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Here is the ninth installment of the Spyro Chronicles. Pray that the ending is good.

Chapter 9: Choices

Cynder carried Karson as far as she could. He was heavy at first but her determination kept her in the air. They finally reached the temple. They touched down and Karson immediately unslung his M74D and scanned the area for any contacts. Finding none, he moved inside of the building. Cynder followed and they disappeared inside the structure.

Spyro touched down a minute after they had. He had seen them enter from the air and he was eager to kill them. He followed them inside the structure. Karson and Cynder had headed deeper into the structure. They came across the broken up room and the boulders that had trapped Allison. Cynder heard something behind them and Karson heard it too. He pointed his rifle outwards and searched for a target. He didn't see anything.

Spyro was carefully watching them. He had to strike fast to knock out Karson. He charged up a bolt of dark energy, rounded the corner and fired.

Karson saw something move, pointed his rifle in that direction and saw a flash of dark light. Karson was hit in the chest by the bolt and he flew backwards into the wall. His rifle broke in half and scattered to the floor. Cynder gasped as she saw her former mate walk out into the light. His red eyes fixed on her.

"So Cynder, we meet again. This time I'll kill you." Spyro said walking around her.

"Spyro, don't do this. I know you!" Cynder said, tears rolling down her face.

"I have no choice but to serve my master." Dark Spyro said in response.

"Please Spyro; I know that part of you is still good! Fight his control over you!" Spyro ignored her and lunged. She managed to dodge, but he came again. He struck her with his sharp claws. She screamed as the claws cut her skin. She decided that enough was enough. She struck back with her own claws. He groaned as she cut his right fore-leg. He smiled at her and charge at her with his horns. Cynder jumped and evaded this attack. Cynder used her breath and it hit Spyro. He roared and fired his own fire attack. She was knocked to the ground.

Karson got to his feet. He saw Spyro and Cynder fighting and wanted to join in. She saw him and managed to knock Spyro away for a second.

"Karson, keep looking for Allison! I'll draw him away." She managed to kick Spyro out of the room. He landed on his back and rolled back on his feet. He fired his dark breath at her. The ground around Cynder blew away and intense heat form the energy scorched her skin. She charged at him and he grabbed her horns He tossed her over to a wall and used his breath again. She managed to roll out of the way. Spyro came again. This time he slashed his tail and hit Cynder in the face. She flew away and Spyro came again with his claws. He cut her chest and she screamed in pain. Spyro hit her with his horns and followed it up with several melee attacks. Cynder flew into the wall. She tasted blood. She coughed and a bit of blood came out. She wearily got up to face her former mate.

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Meanwhile...

Sgt. Ramirez sat on a chair. He had it tilted up so that only two legs were on the ground. His legs were on top of a table in front of him. He had his eyes closed and was relaxed. Across from him Pvt. Edberg and Pvt. Fisher were playing cards. Ramirez had been assigned to guard the cargo hold and the crystals inside of it. He opened his eyes and looked around for Pvt. Rene. He heard noise in the cargo hold behind him. Rene had always had a thing for crystals.

"Damn it Rene! I know you love gems but get your scrawny ass out here." He got no response. He got up and walked over to the hold. He looked around for the private. He saw his helmet lying on the ground. Ramirez picked it up and looked around. He heard some sound behind him. He turned and what he saw made the blood drain from his face. Pvt. Rene lay on the ground. His gaze fixed on the ceiling. He had been split in half on the waist line. His intestines and internal organs were hanging out of his body. He had several scratch marks on his body and blood ran from a bite on the neck. Blood was strewn across the deck.

The noncom (noncommissioned officer or sergeant) ran back into the room and got his other two men ready. They saw him run back into the room and his face was pale.

"What's wrong sarge? Did you find Rene?" Fisher asked. Ramirez simply nodded at the marine. He grabbed his M74D assault weapon and loaded a clip into it.

