XVI
"Ey, look. Fresh, draconic meat."
"She looks good."
The black dragoness found herself being walked through one of the pirate soldiers ships. The Leader behind her, who smelled of alcohol and blood, kept his eyes ahead, but didn't hesitate to prod her with his spear when she walked to slow. She'd only been on the Captain's massive flying ship armada a few moments now, awaking in a disgusting prison cell to sharp prods in her side by the dog-thing behind her.
She was flown onto this ship, and from the first seconds on board, she's been receiving dirty looks from the many pirates located on board. Many were more closely related to dogs, much like the soldiers she'd previously encountered. Up here, however, she'd found foxes, wolves, moles, cheetahs, and even a few dragons as well.
They often donned eye-patches with striped outfits, like the typical pirates she's seen, along with many body scars and healed wounds.
She couldn't get more than a few feet before one of the male pirates uttered a sexual comment. She wanted to talk back, tell them to shut up or leave her alone, but the shackle around her neck made it difficult for her to manage breathing, much less speaking. As she walked on and on, her vision was blurry, the few words she could uttered were slow and slurred, and she often bumped into things again and again. Her headache worsened and worsened as time went on. Add all of this, with her depression, sadness, and loneliness, and it was official.
Cynder was having a bad day.
"This way," the Leader huffed, yanking on Cynder's chain as he turned down a hallway to their left.
Despite how she felt, she had to admit, the pirates' ships were very nice. These ships were in much better condition than that of the prison ships. The pirates seemed to have their own quarters as well, which was simply a room or two with large, sliding wooden doors as the entrance.
In the nicer ones she saw, there were large red rugs, clean couches, and shelves that held belongings like books or artwork. There were even stores that sold groceries and items for entertainment, though she didn't know how they resupplied when the stores ran out of items.
"W-where... are we... g-going?" She choked out as they walked, the sun shining brightly through the open windows to their left.
"SHUT UP!"
Cynder felt massive hands grab her tail and body firmly and painfully. The Leader lifted her over his head, drawing her behind him for a second.
With unimaginable strength, she was flung into the hard, brown wall, slamming into it and falling onto the floor. She hadn't heard it, but the dragoness knew that bones were shattered, and fresh wounds were created from such an impact. Slowly, she attempted to get up, but simply moving felt like acid was dumped upon her skin.
The leader shook his head in disappointment. "So weak. You won't last long at all, I'm sure of that."
He picked her up again, and slung her over his shoulder. Cynder was asleep within seconds of the up-and-down of his walking.
"Wake up, slave."
Opening her eyes groggily, Cynder found herself on the floor in front of a large desk. Behind it sat who she assumed was the Captain, a massive, disgusting creature in gold and purple armor, decorated with cannons and small treasure chests full of gold. On it, not one, but two parrots sat, one of them being purple, the other orange, the same one she'd met from earlier.
"Give me your name, reptile."
Cynder hesitated, feeling her neck for the shackle that restricted her breathing and speaking.
"Yes, yes, we've removed your little doggy collar so you can breathe and speak comfortably. I wouldn't advise trying anything, however, because this little guy is as strong as ten Commanders." The orange parrot stated.
"I-if you say so." Cynder said dryly.
"Now, your name again."
"My name is Cynder."
"Oh, good. I prefer to refer to my subjects and slaves by their names, if you do not mind. Now," the parrot crossed his wing over himself, like a vampire would. "... about what you said earlier."
"What?"
"You mentioned that you knew of something that would allow us to wish ourselves anything we wanted? See, we would like-"
"Yeah! We want to stomp and roll over those damn fools on the ground, and rule the Earth!" The purple parrot roared, flying around the room in circles, throwing small kicks and swiping the air.
"-if only it were that simple, what with the Dark Guardians and the War brewing on the ground below. That is why Cynder's little proposal is so interesting."
Cynder growled, baring her sharp white teeth at her captors. "You've already captured me, so what can you offer me in return?"
The massive beast arose, reaching for his swords as he glared back at Cynder.
"Calm down, Skabb. I'll handle it from here. Anyway, Ms. Cynder, I have a new proposition. Tell us what we want to hear, and how we can find and hopefully operate this item, and in return, we'll let you live, and we'll provide adequate food and water for you, so no one has to stare at your ribs."
