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Well sorry for taking so long but this is the 4th Installment of The Malefor Chronicles. Sorry Dragoune, this one won't answer any questions...

Chapter 4: Stormy Clash

Dragon Realms, Uncharted System

April 4, 2204

1132 Hours

2 Miles East of the Dragon Temple

Forest near cliff edge

Malefor sat in the brush, watching a bird slowly clean itself. Finally... meat. For dinner and breakfast all he had to eat was berries and other fruits. He slowly approached the bird but snapped a branch. The bird flew away and he cursed. He swatted a rock out of the path in frustration.

With the fruit already depleted and with Cynder more then likely already thawed and ready to kill, they couldn't return to the Dragon Temple to purchase food. The only other option was to hunt for food. The area they were at bordered the swamp that Spyro was native to. It also bordered a region of pine wood forests that stretched for about a mile or so. This stretch of the forest was diversified, with many mushrooms, pine trees, and other trees dotting its expanse.

This also meant an abundance of diversified food. Even so, they still didn't have easy pickings. Malefor continued to look around and didn't even see a fruit on any of the trees. Just his luck... lunch would have to wait until he could find something. That is, if Eatherine was having the same luck.

He continued to look around and heard the low rumble of thunder up above him. A small thunder storm was passing through the region. It was the season for rain, so this meant that they could expect showers like this almost on a regular basis. The sky was darkish grey and a soft wind came in from the East. Rain would surely come.

He continued his pursuit of food only to find nothing. He saw a small animal run through the forest just a moment ago and he was trying to follow it. So far he had lost its trail and now he was back to square one. He groaned once again and as he felt a drop hit his muzzle, decided to call it a day and head back to the cave.

He slowly walked but saw something moving in the brush. He got low and crawled on his belly as he walked through a bush and saw a small rodent in the small clearing. It was chewing on a berry in its paws and sat mindlessly. Malefor frowned. In his searches he did not come across one berry yet this thing had found one and was eating it. He groaned slightly and waited a bit. He had to strike fast.

He counted to three, and saw the creature lower the berry and sniff the air. Malefor took this chance to pounce. He dashed out of the brush and the rodent spotted him and dashed for cover. It speed off into a hollow log and Malefor couldn't stop in time and ended up face first in a rock next to the log.

He sat on the ground for a few seconds before slowly picking himself up and rubbing his muzzle. It was soar and red. He groaned again and pounded the dirt. Another one got away...

He heard giggling nearby and looked up to see Eatherine swoop down, the rodent he had been trying to capture by the tail in her maw. She also had a makeshift basket strapped to her back with many fruits and even a dead bird. She landed and placed the rodent in the basket.

"How did you manage to get him?" He asked, rubbing his muzzle.

"How did you manage not to get him?" She responded in an almost 'huff' like manner. He frowned.

"I was trying..." He said.

"Not from what I saw... you don't know how to hunt do you?" She asked, putting more fruit in the basket.

"Sort of..." She looked at him and he noticed that he didn't have anything with him opposed to her large amount of food. Obviously, her years of isolation had given her the ability to hunt and forage for herself. He had a servant bring him food in years past so that art slipped through his fingers years ago.

"Well let's get going before it starts raining..." He nodded and they took off into the sky back to the cave. Once they got there they slipped through the small crack in the cliff face that gave them entrance to their secret post.

They heard thunder echo through the sky and heard the platter of rain as it fell on the ground outside and above them. The sound echoed through the small cave, creating an obnoxious taping sound. After a while it became a bit soothing in its own way.

As Malefor sat drifting in and out of sleep, he watched Eatherine as she sat near the door to the cave. The rain had calmed down and now a sporadic shower or two would come down. The food she had found didn't last them very long... in fact it was all gone now. They were going to have to go out and find more as soon as the rain died down a bit. Malefor yawned and slipped into a bit of sleep.

Eatherine yawned and looked behind her at the sleeping purple dragon. She was still unsure of her feelings towards him. She had wanted to at least know his name... but he still couldn't remember. For some reason though, she could swear it started with an 'M'. He looked so cute lying down on the floor like that. She just wanted to go next to him, lie down and sleep with him. However, she wondered if he even remotely liked her.

She looked outside again and saw that the rain had halted and now it was just thundering. She sighed and left the cave. She had to get more food if they wanted to survive for a while. As she flew out, a large lightning bolt flashed across the sky, lighting it up and it was immediately was followed by a CRACK sound.

