FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

Another visit in Warfang and once more the group's destination turned out to be the hospital, a couple more visits and they will call this building their second home, or in the two foster brothers situation, a third. However no matter how discouraging the building looked like, deep down they all knew that they are going to be visiting the hospital halls more often than they would like, and something tells them that there is nothing they can do about it. It's nothing more than just the hazard of their trade.

This time however it was slightly different, expect maybe not for Spyro and Flare. The first believed that whatever happened to him had nothing to do with physical injury, he didn't exactly knew what occurred in the City Hall regarding his health and since he lacked any rational explanation he decided that the nose bleed was caused by the unfortunate chains of events happening within his body which were triggered by a protest erected by his insufferable blood vessels. Nose bleeds happen after all and he was certain that a healer in the hospital will confirm his speculations.

The second dragon shared the same uncaring attitude like the first drake but his state of mind wasn't formed by the working gears inside his head busy with processing the events from the City Hall. His impassive attitude was the effect of obliviousness, for him the hospital was nothing more than another common building, with walls and lamps, just like the City Hall. In fact he would never be able to recognize which of the buildings in the city is actually the hospital if he wouldn't stick close to his companions tails, especially the black one. There were gears in his head, and they were working but his intellectual mechanism was focused on something entirely else and it was not related with the hospital at all.

As for the other two members of their still little group, their emotional state was far from being indifferent. Even if they effectively hid it, well at least the glowing male dragonfly did, both of them were filled with worry and blame and even despite their differences these emotions were caused and focused on the same thing- the impact a certain black dragoness has on their group.

When they got close to the hospital they realized that the door were hanging open, it seemed like whoever left the building was in a hurry since whatever mechanical hinges holding them were obviously broken after that particular someone slammed them open with one powerful jerk. It seems the door served their purpose and now were slowly being pulled into the unavoidable decadence of every artificial thing. Perhaps this particular door reached its limit thanks to their popularity in the recent months, and it goes without saying that fame has its price. Yet they were people, like the two moles for example who were now crouched besides the door and diligently working on them, such people can restore fame and beauty, even if borrowed, to every cringed star.

The busy moles didn't pay them any attention as they passed through the broken door. If there was actually a sphere protecting the City Hall from the passing time, same thing couldn't be said about the hospital. This building's protective bubble, if it had any in the first place, was absent. The building looked mostly abandoned and the lack of people occupying the hospital's corridors was not the only reason behind such occurrence.

The building was mostly devoid of the usual medical equipment Spyro and Cynder were used to seeing here, especially in the big room they were now standing in. The stretchers that were occupying the surrounding walls were mostly gone, the ones that remained are few and far between, yet those were the normal, the cart like stretchers were gone completely. It seems that whoever pulled them out of the hospital did it in a hurry, if the cracks on the stony floor were any clue.

Also the desks and the shelves hanging over them were mostly empty, every crucial medical supply that used to save lives in the most dire of circumstances was gone, only the equipment used to treat minor wounds remained, but even the numbers of these medicine weren't high. Whoever ordered to clean up the shelves took a risk, there was always a possibility that a town inhabitant might get seriously injured but what the group could tell from the expressions of the few people that occupied the room nobody of them seemed to be offended.

This medical supplies were just as hastily collected like the rest of the equipment, just like someone didn't have the time to consider what is important and needed and what not but snatched everything that was at paw's reach. The spilled colorful liquids, trampled herbs and broken pieces of crystals gave the sour impression that whoever packed these things rushed to some sort of a slaughter, prepared to even sew limbs together if the situation will demand it.

The few healers and patients who remained in the building momentarily focused their eyes on the freshly arrived group. At first their attention was drawn to the fiery drake, most of the people still couldn't swallow the fact that a literally burning dragon is walking amongst them. Yet their fascination didn't last long since in seconds they caught glimpses of Spyro and especially the blood covering his snout.

In that moment everyone could hear faint gasps of horror, after that display of dread every available eyes that wasn't a part of the recently arrived group travelled on the sad black dragoness. The stares didn't escape notice of the feminine draconic figure, the hate and blame emanating from them made her cringe, those stares only empowered the guilt that weighted on her heart. For the first time perhaps she wasn't mad about the hostile glances, they only reminded her just how much of a burden she is for her purple friend.

" I'm sorry Spyro" Cynder whispered as they were slowly approaching one of the nearby wooden desks occupied by a small mole healer and even smaller amounts of medical supplies

The angry stares and the guilt ringing tone of his friend's voice didn't escape Spyro's notice, yet no matter how difficult it was he tried keep a calm snout.

" It wasn't you Cynder, stop blaming yourself" he whispered back

" Even if the nose bleed has nothing to do with the power I unleashed doesn't matter. I still hurt you"

" Guys please!" Sparx whined " If you want to have one of your moments again just wait till we are alone, and bring me a bowl so I can puke in it" he shuddered in faked disgust

They were about to reach the desk where one of the healers was observing them closely " You can't say such thing Cynder" Spyro again answered her in a whisper " I tell you why later" with that he turned towards the mole healer behind the desk and smiled casually

" Hi"

The mole healer didn't respond, he was just staring at the purple dragon, the blood flowing down from his nose covered his lips and parts of his white teeth. That sight wasn't appealing to the mole in the slightest. The rodent's face only twitched into a poor, creepy grimace of a smile while his eyes impulsively locked themselves on the black dragoness behind the purple drake.

