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Description
EDIT: Cynder’s only element now is dark fire, so i changed everything up a little

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She could hear the sea of Scavenger spectators cheering and howling from outside her small wooden cell with the door closed and bolted.

She knew Spyro was outside that door, she knew she was being held in an arena of some kind, having had to listen to her friend fight monsters beyond her imagination.

She hadn't yet been sent out to fight, but she had a bad feeling.

How was she supposed to get to Spyro while hauled up like this?

All she knew for sure was that in the dark of her small quarters, there were tight, thick-barred, small windows to either side of her.

The chattering of men could be heard, and through the bars she began to see blades be snaked in.

She hissed and wriggled against the tight ropes binding her muzzle and body, warning the dogs to leave her be while puffing a large, thick plume of smoke through her nostrils.

Only briefly did a pair of big, yellow eyes peek through the bars to glance at her before a dog pulled away coughing, suddenly suffocating on the almost-tangible smog as it spread and leaked through the windows.

Then, a small glint of metal caught her attention, and she saw new dogs had arrived, but wearing protective masks after the others had to walk away.

Once again they raised their blades, long and curved weapons fitted to the end of long, spear-like staffs.

She did not like where this was going.

Suddenly she heard Scratch's voice loudly echo around the arena and muffle itself through the door, just following the sound of a loud, metallic crash onto the floor outside, and a large uproar from the crowd.

        "Well, well, it appears we are amongst greatness.

This little dragon has defeated everything we've thrown at him."

Cynder's eyes widened, briefly forgetting the hook-spears while trying to listen to Scratch.

The crowd snarled, audibly dissatisfied with Spyro's inability to be thwarted by the opponents they'd known and loved to watch conquer.

        "But fret not, oh faithful fans.

Tonight, we have a special bonus match."

Next she heard Sparx's voice, but she couldn't make out what he'd said.

Just then, her scraped, dirtied body tensed irritably when the hooks of the weapons were carefully navigated to slip under some of her ropes.

Again she hissed lowly, hearing small growls in return from her captors.

        "Spyro the dragon, versus..."

She pulled against the razors holding her ropes, sensing excitement.

        "The former Queen of Conquer herself...!"

The blades pulled the the ropes more; she could hear them straining and starting to tear.

        "CYNDER!"

At last, she heard the snap of ropes as the bolts of the door came undone, steadily rising and allowing light to pour in.

Enraged and pumped with adrenaline at the notion that she could have a second chance to fight these horrible people, Cynder burst forth from her imprisonment, sending a wave of excited hollers rippling through the crowd.

She threw her head to and fro, sending torn rope flying off her black body as she finally stretched her wings, bucking and thrashing out into the open.

No sooner than her mouth had opened did a loud, shrill, uniquely-Cynder roar bellow out of her, and with it came a billowing blast of magmaric Dark Fire and pyroclastic ash.

The rich, thick fire left a haze in the air, her eyes stung in pain from the light even before they'd opened.

Sparx shrieked and flew back behind his brother, terrified.

    "AAH!

I told you she was evil!"

But Spyro was unconvinced.

He watched in shock as his friend threw her head one more time, snorting before finally standing with her feet set wide, metallic tail swishing.

She breathed heavily, and finally opened her eyes just the tiniest sliver before instantly shutting them tight again and looking away, blinded.

"GRAAH!

Hnn..."

She pulled a red wing up to shield herself.

Spyro waited tensely, large eyes wide, but heavy.

He knew she wasn't a traitor; she must've suffered the same fate he had in being kidnapped, and he was right.

Her name on his lips were the only soft thing Cynder could remember in the last 12 hours.

"Cynder..."

Through sore lids, her green orbs glinted open, hidden behind the shade of her folded wing before finally, she managed to look at her "opponent" head on.

Seeing him brought a pang to her heart and put a knot in her stomach she couldn't explain.

She didn't want to see him again -- not like this.

What she felt when she saw him, when she heard him speak, there were no words to describe.

But honestly, Spyro felt the same, only he was damn glad to see her.

Again, though not under these circumstances.

The crowd began to quickly grow impatient.

The dragons heard "Fight, already!" and "Go on, give it to em!"

Slightly stunned, the young dragoness gazed up at the thousands of onlookers, unphased by them and their demands, and even the piercing, frustrated glares of the fishling brothers.

They all reminded her of the apes, thus she paid them little mind.

Rather she looked past them, up at the sky, and saw large, ominous birds filled them.

These massive, almost dragon-sized, feathered monsters even standing on countless large perches around the top rows of the arena, screeching and flocking and surveying the area.

Those were the reason Spyro hadn't flown out by now.

If he did, he would surely be overrun by these strange beasts.

Again she heard Spyro say her name.

"Cynder...

I...

Are you..."

Calculating but tender, her smooth, dark head tipped downward over the dogs before falling back to meet Spyro's gaze once again.

For the moment her expression was unreadable.

Spyro just shook his head weakly, waiting for an answer, and then lifting one tired foot after the next.

