably more focused as he came closer and closer to them.
As soon as he got there, he came to a stop and looked at the kid. Even though he saw the extent of the damage witnessed earlier on, he never expected him to finally start succumbing to the damage up until now, even though they remained to look uncertain over how it actually happened.
"Are you saying you're a bigger scaredy-cat than ME?" the dragonfly leered with a questionable glance.
"No, I'm just saying that you're a genius!" replied Spyro as he looked back and forth between his comrades and his opponent.
Just as brave as he ever was, he brought his attention towards Ango, whom by then was struggling to maintain his own composure. And then, he waved his tail, summoning him to come closer towards him. Finally the kid made a stop, looking confused over what was occurring.
"Ango, hold onto me!" the dragon ordered him with haste.
Knowing that there may not be any more means of escape, he took a tight grasp around Spyro's back before mounting directly on top of him like a jockey on a horse. That meant having to disable the use of his wings for the time being, but as far as the dragon knew, he didn't care.
And so they both went forward, charging towards the Sorcerer as if they were in a medieval joust. As soon as they got there, Spyro jumped up into the air and sunk his claws deep into the Sorcerer's kneecaps, sliding down and causing deep scratches as he did so.
"This isn't helping!" Ango winced with pain as Spyro went further and further down the Sorcerer's leg. "I'm still feeling as if I'm getting hit inside!"
"Just calm down! I'm sure we can get through this!"
Spyro looked back at Ango as he slid further and further down. And just like that, he saw fresh graze marks showing down the corresponding elbow. The deep red marking were more than enough to see the extent of the damage that would get exchanged between the two.
"Try and understand the potential of Spyro's power!" Sparx called out from right at the other side of the room.
The kid ended up looking back and forth between Sparx, Spyro, the Sorcerer's scratches and the scratches on his own elbow. And there he started to see a change – he saw a strange form of black ooze starting to seep out from the caps itself, yet from his scratches, nothing was emerging at all.
"I think…" he paused, still looking amazed over the situation. "I think this is starting to make sense! You're holding onto me to use the Shadowstone's banish magic to help reduce my damage!"
Spyro responded back with a hasty nod in place, almost sighing with impatience. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do!"
Not long after making his remark, Spyro carefully released his grasp from the part of the Sorcerer that he dug into and dropped towards the ground, with Ango holding onto his shoulders during the fall. The application of the scratch wasn't enough to even make their opponent wince at all, amazingly enough.
He looked down at the pair with a leer and a vicious chuckle from his mouth. "Nice try, but with the way this is going, you're NEVER going to strike me down that easy!"
And then, he brought up his front paws again, once again allowing for a giant thunderous ball to come towards the scene. Quickly, both Spyro and Ango took several steps back, unknowing of when the ball would make its strike towards them, or Sparx for that matter.
"Alright", Spyro looked on at Ango with a burning set of hope in his eyes. "Let's banish again TOGETHER!"
"I'm on it!"
The ball was sent straight in their direction, and as soon as it would collide with them, Spyro stood up on his hind legs and raised his front legs in the air, with Ango using his legs to hold onto the dragon and raising his arms like he was performing a Mexican wave. A bright white light engulfed the pair, surrounding the pair as the ball struggled to make its way towards the flesh of either of the pair.
"This power!" Ango winced as he felt the ball start to penetrate the light and strike his right leg. "It's… it's consuming me!"
"That's the point!" Spyro reassured him back, still focusing his attention on the ball. "It could also consume the Sorcerer as well."
"But it's hurting me!!!"
Ango's cries were enough for Spyro to briefly shift his attention towards him, seeing his arms starting to give way towards the energy. He then looked back at the Sorcerer, whose own front paws ended up with him struggling to stand upright. Right there, the dragon knew that they were destined to make their move.
"Quick, release the energy!"
And so, both together, they pointed their arms/front legs forward, allowing the built up ball of light to be reflected straight towards the Sorcerer. Weakened from the assault on the front legs, he was left to be completely vulnerable to the impact of the ball.
