A/N: Hey guys! I've finally got the next chapter up! As usual, sorry it took so long, but the original ending I'd intended for the chapter didn't quite sit with me well, if you get what I mean. Evidently, I've changed it (along with story layout, which I'll fix the other chapters when I get the chance), and to be completely honest, I think this one turned out better than I'd thought it would. I'm still not 100% sure about this chapter though...
Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear some feed back!

Thanks for being so patient!

I do not own any of the Legend of Spyro or Legend of Zelda characters, concepts, etc.

Edits:
- Minor formatting, grammatical and phrasing corrections
- Mentioned the Apes' release from Malefor's curse in DotD so that their existence at the time this story takes place is warranted
- Mentioned the Dragons' attempts for reconciliation with the Apes to provide a more concrete reason as to Cyril's presence
- Changed Spector Ghouls to Wraiths: Same creature, I just got the wrong species name in the first version (not sure how that happened XD)

Chapter 3- Unpleasant Encounters

It was distant, but he tensed up, nevertheless.

Cyril brought himself into a low crouch, a small growl escaping his throat. This was the fourth time he had been disturbed today, and quite frankly he was getting sick of it. After all, when one comes to a place as quiet and desolate as this they would expect to be left in peace, undisturbed. But no, fate was far too cruel for that. The apes, free from their ghoulish curse and no more than remnants the Dark Master's army, still roamed the fortress' walls, their absurd natures still alive and kicking. Cyril had tried to avoid them in order to steer clear of any uprisings, but recently they had been trying his patience, which was now growing dangerously thin. Lately he had just been scaring them off, merely bluffing his attacks, but now he was no more than a hair's-breadth away from tearing the whole lot of them to shreds. It seemed their stupidity knew no bounds.

The peeved ice dragon brought himself up to his full height, and then proceeded to make his way out of the makeshift cave he had carved out of a thick wall of ice. He had originally planned to move straight into the actual fortress, but as fate would have it, the apes were still there. He peered outside of his icy den, half expecting to see an ape screaming its head off at an old stump or some other sort of inanimate object. However, there wasn't an ape in sight, which baffled the dragon somewhat. He thought for a moment, considering what could've made the noise. It definitely wasn't an ape, for he would've spotted it, even if it had tried to flee before he had emerged. It didn't sound like a Dreadwing either, their cries were more of a shriek, and they would've been accompanied by the sound of their leathery wings. The Wraiths also knew better than to disturb him…

His curiosity was getting the better of him.

With a sigh, he unfurled his wings and took off. The icy cold wind rushed through his pale blue scales as Cyril searched the frozen fortress from above. Surprisingly, the ice dragon couldn't see any of the apes about, and that the fortress was a lot quieter in general. It was like something had scared them off…

Anger flared within Cyril at the thought. After all, he had been the one who they had been tormenting for the past week or so, hence he had every right to be the first to rid the place off their presence…

If only the Grand Council hadn't insisted on trying to reconcile with Apes…

Another sound derailed his train of thought, and his sour mood seeped back into his conscious. It was similar to the one he had previously heard; only it wasn't as drawn out and sounded a lot closer. Cyril proceeded to land on a select patch of snow, getting ready to confront whatever had disturbed his peace. The dragon trudged through the snow, fangs bared and talons ready to strike at the unknown creature. A familiar sound that he resented with every fiber of his being reached Cyril's ears, and despite that it wasn't the sound he was seeking, his previously controlled anger suddenly burst into fury.

He crouched low behind a small outcrop of rocks and watched the apes with disdain, their constant chattering irritating his ears. He continued to watch them warily. They appeared to be attacking or provoking something, and by the looks of the bloody wounds that stained their snow white fur, Cyril guessed the apes were coming off second best. Another one of those foreign sounds reached his ears, only it was of a higher pitch. The dragon soon registered it as a yelp of pain, but was taken aback at the string of extremely 'colourful' curses and insults that were launched at the attackers shortly afterwards.

It was now becoming obvious that the apes were gaining the upper hand, and Cyril decided now was a good time to intervene.

