Well, here's the first chapter for Skylanders: Pure. Before I continue, please note that this story and the in-progress Skylanders: The Heretic Jewel are interconnected, and so there are pieces of that story spoiled throughout this one and some of the others. This story will take place mostly from Cynder's point-of-view, similar to Dark Warriors, though it will switch to Spyro's point-of-view and several of the other characters within the chapters, mostly to give an idea of what they are going through as they view and/or hear of Cynder's journey throughout this story. I have created a playlist for this story, and I will tell you what the songs to listen to at the beginning of the chapters I have considered them the best for. The tracks to listen to for this chapter are "Main Title" and "Naberious Wants It Alive," both found in the score for I, Frankenstein by Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil.

Have a great day, and God bless!

Chapter One:

Awakening

The memories flashed through her mind:

Spyro on the ground, wounded after having been hit by Kaos with a ball of energy. His ribs having been revealed to be broken, blood on his body…

Pain spreading through her body as the Dark Magic possessed by Malefor took over everything, from her thoughts to her emotions, to her movements. She could hear herself screaming, only a hatchling, the voice of the Ape King and Aemus echoing around Malefor's distorted, demonic tone…

Her realization that Spyro was not her true enemy, that she had been under Malefor's control for fourteen years…

The pain that she'd felt as Deathmatch beat her, wanting answers that she never gave, even though the Dark Elf had told the Skylanders otherwise…

The day Spyro gained his Dark form, as a result of the Heretic Jewel and the Shadow Golem Zelophehad, having used that evil form to defend an injured Cynder, whose shoulder had been dislocated, from him…

The price she'd paid to Kaos to stop his attack on the Ruins…

Her battle against her friends and allies twice, first in Convexity, then again at the Ruins, with Malefor and Kaos behind it both times…

Her battles against Aemus, and when the both of them had faced their kingdom come, when she'd been so badly wounded that she could have died at any given moment, with his Ice-covered claws having been swept across her chest

Spyro's revelation that he loved her…

…their lifemate ceremony…

"Cynder…"

Cynder's head shot up. For quite some time, she had no idea where she was, nor what was going on around her. Those thoughts that had plagued her were now only in the recesses of her mind, and she was glad for that.

Then she remember what had happened…

…what Gaul had done.

After escaping from the cult, run by the Grey Wolf Roarke at one time, then by the Maned Wolf known as Karis after Roarke had made one too many mistakes (as said by Sadiki, a traitorous and undead Violet Dragon under the employ of Gaul, the beast who had overtaken the Haven Realms and forced their King, Nestor, into slavery, along with his son Daniel and ally Titan), the Skylanders had stopped Karis, then taken on a Fire Golem sent to kill them.

But Cynder remembered that something had gone wrong, that once they'd destroyed the creature, the resulting blast caused all the Skylanders other than Spyro and Cynder to disappear into parts unknown.

Then Gaul had appeared, taunting them both and forcing them to do battle against him. He'd easily beaten them both somehow, and after nearly knocking her unconscious, he'd taken Spyro and cast a dark spell. Once finished, Cynder fell into unconsciousness.

Now she had awoken, and she had no idea whatsoever about what might be around her.

She was now alone, and even if she could find more of the Skylanders, what condition would they be in?

She was almost too scared to find out.

"Hello?" she called out, though she felt it was a stupid thing to do no matter what powers she possessed. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Different noises seemed to appear from many different directions, including growls, snarls, and even roars.

While it was not something she usually felt, she could not help but think that she was actually afraid at the moment. It was a feeling she had only ever shared with those she truly knew and trusted, and right now, none of them were around here.

At least, that was what she believed, given the circumstances.

What was it with the Fire Golem? she thought. Why did everyone just disappear as soon as it was destroyed? What in God's name did Gaul do to it in order for something like that to have happened? I need to get to the bottom of this, and I need to do it quick. But most of all, I need to try and save Spyro.

While he had been taken by Gaul, Cynder believed she would be able to succeed in saving the Dragon she loved. If he risked his life to save her from Malefor, and again from Kaos, then she had to do the same for him. She wouldn't give up until the mission was finally accomplished.

