FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 25

Cynder deflected a sword strike, her colliding with the steel claws sent off sparks in the air, the attack put her into a swift turn where with another set of claws she cut a mole right across her long snout, throwing off the dirty goggles that made the rodent far more blind than she already was from the beginning.

She then released a poison breath at the nearby group was heading her way from the flank. A choking green mist cut through the air that surprisingly lost its sharp color after a while, becoming a flickering fog like some lights used in the mines for some sort of signalization.

There wasn't a single member among the mob that fell down, poisoned and dying, many of them slowed down, coughing roughly but still pressing forwards, some of the more resistant ones didn't seem to be affected at all.

A dragon from the group sent an icy breath at them.

The black dragoness absorbed the breath on her wing membrane, scattering it around, the frost covered one of the nearby walls.

"We have a problem Creep" Cynder intoned and in this moment the dragoness charged at the chilly wall

Normally it would be impossible for such a thick wall to collapse under a dragoness of her size, but Creep possessed strength that was not normal for creature as her. The tiny frost was enough for the otherworldly being to decide that it was best to remove the obstacle out of the way in the most crude way possible.

The dragoness rammed into the wall and if the people attacking her would possess any reasoning they would be surprised that the stones gave under the pressure and collapsed, blowing out a hole in their structure for the girl to fit. A feminine frame smashed right through a wall barely weakened by ice magic.

As impressive as it might seem from the perspective of a simple witness, Creep who decided to commit such an act was far from satisfaction. Tiredness was sending first signals of fatigue, even though he managed to force the wall to let him through, he was unable to keep standing, the stones just kept rolling in front of his paws.

The legs themselves weren't too friendly either, each step was far more numbing than the last until finally there was a moment he couldn't feel the muscles at all as if the paws would vanish.

He tripped, black legs kicked in every direction just to find some pawhold, yet the attempt proved futile. He twisted in the air, smashing into the sharp ground with his right flank, some of the rough rocks bit into his scales. A raw grunt of choking breath burst from his throat before the momentum took the reins and sent the black body into a roll.

He clawed at everything that was within reach, trying to find anything just to stop the pain, only after a while he managed to feel a ledge, he gripped it tightly, already thinking that the uncontrollable fall was over.

It was then when the rest of his body was hurled over the edge, the rough pull of gravity made him realize that there was no solid ground on the same level as his paws.

The lower side of his body bumped unceremoniously against something, the blow loosened his grip while in the same time gravity made another tug. Claws broke their grip in a shower of sparks.

When his chin crashed into the ground, fangs thrusting into the held back in a lips, drawing streams of blood and his rump bumping against another sharp set of stones titled by a sharp angle, he finally realized why the pull of gravity was so strong.

They were rolling down a staircase.

The moment the thought crossed his mind the stairs twisted the black body in such a way that Creep no longer knew where he was. The world bounced and flickered before his eyes, all he recognized where the occasional splatters of blood here and there.

He kept falling down and everything hurt to the point that he began hating life, deep down promising to himself that this was the last time he changes with Sugar. When they dreamed about life and mortality they never expected it to be so filled with hurt.

At the end of the staircase the rolling body of the dragoness bounced up so that it skipped some last steps by being flung in the air. The girl turned around as she flew slightly above the ground, Creep, confused by the entire situation didn't know where he was and what precisely is happening, he put up no defense to somehow make the approaching landing bearable, at least a bit.

The ground came fast and he hit it right with his chest, ringing sound shrieked in the air after the impact, the drop made him choke.

Pressure built up within his throat which he immediately released by coughing roughly, a blob of blood was sent flying down right between the bars against which his nose clicked.

It was a grate.

Blood flowed freely from his mouth and nostrils, dragging long, wet lines down into the sewers as if there would be tiny spiders attached to them, weaving their long, bloody webs

His eyes were full of tears, gaping mouth red entirely, accumulated blood sloshed inside, gathered from all the wounds his maw carried, the pool was so thick that it covered the tongue somewhere underneath it.

