Authors note: Hey guys and welcome. Thanks to Blackfireforge, for suggesting I add a story recap to the beginning of Deimos 2. So without further delay let's get to it.

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Last time in Deimos, we were introduced to the young dragon, who's white scales had been corrupted and turned black at night. Held prisoner for ten years, the young dragon plotted his revenge, but as he plotted and trained for his revenge, he drew the attention of Gaul, King of the apes, and the one who held him captive.

Drawn before the mighty Gaul. The ape king taunted Deimos, and forced him to wear a cursed necklace, which promised death should he be caught disobeying, after which Gaul revealed his cruelest torment.

Emerging from the shadows of the ape kings throne, a dragoness with scales just as black as his own. Mistaking the dragoness as his mother, only to later learn it to be his sister, Cynder.

A new plan began to form as he was dragged across the dragon realms. Where he began to see hints of Cynders plan. Along his journey he discovered a way to grow in strength and skill. Through deliberate sabotage Deimos worked against Cynder, choosing to warn a tribe of llamas, and freeing a captive mole, Deimos did what he could to right some of Cynders wrong.

Speaking to Terrador, the guardian of earth and Cynder's prisoner, Deimos learned more of his past and discovered Cynder had caught the last piece of her plan, the fire Guardian Ignitus.

Before he could make plans for his next move, Deimos found himself in a difficult position, having to choose between letting someone he had freed be recaptured to protect his plan, or to take action and defend the mole.

Choosing to save the mole a second time, Deimos unleashed a fury scream, Shattering his cursed necklace and allowing him to defeat the apes who surrounded him.

After a brief moment of pondering Deimos returns to his prison, and battles his way to the tallest tower. Spotting his sister, battling a purple dragon, Deimos stepped in and prevented Cynder from landing a fatal blow.

The two siblings faced off briefly, and when their fear abilities met each other, there was a moment when Deimos saw into the fear of his sister. Seeing her so young and afraid, Deimos's determination was fanned.

Fleeing into a portal leading to Convexity, Cynder set out to finish her goal of reviving her master, Only for Deimos and Spyro to chase after her. The three fought and after Spyro unleashed a powerful breath ability.

Defeating Cynder Deimos saw his sisters from shrinking, and her age reverting. The victory was short lived as the realm of Convexity began to close in on itself and threatened to trap them.

Ordering Spyro to escape, Deimos rushed to save his sister before he followed after Spyro. Escaping with his sister, and Spyro, Deimos found himself in a field. His sister was saved but had her plans been foiled?

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Panting I jumped and dodged as the straw dummy attacked furiously. His attacks rapidly picked up pace as he aimed for my head. Closing my wings around my head I blocked his attack, before throwing them open, knocking the dummy off balance before I rammed my horns into its stomach.

The dummy disappeared in a shower of sparks as three more of them appeared. It had been a few months since Cynder had been freed, and I had joined Spyro and the four guardians at the temple. There was a point after we returned where the guardians had bowed to Cynder and myself.

They had prostrated themselves before her and I and begged for our forgiveness. It was Ignitus, the fire guardian who seemed most desperate to get his sincerity across, after all it was he who had left Cynder's egg to be taken by Gaul. When he had laid his head flat on the ground a part of me wanted to scorn him.

I wanted to let all my rage out on the elderly dragon, to let the ten years of anguish I had suffered flow out of me. I wanted him to know the depth of my suffering so he would always remember what he had done to us, but as I looked down at him, I thought of Cynder. I didn't want Cynder to see such an ugly side of myself. She had gone through even more than I had.

I didn't want Cynder to see me, didn't want her to see how much rage had built in me over the years. More than anything I wanted her to know I was strong enough to overcome my childhood, and hopefully she could find her own strength to overcome her past.

In the months since I started to live at the temple, the guardians trained me. I learned how to fight properly, how to use my claws, tail and even my horns to lay my enemies low. Each day I would come to the training hall, a large circular room, with a ring of sand in the center. It had the ability to summon as many dummies as I wanted.

In the morning I would enter the training hall, and fight for an hour, maybe two, and sharpen my physical skills. After that Volteer, the electric Guardian, would teach Spyro Cynder and me a wide and varied array of subjects. He taught me basic math. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, mostly, He also taught me basic science, about gravity and how it affected the world, and how we dragons could circumvent it.

Astronomy was Finding out that what I had seen in convexity, was a close approximation of space, was confusing and hard to picture. Mostly I ignored those lessons, as they seemed to drag on forever, but when Volteer wasn't going off on a long rant, which wasn't often, he said some pretty useful things.

One of the most important things he taught me though was about plants and animals. Some berries and mushrooms were poisonous, as were some animals if you ate the wrong parts of them. There was also a section on plants that had beneficial effects when eaten, some could even be used to make medicine in the case where red gems weren't available.

