The Legend Of Spyro: Love And War Book 2

by Spyro and Cynder lover

Continuation Of Book One! With Malefor returned to normal, Spyro and Cynder in love, and everyone now back to their normal lives, another threat; Flint, the new Dark Master, will put everyone and friendships to the test, mixing lies and threats against one another. Death is around every corner, lives at risk, and sometimes, not even being dead means you're forgotten.

24. Chapter 24: Three Years Too Early

Chapter 24: Three Years Too Early

Picking her head up and now facing him, it seemed as what Cynder was saying now made Spyro understand the severity of the situation, "Because of what happened, I had panic attacks, anxiety attacks and near heart attacks because of... not being with you... And the worst part, that's something that could happen... There's no guarantee you'll even... survive... no guarantee everyone else... Will still be alive."

---

"I'm keeping my promises to you, Cynder," Spyro whispered, taking a step up and being nearly face to face with her, "Unfortunately, I can't... lay with you, not just yet. I need to train to make sure I can successfully protect everyone without having to die for it."

---

"I'm not... I can't... live without you! So then... I'll just end this myself," Trying to slit her own neck, Cynder's body wouldn't allow it, the darkness wouldn't allow it as it held her back, making her body tense with sadness while she watched Spyro stand in front of her, "Don't you dare... Damnit, SPYRO! Don't you dare... don't... do this... please... I... I can't... SPYRO, LISTEN TO ME!"

---

"I really am... a screw up..." A voice spoke from the mist of nothing but darkness, "I couldn't keep my promises, I couldn't do as other's trusted me for, and now... here I am... Alone... As I might've always been... how things should've been." Unable to adjust, move, breath, or see anything gave off a sense of death as the darkness that surround the area was all that could be understood for the time being. "I should've never met up with any of them... should've just stayed as a shadow, been who I was meant to be... and die... alone..." Giving off a sigh that encased the surroundings in sound for only a second, the voice finally spoke his own name, talking to himself out loud to help deal with the lifeless feeling around him, "Don't think like that, Spyro... You're better... You're just... scared... scared of everything that was learned... what... would be missed... and... would I... be missed...? For now... all I can do is wait... hope that, when I wake... I will see everyone again... and to... apologize... for what I've done."

---

The kiss he gave her, she knew this was his way of saying goodbye, but before she could use her tail blade against herself, she felt her body starting to fade, getting drowsy and shedding tears as she cried in her thoughts, Please... No... I can't live without... you. Now with her body falling to her side, Spyro's lips slid off hers, and using his wings, he caught her body before easing her down onto the grass. Taking his wing from underneath her body, he put a paw to her cheek, but before she passed out, he saw her tear, and gave as soft as a voice as he could to her, "I'm sorry... Cynder... Just know... I love you."

Freezing time to a stand still, Spyro's body fell downwards on his back side, unable to handle what he was about to do. Two clones came out from his right and left side, both with instructions on what to do, "GO! Go find something, anything that you can to keep me alive! I... I can't lie to her, I can't live without her... I... I don't want to die... I... I can't," The two darkened clones did as they were told, each splitting off and finding some way to help, and while they were doing that, Spyro struggled with his decision in what to do, "I put on this act, to be strong for everyone, BUT I CAN'T!" Yelling with tears, he used his paw, slamming it down close, just underneath Cynder's chest, and kicking up dirt before it stopped in time, "Even with this power... moving fast enough to stop time for myself to think, I... I can't... I don't know what to do," Hearing his clones zip back over to him in no time, he asked the two, begging for them to have a plan, "Please... tell me there's something we can do."

"The only thing for me to think of is to lose control. If we take on the darkness from within the Destroyer, let it consume us to stop it all together, that would stop it, but in the process, corrupt us to the point where we'd become the next Dark Master," The clone to the left spoke, and seeing Spyro shake his head, he gave another secondary plan that they had, "We could try and over charge our power as we once did before in the Training Room. Our darkness is now ten times more powerful then before, but if we jumped up even further to that midnight looking form, we'd be able to do it."

"Why can't the strength I have now do it."

"Because even with that strength, the darkness would still protect his body. If we were to destroy all that armor around him, that darkness would still shoot down into the earth's core. So, even if we stopped the Destroyer, the darkness would take it's form and jump in itself," It was a terrible thing for him to hear, only adding to the fact that there was nothing they could do, but they still tried to put together what they learned, "We have less then half an hour to think of something. While we are moving fast, our time is slim in power. But to give some good news, there may be a way to stop the Destroyer and keep us safe."

"And how's that?"

"By using your time power," The clone to the right spoke, getting the attention of Spyro as he looked over to him, "If we trap him, the darkness can't escape it as the light is stronger then darkness. But unfortunately, you'd have to do it fast enough as he's already so close, and in order to do it quick enough... You'd need to start from your body, shooting it outwards around him, trapping him, but also you. And since we are trapped as well, our darkness wouldn't work either. So... there's no way of breaking out as, you can't move either."

"But I'd be alive..."

"Hopefully. Even if we break out of the crystal, we should have the power to make it out of the Volcano. But if we don't, we'd be trapped, same as him."

"But how do we break the time crystal?"

"That's another problem we are figuring out. We can in theory, save the earth, ourselves, and stop the Destroyer for good, but... Breaking the crystal isn't going to be easy. To clarify, a special tool was needed the first time. Our strengh could break it, but since we are already trapped in it, how could we? Even if we did, it would destroy the link between you and him, and so, it wouldn't surround him completely, there in letting the darkness destroy the earth."

"So all we know right now is that, if I surround him completely in time, we'd make it."

"But that would only prove that we'd make it through after three years," The clone to the left spoke, making Spyro look to the ground as he listened, already knowing what he was going to say, "We supposedly died, but came back three years later. What if all of this that we are doing all comes full circle and we really do just have to wait three years... No matter what you do, no matter how you think, your life has already been planned. If you think you were smart in doing by taking a step left, rather then right, it wasn't because you made it, it's because it was already planned to happen. So for our deaths, supposedly, this... Has all already been planned for."

"No... No, it hasn't," Spyro spoke, standing up now as he had an idea come to mind, "When I'm in my dark form, light and darkness can't meet. I can't use my time power with my darkness, and same goes both ways. I'd have to shut down a specific part of my darkness in order to use the time power. And this is because, the two aren't meant to meet. So if the Ancestors are light, and we're dark, they can't plan nor see what we do, same as how Ignitus can't for others in a darkened state. So, with what we do and say now, they can't plan for. They didn't plan for Malefor to get his power, they didn't plan for my darkness to become something more because they don't understand it," It made sense to the other two, and so, picking up his head and smiling, Spyro had an amazing idea, "Why don't we get the others to help save me after I go into the Volcano? We tell them what's going to happen, leave, and they'd save me."

"That wouldn't work," The right clone spoke.

"What? Why not?"

"For a couple of different reasons. One, what if that was planned for? What if the Destroyer rolled over in the Volcano with you at it's back pointing down, and then Malefor or whom ever else would jump in, wouldn't be able to see where you fell in. Also, Malefor is out of power. No one else can survive in that lava, and since Ignitus can't help, he couldn't jump in either. Even if someone stayed near the Destroyer with you and broke the crystal before you fell in, the time it would take is very, very slim."

"How so?"

"Well, once the Destroyer is halfway in, that's when it would work, but at that time, there would be too much momentum for Malefor to hold onto. He would fling into the lava, lose sight of you, and have to back out. We've thought of multiple different ways for you to survive, but at the end of the day, it's become rather impossible. The main thing we have is; Destroyer time to encapsulate in time is halfway through. Once that is done, we have the question of; what can we do to save ourselves, or, have someone else do such a thing."

"I'm assuming you two already thought of this."

"Unfortunately, yes," The clone to the left spoke, "If we're being honest, the only thing we could say is just, come out from your dark form and let what happens happen. The darkness will keep Cynder safe from killing herself, ease her memories of us, and later, she'll just forget us all together. It's a rather... painful, reality. But with her thoughts of us gone, her pain, suffering, anything she may feel towards what happened, it'll be gone, forgotten about... As we will be to her."

Looking down on her resting body, Spyro knew he still had some time left, so he used all he could to think of a way out, forgotten about...? No... I need to use this time wisely... I can still be with her, I just need to think. If I die now, this really will have been my fault... and I... I can't let her down. Once he thought about it for a couple of seconds, an idea of what he wanted to do came to him, so he gave a smirk from his perfect idea, "Halfway through, huh?' Well then, I have a crazy ass idea, but I'm putting a lot of faith into the darkness to do this, so, can I trust it, or, you two, I should say?" Getting a nod from both of them, he smiled at their help and thanked, "Thanks. But for now, there's one thing that can break the time crystal; that being the darkness. So, since the darkness can't be used inside the time crystal, how about outside of it?"

"What do you mean?"

"We learn exactly the right time of which a shot would split us in two. If one of your shots hits at the right time, it will split me and the Destroyer away from one another, sending me hopefully, flying forward," It sounded like a rather crazy idea, but the two wanted to know where they fit into this, "Malefor could do this, but from his stress, misinformation, and overall time, I wouldn't be able to tell him all of what he needs to hear, so for now, follow me," In a second, the three zipped over to the top edge of the Volcano, and looking down into it, Spyro explained his plan, "Alright, so let's think about this. If he flies down and into the Volcano, from his speed and from it flinging me forward, I'd land right about... There," Pointing close to the bottom of which the lava was to come up from, it was a perfect spot for him to land, "We can get a rather reinforced stone edge right there once I fall. Then as for the other, you'll need to hit the shot off just as the time crystal covers the Destroyer. When you feel no darkness left from him, you take that shot, and for the love of Ancestors, don't miss. Then lastly, one of you warn Malefor of what he needs to do; get Cynder up and head to the Volcano if this works out, so wait just a bit."

