The Spyro Chronicles Ch. 38/2

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"We will stop you! We'll stop you once and for all!" Spyro yelled back. Malefor opened his wings, initiating a small hover as dark energy sparked all around the walls. He flapped his wings hard, sending the group onto the ground hard. Spyro quickly got back up, grunting as he flew straight at Malefor, Cynder right behind him.

Wagner got back to his feet, raising his rifle only to stumble to the floor as the ground shook. The group looked onto Malefor who only laughed, the floor below Karson and Allison glowing bright before a section in-between them and Malefor parted open.

"It seems this one will only open for the chosen ones... Now that you have opened the door for me, I shall be on my way." Malefor said before he flew down the hole.

"Shit, after him!" Spyro yelled before giving chase with Cynder.

Yahade' and the other Lakadors sprinted up to join the group, Aaron and Zephyr already in flight downwards to keep up with Spyro and Cynder.

"Where did the Dark Master go?" Yahade' asked, looking around.

"Down there! Quickly!" Wagner yelled as he lead the others to a small lift that sat at the edge of the opening. After they all boarded, it shot down quickly into the depths of the citadel, moving to a much larger shaft which was lined with crystal structures and the strange blue-silver metal.

"Where'd they go? I can't see them!" Roxy yelled as she stood by Tom, all peering down to catch a glimpse of the others.

"There! There they are!" Allison yelled, pointing further down the shaft.

Farther down, the shaft tilted 45 degrees, going towards a structure buried in the rock below the citadel. In front of the structure, Spyro and Cynder were hard at work fighting Malefor.

"Spyro! Look out!" Cynder yelled. Spyro grunted, sailing downwards to avoid a swipe from Malefor's tail. It instead hit Zephyr who swooped in to help, he skidding on the ground before coming to a halt several feet away.

"Zephyr!" Aaron yelled back.

"It's fine! I'm fine!" He yelled back, rolling to get back up.

"You little ungrateful servants... I should have killed you years ago when I had the chance..."
Malefor opened his muzzle, a beam of purple energy shooting out and scorching the rock and metal behind the group. Spyro growled, rearing his head back and firing a beam of concentrated heat, hitting against Malefor's scales and causing him to grunt. He broke the beam by sending a wave of energy that slapped into the young dragon, sending him down.

Spyro regained himself and fired another beam, this time the beam being more purple as his convexity beam was being activated, dark energy cascading towards the Dark Master. He smirked, dashing to the side and returning with a beam of his own. The beam overpowered Spyro's, sending him back into the ground.

"Get him!" Aaron yelled as he and Cynder bombarded the Dark Master with their own bolts of energy, the explosive bolts sending Malefor back into the wall as they continued to pelt him. He brought up his wings to shield him, Zephyr leaping up and spinning rapidly, creating a tornado that threw the Dark Master off balance, making him a better target for Aaron and Cynder.

"I will unlock the power of the ancients!" He turned around, smashing open the door that lead into the structure. He flew into the smoke as pieces of metal scattered across the floor.

"After him!" Wagner yelled as the lift finally reached the bottom, the group piling off and racing for the structure. By this time, Spyro, Cynder, Aaron and Zephyr had already entered after him.

Inside sat the familiar circular room which housed the key in the far back of the room. Malefor raced for the key, only to have Spyro and Cynder combine their convexity beams and hit him directly in the back, sending him reeling as the beams exploded with great force upon impact.

"Light him up! Don't let him escape!" Wagner yelled, raising his rifle. He, Yahade' and the Lakadors opened fire, bullets and dark energy rounds peppering the Dark Master. Aaron and Zephyr unleashed their own elemental attacks, Karson and Allison dashing up to add their own, fire and ice raining down upon the dragon. Malefor was pressed into the wall from the onslaught of attacks, the talisman skidding nearby.

"I've got it!" Hunter yelled as he ran over and scooped the talisman off of the ground. Malefor growled as he leapt forward, knocking Spyro and Cynder into the wall as he fired a beam at the others who were clustering together. The resulting blast sent Wagner and the others flying. Hunter hit the ground and skid, the talisman once again flying across the floor.

