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Part 3: Through the Fire and Flames

Chapter 8: The Defense of Warfang

March 3, 2204

1245 Hours

Marine Recon Alpha 2, Inbound to Warfang

"Damn that's bright!" One of the Marines exclaimed as he shielded his eyes from the sunlight that came through the opening to the tunnel. The Marines looked around as they exited as the Dragon City came into view. Large sky scrapers and structures dotted the surrounding landscapes.

"This place is so beautiful..." A female Marine commented.

All around them were moles, dragons, and a few other creatures that eyed the human expeditionary force with caution. Dragons held their young close and moles shielded their children.

A few Dragons and Moles in armor forced their way to the front and pointed swords and weapons at the Marines as they moved in. The Marines halted their advance and a green Dragon came from the crowd and looked over the Marine group.

"What business do you have, coming into our city with your weapons of war?" The large dragon asked the group.

"Don't worry Terrador, they're with us!" At once every eye looked to see a purple and black dragon emerge from the back of the armored convoy and land in front of the Marines.

"S-spyro? Is that you?! Where've you been?!" Terrador exclaimed as he saw the purple dragon. Spyro smiled at the Dragon Elder.

"We've been trying to find out way back home."

"It's great to see that you made it! Where's Ignitus?"

"He... didn't make it..." Cynder said and Spyro looked at the ground sadly. Terrador's face contorted into that of sadness and a tear sparkled as it formed at his eye before he briskly shook it away and looked at Spyro once more.

"Well... at least you have returned... and who are these creatures?"

"I'm Lieutenant Jonathan Wagner, Company Commander of the United Expeditionary Force. We wish to use your city to air lift our soldiers and give them a place to stay." Wagner said as he walked up.

"We would be glad to provide a place to stay for your troops... but how did you come about coming to these lands? I do not remember your species before..."

"We're not from here. We came here through chance and we're trying to find out way home, but so far we cannot."

"Well we-"

"Terrador, the armies are making a turn! They've come for the city again! They've brought reinforcements!" A mole in armor yelled from a guard tower that ran along a wall nearby.

"No... I thought we had more time..." Terrador muttered.

"What's going on?" Spyro asked.

"The forces of the Dark Master have not let up... even with his demise they continue to march upon Warfang... we stopped an attack yesterday... but they've returned..."

"Alright Marines, let's move out and give these bastards a run for their money!" Wagner clicked on his mike.

"Colonel Dyke this is Lieutenant Wagner, we've made contact with the city and they've granted us clearance to use it to house our troops! However, the city is under attack and we need reinforcements ASAP!"

"Copy Lieutenant, we're moving in to support, ETA, 15 minutes."

"Where to?" Wagner asked Spyro.

"The Ramparts, that's the best place to defend from!" Cynder said.

"Everyone, form a defense! Let's go!" Terrador yelled and the dragons leapt into the air and the moles and other warriors scattered to the ramparts.

"Marines, let's go!" Wagner yelled and he motioned for Spyro and Cynder to lead the way. They dashed off and Wagner and the other Marines followed. The wall was starting to become visible behind the buildings and other tall structures in the area.

However, before they got there, several Grublins borrowed through the ground below and appeared right in front of the advancing squad.

"Contacts!" One of the Marines yelled before they fired their rifles at the Grublins. They danced as the bullets peppered them and sent them down. However, Orcs and other heavily armed and Orcs in heavy armor emerged from the ground wielding massive swords. They roared a howl of defiance and the Marines shielded their faces as the sound hurt their ears a bit.

Spyro ignored it, dashed forward, locked his jaw onto an Orc's let, and used it to form a circular twirl spin which sent it knocking into several others that approached. Cynder flew overhead and kicked an Orc off his feet and they snarled at the dragons as they dashed overhead.

"C'mon, let's get in there!" Wagner yelled and moved his arm for them to follow. The Marines charged and fired their assault rifles at the Orcs that struggled to get up. Two fell from multiple gunshots to the head and another rolled and brought his spear to bear. It connected with one of the Marines and it penetrated his left arm. The Marine yelled out in pain as the metal spear sliced through his flesh. The Orc growled as the Marine gritted his teeth in pain.

Spyro heard the Marine's cry of anguish and cocked his head to see the Marine impaled on the spear and dashed over to help.

