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Here is the 21st installment of the Spyro Chronicles and it came in record time! The next chapter is not too far behind, maybe just a few more days and it will be out as well! Lets see how this all comes out.

Chapter 21: The Light of Love

The APC came to a halt in the middle of a mushroom grove. The cliffs around them concealed the position and the vehicles parked there made perfect cover. The men of Task Force 1 sat next to a fire they had built and rested as darkness had fallen across the area. Many of the soldiers sat and chatted. Many grumbled about all the walking and many had basically fallen asleep.

Wagner sat with his arms folded across his chest and sat against the halftrack. They had searched the whole area that had been known as Staging Post Alpha and all they found were dead soldiers, blown up tanks and destroyed positions. It was apparent that the apes had hit here to. Now they were going to have to try again tomorrow, but for now, they needed their rest.

Karson and Allison sat next to each other, both watching Cynder as she lay on her stomach and watched the stars. Karson wished he had been there sooner. He might have been able to stop all of that from happening but he wasn't.

Cynder lay on the ground, watching the stars. Every time she watched the stars she couldn't help but think of Spyro. She pictured him sitting next to her, comforting her and showing her affection she didn't even know possible. Now he was gone. Unlike last time they didn't know where he was and didn't have an entire marine Division looking for him. There was no way of telling where he went.

Cynder slowly got up and left the camp site. She wandered around almost in a daze around the area. Karson had considered following her, but decided that she just needed some time to herself to get through this. She climbed up to the cliff overlooking the campsite and looked onwards to the night sky. Part of her expected for Spyro to be right beside her, like he had the night all of this started. The night when they first met Karson and Allison and when all of this terrible mess started.

However, her love was nowhere in sight. She sat there for a few moments before erupting into a never ending wave of tears. The ground beneath her became saturated with her tears of sadness. She wished she knew where Spyro was, she wanted to be with him so badly. Cynder sat on the cliff, in a trance like state, waiting for Spyro to appear by her side so that everything could be right again. But it wasn't meant to be...

___________________________

Spyro flew in the sky, his heart aching from the events of the previous hours. His face was still soggy from his tears. He knew that Cynder was sad, but at least she was safe. Now he couldn't hurt her and that was all that mattered to him. He wasn't about to let her get hurt anymore, not by his own hands.

Spyro flew onwards, the winds his only guide. He had to get away from Cynder. If he turned or that creature came back for him, he didn't want Cynder to get hurt. It was too much for him to bear watching her lying helpless on the ground while he hurt her. Soon Spyro was approaching the ocean. Spyro spotted a cliff and got an idea. The idea was drastic but as long as Cynder was safe, that's all that mattered.

He flew on top of the cliff and looked down to the ocean waves below. The water had an eerie blackness to it, the only light coming from the moons overhead. The drop was easily hundreds of feet in the air. Spyro studied it for a while before finally coming to a decision. He had promised himself that he would protect Cynder no matter what, even if it meant his own life. At this point in time, that's exactly what it called for and Spyro was more then happy to fulfill his promise.

"Cynder... I'm so sorry..." Spyro muttered, almost choking on his own words. He looked out to the cloudy night sky and saw Cynder's face in it. He clenched his eyes shut as a wave of tears filled them. He dashed forward and off the cliff. At first his wings instinctively came out to catch the air, but Spyro folded them against his body and he began to plummet.

He felt like a rock freefalling down the cliff face, his body picking up speed and coming closer to the water. The waves beneath rolled back out to sea, revealing a large cluster of jagged rocks right where Spyro had intended to land. Part of Spyro felt scared of it, but the other felt that this was the only way.

Spyro got closer and closer until he finally met the rocks. His body struck them and became limp. The rocks impaled him, slicing straight through his body. A soft wet sound could be heard as they went farther into his body. The rocks continued to go into him until they broke under the strain and his body collapsed to the ground. The ocean waves scooped him up and carried his lifeless body out to sea.

The rocks that had lodged themselves in him weighed him down and Spyro's body slowly slipped beneath the waves, a pool of red gathering where he had been.