Once Volteer was done next was Cyril who taught the three of us about history. Apparently before the war with the dark Master there had been two other dragon species. Wind dragons and water dragons While Cynder and I had been corrupted it was revealed that we were still considered to be wind dragons, our mother had been one of the last wind dragons. A large number of wind dragons had disappeared shortly before the war with the Dark master.

The Water dragons had been the first race to disappear. Apparently they saw the darkness in the dark master years before every other race, and had gathered every member of their race and disappeared over night. Apparently they had taken all their collective knowledge as well, because very little was known about them nowadays.

I listened to him mostly because I didn't have much else to do, and while some of his lessons didn't sound useful, he taught tactics, and critical thinking. I had decided that I needed to sharpen my mind as much as I sharpened my claws and honed my body, so I mostly listened to his lessons and when he asked questions on how to approach certain situations, I thought hard before answering trying to come to every conclusion I could before answering.

Terrador taught us battle. It was actually him who had helped hone my battle prowess. Spyro had already mastered his training. It was briefly explained to me how he had been taught on the fly and how he had quickly taken the lessons to heart.

Ignitus was another matter altogether, He didn't teach like the others did, he was more of a mentor, as he tried to guide us through coping with our youth. I knew he felt guilty about our fates, he had practically admitted to it being his fault when he apologized for our childhood.

A part of me knew that If Ignitus hadn't saved Spyros' egg and left the temple, then the world might have ended sooner and Cynder and I would have probably died anyways, but even still, every time I looked at him, I felt angry. It was like boiling water unable to break the surface. The worst part was I knew indulging in my anger was selfish.

I think Ignitus saw the anger in me though because every time he looked at me he just looked so sorry. It was enough to make me feel worse for being angry at him.

It was hard to gauge Spyro, he was young for sure and he seemed just as clueless as me when it came to all the subjects we were being taught. One thing was for sure he was an eager student, he took to our lessons pretty well, but much like myself he had a hard time listening to Volteer, and he was just as uncomfortable as me when Cyril started talking about his 'noble' bloodline.

Cynder didn't seem to be interested in the lessons. She was withdrawn most days, and she barely spoke unless she was asked a question. I also noticed that she seemed uncomfortable around me. I wasn't sure if it was because I was older than her, or if she was just unsure about having an older brother.

I went out of my way to make her feel comfortable. After our lessons I would sit and talk with her. I would tell her about our mother most days and I would sing to her as much as I could remember. I wanted her to know about our mother, about how much she loved us both.

Most of all I sought a connection with her. I wanted so much for her to see me as the older brother I wanted to be..

I grunted as I felt the wooden stick that acted as a straw dummies sword, striking me on the head. Taking a step back I shook my head before I jumped and spun in a complete circle, my tail slicing the dummy in two at the stomach.

"You got distracted!" Terrador shouted from the sidelines as the training circle powered down and the remaining dummies disappeared

"I was thinking of battle tactics." I called back as I rubbed my head.

"In the middle of battle a warrior must think quickly and act just as quickly. Hesitation can mean death." He reminded me.

"I need more training." I said as he readied myself for another round.

"Training is important, but reflection is just as important. You must think about your actions in this battle, what distracted you and what you must do to overcome this challenge." He said his tone wasn't judging but understanding and for that I was grateful.

Terrador was supportive but tough. He pushed me to my limits each day so I could better myself. I never wanted to sit back and feel useless again.

Walking out of the training hall I looked around at the temple. I could go to the balcony and overlook the river, or I could explore the garden. Choosing the balcony I was surprised to see Cynder sitting there as she looked out at the river.

Walking up to her I laid down so that my head was at her level. I didn't want to frighten her. We sat in silence for several minutes. From the corner of my eyes I saw she was squirming as she looked towards me several times. I sighed softly and spoke gently.

"I wish you would talk to me on your own. It makes for lonely company." I said as I turned to look at her,

"I-I'm sorry. I just don't know what to say." she replied as she lowered her head.

"Cynder, when the temple was raided, the last thing I saw was our mother dead, and the eggs in the hatchery being smashed. WHen I woke up I saw a dark cell. For ten years I thought your egg had been smashed." I said in an even tone trying my best not to cry at the memory.

Cynder looked down at me, this had been the first time I had spoken about the castle at concurrent skies, as I would later learn it was called, and of the night of the temple raid. Ignitus had tried to get me to speak on it, and spoke of how it would make me feel better to grieve properly.

"When I saw you for the first time, you looked so much like mom that I thought I was dreaming, and then I learned you were my sister. I was so happy."I continued failing to keep tears from my eyes, but they were happy tears as I remembered our reunion.

