Here's the next chapter. A good part is Spyro trying to make inner peace with himself. It does get detailed only because I have used this method to make peace with my past, which I'm not proud of. The drifting into other plains never happened, but it would be sweet to have that happen. Any bold print is Marthaeter speaking, just wanted to clear up any confusion that may occur. Enjoy. R&R please.

Chapter 7: The War Has Begun

A week had passed and Spyro was learning the powers that the Chronicler was teaching him.

"Clear your mind Spyro," the Chronicler said, "Now think about orb of energy in front of you. Command it with your mind. Make it move."

Spyro had his eyes shut and was concentrating. The orb twitched and rolled off its base. After a few seconds of it rolling it stopped. Spyro tried again to move it, but nothing happened. Spyro tried one last time and the orb floated in the air, an inch above the ground.

"Good," the Chronicler praised, "Now go and mediate until you have become part of a different plane."

"What?" Spyro asked.

"You will find out when you achieve it," the Chronicler said with a smile.

Spyro left and flew to a small island alcove right next to the Temple of Time. He sat down and closed his eyes, clearing his mind. He mediated and found himself drifting through all that he has done. Playing with Sparx when he was younger, breathing fire, meeting Ignitus, freeing Cynder, the Night of Eternal Darkness, defeating the Dark Master, Sparx' death, meeting Shadedulath, losing himself to Convexity, and being with Cynder.

He was forced to stop because of the flood of different emotions. He returned to the Chronicler and told him that he couldn't concentrate.

"Why not, young dragon?" he asked.

"I saw my past all at once and it overwhelmed me," Spyro explained.

"That is what you master before you can drift into other planes with your mind," the Chronicler replied, "You must master your emotions. Go and relax we will continue tomorrow."

"Thank you," Spyro said as he left.

Cynder entered Spyro and her room and saw Spyro mediating. She quietly exited and allowed him to finish. She stopped as she heard him say something. She listened more closely.

"No, no, not again," Spyro said, "I want to stop this."

She saw him begin to cry and she ran over to him. She held him close and whispered, "Spyro I'm here, what's wrong?"

"My past it won't leave," Spyro cried, "It continues to torture me. I don't want to see it."

"Oh, but you do," the Dark Master said in his mind.

"No get out!" he shouted, "I hate you. Get out of my head and leave me alone."

"I can not leave," the Dark Master explained, "Ever since the Night of Eternal Darkness I have been in your mind."

"I didn't wish for any of this," Spyro shouted, "I didn't want this power. I didn't want to be in these wars, I didn't want to be a hero! I want a normal life!"

"You didn't want Cynder then either?" the Dark Master questioned.

"Of course not," Spyro yelled in rage, "I love her. Nothing you can do will stop me from loving her and you wouldn't be able to harm her or take her away!"

"You said that you and her will never have a normal life," he laughed, "You both will be scarred from these times."

"Get out!" Spyro desperately shouted.

Cynder knew this was going too far so she stepped in. "Shhh. Spyro I have you," Cynder said comfortingly, "I love you, just talk to me, ignore him. He speaks of only lies and darkness. Talk to me, telling how much you love me."

"Cynder…I…can't stop him," Spyro whispered.

She locked lips with him and he seemed to calm down. She broke and he hugged her, "Thank you Cynder, thank you."

"What happened?" she asked.

"I was mediating and my memories flooded my mind and I couldn't control them all. He then came in and I was so angry and then…you saved me," Spyro softly said.

"I'll always be here for you my love," Cynder reassured, "And I will always love you no matter what happens."

"Thank you," Spyro said starting to regain control of his emotions, "Cynder how do you get rid of these memories?"

"What memories?" asked Cynder hoping she could help.

"The bad ones that haunt you," Spyro replied, "The ones that make you feel helpless and weak, knowing that you could have stopped it somehow."

Cynder rested her head on his and whispered, "You can't really. I have so many of those. I just think of the happier times when I remember those thoughts. Like the time I spend with you."

Spyro nodded and whispered, "I love you Cynder, forever."