"I guess I can take the earth edge at the bottom. If I wait, I can determine where you'd land after the Destroyer has passed into the Volcano, so hopefully, I can just barely catch you," The left one agreed, "And since I'm also getting the easy job, I will tell Malefor to wake her up. I would say we should warn him of the shock, but it's gonna be real funny to see him hurt himself from our darkness.

"Then I guess I will take the shot. If I get low enough, I should be able to see the crystal go around him, and once it does, I will take my shot," The right one agreed to his side.

"So what I'm hearing is, you all are ready?" Spyro smiled wide.

"You owe us one if we do this."

"What could the darkness possibly want."

"We are you, remember that. You keep Cynder safe. If you ever do something and lose her, we are going to take control over you and kill everything. Understand?"

"What about the others?"

"They will be safe if you don't screw up," The left clone warned.

"Yeah, now that I have you two, does that mean you all can help me evolve into another dark form?"

"That's not how this works. Just as you, we have to train. We are, you, after all."

"So, I'm going to have to learn more about this in the future."

"Pretty much."

"Hehe, Alright then," Zipping back over to where they had stood, Spyro sat down in front of Cynder's body, and once again, needed to know they had his back, "For this, I'm going to let you two roam free from me. I will have to deactivate my darkness earlier to get control over the time power sooner. So... Once again... Can I trust the darkness to not turn it's back on me?" Getting a nod from the two, he smiled to both once he looked at them, but once he looked straight at Malefor, this was one thing he still didn't know what to do about, "Do you two have... Any idea what I should do about him...? I'm... on the fence of whether or not, after all this, I should become his friend or not."

"We are here to help save you, and protect Cynder. Anything else, good luck."

"Hehe, yeah, I... guess you're right. You all will definitely help a lot if you do this. But I'm, ready when you all are."

"Ready," The two clones spoke, spreading out their wings and ready to take flight.

"Alright then... In case this... doesn't work, I will... give my goodbyes to everyone. But for now, all I can do is hope... So, here we go," Un-freezing time, Spyro slowly tried to come out from his new form, and just as he did, he could already tell things were kicking off as they once did, and he had to play his character still.

"Spyro!" Malefor yelled at him, stepping in front of everyone and tail blade ready, he threatened, "You sacrifice yourself, and I will kill everyone in a heart beat! I'm the Dark Master, remember?!"

"Malefor..." Spyro cried, getting control of himself as he came from without his dark purple form, revealing his normal purple body while making up his mind, "Without a doubt, you truly weren't the Dark Master of this all. So... because of this... I need you... all of you, to keep Cynder safe for me while I'm gone. Don't tell her about me... I don't wish for her to feel the pain of remembering who I am..." Looking down to the grass in front of him, he then picked up his head and saw the Destroyer closing in on the Volcano, and he knew his time was up, "The most I can do is encapsulate the Destroyer into a time crystal with myself... We will fall down into the Volcano and I... don't know what will become of me... or even if the Crystal will hold up."

"Spyro, please don't do this," Everyone spoke in unison, each with their own way of saying what they hoped would get to him.

Shedding more tears, his words only made it worse for everyone, even more so as he walked up more to ready his final end as he faced the Volcano, "I love you all... Dad... friends..." Looking behind himself and to Cynder's resting body, he whispered the same to her, "I love you too... Cynder," Turning back to face forward, he opened his wings, readying himself for his final goodbye, "Take care of each other, don't make the same mistakes as I did, and... I... Hehe... If I'm being honest... I'm scared to die... I... I don't wish to die... But... At least I'll die knowing I saved you all and... that's what counts, right?"

"Spyro! Stop!" Everyone cried out, but he still flew up and over to the Volcano.

Kicking off his wings and hurrying over to the Destroyer, he looked to his left and right after he made it halfway, and doing this, he saw his dark clones flying by his side which made him give a smile, giving out the plan one last time, "Do you all remember to warn Malefor to wake Cynder up if we do this?" The left clone nodded, and so, he continued as he got close to the Destroyer, "Alright then, just remember; get the stone edge ready, the other, get ready on the shot. I'm trusting both of you," Both flying back away from him, heading to where they needed to be and positioning themselves, he made it to the back of the Destroyer, putting a paw his back, he shed a tear, "Please work, please... work."

Using his time powers, the crystal shot around the Destroyer, covering it like a cocoon. So his clone could make the shot easier, he eased his body a little more upwards as to give some space for him to shoot between him and the Destroyer. Making its way around his back, over the Destoyer's arms, legs, head and shoulder, it had already grabbed a hold of the edge to the Volcano, and once it pulled itself forward, it was now in full swing. Falling down into the Volcano, the dark clone watched very closely to its chest. Once it's head ducked into the Volcano, he didn't feel the darkness, nor did it see any remaining spots. So, lining up the shot, he shot a small black like blade line at the time crystal. Just barely hitting in between it and Spyro's paw, he nearly missed hitting his paw. With the successful slice of the crystal, it snapped in two from both the Destroyer and Spyro. Flying out of the Volcano, the other clone did his job rather easily. Now with the shard of Spyro heading down to him, the Destroyer had fallen into the Volcano now, and as the lava raised, he had it right as the lava didn't reach up to him. Using it's powers, an edge made of rock erupted out from the side of the Volcano, and watching as the crystal flew over to him, it slammed down on the edge, landing perfectly on it, sliding back some and hitting the edge wall of the Volcano. You're a lucky dragon, Spyro, The dark clone thought to himself before taking off and out of the Volcano.

---

"I don't know... All I know is, when he woke up, he was surrounded by what looked like shards of glass... But... lets all just... smile... cry with joy that... our friend... our family... is back from the Volcano," Ignitus spoke with a smile.

---

Having this thought in her mind, Cynder's heart slammed from her chest with enough force for her to hear it. From the beat, her eyes grew a little wide, the cries from everyone became muffled, but most of all, the color in her eyes started to fade as did the feelings in her body. Hearing only a couple more breaths from herself, her body went from sitting to falling down on her side and to the floor in seconds, gasping for air as her body hit the ground. Hearing muffled cries, voices that sounded deeper then they should've been, more thoughts came to her mind, only making her feel more dead then alive, My... life is... passing before me... As soon as I wake... Three years will pass... and... where would I be... where would Spyro... be. Cynder's breathing almost stopped completely, her mind started to fade, and with her eyes closed, she passed out with tears dripping down from her eyes and off her nose.

"Back off! I've killed hundreds upon thousands of you already! You've already killed our friend, what more do you want?!" "You really are a pain in the ass, aren't you. I can see why Spyro doesn't respect you." "Stop throwing his name around like you know him!" "We are only here for Cynder. Get in our way, and we'll kill you, or your lover." "You don't know who my lover even is." "We know all Spyro knows because we're him. While we wish for him to stay alive, we have no problem killing you first." Her heart kicked up from hearing something during their conversation, and even as it dragged on, she focused on one thing, We're... him...? Now with something to go off of, her body started to wake up, letting her have control over herself. Growling as she tried to move her body as it was still shut down some, she cried out to ourselves, Get... Up... Get Up! Getting clarity back to her vision as she wiped away some tears, she was finally starting to stand up on her own, getting hope back into her eyes. Carith and the others that surrounded her looked to see her standing, which they cried happily for, "Cynder, you're...!"

"Where's Spyro...?" Cynder whispered at first as she still hadn't gotten her voice back after trying to recover.

"Fine then! Kill me! But I've dealt with enough of you punk ass bitches today that this should be a cake walk," Malefor growled, letting his dark form consume his body slowly as he wished to make them fear, "You're nothing but shadow, and that's good. That means I can go all out without the worry of blood or anything of the sort," Sitting down and now having been consumed in his own dark power, he raised up his paw, pointed a claw forward and a thumb up, lighting it on fire was his darkness combined into it, "Let's see who's tough. Just stand right there for me, okay?"

"Malefor! Stop!" Cynder yelled, getting her voice back and running over to the two dragons.

Falling to the ground, still not fully aware of her limit, Cynder slid on the grass before finally landing next to him. The dark dragon ran up and over to her, making Malefor fire a bullet from his golden gun. The bullet went through the dragon before being caught by the other one. Gasping, he turned his attention to the other dragon whom reached a paw down to her, but trying to prevent this, Malefor swung his body around, slashing at the dark dragon with his tail blade. Once again, his attack faded through the mist of the dragon. Wh... What the hell?! Malefor growled in his thoughts, unable to use any of his dark attacks. Seeing as the dark dragon reached down to help her, Cynder quickly backed away as she helped herself up, which made the dark dragon do the same. Shaking her head to get herself back together, she swung her tail blade to her side and demanded, "You said you're Spyro! You said he's alive! Where!"