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Cynder continue to sit there on the cliff when she felt as if her heart had been torn out of her chest and tossed around like a toy. Tears filled her eyes and she let out a cry which woke most of the marines beneath her. The cry echoed across the dragon realms, like an ominous death bell.

She continued to let out her cry until her lungs couldn't muster any more breath and she collapsed to the ground, still wailing as she felt the sudden absence of her lover from the world.

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Anderson continued to walk, his legs aching every time he took another step. He felt something jab him in the back and knew that the ape behind him had stuck him once again with his sword. His HACO armor kept him protected but every muscle in his body screamed at the assault on his back. He cringed as the pain rocketed through him. He continued onward though, he had to show the others he was still in the game.

The group staggered through the forest until they heard a high pitched wail sound. They all looked around but didn't know its source. Anderson felt a wave of grief, it sounded like someone was in terrible pain, and there was nothing he could do about it.

The apes mumbled to each other and Anderson felt himself being forced to sit down. All the other marines were forced to sit down as well, except for Robinson who was hefted to the middle of the group.

"We don't need so many prisoners, get rid of one of 'em." The lead ape instructed. The one holding Robinson nodded and drew his sword.

Anderson tried to get out of his bindings to help Robinson but for some reason his hands wouldn't move so he was forced to watch as the ape raised his sword and prepared to cut the soldiers neck.

Before he could, a loud CRACK filled the area and the ape let the sword fall to the ground and grasped his arm which was bleeding. The apes looked around for the assailant but could find none. Out of the mushroom brush another CRACK resonated and an ape fell over onto his back motionless.

"Find 'em and kill 'em!" The ape shouted. The marines in the clearing tried to undo their bindings but couldn't. They didn't need to for a burst of automatic fire protruded from the mushrooms, cutting down most of the apes. The lead ape drew his sword and approached Tamez. Anderson was about to come out of his bindings and kill the ape when Tamez came free of his bingings and dodged the blow the ape had sent at him. Tamez kicked the ape in the back before jumping at one of the dead apes, drawing one of the captured pistols and pumping three slugs into the ape's back. Tamez got up and shot the other ape while the final one was cut down by the same weapon that had started this fight.

Once they undid their bindings the brush around them came to life and all the marines raised their rifles to meet two UERMC marines. One of them clutched a sniper rifle, its barrel still smoking from its usage. The other held onto an M74D assault rifle, its barrel still hot as well. Their shoulder pads bore the silver word 'Psi'. They were members of Psi Company. More specifically, they were members of Task Force 2.

The two marine saluted Anderson for they were both Privates and not a corporal like Anderson was. He nodded and grabbed his M10 SMG from one of the fallen apes.

"Damn good timing..." Anderson said; sweat beginning to form on his head as he moved to shake the hand of the sniper.

"Cpl. Thomas Anderson." Anderson said, shaking the soldier's hand.

"Pvt. Mathew Picante." The soldier said in return.

"Pvt. James O'Brian." The other said as Anderson shook his hand as well.

"So you guys are a sniper team from Psi?" Anderson asked them, they both nodded.

"So what happened to the rest of Psi Company?" As Anderson said that, Tamez walked up and joined the other two marines. He too was a member of Psi and had a story to tell.

"Well, we came under attack a few hours before we were supposed to launch our operation and the apes hit us hard. We were separated from our group and have been trying to find any other survivors. So far, you guys are the only ones we have come across." Picante said to Anderson.

"Same here, I was separated from my squad and had to fend off the apes for a while until you guys showed up." Tamez said to the soldier.

"Shit... well, we'd better head back to the temple then..."

"Which way is it?"

"I'm not to sure but any place is better then this." They nodded and began to walk back the way they came, trying to find that path they had been on before. Although they had just survived that encounter, the night was still young and they still had to be on their guard.

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The sun began to rise over the Dragon realms, its rays shining on the camp site and on a lonely dragoness who lay on the ground, still crying from the night before. She hadn't slept a wink all night and she lay on the ground, not moving. Allison walked up to her and nudged her. She only got a whimper in response.

