Spyro: BAW Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Sparing

"Are you kidding me?"  Zach nearly choked on his own spit as he heard what the guardians said.
"No, I assure you, we are completely serious."  Cyril replied to Zach outburst, everyone else was either laughing or trying to hide their amusement.
"Yes Zach, pitting you against Cynder will hopefully bring up a natural instinct from you.  Besides, it can't hurt anything."  Terador nodded first at Cynder then at Zach, signaling them to take their positions.
Cynder simply walked off to one side of the arena stretching herself out in preparation.  Zach however, stayed behind to plead his case more.
Keeping his voice low, Zach shot questions at Terador.  "Are you crazy?  You're going to pit me against her?  Do you want me to die?"  Zach couldn't keep his voice from rising as he kept asking questions.
Terador raised a hand and silenced Zach.  "Relax Zach, its just a sparing match, Cynder knows more than enough to keep from seriously harming you. Now please go take your spot"
Zach only rolled his eyes, apparently there was no way he was getting out of this.  Zach muttered under his breath as he walked over to the opposite end of the arena from Cynder.  "Yeah… she wont 'seriously' hurt me, more like, 'you'll only be eating through a tube after this'.  I don't quite understand where the guardians are going with this one, but I do know that this isn't going to end well."  Zach kneaded his talons into the sand beneath his feet, he really didn't know what he was supposed to do anyway.
"Hey Terador."  Zach yelled back over his shoulder.  "What am I doing out here anyway?"
Terador chuckled to himself and walked over to Zach.  "I suppose I should explain things to you now shouldn't I?  It very simple actually, you and Cynder will simply spar with each other, your objective is to get your opponent onto the ground, but you will not use excessive force or any sharp part of your body.  Eventually you will get to the point where sparing will utilize all of your abilities, but for now do not use your elemental abilities and try to stay on the ground."  Terador raised his voice so Cynder heard the last part of his statement, looking over his shoulder Cynder acknowledged him with a nod.
"Ok, so in other words, try to stay on your feet?"  Zach brought Terador's attention back to him.
"Yes, that is the general idea."  Terador nodded his head again and walked off of the arena, leaving Zach and Cynder alone in the middle.
Cynder held herself low to the ground, her stance obviously from years of experience.  Her talons dug into the soft sand beneath her while her wing fanned out behind her parallel to the ground.  She meant business, and Zach could tell.
Zach on the other hand, had no idea what he was doing.  He awkwardly tried to copy Cynder's stance but only succeeded in almost falling over.  Instead he moved his feet into a more natural position still trying to keep his body low to the ground.  As he compared his stance with Cynder's he could tell that his feet were spread much farther apart, with his weight mostly on this back feet.  His wings were also tucked close to his body rather than played out behind him like Cynder's were.
"See I told you."  Zach heard Volteer nudge Cyril from their place on the side of the arena.
"What was that Volteer" Zach yelled back at the guardians.  Anything he could do to stall for time would benefit him.
Terador only chuckled and yelled back at Zach.  "Don't worry about it Zach, take your position and you can begin."
Zach settled back into his stance muttering to himself.  "Like I know what I'm supposed to be doing…" looking back over at Cynder, Zach felt a shiver run down his spine.  Her usually active face was masked in a shroud of seriousness and purpose.  And underneath it all, he could see the slightest spark of anger in her eyes.  Zach shivered again.  Hopefully that anger wouldn't be directed at him
"Alright then.  Begin!"
Zach watched as Cynder sprung from her crouched position, flying towards him like a rocket.  Zach tried to sidestep her charge but only succeeded in throwing himself off balance. Cynder took advantage of this and swiped at Zach's legs with her tail as she passed.
Zach felt his legs buckle out from underneath him as Cynder's tail collided with his shins.  Knowing he wouldn't have much time to react, Zach used what leverage he had left to push him self away from Cynder, rolling along the ground before scrambling to get his footing.
Just like before, Cynder was on him in moments, this time swiping at his shoulders and head with her forepaws.  Zach felt each blow bounce of his hardened scales, trying to move with each punch to soften the blow.  Cynder wasn't using her talons and therefore wasn't going to cause any real damage, but each blow to Zach's body still caused him a deal of pain.
Zach knew he was going tot have to do something if he was going to have any sort of a chance of beating Cynder, well, at the very least saving some of his dignity.  Zach waited until Cynder went at him again, this time stepping backwards so that Cynder's momentum pulled her in front of him.  As she moved in front of him, Zach lashed out with his tail, hoping to catch her legs out from under her or at the very least trip her up, however, Cynder had other plans.  
As Zach lashed out with his tail, Cynder shifted her body and sprang off the ground, rolling onto and over Zach's back landing softly on the other side.  Zach was caught with both his head and body turned the opposite direction and Cynder quickly took advantage of this, placing a quick kick to his exposed side.
Zach bounced and rolled across the sandy ground, somehow managing to right himself and stand to his feet in one smooth motion, unfortunately for him, he still wasn't fast enough to contend with Cynder, who had already charged in his direction.
Cynder once again lashed out at Zach with her tail, this time using enough force to completely knock him off his feet.  Zach felt his legs give out from underneath him before finding himself upside-down on the ground, his back in the dirt, and Cynder on top of him pinning him to the ground.
"Good job Cynder, I see you haven't lost you touch.  Zach you did well, though next time, you might actually want to hit Cynder versus letting her use you as a punching bag."  Terador called out to the two combatants in the center of the ring.
Zach looked up to see Cynder looking down at him with an emotionless expression before wordlessly getting off him and walking back to a respectful distance.  Zach coughed hard once Cynder's weight had been removed from his body, taking in deep breaths to calm his nerves and clear his head.  His body was now covered in aches and pains from where Cynder had pummeled him, especially his shins and shoulders.
"Zach, are you alright?"  Zach could hear the guardians calling out to him from their side of the arena.
All Zach could manage for an answer was a low groan as he shakily picked himself off the ground and stood to his feet.
"Ok, good.  Now get ready to go again."