"But I hurt you!" She shouted as she jumped to her feet and stared at me. I heard anger and shame in her voice. "The day I learned about you my only thought was how to use you, and I hurt you several times! How can you say you were happy to see me when I hurt you and nearly killed you!" She yelled. I could see her pain on her face clearly.

"Do you remember when we were in the Tall plains?" I asked keeping calm, she had suffered more than I had, tormented and forced to commit acts of evil.

"I…I don't see how that's relevant." She stuttered.

"You asked why I wasn't afraid of you and I told you, you were my sister. You could have killed me back then. You inflicted a wound that was shallow, and you let me pass out."

"You're wrong!" She cried as she lowered her head in shame. "The wound I gave you was deep. You were bleeding out and I….I gave you red gems to heal you…" She admitted, but I froze as I heard her.

"But you saved me…you could have killed me, so why didn't you?" I asked both shocked but grateful. It had confirmed something I suspected. Cynder had not been completely turned, some part of her remained in control.

"I…I don't know, I just, I saw you bleeding out and I acted without thinking." She replied as she lowered her head in shame.

Standing up I wrapped a wing around her trying to comfort her. The news that she had tried to kill me, it had caught me by surprise, and for a moment I wasn't sure how to feel, but I reminded myself that Cynder was a victim. Anything she had done was because of what Gaul had done to her.

I" think…you never wanted to see me dead. Corrupted as you were, I think a part of you still knew right from wrong, and you couldn't bring yourself to kill your brother." I tried to reassure her, as she flinched in my wing. "I don't blame you." I finished giving her a gentle hug.

We stayed like that for several more minutes. I hummed one of my mothers songs as I let her ponder my words. I felt her relax as I hummed, it had become something of a comfort to her, to hear the melody of our moms songs.

All things came to an end however, and sadly so did our little moment when I heard paw steps behind us. Turning my head I saw Ignitus standing at the balcony's entrance. When he saw Cynder and me he froze, and I saw that look of shame crossing his features again. Sighing softly I removed my wing.

"I have to speak with Ignitus." I said as I stood and faced the elder dragon.

"Deimos. I wanted to speak with you about your training." he said as I walked past him, back towards the training hall.

"What did you want to talk about specifically?" I asked as I tried to keep my face straight when I looked at him. When I saw his eyes lower I knew I failed.

"You are progressing well, each day I see you growing stronger and more confident, but." He paused as he chose his next words carefully. "But I worry that you are in pain. I know you don't sleep well and I worry for you."

"I appreciate your concern, Ignitus, but I sleep just fine." I said as I looked away.

"You wake up in the middle of the night, you check on Cynder before walking around the temple, and then you stay awake for another hour before you finally lay back down to sleep." He replied his tone wasn't accusing, he was stating facts with an even tone.

"So you're watching me?" I asked harshly.

"You are under our care, it is my duty as guardian to help you and make up for my mistakes." He said his tone was rising defensively.

"I spent ten years in a cell that grew smaller every year I was trapped inside. Sometimes I think I'm still in there so I walk around to remind myself where I'm at." I shot back at him, my own tone growing defensive as well. I took a moment to take a deep breath before looking at him.

"I appreciate you taking Cynder and me in, for feeding us and training us. I don't think we'd survive to long out there, but once my training is done, and I can protect Cynder, we're leaving." I started before turning to head towards my first lesson of the day.

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I was back in my cell, though now it seemed smaller than ever. I could barely turn around as the walls seemed to close in on me. Panicking, I searched the window to my cell and found the key I had stolen. It hung from the bars barely in sight.

I grabbed the key and rushed to the door. Throwing it open I saw the hallway beyond was replaced by a training circle. Stepping into the circle I looked around, as apes began to appear. These were not the straw dummies used for honing your skills, they were real apes who screeched and laughed.

There were five of them and more kept appearing. I slashed and and clawed at the apes moving from one to the next, but the more I fought them, the more of them appeared.

I was surrounded by them before I knew it. Spinning around I tried to clear a path, but as I did, I felt myself being grabbed by the tail before I was slammed into the ground.

Looking up, all the apes were gone, only one stood before me. He towered over me and held twin scimitar swords. Pointed them at my face and I watched as he laughed, before bringing his swords down. I closed my eyes before I heard a scream. Opening my eyes I saw my mother lying dead on the temple floor.

Before I could scream and charge at Gaul I watched as he changed and now I stood staring at the face of Cynder, corrupted and laughing malicious glee.

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Jerking awake I looked around as my breathing slowed. I was in the temple. There was Spyro, and Cynder, both sleeping soundly. It was still dark out too. Sighing I stood and stretched, doing my best not to wake the others I stood and started to walk around the temple.

Stepping into the garden, I started to walk in a random direction. Pushing my dream to the back of my mind, I thought about what Terrador had said, and reflected on my training earlier today. I had gotten distracted and let myself be hit.

