Chapter 57: The Past That Haunts Me

"Fear."

Looking to the skies in horror for what Warfang had become; buildings rose to the air, pieces of concrete below lifted to make platforms, it all resembled the destruction of earth itself when it too had been destroyed by the Dark Master once before. The world around them crumbled, shuck, and shattered before their very eyes; before Ersa's. The voice that had spoken to her, that had whispered to her, was none other than Alina herself. But could she even be called that anymore? She walked from behind Ersa, toying with her, gradually sliding a talon against the yellow female's side to signify what she could do, and she did so. Ripping off flesh and scales just as her claw came off of Ersa made the yellow female cry, but not too much. Her tears were to the situation and to what they were now facing, unable to look or defend herself against the dragon before her. Many had seen this, including Cynder herself, "ERSA!"

Running ahead in hopes to aid, the female was stopped by the ground around her. Black beams seemingly sliced the area around her, and was lifted to the air with enough force to keep Cynder down and on the ground as it flew upwards. Malefor couldn't help, the girls were scattered or afraid, which left Alina by herself and with her victim. However, and unfortunately, Alina seemed much, much different, no longer allowing a long, drawn out conversation. She wanted instant gratification. She wanted blood, and now was the time. The female snickered to Ersa, knowing she was all talk from the very beginning, "Hehe. Oh, Ersa. You truly were nothing but a fool. Why do you even..." Placing a talon to her chest, Alina dug deep before slicing across it, making a gash within, causing blood to spill out, "BOTHER!"

Her teeth clenched, but not much else. Ersa looked down in anger upon the dragoness in front of her, but still, even for someone who seemed so turned and against everything, tears were still on display; new ones of fresh pain and suffering. This wasn't her, and whoever it was made sure Alina didn't make the same mistake. Even with her death assured, Ersa laughed in the face of it, "You know, hehe... for someone who talks a big game, you still cry like a new born," Alina snarled to this, knowing there was no way to hide what emotions did to her body, "Hehe... you think... ...you think you scare me?"

"Hehe," Alina giggled to this, finding Ersa's humor rather enjoyable, "Funny coming from someone so close to their end. Shame. You laugh in the face of death, but nothing more."

"Oh yeah?" Ersa smirked, "And what makes you think I can't cheat it, too? Wouldn't be the first time. Hell, I even fooled Ancestors and Gods."

"I guess that's for you and the devil to decide then," The Dark Dragoness had her fun, and was now ready to end things, "The purple dragon will surely kill himself once knowing of your death by his paws. A hole in your chest will suffice, as I'm sure it will be easy for him to loop that memory. And if not, before he kills me, I'll make sure his darkness forever attacks him for it," Reeling her arm back and sharpening her claws, the corrupted female gave her fair wells, "Goodbye, Ersa. I'd say it's been nice, hehe... but I'd be lying."

Even with the stunned female's watching on in horror and with nothing to do, they still cried, but couldn't move, "NO! ERSA!"

No one was able to do anything but to watch on in horror. With her arm back and her claw at the ready, she went in for the kill. However, before she could, some noticed a rather shiny looking object in Ersa's mouth. She moved it from the side of her cheek to her teeth before quickly biting down onto it. As Alina's claw punctured the female, suddenly, she disappeared. Even for someone like Alina, she gasped, disbelieving that someone such as Ersa could be even faster than a purple dragon. Hearing the gust of wind and shattered glass, the Dark Dragoness quickly turned around to inspect the noise. She was at a lost for words, perplexed as to how this female was even still alive, let alone without any wounds. Ersa, stood tall and proud now, seemingly prepared for a fight, putting something else within her mouth before throwing a gem off to a wall that dug in tightly, "You know, I knew this was to happen. Maybe not to this degree, or even so soon, but I know of curses well enough that a simple, 'please don't be evil', would never work," Standing back down to her fours, Ersa smiled to her intelligence, "I knew Malefor well, too, which is why I let you read his thoughts when Cynder asked. I made sure you knew I was a threat by knowing things you'd be displeased about, and would be out for my head for," Alina didn't especially like being played, and yet still, seeing her alive only made more tears form to the Dark Dragoness's eyes, "It's another reason why I knew I needed Volteer to rush on out of here, because if he saw that, he would've acted rash and never would've allowed me to do such a thing."

Through gritted teeth, rage, and anger, Alina barked at her, "OH YEAH?! You think you're so smart?! What the hell did you gain from it?!"

"It's not what I gained, but more so others," Ersa smirked rather wide, knowing so far, they had at least one victory under their metaphorical belt, "We appreciate you telling us of Spyro's condition. Gives us more hope, more drive, and more of a reason to fight. To save you, to save him, to protect everyone. You did that with your own words, your own choices and decisions. And now that we all know that not only can Spyro be saved, but you as well?" Alina's claws scrapped the floor below, already at the breaking point of wanting to slit this dragoness and her throat, "We appreciate your corporation. I'd say step one is complete. Now for step two."

"And just what the hell might that be?!" The Dark Dragoness was curious.

"Kicking your ass. At least until the true power houses come back."

This actually made Alina laugh for once. The amount of power, speed, and abilities at her disposal; for someone so weak and fragile like a scientist to stand toe-to-toe with an indestructible force of nature was laughable. So much so that the Dark Dragoness even allowed her the first hit, "HAHAHAHAHA! And just - hehehehe - and just what the hell do you think you can do to someone the likes of me?! Malefor couldn't stop me, Corvus couldn't stop me, NO ONE CAN STOP ME! I have the power of time at my disposal! How could you possibly hope to hurt me?!" All Ersa could do was smile; warmly in fact, "Go ahead. Do your worst, but I can tell you now that -"

"It's alright, you don't need to tell me anything."

Ersa's voice was no longer far and away from her, but rather in front of her now. Alina gasped, but quickly swung her tail blade around to slit the dragon's throat. With a simple grab with her paw, even though the blade made contact to her palm, it didn't go through her scales. The Dark Dragoness was in awe to her speed, her strength, but couldn't wrap her head around how she was doing it. I should be able to see all, feel it around and within! How the hell is she that fast?! How... how is she this strong?! Alina's heart raced upon looking to her blade. She was putting a massive amount of force into it, and yet Ersa held it with a single paw, and without even breaking a sweat. She wanted answers, and Ersa laughed when giving them, "You see, you of course can control time. But like your corruption to Spyro, I myself can bend space and time."

The Dark Dragoness nearly dropped her jaw in disbelief and now truly believed Ersa was messing with her, "You're a simple fleshy being that's meant to be used and reused for the planet! Who the hell do you think you are to be so nonchalant about bending the fabrics of the universe?!" It didn't make sense to her, and even if she did explain it, there would've been zero chance of understanding it all, "Where did this come from? Who are you really?! What are you?! IS THIS ALL SOME SORT OF ILLUSION?! YOU CAN'T MESS WITH MY HEAD!"

"Hehe. Let's see if I can answer everything in order," The yellow female smiled at her, "I was born from my parents, I'm a dragoness who possesses that of lightning, as I said before I'm just a simple dragoness, no this isn't an illusion, and you may be right that I can't mess with your head. However," Winding back her other fist, she smiled before making contact, "I 'can' mess with your insides."

Swinging down low for a blow, the attack was successful, and somehow someway, destructive, powerful, and devastating to the purple dragon's body. Alina coughed blood, and was thrown backwards from the attack. Yet still, Ersa held onto the tail blade of the purple dragon, so before Alina's body could even land, Ersa had other plans. Gripping tightly, she spun the body around a few times before stiffening; using all her weight and strength to slam the dragoness into the floor. It worked surprisingly well, and with a cough upwards that spewed blood, Alina's back was now lodged into the floor. Ersa stood rather triumphantly, and all that Alina could really do was look on in horror and confusion. Rather leave her in the dark, the dragoness was always down to explain her science, "Purple dragons are kinda like this one guy that you read from books. 'Superman', was it? You see, another reason why they wanted their history to be so buried and hidden was because of the stories they told, and the information they gave. The same way someone so powerful has so much strength, they too have something equally weak. What it is I'll never tell, but after researching the scales, cells, molecular biology, and structure of the purple dragon, I've found its weakness. But there is a way to counter it."

"Oh yeah...?" She grumbled and groaned, trying to release herself from the ground below, "And what's that?"

"Well, you see, it affects the purple dragon's biologic makeup, not dark dragons. So, if you so wanted to and decided to attack me 'without' being in a purple dragon's body, you'd be fine. But since you are, his weaknesses are now your own, and can easily be manipulated."

"And what if I simply chose to corrupt you instead," Alina had her way out, but even that Ersa planned for.

"You'd be ripped apart and trapped piece by piece within a gem inside me," The Dark Dragoness couldn't tell whether she was bluffing or not, but from the sounds of it, she wasn't, "Hehe, of course a part of Volteer is really the only thing I'd ever want inside me, but I've made precautions ever since I came back to Warfang. You'll be trapped in the same type of gem I trapped Malefor in so long ago, although this time and due to your strength, your darkness doesn't seem to have a limit, but the gem does."

"So how would I be trapped? All I would have to do is exert enough force to break out."

"And break you it would," Ersa smiled at her, "The gem knows of its capacity, and just before you attempt to break out, it'll rip you limb from limb, stretching your darkness to each and every corner and crevice within, forcing itself to destroy itself, so by the time the gem did break and you were released from it, you'd be in a million pieces," Even for someone such as Alina, Ersa seemed near batshit insane, though whether this was an act or not she couldn't tell, "Surrender the purple dragon to us, Alina. We don't want to fight you. Please. Whoever this is or what ever curse you're influenced by, just give me a day to figure out a cure. I promise we can help."

The Dark Dragoness's face couldn't display the emotions she wanted to feel. She was trapped, stuck, and unable to speak for herself. Because she had already failed once, she couldn't do it again. Tears formed within her eyes, and though she shuck her head to rid her face of them, she couldn't, nor could she accept Ersa's wishes. She wanted the same thing for some reason: the choice, the freedom, the knowledge, the understanding to do what was right for the right reason and the right people. But she had no freedom, no voice, and no choice but to go against the dragoness before her. Her voice broke; afraid and confused, desperate, and alone, "You... can't... help me..." Ersa knew this was the Alina they had spoken to, but they couldn't speak for long, "He'll kill me... he'll force me... he's already doing it now!"

"Who? Spyro?"

The Dragoness shuck her head, "No... ...my father."

After her last words were given, spikes flung from the floor below and all around, ready to pierce the yellow dragoness above in an instant. But just like before, a gust of wind was all that took the place of where Ersa last was, reappearing a few steps back and away from the dragoness within the floor. The concrete around the Dark Dragoness suddenly cracked and blew outwards, the spears lowering and allowing the dragoness to stand now. Tears ran through her eyes, and the one to now control Spyro's body couldn't have been Alina herself. She didn't sound like she wanted to fight, nor did she look ready. But something kept her going, and her limbs were forced to move. All she could do now was apologise for what was next, "I'm... sorry..."

The purple dragon before her rushed in head first and full force, leaving nothing behind but the wind. With a hop, skip, and a beat, the purple dragon disappeared; quickly reappearing behind Ersa's back. Alina knew how swift of an end Ersa would have. The yellow female didn't stand a change. With the speed, power, and limitless potential of the purple dragons, combined with an endless supply of power given to the Dark Dragoness through her home world, they were an unstoppable duo. However where Alina was sure of Ersa's demise, it wasn't her that ended up on the floor. Though the Dark Dragoness swung first, and even had the speed to out maneuver and out class someone so weak, that didn't stop the yellow dragoness from doing some hefty damage. In a very well thought out motion, Ersa ducked to avoid the swipe, turning herself around in the processes. This stunned the Dark Dragoness, leaving her opened to Ersa. The yellow dragoness took advantage, grabbing the back of her head and forcefully pushing her forwards and down. The force was heavy weighted enough to crash and borrow the face of the purple dragon into the concrete below. Swinging her body up and around: standing over top the purple dragon now, Ersa gripped the left arm of the purple dragon and forced it backwards, titling it up to back of the purple dragon's neck in a threat to both bend and break it. The yellow female snickered to the dragoness below her, "No... No, I'm sorry," Even with what she had that was unknown to all as to how she could withstand the attacks and speed of the purple dragon, her voice was still displayed in fear, "We'll find a way to get you out... to save you. I know we will. Volteer will return with something that will hopefully be able to save you, and when he does... hehe... welcome to the family."