Spyro noticing that the mole isn't paying him much attention put his bloody snout in front the rodent's eyes.

" Excuse me" he cleared his throat hastily, mole blinked, Spyro smiled sheepishly seeing his reaction " You see I have this blood streaming from my nose" he pointed his claw at the mentioned nose before cackling nervously, not really caring that he is stating the obvious

" I've told my friends that this is nothing serious but they still made me come here. So as you can see-"

" You are bleeding!" the healer exclaimed the moment his eyes stopped on the purple dragon

Spyro balked at the sound of the mole's shout.

The rodent's eyes began to shimmer with confident, medical expertise " Come over here Spyro" he urged the drake with a meaningful wave of his hand

The dragon did as he was told, the mole lowered on one knee and took the dragon's head in his hands " Headache?"

" Nope"

The mole squeezed the drake's nose delicately " Hurts?"

" Nope"

The healer raised the dragon's head a little, examining the bleeding nose from every possible angle " Nausea?"

" Nope" with another confirmation of his overall good health Spyro threw Cynder a quick meaningful glance

" I don't get it" Flare suddenly spoke, gaining the attention of all his companions and some nearby people

" Surprise!" Sparx announced with faked enthusiasm " Flare doesn't understand something!"

The fiery drake furrowed his brow " That's strange to you?"

The dragonfly grinning mischievously patted the dragon's head " In your case? No"

Flare just shrugged, not understanding what the dragonfly means by that. He then focused on the black dragoness.

" Why did you attack the Guardians Cynder? They were bad once?"

The dragon's question stirred the few remaining people in the hospital, quite murmurs began to travel through the building. Even the healer who was now cleaning Spyro's nose started to act more nervously. The memories of Cynder's past actions seemed to still stab their hearts with the painful blade of loss.

" It's not like that Flare" she answered him in a slightly more quieter tone " It was me who was bad, I attacked the Guardians because I couldn't control myself back then"

" You seem to be alright Spyro" the healer comforted the dragon " I can't really tell what caused the bleeding, it might have been a slight infection, but no matter what caused it, you'll be fine"

" Thank you"

" Oh" Flare huffed thoughtfully " Then you attacked them because you couldn't control your powers? Just like you attacked Spyro in the mine? You used some strange unknown powers to send the Guardians to the hospital just like him?"

Spyro's eyes ventured through the whole hospital hall as he heard a small commotion stirring amongst the people around them. Even the mole healer was staring at the black dragoness with wide eyes, just to turn them moments later towards him.

The purple dragon smiled doltishly while pointing a claw at his female friend " That's...that's not what happened"

Cynder winced at the sound of Flare's question, for the first time his cluelessness and lack of discretion irritated her, perhaps it was due to the nagging guilt filling her heart. She swallowed, it took her a while to dispose some of the boiled up anger and frustration but when she accomplished that feat she came to a conclusion that her simpleminded friend deserves some explanation, after all he told them a part of his dark story.

Cynder sighed and closed her sad eyes " Something like that, once I was a powerful General of a Dark Army. I was raised, or maybe created would be a better word here, by an even more powerful pu..." she bit her tongue, even in her sorrow a bit of clarity remained, mentioning to Flare that a purple dragon was behind all the destruction and her vile existence would probably ruin his already poor view of Spyro.

"...dragon called Malefor, or by his corruptive powers to be exact. Even if he wasn't present back then when I became what I became, I still called him my Master"

" You had a Master?" Flare blurt out surprised but then he frowned remembering how powerful her last Master was " But a real Master right?" he asked suspiciously " Not a fake one like Sparx?"

" Hey Dude! Some respect ok?" the dragonfly crossed his arms, completely offended " Maybe I made up some things after I acted like her Master but you have to know that in some circles people call me a god! True story! And how do you like that, huh?!" he blurt out indignantly

Flare remained unconvinced " Yeah right, if you are a god, then I'm a lizard"

" Actually..."

The guilt that was ripping her apart hat to tore a piece of her responsible for experiencing joy since even the gentle banter between Flare and Sparx didn't put the tiniest smile on her snout.

" A real Master" Cynder continued her explanation, answering Flare's last question as if the words that were spoken later didn't even reach her. She only acknowledged the fact that her friends stopped talking and that silence was a signal for her to renew her speech.

" I had a very evil Master who as we found out later didn't care about anyone, even me, but himself"

The murmurs that travelled across the hospital room seemed to die down when one of the dragons was speaking, just to thrive again at the moment of silence of both drakes. None of the surrounding people was a musician by trade but that didn't prevent them from synchronizing their curious murmurs with the sound of the dragons voices, in the end creating a perfect satisfying tune.

At least for those people whose sole purpose in life is to pervert someone else's privacy and twist it later if it won't be sufficient to satisfy their meddlesome and envious needs. It seems that when your life is empty you have to fill it with someone else's. Living in a lie is some peoples goal, especially when such an existence causes as much as possible misfortune for the person you're stealing from.

