FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Siblings of Corruption Prologue Part 3 - Gamble of Ruin

_Who are you...?

Xale's sight was fuzzy with a red blur thanks to the blood pouring from a head wound. He had watched as one of the apes was blown away by a blast of blue, flying into something in the distance. He could only see a black form then spin in a circle, instantly cutting off the heads of two more. He tried his hardest, but his vision cut out, only hearing two words from the form that saved him.

"...It's him."_

Xale's eyes slowly opened thanks to the morning light shining right in his eyes. He slowly sat up and stretched out his wings, getting ready for another long day of flight. Ever since he had woken up later that night, he had been on the trail of the Apes who had kidnapped her. It's taken about two years, but I'll finally get you back this time, Lenai!

Looking around the area, he had almost forgotten where he was, or even where he was going. Thinking back on the information he had obtained, there was supposed to be a deal going on with a dragon being sold as a slave. With the fall of Cynder before the Apes could have even returned her to the Terror of the Skies, they had veered off and tried to sell her to the highest bidder. Two times he had rushed in to try and save her, but both times he failed and they took her elsewhere. I still don't understand how they could even get into Warfang, though. There's no way they could just walk through the front gates.

He slowly began to walk up the hill before him and looked down the small cliff at the large city walls before him. He had decided to wait outside the city until the time was right, making sure that they wouldn't hear any case of a gold dragon coming into the town. It defiantly wasn't as rare as seeing the purple dragon, Spyro, but there weren't many gold dragons around either. Same with silver. I'll get you back. Tonight will be my night for vengeance, damnit!

Jumping off the cliff before him, Xale felt the rush of cool air against his scales and gave a smile, soon flapping his wings and arching himself up high into the air. He looked down at the empty field below and smiled as he neared the city gates, watching as a few peddlers did business on the road going inside the city, tending to the early morning shoppers. There's so many moles already swarming just the road... What's it going to be like inside there?! Man, I'll have to really keep an eye out through this mess!

"So, you want in too huh? How do I know you won't rat us out, chump?" The Ape asked roughly, holding his dagger in between his two index fingers, spinning it around as it looked up at the black dragon before him.

Bringing his tail-blade up to the small Ape's neck, Keith gave a smile as he leaned closer. "I need this slave to do my dirty work. If you don't let me in, I guess I'll make you my slave."

"...Ugh... No need, go right on in." He replied weakly, letting out a small sigh of relief as the dragon pulled his tail away and walked inside.

Great, now I've got to bid and win, no matter what the price. Once I get her, I'll take her back to her brother and we can get this over with. Keith thought, taking a seat in a front corner. He wanted to be close, get a good look of the girl to make sure it was her before he did anything. He did have the money to back up any bid he could make, but he didn't want to waste it if it wasn't the little one from his memories.

"Ladies and Gents! We are sorry for making you wait! Welcome to the Black Auction House! We have so many slaves that you could build a tower larger than Malefor himself! We have several choices for you this night, but we are starting this night with a very special auction! You see, we have been brought one of the very creatures you despise so!"

Keith's eyes narrowed as he noticed the Auctioneer Ape give him a cold stare, well aware that he was there. "You see, we have obtained a special Dragon. I hear from the owners that with a simple flick of a crystal, she would do anything you desired."

There were some hoots and hollers from the crowd that had build up just watching the moment. The Auctioneer held up his hands in attempt to calm them, but it was a few moments before everything was finally silent again. "And now I present to you, your next servant!" With a pull on the curtain behind him, the ape soon reviled a cage with a small form inside. She was dark silver, almost gray with how dirty she was. Well, they didn't really treat her too well, but sure enough, that's my girl...

Listening as the bids started, Keith had tried to get the girl to make eye contact with him, but she seemed to just be dazed and just staring in one area. Taking a closer look, he soon noticed why. They strapped a gem onto her, she's probably just fighting to stay awake right now.

"...Going once!"

His head shooting up, Keith almost cursed as he had noticed he wasn't paying attention to the bids.

"1,000 Gems!" He heard from the side from a gruff voice, letting out a sigh of relief as the numbers kept increasing.

