OFF: Well, it took quite a while but finally, the next chapter is done! The wait was quite big for this one but it's the longest chapter to date.
I hope that you will all find the wait to be worth it! Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Mother
The Dark Master is an abomination from times unknown. Only Pure Light will slay the Beast of Darkness.
"You lost, Spyro." the Dark Master taunted as he sunk.
The Dark Master... the source of all evil and suffering. He was a frightening dream, a horrific nightmare and no one can wake up. He thought he could have ended the nightmare... he truly believed that the Prophecy would be fulfilled but in the end, the Darkness swallowed him.
Falling through the liquid atmosphere of the Dark Realm, only void awaiting him beyond.
He did not know how long he has been falling. What did it matter, anyway?
The Dark Master won, Cynder betrayed him, Sparx was gone, the Guardians were doomed, his entire home Realm was doomed.
"You have fought admirably, Spyro. You were a most worthy opponent... but ultimately, you were no match for the power of the Dark Master. It's all over, now."
Even now, he can't shake this feeling that he heard the Dark Master's voice before. Yet, he knows that the first time he had heard it was after the battle of Convexity. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling as if... as if he had always knew this voice.
Even at this moment, at his own final moments, Spyro did not know why he felt like he had always known the sound of the Dark Master's voice.
He had stopped struggling. He had stopped fighting. There was no point to it anymore. Resistance was futile and he knew it.
All he could do was cry. Cry in sadness and regret, begging the Dark Master to have mercy upon his soul and finish him off already.
But the Dark Master was patient. He wanted to appreciate his victory and he would do so, savoring every last moment of the purple dragon.
A mighty warrior, Spyro had been... but in the Dark Realm, inside of the Dark Master's world, Spyro was nothing more than one more broken soul, a harmless and defenseless hatchling that cried in agony, calling in vain to its loved ones. In this cursed place, Spyro's powers were no longer.
BAM!
In a way, considering the fall, maybe Spyro should have broken something yet, although painful, the impact was strangely mild, only feeling a few bruises but no actual injuries. The Dark Master's power had healed him, removing the injuries that he had received during his fights back in the physical plane. But his renewed body was of little help to the purple dragon. Without his friends, with the betrayal of Cynder, his soul lacked the courage and inner strength to oppose the Dark Master.
"After I have dealt with you once and for all, I will be able to return to the Dragon Land Realm and rule it. It shall be grandiose, the beginning of a new, eternal reign! But you, little dragon, shall not be alive to see it. Do you what was your fate, ultimately? Look below... and see..."
It was unknown by what force Spyro got up and walked near the edges of the tower of bone. Certainly not by his own will. He had been so completely defeated, his body wasn't even his already anymore. All he could do was look at what the Dark Master wanted him to look at, at the abyss below...
The screams of those who fell to the Dark Master... countless souls falling every second into the endless abyss, devoured by the gapping maw of the Darkness, condemned to become one with the infernal flames way below...
He wouldn't even get eternal rest in death. The Dark Master was going to throw him into those flames and he knew it.
"Even with all your efforts, you will have failed to save even your own soul. Such a pity. Still, there is no shame to be had, Spyro. It was written that I would triumph on this night. All you can do now is brace yourself, embrace your fate, and make the big jump yourself... unless you want me to prolong your agony, not that it will end when you reach those flames. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. HA!"
He contemplated the void and the endless expense of red and yellow below. Despite the screams, despite the unholiness of this Realm, there was a sense of twisted beauty to it all. One couldn't help but see how finely crafted the tower of bone was, all of the skulls, all of the spines, all of the bones forming a perfectly smooth surface, a pillar so finely crafted it rivaled the architecture of the dragons' holy structures. The Realm itself had an eerie, desperate beauty to it, the yellow endlessly dancing in the red of the flames, forming a creepy dance of lights. It was the most unholy and terrifying of all sights... but no fear was left in Spyro's heart. He had nothing left. The Dark Master took all of it away.
"So... what will it be? One last futile attempt to fight back... or the acceptance of your fate?"
Is there a point to the fight? Why should he try to resist now that he's sure that all he cares about is gone and that his fate is sealed?
Before, he had an ideal, something to protect. How can he fight when he has nothing left to protect? He doesn't even have his anger left. Anger never carried him far anyway.
Yet... as broken as he is, he still retain the fear of death and he realized that he is afraid, deeply terrified even.
Many thoughts flashed into his head... and he was reminded of how small he is, how young he is. He's nothing but a hatchling after all and deep down, like all children, he longed for life and happiness. Even if it was stupid and in vain, he wanted to live, he wanted to carry on forward. Even with everything gone, he wished to try...
Try? Try to achieve what? Even if he escapes now, the Dark Master is now free and all that he cares about, doomed. What is there to find out there? What is there to achieve?
Sparx... Sparx, where is he? Did he... did he truly...
No, no. Denial again. Deny it. He must have escaped the portal, he must still be out there. He must still be alive...
"Sparx? Your adoptive brother? Why would you want to find him?"
He is his brother...
"Why should you care for him? Doesn't he make fun of your weight, your wings, your flight handicap? Doesn't he turn to derision your title, your fate, everything? The truth is... he is a pathetic jerk that cares only for himself."
The memories came...
The dragonfly's evil smirk, his sarcastic lines, him pointing his finger at him again and again and again... never stopping... never shutting up.
Forever insulting him, not even a single good word coming out. Not even gratitude for when he saved him in those countless occasions...
But surely... the Guardians?
"They sit at their Temple, waiting for you to do everything for them. When was the last time you actually saw a Guardian fight?"
...never.
He never saw any of them fight.
Yet, they constantly tell him to go to places, to risk his lives for them... and sometimes, without even giving him the reason.
They use him...
"And then... there is Cynder."
He trusted her, he thought she was free...
...but she had been lying to him, awaiting the moment to help the Dark Master returns.
"In the end... you are alone. You have no one to protect, nothing to fight for. All of it... for nothing."
Spyro felt... cold. But this was not the same feeling he had felt when he had stepped inside of Dante's Freezer or other locations with sub-zero temperatures. It was a different kind of cold. One that... calmed him down...
Nothing was important anymore, not even his pain. The void came before him, in all of its glory, revealing the true shape of Darkness to him... that of pure emptiness, the true opposite of Light.
The Darkness washed over him, clawing at his mind and removing everything that once made him into the being known as Spyro.
Why was the Dark Master taking over him in his final moment?
The final answer eluded him and little did he care. It was all over. Even the Dark Realm itself was consumed by the void, his eyes failing him.
...and then, when nothing remained, that all sounds stopped coming and that he felt the full, total numbness of his empty mind, he saw something.
Although everything had faded, a scene remained in his sight of view, its reality refusing to fade.
When every single illusion that made up his life shattered, the last vision remained very real.
Familiar figures... familiar faces... but why?
SLAP!
Spyro's eyes widened and he yelped loudly as he was brutally brought back to reality by Sparx. He quickly looked around, panicked before noticing them. Sparx and Cynder, standing at his sides.
But he also felt a third presence, that one from within his mind. The Dark Master...
"Spyro! What's wrong with you, buddy? Anyone's home?" for a moment, Spyro thought he felt annoyed as Sparx waved at him right in his face...
"Man! What's wrong with him? He doesn't answer to anything!... and what's the deal with the darker scales? I don't know about you but he feels a bit... off."
Those pleading eyes... why was she here? How dare she, after what she has done?
"Spyro, please! Don't let him control you."
Despite the dizziness, despite the intoxicating power that flowed through him and threatened to once again engulf his mind, he found the strength to voice out his confusion. Why was Cynder telling him to resist the one she serves willingly? "But... why? Isn't he... your master?"
She approached him, getting closer. He could see into her eyes... and it was then that finally, he noticed it. Even though it was the same Dark Power, even though it was the same green eyes as all other servants of the Dark Master... he could see it within. The kindness, the desire for forgiveness...
"Be... because I like you..."
Despite her allegiance and feelings for the Dark Master, ultimately, she had chosen him. She had not lied, after all...
And then, Sparx...
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, crossing his arms. "You expect me to run away now? Just when we're about to see the very face of terror itself? Nah!"
Within his mind, the memories stirred. Cynder's betrayal, Sparx's hypocrisy...
But he also remembered something else. Cynder saved him back at the Temple of Souls. She pleaded with Gaul and prevented him from killing him. Then, she knocked him out of the Well of Souls' light when the possession was about to be completed. Sparx... he always stood at his side, no matter what happened. Always doing his best to help him, no matter how small and terrified he might be...
He is... not alone.
As Spyro stood up, he saw him. A massive shadow shaped like the dragon statue that was within the Dragon Temple, back at home. Its eyes glowed with evil and all three souls recognized the one they were facing.
"Spyro. Your body is mine!" announced the Dark Master, high and loud, pointing at him with his right paw.
All three beings stared at the Dark Master as he stood there, oozing hatred.
And then, after a moment of silence, Sparx spoke up.
"What? That's it? The so-called Dark Master? Pfft! How lame! That freaky ape-like king was scarier! Give me a break!"
Cynder, herself, seemed confused about this situation. Spyro, likewise, felt the grip of the Dark Master weakening. He didn't even need to fight back. He was strong. The Dark Master cannot touch him. He stepped forward...
"I agree. I thought you would be an overwhelming force of evil... yet, you cower on this tower, only making weak attempts at confusing me." the purple dragon slammed his paws into the floor and took on a fighting stance. "I am not afraid! I will fulfill the Prophecy!"
The Dark Master reared back and then, roared at the top of his lungs. A deafening, terrifying roar. For a moment, Spyro and Cynder made a step backward, Sparx's face turning a bit pale. Still, the three didn't turn away, they didn't run away. They all stood their ground and waited for the evil being's attack...
...and after a moment, Sparx regained his colors and turned to Spyro, crossing his arms.
"Alright. Is it me or shouldn't he have attacked by now? What's wrong with that guy?"
Spyro stared intently at the shadow... and then, slowly, made a step forward. He thought he had seen something...
And then, slowly, Cynder did so as well.
Even Sparx felt his fear gradually disappearing, approaching the Dark Master slowly, gazing into his shape.
"FOOLS! You shall not make a step further! I will possess your body, Spyro, and rule the world!" the Dark Master's voice echoed through the entire Dark Realm... but none of the three even raised an eyebrow. It was as if they didn't hear it.
"Hey Spyro. Is it me or does he looks a bit off?" asked the dragonfly, raising an eyebrow.
The purple dragon slowly sat down, relaxing, nodding. "Yeah. He seems... fake."