Flare observed the dragoness carefully , it seemed like he has more in common with her then he originally thought. Seeing that someone else than him lived through hell and is here to tell the tale filled him with tremendous hope, especially when the dragoness after all that horror turned out to be a respectable and liked dragon with friends.

Yet that wasn't the only thing that he found interesting, all her talk about the evil Master reminded him of his own past, but he just couldn't understand how is that possible.

" My Masters were the same" he mumbled thoughtfully " they only cared about themselves, always pretending to work together while in truth after they smelled a perfect opportunity turned against each other. All the prisoners like me were their means to an end, whatever that means, anyway we were the ones who suffered the most"

Cynder let out a wavering breath and nodded sullenly " The weak and vulnerable, they always pay the worst price. The most disgusting thing is that you just don't care about their suffering, you are given an order and you carry it out. I was like that once, my Master gave my only one order and by following it I was forced to do terrible things"

Spyro observed his talking friends with an anxious gaze, they were speaking like they didn't realize that people are listening to their conversation, or perhaps they were so overwhelmed by curiosity and sorrow that they simply didn't care. Hearing Cynder's painful voice Spyro would go for the second option and by the looks of it he wasn't the only one.

The people around them realized that also, but instead of being supporting like him or simply just minding their own business, they listened to Cynder's every word and most importantly they didn't believe in her regretful tone. The bouncing disdainful murmurs only confirmed this. In that moment Spyro considered about ending his friends conversation, but then he thought better of it, not only he would startle his friends but also all the surrounding people who would definitely realize that he tries to hide something from them.

He finally decided that it is best to let the situation play out on its own than interfere.

Flare scratched the back of his head, Cynder's tale was so similar to his own, it was all so confusing. " All this things you say, that Master of yours, he is like the purple dragons from my time"

Both Spyro and Sparx looked at each other in horror just to run their eyes along every patient and healer moments later. It was then when Spyro's gaze stopped on the wide stare of the mole in front of him. The dragon wasn't sure what caused more shock, if it was the purple dragon in plural or my time, yet both these revelations had one thing in common- if pursued, both are close to revealing something that supposed to be a secret.

Spyro cackled nervously " Purple dragons?!" he blurt out goofily and renewed his stammering cackle " Prisoner?! Some people have a really rampant imagination" he began to cough while slowly turning his head.

At first his coughing was soft and filled with faked amusement but the moment his eyes stopped on the form of a dragonfly Spyro's cough adopted a meaningful rough tone and ended abruptly.

Sparx understood the not very discreet signal perfectly " Alright gang, you will cry a river later because you need to hear about this troll!" he exclaimed with faked excitement " It rose from the ground and-"

" Hey!" Flare's sincere excited shout cut the dragonfly off " Maybe that's why I wasn't surprised to see you! Maybe you seemed familiar because my purple dragon masters were also forcing me to murder people, just like your Master did! Maybe there is a bond between us or something! You know a mental one! Or...or...I don't know! But it's so cool! We have been through the same thing! We are former killers with friends and...and benefits! Yeah! Can it get more awesome than this?!"

Something that was once simple uneasy, nosy murmurs, now evolved into a fully shocked, angered and scared commotion.

" Oh shit" Spyro cussed, already knowing that the situation didn't play out in their favor

" He's one of Malefor's spawns!" a mole exclaimed horrified

" Oh shit" Cynder let out a resigned breath, realizing where this is going

" That bitch is trying to slip into our society, she is trying to destroy us from the inside! She's building an army!" a scared cheetah shouted from somewhere

" AAAAAARRRGGHHH!" Sparx let out a poorly faked agonizing scream, pressed his hands to his chest and dropped on the floor with an audible smack.

" He...help...m...me..." the dragonfly groaned while raising one of his shaking arms pleadingly into the air

" Brill said that Spyro couldn't defeat Malefor completely, he was a purple dragon after all! He needed a backup plan and Cynder is the perfect solution!" another panicked citizen started screaming

" He was her Master! You can't break such a bond! Cynder didn't change, she just played nice! Brill was right! Brill is always right! She planned it all along!"

Sparx darted into the air, miraculously cured " Hey people!" he yelled indignantly " I'm dying here!"

" Shadow has always stalked us" an older cheetah mumbled " but this time Shadow brings Fire with her. She seeks destruction"

Spyro turned towards the healer who treated him earlier when these people were still normal, he was sure that the mole as a doctor will have more distance to superstitious babble.

" She isn't like that, she-"

He was wrong.

Spyro's explanation was abruptly ended by the mole's fist hitting his cheek. When his head was thrown to the side he realized just how wrong he was.

" Sorry for punching you Spyro" the healer stated painfully " But you need to wake up!" he pointed his claw at the black dragoness " That slut is seductive! Do you think Malefor chose her by coincidence? No! He prepared a backup plan!"

The mole's extended claw shuddered as if trying to show the purple dragon a mask that his draconic amethyst eyes are failing to notice.

" He has sent her to beguile you, to get close to you! You need to protect yourself from her evil spells!"

Spyro rubbed his cut lip as he turned towards the mole, he wasn't angry at the healer for punching him, he was angry at the mole because he insulted his friend and mentioned a name he really didn't want to hear.

