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Here is the 28th installment of The Spyro Chronicles.

Chapter 28: Lofty Castle

"This whole place is fucked up! First talking dragons, now its floating castles and freaking rainbow bridges! What's next? Fairies?" Henderson gripped as they crossed a rainbow bridge to the first floating island.

"Actually, fairies are quite common in castles like these." Cynder said with a chuckle.

"Oh, how did I know..." Henderson muttered to himself. Cynder let out a laugh and Spyro smiled.

"Shut your yap Corporal or I'll personally make you see fairies." Sgt. Spears barked as they reached the island. The small islands had a few walls and an arch or two, but no real castle structure on them. They were only a few yards across. As they got closer to the castle, the islands were getting higher and bigger, yet there was no actual full structure on any of them.

When they finally reached the main castle, its doors were huge, as was the castle itself. It was about the size of the Dragon Temple, if not, bigger. As they approached the doors, Wagner had the Marines level their assault rifles to the door incase something happened. He put Riley and Picante on either side of the door to open it. He moved his fingers, the signal to open it. The two Marines obliged and opened the doors at the same time.

"Breaching! Breaching!" Wagner called out. The Marines filed inside, their rifles leveled out and prepared to vanquish any threat. The Lakadors followed closely behind and Spyro and Cynder helped Karson move Allison.

The hallways were all clear of contacts. The Marines swept inside, clearing each hall to make sure there were no surprises waiting for them.

Spyro looked around at the castle. The central hall that ran down the main entrance had a red carpet that adorned it, as well as pictures that hung on the walls. Small torches hung from the walls and the walls were made out of stone masonry. The ceiling was made out of wood and the boards stretched across the ceiling's expanse. It was obvious that dragons hadn't made this castle, though dragons had built some like it before. This type of architecture was more then likely built by another species that populated the realms.

As they moved through, they came across a side hallway that was lined with oak doors. As they Marines peeked inside, they found that each of the rooms was a bedroom. Strangely, each of them was built like a human-made room. The beds resembled that of the ones on board the Archilles and everything looked as if a human had made it. Though no humans, besides the Ancients of course, had been in the Dragon Realms before the Marines so the chances a human had built this castle were unlikely.

"Well, we might as well rest while we can. Buckman, situate your men in some of these rooms. Jason, get me a squad and lets flush out the rest of this castle. Let's also try to find some food as well." Wagner said as he put his backpack down next to the door.

"Yes sir!" They both said.

"Alight 2nd squad, looks like we get first dibs!" Buckman called out. The Marines cheered and started to explore the other rooms and situated themselves in them. Karson, along with Mclowsky, took Allison to one of the rooms so the Medic could further treat and monitor her wounds.

Wagner moved the men through the hallways, sweeping them clear. So far, they hadn't run into anything. They finally came onto what he considered the dining hall and found a feast spread across the table. It was covered with fruits, cooked animals, steamed vegetables, and other delicacies.

"Holy crap sir!" Riley said as he walked up and smelled the food.

"Hold on there Riley, it smells good, but let's find out who lives here before we start stealing." Wagner said as he stopped the hungry Marine.

"Oh dear, it seems you came earlier then expected..." A new voice called out. It sounded elderly, almost like a butler's. They turned and saw a cheetah wearing a tuxedo standing at the opposite end of the table.

"Who the hell are you?" Anderson asked, the cheetah in his gun sights.

"My name is Jeeves, and my master and I have been expecting your arrival." The cheetah responded with calm in his voice. Anderson lowered his gun.

"You have?" Jason inquired.

"Yes, you and all your comrades are welcomed here and we are preparing a feast in your honor." Jeeves said. They looked and saw that behind Jeeves, there was an enormous painting of Spyro standing atop a grassy hill, a triumphant look on his face. Next to Spyro Cynder sat, looking outward and her neck and arms had bracelets on them. Wagner hadn't seen Cynder wear them very much lately, so seeing them on her made him a bit confused. On the other side of Spyro sat another cheetah. He wore armor and held a bow. Behind them was a cloudy sky and it looked as if the sun was either setting or rising. Probably the former of the two.

"Holy crap sir, I think we found heaven..." Riley muttered. Wagner ignored the Marine's comment.

