Chapter 4: All Out Brawl

"Damn it! How could this have happened! Everything has fallen apart because of you two!" Flint yelled with rage, slamming his fist into the rock wall of his room, and looking back to the two as they stood there with blood still on their bodies from what had happened, "Now that Ignitus knows of a new dark master, it's going to make things more difficult on everything that I have planned! Just leave and let me think! Spyro isn't someone you two could've taken on by yourself so I won't blame you as much as to what happened, and with Malefor joining that fight, I guess there wasn't much you could do."

Both the dragons were quite surprised how nice he was being to them. Waving his paw, they knew they should leave before Flint got any more angry then he already was. Walking out of the room, the red Dragon shut the door behind him, giving Flint time to himself. Walking back to his bed, he laid there, thinking of what he could do to counteract what has been revealed, Ignitus knows of a dark master, but he doesn't know who, and that's why I never revealed who I was to Claire, and the apes are too stupid to say anything. Even with the information I have from the past dark master, Malefor, I still can't find what else I can do. With him being the Chronicler, he can alert Spyro at any time if I make a misstep. I need to pull my dark forces back aside from the fast one's and make sure they are not discovered. Standing up off his bed, he started to pace back and forth in his room, scared to know what would happen, It's fine, we can work with this actually. Ignitus is still new to the Chronicler thing from what I've found with my dark forces scouting him. And if he is the Chronicler from what I've gathered, then that must mean he can't see through the thoughts of dark minds. Malefor figured that out as he became corrupted... So as long as there is darkness in my mind as well, he won't be able to track me... Which is very good, as I can still track him very easily. Growling from a slight stabbing pain underneath the right side of his wing, he looked down at it, seeing a good size scar that went across his side. Putting his wing back down, he tried not to think of it. As things seemed to be quiet, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," He commanded as he stopped in the middle of the room and looked to the door.

As the door opened, it revealed a yellow Dragon, "Sir, we are nearly completed with the preparation of the building. Is there anything else we can work on to increase our efficiency?"

Thinking of a possible idea, he had one idea that came to mind. Looking through his thoughts and the memories of Malefor from when he was the dark master, he had the perfect idea, "Yeah, I have a perfect idea. See if you can look for the Destroyer. Malefor was a fool to hold himself back from someone he loved, but I don't have someone I love... Get some fire dragons that are strong enough to withstand the heat. Malefor knew he could bring back the Destroyer, but he didn't, so why don't we try it out and see how it goes for us."

"Wait, what?! But that doesn't make any sense. If the Destroyer already failed in his mission to destroy the world, how would he be able to do such a thing again? When he was awake, he wasn't awakened near the volcano at all, so even if we brought him back, he would it come back from the middle of the earth."

"Think of it likes this; When the Destroyer fell into the volcano, his body was as heavy as almost a planet. When he fell into that volcano, it reacted to the core in the earth. And lava to him is like water, he would've floated back up from the lava pushing him up. Which means, he is in the volcano somewhere, laying dormant to be awaken again. It's going to take a while as we need to find a way to get him out without any one seeing and give him enough of a running start to jump back into the volcano."

"But... wouldn't that kill everyone on the planet?"

"Your point being?"

"Well... I only helped because I want to get revenge against Malefor, same as everyone else. I don't plan to destroy the planet to do that. Even if it would kill Malefor, what about everyone else, they've never done anything to us."

"Oh, is that how you feel? Well, think about it this way; Why does it matter about what happens to everyone else? Huh? This is the way the world works, when one fails to destroy the world, another will rise and take it's place to deal with it. Except, the second time will be different. Why does it matter what happens to every one else when everyone you care about is dead? Why does it matter what happens to everyone else when all of the pain and suffering everyone would go through would end right then and there? I'm trying to save everyone from this world, do you understand?! There is nothing in this world that is worth living for if it all comes to an end anyway! You die softly, you wake up to a life without pain and suffering, without loss, don't you understand!"

"Yes but... Even though I've lost everyone I've cared about: My parents, my sister, and my brother, what if there is someone else out there for me? Some one I can love?"

"Why does it matter who you will love when they'll die in the end anyway?!"

"Because... There is more to life then death and pain. Even after your worst days, there is always that day that makes up for it, that day where, even though it was a bad one and everything went wrong, this day, everything went right. Maybe that could happen one day, where every day is a good day."

"Lies!"

"What..."

"You are wrong! Where was my good day after what's happened in my life?! I've had to work so hard to get to where I am today, and your telling me that it doesn't matter what you do because in the end you'll have a good day?! What a stupid line of thinking! Tell me, how was your day good when your parents died, when your brother or sister died?! They all died and your telling me that everything turned out okay in the end?!"

Looking to the ground, he realised he was right as he didn't have anyone after that had happened, and he knew it was all Malefor's fault because of what had happened. Sighing from his anger, Flint continued, "Look, it doesn't matter if you have this, good day, or not. In the end, the worst days you have will hit you harder then your so called best days. Why go through life when you know that you'll have a bad day, a day where you could lose it all. That's why we need the Destroyer, we need him to get rid of the world and stop the pain and suffering, along with killing Spyro and Malefor in the process."

Looking up at him, he apologized in advance, "Sorry to ask sir, but, what about... what about Cynder?"

"Cynder... What about her?!"

"I didn't mean anything by it I swear it's just, if the world explodes, what will happen to her?"

Sighing slightly from his words, he explained, "The destroy is as a last resort if I feel it need be to destroy the world. I can't talk to her directly so I will need to pay the Chronicler a visit one day and tell him that if Cynder isn't delivered to me and become my lover, my mate, then I will destroy the world. And if the Destroyer fails to do as I would hope for it to do, then I will try more, advance, tactics in trying to get Cynder to be with me. Even if it means force."

"Yes sir... I will, leave you be and try to get a team together and get back to you when I have them."

"Alright..."

Turning and walking out of the room, he shut the door behind himself as he left, leaving Flint to himself once again. Looking to the ground, he was back to his thoughts, but it wasn't about what had happened, Cynder... The first day I laid eyes on you, I knew that I needed you, to love, to have as someone to live by... and yet, I forgot about you. I'm sorry. I need to not stress as much, I need to remember who I'm doing this for. If you were to come with me my love... I know I could find a way to end it all, without destroying the world. But for now, that's what I must do. I will see you soon, and I will have you as my mate. Walking back to his bed, he laid down, and closing his eyes, a small tear dropped down his cheek. You shouldn't have had to go... it's all my fault.

Putting a paw on the side of Volteer, Ignitus looked down at him and woke him, "Volteer, hey, wake up. I have a surprise for you."

Grumbling slight, he slowly opened up his eyes. Opening his mouth and yawning, he closed his mouth and asked, "Ignitus...?"

"I hope you slept well."

"Didn't really dream so, Yeah, I guess I slept pretty good. But then again, I feel like I'm dreaming now. There's no way you would be standing up talking to me without Claire under your wing."

"Hehe, you're right about that. I wanted to wake you but, I also didn't want to move and wake Claire in the process so..." He paused as he moved out of his line of sight, seeing Ignitus was still laying with Claire, "I'm technically what you can call a clone. I needed to do some more work after what's happened and I've made a clone of myself to fulfil that."

"Wow, I'm flipping out right now. Does that mean if your clone gets stabbed in the shoulder along with your real self, you will feel pain two times the amount you would before?"

"Thank Ancestors it doesn't work that way. Think of me like, another version of myself. I can touch, see, hear, and feel, but until I disappear, I won't gain those memories."

"So, when you disappear, all the memories and everything you've done will return to your body itself."

"Precisely."

"So, if you were stabbed in the shoulder and returned to your body..."

"I would disappear and return to my body without a side affect."

"What? So your telling me you could basically fight in this body right now, then it gets wounded, and you would just disappear without having to worry about being damaged or hurt? When did you learn to do this?"

"A lot happens when you all are asleep, but let's just say, other Chronicler's of myself are finding different ways to make sure we are prepared for anything to come. And since what happened last night, Spyro was right about one thing, the world has finally gone back to a more peaceful state, and I wanted to be helpful in keeping that. So, last night, now that I have Claire with me and I'm staying here, I brought almost every book from the White Isle and brought it here for you to read."

"What?!"

Looking all around the room, he saw books surrounding the entire area, aside from the door and windows. He jumped right past Ignitus and quickly dove into the books with a huge smile on his face, dying to read more on Dragon history along with elements, plenty of words, and math. Opening up a book, he sat down, opened it, and started reading. Ignitus chuckled to see him smiling as he read a book on the chemicals on his ability, along with fire, ice, and earth.

"The only books I couldn't give you were about other dragon's lives, but, I'm sure you understand," Ignitus said.

Volteer nodded and continued to read more on the book. Walking back over to his body, he placed a paw over it, and just before he disappeared, he looked to see the smile on Claire's face, You're so beautiful. Thank you, Ancestors, for allowing me to have a life with her. And thank you, Spyro, for being such a big help yesterday. Disappearing into smoke, Ignitus shivered as he gained the memories from his clone on what has happened, which made him smile a little, but with the memories he got, he found something that his clone had found. Weird... A lot of these dragons have gone dark, and I can't seem to figure out where they've gone. They walk into the forest, and then nothing. I need to look more into what's happened in their past and find out why they've disappeared... Strange.

Should I be scared? I believe in what Malefor had said but, even from what I said I, I don't know if I can trust him. Even with as easy as I took out those dragons, that might mean there are more, and what if they are stronger, or faster, or even smarter then me? I need to be more prepared, and, that might even mean training with Malefor. He was somewhat of a help when it came to those dragons. And maybe while we are training, I can get some information on if he was telling the truth or not, Spyro thought, slowly opening his eyes, scared to know if peace was still out of reach. Slowly standing up, he took his wing off Cynder, and carefully pulled his tail from her tail as well. Jumping off the bed and walking to the door, he grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed open the door. Walking over to Malefor's room, his door was slowly being opened. Spyro stopped, and looked to see Malefor was already awake.

"You're awake?" Spyro asked, somewhat surprised to see him up so early.

"Of course I am. The last times I've gone to bed, you were always there to wake me up, threatening to kill me. It's best I wake up before so I don't have to worry about you almost killing me every morning," Malefor joked, popping his neck as he stretched himself out, "And look at what we have here. You were coming to wake me up, weren't you?"

"Yeah... Malefor, come to the training room with me. I need to talk to you."

"Okay..."

Walking to the training room, Spyro grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed open the door. Walking in, Malefor was right behind and shut the door as the two entered. Waiting by the door, Spyro walked to the middle of the training room, causing Malefor to quickly block the front of himself with his wings, "Let me guess, another ice shard? Come on, I'm ready for it. I know you're dying to shoot one at me."

Putting his wings back to his side, he looked to see Spyro turned to face him, and he looked so serious, which made him somewhat sad, "Alright, fine, You've caught me, while I was asleep, I killed everyone you love including the Guardians. Is that what you what me to say so you can kill me? You're bumming me out man. Last night you said I did good and now your back to, this. Is there even a point in trying to prove myself to you if at every day you'll end up like this?"

"That's not what this is about," Spyro declined his words, "It's true I still don't trust you, but I wanted to wake you up in hopes that we could train together some and see how we do. With those dragons out there, there might be more, and I need to be ready for anything. I don't like the idea of you getting stronger, but, I might need you later on to keep everyone safe for me if I ever go off and have to deal with something... or someone."

"Wow, okay, so you don't trust me enough to not kill me, but then one day, if you ever leave to do something stupid, you'll trust me not to kill everyone? I'm kinda getting two different signals from you."

"I trust you a little more then I do. I would've trusted you more if it hadn't been for that dragon's words. And even if he was lying, I just need to make sure that he wasn't."

Walking up to Spyro, he sat down in front of him. Putting a paw on his own chest, he swore he had nothing to do with those dragons, "Spyro, I swear on the little bit of respect that you have left for me, i didn't call those dragons to hurt any one of you. And even if I did, you think I would send two, bony little dragons like those guys to fight? I'm not that stupid."

"They weren't bony."

Putting his paw back to the ground, he disagreed, "What? Yeah, sure, they had muscles, but compared to us, they didn't have nothing. So stop being so worried all the time because then you get all grumpy, and last time that happened, you almost killed me on the pavement of Warfang... Not the best way to go."

"Malefor, I'm not grumpy, I'm just scared... Last time I told myself I was strong, I put Cynder through more then she should've been through. I told myself I was strong... but where was my strength when she needed me the most."

"Spyro, you had the strength, remember. You took an arrow to the heart, held on long enough to get to gems, and still had enough time to destroy those dark forces with your powers. All because you don't have over whelming power doesn't mean you are weak. It's true you've gotten stronger, but a stab to the heart, come on man, even I know that would've killed me if Carith wouldn't have done the same that Cynder did."

"But look at me now. With that new, dark form, I can easily take a hit, a wound, a fatal one, and still keep on going. I wasn't able to do that back then, and who knows what else I can do, who knows what else someone else could do if they were more powerful then me. I couldn't live with myself if I had lost Cynder because I wasn't powerful enough. Do you not understand that?"

"Of course I do, but that's my point, if you have that form, why bother training so much? Remember when you tried to show Claire your power? You ripped up the hallway and then some. I mean, imagine what that would do to a dragon, to his scales, to his body. Why are you so worked up about your power?"

"Because... I don't want to have to rely on that ability, especially because of what it took to get it."

"What? Spyro, come on..."

"No! Every time I use the ability, the only thing I can think about is what you did to Cynder! I feel like this ability of mine was a curse; It gives me overwhelming strength along with a scar that I have to forever remember! You act like having that power is some kind of gift, well it's not, it's Hell, and even as calm as I try to be, it still takes anger and sadness to control, and because of that, I still think back to that day... To think I made it get that bad... And to think, without that power, I still would've been too weak to stop you... And that's pissed me off every time I think about it."

"What I did... to Cynder?"

Growling at Malefor's words, he turned and looked away from him, taking a couple of steps away. Shaking his head with a frown, Malefor knew he shouldn't have said something and knew he should help him out with what was happening. Walking up to his side, Malefor had sat down just as Spyro did. Looking at the ground, Spyro continued to speak, "I've relied on my convexity too much. I've pushed the light in my powers too far down, and I've become too dependent on my dark powers for help. It's actually funny... Cynder said she would love to see me in that form, just without all the darkness, and it gives me more to strive for... I have to get better."

"Spyro... I... I know you are scared about what had happened, and I know that form you have isn't ideal, but look at what it has thought you. It shows that you can be strong enough to take a hit, it shows you are fast enough to protect someone, it shows that, you have the power with in you to be more. I will train with you to get stronger, and if you think I'm too strong, then I guess you'll have to take my death up with Carith, she should be fine with it."

"Malefor..."

"Dude, it was a joke, chill. Maybe you can ask mister know it all Volteer about what he might know on your light power compared to your dark powers and see if there is a way to become stronger then your dark powers, see if your dark powers unlocked something you were never able to do before. Cynder might've been hurt, but look on the bright side, now with this power, you never have to worry about that ever again."

Sighing with a smile, he was somewhat glad he had Malefor to talk to, but that didn't stop him from having hate towards him. With a loud cry from Malefor, he looked behind himself to see a dark force had stabbed him in the tail with a sword. Looking at Spyro, he growled at him, causing Spyro to chuckle, "What, you said you wanted to help me train. Now quit whining, kill him, pull the sword out, and lets keep going."

Doing as he said, Malefor turned to the dark creatures, quickly burning it in flames. Grabbing the sword from his tail, he yanked it out with another loud cry before throwing it to the ground, causing it to disappear. Hundreds of dark creatures started to form all around him and Spyro. Standing up next to his side, Spyro faced the other direction of him, and the two got into a fighting stance. Putting his tail blade against Malefor's chest, he thanked him, "Thank you, for the talk. Still going to kill you one day but, I'm glad you proved me wrong."

Putting his tail blade against Spyro's chest, he joked, "Well, you know, tons of dragons usually look on to me when it comes to advice."

Pulling their tail blades down, Spyro chuckled, "Yeah right. After today, you're going to be looking to me on advice on how not to act like a little hatchling when you get stabbed or slashed by one of these little Bastards."

"Yeah yeah, we will see who's whining after I beat these guys. Bet you will take more damage then me."

With a launch of an arrow, the two ran in battle to fight the army of dark forces that surrounded the room. Slicing at the dark creatures throat before spinning around and slicing another one with his tail blade, Spyro thought to himself as he fought, Maybe I can trust Malefor after all. And talking with Volteer more about my powers does sound like a good idea, so maybe I can take on a, less threatening form, when I fight. Looking at Malefor at any chance he got, he saw he was somewhat struggling to keep up with the mass amount of dark creatures and decided to help him. Jumping to the ground, he used his wings to launch himself forward to the fight. He slammed his paws into a dark creature before jumping back off of it. With a quick spin as he back flipped into the air, Spyro landed on an arrow that nearly hit Malefor's back. Spyro saw his smile knowing he was thankful. Knocking the dark creatures back, the two stood side to side, facing different directions. More dark creatures crawled from out of the ground, giving Spyro an idea, "What do you say, we work together on this?"

"What?!" Malefor asked, looking behind and at Spyro.

"Keep impressing me, alright."

Malefor smiled wide, and looking away, ready to help, he agreed, "Right!"

Patting around the bed with her wing, Cynder felt all over the bed but didn't feel anything. Even using her tail to look behind her, she didn't feel him. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and didn't see any sight of him. Looking out to the hallway, she saw the door had been opened, as well as Malefor's door. Oh no, Cynder thought to herself as she stood up and jumped off the bed. Walking over to the room, she stopped as Carith walked out from the room. Looking at Cynder, she asked with a little bit of fear, "I swear, if Malefor pulls another prank on me, I really will dump him this time."

"That's if he is even alive," Cynder shivered, looking over to the training room with Carith.

The two walked over to the training room, scared to know what they would hear, what they would see. Slowly grabbing the door knob, Cynder gently pushed the door open. Both their hearts skipped a beat as they held their breaths. As the door opened, they sighed hugely to see they were just training in the room, which surprised both of them. Carith sighed more so as she thought they were real dark creatures, but she knew they weren't, especially because of how Spyro was acting.

"Wow, I really thought they would be yelling at each other, or at the very least they would be at one another's throat from yesterday," Cynder said, watching as the two seemed to be working together the more and more she watched.

"I'm going to be at Malefor's throat for not kissing me when I wake up. That's twice he has done that," Carith grumbled, feeling unloved by her lover.

"Same here, but, is it just me, or are they, working together?"

Carith watched with Cynder to see that it had seemed that way. With arrows flying all over the place, one came very close to hitting Malefor, but from out of nowhere, Spyro bit down on the arrow while flying over his back. They watched with wide eyes as an arrow came close to hitting Spyro, but Malefor grabbed it out of the air before flying up to the ceiling and throwing it back down at a dark creature, hitting it in the skull. They looked at one another, dumbfounded, wondering if what they were seeing was just a dream.

"Are... are we dreaming?" Cynder asked.

"I... I hope so... this doesn't feel right," Carith said, looking at her paws.

"We are just going to have to go with the pinch technique."

"Alright."

With a small yelp, Malefor and Spyro looked over at the door to see their lover's had pinched themselves. Flying past Malefor, Spyro asked, "Did they just pinch themselves?"

Going back to fighting, they flew past one another once again, and even Malefor still wasn't sure, "Um... yeah, but I'm at a lost on why."

Rubbing their arms from where they pinched themselves, they both nodded and agreed they weren't dreaming. Looking back at the two as they worked together, they still couldn't believe what they were seeing. I thought Spyro would've had less trust towards Malefor after what has happened and yet, he seems better then he was before. Is it because he is glad there is darkness? Of course not, but what is it? Cynder thought as even Carith was in her thoughts wondering what it could be. Malefor and Spyro getting along? This feels way too much like a dream... Maybe we are in that dream thing that Ignitus puts us in when ever he needs to talk to us. But where is he? Carith thought, somewhat already knowing the answer. The dark creatures looked at the entrance to see the two standing in the door way. Pulling back their bows, most of them started to target Cynder and Carith.

"Um... Why are they looking at us?" Carith asked, taking a step back.

Cynder took a step back as well and guessed, "Because they look for a reason to be annoying."

Looking at the two, Spyro had just jumped away from the door from kicking himself off a dark creature. Looking at Malefor, he cried, "Malefor!"

Looking at the door, Malefor knew what he was talking about. Flying near Spyro, he wrapped his tail around his. Spinning him around, he let go of his tail and threw him at the door. Just as the arrows were shot at the two, Spyro landed in front of door, digging his claws into the ground to stop his momentum, he opened his mouth and blew a huge wall of fire, incinerating all of the arrows as well as some of the dark creatures. Placing his paw up, Spyro growled, "Malefor, out of the room."

