Chapter 21: Sorrow

Zach woke to an incredibly sore body, each part of his body expressing its unwillingness to do anything though searing pain and an inability to move. He didn't need to think about why his body hurt though, his dreams had been plagued with the anguished cries of his friends and the possibilities of what might have happened. But still those were only possibilities. He didn't know what had happened for sure; he didn't even know where he was.

Focusing as much as he could, Zach cracked open his eyes only to wince at the light. The setting of the room was familiar, but it wasn't his normal room within the temple. Instead, his mind slowly pieced together that he was currently in a corner of the infirmary that he had spent so much time in with Makias. Gathering as much energy as he could, Zach tilted his head to the side to catch a glimpse of the other side of the infirmary, but he regretted the action as soon as he did it.

Stars danced across his vision and darkness crawled along the edges as that small motion took all the energy his body had. He was completely and utterly sapped.

Giving up, Zach let out an aggravated groan, he wasn't going anywhere for the time being.

"Hey there," Cynder's voice caught Zach's attention from the hallway. Walking in, she looked at him with concern. "You're awake."

Groaning again, Zach twisted his body ever so slightly so he could open his mouth. "Barely." His voice sounded as weak as he felt.

"You had us worried for a few days…"

"A few days?" Zach groaned again, this time from frustration. "How long was I out?"

Cynder let out a heavy sigh. "The attack was three days ago."

"… that long huh?"

"Yeah…" Cynder nodded solemnly in response, leaving the room in silence again.

Zach stared at her a moment, the question he desperately wanted to ask hanging on the edge of his tongue. But he already knew what the answer was going to be. Cynder's body language and solemn tone told him everything.

Opening his dry mouth, Zach tried to make eye contact. "So… did he… did he make it?"

Cynder stared at him a moment before looking down at the floor, making Zach's stomach sink with her gaze. Her voice was steady as she replied. "No, he didn't. You bought us enough time to clear the rest of the temple and get him to the infirmary, but Makias and the guardians couldn't do anything to help him, he just had too many injures."

"Oh…" Zach let his body sag further into the bedding, what little energy he had sapped by the knowledge that it had been for nothing…

Struggling with his emotions, Zach tried to keep talking. "How is everyone else?"

Cynder let out another sigh. "The guardians are all alright; they were in the arena with Felix, Makias, and Flint when the attack came so they're alright too. But I'm afraid that's about where the good news stops. Crispin was caught alone in his room, so he didn't make it… and we found Comet's body out in the woods yesterday. He must have stumbled onto the apes camp by accident, it looked like they had been there for a while watching us, and they probably only attacked because he found them."

Zach spent a long moment in silence, his heart caught in his throat as he tried to hold his feelings in check. It wasn't supposed to go like this… things like this were not supposed to happen.

"What about Chara?"

"She's alright. I'm actually surprised Chara isn't with you right now actually. She spent a lot of time here after things calmed down a little bit."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's been taking care of you mostly, I was just sent here to check on you again by the guardians." Cynder sat down next to Zach, her voice returning to a more normal tone.

"How is she doing? I know she was pretty beat up when we arrived."

"Her wings are pretty beat up, so she shouldn't fly for a while. Most of the cuts and bruises on her are healing up nicely, Makias made sure of that, but her leg still seems to give her a little trouble" Zach could hear distain creep into her voice. "The guardians said that once her wings heal enough they're going to head to Warfang. They said it's for safety. But I know there is something they haven't told us yet."

"I could probably…"

Cynder cut him off, "don't even think about it. You shouldn't move, so much as try to use your power. We need you to be able to fly soon so don't go doing anything stupid."

Zach grit his teeth "fine… do you know where she went through?"

"That depends, why are you asking?"

"Why are you asking? Zach shot back.

"Because she doesn't need anything else upsetting her right now, and that's all you ever seem to do when you talk to her."

Zach growled into silence, her words stung, but he couldn't refute them.

Cynder waited a moment before speaking again, "it doesn't really matter anyway; you shouldn't be up and around. Do you want something to eat? I can grab something for you on my way back. I should go tell the guardians that you're up."

Zach considered it, but the flips and twists his stomach was performing in his chest banished any though of food from his mind, no matter how hungry he was. "No, I'm good."

"I guess I should have phrased that differently, you need to eat something or you're never going to recover. Just stay put, I'll grab something for you on the way back." Cynder turned and left the room quickly, not leaving Zach a chance to protest. Grumbling, Zach closed his eyes again, he might as well get a little more sleep while he could.

