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Well here is the 20th installment of the Spyro Chronicles. I know it's been a while but this chapter has been under constant renovation and rewriting so without further a due, here it is.

Chapter 20: Another Blow

The APC drove down the forest with its jeep escorts not far behind. The marines around the vehicle scanned the forest with their rifles and checked to make sure it was all secure. As they neared Staging Post Alpha, they heard noise up ahead. Most of it was energy fire and other things like that. Wagner ordered the UERMC convoy to halt and he picked out Henderson and Ackmar to help him recon what all the noise was.

Ackmar walked up and slapped her back against a mushroom next to Wagner and awaited orders from him. Henderson approached Wagner's position with his rifle at the ready position, ready to pick off targets if need be. Wagner peered over the area they were at and with his hands, ordered them to move forward. They did so, Henderson doing a barrel roll over a wall of dirt, putting him on the opposite side of it. Ackmar jumped the wall and joined Henderson on the opposite side. Wagner was the last to join the group, but he kept moving forward until they reached the edge of a clearing.

Wagner spotted several apes searching a few marine bodies, removing ammunition, their rifles, and their frag grenades. Wagner didn't know weather firing on them was the smartest thing, but he reached into his pack and removed a silencer he had recovered from the temple. He attached the device to the end of the barrel and handed silencers to the marines beside him. They then turned their attention back to the apes in the clearing. Wagner squeezed the trigger first. Small coughs resonated from the barrel and an ape clutched onto its neck and fell over dead. Another turned to face his dead comrade and pondered what had killed him. He received the answer as .22 cal ammo sliced through him and ended his life.

The rest of the squad opened fire too at this point, killing any apes they saw. One ape in the back of the group spotted the marine's silhouette in the mushroom line and let out a howl before getting cut down by the gunfire. Spyro and Cynder, who were flying overhead, heard this and swooped down into the clearing. They were joined by Wagner and Ackmar. Henderson was going back to the APC to alert the other squads.

The convoy came to a halt and Wagner and Ackmar began to retreat into the brush again. Spyro and Cynder looked around, sensing something.

"You feel that?" Spyro said, a chilling feeling coming over him.

"Yea, like something is watching us..." Cynder replied, scanning the area for whatever it was.

"Suppose it's the Darkmaster?" Cynder asked, her head moving to Spyro who moved his head as well to hers.

"I don't know, it feels too powerful, it even trumps the Darkmaster..." Spyro replied, a wave of coldness causing him to shudder.

"Should we tell Wagner?" Cynder said, having a worried look on her face.

"Maybe... but I am not-"Something caught Spyro's eyes which stopped him mid-sentence. It looked like an ape, but much more massive and more body composure. It was more built, heavily armored, and it was solid black and purple in color. It's eyes were just pits of blackness. Spyro felt more darkness coming from it then a Plague could ever supply. The creature moved into the light a bit more and examined Spyro and Cynder. Its armor looked like that of the shadow armor worn by apes, but it looked more advanced, sleeker, and more powerful.

Spyro growled and Cynder saw it at that moment. Wagner had walked too far to hear Spyro's growl and thought that they had taken flight once again.

They both waited for it to make a move. It slowly came out of the brush and into the light. It was massive, about the size of an ape commander. Its left arm had sharp claws and armor that bore spikes for attacking. Its right arm had no claws or even a hand to speak of. Where its for-arm was supposed to be, a large cylinder was. Where the hand was supposed to be, a large hole with a purple glow replaced it. The creature had no eyes; they were just holes in the armor. It lifted its right arm, showing that there was a purple glow emanating from inside the hole. A ball of purple grew in it and a superheated ball of dark energy cascaded from it.

Spyro leapt into the air, followed by Cynder. They both pelted it with fire breath attacks. The fire struck the creature, and then just dissipated. The fire energy just hit and cooled. Not even a scratch lay on the armor.

"What the hell..." Spyro said as he charged up ice, summoning shards which he hurled at the creature. They shattered against the armor, not even phasing the creature. It just watched them, accepting their attacks without even showing a hint of pain. The creature then leapt into the air to meet Spyro and Cynder. It lifted its left arm and smacked Cynder with it.

