FSE

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Another installment

if you're under 18, get outta here

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-- CHAPTER 13 --

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Not much happened during the next two weeks. Spyro's parents were in hiding---from what, they wouldn't say---and the dragons had relocated to the larger, more comfortable cavern Spyro had found. Cynder was pleasantly surprised; it was a heated cavern, downstream from the heated stretch of river where she and Spyro had rejoined after she'd run away two years ago. Spyro stayed with Cynder, but she was obstinant about taking the kids with her whenever she went out unless the work was too demanding for her to safely carry them. Spyro calmed down a bit, but every other night he and Cynder had some kind of game or would just cuddle by the riverside in that tiny cave by the heated part of the river. Flare, not being an active dragon, was content to stay with her clutch and chat with them, but once in a while she and Solar would go out for a casual flight or sun themselves on the mushrooms. Ignitus sometimes wanted to look after the eggs, and when he did the two couples would escape for a bit. The other guardians were constantly on the lookout for Alex and Christine, but there was still no sign of them.

Cynder and Spyro stopped by the river, and Cynder sighed and sloughed offf the armor and Spyro took the eggs out of the nets, grinning when he felt the kids move inside. Cynder noticed his smile and leaned over and kissed him. "Happy to be a dad finally?"

He smirked and licked her nose. "You have no idea." He pulled her against his side with his wing and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm mated to the most gorgeous and loving dragoness in the world...having children with her..." He murred to her as he rested his head on hers.

"Spyro...I'm worried."

"Don't say that around me," he said jokingly, but she sighed.

"Alex and Christine have been gone for a while...something tells me it's not for a good reason."

"Aw, don't say that around the kids," Spyro said, leaning down and nudging an egg gently with his nose, grinning when the little dragon inside leaned against him. Cynder ran her claws along his side with another sigh.

"It's nice to see you so positive, Spyro, but I'm really worried. And I keep thinking about that dream Flare and I had about the eggs...it didn't happen in the temple, what's to stop it from occuring out here in the swamp?"

Spyro gently nudged the egg back and laughed to himself when the little one pushed against him again, and then he sighed and turned to Cynder. "I don't know, Cynder...a lot of things are uncertain. I won't let anything happen to our family if I can help it."

They just sat there quietly, Cynder leaning on Spyro, until finally Spyro nuzzled her with a small grin and she pressed against him with a smalll giggle. "What?"

"What? Can't a guy cuddle with his girl just for the sake of it?"

"In that case, why not hold me?" she whispered, and Spyro sat up on his haunches and Cynder slipped across his front into his waiting arms. They just sat there for a while, their eyes locked together in a realm of peace, until suddenly the smaller of the two eggs shifted and rolled away. Cynder yelled and shot up, catching it just before it rolled into the river, but she herself slipped and fell in, still somehow keeping the egg above the water. She spluttered and coughed when she came back up, and Spyro started laughing and she joined in as she shook herself off. She sat back and held the egg up. "You, little one, are gonna be a troublemaker."

Spyro looked up at the sky as a breeze blew through. "Looks like it's gonna rain...we should head back." He helped her strap the eggs back into the armor and they went back to the caves to find Solar and Flare, as usual, napping curled around their brood. Spyro took the eggs from the armor and lay down with them, curling his tail around himself across them and folding his wing over them, and grunted and laughed when Cynder landed on top of him. She wrapped her forelegs around his lower neck, her head right up against his as he moved to the side a bit for her. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing...just happy to be with you." They just lay there with each other, listening to the rain outside as the storm passed overhead. After some time Cynder sighed and nuzzled against him again.

"What?"

"Just thinking back...remember those light crystals we found?"

"Yeah...we still have them, don't we?"

"You flew off to get yours back from the mages a while back, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." He smirked and laughed to himself. "Why, though?"

"Nothin'...but something tells me they're gonna come in really handy sometime."

He smiled and held her paws with his and they tilted their heads against each others' with closed eyes. The larger egg moved against Spyro and he laughed to himself again.

Alex yelled in pain as he hit wall hard and fell to the floor, unable to get back up. Christine struggled against the chains binding her to the wall, unable to move. The huge, lumbering shadow laughed maliciously and lifted its staff, and Alex hovered into the air. "Will you serve me now?! You stupid humans...if you weren't useful to me in some way I'd throw you both to the mages and let them have their way with you." He brought Alex over to himself and forced the green dragon-human to look at his featureless void of a face as he shifted into a human silhouette. "Do you accept servitude? Or death?"

