FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 11

Warfang what happened to you?

Spyro looked around the streets, arriving just nearby the main marketplace, usually crowded with all sorts of people, today though the streets were empty, completely empty.

Devoid of life.

A thriving, bustling city reduced to merely a shadow, he would never believe that watching architecture could be so depressing.

Where are all the people?

He shuffled his legs nervously, a standard tick usually not worthy of mentioning, everyone has a little habit of displaying nervousness in body language, such ticks go without notice.

Most of the time.

Why the wind carried the noise of his stress only?

He started to turn, pushing his entire body into a spin, the world twisted slowly, head felt heavy to the point that his neck began to whine under the pressure. He felt as if a pair of invisible hands would clench his snout, squeezing it and fighting against his desire to turn.

He was winning though, everything happened in slow motion, he spun so sluggishly that he could even notice the colors stretching out and blending into mists, loosing focus as if he would be looking at a painting being drawn from up close, catching every stroke of a brush.

He wanted to call out to his friends, to his companions, but the moment he desired to push his mouth open his maw began to burn and lips to sting. Delicate cracking sounds filling the air, similar to the noise of tearing paper, it was almost as if his lips would be glued together and now he is trying to break them open after years of being stuck together.

Eventually his efforts proved to be successful, with an audible snap the lips parted, a thin straw of tissue dangled from the upper lip, the hole it left momentarily being filled with fresh blood, a slice of the lip cracking open after the raw pull.

Metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

By this time he managed to make a complete turn.

He was alone.

Heart skipped a beat, throat began to vibrate, vocal cords shaking, in the process of producing sound, before however any note left his maw his opened mouth slammed shut back again, making the teeth inside rattle in agony after the rough smack as if there someone would hook a weight to his upper lip which forced it down.

He was alone.

Another skip, this one stealing the breath out of his lungs, leaving a cold trail behind in the canals that stretched out and poked at his ribcage with their freezing spikes.

He felt as if he would just swallow a ball of frozen thorns.

Cynder?

Flare?

Iris?

No one.

How is that possible? They entered through the same door.

"Spyro, Spyro, you know the answer"

Yeah...

He stopped his turning, finding it useless very quickly, the blurry world came to a stop together with his head, its halt sending a painful jolt down his neckline, as if the sluggish surroundings weighted a ton, even if slow, stopping a golem's fist during a movement is no feeble task.

He winced painfully, the crunches that appeared on his scales were so deep that there was a risk that his skull will collapse soon.

The magic had already an effect on them outside of the city, what were the chances that it won't make another move the moment they enter its den?

Practically zero.

Whatever is ruling this city now decided to separate them for some reason, and if this is dark magic focusing its strength on fear than there is no better opportunity to apply correct pressure when there is only one victim in sight.

No matter how brave one might be, it is always safer to stay with a group.

He managed to see through its ruse, quite easily, the fear that gripped his heart after realizing that his friends were gone began to evaporate. The stress remained, like always in every battle, but blind fear? It did not work on him.

What the magic didn't know, or simply failed to take into consideration, is the fact that a black dragoness wielding fear magic was his partner for years, first in combat, then in friendship and now as a mate.

Scare me with the things I love?

It doesn't work like that.

"Bravo"

He balked.

Who said that?

He once more began to spin, despite the invisible weight attached to his neck this particular spin went rather fast, turning the surroundings into nothing more but a mess of chaotic colors. Most of the blur was painted in brown, followed occasionally by some white, blue and green.

City, statues, water and plants.

Everything Warfang was made of.

"Scare you with the things you hate..."

This voice, it sounds like a blowing wind, no distinctive tone no note, no characteristic slur, nothing.

And yet it was so familiar.

Where are you?

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Green.

"The scar on the heart. My scar..."

The voice, the voice was so damn close!

He sped up his turning, spinning in place so fiercely that his paws began to burn from the friction.

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Green.

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Green.

"Almost there brother..."

This is not Sparx!

"You are not Sparx!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, twisting even more ferociously now, adding wicked snarling to the mix

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Green.

"No, but I am you"

Me?

He stopped for a while, mind rushing into the lane of thoughts, sorting through them like a businessman tossing all the papers around in search for that single, important note.

The shifting colors calmed down slightly, mending together like puzzles, looking for their correct and fitting shapes.

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Black.

Green.

"I am here"

The familiar, echoing voice called out to him from every direction at the same time and yet, there was something inviting in it, a tone that worked like a thin string, all that is needed is to catch it.

Come here!

Another turn, so fierce that it sent his tail in a wild swing, the tip at the end nearly smacking him in the forehead.

Brown.

White.

Blue.

Black.

Green.

The blur of the colors became sharper, the weight that was slowing his head seemed to give away under his constant pressure, the surroundings becoming more clear. Brown was dominating, structure after structure was coming into shape, building, tower, shop, everything was clearing itself from the mist that obscured his sight.

Statues, water and plants will come soon, brown was already done, time to reveal the objects behind the other colors. His head felt lighter with each passing second.

White.

Blue.

Black.

Black.

Black.

He blinked, his entire vision was covered by a dark tape as if someone would put a blindfold over his eyes. He reached towards his snout momentarily, to his surprise the blindfold seemed real, he grabbed it with ease, only the surface felt different not like a paper, it was slick, like a tongue.

Thin like a string.

I found you.

He pulled off the blindfold and immediately regretted that it came off so easily. Heart that was calm not so long ago once more remembered how it is to feel fear again, speeding up his pace drastically. It was experience however of a seasoned fighter and a love for the ominous that kept his muscles in check and did not allow them to panic.

And he had all the reasons to start panicking right now.

