As I have said before; This will now be posted as a rated M story. All further updates, character bios, and other things will be posted on my profile page. I will try to post an update every monday/tuesday for story development and I will try to get at least two to three chapters a month. Thank you.
The golden energy dispersed from Gabriel's body and he fell into the dirt.
Gabriel walked over to Flame's body. He was flat out unconscious and his nose was bleeding from the punch.
Spyro walked over to Flame and sat down on his haunches. Flame had done a number on Spyro and he rubbed his burns and cuts gently.
"Thanks for the help, he was really getting on my nerves." Spyro said.
Gabriel turned to Spyro and struck him in the face, sending him a few feet backwards.
"W-What was that for?" Spyro groaned as he rubbed his jaw. It wasn't broken but damn near close to.
Gabriel transported himself on top of Spyro and brought his tail blade to his throat. A slight shimmer of the golden light surrounded Spyro's body.
"Let's get a few things straight here," Gabriel said as he peered into Spyro's eyes. "First off, I haven't been here more than a week and I already don't like you. Cynder was still crying this morning from what you did and said to her last night. Quite frankly if 'I' was her, I wouldn't speak to you ever again. You act like a little cry baby just because Ignitus came and left. But what about her? She misses him as much as you do, if not more, yet she still comforted you when you were acting like such a little bitch! Ignitus said that he would contact you as soon as he could, so just get over it." Gabriel pressed his tail blade closer to Spyro's throat and drew a small trickle of blood. "Now, first you are going to put out the fire that you made in the gardens, then you are going to go to Cynder and apologize for what you did. I don't care what she says or what she does, you are not to say or do anything, do I make myself clear?"
Spyro gulped hard and nodded his head.
"Good, I'm glad we understand each other." Gabriel said and patted Spyro on the cheek with the blunt end of the blade. The golden aurora dispersed from Spyro's body as Gabriel got off him. He walked away but turned to Flame and pointed at him "And take that piece of shit with you when you're done!" He yelled at Spyro.
Spyro lifted himself off of the dirt and snorted a few flames from his nostrils.
Something tapped his shoulder. "I saw that." Gabriel said, and whacked him on the head. Before Spyro had a chance to react Gabriel disappeared again.
Spyro growled quietly and walked into the gardens. The fire still burned around him, torching bushes, trees, and the animals that had once called it a home. A spray from his ice breath put out the flames quickly.
Once the flames had been put out, Spyro took a moment to find his hideaway. Since more than half of the gardens had been scorched by the fire and all that remained were ashes, and it didn't take him very long to find it. He sighed with relief when he saw that the surrounding area had not been touched by the fire and that it was still hidden very well.
Spyro walked out of the gardens and over to Flame. Spyro slammed a paw to the dirt and a tomb of earth encased Flame's body, pinning his limbs to his side tightly. Flame grumbled softly but did not wake up. Spyro then flicked his tail up and a small bump under Flame popped up and moved along with Spyro as he walked back to the temple.
Volteer had gone to inform the other guardians of what he had seen and was shocked to find out that Flame had killed the chief healer in the infirmary moments before. All of the guardians walked together to the front of the temple quickly. They had almost reached the front gates when bumped into someone in his hurry.
"Excuse us." Volteer said. He glanced back and realized he had pushed over Gabriel. "Oh Gabriel!" He said. The others turned to see Gabriel picking himself off the ground.
Gabriel sighed and sat on his haunches. "Can't get a break this morning." He mumbled to himself.
"What was that?" Volteer asked.
"Uh, I said Spyro should be bringing that red dragon here any minute now." Gabriel said.
"So has Flame decided to come quietly?" Cyril asked.
Gabriel smiled inwardly. "In a manner of speaking, yes." He shrugged his wings and sighed. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to sleep. Getting shot at by arrows, almost dying in a fire and taking care of that dragon Flame first thing in the morning wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. So again, if you don't mind I will bid you ado." Gabriel bowed down with a cocky smile and disappeared out of sight a moment later.
"Should we have someone follow him around for a while?" Cyril asked Terrador. "Just in case his brother decides to go after him again."
"I suppose that would be for the best." Terrador said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I personally think we should give him some space, this must really be hard on him right now, but some protection might be a good idea."
"Should I go and find Hunter and see if he is willing?" Volteer asked.
"No need, I'll look after him." Hunter said from behind them.
Cyril jumped slightly and Volteer chuckled to himself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Hunter apologized. "I'll follow him and if he runs into any danger I will protect him." Hunter bowed and walked out of sight.