Eventually, the bid got near ten thousand gems and a lot of the weaker bidders were starting to walk out, discussed at how high the bid could get. A few times Keith came close to bidding, but he was beat by the same voice to his right. That guy must really want her. I'll have to see who he is once I beat him and rub it in his face. Listening in, he soon heard the biggest bid made, said by his new rival.

"50 thousand Gems!"

Keith made a small snarl. This guy was playing to win, that was for sure. "60 Thousand." He finally said, watching as half the room turned towards him, surprised at his increase from the already outrageous bid.

"Eighty Thousand!"

Letting out a low growl, he couldn't believe how much this was going to hurt him. "One Hundred Thousand!

There were even gasps after that bid. Even though it was just between the two of them now, Keith couldn't even grasp what the gruff voice said next.

"Three Hundred Thousand!"

Why the hell would he TRIPLE it?! Damn! I've only got a couple more shots like this! Keith thought, hearing the first call from the Auctioneer. "Four Hundred Thousand!"

"Eight Hundred Thousand!"

You have GOT to be kidding?! "...One million!"

Everyone in the room was in awe at the bid on the table. It was near impossible for the bidding even to get up that high just for a slave, but Keith knew that his rival had a reason just like him, though their plans were way different.

"Going once!"

Come on...

"...Going Twice!"

Almost...

"Three Million!"

DAMNIT!!! Keith's frustration was quite obvious now, having practically slammed his clenched paw on the empty seat next to him.

"Going once!"

Oh man... This guy's taking everything I got!

"Going Twice!"

"Ugh... Five Million!"

Keith heard a laugh come from his rival in the opposite corner. "What? You about out, boy? I go Ten Million! Final bid!"

Keith's heart sunk. He had maybe seven million, but there was no way he could top that much cash. Listening to the Auctioneers calls, it came down to the end and Keith couldn't think of what to do.

"Sold! For Ten million gems to Sagtarious!"

"No... I can't believe I lost..." Letting out a sharp sigh, Keith looked up and thought of something. ...I know I said I wouldn't kill again, but this might just be good cause to. If this guy wants to make her a slave, then he's not exactly a good guy himself. With a nod, Keith began to form a plan in his mind. He forced himself through the group that had formed around this Sagtarious, looking at the large Ape. "You're quite the bidder, tell me, I know you work for someone. There's no way you alone could handle those prices."

The Ape gave a laugh. "Do you even know who you speak with? Any business I do is for my Master Zafore. He's been looking for a few new pets, and this one seems to be good quality."

Keith's smile faded. "I see... I must ask, why do you follow Malefor's brother instead of the Dark Master himself?"

Sagtarious gave a wide smile. "Because Malefor is on the verge to destruction. Spyro grows stronger everyday to soon fight him. There is no doubt in my Master's mind that his idiotic brother will fall." Letting out a grunt, the Ape then turned his eye to the dragon. "I can take you to meet him if you wish, though I can't say you'll ever be the same." He looked the dragon up and down, then gave a smile. "You know, I might not even let you have the choice. I think you will come with us back to the master!"

Keith readied his tail in case the Ape made another move, but both seemed to stand their ground as the crowd around them looked in shock of the sudden threat. "There's no way I'm going with you, In fact, I-"

There was an explosion from behind the stage and pieces of wood went flying around, knocking a few Apes away, causing everyone in the room to cover themselves from the debris. Keith quickly looked at where the cage was and noticed that the dragon inside was gone. Damnit, no!

He was about to jump back behind the stage, but was pushed to the side by the large ape as he cursed about his newest slave disappearing. After the black dragon recovered, he was quick to follow behind, running down a small dark hallway after the Ape. They soon turned a sharp corner and were led out of a door to the streets. The Ape soon stopped almost right in the door way and made it barely visible to see who had the girl, but Keith's eyes went wide as he noticed it was the golden dragon from the cave. Damnit! What the hell is he doing here?!

"You are NOT taking my sister!"