"There's something in here. And it killed Rene." Both privates stood up and grabbed their gear. Edberg looked at Ramirez.

"Sir, do you know what killed him?"

"No. But whatever it was is still here." After he said that they heard claw marks running along the floor around them. They all pointed their weapons outward. They saw nothing. Sgt. Ramirez thought it was curios that something snuck past them and got into the cargo hold. The room they were in was the only way in. They stood there not knowing what to do when the lights flickered.

Something grabbed Edberg and he screamed as it clawed his back. He fired his M10 Sub Machine Gun (SMG) in the air as the creature killed him. Pvt. Freeman reeled around and brought his shotgun up to bear. He fired it into the darkness trying desperately to find a target. He was brought down by many of the creatures. He screamed in agonizing pain as they ripped him apart.

Ramirez watched as his squad was ripped apart by an enemy he couldn't even see. He knew he wouldn't be alive much longer. He keyed his mike and called for Colonel Dyke.

"Colonel Dyke, this is Sgt. Ramirez! We need assistance! Recommend you seal off the cargo hold! We hav-"The Sgt. Never finished his sentence. A creature grabbed onto him. What he saw made his face go pale. The creatures were similar to the ones he had seen back on Sirus 12. The creature screamed and bit his neck. He screamed and he dropped the radio to the ground.

"Ramirez. Ramirez come in." The colonel cursed. He already had enough to worry about. The enemy had already pushed far into UERMC territory. Apparently, Spyro had gone MIA, a new evil dragon commander was leading the ape advance, and now he had some sort of insurgence inside their own ship. He shut off the cargo hold and ordered two teams of HACO (Heavily Armed Covert Operations) troops to the area to secure it.

He then turned his attention to the battle. The apes were focused in one area. He had called for tanks to go and secure the area. He had yet to get radio confirmation on the status of the operation.

Lt. Robert Shane led a squad of marines through a path. He had to get to the front lines to help repel the attack. They ran down the path and Shane ordered them to take up firing positions. He saw four apes armed with swords run out on to the path. Shane put his sights on the ape in front. He squeezed the trigger. The ape screamed as the .22 cal rounds of the M74D shredded his skin. The other marines in the squad did the same.

They pushed to the end of the path and found a large fire fight between several marines perched on the high end of a cliff and several apes using captured M74D assault rifles. The marines had the high ground but the apes had superior numbers. Shane would have to fix that. He told his men to take up positions along their flank.

He ordered them to open fire and they cut down most of the apes. Some managed to retaliate and fired back. Some of his men were hit, but nothing to serious. The remaining apes fell quickly.

Shane heard a sound. He looked into the open field where the apes had been and a huge wave of apes and ape commanders emerged from the brush. There were dozens of them. Despite the odds, they opened fire. They could only hold off so many. They were getting closer to the defensive lines. The apes who had captured Lakador or UERMC assault rifles picked off marines from afar.

Shane cursed. He had entered this engagement with at least five-teen marines. He only had four left. He ordered them to fall back. Several ape commanders blocked their only escape route. Shane knew he was probably going to die. Suddenly he heard a sound. The mushrooms behind the ape commanders fell and several Jaguar MBTs emerged and opened fire. The tanks lurched under the force of the 80mm shells. They passed trough the ape commanders like knife through butter. The shell exploded and took out several apes, replacing them with strands of meat and pieces of armor. The .50 cal machine guns mounted on the front made Swiss cheese of the advancing apes.

Soon, the apes gave up and retreated into the forest. Later Shane would find out that he and his men were responsible for holding the line long enough for the tanks to move in and turn the tide of the battle.

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Meanwhile...

Karson dug up as much as he could. He couldn't move the larger rocks, but he had to try. He heard lots of banging sounds behind him and hoped that Cynder was okay. He had to get to Allison and save her before Spyro got back.

"Allison can you here me?" Karson said hoping to get a response. Allison heard someone and jumped up. It sounded like Karson.