Malefor quickly flew over to the door. Landing next to Spyro, the girls backed up and let him exit the room. He was panting from the amount of dark creatures he had to face without stopping and nearly fell to the ground. A small ball of fire formed in Spyro's paw as the dark creatures surrounded the door. Pulling his arm back, he then threw it forward, blasting a huge giant wall of fire that engulfed the room in fire, burning and killing everything in the room. As the fire subsided, he pulled his paw down, and looking back at Malefor, he asked, "Don't tell me you're tired after all of that? That was like, a couple of minutes we were fighting."

"Look... I haven't... really had to fight... like this in a long time," Malefor grumbled, looking at him and trying to catch his breath, he felt bad for being so out of shape, but that didn't stop him from growling back, "Plus, why did you have to act so heroic when you needed to protect our lovers? You could've just frozen time and helped the two, or even used your earth power to launch yourself off the wall. You've shown you're able to use your abilities without touching anything, so why go through all this trouble?!"

"Because, I don't want to have to rely on my powers every time things take a turn for the worse. I've lost my powers once before, and I could lose them again. And if they were in real danger, I would've used my powers, but I knew you would help, so I didn't have to worry much about using my powers."

"And yet you use your powers when we get out of the training room."

"Because training was over, and there was no point in keeping the dark creatures alive any longer. And it gave me the idea of how powerful my powers are."

Talking about powers gave Malefor the idea of asking him about controlling his dark powers since Ignitus had said something, "Oh, yeah, Spyro, that brings up something I wanted to ask you. If there was a chance that dark energy made its way to me, and it did infect me, bringing back the dark master, I need your help in making sure that doesn't happen. And by that I mean, I... I'm asking with you trust you have for me... please, I need your help in controlling the dark power within me to make sure that I'm prepared when it comes to the darkness."

Thinking about what he had asked, he saw the hopeful smile on Malefor's face, but thinking about the darkness, and the dark master made him decline, "I'm sorry Malefor, but I can't do that."

"What? Why not? This works out for the both of us, the dark master..."

"That's the problem: The dark master. I told you about that form and what it took to get it. What if this new control can work for the dark master later on? What if the dark master knows how to fight back against this control, and Ancestors forbid, what if that attacks Cynder and turns her as well? I'm sorry but, I just don't want to take the chance that someone could be hurt or killed."

"Spyro, come on, you're talking crazy right now. How would me controlling my dark powers help the dark master? Yeah yeah, it would work for him later on to help him fight back, I get it, but even still, that's like saying that ice would find a way to not melt when there is fire near it, it's pointless to think about something that way."

"Okay, fine, let's say I trust you to control your dark power. You gain the ability to control it, and you harness the powers that you have deep within you. Then what? You'll just want more power to protect your lover, and with more power, the harder it is to control, and the harder it will be to bring you back, and like I've said, I'm not taking any chances of having you turn."

"Wouldn't the same go for you? You're power hungry as well, so how am I any different?"

"Because I don't have a monster laying dormant inside my body ready to kill when ever I get the chance. The dark master was more powerful then you, which means his power can amplify your power right now, same as how my dark form does the same. Just forget about it, Malefor, I have at least some trust to let you train with me, but anything above or beyond that, I can't help you."

"But..."

"Malefor..."

Sighing with slight anger, he wanted him to understand why he had feared so badly. Looking at his lover and pecking her on the cheek, he pulled away after a couple of seconds and asked, "Can you, give me and Spyro some more time to talk? We will see you down in the Chambers, I promise."

Looking at Spyro, he already knew what she was thinking, "No, I'm not going to kill him while you're away."

She slightly smiled, and looking back at him, she pecked Malefor on the side of his cheek. Pulling away, she agreed, "Alright, just please be safe and play nice, that's all I ask."

Malefor smiled at her, and nodded in agreement. Looking at Spyro, Cynder had wondered if he would've wanted a kiss as well, but looking at her, he whispered, "Don't worry, we won't kiss one another on the cheeks. When I get down there, I will make sure to give you a proper kiss, so you don't need to worry about a thing. I know better then that."

She nodded with a smile and decided to at least give him a nice nuzzle. Pulling back from the nuzzle, she walked behind Malefor, and walked next to Carith's side as the two walked over to the main door. The four looked at one another, hoping everything would be alright. As the door opened the two looked away and walked out of the house. As they walked with one another, Cynder asked, wondering why they were acting this way, "What do you think? I mean, I woke up thinking they would be at one another's throats. So, is this a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Well, seeing how most days went, this might be a Step up. First, all Spyro wanted to do was kill him, after that, he woke up with a tail blade to the neck, and now, he woke up training with him. So maybe this is a good thing, and as long as they don't kill each other, I'm sure they will be fine."

Once the door had finally closed, Malefor sighed, hoping he would be able to convince Spyro to help him control his dark powers. Looking at Spyro, he thought to himself, We were able to work together in the training room, which must mean he has some trust towards me, and I don't want to destroy that trust, nor do I want to push the fact that he does trust me. Watching as he starred at him, Spyro asked, "Is there something you want to tell me? If this is about your dark powers, I already said..."

"Hatchlings."

"What?"

"Spyro, you've read my past, and you picked on me a lot about it, but even to this day it stays true. I'm not training to become strong enough to beat you, to be better then you, or even to kill you, nothing of the sort. I want to train to protect Carith, to protect a hatchling of mine if I ever had one. Do you know how embarrassing it would be to lose against someone who tried to attack your lover? Who tried to attack your hatchling? Like with Cynder, if you weren't strong enough when you fought that red dragon, she would've been taken... and what if I'm not strong enough to prevent something like that?"

Sighing from his words, he didn't want to admit it, but he did actually agree with what he was saying as even he had feared of the same things. Before trying to decline it, Malefor tried to persuade him some more to get him to help him, "That Malefor, the one you read of in the past, that is me now. No darkness, no problems, just hanging out and having fun. But when it comes to being serious, I try. We were serious when we fought those dragons, and I can be serious now. When I know I can joke with you about me being evil and you won't kill me, yeah, I do poke fun at you, but because I want to show you I'm not what you fear... I'm what you trust..."

"Alright, Alright, I get it... I know you're scared, and I don't blame you. Hell, I'm scared every day I wake up because I think someone will be dead because of you. I woke up today to train with you only because I thought I could get answers on whether or not you were the one who called those dragons... and from what I've learned... I... I trust you... I trust, that you didn't."

"Really?!"

"But! With that being said, that doesn't mean I trust you anymore then I have before. I trust you a little less then I did before with the darkness that had shown. And honestly, I think that I should just kill you now and get it over with because I would sleep better knowing I wouldn't have to worry about the main problem."

"Oh..."

"But... with that being said... again... I will, take into consideration with what you said... If you really are serious, about having a family with Carith, then you will need to be strong enough to protect that family, and that's, something I can agree on. Give me some more time to think about it, and in do time, I will help you control your dark powers."

Trying to hold in his excitement, he smiled wide, somewhat causing Spyro discomfort, "But if anything happened to my lover because you wanted to talk to me alone, I will make sure you learn your dark powers in the sun."

"Hehe, yeah, I guess we should get back to them."

"Guess? Of course we should. Plus, maybe the Guardians aren't awake yet and we can pick on Ignitus about Claire."

Walking over to the main doors, Malefor continued the conversation, "Do you think those two are still together?"

"Who knows. I know Claire isn't leaving Ignitus anytime soon, and he definitely won't let her go. And plus, if she did leave, one of the Guardians would've walked up here, told us the bad news, and everyone would've been all mopey again, and I would've had to fix something else again."

As the doors opened for the two, they walked out of the house and down the stairs towards the Guardians Chambers, still continuing the conversation.

"Can you blame them? Ignitus would've gotten dumped by someone he likes. Yeah we all know what she said, but even still, could you imagine him going through the stages of denial?" Malefor asked, somewhat chuckling along with Spyro.

"Oh yeah. Then maybe he would do that thing were he would blame it on us, try to save her, fail, then look for the purpose of the red Guardian, bring forth the destroyer, just to see her in the afterlife."

"Hahaha, yeah that... Hey, wait a minute. Well you can go to Hell too then, damn."

"Malefor, I'm only joking," Spyro chuckled, "But honestly, knowing Ignitus, he probably would've asked to borrow your dark power so he could control her into staying."

"That sounds more like Ignitus. And I'm not saying this because I like Claire, I'm saying this honestly: Claire is way better looking then Ignitus could ever be. I feel like she is torturing her self by staying with him."

"What did Ignitus ever do to you? Is it because Claire is with Ignitus and not you?"

"What?! No, of course not. It's just, it feels like maybe after Ignitus took her darkness away, what if he put her under his like, spell, or, powers, or something like that to get her to stay? Man, now thinking about it, I'm actually quite curious. Because that would also explain why she was on him after everything that had happened... What am I talking about her being on him for, as if."

"Says mister third base over here."

"I haven't said that in a long while."

"You said it like yesterday."

"Look, all I'm saying is, Claire is better off finding someone else."

"Going back, what did Ignitus ever do to you?"

"I don't know, probably something he did while I was training back then. Or because the fact he is the Chronicler. I mean, if he is the Chronicler, why doesn't he do something that actually benefits all of us? Why didn't the Chronicler just come over and show me what I had done wrong rather then letting everything happen? It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, Ignitus did say he couldn't help because you would've killed him so..."

"So, who would've killed him if he was there?"

"You, oblivious."

"How? I was too busy..."

"Yelling at the Guardians? Yeah, I know."

"It was a tough time, Alright. Do you not think I feel bad about it?"

"Well, tough times are over, Alright. From all of my adventures, I've been kicked, stabbed, stabbed again, stabbed in the heart, kicked probably again, and then you grabbing and almost pulling my heart out from the inside. There is no way in hell I will ever go back to that, so that's also why I'm training more with you so I don't have to worry about stuff like that... but Damn man, the heart, really?"

"I was barely in control at that point. I remember black, I remember blue, and then everything came back to me."

"Everything?"

"Yes... even the feelings of what I had done that were bottled up inside me, they were all there... I can't believe Carith was there that day... to think I raised my paw to her, to think I could've actually... That's another reason why I need to be more in control, so I never have to worry about something like that again. I'm, I'm sorry, I made Cynder attack you, and because of that, I know she feels bad, and it's all my fault."

"I said I would give it more thought, Alright. And as for Cynder attacking me, well, I attack her all the time with my lips so, it doesn't really matter. Plus, I talked to her about it. Rather her attack me then the other way around. She's been through enough. I'm just hoping that I can do something special for her one day, to make up for everything that has happened."

"Killing me better not be one of the options."

"Unfortunately, it's not. Cynder and Carith get along very well, and... and... ugh."

"Come on, spit it out."

"That's... another reason I don't want to kill you. Cynder has more friends then ever, and killing you would take Carith away from her. And now with Claire joining in, I feel even better knowing that I am slowly but surely, making the best life for her."

"And yet mister, 'wait', wanted to wait and watch his lover fight those dragons. And because of that, Cynder was hurt."

"Back off! I knew something was off, and seeing my lover kick that dragon's teeth in made me smile. And you could've jumped in at any point, but no, because of you, Carith was hurt!"

"That's because I knew you would've complained about it, or I thought you had a plan. But then I realised two thing, one of which was that you complain about everything, and two, you never come up with a plan. Killing me at the end of every plan is not a plan!"

"I never made up a plan like that, but for now on I will!"

"Here you go again, pulling what you always do! Just kill me already if this is how you are going to be!"

"I already said I couldn't because of Carith."

"Then I will get her to dump me and you can kill me, sound fair enough to you?!"

"No...!"

"And why not..."

"Because... because even you deserve a life. I'm not going to fill my selfish needs and take you away from her."

"Yeah... well... I wasn't going to dump her any way. She is the boss when it comes to our relationship so I can't really do much."

"I thought you controlled her?"

"Oh yeah, I do. Pretty sexy stuff."

"Malefor."

"What?"

"Yeah, true, especially when I'm with Cynder. But don't you think it's wired that no one is here?"

Looking all around the Guardians Chambers, they had sat there for quite a while talking amongst one another and no one had shown up, not even their lovers. Fearing for the worse, Spyro slowly let his dark power take over, preparing for a fight. Completely powered up with his dark power, he closed his eyes as tried to sense if there was anything around, but all he felt was the dark power within Malefor. Opening up his eyes, he shuck his head and growled, "Nothing."

Feeling something touch his tail, Malefor jumped forward and thrusted towards the entrance, scaring Spyro.

"What?! What was it?" Spyro asked.

"Something... Something touched my tail," Malefor cried, somewhat shivering as he swore something touched his tail.

"This is no time to be..."

Before he could finish, something touch Spyro's tail, quickly causing him to jump forward and stand next to Malefor, tail blade ready.

"What the hell was that?!" Spyro cried, "I don't sense anything at all."

"What... what do you think it is?"

"I don't give a Damn what it is! My lover is missing and I'm already pissed off that I don't know where she is," Spyro growled, igniting the black aura around him as his anger grew, "Come on, we need to see if the Guardians are in the back room."

"Right. It doesn't matter what it is, I need to find Carith."

Walking over to the door, Spyro bumped into something. Taking a Step back and grabbing his chest, he didn't understand what was in front of him. Taking a step forward again, he put his paw up against something. Trying to push it, he had no luck. He tried even harder and heard a crack. Pulling his fist up, it exploded with a red and black aura as he yelled, "Enough!"

Slamming his fist into what ever it was in front of him, a huge gust of wind filled the room with small black and red fire flurries slowly burning away in the air. Looking at Spyro, he asked, somewhat more scared of him then what ever was happening, "Spyro... are... are you okay?"

"No! I told you this would happen! And of all dragon's, I thought you would actually be concerned about your lover's safety. What's the whole point of that training if you don't even show me you really care?!" Spyro growled, not wanting to look at him from his anger, as all he could thing about was hitting him.

"It's just that... I... I don't trust the Chronicler, but I do trust Ignitus. He said he would warn us if something bad ever happened, and he hasn't done that, so, I feel like I should trust him."

"And yet he didn't warn you that our lover's were going to be attacked."

"He was going through a tough time."

"And what if that's happening now?! Damn it... Cynder! Please, where are you!"

"Spy...!"

Malefor's voice went quiet, and quickly turning around to see what had happened, Spyro was tackled to the floor. What ever had tackled him was faster then him. Before he was able to push it off, his paws stopped it its chest, as the dragon that was on top of him pushed its lips against his. Seeing the emerald green eyes, he knew exactly who it was, and decided to close his eyes and enjoy what he thought he had lost. His dark powers disappeared as the kiss took all of his darkness away, replacing it with satisfaction, joy, and even sadness. Pulling her lips away, he opened his eyes and looked at her as she smiled down at him. He smiled back and said in almost disbelief, "Cynder... how..."

Looking back, he even saw all the Guardians, along with a broken rock wall and Terrador shivering. He even saw that Claire was still with Ignitus as they sat together. Looking over, he saw that Carith was on top of Malefor, giving him a nice, heartwarming kiss. Looking at Cynder, he asked once again, still just as confused as ever, "But... how... I don't understand."

"Hehe, you're not the only ones who can pull pranks on us. After what you did to us and the Guardians, we all thought we would get you both this time. With the brilliant minds, we all worked together to come up with a plan. Thanks to Volteer's quick thinking, we had the perfect plan. We used that invisibility thing you did when you followed us to hide from you all. We sat and listen, to everything you had said," Cynder giggled, glad she was able to get that kiss from him, and nothing bad had happened.

Wrapping his wings around her back, she gently laid down on his chest, surprised by the hug. He sighed with joy and whispered, "I will admit, you got me... I promise I will never do something like that again. Just, please promise me you will never do something like that ever again... please."

"Hehe, okay okay, I promise... I was actually quite lonely without you too... I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"I almost died!" Terrador cried.

"Told you. And you were fighting me on it saying how it would be a waste of power," Cyril said.

"Will technically speaking, you wouldn't have died. You're body is a lot stronger then a small rock wall, so, if he were to hit you straight on, he would've broken some bones, but not your body," Volteer explained.

"I don't know, even for an all knowing guy such as myself, I would say he would've died," Ignitus disagreed.

"I have to agree with Ignitus on this. If he could punch and destroy a rock wall, imagine what he could do to your bones. I'm pretty sure your bones aren't stronger then rock, or earth for that matter," Claire agreed with Ignitus.

"We could always go through some test before we get to such a result," Volteer suggest with a small smirk, "So, before we begin, what is our hypothesis?"

"What the hell! No way! You can go through the test of yours on your own," Terrador cried.

Standing off of Spyro, she allowed him to stand back to his paws. As he did, he sighed once again, still glad that it was just a joke, and nothing happened to anyone. Draping a wing over his lover, he looked back at Malefor and said, "I didn't know someone could kiss that long without coming up for air."

He chuckled as he pulled away and admitted, "I did, but it's like clapping. You always have to be the last one to clap after something has happened. Unfortunately, speaking of clapping, Carith did the same, and I got yelled at for it."

"What?" Spyro asked, watching as Carith backed off of him with a smile and a giggle.

As he stood up, he draped his wing over his lover and explained, "Ignitus had told us about something of our powers, and he showed how powerful he had become after something he was doing while training. I clapped my paws, along with the Guardians, and Carith. The Guardians stopped clapping, but me and Carith looked at one another and slowly went back and forth as we constantly clapped. Terrador popped me in the back of the head and told me to be quiet!"

"You seriously believe I would hit Carith in the back of the head?! Two things, one, she is a female. Second, you were standing right there. The dark master would've woken up a lot sooner if I had done something like that," Terrador defended himself, and everyone agreed almost immediately, "And if that would've happened, I would've been killed unlike how I am now."

"Malefor, name one, one dragon in this room who hasn't hit, slapped or punched you," Spyro joked with a slight chuckle.

"That's probably the hardest question you ever giving me. Um, Volteer, Terrador, Cyril, Ignitus, Cynder... They are all no goes, You sure as Hell are definitely a no go with all the times you kicked my teeth in... I guess technically Claire is the only who who hasn't hit me, so far, I mean, day isn't over."

"Wait, so, Carith hit you?"

"Hehe, yeah, that was, my fault. The Chronicler, the old, thankfully dead one, changed the color of my scales to help me pull a prank on her. I went in for a kiss and she slapped me upside the head. And of course, because the Chronicler thought he was so funny, it took every single bit of convincing to help Carith know that it was me. I even told her about the whole, little miss cutie blue. That's what her parents called her."

"Hahaha, I remember that!"

"Wha... you... Damn it, Ignitus! How much of my past did you let him read?!"

"I didn't even let him read that much. Just about you meeting Carith, the part where she pecked her dad on the cheek for good luck, and the part where you thought you failed to save Carith, that was it," Ignitus defended himself, as he remember putting some of his powers on the book to make it so Spyro couldn't have done something like that.

"Why?! Privacy man! You don't see me going back and reading your past!"

"Hey, you should be grateful. If I hadn't read what I did, I probably still would've considered you a monster. But it still was pretty funny reading about that dad part. You were crying in your bed without Carith. And it's because of that part that I actually slowly started to accept that you weren't a monster. You actually cared about Carith, so it was surprising to see that," Spyro said, somewhat starting to feel good that he was able to save Malefor rather then kill him.

"Aw, you were crying for me while I was gone?" Carith teased, causing Malefor to grumble with embarrassment, but he still had a small little smile.

"Yeah, and he was also contemplating on hurting you."

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"What are you talking about?" Malefor asked.

"You don't remember? You were the one thinking about it. You were like, 'because she hurt me, I should hurt her'. That's why I still didn't know for sure if I should or shouldn't kill you, because of what you had said in your thoughts... Do you, not remember?"

"I... Ignitus, did I say that?"

"From what the book had said, and from the memories of The Chronicler, unfortunately... you did," Ignitus murmured, as he didn't believe he would say something like that, but it was in the book and in memories.

"Malefor... is that true?" Carith asked.

"Spyro, are you sure I thought that?" Malefor asked, trying to remember what he did think about during that time.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what you were thinking," Spyro said, feeling bad that he had brought it up, but now he was confused if he really did read what he had seen.

"Wait, no I didn't!" Malefor growled at him, remembering what he had been thinking about, "I was contemplating on fighting her dad, or, at the time, who she had kissed, to show that I was stronger then him, and that I would be strong enough to protect her. I never once had any thought of hurting Carith. If I had thoughts like those, how why she have been able to break me free of the dark power's control. There is no way I would think that way."

