FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 13

Thud.

Click.

Silence.

Black paws froze for a second, strongly pressing against the road. After a while one of the fores rose, reached forward and landed on the ground.

Thud.

Click

First the scale and then the claws.

Another leg rose up, this time one in the back, on the opposite side of the stretched out foreleg.

Thud.

Click

The black dragoness wobbled on her legs, the uncomfortable, prolonged pose putting too much strain on the joints, to the point that the shaking became so strong that she began to lean in one direction too hard, quickly approaching the moment where she will lose her balance and topple over.

In this moment the two unmoved legs reacted on their own, brain commanding them to move forward, urgently.

Thud.

Click.

The paws shot forward, smacking against the floor just when their owner was about to lose balance. The steps forcing the dragoness into another fit of quakes, this time though in the opposite direction in which she was leaning previously.

Balance was recovered.

"You should really consider picking up a career of a dancer Creep. You walk the walk like no other all you need is a little polish here and there and the stages are yours! Ten percent from the ticket sales goes to me as your loyal landlord of this sexy joint of yours"

Cynder chirped, the light on the back of the tail pulsing lively.

"This is not planned Sugar" Creep groaned, gazing down on his legs as if they were assassins with their daggers pointing at him "Unfamiliar. Dance a mistake, Not desirable"

"Oh I get it, you are blending in! Hate to break it to you but it won't work, playing a deranged chick in my case, while honest and I totally get it, won't work on the people here. The Pity ship had sunk a long time ago, no booty to be found there matey!"

Creep kept staring at his legs as if expecting that they will throw themselves at him any minute now.

"Paws, the road is the same, why the sensation is different? Front legs feel the ground different than the back ones" the black snout winced "Confusing, hard to adapt"

"Seriously? Even that bothers you? You have to ignore stuff like this Creep and get used to it, like right now. After some time you won't feel a difference, heck I didn't even know there was a difference, but it's only logical. I mean the front paws we use for grabbing and holding stuff, the back ones we use mainly for walking, out of the two the hind ones are more sensitive. Nothing to be surprised about, nothing to see. Move on!"

Creep touched his body, running a paw along the chest scales.

"Flesh so big, complicated, each bit a different sensation. Fascinating, shocking"

"Yeah, let's just hope you won't mate as a girl any time soon, your brain would explode. The world is not prepared for you flooding it"

"A warning? Danger? Physical contact a stronger breath of life as female, but dangerous? Risk too high as Sugar says?" he cocked his head, his thighs trembling slightly "If scary so, then why the idea tempts so much?"

"Look at that!" the light pushed out from the confines of the tail like an overfed belly "You're a dirty girlboything after all!"

Creep blushed, the unexpected warmth filling his cheeks made him balk as if he expected enemies leaping at him any minute now.

"Seriously though I have no idea what pushes us people in the arms of the unknown. Probably that, unknown, we might have grown up, but we all were babies once and I think that spirit remained in us. Even the most withdrawn, secluded dude in the world, while not keen on discovering new stuff, wouldn't hold back if something strange would just show up at his doorstep. This sense of discovery pushes evolution forward, it's the nature of life to find more solutions for survival, it's in us and there is nothing we can do about it, only control it so the urge won't kill us"

The light shrank to its original size.

"Like in our lovely example for instance, we know crap about the force invading Warfang and yet I have no desperate urge to go on a date with it, I would rather kick it out without asking questions"

"No temptation because there is none to be discovered" Creep relaxed his posture, his black eyes ran over the city, squinted as if he would try to pierce a veil of thick shadows "Failure brews no fascination, only disgust"

"I sense some personal vibes here, care to explain why are you so harsh?"

"No sense in speaking about failures, they need to be erased and forgotten. Darkness a threat to life and to you Sugar, ignoring the knot, wrong path, useless path, we are one, this is where life is, this is the answer. Sole existence a trap, a dead end, we were right, my partner was right, we are not meant to live, not like this"

Creep grumbled, running his eyes over the city while grasping the beating heart behind his chest scales.

"Not like this, I can feel it"

"I'm glad, or would be if I felt anything, that you found a goal in your life, just a question though, a small one, you still remember that this is my body right?"

"Yes"

The light on the tail tip shrunk to a dot, squinting like an eye of someone lost in a deep thinking process. She had no clue why Creep's response silenced her so, he did answer her question, she got what she asked for and it should be enough. Should be.

She however for some strange reason expected Creep to expand on his answer, tell her that there is nothing to worry about and comfort her, a weird urge since she can't feel a thing, not to mention that Creep is a rather straightforward guy, even now when he is a little bit more open with all this emotion stuff going on.

Thud.

Click.

The sound, the move woke her up from the thinking trance, the light growing back to its natural size once more.

"A tip Creep if I may. Try moving all your paws at once and lean slightly backwards to straighten up your posture so you touch the ground with the toes of your paws and then the heels, it's more healthy. I know I'm young and sexy but you keep walking on like that and you'll turn me into young, sexy and crippled soon enough. You must act natural, remember that we don't want to draw attention"

"We vanished, Darkness needs to locate us"

Click.

Thud.

First the claws and then the scale.

