Hey everyone! Bet you didn't see an update this fast did you? ;)
Well, this is it! The moment you've all been waiting for! I'll shut up now so you can enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Spyro characters or games. They belong to their respective owners. Saffron and Alta belong to Riverstyxx while Dax and Nightshade belong to Alec the Dark Angel. I do, however, own the characters Matt and Selema.
Loud roars issued from the maws of two young dragons as they fired their magical energies at the hordes of creatures that were littering the Temple walls. Spyro had been distraught at first over the idea that the night had been ruined, but he quickly jumped into the fray knowing the danger to all the people inside. Cynder, on the other hand, was just flat out angry with rage over having the best night of her life be ruined by beings she thought she'd seen the last of. The two young dragons led the way as they were most familiar with these enemies.
"Damn you all!" Cynder roared as she fired stream after stream of green acid, burning several grublins and watching them wither in pain. "You all will pay for this!"
Spyro barely heard her screams above his roars, his electric bolts frying several of the animated skeletons to a crisp. Never had he been so caught off guard, yet so determined. At that moment, he would do all that he could to protect the people.
As Spyro and Cynder led the way, the Guardians Cyril and Volteer were doing their best to get all the partygoers out of the Temple as quickly as they could. However, what they failed to see was that several of the grublins were roaming the streets, attacking any moving thing they could find.
Among the chaos, a young Keyblader desperately called out the name of the pink dragoness. "Selema!" Matt yelled. "Where are you?" He cursed under his breath before hearing the screams of several frightened civilians on the streets. The teen quickly ripped off his polo, leaving only his gray sleeveless shirt on his back.
Matt found a group of moles surrounded by four zombie apes, their squeals of terror evident in their faces. The young human sprinted to their aide jumping and slashing away one of the mongrels before tossing his Keyblade to his right. The magic weapon then whirled itself around both him and the moles, cutting down each of the other apes before returning to Matt's hand like a boomerang. He turned to the little creatures. "Are you guys ok?"
One came and wrapped himself around his leg. "Oh, thank you! Thank you kind boy! We can never repay y…"
"Repay later! Get to safety now!" Matt exclaimed. "Go!" The moles then sprinted as fast as their little legs could take them without a moment's notice.
Matt then hurried through the streets, trying desperately to find Selema before the worst could happen. However, his search was constantly delayed by the pleads of other Warfang citizens were being attacked. The Keyblader did everything in his power, slaying countless more enemies and ushering those in danger to safety.
The minutes eventually dragged on as Matt ran through the streets. While he knew Spyro and the others could take care of themselves, a part of him wanted to go back to the Temple and help fight off the main hoards inside. However, he knew that something bigger was going on. Spyro had been right all along. Something was happening…and something bad. The Keyblader now had only one thought in mind, and that was to find Selema and get her out of the city as fast as possible.
Matt's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the scream of a child. He cursed to himself before sprinting in the child's direction. When he arrived, Matt was horrified to find a certain white hatchling being cornered against a stone wall by three grublins, all intending to do her harm.
"DAX!" Matt cried. "Get down now!" The little dragoness quickly obeyed and dropped to the ground below as he pointed his blade towards the grublins. "Blizzaga!" Several shards of ice erupted from his blade, impaling all of the grublins before they knew what hit them. Matt quickly rushed to Dax's side, the little dragoness trembling furiously.
"Are you alright, Dax?" Matt asked as calmly as he could, trying to be brave for the hatchling.
Dax looked up and nodded, her eyes sparking when she saw her hero. "Matt! It's you!" Dax then quickly shot and hugged the young human. "I was so scared…"
"What are you doing out here by yourself, Dax?" Matt then asked. "Where's your father?"
Dax's smile quickly turned to a frown. "I…I don't know. We…we were walking together when those scary things showed up. D-daddy told me to stay close…a-and he protected me for a little bit…b-but they just kept coming." Dax's lips began to tremble. "W-what if he's hurt, Matt?"