Ersa couldn't see it, but Alina shed a tear over those words.

Rushing over to the rubble of toppled buildings that laid waste to the area of and around him, Malefor frantically looked around himself to make sure he was in the clear before attempting any sort of aid. His heart was beating fast, unable to really think all too heavily about much of anything, but still he cried out the Dark Master's name, "Corvus!" Digging through the rubble with his claws and paws, he once again cried his name, "CORVUS!"

As he continued to dig, he noticed the slowing of the Dark Master's heartbeat. Why he hadn't returned to his body yet, or what he was facing through loss of blood and time he didn't know. Still, he tried his best to carefully dig through the rubble and remains to find the dragon underneath it all, still trying to reach out to him through voice, "Corvus...! Corvus!"

"Corvus?" The female before him spoke. Though he had closed his eyes tightly in hopes she would've gone away, that didn't prove to be the case at all. With her voice still present in his ears, and the ruff, dead cold feel of the grass below him, it was clear where he was wasn't something he'd be getting out of so easily. He was slow to reopen his eyes, frowning, unable to look the dragoness in her eyes. Although he couldn't find the words nor the gut to look at her once again, she was blunt with him, and as honest as she could be, "You know this is all in your head, right?" This shocked him to hear, and this got his attention, and his vision to her. She giggle somewhat to this, "I guess it has been a while since you've last needed to use me for such an occasion, what with you repressing your memories and all." Corvus grew a little defensive over that, not sure as to whether or not that was her being snippy or helpful, "And who the hell do you think you are to come at me about my actions and what I choose to do?" Still, she smiled to him, understanding him even, "I am who ever you want or need me to be. It has been a while as I said before, but I am your aid, your lover, your nurture. When you went through the Frozen Centennials, those years within the time crystals' grasp sent many to suicide; death through their own mind. They couldn't handle the situation they were in, how long they were in them for, and the loneliness it brought to them. Some were lucky to have been frozen in time with others; connecting them through touch before they were taken to keep them with one another through their time afloat. But of course, you had no one. You were frozen in time just after your battle with Artemis, and as such, to keep yourself from feeling the pressure, loneliness, and dire end to your situation, you created me." Corvus was slowly remembering it all, thanks to not only his open mind due to Spyro, but also from his new found lover who at this point was her ghost speaking to him. However, one thing didn't add up, and now putting the pieces of the timeline together, he called her out on it, "That doesn't make any sense. How could you be here and not someone else I know. If I created you after my fight with Artemis, I would've never known who you were. We didn't meet until much later."

"As I said, I'm whoever you need me to be. At that time from your battle, I was your mother, your father, your siblings. But for what situation you're going through now, and to whom you really want to see, I am your lover," Luna explained, somewhat frustrating Corvus to a degree to know now that it wasn't really her, and all he was doing was lying to himself about who he was truly with. "And why would I make such a disgraceful after-image of my dead companions to keep me company?! That's not sanctuary, that's torture!"

"And you understood that early on. Even after you created me to soothe you for a few years or so, those other many, many years, you came to terms with being alone. Rather focus on something as trivial as a bond or loved ones, you did what Spyro did. You focused everything you had on your strength; ripping tissue and muscle with your darkness to build yourself up. You came back here after fifty or so years, but rather use me as comfort, you used me as a punching bag."

"To lay out every possibility I could've done differently because the Frozen Centennials were all my fault..." Corvus was remembering now, but his memories did more against him than they did for him. He spoke much lower compared to his usual self, remembering it all through the time they shared and spoke, "I gave him the benefit of the doubt... thought he could change... and believed in his final moments that Artemis would've grabbed my paw before he fell... but no..." Turning away from her, his body ached with rage from the purple dragon, knowing all and full well what he should've done, "Because I showed a momentary amount of weakness! Because I let him get to me, because I trusted him - MY FAMILY, MY HOME, MY... EVERYTHING! WAS DESTROYED!" His breathing raced now, and in his moment of rage, he knew what he needed to do. Switching himself back around, the Dark Master wished to uphold that title, "I know what I need to do! I know what I have to do!" The cynical, twisted, and corrupt nature of the Dark Master rose to power once again, making way for his return, "Alina fears me, which means I can use her to make it out alive! Hehe... I was protecting the wrong people thinking it all mattered when it never did! If I take control of Malefor's body, corrupt him as before, and ask aid from Alina herself to weaken the purple dragon while strengthening me to my core with my home world's energy!" The Dark Master laughed, knowing how foolproof his methods were, "I'll kill every last one of them. The Guardians, the citizens of Warfang, that thorn in my side, Cynder... they'll all be dead. Though the screams will ring out for as long as they so choose to, or, hehe... as long as their blood keeps them awake for, there will be peace at the end of it all." Raising up high and tall, standing to his feet, stretching his wings out far and wide, he felt as though this was the much needed return he needed to feel after lying to himself for so long now, "With the powers of both purple dragons and our own strength, we can rule over who EVER we so desire! I can break them, harass them, make the purple dragons bleed, shout and cry for all entirety BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO POWER OVER US FOR WE ARE IMMORTAL!" The Dark Master had never felt so alive before, and even if he had tried to remember, there was nothing else within him that could've recalled such joy running through his veins, "Hehe... Haha... Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Luna appeared to have no issue with it, even agreeing to his ways of thinking, "Do you have an idea as to where to start?" The Dark Master looked down upon her with glowing yellow eyes, void of an iris or any semblance of life. He was ready to become the monster he knew himself to be, that everyone knew of him as. Though it wasn't needed, it was her job to guide him where he so needed to be, "From what I was able to gather before all this went down, Ersa and Alina are in a scuffle. Whether she's dead or not I don't know, but you must hurry back to Malefor's body before you bleed out under the rubble." The Dark Master smiled to her, uncaring of the situation he was in, knowing all would work out in his favor, "Hehe. I'm not worried. Someone from the family will tell Malefor not to worry of my intentions and to lead me into his body for recovery. In that time, I will find a way to communicate with the dragoness once again. And then... together... hehehe... well, it's gonna be an enjoyable, swift, and well-deserved... execution." Luna smiled to him, backing him up fully, "And I'll be here if you ever-UGH!" From out of what seemed like nowhere, the dragoness gripped her head in a yell and fell to the floor. Though lost within his ideas, hopes, and dreams, Corvus's eyes returned to normal in almost in instant, falling down with her to catch her if possible, "LUNA!" He couldn't save her from her fall, but still, he rushed over and around to her side in hopes he'd be able to help her. His wing laid over her, and with a paw near her head, he tried to help her, "What's wrong?! Is everything okay?! Is... is there anything I can do to help you?!" Her cries went on for a little bit longer; the female unable to say anything to gain support, and the male unable to do anything to give that support since he knew not of the issue. Instead, he waited with heavy breaths for her to ease down from what ever it was that she was going through, and whether or not his company helped her or not he didn't know, but he felt her easing from the pain slowly but surely. As her cries eased and her body loosened, the female's eyes clenched closed for a second; using the time she had to catch her breath. Once she was done so, her eyes opened once again. She seemed shocked at first, stunned to where she was, and noticing the floor below her, she murmured in defeat, "It... ...failed? I... ...failed...?"

"What failed?" Corvus spoke to her. Though she already knew of him and who he was, especially where he was, his voice seemed to catch her off guard. She gasped suddenly, jerking her head over to look at the dragon before her. He didn't know what he had said or done, but she pushed off of him out of an emotion he couldn't understand. Why she should push away from fear he didn't understand, and her pushing away from him for any other reason also didn't make sense to him. She went from a calm, collected, and understanding tool to something that bursted with emotion. She breathed heavily, her chest moved to the beat of her heart and the roughness of her breaths. The roles seemed switched now. He knew where he was, but she didn't seem to understand where she herself was. To her, she was staring at a ghost. Her eyes couldn't seem to believe what she was looking at, and tears started to form. Tears from something he manifested; the only explanation being his mind itself. "What did I think about to make you cry? I thought you were supposed to assist me in keeping with my way of thinking. You having your own way of thought doesn't help me in the slightest, and if anything, it only aggravates me." Though emotionally stunned to her situation, the female gritted her teeth, and rather apologize or explain, she nipped at him, "You... arrogant, pompous, manipulative piece of shit!" Corvus paused for a second to hear something like that.

Still digging through the rubble and remains laid out before him, Malefor unfortunately was unable to locate the Dark Master's body. It didn't help to hear the battle that raged on behind him, one that he looked to see if his aid was needed. He watched on over his shoulder to see Alina swinging full force at Ersa, but the yellow female simply blocking with her wings was enough to stop something so powerful. Even with the attack, Ersa swung her wings open at full speed, staggering the Dark Dragoness backwards, and allowing an easy punch to the gut. Somehow the yellow dragoness was keeping up, even beating the purple dragon before her. But whether or not that could last he didn't know, and all he could think about was the unknown. Upon thinking of the unknown, he gasped, cried, and looked all around after what had happened, "CARITH! CARITH!"

"Malefor!"

Looking over top and fixing his head down to see someone jumping down from the floating debris and beside him, it was Cynder, and thankfully, she had some good news, "Don't worry, the girls are all safe. I used the time I had to back down and collect what information I could. The guys were used to aid Prosperity's men, pulling them away from the battlefield to be attended to. Volteer's working with Syrus now to get him back to his feet up in the Guardian's Building before coming back down here for more support. They're all regrouping off to the inner edges of Warfang to stay close to the wall while still being near if needed."

Malefor sighed very heavily, "Thank Ancestors," He smiled to her, "Thank you, Cynder."

"I did it for Carith, not you," Cynder smirked, "Don't need your ass going all evil, especially not now. Which, why are you out here? We need to go regroup with the others."

"Corvus is under the rubble somewhere and I don't know where," The purple dragon hastily explained, "I would use my earth to push everything out of the way but I don't know where his body is and if pushing the rubble over would cause more to crumble on top of him."

"If we're to go off of what Ersa said, that his heart is still in your body, why do you need to help his clone? Even when Kettu and Xvar were outside of Spyro's body, they touched the time crystal and disappeared with ease when we first met them after the Destroyer was frozen in time."

"It's because of the way we project ourselves," Stepping out of Cynder's body and standing off to her right, Kettu was the one to explain it all, "Whether we chose to expose ourselves fully, or partially, that's for us to decide with each projection having its draw backs. How most of us project ourselves is through a Partial-Function Projection. This allows us to do many things, but sets our darkness on a time limit. We in essence create a copy of ourselves with our darkness that runs on a time limit. The longer we're outside your body, or rather the projection as we ourselves still reside within your body, the more our darkness decays, and the only way to keep this projection going is to constantly feed it."

"So then Corvus isn't projecting?" The female asked.

"Corvus is using a Full-Function Projection. This is where his heart in a sense is connected with him through his darkness and the link with your body. Which is why he bleeds when you attack him. Had you actually shot him with your gun, Malefor, you more then likely would've actually killed him," The Dark Dragon looked to Malefor before looking back to Cynder, "The link between his darkness is almost directly to that of where his heart is within your body. So even if he were miles away from his heart, you'd feel his beat slowing within if something was to be happening. The same way you and Spyro connect with your hearts to sense one another's emotions or distress."

