Chapter 6

"What do you mean we shouldn't go there?! Are you insane?!" Spyro yelled, tail flicking from side to side in irritation as his raised head directed the shout at the figure above

Danox shrugged, hovering in the air, massive wings creating gusts of air that even from a distance managed to ruffle the feathers of two dragons below.

"Opinions about my mental health are a matter of unresolved dispute"

"This is not funny Danox! My brother is in that city!"

"My condolences Sire, I would happily accept the fact that your serenity is intact and all personal matters dealt with and safe, but alas we not always get what we want. In this particular case you're sadly in the losing position, but a lost battle doesn't mean a lost war as you surely know I'm sure"

"My brother won't be a spoil of any battle or war! I'm going in!" Spyro spread his wings, body bending, ready to jump, but immediately stopped by a black, thick tail of Danox

"I understand your problem Sire" Danox intensified the pressure on the purple shoulder, giving the young drake a stern look "But it is essential that you heed my warning. It is dangerous, even for someone of your caliber"

"Danox is right Spyro" Hunter commented, eyes locked on the black magical tendrils wrapping themselves around Warfang in the distance, he had seen his share of magic, but never anything like this before

"Before we rush into danger, maybe it would be best that we enhance our knowledge about our foe. Danox' information may prove invaluable in saving your brother and every other citizen of Warfang for that matter"

"More delays" Iris grumbled, paws clutching at the earth, digging rows in the ground as they clenched into fists "Fuck this shit"

Spyro frowned, every muscle just itching to action, teeth frantically rubbing back and forth across the lower lip.

"Tell us everything you know Danox, about the damnation and all" Cynder ordered, paw pulling at the choker, she had troubles breathing for some reason, her whole body was jiggling with numbing excitement and fear as if she would be going through some very impossible period of heat

"And make it quick"

She licked her mouth, tongue catching a salty taste as it wiped off beads of sweat that formed on her snout

Danox grinned as he looked at the black dragoness, her body was already beginning to glisten.

"You look extremely hot today I must say"

Spyro growled, irritation reaching its maximum level, normally he couldn't care less about Danox' cocky and arrogant behavior, but right now he could barely stand it. Not only he is blocking his way to his brother, but now he even decided to ignite the atmosphere even further by making stupid, dirty jokes regarding his mate.

His patience was almost at an end, he really wanted to start running, preferably giving the black dragon a shove on the way, but something ordered him to look at his mate, just throw her a quick glance.

His eyes widened when he did just that, the angered expression softening, giving room to shock.

She was really looking quite hot, literally, her whole body glistening with sweat. An image of their first night flashed before his eyes, back then her body glimmered in the same way, sadly though the memory vanished even quicker than it appeared, the worry eating at his heart was too strong to allow anything else inside his heart.

Under the pressure of eyes Cynder pushed her tongue out, not able to hide her state any longer, she gave a long, deep pant.

"I don't know…" her chest heaved, voice weak and tired, almost sounding like a moan, after those few words her chest was pumping in steady rhythm, she began to pant loudly, as if she would just finish one of the most taxing races of her life

"… what's going on with me" she jerked the choker a little bit harder, her moist toe however unable to get a proper grip, it bounced off the corner of the metal, making her slap herself in the chin while the choker smacked against her throat, interrupting her panting with a gag

"Pig" Iris snorted, looking around the group in disgust "Seems like there is no true male here after all, but no worries, we're a team" she rose her paw, giving the claws a flick of her tongue, brandishing them to the public "I can always fuck you up real good"

Danox laughed.

"As enticing as it may sound it won't be necessary. It's only magic my dear friends, not true passion. Our Cynder is a black dragoness" he nodded towards the city "Over there we have an explosion of dark magic. Let's just say that an event like that really pulls the legs of someone like us"

Flare cocked his head, examining both Cynder's and Danox' legs, seeing nothing of the mentioned pull, no rope or anything. He scratched his fiery mane in confusion.

"You're black too, I don't see it influencing you in any way" Cloudas noted, giving the hovering in the air black dragon an evaluating, intense look

"Oh it does my friend" Danox ran a claw along his shoulder, while he wasn't glistening like Cynder was, it was quite clear that he was sweating too, the claw making a visible, moist trail along the scaly body

"I just react differently, it differs between male and female, biology I suppose. Our lovely beautiful sex is more emotional, while we are more subtle, this doesn't change the fact that we are both influenced in the same way. I also twitch in anticipation, everything in me does, the feral beast in me just roars in pleasure and I can't wait till…"

He licked his lips thrusting both of his fores forward, both draconic hands clenching into fists, one paw above the other. His scales grew, stretched by the unexpectedly bulging muscles as if he would just finish a rather hard training session and every fiber of his body would be pumped. Thick veins pulsed on the muscles, sweat that was not visible before now flashed brightly, beads dropping on the ground when he twisted his paws, simulating a move as if he would be breaking someone's neck.

Cracks echoed, the intoxicated muscles pulsing with effort as he put his entire strength into the movement, a deep vein appearing on his flexed neck, usually emotionless black eyes narrowed, full of murder.

The sky seemed to darken, or it was just the tendrils of magic surrounding Warfang pulsing with renewed vigor.

