Cynder was too focused on what was happening between Eclipse and Malefor to realize that Spyro was awake. He hoisted her onto his back, carrying her to where Ardere and Frost were trying to help Aurora. Frosts paws had turned red with Aurora's blood while Ardere was trying to keep her conscious. Just by looking at her it was easy to tell that she was barely hanging on. Father and son clashed somewhere behind them, their grunts and growls reaching her ears.
"We need to leave." Ardere looked at Spyro, his face filled with worry.
"I'm not… leaving without him." Aurora's weak voice barely made it above the fighting.
"If we don't leave now, she'll die of blood loss." He turned back to her, looking at Frost's attempt to save her.
"If we leave now, she has a chance but we can't wait for Eclipse." Frost began pulling her onto his back. "Quite frankly, if he loses, we'll have no chance of defeating Malefor."
Cynder slid off Spyro's back, collapsing to the ground when she tried to stand. She couldn't get her legs to work, they were useless. She felt useless. I can't stand, I can't help him, I can't help Aurora… Spyro slid under her wing, taking most of her weight off her legs. His eyes expressed his silent understanding of what she wanted. He was hurt both physically and emotionally, battered by the skeletons she dug up.
"Get her home, we'll catch up." Frost and Ardere simply nodded, leaving as quickly as they could. Aurora traded glances with her as she passed, she knew what she wanted to say. "Are you sure?"
"Save him." He laid her down, allowing her to watch what was about to happen.
Malefor grabbed Eclipse off his back with his mouth, shaking him around like a ragdoll. Spyro run full force into Malefor's chest, causing him to drop him. Eclipse disappeared before he hit the ground, only his loose blood splashing on the cracked stone. He appeared in front of Malefor's nose, his tail spinning him around and slashing across the nostrils. The larger dragon took a step backwards, covering the new wound with one paw.
Spyro slammed into the other one, bringing him down with a large thud. Flames spued from the larger dragon's mouth, aimed at his smaller counterpart. He rolled away from it's path, barely escaping it's reach. Malefor turned it upwards but missed Eclipse as he had already disappeared once again.
He pushed himself off the ground before either one of them could continue their assault. Spyro came out from behind a pillar, running forward with his maw opened and icicles already shooting towards him. Eclipse came down on his head, his paws pushing him downwards with the force of gravity. The icicles barely penetrated through the purple scales in his chin, quickly losing their blue color and becoming covered in red.
Eclipse rolled off of his head, leaving red streaks with his tail as he descended. The controlled roll lost its grace when Malefor jerked his head up. Spyro missed his head, instead collided with his sliding paw and being sent into one of the pillars. Malefor punched the ground, the ground opening up and attempting to catch Eclipse in his roll. He disappeared just as the crack reached him, leaving nothing but open stone.
Spyro used the pillar as a launching point, throwing up an earth ball and smashing into Malefor's side. Bones broke on his impact and once again he stumbled away. He responded with another burst of fire from his jaws but these we caught by Spyro's own flames. The two streams of fire met in the middle, seeking to dominate each other.
Eclipse appeared besides her, affectionately nuzzling her cheek. His body was covered in blood, burns and various gashes. The ice over his talons had become cracked, the red wisps around his eyes had dissipated, and the shadow hiding his scales had weakened. The ruby red of his eyes grew soft, showing how much her presence scarred him.
"Why didn't you leave?" He kept his muzzle close to her, barely putting his voice above a whisper. "It's dangerous for you here."
"Someone needed to watch your back." She smiled slightly.
"What if I lose, he'll kill you." Emotion cracked his voice.
"Then don't lose." He nuzzled her again. "I don't think Aurora would be happy if I came back without you."
"I'm sorry for not telling you about Malefor sooner."
"We'll talk about that another time. Go finish what you started." He nodded then disappeared.
Spyro's fire was overwhelmed, he had to jump out of the way of Malefor's stream. Eclipse appeared under his chin upside down, viciously jabbing his blade through the bottom of his mouth. Fire leaked through the new hole, burning him before he could drop away. He fell to the ground, quickly rolling away from Malefor's paw as he attempted to crush him. His other paw came around and smacked him away like a bug.
More icicles lodged themselves into his side, melting away at his internal heat. He turned around and snarling at Spyro who still had frost around his mouth. Malefor charged across the short distance, tossing the smaller dragon into the air. Eclipse jumped up and slammed into his head, bringing his jaws away from underneath Spyro.
Spyro recovered on his fall and floated in the air for a moment. He angled himself towards Malefor's head, stones flying up to surround him in a ball. Gravity carried him down, combining the weight of dragon and rock. Eclipse flipped to the other side of Malefor's muzzle and used his tail to force his head upwards.
The ball broke on impact, releasing Spyro from his cage. Shards of stone found gaps in the larger dragon's scales, sticking themselves into his flesh. In a roar of fury and pain, Malefor swung his tail around and caught Eclipse in one of his hind legs. He disappeared upon the blades puncturing his scales, his own roar of pain answering Malefor. Malefor grabbed Spyro and flung him across the room, making him land besides Cynder.