"Wohoo! Well-"

"You there!" a male voice shouted at them

"Well, so much for not drawing attention" the light flickered quickly as if chuckling

"What must I do Sugar?" Creep turned his head away sharply, aiming the nose along the flank towards the tail, his muffled whispering trembling with tones of clear nervousness "Darkness must not locate us so quickly, no experience in talking with other living creatures"

"We don't have time now for social lessons, I'm no expert either so another quick tip that left all the lonely people seeking love exactly like they were always. Just be yourself"

"All alone? Spyro finally ditched you?" a male cheetah approached, looking around the city, eyes glistening mischievously

She was way too familiar with the glimmer, bullies and self proclaimed justice warriors always had a twinkle like that, especially when their buddies were hidden nearby, waiting for the call to attack.

It was the Eternal Night all over again it seemed, back then whenever she showed up people were jumping her all the time, it all changed when Spyro appeared in her life, or the chain did which tied their fates together. With him around people stopped being so bold.

It was difficult to tell now if the bully's courage came from the sole opportunity of catching her, or her body more likely, all by herself, or was this Darkness responsible for waking up the resentment.

If she had to guess, she would opt for both, already back at the gates it was clear that the force here was influencing minds. Spyro for instance was more aggressive while Iris was talking with a ghost, hard to tell what it did to Danox. All of these examples were influenced in their own way, by their personal nightmares, so if she had to guess she would say that Darkness cannot play with something that isn't there.

Spyro has Dark Spyro, Iris is clearly mentally unstable and Danox, he's Danox. Point is that if this furry guy wouldn't want to hurt her, he wouldn't jump them.

Crap.

The entire city will be after them.

"Just be yourself" Creep repeated her words, turning his head towards the male

The feline jumped back, screaming at the top of his lungs, tail standing on end.

"The advice still works as intended it seems" she noted, how she wanted to sigh right now

"Your eyes!" the cheetah pointed a shaking claw in their direction

"Oh shit" the light at the tail thinned, becoming nearly transparent "I forgot about that. For the future, I normally don't have black eyes"

"I see YOU!" the male stiffened like a log, the last word came out morphed, spoken by an entirely different voice, scary, alien rumble

"Darkness!" Creep whimpered "We must silence it!"

"Quickly! Smack the guy across the face and put him to sleep!"

Her body leaped forward automatically, survival waking her natural grace in Creep. He swung his paw at the cheetah, fist connecting with the furry cheek.

There was a loud snap.

The head of the feline made a turn backwards, his entire face moved above the tail, back of his head stared at them blankly.

It was the neck that snapped.

"You broke the guy's neck Creep!" Cynder blared out

"No! I smacked him Sugar! Like you requested!" Creep protested, staring at the figure in front of him

A figure that soon fell back of the head first on the ground, the shocked expression of the dead face stared at them, the still stiff tail that stood below the chin pointed at them like a blaming finger.

"No! You were supposed to knock him out, not break his neck!"

"Not my plan! Not my plan!"

"You can't kill people Creep! Shit!"

"I am sorry, I am sorry!"

"You turned his head around completely! That's impossible! You must be crazy strong. Are you crazy strong Creep?"

"I do not know" Creep shook his head fiercely, she couldn't feel it but she could see that it had to hurt "I do not know, I do not know"

"Alright, forget it! We need-"

"MURDERER!"

A blare echoed around the city, so loud that it resembled a thunder, it seemed like entire Warfang would yell after them and judging from all the turned heads I n their direction it might actually be true.

The weirdest thing however was the fact that between the rumbling echo she could hear a voice, a voice whispering something, not the word that was screamed, but a complete sentence.

The city roared again.

"I SEE YOU" the notes intoned, the voice so similar to the one the cheetah spoke with

She looked down at the fallen body, if she had any feelings she was quite certain that by now she would have her heart inside her throat.

The feline was staring at them, the corpse's eyes bloodshot red.

"I SEE YOU!" the cheetah rasped, blood trickling down from his moving face, the tail finally fell down, tip dropping straight into the parted maw which the corpse immediately tore off with its fangs

Darkness.

"Run Creep! Get us out of here!" Cynder yelled

"I am a cripple, not fast enough. Move us Sugar! Make us travel to that roof!" Creep tilted his head upwards, pointing at the highest building near them

"How the fuck I'm supposed to do that?!"

The earth began to shake under the weight of the feet trampling the streets.

The dead cheetah snatched Creep by the ankle, the black dragoness looked down at the stretched out arm.

He swiped with his other leg, blood shot in the air and splattered against his forelegs when the claws ran smoothly over the arm, severing it with ease.

"It is natural, we are one. Just be yourself"

"Couldn't find a better time to be a vengeful dick"

She focused on the roof, with all the might of her will demanding that they will appear there.

Nothing was happening.

"We are Fear, we are Poison, we are Shadow"

Creep aimed his black eyes on her.

"You are Shadow"

Shadow.

Lightbane.

Dark.

Being a traumatized, scared creature made her treat those names as curses and mockery, as signs of defeat and shame. While they might be exactly that, due to her feelings she failed to realize one thing.

She was those names.

A deed, an action provoked them, they meant something more than just mockery, they were heritage.

Far more then Danox believed them to be, far more than mere words cast on the wind, those names, they were her.

I am Shadow.

Suddenly she felt being pulled away far into the clouds, it was a peculiar feeling, something she would call a true separation as if she would be a nerve sliced away from the connection to the brain.

It should be funny considering the fact that she know feels that Creep was her brain and she was already a ghost there, but now, she felt truly alone, there was nothing here, an absolute void. A sensation that wasn't changed by the fact that she felt like she was everywhere, gazing from the stars at the city as she would be some kind of invisible bird with eyesight so sharp that she could spot bacteria.

She was the world, she was every part of it.

But there was no one else here, there was nothing here but her.

Alone.

