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Here it is! The 7th Installment in the Malefor Saga. This chapter does more then just answer some questions... it will start to piece together something that you all might be interested in...

Chapter 7: The Pass of Secrets

Dragon Realms, Uncharted System

October 23, 2204

Mountain Range North of Dale

1422 Hours

Malefor groaned and opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the ground with a smell hanging in the air. It was a wet sort of smell, sort of like the one that you'd expect from fresh rain. The air around him was cold and wet. He peered around to find himself alone. He was in a damp cave with the light from outside shining inside.

He got to his feet and walked outside. A few trees sat beyond and he found himself on the mountains they had been going to. How had he gotten there? Where were Spyro and Cynder? Had they been captured? If so, how did he get there? He groaned as his head felt heavy and his energy felt depleted. His stomach felt increasingly sore and he at once felt the blood drain from his head.

Straining to keep upright, he braced himself against the rocks. He entered the cave and sat down. Things had only gotten bad to worse... they hadn't encountered a situation like this... Sure they had been attacked- several times- but nothing like this. This was too inconvenient, too co-coordinated, and too direct for it to have been an incident. He sighed and sat down as pain flowed through him.

He felt like giving up... already had he been forced to endure Combinia's death and now Eatherine left him... plus now they couldn't even find Eartherine! It had been months already and not one hint of her appearance had been detected other then vague hints and tips.

He felt tears stroll from his eyes and silence blanketed him and the cave. He couldn't take it anymore. Now Spyro and Cynder were missing, probably dead after that last encounter... Eatherine was probably long gone after her departure... even if she wasn't he doubted she found a place to reside peacefully...

"Young Malefor, why give up so soon?" A voice said. Malefor turned around to see a large black figure standing before him. He recognized the creature. It had been that one that had given him the 'powers' that would make him stronger! He was also the one who sent him to the Dragon Temple in the first place after Spyro defeated him at the Final Solution! He was the Shadow.

"What do you want?" He asked bitterly. He turned away, not wanting to look at the creature.

"To help, of course." The Shadow responded.

"Why help me?"

"Because everybody deserves to be happy."

"Not me..." He responded sourly.

"Come now young Malefor, how can you be so bitter? There is so much a purple dragon can do." The Shadow said reassuringly.

"Not me, I can't seem to do anything right... you of all people should know..."

"Oh, should I? The last time I saw you, you were confused. Before that you were a spunky little dragon willing to help others by any means possible."

"That was when my mate was alive and I hadn't done these terrible things."

"Well what's in the past happened. Everybody only wishes to help you. Your father is out there looking for new ways to aid you. You just have to be willing to accept that help."

Malefor pondered his words. He hadn't seen his father since they left the temple 6 months ago. Spyro and Cynder had just vanished and everybody who had helped him up until now had undergone the same circumstances.

Malefor sighed aloud, getting the attention of the Shadow.

"Well young dragon, Spyro and Cynder are out there and need help. I brought you here so I could speak with you in private. However, they are still in danger and need help. They need you." As the Shadow spoke, Malefor looked out of the cave and to the landscape beyond. Spyro and Cynder were out there... and they needed his help. He glided out of the cave and over to where he had last seen them.

The Shadow sat and watched as Malefor left the cave. He had grown up so much since he had last seen him and he and Spyro were proving to be powerful young dragons. They could be of use to him in the future. For now however, he needed to ensure Malefor got through this alright. He hated so see him fall so hard... He had grown accustom to Malefor particularly... even though he hated getting into a friendly relationship.

Malefor soared through the sky, scanning the ground. The bores had disappeared, as did the mysterious vine hostiles. Nevertheless, he touched down and sniffed the air. The air was cold, with a bit of a mist in it. The sky was a light grey and Malefor heard a sound in the background... a grunt. Malefor immediately leapt off into its direction- the area where Cynder had given chase to Spyro.

He went through the dark forest and didn't see a trace of life. The case wasn't so when he came to a small opening in the trees. The opening was covered by a canopy provided by a tree up ahead and only small beams of light cut through the trees. In the center of the opening the ground was lower then average and a cluster of hard roots ensnared a black dragoness.