"I hate it when he does that." Cyril said.
Volteer chuckled again but Cyril noticed him that time. When the electric guardians back was turned, Cyril blew a cold mist over his body.
Volteer shivered slightly and looked out an opening with a view of the sky. "Is it almost winter season already?" He asked himself.
Terrador looked at Cyril. He rolled his eyes when he saw that Cyril was snickering at Volteer behind his back. "Come on lets go, Spyro is probably at the entrance by now." Terrador said and waved his wing for the others to follow. Cyril and Volteer nodded and continued on to their destination.
Cyril was having a hard time keeping a straight face as Volteer continued to look to the sky, expecting snow or other signs that the winter season was approaching.
Spyro had brought Flame to the steps of the temple and could go no further. He panted heavily and sat down. The binding earth around Flame crumbled to the ground and he fell with a thud.
Two moles saluted Spyro as they passed by him. Before they could continue their patrolling Spyro had stopped them and asked for their assistance in getting Flame up the steps.
They still had no idea of what Flame had done, and gave each other confused looks but followed their orders. Once they were finally up the steps Spyro thanked them for their assistance and sent them back to their duties.
"Spyro!" Terrador exclaimed when he saw Flame unconscious by his side. Terrador gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of Flame for us." He said.
Spyro rubbed his now sore shoulder. "Well, Gabriel's the one who knocked Flame out, I just brought him here." Spyro said.
"In any case, we need to question him now." Terrador said. "Would you mind bringing him to the cells down in the lower halls?"
"Uh, yeah sure, no problem." Spyro said.
Spyro turned and had lifted Flame halfway onto his back when he remembered Gabriel's words to him. He set Flame back down onto the ground and faced Terrador again. "Actually I need to do something first if that's alright with you?" Spyro said. "Cynder and I…" He was silenced by Terrador's paw.
"Say no more, we already know of the situation." Terrador said.
Spyro hung his head low to the ground as a knot of guilt clenched his chest tightly.
Terrador sighed. "Go to her now, we will discuss the punishment of your actions another time."
Spyro lifted his head and nodded but continued to look at the ground. Spyro walked around the guardians and headed off to Cynder's room.
He walked through the halls of the temple in silence. Birds chirped cheerfully as they played in a small fountain on one of the many balconies of the temple. He smiled as they stared at him with cocked heads as he passed. Once he was out of sight they continued their playful chirping.
He continued to walk down the halls until the chirps died away and lost his mind in thought. What was he going to say to her? Just a "I'm sorry Cynder, please forgive me?" No. That wouldn't be good enough. He loved her, but after what he did, after what he said, and over something so stupid, would she still love him back? Thoughts of doubt plagued his mind and before he knew it, he was already outside Cynder's room.
He sighed and took a deep breath as he raised his paw to the door.
Cynder had moved from the spot where she slept in the morning, back to her bed as soon as Gabriel had left.
She sighed for what seemed as the hundredth time as the sound of footsteps or the tapping of talons on the stone floor, which turned out to be a guard patrolling around had brought her hopes up, and sent them crashing back down.
She had stopped crying over Spyro leaving with some self-pep talk. "Come on, get a hold of yourself," or "You're tougher than this." It brought her mood up, but only slightly.
Her eyes drooped from lack of sleep and the sting of her salty tears didn't make it any better. She closed her eyes and dozed off momentarily, but a knock on the door brought her back.
Cynder removed herself from her bed and walked just in front of the door. "Come in." She said.
Spyro gulped hard, unlocked the door and pushed it open. Cynder stood in the doorway with her paw raised and Spyro braced himself as she struck him across the face, leaving three talon scratch marks on his cheek.
Spyro refused to rub his stinging cheek and straightened himself back up.
"Cynder I… I'm sorry." Was all he said. Never had he thought he could lower his head so far without laying it on the ground.
Cynder didn't respond with words. Instead her dry eyes became filled with tears and she fell onto his chest and Spyro supported her with his weight.
"I'm sorry Cynder," Spyro apologized again. "What I did was stupid and childish, and I promise I'll never do something like that again."
Cynder pushed off of Spyro's chest so she could face him. "How can I trust you? All Gabriel and I did was try to help you and you yelled at me and attacked him."
Spyro was speechless. "I… I didn't…"
"You didn't what Spyro? You didn't try to hurt someone who's brother just kidnapped Ember and attacked him while he was still in recovery? It takes a lot of nerve to do something like that. I love you Spyro but if you can't control yourself than were done!"