"Cynder?" She asked, nudging her again. Cynder lay where she was, not moving. The only movement was from her breathing and when she let out a cry. Allison wouldn't give up though. She had to get through to her somehow.

"Cynder, come on, Wagner wants to do more searching and maybe you could help." Cynder just lay there, not doing anything. Allison finally gave up and set her hand on Cynder's shoulder and patted her. She then got up and left the dragoness to her thoughts.

Cynder had felt like something horrible had happened to Spyro. The small amount of warmth she felt before had vanished in an instant last night, like Spyro disappeared or something. Her mind filled with possibilities ranging from him turning to darkness all the way to the impossible: his death. She didn't want to think he was dead, he had to be alive, he had to be somewhere. However it didn't feel that way to her. She felt as though an empty void had been made in her heart. She wanted to believe that he was alive, but she was slowly loosing faith.

As Allison walked down the cliff she shot a few more glances back at Cynder who merely cried on the ground. She saw Wagner looking over the APC, attempting to see anything moving out there.

"Lieutenant?" Wagner looked down sharply and saw Allison standing there.

"Allison, how's Cynder?" He asked, jumping down to meet her on the ground.

"Still won't move... it's like she has lost all motivation..."

"I would be too. Remember that's how you were when you thought Karson had died?"

"Yea, I remember... I just wish we could help her but how? We don't know where Spyro is..."

"I dunno, I feel as though something happened to Spyro... I don't know why though... I feel as though I have failed at something."

"Sir?" Allison inquired the officer.

"I don't know Allison; I feel as though I have to find Spyro, like it's a responsibility that I have to fulfill. I don't know... I feel as though something bad happened to Spyro."

"Let's hope not... or I don't think Cynder would be able to handle it." Allison said to Wagner who picked up a pair of binoculars and looked over the APC again. Karson walked up at this time.

"Sir, the two squads are formed and awaiting orders sir." Karson said saluting Wagner. Wagner returned it and looked at Karson for a moment.

"Good, tell them to start their searches and report back every 5 minuets. In two hours we regroup here and if no-one is found, we will head back to the temple."

"Yes sir." Karson said before running off again.

"Well, we can't spend time looking for Spyro right now, no matter how much I feel we need to. We have to fire the Final Solution before we can do an expansive search for him, although I fear that it may be too late..." Wagner said to Allison who nodded. Wagner walked inside of the APC and grabbed his rifle and slung it over his shoulder. He handed a rifle to Allison who accepted the weapon and slapped a clip of SM rounds into the weapon.

Wagner grabbed two SM clips and two regular clips and took out his binoculars again. They had started the search and so far, nothing had turned up. The story was the same two hours later when nobody had been found. At that point, both squads regrouped and were loading up the vehicles to head back to the temple. As Allison tossed her supplies into the Halftrack she saw Cynder still on the cliff face. She sighed before going back to talk to her.

"Cynder? You alright?" Allison felt stupid for asking that but she had to say something to start it off. Cynder didn't respond. She merely stared blankly into the sky.

"Cynder, I know it hurts but you know why he left though right? He did it out of love for you Cynder... he did it to protect you. You should hold up your end and stay safe until we can find him." She saw Cynder get on her feet again and started to walk. Allison stood there expecting her to say something however Cynder never said a word as she walked over to the APC and waited for the convoy to get moving. Allison shrugged and walked over to the APC as well. Unlike the first time, they were all going to get a lift back to the temple instead of walking and escorting the convoy. Cynder, however decided to ride on top of the APC. As Allison entered, she saw Cynder looking back to the cliff and heard her mutter something.

"Spyro... I love you..." tears strolled from her eyes and damped the halftracks armor plating. Allison sighed once again before entering the halftrack and sealing the door behind her. The vehicle started up and moved back to the temple.

Karson sat next to Allison and saw her in deep thought. He sensed what was wrong and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Allison, Cynder's strong, I think she will be able to make it."

"I'm not so sure Karson... she just seems like an empty shell now. She doesn't even respond to me anymore..."

"Well, the sooner we can find Spyro, the better."

"I'm not so sure it will be as easy as that..." Wagner cut in.

"Sir?" Karson asked him.