Cynder lay ensnared in the tree roots, cuts and bruises dotting her body. The roots had a tight grip on her and as Malefor tried to remove them, they proved to be too strong for him to remove. Cynder moaned as she remained unconscious.

Getting frustrated Malefor breathed ice onto the roots and then smashed it with his claws. The roots became brittle as they froze and shattered along with the ice. Cynder tumbled onto the ground, a puddle of blood forming where she had been.

Malefor shook her, only to get a groan. As he tried to awaken her he noticed that there was some object imbedded in her side. Upon closer examination he found that it was a small clear tube with a needle at the end. It looked human in design and it looked as if a liquid had once been inside the tube. Judging from the fact that it was human-made, a chemical obviously had knocked Cynder out or worse.

Suddenly he heard a sound from behind and turned to see a ball of fire speed at him. The fire impacted him and he flew back. He hit a tree trunk nearby and looked up to see a hooded human figure standing across from him. It was the same one that had freed him from the Temple.

Malefor recovered and spat his own fire attack at the new hostile. The human leapt upwards with amazing speed and disappeared into the trees. Malefor readied himself for another attack but it didn't come. Silence filled the air and Malefor sighed and quickly returned to Cynder who sat motionless on the ground.

He tried to move her but he ended up just setting her on his back and trudging along at a slow pace. Not known to him, a pair of eyes tracked him and the mysterious human figure leapt atop the trees above him, keeping his pace with the dragon.

Now that he had located Cynder, he had to find Spyro. However, where he was was unknown to him. Last he saw of him, the vines were dragging him into the forest, more then likely beyond this point.

Malefor started to track movement all around him and in his periphial vision caught sight of vines moving all around. They were moving slow, only keeping pace with him. He kept going nonetheless and continued onwards until he came to a small clearing. Sunlight broke through the trees and revealed the cloudy sky above. In the center he was a black dragoness. It was Eatherine! Quickly Malefor deposited Cynder onto the ground and dashed to where she was. He came up to her and touched her. She was as cold as death. Frightened, he shook her but suddenly the form of Eatherine began to fade away, as if it were never there.

"You're so easily deceived..." a low male voice said. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and Malefor could not see where it had come from.

"Who are you?! Show yourself you coward!" Malefor cried out as he retreated to where he had placed Cynder. The voice erupted into laughter and a few trees nearby caught flame.

Malefor gritted his teeth and awaited a challenge. However, no challenge came. Instead the laughter faded away and as Malefor tried to take Cynder and go back the way he came, the trees there collapsed and fire engulfed them. The air was thick with heat and he looked all around for an exit. He could extinguish the flames with his ice or air powers, but in this heat, ice was impossible to form and these trees were pretty thick.

A few trees gave way and revealed a new path into the forest. Malefor grabbed Cynder and continued to the new path. He ran as fast as he could go and heard a sinister laughter tracking his every movement.

After running through the trees for a while, he came to an area where large vines covered the trees nearby and large roots and vines covered the path. Malefor sprinted through them and went to an enormous clearing where all the vines came together to an enormous tree. The clouds covered the sky and gave the scene a gloomy look. As Malefor strained his eyes he could make out Spyro in the center of the mass of vines.

The purple dragon in question was sitting covered in vines at the base of the tree. Only his forelegs and his head were visible. The clouds stirred above and Malefor knew he had to hurry. As he placed Cynder down and speed off to get Spyro, the hooded figure leapt from the trees and landed in front of him.

Malefor came to a halt and the figure lashed out with its arm and struck Malefor. He was hit with such force that he was sent back and into the ground. The figure stood there and unleashed jets of fire with his hands which dashed across the open space and collided with Malefor. He screamed as the heat washed over him and the grass around him caught fire. The vines nearby came to life and ensnared Malefor, grasping onto his legs.

The figure approached slowly and let out a sickening laugh.