Cynder looked down at her ruined, skinny body, still riddle with small lacerations, cuts, and plenty of blood. On cue, her stomach growled yet again, begging her for something to fill it up, anything.
She didn't falter, however. "No way in hell! I want freedom! I don't wanna be here, forced to live and fight for bastards like you, and idiots like him!" Her claw landed on the Skabb, who frowned and scratched his head, looking offended.
Her outburst was met with a smirk from the parrot. "Oh? Where are you going to return to then? From what I know from my soldiers and various sources, you have no home, no family or friends, and nowhere where you're welcome. Being here, if anything, is a step up, because we'll provide you food and water, just enough for you to survive. Tell me. Will you be better off back down there, thieving for supplies, and making homes in disease-ridden swamps or dangerous caves?"
Body shaking, eyes stinging, lips quivering, it took all of her strength to not break down, right then and there. She already hated her captors dearly, but, she knew he was right. She had nowhere to go, and no one to turn to in her need. She'll die not long after returning to the surface.
"Do you accept our offer?"
More growling from the dragoness continued. She wanted to fight, to turn these bastards into cooked chicken, and slay their captain before their eyes. Her expression softened and she calmed down, her anger replaced with pity and sadness.
She knew she couldn't say no. One way or another, it would appear she was going to die, alone.
"I accept."
Spyro kept his eyes squinted as the sun glared in his face. He was flying out, alone, high in the sky. Below him, through small gaps in the clouds, the dragon could see he flew over an ocean, the waves dancing below him while the sun beamed down on them.
In his paw, he held the stone. It still shined darkly as he held onto it, just as it had back in the temple. It was still early in the morning, and Spyro had only been in the sky maybe half an hour or so. He simply wanted to confirm his suspicions about the gem's new behavior, and he planned to only go out a short distance for a short time, not wanting to terrify anybody in the temple about his sudden disappearance.
Flapping his wings, the young dragon ascended higher, flying through small white clouds. Glancing behind him, he could see the city faintly in the distance, it's massive skyscrapers as skinny as pencils.
He looked back at the stone, which was still pitch-black. He frowned at it, tapping it with a claw, almost convinced that his suspicions were incorrect. He attention was then drawn to the massive shadows on the oceans surface some distance below him. Intrigued, he dived down for a closer look at the shadows, squinting hard as the wind picked up in his face. He slowed up a few hundred feet above, watching the shadows glide across the calm waters.
Spyro's eyes widened as he saw massive sails and spinning blades. He turned around, clutching the stone within his hand tightly. He very nearly dropped out of the sky in fear.
High above him, he saw the the Armada of Skabb, or more accurately of Scratch and Sniff. The Guardians explained to him some time ago about these pirates, and though they were neutral, fighting on no one's side in the war, these pirates were still incredibly insane and dangerous.
Frantically flapping his winds, he took off in the direction of the city. "Darn it! Have they seen me?"
He eyes traveled back to the massive flying armada above him. He could barely see their cannons, some of which had the power to level everything for miles. Surely, they'd seen him, as he was high into the air only a moment ago. If they had, however, they would've been shooting armies of magically enhanced cannonballs by now.
Yet, the ships continued on, oblivious to the lucky prize that flew worriedly below them. Spyro calmed down, watching the pirates as they flew slowly, heading in the direction of the city.
His paws grew sweaty now. The last thing they needed was a surprise attack on the already weakened and rebuilding city. No one there was in any condition to fight, besides Hunter, the Guardians, a few trained guards and warriors, and himself. Even so, they would be outnumbered, and it wouldn't take much effort or time to devastate the city.
He hurried back to the city, laying low as he flew. He didn't have too much time, but he had to at least alert everyone before all their hopes of peace are annihilated, literally, before their very eyes.
"I assume that Spyro simply went out for a moment. There's nothing to worry about."
Ignitus calmly explained to a worried guard, who checked the purple dragon's room moments earlier.
The red dragon walked into his friends room, seeing the covers thrown off of the bed, the window open as a gentle breeze blew in, and Spyro's desk a complete mess.