"I'm sure he's just fine, Dax," Matt replied. He then allowed Dax to wrap her paws around him as he lifted her up. "Let's go and look for him, ok?"
Dax sniffed hard. "O-ok…"
Matt then wrapped one arm around Dax while the other around his Keyblade as he ran as fast as he could in the direction Dax had come from. He managed to fire a magic attack whenever a grublin or ape made a look in their direction, his eyes constantly scanning for any sign of the large black dragon.
"W-where's Selema?" Dax then asked Matt.
"I…I don't know," Matt replied weakly.
"Isn't she with you?"
"She was, but we were separated a little bit ago. Don't worry, Dax. I'll find her once we get you to your dad." It was true Matt was worried out of his mind where Selema could be at the moment, but he had to make sure that Dax was safe too. He could only hope that Selema would be able to take care of herself till then.
The two weaved their way through the streets before Matt heard a loud roar coming from his left. "Daddy!" Dax cried. Matt took the hint and darted in that direction before finding the black dragon covered with grublins. Nightshade struggled to throw the little demons off his body, knocking several off his his tail and biting down on them with his teeth.
Dax gasped. "Oh no, Daddy! Matt, help him!"
Matt was about to step forward to do just that, but Nightshade's voice stopped him. "No! Stay back!"
"What?" Matt asked.
The black dragon turned and gave Matt a deep stare. "Take Dax and get her out of here, Matt! I'll keep holding these things off!"
"No way! I won't let you fight alone!"
"Don't' worry about me!" Nightshade yelled as he sent another grublin soaring through the air. "I'll be alright. Just get her somewhere safe! I'm…counting on you, Matt!"
"B-but Daddy…," Dax sobbed, tears beginning to stream down her eyes.
"JUST GO!" Nightshade roared out, firing a blast of shadow energy from his maw at the group of grublins in front of him.
Matt grit his teeth before respecting Nightshade's wishes and sprinting off in the other direction.
"DADDY!" Dax screamed. "NO! We have to go back!"
"I'm sorry, Dax," Matt replied with a shaking voice. "But this is what your father wants, and I won't let him down."
"Daddy…," Dax mumbled, but it was too late. Matt was already several hundred yards away by now. He clutched the shivering hatchling close to him as he ran as fast his weary legs could take him. The warrior thought about all the places he could go to take Dax, which included his ship. However, he didn't want to leave Dax alone all by herself.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. "Hold on, Dax," Matt exclaimed as he concentrated and brought out his Dragon keyblade. He quickly jumped into the sky and sped across to the other side of the city, his eyes scanning for that familiar location. When he found it, Matt quickly flew and touched down on the ground in front of the home. Matt flew towards the door and pounded on it with his free hand.
"Hello! Is anyone there?" He cried. Within seconds, the door opened and a certain electric dragoness with violet eyes greeted him.
"Matt?" Saffron gasped. "What's going on? What are you doing here?" She then saw a weeping Dax and gasped. "What's Dax doing here?"
"No time to explain," Matt replied. "Something's happened, Saffron."
Saffron nodded. "Ok, come inside." Matt followed the yellow dragoness into her living room. From what he could tell, she was the only one in the house at the time. "Matt," she then said. "I heard screaming all the way from the Temple. What's going on?" Matt sighed and sat down on one of the chairs in the living room before quickly explaining what was going on at the Temple.
Saffron gasped. "Mom and Dad…," she exclaimed. "Oh no…what if something's happened to them?"
"I don't know," Matt replied honestly, having not encountered either of Saffron's parents at the dance. "I need your help though, Saffron. Can you please watch over Dax for me?"
"What?" Saffron asked with surprise. "What about her father?" The words caused Dax to flinch badly.
"He's still out there fighting," Matt replied. "He made me promise to get Dax somewhere safe."
"But what about you, Matt? Where are you going?"
