darkSpyro

The cook halted and turned. "Where at...?" he asked nervously.

Nyght sighed relief as the cook slowly approached Ivy. He quickly swiped two plates of loin and carefully skulked back to the door, balancing the meat on his back.

"Right here, just between my wings." Ivy said, attempting to point, but making it look like she couldn't reach. "I tried to use my tail, but it's a bit hurt from a little scrap I got in yesterday.."

The cook scratched the indicated spot. "Here?"

Nyght stealthily made it out the door. He turned his head and whistled quietly, signaling Ivy.

"Ah yes, that's perfect! Thank you so much~" she said, smiling at the cook. "Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I must go find my sidekick!" Ivy headed out the door, giving a little wave to the cook before leaving.

"Sidekick?" Nyght teased, balancing his plate of meat on top of his head. He scooted Ivy's to her feet. "Its loin. Nice and tender."

"You know, I was talking about you!" Ivy grinned. She bowed her head took a small bite. "Mmm, tastes pretty fresh too!"

Nyght chuckled before taking a bite himself. "I agree. I think these guys get better every day."

"It's a bit straaaange if you ask me." Ivy snickered. "They get better at preparing the food, but not at protecting it!"

"Maybe we're just too good." Nyght sniggered. "They can't hope to ever beat us."

"Never ever! We're two steps ahead, if not a whole staircase ahead!" Ivy boasted.

Nyght took another bite. He beamed at Ivy, his cheeks as swollen as his ego.

Ivy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Goodness, it's a good thing you're cute."

Dae strolled casually up to the pair. "Have either of you seen Luna? She's been gone for hours."

Nyght swallowed his mouthful of meat, confused. "Master said she was with-" A faint beeping interrupted his sentence. "You..."

The beeping came from a dark-colored block in the corner nearest Ivy. A red timer on the side was counting down from fifteen seconds.

Ivy's eyes widened in realization. "GO!" she yelled, pushing the brothers away from the timer.

00:03 BEEP
"Ivy what are you doing?!" Nyght yelled
00:02 BEEP
Dae pulled him away.
00:01 BEEP
"IVY!!!"
00:00 BEEP

Ivy stared at the brothers for a split second, pupils constricting. "Ny-"

BOOM!

The blast was huge, flames exploding in every direction, taking out the entire wall and some of the neighboring wall in an instant. Smoke roiled out from where the bomb had been, thick and black.

If you listened very closely, you could hear the sound of faint, weak coughing under the roar of the fire.

This is getting intense!

Nyght lunged to the rubble, ripping the twisted metal and chunks of concrete off of his lover. He could feel the sharp steel slicing into his paws, but it didn't matter to him, just as long as Ivy was alive.

He stared at his lover's battered body in disbelief. "Ivy...?" he coughed from the smoke. "Ivy, are you alive?!"

A bit of the rubble had fallen over her, leaving only the front half of Ivy visible. She opened her mouth to reply, but coughed weakly instead. She gave a slow nod, then looked up at him helplessly.

Ivy tried not to cringe from the pain, she didn't want to scare Nyght anymore than he already looked.

-

Meanwhile, Decibels high-perceptive hearing had caught the blast. "Master! There's something wrong!" he cried. He listened again, his eyes growing wide in fright. "Ivy and Nyght are in trouble!"

He took off down the hall, desperate to reach the blast.

Nyght hauled the debris off Ivy with great effort. He grunted as he pulled her onto his back and began carrying her to the infirmary. A few more explosions shook the facility before the sirens blared. The loud noise and flashing lights made Nyght cringe, but he continued on.

Ivy coughed a bit more, shuddering when she was lifted onto Nyghts back. "Th-thank you..." she managed to choke out, then she went unconscious.

Decibel saw Nyght approaching, then gasped when he saw Ivy. He ran over and stared up at Nyght. "What happened? What's happening?!"

Nyght struggled with Ivy's limp body for a moment, but he shifted her weight on his back and kept going. "We're under assault. Ivy's hurt, she needs a doctor."

"I'll go get one!" Decibel said, running off to the infirmary. He ran the door down, breaking it right off the hinges. "I need a doctor!" he yelled.

A medic in the room immediately sprung to the young dragon's aid. "What's wrong 13!?" he asked in panic.

Nyght slowly continued on, unable to speed up for the sake of his lover's condition.

"Ivy and Nyght! They're gravely injured from an explosion!" Decibel exclaimed. "Dae may also be in danger as well, I'm not sure!"

"Take me to them! And hurry!" the medic urged.

Nyght looked down at his right foreleg in shock. It was stripped to the bone from the explosion, ragged pieces of flesh barely clinging to him. It was numb, dead. Nyght refocused on his task at hand. Ivy was far more important than a petty limb.

"Follow me!" Decibel cried, rushing out the door, leading the medic to Nyght and Ivy.

The medic followed suit, still shaken by the entire ordeal.

Nyght could see Decibel's red scales not too far away. He stumbled faster, desperatly trying to get Ivy help.

