Chapter Twelve: Draak's Dienaar

Spyro and Cynder found themselves the next day near the healing tent. They were waiting on Sunburn and Sonic Boom, whom they had told they needed to see. There was something troubling both Spyro and Cynder. They had realized something very important to their battle against Aemus. They needed to speak with some of their friends and possibly some others.

The Griffiness and the Phoenix-Dragon came into their view. Spyro and Cynder both smiled at them, and they smiled back.

"What's going on?" Sunburn asked. "We were actually a little concerned when you called us up, Spyro. Is something happening?"

"Yes," answered Spyro. "Cynder and I realized something that might be very vital to this whole mess we've all been going through. We thought you might want to know what we think."

"Sure," Sonic Boom said. She looked to Cynder and smiled. "You doing okay, Cyn? You seem to be in a good mood."

"Yes, I'm doing okay," Cynder told her with honesty. "I could be doing better, but I think we could all be doing better. This is probably one of the best days I've had in a long time."

"Well," Spyro began, "most likely, things will be changing for you. Now, let's get into the healing tent and start talking. This might take a while, because there's possibly a lot to go over."

Spyro and Cynder led them into the healing tent. They found Flashwing and Cali standing there. They had both been speaking together, and when they saw those who had entered the tent, they fell silent. Flashwing and Cali both smiled at Cynder.

"Hey guys," Flashwing greeted. "What's going on?" She could see they were serious, despite the smiles on their faces.

"We need to talk in here about something, that's all," Spyro told them. "I think we're good with who we have. Do you know where Whirlwind and Camo might be? And Drobot?"

"Not sure," Flashwing admitted. "I haven't seen Drobot since last night, unfortunately. As for Whirlwind and Camo, I last saw them near their treehouse. I'm surprised you guys didn't see them as you came over here."

"They must have left before that," Spyro said. "But I think it's better that we begin for right now. This is sort of a serious matter, so just to warn you, make sure that none of what we speak about in here leaves this tent! Do you all understand?"

"Spyro, it's okay," Cynder assured him. "It's not like many of the Skylanders are going to care much. Some of this has to do with me, and, well, you know how a lot of them are when it comes to anything about me."

Spyro looked over to her, wondering why she would say such a thing. She had a grim expression on her face, something that didn't surprise him. He could tell she didn't like having to deal with events such as this, and once again, he couldn't blame her.

Spyro sighed, and then continued with, "Okay. Well, Cyn and I have been thinking about why Aemus can still get in here despite all the defenses we've been putting up. There have been a lot of ideas we've gone through, and she and I still haven't thought of one. Can any of you give me an answer for why Aemus can still get into the Ruins despite our defenses?"

"Maybe it has to do with Dark Magic?" Flashwing suggested. "I've seen that happen before. Normal Magic may have a lot of surprises hidden within it, but when it comes to Dark Magic, there's a whole new level to be explored. I've seen it happen before, because there was once this cult that came after me for my gems while I was on a mission with Hex about two years ago. They caught me while I was sneaking around their camp, and they bound and gagged me. I was knocked out in the process, and when I woke up, I was right above a fire. They starting performing a Gebruik—that means 'ritual' in their language—and it had to do with Dark Magic. I felt my lifeforce leaving my body, and it wasn't until Hex came and took all of them down that I began to feel normal. I passed out due to the pain afterward. But what I'm trying to say with that is, the Dark Magic shouldn't have come anywhere near me the way it did, because I had you, Spyro, and a few other Skylanders place normal protective Magic as wards around me. Those wards should have stopped the Dark Magic. But it seems there was something much different about that kind of Dark Magic. And it felt a heck of a lot different, too." She looked over to Cynder. "I'm sorry that I'm bringing this up, Cyn, but when we were fighting you in your corrupted form, I could feel Dark Magic radiating off your skin. It felt just like that cult's. Normal Dark Magic is like what Hex uses as her primary abilities. But that Magic radiating off your skin, as well as the cult's Dark Magic, was very different. Aemus must have some of that Dark Magic in him. That's what he has to be using."

