legend of Spyro AoH BkII Ch.53

Stella murmured softly as the numbing sensation spread across her body. She could picture herself at her full adult size, with a pair of young hatchlings resting peacefully between her front paws. Stella smiled as she looked at herself in a mirror. Her horns had grown much longer and her adult horns made her long, sleek figure that much more apparent.
"Mama," A tiny voice whispered. Stella looked down at one of her babies who looked up at her with sleepy yellow eyes. "It's hot."
Stella smiled softly as she let her maternal instincts take over. "Okay little one, I'll go open a window."
The mother dragoness stood up and walked over to the window across the room. She reached up with her long talons and pushed it open. Suddenly a red beam of light rushed into the room. Stella jolted in surprise. She looked out the open window to see the sky was swirling with blood-red clouds. The mother dragoness turned quickly towards the door to the room and forced it open. Stella shrieked as she stumbled forward. Instead of a hallway, there was a straight drop and the stones beneath the doorway fell to the ground far below.
Stella looked around with pure horror in her eyes. The landscape was burned to a crisp and flames came up in spouts across the land. In the distance she spotted the dragon city of Warfang. The once glorious city still burned and smoldered with black flames. The walls crumbled to the ground as a quake shook the earth.
Stella turned away and looked at the ground far bellow and her heart skipped several beats. It took her a long time to recover from the sight before her. She let out a scream that shook the sky and shattered the glass in the room.
Down on the ground laid the remaining corpses of her friends. Cynder lay on the ground, with several deep gashes across her once sleek, graceful body. Flame was collapsed on top of Ember. The pink dragoness's body was punctured through with spears and the fire guardian wasn't much better off. With his dying breath he had fallen onto the love of his life in hopes of putting his own soul at peace. Tremor and Candice were a short distance away from the others. The earth guardian had thrown himself in front of his dragoness to protect her from a jousting spear but the weapon had pierced through them both. Now their bodies dangled from the crudely crafted weapon which was still buried in the side of a stone wall.
Stella stepped backwards into the room, head shaking in disbelief.
"What's wrong mama?" The same timid voice came from behind and the mother dragon whirled around in surprise. The two hatchlings were wide awake now and walking towards her.
"No! Don't come any closer!" Stella warned them and positioned herself between them and the open door.
"It's okay mama." The first one replied innocently. "We know what's outside. You showed us."
"I what?" Stella could hardly believe what the young dragon had just said.
"Yeah." The second hatchling nodded. "You showed us how we came to be. You said that you helped do all that just so you could have us."
A horrified Stella could only watch as the hatchlings toddled over to her and wrap themselves around her front legs in a toddler-like hug. "We love you mama." They chimed in together.
"No!" Stella shrieked and threw the hatchlings off of her. She staggered back a couple steps as the young dragons shook their heads and stared at her with hurt expressions.
"Mama?"
"Don't you love us anymore?"
"N-no!" Stella screamed and clutched at her head, digging her long talons into her scalp. "This is wrong! This is all wrong!"
"Mama?" The hatchlings started to walk towards her again, this time being a bit more cautious.
"Stay away from me!" Stella shouted and hissed menacingly. The hatchlings ignored her and continued to approach her.
"You swore an oath to me!" Malefor's voice came from the baby dragon's mouth. "You wanted a family and I gave it to you. Now you must do as I say!"
"No!" Stella cried as the little dragons began to turn jet black. She stepped back farther, trying to put some space between herself and them. "Get away from me!" The mother dragoness went to take another step back when the floor beneath her gave way. Stella screamed as she fell to the ground below, spikes reaching up to meet her with bloody anticipation.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open. Liun still had his mouth pressed against hers and was shrouded in dark magic. Stella gave a muffled cry and shoved him away. The black dragon lost his balance and tumbled out of the nest of cushions.
Stella sat there for a moment, quaking violently from the shock. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt something wet beneath her. She hung her head low to see a white discharge gathering in a large puddle on the cushions. She jerked away, staring at the thick white fluid, utterly mortified.
"What's the matter Stella?" Liun asked, acting cool as he picked himself up off the floor. His shadows still spread throughout the room.
The lightning guardian looked at him. She was still feeling numb from his spell and her legs trembled beneath her. Liun walked up to her again and raised a paw to stroke her cheek again but Stella jerked away. Liun ignored the gesture and moved closer again. "Don't come near me," Stella whimpered and tucked her wings to her side and curled her tail around herself.
"It's alright Stella." Liun repeated and brought his tail blade up under her chin and raised her eyes to look at him. He pressed his lips to hers again, more forcibly this time.  Stella gave a muffled scream as Liun pressed against her harder. The dragoness tried to shove him off but Liun had grown stronger somehow; he was overpowering her.
At last Stella pulled her tail back and slashed the black dragon with her tail spade. Liun's eyes snapped open and he yelped in surprise. This gave Stella the chance she needed and she shoved the black dragon away. Liun's claws got tangled in the cushions and he fell into the puddle Stella had made.