Everyone in the group winced, Hunter's ears flattened on his skull, everyone in this silent moment agreed that their black companion gave credit to his scale color, looking extremely menacing.

Danox relaxed suddenly, pulling his legs back, making one of the paws to run over his head, a drop of sweat running down his nose from the scaly palm. He smiled widely, letting out a deep breath.

"Yessss. We both have our issues"

Spyro observed the intimidating dragon and the show he played out, it was bad enough when he was quiet and cocky, you never knew what to expect from him, knowing just well that he is dangerous, but at least Danox had enough sense in him to keep his powers at bay.

If what he says is true, and there is no reason not to believe him, Cynder and him were all the evidence they needed, then the upcoming adventure doesn't bode well.

Aggression.

Of course it had to be aggression, damn male ego.

"Perfect" Cynder dropped onto her butt, letting out a loud huff like a boiling water when it poured out from a pot and sizzled on the kitchen counter. She extended her paw towards Hunter "Can I have some water please, Ancestors I'm melting here"

"Naturally" without hesitation the scout served the dragoness

She reached out for the bota bag, her paw however instead of grabbing the water casket directly, clenched over the furry arm tightly. Her mouth opened up wider, tongue rolled out little farther, tail froze in place, she unclenched her paw, sliding her toes down the forearm, feeling every strand of a strong, male, muscular arm on the way towards the hand.

She grabbed onto the bag, instead however of letting go and removing it, she intensified the grip there, putting so much strength into the grip that Hunter's knuckles cracked as she pushed her claws in between his fingers, grabbing onto his hand.

His fingers remained stiff as a board.

She let out another huff, her heaving chest racing into a series of quick, short pants while her eyes trailed the length of a the arm, lustfully examining every standing strand of fur from the clothes. Then there was the shoulder, then the neck, which made her own shoulders wiggle anxiously, demanding a rough massage when she noticed a bulge of saliva stretching out the throat, exposing a thick, strong vein to her sight.

Eyes went up a little more, reaching the firm, sculpted chin of a male skull, a little higher came the rough lips, parted, revealing tips of sharp fangs hidden inside the mouth. Her throat began to burn at the sight, the choker around her neck burning her scales, there was only one thing that could save her from this torment, and it were those fangs piercing the flesh on her neck, pinning her into place.

A little bit more please.

Pretty please.

Nose, long feline nose, nostrils flaring, releasing breath after hot breath. Shivers crawled down her spine, the cooling energy she needed was right in that nose, let it puff up and down her back and she would freeze on the spot.

Finally there were the eyes, burning, passionate, desiring nothing else but to make her their a…

No.

Wait a moment.

Those eyes were huge, so wide that they nearly popped from their sockets, blue orbs radiating nothing else but complete and utter bewilderment of someone who lost his way in the woods.

Her eyes escaped from them, landing on her extended paw which was gripping Hunter's palm tightly, to the point that his fingers were turning blue as she cut the blood flow to them.

She was holding Hunter by the hand.

She just molested him.

Her friend.

Right on the eyes of her mate and everyone else.

Iris was right.

She is a pig.

Her own eyes grew to impossible size as she pushed her paw back fiercely, tearing the water bag from the hand. Blush filled her snout, drawing a red line across her nose and painting her cheeks with vivid, live color of fresh blood.

She threw her sight at her own paws, wincing in shame.

"Sorry"

Hunter remained frozen, his arm still extended, palm opened, this time though offering nothing but empty air.

Spyro Cloudas and Flare observed the whole scene with wide eyes of their own.

Iris shook her head.

"Pig" she mumbled in abhorrence, sitting on the ground and throwing her tail in front of her forepaws, she squeezed it tightly, pressing it tightly against her legs flexing her thighs at the same time

"Pig" another mutter, as quiet as a whisper, this time though her eyes locked under the door of her eyelids

Danox was the only one who found it amusing, roaring in laughter.

"It must be so fun being a female!"

Cynder threw a shy glance towards Hunter who immediately recoiled back, ears slapping against the head, arm thrusting back fiercely and diving into the pocket. He too lowered his head, blushing gently.

"You said it had nothing to do with passion!" Spyro growled, narrowing his accusing gaze at the hovering in the air dragon

"And I hold onto my words despite this interesting scene" the black drake grinned "It's magic, If I would go right now and beat some poor sod into a pulp it wouldn't help my condition. Cynder falls under the same influence, she might go and sleep with the entire city and it would still not be enough to quench that thirst. It is not true aggression, it is not true sexual drive, it is not hormonal, it is magical. Ecstatic yes, but fake, minds are still minds though and bodies are still bodies, it's feral instincts, and those don't care if it's fake or not"

"It is exactly like with Spirit Gems my friend, whenever you absorb one, you feel that intoxicating rush, that ecstasy as if you would absorb the whole cosmos yes?" Danox pushed up fiercely, making a back flip in the air, flipping around he began hanging in the air upside down, the blade tip of his massive, curled tail dangling in front of his mouth

"That thing over there" he thrust his fores forward, pointing at the dark infused Warfang in the distance, giving in the meantime his tail tip a nibble "That thing for us black dragons feels like a huge Spirit Gem which we keep on inhaling, again and again and again" he bit into the tip, gritting his teeth against the surface "It is a never ending rush of ecstasy" the last words came out as a sultry groan, voice muffled by the blade inside his mouth

