Hell Hath No Fury...

His eyes were red, burning orbs of the fiercest fire ever known to Ember. The crimson rage that silently roared within them like a blistering inferno forced it's way into their very souls, igniting the sparks of fear that they had thought were forgotten. His battered, monstrous wings spread wide behind him, casting a stretched shadow over the dragons. His vicious smile sent shivers up and down Ember's spine, despite the tremendous hatred that was brewing within her. Flair remained silent, his face locked in an expression of determined focus that stripped him of any personality he had. Ember's fists clenched, but otherwise her expression remained unreadable.

"I must admit, it took you longer then I anticipated," Evil sneered, stepping slowly down from the dark, towering throne-pedestal that he had been waiting upon.

Ember didn't react. She simply tilted her head, ever-so-slightly, to the right and remained expressionless. She looked past him, into the centre of a gigantic, window like split in time, held open by a series of complicated generators that arched above them like the teeth of some ferocious beast, threatening to devour them all. This split, that fractured round the edges like a smashed screen, displayed on it's other side a lush pasture, surrounded by tall, fresh trees that waved slightly in the unfelt breeze. Pink flowers dotted the grass and dandelion seeds became caught in it's gentle embrace, whisked away across the valley. Ember's brow furrowed as a distant feeling of reminiscence washed over her. The area beyond the temporal split was a location from her past, one that she knew well.

It was a section of a wide field, enclosed by old, beautiful trees that stood only just behind the school tower that she had attended as a dragonling. It was also at a stage of time moments before Spyro's downfall and Evil's victory.

Her thoughts lingered, but were soon disturbed upon realisation of how close Evil had come to her. His dark, grotesque form blocked her view of the temporal disturbance and he now stood before her, the same expression of almost wild glee stamped over his face. Before any of them could move, Ember and Flair were lifted from the ground by an invisible force that sent them crashing into the walls of the chamber with a sound like thunder, only not so distant.

Flair picked himself up first, shaking his head free of the sparks that danced in front of his eyes. He could feel his own warm, wet blood leaking out from a cut in the back of his head, but it did not seem to stir him. Ember picked herself up from the ground, teeth gritted and eyes squeezed shut, ignoring the stabbing pains from her chest. One of her wings was badly crumpled, but other then the hole in the membranes of both wings, they had sustained little damage.

Evil, with one powerful beat of his wings, rose into the air, still facing them, but rising our of their reach. He raised his massive black-scaled fist above his head, charging it with psychic energy and sending a blast of it hurtling at Ember. It struck her in the chest and expanded, sending her crashing against the floor with a muffled yelp. The unstable stone wall behind her wobbled, and gave way, sending huge slabs of rock toppling on top of her in a pile of debris. The cloud of dust obscured Flair's view, but it soon became apparent that Ember was defeated.

"NO!" he screamed, watching the rest of the wall (and partial ceiling) fall onto the fallen dragon, trapping her, crushing her.

He bolted forwards, terrified, and began clawing his way through the rock, searching for any sign of life. He was violently flung away from the mountain of stone by another telekinetic attack from Evil. Skidding to a halt, mere inches from the far wall, he was lifted and slammed mercilessly into the ground by Evil, who was thoroughly enjoying the entire ordeal.

Flair felt his shoulder dislocate when he hit the floor for the fifth time. The pain from his entire body was tremendous, but the numbing feeling of loss made him wholly ignorant to his physical suffering.

As he lay bruised and battered on the ground, barely able to remain conscious, Evil hovered down and stood proudly over Flair's beaten form.

"You never stood a chance in the first place," he jeered, striking him in the side with a powerful kick that split his ribs, "Pathetic," he commented, wrinkling his nose at the BiDras and kicking him harder, sending him rolling across the floor until he hit the wall. With one last burst of determination, Flair slowly lifted himself from the floor, shaking unsteadily as his arms strained to keep him up. Evil's clawed foot came crashing down on Flair's back, slamming him back into the stone.

A malicious grin invaded Evil's face as he watched the creature before him. With a sharp jerk of his hand, Flair's body flipped onto it's back and lay there, bleeding and broken. Evil began applying pressure, telekinetically, to every part of Flair's body, crushing him to death as painfully as he could. He stopped, however, moments from Flair's death. A movement out of the corner of his eye had captured his attention and he turned to his right, examining the pile of stone that had crushed the female.