Eatherine staggered a bit as the winds picked up. This storm was getting worse. She thought by now things would have cleared up, but she was mistaken. It looked like it was getting worse and worse by each passing moment. If only she has stayed back at the cave. It didn't matter, they had to eat. She kept on but the winds were starting to hamper her flight pattern.

Malefor awoke and looked up. Eatherine was gone. He saw that it wasn't raining out and figured that she went to go hunt again. However, he was worried. He saw a large lightning bolt flash across the sky. If she was flying, she could become a potential lighting rod out there. He had to go get her and bring her back. Food could wait until this storm calmed down. The winds were also starting to pick up and he feared this might be more then just your average passing storm.

He ran out to the entrance and leapt out into the air. He flew off and scanned the skies for any sign of life. He didn't see anything but a large black cloud obscuring his vision. The whole sky was a variety of grays. He had to find Eatherine and get her back to the cave. He shielded his face as he felt strong winds batter it.

He faster and faster, but the winds were picking up speed. He saw a silhouette in the sky as the lightning illuminated it once more. It was a dragon... off in the distance... He speed off as fast as he could. He saw a lightning bolt flash in front of it and saw the figure halt in mid air and drop out of the air. It crashed into the forest below.

Malefor's heart dropped into his stomach. He flew with rigorous speed as he darted to where the dragon went in. He had to get to Eatherine. He just had to. Suddenly he felt something hit him hard from his side. He was knocked out of the sky and he was sent tumbling end over end. He managed to use his wings and his air ability to resituate himself. He looked up and saw a black dragoness flying in front of him. It was Cynder. She had a look of vengeance in her eyes.

"Cynder! I have no time for this! I have to get over there!" He yelled over the storm sounds and winds.

"I will stop you! You will die right here!" She yelled back. She flew straight at him and he managed to dodge. She overshot and recovered. However, the winds flared up and Malefor was sent down and was forced to use his wind ability to keep him aloft and to create a pocket in which to fly. Cynder used the same technique and was airborne just as he was.

She blew a jet of fire at Malefor and he flapped his wings to get above it. She came at him once more and caught him. She scratched him and bit his arm. He screamed out into the loud winds in pain. He retaliated and bit her arm and she released him. She slashed him with her tail and it's sharp tip dug into his scales and skin. She pulled on it and it ripped the flesh right from where it was. Malefor screamed in pain. Blood mixed in with the drizzle and fell below.

Even though he was in immense pain, Malefor managed to regain his posture and went at Cynder. If he had to defeat her to get to Eatherine, so be it. He rammed her at break neck speed. The impact sent her flying backwards, as well as canceling out their wind barriers. They struggled to recover from the move. The winds were becoming fierce and soon elemental attacks split the sky as the two dragons continued their brawl.

Cynder shot a barrage of fireballs which split the rain and flew straight at Malefor. One impacted him and he roared in pain and was sent back as it exploded on his scales. He blew his own breath attacks at Cynder, coupling electricity with fire, creating an intense bolt of energy which displaced Cynder and made her tumble in the winds. She managed to recover again and used her long range breath- her shadow ability. She rarely used it and Malefor knew why. It was a dangerous breath. A step up from the dark breath. The difference, the shadow was more for longer range attacks and could be used as an alternative to dark.

Malefor charged up his own shadow breath and a beam of purple shot forth from his mouth. The two beams collided and detonated as the two were evenly matched. The force was diminished by the high winds and Malefor saw Cynder plow through the cloud left over and come straight at him. He readied himself and managed to catch her. She tried to send him down, but the winds kept them aloft as they quarreled. Malefor bit Cynder once more and she roared before using her tail and claws. Blood oozed from his wounds, as well as Cynder's.

The winds picked up and this time they were sent high into the sky. They were separated and he could see as Cynder was sent hundreds of feet into the opposite direction and he saw a flash of purple as she charged up her shadow breath again. Oh how he regretted teaching it to her.

He tried to charge up his own when the beam cut through the storm and impacted him dead on. The energy exploded and he felt his muscles tense up as the energy coursed through him and disable his nerves. He fell through the dark sky and was still kept in flight thanks to the high winds. He saw Cynder charge up another beam and he focused to build a wind barrier. With his limbs numb, he had to do something. The beam struck the barrier and it caught the blunt of the attack. The energy exploded and sent him high into the sky. He was sent into the black clouds that covered the Realms.