The force sent him flying right across the room, straight past the broken window shards and towards the opening in the wall that led directly towards the clearing. He soon stopped right at its ledge, only just balancing from it with one of its back legs alone.
"He's falling!" Ango screamed happily at the sight. "I can't believe it!"
True to his words, the Sorcerer ended up slipping from position, but almost as elegantly as a giant bird of prey, he clung onto the ledge with his front legs, and pulled himself up, allowing for his wings to hover himself up carefully over the window shards and back onto safe ground once again.
"Wrong!" moaned Sparx. "He completely regained his balance! We can't deplete him at this rate."
The remark caused Spyro to look back at him, looking more convincing. "Yes we can! I'll make sure of that!"
The sight of the intimidating glance of the Sorcerer, returning from its fall, was easily enough to almost put a chill into their skin if they didn't already. But in spite of him looking determined to counter Spyro and Ango together, both of them looked on at him with a burning desire to diminish him in their eyes.
"Climb onto my back!" the dragon commanded with the kid positively.
Upon response, Ango quickly climbed straight back onto Spyro's back, being careful not to block either of his wings from giving him the potential to fly up. Once he was mounted, the dragon was left to make a running charge straight towards the Sorcerer, ready to counter him once more.
The large dragon raised its feet into the air, ready to trample the pair as they came closer and closer. But in spite of his best efforts, the two were lucky enough to escape from there on their own accord, easily ready to come closer and closer towards the scene.
"You can't escape from me!" the Sorcerer bluffed. "I am a more lethal enemy than anyone can imagine!"
Cackling viciously, he hovered his way up, far away from the reach of the pair, right before they were able to meet straight towards his head. Spyro's expression instantly showed one thing that he refused to speak of – exactly why at this point was the Sorcerer acting like a chicken?
Regardless, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth once more and made his charge towards the Sorcerer, even though he felt unable to counter him with him being several feet up into the air. The only thought that remained in his mind was that what comes up must soon come down.
"Stay back, you cretins!"
And come down was something that the Sorcerer managed to do; as he did that, he tucked his head into his chest and brought himself into a roll, leaving him to come closer and closer towards the ground with the added pressure being granted right across his body.
As rough as the blade on a pizza cutter, he made his way straight towards Spyro and Ango, whom quickly rolled right out of the way in opposing directions right in the nick of time, allowing the Sorcerer to zoom right past them and head straight back towards the window.
"That's it!" the dragon shouted with optimism. "Let's finish him together!"
Ango's face still showed a trace of insecurity. "But I can't fight him physically! You know that!"
"I know, but just hold onto me and everything will be fine!"
Ango's face still showed insecurity, yet one look at Spyro's trusting face seemed like enough to trust him for the time being. Shaking, yet still doing as much as possible to hide his fear, he took a hold of the back of the dragon and mounted onto him once again.
Once that was done, Spyro made his charge towards the Sorcerer, whom then proceeded to make a charge back in his rolled up form. But before he could even make any damage, the dragon side-stepped out of the way and quickly poked him apart with the tips of his horns. Once the Sorcerer was left to release himself from the ball and reposition himself, he looked on at the dragon as he once again ended up facing a vulnerable beating spree.
"Gah!" the Sorcerer flinched with every passing hint. "What are you trying to do?"
"One more for the count!" exclaimed Spyro with valor as he landed on both feet.
With a victorious glance, he turned straight back towards Ango, whom looked back at him with a more hopeful glance than before. Though he felt as if he might not do much active combat with the group, he still felt that he could be able to make his way through the entire situation.
And then, Spyro made a fresh assault upon the Sorcerer, leaping up into the air, spewing flames all over him. But as he did that… he felt the same burning sensation on his back. Obviously Ango might have felt the same situation, he thought confidently to himself.
"Spyro! Your tail!" Sparx panicked from the other side of the room. "It's... glowing!"
The remark caused the dragon to freeze in the air. "What??"
Quickly Spyro landed upon the ground and looked ahead at the Sorcerer, whose tail started to catch on fire at the touch and his body was left to glow with an intense red color. And just as elegantly as the dragon landed, he quickly brought himself up into the air and hid away into the ceiling.