It didn't take Cynder long to return, announcing her presence by dropping the food she was carrying right next to Zach's head. "Come on lazy, I'm supposed to make sure you get some food into you. The guardians said they would come by sometime later to check on you themselves, but until then, you're stuck with me."

"Great, my very own babysitter, just what I wanted." Zach groaned as he attempted to right himself, the muscles in his arms and along his back constantly giving him reminders of exactly what had happened. "Thank you for the food though."

Zach nibbled on the food slowly, not trusting his stomach to take anything too quickly. "So where's Spyro, I figured he'd be around with you."

Cynder let out a heavy sigh, "he has been spending a lot of time by himself recently. I know he feels responsible for some of what happened here, but he won't listen to me when I try to talk to him."

"You're right, he isn't the one responsible for this…" looking down, Zach pushed away the remainder of the food; he had barely even touched it.

"Not you too…" Cynder looked over at him, a mixture of anger and sympathy in her voice. "Zach you are not the one at fault here. The only things responsible for this are the remnants of the war. The apes have always had a grudge against the dragons and from what the guardians have told me it's no different with the wyverns. This would have happened whether we were here or not. So I am going to tell you this once, and you better get it into your thick skull: You are not at fault here, and you did everything you could to fix what happened."

Zach gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Sure you can say that easily, you fought off more than your fair share of those apes and wyverns, but what did I do? I hid behind you and Spyro to get though the temple and then couldn't even save one person…What does it matter to you what I think anyway?"

"Because I care!" Cynder let out a growl that silenced anything Zach might have used as a rebuttal. "I don't think you realize quite what happened here Zach. "You're not the only one suffering here. You're not the only one who lost friends, so quit wallowing in your self-absorbed pity and do something about the people that are still here!

"You don't know what it's like!"

Zach regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth. Cynder's face contorted deeper in anger and for a second he thought she might hit him. Cynder looked at him with a snarl fiercer than he had ever seen her wear while fighting, her body was tensed and she was slowly carving groves into the floor with her talons. When she did talk her voice made Zach's blood run cold.

"You have the gall to tell me that I don't know what it's like? Zach, those were my friends too and three of them died! You don't think that I've asked myself how I could have stopped this, or how I could have saved them. Do you even know how many nights I have spent up at night asking myself how I could have done the things in my past?" Cynder took a breath, her snarl fading but not the level of her anger. "but do you know what Zach, I've learned that there isn't anything I can do about the events of the past. I've learned that it's far more worth my time to quit wallowing in the past and to focus on what can be done in the future. What's done is done Zach. No one could have known what was going to happen, and as much as it hurts, there isn't anything more you could have done."

"You don't know that!" Zach gnashed his teeth again, his voice much quieter than before.

"No, I don't. but you do. You were this close to not waking up Zach, this close! I don't know what keeps getting into you. You waver between a sensible being to someone who won't share the slightest details with his friends. Whether this is your true home or not, we are your friends! And contrary to what you think, some people here actually care about what happens to you." Cynder took a breath, backing down and lowering her voice, though it still retained its venom.

"But I'm starting to think you don't deserve any of it…" another moment passed before Cynder turned and began walking toward the door. "I'm supposed to tell you to stay put until you get better, but right now I really don't care. But whatever you do, at least think before you do it, because I'm not going to be here to help you if you fall."

Zach was left in silence as Cynder left the room, her words hanging heavily in the air long after she was gone. The whole ordeal had left Zach uncomfortable and he wanted nothing more than to get away from himself. He didn't need anyone to tell him how badly he had screwed up. Forcing his feet underneath him, Zach tried to push himself to his feet. He needed to move, to get out of here, to go anywhere. The room reeked of sweat, blood, and some kind of antiseptic and that combined with the food Cynder had left in the room left images of death and gore flashing through his head.

Pushing with his legs, Zach strained to push himself to his feet, his sore muscles protesting at every inch. Slowly he rose to his feet, but after only a few seconds his weakened body gave out on him, pitching him forward and causing his chin to connect with the stone floor with a loud crack.