"Does any of you take this fool seriously?" Iris blurted out "He's flopping around like a fucking spineless fish, the idiot is a clown and nothing else"

"Oh beautiful! It's not like that" Danox made another flip, returning to his original position, spreading his arms wide in welcoming gesture "I stay in the air, beating my wings, because it takes my mind off the condition, muscles can't protest when they are constantly working, yes? Letting me stay idle on the ground would make me very insufferable" he forced a shiver as if he would be shaking off water from his body, drops of sweat still flicked in some places, mouth spread into a dreamy smile, exposing the pearl white form of his teeth "I'm itching all over pretty dove"

"If you can't keep your paws steady then I suggest to put them to good use. Before you had no troubles of cutting yourself, try it deeper this time, around your neck preferably, it's going to be fun, trust me"

Danox burst into another fit of laughter, the explosion of joy throwing him into another complete back flip in the air.

"My loving dove, if those sweet lips of yours would only change their focus into a more intimate one, you would make any male thrilled"

Iris snarled, wanting nothing else right now, but to put her sweet lips to action as the black fucker said, she would go intimate even as he so desired, from there it wouldn't be far to biting his fucking tongue off, the perspective of silencing the dirty shit was very enticing she had to admit.

"But to answer your query" the black dragon placed a paw on his heart taking a deep breath, looking extremely peaceful and serene for a moment "With that delicious explosion of magical force behind us I no longer need pain to feel alive" he gazed back at the group, his usually lifeless black eyes seemed to grow with anxious, reckless youthful energy "This time however I'm aware that the reprieve is short lived, not worth succumbing to desire" smile stretched into a predatory smirk, fangs glistening from the amount of saliva accumulated on them like sweat on his entire body "Lucky we"

"I still don't get it" Spyro commented with a frown, interrupting the bickering of his companions "If that thing is a spirit gem then why I don't feel anything? Truth be told I never felt anything like that before anyway and Spirit Gems are draconic essence, besides the rush I never was so anxious as you guys"

"I'm not fluent in the arts of essence flow Sire I'm afraid" Danox shrugged nonchalantly "My only guess is that your typical Spirit Gem is a life force of a dragon that doesn't focuses on his element per se. It's like a combination of everything, a soup with many ingredients"

"The essence behind us is like salt, one taste, no room for mixing and experiment, privileged box with only the two of us capable of feasting on it. It is no secret after all that we dragons are born with magic inside our veins, it gives us life. Being so close to the thing that gives our particular draconic specie strength is like sinking your fangs into a vein of unending vigor" his glimmering eyes turned towards Cynder "Isn't that right my fierce companion?"

Fierce my tail.

She wanted to laugh at the words, melting like wax from a candle has nothing to do with being fierce, pathetic, yes, but fierce? Please, worthless compliment.

But she couldn't focus on things like that, for long at least, everything around her at some point, eventually felt like a male, raw and strong. Even the stupid ground she was clenching right now so tightly felt like a muscular, male chest sometimes, muscles of which she could feel underneath her twitching paws.

And then the feeling was gone.

It was enough to make her realize that Danox was right about it being magical, she wouldn't be able to shake off hormonal assault so easily. Then again this constant flipping between horny, desperate and aware made her frustrated beyond any reasonable level, making her want to rip out the core of the earth or impale herself even on a freaking tree branch and ride it into the ground.

If not for the fact that she was aware that this is a delusion, a very real one though, yet still fake since just a moment ago age felt just fine, she was sure that she would succumb to one of these desires. Even pleasure can be deadly and for sure it was more dangerous than pain, in the case of the latter you actually could tell when you were crossing the line that separates your from death.

"There is nothing good about it" she rasped, clenching her paw, not aware that the water bag Hunter gave her was already empty and under her moving claws, which kept moving back and forth all this time, turning the skin it was made of into shreds

She let out a wavering breath, head dropping down, drop after drop of sweat began to flow down upon the earth.

Despite everything that breath that left her throat just now made her feel a little bit cooler, who could expect that logical thinking can be so releasing.

"Getting addicted to vigor giving food leads to obesity and obesity leads to an unhealthy death. Even the sweetest vein can be poison if overdosed"

Danox jerked his head back, eyes blinking in surprise.

Amethyst eyes stared at the dragon intently, it was so weird and at the same time so nice to see genuine emotions when it comes to Danox. It made him proud.

"My, my" black lips stretched into a loving smile "Here I have to admit that my intention was to tease you a little, I didn't expect a worthy answer and yet there you are, surprising me, I'm impressed" he clapped his paws together, the muscles on his forelegs bulged and pulsed, sending streams of sweat down his black scales

"Anyway our friend is correct, exposure to this phenomenon won't be without consequence for the two of us, consequences that would much differ from the rest of you. It would be like getting affected by the power of an element when we were all young, while death is unlikely, we would have to spend years in that energy for it to occur on our stage of development, it would surely make us unpredictable and as you are aware both of us have a specific condition. Let's just say that you would have troubles telling who is exactly wearing our scales"

"It's easy" Flare nodded enthusiastically "The Beast"

That single word made everyone gaze towards the fiery drake, while not everyone understood exactly what it meant, like Cloudas for example, all of them could feel the strange, thick atmosphere that surrounded them after this little, seemingly innocent admission.