"Jason, go and get Spyro down here. He has to see this." Wagner ordered.

Spyro sat in the room, along with Cynder. They watched as Allison slept and Mclowsky monitored her status. Karson sat next to her and sighed. He hated seeing her like this and he hoped that she would be ok.

At that moment, Jason walked in the door and he looked as if he had ran over here.

"Spyro, you need to see this..." He panted.

"What is it Jason?"

"I don't really know and I think you should just come see for yourself..." With that Jason led Spyro and Cynder to the dining hall where Wagner was looking around. The fresh aroma of food entered Spyro's nostrils and he then noted the food lying on the tables in front of him.

"Wagner, what's going on?" Spyro asked as he walked up to the human officer.

"Spyro, are you really this famous?" Wagner asked.

"What do you mean?" Spyro inquired, now confused.

"Oh my, you have arrived! I will have to tell the cooks to speed up the feast! We cannot have you wait any longer!" Jeeves said as he saw Spyro enter the room. He scrambled into a door next to the enormous painting of Spyro.

"Spyro, apparently this whole feast was made in yours and Cynder's honor. We also seem to be part of this as well." Wagner explained. It was then that Spyro noticed the painting of himself, Cynder and Hunter of Avalar.

"Hey Cynder, how come I haven't see you wear those bracelets on you... you know, the ones from the painting?" Wagner asked. She sighed and looked down at the floor.

"They reminded me too much of my time spent as the Dark Master's servant so I removed them..." She explained.

"Oh... well, Spyro, who else is in the picture with you?" The human inquired. He kind of felt bad about asking about Cynder's bracelets.

"That's Hunter of Avalar. He helped us originally defeat the Dark Master."

"How come he hasn't been around lately?"

"He left back to Avalar shortly after to go help his people. I haven't seen him since."

"Well you and Cynder really seem to be famous, especially since this feast was prepared in your honor."

"Well... the Dark Master was a big threat to all in the Dragon Realms..." Spyro said, blushing a bit. Wagner just smiled. A new cheetah came out from the door where the butler had gone in. This one wore a cape around his neck and he had a cane with a ruby at the top.

"Welcome! Welcome Spyro, Cynder and the gracious Lieutenant Jonathan Wagner, commander of the Human Military and liberators of the Dragon Realms!" The new cheetah said with great enthusiasm.

"Hey, 'liberators', I like that!" Anderson said in the background.

"Oh forgive me, my name is Lord Medorathon. This castle belongs to me and I will gladly offer it and my servants to aid you and your men as you strive to defeat the Dark Master once and for all."

"Thank you Lord Medorathon. We will gladly defeat the Dark Master even without this gracious feast you have prepared." Wagner said. Some of the other Marines huffed. They hadn't eaten in a day or two so this was something they were looking forward to.

"Oh I beg of you, use my castle to rest you and your men. You will need all the strength to defeat Malefor and his dark armies."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have a bite to eat... alright. I am thankful for your services." Wagner finally said. The cheetah was right. They had to be at full strength to defeat the Dark Master. He wondered, the cheetah had referred to the Dark Master as Malefor. Was that his real name? Spyro had never mentioned it but he thought better to ask at the moment.

"Well let me show you and your friends around! I wish for you to have the best experience here."

"Alright, Anderson! Go get Lieutenant Buckman and Lieutenant Bertan to find a way to get the Nighthawk over here. Looks like we will be staying the night here." Wagner ordered.

"Oh there will be no need, I and my servants have already brought your aircraft over here and I will show it to you later during the tour." Medorathon said.

"Oh, thank you. Do you know what caused us to come here in the first place?" Wagner asked, remembering how they were forced to land there.

"Oh, that was our doing. I apologize, but we had to have you rest up here. After your battle in Mendobara Pass, you and your friends needed to rest. We couldn't see you fight Malefore with nothing more then your fullest."

Wagner gave a look of appreciation. It was a good thing. He didn't think they would have been able to fight the Dark Master at their state after leaving that frozen pass.

