FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Dunno what I'm doing anymore...I'll post the chapters as I review them now. Chapter 12 is done but, sad to say to you yiffers out there, there is none of your desired material until Chapter 11.

If you're under 18, get outta here or hope you're not found.

Chapter 6 -- So It Begins...

"CYNDER!" Spyro shouted, and she ducked as a brilliant bolt of lightning flew from his mouth. The gigantic snake writhed as the electricty caused its muscles to spasm. Cynder took the chance to blast it with fire, setting it aflame.

The huge boss creature roared. "You shall not have our fortress or our crystal! I'll flatten you BOTH!!" With that it straightened out along the floor, spinning rapidly, putting out the flames on its body.

"Sure could use Solar's ice breath right now," Spyro said, jumping over the snake as it rolled at him. He landed and saw Cynder just barely make it over the snake. She landed and shouted as her left arm collapsed under her. The snake bounced off the metal wall and rolled right back at them. "NO!!" Spyro shouted, and ran to Cynder, pulling her up off the ground with a might shove of his wings. The snake caught him in the back and both he and Cynder went flying. The snake coiled up and sat there, charging up a powerful breath attack as Spyro struggled to his feet. Farther away, Cynder was trying to get up but she couldn't.

"One of the easiest battles I've had yet," the snake laughed, turning to Cynder. Spyro threw himself in front of his black-and-red friend, bristling at the snake. "Two in one shot? My, you do know how to please your enemies." Spyro braced himself and took the full brunt of the sharp lightning attack. It took all his willpower and strength but he remained where he was, still standing. As he was being shocked he craged up a powerful ice blast, and as soon as he felt the snake stop, he jumped forward and released the blast, freezing the surprised snake solid. Spyro then charged towards it as fast as he could, shattering it with a solid blow. The pieces vaporized, and Spyro stood there, panting, his limbs shaking as he tried to stay standing. He heard Cynder moan in pain, and he turned around and walked over to her.

"I'm so sorry, Cynder..." he said, helping her up. "I should've tried harder..."

"Spyro, it happens in fights, don't beat yourself up about it," she said, giving him a quick smile before she gasped with pain. In the center of the room, a tall steel pedestal rose up, and the top part of it slid down to reveal a four-point star-shaped crystal. It was pulsating with a sickening purple-black shadowy energy. Sore though he was, Spyro flew up to the crystal, and slowly put his paw out to touch it. Cynder screamed when a sudden burst of dark fire surrounded his arm and he yelled, pulling his paw back. They both saw a small spot of light on the crystal where he had touched it.

"Cynder, can you fly?" he asked, perching on the edge of the steel pedestal by the crystal. Cynder flapped her wings a few times and slowly and painfully came over to him and landed on the pedestal. He gave her a worried glance. "This hurts, but I think we need to do this..."

"I know...if it can help Solar and save our realm, I guess our discomfort is only a minor thing..."

Spyro nodded and took a deep breath before nervously putting both paws on the crystal. The dark fire surrounded his arms again and he yelled and clenched his teeth, bracing himself against the pain. From where his paws were, a slow glow of light appeared as the shadow died off.

"Cynder...I...I need...your help..." he gasped through his teeth. He bowed his head, his eyes shut tight against the burning pain of the shadow. He heard Cynder yell in pain, but at the same time the flames around him died off a bit as the shadow spread itself between the two of them. Cynder watched as the shadow slowly gave way to light, like what happens when a match-flame is held to the center of a paper.

When the shadow was completely gone, the crystal flashed blindingly, and released a powerful energy over them that healed all the burning pain and gave them the energy they'd lost in the struggle to cleanse the star. When the light died off, they looked at the crystal. It was a beautiful thing looking like it had been cut from diamond as it threw rainbow-colored light every which way, gently pulsating with light. It floated over to Spyro and faded.

"Where do we go from here?" Cynder asked. Spyro shrugged, but their question was answered when a teleporter appeared in the floor, labelled "Front Gates".

"Well, that solves it," Spyro said, and flew down to the floor. Cynder stretched her wings but couldn't fly.

"Spyro! I can't get down!" she cried, looking down at the floor. She felt his strong paws under her arms as he gently lifted her up and carried her to the floor.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I will be soon as we get outta here," she said, and they walked onto the glowing pad and were instantly warped to the gates of the fortress.

* * * *

Outside, Solar had been having fun. A whole army of shadowy creatures had been trying to get into the fortress to attack Cynder and Spyro, but they were no match for a dragon twice Spyro's size with military combat skills.

"Oh yeah! You like that?" Solar shouted at the last one standing as he whipped the one he was fighting to the ground with his tail. It looked around, scared witless, and fled. "Well, why not join the fun?" Solar shouted after it, and blasted it with ice. It fell to the ground and vaporized. Solar stood there, looking around at the army he'd single-clawedly taken down. "Oooh, yeah....I had to get that outta my system," he said to himself with a satisfied grin. "I just hope there's more of those and not the trolls I had to fight weeks ago."

He heard a warping sound behind him and turned to see Spyro and Cynder appear at the front gates. They gaped at the sight and he grinned.

"Whoa..." Spyro said, his eyes wide.

"I forgot how much fun fighting could be..." Solar said, looking around with him. "The enemies you face are nothing compared to the ones I've been fighting up until now."

"I can see that..." Cynder said in amazement.

"But I shouldn't get into the habit," he said, his smile fading a bit. "I don't wanna become a fighting-junkie."

Cynder took a step forward and shouted as her paw gave way and she fell. Spyro and Solar sharply turned to her.

"Cynder! What's wrong?" Spyro asked, coming to her side.

"I can't stand up..." she whimpered. To her surprise Spyro lifted her up and put her along his back so her head was on his and her underbelly was between his wings.