Cynder had tried to avoid the arm, but it moved to fast for her to track. She was smacked into the ground, letting out a cry of pain as the creature followed through with a kick, sending her even faster downwards. Spyro charged the creature, he flew strait at it and struck it with his horns. He bounced off, not even a dent or scratch was apparent on the surface. Spyro regained his flight and used electricity to try to fling the creature out of the area. It failed.

The stream of electricity deflected off of its armor and hit Spyro instead. He was flung from his position in the sky and landed hard on the ground, right next to Cynder's unconscious form.

The creature landed in front of them and let out a loud laugh. It didn't seem to talk however, like something was talking through it. The creature itself seemed like a puppet made to do someone's bidding.

"So this is the mighty Spyro and Cynder? You defeated the Darkmaster? How pathetic... I am disappointed that you didn't put up more of a fight then this little ballet that you have shown me." A deep voice protruded from the figure, its voice was unfamiliar and rough to Spyro.

"Just what the hell do you want?!" Spyro asked, picking himself off of the ground and shaking off the pain that rippled through his body.

"I am here to see you of course... I wanted to see if the stories of a powerful purple dragon were true... I had to see for myself. I must say I am disappointed... You could be great you know; you could be the greatest dragon ever. You could be powerful enough to stop the Darkmaster and any other force that opposes you... you could even have all the power you need to protect Cynder..."

Spyro was in the process of asking another question when he mentioned that. He thought about it for a moment before taking a glance at Cynder's unconscious form.

"Yes, of course Spyro, you could protect her from any harm that might come her way. All you need to do is to join me, to help me put a stop to the Darkmaster's evil reign. Together we can stop him and bring peace to the dragon realms and help keep her safe."

"All I want is her safety... I don't want anything happening to her..." Spyro said sadly, his head drooping to the ground.

"With my help she will be safe... and with your help we can bring down the Darkmaster and put an end to all this... once and for all. All I need is your allegiance and I will grant you the power you need..." The creature held out its hand and Spyro hesitantly let his paw go towards it. At first he felt a cold aura around the creature, but something was subduing it. Spyro played it off, if he could protect Cynder, then nothing else mattered. He felt a wave of coldness envelop his body but played it off as well.

Cynder started to awaken at this time and lifted her head just in time to see Spyro and the creature's hands unite. Spyro's eyes began to change to an ominous black color with a white haze around them. His skin started to change to a blackish color and his horns and chest began to darken. Hideous symbols and markings began to appear on his body as well.

"Spyro stop!" Cynder yelled as she charged and knocked Spyro free of the creature. Spyro looked up at her, his eyes still retaining that blackish look.

"Cynder, please... don't interfere..." Spyro said as he got up and started to walk back to the creature. His skin was still turning darker and darker by the second. Cynder had to do something, and fast! She didn't want to go through another painful fight with him... twice was two times too many. She leapt forward and grabbed him.

"Spyro, cant you see what he's doing?! He's trying to make you turn evil again! You have to fight it Spyro!" She yelled to him while holding him back. The creature just stood there, although faceless, he probably would have been smiling at that point.

"Cynder, I can't fight something that's not there, I need to do this! I have to protect you and this is the only way!" Spyro yelled back, his skin a blackish color and a purple haze forming around his form. The markings had become more apparent now and Cynder felt that he was really cold.

"Protect me?! Spyro, you have protected me enough! You can't go with him! Can't you feel what he is doing to you? He's polluting your mind! Fight it Spyro!" She continued to scream to him. This time he just continued to try to go towards the creature and didn't say anything.

"Your just wasting your breath young one, Spyro's made the right choice. By joining me he has achieved a power greater then that of the Darkmaster. Now we can defeat him and peace will be restored. Don't worry Cynder, he will still love you... it just depends if you want to join us as well..." His voice contained an ounce of satisfaction with the scene unfolding in front of him.

"You liar! You want more then just peace! You are evil, I can feel it! Darkness is coming right out of you! Spyro, you have to fight him!" Cynder yelled, still trying to reach through to Spyro who merely groaned as she held onto him.

"Why resist? Darkness is merely a color. It depends on how you use them, and I choose to use them to better the dragon realms..." The creature responded.