Matt looked into Saffron's eyes, his answer clear to her. "Selema's still out there, and she's in terrible danger. I have to find her before something bad happens. Please, Saffron, could you do this for me?"
Saffron hesitated a moment before she nodded. "Alright…I will."
Dax sniffed hard and looked up at the Keyblader, her eyes red from the crying. "Please…don't go. I'm so scared."
Matt bit his lip and gave the little hatchling a quick hug. "I want to stay here with you, Dax, but I have to go make sure those bad things don't hurt anyone else, ok? Saffron is going to take good care of you. I promise you everything will be alright. Do you believe me?"
Dax sniffed again and wiped her nose with a paw before nodding softly. "Ok…"
"Thank you, Dax," Matt replied. He then looked up. "And thank you too, Saffron."
"Just be careful out there, ok?" Saffron exclaimed.
"I will," Matt replied before he quickly hurried out the door.
Saffron strode up towards Dax on the chair and nuzzeld her assuringly. "It's going to be ok, Dax. You just wait." The white hatchling looked up and smiled.
Meanwhile, Matt immediately took with his Dragon blade, his body streaming back towards the Temple. He figured that Selema had possibly returned there and was waiting for him right now. Even if she wasn't there, at least Spyro or Cynder could use his help at the moment.
However, just as he was about to arrive, Matt heard a familiar voice call out to him from his side. "Kid! Hey, kid!" Sparx quickly zoomed into Matt's view. "Kid, I gotta tell you something!"
"No time, Sparx," Matt replied. "I gotta get back to the Temple now!" The warrior moved in that direction, but Sparx got in front of him again.
"No kid, seriously!" Sparx pleaded. "It's got to do with that pink dragon you're always running around with!"
Matt's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Wait, Selema? Did you see her? Where is she?"
"You're not gonna believe this…," Sparx began. "When all the ruckus went down, I did my thing and got out of there ASAP you know? So while I'm flying minding my own business, I see that big red dragon with Selema…"
"You mean Flame?"
"Yeah, that guy. Anyway, I was about to fly down and say hi, but then he went and led her into this house and shut the door in my face. How rude, man! Does he know who I am?"
"Sparx, could you take me to this house right now?"
"Well…I guess so. This way, kid!"
Matt then followed the golden dragonfly as they whirled towards the direction of the Temple before falling about a quarter of a mile short and heading to the streets below. Two minutes later, Matt and Sparx had arrived at the small house.
"You sure this is it?" Matt asked.
"Positive," Sparx replied.
Matt then put his hand on the knob and turned it, only to find the door locked. He then knocked on the door several times. "Hello! Hello! Selema!" Matt tried again and again. "Darn it!"
"Guess nobody is home, huh?" Sparx exclaimed. "It is pretty dark…I could have picked the wrong place…"
"Let's check to be sure," Matt replied. He then pointed his Keyblade towards the door knob, sending a beam of light into the keyhole and unlocking the door with a click.
"Or you can do your whole magic key thing…," Sparx mumbled as the two walked inside. The dragonfly lit up the room around them, only to find that no one was there.
"Selema? Flame?" Matt called. "What's going on here?"
"That's weird," Sparx said. "I could've sworn those two went in here."
Matt scanned the entire room before his eyes spotted something on the floor, causing to gasp sharply. He hurried over and picked it up,his hands trembling in realization.
"What you got there, kid?" Sparx asked.
Matt's jaw was agape as he stared at it…Selema's mask! "Something's wrong…," Matt mumbled. "Selema wouldn't have just left this here." Matt's eyes then narrowed. "Flame…," he muttered.
"Didn't catch that, kid," Sparx said, only to find a seriousness in the Keyblader's eyes he hadn't seen for some time.
"Sparx…," Matt said firmly. "I need you to go get Spyro and Cynder. Tell them Selema's been kidnapped!"
Sparx gave the young human a firm salute. "No problem…but what are you going to do?"
