The Spyro Chronicles Ch. 11

Chapter 11: Into the Heart of it All
Dragon Realms, Uncharted System
March 3, 2204
1955 Hours
Alpha Company’s Approach to the Objective

“Cynder look out!” Spyro said as he knocked her away from a sword strike. The Orc in question roared and came again, Spyro managed to catch it on his horn and shook the creature off. Cynder rolled over in the scorched soil and snarled as she launched herself at the Orc to aid Spyro. She flicked her tail and knocked the creature into the dirt before Allison put a burst into the creature’s head.

Wagner kicked a Grublin before sticking his bayonet in it and then following it up with a short burst from his rifle at an approaching Orc. Aaron finished an attack which incorporated himself being shrouded in spikes and smashing through several Orcs. An Orc roared and kicked Aaron aside and he skidded to a halt next to Cynder before picking himself up.

Spyro winced a bit, the wounds on his arm and neck sending spikes of pain through him once more. Allison grunted as a Grublin tried to hit her with a sword but thankfully one of the Marines with them put a 6 round burst through it, blowing it away.

“C’mon, we’re almost there! Just a bit further!” Wagner yelled.

“Why can’t we just get airlifted there?!” One of the soldiers, Cpl. Henderson, asked.

“They have some artillery that’s keeping our birds at bay, we can send them in, but Dyke wants us to move on foot to keep casualties to a minimum!” Wagner said in response.

As he said this, the Company of Marines started to move once more. They arrived at a ledge that overlooked a path below. The path ran parallel to a river of lava that ran through that area. On the opposite bank there was another path, with several catapults launching projectiles at the oncoming assault.

On their side of the bank on the lower path there was a convoy of tanks moving with several Marine and Cheetah escorts. The Marines fired their rifles and the tanks fired their cannons. The cheetahs, carrying swords, couldn’t do much more then sit and watch.

The tanks blew apart the catapults and two Raptors screeched ahead. A Nighthawk flew in the distance, firing its machine gun at targets they couldn’t see. A few distant puffs of smoke dotted the sky and the black clouds generated by the volcano added to the ‘desperate’ feel to the scene.

The Marines pushed forward, going along the ridge that overlooked the tank convoy moving below. Above, a few dragons soared, blanketing the area beneath with elemental attacks. Some were engaged in massive dog fights with Wyverns that flew overhead to help halt the air attack. Raptors, Nighthawks and Sparrowhawks buzzed overhead, helping the dragons fend off the wyverns.

Missiles streaked over the assault group, bound for targets that they couldn’t see. The sky was an intricate network of projectiles that blew through the already chaotic situation. Dragons bit Wyverns and Raptors did barrel rolls as they released bombs which spread across the enemy forces.

Spyro ran down the rocky burnt path with the others, trying to get to the volcano. The tanks below on the other path were engaged by another group of Lakadors on the opposite banks. The volcano was luring ever closer as Alpha moved down the path.

“Sergeant Malarkey, cover the rear, Lieutenant Ender, keep your platoon close!” Wagner ordered as they ran atop the area. The path would lead them straight to the volcano, which was less then a mile away. The terrain was getting increasingly rocky with spires of huge rocks jutting from the lava and looming over them.

“Spyro, you think we can get there in time?” Cynder asked as she ran with the rest, watching the volcano’s slopes get ever closer.

“I don’t know… but we have to hurry…” He said. Aaron nodded, as did Allison and Wagner who were next to them.


Meanwhile…
Dragon Realms, Uncharted System
March 3, 2204
2002 Hours
Burned Lands, near the Objective

A pair of eyes watched the group of humans and dragons advance upon the volcano. The creature in which the eyes belonged to sat entrenched inside of a small out grove of rocks, watching them. The white and gold dragon sat entranced by the group of creatures.

Small pieces of ash landed upon his scales but he paid them no mind, he had to keep concealed.

For as long as he could remember, humans had always hunted him… be them from the Republic of Krypton or some other stray human group, they had always hunted him... for he was the last Draxy.