Zach would have loudly protested if he had the energy to, though at this point it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.  Moving slowly, Zach made his way back to the center of the arena where Cynder was already waiting.  She was already in her fighting stance waiting for the signal to begin again.  He had to figure out some way to fight her.  He couldn't contend with her speed or her skill, so he would just have to find some way around them.  The two things he had to his advantage were weight and strength, though he highly doubted he was any stronger than Cynder, he was kind of a weakling, and he didn't see how his weight could help him.
Zach settled back down into his 'stance' or what resembled one, staring back at Cynder again.  Even if he did manage to land a blow, he wasn't sure that he wanted to.  He still felt bad for what had happened and even mock fighting her felt wrong, and the fact that she was a girl didn't help things along either.
Zach sighed and tired to focus his mind on the task at hand, that was a moral dilemma that would have to wait for another time.
Zach faintly heard one of the guardians shout "begin" before seeing Cynder bolt at him again.  Cynder raced at him much like she had the first time, springing off the ground the ground only feet from him.  This time Zach had some idea of what to do.  Standing up onto his hind legs, Zach took the brunt of her charge square in the chest.  Rolling onto his back, Zach softened the blow while wrapping his arms around Cynder, keeping her close to his body trying to pin her to the ground.
Cynder had other plans.  Kicking out against Zach's body, Cynder managed to break free while they were still rolling on the ground.  Cynder tumbled to the ground a few feet away from Zach, quickly picking herself off the ground.  Zach struggled to his feet as well, coughing slightly from the blow to his chest.
Starring each other down, the two dragons began to circle each other.  Zach smiled slightly to himself, Cynder wasn't going headlong after him now, and he must have done something right.  Both dragons continued their paths around each other, neither taking their eyes off the other.  Once again Cynder was the first one to make a move, tough this time it was subtler.  Cynder slowly decreased the radius of the circle, drawing closer to Zach with each step she took.
Zach was forced to start rotating his body to follow Cynder.  as she began to get closer to him, Zach was forced to rotate faster, swiveling his neck and shoulders as Cynder tried to get behind Zach.  As it became more difficult to follow Cynder, Zach realized his mistake.  By allowing Cynder to get around and behind him, he had placed himself in a position where he couldn't move without putting himself at a disadvantage.  All he could do now was hope he could counter whatever Cynder threw at him.
Cynder quicken her pace around Zach, all she had to do now was wait for the right moment to attack.  Cynder made two more revolutions around Zach, watching closely as he was forced to follow her with his head instead of with his body.  As she got around behind Zach, he was forced to whip his head around to the other side to continue following her.  She knew exactly what she had to do.
Cynder made one more revolution around Zach, waiting until just the right moment.  As Cynder made it to the end of Zach's vision again, Zach was forced to snap his head around again.  This was just the opportunity that Cynder was looking for.
As Zach snapped his head around, Cynder quickly changed direction, jumping and putting her self right into Zach's blind spot.  As Zach finished his rotation, he was mortified to find that Cynder wasn't there any more.  This feeling was short lived as Zach soon found his legs being swept out from underneath him again.  Zach found himself on his back again with Cynder pouncing on him, trying to pin him to the ground.
Zach rolled out from under Cynder just as her talons dug into the soft sand.  Once again Zach struggled to his feet, quickly facing Cynder who was still righting herself from her last attack.  This time Cynder didn't hesitate to charge after Zach again, hoping to catch him off balance.
Cynder once again charged headlong at Zach, jumping off the ground to pounce onto Zach.  Zach once again stood on his back legs, trying to uses Cynder's momentum against her.
As Zach stood on his legs, Cynder only smiled to herself, she would never make the same mistake twice.  Cynder forcefully threw out her wings, giving them a forceful push foreword, practically stopping her in mid air allowing her to drop to the ground.  The end result was her standing mere inches from Zach who was caught standing on his hind legs.
Zach only had time to realize what was happening before Cynder delivered a forceful blow to his chest, sending him reeling over backwards in pain.  As Zach hit the ground again, he opened his eyes to find Cynder on top of him again, once again pinning him to the ground.
"Good Cynder."  Terador and the other dragons walked out into the center of the ring, crowding around Cynder who was still pinning Zach to the ground.  "You can get off him now Cynder."
Cynder removed herself from on top of Zach with a huff, impartial to his groans as she not to gently pushed off his chest.  Zach groaned in pain as he felt his new injuries swelled up over his old ones, covering the majority of his body in a throbbing pain.  As Zach attempted to roll onto his feet, his body was wracked by a fit of violent coughing, forcing him to lay still on the ground.
"Hey are you ok."  Spyro walked over to Zach and pushed up against his side to help him stand to his feet.  Zach used Spyro's held to roll all the way onto his feet, though he didn't attempt to stand.
"You must have really done something to piss her off, because she is angry."  Zach tried to shake the specks out of his vision as he was thrown into another coughing fit.
Spyro wasn't too happy about Zach's last comment but let it slide for the moment.  "Why do you say that?"
"Because she seems angry…" Zach tried to stand on his feet and groaned from the effort, eventually lowering himself back onto the ground.  "And because she's not talking to anyone else right now."  Zach motioned over to where Cynder was standing still in a partial battle stance, her back to the other dragons.
Zach attempted to stand to his feet again and Spyro pushed up against his side to help again.  "You know Zach, she really isn't trying to hard right now.  If she wanted to, she could have you on the ground after the first move."
"Yeah I know."  Zach pushed off of Spyro and stumbled a few steps, but caught his balance.  "I just can't help but feel that she's still really angry right now, and she's taking that anger out on me."  Zach stretched out his sore body on the dry sand, thankfully not falling into another fit of coughing.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, you still have one more round to go."  Zach shot Spyro a look as he grinned mischievously.
"You're kidding right?"  Zach stared at Spyro as he broke into laughter.  "You're not are you?"  Zach let out a sigh as Spyro shook his head.  Just great, now he had to do this again.
Spyro yelled back over his shoulder as he walked turned and walked towards the edge of the arena with the other guardians, "well look at it this way, you can't do any worse."