His burning red eyes scanned the rocks scrutinising them with brutal efficiency. They had moved. He released his hold on Flair and spun around to check the room, searching for anything out of place. Ember's fist slammed heavily into Evil's snout, forcing him into a backwards stagger and sending a thin spatter of blood in a light arc against the wall, staining the dark stone with the thick liquid.

Recovering fast, Evil roared and hammered her with walls of energy, each of them slamming her with more force then the last. She held her ground with the first three, standing with her forearms raised over her head. The others, however, sent her skidding towards the time-rip with a pained expression.

Evil didn't waste a second. He jumped to his feet and sped forwards, digging his claws into Ember's belly and lifting her off the ground. Both of them fell through the time-gateway, impacting against the warm, soft grass and tumbling down a slope towards the school tower. Evil ploughed his fist into the side of Ember's snout, quickly bloodying it. She retaliated by bringing her knees to her chest and lashing out her foot at him, sending him backwards into a tree. Before she could get up, Evil grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the tower's light grey wall, splitting several bricks with a crunch. He stepped back, allowing her body to fall to the ground before kicking her up and psychically pinning her to the wall.

"I am impressed," he laughed, "I assumed you were dead."

He flung her over his head and sent her flying into the ground about a hundred yards away.

"You are a fool, Ember," he spat, using his actual voice, rather then telepathy. It was low, and grating, obviously because it had not been used in a while. It still seemed to echo within her skull, but she hardly cared,

"Why can't you live with your pathetic mate's death and stay out of my way?" he asked, advancing steadily.

She replayed what he has said. Again and again it rolled through her mind. She heard him torment her, and insult her fallen mate. She watched as Spyro's death took place her mind once more. She watched Evil's face as he sneered. She saw Spyro's eyes as he died, losing their spark of life...

She remembered him sitting with her atop the icy mountains of the dragon realms and embracing her as the sun set behind the valley hills...

"I'll always love you..." he whispered.

"He was my life," Ember whispered to herself, glaring at Evil with re-ignited rage.

A new emotion engulfed her, spreading through her like a poison and seizing her mind within it's grasp. This emotion, one could hardly describe. It was too powerful to be called hate. Too strong to be called anger. It went beyond emotion, beyond reason, beyond logic and beyond power. It was so extraordinary that she lost herself within it. It consumed her like no other emotion had before and lit an inferno within her like the white-hot fury of a million suns.

He pupils shrank and every muscle in her body tensed. Her jaw clenched and she slowly stood up, glaring Evil directly in the eye. Ember had gone, lost in a sea of indescribable rage, replaced by something else and Evil knew. For a second... just a second... an expression flickered across his face..

Fear?

Maybe...

Without warning she darted forwards, burying her pink-scaled fists deep into his chest. She brought her other fist up into the side of his face, sending a gleaming tooth flying. She brought a knee up into his stomach and ploughed an elbow down onto his back before sending an uppercut into his lower jaw. She charged at him, ramming him into the wall and causing it to split almost to the top. She jumped into a kick, slamming him in the throat before thumping him in the shoulder. She didn't stop. She made sure she didn't give him that chance. She sent punch after punch into his chest, hammering him again and again. He attempted a retaliatory attack, but she easily knocked his fist aside and sank her sharp white fangs into his shoulder, piercing his scales as she bit down harder.

She ragged at the flesh, seemingly trying to rip him in two. As if pulling him into a hug, she put her arms around him and sank her claws into his back, beating her wings and lifting them both into the air. Up and up they rose until the school below was nothing but a pinprick surrounded by a sea of clouds and colour. Releasing her grip on him, she allowed their momentum to carry them both higher and slightly apart before looping around in the air and head-butting him away.

Now in a frantic free-fall, both dragons exchanged strikes, kicks and fiery attacks as they hurtled toward the ground below. Making one last attempt for his life, Evil summoned the last of his power and used it to throw Ember down and away from him. She hit the ground fist, hard. He regained some stability and glided down unsteadily, landing limply in front of the small crater that Ember had made. Gasping for breath and heavily bleeding, he staggered to his feet and stood over her, readying himself to deliver a death blow.