He watched the stretching red lines as if they were the most fascinating things in the whole world, black forehead pressed against the grate so strongly that the bars began to burn their forms on it.

Magical havoc stirred from the top of the staircase, people started to attack them once more.

Creep didn't care, his head was still ringing and everything became so distant, he could see the red lines of blood dancing at the ends as if they were flicking tongues of young animals tasting the world for the first time.

Like his own first dark tendrils reaching out from his prison when the cheetahs of old manage to pierce the Dark Realms so many years ago.

He wondered if he can catch them, and when he does, will it stop the Cycle maybe?

He was unmoved by the sight of his battered forelegs reaching through the bars that simply had not enough space between them to fit a rat, let alone dragon paws. Nevertheless they kept on stretching through the barricade and he observed with great fascination as they got closer and closer to the dangling lines of blood not far ahead.

After a few seconds he could no longer see the bars of the grate at all, his whole snout seemed to sink through it as well.

Fascinating.

What-

Another sharp pull of gravity quickly brought him back to his senses, he sunk through the grate and now he was falling once more. Sugar made him Shadow Walk.

The ground came as quickly as before, this time though he was prepared for it however, not to mention that the murky water filled with waste somehow made the impact much more tolerable.

Water splashed all around when he fell right into the canal, he sunk slightly the echo of the smelly water muffled the noise of all the magical explosion happening above, right in the spot where he once laid not so long ago.

He needed the embrace of water, no matter how ugly it smell and tasted, it was still liquid and it was cold and plentiful enough to swallow him whole. The moles constructed the city in such a way that even an adult dragon could fit into the sewers.

Mortals are ingenious.

He never swam in his life and yet his body knew what to do, assisted by the water he pushed out from its depths, gasping loudly he thrust his paws into the nearby ledge, luckily the claws found enough crevices in the rocks down here to properly latch themselves to it.

He pulled himself up, curling his body in such a way so he could use his back paws to climb the delicate slope. He landed on the firm ground with a wet smack and immediately rolled onto his back, everything hurt and he felt as if he would be bleeding from every possible place and yet his mouth stretched into a thin smile when he finally tasted a bit of relief.

Panting heavily he looked up down the canal from which he fell, it wasn't far, he could still see parts of Sugar's shadow dispersing lazily, something that should happen immediately, already preparing the element to be called again if need be.

But the blobs that created the splotch through which he fell slowly slithered down the walls towards them, every beaten distance making the movement slower and slower until finally they stopped crawling and without a sound vaporized.

A delicate trail of dark mist hissed in the air for a moment before even that disappeared.

"As I said we have a problem Creep" Cynder intoned once again, her voice was weak and tired "I'm losing the juice, I no longer can keep the wall around the hospital up and help you at the same time. It's either this or that Creep and I'm pretty sure you feel it too now"

His arching chest and heavy pants seemed to steal thoughts away from him, all he could to do was to nod. Sugar was right though, something wrong was happening.

"Good for us that Darkness made these people stupid, I don't know if they are smart enough to break through the grate in any reasonable time. To be extra safe though roll to the corner there, in the shadows so we stay out of their sight if they decide to look down"

He really didn't want to move at all right now, but if this discomfort meant avoiding more pain he had no other choice but to obey. He rolled twice, each roll drawing a whine out of him, bloodied tongue rolled out of the mouth.

He just couldn't stop panting.

"I am tired Sugar" he rasped in between breaths

"I know, but we must hold on, Coriza can't be far now"

People appeared on top of the grate, just as expected they weren't too smart and made no intention to destroy the bars.

"We have a breather" she announced triumphantly

"Darkness will find a way and when it does we must kill all Sugar"

"No"

"We kill or we die. Devour the barrier, empower us so we can fight again, then we will kill and survive"

"If I destroy the barrier I will put Amela and Sparx right on the pitchforks of these wackos!" the light on the tail tip tried to flash out, but it was simply too weak to do so, all it managed to achieve was to shrink a little

"We are young, much life ahead of us to enjoy. I wish to master emotions, learn from them while you can return to the loving embrace of your mate. Is that not worth fighting for?"