He was standing snout to snout with his dark counterpart, Dark Spyro was glaring at him with his lifeless, glowing white eyes, entire black body stiff as a log.

"You're not real" Spyro acknowledged the appearance with a stern, short sentence, having enough experience with dark magic to know that confidence and certainty works wonders against any illusion, especially when it originates from Fear

"Not real?" Dark Spyro cocked his head, his rumbling voice nearly deafening from so close "People that I slaughtered are alive then?"

The creature didn't disappear.

He kept his senses under control though, letting only a bulge of nervous saliva stretch out his throat. The witty bastard played on his words, trying to shake him emotionally, if he didn't know what precisely triggers his counterpart to appear, perhaps he would allow himself a moment of despair.

Which could have tragic consequences considering the situation and place they were in.

"I'm here so that means you are a fake. Crawl back into the hole from which you came. Get lost" he snarled at the illusion, turning away from it immediately

His eyes widened when to his surprise his purple orbs once more came into close proximity with white, empty eyeballs.

"I would my twin, but I don't want to, not when you opened the door so widely"

Before he could react to this strange words Dark Spyro's gaze felt down, not towards the ground, he could feel the creature's eyes drilling into him.

He followed the silent nudge, this time shock managed to find a crack in his defense, forcing him to jump back in surprise.

His legs were entirely black to the half of their length.

"I didn't do anything!" he exclaimed, partially in anger and partially in search for forgiveness

"Willingly or not my brother, I thank you nevertheless"

Spyro growled, throwing a full of pretensions glare at the dark creature ahead, scary or not this situation had one good outcome. If this thing is outside, he can make it pay for its crimes.

"You are not my brother!" he roared, immediately springing at the black drake, forelegs stretched out to their limit, claws curled into hooks

He toppled his dark counterpart with ease, his ominous illusion signaling no protest, dropping on the ground without even the tiniest bit of resistance. It didn't even react to claws sinking into its flesh, in fact if he wouldn't see this creature falling over he would never believe he touched it.

He felt absolutely nothing, no blood, no flesh, nothing that would remind him of a living creature. It was almost like placing your paws into a hollow metallic tube, no obstacles on the way and yet surrounded by the strange sensation of closeness as the nearby walls loomed over you.

"And if you think that you're real then there is nothing stopping me from kicking your ass"

"I'm right here" Dark Spyro wasn't bothered by the threat at all

The cockiness of this monster only infuriated him.

He instantly punched the ugly dark mug, followed by a quick slash of claws here and there, again this strange feeling surrounded him of having his paws encased in an empty pipe. He would bare through it if not for the fact that his strikes didn't seem to have an effect on the creature, each punch and slash forced the black head to jerk, but the moment he took a swing, giving some space to the dragon below, its head always returned back to the same place.

"Feeling better?" Dark Spyro's voice vibrated with a tone what he first took for mockery, but the moment he noticed the white eyes falling down to gaze somewhere below and a wince wrinkling the dark snout he change his opinion

This wasn't mockery, but a feeling of revulsion.

For what exactly he couldn't tell.

He followed the creature's gaze despite the strong desire to hit it again, maybe it didn't work, but it felt damn good to kick this motherfucker's ass nevertheless. The wince of anger softened when he spotted the thing that drawn the fallen dragon's attention, it was not the reason for it's disgust, but it was one big reason for him to feel sudden pain.

The colored in black purple paws bled profusely, carrying some bruises and cuts, cuts he immediately compared to the size of his claws.

They were a perfect match.

"Because I have my doubts"

"The fuck?!" Spyro jumped back, staring at his legs in disbelief, instinctively one claw moved towards the wounds scooping up the blood

Fresh.

He smelled it.

Normal blood.

His blood.

He gazed back at the dark creature, eyes burning with indignation combined with blame.

"You have done this to yourself brother. I am here, but I am still you"

This has to be another trick of this damn magic over Warfang, if this thing works on Fear then it had to sense that he is terrified of Cynder having Creep following her and now taking over, so to pull a prank on him it decided to throw him his own Creep.

If the force ruling Warfang wanted to turn him insane it was on a good road so far.

"Yes and no" Dark Spyro once more appeared in front of his eyes, as stoic as ever "Darkness influences the minds of the living, like I do you when you allow it. This Darkness is me, more freedom, but essence is the same, but as unaware of the aspects of life as usual"

"Emotions" the creature growled, its rumbling, otherworldly tone of voice making it sound as if it burping

Spyro cocked his head, noticed immediately the amount of displeasure Dark Spyro showed when speaking about free will to be exact. He immediately connected the monster's previous disdain with this one.

Feelings.

It was disgusted by feelings.

"Yes!" Dark Spyro roared in fury, its white eyes flashing with blinding light "The key and lock of life! Chains!" the voice rumbled strangely, a combination of crashing waves and feminine scream, its black neck sprang down sharply, it parted its mouth, ready to bite at its own paws it instantly threw up towards the maw

This was no joke, the fury was clear, the intention was not to just pinch the scales, but truly bite the paw off.

Does that mean he would lose his own leg too?

Before however he could react and sort out his thoughts Dark Spyro's maw clamped shut audibly, yet not over the leg, but above it, shutting over empty air. Growling the dark creature renewed its effort, pushing its paw up and clamping with its teeth, but no matter how hard it jerked either its neck or leg, it couldn't move any of the two any farther as if there would be an invisible barrier between its teeth and the paw it wanted to bite off.

Spyro exhaled a big breath of relief, it looked like the creature couldn't hurt itself just to cause him pain.

"Why would I, fool?" Dark Spyro glared at him "You are the reason I'm alive"

"I don't know" he shrugged just to narrow his eyes on the creature "Out of spite maybe?"

