Confusion of Time

Confusion became Spyro's ruling sensation, blocking out pain, relief and exhaustion. Hundreds of questions buzzed around in his head like tiny hornets. Spyro closed his eyes and tried to think clearly however it was a futile attempt. Chattering and complaining was Sparx's way of calming down. Cynder was still unconscious and as such oblivious to what was going on. Watching the steady rise and fall of her sides as she breathed helped Spyro to focus his thoughts. He came up with three questions that he prioritised. What is going on? Is Cynder going be to be OK? Who could tell us what happened?

"Well at least the last question is easy to answer." Spyro muttered to himself "The Chronicler,"

No sooner had the name escaped his lips a sliver of warm fire pulsed through the purple dragon's veins.

"That's weird; every time the Chronicler is mentioned I get the same feeling. That is another question to ask him."

Spyro made a mental note to ask everyone to not mention the Chronicler's name as the fire surged through him again. It wasn't really uncomfortable however it was slightly disconcerting. Sparx hovered beside his brother for ten minutes before he was acknowledged.

"Hey Spyro Cynder's awake."

Spyro had been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn't noticed the dragoness wake up.

"What happened?" she asked groggily looking around.

The sun was quite low in the sky and the shadows it cast on the lush green land. The grass looked greener and fresher than it had done before the fight. The few trees that dotted the plain were dark and sinister looking, as if they were waiting for something to foolishly cross their path. They were in the same place but how much it had changed troubled Cynder.

"How much do you remember?" Spyro asked, lying down beside Cynder.

"Everything about becoming evil and the fight we had. I also know how much I hurt you and I am so sorry."

"Don't be it wasn't you're fault, anything else?"

"Then I fired a darkness attack and it clashed with a kind of dragon attack. Then there was a flash of light. That's it." She ended shakily. "Yeah yeah just great," snapped Sparx grumpily "Now none of us know what happened."

Cynder looked at him and was about to speak when Sparx continued

"Ah well at least you aren't trying to kill us anymore,"

Cynder dropped her head onto her chest in shame and started to cry. Spyro hugged her with is wing and was put off guard as she put her head against his chest. Cynder was a bit startled when Spyro's blood trickled onto the mark on her forehead. Even so the young dragoness did not pull away. Amethyst blades that were as cold as ice pierced Sparx. Spyro gave the dragonfly an I'll-talk-to-you-later look; the dragonfly reeled under the force of the glare. Tears flowed like a river down Cynder round black cheek. Like glistening diamond they hung on her chin for a brief moment before splashing onto Spyro's chest. She cried for an hour and it was terrible to watch as her black body shake with grief. Finally she raised her head 'which was now covered in blood' and wiped away the tears with her paw. Spyro reached up and brushed a stray tear from her chin with his purple claw. Cynder smiled at him. This was the only warning she gave before kissing Spyro on his brow. The purple dragon looked at her in surprise; Cynder blushed and turned away totally embarrassed.

Suddenly Spyro staggered to his feet wincing from the agony of the simple action. He limped away from Cynder.

"Where are you going?" she asked nervously. Spyro didn't answer; instead he stood next to the Life Crystal he had drained earlier hoping it had recharged. It had. Gingerly he placed his talon on the clear red surface and shuddered as a tingling sensation healed him of his injuries. Wearily Cynder walked over to Spyro.

"Spyro I'm sorry I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry about it" whispered Spyro distantly.

She blinked, concealing her entrancing emerald eyes for an instant. Three words hung at the tip of her tongue but the young dragoness suppressed them just in time. Instead she smiled at Spyro. Sparx buzzed in between the two dragons and broke the awkward silence between them.

"When are we going to go see Mum and Dad," he whined pitifully.

"Tomorrow Sparx I promise. We just really need to think before going to see them."

"And we need to know if she is safe to be around them," said Sparx tactlessly as he glanced at Cynder.

Cynder whirled round and stalked away from them, her tail ripping up clods of earth as it thrashed furiously across the ground. Spyro rounded on Sparx. Anger was evident in his violet eyes.

2Sparx stop bit please. I can't take you two bickering anymore and it's generally you who starts it. Cynder is possessed by something called Darkness and it is not her fault. So lay off her please lay off her. I'm possessed by darkness too and you don't argue with me about it," Spyro growled.

"Well just for the record you haven't tried to kill me."

"Oh why do I bother?" Spyro rolled his eyes (He was not very good at being angry at anyone for long especially Sparx) 2Give her some slack and don't be so tactless please."

"Alright bro I get the message sheesh."

Cynder was a good way away from that pain in the ass Sparx when she started to slow down. At first she was confused and tied to quicken her pace but couldn't. A nearby bush caught her attention and she was astounded. The leaves were moving unnaturally slowly and had acquired an eerie blue tint as had the grass and the trees. Everything around Cynder was painstakingly slow and this gave the atmosphere an eerie ghostly aura. A shift in the air made Cynder clutch her head as a dizziness came over her. Suddenly everything sped up until the landscape was a blur in Cynder's confused eyes. Cynder sprinted back to Spyro and was amazed at how quickly she got there.

"Did you guys feel that," she panted when she reached them

Spyro nodded. Without warning the young dragon keeled over in pain as everything stopped completely. Cynder and Sparx stared at him; horror and anxiety etched across their faces. The landscape had changed from blue to a dead grey like a graveyard. A few leaves that had fallen of the trees had stopped in mid air and hung their like spectres from another world. Shivers ran through Spyro's body as he slowly stirred. Relief emanated from Cynder and Sparx as Spyro opened his eyes and sat up on his haunches.

"Good grief I think Time is distorted or something."

