Hello and welcome to another chapter of Love of My Life! The last time we left off, we saw Spyro and Hunter make a deal to work together and bring Prowlus to justice. Spyro was initially hesitant to bring Cynder along to their adventure in Concurrent Skies, fearing that she would get hurt again, but was ultimately convinced to bring her along.

The trio soon head off to the desolate realm of Concurrent Skies where they find a makeshift graveyard had been built nearby. While exploring the realm, the three are attacked by a crystal bear, only to be saved by a cloaked stranger. The stranger reveals herself as Glacia, Spyro's thought-to-be dead mother.

After defeating the bear, Glacia leads our heroes to her hideout where she recounts the events after what was told back in Chapter 1… before revealing a new enemy has set up camp in Concurrent Skies. An enemy by the name of Kronos.

Who is Kronos and what's he got to do with Spyro and Cynder's current mission? Let's see if this chapter reveals anything… Enjoy!

(Chapter 9: I Want It All)

A new threat is revealed…

(SPYRO'S POV)

I stared speechless at my mother's worried face as she spoke the name of somebody I'd never heard of before. There was a distinct fear in her eyes, a fear that could be only matched by Malefor's reputation back in the day. If, in fact, this Kronos guy was gearing up to be the next Dark Master, then I needed to be ready for him. No one should live through a reign of terror again, not now… not ever.

"Mum, who is Kronos?" I wondered calmly.

My mother stayed quiet for a brief moment, seeing the determined look in my eyes before answering. "A dragon that's older than me and you, presumably born even before Malefor's time."

"Woah, that is old," Hunter chimed in, making one of my eyes twitch in annoyance. Man, does this guy not know how to read the room?

However, it didn't seem to annoy my Mum as much, as she nodded her head in response. "Hmm, quite," she muttered. "I don't know much of who he is, I'm afraid. But I do know this: apparently the tower in the horizon was used as his prison…"

"Wasn't the tower used by the electric dragons to study and harness their abilities?" Cynder then asked, prompting a curious look from myself. "Volteer used to tell me about it back when I was recovering from… you know," she then explained to me.

"Yes, that is true," Mum replied. "But rumour has it that he was only imprisoned there so that the electric dragons could study him, as he had a power that was uncommon to us."

I raised an eyebrow. "A power that's uncommon to dragonkind? Even to the purple dragon?"

"I'm not sure," my mother shrugged, a stern frown plastered on her face. "Like I said, I don't know much of who he is or what he does. All that I know is that he needs to be stopped."

Mum's frown quickly changed to a surprised look when she glanced behind us. I looked to where she was looking and saw that the land outside the cave was suddenly out of sight, covered in a fog of blistering ice and snow. I knew that my Mum said that we were due for a blizzard soon… but I didn't expect it to be this soon.

"Well, not in this weather we can't," Mum said as she started to head towards the cave entrance. "Just hold on a second, I'll get something to cover the entrance."

As my mother started to grab a nearby long piece of fabric and used her ice element to stick it over the cave entrance, I got up and stretched slightly. "How about I start a fire for us?" I suggested.

Mum's eyes lit up. "Ooh good idea. There's a flint and steel just by my bed," she said, using her unhealthy wing to point to her makeshift bed.

"I don't think that's necessary, Mum," I pointed out as I went to grab some firewood that was conveniently placed in a pile nearby. "I can breathe fire, remember?"

Placing the firewood in the middle of the cave, I took a deep breath and unleashed a jet of flames from my maw. The flames made contact with the firewood and remained there as I closed my mouth. As the fire danced around, illuminating the cave with its light and warmth, my mother stared at it with absolute stillness, like she was just reminded of what fire actually was.

She then blinked and returned to reality. "Right, right… of course, silly me," she muttered with a slight chuckle. "I had forgotten the purple dragon can use multiple elements."

I grimaced slightly, remembering what happened earlier with Cynder and the villagers. There was more to me than you realise, Mum… I just wished I could control it somehow.

"Spyro?"

Blinking out of my dark thoughts, I darted to see that Hunter was standing next to me with his paw clapped on my shoulder. As soon as I saw his paw, I immediately flinched my shoulder away from it.

Hunter took notice of my action but decided not to question it. "Are you alright?" he wondered.

"I'm fine," I simply answered. "I'm… fine. I might just have a rest; that bear beat me up pretty good today."

Mum nodded in agreement. "Good idea; we should all get some sleep. Best thing we can do in this weather."

"I'll take the first watch," Hunter said.

"No need," Mum muttered. "No one comes around here, not even animals. Get some sleep, we're all going to need it."

So everyone began to space out around the cave to find a suitable sleeping spot. Hunter made himself comfortable near the fire while Cynder and I found a spot opposite to him. But before I could snuggle myself next to Cynder, somebody cleared their throat awkwardly behind me. I turned to see my mother standing behind me, gently scratching the ground with her claws.

"Mum? Is… something wrong?" I asked, noticing her timid demeanour.

My mother's eyes widened when my attention was directed at her. "Oh… um, I just wanted to say," she muttered, her wings and tail tightly closing in on herself, "I'm so glad we found each other…"

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, same here."

The mood on my mother's face lightened up when I said that and she returned a smile back to me. "Well, um, s-sleep well Spyro."

"You too," I murmured. "Goodnight, Mum."

My mother then started to head towards her sleeping spot where she sat on the bed and curled herself into a ball, her tail covering up her eyes and her wings being used as a makeshift blanket.

I retained my smile when I sat myself next to Cynder, who was waiting for me to lie down beside her.

"She seems nice," she whispered to me as I made myself comfortable on the ground.

I glanced back at the sleeping form of my mother. "Yeah, she's great." My face then fell. "I just wished that we didn't meet under the circumstances we're in now."

Cynder wrapped a wing around me. "I know. But if you think about it, if it wasn't for these circumstances, then your paths wouldn't have crossed at all."

"I guess so," I said, a small smile returning on my face. She did have a point though. Despite everything that had happened to us over the past few weeks, I couldn't be more happier than to see my own birth mother in the scales, and that was an amazing feeling. It was a shame that it took eighteen years and a secretive father to eventually get to this point.

I then noticed that my girlfriend shot a brief glance towards my mother, a troubled look on her face.

"You okay?" I asked Cynder.

Cynder snapped back and looked back towards me. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking…"

"About?"

"It's just… Do you think that your mum will, uh, like me?" Cynder pondered.

I raised an eyebrow. Why was she asking that? "I don't understand. She doesn't seem to not like you so far," I replied. "Why?"

Cynder looked down at the ground, an anxious frown forming on her face. "Well, isn't it tradition for you to introduce me to your parents? I don't want my connections with you-know-who to get in the way of making a first impression."

