Hello and welcome to another chapter of Love of My Life! Last time, Spyro and Glacia decide to spend some quality mother-son time with Glacia teaching Spyro the more artistic side of using his ice element, the two of them bonding very well in the process.

Their quality time is interrupted when cheetah warriors suddenly ambush Cynder and Hunter from under their snouts, taking the black dragoness and leaving Hunter for dead. Cynder, meanwhile, is taken to the dark tower residing in Concurrent Skies, eventually coming face-to-face with Kronos.

After a conversation with Malefor's former mentor, Cynder is imprisoned. This doesn't last long, however, as Spyro, Hunter and Glacia come to the rescue. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt goes wrong when Kronos and his forces corner them. Spyro battles Kronos briefly, only to be beaten to a bloody pulp. But before Kronos could execute a final blow, Glacia intervenes and buys time for Spyro and Hunter to escape.

Beaten and separated from his loved ones, how will Spyro turn the tide against Kronos? Let's find out! Enjoy!

(Chapter 10: Sheer Heart Attack)

Our hero returns… beaten and broken.

(SPYRO's POV)

"I'm sorry, Spyro…"

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

That last exchange between me and Hunter kept echoing in my head as the cheetah threw me into the white portal he somehow created. As he weakly climbed through the portal, he turned his body around back towards Cynder.

"We're coming back…"

Cynder only silently responded with a nod before gazing at me, a tearful look in her eyes. I hated when she made that look; it always meant that something horrible or upsetting was soon to come. Before I could attempt to race back through the portal, the circular white light suddenly vanished into thin air and I skidded to a halt just as the solid stone wall came into view.

They were gone… Cynder, my mother. They were in danger and I couldn't get to them. I needed to get back there and help them!

Rage consumed me as I started to punch at the stone wall with all my might. The inner darkness that I'd been keeping under control had begun to linger into my thoughts, my blood boiling as ideas of decapitating Kronos and decimating all of his cheetah cronies came into my mind.

"No! No! NO!" I cried out.

Immediately, I felt Hunter wrap his paws around my shoulder and hastily moved me away from the wall. Like a child having a temper tantrum, I thrashed my body around in an attempt to break myself from Hunter's grasp. However, despite my constant squirming, the cheetah's grip remained as strong as ever.

"LET ME GO!" I bellowed.

"Spyro, just calm down!" Hunter tried to tell me. "You'll hurt yourself even more!"

"NO! I NEED TO GO BACK!" I cried out. "I CAN'T JUST LEAVE THEM THERE!"

"I'm sorry but you have to!" Hunter grunted, doing his best not to release me. "If I let you go back, you are going to get yourself killed!"

Snarling with irritation, I elbowed Hunter in the ribs and freed myself from his grasp. I then stood in front of him, wings flared and my stance ready for a battle if things escalated any further. I was pissed. I knew I had some chance of beating Kronos the second time around; heroes always win the second time around. I mean, it happened with Malefor, why couldn't it happen now?

"Clearly you don't know who I am then," I growled, taking a more serious tone rather than just screaming at Hunter. "I'm Spyro, the purple dragon that vanquished Malefor. If I could beat Kronos' little apprentice, then he shouldn't be much of a problem either."

Hunter didn't seem fazed by my attempt to intimidate him and just raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he queried. "It seems to me that you're more like Spyro, the one who could barely hold himself against Kronos… or even a crystal bear, for that matter!"

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me," Hunter said. "Right now, Cynder and Glacia need the purple dragon, not some kid with an inflated ego, to save them. You are not ready, not yet at least."

"I do not have an inflated ego!" I snapped. "I… it's just…"

Then everything started to sink in. I couldn't give up on Cynder and my mother like the last time, but I wouldn't be able to save them if I wasn't strong enough to take on Kronos. Not seeing Cynder by my side hurt me terribly, it wasn't something I had gotten used to over the past five years. Now that she was gone, I wanted her back now more than ever…

But Hunter was right: I hadn't been the mighty purple dragon that everyone wanted me to be recently. I couldn't even beat a mere crystal bear. I needed all the strength, both physically and mentally, if I was going to stand a chance against Kronos.

I sat on my haunches and my eyes gazed down at the ground. "I can't lose them too… I've already lost too much," I mumbled.

As I struggled to keep my emotions in check, I felt Hunter's paw on my shoulder. When I looked up, I saw that he was kneeling in front of me.

"You haven't lost them yet, Spyro," Hunter assured me. "I promised Cynder that we'll come back for them, and I'm making that same promise to you now, okay? We will get them back, I assure you."

A small smile crept from the corner of my mouth as a tiny amount of hope sparked into my heart. For the first time, Hunter had finally said something that didn't irritate me. His words didn't fully calm me down, but it was enough not to go full on 'Dark Spyro' on him.

"Thank you, Hunter," I murmured.

As Hunter got himself back up from his kneeling position, I began to look around the area where the cheetah had thrown me into. We were in a corridor of some kind, a corridor that looked much like the ones back at the Temple; the wooden doors and torches placed in certain intervals between them were all familiar to me.

But how did we even get here anyway? What was that object that Hunter had before a portal appeared out of thin air?

Noticing that the strange stone was still in Hunter's paw, my head tilted slightly in curiosity. "By the way, what was that thing that transported us here?" I wondered, trying to get a better look at the stone.

"Oh, this?" Hunter said as he showed me the stone. The only thing that piqued my interest was the ancient draconic runes that were etched into the surface; I wasn't even sure if the runes translated to anything.

"It's a Realm Stone, I nicked one off the guard that we took the keys to Cynder's cell from." Hunter then explained.

"Right… Realm Stone. Should I know what that's supposed to be?" I queried, raising an eyebrow.

Hunter shrugged. "Probably not, dragons stopped using them after they invented Portal Gates. Nowadays, Realm Stones are only used by travelling merchants and mercenaries. It allows us to travel between realms without the use of a Portal Gate—useful when you're surrounded by thugs or you're in the middle of nowhere."

"So where have you taken us? Back to the Artisan Valley?"

"I hope so. This hallway looks familiar to you, right?"

"Let's just head down this way," I then suggested, gesturing my head to the left. "If the Guardians are here then we can tell them what's happened."

"Good idea," Hunter said. "Lead the way."

So Hunter and I strolled down the corridor, in search of someone nearby. I wasn't sure how much walking I could do due to the many injuries that Kronos inflicted on me; I already felt pretty light-headed so I already knew that wasn't a good sign. It was a miracle, however, that Kronos didn't break any of my bones.