His name was Krypto, and he was the last of his kind. The Draxys were once a proud race of draconic beings which had dominated their home world… until recent years. The appearance of the Emperor had changed everything and now he was the only one left. Between assaults from the Emperor and humans, he was hard pressed just to keep alive.

He wasn’t even sure how he got here. He was flying and the next thing he knew this planet came into focus and he was there… in this mysterious forest with Humans and smaller Draxys all about.

The draconic beings he watched looked like Draxys… but their anatomy was different and some features were different from that of an average Draxy. What were they?

However it wasn’t the draconic creatures that concerned him the most, it was the group of Humans moving with them. They closely resembled that of the Kryptonians… their stench was similar and what irritated him the most was the fact that there were several of them and they were all well armed.

Each carried a rifle with several extra clips of ammo and other things that looked like weapons. He glared at them. He had to wait for the perfect moment to strike… to get them in the best way possible… all he had to do now was wait…

He saw them pass right under where he was and leapt from his position. He landed nearby and roared a huge roar to them. He took the humans and draconian beings completely by surprise. None of them attacked. In fact, they looked sort of confused.

Krypto made an immediate grab for one of the Humans and noticed that he dashed out of the way. He made another swipe and noted that on the soldier’s helmet, there was a small silver rectangle. He hit the soldier and he was knocked onto the ground. The other soldiers went in uproar and pointed their rifles at Krypto. The draconian beings were startled and they all began to speak English, a form of the Kryptonian Language. English and Italian were the two root languages that formed the Kryptonian one… so he had a little difficulty understanding it. However he tried as hard as he could.

The two small ‘Draxys’ spoke to him, their words forming a mood of utter outrage and confusion. He remembered them from before, the purple and black ones being the same two he had encountered upon his visit to another region of the area. He searched his mind for the right translations and finally realized just what they were saying.


…


The Marine group pushed inward, moving fast as they made their way deeper and deeper into the volcanic lands. Soon they would be ready to make it into the volcano. As they passed underneath a rocky out grove, a huge white and gold dragon flew from a roost atop and landed just ahead of them. It let out a huge roar of defiance which blasted through their ears.

“Ah damn, friend of yours?” One of the soldiers- Henderson- asked.

“No… we’ve never met.” Spyro said.

“Spyro, isn’t that the dragon that helped us before in the Valley of Avalar?” Cynder asked, turning to Spyro.

“Hey, yeah, it is.” He said. Aaron looked at them both funny.

“Who is this guy?” Aaron asked.

“Beats me.” Cynder said with an almost huff.

The dragon let out another roar before making a swipe at Wagner. Wager avoided and was stunned.

“What the hell, who’s side is he on?!” Wagner proclaimed before the dragon made yet another swipe which knocked him onto the ground. The other Marines were thrown into a state of confusion and rifle barrels pointed this way and that, trying to orient themselves upon a target.

“What the hell are you doing?! They’re with us!” Cynder said as she saw this happened. She wouldn’t have thought this dragon would be against them and with Fang since he had helped them prior to this. The question Henderson asked came again, “Who’s side is he on?!”

The dragon looked at them, as if trying to comprehend their statement. Spyro and Cynder both looked at him in distress and Wagner slowly picked himself off of the ground. The dragon glared at the humans, cleared his throat and it sounded as if he was speaking a language for the first time.

“The Humans… I know them… they are not to be trusted…”

“The Humans aren’t evil, they’re really good!” Cynder said as she looked the dragon over.

“They’ve attacked me… enslaved me… and done horrible things to me…” They looked at Wagner who had a puzzled look on his face.

“Until now the United Earth Republic has never encountered dragons on any other colony worlds. If it did happen, we’d have been notified for military deployment or it was probably loose bandit groups operating outside of the UER.” Wagner said as he pondered the dragon’s words.

“Yeah, like those Kryptonian bastards…” One of the Marines said.