"Honey, you don't need to be worried about that," I assured my girlfriend. "My mother will love you; Ignitus already approves of you so it's only a matter of time before she does too."

"You think?"

"Of course," I nodded, giving her a slight nuzzle. "Just be yourself, okay? Everything will be fine."

"I hope so," Cynder said quietly, uttering out a yawn afterwards.

"We should get some sleep," I murmured, taking notice of Cynder's yawn. "We need our strength for what's to come."

Cynder rolled her eyes discreetly. "Looking forward to it…" she mumbled, resting her head on the ground and closing her eyes. "Night, Spyro."

"Goodnight, Cyn," I said before lying my head protectively on top of Cynder's and eventually sleep started to take me.

It would only be a matter of time before Prowlus and this Kronos guy get what's coming to them. Tomorrow, I'm going to be ready for anything…

(-)

Black. That's all that I could see.

It was like an endless void; I felt nothing as I wandered pointlessly through the dead space. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing here but the urge to keep moving forward was dominant in my thoughts.

Where was I? What was this place? This wasn't like any place I'd dreamt of before… was it possible for someone to dream of absolutely nothing?

I was tempted to shout out, call for help, but what would be the point? There was nothing here, no life, no anything!

Then suddenly, something started to tear through the darkness. White light seeped into the void like blood flowing out of a wound, so bright that I had to glance away instantly. What was that light? Was it the light at the end of the tunnel? Was it supposed to mean something? Like my brain telling me that the light was meant to symbolise hope or something? So many questions in my head, I couldn't stand it!

What I didn't expect next was the light to actually speak to me…

"Spyro…" a voice murmured, oddly quiet but I could still hear it from a distance. The voice had a lighter tone to it, but sounded gravelly and very sinister. I didn't know who it was, but I knew immediately that it wasn't Malefor. At least, I could understand what this voice was trying to say.

Something deep down told me that the voice wasn't a friendly one; I immediately dashed in the opposite direction. But as soon as I started to run, my joints were suddenly frozen in place. I couldn't move, I couldn't look around… Hell, I couldn't even breathe! It was like everything stopped. But if it was possible, then how was I still alive?

Then, before I could react, I was slammed onto the ground, so hard that I was almost seeing stars circling around my head. I started to move, but not in the direction I was heading. In fact, I was heading back towards the bright light. Being dragged on the floor by the mysterious force, I tried so hard to resist whatever control the void had on me… but since I couldn't move, the idea of resisting control quickly fell apart.

As I got closer to the white cavity, I could hear the sound of laughter vibrating through my eardrums. The laughter sounded so raspy but creepy at the same time, so unlike any other laughter I've ever heard before.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry out for help… but I couldn't. All I could do was witness myself being engulfed in sheer whiteness.

"Spyro?" I heard someone say while poking my foreleg.

My eyes shot open and I instantly shot myself up with a startled gasp. I looked around, panting loudly, to see that I was back in Mum's hermit cave, no black void or creepy, sinister laugh in sight.

It was just a dream… but what did it mean? Who was laughing? And what was that power I felt?

I felt someone poke me again. "Spyro?"

Quickly darting around, I turned to see that my mother was standing over me. "Is everything okay?" she asked me, a hint of concern in her tone.

"Huh? Mum?" I mumbled, rubbing my tired eyes. "Oh, it was nothing… just a weird dream."

My mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh no, what happened?"

I stared at the ground for a moment, trying to recall the dream I just had. Everything that happened ran through my head like rewinding old footage but every time I was recounting, the dream became even more confusing. But dreams are usually meant to be confusing sometimes, right?

"I, er, don't know," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. "Like I said, it was… weird."

While Mum did notice the confusion spreading on my face, she ultimately didn't question me any further. I wasn't sure if she figured that I didn't want to talk about it anymore or she was just being naive. Maybe a bit of both.

"Well… maybe it's best not to think about it," Mum said. "Dreams can be like that sometimes."

I nodded, leaving an uncomfortable silence between the two of us. I didn't expect talking to your presumed-dead mother to be this awkward; there was an obvious difference between the Mum in my visions and the Mum I'm seeing in front of me. I couldn't blame her, of course, I would be the same if I was meeting my kid for the first time ever.

"So—" both my mother and I started to say in unison, causing us to both stop in our tracks before chuckling softly together.

"Sorry, you go first," Mum offered.

"No, it's alright," I said. "What did you want to say, Mum?"

Mum took a few seconds to get her thoughts together before answering me. "I was just wondering if you wanted to accompany me outside for a second?" she then asked. "There's something I want to do with you…"

"You want to spend time with me?" I queried, my heart fluttering happily. "Isn't there a blizzard outside?" I then asked, noting last night's horrendous weather.

However, my mother just simply shook her head. "Oh, no, no. Not anymore," she replied with a smile. "It's completely fine now, I just checked."

I returned a smile. An opportunity to actually bond with my mother? How could I not say no to that? "Well, I would love to spend time with you," I murmured, getting up to stretch out my hind legs. "Where are we going?"

My mother's smile turned into a cheeky smirk. "It's a surprise," she answered discreetly. "Just follow me and I'll show you."

As I turned to follow my mother outside, I could hear that Cynder was starting to wake up. When I spun around to see her, all I saw was the still-sleepy look on my girlfriend's face but at the same time there was a hint of curiosity through her heavy eyelids.

"Hey, what's going on?" she croaked.

"Oh, Mum and I are just spending some time together," I informed her, leaning in close. "We won't be long, I promise."

A faint smile spread across Cynder's face. "That's good to hear," she muttered.

"You can come with us if you want, I'm sure Mum won't—"

Cynder shook her head. "No, it's fine. You need this time alone with each other and so does she," she interjected, soon looking over in Hunter's direction. "I'll stay and make sure that Rum Tum Tugger over there doesn't do anything stupid."

"I heard that," Hunter grunted, not moving from his sleeping position.

"You were meant to," Cynder deadpanned, frowning at the cheetah briefly before turning back to me, giving me a cautious look. "Just… be careful, okay?"

I smirked. "I always am."

"Debatable," Cynder said, rolling her eyes.

I gave my girlfriend a soft kiss on the forehead, noting that my mother was still waiting outside the cave. "Love you," I murmured.

"Love you too."

After saying goodbye to Cynder, I left the cave and joined my mother as she waited outside. When I emerged into the cold wilderness, I saw that Mum was pacing back-and-forth and muttering to herself quietly. I couldn't tell what she was saying but I could tell she was nervous about our little get-together.