"Come Spyro and Cynder, I want you to see my castle as well!" Medorathon exclaimed. They looked at each other, smiled and went to follow the tour. Medorathon led them through the halls, showing them the library, observatory, the bedrooms, where the Nighthawk was, and a lot of other things. He told them that they should rest up, bathe, and get ready for Dinner which should be done in a few hours. The Marines, and maybe the Lakadors, could hardly wait. Spyro's own stomach growled a few times as well. Cynder chuckled when it did, only to get the same thing from her empty belly.

Spyro and Cynder returned to the room where Karson had Allison to find her asleep and Karson talking to the Corpsmen. Wagner went to his own room and Medorathon went to his study to await the feast. A few of the Marines went to take a shower while others enjoyed the soft beds. This was the first time they would sleep on a bed in a while.

Riley ventured through the halls, taking in the decorated walls and paintings. He saw a painting on the far end of the hall, just above the doorway. It depicted Operation Black Glove, the Marine's victory over the Lakadors just a few weeks earlier. He also saw another that depicted the battle they had just done at Tall Plains where they captured the second light crystal. He had to give the artist some credit. It was good. He came near the Lord's study and heard some chatter inside. He passed it up, not wanting to be a spy. However, after hearing "My lord, Malefor", he was intrigued to hear more.

"So, they suspect nothing?" A dark voice said. It sounded almost exactly like the Dark Master's.

"Yes my lord. They know nothing of the plot. Many of them are too busy enjoying the beds and other mindless things we set out for them. Spyro and Cynder also are oblivious. Even their leader, Wagner, he has no clue either."

"Good, keep it that way. Have you prepared their food as well?"

"Yes sir, we have placed the sleeping power in each of their meals. We also have the lab downstairs waiting to conduct experiments on them as soon as they fall asleep my lord. Spyro and Cynder will be in your grasp in no time. The other chosen ones will be yours as well."

"Good... good work Medorathon. I will see that your people to get more food rations because of this." The Dark Master said in an evil voice.

"Thank you my master... we will always serve you."

"Crap... it's a trap! I have to warn the Lieutenant!" Riley whispered and he silently walked off. As he turned to leave, he almost ran smack dab into Jeeves, the butler.

"Ah young Marine, what, may I ask are you doing out here and not in your room?" He asked with suspicion in his tone.

"I was just admiring the beautiful paintings. I must compliment your master on the gorgeous paintings that he has." Riley partially lied.

"A likely excuse..." Jeeves responded. Riley went pale faced. He heard a door open behind him and turned to see Medorathon emerge, an angry look on his face.

"How much has he heard Jeeves?"

"Everything my lord." He responded.

"Dispose of him."

"Like hell you will!" Riley drew his pistol and aimed it and Medorathon, but was put down as Jeeves cast a sleeping spell over him. Riley let the pistol clatter to the floor and he hit the floor soon after.

"Take him to the lab and make sure there are no others wondering the halls."

"Yes my lord, it won't happen again." Jeeves said. He and a few other servants placed Riley on a cart and wheeled him to the underground laboratory and put him into a special tube where they would conduct dark energy experiments later.

"Hey Picante, have you seen Riley?" Anderson asked as he walked into the Marine Sniper's room.

"He said he was going to look around by himself. Why, he hasn't retuned yet?"

"No, Wagner's looking for him."

"Maybe Jeeves can help."

"I haven't seen the butler." Almost by signal, Jeeves walked down the hall.

"My young Marine, there is no need to worry. Your friend Pvt. Riley is helping in the kitchen and won't be out for a bit."

"Oh, ok. I'll go tell Wagner that." Anderson said as he walked off. Jeeves walked off as well, though he had a sinister look on his face as he did. Picante returned to cleaning his Sniper Rifle, oblivious to what was really going on.

"Oh Spyro, it's been a long time since we really had time to just enjoy the peace." Cynder said, lying on the soft bed upside down.

"Yeah it has." Spyro said, now walking up. It had been a long time since they could just stop to relax. True, until the Dark Master was stopped, no-one could truly relax. But then again, they needed to rest for when they fought him again. When they first fought him, it was one of the toughest fights of his life. The battle at Tall Plains had shown that the Dark Master had grown stronger. They needed to be at the top of their game to win. Lieutenant Wagner walked in at that moment.

"Spyro, Cynder, have you two seen Riley at all?" He asked.

