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Well after like what... a month... here is the seventeenth installment of The Spyro Chronicles. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 17: Darkness Intervenes

Spyro and Cynder continued to lay there in the calm green grass in each other's grasp. Spyro sighed as he looked at the sleeping dragoness lying next to him. She was so beautiful and perfect. He couldn't think of any way that he could repay her love other then loving her back. He felt her start to get up and he slowly did so as well. She saw him and she smiled and rubbed her muzzle against him. He shut his eyes as he felt her scales against his, in perfect harmony.

The sun was starting to sink lower into the sky which meant it was starting to get late into the afternoon so they decided that they should return to the temple. They kicked off, their wings pushing air against the ground propelling them into the sky and they flew off towards the temple. They were basically at the foot of the cliff the temple was perched on because of the fact that Dyke was pulling his man back to make a better defended perimeter.

They had to land somewhere else for they were fitting Nighthawks on the balcony so they decided to take the back entrance. They landed near the main door where they saw guard spots, trenches, firing pits; MG nests all perched along the temples entrance. They landed and the marines verified who they were and let them inside. Spyro was impressed with the amount of security they had, it was necessary though, for if that crystal were to fall in the wrong hands, all would be lost. Spyro and Cynder went deeper into the temple until they came into the Pool of Visions where Ignitus and Rithul were. Spyro had so many questions for Rithul and they had to be answered. He walked over to Rithul who was looking into the pool.

"Rithul? Can I ask you something?" Spyro asked walking up to him. The human opened his eyes and turned to face the young dragon.

"Of course Spyro, what seems to be the trouble?" Rithul asked while creating a smile on his face.

"So what ever did happen to my parents?" Rithul seemed to recoil at the mention of this.

"Your parents were great warriors, they fought off the Darkmaster and they managed to buy us enough time for us to fire the Final Solution. Without them, the Darkmaster would have stopped us and the Plague would have won."

"So they are dead?" Spyro asked with disappointment in his voice.

"No, I suspect they are out there somewhere, looking to find you and I know if they could see what you and your brothers have become, they would be proud." Rithul finished it with a smile and Spyro returned it. Rithul looked over to Cynder who had a sad look on her face and he knew why.

"Cynder don't worry about your parents, I know that we are several years into the future, but that doesn't mean that they aren't around in some other way." Rithul knew the truth however, that her parents were killed during the destruction of one of The Council's major bases. They died heroes though, and Rithul knew that they would be proud to see just how much their dragoness had grown up.

Cynder looked at him with renewed faith and she smiled. He couldn't help but laugh. He knew that he couldn't keep all these secrets from them forever, but he knew that he was giving them the one thing that could save them and keep them vigil and battle ready. It was the one thing that could spur them through darkest times and he knew that he was giving it to them. It was hope. Hope that they would find their parents and hope that light would prevail over the darkness. He knew that with these two dragons, with the chosen ones, there was no need to worry for he had his up most faith in them.

"Would you two like to go watch Yahade' and Jason train?" He asked trying to cheer them up even more and get their minds off of their parents.

"Sure, let's go." Spyro said while Cynder walked up and she rubbed her muzzle against his and they both followed Rithul to the dojo where Yahade' and Jason were sparing with some dummies.

Yahade' seemed to have better control then Jason, although Jason was learning pretty quickly with the help of Volteer. Yahade' had a disadvantage though, there was no elder for darkness so Yahade' was on his own when he was training, although Ignitus was more than happy to lend advice and guidance to him.

Yahade' blasted away at dummies with dark energy but he had to really focus to aim it. Jason was no different although he had to struggle to get the electricity to leave his body and fry a target. He was looking drained but he kept on going. A few marines cheered him on and Lakadors did the same with Yahade'.

Spyro and Cynder both walked and joined a group of marines who had sat down in the mushrooms lining the sides of the dojo. Some of them had even made bets with the Lakadors on who was going to blast the most dummies. So far, the Lakadors were winning this one. Some of the marines cursed as Yahade' blasted more dummies then Jason. However, they still cheered on their fellow marine.

Spyro watched as they blasted away at the dummies. Jason even added a few kicks and jabs here and there to mix things up. After a bit longer they both collapsed where they stood, panting on the dojo floor. Dozens of blown up dummies lay on the floor and hay was flying in the air from all the destroyed dummies. The marines and Lakadors clapped as they saw just how powerful they were.