Spyro's heart however was the only one that began to race, because he understood immediately what it meant. Cynder no longer being herself, but a puppet for that monster that sits inside her, for him no more different than being Corrupted, despite the fact that Creep seemed to help them once in a while.

He experienced and saw many things in his life, nevertheless even after so many years he couldn't get rid of one single fear that froze his blood.

Seeing Cynder Corrupted again.

"I'm convinced" Iris stated firmly "Let's go into that shithole, I'm all up for erasing Tat's and Shitscale's personality. The freaks inside them can't be worse than they are"

"Nobody asked for your opinion Iris" Spyro scolded the ice dragoness, his raw, blunt statement supported by the cold, basically callous glare he was giving her

How you dare?

Her muscles flexed after the display of blunt disrespect from his side, she wanted to throw herself at him, nothing erotic this time, this time only bloody punishment in her mind. Yet she kept her ground, the little purple shit lucky that her focus was directed at his usefulness, she had enough sense in her to realize that she provoked him, not that it mattered to her in someone else's case, Goldie played in a different league though.

This is why she could hold back her anger, knowing just well that she triggered him by reminding him of the uselessness of his black fucktoy. A typical male, with an exceptional trait not seen in any other, that special trait the only thing that pardoned him.

She still snarled though, brandishing her fangs at him, making sure that he understands that such boorishness won't be tolerated forever.

It was hard to tell if he didn't understand the signal or simply didn't care, his eyes were already gone from her before she could process his reaction.

To think she wanted to give herself to him.

Ungrateful dick.

"Your encouragement is inspiring precious dove" Danox made a small bow "Alas I have to disappoint you my stunning companion, there won't be any erasing taking place, merely a vacation of sorts. The magic would overwhelm us, yes, but only in that area and there is no certainty that we wouldn't be able to shake back into control just enough to get our bodies out of there if our support drivers would behave inappropriately. Magic in our veins is just an addition, we have our own souls and that part is immune to every kind of influence but our own"

"You two will stay behind" Spyro shook his head, the idea of being separated from Cynder and leaving her alone with Danox, who despite everything is still mysterious and creepy made his knees buckle, but it was better than the alternative "I won't let you become Corrupted"

"If I may Sire" the flying black dragon rose a claw in the air "Add one more thing?" without waiting for response he cleared his throat "I understand the popular misconception of putting our Dark essence together with Corruption, but I must clarify that they are not the same thing, the latter can only be forced, a leaking Spirit Gem power we are dealing with has no such strength, our minds will remain intact, even if sleepy"

"Cynder's element was born from Corruption, this is a fact not a misconception" Spyro argued sternly "Maybe there are differences between Corruption and your element, but we still know too little about Dark to make guesses, I understand your point of view, you want to live like anyone else, but I prefer to work with facts and facts show that Dark was bred from Corruption. I won't let it take over if I can help it"

"You don't know how your own magic works?" Cloudas cocked his head, eyes jumping between the two black dragons

"It's…complicated" Cynder buried her gaze even harder at the earth, it was rather embarrassing being reminded that she hardly understands herself while for many years she was the only member of the black dragon caste

A symbol to look up to for future generations, like Danox for example and yet he seems to know more than her.

No wonder people forget about her in the stories they tell about Spyro.

"How is that possible? You're from the future right?" Cloudas swung his paw, grabbing the entire world in his wave "This is the future right?"

"Precisely!" Danox clapped his paws, his squinted at the wind dragon's black eyes glimmered with hard to read glow "And I'm the future of this future"

"Then it boggles my mind even more!" the wind drake head sprung up, stretching on the neck to its limit, making the googles clinging to his small horns to rattle "You guys seem to not be aware just how awesome you are, I thought it was modesty at first…but now" he shook his head with a giggle "I'm teaching the Shapers about themselves, unbelievable!"

Spyro and Cynder exchanged only polite smiles between each other, with a mutual shrug allowing their new companion to bathe in his personal glory.

"Dragons for all I know might be responsible for the creation of the whole world!" Cloudas continued his joyful, boasting explosion, sparkling eyes unaware of his surroundings

Claw reached for the necklace, touching the chain and spinning the medallion around, making the chain to wrap itself around his claw, with a jerk in the opposite direction it began to unfurl. He kept repeating the shaking, moving the medallion back and forth along the toe while his mouth kept stretching slowly into a more dreamy grin with each passing second.

"Little me teaching the big guys how to rule over the world. This are children stories!" he laughed, letting out a snort in the process "You dreamt of it, people kept telling you that you will never do anything worthwhile and look now Cloudas" his wings flared up, beautiful feathers standing on end, mesmerizing Iris on the spot

"And you did it, without invitation to Shade! Not only black, but even a purple dragon listens to you! What about THAT?!"

Flare observed the excited wind dragon with a wide grin, his tail making wide, happy swings. Happiness was so addicting, even more so when it is caused by his friends. He liked their new friend already, he was special too.