"That may be true but darkness corrupts and you are corrupted completely! Nothing you say is the truth!" She retorted, still holding onto Spyro.

"You are beginning to become annoying..." the creature growled back to her.

"I'm only saying the truth! And the truth is that you are corrupting Spyro! Spyro! Come on! You have to fight him! You can't listen to him! I can protect myself!" She said to him.

"Cynder... I... have... to..." spyro said rather weakly. His voice started to sound a little different. Not like the one that accompanied the regular Dark Spyro, this one sounded stranger, and darker.

"You have to fight it Spyro! You can't do this! Don't you see what he is doing?! Please Spyro, just listen to me!"

"Cynder... I... MUST!" Spyro almost roared, his power increasing, his body size increasing and his hate rising as well. Cynder could barely hold onto him anymore; he was starting to become more viscous. She had to do something for Spyro wasn't listening. She had do challenge this new foe or all would be lost. This time though, she would have to do it alone. No Karson there to help her, no marines by her side, she was alone in this endeavor.

Suddenly Cynder was blown off of Spyro by a wave of dark energy that he had produced. She flew into the dirt and struggled to get back onto her feet. Spyro huffed and started back towards the creature.

"With this, Spyro, I will finalize your power, giving you all the power you need to help me defeat the Darkmaster and for you to become ruler of these realms..." the creature let out his hand once more and Spyro approached once more. Something then pinged off of the creatures head. The creature turned to meet the source of this.

Lt. Wagner stood there in the clearing, accompanied by the marines and the lumbering Halftrack and two jeeps behind him. All the marines fired their assault rifles and the Halftrack fired the 50mm gun turret mounted on the roof of the vehicle. The jeeps behind it fired their .50 cal machine guns. The bullets pinged off of the armor and ricocheted in multiple directions. The 50mm round exploded on the armor, causing the creature to be displaced and it flew back a few feet. Spyro was also flung from the creature by the blast. The creature recovered and then got up. The smoke cleared and showed that the round had merely cracked the armor.

"So this is the human military... I would have expected more from you." The creature said while clutching onto the crack in his armor. Even though this was a 'drone' to him, he probably still felt pain through the creature.

"You are interfering with our meeting... I suggest you leave." the creature said in a low voice.

"We aren't leaving without Spyro or Cynder!" Karson said while stepping up. By this time Spyro had gotten back up and they saw him. They saw his black scales, dark horns, hazy eyes, and the purple aura that surrounded him.

"Guys, I want to do this... I have to do this..." Spyro said in his mildly distorted voice. He nodded at the creature and started walking back towards him.

"What the hell is going on? Why is Spyro siding with him?" Allison asked Karson who was studying the situation as best be could.

"I don't know, all I know is that there is an awful lot of dark energy coming from that creature. Whatever he promised Spyro I don't think he is telling the truth... we have to stop him! Spyro doesn't know what he's doing! Wagner!" Karson yelled to Wagner who understood and yelled back to the gunners in the APC.

The APC lurched as it fired off another shell. It struck the creature in the chest. Pieces of its armor shattered off as the round struck. It flew back and into the ground. Spyro was taken back a few feet but continued to walk towards the creature. Cynder got back on her feet and saw Spyro still going towards the beast. She decided enough was enough. She charged at Spyro and knocked him off his feet and into the ground. The creature had gotten back up and saw Cynder on top of Spyro.

"AGH!!! I have had just about enough of you!" The creature grabbed Cynder and flung her into the ground. She let out a low whimper as the air was knocked out of her. Spyro saw all of it and finally came to a realization. The creature had just hurt Cynder even though he promised to help her. Something had to be done.

Spyro's eyes flashed golden and the black aura around him exploded outwards. His scales returned to normal and he launched himself at the creature. He struck it with his horns and the creature displaced a bit. He turned around to be met with Spyro's eyes, which were still golden at this point. The creature let out a roar right before smacking Spyro back into the ground.

"You little whelp... you still have a chance though... join me and together we will crush the Darkmaster!"

"Cynder is who I am loyal to! Not you!" spyro retorted back.

"Fine, have it your way!" Before the creature could attack, however, he was struck in the back with another 50mm shell. His armor begun to crack and hiss under the strain of the shells and he roared again.