"Well, you seem to be a good fighter. My master said you were good... but you were only good enough for a laugh. You will make a good servant for my Master though." Malefor couldn't see the human's face, for the hood concealed it in darkness. However, he could tell the figure was smiling at him in a wicked kind of way.

"I don't serve anyone! I am not evil anymore!"

"Good, evil, they're just words. We are not out to do evil, we are out to fix the world to the way we want it..." Malefor didn't care what he said. They were evil in his opinion and he would never join them.

"I don't care what you say! I'll never join you!" He said and struggled for the vines to release him.

"Se be it." He said. Malefor knew what was coming... he focused his wind powers to alter the patterns in the sky. He managed to create a whirlwind which came down and flung the human into the air and headlong into the ground.

Malefor breathed ice onto the vines and shattered them, releasing himself. He launched himself at the figure and knocked him off his feet as he tried to recover from the whirlwind. He grunted and hit the ground hard. As he tried to get back up Malefor blew fire at the ground beneath him and it exploded. The figure leapt into the air and jets of fire flew at Malefor.

Malefor used his wings to make himself airborne and went after the figure as he sailed high into the sky. He flew straight at the figure and impacted him hard. He kicked the human but he hit back, and with enormous force. Malefor grunted as the figure hit him on the head hard.

Malefor recovered and flapped his wings hard, propelling the figure away and then he followed it up with a fast dive at the figure. The figure smashed into the ground and laid there for a while. Malefor took this time to fly over to where Spyro was and froze the vines. He smashed the ice but the vines failed to shatter. Frustrated, he banged on the vines and was rewarded with a fireball to the back.

Malefor screamed as the fire splashed across his scales and singed his skin. His skin temperature rose so high that portions started to boil. The heat finally dissipated and Malefor groaned and recovered himself. He turned around to see the figure, clutching onto a wound and holding his arm out in attack position.

They just stared at each other for a while until Malefor finally flinched and started to slowly walk. The figure lowered his arms and ran at Malefor with extreme speed. Malefor waited for him to come... to use his own attack against him. As the figure came at him and prepared to deliver a strike, Malefor lowered his body stance and shot upwards at the last second, propelling the figure sky high.

He landed hard and grunted.

"Your stronger then I thought... we will meet again young dragon, that you can be sure of." The figure said before leaping upwards and vanishing from sight. The vines slowly retracted and Spyro's body fell to the ground, motionless. Upon inspection of his body, he had been injected by the same chemical as Cynder.

He placed Cynder on his back and took off towards the cave. After depositing her there he got Spyro and did the same. Upon his second return to the cave he found Cynder in a natural deep sleep, the Shadow sitting next to her. As Malefor sat Spyro down the Shadow caught a hint of his arrival.

"So, you were successful I take it." The Shadow said in a low voice. Malefor sighed low in response. He felt horrible. His muscles hurt, his back was singed, he was exhausted... he just needed a rest.

"Yeaeh... I did it." He finally said before going to the side of the cave and lying down for a nap. The Shadow looked at him for a while before going to Spyro and absorbing the chemical that had knocked him out. Spyro then slipped into a state of deep sleep and their chests rose and fell with their breaths.

His work done, the Shadow departed.

As Malefor stirred he looked around and found Spyro and Cynder asleep next to him. He had managed to save them. After a hard days fighting they had managed to pass a single mountain. It was hardly an accomplishment but at least they were still alive... for now. He yawned and looked to the mouth of the cave. The starry night sky sat beyond. It was night time and a few clouds covered the sky. The two moons shone across the realms and gave Malefor a feeling of peace. He placed his head back down and closed his eyes. He once again fell into a deep sleep.

As the morning light approached upon the dragons, Malefor once again awoke. He groaned, looked outside and felt the chill of the winds creep through the cave. He shivered a bit but noticed the clouds were back again and it looked as if a storm was approaching. He sighed, got up, and departed the cave.

He managed to locate a few berries and fruits which he picked and took with him back to the cave. He set the food down and laid back down in the cave. He glanced at Spyro and Cynder who lay next to each other, in a blissful sleep.