"I accept nothing but the safety of my friends that you forced out of this temple," Alex snarled. "What must I do to secure their safety?"

Two green crystalline eyes appeared on the shadow's face, contorting to look like one of his eyebrows was raised. "You wish to barter for their safety? I think not, unless you join my cause. Both of you." The crystals turned their flat facets to Christine and she looked at the floor. The crystals turned back to Alex, narrowing with anger. "My integration with Spyro's enemy is almost complete, Alex."

"The Dark Master? Is that why you gathered those damn crystals?"

The shadow laughed and Alex shivered as the hideous sound resonated in his ears. "The Dark Master? Close, but no. No, someone more easily accessible, one who has a very deep hatred towards Cynder's light and Spyro's color. Cynder was a traitor to our cause, no thanks to your purple friend."

"Cynder was forced into slavery and found something far better than what the darkness could ever give her." He screamed as evil power raced through him like fire, and he jerked violently as the demon in him suddenly gained more control.

"I'll need to bind your electric breath; can't have that around the crystals now..." Alex grunted in pain as he felt something in him suddenly disappear behind a dark barrier. "Why did you come here? To lecture me on the Dark Master's flawed plans? I was in charge of his fall to evil, but it seems even with his brilliance he couldn't fully corrupt that little black bitch." Alex's eyes flared with anger but the shadow just laughed. "If you really want Spyro and his friends to be safe, join my cause. We've fought for so long against each other, but you still haven't seen until now that I am exponentially more powerful than you are."

Alex hung his head with a heavy sigh. "You're right..." Christine gave a muffled shriek of protest, but under his arm Alex secretly shot her a warning glance.

The shadow's crystalline eyes narrowed in delight. "Excellent..."

The morning came with a pleasant warmth, and Flare slowly stood up and stretched. Solar licked her arm and she looked down with a grin. "Nice day today," she said, flexing her wings. "Think the eggs'll be warm enough? I feel like flying."

Solar felt the air and nodded, slowly standing up. "Spyro and Cynder have already left, I see..."

"Not really," came Cynder's voice outside. "Just sunning ourselves..."

"With the kids?"

"Yep."

"Well, bring them in here and I'll put them under the mushroom cap for warmth, why don't we all go somewhere for a little bit?"

"Sounds good..." Cynder gradually came inside with the eggs, and Flare put them with hers under a large mushroom cap and breathed hot air under it to keep them warm. The guardians were again out in the swamp for a walk. When Flare was satisfied with the eggs they all went outside, and Spyro jumped down from his perch and joined them. Only a few steps away from the cave, Solar stopped and held still.

"Solar?"

"Someone's coming..."

Through the mushrooms came two familiar two-legged figures, slowly approaching. "They're back!" Flare exclaimed, but her face fell when she saw the look on Christine's face. "Guys...something wrong?"

"Yes...your eggs are here and not in the temple," Alex said in a strange voice that immediately alerted the dragons that something was not right at all here. As he came closer they saw that he had black markings on his arms, and Christine had a black streak along one side of her face and was wearing her combat gloves. The dragons backed away from them a bit, and Alex smirked as he walked up to them. "What?"

"Alex, is something going on?" Cynder asked, and screamed when she was suddenly bound tightly. Two huge ape generals and a few of their soldiers pinned Flare and Cynder to the ground, and before Spyro or Solar could react they were also tied to the ground, but with a strong magic field that wouldn't let them move. Christine walked up with a fearful glance at Flare.

"Christine, what the hell is going on?!" Flare cried, but Christine shook her head, standing off to the side and suddenly blurring away. "CHRISTINE!!!"

"She won't listen to you," Alex growled, crouching on all fours. "Your eggs are needed."

"YOU BASTARD!! I THOUGHT WE COULD TRUST YOU TWO!!" Cynder shrieked, struggling against her captors, but she and Flare were too tightly immobilized. Alex growled and raced past them like an animal, and Cynder roared in fury as he approached the eggs and took them, storing them in his personal storage dimension. No...it couldn't be...this was that dream the two dragonesses had had so long ago!!

