Chapter 7

Chapter 9

The once gentle drizzle was now threatening to become a deluge as the train charged along the ridge towards the walking behemoth. The storm however was not enough to mask the wails and moans I could hear on the wind as we approached. They were becoming more tangible and even now I could see glimpses of it's master inside the building on top of the mobile mountain in my minds eye.

“Cynder! Shall I ready the cannons?” Peter called out as thunder cracked and boomed over us. The lad had to be barely fifteen and his helmet was too large for him when I noticed him regularly adjusting it to see. Even then he seemed to have no fear of me knowing well who I was.

I craned my head down to him and lifted a wing over him and Ubuntu to give them a reprieve from the storm. I could feel rain cascade off the tips of my wing fingers. “You're too young Peter. You need to leave, you could be killed here!”

“Cyndah dis is hardly de time!” Ubuntu shouted over the mayhem of the wind and rain that made his beard violently sway.

“I'm not leaving Cynder! I know the stories of you and Spyro and I know this is what you two would do. Besides, Faranthia has my sister and I need to save her!” Peter answered.

“You mean you're not afraid of me?” I queried lifting a scaled brow.

Peter shook his head. “No! At least not as long as you're on our side. I heard about you and Spyro stopping Malefor and how you were controlled by him. I don't believe you're evil and I don't believe the League of Light. I exclaimed when I saw you because I was excited. You're the only hope we have of stopping Faranthia without uniting the Confederacy and Anvil. Even then without dragons in Törg it'd be a longshot.”

I digested the young man's words. He was not afraid of me, in fact, he was a fan! Now I had seen everything. Still this was incredibly dangerous to sign up for a suicide mission just because he believed me to be the best bet of saving his sister from Faranthia. But that begged the question why was Faranthia kidnapping people? I thought the Seven were only here to wreak havoc. My eyes glanced towards the approaching walking fortress when I decided we did not have time to debate for ask questions. He did know how to fire cannon at the least. Or ancestors I hope he did.....

“Fine!” I barked over the maelstrom as the walking abomination neared our train track. “We need to get that things attention before it notices Rawhide and starts firing the beam. I need you to load the cannons and fire at my command. Just worry about hitting it, Rawhide has the heavy artillery to bring it down. Just make sure it stays on us okay?”

Peter gave me a stalwart nod and saluted me. “Yes commander!” He turned and grabbed a bowling ball sized lump of metal and began loading the cannons.

I turned to and peered down at my old malefactor. “I know you can't fight old man but can you help him load at least?”

The old ape nodded and stabbed his staff onto the floor which summoned a thin veil of magic that acted as an umbrella. “This is my fight too Cyndah. My body is not what it used to be but I will help the boy reload by keeping rain off him and the gunpowder dry. He will be ready to fire on command I assure.”

I nodded and turned my neck towards the sky to the towering behemoth of dirt, brick and steel that loomed over us. It was even bigger in person. I had to stay on the train however as fighting it from the air was certain death and the weather was not on my side. I hoped Rawhide was correct about it not being smart enough to attack the train or the tracks.

“Cannons ready!” Peter shouted through the storm as he and Ubuntu were covered in a transparent veil of magic that rain fell from like a miniature waterfall.

“Fire!” I cried. Peter lit the fuse and him and Ubuntu covered their ears. A second later the cannon exploded in black powder that was left behind by the speeding train. The cannon fired its payload that arched towards the air in a fiery blaze. It impacted on the dirt underside of the factory atop the mechanical spider legs with a fire explosion that shot dirt and rocks tumbling towards the forest below. It had noticed that shot! And as though it read my mind the beast emitted an ear piercing roar of screeching metal and pulverized stone. We all buckled and covered our ears until the noise relented. I looked back up to see the red light of the charging beam shine down on us. In this moment I thought for a moment we had made a grave mistake as I starred down that deadly red light.

“Cannon ready!” Peter shouted.

“Fire!”

Another explosion of black powder sent another ball of iron hurling into the air at break-neck speed. This one detonated at the metallic joint of the closest spider leg.

“Good shot boy!” Ubuntu yelled just as the sky was torn open that the familiar red laser. A boom far greater than the cannon assaulted our ears as the beam tore the caboose to shreds. Literally it was there one second and the next it was exploded wood shards and melting steel beams. The beam chased us and cast everything into stark red and black shadows from the sheer intensity of its light! It was trailing us and annihilating the tracks behind us while exploding scores of dirt and branches into the air from the force of the beam.

But it was just trailing us and as long our train kept pace we were alive and firing!

“Ready!”

“Fire!” A third ball of flame arched in the sky to explode at the tip of the top of the ground. Dirt and even a loose tree plummeted from the monster. The beam began to charge again!

“Where is Rawhide?!” Ubuntu exclaimed. His face and hands were now black with lead and gunpowder residue.

“The weather is getting worse-” Peter stopped to cover his ears as more train track was turned to a smoldering crater behind us. “Wet ground is harder to wheel cannons through but the train is about to get out of range. We're running out of time!” He said and fired again and hit a foreleg to little effect other than enraging it. Dammit we were running out of time! If we slowed down we would be vaporized but if we kept pace we would be leaving the ridge- I stopped when I suddenly was struck with an idea! It was insane but we were running out of options fast.

“Stop firing!” I commanded. Peter and Ubuntu looked surprised.

“I think I know how I can take out those legs! Ubuntu come with me I'll need you for when it falls.” I started. The old ape hesitantly walked across the cannon car to mine.

“What about me Cynder?!” Peter asked nervously

“Stay here. I'll get you after the battle.” I said and pulled out the connector to his car. Our cars disconnected and began to separate fast. The young bunny dove in vain to jump to our car but only found himself on his car with their cannons.