"Damn it Stella!" Liun growled irritably as he got up. He tried to wipe the discharge from his black scales but the chalky, clammy substance clung to his skin.
The lightning dragoness was more than ashamed of herself. She looked down at the pillows under her long talons as she listened to the black dragon curse as he tried to clean himself off. Stella looked back at Liun and saw his dark energy growing ever more powerful. The shadows began to gather around the ceiling allowing Malefor to manifest even more of himself. It was then Stella realized what was going on. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw fell open.
"Liun!" She cried and tackled him out of the nest. The two rolled over each other and Stella felt her ribs crack even more. The dragoness pinned him to the ground and looked him square in the eye. "It's Malefor! He's possessed you! You have to fight it!"
Liun looked back up at her with a surprised expression on his face. Tears were still flowing from her eyes and plopping onto his face.
"Come on Liun! I know you're in there somewhere!" Stella shook him hard. "You have to be!"
Just then Malefor began to laugh. The jeering sound of his voice just made her more desperate to reach the black dragon. "Come on Liun! Answer me! Show me something! I know you're not an evil dragon! You can fight it! I believe in you!"
As Malefor's laughter grew louder, Liun began to laugh too.
"You do know that you are wasting your energy, right?" Malefor's body was fully manifested as he walked up beside Stella. "There is no way you can possibly get through to him."
"You're lying!" Stella snapped and lighting crackled around her body.
"Am I?" The Dark Master leaned in close and Stella could feel the evil radiating from him. "Don't you find it interesting that he isn't responding to your pleading? He has been my servant for some time now. Surely you must have noticed something."
"No! That's not true! Liun would never turn evil on his own!"
"Then you must not know your friends very well." Malefor sneered causing Stella to shrink away slightly. "You should pick your friends more carefully young guardian."
"What do you mean?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Malefor thrust his giant head towards Liun. Stella slowly turned her head to look down at the black dragon who wore a smug grin on his face.
"Liun...?"
"Surprise." The black dragon chuckled and Stella's mouth fell open. After the shock had worn off the dragoness stepped off of him. "I'm surprised you didn't catch on sooner." He smiled as he got to his feet and shook himself. "You definitely seemed to be the smartest of the group but I even fooled you." Stella just stared at him in shock as he began to pace around her. "I've been keeping an eye on you all for the Dark Master just to ensure he stays one step ahead of you. Granted that it hasn't all gone according to plan, but close enough."
Stella hung her head. "So you mean, the attack on Warfang..."
"The Dark Master suddenly showing up inside the city? Yeah, I helped with that."
"And Titanus?"
"Also me. But I'm sure you didn't notice the way I held back in that fight. The plan was to destroy the city of Warfang, stranding you guardians and making it easier for me to capture Spyro."
"And then Dante's Freezer?"
"Yeah." Liun rolled his eyes. "I have to say, those wolves need some obedience training. They should have attacked a lot sooner than they did. And then they prevented me from acquiring Spyro's ice powers."
"Do you think I feel sorry for you?" Stella raised one eye to see him.
"No." Liun shook his head with a half chuckle. "But frankly I don't care. And after the stunt that thick-headed guardian Tremor pulled, I sent one of my many minions to deal away with him too."
Stella's eyes widened and her head shot up. "You...You were behind that?"
Liun beamed with pride. "Absolutely. He had his death coming to him. I figured I may as well speed it up and save him from future torment. So I guess in a way I was trying to do him a favor."
"You...You almost had him killed...And Candice...She...she..."
"Oh I'll get to her myself later." Liun waved a paw as he continued to circle the dragoness.
Stella took a deep breath and calmed her senses. "So you've nearly killed us all on those separate occasions? Why?"
"Well, for power. I was the most willing dragon to help Malefor acquire what he's needed so far. Therefore I get to be his host when he reaches his full strength."
"And how will you do that?" Stella growled and narrowed her eyes at him.
"The same way Cynder drained the other guardians from their power. Spyro, being a purple dragon and all, possesses powers that are hundreds of times stronger than any normal dragon. So by draining him of his elemental powers, I'll become stronger than ever!" He let out a nefarious laugh and Stella felt her power surge from deep within her. Her talons scraped against the floor, leaving scratches in the stone.
"I can't believe you. You used me. And for something as meaningless as this!  Then you tried to get me to turn on my friends!"
"I was giving you the chance to have everything you ever wanted. All you had to do was help out a little bit and it would have been yours. Though I still don't know why you rejected the idea."
"Because the loss of my friends isn't worth it."
Liun stopped and stared the astonished dragoness in the eyes. "I will have Spyro's powers, one way or the other, with or without your help. I was trying to do you a favor."
"Do me a favor and don't." Stella leered at him. "You know, I was wondering why I didn't feel sad or remorseful when you left us. But now I'm glad that I didn't. Because you're just a..." Liun stopped her with a blow to the side of her head. Stella rolled across the floor and hit the wall.
