Chapter Six: The Near-Death Experience

"Cynder, I want you to get the heck out of here," Spyro told her. He turned to her and kissed her forehead. "I know you might wish to fight, but I won't be able to take it if you're injured. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," she replied. The fear was evident in her sapphire eyes. She kissed him back. "Just please be careful. I can't live without you."

She ran off as quickly as she could, hoping to get somewhere she could hide. But then she realized she should just wait until Aemus came near her so she could attack. She wanted to kill him, and in her opinion, this was her chance.

Spyro saw Aemus attempt to follow Cynder, but he was ready to defeat the beast. He released Fire at Aemus, striking him in the chest.

"AGH!" Aemus screamed. "You piece of crap! You'll be paying for that soon enough! You and your little girl! She'll be dead before she can yell for you to come help!"

"You and what army?" asked Whirlwind.

A group of monsters appeared next to Aemus. They were all either snarling or smiling at the Skylanders in front of them.

"Sometimes, I really need to keep my big fat mouth shut," Whirlwind muttered to herself. She looked around for Cynder, hoping she had really gotten out of there. She knew how stubborn Cynder could be, and she also knew that sometimes got her into trouble.

Aemus sent flurries of Ice at the Skylanders in front of him. Though some of their wings were iced over, they shook it off and returned to fighting.

That's the problem, Aemus thought. Cynder is affected by the Ice so easily. But when it comes to these guys, they are a little different. Ah well, I just have to kill them and then I can go after the little freak.

"Hey, buttface!" yelled Whirlwind. She released a Tempest Cloud that hit Aemus hard. The blast of electricity hit him hard, but just as she believed she'd taken him down possibly, he recovered.

Aemus jumped up at her and swiped. Whirlwind grimaced as his claws tore through her left wing. She yelped out in pain. Aemus just laughed, loving the fact he was actually able to hurt others again. That was something that gave him joy in his life, which he knew was something that was sickening to many others. But he, as he said, didn't give a crap.

"Where did your little friend go?" Aemus asked her sadistically, taking hold of her injured wing in his claws. Whirlwind could smell blood on his breath. It was a disgusting smell that tortured her nose. "Tell me where she went, or I will kill you and all those that you and she cares about! NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"

"Stop," came the voice Aemus had been waiting to hear. He looked down and saw Cynder standing there, her blue eyes blazing with anger. "Don't you even dare to hurt her! If you want me, then you can have me!"

"Cynder, what are you doing?" Whirlwind exclaimed. "Run! We told you to run!"

"I heard what you said, Whirlwind, and I may love you like a sister, but I'm not going to sit around and wait for Aemus to find me!" Cynder said defiantly. "If you want me, Aemus, then come and get me!"

"With pleasure," Aemus said. He released Whirlwind's wing. He looked over to where Spyro, Sunburn, and Sonic Boom were battling some of his soldiers. "Hey, leader!" he called to Spyro. "Come and look over here!"

Spyro took a glance over in the direction where Aemus was calling him from. He believed a ruse was coming, but when he took his glance in that direction, his eyes suddenly widened in fear. He saw Cynder there. She was obviously very unhappy, but she seemed ready to fight. Seeing this scared Spyro terribly, his heart beating so badly that he felt it would explode from his chest.

"CYNDER, GET OUT OF THERE!" Spyro said. "I TOLD YOU TO RUN! NOW DO AS I SAY! PLEASE!"

"No!" Cynder replied. "I'm not going to give Aemus any satisfaction! He won't dare to believe I'm weak! Come at me, Aemus, and we can end this once and for all!"

Aemus flew right at her. Spyro was still horrified. He attempted to fly over there, but he was stopped by one of Aemus's soldiers.

As soon as Cynder saw Aemus coming at her, she dodged out of the way. However, Aemus was too cunning, and he curved back around and caught Cynder's tail. He picked her up and threw her at the ocean. She recovered in midair, ready to fight back. Her eyes began blazing even more wildly. Aemus saw this and felt a little fearful, as he'd never seen such a thing happen before. But then he came up with something to say to her. He knew it would really irk her, as he'd been able to study her quite well over the years since she'd returned to normal.

"Come on," he said. "That's not you. I don't think that's the real you, at least. I know for sure there's someone else down in there who wants to come out and play! I want to see them, please, because they used to be one of my greatest friends! Now let me see them again, if you please."

"Never gonna happen, you sick freak!" Cynder growled. "I won't allow that monster to ever come back into my life! I've gone through enough Hell with it, and now I have to go through even more with you. God help us all."

Aemus just laughed. He loved how Cynder was attempting to stall the release of the dark beast inside her. For some reason, it made him very happy. He didn't know why, but that was the way it was. And he liked it that way.

