Chapter 32: A Brothers Love Part 4: An Uneasy Alliance
The cabin was silent as the two parties sat at the table, Spyro at the table with Scootaloo in his lap, his arm around her to keep her safe while he also used his free lift a glass of water with the force to him, taking a drink before looking around the room. The girls were taking a seat just in front of him, Luxord sitting back, relaxing while he refused a bottle of rum from Jack, who took it happily, taking a large drink of it before sitting back down to hear the story of who Malefor is.
"As I said, this is going to be a long story, so get some snacks and some drinks because we'll be here a while." Spyro said, Pinkie pulling a massive bucket of popcorn out of her mane, much to Luxord's surprise and disgust. "Malefor is a purple dragon, like myself, only his power is darker purpose, almost destroying his world twice."
"Twice?" Twilight asked. "How?"
"The first time it was with an army of Apes." Spyro replied. "A long time ago, Malefor, the very first purple dragon, was born and raised in a temple, there he was trained by the ancestors, being taught how to harness the elements after he first used fire as he was not a fire dragon, then water, followed by other elements. He was thought to be the hope for all dragon kind, mastering multiple elements where a dragon is limited to only having one."
"Well, that is kind of obvious." Twilight said. "Most dragons can only master a single element, which is the one they are born with, fire."
"In your world yes, but not this one." Spyro replied. "This world, there were many different species of dragons with different elements. Fire, water, wind, electricity, and more. The ancestors pushed him to learn everything about each element, but as time went by, the more he learned, the more he wanted. Until he acquired a lust for absolute power and to consume everything." He then turned his set, looking out the window to see the night sky, sighing a heavy sigh as he continued. "The ancestors banished him after that, which made him hate the ancestors, so he took revenge."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a book, using the force to flip through the pages until it reached the one he needed, which was the element a purple dragon can use in it's purest form if he mastered the four elements fire, electricity, ice, and earth; Aether, a.k.a.: convexity. eveyrone gathered around to read what was written, but Rainbow Dash and Luxord stayed back, the cyan pegasus not a fan of reading while Luxord already knew what it was he was showing.
"This is the Aether." Spyro said. "The most powerful elements in the realms and in all worlds. The equivalent of the sun, gravity, and the power of a passing comet. Only the purple dragon is able to use it in its purest form." He then flipped the page, showing a darker, more devious form of the Aether. "But Malefor used the darker side of the Aether, Dark Aether. When infected, your physical appearance will change as will your voice, being more distorted and vile, your conscious being consumed by the darkness. But Malefor managed to master it, his consciousness remained intact and he was able to control the dark power he acquired."
"Such power is quite dangerous." Luxord added. "We all saw how darkness can corrupt someone. Marluxia gave a prime example."
"Don't remind us." Rarity said, she and Fluttershy still remembering that night.
"Anyway..." Spyro said, glaring at Luxord. "When Malefor mastered Dark Aether, then he became known as The Dark Master, using that power to take his revenge. As part of it, he taught the Apes, enemies of the dragon, how to use the crystals, the life force and power source for all dragons. From there, he waged war against his own kind, plunging the peaceful world into war." Everyone remained silent as they listened, only hoarding Jack take an occasional drink from his bottle of rum, but other than that, there was nothing but silence. "The ancestors managed to finally defeat him, locking him away in his own home, which he calls the Mountain of Malefor, but it goes by another name, The Well of Souls."
"So, if he was locked away, then how did he try to take over the world a second time?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Rainbow, don't interrupt." Twilight said.
"He was released." Spyro answered, getting the mares attention. "To free him, the apes needed four keys, fours specific elements to release him; fire, electricity, ice, and earth. But they couldn't be from any ordinary dragon, but from guardian dragons, only they were strong enough to release him, and a dragon." Everyone looked at him in confusion, but he just took a sip of water, continuing the story. "They needed a dragon who was born on the year of the dragon so they can open a rift into convexity, which served as his prison. He got one, from the temple the new purple dragon was born in."
"Wait, new purple dragon?" Rainbow Dash asked. "A new purple dragon was born?"
"That's right." Spyro replied. "A purple dragon is born only once every ten generations of a dragons life time. And that year, when the purple dragon was born, other eggs were born who could open a rift to convexity, and who could use it as well. So to prevent a small army of dragons from using it, Gaul ordered the eggs smashed, all but one." He looked back to his friends, and his enemy, tension in the room as he was continuing his story. "Cynder, a black dragoness, who was corrupted by Malefor dark magic, forced to collect the keys from the four guardians and open a rift to convexity to free Malefor, but the purple dragon, Spyro, the original Spyro, defeated her in convexity using Aether, purifying her of the darkness, but leaving himself severely weakened."