"But how could he get through all the defenses we left on the gate?" Sonic Boom asked. "Your theory seems like it might work, but how could he get through the gate? Those defenses are one heck of a lot different than the wards that might have been placed on your body."

"No," Spyro said. "Sonic Boom, I can see where you're coming from, but that's not true. The wards placed on her body came from eight other Skylanders, each one of them a Captain, each one of them from a different Element. The Skylanders who placed those wards on your body, Flashwing, were some of the strongest Skylanders there are. I remember exactly who they were. As I mentioned, there were eight. I was one of them, along with Cynder, Gill Grunt, Sonic Boom, Sunburn, Bash, Stealth Elf, and Drobot. Trigger Happy would've done it for the Tech, but he was also on a mission at the time. Flashwing, your wards had the same amount of power as the Magic on the gate. Sure, Trigger Happy might not have been there, but it doesn't matter who places the wards or gives off the magic, so long as they're strong. So this cult used almost the same Dark Magic as what Aemus is using against us now." Spyro shook his head, almost unable to believe what was being revealed before him. Then a vital question came to his mind. "Flashwing, do you by chance remember the name of the cult who captured you?"

"Uh, I think so," Flashwing said. "Let me think…" There was a minute or so of silence before Flashwing's eyes finally shone with a hint of recognition. She looked right at Spyro with a small hint of a smile on her face, satisfied with herself. "The name of the cult was Draak's Dienaar."

Suddenly Cynder's eyes widened. Her stomach began to churn, and she felt she was about to throw up. Her chest was tightening, her throat was on fire, and her eyes were watering. She groaned in pain, and as soon as the Skylanders around her heard that, they knew something was wrong. Spyro put a paw on her shoulder as she slowly lowered herself to the ground.

"Cynder?" he asked. "Have you heard that name before?"

"Yes," she admitted. She looked up at him, her sapphire eyes burning with pain, rage, and sorrow. "Draak's Dienaar. Such a terrible name." She cleared her throat, tears begin to flow slowly down her cheeks. "I remember this from my terrible days when I was enslaved. Draak was an alias for Malefor. He used it whenever he reached a new town or city so that the inhabitants didn't know who he truly was underneath. They never knew who he truly was until he revealed himself and I began burning the city down. I remember being there when he came up with the alias, and I remember all of a sudden that it was Aemus who helped him come up with that terrible alias. It was Aemus and someone else. I don't remember who the second person was. But if that was the cult you ran into, then it's no wonder Aemus is using the same Dark Magic. That cult is what's left of some of Malefor's original army. The ones who were under me." Cynder hung her head and sighed. "This world was never meant for someone like me. That much has been made clear by what's been going on."

Spyro patted her back. He saw a small smile cross her face, and that made him smile a little. He was happy, but he was also sad. The happiness came from the fact that they knew now how Aemus was getting in despite their defenses. He wondered what the source of the Dark Magic in him was. The sadness, meanwhile, was for his mate and how she was feeling at that moment. He hated seeing her in pain and sorrow.

Once more silence filled the tent. Every Skylander, as well as Cali, did not move a muscle. They hardly breathed in or out. It remained such a way for nearly twenty minutes.

During this time, Sunburn decided to think about all he had heard. There was a lot swirling around in his mind, and he hoped he could get the chance to think it all through.

Whatever is happening around us, we now know how we can be ready. Aemus's Dark Magic must be taken away real soon. I don't know exactly how we can take it out of him, but where there's a will, there's a way. Whenever that will is a dark and evil one, it will never be fulfilled, however. Aemus's will is one of the darkest and most vile that I have ever seen. Killing someone is such a terrible one, especially when it comes to someone so beautiful and so pure. Cynder never deserved this, and Aemus will soon see what consequences come with hurting such a valuable member of the Skylanders. Soon enough this will all end, and Aemus will be gone for good. I know that for sure.