Cynder made another step forward...
"If you step forward, then I shall destroy all of you!" Cynder ignored the taunt and made yet another step.
"You are my servant! Obey me! Do not get any closer!" the dragoness once again approaching, beginning to understand something...
"NO! NO! Not one step closer! NOT ONE!"
And then, Cynder poked through the shadow and touched flesh. In an instant, the Dark Master's concentration was broken and the illusion faded away, the massive shadow quickly disappearing as mysteriously as it had appeared.
And then, a mix of shock and horror overcame all three souls.
Just over the edge of the tower was a pillar that reached all the way into the skies... a pillar of flesh. More exactly, of purple flesh. Thousands of purple dragons of all ages, sizes, and genders all merged into a single, grotesque pillar of flesh, bones, spines, skulls, wings, tails, and claws intertwined to form the most horrible structure the three had probably ever seen.
"All of the purple dragons that ever were... forever stuck in their final expression, bound to this cursed Realm..." whispered Cynder, stepping backward.
And then, they saw him. The Dark Master's true form.
"Your... your body will be mine! MINE!" cried the small purple dragon hatchling, constantly flinging his limbs around in a vain attempt at repelling the long, spike-covered tentacles that were slowly dragging him, inch by inch, toward the pillar.
At this moment, Sparx almost felt like bursting into laughter from the irony. For all this time, the Dark Master had never been a dark god or anything. He was nothing more than one of Spyro's predecessors, a terrified little purple dragon.
"So... this explains it..." said the dragoness, looking down as she felt shame rise within her heart. "This is why... you changed."
She slowly approached the dragon, shaking her head. "The time to face the consequences of the crimes you committed in life was drawing near so rather than accepting to face the consequences of your acts, you manipulated me, and all those who once believed in you, so that you could get out." she could feel the tears come to her as she spoke the horrible truth.
"I... I trusted you! I loved you! I... I thought you loved me! But you used me! You used all of us only because you were afraid! Because you had never paid for your sins and that your end was drawing near!"
As Cynder accused him, the fear begun to grow within the eyes of the fallen purple dragon. He shook his head quickly, struggling more and more.
"No! No! You don't understand! Look! If you allow me to get into your friend's body, I'll do whatever you want! Riches! Fame! Power! I'll give you everything you want!" he pleaded.
The tears continued to flow for a moment... and then, after a while, her face hardened, her sadness morphed to anger, and her paws begun to tremble...
"I thought you were sincere. I thought you had changed. But even after your death, you remained selfish. Years within the Dark Realm did nothing. You have brought this upon yourself! The Dark Master I once knew is DEAD!"
And with a mighty roar, Cynder spun around and violently slammed her tail into the Dark Master's body, the can opener-shaped blade at the end of her tail slicing effortlessly through the fallen dragon's chest and knocking him backward.
The Dark Master literally screamed like the terrified hatchling he was as the tentacles engulfed him within the depths of the pillar. His horrible, nightmarish, demented visage disappeared among the amalgam of purple dragon faces, becoming one with them...
It was all over. The Dark Master was finally gone...
"Well... that was anti-climatic..." whispered Sparx, barely believing what had happened. It was all over, finally... and the Dark Master had proven himself most weak, surprisingly. In fact, he didn't put up a fight. What a joke...
"Cynder, are you alright?" well, nice to see that Spyro is out of his emo phase and is once again back to his older self. He's already near Cynder, asking if she's alright.
"Y-yeah... I think so..." a bit hard to believe considering she just killed off the one that had been her adoptive father for such a long time...
There was a silence and then, finally, the two smiled. A feeling of satisfaction filled the dragonfly as he watched the two. Sure, Spyro and Cynder were now staring in each others' eyes in that oh-so-cute and obvious way. Hard to believe that they can STILL think of such things after everything they went through. But then, are they even noticing it? The two sure are oblivious, some times!
"Hey Spyro!" he called, smirking.
Both dragons turned to the dragonfly, wondering what he wanted.
"It's not that I don't enjoy watching you and Cynder getting kissy-kissy but could you wait until we're out of that freaky place before thinking about making tons of naked little reptilian hatchlings? And well, I got a few questions there such as... why the heck was the Dark Master an ugly copy of you?"
The comment had the effect of a bomb on their moods and soon enough, the both of them were glaring daggers at Sparx.
"Oh cut it out! We're just friends!" said Spyro, for probably the hundredth time.
Cynder, her, rolled her eyes. Why was he always annoying them like this? But then, as she looked at Spyro, she did begin to wonder...
She did care about him, that was true. But on another hand, Sparx had a point. Even though he always worried about him and was acting all protective all the time, always chasing her, she still endured him, her who liked to be independent. Then, there was the fact that he did some crazy stuff for her in the first place. Was this all just friendship? He didn't know. He couldn't know, he was still a hatchling... and well, so is she. But still... she was an adult once, she felt the flow of hormones once... and well, although she no longer feels it, she suspects that...
...nah, that's crazy. She lost her adoptive father. He revealed himself to be a coward breaking her heart and then she had to kill him off herself. She's just traumatized, falling back on Spyro for emotional support. It doesn't mean anything. Actually, she wonders how she manages not to burst into tears, considering...
In fact, she feels... warm and safe. And at this moment, she figured out how she managed to cope out with the guilt, how she managed to stick by his side despite her past. As she stood there, she felt... happy, truly happy. She couldn't help but smile, not noticing her tail slowly intertwining with his own...
"It's all over now..." she slowly said.
At long last, the nightmare is over. She can finally put her past aside and begin anew... for real, this time. She is no longer bound to this place and its inhabitants. The time has come to... huh? What?
"Spyro? What's wrong, Spyro?" why was he looking down like this?... and why did she have this ominous feeling, all of a sudden?
"The voice... it was not the Dark Master's." he said, troubled.
"Huh? What do you mean by "not the Dark Master's"? You always raved on about how the Dark Master wouldn't stop calling to you!" said the dragonfly, not liking where this was going at all.
Spyro was troubled. The voice, it had always felt so familiar and then, there is the power. The Dark Master was the embodiment of darkness! How come the power is still lingering in his soul with the Dark Master gone?
But then, at this moment, the voice echoed through his mind one last time and Spyro's eyes widened when he realized whose voice it was.
Cynder's tail let go of his as she stepped away from him, growing increasingly worried. What was happening to Spyro? What's wrong?!?
"Spyro! What's the matter?"
As he turned to her, she saw confusion and fear... but mostly confusion. What shocked her the most was when she still saw her former master's spirit within. But how?!? He's dead! She killed him herself!
"Cynder... the voice... it was my own."
There was a brief moment of silence as neither Cynder nor Sparx could think of anything to say.
And then, after a moment, the dragoness looked down. This couldn't be and yet, when she thought about it...
"Oh come on! Are you telling us that all this time, you were calling out to yourself? That this Dark Power thingy was from within? Come on!" said Sparx, throwing his arms up.
"No, Spyro's right." interrupted Cynder, raising her head and looking anew at Spyro. She then got closer and nodded as the purple dragon looked down, shaking his head.
"But... how? Why would it be my own voice?"
"Yeah, no offense but that's really, REALLY weird. I mean, we ran into really weird things on our way here but that gotta take the cake! That's crazy, I tell you!" added the dragonfly, trying to sound confident although he was every bit as confused as everyone else.
"The answer is simple. It was your voice because that you always had the power to begin with."
Everyone's eyes widened, startled by the sudden echo. And then, after a while of looking around, seeing no one, Sparx said aloud: "Okay! Who was that?"
"Look, children..."
And at this moment, Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx all had the same reaction at the exact same time. Their jaws dropped and their eyes widened.
Before the three was probably the largest, strangest-looking dragoness they had ever seen.
To say that this dragoness was monstrous was an understatement. She was a snake-like creature, her flexible snake body stretching on forever toward the abyss. Near the top, a head that, for lack of better words, looked like Cynder's head had looked when she was possessed except with a flatter snout, giving it a more snake-like appearance. The creature had three pairs of wings that stretched beyond the horizon, the creature having two long, bony arms that ended with three-fingered clawed paws. The creature would have probably seemed majestic if it wasn't from the sheer amount of evil that oozed out of its frame, making it look as if it was constantly surrounded by pure black flames of evil.
This aura, those glowing green eyes, the unnatural black and dark red scales that seemed to nullify all light... this creature was emitting an aura that was almost as evil as the Dark Master's...
...no... more evil than the Dark Master's... VASTLY more evil.
Although they had never seen this dragoness before nor heard of her, all three of them learnt the true meaning of terror. Spyro totally lost control over his body as he begun to tremble, Sparx literally turned white, and Cynder was thankful that she didn't drink anything earlier for else, she would have wet herself on the spot. The gaze of that creature was so terrible that one could FEEL the hatred pierce through your heart and claw at your courage... It was the very gaze of evil itself.
But this wasn't the strangest fact about this dragoness, far from it.
What thrown Spyro's and Cynder's minds into total confusion was that despite the aura of pure, raw evil, they still felt... warm. They felt as if they knew this dragoness and they felt... at home...
Deep within, although they had never met this being, they knew it was their mother, no matter how evil she might be... which couldn▓t be weirder, considering they aren't related.
The conflicting feelings between the terror of looking at evil itself and the feeling of seeing "their mother" thrown them off-guard.
Then, after a moment, the dragoness brought her clawed hands together and closed her eyes, a peaceful expression coming to her.
"Welcome, young hatchlings. I am the origin of all dragons... the mother of all dragons... the very first Ancestor. I am... Vermintrax."
When her voice stopped echoing through the Realm, the massive snake-like dragoness looked down. All three of her guests were still shaking with fear. Looks like she can continue with her speech undisturbed...
"Let me tell you a story, young ones... Long ago, so long ago, before the time of dragons, way before any dragons lived, there was a serpent, a snake if you will. There shouldn't have been anything peculiar about this snake except that it found itself at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Although usually, only dead souls weighted down by evil deeds fall into it, the snake passed over a gate to the Dark Realm just as it opened, in the middle of one Night of Eternal Darkness. The snake fell into the Dark Realm..."
Although still frozen by fear, the three listened and wondered... What was this dragoness talking about? A snake? What had this snake have to do with anything?
"Inside of the Dark Realm, time does not flow like the outside world. The snake was mutated by the radiations, becoming... something else. It grew and grew until it was as gigantic as a tower. Horns grew behind its head and limbs begun to grow. Eventually, massive wings sprouted from the snake's back, allowing it to fly away from the burning flames. Yet... the creature remained in pain and in confusion. Why was it in this place? It had done nothing to deserve such a fate..."