"No, last we saw he was in the dining hall. Why?"

"I haven't seen him at all."

"Sir, Jeeves said that Riley was helping in the kitchen." Anderson said as he walked up.

"I don't trust Jeeves." Wagner said back.

"Why not? They are throwing us a party!"

"That's just it! What are the chances of the castle being here in between us and the Final Solution? There's something going on, something more then we know. Call me crazy, but I can sense something."

"You too?" Spyro asked.

"I don't know what it is but I want you all to be on your guard."

"Well then why don't we just storm this place then sir?"

"Because we need this feast Anderson. We are too weak without food so I want to play along for now... I'm going to go check on Riley." Wagner said. Before he left though, Jeeves walked up.

"Oh, there is no need Lieutenant. I just came from there and Riley is doing absolutely fine."

"Well, we will see about that." Wagner said.

"Very well, follow me Lieutenant." Jeeves finally said. Wagner followed Jeeves to the dining hall where he led him to the entrance to the kitchen.

"Wait here while I get Riley." He said to Wagner. Wagner crossed his arms and waited outside for him to 'retrieve' Riley.

Jeeves entered and looked around. The other servants were placing sleeping powder and other magics into the food. The whole time they were being supervised by heavily armed Apes who all clutched onto swords, captured human assault rifles and other weapons. Medorathon stood at the end of the room, helping to oversee the last phase of the plan put into motion.

"My lord, the human Lieutenant demands to see Riley. What should we do with him?"

"Bring him in here, and take care of him." Medorathon said as he grabbed another bottle of sleeping powder.

"Yes sir." Jeeves said. He walked outside and offered for Wagner to enter. He did so and unslung his assault rifle. As he walked in two cheetahs grabbed him from both sides. Wagner dropped his assault rifle and tried to get free. He managed to elbow one of them and kicked the other, causing the them release him. However, Jeeves cast a sleeping spell on Wagner and he fell to the floor in a deep sleep.

"Take him to the lab, and do it quietly." Jeeves ordered. The two cheetahs brushed off their injuries and carried out his orders.

"Jeeves, it is time for dinner. Invite everyone to the dining hall immediately." Medorathon ordered.

"Yes sir, I will get right on that." As Jeeves left, the other two cheetahs were starting to carry out Wagner's sleeping form out on a cart.

Anderson stood just outside the dining hall. He watched through the crack in the door as they captured Wagner. He had to warn the others. As he left, he ran smack dab into two other servants. They offered him into the dining hall and he reluctantly went. Before he got there, Jeeves ran into them.

"Demis, go and bring the others to the hall, I will 'escort' this one myself." Jeeves said. He grabbed Anderson and led him down the hall. He prepared to give him a bit of sleeping powder, but Anderson popped up his visor, obscuring his face from the powder. His HACO armor blocked its effects, partly due to the top secret coating of light energy on his armor. He kicked Jeeves in the stomach and ran off to the rooms to warn the others. However, by the time he got there, they had already departed for the feast.

"Damn it, guess I'll have to save them the old fashion way" He went to his gear and grabbed an M74D assault rifle, and an M22 Combat Shotgun. He also grabbed a few Fragmentation Grenades and several rounds of ammo for the assault rifle and shotgun. He ran off to the dining hall as fast as he could.

Down at the hall, the others were sitting down to the meal. Medorathon sat at the head of the table and welcomed them as they sat down. A bit of chatter passed between the Marines and Lakadors as they sat down.

"Where's Wagner?" Cynder asked Spyro who sat next to her.

"I don't know, I thought he would have been here by now."

"Don't worry about Wagner or Riley. They have already eaten their fill and have returned to their rooms for some rest. You should do the same. Please, dig in!" They all started to eat the food. It all tasted good to them. Flavors that they hadn't tasted in a long time flooded into their mouths. What they didn't taste was the sleeping powder that lay inside of it.

"Spyro? Aren't you going to eat?" Cynder asked. She had already eaten half a bird, but Spyro hadn't touched any of the food.

"I'll eat in a bit, I'm going to go see Wagner. I feel something and I want to tell it to him." Spyro got up and Cynder got up to follow but Spyro stopped her.