"Watch your mouth with me Stella!" Liun hissed. "You're in my territory now! If you want to continue living then I suggest you think about what you do."
Stella shook her head and glared back at him. "I'm a guardian." She groaned as she got to her feet. "I'll do what I have to protect this world from scum like you."
"Oh, so you want to play it that way do you?" The black dragon took a fighting stance with his wings spread wide; a superior smirk spread across his mouth. "Alright then. I'm going to give you one second to hit me with..."
Liun was suddenly slammed into the far wall, stones crashing down on top of him. Malefor stared with wide eyes as the young dragon struggled to rise from the pile of debris. Stella noticed his expression and fixed her golden eyes on the Dark Master.
"Oh don't look so surprised." She growled. "I'm the guardian of lightning, I move in nanoseconds."
"Insolent little whelp!" Malefor roared and lashed out at Stella. The dragoness dodged and swung her tail only to hit nothing but air. Malefor laughed as he turned to face her. "You can't hurt me that way, young dragon. You may have the title of guardian but you are nowhere near as experienced."
"I'll let my skills speak for themselves." Stella answered proudly and sprayed the Dark Master with lightning bolts. Malefor roared angrily as he shrank back. Stella turned up the voltage and the Dark Master's roars of pain grew louder.
Just then there was a loud crash and a snarl as Liun burst free from the pile of fallen stones. He knocked several large chunks of debris at Stella who gracefully dodged them. The black dragon lunged for her with claws outstretched. Stella jumped and rolled over Liun's bare back and kicked him into the floor. The black dragon grunted from the hit and turned his head to see Stella charge a bolt of electricity. He rolled to the side as the bolt cut straight through the floor, filling the room with dust. Stella beat her wings once and dove through the hole she made in the floor.
With an angry roar, Malefor barreled through the floor after her. The lightning dragoness banked to the side as the manifested shadows brought the ceiling down all around her. The Dark Master turned a hateful glare on Stella and started towards her. Stella breathed deep and charged up another attack. Just as she was about to strike, Liun dove through the open ceiling and unleashed a shower of black lightning bolts. Stella dropped to the floor and rolled to the side. Liun concentrated the chains into one centered stream of electricity and followed the dragoness. Stella got to her feet and ran as fast as she could, trying to keep ahead of the dark lightning. Malefor lashed out at the dragoness, hoping to catch her by surprise; but Stella was on her guard. She leaped for the wall and bounced off. Liun's eyes widened just before Stella struck him across the face with her talons.
Stella hit the ground and dove to the side as Malefor attacked again. She whirled and opened her jaws wide, charging up a bolt of lightning. The chamber was suddenly illuminated and the Dark Master bellowed in pain and shrank back to the far wall. Stella shut her mouth and smiled to herself; there was a way to hurt the Dark Master in his current state. She charged him head on, lightning leaping between her jaws. Malefor's eyes grew wide as she sprang into the air, jaws wide and electricity brightening the room. The manifested dragon roared and his flames began to shrink away as the light began to take over.
Suddenly, Stella was struck from the side. As she hurtled towards the far wall she let her charged bolt go astray. The lightning struck Liun in the chest and sent him crashing through the opposite wall. Both young dragons struggled to their feet. Stella winced and her legs buckled; her ribs were definitely broken now. Liun glared at the dragoness and wiped the blood from his cheek. Stella spread her wings, ready to defend herself. Liun gave a sneaky smirk and jerked his head at her. Out from behind him stepped another black dragon; and then another, and another. Stella's eyes grew wide as her mouth and wings dropped in dismay.
"You have got to be kidding me." She shook her head. The room was filled with nearly thirty black dragons besides Liun.
"We kid you not Sparky." A male dragon chuckled with a twisted smile on his face.
"You see, I told you we should have killed her when we found her." A female black dragoness retorted.
"Enough talking!" Malefor bellowed as he struggled to his feet, his strength slowly beginning to return. "Kill her!" The black dragons roared excitedly and lunged for the young guardian. Stella gasped and blew another hole in the floor with a charged bolt. She dropped into the lower chamber and turned as the dragons scrambled to get through the hole. They didn't have much luck all pushing against each other at once. Stella turned and fired another bolt, blowing another hole in the adjacent wall.
Malefor felt the rumble from the blast and growled irritably. "Enough! All of you!" He roared and the black dragons froze in fear. The Dark Master reared up on his hind legs and smashed through the floor. The black dragons all watched with wide eyes as the shadow dragon stared them down. "Now go after her!" He ordered. The young dragons all looked at one another, waiting to see who would move first. "Now!" Malefor roared, his angry voice shaking the entire castle. The black dragons scrambled over each other and down the hole, trying desperately to get away from him.  Liun watched and waited for them to vanish from his sight before turning to the dark dragon.
"And what should I do? Follow and assist?"
Malefor was about to answer when an angry voice caught both dragon's attention.
"By my ancestors! What is this world coming to? I came here for a serious talk, not discuss renovation plans!" The two dragons looked up into the chamber over their heads to see Snarl staring down at them.