Matt looked at the mask in his hand, rubbing it with a finger. "I'm going to go and find her." Without saying another word, Matt then darted past the dragonfly and out the door. He then brought out his Dragon blade once more and took to the skies again. He then gazed at the band on his wrist, the jewel shining faintly in his presence.
Just hold Selema…I'm coming…
Flame had finally finished his task and stood before the large crystal once more, bowing down in awe. "It is done, Master. The girl is all yours."
"Well done, Flame," the evil energy cackled from within. "You have done well. The plan worked perfectly…no one will come searching for her now."
"Even if they did," Flame replied. "They'll never find her where we are." Flame then grinned widely. "Master…now that I have done my part…I ask that you fulfill my request."
The Master cackled. "Ah…yes. You shall be rewarded for your efforts, my loyal servant. Come…place your paw on the crystal and you shall have all you deserve."
"Thank you, Master," Flame exclaimed. He quickly shuffled forward and placed his palm firmly against the dark crystal. Immediately, he began to be filled with dark energy at an alarming rate. Suddenly, Flame started screaming in agony, twitching wildly from head to tail.
The Master couldn't help but laugh as his next step was executed. You shall be given your wish of great power, Flame. However, in the end it will cost you both your body AND your soul!
When she finally came to, Selema groaned softly to herself as she felt her vision refocus. She had a small throb in her head, causing her to unconsciously try and reach forward to soothe it somehow. The only problem though…was that she was unable to perform that very task.
"What the…?" The dragoness shot her eyes open and gasped. Looking around, Selema found herself lying down on her back on a strange stone tablet with her front and rear paws tied down by metal chains. Her tail hung limply over the back end of the table.
"This is bad…," Selema whispered to herself, an all too familiar feeling creeping up her spine, causing her to begin to panic. The pink dragoness tried her best to break free, but found the task impossible. She was trapped. Selema started to pant heavily, her mind filled with growing fear.
Calm down…A voice inside her head spoke suddenly. You need to focus….
"Right," Selema whispered again. After taking a deep breath, the dragoness looked at her surroundings. She was surrounded on all sides by walls made of a crumbling stone. The room was very dim, with a few torches around the table as the only source of light.
"Where am I…?" Selema asked out loud. "And how did I get here?" The last thing that she remembered was telling Flame that she had to go look for Matt before she blacked out. Selema twinged her nose, feeling a weight having been removed from her face. She twinged in disappointment over losing Mia's precious mask before returning to the situation at hand.
"Flame?" Selema cried. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, the dragoness heard a voice that made her very soul shiver in fright. "You have finally awoken…"
Selema strained her head to see in front of her. From out of the shadows, a figure slowly approached her. As more and more light shone down, Selema managed to recognize a very familiar face.
"Flame!" She breathed in relief. "You're here too! I thought for sure…" Selema suddenly stopped when she looked into Flame's eyes, which were the ugliest shade of yellow she'd ever seen instead of his normal scarlet. An eerie feeling fell over her. "Flame…?"
"I'm afraid that Flame won't be joining us tonight," the red dragon spoke with the same cold voice that was far different than his regular tone.
Selema chuckled nervously. "This isn't funny, Flame! I need your help to get out of this thing."
The red dragon could only laugh at her plea for assistance. "I'm afraid the one you call Flame doesn't exist anymore...his body is now my own."
Selema gasped hard. "What…what are you talking about? Who are you?"
The dragon slowly started to walk closer. "I have gone by many a name in my time, but that matters not now." His mouth began to form an evil grin. "What does matter now is what we shall create together."
The pink dragoness felt herself freeze in fear. "What...are you talking about?"
The dragon put his face next to Selema's own. The smell of his breath caused her to cringe in disgust. "Oh…how I've waited patiently for this moment." He licked the side of her face with his tongue, making the pink dragoness immediately feel nauseous. "Oh, the power you hold within you. I can hear it beckoning to me. You surely are a special dragoness, Selema."