Eclipse reappeared above him, the edge of his blade now coated in the same green liquid from his mouth. He began flipping in mid air, wind curling around him as he was carried down. His blade ripped through one of Malefor's horns, proceeding then to slice through the metal sprouting out of his neck. Sizzling scales and flesh signalled that the acid was chewing away at him.
Landing on his back, Eclipse sunk his talons past the scales and held on as he attempted shake him off. He went into a roll and Eclipse disappeared before he was crushed under the larger, purple dragon. As Malefor righted himself, he reappeared in front of both of them. Spyro slowly got up from laying next to her and joined him in forming a body between her and the Dark Master.
The three of them stared at one another across the battle worn space. Heavy breaths and growing lava pools made the only sounds in the room. Shadows jumped onto Eclipse's scales while blood ran down Spyro's leg. Malefor's scales had stopped burning and his yellow eyes met Cynder's for a moment.
"I thought you weren't holding back." He taunted out of his dark smile.
"You need to suffer for those you had me kill." A mixture of blood and acid dripped of his teeth as he panted.
"Righteousness doesn't suit you."
"And mercy doesn't suit you."
"I expected nothing less coming from my son." She heard the stone crack under Eclipse's talons.
"You don't get to call me that." His growl seemed to reach lower than Malefor's voice.
"I taught you everything. There is nothing you know that I haven't already mastered." Malefor was right, he had taught Eclipse nearly everything he knew.
"You think you mastered the darkness?" Black wisps swirled up his leg as he stepped forward. They latched onto his scales as if they were leeches. "You think you mastered the dark elements and their power?" Lava cooled around his feet, obsidian replacing the molten rock. "You call yourself the Dark Master…" The red wisps from early returned around his eyes. "...but in reality, your nothing but an apprentice."
Eclipse rammed his head into Malefor's chest, sending him backwards. Spyro raced of to catch up after him. Eclipse's horns left green marks buried in his chest, steam poured out of the increasing wound. Malefor swung his blade around, aimed at Eclipse as he just stood before him. The wisps from his legs jumped in the blades path, completely stopping it before it could reach him.
Spyro jumped over him, ramming Malefor's chest again. Embers rose up from the impact, a black scorch mark being printed in the scales. The wisps threw the blade back at Malefor with enough force to send him spinning on his feet. He stumbled around, colliding with several of the pillars before falling.
Eclipse was on him again, this time he dug his talons deep into his shoulder. Spyro fell on top of him in another earth ball. Malefor let out another pained roar before rolling the two off him. He stood up quickly, launching another fire attack against his counterpart. The stream was cut short by another roar of pain as Eclipse slashed one of his legs with acid.
Spyro's fire reached the side of his face, burning away the scales and flesh on his face. He swung his blade again, this time launching Spyro back with the blunt side. His attention turned to Eclipse and with a electrified stomp, sent electricity running through him. The black dragon continued his assault despite this, spinning to slash one of the larger dragon's hind legs.
The younger purple dragon came running back, icicles firing out of his mouth. Slabs of ice struck Malefor's exposed skin, before evaporating into water. Wisps reach out of Eclipse and grabbed onto Malefor's neck, shoving him to the ground. Eclipse ran his acidic blade down Malefor's now exposed underbelly.
Shadows reached out of the ground and grabbed unto both of the younger dragons. He grabbed Spyro, throwing him into Eclipse and sending them both tumbling. Malefor struggled to get up, quickly turning to run towards Cynder. Spyro recovered from the tumble first, using Eclipse as a springboard to race after him. Malefor brought his blade around, angled to pierce right through her skull.
The blade and Spyro hit in the same moment, but only one found its target. Malefor wheeled sideways and one of his blades broke off his tail, lodging itself inside Eclipse. He stood still in front of her for what seemed like the longest second in her life. Ruby eyes caught her in their gaze before breaking away to look at he piece of metal. Blood was already running out of the wound.
Eclipse disappeared the next second, leaving the blade to drop onto the ground. He reappeared upon the Dark Master's back not a second later. His teeth dug into the back of his neck, both acid and blood spurting out on entry. Malefor tried to shake him off like before, only to have both Eclipse's talons and blade dig into his back.
Wisps wrapped around his legs, preventing him from going into another roll. He began to gag, liquid life coming up with the air. Streams of green acid broke through the other side of his neck. The wisps released him so he could fall onto his side. Eclipse released his grip on his neck, licking his lips clean of the red liquid. He jumped off of his former master, staring into his eyes as he landed next to his head. His eyes flashed red for a moment before his pupils shrank to pinpoints out of fear.
"I told you that it was a mistake..." With a savage strike, he slashed his former master's throat, coating it in greed acid. "...and I won't let you make another one." Purple light radiated from Malefor's body as his life left him. It slowly circled Eclipse, forming a ball around him. As the light faded from Malefor, it all came crashing down on Eclipse. He screamed in pain as his body absorbed the blinding light.