"Thanks Spyro…" Zach shook his head as he walked back to his starting position.  He was mildly impressed with himself by the fact that he was still moving, he had a feeling that he normally shouldn't be able to take this much punishment.
"Are you ready for this Zach?"  Zach snapped his head up to see Cynder looking at him from the opposite side of the ring, it had been the first thing she had said to him since earlier that morning.  Her voice carried some traces of compassion, but most of it was anger and frustration.  It sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yeah, sure…" Zach muttered under his breath as he stretched his legs out a final time.  He wasn't going to be able to move as fast as he would like, but he would need every ounce of strength he could get to hold up against Cynder again, not like it would make any difference.
"Alright you two this is the last round, so make it your best."  Terador once again yelled at the two dragons from the edge of the arena
Zach let out a sigh of relief until he saw Cynder smirk from across the room.  If Spyro was right, which he probably was, and Cynder had been holding back, there was no reason for her to do so now.
"Begin!"
Zach was startled by the sudden start of the match, but thankfully for him, Cynder kept her distance.  Zach and Cynder circled each other slowly, much like they had been doing before.  Zach paid careful attention to not letting Cynder get around him like she had last time, though he knew she probably had some other trick up her sleeve.
Zach watched Cynder carefully as they circled each other.  Neither of them seemed willing to make a move, though Zach knew Cynder could take him easily if she wanted to.
As the two kept circling each other, Zach was lulled into a different state of mind.  His actions became more systematic, each step seemed no different than the next and he had lost track of how many times he had circled the arena.  But as he lost track of his actions, his mind focused on other things.
He thoughts wandered to his home… his real home.  What was happening there, did everyone think he was dead?
Zach quickly forced the thoughts out of his head and centered himself back on the battle.  It was best not to think about it at the moment, he couldn't stand to think about what his friends and family might be going through.
Zach focused back onto Cynder.  It was amazing that she hadn't tried something by now, they had been circling each other for almost three minutes.  But her lack of action only meant that she was planing something and Zach knew it.  Her face carried a look of cold determination, as she circled him.  She was in this one hundred percent, and that only meant more pain for him in the long run.
But behind the determination and the incredible fighting skills, behind the cold looks and the seeming lack of compassion, Zach knew there was something else going on.  Every time they circled so Zach had his back to Spyro, he could see Cynder's eyes flick off of him for only a moment.  But in that moment, Zach could see so much more that she could have told him.  He was never any good at understanding emotions, especially from someone of the opposite sex, but her emotions seemed so raw in that single moment that Zach knew what he was looking at.
Mixed in with the anger and determination, hidden behind the calm and collected appearance, there was more.  He could see it every time, a look of sadness, a look of regret, but most of all, a look of longing.
It scared him that he could pick up on her emotions like that, especially in the middle of a sparring match.  Part of him wanted him to be wrong, to know that he could never see someone like that, never understand what was going on inside their head, but the other part knew that he was right, that his mind was only confirming something he already knew.
Zach's mind slowly focused back on the fight at hand.  If something didn't happen soon, he was going to drop over from sheer exhaustion.  Circling around Cynder wasn't going to get him anywhere.  It would be stupid, but he was probably going to have to make the first move.
Zach watched for an opportunity to strike, but Cynder was an experienced fighter always keeping her focus on her opened, her body squared and ready to move.  It was a hopeless endeavor.  Cynder was faster and had more experience than him, sure he had confirmed that he had slightly more power than she had, but it wasn't going to get him anywhere.
Zach slowly made up his mind.  It wasn't exactly anything resembling a plan, and he wasn't thinking more than two steps into what would happen, but his legs were beginning to give out from underneath him.
Zach waited once again until he had his back to Spyro, waiting for the subtle shift of Cynder's attention.   The second her saw her eye's flicker, Zach made his move.  Dashing from the outside of the circle, Zach made his way straight for Cynder.  As Zach closed the gap between them, he watched Cynder's reaction.  As Cynder focused back on Zach, he expression changed to a look of worry and surprise, only to be replaced moments later by a smug look of confidence.
Zach's brain only had moments to comprehend her reaction before he would reach her.  A feeling of dread overcame him as he watched a smug smile cross her face, she had been waiting for him, and he had walked right into it.  he couldn't turn around now, his momentum would carry him too far, and even if he did stop in time, he would be at the mercy of Cynder again.  Neither seemed like a good option to him.
As he covered the last two steps towards Cynder, Zach glanced at her stance.  Her legs we bent and ready to spring, her wings spread out behind her, and her tail held perfectly still level to the ground.  She was just going to jump out of the way, something Zach knew she could easily do.
An idea flickered though Zach's mind and he immediately grabbed onto it.  it might not end well, but anything would be better than what would happen if he kept running.
Making the split second decision, Zach threw his body off to the side, rolling his body over so he was sliding on his side with his feet facing Cynder.  As he threw himself off to the side, Cynder moved as well, jumping away from where she thought Zach was going, only to end up closer to Zach then when she started.  As Zach slid across the sandy ground he lashed out with his tail, catching all four of Cynder's feet and tossing her to the ground.
Seizing the only opportunity he was likely to get, Zach dug his two feet closest to the ground into the sand, anchoring them and using his momentum to stand himself up only feet away from Cynder.  Not thinking twice about his options, Zach threw himself at Cynder as she was getting off the ground, landing on top of her and sending the two spiraling across the ground.
Zach quickly wrapped his arms around Cynder and pulled her close to his body, if he could keep her close to his body, she would lose her sped advantage and he could use his weight.  Cynder clawed, pushed, and kicked with bother her fore feet and her hind feet, trying to push off of Zach and get free while still trying to wrestle on top of him.
Zach continued to struggle and though he was gaining some kind of an advantage until he felt something hard slap across on of his hands, bending it the wring direction and quite possibly breaking it.  Zach risked a glance off to the side to see Cynder's tail waving back and forth, ready to come back in and strike again.
Zach mentally scolded himself, he had completely forgotten about that significant body part, and Cynder was using it with lethal effectiveness.
