Disclaimer: I own nothing except my characters. Other canon characters are owned by their respective companies.

Exclaimer: To people who don't like the story, just don't read it.

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Legacy of Legends 2

Chapter 49

Dark Legacy

The Dark Dragon smirked.

“Who is Zaze?”

He let the question hung in the air.

“Zaze is the Dark Master, Malefor.”

Everyone blinked. Time seem to stand still for a moment as the bombshell landed on top of everybody. It was outrageous. It was downright stupidity. Yet, he spoke it in the most casual, nonchalant way ever. But the fact remains. How on earth was their electric friend, the Dark Master? The gears inside Spyro’s head turned, snapping him back to reality. He felt somehow, insulted by the revelation of the Dark Dragon. And he came out with the most appropriate response.

“What?”
The Dark Dragon chuckled, clearly understanding their dilemma. “Clearly, your feeble minds have yet to grasp the situation at paw. Do not fret, for I will explain it in simpler terms.”
“You’re crazy, you know that?” Crombe said, shaking his head.
“On the contradictory, I’m not. You all are for not believing me. It is true, that fact is stranger than fiction,” he replied.
“Then how then,” Flare spoke up. “How do you propose that a young dragon such as Zaze, be the Dark Master?”
“When we killed him,” added Cynder.
They all glanced back at the Dark Dragon who had a calm, yet bored look on his face. He turned his head and saw Zaze, looking half dazed on the floor. But he could clearly tell that he was still fully capable of hearing what was going on. And the revelation didn’t fly over him. He was equally shocked.
“Well, listen carefully then, because I’m going to only do this once. Be glad, I’m feeling nice. And besides, I believe the dragons that are going to die anyway deserve to be treated well before they leave the face of the realm.”
Sparx gulped. He was hoping that he had forgotten about killing them. “Do not be nervous, Sparx,” a voice said. It was Hunter. “We’ll get through this.”
“I hope,” he replied.
“A little story time to clear things up. There was once a time where there was this young dragon. He was special. How special?”  The Dark Dragon stopped for moment, glancing at everyone. Then, in a blink of an eye, he disappeared.
“Where’d he go?” Sparx asked.
“Boo.”
“AH!”

Sparx jumped and hid behind Spyro’s horns. The Dark Dragon had appeared right next to the dragon, with a cunning smile on his face. He chuckled at the dragonfly’s reaction, before continuing his story. Everyone just followed him with their eyes, as he walked close to Spyro.

“He was special, like you, Spyro.”
“Like me? How?”
“He had purple scales.” Brows rose at the mention of the fact. “He was a purple dragon. He was loyal, he was friendly, and he was powerful— at best—and an all-around nice dragon to be with. He even had a good sense of justice and responsibility.”
“You just basically described, Spyro,” said Sparx.
“Now you see my point. However,” The Dark Dragon said, circling Spyro. “There was something you two differed at.” In another blink of an eye, the Dark Dragon disappeared. This time, he appeared beside Cynder, making the dragoness jump.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” he said, smiling at Cynder’s reaction. “Not yet anyway.” Cynder just snorted at him, rolling her eyes. She so wanted to punch the dragon. But given the recent beating Zaze was given, that wasn’t the best course of action.
“His situation was like yours, Cynder. He was shunned. Dragons didn’t like him to say the least. They actually feared him. From this, they respected the dragon, thus going out of their way to not be in his way. So you could probably tell that he wasn’t sociable.”

Cynder looked at The Dark Dragon before he disappeared again. He appeared next to Crombe, who by now was used to the dragon appearing and disappearing into thin air.

“This dragon had one friend.” He gave Crombe eye contact, and the earth dragon stared back at him with wary eyes. “One dragon he had managed to win over and they became close. Like brothers. They trusted each other with everything, and even had each other’s back.” The Dark Dragon smirked before breaking eye contact. He then walked over to Latis, who shied away from his presence. Crombe prepared himself, just in case the dragon had some unnecessary moves.
“Then one day,” he continued, “our hero in this story,” he smiled at Latis, earning him a questioned look, “falls in love. He admired her from afar, watching over her, but never having the courage to tell her anything; pitiful.”
Somehow, Latis felt a tinge of guilt. She was kind of somewhat in the same situation. “What are you—“

But the Dark Dragon didn’t let her finish. He moved on, this time walking up to Volteer. The Electric Guardian glanced down at the Dark Dragon, eyeing his movements. He was looking for anything; any weakness that they could use to bring this dragon down. But he was coming up short.

“Naturally, our hero confided in his trusted friend, saying he was finally going to do it. He was finally going to tell the dragoness he loved about his feelings and at the most appropriate time too. Courtship Week was in a matter of few days.” The Dark Dragon smirked. “Sound familiar?”
Crombe’s brow rose. “Yeah; what are you driving at?” Noticing everyone’s somewhat confused look, he decided to fill them in. “He just basically told us Zaze’s backstory. Again, except revised.”
The Dark Dragon gave him a thumbs up. “Always on the mark, Crombe, I like that.” He just snorted at him, ignoring the compliment. “But I wasn’t referring to him,” he nodded off to Zaze.
“Who then?”
“I…”

Everyone looked to the source of the voice.