Trapped in the eternal void.

There wasn't much she could feel, from the emotional side, but the powerful sensation of solitude, of abandonment, it couldn't be ignored even by someone like her.

She would choke on it without drowning.

She would burn on it without roasting.

I must get out of here.

On that roof.

She was hurled down onto the earth, her whole identity crashed against the solid ground of the rooftop, there was nothing else besides a hollow thud, the strangling presence of loneliness was gone.

Yet now there was nothing, again the void, as unwelcoming as ever even if now entirely silent. She returned to the world, the city sprawled before her, clearly visible from the rooftop, even the people were there.

But they were nothing, the city was nothing, it all looked like clay, independent, but fake nevertheless.

This is not life.

It is not possible to live like this.

I am Shadow.

"Well done Sugar" Creep intoned warmly, looking down upon the crowd below, his mouth stretched out by a smirk

It won't last long, but the move bought them some time, people have eyes, but you need to open them first, something that Darkness will not do.

"What was that? Creep, what was that?" Cynder mumbled, her out of focus voice coming out with thuds like the sound of a drum being played upon using heavy, slow rhythm

The smile disappeared from his snout, he gazed back at the tail, covering most of his snout however behind the forelegs, glancing only with one, black eye.

"Eternity. Creation. I am sorry Sugar, your potency a cause for big mistakes"

"I don't understand, Creep, what Creation?"

"Please Sugar, some answers are better not to be sought. The greatest of truths I will present to you is this, there will be no time in your life where you will need this knowledge. Some confusions, leave them buried Sugar. Answers will not serve anyone"

The light on the tail tip shrunk to the size of a flickering flame on a candle.

"It was an empty void, a-"

"Sugar do not dwell" Creep cut off the dragoness, pushing his snout completely from cover of his legs, expression a wince of seriousness "Cast the thoughts away, do not pursue, worse fate awaits than renewal of the Cycle itself"

The light on the tail started to pulse, growing steadily with each beat.

"Why don't you want to tell me? What are you hiding?"

"The End. Worse than death. Must protect Sugar, knowledge won't serve anyone"

"If you don't tell me there will be a moment where I will try again, this is how we mortal creatures work. Curiosity killed the cat didn't come from nothing"

"The sensed end stronger than curiosity. Sugar reached too far, void not meant for mortal creatures" he touched his chest, heart there beating quickly "Not meant for creatures with a heart. Too much to lose. Curious heart begun the Cycle, the Cycle will end another one before beginning something new. The End, stay away"

Creep was speaking with true concern, being locked in a living body while at the same time having no experience when dealing with body language really betrayed his emotions. Her body was wincing, grimacing and frowning, giving every sign of Creep's honesty.

Stay away, but even in an emotionless shell like she is now just couldn't shake off the nudge to know more, it felt important, it felt like everything and nothing and despite being a bodiless construct that experience was strong enough to make her FEEL.

Whatever it was, for some reason it was crucial.

"How do you know so much about what happened to me?"

"We are one Sugar, you know the answer"

Did she?

The light in the tail tip pulsed steadily for a few seconds just to explode with a fierce blackness moments after.

Of course she did.

She was everywhere.

She had seen it all before.

I am Shadow.

She watched as the shadows began to grow, covering every bit of Warfang that still resisted the call of the moon, but soon even that opposition fell. In that moment a sudden terrifying realization struck her, or it was just her instinct screaming, whatever it was it forced her to picture herself as one of the many bricks of Warfang, in that moment she knew that no matter how hard she will resist, she will succumb to darkness, just like all the bricks before her. And finally the last piece of the puzzle will fall in place.

Puzzle? What puzzle?

Puzzle.

We are one.

This memory, it all happened when Creep was nothing more than a nightmare, but now after she learned what she could about him, when she, for everything that's holy BECAME him to some degree, it finally started to make sense.

She is the final piece of the puzzle.

Being lifted into that void was something more than just a mistake from her part, she doubted it would be possible to get into that place when she knew so little about her own element, being a bodiless spirit had nothing to do with it.

She reached there because she was supposed to reach there consciously, not now, perhaps even never, yet she did. She did out of spite of everything, she did because Creep was here, being the darkness she was supposed to succumb to.

A traitor from the beginning?

Creep's face turned sour, it was obvious he could hear her thoughts, she forbade him from doing that, yet right now, when they switched places, she couldn't tell for certain if he was doing it on purpose, she might be the one forcing it accidently on him.

Doesn't matter.

He heard her thoughts and didn't like them, two things held her from exploding in panic, one was the lack of any mortal emotion, two was the enhanced perception as the consequence of the first and despite everything what she came to understand, she also knew that Creep was unable to fake his true feelings while wearing her meat.

The sourness was not fear of becoming revealed, but fear of being abandoned and rejected.

"You are that void" she intoned, the light in the tail tip growing black spikes all around its form

Creep remained frozen, only two toes were moving, claws of which were tapping at the chest while the draconic fingers were gently rubbing over the place where the heart was.

The move so deliberate, so visible and so passionate that she could almost feel him touching her, petting in comfort like a father her daughter after she faced one of the horrors of life.

Feel it.

The void had nothing behind it, besides the power to strangle the existence out of her.

Creep did not feel like this.

He wasn't the void, he was a part of it, in the eyes of her imagination she could see herself again staring at him through that window, seeing him staying in the street with the encroaching darkness. This time though she noticed the point of origin, it was not coming from the world around, but spreading from underneath him, it reached far into the background, stretching out from Creep's back like massive wings. Ropes of dark mass flew down his flanks like paint, splashing under his paws, it was not him forming the pool underneath.