"Take this you son of a bitch!" The Marine yelled at the top of his lungs and used the bayonet attachment to his rifle to insert the sharp knife into the creature's lower jaw in one swift motion. The creature staggered back and growled in pain as it released the Marine and the spear came out of his arm.

The Marine yelled in pain as he was released but managed to return his attention to the task at hand and fired a two round burst into the creature's head, finishing the job.

"I win..." The Marine said as he spat on the fallen Orc and clutched his shoulder. Spyro was making eye contact with the Marine who merely nodded. He slowly turned his head to see Cynder watching the event and had a look of fright in her eyes. However she dismissed it and returned to the battle.

"Damn these things!" Another Marine yelled out as she smacked it with the butt of her weapon and sent it into the ground. Finally the skirmish came to an end and they recovered, staggering from the fallen enemy soldiers.

"C'mon, the wall's just this way!" Cynder said and lead them down the street some more. As they ran, skirmishes with Grublins, Orcs and the Moles, Dragons, and Cheetahs were visible throughout the city. It was a stalemate.

"If they're just borrowing under the wall, then what's the use of going to it?!" One of the Marines asked.

"The main army is advancing, these are just scouts." Hunter said as he ran alongside them.

"Some scouts..." The Marine said as he clutched his wound that he had gotten from an Orc with an arrow.

"Linburg, you alright?" A Corporal asked the Marine who had gotten into the sticky situation.

"I'll live..." He said as he grunted.

Wagner grunted, shrugging off a hit he had taken with a blunt object during the fight. He looked at Allison who reloaded her rifle and he sighed as he turned to his six. He watched over the horizon and waited for the much needed reinforcements to arrive. He cursed as his sight saw nothing but darkening skies. He looked back to his squad, fighting vigilantly against the Orc onslaught. He winced at the pain in his arm and shrugged it off. At his left was one of his squad mates, firing the SSW Light Machine Gun at a line of Orcs. They roared out and fell under the barrage of hot lead. He grinned to himself and watched the smoke drift off the barrel, swirling around the machine gun. He motioned over to the city wall and spoke.

"I think they need our help in there!" He barked lugging his assault rifle in the direction of the fighting. The other marines nodded and looked to Cynder. She nodded and turned around and spread her wings.

The marines followed close behind her, stumbling over small stones and other obstructions, trying to keep up with her speed. All throughout the air large flaming boulders flew through the sky and smashed into the buildings, causing them to collapse.

"Their scouts are fleeing, keep it up!" A dragon said as he flew above and tossed a Grublin into a wall. Sure enough, the enemy forces were being outdone by the Dragons and Moles. They fell as swords clashed and their numbers were outweighed.

However, enemy artillery flew overhead and smashed into buildings, causing them to fall.

"We've got to take out their artillery!" Wagner yelled over the chaos.

"It's their catapults, they're outside the city!" Cynder said, turning her head to him.

"We have to get to the ramparts!" Spyro said, surging forward.

The marine bringing up the rear slowed his run and listened to the distant sounds of a chopper. He stopped and turned around and tried to focus on the sound. His sprits lifted as his vision was met with the glorious sights of three drop ships, two Sparrowhawk Helicopters and a Nighthawk. The two Sparrowhawks each had a Jaguar tank strapped to their underbelly.

"Heads up, the reinforcements here!" The Marine said with joy as the ships drew nearer.

The two Sparrowhawks flew overhead, their rotors spreading dust and debris into the air and clouding their vision temporarily. The two tanks were released from the ship and they hit the ground with a thud. The tanks came to life almost immediately, their treads tearing up the loose gravel that was caused from fallen buildings.

The Nighthawk fired its guns at the approaching Grublins and Orcs and forced them to either retreat or fall from the wave of armor piercing .50 caliber and .75 chain gun ammunition. The two Sparrowhawks landed nearby and deployed two groups of ten soldiers in black armor. They were Heavily Armed Covert Operations soldiers, HACOs. They were the special operations unit. They ran over to Wagner.

"Sir, Dyke wants us to help you secure a landing zone for more drop ships!" The soldier said and Wagner nodded.

"Let's get these Jaguars to the front!" Wagner said and they nodded and started moving to the ramparts.