All at once Cynder and Flare let loose earth-shattering roars of anger and before their attackers knew it, they'd freed themselves with an amazing burst of strength, and three ape heads rolled along the ground before disappearing as the two dragonesses swiftly killed their attackers and turned on Alex. Fire burned in their eyes and they looked almost rabid as they stared him down. Spyro and Solar looked at each other, genuinely terrified of their mates now. Cynder and Flare lunged at Alex, but he flipped to the side, bounced off the wall, and blocked a vicious tail-whip from Cynder. Spyro had thought Cynder was a good enough fighter as she was, but he was blown away by her sudden intense fury as her family was threatened. "Mother dragon mode" had set in. And Flare...Solar was completely awestruck; she was hardly a fighter, but here she was, on par with Cynder as the two tried to kill Alex for taking their children.

Cynder and Flare's advantage over Alex was short-lived, however; Christine suddenly appeared and with her help Alex quickly pushed Cynder and Flare back enough for Christine to rush him away. The magic bonds over Spyro and Solar vanished, but it was too late...Cynder and Flare chased after them with hateful roars, but the two were gone without much of a trace. Spyro ran up to Cynder and she struck at him, but he grabbed her and held her still.

"CYNDER!! CYNDER!!! SETTLE DOWN!!" he ordered, and she struggled against him and broke down, sobbing madly. She threw herself on him, crying into his shoulder.

"Th-that damn bitch...I th-though we could t-trust her..." Flare cried in Solar's arms.

"We'll get them back," Spyro growled, but Cynder shoved away from him with a hateful glare.

"How the hell are we gonna do that?! We have no damn idea where they went!! You left me alone to protect them!!" She slapped him across the face and threw herself on the ground. "Now they're gone..."

Spyro shook her roughly. "I did not leave you!! What the hell can I do when they've bound me and my light powers with dark magic?! Nothing!!"

"You still could've tried!!" she screamed, burying her face in her paws. "You could've tried..."

"We were trying, Cynder," Solar said, petting Flare's neck. "We may be strong, but their dark magic overpowered us. There's not much you can do when something is far more powerful than yourself..."

Spyro picked Cynder up and held her and she curled up against him, still weeping. "I promise, Cynder, I will get our eggs back...Alex is gonna pay for betraying us like this..."

Ignitus came rushing up to them, looking very worried. "What happened?"

"They stole..." Flare couldn't finish her sentence and buried her face against Solar's shoulder. Ignitus' eyes widened and his face fell.

"I knew it...it's my fault, I shouldn't have left..."

Spyro sighed and hugged Cynder tighter. "It's not your fault, Ignitus...magic bound us in place...well, at least, Solar and me...it probably would've held you too."

"But who stole the eggs?"

"Alex and Christine," Solar said, and Flare heaved and sobbed at the mention of their names.

The old fire dragon looked confused, and to their surprise the panic left his face. "Go after them. This is more than a kidnapping."

Solar and Spyro crept along the ground under the protection of Spyro's time and light powers, helping them move quickly towards the tower while also scattering the light around them. Behind them, Cynder and Flare waited anxiously for the path to be cleared. Spyro and Solar had to play it carefully; one wrong move and the whole palace would be on them. And a palace it was...in hardly any time at all, the evil construction of the Dragon Temple had become a vast stronghold built almost entirely of magic, fashioned into a shape much like Cynder's old fortress. The air was dark and heavy here, lit by sickly stones and torches of various colors, and the walls were like translucent black glass laced with purple arcs of electricity...Solar said it was "dark matter" that was magically contrived and bound in place.

Five mages and several Deathhounds were on patrol, but all of them suddenly fell dead as ice and electricity suddenly struck them swift and hard. Flare and Cynder rushed towards their mates and hid again. Spyro was growing very tired already; he was already straining to extend his light power, but on top of that the dark crystals in the palace were interfering with him. Cynder licked him on the cheek, and he felt the heat of her anger still flowing through her. "Don't give up," she whispered, and some small tendrils of light reached from her to him as she smiled. "I can't use it like you can, but I can help a tiny bit..."

"Thank you," he whispered back, giving her a quick peck before slipping off. Flare giggled and Cynder looked back over her shoulder.

"What?"

"You two are so cute together!"

Cynder teasingly stuck her tongue out and turned back to watch the two males make their way closer to the gates. Cynder sighed when Spyro stopped again for a breather. "I can't stand this...he needs help but no one but him can do this..."

They finally got into the palace, and were fortunate enough to find one of those hidden areas Alex and Christine had camped out in. Spyro flopped on the floor, exhausted. Every step he took, he felt like he was shoving through thick sludge; that's how strongly the crystals were working against him. Cynder draped herself over his back, bringing her head next to his, and he managed a smile, taking her paw in his. At the opposite end of the room, Flare sighed and leaned on Solar. "I feel so sorry for Spyro; he's the only one who can get us through here..."