"Emotions again!" the dark companion flared up its wings which drew trails of shadow in the air as they moved "This is why Darkness failed. This is a failure brother, no matter what you might think"

He didn't really know if he should trust the creature, especially when Creep stirs all this mistrust in him, no matter what the creature says Dark Spyro reminded him of Creep and he would be insane if he would trust his own dark counterpart when he doesn't trust the ominous illusion of his mate.

Still.

Something was off, Dark Spyro and Creep aren't entirely the same, after all he has control over the darkness in him, Creep follows Cynder out of obedience. If considering what Dark Spyro said about itself, if he would accept the fact that this creature is part of him, not agreeing with it would mean that he is doubting himself?

"Fool" Dark Spyro growled

Sounded crazy.

Sounded...foolish?

By the Ancestors. It was like talking with your own reflection in a mirror, with the difference being that the reflection actually finishes your thoughts for you, even when your lips are still.

"How so?" he finally managed to speak, instinctively rising his paw to see if Dark Spyro would mimic his move

It did not.

Yet he could see the creature shaking its head and he was quite certain that it was a sign of depression dictated by his childish dare game.

"Darkness feeds on Darkness, little nudge there, little control over here and you are ready for consumption. It woke me, demanding that I take control, I couldn't, because of emotions!" Dark Spyro wailed loudly, the howl that left his throat created a spider-web on the nearby windows

"Our union is specific, only you are capable of dictating who of us rules. Darkness does not understand it"

Does that mean he is winning? It's sounds too good to be true.

"Why should I believe you?" he poked the creature with his claw "This thing is Corruption just like you. All this time you only wanted to kill things and now you're talking with me like a good pal, you think I forgot what you are capable of?"

"Because I am you, if you won't trust yourself then who will you trust?" Dark Spyro inhaled deeply, shutting his eyes in bliss "I fed before because I had no other choice" the creature opened up its eyes, looking him over from claw to horn, snout wrinkled by displeasure "You are an emotional, poisonous cage. A tasty trap with snares so strong that I can't break my binds, the unending killing spree is your fault. Eternal Hunger is not life"

Spyro snorted, short laugh of ironical laughter blurting out from his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, now you're going to tell me that in truth you are a really good guy and all this killing is because of me since I somehow force you to do it. Wrong you liar, I'm not falling for your tricks"

Dark Spyro shrugged.

"I'm not good and meek like you" the creature trailed his body with the claws from the very top to the bottom where it could reach without bending as if it would be dropping its nightdress before him like a loving wife to present its naked body in full glory for the upcoming night

"What you see here is freedom, unbound, decisive, willing. When I will break free this is how it will look like, I will feed and kill whenever I want to, not when it is demanded of me. The world would be an unending river of Darkness from which I would feed and feed and Live! NO EMOTIONS! NO SCHACKLES!" Dark Spyro mimicked his move, poking him with its own claw

Spyro immediately rubbed the touched spot, retreating from the contact the same second, he felt his muscles cramping right where the ominous illusion touched him.

"I will find a way to clear the poison you spread"

He slapped the extended black leg away, his head jerking in the same direction the paw did as if someone would just smack him across the snout.

"You will do shit you evil bastard" he rubbed his burning cheek "You are not even pretending to be on my side, openly admitting that you will continue your murderous spree. I don't care about your problems, you are a monster, I won't have anything to do with you. Fuck off, get out of my sight"

Dark Spyro looked behind its black shoulder, the toes on its paws drumming against the ground, it looked like the creature was really considering the option to obey his command.

"Scream as loud as you can, but I cannot leave you for two reasons" the white eyes returned to examine him, they were full of mockery "Neither of them is my favorite, you would be already alone like a fish on a shore if I had the power to decide on my own"

"So, is this the moment where I should thank you?" he smirked

"No, but you should reconsider if you survive the next several hours"

He cocked his head at what seemed to be a threat, tail making a nervous flick.

"I can't leave you because it is you brother who is responsible for my fate, that's the reason number one. Number two means that if I leave you now, considering I would be capable of it, you will die and with you I will die too"

He processed the words slowly, trying to decide if his dark counterpart is trying to manipulate him, or doing something entirely different just to put itself in better light.

"You seem awfully certain that I will die without you, I can't decide if worry speaks through you or hope"

Dark Spyro looked away from him, gazing somewhere off into the distance, looking down one of the many corridors of Warfang. Body stiff and neck craned upwards to the very limit as if he would be listening for something very intently.

"Both. You see brother, the failure of Darkness I've mentioned is only a partial victory. What lowers our chances of total success is the fact that Darkness is aware of its failure and the danger it caused"

He reached out towards him, grabbing him by the leg, it felt as if he got pinched.

"You are the danger brother. Correction is on the way already"

Okay, he had to admit that he got a bit nervous right now, he would probably be a bit calmer, ironically, if Dark Spyro would betray some sort of emotions, even dread, but the way it spoke, this callous manner was unnatural, even more so when it talks about this "correction" that is after him like some sort of doom weapon that cannot be avoided.

"What is this correction?" he licked his lips, muscles flexing as he followed the gaze of his dark counterpart

The streets were empty just like from the start.

"Darkness' predator, it's beast on a leash that mistook the lack of pressure as a broken chain when in truth it is nothing but boredom of the owner. You however brother would see something else in it, if you would just open your eyes fool"

"What are you talking about?"

Dark Spyro smiled, surprisingly his mouth had no teeth.

"If we live then maybe you will find out one day" the dark creature intensified its grip on his leg, his paw began to sting painfully, the sharp itching morphing into an irritating burn

He jerked sharply, with the intention to break free, yet the grasp proved exceedingly strong, instead of pulling the black leg towards him, it was Dark Spyro who shook him into submission as if he would be a child that misbehaved.

