Chapter Seven: Strange Feelings
Flashwing didn't know how much she and the others would be going through. Ever since the last battle with Aemus, she'd felt very strange. She didn't want Cynder to deal with anymore pain. She'd gone through so much, and Aemus had not helped her. He'd only made everything worse, causing parts of her life to become a living Hell almost.
Cynder doesn't deserve this, Flashwing thought. She's gone through too much. This last fight left her hurt. I need to see if she's finally woken up, because I need to make sure she's okay. I should've done more to help her during that fight. It wasn't her fault that she joined the fight. Whirlwind was injured, and she saw it. None of this is her fault, and I'll stay by her side always thanks to the fact she didn't dare to stop and think about helping us. She went against what Spyro said, yes, but that was only because she didn't want Whirlwind to be hurt any longer. And Aemus has those kinds of ways, it seems. He's a hurtful, no good, stupid piece of crap, and the next time I see him, I will kill him for what he's done to Cynder! I thought Kaos was bad…but Aemus just makes everything so much worse! I need to know more about him, but if I ask Cynder, then I don't know how I'll put my words. She might hate that I would dare to talk to her about that kind of stuff! Everything is so hurtful to her now, unfortunately. I'll find some specific way to do it soon, but for now, I'll go and see her in the healing tent. I want to let her know I'm still there for her, because she deserves it. I'm her friend now, and I want to prove it to her.
Finished thinking, Flashwing sighed and smiled. She got up off her bed and started toward the balcony of her treehouse. She looked down and saw Sonic Boom and Sunburn talking to one another. She opened her crystal wings and flew down. When Sonic Boom and Sunburn saw her, they smiled.
"Hi, guys," she greeted. "Do you know if Cynder is okay? Has she woken up?"
"Yes, she has," Sonic Boom replied. "That's what I was about to tell Sunburn." She noticed the look in Flashwing's eyes, which were the same color as Cynder's. She could tell that Flashwing now truly cared for Cynder, which made Sonic Boom happy. "If you want me to, I can take you there."
"No, thanks," Flashwing said. "I'll be going on my own. I just want to be speaking with Cynder alone. You know, I just want to let her know that I'm still her friend, and that I always will be there nowadays."
"Trust me, she knows," Sunburn said. "She's got that sort of a way of knowing those sorts of things. She's that kind of Dragoness who knows when something is coming, but are unsure of what will happen or when it will happen. Unfortunately, she didn't see this coming, and that's what makes this situation bad. But we just need to keep hoping for everything to begin getting better. When it does, we can all rest."
Flashwing nodded. "I'm going to go and see her now," she said. "I'll see you guys later." She walked away from them. When they knew she was gone, Sonic Boom turned to Sunburn and smiled.
"I'm glad she's caring for Cynder now," she said. "If only every Skylander could change their mind like she has. Then maybe they would love Cynder a lot more."
"Maybe one day," Sunburn said. "Maybe one day that'll finally happen. But for now, we can just go ahead and hope for that." He looked to her and then kissed her. Then they started on their way back to their treehouse.
Flashwing, meanwhile, continued making her way to the healing tent. Just as she arrived, she ran into Spyro. He was smiling brightly, which allowed Flashwing to know something good had happened. "Hey, Flashwing," he greeted. "Is everything going good for you?"
"Yes," she replied. "Is Cynder awake in there? I would really love to see her right about now."
"She's asleep, actually, but you can go in and see her. She'll probably be asleep for a while. Just try not to wake her," he said.
"Don't worry," she said. "I'll just watch over her. When she wakes, I'll hopefully be able to talk with her." Suddenly the smile on her face faltered. "Spyro, can I reveal something to you?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"I don't know how much longer I can take the fact that Aemus is still around. I'm going mad just because he's been hurting Cynder. She doesn't deserve these things at all! She deserves to be with her friends, and with you, her mate. But Aemus has done all this to her, and it really hurts me. I want it all to end finally. Do you understand what I mean?"
Spyro nodded. "I understand very well. She doesn't deserve it, and out of everyone, I know it best, if you know what I mean. You know it all well, too, but it's just—"
"I understand, Spyro. You've known her longest, and you're her mate. I wish I understood her as well as you do. This world is full of so many strange things, and I don't understand the reason why. Why is it that Cynder should have all her secrets revealed like this? She's kept these secrets from us to protect us, but now everything is coming up, and we're unable to do anything about it. It's so darn annoying!"
"I know," Spyro said. "But we'll just have to wait and see, and then hope that everything will start getting better." Silence fell over them for a second, and then, "I'm going to go now. I have to talk with Sunburn. See you later."