He smiled to himself and once again fell into a deep sleep.

As he slept, images of Eatherine popped into his head. He saw her, scared and alone. She was running from something... but what was it? He couldn't see it but she was afraid... and he wanted to be with her... tell her he was sorry and hope everything would be better. However, all he could do was watch... watch and feel horrible for his actions.

He came to and opened his eyes once more to find Spyro and Cynder awake and walking around. Cynder had a few berries in her mouth and Spyro was looking out of the cave and to the cloudy sky beyond. As they noticed he was up Spyro smiled. Cynder looked at him but instead of getting a neutral, and sometimes hateful look from her, he actually got a smile.

"Thanks." She said to him. A bit dumbfounded, and somewhat disoriented, Malefor gave her a look of question.

"For... what?" He asked.

"For saving us." Malefor blushed a bit. He almost started to giggle but Cynder turned to face Spyro who was watching them. He smiled as well.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Cynder asked Malefor as she nibbled on a berry. She had noticed he hadn't eaten anything.

"No I already ate." He lied. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday when they stopped at that pond. He felt hungry but couldn't eat. All he could think about was Eatherine. He couldn't eat knowing she was still out there somewhere. Sure she was a tough dragoness who had lived all her life by herself... but something was telling him she needed him now more then ever.

Spyro shot him a spectacle look but shrugged. They finished the food and left. Malefor felt empty inside. He wasn't craving food... he was craving love.

They tried to fly as far as they could without the winds knocking them off course. The managed to skip an entire pass and landed in another stretch of the mountain range. All they had to do was pass through a canyon like portion of the range. It was a shortcut through the pass, but it was more risky. Hunters and other extremely hostile creatures favored that stretch for its terrain. So far they hadn't seen anything.

As they neared the canyon, the winds coming through were getting to strong for them to fly through. They touched down on the rocky dirt and noticed that there were lots of trees along the roof of the 'canyon'. The canyon wasn't too particularly big; it was mainly a large crevice in the mountains which had a small forest at the bottom.

They walked along the Eastern side of the canyon, or rather the right flank which had a large walkway that spanned the canyon. The walkway was part of a mountain that connected the two sides of the canyon. The walkway was pretty long and would take sometime to get to the other side. They could fly across, but the winds coming through the canyon proved even fiercer then the ones above. Walking was their only option.

As they started, they could detect movement all around them. Things were moving in the trees. All at once they halted their progress and readied themselves for anything.

Large spiders leapt out from the trees and attacked the group of dragons. Malefor leapt out of the way and managed to dodge one of the approaching creatures. Spyro and Cynder both used their breaths to start an initial attack. More came and Spyro did a flip as the spiders came nearer and kicked them out of the way.

Malefor kicked one and breathed Earth onto another, blowing it clear off of the path and into the gorge beyond. The other spiders came again and one strayed from the group and launched a spider web at him. Malefor dodged, but it hit Cynder and she was sent headlong into a tree. Spyro snarled at this and blew a wall of fire at the oncoming beasts, torching them. Malefor leapt into the air and used his wind abilities to knock the others into the gorge, their death shrills filling the air around them.

"Cynder!" Spyro cried as he ran to her and helped undo the web.

"I'm fine Spyro." She said as she ripped the web from her and recovered herself.

"C'mon, before anything else attacks!" Malefor said. Spyro and Cynder nodded and trotted off on the path once again. When they were about three fourths down the path, the trees around them rustled a bit as the wind picked up. However, they neglected to look up as the winds picked up strength and as they tried to hurry up and bypass the path, a figure trailed them. However, this was a new figure. He looked at them intently and aimed his weapon at them. Unlike the first attacker, this one was a simple hunter... but a hunter with a weapon pointed at the trio of dragons...

He released the tension he had been building on his bow and the arrow flew fast and true at Spyro and impacted him dead on his back thigh. He yelled in pain as the arrow went several inches past his scales and entered his skin. The others turned to see him fall over with the arrow jabbing out of his hind leg. Malefor caught a glimpse of the hunter before he leapt away. This area was a popular hunting ground for these guys and now they were knee deep in trouble.

