This Is Part II of the Memorial Day Special. Last time, Spyro, Cynder, and Spider-Man took on an unusual task: Rescuing Kingpin's men from the Demons. And after a crazy situation involving stopping a helicopter from destroying things with a wrecking ball accidentally attached to it by Spider-Man, they manage to do so, before heading off to City Hall to finally attend the ceremony in Jefferson Davis's honor. Fair warning, this is where things get very... dark. I won't spoil too much, but reader discretion is highly advised. So what's going to happen? Read on to discover...

(Our story resumes at City Hall, where Jefferson Davis and his family have arrived)

Rio Morales: There's the stage entrance. We'll be right in the front

Jefferson Davis: (Hearing the crowd) Sounds like there's a lot of people out there.

Rio Morales: You'll be fine honey

Jefferson Davis: The last time I gave a speech was in high school, and I got a C- on it.

(And just as the family is having an encouraging moment, Spyro and Cynder swoop in to see their old friend)

Cynder: If only Mrs. Steinberg could see you now.

Spyro: Rio's right, Jeff. You've faced down far worse than this.

Rio Morales: Spyro, Cynder! How long has it been?

Cynder: Far too long, old friend. And might I say, you are looking great, you're positively glowing actually!

Spyro: (Sees Miles Morales in the bunch) No way, could it be? Little Miles all grown up?

Miles Morales: Good to see you too, Spyro.

Spyro: Man you've grown! Last time I saw you, you were knee high to a Frogweed!

Jefferson Davis: (Checks his watch) Well, almost the hour of fate.

Miles Morales: Come on dad, you'll do great. Heck, you not only saved Spider-Man, but these two as well. That makes you a Bonafide superhero.

Jefferson Davis: Me? A superhero?

Cynder: Come on Jeff, you know you've more than earned that title.

Jefferson Davis: You guys know me, I'm just a guy who doesn't give up.

Spyro: And we wouldn't have you any other way.

Rio Morales: Looks like things are about to get started. We'd better get to our seats.

(And with that, the group splits up, Jefferson Davis heads towards the stage while the rest go into the crowd. And a few minutes later, everything has kicked off, with Spyro and Cynder being rejoined by MJ, Ember, Flame, and Spider-Man, now back in his guise of Peter Parker.)

Deputy Mayor: Welcome, everyone. Before I hand things off to Mayor Osborn, I just want to say a few words.

(As the Deputy Mayor speaks, we focus in on our sextet of heroes)

MJ: So?

Spider-Man: I think this gang war might just be over.

Flame: I wouldn't jinx it quite yet. You know how Parker luck works.

Spider-Man: There's still some loose ends to be tied up sure, but...

Ember: Loose ends?

Spider-Man: A truck pulled away from the scene. Marked for Consolidated Shipping. Still need to figure that connection. Something's not right there, I'm just not sure what.

Cynder: Well whatever it may be, it can wait till later.

MJ: Agreed. Maybe we should get some coffee after this and puzzle it out.

(As the group makes their plan, we see the Deputy Mayor has finished speaking and has made way for Osborn to speak as Jefferson Davis moves up beside him)

Osborn: Thank you, Jim. Couldn't have said it better myself, but here goes nothing. We all know Officer Davis is a hero...

(While Osborn speaks, Cynder glances around, as if something is... off... to her. And Spyro seems to be the only one to notice)

Spyro: You okay, Cynder?

Cynder: I don't know... I've just got a bad feeling about all this.

(And with that, we transition back to Osborn, just as the award presentation is about to begin.)

Osborn: For acts of extraordinary bravery, far above and beyond the call of duty, it is my great honor and privilege to present Officer Jefferson Davis with the Department Medal of Honor.

(As Osborn pins the medal on Jefferson Davis, the Deputy Mayor covertly tries to get his attention)

Deputy Mayor: (Hushed) Phone call for you.

Osborn: Kind of in the middle of something here.

Deputy Mayor: It sounds urgent.

Osborn: Fine. (To Jefferson Davis) Congratulations, sir.