“You know of the Kryptonians?” The big white and gold dragon asked.

“The Kryptonians were once part of the Human colonizing groups, but during the war for unification, they were one of the warring factions against the forming UER.” Wagner said. A column of lava launched out of the river of molten rock nearby, momentarily attracting their attention.

“After the United Earth Republic gained power, they fled to their world Krypto. It’s been almost 100 years since then and we have been fighting a small war against them.” Wagner explained.

The dragon looked at them with a still lasting look of distrust. Wagner frowned.

“So… who are you?” Spyro asked.

“I am Krypto, the last Draxy.”

“Draxys?”

“Yes, we are a race of beings with incredible power… well… we were… until the days of the Emperor… He was the one responsible for the extinction of my species... I was traveling when next thing I knew, I was here.”

“Well that sucks…” Aaron commented.

“And Kryptonians weren’t any better… they hunted me down… tried to enslave and kill me…”

“Well I assure you, we are nothing like them.” Wagner said.

“I am ally to my draconic friends.” Krypto boar his teeth and glared at the Marine Officer.

“Not to some pink race of humans…” Wagner returned the glare.

“Hey you guys, cool it! We have our own problems to deal with, remember?!” Cynder said as she ran in-between them.

“We’d better get moving, we have to catch Fang…” Wagner said as he turned to go back down the path. The rest quickly followed and Krypto hesitantly took to the sky, keeping himself above them.

They went until their path abruptly ended before a river of molten lava that sat just before the slope on the Volcano. They were at the foot of their objective.

“How the hell are we supposed to get inside?!” A Marine asked.

“You don’t, I am.” An all too familiar voice filled their ears and they looked up to see none other then Fang flying down to them. The Marines immediately filled the air with assault rifle rounds, tracers dancing up towards the dragon.

Fang roared and flew downwards, in an attempt to dodge their shots.

“Your efforts are useless! I’ve already won!” Fang fired a beam of darkness as the slope to the volcano, causing it to collapse and reveal a huge cavern leading inside. The cavern’s floor was filled with lava and huge stalactites and stalagmites filled the cavern as they protruded from both the lava and the roof.

Fang laughed as he flew into the cavern.

“Damn it!” ‘Wagner said as he fired off a few rounds at him.

“Great, what the hell do we do now?! A Marine asked.

“We’ll deal with him!” Spyro said as he took flight. Aaron and Cynder did the same and Krypto followed them into the molten cavern.

“Lieutenant Wagner, this is Delta 7-2-2, we’ll take you the rest of the way.”

Wagner looked up and saw a Nighthawk D class fly down, its side openings coming undone for them to get aboard.

“Alright, 3rd squad on me, we’re going in! The rest of you, hold position and help the assault forces deal with anything major!” Wagner said as he walked up onto the Nighthawk. The other members of 3rd squad, including Allison, got aboard as well. The Nighthawk flew up and dashed after the group of Dragons locked into their chase.

As Spyro flew, ash and splotches of lava flew up from the molten river below. They touched his scales and burned right through them, leaving small burn marks. Spyro roared aloud, as did Cynder and Aaron as they befell the same fate. Krypto, being larger, was unaffected by the lava.

The Nighthawk flew beside them and Wagner stood at the left opening.

“Spyro, get in here before that lava burns right through you!” He yelled. He, as well as Cynder and Aaron flew into the troop bay and with the help of the other Marines successfully landed inside.

Spyro dashed into the cockpit where he saw Krypto flying beside them and Fang flying just ahead.

“Shoot him down!” Wagner yelled as he ran inside the cockpit as well.

“Copy!” The co-pilot said before pressing down on a pair of triggers.

Two .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the sides of the nose immediately came to life, rounds screaming from them and tracers filling up the cavern as they flew at Fang.

The Nighthawk and Krypto flew through the cavern, fireballs and tracers being fired at Fang. As they flew on, Fang took a heavy armor piercing round through his wing skin and roared in pain. He turned his head and saw the culprit. He snarled and instead of firing upon them, fired a beam of darkness at the roof of the cavern.