I needed to keep my focus in battle, otherwise it might not be a wooden sword I get hit with. Why had I gotten distracted though? It was Cynder. I worried about her. She was clearly hurting and I wanted to help her but I wasn't sure how to.

I tried to talk with her, assure her I didn't hate her, that I loved her and only wanted her to be safe, but something was holding her back. I saw it every time I looked into her eyes. She was full of regrets, that much I could see. I saw sadness and self hate on her face, when she looked at me.

I wanted her to lean on me for support. Then a thought struck me but as I started to expand on it I stopped and looked around, seeing how the garden had grown darker. The plant life had grown thick in this area and blocked out the light from the moons casting this area in darkness.

Turning around I looked back the way I had come. I hadn't been paying attention so looking back I wasn't sure which way to go to get back to the temple. Sighing to myself I made a mental note to pay more attention and not let myself get lost in my thoughts, and started to head back to the temple. I needed to get some sleep.

Starting to walk I let my mind wander again,though this time I made sure to pay attention to where I was walking. Returning to my previous thoughts I turned my attention to Cynder. I had told her I wanted to protect her…but maybe I needed to support her. The more I thought about it though the more I thought about how to support her.

In the end I decided that asking her what she wanted to do would be my best bet. Just as I had decided on my course of action I heard the sound of an explosion. I froze as I heard more and more explosions, all of them coming from the direction of the temple.

Breaking out into a sprint I saw the gardens exit up ahead. Running into the main hall I watched as more than twenty apes came in through the main doors. Instantly I saw the guardians each fighting five apes.

More rushed in from the balcony entrance. I counted at least ten of them with several others standing out on the balcony. Running into the room I dived at one of the apes, my horns slamming into his gut and sending him crashing into three other apes.

"Deimos no, stay back!" I heard Terrador yell.

Ignoring him I took a deep breath, as I pulled air in from outside the temple, before releasing it in a continuous stream. Due to the circular nature of the room, my wind whipped around the room catching each ape in the chest and knocking them off their feet.

Taking advantage of the downed apes, the guardians dispatched their foes quickly only to have more of them rush in through both the balcony and the main door. I slashed and clawed. Using my fear ability now would be a bad idea. This inclosed space would amplify my scream, but hitting the guardians with it would be bad

Instead I opted to use my wind breath to knock the apes around. Creating small tornados, I would drag several apes close together before Rushing at them, my tail slashing across their bodies before I moved to my next foe.

I saw more apes coming from the balcony. Just when it seemed like we were thinning their numbers, I saw dreadwings dropping off reinforcements. I felt my frustration growing as I cut down ape after ape, and yet more just kept coming.

Then I heard fighting from outside. Turning to look towards the balcony, I saw Spyro fighting as well. I hadn't even realized that he was gone until I saw him fighting. Looking around I didn't see Cynder anywhere. Fearing the worst I Took a deep inhale before I used my wind to knock all the apes towards the balcony, at least the ones who weren't being fought off by the guardians.

Running after them I would ram into the ones who fell short, knocking them into a nice group. I saw Spyro on the other side of the balcony fighting his own group of apes. In the distance I could see more dread wings bringing more reinforcements.

"Spyro get behind me!" I yelled, getting his attention.

"What? But I can help!" He yelled back

"Get behind me!" I yelled again louder this time

He looked at me for a moment before he nodded and rushed past the rest of the apes to get behind me. Once he was out of the way I looked to the dreadwings, and saw they were in range. Taking a deep breath I unleashed my scream Instantly enveloping every ape and dreadwing.

My scream echoed in the silent night air and I watched as the dreadwings stopped flapping mid air before they, their riders, and the reinforcements they carried all plummeted. The apes who had gathered on the balcony were paralyzed with fear. Inhaling deeply I used my wind breath to knock them off the balcony to their doom as well.

There was a brief moment where I looked around trying to spot more of the apes, but then it passed and I saw that they were all gone. I took a moment to steady my breathing, it had been awhile since I battled real enemies and not stuffed dummies.

Taking stock of myself I saw I was bruised. A few of the apes had managed to land a few blows on me, nothing serious but I would feel sore in a few hours. Turning I saw Spyro and the Guardians staring at me, looks of surprise plastered on their faces.

"What? Do I have blood on me?" I asked as I looked myself over again but could find nothing.

"Young dragon you have been keeping secrets!" Ignitus spoke up as she stepped forward.

"Come again?" I asked defensively. "I haven't lied to you a single time since I got here."

"You did not tell us you could use two breath abilities." He clarified as he approached me.

"You never asked." Was my response.

"Enough, now is not the time for this." Terrador interrupted

"Terrador is right we shou…wait, where is Cynder?"