"Why would he fully project himself if he knew he'd be at risk of death?"

"Because a full projection gives him all of his strength without having to fully expose himself, or rather, his heart. Though he can take damage, bleed, and even die outside without his heart truly being there, by not fully exposing himself and leaving his heart within rather than out, the user he is with can transfer energy directly to the user's heart to keep them alive," Kettu looked to Malefor for this next part, "I'm sure Corvus never expected you to help him, but you can heal him the same way Spyro does with others. Though we aren't sure exactly how it works, since a Full-Function Projection mimics the insides of a dragon's body to its absolute best, you can push your darkness into his heart and force a heal over his wounds without actually being there yourself."

"You can do that?!" Malefor was in awe to hear, "That's pretty dummy overpowered. To be able to kick major ass and have someone you can't even see constantly heal and give them power. That sounds like what Alina has going on where she's absorbing the source of her dimensions' energy to which we can't see or touch."

"The drawback however is the user's heart itself. I said that Corvus never would've expected help from you, and that's true, but another truth of the matter is, you can do only harm. You can't do good for him," Kettu already knew of what the purple dragon was to say, seeing his lips open with a sigh of annoyance, "No, it's not because you're a purple dragon."

"Finally! Something that 'ISN'T' simply because I'm purple," The purple dragon had a reason to sigh for once.

"The darkness has a mind of its own in a way, taking shape and action based on emotion. If Corvus doesn't trust you, neither will his darkness. Even knowing of its death, it will die before allowing you access to its heart. So although you could very well share an unbreakable bond that could make you nearly unstoppable, you'd have to have the trust, love, and memories to soothe the darkness of both users to allow something such as that to happen."

That didn't really mean much to Malefor since he knew the Dark Master would never trust him enough to do such a thing, "Awesome. So, in other words, I'll just wait until you and Spyro become some kind of ultimate life form so that way I can ask how it was cause I know I'll never get to experience it," Back to the topic at hand, there was still a dragon bleeding out under all the rubble, "So I mean, are we all down for him to bleed out under there or... are we gonna help?"

"Cynder," Kettu took over, "Use your shadow to go through the ground and grab him. We'll take him back to the others and heal him from there," She nodded to him, "I'm sure Volteer will have a plan from there."

"And what of Ersa?" Malefor questioned, the three turning their heads over to take a peek before leaving.

Swing after swing, attempt after attempt, nothing seemed to work against the yellow female. It was nearly impossible for Alina to get a hit off, and even when doing so, nothing appeared to phase her. How she was able to stand for as long as she was wasn't something the Dark Dragoness could figure out just yet, but an idea quickly came to mind, Maybe I can't hit here! Maybe only other objects can. Slashing at the throat of the yellow dragoness, still she was unable to hit her target; Ersa proving to be far more agile than she could ever be. Using this opportunity, she shot a small spear of darkness both upwards, and downwards. Ersa hopped a small step midair before spinning herself around to avoid the two attacks that were thrown her way. Not only was she able to recover on the ground, but was able to spin herself in a way to swing her tail around and successfully hit the Dark Dragoness in the face. The cut and gash was deep, knocking the dragoness back a few steps. Meanwhile behind Ersa, the two spears slammed into the remaining support of the building behind her, causing it to domino and crash into other homes. All fell forward and towards the yellow dragoness. Ersa was caught off guard, looking behind herself in wonder, whereas Alina moved before they could fall on top of her. Alina was sure of her success and believed nothing was viable for the dragoness before her. However, rather run from where she was, Ersa took the buildings head on. Seeing an opening in one of the windows, she jumped up into it before the building crashed down on top of her. With a bolt of lightning and a gust of wind, dirt, and dust, everything came crashing down on top of the location Ersa once was. But, because of her quick thinking and threat assessment, the dragoness wasn't crushed by it all, but rather gracefully landed down on top of the rubble after having avoiding all of it and flying ever so lightly to the air to avoid whatever else was to happen. Standing over the debris now, showing signs of sweat and heavy breaths, all she could do was smile. Alina noticed this. Ersa didn't seem afraid, upset, or any of the sort towards the Dark Dragoness. She seemed rather calm, collected, and even happy. But why was something else that sat on her mind. So much she wanted to ask, so much she wanted to say, but something kept her from doing so. Rather ask questions, the battle continued, and with gritted teeth and an overwhelming amount of emotion, Alina continued their initiation.

Corvus was still stunned to hear what Luna had to say to him. For her to change attitude so suddenly and for seemingly no reason, it was something else to annoy him, but in many ways, he wore what he was like a badge. Rather reject her words, be simply embraced them, "The funniest thing about name calling is that it's supposed to hurt, but when it's all true and you hear you've become exactly what you've always wanted to be, hehehe... its doesn't affect me at all, princess," The Dark Dragon could only smile to see her words helped more than they did damage, "Go ahead. Call me a monster next. Call me evil, corrupted, malicious; it's all stuff I've learned to grown into and embrace for that's-"

"NOT WHO YOU ARE AND YOU DAMN WELL KNOW THAT!" Luna suddenly had her outburst. Once again, it shocked him to hear such emotion coming from something that was an idea to him. She shouldn't even have these types of reactions, and even if she were to have them, Corvus himself never believed to even understand these emotions truly himself. So she wasn't piggybacking off his emotions, but rather the emotions of someone else. Looking at her closely, even using his own darkness to determine who or what she was, his teeth showed, and fully displayed they were. He found the truth, and rather play her little game, he straight up called her out on it, "Why do you have a heartbeat?" Luna couldn't say much of anything, rather all she could do was swallow hard, "You're not my creation anymore. You're using my imagination as a vessel to take over my idea of who Luna was, but you aren't her. Your darkness is foreign, and though you sound and look like her, that's because of me, not something you've done." Now knowing of the invasion of privacy within his mind, Corvus grew offensive; approaching her with a raised tail blade, "You dare come from our home world and say such things, things you know nothing about? You think I wouldn't have noticed your takeover? You think I wouldn't have noticed who you really were?" Standing directly in front of her now, his blade pushed the edge of her neck. Her scales folded backwards from his weight, and from how harsh he was on her neck, he felt her swallow out of fear. "You think I wouldn't have killed you once I noticed?" Although she was afraid, that didn't stop the female from calling his bluff, "No... you wouldn't have... because that's not who you are..." She seemed so sure of herself, and in many ways, that aggravated him. He knew how easy it would be to slice who ever this imposter was that took hold of his imagination; his dead lover's body. All because they possessed her body now doesn't mean he wouldn't go through with the kill, and he made sure who ever this was that they knew of his intentions. "You're either very brave, or very, very stupid; perhaps even young. 'Cause if you knew me truly, you'd know why talking to me in such a tone will end you buried deep with the earths' crust. And I don't mean that 'afterwards'. I will bury you alive and let the soil consume your lungs with nothing but heat and pressure that'll kill you slowly and painfully." Rather fear from his threats, his pressure, his presence; nothing about him seemed to get to her. And for what she said next truly stunned the Dark Dragon as to who this really could be, "Hehe... I knew being away from you for too long would cause you to become that ass you always used to be," He backed his head a little, blinking a few times even to see her unfazed attitude, "All that time and effort I spent trying to change you and look at what you are now. Guess I gotta go through this shit all over again." She sighed rather heavily. All the Dark Master could do was growl, "Excuse me?"

"No... there's no excusing," Her voice and demeanor changed suddenly. Not only was he caught off guard by her voice, but so too her actions. Slapping his tail blade out of the way, she fully reeled her head back and put ever bit of force and power she had into throwing her head forwards. The strength to which she headbutted him, and to his already stunned and unprepared body, the sudden attack knocked him on his ass. He was fully taken aback, falling down and backwards onto his back. With a loud thumb, growl, and a kick up from the grass, Corvus had more of a reason to show his teeth. He didn't know who this was, or what this was, but he was tired of being treated this way. He went to roll up to attack, but only made it to his left side before a paw was placed on his right shoulder. He looked up to see she was applying pressure to him with her paw, but wasn't doing much else in terms of threatening. He looked up to her with teeth, as so did she down onto him. Although he showed his teeth from pure rage, something about her anger was different. Tears started to form in her eyes, and rather sound upset about who he was, it sounded more so towards what he had become, "Don't... don't you DARE...! Don't... don't you dare go back to this man... not him... not now... not ever again! Especially when we're 'this' close to achieving some sort of peace."

"Peace?" For once, Corvus had a laugh, "There's no peace in our world or theirs. What in your sick and clearly delusional mind makes you think there's any sort of peace?" She had her own laugh too through gritted teeth, "It's all in the eyes of the beholder. Zacchaeus doesn't believe me, and neither would you even if I told you."

"Zacchaeus?" All of Corvus's rage turned to interest; intrigue into who this dragon or dragoness truly was, "Alright. Enough games. Who are you really? How does someone like you have contact with someone such as him? I don't know many people who know me well enough to act the way you are, and whom are in connections with the likes of that man," The Dark Dragon thought about it quickly and knew exactly who he was talking to, "Wait a minute... I already know exactly who you are. You're Zacchaeus's wife. You're his mate; Alison." She simply smiled to him, neither confirming nor denying his allegation. Instead, she continued on with her motivate, and make it that much more confusing for him, "We've seen through the eyes of Dark Creatures... and even now as we speak, I'm reading your memories to better assess my words."

"You're not assessing anything," He growled to her, "You're digging through to manipulate my emotions. And although I do not wish to hurt the mate of my dearest acquaintance, I will do what I must for my safety and my own survival." She sighed somewhat, shaking her head even to the way he worded his statements, and the emotion he had behind them, "You truly did close off your memories and emotions of who you once were. You would've remembered the time we shared too. Can't believe you forgot the talk us four had by the river. There were plenty of times I spoke with you in private about Zacchaeus, the same way Luna did about you. We all had secrets about one another. Us learning about our love for each other. The confusion and back and forth on whether or not we should say anything or make any kind of move. Hehe..." Her tears dropped down onto his body; the dragoness above him smiling on the memories, but remembering them with a fair bit of pain, "When you would talk to me, or Zacchaeus, or... Luna... there was always that circle of what one of us wanted to say but never had the guts. We were... like a little family, you know? It was scary the constant fighting that we had to do against others almost daily but... it proved... and showed that... even though things were tough... we loved each other." While the dragoness thought fondly about these memories; reminiscing on all that was in the past now, Corvus seemed to care little about it all. Rather agree with her, or even care to continue on and live those memories with her, he scoffed, "Wasted time." He felt the Dark Dragoness's paw twitch at his shoulder, her claws seemingly wishing to dig into his scales for how inappropriate of a response that was. She even gave him a chance to correct his words, "Ex... excuse me?" She laughed rather hysterically.