As he escaped from his sight, Spyro focused his attention towards his back. Expecting to see Ango there, his eyes were met… with the sight of a white aura that crept alone, fading into nothing more than a set of firefly-like lights, dissolving into the air like sugar in a cup of tea.
The dragon gasped in response. "Ango! What's happened to you?"
A burst of sinister laughter filled the air, as Spyro looked around frantically for Ango. Several moments later, he felt as if he was unable to give up his search, when all of a sudden he felt a furred shadow creep over him like a foreign monster ready to make its attack.
"It's too late!" screeched the Sorcerer's voice in a victorious tone. "Do you want to know the truth?"
The remark was enough for the dragon to turn towards the shadow's direction. And there, he saw the Sorcerer in his dragon form, though ending up with brown furs gracing his head, back and limbs as well as a more canine-like mouth – a half-dragon half-beast, if there ever was such a thing.
"Do you see now, dragon?" he brashly addressed him. "He might have been this special pirate kid that can open my portals, but he's forgetting one important thing. Only a noble follower of the Dark Master would open them!"
Spyro thought back about the situation. He saw from the times that Ango managed to help him out, they were mainly to bypass the gateways that the Sorcerer left behind. And having thought about the Professor's pep talk from right at the beginning, he showed his understanding, thinking about the possibility of a connection of his species in general to the portals. But the question is, how did the Sorcerer know about the Dark Master?
He then plucked the courage to ask him. "I know about these creatures following him, but how did you know…?"
"That's only because of one thing. Did you see the Convexity resemblance outside? Did you even witness the time portal and the dark energy seeping across the Dragon Realms?"
Silence echoed across the room. And in time, Spyro lowered his wings straight towards the ground, his head descending into a slow yet certain nod. There were so many references to the painful sight of Convexity that it was unbelievable, he thought worryingly to himself.
"Surely there must be a conclusion you must draw from that", the Sorcerer made his reminder.
His comment stirred gently within the air as if it was nothing more than a low growl. That left Spyro to try and figure out every situation that seemed to make sense to him; the sudden appearance of Cynder's former soldiers at the Dragon Village; the Convexity-like auras; even the life-draining spaces around the village itself… given the deep leer in his eyes, he knew that he had found his answer.
"Wait a second", he remarked decisively. "You ARE the Dark Master!"
"WRONG!" the Sorcerer scowled loudly. "I am merely an illusion created from the Dark Master, and thus a possessor of his energy at that."
Spyro's heart skipped slightly. Surely he guessed that the Dark Master was involved to some extent, yet how could the Sorcerer end up being an 'offspring' of said monstrous deity? All that he could do was remain still as he took in the Sorcerer's words, explaining everything in front of the dragon's eyes.
"It took me a couple of attempts, but I managed to channel his energy and converted it to the chaos you've seen. And with the furred beasts that followed him also being sent here in the process, it's only a matter of coincidence that they would get affected if you tried to defeat me as well."
Spyro gave in a brief yet shaky nod; sure, a fair amount of what the Sorcerer explained seemed to make sense, he thought to himself. Yet he ended up thinking about the 'furred beasts' that he was referring to. And then, his eyes instantly widened, bringing him back to reality.
"Those", the Sorcerer slowly boomed, "like that Ango kid!"
Right in front of his eyes, an illusion of Ango showed up right in front of him, shimmering as nothing more than what seemed like a vision. Quickly, the dragon rushed towards him but before he could do that, he faded out with a distortion, never to be seen again.
And as soon as that happened, all that the dragon could do was look straight on at the Sorcerer's eyes, his facial expression showing an increased amount of fear than the usual. First, Cynder had to die at the hands of him. Then Ango had to vanish thanks to his species and their link to the Dark Master. What could get worse, he worried to himself.
Spyro's heart continued to sink as he dug his claws into the marble flaw. "You can't be serious!"