It were the black wings melting the world.

He was the handle of the door leading to oblivion.

He wasn't extending a paw to welcome her, in fact she could see him kicking his legs backwards alternately, trying to disperse the gathering pool like a dog trying to bury a bone in earth that just kept on refilling itself with dirt.

And the door always knew what lied behind it because it lived in the place it was obscuring.

"You came from that void" she confessed, correcting her original thought

Creep nodded.

"You wanted me there"

He winced, clearly ashamed, yet nodded nevertheless.

"Why? Why when you tell me now that it is dangerous? Do you want to hurt me Creep?" the spikes on the light grew bigger, despite the fact that she could not feel, she just knew these spikes would bleed her tears if they could

"A mistake, everything a big mistake, life treacherous" Creep shook his head, sobbing, he was crying again

"Answer the question" she intoned sternly, the spikes startled to swivel, gently swaying towards the black body

He looked up at her, his black eyes nearly transparent from tears.

"No"

He didn't lie.

It was honest, he couldn't lie.

Or he did because the situation demanded it from him, after all everybody knows that even a cornered prey can be dangerous.

"I did not know the consequence Sugar, knew only one path for unraveling the knot. Believed it to be true" he shivered, he rubbed one of his forelegs as if he would be freezing "Gained knowledge and experience, learned, that the path was a mistake too. You showed me the road, the failure, becoming one, it showed the strands to be more complicated. My path, the wrong path, opens the passage to the End. It is the End and we must not go there, you must not go there Sugar. Do not become Abomination. No more life in both of us, no longer one"

"Always here to protect Sugar" he knocked at the chest, the heart responded with a more fierce beat "Beating life opened new perspectives. My intentions honest, proof, can point to the proof. Sugar wanted to know why memories are shielded, could not answer then correctly, did not understand purpose. Tasted life now, knows that it seeks comfort, closure. Can show proof that I love Sugar. Office of mother Amela, the casket, inside the proof, seek it Sugar, please do not destroy the knot"

She didn't know what to think about it.

On one paw Creep acted naturally and seemed to really care for her, but on the other paw is it safe to simply accept that he was leading her into damnation, even if he wasn't aware of that? What if he was wrong again?

But then when to think about it all comes to the point that he really wants to protect her, but as a creature which never experienced life and emotions before, Creep didn't have enough perspective to make emphatic decisions.

She was sure if she would be in control of her body she would have a big ass headache right now.

"Okay, forget it, I will find that proof when this is over and just to be clear, you better not be lying because I get kinda itchy when someone toys with me" the light shrunk to its normal size, absorbing the intimidating black spikes

"I do not lie Sugar"

"You better, now go, get us out of this roof before this Darkness finds us, a thing that it should do a long time ago already if you ask me. It's not like it doesn't have dragons with wings in this city on a call"

Creep looked down at the people below, people that spread out in their personal directions, going on about their lives like they never chased them. Like they forgot they existed.

Exactly.

Like.

In truth they didn't know they were here in the first place.

Meeting this failure without learning before what the true way of handling the knot was would end in defeat, or at least with high loses that probably would be impossible to recover from. Sugar would most likely lose her companions while he at the same time an entire connection with her.

Thanks to Sugar though all of it was avoided, he can exploit Darkness' weakness, it does not know the specific connection they share, it cannot counter it, it knows that now, especially now when they evaded its gaze.

It's blind to essence, cannot perceive it from a distance, as long as they continue maintaining their approach, they should remain invisible for the most part. Maybe even long enough to save all of Sugar's companions, vanishing of each would have dire consequences.

Despite what his mistress might have think.

It takes eons to understand connections and connections are the reason for stability, even the most uncomfortable path, as long as it is known is more tempting than any unknown turn.

After so long it all finally worked out, living a life, even if temporary, was all worth it. When Sugar will finally return to her body there will be enough time to process everything, with emotions, with knowledge, shadowing should be far more special.

This is why Failure will not be allowed to spread its corruption, the knot belongs to them.

"Darkness is blind Sugar" Creep straightened proudly, puffing out his chest, the wind that blasted against his body made his tongue role out of the mouth

He shut his eyes, just for a moment silencing everything around to enjoy the feeling of the wind brushing against his scales.

The hum, it felt like Sugar's cries when she was just a promising, small dragon straight out of her egg.

"We are dictating the speed of this Cycle" he made a step forward, paws working in perfect unison as if he was an expert in using them

"Failure will not spot us if we do not act and observe" another step, black paws grazed over the surface like over water

"My friends Creep! We-"

"This is why we will act Sugar" he cut her off, his walk gained on steady tempo, he walked without a sound and with such confident stride that the ground of the roof didn't dare to make a sound when the draconic paws stepped on it

"We will challenge Darkness, we wield the power of life, Failure does not possesses the knowledge to counter us. Triumph is imminent" the stride turned into a slow jog, legs bouncing with such ease as if they would be floating, a proud smile stretched out the black lips

She never saw Creep acting like this, but she couldn't deny the fact that she couldn't shift her focus away from his{her} smile. There was so much charm in it, so much motivational influence that you simply acknowledged automatically that he isn't lying or comforting, merely speaking the truth.

Despite everything they talked about, everything they discovered about each other and the scraps of information they put together about their opponent, this confidence made you forget all about that and just pushed you forward. Not for slaughter, no, far, far from it, it pushed them exactly where Creep said.