"Of course it is! What kind of question is this anyway?"

"Then realize that you will not achieve your wish if you will not sacrifice something in return"

More death talk. That's all she needed right now in this cheerful moment as if she wouldn't have enough of it already.

"Weight the value" Creep continued his tirade, either not catching her sarcasm or ignoring it "Our life, with new experiences to learn like emotions and love against Amela who is old and already at the end of her span and Sparx who in the past poked at our vulnerability, guilt and rejection. In his case a bill for his crimes knocks at the door"

"You can't kill someone just because he was an ass in the past! If this is how you would justify every murder you commit then you would have to wipe out almost the entire world! Just don't forget to commit suicide at the end if you go with it since I never was and still didn't become a saint myself!"

Black paw landed on the sweaty, dirty forehead as if trying to ease a headache.

"Ridiculing the situation does not serve as a good argument"

"I'm ridiculing? It is you who weights life based on age or mistakes. Even old and bad deserve to live, as long as they don't hurt anyone. Who gives you the right to decide their fate?"

"Survival"

"Of course!" the black light pulsed as if snorting in mockery "The immortal argument! Guess what, it doesn't work all the time, besides it there is still morality and that thing is far more important. I killed all sorts of people, good, bad, old, young and you know what the funny thing was? I had nightmares about them all, life is life and if you want to throw one away without fighting then you're a dick"

"What can we do Sugar? We cannot fight because we do not possess the strength to do so anymore. We did our best to protect the ones we could, you speak of fairytales Sugar. We are no hero that will gain sudden enlightenment that will allow us to carry the world further. Darkness has no good endings, all that is left for us is to make sacrifices, allowing the ones with the brightest future a chance to live further and develop life. We are shining the brightest"

"Naturally. The same thing would say everyone else who would be in our situation. Selfishness is a very blind, subjective guide"

"But our is far more motivated than anyone else's. We are young Sugar, black dragon, a special breed. We possess the perspective to carry children into this world, we wield power unimaginable to the universe, power we can pass on to our offspring. We are one of a kind. We wield the potential to evolve life. We stand against Amela, an elder and Sparx, a dragonfly like any other with his fleeting life. Our value is greater than their combined one. However you deem to call it Sugar, we triumph and the merit of this conclusion that shifts it in our favor is simple mathematic"

"Life is more complicated than some stupid mathematic"

Black shoulders shrugged.

"Perhaps it is. I have not mastered the nuances, my experience is too short. I base my opinion on the things I know already. You speak of habit, toss it away and let logic speak through Sugar, It is far more simpler now without emotions clouding the view. Tell me, considering everything I know and the situation we are in, am I wrong?"

The light on the tail tip nearly faded away completely.

He was a cold motherfucker, still though no amount of sweet talking can change the situation they found themselves in and it didn't look pretty to put it mildly. Creep put the perspective bluntly and he was right about it, they were in deep shit.

Still, she didn't think she would like his callous approach to the whole thing if her heart would have any word in it. Mathematic or not, it's simply wrong to weigh life as they were coins.

Then there is the logical aspect and here there was no denying that the cold fucker was right, considering everything their life was more valuable than the two others she protects. She doubted she would be able to look herself in the mirror if she had her soul back.

Murderer of thousands and the Dark Master's puppet valuing her life more than that of a healer and a hero. That's rich.

Putting aside the history and looking at the scene from the perspective of specie and age only as Creep desires, then he was right, her draconic life was more worthy than that of her family. But it was an unfair comparison in general, dragons are the strongest race on this world, filled with magic, there are only a few of the other races that can rise to the rank of exceptional. In majority of cases dragon life will be more valuable.

Logic sucks sometimes.

