The Legend of Spyro's Siblings: Dusk and Shineye

spyroandcynder4ever · Jan 31, 2010 5:28 PM

This chapter...is awesome! I absolutely love it! This story is really good. I can't wait until the next chapter!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Feb 06, 2010 7:12 AM

Here’s the next chapter, pleasantly earlier than I had expected. Anyway, things will starts going downhill for the Shadowsuckers very, very soon…

Chapter 8: Returning of Shadows (There’s a double meaning in this title…)

Terrrador glided swiftly over the forest and to the DBC producer den, where the camera crew was polishing their supplies with looks of boredom. Shelly herself was debating something with one of the co-workers as Terrador landed.

“Ah, Guardian Terrador.” She said when she saw him, dipping her head. “News has been slow, as you can see. No Shadowsucker info has been given to us. We’ll try to stay updated, but…”

“No updates needed.” Terrador told her, holding out the black viles. “As you can see, I have everyone’s shadows right here.” Shelly dropped the stack of papers she was holding; they fell to the ground and scattered at her paws. She scrambled for the viles.

“Amazing! Terrador, you never cease to amaze us! Quick, I need a camera! I’m doing a live broadcast now!” Finally grabbing the viles from Terrador, she skipped inside the news den and yelled for a cameradragon, quickly beginning a live report as she sat on her chair and laid the viles on her desk.

~The SS Crisis~
BREAKING NEWS: Shadowsuckers Shadows Returned???
“Good evening everyone, I’m Shelly Seawing reporting live from DBC News.” She was practically bouncing out of her chair with excitement. “The Guardian of Earth from the temple, Terrador, seems to have received all the stolen shadows in these viles here…” She lifted up the viles. “It appears as though…” She looked at the liquid with a puzzled look. “Somehow…” Another cameradragon ran up and whispered something in her ear. “Ahh,” She said with realization. “Anyway, according to Terrador, this liquid is actually the liquefied shadow of the lost dragons! With these back, everyone can receive their shadows! Everyone, meet in front of the Temple to claim the shadows for your loved ones! This has been Shelly Seawing, DBC News!”

Shelly did not hesitate in jumping from her chair and gliding out of the den, viles in hand, gesturing for everyone to follow. Terrador followed, shaking his head at the reporters’ enthusiasm. They flew over to the Temple, where sure enough a giant line of dragons stood, carrying the dull figures of the victims. They looked up when they saw the flying dragons.

“Hey look, it’s Terrador!” One called.

“The Guardian of Earth!” Called another.

“No one cares about Shelly Seawing?” Shelly said with disbelief, scowling at the group. “They should be in awe of me too!” The cameradragons chuckled, but went silence after a glare from Shelly. The group landed in front of the temple, where the other guardians, as well as Spyro and Cynder, stood.

“My word!” Volteer said, gazing at the crowd. “What a fantastically impossibly crowded crowd!”

“I never knew the line would be this big!” Spyro said, eyes wide in awe.

“Alright, dragons, I have your shadows!” Shelly called, holding the viles high in the air. The line grew quiet at the sight of the shadows.

“Now, to keep things organized…” She was practically bawled over when a stampede of dragons rushed up, groping for the shadows. Terrador managed to grab the viles and hush the group by spreading his wings out.

”Everyone!” He called. “As Shelly said, we must do this in orderly fashion! In two days, we will host a party in Dracobloom Meadow. There, we will have the shadow returning ceremony. Until then, please wait.” He tucked away the viles and flew up into the temple before anyone could complain. Shelly rose from the ground, groaning.

“I need a makeup redo.” She said exshaperated, snapping her claws to indicate to the cameradragons they were leaving. The DBC News group flew off as well, and the crowd slowly began to disperse. Talk of the ceremony swept the realm like wildfire, and there was no dragon that didn’t know about. Not even the slyiest of species were left in the dark about the ceremony, and little did the dragons know, they might end up losing more then they had gained…

Shinneye lay down on the mossy forest ground with Dusk, right beside her, staring up watching as clouds drifted through a gap in the trees.

“This is truly amazing.” She breathed.

“The clouds?” Dusk asked her.

“No, being with you.” She said, rolling over and pecking his cheek. Dusk intertwined his tail with hers.

“It’s amazing how stuff like this works out, huh?” He breathed.

“Are you two lovebirds done?” Shinneye recognized Bane’s impatient voice. “Shade found a whole family of wild rabbits with delicious-smelling shadows. And if we wait any longer, I’ll miss my-I mean, our- portion!” Bane sounded much more concerned about her share then Dusks’.

“Go on ahead.” He told her. “I find some shadows later.”

“Suit yourself.” She said, gliding off. Dusk turned to her.

“Hungry at all? I can go find that berry bush, if you like.”

“No, actually.” Shinneye noticed. This was weird because she hadn’t eaten since the night before, yet felt perfectly satiated. “Are you hungry?”

“A bit, yeah.” He admitted. "We'll go when your ready."

“Hey, Dusk,” She asked, rising up. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while.” Dusk rose to his paws, looking at her.
“Hm?”

“Can Shaodwsuckers eat ordinary food? Like berries?” Dusk considered this.

“Yes, actually. When I was a drakling, I tried them. They tasted fine, but I never felt satisfied until I had a shadow.”

“Oh.” She got up completely and stretched her wings.
“So, shall we “shadow hunt” ? I can help you catch the prey like I did last time.”

“Ok!” Dusk and Shinneye dashed off, leaving the mossy clearing empty. Well, it was suppose to be empty. But something else dwelled under the moss, in the form of a shadow itself. And that something had no plans of keeping itself secret for much longer…

Alright, leaving it there! Stay tuned!

spyroandcynder4ever · Feb 06, 2010 1:13 PM

Oh, great cliff hanger! Can't wait to see what happens next!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Mar 07, 2010 7:33 AM

Here’s the next chapter! No, this is not the double update, however it’s coming up soon so be on a look out. Btw, I’m going to be hiding hints in the next few chapters to a plot twist I have planned, but I won’t say who it involves. Just be alert, those hints are always there…Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 9: The Purebloods
Shinneye returned to the temple early the next morning. The following day would be the day that the shadows were returned to everyone, and the realm was bustling with preparations. Shinneye knew she should be happy, but the fact she did not have Flick’s shadow discouraged her.

“I haven’t paid much thought, but who was it that took Flick’s shadow?” She remembered Dusk speaking of stronger Shadowsuckers then himself, but she hadn’t seen any evidence of them. She decided that the current day would be dedicated to finding answers: what species of Shadowsucker was Dusk, and what could possibly be stronger then it? She prepared to head to the realm’s library: Goldcrux Library. If anyplace would have answers, it would. She hadn’t told Dusk about her mission: she was worried he would discourage her of looking deeper into the breed of Shadowsuckers. Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky, gliding swiftly over the realms’ trees. She landed in front of a smaller den, the sign “Goldcrux Library” dangling from the entrance. She entered it, leading to a small room decorated with golden thread and filled with old, crusting books from shelves that lined its’ walls. Dragons sat on carved out rocks reading all kinds of books, barely noticing as Shinneye entered. Careful to be quiet, Shinneye tip-clawed over to where the cashier was. The cashier, an earth dragon by the name of Gracinda, was very much into her own book and paid no heed to Shinneye as she entered. Shinneye carefully whispered a “Hello?” and Gracinda looked up, small spectacles poised on her snout.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m looking for a book.” Shinneye said, her voice very low for fear of disturbing the other dragons.

“Speak up, girl.” Gracinda demanded. “They won’t hear you. Their reading enchanted books that block out sound when you read them.”

“Oh.” She said, more normally this time. “Anyway, I’m looking for a book.”

“What kind?” The earth dragon asked, putting down her own.

“One on…on…” Shinneye hesitated.

“Spit it out!” Gracinda demanded after a few seconds.

“Shadowsuckers!” She finally said. Gracinda’s eyes grew wide.

“Shadowsuckers.” She echoed.

“Yes, do you have any books about them?” Gracinda considered this.

“Well, yes. We have quite a few fairy tales. Let’s see, there’s The Shadow Prince, that’s a nice fantasy novel, and then there’s Shadowsucker Legends, which has some folklore…”

“No, you don’t understand.” Shinneye interrupted. “I’m not looking for fairy tales or myths. I mean a book that talks about the species itself, like the different breeds, and there history...” Gracinda eyes became wide again.

“Well, we do have one.” She said finally.

“May I read it?” Shinneye asked desperately. Gracinda shook her head.

“While it’s true we do have a book written on the Shadowsucker species, it contains many secrets not meant for the average dragon, and therefore kept in the Forbidden Section of this library.” She foundled the silver key tied around her neck by a loose string. “Only I have access to that section. I’m sorry, but you can not read it.” Shinneye watched as she sipped her tea by her desk. When she noticed Shinneye was still there, she gave her a quizzick look. “Well?” Shinneye snapped out of her thought train.

“Oh, n-never mind. I guess I’ll be going then.” Shinneye turned her back to the earth dragon. She had to get her paws on that book, no matter what she was told.

“If only I could the key around Gracinda’s neck.” Shinneye thought. It would unlock the infamous Forbidden Section, located at the back of the library behind a steel caged door. Knowing there was no way she could separate Gracinda from her key, Shinneye prepared to leave when she felt something poke the back of her wing. She craned her head to see a vile she had been keeping there drop to the ground with a clink, a small droplet of purple liquid still inside it.

“The sleeping potion!” Shinneye suddenly remembered. Sure, Gracinda was an earth dragon, but there’s no way she knew as much about plants as Terrador. Shinneye could easily slip the potion in her tea, if she could get her away from her desk. The potion itself was a little less then a drop, but it would hopefully be enough to keep her sleeping.

“Um, Gracinda?” She asked, turning around so she could face the earth dragon.

“What?” Gracinda demanded, clearly impatient.

“Um, I’m actually kinda interested in that book you talked about, you know, The Shadow Prince? Could you maybe get it?” Gracinda brightened.

“Of course! I ‘ll be right back.” She put down her book and went down an aisle, scanning the titles on the shelf and paying no heed to Shinneye.

“Here goes.” Shinneye muttered, and quickly uncorked the cap. She poured the tiny droplet into the tea, making sure to get every last remnant of the liquid.

“I hope it’s enough.” She murmured under her breath.

“Here’s the Shadow Prince!” Gracinda told her, carrying a small chapter book. “Would you like to rent or buy?”

“Rent.” Shinneye said, shaking with nervousness.

“Ok, that’ll be 10 coins. Let me ring you up.” As though a gift from the ancestors, Gracinda lifted her cup and took a long sip from it’s contents, draining it. Shinneye watched, unable to believe her luck. “Anyway, ringing…” She saw Garcinda’s eyes began to droop, and her jaws parted in a yawn. “Your novel…” She carefully lay her head down on her paws, dropping the book. Shinneye, not hesitating, dashed forward and grabbed the key, removing it from the sleeping Gracinda’s neck and preparing to dash. She knew she didn’t have much time. She quickly ran across the library, her claws clanking against the cold stone floor. She finally paused in front of large iron bars toward the back of the place, the block of mahogany bark beyond holding thick books on it’s old shelves. “Forbidden Section” was etched into the back wall of the small room closed off by the bars. She fit the key in the keyhole and pushed the iron doors, which opened with a creak. Taking a breath, she cautiously entered the room. Instantly, a wave of something hit Shinneye hard. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t like it. It almost made her feel…hungry, as though her satiated feeling had filtered out.. But she brushed off her empty feeling and scanned the ancient shelves, looking for a book that had “Shadowsucker” in the title. But nothing of the sort was listed.

