Spyro:Bridge Across Worlds Ch9

Chapter 9: Repercussions

Zach tackled Makias to the ground and the two rolled through the dirt coming to a stop a few feet away.
Makias lay on the ground confused and disoriented.  Dust clouded his vision and he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears  "What was that for?"
Before he could orient himself, Zach wrapped an arm around his side and rolled over, bringing Makias overtop of him.  Makias landed hard on his side in the dirt again, dust obscuring his vision again and clogging his lugs.  His body groaned in pain and he didn't want to move, but Zach had kept his arm wrapped around him and was pushing him up onto his feet.  "Zach, what are you doing!"  Makias stumbled, tripping over his own feet as he tried to stand up.  What the heck was going on?  His head was spinning and Zach was throwing him around like a rag doll, and there was so much dust and in the air that he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him
"Makias!  Move!"  Zach thew himself against Makias again pushing him to the ground before turning and running the other direction.  Makias bounced along the ground again, the dirt and stones scraping against his scales.  Enough was enough, Makias rolled along the ground and used his momentum to set himself on his feet.  Orienting himself, Makias found the market had been thrown into utter chaos.  Dust and smoke filled the air clouding his vision and making it hard to breathe.  Screams filled the air as different races scrambled to find their loved ones and escape the chaos of the courtyard.  But what could have caused such a disturbance.  Makias fanned his wings, clearing the dust and smoke from the area immediately surrounding him.  What he saw shocked him.  Various small fires burned in the market stalls and courtyard.  They were not large or dangerous, but they created a thick acrid smoke that filled the air.  Dragons not used to fighting scampered away from the scene while various animal guards arrived on the scene, their attention fixed on something that Makias couldn't see.  Makias moved his way out of the acrid smoke, coughing on smoke as he stepped into the fresh air.
"Hey kid, get out of there!"  One of the guards was motioning at Makias, beckoning for him to come over.  Makias quickly bounded over to the mole that had beckoned through the blowing smoke.  When he reached the line of guards, they pushed him to the back of their lines, forcing him out of the courtyard.  Makias immediately turned back around, but one of the guards at the back of the line stopped him.
"Now where do you think you're going?"  The guard stepped in front of Makias stopping him for the moment.
"What's going on in there?"  Makias turned his body to try and see around the guard, but the guard stepped in front of him again.
"Hey kid, you should get home, yore parents are probably worried about you now."  The guard started pushing Makias away with his shield, turning Makias back away from the courtyard.  "Its not you're problem anyway."  The guard let out heavy sigh and turned back towards his companions, standing and trying to peer though the thick smoke, however none of the guard moved to enter the courtyard, instead the stood in a protective bunch, scanning the skies and the courtyard.
"At least tell me what's going on in there, why aren't you doing anything?"  Makias walked back to the group of guards, trying to push his way back into the courtyard.  Zach was still in there.
The guard that had push Makias away turned back around.  "Hey!  I thought I told you to get out of here, this is no place for you right now.  You're lucky you got out of there last time.  If that white dragon hadn't stepped in, I'm not sure what would have happened."
Another explosion sounded somewhere in the courtyard, each of the guards ducked and many raised their shields to cover their heads.  Makias could here many of them muttering to themselves.
"Where is the dragon guard?"
"They're supposed to take care of things like this."
"How are we supposed to stop dragons?"
Makias peered over the guards back into the courtyard.  Thick black smoke filled the air and rolled along the ground, small fires still burned on the ground, casting an eerie red glow along the surrounding buildings.  
Makias moved to work his way though the row of guards but he was stopped again.  " I already told you kid, get out of here.  We have to keep everyone out of there."
Makias gave the guard a sideways glance.  It always had to be the hard way.  He didn't want to cause any more trouble, but sometimes things just needed to be done.  Makias backed up a few steps before vaulting into the air and over the guards' heads.  Many of the guards let out irritated cries for him to return, but he paid no attention to them.  Makias flew the short distance into the courtyard though the smoke and ash, he turned around to look at the guards, most glared at his with irritated looks but none made any attempt to go after him.  Instead they stayed in the safety of their group on the edge of the courtyard, some good they were doing.
Makias moved deeper into smoked filled market, keeping himself low to the ground to keep from breathing in the thick smoke.  He could hear yelling coming from the center of the courtyard and headed that way.  He didn't have a plan and he didn't really know what he was getting into, but he felt that he needed to find out what was going on.  He had been a part of it anyway.
Crawling along the ground, Makias broke through the smoke that encircled the market, leaving him lying on the ground hidden by the smoke and darkness.  He sat there in silent shock at the scene that was unfolding in front of him.
Spyro and Zach faced off in a small clearing at the center of the market.  Spyro had his back turned to Makias, but he could see that Spyro was on the offensive.  His muscles tensed in anticipation as he stared across at Zach.  The tattered bandages wrapped around his wings bulged out as his wings unconsciously spread themselves into a fighting position.  Zach was facing Makias, but his attention was fully riveted on Spyro.  His normally white scales were covered with soot and scorch marks giving him a battle weary appearance.  His limbs shook as he stood his ground against Spyro, but Makias could tell he was losing the fight.  They were yelling at each other, but Makias couldn't quite catch what they were saying.
Spyro abruptly shot a wave of fire at Zach, chasing after him as he did so.  Zach dove out of the way as the wave of fire splashed on the ground in front of him.  Spyro quickly broke through the wave of fire burning on the ground and rammed Zach in the chest with his horns.
Zach jumped back again to soften the blow, but still landed coughing hard.  Spyro went after Zach again with his tail, lashing out at Zach's legs.  Zach tried to jump over the low swing, but his legs buckled and Spyro's tail lashed across his forelegs.