The cavern rumbled and the tall stalactites above cracked and fell downwards.

One scrapped the side of the Nighthawk and threw them off, the guns falling silent as the pilots tried to realign the craft.
“Crap, hang on!”

“Damn it, this is crazy!” A Marine yelled.

“Keep on him!” Wagner ordered.

The Nighthawk swerved and speed along as the cavern roof began to fall around them. Krypto smashed his way through the falling debris while the Nighthawk flew around and dodged the falling rocks. Fang flew on, unopposed. He flew through an opening in the opposite side of the cavern and vanished from sight.

The Nighthawk and Krypto speed on, Krypto flying through the hole and a rock smashing into the Nighthawk, sending it down. However the Nighthawk passed through the hole and came into a large room with a large purple crystal sitting in the center. The Nighthawk skidded to a halt on the purple gemstone while Krypto landed safely nearby.

The Marines, Spyro, Cynder and Aaron emerged from the troop bay and snarled as they saw Fang sitting on his haunches across from them, smiling.

“Well, well, well… I see now why Malefor was so interested in you Spyro… and proud of you Cynder… you were one of his greatest servants…as were you to… Aaron…”

“Shut up! Those days are over!” Aaron said and Cynder looked down at the ground. Spyro turned to her and placed a paw on her shoulder before glaring at Fang.

“This ends now Fang… the Dark Master will remain here…” Spyro said as he looked at Fang. Fang laughed.

“Why you are mistaken, this is just the beginning of his new rule here!”

“We’ll see about that!” Spyro said as he dashed madly forward, attempting to strike at Fang. Fang snarled and smacked the purple dragon aside.

“It is a pity that you didn’t turn out like the Dark Master… the purple dragons are destined to rule this world! And this is the best way to do it!”

Spyro got up and coughed a bit. Cynder ran over to his side and Aaron and Krypto dashed forward to aid. The Marines came in behind, their assault rifles pointed at Fang.

“Oh how cute… you all think you can stop me…” Fang said as he glared at them.

“We’ve… we’ve come to far… to give up… too many have died… the Dark Master… can never return…” Spyro said as he picked himself up and glared at Fang.

“Spyro, no, you’re injured, let us handle him!” Cynder said as she clutched onto his arm.

“Cynder… we have to end this… for Ignitus…”

Cynder looked at him sadly and the Marines continued to point their rifles at Fang.

“This is getting annoying…” Fang said right before he unleashed a wave of darkness, sweeping the Marines off of their feet and sending them into the ground skidding.

“You still have no idea what is going on, do you Spyro? Why you’re here… why the Dark Master was here… why even these humans are here… they’re all part of it…” Fang said as he strolled by the injured purple dragon.

“Part of what?!” Spyro said, bearing his teeth. Fang gave a huff.
“The Final Solution…” Fang said finally, a smile creeping onto his face.

“The… what?” Cynder said, standing by Spyro’s side.
“Fang, stand down!” A new voice penetrated the walls of the cavern and they looked about to see a passage leading into the molten mountain revealing itself, a dragon and human standing in the cave entrance.

“Karson?!” Allison asked as she picked herself up with the aid of her rifle.

“Allison!” Karson called out in joy. Before he could leap off onto the purple crystal, the dragon held out his paw to stop him.

“Ah… you must be… Diablo? I’ve heard so much about you…” Fang said with a sneer on his face.

“Yes… and I’ve seen much of you…” Diablo said with a look of disappointment.

“Seen what, my path to following my master?!”

“You had so much potential! But you threw it away following that dragon… Malefor…”

“The only potential I had was in serving my master, and that’s what I’ll do!” Fang grabbed Spyro and Spyro glowed a purple white.

“No! What’re you doing!” Cynder said as she leapt at Fang and grabbed his arm, only to be tossed aside. Spyro dimmed and fell to the floor as Fang released him, a crystal now replacing him in his grasp.