" You will never call her like that again" he rumbled while throwing a quick glance at his claw covered with the blood trickling from his lip

" Spyro please" Cynder whimpered

The mole clenched his fist in a pleading manner " Can't you see what is happening?! You are turning against your own! But it's not too late" the healer stated with a calm voice and placed his hand on the purple dragon's shoulder while looking inside the drake's purple orbs with radiating kindness.

" Go to Brill, he will open your eyes. He will help you"

What was once a simple irritation now evolved into sheer fury.

Spyro forcefully wiggled from the mole's gentle grasp and made some steps backwards as if the rodent would be affected by a deadly disease. A disease called Brill.

" I don't want to hear about him!' Spyro growled forcing startled gasps from the patients and healers alike

" Spyro if you would just listen-"

" No!" the purple dragon's roar stopped the healer's words inside his throat " You people are blind! A dead guy shows up at your doorstep and you follow his every word?! Maybe he is the one controlled by the Dark Master?! Didn't you think about that?!" He was dead for fuck's sake!"

" Don't say such things..."

" I will! And I will say more! Cynder did the right thing by killing him!"

His roar woke another wave of horrified gasps.

" He was our leader!" one of the females sobbed " A father figure!" another sob

" What would you do if Ignitus would return!?" another horrified person yelled " Put him to the ground like you want to do with Brill?! Just because Ancestors granted us a miracle?!"

A furious roar rumbled within Spyro's throat, mentioning Brill put him on edge already but pulling Ignitus into it was a blow below the belt. He can't stand these people blindness and arrogance no longer.

" Get out" Spyro growled

" You can't even face the truth!"

" I'VE SAID GET OUT!" the dragon let out a roar that shook the walls of the entire hospital, if that display of feral wrath wasn't enough to convince the people to leave, the flames wafting from the dragon's nose surely did.

People started to barge through the exit door like they would be escaping from a burning building. While they so hastily departed they kept mumbling and shouting but Spyro didn't make out any comprehensible sentences since he simply didn't care what else they have to say.

The hospital was emptied in seconds, the four companions were the only ones left.

The only sound that now echoed in the building was the noise of the wind breaking through the still swinging door that was so recently used. All of them stared at the creaking entrance until the door finally stopped moving.

The silence that has befallen on the hospital when the door finally shut themselves could be compared to sepulchral, if not for the barely audible breaths a common passer-by could easily take this building for a very overgrown and sophisticated tomb.

" Damn" Sparx huffed in awe, finally breaking the silence before he turned towards the purple dragon " I know I'm not the one who betrays his emotions but let me tell you this." he took a dramatic pause " Damn bro I'm impressed! There's a male hiding behind all your girly build after all!"

His brother's managed to put a delicate smile on Spyro's snout, despite all the fresh wrath boiling inside him. However that smile didn't last long, one look at a pair of feminine green eyes was enough to wipe it out.

Spyro saw the incredible pain within those glimmering emeralds and he was suddenly struck by an overwhelming sense of guilt, he just knew he was the one that caused her so much unspeakable anguish. He believed that if Cynder's eyes could speak they would scream themselves to death unable to withstand such suffering in silence.

As he looked into those eyes Spyro could feel his veins snapping one by one like twigs of a tree inside his body. They kept shattering until they reached a nest with an egg in it, hidden behind a wall of such twigs that seemed to be impenetrable. Yet even such a firm barricade could not stand against the force that tore its way through his body, and the egg in its protective embrace paid the final price.

The sight of such pain inside his friend's eyes broke his heart.

" You've lied to me" Flare stated coldly

Spyro massaged his aching forehead " Not now Flare" he whined

" You've said that you are the only purple dragon alive!"

For a moment there Spyro wanted to snap at his infuriating companion, explain in very rough words that it was the Guardians who shed some light on the situation, not him. So Flare can now politely bug off. Luckily for everyone one single deep breath was enough to quench the screaming fury.

Spyro raised his eyes to look at the irritating drake, when he did that the image of Flare he was used to see was gone entirely. Not so far away from him stood the odd fire dragon from their first meeting, Flare's whole posture was radiating even the same emotions, uncertainty, fear and barely noticeable hint of bravery.

The flicker inside his eyes when he gets interested, the chaotic twitches when he gets scared or even the simplest breath when he gets excited, everything that Spyro learnt to connect with Flare that shaped his image within his purple eyes, vanished.

He was once again staring into the alien yellow eyes they encountered in the ruined temple in Boven all those moons ago. Spyro was quite certain that if he would make even the tiniest threatening jerk at the red dragon Flare would run away just as fast as all the people earlier.

That was somewhat a very appealing perspective.

" Because I am" Spyro eventually forced himself to form a response, silencing the mischievous prankster. However the anger was still clearly palpable in his voice, even after all that turmoil inside his head.

" Malefor is dead"

" Oh shocking, I suspect you were the one who killed him?"

A growl rumbled inside Spyro's throat, is Flare provoking him on purpose? Doesn't he see just how furious he is? And how he keeps his tongue from spitting something he would regret later? Spyro tried to control his emotions but that mocking and arrogant tone of his was so close to make the pot within him filled with rage boil.

" WE killed him" Cynder joined the argument, her voice was again filled with determination and bravery Spyro was so used to hear.

Flare frowned, he was clearly quite astonished hearing the news.

" You killed your Master?"