Hell… I was nervous as well. What do I even say? Where do I start? How was I supposed to explain the past eighteen years of my life without freaking her out?

"Mum? Everything alright?" I asked her.

My mother suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face me, her eyes darting from left to right. "Y-Yup, all good here," she answered, clearing her throat to ease her nerves. "We should, er, get going, I guess."

"Lead the way."

The walk was silent as Mum and I strolled through the crystal canopy that laid ahead of us. Despite the somewhat volatile nature of this place, this realm was surprisingly very enchanting in a way. The crystal spires that surrounded the place glimmered in the morning sunlight as it brightly shone up in the sky.

As I looked around, I couldn't imagine that anyone could live here for so long and not lose track of their sanity. If I was here, I would've been friends with a volleyball named Wilson by now. But my mother? She seemed to be hanging on alright, despite the fact that she introduced me and the others to a cave drawing.

"She seems nice," Mum spoke up suddenly.

I blinked, bringing my full attention to my mother. "Huh? Who seems nice?"

"That girl you were with, Cynder, I thought she seemed nice," Mum then repeated.

I mentally face-palmed. Of course, she was referring to Cynder. Who else would she be referring to?!

"Yeah," I chuckled, flashing my mother a slight smile. "She's the best."

"How long have you two been together?"

I raised an eyebrow, having not mentioned that Cynder and I have been together. My mum simply responded with a playful look of her own. "Don't give me that look; I saw the way you guys have been staring at each other," she said. "I may have been isolated from the rest of the realms for many years but I'm not completely stupid."

"Well, it's been about five years now," I explained, seeing no way to hide it from her further. "I didn't want to say anything at first because I didn't want to freak you out."

"Why would that freak me out?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Maybe because you haven't seen me since I was an egg and now I'm standing here, telling you that I've been in a long-term relationship. It must be quite the shock…"

"It is shocking, yes," Mum nodded before smiling at me. "But I'm happy for you. I would love to get to know Cynder more."

"She'll appreciate that."

"How did you two meet?" My mother then asked.

Ah, that fateful day that forever changed my life for the better. How could I ever forget that day? "In Summer Forest, you could say she literally dropped into my life," I recalled.

I wasn't going to mention the circumstances of our first meeting, I thought it would be better if Cynder told it herself. I want her to earn my mum's approval on her own, rather than me blabbing about her being Malefor's adopted daughter behind her back.

"Reminds me of how I met your father," Mum murmured. "One minute I was all alone, the next he was suddenly there. It was a dream come true."

My mother then came to a complete halt where she slowly turned to face me, a tearful look in her eyes.

"How is he? Is Ignitus… happy?"

I didn't know what to say next. Ignitus didn't talk about my mother much to me, even back before I knew who my real parents were. I always thought it hurt him too much to mention her, having presumably lost her so tragically. I think Ignitus showing me his locket a few years back was the only time that he had mentioned my mother to me.

But on the other hand, Ignitus did mention that Mum wouldn't have wanted him to mope around the Valley for years and not find happiness again. He said that she would've liked him to carry on, and that's exactly what he did.

"He misses you, that's for sure. But yeah, I say he's happy," I eventually answered.

"He's not, you know… with anyone else, is he?"

"No," I immediately assured my mother. "I don't think he could see himself being with anyone beside you."

I could see Mum's face soften up a bit but she chose not to say anything else on the topic, which I didn't seem to mind. I was still not quite ready to discuss Ignitus as a father just yet; my brain was still processing the whole thing along with all the events that had been going on lately.

Maybe after all this was over, I could bring Mum back to the Artisan Valley, and then we could all sit down with each other and just talk. About everything, all the secrets hidden away from me, and what's going to happen in the future. Maybe then my life can be fully complete…

"Oh look, here we are," my mother spoke up as we reached a nearby clearing.

The clearing was small, about the size of a kid's playground. As with the rest of the land, crystal spires towered over us like skyscrapers. However, there were a couple of rock formations littered in snow that didn't seem to go anywhere; its only purpose was to give someone a wonderful view.

Leaning against the spires were three makeshift targets, made with canvas and stuffed with straw. I could tell that these targets had been used on an almost regular basis, judging from the many holes that the canvas had.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"This is where I trained myself during the past eighteen years," Mum answered. "In a place like this, you have to learn to defend yourself pretty quickly."

Hearing that made me feel awful for my mum. I was growing up in a place where I could live a carefree life while one of my parents was in a constant fight for her life every single minute of the day. It was a real slap in the face knowing how different our lives could've been if my mother didn't go to Concurrent Skies on that fateful day.

"Why have you brought me here?" I then wondered.

"Well, I was hoping that you could show me a bit of what the other Guardians taught you," Mum replied. "Maybe I can show a thing or two with the power of ice."

My face lit up. My mother wants to teach me something? "I thought Cyril had taught me everything about the ice element."

My mother gave a slight smirk. "There's some stuff that the Guardians don't teach you," she said. "But first, I want to see what you can do."

I nodded. I did like a challenge every now and then. "Alright," I said.

Taking an offensive position, I unleashed a wave of elemental blasts on each of the three targets. First, I used fire, then earth, then electricity, and then I finished off with an array of icicles from my ice element. By the time I was finished, the targets were burnt, frozen and covered in dirt.

As I breathed heavily from the amount of mana I just used, my mother stared at the ruined targets with her mouth slightly open. "Wow, impressive…" she muttered.

"Oh, that? It was nothing, really," I simply shrugged. "Just the basic stuff, you know."

"The Guardians have taught you well."

"They have," I murmured, sitting on my haunches to catch my breath. "But obviously not everything if you have something to teach me."

"That I do, Spyro," my mother said. "But it's got nothing to do with combat."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is it something in the air?"

"No, nothing like that…" Mum chuckled, shaking her head. "Here, let me show you."

My mother laid down on the ground beside me, waiting for me to do the same. Once I had sat down, she began to wipe away some of the snow off the rocky ground.

"Back before the war, dragons didn't use their elements just mainly for fighting. There were times, and I'm sure it's still ongoing today, where dragons used their elements for more ordinary stuff…" Mum started to explain.

"Oh, like cooking and blacksmithing?"

Mum nodded. "Yes, like those. But what I want to show is more… artistic."

"Artistic? How so?" I wondered, cocking my head to the side in curiosity.

"Observe, young one."

My mother then took a deep breath and exhaled a soft icy mist from her maw, the mist creeping down towards the ground. Once the mist had hit the rough surface, it solidified and ice began to sprout from it, slowly forming into a peculiar shape. Once the mist had evaporated, I looked to see that the ice had been carved perfectly in the shape of a large oak tree. It wasn't a full-size tree; it was more of the size of a model that creatures can buy at the market.