Halting as another pain launched up his body made Spyro realise that Time had started again. It was flitting between slow and fast like a starving wolf at a buffet. (Please forgive the simile).

"Ugh I hope this returns to normal soon. Otherwise this pain is going to drive me insane. Luckily our speech is not affected." Growled Spyro as a fresh wave of pain disrupted his thoughts.

"You do know this could have something to do with the end of our fight Cynder."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when we were encased... In that light, only around a minute passed for us however to Sparx it was hours."

"Are you sure he wasn't just impatient?" asked Cynder her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Contrary to you're hypothesis," launched in Sparx "I am a very patient dragonfly SO SHUT UP YOU EVIL BLACK HEARTED WITCH."

Taken aback by Sparx's scream, Cynder was silent for the rest of the conversation. Spyro was about to snap at the both of them; Sparx changed the subject.

"Hey why don't you ask the Chronicle…?"

"Sparx don't say the name please.

He winced as the pain intensified as Time stopped again. This time however he was able to remain conscious. Cynder and Sparx looked at him as if the Time disruption was affecting his brain.

2Sorry it's just every time the Chronicler…" he paused, shivered then continued. "…Is mentioned a fiery feeling shoots through me."

Sparx and Cynder nodded their understanding. Spyro smiled. Clutching his head a second later made Spyro, Cynder and Sparx look at the sky.

The formerly blue sky was now alive with colour and light. Reds, greens, blues, purples, pinks, and yellows writhed around each other like serpents and bathed the three watchers in a wash of colour. Spyro looked at Cynder and burst out laughing even though he was now hurting more than ever. She looked totally ridiculous as she was now multicoloured and blinking furiously. One of his eyes was closed due to the intense pain in addition to this his whole body was shaking with the effort to remain upright. The young dragon had bags under his eyes because of the effort from trying to resist the urge to keel over again. The colours all melded together and formed pure silver light that hurt the dragon's eyes to watch. The trio were entranced by the spectacle before them and no matter how hard they tried it was impossible to tear their eyes away from it. The silver twisted and danced casting weird fantastic shadows that flickered as if alive. The group of youngsters felt something stir in the very essence of their beings Spyro was the most affected. The silver colour contracted into a small pulsing sphere and then disappeared as suddenly as it had come. The sky returned to normal and so did something else as well. Time.

Spyro, Cynder and Sparx looked at each other in wonder for ages. By the time a rare peaceful silence was broken dusk was already clouding the land.

"I think time is back to normal. It doesn't hurt anymore." Spyro smiled, utterly relieved.

It was Spyro's turn to hunt however Cynder took pity on him because he was still trembling and went hunting for them despite Spyro's protests. She launched herself into the sky to look for prey. Spotting a herd of cattle in the distance; Cynder pulled one wing in slightly and angled towards them. Gliding on silent wings so as not to startle the herd Cynder picked out a young calf on the edge of the herd. Suddenly Cynder dropped like a stone onto the calf. The force behind the attack shattered the calf's back killing it instantly. Satisfied, Cynder hooked the kill with her talons and laboriously took flight. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she was back with Spyro and Sparx. The calf had been heavier than it looked and now her flight muscles were on fire. Spyro and Cynder ate their fill and Sparx ate butterflies even though they gave him gas (clear the room gas if you know what I mean). Cynder and Sparx had reverted back to glaring at making snide comments about each other. Spyro just groaned. Wearily he stood up, shook the dust from his scales and strolled away to think by himself. Cynder and Sparx were too busy arguing to notice.

Spyro's POV: I was sick and tired of them constantly getting down each others throats. Didn't they realise that what happened today was worth far more consideration than endless bickering. I settled down on a soft clump of grass and laid my head on my paws. Thinking about what had happened today. Could the sheer force of the collision from the Dragon attack and the dark attack really have caused the Time distortion? What was worse was that there was no one to ask. I sighed. The guardians might know but it was unlikely because this was not their field. The Chronicler would know however I can't get to him from here. I was at a loss and the only dragon that could comfort me had perished in the Belt of Fire. I reached up and rubbed away the moisture that was gathering beneath my eyes. Raising my head I turned to look at Cynder. My heart skipped a beat. I had feelings for the dragoness that I knew she would never ever return. Even though I did realise that if I didn't tell her I would never know if she felt the same way, I just couldn't. I was terrified. Sure I've fought countless fear provoking enemies; including Malefor himself however this chilled me to the bone. Having my heart broken was something I didn't want to face. Unexpectedly I yawned as a warm tiredness spread across my body along my aching limbs and down to my toes. I yawned again before promptly falling asleep.

Meanwhile in a huge cave made of gemstones a large dragon was pacing. Her scales glittered with every hue of imaginable: gold, pink, silver, blue, and green. The colours were always shifting and sparkling in an entrancing way and if you stared at them too long you would lose yourself in the myriad of sparkling lights. She was slim with large violet wings that were so clean and whole they could have belonged to a hatchling. A huge elegant crest ran from her forehead down to the base of her tail. Claws as sharp as ice protruded from gemlike paws. Her wing blades and tail blade were light blue and as lethal as a trio of cobras. Two silver horns siraled above huge kind, compassionate blue eyes with so much depth it was like staring into the sea. Ther was also something odd about this dragon. Underneath the gemlike colours that flickered across her scales one could make out a peculiar base colour. Purple…?

Well I hope you like chapter 7 everybody. I know I enjoyed writing it. Spyro will probably pluck up the courage to reveal his feelings to Cynder soon so. Again review this chapter out of ten and don't be too harsh if you didn't like the chapter. If I have to work on something then tell me and if you want drop in a tip or helper then please do.