FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 15

Tiny bits of rocks were shooting in every direction, silver claws attached to bleeding purple paws were slashing at the black rock below in quick succession. Growls of pain and unspeakable rabidity followed each strike, the attacking creature had only one goal in mind and wanted to achieve it no matter what.

The black form moved, with a rumbling roar the rocky ground began to arch upwards. The Keeper which was the victim of this ferocious attack began to pull itself of the ground.

Feeling the golem moving Spyro let out a raging roar, his mouth was filled with his own blood, his lips were cut in many places, and the teeth sent numbing pulses throughout his whole oral cavity. he sank his claws into the cracks in the golem's natural armor and immediately closed his maw at the spot he was so feverishly attacking.

His razor teeth protested, sending sharp bolts of pain, as if trying to say that they aren't meant to bite rock. Spyro didn't hear that, his mind was filled only with the ringing sound of parts of his own teeth breaking on the solid surface. His first attempt to clench his jaw on the neck was a failure, his maw just bounced off the rock.

Swallowing down his own blood Spyro tried his luck again, once more his teeth rattled inside his mouth but this time he managed to catch a loose piece of rock that his claws provided early. The magical fire was gushing through the cracks in the golem's body, burning his paws and snout with its heat, the dragon didn't feel the pain, he was only focused on reaping the golem apart.

Flexing his neck muscles to their limit Spyro began to pull, blood dripped from his closed lips and onto the rock.

He didn't stop.

Growling, he yanked his neck farther and farther, the rock was giving up, bit by bit he was separating it from the rest of the golem's body. With one last pull he finally tore off the thick stone. The magical fire gushed from the hole, filling the nearby area with immense heat, the construct roared and began to thrash, as if trying to support its essence in killing the pest on its back.

Their combined efforts were in vain.

Spyro stared at the fire like it was nothing more than stale air and excess of water expelled from a whale's blowhole. The construct's shakes were no match against the dragon's firm grip on its body and to show who's on the winning side of this struggle Spyro breathed Ice into the hole on the golem's neck.

The creature roared and immediately hunkered its body down, the drake felt as its shoulders were flexing themselves when the Keeper crossed its arms across its body.

A shockwave was released.

Spyro shivered when the powerful gust of magical energy ran through his body. The quakes that tormented him were powerful, it felt like every part of his body was being squeezed by a strong metallic fist with only one task set before it- to press out all the blood from his veins like juice from a fruit.

Another shockwave.

The dragon let out a groan of anguish, his usual white of the eye turned completely red, it was like his eyes were bleeding from the inside. Crimson lines of blood trickled from his nose and down the corners of his mouth. His body remained steady, it was fighting against a force that in any other circumstances would bend it to its will. His bones wanted to submit, but the dragon pushed them against the magical wave, not allowing them to flinch even a bit.

It was an agonizing struggle.

Another shockwave.

The magical strike kicked the breath out of his lungs, for that brief moment Spyro achieved a total clarity of mind. Every dose of pain that was somewhat silenced before kicked in, the flush of agony was so intense that he didn't even have the strength to scream, not that he really could that in the first place. The constant struggle against strong pushes of gravity, magical in nature, but still bone bending gravity, exhausted his organism.

His muscles surrendered, they were completely drained of energy. His whole body dangled limply from the golem's back, the claws on his hind legs slipped from the golem's body, the only thing that was holding him were the claws on his forelegs that accidently got stuck against some tight cavities within the rocky armor.

Even his own blood didn't have any taste, if he couldn't see that he was actually bleeding he would never realize that, his tongue was completely numb. Spyro tried to inhale some air but couldn't do it, he only let out a horrific, heart breaking quiet rasp, then another one, and another. His lungs have collapsed, it was clear as day, his body had enough.

His vision darkened, everything became so... indifferently blurry, every sound became a distant echo. Not even a single thought was crossing his mind, the only memories he had were of this battle. It was like most of his brain was already dead, only a tiny portion of it remained...but not for long.

Taking all those Keepers solo had to end like this, those things were designed to crush life from creatures like him. Maybe he could destroy five of those golems all by himself but definitely not all at once. Purple or not he is still only a dragon.

And then he was reminded that's not the truth.

He felt HIM stronger than ever, his dark counterpart was clawing at his soul, Spyro could feel as he was tearing through the reinforced veil. The dark claws were slashing with such ferocity that it was painful, even in his current condition, but that was no ordinary pain of the body, it was something far worse and there was no cure for it.

The dragon wanted to defend himself but his practically depleted strength was no match for the dark force. He felt another slash and this one tore a hole in his soul, Spyro sensed as something evil, dark and parasitic slipped through the freshly created opening, like a worm slithering into a newly drilled hole in a rotten apple.

He gasped. His lungs were whole again, and they voraciously sucked every bit of air until they were full.

Spyro's whole body tensed when a powerful dark bolt of energy filled his every vein. His heart struck his chest with such a force as it awakened from its slumber that it almost tore through his torso. The pound was so potent that it pushed all the air out of his lungs with one bloody cough.

The golem tried to throw the drake of its body with another magical strike.

This time the dragon felt no physical pain.

He felt something entirely else.

It was hate, despair, pity, love, respect, it were the good emotions and the bad ones, all at the same time and in truth none at all.

Chaos.

It was an uncontrollable chaos.

The golem attacked again.

And the construct will learn just how destructive it can be.

With a rumbling roar that sounded like the embodiment of this chaos Spyro pushed his dangling body away from the Keeper's back, just to stop it when it was far enough. He flexed every muscle in his lower body, starting from his waist to his back legs, and they obeyed, boiling with raw energy. The dragon pushed his body back, preparing his claws to sink into the golem's body.

And they did sank, his claws went deep, forcing a surprise roar from the golem. When they could go no farther Spyro manipulated his muscles so the claws on his hind legs resembled bird's talons and just like the eagle's natural weapons they were able to get a firm grip on their prey, and the prey was nothing else than the rocky armor of the golem.