As Cynder's talons continued to scrap again his chest scales Zach saw Cynder reach back with her tail for another strike.  Zach quickly rolled towards her tail, pulling Cynder overtop of him.  Zach felt a sharp pain shoot through his wrist and it moved and crunched underneath their combined weight, if it wasn't broken before, it was now.
As the two dragons struggled on the ground, Zach tried to gain the upper hand, slowly trying to subdue Cynder.  Remembering that he had a tail to use as well, Zach Caught Cynder's tail with the forked end of his tail and drove it into the ground, pinning Cynder's tail to the ground in the process.
Cynder continued to kick off against Zach chest and stomach, slowly working her way out of his grip.
Zach was beginning to feel the strain of putting up a fight against Cynder so long.  His chest was throbbing from where Cynder was constantly battering against it and hold on Cynder was loosening dye to his broken wrist.
At last Cynder gave another strong kick and launched Zach off of her, sending him over her head and onto his back with their heads facing each other.  Zach struggled to his feet, cringing in pain when he put to much pressure on his wrist.  Balancing on three feet, Zach looked across at Cynder who was standing only a few feet away from him.  She was covered in dirt and was panting heavily, an image Zach imagined he was mirroring himself, but she also had the familiar cold determination in his eyes.
Before he had time to react Cynder was on him, throwing a strong elbow into his uninjured forearm knocking it out from under him and sending him onto his face.  She quickly followed by lashing he tail across his side, cutting into some of his scales along his back and sending him rolling across the ground.
Zach tried to stand to his feet, but Cynder was on him again in an instant, wrapping her tail around his and somehow thawing him up into the air.
Zach had a moment to wonder how Cynder had managed to throw him a good ten feet into the air before he say Cynder pump he wings once and shoot up after him, somersaulting in the air to bring her tail down across his back, sending him back down into the ground.
Zach hit the ground with a dull thud, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust around him concealing him from view.  Cynder landed a few feet away, flapping her wings a few times to land gracefully on the ground while clearing the dust form around Zach.  Cynder then casually walked over and placed a talon on Zach's moaning but still conscious body.
"Alright Cynder I think you've made you point, that's enough."  Terador and the other guardians walked slowly into the arena over to the small crater Zach had made in the sand.
Zach moaned again and rolled his body slightly.  Every bone in his body hurt from the impact, but nothing seemed broken and by how the other dragons were reacting, he must not be in any real danger.  Zach cracked his eyes open only to feel dust fall down from his forehead and into his eyes.  Rubbing reaching up with his good arm, Zach rubbed at his face to try and get rid of the dust, but his arm was covered in dirt as well making matters worse.
"Here let me help with that."
Zach turned towards the source of the voice and received a jet of cool most air against his face, clearing out his eyes and washing most of the dirt off his face, leaving dark brown streaks down his face.  Zach opened his mouth to thank whoever had done it only to find that he had swallowed mouthfuls of dirt as well.
Zach coughed and gagged on the dirt in hies throat, attempting to spit it out in a series of hacks and sputters.  After a moment, Zach felt a pressure on his side, forcing him to stand up onto his feet, though he took pains to make sure he didn't put any pressure on his injured foot.  Slowly, Zach felt himself being led away from the center of the arena, the voices of the guardians and Cynder fading away to a silent murmur.
Still coughing, Zach cracked open his watering eyes to see Spyro next to him leading him towards some water off to the side of the arena.  He quickly broke away from Spyro's support and hobbled the rest of the way to the water, quickly plunging his muzzle in and taking greedy draughts from the cool water.
Zach drank until his lugs cried out for air again, raising his head back up and causing another fit of coughing.
"Hey now, slow down a little…" Spyro walked up next to Zach and gave him a concerned look.
Zach quickly took another mouthful of water and swished it around his mouth before spiting it back onto the ground a few feet away.  Taking deep breaths, Zach calmed himself and steadied himself before turning back to Spyro.  "I'll be fine, I just ate a few mouthfuls of dirt when I hit the ground back there."  Zach glanced over his shoulder at the miniature crater in the sand.
Spyro chuckled slightly, "yeah… that looked like a nasty fall you took there…"
"Yeah… well your girlfriend hits pretty hard."  Zach raised his injured wrist and tried to rotate it, but stopped as pain rippled through his body again.
Spyro startled slightly but continued as if nothing had happened.  "Ow… that looks pretty nasty.  Hey Terador!  You might want to look at this."  Spyro waved the earth guardian over to look at Zach's wrist.
Terador nodded and said one last thing to Cynder before lumbering over to the two younger dragons.  "What seems to be the problem?"
Zach only raised his wrist in response, slight swelling already showing.
"Ah I see, but I am not the best person to consult on this, perhaps Volteer could better examine your injury."  Terador quickly walked back to the other guardians before returning with all of the in tow, Cyril and Cynder slightly behind Volteer and Terador.
Volteer said nothing as he sat down next to Zach, reaching up with a talon and prodding at Zach's injury.  Zach pulled back each time Volteer made contact with his injured arm, glaring at Volteer the whole time.
"Did this happen when you hit the ground Zach?"  Terador questioned Zach, though he looked over at Cynder as he said it.  Cynder shrank back a step under his gaze.
"No, I think my wrist was broken before I hit the ground like a ton of bricks."  Zach replied with a slight edge to his voice, looking over at Cynder as well.
"Well there's not much we can do about it now."  Terador let out a sigh and turned back to Volteer.  "Volteer, what do you think?"
"Here, we'll have to set this and wrap it.  You mustn't move a sprained or broken limb you know it inhibits the healing process."  Volteer jabbered away as he examined Zach broken limb, occasionally prodding it and causing Zach to jerk back and cringe.
"Cyril, would you mind going and getting some bandages, Volteer and I will set Zach's wrist while you get them."  Terador bent over Zach from the other side and examined his wrist as well.
Volteer prodded Zach once more and let out a low hum.  "Yes, it does appear to be broken, only in one place though and it is a clean break rather than a shatter, though I don't know how you managed that.  Terador, you were always better with this than I was, you will just have to set the bone here."  Volteer pointed a few points out to Terador as Zach watched though his vision was beginning to blur from the pain.