" Yes"

She saw doubt inside the fire dragon's eyes as he was staring at her but there was something else in there too besides the reluctance. It was loss, curiosity and...longing? The flicker in his eyes reminded her of someone who missed an opportunity to change his life forever and now wonders how his destiny would look like if he wouldn't hesitate to go down a different road.

When Flare shook his head the flicker in his eyes vanished.

" Why?" the fiery drake finally asked

Cynder had a feeling that he asked just for the sake of asking, as if he already knew the answer. However when she thought about a bit more she realized that his Why didn't sound as a question at all, it was more like a taunt.

" Because it was the right thing to do"

" I'm sure it was. Let me guess, Melafor, Malefor or whatever his name was had to die because:

One - Spyro wanted to rule in his place,

Two- Spyro needed more power to protect his homeland,

Three- Your Master threatened to destroy the world and had to be stopped.

After traveling with you I'm sure it was the third option, right?"

The dragoness opened her mouth but the only thing that came out was a stifled grunt, confused and surprised she looked at Spyro, hoping for an advice on how to proceed.

Spyro however had no interest in proceeding, he had a different losing battle to win.

" Listen Flare" the purple dragon growled, the sound of his feral display paralyzed Flare in fear, the fire dragon has obviously a vast knowledge about the purple dragons, there might be some truth to the story about his imprisonment after all.

" Drop that tone because I'm at the brink of my patience and if you know so much about me then you don't want to make me angry, right?" Spyro smirked seeing Flare gulp and tremble, he used the drake's knowledge against him in the most ruthless of ways, and it felt great.

" Spyro!" Cynder admonished him " Get a hold of yourself! I'm the temperamental one here, all this fury doesn't suit you"

The purple dragon cringed at the sound of her voice, there was no force in the whole world strong enough to force him to direct all the boiling wrath at her. Spyro took a deep breath and lowered his head, he already felt a bit more calmer.

Cynder turned towards the fire dragon when Spyro backed off " Now Flare, how can you say such things about Spyro after traveling and working with him for the past few days? Didn't I tell you he was different?"

Flare looked at the purple dragon, once he could agree with Cynder, that there was something more to Spyro than meets the eye, but now, after learning about Melafor or Malefor he could no longer spot that difference. Spyro was just like any other purple dragon, raised perhaps by a good family but he was still a purple dragon.

" I...I believed he was...until now. Some of them at the very beginning show their true nature and don't hide their intentions, some, like Spyro, start nice just to end like the previous group." he looked sadly at the black dragoness " I know he is your friend and you will stay at his side no matter what I say, but if you one day will consider my words you will see that I speak the truth. Purple dragons aren't the cure for our problems, they are our blight. I'm so sorry Cynder."

" There is hiding under that skull after all" Sparx commented in his typical own way " Dude, that was probably the longest speech you ever gave, I've never heard you saying so many words before. Gratz"

Cynder snorted " I'm not buying this. You can't compare Spyro to Malefor, my Master was crazy, and evil to the core, his goal from the very beginning was to destroy our world, he-"

" Because that was his destiny?" Flare's quick question cut her off

Everyone present looked at the fire dragon, sock clearly shaping their expressions.

" How...how do you know this?" Spyro muttered

" Some of you believed that their destiny is to destroy the world, some believed that they are destined to save it. Sounds familiar?"

" Then you know about the prophecy?"

Flare shook his head " I've said already that I don't know anything about any prophecy. Purple dragons are power hungry, that destiny thing is just a way to justify your actions so you can sleep at night. Nothing more."

" That's unfair Flare" Cynder admonished him " Spyro's not like the other purple dragons, can't you see? Did any of the purple dragons you knew fought by your side?"

Flare shook his head.

" Did they have any friends?"

The drake once again repeated the simple motion.

" Did any of them called you their companion?"

Another shake.

" See where I am going? Spyro is nothing like them"

Flare sighed, she had a point, he would be convinced if not for the recently acquired insight " Most likely Spyro just reaches his goal differently than the purple dragon's I've knew. Probably there was a purple dragon like him somewhere in my time, I just didn't meet him."

He looked at his black friend, pity shimmered within his eyes " I suppose this is how friendship looks like? To protect you friend no matter what you hear or what evidence you are given of his evilness?"

" It's so much more" she corrected him confidently

Flare nodded, not really understanding what she meant by that but it didn't matter " That's how I feel about you Cynder, all these people here were saying terrible things about you, calling you names and I still thought they were wrong, because they don't want to see your other side"

" You are doing the same thing with Spyro!" Cynder protested

Flare lowered his head, he couldn't stand the look in her eyes " I know, but in this case no matter what side you show it will always lead to the same destination." he looked at the purple dragon " I'm sorry for taunting you, I shouldn't have done that. You are different from the rest of the purple dragons I've met, you deserve at least a bit of respect, but I will stay away from you. I don't trust you, I don't like you and I'm terrified of you but I don't hate you, even if the side of the purple dragons I'm familiar with is within you"

Mistrust, an outright sincere mistrust, that was something new for Spyro. It was the first time someone openly admitted that he is being given a benefit of a doubt, hopefully, by a dragon they considered their companion, or even a friend. It hurt to listen to such words in its own specific way. Spyro only imagined how Cynder felt when in the forest near Boven Sparx accidently said a word too much, not to mention that she also has to face frank taunts and insults of all those people. How she bares it he has no idea, guess she's tougher than he thought.