As we progressed further down, the corridor began to widen and eventually form into a completely different room. I recognised this as the hallway that led to the room where the Pool of Visions dwelled; it was most likely where I'd find the Guardians… at least, I hoped so.

Just opposite the door, I saw a mole with horn-rimmed glasses and a black waistcoat at a nearby small table. He was carefully shuffling pieces of paper into his arms and was about to make his way out of the Temple where I suddenly called out to him, recognising the mole as soon as he turned around.

"Hugo?"

My unexpected appearance caused the mole to jump in fright, the papers in his arms flying all over the place and scattering themselves on the stone floor. "Huh? W-What?" he stammered, his eyes widening when he realised that it was my voice that called out to him. "Oh! Spyro! You're back! What happened to you?" he then wondered, glancing at my injuries curiously.

"It's a long story," I muttered, not wanting to get into any gruesome details. "Are the Guardians here by any chance?"

"Yes, they're just through that door," Hugo answered with a nod. "I'll go tell them that you've returned!"

Hugo quickly clutched the papers that were on the floor and sped through the doors at a frantic pace, leaving a trail of papers behind him. As soon as the mole left, I sat on my haunches and let out a tired sigh. Part of me wanted to just lie down for a while and regain what little strength I had, but I had to keep myself together… The Guardians needed to know what was going on, and what had happened during our trip.

"Are you alright, Spyro?" Hunter queried, noting my worn out demeanour.

I looked at the cheetah and raised a brow. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"You look like you're about to collapse," Hunter said blankly.

"I'll be fine," I said.

"No, you're not," Hunter murmured. "You need to go to the infirmary…"

"And I will, once I've told the Guardians what's going on."

Hunter let out a soft disgruntled sigh and remained quiet for the meantime. While I did think he was right, telling the Guardians everything that transpired was the main priority at the moment. I could cope with talking, as long as I didn't have to fight with the Guardians for an unknown reason.

After a minute or so, Hugo eventually popped his head out the doors and gave me a positive look.

"You can come in now," the mole said.

"Thanks, Hugo."

Hugo pushed the door further aside to let me and Hunter into the meeting room, standing close so that the door stayed in place. With Hunter trailing behind me, I limped into the Pool of Visions room where I was met with four pairs of surprised eyes.

I didn't know if it was because I had made it back home at an unexpected time or because I looked like I had been ravaged by some wild animal; I couldn't tell since all four of the Guardians were completely silent when I entered the room.

Last time I saw the Guardians after an adventure gone wrong was when Cynder chose to go back to Malefor's fortress to save my life, where my emotions got too overwhelming for me when I saw the concerned looks on the Guardians' faces. It seemed, history was repeating itself…

"Spyro?" Ignitus was the first to speak up. "What happened?"

I let out a sigh, my eyes drifting away from the Guardians. "Cynder's been taken… I couldn't stop him, Ignitus. Hunter and I barely escaped."

Cyril raised an eyebrow. "Him? Surely you don't mean Prowlus, right?"

"No…" I muttered, shaking my head. "Worse. A dragon named Kronos is responsible for everything, he hired Prowlus and his mercenaries to find me."

When I mentioned Kronos' name, all the Guardians' eyes widened as they exchanged fearful looks. It's like the thought of the name was a dark plague, a name that they thought they would never hear again. But more importantly, it was a name that they thought I would ever hear in my lifetime.

"Kronos… No, it can't be." Terrador murmured. It wasn't a surprise that the Guardians were aware of who Kronos was; the dragon that turned Malefor into who he was would have to be pretty infamous, right?

"That's impossible," Cyril said. "He died when Malefor began his rise of power, along with the other Guardians at that time!"

"Alas, he must have survived somehow," Volteer chimed in. "Hid, concealed, sheltered himself away in the darkness while his apprentice did all of the dirty work."

"But what did he want from you, Spyro?" Ignitus then wondered, addressing me.

"He wanted me to turn to the darkness," I answered grimly. "He was going to make me the next Malefor."

"It's lucky that you and Hunter escaped when you did," Ignitus said. "If Kronos were to succeed to turn you against us, then all hope would be lost."

Just after Ignitus said that, a sudden thought occurred to me. I was able to escape from Kronos' influence, at least for now anyway, but what was stopping him from corrupting someone else in my place? Someone like Cynder, for instance? She knew Malefor in her childhood; she once wanted to be like him by attempting to kill me. What if Kronos used those old desires to turn her against me? She would be the 'Terror of the Skies' that her father always used to call her.

Then my thoughts turned to my mother. Ancestors, I didn't even know if she was alive or dead or being tortured for information. Surely she wouldn't let Cynder become a killer; she would be there to protect her if something goes wrong. At least, I hope so anyway.

But as I was thinking about what happened to my mother, another thought had occurred to me. A thought that made my stomach drop significantly.

Ignitus didn't know that my mother, his wife, was still alive after all this time. Shit, what was I going to say? How was I going to say it? If I just told him, he wouldn't believe me…

But I had to tell him, he deserves to know.

As I was contemplating in my head, Ignitus and the other Guardians had returned to talking amongst themselves. "Cyril, Terrador, find the Dragon Elders and gather anyone that's able to fight. We need all the help we can get," he ordered.

Cyril and Terrador responded with a nod and left immediately, Hunter instantly darting out of the way when they stomped past him, failing to acknowledge him. Ignitus then turned to Volteer.

"Volteer, I need you to head down to the archives and find out everything we know about Kronos," he told the Electric Guardian. "If there's any sign of a weakness, we can use it against him."

"I will do my best, Ignitus," Volteer muttered before he too had left for the door.

Now that Ignitus was all alone, it was the perfect chance to tell him that my mother was still alive. But would he even believe me? To him, she'd been dead for eighteen years… I suspect that Ignitus wouldn't automatically believe everything I'm about to him.

Just as Ignitus looked like he was about to leave as well, I quickly stepped in front of him. "Ignitus, there's something else you should know…"

Ignitus gazed at my injuries and gave me a sympathetic frown. "Spyro, you need to go to the infirmary. You can tell me once you've healed."

"But Ignitus—"

Ignitus' sympathetic frown turned into a stern stare. "Spyro, get yourself patched up," he murmured, his eyes drifting over to Hunter's direction. "Make sure he gets there, okay?"

Hunter, though he was confused by this sudden request, gave a short nod as Ignitus headed out of the door and out of sight. I stood there, unable to say anything as my father basically brushed me off. I guess I know now how he was feeling when I was ignoring him before all this chaos unfolded.