“It’s gotta be here…It has to…” Suddenly, something caught her eye. The book was relatively thick in size, with thin gold pages. It was bound by black-dyed leather, with glowing silver schemes. On the spine, were the words “A Guide to Shadowsuckers”. Shinneye, removed it from the shelf and brought it down to the ground. Crouching, she carefully opened it with a claw. On the first page were sketches of black dragon-like creatures; some were thickly-muscled and large, others thin and small. Shinneye didn’t hesitate to flip to the contents, where a list of species were organized in alphabetical order.

“Malefor!” Shinneye cursed under her breath. (Author’s Note: Ever since his defeat, “Malefor” is used as a cuss word, as used in other TLOSS) “How do I know which is which? I don’t have time to search them all.” Shinneye was about to give up the search when she noticed something on the page. It read in small, black letters: Enter scale or/scale fragment here for identification of species.
“Scale fragment?” Shinneye thought. Suddenly, it came to her; the vile! It may have some of Dusks’ scales on it, if she was lucky. Carefully, she pressed the vile to the spot indicated, and held her breath. At first, nothing happened. Shinneye removed the vile and was just about to give up hope when the book leafed itself through pages, stopping at the second to last page of the entire book. Shinneye looked at the page. It was labeled “Rogues” in black ink. Shinneye quickly began reading:

“Perhaps one of the less spoken of breeds of Shadowsuckers are the rogues. Unlike most other breeds, rogues are not born Shadowsuckers. Instead, they are turned into Shadowsuckers by the bite of another rogue or a Pureblood.”

“Dusk was once mortal?!” Shinneye whispered to herself in shock. She eagerly kept reading:

“The bites, usually applied on crests, cause a fluorescent neon color. Rogues tend to be the least hostile of all Shadowsucker breeds. Males are known to be calm and reserved while females are more aggressive and stubborn. Rogues are often viewed as weak by other Shadowsuckers. They migrate in groups of 4, and will not part with their denmates under any circumstances unless they feel it is important enough.”
Shinneye instantly thought back to when Dusk almost left his denmates just for her. She gushed at the thought, but quickly remembered something she had read earlier; Rogues were not originally Shadowsuckers. It made her wonder when Dusk had been a mortal. What was he like? And who changed him? She desperately wanted to ask but remembered she had done all this in secret, and abandoned the thought. She flipped back to front, not sure how to find the other species she was hoping for.

“I never saw them, so I don’t have their scale fragments.” Sighing, she absent-mindedly folded the corner of the page over the identification box. Suddenly, the book flipped forward. Shinneye lept back in surpise as it stopped on the page right after the Rogues. This page, in dark purple ink that dripped down an inch below the letters, was labeled “Purebloods”. She stared in shock at the page, before tentively beginning to read:

“Purebloods are the most powerful of Shadowsucker species. They have two forms: true form and migrating form. In migrating form, Purebloods are invisible shadows that move just below the ground. Purebloods are almost always in this form. Their true form is their actual appearance. However, due to the fact no mortal can look at their true form without having their shadows instantly taken, it is unknown what their true form looks like. Also, Purebloods are locked in migrating form most of the time. They must achieve a certain amount of shadows before a new moon to be able to take their true form, though younger shadows tend to give best results.”

“The new moon is in two days.” Shinneye noted. "And Flick is fairly young."

“Once enough shadows have been obtained, Purebloods must spend a 1 night absorbing period before taking their forms. Once that is complete, the Purebloods can take true form for an entire century. However, due to the great security and recent banning of Shadowsuckers, Purebloods have not been seen for years and are no reason of concern.”
“Then, they weren’t.” She muttered with horror. The book had probably been written in Malefor’s time. She then noticed some text on the bottom along with an image, but half of the text and image was torn out. She read the words that she could:

“Purebloods, even in true form, can be locked back into migrating form for eternity by a….Since Purebloods unwilling attract these, there is always a threat to them. They say the creating of this species is nature’s way of balancing the power Purebloods have over the world. The picture shown is…”
Shinneye puzzled over why that part was torn. She thought back to how she located the page, and suddenly began to shiver.

“Purebloods…they’ve read this exact book I'm looking at before, haven’t they?”
……
Ok, leaving it at another cliffhanger! So, why did the Purebloods tear out the page? What’s Dusks’ actual past? And how much longer does Shinneye have before Gracinda wakes up? These questions will be answered in the next few chapters, so stay tuned!

spyroandcynder4ever · Mar 07, 2010 3:21 PM

Wow, this is definitely getting good. I'm just dying to read the next chapters.

SpyroroxThe2nd · May 01, 2010 5:07 AM

Hi Forums! I hope you all figured out why I'm posting so late in the month; to celebrate making it to chapter 10, here’s the promised double update! One quick thing, the Purebloods know talk slightly different, I did this to give them more personality. Basically, they use English in an “old” way…you’ll see what I mean. Anyway, this is chapter 10! 11, the big drama chapter, will be up in the next few seconds, so hopefully u don’t read that fast! wink Enjoy!
(Author’s note: D.M. means ‘During Malefor’s Reign’)

Chapter 10: The Only Option

…Shinneye’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard Gracinda’s voice.

“My key! Where’s my key?” With horror, Shinneye shoved back the book in its place and slammed the gate closed from the Forbidden Section. She ran behind a shelf as Gracinda walked over to the key sticking out from the gate. “Now how’d this get here?” She took it out and examined inside the Forbidden Section.
“If you're in there, you’d better come out!” She demanded. Shinneye trembled with fear behind the shelf. After Gracinda waited for a while, she opened the cage door and walked inside. Once she had gone aways in, Shinneye dashed out from here hiding spot and out the library door into the fresh open air. Not waiting to see if Gracinda noticed the movement, she spread here wings and took off into the sky. The evening air was cold against her scales as she glided through the air. She was now positive it was Purebloods that took Flicks’ shadow. And she had three days, counting the absorbing day, to get it back.
“I’d better tell Dusk.” She thought. She began to veer off towards his den but caught herself. “Wait. Dusk can’t know I was looking up books on Shadowsuckers. At least, not now.” She changed her flight course to back toward the temple. Evening was just beginning and all the prep-dragons went back to their dens for the following day. Shinneye skidded to a halt at the doors and trotted in. Spyro and Cynder had just returned from helping prepare.

“The ceremony is bright and early tomorrow, around 8.” Spyro told her. “Terrador wants us up and ready by 6.” Shinneye winced; she wasn’t much of a morning dragon. But the next day would be the perfect time to tell Dusk about what she discovered without looking like she purposefully read it. And maybe she could find out what he was like before he was a Shadowsucker himself. The thought excited her. Shinneye quickly had dinner and went to bed early so they could wake up at the right time the following day. It seemed like she barely had closed her eyes when Spyro was shaking her shoulder.

“Hey, Shinneye! Up and at ‘em! Terrador’s waiting.” Shinneye stretched out her wings and yawned sleepily. It was the ceremony day, and Shinneye had to tell Dusk about all she knew. She followed Spyro down the stairs and met up with Cynder.

“I’m really excited!” Cynder said, eyes glowing. “Aren’t you, Shinneye?
You’ll get your brother back, and everything will be back to normal!”

“Yeah.” Shinneye tried to say with enthusiasm. They didn’t know that her brothers’ shadow wouldn’t be returned today, but she didn’t want to spoil the ceremony for them. So, she kept her muzzle shut as they took off over to where the ceremony was being held. They landed in Dracobloom Meadow where a huge crowd of dragons were chatting excitedly. The dragons that had heir shadows stolen were being laid on a mat toward the front of the meadow. Shinneye saw her parents and siblings over Flick’s body, very excited themselves. She felt heaviness in her chest at the thought that they didn’t know the truth, but still stayed silent.

“I’ll get it back from the Purebloods with Dusks’ help.” She decided. “And I’ll be back before anyone knows I’m gone.” Shinneye saw a huge group of cameradragons following Shelly Seawing as she entered the meadow, microphone in-paw. It took Shinneye a second to realize she was dragging along another reporter dragon with her other paw. He regretfully moved behind her, eyes darting back and forth. Shinneye quickly recognized Glacier, the paranoid ice dragon from an earlier broadcast. The fact they had brought him was proof this would be a huge occasion all over the realm.

“Sheellly.” He complained as she dragged him along. “How do you know there’s no…s-shadow…”

“Shadowsuckers?”

“Where?!” Glacier ducked behind a cameradragon. Shelly sighed.

“No, no, there’s no…none of them here. Come on, Glacier.” She yanked him away from his hiding spot. He reluctantly came out into the open meadow air. “See, it’s not that bad.” She told him in a gentle tone. Shinneye always thought the two made a cute couple. Shelly, being her peppy self, was good at pushing Glacier beyond his comfort zone without terrifying him at the same time. Shinneye quickly snapped back into focus when Terrador began talking into a loud-speaker:

“Good morning, everyone! I’m sure your all anxiously awaiting to have your shadows returned to your loved ones!” The crowd roared in agreement. Terrador spread his wings to silence them. “We shall begin returning the shadows in exactly one hour. Please enjoy the food and games while you wait!” Shinneye had one hour to find Dusk and tell him about the Purebloods. She knew it would take longer then a few hours, but if Dusk could start the hunt now, at least when Flicks’ shadow is discovered to be missing, she could assure the crowd it could be back soon. However, little did Shinneye know she was underestimating the Purebloods…

~Beneath the ground

“One hour.” An icy voice rasped.

“One…” Said another voice, a chilling females’.

“So soon.... it will be our time.” Said a third. The shadowy creatures all slinked through the dark view they called eyesight.

“I actually long for sun.” Said a fourth voice.

“Indeed.” Said the fifth. “We’ve been trapped down her far too many centuries.”

“But Tenebrous, something worries me…” The female began. “Remember the Lumin-?”

“Never speak the name!” The first voice hissed. It then began less harsh, but it still sounded creaky and unpleasant. “Vermina, I understand your unsettlement. But the breed you speak of have not been seen for centuries, yet we have been around the entire time. I believe strongly when they banished us to the ground, the race died out.”

“You know best, Tenebrous.” The female concluded.

“Yes. I have even removed their page from all existing books. We are safe. It is the mortals who should live in fear.” The others cackled in agreed.

“Prepare yourselves…We’ve got many shadows to collect.”

~Back in Dracobloom Meadow

“Hey, Shinneye, where are you going?” Cynder called as Shinneye began to head away from the meadow.

“I…uh…” Terrador never did tell Spyro and Cynder about where she actually was those days she would be with Dusk. He didn’t even tell the other guardians.

“Ohhh…” Cynder realized after a moment. “That’s right. Terrador told us you were doing secret light training and preferred not to talk about it. Ok, good luck with that, and be sure to be back for the ceremony!” Cynder trotted off, leaving a very stunned Shinneye.

“That was a gift from the ancestors.” She murmured. She quickly left the meadow and paced into the woods towards Dusks’ den. It was only a few wing-lengths to the edge of the Shadowsucker territory, and the den was a short walk from there. Shinneye stopped at the entrance and quietly called her crushes’ name.
Dusks’ head popped out from the den, his eyes glowing.