He stepped closer.

She knew what she had to do, for all three of them.

Green eyes narrowed, head lowered, shoulders raised and a low, rumbling snarl trembled her throat.

    "Just like old times, huh Spyro...?"

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MY take on THIS scene, because FUCK THAT SCENE.

Like i loved it and i understand what they were going for with Cynder being so shy, but like.

NO.

I WANT MY FEROCIOUS LITTLE FIGHTING BEAST, MY INTELLIGENT, PROBLEM-SOLVING CHILD-GENERAL TO COME FLAILING OUT OF HER QUARTERS LIKE A BULL IN A RODEO, SAVAGE AND FERAL UNTIL SHE SEES THE LIGHT.

YAAAAS.

Also her doing NOTHING AND BEING POWERLESS when the dreadwing took her off made me so mad, like she's small but she isn't HELPLESS.

AAAND her trying to attack Gaul was pitiful.

She used NO powers in this game in any of her piddly-ass cutscenes and i am severely disappointed.

In my world, she at least managed to burn a dreadwing and begin taking off before getting pinned hard, stunned and THEN scooped off by one of those oversized bats.

And when she attacked Gaul?

FLAMES AND RAGE GO FLYING AND HE ACTUALLY HAS TO MOVE AWAY AND SWING AT HER A FEW TIMES BEFORE MANAGING TO GRAB HER.

THEN HE CAN THROW HER AT A WALL HARD ENOUGH TO KNOCK HER OUT.

Okay, i've ranted.

Getting to redo this my way and fill it with action and emotion was a lot of fun, and i do imagine her and Spyro actually managing to throw a convincing little spar with some quiet words passed in between moves before the apes showed up.

Gaaaah...

Once long ago, before i even had a smartphone, i used my Pantech to write my own version of the fly-away-from-Cynder level in Munitions Forge.

Because come on, that was...exceptionally boring.

Of course that file is long gone now, but i am thinking about actually writing for that one, too.

Kitten read it back then and said it REALLY stressed her out at the climax, which was what i wanted.

Now that i know i've improved, i'd love to take another shot at it

Anyway, i hope this is enjoyed because i had a LOT of fun doing it!

Also, EPIC light effects by PhotoDirector!

ALSO HAVE SOME OLD GARBAGE THAT IS A PRELUDE TO THIS ONE.

www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo…

---DO NOT STEAL MY STUFF!!! I DO NOT OWN TLOS BUT I DO OWN THIS ART!!!---

Description
EDIT: Cynder’s only element now is dark fire, so i changed everything up a little

_______________________________

She could hear the sea of Scavenger spectators cheering and howling from outside her small wooden cell with the door closed and bolted.

She knew Spyro was outside that door, she knew she was being held in an arena of some kind, having had to listen to her friend fight monsters beyond her imagination.

She hadn't yet been sent out to fight, but she had a bad feeling.

How was she supposed to get to Spyro while hauled up like this?

All she knew for sure was that in the dark of her small quarters, there were tight, thick-barred, small windows to either side of her.

The chattering of men could be heard, and through the bars she began to see blades be snaked in.

She hissed and wriggled against the tight ropes binding her muzzle and body, warning the dogs to leave her be while puffing a large, thick plume of smoke through her nostrils.

Only briefly did a pair of big, yellow eyes peek through the bars to glance at her before a dog pulled away coughing, suddenly suffocating on the almost-tangible smog as it spread and leaked through the windows.

Then, a small glint of metal caught her attention, and she saw new dogs had arrived, but wearing protective masks after the others had to walk away.

Once again they raised their blades, long and curved weapons fitted to the end of long, spear-like staffs.

She did not like where this was going.

Suddenly she heard Scratch's voice loudly echo around the arena and muffle itself through the door, just following the sound of a loud, metallic crash onto the floor outside, and a large uproar from the crowd.

        "Well, well, it appears we are amongst greatness.

This little dragon has defeated everything we've thrown at him."

Cynder's eyes widened, briefly forgetting the hook-spears while trying to listen to Scratch.

The crowd snarled, audibly dissatisfied with Spyro's inability to be thwarted by the opponents they'd known and loved to watch conquer.

        "But fret not, oh faithful fans.

Tonight, we have a special bonus match."

Next she heard Sparx's voice, but she couldn't make out what he'd said.

Just then, her scraped, dirtied body tensed irritably when the hooks of the weapons were carefully navigated to slip under some of her ropes.

Again she hissed lowly, hearing small growls in return from her captors.

        "Spyro the dragon, versus..."

She pulled against the razors holding her ropes, sensing excitement.

        "The former Queen of Conquer herself...!"

The blades pulled the the ropes more; she could hear them straining and starting to tear.

        "CYNDER!"

At last, she heard the snap of ropes as the bolts of the door came undone, steadily rising and allowing light to pour in.

Enraged and pumped with adrenaline at the notion that she could have a second chance to fight these horrible people, Cynder burst forth from her imprisonment, sending a wave of excited hollers rippling through the crowd.