As he left, Flashwing slowly and silently entered the healing tent. She saw on one of the beds Cynder, who was sleeping soundly. Her breathing was soft and almost beautiful. Flashwing looked her over and saw bandages on one of her sides, which brought some tears to her eyes. She hated that Cynder would have to deal with such wounds. It almost didn't seem fair. Cynder hadn't really done anything in her lifetime that would have brought such terrible demons such as Aemus into it.
She doesn't deserve anything like this. She's such a good friend, and yet she's gone through so much Hell! Why can't her life be normal? Why can't she just be like a normal person! She's so amazing, so beautiful…and yet she's gone through so much. What in the name of God has happened to this world? It's so screwed up. Cynder doesn't deserve her pain. She only deserves love. That's it. If anyone else attempts to come and hurt her, I swear, I will kill them!
Flashwing sighed and continued standing around there for hours, waiting for Cynder to wake. As morning neared, she could have sworn she saw the young Black Dragoness stir some. Flashwing just kept patient, knowing Cynder deserved her sleep.
And then Cynder finally woke. Flashwing was alerted to it when she heard groaning in the way one always did when waking up from a long sleep. Flashwing looked to Cynder and waited for her to notice her. Cynder yawned, rubbed her eyes, and then opened them. When her beautiful sapphire eyes fell on Flashwing, she smiled.
"Good morning," Cynder greeted.
"Hi," Flashwing greeted back. "I just wanted to wait for you to wake up. You know, I'm just trying to be friendly." She smiled tiredly.
"Did you wait all night for me?" Cynder asked. Flashwing nodded, and Cynder sighed. "You didn't have to do that. I know you were probably concerned for me, but you didn't have to wait for me to wake up. I'm perfectly fine, Flashwing, but I am happy that you would go through all that trouble just for me."
"I know I've probably said this a lot, but I just want to let you know I'm here for you, Cyn," Flashwing explained. "So anyway, how are you doing since…all that?"
"I think I've been healing pretty well," Cynder said. "I mean, it has only been a small while since my last injury. To be honest, Flashwing, I'm ready for all this crap to end. I hate it so darn much. I've put all you guys into so much trouble. Whirlwind was badly hurt by the end of that last battle, and I hate it." Tears came to her eyes. "When I joined, I believed I would be able to save everyone, and so far I've succeeded, but the worst thing is, I've let all of you get hurt somewhere along the way. Spyro lost his Elemental abilities because of me, Whirlwind's been injured twice, once by me in my corrupted form, and once by Aemus. Sonic Boom was injured by me as well in Convexity, and then she was forced to deal with the secret of my deal. Out of all those I love, who else must be injured?"
Flashwing just smiled at her calmly. "No matter what happens, we won't blame you for any of this. You had no part in this crap."
"Yes, I do!" Cynder protested. "Aemus is a demon from my past, and, because of that, I have to be the one to take him down. I don't want anyone else I love to be hurt by my past! I would rather it just be myself who goes through this. I'll deal with the pain, and I'll let the rest of you live your own normal lives."
Flashwing said softly, yet fiercely, "Cyn, I know you say that, but no matter how many times you say so, we're not going to be leaving your side. We're going to stay by your side until the very end. Those of us who love you will never stop. Your life matters too much, and even if you decide to go up against the demons in your past, I am going to be by your side, helping my sister until I take my last breath. You are my sister, and I love you. You are my inspiration. Despite all you've gone through, you haven't collapsed under the pressure yet, and I hope you never do. You've never given up hope, which is something not everyone can do. I'm sure that Slam Bam would be down on the ground by now if it were him." She laughed a little, as did Cynder. Then she returned to the serious part of the conversation. "Don't give up hope just because all these things seem so darn bleak. Keep your mind on the things that matter most to you. Never stop loving Spyro, because I can see he is the one who gives you the most hope. Love is something no evil can ever possess. If someone who calls themselves evil loves someone, then they are not truly evil. They are only in denial; they are in denial of who they truly are. You, however, will never lose track of who you truly are, nor will you ever forget the true power that remains dormant inside you. You are amazing, and I'll never stop putting hope in you, Cynder."
When she finished, Flashwing released a sigh, happy that she'd been able to finally tell someone that. She'd saved such a speech just for a situation such as where she was now.
"Thank you, Flashwing," Cynder said. "I'll keep that in my mind and heart forever."
Flashwing slowly hugged her, wanting to be careful with her injuries. Then she turned around and began walking to the entrance. "I've gotta go now, Cyn," she said. "I hope you feel better soon! We need a valuable member like you back on her feet soon!"
As Flashwing left, Cynder closed her eyes, and with those good words left in her mind, fell asleep.