"You have made a foolish choice young one... after I defeat the Darkmaster I'll be back for you! You could have been powerful! You could even be the next Darkmaster! Imagine, all that power, all for yourself... remember what you have just lost..." The creature sailed up into the air and vanished in a puff of dark energy.

Spyro ran over to Cynder and helped her up. She staggered a bit but smiled when she saw him. His body no longer distorted and controlled by that evil being; now it resembled the body that she fell in love with. He began to hug her and she grabbed him fully and embraced him in her own hug.

"Oh Spyro, I'm glad you made the right choice..." She looked him in the eyes and saw that he was crying. Tears were strolling down his purple face and dripping onto her body.

"Cynder... I'm so sorry... I didn't know what I was doing... I thought that he would help us but I was fool-"Cynder stopped him mid-sentence by placing her paws over his muzzle and almost clamping it shut.

"Spyro... it's not all your fault! He was controlling you."

"No... no he wasn't! All of it was my own doing! I did it all by myself! I wanted it to happen!" Spyro sobbed, more and more tears flowing down his face. Cynder couldn't even think of anything to say. She just stared vacantly at him.

"It was like something in me wanted to be evil and to have that power... I just couldn't help myself... I was overtaken by my own lust for power and I almost got you and everyone else killed because of it!"

"No Spyro... your wrong... you are the one who regained your senses and saved me."

"No, that was the APC that did that... all I did was get us into this mess in the first place. All I want is for you to be safe... and all I have done is endanger you..."

"Spyro that's not true!"

"You know it's true! All I have done is hurt you or done something bad... if I can't keep you safe then I can't be here anymore... I have to go Cynder..." Spyro, still crying, flexed his wings, separating himself from Cynder and taking flight. Still facing Cynder, he began to fly off into the sky.

"Spyro wait! You can't go! Please don't go!" Cynder sobbed to Spyro who stopped mid-flight and looked her in the eyes.

"Cynder... I don't want to go... but I can't stay here anymore. All I do is bring harm to you and everyone else... I have to go... goodbye Cynder..." with that Spyro flapped his wings and took off into the afternoon sky, not knowing any destination and not knowing where to go.

Cynder reached her paw towards Spyro and flexed it as if she could grab onto him and stop him. She kept reaching into the sky, hoping that he would come back and embrace her once again. However, he kept flying on.

"Spyro, please... c-come b-b-back..." she sobbed right before letting out a wail. Spyro heard the wail but kept going forward. He had promised that he would keep her safe no matter what... even if it meant his own life.

Karson and Allison walked up to Cynder who was lying on the ground crying. Karson put his hand on Cynder put she moved her paw and knocked his arm off. Karson looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and backing off a bit. Allison clung onto him and looked at Cynder's form on the ground. She then looked up to see the spec that was Spyro. They had overheard the conversation but couldn't do a thing about it.

Lt. Wagner walked up to Karson and looked at Cynder. The rest of the marines stood by the Halftrack and just waited to see what would happen.

"So... just who in the hell was that that made these two go at it again?"

"I don't know sir, all I know is that he tried to make Spyro turn with a deal supposedly... that's all I know."

"But what was the deal?" Allison asked with a quaver in her voice.

"That's something that we need to find out." Karson replied back.

"We have to go find Spyro!" Allison said while taking another glance at Cynder

"We can't! We can't chase after him because he can fly and we can't... our only Nighthawk is running on empty and we can only give chase on foot. There's no way we would keep up with him." Lt. Wagner began to remove his helmet and scratch his head.

"Still, what could that creature have promised Spyro in order for Spyro to do that?"

"It was so that he could protect me..." Cynder finally said.

"To protect you?" Allison asked the grief stricken dragoness.

"Yes... t-that creature had p-promised Spyro that he would give h-him the power to defeat the Darkmaster and protect me... as long as he sided with him..."

"Which he did..." Karson said looking at the ground.

"One thing doesn't add up though, how could Spyro do that without some sort of influence? He had to be under some control." Karson said.

"Yea but it wasn't apparent, usually the person would loose all their senses and that is how they are controlled but Spyro was still talking to us..." Lt. Wagner continued to scratch his head.

"So how would he have been controlled?" Allison asked.