I stared at the ice tree, simply amazed. I'd never seen the ice element be used for more than just freezing enemies in their place. It made me wonder what my other elements could do in a non-fighting environment.

"Woah," I huffed, almost lost for words. "How did you do that?"

"Learned it in school; Ice 101 and Alchemy were always my favourite subjects back then," Mum responded. "The job advisor at university said that those subjects weren't going to take me anywhere. Man, she was wrong about that!"

I gave a small chuckle. I never got the chance to be enrolled into any type of school; I was only privately tutored by the Guardians. While it did seem interesting in some cases, especially in some of the creative arts that Cynder was interested in, it wasn't something really that intrigued me.

But there was one thing that I did want to know about…

"Alchemy? What did you learn in that?" I asked.

"Potions and enchantments," Mum explained. "It came in handy during the war. That's how I was able to contact you through your dreams."

My eyes widened. So that's how my mother was able to talk to me. It's good to know that it was actually her trying to talk to me rather than the spirit of a dead dragoness I hardly knew. That would've been creepy. "Wait, you can do that?"

"Yeah. Took me a while to get the correct recipe but I eventually got it right after the third attempt," my mother said with a nod. "I heard rumours of Kronos' forces convergening on the purple dragon's location; I knew I had to find a way to warn you from where I was."

"I'm glad you did," I smiled, looking down at the ground as the memories of recent events flowed through my mind. "Otherwise I wouldn't have found you after all these years. It was nice to know considering what I've been through this past week."

"Yeah… me too," Mum murmured. She could see that I was haunted, there was no hiding it. You could be blind and still be able to know how I was feeling. However, my mother didn't question me any further. She decided to move on, for now. "Anyway, I want you to have a go at making something."

"Okay…" I muttered, getting ready to do what Mum did before. I then stopped myself and looked to my mother with curiosity after realising that I had no idea what to do. "Wait, how do I make something?"

Mum moved the icy tree and cleared some more snow away. "First, clear your mind and focus on an object you want to construct. Best to do something simple for your first attempt. Then just… let the ice within you control your creation," she then instructed.

"So I can create anything I like with ice?"

Mum nodded. "As long as you have a clear idea on what you want in your head, then yes."

"Okay then, here I go."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. One singular object, whatever I want, and it needed to be simple. A million various things came into mind but there were only a couple that jumped out at me. The one I wanted to do was a ring: a ring fit for Cynder's paws. But since I hadn't quite told my mother about my interest in proposing to Cynder, I decided to go with something else. Something different but still reminded me of my girlfriend.

With an idea locked in, I then reached out for the ice element within me. Once I could feel the raw frosty power in my throat, I did exactly what my mother said and let the element out of my maw.

I then opened my eyes to see my creation and my eyes widened. In front of me was a mess. I could see what the sculpture was supposed to be, however it was disfigured and looked like it fell into a vat of chemical toxic waste. That was certainly unexpected; I thought I had that figured out…

I frowned at my horrible ice carving. "Oh, that's not what I had in mind."

My mother, however, simply laughed. "It's okay! Everyone doesn't get it right on their first go, it's a difficult skill to master," she assured me. "What were you trying to make?"

"A rose. It's Cynder's favourite flower," I said as I started to smash my blemished ice flower with my tail. "I originally thought of a ring but it wouldn't be practical..."

I then stopped talking and stared at my mum, who was gazing at me with a shocked expression. Oops, I might have said a bit too much there.

"A-A ring, huh?" Mum stammered, clearing her throat to regain her composure. She didn't need me to explain why I wanted to choose to make a ring, somehow she already knew after I said it. "I wasn't expecting that."

"It's something I've had on my mind for a while, but with everything going on, I never had a chance to organise anything," I started to explain. I then saw my mother's face slowly sadden with every word and I immediately got worried.

"Are you alright, Mum?"

My mother looked down at the ground and sighed before staring back at me, her eyes glistening with a faint wetness. "I'm fine, Spyro. It's just… you've grown up so much, and I never got the chance to see it."

I stood there, unsure of what to say or do. As much as I wanted to have my mother alongside myself and Ignitus in my childhood, those years couldn't be given back. The years before now were a little hard but they made me who I was. The times with the Guardians, the times with Sparx and the times with Cynder; without those moments I wouldn't be the same Spyro I am today.

But, even though I was eighteen years old and a young adult, I still had some growing up to do. There were times where I would still need guidance and reassurance that no one else will be able to fulfil. No one else except for my mother…

Without a single hesitation, I immediately raced towards my mum and wrapped my paws around her as tightly as I could. My mother was initially surprised by this and stood there stiffly, not expecting her son to embrace her like a little hatchling that skidded his knee on the pavement.

"When I get you home, we'll do something together. Just you and me… I've still got some growing up to do."

My mother didn't answer straight away, still reeling from the sudden hug. However I felt one of her paws wrapped around my back as she leant in and gave me a tight squeeze, me failing to notice in the tears running down her cheeks.

"I'd like that very much."

We continued our embrace for a few more seconds before separating slowly. Strangely, when I looked back into Mum's eyes, I saw that they were squinted and her expression read confused. What was she looking at all of a sudden?

"Where's that smoke coming from?"

I turned around to where Mum was looking. Not so far from us was a big plume of smoke, rising vertically until it got blown away from the cold breeze. Odd… that wasn't there before. Where did that come from? We didn't hear anyone in distress or sounds of an ongoing battle, so what caused that?

Then it hit me. I exchanged a wide-eyed glance with my mother, who was thinking the exact same thing as me.

The camp. Cynder!

Instantly, my mother and I quickly rushed away from the clearing and made a dash back to the campsite. Through my paws impacting the snow and my heart beating hard on my chest, the only thing on my mind was the hope that Cynder was okay.

How could I have been so blind? My arrival to this realm surely turned some heads around to whoever lived in that dark tower. With me and my mother out of the way, I bet this Kronos guy had made his move against the campsite.

I had to get back. I couldn't let Cynder get hurt… not again.

When we got back to the campsite, we were met with a horrible sight. The place that Mum had called home for the past eighteen years had completely been ravaged, as if a wild animal had come in and tore up the place. Pieces of fabric were torn into shreds and were scattered both inside and outside of the cave. There were signs of a struggle, blood against the wall and arrows were plastered all over the walls.

What the hell happened here? And where was Cynder? Please don't tell me that was her blood on the walls…

As we headed inside, I quickly glanced around to see where my girlfriend was. Unfortunately, there was no sign of her anywhere in the cave. It was like she completely vanished from the face of the earth.