However Spyro managed to pick up something good from Flare's monolog, at least know he knows on what ground his cooperation with the fire dragon is based on. Quite unfair in his eyes since it was Flare who tried to attack him in the mines of Munitions Forge, yet Spyro decided to remain silent about the unexplained act of aggression, he didn't to add insult to an injury by mentioning this.

" Thanks for your honesty, I'm always trying to do what's right, I hope that one day you will see this too, and..." Spyro winced and swallowed " Sorry for yelling at you, I shouldn't have scared you" he wanted to stop there but a thought crossed his mind about lighting a bit this grim situation.

Spyro smiled gently " But hey, I can't be that bad, you're not stammering"

Flare blinked, that was the second time he hears Spyro apologizing, he is not like any other purple dragon he dealt with before, but then again he did kill his kin. Spyro has friends who would stand by him no matter what, none from the purple dragons he knew had friends beyond their power hungry circle, even that was just a temporary bond.

However this is a different time, if any of that talk about portals actually makes any sense, maybe in this world purple dragons changed their tactic, seeing as there only a scarce of them left? Open hostility would leave them vulnerable. Yet Spyro was right, he did not stammer, that is always a good sign, but Spyro did let out the side Flare is so familiar with when he scared off all those people.

The fiery dragon no longer knew what is true and what is not, it was all so messed up that his head began to hurt.

" I need some fresh air" Flare groaned, a break from all of this confusion will do him good " I'll...see you later"

Seconds after this words were spoken the exit door from the hospital once again swung open and closed soon after, hiding a fiery tail behind them.

" Ok!" Sparx exclaimed the moment the door stopped moving " I'm going to repeat myself here" he pronounced each sentence calmly as he turned towards the two young dragons. When he set his eyes on them he quickly dashed their way, his serenity long gone already.

" There is something REALLY wrong with that guy!" he shouted in panic

Cynder rubbed her forehead " Ok I admit, this whole situation was slightly disturbing" she said tiredly

" Slightly?! Come on! Flare is more moody than a pregnant lizard" he touched Cynder's shoulder " no offense" he said casually before once again turning into a panicked lunatic " We shouldn't have brought him with us!"

" You're overacting" Cynder stated calmly

" Yeah? Did you forget about the freaky eyes already? Or how he tried to attack Spyro?"

" I'm sure that was just a heat of the moment, he never tried that again"

Sparx folded his arms " And what makes you so sure brainiac that he won't snap someday?"

" Because he treats me as a friend and he knows that Spyro is my friend so-"

" Oh crap" the dragonfly blurt out, cutting the dragoness off

Cynder jerked her head back " What?"

Without any further explanation Sparx swiftly spun around and quickly left the hospital, a barely visible trail of yellow was everything he left behind.

" Ok then" the dragoness uttered as if nothing ever happened and turned towards her purple friend with a childish smile " And how's your day?"

Spyro looked at her surprised " The way Sparx left doesn't bother you at all?"

" Nope, it would bother me if he acted normal, if there are signs of insanity still present then everything is in the right order" she grinned

Spyro managed to smile " I guess you're right"

Cynder took a deep breath and looked around the hospital " Finally alone huh? Too bad it takes some insults and even more shouting to reach this point, but hey, it could be worse, right?"

The male dragon looked at her, there was something really odd about the way she acted, as if feeling the weight of his gaze on her Cynder raised her eyes to meet his. When that happened Spyro realized that his suspicions were correct, he could picture a curtain falling down when she blinked just to reveal the true stage in her emerald theatre the moment her eyes opened.

" Ah, who am I kidding" she whined and her rump dropped on the floor in resignation. With a sad sigh she lowered her head " I'm sorry Spyro, I'm so sorry"

The sight was enough for the purple dragon to spring on his paws, he once again could feel the freshly glued egg within him shattering again.

" Hey, hey, nothing of this is your fault"

" It is, and you know it"

" No, if people are stupid enough to blame you for something you couldn't control then let them stay dumb. They are not your problem, I'll try to make them see the truth, but it won't be easy, you need to bare their taunts a bit longer Cynder, I'm sorry" he sat in front of her to offer her mental support.

" Don't you get it?" she hissed and threw her head up.

Spyro reared back in surprise.

He didn't have to say anything, the dumbfounded expression on his snout was like an open book to her.

" I don't care what people say about me, I care what they say about you. This little hell of mine is influencing you, I'm involuntary dragging you into my mess"

" What are you talking about? You didn't do anything, it was my decision to stand in your defense"

She laughed mockingly " Your decision? No, it was all me. You are my friend and it was clear that you would stand in my defense, no matter how many times I've told you not to do so. You stick to your chivalrous persistence because you're too soft and can't admit that that this is my mess and mine alone!" the hectic monolog was tiring, the dragoness didn't even notice when she started to pant.