Groaning, Zach tuned his head to the side as he laid there, the thick metallic taste of blood beginning to fill his mouth after only a few seconds. He hoped someone had heard him fall, wished that someone would be there to help him back off the ground. He laid there for what seemed like an eternity, too weak to help himself as a small bit of blood leaked out of his mouth onto the cold stone floor. He had probably bit himself when he cracked his head on the floor, there was a good chance he had split his chin too. He wanted… needed someone to come help him. To take him off of this hard stone floor, to take him out of this mess he was in…. to take him home.

Zach cried quietly to himself as he lay there, turning his head to look away from the rest of the infirmary. Slowly he began to drift off to sleep; help would not come for him today.

Cynder walked through the halls quickly, her talons digging into the floor a little more than they did usually. She was furious over what had just happed with Zach… couldn't believe that he said some of the things that he did. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Turning a sharp corner, Cynder sat down against the wall and ran her talons down the horns on her head.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Cynder took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. It was quiet in this part of the temple, far enough away from the guardians and the candidates that she could just think. Everyone had been on edge recently and for good reason too, but the constant stress was beginning to wear on everyone. Most of the time everyone walked around in a solemn silence, either unable or unwilling to come to terms with what had happened. And when there was conversation, it wasn't long until they were at each other's throats.

The each of the candidates mostly wandered off by themselves in an attempt to cope in their own manner. She knew it wasn't healthy for them, and she wanted to try and talk to them but could never really make that connection. It wasn't exactly her forte.

The guardians spent their time together, talking in hushed whispers that often ceased once she or one of the other younger dragons walked into the room. It didn't sit right with her. They were hiding something from her but what exactly, she couldn't tell.

Lashing her tail against the wall Cynder let out an angered grunt and stormed down the hall. Why did this always happen. Just when she had some semblance of a normal life something else had to come tear it apart. It wasn't too long until she had wandered into the central chambers of the temple where the guardians and the remaining candidates were talking.

As she walked in Terrador turned to catch her attention. "Cynder may we have a moment?"

"What?" Her voice came out harsher than she had intended startling the guardians and drawing the attention of Flint and Makias from the edge of the room. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap like that…"

Terrador nodded in understanding. "It is understandable Cynder; we are all still a little on edge." He paused a moment as Cynder nodded. "We would appreciate it if you would go check on Spyro. We have not seen him since this morning and we figured you would know where he was."

"Yeah I can do that." Cynder grumbled as she turned around to head back out the door. It seemed like she was everyone's babysitter today…

"Was Zach feeling any better when you checked on him again?" Terrador's stopped Cynder before she got all the way out of the room.

"He was still conscious when I made it back, but he's probably asleep now, he couldn't really move much."

"Well at least he was awake." Cyril piped in from the other side of Terrador, a large smile present on his face. "We could all do with some good news in these times."

"Yeah…" Cynder snorted as she walked out of the room, turning a corner to head out to the balcony. She had a good idea of where Spyro was, so finding him wouldn't be very difficult. Convincing him to stop berating himself would be a completely different story. Letting out another sigh, Cynder stepped out onto the balcony and spread her wings. Taking to the air, Cynder craned her neck to scan the top of the temple for her companion. Hopefully she could get him to talk to her this time…

The last few days she hadn't really been able to talk to him. The first day they had been incredibly busy cleaning up and repairing the temple so they hadn't seen much of each other, and the time after that had been a blur of deep sleep and late nigh watches. But even after that he seemed to distance himself, spending most of his time alone on the roof or out in the woods. She would often try to go sit with him, but he would often wander off before she could get to him, and even when she did he would often just sit in silence. It didn't surprise her that he had gotten like this after the attack, but it hurt that he wouldn't talk to her.

Circling once again, Cynder spotted the familiar flash of purple against the stone of the temple and angled her glide down so she landed next to him, the soft click of her talons against the stone and the draft of her wings signaling her landing.

"Hey." Cynder voiced quietly as she sat down beside him, ruffling her wings to get them into a comfortable position behind her. "How are you doing?"

Spyro let out a heavy sigh before looking at her sadly. "As well as I could be in this situation."

"You know this is not your fault." Cynder said as forcefully as she dared, looking over to make eye contact with Spyro.

"Maybe, but I still have a hard time convincing myself." Spyro tuned and looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze out to the forest again.

"We did everything you could, there's no way we could have known this was going to happen…"

"I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to take comfort in that. If we did everything we could and three of our friends died, what does that say about us?" Spyro let out a heavy sigh. "It seems all I ever bring is trouble to the people I'm close to."