“Shinneye!” He said happily. “Long time no see!” He kissed her cheek. Shinneye enjoyed it, but was far too nervous to truly be happy herself.

“Yeah, I was…busy, yesterday.” She managed. “A-anyway, Dusk, I have to ask you something…Are Shade, Bane, and Murk here?”

“No, they went hunting.” Dusk came out into the open. “What do you want to ask me?” Shinneye thought of how she should word this. She decided it would be best to just straight out ask him about the breed she’s learned, and then see his reaction before mentioning Purebloods.

“Dusk…were you once…a mortal?” She managed. Dusks’ happy expression quickly darkened.

“Why do you ask?” He asked in an unreadable tone. For once in Shinneye’s time with Dusk, she truly felt scared. Something in his eyes wasn’t right; was it anger? Or pain?

“I-I…” She thought of a reason quick. “I had this dream. A-and you were a mortal, like me.”

“A dream?” Dusk asked her skeptically. He stared at her for a second. “You went to Goldcrux Library, didn’t you?” Shinneye jolted in surprise.

“H-How’d you know?”

“You’re easy to read. Gone yesterday, babbling about dreams…I know you read a book about the Shadowsucker species. It’s the kind of thing only my Shinneye would do.” Dusk chuckled, the dark expression fading for a moment. But it quickly returned in a matter of seconds. “So you know I’m a Rogue, huh?” Shinneye slowly nodded. She was dying to ask how he became a Shadowsucker, but Dusk spoke before she could.
“Well, it’s about time you knew. I don’t know how I became one, to be honest. I know how the others became them, though. It was back before Malefor’s reign. Bane was dared by her friends to steal a necklace from a Rogue, and when she tried, the Rogue acted on defense and bit her. Shade was accidentally bitten by a Rogue his age when they were play fighting and it got too rough. And Murk was kidnapped and bitten when a small clan of Rogues wanted recruits, but when they realized how oblivious and slow Murk was, they ditched him. I personally have no idea about myself. Somehow, the four of us found each other and started our alliance.” Shinneye absorbed everything he told her. The methods in which the Shadowsuckers were bitten seemed to reflect their personality; Bane being somewhat of a daredevil, Shade being aggressive, and Murk being relatively sluggish. It made her wonder what the mortal Dusk could have done to provoke, scare, or cause an issue with Shadowsuckers that would make him a biting target. Shinneye hardly had time to ask when the three other Shadowsuckers came running into the clearing.

“Boy, did you miss out!” Bane said, licking her lips. “Those deer shadows were great!”

“We would have saved you some, but we were too hungry.” Shade told Dusk, wiping his claws on the moss.

“Hey, wait up!” Panted Murk, trotting into the clearing behind the other two.

“Oh, hey, Shinneye?” Bane said when she noticed her. “What’s…” She saw their serious faces.

“…What?” She asked them. She suddenly gasped. “You two aren’t…breaking up are you???”

“No, Bane, nothing like that.” Dusk said angry. “We were just having a serious talk. She knows about us now.”

“You mean, like-?”

“We’re Rogues? Yes, and she knows what a Rogue is. She knows we were all once mortal dragons like herself.”

“…Oh.” Bane looked at her. “Really.” Her expression was unreadable.

“So…a mortal knows everything about us?” Shade said. Dusk glared at him.

“Her name is Shinneye!” He hissed. Shinneye felt unreadable tension between the two, but a hollow feeling entered her stomach and she became anxious to change the subject.

“I…also read about something else.” She said, directing the attention to herself.

“What?” Dusk asked blankly.

“About…Purebloods.” Dusk took a quick breath.

“What…did you say?”

“P-Purebloods…” Shinneye said. “I-I read about them…Remember when you told me you hadn’t taken Flicks’ shadow? I think they did.”

“Can’t be.” Shade said, shaking his head in disbelief. “They were locked in migrating form long before Malefor rose to power. Unless they get a significant number of shadows, they can’t turn to true forms.”

“Hold on,” Dusk turned to her. “Shinneye, in the book you used, how did you manage to find a page on Purebloods?”

“I…used the page search.”

“How? You’d need a scale for that.”

“Yeah. There was a scale on the page… I think they may stolen the book while in migrating form and read it.”

“Wait…” Dusk said. Shinneye could tell he really didn’t want to ask the next question. “Did you happen to see the date on the book? Like when it was published?”

“Yes…” She said slowly. “210 D. M.”

“But…they were banished long before…” Murk said, just as surprised as the others.

“Exactly.” Dusk said with horror. “They are coming back.” Shinneye didn’t understand why Dusk looked so petrified.
The other Shadowsuckers were quiet

“Purebloods…they’ve returned?” Shade said slowly. Shinneye quickly interrupted.

“But I read we can get the shadows from them back, so getting Flick’s won’t be a problem, will it?”

“I’m afraid getting your brothers shadow back is the least of our worries.” Dusk told her. “I was really hoping this day would never come.” He grabbed her paw tightly in his. “Shinneye, we have to flee. Far from this realm. I need to keep you safe.”

“But what about Flick?” Shinneye asked, flustered.

“Well,” Bane began. “If Purebloods on the move, there’s no way mortals can survive. Rogues like us can hardly compare to their strength.”

“Don’t say that!” Shinneye said panicked. “There must be a way! Can’t you at least try to stop them?” The others were quiet. She turned to her crush.
“Dusk?” She asked hopefully. He didn’t lift his eyes from the ground.

“I’m…sorry, Shinneye.” He told her, refusing to make eye contact. “But…I had a bad experience with Purebloods. And that’s not my only worry.” He finally looked up at her. “I can’t risk losing you. If you try to seek the Purebloods, they may take your shadow, and I can’t promise I can get it back. It’s not worth it to me.”

“But it is to me!” Shinneye interrupted. “I care about the dragons I’ve grown up with much more then myself! Please, there must be a way!”

“Well, there is something…” Bane trailed.

“What? What can we do?” Shinneye pressed.

“Dusk won’t like it very much…” Bane hesitated. She gestured to Dusk and the others to come to her. The four whispered between themselves too quiet for Shinneye to hear. Suddenly Dusk lept back as though he had stepped on something sharp.

“No! I refuse to commit such a thing!” He was shaking his head so furiously his hornring jingled. “Never in my life would I do that!”

“But Dusk!” Bane urged. “Don’t you see? Shinneye is in danger of her shadow being taken just as much as the others, no matter how well we hide her. And know that she knows all about us…”

“Would you stop that?!” Shinneye saw a black substance form at the corners of his mouth. “It doesn’t matter that she knows. Mortal or not, Shinneye is the love of my life and I will not do what you suggested. No, I will hide her. The Purebloods will have to kill me if they want Shinneye’s shadow.” The determination in his eyes was enough to make the other three Shadowsuckers be silent. The three then gathered in a group and began whispering again. Then, one by one, they joined Dusk.

“We’ll help you.” Bane told him. “We’ll keep Shinneye hidden at all costs.”

“You will?” Dusk seemed surprised.

“We are an alliance, after all.” Shade told him, flicking him with his tail.

“…Thanks…again.” Dusk seemed lost for words.

“But what about Flick!” Shinneye said, practically shouting. “And the others, for that matter! We can’t just sit around and abandon them! We have to help.” The Shadowsuckers swapped glances. “At least, can you warn them?” She said. “They won’t believe just me, I need you all to tell them. And this way, when we flee, they won’t be afraid of you.”

“It’s an idea.” Said Dusk. “Yes…I think we can try, for Shinneye’s sake.” He turned to her. “But you must warn them before we appear to them. They may be started if they see us before.”

“Of course.” Shinneye reassured.

“Ok. But then we have to leave.” Dusk protectively put his wing over Shinneye. “You will be safe, I promise.” He gestured for the others to follow. “We will fulfill her request, for her sake. Let’s go now.” Bane, Shade, and Murk all began walking in the direction of Dracobloom Meadow. Dusk fell back as Shinneye led the way to the meadow. Though it was quiet, Shinneye heard a silent statement that Shade whispered to Dusk.

“We’ll protect her with all our power.” He murmured. “But if worst comes to worst, Bane’s suggestion may be the only option…”

Ok, there’s chapter 10! Scroll down to read chapter 11!

SpyroroxThe2nd · May 01, 2010 5:10 AM

Alright, here’s part 2 of the double update, chapter 11! Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Accused

…Shinneye lead the Shadowsuckers over to the edge of Dracobloom Meadow. The ceremony looked as though it were about to start, with Terrador ordering the crowd to sit.
“Now’s the time.” Shinneye said. She slowly parted the bushes. She noticed the Shadowsuckers didn’t move.

“Come on, guys! We have to do this if we want to protect them.”

“I dunno.” Bane muttered. “It’s weird to protect our food-ow!” She got elbowed by Dusk.

“For Shinneye!” He hissed to her.

“Fine, fine.” She turned to Shinneye. “Tell us what to do.”

“On my signal, come out.” Shinneye told them. She carefully went into the meadow just as Terrador was lifting the first vile. She checked to make sure it was easy to see where she was, then turned to the Shadowsuckers.

“Now.” She told them. They slowly parted the bushes and paced into the open. Their scales were a dazzling black in the sunlight, something she hadn’t seen very often due to the forest trees. Shinneye took a deep breath, and prepared to yell out to get everyones’ attention, when a blood-curling shriek echoed through the meadow.

“What-?” Shinneye had hardly time to reply when Dusk grabbed her paw and yanked her away.

“Purebloods!” He gasped. “They’re here!” Dragons began screaming as their shadows were sucked from them, following to the ground upon contact with the hidden Purebloods. Terrador flew into the air and tried to help out best he could as the dragons panicked to get away. But unlike Dusks’ raid earlier, Purebloods were very fast and sucked dragons’ shadows in mid flight. Shinneye shielded her eyes in Dusks’ wing, praying to the ancestors this wasn’t happening. Slowly, the clearing grew quieter and quieter, and Shinneye slowly peaked out from Dusks’ wing. She saw the meadow, practically filled with lying dragon bodies. Shinneye was the only conscious mortal there. Terrador had vanished.

“What just happened?” She asked Dusk. For the first time since Shinneye met him, his eyes were scared.

“Purebloods happened. And I have to get you out of-“ His words were interrupted by a yelp of surprise. Shinneye looked, just to be whacked with a thick green vine miraculously sprouting from the ground. She fell to the ground and watched with horror as the vine twisted its’ way up the all three of the Shadowsuckers’ legs, holding them in place.

“What is this?!” Bane shrieked.

“You ceased to keep your promise, and you shall now suffer!” Boomed a voice. Shinneye looked up and saw about 20 dragons slowly gliding down from high up, Terrador in the front. He landed in front of Dusk. Behind him was a group of the cheetahs of Avalar, which is rare since they almost never leave there village. Shinneye desperately ran up and tried to speak.

“Silence.” Terrador ordered. Shinneye was instantly quiet. Terrador had something in his eyes that scared Shinneye. He seemed almost…hurt about something. He turned his eyes on the tangled Shadowsuckers. Shinneye saw the vines constrict as he stared at them, causing the Shadowsuckers to wince in pain. “You have broken your promise, Shadowsuckers.” He said calmly. “I’m sorry, but I have no choice. You will be held in temporary custody while we await the return of the shadows you have taken. Should you choose not to return them, you will be banished to the depths of Avalar, where you shall be forever.” Shinneye felt like screaming. She knew Dusk and the others could not return anything since they hadn’t been the ones to take it. She saw Dusk bow his head to Terrador.