"I love you too forever," Cynder responded.

The next day Spyro tried mediating again. He approached it with a different mind frame. He decided to embrace the memories, he merely was a spectator not the writer of the past.

All of the memories flooded his mind, but he remained unaffected. He simply watched the different events pass by. After the memories ceased there was nothing but stillness. His mind was blank. He was about to open his eyes when he saw a faint light that slowly grew brighter. It was the only source of light, which gave Spyro hope. The light continued to grow and Spyro began to see more than just the light, but other unusual objects. Large clouds of every color floated past him and soon there were massive spheres that seemed to move around the light that he saw. He finally realized that he was looking at a star.

"This most be a different world or something," he said, "Those spheres most be planets. So this is what the Chronicler meant."

He continued, intrigued by this fascinating place. He took in everything that he could. The entire area was beautiful and it made him wonder how he could reach this place. He thought that he had seen enough and retreated to his mind.

He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he had just seen. He went to find the Chronicler to share what he had seen.

Spyro entered the Hall of Time where the giant hourglass and part of the library was. He didn't find the Chronicler anywhere.

He proceeded to the rear of the room where a door lay. It was slightly open and when Spyro approached a voice said, "Come in young dragon."

Spyro entered into the dark room and found the Chronicler sitting in the middle of the room.

"Come sit Spyro," the Chronicler said, "I have a feeling you have become one of all realms?"

"I believe so Chronicler," Spyro replied, "I'm unsure though."

"Did you mediation turn into this?" the Chronicler asked.

The room changed and a small sun appeared in front of them surrounded by clouds of many colors and planets.

"Yes!" Spyro said excitedly, "That is exactly what I saw."

"Then you have mastered the ability to control your own mind," the Chronicler said, "Now you must learn to block foreign invaders from your mind."

"And how do I do that?" asked Spyro.

"Concentrate on what you love the most and hold onto it," the Chronicler instructed, "Remember that if you fail, you lose what is most important to you."

Spyro prepared to defend himself. He had just got his defense ready when the Chronicler invaded his mind. The Chronicler drilled deep into Spyro's mind sifting through thoughts, memories, and ideas. Spyro countered the Chronicler's attack before he entered memories that were too personal for anyone to know, but him and Cynder.

He forced the Chronicler back with unmatched force, which caused the Chronicler to physically fall to the floor.

Spyro opened his eyes once the attack faded and he saw the ancient dragon recovering from his mental strike.

"I'm sorry," Spyro stammered, "I…I didn't mean to."

"It's fine Spyro," the Chronicler returned, "I had no idea that you had such strength. You should be able to protect yourself from any enemy."

"Is that all you need of me?" Spyro asked.

"Yes," the Chronicler said, "I'm assuming that you wish to be with Cynder?"

"Yes," Spyro replied.

"I will make sure that you are not disturbed then by anyone," the Chronicler stated.

"Thank you," Spyro responded.

Spyro met up with Cynder a half hour later. They walked around the island to find a suitable location to relax. They couldn't find a spot so they went back inside and went to their room. Once there they settled on their bed and curled up next to each other.

Cynder nuzzled her snout into the side of Spyro's neck. Spyro growled gently tell her that he liked her be so close. He ran his tail spike along her tail and she purred.

"I love you," she whispered warmly.

"I love you too," Spyro whispered back with the same tone.

"So how was your training today?" Cynder asked.

"Better," Spyro replied, "I overcame my memories and became part of a different reality. It was dark, but it had a star and planets like ours going around the sun. It was amazing."

Cynder purred more loudly as she enjoyed Spyro's tail that continued to run up and down her tail.

"Although, nothing compared to how amazing you are," Spyro whispered.

Cynder opened an eye and looked at Spyro who was smiling at her. She returned the smile and reached up with her head a licked Spyro on the cheek. "As are you," Cynder replied.

"Thank you," Spyro said as he laid his head on her forehead.