The dragoness paused and smiled, looking at her guests...
"Eventually, an angel took pity upon the snake. After all, it had done nothing to deserve the horrible fate of staying in that cursed Realm. He descended into the depths of the Dark Realm and there, grabbed into the mutated snake and brought it with him as he left the Realm, heading into what is now your home Realm..."
Vermintrax then closed her eyes, as if remembering something...
"The angel was a kind soul... and so was the snake. It was an innocent, pure being that had never done anything to anger the powers that be and its containment, far from corrupting it, had disgusted it forever of all things related to evil. The two were, ironically, mirrors of each others, both pure. Intrigued by this soul, the angel chose to remain as a physical being for a while longer, wishing to see how this strange creature would evolve... and eventually, new feelings begun to be felt by both souls and then, a desire was brought forth..."
The giant dragoness' wicked expression then became softer and at this moment, the three felt... it was hard to explain but they could feel something inside of this being. Even despite the aura of pure hatred, there was something inside of it... something different.
"From the union of those two, a new specie was born. A unique specie, made of self-aware beings that resembled both their mother and father in shape and nature. The new specie was called "dragons" and the first generation, born out of the mother and father, were called "Ancestors" for, from them, all other dragons would be born."
And then, finally, the shock became great enough to allow the three to overcome the effects of the aura. Sparx was the first to speak, turning to Spyro...
"Is it me or does that means that..."
Spyro stared at the creature. This meant that... that... he couldn't believe it and yet, deep within, he knew it was true. He had felt it.
"I fear it is. So you are..."
Vermintrax nodded slowly.
"I am the first Ancestor, the Mother of all dragons. The mate of Mortalis, the Lunar Dragon."
Cynder then stepped forward. Something was off and she was determined to find out what it was.
"This is quite a tale but why are you sealed within this Realm? And why are you surrounded by such a foul aura?!? It's even worse than the Dark Master's!"
At this moment, the dragoness' kind smile was twisted into a sadistic grin, insanity soon invading her eyes as she glared at the small black dragoness as if she was a piece of tasty meat, her mouth revealing a set of extremely sharp, shiny pearly whites that neither of the three young ones wished to see from up close.
"That is because my story is not over... look, young ones..." and at this moment, Vermintrax motioned toward the pillar of purple dragons, causing it to open and revealing a blinding light...
...and then, in an instant, Spyro, Sparx, and Cynder all had the same vision.
A magnificent city, stretching beyond the horizon. A city all of white stone, bathing in pure light, its high towers stretching endlessly through the skies. Then, in the middle of it all, an altar.
Forming a circle, Spyro and Cynder recognized all of the figures. The descriptions fitted them perfectly, all of them. The Ancestors...
...and in the middle, the shape of Vermintrax. She was the same physically and yet, she seemed so... different. Her aura was one of kindness, of loving care. Her face spoke only of calm, peace, and serenity. Floating near her, the strangest dragon they had ever seen. A purple dragon with a head shaped like a cross, three crimson eyes watching all of the souls within the city with utmost care. The dragon had a thin, delicate frame, massive azure feather-covered wings replacing its limbs, three extra pairs of feathery wings replacing the usual dragon wings. Its tail ended with a cross-shaped blade and three golden rings constantly revolved around its head.
Mortalis, the Lunar Dragon... and the father of all dragons. The angel that had descended from the Heavenly Realm to watch over all dragonkind...
"With the help of their children, the immortal Ancestors, Mortalis and Vermintrax ruled over dragonkind with kindness and utmost care. Under their reign, the dragons prospered, their civilization developed, the traditions were formed. For countless generations, peace reigned..." Vermintrax's voice echoed through the lands.
...and then, suddenly, the entire city became black, dark clouds covering the skies. And then, there were the cries of pain, the screams of terror, flames... and everything disappeared.
The three awakened, back into the Dark Realm, Vermintrax stared at them...
"But... the Ancestors eventually grew dissatisfied with their parents. They wished to expend the boundaries of civilization, to reign over everything. Their divine blood inspired them with ambition, making them believe that as dragons were divine beings, they had the right to rule over everything, that they were superior to all life. And when Mortalis and Vermintrax would stop them, they grew jealous..."
The creature smiled bitterly, a pained expression coming to her, as if remembering a horrible moment of her life.
"The Ancestors united and drove Mortalis out, exiling him into the depths of space from which he would never escape. As for Vermintrax... they chained her and drove blades, spears, saws, fire, ice, wind, electricity, and all other harmful things they could think of into her body. They tortured her, her who had loved them, for days. Day after night after day after night... more pain... continual, intense pain... and the hatred in their eyes, the envy..."
The giant dragoness almost choked, the pain still very real in her mind.
"The... they tortured me... day after day... the hatred in their eyes. I... I loved them and they did this to me. They twisted my body... they destroyed me..." and then, at this moment, the illusion faded, revealing the horrific truth.
"Oh. My. Goodness." whispered Sparx, eyes widened. Neither Spyro nor Cynder could say anything, their expressions identical to Sparx's.
Vermintrax's scales had been almost entirely torn off her body revealing her rotten, scarred flesh. Her wings were twisted and torn, the marks of the hooks that had bound and twisted them still visible. Her eyes were misshapen and swollen from the various blades and hammers that had impacted upon them. Half of her face was totally gone, revealing the shattered skull underneath. Her arms were twisted into odd angles, revealing that they had been broken and crushed at almost twenty different places at once. Her very claws had obviously been torn off and placed back on the wrong side in order to inflict further pain. Her shape... was horrific beyond belief.
"I... I couldn't keep it in anymore. After weeks of torture I... I... I snapped." she cried, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears. "I... I allowed my powers to run wild, I allowed my powers to consume me."
...and slowly, her expression turned into a pained although deeply disturbing smile. An insane, sadistic smile...
"And then... I lost control, completely. I couldn't do anything but watch as my powers ran out of control, destroying the entire city. With my own claws..." she looked at her blood-covered paws... "With those claws... I killed the Ancestors, my children, one by one, slowly tearing their scales off them like they did with me. And then, I bathed into destructive flames before unleashing my wrath upon dragonkind, killing all I could find. Before my own eyes, I destroyed everything that was dear to me. I... I lost absolutely everything... and you know what?"
She begun to tremble... and then, her smile distorted as she begun to laugh. A maniacal, insane, loud laughter.
"I... haha... HAHA! ALL I COULD DO WAS LAUGH! HAHAHA! I HAD NOTHING LEFT! NOT EVEN MY SANITY! HAHAHAHA! HAHAHA!!!"
The dragoness arched her body, her insane laughter echoing through the entire Dark Realm, filling Spyro's soul with pure, raw disgust. He couldn't help but step backward, terrorized by this sight...
"Wow... and I thought those ape-things were insane... Goodness..." whispered Sparx, now pale as snow.
"This is... so horrible... so very horrible..." Cynder couldn't believe it...
And then, Vermintrax stopped suddenly and turned to her guests, a maniacal smile replacing her pain.
"But the Ancestors hadn't said their last word. As I destroyed everything, they used the last of their power to cast a powerful curse upon me. I was sealed within this Realm and they called upon the Light so that every ten generations, a purple dragon would be born to fight me. But... you know what? They couldn't even stop me."
She then pointed accusingly at Spyro, her face distorting into a mix of pure rage and amusement.
"I... I used MY power! I called upon ALL of the darkness, all of the sins, all of the evil! I twisted the first purple dragon and drove him to insanity! I turned the dragons' savior into their destroyer, into the Dark Master! And when his soul was totally consumed, I did the same to the next purple dragon... then the next one... and then the next one! Every time a new savior rose, I twisted him into my puppet, into my instrument of vengeance, into the DARK MASTER!" she then spreaded her massive wings, pointing to the skies, bursting into maniacal laughter.
...the truth washed over Spyro like a cold wave.
The Prophecy... was a story of vengeance? It was nothing but the dying wish of fake gods, wishing to bring down a monster they created themselves?... and in the end, the monster turning the Prophecy against dragonkind, using it to fuel its pain and hatred?
How... vile and depressing...
Noticing Spyro's expression, Vermintrax grinned, glaring at him.
"Oh... are you disappointed? Are you ashamed to learn that your gods were monstrous fiends? I understand you..." she whispered in a falsely kind way. "... but fact is, I do not care. The current Dark Master is gone and you, little fool, lack the Light to face me. Your soul is black with the same power as mine... and thus, you shall do quite nicely as my newest puppet!"
And then, at this moment, Spyro came to a decision.
Despite the fear, despite the sadness, despite it all... he raised his head, glaring back at the cursed dragoness.
"No. I refuse to be your puppet." he slowly growled.
The snake-like entity remained silent for a moment... and then, burst into yet another fit of maniacal laughter.
"Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!!! Why do you even bother? You're fighting for the sake of selfish fiends! The Ancestors never did love you! You're nothing but a tool to them! And even then, if they learnt of your Dark Power, they would have rejected you! You fight for no reason! You're insane! HAHAHAHA! YOU HAVE NO CAUSE TO DEFEND! HAHAHAHA!!!"
At this moment, Spyro made a step forward, slamming his right paw into the floor, hard, determination all over his face.
"You are wrong! I fight for the sake of Cynder, Sparx, the Guardians, and everyone else! I do not care about the Prophecy! I am the purple dragon, I wield the power given to me by you and the Ancestors! I will use my power to create a future devoid of fear! A world without the Dark Master, a world without YOU!"
Vermintrax stopped laughing and just stood there, glaring at him from the side like an amused child.
"Oh, really? You wish to fight for a future? What a sick joke. Hear me laugh at you! Look! Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. HA! See? That's how laughable it is! I am the first Ancestor, the pained, tortured Mother! I am the embodiment of all evil! You think your miserable little power is a match for my wrath? PAH! Without Light, you cannot possibly face me!"
Spyro ignored her insults. He was not scared, not anymore.
"Vermintrax... I feel pity for you. It was truly a horrible fate that you suffered. I will give you peace. I will free you from this cursed fate. For the sake of all beings!"
He then turned to Cynder and Sparx. Sparx crossed his arms, grinning while Cynder nodded.
"For the sake of all those who fell... and all those who will live afterward..." added Cynder.
Sparx's grin widened. His grin was nervous, hiding the extreme fear he was feeling... yet, despite his trembling body, he was every bit as determined as Spyro and Cynder. "Hey! We made it to the ultimate evil, right? Personally, I'm scared out of my wits. I... I think that I'm experiencing true, raw terror, you know! Still, I think I'll wait until we've won before fainting."