"Those mages carry maps of the palace, if I can get a hold of one we might not need to be so paranoid." Little did they know, as they fell asleep, they were being watched by three sets of eyes, each set unaware of the others.

Solar snapped awake an hour later when he sensed something nearby, and in the darkness he thought he'd seen a long, snarling face with a green crystalline eye fade away swiftly. Two shadowy forms suddenly faded away as well. Knowing they knew he'd sensed them, he figured they wouldn't come back, and he lay his head on Flare's side, staring at nothing in particular as his head rose and fell slowly with her side as she peacefully slept. On the other side of the room, Cynder too was having difficulty sleeping, but for a different matter...an old presence, one of several she loathed deeply, had briefly made itself known to her in her sleep. Even with Spyro curled up around her, acting as her pillow, she didn't feel safe enough to go back to sleep. Three years ago, the Dark Master had plagued her dreams, using that dark link he'd embedded in her...what was to stop him from using his own power in those many crystals to influence her? And her children...would they be safe? Anything could've happened to them by now...She shivered and suddenly sobbed quietly as dreadful visions of their possible fates flashed through her mind. Spyro woke up when she buried her face against his neck.

"Hey, Cynder, shhh...what is it?" he asked, wrapping his wings around her, and she held tightly to him.

"O-our eggs...S-s-spyro, I'm so sc-scared..."

"Shhh, sh, it'll be all right..." he said, hugging her and petting her neck. She only cried harder against him. "Shhh...hey, I'm gonna try something, okay?" She felt a familiar warmth from him, and saw his scales glowing faintly.

"W-what're you doing?"

"Shhh..."

She closed her eyes and felt his mind with their odd link, and realized what he was doing. "Can you...can you feel them?"

"Six little heartbeats," he whispered, the glow fading. "Somehow, I don't think Alex is gonna give them up...all the same, though, he has it coming."

"Teach me! Spyro, I need to know!!"

"Teach you what?"

"To feel for them! Please!"

"All right." It took her some doing, but gradually she felt them...but to Spyro's surprise, she seemed to feel them far better than he could. All he could feel was their heartbeat...Cynder...

"Oh they're scared!! Please, hang in there, mommy and daddy are coming!" she said through teary eyes. She was escalating again, and Spyro closed his eyes. Tendrils of light flowed from him to Cynder, and she passed out on him, falling into a heavy sleep.

"Sorry, Cynder...but you need to stay calm."

The night was fairly calm, and the next guard-shift found five mages and fifteen shadows dead before an hour was up as the dragons again made their way through the fortress. Spyro used his time ability to snatch a map off a mage a mere millisecond before Solar's icicle put it out of its misery, and after some planning using the enchanted map they swiftly located several hidden passages. Unfortunately, the shadow and the head mages had the sense to have those guarded too, by crystal golems. Solar's enhanced strength, though, shattered that opposition, and they continued their climb along the hidden hallways of the dark palace. By midday Spyro was again almost tripping over his own feet as the dark power around them again weighed him down. Every step he took now, though, he kept hearing things...something in the otherworld was watching them, waiting...and every time he fell he saw two hideous red eyes and one single green crystal eye...As they walked, Cynder tried to feel his mind, but either he was blocking her or the dark power of the gems was inhibiting her. She rubbed against him and he gave her a weary smile. He looked dead-tired.

"Spyro, why don't we take a break?"

"No, the longer we are here, the more time we give them with our children." He tripped and fell hard on the floor and Solar stopped.

"Spyro, you can't go on like this."

Spyro was tempted to go on, but he sighed and gave up. "You're right...but this darkness...it's sapping my strength..."

Flare rubbed his back. "C'mon, you're stronger than this."

He struggled to stand up again, and an idea popped into his head. "Flare...know how you can project yourself to another location? Like you did with Solar a few years ago?"

Flare nodded. "What am I looking for?"

"Wherever that shadow is...or even Alex. See if you can home in on him; I have a feeling he and Christine are with that shadow thing."

"You sure?" Cynder asked as Flare closed her eyes and shivered.

"If we're waiting, might as well try to find some kind of edge on our foes." Spyro lay on the floor, and Cynder cuddled against him. Flare opened her eyes but looked like she was staring off into space. Solar watched her closely, having never seen this before. It was really creepy; she hardly blinked, always staring dead-ahead, never moving her eyes as she looked slowly to the sides and up and down. Eventually she shuddered and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times before turning to them.