Towards victory.

For better or worse she was certain that it will come.

The only danger that hung above them was Fate, another cruel truth which was as real as the sense of victory radiating from Creep.

Nothing lasts forever.

The war proved to her quite clearly that the biggest of victors eventually taste defeat. Gaul, Malefor, two examples strong enough to support the claim, both fell with a loud thud, thud so strong that at least one life was changed completely after their defeat.

Hopefully no one she cares about will be around when she will finally fall.

Creep reached the end of the rooftop, gazing down he spotted people moving around the narrow streets, nobody would ever believe that something was happening to this city, people were calm, everything looked normal.

It is never normal.

Not when they are around.

"Nothing of interest Sugar. No friends" his eyes shifted upwards, before them spread another rooftop of another building, slightly smaller than the one they were on currently

"I need the assistance of your essence Sugar"

"Wait a sec there boss" a small black tendril wrapped itself around the base of the dark tail, giving it a small tug "You can't act all rich and mighty, magic is like gems, you can't spend it all the time cause you will lose all of it in the end. Magic is an investment, sometimes you just need to wait a little for it to pay of"

The tentacle shrunk back into the light.

"You will get there yourself, I will show you something really awesome and it will be easy as angering me. That building over there is smaller, you will glide there, no magic mumbo jumbo, you will feel like a true dragon in a while. Spread your wings baby!"

Creep gazed at the visible extensions at the sides of his body, he suddenly became aware of their existence the moment Sugar mentioned it. His eyes widening at the realization that he has practically additional two limbs, so many possibilities to explore the world was here already and now he gained the next two.

Spread your wings.

He didn't have to focus, nor issue any command, he simply repeated Sugar's words in his head and the wings stretched out automatically, he observed the process with glimmering fascination in his eyes, the emerald orbs shining like true gems.

It was magical, he never would have never understand the power of the mortal brain if he wouldn't experience its influence on his own. This mortal device, this construct assisted him in every task from the first moment Sugar allowed him to take control of her body. It didn't care that he never commanded a body made of bone and flesh before, it understood the orders no matter how talented the one giving them was.

A mortal body.

Such a frail and squishy thing.

And yet so perfectly planned and developed, every bit used to its full potential, no limitations or hindrance.

So much more different from magic where everything has to be dosed.

The wind blew again, making his head tilt back in pleasure, all this time he only heard about Wind and felt its magical influence, in spirit form this touch was horrid and scary. But on breathing flesh, the graze of wind was intoxicating, offering so much freedom and space.

You simply knew it was there to lift you, all you needed to feel was its touch on the membranes.

He didn't wait for any other instructions, he jumped forward, doing this particular part for the first time in his existence and yet the leap felt extremely natural.

He did not fall.

The Wind kept him aloft, while not carrying him entirely, it was enough to sense its touch on his body, holding him by the tips of the fingers like servants do with plates. Time seemed to stop for him and the sensible world disappeared, for this short span of time there was no one here but him and the Wind.

And the most interesting part, this addiction to life already eliminated thoughts of fear, was that he felt extremely comfortable around it. It was strange, for all this time Wind was nothing more than a hindrance, a trap and an obstacle.

Life changes so much.

The glide onto the next rooftop went smoothly, like he would be doing it his whole unlife.

"Holy crap you did it!" the light pulsed on the tail fervently "You're a natural, and I must admit I wear some sick armor, just check out the swag in the air. Would drool"

"Does every mortal admire his own body like you do Sugar?" Creep asked casually, observing intently the process of his wings relaxing

"Oh yeah, forgot that our relationship is not on the jokes level yet, but we love each other so we will get there!"

"I do not understand the answer"

The light lost the strength of its tone slightly.

"That means that I'm joking"

Creep approached the edge of the balcony and gazed down upon the street, avoiding any more comments, the meaning behind the words can be solved later.

Just like the last part of the city, this one was also crowded with walking people continuing with their fake, daily lives. Brown and black moles dressed in worker and technician outfits even though most of them looked like they were not indulging into any serious activity right now.

Cheetahs of yellow and orange fur with black stripes and dots laughing and talking freely, their clothes a palette of different colors, besides a few robes the majority of the outfits were made of light, yet not revealing clothes, mostly held by belts and all sorts of stripes, allowing unhampered movements, habits of village life still clearly thriving.

The last were the dragons, mostly wearing nothing but their scales, their colors sharp, even the darkest shade far more stronger than brightest shade of any other non-draconic citizen, changing from crimson like fresh blood to the blinding yellow like a ray of the sun. Among those scales walked dragons wearing robes and armor mostly, all putting emphasizes on comfort and effectiveness than fashion. Among them there was even a young dragoness wearing crutches.

All in all there was nothing interesting there.

Just people.

He raised his head, looking for the perfect roof that would open the most ideal path to finding Darkness.

"Look at the street again!" the light enlarged its form, stretching past the confines of the hole in the tail tip

"Darkness is not there"

"Do it!"

He obeyed, Mistress was unable to act emotionally, but he easily connected the command with excitement.

The light burst, what remained of it was just a tiny, swirling dot.

