Chapter 13: Full Circle

There was something different about this dream. Spyro looked around at the darkness that surrounded him.

"I haven't had a nightmare in years." He stated. "Why now?"

He heard footsteps approaching him and turned to meet whoever it was.

"You impossible." Spyro stated.

He was looking upon a dragon that reflected him in body shape but its scales were concealed by black shadows that were hard to make out from the dark purple of the area. His eyes were glowing a soulless white.

"Surprised to see me." Dark Spyro taunted.

"How? I destroyed you!" Spyro shouted in disbelief.

Dark Spyro just laughed and shook his head.

"You cannot destroy what is an integral part of yourself." Dark Spyro stated.

Spyro lunged at Dark Spyro but his doppelganger just disappeared and reappeared behind him.

"Is that the best you got?" Dark Spyro taunted as he jumped on Spyros back and bit him on the back of his neck.

Cynder awoke as Spyro twitched violently in his sleep. She noticed that it was early in the morning and there was some time till sunrise. Spyro violently jerked again and Cynder readjusted herself to see what was happening. Spyro's face showed fear and he continued to violently jerk as if being attacked.

"Spyro wake up." Cynder whispered as she nudged him.

Spyro did not wake. Cynder sat there for a moment then she thought of something. She cuddled up close to Spyro and embraced him.

"I hope this works." She whispered as she began to enshroud herself and Spyro in shadows.

Cynder opened her eyes and looked around at the darkness that encircled her. In the distance she could hear fighting both voices sounded familiar but one of them was slightly distorted. She began to follow the voices through the darkness. Something began to spear through the shroud, two dragons fighting to the death one of them was purple the other one was black.

"Give it up Spyro!" The Black one shouted.

Cynder then realized it was Spyro's dark doppelganger. She turned and noticed that Spyro was exhausted and covered with wounds his doppelganger was closing in to finish him off. Cynder charged at Dark Spyro and collided with him full force he went skirting across the ground before stopping right where the shadow fog appeared he then vanished into nothing fading away entirely.

"It was all an illusion." Cynder stated.

Spyro stood up with renewed strength.

"How did you get here?" Spyro asked.

"My shadow element." Cynder said.

Spyro nuzzled her.

"Spyro remember that I will always be there for you." Cynder soothed. "There is nothing we cannot handle when we are together."

"Of course my love." Spyro replied.

The area around them began to fade away and they both awoke. Cynder moved as close as she could to Spyro.

"You hug me any tighter and I will start choking." Spyro snickered.

Cynder loosened her grip and instead began nibbling on his left horn. Spyro gave a soft growl and as Cynder stopped Spyro rolled Cynder over and began to lick her chest and neck again. Cynder gave a sigh of pleasure.

"You love polishing my chest don't you?" Cynder cooed.

"It makes your radiant scales shine even more." Spyro chimed.

"Go ahead we have a few hours till sunrise." Cynder stated.

Spyro and Cynder continued to fool around with each other till the sun began to appear over the horizon shining light through the space under the door to their balcony. A knock was heard from their door as they finished up their act.

"Spyro, Cynder are you awake?" Ember asked her voice muffled from the door. "Or umm…are you…busy."

"Yes we are up and no we are not busy." Spyro answered.

Ember opened the door and walked in.

"Spyro do you mind if me and Cynder talk in private?" Ember asked.

Spyro got up and slowly walked out of the room.

"I need to take a real bath anyways." Spyro said as he walked out.

Ember walked over to Cynder and sat down near her.

"So what do you need to talk about?" Cynder asked.

"Its about Flame." Ember replied.

Frostbite stood in the temples hall with Quake, Dahlia and Faintheart.

"So how are things with Fade?" Frostbite asked Faintheart.

"Things are well considering that now we don't have to hide our relationship." Faintheart answered.

"What about you Frostbite?" Dahlia asked. "How are you and Vinda?"

A grey dragoness stopped near the group right behind Frostbite.

"Well we are doing all right." Frostbite began. "We are taking things slow so we haven't done anything wild yet."

The grey dragoness seemed to listened in closer.

"She just seems so shy and fragile." Frostbite continued. "Maybe I should slow it down more or she may call it off, just please don't tell her I said this."

"There's no need to ask them not to tell me." The grey dragoness said.

Frostbite felt guilt and fear the other guardians backed off.

"So I'm shy am I?" Vinda said with an evil smile as she wrapped her entire tail around Frostbites and began dragging him. "I will show you how shy I am."

"Help me." Frostbite wimpered.

Volia noticed what was going on and joined up with her sister.

"Called you shy?" Volia asked and Vinda nodded to her. "Oh dear."

Volia slowed down to appear in Frostbites view.

"I hope you have endurance because she is going test it." Volia said apologetically but she had a smirk on her face.

Volia stopped at the door to Cynder and Spyro's room and knocked on the door before entering.

"What was that?" Cynder asked.

"Frostbite called Vinda shy and she dislikes being called shy." Volia said with a snicker. "So how are you girls?"

"I'm fine." Cynder stated. "But Ember is worried because Flame doubts that he will be a good father."

Volia scoffed.

"Flame will make a great father." Volia stated. "He is responsible and he mated with you during your mating cycle, he would not do that unless he believed he was ready."

Ember sighed. "You have a point."

"Of course." Volia said confidently.

"What about you and Venik?" Cynder asked.

"We are still courting although I'm thinking that we should take it up a notch and begin sleeping together." Volia said. "I really want to feel the warmth of someone loves me when I curl up to sleep at night."