"Ah…  I see.  Zach are you ready?"  Terador turned to Zach and received a nod in reply.  "All right here we go, on there.  One… two…  Cynder what are you doing?"
Zach turned his head to look at Cynder only to feel pain shoot though his arm and into his skull as Terador moved his bone back into place.  As pain overcame his system, Zach crumpled to the ground, rolling in pain, tears forming at the edges of his eyes.  He quickly felt two pairs of large hands holding him to the ground.
"Easy now Zach, we can't have you go and push that back out of place or we'll have to do it again."  Terador deep gentle voice soothed Zach as he writhed in pain, though the tears were now freely flowing down his face.
"Hmm… what is this?"  Volteer's surprised voice attracted everyone's attention, even Zach, who forced his blurry eyes open to look at whatever had surprised Volteer.
Much to his astonishment, it was still his broken limb that was the focus of attention, though it wasn't so much his wrist as what was going on around it.  Small blue and green sparks danced along his scales and melded into his body.  With each spark that entered his skin, the throbbing pain subsided a little, and as his min was cleared from the pain induced fog, a small smile crept to his face.
"I wouldn't worry about it, you might want to tell Cyril he won't need those bandages though."  Zach let his head fall back onto the ground and was immediately overcome with weariness.  He had forgotten just how much using his powers took out of him; he could probably sleep for a day if the guardians let him… not that they would let him.
"Ah yes, yours is a very strange power Zach."  Terador watched Zach closely as he put his arm and wrist through their full range of motion with only residual amounts of pain.
Volteer stared intently at Zach as well, though for a different reason than Terador.  "It seems that you body will only heal itself if everything is in its proper place, but that is probably for the better.  That way you won't have to worry about something healing in the wrong position."
"Yeah…" Zach answered absent-mindedly as he stood up and put pressure on his leg.  Thankfully it still held his weight, though his arm still throbbed every time he took a step.  Zach took another few experimental steps, everything seemed to be in working order and the pain seemed to be subsiding.
It was a good thing his arm had healed like that, or he might be stuck in the temple for another month or two waiting for it to heal, and that would have driven him insane.  But the quick heal didn't come without a price.  His energy was completely drained, just keeping himself on his feet took more energy than Zach could spare, and while the pain from his arm had subsided, the rest of his body ached to the point that it was dulling his senses.  He was about to fall over until he felt someone brush up beside him to keep his balance.  Zach turned to see Spyro helping him along and gave the slightest nod of his head in acknowledgement.
"Alright Zach it looks like you could use some rest.  Go ahead and rest for a while, but not for too long, report back here after a while."  Volteer dismissed them with a wave of his paw and left quickly with the other guardians, leaving Zach dumbstruck.
Zach turned to Spyro.  "They're kidding right?"  To his dismay Spyro shook his head, a smile creeping around his lips.
Zach let out a low groan and his body shuddered.  "They really are trying to kill me."
This brought a small chuckle from Spyro who pushed him forward slowly down the hall.  "No they aren't, but I do have to say, this is far worse than what they ever put us through, well all in one day anyway."
As they were walking down the hallway, Cynder came up from behind them to match their pace beside Zach on the opposite side of Spyro.
"Hey Cynder."  Zach spoke more into the ground that at Cynder, but she still nodded in acknowledgement.
"How are you feeling?"  The question seemed emotionless to Zach, more like a survey that a heartfelt question.
"Ok I guess, seeing as I just got my but kicked up and down the arena."  Spyro snickered at Zach's comment, but silenced himself when Cynder looked at him.
"Oh it wasn't that bad Zach."  Cynder lowered his head so she could speak more evenly with Zach before picking up her pace and walking ahead of him.
"Oh really, and how is that?  Why don't you explain to me how that wasn't a complete failure."
"Well to start, You fight like an earth dragon."  Cynder cracked a small smile as she walked away.
"Is that a good thing?"  Zach lifted his head, barely able to talk to her as he was helped down the hallway.
Cynder turned her head back around as she walked  "Well…  Earth dragons are known more for the mastery of their element over their incredible fighting prowess."
"So in other words… no?"  Zach shot her a look.
"No its not that you're a bad fighter, your style is jut simplistic and very ground based.  I'm sure, as time goes on you will change, your moves will become less blunt… so on and so forth."  Cynder flicked her tail and left the two dragons alone as she walked briskly down the hall and out of sight.
"Well that was interesting…" Zach said absentmindedly, turning to Spyro, Zach could see him watch Cynder walk down the hall, his gaze fixed to the corner she had turned around.
Zach rolled his eyes.  "Spyro…. Spyro you're drooling."
"Hmm… what?"  Spyro shook his head slightly and raised one hand to wipe his mouth.  "I am not."
"Well you might as well be after that look you were giving.  You really have it out for Cynder don't you?"  Zach took another shaky step forward only to have Spyro rush up to his side again.
"Oh no you don't… you really took it hard out there."  Spyro grimaced slightly as he looked at the tattered state of Zach's body.
Zach noted the obvious change in subject but ignored it for now.  "So on that positive note…" Zach propped himself up against Spyro as he continued walking down the hall.  "How do you think I did, besides the whole getting my but kicked part."
Zach felt Spyro's chuckle shake his sided.  "Yeah, Cynder will do that.  She still bests me most of the time when we spar like that, though I usually at least get a hit on her."
Zach lifted his weary head long enough to glare at Spyro before letting it droop again.
"But other than that, I wouldn't say too bad.  From what I hear you had no skills whatsoever this morning."  Spyro looked closely at Zach, something still didn't make sense.  When they had fought it was like Zach had years of experience.  Either he was sandbagging his abilities now, or he was hiding something else.  Either option didn't sit right in Spyro's stomach.  Even with the guardians' decision to let him stay, Spyro still felt uneasy with this dragon around.
"Yeah well, let's hope that id doesn't stay like this for too long, I can't afford to keep doing this every day."  Zach turned a corner having finally made it to his room.  The hallways were way too long for his liking.
