Eclipse closed the balcony door behind him, peering around the lifeless room. His eyes landed on the spot where they slept that past night. His heart dropped when he remembered what she looked like hours before. Snow white scales turned black by savage flames, her smooth voice that would release him from an enraged state went coarse by smoke, her blue eyes that were so full of life and emotion laid closed.
Tears began to form as the realization that he failed her settled in. If I had been faster or if I went for her instead of him. Doubt raced around his mind, forming a tornado of conflicting emotions. He understood some of them, but others began appearing from the blue.
Eclipse took a step forward, collapsing almost immediately. He stared into the empty fireplace, and with a single plume of black flame, he lit it. The fire changed color on impact, to its natural orange hue. It crackled and sparked, occasionally popping out an ember or two.
The warmth washed over his scales, washing parts of the sadness away. He watched it sway back and forth. He was captivated in it's grace, its elegant but jerky movements as it reached for life. He began to play with it, forming shapes with his element.
"Why are you here, purple dragon." His voice filled with sorrow and regret but he didn't care.
"We're worried about you." He could feel the lying tone in his voice.
"You lie." Eclipse began to smile. "You want something from me." He looked at his invader, slowly standing as he did so. "You want me to tell you something." He reached within Spyro's mind, pulling out everything he need to know.
"Why would I lie to you."
"You're here for another reason. Cynder's request was just your way to get here." He saw his thoughts as if it was his own. "You're here because you're curious." He cocked his head to the side. "You're angry… at me." His smile grew wider. "You're jealous of me."
"Why would I be angry or jealous of you. I have no reason to."
"Your words betray your thoughts, young Spyro." Spyro stepped back as Eclipse advanced. "You feel like I'm stealing Cynder from you." His tone was now wrapped in his own curiosity. "You feel like the guardians favor me over you." Eclipse looked deep into his eyes, searching his soul. "You don't trust me with her, you think I'll kill her."
"Whatever your doing stop." His demand fell on deaf ears.
"You think of me as competition. For both her and Warfang."
"Eclipse, stop."
"You think I'm better than you, that they love me more than they love you. My, my, you're one of the most insecure dragons I've met." His smile grew even larger. "You hate me, you want me dead."
"I want no such thing."
"Tell me Spyro…" He grabbed his face, angling it to look at him. "...do you know what it's like to die?"
"Eclipse, STOP." Her voice reached him instantly. He brought himself back to his seat within the blink of an eye. What was that? Something every dragon fears. Do you? I fear it more than you can comprehend. He stared back into the flames, trying to lose himself in them.
"I apologize, I don't know what happened to me." He casted a look back, they were both still there.
"I guess its good I changed my mind." Cynder sat down next to him, joining him in watching the flame.
"Spyro, what do you want to know?" He knew he had a question to ask him. One that has been eating at him since Eclipse got here.
"When you first arrived, none of you had any scars or injuries. It looked like the dark forces let you go but Aurora hinted to us that it was the opposite. How did you do it?" Spyro's curoristy became fully apartment.
"You want to know how I did it?" Eclipse gave a small laugh. Spyro sat besides Cynder, still watching him. "How I did it?" He repeated in a quieter tone. "Hope you have nothing better to do today because if I'm going to tell you anything, you need to know everything."
5 months ago…
He felt the world break below him but he continued his rampage. Cutting down anything that was still breathing, drinking up the fear like water. He was the Father of Darkness, but he needed something to get his mind off of the defeat at Warfang. The sanctuary had been on his wish list for months but he had never found the time for it.
There was only three dragons left when the world was put back together. His red vision began to drain, colors began to revitalize themselves. Everything began to grow around him as he felt himself shrink. The thirst for violence and fear slowly disappeared. The dark energy around him gradually faded, leaving nothing but himself.
Dozens of dragons laid in pools of crimson blood around him. His claws and lower arms were drenched in their liquid life, he felt like vomiting. Fires raged within the ruined buildings, the ground below was cracked and frozen, pools of acid bubbled and dissolved flesh and bone. The smell of fresh death dominated his nose.
The last three dragons were huddled against one of the few remaining walls standing. They looked like they were his age. Two of them stood in front of the third in a protective way, but they were visabley trembling. He stared at them, wondering how much they witnessed before they were trapped against the wall.
