Chapter 10: Savior

Spyro and Flame alighted on the front door to Warfang's great temple. Flame was amazed to say the least, "Wow!" He walked with his snout in the air, too busy staring at the beautiful ceilings to notice where he was going. The red dragon bumped into some one, "Oof! Hey, watch it!"

The hooded figure just kept walking... On two legs? Spyro watched it disappear around a corner before turning to Flame and saying, "I think I know that person."

The red male was angered, and his wing hurt where the creature bumped into it, "Really? Well next time you meet them, remind them about manners."

Spyro examined the injured wing for a second, then ordered, "Flame, stay still."

"Wha-?" He didn't move.

Spyro leaned closer, and found a tiny message scratched into Flame's wing-pit. The two-leg must've written it super quickly before leaving, "I found something... Words..."

Flame's interest peaked, "Really? What do they say?"

The purple dragon's eyes squinted as he tried to read the tiny badly-written letters, "Umm... I think the first word is... Oh dear."

"Come on! Don't hold me in suspense!" Flame's foot started tapping with anxiety.

"It says beware the large green one. Whatever could that mean?" The dragon was stumped, and had to think about it somewhere quieter, "Let's get to the library, quick."

"Please... Somebody... Anybody..." Moaned Cynder, rolling around in her cage. The floor stank awfully, since she had nowhere else to piss or take a dump. The only time she could get fresh air, was when they opened the window next to her bars every once and a while. Cynder had no clue as to 'why' they did it, but she didn't care, just as long as she could breath, "Who's there?" She murmured when footsteps were heard on the stairs. They weren't an ape's, those guys always stepped so heavily.

"A friend." Was the only reply. The voice sounded, feminine.

Cynder stood up and squinted at the black, "Step into the light. It's been so long since I've eaten any crystals; I don't have my powers anymore."

The silhouetted figure shook her head, "No, that would be too much for you."

The dark purple dragoness could tell by the shape, that the one standing before her was a hominid. But what kind? "Please, if you're a mirage, just go away and leave me alone. I've lost everything but my sanity... Please, I beg of you..." She started to tear-up, head lowering slowly to look at the cesspool of refuse she had created. It only made her sadder.

"Don't cry. It only makes this harder." The figure reached out a hand, an orange furry one, and in it was food. And not just any kind of food either, it was shaped weirdly, "Eat this, inside is the key to your escape. The food will give you strength, and the item will set you free. Goodbye young dragoness, and good luck." The mysterious woman then disappeared almost as if she had not been there at all.

Cynder looked at the bun-shaped pastry in her paw with curiosity, "She said there was something inside, so don't eat it whole Cynder." Now she was talking to herself; great. Taking great care, the dragoness began by slowly biting into one side to make sure she didn't break anything inside. A couple minutes of delicate effort later, she came up with a strange looking device, "How odd." She muttered, playing with it in her claws.

Terrador was as fat as ever when Spyro came before him. And when he did, the green monstrosity frowned, "What do you think you're doing?" His rumbling voice asked.

Spyro bowed, then explained, "I'm only here to make use of the library, nothing more. So, if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way." He started to turn around, but something caught his eye. Spyro asked the big green oaf after rewinding himself, "Where did you lose that scale Terrador?"

Terrador was shocked at first that the purple dragon would notice such a small defect, but then realized that maybe he saw the tiny patch of leathery skin because he was looking for it. And if he was looking for it, he must've found the scale that once covered it. He straightened himself out, and tried to look not as nervous as he was feeling, "I was landing one day, and the tip of a statue tore it out. Painful, trust me."

Spyro digested this excuse in his brain for a few seconds, then returned to exiting the room without a word. Once outside, and far enough away from the throne room's door, Flame asked Spyro, "Why did you ask him that?"

The purple dragon smiled, "Oh, no reason."

The library was full of dragons when they got to it. Strange, because usually it was empty. Maybe the lack of Volteer to scare everyone away affected their opinion of the place. Flame and Spyro started at the first row of books, and politely made their way to the end. No results. In the seconds row, Flame found something on different kinds of leathers. Useful, but still didn't answer the 'whole' question. It wasn't until the fourth row, that Spyro finally found what he was searching for, "What is it?" Asked Flame, pushing two smaller yellow dragons out of the way.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Exclaimed the apparent father of the hatchlings, "You almost hurt my- Spyro?"