"Whoa, Cynder, calm down... It's okay," The dragon's voice went from anger to pure ease as he spoke to her, and this voice she remembered just before she passed out, "We came here by Spyro's orders to tell you about his whereabouts. As of right now, he is in a time crystal resting inside of the Volcano. We could pick it up ourselves but... If our darkness touches that thing, we'd disintegrate as it's pure light," No one knew whether to trust these dragons or not, so even as he approached Cynder, she stood there, looking at him as he sat, "We only care about your well being. Everyone else we may kill if you wish us to, but as of right now, we are here to help."

"You truly are Spyro then," Malefor growled, coming out from his dark form as he spoke, "Spyro doesn't care about anyone else except Cynder."

"After the talk he had with you before he flew away, do you really still believe that?" The other clone spoke, now making Malefor shut his mouth for what he said, "Look, we are only here to get Spyro to safety, go back into his body and make things normal again. And for my other clone, we are still darkness. But because of Spyro's pure of heart, we act with a motive now. So we truly don't care for any of you. If you wish to die, step up. If not, then know your place."

"Don't kill anyone!" Cynder yelled at the two, backing away from the dragon, "I... I don't want to waste anymore time! If Spyro's alive then I need to see him... But unlike with Malefor back then, how do I know I can trust you, both, of you?!"

"Well that's rather the easiest thing you've asked, Cynder," The dark dragon spoke in front of her, "Let's make this real quick. One," Flicking a claw to his left, Cynder's arm moved outwards to her right, making everyone look with wide eyes to see this control, "Are darkness of course is the same as yours. But I don't wish to move you like that ever again, please know we are friends. We want you to be reunited so we can go back to our lives as well."

"Take me too him!" Cynder cried, now believing for this to really be the clones of Spyro.

"Cynder, Don't...!"

"If you're so damn worried then come with me!" Cynder yelled at him, cutting Malefor off from saying anything further.

He understood where this pain was coming from so he did nothing more to reject, but instead, opened his wings, ready when ever she was. The dark dragon in front nodded his head for her to follow, and once the four all had their wings opened, they flew up and headed for the Volcano. Wanting answers themselves, the group looked to Ignitus, wondering if what was being said or seen was even true. Giving a growl, Ignitus wasn't sure himself, but he had to admit something, "Spyro's put a lot of darkness in Cynder just this day alone. So... the only one who really could have control over her would be my son..."

"So then... He really is alive?!" Cyril cried happily.

"We're about to find out... And... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful."

"I'm also assuming you're Spyro since you're the only dragons I've seen with yellow eyes," Cynder spoke to the dark dragon on her left, while the other flew by her right and Malefor following behind, "I need to make sure you are who you say you are so, I apologize for the questions. But for the first question I want answered is; When did you... become real or, something like that. Are you like, your own living thing, basically."

"No. We are merely a manifestation of Spyro himself. Compared to a normal clone that he was making, he now made real versions of himself. Though we aren't real and still just living darkness, when we go back into his body, we'll basically be dormant. And it's a little more complicated as he even asked if we could help him control his darkness. The problem with that is, we're technically his number two form now. His number one form wouldn't have us."

"Hehe... That sounds rather confusing."

"It very much is," Making it to the edge of the Volcano, the dark dragons landed with Cynder, and for Malefor, he landed next to the left dragon, and watching with her to see the dark dragon on the left pointing a claw down to the bottom left of the Volcano, he spoke, "Spyro's down there. I hope the ledge I made for him will hold. He did hit it at a rather high rate of speed. I apologize for you not being able to see. The smoke from this volcano has been rather bad ever since the Destroyer fell in."

"So he could be in danger?!" Cynder cried, still trying her best to look down and see past the smoke.

"Would you trust in following us down?"

"How will she deal with the heat? The volcano isn't exactly cold," Malefor growled, still untrustworthy of these two dragons.

"Stay near me, Cynder. My body will let off a heat shield. The more power I use though, the shorter the field, so we'd have to hurry."

"Then I'm ready when ever you are. And, Malefor," Cynder looked past the dragon and over to him, getting his attention as he looked to her, "If something does happen, I'm sure Spyro would appreciate that I told him that you protected me within the flames."

"That's a double edge sword though. He'll yell at me for doing his job by protecting you," Malefor chuckled.

"We can deal with that when he's alive then, but for now..." Giving a huge sigh, she turned to her left, opened her wings, and agreed, "I'm ready to fly," As she flew down into the Volcano and around the ash, the others all followed close, making sure that each wasn't to fall into the magma or get lost in the smoke, "Come on, Spyro... Where are you... Where are you," Once around the smoke, she looked down and saw the small ledge they were talking about, and once seeing the gem and the purple body inside, she cried, "SPYRO!" Kicking off the air with her wings, she shot down towards him, landing on his platform rather quickly, but now being away from everyone, her paws burned as she touched the ground, and her body felt like melting, "Hot! HOT!"

The dark dragons were quick to surround her, one flying down and sitting to her right while the other flew down and sat to her left. Malefor himself landed on the other side of the gem, facing down on his laid out body that was entrapped in the crystal. Now with the two being there, Cynder cried with tears of joy, putting her paw against the shard with hope now more then ever, Spyro... Please... Please be alive in there... The dark dragons moved a little more forward towards the crystal, and the one to the left of Cynder spoke, "We are going to touch the crystal and fade. We are becoming unstable not being controlled for this long so we can't help anymore," Looking up to the dark dragon, Malefor watched as both their faces turned to frustration even through their mist like bodies," And Malefor, if you don't get Cynder out of her safely, we'll slit your throat in your sleep."

Touching the crystal, the two lifted up in smoke, similar to the ash rising out of the Volcano. Now with the two gone, Malefor grumbled his words, "Can't kill me if Spyro's dead."

"Malefor!" Cynder yelled at him.

"What? I was joking."

"Not the time or place right now."

"I'm using my powers to keep you safe right now, aren't I?" Feeling a crack underneath them, the edge started to break off from the main holding position from the Volcano, adding on to their slightly borrowed time, "Oh no... That's not good."

"Quick! We need to get him out of here!"

Grabbing underneath the gem with her wings, she wasn't strong enough to lift it, only move it, and trying with her wings and paws proved to be useless no matter how hard she tried. She knew she couldn't do this alone, and looking to Malefor for help, she saw an evil grin appear across his face, and his voice changed to a dark and menacing one, "Well now isn't this perfect," His voice was enough to send shivers down her spine as what he was doing was working, unknowing if this was for real or a joke, but he didn't make either one shine, "'Cynder kills herself because Spyro was really died himself'. Catchy, is it not? So I will be able to walk out of here, unscathed, and slowly but surely, put the rest of my plan, into action. Everyone will believe..."

"SHUT UP!" Her voice was enough to crack the back of the edge even more so, and not only did it do that, it also made Malefor shut his lips rather quick, "I've always trusted you since the day you came back! I know what you've been through, I've been through it too! You should know this by now! Nothing your doing will make me change my view of you cause I know you're good! The only one you have to convince is Spyro, and I'm sure without me, that's gonna be real hard."

"But... I..." Letting out a sigh, Malefor knew that he couldn't continue with his joke after what she just said, but he still chuckled, "But, if he's dead, who's left for me to worry about?"

"ME! Dumb Ass! I will slap you across the face with my damn wind powers! And once again, not the time... Ugh! Or place! Now help me lift this damn thing!"

"My plans have now been replaced with fears. Here, I don't want you to break your arms or anything," Backing up from the gem, Malefor put his wings underneath the gem to help lift it to his paws, and once he did, he let out a growl, "Damn, Spyro! Maybe you could... Lose a few pounds, don't you think?!"

Lifting up the gem with his paws, Malefor was able to open his wings and fly off the platform with Cynder with only seconds to spare as the edge broke off with them hopping off of it. Cynder didn't want to say anything and jinks the hopes that she had, so instead, she looked to Malefor as he struggled, then to Spyro, and then straight, rinse and repeating in order to make sure everything was doing okay. Please hold on, Malefor. We're almost out, we're almost out. Just as she finished her thoughts, they made it up and over the edge of the Volcano, making Cynder shed tears of joy, He's... he's out... But... something else could happen! I... I don't want to say anything else just yet. Keeping a serious tone, she looked to him and asked, "Malefor, can you hold him until we get back to our location?"

"Shit dog! That's... pretty Damn... far!" Malefor chuckled, trying to hold up the gem with all his might.

"Can't you use your darkness to help you?"

"Hell no... After seeing what happened to those dark... dragons... what the hell would happen to my arms?"

"They'd burn off. It's a win win for me."

"I will take Spyro back to that volcano real quick!"

"But your close to half way to where we need to be, and I know you hate extra work."

"Damn it... I hate when you're... right."

Making their way back over to the group, they looked down to see the others were looking up to them with widened eyes, and while she could see where they were and flew down to them with ease, Malefor dropped down like a ton of bricks. Landing down on the ground, Cynder smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but hearing something crash behind her, a skid mark through the ground was seen past the gem that now rested on the floor. At the end of the skid mark was Malefor, gasping for air and on his side, waving a paw for them to continue on without him. Turning around to face the gem, she walked over to it with them, just as surprised as they all were, "He's... He's really alive... But I'm still scared that... what if he's... what if he's dead in there?"

"I... I'm not even so sure myself," Ignitus spoke, passing up to the front and putting a claw over the top of the crystal, "Cynder... The time crystal would heal him, keeping him safe... But... I'm not so sure it would heal a dead body..." Getting gasps from everyone, he cut off any thoughts of such a thing, "But we can't have that happen! Spyro... He... Has to be alive in there... He... He has to be."

