Chapter 20: Malefor's Wrath

The team appeared on a large floating island in the middle of a large void with planets and stars all around. Large jellyfish-like things were seen floating around and their tentacles created powerful lightning blasts. Malefor was at one end of the island while the team was at the other end. Spyro was still in his dark form and he glared at Malefor.

"You haven't been in the realm of Convexity for quite some time now. Got any memories?" Malefor asked.

"I'm sad to say I have. This was once part of the island where Cynder and I used to fight on," Spyro said.

"You have a better memory than I thought, Spyro. Why not we make this even more memorable?" Malefor said and charged up a fireball attack before shooting it towards Spyro and Cynder.

They jumped aside and the fireball shot past them.

"Lord Spyro, this fight is too much for me for I cannot fight a dragon, especially when it's your daughter's body. I'll concentrate on getting Sven recovered," Collette said.

"Do that, Collette. Leave this fight to us," Cynder said.

The two small dragons faced their enemy with menacing glares and threatening growls but Malefor was not scared. He may be defeated once but with a young body with raw power under his control, he was certain that he could defeat two diminutive dragons. Besides, he doubted they'll try to hurt their daughter's body.

"Just like old times eh," Malefor smiled darkly.

"Yes, just like old times," Cynder smiled back with the same evil look.

They ran towards each other and clashed. They landed punches and swipes on each other and tried to use breath attacks as well. The two young dragons were fast but Malefor was just as fast despite being big-sized. If they hadn't known better, Malefor seemed 10 times stronger than he was when he was last defeated.

"C'mon, you don't dare to hurt me?" Malefor sneered.

"Don't try me, Malefor. I'll give you a good hurting if I want to," Spyro growled.

"We'll see about that," Malefor said.

He brought his paw down on Spyro and smashed him to the ground. Spyro got up and punched Malefor in the stomach.

"Spyro, no! You're hurting Juno!" Cynder said.

"This is not Juno! The Juno I know doesn't hurt her parents!" Spyro said.

Cynder was hesitating but Spyro just attacked relentlessly. She bit her lower lip and thought about it when she heard a voice in her head.

"Cynder, you must fight," the voice said.

Cynder looked around with wide eyes, thinking that someone was talking to her.

"I must be hearing things," she muttered.

"No Cynder, you're not. Attack Malefor for Spyro is right. Your daughter will never hurt you," the voice said softly.

"Are you…Ignitus?" Cynder asked.

"That, young dragon, you will find out after your battle. For now, just fight," the voice said and disappeared from her mind.

Cynder just stared blankly into space while thinking.

"It has to be Ignitus," she muttered.

Malefor struck Spyro into the ground and landed a punch on Spyro so hard that the island shook. Spyro placed his paws on Malefor's fist and pushed back. It was amazing that he has the strength to push his fist away though it took most of his strength to do so. Malefor resisted but the more he did so, the more Spyro pushed back. After a deadlock, Spyro roared and pushed Malefor away and rolled out of the way before Malefor could bring his fist down on him again.

"You're a resilient dragon I'll give you that. I'm expecting more from you," Malefor said.

"Then you'll get it from me. You'll regret it, Malefor," Spyro said.

Spyro clenched the ground and positioned himself for a dash. Malefor saw it as an opening so he took the chance to attack Spyro. But before he could get another inch closer to him, Spyro let go and dashed at Malefor with full force, knocking him over. Malefor sailed into the air but before he could touch the ground, Spyro leapt up and hit Malefor with rapid succession. The final strike was a vertical spin kick that sent Malefor plunging towards the ground, creating a crater where he landed. Spyro landed a few meters away from the crater and watched Malefor get up.

"Terrador has been teaching you well, Spyro. It's not surprising that you have excelled in the art of close combat," Malefor said and got back to his feet.

Spyro just glared at Malefor with white eyes and a low growl came from him.

"You stay too long in darkness and you'll become one yourself," Malefor said and took to the skies.

Spyro followed and he noticed Cynder flying beside him.

"You're right, Spyro, Juno will never hurt us. This is Malefor and we will fight him," Cynder said softly.