And that is why she couldn't tell if Creep was right or wrong, how can she make a judgment if the starting point between races is unfair.

"I hate when you make sense" the flickered in irritation "Return to blabbering please"

"Verdict Sugar" Creep demanded between pants

"No decision, we wait and rest for now. They don't know how to get here, just look how they are strolling about above us"

He shook his head following the direction, the crowd above really seemed to be confused as Sugar said, feet and paws clicked along the grate as many legs walked across it back and forth. It seems that Darkness is incapable of making the people think, it seemed as long as no one from them saw where they are, the mob wasn't so keen on demolishing walls.

To think of it the crowd worked almost like a crippled version of Shadow Walk, while they couldn't pass through walls, they needed to take at least a glimpse of them to know what they were attacking and how to reach it. When the target was seen, there was no obstacle that could stop them.

"See? They're dumb. We lay low, rest a while and then we should be ready to continue. You'll see, luck is on our side right now"

"We are lying on a mucky floor of a sewer canal. We are wet with filthy water and a horrible stench hangs in the air, my nose keeps sniffing despite that it makes me feel weaker. You call this luck?"

"Hey now!" the tail light flashed up brightly, filling up the entire hole in the silvery tip as if it would be an opened eye "You're starting to joke! I'm growing on you!"

Creep frowned.

"Joke? What I said is happening to us right now"

"You know what I mean!" a small tendril stretched out from the orb and pinched the black tail gently, making it flick "We're safe for now, breathe and recover"

He closed his eyes, the eyelids felt unexpectedly heavy, to the point that he had troubles ungluing them again. Something was pulling at him and despite the fact that it forced his eyes open every now and then out of fear, the weird pull was somewhat alluring. It caressed his eyelids as they shut themselves and made the surroundings world distant, an echo, at some point he couldn't even hear the flow of water or smell the stench of waste anymore.

Everything stopped bothering him and he could feel himself drifting away into a void, something he would avoid with all the power he had since he already broke from one. But this oblivion was welcoming and it didn't feel like a prison at all, maybe like a cell without a lock that he could open whenever he wanted to.

He didn't know what this feeling was exactly but he really felt comfortable, he really wanted to fall into the embrace of the strange pull and drift away into the void.

Something told him that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Something told him he needed it.

Maybe a small test?

Creep snored gently.

The light on the tail blinked rapidly as if it would really be an eye that got poked with a finger right now.

"Are you sleeping? Seriously?"

He did not respond and maybe it was for the better, he already starts to act like a mortal creature with its own habits. While it was curious to see how he develops and just how much of his behavior is dictated by her since she's his host, it was better in this circumstances to let him rest half awake. She really doubted he fell truly asleep, his tired body simply cut off all the useless distractions and there won't be anything shaking him back to action as long as that grate above them holds.

And it looked like it really was working, people kept marching in every direction across it and neither decided to even gaze down to check if they are there, even though they saw them sinking into the ground.

Was Darkness really so dumb? Or perhaps it didn't have any control over the people in the first place? Serving only whispers here and there?

Or, what she would prefer, it was distracted, feeling that its end is coming with Coriza getting closer and closer.

It really looked like they can win this, just a little bit longer and they w-

A loud thud echoed from above when suddenly four white paws landed on the grate as a blue dragoness with feathery wings descended from the air on the grate. She landed with a force similar to a rock hitting the ground after it fell off a cliff.

Ice magic colored the air around the grate, white eyes piercing the area below, the bars were quickly turning to icicles.

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP YOU DUMB SLUT?!" Cynder blared out at the top of her non-existent lungs, shadows thrashing violently around the black body, darkness lashed out so ferociously that even the water in the sewer canals shrunk, backing away from it

Creep's eyes snapped open, he could feel the heart jumping into his throat when he spotted Iris above who didn't care that people were around her, some of the magic she emitted freezing the legs of the nearby passersby. Those already weak were dropping down like cut trees.