"Then we need to find out!" Cynder cried.

"And... What would you... we... do, if he's... dead?" Terrador murmured, fearing for the change that Cynder could undergo.

"He won't be! He... He..."

"Cynder... It's okay... Just, get to the other side of the crystal. I'm gonna open this crystal and we'll... find out," Ignitus gave her directions, making her now swallow hard as she now had fears of her own for such a thing.

Walking around to the other side of the crystal, Cynder kept eyes on him the entire time, begging and hoping that he was to be alive in this crystal, Please be alive, my love... Please don't be dead. Getting over to the other side, she looked up at him, both giving tears as they held on to their breaths. Using the paw he held over the crystal, Ignitus pulled it up and tapped his claw on it. Once he did, he backed his paw back to the ground, watching along with everyone else as it cracked all around from where he tapped his claw. Making it's way down the middle, then the back, and finally, the sides, the crystal broke with a bright shine. Covering up their view with their wings, they waited for the light to die down, and once it had, they all took their wings back to their sides and looked down on his body. Cynder was able to see him for all he was as he laid on his side, facing her and surrounded by the glass like shards she remembered being spoke of from the dream. He's not in the Volcano anymore... But what else could happen... Like... Gasping, she had an idea of what could happen, But what if he's taken back?! What if... What if that wasn't when lose him?! Ready with her tail blade, she made sure to stay alert, but for the time being, she, along with everyone else was confused, scared, as he still hadn't awoken from his slumber. Taking a step up to him, Cynder eased a paw over to his side, whispering as she shed another tear from fear, "Sp... Spyro...?"

Getting a grumble from out of his mouth, everyone gasped as they watched him move his body only slightly. Turning from his side and to his back, Spyro looked up to the sky, blocking out the sun with his wing and once again, grumbling. Blinking as much as he could to adjust his eyes, once he was a custom to the sun light, he pulled his wings down to see smiles on everyone's face, but even tears. Once he looked to his left, he saw the same thing from Cynder, and instead of feeling calm, he was rather questioning of his surroundings, "I'm not falling for this again. If I'm dead, I'm not giving up and going to sleep," Hearing a chuckle, Spyro looked to his right and to Ignitus, wondering what was so funny, "What? Don't like what I have to say?"

"Hehe, no, of course not, Spyro. Just look around you. Don't you remember what I said to you? 'They kept you in your room to make you feel safe that one time as to avoid any other kind of detail'. I can promise you right now, the one who did it can only split themselves more then five times, and do we look like only a group of five?" He watched as Spyro looked around at everyone, making sure that things were how they needed to be, and once looking back to his father, he gave his son a smile, along with one last tear, "Welcome back, my son."

"Wait... So if this is real, then..." Looking back over to his left, Cynder gave him a smile, even giggling as she tried to hide her sadness, "Cynder..."

Dropping her body down, she snuggled up to him, laying down on his body and nuzzling her head underneath his, wanting to once again feel his comfort. Feeling her nuzzle underneath his chin made him let out a nice sigh. Now resting back to his chest and feeling his wings come over her back, she whispered to him, dripping down a tear off of her face and to his body, "You kept your promises to me... Hehe... And here I was about to kill everyone too."

"Hehe, Damn... Too early then."

"Good to see you too, Spyro," Claire giggled, making everyone else laugh together, finally getting the satisfaction of their friends returned.

"Well, while Carith does seem to be smiling, I'm assuming Malefor isn't dead either."

"I'm about to be," Malefor cried from behind Spyro.

"Thank goodness I didn't wake up to see his face. Then I would've thought I was in hell."

"F you too, ass hat."

"Spyro... I... have to know though," Ignitus spoke, almost in awe as he couldn't understand how he was able to make it out of what he did, "This, might be a little long in me saying, but I'm sure we all need time to... come back, from your... almost... and thankfully not happened death so, I'm going to give you the run down," While Ignitus spoke, Volteer and Ersa snuggled up together, same as Claire as she snuggled up to her lover's side, and while this was also happening, Malefor made slow but good progress over to the others, "The Ancestors... Well... You pissed them off. They don't understand how you made it out of that. Even for me, I believed you to be dead. Even after giving Cynder the nightmare along with the others, we... failed... But you didn't... and with barely any information to boot. So I have to ask... How did you survive?"

"Hehe... That is going to take a lot of explaining," Spyro was honest as he laid the back of his head to the ground and rested, "For now... Let's just be happy that the Destroyer has been dealt with. I can explain more tomorrow, but for now... I just wish to be with my family if that's okay with all of you."

"We all have no problem with that, of course."

"Hey, Spyro, I have to ask though," Malefor spoke, walking up to Claire's side and looking down on him, "Were those two dark dragons with you? They came down here saying they would kill everyone else, but not Cynder."

"So they really did as I asked," Spyro smiled as he closed his eyes.

"To kill us?!"

"No, idiot. To go and get you and Cynder to help retrieve my body."

"What the hell happened then?!"

"How about you tell me why you wished for all of us to die," Spyro growled at his constant pushing, and now getting him to shut up, he opened his eyes, looking up him with anger, "Even if we would've destroyed that thing, even if it had a piece left and it made it to the Volcano, that darkness would've made it's way to the earth's core anyway and killed all of us," Malefor was silent as he didn't know anything about this, and even with his surprised face, Spyro scuffed at him, closing his eyes and trying to ignore him after he said, "Don't give me some bull shit excuse. I'm done with you anyway."

"Wh... What do you mean."

"I'm done talking to you. We can help each other out and what not, and I'll have your back, but don't ever expect us to be friends."

"Bu... But I... I did everything to protect everyone... I even did as you asked..."

"And so the past repeats itself, just as what happened when you first came back. Guess we shouldn't be friends after all."

His words stabbed Malefor in his heart, making him fall to his back side and look to the ground with both anger and sadness. Walking around everyone and making to Malefor's left side, Carith draped a wing over his back and hoped this would help ease him. Showing her teeth and looking over to Spyro, she wished to say something, but instead of her saying something, they heard as Cynder spoke, "Spyro..." Backing her head away from his, he opened his eyes, locking eyes with her as she looked down to him, "The past does repeat itself. If it wasn't for Malefor, you'd be dead. I... wasn't strong enough to help you again. And instead of repeating the past, why can't we change something of the past?"

"I've tried, Cynder, I really have, but every time I try to change something from the past, it always comes back to bite me, whether it be from Malefor or not. I mean, even after the darkness was supposedly gone, dragons had gotten a hold of it, it infected Claire's mind, and every step of the way, it seems to always make itself know that it will never go away. Even today, I scanned the darkness all around me. While some felt different, there was still a hint of darkness from the Dark Master, from Malefor's, darkness."

"And have you dealt with those dark spots that Malefor spoke about yet?" This made him think, finally giving him a reason to ease off of what he was saying, "After what you've been through today, I couldn't imagine the amount of emotional stress you've gone through today... same... as all of us, but to help you out, I want to make this clear once again; Malefor wasn't the enemy and we can figure out who it is later. But for now, we won, we're all safe, and now, all I want to do, as well as everyone else, is to go home and rest. I need... to rest... with you, my love... After everything that came true, I... passed out on the floor, had a panic attack and I... gave up on my life."

Not having known anything that happened while he was gone, he didn't know how bad things had gotten for the others, so for now, all he could do was apologise with sadness, "Cynder... I... I didn't... know..."

"That I loved you? That we all cared about you and that we'd do anything to protect you?"

Giving a frown, she was right about it all, but he didn't want her to be right about one thing as he knew it would hurt her for it. So, to make things right, Spyro looked to Malefor and apologized, "Malefor... I'm... sorry... And, I understand that, this is another thing that is repeating; It takes Cynder to convince me to stop you from leaving but I... I'm scared... Not of you, but of what's out there. I wish to say something to change of what I did in the past, but I... just for now... can't call you, my friend," This didn't seem to change his mood at all, but he still tried his best to help, "You, nor Cynder, killed my or her, parents. I know who it was, we all know, who it was. But all I ask is, was this from the dark spots, or not... Can you please tell me if you know this."

It was silent for a bit, but after not hearing anything from him, Spyro went to speak again, but stopped once Malefor chuckled in a cry, "You've always been such a stubborn ass to me, Spyro, and I just need to get use to that," Picking up his head and wiping away his tears, he was honest as it was much easier for him, "With my new darkness, I felt it the same, but was having too much fun to think about it. I had hoped we could just, deal with this and look past it, but... Hehe... My luck is pretty shit. So to be honest... Yes... Someone has taken all of the darkness that I laid around. I didn't feel any of it in any of the places I placed around Warfang."

"Do you, know who got a hold of that?"

"If I did, we'd already find and kill the son of a bitch," Malefor lied.

"Then you, aren't mad that I'm rejecting our friendship?"

"I said I'd give you time, did I not? But now the question is, how much time?"

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

"Hehe... Damn... I guess."

"We can discuss this more when we get back to our hallway, but for now; Ignitus. Do we need to fly back, or can you take us back?"

"I can teleport us back,' Ignitus answered him.