But first, she needed to find shelter, as well as try and figure out where the other Skylanders were.

She took her first step forward, and heard the dry grass crunch under her right paw. She was glad there was no pain in that paw, as there had been before.

She couldn't keep her mind on that for too long, though, because she felt it would stop the process of getting through this…

…what was this place?

While she had seen where Drobot and Flashwing had set up camp for them, she wasn't sure where exactly it was, nor did she know what it was. Was it some kind of valley?

A growl reached her ears, and she whirled around to find a Woodland Devil standing there. She smiled at it, knowing she could easily take it down. In fact, she had been able to take down about six or seven of them—she couldn't automatically remember how many it had been back at the cult—and if she could do that, then she believed she could do this.

"You think you're scary?" she asked the creature, whose red eyes were blazing with a fury she had only ever seen in rabid animals, as well as Malefor, Aemus, and Gaul. "I've killed worse than you, and if I can take them down, then I should be able to do that same to you!"

Almost in response to her words, the Woodland Devil lunged. Cynder released a current of sapphire-colored Electricity at it. The current hit the creature in the chest, but it was not enough to kill it.

As soon as it hit the ground, it got right back up. Cynder prepared herself for the next part of their fight…

…only for an explosion to appear behind her. This caught her off-guard, and the Woodland Devil, which had been seemingly unfazed by this, took advantage of the situation. Cynder performed her Shadow Dash, but she was not quick enough to stop the Woodland Devil from scratching her left flank with its long claws.

When she appeared behind it, she grimaced. But she would not let that stop her, as she did not let it stop her during her battle with Aemus.

So, while she originally had not wanted to kill the creature, she breathed another current, which burned a hole through the Woodland Devil's chest as it turned around.

With her opponent now dead, Cynder sighed and looked at her wound. She found three long slices in her left flank, and as she touched them gingerly, she found they hurt terribly.

"Condemn it!" she said as she touched them. Trying to not keep her mind on it all for long, she walked over to the source of the explosion, finding remains of a stick of dynamite. Her eyes widened as she realized it was one of those that had belonged to the Troll Skylander Boomer. She found that she was happy she'd not been lying too close to the stick. All the same, it had caused the scars on her left flank.

But when she found him, she would not blame him, as he had likely dropped it when he'd suddenly disappeared. Where he had gone, she was not sure. But she would make sure she would find out.

Looking around, she found a thick spider-web in a tree, and she grabbed it as quickly as possible. As spider-webs were rich in Vitamin K, a natural clotting vitamin, it was good for the wounds she had received. Pressing it to her wound, she sighed as she felt blood welling from the scars.

After a few moments of applying this pressure, she looked down and found the bleeding had stopped. At least, for the moment.

But she was sure it wouldn't be long until her scars were bleeding again. This meant she needed to find a more permanent way to treat her wounds. If only Stealth Elf or Cali were around here, she thought. If only all of them were around here. I wish Spyro were here especially, because I could really use help right about now.

She reached out her mind and tried to find Spyro's consciousness, but couldn't find anything. She wasn't surprised by this, though, because he was certainly far away from where she stood now. After all, Gaul had kidnapped Spyro and taken him to a place that God only knew. Looking up into the sky, Cynder found lightning flashing across it, and she sighed as the first drops of rain started falling. Looking ahead of herself, she saw a cliff rising high into the sky, illuminated by the lightning. Despite the trouble she knew she'd face, she began her journey, thinking, God help me.

Spyro felt pain in the right side of his skull, and for a few moments he wondered whether or not he was dead. He could not remember what had happened to cause him this kind of pain, nor could he remember what had happened before arriving wherever it was that he was now.

But where was he?

That was a question he could not automatically answer. But why was that? Why, it was because he hadn't opened his eyes just yet. He shook his head to clear the fog that had settled over his brain and opened his amethyst eyes to look around himself. He wanted nothing more than for Cynder to be by his side, with the second thing he wanted most being to know where in the name of God he was, and third being what had happened.