"Now hold on there sugarcube." Applejack said. "How could he have been weakened? And how did he purify her in the first place?"
Spyro didn't answer as he pulled the book to him and put it back in his bag, taking in a deep breath as he summed the courage to continue.
"As Dark Aether corrupts and alters the appearance of a dragon infected with it, pure Aether can purify, heal, and restore." Spyro replied. "However, it comes at a price. When a purple dragon unlocks Aether, their power becomes flexible and only limited by their creative capability, so with the power of the Aether, you can purify a corrupted dragon if they can be saved. But, the more power you dealt through the Aether, the higher the toll is on the dragon as it will put a strain on their body, temporarily loosing their elemental abilities."
The room remained silent, wanting to hear everything he had to say, but Twilight had taken out some parchment and quill, writing down everything Spyro was saying so she can look back to it later, which Spyro did notice her writing everything down and decided to talk to her later about that as it was information that should never be in the books of another world.
"After a while, everything was ok, but Spyro was still weak from his fight and Cynder was haunted by her past." He continued. "So, she ran away from the temple, just as it as attacked by Gaul and his minions."
"So she planned it!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted. "Quiet."
"She was freed from Malefor corruption, and thus has no loyalty to him." Spyro replied, answering Rainbow Dash's question. "She had no idea of Gauls attack, but left. As she did, Spyro went looking for her, hoping to bring her home, but her heart was set. Fear taking over and blinding her to the friends who are willing to forgive and help her."
"Like you with us." Fluttershy said.
"Sort of like that." He replied. "Anyway, as he searched, Spyro was regaining his lost abilities, growing stronger with each location he visited until he had all his power left, being guided to the Well of Souls where the Apes had made their home base. But the process for Malefor to be freed would take time and time was something they were running out of as Malefor would corrupt Cynder again. So, Spyro traveled to the Well of Souls where Gaul had taken her."
"Wait back up darling, Gaul took Cynder?" Rarity asked. "How?"
"One of the locations Spyro was at was a pirate coliseum where they had fighters fight to the death." He replied. "Cynder was one of them and when she and Spyro met in the arena, they were working a plan to escape when Gaul's men attacked and captured her, taking her to the Mountain of Malefor."
He the set Scootaloo down and got up from the chair, walking over to the window to look outside at Port Royale, seeing the lights on in the houses as he leaned against the wall, wondering when they would return home, but turned back to face his friends.
"After being captured, Spyro fought through Gauls men to save her." Spyro continued. "He fought him until he reached the head ape himself, who used his staff to weaken Spyro again, which he fought against the ape after Cynder refused to serve. After a while, the ground beneath them shattered, destroying the staff, but Spyro fell into the pillar of Dark Aether, becoming corrupted by the dark energy as he fought Gaul."
"He was corrupted?" Twilight asked, the girls all in shock as Scootaloo went over to them.
"Yes, he became corrupted." Spyro relied. "And he managed to defeat Gaul, but it was Cynder who saved Spyro from his darkened fate as his heart felt a connection to Cynders. The two found love in each other and through one another managed to best the darkness, freeing himself from its control. And the mountain started to collapse after that, trapping the two dragons in it, but Spyro conjured up a crystal barrier to protect himself and Cynder." He then sat back down, taking a deep breath as there was more to the story. "Three years later, Malefor has declared war again and this time he is taking no prisoners. He found a way to build an army of creatures known as Grublins. They found Spyro and Cynder, freeing them from the crystal shell he made to protect himself and Cynder, forcing them to fight in their arena, only being saved by a cheetah man, who lead them to Warfang city, the dragon capital."
"A dragon capital city?" Twilight asked, imagining what it would look like.
"At the capital, Spyro and Cynder joined in its defense, protecting the city and its inhabitants from Malefor army." He continued. "Fighting Grublins, orcs, wyverns, every creature of darkness until it came to the Ancient Earth Golem, a creature of darkness and pure evil. The two dragons fought it and defeated the abomination, destroying its core. Everything would be alright, but Malefor had one trick up his sleeve; The Destroyer. The bringer of the world's creation."
"That doesn't seem so bad." Pinkie said, still eating her popcorn.
"By announcing its destruction." Spyro finished, Pinkie's mane deflating. "Spyro, Cynder, and all the other dragons had to use underground catacombs to sneak up on it at a valley, which they flooded to slow it down as the monstrosity is made of rock and molten earth. The only way to destroy a Destroyer is to destroy all the black crystals on and in it. After the last one was destroyed, the Destroyer was collapsing, but there was one left, in its head."
"I don't get it." Twilight said. "How does the Destroyer destroy a planet?"