"Wait, I think I know..." Wagner said, putting his helmet back on.

"What is it?"

"The way I see it, there are two ways to control another... through creating a second mind to take over, or to take over that single mind already..." The others looked at Wagner with a look of confusion.

"Well, think of it this way, when you get controlled, usually you are secluded and the second mind takes over the body. In this way, you can fight it. In this case, the creature influenced Spyro's free will. The creature wasn't thinking for Spyro, he influenced his thoughts. Spyro could still make decisions on his own; the darkness just clouded his judgment." The others looked at the ground. They had heard when Spyro said that most of that was his own doing. It probably was, but that creature was influencing him. Whoever that creature was, it was dangerous.

Wagner looked up into the sky and saw that it was starting to get dark.

"Come on... we have to locate the second task force, with or without Spyro." Wagner said while walking back to the halftrack. Karson started back but Allison stayed by Cynder's side.

"Cynder, come on. We have to go now..." Cynder only lay there. With a sigh Allison got up and walked to the halftrack. Regaining her senses, Cynder got up and started to follow the human convoy, albeit a few yards behind them.

She looked up into the sky and let out another wave of tears as she thought about Spyro flying off into the sky. Her love was gone and probably for good this time. Now everyone she had known and cared about was gone... Ignitus had been like a father to her... and Spyro had been her love, her life. And now they were all gone. Nothing was going right for anyone... Cynder even wondered if they would make it to the Final Solution and fire it.

On this day, the darkness had overcome the light. But, the light can never be extinguished. It existed in the hearts of all those who saw victory and believed in it the most. It was in all the marines who were still in the fight, who would not give up. Now they were going to have to make Cynder believe; believe that light can overpower the darkness and out of that light, victory can be achieved.

_______________________

Cpl. Anderson walked with the other two marines. They had been walking for a good day now and had had nothing to eat. They were exhausted and were nowhere near the temple. They still had to pass Staging Post Alpha before they got to the temple. He wondered if Psi Company had left Alpha yet. There was only one way to find out and that was to go there. He couldn't get a response on the radio and suspected that it broke in the crash. He sighed as he continued walking in the mushroom wilderness, accompanied by the two regular marines.

Anderson whipped off sweat that had accumulated on his forehead and removed his helmet. He walked a bit more and noticed that his breaths had become more stressed. He must have been more tired then he thought. He turned around and looked at the two marines behind him. They both looked very tired and they both needed a rest. After all, they hadn't had anything to eat and they hadn't ceased walking since they had started.

He looked around and surveyed the path they were on. The path was a flat path that lead through the mushrooms. It was a large path and was very wide. At the end of the path there was a ledge that lead into a ravine with lots of mushrooms and had a river that lead through it. He spotted a rock and motioned for the two marines to take a rest. The night air was refreshing to Anderson's skin as he sat down next to the marines. They hadn't talked much to each other so Anderson only knew so much as their names.

He grabbed his canteen, uncapped it, and took a long sip from it. The ice cold water coupled with the night air made him relax and he looked at the other two marines. They both sat in silence, taking short sips from their canteens and looking at the night sky. He wondered if the experience of having to evacuate the ship and the long walk was getting to them. He opened his mouth to say something to them, maybe ask where they were from, who their families were, but thought better of it.

He set his canteen down and strapped it to his side. He looked off and unsheathed his knife. He looked at it and saw his reflection. His HACO helmet and sunglasses shown back at him and he saw his sweaty face. He pulled off his sunglasses, which supplied him with a HUD, and saw his hazel eyes on the knife. His eyes used to be filled with spunk and had a sparkle to them when he first signed up for the UER Marine Corps. When he joined the Heavily Armed Covert Operations divisions, the special operations section of the Marine Corps, he had a smile which had the ability to make others smile.

Now, that smile was gone, replaced with a frown from these months of combat. The sparkle had long disappeared from his eyes, now they had rings underneath them, evidence of the long weary engagements that he had been part of. Even his motions had become slower and less oriented. The last thing they needed was another engagement.