"This is Echo 3-6, we'll stay in the air to help support you as long as we can, 3-6 out." The Nighthawk pilot said over the radio to Wagner.

"Copy that, thanks for the support!" He said in reply. The Nighthawk and Sparrows flew overhead and fired their guns to keep any stragglers away. As they flew overhead, an enemy artillery round hit one of the helicopters and caused its tail to explode. It was sent spiraling into the ground nearby on an adjacent street.

"Damn, sir, they got one of our choppers!" Allison said.

"We've got to go help the pilots, HACOs, escort the tanks to the ramparts, we've got to help that pilot!"

"Roger, let's move!" The HACO said.

"Let us hurry, Grublins and Orcs will move to your ship's crash site." Hunter said. They ran through the streets and past a small skirmish between six moles and five Grublins. They finally turned a corner and saw that the helicopter had hit one of the towers and had fallen in a heap of metal to the ground. The chopper was ablaze.

Hunter was correct, several Grublins were massing around the fallen bird and were trying to gain entrance. Muzzle flashes were visible from the vehicle's cockpit, signs of life.

"There's small arms fire, those pilots are still alive! Let's help them out of there!" The Marines fired their rifles where they stood, filling the air with their shots. The Grublins gave out short chirps and yelps as they were hit and tumbled the ground. Hunter dashed to the right and shot an arrow straight into an Orc who dared to approach the Marines from the side.

"C'mon, let's go help that pilot!" Cynder said and Spyro dashed in with her. They went into the helicopter, its troop bay on fire. They went into the front part of the ship and found the two pilots still strapped in, trying to get out. They had their pistols in hand, ready to kill any hostiles that got near. Spyro coughed in the smoke.

"We're here to get you out!" He said. The pilot coughed in response.

"I can't breathe, get us out!" The other said. Cynder bit at his straps and Spyro did the same with the other. They grabbed them with their claws and dragged them off out of the chairs. They then dragged them out of the burning chopper and set them on the ground outside.

The last few Grublins were shot down as they dared to make a run for the helicopter. The other Marines came in to check their status.

"Let's get them out of here, they're in no condition to fight!" Wagner said.

"Allow me, I'll get them to safety, get to the ramparts, repel the enemies!" Hunter said, grabbed the two pilots and trying to put them over his two shoulders.

"Right, let's go!" Spyro said. They ran back to the streets and saw the drop ships fly overhead, guns blazing as several Wyverns dashed above. Dragons flew overhead too, pelting the ground with their attacks to try and fend off the hostile assault.

A few more Orcs sprang form the ground and offered another fight. However, before they attacked, a small black dragon flew overhead, breathing fire onto the Orcs below.

"Spyro, Cynder, you're not needed here! Get to the ramparts!" He said as he hovered.

"Who are you?" Spyro asked.

"Not important, just go!" The dragon said to them as he flew away. Bewildered, they shrugged and kept moving.

They ran into a courtyard with several flights of stairs leading upwards with golden statues of dragons sitting all around. The HACO soldiers were at the base with the tanks.

"Sir, these tanks won't make it up the stairs, they're too large to fit!" The HACO said.

"Echo 3-6, we need you to airlift these tanks up to the top of the wall!"

"Negative Alpha, hostile artillery is too hot! If we try that we'll be sitting ducks!"

"Copy 3-6. Alpha, we have to take out those cannons so the drop ships can land the tanks atop the wall!"

"Let's get up there!" Spyro said and dashed up the steps. The Marines and HACOs followed, along with a new group of Moles dashing to the scene above as well. They climbed several flights of stairs until they reached the top. The wall was a long pathway with three central platforms. They were larger then the regular wall and in the center loomed a single cannon for defense. The entire scene was shrouded in chaos.

Several groups of scattered moles fended off hordes of Grublins as they surged onto the walls. Artillery flew overhead, leaving trails of black smoke and sounding off an eerie wail as they flew overhead. The single golden cannon fired off a round at the oncoming army... which was enormous.

"Holy shit, look at the size of them!" One of the Marines yelled.

"We have to protect the catapult!" Spyro yelled and the Marines ran from the staircase. They fired their guns and smacked the Grublins with the butt of their weapons. The Moles with them slashed and clanged their swords against the Grublins and Wagner used a bayonet attached to his rifle and catch a sword strike meant for him, repel it and strike the Grublin in the chest. He impaled in and kicked it off the edge of the wall.