Looking at Ignitus, he wanted to know whether or not he was telling the truth as he believed he was. Hearing it from Spyro and Ignitus also made him second guess what he had said, but he didn't believe he would say such a thing. Ignitus sighed and said, "Hold up, let me go check..."

A small whit light appeared above Ignitus's paw as he raised it. As the book appeared in his paw, he looked down at it, causing wide eyes from almost everyone as it had happened so fast. Looking through, he saw what was written, and said, "No, Spyro is correct."

Walking up to Ignitus, he gave the book to Malefor as he reached out his paws, and he read what was written. Reading through it, he growled through his teeth, throwing the book on the ground and scaring Claire, as well as some of the Guardians. His growl even started to scare Spyro, "That Bastards! Even in the past he was screwing me over! He wasn't even there! He didn't even know what I had went through! Why?! Every single day I was alive he made me look like a monster! Even the training room at the Temple, I looked like a monster! And his response for that, temple statue, he said it was for the best!"

Seeing and understanding his frustration, Ignitus tried to calm him as he explained, "Maybe the Chronicler was just scared to see what really would've happened and put small precautions in his books if anything ever happened to them."

"Happened to them! He lived on an island out in the ocean no one knows about. Even if they made it there, they would have to face their fears, find the book, and get out, all while the Chronicler is still there, and he is all knowing so he would've known!"

"Malefor..." Spyro whispered, taking a step in front of Cynder.

"You went through fighting your fears too, didn't you!" Malefor growled, looking back at Spyro and continuing, "What was it! What was your fear?!"

"My fears were fighting Cynder when she was controlled. Then my other fear, the last time I went, was losing Cynder to you."

"Well lucky for you! Both fears you went through, and same for me! My fear... my fear, was that I had become what the Chronicler knew I would. I lost everything and everyone! You were able to prevent your fear... But I never had the chance... And the worst part is, The Chronicler knew of everything, and not once did he try and stop it... At least Ignitus helped you. I was stuck with... him, to look after me."

"But you didn't lose everything, or for the most part, you didn't lose everyone. Everyone is here now, and it's because of you. You stopped yourself from hurting Carith, you helped Cynder save me, and you could've easily killed anyone while I was knocked out, but you didn't, which also means you saved everyone else by being strong enough to not let the dark master take control and kill everyone."

"You know, he is right," Ignitus joined in as Malefor looked at him, "You were in a gem room. You could've easily killed Cynder when she was paralysed with fear from you, and Spyro as well as he was already down, and you could've healed all your wounds. After that, you could've killed all the Guardians on your way down. So really, because of you, we are all still alive. And... it's wired, the Chronicler, the old one, was who helped me in making sure the future was safe. He told me to stay when I could've helped, so he also saved me."

Malefor somewhat had calmed down from the help of both Spyro and Ignitus, and remembering what he had done, he already knew who he had disappointed. Looking at Claire with a frown, he apologized, "I'm sorry for lashing out like that. I was just upset. Not dark master corrupting me upset, just normal, upset... self. You know what I mean."

Claire giggled at him, somewhat surprising him, "Malefor it's fine. I won't lie, you did scare me, but I've seen who you really are. Plus, I believe in the first promise you ever made to me. So, I do still trust you. Also with the help of Ignitus of course; Keeping me under his wing, but other then that, I was sure you'd be okay. And Carith would've step in if anything was really happening."

"Thank you, Claire," Malefor thanked with a smile.

Walking back over to his lover and draping his wing over her, Ignitus snapped his fingers, and the book shined with a bright white light before disappearing. Claire wanted to ask how such a thing was possible, but since no one else was worried, she decided not to, but he knew she had questions, "Don't worry, I can explain everything later about that kind of stuff."

She nodded her head at him. Seeing how quickly he could grab books on the history, Volteer asked, somewhat with desperation in his voice, which only grew the more he talked, "Wait, Ignitus, you can grab books about all things in dragon history and this that and another, right? I... I want to know... if you have a book. When I was reading, I didn't find a book, or, a notebook I should say, and I want to know if you have it."

"What kind of book are you asking for?"

"The... The book that me... and Ersa... worked on."

"Ersa?" Spyro and Malefor asked in unison.

"Oh... that one. Is it still undereath that brick in the dragon temple?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"I can go check real quick."

"Please..."

"Alright, one sec..." Pausing, A small gust of wind filled the room and it didn't even look as though he had moved, but his face did change from a smile to a frown as the two looked at one another, "It wasn't there Volteer. Which means someone else might have it, or someone else knew of the spot. Did one of you two take it?"

Terrador and Cyril shuck their heads, not even knowing of a book made by the two. Wanting some information on who Ersa was, Spyro asked, "Who's Ersa?"

No one spoke. The Guardians only frowned, remembering to the last time they saw her. Ignitus knew it would be difficult to tell, but he knew he should rather then Volteer, "Ersa was a yellow dragoness who showed up while Volteer was in Warfang. The two talked a lot and shared the same ideas, as well as the same thoughts. They kept all their ideas in a book. After Malefor had attacked Warfang, he waited a couple of months before he attacked somewhere else: The Dragon Temple. And at this time, it hadn't been attacked yet. Volteer helped Ersa escape, leading her out the back door while we protect the temple. Volteer, as well as all of us, heard a scream, causing each of us to look away, and we all paid the price by being punch, slashed, or kicked by Malefor. This was the day we trapped Malefor with the help of one of Volteer and Ersa's inventions. We didn't have time to see if she was alright so... we all went to defend the eggs."

"Wait, so, Malefor attacked once before, and you still thought keeping the eggs there would be a good thing?"

"Well, at the time, he wasn't allied with the apes, it was just him and a small army of dark forces. With our first victory, we believed we could do it, but... we were wrong."

"Well, is she... you know? If you are the Chronicler, you can see if she is alive or not... Right?"

Volteer looked at him, somewhat hopeful for the answer, but Ignitus sighed sadly as he admitted, "Unfortunately, that's not something I can say is or isn't true."

Volteer sighed, hating himself for getting his hopes up, but it confused Spyro, "Why? Because Volteer would be happy? You've looked up a book on Malefor's past, which also must mean you have Ersa's past, so why don't you let Volteer see it?"

"I only let you read about Malefor's past in hopes that you wouldn't kill him. The only reason I don't what to show, or let Volteer read the book of her past is because... I don't want to hurt him. How would you feel if you had to read the book of your lover's death? It's been years since we last saw her and... The Guardians were, trying to help Volteer through it after the whole destroyer thing happened. Volteer walked around and asked if anyone had seen her but... no luck."

"What?!" Spyro growled.

"Spyro, calm down, they were just trying to help him... And, I don't want to sound rude in saying but, for Volteer's sake, I agree that he should move on. I don't want him to be in pain from what has happened."

"Oh yeah, like how Terrador tried to help Cynder move on when I was supposedly dead! He can move on when he wants to. Don't tell him if he should or shouldn't, it's his life, and his dragoness, not yours. It wouldn't feel good if I tried to push you away from Claire because I believed it was for the best!" Spyro growled, earning wide eyes from almost everyone,"Sorry... I... Just, let Volteer choose what he wants in life..."

"Spyro, it's okay, I promise. I have tried to move on but, a part of me keeps hoping she is out there," Volteer thanked, wishing he could turn back time and keep her safe in the dragon temple.

"And she could be. Don't become a Malefor and almost kill all inhabitants because you thought your lover had died but she was just in a time coma."

"Dark Master. He meant to say dark master, not me," Malefor defended his name.

"Don't be either is what I'm saying," Spyro joked, "But since I'm already saying, I want to know what your guys problem is. With Cynder, and with Volteer, you are so quick to jump on the whole, forget about it type deal. Ignitus, now that Claire is here, how about when she leaves, you just forget about her. I mean, I'm getting that vibe from you and Terrador."

"I guess, I thought it would help, but now I know what's it like... So, sorry Volteer. You don't have to listen to me. I thought it would help, but maybe your memory of her is better then trying to push it away," Ignitus agreed, now with Claire by his side, he could almost feel how Volteer must've felt when he lost someone he cared about, which got him thinking, For Volteer, I should look to see if she is alright. And It would help him tremendously if she was. Losing his parents and the one he cared for was tough on him, but if she were alive... maybe things could change for him.

"I'm sorry, I swear. Think of it like this, alright; Carith just passed away, and Malefor was standing over her body, ready to turn and kill all of us at once. What would you have done there?" Terrador asked, still feeling bad about what he had said, and he believed he was doing it to protect everyone.

"If it was Malefor, I would've just killed him, simple," Spyro chuckled.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Malefor chuckled.

"Which is quite funny, because all I remember when I was passed out was you crying and whining about how you wanted Cynder to accept you because you weren't evil. And yet you make fun of me for crying all day back then."

"I also didn't want to die. I mean, I just found out Carith was back, and I thought I would still have a chance to make up for everything I did."

"So you tried to touch Spyro while I was right there? It was like you wanted me to kill you," Cynder giggled.

"I saw him breathing and I thought I could help."

"Yeah, and then you got all technical saying how you needed to check his pulse. All you needed was to see if his heart was beating."

"Which none of you ever did!"

"That was Ignitus fault!" The three Guardians cried in unison, interrupting the two.

"Wha...?" Ignitus somewhat spoke as he was at a lost for words.

"He kept making us think that one of you were going to die, and when Spyro fell, we thought it was him," Terrador said honestly.

"So you didn't even bother to prevent it from happening? Why are you called Guardians again?" Spyro asked, shaking his head with a sigh, "Which is funny because, even though Malefor did... not really save me, it was really Carith who saved all of us. If she hadn't come back when she did, we all would've dead."

"No, we would've killed Malefor for sure if the Guardians didn't fly down and tell us not to when we were just about to end it," Cynder said, earning a chuckle from Spyro.

"Yeah, and because of that, Malefor found his way to my heart... literally."

"Mine too, remember?" Volteer said.

"Oh yeah. What was your problem man? What did we ever do to you for you to act the way you did?"

"I'm sorry, to both of you. All I knew is that I wanted to end up with Carith. I knew killing you would make Cynder turn back into her dark form so while I was gone, she would continue to finish what I started... or... what the Dark Master started but, you know. That's why when Carith came back, I quickly knew that's not what I wanted. So I tried my hardest to make sure that the dark master's dream didn't become a reality," Malefor apologized with a frown, still remembering the time he raised his paw to his lover.

"Wow, cry much? All because your lover was gone?"

"Shut up! You would've done the same thing!"

"Actually, no, I wouldn't. Because I wouldn't leave my lover all by herself because someone told me to. I guess you didn't love her as much as I thought you did... so maybe that part of you hurting her from anger was true."

Everyone in the room hissed through their teeth knowing that he wasn't going to take that so lightly.

"What the hell is your problem! I already told you! And Ignitus said that there was nothing I could've done!"

"He also said that someone would die when I fought you, but I didn't... no one did. And no one died when you came to save Carith. So there was something you could've done; You could've just watched and learned how to use your time ability rather then messing around all the time like you always do."

"I couldn't! He only showed me how to use it in a description because he didn't what me to hurt him! There wasn't enough time for him to tell me everything, and the way he acted towards me, do you really believe he would've told me? Why yell at me, when the all knowing Chronicler could've told me himself! Why would he have kept me there?! What was the point of all my training if all it ever got me was the power to destroy the world rather then protect it! Even with all my training, I raised my paw to Carith! Maybe you should've just killed me... maybe you were right all along... and maybe... so was the Chronicler."

A small tear dripped down the side of his face, wishing that he could've done something different, wishing he had been more powerful to protect the one's he cares about. Slightly nuzzling the side of his cheek, Carith pulled back, and looking at him, she whispered, "Malefor... I've never been controlled by the dark power, but from the sounds of it, you tried. You didn't hit me, and what's even more impressive, the dark master had a pretty strong grip on you at the time with all of that blood lust. So... you truly did protect me when that happened."

"But it never should've happened... And for you to see me like that... even you were thinking about leaving me at the time..."

"Malefor..." Spyro whispered.

"Yeah yeah, go ahead and rub it in; I'm just as evil as the dark master was and I should..."

"Train with me some more," Spyro suggested, earning wide eyes from almost everyone, but especially Malefor, "I've gotten pretty good when it comes to controlling my dark powers, and maybe you should as well. Don't won't another incident to happen, and you seem dedicated enough, so when ever you are ready, just tell me, alright? Oh and... you are probably going to hate me for saying this but... cry much?"

Even Malefor had to give off a slight chuckle as he was always saying how Spyro cried all the time. Ignitus smiled at his son, as he had hoped he would agree to helping Malefor control his dark power. Even Cynder had a smile as she moved her lips towards his, the two looked at one another, and she whispered, "All you have to do is ask if you want a kiss, you don't have to keep impressing me to get one."

"Yeah... But it feels better that way..." Spyro whispered with a small kiss to her lips.

Pulling back, they smiled at one another while Malefor was still in shocked from what he said. Looking at him, he apologized, "Sorry, I know my tactics are a little extreme at times; Sorry Claire if I scared you when I threw that punch, but it's tactics like those that help me understand what you're really feeling. I know what it's like to be manipulated by the Chronicler. He told me to wait out the storm when i could've been out there saving Cynder from your little mountain. And because I didn't listen to him, I'm here now. And, as much as I still fear about what you could be, and I might always will... I know I don't have to be afraid of that when Carith's around. I'm trying not to be too hard on you, but I'm just making sure that everything stays the way it is: No deaths, no fears, no loss, no pain, and definitely no reason to be looking for the purpose of the purple dragon. Malefor, if you think I'm joking, I will kill you if you try something like that again."

"Hehe, okay okay, I won't. Besides, Ignitus found that out a long time ago... Thank you, Spyro."

Everyone loved the sound of Spyro's perfect vision, but the Guardians and Malefor knew the worst was yet to come with dark creature still roaming the world. Spyro says that now, but if he ever saw the dark creatures out there... his and Malefor's friendship is going to be put to the test. I have some homework I need to do, Ignitus thought to himself, hoping that Spyro wouldn't see the dark creatures until his friendship with Malefor had grown much more stronger. Hearing what sounded like steps coming from the hallway, along with a voice, the Guardians knew exactly who it was.

"Even if you were to save Warfang, you were still way out of her league," A voice said.

"Out of her league? Man, you say that to every girl I talk to. I feel like you're just jealous because you don't want me to get a girl before you," Another voice said.

Walking into the middle of the Guardians Chamber between both Malefor and Spyro, they backed up against the wall with their lovers giving a lot more room. Terrador smiled as he saw it was the three from before who helped them defend Warfang during the attack, "Hey, it's you guys again. How's life been for you after what has happened?"

"The same old same old," The red dragon said with a slight frown.

"Don't mind him. He's depressed because even after saving Warfang, he can't find a girl," His yellow friend chuckled.

"She's out there, I promise you. But, I was never really able to thank you properly for what you've done. You really stepped up and helped in killing the dark master's army," Terrador thanked, brightening up the faces of the three.

"What?! This little guy was able to take on my dark army?" Malefor chuckled, causing everyone to shake a little as he just gave up the fact he was the dark master.

Luckily, the three didn't catch on.

"What do you mean your army? And plus I'm sixteen and almost the same height as you, so who are you to talk? Aside from being another purple dragon, I'm sure I could take you on," The red dragon challenge.

"You're adorable. Tell you what, what is your name, and after we exchange names, let's see if your still up for a challenge."

"Malefor..." Carith whispered for quietly.

"Don't worry, I got this."

"Well, if you must know, I usually go by the name; Savior Of Warfang And The Guardians. But, if you must know, my name is Blitz, along with my friends Bolt and Sesal," Blitz said with a smile and a puffed out chest, trying to show off how strong and manly he was.

Each of the three reminded the Guardians some what of how they looked when they were young, and each shared some details that were that of ones of the Guardians. Blitz shared the same color of Ignitus's chest and wings, along with a similar looking tail blade to him. He had two white horns both on the top of his head and shaped the same way as Ignitus's, one on the left side and the right side of his head. Along the top of his head and in between his horns and all down his back were the same red and brown fins going down his back and to his tail. Bolt shared similarities to Volteer with a yellow body and a blue chest, along with his wings and tail blade. He had two horns with the same color and shape of Volteer's only different size as he was much younger, along with his fins that went down his back were similar to his, only smaller. His tail blade was a little more different as on one side and the other showed a lightning shaped tail blade. Sesal had the same blue body and purple chest. Along with the fins, horns, and tail blade which were quite similar to that of Cyril's, only smaller and shaped a little more differently. Each of the three had a different facial structure to that of the Guardians which is what is easily noticeable and to tell the three apart from the Guardians. Terrador saw this and it made him think about possibly training the three to become Guardians if anything ever happened to them, Even with all of Spyro's power, along with the help of Malefor and everyone else, at some point, there might be a time where we can't protect ourselves... and at that time, maybe it would be best if one of these three took our spots just in case. Hearing Terrador's thoughts, as he sounded troubled, Ignitus tried to change his mind by talking to him in his thoughts, "Terrador, you shouldn't think like that. It's true that they could be capable of being Guardians with the right training, but do you think everything would just go back to normal if one of them took our spot if we died? Imagine how Spyro would feel? He doesn't want to see anyone hurt, and he doesn't want anyone to die. How do you think he would feel knowing he failed to save one of us?" Listening to his friend's words, he agreed with him and apologized, "Yeah, you're right. It's just, with the whole new dark master thing, I'm afraid something will happen that we won't be strong enough to live through."

"I trust Spyro will be there if anything happens. Malefor and Spyro's friendship is my only concern right now, and if there is anything else that is bugging you, tell me. We can't have thoughts like those in Spyro's perfect world now can we?" Terrador chuckled with a small smile, agreeing with him on that, and earning confused looks from both Volteer and Cyril. Looking at Blitz, Malefor knew he was taking a leap of faith in telling them who he was, but he knew it would be best to say it now before something else happened, "Alright, let's see if you, or, you three, can take on the dark master himself. You probably don't recognize me now, but... The name is, Malefor."

"Malefor!" The three friends cried in unison.

"Feel confident to fight me now?"

"There's no way you're the dark master. If you were, everyone in this room would be dead right now. And plus, everyone knows the dark master was defeated by Spyro, and his... Oh so lovely dragoness companion... So, with that said, you shouldn't be alive. And plus, Malefor looked evil and had holes in his wings and stuff. You look completely clean of any battle damage," Blitz said with disbelief, seeing Malefor start to chuckle.

"You think those two could've beaten me? Please, I broke free. And after sending my dark army, I attacked both Spyro and Cynder."

"What?! What did you do?! You better not have hurt her!"

"Wow, some one cares about me," Cynder giggled in a whisper, trying to make fun of what he was saying, but looking up at Spyro, he wasn't smile, he looked serious.

"She's fine, for now. But once I see her again, I will make sure to take care of her and that other purple dragon."

Elbowing his side slightly, Carith looked at him as he chuckled and the two saw the three hadn't caught on to his little act.

"Wait! You mean Spyro!"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"You don't... you don't think he... got together with her, do you?"

"Why?"

"Well... because... She's super hot and, I was thinking of trying to ask her out. Being a savior of Warfang isn't really going to show that I'm good enough for her, so maybe, when or if I get with her, I can show her that I can try to be everything she needs me to be. I mean, have you see her. I would definitely fight your army if it means getting together with her."

"What about fighting me?"

"I... I would try."

"So which means is, if we were to fight, and you were her, lover, you would lose and I would take her off your paws. Sounds like you should train some more before you try and take her."

"So what? All I have to do is train hard enough to fight you, win, and I will be able to make her my lover?!"

"Hehe, no, it's not me you have to fight, it's him," Malefor said, pointing a finger over to both Spyro and Cynder.

The three friends looked over to see the two, and a huge blush erupted from out of Blitz's face as he realised he said all of that stuff in front of her and he never even noticed. But he quickly shuck off that embarrassment and walked up to her. Standing in front of her, he said, "Hey, uh, my name's uh, Blitz... well, I guess you already know that but uh... I... I guess since you heard what I said I... I wanted to know if... if you'd like to... go on a date?"

Cynder giggled at how embarrassed he was talking to her, and it made him smile. Spyro took his wing off her and stood in front of his lover causing Blitz to back up, and he tried to hide his growl as something about him reminded him of Flint, and it burned his scales, "She doesn't need to go on a date with someone like you. She already has a lover."

"Oh! Spyro, I'm so sorry sir! I didn't mean... Wait, she already has a lover?"