"Spyro, I know you, you would never willingly put anyone in harm's way. You are not responsible for any of this. There will always be people who will want to take advantage of and harm others in this world, and there isn't always something we can do about it." Cynder nudged Spyro with her horns. "But you are always the first to step up for the little guy, even when other people believe it's a cause beyond saving… Spyro you can't be everywhere at once, and you can't always save everyone. You are just one dragon, and you have accomplished more already than most people will in their entire lives. Stop berating yourself for things beyond your control and look at the things you have accomplished. If we hadn't showed up when we did things may have ended even worse. You helped save a daughter, a sister, and a friend who may not have made it otherwise. Sometimes I don't think you see the hero that you are to other people."

Spyro looked over at her, his gaze a little lighter than it had been before and a small grateful smile on his face. "I know… but still…"

Cynder let out a heavy sigh. "You know, one of these days I'm going to lock you and Zach in a room and not let either of you out until at least one of you stops blaming yourself."

Spyro let out a halfhearted chuckle, "having the same issues with him?"

"That and a few more, I can't believe the things he does some of the time."

"What did he do?" His voice curious, Spyro shifted his body so he was turned more toward Cynder, his head turned and resting on his front legs.

"What didn't he do might be a shorter list."

"Isn't it usually?"

"Yes it is… The only reason I didn't hit him was because I was afraid that he might not wake up again…"

Spyro looked over at her, a mixture of emotions on his face. "What did he say to you?"

"He's being his usual self. I don't think he means most of the things he says anyway and I'm prone to giving him a little bit of slack after what we all went through… you know, I'm kind of glad it was me in there when he woke up."

Spyro let out a low hum, "Why is that?"

"I feel like the conversation may have followed a similar path if Chara had been there, and she's gone through too much already."

"That's probably true, but remember, you've gone through as much as everyone else

Cynder nudged him again with her shoulder. "If I remember correctly, it's you that has been distant for the past couple of days."

"And If I remember correctly, you haven't slowed down at all since it happened." Spyro nudged her back, but there was seriousness in his gaze, "are you sure you're doing alright?"

"I'm fine; you know you don't need to worry about me…"

"Cynder" his voice was soft, and it was just enough to break down the resistance she had been building

Cynder shook her head. "I don't know what we're going to do anymore. Everything just got shot to hell. Wyverns got thrown into the picture, the temple got attacked, and our friends are dead…" Cynder trailed off. "Things were supposed to calm down after we defeated Malefor. It wasn't supposed to be like this…"

Spyro remained silent, not sure of what he could say. They were silent for a long while, each with their own thoughts as the world turned around them. Cynder sighed heavily, her gaze watching to hawks flying off in the distance, both of them swirling and spiraling in different patterns. After a while they stopped their dancing in the sky, both flying off together as a wall of clouds began to develop in the distance.

"Looks like another storms brewing," Spyro looked off almost absentmindedly, "Seems like there are always storms here after our last fight with Malefor.."

Cynder looked at him again, a small sense of desperation in her eyes. "Do you think it will ever be over? All this fighting, all this death? …You know the one thing I always dreamed about was being free of it all. Free of the death and the killing, but it seems like wherever I go it's always one step in front of me."

Spyro laid his wing over her comfortingly before speaking, "Then maybe it's time to stop moving away from it and time to fight it. Cynder, I want things to calm down as much as you do, but I don't think that anything is going to happen unless we do something about it. I don't know about you, but I can't just sit by after what happened to our friends."

"I can't either Spyro, I just wish it didn't have to be us… you know?"

"Me too Cynder… me too…"

Zach awoke later that day in the same pitiful position he had fallen in, his body half slumped over the cushion he was laying on with his head and front limbs turned awkwardly on the hard floor. Rolling onto his stomach, Zach gagged on the blood that had dried and caked itself inside his mouth, coughing and spitting in an attempt to get the foul taste out of his mouth. Looking around, Zach could barely make out the rest of the infirmary as it was cloaked in darkness; the only light filtering thought the door from a few lit torches out in the hall. No one else was in the room at the moment, and he figured no one had checked on him since Cynder left, either that or no one had cared enough to move him from his position on the floor.

Rubbing his face, Zach could feel small flecks of dried blood flake off onto the ground but for the most part his chin seemed unharmed. His cheek burned him a little, he figured from where he bit himself when he fell, but it otherwise did not bother him. Opening his mouth, he attempted to call out for help, but was met with a dry wheeze and a fit of coughing. His throat ached and his mouth was devoid of saliva, leading him to discover just how thirsty he was.