“With this crystal Malefor shall be reborn!” Fang said before he took flight to the center of the crystal.

“No! Stop him!” Wagner called out. The Marines fired their rifles and bullets struck Fang. He roared in pain and blood shot out of his wounds but he flew onward.

Krypto and Aaron dashed in front of him and breathed their attacks onto him. Darkness escaped Aaron’s maw and fire jetted from Krypto’s. They struck Fang and he roared in pain once more.

“Get out of my way you filth! My master is going to return!” Fang called out as he smacked them aside. They both skidded in opposite directions, hitting Marines and causing them to fall over as they continued to fire at Fang.

Fang reached the center of the large purple gem and placed the crystal in the center. It glowed and hovered, getting a evil smile from him. The crystal lit up and the gemstone beneath started to glow a soft purple.

“No!” Spyro called out.

“You all lose!” Just as Fang said this, jets of fire and ice collided onto the crystal, shattering it to pieces. The gemstone below slowly lost its glow and returned to its original state.

“No!” Fang called out. He turned to find the dragon’s responsible but was surprised to see that the points of origin were not of draconic origin. In fact, the attacks had come from none other then Karson and Allison.

The two Marines stood dumbfounded as smoke slowly trailed from Karson’s hands and bits of frost escaped Allison’s. They stared at the dragon and he snarled at them.

“What the hell man?!” A Marine called out.

“Ok, I know this world is screwed up, but now Karson’s blowing fire out of his freaking hands! What the hell!” Another said.

“Shut the hell up Henderson!” A Sergeant hissed.

“What… what was that?!” Karson finally said. Diablo only smiled.

“It is… you’re true ability.”

“What?!”

“You… Allison… you are both Chosen Ones.”

“What?! But… no… we’re just Marines!”

“Yeah, just Marines!” Allison said while looking at her hands.

“That just happened to be born on the same day, in the same area, can unlock doors made by Spirit Dragons, and happened to come to this world at this very moment.” This only stirred more confusion into the crowd.

“What are you talking about! Chosen Ones are only in movies! And even at that, they’re for saving the world or some crap like that!” Karson while looking at his hands once more.

“Well… you happen to be the messengers of the end… and you are destined to stop it… you are here to stop Malefor from awakening the Final Solution that has been buried under this planet for so long. Something has called it back to the surface and now if Malefor is awakened he can use it.” Diablo explained.

“Yes… and with it, ultimate power!” Fang said, while laughing.

“You fool! You’ll destroy us all! Even yourself!”

“Not unless you know the right people…” Fang smiled and a figure swooped in from the molten cavern and landed behind Fang. This new figure was a black dragon with an arrow on his head and looked upon them.

“No… you’re in league with… him…” Diablo said with a snarl. Fang laughed.

“Yes… I am…” Fang said with a smile. The black dragon behind him laughed.

“Good work Fang… my lord’s forces are in the process of smashing this pathetic human and dragon resistance… and once we do… you and the Dark Master will be in position to fire the weapon…” The black dragon said with a sneer.

“What happens if the Final Solution is fired?” Spyro asked, looking up at Diablo.

“The weapon can be fired in one of two modes… in darkness and in light. With its light capacitors damaged, it can only fire in dark mode. If it fires, it will destroy all life in the universe in order to bring about the new Age… it’s a last resort weapon in extreme emergencies…”

“And with it, the forces of Darkness shall rule upon the new Age!” Fang called out.

“I won’t let that happen!” Spyro said as he shot from his spot and grabbed a hold of Fang. The force of the grab sent them skidding across the gem. The black dragon took flight above them and immediately caught hails of gunfire from the Marines. Krypto sailed up and breathed an attack upon the black dragon, only to entice him to send him back into the gem with a shotgun-like blast of darkness.

Aaron sailed up to meet the black dragon but suddenly stopped in his tracks and fainted, his lack of flight causing him to free fall to the ground. Cynder caught him and set him aside, looking up to see the black dragon smiling as his eyes glowed with a dark aura, its gaze temporarily impairing Aaron.