"By making a ring of fire." He replied. "The Ring of Cataclysm what I call it for when the Destroyer emerges from its resting place and completes a full circle, plunging itself back into the volcano it rose from, the world will be engulfed in fire, destroyed and remade in the image of one who goes to the core of the planet." He looked down at the floor, the memory fresh in his head, though he wasn't there, he played the game, but a tear went down his cheek as he reached a sad part of the story. "To save the world, Spyro and Cynder needed to defeat Malefor before the Destroyer reached the volcano it emerged from.
"Oh yeah, now we're getting to the good part!" Rainbow Dash said, pumped to hear more.
"No Rainbow, not yet." Spyro replied, hinting there was more. "Malefor had risen a castle just above the volcano the Destroyer and a ring of fire of his own. Though dragons are immune to fire, this fire was filled with dark magic, making it lethal to any who try to cross. So they went with Ignitus, the fire guardian, who created a barrier to pass through the flames, but he became overwhelmed by it and used his strength to put the barrier around Spyro and Cynder, throwing them to the other side, but sacrificing himself to save them."
The girls were in shock, silent by what he had just said about Ignitus sacrificing himself to save the two dragons, a couple of them crying while everyone else was just shocked, Pinkie's mane completely deflated. Luxord sat up straight in his chair, listening with intent, now getting to the good part of the story.
"Spyro was at a loss." He continued. "Ignitus was like a father to him, grief clouding his mind, the darkness took over, but Cynder managed to calm him down and the two went after Malefor. When they got to his throne room, he talked to them, trying to convince Spyro and Cynder to join him, using his darkness to corrupt Cynder again, forcing the two to fight, but it was Spyro's love for her that helped her to break free, the two fighting Malefor as the Destroyer reached the volcano, the destruction of the world had begun, Malefor and the two heroes flew down into the core of the world where both sides would try to recreate the world."
"But, Malefor lost, right?" Applejack asked.
"He did." Spyro replied. "The ancestors came back and sealed him in the core itself, pure Aether unable to use it and unable to break free, Spyro restoring the world and locking Malefor away for good."
Everyone was silent for a while, looking to Spyro and then conversing with each other, trying to make sense of the story they heard, but Luxord cleared his throat, letting them know he needed to say something, getting their attention.
"Well, now that story time is over, let's get down to business." Luxord said, leaning forward. "Malefor managed to find May when she was dying. Either he tricked her into serving him or she willingly agreed, it makes little difference. Right now, she is after something in this world, and I think I have an idea what it is."
"The Aztec Gold?" Spyro asked, surprising Luxord. "What else would she be after here? Jacks, a former crew member on her ship told us she was heading to the coast of Costa Rica, hoping to find it at the Isle De La Muerta."
"That's correct." Luxord replied, surprised he figured it out. "But as we all know, you, Sora, and Jack moved the chest to another location, tossing it into the sea, never to be found."
"Right." Spyro replied. "So she kidnapped Scootaloo to use her as leverage to get me to use the Force and bring the chest up. That was her original plan I believe."
"Right, but now that Scootaloo is free, she's might change her tactics." Luxord said, sitting back. "And if she has Malefor's power, she might use one of those golems to get the chest."
"But, it's impossible." Twilight said. "Those golems are made of earth and lava. The sea is a bad place for them."
Luxord just smiled, laughing as he pulled out a tome, tossing it to Spyro, who did catch it, looked at the cover, finding that it was a missing tome from his library, opening it to find it was filled with information about the Ancient Earth Golems, but not just what the original Spyro fought, but many different kinds with many different shapes and forms, even different elements. He looked up to Luxord, who was smiling, knowing he got his attention as he looked to the girls, smiling as if he won a game of poker.
"How?" He asked. "How do you guys have another tome from my library?"
"Your predecessors didn't hide the chests very well." Luxord replied.
"Chests?" Spyro asked. "As in, more than one?"
"Afraid so." Luxord replied. "You see, Xemnas found the three chests and asked me to unlock the hidden compartments, revealing the three tomes hidden in the chests. In each was a single hidden tome, too dangerous for a prince to use, but equally as dangerous for if someone found the chest and discovered the tomes. Two of them were couldn't use, but Marluxia found the one he took to be useful."
"Dark Desire." Spyro said.
"Yes." Luxord replied. "Marluxia was ordered to test them, but found the process of making the spell was unstable. He tried to make more, but found that they can only be made once a year from when it was first made. Since he already made the limit of Dark Desire, trying to make more would cause the plants to destroy everything in its path."
"Well, glad to hear that." Spyro said, looking back into the book, reading up on all the different kinds of golems, their strength and weaknesses until he reached the section of the Destroyer, making him freeze. "This tome... it can't be..."
"How do you think I found out about Malefor in the first place?" Luxord asked. "That tome was made by your predecessor, who fought Malefor before, studying his golems and his old scrolls before burning them. That tome there, that holds all of Malefor research, spells, and magic, so be careful with it."