His mind chased itself as he tried to piece together what he had done. How couldn't remember anything, it was all in a blind rage. He found himself trying to dig memories out of hiding, they didn't listen to him. He took a step towards the group.
"S-Stay back." The blue one yelled and he listened, taking his step back. His voice held the same fear that showed on his body. Part of him laughed but it was silenced before it came out of his mouth.
He didn't know what to say to them, he knew nothing could make up for what he's done. Everything was destroyed, everyone they knew here was dead, and he was the reason. He presented himself with two options, one involved his own death. That sick part of himself told him to kill them and find the Dark Master. He ignored him.
"Listen, I…" His words fell out of his mouth, his own anxiety taking over. "...I don't know how to make up for this."
"By killing yourself." The red one's confidence slipped through, showing his true emotions. That option kept presenting itself, pressing him more and more to take it. Ending himself sounded like the best option.
"What if I brought you to Warfang?" His words went out faster than his thoughts.
"We will go nowhere with you!" The red continued. "Not after this."
"I give you my word-"
"Your word means nothing to us!" The red one was right, his word would mean nothing to them. It became more and more apparent that option one was the only option. He looked into the grey sky, he hadn't noticed it was raining. This was the best time to do it.
He spread his silver wings, letting the sky's tears pelt them with anger. Lightning flashed overhead, blinding him with white light. Thunder boomed somewhere above them, he took it was his signal to leave. He could feel his reluctance to do it, but it was ultimately the best decision. There was nothing left for him in this realm.
"Wait!" The white one's voice reached him before he could run. He looked down and met her eyes. The blue spheres captivated him, his wings retracted without him telling them too. She slowly approached him, leaving the protective shield that was the other two dragons.
"Aurora! Get away from him!" Her name was Aurora but all he saw was her eyes. His mind flickered another set of emerald eyes before him. Something told him to not get too attached but he couldn't help it.
"You want to bring us to Warfang, how do we know you're not tricking us?" She stopped in between the two parties, just out of reach of both of them. She stood confident in the face of what was death itself.
"I don't want to hurt any of you, I already did too much." Grief began to leak into his voice, breaking the his already fragile mask.
"Do you know how to get there?" She took another step forward.
"Yes, I do." He remembered everything before the raid, he could get them there.
"Would you protect us?" Her question made his mind fight itself. The darker side of him wanted to kill them now, the other wanted to dedicate himself to them. He knew which side to agree with.
"Until I die." His voice broke, the grief still weighing it down. "I would protect you until I die or you see no further use of me." His darker side screamed at him, it wanted nothing to do with this empathy. He didn't care what it wanted.
A silence hung over them. She looked back at her pseudo-defenders, they shook their heads. The darker tried to push him in the sky but his new found honor held him still. Forming a cage in his mind, he locked the darker part inside and dissolved the key.
"I'm going with him." The words sent his mind into another loop. She would follow him to Warfang. He questioned what could possibly be the reason for her deciding to go with him.
"No your not!" The blue one stepped forward, as if to challenge him.
"You can't tell me what to do. I'm going with him to Warfang and I suggest you come with us." She continued to surprise him with her defense.
"We can get there on our own, without the help of a dragon that's committed mass murder!" His brother in arms stood next to him. He felt the tension between her and the other two.
"You heard him as clearly as I did, he made a vow."
"Aurora! HE'S LYING!" Anger broke through the uneasiness, projecting his voice further then he probably wanted to. "You can't trust him!"
"You're right," His heart sank. "But this has nothing to do with trust." She turned away from them, looking at Eclipse again. "I just want to see if anything is left then we can leave."
"Aurora!" The blue one yelled.
"What do you want me to say Frost? There's nothing left! Nothing!" She closed the distance then shoved him back. "We need to leave and he's offering us a way out."
"He will kill you." Frost sneered at him behind her. She followed his gaze back to him. They locked eyes for a moment, those blue eyes searching him for the lie they spoke of. The emerald eyes flashed in his mind again but he pushed them out, focusing on her.
"No, he won't" His heart stopped. She did put some trust in him but didn't want to tell them. Something passed between them that he didn't understand. She looked back at the other two. "He won't harm me."