He turned toward Vermintrax and flew to Spyro's side.
"Phew! Yeah! Let's do this! Although the dragon-o-fright will probably crush us in an instant, I think we do have a tiny chance! Yeah! I'm right by you, Spyro buddy!"
Spyro smiled sweetly. It was so strange. He felt... touched. He slowly nodded to both of his friends...
"Thank you..."
SLAM!
SLAM!
All three were startled at the entire tower shook, Vermintrax slamming her fist into the tower's roof twice. Although she still had her childish smile, her hatred and anger oozed out of her deformed eyes.
"Knock knock! I'm still here! Angered I am, now! Time's over, children! Now, mommy is gonna show you a trick! Now watch! I'll make the three of you... disappear!"
And then, Spyro lowered his head and charged, Sparx flying after him while Cynder flapped her wings, charging as well from the side.
Vermintrax's eyes widened as she opened her eyes, inhaling massive amounts of air as she prepared to launch a breath attack. As she did so, the shattered bones of the dragoness' ribcage pierced through her lungs, many rows of crimson spikes emerging from them. The sight was quite disgusting and was more than enough to make Sparx's face turn pale once again.
Both dragon hatchlings prepared themselves to dodge, anticipating the incoming attack...
...but nothing, absolutely nothing could have prepared for the attack that came their way.
Spyro didn't really know what happened. All he knew was that one second, a sphere of pure red and yellow energy formed in Vermintrax's mouth and the next, every single part of his body was burning, his entire body covered in a seemingly endless inferno that blew on him like a raging hurricane.
Both dragons couldn't even yelp since the heat and the suffering it brought them was so unbearable, sending the both of them flying. The two dragons painfully landed on the side of the tower, their bodies bouncing like ragdolls due to the sheer force of the blazing inferno that had met them.
Although Sparx figured out from that loud sickening crunch and that numb feeling that Spyro must have landed on him, he was still thankful that he was alive. If Spyro hadn't taken most of the blow for him, he wouldn't have survived it. That... was awful. Really. And he thought that Spyro's Fury attacks were brutal...
Slowly dragging himself from under the reptile, Sparx spreaded his wings and looked at them. Well, looks like they weren't broken, at least.
"DARN!" he whined loudly, his entire body making a cracking sound as he rose back, with much difficulty, back into the air. "That was AWFUL! Man, that crazy chick almost torched me, dude!"
...and it was then that worry came to the dragonfly. "Hey! Are you okay, buddy?"
"No Sparx..." the reply came a bit later than he would have liked.
The dragonfly turned to face his adoptive brother... and instantly wished he hadn't.
Spyro... looked absolutely terrible. As he slowly got up, obviously struggling, he got a clear view of his friend and how the attack had affected him. His purple scales had been turned mostly black from the strike and many of them had melted, forming large patches of burnt flesh. His face had taken on a look not unlike Vermintrax's, his snout deformed from the intense heat, his normally sharp, pointy horns made dull from the intense heat.
Likewise, when Cynder got up, she seemed equally badly burnt. Although there were less patches of burnt flesh, her wings had taken the blow quite harshly and were now reduced to a set of bony frames...
The stench was absolutely unbearable. The stench of burnt flesh... but not the usual ape flesh. The smell that assaulted Sparx was the smell of barbecued dragons.
Spyro turned to face Vermintrax. That... how did she do that? How can a dragon, any kind of dragon wield such power? All that dragoness did was inhale a few seconds and then, that inferno... he had never seen such power before. Even the most powerful Fury, even the most intense fiery energy he had felt was nothing compared to what Vermintrax had unleashed. He was still surprised he hadn't been vaporized. The pain... it was so terrible. He had been burnt with such intense flames that there was not even enough water left in his eyes to cry from the pain.
Yet, against all odds, he managed to gather his courage and slowly, rose one paw and then, another, and then finally, managed to bring himself back on his feet. As he regained his composure, his thoughts drifted to Cynder. What about her? Did she resist the attack? Fear suddenly gripped his heart as he feared for the worst. He turned to see her and his eyes widened as his worst fears were almost confirmed.
"C-Cynder?" he asked, horrified by what had happened to her, totally forgetting about his horribly hurting body for a moment.
SLAAAAAM!
The force of the impact caused such a massive earthquake that it literally caused the vaguely humanoid, skeletal shapes that made up the tower to rise, the attack making visible ripples across the roof like a massive rock slamming against the surface of a lake.
Cynder couldn't help but yelp loudly as she was sent flying by the massive ripples. Even Sparx was caught and was, as well, sent flying sky high.
squish!
BAM!
Both the dragoness and the insect slammed back into the floor painfully. They didn't even have the time to react...
But although their bodies were being raked by pain, neither of them paid attention to it.
"S-Spyro!" called Sparx, his face pale as he saw his adoptive brother, so very flat under Vermintrax's massive paw.
Cynder felt... shock... and then, a very unpleasant feeling washed all over her as her face was twisted by a burning feeling on par with the flames that had almost killed her. Despite the intense burns, she managed to leap forward, intend into clawing and biting that arm into pieces!
Then, the arm moved and there was a gigantic wave of black.
SLAUUURCHL!!!
Cynder's scales offered basically no resistance, Vermintrax's massive, deformed, rotten claws slicing through her side like a steel knife through hot butter. The claws dug deep into her body, raking into her very bones deep in her flesh, and then tore through her as they emerged, opening her body wide open in a pretty disgusting way.
The female screamed in pain as she fell on the floor. The attack came so fast... she never was able to see it coming. She forgot all, the pain overwhelming her mind as she grabbed into her side with both paws, trying desperately from keeping her internal organs from slipping out of the gapping hole that used to be the left side of her body, panting heavily as she tried to keep her life from leaving her.
Sparx... couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was just... just...
He turned to Vermintrax. This pure, raw, undiluted rage. There was not even any hint of satisfaction in her eyes, only pure hatred. Her mind was so completely warped that even with after doing all that, she was completely possessed by her frustration and anger.
All fear left Sparx. For some reason, the knowledge that he was going to die and that there was nothing he could do about it calmed him, causing all of his usual imagination for sarcastic comments to dry up. All he could think of was disgust.
But then... as he saw his brother, his frame deformed from the impact, desperately clawing at the floor trying to get up, panting and crying as he tried to survive, he felt... he felt... And then, Cynder, in a similar position, a pool of red soon forming and growing at an alarming rate...
This cannot end like this... this is not fair! He flew in front of his brother's face and slapped him harshly.
"Spyro! COME ON! Get your act together, dude!" he pleaded. "You can't die NOW! Yeah, maybe you could have bought it against the big monkey king but now, at the very last moment, the so-called destined battle? Come on! We're together again, the evil she-dragon is finally truly on our side, and the Dark Master's gone! You can't quit NOW! Get up an--"
SLASH!
"GULP!" Suddenly, it was as if time had frozen.
Why is Spyro looking at him like that? Why... does he feel so cold, so tired? He can't stop shaking and his entire body feels so... so numb, so heavy.
Sparx looked down and then, he realized why.
A massive ice trident had slammed into his back, the central spike covered in green gooey-like liquid, piercing through his chest. The dragonfly felt the blood inside of his mouth.
The strike was lethal. It had struck at exactly the angle and he knew it. Yet, as he hovered there, he also noticed how he was so neatly lined up with Spyro's head...
So in the end, he ended up giving up his life for the cause. In a way, he wanted to cry out, to trash about, to do anything to survive... but all strength had already left him. He reached out to Spyro, his shape already fading from his line of sight...
"It... hurts... brother..." and then, all went dark.
Sparx fell just in front of him, the trident piercing through his chest. The dragon no longer felt pain, he no longer cared about himself. His brother... he lied there...
...and then he saw Cynder, her eyes empty, no longer struggling...
...and he saw Vermintrax. As his vision faded, her eyes continued to glow... no, to burn. To burn with an evil that never slept, that was never satisfied, with an evil that consumed everything, an evil that would forever bring about new Dark Masters through generations. The true source...
They had failed. They were dying, all three of them. Despite destroying the Dark Master, despite Gaul's death, she won in the end. She is at full power, able to recreate the Dark Master whenever she wants, the Dark Ones dominating the Realms, the dragons near-extinct. It was all... in vain.
Sadness gripped him but most of all, anger. Anger at Vermintrax but mostly at himself.
He had been weak!
He doesn't care that Vermintrax is supposed to be the first Ancestor, the goddess from which all dragons were born!
He is the Dragon of Prophecy, the one destined to bring about a new future! He cannot fail! Not here, not now!
Her eyes continued to glow.
She would make him into her puppet and control him. Infuse him with the power of darkness. Make him into the Dark Master...
And then, his eyes widened.
A memory.
Months ago, yes, months ago, he could remember it.
He remembered the power. He remembered the strange power that had been unlocked when he faced Cynder at Convexity. He remembered the great purple light, the corrosive light that pierced through her form. The waves of purple energy.
No, not purple light.
Just a moment ago, Gaul exposed his soul to the Dark Master who gripped into him and made something rise... and for the second time, the power rose.
The Dark Master...
He had thought it had been the power of the Dark Master, his evil Dark Power but now, the truth came to him.
Vermintrax does not create the Dark Masters. She only corrupt and control them.
The power had been inside of him all this time. He now realizes the meaning of her words.
The truth is... this is why the Dark Master had wanted his body. Because they were the same in nature. Because he was a Dark Master just as he was. Because he had the Dark Power.
This was neither the Dark Master▓s nor Vermintrax. It was his darkness, his and his alone.
The power was within him, dormant... all he had to do was reach and use it...
...and thus, he did so.
Vermintrax looked at the roof of the tower, watching the three souls. All of them had limp bodies and empty eyes. It was already over and before it even started! This was not fair! She lusted for blood! SHE NEEDS BLOOD! She felt the overwhelming urge to destroy everything rise. She will destroy, she will tear them apart! Even if they're already dead, even if their souls are already hers! She will reduce their bodies to pieces and crunch their souls and reshape them into faceless screaming shattered beings through suffering!
But then, as she roared in rage, a strange sight caught her attention.
The purple dragon... he was smiling.
Slowly, Spyro clenched his paws. The pain washed all over him but far from making him feel weak, it only fueled his anger which mixed to his blood and shattered bones, in turn fueling the fire within. Something was awakening within him... something powerful, something terribly powerful.
The misshapen form of the purple dragon rose in the air, as if carried by an invisible hand. His left eye had turned dark, fiery red and his right one was now glowing in an unnatural tone of purple.