Sweet, sweet revenge…

The ice dragon launched itself at the mass of battling apes, releasing a ferocious roar that sounded reminiscent of a metal sheet being torn in two. The terrifying sound easily diverted the apes' attention from their battered victim to the charging dragon, who was now snarling viciously at them. A small portion of the ape hoard fled, but the majority stood their ground, assuming their battle stances. Cyril swung a taloned paw at the closest ape, sending it flying a good distance away towards another rocky outcrop. The enraged dragon heard the sickening sound of bones snapping as he swirled around to strike another ape with his tail, making sure its pointed crest had struck its target. It was a hit, but not long after he had struck the ape, one of its comrades latched onto his tail, sinking its fangs into Cyril's scaly hide. He growled, but more out of annoyance than pain, and then flung the primitive pest into the remaining apes. A few of them dodged, but the majority was sent sprawling onto the snow. One of the lucky apes leapt at him, releasing a shrill battle cry as it flew through the air. Cyril focused, and an icy aura encircled one of his front paws. He could feel the magic coursing through his veins, concentrating in his readying talons. All he had to do was wait…

A split second later, Cyril was on his hind legs with the said paw drawn back. The ape had no time to react as the ice dragon's talons tore through the flesh across his chest, and a chilling sensation engulfed its body. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, its body completely encased in a thick layer of ice. The beast turned to the apes lying on the snow, who were now watching him with a look of sheer terror on their faces. He laughed inwardly at their expressions, gloating in triumph.

However, his victory was short lived. Cyril reared up as he felt two sets for claws digging into his back, tearing at his flesh. The dragon released yet another roar as the previously forgotten ape clawed its way up his back, occasionally biting at his neck with its tiny fangs. Cyril shook himself violently from side-to-side in attempt to get the potentially dangerous ape off his back, but all was in vain. The ape's claws simply sliced through the flesh beneath his scaly hide, and it continued to make its way up the back of his neck. Inspired, another two apes joined their comrade, one latching onto his tail and the other onto his shoulder. Panic surged within Cyril as the first ape was now on the back of his head and had tightly coiled its arms around his neck, digging its claws into the soft, exposed flesh.

The dragon was finding it hard to breathe. He could feel the other two apes on his back now, and his own blood trickling down his neck. He was starting to feel rather light-headed, and his vision was getting blurry around the edges. The dragon continued to struggle, but his efforts only encouraged the apes. The first ape gave a sharp squeeze at his neck, and Cyril reared up slightly to try to relieve the pressure. A single thought crossed his mind. He knew that there was a good chance that it would fail, but right now he was desperate, and there was no other way out of his dilemma.

Mustering the last of his strength, he jumped up and shifted so that he would land on his back. The apes were taken aback at the sudden movement, but realization had struck them too late as the ice dragon crashed on top of them, dorsal spines driven deep into their flesh.

The grip around Cyril's neck was released, and a ragged breath was hastily drawn in, relieving his deprived lungs. He could feel no movement whatsoever beneath him, but the warm, sickening blood of his victims was seeping onto his scales. He brought himself onto all fours, and thankfully the carcasses didn't remain caught on his dorsal spines, which would've both embarrassed and disgusted him. He looked over to where the on looking apes were, but to his surprise and relief they had left. Sighing, the bloody dragon looked back at the apes would had just fallen at his hand. There was a total of five; the one he'd thrown at the beginning of the battle (which Cyril had guessed had taken a strong blow to the head), the ape who had been frozen with his ice attack, and the three on his back, which were now lying in a bloody heap next to him.

Cyril's mind began to function properly again, and he was reminded why he'd nearly wound up getting himself killed by a hoard of apes in the first place. He glanced at his surroundings, but there was no one in sight. Despite this, a small smile crept to his scaly blue face as he made his way over to a small patch of colour and ice a short distance off a small, dead tree. Scarlet blood tarnished the ice's glossy surface, and on the snow was a trail stained with the vibrant red substance. The carcasses of three apes (which Cyril had no recollection of defeating himself) also littered the scene. He lowered his head and gave the alien blood a quick sniff, writing its scent into his memory. The dragon knew that doing so was unnecessary, as the tracks and blood were still fresh, but this scent was foreign to him. If whatever at the end of this trail was unfriendly, he'd have a pretty good way of tracking it and any of its kin to take care of them as well.

Cyril began to follow the trail, trying to keep the horrid sensation of ape blood trickling down his sides hidden in the deepest corners of his mind.