"Cynder, enjoy the food, I'll be right back." She reluctantly obeyed and he was nearing the door when Medorathon stopped him.

"Please my young dragon. Sit and enjoy this delicious meal!"

"I will, I just want to tell Wagner something." Before Medorathon could stop him, Spyro had left the dining hall and had gone for the bedrooms. After Spyro had left, Jeeves entered the dining hall, clutching onto his stomach where Anderson had kicked him.

"My lord... one of them escaped and is coming to warn the others..." Jeeves whispered to Medorathon.

"Lock the doors then, and Spyro just left as well... send the Apes out to get them before they cause too much trouble."

"Yes sir." As Jeeves left, the doors came shut. The Marines noticed this and Tamez and Buckman went to the door to open it. It was locked.

"Hey, let us out!" Tamez demanded.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that..." Medorathon said in an evil tone.

"You all are threats to my lord and we cannot have you masquerading around in his work. As lord of this castle, I am placing each of you under arrest.

"Oh yeah, you and what army?" Karson demanded, his fists charging up fire energy. Cynder leapt up and joined him. However, she stumbled as she landed. She was starting to feel light headed.

Medorathon laughed.

"I don't need an army to defeat you. Your stomachs have done that already!" He bellowed in laughter. At once, all of the Marines, Lakadors and Cynder felt the room spinning. Their energy drained as if someone had snapped their fingers and each of them collapsed to the floor as the sleeping powder took effect.

Spyro trotted through the halls until he came across Anderson who was running full force through the hallways. He almost plowed right into the young dragon.

"Oh Spyro, thank God I found you!"

"Anderson, what's going on?"

"It's a trap! Something is in the food and Wagner was taken prisoner! Whatever you do, don't eat the food!"

"Damn, everybody else already ate!"

"Damn it! We're too late then..."

"No its not, I haven't eaten anything yet and we can do something!"

"That'll be enough from you two." An ape in silver armor walked up, holding onto a sword. A few were behind with that clutched onto M74D assault rifles.

"You two are coming with me!" Without answering, Anderson fired his shotgun at him. The 8 gauge shell blew his silver armor to pieces and the force blew the ape to the floor. The other apes were frozen where they stood by Spyro.

"Come on! Let's go!" Anderson said. Spyro followed the HACO as they ran down the hall. They ran into more apes and Spyro used his electricity to hurl them into the walls. Anderson swept the room with his assault rifle, peppering anything that moved with .22 cal ammo.

They kept moving until they reached the hall. Anderson kicked on the door, but it was locked. He fired his shot gun at the door but it was magically sealed.

"Let me try." Spyro charged up a lot of fire energy and blew fire onto the door. The magical shield collapsed and Anderson fired his shotgun again. The shotgun blew open the lock and he kicked the doors open. Upon entering, they found the whole hall empty.

"Where did they go?" Anderson said, frustrated. They left the room and Spyro was getting worried. Where had they taken Cynder? He had to find her. As they went on, they came into a large group of apes. Anderson fired his assault rifle again, cutting down many of them. A few held assault rifles and they fired back at Anderson and Spyro. Spyro flew into the air, dodging the bullets. Anderson, however, caught 4 of the .22 rounds in his chest. His HACO armor absorbed the force, though he was still knocked onto the floor. He got up slowly and tossed a grenade. It blew apart the apes and only one survivor stood.

It held onto a bow and arrow and it prepared to fire. Spyro swooped higher and prepared to strike, when he saw the Ape go down. He turned to Anderson and saw the HACO was un-jamming his M74D. He wasn't the one who killed the ape. Who did? Upon closer examination, an arrow had killed the ape. Spyro looked up and to his amazement saw Hunter of Avalar standing atop one of the open window seals, lowering his bow.

"Hunter!" Spyro called out.

"Hey there. Heard the Dark Master was back so I thought I'd help clean up his mess." The cheetah responded.

"It's good to see you again." Spyro said. Hunter nodded.

"So that's the cheetah from the picture?" Anderson called out from below. Hunter had immediately leapt down to the floor and placed a knife at the Human's throat.

"Whoa, calm down Hunter, he's with me!" Spyro said as he flew back down to the floor.

Hunter released the solider and Anderson coughed.