Cynder slammed the door in his face and walked to her bed.
"Cynder!" Spyro shouted from the other side of the door. "Cynder I said I was sorry for everything, what else do you want from me?"
"Go away Spyro, I don't want to talk to you right now." She yelled back.
"Damn it Cynder, come out here now!" Spyro bellowed. His temper was rising to its max.
"Go away, and don't come back! I will never be you're mate! I hate you!"
"That's it!" Spyro screamed. He breathed in deep and shot an earth missile at the door sending it flying off its hinges.
"Spyro what are you doing?" Cymder screamed. She backed up to the wall as Spyro advanced towards her.
Spyro's eyes were glowing white, a dark aurora surrounded his body like flames and snapped violently in several directions. He had fallen to darkness again.
"I've had it with you Cynder!" He yelled. His voice echoed over and over each one darker than the last. "I'm tired of waiting, if I can't have you, no one will!"
"Y-You wouldn't!" She said in disbelief. She backed up further and into the wall. She was cornered.
"Oh I would." Spyro said and licked his lips. "Now we can do this the easy way." Spyro cracked his neck sideways. "Or the hard way."
"N-Never!" Cynder screamed and made a dash for the door.
"Hard way it is then."
Spyro shot black flames at the door way and blocked her exit. Cynder tried to fan out the flames with her wings but they didn't even flicker.
"I told you Cynder; you're going to be mine now." Spyro said.
"Get away from me!" Cynder screamed and slashed Spyro in the face.
Spyro growled angrily and swung his tail around hooking Cynder in the side of her head. The force from the hit sent her flying to the wall.
The blow stunned her leaving her dazed and disoriented. Spyro took his chance to get on top of Cynder, putting pressure on her so she couldn't move. He spread her legs apart and she came flying back to reality.
"N-No!" She screamed as Spyro inserted his member inside her.
With each thrust from Spyro, he clenched harder onto Cynder, causing her forearms to bleed.
Cynder had never experienced this feeling before. Even though she pleaded for him to stop, the physical and emotional pain killing her, she… enjoyed it. The thought of her enjoying this pleasure disgusted her beyond imagination.
She had always wanted a mate, she had always wanted him as her mate, but not like this. Not when he forced it onto her. It wasn't right, this wasn't him.
Spyro's thrusts became harder and faster causing Cynder to let out short gasps and moans. The sound of Cynder moaning drove Spyro insane and made him thrust harder and harder. After several minutes Spyro gave one final push and groaned with relief as he finished.
Cynder didn't have the luxury of relief. Instead she writhed in excruciating pain as Spyro lifted off of her and walked away. When the pain subsided and she saw the damage he had done to her she curled into a ball and passed out.
'Why…?'
"Cynder." A voice called out from the darkness.
She could not hear the voice, she didn't want to hear the voice, all she wanted was to die. Spyro had destroyed her, leaving her broken and alone.
"Cynder." The voice said again.
Cynder felt something prodding her shoulder and she lifted her head and blinked several times to get adjusted to the minimal lighting.
"Cynder are you alright?" It was Spyro.
Cynder's eyes widened in horror and she scrambled away from him.
"Cynder what's wrong? I heard you scream when I was outside your door, are you alright?" Spyro said.
"Get away from me!" She howled.
Spyro took a step forward. "Cynder what's the matter?" He asked.
"Y-You tried to… to…" She couldn't hold it in any more. She lunged at him in a fit of tears and rage and pinned him to the floor. She snarled in his face and brought her tail blade up to the side of her head ready to strike.
"Cynder stop!" Gabriel yelled. He had just arrived followed by several armed guards.
Cynder shot a ball of acid at Gabriel. He shoved the guards away and dodged the ball into the room. He shut the door and turned to Cynder.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked.
"Get away from me! I'm going to kill him for what he did!" Cynder yelled.
Spyro closed his eyes and turned his head so he wouldn't see her face when she killed him. "I'm sorry Cynder." He whispered.
Cynder was about to strike but when she saw his cheek she gasped. His claw marks that she had given him were gone. Her tail fell limp to the floor and she backed off from Spyro. 'It was a…'
Tears filled her eyes and her lip trembled violently. "Spyro I… I…" took several steps backwards. "I'm sorry!" she cried. She turned to fly out the window but Gabriel was already there to block her exit.
"Cynder." He said calmly and put a paw on her shoulder. The same aurora that surrounded Spyro now surrounded Cynder and she stood frozen in place. Gabriel focused his mind on the dragoness and after a few moments he withdrew his paw. He whispered something to her and walked over towards Spyro. "Forget what I said before," He said to the confused dragon. "I think it's best we give her a few minutes."