"I'll carry you," he said. He was surprised--for being nearly his size (though a tiny bit smaller now as Spyro was growing just a little faster than she was), she was very light. She was confused by the arrangement but since she couldn't fly or walk she submitted and closed her eyes. Solar led Spyro to the portal and stopped.

"We'll make camp when we get far enough into the woods," he said. "Think you can carry Cynder that far?"

"I don't know, but for her I'll try my hardest." She smiled and he felt it against his head. He felt guilty for what had happened to her, but he followed Solar through the portal and stepped back into his own realm. Spyro took in a deep breath and sighed; they were finally out of that awful place.

"Well, you've seen a small area of my realm," Solar said, walking slowly so Spyro could carry Cynder as far as possible.

"It's just like Ignitus said...nothing but sky, sun and ground," Spyro replied, a bit sadly. Solar nodded.

"Now you see why I was so taken away with your world?"

"Very easily," Spyro said, and he thought against nodding as he spoke. He heard a small breathing noise on his head, and Solar smiled at him.

"She's asleep, we should be quiet and let her rest." Spyro wanted to nod but he knew he shouldn't.

As they walked the sun slowly set. It hadn't taken them very long to clear that fortress--it had been almost empty, save a few sentries that hadn't wanted to leave--but they had gone in about midday and it was now almost evening. Solar stopped and raised his paw for Spyro to stop. He motioned for Spyro to set Cynder down, and Spyro gently lay down and turned himself slowly so Cynder slid off his back onto the ground. She groaned and mumbled something but continued to sleep.

"I'll go find food," Solar mouthed, and Spyro nodded and turned to Cynder as the white dragon quickly vanished into the forest.

"Oh Cynder...it's all my fault you got so badly hurt..." Spyro said sadly, running his paw along her face. He saw a faint smile appear but she didn't stir at his touch. Her scales were so soft...Spyro felt a strange bulge between his legs--it felt like his growing pains, but the burning sensation was no longer present. A bit confused, he shook his head and ignored it. Why hadn't he gotten her out of harm's way sooner? She shifted in her sleep and he heard her moan in pain as her paw ached. It was all his fault...he kept telling himself he could've done beter.

Solar came back with wood and berries. He was walking on his hind legs, and Spyro watched him curiously. Solar saw the look on his face and laughed quietly.

"Something I learned in combat," he said, setting the berries down and walking on all fours again. "Gives me better use of my claws in physical melee." He set the wood down nearby and, like Spyro, arranged it in a cone. He stepped back and nodded to Spyro, who gave a small breath at the wood. The wood burst aflame instantly, and Sypro gently dragged Cynder closer to the fire. She slowly woke up and sighed happily as the warmth of the fire relaxed her sore muscles. She looked around, and saw Spyro and Solar sorting through the berries, muttering to each other. Solar handed Spyro a large cluster, and Spyro walked over to Cynder.

"Don't get up, just open your mouth," he said softly, and she smiled at him and opened her mouth. They both knew why, but they didn't want to admit to themselves why they enjoyed this simple action so greatly. Solar watched, eating a few berries as he chuckled to himself, thinking back to when he did the exact same thing with Flare. He was happy that he was able to help them, and he felt that Flare would be proud of him...

The night came on cold and windy. Solar sighed happily as the cold wind blew over him...how he missed that feeling. He looked down and saw Spyro and Cynder shivering, and the fire dying off, and he rushed off into the woods to find more wood. Spyro heard him leave but didn't take his eyes off Cynder as she lay there next to him. He still couldn't get over his guilt...He started when he heard something heavy fall behind him immediately followed by the whoosh of flames in a sudden blast of air. He craned his neck around and saw that Solar had found and chopped up a dead tree into several large pieces and had dropped on a bit hesitantly onto the fire. The white dragon sat there, running his paw over his horns and head-scale, and Spyro could just barely see splinters falling as he cleaned himself off.

"Sorry if I woke you," Solar said, seeing Spyro watching him. The fire wasn't doing much except smoldering under the log, so Spyro spat a tiny fireball at it, setting the whole thing ablaze. The heat was a lot more intense than the previous fire and Spyro was able to stand up without fearing that Cynder would be cold. He walked away a bit, his head hanging. Solar silently walked over to him. "Something wrong, Spyro?"

Spyro hesitated. "Solar...I...I just..." He looked over his shoulder at Cynder.

"You think she was hurt because of you?"

Spyro nodded.

"Spyro, don't get too upset over these things. They happen. The past is behind us and can't be changed, and since she's still here, well, what does the past matter?"

Spyro shrugged. "Still...I just..." He sat there, and suddenly exploded. "I don't know what's wrong with me! I can't talk to her like I used to! I know it hurts her but I can't do anything about it!"

Solar, instead of jumping back like Spyro had expected him to, just patiently sat there. "I know your confusion, Spyro...I went through exactly what you're going through with Flare." He sighed and looked at Spyro. "Part of the problem, I guess, is that you yourself don't believe that you're...attracted to her?" Spyro was a bit surprised at his bluntness, and opened his mouth to say something, but realized that Solar was right. "How can she believe it if you yourself don't, right?" Spyro nodded, a bit self-consciously. "Spyro, a bit of advice: if words are too difficult, find another way of telling her." Solar nodded to him and went off into the woods, leaving the purple dragon to his thoughts.

"If words are too difficult..." Spyro repeated to himself, confused. He looked through the mushroom caps at the clouded sky, and eventually shook his head in frustration and walked over to Cynder. He was so mesmerized by the way the firelight reflected off her flawless scales...he mentally kicked himself for thinking about her like this, but he couldn't help it. With a sigh of resignation he lay down between her and the wind and closed his eyes.

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