"Sorry 'bout that." Hunter let out his hand and Anderson took it. Hunter helped the soldier back onto his feet.

"So what's going on around here Spyro?" Hunter asked.

"Everyone's been captured and we are looking for them right now."

"Yeah... we'd better get moving if we want to find them before they do whatever they were planning on them." Anderson croaked.

They were once again moving through the hallways. Hunter made note of the weapons the human was armed with. It was deadly, though he wouldn't trade his bow and arrow for anything else. With precision Hunter hit the apes with his arrows and Anderson put well placed bursts into the Apes as well. Spyro flung ice shards at the apes and coated the floor in ice which caused the apes to slip and fall, making them easy targets.

As they pressed on, they came into a group of apes who were running away from something. Before they even started to attack the apes, a wall of fire blanketed the retreating apes. A large red dragon came out from the adjacent hallway. It was the same dragon from Mendobara.

They kept it up until they had killed all the apes. The dragon huffed and it stood there.

"Hey, who are you?" Spyro asked. It was a question he should have asked a long time ago. It didn't respond.

"Do you know where the others are?" Anderson asked. It huffed and motioned for them to follow. They followed the dragon and it lead them through more corridors and down into a staircase that lead them downwards.

Anderson un-slung his shotgun and fed some more shells into it and reloaded his other weapon. Hunter was making sure he had a lot of arrows and Spyro was making sure that he was ready to take on whatever it was that held their friends captive.

As they reached the base of the stairs, they ran into a group of apes. The apes fired their captured assault rifles at the red dragon, but the rounds just hit his chest and seemed to have no effect. The dragon used his tail to sweep them off their feet and Anderson and Hunter met them with assault rifle fire and arrows.

Spyro moved to the side and engaged a small group of apes. He kicked one and sent it into the wall. Another jumped forward, but Spyro knocked it back with his Earth Blast. The shotgun-like blast crushed its rib cage and sent it flying backwards. He used his Earth Flail and knocked the other apes down. Soon the hallway was clear. They pushed on once again.

Soon they came onto a room that was enormous. Large stone pillars held up the room and all throughout the room there were tubes and equipment for dark energy experiments. Each tube was built to hold onto a captive and each of the Marines and Lakadors were in one.

Cynder and a few Marines weren't in their tubes though. They were lying on tables where needles were meant to inject them with dark energies. One needle was pushed into Cynder and she didn't move, for she was still in a deep sleep.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Spyro yelled as he saw this. He darted forwards and smashed into the room. A few ape guards roared and tried to stop him but Spyro used his horns to knock them out of the way.

An ape fired a shotgun at Spyro, getting a clean hit. Spyro was knocked back by the buck from the shotgun and landed several yards back. His stomach had been split open by the buck. Amazingly, he got onto his feet and rushed in again. Blood dripped from his wounds.

"Spyro! Wait!" Anderson called out. Spyro was too heavily injured to keep fighting. It was a miracle he was even fighting at all. The buck from the shotgun should have torn Spyro in half. However, there the dragon was, beating the hell out of an ape. His stomach was still split open and blood continued to come out.

Anderson and Hunter continued to cover Spyro and the Red Dragon raced out and grabbed Spyro with his for-arms. He set Spyro aside and huffed. The Dragon knew the extent of Spyro's injuries and knew that if he kept fighting, it would be a fight to the death.

Even so, Spyro got up and blew a fire ball onto an enemy. A door on the opposite side of the room blew open and a few Ape Commanders came into the room. Each had a variation of shadow armor on and walked in. Some carried M74Ds while others carried swords. One, however, carried a M21MP Rocket Launcher. It fired the weapon and a rocket sailed towards the small band of Coalition fighters.

The rocket blew right in front of Anderson and Hunter. Spyro was beside it and the shrapnel hit Spyro. It shredded his scales and skin. He flew back and hit the wall next to him. Anderson's armor managed to contain most of the blast, though part of his armor was cracked a blood oozed from the wound. Hunter managed to jump out of the way, only getting minor shrapnel wounds to his tail. The Red Dragon sailed forward, grabbing the rocket launcher from the ape and flinging the creature headlong into the wall.