The Ape let out a growl and stepped forward, cracking its knuckles as it stepped forward. "I've already paid my money, I'm taking what I now own!" Rushing forward, the Ape faked the golden dragon out with a punch and the drake dodged right into a swift kick from the for, knocking him into a far off wall. The Ape then leaned down and picked up the silver dragoness over his shoulder.

"Oh no you don't!" Keith yelled as he shot a shard of ice from his mouth and scratched his side, a few drops of blood falling to the ground as he turned into a tackle from the black drake. They both landed on the ground, Keith on top of Sagtarious, trying to get a quick poison slash in on the foe. His paw was quickly grabbed by the Apes hand and the large foe soon threw him off and into the opposite wall, quickly standing up with his slave and running down the road.

Keith struggled to get up on his feet after the hit, but kept his eye on the Ape. As soon as he was upright, he began dashing ahead and soon took to the air to catch up to Sagtarious. It didn't take him long to get the ape back in his sights, but was surprised at how fast the monkey really was. He picked up his speed and soon had to turn a corner to follow the ape to the right and almost slammed into a small house, letting out a sight as he barely scraped the wood with his wing. He began to zone in on the Ape, descending lower to the ground as he began to catch up. He sped forward and tackled the ape down to the ground, watching as the Ape began to turn around, Keith let out a surprised gasp. "You're not him..."

"You're too late, Sagtarious has gone with the girl to Zafore. Once Malefor is destroyed, he shall build he fortress over his deathbed. Using his dark powers, Master Zafore will one day rule us all!" With a loud laugh from the Ape, Keith swiped his face with his claw and heard a small grunt from it.

"Where the hell is Sagtarious?! Answer me or by precious tail-blade gets another head to my collection!"

"Who the HELL are you and WHY are you trying to find my sister?!"

Swiftly turning to the new voice, Keith soon saw the gold dragon standing there. He had a small cut on his head, but over all he looked intact. "Look, just go back home, kid. I'll save your sister and bring her back home. I've got a score to settle and I'm doing it before it drives me crazy!" Feeling the Ape slip out from under him, Keith tried to chase after it, but was tackled to the side and almost stabbed by his horns as the drake slammed him into the wall. Letting out a growl of pain, Keith wanted to hit the kid so bad with his tail, but held back knowing the fatal consequences. "Look, now you let our only source of information slip away!" After getting a firm grip on the dragon with his legs, he was soon able to push the smaller dragon away.

Just as he was about to jump again, the ground below them started to shake. As they looked around to see what was going on, a handful of moles came running by, yelling something about a Destroyer entering a volcano. Xale only gave a questioning glance, but Keith turned pale. "We need to get out of here, this area is going to break apart!"

Xale let out a growl. "You haven't answered my questions damnit!"

"Look kid, right now, the world is in danger. If that Spyro guy doesn't defeat Malefor, we're all toast! Including Lenai! Live to fight another day, kid!" Before Xale could say another word, Keith had jumped into the air and began to fly away, attempting to follow the run away monkey.

Letting out a growl as the shaking began to intensify, Xale soon took to the air himself, cursing to himself of his third failed attempt to save his sister. I can't let this happen... I've got to find her! Malefor's layer is passed the Belt of Fire... Maybe once he's dead I'll be able to pass through and get there before that Ape does!

With that thought set in his mind, Xale began to fly up over the cities walls. Once he could see passed the city gates, he let out a shocked gasp as he saw that the entire area was now floating off the ground itself, the planets foundation seeming to be severed by the Destroyer. Flying swiftly to north, Xale looked ahead at his flight path and gave a cringe at the sight. Floating land masses everywhere. Some the size of a house, others the size of cities. ...This is gonna be hell.

"You cannot defeat me! I am ETERNAL!" Malefor yelled inhaling on last time to finish off the two dragons in front of him, releasing all of his fury into this single attack.

Spyro and Cynder both countered with their own breath attacks, countering is breath and the beams held between the combating dragons.