"Basically what Malefor was saying is that you're going to have to fight Spyro if you want Cynder," Bolt explained in one sentence , somewhat causing Volteer to smile at his perspective skills.

"And I can tell you right now, he is a lot stronger then me," Malefor chuckled.

Blitz groaned in sadness as he was to late, and he had hoped he would be able to get with Cynder. Looking over at her and passed Spyro's shoulder, he said with a slight smile, "Well, Hey, if you ever want to talk, I'm always available."

Pulling his wing forward and blocking his view of Cynder, Spyro got a little more aggressive towards him as he growled, "Back off!"

"Okay okay, I'm sorry... But, now that I think about it, if I fight you and win, I could also win the greatest prize of all time!"

"Cynder isn't a prize, she's a dragoness and my lover. But tell you want, you can use your whole paw, and I will only use one finger. You beat me in a arm wrestle, and I will let you have her."

"Deal!"

Spyro raised one of his claws up, and a small pillar in the shape of a circle rose from the ground at chest level of the two. Placing their elbows down, Blitz gripped onto his opponent's finger, and he whispered, "One, two, three, Go!"

Trying with all his power to push Spyro's finger down, it wouldn't move at all. Even as he tried, Spyro still felt the feeling of the time he first met Flint, and it mad the anger only grow, "Tell you want, I will let you use both paws, how does that sound?"

"Are you... mocking me?" He grunted as he put his other paw on Spyro's finger and tried to push it down.

His paw started to move down as he was surprised he was a little more stronger then he had thought. But going back to what he said before, after he had called his lover hot, he snapped. Throwing his finger back and slamming Blitz's paw into the pillar, it completely cracked before being destroyed as his hand went right down the middle. Letting go of his paw, Blitz pulled his paw out of the hole and started to roll on the ground, holding his paw in pain. Even with the pain he was in, he still tried to crack a joke, "Damn! Holy mother of Ancestor...! Ugh... Two paws and I still couldn't beat you... Even I have to admit that was pretty impressive. Even though you aren't a Earth Dragon, you're pretty... solid."

Everyone agreed with him on that as seeing something like that showed how powerful he really was. Even as impressive as it was, Cynder knew that wasn't from his power, but from his hate. Standing next to him, she asked in a whisper, "What's wrong? It's okay that he's hitting on my Spyro, I'm not going to leave you for someone else, I promise. If that is what's troubling you, you know I'm here for you."

He sighed, unable to hold the truth, "It's just, he reminds me of Flint. He doesn't talk as, rude to you, and I know he's trying to be respectful but... when he said you were, hot. It just made me think of him."

"It's okay, Spyro. He's not like Flint. To be honest, from the way he acts, he seems like a nice guy."

"Nice guy?"

"Not in a sense that I would get to know him and leave you," She giggled.

"Alright... I guess you're right."

Malefor chuckled watching Blitz as he got up, holding his paw in pain, "That's not even close to how strong he is. You're lucky he didn't bring out his dark form."

"Man... Spyro... where did you even learn to get that strong?" Blitz asked, seeing him sigh with a small smile.

"Long story... very long one. Sorry about being so hard on you... there was this guy I use to know, well, guy I met, and when he called Cynder hot, and the way he acted towards her..."

"He punched him so hard he went flying into the walls of Warfang," Cynder giggled from that memory.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend her in any way... If there is anything I can do to not go punched into the walls of Warfang, please let me know as soon as possible," Blitz begged, as he remembered something else about what had happened, "But now that you talk about it, someone did say you broke his arm or something like that when you did that... I come in peace!"

"Just, the word, when describing a dragoness, don't use the word hot, okay?" Spyro asked, and seeing his reaction, he could tell he was already on board.

"Deal."

"It's funny, now after using some more of my energy, I feel like training some more... And I think I might have a way we can do that," Spyro smiled as he looked over at the Guardians before looking back at Blitz, "Hey Blitz, how would you feel if you, your friends, the Guardians, and Malefor all teamed up against me outside as a competition to see how strong I've gotten?"

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"No way am I doing that. You're just going to single me out," Malefor disagreed.

"As much as I would like to help you train, I would prefer not to be hit by one of your billion pound punches," Cyril disagreed as well.

"The fact that the Guardians, as well as the dark master himself is scared of you... I think I might pass as well. Plus, I used both my paws and I barely moved your finger," Blitz disagreed as well.

"Oh come on... Actually, Ignitus... you owe me a favor, and I think I would like to use that favor now," Spyro chuckled.

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes. You already know what I'm thinking so I would like for every one to be at the back of Warfang when I'm ready to begin."

"What is he talking about?" Malefor asked, looking at Ignitus.

"Well, see, since Ignitus owes me a favor, there is either two thinks I could do. One of which is to have everyone come out to Warfang to help me train myself or... I will just force Ignitus to kick you all out there. So either way, it's going to happen."

"You wouldn't do that to us, would you, Ignitus?" Terrador asked as he looked at him, somewhat scared to know the answer.

"Well... He was the one who helped out when I needed him the most, and Claire is still here so... I'm turning to the dark side today," Ignitus chuckled slightly, knowing that he would have to betray the Guardians as Spyro was right that he did owe him a favor for what he had done.

"No... Ignitus..." Volteer begged.

"Come on guys, I won't be that hard on you. Plus, last time, Volteer did get a hit off me way way back when you three teamed up against me," Spyro said.

"Yeah, because you let me," Volteer grumbled.

"But look on the bright side, you have Malefor and Ignitus on your team this time. As well as Blitz, Bolt, and Sesal. And I'm curious to see what kind of powers the Chronicler has in store for me."

"I never said I would join. I still want to find a lover before I die," Blitz declined.

"Tell you what, let's make another deal. You beat me, with your entire team..."

"And I can go on a date with Cynder?!"

Spyro looked at her, and she had wide eyes, wondering why he would make such a decision, but then again, it did come from Blitz. She giggled at him, and looking at Blitz, she agreed, "Sure. But this is Spyro's idea, so if he does lose, he might lose a lot more then just a battle, he will lose me as well."

"What? How so?" Spyro asked.

"Well, maybe Blitz is someone I would like in my life. Maybe this date will be one of many."

"Oh I'm so in," Blitz quickly agreed, trying to now convince his friends to join in on this battle.

Looking at Blitz, and then looking back at his lover, Spyro asked, "Well now that you say that, I'm not so sure."

"Relax. I have faith in you. But are you sure about fighting everyone? I mean, Malefor is almost as strong as you, and you don't even know how strong Ignitus is. And plus, Blitz seems like a funny guy, but going on a date with someone else aside from you sounds weird to me. I just want to know if you are a hundred percent sure about this," She asked, as even though she was joking, she didn't know Blitz would take it so seriously.

"When it comes to protecting you, I will find strength. Going on a date with someone from my loss will motivate me."

"Alright... but... if you do manage to beat all of them... I don't know if you'll be able to talk straight when I'm done kissing you."

"Sounds like something else to motivate me..."

Sharing a loving kiss with one other, Blitz continued to try and convince his friends. Malefor looked at Carith and joked, "Well, I guess this is it for me. Do you have anything you would like to say before I die?"

"As long as you don't turn into the dark master mid battle, you'll be fine," Carith giggled with a small smile.

"Hehe, yeah... but, going back behind Warfang is going to bring back some terrible memories."

"Malefor, it's okay, it's done and over with and you never hurt me. And look at it this way, going back there shows how much your and Spyro's friendship has grown. He isn't always next to you ready to kill you, and I feel like that's a big step up, and even if he doesn't want to admit it, I know he trust you a little more."

"Yeah, you're right... Thank you, Carith."

"You can thank me when you beat Spyro."

"And if I don't?"

"Well... Spyro's strong so I won't blame you, but I will be there to kiss your wound when he slams his fist into your cheek."

"Hehe, thanks."

Pulling away from their kiss, Spyro chuckled as he heard Terrador ask, "Ignitus, how could you betray us like this? What did we do?"

"Aside from almost making Claire leave? This is the perfect punishment for you all," Ignitus chuckled.

"But you have to fight him too," Volteer pointed out.

"But like he said, I'm the Chronicler. I'm a lot stronger then Spyro, and even still, I have time powers, and even if he used his, I can use mine and still fight him, so I'm sure I will be fine."

"So what's the chance you'll win this for us?" Cyril asked.

"Well, let's just say, Blitz better prepare for his date."

"Alright Spyro, we are ready... finally, and we will see you out in the back," Blitz said with a smile, walking with his friends to the front entrance, but before leaving, he turned and looked at Cynder, "Hey Cynder, looking forward to that date though."

Spyro growled watching him leave, but he knew he shouldn't be worried. Unfortunately, now that he was thinking about it, he knew he would really have to get serious if he would prevent this date.

"How come you won't let us fight?" Claire asked.

Looking over at her, Spyro responded, "Because if Cynder fought, I would most definitely lose. If Carith fought and I hit her, then I would have the dark master himself to deal with. And if you were to fight, Ignitus controls my dreams, and I'm pretty sure he would haunt them twenty-four seven."

"Controls dreams?"

"Oh yeah, you still don't know about that."

"Know about what?"

"Ignitus has this other girl..."

Ignitus chuckled, somewhat making her wonder even more what was happening, "I will tell you about the Chronicler later. Basically, I know all about Dragon history and stuff like that, and, well, I can read minds. The only think I don't write about now is your thoughts and actions because... I want to keep things secret between us as to not ruin anything."

"Ruin anything? Wait... Ignitus... does that mean... you know what I said in the hallway yesterday?" Claire asked as her face went red with a blush.

"Why, what happened yesterday?"

"Nothing!" She cried, "But, just trust me that... I will tell you later on. But, if you do write down, Dragon history, promise me you won't look back at that moment until later."

"Um... okay, I can promise that."

Pecking him on the side of the cheek, everyone froze for a second, wondering if what they were seeing was real, and not some illusion. Ignitus face went red as well, and even as he tried to hide it, a small smile went across his face. Pulling away from the kiss, she looked to the ground and sighed with a smile, thanking him, "Thank you, Ignitus. I know I can trust you."

Looking at him to see his blush, and then looking at everyone else to see they were looking at her with wide eyes, she asked, "Did... did I do something wrong?"

Looking back at Ignitus, her face went red as she realised she had just kissed him on his cheek. I'm so used to the... the last lover I had that, I completely forgot that me and Ignitus aren't even in love! I completely forgot that... I don't even know if he really likes me! Claire cried in her thoughts, completely hating herself for doing such a stupid thing. Walking over to Carith, Cynder whispered to her, "We need to talk to her about it."

Carith nodded, still completely dumbfounded at what she had done.

"Hey, Claire, me and Carith were going to walk and talk some more before the fight... Do you, want to come with us?" Cynder asked as she walked to the door with Carith.

She couldn't tell if Ignitus enjoyed the kiss or not, but she was scared he would say something about how he didn't like her that way. Claire looked away from Ignitus and decided it would be best if she joined along. Walking over to the door with a small frown, the two smiled at her as they had both been through the same thing before. Walking out of the room, the guys all looked at Ignitus, ready to hear his opinion on what had just happened. Ignitus swallowed hard before he started to freak out, "What was I doing?! I, I couldn't do anything! I, I didn't know she would kiss me! I should've kissed her back, I should've said something! What should I have done?!"

"Ignitus, relax, I've been through this before, and I'm pretty sure so has Malefor," Spyro said, trying to calm him down as he didn't want him to get worked up about her leaving him, "And before you start saying anything, she's not going to up and leave you. Yes, she did leave with the girls; Malefor, I already see you trying to make a joke about it, but don't worry. If she didn't care about you then why would she have kissed you?"

"I... I... I don't know I... is this how you two felt on your first kiss?"

Malefor and Spyro chuckled as they looked at one another. Looking back at Ignitus, Spyro continued, "More or less. I mean, you do remember when Cynder first kissed me, don't you? I woke up twice that night, scared she would've just kissed me and then ran away but... Now she kisses me... and kisses me... and... Damn... I really need to kiss her again..."

"I... then I need to see her again! I... I can't let her know that I didn't like it... right?"

"Exactly. Go out there and tell her you like her too. Because, honestly, if one of you didn't put the moves on one another soon, it would've been sad, seeing you two scared to tell one another."

Quickly running out of the of the Chambers, he chased after her, scared to know what would happen if he didn't say something. Everyone chuckled seeing how desperate he was to tell her, which made everyone smile as they never knew they would see a sight like that. Walking to the entrance, Spyro said, "I guess that means we should get going as well."

Walking over to the entrance, Spyro moved out of the way as the Guardians started talking to one another as they walked out. As Malefor walked out, Spyro walked with him, which scared him to death, but his words were very surprising, "Hey, Malefor, thank you for, you know, not killing Ignitus. I know it was tough seeing the Chronicler again the day you came back, especially because of what happened. I never knew I would be seeing Ignitus like that, and, I never knew I would be talking to you. So, thanks for what you did back then as well."

His eyes went wide, never knowing he would hear Spyro say something like that ever to him in his life, and he wanted to know why, "Why are you telling me this now? I thought you hated me? What did I say or do to you that made you change your mind?"

"Well... your words from the training room was a big eye opener for me as I never knew you would say something like that. And with you around, everyone is even happier then they were before so, keep up the great work, and, I will make sure that hatchling you have will never be hurt, because I will make sure to get you just as strong as I am."

"Alright, now I know you messing with me. What's the catch?"

"You beat me, and I will train you sooner, how about that?"

"You know if you lose, Cynder's going to go on a date with Blitz, right?"

"I know. That's why I'm getting your hopes up so I can crush them just like how I'm going to crush you when we fight."

"So you are going to single me out?"

"Probably. Strong ones first, then the weak ones."

"Great."

"I'm so stupid! When I kissed him, I... He... Because he was a red dragon... just like my other lover, I completely forgot we weren't even in love... I had forgotten that we hadn't even kissed yet. You don't think he likes me back... do you... I ruined everything, didn't I?" Claire murmured as the three walked down the halls, feeling bad for how she was thinking, but they were glad they were there to help her, "And don't get me wrong, I love him like you wouldn't believe but... I'm scared to show that."

"Claire, it's fine. Something like this won't make Ignitus leave you, as if anything would," Cynder said with a smile.

"Yeah, trust us, we've been through the same thing. Even after I kissed Malefor on the cheek, he was still scared from times that by him kissing me, I would leave him because he wasn't doing a good job or that I already had my eyes on someone else, which, I never did because... Malefor was really something to look at almost every day," Carith giggled and agreed with Cynder as she had hoped she had nothing to worry about.

"So... do you think he enjoyed the kiss? I just want to know if I did something wrong. After what he did for me, I, I don't want to have done something he didn't want me to do. And what if he already has his eyes on someone else," Claire begged to know the answer.

"Please, if Ignitus did care about you, and he already had his eyes on someone else, why is he still laying with you? He likes you too, and even if he might not show it, I can guarantee he will miss you by the end of the day. It's not like he's going to avoid you because of some kiss... I think... Oh I sure hope not," Carith started to tease her about it, seeing that it only scared her, so she apologized, "Sorry, I was only joking. Just trust me, you'll be fine."

Nearing the door, the three heard steps as if someone was running at them. They stopped and looked behind themselves to see a red dragon. Ignitus had stopped in front of the three and was glad to see Claire was still with the two. Breathing heavily, he smiled at her, and apologized as soon as possible, "I'm sorry, for not saying anything back there. I quickly ran down as quickly as I could but... I tripped and bumped my head on the stairs, hehe."

"Are you okay?" Claire murmured, feeling as though it was her fault because, if she hadn't walked away, he wouldn't have had to chance her.

Kissing her on the forehead, her eyes went wide as the other two smiled, knowing it would've happened sooner or later. Pulling back and looking at her, he smiled with a chuckle, "I am now. Again, I'm sorry for not saying anything back there. That kiss caught me completely off guard and, if I'm being honest... I actually quite enjoyed it."

"You... you did?" She said with a smile.

"But I enjoy you being by my side most of all," He said, raising his wing, and waited for her to come by his side.

She happily walked beside him, and putting her body up against his, she nuzzled underneath his neck as he draped his wing over her, and the two smiled, glad nothing bad happened. Pulling away and looking up at him, she asked just to be sure that he was telling the truth, "So, you aren't mad or, upset at what I did? You really did enjoy it?"

"Of course I did. I was shocked, I won't lie. But at least now, I can kiss you when ever I want," He whispered, pecking her on the cheek.

Pulling away, he looked her with a heartwarming smile, and she believed he was telling the truth.

"I'm going to guess this means everything is okay?" Terrador asked.

Ignitus looked behind himself to see Terrador walking with the other two towards them. He chuckled with a smile. As the Guardians walked in front of the two, he wondered where the other two were, and looking back once again, he saw them talking and joking with one another, which surprised him, as well as Carith and Cynder, as they thought they would have to stop one another form killing the other. Walking to Ignitus side, Spyro asked, "We going or what?"

Walking over to the door, Spyro pushed them open with his wings and walked out of the building, followed by everyone else. Looking over Warfang, he was glad to see everything and everyone appeared to be okay. Standing next to him, Spyro looked at Malefor before looking back at Warfang and saying, "You know, last time I was looking at Warfang, it was being destroyed by your dark army."

"Was that yesterday or the day before," Malefor chuckled.

"Brings back some memories though, doesn't it? I never even thought I would be walking around Warfang ever again. After what happened in the volcano, I thought that was it for me but," He stopped as he looked back and saw Cynder smiling at him, "I had someone there for me when it all happened."

Looking back out into the distance, he was surprised at how well the land had formed back together. Walking over and standing next to her lover, Cynder looked at him and asked, "Did you ever think you would be sitting next to Malefor himself, talking about what has happened over the years?"

"Hehe, no, not really. I'm just as surprised as you."

Carith walked over and sat next to her lover, and looking at him, she whispered, "They are right. I never knew, especially after what happened, that I would have the privilege of standing with you once again, and looking over Warfang."

"Yeah but... even after everything had returned to normal, what about what I did, especially to you all," Malefor turned away along with his lover, Cynder, and Spyro, and he looked at the Guardians, "When I was free from captivity, for all those years you all had to endure what I had done to you all... more then four years, and it was all my fault, and I know I could never give you that time back."

"Malefor, it's okay. Those four years were the worst times of our lives. But look at my side, that scar I had, completely gone, along with everyone else's battle scars that we had endured over the years, thanks to the help of the Chronicler's powers. The rips and holes in are wings are gone as well, thanks to this power, the Ancestors were nice enough to let me do the same to Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador," Ignitus explained, now making everyone understand why they looked a lot younger then they did before, "And four years of War is nothing compared to the years of peace we can endure. With you back at our side, there is nothing we can't accomplish."

"Yeah... you're right."

"Don't worry about the past, alright. It wasn't the greatest, so let's make the present better, alright? And at least we don't have to worry about the dark master coming back ever again since Carith is with you, so we are fine."

"Oh, since we are on the topic of things I didn't know, Volteer, what happened to your voice when we met once again? You only talked for a little bit before you helped us and that was it," Spyro asked, seeing Terrador chuckle as Volteer looked at him with a raised brow.

"During the time of the attack, Me and Terrador rounded a corner. Apparently he didn't know it was me, and elbowed me in the throat, so my voice wasn't the same for a while," Volteer explained, rounding his paw around his throat from the memory as the pain was excruciating to him.

"Sorry again for what happened, I was honestly just frightened from what was happening," Terrador admitted and once again apologized.

"Well, compared to what we are about to go through, this will be nothing to be honest."

"Agreed."

"I won't be too hard on you guys, probably..." Spyro chuckled

"Gee, I feel so much better."

"Well, let's get this over with I guess," Volteer sighed, opening up his wings and flying into the air, followed by Terrador and Cyril.

Spyro followed along with his lover, and so did Malefor and his lover. Looking at Claire, Ignitus asked, "You ready to see what a fight between a purple dragon and other purple dragon looks like?"

"Well, last time that happened, I pretty sure the earth was split in half," Claire giggled.

"Hehe, well, it won't happen this time. And this time, we won't have a destroyer to deal with."

"You all fought that thing?!"

"Yeah, we couldn't beat it though, it was way beyond anything we could've handled, but if it ever does return, I'm sure we will be fine."

"I trust you."

Taking his wing of her, he flew into the air and waited for her. Opening her wings, she did the same, and flew into the air. The two flew over to the back of Warfang, quickly trying to catch up with the others. Landing down on the ground, Blitz looked at Spyro before looking back at his friends, talking about some kind of strategy they would use to take him down. Malefor landed down beside Spyro and as he did, Blitz looked at Malefor and called him over, "Malefor, come over here, we need to talk to you about our plan."