He looked down at the tome, horrified it held all of Malefor's knowledge and magic, wanting to close it and burn it, but knew it was a bad idea as if he really was facing May, who is using his magic, the book was going to be the key to everything. Luxord then got up and walked over to the window, looking out to his ship, watching as the Nobodies onboard waited for him.
"If she finds the chest, Malefors army will be unstoppable." He continued. "Cursed Aztec treasure, immortality, undead and never dying. I've seen the coins power when you and your friends fought the Grim Reaper."
"Yeah, and we dumped it into the ocean." Spyro replied, freezing as he remembered something. "Only way she can find it is if she has Jacks compass."
"Exactly." Jack said. "And, without me compass, her search is fruitless."
"Maybe." Luxord said. "Maybe not. It all depends on what she's willing to gamble."
He then took out a small piece of crystal, the exact same kind as that on the golems, a dark mist emitting off it. Spyro froze as he got up, calling his Keyblade, the same as Sora, getting in front of the ponies to fight.
"I managed to get this off one of the Zombies." Luxord said. "Which are those creatures you saw back at the dock in Tortuga."
"And how does that concern us?" Sora asked.
"Because the Isle De La Muerta still has a link to the treasure as it remained there for hundreds of years." Luxord replied. "I'm sure it can find it."
"Dude, you aren't making any sense." Rainbow Dash said, hovering over them. "How can an island find a chest of cursed Aztec treasure? It isn't alive."
Spyro was going to agree with his friend, but Luxord pulled out a small pebble from another pocket, putting both it and the black crystal into a glass of water, nothing happened, so he and Sora relaxed a little, but a moment later, the crystal plunged into the pebble, shaking for a moment when it exploded, the pebble turning into a tiny golem in the form of a miniature shark. Everyone watched the whole thing happen, but Spyro figured out what her plan was and lowered his blade, lowering Sora's as well.
"She going to turn the Isle De La Muerta into a Golem." Spyro said, eyes turning to him.
"Exactly." Luxord said, turning to face him. "When she discovers the chest is no longer on the Isle De La Muerta, she'll try looking for it and when she discovers its in the ocean, she'll come looking for that compass, and she'll kill everyone in her path to get it."
Spyro looked back to his friends, seeing as some of them were on edge, Fluttershy was and Rarity seemed to be gulping air as he looked to her. Applejack and Rainbow Dash put on a brave face, but could tell they were nervous as Twilight wanted to say something, but couldn't come up with the exact words needed to respond, but couldn't come up with anything.
"So, what do you propose?" Spyro asked.
"That we get the chest and use it as bait." Luxord said, both Sora and Spyro glaring at him. "Hear me out, May will do everything she can to get the chest. Right now, I'm short on troops and you are barely able to handle her without your friend's help. What I propose is a temporary alliance."
"Against Malefor?" Spyro asked.
"Precisely." Luxord replied. "Xemnas doesn't know anything about this enemy besides the information from the book and wants to know more. If Malefor gets the Aztec treasure, then even the Organization will be destroyed."
"Now that's a pleasant thought." Spyro said.
"And if Malefor gets those coins, May will have everything she needs to attack you again." Luxord said. "And this time, you won't be able to call your friends for help as yourself and they will be overwhelmed and will be massacred. Your best bet is to get that treasure before she does, hide it or destroy it, so Malefor won't be able to use it." He then walked over to the prince, placing his hand on his shoulder, getting his point across. "Though I don't share your sympathy or your attachments, you know you'll do the right thing. All I'm offering is to help you keep the chest away from her."
Spyro looked to the girls, knowing he was right, but did not like the idea of working with a member of the Organization as they are his enemy, but Luxord made a point about the Aztec gold. If May got it, then it was over, May could give it to an army of her choosing and attack Equestria again, and she'd be able to destroy the planet. However, he knew this guy too well as he always plays the long game and always for the highest reward as he was, after all, known as the gambler, risking everything to win. But there was one thing he knew Luxord was right about, he needed their help as much as he needed theirs, so he had to make the hardest decision, yet the easiest he could make.
"Well, I do owe you for saving my sister." Spyro said, turning to see Scootaloo smiling with Rainbow Dash next to her. "What's the plan?"
At the coast of Costa Rica, May had arrived at the last known location of the Isle De La Muerta from what she could find out from sailors and from former pirates of Captain Barbossa's crew after freeing them from execution, only to serve her as part of her crew now. Once they were where she believed to be above the middle of the sunken island, she looked over the edge and into the water, waving her hand over it to create a small whirlpool to look through and find the island was beneath her, smiling as she could finally enact her plan after some set backs. She returned to the helmsmen and nodded, turning the wheel to starboard as she went back to the edge of the, taking out the small crystal piece before making it larger, dropping it towards the whirlpool, watching as it was sucked in.