(As Osborn steps aside to take a call, Jefferson Davis steps up to the podium)

Jefferson Davis: Uh... thank you, Mr. Mayor. I share this honor with my family. My wife Rio, and my son Miles. Without their support I... I couldn't do what I do.

(As Jefferson Davis speaks, we transition over to Osborn, taking a call)

Osborn: What is it?

?: I've worked many years for this moment.

Osborn: Who is this?

?: Over the coming days, your company, your city, everything you've even remotely cared about will be destroyed. (As Osborn signals something is up to the police with him) People will beg you for help, and you won't be able to do anything. You won't be able to save them.

Osborn: Listen, jackass, I get threats like this twice a week. Just grow a pair and tell me what you want.

?: To watch you suffer.

(At this point, Osborn realizes something is up and is evacuated. Cynder sees this, and immediately gets Spyro's attention)

Cynder: Any particular reason why the Mayor would be bailing?

Spyro: Best guess, your hunch is right. Something's terribly wrong.

(And sure enough, in this exact moment, Spider-Man is getting the same feeling. His Spider-Sense has just kicked into overdrive, and the Dragons have noticed)

Cynder: Spidey's tensing up. Something's going down.

(Senses heightened by distress, the trio looks around and sure enough, something is very wrong here. Spyro and Cynder spot him first, a lone man coursing with the same energy as the Demons getting out of a car near the back of the crowd. They start rushing to try and stop him, with Spider-Man in tow, but on the way, they see a familiar face. Martin Li, hands pulsing with the very same energy, drawing it into the guy in the back it seems. But just as Cynder gets in that direction, Spyro glances back towards the stage and sees the same energy affecting the Deputy Mayor. But before he can say anything, the guy in the back overloads on the strange energy and explodes like a bomb. Meanwhile up front, the Deputy Mayor unbuttons his jacket, revealing he's actually wearing a bomb. The others try to react, but only Miles Morales gets something out)

Miles Morales: Dad!

(Reacting to the warning, Jefferson Davis springs into action, shoving the Deputy Mayor to the ground and attempting to get a fellow officer out of the blast radius before the Deputy Mayor detonates in a massive explosion)

Peter Parker: (As the explosion goes off, to MJ) GET DOWN!

(But it only gets worse from there, the crowd erupts into panic as more explosions go off. Spyro barely manages to cover Ember and Flame with an Earth dome before a bomb goes off near him, knocking him to the ground.)

Cynder: (Seeing this) SPYRO!

(Before Cynder can react, another explosion goes off, throwing her to the ground as well. Soon we, through Cynder's eyes, see MJ is alright, and helping to pull an unconscious Spider-Man from the scene, pleading for him to wake up all the way. But Spyro, he sees something else. Demons. Somehow through all the chaos and detonations, he sees them. The Demons were behind this, and now they're shooting at people. But then he sees something insane. Miles Morales is making his way past them, no doubt looking for his father. But he already sees the truth. Jefferson Davis is gone. Spyro manages to get to his feet just as Miles Morales is discovered by the Demons, and manages to launch a fireball at them, warding them away from their target. And that's when he sees him. Martin Li)

Martin Li: Enough! We have to leave, now.

(And at Martin Li's order, the Demons leave. Spyro can hardly believe his eyes. Martin Li, the leader of the Demons? But in that moment, his injuries catch up to him, and Spyro falls unconscious, ending our tale as Miles Morales finds his father's corpse, begging him to wake up.)

This concludes Part II of the Memorial Day Specisl I am terribly sorry if this chapter has upset anyone, triggered PTSD or anything like that. This was not something I was looking forward to when I chose to work with this game, let alone something I was expecting to put up on Memorial Day of all days. But I knew I couldn't skip past it. Because there's too much of a reveal here. Now we finally know who's leading the Demons. And it's Martin Li?! But... how? We'll find out as our story goes on. Good thing this updates every other week. I think we're going to need that time to recover. So be sure to do that, and tune back in next time to see how things go. Same time... same channel...