Taking advantage of the recently acquired foothold the dragon pulled himself up, his snout was directly in front of the burning hole in the golem's neck. The drake's mouth opened wide and from the bottom of his throat came a freezing ice breath that went straight into the fiery opening.

The golem roared and began to thrash wildly, swinging its arms behind its back like crazy. Spyro pressed his body to the rocky wall, he felt as the Keeper's huge fingers were clenching and unclenching themselves just above his folded wings. The construct's rough and massive build prevented it from squeezing the life out of the purple pest on its back.

The golem eventually realized that it can't reach the drake and returned to its earlier tactic. It was too dumb to understand that it only had to throw itself on some wall or something similarly large and thick, another golem would do, and the drake would be nothing more than a bloody splotch on its back. But then again why it needed a higher intelligence when it never encountered a creature that is capable of withstanding its shockwaves.

Even the most impossible things can change it seems.

The golem in its desperation began to hurl one shockwave after the other but they didn't have any effect, the dragon's icy breath remained unhindered. The fiery essence was no match for the dark fueled powers of the purple drake, the fire was losing this battle, large portions of it were being replaced by an icy mist with each passing second.

Spyro's offensive continued until the golem suddenly froze in place.

The dragon pulled away from the construct's back and immediately transformed into a spiked boulder. The moment the Keeper let out a powerful roar a fiery ring shot from its body, The usually hot lashes were now nothing more than a delicate graze of a warm feather on the dragon's rocky body.

Everything was so simple, his elemental powers were empowered tenfold, his defensive capabilities were also improved, the rocky shell that currently surrounded him was as thick as the walls of Warfang.

The golem eventually finished his roar and with it came the end of the fiery ring.

It was time to strike.

Spyro returned to his natural form and was back on the golem's back in an instant. Everything was replaying itself, the golem wanted to catch him, the dragon avoided its hands by pressing his body to the rocky armor, the golem tried to throw him off with another portion of shockwaves while Spyro started to breathe Ice into the hole in the golem's neck again.

The construct's moves were becoming more and more sluggish, the fire that was its life essence was almost entirely gone. It kept vanishing and vanishing under the constant aggression of the ice mist until it was finally gone.

The golem froze in place.

Then cracks appeared on the length of its whole body and the once powerful enemy turned to rubble during a cacophony of rumbling pounds, joining its other companions in their unwanted fate. Dirt and icy mist shot into the air when the massive rocks landed on the ground with thudding noises. In the center of this destruction stood a sole young purple drake, the howling nabbed the raising cool mist, eventually revealing the dragon's completely healthy body.

Spyro began to pant, but those gasps of air were not related to physical exhaustion but more like a spiritual one. It was like two hearts were beating underneath his purple scales, it was like two minds processed every detail at the same time, it was like two souls were merging into one. He felt the dark presence stronger than ever, it was just underneath his scales, if he would extend his paw he was sure he would feel it in his grasp.

There was no turning back now, the dark parasite has wrapped itself around his soul and was squeezing it will all its might, the dark tendrils sowing corruption across his whole spirit, until they eventually swallowed it whole. Spyro has lost the battle for his will, and there was absolutely no chance that he can overpower the evil presence by himself.

He felt like his dark counterpart tried to push all those dark feelings on the pedestal, as if encouraging the drake to pick one. Only one, it will be enough.

The evil parasite had forgotten about one thing however.

A heart that's made of gold, doesn't mean that it's for sale.

Spyro felt the darkness within him screaming in fury, its evil thinking was disrupted by the dragon's true nature. The dark presence could no longer think straight, one more chaos settled upon their combined souls. Even if his body was no longer his to control Spyro still managed to smile, there is always time for a tease, and hell it tastes sweeter when even if you lose you still provoke those cocky triumphant bastards. He learned this lesson from Cynder.

" WHERE IS SHE?" the darkness within him screamed, his evil counterpart knew that it's all her fault

Spyro began to look around, there were golems everywhere, blocking most of his view. Among them he noticed dragons, practically all of them were battling those constructs, but there were also some, like the three idiots over there, who formed a circle and were doing who knows what. The object of his search was somewhere out there, and nothing will stop him from accomplishing his goal.

" WHERE ARE YOU?"

He can't find him.

He can't find her.

He can't find it.

... What is he looking for exactly?

The darkness roared deafeningly from the inside, forcing its purple shell to drop on the ground while he covered his head with his purple paws. The evil presence felt as the brain of its shell was about to explode.

Pain.

He is capable of killing himself.

" WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS? WHO IS TOYING WITH ME?"

Dragons.

Spyro immediately sprung up on all fours.

These are the creatures why all of this started, it was them who forced him into this state. It is their constant aggression towards...towards...

" WHAT IS HER NAME?" the darkness growled

It was their hostile behavior that led to this, their gutless stealing up. Everything they needed to do was to grow a pair and attack...attack...

" WHAT IS HER NAME!" the evil presence blared furiously. It knew it was important and it couldn't focus

No matter, time for games is over, chaotic thoughts or not, he's the one who calls the shots now. He can't remember what he is looking for precisely, what will make his good counterpart disappear, but he was sure that he will eventually find it. it's somewhere out there and he will hear someone or something screaming in agony and showing him that thing he is looking for.

So close.

Spyro moved forward, his steps were full of confidence and that special cold sway, the walk of a hero and killer in one. The battle was still fiery, the dragons were holding their ground against almost unending waves of the golems quite well, bits of rocks, shockwaves, even elemental attacks, all those things were flying all around him and he just kept walking like nothing was happening.

Spyro's point of focus was the fighting ahead where large numbers of dragons and golems were fighting each other. Every step he made only empowered the chaos ravaging his mind, he didn't know his target, everything from that mess up ahead will do. So close to being free, there has to something out there that will point him in the right direction, there has...

A loud explosion came from his right, followed by a reddish shockwave, a battered body of a young drake dropped in front of his paws.

The wounded drake looked up at the purple snout above him, one of his eyes was missing.

" Spyro..." the drake rasped, his mumble was full of pitiful plea.

Spyro cocked his head and examined the thing below him.

This is not what will set him free.

The young dragon began to cough horribly, spitting out blood.