Hunter politely chuckled into his fist, covering the smile that stretched his lips, it was rather adorable to see the young dragon losing the sense of the entire world in his joyful rapture. It spoke about innocence, a thing that is so rare and so valuable in this world now.

"Okay Cloudas, we get it, you're happy" Spyro broke his small paradise, trying to sound casually and firmly as a leader, but unable to hide the laughter in his voice and the guilt wavering in the spoken letters. Not only he felt bad about breaking the wind dragon's bubble of pride, he also knew that the snap will bring back everyone to reality and right now reality wasn't looking too good.

"But could you get to the point please? Time is of the essence"

Cloudas balked, looking around the group, catching the sight of every single eye staring in his direction. A fierce blush hit his snout, making it extremely visible on his bright scales, the claw that was playing with the medallion froze in place, wings flopped down in shame like feline ears.

"Was I…speaking aloud?"

Cynder giggled, her laugh coming out as a whimper, all that accumulated air whizzing out of her at once, she nearly fainted from the exposure, laughter was such a relief in her current situation, making her forget about her condition, even if for a while.

"A little bit"

"Sorry, sorry" the wind drake dropped his head, pulling at the mane in a futile attempt to cover his embarrassment further "I didn't-"

"It's okay Cloudas" Spyro interjected once more, his voice as warm and supporting as possible "The point, please"

"Yeah, yeah, alright" the young white drake cleared his throat, straightening up, yet avoiding eye contact nevertheless "What I wanted to say is that it is really boggling that you guys know so little about your own magic. In my world and that is the past according to you, black dragons lived in Shade for generations"

"I don't know what Corruption is, but it sounds bad, anyway from what I could see the Shapers of the Shade citadel weren't afflicted by anything like that, if they would then the fortress would crumble in the first days right? And it stood there for countless years! If being exposed to their own essence would be so dangerous than we would at least hear about one lunatic who broke the rules and did something crazy"

He nodded, as if acknowledging an unheated question.

"I understand that there was a risk that something like that happened, I mean I never been inside, and the black dragons locked up or healed the dragon afflicted by this Corruption, but I honestly doubt it. We dragons live for a long time, there would be at least someone who would tell about a renegade black dragon, or at least write a legend about it, but nothing like that happened. I'm pretty sure that if one of the Shapers would get cursed or whatever you call it, then in the span of all these years at least one corrupted dragon would slip past the guards. A Corrupted Shaper is still a Shaper, probably more dangerous because it would make him or her unpredictable"

Cloudas shrugged innocently "My point is that if your magic would be corruptive for any reason, without any means to control it, Shade would be gone in the first years of its existence. So my conclusion is that, considering the fact that Corruption is real as you said, the host, in this case black dragons are stronger, more valuable, basically the ruling force between them and the magic that is part of their essence. Magic cannot exist without its host"

"Wrong" Danox noted "A dragon cannot exist without his magic, no essence means death, this is from where stillbirths come from"

"Okay, then differently. Magic cannot exist without a strong host, a dragon can exist with a weak magical link, he won't be an elemental master, but he will live and still can function normally, be an expert in engineering or any other form of work. Magic without a strong host withers and never reaches its true potential. This is why no matter the power of the element, it can never overwhelm the owner in my opinion if the host knows how to control his magic. Temporary switches of the leading role, yes, but forever? Unlikely"

The hovering in the air black dragon nodded, predatory smirk stretching his mouth.

"Bright minds think alike"

"So many words" Flare rubbed his forehead, wincing in discomfort "My head is starting to hurt"

The innocence stole a chuckle from Cynder's and Hunter's throats.

"Are you always blabbering so much?" Iris rolled her eyes in irritation

Cloudas blushed, picking at the tuft of feathers on his cheek.

"I don't know, it happens. I just like to explain everything so people know what I'm talking about"

"This calmed me a little" Spyro admitted "But I think it's still dangerous, while I can guess what will happen to Cynder I have no idea what will happen to you" he turned towards the black dragon "You're not really helping by not telling us about your special condition, you can't just disappear when this magic takes over your senses"

"Concern!" Danox gasped, slamming two paws against his heart as he tilted back, putting more effort into the flapping of the wings, stretching basically lying in the air, back directed at the floor, his quickly beating wings keeping him aloft

"I'm humbled Sire"

"Danox" purple throat let out a gentle growl of irritation

"When I said Sire that we shouldn't go there, I wasn't saying it because I'm a coward, I've said it because it's dangerous" he rolled over onto his belly propping his chin on folded paws as he looked down at the purple drake

"Not because of the two of us, we are the most influenced, true, but it makes my condition unimportant during such events, because of one thing specifically. Darkness is in every one of us"

Spyro balked, freezing on the spot, while Danox didn't present yet a total explanation for his words it was already enough for him to be reminded about one crucial issue.

Dark Spyro.

If that released magic is capable of influencing the essence of dragons, then there is no stopping it from touching his dark counterpart. Suddenly Danox' condition became unimportant, there was always a chance that their black companion will shake off the taxing sensation.

Something he had troubles doing himself, all this time he needed the assistance of someone he cares about to bring him back. If Creep takes over Cynder and they won't find Sparx, then there is no stopping Dark Spyro from unleashing his deadly reign.