Getting off of her lover's body, Cynder helped him stand, and seeing as everyone else already sat and closed their eyes, she did the same once he stood. Feeling terrible for all of this, Spyro sat down next to her and gave a whisper to apologize, "Cynder... I'm... sorry for... everything... I didn't know how bad things were... I didn't know, how bad things had gotten for you."

"We, just the same, will talk later."

Giving a frown as he closed his eyes, he heard a snap, and once being back into the Chambers, he, along with everyone else, opened their eyes. Not wanting to say anything now, he just looked to the ground and frowned, not wishing to say anything else as he felt it would only made things worse and worse for everyone, What am I doing...? Feeling a paw rub his back, Spyro looked to his right and saw it was his lover's, and once she took her paw off, she nudged her paw over to the others to speak to them all. Looking up to everyone as they all sat to where they normally did, him and his lover were the same, so now having his surroundings, he needed to get his words. Fearing he would say something wrong, he connected back with his emotions and apologized, "I'm sorry... All of you... First the new dark form, freezing time and thinking for so long, and even being in the crystal... I've forgotten how to be who I am."

"You froze time? But the Ancestors didn't feel you use your time power at all," Ignitus questioned, only make him wonder more of what had happened.

"Because, I didn't. All of what I did aside from the time crystal, was all with the darkness, so they don't know what I did at all," This was what made it obvious to him now as to why he, and the Ancestors, couldn't see where or what he did for the time that he was using his darkness, "Thank you, all, for caring about my well being, and... Hehe... Not trying to move past my death as you three once did, "Getting chuckles from Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer, they knew what he was talking about, "That's another reason I didn't really know if you all would care... except for Cynder... you all seen my death once again... so I thought you all would try and move on now, rather then later."

"You gave us hope to look past such thoughts. Now without you, without any of us, we'd never be the same. We all, as you know, care for you, Spyro," Volteer comforted his friend, getting him to smile, which in return, made the others smile.

"And for you, Cynder," Looking to her with the most anguish over all, Spyro wanted to apologize most of all to her, "I'm... sorry for not comforting you when I was broken free... I thought you were still passed out and that, when my clone would come and wake you, he'd give you hope... So... what did, happen then."

"You tried to get me to forget to protect me, but you know, and so does everyone else, that was a terrible idea. So, Malefor woke me with his darkness and when I got up, I saw it all; You going into the Volcano, the time crystal... me thinking back to the nightmare where it was said that you woke up three years later on shards of glass... And so... I... believed that I...failed... So I... all I heard was ringing... fell to the ground, passed out... and wished to die," Snuggling up to her and nuzzling his forehead against the side her neck as she started to tear up, Spyro shed some tears of his own, not knowing any of this at all, "If it wasn't for those dark clones... I... I... thought... I was going to wake up three years later... And you'd still not be with me..."

"It's okay, my love... I... couldn't let that happen," Taking his head back, he made sure to keep a wing over her back, and once he did this, she snuggled up to him, staying close to him as he spoke of what happened, "When I helped ease you into a state of sleep... My darkness took over, and I... was basically moving so fast that I froze time. I had about less then an hour to think, because I... couldn't leave you..." Making sure they all knew, he looked to all of them, making it very clear, "I couldn't leave all of you, and this family."

"You were moving fast enough to freeze time?!" Malefor cried out with everyone having the same surprised looks.

"Hehe, yeah... And that was when I meant my two new, dark dragon, helpers."

"Broken! That's a broken ass ability! What could possibly stop you now that you can do that? Or are you going to forget about that power, we all gloss over it, and then we get into a bad position and it's like, 'Shit, if only we had a way to freeze time'. Is it going to be like that?"

"Um... That was rather, very specific."

"He's referring to someone else who could do the same, but he only did it once when a bomb went off. But after that, he didn't do it ever again," Volteer spoke on his behalf.

"Remember back when I said, If you have a broken ability, spam it unlike others. That way, there's no need to be scared of anything at all!" Malefor happily cried as this seemed like a perfect idea.

"Malefor, I still don't even know how to exactly use that power. It was in the heat of the moment, and until I learn more of it, it's going to take a bit for me to fully control it," Getting a sigh from him, he at least understood where he was coming from and explained some more to give him at least some hope, "But that doesn't mean I still can't use it for at least some time. I still need to understand if I can trust my counterparts or, what ever they are. I'm glad they did as I asked and didn't infect one of you to kill each other so... For now, that new dark form of mine is going to be off limits for a bit."

"So, you can't at least use it one last time?" Cynder murmured, biting her lip even as she talked about it.

"Why?"

"I just want to see your... your... well, you know..."

"WHOA! Cynder, no ma'am. That's a man's privacy," Malefor laughed, making everyone else feel uncomfortable.

"His body, you shit head!" Cynder growled, now wanting for him to be dead, "Now I agree with what Spyro said about you!"

"You're joking... right...? Hehe..."

"I still will slap you with the help of my wind powers, so watch your damn words."

"Spyro, can you hurry and say something before that happens."

"Is my, body not good looking?" Spyro frowned.

"What?! No no no, it's just... You seem so deadly... And I just... feel... comfortable to know, same as you to me that, even though we can be deadly, it's much more romantic for us to be easy with one another," It made sense to him even though he didn't know what he looked like in his new dark form, and she couldn't tell if he was thinking sad thoughts or not, so she rejected against it, "No. Never mind. You just came back, and I want you to be safe. So instead, can we just, stay snuggled up together instead. Last thing I need to feel again is losing you... Then i really would have to kill Malefor."

"I need to make a harassment box. I've already had two yesterday that I said, so that makes three," Malefor made a mental note, which Volteer called him out on.

"If you don't write that down, you're going to forget," Volteer chuckled.

"No I'm not."

"What about the one the day before the first one?"

"There's only been three!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I... Wait... Damnit, Volteer! Shut up!"

"Cynder..." Now with Spyro speaking, everyone wondered what he would say to her words, and it was a surprise to everyone, "I will do it... But all I ask is that you stay close to me in case anything happens. You've always been able to keep me in control and see what I don't. If you need to kiss me, don't hesitate," Giving a quick peck to his lips, he blushed as she backed up, and he chuckled from the sudden peck, "Thanks, my love."

"Wait till we're in our room. I will be doing that a lot more later on," Cynder smirked, licking her lips as to get his taste that she got from his.

"Gives me something to look forward to, and also, hopefully help control my darkness."

Walking away and to the middle of the entrance way for everyone to see him, Cynder followed next to him, but not to his side, instead, to his front right shoulder. This was rather difficult for Spyro to go back into such mode, giving what it took to get it, and he expressed this feeling, "I don't like... showing my form off as a trophy. First time, Cynder was badly injured... And then... you... we're knocked out."

"Whiiiiiich..." Stepping in to help with this, Ignitus told him the truth, "In case we did fail against the Destroyer, our fall back plan was to fake Cynder's injury," Getting a raised brow from Spyro, Ignitus chuckled at this idea as he believed it was rather an ingenious idea, "So, she faked being passed out, I used my blood to fake blood going down her forehead, and we just kinda... played it off. So lucky, unlike in the past, Cynder didn't need to get hurt for this new form, only... mentally from the... well... let's all just look past that."

"That... does make me feel better, knowing she wasn't hurt... But... Ignitus, can you, do me a favor," He wondered what it could be as Spyro paused for a second, looking to his lover and continuing, "If it's okay with you, Cynder, could I, see what all happened when I left?" Seeing her give a little of a frown, he believed what it could be, and used his knowledge of her to help find out what it could be, "Is this because your scared of me seeing you in such a depressed and destroyed state... or because I'm... making you remember?"

"It's... both... But, I can, understand why you're asking. And... it would be best if you saw so you know that, we all didn't, they, didn't, give up on you. Even Terrador had to shed a tear from your supposed passing."

"He... did...?" Spyro asked in surprise, but once he looked at him, Terrador growled as he knew what was to be said, "No no no, Terrador, I'm not going to pick on you about it. It's... refreshing to hear as... You were one of the main ones whom wished to push me away with my death last time. So... thank you for that."

"You're... welcome," Terrador gave a sigh, glad he didn't pull a Malefor and make fun of him for it.

"I can give you the memories if you so wish for. But as Cynder said... This was... Tough, for all of us," Ignitus agreed to what he was asking.

"I'm also asking for these memories to help control my darkness a whole lot better, and to, understand," Looking back to Cynder once he paused, he then proceeded to continue, "Just how much I need to comfort you, my love," Once he gave a smile, she gave a slight one herself, hoping that they would forget about this sooner or later, "Okay, Ignitus, I'm, ready when you are."

"I will inform my clone."

It took a second, but to prepare, he gave a sigh, loosening up his body and looking down to the ground in case he needed to show any kind of emotion he didn't want them to see. The Chambers went quiet as everyone waited to see his reactions from what had happened, but at first, it didn't seem like anything was happening, making the others think he probably didn't care. Seeing the tears that dripped down and off his eyes, his body started to shiver, though he tried to stay a float himself, not wishing to make anything worse, Everyone... Cynder... I... didn't know things would be so bad. Having a claw go across his cheek to take care of a tear, his eyes opened up a little more, and looking to his left, he saw it was Cynder whom wiped the tear off his face. While he wished to smile, Spyro couldn't bring himself to do it, instead, he could only apologize, "I'm... so sorry... All of that... was because... of me."