Looking around, Zach spotted some water lying in one corner of the room, the only problem was that he would have to either wait for someone to get it for him, or get up and move to it, and from the looks of things, the first one wasn't really an option.

Settling his feet underneath him, Zach braced so he could push himself to his feet, praying that things went better than last time. Pushing with his arms, Zach managed to get himself to a sitting position only to feel his head start to spin as his body adjusted. Groaning and gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes for a moment and waited for the room to stop spinning.

After a moment Zach resigned himself to the fact that the room was not going to stop spinning and opened his eyes. Focusing on the ground in front of him to fight the nausea, Zach roughly kicked himself to his feet, feeling accomplished with himself that he did not fall over after standing a few moments.

This was immediately followed with an incredible sense of self-pity that he had been reduced to feeling accomplished after such a simple task of standing.

Pushing that out of his mind, Zach focused again on the water across the room while desperately trying to ignore the room spinning around him and the nausea in his stomach. Picking up his feet, he felt himself almost fall as he placed it just in front of himself. Slowly, he moved across the room, each step threatening to throw him to the ground but gradually bringing him closer to his objective.

After trudging across the room, Zach stood somewhat accomplished over his goal, and bending down he drank greedily from the water. The water was warm, but it was better than nothing. Drinking until he sated himself, Zach sat down and used some of the remaining water to wash off his face, removing some of the grime and dried blood that had built up on his face.

As he sat there, thoughts of his earlier conversation with Cynder began to drift through his head, and he cringed at some of the things he had said. She hadn't deserved how he had acted, and the more he thought about it, the more the things she said made sense, even if he didn't want to admit it. Now if only he could convince himself of what he knew to be true.

Taking a moment to settle himself, he closed his eyes as the water ran down his face and onto his chest, drawing streaks down his scales. The room had stopped spinning but had left a roaring headache in its wake leaving it hard to think. His body screamed at him to rest again; he still had a ways to go until he would regain his strength, but he really didn't want to spend another night in the depressing infirmary, and even with how tired he was he needed to move some to work out the knots and sore muscles that had built up from not moving for a couple of days.

Turning toward the door, Zach limped a few steps out into the hallway, his legs steadier underneath him as he began to move. Looking both directions down the hall he couldn't see anyone else in the hallway meaning they must either be asleep or in different portions of the temple. Deciding he really didn't have any better option, Zach turned and headed toward the central portion of the temple, figuring he would either find someone in the center part of the temple or he could go get some sleep in his own room.

Zach followed the wall closely as he moved through the temple, his scales scraping loudly against the wall as he gave himself something to lean against for support. Even in the dim torchlight he could tell something was different about the temple. The stones around him seemed brighter than normal, as if someone had scrubbed the worn surface off to get to new rock under the surface. With a start, he noticed that some sections of the wall had been recreated all together, creating sharp contrasts in the walls between the new and old pieces. It didn't take much for him to figure out that they were repairs after the attack on the temple.

Trying to push the thought out of his head, Zach tried to focus on the ground in front of him as he paced through the temple. Looking out, he surprisingly did not see anyone in the central chambers of the temple when he reached them, the only noise the rumbling thunder in the distance indicating a coming storm. Deciding that he really didn't want to go back to sleep quite yet, Zach turned and headed toward the balcony of the temple. He could at least watch the storm roll in before he went to bed.

Even with how slow he was walking, it wasn't long until Zach reached the outside balcony, the torchlight casting long shadows out onto the balcony that was briefly illuminated by flashes of lighting in the distance. Surprisingly he was not the only one with the idea to go out and watch the storm.

"Hey..." His voice came out dry and raspy, obviously startling the red dragoness sitting on the balcony. She turned around and stared at him with a mixture or surprise and concern for a moment before turning fully to face him.

"Zach? What are you doing out here?"

Zach gestured over her shoulder toward the approaching storm. " I figured I would come out and get some fresh air while I watched the storm roll in."

"You idiot… you're unconscious for almost three days and the first thing yout think to do is to go out and stand in a storm?" Chara walked closer to him, stopping a few feet away. "You had us all worried."

"I get that a lot." Zach smiled at her as he settled down on the ground, giving his legs some much needed rest. "How's your wing?" He gestured at the wind at Cahra's side.