"Stay and listen" the creature commanded, not even bothered to pay attention to his protests, white eyes focused all the time on some invisible spot in one of Warfang's many narrow streets

Listening and obeying the commands of this creature was the last thing he wanted to do, still, for some unexplained reason he didn't have the will to fight it on this particular matter, deep down feeling that something is off. The air seemed to become thinner, wind no longer blowing with the same force, even sunlight seemed to become weaker.

They weren't alone.

"This might feel unpleasant" Dark Spyro intoned, he barely heard his dark copy, his sight locking onto one of the streets of Warfang

He didn't know why, the street looked like every other and yet he couldn't get his eyes off of it. It almost felt like reading a childhood diary you don't really remember the words any longer, nevertheless you recall the familiarity of the feeling when you wrote it, always in the corner of your safe heaven, always surrounded by people who loved you.

Safety.

Home.

Family.

He blinked, the light down the narrow street wavered, the colors blurring, swiveling like ocean waves, slithering lazily like snakes.

As if they had a life of their own.

Surprisingly though there were no colors anymore there that could remind him of Warfang, no, the swaying mess of pigment was mostly made of purple, black, gold and magenta.

These were their tones!

The dyes seemed to stick to their own places in this hazy world, forming their own blurry, unreadable silhouettes, one dominated by purple and gold, the other by magenta and black.

The image radiated an inviting sense of familiarity.

Even more so when he noticed the colors gathering in another place, slightly away from the two other forms, in between them to be precise, a lot smaller, a lot more innocent, silhouette made not of two, but four colors. Purple, black, magenta and gold twirled in the air excitedly, forming the perfect contrast, the perfect harmony.

Ideal.

The invitation of familiarity no longer was a subtle suggestion, but a strong plea against loss. He could sense in every fiber of his being that he needs to go there, there where he is needed, there where is supposed to be.

His body reacted automatically, muscles flexing and moving, the desire to be there was uncontrollable.

Just like the impossible joy he felt right now.

The moment he moved however, a painful yip exploded from his throat, he momentarily gazed at his held paw, the sharp pain he felt almost made him feel like his paw just got amputated.

His eyes widened at the sight of his leg, or lack of any to be precise, there was a big cloud of black smoke instead of the paw made of flesh and bone, Dark Spyro's paw followed in the same example, becoming nothing else but a flickering mist of black shadow. In the case of the creature however it was not only the paw that got turned, but the entire body, glowing white eyes were the only thing remaining that still showed him that there is a living creature there.

He wanted to snarl at the monster, blame it for everything and yet he didn't do it, not because he couldn't, he didn't so it because he sensed that there are far more important things than to scream at the creature.

His head jerked back towards the corridor, just in time to notice the loving combination of colors splitting from the bigger two, dashing towards him in fact. In a matter of seconds the form grew, turning from small to massive in a blink of an eye, the combination of colors fading away, becoming only black.

Thicker.

A shadow.

Moving, big shadow.

The welcoming feeling was gone, morphing into dread and nervousness.

Only intensified by the sight of a pair of familiar, yet not exactly the same black eyes he recognized quite well. .

Danox.

He was attacking.

The pain that accompanied the disappearance of one of his legs exploded sharply throughout his entire body, reaching even the brain that froze for a moment. For a brief second everything became distant, cold and completely irrelevant.

He died.

He was quite certain that for a tiny second he was dead.

Dark Spyro pushed against him, turning into the same black mist that Danox was, his smoky frame inhaled his own as well turning it into a similar black cloud and quickly blowing both of them out of the way of the incoming black mass.

Mass that looked like a shadow at first through which you could push your paw, yet the moment it was close the frame became more sharp, thicker and long, like a scythe.

If they would stand there Spyro was quite certain that they would be severed in half.

The pain ended and his body was once more assaulted by lashes of wind as it reformed back entirely a little farther away from the cutting mass of shadow. If he had the time he would probably wonder how it is possible that Dark Spyro managed to teleport him when he doesn't remember his dark incarnation ever doing such a thing when it possessed him.

But it was unimportant right now, his eyes were locked on the black scythe that nearly cut them, the cloud of dark magic slowly bounced down towards the ground, until it eventually touched it and flattened against the earth, turning into a splotch.

In a matter of a few seconds the pool began to stretch out upwards, undulating mass of shadow glistened under the sunlight as it grew, the entire frame slithering constantly like frightened bugs. The cocoon rose to the height of an adult dragon, after that it began to stretch to the sides, growing the forms of wings, paws, horns and tail. .

When the manifestation was over, the glimmering, moving mass began to peel off from the top, falling down quickly like a freed dress from a women's shoulders. In its wake appeared the silhouette of a familiar black dragon, dark scales, white horns and golden underbelly plates presented themselves to them in all their glory.

Danox was staring at the two of them with his black, lifeless eyes, head tilted to the side.

Curious.

It seemed like he did not expect to see two incarnations of the same dragon, surprise or no he betrayed no signs of shock or nervousness, remaining cocky as always.

"The tool of Darkness has arrived" Dark Spyro intoned gloomily, intently focused on the appeared dragon

"Tool? This is Danox!" Spyro waved at his companion "It's me dude! You can calm down now!"

Danox' head jerked sharply in his direction, the move reminding him of a jerking chicken's head. The moment the black eyes landed on him all the disagreement with his dark copy regarding Danox evaporated. The mysterious dragon was not really keen on betraying much through his eyes, the coal orbs always ominous and seemingly empty.

Now however, instead of meeting his own reflection in the obsidian eyes, he noticed delicate, thin lines od red running across the eyeball. Most probably the maximum level of bloodshot these specific eyes could ever achieve.