"Cheetahs don't wield magic" Hunter interfered "There are legends naturally about our Ancestors having connection to the Realms magical soul, but it never developed above a tale"

"You don't need to throw fireballs to have magic in your veins my dear friend" Danox corrected the cheetah, gesturing with his paw towards the surrounding world, pointing at everything and nothing in particular

"The world is birthed from the normal elements, like fire, earth and the like, standard trifles with which I'm sure you're familiar with" a single claw rose in the air "There is another matter however that people seem to ignore, Aether and that my friend is the energy of the universe without which known life wouldn't exist. And for life to thrive there needs to be…" Danox licked his mouth with a wince, as if he would be wiping a sour taste off his lips "balance"

"Light Aether, Dark Aether, both are present, normally their influence is subtle and genuine, Warfang currently leans towards the blacker side. Just because our element is the shade of Darkness, that doesn't mean you won't be influenced"

"So what are you trying to say?" Spyro growled, pulling on one of his fins in annoyance "That we should wait here and see what happens?"

Danox shrugged.

"Preferably"

"And what about all these people in Warfang? What about the people that are like we now and decide to investigate, what happens with them when this Dark Aether takes hold of them?"

The black dragon straightened, for the first time during this conversation he landed on the ground, his snout losing the excited appearance, turning serious and mysterious, a mask he was most recognizable for. Black head turned in the direction of the city, observing it in prolonged silence.

"I don't know" he admitted openly, there was something strange in the breathy voice, it sounded strangely natural for some reason.

Empty.

Devoid of arrogance and malice.

Neutral, emotionless confusion.

Spyro jerked his head back, tilting it to the side.

He reminded him of Creep so much.

"How can you not know?" Cynder interjected, giving their black companion an intense, almost blaming look "You're from the future"

"I'm not as young as you, some of the events happened before my time"

"You said that this is our damnation" Spyro noted, narrowing his eyes on the drake, for the first time during their whole acquaintance he thought he understood why Creep fears Danox. The same incoherent words that seemed like lies, short enough to make the impostor trip over them. The exact way of speaking, but in the end avoiding the answer.

Creep feared Danox because it was like looking into a mirror to him.

Or perhaps it was paranoia, bad news tend to stir the most depressing and unfair thoughts.

"I did, didn't I?" Danox looked at the ground, rising one of his paws to look at it closely

It was shaking.

"The event that unfolds before us, this was the final step where my world received the most tremendous of blows, from there path to genocide ended, sealing our fate. When I entered the world as a young dragon we were already a dying race, another wave of Veil that followed was nothing compared to this. Here we lost most of our population, not only dragons, but other people as well"

"This sad episode was silenced during our time, whether the knowledge remained a secret to the general populace or was sealed behind several closed lips, I cannot tell. There weren't many survivors and those that pulled through were never the same before. This period in our lives was written into history tales as a Loop"

Black shoulders shrugged, head shaking slowly from left to right.

"I cannot say precisely what the Loop stood for exactly, or what were its symptoms, as I said, it was a secret. The standard fairytales circled about great evil and how it was vanquished. What exactly was this great evil people could only speculate and probably they never guessed right. I won't mention these histories, I believe that they are just figments of imagination"

"It is most strange that an event that caused such destruction was never properly explained, at least as a lesson for future generations as to avoid and prepare if another similar crisis would approach"

Hunter added his thoughts, twirling a thumb into the palm of the hand that not so long ago was ran through by a shard, the itching of growing back fur irritating the skin too intensely for some reason.

Must be the nerves.

"Heroic tales never come without a price my dear friend, good triumphing over evil without cost happens only in fairytales. As a black dragon I know what dirty work means, you do what you do and bury everything to forget and never return. Public does not like sacrifices, but sacrifices are crucial to save many"

Danox turned around, his emotionless eyes focusing on the purple drake, orbs as black as coal seemed to glimmer with a faint spark of flame, like that of a barely holding to life match.

"You grew to understand that during the Loop crisis my Sire"

Spyro challenged the dragon with his own stern gaze, already knowing that he was the one who solved that crisis, following Terrador's advice about being confident among your team he didn't let the black dragon to know his true feelings.

And true feelings were that of total dread, he had enough sacrifices for a lifetime, Ignitus covered that bill in full.

"So Spyro stopped it?" Cloudas asked excitedly, his fascination regarding the Shapers silencing his sense of guilt

"Naturally, as it was to be expected from a legendary dragon who put the world together"

"But he had to make sacrifices to win" Cynder finished the lingering in the air thought, her eyes full of grateful depression, mind already putting puzzles together

When they first met Danox he said about the two of them that they started a family and Sparx lived to an old age. If the history repeating itself, then Sparx is already in Warfang and to save him Spyro needs to go there.

And she will go with him.

All the oblivion she feared would begin, Spyro who she tried to push away from her life as best as she could, to place herself only on one half of importance in his life would ignore her pleas as he so many times warned her about and do something unthinkable to save the people he cares about, making a decision that would scar him forever.

Spyro met her gaze, feeling her fright and attention, he didn't try to comfort her in any way, he was unable to, his own soul was trembling from fear.

Sometimes she wished that their soulmate connection would be silent once in a while.