The Sorcerer reacted with a high-pitched laugh that almost shook the walls. "Now, thanks to you, his power has been absorbed into my own flesh, and with that, my attacks will be much more powerful than before. And the Dragon Realms will face darkness faster than ever!"
The Sorcerer cackled in place, bringing himself onto his hind legs and sending his front paws straight towards the ground, landing with a thunderous pound upon the ground that almost knocked Spyro off his feet. Yet he remained still, clutching tightly upon the floor and gritting his teeth tightly at his adversary.
"I'm not letting this happen!"
The Sorcerer shook his head, smirking. "Say goodbye, Spyro – for the last time!"
Cackling sinisterly, the Sorcerer brought back his mouth and allowed for a bright aura to shine between his jaws. Eventually it grew bigger and bigger, and there, there formed another black energy ball, only this time there were larger and more frequent purple light pulses than the usual.
Quickly, the Sorcerer launched it straight forward, hurtling towards Spyro at a sinister and godly speed. But just in time, the dragon managed to stand up on both of his hind legs and sent his front legs forward, summoning the usual banish aura right in front of his eyes.
The energy ball then collided with the aura, once again causing the usual sparks of energy falling to the ground like fading embers. A confident glare on the dragon's face showed that he was ready to make his way through the situation just like he usually would.
But what he didn't know was that that time, the ball never came close to changing color – it just stayed black. The sparks became more and more frequent, this time feeling as if they were trying to burn the floor with the intense heat that were omitted from them.
All that Spyro could do was hold on as he tried to maintain the ball's energy, no matter how intense it would keep ending up being. But before he knew it… the ball finally broke through the barrier, instantly striking him on the body with a bright flash.
"Spyro!" Sparx exclaimed as he saw the dragon's reactions. "Hang in there, buddy!"
The flash maintained itself in place for several moments; all that Sparx could even see through there was the sight of Spyro's shadow soaring through the air, falling from his upright position straight onto his back, landing painfully upon the hard floor beneath him.
Finally the white light faded out, gently and creepily. And as soon as it faded out, the first thing that Sparx managed to do was hover his way straight towards the dragon's direction, with his arms trembling unstably as he got closer and closer towards his accomplice.
"Come on, Spyro! You're our last hope for this! First Cynder, then Ango… and we can't lose you as well!"
And then he reached the dragon's side. As he got there, he saw that he was completely toppled over by the Sorcerer's ball – looking as if he was knocked out by that glance. The sight was enough for the dragonfly to reach down towards him, taking a hold of his jaw and trying to raise it into the air.
"Come on, raise your head up!" he pleaded with increased desperation in his voice. "We can't let this happen to you!"
Repeating the response to the situation that he faced up the ramp of light when initially leaving from the Sorcerer's lair, he then brought his body into a nudge upon the dragon's body, trying to budge him in every manner he could to bring him to his senses.
But nothing happened. Yet that wasn't the oddest thing he felt upon every push – as he did that, he felt something strange every time he collided with Spyro's body; a feeling of coldness. Every nudge performed left him to feel a colder and colder texture among his flesh.
"Spyro…" the dragonfly's nudges became weaker. "Please…" he then stopped nudging, his eyes looking watered. "Please, don't…"
With deep concern, he ended up bringing himself towards one of the dragon's paws. Raising it into the air, he also felt a cold texture, and no sign of any rumbling sensations that went upon the ankle of his foot either. The feeling left his face to turn white at the touch.
And then he approached his chest. Bringing his arms towards where his heart would be, he too felt the same cold texture that he felt with the nudges and the touches, as well as the same stillness that he faced with his ankles. No heartbeat; no breathing; nothing at all.
And that confirmed every suspicion that was right in front of Sparx's head. Looking down at the dragon's lifeless body was enough to draw one conclusion from the entire encounter – not even the Shadowstone could protect Spyro from the Sorcerer. Not even Spyro himself could save the realms. As far as the dragonfly was concerned, he had passed onto the afterlife with the other incarnations of Spyro and Sparx.
The war – and to that extent the entire Dragon Realms – officially belonged to the Sorcerer.
-end of chapter-