The purple dragon's head tilted to the other side.

Will it serve as a cue?

" Hel-"

Spyro sliced the thing's throat with one powerful slash of his claws, ending the crackling sound coming out of its mouth.

He waited patiently, observing the blood flowing out from the cut, the dying thing on the ground was gurgling the last tones of its fading life, thwarting the smooth flow of the blood with its spasms. No matter, Spyro continued his vigil like an artist waiting for an inspiration.

The thing eventually ceased its boring struggle. Nothing happened.

This wasn't his masterpiece.

Spyro callously stepped over the carcass, that dead thi...dragon didn't offer any guidance, he needs something else. A golem stepped out from the crowd of fighters, it noticed him immediately and greeted the purple drake with a shockwave. Spyro kept on walking unafraid of the magical attack heading his way. He felt nothing at all, except a single thought banging inside his chaotic mind.

Is this the one?

*

Cynder ran underneath another set of claws.

Part of her wanted to stop and let the dragons take out their anger on her, she deserves nothing else, there has to be a price to pay for her stupid mistake.

Another part of her protested, pointing out where her loyalty truly lies and for who she is really fighting for. Her every move was accompanied by a hardly noticeable shift of her eyes and her emerald gaze always found the one who she couldn't lose, but at the same time couldn't be close to. He is the one who forgave her mistakes, he is the one who always trusted her, he is the one who always stood by her.

That bond between them is what keeps her going, that bond is what prevents her from drowning in a sea of guilt and regret. Her anchor that protects her from the wild waves of the world, an anchor she knows that will always be there for her. Her only duty is to keep it from becoming blemished with her dirt.

What a wicked game to play.

Cynder jumped to the side, avoiding another slash of draconic claws.

One of the dragons growled furiously and instead of using his paws again just dashed towards the young dragoness. Cynder was surprised by this sudden move and was too slow to prepare her defense, the earth dragoness who was charging her made a swift slide and slammed into the black female with her swinging rump.

The strong smack threw her away and straight onto the ground, Cynder instantly tried to pull herself up despite her rattling in agony bones but her attempt was thwarted by the greenish ground turning into a thick slippery ice. Her legs pulled away in every possible crosswise direction, for a moment there she looked like a special draconic four-legged spider.

When her jaw bounced off the ice and her teeth almost sliced her tongue in half she swore that there will be a day when she starts to dance on this frigging ice.

Her wandering thoughts returned back to her the moment a huge shadow slid along the ground and loomed over her. Cynder instantly unfolded her wings and pushed them down sharply, pushing herself into the air with one fast move. Just in time to avoid two bluish paws striking the slippery spot where she was earlier.

The black dragoness instantly pushed herself below the belly of the female who attacked her, then she directed herself up, with her claws at the ready. She sank them deep into the purplish underbelly of the ice dragoness and glued herself to the female's body.

" Get off bitch!" the ice dragoness roared painfully and momentarily lifted all of her legs up

The gravity took care of the rest, the unsupported body of the dragoness was drawn to the ground. Seeing where this is going Cynder tried to let go off her attacker but ran out of time. She screamed in pain when her body was powerfully slammed into the slippery ground, she could hear the ice cracking when her back hit the once greenish earth.

The numbing agony that ravaged her body drained all the energy from the muscles in her legs, making them lose the bloody grip on the ice dragonesses body. Coughing crimson spits and with blood flowing down from her nostrils Cynder instinctively rolled to the side with groans of pain and began to crawl away.

The dragoness feeling that the painful weight was gone from her underbelly pushed her ferociously growling mouth underneath her chest. Restricted by the joints of her draconic skeleton her neck didn't went far, but went deep enough for the dragoness to locate her prey.

Cynder yelped when she felt rows of powerful teeth slamming themselves shut over her blade-like tip. Then there was a powerful tug, that felt like her spine was being pulled through her ass when her tail was stretched to its limits.

The Ice dragoness made a strong jerk of her neck and parted her mouth, the battered body of the young black dragoness was hurled across the slowly melting ice. Cynder's wild and agonizing slide ended even quicker than it started, she collided with something and stopped. Lying on her back she opened her eyes.

Just in time to see two bluish paws with sharp claws heading her way.

Cynder screamed and her vision went blurry when she felt long deep cuts tearing her chest and shoulders, the moment her body returned from the agonizing stretch she received two more slashes across her snout. Her eyelids automatically closed themselves shut, she felt the tips of the claws running across them, she was lucky that she didn't lose her eyes.

Blood was everywhere and the pain was unbearable, with her vision obscured by the reddish liquid Cynder had troubles to see what is going on, but even through this bloody veil she noticed a female snout heading for her throat, saliva was dripping from them like venom from dreadwing's fangs.

Despite the blood Cynder's eyes opened wide in horror, instinctively, driven by the sheer impulse of survival she slipped her right paw exactly in between the two sets of teeth belonging to the gaping draconic maw. Some of the razor sharp spikes reached her throat, just above the choker, making quite deep puncture wounds in it, most of them stopped on her paw however, devastating it beyond imagination, if not for the silver bracelet on her leg her paw would be crushed to bits.

Cynder's squeaky scream of agony died somewhere among the noises of her attacker's shattering teeth and roars of anguish. The crushing force on her paw ended instantly, the screaming ice dragoness withdrew her maw, bits of teeth were protruding from her widely opened shrieking mouth.

The dragoness made some shaky steps backwards and dropped on her butt, the moment she touched her snout her screaming only intensified. Remnants of her teeth were bursting from her maw, followed by streams of sticky, thick blood that currently filled her mouth to the brink and was even flowing down her jaw.

Cynder didn't hear her opponent, every sound was blocked by her own cry of pain, she stared at her paw with wide, watery eyes. Tears were flowing down from her shinning emerald orbs just like the ice dragonesses teeth were sliding slowly down her bloody silvery bracelet. Even the small claw on her wrist wasn't spared, there were still massacred strands of the ice dragonesses palate impaled on it.