"Mistakes feed on revenge. I told you to kill Sugar" he pulled himself up with a groan, his rump wiggled lazily, it took him a moment to reconnect back with his spine

The bars turned to ice, cracks started to appear on their surfaces.

In a moment the crowd will fall down here, led by that vengeful ice dragoness.

Creep looked around the sewers, there was a passage behind them they could use, who knows where it led though and if it wouldn't be a dead end where they corner themselves only to be mauled by the never-ending waves of flesh.

Just when they prepared for the bars to collapse any second now, they noticed a new shadow quickly descending from above, the sheer power the figure was emanating rippled the air itself.

The black mass landed directly on Iris, a dark blast followed the impact, the force of it either kicked some the people away out of their line of sight or dissolved them on the spot like acid. The ice dragoness was shoved into the frozen bars that instantly cracked under the weight, the grate was no more in seconds.

She fell into the canal like a cannonball, the black form standing on top of her as she fell.

A loud splash echoed in the sewers when the duo fell into the mucky water, waste splattered everywhere. Moment's later a black figure rose from its depths, his body covered by the water almost in half. Some splashes of this water were strangely colored bright yellow as if there were delicately burning twigs inside the tears.

Creep's eyes widened, giving credit to the surprise Cynder most likely felt as well.

This is Dark Spyro

The body of the dark dragon was pushing out of the water, clearly the pinned Iris below was rising.

Spyro lifted both forelegs into the air, clenching them into a fist and immediately hammered down, drawing a black line in the air.

The thud that echoed as he undoubtedly struck Iris was similar to that when you hit an empty barrel.

His body sunk a little deeper.

Dark Spyro repeated the blow again.

Deeper.

And again.

He did not move this time.

He was quick, so quick that Creep didn't even end a breath yet and Dark Spyro already dived down, hollow crunch followed soon after he bit into bone. He threw his head back up, pulling out more waste from the splashing water, together with the bloodied dragoness from the depths.

He hurled her directly at the low ceiling above them as if she weighted nothing, Iris struck the structure above, cracking stones on the impact, this time there was no doubt that wild fire exploded from underneath her after the hit. It was nothing compared to the splotch of blood she left behind and the sight of her bouncing off the ceiling as if she was a ball.

Dark Spyro spun around, putting his weight on forelegs he pushed his rump in the air giving a solid kick with his hind paws at the falling dragoness.

She was sent flying at the far wall. Dark Spyro tossed her like a ragdoll, having probably similar physical strength like Creep did.

Iris struck the wall roughly, gluing itself to it snout first, the exploding fire muffling every disgusting wet sound her wrecked body made. She slid down the cracked stones, painting it red with her blood until her rump touched the floor. She was numb like a drunk, immediately tilting backwards and falling onto her back, her upside down face directed at them.

Iris was a bloody mess, blood poured out of her mouth like from a fountain, her nose was broken and bleeding profusely, all the cuts and bruises not only covered her snout in red, but also the bruises shrunk her eyes to tiny slits almost making her blind. With all the blood it was hard to pinpoint the exact damage, everything led to one blunt sentence.

Iris was a bloody pulp.

And all of this happened in a span of Creep's single breath.

Dark Spyro didn't seem to be finished with her, advancing towards the shallowly and raspingly breathing dragoness as if she would be choking on her own bones.

A shred of pity hit Cynder, slight of emotion breaking through her seemingly cold veil. The sight of beaten Iris stirred memories in her, only scraps, but the blurry images in her state were a force to be reckoned with. Seeing her bleeding like this reminded her of her own actions when the was the tool of Malefor, she couldn't imagine just how many dragons like Iris right here she left like this, barely alive in front of her friends and family.

How many she executed right in front of the eyes of those said people.

Death and killing is part of this world, the strongest always conquers the weak.

But not like this, not molesting like this, there was no honor in dying like this, there was no dignity. Many would say that perhaps Iris deserved it, there would be days when she would agree with it, but in the end it is just talk of those who never had to do such a thing or even be a witness to an execution like this.