Chara glanced at it over her shoulder, bandages were wrapped around here wing but it wasn't held to her side, leaving her with the ability to stretch her wings. "It could be better. Makias bandaged it again today and said it would probably be a few more days until I should fly, but he says it shouldn't cause any more problems after that."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad you're alright."

Chara smirked at him, "You're glad I'm ok? You're the one that was unconscious for so long." A long silence settled between them, both not wanting to go where the conversation was taking them. "So… can I ask what happened? I mean… The guardians tried to explain what happened to you, but you know how they can be."

"You can ask but I don't know that I will be able to explain very well." Zach sighed and let out a nervous chuckle. "from what I understand, I use elemental energy just like you would, but in a manner that helps a person's body heal their wounds, but whereas when you run out of energy you just can't use you element anymore, my body decides it's a good idea to break itself down into elemental energy. What you saw the other day was what happens if I do too much."

"I guess that explains it. Makias couldn't really figure out what was wrong. You just wouldn't wake up."

"I'm sorry for worrying you…" Zach trailed off for a moment, knowing where the conversation would end up heading and not really willing to travel down that road. "So how are you holding up, you know after…?" He could hear her breathing hitch after he asked, and she immediately turned away from him, looking back out away from the temple.

"I'm fine," Chara replied a bit too sharply, the edge of her voice clear. "I'm fine…"

"You sure don't sound like it." Zach cringed and quickly closed his mouth; it definitely wasn't the best thing he could have said.

"No I guess I don't, but am I really supposed to? Don't you get what happened here?" Chara turned around, her voice sharp as she stared at Zach again, her body tense almost as if she was going to pounce on him. "I still can't get what happened out of my head… I don't think I've been so scared in my entire life." Chara took a few steps over and stood over Zach, a fierce anger clouded with fear and confusion in her eyes. "And I can't help thinking about how many different ways it should have been me that didn't make it through the attack."

"Chara you can't think that…"

"You don't understand!" She yelled back at Zach, making him cringe. "I should have been with Comet when he was out in the woods. He asked me to go with him and I was so angry…. Angry at you…" Chara turned away from again, weather from anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell. "The guardians figured he stumbled onto the groups of apes that attacked us by accident… we were concerned when he didn't come back that night, but we just figured he had stayed out under the stars that night, some of the guardians had considered it as well so it wasn't too unusual… it wasn't until the next morning that we knew something was wrong, and that was all the warning we had until there were wyverns and apes everywhere."

Zach struggled to his feet again, taking a step closer to Chara as she walked away from him.

"I was spending some alone time in my room when I began to hear all of the commotion. By the time I made it to the central chambers of the temple, it was already swarming with apes, most of which were trying to get into the arena where the guardians and the other candidates were. A few of them broke off and came after me, pushing me back into the wings of the temple…" She broke off for a moment, and Zach took the opportunity to take a few steps closer to her.

"You know I'd always been told that apes were ruthless and brutal, but if you took your time and thought about your moves that you would be able to take them down. But when I actually had to fight them like that, I could barely think straight, every part of me was screaming to run away from them, and I had to fight myself just to stay calm. Having to fight them like that… there was no way I should have lived through it…" letting out a grunt, Chara dug her talons into the stone beneath her, tearing large gouges in the surface. "Do you know what it's like? I feel so worthless, if I had been left there by myself…"

Zach placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "Chara, none of this is your fault. You can't expect to handle everything by yourself."

"Can't I?" She snapped back at him, her head turning away from him. "I'm supposed to be a candidate to become the next fire guardian, if I can't protect myself, how can I expect to protect others? What good am I if I can't do anything?"

Zach stood next to Chara in an awkward silence, not knowing how he could comfort the distraught dragoness. The wind was beginning to kick up around them, ruffling his wings and forcing him to press them to his sides. He desperately wanted to say something, anything that would calm her, but he was not sure that anything he could say would convince her.

"Chara, no one blames you for any of this. What you did by yourself was nothing short of amazing, I couldn't have done half as well as what you did…"

"I couldn't protect him! When it came down to it and someone else was in danger I couldn't do anything. All I could do was sit in a corner and watch as he took blow after blow protecting me!" Chara turned to look at him angrily before whipping her head away in frustration, putting some distance between her and the white dragon. "I just sat there like some weak hatchling, unable to so much as spit a fireball in the right direction."