As the light faded and her eyes could look towards them, she noticed that Malefor's body had vanished. It was as if he wasn't there to begin with, not even his blood was left behind. Eclipse stumbled for a moment, readjusting as Spyro caught him. Together, they limped to Cynder, supporting each other's weight.
"It's finally over." Eclipse smiled weakly once they reach her. She saw the darkness already doing it's work on his body. He stood on his own but not without his legs wobbling slightly. With Spyro's help, he put Cynder on his back. "We need to get you home."
They quickly ran up the tunnels, lava and crumbling rocks chasing after them. Eclipse led the way with Spyro bringing up behind him. Cydner's body began to question her consciousness as they went, her eyelids trying to close. He kept her talking as they tried to find the way out, making her tell him her plans once they returned.
She felt pebbles and embers on her back as they continued, increasing the already intense pain through her body. Spyro took the lead, quickly freezing the pools of lava over as they passed. Eclipse continued to ask her random question which prevented her from closing her eyes. His frantic voice kept her mind from shutting down.
Moonlight filled the path ahead, hope filling her broken body as they bolted through the tunnel towards it. The mountain groaned behind them when they finally broke out of their unstable grave. Eclipse laid her on the soft grass before collapsing in a exhausted heep next to her. Spyro quickly dropped down next to them, himself panting as hard as Eclipse.
"We did it." She heard Spyro's astonishment through his voice.
"Let's go home." She weakly smiled at him, staring into his purple eyes. Her smile faded when she looked back and saw Eclipse staring under the mountain.
His red wisps haven't faded from his eyes, instead they've grown more distinct. His scales were slowly fading under the coat of darkness. Acid had been pooling on his chin before dripping unto to a black spot on the grass. She felt the cold radiating from his body, some of the grass had began to freeze and die around him. As he turned to look at her, she saw his eyes were holding onto their red color. "I can't go with you."
"What?" Spyro got up, standing in front of him. "You have to come with us."
"Spyro, I'll kill you if I go back with you." He sounded like he had been defeated. "I'll kill everyone in the city."
"No you won't, we just have to find a way to fix-"
"You fix what isn't broken."
"What about Aurora? What is she going to think when we go back to her?" Spyro argued, his disbelief shining through.
"She's probably dead by now."
"We don't know that, she could be alive and waiting for you to come back with us." He tried to reason but Eclipse shook his head.
"I failed her. I failed my brothers. I failed Cynder. I failed everyone."
"You did the best you could. Just because-"
"I LET HIM HURT HER SPYRO." Spyro stepped back, nearly falling over her. "I let him take away the one thing I had left to live for."
"Aurora could still be alive. If we go to Warfang then you can see for yourself." Spyro grabbed his shoulder. "You didn't know he would do that."
"I didn't have to…" He throw his paw of him. "...I should've defended her either way."
"She'll forgive you."
"I'm not looking for forgiveness from a dead dragoness." He turned around and stepped towards the entrance to the tunnels.
"Don't do it."
"Promise me something Spyro." His ruby eyes looked over his shoulder to her.
"What?"
"You'll keep them both safe. Aurora and Cynder." She tried to stand but her legs continued to rebel against her.
"You can do that yourself, just come with us. Please." Spyro begged him.
"Just promise me."
"Ecli-"
"Promise me."
Spyro let out a heavy sigh, looking back to her. She shook her head, her words failing to form in her mouth. "I'll keep them safe. I promise."
"Thank you." Eclipse stepped into the mouth of the caves, turning to stare back at them. Cynder tried to get up again, instead she stumbled forward and fell down not even a foot from where she was before.
"Don't leave me like this Eclipse. I won't let you." She stumbled forward again but she fell down again.
"This isn't goodbye. Think of it as a 'see you later'." He smiled at her. Tears finally broke through, slipping down her face as she tried to reach him. "Tell Aurora that I love her. Okay?"
"Tell her yourself. I won't do it, I won't do it when you can do it yourself." She was dragging herself towards him, her arms barely being able to pull her.
"It'll be awhile before I can Cyn. Just let her know for me okay?" He didn't what for her response. With a final nod towards Spyro, he walked deeper into the tunnels and out of sight. Spyro stepped forward and she instantly knew what he was going to do.
"Don't you dare Spyro. Don't you dare do it." He didn't listen to her pleas, instead he dropped a boulder to block the tunnels in. "NO!" She stopped moving forward, her body to broken and tired to carry her further. The tears flowed forward like a river and her sobs replaced the night's sounds around them.
Eclipse did everything for them, from making their days better to killing his own father to protect them. He's fought himself, his family, and his greatest fears so that they didn't have to. He's done nothing but help and protect them from the lasting evil in the realms. Now he's killing himself because he thought that he the next greatest danger to them all. She didn't want to accept that he's dead and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.