Happy New Year, my friends! I hope many great things are in store for you!
Chapter Ten: Good and Bad
Spyro opened his eyes, wondering what he was supposed to be doing with his life. He looked over to Cynder and smiled. He knew she was the one part of his life he would never have second thoughts about. But the one thing he couldn't stop thinking about now was the fact that Aemus was still around, and that he was always ready to hurt his mate. He could not believe what Malefor had done to Cynder, how he'd corrupted her and given her an army. The only problem with such a thing happening was that those who were closest to Malefor, such as Aemus, was that they would know of Cynder's past, and because he knew of such a thing meant it was only a matter of time until he realized what had caused her disappearance.
When he learned, Spyro thought, he must have become very angry, which is something that could have been prevented. But Aemus learned of Cynder's return to normal, and now all Hell has broken loose. He stroked Cynder's cheek and felt hot tears in his eyes. My own mate is in the worst danger, and some of this is all my fault. I returned her to normal and put her in the worst danger of her life. I'm so sorry, Cyn. This is all my fault. I love you, but it seems I keep putting you into so much danger. I'm so sorry, my love.
He saw her begin to stir. He smiled as she opened her beautiful sapphire eyes. She returned the smile when she saw him. "I feel so warm," she said lovingly. "But I'm still really tired."
"Don't worry," Spyro told her. "You'll be able to get some good sleep soon enough. I promise you that. But today, I think it's best we get to our feet and walk around the Ruins to see what we might be able to do. I feel like I just want to talk with you a little more. For some reason, doing it while we lie here in bed doesn't seem like the right place to do such a thing."
"I agree," Cynder said. "I understand. I've been wanting to talk with you more for a long time. But it seems like every time we want to talk more with one another, we're forced to deal with some sort of interruption." She released a deep gasp, as if she'd gone through some sort of pain, but she recovered herself and attempted to pretend that it had only been a throb from her still-broken leg. "Sorry, my leg has a little bit of pain right now." She continued using the fake smile.
"I know you're lying," he said. Then he smiled again. "But I'll let you slide. I know this is hard, but I promise you, we'll be getting through this. And we'll be getting through this together. I love you so much, Cynder." He hugged her close, and she sunggled into him. "Now, let's get out there and see what we can do. We might just be able to see some of our friends." He slowly got out of the bed and got himself ready. He soon found that Cynder was staring at him. He tracked her line of vision to his side and saw scars there. Kaos had given them to him. Spyro knew Cynder felt terrible about them. He wondered if she blamed herself for those, as well. He sincerely hoped not, knowing she had so much on her plate. "Cynder, please, don't be blaming yourself for these scars. They weren't your fault. You know they weren't."
"I know," she said. "But thanks to all we've been going through, I still feel as if I might be. It's hard, sometimes, you know?" Spyro nodded. "I feel as if a lot of things are as a result of what I might have done. I feel I've caused so much distress. I'm not going to stop believing that will stop, however. I believe I have the strength to continue on in life, and that nothing will stand in my way. But I just want to live life in peace." She sighed. "Let's get out there and see what we can do." She smiled, opened her wings, and flew off. "Come and catch me if you can, Spyro!"
Spyro smiled to himself, realizing she was going through her pain still, while seeing that she was starting to be able to manage everything. He smiled to himself and followed her. He found her soon near the Core of Light, where she was standing and smiling. The sun caught her eyes just right, which gave them a beautiful glow that drew Spyro in. He hugged her and kissed her intently.
"I'm so glad that we're able to do this," he whispered to her. "This is a moment that we can finally cherish with one another. Now let us hope that it never ends." They continued kissing, and when they broke apart, Cynder hugged him.
"I'm glad I have you in my life," she whispered back to him. "I don't regret you being a part of my life one bit."
"You know," Spyro said, "when I said you shouldn't blame yourself for my scars, there's something I must tell you. I blame myself even now for your broken leg. I blame myself for a lot of bad things that have happened in your life, to be honest. Life has brought so much trouble for us both, but I know we can get through it. I know we'll be able to find some way to return to living our normal lives. We'll find some specific way. You need to keep that clear in your mind, Cyn, because it's the truth. When trouble comes our way once more, we'll be ready for it. Yes, it'll probably take us by surprise, but that is not how I mean. I mean that when trouble comes, we won't be taken down by whoever is behind it. When Aemus comes back, I'm sure that this will be the last phase of this battle. We'll be able to take him down and then return to our normal lives. Yes, life has never really been normal, and our lives have definitely never been normal, but that's beside the point. We'rll find some way to get through our pain. I'll make sure to help you get through your pain. Never stop believing in that fact, Cynder. This is where all the good starts coming, I am sure of it." He smiled at her again, which she once more returned, and once more they were kissing quite intently.
