Hello everyone, sorry this chapter took so long to get out. In truth I was feeling a bit of burnout with finishing these chapters almost every week, so I just needed a break. After this i'm going to try and get back to weekly posts, but I can't promise anything. Thank you all for being patient, and waiting for this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! Hopefully the new year will be better.

Cynder looked up at her mother, feeling like she should panic. One moment she was yelling at her in the temple, then her world went black, and then she found herself in the middle of the forest. "What's going on?"

Mildred did her best to stay calm herself, though in truth she was freaking out even worse than the black dragoness in front of her.

Last night, the fire dragoness was enraged that her daughter would try and ruin everything she had done to protect her by coming to the temple. If she had just listened, and stayed away from the Sanctum, then nothing would have happened! They started to fight, when Cynder started to look dizzy. Mildred was about to ask if she was ok, when a black smokey substance started to crawl over her scales.

It wasn't until Mildred saw that Cynder's eyes started to glow a bright white, did she realize what was happening. It was the same thing that happened to her mate before Malefor started to chase that mysterious dragon around. Cynder then growled at her mother, before she tried to run away. Mildred was thankful she was able to act quick enough to pin her daughter to the ground. It still hurt her to know that she was doing this to her own daughter, but she wasn't sure what else to do.

Cynder squirmed, trying to get out from under the larger dragoness, but Mildred put more weight down, trying to keep the black dragoness still.

"Is everything alright?

Mildred jumped, scared by the sudden voice of a guard who had rounded a corner. Cynder took this chance to get loose, and tried to make a break towards the end of the hallway. The guard just seemed confused, and made no attempt to stop Cynder. Panicking, Mildred ran after Cynder as fast as she could.

"Cynder, stop!" She cried out hoping that it would at least slow her daughter down for a moment. Cynder chose to ignore her mother's plea, and was just about to round the corner, when she felt her body lurch forwards, and she collapsed to the ground.

Cynder looked behind her, and saw that Mildred was standing on her tail, keeping her to the ground. She glanced up to stare at her mother with her glowing white eyes, and growled again, wordlessly demanded to be let go.

However Mildred only started to cry, as she could think of only one way to stop her daughter. In a swift motion, Mildred used her free paw to roll Cynder onto her side before stomping down onto her stomach as hard as she could, doing her best to avoid digging her claws into the young dragoness scales. The black dragoness began to gasp for breath, clutching her sides, before passing out.

"Hey!"

The guard shouted at Mildred looking at her dumbfounded, and was about to raise his spear to the fire dragoness. Before he could, the black dragoness scooped up Cynder and barreled past the guard, running off out of the temple as fast as she could. She heard the clattering of the guard behind her, but she didn't bother looking back to see if she was losing him or not.

All she did was run.

She ran past the temple, taking flight at the entrance. She thought of running home, but wasn't sure if she would be safe there. What if the guard was still chasing them? So she could only think of one place where she figured she and Cynder could be safe for the time being.

Flying past the great walls around their city, Mildred flew a still unconscious Cynder into the nearby forest. Landing in a somewhat open area, Mildred did her best to make camp as quick as possible, making a small fire for her daughter. Once that was all finished, Mildred finally felt like she could relax a little. The forest wasn't exactly the safest place, but she trusted in her own skills as a huntress to keep them safe.

Looking over to the young dragoness beside her. Thankfully Cynder's scales had returned back to normal at some point in their travel over here. Mildred's eyes stayed glued to her daughter's unconscious body and her heart sank. As though just realizing what she had done, Mildred started to cry.

She just hurt her daughter! What kind of a mother was she? Trying to think of an excuse, Mildred knew there was nothing she could say that would take this sense of betrayal away. What would Cynder think of her once she woke up? Would she remember what her mom did? Would she hate her?

Something broke a twig nearby, and Mildred stood up in alarm. She had forgotten for a moment, that she was not completely safe here. There were tons of predators who would love to munch on the wounded animal beside Mildred. The fire dragoness growled, and pulled Cynder closer to her. She ended up spending the rest of the night keeping a careful eye out for any kind of wild animal.

"Are you alright mom?" Cynder's words broke Mildred out of her thoughts, and she glanced down to her daughter, who was looking back up at her scared. She realized that she must have been staring blankly at nothing for a long amount of time. No wonder her daughter was worried.

Realizing that her daughter was still waiting for an answer, Mildred shook her head clear, and tried to focus on the important things. Like lying to Cynder even more.

"Sorry honey, I didn't mean to make you worry. I know a lot has happened, but trust me, you are safe now."

Cynder wasn't sure if she believed this. The wilderness was always kind of dangerous, so why leave Warfang and come here of all places? What happened to her at the temple, and where did she go? What was that black void, and who was that misty dragon she saw?