"Alex has the eggs and he and Christine are with the shadow..." she growled. "But there's something else here..."

"There sure is..." came an echoing voice, and Cynder and Flare shrieked as they were suddenly warped to a large, circular room deep inside the palace. Up on a high throne sat none other than the Shadow, with Alex and Christine chained to posts on either side of him. Cynder and Flare suddenly roared at the tops of their lungs and charged at him, but stopped in midair as the dark figure simply lifted a finger. Spyro forced himself to stand up, and took a look around as Cynder and Flare were levitated back towards him. There was a single green crystalline orb above the throne, carved to look like an eye, and a faint energy stream was flowing from it to the shadow. Nearby, another chair spun around, and a hulking ape stood up and approached them, idly swinging his battleaxe-staff as he grinned at the four dragons. Cynder cringed and Spyro put his wing over her---the ape was dressed almost exactly as Gaul had been so long ago; Gaul, that evil ape that had kidnapped Cynder, the one Spyro had turned to stone and then decimated with his Dark Fury in that last fight. He was missing the crystal eye, though. The Shadow and the ape both laughed at the same time. "My, my, but aren't we the persistent reptiles?"

"I assume they're here for their eggs?" the ape asked, eyeing a nearby room. The doorway was sealed off with a glowing barrier. "They're unaffected yet for some reason, but in just hours they'll be energized with the Dark Master's energy."

"WHY YOU--"

"Cynder, no," Spyro said, pushing her to the floor. "Not yet."

The shadow laughed, its two crystal eyes deforming into sneering slits. "What, doesn't the purple dragon wish to have his children back?"

"Yes, but I don't want my mate killing herself over them."

The ape snickered to himself. "'Mate', he says...he's obviously forgotten that the little black bitch was the Dark Master's most powerful slave short of the great Gaul."

"You're gonna die for that," Cynder growled, shaking with rage under Spyro's paws. "The Dark Master can go to hell for all I care! In fact, I hope he's there right now, burning in his own fire for everything he's put others through!"

The shadow laughed again. "Oh, I strongly doubt he's there...if he were, I would have no reason to be here! Were he truly dead, I wouldn't be able to bring him back no matter how hard I try. He is most certainly around still."

"So you're using the crystals to power your integration with him?" Solar growled. The ape snarled.

"Stupid dragons...of course not! You'll see soon enough!"

"Have at them, Clawshade. It's been a long time since I last saw a good battle."

"With pleasure," Clawshade growled, drawing a large sword from behind his back. The doors and the bricks before the throne glowed, creating a battle-barrier around them to prevent escape. "You dragons are dead! Especially you, Spyro, for slaying our Supreme Lord!" With that he advanced on them, swinging his sword at Flare while blasting Solar with a beam of electricity from his staff. Cynder shoved Spyro off her back and raced at the huge ape, sinking her teeth into his muzzle and clamping his mouth shut. Flare, at the same time, leapt up and latched onto his back with her claws, raking through his armor with a terrifying, unexpected strength. Spyro cringed and shivered as he heard bone cracking and saw blood coming from around Cynder's mouth as she snapped his jaw with her bite. Solar backed off, striken dumb with awe as the two rabid dragonesses assailed their attacker. In mere minutes Clawshade was far from any hope of winning, even though he'd balsted Cynder and Flare several times with electricity. Finally he roared and dark energy seared through him, flinging the two dragons off his body. He stood there, panting, horribly cut up and burnt, his jaw skewed to the side, and charged his staff, binding their paws to the floor. Cynder screamed viciously and struggled in vain against her bonds, and looked to the side for any help from Spyro. But...he was gone?!

"Follower of Gaul, join your master!" Spyro roared, and suddenly materialized out of thin air, his light power releasing in a bright flash as he blasted Clawshade into the barrier with his earth-shot breath. Clawshade groaned and tried to stand up, but Spyro opened his mouth and a bright beam of light shot forth and smote Clawshade right through the chest.

"Lord Gaul...so close..." the hulking ape grunted, and he disappeared in a dark flash. The barrier faded and the shadow laughed to himself.

"Yes...it's quite a pity he didn't live to see his master. I was expecting an overly climactic battle, but I'm quite impressed with what I just witnessed. Still, I'm bored." Solar, Flare, and Cynder yelled in surprise as they were suddenly flung against the wall behind the shadow's throne. "Let's see here...Alex. I want a good match here."