Cynder growled. She ignored the black dragon as Diablo sailed up to meet him and dashed to Spyro’s aid. Spyro rolled to the side, avoiding a tail strike and blew fire onto Fang. Fang roared and smashed his tail into the ground, creating a shock wave which sent Spyro flying. Cynder caught him and set him down before sweeping Fang into the air with a gust of powerful winds.

“You fools, you cannot win!” Fang said. He suddenly roared as ice crystals shattered upon him and white hot jets of fire slammed into his scaled hide.

“We’ll see about that!” Karson called out and Allison gave a look of defiance as she stood at the ready behind him. Fang laughed at the new enemies.

“Yes… we shall see…” Fang said before quickly grabbing Spyro, flinging him into the duo and smashing Cynder aside. She quickly recovered, as did the others and they quickly sprang upon Fang. Fang roared, tossing Allison away, only to have Spyro knock him aside and Cynder blast him with shadow. Karson leapt onto his back and heated his hands to an incredible high directly onto Fang’s back. Fang roared aloud before shaking him off, smashing Spyro into the ground and kicking Cynder away.

Spyro coughed and looked up, catching a glimpse of the fight erupting above them. The black dragon sailed ahead, shooting beam of darkness at Diablo, only to have him avoid and fire a beam of blue light which hit the dragon and caused him to buck under the pain and pressure. Krypto and Aaron sailed above and aided, their attacks adding the already hellish conditions above. The Marines were almost sitting in the sidelines, though a few taks here and there occurred as they lended their own support in the form of marksmen-like shots.

Wagner sat, almost slumped over a piece of metal that had come off of the Nighthawk and watched. The pilots sat dumbfounded in their seats, watching the spectacle.

“Don’t just sit there…” Wagner coughed. “Get this thing operational so we can get the hell out of here!” The pilots quickly came to and started to reactivate the drop ship.

Spyro coughed as he picked himself up. He felt the blood starting to ooze out of the wound on his neck, the sting of the burn wounds and the numbness and extreme pain spiking from the wound taken from the Lakador round. His vision temporarily blurred for a second before he shook it away. He had to defeat Fang. He just had to. He couldn’t let Ignitus’s sacrifice go in vain. Malefor had to be kept here… he could not… would not be aloud to escape!

Spyro shot himself at Fang, his talons ready to strike. He latched onto the dragon and refused to let go. Fang let out an angry roar.

“That is it! Enough child’s games!” He grabbed Spyro’s head with his claws, only to follow it up with a strike to the stomach with his razor sharp tail fin. The fin cracked Spyro’s chest plates, the cracked portions sinking into his skin and drawing blood. The red blood crept from the wounds and dripped onto the gem below.

Fang then grabbed Cynder with his other paw and both of them began to flow a purple hue. Fang laughed as they dimmed and he tossed them aside, a new crystal forming in his arms. Karson and Allison stepped forth to stop him but they were quickly sent out of the way.

The Marines opened up on him but Fang shielded himself with a black coating and walked to the center. He set the crystal down and it caused the whole room to shake and the gemstone to glow. At once every confrontation silenced and the black dragon kicked Diablo away before smiling.

“My work here is done…” With that he blasted a small hole in the roof of the volcano miles above and sailed up and out of the cavern. Fang laughed an evil laugh as a purple light started to materialize on the gemstone in front of him.

“Enter… the Dark Master…” With that, the evil form of Malefor took shape in front of them and his evil smile engraved itself in the minds of every soldier and dragon in the room.

“Ah… it seems we have more guests… how… interesting…” Malefor stated with a smile. He slowly approached the bloody form of Spyro and the struggling form of Cynder.
.
“How interesting… to see how the mighty have fallen. You’re sacrifice has been in vain Spyro… I was wrong about the purple dragons… was our destiny to bring about the Great Cleansing… but now… the Final Solution… I’ve seen it in my captivity… something that is the answer to all of our problems… and you’re going to help me fire it.” Malefor said while picking the dragon up.