However, I did see that Hunter was sitting on the far side of the wall. He looked breathless and had a lot of cuts across his face and arms. An arrow was sticking out of his shoulder, which Hunter had painfully pulled out with a loud scream as my mother and I entered the cave.

Seeing that Hunter was still alive, I immediately raced to him. "Hunter? What happened? Where's Cynder? Where is she?!" I wondered, starting to panic at Cynder's sudden absence.

"He's taken her…" Hunter murmured as he grabbed a piece of nearby fabric and wrapped it around his wounded shoulder.

"Who?! Who's taken her?"

"Warriors of my clan, they took her… took us both by surprise."

"What?" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. "Well we've got to go and get her!"

I began to make my way out of the cave until Hunter clutched tightly onto my foreleg with exceptional speed.

"No. It's too dangerous," he hissed, not intending to let go of my foreleg.

I frowned angrily at the cheetah. This dude was seriously preventing me from saving my girlfriend? What made him think I couldn't handle the danger out there? I kicked Malefor's ass, for ancestor's sake!

"Let go!" I snarled, my teeth bared.

"Not till you see sense," Hunter said. "You go into Kronos' fortress unprepared and it'll be suicide!"

"I don't care, Cynder's in there!" I barked, aggressively freeing myself from Hunter's grasp. "I've got to save her!"

Taking a deep breath so that my inner rage doesn't emerge again, I sat on my haunches and turned towards my mother. There had to be a way to rescue her, there had to be!

"Mum, you know that tower better than any of us," I muttered. "Is there a way we can sneak in without alerting anyone?"

My mother stroked her chin in deep thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe, there's a secret passageway in case the inhabitants needed to evacuate. Volteer told me about it back when he was younger; he did a lot of extra curricular activities…"

"Perfect," I said. "We'll just find this passageway, sneak in without being spotted, find Cynder and get the hell out of there. Simple, right?"

Hunter, of course, didn't seem convinced and merely shook his head. "This plan is not going to work," he sighed, using his katana to help himself onto his feet. "But it's our only chance. If my uncle's warriors are stationed there, they wouldn't be aware of such a passageway."

"Are you sure you're up to this?" I then asked.

"I'll be fine; it's going to take a lot more to put me down for good."

I nodded. "Good. We should get going then."

So Hunter, my mother and I made the perilous trek towards the dark tower that stood in front of us, containing a dragon that was seemingly more of an threat than Malefor, and his group of murderous cheetah warriors. I didn't know what to expect once we got inside, but I didn't care for that at the moment; my only priority was rescuing my girlfriend. That was the only thing that mattered now.

Hang on, Cynder… I'm coming.

(CYNDER's POV)

It all happened so fast. I could barely remember what happened.

Not long after Spyro and his mum left to spend some time together, Hunter and I were attacked. The cheetah's uncle was mostly trying to track down Spyro's location, and instead found his nephew and his target's significant other. But they didn't leave us alone, they didn't just move along; they instead just said 'seize them' and drew out their weapons.

Then after that? It was all a blur…

I remember fighting, using my wind element to slam the cheetahs into the wall and my shadow element to dodge their rapid attacks. Hunter, meanwhile, was taken off-guard and was outnumbered instantly.

And then I made the wrong move and one of them knocked me unconscious. All those years of being a casual civilian didn't do well for my fighting capability.

I could hear the faint hints of Hunter screaming my name and the constant bickering between the cheetah warriors. I tried to wake myself up and beat those guys to a bloody pulp but I couldn't; my body was just too weak and I kept passing out every time I tried to open my eyes.

Even though I was half-conscious and my legs were being dragged across the frosty snow, I had a pretty good idea where they were taking me: Kronos' lair.

This was it. I was going to go face-to-face with Kronos, a figureless name that sent chills down my spine. He was the one that sent Prowlus and his clan to the Artisan Valley and he was the one indirectly responsible for the deaths of Sparx, Jet Vac, Pop Fizz and countless others.

Once I lay my eyes on that monster, I'm going to kill him… somehow. First I had to free myself from these cheetah warriors; I don't know how long that was going to take, but I'll get there.

I started to regain consciousness once again as I heard more talking from the cheetahs that were dragging me. From what I could see through my blurry vision, I was being dragged up some stone steps, which really hurt my feet considering they were being scraped across the granite at an uncomfortable pace.

Then I saw where the stone steps were heading towards…

The stairs were connected to an enormous black tower, much bigger than I'd ever seen before. In fact, there were actually two separate towers, the other being slightly smaller and was covered by a crystal spire that was visible from the viewpoint of Glacia's hideout. The architecture was very gothic and looked like it was haunted which, to me, didn't seem like a design that the electric dragons would approve of.

Directly in front of the entrance was the bastard himself, Prowlus, now looking like a half-eaten corpse thanks to Spyro's Aether breath. He had his arms behind his back as his goons carried me towards me, his cloak flapping in the wind while he gazed at me menacingly.

I had fully woken up by the time I reached the top of the stairs, the suddenness of the cheetahs dropping me at Prowlus' feet sending a massive jolt into my brain that told me not to pass out again.

Prowlus took a brief look at me and immediately frowned at his fellow warriors. "Why is she here?" he muttered. "I told you to bring the purple dragon. Does this look like the purple dragon to you?!"

"Well, Barry thought so," one of the cheetahs answered, glaring at his partner next to him. "Until we discovered that the purple dragon was nowhere to be seen."

"Look, from a distance, her black scales looked like really dark purple, okay?!" the cheetah named Barry protested. "But don't forget, Steve, that it was your idea to bring her here to compensate for our failure!"

I could see Prowlus' eye twitch at the sight of Steve and Barry arguing. Eventually he snapped and growled at the two of them. "Idiots!" he snarled. "Our client does not want a second-rate dragon, he wants the purple dragon! So go out and find him, NOW!"

The two cheetahs gulped nervously and frantically nodded their heads before scampering away, leaving just me and Prowlus alone. Prowlus then turned towards a statue of a knight and snapped his claws.

"You, take our guest to the cells," he ordered. "If Spyro values her life then he'll come to us at least."

For a brief second, I thought he was going crazy, but then the statue began to glow a bright purple and began to move towards me, picking me up by the end of my tail. But before the knight statue could head to the cells, a lone cheetah warrior rushed to Prowlus' side and whispered something discreetly in his ear.

After the lone cheetah left, Prowlus' angry glare soon shifted into a dark grin as he faced me once again.

"Hmm, maybe there's some use for you after all," he said to me, before turning to the knight statue. "Bring her to the client's chambers. Kronos wants to have a word with her."

My eyes widened, too weak to retaliate. That didn't sound good.