They looked between themselves. Frost let out a large sigh then looked back at Aurora. "I'm not leaving you with him." He walked away from them and deeper into the ruined sanctuary.
"Is this really the best thing to do?" The red dragon asked.
"It's better than staying here." She looked over her shoulder, nodded to Eclipse, then walked away.
The red dragon moved toward him, anger and determination swerling in his eyes. He shoved him back hard, almost making Eclipse fall over. He jumped up instantly, his instincts telling him to fight. The red dragon put his face just a talon away from Eclipse's. He fought to keep his talons in the ground instead of putting them in the dragon's face.
"If you hurt any of them, even look at them the wrong way, I will end you." He shoved him again. "I don't care who you are and what you can do to me. I will do everything I can to kill you."
"Not the best way to approach a dragon who slaughtered your friends isn't it?" Eclipse didn't have time to tell himself to not say it.
"My only friends are still breathing." He finally back off and joined the other two in the village.
They were off within the next hour, Aurora now with a small sachel that he guessed were family mementos. The storm would follow them for weeks, occasionally showering them with rain and blinding them with lightning. They would fly for as long as it would let them, before forcing them to travel on foot.
He learned that the red dragon's name was Ardere and that he was fiercely protective of Aurora and Frost. Him and Ardere butted heads often, even the littlest things would set them off. However Aurora and Frost would split them up before it got serious. They tried to stay away from each other as much as they could but only so much could be done. He also learned that Aurora and Frost were siblings which slowly made itself apparent as they tended to stay close to each other. They would bicker but they resolved it themselves unlike him and Ardere.
The last day the storm grounded them was when they were first attacked. The lightning flashes were their only sources of light under the dark canopy. The rain was heavier than usual, it drowned out the sounds of their footsteps. The thunder sounded like it was right above them the entire time.
Eclipse was walking closer to Ardere then he had up to that point. Frost and Aurora were in front of them, conversing with themselves. He saw shapes running on the trees during the brief flashes on light. He dismissed them for his paranoia acting up.
Something dropped down on Ardere's back and stabbed a sharp object into his shoulder. He roared in pain, whirling his head around and flinging it off of him. Eclipse pulled the dagger out of Ardere and threw it at his assailant. The dagger went through it's chest, making it go limp.
Small shapes began dropping around them, trapping them in the center of the circle. uch larger ones began appearing from behind trees and he knew what was happening. This was an ambush and from what he could tell, it was from a full war party of grublins.
"How many are them are there?" Aurora's voice suggested she was scared. He heard Ardere begin to growl besides him and saw his muzzle encased with fire. Frost was already radiating cold air, turning the rain around him into small ice crystals. Eclipse's mind was analyzing every threat he could, planning the fastest way to eliminate them. Time stood still as they stared at the war party around them. He felt his darker self rattling at the mental cage he was trapped in.
Time resumed as Ardere released a torrent of fire, burning any grublin not fast enough to get out of the way. Eclipse launched himself forward, digging his talons into his unlucky target. He sliced the heads of two of them as they attempted to stab him. He spun around and tackled one aiming an arrow at Frost's back. The grublin fired the arrow into Eclipse's underbelly but it didn't stop him from stabbing it's throat. He ducked under the large battleaxe of another large grublin before bringing himself above his head and snapping its neck. Using the momentum of it's fall, he jumped onto another bowmen. The bow still went off, firing it's arrow just behind Aurora's head. He looked up and saw two shield-bearers slowly advancing on her, their shields blocking her blasts of wind.
He raced across the small battlefield, feeling an arrow lodge itself somewhere along his side. He shoved his entire weight into the closest shield-bearer, causing it to collide into the second. Pain rushed through his stomach as the shield-bearer kneed him in this stomach, pushing the arrow deeper into him. The shield-bearer flung him away with his shield but he brought himself back in a mere second. He rolled between the legs of one and jumped onto the other. He stabbed its head before back-flipping onto the other behind him. The shield-bearer tried to shake him off to no avail, his tail blade finding itself lodged in the back of its neck.