"Ignitus, wait! This is important—" I tried to cry out, but unfortunately my pleas fell on deaf ears. Ignitus was gone before I could finish my sentence. Once Ignitus had left, I sat on my haunches and cursed under my breath. If this was his way of getting back at me for not wanting to talk about our new status as father and son, then this was a seriously bad time for it.

"What was the important thing you needed to tell him?" Hunter asked me, unaware of the drama that Ignitus and I have been dealing with.

"About my mother being alive…" I said to the cheetah, thinking that somehow he already knew that. Boy, was I wrong.

Hunter stared at me blankly. "Why would he want to know that?"

"Because Ignitus is… my dad," I sighed.

It took a couple of seconds for Hunter to connect the dots but when he did, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "Oh? Oh! Sorry, I had no idea," he exclaimed. "Wait, so one of the Guardians is your father?"

"Uh huh."

"Then why did you call him Ignitus then?" Hunter then queried, stroking his chin. "Is it awkward to call him Dad in the workplace or something?"

"Nothing like that," I replied, shaking my head. "It's a long story actually."

Hunter shrugged. "Long walk to the infirmary," he pointed out.

I stared at the cheetah for a minute, trying to read him and his motives. I still wasn't sure whether he could be trusted or not. True, he saved my life and was prepared to lay down his life for Cynder but there was something in the back of my mind that was telling me to be cautious around Hunter. Was Prowlus disowning him from their clan just a hoax to lower my guard? Or was Hunter really willing to switch sides? I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Cynder seemed convinced that Hunter's motives were for our benefit, and if Cynder was able to trust someone that used to work for an enemy… then maybe I should widen my circle of trust. It was like what Ignitus said to Terrador and Cyril: we needed all the help we could get.

"Fine, alright." I eventually muttered, letting out a sigh. "It all started many years ago…"

(-)

A couple of days passed, most of it was a blur. Most of the time it was just planning; the Guardians were very firm about how our time was spent. Though I quickly became bored by the process, it was necessary if I wanted to stop Kronos once and for all… and of course, see Cynder again after what seemed like a lifetime.

Cynder… I missed her so much, it felt so heartbreaking that she wasn't here with me right now. Instead she was imprisoned in a dark, cold fortress where I couldn't reach her, again. Why did this stuff always happen to her? After all that had happened to her: being abandoned by her parents, having her egg snatched by Apes and forced to be raised by an malevolent dark master—she didn't deserve all of this; she should be here… both her and my mother should be here by my side.

It should've been me, I thought to myself. I should be the one that's behind bars.

"Spyro?"

I blinked and looked up to see that the Guardians, as well as some of the Dragon Elders from various realms were all staring at me. The many pairs of eyes that were peering in my direction made me sweat slightly under the scales. Did I fall asleep or something? Please don't tell me I fell asleep!

"Huh?" I replied.

Ignitus gave me a blank but disapproving look. "Are you paying attention?"

My eyes briefly darted to the large diorama of Kronos' tower, seeing that groups of tiny carved stones were placed at certain locations around the tower. Since I was there when Ignitus came up with the initial plan in the first place, I nodded my head and stayed silent.

"Good," Ignitus muttered before his attention returned to the diorama as he continued to go over the rest of the plan with the others. "While Squad Alpha's keeping any exterior forces occupied, Squad Beta will infiltrate the inside and take the fight to Prowlus. Under any circumstances, do not engage Kronos. That's for Spyro to handle…"

"Once I rescue Cynder, right?" I interjected.

Ignitus nodded immediately. "Yes, Spyro. Free Cynder then you, her and Hunter are able to take on Kronos. The rest of us will be here for support if needed." He knew how much she meant to me; there was no way I could head into battle without her by my side. Hunter too would be good tactical support as well; three was definitely better than one.

And speaking of Hunter…

"Where is Hunter anyway?" Ignitus wondered. "He was meant to be at this meeting."

Huh? That was weird. I wonder why Hunter didn't show up, it wasn't like he could forget something that was quite important. He was a bit thick at times, but not that thick.

"Do you want me to go look for him?" I suggested. "I already know my part of the plan."

Ignitus briefly glanced at the rest of his fellow Guardians for deliberation before he answered me. "That would be a good idea, Spyro, thank you."

Quietly saying my goodbyes to the Elders, I headed out of the meeting room and proceeded to make my way down the corridor in search of Hunter. But as soon as I started to head down the corridor, I immediately felt lost. I didn't have a single clue where Hunter could be at this time of hour. I didn't know if he was sleeping in, out for a walk or something completely different… Hell, I wasn't sure where he had been staying for the last couple of days! I knew completely nothing!

It was unlikely that he'd be traversing around the Valley so it had to be somewhere in the Temple. The training dojo, maybe? It seemed like the place he would go. It was worth a shot, at least.

I spun on my heels and strolled down the opposite end of the corridor. Luckily I knew the path to the training dojo so well, due to how many times I had to go there in my youth. I just hoped Hunter was there, otherwise I was all out of ideas.

Luckily, I didn't have to look any further when I arrived at the training dojo, where I saw Hunter swinging his katana about in the centre. The training dojo didn't have much to look at; it was a large circular room with coloured banners of each elemental breath plastered on the walls and various amounts of scratches and scorch marks decorating the walls, left over from previous training sessions

In the centre was a stone mosaic floor that acted as the training arena. Hunter was currently fighting against an array of cheetah warriors, who weren't actually real, but rather training dummies that looked like cheetah warriors, and slicing them open with his katana.

Once he had gone through the dummies, another singular cheetah dummy materialised from thin air. This cheetah, however, resembled more like Prowlus before I turned him into a two-faced supervillain. The fake Prowlus raised his katana and lunged towards Hunter in a fit of fury, Hunter raising his own sword as he prepared for battle.

The two katanas clashed and the two cheetahs duelled for a minute or so, Hunter quickly getting the upper hand and instantly disarming the fake Prowlus before impaling him in the chest when he was down.

My eyes widened as I witnessed this practice fight. Why was he duelling his own uncle? He wasn't thinking of killing him, right? I mean, I didn't have a problem with that, but it just wasn't part of the plan.

"Hunter?" I spoke up, clearing my throat to get the cheetah's attention.

At the sound of my voice, Hunter's eyes perked up and he looked up at me. "Oh, hey Spyro," he greeted, looking surprised to see me. "I didn't expect to see you here. What brings you to this place?"