Makias looked on in confusion as the two dragons battled it out in the center of the chaos.  How had Spyro recovered enough to fight like this, and what had gone on between Zach and Spyro to cause them to fight like this.    Spyro seemed intent on tearing Zach apart while Zach didn't seem to be fighting back.  
Makais looked up into the sky.  Now he understood why the guards were staying out of this, it would cause them more harm than good if they got in the middle of a fight between dragons.  Hopefully, one of the dragon guard would show up before they completely tore up the courtyard.
Makias turned his attention back to the fight in just enough time to see Spyro slam his foot into the ground, sending a pillar of earth straight up into Zach jaw.  Zach spun through the air before crashing to the ground.  Spyro walked over to where Zach was lying on the ground baring his teeth as a growl resonated deep within his throat.  Spyro raised one of his paws and sunk his claw deep through Zach's wing membranes, causing Zach to cry out in pain.  Makias stifled a gasp as he realized how serious this was.  Spyro was ready to kill Zach.
Makias bolted from his hiding place and jumped in between Zach and Spyro.  Spyro reeled back and growled while Zach had a look of shock on his face.  "Spyro what are you doing?"
"Get out of the way Makias, this doesn't concern you!"  Spyro's words resonated with a feral growl in his throat.  Makias felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at Spyro.  Something had changed in his since he had left their home.  His scales had turned a deeper shade of purple, not quite black but close to it. Dark energy rippled over his body, like he was standing under water and his scales caught the reflection.  His pupils were barely visible in his shining white eyes, flickering every time he blinked his eyes.  But his voice is what sent Makias over the edge; it sounded like Spyro had multiple voices, each darker than the last.
"Spyro, what's wrong with you?"  Makias took a step back but remained between him and Zach.
"Makias, I already told you, this doesn't concern you!  Now get out of my way!"  Spyro took a few threatening steps towards Makias but he held his ground.
"What? so you can kill Zach, I don't think so."
"If you knew what he had done, you wouldn't be protecting that murderer."  Spyro let out a low threatening growl again.
"Murderer?"  Makias felt lost and confused.  murderer?  What had Zach done, maybe he wasn't protecting the innocent one.  "Zach?"
"That's right, he killed Cynder, and I'll never forgive him for that!"
This conversation was leaving Makais more confused with every answer.  "Cynder?  Spyro she isn't dead, she's here in Warfang."
Zach was finally out of his daze and up off the ground behind Makias.  "Makias get out of here and go get Cynder, she's the only one who is going to snap him out of this."
Spyro let out another roar.  "Liar!  You're just like him."  Spyro lunged at Makias but Zach pulled him out of the way as Spyro streamed past.
"Go!  Now!"  Zach pushed Makias out of the way as he turned back to Face Spyro.
"Zach what's going on?"  Makias backed out of the way as Spyro lunged at Zach again.  Zach caught Spyro Square in the chest, rolling onto his back and kicking Spyro off of him again.  Spyro landed hard on his back on a merchant's stall behind the group while Zach rolled back onto his feet.
"Long story Makias… but now is not the time" Zach took a quick glance over his shoulder at Spyro who was still digging himself out of the rubble.
"Zach, was he telling the truth, did you really…"
Zach let out a heavy sigh before answering, "yes and no."
This time Makias took steps back from Zach.  "Why?"
"Look, it's a long story, and the short version ends up that Cynder is not dead, I didn't kill her, and we've been chasing down Spyro trying to stop him from doing something stupid like this."  Zach checked over his shoulder again, Spyro was almost out of the rubble, he didn't have much more time.
"But that doesn't make any sense…"
"I already told you, it's a long story, but you need to go get Cynder or Spyro is going to tear the whole town apart.  I don't expect you to trust me, but you need to go now!"  Zach turned around again only to get struck in the side by a blast of lightning from Spyro.  Zach rolled across the ground as Spyro stepped back into the center of the clearing turning his attention to Makias.  Zach picked himself off the ground as Spyro advanced towards Makias.  "Makias!  Go!"
Makias tuned from Spyro and vaulted into the air.  He had somehow caught himself in something he couldn't understand and the last place he wanted to be was in between those two.  Cynder seemed to be the cause of Spyro's distress.  That would explain why she was so anxious to see him.  Zach seemed to think she could stop Spyro so it was worth a shot.  Makias turned and headed back towards home.

Zach watched as Makias flew out of the courtyard.  Hopefully he could find Cynder before Spyro pummeled him to death.  Spyro watched Makias leave and was preparing to launch an attack after him but a quick shout from Zach brought his attention back.
"Spyro, leave him out of this, he didn't do anything."
Spyro quickly turned his attention back to Zach, his teeth bared as he crouched back into a fighting position.  "You're right Zach, this is between you and me."
A shock wave of energy rippled out from Spyro slamming into Zach and forcing him to take a step back to keep his balance.  The buildings around Zach groaned for the force of the wave, more dust falling from the walls.
"Spyro will you listen to anything I say?"  Zach stood his ground as Spyro advanced up closer to him, stopping a few feet away to circle him.
"Unless it's your dying screams, no."  Spyro's cold flat voice sent chills down Zach's spine.  Spyro was dead set on killing him.  Hopefully Makias could bring Cynder back before that happened.
Spyro sprang at Zach, catching him off guard and slamming him up into a nearby building.  Zach felt talons dig into his side before being thrown across the ground again.  Spyro jumped after Zach again, but Zach rolled out of the way before Spyro's talons could reach him.  Spyro skidded past where Zach had once been, using his momentum to swing himself back around to face Zach again.
"Think about what you're doing Spyro, this isn't you!"
"What do you know about me?"  Spyro roared in anger again before loosing a short bolt of lightning, striking Zach in the shoulder.  Zach staggered from the impact before getting slapped in the head with the end of Spyro's tail.