Unfortunately, he found that Cynder was not there by his side, and he wondered why that was. That was just as the fog in his brain began to fade, and he now took in the sights around him. He saw an ivory-colored marble floor, as well as onyx walls that seemed to be made of marble, as well. Above him, the ceiling was the same color as the walls. A golden chandelier hung above him, with violet flames sprouting from the wicks protruding from the ghostly-white candles. Other than that, there was no light in the room.

A great wooden door stood before him, and when he looked behind himself, he found a throne…

…and sitting in that throne was Gaul.

Everything came rushing back to him, and he felt great anger at the so-called Ape King.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Gaul. "Where in the name of God am I, and what did you do with Cynder? Where is she?"

"So many questions," Gaul said. He gripped his staff and looked at the green crystal embedded at the top. "So little time." He looked back at Spyro. "She is fine, for the moment. A Woodland Devil attacked and wounded her, so there is that. But I believe she will survive. You can see her progress, as well. Would you like to, young Dragon?"

Spyro glared at Gaul. The Ape King smiled darkly, then held his hand towards a wall off to the left. A projection appeared there, and Spyro saw Cynder, who seemed not to be too badly wounded. He saw the scars on her left flank, and remembering that Gaul had said she'd been wounded by a Woodland Devil, he wondered how that could have possibly happened, as Cynder was not usually surprised in such a way.

Then he remembered something: Cynder had fallen into unconsciousness just as Gaul took him away from her. Either that, or there had been a projection of it that he'd seen after leaving the area. Either way, it did not matter. He knew she had been unconscious, and he guessed the Woodland Devil had surprised her after she'd woken from her forced slumber.

Anger filled him again, directed once more at Gaul. He hated that the Ape King had somehow succeeded in defeating him and the other Skylanders.

That was when another thought hit him: Where had all the other Skylanders gone when the Fire Golem exploded? It seemed as though they'd disappeared, and judging from the projection, it did not seem as though Cynder had met with any of them. It also seemed as though she had not found Hunter or Elora, nor Daniel, with the lattermost having been forced away from the battle with the Fire Golem by his father, the King of the Haven Realms, Nestor. Hunter and Elora, meanwhile, had left to get water for the Skylanders, but had not returned by the time the Fire Golem had appeared. So, where had they gone?

Nestor, Titan (Nestor's closest ally at that time, other than Spyro and Cynder), and Kelyse, the dark-furred Vixen who had been forced to fight in the cult led by the Grey Wolf Roarke along with her brother Belenus.

Roarke had taken Spyro and Cynder into the cult, along with all the other Skylanders, having not known who they were, only believing they would be perfect contenders to fight in his arenas. After participating in several battles against other opponents, Spyro and Cynder had been forced to battle one another. When Spyro would not, he revealed who they were, and what they were there to do.

Unfortunately for Roarke, his superior, the Violet Dragon known as Sadiki, had been behind him. While Sadiki had once been a living Dragon, after being revealed to have betrayed Nestor and allowed Gaul into the Haven Realms, Gaul killed him and then revived him, making him stronger than ever before.

Once everything had been revealed, and Sadiki had taken over, he appointed Roarke's second-in-command, the Maned Wolf Karis as the new leader of the cult. Unfortunately for them, the Skylanders broke out of their cells and staged a revolution, alongside allies such as Hunter and Nestor, Titan, and Daniel, as well as Kelyse and Belenus and a Mountain Troll named Magnhild who had become a good friend of Sonic Boom's.

During their uprising, though, Magnhild and Belenus were both killed, though Cynder killed Roarke (who had escaped the chains he'd no doubt been placed in) before he could kill a distraught Kelyse. At the end of it all, the Skylanders succeeded in escaping despite these devastating losses, and all had been well until the Fire Golem had appeared. Even Karis had been found and killed by Kelyse, along with help from Cynder, Sonic Boom, Whirlwind, Stealth Elf, Hex, and Flashwing.

Spyro took his mind off that to focus on Gaul, who had waited for him to process his thoughts before speaking again. "You are one extraordinary Dragon, Spyro," Gaul said. "I've waited for many years to finally meet you again, and I must admit that I was disappointed when I saw you in such a weakened state. Of course, that was what I waited for. Had you been in your state from when you were battling Cynder, then things might have gone differently."