"Cynder, there is something down there, in your flesh and blood, that is just waiting to come out and say hello to me. Please, allow me to see them again. They gave strength. They definitely never gave me hope, but then again, why should they?" Aemus laughed and then went back to being serious. "I am going to make sure I can see them again before you take your last breath."

"It won't be happening, Aemus," Cynder said defiantly. "That monster will never resurface in my life! I'll not allow it, and you can't stop me!"

"I can't stop you?" Aemus asked. "Oh, I think that's quite an understatement. I can stop you whenever I freaking please! Now…GIVE ME THE ONE I WISH TO SEE!"

Cynder had been expecting this. She got into her defensive stance and waited for him to attack. And much to her delight—as well as deep horror—he did. At the same time, she suddenly saw Spyro, who was watching her anxiously, hoping she wouldn't be too hurt. Cynder didn't know what she was supposed to think of that. And she had no time as she was suddenly blasted into a pile of rocks by cold wind. She groaned and shivered, unable to take the sudden drop in temperature in the air around her. She looked up at Aemus, who smiled at her once more.

Cynder roared out and attack Aemus, but he was somehow too fast, even for her. He leapt out of the way and then caught her by her tail. Cynder felt herself be thrown into the sand. Aemus stomped on her back, apparently hoping to break it. But all he succeeded in was getting Cynder to begin coughing. And then suddenly, Cynder began noticing there was another color in the spit that flew from her mouth as she coughed: red.

Aemus had caused her to begin spitting up blood somehow, and that was something that scared her severely. She whirled around and attempted to take him down by slicing open his left leg with her tail-blade. But the attempt wasn't even worth it, and Cynder felt herself get dragged over the sand and thrown into the rocks once more. She couldn't believe what she was feeling. Aemus released a flurry of Ice that seemingly froze her in place. Cynder looked around her and found her injured leg was frozen. She could not move it, and because it was frozen, she could not even attempt to get up. Even despite the injury, she needed to use the leg to help her get up if she were laying down.

"This is your weakness, Cynder," Aemus taunted. "You have no place in this world anymore, I tell you. You believe a place in the Skylanders will help you to attone for you all your past sins. Well, let me tell you something, darling. IT DOESN'T!" Aemus laughed and raised his claws to slash her.

However, Cynder saw something red crash into Aemus's side, knocking the White Dragon onto his side. He groaned in pain. Cynder blinked, and then found Sunburn looking at her with concern.

"Cyn, you need to get out of here!" he yelled at her. "Here, let me help you get unfrozen from this!" He opened his mouth to release fire, but before he could even attempt to breathe out, Aemus returned, having recovered from the collision. He seemed to be furious, and Cynder, for some reason, could not blame him.

"Time to die!" hissed Aemus. "But not you, Hybrid. Her." Aemus spoke the last word with venom. He slashed Sunburn's right wing and threw him away, leaving just him and Cynder once again. Now he believed he would be able to take her down once and for all. No one would be able to stand in his way anymore. He knew it for sure, and now it was time he proved it to everyone else around him.

But then hot flames came out of nowhere and took Aemus down again. Cynder looked over and found Spyro breathing them. He looked to her with a strange expression that Cynder could not read. Cynder couldn't understand why.

When Spyro was done, Aemus stumbled. He looked to Spyro. "How in the heck is that possible?" he gasped. "No one can do something such as that to me! I am too powerful, you stupid piece of sh—" He stopped as Spyro released the flames once more. After stumbling again, he looked to Cynder and smiled. He raised his claws and attempted to slash her once more. This time Spyro threw himself at Aemus, taking him down.

However, his claws met their mark, and although they didn't go as deep as he'd been hoping, Cynder cried out in pain as the scars were created and the blood began streaming out. Aemus kept smiling. He got back up quickly on his feet and spat at Spyro. "You will have nothing left to live for when I am done with her!" he roared. "She will die soon! Maybe not from the marks I left on her side, but soon enough she will die, and I will be there to end her! I will be there to watch and laugh and jump up and down in glee! And you will only have to watch as your little Cynder is killed for good!" He cackled, and then suddenly disappeared in a blast of Ice.

Spyro shielded himself as pieces of Ice went flying all around. He then turned around and ran to Cynder. Sonic Boom was there before her could be, with Sunburn at his side. Whirlwind and Camo came not long after, and then Flashwing and Drobot.

"Where's Stealth Elf?" Spyro asked them worriedly. "Oh holy crap, I'm so scared!" He was beginning to sweat. He looked Cynder over, but the claw marks were the only thing his eyes could stay on. He couldn't believe that the wound was even there. But then he realized that if he hadn't attacked Aemus and pushed him out of the way, it could have been much, much worse. And he wouldn't have wanted that. He didn't want it now.