"Grapplers!" Called out a Mole and sure enough, grapples landed on the side of the wall, Orcs and Grublins climbing its heights.

"Cover the walls, Marines clear this area!" Wagner yelled. Allison rolled to the side to avoid a sword and fired off a burst as she fell onto her stomach. Another Orc nearby saw this and went to finish her off with a sword. She screamed and rolled again, firing another burst as she went.

The scene kept getting worse and worse as enemy artillery detonated on the walls, crumbling them. Several towers were approaching the walls.

"They've got Siege towers and battering rams! We must destroy them!" A mole called out as the Golden cannon fired another round. A tower connected with a platform to the right, nearest to the stairs they climbed up and several Grublins, Orcs with swords and arrows leapt out and engaged the little force of Moles there.

"Engaging!" Am HACO said as they got into crouched positions and fired at the Orcs, their SMGs and shotguns tearing them apart and sending them down the side of the wall.

"Destroy that thing! Use grenades!" The HACO leader called out and the HACOs threw grenades at the tower, shattering a black crystal on it and sending the thing toppling over downwards.

"Here comes more of 'em!" Sure enough, more towers were coming. One connected with the far left platform.

"We'll take care of that one!" Spyro said and Cynder nodded as she dashed with him. The Marines of Alpha covered them, carving a path through the chaos and reaching the cannon before they let Spyro and Cynder dash off towards the other platform.

Spyro saw several Grublins and Orcs emerge from the tower and immediately grabbed a Grublin by the leg and tossed him into an Orc just ahead. A few of them snarled and came at him headlong, their swords swinging and clanging.

They never made it as Cynder enveloped them in a tornado of wind and sent them tumbling over the edges of the walls. More came and Spyro froze them in place with his ice breath before dashing over to the siege tower which sat just ahead.

"Look out!" Cynder called and Spyro nearly avoided a swing strike by an Orc and he gritted his teeth before leaping onto his hind paws and clawing the creature in the face and then finished the job with a kick to the groin which sent it to the ground and Spyro smiled before going to the crystal that powered the siege tower.

"De ja vu much?" Cynder asked and Spyro smiled.

"Just like old times..." Spyro said before he cocked his paw back and smashed the dark gem with one powerful punch. The crystal shattered and the siege tower started to crumble and toppled downwards to the ground below. Several more towers were on their way and the Nighthawk and Sparrowhawk flew overhead, firing their guns at the oncoming army. Spyro caught a glimpse of Terrador, Volteer and Cyril pelting the ground with their attacks. Several other dragons joined in and the ground was a fury of different colors. However, the catapults and troops kept coming.

The drop ships aided the aerial defense and missiles streaked from their wings at the oncoming forces.

Finally the wall was clear of enemy soldiers and the Marines, HACOs and Mole and Cheetah archers took up positions along the wall and fired below. The Marines and HACOs fired their weapons downward, hitting grapplers and enemy soldiers climbing up the walls.

"Deploy the mortars!" An HACO said and two HACOs ran up to the right and left platforms carrying metal tubes with stands. They positioned their to where they angled towards the enemy army and they placed a conical metal round inside of the tube. It fired out with a POP and a trail of smoke followed the round as it flew and smashed into a horde of enemies, shrouding them in an explosion.

"If you punch a hole in their artillery, we can airlift the tanks up."

"Team, aim for the enemy cannons!"

The HACOs complied and fired more rounds, as did the Golden cannon.

"They're out of range sir!" The HACO called out as they continued to fire their mortars.

"We'll get them!" Spyro called out. He and Cynder took flight and flew directly at the army. Missiles and rounds from the drop ships flew this way and that, as did the elemental attacks of the dragons. The ground was an array of smoke and debris as friendly artillery detonated all around.

The lead siege towers were the culprits of the bombardment, their depths belching out a large fireball which sailed at the Dragon City.

"Let's do this Cynder!" Spyro said and they flew overhead, pelting the ground with their attacks. Spyro flew directly at the lead tower. He engulfed his body in fire and unleashed his comet dash. He hit the side of the tower and the force of the impact sent it tumbling downwards. He hovered for a moment before sailing down. He landed in a mass of enemies and went to work.