“I think…I think I know who it is.”

It was none other than the Electric Guardian, Volteer.

0 = 0 = 0

"So…”
“What?”
“Have you confessed your love to your special dragoness yet?"
The dragon shook his head. "No, not yet. But I was planning to tell her today. It is appropriate since it is Courtship Week.”
Volteer smiled. “Well, you better hurry. Someone else might confess their love to her and you won’t get that chance anymore.”
“I know. How about you?”
“Huh?”
“You got someone special?”

0 = 0 = 0

“See! Finally!” The Dark Dragon smiled. “Someone who finally understands what I am talking about.”
Flare glanced at Volteer, who seemed to have a dazed look in his eyes. “What is he talking about?”
The dragon blinked, snapping back into reality. “I-it can’t be!”
“But it is!” The Dark Dragon replied. “It’s been a long time, Volteer. I do hope you still remember your dear old best friend’s name.”
“What is going on?” Hunter asked, genuinely confused.
“Who is it?” Sparx asked, ignoring the cheetah.
“It…it was…you’re talking about…Maffrin.”
Crombe’s brow rose. “Maffrin? What kind of a name is that? Sounds like muffin.”
“That name…it sounds familiar,” said Flare. It felt like it was at the tip of her tongue.
Latis blinked. The memory came back to her. “I know who that is.”

0 = 0 = 0

"Well...the other dragon was a good friend of mine. He's not around anymore though...his name’s Maffrin."

Zaze suddenly felt...strange when he heard the name Maffrin. He didn't know what he was feeling, or why he felt that way. But the name Maffrin struck a cord with him. Then a thought came to mind, "Did Maffrin by any chance have a...a son?" Zaze asked awkwardly. Zaze wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the answer, "Also, what happened to him?"
"He died?" asked Flame.
"...yes," said Volteer.
"Oh...Maffrin's dead?" Zaze said almost dejectedly. He didn’t understand why, but he was feeling rather sad. He felt like the name Maffrin was familiar. Then again it could’ve been just something else.
"How did he die?" Zaze asked.
"Maffrin was a special dragon," Volteer said, "Like a purple dragon; he could use more than one element...although not that well. He attempted to fight Malefor...and lost. Malefor killed Maffrin."
"Did Maffrin have any family?" Zaze asked.
"No, he didn't have any family, sadly," said Volteer.
"Zaze, are you okay?" Latis asked, noticing that Zaze seemed upset.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Zaze sighed, "It's just that something about the name Maffrin felt familiar to me.”
“You think he was related to you?”
Zaze shook his head. “I can’t say. But I do know is that this technique I could do is natural to me.”
"Now's not the right time to be feeling sentimental," said Volteer, relishing in his memories. "Especially with that dark dragon running around."
“Good point, Volteer,” said Flame.
“Were you two close?” asked Ember.
“We were,” he replied. “The best of friends actually.”
“Wait a minute, then how come he’s dead and you’re not? He fought Malefor right? Surely you were fighting right alongside him.” Sparx added.
Volteer sighed. “It’s…complicated, let’s just leave it at that.”

0 = 0 = 0

Zaze, who had been silently listening as he lay on the floor, glanced over at the Dark Dragon. “What are you trying to say?” he managed to say. Speaking was still hard, due to the extent of his injuries.
“Quiet you. You’re ruining my screen time,” said the Dark Dragon. Zaze just rolled his eyes.
The Dark Dragon appeared beside Flare. “It should be familiar, Flare. Volteer, care to explain?”
Volteer looked down at the ground, his memories flashing right before his eyes.
“Maffrin…was my best friend, the purple dragon. You probably don’t remember all too well…because of what happened. Plus, he wasn’t all that sociable. If anything, he was a master at avoiding dragons.”
It took a moment for Flare to remember, but inevitably, it clicked. “Oh I remember now! He was the purple dragon that…” she trailed. Her expression turned grim.
“What? What is it?” Sparx asked. “Tell us!”
“He was the one that became…Malefor,” she answered.

Everyone looked at Flare.