Danox nodded without a word.

Cloudas' eyes jumped between one young Shaper and the other, judging from their expressions, they both came to the conclusion that the sacrifice, whatever it might be, may be a heavy burden to bear.

Their fear however seemed to be too reckless for him, every action has a consequence, yes but action requires motivation, a push that forces you in one direction or the other. The shove though doesn't happen automatically, life presents you with a choice and it's up to you to make it.

Life is an unending deal, a trade for a trade, he learned it the hard way that not every bargain is profitable, but the time spent on the losing side taught him one thing. You always have a better chance at winning if you know your strengths, know your leverages and right now they had one big advantage over this strange event.

It was the last step according to Danox.

They encountered it as their first. Their actions forced their opponent into a rushed move.

They had the advantage of time.

"It might not be as bad as it seems" Cloudas stated, gazing at the twirling sphere of darkness hovering over the city, it seemed to recoil from his gaze

"Remember what I said about the portals? Same rule applies here. The you in the future never encountered the Veils, they caught the future you by surprise, the thing over there probably did the same, forcing decisions, some of them you would probably never considered if you wouldn't be forced into them. It's like with waking up, you should get up with the sun as you planned, but then again nothing stops you from sleeping in a little more, whatever was planned to happen in the morning missed its chance because you decided to play by your rules. If you go back to your planned tasks in that day later, the outcome will be different cause whatever was there waiting for you in the morning changed places already, time didn't wait for you"

Cloudas looked over his companions, having the attention of every eye, luckily he didn't realize the pressure he put on himself.

But then again he was no stranger to attention.

"You know what I mean?"

White paw gestured towards Warfang, green claws pointing in the direction of the city.

"It might look the same like the crisis Danox talks about, but it's not exactly identical. Things that weren't there in the future, might be here now, or vice versa. Were you inside when it happened in the future or where you outside like now?" the paw made a swing across the group "Did you have all of us by your side?" he tapped at his temple, each knock ruffling a different feather "And most importantly, did you know what was going on? We know that right now for example"

"The question is who made the first offer? I can guess from Danox' words that it was the future you who showed his cards first and was countered. Today the roles changed, you are the guy who rises the stake"

Cloudas trailed the star pattern that ran along his flank, gazing at it almost lovingly.

"It's like with the constellations, they are a boring trader, always showing the same offer. It is you who decides its value though, the value changes depending on your choices, it is different for an adventurer lost in the woods and mates lying under the night sky on a field. Stars though in reality always shine the same"

These words weren't truly inspirational, there was no huge amount of emotion in them or any other aspect of motivational speech that would steer armies into battle like a war cry of reinforcements suddenly appearing on the battlefield. These words were blunt and full of honesty that just made you think.

Even Iris was among the people that were touched by this words, sighing deeply her head dropped down, gazing at her blue paws and curled white claws.

Choices.

Choices are bitches.

They use you far more rougher than any male can, not taking advantage of you, playing on your wounds and weakness, no, choices present a situation and openly ask you to act, on your own.

When you are getting abused you at least have someone to blame for your misery, after all it is not your fault that the fucker you met was thinking with his dick only. Bad decision however was completely different, in this case there was no one else to blame but yourself.

Being a defenseless, beaten toy is far better than being a total failure lacking intelligence and self preservation measures. Bad decisions show just how small you are.

And what's worse, besides being a total loser is the unending drilling at the back of your head, constantly shouting at you that all of this could be prevented if you only decided to follow the other idea.

Her paw clenched over the medallion hanging around her neck, despite the fact that she took great care in putting the chain together with her magic as to avoid touching the heart of the necklace, this time though the medallion felt extremely rough and heavy. No matter how much she twirled her paw around, she just couldn't get a proper grip on it that would allow it to rest perfectly in her scaly palm.

It seemed like it just kept on moving, a part of it at least, long as a mouth.

As she listened she could hear the memento speaking in an elderly, warm, familiar voice.

You know why you are weak?

Iris wasn't the only one who was stricken by contemplation, Hunter straightened up, wriggling his shoulders into a confident pose, thumb running back and forth against the symbol on his coat.

Choices sounded so similar to Hope.

Flare was also put into a state of deep focus, not by the words however, but the conversation in general, he kept on twirling the strands of his fiery mane, dragging one after the other separately.

They never were the same length.

Spyro and Cynder were the two most influenced dragons, both blaming themselves just how blind despair and fear makes them, blocking the possibility to see past their troubles and finding strength in the situation they were in.

Cloudas was right in every regard, his calculating mind once again striking precisely in a place where they almost accepted the fact that they will have to face the unchangeable, dire consequences of their actions.

They were the ones dealing the cards, it was as simple as that, the enemy showed its face, in their paws was the chance to punish their opponent for it. And they had everything they needed for that, all that was required was a proper look.

"You are right" Spyro breathed in awe, giving the wind dragon a grateful nod as he looked towards his mate, his eyes burning with happiness and determination

She smiled at the sight, another hot shiver ran through her body, this time though she welcomed it gladly.

For the first time during this episode Danox sat down, he's muscles freezing, nerves stopping to itch, it was like his nervous system would shut itself down entirely, leaving nothing in its wake but an emotionless husk. Husk that buried his dark eyes into the young wind dragon who beamed under the grateful attention he was getting.