They dashed at him with their swords but he flicked his tail in a circular motion, sending them back. More came and he rolled to the left, avoiding a strike and letting the creature fall into its own attack. Spyro doubled around and slammed it into the ground before rolling backwards to avoid arrows. In his backwards motion he fired off several fireballs at the enemies and landed to face a large Orc who hit him with the butt of his weapon.

Spyro was sent back but snarled and used his electricity to stun all the surrounding forces and then chilled the surrounding air with a jet of ice. The surrounding air formed a blizzard and anything nearby was encased in ice. Spyro then saw more coming and fired several shards of ice, the ice smashing against the armor but soon piercing and they acted like a wall of spikes, mowing them down.

A horde of Grublins and Orcs kept coming and surrounding him and Spyro had to catch a bit of breath before leaping in the air, only to sail back down, grab an Orc by the neck and sail upwards with him. He carried the Orc up, gathered speed and momentum in an upwards climb, and then sent the Orc back down to the ground in a toss. The impact sent several onto their feet and Spyro followed it up with several explosive fireballs.

The ground became a sea of fire and Spyro flew down and used the winds from his wings to extinguish the fires. More and more kept coming however and he flew forward, grabbed a Grublin and held him close as he used his wings to propel himself like a jet. He closed his arms and legs and pressed them against his body as best he could to reduce drag and he shot through the group like a bullet, his horns and airspeed knocking anything off of its feet and then he sent the Grublin into the ground and kicked it hard with his feet.

He looked up and saw the second tower shatter into several pieces and smoke belching from it. Spyro saw Cynder emerge from the smoke and she knocked several wyverns to the ground and flew down to Spyro, still hovering a mid-air and a smug look on her face.

"Having fun?" She asked. Spyro looked around, took a breath to recover and looked at her.

"Could use some help." He said and she giggled before landing nearby.

They were nearly back to back and Cynder smiled.

"You don't have to do this alone... I'm with you." Spyro smiled, remembering a similar phrase that she said to him... back at the core of the world.

"Together..." He muttered before the Grublins and Orcs drew nearer, a roar of battle screeching from their mouths.

Cynder was the first to react. Her teeth bared, she dashed from the center and engaged an Orc, grabbing it in the neck and injecting poison into him. She grabbed him and threw him away before doing a mid-air back flip and using her tail like a whip, striking oncoming enemies. She used the blade on the end and it smacked away several enemies. A Grublin latched onto her tail and another onto her midsection. Their combined weight brought her down and she used this to her advantage. She rolled over, knocking them off, and then used her wind to form a tornado which drew in close enemies.

She released the tornado and it was left there, spiraling the enemies as she ran alongside it, a smile on her face. They were soon sent out of their air prison as Spyro flew through them, his body engulfed in fire. They were sent from their positions into the ground where Spyro used electricity to stun them before smashing into the ground. He emerged and smiled at Cynder who smiled back.

They looked at each other and got an idea. They latched claws and ran in a circular movement. The combined movement caused their tails to become lethal weapons which knocked anything off of its feet and they shrouded their bodies in energy. Spyro engulfed his in fire while Cynder used shadow. It was a blackish and orange cloud of death as they smashed into anything nearby and sent it away.

They disengaged the attack and panted a bit as their energies were draining. Spyro looked up and saw the dragons flying overhead, engaged in dogfights with wyverns and other airborne creatures. The Human drop ships flew overhead, tracers filling the sky and missiles streaking across the landscape and engulfing Orcs and Grublins in a fiery blanket of destruction.

The Nighthawk flew and weapons blared from it and several Orcs disappeared into a haze of dirt that was kicked up from the weapon.

Spyro panted and looked around. There was a considerable gap in the enemy forces, stretching for about a few dozen to a hundred yards, thanks to them.

"This... is... easy..." Cynder said in between pants.

"We've got to keep this up..." Spyro said in reply.

Suddenly the air was filled with loud CRACKS and they looked at he wall to see the two Jaguar tanks deployed and their two guns sending out enormous tank shells at the oncoming army.

"What you say we take a break?" Cynder asked in a sort of happy tone.