"What are you going to do with Cynder?" Spyro demanded. "If you so much as lay a finger on her, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Sadiki drawled as he entered the room through the front door. "You'll break out of your chains and attack us?" He threw back his head and laughed. This allowed Spyro to see the place where Gaul had swept his blade across the Violet Dragon's throat. "Oh, you sorry fool. This is why no one in Skylands takes the Skylanders seriously anymore: you all act as though you're the true heroes of Skylands, and when someone challenges you, you go off on this tirade about how you'll harm them if they attempt to harm those you want to save! Don't you realize that only makes us want to do it more? I wish I could help you, but as you can see, I have other matters to attend to, little one. I may have been grateful at one time to have been freed from crystal by you when Gnasty Gnorc attacked, but even you have to understand that individuals—especially Dragons—change over time. As time passes, we all change. Even you have changed. You were only eight when you had to save the five main Dragon Realms, as well as rescue some of us from Gnasty's Gnexus! But I realized you were only doing it because you wanted the fame! You wanted the glory!"

"That's not true, Sadiki," Spyro growled. "And if you weren't this freak in front of me, with a knife having slit his throat, then maybe you would begin to understand some of these things. Instead, you're no more than a lackey without a reason to live."

Sadiki laughed. It was a laugh without any emotion whatsoever, similar to that of a sarcastic laugh. "He knows how to fight," the Violet Dragon said. "Well done, young one. Now, if you excuse me, I have pressing matters that I must attend to."

He left the room, leaving Spyro and Gaul alone once more. "What's he going to do?" Spyro asked the so-called Ape King. "If he dares to harm Cynder, then I'll kill him myself!"

"Of course you will," Gaul said. "I expected nothing more and nothing less from you. But you must understand, you are here, and she is there. If you want to help her, then what you can do is stop attempting to get free. It worked for Cynder once, when that foolish Goblin known as Glumshanks tried to check her neck for chafing. He was told to do so by Malefor, to see what would happen, and she killed him in cold blood. Do you really think you can do the same? You may be powerful, but so long as that chain is around your neck, you cannot use your power. I have complete and utter control of you, and if you step out of line, then you will face the dire consequences that your mate would have experienced had you not freed her! Maybe one day, I could show you how it would have gone, how she would have felt if she'd returned to our castle you tried to save her from. You can try all you want to escape, but if you want to remain alive for you traitorous love when she comes to save you, then I suggest otherwise. I may hate you, Spyro, but I think you might be of use sooner or later. Just remember, though: There is no white bird here."

Walking up the mountain path, Cynder felt that she was going to collapse very soon. Her legs were wobbling heavily, and if she didn't lay down and try to take a load off, then things were going to get bad pretty quickly.

As she stepped forward, this time finding herself on level ground for the first time in what seemed to be miles, she heard a voice ring out.

"Who's there?" the voice asked. Cynder couldn't tell if it was male or female. "What are you? Where do you come from? Are one of those creatures sent by the Ape King, or are you an ally of the Skylanders?"

"I'm one of the Skylanders," Cynder replied. "I'm…the second-in-command, actually."

A dark light appeared, and due to a shining white aura around it, it glowed luminously. Then the shroud disappeared, and Cynder found Hex floating in front of her. Cynder couldn't help but smile as she saw one of her greatest friends there.

"Hex, thank God!" Cynder gasped. She felt a stitch in her chest, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could continue standing. "Please, I'm exhausted. I need help."

"How do I know it's you?" Hex asked darkly.

"What do you mean?" Cynder asked. "I've known you since I joined the Skylanders. You're my second-in-command in the Undead Element. The first time we met, you asked, 'Who is this?' to Spyro, referring to me. You defeated Malefor, and you helped Spyro defeat him and free me from his control once more in the esoteric Realm of Convexity. Please, Hex, it's me, and I need your help! Where are the other Skylanders? Why is everyone missing? And where are our other allies?"

Hex seemed to examine her just a little more before finally sighing and saying, "I know it's you. There's no need to worry, Cynder." She continued to look Cynder over, and Cynder saw worry appear on her face. This caused Cynder to guess that she'd found the scars. "What happened to you? Did Gaul do that?"