"Karson? Is that you?" Allison said back.

"Yea it's me!" He was relieved she was alright. He managed to get the last boulder out of place. They saw each other and hugged.

"Oh, I don't want to ever be away from you again." Allison said holding tight onto Karson.

"I don't either." Karson said in reply. They heard a thump in the background and Karson remembered that Cynder and Spyro were having a battle. Karson looked inside and saw crystals. Some of them were light crystals. He walked over and grabbed one. Maybe light will defeat the dark... Karson thought as held it in his hands. Allison heard the fighting in the other room and looked at Karson.

"What's going on out there?" Allison asked with a concerned look on her face.

"I'll explain later. Right now we have to help Cynder."

"Why, what's going on?" She asked while Karson ran towards the fighting sounds.

Spyro laughed at Cynder. She saw his red eyes flare with hate. She saw a flash of purple, but then the red returned. She knew that there was some sort of conflict in side of him. She had to get though to him somehow. She didn't know how though.

"Spyro, don't do this!" Cynder said. Spyro just stared at her. He lunged with his claws again. She dodged and struck him with her tail. He stumbled but regained his footing. He snarled and again lunged at Cynder. She rolled off to the side and hit him with a head butt. He tumbled over and got back up. He built up a charge of dark energy in his mouth and fired it. Cynder managed to dodge and used her fire breath. He managed to dodge her breath as well. Cynder jumped into the air and used her breath on Spyro. He dodged a few of the blasts, but he soon fell victim to a fire breath. He roared and charged at Cynder. She tried to hit him, but he was to strong. He knocked her over and she flew across the room.

How was she going to beat him? Let alone help him. She thought as she got up on her feet. She looked him in the eyes. She saw another flash of purple. She was certain that there was a struggle inside of him. She couldn't get through to him though. It was like talking to a wall. She knew she had to keep him at bay or he would kill her. Spyro lunged at her once again. She hit him in the face with her tail. He flew back this time and hit his back on a wall. He snarled and got back up. She saw him bleeding from his mouth. She saw pure hatred in his eyes. He had no trace of his former self. She was beginning to wonder if they could ever return him to normal.

"Spyro please, I know that there is a conflict inside of you. You can overpower him, you just have to try!" Spyro huffed in response. She saw another glimmer of purple in his eyes. She saw him build up more dark energy. At that time, Karson and Allison walked into the room.

"What the hell?!" Allison said when she saw dark Spyro. She started to walk over to Spyro but Karson held her back.

"That's not Spyro, not anymore at least." Karson said. While saying that he grabbed his side arm and cocked it. He had to figure out a way to save Spyro.

"What happened to Spyro?" Allison said.

"Long story, but right now we have to stop him. Cynder! Hold him down!" Cynder complied by grabbing Spyro and holding him to the ground. Allison helped too and Karson grabbed the crystal. He walked over to Spyro and placed it on Spyro. Spyro roared in response as his body glowed a dark purple. A large flash of light enveloped them as Spyro unleashed a dark fury. They were all thrown back. Cynder fell against a wall and slowly got back on her feet.

Karson got up and looked at the crystal. It was in shards. He cursed. If that didn't stop him, then nothing would. Unless, Karson thought, unless we put the crystal inside of him. He unloaded his side arm and put a shard on the tip of one of the .40 cal bullets and loaded the gun. He pointed it at Spyro.

Spyro saw this and used dragon time to get up close to him and he knocked Karson off of his feet and to the other side of the room. His pistol slid across the room next to Cynder. She started to walk to get it. She picked it up and Spyro bashed her against the wall. She tried to get up, but her legs exploded with pain. Karson and Allison both lay unconscious. Spyro let out a laugh of approval and walked slowly to Cynder. He lifted his claws to deliver the final blow. Cynder closed her eyes waiting for the fatal blow. It never came. She opened her eyes and found Spyro shaking in front of her. His eyes were shut and he looked as if something was holding him back. He opened his eyes and instead of the red pupils that dark Spyro had, his regular purple eyes were there.