"It's done." May said.
"I still do not understand why using the island will help." The Helmsmen said. "Turning it into a golem is impossible, we'd be lucky to get one as Lord Malefor used a large portion of volcanic land to make his."
"Yes, but ours will be of the ocean." She replied. "And the Isle De La Muerta is where the cursed Aztec gold is hidden, reclaimed by the sea. Once we have it, Lord Malefor will have an unstoppable army, allowing his best soldiers to take a coin and be invincible, unkillable." As she said it, the water started to bubble, large bubbles coming from below as a dark blue aura surrounded the whole island, May smiling. "It's working. Get us out of the islands radius. And prepare a Viewer. Lord Malefor must give it orders."
The helmsmen turned the ship and got the ship out of the range of the islands emergence from the ocean floor, the island rising again, but this time it was covered in black crystals in the center of the island, dark lightning arcing across it as multiple rock like tentacles arose from the water, water itself in the tentacles as well, the island rising higher than it was originally as dark blue and yellow eyes opened up, taking the form of a squid and looking around, finding May's ship and approaching the ship, ready to sink it when a dark crystal appeared in between the ship and the golem, stopping it as it felt the presence of it's master.
"Golem, halt and obey." Malefor said, the golem floating where it stopped. "Before you is your new mistress, obey her commands and serve her will. Obey and serve."
The crystal broke into thousands of pieces as the Golem looked to May, sensing the same dark energy in her as it sensed in the crystal, rising up to meet her eye to eye.
"You are mine to command now!" She shouted. "Allow me passage through your caves to get the stone chest of Cortes."
Obeying her command, it lowered itself back into the sea, just enough to let her dock onto the shoreline and allow her to walk upon the massive golem, taking in the sight of the massive chunk of rock, dark magic, and water all rolled into one, smiling and laughing at her triumph. She and a few of her crew members walked through the cave, following the path into the dark abyss, letting the darkness in the crystals fuel her power as she took it all in. As she reached the treasure chamber where the stone chest once was, looking around at all the loot, but focusing on a mound of gold, silver, and jewels, looking to the very top, but finding the chest was not there.
"Where is it?" She asked, knowing the answer. "WHERE IS IT!?"
She turned to her crew, who aimlessly walked around at the gold, but just sneered at them, walking past them furiously as she returned to her ship, getting onboard and heading back to the helm, turning to face the Golem as it rose back up to look at her.
"The stone chest, it's not here!" She shouted.
"Aye, there was the likelihood that it would have been removed from the isle." The helmsmen said.
"Then we need to find it." She replied, still staring at the golem. "You have had it with you for the longest time. Do you remember the curse on it?" The golem nodded its head, though it was an island before, it still remembered the stone chest and its curse. "Use whatever dark power you have and find that chest and bring me to it!"
The golem nodded its head, understanding its goal and lowered itself into the sea, disappearing from sight as it swam away, leaving behind a small wave as it swarm, May watching it swim, a dark smile creeping across her face. Back at Port Royale, the members of the Black Pearl were busy hoisting some barrels up, getting their cannons ready and transferring some stuff from the Nobody vessel to theirs on jacks orders, both Luxord and Spyro walking up the plank and onto his vessel while Sora followed them.
"My vessel is yours my prince." Luxord said. "The Void Sailor is at your command as is its crew, for now."
"Yeah, a crew of Nobodies." Sora said. "Spyro, this is a really bad idea, you know it is."
"I know, but sometimes the bad ideas are the good ones." Spyro replied. "Sora, stay aboard the Pearl and keep the girls safe. If anything happens to me, get them back to my ship and back to Equestria, no ifs, ands, or buts, get them home and lock off all pathways to it, do you understand?"
Sora looked to his friend, knowing he was being serious as he saw his eyes turn yellow for a second and back to purple, nodding his head, understanding what he meant as he went back to the Pearl, leaving the two of them onboard the Nobody vessel as they traveled up to the wheel, taking it as the Nobodies looked to him; Dusks, Snipers, Assassins, even Samurai and Gamblers looking to him, wondering what he was doing there and looking to Luxord when he approached.
"An accord has been made!" Luxord said. "For now, the Keyblade bearers are our allies against an enemy we know not of. Spyro here will be taking the helm, you will obey his orders so long as I deem it so."
The Nobodies looked to Luxord and then to Spyro, sensing nothing in them as they have no hearts, so they have no emotions, at least what he could tell to be emotions. He looked to Luxord, who nodded his head, letting him know to give it a try, but was hesitant to even talk to them, but looked to the wheel, taking hold of it and looking out to the crew of Nobodies, standing there awaiting orders, so he took out the compass and looked at it. The arrow was pointing to where the gold was, but them to the Pearl, looking over to the window and seeing his friends waving at him, wishing him luck before looking to the sea, the compass pointing to where they need to go. He looked to the Nobodies as they awaited orders, closing the compass and ready to move.