Her leg looked awful, the teeth went deep slicing her scales wherever they could like they were nothing more than fragile canvas, if not for the bracelet that threw her enemy away nothing would be left of her bones. That impact with her bangle had its good and bad side, the good obviously being her intact bones, the bad one was strictly related with the teeth, shattered or not, the dragonesses sharp yank of the head tore patches of Cynder's scales like a healer peels off used adhesive bandage.

The young black female couldn't stop staring at her injured leg. The spots where her flesh was roughly torn off were pulsing, every such quick silent cadence pumped more and more blood from her veins. The feeling of it flowing down in streams was overwhelming, it was everywhere, on her legs, chest and neck.

Neck.

With a painful and horrified sob she brought her other paw to her throat. Cynder's heart was racing, she was terrified, like any other living creature would be, that her life was fading through the holes in her neck. As a fighter she was used to seeing death, and as a fighter was prepared to face the Reaper more boldly than anybody else, yet the natural survival instinct was against such meeting and its only goal was to prolong it as long as possible.

With adrenaline boiling inside her veins Cynder ran her paw along her neck, smearing the blood all over her scales. She looked at her paw, it was covered in the grimy thick liquid. The sight of it made her yelp in horror, impulsively she ran her paw across her neck again and again. Her breathing becoming more hectic every time she looked at her bloody paw.

With another yelp full of dread Cynder eventually rolled on her belly and used her wings to lift her body up on her three still strong enough legs. The move was so quick that she didn't know what was happening until the feeling of soft grass caressed the bottom sides of her paws for longer than ten seconds.

She was panting heavily but her mind was slowly adding everything up, she isn't dying, the cuts on her throat are serious but not mortal.

Not mortal.

Not mortal.

With a terribly bitter gulp Cynder looked down, her eyes automatically located her wounded paw, as if they knew what to look for. It was hanging limply above the ground, fifteen centimeters at least and curled in the wrist almost at a ninety degree angle. Blood was profusely flowing down from the wounds, it was dripping from her paw like water from an insecure faucet.

Droplet after droplet hit the ground below, turning it red. As she observed the flowing blood the world began to swirl around her, nausea and vertigo hit her. Fatigue is finally taking its toll, it had to, she lost lots of blood, and the wounds and overall pain ravaging her whole body didn't help either.

So much for being nice.

Cynder wavered on her legs and to prevent herself from collapsing she had to bounce a couple of times to regain her balance. She looked up and immediately was grateful that the dragons aren't seasoned warriors, otherwise she really doubted she would get up from that ground. They seemed to be as shocked as her, they obviously didn't see so much blood before, especially draconic blood. But even a trance of such fighters has to end eventually.

The eyes of the two still mostly uninjured dragons flared up, both of them let some really deafening roars. Cynder in her pitiful condition even felt the gust their draconic throats created and it was enough to push her into another struggle for balance.

" SHE'S MINE!" a profoundly aggressive male blare cut the wind, she recognized that voice instantly.

" Perfect" Cynder muttered and let out an amused painful chuckle seconds later. She couldn't help herself, she didn't have the strength to be angry or depressed anymore and her cursed existence just demanded a reply, a display of sarcastic joy is as good comment as any.

All three still alive dragons looked up, just in time to notice a powerfully built malachite dragon landing in between them and the black dragoness. His fierce landing sent dirt and gust in the air, the three drakes had to cover their eyes.

Cynder's and Capro's gazes met, his grey eyes were cold as before, his body however was in a worse condition than earlier. His scales were cracked in places, like something really heavy and almost round hit his body repeatedly. His jaw was also broken, not seriously but there was that clearly visible displacement of his teeth. However no matter how awfully beaten his body was the dragon didn't seem to be bothered by that, that hungry and arrogant smile that spread across his lips as he eyed the wounded black dragoness only confirmed this.

" I'm going to enjoy this" Capro growled, the smile never disappearing from his snout as he began his advance towards the female

The three dragons also shared the malachite drake's enthusiasm as they went right behind him, their murderous eyes focused entirely on the bleeding figure of Cynder.

And then suddenly Capro stopped.

" And where do you think you're going?" he asked never turning his head to face his followers, the dragon's voice was boiling with malice

The three stopped at the sound of the drake's voice, clearly recognizing the tone in it which caused all of them to look at each other in confusion.

" And what do you think?" The earth dragoness eventually snapped back " We're going to end this bitch"

" I sincerely doubt that"

" What?!" the green female blurt out shocked

" Shhe killed Arath!" the young ice dragoness exclaimed indignantly, bloody saliva was still gushing from her mouth

" We're going to rip her apart together!" the bluish male chimed in ecstatically

" There is no we" Capro replied with cold abhorrence and turned towards the three dragons " She's mine and mine alone"

Cynder let out an amused quiet snort " Seriously? All this time I've got my ass kicked just to be saved in the end by the cliché scenario of bad guys arguing who gets the kill?" she chuckled and looked around the sky as if searching for something or someone " Really?"

" Are you INSANE?!" the ice dragon shouted

" I'm so close" the malachite drake replied almost longingly " you won't ruin that"

" All of us want to see that slut dead!" the earth dragoness yelled " So let's kill her, a slice for everybody I say!"

" No"

The green female laughed mockingly " What? She's you're mate or something? Too young for you don't you think?"

Capro threw the female an irascible glare " Get lost. All of you"

" Like hell you crazy fuck" the young ice dragoness blurt out and pressed confidently forward, just right of the malachite drake

The dragon's eyes shifted towards the young female, if they could kill she girl would be dead already. The dragoness paid no attention to him, this is when his huge tail slid along the ground and then pranced up. The female yelped when she noticed a sharp bladelike extension of a draconic tail moving swiftly towards her. There was no time to run, she closed her eyes expecting the worst.

Nothing.

The girl eventually opened her eyes and immediately swallowed a very bitter lump in her throat, the green dragon's tail tip stopped just mere inches away from her neck. She offered the dragon a look full of incredulity and terror.