“I’m sorry, great Terrador.” He said. “But I’m afraid it was not us this time that took the shadows. The Pure-“ He suddenly cried out as the vines constricted his body.

“There will be no petty excuses!” Terrador snarled. “I am assuming you’re oblivious to the crime you have committed? Not only this, but do you know what very important shadow you took?” He gestured his wing over to the new laying bodies of dragons, their shadows sucked clean. Shinneye noticed what he was pointing to, and gasped aloud. She saw Cynder, face buried in her paws, over the lying purple body of Spyro.

“-No!” Shinneye blurted out. She turned back to Terrador in horror. “Did it really…?” Terrador shushed her by raising his wing. “I’ve had enough. Shadowsuckers, because you refuse to return the shadows, I shall hold you in custody, as stated earlier, in the Avalarian Prison Pits. You will have 4 days, and if the shadows are not returned, you shall be banished to the depths of Avalar, and we shall have the shadows returned to us by force, not matter what harm comes to you.” Shinneye’s eyes widened in horror.

“Terrador!” She said as she watched Avalarian cheetahs ripped the vines from the ground but kept them on the Shadowsuckers. Bane thrashed violently but has held by the cheetahs tightly. Shade tried to bite them but quickly had vine wrap around his mouth. Murk was shaking like crazy, more scared then angry. But Dusk didn’t try to fight as he was pulled, though his eyes were loaded with sadness. “Wait! You don’t understand! It-!”

“SILENCE!” He demanded, bashing his tail against the ground causing a mini earthquake. Shinneye gasped a little in fear. He looked her straight in the eyes. “I believed you.” He mouthed to her. “But I can no longer.” He turned to the cheetahs. “Take them away!” He demanded. The cheetahs violently pulled the Shadowsuckers forward.

“NO!” Shinneye shrieked, feeling Terrador’s paw grab her and suspend her.
“NO! DUSK!!!!” Tears streaked down her eyes as she watched her crush get taken from her. She briefly saw his eyes flash toward her, a look of sorrow and regret gleaming in them. Shinneye struggled, crying “DUSK!” every few seconds. She stopped when the figures of him and the others vanished from sight. Exhausted, she went limp in the clasp of Terrador’s paw. Glancing around, she saw the figures of all the passed out dragons. She saw the cameradragons gathered around a fallen dragon body that Shinneye instantly recognized as Shelly Seawing. She saw another dragon body, decked with jewelry, that she knew was Mrs. Silverwing. Everyone, all the dragons she’d grown up with, were gone. And most of all, Dusk was gone. Her stomach felt incredibly empty, and her heart pounded in her chest. Shinneye couldn’t handle the emotion; with a final sigh, she collapsed in Terradors’ paw, her mind filling with black…

...

Shinneye awoke to bright sunshine that filtered through the window of the Temple. She rose up her head to see Cynder, her cheeks stained with tears.

“Cynder?” She asked, dazed. “What-?”

“Spyro’s gone.” She wept. “His shadow was taken by those Shadowsuckers. They were about to take my own shadow, when Spyro jumped in the way. I was fine, but Spyro…he…” She stopped to sob a few times. Shinneye’s stomach felt even more empty now. Seeing her friend in distress was the last thing she needed. But then what happened to Dusk hit her, and she too began to shed tears. “Shinneye?” Cynder managed. “Why…Why are you crying, too? You didn’t know Spyro that well, did you?”

“No.” She managed. “I’m sad for Spyro, but that’s not it. I lost…I lost the love of my life.”

“WHAT?!” Cynder was shocked enough to stop crying. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you love Spyro too?!?!”

“No, no.” Shinneye managed a grin. “Of course I don’t love Spyro too. No, this is someone else.”

“Who?” Cynder pressed. “Is it Emerald, that younger earth dragon who leaves near your families’ den? I saw his shadow get taken.”

“No.” Shinneye said. She turned to Cynder. Shinneye knew it was now or never to tell her best friend of what’s really been happening. Taking a breath, she looked Cynder straight in the eyes and spoke. “I’m in love with a dragon named Dusk. He’s a Shadowsucker.”
......
Ok, leaving it there! Stay tuned!

spyroandcynder4ever · May 02, 2010 11:51 AM

oh this is getting really good

SpyroroxThe2nd · Jun 28, 2010 11:14 PM

Hi again Forums! Sorry about the very late update, I had my final year project and couldn't get this to you sooner. But now that summer's here I'll definetly be able to update more. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 12: Truth Be Told

“…He’s a Shadowsucker.” Shinneye waited for Cynder’s response. The black dragoness blinked her eyes slowly, considering what she had just heard.

“A Shadowsucker…Dusk, you say?”

“Y-yes.” Shinneye said, confused by Cynder’s reaction. “Why?”

“That sounds incredibly familiar…Dusk…” Suddenly her eyes grew huge.

“Yes! I remember! It was back I was under the Dark Master’s control. He was a kid at the time, but…yes! I knew he looked familiar!” Shinneye was incredibly confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve met that Shadowsucker before! When I was corrupt, I met the whole group of them! The Dark Master banned them because they tried to take my shadow.” She shook her head. “And to think the exact Shadowsuckers have been terrorizing us the whole time…”

“Wait, you knew Dusk when he was little?” It was Shinneye’s turn to be shocked.
Cynder nodded.
She then turned to Shinneye.

“Shinneye, did I understand correctly? Your in love with that Shadowsucker?” Shinneye nodded. “And I’ve been visiting him all the times Terrador told you I was having extra training.” Cynder' expression turned shocked.

“Shinneye, how could you?” Cynder demanded.

“I-I don’t know, why?” Shinneye prompted.

“Shinneye, The Dark master told me Shadowsuckers are extremely good at double-crossing other dragons. They make you gain their trust before betraying you! How do you know you didn’t just fall for their trap?” Shinneye’s eyes got huge.

“But Dusk’s not like that! He’s different, he’s on our side! Understand, Cynder!” Cynder considered this. Shinneye continued.
“Him and the rest of his alliance, Bane, Murk, and Shade. I even had a deal with them to not suck the dragon shadows. And they didn’t. Cynder, you have to understand, at the ceremony, he…”

“No, I know.” Cynder said, putting a claw to Shinneye’s mouth. “Dusk and the other Shadowsuckers were not the ones who took the shadows today. These ones were taking multiple shadows at once; back when Dusk took the shadows of my army, it was one at a time.”

“So you actually believe me?” Shinneye asked hopefully. Cynder stifled a chuckle, and pat her friends’ head. “Shinneye, I would believe you even if there wasn’t proof. You’re my best friend, of course.” Her expression then turned serious.

“But…if it wasn’t Dusk and the others…then who-?” Shinneye briefly explained to Cynder about the Purebloods.

“That’s horrible…so they have Spyro’s shadow, too?” Shinneye solemnly nodded. “And Dusk was going to tell everyone about the Purebloods. The day after tomorrow is the absorbing day, where they take all their shadows somewhere and are brought to True Form. But to do that they needed a large number of dragon shadows. Originally he wanted to evacuate only me, but I convinced him to stay to warn everyone else…I feel awful, now everyone is in trouble and it’s all my fault…” Cynder suddenly stood up, determination flaming in her eyes.

“Then that’s that. Spyro has saved me so much in the past, it’s time I return the favor. Shinneye, we’re breaking your boyfriend out of jail.”

“What?!” Shinneye’s eyes widened. “But Cynder! The Avalarian Prison Pits are filled with traps and false exits to make sure the prisoners never escape! And it’s guarded! How in the realm can we even get in, much less break Dusk out?”

“You’re forgetting something, Shinneye.” Cynder told her, grinning. “I have the element of shadow, remember? I can easily get past all the traps and guards no problem.” Shinneye’s expression brightened for a precious moment.

“And you’d do that?” Cynder nodded.

“Though it won’t be easy. I can get into the system and shut it down for a while, but not forever. I will need to get Dusk out before a certain time for it to work.”

“He'll get out.” Shinneye said with confidence. “And Dusk is smart, I’m not worried.”

“Ok, then. How long did you say we have until the absorbing day?”

“Tomorrow is there last day for collecting shadows. Dragons will realize that the Rogues they have captive are not responsible for what has been happening. If we can get Dusk out he can properly warn everyone else and save them before the Purebloods strike again.”

“Then we’re heading out now!” Cynder proclaimed, spreading her wings and taking off out through the Temple window. Shinneye quickly followed, happiness glowing through her.

“Don’t worry, Dusk, I’m coming!” She thought as they sailed through the air. It evening by the time they arrived at Avalar. The cheetahs were all inside their homes. The two landed right outside the entrance Avalarian Prison Pits. The pits themselves were a giant hole covered by grid-like grating. Two cheetahs stood at the entrance, guarding it. Shinneye and Cynder quickly took shelter behind some bushes.

“Ok, the guards should be packing up to go home soon. Once they leave, I’ll sneak through the grating. As soon as the grating opens, come down, ok?”

“O-ok.” Shinneye said with uncertainty. “Be careful.” Cynder squeezed Shinneye’s paw.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Wait here.” Cynder watched as the guards checked their watches, then nodded before walking away from the pits. Cynder quickly snuck through the grating in shadow form, vanishing into the hole. Shinneye trotted out and look down into the hole. It’s gaping opening seemed like an endless pool of black, waiting to swallow anything it was given. Shinneye gulped a bit, hoping Cynder wouldn’t be too long.

“What if Cynder gets caught by one of the traps?” She thought with worry. “Or what if she runs out of mana resumes normal dragon form? She’ll most likely be killed instantly.” She shivered at the thought.
“Please hurry, Cynder.” She begged. Almost immediately after, the ground began shaking violently.
“Q-quake?” Shinneye gasped as she lost balance and fell onto the ground. When the shaking ended, she got up, dazed. She blinked in surprise when she saw the grating had completely vanished from the hole. She scrambled over to the base of the hole, looking down. Almost instantly she saw Cynder come flying out of the hole, no longer in shadow form.
“Cynder!” Shinneye called. She looked around, but she didn’t see Dusk and the others.
“Where are the others?” Cynder landed, her face solemn.

“They weren’t there.”

“What?!” Shinneye gasped in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Their cell was empty. They must have got out themselves.”

“How can that be?”

“I don’t know. But there’s no use staying here. Let’s go back, he’ll probably try to find you, right?” Shinneye nodded.

“Yeah, he…should.” She was still confused why he hadn’t seeked her out immediately. The two dragons took off back into the sky and flew back to the temple. Once there, Shinneye searched the entire place for any trace of Dusk. But she didn’t see him anywhere.

“This doesn’t make sense.” She said, returning to her den. “Dusk should have come straight here and told me he got out. I don’t get it.”

“Well, maybe he had to do something beforehand.” Cynder offered. “Trust me, I want to find him as much as you do so he can help Spyro. Let’s wait until tomorrow.”

“Ok…” Shinneye thought. But something wasn’t right. She knew Dusk would have found her immediately after. Unless…

“Cynder…” She said. “You don’t think Dusk…betrayed me did you? I mean, especially after what you said about them being the best at double-crossing other dragons?”

“Of course not, Shinneye!” Cynder assured. “You said you were in love, right? Shadowsucker or nor, I’m sure he wouldn’t just leave.”

“I hope so.” Shinneye thought. But as she curled up to go to sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been wrong to fall in love with a Shadowsucker….