"I don't know why but I keep getting this sick feeling in my gut every time I think of finding Spyro, like trying to find him is useless. I just hope I'm wrong though..."

"I hope so too sir, for ours and Cynder's sakes." They all nodded.

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Something didn't seem right. He felt cold, colder then he thought it would be. He noticed that he just kept floating in a void, completely devoid of coherency or orientation. He just floated this way and that. Next thing he new he was lying on something. It felt solid, much unlike where he had been before.

He opened his eyes and stood up, his scales scraping the hard ground beneath him. He noticed that he was on a platform that was in the middle of nowhere. All around him rocks tumbled through the nothingness on random paths. He took flight in the nothingness and came to a second platform, this one much larger and had walls surrounding the edges and an object in the center similar to the pool of visions. He walked up to it and saw his reflection in the pool. His purple scales reflected back at him, reminding him who he was. He was Spyro.

Suddenly the pool began to move and coalesce into shapes and visions. He began to watch events that had already happened, as if happening at that moment. He watched his first encounter with Ignitus, his first time inside of the dragon temple, his journey against Cynder's forces and his eventual victory over them. He continued to watch, seeing the defeat of Gaul and the apes and then the Darkmaster. He then saw the attack by the Lakadors and the UERMC in the dragon realms. It all came down and showed what had happened the day before with the creature and finally Spyro's leap from the cliff edge and death when he hit the rocks.

The pool then returned to normal, leaving Spyro confused. Why was he here? The last time he had come here it was so the Chronicler could show him his powers...

"Chronicler?" Spyro called out into the room. No-one answered. He felt something jerking at him and slumped to the floor and fell asleep.

Spyro awoke once more, except this time he was on a beach. The ocean waves splashed against him as he lay there on the beach. He got up and looked around. He saw these odd structures dotting the area around him. He knew exactly where he was, the celestial caves of the White Isle.

He walked through the caves and found himself back at where the Chronicler had been the first time. He walked inside of the room and looked at the hour glass in the center of the room. He watched it for a bit until he heard a familiar voice.

"Ah young dragon, I'd hoped that you would come here."

"Chronicler, why have you brought me here?" Spyro asked the very ancient dragon.

"Isn't it obvious?" He responded, slowly approaching the dragon.

"You are here because of what you did to yourself on that cliff last night. That is very dangerous to be atop a cliff and leap off. You actually died."

"I died? Then why am I here?"

"Because the light would not allow you to die."

"The light?"

"Yes, the light."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"The light is one of the elements young dragon. It is by far the most powerful and the hardest to conjure. Its mysteries know no bounds. Every living creature in fact has light energy tucked away inside of them, they are shown by one's love for another, happiness, sacrifice, the light has a helping hand in our lives and it is tucked away in you more so then any others."

"So I can use light too?"

"To an extent, however, the true masters of light are the light dragons. It is said that one would be born to accompany the purple dragon. However, even so, you can still command a great deal of light."

"Wait, you said that a light dragon would be born to accompany me, was there one born before, when I was in the time of the Great War?" The Chronicler sighed and walked back a few feet and looked at his vast collections of books.

"Spyro, remember when I mentioned that the records in this hall incorporate most of the dragons' history?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well I am afraid all records concerning that time were either erased or lost. No records exist of that time so I cannot say for certain."

"But what about the Darkmaster then? Did he have a light dragon with him?"

"The Darkmaster... turned evil before he met his light dragon and he was killed shortly after so he never had a light dragon." Spyro sat there in deep thought, wondering who his light dragon had been since he was born before.

"Ok, but what about the light you mentioned before, you said that it wouldn't let me die, how is that?"

"Like I said, every living thing has light energy somewhere in them. In fact, light is the only element that anyone can use, no matter what race they are. They just have to learn how to use it. The light inside of you is powerful but it is the light in others that is keeping you bound here. It is the love of another that has influenced the light within you to keep you here. Come here Spyro, I want to show you something..." The Chronicler led Spyro the hour glass which slid underneath the floor and was replaced with a pool. Like the first one it was like the pool of visions in the temple. The waters moved and Spyro saw something in it, rather someone.