Zach's comment piqued Spyro's curiosity again, what was this dragon hiding?  Spyro shook the idea out of his head; it would have to wait for now.  "Are you ok from here?"
Zach nodded, "either I'll make it to the bed or I'll pass out on the way, but either way don't wake me up."
"Well either way get as much sleep as you can, the guardians would let you sleep for too long and you will need all the energy you can get."
"Now where have I heard that before?"  Zach rolled his eyes as he thought back to the events of earlier that day.  "I just don't get it though, how do they expect me to function after all of that?"
Spyro stepped though the doorway so he could speak more clearly to Zach  "well they don't… not completely anyway part of what there doing is seeing how well you can handle stress and perform while exhausted."
Zach flopped onto his makeshift bed.  "Well they're doing a really good job at it."
"You would be surprised at how much a short nap will help, I'm sure you'll feel better than you would expect when you wake up."  Spyro stopped as he heard the muffled murmurs that was Zach's reply, he couldn't understand a word that had been said, but he knew Zach was already on the verge of sleeping.
Spyro shook his head at Zach, he had barely made it onto the bed and was now sprawled across it, he was exhausted to the point that not a muscle moved on his body as sleep overcame him.  The only evidence that he was still alive was the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
But Spyro's mirth quickly faded away to be replaced by anxiety, he still didn't trust this dragon at all, not even in the slightest.

Zach flew steadily back towards the temple, each beat of his wings adding strain onto his already taxed body.  He was half tempted to just land, lay down, sleep, and never go back to the temple and its crazy tasks, but he knew he really didn't have a choice.  He needed their help.  
Zach altered his course slightly and grumbled to himself, the guardians had long passed ridiculous in their tasks and it hadn't even been a full day yet.  His "testing" had been straining in itself and then they had gone and thrown him against Cynder with no experience whatsoever.  It was amazing that he was able to move at all, much yet fly.  But the guardians had simply ignored that little detail and slapped another task on him the moment he woke up, or rather the moment they had come in a forcibly woken him up.
"It's just one more simple task…."  Zach mimicked Cyril voice as best he could trough his heavy panting.  "Just fly down the river until you find a bush with white and yellow flowers growing on it, pick on of the flowers at the base of the stem and return back here…" Zach spat as he finished recapping what the guardians had told him to do.  It seemed to him like he was more on an errand than an actual "test."
Zach once again corrected his course towards the temple that he could faintly see in the distance fidgeting with the flower that he held in his hands.  The thing was more trouble than it was worth.  Zach didn't know how far he had flown until he finally decided that following the guardian's directions wasn't going to find him what he was looking for.  It took three large loops around a section of the river and then a desperate landing in a clearing before he finally chanced upon the bush that he was looking for.
But even then his job wasn't easy, instead of the flowers being on the bush, they were inside the bush.  Covered by a canopy of branches and sharp looking thorns.  After much struggling, twisting, and turning, Zach found that not only were the thorns on the bush sharp, but that each flower was covered with the same kind of thorns as well.  The whole thing reminded him of a rosebush, but the flowers looked nothing like them, more like daises
Once he had finally managed to wrench an undamaged flower from the middle of the bush and untangle himself, he was covered with scratched and had at least six different thorns imbedded under the scales on his hands not to mention the ones on other parts of his body.
After that he had started his trek back towards the temple, constantly readjusting the flower in his hands.  Thankfully, the thorns that had embedded themselves under his scales had worked their way out while he was flying, relieving most of his pain but leaving a discomfort where they had been.
Zach looked up again to see that he had flowing remarkably close to the temple mulling over his thoughts.  As the prospect of rest became apparent, his muscles throbbed and begged for rest, but Zach tired to push though as best he could.  He was close now and there was no way he wasn't going to finish it.  The whole thing had taken him almost two hours, and unfortunately for him, part of the guardian's task had been to see how fast he could do it.  They had set up what appeared to be a stop clock before he left, telling him to hit a witch on top and place the flower in a nearby box when he got back.  The whole thing irritated him.
As Zach approached the platform outside the temple, he realized that he would need to land again, and he would need all four feet to do it, meaning he would have to carry the flower in his mouth for the time being.  Zach carefully moved the flower from his forepaws to his mouth, taking extra care to avoid scratching the inside of his mouth with the thorns; it tasted horrible, a mixture of rotten leaves and a thick musk assaulting the inside of his mouth causing him to gag.
As Zach tried to avoid breathing through his mouth he landed heavily on the outside platform, jolting his body and causing the flower to cut the inside of his mouth.  Moving the flow to one of his hand Zach spit small amounts of blood out of his mouth from the fresh cuts, these tasks were causing much more pain than they should.
Zach breathed deeply through his mouth, his body still heaved and shook from the whole day's exertion.  It still amazed him that he hadn't passed out yet.  He readjusted his wings so the barbed ends partway down his wings hooked together over his back, this took some of the stain off of the muscles in his shoulder as he no longer had too keep his wings from dragging along the ground.  But he didn't have much time to make himself comfortable, he still had to finish his "mission," he was being timed after all.
Zach moved quickly down the hall towards the central chamber.  After all this was over he could get some rest, there was no way the guardians could push him any farther, even if they tried he would just lay down and sleep in front of them… or pass out… either option seemed plausible at the moment.  Zach rounded the corner into the large central chamber silently.  Looking around he could see no sign of the guardians, Spyro or Cynder, but that was good for him.  using the last bit of energy that he had, Zach crossed the remaining distance to the center of the room, put the troublesome flower in the box with little care, and slammed his hand down on the timer, stooping it with a silent clunk.
But as he relaxed his body and started to settle down, Zach heard heavy footsteps coming down one of the halls.  Footsteps that could only belong to one of the larger guardians.
Zach quickly bolted out of the room, turning a corned and plastering himself against the wall.  If they couldn't find him, they couldn't give him another ridiculous task.  After a few moments Zach heard the footsteps stop followed by Volteer's voice.
"Ah good, I see Zach found what we needed, and in a decent time too.  With this I can finally finish…" the rest of his words were drowned out by Zach's irritated growl as Volteer walked away down a hall.  He had been on an errand run.