"No... It was the sick son of a bitch that activated the Destroyer. Whether it was someone who knew or didn't understand, at least now... It's gone... It's been dealt with, and that's all that matters. You being alive... is all that matters," Cynder comforted him, making him feel only slightly better as the thoughts were a lot more then he would've liked to see.

Wondering why this all even happened, Spyro looked to his father and asked, "I thought you said that thing burned in the magma."

"I thought it did. But I also knew you were under enough stress, and telling you that thing could come back was not what you needed to hear," Ignitus defended his words, and once again, it made sense to him.

"Well... after seeing that... after you, fell to the floor and... almost died, Cynder, I..." Shaking his head and blinking his eyes a couple of times to clear off his tears, he stood ready, now wanting more then ever to do as she asked, "I've been wrong about this whole day, and to make up for it, for what I've put you through, I'm going to do as you asked and show my new dark form," She felt terrible, now hearing as to why he was doing it, and even though she wished to clarify, he was already starting to let off a dark aura, "This day has been nothing but hell, and all I want to do now is end it off on a high note."

Doing as he had once again, he closed his eyes to control the darkness within him, passing by his other dark form and skipping to the new one. The pitch black aura went out from his body before being sucked back into his body, transforming into a more dark purple, letting his body shine along with everything else. His body smoothed out, his muscles shrunk some, and as before, he grew as tall as an adult dragon. Giving out a sigh of heat, a growl also followed, making the others shiver while Cynder both shivered and blushed. Once opening his eyes, he once again had darkened yellow shining eyes, giving more to his threatening look. Now into his darkness, Spyro focused over to Cynder, making her jump with a shiver, but now with him able to understand her emotions better, he didn't react. Stretching out his wings wide and now showing off all his body, Cynder had to take a step forward and walk right against his chest. Once against his chest, he closed his wings around her, wrapping them completely around her and holding her close. Giving out a pleased sigh, she rather enjoyed this new form, whispering to him to show her thankfulness, "Thank you, Spyro... This is very... soothing."

"Hey, Spyro, now that you're in your new dark purple form, totally calling it that by the way, can you get those other two out here so I can kick their ass?" Malefor asked, hitting his paw against his palm of his other paw and igniting into his dark form, "While I only have the pitch black version of your power, and you now have the dark purple form, I still believe I can beat them. I shall just blade dance as it's the most broken ability I have," Not getting an answer, but instead, watching as Spyro ducked his head over Cynder's as the two sat, Malefor now stood up on his back two paws, extending his wings out as much as he could and demanding to be answered, "I am your lord! You answer to the Master! Master, Malefor...!"

Malefor didn't expect it, but being slammed against the wall by Carith, she also stood on her back two paws, locking lips with him, making out with him even, making him lose his dark form rather quickly. Even though he wished to show his strength, it disappeared all together as he started to fall back down to his four paws, sliding down and off the wall as he did. Once he landed to his four paws, Carith did the same as she backed off from him. Once she slid her lips off of his, Malefor, same as her, gave a pleased sigh, and he was the one to chuckle, "You can't let me have fun, can you?"

"Not unless I'm the one controlling you," Carith smirked.

"You dare try me?"

"I tried your lips, that's for sure. Rather tasty they are."

"How am I supposed to be evil around you if you'll just kiss the darkness out of me."

"Sounds like a personal problem. Now go back into that dark form again so I may save you again."

I guess I should give credit where it's due, and I... want to thank you two for your help, with not killing any one of course, Spyro thanked in his mind to the other two from his now new formed party, and surprisingly to him, he got a response from one of them, "Remember what we said, understand." Hehe, you know, it's gonna be a little wired having not only my voice, but two other of my voices in my mind. "We still sound a little different in tone then you, but just remember, we're basically you." Which I wish to learn more about. But for now, Taking his head back from the side of her cheek, he watched as Cynder had opened her eyes, looking up at him and wondering what he was doing. Since the two were looking at one another, it was perfect for him as he gave her a kiss from above, and for her, the kiss he gave from above felt amazing, something she's never felt, moaning even, closing her eyes once again with him and thinking, Did I... die... Or is this all... really... my life now? Feeling his lips slip off hers, the two gave pleased sighs, opening their eyes and smiling at one another, If this is real... and if it's my life now... I have no complaints whatsoever. His face turned back to a normal resting face, which for his new form was rather angry looking, but it smoothed out his face, "I'm sorry, to all of you... I wanted to protect you all, without thinking just how bad it would get, and I... Will never make such a mistake again... I promise."

"Spyro, it's fine. You made it out, and that's all that matters. Because of you, we are as happy as we are now," Ignitus smiled along with everyone else, "Thank you for... hehe, well, saving yourself basically. You've kept your promises to us, and to Cynder, and we all very much appreciate that. And, to also help give some good news, there were no fatalities during that entire battle, only minor damage here and here," Terrador and Cyril nodded their heads, knowing they did most of that help, and the others gave smiles to know their efforts weren't for nothing, "Malefor's defense, you two, me and Claire, and the others that helped protect the citizens, we did much better then last time."

"WE?!" Malefor and the other three Guardians cried.

"You weren't even there for the last battle!" Cyril cried to him.

"Okay, okay, fine, let me correct myself, you, all. But, why are you saying something Malefor."

"Because I was able to stop myself and prevent another death from this family," Malefor grumbled, crossing his arms and knowing he did something right as well.

"Are you sure you're still not the Dark Master, because you're a great liar," Terrador growled at him.

"Yeah, wasn't it Carith who stopped you, not yourself," Cyril also stepped in.

"Yeah, cause you were too busy balling your eyes out that she would leave you," Volteer was the last to make a jab at him.

"I'm gonna add that to my fifth harassment box," Malefor made a mental note.

"Don't you mean fourth?"

"Wh... No, I... Shut up!"

"Hey, if it's okay with everyone else, I would like to get this day over with," Ersa spoke, getting everyone's attention, "I mean, I'm down to stay here with you all till when ever, but... with how today's gone... when you, Spyro, give us the go ahead to leave, I don't wish to be rude as I wish to be here with you. It's just that... with how the day has gone, I need to... recover... same as everyone else."

"It's okay, Ersa. I'm about to head up to my room with Cynder here soon anyway. So if you all wish to sleep, I will... talk with you all in the morning then," Spyro agreed to what she was saying.

"Recover? I thought you wanted to..."

"Thank you, Spyro!" Ersa cried out, blocking out Volteer from speaking and keeping it unknown of what they were to do, "Just remember, Spyro, we will always be there, to have each other's back. And through think and thin, we will all stick together," Hearing her words, she gave a blush, giggling even, and this made everyone fear of what she was to say, which unfortunately, their fears were true, "Speaking of back, and, sticking together, Volteer...?"

"NO!" Everyone cried out in disgust.

"You two just had... a night, last night. Calm down you damn bunny rabbits," Malefor growled, shaking his head and blushing as hard as everyone else was.

"Malefor, do you have a mate? Have you ever done it before? Oh, that's right," Nudging her mate in the side, she gave a smile, standing up and walking away while waving a paw for him to follow, "You did promise me that night, did you not," While she stood next to Spyro's right, she looked up to him, then down to Cynder, and thanked her, "Thank you, Cynder... If it wasn't for you, Spyro may have never been the way he is now, and having you around as well is always, very welcoming."

It was rather strange for her to say, but Cynder had an idea as to why and thanked her friend, "This isn't like the past. Volteer will still be there for you, same as we said to Spyro, it also relates to you."

Giving her friend a nice smile, Volteer walked up next to Ersa, nuzzling her tail with his own, and giving a shiver, she turned away from the two and they headed for their room. Now that he could see everyone else was getting ready for bed by either stretching or yawning, Spyro wished them all a good nights rest, "Thank you all, for everything. I hope that, when we wake up the next morning, we will all be as we were yesterday. I don't want anything to change... and I... don't want this to effect us."

"Spyro, we can move on when ever. This day was a success. We're all still here, some stuff needs to be fixed around Warfang, but other then that, it's fine with me," Ignitus gave him some helpful words of which he appreciated.

"Don't worry, Spyro. When we wake up in the morning, we will go back to a normal day; Us in the Chambers, chilling out and talking to one another, just having fun and letting the day go by," Claire spoke as well, wanting this to be the case, and since everyone else smiled to her, she knew thay all agreed as well, "The darkness almost made me miss all of this... But I will never turn my back on any of you ever again."

"But when you walk into the Sleeping Chambers, won't you be turning your back on us then?" Malefor snickered, feeling as this joke was a masterpiece.

"Oh... Malefor... How I wish I could've at least killed you."

"Spyro, we can't hold this form any longer. We can only help protect your mind for so long, unless you kiss Cynder of course," Hearing one of the voices in his head from the darkness, Spyro understood, Thanks for the warning. Taking his wings from around Cynder's body, she looked up to him, seeing as he gave a sigh, and so, she backed away some. Once he had calmed himself down, he came from out of his new form, slowly coming back to his bright purple, gold, and orange color. Returned back to his body, he looked to everyone, still seeming as though something still wasn't quite right, "Thank you, all, for your help during our war efforts. When we wake up tomorrow, I will be sure to help in anyway that I can," Spyro turned away from everyone, and with him walking away, they knew where he was to head, "Come on, my love."