Again, Spyro picked himself off of the ground. Blood continued to gush from his wounds. Anderson managed to pick himself up as well, but the wound in his chest was starting to get a bit worse. The Red Dragon crushed an ape commander with his tail and picked up another. It flung the ape into a cluster of apes that ran up to engage the dragon. It used its tail to sweep them off their feet and met them with a wall of fire. Anderson managed to fire his rifle from the hip, his HUD in his helmet displaying where his bullets were going.

Hunter let loose a volley of arrows which impaled the oncoming foes. A few of the creatures that had attacked that at Tall Plains and Mendobara rushed into the room. Anderson met them with a burst of assault rifle fire and they fell quickly.

As soon as the last enemy was dispatched, the dragon rushed over to Spyro, who was now crawling at this point. He breathed a bit of fire onto the wounds. A bit of golden mist came from the dragon as well. Some of Spyro's wounds started to heal and amazingly, his stomach wound had almost sealed up entirely. Anderson didn't believe what he was seeing.

The dragon hit the machinery that was messing with Cynder and they fell the floor. Spyro rushed and picked up Cynder. She was breathing, though a bit of dark energy oozed from where they injected her. With Anderson's and Hunter's help, they freed all the Marines and Lakadors.

As they tried to move them outside, a large ape commander came down the stairs. It wore shadow armor and wielded a blade. It swung at them and Spyro latched himself onto its helmet. The ape grabbed Spyro and threw him off. Spyro hit the floor and skid to a halt. The ape was about to laugh when he feel face first onto the floor. Behind him stood Jeeves, Medorathon, and a few other cheetahs. Anderson ignored the pain in his chest and placed them in his gun sights. He knew he should have shot him sooner.

"Wait! We want to help. The Dark Master forced us to help him with his plan or he would not permit us to eat. Let us show you the way out of here and get you to safety before more of his forces arrive." Medorathon offered. They agreed and Jeeves cast another spell on the Marines and Lakadors. Unlike last time, they were awoken from their sleep.

Medorathon had a bit of explaining to do, but they managed to get everyone back to the dining hall and that's when they heard noises throughout the halls. A wall of Plague came through. They had somehow survived the plummet down to the base of the valley and had spent the better part of the day climbing back up. The Marines met them with gun fire and Spyro and Cynder let out a wall of fire to stop them. The Red Dragon had disappeared again.

As they came through more halls, a group of Plague in front of them exploded from a frag grenade thrown by someone. Lieutenant Wagner came from around the corner, his pistol leveled and ready to fire. However, upon seeing friendlies, he let the weapon lower.

"Wagner, where the hell have you been?" Buckman asked. Spyro had noticed how the Marine wasn't with them down in the lab.

"I guess the apes dropped me off somewhere to help fight you guys because I woke up on the floor."

"Sorry about what we did... we shouldn't have helped the Dark Master." Medorathon apologized.

"Well, at least you did right to your wrong. Let's get out of here before more show up." Wagner ordered.

"Well take this with you. At least for some nourishment for your journey." Medorathon offered a freshly killed animal. Wagner accepted it and the Marines were dashing out to the balcony where the Nighthawk was.

"Spyro, it was good seeing you again but I think I will stay here. These cheetahs will need help repelling these creatures and the Apes."

"It was good seeing you again hunter! Good bye!" Spyro said.

"See you hunter!" Cynder called out. The jets aboard the Nighthawk flared and for about the 100th time, they took to the skies. Mclowsky tended to Anderson's injuries and Spyro had amazingly made a full recovery in a matter of minutes from what should have been a mortal wound. Allison's wounds were also healing with amazing speed. Maybe hit had something to do with the Dragon breathing on their wounds, but then again, Wagner's wound had healed very fast and for some reason, Wagner was never around at the same time as the dragon. So that was out. Anderson sat there, trying to piece everything together but nothing fit. Finally after coming to the conclusion that what Henderson had said was correct: This world was 'fucked' up, he fell asleep.

The Nighthawk flew off, leaving the castle and the Final Solution lay just ahead. Their final journey had just begun.

End of Chapter 28

There was 28! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm going to work on 29 for its debut tomorrow. Man, still cant believe i typed this in only a few hours... that beats my record 10 fold...