"All that was wasted time when I could've been focusing on myself; to better myself and my darkness. I almost won in that Volcano that day, but because I allowed myself to be succumbd to emotions of weakness, filth, and desires that only those without intellect to pass the time or a drive to be anything more than pathetic, grimy individuals, I lost. And it's all because I gave up what I really wanted for something 'I' never did," He spat, disrespected, and hated everything about what she said, believing it all to have been for nothing since it was never something he even wanted in the first place, "I was content; my own version of happy, but Luna ruined that. And now, because of her, I have to shield myself from something I never wanted. Without her, I would've fulfilled my hopes and dreams, but instead, I gave them up for 'HER' hopes and dreams. Waste of my time." Neither said anything to the other after what Corvus had to say. There was no wind, no sound, nothing to break the awkward silence. The two could only look onto one another, awaiting for the other to make a move or have their say. It took the female some time to gain that ability, but once it returned to her, she proceeded to chuckle. The chuckle soon turned more into a laugh, and her laugh into tears. Whether these were due to pain or laughter, it took the Luna look-alike some time before she could finally speak. And once she was able, she had some choice words, "Hahahaha! Hehehe, Hehe... heh... oh, Corvus. Hehe... you... ahem... you always were one stubborn son of a bitch, you know that?" She approached him without care, feeling as though she understood the situation now, "Do you know how long it took to convince you not to kill our own kind? Do you know how long it took you to finally smile? Do you remember every single day that I or Luna fought to convince you to be by your side?" She put a claw to his chest, near face to face with the Dark Master, "You're a hard ass, we all know that. Which is why I know we're gonna be here for a WHILE, since trying to convince you to 'not' kill the purple dragons is gonna be one tough sell." Corvus didn't have much to say to that, only giving a stern sounding voice, "You're serious?" She dropped her claw from him and giggled, "Hehe, yeah. I knew you'd probably react that way. Now, I know what you're gonna say, but-UGH!" Rather let anything else come from her mouth, or rather, preventing words and replacing them with blood, the female coughed before tensing. Her eyes widened, completely caught off guard by the sudden jolt of pain, and near her heart nonetheless. Looking down in a fit of fear, every single claw to Corvus's left paw dug deep into her chest and around her heart, but not through. She didn't have much time to recover. Immediately afterwards, her body was violently jerked forwards towards the Dark Master. As he rose to his feet, he swung her downwards, slamming himself and the female down onto the ground. The only difference between their landings was the amount of pain. Corvus's weight and claws dug much further within her; Alison's back crashing down to the floor below her with an excruciating thud. She gripped his arm, her head reeling back from the pain, tears erupting out of her eyes as well as a cry from her lips, "AHHHH!" Attempting to look towards her wound, she made it nearly halfway before coming face to face with the Dark Master himself. He looked down on her figure made of fear. The tears she shed was like ecstasy for him, and listening to her cries was like music to his ears. He enjoyed everything he was doing to her, and gave her this warning before she attempted anything else so foolish, "Hehe. There's no convincing me, here. Or, rather, I'll allow you to try. But I can promise you this," Twisting his claws within her chest, the dragoness cried out, begging for him to stop, "You either help me, or leave me, but you dare take my lover's body in attempts to manipulate me, and tell me that I 'should'nt' kill the purple dragons when that's been my mission since birth... ...clearly you're the one who's lost their memory." She could only look on in fear to the man he had become.

"Even with the news of our parents safe and alive, what the hell are we to do?!" Pacing back and forth around a rather safe area all things considered to the more outer reaches of Warfang where many buildings still stood, Terrador talked over all the information they had, and the grimeness of the situation, "Until Volteer gets back, we're stuck! We can't find the Friends, Prosperity is a liability and causing trouble with our citizens, the others are still out there, and ERSA IS FIGHTING ALINA ALL BY HERSELF WHO CAN CONTROL TIME!" Terrador didn't wish to scare everyone, but considering their options, they were dead no matter what, "If Ersa dies, we're all dead! Volteer will kill us and himself for her not telling him the truth!"

"But Cynder said..."

"DOESN'T MATTER WHAT SHE SAID!" Terrador snapped at Cyril.

"BACK OFF, PRICK!" Flair stood in front of Cyril, in defense over Terrador's nature.

"Terrador, Flair, both of you back off," Ignitus stepped in for damage control, both looking at him for reasons to restrain, "Terrador, I know you're upset cause of Trish's condition, but making things worse for her doesn't help," The Red Guardian was already successful in putting Terrador in his place, "Flair, you can't blame him for wanting those he loves to make it out alive, and since you're protecting Cyril by speaking for him, than you feel the same way," Flair didn't like backing down, but she nipped at him first before backing down, "Look... I... probably shouldn't be saying this, but if Ersa has the power to make even the Ancestors themselves interested in her creation, then she must be very, very valuable. I don't put it past her to actually have a plan."

"And... if she doesn't?" Claire questioned with a ducked head, "What could she possibly have made up to fight something like a purple dragon who blew up the sun in a future prediction."

"WHAT?!" Many to whom weren't there all shared their shock, such as Celina, Amara, Axel, Serena, and Ava.

"Cynder brought you girls back here for a reason before jetting off to help Malefor which means even she sees it. If she didn't believe in her, then she'd be assisting Ersa in battle right now," Ignitus gave the yellow female credit to her name, "For now, we need to wait right here where Ersa said we should wait. Once Volteer returns, Ersa said to follow his orders. It was Volteer that helped us secure hundreds of thousands of victories across our three year battle. If anyone knows anything about a game wining strategy, it's him."

"So then how do you suppose we trust her and not Volteer?" Axel questioned, "If he's had all the war experience, shouldn't we have followed in his footsteps instead?"

"Saying women can't be strong?" Celina and Flair nipped at him at the same time.

"I believe in Ersa," Carith stepped in to defend the intellect of the yellow dragoness, "The things I've seen in her room, what she's talked about, the concoctions she has... I know they have a way to kill him, no doubt about it. The only thing that scares me most of all is... will our attempts to save him kill us?"

"You suggesting we kill him?" Celina smiled, "All show in a raise of paws to who agrees. I'll definitely be the first to agree there."

"We're not killing, Spyro!" Amara was quick to disagree, snapping at her without remorse, "If we are to die, then we'll die with dignity unlike your conniving ass!" Celina didn't appreciate her tone, and that's why Amara used it, "We all know that without Spyro, we're dead either way. He could've killed us days ago, and with his claws free of blood; the type that drips from a dead body, he's still clean, and pure within his soul. We must keep it that way."

"So then, what's the plan?" Axel asked, "Malefor still has my mic, so I can't communicate with the rest of the team."

"I already have a good idea of what we're doing," Ignitus spoke up.

"Should we not wait for Volteer before jumping in?" Claire questioned.

"By a raise of paws, who wants to tell Volteer where Ersa is and the fight she's in, all by herself, mind you," No one said a word, complete and utter dead silence filling the air around the group, "Yeah, didn't think so. By the time he lands, he's for sure gonna rush in to assist her."

"Rush in?!" Trish wasn't herself, and was quick to seemingly make things worse with her words and emotions: intrusive thoughts showing without a filter, "If he rushes in - he'll die! If he dies - Ersa will lose focus and die! If they die - apart of all of you will die - and we'll do something rash - and at that point WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"I fear Volteer more than I do anything else in the world right now," Ignitus was serious, and had many reasons to feel that way, "Terrador," The Guardian looked away from Trish, trying his best to comfort her from all that was happening, "I checked on my partners. Were yours okay?" The green Guardian nodded, "I spoke with the moles as well. They are working their way to the outer edges to dig tunnels beneath Warfang to assist everyone out. I believe I know where The Friends are. They spoke of their training outside of Warfang, which probably means they got locked out."

"Shouldn't we be asking the Citizens for help?" Axel suggested.

"The way Ersa is playing her games, it seems like she's more resilient. The energy provided through Alina and into Spyro gives him limitless stamina, but doesn't seem to make him any stronger as Alina is using his power but not giving him a chance to feel her own. That means, at this time, Ersa knows of a way to become more powerful than him, but can't last forever."

"Stamina jokes anyone?" A masculine voice spoke out.

Jumping over a little more rubble with a hop and a skip, both Malefor and Cynder arrived on scene with the others, each and every person there noticing the purple dragon's wings. The Dark Master, still with an open wound and bleeding out, rested to his wings. Malefor hadn't killed the Dark Master yet, but rather kept his body held firmly with his wings. Many immediately had the idea to kill him, especially in the weakened state that he was in. If any time was best, it was now or never. Some paws twitched, others tightened, and many more had their tails stiffen. Though if anyone was to take him out, it was Malefor, and he let that be known, "No! Back off you, heathens! He's my kill!"

"Then kill him already," Celina growled, ready to attack if he didn't.

"Enough," Ignitus spoke firmly, especially to all those he noticed with their blood boiling, "How come you haven't healed him yet? Why hasn't he healed himself?"

"Because A:," Moving a claw to the wounded dragon's shoulder, Malefor attempted to use his darkness but was shocked in a way, nipped at by the darkness of Corvus, "Ow. Second... or, B: I don't know how to heal with my darkness since Spyro's never taught me. And C: He's not healing himself because I guess he just wants to bleed out and die?" He shrugged his shoulders on that one, "Can't look into his memories either or find out what's going on cause... yeah, I already got zapped in the head once and ate shit for it, so... I'm not demonstrating for all those visual learners out there."

"And he's being kept alive, because-...?" Celina didn't see a point to any of this.

"Because like it or not-"

"I don't like it," She interrupted the Fire Guardian.

"Then turn tail, tuck it underneath, and run while the adults handle this," Ignitus grew a little snippy but knew he needed to focus on the task given to him, not even bothering to focus on the faces or mumbled remarks she made to him, "Corvus and everyone else here is a necessary team player. We need his knowledge to better understand what we're dealing with and how to deal with it. Whether or not he chooses to help is up to him, but above all else, he can't rule a world if someone else has already taken over that mantle."

"And you really think he wouldn't attempt to befriend the dragoness?" Flair saw this coming a mile away, "He pretends to help us, stabs us in the back, and then works with her to conquer the world before then stabbing 'her' in the back to rule it himself. The most basic of shit."

"She's not wrong," Cyril agreed, "If we rely upon him too heavily, what stops him from destroying everything in order to gain everything?"

Ignitus was rather stumbled on what to say. It was true to what they had said, and unfortunately, there wasn't much of a way around it. More ideas came to mind, morbid ones, all to which were equally vicious and vile, "Maybe... maybe you, Malefor, could absorb his energy," It was already a bad suggestion, but it was idea nonetheless, "If you forcefully absorb his energy for your own, maybe we wouldn't have to need him. He wouldn't be able to affect nor harm you. I or someone else can stay watch, and if something is to happen, since his body is already out in the open, maybe... maybe then, we could kill him..."

"So, turn him into one of those batteries that caused such an uproar with the other purple dragons?" Malefor hissed through his teeth on that one, "He's already SUPER whiny with all things past and present with the purple dragon. And if he wanted to do something like that, he would've done it a long time ago. His power already exceeds my own dark power, and it still grows even now."

"WHAT?!" The way he said it so causally made many somewhat upset to his decision.

"I mean, Yeah, I felt his darkness attempting to wrap my heart and bust it when we had that little standoff, and I've felt his darkness move around my head, heart, and lungs plenty of times."

"Why didn't you tell me this?!" Carith cried, knowing what could've happened had he not, "What if he took control?! What if he was doing something to you but you couldn't say anything?! How could we have helped?! How could I...! He..."

"You're putting her in danger by not saying anything, dumbass!" Flair nipped at him for the things Carith wanted to say, but had she said it, it would've been a lot more painful to hear.

"Because I've been doing the same to him, so I was starting to think we were getting somewhere," Malefor gave the Dark Master the benefit of the doubt, "Dude acts like a real dick, no shit. But realistically, feeling a part of yourself moving through the body of someone else..." Malefor paused just to smirk at everyone, and to no surprise, they either groaned, sigh, or rolled their eyes, "Ahhh, fine, F those who aren't important, close, would dump me, or I just hate. So like... up yours Celina and... for someone who's literally bright red, your ass needs to lighten up, Flair."

"I'LL KILL-!"

"Moving on," Ignitus stopped her from doing anything, wanting more to go off of in case there really was a way out of this.

"Yeah, Flair!" The purple dragon couldn't help but to pick on her, "Oooohhhh, it's eating at you, isn't it?" He had a little fun, smirking and mocking her with all his might, "What'cha gonna do about it, huh? Oh man, you want to punch me so badly, but I hold the one ring to rule them all," He laughed as he neared her, "What'cha gonna hold, huuuum? Cyril's little paw? Because you lik-e Cyril. K-I-s-s-I-n-OUGH!"