Words are like paper, they accept everything.

It is action that matters.

And no person with a shred of decency in them would allow and stand idly in the face of such evil.

Life is more complicated than just survival.

"Spyro!" Cynder shrieked at the dark dragon, the sound she emanated was a bone chilling wail far more higher than her Siren Scream

Creep jumped back, slamming his paw against his mouth so fiercely that he almost kicked in his own teeth. The sound scared him to the bone, he muffled his own whimper of fear.

Spyro balked and immediately turned his head, his expression was a mixture of fury and disgust, nose crunched by deep wrinkles. Lifeless white eyes glowed fiercely with menacing energy.

"Leave her alone! You are no murderer!"

He blinked, there was something different about him, the Dark Spyro she knew was cold as stone, but here she definitely saw life in those eyes, confused, angry, and lost, but still life.

"Cynder? Is that you?" his expression softened, adopting the form of false hope like he would be a dreamer that just woke up and sees the fading reflection of his imagined haven, knowing deep down that it was simply a fantasy

"It's me!" Creep automatically puffed his chest out, passionate or not, Sugar was capable of stirring emotions in him when she was motivated enough, she was able to control him

He projected pride.

But in his heart he felt nothing but fright.

"What about you love? Are you the Spyro I know?"

The black dragon looked himself over.

"I don't know anymore. Everyone keeps dying, I can't think straight. My scales are black Cynder, I'm Dark"

"No bad feelings! We're together now, bruised but alive. No point to feel bad about anything any longer. Think happy thoughts!"

He offered her a depressed smile.

"Happy thoughts? There is no point, these scales show who I am and after what I have done I doubt they are going away"

"Bullshit! Listen to me, you-"

Her shout was interrupted suddenly by the splash of the murky water when a dragon fell in into the sewers.

Creep immediately leaped forward, demanding for his claws to become shadow, Cynder obeyed automatically, the magical paws wrapped clamped around the draconic snout, pushing thick, black mist into the nostrils and the slightly pried open mouth.

The dragon's eyes were filled with tears until the pupils eventually rolled back into the skull and body became dead weight. He withdrew his paws, drawing away the choking mist that practically strangled the drake. Creep grabbed the big head and rested it on the edge, above the water level so the dragon wouldn't drown.

"We must block the opening. No strength to knock out more, too taxing. Not many will be lucky as this dragon to lose consciousness only in our presence anymore"

Creep strode towards Spyro, the light on the tail tip flashed brightly, the confidence with which he moved forward made Cynder believe that he was about to punch Spyro in the snout.

"You!" he thrust his claw forward, pressing the tip against the black scales

The mere touch pushed Spyro back, making him gasp and gaze at the extended claw as if it was a dagger ready to be thrust into his heart by a traitorous friend.

Black eyes were firmly aimed at the startled drake.

"You are no Darkness. You are purple, you are a cage, havoc, you wield the power of delusion and creation. Time and Aether are a part of you, Darkness will not have a hold on you if you will not allow it"

The claw moved towards the opening above.

"Seal the breach, prevent us from killing more, make Sugar happy. Use the mask you are wearing. You are no more Dark than I am alive. All of it is just a foretaste for now. Wake up and use your purple heart to do what you think is right"

He flicked his tail, gazing upon the shimmering light there, his eyes were full of longing.

"Do it for Cynder"

Spyro's eyes widened, his head was a mess to begin with, but after this he felt like his brain was not only trampled over but also beaten into a pulp. Of all the things that happened he never expected to be chastised by a creature he believes to be a raping incarnation of Corruption itself with an sick obsession over his mate.

He especially didn't expect Creep to call out to his heart and conscience, not seeing the incarnation of Darkness thriving on evil was a stronger wake up call than any bucket of cold water spilled on you.

He instinctively gazed upon his scales again, silent gasp escaping his throat when he noticed specks of purple breaking through the darkness. Either the shade got afraid of Creep or what he imagined before about shifting colors wasn't as imaginary as he believed it to be.