"I KNEW IT!" Cynder roared, the rumbling sound made him wince while forcing the brain jn the skull to shrink in defense

"That draconic spider down there! The blue one with the crutches! That's Coriza! She's a friend, we need to help her! She's not really a traveling type, she had to be in Warfang when the party started, she might be able to tell us where to find Sparx and Amela, or even the black bitch responsible for all of this. Bitch that I will smack so hard if I learn that it hurt my friends"

"Ancestor's be damned she looks like a wreck, we must get down to her right now! If she's in trouble we gotta help her, she has troubles healing"

"Naturally Sugar" Creep agreed on the idea immediately, his black eyes scanning the terrain below "We must observe and follow for now. We wait when friend alone and in a obscured passage, then confront her, risk of facing Darkness high. No reason to repeat previous mistake, Darkness' minions presumably more aggressive during next encounter"

"Fine, but we stick close, we aren't losing her from our sight"

*

Warfang is a ghost town, she thought that getting away from the hospital would change something, she would never believed that getting back to that horrifying, sanity raping bed would be a welcoming thought. Seeing the repeating life of Sparx and Amela was insane, but somehow she just knew they wouldn't hurt her since both were good people.

This might be naivety speaking through her however.

Still she was quite certain that if things would turn sour they were the only two who would warrant a painless death.

Sweet Ancestors. When her life became so miserable that thoughts about the way of dying became so tempting?

It was the atmosphere of the city that started to get to her, she could feel herself choking on the thick air of evil hanging over it, drawing reeking lines in the air like trash from a sewer grate. It didn't matter at all that people surrounded her, some even greeted her to which she had to reply, forcing a smile, it all didn't matter because tomorrow these people will try do it again and then again and again.

Ancestors.

What will happen if these people won't find her here?

The beginnings of their days were perhaps alone, but later they went out into the city and once on their path they exchanged greetings with her.

And she won't be here, she would need to return to Amela and Sparx to maintain the illusion, that is if she would ever hobble there fast enough in the first place.

Danger is such a merciless torture.

She needs to get out of the main streets, hide from the eyesight of the people.

Her frail body was just not built for such physical stress, not even the advantages in technology could lift her limitations, the stabilizers she was wearing received flawless critique, making everyone injured in need of them feel like they weren't crippled at all, of course mobility took a blow, nothing can replace real legs, but the hurt always spoke highly about this mole device.

She though moved slower than a snail, not to mention that she felt as if she was being slowly crushed while everyone else complimented the device for its handling properties.

The stabilizers however even for a Ms Slippypaw as herself did their job quite well, at least they prevented her from breaking entirely.

The special crutches were really a mechanical wonder, the genius of the moles surprised her once again. Over her spine ran a plank, perfectly lining with the middle of her body and ideally swaying while her limbs moved so it wouldn't bump against her raising shoulder and hind paws muscles. The additional weight on the back however made her strain uncomfortably, her mind unable to fight back the idea that if she doesn't flex hard enough the board will flatten her, breaking her spine first on the way.

On both edges of the plank, right in the places where the joints of her paws began the board spread, forming small roots that stretched down her forelegs and thighs, they enveloped her legs entirely, forming a lattice over them, the veins stretching out right at the level of her elbows and knees, reaching out to the other flank of her body, running along the upper chest and waist until they connected with the mechanical tendrils on the other side.

Her legs looked like they were locked in miniature bird cages.

Between the plank and the place where it split were inserted strange devices she couldn't identify, lacking the proper technical knowledge. They looked like enlarged shoulders that ideally rocked back and forth like a crib with each movement of her legs.

In fact the construction was very similar to an armor's shoulder pad. It was definitely more complicated than that since whenever the city went quiet enough she could clearly hear soft hisses and clicks coming from the inside of the mechanism, gears more likely and some heating device. Each of the four shoulders had a tiny hole through which every now and then a delicate huff of mist pushed through that smelled like gently spiced, heated water.

The construction changed forms once more right at the middle of each of her legs, the bird cage tightened and thickened like roots of a tree, shooting crosswise and a little away from her paws where they formed a mechanical leg, a draconic paw to be precise with quite a massive sole and magnetic, rounded tips of claws that somehow glued to the ground and granted perfect stability.

The joints of the technical legs where they connected to her legs were covered by flippers in the form of small dragon wings. They were beating slightly with each desire to move the legs, releasing small puffs of steam exactly like the pads but with smaller volume.

The heels of the artificial paws were also modified for better mobility, a small socket there offered the paws a comfortable range of flexibility, making them disperse enough strength for a rather smooth touch.

From the artificial legs protruded pipes, handles, one for each paw. Front ones horizontal over which her front paws were wrapped, the back ones were slightly tilted upwards and a bit thicker, perfectly measured to her draconic feet, claws of which also curled over their dedicated handles.

This whole construction made her higher, her natural legs over the ground slightly lower than one meter. The whole device was simple, just as she requested, not that the moles didn't want to offer her something more fancy and beautiful, reverence for the clergy didn't seem to change even under such circumstances.

A bit of normality in this carnival of insanity.

She rejected the offer, it was enough she felt like a stranger already, even this machine was enough to make her stand out, the ones she was offered would draw the attention of the whole Realms, she can barely handle one city as it is.

The moles melded wood and metal together, she didn't understand the details, all she knew was that it made her look like she would be wearing remnants of a bark armor. The artificial legs were fulfilling their function, she walked, yet that didn't change the matter of stress. Her body simply disliked any strain and it was hard to tell if she will keep her sanity if this keeps going on.

She already treated all this mess with the crystal and her blasphemous thoughts as signs of corruption, a simple cleric like her striving for glory when she could barely maintain eye contact with people, even when everything was normal.

To believe someone like her could be guided by the Ancestors themselves.

Laughable.

She wanted to cry, badly.