The entire tower begun to shake as the currents of darkness begun to resonate, small spikes of power rising all around Spyro as his soul resonated, his rage calling to all of the darkness.
And then, in an instant, Spyro felt the darkness overwhelm him and unleashed it, as if it was a Fury attack.
Vermintrax recoiled as she shielded her deformed face from the massive waves of pure darkness. Her rage grew as she felt pain, her arms' scales beginning to decay and fall to dust as a power identical to her own washed all over her with incredible strength.
Then, when the last wave was shot, a frustrating sight awaited her.
Spyro floated above the roof, his body fully regenerated. His scales had turned dark purple and his spikes, wings, and belly, light blue... just like when he had been possessed by the Dark Master. However, his eyes glowed differently and his aura was vastly different. There was no alien feeling, nothing off about Spyro. It was his darkness, his power, to him and him alone.
In the wake of the nightmare, Sparx and Cynder felt the calling of a familiar soul. Their bodies were beyond repair and yet, life clung. In fact, the pain begun to leave them and slowly, their wounds closed and strength returned to them.
Sparx turned to Spyro, confused as to what had happened. For a moment, the familiarity of this situation filled him with worry...
"Spyro?" he called.
But then, Spyro smiled at him and slowly shook his head... and then, Sparx recognized the power. This was not the possession that had taken place at the Mountain of Malefor. No... this was the power he had felt from Spyro back at Convexity, now fully unleashed. Usually, he would have probably made an ironic comment about it for the situation sure was ironic!... but he could think of nothing intelligent to say. All that mattered was that he was alright and that they were now going to kick Vermintrax's tail!
The dragonfly gave Spyro a thumb's up, smiling back.
Cynder looked hesitantly at the purple dragon and at this moment, a feeling of warmth rose within her and pleasant memories flooded her.
She remembered this power... and she remembered feeling it at Convexity. For months, she had been convinced that had been an emanation from the Dark Master, right before the portal closed... but now, she realized what had been the true source of it.
For many months, she had seeked her master back... when he had been at her side, protecting her, loving her all this time.
His power called to her and she nodded, spreading her wings as she lifted herself up to join him. He smiled back, touched. She smiled back, slowly extending a paw toward him, which he touched with his own. They didn't say anything. There was nothing to say.
The three turned to face Vermintrax.
"The time has come." stated Spyro. His friends nodded in agreement.
Vermintrax stared at this sight for a little while, dumbfounded... and then, slowly, her face deformed itself into an expression of pure rage, a loud growl escaping from her decaying throat.
"Speak as you will! You are nothing but a novice! My authority over the darkness is absolute! Prepare yourself for the lesson of your life!... or rather, should I say, of your DEATH!"
The ugly monstrosity reared backward a moment as it prepared itself before opening its mouth, a massive hurricane of flames once again escaping its throat and threatening to fry Spyro and his friends on the spot.
However, this time, they were ready.
The purple dragon gathered all of his strength and mixed it to all of his anger. A moment of doubt rose for a moment...
All of this anger... all of this hatred... was it what caused the Dark Master's insanity? The power that flowed through him was of the same nature. If he allowed the anger to lead him, if he allowed himself to fall to the temptation... then he would be no better than the Dark Master was. He would become just as evil as the monster he is trying to defeat.
Sparx and Cynder floated at his sides, not a hint of fear in their eyes.
They trusted him... even after the revelation that he was himself a Dark Master, just as the evil they had banished was, they continued to trust him. In fact, they had not hesitated one second, accepting his new nature as if it was normal.
Although his power is the same, he is vastly different. The Dark Master was not evil because of the power that coursed him. He was evil because he forgot why one uses power. He became selfish and became ready to sacrifice everything for just his desires without consideration of the consequences.
He is not like that. His power shall be used for his friends, for everyone, for the future.
All of the anger... he felt himself burning, rage coursing his veins. The darkness resonated within him, demanding blood, demanding to be released, demanding destruction.
He did not resist it. He wishes for destruction to come. May it come! May it enshroud this vile wave of fire and make it disappear!
In an instant, Spyro's eyes glowed as he landed and opened his mouth, allowing the darkness to taint his elemental powers. At this moment, his mouth seemed to explode, massive amounts of large destructive flames forming a large screen in front of him, a constant stream of fiery doom.
The two blasts met each others and in an instant, time seemed to freeze...
Vermintrax narrowed her eyes as she saw her attack stopping. He wanted to play that game? SO BE IT!
The abomination begun to blow harder, more fire coming out of her mouth, more destruction, more anger flowing into it.
The purple dragon felt it and he saw it too. He was not going to lose! He went deep into his own mind and took out all of his anger, strengthening his own power, the screen of flames growing thicker.
"That's the strangest game of tug-o-war I've ever seen..." commented Sparx as Vermintrax and Spyro became locked into some kind of struggle, the two trying to overpower each others.
"We've got to help him!" declared Cynder, stepping forward. She was not going to just sit there and bask in his power, parasiting it! She cared for him, too! She will use her power!
Sparx crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as Cynder placed herself just at Spyro's side and spreaded her wings, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself.
Deep within, she could feel it. A darker part of herself, a twisted part born out of the immense amounts of darkness that had coursed her veins. Many months, she had rejected this part, afraid that it would consume, hoping it would go away.
But it was a part of herself, may she like it or not. Just as Spyro has dark power, so does she. She cannot deny who she is even if she has painful memories. She cannot allow the fear to forever control her. It is not the Dark Master's power, not anymore. It is her own power, her own darkness. Just as Spyro could gain control over it, so will she.
For a moment, fear and doubt rose within Sparx as slowly, the gold and silver bracelets reappeared on her ankles and wrists along with a spiked collar on her neck. He could see her eyes changing color, turning grey. Cynder... she isn't going to return to that huge, scary form, is she?
Spyro caught a glimpse of Cynder. For a moment, a hint of fear rose. This power... he recognized it and it caused painful memories and terror to rise back in his mind. He then saw the bracelets, the collar, the eyes he had tried for so many months to forget... yet, he did not see the shape he had feared.
Cynder... he could feel the darkness in her too yet, he also felt her spirit and he also noticed that she hadn't transformed and wouldn't transform.
For a moment, he felt his own power and her own touching each others. Although there was no actual physical contact, it still brought a strange, warm feeling to him just as it did to her and then, he recognized that evil-looking, taunting smirk... yet, it wasn't creepy anymore nor was it taunting. It was just a confident, sly grin. A wordless way to indeed confirm that she is at his side and that together, they will win. They will not lose. Vermintrax is wrong.
Then, at this moment, Cynder reared back and let out a familiar yet different roar, the same as she used to let out when she was transformed yet, now higher-pitched due to her being in her true form.
Massive black red flames mixed to Spyro's yellow flames and the screen grew stronger, much stronger. For a moment, the flames almost reached Vermintrax and for a moment, all three souls really thought that they were winning...
...but then, Vermintrax let out a gigantic roar filled with pure anger and nearly tripled the strength of her stream.
In an instant, the stream pushed against the screen and once again threatened the three.
"Man! That sucks! How much power do that chick got to spare?!?" said Sparx to no one in particular.
This was bad, real bad! Spyro is losing, again, even with Cynder's help! In a way, it's a bit surprising, considering. After all, Spyro is breathing the largest flames he ever saw him breathe, a stream even larger than his Fire Fury at full power and at a constant rate, too! Cynder, too, was impressive. That equally gigantic red stream was even more impressive than what she used to breathe at them as a maybe-semi-possessed giant evil dragoness!... and yet, they're losing. That Vermintrax chick sure isn't a joke!
"Dude! There must be SOMETHING I can do here?!?" he uttered, frustration rising. Sure, being unable to fight didn't bother him much usually since he was scared... but now was not the case! He was ready, he wasn't afraid! He wanted to kick that giant snake thingy's booty and he wanted to do it NOW! There must be some kind of way he can help...
He rose up and got closer to the streams. Although Spyro shot glare at him, obviously disapproving, he was ultimately too busy keeping the inferno at bay to prevent Sparx from getting closer.
Man! If he only he could, you know, do something! Maybe not spit out magic out of his mouth but, you know, anything! Maybe... you know... punching that chick in the face and do any damage or maybe... oh and aw nuts!
Without noticing it, Sparx swiped at the air... and his hand passed through the stream.
Sparx's eyes widened and for a moment, he thought he was gonna be fried but then, there was a strange sound, like a piece of metal clinging against a bell and then, he stood there, surprised.
That... felt so very weird. For a moment, he felt... he felt...
He turned to Spyro and Cynder for a moment and then, he didn't know why but he just felt like he knew what he had to do.
He flew to Spyro, placing himself in front of him, just above his snout...
"I think... I may have some kind of power after all, dude!" he exclaimed, smiling... and as he said it, he remembered.
The final battle against Cynder back at Convexity, once again. He hadn't paid attention to it but... that final Fury attack he had unleashed... it now came back to him. Spyro had gathered his power in a sphere before launching the attack... and at this moment, it's then that he remembered what was so peculiar about it.
Spyro had not gathered the power at a random point in space. He had gathered it inside of him before using him as a catalyst, amplifying the attack.
It hadn't been just Spyro's attack. It had been THEIR attack.
Despite being his adoptive brother, he was connected to Spyro in a way that went deeper than mere family adoption... and at this moment, Sparx realized something.
Sparx smirked and decided to see if he could take advantage of this...
And without any warning, the dragonfly dived straight into the middle of the hatchlings' attacks, at the very point where the two streams met and merged.
For a moment, the two's eyes widened. Had Sparx went insane?!? He was going to kill himself!
But rather than causing Sparx to be fried, the gesture had a strange effect.
In an instant, there was a loud sound and Sparx seemingly exploded with power, a large sphere of light surrounding him as the two streams went through him and were then expelled from his hands, now taking on a white and black screen of flames that was nearly ten times the strength of the old screen.
Vermintrax was taken totally by surprise. The massive screen easily overwhelmed her own stream and almost reached her face.
NO NO NO! This won't do! THIS WON'T DO!
The tortured dragoness pain and rage grew further and her flames turned dark purple, her eyes flashing bright red.
The overwhelming stream of dark flames pushed the three's combined power back again.
But they won't lose! They just won't! But neither will Vermintrax.
It was unknown how long Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx kept playing tug-o-war with Vermintrax in such a way but eventually, Spyro and Cynder begun to run out of breath, their lungs screaming for air while Sparx, him, felt that all of this power going through him was beginning to have ill effects.
And then, almost simultaneously, everyone stopped their attacks... although Vermintrax had lasted a fraction of a second more, a small part of her flames washing all over the three young souls and promptly slamming them into the ground.