Cynder smiled and repositioned her head comfortably against Spyro's neck. She began to lick it and felt Spyro twitch. She continued to lick his neck until Spyro tickled her sides. She yelped in surprise and swatted at his arms. He only laughed and Cynder soon joined him in his laughter.

When their laughter died down they looked into each other's eyes and held the gaze for several minutes. They enjoyed looking into their mate's eyes. The eyes of one another said so much and they took it all in. They finally broke the gaze as they kissed. They broke and Cynder replaced her head against Spyro's neck and Spyro placed his head on Cynder's forehead and there they fell asleep.

About an hour into Spyro's rest, he was disturbed by a familiar entity.

"Spyro," the voice said.

Spyro ignored it.

"Spyro," it said with a dark tone.

"Go away Malefor," Spyro replied, "I'm not interested in your lies."

"Oh, but this time I bringing tidings of the future," Malefor said with a smile.

"Fine," Spyro said.

"Marthaeter has found out that you can resist his influence," Malefor explained, "He will now force more Convexitial energy into you to counter this new power of yours."

"He won't succeed," Spyro plainly said, "I'll kill him first."

"So you think," Malefor laughed.

"Leave me!" Spyro shouted.

"Why?" Malefor asked, "I like to irritate you, especially after you killed me."

Spyro threw up his mental defense and threw the Dark Master out of his mind.

He woke up and looked around the room. Cynder was staring at him with worry written all over her face.

"Spyro are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Spyro replied, "The Dark Master stopped by and kicked him out."

"I heard," Cynder said, "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing, just more lies," Spyro responded.

He tried to fall back asleep, but Cynder stopped him and asked, "Spyro seriously what did he tell you? You need to tell me."

He sighed, "He said that because I have found a way to prevent Convexity's control over me, Marthaeter is going to try to continue to over influence me to counter my new ability. I hope I can hold out."

"You will Spyro and if you can't then I'm here to help you," Cynder replied nuzzling him, "I love you."

"I love you too Cynder," Spyro replied.

They fell back asleep quickly in each other's arms.

A few days passed and Shadedulath was preparing to leave the White Isles with all his forces. The Chronicler advised him to wait until the end of the week since Marthaeter was going to send forces to the White Isles.

"Why should we wait we can defeat them at sea before they even come close to these sacred islands," Shadedulath argued.

"No, the fleet that he will send will be destroyed by a terrible storm that will come in two days," the Chronicler explained, "But that is not the only thing that will happen that night I fear."

"What do you mean, Lord of Time?" Shadedulath asked.

"A darkness is on the horizon and I fear that it is stronger then Marthaeter," the ancient dragon replied.

"Let us pray then for the best," the black robed human said.

Two nights later Spyro was disturbed in his sleep as he felt a sudden surge of energy. He carefully got up without waking Cynder and left the room. He walked outside of the Temple of Time and looked at the sky. It was dark and gloomy. Exactly what his heart felt like.

Cynder woke up noticing that Spyro was gone.

"Oh no," she said to herself, "This can't be good."

She sprinted out of the room to find Spyro. She came to the exit and just saw Spyro take off.

"Where are you going?" she whispered. She jumped into the air and followed him.

Both dragons failed to notice though the shadowy figure off to the right a thousand feet. He watched them fly and jumped from ruin to ruin that surround the island, following the dragons.

Spyro landed on a small alcove island that he had used several days earlier for meditation. He looked around the small island, nothing but rock. He tapped into Convexity, turning his scales black and eyes glowing dark purple. He fired a beam of Convexity out towards the vast expanse of water, letting out all his energy.

Cynder landed and saw the power of Convexity being used.

"No," she thought, "Spyro."

Once she landed Spyro ceased the beam and turned towards her saying, "Cynder. You won't be able to free him this time."

"Who are you and what did you do to him?" Cynder yelled.

"I'm Marthaeter and I simply gave him more power," he said through Spyro.

"Give him back," Cynder demanded, "He only wants to live a normal life in peace."

"I can't allow that though," Marthaeter replied, "He can destroy my forces at his will and can challenge me. Though I would kill him, I would rather not lose my forces to such a pest."