They both grabbed Spyro and helped him limp along. Malefor knew that if they removed the arrow, more blood would come out and then he might bleed to death. They rushed him along and more figures were visible in the woods.

"C'mon, there are more of them coming! We have to move!" Malefor said to Spyro. He roared in pain and moved his back leg, the arrow sending waves of unbelievable pain rocketing through his body. They carried him along and another arrow sailed through the air and hit the ground nearby.

Malefor let Spyro go as he jumped out of the way of another arrow. He saw a figure sitting in the tree and he blew a fireball on an intercept course. The figure leapt away and the tree caught ablaze. More arrows flew all around and they dodged this way and that. Cynder used her air to keep them from reaching Spyro and he tried to stand up but the pain in his leg was too great.

Malefor and Cynder both used their wind powers to knock the figures off their feet and into the brush. Some fled, sensing too great of a fight. A few stayed and rushed them. Malefor and Cynder both readied themselves and as one approached Malefor to strike him with a blade he moved his head under him and lifted the hunter into the air and into a nearby tree.

The hunter grunted and collapsed onto the ground. More arrows split the sky and Cynder blew them away with her air moves. One more charged them and before he got a chance to swing his blade, an arrow collided with him and caused him to fly backwards. Malefor and Cynder turned to see another cheetah hunter standing, his bow and arrow in hand. A human made LR22MR Sniper Rifle was slung over his shoulder and a scar was imbedded into his face.

"Hunter?" Cynder asked the new figure.

"No, I am a close friend of Hunter's. My name is Desibar. Hunter has some news for you three. You need to get to Gale, at once."

"That's where we were headed, but these assholes kept us up!" Cynder said, referring to the either dead or unconscious hunters nearby. Like Desibar, some were cheetahs, but they were obviously not on their side.

"Well it's a good thing I came across you three when I did. Does your companion require assistance?" Desibar asked, referring to Spyro.

"No... I'm fine..." Spyro grunted as he struggled to walk. Desibar cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Well let us move, Hunter requires to speak with all of you at once!" Desibar leapt off in the direction of Gale and they all followed.

Soon they were off and climbing the final mountain. The climb was fast and soon they were at the mountain's apex. The large Dragon City of Gale sat beyond.

"Finally, we're here!" Malefor proclaimed. They nodded and soon the trio of dragons took flight, using the winds conjured by the mountains to their advantage. They rode the jet stream up and over the city. Desibar leapt below, leaping from tree to tree with extreme precision.

Desibar leapt onto the roof of a low lying structure in the city and motioned the dragons to land there. They did and thankfully, a large cloud cover over the city concealed their approach. Although there were other airborne dragons, they didn't want to draw attention themselves- or Malefor.

As they landed Desibar lifted up a panel in the roof and they entered. The room was dimly lit and a cheetah in a cape stood in front of a wall covered in maps and notes. A desk also had many parchments and maps covering its surface.

"I found these three wandering the mountain pass." Desibar said to the cheetah. The cheetah turned to reveal himself as Hunter of Avalar.

"Hunter!" Spyro said in joy. Malefor frowned at him but then changed it to a smile. Cynder squealed in joy.

"Spyro, it's been a while." The cheetah said as he pasted a smug smile on his face.

"Yeah it has." He said in reply. Hunter had been helping them track down Eatherine, but up until now, they hadn't actually met up with him. Other friends of his said he constantly moved around the based himself out of whatever building he could rent out.

"It's good that you three are here. I have news for all of you." Hunter said to them.

"What is it?" Malefor asked. Hunter's glance at him revealed that the cheetah still held something against him. Nonetheless, he still answered the dragon's question.

"Eatherine is here. She is in Gale."

End of Chapter 7

Finally! Been typing this little by little in my computer class and I finally reached the end of this one. Sorry for cliff hanger, but I am starting to fall in love with them. The Spyro Wars Chapter is soon to follow along with a special surprise I have up my sleeve.