Capro's presumed indifference remained unchanged " Back. Off"

And then the dragons began yelling, Cynder just stood there watching the scene, desperately trying to find the signal for her escape. Yet she knew she can't rush things, if she would try to escape now, those idiots would definitely forget about their differences and throw themselves at her. She has better chances pretending to be a bleeding, breathing- barely to be precise-, black statue and maybe, just maybe they will be too busy fighting each other than looking for her.

What a wicked game to play.

*

" Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap" Sparx kept mumbling the same word over and over again as he was maneuvering through the trampled forest.

Forest! Bah!

If this place can be called a forest than he is a dragon. Everything was crumbled and smeared across the ground like it was crushed under a sliding shell of a very huge turtle. Those rocky creeps are everywhere and to make things worse, most of them are still out there where all of this hell began, just like he thought it did!

And those damn walking rocks can't shut up!

His head started to hurt after listening to the unending rumbling roars of those statues...golems or whatever. But they didn't care about his discomfort, of course they didn't! They kept screaming and with every roar calling more and more of their even more rocky friends.

There is no sense in fighting them in the open, their only chance for success is to make a push towards those thing's domain.

Easier said than done!

Who knows how long he was here, it was no easy task to get here, even for a small dragonfly like him, he had to play it safe otherwise everything would be nothing. Everyone would be dead and he would end his life like a mosquito, splashed on the hands of one those things.

He had to play it safe!

" Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap"

What if they are already dead? Every single one of them?

Sparx slapped the side of his head ferociously as if beating sense to it.

Those things are still roaring, they have to be alive!

What if she isn't?

There was no slap this time.

He was supposed to be her eyes, and where is he? Sightseeing! Maybe the risk wasn't worth it, finding the origin of those things cannot be compared to deliberate ignore of their deal. She after all kept the end of her bargain when he asked for her help, while he did...well, what he did. He has to pay the debt somehow and today he has squandered that opportunity. His parents tried to teach him many important things, most of them he doesn't remember by choice, but there is that one rule he will never forget.

The dragonflies of this family stick together.

The debt can't be paid today, but that doesn't mean he can't make amends for his failure. They both may be still alive and most likely in need of his assistance, if this will be the case he will have to choose one. An easy choice for Sparx from the past, but this Sparx today is a guide and a hero, self-proclaimed perhaps and more of a sidekick than a guide but it's still something.

His brother isn't prepared to make hard choices, but he has to learn that it is a necessary...curse, especially in time like this. To save someone, one has to suffer, it's the merciless rule of the universe and nothing can change that. He has to show how to obey it.

This is why his brother will have to fend for himself, whatever he is going through right now Sparx was sure he will make it, if not...there's his other part that will make sure he does pull it through. Eventually he will shake it off, as far as they know there are no consequences of that creepy change, the only problem is to deal with it.

Or are there more?

He sacrifices his brother's soul, letting it be corrupted by an evil being. Even if the corruption is temporary what truly happens when its finally gone? Who can say for certain that when it leaves it doesn't leave permanent scars on the soul that have nothing to do with guilt, without anybody realizing this?

These are the so called hard choices, sometimes for the best of all the good ones have to be sacrificed. This is how it is, and nothing can change that.

Sparx gasped when suddenly somewhere beyond the destroyed forest a some kind of elemental attack exploded with a garish flash. All kinds of silhouettes were moving around the battlefield.

He was so close.

" Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap" the dragonfly mumbled again and covering his eyes behind his fingers pushed from the forest and into the open

His eyes went wide when he noticed the destruction and overall carnage, in that moment he realized his mission took way too long. He instantly began to scrabble around with his eyes, they have to be somewhere out there, She has to be somewhere out there.

And then his scan came to an immediate stop.

In the distance he spotted the characteristic purple form of his brother engaging some of the golems, he was still himself, at least from his point of view, whatever is going in his brother's head is an entirely different matter. For a moment he wanted to dash towards the dragon, filled by hope and relief that perhaps he isn't late and perhaps he can still be saved from the horrible fate of succumbing to darkness at the cost of anything else.

Yet he didn't move.

He might be an idiot, and with all certainty is one, but he is an observant idiot. Only seconds of intense attention for his brother told Sparx that there is something really wrong with him. They have grown up together and the dragonfly remembered that his sibling had that special...that strange...that...whatever it was. A brotherly mark so to speak that he would recognize anywhere and that purple dragon out there...

He wasn't his brother.

No doubt he wasn't entirely gone, Sparx was sure that in he would apply a proper nudge he could be swayed from that evil path, even by him. However the dragonfly did nothing, those are the hard choices and he will have to live with them.

The dragonfly once again began to look around, if his brother is still purple then that means she is still alive. Spyro would definitely feel her death, he would also in his own way, but their hearts were silent.

His however awakened seconds later.

The moment he spotted a still form of a dragon and three more nearby and among them that crazy huge dude he just knew he found her way before his eyes actually located the dragoness. She looked horrible.

She was completely covered in a grimy layer of blood and dirt, it couldn't be entirely hers since she would most likely bleed to death right now. However that wasn't much of a comforting thought, her whole body was devastated, covered in cuts and slashes that bled profusely, not to mention her risen paw, now that was a sight that made him sick.

Yet she was still standing, barely judging from her shakes and if he won't do something she will collapse, or they will make her collapse. Either way she won't be getting up after that.

Not happening.

Sparx spun swiftly and instantly located a golem that was as close to the group of dragons as possible, the construct was a fresh arrival, it was currently marching to smash some heads. The dragonfly whistled loudly. The golem continued its walk.

He whistled again.

Still nothing.

" You dumb brick!" Sparx shouted " Look at me when I call you!"

Nothing.

The dragonfly made his way towards the ground and picked a small rock from it. The moment he returned to his natural position in the air the rock was sent flying at the golem. The tiny stone bounced off the creature with a barely hearable clap. Yet it was enough to get the golem's attention, the construct turned around, looking for the culprit.

Sparx waved his arms wildly " Over here! I'm over here dumb brick!"

The golem's eyes flared up at the sight of the dragonfly, with a rumbling roar it began its march towards the small glowing creature with sole intention to crush it.