"Spyro, Cynder isn't dead.  She is here in the city and she is looking for you!  What would she think about you doing this?"
Spyro answered by tackling Zach, rolling around on the ground before pinning him to the ground, his talons digging into his shoulders.  "You are a liar and a coward! Hiding behind her!"
Zach struggled under Spyro but it was no use, he couldn't fight his way out of this one.  "Won't you have any remorse for this, any at all.  Think about what you're doing!"
Spyro dug his claws deeper into Zach's shoulders causing him to groan in pain.  "I have no remorse for you.  You had no remorse for killing Cynder, nor will I have any remorse for killing you."
Zach tried talking to Spyro again, but it was difficult though the pain and the pressure of Spyro on top of his chest.  "Spyro, I told you…  she isn't… dead…"
Spyro let out another wave of energy, slamming Zach's head against the ground.  "I can't believe you, you would do anything to save your own skin.  But it doesn't matter, your life ends here Zach!"  Spyro brought his tail blade around and poised it above Zach's throat.  Zach closed his eyes, waiting to feel the blade rip though his flesh.  Zach felt Spyro tense up as he swung his tail.
Zach cried out as he felt the blade rip and tear its way through the flesh on his body.  Pain rippled though his body and he felt blood start to spill out through the open wound.  Zach reached up with his hands to stop himself from bleeding out, but as he moved his hands, pain rippled though an injury in a different location than he expected.  Zach opened his eyes to look himself over.  Spyro was nowhere in sight and instead of a laceration across his throat; a large gash ran along his chest and stomach from his left shoulder blade down across his collarbone before arcing down along his side.  But the fact that Spyro had missed his neck didn't make the injury any less life threatening.  The gash was extremely deep and had come dangerously close to vital organs.  Zach felt himself slipping from consciousness as he continued to lose blood.  Concentrating all the energy he had left, Zach tried to force what power he had towards stopping the bleeding, and keeping himself conscious.  If he lost consciousness, he would lose it all.

Spyro poised himself above Zach, his blade ready to take the life of the dragon that was the source of his rage.  He had taken the thing that was the most precious to him, and now he lied about it to his face.  No more hesitation.  Spyro brought his tali down across Zach with all the force he could, but before the blade connected with Zach, Spyro was hit in the side and sent rolling across the courtyard, the blade missing its intended mark but still connecting with his target.  Spyro shook his head to clear his head, but someone pinned him to the ground and stood on top of him.
"I swear Spyro, if you ever…  EVER!  Do anything like this again, I will chain you to a wall in the bottom of the temple and never let you leave!"
Spyro opened his eyes and his jaw went slack at the sight before him.  Spyro couldn't feel his body anymore, every part of him was numb and he couldn't tell if what he was seeing before him was real or a dream.
"Don't you learn anything Spyro, what did you think running away was going to do anyway?"  The voice broke in the middle of the sentence, anger melting away to become concern.
"Cynder?"
"Yes its me you idiot."  Cynder's anger broke down into tears of joy, crying over the dragon she thought she was too late to save.
"Cynder…" Spyro reached up with one of his claws and wiped the tears off of Cynder's face.  Cynder collapsed, falling onto Spyro who held her in a strong embrace.  Everything was going to be ok.

Makias made it to the clearing moments after Cynder, dropping down to the ground trying to find someone through the smoke and debris.  Seeing no one, Makias moved towards where he thought Cynder had landed.  He had found her already franticly flying towards the courtyard from their home.  When they had flown closer to the smoke, Cynder pulled ahead of him and his sister, with Chara following closely behind her.  He had tried to keep up but his body was sore and he couldn't quite keep their pace.  As he picked his way through the rubble, he glanced at the damage around him.  It wasn't as bad as he had expected there were only a few stalls on fire and the surroundings buildings seemed unscathed.  
"Makias!  Makias!"
Makias heard his sister's voice cut through the air, the fear evident as she cried out his name.
"Chara!  Where are you?"  He had almost forgotten about her, she had followed Cynder back towards the market.  Makias quickened his pace, "please let her be ok"
"Makias!"
Makias followed the sound of his sister's voice.  The market was not that large, but the smoke mixed with the darkness made it difficult to see.  "Chara!"
"Over here."  Makias turned his head and saw the outline of a dragon though a nearby cloud of smoke, if they weren't calling out to each other, he may have missed it.  Makias turned and ran though the smoke, ignoring the irritation it caused his eyes, coming out the other side with blurred vision.
"Makias do something!"  Chara was pleading with him now.  
"Chara… what…" Makias was interrupted by a groan from the ground.  Looking down he saw Zach lying on his back with a devastating gash across his chest, blood still seeping out of the wound.  "Zach!"
"Makias, you have to do something to help him."  Chara pranced about nervously around Zach, trying to do something to help but not knowing exactly what to do.
Makias leaned down over Zach.  "Hey!  Zach, are you still conscious?"  Makias began wiping away what blood he could while trying to check on Zach.
Zach groaned and fluttered his eyelids.  "Huh?"  Zach tried to raise his arms but his injury prevented him from doing so, Zach's mouth opened in silent a groan as his body registered the pain that shot though his body.
"Hey now, I need you to stay awake for me now, I'm going to see what I can do for you."  Makias turned his attention back to Zach's wound.  The deep gash was slowly seeping out blood.  It was too deep to heal back together on its own and to long for him to hold together.  He couldn't fix it here, but he had to do something to stop the bleeding, he wasn't left with too many options.
"This may be uncomfortable for a bit, but I need you to stay still now Zach."
Zach responded by nodding his head slightly
Makias moved closer to Zach injuries, from what he could see the gash had managed to avoid his heart and lungs by mere inches.  Someone had been watching out for Zach today.  "Chara, I'm going to need your help."