He raised a claw, making sure he was at just the right angle to drive it into her heart. He brought it down in one quick sweep, smiling to himself slightly as his claw drew closer.

It stopped, frozen in mid air as he surveyed the scene with dis-belief and evident horror.

"No..." he muttered, staring at the golden dome that surrounded her. It expanded violently, sending Evil to the floor with a heavy thud.

He looked around at her, his features lit by the fantastic golden light that emanated from her floating body. She had no expression, and her colour was only gold. All the blood, pink, yellow and dirt had gone, leaving behind a dazzling creature of light. The dome had become a sphere, and surrounded her in a brilliant shield.

"Time's up," she whispered into his brain, staring at him as she lifted him into the air without moving.

He began to panic, roaring ferociously as she brought him closer to her.

"No telepathy will save you now," she smiled, reaching out to run her golden paw down the side of his face, almost affectionately.

He stared at her, wide eyed and afraid, like the pathetic coward that he was. She removed her hand from his face, tracing loosely down his neck and stopping at his chest. He screamed as her golden claws sank into his skin, invading his rib-cage and wrapping warm fingers around his evil heart.

His blood stained the ground, scorching the grass below as it trickled down his body and dripped from his claws. Her expression changed to a manic grin as she watched him writhe in pain. She seemed to draw more and more enjoyment out of his slow death with every passing second.

She leaned close to him, still grinning with that faint hint of insanity. She pressed her lips against his as she crushed his heart, muffling his final scream of pain and terror. His warm blood gushed from his body, forming a dark pool beneath them that reflected the glowing energy surrounding Ember.

She opened her eyes to watch Evil's glaze over and become lifeless, empty pools of red. She broke the kiss, allowing his limp body to fall to the ground like a stone. He never hit the floor though, as his body became engulfed in roaring flames that reduced it to ash before it could impact, and drifted away in the cool breeze.

"Returning the favour...," he thought, examining the pieces of flesh between her fingers.

Her job was not over. She still had to prevent Spyro's death at the hands of the Evil of the past. The golden light extinguished as she glided around to the other side of the tower. As she went, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief that the most powerful version of Evil was gone. Of course, it would have been easier to just destroy his past self, but there was no way she could have avoided conflict with the future Evil.

She saw him. Below her was a scene taking place that she recalled all too well. Her past self was pinned down and Evil was seconds away from erasing Spyro from time.

"NO!" she screamed, diving at the unprepared embodiment of Evil as fast as her wings could take her.

In one smooth, fluid motion, she lifted him from the ground by the neck and carried him high into the air. Her plan had worked and Evil was unable to fight back, still unsure of what was happening. Destroying him was all too easy, and it was almost disappointing. Seconds later, the two halved of Evil's body dropped to the floor with sickening crunches, spilling blood across the ground and staining the floor. She cast her gaze downwards at the confused and amazed faces of her past self and Spyro below. She was about to land with them when she spotted the time-gate (still open) in the field behind them. Lying in the pasture was the blurred but un-mistakeable body of Flair.

She glided down to him urgently, with a worried expression dominating her face, hurrying to him as fast as she could, praying that he was alright.

She landed somewhat heavily in front of him and knelt down besides him. He smiled, and a surge of joy coursed through Ember's exhausted body.

"Are you okay?" she half whimpered, stroking his head and rubbing the dirt from around his face affectionately.

"F-fine," he stammered, smiling up at her warmly, "Did you get him?"

"I did more then get him," she replied, still tending to his wounds.

Before either of them could speak, a dizzying lightness swept over them and they watched in complete shock as their bodies began to disappear in a flurry of dazzling sparks that faded into nothing.

"What's goin-?!" Ember began, lifting her vanishing hand in front of her face, then watching as Flair's feet disappeared.

Flair cut her off, knowing what was happening to them both,

"You corrected time... None of this ever happened now, so we're being put back to where we were in time before this started...," he explained, fixing her with an apologetic stare.