Prowlus moved aside to let the knight statue through. As I was being dangled by my tail, I tried my best to get a good look at what was inside the tower. Unfortunately, I couldn't see much since I was disoriented from being hung upside down up several flights of stairs. Blood was rushing to my head and I was feeling queasy by the time we eventually got to Kronos' chambers.

The knight statue then dropped me on the cold hard floor like a sack of potatoes and left instantly, slamming the door behind them. As I weakly got back to my feet, I stayed quiet as I took in my surroundings.

The chamber was quite simple for an evil mastermind: a bed in the far corner and a bookshelf placed on the opposite wall. In front of me was a desk, its top covered with notes, maps and other navigational equipment. I guessed that this was where Kronos was trying to track Spyro down, this proved successful since Prowlus and his warriors lay siege to the Artisan Valley.

"So you must be the black dragoness that gave my warriors a hard time," a gravelly voice suddenly spoke out. "I've heard so much about you… Cynder."

My eyes widened again, feeling the world stop around me as the voice revealed itself from behind the desk.

A dark green dragon with a brown underbelly stood in its place, eons of scratches and scars engraved into his scales. His horns were similar to a ram's: thick and curved to each side of his face. A long wisp of white fur was hanging under his chin, indicating that he was older than he looked. His wings were also tucked away but I could see that his membranes had various amounts of tears and holes in them, especially in the edges.

My eyes narrowed. This was Kronos, there was no doubt about it.

Kronos stood calmly as he gazed at me enigmatically. My eyes narrowed in response; his eyes may look innocent at first, but if you look deep enough then you would realise what a monster this dragon was.

"You… know me?" I muttered,

Kronos nodded. "Of course I do; your father often talked about you before he died."

I started to chuckle. That did not sound like my dad at all. "I think you're mistaken. My father thought I was a lost cause; he didn't give two shits about me. He was nothing."

The green dragon stayed silent, his lip sneering as he emerged from his desk.

"Why do you resist, Cynder my dear?" Kronos then queried. "Malefor was destined for great things, and maybe you can someday. It's in your blood after all."

I shook my head frantically. No, I didn't believe a word he was saying. "Bullshit. He adopted me when I was an egg; I have no connection to him."

"I see."

"What do you want with me?" I questioned. "I'm not the one you're looking for."

"Yes, that's true," Kronos said as he sat on his haunches, towering over me. "You're not the one I'm looking for;, I'm only interested in the purple dragon. I hear there's a younger one running around, frequenting the realms and claiming to be some kind of hero."

"Why? He's done nothing to you."

Kronos merely chuckled. "Goodness me, why so many questions?"

"Because I know that you're going to tell me."

"And if I don't?"

"Then just kill me now," I said confidently. "My lips are sealed. I'll never talk to you. Not now, not ever."

Kronos sat there and didn't respond. Instead he narrowed his eyes as he looked at me menacingly. What was this guy's deal? Why was he looking at me like that?

"Hmm, you have your father's spirit from when he was younger. Hold on to that; it might just keep you alive," he then muttered as he made his way to his bookshelf. "The reason I want the purple dragon is to enlighten him. Give him the proper training he truly deserves."

"Enlighten him?"

"You see, the purple dragon's true purpose is not to bring the realms into balance between the light and the darkness," Kronos started to explain. "No, a purple dragon has to decide the fate for them and the others around them. They are responsible for how their world moves forward in life. They are destined to rule everything!"

"That's not true!" I barked. "A purple dragon's destiny is to direct, not to control!"

"Oh, tell me this, did you ever hear the tragedy of the first purple dragon?"

Kronos swiped a book from his bookshelf and threw it at my feet. The book was covered in dust and looked old enough that it should be in a museum rather than somebody's shelf. There was text on the cover but I couldn't read it; it must've been an ancient language used way before my time.

"I thought not," Kronos said, noting my lack of response. "It's not a story the Guardians would tell you. Eons and eons ago, a young purple dragon was born. No one knew what this dragon was capable of, so they treated him as a freak, as a sickness. That affected the young dragon, so when he was old enough, he took matters into his own hands and murdered the moncarchy at the time: not just the king but the queen, but the two princes as well. He effectively became king himself because no one would dare challenge him. He died many years later after dragging his kingdom to the ground, and his successor then vowed to keep the legend of the first purple dragon under wraps, forever. Ironic, isn't it? All the purple dragon wanted was to be noticed, to be loved… now nobody even knows who he was."

Everything about that tale felt wrong. In the years before Spyro met me, he always felt he was discouraged from the many villagers in the Valley because of my father's actions. Since he was purple like the Dark Master, they thought Spyro would turn to the dark side as well. It was a horrible thing to think about, considering that Spyro wasn't anything like my father. Was this the reason that Malefor turned in the first place? Did the first purple dragon really lay the foundations of the purpose of the purple dragon?

It couldn't be true… it just couldn't be, right?

"You see, Cynder. The true purpose of the purple dragon is to rule. That's what I taught your father, and he almost succeeded too, if it wasn't for your young purple friend. But I can always start again; Spyro would make an impressive Dark Master…" Kronos said, a sly smile forming across his head.

"Spyro will never join you. His heart is too pure for that!" I exclaimed.

Kronos snorted, trying to contain his laughter. "Funny," he murmured. "That's exactly what my fellow Guardians said about your father. Well, right before they died anyway…"

Laughter then erupted from Kronos' mouth, which instantly sent chills down my spine. This guy was ten times worse than my father ever was; he was absolutely bat shit crazy. There was this obsession in this dragon's eyes; he wanted to see order in the realms and he used the legend of the purple dragon to manipulate my father to give him what he truly desired.

"You're insane," I mumbled.

Almost automatically, Kronos stopped laughing and his eyes widened. A green hue illuminated his eyes and his nostrils glowed as they flared with slight anger. As soon as he started to stare at me, I felt the ground below me rumble furiously. I looked down and saw that the ground had wrapped itself around me, eventually lifting me up in the air and directly bringing me straight up to his face.

"Insane? Insane?!" Kronos snarled. "No, no, no. If I was insane then everything I've done, everything I'm going to do, would've all been for nothing! What I am, my dear Cynder, is not insane; I'm a prophet. The prophecies you are told are false and I'm going to ensure that the true prophecy will be fulfilled, and your precious Spyro is going to help me."

"He won't. He's not like Malefor; he won't be turned so easily."

"Hmm, true," Kronos said. "But a young dragon can only hold on to his righteous morals for so long. However, if you break his spirit, kill his loved ones, turn him into a monster, then we'll see how strong the purple dragon truly is."