Chara moved over and positioned herself over Zach's head, holding down his shoulder with her front paws, Zach simply grunted and rolled his head to the side.  Makias opened his mouth slightly and blew a steady stream of cold air and ice particles onto the edge of Zach wound.  As Makias worked, the cold air and ice froze Zach's blood where it was and created a cast of Ice over Zach's wound preventing it from bleeding out any more.
Zach jerked at the sudden cold on his skin, tensing the muscles in his chest, but Chara put her full weight down on Zach preventing him from moving.  Makias moved slowly down the wound across Zach's chest, forming an icy cast that held the wound together.  Makias stopped once he reached the other end of the wound and looked over his work.  A thin sheet of ice stretched along the length of the wound holding the two edges together and preventing Zach from bleeding out.  The blood caught in the ice gave it a red tint, diluting the usually blue ice.  It would hold for now, but it was by no means a permanent solution.  Makias looked back up at Zach, the dragon was shivering on the ground and Makias wasn't sure if it was from loss of blood or the icy cast.
"Zach?  How are you feeling?"  Makias was still worried about what kind of a state Zach was really in.
"I feel like I was the stuntman in a movie with a bad plot, but other than that I'm fine."  Zach smiled at him even though his teeth were chattering loudly.
Makias smiled to himself, Zach seemed to be alert to what was going on around him.  He should be fine for now.  All they needed to do was find a way to get him out of here.  There was no way Zach was going to be able to move on his own.  "Good to see you're ok for now…  but we're going to have to move you somehow, I stopped the bleeding for a while, but that cast can't be there too long or it will cause more harm than good.  You know you're luck you haven't passed out.  That wound must look worse than it actually is."
"Somehow I don't think so."  Zach closed his eyes as he laid his head back down on the ground, but Makias stomped on his tail.  "Hey what was that for?"
"No going to sleep on me now."
"Ugh…" Zach lay on the ground staring up through the smoke into the night sky.  It would be peaceful if his body wasn't screaming in pain at him.  "Hey Makias"
"Hmm?"  Makias seemed less concerned with Zach's condition as he checked his sister over for any injuries, she seemed more shook up than anything else.
"How are they doing?"  
"What?"  Makias looked down at Zach before looking across the courtyard to where Spyro was finally helping Cynder off the ground.  "Oh them?  There fine…  well close enough anyway."
"Close enough is good enough for them…  so what do we do now?  Because I'm not going to lay here all night."
Makias said another silent word to his sister before turning back to Zach.  "Well we could try to move you.. But I'm the only one who is in any shape to carry you right now, and even then the movement would probably brake the cast…"
"So…" Zach started to close his eyes again, but Makias stepped on his tail again.
"So you're probably going to have to wait until either a someone else shows up to carry you or we figure out some other way to move you."
"Well this sucks…" Zach turned his head to look over at Spyro and Cynder.  They were keeping their distance from him, standing a few yards away.  Cynder was leaning her full weight against Spyro, practically sleeping on her feet.  Spyro wasn't faring much better, but he was forcing himself to stay awake for Cynder's sake.  Zach and Spyro made brief eye contact but quickly broke away; things were going to be awkward for a while.
It wasn't long before the group of young dragons heard wing beats overhead, quickly followed by a large blue dragon covered in armor.  Zach cringed when he realized that it was the same dragon that had escorted them into the city.  This was going to be an interesting situation to explain.  The dragon landed in the center of the group, using powerful beats of his wings to clear away the last whips of smoke form the now burnt out fires.  
"Dad!"  Makias and Chara both ran over and brushed up against the elder dragon's legs, the elder dragon looked down in surprise at the two younger dragons.
Zach stared.  Dad?  Things just kept getting more complicated, and it always seemed to turn out worse for him.
"Chara?  Makias?  What are you doing here?  Its dangerous, don't tell me you were a part of this."  He put out his paw to stop Makias and Chara who looked up into the dragons piercing gaze.
"No we weren't I swear, but we need your help right now, we need to get one of these dragons back home, he's beat up pretty bad."  Makias father looked up from where he was standing and looked over at the other dragons in the group.  Cynder was still leaning against Spyro, who was starting to lean on Cynder for support himself, and Zach was lying on the ground.  A look or recognition crossed his face as he recognized the dragons he led into the city before being replaced by a look of confusion.
"Does someone want to explain what's going on here?"
Zach yelled from his spot in the courtyard, his head never leaving the ground.  "It's a long story."
"I can only imagine," The dragon muttered to himself, "but I suppose we should get you help first.  Makias, who needs help the most?"
Makias pointed to Zach.  "He does, there's a pretty deep gash on his chest, I put a cast on it but mom is going to have to work on it, and none of us can carry him home without breaking the cast."
The dragon walked over to Zach, nodding as he notices the cast.  "I see…" he turned over to Spyro and Cynder,  "are you two well enough to fly?"
Cynder propped herself up off of Spyro's shoulder, her voice weary from exhaustion.  " I am… but Spyro's in no condition to fly."
Zach saw the dragon's head jerk as he heard Spyro's name, but he quickly regained his composure as he pick Zach up with one of his giant hands.
"I suppose I could carry you too then, come on over here, we haven't got all night."
Spyro left Cynder and hobbled over to the large dragon who roughly scooped him up while balancing on his hind legs.  "Come on now, lets get these two home quickly, time is of the essence."
Zach craned his neck toward the dragon from his awkward position.  "Thank you…  err…"
"You can call me Glacier, but I wouldn't be thanking me yet.  I intend to hold one of you responsible for this."