" That's right!" he exclaimed triumphantly " Come, don't be shy" with those words he began to fly to the side and then in a circle, positioning his body so his back would be facing the dragons who cornered Cynder. While he did that he never lost eye contact with the construct and kept the necessary distance between both of them so it won't use that ring of its.

" Don't slow down" Sparx encouraged the golem while he himself began to back away from it

The Keeper roared.

This lure lasted for a while, Sparx kept encouraging the rocky creature while he himself kept throwing quick glances behind his shoulder. Every such look brought him closer to his destination.

" That's right!" the dragonfly continued his motivating speech " Just a little longer"

The golem roared again.

" Almost there..."

Silence.

" Now" with that Sparx swiftly spun around and started to fly towards the three dragons as fast as he could, his eyes however were looking behind his shoulder. His head shifted to its natural direction the moment he noticed the golem extending its arms.

" HELP!" he screamed at the top of his little lungs " IT'S AFTER ME!"

Every dragon in front of him, Cynder included, looked in his direction. They just stared at him in complete shock, unable to comprehend from where did he come from or perhaps wondering if they aren't imagining things.

Capro was the first one who furrowed his brows after getting rid of the shock " YOU IDIOT! GET CLOSE TO IT!"

Sparx swiftly descended towards the soil.

" NOT THE GROUND! THE GOL-" the dragon's admonishing roar ended abruptly within his throat when he noticed a familiar reddish ring heading his way. He quickly unfolded his wings, the other dragons did the same, but they only managed to lift their legs.

Grunts and groans of pain echoed throughout the sky when the magical shockwave hit the four drakes and hurled them away.

Sparx made a sharp turn to the side, he noticed that Cynder took advantage of the chaos and limped away to hide behind some bushes and lined herself with rows of trees, far away from the golem's sight. Her emerald eyes were watching the dragonfly with great intensity.

The golem lost interest in the little dragonfly, as a dragon crusher its attention was drawn to the group of involuntary flying dragons, at who another shockwave was released. Sparx continued towards the black dragoness with a cocky smile.

He looked her over closely " Well, I see some really good specialists took care of you, they didn't miss a spot"

" You helped me" she mumbled as if not hearing his words, her eyes were shimmering with gratefulness

Sparx snorted " Pfff, don't flatter yourself, I won't let those dudes steal ma fame. I'm the only guy entitled to kick your ass"

" Thank you" she said with all sincerity and almost tears squeezing emotion

The dragonfly waved his hand dismissively " Yeah, yeah I'm awesome, I know that. Just don't start crying"

Cynder laughed feebly " I'm too weak to cry"

" Then you should better find a way to pump some adrenaline into those muscles because I've found the place from where those things came from"

The dragonesses eyes widened " You did?" she exclaimed excitedly, it was hard to tell if she was happy or mad

Sparx cleared his throat " Yeah, they're coming from that ruined temple or whatever. You know, the place where we found Crouton. I think one of those holes in the world has something to do with all this mess"

" That's a great find!" she shouted, her voice was filled with hope

He folded his arms on his chest " You aren't mad or anything?

Cynder furrowed her brows " Mad? Why?"

" At me, for not being your eyes and all that"

" Hey you found the eye of the cyclone, it's fine by me. Of course some of us already figured it out but just didn't have the time to check it out" she winked and seconds later adopted a more serious expression, as much as her bleeding body allowed that is.

" Jokes aside, we need a plan"

" I already have a plan" Sparx replied confidently

She cocked her head " Oh?"

" You should go there now, you need a head start since those guys will surely go after you since they were so close to gutting you. There are plenty of those statues out there but they wander around outside the ruins, the place where the portal is should be clear. I mean, I wasn't inside, but I bet it's still safer in there than in the open. That place was ruined already, those golems only made more holes in it so you should slip inside easily.

" Wow" Cynder huffed amazed " You swallowed some brains out there or something?"

He raised his hand, giving her a clear signal that this was no time for interruption.

" When you'll leave I'll start directing other dragons to the ruins, they should offer enough distraction for us to close that portal or destroy it, whatever. If it won't be possible we still have better chances destroying those things by using the ruins as cover than fighting those things in the open. We'll need to figure it out when we get there. I might have a problem getting my bro there, he's...not quite himself but I'll manage somehow, just hide under a rock till we arrive"

" All this brain talk doesn't suit you"

Sparx rolled his eyes " And they call me annoying" he sighed tiredly

" Alright!" Cynder chimed in " Gosh, I'm going" she turned around towards the forest " Leave Spyro to me, he'll be right behind me, don't worry" she limped into the forest

The dragonfly observed her slowly disappearing figure " Oh yeah? And just how are you going to do that?"

At first there was silence when she vanished completely from his sight. Just when he was about to carry his part of the plan a deafening feminine roar came from within the trampled forest.

" SPYRO!"

*

The purple dragon froze in place, the echoing roar was like the sound of a pounding bell, playing its rumbling music inside his head. Everything became unimportant, Spyro even lost interest in the golem he was fighting with. He turned around and instantly took to the sky,.

Cynder,

Cynder,

Cynder.

That single name kept bouncing inside his head, it was her, it is the one he was looking for. Everything started with her and will end with her, a final nudge is needed and freedom awaits and with it chaos. A different one, because crafted by his own paw, his sole DARK paw.

Cynder,

Cynder,

Cynder.

The purple wings went down and up quicker and quicker.

He can't wait.

Sparx stopped when he spotted his dashing brother, he extended his arm for a greeting but the dragon just flew past him as if not taking his existence into consideration. Hopefully the two of them will have some time and Cynder will bring him back, she's the only one who can.

He shook his head.

She won't be able to do that if the golems will crush the life of both of them first. With boiling determination Sparx raised in the air near a group of extremely worried dragons who just didn't know how to react to the fact that their savior is leaving the battlefield.

" Listen people!" Sparx shouted at the top of his lungs, he caught the attention of the nearby group of drakes " We found a way to win this battle! To do that we need to attack those things at their place! Spyro is already going there and I want all of you to follow him right now! There's no time!"

All of the dragons let out determined roars and instantly dashed after the purple drake. Sparx stopped one of them.