Ignitus and Volteer both walked over and talked to Jason and Yahade' as they lay there on the floor. They managed to muster enough strength to get up and they joined Spyro and Cynder on the mushrooms. Jason was sweating a storm and Yahade', lacking sweat glands for he was reptilian, panted heavily as he sat there. Spyro and Cynder both laughed and they both turned quickly as they saw Karson and Allison walk into the middle of the dojo, accompanied by Cyril and Ignitus.

More dummies appeared and were shot down as Karson and Allison used their elemental attacks to blast them. They were much more effective then Jason or Yahade', for they had more experience with their powers. Larger dummies spawned up and Karson kicked one in the chest which sent it flying into the other. Allison summoned ice shards and flung them into the two dummies. The shards passed through them and sent them into the wall. Karson finished them off with a jet of white hot flames. More dummies came and they used their fists to keep them at bay.

Suddenly they were surrounded and Karson and Allison looked at each other and nodded. Karson placed his hands in front of her and she placed her boot in them and she launched herself into the air. Karson used a burst of heat from his abilities which acted like a jet of hot air which launched Allison farther into the air. She spun in the air, releasing multiple ice shards on the oncoming dummies. Karson went into a crouch position and unleashed a jet of fire from his hands which fried the dummies in front of him.

Allison finally landed, and as she did, Karson finished off of the last dummy. They stood there satisfied with their performance and Spyro was impressed on how they handled that situation. They both walked off and sat down in the mushrooms for a rest.

Spyro looked at Cynder, she knew what he was about to ask and she got up and looked at him.

"Sure I'd like to spare with you Spyro." She said with a giggle. They both walked over and Ignitus and Cyril were waiting for the two young dragons. The elders nodded to the dragons and dummies appeared around them. They approached and Spyro and Cynder both knew what to do. Spyro took the lead one, smashing it with his horns, sending it into the one behind it. He rolled right to avoid another dummy which received a fireball from Cynder. Spyro froze the floor underneath some of the dummies which caused many of them to loose their balance. Spyro timed it just right and charged into one of them, sending him strait into another and another and they slid on the ice until they hit the wall with a SMACK.

One speed over to Cynder but she swung her tail and flipped the dummy on its back and it skid on the ice and hit two other dummies which in turn knocked them off their feet and they all slid across the ice. Spyro met them with an Earth flail which smashed the ice, but destroyed the dummies in the process. Spyro and Cynder both finished off of the rest of them, leaving none of the dummies left. They both looked around and Karson and Allison stood up and clapped. Spyro and Cynder walked over and sat down in the mushrooms with them.

"Well it's a no wonder Dyke and Rithul named you the commander of Psi company Spyro, with what I saw, you guys are really at the top of your game." Karson said as they both sat down in the mushrooms with them.

"Thanks, you and Allison didn't do to bad either." Spyro returned with a smug smile. The large dragon statue rose to dominate the room once more and the dragon elders left the room and went to the pool of visions.

Rithul was standing next to Hethina and he smiled as did she, for they knew that these chosen ones were going to stop the Darkmaster here and now, unlike the other chosen ones before them. The original chosen ones failed at stopping the Darkmaster, but succeeded in firing the final solution. Although, they weren't really dead though, they were still around, in some form. So in truth, Rithul hadn't lied to Spyro about his parents, for they were closer then he did realize.

Cynder sighed as she rested. She placed her head on Spyro, who was lying with his back against the wall, and she sighed happily again as she felt his chest. His eyes were closed so he was probably in a deep sleep. She felt something odd though, like the warm feeling she usually had come to feel from Spyro was absent, replaced by an eerie coldness. She felt him and his body felt cold. She felt panicked; she felt as though something was happening inside of him which was dangerous and deadly. A struggle.

Spyro was flying in complete darkness. He didn't really know where he was, but he felt cold all over. He heard snickering around him and he looked around. Nothing. He kept flying into the inky blackness, searching for any signs of land. He finally saw a plateau which was just in the middle of nowhere. Not having any where else to go, he landed there and looked around.

The ground beneath him felt really cold and dry. He felt a cold shadow wash over him and he began to shiver. He heard the snickering again and he looked around once more. Having nothing to fight or see, Spyro walked around on the plateau finding nothing.