"Ask him if he is okay with that." Ember suggested.

Volia nodded then turned to Cynder.

"How about you and Spyro how is your relationship?" Volia asked.

"We can't keep our paws off each other." Cynder said with a chuckle.

Both Volia and Ember chuckled.

"You two thinking of having a child?" Ember asked.

"My mating cycle is less than a month away and Spyro is fully committed, we are very excited." Cynder stated. "Spyro claimed that he is mine for that whole week."

"There will be no rest for him during the week." Volia snickered.

"We will see how strong the purple dragon truly is." Cynder snickered.

Volia got up.

"While I am going to spend some time with Venik before we have to go to the diplomatic talks after lunch." Volia stated.

Volia left the room leaving Cynder and Ember to continue talking about their mates.

The Hospital was quieter than usual now that quite a few of the veteran doctors have returned. Chi still refused to leave and Eilin had personally given her a place in the hospital as one of its senior staff. This did not bother the other once they had seen her work. She loved this place the people were kind and death did not hang over it like rumors said. Chi stopped when she heard laughter. Chi followed the sound towards a large lobby where a number of hatchlings with various injuries were running and playing tag. What Chi found odd was that the dragoness who was "it" was blind. The Red dragonesse's head darted from one side to the other listening around for the other hatchlings. Her impressive hearing allowed her to pick out the individual hatchlings and she targeted one and gave chase. The green dragon tried to dodge her but the dragoness pounced on him.

"Your it!" The red dragonesses beautiful voice chimed.

The dragon she tackled looked into her milky white eyes.

"You really are the best at this game." He chimed causing the red dragoness to blush and give him a lick on the nose.

"That means a lot to me considering my hindrance." The blind dragoness stated.

"it does not hinder you in the least." The green dragon replied.

A group of adult dragons was watching from the far side of the room. Chi walked around the length of the square room over to them.

"Your hatchlings?" Chi inquired.

The adults nodded and Chi sat down with them watching as the hatchlings played. Parents called their children back to them and one by one they left. All that was left was the blind dragonesses mother her daughter and a black hatchling siting alone on a cushion. The parent noticed and turned to Chi.

"That hatchlings parents brought his egg in and left, they never came back." The adult dragoness said causing Chi to gasp. "We must go but maybe you can reach out to him."

The dragoness walked out while the blind hatchling held gently to her mother's tailblade with her teeth to help guide her. Chi walked over to the hatchling that turned to face her.

"Yes?" The hatchling asked in an emotionless voice.

"Why are you sitting here all alone when there are other dragons your age that play nearby?" Chi asked.

"They hate me." The hatchling spat. "Everyone does."

"That can't be true." Chi stated worry in her voice rising.

"My parents abandoned me no ever talks to me and everyone else just pain avoids me." The hatchling replied. "You hate me too even if you don't show it."

Chi just stood there tears forming in her eyes but it was anger not sadness that she felt.

"I could never hate a child." Chi stated.

"How so?" The hatchling inquired with hostility.

"Because I can never have one of my own!" Chi shouted as she began crying.

"Why?" The hatchling asked with concern.

"I'm infertile." Chi cried.

The hatchling looked at her with a look of guilt. But behind Chi's tears was anger.

"How come your parent could have a child when they are willing to abandon it!" Chi screamed. "They get to carelessly have an egg which they discard while I will never feel the love a parent receives or have my own hatchling to love and nurture!"

Chi curled up on the ground crying. The hatchling got up and moved closer to her before wiping her tears away with his paws.

"I have only been thinking about how bad my life has been." The hatchling murmured. "My parents had a chance but you had none."

Chi calmed down a bit. The hatchling nuzzled Chi.

"Perhaps I could be the hatchling you never had." The hatchling suggested.

Chi looked at him.

"Then I will be the mother you never had." Chi said as she used her wings to pull the hatchling into an embrace.

"Thank you mom." The hatchling replied with a smile.

Cynder walked through one of the temples many hallways perfectly content with the peace and quiet that surrounded her as she searched for Spyro. Graphite noticed her she walked by and waved her over.

"You need something…Graphite?" Cynder asked.

"I must talk to you about my people." Graphite stated.

"I am aware of what I did and that they most likely still blame me today." Cynder replied.

"Many of them want Warfang to hand you over so that they can exact revenge." Graphite said.

"Tell your people that's fine with them and if they want another dark master roaming around I will surrender myself." Cynder retorted.

"Another dark master?" Graphite asked.

"How do you think Spyro will react when he finds out a city of civilized dragons decided to torture and tear apart his mate?" Cynder inquired. "It would tear him apart blind him with anger he would not need dark Spyro to become a dark dragon bent on destruction."

"I am quite aware and they revere Spyro so this sentiment may calm them down." Graphite said. "Hopefully."

Volia came trotting up.

"Sorry to interrupt your meeting but the diplomatic talks are beginning in an hour and the want all involved to be in the room now to make sure they have everything and to make sure everyone is there." Volia stated.

Graphite turned to Cynder.

"Perhaps we will have time for more civilized conversation later." Graphite stated. "Farewell Lady Cynder."

Cynder gave him a bow and went back to find Spyro again. She eventually found him in the park sitting under their favourite tree.

"Spyro we should head to my fortress now." Cynder stated.

"Time to reconfigure the defences?" Spyro asked.

Cynder nodded.

"It's a desirable place for those of dark intent so let's make it a personal hell for them." Cynder chimed.

Spyro nodded and the mates trotted to the temple exit.