"But I…" Spyro said.
"Now!" Gabriel bellowed.
Spyro didn't object. He looked at Cynder one last time before leaving her room.
The guards had the same golden glow around them as Cynder and were frozen on the floor. Only when Gabriel waved a paw over them were they freed of the bond. "Sorry about that please leave now." Gabriel said.
"We do not take orders from you." One of the guards piped up.
"I could always let you go in there alone with Cynder." Gabriel said and smiled slyly.
The other moles cleared their throats and tugged on the mole who spoke to him. "Y-Yes sir." They all said and hurried off, dragging the so called 'brave' mole with them.
"Do you mind telling me what the hell has gotten into her?" Spyro asked.
"I can't tell you just yet," Gabriel said. "Just give her a few hours and she should be fine."
Gabriel walked off and waved a wing to Spyro. "Later." He disappeared from Spyro's sight a second later.
Spyro looked back at the door to Cynder's room and sighed. He walked away and headed to the lower halls of the temple to meet with the guardians.
The golden glow that surrounded Cynder's body dispersed and she shot around quickly to see Gabriel lying on the floor rubbing his temples gently.
"Damn it hurts when I do that." He mumbled to himself. Cynder cleared her throat to get his attention. "Oh, sorry about that, I just didn't want you to make the same mistake he did."
"What did you do to me?" She asked.
"Some other time." He said and shook his paw so she would drop the subject. "Now, I can tell you're afraid of Spyro, mind telling me why?"
Cynder gave a nervous laugh. "Wh-What? Me, afraid of him? That's ridiculous." She said and laughed nervously.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Gabriel said and rolled his eyes. "I know he is a dumbass and what he did was stupid but there is no reason for you to try and kill him." Gabriel said.
Cynder bit her tongue and hung her head. She cursed to herself quietly.
Gabriel sighed. "Look, if you don't want to tell me I understand, I can leave if you want."
He began to walk to the door but Cynder stopped him. "N-No, don't go." She said.
Cynder hesitated momentarily, but after a few seconds she finally caved in and started to explain her dream to him.
"So when I woke up and saw Spyro, I just freaked out." She said after she finished.
Gabriel was speechless. 'Damn,' He thought to himself and rubbed the back of his neck.
Cynder began to tear up and Gabriel walked over to her and put his paw on her shoulder. "I… I'm sorry Cynder." He said and gave a small sigh. "Hey, you're freezing." He said and removed his paw. "Go lay down, I'll go get some more covers for you."
Gabriel turned back to the door again but was stopped by Cynder. "Wait," She said. Her face burned with embarrassment, she did not want to be with Spyro at the moment, and Gabriel was still a complete stranger to them, but she needed to be with someone. "Would you mind staying here with me?" She asked.
Gabriel was still facing the door so she couldn't see that his cheeks were bright red. "S-Sure." He stuttered. "I'm just going to be sleeping if that's alright with you?"
Cynder smiled. "Thank you." She said. She jumped up to her bed and turned to see Gabriel curling up in the same spot he did the night before. "You don't have to sleep on the floor you know, there is room up here for the both of us." She said and scooted over allowing a spot for him to sleep on the bed.
"I'll be fine, thanks though." He said and rested his head on his paws.
Cynder frowned at his response. "Fine," She huffed and jumped down from her bed and walked over by his side. "Then if you won't take my offer I'll just stay here with you."
Gabriels turned his head away. His cheeks were on fire. "Wh-Whatever." He said, and closed his eyes.
Cynder blushed when she realized what she had said. She gave a nervous giggle and curled up by him with a foot apart for some space.
Gabriel was exhausted and it only took a few minutes before he was asleep. Cynder was laying on her side watching his chest rise and fall and occasionally he would give a small shiver. Until he rolled over, Cynder thought that he was just cold.
His eyes were filled with tears and he was frowning, obviously having a bad dream. His chest was now exposed and showed the markings on his chest. They had closed and had formed scars, yet they were glowing with a red energy that was hot to the touch.
Cynder sighed and moved closer to the sleeping dragon and draped a wing over him for some warmth. When she did Gabriel's face changed from a frown to a small comforted smile. After a few minutes, Cynder's eyes shut and she joined him in the comfort of sleep.
Gabriel floated above a black and white street where two young boys walked together alone. They had handmade back packs on that looked like they would fall apart if any more weight was added to them.