"Cynder... do it!" Spyro said with all of his might. He managed to back himself up a few feet. She looked at the pistol and got his message. She couldn't believe that she had to make the decision. She shakily pointed the pistol out, but she couldn't level it out.

"I... I-I can't!" Cynder said, tears running down her face.

"You have to!" Spyro said holding himself back. She tried to level the pistol out, but she couldn't bring herself to kill her mate. She had to make a choice. Either she killed him, or he would kill her and finish off Karson and Allison. She had to make the decision now.

"Cynder, what are you waiting for? Do it!" Spyro said trying hard to hold back dark Spyro. She could see his eyes fading in and out, meaning she had a small window in which to make a move. She saw Spyro's eyes return to red and he snarled. She let out a cry of despair as she leveled the pistol out, and squeezed the trigger.

A large flash and loud CRACK resonated through the room as the pistol bucked under the force of the recoil. The .40 cal slug struck Spyro in the chest. He shuddered under the impact and looked at Cynder. His eyes returned to purple as the shard of the light crystal (put in by Karson) cleansed Spyro. His skin returned to its purple color, and he managed a weak smile before falling on his side. Blood oozed from the wound in his chest. His eyelids slowly shut.

Cynder let the pistol clatter to the floor and she let out a desperate cry as she saw Spyro bleeding from his chest. She managed to crawl over to Spyro. She put her head on his and let out a long wail of despair. Karson and Allison both got to their feet and, seeing Spyro on the floor and Cynder holding him, they knew what had happened. Karson rushed over to Cynder's side. He placed his fingers on Spyro's neck to check for a pulse. He felt an extremely weak pulse. It was very weak. He was badly wounded. And they had no way to get back to the Archilles. By the time they would reach the Archilles, Spyro would be dead.

Karson sighed and put his hand on Spyro's forehead. Cynder looked up at him.

"Is h-he going to be alright?" She asked restraining sobs. Karson looked at her.

"He is still alive, barely though. If we don't get him medical attention, he will die." The color drained from Cynder's face. She knew they didn't have a way back to the Archilles. She looked at the floor. Karson put his hand on her shoulder. Cynder coughed up a lot of blood. She tried to walk but screamed as her legs gave out. Karson caught her and laid her down. Blood oozed from her mouth. It was then Karson saw how injured she was. She had many large cuts, scratch marks, and bruises. She also had a gash where Spyro's tail had hit her. She coughed up more blood.

"Damn, you are really hurt." He looked at Allison.

"We have to find some way to get them back. They are severely injured."

"Wait. Maybe there is a way to get back." Allison said. Karson looked at her with renewed hope.

"When I was trapped in the room, I found some sort of teleportation device. Maybe we could use it to get back to the Archilles." Karson nodded.

"We need to get to it now if Spyro and Cynder are to have a chance." Allison nodded and they departed for the room. They came into the partially collapsed room and Allison pointed to a platform. They got on it and Karson looked at Allison.

"You sure you know how this thing works?" Allison looked at him and let Cynder rest on the floor. (They were both carrying Cynder and Spyro)

"I'm not sure. I don't really see any switches or anything." Karson saw some sort of panel. He put his palm on it and it glowed orange. The platform started to move. Light enveloped them and they vanished.

End of Chapter 9

Wow, now that is one tough Spyro. Wonder if they went where they needed to go, and I wonder what strange new creatures have infiltrated the UERNF destroyer Archilles...

Hope I didn't make someone cry... or did I? Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next one might be a little slow since my weekend is ended Monday. Might be able to type it in one day, although expect it to be a two-day thing.

Still working on that Spyro drawing. Expect it by weeks end. (If my stupid scanner doesn't crap out again.)

Don't forget to leave comments!