"No," Cynder replied. "A Woodland Devil did. It caught me off-guard as I woke up. Gaul knocked me out, and he took Spyro. But what about you? How are you here, when all the other Skylanders suddenly went missing? None of this is making any sense whatsoever!"

"I know it's not," Hex said. "Come to the cave and we'll discuss it more. There's too much going on currently, and if we tarry any longer, then there might be worse creatures coming along and finding us."

Cynder nodded and walked to her friend. As they made their way up the rocky path, Cynder looked to Hex. "Is Sonic Boom with you?" she asked.

Hex shook her head. "No," she admitted. "I don't know where any of the other Skylanders are currently, besides you. You told me that Spyro is in Gaul's clutches, though. How did that happen?"

"Gaul appeared and confronted us, and then we attempted to fight him. That was exactly what he wanted, though, because we were so exhausted that he was able to gain the upper hand. We lost easily, and I was knocked to the ground. I was awake long enough to see Spyro attempt to protect me, only to be taken away by Gaul. Now I need to find him, save the Skylanders, and stop Gaul once and for all. It won't be easy, though."

"None of this ever is, sadly," Hex lamented. "I've been around long enough to see that life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get."

"Where'd you get that from?"

"I just heard it somewhere. It's probably not a popular saying. Anyway, you're in luck, because we're here."

Cynder saw the cave Hex was pointing to, and when she looked within it, she couldn't see anything for a moment or two.

But soon her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she found a dark-furred Vixen laying on the floor of the cave: Kelyse.

"Hex?" Kelyse mumbled sleepily. "Is that you? Did you happen to find—" Her head popped up, and when she saw Cynder, her eyes widened. "Cynder? Oh, thank God! What happened? Where's Spyro?" Then she saw the scars. "And your side! What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," Cynder said. "What about you? Where'd you go after the Fire Golem exploded?"

"After it exploded, one of the pieces was about to crush us," Hex said. "I teleported us out of the way, but something else happened at the same time, and the force of it knocked us unconscious. When we awoke, we found ourselves here in this cave. After a few minutes, I told her I'd go and find out what had happened down where we fought the Fire Golem. I haven't seen any of the other Skylanders just yet."

Cynder sighed. "Crap," she said under her breath. "Well, I guess there's no point in trying to find them right now. I'm too exhausted for any of that, and the longer we stick around here, the worse it'll be, I believe. We should leave in the morning."

"What do you mean?" Kelyse asked. "Leaving in the morning probably isn't the best idea, either. If we stay here that long, then something might just come sniffing along! I don't want to risk something like that, know what I mean?" She looked between Cynder and Hex like they were crazy.

"I'll keep watch," Hex said. "I don't sleep, unlike the two of you. Do you want me to try and heal that for you, though, Cyn? I know one spell that could work on your wound, but I don't think it'll heal it completely."

"Does it look bad, or do you think I'll be able to manage?" Cynder asked.

"I just want to be careful," Hex said. "I've seen those kinds of wounds become infected without much trouble, and if that one does, then I'll never be able to forgive myself. I'm promising here and now that I won't allow you to be wounded. I don't want Spyro to think that I'm some horrible person because his mate was wounded. You were the first real friend I had. While there were others who were kind to me, you were the first one who made it seem to me that there was a such thing as friendship after what Malefor did to me."

Cynder felt truly touched by this. "Thank you," she said. While it was the greatest response to Hex's compliment, she felt it conveyed what it needed to. At the moment, Cynder could not think of all the words that would go into a lengthy and appreciative word of thanks. "If you want, then try it. I just hope it works."

"So do I," Hex said. "It's unfortunate we don't have Cali here."

That was what caused Cynder's eyes to widen. "Whatever happened to Cali? She was never among us during our escape."

"That's because she got on another ship before Spyro and them reached the Maradmtsvane," Hex explained. "Sunburn told me that. I don't know where she might have gone, but I do know we could use her and Stealth Elf. Now, turn towards me with your wound facing me. Just remember, this might be really painful. But do know that this will hurt me more than it hurts you."