Sunburn stopped thinking and continued waiting out the silence. It remained silent in the healing tent for another ten minutes before it was broken. The silence was finally broken by Drobot.

"There's something I want to know," he said. "How will we know where Aemus will be coming from next? He can't be far from here, with the quick ways in which he appears. There must be a place he has as a hideout. From what I can tell, it must be a place where he would never think one of the Skylanders would venture near. It would probably be a place he wouldn't want Cynder to come near until the time was right, or so I think. So that means, quite possibly, that Aemus's hideout has to do with Ice." As he finished his last sentence, Cynder looked to Spyro with wide eyes. "It makes sense, because Cynder has a weakness to the cold. He doesn't want her to find where he is, but it seems now that every single time he returns, he is stronger. Who's not to say that the reason behind that is the fact that he can get strength from the Element he possesses? It must be the reason behind his strength, other than use of Dark Magic."

"My God," Cynder whispered. Her face lit up. "Drobot, you're a genius!" At this, Drobot smiled. "So if he's somewhere cold, then that means…" Her voice trailed off. She attempted to think of where Aemus could be hiding out. Let me see. If it's somewhere cold, and it's somewhere close to here…Oh God… "It has to be the Ice Caverns!" she exclaimed. "That's the closest location to the Ruins that could possibly be that cold. It's less than three miles from here, which would take us only about an hour or two to trek. It would only take that long due to the rough ground. There's a small swamp we would have to pass through, and then there's a small patch of land that a lot of wild animals like to feed at, so we would have to be careful there. But otherwise, it wouldn't take long at all." She smiled. She looked around, seeing the surprised faces of all her friends, including Spyro. She looked to him and said, "What? Wouldn't you have thought I'd take a little adventure of my own without all the true danger in the nearly four years I've been a member of the Skylanders?"

Spyro smiled at her, loving that she seemed to be getting past the pain and suffering she'd recently gone through. Though it was not much, it was enough to make him smile.

"Alright," Spyro said. "So now we know where Aemus is holed up at. We have to travel there soon. That's the smartest thing we can do. If we don't do this, then there might not be a second chance. We can't afford for Aemus to enter the Ruins yet again. It would help any of us. It most certainly would not help Cynder if we allowed that monster back in here. So tomorrow, we're going to start on our way over to the Ice Caverns. Now we just need to see if there are any other Skylanders that would like to accompany us."

"Whirlwind and Camo are the only other two that I could think of," Cynder told him. "Well, them and possibly Stealth Elf. But I can't think of anyone else. Trigger Happy and Gill Grunt might want to come, then again. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for right now."

Cali looked at them. "So you will all be trekking through that path to the Caverns of Ice tomorrow?" she asked. "It seems a little dangerous. You would probably tire yourselves out. Why don't you allow Flynn to take you over there in one of his balloons, or have Stealth Elf teleport you?"

"Aemus is probably expecting us to do such a thing," Cynder said. "I might not have known him all too well, but I know enough about him to know that kind of stuff. It makes sense if you think about it, too. We need to catch Aemus by surprise. If we fail at that, then we're screwed. But for now, let's stay on the positive side. We can't give up just because everything seems a little bleak, you know? We have to keep our minds on the bright side as well as we can. Doubts caused many to die when it came to the mind games Malefor and Aemus played with the inhabitants of the cities and towns they took over. I had to stand witness to those mind games, unfortunately. But I know that Aemus has those kinds of abilities, and so it won't be hard for me to get past them. If you see those gray eyes of his suddenly turn a yellow color, close your eyes, your mind, and your heart. If you don't, and you have a doubt somewhere in between, there might be some severe consequences. It's better to be careful." She nodded and smiled.

The others were now smiling at her. They loved she was becoming somewhat happier. Happiness was something that had seemingly gone away from her since the White Dragon's first appearance.