Gabriel moved closer to them to get a look at their faces. Both of their heads were hung but he knew who they were. He could never forget this day, how could he? He and his brother were walking home after another long day at school. He had gotten in a fight and was given a black eye as a result, and his brother tried to help him, but was rewarded with a bloody nose. That was an average day for them at school. Nobody helped them, for whatever reason, they didn't know. Nobody cared that they were constantly picked on, teased, beaten up, it didn't matter, nobody cared.
The two turned a corner and were stopped by a small group of kids who were older and a lot bigger than them.
"Well, well, well, look at what we have here." The group leader said. "Where's mommy, or daddy? Do they not know that you got your asses handed to you again?" He asked. His friends snickered behind him.
"Leave us alone," The younger Gabriel muttered.
"What was that? I didn't quite here you." The bully said and put his hand to his ear. He leaned in so close that he was almost nose to nose with Gabriel.
"He said leave us alone." Greg answered for him. He raised his head and stared at the bully in the eyes.
The bully turned to Greg and punched him in the face, sending him several feet backwards. "I asked him, not you." He said and pointed towards Gabriel who was standing still, afraid to go help his fallen brother.
Greg spat some blood on the ground and wiped his mouth. "Whatever." He said and turned his head away.
"That's better, now, what did 'you' say?" He asked again to Gabriel.
Gabriel hung his head again. "Nothing." He said.
"I don't think it was 'Nothing,' now tell me what you said you little shit head." He said and grabbed Gabriel by the collar of his shirt and pulled it up so he would face him.
Gabriel spat in his face and punched him in the stomach. The bully reared back and wiped the spit off of his face. "Get them!" He shouted to the others behind him.
Greg had just picked himself up and was about to run away with his brother but was picked up from behind by a boy twice his size. He squirmed and tried to get away but that only made the bully laugh. "You're not going anywhere." He said and threw him to the floor. He kicked his side several times until he was satisfied with his beating.
"Greg!" Gabriel shouted. He too was picked up by one of the bullies and was held back as he watched his brother being beaten. Gabriel reared his head back and slammed it into the bully's nose. He was dropped to the floor and scrambled to his brother's aid. He jumped onto the back of his brothers attacker but was swung off and hit a metal fence.
"Bring him out!" The leader shouted. Another bully appeared from behind some bushes and was carrying a small dog by the scruff of its neck.
"No!" Both of the brothers shouted as they saw the prisoner that was being held before them.
"This is what you get whenever you try to make a fool of us." The leader said. The one who was holding the dog handed it over to the leader along with a small lead pipe.
Gabriel was watching above them all as the rest unfolded. He did not turn his head away like his younger counter part. He watched as the bullies took turns in striking the dog repeatedly with a blank expression on his face. While his younger self and brother cried out for them to stop and the dogs whines grew louder, he was only filled with rage. His teeth were barred and he growled angrily. He closed his eyes and dropped to the ground in front of them.
Their color changed from black and white to normal but the younger Gabriel and his brother were frozen. The dog had died, a pitiful broken shape lying on the pavement. They all laughed and turned to the two brothers. They froze froze as a gold dragon was advancing towards them, snarling.
They all scrambled backwards as the rage filled gold dragon raised a claw and struck their leader. His face was torn away from the slash and blood splattered the sidewalk. Before he could fall to his knees, Gabriel swatted him away like a fly and continued towards the others.
They could not escape. The gold energy surrounded their bodies, freezing them in place. He made quick work of them.
He knew this was his dream, he knew it was his nightmare. He could control the properties of the dream such as creating things, and morphing them as he pleased, but he could not change the outcome. He and his brother suffering the loss of a friend to the bullies and the beatings. He had killed them many times, in hopes that it would relieve the pain he felt, hoping that if he killed them, it would destroy his memory of it. But it never helped and this time was no different, aside from his new body and powers.
He used his control of the dream to revive the gang of bullies and slaughtered them over, and over. He relished the feeling, as their blood covered his claws and face as he attacked them in a blind rage. It was maddening.
"Gabriel!" A voice shouted from behind him. He could not hear the voice, he was losing his sanity in here, in his nightmare.
"Gabriel stop it!" The voice shouted again. He heard it this time and turned to see Cynder behind him. She was terrified.
He looked at himself. His claws and face were covered in blood. His scars burned brightly and sizzled the blood that dripped onto it. His eyes had lost their lustrous gold color, all emotion was gone from his face, all except for rage and hatred.