"Sure..." Spyro laughed, stretching his wings and taking flight back to the wall. The tanks and mortars were dealing considerable damage to the enemy forces. The tank's rounds shattered siege engines far off in the distance and the battering rams backed off as much as they could.

They landed on the wall and got applause from the Marines.

"Damn, you guys are awesome!" One of them said.

"You guys are really good fighters!"

"Do that again!"

Spyro and Cynder looked down to see that the gap they made was very, very apparent from where they were. They couldn't help but blush. Spyro sort of giggled, but suppressed it.

"This is 3-6. We're running low on ammo and fuel. We're returning to the Typhus_to refit and refuel. We'll swing back in a bit."_

"Copy 3-6, thanks for the support!" Wagner said. The drop ships flew overhead and back to where they came from.

The combined efforts of the tanks, mortars, cannon fire, dragon and Marine support sent the enemy army into a full retreat as their numbers began to fall.

"That all you got?! You can do better then that!" One of the Marines yelled as they began to retreat.

"You want better? I'll show you better!" A new voice boomed through the area and the Marines scanned the area with their rifles. No contacts were present.

Suddenly a beam of darkness broke through the clouds and connected with one of the Jaguars. The beam cut through it and the tank exploded. A few HACOs were caught in the blast and yelled as their bodies were visible for a few seconds before they vanished in the cloud of smoke.

"What the f-"

"Watch you lip soldier!" Wagner said to the Marine.

They looked around and suddenly a black dragon burst from the clouds, landed on the right platform and knocked the tank right off from it. The tank, along with several HACOs, was sent falling to the ground below.

"Who the hell's this?!" Wagner said as he pointed his rifle at him.

"I don't know, we've never seen him before!" Spyro said. The dragon let out a laugh.

"Well allow me to introduce myself! I am Fang!" The black dragon bellowed.

"I don't give a crap who you are, you're going down!" One of the Marines said and they fired their rifles at him. He formed a shield, blocking the ammo. He sent a wave of blackness that sent them off of their feet.

"Fools! You shall all perish!" He flew over, grabbed Spyro and Cynder and tossed them to the ground below.

"I shall be back to finish you guys off... I must attend to some business..." Fang said before he left the Marines to slowly get back to their feet.

"I've waited a long time for this... today is the day this war ends... and this time nothing shall stop my master from destroying everything!" Fang smashed Spyro into the ground more as he finished his statement. Wagner looked down and saw Spyro get attacked.

"Spyro!" He yelled.

"Don't worry, we'll handle him! Keep the Dark Armies outside of the city!" Spyro yelled as Fang smashed him into the ground. Wagner frowned but motioned for his men to reform their defense again.

The Marines that had been guarding the city gates with a few Moles and dragons fled to higher ground and a few dragons took to the skies to help the Marines defend the walls. Terrador flew overhead and helped organize the defense and Spyro and Cynder began to engage their new target.

"Get off of him!" Cynder yelled as she blew a wave of wind which knocked Fang off of Spyro. Spyro grunted and got off of him.

"Oh... this is the 'Dark Serpent'... the 'Terror of the Skies'... you're a mere weakling! A traitor to the Dark Master!" Fang shot a beam of darkness at Cynder and it hit her dead on, knocking her into a wall.

"Cynder!" Spyro yelled. Before he could help her however, he was grabbed around the throat by Fang.

"The Dark Master shall return... but before he does... I will destroy this city and you with it! You are a shame to the purple dragons and must be silenced!" Spyro bore his teeth and charged his body up with energy and blew Fang off of him. Fang merely snarled in return.

"You think you can beat me?!" Fang snarled and Spyro glared at him as he shrugged off the pain. Spyro lunged at Fang and flicked his wings in an attempt to knock Fang over. However, this failed.

Fang knocked him away and laughed.

"You think you can win?" He smacked him up and brought his face level to his own.

"Such a disappointment..." He tossed Spyro into the ground nearby and strolled nearby.

"Malefor spoke so highly of you... said you were a talented fighter..." Fang kicked Spyro and Cynder flew over to help him but she was sent into the ground with his arm.

"Such a disappointment. I wish to destroy you... but sadly I cannot..." Fang stood up straight and flared his nostrils. Spyro gave him an inquisitive look.