Spyro felt the darkness dissipate and he returned back to normal, smiling at Cynder.

"Then we shall do it together," he said.

On the ground, Collette helped Sven up as he woke up from his short coma. He rubbed his head a bit and blinked away the blurry vision he was suffering from.

"Whoa, I must still be out cold. This place is so dark and I think I'm in space," Sven said.

"This is the realm of Convexity. Spyro and Cynder are busy battling Malefor now," Collette explained and pointed at the dragons.

Sven looked up and let out a low whistle.

"I never thought I'll get the chance to see Convexity. This place reminds me of space with all the planets and stars," Sven said.

"It's another realm connected to our world. You can't really come here by any conventional means and very few have the chance to actually see it without getting killed. Spyro and Cynder once fought here when Cynder was evil," Collette said.

"That has to be many centuries ago. Interesting place," Sven nodded.

He looked at the battling dragons and shook his head.

"What do we do now?" he asked Collette.

The vixen looked at the dragons and shrugged.

"I guess we'll just sit back and enjoy the fireworks," she said with a small smile.

Malefor flew towards the two dragons while breathing fire. They dodged and Malefor flew past them. Cynder looked around, trying to spot Malefor.

"Cynder, behind you!" Spyro warned.

Cynder flew sideways and Malefor flew past her.

"Stand still so I can hit you!" Malefor growled.

"Then there's no point fighting," Cynder shot back.

She launched air blades after air blades at Malefor but he dodged and hit back one of the air blades at them and they dodged it.

"I see you have been given new powers but breath attacks are still breath attacks. One can still dodge it," Malefor said.

"True but I wasn't intending on hitting you," Cynder smiled sardonically.

Malefor widened his eyes and turned around. He saw Spyro flying towards him with his fist cocked back. When Spyro got close, he unleashed his punch of fire at Malefor and sent him spinning. Malefor stabilized himself and regained control of his movement.

"Alright, if that is how you want it, we'll go to a better playground. Come and get me," Malefor said.

He flew towards a cluster of jellyfish creatures and the two dragons followed. The creatures emitted lightning bolts and they had to avoid getting hit by it.

"Let's see how you fare when fighting in a cluster of Convexity Floaters," Malefor said.

It was like fighting in a lightning storm and electric bolts were present every 10 seconds. The two young dragons had to avoid them but Malefor was immune to it. He just attacked them without even thinking about the hazards around him.

"Can't catch up? I don't blame you," Malefor mocked.

A lightning bolt struck so close to Spyro that he felt the heat from the bolt. After it was gone, he and Cynder continued on their way to chasing Malefor. They fought amongst the floaters while avoiding the lightning bolts. It was harder than they thought because the strikes were random but there was a telltale sign before any of the bolt struck. The intended path of the lightning will have particles accumulating on it and that is what they have to avoid.

"This fight is getting more and more interesting," Malefor said.

They fought in the middle of the cluster where there was a small open space. Spyro and Cynder gave all they can to fight Malefor but he would not go down so easily. Suddenly, he was struck by a yellow lightning. That hurt him and smoke emitted from his body. Spyro looked up and saw larger floaters with yellow cores floating in to join the rest of the floaters.

"The yellow lightning hurts him. We have to make him run into it," Spyro said

"You got it," Cynder answered.

They attacked Malefor for a while before flying away from him. Malefor took the bait and followed them, breathing fire at them. They saw yellow particles collecting and flew past it. By the time Malefor reached it, the lightning struck him and hurt him badly.

"So you knew my weakness against Convexity High Floater lightning. I guess we're equal," Malefor said.

They continued fighting and punching at each other while being surrounded by lightning-emitting floaters. It was a fighting frenzy until Malefor landed two heavy blows on Cynder and Spyro, knocking them back onto the island.

"This ends now, Spyro and Cynder. Once I'm done with you, the world will be cleansed once more," Malefor growled.

He slammed the ground and cracked the island in half. Collette and Sven had to jump to the other floating half while the one they stood on fell into the voids of Convexity.

"That was close," Sven said.

"Malefor, you're the one who's gonna die. By the power of the ancients, Cynder and I will stop you," Spyro said.