He continued to scan the area when he heard wings behind him. He tuned sharply to find the black silhouette of a dragon behind him. Its eyes shown a brilliant yellow and he stared Spyro down and Spyro felt its eyes pierce through him like knife through butter. Spyro felt its darkness course through him and attempt to take him. He resisted and he saw the dark dragon sneer at him.

Spyro knew what was going to happen next and he then realized who the dragon was: the Darkmaster. He wondered what the Darkmaster was doing here when he lurched forward. The Darkmaster moved with incredible speed which Spyro had a tough time tracking. He had to roll and jump high into the air to avoid being stuck by his sharp talons.

The Darkmaster kept up the pace and kept launching himself at Spyro. Spyro had to find a way to turn the tide of this fight for it was only a matter of time before he was unable to avoid him. Spyro then launched an Earth blast at the Darkmaster as he, once again, launched himself at Spyro. The blast knocked him down, but he quickly recovered from it. Spyro then had to avoid another lunge, but this time, he sent a fire ball spiraling towards the Darkmaster. The ball of fire impacted the Darkmaster and he bucked as it hit him. He turned swiftly around and opened his maw. A jet of dark energy escaped it and flew at Spyro. Spyro tried to avoid it but it was too fast and he was hit by the stream of darkness.

Spyro screamed in pain as the energy burned his scales and blasted him backwards. He looked at where the beam had hit him and saw that his scales in that region were darker than usual. His purple scales were turning a black color and his golden/light orange chest was turning a darker orange. He felt something grab at his mind but Spyro fought it once more. The Darkmaster laughed aloud again and walked slowly over to Spyro, who was struggling to keep from loosing himself. The Darkmaster reached out and placed his paw on Spyro's head and pumped his darkness into him. Spyro howled in pain and felt its darkness course through him like it had so many times before.

It felt different though, unlike the other times where he usually felt his limbs go cold and he usually lost control of his body, he felt completely in control. He felt something inside of him fight the darkness and he opened his eyes to find the Darkmaster stepping away from Spyro and a golden light coming from his body.

Spyro's body was completely engulfed in light which dissipated the darkness around him. His scales returned to their purple state and Spyro's eyes turned golden. A beam of golden light escaped his maw and it impacted the Darkmaster who howled in pain. The dark silhouette exploded outwards, a final cry of pain ushered through the inky blackness. Spyro's eyes returned to normal and he felt himself drained. He landed on the cold ground and fell into a deep sleep.

Cynder was beginning to worry as she heard struggling breaths escape Spyro. She got up and looked at him. She didn't know weather she should worry or not when she began to feel Spyro's warm presence return. She felt him and he felt warm again. The cold feeling in the air had gone away and she heard Spyro's breathing return to normal again. She felt happy again and she heard him start to wake up.

Spyro opened his eyes and was met with Cynder's beautiful green eyes. He was beside himself as he stared into the two deep pools of green that were her eyes. He smiled and sighed happily. She returned the smile and she inched closer to him.

"You feel alright?" She asked in a caring manner.

"Yeah, I feel fine, why do you ask?" Spyro asked, wondering if she knew what he had been dreaming about.

"Oh, nothing." She said, trying to hide her suspicion. She knew Spyro was hiding something, but she knew he probably had a good reason and didn't question it.

Spyro wondered if he should have told her about his dream but played it off, he didn't really know what the dream meant, and he wanted to know why he had had it and what it was telling him. He looked at Cynder and could tell she was tired from their exercise earlier. He heard her stomach growl and she blushed. He chuckled and as if by cue, Karson and Allison walked up with some food they had gotten from the mess hall in the temple.

They began to eat and it tasted delicious. Karson called it pork and mashed potatoes. Spyro didn't really care what it was, for it tasted really good. They ate it and Spyro looked outside of the dojo to see that the sun was setting and the day was ending. He led Cynder to her room and he went to his room. They both fell asleep and let their dreams take them for the night. Little did they know of the operation being conducted in the darkness of the night.

A group of apes worked their way through the mushroom forests and they checked around for any Plague. The group consisted of 12 apes. 6 of them carried swords and the other 6 carried captured rifles. They moved through the mushrooms until they came upon what they were looking for.