Fortunately, no one was really injured. Spyro slammed his paws into the floor, jumping back into position while Cynder flapped her wings to do the same, Sparx being the last to get up.
"What does it take to bring that stupid thing down?!?" whined Sparx.
The purple dragon gritted his teeth. This was bad, really bad...
"How annoying... but even your combined strength cannot defeat me! Without the power of Light, I cannot be defeated!" claimed high and loud the ancient dragoness.
Again with the taunts! This begun to piss off Cynder not just a little. She swung her tail around, slamming its can opener-shaped blade into the floor. That situation was beginning to really get on her nerves!
"We'll see about this! Spyro! From the left!" she called as she charged forward, intent on tearing the remaining half of that monster's face off its skull!
Sparx flew at Spyro's side as he ran to the side of the tower, charging toward Vermintrax while the black dragoness charged from the other side.
Seeing this, the giant snake-like abomination roared once again and slammed her paw into the tower with all of her strength, once again causing a massive earthquake that almost destroyed the roof, sending visible ripples through it.
But this time, they had been ready. Spyro dashed out of the way at a blinding speed and then, kicked into the floor as he sent himself soaring high above the ripples, Cynder doing the same while Sparx was already high above the danger by the time Vermintrax's deformed paw collided with the floor.
Before the evil dragoness could even do any other movement, a black reptile had placed herself in front of her face. Cynder begun to flap her wings wildly as she spun quickly, slamming her claws into Vermintrax's face before biting her, plunging her sharp teeth deep into the flesh near her snout.
The dragoness roared in pain and grabbed into the annoying black pest in an attempt to take her off her face... but Cynder had planned this. As she grabbed into Cynder, the black dragoness swung her body and whipped the abomination in the face, plunging the can opener-shaped blade at the end of her tail deep into her flesh. Thus, as Vermintrax thrown Cynder back into the tower, it also caused her tail blade to dig deep into the monster's face. Thus, Cynder brought a big chunk of flesh of Vermintrax's face with her as Vermintrax thrown her.
SLAM!
Cynder lost her breath because of the violence of the impact, landing on her left shoulder. That... didn't feel good but she paid little attention to it. As she bounced off the floor, she spun in mid-air, landing back on her feet and swinging the big chunk of rotten flesh off her tail.
With all of that, Vermintrax had forgotten about Spyro... and saw Sparx waving at her and making rude gestures at her. How dare he...
She couldn't think of anything else that it was Spyro's turn to strike her. The purple dragon moved at a blinding speed, using his power to amplify his speed greatly, slamming his claws into her chest with incredible power. His claws, as tiny as they were, took massive chunks out of her chest with each impact, progressively revealing her shattered rib cage under and her decayed although still beating heart within. Then, just as Spyro was about to plunge his right paw into it, Vermintrax grabbed into him and thrown him at Cynder with shocking strength.
BAM!
Cynder barely managed to jump out of the way as Spyro slid across the roof of the tower, only stopping at the very edge. In a way, that had been too close...
Sparx flew back to Spyro's side, worried for a moment. But then, his smile returned as the purple dragon slowly got up once again.
Vermintrax was burning with rage. Her face was literally deformed with anger, her already twisted traits no longer anything near recognizable anymore.
Yet, she did not throw a tantrum. She did not have any anger on her face.
"So... you are not weak." she said, obviously impressed.
"Wow! Took ya long enough!" replied the dragonfly, annoyed that it took that thing so long to figure it out. Geez! Wasn't it obvious? Did she really expect them to be weak?
Vermintrax ignored Sparx and continued on. "I guess that it is now time. I will show you why you can't win. Since you are not weak, it is no use in playing around anymore. I will now use my full power."
And then, Vermintrax, seemingly totally calmed down, just stood there, a suspicious grin on her face.
Spyro slowly stepped forward until he was near the abomination, Cynder and Sparx at his sides...
"I got a bad feeling about this..." said the purple dragon more to himself than anything else. This couldn't be good. They could barely keep up with her and she was playing around? Just how much more powerful can this thing prove itself to be?
The dragoness and the insect remained silent, neither sure of what to say or think.
And then, at this moment, a familiar sound...
"Hey, dudes! Is it me or does this sound like a..." and then, Sparx's eyes widened, pure terror coming to him. "... a... a Fury attack?"
And then, they saw it. A HUGE funnel of power gathering around Vermintrax's body. Not only that but it seemed as if entire Dark Realm had twisted itself, MASSIVE streams of dark power now being channeled toward the giant dragoness body.
The three's eyes widened and then...
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
None of three could never even think of turning around and beginning to run as the darkness erupted out of Vermintrax's body.
And then, at this moment, Spyro felt as if he had been slammed into a wall, one that burnt his body. The amount of power that coursed through him and sent him flying was just so incredible that he didn't even feel any pain, his soul totally overwhelmed.
All that he knew is that he, Cynder, and Sparx were struck with such force that within a second, they had been carried by the wave of pure black off the tower's roof.
The Dark Realm became a confusing mess of screaming faces and black rivers flying all around them and into them, forming what could be summarized to a chaotic storm of pure darkness. The bone-like clouds were gone, the horizon had disappeared, and the infernal flames no longer were. Yet, in the darkness, he could see the tower as it was instantly vaporized by the strength of the explosion. Then, there was Vermintrax, her frame becoming smaller and smaller as they were sent flying across kilometers.
This attack... was overwhelming beyond imagination. He couldn't even think of anything about it. It was just so incredible.
He closed his eyes, sighing one last time as he felt his scales turned into dust, his body being vaporized. There was no way he was going to survive this and he knew it...
After some time, he didn't know how long, Spyro slowly stretched his body and then, yawned loudly.
Opening his eyes, he wondered for a moment if it had all been just a nightmare...
But then, at this moment, several things registered inside of his brain.
First was incredible, absolutely unbearable pain. His scales had turned black and were half-melted, revealing black, vulnerable, scorched flesh underneath. The smell, he wasn't even going to try and understand how such a stench could exist. Still, this brought incredible relief to him for it meant he was, against all odds, alive.
The other thing was that he was now lying down on some kind of rocky platform that stretched almost in an infinite way. Yet, they knew they weren't in the flames as he could feel the liquid, strange atmosphere of the Dark Realm invade the gaps in his scales and bringing pain to his shivering, damaged body.
In the skies, a snake-like dragon that was so ridiculously long that its body circled several times the platform, no matter how gigantic it was.
Vermintrax... she had seemed gigantic already when at the tower but here, he realized just how massive she was. Her body was probably long enough to form a circle around the largest continent of the Dragon Land Realm five times. It was how humongous she was.
The familiar buzzing came to him.
Sparx, although now colored grey and black from the attack, seemed to be in a good shape... relatively.
"What was THAT?!?" he asked, obviously referring to the attack. The purple dragon couldn't help but shake his head.
"Absolutely no idea. Her Fury attack, I guess..."
The dragonfly slapped his forehead, shaking his head. "Oh great! How are we going to beat THAT? I mean... you saw the freakin' thing? For a second, I thought we were a goner!"
Then, a slow, annoyed feminine groan. Cynder, equally in a bad shape, slowly got up, shaking her head. The bracelets and collar were now gone, showing that she was back to normal. It was also at this moment that Spyro realized he was also back to normal, his worry resurfacing now that the rage was gone.
"Cynder? Are you alright?" the female turned to him and then nodded weakly.
"Yeah, I think. Not feeling too good... but I don't have anything broken. And you?"
"Same..." replied the purple dragon.
Then, a loud roar echoed through the air.
...and they saw Vermintrax, once again in front of them, eyes still glowing in that weird red light.
"It is useless. It's all over." she said in a mocking way, seemingly amused by the three's states.
Spyro didn't say anything. He just sat there. He had unleashed his full power... but what could he do against a goddess? As powerful as he was, he was powerless before this being...
Besides, Cynder and Sparx, they were tired too. What can they do?
He looked at his paws. He could no longer feel the power now. Had it vanished? Did he use up all of it? He had made tremendous efforts at the tower, unleashing enough power for Vermintrax, a goddess, to be forced to use her full power. An admirable feat... but foolish in the end. They cannot overpower a being as powerful as Vermintrax.
But then, at this moment, he realized something and smiled.
Maybe his actions had not been in vain.
The purple dragon got up despite the pain, despite his injured body, and stood proudly. He will fight to the very end even if it costs him his life. Besides... it wouldn't be the first time he would defeat a foe much stronger than he was. In a way, he had truly been foolish. But he won't repeat that mistake.
"We can't give up now! We have to try!" he said, calling to the others.
"Yeah, admirable initiative chief!... but we can't even do anything to it! What are we going to do?" replied Sparx, Cynder looking down.
But then, the purple dragon noticed one detail... he smirked and motioned to Vermintrax's heart... and this moment, hope returned. Their efforts had not been in vain. Sparx grinned anew and Cynder felt her courage return as well. They had a chance. They could win this fight.
"It's not over until your soul had been brought to rest, Vermintrax!" yelled the purple dragon. He was strong. He was not going to let it end this way.
And at this moment, frustration rose within Vermintrax's soul. "What? You STILL resist? Isn't it obvious that you cannot win, that resistance is futile? You are stupid! You are all too tired to grasp into the darkness again! You think you stand a chance? Laughable! Ridiculous! Ludicrous! S-T-U-P-I-D!"
And at this moment, the fight resumed.
Despite the pain, the three felt perfectly apt to keep on fighting and as such, when Vermintrax charged forward and attempted to collide into the three, she struck only thin air, Spyro dodging to the left, Cynder and Sparx to the right.
And then, as she charged, her head disappearing into the clouds way above and her body forming a wall on the ground, the three had an idea. Sparx clung to Cynder's right horn and then, both hatchlings jumped on Vermintrax's decayed frame and plunged their claws into it, allowing her frame to carry them into the skies...
The two dragons held on for dear life, Sparx doing the same but clinging to Cynder instead.
Left right left right up down. It was like a giant roller-coaster ride except with no protection. Eventually, the terrible acceleration ended and silence and calm came. A brief moment of silence in the chaos...
The two climbed on top of the dragoness body.
Once on top, Spyro could finally regain his balance after being thrown about. Sparx slowly stopped clinging to Cynder, noticing that Vermintrax had slowed down enough for him to keep up. Slowly, while the dragons were still dazed, he took the opportunity to look down.
"Whoa. Quite a long way down." he commented. Spyro raised an eyebrow and approached the edge of the rotten body. Looking down, his eyes widened as well.