Zelda fell to her knees, completely drained from her efforts.

She felt the weight of a barely conscious Link roll off her shoulders, and the snow crunched as he hit the ground. Zelda shifted over to her friend's side, a deadly concoction of anger and fear welling up inside her. She hadn't even been able to stop the bleeding properly before the ambush. She quickly removed her hood and applied pressure to the gaping hole in Link's shoulder, where the bolt had once been embedded in his flesh. Thanks to yet another attack, her brave companion's life was left to hang in the balance, and at the moment all she could do was try to staunch the profuse bleeding and pray to the Goddesses that death would spare him.

Keeping the pressure applied to Link's shoulder, Zelda allowed her mind to wander back to their most previous battle. Of course, neither of them had expected the monsters (as the princess had now deemed them, considering their actions and the fact that she hadn't recognized them). They were bipedal, their bodies covered in thick white fur and armor made of either metal or leather, the latter being the most common on these creatures. Their faces were elongated, and their primitive, beady eyes seemed to hold a subtle sense of malice. At first their approached seemed to have a more inquisitive nature, which obviously changed when she'd drawn her knife. Her gesture of warning was misinterpreted, however, and the creatures quickly engaged her in combat.

She mentally shuddered at their fighting style, instantly connecting it with those of other monsters she had faced as Sheik. Despite the fact that they wielded no weapon or had any proper armor, they were still quite lethal to those who weren't equipped or trained. They were swift, and their movements were unpredictable and fuelled by bloodlust, which left them quite vulnerable on many occasions. Defeating them would've been a breeze, if it weren't for the fact that there were so many of them.

And then that thing came…

Now, that would've been a formidable foe.

The sound of its unearthly roar echoed in her mind, and through her mind's eye, she could see its icy glare staring back at her, unbridled rage visible within its piercing blue eyes. Fangs and talons glistened in the snow, ready and eager to spill the blood of their first victims. Its lean and muscular body was tense, set to pounce with unnatural ferocity and speed. It was a fearsome sight to behold, and its overall demeanor chilled her to the core.

Pushing its haunting image out of her mind, Zelda continued to recount the events. Not long after its appearance, she'd managed to shrug off the last of the monsters (others had turned their attention to their new opponent) and made her way over to Link…

Now that Zelda thought about it, it seemed that he wasn't as close to the tree as she'd remembered…

Using only her eyes, she quickly scanned the rest of his body, checking to see if any of those evil creatures had inflicted anymore wounds to his already battered body. She hadn't been able to be right by his side during the entire fight, and the thought scared her.

Her anger must've been quite obvious, since Link – still with his slightly wavering consciousness - had noticed.

"Zelda, they're just flesh wounds. It's hardly anything to-"

"No Link, it's not," she snapped, cutting him off.

"Zelda, those would hea-"

"I don't care! Link, those things attacked you while you were injured and defenseless! De - fence - less! How could you - how could I - possibly just shrug it off like that?! First they had the nerve to attack us like that, and after that they didn't even have the decency to leave you be and just fight me instead!"

"Zelda, please keep you-"

"No Link, I won't!" she retorted, cutting him off again. Zelda was already beyond that point. She knew she was being quite rude and unreasonable, but all of the anger and frustration she'd felt lately due to being constantly on the run (and not to mention lost, she added bitterly,) needed to be vented out. One way, or another.

Behind the princess' enraged demeanor, she also felt a sharp pang of guilt. Guilt for not being able to defend her friend properly, the one who had strived with every fibre of his being to help her, to protect her. And this is how I repay him…

"What they did was low and cowardly," the princess continued, her voice slightly lowering its previous volume. "How dare they. How dare they!"

"Seriously Zel, you need to-"

"No, I already told you! Damn it Link, you have no idea!"

"Zelda please-"

Zelda opened her mouth to cut him off, but something in his pleading, hushed voice put her off. She met his gaze, and all she saw in the azure pools that stared back was fear. Fear that he had not bothered to conceal.

"Perhaps you should listen to your friend more often,"

Neither of the two dared to move. There was a hushed hostility in the voice that seemed to speak for itself.

The stranger chuckled throatily, its unnaturally cold breath causing the hairs on the back of Zelda's neck to stand on end.

"My my, now what have we here?"