Not far from them, Wrecking Ball and Slam Bam were walking by. They saw Spyro and Cynder kissing and disgusted expressions crossed their faces. "How is it that those two can still love each other after all the Hell she's been putting us through?" Slam Bam exclaimed. He was hoping that Spyro and Cynder did not hear them, because he was a little fearful of what Spyro might do to him if he said anything more toward her. But little did he know that Hex was floating right behind him, having heard what he'd said.
"I'd suggest you shut up," Hex told him. Slam Bam yelled out in deep fear and whirled around to see her. She formed a Phantom Orb in her palm. "I could just go ahead and take you out right now. Of course, I mean take you out of consciousness…or so I hope. You see, I don't know the true strength of my Phantom Orbs, unfortunately. So I'd suggest you both get the heck out of here before I take you both down." She smiled at them, which scared them both terribly. After they'd run away, Hex floated over to where Spyro and Cynder were still kissing. When they broke apart and saw her, they both smiled. Hex could see they hadn't noticed Slam Bam and Wrecking Ball, and so she decided not to mention them to her greatest friends. "I see you both are doing quite well."
"Yes," Cynder said. "I think I'm beginning to recover. How's everything been going with you, Hex?"
"It's been going fine, but I can't help but remain weary," Hex said. "I am sorry if I am bringing up such a subject, but it is a force of habit. I am sorry."
"Don't be," Spyro said. "We've all been weary, but I've decided for now that if we have nothing to worry about so far, we can just rest and wait for all the good things to come. Don't you agree?" He flashed a smile.
Hex smiled back. "You are right. I will join you both in this good day. Hopefully some more of our friends will be joining us."
"Don't worry," Cynder said. "I'm sure they'll be coming soon enough. But for now, I just want to be talking with the both of you. How long do you think it will be until we have our next celebration? I know that the last one didn't end as well as we hoped, but when we have the next one, let's have the time of our lives!"
Soon Sunburn and Sonic Boom appeared, smiling. When they saw that Spyro and Cynder were in good moods, they were in them too. The five friends continued speaking of good moments in their lives. They couldn't help but feel that nothing bad had ever happened to them. As Spyro watched Cynder, he noticed she did not have any trouble with what she was doing. He noticed she was being her normal self the whole day, which was something he loved. It was something he had missed. Ever since Aemus had come into their lives, everything had been screwed up. But now, it seemed everything was beginning to return to normal. But Spyro knew Aemus would soon be coming. He hated that fact very much, but believed that as long as he could defeat the demon and save his mate, that was all that mattered. He never wanted Cynder to feel any pain, and Aemus had brought much of it down on her. But soon, he believed, it would all be over. Soon he would be able to return to his life with the beautiful Black Dragoness he loved so very much.
He kicked back and thought to himself, This is how our life should be. Everything was messed up by the arrival of Kaos and Malefor, and now Aemus. But I believe we can get through this. We should be able to get past this soon enough. Nothing will stop me in this quest to help the Black Dragoness I love recover from this ordeal. I'm not sure if it should be I who kills Aemus, or if it should be her, but all that matters is that it is almost all over. We're going to win, I am sure of it. When we take Aemus down, we'll be able to celebrate. Life will possibly become normal for the both of us, and that's exactly what I'm wishing, hoping, and believing for. If we can take down Aemus, then there will possibly never be anymore pain, sorrow, and suffering in Cynder's life. She's gone through too much to be worrying about what will happen when she wakes up in the morning. She shouldn't have to be afraid for the rest of her life because some monster is standing not far from her, ready to kill her. She's gone through too much already, and I'm not going to stand for it any longer. I love her too much for this to continue happening. I'm going to stop it, and nothing, not even the forces of darkness, will be able to stand in my way, that I know!
But Spyro put all that aside and returned to what he was doing with Cynder. She was enjoying herself. As she opened her mouth to speak, she said, "How is everything going with you guys?" She was speaking toward Sonic Boom and Sunburn. "I just want to know, because, as you know, everything's been a little hard on us, if you know what I'm saying."
"Everything's fine," Sunburn told her. "We're just tired right now. We didn't get too much sleep, because we think someone might have been making a little too much noise last night. We don't know who that was, but it doesn't matter. We'll most likely be able to enjoy a lot of sleep tonight, just as you guys will, I'm sure of it. Now, Spyro, do you mind if I speak to you for a moment?"