"I suppose I should expect that…" Zach fell into a dulled state of consciousness as the dragon lifted off from the ground and headed towards home.  Zach couldn't tell if it was minutes or hours before he finally felt the dragon touch down on the ground, jarring him back to full alert.  The ice cast was beginning to fall apart, letting blood seep through the cracks.
Zach felt the air around him warm up as he was carried though the doorway into what seemed to be a medical room.  The room smelled of a heavy bleach and anesthetic and Zach was set down on a cold hard table in the center of the room.  Zach groaned as the cast across his chest splintered and cracked, blood seeping out and staining his chest.  Zach heard heavy footsteps enter the room another large dragon stopping over him.
"My word… what is happening to cause all these dragons to have them end up here like this?"  As Glacier left the room, the other elder dragon breathed a jet of warm air over the cast on Zach chest, slowly melting the ice away and restoring the blood flow.  Zach cringed as the sharp pain returned to his chest, blood flowing freely from the open wound.
"Makais see what you can do about that blood."  Zach saw Makias come into the corner of his vision as he wiped a fresh cloth around the edges of the wound.  
"Hmm… this wound doesn't seem to be that bad."  Zach could hear the anxiety and apprehension drain from the older dragon's voice, giving him a sense of security.
"Huh?  Makias was now leaning over Zach, looking over his chest.  "I swear it was worse that that when I found him."
"Don't worry Makias, you did the right thing…" Makias' mother moved away from Zach and came back holding long strips of linen.
"No its not that…" Makias moved Zach's arm to allow his mother to start wrapping the bandages around Zach's chest.  Zach let himself be moved around like a rag doll, he was too tired to do anything else.  "There's something else…   look" Makias moved his talon a few inches above Zach wound.  "There is fresh scar tissue there…  there's no way that should be there."
Makias' mother shot Zach a quizzical look  "well… you're not in any danger anymore…  but you should definitely stay here and rest a while."
"I think I'll be fine," Zach tried rolling himself off the table but both the large dragoness and Makias stopped him.
"Oh no you're not.  Now you stay here and sleep, someone will come get you later when you're rested."
Zach let himself be pushed back onto the table while someone put a blanket overtop of him.  "Now stay here, I won't be very happy if I have to keep forcing you to lay back down, with that wound it should be a few days till you can walk normally again anyway."
Zach simply shifted on the table to a more comfortable position.
"Flare?"  Glacier had stuck his head though the door, motioning for the elder dragon to join him.  Flare walked out of the room to join her mate, followed closely by Makias.
Flare followed her mate upstairs to their room, leaving Makias downstairs with the other young dragons.  She could see the anxiety in her mate's actions as he paced around the room.
"Flare, should they really be here right now?  Those other dragons…  I really should take them to consul now."
"No Glacier, they need to stay here and rest.  All of them are exhausted and have extensive injuries, they're not going to go anywhere."  She was definite in her answer.  They may have done something wrong, but right now they were in need of her help, and she wasn't going to deny it to them simply because of a technicality.
"But you know I have to take them in eventually…  people are going to want to know what happened."
"Yes, I know, but that can wait until tomorrow.  Let them get some rest now…  please…" Flare walked up to Glacier and pressed her tail spade against his chest, stopping his constant pacing around the room.
"I don't feel safe with them in the house with Makias and Chara, something about them just doesn't seem right."
"Glacier, they won't be able to move, much less cause any harm in the state they're in."
A heavy sigh resounded through the room.  "I suppose, but no more than one night."
There was hesitation before Flare answered.  "Fair enough."
Glacier still wasn't completely convinced.  "But something still bothers me, I found two of those dragons outside the city just before they started the fight.  Talking to them… it seemed like they were hiding something, but I don't know what.  And now there's a purple dragon in the mix.  Something just doesn't seem right."
"I know, I know… but you can ask them about it in the morning, right now they all need their rest."
Flare gave Glacier a quick peck on the check before turning and heading back downstairs, Glacier not far behind her.  When she got downstairs again she found all five dragons in the central room.  Chara was off by herself in on of the corners, apparently doing something to keep herself busy, Spyro and Cynder talked quietly with each other though it looked like both were ready to pass out from exhaustion, and Makias made small talk with Zach who had snuck out of his room to join the others.
"Hey!  I thought I told you not to move…" Flare was staring at Zach intently, disapproval written all over her face.
Zach looked at the ground,  "sorry, but I can't stand not being part of a conversation."
"You keep this up and that wound will never heal..." Flare gave him another disapproving glance.  "Well since you're out here I suppose you could move to a more comfortable bed."
Flare got right down to business "Ok Spyro, you can share Makias' room," she pointed to the room closest to them, "and Cynder, you can share a room with Chara, I'm sorry but we don't have that much extra room.  Zach, seeing as you are up and about, you may have to sleep out here, once again I'm sorry but we don't have that much extra room and you're the least injured."
"That's not a big deal, I'll be fine" Zach made limped his way over to a selection of pillows looking for one to bed down on, his injury and the bandages still restricting his movement.  He wondered how he was considered the 'least injured'.
Spyro broke into the conversation again.  "I can sleep with Cynder if you need more room, I don't mind." While they had separate rooms at the temple, he had slept next to her enough times on their travels together.
Flare came back with an obviously hesitant voice,  "no…  I don't think so, I think we'll keep things the way they are, and it will give everyone their space."
Zach snickered to himself across the room; Spyro had no idea what he was getting himself into.
"Oh I don't mind being a little close…"
Zach turned around to see a look of controlled shock on Flare's face and one of amusement on Glaciers', everyone else seemed to ignore what Spyro had unintentionally implied, but Cynder's face was turning bright red.  The picture was priceless.  Zach lost it and bust out laughing.  All heads turned to him, looks of disapproval on the adults' faces and confusion on the younger dragons.  Zach still snickered to himself as he tried to compose himself and come up with a reply.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that…   lack of sleep… and I'll be fine Spyro, you sleep in Makias' room."