"We had that meeting, remember?" I muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Ignitus brought the Dragon Elders over to go over our fight against Kronos."

When I mentioned the word 'meeting', Hunter's eyes suddenly widened. "Shit, I completely forgot!" he exclaimed, cursing under his breath and pacing around frantically. "I'm usually better than that!"

"Hunter, is something wrong?" I asked, noticing his jittery behaviour.

"No, why would anything be wrong?" Hunter replied, still sounding a bit agitated. "I mean…" He then started to ramble on about stuff at such a fast pace that I couldn't understand anything he was saying, he might as well be speaking a different language.

Unbeknownst to him, a Prowlus training dummy suddenly materialised behind him and started to creep up behind Hunter with its arm stretched out towards his neck. How was Hunter not noticing this training dummy right now? This was some cartoon slapstick going on here!

"Hunter, look out!" I shouted, pointing to the fake Prowlus behind him.

However it seemed that the cheetah didn't seem to notice. "Yes, that's right! I do need to look out for myself more often…" he said, misinterpreting my words.

"No, behind you!"

My increased volume caused Hunter to stop in his tracks. "Huh?" he muttered before turning around and becoming stiff at the sight of the dummy Prowlus.

As the training dummy got closer, I took a deep breath and exhaled a short spurt of fire from my maw. The mini fireball flew past Hunter's shoulders and directly to the fake Prowlus' head, causing it to explode into tiny little fragments and the body to immediately slump to the ground.

After the training dummy disappeared into thin air, Hunter then turned to me with a conflicted frown on his face. "There's something troubling me, Spyro…" he murmured. "Do you mind if I explain it to you?"

"Of course, let's sit down somewhere." I suggested, gesturing to a nearby bench.

Hunter walked out of the training area and followed me to the bench where he sheathed his katana, before sitting next to me, his legs spread out wide enough that I had to shuffle away slightly so I wasn't scraping against his knee.

"So what's going on?" I asked Hunter.

The cheetah leant forward a bit, staring intensely at the wall in front of him. "I've been branded as a traitor by my own family," he responded.

"Yeah I know, I was standing right next to you," I said. "But I'm sure if you just explain–"

Hunter then darted and gave me a frown. "It's not that simple, Spyro, once I've been branded a traitor then I'm a traitor for life," he muttered before looking down at the ground in sadness. I've lost everyone… I can't ever go back."

"The things you've done, they were the right thing to do," I tried to assure him, not understanding why he would ever want to go back to fight alongside a killer like his uncle. "Your uncle is a psychopath. He killed Sparx, he decimated my home, he made everyone turn on me! You want to go back to a life like that? A life of making people miserable? It's not right!"

"I know that," Hunter murmured. "That's why I have to kill my uncle."

I stared at the cheetah blankly. Okay, I wasn't expecting him to say something like that. "Kill him?" I queried.

"Yes," Hunter nodded, returning to sitting in a straight position. "It's a tradition in our clan, whoever has been branded a traitor has to face the leader in a duel. If one loses then the other must kill them in an honourable way, it's a way to ensure that all of our sins are cleansed before we ascend to the next life."

"That's… wow, I don't think I could ever do such a thing."

"Neither do I," Hunter said, a look of sorrow plastered on his face. "But it has to be done; there's no other way. With my uncle dead, then we have more of an advantage against Kronos. No point in my clan following him if their leader's dead…"

"Do you think you can beat him?" I then asked him.

He sounded confident about what he was going to do, but his face read something else. It was as if he didn't want to go through with his clan's tradition. I couldn't blame him of course, I wouldn't know what to do if I had to fight Cynder, Ignitus or anyone else I cared about… let alone kill them once I had won the duel.

"I have to," was Hunter's only answer.

The two of us then sat in silence, unsure of what to say or do next. What else could I say? There weren't many topics that could transition smoothly from killing family members in a duel to the death.

Then Hunter spoke up. "Spyro, I know that we haven't really gotten along with each other since we first met…" he started to say. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for your friend's death. If I was there by my uncle's side then I could've stopped him, I could've prevented this whole mess from ever happening. It's all my fault."

I looked down at the ground, contemplating Hunter's words. I couldn't believe that Hunter was blaming himself for something he wasn't involved in, and me being mistrusting and snarky towards him probably wasn't helping. I didn't mean to behave coldly, it just sort of happened. I guess that was what happened when you hadn't had enough friends in your lifetime: you find it hard to open up and trust others.

"It's not your fault, Hunter, you had no idea what Prowlus was gonna do," I then muttered. "Besides, I should be the one apologising. I shouldn't have taken my anger and frustration on you; you didn't deserve it."

A small glimpse of a smile crept from the edge of Hunter's lips. "Thank you, Spyro," he murmured.

He then clapped a hand on my back as he moved himself up from the bench. "Come," he then said. "We should get back to the meeting."

Hunter proceeded to leave the training room, heading in the direction where the meeting was taking place, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Taking a deep breath to ease the social anxiety away, I sat in silence as I pondered about the upcoming battle between myself and Kronos before getting up and following closely behind Hunter.

No matter what happens, I won't be alone. I'll have Cynder by my side, and Hunter as well hopefully, if his last duel with Prowlus goes his way. I just hope that the three of us will be more than enough…

(CYNDER's POV)

"Is everything alright?"

I opened my eyes to see that I wasn't in the cell of Kronos' fortress but instead, I was in a small room that seemed familiar to me for some reason.

The room had two leather couches that sat directly opposite each other, a coffee table wedged in between them. Around the room was pretty simple decor: abstract paintings were on each wall, a plant pot sat in the far corner and a large rug stretched out across both couches.

Everything about this room was strangely calming and safe to breathe, which were the complete opposite conditions to the surroundings I was in now.

"Hello?"

I blinked and looked directly in front of me. A dragoness, maybe around the same age as the Guardians, sat on the couch opposite me. She had mustard yellow scales and a dark blue underbelly, with horns that were similar to mine but larger and a bit thinner. She held a notepad in her paws, looking directly at me through a pair of glasses.

Like the room, she seemed… familiar. It was like I knew her, somehow.

I was taken back slightly, surprised by the dragoness' sudden appearance. "Oh sorry, I didn't see you come in," I said, shuffling in my seat. "Are you Dr Valisha?"