Ok, leaving it there! Stay tuned!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Aug 08, 2010 2:59 AM

Alright, here’s the next chap! Another appology for the previously late update. Sorry the writing wasn’t the best either, I was kinda rusty when I wrote it. This chap should be way better and longer tongue . I also have names for the Purebloods now! Enjoy!

Chapter 13: Matter at Hand
Shinneye heard frantic screams that morning coming from outside the temple window. She ran over to it and looked down at the valley. To her horror, more than half the dragons lay motionless on the ground their shadows sucked clean.

“Cynd-der…” She stuttered. “You had better take a look at this.”

“Hm?” Cynder asked, yawning loudly. She walked over to the den and gasped loudly.

“What happened?” She asked frantically.

“Purebloods happened.” Shinneye responded in a monatone voice. “And it doesn’t look like Dusk tried to stop it.” Cynder patted her shoulder with sympathy.

“Maybe he just wasn’t the one.” She offered. Shinneye shook her off.

“It doesn’t make sense though, Cynder.” Shinneye complained. “I mean, sure Shadowsuckers are the best at lying, but I really don’t think all that was between me and Dusk was a big lie. He even told me the secret about the Rogues!” Shinneye realized what she was saying was true. Why would Dusk had called her out in the first place if he gained nothing from it? And what’s more, why tell her their secret?
“It wasn’t fake, Cynder.” Shinneye said in an assured voice. “I’m not sure why Dusk didn’t wait for me and is letting this happen, but all I know is tomorrow is the absorbing day. If the Shadowsuckers get enough shadows, they’ll be able to resume true form! I trust Dusk, all we can do is
wait.”

“O-ok, I believe you, Shinneye.” Cynder responded, but she wasn’t quite sure herself.

“What I want to now is how he got out.” Shinneye said, changing the subject.

“It’s weird, really.” Cynder said, recalling the previous day. “The majority of the security was off when I came it. Maybe he shut it off somehow?” Shinneye shrugged. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but what she was sure of was that her faith in Dusk was stronger than any Pureblood.

~The previous day, underground by the Avalarian Prison Pits

“So, the current number?” Tenebrous prompted.

“269.” Vermina replied.

“Excellent. Cryptic, I trust you’ve plotted out next bait?”

“Indeed.” Cryptic responded. “Beside the temple is a clustered area of mortals. I worry not about timing.”

“Good, good. We are close to our goal. Now, what was that about the light element, Enigma?”

“Taking the shadows of 300 is un-needed, Tenebrous, as I stressed earlier.” Another, slighter lower pitched female voice responded.

“Supposedly, a mortal with the element of light is worth 10 shadows.”

“And is there such a dragon?”

“I believe so, yes. I saw it on our first raid. I believe it nests in the temple. All we’d have to do is suck the shadow of it, and we achieve true form!” Tenebrous cackled.

“Too excellent! We will raid the temple outdoors tomorrow, and then take the final shadow!” The others cackled in agreement.

“I’ve shut security.” A new voice responded.

“Ah, Somber. I trust we may move freely about the prison now?”

“Indeed.”

“Good. It is a nice route to the temple. May the raid bring us luck, and the light mortal be our uprising. So, when we are finished with the temple, we will stop and wait until our final day. That will be the day we take the light dragon’s shadow. Our rise is soon.”…

~Back at the Temple
Suddenly, the two dragons heard a knock at their door.

“Who’s that?” Shinneye asked aloud.

“Not sure.” Cynder responded with uncertainty. “It doesn’t smell like any of the guardians.”

“Think it’s Dusk?” Shinneye asked. Cynder shrugged. Shinneye crept forward, slowly reaching out for the handle. Getting ready to attack if needed, she threw open the door and almost crashed into an ice dragon.

“…Glacier?” She responded in surprise when she recognized the reporter.
“Why are you here?”

“Listen, Terrador told me about everything.” Glacier said, his voice no longer in it’s usual tremble. “About you and the other Shadowsuckers. After the raid earlier, I’m not sure about Terrador, I believe you.”

“That’s great!” Shinneye replied, happy some dragon beside Cynder believed her.

“But still…why did you come?”

“I, well…” he looked at the ground, his fear coming back a little. “I-I kinda was hoping I could help you out. Y’ know, after they took Shelly’s shadows, my original fear of them has been replaced with anger. I-If there’s anything I can do, please tell me.”

“That’s great!” Shinneye said. “But…I’m not sure what we’re planning. Supposedly Dusk and the others, Dusk is the Shadowsucker I was with by the way, escaped but I haven’t seen them since. I was hoping you were him.”

“Oh.” Glacier said. “Well, if you need anything call the station.” He handed her a card. “Every since Shelly’s shadow was taken we’ve stopped broadcasting but we’ll still be around.” He waved before heading back down the temple stairs.

“I think he likes her.” Cynder replied, smiling.

“Who?” Shinneye asked.

“Shelly, of course!” Cynder replied. “You saw the way Glacier got all flustered when he talked about her. It’s cute.”

“Like you and Spyro!” Shinneye teased. Cynder glared at her, turning red.

“And you and…Dusk.” She retorted, immediately taking back the statement after she said it. “S-sorry, I forgot…”

“No, I trust Dusk no matter what.” Shinneye told Cynder. “Whether or not he comes, we have to stop the Purebloods. We have Glacier on our side, that’s a plus. All we need to do is find out how many shadows they need to transform, and where the transformation will take place. Cynder, you go to the library and do research. I’m worried about going back there after escaping Gracinda. I’ll stay back here and wait.”

“Sounds good.” Cynder said. “Oh, Shinneye?”

“Hm?”

“Be careful.” Cynder herself wasn’t sure what prompted her to say this.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this Pureblood thing. You have to remember no matter what we do, we could still be their bait.”

~The previous day right above the Pureblood talking site, outside the cells

“Shinneye! They’re going to take Shinneye’s shadow!” Dusk said frantically to the others. They were all standing outside their cells, having just listened to the whole conversation.

“They were foolish to shut off security.” Bane snorted.

“True, but they probably don’t care about us anymore.” Shade explained. “They got what they want. We can’t protect Shinneye and the others.”

“Then we protect Shinneye.” Dusk said firmly. “I don’t care what happens, Shinneye has to live.” The other three looked between each other.

“Dusk, you can try, but you have to remember what happened back at the meadow. ” Shade began. “We stand no chance against the Purebloods. Plus, with what happened…”

“I’d face any fear for Shinneye.” He said defiantly.

“But if you fail, then what? Won’t you feel bad?”

“O-of course!” He stammered.

“If you really cared about her, you’d take our advice we told you earlier.” Bane said in a softer voice.

“B-but!” Dusk protested. “I…” The other three looked to him.

“Do you want to save her or not?” Shade asked.

“I do…” Dusk admitted. Then he looked up, fire burning in his eyes. “I’ll do
it, if I fail to protect her. If I see I can’t stop the Purebloods, I’ll do it.”

“Good enough.” Shade responded, nodding approvingly.

“Anyway, we should probably leave." Dusk said, exhaling a sigh. "I’ll go to Shinneye once the Purebloods have done their raid. I love her, I’ll protect her no matter what measure I have to take.” He looked down, his voice falling to a whisper.

“Even if it means putting her through my pain…”

Alright, leaving it there! Stay tuned!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Sep 11, 2010 10:35 PM

Arlight, next chap is up! As we slowly creep up to the end (three chapters away) things are greatly picked up. In this chapter, Shinneye will be faced with a life-changing decision. I actually wrote this chapter way back when I first started this fanfiction, as it was part of my originating idea. And so, without further ado, here’s chap 14!

Chapter 14: One of Us
…The night was dark and solemn for Shinneye as she lay curled up in her bed, trying to get sleep. Outside, rain pounded the roof of the temple, with an occasional flash of lightning. But anxiety churned in her stomach, preventing her eyes from ever closing. Cynder was spending the night away so she could do more research, and the guardians were out helping the victim’s families, leaving Shinneye alone in the temple.

“Cynder needs to find out where the absorbing is. If we can prevent them from getting there long enough, it should work.” Cynder had mentioned in another research book that if Purebloods don’t get to the absorbing destination before midday the next day, they would lose all their shadows. Shinneye was aiming to make that happen, with the help from the others. Dusk or not, Shinneye knew she had to help the other dragons and Flick. She also knew sleep would be necessary for the mission, and sighed, trying to find that darkness in her mind…

~At Dusk’s old hideout

“This place is trashed.” Shade murmured, observing their hideout which had been violently teared apart.

“Purebloods.” Dusk mumbled. He looked at Shade.

“Shade, I…” he began. He blinked tears that threaten to spill from his eyes. “They’re leaving me no choice,” He managed. “I…have to do what you and Bane wanted…” Shade went over to his denamate.

“Dude, it’s the right choice.” He consoled. “Once it’s done, we don’t have to worry about Shinneye. We can all leave for a new home, in a group of Rogues, and forget about this realm, and the Purebloods. Especially the Purebloods. And after you’re past experience, you really can't afford to go up against them…”

“I know.” He breathed. “That’s why I’m going to do this.” He lifted his head.

”Where’s Bane?” He suddenly asked, realizing the Rogue was missing.

“She said she thought she caught the Pureblood scent. Haven’t seen her since.”

“Weird, she should be back by-“ Suddenly, a black blur shot into the hideout.

“D-Dusk!” Bane panted.

“What?”

“The Purebloods!” She gasped, her eyes wide. “They’re headed to the Temple! They want Shinneye’s shadow, and they want it tonight!”

~Back at the temple
Shinneye shifted in her drowsiness. She thought she heard a small sound, but ignored it and re-curled herself. She heard the door to her den creak.

“Cynder?” She asked sleepily. No response. She opened her eyes a bit wider, gasping silently when she saw the door wide open.

“Who’s there?” She asked. An icy cackled returned her reply.

“Hello, sweetie.” Said a sickly female voice. Lightning lit up the room, and Shinneye looked over at the den wall, which revealed a black shadow of a disfigured dragon, two white slits for eyes that blinked occasionally.

“W-who are you?” Shinneye demanded.

“Vermina is my title.” She hissed. “I am here for the light dragon’s shadow.”

“You’re a Pureblood!” Shinneye gasped in horror. Vermina cackled again.
“B-but how can that be? I can see your shadow!”

“A step closer to final form, my sweet.” She replied, grinning to reveal the shadow of incredibly long, sharp teeth. The shadow darted sideways, going to the wall right in front of Shinneye.

“I’m afraid this is your last vision. I will be taking your shadow now. Don’t bother screaming for help, no one is here to protect you. With your shadow, we can achieve final form immediately.”

“Huh?”

“You see, we’ve had many shadows.” She spoke. “And could go with final form now. But we are too greedy, and what if we would try to be stopped, hm?”

“Y-you knew?”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t speak so loudly. You never know what lurks beneath your paws.” Shinneye stumbled backward.

“D-D-Dusk will protect me.” She weakly defended.

“Oh? Where is he then?” Shinneye paused. “Didn’t think so. You were foolish to believe he ever loved you. Shadowsuckers don’t love.”

“T-That’s a lie!” Shinneye yelled. “Dusk did love me, and I loved him! And he will come save me!”

“Tough luck, my sweet. Very well. Let me make this quick.” Shinneye cringed as the shadow slipped into the ground.