After he said that, he dropped me onto the hard ground. As much as I wanted to fight back, I couldn't. There was no way I could even stand a chance against a Guardian, especially a Guardian that was much older and more experienced than my father.

The door soon swung open and the knight statue came stomping in and stopped just as he was approaching me.

"Take her to the cells," Kronos ordered as he turned his back and faced the large stained glass window behind him. "I'm done with her."

The knight nodded slowly and clutched tightly onto my leg, pain surging through my system as the knight lifted me up and began to move out of Kronos' chambers. The green dragon no longer acknowledged my existence as soon as the door slammed behind me and the knight statue.

I had to get out of here and find Spyro… fast.

(-)

Before I could gather my strength up, I was chucked into a cell. However, the fact that this room was called a cell was rather questionable. It had the iron grate door, sure, but judging from the old bookshelves and a battered desk that was shoved into a nearby corner, I think this used to be a study room of some kind, which made sense, considering that Concurrent Skies used to be a place for electric dragons to study their abilities.

Besides from the faint wisp of wind that created an eerie, haunting tone as it blew through the small crevices in the fortress' walls, all was quiet. There was nobody around, not even a guard.

I was alone. For the first time since I handed myself to my father, I had no one by my side. No one to call. No one to look out for. No one to just sit by me and provide some form of company.

Having no idea what to do next, I sat myself against the wall and wrapped my wings around my body. Even if I was able to get out somehow, how would I escape in one piece? There was no way I could take on a psychotic former Guardian and a tribe of cheetah warriors on my own.

Guess I was just going to have to play the waiting game for now. Surely the others would have realised I was missing by now, right?

My mind then turned to Spyro, which made me want to cradle deeper into the comfort of my wings. I just wanted to know if he was okay. If those warriors found me and Hunter then there's a chance that they tracked down Spyro and Glacia as well.

Ancestors, I hoped Spyro was okay… wherever he was.

"Psst, Cynder," a voice hissed from outside of my cell.

My eyes lit up as soon as I heard the voice. I knew exactly who that voice belonged to, a voice that I wanted to hear at this moment in time.

"Spyro?" I muttered.

At the mention of his name, the purple dragon popped his head around the corner of the cell and flashed a smile at me.

"Did somebody order a rescue?" he said.

Immediately I raced to the cell door and gripped the bars of the metal door, irritated that this piece of steel was in the way of reuniting me with my boyfriend.

"Spyro!" I exclaimed quietly.

"Are you alright?" Spyro wondered.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bit battered," I answered, before tapping on the iron rods. "I'd be much better if these bars weren't in the way though."

"Well, luckily I have this," Spyro said as he showed me a bunch of rusty-looking keys. He then began his attempts to unlock my cell door with each of the individual keys, the first few times being unsuccessful so far.

"Where did you get that?"

"The guard outside was fast asleep so we just took them from his hand," Spyro replied, grunting in frustration as the sixth key didn't unlock the door. "Why are there so many fricking keys?"

I raised an eyebrow. "We?" I queried, noticing that Spyro was by himself.

Spyro didn't need to answer as Hunter and Glacia emerged from the same corner that my boyfriend came from. My eyes widened when I set my eyes on the cheetah, who had looked very bloody the last time I saw him. Instead, he was standing there patched up in many makeshift bandages. However, despite the lack of blood, he still didn't look like he was in any condition to fight.

"Hunter! You're okay!" I said, relieved to see our ally still walking about.

"Just barely," Hunter grunted, wincing from his bandaged arm. "Thankfully, I still have about eight or so lives left."

"How did you guys get in here?" I then wondered. I didn't hear any fighting or any noises of distress, so how could have they gotten in? "This place is crawling with Prowlus' guys!"

"Not everywhere," Glacia said. "We found a secret passageway that led directly into the tower; it's weird that none of the cheetahs have found it yet."

"My guess is that my uncle is making sure everyone is focused on the job, finding all the secret passageways is likely not the priority right now," Hunter chimed in.

"Which is great for us so we can get in, break you out, then leave without any of them knowing that we even stepped foot in this place," Spyro added, rolling his eyes as the key he just used wasn't the right one. "That's if the key to your door is even here."

"Maybe the next one is the right one?" Glacia muttered innocently, trying to cool down Spyro's inner frustration.

As I saw Spyro snort in resentment when he failed to find the key for the millionth time, I thought back to my conversation with Kronos. Everything he said about Malefor being easily convinced to turn to the dark side worried me greatly. Spyro hadn't been himself lately; he was damaged both physically and mentally. He could be easily manipulated by Kronos' words just as my father did, and that scared me.

I couldn't bear to see Spyro become the Dark Master, not after everything he'd done for the realm. I won't let it happen, I won't.

"Hey, um, I spoke to Kronos."

Spyro looked up from the keyhole with a concerned look on his face. "Really? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine, but the guy's absolutely insane," I replied. "He believes that the purple dragon's true purpose was to rule everything and that what we've been told is all a lie."

"That's not right," Glacia said, shaking her head. "All we've ever known was that the purple dragon was to direct the fate of their era."

"I know! But Kronos has this delusion that because the first purple dragon ruled with an iron claw, every other purple dragon after them is destined to be a kind of dictator."

"What else did he tell you?" Spyro then wondered.

I looked at my boyfriend worryingly. I had to say something; he needed to know what Kronos was up to."That he was the one that made Malefor into the Dark Master and now he wants to do the same with you," I murmured.

"What?"

"That's why he hired Prowlus to find you," I started to explain. "He wants to give you the proper training that the purple dragon truly deserves…"

"Not just training, Cynder my dear, but enlightenment!"

I went stiff. Oh no.

Spyro, Hunter and Glacia simultaneously turned to see that Kronos was standing on the other side of my cell, surrounded by cheetah warriors that had their weapons drawn. Prowlus was with them too, slowly creeping into the corridor with his hood up. However the hood didn't seem to work as Hunter locked his eyes onto his uncle, his face morphing into that of horror as he saw his uncle's disfigurement.

"Uncle?" Hunter mumbled.

Through his hood, Prowlus gazed at his nephew disappointingly. "Hunter?" he said. "You know, out of everyone in our tribe, I didn't expect you to be the one to betray me… to betray your family."

"I'm doing what's right, Uncle," Hunter said, limping forward slightly. "What we did to that Valley, that isn't our way."

"Business is business, Hunter. As long as Kronos gives us gems for bringing the purple dragon, then we don't get to starve. We get to live! That's always been our way."

Prowlus then lowered his hood, revealing his disfigurement to Hunter. "And if you don't follow our way then you are longer part of our tribe."