He noticed even light reflecting from them.

The glare reminded him of nothing else, but a starved, rabid hound.

And the next action his dark companion made, proved his theory quite accurately.

Danox charged immediately, sparing everyone around the noises of snarling and growling however, the sound of his smacking quickly paws the only tone that echoed throughout the air.

Spyro flexed, adopting a defensive posture, heart racing in his chest in indescribable fear. This was not the first adult dragon he thought, as a member of the same race it didn't really matter how tall his opponent might be, physical aspects are not so crucial in a world dominated by magic.

The reasons for his fear to stir was entirely else, he couldn't really say what it was and why Danox specifically makes it so depressing, but he couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal and guilt. Topped with the hesitation which was dangerous in every fight.

He didn't want to hurt him. And he didn't care if this unexpected aggression is the reason of Danox' free will or it is the effect of the magic hanging over Warfang. Whatever the explanation would be he knew now that it wouldn't change anything, he just doesn't want to cause harm to his black companion.

The air flashed purple suddenly, making him blink.

The moment he opened his eyes he noticed a wide, powerful beam of purple magic hitting Danox right in the flank, the strike blowing him off of his paws, shoving him against one of the nearby buildings. Dust sprang into the air, the struck building started to bleed small rocks from the cracks that appeared on its surface.

It was Dark Spyro that attacked him.

His dark counterpart kept on going, taking two steps closer, its mouth was parted constantly, beam drilling into the obscured by mist body second after second.

Danox will become stone any second now.

"STOP IT!" Spyro roared at the top of his lungs, straining his body so much to release the blare that muscles started to sting like needles

The beam was cut off, he didn't know if it was his command that ended it, or maybe Dark Spyro simply finished his attack, what he knew for certain though was that his dark incarnation wasn't pleased with his interference. White glared back at him, wicked snarl wrinkled the ominous snout.

The remnants of the expelled energy still glowed at the corners of the black lips, tendrils of purple glowing as they stretched out from the maw.

"You sentimental idiot!" Dark Spyro roared, the creature's rumbling, ominous voice sounded like a thunder "Ignore emotions or die!"

Spyro shivered, not because of the shout, but because of the specific brush he felt crossing across his soul as if a ghost would run through him. He spent enough time with Cynder to recognize the sensation.

Shadow magic.

He almost immediately noticed a growing pool of shadow on the ground near him, instead of stopping under his paws as Cynder is known to do, the splotch moved in between him and his dark incarnation. He didn't waste time, momentarily forcing his muscles from the ground, jumping as far as possible from the pool nearby.

Dark Spyro mimicked the moves precisely.

The splotch of darkness exploded, sending a wave of black smoke in a circle around it, Spyro covered his mouth immediately, bouncing on three legs he sucked in a deep breath before the choking mist reached him. Luckily due to his initial reaction the fog thinned enough so it no longer presented a threat to a dragon when it eventually reached him.

From the pool instantly grew a huge shape, Danox, his frame was entirely black and swiveling as if there would be an invisible bucket above his head, spilling liters upon liters of tar on him.

The incoherent shape did not attack however, instead it cocked its head, clearly surprised.

"I am FEAR!" Dark Spyro roared, dashing straight at the chaotic, black figure, his counterpart's otherworldly speed triggering instantly, in a span of time where for a normal dragon it would count as a single slash, Dark Spyro made at least four attacks

Danox roared painfully, momentarily adopting his original frame, he spun around, gracefully moving his injured body away, that did not stop Dark Spyro who kept on slashing all the time, sticking to the massive body like a miner with a pick to a wall on which he could see glimmering gold.

The big dragon attacked, swiping with his paw which Dark Spyro avoided easily, momentarily returning back to assaulting the same place. Danox tried to catch the annoying creature two more times with his claws but it proved impossible, all his strikes ended with a miss.

While the torn hole on his body grew larger.

Spyro channeled his earth magic, a ball of green energy pulsed inside his mouth, letting some of the light slip past his locked lips. He was absolutely depressed by this whole situation, Dark Spyro proving in this moment to be an ally, a creature of corruptive darkness that only wants to kill, shackled to him with a bond of fate so unbreakable that it wasn't possible to cut it off without turning into a masochist.

And then there was Danox, a dragon who's current intention was all about killing him, them, enemy in every regard. And yet he just couldn't accept the fact as it is, every instinct screaming at him that he has to assist his dark counterpart, otherwise there will be no survival left to fight for.

No matter how right and loud the sound was, he just couldn't accept this situation as normal. The strange thing was that he felt it was not about Danox being his companion, betrayal among ranks seemed quite acceptable when he thought about it, an predictable risk so to speak which you just could shake off with a sad sigh and that's everything.

Not so long Diazen proved this theory and there were of course Iris and Flare both ticking bombs that could shove a dagger in your back in any moment.

No.

His hesitation had nothing to do with this standard companionship, it was something else, something much stronger, something someone like him should never go through.

Someone like who exactly?

He did not know, but it screamed failure and devastation in constant, unending blare.

Spyro began to choke suddenly, streams of green energy spurting from his hacking mouth, he felt as if Cynder's choker would appear around his neck, tightening and tightening, ready to crush his throat. He gazed up, train of thoughts evaporating into oblivion.

His heart skipped a beat when he noticed Danox managing to finally stop Dark Spyro's assault, he held the thrashing dragon in his grasp, clutching his paw against the frame, sinking claws inside, mouth parting to make a final bite that would sever the head off.

Death.

Everything stopped mattering, flush of energy wafted through him, so strong and invigorating like a breath after nearly drowning. He put his body into a spin, not even recording the move really, the ball of energy dropped from his mouth, extending down on a long, green, chain of magic.