"This should be good. I will see you soon," Malefor whispered to his lover, and before he ran over to the three, he gave her a loving peck on the lips.

After the Guardians had all landed, Blitz looked back and called them all over, "Guardians, come over here for a sec. Before we start, I want to talk strategy."

"Strategy?" Terrador asked as he walked over to him.

Pecking Claire on the side of her cheek, Ignitus pulled away and whispered, "Wish me luck."

She smiled at him and said, "I believe that at least one of you will get him."

"Let's hope."

Walking over to the other, Ignitus was joined by the other two Guardians as they walked over and talked in a group. Looking towards Spyro to see him smiling, Claire wondered if he was confident in his abilities to take on all the Guardians and then some, "Spyro, you don't even seem scared, are you excited about the fight or what?"

"Of course I'm excited. I haven't really been able to let loose my power for a while. Unlike before, I can go all out without having to worry about healing any one, or worrying about someone possibly dying. This also gives me another excuse to fight Malefor again, which coming back here feels like the perfect chance for payback for what he did," Spyro growled, but still holding his smile as he remembered what everyone has said to him about Malefor and the dark master, and he trusts everyone.

"Payback as in, no death of my lover, payback?" Carith giggled slightly.

"No, no death of Malefor. Not like I would have a chance anyway. Even if I tried, I still have everyone else to deal with."

"Just, be careful out there. Last thing I want to happen is for you to end up passing out or having another hole in your chest," Cynder pleaded, remembering what happened last time she was back her, and it didn't bring back easy memories for her.

"Hehe, I will try my hardest. I find it wired that back here has been completely fixed. I remember there was a ton of holes in the ground from my fight with the dark master."

I fixed up everything while you were away. I do a lot while everyone is asleep, and fixing up this place took a lot more time then I thought it would for someone like me, Ignitus said to Spyro through his thoughts, getting him to understand. Stretching out his body, Spyro exclaimed with excitement, "Man I'm excited! Malefor is a lot weaker since he isn't being controlled by the dark master, and the Guardians I've already fought before. Blitz didn't seem very strong, but he was a little more stronger then I thought. But what I'm really excited for, is fighting Ignitus. The power of the Chronicler is something I've always wanted to test, and today's the day!"

"You sure picked a strange one to love didn't you," Carith giggled at Cynder, seeing her blush a little with a smile.

"Strange? Look at Malefor, that guy is as sad as I knew he'd be. Tell you what, when he's face first eating soil, let's see who's the stranger one, and who's the stronger one."

"Alright, you know what, let's make a bet. If Malefor is the victor when he beats you, you can't kiss Cynder for the rest of the day, and you have to say how amazing and powerful my lover is. That also includes that date that Blitz will have with Cynder if you lose. So what are you Spyro? Are you going to be a strange one on this deal, or a strong one?"

"Oh strong for sure, and I agree."

"Really?!"

"Of course... I'll just target Malefor first."

"Oh... yeah."

"What about you Claire? Want to make any bets with your, Man? Which, while we are on the topic, how does it feel to know you can kiss Ignitus without having to worry about him leaving you?"

"Well... Aside from the fact that I'm sure I would've flipped out bad without the help from your lover and Carith, it felt... really good. I miss the feeling of having someone there for me and when he pecked me on the forehead... Something about him just makes it so right, and so nice. It was a lot more romantic then with... my first lover. It kinda happened on accident actually. He fell over on me and kissed my cheek and after that, we kinda just went with it..." Claire explained, remembering that it wasn't the most romantic way to get her first kiss, but she still keep it within her heart about what happened.

Looking at Ignitus from afar, Spyro then looked back up at Claire and thanked, "Thank you, Claire."

"What did I do?"

"You really came through last night for him. And even if you did, hurt him, I won't blame you for it. I don't even think he would be out here if it wasn't for you being with him. So I wanted to thank you."

"Well, you know... I knew I couldn't run away from his body... Every night we lay, and when that rain felt so cold when I had tried to run away... that warm body, and the feeling of his scales... I can't forget that feeling... Try not to hurt him too much for me, please. The thing I'm most worried about is you breaking his back and we can't cuddle tonight."

"Hehe, I will try. Ignitus is tough I will give him that."

"Alright, we are ready," Blitz called out.

Pecking her lover on the lips, Spyro pulled away and before running into battle, he whispered, "Wish me luck."

She nodded at him and watched as he walked over to all of the others.

"You don't think, Spyro could just be using this as a way to kill Malefor?" Carith asked, as she knew it wasn't true, but she still would've like to hear it from Cynder.

"Hehe, no. Honestly, Spyro hasn't really been this excited to fight in a long time. Last time was back with the Guardians but, after that... I feel like he's also doing this in hopes to train Malefor. After all, he did ask if he could train him some more, and maybe he is finally looking forward to doing so. But what could've made him what to train him?" Cynder said, wondering how Malefor convinced Spyro to help him train, but she didn't know if her theory was right or not.

"Yeah... I trust him."

The eight split up as Spyro approached the middle of the field. They all stood in a circle around the area, completely surrounding him from going anywhere. Spyro saw through this pretty quickly, but he knew they had other plans of how to take him out so he knew he had to stay on guard. Getting into his fighting stance, he focused his attention on his main threats: Malefor, and Ignitus. I know the Guardians aren't close to how strong Malefor is, and I haven't seen Ignitus's power in action yet. And with the Chronicler's power, there is no telling how strong he is, He thought, but his thoughts were broken as Blitz asked, "Are you ready?"

Not taking his attention away from the Ignitus and Malefor, Spyro chuckled, "Yeah. But if you were asking Cynder if she's ready for that date, you're living in a dream, Blitz."

"We'll see who's laughing when I win... Begin!"

Spitting out all their abilities: Fire, Electricity, Ice shards, and Rock shards surrounded him at every corner. What do they think I am? A hatchling? Spyro chuckled to himself as he jumped into the air, avoiding everything all together. As the elements collided, a small explosion engulfed the area. Flying in the air, he still saw everyone was where they were before, but that quickly changed as he realised someone was missing. Turning behind himself, he saw Volteer coming down head first to hit him. Just in time, he dodged out the way, but not without getting a hit in on him. Timing it just right, Spyro punched Volteer in his side which sent him to the ground even faster then before. As his body met the ground, his body bounced and slammed into a tree, cracking it down the middle. Flying down to the ground, he looked and saw Malefor and Ignitus were missing. Damn! He growled, looking to find the two, but as he looked, everyone else had disappeared as well. Trying to take a step forward, he looked to his paws, wondering why he couldn't move. Rock covered all of his paws, keeping him from moving. Two shards of ice from both Cyril and Sesal made their way right towards him, one high and one low so he had no way of dodging them. Looking above him, Terrador shot a shard of earth himself, completely pinning him on where to go. As they neared his body, he broke free just in time as the two shards approached him. Grabbing one shard with his teeth and the other with his tail, he broke the one in his mouth by biting down on it. Throwing the other one from his tail up into the air at Terrador's shard, the two collided and shattered. Landing back on the ground, Terrador hid from Spyro and waited for the right time to strike. Emerging from the bushes, Malefor walked up to him and asked, "Alright... seems like tactics aren't going to work. So maybe brute strength will."

He smiled at his challenge. As Malefor approached him, he started to run faster and faster until he was right on top of him. Spinning around to try and cut him with his tail, he ducked. Pulling his paw up, he slammed it into Malefor's chin before grabbing it. Pushing him forward, he forced Malefor onto his back. Pulling his paw away, he grabbed his neck with his paw. Opening his wings, he flew to the air. Turning upside down, he spun in a circle as he reached the ground. Throwing Malefor into the ground, his head slammed into the ground while Spyro safely stopped his decent and landed on the ground.

"Malefor..." Carith whispered, hoping he was okay.

Standing in front of him as he laid on his side and in pain, Spyro chuckled as he pulled his tail blade to his neck and asked, "You can always tap out, or do you need to take more of a beating? I know you're stronger then this."

"Hehe... you're right!" Malefor growled, hitting his paw to the ground, pulling and pushing himself back.

Just as he flung himself backwards, he was able to slice at the side of Spyro's cheek with his tail blade, causing him to bleed. The girls gasped as he got the hit off. Standing a bit away from him, he knew it was going to take a lot more then a cut to hurt him. Looking at Malefor, he smiled slightly, glad someone was able to do some damage to him. Taking a step forward, Spyro disappeared before reappearing behind Malefor. Pulling his paw up to hit Malefor in the back of his head, it was quick, and surprised even Spyro. A shard of ice stabbed into his arm. With a loud growl, he fell to the floor. Malefor looked at the shard that poked through his arm completely and cried, "Spyro! Are you okay!"

"Damn! Who did this!" Spyro growled, seeing Cyril emerge from the bushes.

"Spyro, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for them to hit. I was just trying to distract you," Cyril apologized, feeling terrible as he didn't mean to put a hole inside Spyro's arm.

Everyone felt fear and confusion as Spyro's chuckle started to turn into a laugh. Ripping the ice shard out of his paw, he knocked Cyril upside the head before quickly hitting his elbow into Malefor's side. The two growled in pain as they fell to the floor. Reappearing in the middle, Spyro made something very clear, which made them wonder if he was being serious or not, "Listen! This is not some little hatchling fight, understand?! I don't care what it takes or how badly I get injured! You come at me as if you want to kill me!"

"Is he... joking?" Cyril asked, still trying to recover from the random hit.

"Spyro's going to get himself killed," Carith said.

"What are you planning?" Cynder whispered, as seeing the hole in Spyro's arm made her shiver.

"Ignitus, with that out of the way, maybe we should just rush him? I have no intent to kill him at all, but using all of our power might be easier then trying to suppress it," Blitz whispered to Ignitus as the two hid behind a bush and waited to see what they would plan.

"Alright, I will tell everyone," He agreed, wondering why Spyro would want to take so much pain just for a spar between everyone.

Everyone walked out into the middle of the open from where they were. Spyro looked at Ignitus, and showing him his arm, he asked, "Before we continue, should I fix it, or can you?"

"I'll fix it," Ignitus said, as a white circle went down his arm, healing the wound completely before disappearing, "Spyro, are you sure you want everyone to go all out? Yes I can just heal you with my time power but, even for you, that seems pretty extreme. We've just seen what would happen if one of our attacks hit, so maybe it would be best if we didn't."

"I will be fine. If I think I can't handle it, I will tell you, trust me."

"You know, Cynder's going to kill me if I agree."

"You're right..."

Looking over at his lover, he asked her, "With your permission, can everyone fight seriously towards me?"

She sighed, scared to know of the out come, and made some rules, "Alright... but two rules to this. One; you better not end up like you did before when we were back here with that dark master fight. And Two; You owe me a really good kiss when this is all over. Understand?"

"Yes my love," He said with a smile, knowing that she was scared, so he decided it would be best if he used his powers and didn't get hurt by the other.

Looking back at Ignitus, he smiled as he said, "Alright, since we are going all out... I'm not going to hold back my power either, so neither should you all. If I use my dark form, this would be over pretty quickly, so I will stick to my basic abilities. Sound good to everyone?"

"Great... I can't wait to be set on fire..." Cyril grumbled.

"You'll be fine... hopefully," Malefor said sarcastically.

"Alright then, let's begin," Ignitus said, as everyone rushed head on to fight Spyro.

But as everyone rushed in, Ignitus didn't, and the girls noticed that, but mainly Claire. Swinging their tail blades, using their abilities, and trying everything possible to attack and take Spyro down, they were almost successful as it seemed they were getting closer and closer to hitting him. He saw that and knew he would have to take a breath. Slapping his paws together, he pushed them outwards away from his body, engulfing the entire area in flames. The flames kicked everyone back as the heat from the fire felt like it burned their eyes. As the fire neared the girls, he suppressed the power before absorbing it back in completely. "I will watch after the girls, you go nuts. I want to see what you can really do," Ignitus said through Spyro's thoughts as he stood in front of the girls. "Thanks. But are you sure you don't want to fight?" Spyro asked in his thoughts. "Don't worry, I know you want to fight me, and you will. Just, the sooner you deal with them, the quicker you can fight me, Alright?"

"Alright. Oh, and tell Cynder thanks again for letting me do this. I know it's not easy for her seeing me get hurt like that, but let her know I was fine, thanks to her." Ignitus chuckled and agreed to tell her, "Alright." Looking at Cynder, Ignitus conveyed the words to her, "Spyro said thank you for letting him go through with this fight. He knew it wasn't easy for you seeing him get hurt like that, but he was fine, and it was all thanks to you. Do you have anything to say back to him?"

She sighed with a smile as she whispered to herself, "That's my lover... And the greatest one at that. It's fine, Ignitus. Thank you for that."

"They weren't my words."

"I know... but, I remembering being back here... Standing here now is pretty... I never saw myself being here in a thousand years."

"I'm the all knowing Chronicler and it has surprised even me. Plus, I never knew I would be back here enjoying time with someone I care about, and someone who cares for me."

Claire giggled at him and asked, "Care for? How about you come over here and I can show you how much I care about you."

He chuckled, and walked over to her side. Sitting down next to her, she nuzzled her head underneath Ignitus's, making the other two feel jealous that their lover's weren't there to do the same.

"You're so Lucky... Now I wish Malefor wasn't in this little fight if theirs," Carith whimpered, wishing she could feel the sweet nuzzle and feeling of Malefor's scales on hers.

"Now that I keep talking about kissing Spyro, and now talking about nuzzling with the ones we love... I don't know if I can last much longer without Spyro," Cynder agreed with Carith, hoping that the the battle would be over soon so they could nuzzle and kiss their lovers.

"Alright, we are going to play a little game called; Freeze Lightning," Spyro said with a smile as everyone stood back up to their paws.

"What the hell is freeze lightning?" Malefor asked.

"Simple. Since their are only two dragons with the lightning ability, that being Volteer and Bolt, I will go for them last. In this game, I will being using my lightning to shock your nerves into paralyzing your bodies. Volteer and Bolt are the only one's to help you, so if you got caught, you're going to have to wait until one of them comes and gets you. Sound fair?"

"What?! I thought this was a fight, not a game," Blitz said.

"Alright, fine, we will continue are fight, but let's see if you can keep up."

Disappearing and reappearing behind Blitz, he slammed his paw into the back of his neck, knocking him to the ground. Terrador swung his tail around to slash at him, but as Spyro backed up and dodged, he grabbed his tail with his paw. Spinning around in a circle, Terrador slammed into a tree after tree before Spyro lit the bottom of his tail on fire. Letting Terrador go, his body flew into another tree, and he growled as he also felt steam from the fire that burned at his scales. Patting his tail on the ground, the fire went out, and Terrador sighed hugely. Bolt took into consideration of what Spyro had said and went to paralyze him. As Malefor attacked Spyro, he took the opportunity to attack him. Throwing his paw at him, Spyro wrapped his tail around Bolt's paw. Punching Malefor in the chest, he looked at Bolt and asked, "Paralyze me? Come on Bolt, you're better then that..."

Slamming his fist across Spyro's face, it caused him to let go of Bolt, and Malefor growled, "Don't get cocky!"

Hitting the ground, he tried to roll on his side, but Malefor jumped on top of him and froze over all of his paws and tail blade. Putting his tail blade at Spyro's neck, he chuckled "You lost."

"Oh, I did? Sorry, I didn't know, seeming how you obviously don't know what that word means," Spyro growled, lighting his body on fire, breaking his body free.

Pulling his back paws forward, he slammed them into Malefor's gut, sending him flying backwards and onto the ground. He didn't mean to do this, but as he threw his body, Malefor's tail blade went around his back and slashed at Sesal's. Malefor rolled off his body as Sesal was now down for the count pretty quickly. Turning his attention back to Bolt, Spyro was punched by Volteer this time. Bouncing on the ground a couple of times before hitting a tree, he quickly stood back up. Digging his paws into the ground, he propelled himself forward at a pretty fast rate of speed. Knowing Volteer would react in time, he froze time, and just as he was about to hit him, he turned time back to normal. Hitting Volteer right in the chest with his head, he knocked him to the ground and bounced off him. Spyro used this to spin around and kick Bolt right in the side of the face. His head hit the ground with a loud crack, almost as if his jaw had done the same. Standing back up, Malefor watched as Spyro approached him, and he had enough of being so weak in front of his lover. Going to punch Spyro, he dodged, which Malefor had hoped for. He used his other paw to hit Spyro in his chest causing him to stand on his two back paws before he fell back. Before he could stand back up, Malefor punched Spyro in his gut, causing him to cough of blood from the force of the punch. On his back, and grabbing his gut in pain, Malefor didn't want to really hurt Spyro at all, but he heard what he had said and went for it. Moving his tail blade around and putting it right at his heart, he struggled and shuck, not knowing if he could go through it. Seeing Spyro look at him with blood going down the side of his mouth, he softly growled at himself. Pulling his tail balde back, he got off his body and stood off to the side. The girls and Ignitus smiled as they knew what he was thinking, and they were glad he didn't go through with it. Looking at Malefor, Spyro asked, "Why... why didn't you attack me? You had the chance? I said you could use you abilities."

Malefor turned back and watched as Spyro stood back up. Seeing the confused look on his face, but also somewhat of a smile, Malefor apologized, "I know... but, I can't... I don't want to put you through that pain again... Not like before."

Placing his tail blade against Malefor's neck, Spyro asked, "Then how do you expect to beat me?"

"I... I don't know..."

"You better know in the next second or else I'm going to make you feel the pain that I was going to feel. If you don't come at me with as much power as possible like you were just doing, you'll never win. I only let you attack me while I was on the ground because I was hoping you would've attacked me, but you didn't. What if I hurt Carith? You wouldn't stop to think then."

"But you didn't hurt Carith... Look, Spyro, I want to get strong, I do. But, using you as a source to attack... It just makes me think I'm the dark master again..."

"I understand, Malefor, it's okay... I understand where you are coming from but, next time, I want you to attack me, as a spar partner, not as the dark master. I know you're not him anymore so it's okay about what happens. Just promise me that next time, you will try, Alright?"

"Alright..."

"Now go to Carith before I kick your ass for trying to kill me."

"Hehe, Alright."

Walking away from the battlefield, they didn't really hear their conversation so they didn't understand why he was coming over. Sitting down next to Carith, he draped his wing over her, and nuzzled her gently. She wasn't complaining at all as she was kinda glad that he walked off the battlefield. His smooth scales felt so wonderful to her, and her scales felt amazing to him. Pulling away, he looked at her, and she asked, somewhat scared to know the answer, "Oh no... please don't tell me Spyro's planning on killing you because he thinks you're the dark master?"

"No... he... he actually trust me. I told him I was scared to really fight him and, hurt, him, because it made me feel like I was the dark master. I would much rather work with him then fight him but, he said next time, I have to go all out. I'm scared to fight him, and I know I agreed to it but... Cynder, I know I'm not exactly the kind of guy who should ask a favor with what's happened, but, is there a way you can, convince Spyro to work with me rather then fight me?" Malefor asked, hoping she would help him, even though he knows everything isn't good between everyone, and he understood.

"Malefor, it's fine, I trust you. I will try and talk to him and see what I can do. I can convince Spyro pretty easily with this simple trick," Cynder agreed, knowing she would be able to convince Spyro pretty easily.

"Let me guess, your trick is either kissing and or nuzzling him, or it's threatening to leave him," Carith giggled.

"Definitely the first one. Threatening to leave him, I'm trying to hold off on. I know we are joking about it but, I feel bad when I say that because I don't want to leave him. So for now on, I'm going to rely on my nuzzles and my kisses."

Malefor chuckled with everyone else, but he was confued about something that Cynder had said, "Cynder... I don't mean to bring this up because i know it doesn't bring back good memories but... Why do you still have the chains on around your arms, legs, and neck. Is it because you are still afraid of me or... are you using them for style to impress your lover."

Putting her paw over the chain on her neck, he was right that it doesn't bring back good memories. Looking at Spyro as he helped Terrador up from the fight, she looked back at him, and thought more about his words, his actions, and how he was around everyone and his lover. Pulling her paw down, she giggled and decided to tell him why, "It's... I still wear these chains because... I'm afraid of one day becoming the dark master's servant again. I just felt like I should leave them on because, I thought that was all I was meant to be. And even after Spyro broke me free of the dark master's control, I knew I didn't belong... But I was wrong."

"Cynder... I'm... I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, Malefor. Looking back, it was... it was tough. But look at me now. I've found someone to love, I have the Guardians as friends, and meeting Carith and Claire to have some girl time with, I never thought something like this would ever happen. And... now that you mention it... I'm not afraid anymore."