"Cynder..." Spyro said as he saw her lying on the cliff, crying. She was in absolute pain; the ground beneath her was soggy from the oncoming wave of tears that came down her face. The air around her was filled with a painful wail of sadness as she continued to look at the stars, only to see Spyro's face in them. Spyro reached out his paw and touched the pool. He wanted to be with her but knew better, he would only bring her more despair and pain.

"Spyro, she missed you and desired for you so much that her light energy influenced your own. By doing this, she saved you from a fate that could have befallen you." Spyro hung his head down low and examined his mate lying on the ground sobbing.

"She saved me? But why... all I do is bring her pain and suffering..."

"That couldn't be farther from the truth young one. You have filled this young dragoness with happiness beyond measure. Her entire childhood was shrouded in darkness and pain. Now, it's nothing but happiness and joy with you being part of her life. She never knew happiness until she met you, you saved her and now she is returning the favor to you."

Spyro's eyes began to fill with tears and he smashed his paws onto the pool. He didn't want Cynder to be in any pain and yet, no matter what he did, he always brought more to her. The Chronicler placed his paws gently on Spyro's muzzle and brought it so their eyes met.

"Spyro, one thing you must know about love is forgiveness. Cynder has forgiven you for all you have done against her just as you did her. She loves you with all her heart and right now she needs you more then ever."

"All I want is for her to be happy." Spyro said with a quaver in his voice.

"Then be with her... go and give her your love..." The Chronicler said with a smile. Spyro looked up to him with a smile and nodded, tears strolling down his face.

The pool opened up and revealed a way back out to the world. Spyro flew towards it, but before entering it he looked back at the Chronicler.

"Thank you..." Spyro said before leaving the room. The hole shut and the Chronicler chuckled to himself as he lifted his paw and a purple book came out to him. The book opened up in front of him and the Chronicler flipped the pages to the very first ones, the ones concerning his early childhood and his original parents. A picture was imprinted on the book's pages of a Human father and a dragoness mother holding onto Spyro's egg and a young human and Lakador baby lying down next to them. It was all of Spyro's family.

Destiny had a funny way of working in the mind of the Chronicler. Every purple dragon had been born in times of trial and where they needed the dragon's help. During that time, it was thought the dragon, along with the rest of the chosen ones, had been born to stop the Darkmaster from taking over the Plague and keeping the Council safe. It turns out Spyro was supposed to defeat the Darkmaster several thousand years into the future where they needed him even more.

The Darkmaster had always been a problem. If it hadn't been his lust for power, it had been him traveling into the past and trying to take over that time. Now he had returned and was reeking even more havoc then before. Something that Spyro had asked him troubled the Chronicler. Originally, Spyro's light dragon had been his mother, but when he was sent into the future, something happened and Spyro lacked his light companion. The Darkmaster never met his light companion and turned evil before. His thoughts then turned to the creature that Spyro had been battling before. He had seen that creature before, but he looked different, possibly since he was using that creature as a puppet to mask who he really was. Even so, something familiar shrouded that creature. He had seen him during the time that the Darkmaster turned evil.

Curios, he summoned the Darkmaster's book to him. He flipped the pages until he came to the pages concerning the Darkmaster's start on the road to darkness. Before, he had been a happy-go-lucky dragon with spunk and the yearning to help others. Suddenly, his personality changed and he became power hungry and eventually became the Darkmaster they knew today. Curiously, around that exact same time, he had felt that creature lurking around the area. He flipped through the pages of the Darkmaster's book and Spyro's as well. He looked up what the creature had said to Spyro and what had happened to the Darkmaster. Suddenly the pieces all fit and the Chronicler nearly dropped his books in astonishment.

"By the Ancestors, who is this creature?"

End of Chapter 21

OMG!!!! Spyro just kicked the bucket only to be saved by Cynder! Truly this is the power of love, however, it doesn't look to good for Cynder, now that she is loosing her will to be tied to reality, what will she do? And how is Anderson going to get back to the temple with his squad intact? And just who the hell is this new enemy and how is he tied to the Darkmaster? The answers just might come to pass in the next chapter!