Kiari jumped onto Nine's bed, shaking him violently. "Get up," she whispered, careful not to wake Spyro or Cynder.

"Agh, what is it?" Nine said sleepily, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Nine, I…" she paused, taking a breath. "I know your real name."

Nine almost instantly jumped out of the bed, surprise and relief mixing together to give him a sharp jolt. "You do? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I had to wait until the right time." She looked out the window and sighed. She thought back to all the countless hours of torture at the fortress, the pure anguish she felt when her body sapped up the elements. "It's Renkin." She looked back into his eyes. "Your name is Renkin."

--

Miles away, almost on the other side of the planet, a dragon, black as midnight, flew into a barely visible cave. Se gracefully landed at the mouth, walking in slowly to be greeted by the glow of black candles.

Upon seeing the inner part of the cave, she stopped. The inner cave was protected by a narrow opening, the sharp, pointy rock formations giving it the impression of entering a creature's mouth. She pressed her wings tight against her body, passing slowly.

Her face showed a grimace as the 'teeth' dug deep into his flesh and tore at her wings. A small trail of blood marked her trail, slightly shining in the faint glow.

Finally, she reached his destination. At the heart of the mountain, a chamber had been created by a small pocket of lava long ago. When the lava had drained, it left a dark crystal seeded deep into the ground.

The dragon stared at the crystal, mesmerized by it as she often was by its evil magic. She flashed a quick smile, knowing what was about to come.

A dark blue color overcame the normal purple glow, slightly changing the color of the cavern. "I've been waiting for you, Eshira," a voice echoed in the cavern.

"You're just lucky I wasn't busy," she responded, a bit bored. She soon heard a growl.

"How dareyou speak that way to me! If―"

"If nothing, Malefor, you can't do anything to me when you're stuck in that crystal," she cut him off swiftly.

"Oh yes, in fact, I can." A small bunch of skeletons emerged from the ground around Eshira, holding up their weapons. She would have fought them, but she was in too small a space. "Now that I've proven my power, we have to get down to business."

The skeletons sunk back down into the ground. "What did you have in mind?" she said.

Malefor let out a laugh. "I have a near infinite number of skeletons at my disposal, but I cannot control them for a very long time." He raised a single skeleton. "I chose you to come here for your superior mind. You must sustain an army of these skeletons."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" she asked, annoyed.

"Simple, hit this skeleton with a fear, and then shadow attack."

"I only have shadow," she said.

Malefor sighed. "Absorb this crystal." She did as she was told, putting her paw gently on the crystal, releasing its energy into her body. A sharp jolt of pain shot through her body, causing her to collapse for a moment. "Get up," Malefor demanded, accompanied Eshira rising to her feet.

"All right, all right, geez." She paused before using the fear, making slight adjustments for her new power. The red rings emerged from her mouth, hitting the skeleton square in the chest, causing it to glow red. She quickly switched to shadow, showering it in baleful black flame.

"That's all, now you just need to give it an order."

"Okay, this is all very helpful, but what am I supposed to do with this army?" she asked, bored even more.

"Simple," he laughed. "All you must do is capture the black dragoness, named Cynder."

Eshira perked up with interest. "And then what?" she asked hopefully.

Malefor laughed once more. "Patience, Eshira. Just one thing at a time. Now, if you go to the crater west of this mountain, there will be a little surprise waiting for you."

She gave a low bow, knowing he was watching, walking backwards out of the cave, following her trail of blood. "Follow," she said to the skeleton forcefully. It obeyed immediately.

Hah, this is going to be fun.She thought to herself.

It only took 8 chapters to introduce the evil side.