"No!" Spyro said as he dashed over, trying to grab it. Malefor placed his talons on it calmly, smiling to the young dragon as he leapt up to attack the larger dragon. Malefor merely flew into Spyro, using his larger mass to crash into him and send the younger dragon into the floor.

"I win Spyro. I always win." Malefor said as he brought Spyro up to face him, his menecing eyes looking deep into Spyro's as if trying to suck out his soul.

Spyro could only growl in anger.

Suddenly, a beam of purple energy collided with Malefor's claws, blasting the Talisman out of his paws and sending it once more into the air.

Malefor let out a bellow as he backed off of Spyro, gripping his claws.

Cynder grunted as she leapt into the air, grabbing the talisman and flapping her wings to escape.

"No! Get back here you little traitor!" Malefor opened his massive wings to give chase, the force of the wind slamming into Spyro and pinning him down as he took off after her. Cynder grunted, flying up to one of the ducts in the cieling. She blew through the thin metal barriers and clawed her way out.

"Go Cynder! Run!" Aaron yelled as he too took flight, flying to another duct to aid her.

Spyro flapped his wings once Malefor was airborne, streaking up to assist as well.

Cynder clawed her way through the cramp metal ducts, finally arriving at its exit. She leapt out into a massive crevice, black machinery lining each wall. In the center a large circular mechanism hummed with a low vibration, as if ready to be activated- just not yet. Lava poured from small cracks in the walls, dumping into trays that funneled them into the large machine. There was a large break in the machinery, a large duct that went straight up. She presumed she was behind where they just were, and this was the actual mechanism that fired the onimous purple beam they had seen each time a key was activated. That meant that the duct traveled all the way to the surface. She could escape!

She grunted, flapping her wings to reach the large circular vent. Loud flapping sounds were heard behind her as Malefor flew in front of her, impeding her progress.

"Give me the talisman!" He demanded, eyes full of rage.

"Never! We stopped you before! We'll do it here too!"

"You're wrong, you only helped me! Brought me this closer to my ultimate goal!" He flew into her, using his poweful claws to smack her into a wall.

"Cynder!" Aaron yelled, flying in low, firing his own purple beam at the Dark Master's back.

"Ah, my young apprentice, how much you still have to learn!" Malefor roared while rearing back, firing his own beam that overpowered Aaron's, sending him back as he tried to regain his flight.

"Leave them alone!" Spyro yelled as he flew in fast, gaining enough speed in the open area to bring Malefor down and onto the large turbine that sat at the base of the room. Malefor growled, grabbing Spyro and slamming him into the turbine itself. He didn't relent. He grabbed his head again and brought it over to where the lava was pooling into the machinery, trying to push his face into the molten rock.

"Don't be afraid Spyro, just accept your fate! It won't be long until the power of the Ancients is fully realized!" Spyro grunted as he pushed back with all he could, keeping his face away from the molten slag, the heat causing his face to steam as he was only inches from it.

Beams fired off, hitting Malefor in the back as Cynder and Aaron both fired from their hovering positions, trying desperately to help Spyro.

Spyro took this chance, overcharging his body with his convexity energy, sending the pulse outwards and knocking Malefor back just enough for him to slip out and slam Malefor into the machinery. His arm landed in the lava, causing him to roar loudly as he flapped his wings to get away from the molten rock.

He opened his muzzle, beams of ice streaking through the air and hitting the machinery behind them. Spyro flew down, landing on a side catwalk as Aaron launched himself against a nearby wall for leverage. Cynder groaned, rubbing her arm as she grunted, opening her muzzle and creating a whirlwind that captured Malefor in it.

"Spyro! Cynder!" Karson and Yahade' came down from another duct that went onto the catwalk, placing a grate aside. They both sprinted over to where Cynder was, just as Malefor canceled out her whirlwind with one of his own.

"Here! Take this and get out of here!" Cynder said as she gave Yahade' the talisman.

"Go, I'll cover you!" Karson yelled. He placed his rifle on his back and flexed his hands.