Malefor saw the spirit of the ancients surrounding the two dragons and his eyes were wide open.

"No, why is it always them?" Malefor groaned.

The spirits surrounded Spyro and Cynder and infused their elemental powers into one powerful element known as OmniSpirit. The two dragons blasted away at Malefor and hurt him.

"You'll never defeat me again!" Malefor roared.

Malefor charged his power and shot back at the two. Spyro and Cynder combined their breaths and the beams clashed with Malefor's fire. The attacks pushed at each other and Malefor's attack seem to be winning but the two dragons pushed with all their might and their beam overcame Malefor's flame and eventually Malefor himself.

"This is not the end!" Malefor screamed and his spirit dissipated from Juno's body.

Juno's body returned to normal and she fell to the ground. Spyro and Cynder rushed up to her and hugged her.

"Juno, you're okay!" Cynder said with tears in her eyes.

The young purple dragoness opened her eyes slowly and smiled at them.

"I'm…okay, mom…dad," she said.

Spyro was smiling and he wanted to say something but the entire realm was shaking and things were starting to distort.

"The realm is collapsing!" Collette yelled.

There was no way to get everyone out of the realm and there was no way out.

"I guess we all die in the end," Cynder said sadly.

"Yeah…but we stopped Malefor. It's a small price to pie for peace," Spyro said.

They huddled each other and closed their eyes.

"Déjà vu all over again huh. I'm sure you still remember what I said to you before," Cynder said.

"Yeah…I do," Spyro muttered.

"I love you," Cynder whispered.

Collette hung on two Sven while Sven held up his shield to shield them from debris.

"I sure hate you as hell," Sven muttered.

3 weeks later, at Warfang, Terrador was reading some newspapers when a human military general came in.

"Ah, General Wolfgang, I was expecting you," Terrador said.

"This better be good, Terrador, I'm a busy man," Wolfgang said.

"Don't worry, I've found the man you were looking for. It seems like he was spotted in the cave of the Hermit," Terrador said.

"You mean that crazy old cheetah? Why would he be with that Hermit?" Wolfgang asked.

"I'm not sure but the Hermit says he found him in the river. Sven's alive though injured," Terrador said.

"At least he's okay. What about the others who were with him?" the man asked while removing his officer's cap.

"Collette…her whereabouts are unknown currently. As for the King and Queen…who knows," Terrador smiled.

Wolfgang raised an eyebrow and scratched his head.

"Anything special?" he asked.

"Maybe," Terrador laughed.

"Up in the skies where the planes fly, three dragons enjoyed themselves by enjoying as a family. Yes, after the realm collapsed, the spirits of the ancestors saved them once more and brought them back. They needed a vacation and a vacation they had in exile. Many thought they were dead but like the time when they first defeated Malefor, they needed a well-deserved rest. It's a happy ending for a family of heroes but…is there something missing? Heck no…but there is one more adventure waiting. There is never short of a list of adventures for this family of dragons and in the foreseeable future, they will have one. I am Ignitus the Chronicler and I see it all. Thank you for your kind attention."

Another adventure ends

But…

"How much does this cost?"

"50 gold for a kilogram."

"I'll take it."

"Here you go ma'am, one kilogram of nightshade. Is there something going on?"

"Oh nothing, I just have someone to cure with it."

"I get it, someone has been infected eh."

"Something like that."

"Well, good luck to you ma'am, you'll need it."

The hooded customer walked away from the stall and walked into the distant sunset. It was a long way back to Warfang and from the cliff she was standing on, the wind blew and the hood slid back, revealing Collette's face that seem to shine under the sun.

"I will need time to prepare for the Lunar Festival. By the ancestors, I hope I make it in time," Collette said.

She turned back to look at the small village where she had been just now and sighed.

"It's gonna be a long year. I hope to see you again, Lord Spyro and Mistress Cynder, please take care…especially you, Mistress Cynder."

She turned and left for the main road that led to Warfang, whistling a beautiful tone (the ending for Dawn of the Dragon: Guide you home).

The End

A/N: How is the ending? Do you think the song fits?