Spyro was still confused as to why Zach was laughing and gave him an inquisitive look.  "Ok… if you say so."  He took on a much wearier demeanor as he walked into the room.  "I have to get some sleep."
"No kidding" Zach called after him.  Cynder turned and called after him as well.
"No running off while we're asleep this time… ok?"
Her only reply was a muffled thud as Spyro dropped himself on the cushions inside of Makais' room.
"Well that settles that then…" Cynder looked around the room.  Zach seemed to already be sleeping in his corner of the room and Makias walked into his own room after Spyro.  She, Chara, and the adults were the only ones left in the room.
"Chara, why don't you show Cynder her room.  I'm sure she wants to get to sleep as well."
Chara turned to face Cynder, bouncing on her toes and her voice bright and energetic.  "Sure thing.  This way Cynder!"
Cynder cringed at the energy in Chara's voice, she was too happy for her taste right now.  If she weren't so tired she would have grimaced in disgust.  Chara bounded down the hallway a few steps before turning into one of the rooms on the right.  Cynder followed quickly after, parting the curtain in the room to see Chara throwing pillows onto a different part of the floor.
"I hope that's enough for you."
"Yeah that's fine."  She would take the cold hard ground as a bed right now, she didn't really care how, but she needed sleep.  Cynder pushed the haphazard pile of pillows together before plopping down in the middle, instantly closing her eyes and falling asleep to the incessant chatter of something Chara was saying in her ear.

Spyro woke up again drenched in sweat.  It was another nightmare about Cynder.  Spyro cradled his head in his hands as he felt hot tears stream down his face.  The nightmare seemed all too real, and they were becoming more frequent.  And they all ended with the same thing, Cynder accusing him of killing her.
Spyro buried his face in the pillows to muffle the sobs that escaped his throat.  Every time he turned a corner, every time he took a new step in his life, there was something different to haunt him.
But this dream should never become a reality, granted she was not next to him, Cynder was here and she was safe.  Tomorrow they would be able to get the whole ordeal straightened out and go back to the temple.
Spyro let out a heavy sigh as he recalled all that had happened in the last few days, none of this would have happened if it were not for him.  It really was all his fault.  Maybe he should go apologize to Cynder.
Spyro smiled to himself despite the tears on his face, he was making excuses to himself to go and see her, and why not?  They had barely spoken to each other in the few minutes they spent together from exhaustion and most of the words they exchanged were about injuries and sleep.
Spyro picked himself up off the pillows and looked over his shoulder.  Makias seemed to be sound asleep next to him.  As quietly as he could manage, Spyro worked his way out of the room in the dark, carefully placing his steps as he made his way towards the curtain that separated the rooms.
Spyro quickly moved into the large room outside, looking down the hallway trying to figure out what room Cynder might be in.  Spyro pressed himself against the wall and turned right down the hallway.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Spyro stopped in his tracks and swiveled his head around looking for the source of the voice in the darkness of the room around him.  It didn't take long for him to find Zach lying in the center of the room.  Spyro's lip curled up slightly and a low growl resounded at the back of his throat.
"So I'm going to give you a few options here Spyro.  One:  you can turn around and walk back into your room."
Spyro ignored him and took another step down the hallway.  Zach seemed unfazed by his actions.
"Or two: you try to leave again, I tackle you, we fight and wake everyone else, and we get in even more trouble than we are already in."
Spyro tensed his muscles, his talons curling and gouging the soft rock underneath him.  Every part of him wanted to lash out at that dragon… but unfortunately he was right, he couldn't afford to get into another fight.  Things were strained enough as it was.  Spyro breathed in deeply and relived some of the tension from his body.  He could take Zach easily, but now was not the time.  A deep growl resonated in his throat as Spyro turned and walked back into his room, his tail lashing the air behind him showing his defiance against the refinement to his room.
"Hey I wasn't done…"
Spyro stopped abruptly, his talons digging into the soft rock underneath him again.  That dragon was so stuck up…  Spyro tensed up again, whipping around to face Zach, His body clearly visible now in the dim light.
"…Or three: Cynder is in the third room on the right…" Zach had a smirk on his face as he motioned down the hallway with one of his wings.
Spyro's breath caught in his throat.  "What?"
"You heard me…" Zach was almost laughing now.  Spyro had gone from such a state of anger to one of shock and anticipation.  He should really stop toying with him, Spyro didn't trust him very much and would take everything he said seriously.  "Hey look, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, and that's putting lightly, but I'm not trying to get in your way.  I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can."  Zach turned around and set himself down on his bed again, curling up to go to sleep.
Spyro yearned to go see Cynder again, they barely had any time to comfort each other before they had been whisked back here and put in separate rooms.  Looking down the hall he could see her room just like all the others, but her room held his gaze, she was so close…  Spyro tore his gaze from the hallway and turned back to Zach.  He was still lying in the center of the room, looking uninterested as to what Spyro was going to do.  Spyro let out a heavy sigh, he wanted so much to be with Cynder, but Zach deserved some of his time right now, and a small amount of trust.  There were some questions he wanted answered and now could be the best chance he got for a while.  Spyro walked over and lay down next to Zach.  Zach turned his head towards Spyro and raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Spyro was choosing to stay with him.
"Hey, that's not one of the options I gave you…" Zach smirked as he jested at Spyro, "but seriously, what's up, I though you would jump at the chance to go see Cynder again…"
"You have no idea, I want to go see her so badly right now," Spyro blushed slightly in the moonlight having said his feelings out loud to another person.  "But, you deserve some of my time right now…  there are some things I want to ask you."