He swung the ball right at Danox' snout, so quickly that if not for the adrenaline of survival it would make his every muscle cramp. The ball struck the dragon in the front end of the snout, exactly in the right side of the nose. The ball exploding on impact, releasing a powerful gust of earthy magic that shook the air, the magical earthquake shook Danox, making him release Dark Spyro who dropped on the ground, coughing fiercely.

Blood shot in every direction after the explosion, the black nose pushed out waves of crimson liquid with such pressure as if there would be a catapult hiding inside the nostril. The wounds he received earlier also pulsed, spilling more blood under the shockwave of the magical earthquake.

A line of this blood splattered right against Spyro's body, painting his neck and chest, he instinctively patted the blood away, surprised by the fact that the blood, as fresh as it was, wasn't even hot.

Warm, yes, but not hot like in every living creature.

This particular blood reminded him of heated snow.

Danox roared, stomping his paw against the ground what at first glance seemed like the result of pained fury, the black veins around his eyes only proved that by growing violently, to the point that it looked like they will explode soon.

Dark carpets rolled over the earth from underneath the stomping paw, they extended quickly and when both Spyro's expected the darkness to explode again, the trails manifested into leaping, shadowy figures, the carpets attaching themselves to their backs like cloaks.

Six shapes in total attacked them, each wielding a completely burning with dark energy sword, weapons that were immediately put into action, slashing from the bottom like a fighter throwing an uppercut.

Both incarnations of Spyro jumped back from the strikes, the dodges however weren't so effective since the magical swords sent small waves of black energy as they swung across the air.

Spyro grunted, of all of the elements of the world, he hated Shadow the most, its invasion burnt like hell, not like the standard fire, it was hard to explain really, he always believed if a sword would have feelings it would exactly feel like this when it is being formed on a searing anvil by a blacksmith's hammer.

It was like having pincers ripping and tearing your soul apart piece by piece.

The blazing, ominous flames struck his neck and chin, leaving bloody cuts in their wake as if he would be whipped.

The three creatures attacked again in perfect unison, the experience of a warrior however allowed him to recoil from the surprise and not let the pain take control. Through squinted eyes he raised a wing in his defense, pushing forward behind its cover, absorbing the strikes with a hiss.

He shoved the wing in one of the creatures, magical or not the beasts were real and the membranes connected with ease, the weight of the blow combined with the mass of a dragon was enough to topple one shadowy figure to the ground.

He immediately swiped with his tail, the creatures however weren't just mindless constructs, they anticipated his move, one of them even managed to rise its sword a little, before swinging it down, pinning the tail under its magical blade.

He roared in pain when his spine was pulled roughly, the strike making him fight for balance, on top of that, while it was not easy to hurt a dragon's tail, the burning dark force against it made him feel like there would be a clever chopping at it unendingly.

He twisted his body sharply, before the other creature could make its move his teeth were already around its dark arm, clamping roughly around the strange flesh that felt like a rail. He immediately released the creature, sending it flying at the one that held him.

He missed, the monster dodged the attack with ease, the good news was that he managed to free his tail at least

A powerful stench of decay filled his nostrils suddenly, the amount of magical energy vibrating throughout the air made his scales tingle. The air around him became thinner, someone big was stealing the oxygen.

He immediately put his paws to work, rolling over the ground he channeled his Electricity, forming a shocking cage around himself, the barrier rising just in time to deflect the black paw of Danox slashing at him.

When the claws got close he finally understood from where the smell was coming from, Danox' claws were rotten, looking like limbs of a corpse, small cracks dotted it like holes eaten out by mice in a cheese. From the openings oozed a greenish, thick liquid, some of the disgusting drops trickled right around him, what was more surprising though was the fact that they exploded, releasing a green vapor in the air with an unnerving hiss.

Some of the drops splattered against him like spit.

He let out a choking cough, momentarily shaking his head to get rid of the discomfort, it was like someone would shove a fist down his throat.

The world turned into a blurry mess all of a sudden, he could barely discern what was in front of him, it was almost as having water in your eyes.

He never knew that there was a poison ability that can actually blind you.

He didn't see anything, but his instincts told him that a deadly blow was coming his way, maybe more than one, either the sword of one of the creature's or Danox himself.

His magical powers triggered like the most advanced security system of the moles, time froze in an instant.

He backed up, shaking his head once, twice, rubbing eyes in the meantime, it was either luck or simply a dragon's natural resilience, but eventually he managed to clear his sight enough to be able to see, even though the corners of his vision were a gloomy chaos.

The creatures were ready to stab him, the beasts had their magical weapons aimed in the direction where his body once was. Yet it would not be enough to put down a dragon, merely hold him down, the death blow was coming from above.

From Danox.

A huge shadowy spike stretched out from Danox' tied into a fist paws which he was driving down from above, the strike would easily impale him to the ground.

With the corner of his eyes he spotted Dark Spyro sprinting towards the big dragon, his mouth filled with purple energy, determined to save him, yet he could see in the white eyes lost hope, sense of defeat.

In this slowed space the only thing that ran fast was his thoughts, it took him only a while to realize that this battle is lost, if his dark counterpart has to step in to carry the mantle towards victory than something is wrong.

He cannot win this fight.

If he would be alone, he was quite certain that the battle would be over before it truly began, all the little details that surprised Danox came from Dark Spyro, the extra resistance or whatever it was that stopped the ominous, black dragon from unleashing his fury upon him were nothing else but additional seconds before the inevitable.

Achieving victory over a powerful enemy requires your own power, he is the proclaimed hero of this world, the pressure of success should lie on his shoulders, he should be the one countering the bulk of the danger, the one confident that he will withstand it.