“No… I won’t help you…” Spyro said with a cough.

“That’s what you say…” With that, Malefor’s eyes glowed a bright yellow and Spyro felt his head get infiltrated by a cold stabbing sensation. He let out a roar as the memory of Fang placing the crystal on him at Warfang returned and he felt his limbs grow numb and his vision blurred.

His scales turned black and his chest a much deeper orange. A black aura enshrouded the dragon and black lightning shot forth from his body. His eyes were pure white, a black light escaping from the edges.

“Spyro… no…” Cynder said as she picked herself up.

“Ah… Cynder… my favorite servant… and Aaron… so nice of you to return to me…” Cynder and Aaron both snarled at him.

“I left because you were evil! I’ll never return!” Aaron called out. Cynder merely snarled.

“So you say…” Malefor said with an evil smile. Fang came up to his side and looked upon them with an evil gaze.

“Good work Fang… go deal with ‘Krypto’ and Aaron. Spyro, deal with Cynder. I’ll deal with our newest guests.” Malefor instructed. Spyro snarled and shot at Cynder, knocking her away. Krypto and Fang were locked in a battle to gain the upper hand as their for-paws were locked together. Aaron tried to aid, but Fang’s tail knocked him into the gemstone once more.

Diablo sat and watched, unable to move as the black dragon did something to him that disabled his movements. He tried to break the snare on his limbs but failed each time. He had to do something. He knew that it was up to the Chosen Ones to resolve the crisis and the purple dragon to restore order, but damn it he couldn’t just sit by and watch. Rithul would kill him for this but this was worse then that.

“So… you are… ‘Humans’. I’m not impressed.” Malefor said as he looked over the Marines who were in so much shock they hadn’t fired a shot at him.

“Ah go to hell!” One of them said. Malefor looked onto him with amusement.

“We’ll stop you! We’ll stop all of you!” Karson said, stepping forward to the beast.

“You think so?” He said to him. Karson bore his teeth.

“You won’t be able to stop me… you might as well give up…”

“We won’t stop until we’re dead!” Karson said as he delivered a fire punch to the purple dragon. Malefor went back a few feet, more from surprise then anything. He snarled and swiped the human away. Allison quickly rolled to the side and shot ice crystals at him, only to get blasted back by his own ice attack. The Marines opened up and Malefor shielded himself against the oncoming bullets. He smiled at them before breaking the shield and unleashing a wave which knocked them all off of their feet.

“That can be arranged…” Malefor said to Karson with a grin.

“Spyro no, don’t do this!” Cynder called out as she avoided a claw strike from Spyro. He ignored her and swung his head to use his horns against her. She backed off in time but failed to retaliate. Tears formed in her eyes as she watched Spyro in front of her.

“Spyro… please…” She said. He bore his teeth and swiped once more. He growled angrily as she avoided his strike and grabbed a hold of her neck, squeezing tightly with both paws. She gagged a bit as she sealed her eye lids, trying to break his grip.

“Spyro… you… do this… and all… you’ve fought for… will be lost… Ignitus would have… died… for no reason…” As she said this, Spyro gave a look of sad awe and released her. He backed up, obviously effected by the statement.

“Spyro… there will always be a reason to fight… and you’ve got to fight for the right reason… and for the right cause… break his grip… I know you can…” She walked over and set her muzzle against him. She heard a sniffle and the aura faded and gave way to the regular Spyro who’s eyes were littered with tears.

“Cynder…” He said before she brought him into a hug. The hug didn’t last long. Cynder screamed as a beam of darkness collided into her side and she flew into the ground. Malefor flew over and above her.

“You’ve been a thorn in my side Cynder… You’ve always been by my side but now you’re growing to be an annoyance!” With that he brought the full force of his claws upon her. The force cracked the crystal and blood shot up from her mouth. Her pupils shrank and the air in her lungs blasted from her mouth as a result of the massive blow.