At the same time, Flashwing was walking toward her treehouse, happy that Cynder was doing good now. She was hoping everyone would become normal for her.
As she passed the Core of Light, her eyes caught sight of Bash. He was eyeing her nervously, and Flashwing knew why: he had a crush on her. She knew she was, in a way, grateful toward him, as he was the reason she was a Skylander. But she no longer cared much for that. He disliked Cynder, she knew, and that was something she could not take. She'd heard him say that he wouldn't dare to save her if she was taken again. That had been after Spyro saved her from Kaos's control.
She kept walking by, wanting to get past him and return to her treehouse. Unfortunately, he started walking toward her. She didn't want to deal with anything.
"Hey, Flashwing!" came Bash's strange voice. "I want to talk with you!"
"Why do you want that?" Flashwing retorted. "I don't trust you very much anymore, Bash, I hope you know that."
"Well, I was hoping you would one of these days begin trusting me. I really just want to talk," Bash continued, not knowing it was only making things worse for him. "Why don't you want to talk to me?"
"Hm, let me see here," Flashwing said, pretending to think about it. "Oh, yeah, now I remember!" She whirled around and stared at him with angry eyes. "Look, buttcrack, I don't like you, I most certainly will never trust you. Do you even know why I'm angry?"
"Does it have to do with that one weirdo, Cynder?"
As soon as Flashwing heard his words, she took one of the crystals off her wing and held it right up to his throat. "I knocked you off that cliff that one time, and the only reason you survived that is because it wasn't high up, and you landed on your back! But I'm sure that if I swipe this crystal across your throat right now, it would kill you. You're very lucky, because being a Skylander, I won't kill someone who is part of my team. You're the Captain of this Element, but enjoy it while it lasts, Bash! You might be done with being Captain very, very soon."
Bash didn't know what he was supposed to do. Flashwing finally let the crystal drop to the ground. She concentrated, causing it to dissipate. Then she turned her back and began walking away. As she did so, she heard Bash yell to her, "So does this mean you don't like me?"
Flashwing slapped her left paw to her face, unable to understand why he couldn't see that she wouldn't never like him. All he was to her was a teammate. They were part of the same Element, but that was about it.
She hurried to her treehouse, hoping to get her mind off Bash. When she arrived she found Drobot standing near his. It seemed he'd just come out of his treehouse. When he saw Flashwing, he seemed to become nervous all of a sudden.
"Hey," Flashwing greeted.
"Hi," he greeted back. "Is something wrong?"
"Bash keeps thinking I'm supposed to love him," she explained. "It's so darn annoying. I don't know how much more I'm supposed to deal with all his crap, to be honest. Good God."
"Well, hopefully that'll end soon," Drobot said. "How's Cynder?"
"She's doing good, but she's worried for all of us, you know? She doesn't want anyone else to be hurt. Whirlwind should be healing, and so that might cheer Cynder up soon enough. But I just want this to be over so she and Spyro can live normally. I want to live normally, too, but if you ask me, Cynder is much more important than I'll ever be. If it weren't for her, then Malefor would still be around, and I'm sure no one would want that."
"I know that for sure, because I was there, remember?" Drobot reminded her. "Malefor was so evil, but Cynder was able to end him once and for all. We won't have to deal with his reign of terror ever again. Unfortunately, I judged Cynder for what happened. She was corrupted there, you see, which was Malefor's doing. He'd done it to her against her will. She didn't deserve that, because she's—she's just a good friend. It's hard for me to comprehend how rude I acted toward her. Flashwing, I actually threatened her. Spyro told me to stop, but I just kept it up. I slapped him, and that triggered Cynder nearly revealing her secret to everyone then. Now, of course, revealing it doesn't matter, but I feel so terrible for doing such a thing."
Flashwing put a paw on his shoulder. "It's okay," she said. "All that matters now is that she knows we're her friend. That's all that matters now, Drobot."
She looked into his yellow machine eyes, wondering what the color of his normal eyes were. But she didn't care about the machinery. She just liked him for who he was. At the same time, he was looking into her sapphire eyes.
And then…they found themselves kissing.
They didn't stop kissing for a small while. And then when they stopped, they couldn't stop smiling at one another. Both were nervous once again, and then Drobot cleared his throat.
"Uh, yeah," he said. He started making his way to his treehouse, leaving Flashwing to just stand there.
"See you later!" she called to him nervously. Then, when he was gone, she let out all the breath she'd saved up in a large sigh.
She made her way to her treehouse, thinking of what had just happened. Now she knew the path her life would be following. Only she could make her decisions, and now they'd been made, she was going to follow them.
But she still had to worry about Cynder and how Aemus was hurting her. She would find a way to help her friend, and no one would be able to stand in her way.