Before she did, Cynder saw everyone's concerned looks which she took into consideration as even she herself still knew something was wrong. Once she went to follow, so did Malefor and Carith as the two had followed behind. Making it up to her lover's side, she saw the way his body looked; tensed, worried, rather angry, which she couldn't understand as it seemed everything had already been resolved. Every lantern he passed on his way down lit up with more fire, making the others around him rather fearful as well, feeling the anger starting to radiate from his body. Every step he made, he made with thought, like he was planning everything that he was doing. Not wanting to keep quiet about what was happening, Cynder knew she had to say something to get him to calm down, "Spyro, if something else is bothering you, you can tell me. Or, is it something you don't wish to talk about?" Not getting an answer from him, she wondered if she needed to change up her tactic, or maybe even her attitude, "Do I need to bring up my terror attitude as I did yesterday? I have no problem taking control."

"What is Malefor doing?" Spyro asked with a growl in his voice, almost as if he was still in his dark form.

"He's just hanging out with his lover as he always has... Is he still bothering you?"

"He's always bothered me."

With Cynder looking behind herself, Malefor saw she looked to him, and while he gave a smile, she gave a frown, shaking her head even, making this even worse for him. Giving out a sigh, Malefor didn't wish for this to get to him, but he had hopes he would be able to do something about it. Rather then keep his thoughts to himself, he was rather afraid of him now more then ever, "With him pissed off about what's happened, what should I do?" Asking his lover, she hoped he had more to say for her to go off of, and luckily, he did, "His new dark form is rather... intimidating, and it makes me wonder if that's how he'd look in the future. I mean, having back my normal form compared to the Dark Master, I look rather intimidating too, but him... I don't know."

"He'll come around sooner or later. And, hey, look on the bright side; I'm not scared of you at all compared to back then, when you were the Dark Master, of course," Her words made him think, even her as well as she wondered what Spyro would say, but even worse, what he'd do, "Even back then, Spyro never would've killed you. I mean, hell, he would've killed you in the hallway when you first came back if he wanted to. Spyro's told us how he's felt, and now, all we need to do is hope there's something we can do."

"Yeah... I... definitely need to talk to him."

With the two in front walking into the hallway, taking a right once inside, the two behind followed, walking to the right as well as they hoped to talk. While Cynder stood in the middle of the hallway, Spyro was already walking over towards his door, opening it and walking inside. Just as he got to the doorway, Malefor ran up and called out to him, "Spyro! Wait... I need to talk with..."

"BACK OFF!" His yell made Malefor stop halfway, standing just a little in front of Carith and Cynder, "I've already told you everything you need to know, I told you I don't wish to be your friend, and I told you this all was happening, and since you had already known, I could've been training with Cynder yesterday, rather then playing with a DAMN FAKE!" Now turning to face him, Spyro's face was no longer filled with sadness, but frustration for this day all together, and he couldn't handle it any longer, "I don't care if Cynder knew! She was busy crying her eyes out because her lover was to die! She cared for me, and since no one else said anything, it was another reason I believed that everyone turned their backs on me!"

"You were having such a good time, Spyro. You and Cynder have never been able to enjoy the peace that you've fought so hard for," Malefor tried and help defend what everyone had done, including himself.

"Peace... PEACE?!" Walking up now towards him, touching his chest with a claw, he pointed out his words to be false, "You call what happened out there peace?! You call anything that I've ever done, peace?! Let me give you a run down of this so called, peace. First, we have Claire who was sent to assassinate us, having darkness infect her mind! Problem! Then we have Volteer whom wanted to turn against us because of what's happened in the past! Problem! We even had to deal with Ersa's almost, death! Another Problem! So you tell me during which day that you've been back where there hasn't been a problem?!"

Using his paw and wiping Spyro's claw off of his chest, Malefor growled, not understanding why this was such an issue, "You know this better then anyone else that we will continue to fight for those we love, to protect them, and to never give up on them. Even after what happened, even if you turned out to be the Dark Master, I wouldn't turn my back on you. Even after what you said to me, I'm not giving up on becoming your friend. With this war done, my war to be your friend will never end."

"You really want to come at me with those words, words that I've used in the past? For the record, I've protected everyone. I was the one who helped Cynder, I was the who helped Claire, I was the one who helped save Ersa! I was the one who saved the whole planet! So you back that shit off where you think you're in the right. It's because of you, your choices, your actions, that the darkness in this world even exists, and you think you're the good guy here?!"

"I've tried my best to make up for it!"

"Oh really? You've tired your best, huh? You didn't deal with those dark spots when you knew where they were, so because of you, another catastrophe happened, and guess who's fault it was?" Once again, Spyro made Malefor look like the bad guy, even without him knowing he was, not even wishing to be such a thing as he has been his whole life, "You're weak. If it weren't for me, we'd all be dead. If it weren't for me, you might've killed everyone behind my back. You betrayed your friends, and you betrayed Carith, because you didn't give a shit about anyone else's well being expect your own. You've never done anything to prove you're a man."

Finally having enough of his words, Malefor swung his fist around rather quickly, and even for Spyro, he didn't expect it as he was too busy yelling in his face. The punch was enough to at least move Spyro's face to the side, forcing him to look to his right. Taking his fist away, he returned fire against Spyro's words, trying all he could to do what was right, "You act like you're any better! You failed to protect Cynder on your way back to Warfang, you failed to protect her when the Dark Master almost killed her, you failed to stop the Destroyer, forcing Cynder into a breakdown! Instead of you stopping time sooner, you forced everyone to watch your supposed death! You should've just died when you had the chance!"

Easily moving his head back to face Malefor, Spyro wiped a paw across his face, seeing as blood had fallen down his nose. Looking to his paw, then back to Malefor, he grabbed him by the neck, stood on his two back paws, slammed him to the wall and stabbed him in the gut with his tail blade. While the girls gasped, Malefor let out a cry, feeling as his tail blade moved from within his body, forcing him to cough up blood over the back of Spyro. Squeezing his neck a little tighter, this was something he wished to remember, something he wanted Malefor to understand when it came to who he treated, "I have no problem killing you here and now," His voice was low, somewhat of a whisper, sending chills down the threes spines as it seemed he was serious, "I can take my tail blade to your heart and surround it in darkness, making sure no one heals you. You'll die alone as you should've, so you better watch who you're talking to. Do I make myself clear," Not getting a response, but rather a tear dripping down from Malefor's eye as he had to use his wind power to breath, Spyro tensed his paw around Malefor's neck even further, "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"Spyro, stop!" Carith and Cynder cried in unison, stepping in as he was being more aggressive then they would've liked to see.

Growling for having been stopped, he did as he was told, but he still made thing worse. While he did take his paw off Malefor's neck, Spyro turned his tail blade inside his stomach before yanking it out, causing blood to spill out from his stomach, making him let out a painful cry. While he backed off of him, Carith ran up to Malefor's body as it slid down on the ground, bleeding all down his stomach, which made it worse as blood even dripped down the side of his mouth. With Malefor down, Carith in fear, and same for Cynder, Spyro scuffed as he looked down on his body, "Crawl your weak ass body to the gems and heal your own self if you think you're such a man. Or figure out how to use your dark power to heal yourself with your dark power. Hopefully you'll turn so I can kill you later."

Now having enough herself, Carith stood up and defend her lover, "How are you any different then the Dark Master right now?!" This got Spyro's attention to see she had yelled out against him, and he wished to see what she had to say, "You lie to him, you betray him, you use him, and now you turn your back on him! You said you don't wish to be the previous Chronicler, but you're acting like him. You said you didn't wish to be the Dark Master, yet your as cold and lifeless as he was to everyone else except himself!"

"Carith... don't..." Malefor murmured, holding a paw over the wound in his stomach.

"No! If you wish to attack me, then do it! I'm not going to let you push him around as you once did before!"

"Let's get one thing straight here, I'm neither of those two. The chronicler was his friend, I am not. The Dark Master hurt Cynder, I have not. So let's say you are the role of Cynder. I haven't hurt you, have I?" Spyro tried to defend himself and his actions, and rather then say anything, she looked to him with anger, "I'm trying all I can, I really am. You, nor any else understands what I'm going through. Malefor's right; I've done nothing but fail for others that I wish to help. I wasn't fast enough to protect Cynder, to help Ersa, to help Volteer, to help anyone. It always took me longer then it should've, and because of that, they suffered, because of me... I... Am more of a failure then the Dark Master was... which is another reason... I'm not the Dark Master."

"You're not a failure. You're still young, your mind has been through more then anyone should experience, and I will give that to you. Even for me, I've never seen as much as you have."

"Yet you'd think I would learn my lesson by now... Learn from what I've done... And by acting the way I have, not only have I hurt you two, but I did the same to Cynder by showing her this side of me," Looking to her, she gave a frown, not wanting to say anything, but he did, "I'm... sorry, my love. I don't know what to do as of right now. If I wish to leave, I'd hurt you, but what if staying hurts you too. So then... what do I do."

"If you really wish to change back to who you are, you heal him, apologize for what you did, clean yourself and him off, and you get in our room so we can talk," Cynder gave her instructions for him to make the much needed change that he needed to undergo, "Ever since this day has started, you've never been yourself. In the morning, having you smile and laugh is who I love. I understand your anger, but... not against those around here. During that entire fight, I never even got hurt, and it was not only thanks to you all, but Malefor as well."

"Hehe... she's right," Malefor chuckled, trying to help change up his tone of mood as well, "Pretty sure I took out the most amount of dark creatures with my golden gun."