" Rally the others"

The dragon nodded and craned his neck upwards as far as it would go and then let out a powerful roar. One of its kind really, in an instant every nearby drake sprang in attention to the air and followed the previously roaring drake, their new leader for the time being. Except for the last dragon in the formation, that drake let out a similar roar to the earlier one and once again rallied another group of dragons. The drake ended his roar and dashed towards the woods, in the wake of the other draconic soldiers, with the newly acquired group of warriors behind him. Except for the last one who...

And so on, and so on.

*

Cynder stopped at the edge of the trampled forest, in front of her the ruins of Flare's prison stood in the middle of the clearing like some haunted temple. However the ruin's black ghosts were visible and walking all around the place, unlike the ones in the imagined temple.

Sparx was right, the massive golems made short work of the already shattered walls, it was like they all tried to get out all at once and those that didn't fit in the already created paths made newer ones by creating holes in the walls that perfectly matched their bulky bodies. Sparx was right about another thing, this place was like a maze, with the right tactic they can lure the golems away from each other and pick them out one by one.

Cynder nodded her head slightly, clearly impressed of Sparx' surprisingly correct deduction. Those were two things he was right about, what are the chances that he will be wrong about the Veil being the source of those things and their downfall at the same time?

Her eyes impulsively traveled to the entrance where they found the stairs leading to the portal. It was opened and quite roughly enlarged by the golems which most likely tried to leave the narrow tunnel in haste and not one after the other as it was meant to be traversed.

However for all the ruins new values there was a completely other difference that really caught her interest. Along the ground to the ruins, on some walls, like also on the entrance to the tunnel she noticed some dried red stains.

A familiar scent hit her nose the moment she spotted them, it was blood. No surprise there one might think, she's bleeding all over the place after all, but this wasn't the scent of her own blood, or the blood of the dragons she fought with that roiled her draconic nose.

That blood belonged to someone else and not only one person, but several. Cynder focused on the entrance and sniffed the air, her heart skipped a beat when another scent mixed itself with that of blood.

It was the stench of death.

There are bodies inside those ruins, several days old at least, the heavy scent rotting meat was definitely wafting from the staircase. If she ever had any doubts regarding Sparx' plan to hide in the lion's den they all faded away momentarily.

With an anxious exhale Cynder pushed forward, using her wings to move, helping her three mostly healthy paws to carry her weight by lifting her in the air slightly. Once could take her for a dragon mimicking a retarded rabbit..

The golem's numbers weren't so high here, most of them obviously joined the battlefield by now, the ones that remained weren't really interested in guarding the entrance to the portal. They looked quite bored actually, they seemed to walk around the ruins just because they hadn't anything better to do. It was like whatever job they had was already done, and now they are waiting for some signal, an order perhaps to get into action.

Luckily there weren't any rumbling roars coming from Boven.

She reached the entrance way faster than she anticipated actually, she didn't really had to play it smart and sneak around the place. Five or six heartbeats and she was already standing in front of the staircase.

It was creepier than she remembered.

The heavy scent of death and blood was strong here.

Not wanting to be seen by the golems Cynder instantly started to clumsily descend the stairs, this time however she kept strictly to the ground, afraid that whatever might be down there would see her shadow way before she would notice her attacker. It goes without saying that in her condition surprises aren't welcome, especially the deadly ones.

The dragoness gritted her teeth, each step was a painful struggle, first went her less devastated front paw, then as she was getting her rump down she pushed her center of gravity forward and had to bounce on her front leg with her wings serving as a mean for balance until her back paws didn't find a solid foothold. Every such step ended with her listening intently, she was expecting something to leap an her from the stairs at any moment.

Nothing came. The only sound was that of the golems shuffling around the ruins and the occasional blow of wind.

With a quiet moan of pain Cynder continued her slow descent, she conquered the staircase with each clumsy step she made down. It was completely silent inside, yet even that presumed peace didn't rush her moves, she still progressed carefully, the smell of death was a perfect reminder of what you can gain by unnecessary haste.

Then after a while she saw the bottom of the stairs and the light coming from the room she so wanted to reach. After two more steps she could take a good look at the walls, the golems definitely began their conquest from this very room. The lower she got the bright light of the day became more intense and with it came a warrior's specific peace of mind. Nothing will attack her from the shadows as she expected.

Those rays of light would betray her enemy's approach by casting shadows thanks to the different angles from which were they illuminating the room. The rays were quite visible, they were coming from the top and sides, forming vertical and horizontal columns of light.

There's sun's light in here, meaning that this room isn't hidden underground but in a spot where the valley's ground level is lower than the rest...

She cursed her stupidity.

No wonder the golems didn't ruin the staircase, they found other exits. One only needed to follow the ruin's length and would find those holes. It would be so much easier to get here using her wings.

The moment she reached the bottom of the stairs the blaming voice inside her head became silent. Her eyes went wide and mouth opened itself automatically, her legs were carrying here slowly forward without her even realizing this. Cynder's attention was fully occupied by the sight ahead.

She found the source of the heavy smell.

Bodies were stashed in the place where Flare was supposed to take his final bath in lava. The corpses were piled one at top the other, some slid off the fleshy mountain and were sprawled on the ground like they were nothing else than thrash.

Cynder gulped.

Everyone was here, not a single inhabitant was spared, among the corpses she noticed the wizened old dragon who greeted her in the village when they first came here staring at her with his cold dead eyes. A powerful feeling of blame wafted through her when she realized that she doesn't remember his name. It only got worse when she spotted the bloody corpses of children she played with surrounding the old dragon, their eyes were no different than his and all of them were staring at her.

This is where the golems have brought the bodies, to the Disposal room, it seemed the constructs were confused, most likely not able to comprehend that the world has changed. They were obviously doing what they were constructed to do, put the disobedient dragons in line or get rid of them probably and whoever got in the way shared the same fate.

" What have I done?" Cynder muttered in horror

All of this is on her, she was the one who started this, she is the one who brought Malefor back. She could do something back then, resist the corruption somehow or something else, no idea. One thing was certain, if she had done something bodies wouldn't pile up after her, even know when she has control of her actions she killed a stupid, blinded by rage dragon. He was a moron but didn't deserve to die.