Spyro was unmoved by her outburst, he sat in front of her perfectly still " As you said I'm your friend, and as your friend I can't sit and watch how they insult you, I just can't"

" I know!" Cynder whined annoyed while springing on her paws before making her way towards a nearby desk " I know" she muttered more calmly as she ran her paw alongside the woody surface " I know you damn stubborn bastard, you have no idea how grateful I am for your support but at the same time..." she punched the desk, a hollow thud echoed throughout the hospital "...it pisses me off" she hissed

" I make you happy and angry?" he smiled " Hey, at least monotony doesn't threat us"

She shook her head with a wavering smile " You're insufferable"

" Annoying! That's three"

Cynder spun around and made her way towards him, taking faked indignant steps " Stop trying to cheer me up with jokes!" she admonished him " I'm supposedly the witty one here"

" What, you think I'm too stupid for that?" Spyro played along

" Shhhh, it will be our secret" she winked and dropped on her back in front of his paws. She stared at the ceiling for a while before laughing suddenly " Damn I'm really behaving like a pregnant lizard" she sighed tiredly " What are the chances that you won't stand in my defense?"

" Zero"

She closed her eyes " I was afraid so"

" Honestly Cynder I don't understand you, as your friend I'm going to protect you, why do you worry so much?"

" For starters stop using the words protect you I hate that and I'm capable of protecting myself thank you very much. Two..." she set her emerald gaze on him "... can't you seriously see what is happening? People think I'm the one who twists your mind, they think that you are betraying them for me"

A growl rumbled inside Spyro's throat " It's not the people, it's that damn Brill who messes with their heads"

" I don't remember Brill showing up in Munitions Forge when we arrived at that miners camp, or perhaps I've slept through the day when he invented teleportation"

He looked to the side, she has him against the wall but there in no way in hell he'll going to admit it " That was just a coincidence, besides all these people are overreacting"

The turn of his head was enough for Cynder to see through his ruse " Then there is a line you would never cross?"

" Of course" Spyro replied with a break that could only be heard by a very perceptive person...or his best friend

" Really? Then look in my eyes and tell me what exactly you wouldn't do for me?"

He laughed nervously while still staring at the wall " Seriously? You want to play games now?"

" it's not a game"

" Feels like one"

" Look into my eyes" she said more sternly

He wiggled anxiously " Stop"

" Do it"

This was it, the tone that ordered him to compel and he just couldn't resist it. He slowly turned his head just like a heavy chain would be wrapped around his neck to hinder his movements, hoping that his eyes won't betray him.

His hope was in vain.

When he set his amethyst gaze on her Cynder felt like an icy finger touched her heart, something she feared yet expected to see displayed itself before her in its full glory. She could clearly see the letters shimmering within his purple eyes, forming a one word that filled her with tremendous dread.

Nothing.

She bumped her head gently on the floor in resignation and horror " Dear Ancestors..."

" Oh come on!" Spyro protested " You're thinking about this too much, everything will be fine I assure you"

She didn't believe that " From the day you saved me I've been doing everything to somehow make up for all my crimes. I knew it wouldn't be easy, I didn't expect people to forgive me at a day's notice, redemption takes time, but I didn't realize that it would be hard. I pressed forward without thinking about the consequences of my presence because I knew I could count on you, or Sparx to some degree. To back me up and urge to continue forward when I needed that. I didn't realize that I could have such a devastating effect on the people around me"

She shook her head in resignation, the white horns on her head scratched the stony floor below " And now look at us, we are sitting in an empty hospital because you scared off all the people just to defend me, even Flare received his share of insults. What I believed to be a bumpy walk in the park turned out to be a climb a top a very steep mountain. The road I took in my life feels like some sort...path of delusions. The same thing is happening with you but you just don't want to see it."

Cynder's eyes sparkled with sudden enlightenment " Hey! That would be a good title if some idiot decided to write a book about your misfortunes. How sad it would be?"

She let out a stifled laugh and rubbed her forehead, humor has left her when reality once again announced its presence " Shit, I feel like such a burden lately"

" You are not a burden Cynder" Spyro comforted her

" I didn't expect you to say anything else"

The purple dragon rolled his eyes " What do you want to hear? You want me to confirm that you are a burden? Alright you are a burden"

She looked at him, he could swear he saw life slipping through her eyes. Spyro met her gaze confidently.

" And you know what else? I don't care. No matter how heavy you are I will carry you, if the ground will shatter under my paws I will raise with you to the air. If clouds will stop me then I would dive into the see with you on my back. There, did I make you feel any better?"

Whatever force was pulling her life away vanished, yet to his disappointment joy didn't take its place.

" I wish you didn't say that"

" Ok" Spyro said resigned " You lost me there"

Cynder closed her eyes " You want to know what Mole-Yair told me? He said that I will bring harm to everyone close to me." she raised to a sitting position " And I fear he was right, that damn blind ass was right" she sighed " Shit."

" Cynder-"

" I should leave"

Her words were like a huge hammer cracking the ground under his paws and the void that slipped through those cracks threatened to swallow him.

" WHAT?!" Spyro exclaimed in horror when he recovered his balance after the artificial tremor.

Cynder closed her eyes trying to prevent tears skimming through her wavering defense " I've looked for my destiny after you saved me but that search only brought pain and led me straight into Gaul's hands. Then you were there for me a second time and brought great relief by encasing us into that crystal. When we began to travel again, after some time I abandoned my destiny and began to share yours, I was truly happy back then."