“What?” Cynder asked. “Malefor?”
Flare nodded. “He did. It happened….after the Acquaintance Gala.”
“Perfect!” the Dark Dragon interrupted. “Now I can continue my story!”
The dragon cleared his throat. “So, after telling his best friend that he was finally going to confess his feelings, night time came and it was show time. After searching for a few minutes, he found her. Mustering his courage, he began to walk but stopped midway.”
“Why? What happened?” Hunter asked. Noticing the surprised stares at him, he then said, “What? I like the story.”
“Because, my feline listener is that, HE,” He pointed a claw at Volteer, “came along.”
The Electric Guardian was genuinely surprised. “What!?”
“I honestly don’t know what happened, because I’m just saying to you guys what he, Maffrin, told me. He saw you hugging Flare over there, and walked off. The last thing he expected from the dragon he trusted the most. So he left, forever traumatized by the first ever party he ever took part in. He was angry, depressed, heart-broken, and most importantly, felt betrayed by his best friend. No one noticed him missing, even you,” he once again pointed at Volteer, “his one and only sole friend.”
“So I’m guessing you gave him the same choice you gave me?” Crombe asked.
“You’re quick. I like that,” the Dark Dragon said. Crombe just snorted at his compliment. “He was asking for it. It was because of his emotions at the time, or he made the decision all by himself; either way, it doesn’t matter.” The Dark Dragon smiled maliciously. “He made a choice. And from that day forth, the dragon known as Maffrin, called himself Malefor.”
“I don’t want to be that guy but, how does this connect to Zaze being Malefor again?” Sparx asked, confused.
The Dark Dragon frowned. “I wasn’t done yet, lamplight,” he growled.
Sparx hid behind Spyro’s horns once again. “Oh, sorry.”
“Well now that the past has been explained, let us skip to the present. You two should know about this,” he pointed at Spyro and Cynder. “We fought.”
“And you lost,” Spyro answered smugly.
The Dark Dragon huffed. “Not going to happen again.”
“What makes you say that?” Cynder asked, feeling confident.
“Because this time, I won’t be underestimating you two; anyways, back to the question. Everything connects to Zaze, lamplight, because—“
“I have a name you know.”
“BECAUSE,” The Dark Dragon continued, ignoring the interruption, “courtesy of Spyro and Cynder, I got blasted with Convexity, and I lost hold on Maffrin as I got dragged down by the Ancestors. I was lucky enough to get a hold of myself, and I latched onto the nearest purple dragon, and that was you, Spyro.”
“What happened to Maffrin?” Crombe asked.
“He,” he pointed to Zaze. “happened.”
“What?” Zaze managed to ask as he laid down the floor. His body was still aching all over.
“I don’t know what Maffrin did; if he made a deal with the Ancestors to live again, I honestly don’t care. What matters is that, we’re here together.”

And with that, The Dark Dragon began to walk back to Zaze. The electric dragon’s gut told him to escape. He felt that something bad was going to happen.

“Because together…we’re unstoppable.”
“Don’t touch me!” Zaze said, trying to crawl away.
“Too late.”

The Dark Dragon grabbed hold of him. In that moment, a sharp tingling pain came from his head, and a flash of bright light blinded everyone in the cavern. Zaze felt his body be ripped to shreds as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Painful, burning sensations washed over him as he slowly lost control of his body. It was like his mind was disconnecting itself from reality. Before long, he blacked out.

“ZAZE!” Latis yelled out.

Everyone’s recovered a few moments later from the sudden flash of light. Spyro blinked for a few moments, his eyes adjusting back to the dimly lit cavern. But as it did, he saw a figure standing where Zaze and the Dark Dragon stood earlier. Seeing it made him gasp. Things just took a turn for the worse. There, with a malicious grin plastered across his face, was the Dark Master himself, Malefor. Fear and terror struck the others as they stood before the villain that threatened to destroy the entire world before. Hunter himself took a step back, unsure of what to do. Volteer and Flare readied themselves, prepared to fight the resurrected villain. Latis was left speechless. Her cousin however, Crombe, stood shocked. His whole world was shook to its very core. He finally saw the face of the dragon that inevitably caused the death of his parents. But something…something felt off. Sparx scratched his chin as a thought crossed his mind.

The purple dragon proceeded to acknowledge them. “It’s been a long time, Volteer, Spyro, Cynder. I do hope you three missed me.”
“Okay,” Sparx said, cutting the tense moment, “this is the first time I’ve seen you, but I honestly expected you to be…” the dragonfly waved his hands at the air, emphasizing his point, “bigger.”
“What are you babbling—“

Malefor look down on himself, and realized the truth in the dragonfly’s statement.

“It seems my power isn’t at its prime yet.”
“Why do you look like the same age as…as I am!?” Spyro blurted out.

Truth be told, the Dark Master stood before them; except he was younger. His body size was roughly the same as Spyro.

“Trust me, Spyro, I may look like this. But I am far more powerful than you are right now.”
“Maff…”

Everyone’s attention was diverted as the Electric Guardian spoke up. His voice quivered as he spoke the name of his long lost friend.

“Maffrin…is that really you?”
The purple dragon smirked. “I have not been called that name for a long time now. I’m sorry, Volteer. That dragon is dead. I am Malefor.”
“What did you do with Zaze!?” Latis shouted out.
“Zaze?” Malefor asked. “Fool. I AM that dragon.”
“Wait a minute, if I understood things correctly, then that means Maffrin really was Zaze. Maffrin only turned into Malefor because of the Dark Dragon, right?” Sparx asked, looking at everyone.
“Pretty much,” Hunter replied.
“And that’s why Phase came to us…” Crombe added. “Because he needed Zaze back again to bring back…”
“Yes; bring back me,” Malefor finished. “I took control over that pitiful excuse for a purple dragon. He didn’t realize his full potential. What he could do with all the power at his command. Sadly, my efforts were put to a stop because of you two,he eyed Spyro and Cynder, “this time, things will be different.”

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Author's Notes:

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