"Alright Nobodies, listen up!" Spyro shouted, the Nobodies looking to him. "I can understand that this is different for you, taking orders from your enemy, you wish to attack and destroy me as much as I want to do the same, but now we are allies against a common enemy, an enemy that destroys worlds like the Heartless, but they shatter worlds, Heartless absorb worlds, shattering hearts and destroying everything, recreating it to suit their own purpose!" The Npbodies didn't move, listening and waiting to be told what to do. "They seek a way to be invincible, but we will not let them get it. We are heading to the last known location of the stone chest, we are gettin it, and we will destroy all who get in our way!" He took the wheel, looked out to the Nobodies and smiled. "Batten down the hatches! Unfurl those sails and make sail! We're heading for the stone chest of Cortes!"
As he gave out the orders, the Nobodies got to work unfurling the sails and allowing the wind to get into the sails, the massive vessel moving fast despite its size, the Black Pearl just behind it as they set sail for the middle of the ocean. Back with May, her ship had also set sail, following the golems route while making the last of the repairs it needed after being hit by that storm, but the vessel was still slow as the sails had massive holes in them, slowing them down, but still going fast enough to stay up. The Golem stayed within view to allow them to keep up, but May was livid as she was moving to slowly, ordering the crew to repair the sails quicker, but was still growing frustrated.
"We need to go faster!" She exclaimed. "If they figure out what we're after, they'll take it and probably use it against us."
"We are moving as fast as we can Captain." The Helmsmen said. "The sails still need time to be repaired."
"Yeah, and by then the enemy will have our prize." May replied. "Golem, go on ahead and get the chest! But leave behind a trail for us to follow, we'll be with you as soon as we have the sails repaired."
The Golem looked back and nodded, zooming ahead while leaving a glowing green goo for them to follow as they finished repairing the damaged sails. Back with Spyro, he was keeping an eye on the compass, making sure they were on course as Sora followed behind, ready to help him if he needed aid, but nothing seemed to be off so far, but Spyro was still keeping an eye on Luxord to make sure he doesn't try anything funny. After a while, Spyro looked back at the compass, finding that they were still on course, but after a little while, the arrow started to spin to the left quickly, knowing they were about to pass the chest, he closed the compass and looked to the Nobodies.
"No sail you tight suit wearing cockroaches!" Spyro shouted. "We have arrived at our destination."
As soon as he said it, the Nobodies pulled in the sails and dropped the anchor, stopping the ship and keeping them from going anywhere as the Pearl sailed up, pulling their sails and dropping their anchor.
"Why are we stopping here?" Luxord asked.
"This is where the chest is." Spyro replied, following the compass until he reached the edge of the ship, looking over the edge. "The chest is right below us."
"Perfect." Luxord said. "I'll get some Nobodies to get ready to-"
"I got this." Spyro responded, grabbing a lemonade and taking a sip. "Thanks Pinkie."
"You're welcome." Pinkie said, bouncing.
"Where'd you come from!?" Luxord asked, shocked and disturbed.
"Best not to ask." Spyro replied, drinking more of the beverage from Pinkie. "Anyway, we don't need the Nobodies to risk being crushed."
Spyro reached his hand out, reaching with the Force to find the chest in the deep dark depths of the water while Pinkie just bounced around making Luxord loose his sanity. He couldn't feel anything at first, only feeling ocean life as it swam around, feeling a lot of stone on the ocean floor, but then felt something further down, dark and subtle, non-threatening yet very dangerous if you take it, which was a good sign as he had just found what they were looking for.
"Jackpot." Spyro said. "Found it."
"I hope so darling." Rarity said, making him turn his head to see his friends and Scootaloo. "Because I really want to see that treasure."
"How'd you all get over here?" Spyro asked. "Why aren't you on the Pearl?"
"Twilight teleported us." Pinkie replied. "Said something about wanting to help with the plan."
"No, the plan was to put the stone chest on the Pearl and for you girls to keep it safe." Spyro replied. "That's it."
"Oh puh-lease!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering over him. "That's so boring!"
"And yet it's a sound plan." Luxord replied. "The Pearl is the fastest ship on the Caribbean, so you girls would take the ship and take it to Port Royale and to a place where even May can't reach."
"We know our part, but even if we take the chest, if she did make that golem, there's a chance it would catch us." Twilight replied. "And what would have happened if you needed one of us and we weren't close by?"
"Twilight..." Spyro said.