She wiped a tear running down her cheek " But now I know that such a connection is forbidden, even if I pretend that my presence isn't toxic I can't live a lie forever. As much as I hate and fear to admit it I believe that my shadow is slowly melding with yours and you just can't mix heaven with hell."

" No!" Spyro protested angrily and somewhat resigned " You cannot let the people mess with your head. Listen to me, you have to stay! I'm your friend and I know what's best for you"

" But it's not best for you!" she growled, two moist lines clearly visible on both her cheeks " I beg you to think about yourself. Just this once!"

" I am! For Ancestor's sake I am!" he shouted angrily, making his friend to recoil back " My selfishness is why you cannot leave! All those things I've said, do you really think they had no purpose? Remember the words that I carved near my statue in the temple? Part of me wanted to cheer you up back then, but there was a part that put all of my heart into those words"

Cynder walked down the memory lane, she clearly remembered the words.

_ The reason of my existence._

" Spyro listen to me-"

" No!" he protested " This time you will listen to me. If those words don't convince you remember that you always keep your promises. Your words not mine. And you still have to say that you won't go anywhere since our conversation near Munitions Forge was interrupted. You owe me that promise!"

Now that was the most stupidest argument she has ever heard, how can you demand a promise from someone? Not to mention that if she would promise him that she would tie herself to him.

" I keep my promises, you're right, but I can't see how I owe you anything and even if I did that promise would force me to be stuck with you"

" Really?" he looked around with fake shock " I didn't really thought about that!"

Despite his irritating act she smiled, every now and then she adored that infuriating wit of his.

" You're such a pig" Cynder answered with an endearing tone

Spyro's mouth twitched into a smirk " Now that you admitted that you keep your promises let me remind you of something. Concentrate. There was a mountain, a run in the forest, I had a nose bleed, you felt guilty, and..."

" Shit" she cussed, the dragoness knew where this is going and knew that she was defeated by her own weapon.

" Can you repeat what you promised me?

Cynder dropped her head " That we won't blame ourselves when something unexpected happens to any of us while trying to help"

Spyro grinned " Exactly"

" How can you remember such things? It was ages ago"

He shrugged " Everyone has some perversions"

She giggled and looked at him " But that was just a silly bet Spyro. You can't take it seriously"

Still grinning Spyro shrugged innocently " A promise is a promise"

Cynder snorted " Alright I stay, you win"

He beamed proudly.

She pulled herself up " You better not regret this"

Spyro laughed triumphantly " Even if I wanted to I couldn't do it, you seduced me"

Cynder felt like a bolt would run through her whole body, flexing every possible muscle " What did you say?"

His mouth instantly closed itself shut and the laugh emitting from his throat died with a groan. He cursed his thoughtlessness.

Spyro scratched the back of his head, nervously " You know... people said you seduced me, that's why I can't get enough of you" he cackled, he only now realized that his throat became suddenly hoarse " It was a joke" he offered her an uncertain smile.

It was then when his eyes looked behind her and spotted a group of people running behind a window, and they were heading their way.

" Someone's coming"

The moment he finished speaking the door of the hospital swung open, both dragons sharply turned towards the source of the sound. The hospital once again was again filled with different kind of sounds as a very numerous group of people barged through the door, the peculiar things was that that they were all healers.

Besides the uncomprehensibleshouts the hospital was also filled with noises of medical equipment bouncing of each other. Stretchers, both normal and on wheels, bags with all different flasks jiggling inside and backpacks with rustling crystals. At least now the dragons knew where all the medical supplies gone to.

The strange thing was that the supplies the group of healers brought back was completely intact, like they expedition was sent to treat thousands of soldiers on the final stage of a bloody battlefield just to find that it was only a couple of farmers after some simple accidents.

When the group was slowly settling in inside the hospital, not paying the dragons any attention a stretcher rolled in with a white reddish sheet covering someone on it, it was blood. Due to the amount of people surrounding the rolling stretcher they were unable to really say who was the unlucky victim. However when the stretcher turned a sharp turn into one of the corridors they could spot a piece of a bluish draconic tail protruding from the bloody sheet.

Moments later two more stretchers rolled in, they also had a white sheet covering them but there was no blood on them. However they were sure that the stretchers weren't empty, the bulges that covered both materials told both dragons that there is a pile of something rough hiding below them.

Just behind the stretchers entered someone with who both dragons were familiar with, the old cheetah wore a bloody yellowish shirt and brown pants. She was clutching a crunched white shirt in one of her hands, well it was surely white once, but now it was completely soaked with blood. In the contrary to everyone else, the old cheetah did actually notice the two young dragons.

" What are you doing here?" the cheetah shouted surprised and somewhat tired

" Amela what happened?" Spyro asked curiously, his eyes still jumping from person to person as if adjusting to seeing crowds again

" Are you hurt?" the cheetah asked worryingly

" We're fine" Cynder replied, as Spyro she was getting used to the commotion " What's going on?"

The old cheetah swiftly spun on her paws and made her way towards the corridor where the bloody stretcher disappeared " I don't have time to explain, I have to operate. Go to the City Hall, I'll meet you there when I'm done here" with that she was gone.

Both dragons just stood there watching all the running people, once more they were left confused. The commotion didn't really bother them as the thought that blood was involved in whatever happened out there in the Dragon Realms.