"He will destroy you," Cynder growled, "Once I free him."

"Try all you want," he said, "I'll not interfere."

Cynder took a step forward towards Spyro, but stopped when Spyro roared. She took another step, which sounded a growl from Spyro. She refused to back down and continued to advance towards him. She was ten feet away when she dared to speak.

She gently asked, "Spyro? Are you still there my love?"

Spyro seemed to remember the name, but continued to hold his defensive stance.

"Spyro," Cynder said a little louder, "It's me Cynder, your black dragoness."

A deep and greatly distorted voice asked, "Who?"

"Cynder," she replied, "The dragon that you love, the dragon that has been sleeping by your side for four years, the dragon that has helped you through all the hard times."

"Cyn…Cyn…der?" Spyro spoke still possessing the deep demonical voice.

"Yes," Cynder said, "Remember back at the temple when you held me in your arms, sleeping on the balcony? Remember the time you killed the Dark Master and rescued me? Remember our first kiss?"

Spyro's eyes glowed whiter and his scales lessen in its shade of darkness. Spyro seemed to study her now with his lifeless eyes as if trying to remember something from the distant past, remembering a precious memory that has long been stored in the vaults on his mind.

"Cynder…" Spyro slowly said, "My…love…my…life."

"Yes Spyro, it's me!" Cynder shouted in victory. She ran up and embraced him.

His scales faded more and his eyes glowed less. He slowly returned the embrace, still fighting off the powers that had controlled him moments ago.

He pulled her close and placed a hand behind her head and stroked her head whispering, "Cynder, Cynder, Cynder."

"Yes Spyro," she returned, "I'm here. Remember my promise. I will never leave you."

"Cynder I'm sorry," Spyro slowly whispered.

"No, it's ok Spyro," she replied, "I have you back. That's all that matters."

"But…for how long?" Spyro questioned.

"Forever," Cynder said.

"Cynder…I can't…keep this up," Spyro cried. Tears began to roll from the white light that was his eyes, "I'm being ripped apart. This constant battle between my powers and me is tearing my soul in two. I can't take it any longer."

"I understand," Cynder sadly said, "I know what to do."

"What?" he asked.

"Kill me and then kill yourself," Cynder explained calmly, "We both can then be together forever without this evil."

"Cynder I can't do it," Spyro argued.

"Spyro you need to do it," Cynder said, "For both of us."

"I…I…can't!" he shouted. His scaled darkened and his eyes grew brighter. He fired a beam of Convexity at the water. The water exploded and Spyro fired again and again.

Cynder stops him and turns him around, "Spyro, do it for me."

"I can't intentionally harm you," Spyro roared.

"Please Spyro," she begged.

Spyro grabbed his head with his claws and dug them into his skull making him bleed. He roared again and began to gather power for his Convexity Fury.

The shadowy figure sprinted forward and grabbed Cynder. She fought to escape the figure, but he held tight and took cover on a ledge on the side of the small cliff that was part of the island wall.

Spyro roared one last time and the sound of Convexity energy overtook the sound of the roar. A loud humming and crackling noise grew larger as the purple energy flowed above the figure and Cynder.

The noise stopped and Cynder got out of the figure's hold. She jumped up to the edge of the cliff and ran to Spyro who was on the floor not moving.

"Hold on Spyro," Cynder whispered, "I'm coming for you."

She raised her tail blade to her neck and was about to pull it across her throat when the shadowy figure said, "He's not dead."

"How do you know?" Cynder asked.

"I can see the dust in front of his mouth moving away from him," the figure pointed out.

Cynder looked down and sure enough the dust was moving away from the purple dragon as he exhaled.

"Who are you?" Cynder asked, "Tell me!"

The figure lowered his hood to reveal Shadedulath's face, "I'm sorry Cynder. I thought you would have known it was me."

"How did you find us?" she asked.

"I was watching the weather when I noticed both of you flying away from the island," he answered, "Let's bring him back to your room."

"Ok," Cynder replied.