She threw her head to and fro, sending torn rope flying off her black body as she finally stretched her wings, bucking and thrashing out into the open.

No sooner than her mouth had opened did a loud, shrill, uniquely-Cynder roar bellow out of her, and with it came a billowing blast of magmaric Dark Fire and pyroclastic ash.

The rich, thick fire left a haze in the air, her eyes stung in pain from the light even before they'd opened.

Sparx shrieked and flew back behind his brother, terrified.

    "AAH!

I told you she was evil!"

But Spyro was unconvinced.

He watched in shock as his friend threw her head one more time, snorting before finally standing with her feet set wide, metallic tail swishing.

She breathed heavily, and finally opened her eyes just the tiniest sliver before instantly shutting them tight again and looking away, blinded.

"GRAAH!

Hnn..."

She pulled a red wing up to shield herself.

Spyro waited tensely, large eyes wide, but heavy.

He knew she wasn't a traitor; she must've suffered the same fate he had in being kidnapped, and he was right.

Her name on his lips were the only soft thing Cynder could remember in the last 12 hours.

"Cynder..."

Through sore lids, her green orbs glinted open, hidden behind the shade of her folded wing before finally, she managed to look at her "opponent" head on.

Seeing him brought a pang to her heart and put a knot in her stomach she couldn't explain.

She didn't want to see him again -- not like this.

What she felt when she saw him, when she heard him speak, there were no words to describe.

But honestly, Spyro felt the same, only he was damn glad to see her.

Again, though not under these circumstances.

The crowd began to quickly grow impatient.

The dragons heard "Fight, already!" and "Go on, give it to em!"

Slightly stunned, the young dragoness gazed up at the thousands of onlookers, unphased by them and their demands, and even the piercing, frustrated glares of the fishling brothers.

They all reminded her of the apes, thus she paid them little mind.

Rather she looked past them, up at the sky, and saw large, ominous birds filled them.

These massive, almost dragon-sized, feathered monsters even standing on countless large perches around the top rows of the arena, screeching and flocking and surveying the area.

Those were the reason Spyro hadn't flown out by now.

If he did, he would surely be overrun by these strange beasts.

Again she heard Spyro say her name.

"Cynder...

I...

Are you..."

Calculating but tender, her smooth, dark head tipped downward over the dogs before falling back to meet Spyro's gaze once again.

For the moment her expression was unreadable.

Spyro just shook his head weakly, waiting for an answer, and then lifting one tired foot after the next.

He stepped closer.

She knew what she had to do, for all three of them.

Green eyes narrowed, head lowered, shoulders raised and a low, rumbling snarl trembled her throat.

    "Just like old times, huh Spyro...?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MY take on THIS scene, because FUCK THAT SCENE.

Like i loved it and i understand what they were going for with Cynder being so shy, but like.

NO.

I WANT MY FEROCIOUS LITTLE FIGHTING BEAST, MY INTELLIGENT, PROBLEM-SOLVING CHILD-GENERAL TO COME FLAILING OUT OF HER QUARTERS LIKE A BULL IN A RODEO, SAVAGE AND FERAL UNTIL SHE SEES THE LIGHT.

YAAAAS.

Also her doing NOTHING AND BEING POWERLESS when the dreadwing took her off made me so mad, like she's small but she isn't HELPLESS.

AAAND her trying to attack Gaul was pitiful.

She used NO powers in this game in any of her piddly-ass cutscenes and i am severely disappointed.

In my world, she at least managed to burn a dreadwing and begin taking off before getting pinned hard, stunned and THEN scooped off by one of those oversized bats.

And when she attacked Gaul?

FLAMES AND RAGE GO FLYING AND HE ACTUALLY HAS TO MOVE AWAY AND SWING AT HER A FEW TIMES BEFORE MANAGING TO GRAB HER.

THEN HE CAN THROW HER AT A WALL HARD ENOUGH TO KNOCK HER OUT.

Okay, i've ranted.

Getting to redo this my way and fill it with action and emotion was a lot of fun, and i do imagine her and Spyro actually managing to throw a convincing little spar with some quiet words passed in between moves before the apes showed up.

Gaaaah...

Once long ago, before i even had a smartphone, i used my Pantech to write my own version of the fly-away-from-Cynder level in Munitions Forge.

Because come on, that was...exceptionally boring.

Of course that file is long gone now, but i am thinking about actually writing for that one, too.

Kitten read it back then and said it REALLY stressed her out at the climax, which was what i wanted.

Now that i know i've improved, i'd love to take another shot at it

Anyway, i hope this is enjoyed because i had a LOT of fun doing it!

Also, EPIC light effects by PhotoDirector!

ALSO HAVE SOME OLD GARBAGE THAT IS A PRELUDE TO THIS ONE.

www.deviantart.com/foxdragonlo…

---DO NOT STEAL MY STUFF!!! I DO NOT OWN TLOS BUT I DO OWN THIS ART!!!---