However every fight requires preparation, without it he would never have the strength to stand against Cynder and Malefor.

He was not ready to face the power that Danox was wielding, power he was certain that still was running on reserve, whatever forced his black companion to attack him, it didn't strip him from one of his most prominent flaws.

Arrogance.

Flaws or not this was not a battle he could win.

What he was doing here was not a fight for victory, all he could do is to somehow beat some sense into Danox, he really doubted he could escape. All he could do was to hope and stall his own death.

This crappy situation made his blood boil with fury, the anger only intensified by looking at Danox, Danox who was set on ending everything that he built. Freedom, safety, love, the perspective of never seeing Sparx and Cynder again, all this sense that everything he fought for was for nothing, because a dragon showed up, ready to break it because he didn't care about it.

This is not what he would expect from family.

It seemed like betraying expectations was the only reliable thing to do, obligation of the same blood as they say.

With a furious roar he released a fireball on the two shadows that were near each other, while he himself dashed towards the sole one, jumping at it, sinking claws into the exposed throat while burying his teeth into the shadowy arm ripping it off together with the sword, he spun it around, slamming it right into the creature's chest.

He lept into the air then, spinning into a cyclone of wind and ice, sending all the gathered projectiles at Danox, followed by some standard missiles as he landed in front of his dark incarnation.

Time was already speeding up by now, every move he committed to becoming more vivid and alive. He ducked under the black chin, avoiding the opening mouth as best as he could, pressing his body against the darkened chest while spreading his wings wide, forming a protective barrier.

He left a deep breath right at Dark Spyro's paws, it calmed his emotions down a bit, as fucked up as it may sound, he could feel the same very breath on the back of his neck, it reminded him of the warmth only family provided.

Time returned to normal.

His dark counterpart bumped into him, unable to push him through due to his legs sternly fixed against the ground. The creature hacked a breath, the magic it nurtured inside its mouth evaporated with a hiss, the purple mist grazing over the joints of his opened wings. He shivered, feeling its intense, raw, destructive power yet its touch was as soft as a graze of a feather.

Explosions came later, the chaos of the raging elemental energy he woke up to life, combined with Danox' painful roaring, shook the foundations of the nearby buildings. The black drake was thrown back by the force of the cyclone, with only hind paws against the floor the gust ruined his balance, making him sway to one side like a cut tree.

Danox slammed his paws against the nearby building, back arching as he stretched out, his still imbued with darkness paws leaving burning cracks in the walls.

Dark Spyro pushed back from the hug, the creature's otherworldly gaze full of confusion, clearly shocked by the fact that someone stood in its defense. He looked directly at them, sight filled with indifference, it was like looking into a dirty mirror.

"You are a part of me, the scar on my heart is evidence of that. I will accept the fact that I'm not perfect, I have too much to live for"

His dark incarnation smiled pleasantly.

"I am darkness"

Danox slammed his fist against the cracked wall as he pushed away from the building, the strike breaking the stone, creating a big hole where once only cracks were. He swung his massive tail, the tip was momentarily covered with a black flame, from it extended a prolonged black shape of a scythe in the form of his tail tip, exactly the same one he used against the monster that attacked them in Cloudas' world.

Spyro raised his wings in defense, already knowing that the blow will hurt no matter how solid his protection will be, the amount of magical force that was put into the strike exceeded beyond any reasonable scale.

Then Dark Spyro placed its paw on top of his, turning both of them into black, wavering mists, the magical blade swiped through them as if they would be nothing more than ghosts.

Danox puffed from their sight, with the corner of his eye Spyro noticed the frame of the magical scythe pulsing, in a moment's notice the shade dashed in their direction, reforming and stretching, adopting the form of the familiar black dragon.

The magic that vibrated throughout the air made him dizzy.

Spyro immediately formed an electrical cage around himself, pushing his body into another roll while Dark Spyro merely jumped back, parting his mouth, unleashing his devastating power.

Danox did not remain behind, the moment he reformed from darkness he surrounded his body with dancing, swirling lines of poison, while at the same time parting his mouth to release a cloud of choking dark breath at them.

Two elements at once?

All three dragons exchanged the magical blows, unable to avoid each other strikes completely. Spyro and his dark twin were burned by the combined forces of shadow and poison magic, while Danox absorbed the attacks of Electricity and Dark Aether itself. One could only wonder how does the black dragon survives the assault of such power, resistance or not, this dark energy would put down even the strongest of dragons.

Danox managed to land between them however, quite smoothly despite the beams of energy hitting him, the moment his paws connected with the ground the swirling green tendrils of energy sank into the opening between the road. The stone momentarily began to hiss and crack, the magic that sunk into the floor was not some standard poison, but a really corrosive acid, it ate through the road like it would the softest of cakes.

In a moment's notice nothing remained of the stone but a pool of boiling acid, Danox slammed his tail against the ground and the several ponds that dotted the ground spat burning green blobs of acid in every direction. Those in turn triggered explosions of their own, flicking tears of hissing acid everywhere.

It was a world of pain, Spyro could no longer tell what exactly wounded him, or if it was really him being hit and not Dark Spyro who ricocheted the agony to him, whatever the case may be it hurt the same, doesn't matter who the target was precisely.

It still felt as one and the same.

His dark counterpart charged, dashing forward, puffing out from existence, while the move would probably confuse every living being on the world Danox didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest, turning immediately, paw swiping through the air.

He clenched his draconic hand in what seemed to be a random urge.

Spyro yelled, paws bending under the weight of the sudden shock of pain that shot through his bones, it felt like thousands of hammers would hit his skeleton from every possible angle.