Zach quickly turned back down the hallway that led to the outside of the temple, he couldn't stand to be in the building anymore, he needed to get outside on his own terms.
Zach moved as quickly as his sore body would carry him out to the balcony platform.  Looking around, he couldn't see anywhere that looked to be a safe place to get away to for a while, and any place that he could see would mean that he would have to fly down to get to it… and that would mean that he would have to fly back up to the temple again, something he knew he wouldn't be able to do.
"Are you feeling better?"  Zach craned his neck back around his body to see Cynder lying on the top of the temple behind him.  Her wings we spread out slightly behind her and her front two feet hung over the edge slightly with her head resting between them.
"Well the thing that hurts the most right now is probably my pride or my dignity, I can't tell which."  Zach turned to face Cynder, looking up at her from below.  "Though my body is sore in so many places I can't think straight."
"Then what are you doing out here?"  Cynder gave him a questioning glance as she gestured out with one of her wings.
"Well a few minutes ago I was completing and errand for on of the guardians, but now I'm just trying to get away from them before the give me another ridiculous task."  Zach spread his wings out behind him and stretched out different parts of his body trying to loosen up.
Cynder chuckled slightly and rose to her feet.  "I can't blame you, though it is nice to not have to be the one running errands for once."  Cynder turned and walked away from the edge calling after Zach,  "come on Zach…  I know somewhere you can rest for a bit."
Zach painfully raised his wings and beat them a few times to lift of the ground and onto the roof, scrambling his feet as he reached the top of the roof to get on top of it.  Cynder only turned to look at him but said nothing.  After Zach had struggled to his feet, Cynder led him across the hard stone roof to a small area flanked by two of the larger towers on the temple.  The two towers created a small alcove between them shaded form the elements.  Cynder walked over and lay down in the center of the small space, looking intently at Zach until he came and lay beside her.
"I still don't understand how the guardians could never find us here.  You can see the balcony from here and you would have to look in this direction if you were going to land here, but I guess they never though to look for us outside the temple."
Zach hummed slightly as he stretched himself out on the cool stone, panting heavily as he tried to press as much of his sore body to the cool stone as possible.  His voice was barely audible as he tried to keep up a conversation up with Cynder, though his drooping eyelids and weary body made sleep a welcome prospect.  "So do you and Spyro come up here often?"
"We used to… before the whole 'saving the world' thing.  But as you may have figured out, we haven't had much time to relax lately.  That and we haven't had to hide from the guardians with you around."  Cynder laughed silently to herself, Zach's presence was really a good thing for her at the moment.
"I would think that you two would be spending more time together."  Zach forced himself to stay awake, intentionally making the comment to see what Cynder was thinking.
"Yeah you would think…" Cynder trailed off as a slight breeze blew through the small alcove.
"Do you want to talk about it?"  Zach settled back onto his stomach and looked over at Cynder
"What?  Why do you care?"  Cynder became defensive at Zach's last comment, fearful of where the conversation might lead.
"Hey…  I'm just trying to help."
"Just let it go Zach… please."  Cynder left the two siting in silence, neither of them wanting to start the conversation again.  After a while, Zach started to drift back towards the comforts of sleep.
As they were siting in silence. Spyro walked out onto the balcony below them and took off, making a quick circle in the air before seeing Cynder and Zach on the roof and gliding back down to them.  As he landed, Spyro folded his wings up neatly behind him and walked over to lie down next to Cynder, on the opposite side from Zach.  "You know the guardians are looking for you, Zach?"
"Unfortunately… yes."  Zach rolled onto his back as his body started to shake itself of his weariness.  "Did they say what for this time?"
"No, only that they needed you for something."  Spyro looked over Cynder at Zach, who was rolling back onto his stomach trying to fight off sleep.
"Even more reason for me not to go back inside right now.  They can be mad at me later, but right now I need rest."
"Well you won't be able to stay out here too long, it looks like its going to rain soon."  Spyro gestured up towards heavy storm clouds overhead, leaving Zach to wonder how he hadn't noticed them before.
"Crazy weather…."  Zach mumbled under his breath as looked up at the sky.
A cool wind blew across the three dragons, causing each to shiver slightly.  Spyro moved closer to Cynder, but Cynder mover just as far in the opposite direction, keeping herself out of contact with Spyro.
"Cynder… are you ok… something seems to be bother you."  Spyro turned his head so that he was looking Cynder in the eyes.
"No, I'm fine…" Cynder answered him flatly, tough her voice was unconvincing, even to herself.
"Cynder, I can tell something is bother you… what is it."  Spyro looked intently at Cynder, moving his head slightly towards hers.
"I don't know…  I'm probably just hungry."  Cynder broke his gaze and muttered as she looked at the ground again.  She had hoped he would just leave her be.
"Well, I can get you something to eat if you want" Spyro started to stand to his feet, but Cynder was quick to stop him.
"Don't worry about it Spyro, I can get it myself later."  Spyro settled back down next to Cynder, looking slightly dejected.  He wanted to help her, but she didn't seem to care at the moment.
"So Zach…  this has been bothering me all day…" Spyro trailed off for a moment and Zach rolled his eyes at Spyro's pitiful attempt to change the subject.  "But why exactly are you here?  Why are you putting up with the guardians and their crash course in training?"
Zach let out a sigh and braced himself, he knew the question would come up again eventually, but not answering it wasn't going to be any easier.  "There are two reasons I can't tell you.  One, I don't want to, it's private.  And two, if I did tell you, the guardians wouldn't be too happy with me."  Zach held up a talon as he listed each off, as if it would make his point clearer.
Spyro looked frustrated with Zach's answers but he hid it in his voice well.  "Ok, but I can you at least tell us where you come from?  We really don't know anything about you."
"I don't know how to answer that Spyro, those are things that I want to keep to myself."  Zach turned his head away as he answered, his voice trailing off.
"But how can you expect us to trust you when we don't know a single thing about you?"  The frustration broke through in Spyro's voice, his muscles tensing as he spoke.