He ripped off its head and flung it at the last bowman, making it fall over. He rushed over to it but as common with this battle, it released it's arrow. The arrow found its mark in Eclipse's right shoulder. The jolt of pain broke his balance, causing him to slip onto his side, further burying it into him. He saw Ardere light the bowman ablaze with another blast of fire, ending it.
The battle was over and everyone was still alive. He groaned as he got up off the ground, blood trickling down his leg. Eclipse stumbled away from the group as they looked over each other. He felt Ardere's eyes watch him go. He fell down well out of eyesight and studied himself. Three arrows have found their mark in him, two of them barely missing vital organs and his body ached from throwing himself onto the shield-bearer.
He focused on himself, shutting out everything around him. He pictured the punctures in his mind and called upon his element. He felt the darkness begin to pull out the arrows and heal the flesh behind them. Pain tried to cloud his mind as the arrows resisted him but he kept pulling on them. The arrow in his underbelly finally fell out, leaving only the hole to be patched.
"Eclipse?" He heard Aurora's voice call for him. He looked around for her white scales in a panic, stopping his healing as he did. She stepped out of the bushes with a curious look in her eyes. "Why did you run off?" She sat on his side and peered at the arrow still stuck there.
"I thought I saw some of them take off this way. I didn't want them to bring reinforcements." He flinched as she reached out towards him. Normally, he wouldn't have let anyone touch him, especially any injury but he let her paw land on him. It felt foreign to him, someone else touching him like this. Only one other dragon has but she was gone.
"You shouldn't have chased after them with these still in here." She ran her paw down from the arrow in his side.
"I'm fine, I already got one of them out." He showed her the arrow that fell out of his underbelly. "And I sort of stumbled after them." His sheepish laugh didn't do anything to the tension.
"Brace yourself."
"Wait, wh-" She yanked the arrow out of him. He roared in pain and his tail blade instinctively tried to stab her but something stopped it. It was an inch away from her nose, yet she didn't flinch.
"As I told them, you won't hurt me." He lowered his blade away from her nose, setting it back on the ground. She opened her satchel, revealing a mix of different herbs. He watched as she pulled out a handful of green leaves and began to chew it.
"What is that?" He eyed the putty closely when she spit it out.
"It reduces the chance of scarring and helps stop bleeding." She placed it inside the punctured. He winced as it stung. "Quit it."
"Sorry, just unexpected." He apologized as she moved to the arrow in his shoulder. His scales finched again when she began to feel around the arrow. "You don't have to do this. I can deal with this."
"I'm going to help you Eclipse, besides I brought these herbs for a reason." She looked of at him and their eyes met again. They looked into each other for a short amount of time before she broke away from his gaze. A small blush forming on her face. "Ready?"
"Aurora, wait." He used his other arm to pull her head off the arrow. "I need to show you something."
"It can wait after I pull this out." She grabbed it again.
"Just wait." He closed his eyes, returned to concentrating and focused only on the wound in his shoulder. He felt the darkness began to painfully pull on the arrow. It began to stitch the ripped muscles back together like a natural suture. His body tried to break his concentration again, shooting pain into his head. He heard her gasp as the arrow fell out and the hole mended itself together.
"How did you do that?" She ran her talons over where the arrow once protruded out of him. She marveled at the sight, it was as if it was never there.
"It's not like there were doctors in the dark army, wounds and scars were worn like a badge of pride."
"What about blood loss."
"Then you died a coward."
"How is bleeding to death a sign of cowardice?" Concern dominated her voice as she kept feeling the area where the wound was.
"Because you didn't die in battle, you died because you were weak." He found her eyes looking at him again. "And if you were weak? You were killed."
"That's horrible."
"We were the dark army for a reason Aurora. So I had to learn how to care for my wounds, this was the solution." He explained while looking into her eyes yet again. They were filled with hidden emotions, ones that she didn't want to show.
"Can others do it? Like Cynder?"
"No, as far as I know, I'm the only one that can do this." He put a paw on top of one of her's. "Don't tell them yet. I'll tell them at some point."
"Okay." She turned away from him, quickly walking back in the direction she came. "We need to get back to them." He nodded then followed her. Ardere watched him closely when he returned. He felt an unusual uneasiness when he looked back at him. Both of them had the plant putty over their wounds, Ardere had the most of the two.