Hunter looked hurt and tried to speak up, but his words failed him as his uncle stepped into the shadows and out of sight. I felt bad for him; I too knew what it was like to feel disowned. I once thought that all I had was my father but now he was dead to me, metaphorically and literally. I was just glad that Hunter chose the right side in the end.

Once Prowlus disappeared, Kronos set his sights on Spyro and simply smirked. "Well, I'll be damned… if it isn't the purple dragon himself. It's good to see you in the flesh, Spyro."

Spyro merely frowned. "Sad I can't say the same thing, asshole."

"Ooh you've got a bit of a foul mouth, haven't you?" Kronos chuckled. "I like that. Hate is such a strong, powerful emotion. You'll do well under my tutelage."

"Stop," Spyro muttered. "I know what you're doing, you're not going to make me like Malefor."

Kronos curled his lip, trying to maintain a somewhat calm demeanour. "I think your girlfriend misheard my words," he said. "What Malefor did was all under his own will; I didn't tell him to raid the temple in Warfang, I didn't tell him to wage war on the realms, they were all his ideas. I merely just pushed him in the right direction… and now I want to bestow my wisdom onto you."

Spyro, thankfully, didn't believe a word that creep was spitting out. "No, I think I push myself in the right direction, thanks."

Kronos rolled his eyes. "But Spyro, you're the purple dragon! You're destined for great things, you know that right?" he tried to persuade Spyro. "You have amazing power. No one can stop you, and most importantly, you have power over life and death itself."

Spyro stood still, silent for a moment. I saw that a slight tear was trickling down his face, but I wasn't sure if he was afraid or remembering. I believed that when Kronos said 'power over life and death', Spyro couldn't help but think of Sparx. If he had that power Kronos mentioned, he could bring Sparx back. That was the hook that Kronos needed to reel Spyro in.

Then Spyro looked in my direction, still quiet but emotionful. His eyes told me everything. I shook my head slowly, told him 'no, don't do it'. If he wanted a second opinion then he was going to get one!

Spyro turned away and stared directly at Kronos, wiping his singular tear, as he gave the ancient dragon an answer.

"No."

By the look on his face, Kronos didn't like that answer one bit. "Shameful," he muttered, his voice transitioning to a malicious tone. "Very well… There are other ways to persuade you. Seize them."

The cheetahs nodded and charged towards Spyro, Hunter and Glacia. Glacia stood in front of Hunter and fought off the cheetahs with an array of ice elemental attacks. Spyro, meanwhile, let out a roar of fury and dashed directly for Kronos. Oddly, before Spyro could touch him, Kronos had already raced behind Spyro at the speed of light and grabbed his tail from behind with his mouth and tossed the purple dragon to the far wall.

"Strong enough to have it all…" Kronos muttered as he strided menacingly towards Spyro.

Spyro responded with a growl and used his fire breath to ward the larger dragon away, to no effect. Kronos then used his earth element to raise the ground below Spyro to knock him off his feet, before manipulating the ground to lift him in the air just like Kronos did with me.

"...BUT TOO WEAK TO TAKE IT!"

Kronos bared his teeth and backhanded Spyro into the metal cell doors, ringing my ears as the iron hummed loudly at the impact. Spyro retaliated by launching himself to the back of Kronos' head, powering up his fists with electrical energy and punching Kronos so furiously that Spyro was almost out of breath.

Despite the amount of energy Spyro was putting out, Kronos seemed unfazed by his attacks and removed the purple dragon by making a pillar of dirt smack him right in the jaw. When Spyro hit the ground again, Kronos manifested a sphere of green energy from his maw and started to swing it at Spyro. Spyro tried to block the energy with a wall of ice but it instantly shattered as soon the energy made contact with it.

The energy eventually hit Spyro, creating a small crater and causing the ground around him to crack. Spyro used his remaining strength to try to get himself back up but he immediately collapsed when his legs started to wobble.

"Spyro! Get up!" I shouted. It was no use; Spyro couldn't muster enough strength to defeat this guy. Why was he fighting so poorly? I'd seen him do better than that; what was going on with him?

Kronos leapt down into the crater and pinned Spyro down with his forelegs, causing Spyro to scream out in pain as blood slowly seeped from his limbs. No, no, no, come on, Spyro! Fight back!

"Spyro, Spyro, Spyro, all that morality, all that good will… it's really pinning you down!" Kronos cackled, all that calmness he had before replaced with pure insanity.

"Leave him alone!" Glacia called out, freezing the cheetahs she was fighting in place and making a dash for Kronos.

Glacia created a cloud of icy mist around Kronos and charged right into his side, knocking him to the ground where she used her ice breath to effectively pin down.

"Hunter, go! Take Spyro and run!" she exclaimed.

Spyro's eyes widened as Hunter raced towards him and helped him up to his feet. "Mum, no!" he coughed.

"Just go! I can't hold him off for much longer!"

Spyro's eyes began to water as he frantically darted back to me and his mother. He wanted to save us both, but I knew that was not going to happen. Not now, at least.

"Come back, okay?" I said to my boyfriend.

"Wait, what? What do you mean come back?" Spyro croaked, trying to free himself from Hunter's grasp.

Hunter was grabbing something out of his pocket as he struggled to maintain his grip on my boyfriend. "We have to go!"

"Wait, no! Mum! Cynder!"

"I'm sorry, Spyro…"

Hunter grabbed out a small stone, engraved with an ancient rune that illuminated white. Hunter clutched tightly onto the stone and closed his eyes, the stone in his paw starting to glow brighter and brighter through the spaces of his claws.

A portal soon opened in front of Spyro and Hunter, different from the many portals I've travelled through with Spyro over the years. On the other side was what looked like the interior of the Temple back in the Artisan Valley.

"Wait, what are you doing? We can't leave them!"

Hunter ignored Spyro's pleas and chucked him through the white portal, soon weakly crawling through it himself. He took one final sympathetic look towards me and promised me one single thing.

"We're coming back…"

After Hunter made his promise, the portal then disappeared in a flash of light. Spyro and Hunter were gone, just like that. I wanted to cry; once again I was forced to separate myself from the one I loved the most. I hated it. I absolutely hated it, but if we were going to win the war, we needed to lose this battle.

Hurry back, Spyro. I'll be waiting… I love you, forever and always.

Oh jeez, what a cliffhanger. Poor Cynder, always getting herself separated from Spyro. But hopefully that'll get fixed in the next few chapters, right? Right? You'll have to find out next month to see what happens next!

Anyway, an update to my Doctor Who/Rio story Phoenix should hopefully be out next month then this story will continue! If you haven't read Phoenix yet and you are fan of either Doctor Who and/or Rio then I highly recommend you check out the first chapter!

This is TARDIS1039, signing off… Allons-y!