"Stay put Nyght, you're hurt!" Decibel yelled as he dashed toward them.

The medic ran to Nyght's side and immediately. He took some of Ivy's weight and the two quickly made it back to the infirmary.

Nyght's injuries sound painful....

I hope Ivy's ok.

Decibel sat back nervously, wishing he knew what to do. He decided to hunt down Dae, or maybe Master. Surely someone had to know what was going on?

Malefor entered the infirmary, nonchalant. Noticing Ivy's unconscious state, he turned to Nyght.
"Mission override, Nyghtmare. Luna is the culprit behind this sabotage. She hacked our database and is escaping. Intercept and eliminate."

Nyght looked down at his foreleg. New scales were already reforming on his regenerated tissue.
"Yes, Master. I accept." He turned to Decibel. "Stay here with Ivy and Master." he ordered. "Defend her. I won't be long."

Decibel nodded slowly. "But what of Dae? Is he still out in the smoke and fire?"

"I don't know, but I think he'll be alright." Nyght answered. He kissed Ivy's forehead gently before rocketing out the door. Luna's fate was now sealed.

Decibel watched Nyght leave. He turned to the medic with worry in his eyes. "Will Ivy b-be okay?"

"She'll live." the medic said as he put a syringe into Ivy's foreleg. "She's in good enough condition to use healing magic, but it may take a few hours. None of us are masters of the art. Would you like to help dress her wounds?"

Nyght coughed in the smoke as he stopped where one of the bombs went off. Holes were blown into the walls like a tunnel. He spread his wings and took off through the makeshift passage, knowing his prey was somewhere along it..

"Erm, okay. I've never done it before, can you guide me along?"

The medic handed him a wet cloth. "Lets try cleaning off this soot and dirt."

Nyght spotted blue-green scales not too far up ahead.

Decibel nodded and took the cloth, gently wiping away the grime left on Ivy's scales. He was extra careful around her back and tail joint.

A bolt of electricity struck Nyght, throwing him into the rubble of a destroyed wall. Luna circled back and landed triumphantly. "Follow me, will you?"

Decibel moved up, scrubbing some ash from Ivy's horns, making them white once again. At that moment, her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Wha-what happened?" she asked, her voice dry.

Nyght threw a chunk of steel from the rubble, clipping Luna's cheek. He pulled himself from the wreck, pissed beyond all recognition.

"Ivy! You're okay!" Decibel cried, hugging her muzzle.

"Dec, I- OW!"

"Oh sorry!" he backed off.

"It's okay, just tell me what happened?"

"Well I don't really know. I was walking around with Master, when I heard a big explosion! I ran as fast as I could, and I found Nyght carrying you through the smoke and..."

"My Nyght..." Ivy interrupted, eyes sad. "Where is he now?"

"He went to stop Luna, remember that dragon from yesterday? She was behind all of this."

"What? She betrayed Master, and Nyghts after her?!" She tried to stand but snarled in pain.

"Ivy, no! You mustn't move, I think your back was broken!"

"But she's betrayed Master, it's my job to deal with her!"

Luna backed away slowly, aggrivatated. "You're just being controlled. This proves it." she produced a file. It had Nyght's name and photo on it.

"This is my fault! It's my fault that my Nyghtmare is in danger." Ivy said, tearing up.

"Ivy, he carried you halfway across the facility with several wounds. He should be able to handle Luna." Decibel said.

Nyght slapped the file away. "I don't care what your precious intel has to say." He stalked menacingly toward her. "Ivy may never walk again." his voice became cold and sharp.

"I'm terribly sorry, but sacrifices must be made for the greater good." She said snobbily as she turned to walk away.

Nyght grabbed her tail and dragged her back. "The greater good?" he asked coldly. "I'm gonna ****ing kill you. There is no greater good, just the ones we need and those we don't..."

"But Dec..." Ivy said, her eyes darkening.

You must destroy Luna. It is your protocol, your purpose. What kind of servant would you be if you disobeyed your only directive? her dark conscience hissed.

"Ivy, are..are you alright?" Decibel asked nervously.

Luna's eyes widened in fear as a furious Nyght grasped her horns. With a stomach-churning crack, he twisted her head completely around with little effort. His bloodlust wasn't satisfied yet. He wrenched her head back and forth, the crunching and cracking of the shattered vertebrae making nearby researchers ill, until he ripped it from her body. Dark crimson pooled from the lifeless blue-green body. Nyght tossed the head aside, picked up his file, and began making his way back past the vomiting dragons.

-

"No...I'm not." Ivy said, cringing. "I just felt someones life fade away here in the facility..."

Her eyes turned black. "If she killed my Nyghtmare, I will doom her to eternal damnation." she hissed, her voice taking on a demonic tone.

"Ivy, STOP!" Decibel yelled.

He clamped his paws to her temples, his claws glowing red. He pumped as much Fear magic into her mind as he possibly could, generating more from his own fear that was thrilling through his body.