Cynder then sighed and said, "Let's get out of here and see if we can find Whirlwind and Camo." She looked to Sonic Boom and Sunburn. "Would you mind telling them what we've decided and what we spoke about in here?" They both nodded, and Cynder nodded back. She looked to Spyro. "I know it's a little early, but I think I could use a nap."

"I think you deserve it if you're going to accompany us to the Ice Caverns," Spyro said. He felt some apprehension as he said those words. "But the only problem is the fact you're so easily affected by the cold. It would make you an easier target for Aemus, and you know how much I don't want that."

Cynder shushed him as he opened his mouth to speak again. He tried once more after a few seconds of silence, but this time Cynder silenced him with a passionate kiss. Spyro's eyes widened as he felt her do this, but then he returned it. It was one of the best things he'd ever felt in his life. Knowing she was there with him made him feel better about the situations transpiring all around them.

As they broke apart, they saw Whirlwind and Camo coming toward them, both smiling brightly. Spyro and Cynder returned the smiles.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Whirlwind asked.

"We just finished a discussion," Spyro answered. "Sunburn and Sonic Boom will fill you in on it. Cynder and I are going back to our treehouse right now to take a nap. We'll be back here in a few hours." He and Cynder opened their wings and flew off, leaving Whirlwind and Camo.

The two Hybrids went to Sunburn and Sonic Boom, who were waiting on them.

"So what was it that Spyro and Cynder wanted you guys to tell us?" Whirlwind asked.

Sunburn sighed, and though he was, for some reason, reluctant, he began telling them of their plan to go into the Ice Caverns, as well as what Flashwing had revealed, and how Cynder had revealed she'd been involved with the cult. As Whirlwind heard this part, she gasped, and her eyes seemed to water up.

Once he was finished, Whirlwind and Camo were stupefied.

"So Cynder will be coming with us into the Ice Caverns?" Camo asked. "That doesn't seem like such a good idea. I mean, she's—"

"She's vulnerable to cold weather, I know," Sonic Boom said. "We all know, and that fact is something that terribly worries me. I want to keep her safe forever, but this idea is not going to help us maintain that fact. Keeping her safe is so hard, and that's not just because of the monsters around us. Cynder has a cocky attitude. It may not have shown itself in a long time, but it's still there in her somewhere, you know? That's the worst problem, and Cynder doesn't help when it comes to this because that cocky attitude keeps coming right back up. No one might have noticed it, but I have. I know that, because I have it, too. I wish I could say that I used to have it, but it's still there, unfortunately. I remember, back when Kaos forced us to fight him here at the Ruins, during the last day of the battle, I was going up against some Trolls and a couple of Stone Golems. I was way too cocky at that time, and I allowed one of the creatures to leave my line of vision. Cynder was fighting near me, and while I was talking, I laid my defenses down, and the Stone Golem punched me in my side. One of my ribs broke, and I couldn't breathe very well. Cynder told me that I needed to get medical help, but I didn't listen, and it was because of that, she became angry, and I nearly caused her dark side to come out. Of course, it no longer matters now. But it was because of that event that I'm scared for her. She still has some of that cocky spirit in her. I want her to be safe, but we don't know what surprises Aemus has in store for all of us, and I don't know if that cocky spirit will arise again in her. I'm just scared for her, you know?"

Sunburn placed a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he assured her. "We'll be there with her. We'll make sure she is safe. You need to remember that, okay?" He smiled a little more when she saw him nod.

Whirlwind and Camo saw Flashwing coming over to them. She was smiling, and they smiled back, but she could tell something was going on. She stopped by them. "Spyro and Cynder left?" she asked. Sonic Boom nodded. "Good. They deserved to rest a little. I think I'm going to to do the same soon enough. I just wanted to come over and talk to you guys a little bit."

"Well, things are definitely changing around us," Sunburn observed.

"You got that right," Camo said. "We need to keep our ears open and our eyes wide. There's so much going on around us, and we shouldn't keep our minds closed on it."