They waited for the storm to dissipate before they continued. The next three months were eventful. Weekly grublin attacks resulted in Eclipse revealing his healing power to Ardere and Frost with mixed results. Frost didn't mind, saying that it just saved them the medical supplies. Ardere didn't speak to him for weeks.
He also began to have nightmares, usually centered around his past. Sometimes he would be forced to watch Cynder be killed or kill her himself. Other times he relived one of his raids on a dragon sanctuary with heart breaking realism. He made a deal with the demon in his head, he would be allowed out of his cage if he swore never to harm any of the three. He reluctantly agreed.
The voice told him that Cynder deserved to die because of her betrayal of the Dark Master. He mostly ignored those pieces of conversation. They worked well together, he was a second set of eyes for Eclipse. His moves became more efficient and his skills with his element improved. However he proved unreliable when he need him the most.
One night him and Ardere were on watch as the other two slept. It was a clear night, no clouds in the sky at all. The forest was also quiet, that was the first red flag. Eclipse had been scanning the woods the entire night but nothing revealed itself. He was on edge, he knew the woods weren't supposed to be this peaceful.
"Ardere! DOWN!" He whirled around with the warning. A dragon that seemed to be made of the night dropped out of nowhere and smacked Ardere into a tree. Frost and Aurora were up in an instant. Pure terror filled him when Frost was picked up and thrown into Ardere as he stood up. Neither of them moved from their place on the ground.
"Aurora, behind me!" She quickly did so, her entire body trembling as she did so. He called to his other half for help but he didn't respond. He resisted the urge to grab Aurora and run, he needed to save Ardere and Frost.
"My, my, you are a perceptive one." The dragon taunted. "I should've known."
"Why are you doing this? We've done nothing wrong." Aurora questioned behind him.
"Thats where you're wrong my dear. You both wronged me." Eclipse began calculating ways to defeat the mysterious dragon
"What is she talking about?"
"I don't know." He whispered back. "Who are you?"
"You've forgotten me Eclipse? How rude." She stepped into full view, the firelight reflected off her black scales. Her red chest snaked up into the face he thought was gone. The blood in his veins froze, somehow the Terror of the Skies was back and she was trying to kill them. "I thought you loved me."
"How are you still here? Malefor is dead!" Aurora had backed up into a tree, there was nowhere to go. Moving anywhere except back would be almost suicidal.
"He may be gone but I will always live on as long as he's alive." She motioned to Eclipse. "That's besides the point. I'm here for revenge."
"We've done nothing!" Aurora continued.
"Oh, sweetie." She looked at her with a flash of hatred. "You caused everything." Eclipse launched forward but she caught him mid air. "I'll deal with you soon, my love." She flung him sideways.
"Eclipse!" Aurora screamed as she watched him fly to the ground.
"You do care for him." The Terror laughed. "Too bad it won't amount to anything." She pinned Aurora against the tree, raising her up by her neck. Aurora was gasping for air, trying everything she could to be released. "To think he would choose you over me." She ran her long tail blade on her cheek, picking up Aurora's fresh tears.
"I-I…" She struggled to speak.
Eclipse picked himself up and flung himself into the Terror's side. She went wheeling sideways, dropping Aurora in the process. Eclipse crouched down, quickly making sure everything was okay. He glared at the Terror, getting up as he did.
"You shouldn't have done that." His growl took an evil tone he didn't know he still had. "You shouldn't have done that to her." He forced his darker side back, it wasn't the time to lose control.
"What will you do about it?" She smiled at him. "Are you really going to die for someone who won't die for you?"
"She doesn't need to die for me." He lowered himself, ready for the impeding fight.
"Then come oh great Father of Darkness, show me how far your willing to go for love." He launched himself at her again, barely dodging a spray of poison. He grappled onto her neck, stabbing his talons through the red scales. She went into a roll forcing him off. Her tail blade sliced across his forehead. Blood began to drip down into his eyes but he fought to keep them open.
He ducked under the swipe of her talons, dragging his own blade along the front of her wrist. She screeched at him, producing shockwaves of sound pushing him back. It sent him to the ground then she was on top of him. He disappeared just as her blade came down where his head was. He reappeared above her, letting gravity carrying him down as he raked streaks of blood down the back of her neck.