"Chara this isn't your fault…"

"You don't get it!" Chara turned to face him, tears starting to brim in her eyes, "Do you know what the last thing he said to me was? Do you know why he really died? He didn't have to come back. He could have made it to safety in the arena like everyone else, but instead he came back for me. And do you know what he said?"

Chara took a moment and shook her head, her jaw moving in an attempt to speak. "… He said… he said 'I swear I won't let them hurt you again.'" She broke down as she spoke, the last few days of anguish and fear finally catching up with her. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to blink them away, her breathing hitching as she sobbed. "He put my wellbeing in front of his own, and all of it because I couldn't do enough myself."

"Chara, you can't do this do yourself…" Zach draped his wing over Chara's back, but she simply shrugged out from underneath it, continuing to put distance between herself and Zach.

"If I had helped him just a little bit more, maybe he wouldn't have gotten so hurt; maybe you could have saved him, maybe…."

"Maybe he wouldn't have died?" Zach finished for her when her voice caught.

"Yes!" She screamed at him, her anger no longer hiding behind her restraint. Lashing out, she struck against his chest with her talons. "He wouldn't be gone. He would still be here, he would be able to go back to his mother and brother that he talked about so much. He wouldn't be dead!"

Zach winced as she finished, her last hit breaking deeply though his scales; raking long streaks of red across his blue chest scales and knocking him back a step. Hissing in pain, Zach stared back at her, his own anger raising a little as drops of blood ran down his chest. "So what about you then? What if he hadn't come back? Would you have just rolled over and died? Have you even given some thought to that? Ashe was not the only one who had a family to go back to."

Chara simply stared at him, a deep anger burning behind her eyes while her lips curled up into the beginnings of a snarl.

"What then? Did you even stop to think about that… what that would have done to your brother or your parents? Ashe obviously thought you were worth saving, so don't go spitting on his grave by wallowing in your self righteous pity." Zach snarled back, his tail beginning to lash behind him.

"He was my friend!" Chara snarled and flashed her teeth, taking a few threatening steps toward Zach.

"And that's why he came back. Not because he thought you were too weak to defend yourself, not because he wanted to throw his life away, but because he wanted to protect his friend. He wanted to protect you." Zach stood to his full height, his head above Chara's as he went nose to nose with the smaller dragoness. "He was my friend too, and it hurts that he died. Don't you think I've thought about what I could have done differently? It was my fault Spyro, Cynder, and I were away from the temple when the attack occurred. You think I haven't thought about what would have happened if we were still here? If I hadn't dragged Spyro and Cynder with me? If we had flown just a little bit faster on the way back?" Zach took a deep breath, releasing the tension in his body that had begun to scrape his talons against the ground. "But all that blaming myself has done is hurt my friends who have tried to help me. Don't make the same mistake." He half threatened and half pleaded as his eyes softened. "Don't keep doing this to yourself Chara." Zach slowly spread his wings around her, pulling her close to his body.

Chara broke away from him, tears running down her face again. "I'm not doing anything to myself that I don't already deserve."

Zach moved after her, but stumbled as he tried to move again, his legs not willing to support his weight anymore. Looking over at the red dragoness he could see she had moved to edge of the platform, looking far off into the storm again. "Stop this Chara, this isn't your fault."

"I… I can't do this right now Zach…" Chara backed away from him on the platform, her back feet reaching the ledge of the balcony. "I need some time alone…." Zach stood shocked as she unfurled her wings, allowing them to billow out in the wind. "I know you can't follow me in the state you're in, so please, don't try…"

Zach's eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do. "Chara you can't. Your wings are in no condition to fly. They'll get ripped apart in this wind."

"I'll be fine…" Chara turned and placed her front legs onto the edge of the balcony, the wind whipping the tears away from her face. "Please don't follow me…"

"Chara, Stop!" Zach took a few steps after the red dragoness but could only watch helplessly as she dove out into the wind, her wings beating strongly to keep her in the air.

"Damn it Chara." Zach yelled after her, watching helplessly as she pushed into the wind. Even from where he was standing, he could see the bandages around her wings beginning to unravel, it would only be a few moments until the bandages around her injured wing unraveled completely and it was fully exposed to the force of the wind as she attempted to fly; something he was sure they couldn't handle. "Chara come back, your wing can't take that." Zach almost screamed as his voice was either ignored or lost into the wind. With nothing else to think of, he turned around and yelled back into the temple "Makias, Terrador, a little help here!"