“Dusk, help!” She mentally begged. Suddenly, a shape darted through the window and raked at the silhouette on the ground. Vermina skrieked in surprise. The glisteing figure of Dusk stood before Shinneye, his scales dripping with rain water and his teeth beared.

“D-Dusk!” Shinneye exclaimed happily, but Dusk ignored her.

“Vermina!” He growled instead.

“Oh, very cute.” The she-dragon coughed. “The lover to rescue the day!”

“You will not be getting Shinneye’s shadow.” He stated simply.

“Oh? Where is that…Wait.” Vermina pondered something, her shape moving back on the wall. “You look memorable…Have we encountered you?”

“Don’t change the subject!” Dusk demanded. “You’ve pushed me to do something that hurts me like a sword in my side. But I don’t have a choice. Shinnneye’s shadow will never be yours!” Vermina laughed.

“What can you possibly do?” She jeered.

“There’s something you forgot, Vermina.” Dusk said between gritted teeth. Shinneye could tell he hated what he was saying. “Shadowsuckers don’t have shadows.”

“What does that translate to?” She cued, puzzled. Suddenly, Dusk lurched at her, breathing a shadowy breath at her shape. She shrunk down into the ground in fear as the cloud festered over her. Dusk whipped back around to Shinneye, and clasped his paws in her.

“Shinneye…” He said. He put his paw on her cheek. “I’m so sorry, but I need to ask you something. I really don’t want to do this, but I need to keep you safe and there is no other way.” Lightning cracked outside.

“What do you mean?”

“Shinneye, I’ve spent all my time with you treating you like a glass vase. I can’t keep doing that. And the only way to ensure your safety is to…to…” He shook his head.Thunder echoed through the room.

“Shinneye, let me bite you!” He yelled, eyes closed.

“Wait, what?”

“You need to become a Shadowsucker…a Rogue…it’s your only chance of survival in this situation. I need to bite your crest…I can’t fend off Vermina for long, so, please…” Another flash of lightning. Shinneye felt like a 200 pound boulder just crushed her body. Her? Become a Shadowsucker? Her memories raced back to her childhood fear of Shadowsuckers. And now she had to become one? Images of Spyro, Cynder, and Flick flashed through her brain…unable to really chew the thought, Shinneye squeezed her eyes closed and moved her tail in front of her, revealing the rainbow crest. Even louder thunder blared throughout the temple.

“Do it, Dusk…” She whispered.

“NOOO!!!” Vermina shrieked as she watched Dusk’s teeth sink down into Shinneye’s crest…

Alright, leaving it at a cliffhanger! Stay tuned!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Oct 10, 2010 6:32 PM

Alright, next chapter is ready! And what not a better day to post it then 10/10/10? wink I won’t say much about it’s contents, you’ll have to read to find out…
Quick note: I’m not sure what I said earlier, to be clear up any confusion Flick is an earth dragon.

Chapter 15: Failed
…Shinneye felt sharp pain shoot through her crest. She’d felt something like this before, when a swamp lizard bit her arm when she was younger. She found herself wondering about what her new life as a Shadowsucker would be like. She’d probably have to feed on shadows like the others. And what would Flick think? She waited, looking at her scales to see any change. A few more seconds ticked by. Dusk watched expectantly. Lightning flashed. And yet, nothing seemed to happen. Besides the pain of being bitten, Shinneye remained mortal.

“I…don’t understand…” Dusk murmured, his eyes huge. “Why didn’t it work?!” Vermina’s shocked expression soon turned to a sneer.

“How interesting. It seems as though failure in making her a Shadowsucker has occurred.” Vermina inched closer. Dusk’s eyes were huge with horror. There was nothing left he could do to protect his crush. Shinneye was just as baffled.

“I...why didn’t it work?” A horrid sucking noise was heard from Vermina as she began to take Shinneye’s shadow…

“AHA!” A voice shouted, sending a huge tornado at Vermina using her wind elements. Vermina shrieked in surprise, her shadow getting flipped upwards and hitting against the wall.

“C-Cynder!” Shinneye stammered with relief.

“I know you Purebloods’ weaknesses.” Cynder hissed. “It seems you don’t do to well with basic elements, is it?”

“C-clever you are.” Vermina stammered. “But win you have not. The reign of the Purebloods will continue yet. You cannot freeze our ambitions.” Vermina’s shadow slinked through the open window before Cynder could stop her.
The dragoness trotted over to Shinneye.

“Shinneye? Are you ok?” She noticed Dusk. A small spark tension lit up between the two.

“Greetings.” Dusk told her formally.

“And you are Dusk?” Cynder asked.

“Indeed.”

“You do look familiar….” Cynder said. “I believe we met in the past.”

“Quite possible.” Dusk replied. The two stared for a bit. Shinneye didn’t get the feelings between the two, but decided to interrupt it.

“Dusk, what happened? Why didn’t it work?” Dusk snapped away.

“I really don’t know.” Dusk said. “You should have changed immediately.”

“Changed?” Cynder questioned. Shinneye looked at her friend.

“Well…you see…” She stammered, not sure how would respond. Cynder noticed the bite mark on her crest and glared at Dusk.

“You tried to change her into a Shadowsucker?” She hissed, disgusted.

“For her own safety.” Dusk defended. “And as you can see, it didn’t work. Don’t lose your tail.” Cynder puffed, looking back at Shinneye.

“Shinneye, why did that Pureblood want your shadow in the first place?”

“I think I could transform them immediately with it or something.” Shinneye muttered. Cynder thought about this.

“Odd. I didn’t read about that in the books. By the way, Gracinda’s shadow was taken, too, so getting into the Forbidden Section was no issue. I found some other Shadowsucker books detailing Purebloods. I read that their main weakness are the basic elements, plus one extra which can actually banish them into the ground forever. It seemed in every book, however, the page talking about the 5th element was torn out.”

“At least we found out some things.” Shinneye muttered. “By the way, I noticed something interesting; it seems they’ve been taking shadows of dragons who hold the basic elements. Think about it, Cynder; Shelly Seawing, Gracinda, Flick, and of course Spyro, who has them all! They probably couldn’t tell you had the element of wind so they purposely let you live.”

“You're right…” Cynder muttered.

“And they left Glacier because ice wasn’t one of the five elements. And the guardians were probably too strong.”

“I think you’re onto something…”Cynder muttered. Her head shot up in defiance. “Shinneye, it’s time we start planning. I’ll get Glacier and the Guardian’s help, and…Dusk can get his Shadowsucker friends.” The tension lit up a bit again, but Cynder took it off. “Nothing matters anymore. We’re going to get Spyro and Flick back tomorrow, or die trying.” …

~Meanwhile, just below Summoner’s Cape, a broad valley with a circular
platform etched with weird marking in it’s center.

“It’s appears we’ve missed a spot.” Vermina puffed to the others. “A wind-wielding one…she lives.”

“Interesting.” Tenebrous muttered. “It matters not. We have enough, we can wait.”

“By the way…one of them looked oddly familiar. Dusk, the light-elemented dragon called him. Is the name a reminder?”

“Hm…ah, yes, I do remember it fondly.” His voice became icy.

“You should remember. How can you forget those ignorant parents of his?”

“Ah, yes.” Cryptic mused.

“The Pureblood Hunters, they were called. Used their elements against us. And Dusk, as a mortal, was a purple dragon.”

“Yes, yes.” Enigma nodded.

“Of course, the mortals at the time were foolish to think a purple dragon was not special. Sadly, they never learned of his power, and I’m sure you all know why. But you know the rest of the story, so I see no reason to revive it.” He cackled.

“So, let us prepare for our absorbing. We are close.”
….
Alright, leaving it there! Why didn’t Shinneye become a Shadowsucker? And what really happened to Dusk, the true first purple dragon? These questions will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned!

SpyroroxThe2nd · Nov 19, 2010 4:37 AM

Alright, we have reached the second to last chapter! In this chapter, we will learn about Dusk’s tragic past, and learn, exactly, who is Shinneye? This chapter is very long, but it only works as one chapter. So get comfortable, and prepare for a nice, long read! Without further ado, here’s chapter 16!

Chapter 16: Dark Side of Sunlight

It was still dark when the dragons awoke the next day. The air was crisp and fresh from the recent rainfall. It was still early, and the dragons were getting ready for their plan. Cynder had left to get the others, leaving Shinneye and Dusk in the room by themselves. The two lovers sat, tails intertwined together. They stayed there in silence for a bit, staring out the window as the sun slowly began to peak over the horizon. Dusk traced his claws on Shinneye’s delicate features, as though having to prove to himself she was actually there.

“Dusk…why didn’t it work?” Shinneye suddenly asked him, staring at the ground.

“I don’t know, Shinneye…” He admitted. “In truth, I’ve never made someone a Shadowsucker before, but still…” He didn’t finish his sentence. The silence continued.

“Dusk…” Shinneye spoke again. “Do you remember anything about your life before a Shadowsucker?”

“No, not really.” He admitted. “Occasionally I have nightmares about the experience, but it’s much too blurred. I also don’t know what species I was beforehand. Bane says she was a fire dragon; that’s pretty believable. Shade was ice, and Murk was electric. But, me….” He shook his head.
“I try not to think about my past.”

“Sorry for making you think about it.” Shinneye whispered. Dusk kissed her cheek lightly.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know, after all.” He paused. “What about you…if you don’t mind sharing. What was your past like?”

“I grew up in a family of earth dragons.” Shinneye explained. “I guess I was found as an egg, or something like that. I’m not sure which brood of eggs, though. My family assumed I was a light dragon and took me in. I don’t know my real parents.” She suddenly looked up at him.
“Dusk, this is a bit off topic, but I noticed something; there’s this weird tension between you and Cynder. Is there something I’m missing?” Dusk blinked a second, then chuckled a bit.

“Our paths did cross.” Shinneye tilted her head in interest.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, back when we Rogues were kids. It was about a year since we all became Shadowsuckers, and Cynder was still under Malefor’s control. We saw her army and feasted on their shadows. Then, we…well, we kinda almost made her shadow our dessert…” He broke off laughing. Shinneye blinked in surprise.

“Seriously?! You almost sucked the shadow out of ‘Cynder; Terror of the Skies?!’ “ Shinneye was incredibly impressed by his childish bravery. Dusk laughed some more.

“Would have saved Spyro some trouble, huh?” He joked. Shinneye laughed out loud, quickly regretting after.

“Don’t you dare tell Cynder I laughed at that.” Shinneye threatened. Dusk chuckled.

“Of course not, Shinneye.” He winked. "It's just between you and me.”

“But it’s good to see your humors’ back.” Shinneye complimented. She paused a moment, staring at him.“And you're back, too. I’ve missed you.” Dusk looked her in the eyes, paw on her cheek.

“And I’ve missed you. I would have come immediately after escaping, Shinneye, but I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Shinneye whispered. The two closed the space between them and kissed, for a precious moment forgetting about the dangerous affairs they would be dealing with later. The sun, having risen completely in the time they were talking, sent soft beams of light seeping into the room. The two broke their kiss right as Cynder walked in.

“It’s time.” She told them. “Glacier and the guardians are waiting outside.” Dusk and Shinneye untwined their tails and slowly left the warmth of their room. Whatever would happen in the next few hours was unpredictable.The three went down to have breakfast and pack their things. After many preparations, they made their way to the main temple room, where the guardians and Glacier were waiting. Shinneye caught Terrador’s eye, and she instinctively pressed herself closer to Dusk. But Terrador just nodded his head, showing acceptance. Shinneye sighed in relief.

