Vortex : The Dragon Lands

Chapter 16: Secrets city

Zophia's friends decided to invite the neighborhood workout fanatics who helped Jake fix his muscles over to dinner in return for keeping an eye on their friend all week. Everyone was having a good time and enjoyed what Zophia's friends had cooked, deer meat and potato broth with some added salt packets Violet had to sweeten the meal. Tobious put his phone to play melodic blues, "Your Heart Is as Black as Night" by Melody Gardot played in the background.

Suddenly Zophia burst through the door. " They took Cypress!" Violet quickly put her bowl down and grabbed her by the arms, "What's the matter, who took him? What's going on?" Zofia was delirious barely woken up from being unconscious, "They kidnapped him a few hours ago! I don't know why but..."

Before Zophia finished Spyro, Cynder and Hunter kicked in the door holding Cypresse's bloody corpse on his back. Sparx followed in completely misreading the situation, "Well great, now it's officially another party". Zophia screamed as she saw blood dripping down Cypress's arm. Without hesitation Violet kicked the dinner table over grabbed a Spaz -12 shotgun hidden under the table and shot the roof ready to blow Spyro away.

"Woah Violet What the Fu...!?", Tobi said before she interrupted,

Violet cocked her shotgun, "What in god's name did you do to him!? Put him down or I'll shoot!"

Spyro turned towards her blocking Cypress from the barrel of the gun "Violet wait, I'm just trying to help. I promise I'm not here to hurt anyone." All the anthro's put their heads down. Tobious had the confidence to stand in front of the shotgun trying to save the day, "WOAH WOAH WOAH, Let's just everybody calm the F*** down here what's going on?"

"Tobious get out of the way, can't you see what he did!" Violet said.

Cynder protected her partner, "Violet he's telling the truth, he would never hurt any of your friends, not after what happened".

Zophia and Jona ran to Cypress and carefully slid him off Spyro's back, "Cypress! Thank the ancestors you're here". She closely examined him realizing he was badly beaten, "What have they done to you?" Blood cascaded down Cypresse's arms. Violet fired another warning shot through the window shattering it into pieces, "Do you take pleasure in hurting my friends? What the hell is wrong with you dragons?!"

Hunter tried to explain the misunderstanding, "Listen, we found Cypress attacked from one of the commanders in the kings castle, we saved him before things escalated".

Violet pointed the gun towards Hunter, "Before they escalated!? Look at him! he's covered in bruises and his own blood! Oh and I'm just supposed to believe that, after you gave us empty promises about no harm coming to my people!"

Cypress began to regain consciousness, "Violet stop! They're telling the truth they saved me". Zophia remembered what happened in flashes, "It was Jubez, Jubez and his men they were the ones who took him."

"Yea Flame was there too, he saw everything." Cypress said.

Violet lowered her shotgun, Jake began to come off his bed, "wait, why would Flame and Jubez want to kidnap you?... Dammit Cypress! we told you to tell us if you were in danger!" Cypress began looking around the other anthros in the room, "I... I can't say."

"Cypress I don't know what you and Kara did to get yourselves tortured, but if you're hiding secrets Jubez almost killed you for them. I need to know Why!" Hunter said.

Spyro needed answers of his own, "Flame is my best friend, why would he help Jubez do this to you?"

Cypress chuckled, "Why don't you ask him yourself Spyro, he's right behind you."