He chuckled to himself. Such behavior was typical for a teenage dragon, and Spyro was no different. Still, he would ask him to clean up later, since no one liked to come into dirty, unkempt living quarters.
A loud crash to his left made the dragon jump. He whipped around to the source of the sound, to find the purple dragon, who reeked of the salty ocean, panting on the floor, his desk toppled behind him.
"Spyro? Where have you been?"
The purple dragon's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He jumped to his paws quickly, his expression stern and serious. "Ignitus, we've got a problem. On their way here, are Skavengers."
Ignitus frowned, "Skavengers? Are you sure about this, young one?"
Spyro nodded grimly. "While I was out, I saw them, the entire armada, flying in our direction. I don't know what they want, or why they're hear, but I don't think it's anything good."
Ignitus caught the stone within Spyro's hand, and it's interesting new green glow. He raised eyebrows that weren't there. "What has happened to the stone?"
Looking down at it, and noticing it's new green glare, the dragon nearly smiled. I was right!
He returned his gaze to his friend. "I'll explain that later, but first, we need to do something about the Skavengers."
"Hmm. Allow me to confirm this, young one."
The Guardians were all gathered within Spyro's room later that day, with the Guardians standing around, and Spyro on the bed, listening in as they discussed.
"Perfect. The Guardians gain miles and miles of territory day by day, thousands of us die with each battle, and now, these bastards want something?" Volteer seethed.
"Calm down now, my friend. They are passing close by, but they would've attacked us long ago if they wanted to defeat us." Terrador theorized. "Should we propose an agreement with them?"
"What are you getting at, Terrador?"
"It's clear that we don't want to fight, and they're pirates that are known for their stealing of supplies and killing of innocents along the way. If we agree to negotiate with them if they are hostile to us, then we can agree to peace if we provide them with supplies and other items."
Volteer glared at him. "You mean to negotiate with those fiends? You like to multitask I see, fighting a war while negotiating with other threats as well, while hundreds die each day, and we sit here, doing nothing, every single damn day."
"Volteer, I think-"
"No! Those bastards kill, kill, kill, and corrupt our world with every second they are alive. This war has been going on for over a DECADE now, and we've been sitting here, just mob bosses who call the shots and plan out our attacks. We should be out there! Fighting! Those Skavengers should know to not come anywhere near our cities! To hell with them, and the Dark Guardians! I cannot sit here while my own friends are stabbed, burned, beaten, raped, and destroyed!"
"Volteer!" Ignitus roared. The electric Guardian gave him a glare that could've melted planets. Electricity danced over his body as he seethed in rage.
"You and I both know the risks of just running out into battle! Need I remind you what happened to OUR PARENTS, and OUR LOVED ONES!?"
The wind blew gently in the silence after Ignitus's outburst.
"We all must stay alive if we are to defeat them one day. You'll risk everything if you go out and challenge their army. I am sorry, Volteer, my friend, but we must stay put."
Volteer shook his head, the mini-storm around him intensifying. He pushed himself out of the room to cool off.
Spyro changed the subject. "The wishing stone, Ignitus, I think I know what it's doing."
The Guardians looked at their young friend, who held the gem in his hand. Still, it glowed green upon his touching.
Spyro dropped the gem onto his bed, and it shined it's usual spectrum. "Every time I drop it, it goes like this. But..." he picked the stone up again. It changed back to green, "... I pick it up, and it returns to this. It's been like this since this morning."
"What do you make of it then, Spyro?"
"It's a possibility, but, do you remember how the Skavengers have a huge amount of treasure within their ships? What if, another piece of the stone is within one of their ships. It would make sense, because it's been only today that the gems have been acting like this."
"It is definitely a possibility, however, if a piece actually is up there, how are we going to get it from them?"
Spyro smiled. "You guys can't fight, and go to life threatening places right? Well, I can."
The dragon saw the uncertainty form immediately in his friends eyes, but his smile didn't falter. "I want to infiltrate the armada, and steal the gem piece."
This chapter was hard to write. Schools out for me, so I will be able to put more time into chapter production. SUMMER OR BUST!
Ahero