“Ready?” Glacier asked, his normally fearful appearance overcome by one of determination.

“As we’ll ever be.” Dusk replied. His paw found it’s way into Shinneye’s.

“The absorbing will take place at Summoner's Cape .” Terrador spoke to address them all. “They will only have until 12 this morning, when the sun is at the peak of the sky, to absorb the shadows. Our plan is this; Shinneye will appear before the Purebloods. The temptation of her shadow will be too great for the weaker minded ones, and they will pounce on her. She will lead them as far as she can from the altar, and when they catch up, Dusk and his companions will each take on one or two Purebloods, whilst Cynder protects Shinneye. The guardians and I will position ourselves around the altar to prevent them from getting to it, and Glacier will attack from the sky with ice missiles pelting the ground around the altar floor to keep them away. We will need to perform all this at exactly 11:58; any more or less time will throw the plan off. Too much time will allow them to eventually overpower us and take our shadows. Too little will let them absorb before we can defend. Right now it is 11:00 exactly. Timing is key; we will head out in a short while. Make all the preparations you need.”

“This is all so terribly frightfully fearsome.” Volteer protested. “Terrador, must we all…?”

“Yes, all the guardians must come.” Terrador addressed.

“Then let it be so.” Cyril agreed, elbowing Volteer.

“Anyway, go make preparations. I will let you all know when we leave. Dusk, please go inform the other Rogues of the plan.”

“Will do.” Dusk turned to Shinneye. “Wanna come?” Shinneye nodded.

“Yeah. They should know about what happened.”

“Yeah.”

~Meanwhile, in Summoner's Cape …
“Excellent work, my pets. We will succeed this realm yet.”

“I am still concerned. What is the Lumin-I mean, our primary enemy shows up?”

“Your fear is understandable, Vermina. But to put you at ease, that species of immortal dragon is only born every Year of the Dragon. And we all know well how that brood, save the purple dragon and the black one, were smashed by the Dark Master’s forces. Worry is unnecessary.”

“You are correct. My apologies.”

“Anyway, know we must wait. Should Dusk care about his comrades, the light dragon’s shadow is as well as ours.”

~Back outside the Temple…
The two went outside and took to the skies, flying low over the empty forest to the Rogue’s old den. The landed softly on the torn up moss; the air was stiff with emptiness.

“Something’s…different.” Dusk thought. He shook his head. “No, I must be imagining it.” The two went up to the den, the door violently yanked from its frame.
“Hello?” Dusk called into the den. No response.
“Odd. They said they’d be back here…” Dusk walked cautiously into the den. It was worse then when he left; everything was thrown across the floor, and many things were missing. On the table, a small card was propped up with dark ink.
“What’s this?” Dusk wondered aloud, taking the card and reading it;

Our Dearest Fellow Rogue,
As you have probably realized, we paid an early morning visit to your friends. We thought you might like to know they are currently our favored hostages. We have a nice ceremony planned which involves the stripping of their own shadows before achieving final form. Of course, we are fair villains; we propose a hostage swap. Bring us the light dragon, and you can have your companions without any scars. Our proposed time is 11:50. Bring only the light dragon and yourself; any unaided help will force our claws into stripping their shadows early. You have been warned. Have a fair and lovely morning~
-New Rulers

Dusk’s eyes got huge with horror.

“What? What is it?” Shinneye demanded. “Where’s Bane, Shade, and Murk?”

“Kidnapped.” Dusk breathed. Shinneye snagged the card from him and read.

“…oh no.” She murmured, her voice hoarse, letting the card slip from her grasp. She turned to Dusk. “What do they mean by ‘strip them of their shadows’? I thought Shadowsuckers had none…”

“Not quite.” Dusk explained slowly, as though the words were needles that pierced the inside of his mouth every time he spoke. “See, every Shadowsucker has a ‘life essence’ if that’s what you want to call it. It’s like a soul, basically, and if it’s taken from us…” He didn’t need to finish. He shook his head. “It requires strong sucking power to take the life essence away. But judging on how many shadows they’ve taken, it’s possible.” Shinneye was silent. Dusk buried his face in his claws.
“I…I…don’t know anymore…” He said, his voice unsteady. Shinneye carefully put her paw on Dusk’s.

“Let them have me.” She whispered. Dusk’s head shot up.

“N-no!” He protested. “I-I can’t do that!”

“It will be like before you met me.” She murmured. “All this; the shadows, the Purebloods, everything…if not for me, you could have stopped them long ago. Please, Dusk; I’ve lost my brother, my friend, and all the dragons I knew. At this rate, they’re never coming back. So, please…let me go with them.” Dusk shook his head weakly, but he knew his Shinneye; she was kind, but stubborn, and he could never change her mind. The look in her eyes told him she had reached her limit. She saw the look Dusk had and kissed him lightly.

“Thank you so much.” She whispered, tears filling in her own eyes. “For everything. When you get the others back, evacuate the remaining dragons and leave the realm, get as far as you can from the Purebloods.” She wiped her eyes. Dusk stared at her long and hard, before feeling his own tears on his cheeks.

“S-SHINNEYE!” He cried out suddenly, kissing her directly on the lips. She felt his paws hold her face tenderly, and could feel his tears drip onto her own cheeks as they kissed. She slowly wrapped her paws around him, silently wishing this moment could last forever. But the sick reminder of time forced her to pull away.

“We can’t wait anymore.” She whispered, holding his paws in her own. “We should probably head over.” Dusk nodded slowly, flicking the tears from his cheeks away with his wings. The two silently left the den and took off into the sky, not speaking a word. Soon, Summoner's Cape came into view. The two landed, pressing against each other as they approached the area around the altar. Shinneye sighed deeply when it came into sight. She turned to Dusk.

“I guess this is it.” She said quietly. Dusk could tell she was holding back tears. He checked the sky; judging by the sun, it was almost 11:50. Terrador probably wondered where they were right now. Not wanting to postpone the agony, Dusk grabbed her paw and kissed his cheek a final time.

“Thank you for giving life to this shell I live in.” He whispered. He blinked away tears and walked out into the valley with Shinneye. Shinneye instantly felt that empty, almost hungry feeling in her stomach as they entered. Almost instantly, the shadows on the ground darted around Dusk, rising into Pureblood Silhouettes. An icy voice was heard.

“Excellent, the light dragon is brought.” A male hissed.

“Yes.” Dusk replied, keeping his words short.

“Did he bring others?” A female, not Vermina but with a deeper, huskier voice, asked.

“I am right here, and no.” Dusk replied.

“He speaks truth, Enigma.” The first voice silenced the female.

“Where are the others?” Dusk demanded. Laughing was heard.

“Oh? Were they part of this deal?” Suddenly, three shapes rose out of the ground, chained by black roping. They were Bane, Shade, and Murk. Dusk’s eyes got big.

“Release them!” He demanded.

“Why should we?” The male replied. “You are here, alone, with no help. We may take the light dragon without a fight, and then destroy your faithful comrades, before we destroy you and the realm is ours for taking.” Dusk’s eyes got wide.

“N-no.” Suddenly, his head shot up. “What is it you have against me, anyway?”

“You should know well. Or would you like us to recap the nightmare for you?” A voice replied.

“Enlighten me.” Dusk encourage through gritted teeth. Shinneye’s eyes got big and she looked at Dusk in surprise. He was trying to buy time, but in the process he would learn of his horrible childhood. Dusk…to think you’d go through the verbal pain…

“Gladly.” The most normal voice hissed. “You see, young Rogue, your birth was back at a time when we Purebloods had rule over this realm. Your caregivers formed a group of anti-shadowsuckers, and we lost many allies to them. In revenge, we attacked them by night and properly killed them.” Dusk inhaled sharply.

“G-go on.” He continued.

“You were an interesting creature. A dragon, yes, but your scales possessed a purple hugh.” Shinneye’s eyes got big. Dusk was a purple dragon?

“At that time, mortals thought nothing of the young, great purple. While yes, it was true you were the actual first of the purple race, your powers never had time to flourish. On the night of the attack, we pondered the best way to achieve revenge in your caregivers. We thought, what not a more painful fate then to have their last image in this realm be of their own son turning into one of us?” Dusk’s grip on Shinneye’s hand tightened, but he didn’t speak.
“We held down your caregivers and bit you. The agony on their faces was pure satisfaction. And since then, you have been living the consequence. The town you lived in did not recognize your new form, and drove you out. Since then, it seems you’ve gathered a little band of misfits, huh?” Tenebrous laughed, jerking on the chains around the other Rogues.

“So?” Dusk prompted, his voice weak. “Why didn’t you just take over the realm then? Who forced you into hiding, if not my caregivers?” The laughing stopped

“We mustn’t answer everything.” The voice hissed.

“Cowards.” Dusk muttered. Suddenly he cried out in pain as a black whip-like beam lashed him.

“Do not mumble insults, fool!” Hissed the female voice with rage. “Your stalling time is done. Now for the light dragon. We will wait no more!” Shinneye heard that sucking noise and held her breath, waiting for her shadow to be stripped from her. Suddenly, an onslaught of ice missiles from above, sending the sucking dragon flying to the side. The Purebloods screeched and fled, the chains on the Rogues falling in a useless pile on the ground.

“Oi!” A recognizable guardian voice echoed from above. Shinneye’s head looked up, and she saw Cyril and Glacier, circling above.

“Cyril! Glacier!” Shinneye exclaimed. Even though Dusk and her didn’t show up, they still came! “But that should mean…” A huge stream of lightning shot right down on the altar, splitting it in half.

“Greetings and salutations!” Volteer called from above. Shinneye then saw Terrador gliding low to the ground, swinging his tail and smashing the rocks around the valley, causing a rockslide.

“We will protect Shinneye!” Terrador yelled out.

“Wait…how’d he know?” Shinneye thought.

“What is this?! We have been betrayed!” The leader hissed. “So be it! The light dragon will indeed be ours!”

“Shinneye, watch out!” Shinneye recognized Bane’s voice, and before she could think Bane shoved her away from an oncoming shadow, grabbing Shinneye’s paw and standing in front of her defensively.

“You want her, you’ll have to go through me!” Bane hissed. Shinneye felt happiness bubble up over her, her hunger feeling completely gone. Even Bane, who formally hated her, was now fighting to keep her alive. She saw Dusk, angry slashing at the figures with shadowy claws. She saw the guardians, taking down the shapes with their elements. And she saw Glacier, shooting ice missiles and yelling out “Shelly! Shelly!” with every slash as though the name itself gave him power.

“Everyone…” She thought. For the first time since she met Dusk, she felt happy in every circumstance: no secret meetings, no accusations, just everyone on the same side fighting for a single cause. She didn’t notice her paws began to glow with a blinding white light and a strange dust circling around her figure. Dusk was now shoved into a corner, the Purebloods advancing on him.

“You will be the first shadow which we strip!” Tenebrous hissed.

“I don’t care.” Dusk spat back. “Do whatever you want to me, but you will never reach my Shinneye!”

“His Shinneye.” Shinneye muttered, happiness practically exploding from her. Shinneye felt a giant wave of determination sweep over her, and suddenly she lost every ounce of fear.

“Purebloods!” She yelled out. She blinked in surprise at her voice, which had changed and become all loud and echo-like. Suddenly, everything around her burst into white light.