He had gotten close enough for the female to swing back her elbow and go directly into his stomach. She had more than enough time and space to reel herself forward only to throw her arm back at an angle to connect with his belly. She wasn't easy about it, and Malefor wasn't prepared for it. The hit sent ripples through his body, and had there not been so much destruction and noise all around them, some might've even heard a gushy crack. He fell to his knees first, taking a deep inhale into the sky before falling down onto his stomach. Laying the Dark Master down to the floor, Malefor pulled his wings from beneath the body to put all pressure he could on his stomach. Holding his paws to his forehead and tucking his wings into his stomach, the purple dragon rolled from left to right on his back, trying to breathe all the best he could. Seeing him tap out made Ignitus sigh, rubbing two digits between his upper nose, "Goddamn it, Malefor."

"She's... uh... snake... uuggghhh..."Speaking between breaths, he couldn't really find much else to say.

"Get up! You weak ass," Flair kept pushing and prodding him with her tail from time to time, "Didn't you fall on a pile of bricks directly onto your back from a two-story building?" He grunted, groaned, and she knew what he was trying to say, "Cynder told me a while back. She couldn't stop laughing about it after Spyro had told her."

"Haha!" Ava laughed, turning her head to Cynder to see her smirking a little, "You really snitched on him like that?"

"Oh yeah," The black dragoness nodded with a happy smile.

"There once was a ship... that... set to sea... uggghhh... oh, Ancestors..."He still struggled and strained with a tight chest, "I don't remember the rest of the song... that's why I stopped."

"You'll never make sense to me," Flair scoffed at his childish behavior.

"You spin me right around baby, right around, like a..." While still on the floor, Malefor proceeded to circle around on his side and was about to boop his nose against her back leg, but she warned him of his fate if he did.

"You touch me with your filth sniffer, and I will crush your skull!" She looked down at him with rage, and him, a smirk to her, "Malefor...! I'm serious!"

He sighed, but knew she was dead serious, "You spin me counter clockwise baby, counter clockwise like a opposite record baby..." Spinning in the other direction now, he was wasting time, "Ah, shit... what was after that?" He mumbled to himself under his breath.

In the mean time of jokes, two dragons had finally made their return. One to which was bright and white; healthy, and full of life. Landing down onto the ground, everyone had taken notice. The once drained, scarred, and destroyed set of scales that dawned the man were but a thing of the past. Syrus, now back to full health, muscles and all, it stunned Serena and Ava, both at a loss as to how he was able to recover so well and in such a short amount of time. Something about his figure seemed even healthier than it was before, and though he still retained some battle damage from his years of existence, he still looked so bright and hopefully. Though tears of joy ran down their eyes, and their secondary reunion in sight of a broken family finally repaired to their former glory, Volteer was quick to go over what he had, "I've packed everything for what ever situation we are to encounter. I'm assuming Malefor's still fighting Spyro since I saw..."

He stopped and trailed off, seeing a purple tail and the Dark Master's body. His heart slammed to his chest, and to make sure he wasn't going crazy, he ran around the red dragoness that blocked his view of this purple tail. Next to Flair, he took notice of Malefor still rolling around on the ground below. Noticing Volteer over him, Malefor smiled to him and waved a happy paw, "Oh. Hey, Volteer!"

Seeing Malefor on the floor below, along with the Dark Master who seemed unconscious, he was quick to survey the area around him to figure out who was missing. Noticing it rather quickly, he ran back around to Ignitus and barked at him, "Where is she! WHERE'S ERSA?!"

"Volteer, easy... She's..."

"She's fighting, Spyro..." He gasped in a defeated tone, not allowing Ignitus a chance to finish what he was saying, "SHE'S FIGHTING SPYRO, AND YOU ALL ARE JUST SITTING HERE?!"

"Volteer, wait!"

"NO!" He nipped at the Guardian, "Unbelievable, unthinkable, unimaginable, IMPLAUSIBLE!" Without a beat left to give within his heart, Volteer made the stretch with his wings to go after his female companion; rage, anger, and confusion clouding his judgment and mind so easily, "You all can go to hell!"

"ENOUGH!" Gripping the Yellow Guardian's tail with his own, Volteer just got off the ground to become airborne, but was quickly, and roughly, yanked back down and slid backwards on all fours because of the Fire Guardian's strength.

Volteer's teeth gripped in anguish, clawing deep into the surface that he stood on. No one had ever sense this attitude of his. Once so calm and collected turned to nothing more than a rabid dog. His scales were tight to his skin, nearly flexed to the max, giving off the impression he hadn't basked in the sun in a while, but that was far from the truth. His body simply couldn't relax, and his unending nerves clawed at his throat, his mind, his every being. He had forgotten who he was talking to; who it was that was attempting to calm him. For a minute, the yellow dragon of lightning forgot friend from foe and lashed out at Ignitus. His tail blade suddenly went up and to the flame Guardian's throat, causing cries from all around, "VOLTEER! STOP!"

He did so, but not because of the voice, but out of his own will. Volteer still tried to pull back even as Ignitus held his tail, like an angry child trying to pull away from their mother's grip. He wanted to run, he wanted to scream, he wanted to fly, fight, anything than to just stand here. He couldn't see it yet, but Ignitus reminded him, "Volteer... remember who we're talking about. You know, as do I, that someone such as Ersa is not a normal dragoness. She had her plan set in stone, and if she can make even the Ancestors question what she is or how she knows the things she does, then that's one scary ass chick you fell in love with," This did little in helping Volteer relax his heightened state, but the good news was, Ignitus wasn't done yet, "Remember what you told me... remember what happened when we reunited at the Temple, for when Spyro and Cynder walked out from the building, and I asked you, 'Do you remember her?'"

"Do you remember her?" His voice echoed within his head for a minute, and before he even knew it, his mind sent him back to that moment.

"Volteer..." His ears seemed to ring, stuck in a state of shock and panic, and impending doom resting over his shoulder. "Volteer...?" Someone was speaking to him, but he didn't care to pay the voice any attention, stuck within his own head, trying to come to terms with something. "Volteer!" Finally, the voice snapped him out of it. The rigging had stopped, and as his eyes lightened up a bit, the Guardian of Lightning took notice of his surroundings. Spyro and Cynder, young little dragons they were, made their way out from the room to where they resided. To which room he hadn't a clue, but from a glance behind him, he noticed the statue of Malefor looming over them from behind. Terrador greeted the purple dragon and dark dragoness as they walked by, but came over to the other two to see what the commotion was about. "Volteer...?" Volteer was a little stunned, but having taken in his surroundings the best he could, he responded to the Dragon in front of him; one of fiery, fierce, and flaming nature: Ignitus, "Huh - wha - wha...?"

"He asked you a question, idiot," Cyril walked up on Volteer's right side, joining the group of Guardians now, Volteer being positioned between all three with Terrador to his left. "Honestly, for someone who thinks himself so smart over someone such as my nature and stature, I would've answered immediately than to run circles around such a simple request. You're bringing disgrace to our leader." Though still obviously in a daze, he was able to listen once more, ignoring the Ice Dragon that stood by his side and berated him. "Cyril, enough," Ignitus defended the yellow dragon from the unwanted attack of the blue one, "I said, do you remember her?" Volteer was a little perplexed by the question, still not understanding who he was talking about, "And what specific female could you be referencing to, might I ask?" This wasn't good to hear at all, and though Ignitus and Terrador looked to each other with despair, Cyril still wouldn't let up, "Who do you think, numb skull! Your... ugh... female companion. The one whom left out the back while we fought Malefor."

"We had a female here?" Volteer questioned, and this for once shut Cyril up, just as shocked as the others to hear he didn't remember, "I mean... I do remember a red dragoness and a blue dragoness that Ignitus and Terrador brought here as dates one time but... a yellow dragoness?" He scratched his head as to whom they could be talking about, "Yeah, I'm sorry but that description doesn't ring a bell." Ignitus frowned, the same could be said for Terrador. They believed the trauma was too much on him, and though they had nothing left to say and rather hung their heads low, Cyril blurted out, acting out of rage for some reason, "ERSA! Do you not remember Ersa?!" Volteer seemed a little stunned by his sudden outburst, as too the others. It was more depressing for the other two onlookers to see that for once, Cyril cared, and wanted him to remember something, anything that would remind him of the good times, that everything was going to be alright, and there was still something to fight for. But even still, he broke the hearts of the three when he simply shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, but... I've never met anyone named Ersa." Even for someone like Cyril who wanted nothing more than to give the Lightning Guardian a hard time, was frozen in disbelief to his lack of memory. They all frowned heavily, and Cyril himself dawned tears. He clenched his eyes shut, ready to yell, ready to beat his acquaintance senseless. But just as his eyes opened, and his mouth ran wide, he stopped dead cold. Volteer, even having no memory of this female, had tears running down his eyes just the same. The three all gasped, and Volteer himself was confused. Placing a paw to his face, he looked at the remains of the tears he took from his scales. He was confused, suddenly frightened, and something within him wanted to fall apart, "That's... odd-" His voice broke even as he tried to laugh, "I... do retain memories within my head that are locked away to me. I can't... seem to access them right now. When I try, it just... hurts..." The look in Volteer's eyes gripped the hearts of all three. Volteer hadn't forgotten. He was suffering in silence, and being attacked by an unknown memory. It broke him, his words, his trail of thought, his ability to even stand, "Cyril..." Though Volteer smiled, it was all a facade, "It hurts... it hurts... it hurts... it hurts - it hurts - it hurts - it hurts - it... hurts..."

"VOLTEER!" Unable to handle the weight of these crushing memories upon himself, the Guardian fell to the floor, collapsing in the wings of his brothers.

"That's all you said, over and over again. 'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts', until you inevitably crashed, resetting yourself, and swearing to never look on those memories again," Ignitus spoke on the memories lost to Volteer at the time it would seem, "I thought I knew the reason you had forgotten her all that time ago when you two were reunited, but at the time, and relying on what all the Chronicler had done, it took a toll on me."

All this remembering angered Volteer, "What does this have to do with anything?! The longer we're here, the higher of a probability MY LOVER, MY MATE, IS TO DIE!"

"Because you need to put faith into her!" Ignitus snipped back, "Ersa knows what she's doing, she knows how things work more than any of us, and if you don't trust her, you could put yourself in the same kind of danger that you did all that time ago!" There were many more reasons to be had, but at the very least, Ignitus needed to work with what he could before continuing their way to the battle, "When we go out there, don't try to jump in front. You acting without thought and only blind rage will get someone killed, and if you're to be injured, Ersa too will act without a plan."

Volteer could kinda get the idea of what he was going for, and though he didn't appreciate it, he knew what his words meant in the long term. He took them to heart either way, and took the time to muster up a plan, "Fine! I get it," Hearing the sounds of fighting getting closer and closer, everyone readied themselves, and Volteer somewhat snickered through his pissed off look, "Of course she planned for this too, didn't she?"

The grip held with her chest by the Dark Master wasn't to loosen anytime soon, and with the look in his eyes; cold, dead, and heartless, he was prepared to kill the last sense of his humanity. She knew her words wouldn't reach him, no matter her tears, tone, or love she could ever share with him. Rather fight a losing battle, she made sure to aid herself with the help of an unlikely ally: Corvus himself. Gripping the arm that held her insides, Alison reeled her other arm back, a ball of darkness forming within her paws, gearing up for something that the Dark Master couldn't predict. To him, the tighter his grip, no matter the attack, he'd kill her one way or another. But she had other plans, "You've lost your... way... your... ...memory... ...allow me to... SHOW YOU THE LIGHT AGAIN!" Throwing her arm forward, the ball of darkness she held clashed with the side of his head and erupted on impact. The Dark Master roared out, the same for the female as the attack caused him to reel back, ripping his claws from her exposed wound. The darkness that hit him ripped through the veins within him, each one pulsing in and out, expanding and collapsing, making their way throughout his head from every angle. The pain was near unbearable, and with each movement from back to front, he gripped tightly, clenching his eyes closed and falling to his knees. Succumbing to the pain, he had some choice words, but couldn't even think straight enough for a worthy reason to fear him, "You... ...UGH-YOU...! I'll... I'll kill... I'LL KILL YOU! YOU'RE DEAD! Your throat, your insides, your eyes -I WILL RIP THEM OUT! ALL OF IT! EVERYTHING!"