"Ah Spyro... you have no idea about the forces at work do you? Why you're here? Why I'm here? Why these Humans are here? Why the Dark Master is the Dark Master and not some purple dragon out trying to save everybody?"

"What're you talking about..." Spyro said with a grunt.

"Malefor told you of the purple dragon's destiny did he not?"

Spyro frowned and glared at him.

"Well... that was their destiny. Now... now with the human's arrival and with your arrival... that's all changed. Now... it's to something far greater... something to trump the Great Cleansing... and you are the one to bring this about... being a purple dragon..."

"I'll never do any of that!" Spyro yelled.

"Oh you'll see." Fang kicked Spyro into a wall and laughed.

"This city will fall, along with any resistance to the Dark Master. Your human friends will fall as well. The only thing left in my path is you." Fang picked up Spyro and held a dark crystal in his hands.

"You will help us, regardless of your choice." He held up the crystal to Spyro and it started to glow softly. Spyro roared out and his scales started to turn a dark black color and a hazy field started to shroud his form.

"No! Get off of him!" Cynder said as she flew at him. Fang knocked her away and turned his attention back to Spyro.

Just as Fang held the crystal close, something hot and sharp hit Fang in the back. He roared and saw Marine Sparrowhawk flying low, its .50 caliber guns firing at him. The AP rounds tore through him and he was forced to deploy a shield, which was soon shattered as more AP rounds and a missile hit it. He snarled and watched as the sky was eclipsed by a large moving object. A large aircraft loomed over Warfang, the UERNF Frigate Typhus. The ship flew overhead and several drop ships flew in and fired their guns at him. Two tanks rounded the corner of a street and fired their main guns at him. He rolled to the left to avoid them and two towers came toppling down.

"This is getting annoying! I'll be back for you Spyro, you'll see!" Fang spread his wings and took off into the sky. A Nighthawk harassed him but he shook the aircraft off, flying high into the clouds.

"Spyro!" Cynder yelled as she dashed to the purple dragon. As Fang had released him, the black haze had vanished and his scales had returned to their original purple hue. Spyro heard her and looked up.

"Cynder..." He started to say, a look of self pity in his eyes.

"It's alright, you're amongst friends." She said as she smiled at him. Spyro returned the smile, remembering those words from sometime before. She walked up and rubbed his muzzle which he returned, a tear starting to form in his eye.

"Spyro, Cynder, you guys alright?" Wagner asked as he, Allison, and the other Marines of the recon group came up.

"We're fine." Spyro said in reply. A Nighthawk flew down and landed nearby, dirt being scattered by the jets on board. A few Marines came from the troop bay and a Marine Officer stepped out as well.

"Colonel Dyke, sir!" Wagner said as he saw the officer.

"Lieutenant, nice work! After Echo 3-6 told us about the attack we came in as fast as we could. It seems like we were just in time." Dyke said as Jaguars, Crusader APCs and several jeeps and Marines walked this way and that, securing any stray enemy soldiers that had found their way past the walls and into the courtyard.

Helicopters flew overhead, pelting the army outside the walls with missiles and machine gun fire. Marines, Cheetahs, Dragons and Moles combed the streets and anything wielding anything against them was immediately knocked down or killed. Terrador flew down and greeted their new allies.

"Thank you for your help... they almost breached the walls."

"We're glad to help." Wagner answered. Wagner then turned to face the Colonel.

"So how many troops do we have Dyke?"

"We've located most of the 72nd which makes up for about 700 or so Marines. We've also got a small group of HACOs and our naval crews. We have right now 4 Nighthawks and 3 Sparrowhawks, 5 Jaguars, 3 Crusaders and 8 Jeeps. It's a good thing we got here now. We can now set up a base camp."

"Sir, shouldn't we be trying to get home?" Allison asked.

"The hyper-drive aboard the Typhus has been disabled for some reason. We're stuck here."

"So what did that 'Fang' guy want anyway?" A Marine asked.

"He wants to resurrect the Dark Master... and my guess, try to bring about the Great Cleansing."

"What the hell's that?"

"The Great Cleansing... is when a creature called The Destroyer emerges from the depths of the planet... and marches across the land. If he completes a full circle across the planet, the world will be destroyed."

"Shit..."