“Wait, what-?” Shinneye muttered in her new voice to herself. “What’s going on?” Suddenly, she heard Enigma screech.
“
IMPOSSIBLE! How can this be?! Tenebrous!!!!”

“L-L-LUMINNESSENCE!” Vermina shrieked, her icy voice faltering. “THERE IS A LUMINESSENCE HERE!!!” Shinneye wasn’t sure what was going on. Then, five flailing shapes appeared in front of her. She recognized them to be the Purebloods.

“M-m-mercy!” Tenerbous shrieked, trembling violently in Shinneye’s presence. “Great Luminnessence, have mercy!”

“What are they talking about? Why are they scared of me?” Shinneye noticed she was standing next to other dragons like her, with the strange glowing aura and voices.

“Judgment must be served.” A male to the left of Shinneye spoke. The language was similar to the Purebloods, yet completely different.
“We will allow our newest spawn of Luminnessence to do so.” Said one to the right of her.

“Me?” Shinneye whispers. The figures nodded.

“We have waited long for your powers to activate, young Luminessence. Now, demonstrate the power of your predecessors and banish these beasts.”

“How?” Shinneye asked, glancing at the Purebloods that now looked so weak and frail.

“You know how.” A figure two Luminessences away from her replied. “Think.” Shinneye thought hard, but nothing came to her. The Purebloods stared wide-eyed, waiting for their fate.

“Consider what activates your powers.” Another across from her whispered, receiving an elbow in the chest.

“Do not give hints, Solairia. Let her learn.” Shinneye shook her head, defeated.

“’I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” She admitted. The figures sighed.

“Perhaps she needs a nudge.” One suggested.

“Very well. Farewell, young Luminessence.” Suddenly, the figures around her faded. Shinneye blinked at the blank surrounding around her. Suddenly, different figures appeared before her, and she recognized Flick, Spyro, Shelly, everyone taken by the Purebloods. Then, an overwhelming scent of roses filled her snout, and the shimmering figure of Dusk came into view.

“Shinneye…” He muttered.

“Dusk…where is this?” She asked. Dusk didn’t respond, but approached her.

“Shinneye…my dear Shinneye…” He repeated over and over, until he was within snout length of her. Before Shinneye could think, he was kissing her passionately.
“Dusk…” Shinneye thought. The sheer euphoria of the moment was almost unbearable. She noticed her paws begin to glow again.
“Dusk…and everyone…” She said between the kiss. “I will…protect you all!” The last part was in a booming voice that didn’t belong to Shinneye. The Purebloods appeared behind Dusk. The glowing suddenly pulsed outward, and Shinneye heard screams of anguish from the Purebloods as their shapes were obliterated by the light. Dusk broke the kiss, and his figure faded along with the rest. Shinneye blinked in surprise when she realized she was back in Summoner’s Cape.

“SHINNEYE!” Dusk yelled. Shinneye barely had time to turn when he snatched her in a hug and twirled her around.
“The Purebloods are gone, and everyone’s back!” He yelled. He set her down, shaking his head in wonder.

“What happened?” Shinneye asked, a bit dazed.

“You’re a Luminessence!” He told her. “That’s why I couldn’t turn you into a Shadowsucker, and why the Purebloods couldn’t suck your shadow. You were an immortal the entire time!”

“But that means…”

“Shinneye!” Shinneye recognized that voice instantly. She turned, and saw her older brother, grinning widely.

“F-Flick…It’s you?” She muttered.

“Who’d of thought you were an immortal!” He laughed. “And you’d fall in love with you fear! Your so weird, Shinneye.” Shinneye suddenly tackled him in a hug.

“Flick, you’re ok!” She exclaimed, as though realizing it for the first time. He wiggled to get out of her grasp.
“Of course! You can’t get rid of me that easily. Anyway, I’d better go tell mom.”
“Yeah.” Shinneye let him go and looked over at the others.

“Spyro…” Cynder said dreamily to the newly resurrected purple dragon, and the two closed the space between them in a kiss. Shinneye nodded her head with satisfaction. She always thought they’d make a cute couple.

“Ugh, I can’t work like this!” Shinneye knew that voice. Shelly was shaking off her wings, disgusted by the dust that had gathered on them when her body had been soulless.
“I think you’re beautiful.” Glacier told her from behind. She whirled around in surprise.

“G-Glacier…” She muttered.

“Now you’re the one with the stutter!’ He laughed. Shelly grabbed him in a hug.

“You big coward.” She laughed. Glacier just grinned. Shelly closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss him, when she suddenly whipped her head to the side and saw three cameradragons focusing the lens intently on the two.

“H-hey, your not allowed to be filming right now!” She yelled, her face turning red.

“Let’s run for it!” One of the cameradragon yelled, and glided of the ground.

“GET BACK HERE!” Shelly yelled, chasing after them. Glacier laughed, following after. Shinneye smiled. Most of the other figures flew off to find their own family and tell them the news of their return, and Summoner’s Cape slowly began to empty.

“Well done…” A voice said to Shinneye from behind. Shinneye turned, and recognized Gracinda.“You put that book to good use, Luminessence.” She told her, winking.

“T-thanks…” Shinneye managed.

“Hey, Shinneye!” Shinneye craned her head to see Dusk, Bane, Shade, and Murk running over to her.

“A Luminessence, huh?” Bane said, looking her up and down. “Awesome.”

“Thanks!” Shinneye said, grinning widely.

“A great addition to our group.” Shade agreed. Dusk just kissed her happily.

“We should probably head back to the temple.” Terrador’s voice boomed over everyone elses’.

“Yeah.” Spyro said.

“Ok.” Cynder agreed. Dusk turned to his crush.

“Shinneye…” He murmured, tracing his claws on her cheek. “Let’s go home.”
…..
Ok, so ends the infinitely long second-to-last chapter! My last update will be with the final chapter, which will tie all the loose strings, like how Terrador knew to come at that time, and wrap up the story. Along with that, there will be a sneak peak of my next project, a TLOSS X-over featuring characters from Red Diamond, Flood the Wave Rider, and this story. Even if you are unable to read my earlier stories, which are posted a few pages back but have those weird symbols scattered throughout the text, the X-over shouldn’t be to hard to understand and I will quickly run through the characters at the beginning. Stay tuned for the final chapter!

SpyroroxThe2nd · May 16, 2011 5:30 AM

I’m still alive!!!!!!!! Sorry for the leap of absence, I got very busy and this document was buried in my computer for about a half-year. But I'm back! Aaaand so, here is the last chapter of TLOSS: Dusk and Shinneye! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this rollercoaster of a story. Without further ado, I present to you the final chapter:

Chapter 17: Moonlight Shadows
... “But Terrador, how’d you know?” Shinneye asked. Her and Dusk were back at the temple, along with the others.

“You dropped the ransom note by the Rogues’ den. We read it, assumed you left, and headed right over.” Terrador shook his head, beaming. “But to think. You, a legendary Luminessence! It makes sense, you know. Luminessence are born every Year of the Dragon. Your egg was saved then, and you must have been that Luminessence.”

“So…explain.” Shinneye prompted, occasionally looking herself over like she was a type of god. “What is a Luminessence anyway?”

“A small deity, if you will.” Terrador explained. “Luminessence are the spawn of the great Lumara herself. The myth goes that Lumara sacrificed herself to bring to the eternal darkness of the realms, and in that process she became our sun. Supposedly she had had draklings, and these draklings were the first Luminessence, dragons of the sun.”

“Flick said something about being immortal.” Shinneye mentioned. “Is that true?”

“Indeed. You are an immortal, much like the Shadowsuckers.” Dusk grabbed her paw.

“That’s means we can always be together,” He murmured to her, kissing her cheek. Shinneye smiled.

“So what are you going to do now?” Cynder asked.

“We won’t stick around here.” Shinneye admitted. “Even though the Shadowsucker secret is out, there’s still tension about the first raid. We’ll go as far as we can; as long as Dusk and I are together, it really doesn’t matter.”

“When are you leaving?” Spyro added.

“Well…we were planning right about now.”

“Oh…” Spyro and Cynder looked a bit taken aback.

“I’ll visit!” Shinneye quickly promised. “And I’ll write letters-”

“As long your happy, that’s all that matters.” Cynder assured her, silencing her with the tip of her tail.

“Ready!” Bane called from outside.

“Time to go.” Dusk said, tugging at her paw.

“In a minute.” Shinneye whispered, her eyes switching to her family. They’d been silent this whole time, watching expectantly.

“Shinneye…” Flick started, eyeing her sadly.

“I’m sorry, Flick, but I really have to go.” She told him. She gave him a quick hug. “I’ll visit, I promise.”

“’Kay.” He replied, hiding the faintest of sniffs. He leaned close so only she could hear “Good job, little sis.”

“Thanks.” She replied, pulling away and giving him a smile. She said goodbye to the rest of her family and grabbed Dusk’s paw.

“Thanks everyone.” Shinneye told them, dipping her head. “Thank you for everything. I will not forget you guys.” She and Dusk shared a last kiss, and then walked, paw in paw, out of the temple for the final time.
-End
……..
So there you have it! My third installment of the TLOSS series has (finally) come to a close. Hope you all enjoyed! Now, as promised, here is a sneak preview of my next project, the TLOSS crossover: The Legend of Spyro’s Siblings Crossover: Voyage for the Fire Keeper
“(Not so brief) Description: Spyro has learned, throughout three different adventures, that he actually has “siblings” whose eggs were not smashed on the night of the raid. His last encounter was with the two immortals, Shadowsucker Dusk and Luminnessence Shinneye. About one year after the events of TLOSS: Dusk and Shinneye, the entire dragon realm (in every universe) is invited to come and stay in a sacred, hidden region known as “Elemera” where a 10-day voting trial will take place for the next fire guardian to succeed the deceased Ignitus. Should the trial last any longer, the realm will lose the entire element of fire and chaos will ensue. Among those selected to run are two orphaned, sister fire dragons from Spyro’s brood; cheery Inferno (“Fern”) and shy Pyre. But a hidden enemy is peeking over the horizon. After a shocking night where Ashley is kidnapped from the Elemera inn, things begin getting shaky. What’s worse, all the fire dragons are being kidnapped one by one, and the kidnapper continuously leaves mysterious notes and recordings talking about the resurrection of an ancient fire beast. And so, all characters, new and old, unite against the new menace…but the enemy is closer than they think, and the revelation to the near threat may be the greatest shock in the entire TLOSS fanseries… With a gallon of adventure, a pint of mystery, three cups comedy, and a dash of romance, join Spyro and Cynder as they band together with Ash and Blissia (Red Diamond), Flood and Ashley (Wave Rider), and Dusk and Shinneye (this story), as well as Fern and Pyre in a fight to protect the fire guardian’s throne and choose their new leader before it’s too late.”
If you are interested in reading, I’ll need to outline the order in which I want things to happen and work vigorously on a couple plot holes before I can start posting, so it may be a bit of a wait. But, I promise it will be worthwhile. Anywhoo, this may be the last you hear of me on the fanfiction thread for a bit (hopefully not as long as my absence though!). Hopefully the news of the new semi-Spyro game will be enough to distract anyone interested in this until I begin posting;). So, until next time, goodbye from me, Spyroroxthe2nd, and all my characters! Thanks for reading! ☺

#26 Jan 31, 2010 5:28 PM

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#27 Feb 06, 2010 7:12 AM

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#33 May 02, 2010 11:51 AM

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#39 May 16, 2011 5:30 AM

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