"Corvus! This isn't you!"

"Shut up... Shut up shut up shut up!"

"They didn't have to die! None of them did!"

"I... didn't... ...I..." His head started to spin without his eyes even having opened yet, but something within him was changing. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't believe, understand, something was off, something was there, and what could it be he couldn't figure out, couldn't tell. What was happening and why he was feeling it all became such a mystery, such a headache, such a nuisance, and the voice that berated him didn't help. "They were afraid! They attacked cause you approached them!"

"They were going... to... kill you...!" Standing up from what he believed, he turned away from the voice and rubbed his eyes. In a daze and barely able to stand, the pressure around him changed, but the voice that yelled at him stayed the same, "They were using me to get away from you! I told you I had everything under control! That kid, you... you just... you ripped through him like he didn't even have a soul!" Finally having enough with the voice, his eyes snapped open, the same snap that erupted from his teeth as he bit down and flung himself around to yell back at this figure, "I told you since the very beginning that nothing, no one, not even YOU mattered to me in the slightest!" Seeing who it was now, a female whom he once loved and cherished; Luna faced him in despair and defeat, tears running down both her eyes. Corvus didn't care, and attacked, yelled, and defended himself when ever he could get the chance, "I killed them cause I could, I'd kill them again if our paths crossed, I'D KILL YOU IF YOU EVER CROSSED ME!" His voice and his approach made her back, but fall to the ground from a loss of footing, and a reason to stand. "You're nothing to me! You've MEANT NOTHING TO ME SINCE DAY ONE! You're a nuisance, unwanted baggage, a reason I'll get killed, a REASON FOR ME TO KILL!" The way he looked down on her showed he meant every word. She meant nothing to him after what they've been through already, and all the time that they shared. Her tears, her fears, her exposure to him; it was all for nothing, and her voice broke because if it, "C... Corvus, I..."

"SHUT IT!" He barked down at her, "Look at you. So disgustingly weak! I could pick your insides out with my teeth, I could snap those limbs so easily, I could tear every claw from your paws and use them to pick my teeth after I eat you alive and all you'd do is cry like a helpless pile of TRASH!" He got closer and closer and closer, his saliva dripping down onto her, his aura of rage, death, and destruction becoming something of a heavy rain of anxiety towards her. She couldn't move, she couldn't cry. All she could do was lay to her side and listen on her final moments as the one she grew to love was ready to kill her. "I'll give you three seconds to run before your life ends here. Three seconds is all I'll give you since you've wasted enough of my time already."

"C-c-c-corvus... p-p-p-please..." She couldn't speak.

"One..." He dawned his claw next to her face.

"Stop... please... please, stop..." She couldn't move.

"Two..." He shined it past her eye, purposely allowing her to see the sharp edges of the blade that would kill her.

"Please... please - please - please..." She couldn't breathe and more so curled to a ball.

"Three..." Raising his arm up and over his head, he was ready to finish what he started. But before he could, he heard that voice again. It sounded like Luna, a defeated version of herself. Whether this was another imitation or the one he had injured prior he couldn't tell, "And that was it... that's... where she died... where I died." He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was frozen in place above the crying female, unable to go through with the kill even after everything within him told his soul not to care, or give in to such desires. "N... ...no..." He fought her words with gritted teeth. "You repressed your memories after that because you couldn't handle what you had done. So you made up a different story to make it seem like you were the good guy." His body started to move, his emotions started to regain feeling: like an old rusted bone shaking off years of dust and buildup. "No... no... no no no, no..."

"FACE IT, CORVUS! She died here! You killed her! YOU KILLED ME!" His mind played tricks on him. The female in front of him flashed: bones appeared from where she once was, blood covered his body, covered his claws, they dripped down his eyes before he clenched shut, snapping back open and back to a reality in which she was still alive, still cowering in fear. His throat swelled, his heart pounded, his eyes grew wet from a showing of emotion. "You can't remember! And how could you! You forgot! You gave up on purpose! You couldn't handle what you did!"

"NO!" He yelled, clenching his eyes shut, letting his tears drip down from his eyes and onto the scales of his love below, "I wouldn't... I... I couldn't...! I WOULD NEVER HARM A SCALE ON HER BODY!"

"Then what happened, Courvs?!" Multiple words were spoken by the same voice, all in attempts to attack him, forcing him to remember what was once forgotten, "Who am I?!" "Where did I die?!" "You never looked for my body." "You never cared." "You never loved me." "You never cared about ANYONE!" The voices became louder, more aggressive, attacking him, what he was, what he had become, and what he's always been. "You only cared about yourself." "You're a monster." "You're a monster!" "YOU'RE A MONSTER!" The voices became too much for him, and though he couldn't shut them out, he clenched his eyes shut in hopes they'd go away."You're... not... a monster..." A very soft voice spoke to him; a broken one, but a voice of love nonetheless. His eyes were slow to open, tears running down his face for what he knew he was, what he had become, for what all he had done. He looked down on her, defeated and without words. He had nothing to say, nor any reason to say anything at all. For what he did to her and for what he said, he knew there was no going back. She couldn't smile to him, but she could at the very least speak to him, "Corvus..." She bit her lip, and finding the strength to do so, she fought back against him, "You're a goddamn foul!" He backed his head to her words, unable to say anything back, and like a mother to a child, he could do nothing but listen as he was berated by her. "You can lie to me, yell at me, disagree with everything you're truly feeling to protect yourself but I'll ALWAYS know the truth...! The truth... of my future... YOUR... future..." Still trying to be a hard ass, he nipped at her ever so slightly in wonder to what that could be, "Oh yeah...? And what's that? Cause dreams are all in our heads, they're not real."

"Then I must be dead or dreaming cause if they aren't real, why the hell am I living them right now?" That stunned him to hear, and for once, he didn't have a comeback to that. Once having the entire situation under the palm of his paw now turned in her favor. She attempted to make her stand, and physically do so as well. She was still shaken up from what he had said, what all he had done, and though she trusted him with her life, it was hard for her to ignore it all. Luna nearly tripped trying to stand up, but even as pissed as he was at her, instinctively, Corvus's wings moved, and rather her catching herself, he did so with all he could. They both froze and looked at each for a minute after that. Each breath felt warmer than the last, and each beat of their heart pounded with enough love and force for them to know they weren't living in a dream. Their lips were close, but not enough so that anything could come of their movements. Neither could dare make the move, but their red cheeks spoke otherwise. This now gave Luna more of a reason to nip at him however, "Goddamn foul... Don't you ever scare me like that again!" He didn't know what to say to her, and rather let his tears fall, giving her room to breathe. Now that she stood back to her fours, he backed up some, unable to comprehend what he had did. Luna didn't know how to handle the situation either, but she always had a plan for something to cheer him up, "Corvus..." She took a few steps towards him, and he was too scared to back away. "Remember the lake. You... do remember the lake... right?" He didn't quite understand what she meant by this and asked himself, "The... lake...?"

From the rubble of the buildings in front of them came crashing through a body down and towards the others. Many moved out of the way as the body hit the ground and kicked up all sorts of dust and debris, but Volteer himself stood there watching. Cynder made sure to grab hold of the Dark Master's body and dragged him out of the fire that was sure to ensue. As the body had landed next to the yellow Guardian, another figure jumped from the rubble and stood tall, triumphant over their victory. Many gasped, cried, or were prepared to fight, knowing full well who that someone would've been. Through the smoke and rubble showed teeth, a grin, a victorious and maniacal laugh broke the air from them all. Though they had readied for a fight, the laugh was one to which many knew. It wasn't that of a villain, but one to which that was having fun. The maniacal laughter turned into a simple one, the dragon sliding down the rubble now and through the smoke to reveal themselves. Scales of purple were not dawned by this dragon, but rather that of yellow. All gasped with widened eyes, all lowering their guards and crying, "ERSA?!"

She laughed happily as she made her way over to the group, but more specifically, Volteer, "Hahaha! Hey, y'all! How's it going?!"

She was as giddy as could be, having a hop, skip, and a jump in her step as she made her way over to Volteer. Her smile and happy demeanor would quickly turn on its head. As she died down on her joy, the look on Volteer's face was anything but happy. He was disappointed to see her dusted, slightly injured, and bloody figure. Though if that was blood of her own or Spyro's, he couldn't determine. But seeing her like this, any kind of injury at all, it upset him. He knew he could've done something to prevent this, but she wouldn't allow it. This whole idea of a plan that didn't involve him dug at his scales. She knew she was in trouble, and laid her head low in sadness, "Ahem... I, Uh... I'm... ...I'm sorry..."

Their conversation couldn't continue however. The purple dragon's body that laid next to the yellow Guardian started to emerge again. Slowly, Spyro's body tried to rise, and now in full control of his voice and everything, everyone knew the one who spoke and moved was not of friend, "I'll... kill... you-UGH!"

Slamming his back left foot into the neck of Spyro, Volteer reached into what looked like his scales, pulled out a small needle, and threw it into the neck of the purple dragon. It was so quick and so violent that even those that knew him were caught off guard by such a vicious force of nature. The one corrupting Spyro couldn't react either, only able to take another attack that immobilized them. Even as Volteer lifted his foot from the purple dragon, Alina was quick to realise she couldn't move the body she possessed at all. She was stuck, frozen it would seem, and no matter how hard she strained, stretched, and tensed up, her body was frozen to the ground, completely immobilized. Now with Spyro's body stuck to the ground, Volteer needed to have a word with his mate, "You. Me. Over there. Now."

He was firm in his words, giving her little to no input; Volteer already walking over to where they needed to talk and Ersa simply walking over with him willingly with her head down. While those two made their way away from the purple dragon that laid to the floor, others slowly started to surround her. Alina couldn't much make out who it was that was beside or behind her, but seeing someone like the purple dragon known as Malefor approach from her front, she cried out in her movements, "NO!" Still unable to move at all, her heart increased with every step that he made closer to her, "STAY BACK!" Similar to sleep paralysis, her demon approached closer and closer, her eyes watched on, but her vision blurred, making her heart panic, and her mind race for what was next, "PLEASE-STOP! STAY AWAY!"

It was odd for many to hear this side of her. They couldn't understand why she seemed so different in her emotions, her responses, the way she acted at all. One minute she seemed so frail, but the next she seemed to understand and comprehend her situation entirely to a point of a mastermind in cunning and ingenious planning. Now that she seemed so broken once again, and her heart twisted to a point of sickness, she pleaded for her life, "Please... please - I don't... I don't feel good - PLEASE - I'm gonna... I'm gonna throw up - I... I can't BREATHE! I CAN'T BREATHE!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy, Alina, easy..."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Out of any voice that could've soothed her, it was one she knew as an enemy, a threat to the very existence of her species: all life that was to live and that hadn't even been born yet. She couldn't see him, but she knew of him. However, the blurred vision caused by her tears didn't last long. A razor sharp claw, capable of torture; easy access given to cause her undeniable pain and suffering to which she could do nothing against, was instead used as a means to wipe away her tears. She gasped, froze even, to see the claw rub past her eyelid, mere centimeters away from the squishy round circle they knew as an eye. As her vision cleared, so too did her surroundings; easily able to be collected and seen now that she wasn't handicapped by her own emotions. Laid to her front was Malefor; so calmed, so collected, so happy to see her for some reason. Though there were others around her, she couldn't look away; from his eyes, the way he laid on his belly in front of her, everything screamed at her that something else was going to happen, or that something else was to go wrong, "Wh-wh-wh-wh-what the hell do you want?! I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU! MARK MY WORDS, I'LL KILL YOU!" She didn't know what to feel, or even how to feel and cope with what she was feeling; it was all a mess for her, "Don't touch me! Don't... don't hurt me! I... I... I... ...STOP SMILING!"