He was like a statue, unmoving, with only the eyes moving, following its prey like in some horror story about a demon stalking its victim.

He could sense the anxiety in the wind drake's movements, despite the pride he was feeling he didn't try to catch eye contact. He had learned his lesson to the fullest, understanding perfectly well that among all the praise can be a fake, door instead of leading to fame push you nowhere else but closer to the hellish pits of the Dark Realms.

Devils make for wonderful advocates, but it seems that even they get lost in bottom of their pride.

Unexpected.

Scary.

Interesting.

And so damn fun.

"Remember you will not always win. Some days, the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow, after you have done your best to achieve success today" he recited, another first timer during this heated debate

Words of wisdom gathered throughout the years hardly surprised him, they became part of him after all this time, using them was like breathing.

This is why the spoken words made him blink, paw itching to land on the chest to feel the lung under the scales that seemed to collapse all of a sudden.

He really did breathe for the first time.

Oh my.

Cloudas was right.

This was something new.

"Thanks for opening my eyes Cloudas" Spyro congratulated the young wind drake, giving him a respectful, short bow

The white dragon blushed once more, averting his gaze, running a paw over his snout.

"It's nothing"

"We can make this work guys, whatever is happening in Warfang right now we can't just let it alone and hope for the best. If this is the Loop that made the genocide of our world a certainty then we have to stop it"

Amethyst eyes turned towards the city, the darkness surrounding it seemed to become smaller, black tendrils no bigger than sparkling fire as if the whole magical phenomenon would cower in fear.

"We got the advantage of surprise now, we can prepare and this is why I suggest we need to send in people who will surely not get affected by this magic, or not on the same degree like some of us"

"I will gladly support your cause" Hunter stepped forward, bowing deeply, one hand clenching the symbol on his coat tightly

"I'm not certain what we will find there, but now that we know what to expect, I believe I will be able to counter the danger" thumb rubbed over the memento reverently

"I have Hope"

Spyro nodded with a smile, Hunter is perhaps not the most talkative of people, not the party starter type of guy, but he is a great friend and a loyal companion, on who you can always count on.

"I need to ask for your help, your condition probably makes you more resistant to the influence of that magic"

"Me?" Cloudas balked, eyes growing wide as boulders "How can I help you? I don't know any of you, or your friends, or anything else for that matter that can be going on in the city"

"I do" the cheetah added, placing a hand on the scaly shoulder "We have to do this my friend. I don't want to scare you, but you will be a great distraction, our world has no wind dragons any longer besides you"

"Ummm…I like attention, but…" he pulled at the peck of feathers on his cheek "lunatics aren't really my favorite type of an audience"

"Please Cloudas, we'll make it up to you" Cynder pleaded, her whole body itching at the thought of repaying a male and as a girl she had all the means to do so

Cloudas sighed, he had no choice, these guys dragged him out of his world without him asking for it, all he could do now was to repay them. A favor for a favor, it's just another type of a deal.

However this time he was certain that there were no catches, something he wished he considered some years back when he was young and stupid.

The little detail that makes all of this brutally funny was not the fact that he made a reckless mistake in his youth, many would call that naivety a catch. For him though the worst punishment was the consequence of this bad call, leaving with the parents was a nightmare. He respected wind, they all did, but somehow it wasn't nice to be treated as air.

"I'll do it, but don't blame me if I screw up, I don't really make the best decisions"

Spyro smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, we'll make it" he looked over the group, his posture radiating confidence "We all will"

Danox straightened, opening his wings to fold them back with a satisfying crack of bones, riding the membranes of their unexpected tension. During all this conversation between the younger companions one of his paws was busy, scratching the chin fervently.

So hard that delicate lines of blood filled the irritated scales.

The mind can play by many rules, some of them really are wicked, the tricks unforeseen even after so many years of life and gathering knowledge.

Nothing can prepare your for altering a timeline, this little nuisance is reserved only for one specific creature.

Even some of the less important cattle can be right, after all years after years passed and one habit remained the same. Generation began a generation, learning of their sires and either following in their example or going the opposite way. This is the role of the offspring, to learn and take notes, ironically nobody pays this natural process any heed though.

He was the same.

He should have really paid attention to his parents more, hunger had nothing to do with it, it was just an excuse to abruptly end the process.

Bad decisions require that you pay for them.

"Absence polishes passion, presence reinforces it" he recited, his usually steady deep voice reached slightly lower tones, sounding really official as if the spoken words weren't just a quote from a book, but a sentence in court

For some reason the somewhat gloomy reaction from Danox made Spyro grin triumphantly, which made him feel both satisfied and embarrassed.

"This is our world, we aren't running away from time, we are punching it" purple eyes gazed towards the swiveling darkness ahead. It was barely visible, its thick, deep colors seemed faded, also its complete magical structure didn't look like before, it seemed as if it shrunk under their confident stares.

A spark of pride glistened in the amethyst eyes as they enjoyed the sight.

"We are starting the countdown this time" Spyro announced and there was silence, it looked like it had befallen on the entire Realms.

It looked like the whole world agreed with him on this idea.