"Just... Hang... On!" Spyro cheered to Cynder, feeling as Malefor intensified the attack. The dragon started to move himself closer, pushing the magic forced closer together before Spyro and Cynder both released the full potential of their power. Malefor's breath was split in half by the force and he was his in his chest and fell onto the dark gem below.

As he began to recover, Malefore watched in awe as several forms that looked like dragons appeared from the crystal's depths took to the air and began to circle him. "What is this?!" They circled him faster and faster, before all rushing up to him and grabbed him, starting to pull the purple dragon into the crystal. "NOOOO!" He yelled just before he vanished into the hard material below.

After the bonds were now freed from Spyro and Cynder, they were able to fly up from the shattering rocks around them, landing on the crystal. Cynder had walked up to Spyro with a sad expression and almost tears in her eyes. "Spyro... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be, it's over now." He responded, trying to show a smile. There were several explosions all around them from the depths of the planets core, the entire place shaking as it neared its destruction.

Cynder's head dropped low for a moment. "...So this is it?"

As Spyro closed his eyes, he began to remember the words he had heard from Ignitus.

"Spyro, when a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world. His spirit lives on, binding itself with nature, offering hope for the future..."

"...I know what I need to do, just get out of here Cynder."

"Spyro, no... You don't have to do anything. Let's just go."

"Where, Cynder? There'll be nothing else left! The world is breaking apart! But I think I can stop it! ...I think I'm meant to."

"...Then I'm with you..." She said, giving a nod to Spyro. He returned the gesture and jumped up into the air, his body glowing from the energy he was about to release. Just before a wave of light covered them, Cynder whispered three words to the purple dragon. "...I love you."

Xale was looking dead ahead at where the Belt of Fire used to be. "It's gone! They must have defeated him!" Looking up at the path in front of him, he saw the last flying obstacle in his way to reaching his goal. "It would take days to fly around the thing, but only hours to fly below... Damn, the real question is, how much time do I have left?!" Thinking about his options, Xale decided to make the best of his time and fly underneath the huge mass of land in his way.

Keeping his eyes ahead, Xale could feel the pulses of the planet both below and above him as the battle for the planets survival continued. He couldn't help but wonder what would exactly happen once they did destroy the Dark Master. Little did he know, his answer came from the bright flash that engulfed the world. It blinded Xale for a moment and made him disoriented. After shaking it off, he just shrugged it off, not having any idea what the light could have been. He continued on for a couple more minutes, but then felt something hard hit his back and begin pushing him down.

Forcing himself off the surface a little, Xale soon noticed that the piece of rock he was flying under was trying to make its way back to where it belonged. ...Great, and I'm the smart one who wanted to go under it! He used all his might to kick himself off the rock and begin flying a little distance before the massive land mass trapped him again. Xale could only watch helplessly as he cam closer and closer to the hole below. The closer he got though, the more odd the surface below looked to him. What the hell is that...? It looks like a river of Dark Crystals! As he got closer, he soon realized the trouble he was in. Frantically pushing himself onward, Xale tried as hard as he could to get off the mass above him, but its momentum was too great. Watching as the ground below was just a hundred feet away, Xale soon found a single spot where there were little to no crystals. With all his might, he drug his way over to that position on his rock and held on tight, listening to the loud crash of crystals shattering from the weight of the earth above.

It was ten minutes of excruciating pain as the earth shook all around him and shards of crystal flew and tore his body to shreds, stabbing deep inside of him. Xale let out a loud roar of pain as he began to feel his energy being drained away. As he began to feel that all hope was lost, he had remembered the word his mother had said to him in her final memory.

Stay strong, keep your faith, and never let go of hope. You will live to survive the times ahead. I believe in you both...

With a single tear being shed, Xale could start to feel a mysterious power building inside of him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before, overpowering the darkness around him. Once he took hold of it, he didn't let it go and only felt as the power began to grow inside him. I promise you, Mom... I will get out of here one day... and I will save Lenai! He began to feel his eyes growing heavy, so he released the power deep inside him, feeling as his body soon began to meld into the dark crystals around him, covering the gold dragon. Inside the hardened crystal, Xale lie asleep, dreaming of the memories in his life that mattered to him most. His family.