Malefor was quick to apologize, "Oh! Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you... or, frighten you. You got a lot going on so..."

"CUT THE BULLSHIT!" She nipped at him, "I know what you're doing! Trying to play the nice guy but when I don't comply, YOU'LL BEAT ME OVER THE HEAD WITH WHAT EVER YOU CAN GET YOUR GRIMMY PAWS ON!" Alina knew a lot about a lot of things, mainly everything all being negative and horrible to think about or experience, "Go ahead... rip my eye out... DO IT! DO IIIITTT! I WON'T BREAK, YOU WON'T MAKE ME! SO GO AHEAD! KILL ME!"

"He's not gonna kill you, Alina," Flair, trying to calm down the afraid female, laid down to Malefor's right so she could be in view of the frightened female, but not anywhere close to Malefor himself, "And if he does... well, he won't make it that far. I'll bust his neck, rip his head off, and shove that annoying ass mouth of his down his own and exposed esophagus," After those words, Alina didn't know if she should fear the purple dragon more, or her, "Alina, it's okay... alright? I've been corrupted once before too by that dickhead Flint, so I know how scary it can be to have someone else controlling your actions."

"Wh...?" Alina didn't know how she could've figured that out, but she still acted a fool, "You think I don't want you all dead?! You think my hate for the purple dragons is a lie?! I'D KILL YOU ALL RIGHT HERE AND NOW IF I HAD THE CHANCE!"

"Look, you either have one serious form of bipolar I've ever seen, or someone is controlling you," The Red female has been in enough situations to not allow something like this to really phase her, "No one goes from, death, murder, destruction to, please don't kill me, tears, and... what ever the hell else. You gain nothing from telling us anything, and the fact that you told us Spyro was even still alive in the first place gave us comfort to which the other side of you doesn't appreciate. Do you have multiple personality disorder by any chance?"

"NO, I...!" The Dark Dragoness didn't know what to say at this point, "Listen to me! The purple dragon-!"

"Hasn't been killed yet since he's still inside there somewhere, and we know that cause you haven't lost control because he's supposed to lose control, take over, and kill everyone, which means he hasn't killed you yet, or... Cynder... or something to that affect, am I right?" She paused, and this gave Flair more than enough time to continue and rather stun everyone around her with such quick thinking, "I am confused about one thing though. If you have the ability to kill Spyro, and you know, or rather I and everyone else hopes, that he wouldn't have the guts to kill Cynder, why haven't you killed him yet?"

She refused to give out such information, "Go to hell...!"

"It's because she's on team control," A voice spoke, and as everyone looked over to Cynder, Kettu and Xvar both revealed themselves once again, with Kettu being the one to speak, "We're technically at war with even ourselves on what should be done with the purple dragons. One side thinks that we should take control and use the powers that be to correct the wrong with this world. The other believes in nothing but death and murder of the purple dragons to prevent any further conflict."

"As you can already tell, Alina is on the side of control, and was obviously meant to be just that, a puppet meant to control the purple dragon one way or another."

"Then what the hell side are you two on?!" Alina couldn't believe her own kind would side with the protection over the purple dragon.

"We're on the side of peace, and unfortunately for many, that means option three. We're siding with him. We refuse to kill nor control, and that's based on what we know so far, not from what we've been told," Kettu was honest, showing little to no hesitation for where he stood with the opposition, "Surely even you have read through all his memories by now. There's a chance we can make a difference, Alina, you have to see that. He hasn't done any wrong by you yet, has he?"

"That's only because I look like Cynder to him!"

"And what if you didn't? Why not show your true self?" Xvar questioned, "You might not believe it, but we know the truth. He'll make every attempt to welcome you, to aid you, and to guide you to the correct path. He'll welcome you with open arms, and will make every attempt to make sure your life here means everything."

"IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" She cried loudly, her eyes filling up with tears, "You have no idea what I've been through! What I've seen, what I've experienced! You couldn't even imagine the pain! I was the reason for one of the purple dragon's changing in the first place all those years ago!" Many gasped to hear this, knowing now she could be decades old, and what's more, she could know even more than what Corvus does, "I read their thoughts, their emotions, and saw through it all the same way I can with Spyro! I'll break him, I'll change him, I'll turn him against all of you the same way I did to that other purple dragon!"

"Counter offer," Malefor spoke up, "I revive peace and tranquility, you receive... peace and tranquility? See, here's the thing," He adjusted himself to better get a sitting position before speaking, "Why... do I care? You think we WANTED to destroy the world? You think I give a hot flaming ass bag of shit at a door to be stepped on? Corvus controlled me, Corvus knew of the Destroyer, Corvus killed all those people and threw our world into chaos, and all I was doing was sitting in a black hole not knowing what the shit was going on until suddenly, pop, I saw Carith again. It was like being born and you don't gain a sentience until like age eight or something."

This enraged Alina ever so much more, "YOU'RE A IDIOT! It doesn't matter who controls who, the outcome is always the same! Whether that be the fault of our kind or yours, it's the purple dragons that always are a constant! And even if it was us that were the problem, you really think the extermination of an ENTIRE race will do any good of anything compared to killing ONE SOUL to save a billion?!" She growled and cried the more she spoke, "You possess weapons the same against us that only your kind would know about! Our world has already been destroyed! All Corvus was trying to do was return the favor that your purple dragon, Artemis, left us with!" Her eyes proceeded to get blurry from her tears, itchy even, and she couldn't do a thing about it, "Uh-ugh-ahhh! To hell with these... droplets of venom that impair my VISION!"

"Oh, here..."

Reaching his blade to her face, Malefor tried his best to wipe her tears and itch her face at the same time. Alina felt reality nearly freeze for herself. To see such a masculine dragon, a purple dragon, one with much to his history, their history, and a blade sharp enough and deadly enough to cut through scales clean as butter, her heart stopped, and so did time. That freeze in reality didn't last forever however, and with her face wiped down, the itchiness gone, and his blade pulling back, time seemed to resume. Alina still laid there frozen, and not so much from what Volteer did, but for what Malefor did. He didn't see an issue with it at all, and kept conversation going like nothing happened at all, "Okay, but like... what if I'm a really dirty dragon? Like, I just wanna get laid with my lady every day of her life."

"Why can't you ever say something normal..." Flair sighed.

"Why can't YOU ever..."

"Say some shit and you're dead!" She raised her blade to his face.

"Whoa! Easy, Flair!" Cyril tried his best to calm her down.

"'Some shit and you're dead'," Malefor smiled with a cocky attitude, "Do I get a prize?!" He clapped happily.

"You'll definitely make an amazing father," Carith smiled as she said, making Malefor stop and look to his lover with a smile and a blush, "Your dad jokes are gonna make us sigh something fierce."

"That's even if he GETS to that 'point'," Flair threatened the purple dragon with her blade.

"Says you," He mocked her, "You're all bark and no bite, and when it comes to Cyril, I bet he could make you fold."

"I'LL FOLD YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Before she could even get up to chase after him, Malefor was already gone and ran behind those of Amara and Axel.

Now away from the commotion of the others, Volteer sat in wait of his mate to arrive, ready to scold her of her actions and the danger she posed to herself and many others. Ersa was hesitant on her approach, lowering her head and only raising ever so slightly to smile at her mate. Volteer was beyond annoyed, and for once was stumped on what to say or do. He couldn't dare bring himself to wave his claw at her, let alone become hateful or aggressive. He fought with himself on how to rightfully take on this position, and in what way putting his foot down would show love but displeasure for what she did. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to say anything at all no matter what he tried, and Ignitus had an effect on him after what was brought up from his past. The Guardian couldn't lose her, nor would he live in a world without her, so he was conflicted on what stance he should take still. His tightened throat and tears made it all too hard to think of a way both would walk out of this satisfied. Thankfully however, it didn't seem tears or words needed to even be spoken or shed. Ersa knew what she had done, and though she couldn't explain it, the best she could was continue to be where he needed her the most. She snuggled him to his chest, holding close against him and nuzzling her head underneath his neck in a show of passion. She sat there against his chest, sideways and curled to his body. Her warmth brought upon more tears, more emotions, more memories, but what was most important to him was still there, still alive, and still breathing. Without speaking a word, he cuffed his wings around her, crying over her head and giving a small squeeze in hopes she wouldn't run away. She didn't, but rather hugged him the same, pushing more to his chest, and holding his arms close as they wrapped to her side. She smiled as he cried, sharing a tear with him in the moment.

Alina was in disbelief to see Malefor getting tackled by someone so clearly and so obviously stronger than anyone else here aside from herself. It puzzled her, ate at her, and confused her every step of the way, I can't let them lie to me, to my soul, to my FACE! I know what they are, I know who they are, I've been the cause of their nature to show! So why is this one so... so... idiotic?! Hearing sounds of footsteps to her left, Alina still couldn't move, but tried to look and see who it was. Approaching her was two green dragons, one of female origin, and another of a masculine male. Though the male seemed completely locked down and bolted to the floor, ready to take a stand in case of an attack, the other one; the green female, she seemed like a complete wreck. Her legs were wobbly, her eyes shivered to every direction, unable to focus or even look at the person in front of her, and her voice patterns were all over the place, "Uh-uh-uh-uh-du-uh, Ms. A-a-a-Alina... m-m-m-m-mama...?" Trish was completely broken by what she had seen, only able to stand thanks to Terrador, "I-I-I-I-I-uh..." She swallowed hard, and didn't feel as though she was helping her case in getting the female to turn over, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I-I-I... I can't breathe, I... I d-d-d-don't..."

"Skittish little one, aren't you?" Alina spoke, causing a dead stop in Trish's pattern of rambles, "Look, I'm not here to hurt you. Just want to kill the purple dragon and I'll-"

"NO!" Trish jumped to conclusion before Alina could even finish, "Y-y-you can't!"

"Oh yeah?" Alina took on a deep growl, "And why's that?"

"B-b-b-because you'll..." Trish paused before looking at her blue friend, one she had grown very fond of, cared deeply for, and like everyone else, saw her as a building block keeping peace, love, and tranquility within the family, "You'll make Carith cry, and I... I-I... I don't want to see her cry. She's done nothing wrong... she's already been abused by the Chronicler and used to make Malefor go mad. Why is it so wrong for her to want a family?"

"She chose the wrong person to get with. That's on her, not me."

"But the purple dragons aren't evil! You've seen Spyro's memories, right?! S-s-s... shouldn't that... m-m-mean, something?"

"My father only knows of all his memories. What I see is what he picks and chooses for me to see to better assist me on my mission."

Trish gasped to this, and many too saw this as a manipulative way to turn Alina against the purple dragons for no reason other than murder, "Just because someone says they love you, that doesn't mean it's true!" Trish now found her voice and towered over the purple dragon's body, "Don't let him so blindly manipulate you like that! You have a choice, a choice to be free, to be expressive, yet you choose to be a slave?! Why?!"

"WHY DO YOU PROTECT A TERRORIST, A PSYCHOPATH, A GENERATION KILLER, A HATCHLING EGG BREAKER?!" Alina's darkness erupted outwards, and even those who weren't focused on her had all eyes on now, "You dare come at my father when you yourself protect the very thing that can end us all?! My father keeps me from those memories of this shit bag to keep me from being like YOU! Weak! Pathetic! A bag of rotten filth who needs their eyes ripped out to finally see the truth that your life MEANS NOTHING! You'll die a horrible death, you'll wake up to Terrador's throat being slit, your family DEAD, YOUR OWN UNBORN CHILD, YOU'LL WATCH AS THE PURPLE DRAGONS PUT THEIR FIST THROUGH THE UNBORN EGG! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! TO SEE WHAT I'VE SEEN?! TO LIVE HOW I'VE LIVED?!"