Under all this layer he was still purple.

What he wears is nothing more than dirt.

The fury he felt boiled up again, wrinkling his snout in an expression of anger, not at the world or people, but himself. He really wanted to punch himself right now.

And his swiveling reflection in the murky water was all that he needed. Especially when the restless water made the mouth of the reflection twitch into a smile.

Mocking, full of provocation smile.

He strode forward with a growl, Creep jumping away from his path.

Several more people fell into the sewers.

Spyro ignored them and punched the water.

It turned black immediately and began to boil, seconds later it erupted like a volcano, the cone ending right when it was about to reach the rising people. It stretched out high towards the opening, the entire canal was filled with shadow, its form thick and slippery, as if thousands upon thousands of snakes would wiggle against their own tails.

The slippery mass filled the canal to the brim, it seemed to be growling like a stomach demanding to be fed. It was restless, shivering, like an addict swearing to free himself from the addiction while having the syringe with the nectar he craves right in front of him.

The people got up, several cheetahs and moles plus a single dragon slightly older than them, all had their eyes devoid of any thought.

Creep prepared himself to attack them. They were only a few of them so it was possible to end this without death, he can too make Sugar happy.

He didn't get the chance since suddenly the entire waste cavern was filled with a blinding yellow light. When it covered them, they all began to smile, never before feeling so much potential, so much desire.

So much hope.

The hungry mass dissolved in an instant, making many more people fall into the sewers, but as they got up they did not attack, they smiled and looked absolutely stunned, completely oblivious to everything that is happening around them.

Spyro was thrown back against the wall, he grunted and rose his forelegs again aggressively, his smiling snout stopped the descent however when he gazed upon the forelegs.

They were purple.

He looked himself over, purple and gold once more colored his body, he couldn't believe his eyes, the automatic smile that stretched his lips was empowered by his own will to smile. He began to prance and jump around, examining himself from every possible direction.

There was no shade of blackness anywhere.

Or so he thought.

At the back of his left foreleg he noticed a dark splotch that at first he took for dirt, he tried to wipe it off but when it didn't want to disappear he leaned in closer.

His heart skipped a beat.

A slice of his scale was black.

"Turn around Creep!" Cynder commanded "Don't show your eyes, no idea what's going on but these people are looking normal"

The black body turned around, head hanging low.

"The curse has been lifted. My original mask walks the lands again"

"What?"

He sighed deeply.

"You no longer need my cover Sugar. Do you wish to return to your body?"

"Hell yeah!"

He closed his eyes.

"I must ponder"

Cynder gasped loudly, as if she would inhale air after a long dive. She opened up her eyes, her pupils glowed with bright green light. She looked around and her moved, she could hear the bones cracking, she felt nothing still, but she could sense something building up within her, emotions, life, it was approaching.

She believed she smiled even though her maw was numb.

She believed she stopped though when she looked towards Iris, the bloodied dragoness got up and even though people seemed to come to their senses, still dazzled, Iris carried the same spark of insanity she radiated with from the moment they met in this cursed city.

She was barely standing, swaying on her legs, but through all the blood she could see the ice dragoness charging her magic.

Cynder opened her mouth and tried to yell something, her jaw lazily lowered itself down, but instead of words only drool left her mouth, followed by an incoherent grumble as if she would be speaking with full mouth of food.

It drew Spyro's attention anyway, he swallowed deeply at the sight of Iris, the ruin she was and the power she was charging. He turned her into this wreck, but it didn't stop her anyway, now it was up to him to react or she will attack, most likely killing the innocent people here that just recovered their lost life.

The cursed paw remained hanging in the air however, while it was mostly purple he feared that this black mark still curses him with its strength, he feared that if he hits her now, he will break her neck.

Cynder doesn't wish her to die.

Ice began rippling the atoms in the air.

He has to do something.