"Wow! You weren't joking! It IS a long way down!" hearing this, Cynder came to his side and looked down as well.
"Well, seems like we're high in the Dark Realm's skies now..." commented the female calmly. In a way, how she managed to be so calm troubled the purple dragon but still... there was no time to waste.
And then, suddenly, Vermintrax stopped moving. In a way, this pleased Sparx, as he no longer had to constantly fly to keep up with his adoptive brother... but on another hand, this was mighty suspicious...
And then, at this moment, Vermintrax turned to face the three and brought her upper body closer, glaring at them as she once again placed herself in range for her to strike them with her claws.
"Oh dear... She doesn't look happy!" commented Sparx.
It was true, the ancient dragoness was fulminating, a loud growl escaping her throat.
"How DARE you?!? I'm not some kind of staircase! You impertinent fools!" in a way, Sparx was tempted to make a crack but well, he was a bit too scared to do that. So, he just hovered there.
Ignoring Vermintrax's rage, the two dragon hatchlings stepped forward, determination all over their faces. They turned to each others and then, nodded at each others.
"Let's finish this." said the purple dragon. "Yeah." replied the dragoness before turning to Vermintrax.
Then, Vermintrax roared again as the two hatchlings charged forward. The dragonfly rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh man! I can't watch this..."
Vermintrax's eyes narrowed as she charged with absolutely no regard for her safety, mouth wide open, intend on munching on them like two gummies.
Strangely enough, even without the power, Spyro felt confident and although he and Cynder barely dodged in time, sending themselves off Vermintrax by flapping their wings once in a wide, powerful motion, they still grinned to each others, exchanging a look before carrying on.
Sparx had put some distance between himself and the demented dragoness and watched, worried to no end.
Her jaws snapping on thin air, Vermintrax turned around...
SLAM!
"GWIIIYAAAAAAARG!" the abomination screamed at the top of her lungs as unbearable pain raked through her whole body.
Spyro and Cynder had hovered back to Vermintrax's body and from there, Spyro had kicked into the snake-like dragoness body, charging straight into Vermintrax's heart as she turned around. He headbutted into the soft, fragile organ with all of his strength, actually inflicting pain and damage upon the monstrous monster.
Bouncing off the heart due to the strength of the impact, Spyro spun in the air and then, landed gracefully on his feet at the end of his backflip as Vermintrax gripped her exposed heart, a loud, twisted whine escaping her throat.
"Why... why you little..." the hatchlings grinned as the massive dragoness scolded them.
Those grins... how dare they! She will wipe those smiles off their faces! In fact, she will erase those faces entirely!
Channeling the pain into her heart, she turned all of it into pure hatred and prepared herself to wipe out those bugs out of existence.
And then, at this moment, Spyro noticed it. The thin stream of black energy that was just to his left...
"S-S-Spyro!" called Cynder, panic rising in her voice.
"Oh no... not that... please not that..." whispered the purple dragon to himself as he saw the large streams of dark energy coming from every direction, all concentrating into Vermintrax's heart.
"Wha-WHAT?!? Doesn't people need to recover BEFORE launching a second Fury attack?!?" Sparx summarized the confusion and fear that the two were feeling very well.
For a moment, his heart stopped. They were already in a bad shape. If Vermintrax launched another Fury attack... NO! It won't end this way!
Gritting his teeth, he turned to Cynder and motioned to her. The black dragoness nodded and then, they both kicked into the snake-like frame of Vermintrax, launching themselves toward her heart with all of the speed they could muster. They cannot lose! Not now! Not so close to victory! All they have to do is strike that heart once more...
BOOOOOOOM!
The purple dragon roared in rage, protesting loudly against this twist of fate.
"SPYRO!" a feminine voice and a masculine one.
The purple dragon did not listen to them. He has to strike her heart and defeat her at all cost. Even if he has to dive into her Fury, even if... even if...
...even if he must pay the ultimate price for it...
He closed his eyes as he charged into the target, the dark power engulfing him...
Two Fury attacks in a row. What was his chance of survival?
The pain had all but left him and everything felt so dark. Was he going to... to... to... to die?
Fear... and then, pain. Pain through all of his body... and a wet feeling.
Even though he can't see, he feels that his wings are broken... and so are all of his limbs. He couldn't feel any extremities and what little of his limbs and wings he could feel, he felt them in awkward, unnatural angles, unable to move them.
So cold... yet so warm. He is bathing in a warm liquid, his blood he guessed. He felt so... so naked, so cold. He guessed that was because most of his scales were gone. And then, that burning feeling... like boiling oil all over his body. Melted scales, he guessed.
The injuries he had received... he was still alive but he wouldn't live long. But strangely enough, unlike most times when he came close, there was no determination nor acceptance of whatever was to come. All that there was within his heart was pain and fear.
"Spyro..." Cynder's voice... so distant yet so close. He wanted to call for help, to beg her to help him but all that came out of his twisted, barely recognizable form was a weak whimper.
"Oh dear... he's still alive? Guh... I feel... sick..." Sparx's voice came as a whisper in the howling winds of the Dark Realm as well. He guessed he must look horrible and considering he had his eyes wide open and yet, saw nothing, he guessed that something must have happened to them as well.
He wanted to scream, to cry, to trash about, to do anything... even just to help forget the pain but all that he could do was lie there and whimper in the most pathetic way.
"How sad. The three of you, already half dead, bodies mangled, hope crushed. Such a pathetic sight, I'm so touched. I think I'm going to cry..." why? Why does she insist like that? Didn't she win already? If this is truly his fate, if he cannot change nor escape it anymore... why prolong his agony? This was ridiculous to him...
He felt as if there were movements in the air, sounds... but none of them ever reached him. All he could hear was silence and already, the pain was leaving him.
Everything felt so calm, so peaceful. He didn't feel cold nor warm anymore. He had stopped shivering. He could feel the spark leaving him, the life no longer able to be sustained by his mangled, ruined body.
Was it the end? Is he... truly going to die?
Sparx, Cynder... he couldn't let them down. He couldn't die.
But what can he do? He has been completely defeated. There is no more that he can do... no more.
As death drawn near, his brain begun to recollect memories. Yet, none of them interested him. He didn't want to see his life again. He wanted to continue it. He wanted to win, to triumph over the final foe and to bring a new future, not to become a victim, a casualty, a statistic of history.
But then, his memory froze on a single moment.
Yes, his true power had been unleashed for the first time at Convexity during the battle against Cynder... but what had caused it? Was it simply stress?
...no.
He remembered... how Cynder had rose in the air, how the power had gathered.
He remembered the horrific pain, his scales melting, his own scream as the intense heat tore through his frame, his flesh burning, turning black from the burning flames.
He had thought he would die. He had felt himself being turned to ashes. In an instant, Cynder had killed him and without any effort. The whole fight had been a joke actually, playing around with him...
But he did not die.
Even when everything turned to black, he did not give up.
In the depths of the void, he found his true power and it answered him.
He did not use up all of his power back at the tower. He still has some energy left. If he uses it now... maybe he can live on. He doubted it would be sufficient to defeat Vermintrax but as long as he lives, as long as there is life in his veins, he won't give up and he will have a chance.
He gripped into the void, into the darkness. The last of his leaking life gripped into the very darkness that was now swallowing it. For a moment, nothing happened... but then, a small, tiny fragment of power resonated within him.
He still has power left. He will survive even this.
And then, before the gazes of his friends, Spyro once again rose and in an instant, screamed one last time as he unleashed the last of his gathered power.
That second explosion of dark power was not even near the power of the first one, back at the tower, but its power still washed all over the dragoness and dragonfly.
In an instant, Spyro's frame reformed and the wounds of his friends once again closed.
Spyro gasped loudly as he opened his eyes, life slamming into his comatose mind like a sledgehammer. He also collapsed again and gripped his heart, barely able to stand...
...and well, although he survived, he found out that unfortunately, he had, indeed, used up all of his power... just like his friends.
Totally exhausted, the two dragon hatchlings and the dragonfly collapsed and fell down on the rocky platform, unable to get up, the three of them panting, unable to stand up.
"Well, that is a surprise. Unfortunately, that was nothing but a worthless gesture. Your power has been exhausted. Now, nothing can prevent me from destroying all of you!" remarked the monster, smirking evilly, a mix of pure rage and amusement deforming her ugly face.
Really? He doesn't think so! Spyro gathered all of his strength and gripped the ground with his front paws before pulling himself up.
But just as he managed to get up, he felt so dead tired and his limbs were so heavy, so deathly heavy. He groaned loudly, not wishing to give in but he was just too tired and he fell down on his stomach, feeling so very dizzy.
"Hahahaha... hahahaa... look at that! What's the matter, children? Too tired? Don't worry! I'll put you all to sleep!" mocked the dragoness, raising her twisted right paw high in the air, preparing to crush Spyro once and for all.
Oh no! He did not escape death just to be squashed like that! He can't die now! He can't...
SWIIIIISCHLL!
Out of seemingly nowhere, a giant beam of pure white light pierced right through Vermintrax's heart, stopping her in the middle of her tracks.
But... where did this attack come from?!? This was definitely not his doing and looking to Cynder and Sparx, they were every bit as confused and surprised as he was.
The ancient dragoness begun to shake out of control as the white energy coursing her veins, the pain rising at an incredible rate and soon paralyzing her completely.
"Wh-what?" she whispered. "L... light?!?"
And then, a second beam of pure light was shot and slammed straight into the twisted abomination's heart. This time, it had a much more significant effect. Vermintrax gripped her heart, recoiling violently as she screamed at the top of her lungs, the white energy shooting straight out of her mouth and orbits, vaporizing her eyes in the process.
The dragoness didn't even have the time to recover that already, a third beam was shot. That last one passed right through her heart.
Vermintrax stopped right there as she begun to change color, the energy soon consuming her heart. The ancient dragoness screamed one last time, her entire frame pierced from every side as the energy shot out of her body from nearly every spot, sending burnt flesh pieces flying everywhere.
Spyro just stood there, eyes widened, as Vermintrax died, the energy destroying her inside out.
And then, after several minutes, Vermintrax's agony came to an end, the last of her flesh vaporized by the light.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Spyro shielded his eyes as the last of the energy was violently expelled, the strength of the winds caused by the explosion almost sending him flying.
When he slowly looked back at Vermintrax, she was now nothing but a floating skeleton... and then, slowly, one by one, her bones begun to fall down, as if the dark force that had kept it in the air was now gone, the massive skull landing just in front of Spyro before the whole skeleton turned to dust and disappeared.