"No, we're sticking together, no matter what." Twilight said. "We have been through a lot these past couple of months, we learned a lot of lessons, both on our world and in others. We're in this together. You go on a mission, we'll follow you, no matter what. We're a herd, and the herd sticks together and I will not let you say otherwise."
Spyro was shocked by how assertive Twilight was being right now, looking to the rest of his friends as they agreed with him, feeling a sense of happiness and joy that they were there with him now, even if it was on an enemies ship, he couldn't help but smile. Without another word, he turned around and reached out with the Force again, this time pulling the chest out of the ocean quickly and making it fly out of the sea, holding onto it with he Force and setting it onto the Void Seekers deck.
"Thanks girls." Spyro replied. "Your support means a lot to me." He looked over to them, glad they were there with him now as he turned to Luxord. "I think we need to change the plan a bit."
"I agree." He responded looking out to the ocean. "Because we got company."
He didn't understand what he meant, but looked to where he was looking, taking a telescope that Twilight handed to him, he looked through it and saw a trail of green glowing liquid heading straight for them. Putting the scope down, he turned to tell his friends to find cover, but couldn't say a word as they were hit, everyone being knocked off their feet, knocking Spyro into the stone chest and knocking the lid off, as stone tentacles with glowing blue patches wrapped around the hull of the ship, trapping the vessel as the Pearl unfurled their sails and moved out of the golems range as it's head popped out of the water, revealing its presence to the ship and to everyone.
"We're too late." Spyro said, looking behind it to see the Dark Ark was fast approaching, sails fully repaired. "She's here."
The Dark Ark approached the trapped Nobody vessel, grapple hooks being through over the rails as cursed pirates climbed up, drawing their weapons as they snarled and growled at the Keyblade bearer and all the Nobodies as they got behind him, ready to fight as he summoned his Keyblade. A moment later, May came up the ramp, her Keyblade ready as she looked over to her former friends and to the Nobodies, smiling to herself and then laughing a humorless laugh.
"Well, this is a surprise." She said. "The Prince of Light and Darkness and his herd of magical horses are here, side by side with a Nobody. Running out of people to fight your fights?"
"I'm never afraid to fight my own fights." Spyro replied.
"Debatable." She replied. "So, throwing yourself in with the Nobodies? The ones who tried to make their own Kingdom Hearts once before and was stopped by Sora and RIku before you came along. Why side with them?"
"Well, we have a common foe." Spyro replied. "May, why did you side with Malefor? Why are you serving the Dark Master?"
"So you finally figured it out?" May asked. "Malefor saved me back in Radiant Garden. Back when you, Sora, and Riku abandoned me."
"What's she talking about?" Twilight asked.
"You didn't tell them?" She asked. "Seems we all have our secrets."
"I have no secrets!" Spyro exclaimed. "I really did look for you. For six months I looked for you, even passing up on my missions to find you."
"And yet you failed." May replied. "You gave up and left me to die under all that rubble. Dark, damp and all alone, I called out to anyone who would listen, promising them anything if they could just save me." She looked to the golem, still remembering that day and still holding it in her heart. "Then, Malefor gave me a way out. I serve him, help to free him from his prison, and he would save me. I took it as the deal was my only way out. And I never regretted it as he gave me the power of the Aether, power to destroy!"
That's when Spyro froze, remembering the day she was talking about, that day he reached the bottom of the rubble of a sink hole from the first Destroyer, defeating it thanks to May, but loosing her at the same time as she destroyed it, burying herself to save the world. That day he found her Keyblade, knowing she was close, he kept digging to reach her, but then saw a dark glow in the pile of rock, fearing for her, he dug deeper until he reached where the glow was, but found nothing, mourning her loss, he kept her Keyblade, calling to it, he showed her the blade, but she seemed to not care.
"I remember that day, actually." Spyro said. "That was the day I reached the bottom of the rubble. I found your Keyblade, I found hope that you lived when I reached the bottom. But that glow, that dark glowing light, it took you away before I could uncover you."
"Lies!" She shouted. "You're just trying to hide the truth, trying to make yourself feel better by telling yourself that! You abandoned me! You left me to die!"
"No May, I didn't." He replied. "I truly did find you in that rubble thanks to your Keyblade, but Malefor-"
"SILENCE!" She shouted, a massive wave of water washing over the deck.
Spyro instinctively knelt down, holding onto the ponies while Luxord used his cards to create a barrier to protect them, the Nobodies being washed away and destroyed as new ones took their place. The barrier was released as she ordered her crew to destroy them all, the corrupted pirates charged at the Nobodies, the two sides fighting each other and each taking losses as May joined in the fight, striking down Dusks who engaged her to the snipers by deflecting the bolts of plasma back to the Snipers while blocking the attacks from the Assassins, putting them in a vulnerable position before striking them. Spyro and Luxord focused on protecting the ponies, taking down the pirates while also defending the chest from the golem that tried to take it, looking to the side as Sora guided the Pearl to the side of the golem, cannon fire ringing out as a hail of cannon balls hit the golem, but had little effect as it didn't even look their way.