“Cynder! NO!” Spyro called out. He dashed over to help but Malefor knocked him away. Fang roared happily as he kicked Krypto and Aaron away before flying near Malefor. Malefor grabbed a hold of Cynder’s neck and prepared to strike her once more.

However, before he did, he halted as his own blood sprayed onto the ground. He roared and looked to the Nighthawk to see Lieutenant Wagner behind the .30 caliber machine gun positioned in the left side of the drop ship. The machine gun sent armor piercing ammo which cut through Malefor’s scales and cut into him. He put up a shield and snarled.

“You will all have to wait… I have a destiny to fulfill… Spyro… you will find your true destiny… just you wait…” Malefor and Fang sailed out of the cavern and to the opening in the volcano above.

As they left, the gemstone beneath them began to crack and lava began to rise. Lava spurted from the cracks in the gemstone and sizzled onto the surface.

“Let’s get the hell out of here!” A Marine called out and at once everyone dashed for the Nighthawk. Krypto picked up Aaron and set him inside the troop bay of the human ship and Diablo broke free of his chains and sailed out of the volcano in pursuit of the Dark Master.

The Marines boarded the ship and Spyro slowly limped towards Cynder’s fallen form.

“Spyro, we need to leave! Now! This place is falling apart!” Wagner called out from the troop bay. Spyro coughed a bit of blood and fell onto his stomach as he crawled towards Cynder.

The Nighthawk lifted off of the ground and began to leave, as did Krypto who sailed towards the exit. Rocks smashed all around as the entire cavern was falling apart.

“Spyro! Let’s GO!!!! NOW!!!” Wagner called out. The purple dragon continued to crawl towards his fallen comrade.

Frustrated, Wagner leapt from the troop bay and did a roll as he hit the gemstone. He leapt from side to side as lava shot out of cracks and he sprinted towards the two dragons.

“Wagner you idiot! You’ll be killed!” Allison yelled out. The human office leapt over a huge seem which came into formation as the gemstone split in half. He rolled as he hit the ground and picked himself up. He went over, picked Spyro up off the ground and led him to Cynder. He slowly picked up the black dragoness and stumbled a bit. Though dragon’s were light, needing to be to accomplish flight, she was still heavy and Wagner had to readjust his footing to hold onto her. He started to run, Spyro crawling behind him. He stopped, saw this, and grunted as he grabbed Spyro’s paw and helped him stand back up.

The drop ship turned around and sailed back at them but a falling rock caused it to back off.

“Damn it!” The pilot said as they used evasive maneuvers and started the drop ship back for the cavern entrance.

Wagner kept running at them but lost his footing and fell onto the ground. Lava shot up all around and Cynder fell from his arms as he hit the ground. Spyro slumped to the ground and tried to pry himself up, but blood oozed from his wounds. Cynder remained still, blood coming from her mouth and wounds.

Wagner suddenly felt himself being lifted as claws grabbed a hold of him. He felt himself being tossed and saw that Krypto had returned, set him upon his back and had used his for-claws to grab Spyro and Cynder. With that safely grabbed, Krypto dashed towards the cavern exit. They went through the lava cavern and the Nighthawk was just ahead.

Falling debris came all around as the entire mountain and ground came apart. They shot out of the mountain as an explosion trailed them and blew apart the side. The mountain caved in and lava shot out from its tip, filling the sky with its hell fire. Krypto and the Nighthawk flew towards the oncoming sunrise as they went off. The bright light guided them to their escape but a laser of darkness shot at them.

The black dragon trailed behind them, trying to shoot them down. However, the black dragon was tackled by a new dragon. Like Diablo, the dragon was purple, but of a lighter color. The dragon was almost pink. Probably a ‘she’, the dragoness went downwards, taking the black dragon with her. They went down into the smoking burned lands and Spyro only caught a glimpse of it before slipping from consciousness.

End of Chapter 11