Selema was sweating from her shivers by now. It took almost all of her courage to speak again. "W-what do you want? What are you going to do with me?" A part of her didn't even want to know the answer.
"Isn't it obvious?" The dragon looked into her own with a look that made the young dragoness cringe. "I have chosen you as my mate, Selema. Only a female with your kind of power can stand by my side." He put a claw to her face, making her force herself back even more. "Our offspring will be the most powerful dragon this world has ever known…even more powerful than the current purple dragon."
Selema was shaking with fear. As much as she wanted to believe this was a dream, the dragoness knew all too well that this was real.
No…She thought. He won't have me that easily.
If there was ever a good time to use her time powers, it was now. All she had to do was concentrate hard, and she could leap forward or backward to a time she chose.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't plan on mating anytime soon." Selema closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel the power within her. She didn't care what point in time she went, just as long as she got away from this horrible place.
Unfortunately, after a few moments, Selema still found herself pinned down to the stone table. She gasped in shock. "What…? What's going on?" Her powers weren't working!
The dragon watched in delight and laughed out loud at her attempts to escape. "Don't even bother, my dear. I know full well of your ability to move throughout time and space…which is why I took the precautions necessary to ensure your stay with me."
Selema craned her neck towards the wall. Lining them were strange carvings into the stone, ones that which she'd never even seen before. They seemed to be everywhere throughout the room…including under the table she was pinned against.
"What…what are those?" Selema asked.
"Never mind that now," the dragon replied. He slowly kissed Selema's forehead.
Selema grunted in frustration. "Stop right now!" The dragon didn't respond to her plea, continuing to grope her inappropriately. "You're making a big mistake. My friends will find me."
"If you're referring to the purple dragon and my former servant," he interrupted her. "I can promise you that they will never find you. I'm afraid your life belongs to me now, my dear. "
It was only then that Selema fully realized how hopeless her situation really was. After everything that had happened, everything going so well, she was a prisoner once again. She was on her own…again.
Only this time…Matt wouldn't be there to save her.
Matt… Selema thought, her heart fluttering at the though. I wish you were here…more than anything…
The evil dragon laughed. "What is this? Thinking about someone special I see?" Selema growled in anger, unable to hide her thoughts. "That's right, I have the ability to see into the thoughts of another dragon…and their desires as well." He closed his eyes and was silent for a few moments. His face suddenly cringed. "You're thinking about…a human?" The dragon shook his head in disappointment. "I must say, my dear, this may be the most pathetic thing I've ever seen."
Selema's eyes filled with anger over the intrusion of her thoughts. "Shut up!" Even though she was chained down, the dragoness wanted to tear him apart.
The dragon slowly lifted himself up onto the stone tablet. "You've got some spirit in you. I find that quite attractive." He slowly began to stroke Selema's underbelly with his claw.
"Get off of me!" Selema yelled. "Stop!" However, the dragon pinned her down firmly to the stone.
"I'm afraid not, my dear," he replied back with a cold whisper. "I've waited too long for this. You are mine now…"
Selema could only watch in horror as he slowly lowered himself onto her body. There was nothing she could do but close her eyes and brace herself for the worst…
Suddenly, Selema felt the dragon stop just inches away from her. She still didn't dare open her eyes out of terror, but she did manage to hear him speak words of hope.
"What…how can this be?" he whispered. For the first time since he'd spoken, he sounded a little concerned.
The moment that he'd said the words though, a loud explosion rocked the walls of the room. Selema felt as the dragon clung to the table and roar in surprise. She cringed as she felt a cool breeze sweep into the room, perhaps from the outside world? A spark of hope began to fill her spirit at the very idea…
As the dust cleared, Selema saw that a large hole had been formed in the wall next to the entrance. Light from the outside world shined brightly threw it.
The evil red dragon growled in frustration. "Who dares...?" he roared. "This is impossible!"