"And it almost worked too... we just evaded one just now." Spyro said, having a look of anger in his eyes.

"Wait, you say you 'stopped' one just now?" Wagner asked, looking at the dragon.

"Yeah... why?" Wagner and Allison looked at each other.

"We saw a bright star in the sky yesterday, maybe it was that." Wagner said.

"Wow... didn't think it was that bright." Cynder said.

"So if that Fang resurrects the Dark Master... he's gunna try to do that Great Cleansing thing again?" Dyke asked.

"Yeah. We have to stop him before he resurrects him!"

"Where is the Dark Master now?" He asked, looking at the dragon intently.

"He's trapped inside a dark crystal in the center of the planet. Through there." Cynder pointed to a volcano in the distance, a smoke pillar rising from it and other regions of lava pools. The volcano sat on the other side of the large field that stretched out from the city's walls.

"Wagner, we have a new mission. I want Alpha and Theta to move in immediately. You are to secure that volcano and stop Fang from bringing back the Dark Master. You are to secure a landing zone and get it ready for reinforcements to drop in."

"Yes sir, Alpha, let's get ready to move!" Wagner said as the other Platoons from Alpha came to them from nearby drop ships.

"Thank you for your help." Terrador said to the Colonel.

"We can't let a world get destroyed, can we?" Dyke said with a smile.

"Spyro! YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!" Spyro turned and to his delight saw a small yellow light fly up. It was his brother, Sparx.

"Hey, Sparx!" Spyro said in happiness. Sparx flew up and gave Spyro a hug... or as much of a hug as he could. Suddenly Sparx realized what he was doing and flew off. He coughed and looked a bit embarrassed.

"I told them you'd be alright." He said finally.

"Yeah... sure... thanks Sparx." Spyro said with a sarcastic smug look on his face. Cynder smiled at the two. Another dragon had accompanied Sparx. It was a black dragon with similarly colored horns and chest. It was the same one from before.

"Spyro, Cynder, it's good to see you."

"Hey wait, I know you, you're Aaron right?" Cynder asked.

"Yeah, I am. It's good to see you again Cynder."

"What does he mean, 'again'?" Spyro asked, looking at her.

"Like me he used to be a servant of the Dark Master. However, after you defeated me I never saw a trace of him."

"After you went to Convexity I tried to hitch a ride out of there. I was tired of Malefor... I wanted out... but... I didn't get the chance to ever meet you because I was lost in the forest for a month until I found Ignitus. He took me back to the temple but said you two had vanished."

"Yeah... we did..."

"For 3 years no less." Hunter said, walking up with the two injured pilots from the downed helicopter.

"Well it's good to finally meet you guys now. Especially now that she isn't bent on killing every moving thing now."

"Hah, amen to that one! Who's with me?" Sparx extended his hand for a handshake but no one took it.

"You guys are no fun..." Sparx scoffed and buzzed around the group once more.

"Well we'd better get moving, we don't want to miss that Marine assault do we?" Cynder asked.

"Yeah, I want to make sure Fang doesn't get there first..." Spyro said as he glared at the mountain once more.

"Hey, think you guys could use an extra tag along?" Aaron asked.

"Hey, the more the merrier." Cynder said with a smile. The group started walking to Wagner who was busy organizing Alpha and getting them ready for the assault.

__________________

Meanwhile...

???

March 3, 2204

1512 Hours

???

"Yes... things are going according to plan..." The large black dragon sat on his throne, watching the scene erupt before him. He watched intently as Spyro and his allies repelled the assault on Warfang and the Marines flew in to aid them.

"Now that Fang has alerted Spyro to his presence... he will no doubt go to stop him from resurrecting Malefor. Malefor... he is powerful... I can undoubtedly use his help... and that Spyro is growing more and more impressive as the days go by..." I think its time we... mixed things up a bit... no?" The dragon turned to another figure in the room.

"Go... move your army to the Dragon Realms and wait for my signal. You should not be long..." With that the other figure bowed and left the room. The black dragon resumed his watching of Spyro and his friends... his gaze locked onto the purple dragon.

End of Chapter 8

Spyro/Cynder @ Sierra Entertainment

Aaron @ Dragonfreak1112 from DeviantART

Wagner, Allison, United Marine Corps, Fang, Black Dragon @ Me