Aftermath
#4 of The True Origin
Yeah, it is short. However, I CBA to do 4k chapters at this moment and plus, if I do shorter chapters, I will get updates faster. Yeah. Considering that almost no one played the original Spyro games or doesn't care no more since Cynderp isn't in it, I don't think anyone will get the references in this one.
This chapter sucks btw, but I needed to cut it the way it was so that I can spend next chapter doing some things.
Aftermath
Malefor awoke.
Every part of his body screamed in agony. His chest felt like it was torn to shreds and he was dripping blood out of his mouth. Cold sweat again poured down his body and the urge to just continuously cough nearly overpowered him. His eyes, even though he couldn't see them, were glazed over and he could feel himself starting to slip away. Yet, when he looked around, he noticed that he was recovering.
Red crystals surrounded him in a dark room. The glow that they gave off was actually healing him. Why didn't he simply absorb them? When he pushed his claw towards one to absorb it, nothing happened. All he did was touch it. It felt nice, yes, but it struck him deeper than any wound.
On the subject of wound, he glanced down at his chest. A heavily bandaged hole was there. Then, it all came back to him. A spike had impaled him. A spike from Laveria's betrayal. Before he knew it, he was crying and was grateful no one was around to hear his moment of weakness. How was he going to recover? It was simple; he wouldn't emotionally.
Laveria had robbed him of everything he knew. His power to absorb things, his elements, his trust...and now he didn't know if he could do the latter ever again. It hurt him. How unwilling he was to trust anyone and Laveria brought him out of that. Malefor could see it now. It was all a ploy.
And yet...
"It hurts..." Malefor whimpered before falling unconscious again.
Outside of the room where Malefor was, all of the guardians except Dante gathered. What Malefor didn't realize was that they could hear him. Aeros looked like he wanted to burst into the room, but he refrained himself.
"Poor thing..." Terra whispered, "I remember how hard it was to even get him to talk. I pray that he doesn't relapse into that again. Despite everything, he was actually amusing to be around..."
"Aye, this is bad. I wonder what drove Laveria to such lengths to hurt him this badly?" Fenris wondered, stealing a glance at Elektren. Elektren had an unreadable expression.
"It doesn't matter!" Aeros' fur stood on end, "She needs to be brought back! I trusted her with my life and she goes off and kills three dracidons, injures ten, and critically wounds Malefor to the point where he may never recover!"
"Yes, that is an issue..." Elektren said after a moment, "We haven't heard from Dante in some time. Do you think he has fallen victim to her as well?"
"Doubtful," Fenris responded, "Although now that she has Convexity, I am not sure what to think anymore. The only bet we have against her is Malefor, but he is indisposed. It will be another week before he is able to move. Terra, do you think you can try and heal him?"
Terra thought for a moment, "If I do, it will still be a few days before he could move. I can only give him a certain amount. Should I overload him, I risk the chance of permanently damaging him. The Earth is very unpredictable."
Fenris nodded, "It will have to do. The sooner we get Malefor on his claws, the better."
"Wait a second," Aeros stood in front of the room, "Are you seriously going to heal him just to put him through hell again? Can't you see that he needs time? This isn't something he can shrug off! Terra herself said what I was thinking! Shoving him after Laveria would cause more pain than good."
"If we don't get Convexity back, Laveria could potentially destroy everything. It is bad enough that, from Dante's last report, that she locked herself in a top part of a castle. Three keys are needed to get in and one is being held by the Vampire King!" Elektren shouted. Aeros looked stunned.
"How the hell did she get Nithran on her side?" Fenris exclaimed. Terra looked mortified, "He is the only dracidon who I would ever call a bastard! He serves no one but himself and will kill anyone who steps into his lair!"
"If I knew that, I would have told you..." Elektren hissed darkly before turning back to Aeros, "Don't you understand why now? The best we can do is assist him along the way, but he is the only one who can stand his Blood Nova."
Aeros slumped his shoulders, "I guess...but I don't approve of it. The only reason why I am consenting is because of Nithran. I've seen what happened to the village near his fortress."