Danox slammed his moving paw into the floor, cracking some stones underneath it. The moment the leg connected with the road a cloud of smoke erupted from underneath it, revealing the form of the pinned Dark Spyro, the creature's tail was the only thing that was left free, swaying on the wind chaotically.

Danox leaned over the trapped creature, his whole frame burst with hungry, black flames, the eyes shimmered white.

He took a deep breath.

Spyro got hit by the hammers again, it was hard to explain the sensation that he was feeling right now, instead of causing pain, the strike left him strangely numb. Indifferent to everything, callous and empty, as if silence would envelop him in some kind of cage, cutting him off from the rest of the universe.

And then he felt a peculiar poke of something sharp, the thrust shallow, nothing serious, what followed later though was far worse.

It was sucking.

And he was the one being fed upon, he could feel himself being ripped callously apart like a piece of pork shared between members of a clan.

The thing that pierced him was a straw.

And he was being snuffed out by it from existence.

This realization made him charge wildly forward, dashing straight ahead in an explosion of fire surrounding him, horns aimed down.

Danox growled, pressing harder against the trapped body, besides blood he squeezed something else out, a dark tendril of essence dragged itself out from underneath his paw like a worm from an eaten out apple. He immediately inhaled it, the smoke flying right into his nostril.

He threw his head back suddenly as if he would headbang a wall, blood trickled from the nasal hole into which the tendril flew. The dark veins around his eyes pulsed and thickened like an spreading infection.

"Not icing, a lie. Poison. Tra-" Danox' mumbling was interrupted by a roar erupting from his mouth, something collided with his right, hind leg. He bounced on three legs for a while since the struck paw immediately kicked itself up just to escape from the pain, he could also feel searing hot flames devouring his underbelly.

Spyro dashed into him.

He looked down the length of his chest, not expecting to see the attacker lying on his back just in between his front legs, purple mouth already opened and forming a magical attack.

A purple magical attack.

He threw his head back, in this very moment Spyro unleashed his Convexity power straight at his exposed chin, besides the obvious agony, the magical strike reminded him what he was here for and what Darkness made him to do.

This is why he evolved, he became something more than just brainless Hunger, it might still be a part of him, but that poisonous, dark wretch is a cage, he didn't spend so much time bending the chains to waste it all on a fake whim.

The essence eating his body away right now, this is the icing, not the true one still, too weak to grant satisfaction, but it is here, not to be devoured.

Hunger is hunger, but he wasn't sired to be a tool, as much as he loathed his parents, he adopted some worthwhile traits for them, to be free was one of them.

The devastating beam lifted Danox from his paws, the explosion that followed ruined the nearby walls and sent the dragon crashing into the nearby buildings. Spyro clamped his mouth shut, rolling immediately onto his belly, the world danced and echoed all around him, he felt like millions of golems would trample him.

Then he felt a breeze over his shoulder.

Dark Spyro put a paw on him, clenching the tired muscles, his injured body aching for any kind of comfort. There was something wholly invigorating about this touch.

"Thank you for reminding me Sire" low voice of Danox' rumbled from the rubble

Spyro lifted himself up despite the shaking in his paws, his dark counterpart taking a defensive stance, as vigorous as ever while he could barely stand, all that was holding him intact was the will to survive, after all Convexity should leave a mark on Danox as well.

The big form of his opponent was drawn from the settling dust, he stepped out from the choking cloud and Spyro's eyes widened at the sight. While his body carried the wounds of battle, the dragon was still standing strongly on all four paws, despite the fact that the leg he charged into looked at least twisted and most of the snout was burned by magic that you could see flesh pulsing inside.

What was more intimidating however were the circles of black magic filling the wounds, turning and turning like gears until the wound was completely sealed.

"Dangers, opportunities, changes, you. All of it plays a role which I need to consider"

"I don't want to listen to your babbling, finish what you started" Spyro rasped, spitting a blob of saliva, it carried a trace of blood in it from the acid that fed on his lips.

Black eyes turned towards Dark Spyro, a glimmer of fear clearly radiated from them.

"This is a battle you won't survive, this is a war I will fail. We were played Sire, something I intend to change. You made a mistake Darkness, I desire to take advantage of. I am the future" he threw his sight towards the sky

"AND I WILL DECIDE WHEN IT WILL COME!" he roared at the top of his lungs, the circles of black magic healing his wounds spat out dark flames

"TRAITOR!"

Spyro jumped back at the sound of the rumbling voice which echoed all around him as if from every crack in stone, what shocked him more however was the fact that Dark Spyro was also the one doing the screaming.

The entire sky turned black suddenly, as if an entire different planet would cast a shadow upon the Realms.

A massive black wave pushed out from the nearby buildings rising high above the black drake until it reached a size big enough to resemble first massive body of water of an incoming flood. The mass instantly crashed onto the black dragon, covering his body completely until it eventually splashed against the floor.

Only a pool remained where Danox once stood, it was difficult to tell if this were the remnants of the black wave or the remains of the black dragon. All he knew though was the fact that he didn't want to touch it so when it began to spill, stretching out in his direction, he moved back, keeping his paws away from the ominous pond.

Pond that immediately began to stretch out and bulge as if there would be something growing below the surface of the black mass. Seeing this Dark Spyro left his side and moved forward, slamming its paw against the growing tower of darkness, slamming it back into the floor.

More of the tentacles grew from the pond, many of them slapped against the black frame, some even wrapping themselves around the limbs, yet neither dragged the dark creature into the depths. Vanishing back into the pond as quickly as they appeared.

Spyro couldn't tell if this was a good sign or quite the contrary.

He was quite sure though that this was not the worst thing that happened to him.

It was just the beginning.