Zach shifted to a more comfortable position, this could get long and awkward.  "Ok, fair enough, but there are some things I may not be able to tell you."
"Like what?"
"Certain things" Zach tried to stray as far from the topic as he could.
"Hmm…" Spyro seemed to be letting Zach slide for now.  "Ok fist things fist.  Why, why did you do this, why is it that the last time I saw you, you were trying to kill us, but now you risked your life to help Cynder."
Zach let out a heavy sigh,  "I figured you would ask sooner or later, but before I tell you, let me ask you one thing.  When you find yourself consumed by the darkness, do you try and fight it or does it consume you?  Do you remember your actions and once the darkness passes?  Do you regret the things you did?"
"Are you saying that you were held by the darkness when you attacked us the fist time?" it was Spyro's way of avoiding the question.
"Sort of.  Do you remember our last fight and how it ended with you lunging at me?"
Spyro flashed back to that fight.  He had been ready to kill Zach again, and he had almost succeeded.  He remembered lunging for Zach's throat, but something had physically stopped him before he could land the final blow.  "Yeah, why?"
"That thing you ran into, it was a collar of sorts, kind of like the one that bound you and Cynder together, but instead of binding me to something, it was influencing me, deciding my actions.  I know it sounds like a lame excuse but I wasn't in control of my actions."
"Hmm…  I suppose that would make sense…"
"Wait.  Are you saying you believe me?  That easily?"
"Why not?  Zach, I've seen things that you wouldn't believe, and it doesn't surprise me that Malefore could come up with something as evil as that." Spyro turned and looked at Zach.  "But don't think you're out of the woods yet.  You still have some things to answer for."
Zach turned onto his back and let out a heavy sigh,  "yeah, I know…"
Zach and Spyro sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them reflecting on the events of the past few days.  Zach started to become anxious having Spyro sitting so close to him.  "Didn't you come out here to do something other than talk to me Spyro?"
Spyro grunted as he stood back onto his feet.  "Yeah I did, but I don't know, maybe I shouldn't."
"What?  Are you afraid she is going to yell at you or something, because I think she would be glad to see you?
Spyro hesitated a moment before answering.  "It's not that…  I keep having these dreams, and in all of them I find Cynder dead on the ground, but then she comes back and…" Zach could see tears glistening at the edges of Spyro eyes, " …and she keeps asking me why…  why I killed her.  I just don't understand it, I would never do anything like that, especially not to Cynder."
Zach watched silently as tears dropped from Spyro's face and splashed on the ground.  "I'm terrified that the dreams are going to come true."
Spyro confessing his worries felt strange to Zach, he had started pouring out his feelings to Zach without any prompting or pretense.  Zach had never known how to comfort anyone and Spyro was the last person he expected to come to him for help.  It was like having a weird taste in his mouth.
"Hey relax Spyro, I'm sure you were just upset about possibly losing Cynder, you blamed yourself for what happened and it manifested itself in your dreams."  It made sense to Zach, but something still nagged at him, dreams from this world always seemed to have major importance behind them.
"But then why am I still having them?  I finally found Cynder and she's ok, but they keep coming back."
"I'm sure your still a little worked up about it, you hardly had any time to talk to her afterwards.  Just give it a little more time and I'm sure they will go away."
"Hmm….  Maybe you're right…  hey Zach…  can I ask you to do something for me?"
"Sure."  Zach was beginning to become concerned.  He really didn't know Spyro at all, and the trust he was getting was far past that of what he expected.
"Don't tell Cynder about this."
Zach laughed slightly, "My lips are sealed…  what?  you don't want her to know you're worried about her?"  Zach prodded Spyro with one of his wingtips.
"No… it's just that I don't want her to worry about it, she already has her own problems…" Spyro looked of towards Cynder's room again, sadness in his voice.
"One thing though…"
"And what is that?"  
"If your dreams ever put anyone in danger, don't expect me to keep them a secret."
Spyro looked at Zach for a second before answering, "fair enough."
"Good… now get out of here, you prancing around like that is going to drive me crazy."  Zach rolled over on his cushion, turning his back to Spyro and attempting to drift back to sleep.
Spyro stopped again, turning back to Zach.  "What about Chara, isn't she in that room?"
"No, I'm surprised you didn't see her walking out, she was still a little spooked and moved to Makias' room a few hours ago."
"Have you slept at all?"
"Yes, but I'm a light sleeper so I wake up every time someone comes out of their room, speaking of which, go away so I can get back to sleep."
Spyro left Zach and walked down the halls counting the doors as he went.  Anticipation boiled inside him as he neared the room.  Once he reached the third door he turned and sat on his haunches in front of the curtain.  Spyro raised his hand to knock on the doorframe, but stopped.  He and Cynder hadn't had much time to talk to each other since they reunited back at the market and no time by themselves.  The prospect of talking to Cynder alone again brought shivers up his spine.  Would he bring it up again…  would Cynder remember those nights ago in the gardens… and most importantly, could he bring himself to say it.  He had been on the brink those nights ago when Zach interfered, but so many things had happened since then.  Spyro had seen changes in himself that concerned him.  Wasn't he the reason that Cynder had suffered in the first place, if had simply followed Zach would anything have happened?  And what about Cynder?  People seemed to know that they could use her to get to him, he was putting her in danger simply by being around her.
"Just go in already!"  Spyro head Zach's harsh whisper come from across the room.  Zach lay on his bed watching Spyro as he sat before the door, motioning with one hand for Spyro to go in.
Spyro smirked at Zach before slowly entering the room, parting the curtain that served as a door.  It was probably better that he didn't wake the rest of the house anyway.