Vermintrax had been defeated...
...but how?
They had not dealt the finishing blow...
Footsteps... and slowly, Spyro saw a familiar figure...
"At long last, Vermintrax has been punished for her crimes! Never again shall she meddle with the Realms!" this voice... and this frame...
Astrial turned to face the three, a serious expression on his face.
"Well well well. It seems like you were right. You were not servants of the Dark Master. Still, you are unworthy and weak. Only I could defeat Vermintrax!"
What? They do almost all of the work and that ungrateful fool dare to say that?!? Cynder somehow found the strength and managed to get up. She was so enraged! How dare he!
Likewise, Sparx had risen and hovered there, hands on his hips, obviously upset. "Hey! Where's our thank you? I mean, we did all of the work, dude! What did you do, huh? HUH? You just jumped in at the last second and landed the finishing blow. Big deal!"
Astrial laughed. It was so strange... although Spyro always knew that the so-called "true" Dragon of Prophecy was a jerk, he had never noticed how cold, how cruel he truly sounded. The way he laughed, the way he spoke... it was as if he didn't care about anyone or anything, not even himself.
"Hahaha! What a ridiculous claim! I am the Dragon of Prophecy, the wielder of pure, holy Light! Vermintrax was the nexus of all darkness, the embodiment of evil! She cannot be defeated by her own power! Your efforts did nothing! I, alone, defeated the traitor who betrayed the Ancestors!"
Slowly, Spyro managed to gather the strength to stand as well.
"Oh quit it! Besides, how can you still be alive? I thought those ugly ape guys would overwhelm you!" snapped Sparx, clearly annoyed by Astrial's arrogance.
"Hahaha! What a joke! As if such weak beings would have been able to harm me let alone kill me! They did nothing but slow me down hence why I arrived after you did! Truly, it's nothing important! You are weak!"
Spyro was clearly annoyed, like everyone else, by Astrial's attitude and arrogance but then, as he looked at Astrial... he slowly realized something and then, turned to Cynder and Sparx, his face beaming with happiness.
Seeing this, the dragonfly raised an eyebrow and poked Cynder's head a bit until she turned to face Spyro too.
"Hey! What's the deal, bro? Why are you so happy? I mean, geez! Your expression is about the same as when you first learned to fly!... well, sorta, considering you never actually managed to fly correctly!"
"Sparx... Cynder..." he begun, slowly approaching them and then stopping just in front of the two. "Vermintrax... she's gone."
"And...?" added Sparx, not seeing where this was going.
Spyro's smile widened. "The tortured soul that was the source of all evil, the one that created and revived the Dark Master all the time... it's gone."
And then, at this moment, the truth registered. Instantly, the annoyance and confusion vanished as both of them soon gained expressions not unlike Spyro's. Who cares about Astrial being a jerk? Their journey is finally over! They are victorious! They shown the bad guys who's boss!
"Y-you mean that..." Spyro nodded as Sparx asked it and then, he made a backflip in mid-air, striking a pause. "WOOHOO! We shown them, dude!"
He then crossed his arms, regaining slightly his composure. "Heh! Guess that we won't have to go to anywhere else dangerous anymore. It's all over, dude! You won't become the next Dark Master, ol' Spyro!"
Spyro stared at Cynder. She was looking down...
He slowly approached and placed his right paw under her mouth before pushing on it weakly, making her look into his eyes.
"It's over, Cynder. Him and all of his power is now truly gone. You are free..."
Cynder had tears in her eyes. She felt so... so happy.
"Spyro... I..." the purple dragon smiled sweetly and slowly nodded. In a way, he already knew what she was going to say...
And then, Cynder brought herself closer, closing her eyes, placing herself just at Spyro's side, rubbing her neck against his own, her left wing slowly rubbing against his own, her tail intertwining with his own, the female now hugging the male the best as she could do, as a quadruped.
For a moment, Spyro was surprised... but he quickly chased away his surprise, smiling anew. He returned the favor, hugging her back...
Sparx grinned as he hovered in front of the two. Spyro blinked a few times as the dragonfly hovered there, arms crossed.
"Well... what are you waiting for, big guy? Go ahead... I know you two want to. I won't say anything this time..."
The dragonfly slowly turned his back as Cynder opened her eyes, staring into his own...
"Cynder... I know we're a bit too young for this but..." begun the purple dragon, a blush coming to his face as nervosity rose for some reason he ignored. But the female quickly brought her paw to his snout, interrupting him.
"There's nothing to say, Spyro..." she whispered.
...and then, both of them closed their eyes and brought themselves closer.
The male opened his mouth and slowly, placed it against the female's. Eyes closed, the two dragons kissed, finally fully accepting the feelings that they felt for each others. Despite the past, despite the age, despite the scary location... Vermintrax is now gone. A new future awaits them.
Then, slowly, as the two broke the kiss, Sparx turned back to them.
"Aaaaaw! How cute! So! When am I gonna be an uncle? I mean, considering how much of a perrrfect match you two are, I'm gonna assume you'll soon make a tons of annoying, naked 'lil hatchlings, isn't it?" mocked the dragonfly.
Cynder brought her paw to her mouth, giggling just as Spyro couldn't help but suppress a laugh as well.
"Slow down, Sparx! We didn't reach puberty yet, you know!" he replied.
"Oh yeah. That." said Sparx, hovering back a bit.
Well, it looks like it comes to a happy ending after all. All they have to do is come back home. Spyro already wondered what Ignitus will say when...
...huh?
Cynder noticed Spyro's expression and became worried. Why was he looking like that?
"What's wrong, Spyro?" she asked, becoming worried as well. Seeing no answer, she slowly moved herself off him and turned to see what was making Spyro so troubled.
Astrial stood there, gritting his teeth, looking down.
"Man! Why is he like that? Didn't we, like, win and all?" asked Sparx, wondering why the heck was Astrial so gloomy during such a moment.
"Dunno. Let's ask him." replied the purple dragon, slowly stepping forward. "Astrial!"
The other purple dragon turned to face Spyro.
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" asked Spyro.
Astrial looked at both the purple dragon and the black dragoness. His gaze spoke of pure disgust and contempt and made a shiver run down all three souls' spines.
And then, after a long moment, Astrial spoke up.
"Spyro... you are the Imposter. Although you are not evil, the darkness courses your veins. You were born a purple dragon due to a great paradox, a great mistake. Born from the same kind of union that brought about the first Dark Master...■ began Astrial.
He then paused, as if remembering something...
"King Gaul... he was an evil genius. He brought the dragons to their knees. Even before the decisive attack on the Dragon Temple, the dragons had lost so many members that they had to... cut corners." his face deformed in a weird frown as he said the last few words.
"Guardians are usually chosen only from pure bloodlines, dragons who were born from past Guardians and were raised to uphold the traditions... but... with the Dark Ones gaining ground, no candidates for the fire and electricity Guardian positions remained... so they chose two commoners who had natural talents equivalent to pure-blooded dragons."
Ignitus... but still, why was this bothering Astrial? And why now?
"Ignitus... didn't have faith as the others had and well, one law among Guardians is that as long as a Guardian will have its role, he or she is forbidden from having children. This is an important law that must never be broken. But... near the end of the war, twelve years ago or so, Ignitus fell for a great dragoness warrior..."
What? Guardians can't have children and Ignitus had a child? How is that related?
"Somehow, the egg was conceived at the exact same moment as the purple dragon egg was supposed to be infused inside of the female dragon meant to lay the egg... and as the dragoness that Ignitus loved was the same dragoness who was meant to lay the purple dragon egg..."
...and then, the truth registered.
"It caused a paradox and caused both the naturally created egg and the destined one to be infused with the same powers. Two purple dragons... you... and me." finished Spyro.
Astrial nodded. "However, only I was chosen by the Ancestors and thus, you never inherited their holy powers. As good as you might believe you are... you remain a creature of the darkness, a dark, unholy dragon born out of a forbidden, sinful union."
Ignitus... was his father? He was... born out of a forbidden union, inheriting all of the Dragon of Prophecy's dark powers but none of the light?
And then, Astrial turned to Cynder. "And then, when King Gaul attacked the Dragon Temple, he left only one egg intact... and twisted the hatchling born from it into a dark being. Cynder is tainted. Never will she be purified. She is forever a being of darkness..."
Sparx saw where this was going and well, this was annoying him, GREATLY!
"Who cares?" interrupted the dragonfly. "Why does it bother you so much that Spyro is a bastard kind of sinful dark dragon and that Cynder is... well, was an evil she-dragon?"
Astrial... his eyes glowed in anger.
"Why does it bother me? You are the last couple. Cynder is the last female and Spyro, the last young male dragon. I cannot reproduce, for I am the Dragon of Prophecy and the Dragon of Prophecy is forbidden from doing such lowly things as reproducing! This means that the nature of all future generations will be tainted! All future dragons will be dark dragons!"
And then, Spyro understood everything.
"So... you're upset because that the dragons will be beings of darkness..."
Sparx flung his arms up. "WHO CARES?!? The Ancestors were dead long ago and power is power! I mean, isn't the fact that Spyro isn't evil enough for you? COME ON!"
Astrial's eyes narrowed as he almost lashed out. "NO! NO IT WON'T DO! Darkness... is the source of all evil! It's unholy, sullied, disgusting! How will the new generations ever be able to uphold the traditions, to worship the Ancestors if they are of the very nature the Ancestors hate most?"
Astrial slowly stepped backward...
"It would be better if the dragons disappeared rather than live on as... as... as abominations! And with them, everything else! If the Ancestors will not rule the world... if no one is going to worship them... then life lose all meaning! The Ancestors are the true rulers of everything, the embodiements of good, the source of all salvation! All beings are drawn to darkness, none can find salvation on their own! The only salvation is to submit to the Ancestors and to surrender free will to their eternal glory!... and through their will, the Heaven's Sword... will be our final salvation!"
Then, a gigantic portal opened in the skies of the Dark Realm and they saw it.
The strange object that forever orbited the world, the object that the three had always thought to be nothing but a perfectly natural object... but now, the portal revealed its true nature. It was a monstrous orbital cannon, a massive structure of metal floating in space, high above the Dragon Land Realm.
"It was built by Mortalis to keep a balance between magic and technology... and now, it shall be used to purify the world! If light is to disappear... then so will darkness as well! A world without the Ancestors is a doomed world!... so, in one last blaze of glory, the Final Prophecy shall come true! May the will of the Ancestors prevail!"
And with a mighty roar, Astrial literally shot toward the portal, causing a giant shockwave as he took off...
TO BE CONTINUED