The dragoness gave me a soft smile. "Yes, I am. You must be Cynder, right?" she asked me. "Ignitus said you were coming to see me today…"

I remembered all this now. This was my first therapy session with Dr Valisha after I started living in the Artisan Valley, a few weeks or so after I got out of the infirmary. But why was I dreaming about this particular day now?

"Now, Cynder, this session is going to be all about getting to know one another so that I can get an idea of how our next sessions will be later on," Dr Valisha started to tell me. "Is that okay with you?"

I just gave a quiet nod, which allowed Dr Valisha to proceed. She grabbed a pen from the table and jotted something brief on my notepad. What was she writing down? I hadn't even said anything yet.

"So, Cynder, you've recently just moved here, right?" Dr Valisha asked, slightly moving her eyes so that she was looking at me.

Again, I just nodded. "Yeah…" I murmured.

"Are you enjoying yourself here?"

"Uh… yeah, definitely," I replied. "Anywhere is better than where I was before."

Dr Valisha's face fell slightly. "Where you were before… that was in the Mountain of Malefor, right?"

My eyes widened. "How do you know that?!" I exclaimed, my breath erratic and my claws digging deep into the couch. "No one's meant to know that!"

"Cynder, it's alright," Dr Valisha tried to calm me down. "Ignitus told me about your past. I'm sorry, I should've told you that sooner."

I took a deep breath, calming myself down as I tucked myself shamefully into my wings. It was my first therapy session and I almost snapped; this was not the way I wanted things to go.

"Oh… right," I muttered quietly. "I'm, uh, sorry for almost snapping at you."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Cynder," Dr Valisha assured me. "What you're feeling is perfectly natural for those going through trauma, especially at your age. But we don't need to go into more details about your past today, unless you want to talk about it…"

I quickly shook my head. "No, I'll save it for another day."

"Okay, that's fine," the electric dragoness said as she scribbled something on her notepad. "I would like to talk about your relationship with Spyro, if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah, sure," I murmured, my cheeks blushing slightly at the mention of Spyro's name.

Unfortunately, Dr Valisha noticed my blushing and a smile appeared from the corner of her mouth. Ancestors, I hate it when I was being incredibly obvious about my feelings for Spyro. "Everything going okay with you two?" she then asked me.

"I hope so," I answered. "Spyro's the only friend I've ever had, he means a lot to me… I would hate to lose him, you know."

"I can see that."

Confused by the therapist's words, I raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean?" I queried.

"Your smile hasn't faded away since we started talking about him."

My blush deepened as I rubbed the back of my head in awkwardness, trying to hide the tiny smile that was plastered on my face. Man, this therapist was very observant. There wasn't a lot of creatures that had managed to catch that, not even Spyro.

"How did you two meet?" Dr Valisha then wondered.

"Summer Forest, we sort of bumped into each other…" I replied. "I had just left home to see if I could find Spyro myself before my dad could."

The therapist raised an eyebrow. "Why's that, Cynder? If you don't mind me asking,"

"I dunno, I just wanted to prove to my father that I wasn't some failure of a dragoness and that I was capable of being so much more," I answered with a shrug. "If I had the purple dragon and brought him to my dad, maybe he would take me seriously… for once."

Seeing that the doctor was writing down something, I stopped for a second before continuing when I had her full attention.

"Once I was in Summer Forest, I saw Spyro and I had him in my grasp," I carried on. "Then, as I looked down on him, there was something holding me back. I couldn't kill him… maybe I got cold paws, maybe I saw a bit of me in him, I'm still not sure. But I'm grateful that I did hesitate that day, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten as close to him as I am now."

"You really care about him, don't you?"

I nodded before a confused glance wiped across my face. "I do, but what I'm feeling… is it deep or am I just feeling this way because he's the first dragon I've met? We've only been on a couple of dates but all I can think is: Am I just latching onto him as a way to understand our culture? I just want to know what my feelings are!"

"I understand this is difficult for you," Dr Valisha said, taking off her glasses. "Just ask yourself one question, what does your heart tell you? That's where your true feelings lie."

Again, I remained silent as I contemplated Dr Valisha's words. My thoughts then drifted to Spyro, causing me to drift back to the memories that featured him: the first time we met each other, the time I pushed him into a tree with my wind breath, that night that we slept under the stars…

Our first unofficial kiss just as he was about to confront Malefor…

My heart seemed to pound faster as I looked back on that day. I didn't want him to go, I didn't want him to get himself killed… and our kiss? It was just magical.

If Spyro died that day, I would miss him. Much like how I miss him now.

And there was my answer.

However, just as I was about to tell Dr Valisha how I felt about Spyro, she put her glasses on and gave me a smile. Did she know what I was going to say already?

"Of course, there's only one answer to that: your heart says that you should just leave him in a ditch to die a horrible death…" she said in a casual manner.

My eyes widened. Why would she say something like that? I don't remember her saying that. "Excuse me?"

The room then started to go dark, leaving only Dr Valisha and myself illuminated in a void of darkness. "You heard me: the purple dragon must be destroyed," she said, tilting her head in a robotic fashion. "Then you can finally take your place at my side. Would you like that… daughter?"

At the word 'daughter' Dr Valisha's voice went deeper and more garbled, as if she was speaking through several novelty voice-changing microphones. I suddenly went stiff; I knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

Dr Valisha soon erupted into hideous laughter and disgustingly morphed herself into a male large purple dragon with sinister yellow snake-like eyes and three large horns that resembled that of a crown.

I couldn't scream;l I was totally speechless to see that I was now looking up at the malevolent face of the Dark Master, the same Dark Master I had once called my father.

"Miss me?" he muttered.

Malefor then bared his teeth at me and lunged towards me, the darkness moving alongside his body. I couldn't get out of the way or fight back as my father completely covered me in a dark cold void.

As the void engulfed me, all that remained of me were the echoes of my terrified screams.

(-)

I opened my eyes and rose up rather quickly; my screams of terror suddenly halted when I realised where I was.

Instead of being in a therapist's office, I was in a stone dungeon. Four walls of empty solid concrete surrounded me with its cold and empty atmosphere, the only thing that was somewhat interesting was the tattered old mattress that was crammed into the far opposite corner.

In many ways, it reminded me of my room back in Malefor's fortress, but even, the Dark Master was considerate enough to give me a room with a window. This place, however, made me feel like I was isolated from the rest of the world, much like how I felt in my childhood, so much so that a whole civilization could evolve and thrive and I wouldn't have a single clue what was going on.

It was all a dream, I then realised as I fidgeted around, my eyes darting around my surroundings as I struggled to take a breath. Was it just me or were the walls closing in on me?