Trish was afraid to say anything after that since Alina's bark was no where near as bad as her bite, but the fact that she was even biting in the first placed showed she had a heart somewhere hidden behind all that darkness. She couldn't think for too long and give Alina the idea that what she was saying was right in anyway, and had much more against Alina the same way Carith did when protecting Malefor, "So then what makes a purple dragon different than any other human?" Alina didn't understand the question at first, and since Trish took such a low, scared tone, it was hard to hear her at points, but she raised her voice some, "My EX did things, said things, hurt people, and manipulated situations the same way you say only purple dragons can. What makes a purple dragon any different than someone as normal as you or me?"

"Because of their limits: they don't have any," This was easy enough for her to explain, "Any normal dragon would wear down, lose the ability to continue, and damn sure couldn't fly into space. You think the craters on the moon were simply asteroids? Some of those were caused by your first purple dragon, destruction on a scale of a solar system," Many gasped to hear that, knowing what they were seeing now was nothing compared to what could be, even those who once saw Spyro destroy the sun from a deal made with Ignitus were shocked to hear, "They have no limit. And combine that with the darkness and it's ability to create, form, and recreate anything within the limitless mind, well... doesn't take a genius to know that infinite power, infinite mind, infinite creativity, and the vastness of space, time, and reality, the purple dragons could one day rule over everything, everyone, and anything in the past, present, and future."

With an explanation like that, it made sense to many compared to before. Since the ability to control anything and everything, including time itself and other dimensions, there would be no stopping the purple dragon if he or she ever were to garner such power and support. Many kinda feared the idea now, and some even tried to look for the moon and shiver at the idea of these same such craters being made on earth, and the impact it would have. Ersa and Volteer had made their way back over, and from the looks and fears on the faces of many, the yellow female questioned everyone, "Hey, y'all. Is, everything okay?" No one really answered, not really knowing what to say, "What did Alina do?"

"It's not what she did, it's what she said..."

Most if not everyone kinda went cold hearing Malefor speak. They all looked at him. He was questioning something, and seemed very interested in either what he was thinking about or what Alina had said. Many feared for the worst, and unfortunately for most, their fears were warranted upon him asking Alina, "So... Because of my abilities, and the darkness combined, I can make anything that comes to my mind? Similar to how I can make my golden gun or sniper rifle? As long as I know the mechanics and makeup of the item... I could do... ...anything?" His smirk invoked fear, and if that wasn't bad enough, the paralysis that held Alina down started to wear off, allowing her to slowly but surely stand; pushing against the force that held her down in attempts to kill him and save everyone else around her, "Hehe... I could do anything... I... I could 'make'... ANYTHING!"

Others such as Serena, Amara, and Celina readied themselves out of fear of what was to come. Many were still new to this Malefor, and though he tried his best to show he wasn't evil, the look he gave off, the colors he dawned, and the rampage he was forced into that sent the world to hell, forgiving and forgetting would take far longer than something of a week's time. Many were hopeful, and had shown some tears that he wouldn't turn against them, like Ava, and even Alina after what he's said and done so far. Flair was especially afraid, but even with the short time she's spent with him, she didn't believe someone as stupid as him would make the mistake of losing it all, Don't do this, Malefor... please... I... I'm begging you... please don't change from this. No one really knew what he was planning, but with dark eyes, a reach behind his back, and a smirk reminiscent of the Dark Master, many froze for a second. This freeze allowed Alina to push past Trish and aim straight for Malefor. As she leaped, many cried and reached out an arm, wing, or blocked in fear of what would happen next. Just as the two were to clash, the sound of liquid splashed the minds of many, and some that covered themselves out of fear for what was next felt this liquid hit their scales and arms and cried out of fear. Many jumped back, ducked, or showed teeth for what was next or who their next opponent would be. Those who covered themselves were too scared to keep their eyes hidden, and rather hold back, they flipped themselves into high gear and were prepared to fight even if their bodies, hearts, and minds told them to run. Now that all eyes were on Malefor, they saw what he had done. He stood rather tall, exposing his underbelly, but allowing him the height and show of his muscular figure. Both of his paws grabbed hold of something, his right grabbing the handle, and his other grabbed the lower bottom of what he held. It looked like another gun, but it appeared to have a fat circular cylinder on the top of it. After he had fired, his left paw seemed to stroke the bottom of the gun. Up and down and up and down his paw went, the gun-like shaped item he made seemed to react to whatever he was doing. All now looked to Alina, and were shocked not to see blood, but a blue-like clear liquid. Many now looked to their bodies and noticed that the liquid that hit them wasn't blood at all, but rather, "Water...?"

Many now questioned what it was the he had made or what it was that he was doing. Thankfully though, answers were to be had once Alina recovered herself. She coughed a little, shaking her head some and drying herself off by wiggling and flapping her wings or scales, rubbing her eyes even. Finally getting her footing, her eyes shot wide, and she jumped up in rage. Looking at the puddle below her, and the water that soaked her now, Alina snapped her head over to Malefor and yelled at him, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! POISON?! ACID?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! WHAT IS THAT?!"

"Relax, baby girl, it ain't no nothing special... only one of the coolest MF'ing things in the world that I was never able to have as a kid!" Malefor cocked the front once again and finally explained what it was that he created, "IT'S A SUPER SOAKER!" Many stopped, blinked, and those who were afraid turned that emotion into anger, "Hehehehe, I can finally have a water fight! Which means I can make water balloons, I can make fire works, OH SHIT, FIRE WORKS! I CAN MAKE A POOL FOR MY SHARK!" He had many ideas that now made him question everything and anything he could do that he couldn't before, and he gasped at one of the ideas, "OH MY GOSH, WAIT! If I can create anything, then that means...!"

A strap formed around his water gun made of darkness, allowing him to put it over his shoulder. Many wondered what his next invention would be, and it was made rather quickly. Using both his paws and crushing everything together, many watched as his darkness swirled around his paws to make what ever item was next. Smiling with success, he opened his paw and gasped happily, "HA-HAH!"

Everyone, including Alina, wanted to know what he came up with. He happily showed it to everyone and laughed in success. He held something circular, or rather, circular in the middle with three other circles on the outer edges that connected with the circle in the middle. No one really knew what it was until of course Ersa and Volteer had a look at it, and both of them spoke in unison, "Malefor... ...really...?"

"What?! What is it?!" Alina prepared for a bomb or something destructive, but it was quite the opposite.

"FIDGET SPINNER!" Malefor happily said out loud.

Alina blinked a couple of times and asked, "Uh... ...what?"

"Check it!" Malefor held the middle piece with his paw and spun it with his other paw, "It's this neat little device that spins when you flick the outer edges, and as long as you're holding the middle, or have something to place the middle part on, it spins and spins until it slows and you spin it again!" As the spinner slowed more and more so, he flicked it with his finger and spun it up again, "Now, when ever something happens, we can all be like, whoa! But add this fidget spinner, and now it's like whhhoooaaaa!"

He went to flick it again but lost grip of it and only ended up smacking it out of his paw. The smack sent it flying to Alina's face, and he gasped, "Oh-shit!"

She grabbed it immediately, crushing it within her paws. Malefor rightfully so cried out to this, "Fidget spinner! My ADHD! Or... OCD...? My mental state! I'ma start smoking now."

"ENOUGH!"

Alina finally couldn't handle his childish behavior any longer, and though she had read his memories, she couldn't believe he was acting in such a manner, "You're a lie, a cheap, a secret psychotic and manipulative MANIC who's hiding what they truly want! You could go anywhere! You could destroy anything! You have the power to create and decimate anything and everything! GALAXYS! PLANETS! DIMENSIONS! Why the hell do you choose to act like such an idiot when you could be something, ANYTHING worth a damn in this world!"

"Because I don't care to be known by everyone and everything," For once, Malefor was genuine, and he had his reasons to act the way he did, "Look at what being a purple dragon does for me. I'm feared, hated, and taken advantage of. If me or Spyro were never born, maybe things would be more peaceful or enjoyable. But if I have the power thanks to the darkness to give myself everything I want right here, what's the point in going out and ruling things I don't care to rule?" He had his reasons, and many of these such reasons were thanks to Carith, "My sexy blue companion gives me everything else that I don't have, and from what I've learned, ruling something like a mountain gives me a big head. If I ruled over Warfang, I wouldn't have met Ignitus, Terrador, Cyril, or Volteer, and all those that followed. Even Ava and the others. If I rule over everything, the chance of me meeting these friends could turn into a timeline where I would've met them all as enemies. So I don't care to rule. I got four walls around me, a roof, a home, the greatest friends in the world, and now the power to make even more friends and memories to last my whole life."

He smiled and tried to be as sincere as possible so she knew he wasn't lying to hear. He really did have everything he wanted, but that didn't stop her from looking through his eyes or reading his body language to find a lie. Malefor reached around and grabbed his water gun again, and though she jumped, Alina didn't move, still stunned on who he was, "Maybe we're just different cause you got to us sooner or something. Hell, I'd say lets just have a water gun fight till everything blows over or you feel comfortable enough to let Spyro go."

She knew that wasn't a viable option, and started to break down into tears because of it, "I... can't..."

"If you've read Spyro's memories, than you know he's a good guy too, don't you?"

"My father won't allow me to see those memories... I only know of the malicious things he has done..."

"Why not peak inside and give yourself the freedom to make your own choice?"

"He... won't... allow me..." Her body shivered more and more, giving off a sick feeling, like she was about to throw up.

Malefor knelt down and put a paw on her shoulder, hoping his words or smile would do her any good, "Well, if I am some all controlling purple dragon, then I demand and will fight for your freedom. The fact your father is holding you back from knowing the truth means he knows Spyro is innocent, and is trying to stray you away from walking the right path: your own path."

She didn't say anything to him, allowing him to stand and back away from her. Alina started to lose herself, and though her tears were a reason for her blurred vision, what caused her to truly lose control was nothing she could prevent.

"I'm sorry..." She murmured.

With history repeating itself once again, Malefor was the target, and she made sure to follow through this time. Malefor's scales were ripped in two by a sudden black sphere that ripped up from the ground and through his chest. He wasn't safe or sparred any kind of pain. The sphere ripped through the middle of his heart, immobilizing the dragon in his entirety. Terrador and Trish were quick to back off and make distance, being so close to the female in attempts to drag her over to the light. Many jumped back and away, but with Carith being so close, the next target was her. Knowing her death would finally cause the reaction out of the purple dragon she's wanted for a while, Alina made sure this next attack would kill. Some had seen that, and those brave enough to rush in like Cynder, Ignitus, and a few others attempted to save the female. However, all were stopped dead by something, and with the sphere coming out of the ground and to the middle of Carith's eyes, it suddenly stopped dead in front of her face. Carith collapsed down on the floor and backed away, crawling somewhat on her back. She couldn't run away, not with the sphere inside her lover's back that pointed out his front. Alina growled with anger as to why she couldn't move or do much of anything else, and once again snapped her head over to look at Volteer. She thought he was the one who had done it again, but with a sudden warmth to her left shoulder, Alina was quick to flick around and growl with a massive row of teeth. She was stunned however, noticing someone not thought to interfere with what was happening. Corvus, stood tall and next to her had a proposition to make, "I know that's not you, Alina. I'd like to talk to your father; Cerberus, instead. But since I'm already talking to you now, what say we make a deal?"

Alina's shocked and dumbfounded nature brought upon a sudden smirk, the same being shown to Corvus's face as well. They both seemed to have a plan, and Cerberus was all for it, "I'm listening."