Spyro looked around slowly as he entered the room.  The absence of light and lack of a window obscured many of the details, but Spyro could make out the generalities of the room. A few shelves lined the walls of the room with different books and scrolls stacked neatly on them, and various cushions spread across the floor in different piles for bedding.  Spyro noticed a considerably darker patch on one of the piles and quietly made his way over.  Cynder lay quietly on the pile in the center of the room, she was curled up into a ball with her tail wrapped around her legs to her head and he wings splayed out behind her.  Spyro couldn't help but stare as he stood quietly over her, she was beautiful even in her sleep.  He longed to talk to her, but she was fast asleep, it was probably better to let her rest.  After all, talking to her right now wasn't important.
Spyro turned and walked back towards the door, slightly frustrated with himself for having such a stupid idea.  According to what little Zach had told him, she had immediacy gone after him once the guardians were asleep and had exhausted herself flying, she needed her sleep now more than ever.  Spyro walked back to the curtain and silently parted them with his wing tips; he could wait till she woke up to talk to her.
"Spyro?"
Spyro turned around to see Cynder lift her head up slightly from the bed.  "I'm sorry Cynder I shouldn't have woken you, I'll let you get some sleep, see you in the morning…" Spyro continued out the door but was stopped again.
"  No Spyro that's ok…  come here for a minute."
Spyro walked back over to her bed and set himself down on the ground just outside the ring of cushions.  "What is it Cynder"
"What were you doing in here so early in the morning?"  Her voice was soft and weak from her exhaustion, but Spyro could hear her plainly in the otherwise silent room.
"Err…  I was just wandering around, I didn't mean to wake you up…"
"Oh don't give me that, don't think that I don't know when you're lying.  You have always been a terrible liar" Spyro could hear her laugh softly as her words echoed in his head.
"Ok so I was wondering how you were doing.  We didn't talk much after we met in the city and I wanted to make sure that you were ok."  Spyro caught the glint of Cynder's eyes as she turned to face him, keeping her face level with his.
"You're getting closer, but I still don't think that is exactly why you came in here."
"I just wanted to make sure you were safe with all that's been going on, there hasn't been a night where I haven't worried about you…  and I had some thoughts that I couldn't get out of my head."
Cynder smiled to herself as she answered.  "That's more like it.  You care to share some of your thoughts."
"Most of them are about Zach.  I mean, where did he come from, whose side is he on anyway, and can we trust him at all with what he just pulled?"
"Hmm…  I don't know Spyro, but the trust has to start somewhere.  He did risk his life for me after you left you know."
"Yeah…  but I mean, what if he is just faking it?  What if he still wants to hurt us?"
"This coming from you Spyro?  I'm not sure you're ok anymore, you're usually the trusting one."
"It's just that I don't want anything to happen to people I care about."  Cynder figured he was talking about the guardians, but Spyro was talking about someone in particular.
They both sat in silence for a moment, listening to the sound of each other's breathing.  Spyro could hear Cynder's breathing become more rhythmic and natural as she drifted back to sleep, he had probably kept her up long enough anyway.
Spyro stood up, turning away from Cynder and back towards the door.
"You need your sleep Cynder, do you need anything before I go?"
"I'm kind of cold…" Cynder shifted on her bed.
"Here, I'll get you and extra blanket…"
"No Spyro…" Spyro couldn't catch the disappointment in her voice, "will you lay with me for a while?"
Spyro hesitated a moment before walking on to her bed and lying down, curling himself around her as he did so.  He could fell her warm scales as she brushed up again his body, purring softly. "You are not cold…"
"So?"
Spyro's breaths were short and shallow as Cynder pushed herself up against his chest.  He had been close to her before, but nothing like this.  Spyro tried not to move the rest of his body as he put his head down along the outside of the bed.
"That's better…" Cynder let out a contented sigh as she rolled her shoulders and settled down against Spyro.
"Hmm…"   
"What is it this time Spyro?"  Cynder could tell there was still something bothering him.
"Why us Cynder?  Why are we always the ones who have to pay the price."
"Stop thinking so hard Spyro, you worry too much.  Everything should calm down now.  Now get some sleep."  Cynder raised her head and nuzzled the bottom of Spyro's chin.  Spyro felt the blood rush to his face and was left unable to answer her.
"Goodnight Spyro."
"Goodnight Cynder."

Spyro fell fast asleep, but Cynder lay awake long after he had gone to sleep.  She could feel the subtle pressure of his claws up against her back, changing with the rhythm of his steady breathing and her own.  Cynder relished in the feeling, being so close to him, it felt so… good…  Cynder arched her back slightly, pushing more of her back into his steady embrace, Spyro twitched in his sleep before turning and draping one of his wings over her.
Cynder smiled to herself.  Everything was how it should be.  Spyro had come back to them, they were both all right, and once things settled back down with the guardians, they would be back to their semi-normal lives.  No more crazy adventures, no more running around the world chasing after people, and no more life threatening situations.  Cynder curled back onto her self under the protective canopy of Spyro's embrace, she could finally rest in comfort.

Zach waited until he was sure that Spyro was going to stay in Cynder room before getting up off of his bed.  He would probably cause some problems by leaving them, but it would cause more harm than good if he stayed.  He had put them through far too much to think about them helping him.  He could probably find help getting home somewhere else anyway.  Zach walked quietly out the front door and into the cool night air.  It was almost dawn and Zach could see the first specks of light coming over the horizon.  He wasn't sure where he would go, but he would probably have to get away from the city for a while.  It was too crowded for his taste and after what had happened earlier, it was probably better if he left for a while.  Zach spread his wings but immediately realized that he wouldn't be able to fly, he had gotten little sleep and the energy he had recovered must have gone straight to healing the wound on his chest.  Zach started the long walk that would eventually take him to the wall surrounding the city, his chest still caused him some discomfort but it was bearable.  He just needed some time to think he needed some time alone.