Stealth Elf suddenly appeared. Sunburn quickly melted the ice, and Spyro kept looking at Cynder to see if she was still conscious. She was shivering and coughing, as well as whimpering a little.

"Cyn, you still there?" Spyro asked her.

"Yes," she said, smiling to her best ability. "I'm sorry. I had to do something. Whirlwind was in trouble, and…" Her voice trailed off. She suddenly closed her eyes.

Cynder could suddenly see a bright white light. She didn't know where she was, but it felt amazing. She felt almost free. Everything around her was white. She felt no hatred and no terror. She felt perfectly fine. Everything was just the way she'd always wanted it. The way she'd been wanting it for a long time. She never thought such a time would come, but now here it was, and she felt great.

She felt something soft brush her right cheek. Looking around for the source, she found nothing. She kept looking for whatever had brushed her cheek, but found nothing. And then she heard the words: "Go back to your world now."

Cynder opened her eyes and wondered where she was. She remembered what had happened in that strange white world, but she wondered what it had all meant.

She realized she was in the healing tent. She wondered how many times she would have to be in there before she died.

"Hello?" she called out, finding her throat dry.

"Cynder?" said a voice. Sonic Boom entered her field of vision. She was smiling now. "Oh thank God, you're okay!" she cried. She placed her right paw softly upon Cynder's forehead. "And fortunately, you never had a fever."

"Wait, what happened? The last thing I remember is being picked up by Stealth Elf after Aemus got me. What happened after that?"

"You were out of it," Sonic Boom explained. "You went unconscious, and we were all wondering what we were supposed to do. Spyro was deathly afraid, to be honest. I mean, I can't blame him, but still…Uh, nevermind. I just want to know if you remember anything beyond what happened there."

Cynder thought for a moment. Should she reveal what she'd seen? About the beautiful white world, and the words that had been spoken to her. It all felt so weird, but she decided she would deal with it. She also decided she would keep her experience to herself for the time being.

Her near-death experience.

It was the first time she'd ever experienced such a thing. She never wanted to go through such a thing again, in truth, although the world she'd found herself in had been so beautiful. She wanted to remain with Spyro in Skylands forever. She never wanted to leave those she loved, especially not him.

Cynder looked to Sonic Boom. "Do you know where Spyro is? I would really love to see him right about now."

"Sure, I'll go and get him," Sonic Boom said. "Just close your eyes and rest. At least, that's what Cali told me to say when you woke up. You know, she just cares for you, and frankly, can you really blame her?"

Cynder shook her head and attempted to smile. It didn't work. Once Sonic Boom had left to get Spyro, Cynder returned to her thoughts about the near-death experience. It hadn't been normal, she knew. It was something not many ever went through, she believed. But then she took that back. There were probably many who experienced the same thing before they died on the battlefield…and even in other places.

Spyro entered the tent with a solemn expression on his face. When he saw Cynder, he became much happier and the solemn expression became one of joy.

"Spyro, I'm sorry about what happened," Cynder apologized. "I just had to do something. Whirlwind was in trouble, and—" Spyro held up a paw to silence her.

"It's okay, Cyn," he said. "I don't blame you. You did the right thing, but of course, it came at some sort of cost. Thank God you're not dead, though. I am really glad about that."

Cynder laughed a little. "I am too," she said. "Is it a bad idea if I decide to sleep here for the rest of the night—or day, if that is what it is. I lost track of time."

"It's night, Cynder," came Cali's voice from outside the tent. When she entered, she smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. You gave some of your friends a scare. I struggled to calm them, to be honest. You're lucky to have such good friends on your side."

"Thanks," Cynder said. "But now I just need to sleep. I'm not sure what I'll be having to deal with soon. What happened to Aemus's soldiers after he left?"

"They all sort of disappeared," Spyro explained. "As soon as he was gone, so were they. It was really weird. But let's not talk about that for now, please. I just want to be with you for now. We can go to that subject later on, okay?" He smiled at her, hoping it would help his case.

Cynder rolled her eyes. "Fine," she gave in. "You're lucky I love you, you know."

"I know that very well," Spyro said. He looked over to Cali. "Is it okay if she sleeps here for the night?"

"Sure," Cali said. "When do you plan on getting out of here, though?"

"Most likely tomorrow," Cynder replied. "I don't want to take up space in here if I shouldn't be."

Cali just smiled and then left them. She was obviously in a better mood. Spyro noticed she was being friendlier to Cynder, and that was something that he really enjoyed. It made him feel better about everything that had recently occurred.

He took a look over to Cynder, who was yawning. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Goodnight, Spyro." She fell asleep right then and there. Spyro smiled and fell asleep near her.

But just before either of them had fallen asleep, they'd both wondered how the fight with Aemus would finally end.