Cynder did as she was asked, and she felt Hex's magic beginning to work. A yellowish glow emanated from her hands, and all Cynder could do was grimace as skin seemed to grow over the scars.

It was not an easy thing to deal with, as it felt like someone was stretching the skin and as though a scab was being peeled off..

But after what seemed like a long while, the pain lessened, and Cynder couldn't help but sigh with relief. She looked at where the wound had been and found that it was slightly healed, though the scars were still there.

"That's as much as I could do, Cyn," Hex told her. "I'm sorry. I wanted to do more, but I just can't. I think it has something to do with the Woodland Devil's abilities. Those kinds of creatures are imbued with a Magic that many of us don't fully understand."

"I get that," Cynder said. She sighed once more. "I'm not sure how much more I'm going to be able to deal with this. That's saying something, though, because I don't think this journey has even begun."

"When a journey begins, there's always going to be a great deal of pain involved," Hex said. "I've known that for such a long time, and now that everyone else knows how I feel, I'm not completely sure I want to see them in that state. It's just not right."

"You both have obviously known each other for quite some time," Kelyse said. "How long, would you say?"

"Ever since Cynder came to the Skylanders," Hex explained. "That was almost four years ago now. Ever since we met, we knew there was a friendship. However, I wasn't used to having friends, especially not since my battle against the demonic Purple Dragon Malefor. He was my greatest enemy, as well as the greatest enemy of both Spyro and Cynder. If it hadn't been for me, though, he might have attempted to go after Cynder again."

"What?" Kelyse said. "I've heard of Malefor before, but what does he have to do with Cynder?"

"I was corrupted by him," Cynder said. She felt that she didn't want to go into this territory, but she found the explanation needed for it was helping her to feel sleepier than she had before. "I was his servant for fourteen years, until Spyro found me and saved me from him. By that time, he'd already been a well-known hero in the Dragon Realms, as well as the Realms of Avalar and the Forgotten Worlds. But he helped me—he saved me—and even though Malefor escaped—injuring me in the process—he was able to get me back to who I was supposed to be. When he found me again a while later in that bar, he offered me the chance to be a Skylander. I took it, even though I thought it was all a sham at first. I mean, who would want me, the Black Dragoness known as the Terror of the Skies? But when I arrived, I found no one knew who I truly was—or who they might have believed me to be. Despite the amount of times I doubted myself, Spyro stood by me, and I met a great deal of new friends, including Hex, Sonic Boom, and the others. Some of my greatest friends didn't come until later, of course, but even then, I've gained many along the way, and if I had to go through all I have to get to this point, then I'd happily do it again. Spyro helped me through some of my darkest times, along with all of them. Hex was a good friend of mine, too, and she still is, because we've both had experience with what Malefor can do to someone, along with Spyro. I would never trade in my friends. That's one of the reasons why I'm here: I need to find them all and help them. I don't know where they are, but that doesn't matter. What matters most is saving them." She found a tear had escaped her right eye, and she wiped it away, turning to Hex and Kelyse. "I also need to find Spyro, and I need to save him. With your help, if I can do this…if I can accomplish this mission, then I can repay everyone. Not everyone has offered me kindness, but I can still offer them that. It's not good to hold grudges, and I won't no matter what. My hate towards Gaul isn't a grudge, it's something that has to do with the pain he caused me and all those I love. If I can stop him, then everything will be back to the way it once was." She looked to Hex and Kelyse. "Are you with me?"

Hex nodded. "Yes," she merely said.

"Always," Kelyse replied, smiling.

Cynder smiled, then lay on the floor of the cave. She curled up and prepared to sleep. "Wake me at first light," she said to Hex.

Then, though it wasn't easy, she felt into a deep sleep.

Unfortunately, nightmares ravaged her sleep, showing her images of meat-hooks, bloody claws, and Gaul himself. She wanted to scream, but stopped herself from doing so.

Soon she felt herself being shaken awake, and when she opened her eyes, she found Kelyse.

Sunlight streamed into the cave.

"It's time," the Vixen said.

Though unwilling, Cynder got up and prepared herself for what they were about to face.