"A good match shall be given," Alex growled, his chains disappearing as he walked towards Spyro.

"NOO!! SPYRO!!!" Cynder shrieked, tugging wildly at the chains that were materializing around her. Solar roared and snapped through his bonds, but froze in mid-leap as he lunged at the throne. The shadow shook its head.

"When will you learn?" He waved his hand and Solar was thrown against the wall again, this time so hard the bricks behind him fractured. "You dragons wear me out..." He created a dome around Spyro and Alex. "Take your time...I'm certainly in no rush."

He seems tired after toying with the others like that, Spyro thought to himself. Christine's being awfully quiet... He crouched and walked low, flexing his claws as he and Alex slowly circled each other. This was an unfair match...Spyro was worn out, and the constant, controlling throb of the dark crystals was eating away at his energy, while Alex was in much better condition.

"Just you and me now, buddy," Alex said with an evil grin, and he roared and lunged at Spyro. Spyro braced himself and jumped at the last minute, his back catching Alex's jaw and making him bite his tongue. Spyro used the distraction to grab Alex's leg in his mouth and fling him to the side.

"You damn traitor," Spyro growled, standing up on his hind legs, flexing his paws.

Alex coughed, blood dribbling down the side of his mouth from his bleeding tongue. "Spyro, listen..." he whispered. "Pretend to wrestle, I need to tell you something!" Spyro grappled him and they kicked and punched at each other, holding back expertly to make it look like they were hitting hard but really only tapping each other. "I have your children, they don't! Those stones Christine made are what they have!"

"What?!"

"Shh! Don't let it on! The mages were planning to secretly attack your cave; we got there first." He blocked a punch from Spyro. "I've been keeping your kids safe from them; they think I'm in league with them! But we gotta destroy those gems before we can get away safely!"

"How?"

"I need to 'defeat' you; act like you're injured!" With that Alex shoved him off roughly, jumped after him, and threw him against the wall. Spyro fell to the floor, faked a groan, and pretended to pass out. The shadow laughed and the protective field closing them in faded.

"Good work, very good work. But I see you've been injured, Alex."

Alex's voice changed. "Yes, sir...I was overconfident against him."

The far door opened, revealing another protective barrier in the doorway. "As promised, your reward of power."

"Release the others first; they cannot see what will happen from where they are."

The shadow's green crystal eyes narrowed in malicious delight. "Yes, further emotional pain..." He snapped his fingers and Flare, Solar, and Cynder were released. Cynder rushed over to Spyro, crying, and held him against her chest as Alex walked into the opened room, a protective magic field around himself.

"Spyro...our kids!" she whimpered, and Spyro ran his tongue over her.

"It'll be fine, Cynder," he whispered. They all watched as Alex stood there, dark power swirling around him. To their surprise he suddenly fell on the ground, screaming in pain, electricity flying all over. The shadow's eyes widened.

"NOO!! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!!" he yelled, and warped into the room, but it was too late. Alex unleashed a powerful Electric Fury, and the energy ran through every last gem in that room.

"Oh...shit..." Solar said, and Flare shrieked when the walls suddenly flashed and cracked. The gems in the room all exploded at once.

"ALEX!!!" Christine screamed, dashing into the room as the magic barrier faded. The shadow flew out, carrying five eggs with him.

"This isn't the end of this! I still have your precious eggs!" he shouted, and vanished before Flare or Cynder could retaliate. Christine dragged Alex out just as the floor shattered, huge gashes splitting in the dark matter as the magic bonds faded.

"SPYRO!! GET US OUTTA HERE!!" Christine shouted. Spyro jumped up, much to Cynder's surprise, and suddenly the entire room faded as he glowed with a blinding light. They could still see what was going on, though, and Cynder screamed as the floor fell away from her, huge arcs of purple magic zapping amongst the dark matter as it rapidly faded. Left and right the entire palace exploded and dissipated.

"Almost...there..." Spyro grunted, still glowing brightly. They all looked down and saw that they were hovering far above the ground, and not too far away...was the Dragon Temple, a bit beaten from the initial attacks but otherwise still sound. Everywhere along the ground, apes, mages, and shadows were running madly in a blind panic, many of them falling over the edge of the cliff the temple was perched on.

"Spyro, let us down," Cynder said, and the fog around them vanished and they found they were standing on the dojo roof. Spyro fell over in a dead faint from the energy expense.

"UP THERE!!"

"GET THEM!!"

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