"Let's see just what these powers can do..." He focused his hands and started to form a small sphere of fire. It grew to the size of a basket ball before he unleashed it, the ball hurling at Malefor and colliding with him, adding to the other attacks Spyro and Aaron were already sending his way.

Yahade' stood and watched before remembering the talisman. He sprinted over to the grate, crouching down to enter.

"No, you cannot escape!" Malefor said before firing a beam of purple energy that hit the wall just above the grate, a shockwave sending the Lakador commander skidding on the ground. Dark electricity sparked from his body, Yahade' yelling loudly.

"Shit! Stay down!" Karson sprinted over to help him up, the energy arcing towards him and causing Karson to back up, shielding himself with his arms.

Yahade' opened his eyes, getting up slowly as the energy sparked from him still, he feeling no pain.

"It... doesn't hurt!" Yahade' said as he looked at his hands, both sparking with the elemental energy. He glared at the Dark Master, shoving his hands forward and sending a dark pulse towards the dragon. Malefor caught it on his chest and snarled, recoiling backwards.

"Shit, when did you plan to tell us you can use dark energy without weapons?!" Karson yelled as he lowered his arms.

"We can't! It isn't natural to us!" Yahade' yelled back.

"Then that means...."

"Get down!" Cynder yelled, leaping back up to fight Malefor as he rushed the two standing on the catwalk.

"Go, go!" Karson ushered Yahade' back into the grate, firing his rifle before entering himself. They had to get the Talisman away from Malefor. Allison was in the grate now, ushering for them to hurry as she backed up to give them room.

"Wagner, we got it!" She yelled back.

"Hurry, we've got hostiles inbound!" He yelled at her from within the chamber beyond.

They all crawled out into the chamber, seeing Wagner, Hunter, Zephyr, Roxy and Tom fighting more of those Plague creatures that had crawled in from the citadel. They were swarming now from down the elevator shaft, Wagner quickly running over to seal the door to the chamber.

"We need to find another route out of here!" He yelled.

"Quickly, we must use these ducts to escape the citadel." Hunter suggested as he moved to another unopened grate, trying to open it. Wagner placed his rifle on his back as he ran over, trying to help open the grate.

Suddenly, the wall behind them exploded open, Spyro and Aaron sliding on the metal floor inside. Malefor stood on the other side, holding Cynder in his claws. He tossed her onto the ground and snarled.

"Give me the talisman..." He ordered. Yahade' raised his claws, they now sparking with the dark energy.

"Fine then, have it your way..."

As soon as he said that, a blast of earth energy shot them all off their feet and into the wall. Malefor leaped forward, his claws bore at them. Spyro grunted as he got up slowly, rubbing his head.

"No!" He scrambled to his feet, Cynder and Aaron getting up as well. They leapt at Malefor, only to be knocked back down as his tail sliced through the air like a knife, instantly immobilizing them.

Malefor walked over to Yahade', stepping hard on the Lakador's arm, causing him to yell out in pain before releasing the talisman.

"This... is where you loose Spyro. This is where you all will loose." He walked over to the mechanical tube that emanated from the wall, blue energy pulsing through it. Spyro tried to get up, stop him, anything. He just brought his head around and nailed him with another dark blast. It was futile.

He turned, placing the talisman in the pulsing blue field, it becoming suspended and glowing. To the right of the tube they could see through the hole where Malefor had entered, the machinery coming to life. Sparks danced in the room before a purple beam shot from the base of the mechanism to the duct above, all the way to the surface. The final gate had been unlocked.

"No!" Spyro said as he sat up, seeing the beam shooting upwards.

"Yes young dragon, it is now time. Time to awaken the weapon...." He charged up a beam of energy, the room growing purple as its light danced all around. Instead of hitting him like he expected, he fired the beam at the doorway behind them that Wagner had sealed. The beam cut right through it and blew the doors off of their sliding tracks, sending them skidding across the elevator landing outside. The creatures outside watched the door skid before turning, racing for the entrance as Malefor flapped his wings and sailed through and to the surface.

"It's over..." Spyro muttered softly.