" I don't know Spyro…  I guess I can't really expect you to trust me.  Especially after what happened.  But I do know that I need your help, and I will have to earn your trust somehow."  Zach finished and turned slowly to look back and Spyro, unsure of how he would respond.
Spyro, knowing the conversation wasn't going any farther today stood up with a huff and walked part way down the roof towards the platform.
"Cynder… please don't stay out her too long."  Spyro glanced back over at Cynder who looked away from him.
"And why do you suddenly care?"  Cynder's harsh retort caused Spyro to recoil before turning and heading back inside without a word, leaving Cynder and Zach alone on the roof together.
As soon as Spyro had walked out of sight Zach shot Cynder a look.
"What?"  Cynder stared back at Zach, but she couldn't quite match his gaze.
"You know what" Zach's voice was harsh, but not quite angry, "that was a load of crap and you know it."
"What?"  Cynder repeated herself though this time her voice was high pitched and nervous.
"Come on Cynder, I don't know what your problem with him is right now, but you need to get over it.  And will you stop with this 'I don't know' crap too.  You act like you don't care for him at all."  Cynder could feel Zach's hard stare, but she didn't want to meet it.
"How would you know?"  Cynder finally shot back at Zach,  "what do you know about what we went through, what I went through… you don't know anything about me!" Cynder whirled to face Zach, putting her face inches from his, her anger hiding the tears forming in her eyes.
"Well apparently I know more about you than you do yourself, because I can see how much you love him Cynder."  Zach matched her cold stare unflinchingly.  
Zach's last retort left Cynder speechless, what could he know about her?  But then again, why would he something like that to her face.  She knew she wanted to be with Spyro more than anything, but it just wouldn't be right.  She had done too many things, hurt too many people…  Spyro could never love someone… something… like her.
Cynder came back with a low and unsteady voice.  "Yeah well… what if I do… what does it matter anyway?  Spyro could never love anyone like me, and after what he said today…  it doesn't surprise me that he doesn't want me around the temple anymore…  I wouldn't."
Zach let out a heavy sigh.  "Is that what this is all about, why you two haven't been talking to each other?"
Cynder only kept looking away, her voice low and sorrowful.  "Sort of…" Cynder risked a glance over her shoulder to see Zach looking at her intently, he wasn't going to let this one go.  Cynder let out another heavy sigh before continuing.  "When we talked earlier, Spyro mentioned me leaving the temple again… he said he wouldn't blame me if I did…  I guess I wouldn't blame myself ether.  I mean…  Spyro has something going for him here, but as for me, all I have is a legacy of pain and destruction."
Zach waited a moment before answering, taking care with his words as to not discomfort her further.  "Cynder, I'm sure that no one blames you for that.  It wasn't your fault and Spyro and the guardians know it… it will just take some time for other people to adjust."
Cynder came back with a sharp laugh.  "That's what you think, besides.  You don't understand what I'm saying anyway.  I could live with other people thinking I'm a monster and care less… but…"
"But you care what Spyro thinks of you…" Zach finished Cynder's sentence as she trailed off, leaving her shifting in discomfort.  Her voice came back in a low whisper.
"And now he doesn't even what me around anymore…"
Zach wanted to reach out and smack some sense into Cynder, how anyone could jump from point A to B like that was beyond him.  But he knew that she needed to see through this herself.  Zach once again took careful aim with his voice.  "Cynder, how could you think that?  I think Spyro wants you around more than you realize."
Cynder came back with a snort, the frustration once again showing in her voice.  "What would you know, you haven't seen him, you didn't talk with him, you haven't caused him so much sorrow, and you sure as hell haven't been chained to him for over three years.  I think I would understand him."
Zach felt his voice rise as well as he shot back at Cynder.  "I don't know a single thing about relationships Cynder.  I have never had a girlfriend, I've never had a date, and I barely know any girls in general.  But I do know one thing Cynder… you and Spyro have something going for you, it just seems that everyone else can see it but you two."  Zach stared hard at Cynder and once again she couldn't meet his gaze.
Zach let the conversation drift away, leaving the two in silence again.  He was tired or riding Cynder's emotional roller coaster and there wasn't much he could do for her anyway.  Hopefully they could get though their difficulties together, because he didn't think anyone else would be able to help them.
The two dragons sat outside together for a short while.  Zach continuing to fight off sleep while Cynder was left to her thoughts.  It wasn't long before small drops of rain began to pelt the dragons.  Zach looked up to see that the storm had moved overhead and was threatening to unleash a steady stream down on them.  A cool wind blew across the dragons again, causing both to shiver.  Zach rolled on to his stomach in an attempt to stand up and go inside while Cynder shook herself out of her thoughts and prepared to do the same.
Before either could react, a steady rain began to fall and drench the two dragons siting outside.  Cynder stood up to go inside but Zach simply stretched out his wings, he loved the rain.
Zach let out a contented sigh as he let the cool water run across his scales.  Rain had always had a strange affect on him, but he loved it.  The icy cool that swept over his body, the fluid motion of the water running down his back, it always settled him and clamed his nerves.  And the smell, he always loved the fresh sent during a rain.
Zach stretched out his wings further and marveled at them.  The rain pooled in the centers of his wings before running in streams down his stays and onto the ground and the water that collected in the center of his wing membranes reflected the blue on his wings, giving them a sense of incredible depth.  It was incredible.
The rain… to him it always meant something new… starting over.  He couldn't help but feel it was nature's way of reinforcing his stay here.  Zach took in another deep breath and held it.  He could feel each stream of water running down his back and arms, cooling off his body that was weary from a hard days work.
"Are you just going to stand out here?"  Cynder gave him a disgruntled look from the edge of the roof, the rain bothered her and she wanted to go in.  "You'll catch a cold."
Zach sighed and shook the water off of his body, sending most of it at Cynder.
"Hey!"  Zach looked to see Cynder glaring at him for the unnecessary bath he had just given her.
Zach only cracked a smile in response, walking past her on his way inside.  Cynder followed quickly after, both of them dropping off the roof to the balcony below before hurrying inside.