Ember looked back at him with tears in her eyes,

"We... we won't remember any of this... so I want you to know... Evil would have won if it weren't for you... thank you... so much...," she sobbed, pulling him into a grateful hug.

"Don't get soppy on me, soldier... it was no problem... all in a day's work," he quipped, grinning sheepishly as he continued to vanish, "and by the way... you were amazing," he told her, almost completely erased, "Bye... Mom."

And with that he was gone. Ember's eyes grew wide with realisation as the words sank in...

"Flair?" she called her son's name, before vanishing into thin air.

The early morning sun crept through the cave entrance, flooding the small bed chamber with golden light. Ember's eyes twitched and opened, slowly getting used to the light.

""Mmmmmmmm,""she mumbled as she sat up, rubbing her drowsy eyes.

She gazed down at Spyro who was laying peacefully on the edge of the bed, illuminated by the sunlight. She smiled and slipped quietly out of bed. She slowly made her way to the living room, picking up little odds and ends as she went and placing them where they ought to go.

Something caught her eye that seemed out of place in their cave. On the floor by the living room entrance was a small, watch-like device, made out of rough metal and fabric. There was something about it that tugged at her mind... something she knew she ought to know about it.

It seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it. Important somehow...

Images flashed through her mind... places she had never been... people she had never met... and a name that seemed important above all others...

"Flair...," she mumbled under her breath, her brow furrowing in distant recollection.

She shrugged it off and placed it on a rocky ledge in the wall of the cave, walking to the entrance.

She peered out of the cave at the fresh world. She smiled again and went to find breakfast.

Soon after, Spyro awoke from his slumber. He yawned loudly and peered around for Ember.

Realising she must be out looking for a meal, Spyro got up and wandered over to the exit. The lush green grass outside their cave waved slightly in the warm breeze and he soon spotted Ember, sat at the edge of a grassy verge in the distance. Her pink scales were un mistakeable and he spent a few seconds admiring her from a distance before leaping into the air, unfolding his wings and swooping off to be with her.

His powerful wings sliced easily through the air, and as he drew closer, he could see Ember's welcoming smile as she watched him approach.

"Sorry I took so long getting up! I was busy dreaming about you!" he called, swooping lower, eventually landing softly next to her.

"I know," she smiled, knowingly.

Spyro fixed her with a questioning look, wondering what she meant,

"You cried out my name three times in the night, and asked me to 'do it again' numerous times," she grinned, suppressing a laugh as his face turned from purple to deep crimson.

"Errr... well... can you blame me?" Spyro asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Hmmm... yes, but I'll let you make it up to me," she said, a sly smile creeping across her face and a twinkle in her sapphire eyes that made him raise an eye-ridge.

"How could I ever make it up to you?" Spyro asked, a mock sorrow in his voice that made her giggle.

Ember leaned close to him, planted a small kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Tell me what you wanted me to do again to you."

Spyro kissed her cheek back and replied, in a just-as-sly manner, " Better... I could show you?"

They both grinned at each other, Spyro assuming an expression of innocent playfulness and Ember just warmly smiling.

"If you beat me back to bed," she told him, quickly diving into the air and racing back to the rocky home before Spyro could protest.

He grinned and took off after her, gaining fast, "You had a head start!" he called, swooping over her and tackling her in mid air.

They dropped a few feet but recovered quickly, Spyro now flying backwards with Ember holding onto him by the waist.

"You okay?" he asked, enjoying the sensation of her clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

"I'm fine...," she replied quickly, flapping her wings in tune with her lover's.

She smiled, feeling safe pressed against the warm body of Spyro as they flew. She nuzzled his belly gently as they began to descend towards the grassy entrance of their cave.

Spyro spun and landed with ease on the ground, carefully lowering Ember down with him. They embraced for what seemed like hours before Ember whispered,

"You haven't beaten me back yet."

And with that, both of them bolted for the cave, playfully attempting to hinder each other's progress, until both landed in a heap in the mouth of the rocky cavern.

"Uh-oh... looks like a draw!" Spyro smiled, Ember on top of him and staring into his purple eyes, lovingly.

"I guess you'll have to tell me and show me," Ember giggled, rolling off of him and disappearing into the tunnel, her tail stroking his shoulder as she went.