He turned back to the cowering group of boys and growled angrily. The group crawled backwards and when one attempted to run, Gabriel froze them all again and roared into the air.
The ear piercing scream scrambled the boys' minds, their eyes and ears bled and they all dropped to the floor.
Gabriel walked further down the street and stepped on one of the boy's heads, crushing his skull in. Cynder ran around him in order to stop him, but he merely phased through her body like a ghost and continued to walk.
When he passed she shouted at him again. "Gabriel!"
He continued walking down the street but this time he answered her. "I don't know how you got here but I suggest you leave." He said sorrowfully.
She trailed up behind him again. "Where am I?" She asked. "Where are we, and who were they?"
"I don't want to talk about it." He said and turned down an alley way.
Cynder ran in front of him again and placed a paw on his shoulder but it did not phase through like before. "Gabriel." She said. "Please, it's not good to keep things like that to yourself."
"You would know." Gabriel said and looked away.
Cynder hung her head as her memories of slaughtering thousands as her past life returned to her.
Gabriel sighed and looked back at her. "I... I'm sorry," He said. "If you must know, this was a day back in my world." He said. The younger version of his self and his brother appeared by his side. "The one with the black eye was me, and that was my brother." He said pointing at the two.
Gabriel closed his eyes and they appeared in front of a run-down building with several children running around in the front. Cynder was surprised by the sudden change of scenery but her attention was brought back to the blood covered gold dragon.
"We grew up here together, in this orphanage. We never knew our parents, and for as long as we can remember, we've been here, in this shit hole." He said and sighed again. "And today was the day when we ran away from here, after our dog was killed we just couldn't take this place anymore. Nobody cared for us, all except for the dog, we didn't fit in, we always were picked on, beat up, tortured as I'm sure you saw earlier. We tried to talk to the adults but they ignored us." His eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "We ran away and every night since, when it didn't involve you two, I would dream of this day. When we ran away and lived on our own we thought we would feel relieved, but this nightmare still haunts me, and I assume my brother as well."
He started to get choked up now and couldn't talk any more. Cynder's eyes were filled with tears for the gold dragon. "I'm sorry." She said. She walked over to the dragon and draped a wing around his side. They fell to the floor and Gabriel started to cry as all his memories returned to him.
"I can't take it any more!" He said between sobs. "I just want to forget this day, forget my old life in my world, but it can never happen."
Cynder sighed and nudged his head up with her snout so he would look at her. "I know how you feel," She said. "I have killed thousands and every day I wish I could take it all back, but I know that I can't. Even though so many people try to bring up my past and remind me of what I have done, I remind myself; Look forward to tomorrow, forget the past and focus on what is in front of you."
He smiled and whipped his nose. "Th-Thank you." He said. He blushed and turned his head away again.
Cynder giggled and nudged him with her hip. "Come on, if this is a dream and you can control it, clean yourself up and lets go do something that doesn't involve so much pain."
The blood that covered his body did not disappear. He continued to look away and shook his head. "I've tried." He said. "No matter what I do, I can't alter anything until after it happens since this is all basically a memory." He sighed and rested his head back down on his paws. He picked his head up and looked at Cynder again. "One question though, how are you in here?"
Cynder blushed and looked away. "Well I uh... I'm kind of sleeping next to you." She said. "You looked cold so I... moved closer to keep you warm, but I don't know how I'm here." Her face turned dark purple.
You would think he was a fire dragon with how red his face and body became. He cleared his throat so he wouldn't stutter as much. "I think I might know," He said and turned away. "But anyways... thanks..."
Both dragons were looking away from each other for several minutes. Gabriel broke the silence when he stood up. He laughed nervously and his legs were shaking slightly. "I'm probably gonna' regret this." He mumbled to himself.
Cynder stood with him and cocked her head. "Huh?" She said.
He gave a nervous laugh. "I think it's ironic." He said.
"What's ironic?" She asked.
"I lived my whole life as a human and now that I'm a dragon I feel like I fit in more, aside from my powers. And I never liked any girls back in my old world... and now..." He turned away and his face was burning red.
He wasn't being direct, but Cynder understood what he was implying. "Thank you," She said and blushed. "I know that Spyro may not be the perfect dragon but I still love him all the same. I think it's sweet that you think of me that way, but I cannot think of you as you do me. I'm sorry." She stood up and turned away. She walked down the street leaving Gabriel alone.
Gabriel sighed quietly to himself. "Whatever." He said, and turned away as well.