"No, no, no, there's still time! Come on!" Wagner said as he ran over, grabbing Spyro to try to get him up. The others clamored to their feet as Karson and Allison discharged their rifles at the oncoming creatures. Two were killed immediately as another was hit several times, causing it to stand on its hind legs straight up into the air, roaring in defiance.

Zephyr quickly fired a blast of wind that sent the creature flying out of the doorway.

"Come on, this way!" Wagner yelled as he sprinted out of the door.

"Commander! Come in! Did he just unlock the key?! The whole citadel is lit up, energy cascades all over the mountains!" Wagner pressed his finger against his ear piece, hearing Buckman calling over the channel.

"He unlocked it! We're heading topside! Keep an eye out, the weapon should be revealing itself soon! We need to move out immediately!" He yelled back, standing on the elevator platform with the others. Spyro, still weak from the fight, joined them on the crowded platform. It shuddered softly before going upwards towards the surface. Snow filtered in from outside as they were back in the throne room. The entire citadel was shaking as the beam cut through the structure, great amounts of energy pouring into the surrounding air space. They could all feel it, down to their bones. This was not good, not good at all.

They raced to the foyer and to the central entrance as the black sky was now ablaze from the purple beam as it cut into the sky.

"All units this is Lieutenant Wagner, we are pulling back, fall back to your birds and prepare for arrival evac, we are pulling out!" As he said that he saw their Sparrowhawk fly in from around the citadel and bank around, coming towards them. It tilted its engines up as it slowed down for a landing, hovering just near the entrance now.

"Coming in for a low evac- wait hold on, contact!" Suddenly a purple beam cut across the sky and slammed into the aircraft, slicing it all the way through its wing and engine, causing it to explode.
The aircraft spun around as smoke and fire raged from the aft section of the craft.

"Mayday, mayday! We're going in hard!" The aircraft plummeted from its position, hitting the narrow bridge that spanned the chasm in front of the citadel and shattering the bridge to pieces. The craft's nose slammed into the mountain side and caused the other wing to slam into the mountainside as well, destroying the other engine and rupturing the main fuel line. By the time the aircraft slammed into the ground below, most of it had already been destroyed.

"Dagger 2 come in! Come in!" Wagner yelled, looking down over the edge.

"God damn it!" Karson yelled as he looked over then recoiled quickly from the sight.

"We're getting our freaking asses kicked!" Zephyr siad while panting from the run.

"The hell do we do no-" The ground suddenly started shaking, thunderous bangs emanating from everywhere.

Off in the distance, far beyond the valley of mandobar and the mountain pass, a single purple beam joined the other four and cut into the air. The beam sliced through clouds that sat over that region, causing them to part and spin around the beam. Suddenly a burst of energy shot out from the area, banishing all the clouds from the sky for what appeared to be hundreds of miles.

"I can't believe it..." Allison muttered lowly.

"At long last, it is time."

"What, who said that?" Spyro asked, looking around as a mysterious voice had cut through everything. Everyone joined in, looking around as they couldn't put a name on that statement either. Suddenly they saw him. A shadowy figure sat perched on one of the many spires that sprang into the air along the entrance to the citadel. They couldn't see any of his features, not even his face as his entire body was cloaked in shadow. The only namable features other then his draconic silhouette was two piercing and pure yellow eyes that stared out towards the beam.

"At long last, the Final Solution has revealed itself to the world. Just as it did when the Ancestors went extinct, and the council died off..." He muttered lowly.

"What? What're you talking about? What's... what's going to happen?" Spyro asked as he approached him slowly. The figure turned, looking down to him from his high perch.

"You're the young purple dragon they call Spyro. You defeated the one called the Dark Master, yet now you sit, beaten twice in a row by your former adversary."

Spyro opened his mouth as if to speak, but slowly closed it. The figure turned his head again, looking at the beam.

"Those fools, they think it's a weapon. Rithul, Diablo, all those ignorant fools."

"What? Rithul? How're they fools?" Spyro asked, a little thrown off by his comment.

"They think it's a weapon. Rithul may have seen it used back in the age of the council but they never truly understood the relays. They thought they fully understood it, they thought they were on the edge of unlocking its secrets. This is what brought them their destruction. Rithul has no true idea of what power lies within the relays."