She rolled again, this time crushing him with all her weight. He felt his bones begin to crack while under her. He dove away when she was off him, going into another roll. He heard the familiar sound of her spitting poison, it was too late. It splashed unto the center of his right shoulder, sending immense pain through him as it ate at his scales. He forced out the pain as he disappeared again, this time reappearing in front of her face. He grabbed her muzzle and forced it to the ground. Her muzzle made a crunch sound as they landed with him on top. She flung him off in a roar of pain, blood now running out of her nose.
He was back on her, trying to keep her from recovering. He slashed his talons across her chest then jumped up and slashed his blade upwards. Landing in a back flip, he rushed her with his head using the force to create distance. The Terror shot another burst of poison at him yet he ducked out of the way. She grabbed him, digging her sharp talons his sides. He stabbed her paw with his blade, making her drop him. She smacked him while he still in mid air, sending him into a tree. The tree cracked under the force and began to fall down toward Eclipse. He had to fling himself out of the way, forcing himself to roll as he did.
He struggled to get up, his right shoulder already becoming useless. He looked into the Terror's hate filled eyes, and found the will to get up. She pounced on him, trapping him under her weight. She dug her claws into him, sending even more pain through his entire body. His body threatened to go into shock but he wouldn't let it. He stabbed his blade into her exposed under belly. She reared up and roared in pain, allowing him to disappear. He brought himself back above her, landing on her back.
He tackled the back of her neck, bringing her to the ground. He stabbed the back of her neck repeatedly, sending spurts of her blood all over his face. He jumped up and landed again on her muzzle with another crunch. She whirled around underneath him, whacking him with her tail and sent him into another tree. He looked up while he stood and saw her blade coming toward him but it was too late. She stabbed him through the center of the chest. He couldn't feel it, even when he looked at it.
"NO!" Aurora scream cut through the air like a knife. The Terror stabbed him again, and again, and again. Aurora's sobs filled the air as he was stabbed ten more times. The Terror held a smug and delighted expression with every thrust of her blade. She held the last thrust in him, watching him as he slowly bled out on her blade.
He looked at her with his own smile, making her cock her head. He only made one swift movement. He sliced the end of her tail off, pulled it out of him and stabbed her with it. She fell down, landing eye level with him. He spun around, blade angled toward her, and slit her throat. The Terror reached up and covered the cut but it didn't help. Blood was spurting onto the ground below and she collapsed in a crimson puddle. He slowly turned to look at Aurora who still had tears in her eyes.
"I'm okay." He tried to take a step forward but he collapsed instead.
She ran over to him with her satchel of medical herbs. She didn't even take the time to chew on them, she just started shoving them in his gaping chest wound. "No, no, no, Eclipse…" She grabbed onto his head and made him look at her. "...Eclipse, stay here, please don't leave, please." He was fighting to keep his eyes open, he wanted to see her. Ardere and Frost began to stir, running over to them once they realized what was happening.
"C'mon Eclipse, don't give up yet." Frost began putting to pressure on the chest wound, in an attempt to save him.
Ardere only looked at the ground.
"Ardere help me out here!" Frost yelled at him.
"What is there to do! He's dying!"
"Help me save him!"
"How?"
"I DON'T KNOW JUST DO SOMETHING!" The two began yelling at each other. He didn't care anymore, he kept looking into her beautiful blue eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He gave her a weak smile. She gave a weaker laugh but still continued to cry.
"You can't leave, we haven't made it yet." She told him. "I order you not to leave."
"You can't tell me what to do Aurora." He reached up and touched her cheek. She grabbed onto his paw and held it there. "Don't cry over me, only smile."
"I can't"
"Yes you can." His voice was growing weaker, he felt his life begin to slip away. "I love you."
"Don't tell me that yet. Tell me tomorrow when I can say it back." She held onto his paw tighter.
"I don't think I can, it would be awkward if you said no." He smiled at her again but she didn't laugh back.
"I love you too." His eyes finally won, ending his vision of her. All he felt a mixture of grief and happiness in his final moments. Slowly, everything around him faded and he was presented with nothing but the cold, dark expanse of death.