Silence fell around them, and soon enough Flashwing decided their conversation was over. She cleared her throat and began speaking once more. "Well, I think I'm done here," she said. "I'm going to go and take a nap. I hope to see you guys again soon."

She opened her crystal wings and flew off, leaving the others to just watch.

Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder lay in their bed, preparing to sleep. Cynder was dozing off already, and Spyro curled up around her. He did it slowly, as he'd startled her before by doing it while she was already asleep. He didn't wish to do such a thing again.

As he closed his eyes, he focused his mind on the soft winds breezing around outside and Cynder's beautiful, soft breathing.

Cynder, despite her dozing off, had her mind on what was coming. Though she was fearful, she knew it didn't matter as much, as Spyro was still there. But would that be enough?

She closed her eyes, and began sleeping.

She found herself in the middle of a village. There was a fire blazing in the middle of the village, and Cynder saw many people, most of them Apes and Death Hounds, with some Dreadwings close by.

Looking to her right, she found Malefor, chanting something under his breath. She heard his demonic voice, though she was still unable to understand what the monster was saying.

Looking to her left, she saw Aemus, an evil smile plastered upon his face. There was a huge Ape there, as well. Cynder could not remember his name, though she could remember one of his titles, given to him by Malefor: the Ape King.

Malefor stopped chanting, and suddenly Cynder felt different. She felt…stronger. The feeling stayed with her for a while, and it would not go away. However, she did not want it to go away. She loved it.

"We have gathered here today to welcome your new leader," said Malefor. "Some might say I was cruel, but I took the young hatchling from her egg, and I used my powers to make her larger. She is now under my control. Her name is Cynder."

Cynder saw the Dark Master look toward her, his evil yellow eyes glowing with malice and darkness. She cringed…but she didn't cringe.

"This world isn't meant for us," Malefor said. "But now we will make the world just for us. Those who stand beneath us shall perish in walls of Fire. Blood shall run like a red river…and we shall stand over the bodies of those who have opposed us." He turned to Cynder. "This is the true destiny of our kind. Your destiny is to destroy the world…and rebuild it." Malefor roared into the sky, the soldiers and even Cynder doing the same. She heard Malefor's demonic laugh, as well as Aemus laughing, and it sent chills up her spine…

She awoke in her bed. She felt sweat dripping down both sides of her face and her forehead. Cynder wondered what was in store for she and the rest of the Skylanders. It was all so confusing. She could not wrap her mind around all the events that were now transpiring.

Maybe it's better that I don't try for now, she thought. I need to try to sleep, because that'll make everything better for me. I've gone through so much, and I feel I deserve a break. But that break won't come until Aemus is dead. I know that for sure. She felt Spyro's warmth all around her. He was holding her close, and his hot breath touched her neck. He understands me only somewhat. Only I can understand me completely. But there's nothing out there for me to attempt to find, it seems. My past is one of the strangest things I've ever known. I know that what I just saw was a memory. I remember it happening. In truth, I was only a hatchling when that happened, but I'd been manipulated into being an adult Dragoness. It's such a terrible feeling, and I hate it with all my heart. None of the Skylanders have gone through something such as that. Hex has gone through some of the same pain as I, but it's not the same. Other than those we've gone through with Aemus, the only problem Spyro has had to deal with when it comes to his past is the fact that he had to find his own destiny when he was young. Fortunately, the road to his destiny brought mine their, as well, and that's how we met. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here now: tucked in on a bed, a warm blanket draped over me, a mate that trusts me always…I could still be out there, in the darkness, searching for a cure to what I do not know, never being fulfilled…It's such a terrible thought. I should put it behind me, however. What I'm thinking of is in the past. I should try to look on to the future. The only problem is, Aemus is part of both, because tomorrow, we're leaving for the Ice Caverns, a place where my strength will be at its lowest. A place where that beast will be lurking. She shivered. She kept thinking of Spyro's warm embrace around her. The thought made her smile a little. At least I'll have my mate there. As long as Spyro's around, I'm safe. I hope…