Pieces of his memory shattered around him like glass. It slowly started to crumble away as the pain in his chest grew and grew. The ground below his feet broke away but he continued to walk on into a black void. When he was far enough away from his memory that it was only a spec in the distance, he let loose an agonized roar. It grew louder and louder and when his voice could no longer sustain the roar he choked up and started to fall.
He fell and fell into the darkness around him. It was an void of nothingness and had no ending in sight. His tears escaped his eyes and drifted above him as he continued onto his descent.
Cynder sighed as she opened her eyes. Hunter had fallen asleep on the wall adjecent to the door, in his hand his bow was gripped so he would be ready for anything at a moments notice. Gabriel was still asleep but was turned away from her. His scars were burning again but he didn't wake up. Cynder got up and nudged Hunter awake.
Hunter aimed his bow at Cynder and she jumped back defensively. Hunter rubbed his eyes and withdrew his bow when he realized who he was aiming at. "Sorry." He said and stood up. "The guardians told me to watch over him and I'm a little on edge after what happened."
"What happened?" She asked. The attack from his brother was a few days ago and everyone for the most part had calmed down over it. Their defenses were tighter so another attack would be pointless, so why was Hunter still on edge?
"It's Flame, he killed the chief of the infirmary and attacked Spyro this morning." He explained.
Cynder gasped. "He did what?" She said. "Why would Flame do such a thing?"
Hunter merely shrugged. "Nobody knows, we are still waiting for him to wake up, but that was over twelve hours ago." He said.
"How long have I been asleep?" She asked and looked out the window. It was night out already and the crickets and other night time bugs buzzed around outside. The songs of the daytime birds were replaced with the hoots of owls and the croaks and chirps of the nighttime frogs and bugs.
"About the same amount of time." He said. "Gabriel knocked Flame out, and knocked in a little sense into Spyro." Hunter gave a small chuckle. "I heard from guards who saw him say that he was extremely angry with him and looked like he was ready to kill him."
Cynder looked back at the gold dragon who was still asleep. She sighed and nodded. "I can understand why, but how have I been asleep for almost the entire day? It only felt like a few minutes."
Hunter shrugged. "I can't say, but from the looks of you two sleeping together you seemed very distressed."
"You don't know the half of it." Cynder said, and hung her head.
Hunter took the hint to drop the subject and looked at the glowing scars. "Cynder, what's up with the markings his brother gave him? They seem to be getting hotter." He said.
It was getting hotter. The scars snapped and sizzled as pieces of his scales were burnt away around them. Then all of a sudden it stopped. The scars ceased glowing and burning, but now he began to shake violently.
Gabriel stopped falling. Now he was in another memory. It was of the previous night with Cynder in the gardens as they picked the berries.
He sighed and approached the dragoness. His memory replayed over and over as the walked into the temple and reappeared in the gardens. He rested his head on his paws and watched her as she walked, talked, swayed her hips playfully, her face when she ate the berry, he loved everything about her, and he hated everything about himself.
"You're a human, not a dragon." He repeated to himself. Why did he like her?
For what seemed like hours, he watched the time they spent together. He knew it was stupid, and she was already in love with someone else, and he knew it was wrong.
He sighed sadly, ruffling the grass in front of him.
"It makes you furious to see Spyro with her, doesn't it?" A voice in his mind asked.
Gabriel heard the voice and subconsciously agreed.
"If you want her you should have her, correct?"
Gabriel nodded his head, his eyes were drooped and he looked as if he was in a trance.
"You know what you must do. She loves Spyro, but if he was not around, she would be all yours. You must kill Spyro."
"I must kill Spyro?" He opened his eyes and shook his head. "What am I saying?" He looked down and a shadow covered him and the ground in front of him. He did not have time to react as a giant claw struck him away.
He hit a tree and coughed hard as the wind was knocked out of him.
"Stupid boy," The voice said. Gabriel's eyes opened wide as he saw Malefor standing before him.
Everything about him was as terrifying as he imagined he would be. He had cold, yellow eyes that could pierce through the souls of even the toughest of beings. Battle scars covered his face and body, his wings were rippled and had several cuts through them. He was smiling as he stood over the stunned dragon on the floor.
"Get up. Now!" He shouted and swung his tail around. The blunt side of his tail spade made contact with Gabriel's face and sent him flying through the air.
He tried to stand but failed and fell to the ground. "I need to wake up." He groaned quietly to himself. He moved his tail blade to his throat but something bit down hard on it and prevented him from moving.