"Cynder?" I heard a voice call out to me.

I whipped around to see that Glacia was slowly approaching me, a concerned look on her face. After Spyro and Hunter made their escape, Glacia and I were left to share a cell together. It was kind of nice that I wasn't alone, unlike five years ago, but at the same time, I felt bad for her. She had just reunited with her son, and now she was trapped like a common criminal. She didn't deserve to be here with me; she needed to be back home.

"What's wrong?" she then wondered.

Still visibly shaken from my dream, I turned myself away from Glacia. "Nothing…" I replied quietly. "It's nothing."

I could tell her what happened in my dream but what would be the point? The two of us were basically strangers. Yes, she was Spyro's mother, but even though we spent so much time in the same cell, we hadn't really had the chance to get to know each other. The atmosphere of being in a jail cell was very different from a chat in the living room or a cafe.

Besides, I had more difficult matters to deal with: Kronos, Prowlus, the various lackeys that guarded our cell, and being far away from Spyro… again.

Oh… Spyro, I missed him. I hated that I had to get myself captured and be separated from everything and everyone. Why is it that it has happened twice in my life? I hoped that the whole damsel in distress didn't become a regular thing for me…

I sighed discreetly to myself and glanced at the wall behind me. Two lines were scratched right into the stone surface, two lines meaning only two days. It had only been two days; it felt so much longer though.

Last time, when I was captured by Malefor, it was only a week until Spyro suddenly came to my rescue. If it had only been two days, then why did it feel so much worse this time? I just wanted to see Spyro again… no matter how long it takes.

My thoughts were soon interrupted by a loud clanging on the metal bars of our cell. Both of our heads darted around to see the annoying presence of our guards; these particular lackeys were ones I actually recognise: they were the two cheetah warriors that took me to Kronos' fortress. What were their names? Steve and Barry? Such unexpectedly normal names for cheetah mercenaries in my opinion.

"Wake up!" Steve shouted. "Breakfast is served!"

The cheetah then slid a tray of food through a wide slit at the bottom of the cell door. To our surprise, the food on the tray looked actually edible. Yesterday, we were served a disgusting grey paste that was presumably scraped from the ground, but today, however, we were served a couple of well made sandwiches. What was it today? Opposite day?

The cheetahs were initially completely oblivious to what they served and were about to walk away, until one of them stopped and doubled back towards the food where he gave his comrade a disgruntled look.

"Barry, did you serve the prisoners sandwiches?" the cheetah wondered.

Barry briefly glanced at the sandwiches and simply shrugged. "Yes..?" he answered, unsure of why his friend was asking him that.

"Why?"

"Why not?" Barry retorted.

Steve frowned. "Because they are our prisoners; you don't serve the good stuff to the prisoners. Only we get the good stuff, that's prison guard 101!"

"Well, haven't you noticed that prisoners aren't usually talkative?" Barry said as he folded his arms. "Do you know why? Because they're treated like shit. If we showed a little kindness, then they might want to talk…"

"I suppose you want them to set free to wander about the fortress for a bit as well?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Steve sighed in annoyance and continued to bicker with his friend, trying to convince him that prisoners shouldn't be treated with kindness. Meanwhile, I just rolled my eyes as I sat there listening to these two idiots. Why was this happening right now?

My eyes then drifted to the sandwiches and my stomach rumbled. I then exchanged a mischievous look with Glacia before creeping silently towards the food tray. Well, since there was an opportunity… might as well right?

However, before I could even reach the tray, it was suddenly snatched from right in front of me. I looked up to see that Steve and Barry's eyes were focused on me.

"Oh, no… don't think I saw what you were doing there," Steve muttered. "You can wait a little longer for your breakfast now."

I rolled my eyes for the second time today. "Wow, a little longer for breakfast?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Guess I won't be telling you any vital information then."

"Told ya," Barry murmured in Steve's ear.

Steve ignored his friend and edged closer to the bars, gripping them intensely and giving me a malicious smirk. "You're lucky Kronos isn't right now," he murmured. "An attitude like that will get yourself killed, you know?"

I stayed silent and frowned at him, having nothing to say to this guy. He wasn't worth my time.

However it seemed that Steve wasn't quite finished with me as he snorted a quiet laugh. "Such a shame you aren't fighting by our side; you would've given your purple boytoy a fight he'd never forget," he said. "Isn't that right, Daughter of Malefor?"

The instant that the cheetah uttered those three damn words, I immediately froze in shock. How in the hell did this guy of all people know who I really was? Did Kronos tell everyone? If so, who else could he tell? Who else would he tell? If my connection to Malefor ever got out… then it was goodbye to the peace and quiet that I'd lived through for five years.

"Nothing else to say? Shame," Steve said, smirking at my silence. "Dear daddy would be disappointed…"

"Hey, leave her alone!"

I turned to see that Glacia was standing next to me, giving out death glares as she towered over the two cheetah warriors. Steve immediately shedded his intimidating persona and simply stared wide-eyed at the ice dragoness, exchanging fearful looks with Barry. They had every right to be afraid, Glacia did manage to take on Kronos one-on-one and survived with only a few scratches.

"Steve, let's just go…" Barry suggested, slowly edging away himself.

"Good idea," Steve said, he too was also sliding out of view and out of sight.

Once the two cheetahs had disappeared, Glacia's glare morphed into a kind, concerned look as she turned her head to face me.

"Are you okay?" she then wondered, noticing that I was still frozen in place.

I looked down at the ground, I didn't want to see Glacia's face right now. I didn't want to see the fear in her eyes at the realisation of my parentage.

"You won't supposed to hear that…" I muttered, heading back to my corner of the cell.

"Hear what? That you're Malefor's daughter?" Glacia murmured as she came and sat next to me. "Cynder, I don't care about that. Who you came from shouldn't matter to who you are…"

"Well, it does for me!" I barked, almost snapping at Glacia. "If anyone found out who I really was and where I came from, everyone would send me out of town or maybe burn me at the stake. Malefor's not even my actual father and yet his presence still looms over me like a bad dream!"

I briefly glanced at Glacia's worried reaction and I took a breath so my temper wouldn't get worse. "You should've seen the villagers back home, they turned against Spyro in an instant. All the stuff he did for them was forgotten… all because he was the purple dragon. If they can turn against Spyro, then they'll definitely turn against me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Cynder," Glacia said.

"Don't be," I muttered. "The only ones who should be sorry were the ones who stole me in the first place. Oh, and the ones that abandoned me as well."