She looked around in search of an alley, with great difficulty holding back tears and exchanging smiles with people walking past her. It was lying, plain lying, she was pretending that everything is fine while in truth her insides were shaking in fear.

She started to feel guilty, fighting for survival made her act against her conscience, it was making her feel dirty.

She whined, her eyes started to glisten.

The torture was unbearable and the stabilizers did not help in avoiding it, she walked, but the slow movement was just like putting a hot iron into an open wound.

Click.

Puff.

A step had been made, one, while time skipped mercilessly like ten minutes forward.

People smiled at her, she smiled back, wishing for a moment that they will discover she is not one of them and make this horror end finally.

Click.

Puff.

Another smile.

She had enough, lips wavering, with difficulty shoving back a sob.

She immediately looked away, forcing her eyes to aim at the nearby wall, she blinked, feminine, long eyelashes flickering drops of tears away, seems like Ancestors pity reached even here.

There was an opening in the wall ahead.

An alley.

Click.

Puff.

Click.

Puff.

She hobbled forward, each step driving her depression further into the sea of hopeless black, just how bad it has to be that she looks forward to vanishing from existence in a lifeless corner. She closed her eyes, it has to be a nightmare, not so long ago she lived a calm life of a modest priestess after all.

Gold eyes revealed themselves from underneath the eyelids.

Nothing changed.

This time she didn't hold it, she started to cry, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Click.

Puff.

Click.

Puff.

Her crippled frame pressed against the wall, she slid along it behind until eventually she reached the corner slithering inside like a spider.

It was a dead end.

One of the corners where you dispose trash into the city's sewer systems.

She hobbled to the end, shadows obscuring her, the finish line of the trash alley reached.

It was empty.

She was the only trash in the corner.

Perfectly fitting.

She began to cry, her body shaking wildly, the special crutches she was wearing seemed to creak in accordance to her sobs, joining her in this display of helplessness.

"Don't cry"

She sucked the tears back, eyes shooting wide.

The voice.

Familiar, yet alien, so much similar to Brill's way of speaking in the occupied by evil temple from which she was thrown out.

Darkness had come for her.

"Please don't hurt me!" she whimpered, tail beating wildly against the wall behind, like a spoon of a prisoner trying to dig his way out of the cell

"We won't hurt you! It's me Coriza! Cynder!"

"Cynder?" she threw her head up, there was definitely a dragon of similar size standing in front of her, the features however obscured by shadows, the shadows coming from the street illuminated the alley enough to be able to see the edges of the draconic shape

Not even eyes glimmers from the darkness and Cynder had bright green ones.

The only thing that stood out where the silver horns and claws, not enough-

And jewelry.

Silver bracelets on the paws and neck, there was only one dragoness wearing jewelry in such colors, only one dragoness who's scales would be invisible in darkness, perfectly sinking into it.

It had to be Cynder.

But the voice and the general aura of something foul in the air held her back from rushing into the embrace of her friend.

It might have been the smell of the alley itself, or her bladder simply let lose under all this level of fright. Whatever the case may be, she just couldn't find the courage to approach her friend, there was something repelling about the idea.

She felt like Darkness.

"Yeah!" the voice exclaimed "Move closer!" the muffled command came with a hiss

The figure made a step forward.

She backed against the wall nearly rising on hind legs only, she tried to remain calm but the pressure of the ominous aura was so strong that it quenched any sign of happiness and hope, letting her only writhing in naked fear.

Another step.

She whined.

"Stop" the voice ordered, it was cold, familiar, scary

Manipulative.

Fake.

Dead.

It did not belong to Brill, no, the familiarity was somewhere else and she understood immediately where.

The speaking corpses in the crystal room.

"It's the damn voice, it's you Creep, we are scaring her"

"Why?"

Her heart skipped a bit, the other voice, it also belonged to Cynder, she spoke with two mouths and those mouths spoke with themselves. Hearing the two of them almost at the same time allowed her to catch the difference, the last one that spoke had more life to it, yet even if it sounded like true Cynder's voice, there was something odd about it, some unexplainable disconnection from the world in general that she really couldn't put words together to describe it.

That second voice was Cynder but it simply didn't belong here.

Didn't belong in this world.

"Look Coriza I know you're scared and that I don't sound the part, but it's really me"

"W-why should I b-b-believe you?"

"Because you're running away from something and I can bet that I'm already acting different than any of the other zombies. From the rooftop we saw a guy who kept walking into a wall, plus you can't deny the charm, there's more life in me than anyone else you saw today for sure"

The choking stone of fear that lodged itself in her spine lessened its pressure, there was no denying the fact that Cynder had a point, but she just couldn't accept it so easily, not now, it all seemed to be too good.

"Leave me alone, please, if you're my friend you will do what I ask" she wanted to curl into a ball, but the forsaken crutches just kept her standing, she was shaking too much to be able to jump down from them

"Sorry Cor, but not this time"

The blue dragoness began to cry fiercely.

"I can't do that because it's dangerous out there" Cynder's voice continued callously, despite her broken state

Her friend wouldn't do that.

"Leave m-"

"I'll prove it to you!" Cynder cut her friend off before she went into a tantrum that would surely drag the whole city here "I won't move until you think of something alright? Anything, just ask. You're the boss"

The tears still ravaged her vocal cords, making her whine and whimper in between sobs, the proposition however threw cinder at the flame of home flickering in her heart, making it burst with new life.

For all that it's worth the creature in front of her kept to its word and didn't move, she didn't know if Darkness could mimic someone so well and play on her feelings like this, everything was possible when it comes to evil.