He yelped as the grip on his tail was getting tighter and tighter. He looked back an saw a black dragon, about the same size as him with lightning shaped ivory horns biting down on his tail. The black dragon was crying as he clenched harder and harder onto his tail. Gabriel tried to use his power to escape the black dragon, but nothing happened. He tried to freeze the dragon or send him flying away, but again nothing worked.
Gabriel screamed in pain as the black dragon squeezed as hard as he could and ripped off his tail from the point where he bit down.
Blood poured from the loss of his tail and he could not move his body. He was to weak from the amount of blood he was losing, but he remained conscious the entire time.
The black dragon cast away the tail and moved to Malefor's side.
"Good work, Greg." Malefor said and patted the black dragon on the back.
His brother looked up and smiled. "Thank you master." He said.
Gabriel was speechless. That was not his brother. He would never do something like that to him, never. He knew Malefor was twisted and would do anything to get under anyone's scales, but somehow he had succeeded.
Malefor laughed and walked towards the gold dragon. "It must be hard to use your powers at night?" He asked with a smile. "And I bet your wondering how we are here?" Gabriel didn't have time to refute as Malefor continued. "Well, I found out that you and your brother share dreams, against his own will of course, and that in the dreams you can withstand a substantial amount of pain in them and that the only way for you to wake up is to die. So I figured that if I can, 'persuade'you to do what I say, I might just let him go."
Gabriel spat blood from his mouth onto Malefor's paws. "That is not my brother and I will never do what you say!" Gabriel said.
Malefor ignored his attempt at insulting him and moved closer so he could whisper. "In dreams your image is represented by your soul. What you see when you are awake is how he was when he arrived in this world and I must say, it is not pretty, but in time he will become like us." Malefor said. "And since we are in the subject about dreams you should remember this; every time you sleep, every time you shut your eyes for a little rest, I will be there. I am going to break you eventually, so you might as well give in. Do as I say and I will release you and your brother. Defy me and I will see to it that your life will be a living hell." Malefor placed a paw on his forearms and forced them down hard. They snapped loudly and Gabriel cringed with pain but did not cry out. He would not give Malefor the satisfaction of him being weak.
He was beginning to lose consciousness and was slipping away from shock but Malefor would not allow that relief. He raised a paw to the air and a second later one of the black crystal shards appeared in his grip. He moved it down to Gabriel's right eye. "These things are marvelous, if I do say so myself." He said. "They can corrupt even the purest of heart and can cause an unbelievable amount of pain to one who is marked by them when darkness is around, as I assume you have realized." He laughed and placed the tip of the shard just above Gabriel's brow. "I will leave you with this parting gift, and just remember; three months time is all you have." He said and laughed as he shoved the shard into his brow and started to carve downwards.
"He's not waking up!" Cynder shouted. They dumped another bucket of water on his face and washed away the foam around his mouth. They slapped him, shook him more than his body was already doing, and yelled at him to wake up, all to no success. A cut above his right eye appeared and started to move downwards slowly.
"Spyro, Volteer give him a shock!" Hunter said.
Spyro and the guardians had come as soon as they had heard from Hunter of what was happening. They were all confused as to what was going on but now was not the time for questions. They needed to wake him up, and fast.
Volteer and Spyro nodded and shot small bolts of lightning onto Gabriel's body.
Gabriel screamed as Malefor crossed his eye and moved downwards with the shard. A bolt of lightning struck the ground next to Malefor and made him jump back. He laughed and threw the shard away. "We must leave now, but before I go I must ask one thing from you." Malefor said. Gabriel could not reply, he was to weak. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like for you to let me know how your father is doing. He is getting very old by now but I think that he should remember." Malefor returned to his side and whispered something in his ear.
Gabriel's eyes widened but was to weak to object.
Another bolt of electricity struck the ground next to Gabriel. Malefor turned to Greg. "Come slave, we are leaving!" He shouted. He turned to smoke a moment later and disappeared.
"W-Why?" Gabriel whispered. He was unable to talk or lift his head to face his brother.
Greg shook his head. "Three months." He said. He raised his blade to his throat and slit it quickly. "I'm sorry." He mouthed. Just before his body hit the ground it vanished.
He could no longer see out of his right eye. His tail had been cut off and he was losing blood quickly. And Malefor... he was to tell Malefor how his father was? He was a human, how could his father be here in this world? And what did he whisper to him. He could not remember. All he knew was that he never had a father. Unless... He was not able to finish his thought. He closed his eyes and exhaled the last of the air in his lungs and gave into his death.
Big thanks to Dardarax for proof reading another chapter :) R&R would be awesome ^^