A UERNF Raven fighter was smashed nose first into the ground, most of it intact, but still there were signs of damage that were on its hull. Burn marks and other little scorches along its hull suggested that a Lakador fighter had downed this Raven.

The Apes surrounded the vessel, one of them holding a cutting device which they used to force their way inside of the downed human fighter. Once inside, they started looked around for what they were really after: the Raven's single nuclear warhead missile. They hefted it up and they moved it outside. They made sure the area was clear before they moved into the forest again and out of sight.

Spyro once again found himself inside of the inky blackness. He remembered the last time he was here, and wondered what was going to happen. He found the same plateau, and looked around. Nothing. He did see something in the center of the plateau though; it was like the pool of visions in the dragon temple. He approached it and peered inside.

He saw a large ape, in the dragon temple, attacking it. He didn't know what it meant, although he had seen that ape somewhere before, he couldn't really remember much. He felt cold all over again and saw something move in the shadows. He moved to his left and looked around. He couldn't spot anything. He suddenly felt weak and he fell to the floor asleep.

Spyro suddenly started to wake up and he found himself in his bed. He looked out and saw that it was still dark out. He pondered going back to sleep but wondered what would greet him if he did. Troubled by this, he decided to take a walk. He walked onto the balcony and looked off into the night sky. He saw the stars twinkle and shine. The moon shown a faint light across the dragon realms and the calm, cool night air felt great against his scales.

He sat there looking at the stars when he heard some sounds beneath him. He looked downward off the balcony and saw several marines at the base of the cliff, all huddled around a fire, some of them asleep, others chatting amongst themselves and keeping watch.

He wondered how the apes planned to bring back the Darkmaster and what the Plague were going to do. He felt odd, like something big was about to happen. What it was, he couldn't say.

He heard another sound behind him and saw Karson walking up. He looked like he was restless and was itching to do something. He walked up to Spyro and sat down next to him.

"So, you too?" Karson asked as he situated himself next to Spyro.

"What, did you have a dream too?" Spyro asked turning his head to Karson.

"Yeah, I had this really weird dream about two dragons fighting. I couldn't make out the exact details of the fight though, but I think one was killed by a mortal wound to the chest. Do you know what this might mean?" Karson asked while turning his head to meet Spyro's.

"No, I don't have any idea what it means..." Spyro replied trying to decipher it.

"Do you think that maybe this has something to do with our parents?" Spyro asked him. Karson lifted his head up, looking at the stars above him pondering the possibilities of Spyro's explanation.

"I don't know, maybe... it's a big possibility. Although... I want to be sure of it before I jump to any conclusions." He reached down and plucked a mushroom from its stalk, examined it, and tossed it off the balcony.

"Your right." Spyro said turning his head to watch the mushroom disappear off of the balcony.

"So what are you going to do after all of this?" Spyro asked Karson. Karson continued to stare off blankly for an answer. He had never really given it any thought.

"Well, we are probably going to fix the worm-hole generator on board of the Archilles so we can make a hyperspace jump. I and Allison are probably going to have to continue to serve our tour of duty and then we will be able to settle down. Allison wants to go home, to Earth." Karson smiled as he thought about his home back on Earth. He was in the care of foster parents back on Earth before he, as well as Allison, enlisted in the armed forces.

"What are you and Cynder going to do?" Karson asked, terminating his thoughts to his home.

"Well, we are probably going to just be around here, not really any place for us to go..." Spyro said, watching the stars twinkle. He saw that some of the stars formed a picture. He smiled as the picture formed Cynder's face.

"Well, I'd ask for you guys to visit us, but I am thinking that when we leave, it's going to be a one way ticket. I don't even know if we can record the coordinates for here and I don't see a way for you guys to get to Earth without a wormhole generator."

"Yea, we'll just have to find a way then." Spyro said with a small chuckle. Karson smiled and gave a low laugh.

"I still can't believe it..."

"Believe what?" Spyro said looking at Karson who laughed and looked at the starry sky.

"That we are brothers! Its not every day you learn that a dragon is your brother!" Spyro started to laugh as well as Karson.

"Well, now we are just missing one then..." Karson said still finishing off his laugh.

"Who's that?" Spyro asked, almost cutting off his own laughter to ask this.

"Yahade'... I remember seeing him before while we were against each other but now, now, it seems hard for me to accept him as our brother as well..." Karson said sorrowfully.