"Abandoned?"

"Yeah, my birth parents left me as an egg on the doorstep of the Temple one night," I explained. "Must've happened after you got stuck in Concurrent Skies, it was before Spyro even hatched."

At that very moment, I noticed a slight change in Glacia's expression. She still looked concerned for my well-being but something else appeared in her face, a hint of recognition. It was like she knew me from a long time ago and just suddenly realised it.

"It's you," Glacia then whispered.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the ice dragoness in confusion. "It's me?"

"You were the black egg…"

"Yes, I was," I said. "Wait, were you there?"

Glacia nodded. "It was just a few days after I laid Spyro's egg, Ignitus and I were settling in for the night when we heard a loud thump on the Temple's door. I was hesitant to answer the door since it was late but Ignitus went, he thought it could've been some urgent Guardian business. Instead he found a lone egg sitting on the doorstep in the rain…"

My eyes widened. "You didn't see anyone, did you?"

Sadly, Glacia shook her head. "No, it was too dark to see if anyone was around. Ignitus figured that they might have dropped you and fled. I didn't think that; I always thought they were in the shadows, just waiting until somebody brought you in."

My face fell. Damn, this was my one chance to find out what my parents looked like or why they just abandoned me. But now I just hated them even more for just dropping me off at the Temple like I was just the morning postage.

"We took in, put you with the rest of the eggs in hope that somebody will adopt you or bring you back home. But nothing, no one came," Glacia continued to recount. "Before I left, we even talked about one of the Guardians or perhaps me and Ignitus taking you in but then…"

"You were gone and I was taken by Malefor?"

"Yeah…"

Glacia then let out a slight chuckle. "You know, it's funny. The day I left, I had moved Spyro's egg next to yours. Who knew that the two of you would be together after all these years…"

I couldn't help but crack a heartfelt smile. It seems after all this time, Spyro and I were fated to be together. Romantic connection, adopted sibling or otherwise, it was nice to know that Spyro was going to be by my side either way.

But at the same time, I felt as if the universe didn't want us together: me getting stabbed and almost dying in his arms, the whole 'Dark Spyro' ordeal, me getting captured on the two adventures I've been on. It seemed like dark omens or something… but why? What would the universe benefit from not having us together? Couldn't we just be happy?

"I don't deserve him."

"Don't say that!" Glacia exclaimed, surprised at what I just said. "I've seen the way you two act around each other. Do you know what Spyro said to me? That you were the best. Not anyone else, you. He loves you for you; no connection to Malefor will ever break something like that."

I wiped a slight tear from my eye as my smile widened; I needed to hear that. It didn't matter what the universe thought about me and Spyro, it should only matter how Spyro and I feel about each other. If he loved me and I loved him, then that should be more than enough.

"Thanks for saying that, Glacia," I said. "I'm sure Ignitus thinks the same about you."

"I'm not sure anymore, Cynder," Glacia muttered sadly, her lip quivering as her head drooped towards the ground. "It's been years, he probably thinks I'm dead…"

Before I could tell her otherwise, just as she did with me, we were suddenly interrupted by the faint sounds of something colliding with the fortress. A quiet rumble shook the cell slightly, a few particles of granite dust seeping out of the ceiling.

Glacia and I exchanged glances. "What was that?" The ice dragoness queried.

I peered through the bars of our cell door and saw nothing. Hmm… weird. "I don't know," I responded with uncertainty.

More sound came from afar, this time I heard voices from the left rather than the right. It sounded like the cheetahs were barking orders amongst each other, but over what? Did something come into the fortress and attack them?

"This way!" I heard someone shout, their voice sounding very familiar.

My heart started to beat rapidly as the realisation hit me. Wait a minute… it couldn't be? Could it?

I soon found out when the voices got louder, before revealing themselves from the shadows. Beyond the doors to my cell was Spyro, staring wide-eyed at the very sight of me. Hunter was also with him, gazing confusingly at our love-struck faces. Was this a dream? Was I hallucinating? Spyro was actually in front of me, right?

"Cynder!" Spyro exclaimed, a large grin appearing on his face.

I rushed to the bars and gripped them tightly, wanting to get as close to Spyro as I could. "Spyro?!" I said in a loud whisper. My eyes just lit up in delight; Hunter managed to bring him back to me, as he promised.

Glacia smiled at the sight of her son. "Oh, you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Stand back, I'm going to blast the door!" Spyro then ordered as he prepared to unleash an elemental attack, an orange aura illuminating from his throat when he took a deep breath.

A ball of fire ignited from Spyro's maw and directly contacted the iron door, leaving a puff of smoke behind which forced us to cover our eyes with our wings. Once the smoke cleared away, the door had completely vaporised, leaving behind a gap in the cell.

"Come on!" Hunter urged us, waving his paw at us frantically.

Both Glacia and I carefully climbed out of our cell, making sure that we didn't hit the red hot metal edges that were still cooling down from Spyro's fire blast. As soon as I made it of the cell, I immediately raced towards my boyfriend and pulled into a loving embrace. He felt so warm and comforting when he leant his head on my shoulder; I wasn't sure if it was because I'd been in a cold environment for a couple of days, or because Spyro had just used his fire element. Hmm, maybe it was both.

"I'm so glad you're okay..." I muttered into Spyro's ear, considering that he looked a little worse for wear last time I saw him.

"I'm glad you're okay," Spyro said, his eyes widening as we separated from our embrace. "I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner."

I cupped one of his cheeks and smiled warmly at him. "Hey, I knew that you'd come back for me eventually, you always come back." I murmured. "But just promise me one thing…"

Spyro raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Can I not be the damsel in distress next time?"

While Spyro did crack a smile, he didn't get to properly respond as Hunter cleared his throat, causing the two of us to frantically dart around towards him.

"Spyro, the plan…?" he said.

"Er… right! The Guardians should be with us any moment." Spyro moved away from me entirely and headed towards his mother. "Mum, are you ready?"

Glacia glanced nervously at her son; I think she knew what he was going to say after the word 'Guardian'. "R-Ready for what?"

"To see Ignitus again," Spyro said, which made Glacia stiffen up even more. "Don't worry, he doesn't know that you're alive yet. I tried to tell him but—"

I then tapped Spyro on the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Um, Spyro, I think it may be a bit late for that…"

"Why's that?" Spyro wondered, looking at me before turning his head to see what I was seeing. "Oh," he then muttered, after realising why I interrupted him.

