We've reached the last chapter of book one at last. The beginning of this chapter will be a bit different than every other chapter by bringing in not just a 1st person view but Cynder's view as well. I thought it would work well with this chapter so I decided to add it. I'm also working with a rough draft again (the last chapter that had a rough draft was chapter 3). Fun Fact: I wrote this chapter before I wrote chapter 2.
The Malefor Chronicles Book 1: The Return of Malefor
Chapter 8: Aftermath
Cynder's POV
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I finished off the ape I was fighting and saw the Academy burst into black flames, starting at the main hall where Dragonheart and Malefor were fighting and quickly spread throughout the rest of the building. I saw the potions room explode due to the heat given off by the flames. I watched in horror as the battle raged around me. I heard my own voice, as if it was coming from down a long tunnel, as I shouted Dragonheart's name. I sat helplessly as I watched my new home burn to the ground.
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An hour later the battle concluded and the barrier dispersed. The Skylanders that weren't severely injured, or worse, during the fight went to search the ruins for anyone or anything that wasn't lost to the flames. I searched the main hall, starting with where I last saw Dragonheart. I went towards a large, unsearched pile of rubble. I moved aside what was left of a column and saw Dragonheart, unburnt, lying unconscious on the ground.
"Somebody come over here, I found him!" yelled Cynder in excitement, "I found Dragonheart!"
Bash, Pop Fizz, and Whirlwind ran over from the other side the ruins. Whirlwind was half air dragon and half unicorn who grew up unexcepted by either race until she saved them from the forces of Darkness, she was also head of the Academy's medical division.
"Whirlwind, when I move enough of the rubble, I need you and Pop Fizz to bring him to the med tent." Bash ordered, "Do what you can with what we have."
Whirlwind gave a quick nod of agreement then looked at me and said, "Don't worry Cynder, I'll make sure he gets out of this alive, nobody's fighting Death on my watch, especially Dragonheart, those two hate each other."
I looked at Whirlwind, gave her a little smile and said, "Thanks."
And with that Whirlwind and Pop Fizz ran off back to the med tent, carrying away the man who brought me and Spyro here two months ago, but those two months have felt like two years.
3rd Person POV
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Dragonheart woke up three hours later in the med tent, pain wracking his whole body. He tried to sit up and yelped in pain. Whirlwind ran into the tent and saw him.
"You're alive!" she yelled, bursting with joy, "I can't believe you're actually alive!"
"Yeah, well, I guess it's better than being dead again." said Dragonheart.
Whirlwind pocked her head out of the tent and yelled, "Pop Fizz, go get Bash and Cynder, hurry!" She reentered the tent, looked at Dragonheart and repeated, "I can't believe you're alive."
"Yes, Whirlwind, yes I am." said Dragonheart, "Where are we, why aren't we in the Academy's med bay?"
Whirlwind teared up and started to say, "The reason we aren't in the Academy's med bay is because- "
At that moment, Bash, Cynder, and Pop Fizz burst through the tent flap and all three of them yelled in unison, "You're alive!"
"Yes, I'm alive." said Dragonheart, slightly annoyed, "Now, will someone tell me why we aren't in the Academy's med bay. And where is Mary?"
The reason we aren't at the Academy is because there is no Academy to be at." said Bash.
"What do you mean?" asked Dragonheart.
"He means that the Academy burned to the ground." said Cynder.
Dragonheart stared, not wanting to believe what they were saying. Then, everything came rushing back to him, the fight, the black flames blazing around him.
"I did it," he said, his voice barely audible, "I started the fire." He cast an ashamed, downward look, not wanting to see his friends faces.
"You want to go see it?" asked Whirlwind, "It might help ease some of the pain."
"Or it could make it worse." said Pop Fizz.
Bash, Cynder, and Whirlwind turned around and shot him a death stare.
"What?" asked Pop Fizz, "Was it something I said?"
"Even though I don't want to, I feel like it's by duty," said Dragonheart, "so lead the way."
He stood up, wobbled, and almost fell. He managed to straighten himself, his face pale and sweaty. Whirlwind saw this and said to Bash, "Get him some crutches from the supply cabinet, he's going to need them."
Bash went over to the supply cabinet, grabbed some crutches and brought them over to Dragonheart. Dragonheart took them and hobbled out of the tent. Outside the tent was the Academy's courtyard, which was filled with other tents. Some acting as temporary housing, others acting as kitchens and mess halls.
"How many did we lose?" asked Dragonheart.
"Thankfully, we didn't lose many, about four or five." said Whirlwind, "Most of the Skylanders that weren't present during the attack have returned from their assigned missions and have started to help with the recovery."
Dragonheart and his friends made their way to what remained of the Academy, which was now nothing more than an empty shell, barely intact in places and destroyed in others. They made their way into what remained of the main hall. As soon as they entered, Dragonheart went to where the mantle once was.
"Did you find Mary while searching?" he asked
"No, we didn't find her." said Whirlwind.
"Thought so," Dragonheart responded, "The Darkness inside of me has grown to powerful, I'm no longer fit to be the Wielder."
"What do you suggest we do now?" Cynder asked.
"The only thing we can do for now is rebuild the Academy." said Dragonheart, "With the way things are, there's no hope of us confronting Malefor and rescue Drobot, Spyro, and Sunburn."
"So, that's why we haven't been able to contact them." said Bash, "Malefor has them."
"Yeah, things look pretty bad for the good guys." said Cynder.
"For me, they always do." Dragonheart finished.
And with those words, our heroes stood in the ruins, hoping for a brighter future ahead.
I hope everybody enjoyed book one of the Malefor Chronicles. I admit that I took some liberties with Gaul's eye and Malefor's backstory, but I had no other way to continue the story and I felt like some extra details were needed (mainly for Gaul's eye, seeing as how they didn't really go into detail on how he lost it in the games), I hope you die-hard fans can forgive me. Also, I'll be taking a short break beak before start posting content for the next book (except the first chapter, just to give you a little taste of what's to come).