"You're not?"

"What is there to be afraid of? I've seen how you are around Carith, I've seen how desperately you have tried to make everything right again, and all those times you could've killed me... You never did. So... maybe you're right... maybe I don't need to wear these chains any more... Hehe, but now here comes a fear of mine... What will Spyro think? Does he think I look good with them, or will he like me more if I remove them?"

"Well, tell him why you wear the chains and see what he says from there. Bringing up the dark master might make him what to kill me but... I want to thank you, Cynder, for trusting me enough to even take off the chains. I know you still have fear towards me, and I understand but... Thank you... I don't know how to show my gratitude."

"Show me that I'm right in my decision... I know I trust you, but you're going to have to show Spyro, I know that for sure.

"I will definitely try."

Walking back over with the other Guardians as well as Blitz, Sesal, and Bolt, Ignitus asked, "Well, how did it go."

Almost falling over as they all sat, Terrador chuckled, "Well, the fight, somewhat, continued in the woods. It took a while for Blitz to give up but as he went to punch Spyro, he punched a tree and he said he broke his paw. As Spyro approached Volteer, he quickly tapped out and begged for forgiveness, understandably as he was approaching him with fire in his paw."

"So Spyro won after all... Sorry Blitz."

"It's fine... It just shows that I need to get stronger, and for the time being, I will, let, Spyro take care of her," Blitz sighed, sad that they were all defeated by one dragon, "Then again, doesn't help that the hard hitters such as you, and Malefor decided it would be best to just walk off the field so... kinda knew we were screwed after that."

"Hehe, sorry, Blitz. But, here, let me help you all with your wounds."

Raising his paw, a white ring appeared around everyone's body, including the girls even through they didn't fight. As the ring went up their bodies, it then went down and disappeared as it completely healed everyone and cleaned everyone off of anything. Blitz felt so much better, but even after being healed and completely confused on what happened, he said, "I was about to yell at you until you did that, but I still have to wonder, why didn't you fight?"

"I was looking after the girls in case Spyro went over board on his powers. Which I know he would've suppressed but I wanted to see all his power. Which I'm about to find out right now."

"Oh, I've been waiting for this day!" Spyro exclaimed with excitement.

Before walking to the middle of the field, Spyro walked past Terrador and patted his shoulder as he said, "I can always give you some lessons. Even still, you're not as weak as you make yourself out to be."

He chuckled as he watched Spyro walk to the middle of the field, preparing for the fight. Looking over at Ignitus, Cynder asked, "Ignitus, I hope you are as powerful as you say because, I need a favor. I need you to distract him while I take off my chains."

"Are you sure about it? I'm surprised you didn't ask him. I mean, I have no problem at all as I think it's sweet what you are doing. So why didn't you ask him?" Ignitus said, knowing it would be a simple task to keep Spyro away from her, but he didn't understand why she didn't say anything to him before he walked away.

"Well... I want it to be a surprise. He's reaction will tell me if he does or doesn't like it. I kinda hope he does..."

"Alright, I will try. I've never fought Spyro while he is in his dark form so this will be difficult for me to understand in the beginning, but I know a way to get him away from the start."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. And to be honest, I'm curious as well. I can't imagine you without the chains so, this will be something new for us, as well as a step forward in the right direction in my opinion."

She smiled at him as now she was convinced that taking off her chains would be for good. Pecking Claire on her cheek, Ignitus pulled away and whispered to her before walking to the middle to fight Spyro, "I'm so glad we can do that now."

Watching him as he walked away, she couldn't describe the joy she felt now that she was able to kiss him. I went from trying to assassinate the Guardians, to being saved by Ignitus, then being cared for by Ignitus... and then falling in love with Ignitus... I hope the day comes where that last part happens for the both of us, Claire thought, as she wondered more about what her life would be like with him more into the future. Watching as Ignitus stood in front of Spyro, everyone had wondered how Ignitus was going to take care of him from the start. As the two talked back in forth, Spyro smiled as he turned into his dark form. Ignitus chuckled with him and after he did, he looked over to Cynder and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" Spyro and Cynder asked in unison.

"He means with the chains," Carith whispered.

"Oh yeah. Ready!"

Looking back at Spyro, Ignitus smiled once again and asked, "Since you are so confident in your power, how about you let this old Dragon go first with the hit?"

"Sounds fair enough to me," Spyro agreed.

Pulling his paw up, he put one finger close Spyro's forehead, somewhat confusing everyone. But that quickly changed. Pushing his finger forward and making contact with his forehead, a huge gust of wind exploded out of the air. Spyro was completely blown backwards through tree after tree, skidding on the ground before making it all the way to the ocean. His body tapped and skid across the water a couple of times before his body sunk into the water. Everything in front of Ignitus was now a barren wasteland with nothing but dirt and knocked over trees. Everyone froze at this power, and even somewhat scared to fight him now more then ever. His power made it look like Spyro's dark form was nothing more then a joke from a story. He saw everyone's reaction, but he knew it wasn't going to be that easy and that Spyro would come back any moment, so he quickly yelled, "Cynder, the chains!"

"Oh, right!" Cynder said, using her tail blade to get off the chains on her tail, arms, and then her neck.

Looking down at her front left leg, she tried to cut right down the middle and hoped she wouldn't cut herself. Just as she had cut off the chain on her front left leg, an explosion erupted from the water as it had looked like a tsunami had just slammed against the shore. Flinging his wings outwards and shaking off the water and the pain, Spyro looked down at Ignitus ready for round two. Cynder was scared to think he would look over before she was able to get her chains off, but as she looked up, a quick blink of the eye proved that she had more time as. Pushing his wings back with enough force to sound as if it broke the sound barrier, he tackled Ignitus as the two went sliding into the woods to continue the fight. He held Ignitus's back to the ground as they slid through the ground.

Looking back at her front right leg, she knew how to get the chains off quickly and did so. Getting off her other front right chain with her tail blade, she looked back up and watched as the fight continued, scared to think it would be over so quickly. She tried not to think about it as she moved her tail near her side and tried to get the chain off with her claws.

Kicking Spyro off of himself, Ignitus sent him soaring into the sky. Appearing behind him in the blink of an eye, he spun around before kicking Spyro into the ground. As his body hit the ground, it blew a huge hole in the ground around where he kicked him. He growled and quickly tried to stand up, but just as he had jumped to the air, Ignitus appeared behind him once again. Picking him up by the tail, he spun him around and around. After a couple of seconds, he finally throwing him right back down to the middle of where they had started. Flying down to the middle, Ignitus chuckled at him and asked, "You give up? Maybe that dark form has more flaws then we thought."

Standing up slowly, he stood back to his paws. Twisting his neck around, he popped his neck as he chuckled, "Flaws? No, no no no. See, when it comes to power, there are no flaws. I needed to see how powerful you are, and to be honest, the power of the Chronicler would make the dark master's power feel good about itself knowing it could easily take you out."

"Hehe, You sure are cocky today aren't you?"

"No... I'm just confident!"

Putting a massive hole into the ground as he kicked off it, Spyro landed a hit right on Ignitus's face. A huge blast of wind whipped and ripped at the trees as Ignitus was flung all the way back into the mountain of the Guardians Building. Everyone backed up as they did not want to get involved in this fight at all. Successful in getting the chain from her tail off, she then went for the one on her neck, but a tail blade stopped her. Looking over, Carith and Malefor changed places, and he asked her, "Do you need help with that?"

She giggled at him with his tail blade being at her neck, "Spyro would kill you right now if he saw your tail blade at my neck."

"Thought it would be best if I did the last one... it would, make me feel better knowing that I broke the last one to show that even Malefor, the dark master, will no longer control the lover of Spyro."

"Well, when you put it like that... I will allow it."

Cutting off the last chain, it fell to the ground. As he pulled his tail blade down, he watched as she grabbed at her neck, moving her paw around it as she said, "Well, I definitely feel a difference. That thing has been around my neck for years and now I finally have the chance to walk around without it... Well, what do you think?"

Turning her body towards him, he was quiet surprised at how different she looked now with the chains gone. As Carith looked at her, she also liked the new look, mainly because it made her look a lot more free then she did before, "Dang Girl, look at you looking all good. I know for a fact that Spyro will love it. Not to say he hasn't loved you before, everyone knows that from the way you two act, but maybe this will have a different result."

"The way we act? Alright, I understand."

"You know what I mean. The way you two are always snuggling up together."

"So snuggling up together with my lover is an act?"

"Act? No. The only acting that I wish would happen is Spyro saying he would kill Malefor but then doesn't because he's only acting... but I mean, maybe he's getting there. I mean, just today the two were talking all the way down the halls until they got to the Chambers."

"How do you... know about that?" Malefor asked, somewhat with a blush as he remembered Spyro talking about how he doesn't want to kill him.

"You're not quiet. We heard almost everything you all said, especially about the part where he doesn't want to kill you."

"Yeah well... here's to hoping."

Looking over at the Guardians, she asked them next, "Hey guys, what do you all think?"

The Guardians as well as the three friends looked over at her in amazement at the new look. Blitz felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest, and he groaned in sadness, "It's not fair... why... why couldn't I have been as lucky as Spyro..."

Patting his friend on the shoulder, Bolt comforted him, "There there. Maybe next time."

"Well, I don't want to get slapped to Hell by Spyro for calling you pretty but, you look nice Cynder. The new look without the chains really brings out who you are," Volteer said honestly, but as he said that, he wish he hadn't as he knew he was going to get picked on by everyone about it.

"Wow Volteer, first you call my lover pretty, then you call Cynder pretty? Dude, we need to get you a girlfriend bad if you are this lonely," Malefor chuckled along with his lover, Cynder, and the Guardians.

"Why did I bother..." He sighed.

Looking away from them as they laughed, listing to them talk about finding a lover made him think, especially since Ersa was brought up today, and he wondered if it was a sign about what he should do, Should I move on from her? The Guardians told me to do so, but Spyro retaliated and said I should choose on my own. Should I move on or... Should I hope that I can find her... if she's even alive. I wish I had my book... maybe she left something in that book before we left. Maybe... What would you do if you were me right now... my love... but... I was never able to even tell you that... I liked you. The warm feeling of a paw on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts, and looking over at him, Terrador assured him, "Volteer, it's okay, we are just picking on you."

"I know, i know, it's just... What do you think I should do? Should I move on and try to find someone else or... hope that she's still out there?"

"Oh... is this about... Ersa. I'm... I'm sorry... but I couldn't give you a clear answer. It has been over thirteen years, Volteer. Even if she is still out there, how do we know if she hasn't found someone else?"

He frowned as he looked to the ground, knowing that there is more bad then good.

"So, if she's alive, then she would've moved on and left me, or forgotten about me entirely. And if she's dead then... I'll never know how she felt about me."

"Well... I wouldn't say that."

Looking up at him, Volteer asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look, I didn't trust Ignitus's judgment when it came to Claire because I was scared the darkness would've come back and taken everything away from us after everyone had just come back together. But, something about Spyro's words, I knew I had to trust him. That, as well as the fact he probably would've killed me but, look at Ignitus now. Already kissing the one he likes. So, maybe you should listen to what Spyro said, maybe you shouldn't move on... Maybe... He could help you search for her if she's alive."

"You think he would do that?! For me?!"

"He does a lot for the ones he cares about. Yes he made us fight him and he will probably do it again but, the good news to that little fight, we get a little stronger. And I know he had that line of thinking as well. Plus, he's holding his own pretty well against Ignitus right now so... If you want, we could all join forces and beat Ignitus in to letting us read about where Ersa is if she's alive."

"Hehe, thanks, Terrador. I will probably ask if Spyro would help me with the search. And I don't want to force Ignitus to tell me where she is as he's done enough for us already. Saying he would stay with us again is a big enough for a help as it brings back good memories."

Patting him on the shoulder, he took his paw off and said, "That's the spirit. Just don't give up and hope she's out there."

"Right. And also, ouch. Even though Spyro hit me in my chest, when my back hit the ground... We really are out of shape."

"Hehe, no kidding. After that little fight, I'm in more pain then I look right now. Even after Ignitus healed us, I still feel the pain."

"Yeah, same here."

Hitting the ground on his back, everyone watched as the fight had continued, but what they saw was less then comforting. With Spyro on his back, he coughed up blood onto his chest, and the reason was because Ignitus's tail blade dug right down into his chest.

"Ignitus! What are you doing?!" Cynder cried.

Grabbing Ignitus tail blade and yanking it out of his chest, blood spilled out of his chest only causing her to fear as much as everyone else as they thought they had taken it too far. Punching the side of his face, Spyro then backed up and kicked Ignitus off of him. Jumping and spinning up backwards, he stood back to his paws as blood spilled from his chest. He chuckled as he joked with him, "Thanks for the hole in my chest, again. But I know as much as you do that you have the same powers."

"Hehe, of course I do. It didn't take me long to catch on. I knew I shouldn't have underestimated you."

"Then do you think you can keep going?"

"Ignitus, Spyro already has a hole in his chest. You two don't have to kill each other to show who is stronger. Let's just head back," Claire suggested as she was scared that one of them would kill the other over a little spar.

"Claire... Cynder... It's fine. At least now, even as I fight, I won't have to worry about death. And now that I can go all out on my power," Spyro paused as the black aura moved towards the wound, quickly healing it and eliminating any blood or damage and making it seem like he was never hurt, which everyone was surprised to see, "You're going to have to do a lot more then put a little hole in my chest to stop me."

"Or we can go back," Malefor now suggested, as everyone was on the same page.

"Ignitus! I don't know exactly how this works but if you can hear me, the chains are off. You don't have to keep fighting my lover," Cynder said in her thoughts, hoping this would get the two to stop. He heard and understood, but even he knew he couldn't stop this fight. "I hear you loud and clear, but... Spyro really wants to see more of my power. Unless you can stop him, I'm going to have to fight him, I'm sorry. I know seeing him hurt scares you, but don't worry, if things get out of control, I've always got my healing power. I promise everything will be fine," Ignitus promised back through her thought, causing her to sigh, but she knew that her lover wanted this, that he wanted to get stronger, so she didn't want to interfere. I still have to find out how I'm going to show off to Spyro that I don't have my chains anymore, She thought to herself, but the fight between the two couldn't let her think long enough. Spyro's paw moved, and in the blink of an eye, blood spilled down the side of Ignitus's cheek, and he chuckled from the pain, "That was pretty dirty using your time power."

"You have it don't you? That's your fault for not seeing it," Spyro smirked as no one knew what had happened as his paw had moved and nothing else.

"Alright then, let's see who can use their time power better then."

The two disappeared and reappeared all around the land and sky, with concussive blast being the only thing to show where they were fighting one another. The Fight was taken over to the ocean as holes in the water started to explode one after another before taking it back to the land. Ignitus body appeared from the air as his body slid on the ground and into tree after tree. His body disappeared as the two continued to fight. No one could keep track or see as the two fought which made Malefor go into his thought, Could I even reach this kind of power? Spyro basically let me attack him that one time, so... Am I really that weak? Will I be able to protect Carith if the day ever came? He broke from his thoughts as the two reappeared on the ground in front of everyone, covered in blood from their heads down to their tails. Spyro stood above Ignitus with his tail blade to his neck, both completely out of breath, gasping for air. Putting his tail blade more against his neck, Spyro struggled to say, "Give... up... or... else..."

Looking over at his Claire, he saw she was desperate for the two to stop, along with everyone else, and looking at Spyro and himself, he could understand why. He chuckled and rather then using his powers to heal himself and continue, he tapped the ground and sighed, "Alright... you win."

Falling to his side, the darkness quickly disappeared, causing Spyro growled in pain as he laid next to Ignitus in pain, "Thank... Ancestors... But even I know... you could've... continued."

"Yeah well... Claire would've probably killed me if I did, and I'm sure Cynder's not happy with how much you pushed yourself."

"Oh no... she's going to kill me for what I've done... What should I do?"

"Hehe, try not to die I guess."

"Hehe, thanks. But which comes first, her killing me, or her dumping me?"

"Neither, as long as you play your cards right."

"Then if I played a King, do you think I'll win?"

"Hehe, maybe a joker. But then again, in your mind, Cynder's the queen, you're the King, but in everyone's card world, Malefor's the joker."

The two shared a laugh, making everyone sigh hugely, glad to see they were done with their fight. Standing to their paws, everyone shivered again from their condition, and couldn't believe they were able to stand after that fight. As Ignitus snapped his fingers, a ring appeared around himself and Spyro. It went up their bodies then down, and then disappeared. The ring completely healed all of their wounds as well as cleaned them off completely of anything, but mainly blood. Walking over to Claire, Spyro walked with him, and Cynder knew it was time to make her move on him. Cynder giggled as she walked over to him and joked with everyone, "It's not that hard to take him out, you all know that right?"

Spyro stopped to see her walking towards him. His eyes went wide, his mouth opened from amazement to see her new body without the chains. Every thing about her screamed at him as he was desperate to kiss and nuzzle her, and he couldn't understand why. Standing in front of him, seeing her smile made him even blush. Putting her paw on his chest, she pushed him onto his back which he did so willingly as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. As she stood above him, she whispered with her warm breath on his lips before kissing him, "I hope you like what you see."

Pushing her lips against his, even as wide as his eyes were, the two closed their eyes, and something about the kiss felt even better then before. Why... Why does this kiss feel so good? Like, it feels better then when Spyro used his little lightning trick on me... Does he feel the same? Cynder thought, as her nor her lover could figure it out, so they enjoyed every second of it. Slowly pulling away from the kiss, the two opened their eyes and looked at one another for a second, wondering if they felt what the other felt. Seeing his blush gave her hope, and she giggled as she asked, "You better tap out before things get... messy."

Her words made him at a lost of his words. He chuckled with a big smile and tapped the ground and whispered, "I give up to my lover... And I admit, I lost."

She giggled at him and looking back at everyone, she said with a smile, "See, it's not that hard."

"Um, yeah, I don't think I'm going to be kissing Spyro... ever," Malefor blushed.

"Yeah..." Everyone agreed.

"Maybe," Carith giggled, seeing the raised brows of everyone as they looked at her, but mainly his lover.

"Well it's not like you kiss me," She teased.

He knew he had to prove her wrong and he tackled her right then in there, locking lips with her to prove her wrong. Looking back at one another, Cynder asked, hoping that his answer would be what she had hoped for, "Well, what do you think? You know, with me being without my chains and all?"

Putting his wings over her back, and flipped her over, he stood over her. As she laid there, he looked at her and couldn't hold his smile. Nuzzling her neck, he was finally able to go all the way up her neck and then back down. She purred happily as she had never felt this kind of feeling before, and with her chains gone, she was finally able to experience every bit of it. Pulling his head back, he completely agreed to it, "I love it! I never knew you would take the chains off, and I didn't want to bring it up, but, with the chains gone... I'm able to see who you really are... Not to say I didn't love you when you had your chains, Ancestors no, but... I like you without your chains now. It makes you look... free, it makes you look happy, it makes you look in control... And... That's something I never knew I would see."

Small tears formed out her eyes as she knew she should've expected this much from her lover, which got her thinking, And here I was worried that he would've hated or been disgusted by it. But she knew she would have to give the reason behind her taking off the chains, which didn't take long as he asked why she did, "But, why did you take off the chains now and not a long time ago? Like I said, I'm not complaining at all, I just, I don't remember why you had them. You never told me why you wore them after I saved you."

"Well... I wore them because... I was afraid of being controlled by the dark master again and it was a way to get over my fears. I knew one day I would be controlled again, so it would've been best if I had the chains. But, as I've come to learn, which I never knew I would've learned was that; Malefor isn't going to hurt me again. And even if by chance I turn, I always have you and your promise. And seeing you fight, I doubt the darkness will even want to surface from seeing that."

"Malefor... Are you sure we can trust him? I've, talked to him a lot today, and, I do have to admit, I know he is trying to gain my trust. Part of me says he's a good guy, but the other part says he will use that trust to get to you, control you, and hurt everyone or worse. But, when I go back to what he said after you two left and we talked... He sounded honest about what he said. He shuck. And, seeing that, I do trust him some more, and because of that conversation, I did talk to him a lot more."

Putting her paw on the side of his face, she whispered to him, "Trust me. He really does love Carith, and even he knows what would happen if he turned. He doesn't want to lose everything, and I feel the same, and I understand. Just like before, all I ask is for you to give him a chance. Trust him and see where it can lead to. Who knows, maybe our little family will have the other three get lovers so we can all be happy."

He sighed, "Alright... It does sound like a pretty good life. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thank you, Spyro. Now, because of what you did, fighting Ignitus like that, you owe me another kiss."