"Precisely."
"But what about those Gnor-" Terra started.
"They are the least concern now, Terra," Fenris growled, "Damn it, everything is falling apart..."
--
One week later...
Malefor brooded on his pole. He had not gotten over the betrayal yet and he knew everyone was just trying to be nice to him. He had gotten into five fights since he awoke and sent nearly all of them back into their caves. The only element he still had was ice and he had not been able to absorb anything.
In fact, his true form would not even show itself. The ice element was in a rage and while it was not directed towards him, he could feel the effects. It was likely the reason why he was so unstable now. The hatred he felt for Laveria mixed with the uncertainty of her motives.
He hung his head and sighed. Malefor now had a large scar on his chest and back thanks to her. If it had not been for Terra, he would have still been in there and the scar would have been larger. Being damaged really sucked.
Malefor had been debriefed about what had happened when he was out. Laveria had apparently holed herself in a castle and there were three keys. One was held by Nithran, the Vampire King. The two others were being investigated and while he was ready to go punch Nithran's skull in, they forbid it because he couldn't absorb anything.
Dante had sent word back yesterday. He said something about Gnorcs being approached by Laveria. The damn green monstrosities that looked like fat, stupid bipedals probably didn't even know what a key was. Apparently they had a leader named Gnasty who loved turning things to stone.
So now he overheard them saying that he would be the best bet to start as. He was weak against fire and ice. Malefor smiled coldly at this. Perhaps if he found a fire and could absorb something, than he could combine ice and fire and completely destroy this Gnasty.
The question was, how would he find him? Malefor guessed he may as well track the Gnorcs and see where they went. If any spotted him, they would wish that they did not. This was taking far too long though. He was ready to go since he heard of it.
A flapping of wings got his attention. Malefor looked over to see Aeros flying towards him. He would likely want to go with him once they sent him. Malefor didn't know if he wanted him to go, as he may lash out on him. He didn't want that to happen. Although if Aeros did go, it may be helpful.
Aeros landed below him, "Malefor, you are going after Gnasty first," Of course he was, "However, even though you have your ice element, it is better for you to have your fire breath as well. Sadly, you cannot absorb it, but we may have found a way."
Now he had his attention. What way could he have possibly meant? "Oh?" Malefor asked, looking down.
"Yes, we just got another report from Dante," Aeros paused for a moment, "He is currently in the Gnorc area. Along the way, he stated that he saw a laboratory and stopped by. There is a professor there who can aid you. Dante had explained the situation to him and he has promised to aid in crafting a device to help you."
If he could, Malefor would have hugged the Professor. He was already on his good side. Maybe getting his powers back was not out of the question. Still, the question was, how would he get there? Fly? Like he had any direction.
Of course, everything had a down side.
"Also, I am to be escorting you," Malefor fell off the pole, "Hey, don't act like that! You'd get lost and end up dying out there."
Aeros did have a point. Malefor lacked any sense of direction and he would get lost quite easily. Maybe Aeros would calm him a bit. However, there was the trust issue. Would he betray him like Laveria? Or would he actually aid him to the bitter end?
"Look at it this way, then," Aeros poked Malefor, who had refused to move, "This could be our adventure that we were discussing. I, personally, need to get away from my mate before she bites my head off."
"Exactly why I lie about sleeping with others..." Malefor laughed. It surprised him. This had been the happiest he had been for a bit.
"Yeah, well, I envy you. You just wait until you find someone. Then I can point, laugh, and die inside as I am going through the same hell," Aeros sighed
"Is becoming a father really that bad?" Malefor got up and climbed back on to the pole. He was really going to miss this thing. If he came back and someone else took it, he would stab them with it. Even that weird Kirev dude will die if he came close to it.
"No, I just like dramatizing it," Aeros shook himself and spread his wings, "We need to go back. No doubt the guardians will want to have a word with us. At least, Fenris, Terra, and Elektren will. It's like the water one just didn't want to show up ever since this entire fic started..."
"Fic?" Malefor asked. Now he was beginning to question his friend's mental status.
"Oh hell, I said that out loud."