The purple male's head snapped up at the voice, "Volteer?" He gasp-laughed, "But, how!"

Two smaller look-a-likes of Volteer hid behind his fore-paws, "It's a long story, I'll tell you later. For now, we didn't meet okay? You never saw me, and I didn't recognize you. Got it?" With that, he started trotting in the other direction, "Maybe we will meet again somewhere a little more private so we can talk!" He called over his shoulder, not even stopping for one of his kids, who was struggling to keep up.

"Well... That was odd." Commented Flame, standing next to a speechless purple hero.

They lay on their bellies next to each other in the reading section of the library, and opened the book. Both pairs of eyes started reading, scanning the pages as quickly as possible. Spyro stopped turning the pages, and placed a claw on the paper aimed at a sentence, "There!"

Flame followed the direction he was pointing, and nodded, "I see it."

The purple dragon reached into his little carrying pouch at the back of his neck, and pulled out the stick with metal rings, "It says here that this thing came from a ship... But what 'kind' of ship?..." Then it hit him. Spyro suddenly had a memory come back to him. It wasn't a good one, but it sure was useful at the moment. His face lit up, and so did Flame's from the sight of Spyro happy, "I know which ship!" He got up, turned on his heels, and sped away, "Follow me!"

As soon as they got to the front steps, both dragons spread their wings and took to the air, Spyro ahead by a whole dragon's length. Flapping madly, the purple dragon looked like he was either running a race, or trying to get away from some one. Incidentally, Flame thought it was cute, "Spyro!" he called, staring at the purple dragon's tail, "Mind if we take a short break and... Relax a bit?"

"No time! Just think of it from 'her' point of view! Four months locked up inside some horrible cell! I would want to be rescued as soon as possible too!" He only sped up, forcing Flame to strain his wings in return. There it was, floating in all it's tyranny, the flying slave ship that forced Spyro and Cynder to fight all those years ago, "I see our objective! Hurry, time may already have run out!"

Flame rolled his eyes, panting as he tried his best to keep up with the adrenaline filled purple dragon. As they got closer, Spyro noticed smoke billowing from the deck, and got really worried, "Why's it smell like toasted- Oh..." Flame stopped himself as soon as he saw the fire. By the time they got there, no one was on board, and the whole place was crumbling. Spyro landed in the only non-hot spot and ran for the prison quarters. He frantically searched all the cells in vain, and was eventually dragged out by his red friend.

Spyro woke a few hours later on a badly torn up patch of grass. Up in the sky the burnt remains of the pirate ship fell slowly to the earth, falling apart the whole way. He felt something stuck around his claws, and held them up to his face to inspect them. Dirt. He must have been clawing at the ground. Probably because he couldn't save Cynder, "Oh Cynder..." He started crying. For some reason, the crying cleared up his ears, and the sounds of the forest came back to him; along with something else, "An argument?" He was lying on his left side, looking up at the sky, and the sound of voices were on his right. So he rolled himself over and looked on in relief.

Cynder stood there, scars covering her body, but nonetheless okay. She was yelling at Flame, who was shaking. Either out of anger or fear, Spyro couldn't really tell, "He's 'my' mate! What gave you the right to sleep with him!" The angry dark purple dragoness barked, slamming a balled paw into the dirt, "Who 'are' you anyway!"

Spyro knew Flame wouldn't be able to answer in his current state, so he thought it the right time to speak up, "His name's Flame!" Both sets of eyes flew to him and looked on in amazement.

"Spyro!" They called in perfect sync. Flame stayed behind, but Cynder ran to him and wrapped her paws tightly around his neck.

"I thought you were a goner!" She moped, releasing a bucket-full of tears onto his neck.

Spyro greatly appreciated the attention, and her voice, but he had something that he really had to say, "Cynder, I-... I don't think we can be together anymore."

She stopped crying almost immediately, "What?"

Flame looked hopeful from the background, his tail starting to wag in delight. The purple dragon watched Cynder's eyes after she pulled her head away from his neck, "I'm so sorry Cynder... I still love you, and forever will... But I think I might be gay."

Cynder's heart skipped a beat.

End Chapter 10: Savior

Author's Note: OMG the suspense and drama is killing me! Oh, and I know I'm not allowed to do this, but I'm thinking of posting and updating two stories at once again. I have this really awesome one all hot-'n'-ready for ya'll, and can't wait to post it. This story goes on way to long to wait anyway.