"Hehe, I'm sorry for my incompetence my love. As you wish," He chuckled with a smile, kissing his lover lovingly.

Pulling away from his lover, the two tried to catch their breaths. As they did, they smiled at one another, and Carith agreed, "Alright, fine. I don't even need to kiss Spyro to know you are far superior then he is. Now the question is, how superior are you in bed?"

"In... In bed? You mean..." Malefor blushed, causing her to blush as well, and he chuckled.

"Don't you start, you know what I meant," She giggled at him with a smile.

Helping her back up, the two watched and saw the Guardians were talking amongst one another, and looking at Spyro and Cynder, he wasn't surprised to see the two were kissing. Looking at everyone, he was glad, surprised, and happy everyone was still happy and joking as they always had. And even now, the other three friends who had joined in on this fight were joking along with the Guardians. But the only ones who weren't talking with the Guardians were Ignitus and Claire. They were snuggled together with her head resting on his shoulder. They had their eyes closed as they enjoyed one another's company. Man, how does Spyro and Malefor do it? Even now, I want to tell Claire I love her, but even I have fears. I've seen what has happened with the other two, but even still, I've seen other dragon lives as well, and some end pretty badly. And I know Claire is nowhere near how they are but... What would she think of me? Ignitus thought, opening his eyes to see Spyro helping Cynder up. As the two walked over, Claire, opened her eyes and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

"You know... just someone special," He chuckled.

"Is this someone another dragoness of yours?"

"Hehe, no, I saved my life for you and you only."

"You didn't even know I was alive until I met you."

"I didn't know I was alive either, until I met you."

Pulling her head away, she pecked him on the cheek. Pulling away, he looked at her, and she agreed with a smile, "Alright, that one definitely deserves a kiss... Thank you, for saving me that day. Even if Spyro helped, if it wasn't for you, I would've gone back, and I would've been all alone, and it's all because you were there for me."

"You stayed with me, even now, so, I should be thanking you."

"Yeah well... I just have to make sure you have a happy life."

"As long as I have you, I'm sure I will."

I love you. Damn it, just say it! Say it! I'm so desperate to say it! This is so frustrating that I can't say it! I just, I have to wait for the right moment, and... Ugh! Even if the moment came I would still be too scared to say something! Seeing him smile makes me so desperate to kiss him. Every second I'm desperate for him! Especially when he snuggled up to me in the rain after everything that had happened. I... I have to tell him... This future will be different for me... I know it... I... I hope, Claire thought, and since Ignitus couldn't read her thoughts with the agreement from the ancestors, he wasn't able to hear what she was thinking. Opening up their wings, The Guardians all growled knowing there was no way they would be able to fly all the way back over towards the Guardians Building. Terrador looked at Ignitus and asked for a favor, "Ignitus... since you, basically forced us to fight, can we ask you a favor?"

"A favor? Sure I guess, what's up?" Ignitus asked.

"Could you, do your little teleporting thing to get us back home. We can't exactly open our wings that much without feeling so much pain."

"That I can most certainly do. Is everyone done here?"

Everyone nodded at him, and they all knew to close their eyes. Blitz and his friends didn't understand what they were doing, but him and his friends joined along, both out of curiosity boredom. As they did, they waited for him to say something, and he did, "Alright, we are all good."

Opening their eyes, they were back in the Guardians Chambers with everyone sitting where they once were before they had left. Being back in the Chambers, it was all cleaned up and looked new after what had happened, but no one questioned how. Popping their necks and stretching out their bodies, almost everyone, aside from the girls, were starting to feel the aftermath of the fight more and more. Looking at the Guardians, Blitz thanked him for having him train with them, "Thanks again you all. I never knew I would have the pleasure of fighting next to the Guardians, as well as fighting the legendary purple dragon. And I never knew my teammates would consist of the dark master."

"Which you might want to be on the down low about. I'm not exactly the dark master as I was controlled. And if you go around telling everyone that I am the dark master, well then I'm going to be dead pretty quickly because of the hate from everyone. Can you do that?" Malefor asked, and Blitz understood completely as he nodded his head with a smile.

"Yeah sure. But before I do go, there is one more thing I need to do."

Taking his step carefully, Blitz stood in front of Cynder with a smile and flirted with her, "Hey, so, just know that I'm out there. So if you and Spyro don't work out, you know you don't have to take it slow with me. I'll have a ring ready for you when ever you need it."

"Ring...? You mean like, a marriage ring?" Cynder blushed.

He clicked through his teeth, angering Spyro as he didn't feel anywhere near as much pain as anyone else, so he was still ready for another fight. Putting his wing in front of his lover, he growled at him, "She doesn't need someone as weak as you to protect her. Which is actually pretty funny, because in my opinion, you were the weakest out of everyone."

Everyone chuckled at Blitz's embarrassment as he blushed, and he tried to defend himself, "No I wasn't. Every time you would knock me down, I would've just gotten back up."

"Yeah, and then I'd knock you down, then I would knock you down, and every single time got easier and easier."

"You are pretty cold to say the least."

"I think you fit in well as a red dragon. You always seem so hot headed."

"Oh so you're going there now."

"Hey, don't be mad at me for you not getting that date. Blame your teammates, as well as Ignitus and Malefor as they both walked off the battlefiled. And no offence to any of you, but those two were probably your strongest. I had a Hell of a time trying to fight Ignitus, so their is no way I would've won if you all banded together... probably."

"I would be mad but, Ignitus did heal me, and with Malefor, I don't know what happened to him. Plus, I'm kinda glad we weren't there for that fight. You could've easily taken us all out aside from Ignitus and Malefor of course. Which, does that mean that you are stronger then Ignitus?"

"I know I'm stronger then Malefor and everyone else, but Ignitus... We could've continued by using our time power so it would've been a fight for endurance later on. While we were fighting, we lost a lot more energy then I guess we thought. Ignitus stabbed my side and punctured both my lungs so in had to heal that. I stabbed through his neck so he had to heal that. A lot of stabbing a bleeding was going on... like a lot of it."

"Oh Ancestors... were you... okay?"

"Hell no. I haven't felt that much pain since I was stabbed in the heart. But even still It was great practice for sure."

"Then why did you stop?"

"Because Cynder would've killed me if I kept going, and I'm sure Claire would've done the same to Ignitus. In the end, it comes down to: Should you keep fighting even as your bones feel like they will shatter, or do you listen to your lover, get tackled and kissed only to be kissed again. Even I'm a sucker when it comes to giving my lover a kiss."

"Bone breaking? You didn't..."

"Oh yeah."

"What?!" Everyone cried except for Ignitus as he tried to hide himself with his other wing.

"Yeah, me and Ignitus punched one another's fist and my arm like popped backwards. Ignitus said that we should've stopped which gave me enough time to snap my bone back into place and heal myself. It felt like we were fighting for eternity."

"You have to be the craziest Dragon I've ever met... Well, since it seems like you are dedicated to staying strong and protect Cynder, I will let you do so. But Cynder, Hey, like I said, we don't have to take it slow. We could always skip marriage and go even further if you know what I mean."

"Get out,' Spyro growled through his teeth.

"Just saying, just saying. Alright, come on Bolt, Sesal. And thanks again for letting us have a spar. Well, I say spar but Spyro and Ignitus's spar was more like a death match."

Walking out of the chamber with his friends, they continued to talk amongst themselves, but mainly about the fact that he's trying way to hard to get with Cynder. Spyro sighed, glad he was gone, but he still enjoyed his company. Claire looked at Ignitus with a raised brow, and looking at her, he tried to hide his face some more with his wing.

"Wing, down, mister," She commanded.

He frowned and did as he was told. Now that everything had settled, and the adrenaline wasn't pumping through his veins, he apologized for what had happened, "Sorry... I didn't mean to take it that far. I guess because I hadn't fought in a long time, it was good to get the stretch out. I know what we did was more then just a little fight, and I apologize that you had to see us in such a condition."

Looking at his lover as he looked at her, Cynder asked him with a raised brow as well, "And what's your excuse."

He chuckled and apologised as well, "I'm sorry, my love. To be honest, I was just doing it to show off to impress you, but then when he tapped my head and basically destroyed the land and sea, I knew there was no showing off."

"Yeah, that was a little stupid of me. I had to fix and clean that area before and now I have to do it again. I was just trying to distract you long enough for Cynder to take her chains off which I thought would be more difficult then I thought but, you didn't seem to care about Cynder at all when we were fighting," Ignitus teased, casing Spyro to growl at him.

"If I didn't care about Cynder then I wouldn't have fought you. Even after all the pain and blood, I know that I will wake up better and stronger then before, and I'm excited to see just how much better I can be when it comes to protecting everyone. If my dark power can come close to the Chronicler, then it shows that I really do have a lot more power then I think I do. Maybe even I could one day do the whole, touch forehead with claw and completely destroyed the land trick as well."

"Which... I do have to admit... that was pretty... good to look at," Claire blushed with a smile, "Not Spyro getting hurt of course but, wow..."

Damn it, kiss him! Claire yelled at herself in her thoughts. Ignitus chuckled from that and even he had to admit that, as impressive as it was, Spyro's power was just as impressive, "You actually surprised me Spyro. I wasn't going all out when it came to my power, but even still, you did pretty good holding your own against twenty percent of my power."

"Twenty percent?! What the hell is a hundred percent then?!" Spyro cried.

"Give you a hint, snap my finger, I could destroy both the sun and the moon at the same time."

"Alright now you are just making up things at this point."

"Well, I would never be able to show you as the Ancestors would fire me from my job and I would die right then and there for what I would've done so, I will never know how powerful the Chronicler really is."

"Die? How?"

"Let's just say, if someone else wanted the Chronicler's power, I would have to die to give it to them. An example is when the old Chronicler fused with me. I have everything he had aside from, well, him. His body completely disintegrated basically so he is now dead. My body would do the same if I ever had to give up the Chronicler's power, or if I was fired."

"How do you... get fired as the Chronicler?"

"Don't worry Spyro, I'm not going to die. They are responsible at times so you don't have to worry."

"Just... making sure... Then that's means you're not giving up your power and you won't break the rules?"

"I try. But don't worry, I will be fine."

"You better not leave me. You'll be in more trouble then you are now," Claire giggled, pecking him on the side of the cheek.

Pulling away, he smiled at her and she smiled back. Every single time she looked at his smile, she felt as though she couldn't resist kissing his lips. So instead, she knew it would be best if she filled her other desire to snuggle up to him in bed, trying to get her mind off things. Looking at everyone, she thanked kindly, "Thank you all for, showing me what a day is like with everyone. I know you don't fight every single day, at least I hope not, but today was fun. Just, next time, to make the day more fun, we should do something that doesn't involve dislocated shoulders and blood."

"Agreed," Spyro and Ignitus chuckled in unison.

Putting her paw on his chest, Claire looked at Ignitus and whispered, "Now come on. I need to feel your body again."

He smiled slightly and quickly agreed. Walking with her to the back room, the other Guardians soon followed. Ignitus opened the door for her, and she giggled at him being a gentlemen. The other Guardians then soon followed. Walking into the room with everyone else, Volteer turned to close the door, but remembering back to what Terrador had said to him, and so he took the opportunity to talk with Spyro. Opening the door, he ran over to him, some what confusing Spyro. Stopping in front of him, he asked, "Spyro, I know this is a lot to ask and I don't want to deprive you of your lover but... I wanted to know if you would help me look for Ersa. You know, if she's... hopefully still out there."

"So you haven't given up hope on her?" Spyro asked.

"I... I just can't. I've lost my mother, father, and my lover... I had lost it all, and if it wasn't for the help of the other Guardians, I don't know what I would've done. I have hopes that she is out there, and since Ignitus won't tell me where she is, if she's alive, I was, hoping you would help me search for her... But, like I said, I understand if you don't as I know you're..."

"Of course I will Volteer."

"Really?!"

"You are right, losing your parents and your lover, not even I would've recovered from something like that. And since you haven't given up hope and forgotten about her, I thank you for putting my words into consideration. We can search for her when ever you want. But, I do have a question about her. Did you love Ersa?"

"I... I more, then loved her. I wanted her to be my... mate, and it's because of the time we were together. She was always just so joyful, and knowledgeable, and... everything about her screamed at me to tell her I liked her, to tell her I loved her, and to tell her... I wanted her and me to be the definition of forever.. for her to be my mate. But... before I was able to, the same day, the dark master attacked... and the worst part, I didn't even tell her I liked her, because I was so scared... and now I'm afraid that she doesn't even care for me anymore..."

"Hey, Volteer, it's okay. I never knew you had your eyes on someone."

"Spyro... are you sure I shouldn't give up? It's been around fourteen years and I don't even know if she still likes me, if she ever did. I don't even know if she hasn't found someone else to love, someone else as her mate. Fourteen years, Spyro... everything about me tells me something wrong will happen, but... I just... I just want her back... and I'm afraid I won't have that chance."

"Enough, Volteer!"

"... Sorry... I shouldn't have brought it up... I will leave you be..."

As he turned to walk away, a wing blocked his path. Spyro blocked him from leaving, and he didn't understand why, but all he knew was that he looked mad at him. Turning his body back towards him, Spyro made his point very clear, which almost made complete sense, "You think fourteen years is long? You do realize that Carith and Malefor were apart for way longer, right? They were apart for so long, but after all the pain, and suffering that everyone went through, they got back together. The only difference is that Carith was in a coma, but even if the time power woke her up before, the dark master still would've been set free. You don't know unless you try. You talk about her like you loved her, you said it! You even called her your mate, and yet you stand in front of me and tell me you've lost hope... Sounds like you never even cared to give it thought."

Volteer frowned as he talked about what he's said, and he understood where Spyro was coming from with his words. Thinking about it, it made him feel like even if they did search for her, he would give up hope again so easily, and it scared him. I don't know what to do... I loved her so much, and yet I tell myself I should... forget about her... But... I... Damn it... Volteer fought with himself, but a warm paw on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. Looking at Spyro as he smiled at him, he continued, "If she's out there, we will find her, but until we now for a hundred percent that she has passed, you should never give up hope. If she was like your mate, then show me, or else when ever we do find her, I will tell her so she knows that you just wanted to give up on her when she never gave up on you."

Volteer didn't care what anyone had to say or think about him as he took to the opportunity to show how thankful he was. As Spyro dropped his paw to the ground, Volteer hugged him with tears rolling down his eyes, and as Spyro looked over his shoulder, he saw Malefor smiling as he opened his mouth to say something. Spyro raised a paw, and Carith got onto him about it before he could do something. Pulling away from the hug, he both apologised and thanked, "Thank you, Spyro. I... I have faith that... I will find the answers I need... I'm sorry for doubting myself like that. I believed the Guardians were right but... I... I trust you... I do."

"I'm here if you need me. Now go get some rest. It's going to take a lot more energy to ask Ersa to be your mate then it is to fight me."

"Right!" Volteer cried with a big smile, running back over to the Guardians Chamber, still holding his big smile.

Watching as Volteer closed the door behind himself with his tail, Malefor looked at Spyro and said, "I know you were trying to help him out but... if she's dead, this will only hurt him more then it did before. I do recall the dark creatures fighting a yellow dragoness, and she was injured pretty badly, Spyro. Even if she made it to gems in time, she would've died. What will you do then?"

"I need to make sure everyone is happy, and I will find a way to do so. I know Volteer doesn't really trust the purple dragons as he lost everything to them, so I need to show him that we are there for him. And hopefully I will be successful in finding some kind of clue as to where she is or what happened to her. I will just need to get to the Dragon Temple to find out more of what happened."

Carith shivered hearing the name as it brought up bad memories for her, and even Malefor as he was once there and he saw a fake version of her. Draping his wing over Cynder, he walked with her out of the Chamber and said as he looked over to the other two, "Come on, let's walk and talk."

Walking with his lover along with the other two back to their house, Spyro and Malefor walked side by side next to one another which was perfect as he actually had some questions for him, "Are you... sure you want to go to the Dragon Temple? That place doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation... and the reputation of dragons going there isn't exactly the greatest either."

"This isn't like the past, Malefor. We will be fine as long as we keep flying. If we get attacked, I will handle it. It's what I've been training for. And it would be fun to go back to that balcony and lay down with Cynder. I haven't done that in years, and it would be great to see how far we've come," Spyro responded back, somewhat glad he was talking to Malefor, but he couldn't understand why.

"Yeah... when I was there before as the, dark master, another Carith figure appeared behind me, completely making the rain around me disappear. I thought it was her for a second there even after what has happened but, then she disappeared, and the rain that had vanish came back. That's why it was a little more difficult for me to fight back because I thought it was another fake. I thought I would never get the chance to see her again."

"Oh man, weren't you surprised."

"I... I really was. But to be honest... I was a lot more scared then I was surprised."

"What...? Why?"

"Because for that time, I knew if I did anything wrong, if I made any mistake, I would've lost either Carith, or my life. It was scary and difficult enough for me to get Cynder to trust me which was understandable, but... every single time someone attacked me or yelled at me, I thought to myself, this is it. And because Carith didn't seem to love me anymore... I didn't care what happened to me either way, just as long as I saved you... Hehe, which, it's funny to have saved someone who's always at my throat with their tail blade..."

"I... I wanted to talk to you about that,' Spyro murmured, standing in front of the main doors as they opened.

As the four walked into the house, they stood in the middle of the hallway. As the door shut behind them, Spyro turned towards Malefor and explained, "It took some convincing, I'm not going to lie on that. I didn't want to admit to myself that the greatest threat to Dragon kind was nothing more then a normal, everyday dragon. Then again, your not exactly, normal, but you're better in some ways. But, before I continue, and be honest with me, have you ever hurt Carith?"

He chuckled and joked, "No. But let's just say she showed me who was the boss in our relationship real quick. But since we are asking questions, I have a question for you. When did you learn who was the boss of the relationship?"

"When, even after fighting all the Guardians, three others, and the, use to be dark master, and winning, I was still beaten by her even though she used a single paw... And good looks."

"Wow, which means back then you thought you were the boss. Is that what I'm hearing?"

"No. Honestly I know that who ever I love will be the boss. Mainly for, other reasons, but also because you being the boss all the time is no where near as fun as when your lover is."

"Other reasons? You don't mean like... kissing, do you?"

"Look, that's not important alright, let's go back."

"Alright, alright."

"I don't know what it was like to be in your situation, but unfortunately, I know what it was like for Cynder. Even when the Guardians said they trusted her, if they rounded a corner and saw her, they would jump, so I never wanted to leave her because I didn't want her to always feel like she was feared. Its taken me a little bit of time to understand that you were going through the same thing. You came back after being controlled, and even after everyone tries to trust you, they still feel that fear. But what's funny is... now... I tend to fear less and less. And even today, Cynder took off her chains because she wasn't afraid. And... how could she be if there will never be a dark master?"

"Spyro..."

"Don't make this wired or I will seriously think about killing you when I wake up."

Malefor quickly shut his mouth and continued to listen. Spyro sighed, and continued, "With that being said, she also knows I would never let the dark master control her. You should really thank your lover and mine. If it wasn't for them, I would've killed you long ago, but now, as I look back, you were sad, scared, alone, and no one trusted you. After what had happened, you laid in a corner by yourself, and, I'm sorry I was, difficult towards you, I was scared... But now... I'm not as scared as I was before... Since Cynder trust you... I... I will as well. I will give you a better chance. So you also won't have to worry about me killing you."

"Really?!" Malefor squealed happily, "Thank you Spyro! Thank..."

"But, but but but, I will still have my eye on you. I'm only saying this because, for the night, and in the morning, for now on, I will warn you before if we have something to do rather then waking you up by threatening to kill you. I want you to get some sleep. And... after what happened today, when you could've stabbed me but didn't... Maybe I was wrong to have ever judged you... Carith, if he does something suspicious, tell me, even though I know you won't because you love him and you're trying to keep him safe. And as long as everyone stays that way... Then I can promise, Malefor, that... I might just think about calling you my friend one day."

"I... I'm dreaming aren't I... Spyro killed me in my sleep and I'm in Hell... an endless loop where Spyro says he trust me but then it never happens because we loop again... Am I dreaming?!"

"I said I trusted you and I said maybe. That also means I'm going to be looking very closely to make sure you aren't who you are. The whole years you took from my lover is what holds you back the most, and it's going to take a lot longer for me to get over that... But for now, I at least trust you enough not to kill you, understand?"