"Yeah yeah, but I took out the boss which counts for way more experience points," Spyro chuckled, changing up his tone as well, making the other two feel rather at ease.

"What? That's so bull. I'm sure that defeating a boss wouldn't add up to half a million enemies defeated."

"Half a million, huh?"

"Carith can totally back me up on this one."

"Hehe, well, it was about, more then half a million," Carith helped him out some.

"Hehe, yes... score."

"Alright, clam down. This ain't a contest," Spyro rolled his eyes, but at least smiling as he did.

"You said it wasn't, but is it at least a game?"

"I... would be lying if I said... I didn't have a little fun myself."

"What moves did you use? My mains are of course golden gun and blade dance."

"Haven't thought much of it aside from that dark ball."

"Dude! That moves was-UGH!" Letting out a loud growl, he clenched his teeth before apologising, "Hehe... Let me not, do that with a hole in my stomach."

"Oh yeah... let me, help you with that," Kneeling down to help, Malefor moved his paw out of the way, and taking his place was Spyro's paw, "To make this easier, I just need to get rid of all this blood... I... don't like knowing that I... made another mistake in my life..." Using his dark powers, a sphere of darkness erupted from his body, making its way throughout the hallway before finally disappearing, "That should've helped," Taking his paw back, Malefor saw his gut had been healed, but was crazy to him was that the blood was all gone, and seeing he already had questions, Spyro answered, "Think if I had a class, I'd be a medic, but as a secondary, could be an assault. But, anyway, as for that, it was rather simple. My darkness already gets rid of wounds and blood stains, so, ejecting it outwards helps make things faster."

"When did you learn that?!" Malefor asked, just as astonished as the other two.

"While me and the other two were trying to figure out how to keep me from dying, I was thinking of other means to help in case something happened while I was... away."

"Who are those two by the way."

"They will explain more when ever I train some more. But as of right now, I feel like just, sleeping for the next twenty-four hours."

"Hehe, yeah, same here. Or, are you not going to sleep well cause, you'll think I'll hurt you?"

"Heh, no. I'm more worried of Carith hurting you if you try something."

"I could get Cynder on you for stabbing me though."

"You punched me. We're even."

"What?! That's bull shit! A punch isn't the same as nearly choked to death while being stabbed in the gut."

"You have no proof I did any of what you said."

"WH...! Carith, Cynder, back me up please." Carith looked to Cynder, both smiling at one another as they already had a plan which made Malefor fear, "Oh no..."

"Malefor, why are you lying? Spyro just went through a traumatic event," Cynder giggled, walking up to her lover's side.

"I can't believe I love a liar. Cynder, you and the other girls need to help me find someone else," Carith giggled, joining along her, making Spyro laugh even.

Letting out a huge sigh, Malefor grumbled, "Damn... it..."

Getting the three to let out small laughs, Spyro was the first to die down on his laughter, and once the other two stopped laughing as well, it went quiet for a second before he finally spoke, "Malefor... I'm not saying this to get out of punishment as I deserve it from Cynder, but..."

"Oh please, your punishment is gonna end up with you two making out, lets be honest," Malefor called him out for it, making him and Cynder laugh.

"Hehe, that does sound like something that would happen, but... Right now, I don't deserve that. I just, need to apologize for what I said. Me and you, along with everyone suffered a lot today, and rather then thinking about myself, I need to look after you all as my family. Hearing from you three and everyone else, it seems everyone just wants me to... hopefully move on... and I just... need you all to be there for me for that to happen... if that's okay..."

"Seriously?!" Malefor cried, "Bro, we can travel the world with you if needed. You need to talk with us, wake us up without hesitation and we'll be there. You are basically suffering from PTSD, and last thing we would do is leave you. I also feel, horrible that you thought we'd all forget about you. It seems we all need to have another beach day or something so you know we'll have your back."

"That... really does help me, Malefor... And I'm... very sorry that I... still can't call you my friend."

"Hehe, yeah, that does suck, but, at least from today, a lot of good also came from it: Everyone made it out, I got new dark powers, and you got your own new time stopping dark power. Once you figure out how to control that, we'd be unstoppable! None shall challenge our greatness. And just think, maybe me and you should take the throne of the Guardians. Not only of Warfang, but the entire world!"

"You just want an excuse to rule the world, don't you."

"Hehe, hell yeah man."

"Well, just for now, let's keep protecting our friends before we do something like that."

"You really want to do something like that?"

"Hell no."

"Oh."

"But then again, we already rule the world."

"We do?"

"Of course we do. Just as the world means everything to mean, Cynder is my world."

"Awwwww," Carith teased Cynder, and since she blushed, it made it that much easier.

"Yeah yeah, Spyro. I'll make out with you later," Cynder said, trying to hide what else she was going to do.

"What happened to his punishment?" Malefor asked.

"For what?"

"YOU... ugh... why do I bother."

"Hehe, well, for now, we can talk some more in the morning, but for now, see you two in the morning?" Spyro asked, and getting nods and smiles from both of the two, he gave his own smile back, "Thank you. And, Malefor, I, do wish to talk more in the morning. Nothing bad, I just... of course, need to know if I can still trust you," This made Malefor frown, but then again, Spyro didn't mean for it to sound like this and corrected, "No no no, sorry, not like that. What I meant is, I just need to know if you're still, Malefor, basically. I'll never not trust you, even as bad as it seemed today."

"Uh-huh. That's not what I saw today."

"This is why I need to talk with you some more. I've made some mistakes, and I need to fix them. But for now, I will see you two later."

"Good night, Spyro, Cynder," Carith wished them a goodnight, watching as the two had walked to their room and getting a smile from Cynder before she had turned and followed her lover, "Now, Malefor... I need to talk with you as well," He ducked his head, somewhat fearing for what it was she was to ask, but once the door had closed from the other two, she made sure to whisper some so the others wouldn't hear, "Life hasn't been good to you. When we go to our room, what do you say, I ease you with either my lips, or my words."

"I'll take the kiss first, but after then... Maybe a cuddle, and your words," Malefor was honest, making her giggle.

"We can definitely do that."

Getting up to his bed, turning to face the door before laying down, Spyro gave a huge sigh from the day, speaking as his lover made it to the bed, "Nothing's ever simple," Once she did the same as him, getting up on the bed, turning around and laying to his left, he then proceeded to continue on his words, "I know I should forgive him but... All of that all at once; The Destroyer, the dark forces, the apes, the dragons, all of that... and the darkness inside of the Destroyer... it was all coordinated... yet, I'm still so conflicted. Why would he start a fight and kill off more then half of his troops? Why would he make a next to nuclear move with me... unless he knew the Destroyer would take it? Uuuuuuuggggghhhhh," Rolling onto his back and looking up to the ceiling, Cynder stood up, moved her body and laid her stomach over his, making him chuckle as he looked to his left and saw her, "I know, I know, I should just let it go. If I could just figure out who it was, it would prove Malefor's innocent... Or would it only make me more frustrated?"

"Maybe this is a time where the unknown is a good thing," Cynder tried to comfort him on something, even though she already knew, but getting off subject, she wished to know what all happened, "Speaking of the unknown, what all happened when you had frozen time, Spyro? Was there something that you found out, something that you didn't understand maybe?"

"It was... scary... it was like I was just freezing time, delaying my inevitable death... The only thing I really did was cry over your body, unable to handle what I had done to you. What I was saying, I didn't wish to be true, I didn't wish to leave you or the others. I was conflicted then too, wondering why everyone else seemed so scared. The only one whom I really understood the sadness for was Ignitus... Maybe it was just that, so much was happening, my mind couldn't comprehend and process so much at once: The entirety of that war, my friendship with Malefor, the last time everyone tried to forget me... There was too much emotion for me to handle, that's for sure."

"You know one thing that would've gotten rid of all that?"

"A kiss from you?"

"Hehe, Yeah, well, that too. But, also, you having been Malefor's friend."

"How so?"

"Well, all of this war has to do with the darkness and Malefor. If you trusted Malefor, you never would've had to stress at all... But... here's where Ignitus would come in and say something about that not being a good idea..."

"What would he say?"

"With all the stress you had undergone, me faking an injury while using my dark powers as if I wasn't breathing, it made you break beyond your limits and put the Destroyer down for good... If you hadn't gotten this new form, if you didn't undergo the stress that you had been put under... would we have been able to win...?" Unfortunately for him, she was correct in her saying, but even for her, she wished none of this would've ever happened, "Though I hope that, next time something like this happens, which it shouldn't, you and Malefor will be strong enough to protect everyone."

"Protecting... everyone..."

"You... okay..."

"I wish I was his friend, Cynder... I wish I didn't make such a mistake, but every time I think about him, my chest burns, and all I wish to do is cry for my mistakes."

"You'll make it through... we'll all make it through this," Turning her body to laid down fully over his body, she eased a claw up his neck, knowing for the time being, there was something else that could calm him down, "But for now, let's just end this day off on a good note. When this day is over, we will just come back to the Chambers and live the life's that we've always wished to live. Hehe, then again, the amount of poison I'm going make you drink might put you down for a while."

"Bet you by the end of the night, you'll be on your back."

"Well then, let's see about that," Cynder smirked, taking her claw away and pushing her lips against his, sending shivers down their spines, both moaning in pleasure to finally kiss in ease.