Suddenly, Selema could see a faint glimpse of a figure moving towards them through the hole As the person came more and more into focus through the dust, her heart skipped a few beats when she realized who it was.
Matt! Selema screamed in her mind. You came!
Matt slowly walked into the cave, his blue Keyblade gripped tightly in his right hand. He raised and pointed it straight for the red dragon. "Let her go…," he simply stated. "Or I'm going to make you…"
Matt watched as the dragon slowly stepped off the stone table. His brown eyes stared into the yellow eyes of his enemy. To his surprise, a smile formed on the lips of the red dragon formerly known as Flame.
"So…you are the Keyblade wielder they speak of," the dragon said with a voice that made Matt's blood curl.
Matt gritted his teeth and growled, his blade still raised. "I said…let her go. This is over, Flame…"
"Matt, it's not Flame!" Selema cried out. "It's someone else!"
"I know…," Matt replied. He couldn't help but shiver at the amount of dark energy that was radiating from the body of the red dragon in front of him, nothing to what he'd felt from Flame earlier. No…this was something different.
"Alright," Matt exclaimed. "Who are you? Tell me!"
The red dragon laughed ominously, his eyes glowing sharply. "I am the ruler of this world and all of those inhabitants...and nothing will stand in my way from accomplishing my goal."
Matt grit his teeth, recognizing that very gaze that even as a child had rocked his very soul. "It can't be…it's impossible."
"As I told Spyro…," the dragon replied with an grin. "I am…eternal."
"Malefor…," Matt exclaimed.
Selema gasped. That name…wasn't it the one who…? The pink dragoness would've fainted were it not the extreme situation.
The red dragon curled his lips. "So…you know of my true name. How clever of you…" He looked over his opponent for a moment. "Tell me boy…how could you have found this place? I made sure that even Spyro couldn't do such a task." Selema had been wondering that exact same thing.
Matt smiled. He raised his opposite arm. The jewel in the middle of his wristband glowed brightly. "You probably failed to see that Selema and I are pretty close."
Selema's eyes widened in realization. She stole a glance at the wristband she'd been given so long ago. How could she have forgotten?
"Don't worry, Selema. I'm going to get you out of here." Matt nodded his head towards her.
"But, Matt…" The young dragoness had heard enough stories about Malefor to know that this wouldn't be an easy fight for her friend.
Malefor stepped out in front of the tablet that the dragoness was chained too. "I'm afraid you've come all this way for nothing. She isn't going anywhere. Selema belongs to me now!"
"Like hell she does!" Matt cried out. It all made sense now…this was what Alta was warning him about! All it took was for Matt to scan Selema's quite vulnerable position what Malefor intended on doing, making him feel disgusted. "I swear if you lay one finger on her…I'll make it the last thing you ever do, you sick freak!"
Malefor chuckled to himself. "I will do whatever I please with this dragoness. I've waited too long for this moment, and I'm not going to let some little human stand in my way!" Suddenly, a powerful dark energy poured from the dragon's body at an alarming rate, coating the entire room in a strange darkness.
"Matt!" Selema cried out.
The Keyblader hurled forward to try and reach her. "Selema! However, it was too late as the shadows surrounded all three of them, Malefor's laughter echoing loud throughout the room.
The next thing Matt knew, he found himself surrounded in a dark plane, only a small light being able to pierce through the darkness that surrounded him.
"Selema! Selema!" Matt called.
Malefor laughed once more, his voice emitting from all sides. "I'm afraid she can't hear you, boy. It's just you and me now. You're in my world now!"
*stunned audience* I know, right?
That's right...Malefor just couldn't stay dead for long could he, huh? You gotta admit, the evil plan I thought up was pretty good. And yes, Flame did all of this of his own free will...which landed him a one-way trip to a double cross! ;)
So now the epic showdown begins! Matt vs. Malefor! Who will emerge victorious? Stay tuned!
Peace out,
Biz