"What do you mean...? The relay? What does it do...?"

The figure turned to him again.

"Young dragon, that relay is about to unleash horrors beyond your deepest comprehension." The figure leapt down, walking up to Spyro and craning his head down so his face was level with Spyro's. His piercing yellow eyes looked deep into him, as if examining his soul.

"These unspeakable horrors are what killed the ancestors. They're what killed the Council. It will kill all of you unless you stop the relay from firing." There was a brief moment of silence as he continued to look into Spyro's eyes. Finally he leaned back, looking down at him with a slightly less intensive gaze.

"Yes, you are adequate. You can stop the relay." He said softly.

"What? How do I stop it?"

The figure leapt back up to his perch, looking out over towards the beam again.

"You really are the key Spyro. You're heart, your mind..." He closed those yellow eyes before opening them again.

"Your friends are already at the relay, no doubt fighting hard against the forces of darkness to secure it. You should aid them in their battle."

"What?! The others are alive?! Terrador? Cyril? Volteer?"

"Yes, they and the humans along with the Lakadors. What numbers that remain have repeled the enemy to the relay site. At this very moment they sit at its door step." He turned to look at Spyro again.

"However they need a leader to see them through. Will you fufill the prophecy and be that leader?"

"I... I think I can." The figure continued to look at him. Spyro closed his eyes and regianed himself, putting on a determined face.

"I know I can."

"Good. Go on Spyro, lead them to victory. Send this evil back to where it came." He turned back towards the beam.

"Who are you...?" Spyro asked.

"The Shadow. There is a tram located beneath this citadel. It will take you to the relay station. Make haste young one." The figure said before leaping down and out of sight.

The group stood motionless before Spyro took in a deep breath.

"Come on guys, we've got to stop the Dark Master. There's only one way to do that now." He ran back into the citadel, going towards the throne room again.

"Wait, hold on Spyro, how do you know that guy's telling the truth? How do we know we can really stop this thing?" Roxy asked as she slowed to a walk. Spyro stopped midway up the stairs in the foyer, looking down to her.

"We have no other choice Roxy. We've come this far, we can't stop! Not while... that thing is active. Not while the Dark Master is this close."

"Spyro's right. We have to keep going. We can't stop- not for anything." Cynder said as she walked up next to Spyro on the stairs. Roxy frowned before smiling.

"Alright, let's go then." She said softly.

"This is Lieutenant Wagner to Dagger 1, extract all Marine forces and follow us in, we're going to head to the Final Solution on a ground-based tram."

"Roger that, we'll follow you in. Extracting Marine forces."

"This is Lieutenant Buckman, see you there commander."

"Roger that, good luck, Wagner out." He turned off his mic, nodding to Spyro as he went off to follow him.

They went down the elevator once more, it slowly coming to a halt at the bottom of the shaft. As they disembarked, they saw the sloped wall slowly move, it moving upwards to reveal a large tunnel.

Lights within the tunnel started to flicker on, revealing the tunnel going on for miles and miles beneath the surface as it was lined with metallic bracers and elegant structures. Just before them sat a platform servicing what appeared to be two multi-storied gondolas that sat suspended by a cable that ran along the roof of the structure. As they walked in to the large tunnel, the door behind them slid shut, clicking as it locked.

"No where else to go now..." Aaron muttered as they slowly approached the gondola on the left. They boarded it, taking seats along what they perceived were seats. Wagner walked to the front of the gondola, looking around for any controls. He didn't really see much of anything.

"Huh... wonder how this thing works..." He muttered as Karson walked beside him, searching as well. They suddenly heard some sort of automated voice come from somewhere, but they couldn't put just where. It spoke a language none of them were familiar with.

"Anyone catch that?" Wagner asked. Spyro and the others shook their heads. The language was dead to them too. Suddenly and without warning the gondola came to life, jolting forward with enough force to knock the Lieutenant and the Private to their backs, grunting as the gondola raced through the tunnel and towards the Final Solution's central relay.

End of Chapter 38