“He's done enough. I can't ask anymore of him.” I said somberly.

Ubuntu wiped off some of the lead as we stared back towards Peter who was becoming a distant object in the storm. He was no longer a target for the monster and would be relatively safe. If Rawhide could not make it now we would have to take matters into our own hands and I could not in good conscious take Peter onto this walking fortress.

“He's a good lad. But he would surely perish facing de Seven. Dey can only be truly defeated by you.”

I craned my neck and pick Ubuntu up by his robe with my teeth and put him on my back in his saddle. “Hold on Ubuntu. I've got a plan. We're not going to fight it from the sky.”

I unfurled my wings and shot off the train and nosedived off the ridge. Even now I heard the electronic whirring of the beam charging up but this time I knew how to negate it! I kept low and used my tail to steer. Ubuntu held on and perhaps used magic this time to stay on. It was so reminiscent of the facing the Destroyer I was almost taken into a flashback but I steeled myself to stay in the now. Just as the beam fired I reopened my wings which shot rain droplets everywhere around, it would have been majestic if we were not about to be vaporized. The beam fire in impotence however as I was now out of it's field of range: I was under the monster! The respite from the rain was nice and now I got to see this creature's undercarriage up close. A huge chunk of earth loomed over us like the roof of a cave. Now the mechanical spider legs began to move with more haste now that the beam was neutralized. Guess the master never planned on facing a dragon. Now for the coup de grace! I flapped my long black wings with force I had not used since we fought Malefor. I approached one of the points where the metal leg extended from the displaced earth. It was a mass of metal, gears and pumps whose functions I could only hazard a guess at. I hovered at the base of the 'leg' and took a deep breath. Most dragons could only command one element, purple dragons like Spyro could master them all. Where I was ensorcelled by dark forces I had the unique ability to command four elements: Wind, Siren Screams, Shadow Fire and Poison. I summoned a caustic beam of green energy out of my maw and fire at the joint. I kept up the pressure though I could feel my magic dwindling.

“Use my power Cyndah!” Ubuntu exclaimed and closed his eyes in meditation. Then I felt the surge of his vast magical reserve combine with my own. My acidic breath then became a liquid blade that burned and melted through the metal with a hissing of metal and stench of sulfur.

Slowly but surely the beam of toxic breath had cut through half of the joint. I cursed at myself when the magic left me. I had exhausted my reserves! The leg raised as the monster moved to fire the beam at us again but as soon as it stepped the metal gave way! It had been enough! The joint snapped with a metallic pop and crash of metal and steam. Gears and shards fell to the earth as the monster staggered.

“Fly Cyndah fly like de wind!” Ubuntu cried and snapped me out of my shock. The thing was going to fall on us!

I would have used my wind powers to fly faster but my magic needed time to recover. I dashed through the air with all my might as the. I dove lower than I had before nearly touching the trees of the forest below. One would instinctively fly backwards but the degree which the creature was falling would mean certain death by being crushed. Instead I flew forward towards the opposite path of it's collapse. A collapse I just realized was right in Peter's path!

As soon as the thought bubbled in my mind the beast crashed into the ridge with in a cacophony of blasting sound and the raw unadulterated calamity of one hundred rock slides crumbling down all at once. I watched from the sky in shocked horror as the ridge and the monster were shrouded in a cloud of dust and smoke that towered up into the heavens.

“No!!” I screamed in horror of what I had done. Surely Peter was no more or worst, buried alive under a mountain of rubble.

“Cyndah get a hold of yourself! Peter is strong, stronger dan he knows. He will survive but we have to get into dat factory before the machine can recover. Don't waste this chance Cyndah. Stay focused!” Ubuntu said. He was right though I do not know how Peter could have survive that devastation below but if he did not I had to make his sacrifice worth something.

“... You're right. Let's go.” I replied begrudgingly. Memories of when Ignitus sacrificed himself so we could pass the Ring of Fire came to my mind. I could not allow this thing to continue its rampage.

Only now did I realize that the storm had immediately subsided almost as though it was a work of the Seven now dispelled. The sky was still gray but the worst had passed for now. I flew up and gathered wind beneath my wings. Now rain would have been good to dispel the smoke and dirt wafting its way back to the earth after being shot hundreds of feet into the air. From the air I saw the ridge was devastated and what was not buried under dirt, brick and pulverized concrete was black from being flash fried with small embers peppering the area around the crash site. A pang of guilt welled in my stomach when I saw the locomotive had been tossed off the track and was nearly turned into unrecognizable slag that burned fiercely from what little coal remained.

The factory that once sat atop the walking island was now a crumbling ruin that more resembled a pile of bricks and broken glass. The smoke stack that once towered above it all was now destroyed beyond repair..... at least for now. It seemed so, still now for what was once so animated not an hour ago.

“CYNDER!!! FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED!” A guttural and unmistakeably masculine voice roared inside my head. The voice was like sandpaper and I could sense the pain of whoever was speaking and it was intense like every inch of my body had been set on fire!

I thrashed in the air as I felt my skin sizzle in phantom fires, “Gahh!”

“Cynder it is all in your head! Peace!” Ubuntu called out in desperation as he was tossed around in his saddle. His touch broke the hold that phantasm had on my senses. I exhaled deeply and stared down at the ruined factory.

“Go now Cynder! Let us put this Sin to rest for good! Remember, it is unlike any enemy you have fought before. You cannot best him through martial might alone. You must find out what emotions are keeping him here and come to terms with them and forgive yourself. Only then will he rest!”

With new found resolve I descended down to the derelict factory to face the first of the Seven...