Thankfully, nothing had challenged them since they had left the Archilles. It seemed as though the Apes had pulled back or something. Even the Plague were non-existent in the area. They had seen little or no movement from any enemy forces all day. They had seen a small caravan of apes, but they were retreating from the temple and he didn't pay them any mind. The only real opposition they were faced with was the fact they had no food. Very little animals seemed to be present in the area and the area they had just walked through had been a battlefield some point earlier so there were very little eatable foods for them.

Suddenly there was a sound which startled the three marines sitting on the rock. As soon as they heard it Anderson was already on his feet and had his rifle in hand. The other two marines followed suit very quickly. The sound was gunfire. They moved a bit, gathering their gear as they moved, and got closer to the edge of the path where the sounds came from. Anderson lifted up his hands into a 'hold' signal. The two marines complied, staying at their positions.

Anderson slipped forward, peering through the gaps in the mushrooms. He saw a few apes with swords, beating a marine lying on the ground. The marine was most likely dead, although he may have some supplies with him. He heard the marine groan and he then realized he was alive. He motioned Riley and Robinson closer. They had to save that marine. He could have a working radio and he needed help and they left no man behind. He pointed at the apes and the two marines understood what he wanted them to do.

"Fire!" could be heard from Anderson as he pulled the trigger of his SMG. The other two marines did the same, pelting the apes with .22 ammo and .40 cal SMG rounds. Many of the apes fell before they could react. The marine in the clearing stayed still, possibly in shock from what was going on. The ape that had been beating him got up and let out a howl. It leapt several feet into the air to meet the trio of marines in the brush. They met him with automatic fire which caused him to fly back and hit the ground.

The three marines left their cover and went to inspect the marine lying on the ground. The soldier was starting to pull himself off of the ground and stumbled a bit. As he did, more apes rushed out to answer their comrade's call. They overwhelmed the lone marine before he had a chance to react. Anderson and Riley raised their rifles and tried to pick off as many apses they could without hurting the lone soldier. Robinson was trying to get his rifle reloaded at this point and tossed his rifle down in sheer frustration and pulled out his sidearm.

The apes took the lone soldier hostage and they tried to kind of use him as a bargain, to make the three marines surrender. By this time there were six apes left with one marine hostage. Versus three marines who were exhausted and almost out of ammo in their magazines, this would be a challenge for them. The ape smiled at Anderson. Even though Anderson wore a black ballistic visor over his eyes, he knew that the ape was looking right into his eyes.

"Drop the rifles or your buddy gets it." The ape said in a slow demanding voice, moving a sword to the soldier's neck. Anderson cursed the ape and started to put his rifle on the ground. The other two marines with him did the same. Anderson finished by tossing his pistol on the ground. The ape gave him a menacing look. He tossed the marine he was holding to the ground and motioned the other apes over.

"Get their weapons and get them tied up, looks like we are going to have some prisoners." The other apes grabbed their rifles and one of them kicked Anderson in the groin. He doubled over and recovered quickly. He felt them binding his hands together. They tied up all of their hands and made them move forward onto the path they were just on. Instead of following the path, they detoured into a smaller path which lead deeper into the mushrooms and to where nothing airborne would spot them.

Anderson did his best to show he still had some control over the situation. Even though they were in the captivity of the apes and there was really no clue on what was going to happen, he had to show the other two marines that he still had a level of control, even if it was only over his own emotions.

Anderson looked at the new soldier they had just acquired. The soldier looked battered and beaten. He had probably been through hell and back before they came upon him. To survive that long, and to have been in such a 'good' state, he must have had some fight in him, or just incredibly lucky. Anderson hoped that it was the first one.

He looked at the soldier's left shoulder pad and saw that he was a pfc. (Private First Class). The name engraved on the helmet read Tamez A. The soldier was clearly Hispanic and Anderson hoped that he would be of major help to them, when they got out of this mess. He would have to trust every one of the men beside of him, especially since he was the highest ranking soldier there; the others were going to look up to him for guidance. He would have to look to them for their trust in him and that is what he had to give them. He had to show that they could trust him and he could trust them. Whatever happened, Anderson was ready and he would be damned if these apes would be the end of him.

End of Chapter 20

*sigh* ONCE again, we have a problem on our hands. Alright, just who in the hell is this creature and who does he think he is?! Things are just getting worse and worse for our heroes, and it doesn't look like its getting any better.