Malefor nodded with the biggest smile on his face, somewhat causing Carith to giggle. He grumbled at himself, knowing that his words were making Malefor feel happy, "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

He nodded with his big smile and did as he was told. Taking his wing off of Carith, he opened the door and quickly slipped into the room. No one saw but he did a small little dance, shacking his hips from side to side before jumping up on his bed and dancing some more. Carith never knew this day would come, and seeing Malefor so happy again made her feel just as good as he did. And because Spyro was such a big help in making her lover feel the way he does, she decided to help him as well, "Cynder, since Spyro was such a big help today, and since he didn't kill Malefor, you should give him an, extra, special kiss. Agreed?"

"Sounds like I'm going to have fun tonight," Cynder giggled, seeing the small blush and smile on Spyro's face.

"Well, until tomorrow I guess. Goodnight you two,' Carith said, walking over to the door, she stopped, seeing how happy her lover was, she turned back over to Spyro and thanked, "And... Spyro. I... I know you don't want to hear this, but... Thank you... I know you don't like making Malefor happy because of what he's done but... Thank you for helping him out. He's been scared for quite some time that you would kill him in his sleep, and now that you talked to him, and know he will sleep better then he has ever before."

"As long as he remembers our promises, we will be fine," Spyro said, knowing he was doing the right thing to help, but he still tried to not think much of it.

"Then I guess that means... We are all fine."

Walking into the room she closed the door with her tail, leaving the other two in the hallway. Spyro sighed, glad that was finally over with as he didn't know if he could make Malefor smile any longer without threatening to kill him. Turning away from the door and over to their room, Cynder asked, "What's wrong? Is it that you made Malefor happy, or that you are doing the right thing? I'm just confused as to why you are mad."

He chuckled as he opened the door and explained, "I'm not mad just, confused... But not as badly as I was when I first saw Malefor."

Walking into the room, Spyro shut the door behind themselves with his tail and walked with his lover to their bed. Jumping up on their bed, they laid down side by side on their belly and Cynder continued the conversation, "Well, I'm not here to judge you, only to listen and love you. So what's on your mind?"

"It's still so, mind boggling, to think that, the dark master was nothing more then a, normal, laughing, and all around fun dragon to hang around with. When you think of the dark master, you think of Malefor, but now, when I think of him, I think of who he really is. And to be honest, I'm glad we didn't kill him. I always thought he was a monster like everyone else but... even he has a heart, and even someone like me who doesn't care for him knows that... And before you two left and me and Malefor talked, when he said he wanted to train, he was serious, and the reason behind it only made more sense."

"So... does this mean you really do trust him?"

"Unfortunately... I really do."

"You do?"

"It's all thanks to your help and Carith's, along with a little bit of everyone else, including Claire even though she doesn't know it, but because everyone has talked to me and convinced me not to kill him, I looked to see what everyone else saw in him. He really does try to show he isn't bad anymore. Just today, he hesitated to stab me, and I never knew he would do that. And after he said he couldn't... I don't know, it... I was at a lost for words. But then, you took it a step further and removed your chains... and I..."

"Hopefully were very happy?"

"Happy? I wish Volteer was here to help me find a stronger word then that. When you took off the chains and you told me why, I thought, I should change too. And now, seeing Malefor with that, creepy, but somewhat, satisfying smile, because I know the dark master would never smile like that, I couldn't believe I was taking such a step to trust him, and I want to take that step but... what if I take the step and sometime happens? I know I say it a lot but, even if you say it won't, something always happens... and what will I do when it does...? And I keep thinking I will have to kill Malefor but... I don't want to..."

"Wow... Spyro, What's with the change in heart? I love it, i really do, and I know everyone will love to hear this, so, What's going on?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just tired. Especially after all that fighting, I'm beat. And I guess another part of me is just scared to think of what the future has in store for us. Today was pretty good to us, but I don't know what tomorrow will be like... And also... You look, so beautiful, without the chains. I guess because I like the fact that you are free."

"Hehe, free. You know you'll always own me."

"Hehe, Thank you Cynder."

Nuzzling her all the way up her neck and back down a couple of times, she purred, feeling better and better about taking off the chains. Pulling his head away, he then went in for a kiss which made her feel as though he was giving her too much, but she wasn't able to complain or say anything. Pushing his lips against hers, it was a soft kiss, and she could tell this kiss was needed for him, and she pushed into it. Pulling his lips back, he looked down at the bed with a frown before looking back over to the door, "I know I need to give him the chance. I don't want him to feel scared all the time. Hehe, Carith would kill me if I took time away from the two... I hope I'm strong enough to protect everyone."

"Well, you did say you'd work with Malefor didn't you? You said you'd help train him? Maybe even as powerful as you are, you can help Malefor become as strong as you. That way, no matter where we are, what ever happens, we can deal with it quickly, without worry, and without casualty. I mean, even with your power now, you beat Ignitus, and that's saying something."

"Yeah, but he wasn't going all out remember? For all I know, he could've been using five percent of his power rather then twenty. And if the Chronicler has unlimited power, why is their a percentage to his power? And if his power is infinite, then that would mean I was no where close to ever being able to really fight him. And the worst part, I will never know how powerful I am until a threat comes by for me to stop, but I don't want that to happen."

"Well, you do always say Malefor is a threat, why not ask him to fight you?"

"I probably will... But for now, we should end the day off on a good note."

"Agreed."

Laying her head down over his paws, he laid his head down over the back of her neck. Feeling her scales rather then the chain, he chuckled, "You know, even now, I can lay on your neck, rather then that chain."

"Does this mean I shouldn't go back to the chains?" She giggled.

"What makes you happy makes me happy. But I would say no. Mainly because, of what you said, and why you took them off."

Closing her eyes, she assured him, "Yeah... I guess I took them off because, maybe I can see into the future and I saw that Malefor really will never turn, and that he will never hurt us."

"So you see the future? Where do you see us?" He chuckled, closing his eyes as well.

"I don't want to spoil anything, but the future is just like the present: With us in love, everyone happy, and the world at peace."

"Sounds fantastic... Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight Spyro."

"Did you hear what Spyro said?! He was like, I trust you, and I was like, no damn way did he just say that! But then he said it again and I was like, holy mother of Ignitus's Lover!" Malefor exclaimed happily happily, jumping up and down on the bed in circles as Carith laid next to him, giggling and smiling at how happy he was, "i never knew this day would come for me! I'm not he's friend, but not yet! Soon I will have his trust, and then, nothing will stop me from concurring this world. Hahaha!"

"Concurring the world? Sounds like I should tell Spyro to stop you."

Stopping from jumping and looking at her, he licked his lips and smiled, "But first, I need to start by making sure I keep you from saying anything."

Walking next to her, he rolled her over onto her back as he stood over her. With her wings spread out on the bed, he put his paws on her wings to keep her from escaping, and she blushed at how he was acting, but she liked it. Pushing his lips against hers, her eyes went wide before closing them and pushing into the kiss. The Kiss made her light headed, but a good sense, and the kiss made her think of that one time when he hugged her from excitement and kissed her. Pulling away from the kiss, Malefor looked up somewhat near the door and growled with a smile, "You bastard. I knew you would be in here."

Looking upside down, Carith saw Ignitus standing there as he chuckled with a smile. Seeing the position they were in, especially now with Carith's head upside down as she looked at him made Ignitus chuckle, and he decided to say it in his thoughts to Malefor's, "Wow Malefor, I knew you wanted to have a hatchling with her but at least get married before you do?" He blushed hard and quickly got off of his lover and growled, "You're lucky Spyro isnt my friend, because as soon as he is, you're going from number one to number two on my friend list."

He put his paw on his chest as Carith rolled back over on her belly, and he felt offended, "What? Wait, then who is at the bottom of your, so called, friend list?"

"Oh the old Chronicler for sure, even though I dislike him like you would not believe, without me, he would've had like, no one to talk to."

"I sure hope I don't end up at the bottom then."

"Still waiting for you to give us a warning , and as long as you give it when needed, you'll be fine. But then again, with me and Spyro working together, we should be completely fine against anything that comes our way."

"I'm glad to hear."

"Oh yeah, why are you here? Is this another one of your clones come to help me again? Because I know for a fact you'd never leave your lover down there all by herself."

"Lover? She's..."

"Dude, don't even try to act like you don't love her. I don't have to be a chronicler to see you're a terrible liar. And if you say you don't love her, I'm going to go down there and disappoint her, and let's see how long you can keep it up with your little lie."

Ignitus grumbled with a blush, not knowing how to respond to that

"So come on, when you going to tell her? We all know she digs you and your whole, I could blow up the sun and the moon with my finger, thing. Which even for you, you don't have to be such a show off. Unlike you, me and Spyro are working for our power."

"Okay, first, I could do that, second, I did work for my power, just not all of it, and third... I... I don't know how I'd tell her. Unlike you and Spyro, I don't know how long I can go without kissing her. After the time we've spent I... I just want to kiss her so badly, and to tell her everything will be okay. How did you survive so long without kissing the one you loved?"

"Oh man, it is not easy. I would rather fight Spyro in his dark form then go through me not being able to kiss my lover again."

"That bad?"

"You'll go into denial, honestly. It's either you say you love her, or she leaves you because she thinks you don't love her. It's a pretty tough call to make."

"Ugh..."

"Don't worry Ignitus, "Carith joined in to help, "I'm sure, when you tell her, she will say yes pretty quickly."

"Are you sure?"

"I have, a feeling, that I am a hundred percent right. All you have to do is find that moment."

"Yeah... all right, you know what, I will go for it then! I just have to find that moment!"

"Oh great, if Claire and Ignitus do love one another, we now have to worry about them kissing one another in the Chambers as well," Malefor chuckled.

Ignitus sighed with a smile, "Just thinking about it now... I'm actually really excited."

"Remember to get married first, that's all I'm saying."

"Shut up..."

"Hehe, but... going back, what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to be here to see the joy from you. I of course listened in on the conversation and, I'm glad to see he has finally trusted you, and before you say anything, yes... he truly does trust you now. And, it brings such a smile to my face to know my son has really made such a big difference today for the good. Seeing you happy because he trusted you, and seeing Volteer so happy was... it was something to see. He went on and on with his vocabulary, explaining how happy he was, and how excited he was to start looking and hopefully finding Ersa."

"Oh yeah, about that, how does the Dragon Temple even, exist? I, or, you know, the dark master raised the temple above the volcano. He wanted to do so to show it as a symbol of his dominance. Which believe it or not is why he called it, Malefor's Lair. I thought it was destroyed for good."

"Funny story, It was destroyed when the Destroyer broke the world apart in its show of fire during the final battle you had with Spyro and Cynder. Kinda like in the back of Warfang, I repaired it using my powers to help keep things natural. So, I decided to start also fixing the Dragon Temple, only slowly as I do still have lots of work, and I want to make sure I get everything right. Even the sculpture in the training room, only, with the true, Malefor. I've erased everything when it came to the dark master in the temple so it's also taking time to get everything right."

"Thank you... Ignitus... Going back, that fight, with the two..."

"Malefor, it's okay. We know you aren't him any more. You are you."

"It's just scary to think about."

"Well, look at it this way, Spyro and Cynder trust you, we all trust you now, and I'm repairing most if not all damage cost to erase the fact the dark master ever existed. I can't... bring back loved ones, but I can make sure that everything is how it should be to make everyone as happy as I possibly can. That's also why I got rid of all the battle damage we've taken over the years, as well as my scar so you wouldn't have to worry about seeing what has happened. Which, it's a lot easier to fly with a wing that doesn't have cuts or holes in them. I didn't have to repair any damage done to you because when you were broken free of the darkness, you came back to your old body basically. And I have to say, you look way better without all the long horns and scars and broken up wings. Which I guess I should relay to everyone just in case they ask... and... done."

"Hehe... Thanks... that means a lot... It's just, talking about the past again, I understand why Spyro hates me. I just wish I could've done something about that Damn dark master!"

"You know, no one ever asked why you broke the crystal."

"What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't taken control, you wouldn't have caused the dark creatures to break those two free. Even when the dark master took control and decided to kill the two with the chain, you broke free again and prevented their deaths. You saved them, and you ended up saving all of us. So it's because of you that we are all even alive right now. You fought the dark master. And when ever I can, I will go back and put the truth about what you've done in your book. And to help you out, I will let everyone know in their thoughts real quick... Dot dot dot, processing... and, done. And I guess while I'm at it, it will also give everyone the memory of our conversation about the Dragon Temple."

"Hehe, how does that work?"

"I just put what we said into everyone's mind as they sleep, and if they have any questions, they can just ask me."

"I didn't get anything, at least, not that I know of," Carith said.

"Well, since you are right here, there is no need, and it makes it easier on me."

"Fair enough."

"So... do you think I am clean, of the dark master?" Malefor murmured, now somewhat scared as they talked of the past.

"Well, it is true the dark master could be laying dormant inside of you, but we won't know and I can't check because, well, Chronicler reasons being that darkness like the dark master and the light being the Chronicler can't ever fight one another. Why do you think the dark master never came to my place even though he knew where the Chronicler lived?"

"Oh...! I... I honestly never thought about that."

"But I know for a fact you are darkness free, I know it, your lover knows it, the Guardians and my lover knows it. But more importantly, Cynder, taking off her chains, she knows it. And even your nemesis, now knows it."

"Lover?" Malefor chuckled with a raised brow.

He sighed with a smile, "Man... now you've gone and got me saying it. I sure hope I don't slip up and tell her before I can get the right moment for us.

"You believe in me, and I believe in you. You got this."

"Thanks Malefor. Well, I got lots of work to do. If you have any more questions, just, ask for my name in your thoughts and I will be there. The Guardians fell asleep with smiles on their faces after what Volteer was saying, Spyro and Cynder fell asleep, and me and Claire curled up with one another. She kissed my cheek, so then I did the same, and we went to bed."

"Only the cheek?"

"Look man, I'm trying."

"Hehe, I know. Well, good luck with... what ever you are doing. Alright, one more question, what are you doing?"

"Helping with Volteer and seeing if Ersa is alive or not. I won't say if she is or not, I'm just curious. And I also have to find the book that her and Volteer made."

"Well, if the Dragon Temple was destroyed, how would the book be there?"

"Even for me, this is the mystery: There was only one book. I've used my time powers to restore the building, and even somewhat making it look brand new by eliminating the mold and stuff. But what's crazy is, if the book did burn in the fire, it would've been put back to where it was. Like, if a brick fell from the ceiling and onto the ground. If I used my powers to reset time, it would go back up into the wall just in reverse order how it fell. So, if the book did burn in the fire, it would've gone in reverse. It wouldn't have been burned, and it would've appeared back in it's spot."

"My head hurt."

"Here, to some it up, when I was resetting everything, the brick that was supposed to be covering the hole where the book was, it was moved just to the right of the hole. Which means, someone other then the Guardians knew about it, and took the book before the destruction of the temple."

"What?! Wait, but if you didn't take it, and the other three didn't take it, and only Volteer and Ersa knew of the spot then, that would have to mean... Ersa has to be alive, and she has it!"

"And I've thought the same thing. I haven't gone completely back in fixing the Dragon Temple, so it could be the book was probably destroyed by something else. But even if it was Ersa, how would she have gotten the book? The Dragon Temple was attacked and we had to flee. The place was in ruins. If you remember back, the rubble you were walking over is a couple weeks after the attack. So if I hurry and finish it completely, I could know what happened and who took it."

"But how would you know? If you are reversing the time of everything, wouldn't the book come back as well no matter where it is? And also, even if you reverse time, you wouldn't see who took it."

"If I reverse time, I can see at exactly what point and at what time it was taken so I could look back to then. So say, if the brick was moved a week ago, but not a couple of days ago, I know what time I need to look for. And here is another problem. If someone has possession of the book, the power won't work because someone has it. Think if like this: You just grabbed Spyro's heart again..."

"I actually hate you."

"Hehe, I'm joking, I'm joking. But basically, if he were to use his time power to heal himself, it would heal his body, but, it wouldn't put his heart back into place. And that's what's going on with the book, I probably repaired the damaged parts of the book, but it won't come back because someone has possession over the book... Now you're making my head hurt."

"Okay okay, but one more question. Why would the book return if you are repairing the Dragon Temple? The book isn't apart of the Dragon Temple so wouldn't it not return either way?"

"It is late at night and you are asking me to find the meaning of life? Which Volteer said the meaning of life is forty two... and I found the book he was talking about. Okay, here we go again. Think of it like this. I put a, ball underground surrounded by more bricks. If I were to dig it up, move the brink, and take the ball out, it would've been messed with. If I left the ball there and reversed time, it would go in reverse. The ball would go back in, the brick would be moved back, and the dirt would put itself back. The reason the book isn't returning when someone has possession of the book is because the Ancestors don't won't anyone who gains this power somehow to use it to steal. The only thing that won't go back in time though is a body. That's why when anyone uses the power to heal someone, they stay there..."

"Alright... I... I think I completely understand."

"Now I wonder, why do you want to know?"

"Well, looking back to the past, Volteer lost everything... because of me. It would be nice if, at the very least, he could have his mate back."

"Yeah... I listened in on that as well... I'm trying everything to find out what has happened and hopefully... maybe it was Ersa."

"Do you think, Ersa liked Volteer that way as well?"

"Hehe... let's just say, before the attack, she trusted me enough to tell me something that she wish she could've told Volteer, but she never did... I want Volteer to be happy, and I know she was the greatest dragoness out there for him. I wish you could've gotten to meet her. Even during the times we were going through, when she was there, she helped him tremendously. He even was open about what happened with his parents and she was very helpful to him."

"Wait, when did he meet her?"

"About six month after you left."

"Oh... How did he meet her?"

"Hehe, she saw him moping down the paths of Warfang as it was being built. She felt bad and decided to talk to him. It took off after that."

"Where was she when I attacked the Dragon Temple the first time?"

"She was in Warfang with her parents because it was someone's birthday, luckily. Then after you attacked again with the apes, Volteer tried to help her flea but, we all know what happened after that."

Malefor sighed sadly at what had happened, and he didn't want to waste anymore of Ignitus's time when he could be searching for her, "Thank you, Ignitus, for all of your help. But, I will stop talking so you can hopefully find a clue as to who had the book and where it is. Also, I think Spyro wants to go to the Dragon Temple tomorrow to help Volteer search for her so you might have to hurry repairs."

"Right... It's was fun talking with you Malefor. I miss these times you know."

"Hehe, well, when I first came back, all I remember is crying in bed all night because I was scared Spyro would kill me. As well as the day after that... and even the day after that. Thank you for being there then as well, and you too my love. And also thank you for using your powers so I didn't have to worry about being so tried when we woke up, that was a big help too."

"Will, you sleep well now, knowing everything is okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah I think I will. I would sleep even better when we find out what happened to Ersa. But then again, I won't sleep as well when we have to tell Volteer if she's dead."

"Don't worry, you rest with you lover and I will work on everything."

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

"It's fine. Remember, I'm sleeping while the duplicate of me right now does all the work so I'm not wasting any energy."

"Alright just, please be safe."

"I will."

Walking over to the door, he pushed it open as he had already had the door opened slightly when he had came in so he didn't need to twist the doorknob. Turning back and looking at Carith, he thanked, "Thanks for choosing Malefor to be your lover. You've done a lot for him, as well as all of us. Spyro even said you played a big part in keeping Malefor alive so... Thank you."

Carith nodded with a smile, "Any time, any day."

He chuckled and walked out the door, he shut it behind himself with his tail. Malefor sighed while he laid down on his bed as his brain hurt more then anything, but he still hoped that Ersa was alive for Volteer's sake. Snuggling up to her lover and nuzzling her head up his neck, he smiled, glad she did this as he needed it. Pulling away from the nuzzle and laying her head down on his paws, she whispered to him, "You know I love you right? And no matter what the dark master did, I will always love you. Even when my parents died, and the Guardians told me, I was scared, and sad... but, when I saw you... I couldn't lose you too. I needed you then, and I will always need you when ever."

"Oh no... what did I do wrong?" Malefor chuckled slightly, laying his head down over his lovers neck.

"I just... I want you to know that I love you. I know you are you, and you'll never be the dark master ever again... I know that, we will be together, just like how this family of ours is. And, even though I lost my parents, I still have the Guardians as my friends, along with Spyro, and even Cynder and Claire... and I hope even one day, when one of the other Guardians find someone, we should have another girls day out... I... I hope."

"I will, make sure, one last time and see if Spyro won't kill me, and then I can tell you for a hundred percent that, me and him can work together and make your dream a reality."

"Hehe, see, and I know you're my lover because that's only something you could come up with."

"Anything to keep you happy... I love you Carith."

"I love you too Malefor," Yawning and closing her eyes, she whispered, "Goodnight Malefor."

Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Goodnight Carith."