"Well he only attacked us because he didn't know that we were brothers. You can't blame him." Spyro responded.

"Your right, I shouldn't judge him for what he did. After all, he is family and family deserves a second chance." Karson replied while turning his head up once again to look at the starry sky.

They heard increased noise from beneath them and Karson took a peak over the edge and saw five marines standing over a tree stump, four of them cursing and throwing cards onto the ground. The fifth one was laughing and gathering up some money that had been in the middle of the stump.

Karson laughed at the sight of it. He retracted his head and sat back down. Spyro looked at him curiously.

"What was all that about? Sounds like someone is hurt or something." Spyro said giving Karson a serious look.

"Relax Spyro, they are just playing a game down there and some of them lost." He laughed as he finished the sentence, thinking to the marines who were cursing the name of the marine who had won the game of poker.

Spyro and Karson sat there for a while just looking at the stars. Spyro felt a little tired, although he didn't want to admit it, he was a little afraid of going back to sleep.

"Hey Karson do you th-"Spyro turned to ask Karson a question when he noticed that Karson had fallen asleep where he was.

Spyro almost erupted in laughter. He suppressed it though and let out a smaller, less audible laugh. He shook his head and turned his attention back the sky. He could see Cynder's face once again in it. Her face was warm and awe inspiring to him. He smiled and entered a trance-like state where all he could see and think about was Cynder's warm smile and beautiful form.

Spyro's tail started to wag as he continued to think of his mate. His tail swished this way and that before colliding with Karson's face as he lay on the balcony floor.

Spyro was broken from his trance when he felt something soft underneath his tail and heard a sudden sound. He looked down and saw Karson sitting up, his hands on his face and he was letting out a suppressed cry of pain. He removed his hands to show a red mark where he had been hit.

"Ouch! What the crap!" Karson said, making Spyro exploded in laughter.

"Oh, you think its funny do ya?" Karson said hitting Spyro on the shoulder. Spyro couldn't help but laugh at him.

Karson frowned, his face hurt like hell and Spyro was almost rolling on the floor in laughter.

"Ah whatever..." He said laying back down on the balcony floor. He winced as his face was sore and throbbed in pain. He heard Spyro's tail swishing around again and he opened one eye to see it near his face again. He moved to the right a bit, nearly avoiding a second hit.

Spyro continued to think of Cynder when he realized that he was lying on the floor and he was slowly nodding off. He smiled before sleep finally caught up with him and he once again, slipped into the dream world.

Karson heard Spyro hit the floor and opened an eye to see him falling asleep. He smiled as he knew that now his tail wouldn't threaten his face. He slowly entered the dream world as well.

Corporal James Riley sat on the chair they had set up there. He watched as best he could down the hallway in front of him. His partner, Robinson, had nodded off. He considered waking him up but thought better of it. It was impossible to wake up that kid once he fell asleep!

Riley was on board the Archilles. He was at his post designated Alpha 1. It was the first security station that surrounded the 'Quarantine Zone'. His job was to watch for any stray Plague that may come his way.

He clutched onto his M74D as he continued to watch for any signs of movement. Suddenly he heard a sound from inside the hallway. He scanned the area with his assault rifle. He saw nothing. He stood up and kicked Robinson. Robinson fell off of his chair and onto the floor. True to his nature, he stayed asleep. Riley cursed his friend and leveled his assault rifle for any contacts. He heard movement, but he didn't have visual.

He continued to hear movement and he began to sweat in his nervousness. The sounds soon past and Riley let his rifle lower from its aimed position. He slowly walked back to his post and sat down. Robinson lay asleep on the floor.

Suddenly Robinson woke up with a start.

"Huh, what? Hey, what's the matter with you?" Robinson asked Riley as he saw the soldier sweating and fidgeting where he sat. Riley snapped to as Robinson said this and looked at him as if noticing him for the first time.

"Oh, nothing. Everything is fine..." Riley wanted to pretend like nothing had happened tonight but he knew there was more to come for the night was still young.

End of Chapter 17

Well there it was. Was shorter than usual but hey, I am working on them. Also expect 18 sooner then a few weeks, count on it being up in a few days at the latest. I am also posting something called "Tribute to a Fallen Hero" It's a spin-off of The Spyro Chronicles so don't fret if you don't like it cause it was just an essay I wrote for school and decided to post it here on YS.