And just when he was about to move Iris' body flashed with flames and out of nowhere a flaming silhouette appeared next to her.

He recognized it immediately, while It lacked the previous fierceness when they saw it for the first time after the Wretched chased them off, there couldn't be a mistake made.

It was Flare in his pure, flaming form.

The sight of the dragon he so not long ago murdered paralyzed him, stealing whatever breath he had stored in his lungs.

"Forgive me" the otherworldly voice rumbled and lifted itself on its hind legs, joining two flaming forepaws above its head

The flames melded together, growing in size, resembling a club.

It went down.

Flare struck Iris right in the back of her neck, explosion of flames followed the impact. Spyro could see the light being shut down in Iris' eyes before she toppled down like a cut tree, smashing into the ground loudly.

Unconscious.

The medallion held back by icy chains shattered when the owner could no longer keep it cold. The round circlet made turns and slid along the ground, the remains of the tarnished gold chain wiggled like a restless tail of a hatchling.

Flare growled in anguish, his neck spurt fierce waves of flames as if a small dynamite would explode from within him, tearing a hole in the back of his neck. The explosion smashed him against the floor, from which he lifted himself on shaking, fiery legs, his entire body became visibly darker, almost turning solid like a chilled lava rock.

His emotionless head was turned, while there was no visible expression there, Spyro could recognize the tip of the nose and it was clearly directed at Iris' bloodied, unconscious snout.

"You're alive Flare? How?" Spyro mumbled, lips trembling "I-I-I-It's impossible, I-I-I-I killed you"

Cynder gazed towards her mate, numb draconic snout trying to shift itself into an emotion of shock.

"I am tolerant to pain" Flare rasped with his rumbling voice, turning his his away from the fallen dragoness, catching the ruined circlet into his sight

"You d-d-d-died"

The burning dragon didn't respond, he crawled towards the medallion, sprawling on the ground the moment he snatched it into his fiery paw.

"What are you?"

The answer to the question was interrupted by Cynder's sudden cry, her loud shriek even made the dizzied people to balk.

The boiling pressure she felt had reached her, sensations and noises returned to her, she once again could feel her own flesh and the ground around her. Together with it came the smells.

The stench.

The pain.

Everything returned to her and each and every sensation was stronger than ever, their pressure increased tenfold.

The stench made her stomach to rumble while at the same time choking her. The restless, shaking belly made her entire bones to tremble, that quaking activated the nerves, the nerves the blood vessels and from there it was a short way to each cut and wound she received.

Each of them burned like flames of the Belt of Fire, as if there would be saws digging into her flesh.

The world faded from her sight, becoming a blurry mess.

She started to sway on her legs, making uneasy steps in every direction like a ship tossed about the ocean.

The rumbling in her stomach erupted, she puked fiercely in front of herself, a mixture of blood and everything she probably ate in her entire life was cast out from her, for all she knew she could be throwing out her own guts right now.

She never found out though since the puking felt like some kind of extreme effort, just like rolling up a boulder up a slippery slope until your legs and arms finally gave up and the rock rolled over you.

The world went dark, colors faded out, the dragoness fell on her flank and hit the ground with a wet smack.

Cynder didn't feel it however, her consciousness asleep the moment the barf landed on the ground.

Her collapsed drew a scream from Spyro's throat, he immediately dashed towards her, kicking the thrash and dirty water in every direction as he sprinted.

Flare gazed upon Iris' shallowly breathing, beaten body, tightly clutching the round medallion in his paw, her treasure. Even though his body radiated heat the place where the ruined memento was kept remained cool as stone.

His frame was bleeding streams of fire from invisible wounds, their placement perfectly matching the wounds from which Cynder and Iris bled.

The people that were unlucky enough to find themselves among the ragged group recovered enough senses to let the most primal of emotions in. Like fear.

They began screaming together with the fading shout of the purple dragon, devoured entirely by the chaos of the moment. Completely unaware that the main part for their future is being played out in the most sacred building in Warfang.