Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro series.

Chapter 8

Confusion

Not wishing to drag Cynder back to where they had made camp, they instead moved their camp into the clearing they had found her in. Both of them stared worriedly at the unconscious dragoness.

They had tried to make her more comfortable, but aside from that they couldn't do much more.

"It's so strange," Pyris said. "She seems so weak, but there isn't a mark on her."

Spyro nodded. "Maybe she was running from something and exhausted herself?" he suggested.

"Probably," Pyris shrugged.

Cynder moaned and flicked her tail, before pushing herself up. She glanced around, not noticing Spyro and Pyris since they were sitting behind her in the shade. She turned around and jumped when she saw them. An expression of fear and hatred momentarily appeared on her face, before it was forced into a more neutral expression.

Spyro felt a twisting feeling in his gut as he saw Cynder's initial reaction to them.

"Spyro… Pyris…," the black dragoness attempted to stand. She stumbled back to the ground.

"Don't force yourself," Pyris said, jumping up and flapping her wings to carry herself over to her sister.

Spyro stayed where he was, trying to ignore the feeling of distrust he felt and feeling low for even having the feeling. He had found Cynder so quickly; it was too good to be true.

He stood up and walked over to Cynder. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I was attacked by some apes," she replied. "There were too many to fight, so I ran, but they had some dreadwings. It took a lot to out maneuver them."

"You should rest," Pyris suggested. "Spyro and I will keep watch."

Cynder nodded and laid her head on her front paws. Spyro flicked his tail towards the tree he and Pyris had been lying under and led the way over there.

"Do you…" Spyro paused and lowered his voice. "Do you think that's really Cynder?"

"Who else could it be?" Pyris asked. She frowned and glanced over at what seemed to be a black dragoness. "I don't know. Something feels wrong. Her expression…"

"Yeah, I saw it too," Spyro said. "Let's just be careful."

The shape stealer glanced over at the two of them and scowled. She couldn't believe she had given herself away like that, but keeping up facades required concentration and they had surprised her. She cursed herself, aware that if she failed, the Dark Master would not be very forgiving.

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Cynder was curled up at the edge of their campground. Her tail wrapped tightly around herself as she sobbed quietly. She faced away from the campfire and the other two.

She heard the flutter of wings as Kadie flew over to her. Cynder used her tail to wipe away her tears, before she raised her head and faced Kadie. "What is it?"

Kadie flinched as she heard the sniffle in Cynder's voice. "Will you be okay?"

Cynder laid her head back on the ground. "I think so… My memories of when I was… well, they're all very hazy, but they're still there. I hear people say it wasn't my fault… what I did… But what if I had been stronger? Couldn't I have resisted, even a little?"

"You were just a hatchling," Kadie shook her head. "You couldn't have resisted what they did to you."

Cynder sighed. "Maybe…"

"So, are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I just have to put those memories out of my mind, that's the only thing I can really do," Cynder replied.

---------------------------------------------------

Spyro and Pyris each spent half of the night sleeping, while the other kept guard. Both kept an eye on Cynder just as much as they did their surroundings. The black dragoness didn't move all night and had appeared to be asleep.

"I guess we should head back to the temple," Pyris said.

"You're coming with. Right, Cynder?" Spyro still hadn't shaken his feeling of uneasiness, but if this really was Cynder he didn't want to do anything suspicious and if it wasn't, then he didn't want to do anything suspicious anyway.

"No, I have something I need to do," she replied, glancing at the ground.

The other two looked up. "What?"

"While I was traveling I found out about a group of moles that were captured and are going to be put to work by the Dark Master," Cynder explained. "I have to help them."

"Then we'll come with," Pyris volunteered. "Then we can head back to the temple."

Spyro was going to ask Pyris if she was sure about coming. She hadn't been through as much as Cynder and him, but then he remembered she had spent some of her life locked in a cage by her own people and realized that in her own way, she had went through just as much as them. He also didn't want to be off by himself with what might not be Cynder.

"Are you okay, Spyro?" Cynder asked. "You're being kind of quiet."

"Oh, sorry," Spyro said. "It's just I haven't seen you in a while. I don't know what to say…"

She glanced at the scar on Spyro's throat. "I'm sorry."

Spyro opened his mouth. He was stunned. Cynder seemed to be behaving like herself. He felt mortified to be distrusting her. "It's fine. You… weren't yourself."

The group was silent for a moment. Pyris quickly spoke up. "Why don't we go see if we can catch some breakfast?"

"Okay."

"Good idea."

The three headed off in opposite directions.

The shape stealer glanced around, looking for something that her current body could catch. She wished she could change shape, but it was too risky.

"It doesn't exactly look like they trust you," the shape stealer glanced up, glaring at the small black figure in the trees.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. "Talking to you could give me away."

"It's not like you have them fooled anyway," Edord pointed out.

"Idiot," the fake dragoness hissed. "There are many different kinds of deception. Already they're not sure if their suspicion is founded and it doesn't matter anyway, just so long as I get them to the cave, right?"

"Just so long as you get the purple one to the cave," the black dragonfly said.

"That's right," she smirked sadistically. "I can do whatever I want to the red one can't I?"