Liun's laugh rang loud in Cynder's ears.
"No! This can't be happening!" She screamed in her mind. Liun took a slow step towards her and Cynder's heart began to race even more. "No! Stay away from me!" She wailed silently. Liun reached up and slowly dragged his claws down from her lower back to the base of her tail letting her feel the darkness of his plans sink into her. Dark magic began to surround the dragon's paw and spread across the rest of his body. The evil energy rose up overhead as Malefor began to take shape in the air above them. His ugly muzzle scrunched into a vile sneer. Liun stood up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on Cynder's hips.
Cynder felt tears fill her eyes and she squeezed them shut, not wanting to see what was going to happen. "No! Somebody! Anybody! Help me! Spyro! Help me!" She cried her thoughts carrying far across the forest beyond the cave.
Miles away, Spyro lay asleep beside the campfire. He had managed to get to sleep a little while ago but now he was beginning to twitch in his slumber. All of a sudden he heard a desperate scream ring inside his head.
"Spyro! Help me!"
The purple dragon's eyes snapped wide open. "Cynder!" He shouted.
"What?" The other guardians jerked awake.
Spyro's eyes flashed with convexity and his body began to glow with golden energy. In a flash he disappeared. Sparx, who had been sleeping on his back fell to the ground and woke with a jolt.
"Hey! What's going on?" He yawned as he looked around the circle of confused faces.
Spyro shot across the sky like a golden missile. He felt his dragoness's desperation and it had triggered something deep within him. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on; all he knew was that he needed to get to Cynder.
"Hang on Cynder! I'm coming!" His voice echoed across the time-frozen horizon.
Liun licked his lips in anticipation as he looked down at Cynder. "I promise you that this isn't going to be pleasant."
Cynder squealed desperately trying to get away. Liun moved himself closer to her tail and brushed it to the side. Cynder whipped her tail around and stabbed him in the back. Liun grunted against the pain.
"You bitch, you shouldn't have done that." He shrugged away from her blade and dug his claws into her hips. "You're going to suffer for that one even more now." He felt his hemipenes swell inside him as he glared down at the black dragoness.
Suddenly an infuriated roar echoed throughout the cavern. Liun, Malefor and the wolves paused and looked around. The wolves whimpered like little puppies and their tails tucked between their legs. Their grip on Cynder began to loosen but Liun snarled at them.
"Hold her damn you!"
Just then the earth shook. There was a loud crash and the thunder of breaking stone. The wolves yelped and stood up, grasping their weapons, ready to fight but also ready to flee. All of a sudden a large object smashed through the roof of the cave. The spiked boulder slammed into the ground, sending a ripple through the earth and knocking the wolves off their feet.
"What the hell?" Liun gasped. The boulder spun wildly and rushed towards them. Just before the ball hit, Spyro burst from his protective shield and fired an earth missile. The attack struck the nearest wolf in the chest and sent it smashing into the far wall.
The second wolf didn't have time to react to his comrade being hit. Spyro lunged and tackled the wolf to the ground and charged up a bolt of electricity. He fired at point blank range into the wolf's chest causing the beast to howl in pain as its heart began to beat out of control and suddenly burst. Spyro turned his blazing purple eyes on Liun and Malefor. Spyro snarled and bared his teeth. Liun took a cautious step backwards.
"Where did you come from? How?"
"Stay yourself!" Malefor snapped at the black dragon before turning back to Spyro. "You will soon be dealt with young dragon. This will be the final stage for you."
"You tried to hurt my friend and my mate," Spyro hissed, bolts of lightning cracking around his teeth. "That's unforgivable!"
"Spyro..." Cynder whispered as he took up a protective stance in front of her. "But you're..." She could see the way his faded purple scales were nearly turning silver.
"I know Cynder," Spyro muttered. He was already feeling exhausted from the use of his power. "And I don't care. I'm here to protect you like I promised."
Cynder stared up at him with pure awe and admiration in her eyes. She suddenly felt a new power rise up within herself as well. She got to her feet and took her place at her mate's side. Both dragons hissed angrily and spread their wings wide.
"Let's do this!" Liun growled and began to emanate with dark magic. Malefor roared and lunged for Spyro while Liun took after Cynder again. Both dragons crisscrossed paths and struck the opposite opponent. Spyro slammed his tail across Liun's face while Cynder unleashed a wave of black fire at Malefor. The dark dragons bellowed angrily. Liun hit the ground hard and Malefor shrank back from the attack.
Spyro and Cynder hit the ground running and charged in again. Spyro curled into a ball of earth and slammed into Liun. The black dragon cried out from the crushing force that smashed him into the wall. In reaction to his pain, Malefor hollered in agony as well.
"Spyro!" Cynder shouted as she unleashed another blast of shadow fire at the Dark Master.