She winced and averted her gaze, holding back the tears of anger and pain filling her eyes.

" Focus!" she blurt out an order to herself with a wavering voice

This is not the time for this.

Cynder once again looked at the stack of corpses, trying to desperately think about anything else but the blaming eyes of the inhabitants of Boven. She succeeded.

The portal.

She couldn't feel the thing, but it has to be somewhere here, those golems had to appear from somewhere. Where it was the last time they've been here?

A cold shiver ran through her spine.

It has to be somewhere underneath the pile of bodies. But if it is why aren't the corpses disappearing? Shouldn't they be on the other side by now? Or it is only a one way portal? Or maybe this one isn't in any way similar to the one they found in Munitions Forge?

There is only one way to find out.

With heavy legs she moved towards the dead villagers but then a shadow ran past the ground and over her. She instantly jumped back and looked up, the figure that was descending from above filled her with even more dread than the accusing dead glares.

Spyro landed some meters ahead of the injured black dragoness, forcing a horrified gasp from her when his wings flapped for the last time and folded neatly on his back.

" Cynder"

The way he pronounced her name stopped the dragonesses heart for a while. It was a greeting and a threat in one. A cold finger of fear gripped her spine.

" Cynder"

He was spelling her name like it was some kind of chant, at the end of which his mouth twitched into a very creepy amused smile.

" What happened to you?"

Cynder gulped, that smile, the way he was looking at her and the evil...hunger and concern in his voice was terrifying.

" I..." she muttered and swallowed hard once more "...fell down the stairs"

Spyro looked her over, his drilling gaze made her shiver.

" Those had to be some really sharp stairs"

Her throat was sore all of a sudden. " Y...yeah" the dragoness rasped quietly " You know...this place is old...time has grown some rough edges...on many of those stones" she muttered while staring at the ground. Only at the end of her sentence she had enough courage to look at him, yet it was a very fast glance, before she knew it she was staring at the floor again.

The purple dragon cocked his head while examining her bloody risen paw " Those look like dragon marks to me"

Cynder balked, momentarily her gaze landed on him, instantly noticing that he was observing her wounded leg. Impulsively she pulled it lower as if trying to make it less visible by placing it on the ground. At this point she didn't care about the pain.

" Yo...you're wrong. Some glass got stuck...in one of the golem's hands and...and I got hit by it. Not one of my best moments" she tried to smile but her mouth only wavered nervously

He made a step towards her " May I look at it?"

Cynder instinctively jumped back with determination " No"

Spyro looked at her again, his eyes were shimmering with that intimidating longing and malice.

" Why not?"

" Because you're scaring me" she replied bluntly

The purple dragon balked, the evil expression was gone, for the first time since this mission began he looked genuinely hurt. For the first time she since they got here she recognized her friend.

" I...I'm sorry, I...everything's so confusing, I..."

" Hey, hey" she interjected with worry ringing in her tone " You can fight it Spyro, you can win like you did so many times already. You're stronger than this, you know this isn't you"

He winced " I don't want to hurt anybody...I don't want to hurt you. What have I done?"

" It's not your fault. Please Spyro, don't think about it, we need you"

" I killed them...I killed them"

" I need you" she whined pleadingly

The purple dragon's eyes focused on her.

Cynder looked straight into them with her glowing with tears emerald orbs.

" Please, come back to me"

Spyro groaned in pain, he was throwing his head from side to side like two minds tried to move his body at the same time. Like-

And then the wall to the left exploded.

The shockwave that kicked the stones in was so powerful that it hurled both young dragons away, the force of the blast spread uncontrollably across the room throwing Cynder at the east wall while Spyro far away to the north towards the bodies.

When she collided with the cracked statues resembling dragons snouts some of the stones gave away under the powerful impact. They split from the construction and fell down, Cynder saw as they were heading straight at her, with no strength to run she closed her eyes expecting the worst.

She was lucky.

The surrounding rubble was so thick that the falling black stones got stuck, only tiny bits of rocks bounced off of her snout. Yet the weight of the addition stones pushed the rubble down, not crushing the dragoness but making the space between the rocks and the spot where her body was on the floor uncomfortably small. She was stuck, or at least getting out of this without magic will be one hell of a task.

" You idiot!" a female roar echoed throughout the room when suddenly three dragons stepped out from the dust

Capro was first, behind him where the earth dragoness who attacked Cynder and her ice companion.

Many rumbling roars were heard outside.

" You'll lure those things here!" the female yelled again

The malachite drake's eyes were only focused on the injured form of Cynder in the far side of the room " Take care of them, I just need a moment, she's trapped and not going anywhere. It'll be over in a minute" he began walking towards the stuck female

" Just kill her already!" the ice dragon exclaimed nervously

And then there was that characteristic smack of a meat hitting the floor coming from the north side of the room. Two dragons looked that way, only Capro was uninterested.

" By the Ancestors..." the earth dragoness mumbled when she spotted the piles of bodies and the creature standing on top of it

" What the fuck is that thing?" the male muttered in horror

Capro threw the black figure on top of the bodies a quick glance before focusing on Cynder again " One of her pets maybe, just kill it"

" Run you morons!" the black dragoness screamed at the top of her lungs, the shout made her cough horribly, the weight on top was preventing her from catching a solid breath

The ice dragon shoved the paralyzed female away " I'll take care of it" he stepped forward and instantly channeled his element

In seconds a huge ball of ice was released at the black dragon with terrifying white eyes, tongues of dark mist were dancing all around his body like flames from a fire. He looked like a living shadow.

The ball of ice hit the creature, sound of breaking ice echoed throughout the room. The male bent on his paws preparing to continue his attack but only let out a gasp of shock when the icy mist eventually died down and noticed that the creature was still standing in the same place, completely unharmed.

The sound that followed later froze the blood in the two dragons veins, the voice coming out of the dark creature's throat was not of this world, or any other for that matter. It sounded like it was coming from the deepest pits of Hell.

" You can't stop me"