But then again if this Cynder, or a copy of her, would want to play mind games with her when she simply reeks of black magic? Why bother?

The creature seemed to want to get on her good side, buy her trust, it talked like Cynder, or at least like someone with a mind of its own that could decide on its future actions.

Decide on actions.

Her eyes blinked, glimmering with tears gold eyes took a sharp color of enlightenment.

"What did you do yesterday?"

"Yesterday?" the voice hummed "Hard to say how much time had passed. But we went through a portal with Spyro and the gang to a different world, fought for our lives and even found a wind dragon that we took with us back home. Later-"

"Is it really you Cynder?" Coriza interrupted the monologue, already hearing what she wanted, her voice breathless like that of someone whispering something important on a deathbed

Strength left her body, the crutches creaked, more steam pushed from the holes as the mechanism locked itself in place, preventing her from toppling over.

The figure ahead still smelled of evil, still stranded stiff like a cold corpse, but after the answer all of this quickly stopped to matter, she craved for support from someone close to her, all the signs led to the conclusion that the figure of the dragon ahead must be her friend.

People here wouldn't come with an answer like that.

"It's really me Coriza. I swear"

She started to limp forward instantly, her artificial legs due to excitement couldn't find a proper grip on the ground and kept slipping away, yet every time the blue paws managed to jerk them back together.

"Slow down there, don't hurt yourself"

She ignored the warning, with several more steps she finally got close enough to her friend, she let go off the front crutches and shot her paws forward, barely feeling any pain, happiness stronger than any physical fatigue her body was going through right now.

Soul needed healing far much more.

Her claws latched themselves over the shoulders and she immediately recognized the scales she touched, she had them already in her grasp, they definitely belonged to Cynder.

She started to cry again. Hard.

She nuzzled the familiar snout before lying her own draconic face on the shoulder of the dragoness she knew as she pulled her friend into an awkward hug of a cripple.

Cynder stiffened, every muscle on her body flexing, it was weird that she didn't return the hug, just as it was weird that fear kept on crawling up and down her spine, it was weird that the toxic smell of evil was almost nauseating around her, but it was Cynder nevertheless.

And she needed a friend right now, badly.

The two she had who helped her after the fall were trapped in a loop of obliviousness.

"It's good to see you Coriza"

She opened her eyes, realizing something that couldn't escape her notice despite the joy, she heard Cynder's modified voice and yet she didn't feel it coming from her mouth, worse even, she didn't feel her mouth moving at all.

The new Cynder mimicked a cough.

"Touch"

Black paw touched her scales, gently pressing against her body as if it was scared that the touch will shatter her like glass.

The mouth moved finally, releasing a deep, wavering moan, the black snout returning the nuzzle, digging deep into her cheek, Cynder leaning deeper into the embrace, brushing her chest against her stretched out flesh.

The paw that only brushed against her previously clenched tighter around her body, tips of claws burying into the scales. It kept opening and closing quickly, groping her as far as it could reach.

Another moan left the throat.

Coriza quaked wildly, the hind legs digging deep into the grip of the handles, she retched suddenly, whipped out of nowhere by a powerful sense of disgust. It was not the touch, while it was uncalled for she already tasted intimacy with Cynder when they were spending time together doing claws and whatnot, in fact she actually didn't mind the groping at all, quite needy for a passionate comfort of someone she knew, someone who could grant her safety.

She was repelled by a feeling that far exceeded physical contact, immediately feeling as if an entire container of waste would open above her head, bathing her in trash, the corruption reaching the soul itself.

She recoiled back from the touch, artificial back paws sliding to the sides as they locked themselves in place to support when she began to back away, trying to prop herself on the black shoulders to push away.

Cynder intensified the grip, nuzzling her even harder.

She whined.

"Stop it Creep!"

The lid of the imagined container slammed hard against the hinges, for a second blocking the flow, until it eventually spread open once more. Black paw and snout pushed back as if swat away.

She returned to her crutches, for a second feeling blindly in the air until she eventually snatched the handles.

"Soft. Hollow" the otherworldly Cynder mumbled

"Silence" the Cynder that spoke for the majority of the time commanded "Listen Coriza, I will explain everything but promise me that you won't freak out, okay? Things might seem crazy and stuff, but all is good, I'll explain everything, just don't be afraid"

Coriza sniffed the air, sucking back tears together with the nauseating stench of rot and poison.

"I can't help it, you are strange Cynder, I feel ill around you"

"I know, I know that I'm not in the best of shape right now"

"My heart tell me it's you, I told you how I feel about you already, we've spent enough time together that I can tell you wish me no harm, you scare me but I'm not worried about myself"

"You worry about me"

Coriza nodded.

"Don't, everything's under control"

The blue dragoness cocked her head, gazing into the shadowy shape in front of her, immediately seeing flashbacks of the hunched Seeker before her eyes, the saint mole who clearly struggled with the force ruling over the temple, stuck somewhere between sanity and insanity.

If she would close her eyes she would see herself entering the crystal room all over again.

It smelled exactly the same.

The crystal lied dormant there also for some time and she was quite sure that Brill also thought one day that he had everything under control.

Evil however cannot be contained, it always breaks free.

"No Cynder my dear friend"

Two white dots flickered in the darkness, right at the level where the eyes should be.

She could feel a cold touch of a dagger's blade running over her throat.

Every part of her wanted to turn away and run, but some strange force kept her on place, the same force made her look straight into the ominous flicker, challenge it.

"Nothing is under control"