"I'm on it!" Spyro nodded as he burst from his shield. He fired a volley of earth bullets at Liun who dove out of the way. The blasts hit the wall and cracked the stone. The entire cave shook violently as the stalactites began to fall all around the dragons. Malefor watched as the boulders came crashing down from the roof of the cave. Liun dove out of the way, nearly getting crushed in the process. Malefor turned back to Spyro and Cynder and glared at them before returning to Liun's body.
"Spyro! The cave!" Cynder shouted over the crashing rocks and rolled to the side.
"I know!" Spyro hollered back. He looked up in time to see a large boulder fall from the ceiling. "Look out!" He shoved Cynder out of the way and rolled away using his time control ability. Cynder hit the floor, surprised by the sudden speed of the purple dragon. Spyro got to his feet and looked desperately at her. "Get close to me! Hurry!"
Cynder ran over to him, dodging two more boulders in the process. Spyro draped a wing around her when she was close enough. "Spyro! I don't want to be frozen, trapped in a cave for another three years!"
"You won't be!" Spyro assured her. He began to glow with golden energy. Cynder felt herself lift off the floor as she hovered next to Spyro. As she looked around she saw the falling rocks begin to slow down.
"What's going on?" She cried.
Spyro didn't answer; he was too busy concentrating. The golden energy surrounding him and Cynder suddenly took off through the roof of the cave. Cynder watched as she and Spyro soared into the fading night sky. Down below she could see the wolves cavern village crumble to the ground. She wondered if Liun had survived the cave in. Her thoughts were interrupted when Spyro brought the orb to a halt above the forest. The golden light disappeared and the two dragons began to flap their wings naturally.
"What was that?" Cynder asked Spyro with wide astonished eyes.
"Purple dragons have the ability to control time." Spyro replied as he gasped for breath. "The chronicler taught me how to use this power just before the Night of Eternal Darkness." He gasped and stumbled in the air.
"Spyro!" Cynder gasped and dove to catch him.
"I'm alright," Spyro assured her, "Just a little tired."
"You're really getting weak aren't you?" Cynder gave him a worried look.
"It's nothing, really." Spyro gave her a smile to try and cheer her up. "I'm just glad you're okay."
Cynder felt hot tears at the rims of her eyes. She suddenly burst out crying and wrapped her arms around Spyro. The purple dragon grunted at suddenly having to carry her weight but said nothing about it. He hugged her close to him and kissed the markings on her head.
"I'll never let you down Cynder," Spyro whispered. "No one will ever hurt you as long as I'm alive to do something about it."
"I know..." Cynder sobbed, her tears dripping down her muzzle onto Spyro's chest scales. "I'm sorry I worried you. I was trying to protect you and I nearly got..."
"Shh..." Spyro murmured. "You're going to be fine. I meant what I said when I told you no one would hurt you. I'm just thankful you called me when you did."
Cynder looked up into his glowing amethyst eyes. "Called you?"
"Yeah. I heard you screaming for me to help you."
"Oh." Cynder felt her cheeks flush.
Spyro nuzzled her snout with his. "Come on. Let's get going. I'm sure the others are wondering where I disappeared to."
"Right." Cynder nodded. She gave one last look at the fallen mountain before turning back to the east.
Far below in the cover of the trees Liun burst free from the pile of boulders. He coughed and sneezed from the thick dust. He was covered in cuts and scrapes. Blood trickled from a gash across his forehead and into his eye. His left foot was bleeding badly but he ignored the pain as he glared at the two dragons flying away into the distance.
"What are you waiting for?" Malefor demanded. "This hunt is far from over."
Liun growled angrily. "They have no idea." With an aggravated heave he took to the air after Spyro and Cynder.
Disclaimer:
I received many shocked notes and messages about the last chapter. I find nothing funny about sexual harassment or rape as I'm sure a lot of you do feel the same. I could never bring myself to write from Cynder's point of view to its full extent. All I can do is write from my own experience.
A lot of the events in AoH are based around events in my life. These past two were written after my best friend was taken advantage of and molested right under my nose, not even fifteen feet away from me and without me even realizing it until it was too late. The worst part is was that it was someone I thought was a friend and that I trusted from my childhood.
Chapter 87 was written because I still feel guilty to this day for not noticing something so horrible happening to my best friend in the world. Every day I wish that I could go back and redo the past and save her from such a horrible fate. This chapter was written as a reflection of my thoughts on what I wish I could have done. I wish I could have been a real friend and saved her and kept a closer eye on her.
*sigh* At any rate, Cynder is lucky to have a purple dragon like Spyro around when she needs him. The actions Spyro takes I feel are very merciful for what Liun gets; I know. I wish I could do more to 'him' for what he did, but...*sigh*
Certo: Later guys. I need a moment to calm down.