"This thing doesn't seem to think the Black Pearl is a threat!" Luxord said, turning multiple pirates to cards. "Now what?"
"I don't know." Spyro replied, striking down another. "I faced a Destroyer, but now a golem! But if the book is right, then-"
"CHARGE!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying from behind him to the golem.
"RAINBOW!" He shouted, watching in horror as she flew up to the golem. "Get back here now!"
She was already out of ear shot as she flew up to the creatures and kicked it, trying to damage it, but the golem just didn't pay attention to her as she kicked and punched it's forehead. May just smiled and snapped her finger, the golem then smacked her back to the ship, flying through the air at break neck speed, going through a mast and hearing something snap, to which he had to jump in front of her path and catch her, sensing how badly injured she was as she was shaking and breathing heavily, sensing she might have a broken rib.
"Rainbow..." He said, using his chaos energy to heal her.
"Destroy them all!" May shouted, the corrupted pirates charging as the Nobodies engaged.
The two sides engaged as Spyro retreated, quickly leaping back as the corrupt pirates attacked, the Nobodies getting in the way as they took on the pirates, giving him time to get Rainbow Dash away as he healed her, the cyan Pegasus struggling to breathe as he ran.
"Rainbow, what were you thinking?" Spyro asked, getting her to the helm as the Luxord defended them. "You could have been killed."
"Yeah... bad idea." She said, struggling to talk. "Just... wanted to... help."
"Oh Rainbow Dash." Spyro said, pulling her to a hug as he finished her healing. "I admire you for wanting to help. I admire your loyalty and your courage, but taking on a Golem is just way out of your league. If you want to help, just let me handle the big stuff, you can take on the small fries."
Rainbow Dash wanted to retort, saying she could handle the big stuff, but when she felt him hug her, she couldn't help but feel herself melt around him, hugging him back as she closed her eyes. He could sense the tough girl act going away from her, sensing the real her as they hugged, but when he looked up, one of the corrupt pirates was running at them, its weapon drawn and ready as it ran at them. He tossed Rainbow Dash away, calling his Keyblade and blocking the attack and fighting back as two more came up the steps. Rainbow Dash landed by the wheel with a thud, rubbing the back of her head as her friends came up the other set of stairs and ran up to her.
"Rainbow Dash." Applejack said running up. "What in the wide world of Equestria were ya thinkin' attacking that thing?"
"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." She replied, watching as he used his blade to destroy one of them. "And I already got talked to about it."
"Yeah, we saw." Applejack replied, smiling. "Ya'll looked real comfortable hugging him."
She looked away, blushing at her comment when as she returned to watching their friend fighting, striking and deflecting their attacks while also dodging some of the heavy attacks, pushing them away and even crushing one. As he took care of the second one, the third charging and attacking, Spyro just blocking the attack without effort, pushing him back and slashing up on its chest, making it crumble to pebbles as the girls cheered. He was about to go into the fight to help Luxord, but May leapt onto the helm and locked her Keyblade with his, the two pushing against each other to see who would break.
"Thanks for doing the heavy lifting for me." She said. "Now with these gold pieces, my masters army will be unstoppable."
"Yeah, you aren't getting them." Spyro said, breaking the lock and leaping up.
With the Force, he lifted the stone lid and put it back onto the chest, using the Keyblade to lock the chest to never be opened again by anyone else. May was angered and leapt towards her former friend, Spyro blocking the attack as they landed on the deck, everyone watching as the two of them exchanged blows and spells back and forth. They were equally matched in sword to sword combat, but May was superior with her water spells as she kept launching them at him every chance she got, Spyro using wind and thunder to block and hit back, but each of them were equally powerful in their own way, locking their blades again as he smiled, enjoying himself with the fight, but May was furious as she was ready to kill.
"Seems your gold is out of reach." Spyro said, seeing the Nobodies mop the floor with the corrupt pirates. "The Aztec treasure is safe. And that golem will soon be history."
"You forget, a Keyblade can unlock another Keyblades lock." She replied. "But you won't live long enough to see me open the chest."
As she said it, Spyro felt something strap through his chest, feeling his heart being pierced, looking down to see he had a dagger go through the section of his chest that didn't have a chaos emeralds. The girls saw him stagger backwards and saw the knife in the side of his chest, feeling their blood freeze and their own hearts crawl into their throats, horrified to see their friend get critically stabbed, but Rainbow Dash, though always know to be tough and not show emotion, but even she couldn't help but scream out.
"SPYRO!"