Ignitus, along with the other Guardians, was standing just behind me and Spyro, their faces stuck on both astonished and mystified. Ignitus, especially, looked more bewildered, gazing at Glacia as if he was seeing a ghost. Well, in his point of view, he technically was.

Glacia, meanwhile, was almost having a panic attack, she was trembling slightly and she couldn't stay still for at least a second. I felt so bad for her, she had no time at all to prepare for this reunion. She didn't know what to do, neither of them did.

"Glacia?" Terrador queried, squinting his eyes. "Is that you?"

"It can't be…" Cyril muttered in disbelief. "It's not possible."

"Glacia? How wonderful, marvellous, delightful, magnificent to see you again!" Volteer chimed in, having a more happier tone than the other Guardians.

The ice dragoness didn't say anything, instead sporting a rather sheepish smile at the Guardians while her focus was maintained on Ignitus. I hadn't seen anyone this nervous before, but given the circumstances of what happened to Glacia… I couldn't say I blame her.

Wanting to help Glacia out, I put my paw on top of her paw reassuringly. She reacted and looked at me, her eyes begging for help.

I just gave her a small smile and said, "Hey… it's okay."

Seeing my kindness, Glacia returned a heartfelt smile in gratitude before slowly making herself towards Ignitus. Once the two adult dragons were almost face-to-face, Glacia took a deep breath and was the first to break the silence.

"H-Hey, Ignitus…" She murmured, rubbing the back of her head. "So, I-I'm alive… yay."

Ignitus didn't reply back, which made Glacia even more nervous than she already was. Come on, Ignitus! Say something to her!

"L-Look, I know what you're about to s-say," Glacia continued talking. "H-How did I survive after all these years? Why didn't I find a way b-back? Because I t-tried… I really did, I-Ignitus, but I couldn't. I w-wanted to go back home, be with you and r-raise our son… and it hurts me that I missed e-eighteen years of Spyro's life. But most importantly, I missed eighteen years of growing old with you… and I'm s-sorry, for e-everything."

Even when his wife was on the brink of tears, Ignitus still didn't say anything or even do anything. Spyro was about to go up and comfort his upset mother when I stopped him with my wing. When he gave me a questioning glance, I replied with a look that said 'not yet, one more chance.'

"Ignitus? P-Please, s-say something… it's m-me," Glacia mumbled, her eyes blotched red with tears.

Just as Glacia was about to burst into tears, Ignitus' tail curled around and gently wiped the moisture off her face with the tip of his tail frills. Glacia's eyes widened and was only met with a warm, loving smile from Ignitus, tears streaming down his own face.

"You are as beautiful as the day I lost you…"

Ignitus then leant in slowly and tenderly kissed Glacia on the lips, the ice dragoness staring wide-eyed at the sudden kiss before eventually melting into Ignitus' touch. Despite the circumstances around us, everyone couldn't help but smile at the heartfelt reunion.

But unfortunately all good things couldn't stay good for long, as Ignitus and Glacia's reunion was interrupted by another loud rumble, causing everyone to look up at the roof and the little dust particles that flowed out.

"Sounds like Squad Alpha's quickly advancing sooner than expected," Terrador pointed out.

"Then we must hurry, Prowler is bound to be on the higher levels," Ignitus said, separating himself from Glacia's embrace. "We should find him before we face Kronos."

"I know where he is, he's waiting for me…" Hunter then muttered. "I have to face him alone."

Cyril's eyes narrowed. "That is very unwise, feline. How do we know that you won't just betray us in the heat of battle?"

"Because I can vouch for him…" Spyro quickly responded. I looked at my boyfriend surprisingly, just the other day Spyro and Hunter didn't seem to get along but now Spyro can vouch for him? What happened between the two in the last couple of days for Spyro to suddenly put aside his differences?

Cyril raised an eyebrow. "You can?" He then turned to Ignitus for a second opinion. "Ignitus, you can't possibly—"

"If my son trusts Hunter then so shall I," Ignitus interjected.

Hunter bowed to the Fire Guardian in gratitude. "Thank you, Ignitus. I am in your debt…"

"Do what you have to do, then come back," Ignitus said. "We'll do our best to keep anyone away from you."

Hunter nodded and proceeded to head back in the direction that they arrived. But before the cheetah could leave, Spyro called out to him.

"Hey, Hunter." The cheetah darted around at the sound of Spyro's voice. "Good luck."

"You too."

Hunter then moved himself to an adjacent corridor and vanished out of sight. We just had to hope that the Ancestors were kind enough to spare Hunter of the sins of his past and let him survive against his uncle… we're going to need him for the upcoming battle.

After Hunter's departure, Ignitus then turned his attention to me and Spyro. "You two, I need you to head further up and find Kronos…" He then let out a sigh. "It's time."

Glacia stared at Ignitus, wide-eyed. "Ignitus, no…"

"Mum, it's fine," Spyro then said before Ignitus could respond. "I have to do this; I'm the purple dragon, it's kind of in my job description."

"You saw what he did to you last time; he almost killed you! I can't lose you again! Not so soon…"

"If I don't stop him, who can?! I'm the only one that might have the slightest chance of beating him," Spyro exclaimed. "Besides I won't be alone this time, I'll have Cynder by my side."

Spyro then gave me a hopeful glance. "Right?"

Without hesitation, I smiled reassuringly at my boyfriend. "Always."

"Okay… Then let's go get this son of a bitch," Spyro said, a slight grin appearing from the side of his mouth.

As Ignitus said, it is time. Time to bring Kronos down… for good.

May the Ancestors guide us all.

Oh, it's about to go down real soon! We're so near the end that I can almost smell it!

So I finally managed to complete this chapter three months after it should've been finished. Originally I was writing the next chapter for Phoenix, another story of mine, but I got stumped on that so I decided to write this in its place. Who knew I would take this long to finish this chapter? So I'm sorry for the delay everyone, but I have a new chapter now so I hope you enjoyed it!

On another note, I've heard rumours of shutting down which seemingly has been debunked by FictionPress' Twitter account detailing their roadmap for Q3 2022. Due to the rumours, I've uploaded Crazy Little Thing Called Love and The One to Archive of Your Own with plans to upload this story and others to the site in the future.

will always be the site where my stories live and I'll continue to upload to this site for who knows how long, this is just a precaution so my content won't get lost to those who enjoy it.

With that out of the way, I hopefully will be back next month for the next chapter of Phoenix then it's back for the final battle.

This is TARDIS1039, signing off… Allons-y!