Turning back, Zach spotted Chara gain, flying high over the temple in an attempt to get out of the lower cross winds. Flying that high, if her wing ripped open, it wouldn't be a pleasant fall regardless of where she landed.

"Spyro, Cynder, Anybody!" Zach screamed back into the temple, watching helplessly as Chara began to flounder in the strong winds. He waited a few agonizing moments, praying desperately that someone had heard him and was close to the balcony. Turning around again, Zach watched in fear as Chara began to falter above him, the bandages around her wing finally unraveling from her wing just as her cries of pain reached him.

Zach cursed again, praying that she would turn around and come back down to the balcony. He relaxed when he noticed her turn back toward the temple, but it lasted only a moment. His heart began to shove its way up his throat as he saw her fall out of the sky, one of her wings trailing behind her like scraps of a ribbon. She was still well above him, but it would only be moments before she hit the ground. Glancing over his shoulder, Zach only had a moment to notice that no one had come to his aid before he made his decision.

"Damn it Chara!" Stumbling the last few steps out to the edge of the balcony, Zach flung himself out into the air, paying desperately that his wings would do a better job at supporting two of them than his legs had done at supporting one. Flipping onto his back, Zach only had a moment before Chara crashed hard into his chest, knocking the air out of him and sending them both spiraling out of control. Scrambling wildly, Zach managed to wrap his arms awkwardly around her midsection while catching her tail with his own. Attempting to right himself in the air, Zach grunted as he felt Chara's talons latch onto him near the base of his wings, her arms wrapped around him as she clung to her only chance of safety.

Flaring his wings, Zach could feel their combined weigh pulling though his shoulders as his membranes caught the air beneath them. He knew it wouldn't be enough. If he had been at full strength the added weight wouldn't be a problem, but with as tired as he was, he doubted he could have glided down to the ground safely himself. Pumping his wings a few times, he tried to slow himself down as much as he could before rolling onto his back and wrapping his wings around Chara.

Hitting the ground hard, Zach flipped and rolled over Chara as they tumbled down a steep incline. He couldn't tell if the crunch he heard was something beneath him or something in his back. Rolling down the hill, Zach was only stopped when he slammed up against a large tree, letting out a large grunt as his lungs were robbed of their air again and Chara's talons dug deeper into his back. As his vision flashed, Zach was keenly away of Chara pushing against him, her limbs frantically trying to find purchase.

"I told you not to follow me…" Chara sobbed as she scrambled wildly against him, her feet kicking his stomach and her talons scratching his chest against as she tried to worm out of his grip.

"And I told you not to fly out in this storm." Zach kept his voice as calm as he could, holding the scrambling dragoness as tightly as he could to his chest. "Please stop fighting me; you're only going to make your wing worse."

"You don't understand…" Chara thrashed around wildly, a few of her kicks connecting well into Zach's stomach and knocking the wind out of him, but still he held on. "You don't understand…" this time it was quieter and he could hear her voice cracking.

"Please…. Please stop fighting Chara..." Looking at her, he could see the reflection of himself from earlier, the hurt and the guilt, only with so much more emotion. As time passed Chara's kicks weakened to her simply pushing away from him as much as she could, but after a while even that faded and Chara pushed her head against Zach's chest as she cried.

"Chara, we need to get your wing set again." Zach gently pulled on Chara's shoulder, the red dragoness complying and rolling to her opposite side while slowly stretching out her damaged wing. Zach cringed as he saw the damage, it was much worse than it had been a few days earlier, the membrane shredded to pieces all the way up to the base of her wing and blood running down what pieces were still attached in rivulets. Stretching out his own larger wing to its full span, Zach placed it on the ground and gently guiding Chara's wounded wing down on top of it; his wing serving to keep hers out of the dirt while providing a mold to piece together her wing. "You really shouldn't have done that…"

Chara remained quiet as Zach used his talon to straighten out and set the remaining strips of Chara's wings, her only response an occasional hiss of pain. It didn't look good, but the more he could do for her wing now, the less it would cause complications in the future. After doing what he could with Chara's wing, Zach set his head down on the ground, knowing there was nothing more they could do until someone came down to find them. Hopefully the large tree they had crashed into would provide some king of protection from the oncoming storm. Zach was knocked out of his thoughts when Chara moved her head up underneath his, her body pressing into him the slightest bit

"I'm sorry…" Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper as she talked.

Zach hummed and pressed the slightest bit into her. "Me too…"