Spyro nodded and followed Sunburn as they walked away from Cynder, Sonic Boom, and Hex. "I need to talk to you about something, and normally, I would not say a word of this to anyone, but I'm sure he will allow me to do so," Sunburn explained. "It has to do with Camo and Whirlwind. Something happened to them last night."
"What do you mean?" Spyro asked. "What happened? Did it have something to do with Aemus or something like that?"
"In a way, yes," Sunburn said. "But it's a little worse than that. Last night Sonic Boom and I were talking about Cynder and Aemus. When we were finished, Sonic Boom and I decided to sleep. But then I heard a knocking near the balcony. When I took a look to see who it could be, I found Camo. He seemed really worried for some reason, and when I asked him what was bothering him, he replied to me that Whirlwind had this vision about Cynder. She wasn't the only one in the vision, however. Whirlwind was there, and so was Sonic Boom. In the vision, they were in this cold place. Whirlwind said she could hear Aemus's voice speaking out to them, and Sonic Boom seemed to have been beaten. Cynder was badly shivering, too. According to what I heard, the vision ended with all three of them dying. Sonic Boom had her throat slit, Whirlwind had her chest ripped open, and according to what he said, Cynder's heart was ripped out of her chest." He took a deep swallow and looked back at Cynder, Sonic Boom, and Hex. "I think that's why Camo and Whirlwind aren't here right now. Sonic Boom actually heard him tell me this, but I'm not sure what she feels about it. I'm scared for all three of them. I don't have someone I am most scared for, because Cynder is the one going through the most, and Sonic Boom is my mate…but the thing is, I don't know what we're going to do! I want to keep them safe, but it seems that it's so hard to do so all the freaking time! What can we do that will protect all three of them without anyone else getting hurt?"
"I don't know," Spyro said. He looked behind Sunburn and saw Cynder. "I love her so much. I want to keep protecting her until the end of time. But it's so hard. This world keeps falling down around her, and that is something I don't want in her life. She deserves a normal life, without any pain or suffering. I believe that might come one of these days, but I'm not sure when, and I'm not sure how. All we can do is just keep praying and believing. But for now, we need to keep this a secret from Cynder. I'm not sure how she would take this if she found out. She takes things so hard now, and that's such a terrible thing." He sighed. "For now, let's get back to being with them. I'm sure that vision won't be happening, but we need to stay on our toes. I can't allow my mate to be injured anymore. I'll protect her until my last breath."
"To be honest, that won't be easy, Spyro," Sunburn admitted to him. "That's something no one can really do. It's too hard for everyone to do such a thing. For some reason, life isn't fair with us. We're going to have to continue praying and believing, like you said. I want everyone to be protected. I want Sonic Boom, you, Hex, Camo, Whirlwind, Cynder…I want all of you to be protected, because I think of all of you as my brothers and sisters. Sonic Boom is my mate, and so you understand my concern when it comes to me wanting to protect her so much. We can't tell any of them about the vision, because we don't know how they would react to such a thing. The only problem we face is how they would react if they ever learn of it."
"They won't learn of it," Spyro told him seriously. "We can make sure of that. Now come on. Let's get back to them. They're probably wondering what we're talking about to begin with. Let's not make them wait any longer."
At the same time, Cynder was listening to a joke Sonic Boom was telling. When she heard the whole thing, she began laughing hard, loving the moment she was having. She hoped this moment never ended. She decided right then and there that she would keep the moment in her memory until the end of her years. She believed that when this day was over, she would replay it in her mind whenever she faced another dark hour just so that she could remember what it was like to feel warm and to be able to cherish her friendship with everyone she loved. Although some of her friends were not there, she did not blame them. She guessed they were asleep, which she believed they deserved.
My life is so great right now, Cynder thought. I have the greatest friends in the world. I've thought that I need more sometimes, but I believe that at this moment, I've got all the friends I need. I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life. No one will ever be able to end it, not even Aemus. While demons can hurt others, there are times when they cannot come anywhere near you. He's nowhere near me, and that is something that I love more than ever.
She observed her surroundings, noticing how everything was so beautiful. She saw Sonic Boom, who was speaking to her. Cynder listened to every word she said as she observed everything else around her. She felt Spyro place a paw on her shoulder and draw her close, something she loved more than ever. She saw Sunburn hug Sonic Boom. Hex floated there, watching them and smiling. She saw that Flashwing and Drobot were coming toward them, with Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt not too far behind. Cynder saw the beautiful green grass, suddenly noticing how it was becoming brown and dying. She looked in front of her, still smiling, and saw Aemus, an evil smile across his face.