Suddenly the effects of the shadow energy faded and Malefor had control of his limbs. He flapped his wings and descended below the clouds. He saw a black dot in the distance. This had to end now. He flew at her and regardless of the winds. He fired a trio of fire balls and a beam of shadow energy. The shadow hit Cynder first and disabled her nerves just as it did him. The fire impacted her and he could hear a high pitched wail as she was sent off into the high winds from the blast. He finally caught up with her and smacked her high into the air with a head butt. He sailed above her and drove a powerful thrust with his forelegs into her which sent her barreling downward to the ground. The winds were bracing her and he decided this would be it. He powered up a powerful field of shadow energy around himself and charged her. He plowed into her and she was sent even faster downwards.

The winds still cushioned her decent, but she hit the ground hard enough to make a large cloud appear. Malefor flew downwards and used the winds to his advantage as he sailed right next to Cynder. She opened her eyes and moaned as he placed his foreleg on her neck and brought his talons into an execution position. He was going to end this... once and for all.

He was about to drive his talons deep into her neck when he noticed a neck brace on her. Suddenly Cynder was replaced by an image of a young dragoness that was in the same circumstance. Malefor remembered her. This dragoness was one of the first he killed as the Dark Master. He remembered killing her in the same fashion. She had challenged him and wanted to stop him, and he silenced her.

He saw her face and then it reverted to Cynder's face as blood came out of her mouth and tears flowed from her eyes. The neck brace was also there, given to her by Spyro. A token of his love to her. Malefor lowered his foreleg, much to Cynder's surprise. He slowly lifted his paw from her neck and turned to leave. He heard Cynder murmur something as she recognized that execution technique.

"Malefor..." She said weakly. He glared at her before taking off. This was it. Cynder know knew who he was. He had taught her that execution move and had seen her commit it a few times. Her limbs were cold from the shadow energy and she lay there, not moving. Malefor flew off into the storm, the winds and rain picking up ferocity now. As he flew off, he noticed that the winds died to absolutely nothing. He passed it off and kept going. Suddenly he heard a loud sound... louder then any he had heard before...

He turned around and saw, to his horror, a large Tornado bearing down upon him. If he kept flying, he could out run it. However, he saw that Cynder was in it's direct path. His last stunt had disabled her nerves and since he put a lot of strength into it, she wouldn't be able to move for a while. She would be defenseless in the tornado's path. He had to do something or Cynder would die. But why should he help her? She had just tried to kill him! But... he couldn't just leave her like that on the ground to die... He mentally kicked himself as he sailed downwards and placed Cynder on his back.

Cynder had a look of confusion on her but she didn't protest. He grunted as he tried to take off with her weight holding him down. He sailed upwards, but soon felt the tug of the tornado pull on them. He would normally have been able to out fly it, but with her on him, he was too heavy to get away.

He used his wind powers to accelerate himself, but he was getting nowhere. The tornado was sucking them in too much. Suddenly he felt a gust of wind and turned his head to see Cynder applying her own wind powers to propel them. They were sent far through the air and broke the grip that the tornado had upon them.

They soared out of its path and Malefor let out a sigh of relief as they went on. Now he had to turn his attention to Eatherine. Somewhere in this storm, she resided. The winds were dead, thanks to the tornado. But as they went farther away, the winds picked up speed.

He went to where he believed she had landed and the winds were becoming fierce. They were so strong that Malefor was forced to keep close to the ground. Sheets of rain and hail were also beginning to fall. Malefor set Cynder down on the ground beneath a rock overhang and dashed out into the forest.

"Eatherine! Eatherine can you hear me?!" He yelled into the rain and thunder. The howling winds were obscuring his voice but he thought he heard a low response. He shot off in its direction and saw a black dragoness sprawled against a mushroom cap. From the looks of things she hadn't been struck by lightning. She had probably fainted from exhaustion. Those winds were really strong. He dashed over to her.

She moaned a bit as he shook her and he grunted once more as he set her on his back. He hefted her through the now heavy sheets of rain and painful fist sized hail that were falling. He put Eatherine under the same rock overhang as Cynder. The overhang provided excellent shelter from the rain and hail, but the winds were propelling debris everywhere and the overhang did nothing to shield them from that. They were also probably miles away from the Dragon Temple and Malefor couldn't take them back there. The storm continued to howl and swirl overhead. Malefor had to find better cover for them or they could die out here.

He managed to get them and carry them to a better cave which provided more cover for them. It was almost like the skeleton of a huge creature that got covered in rock and became a cave. They were starting to get into the swamps opposed to the forest. The rain was really coming down and the winds were so fierce, trees were being ripped out of their bases and hurled around. It was a good thing he got them both into the safety of the cave.

The rain didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon so Malefor sat with both Eatherine and Cynder in the cave. Cynder's limbs were still numb and she had long ago fallen into a deep sleep. Eatherine had yet to wake up. As he sat listening to the rain hitting the ground, he looked at Eatherine. She was so determined. She reminded him a lot of Combinia when she was still alive.

He sighed and looked at Eatherine some more. She seemed so perfect... so agile... She looked fragile, but she was actually a really tough dragoness. She was cunning and she cared. Before long he found himself staring at her. He blushed and looked away. He stood up and walked over to a glowing blue crystal as it's light filled the room. Malefor sat and looked deep into it's blue hue. The Spirit Gems were said to contain the power of the Ancestors... Dragons that had once walked this land... supposedly before the Ancients or the Council even existed. The Ancestors were revered very highly... if only he could get help from them now... oh well...

He heard something behind him and turned around to see Eatherine pick her head up and give a low yawn. He got up and walked over to her.

"How do you feel?" He asked, trying to motion for her to stay on the ground.

"Fine... what happened? Where am I? Why is SHE here?!"

"Whoa... calm down... it's a long story."

"Well start talking."

"You went off into the storm and I went after you. I saw you faint from exhaustion and before I could reach you she attacked me. I beat her and had to rescue her from a tornado. I brought her here along with you because that storm is really getting ugly." He explained. Eatherine didn't look to happy having someone who was wanting to kill them only feet away.

"Well we need to leave before she wakes up."

"I know. However, she can't move so that shouldn't be a problem." He said. It was true, his last stunt disabled her nerves for probably some time. They heard a low moan and they turned their heads to see Cynder wake up. Eatherine huffed and walked to the mouth of the cave. The rain was starting to let up a bit, though the winds were still pretty strong. Eatherine went on foot to go find some food. Malefor stayed behind to keep an eye on Cynder.

"So what's this now... you have her doing your dirty work while you try to take over the world again?" Cynder said in a weak voice.

"No. I am merely trying to survive. I don't want the world anymore."

"Or so you say. I know you Malefor... you're pure evil... all you ever want is destruction or death. You never have anything good to say." Malefor cringed at the statement. It angered him. He wasn't like that... not anymore...

"You don't know me Cynder... I have changed. I'm not evil anymore..."

"You're wrong... I can't believe I didn't see it sooner that you were the Dark Master. All you've ever done and wanted is destruction and evil... and that's all you'll ever want. Old habits are hard to break..."

"I broke that one about killing you didn't I?" Cynder didn't respond. It was true. He had spared her life when he had her dead to rights. He could have even just left her there to die in the tornado but instead came to her rescue. Malefor sighed and looked away.

"So I guess she doesn't know?" Cynder finally asked.

"She doesn't need to know..." He said in an angry voice. Cynder smiled to herself. It was predictable. Malefor was in this for something... but what was it she wondered. In truth Malefor didn't even know what he wanted. He just wanted to be with someone... if not a mate or companion, just someone to talk to... to keep you company and not make you feel alone. Long gone were the desires for world domination. He was just a young dragon now and he wanted to live and act like one... take back his world that was taken from him all those years ago.

The rest of the time was spent in silence until Cynder finally fell asleep again and Eatherine returned with some berries and other fruits. It had started to rain again and they could hear the winds howling outside. It was late afternoon by then and the storm was still raging. Malefor walked to the mouth of the cave and watched the downpour come down across the Realms. He heard something next to him and turned to see Eatherine walk up.

"So... we're just going to leave her here then?"

"Yeah. We'll just leave her some food and we'll leave the first chance we get."

"That's good." Eatherine sighed. What was she doing? She wanted to talk to him, learn some things, maybe even just hold a conversation with him... yet every time she tried, nothing could form. They sat in silence as the rain pelted the ground. As a clearing came along, they took advantage and left the cave to their original one. As they left, they noted the break in the clouds looked like a large circle. There was a large circle that shot upwards where there was nothing but clear blue sky. All around it was an angry wall of blackness and rain.

As they left the cave, Cynder slowly awoke. Her limbs were usable and she flexed them with enthusiasm. She eyed the dragons as they left and looked at the food they had left for her. She was about to smash it when she sighed and grabbed some from it. Why was Malefor showing such kindness to her? Had he really changed? Was he... good? No, as far as she was concerned, he was evil and had to be silenced. As she finished the fruits left for her she got up and left the cave for the Dragon Temple. She was going to need a bit of help.

End of Chapter 4

Finally, there it is. It's short, but I had to make it short so the other chapter could be good. I would have typed more, but had to cut off here for now. The next Spyro Wars chapter is coming along and will be short as well... just can't dig up the inspiration or computer time like before. Hope you enjoy.