Mildred saw that her daughter still looked troubled, and did her best to fix this. "One of the guards attacked you last night. I don't know what was wrong with him, but he thought you were trying to do something I guess. I'm not really sure."

Cynder just looked at her mom confused. She recalled blacking out first and waking up in utter blackness. Then after seeing that smokey dragon she felt pain in her side. After that she woke up here. Was she remembering it wrong, or was there something she forgot?

Cynder opened her mouth to ask more questions, but words couldn't escape her maw. She felt like something was wrong here. She didn't recall hearing any other guard last night after her mom showed up. She just remembered yelling at her mother, and then not much else. Was she really attacked? Why? Did he know their secret? Cynder could still feel as though something was pulling at her chest. She assumed it was the same that was guiding her through the temple. Was it just leading her to a trap, or was there still something or someone they're calling out to her?

Mildred was thankful that Cynder wasn't trying to pry too many questions about the subject. Still she didn't like seeing her daughter so troubled, and tried to comfort her as best as she could. Putting a wing over the black dragoness, Mildred pulled her close till Cynder was leaning against her side.

"I fought him off, and carried you home, but he started to chase us. So I ran into the woods and lost him somewhere along the way. I haven't seen him all night, so i'm pretty sure he left us alone."

That still did not sound right to Cynder, but she wasn't sure if her mom was lying or not. Why would she? Sure they had an argument, but that was no reason to lie about being attacked.

"Nothing else happened right?" Cynder had to ask, despite how futile she knew it was to ask. If her mom was lying, why would she tell the truth now?

Mildred nuzzled Cynder, showing her all the affection a mother could give. "I promise you, there was nothing else. You are still in shock, i'm sure. Just rest a bit."

The fire dragoness licked the top of Cynder's head, and a smile broke out along the black dragoness' muzzle. Despite how unsure Cynder felt about her mothers words, she at least felt safe in her mom's warmth and comfort.

Though hurting herself with these lies, Mildred put on a bright smile, hoping to mask her own doubts and worries. "Everything is going to be alright."

As morning began to rise at the temple, two elder dragons, one yellow, the other green, were making their way through the temple at a decent pace. They had gotten a little bit of sleep after last night's debacle with the purple dragon, and though they could feel the hands of sleep, pulling at their bodies, they knew they had a lot to get done.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Terrador was still in a bit of shock by the proposal that Volteer made.

Looking over to his green friend, the yellow Guardian gave a simple nod. "I think it is. It's like Ignitus said last night. If Spyro wanted to escape, then he would have tried by now. Whatever is going on with him, I do not believe that it is as dangerous as what happened to Malefor.

Though Terrador could not argue with that, he still had a bad feeling about this idea.

Reaching the prison, the Guardians had to pass Greven's cell along the way. Volteer watched the imprisoned green dragon as he walked by. He was curious if the dragon would say something as they walked by, but Greven didn't say anything. He just stared back at the yellow Guardian with an enraged look on his face, and yet Volteer could sense a hint of worry in his eyes. Who this concern was for, The electric Guardians assumed it was for Spyro, but he couldn't be sure. He still wasn't sure how much he trusted Greven based on what Ignitus and Cyril told of him.

Maybe he was just being paranoid about it all, but Volteer felt like he had reason to doubt Greven's story about coming across Spyro's egg. Though he had no proof of any wrongdoing, he had a gut feeling that at least some part of his story was wrong. Volteer would have loved to do some research, maybe interview some of the survivors of that horrible fire, if it wasn't for the fact that Spyro held top priority right now.

"Volteer!" Terrador's shout startled the yellow dragon, pulling him away from his thoughts. Looking around, Volteer noticed that they had reached the purple dragon's cell. He felt a little embarrassed as he realized that he was too focused on his thoughts to realize that he had started walking past Spyro's cell.

"Oh, sorry." Volteer had a sheepish look as he returned to Terrador's side. Looking down at the young dragon, he saw that Spyro looked rather tired. He was going to ask if he felt alright, when he recalled the theory Spyro had told Ignitus last night. That whomever was manipulating him, could only do so while he was asleep or weak. Volteer smiled a little. Assuming this thought was correct, he commended the young dragon for at least trying to keep others safe. Though maybe there wasn't a need to worry?

Volteer shook his head, knowing that he was about to have an internal debate with himself if he didnt do so.

"Good morning young dragon." Spryo was staring back up at the two elders, looking worried as to what they had planned for him.

Noticing this behavior of his, Terrador did his best to help out. "Relax Spyro. Volteer only wants to talk to you."

Spyro wasn't sure if he believed this. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, more that he was nervous about why they would be here to begin with. He turned his gaze to the yellow dragon. "Ok… how can I help?"

"Well, after what happened last night, I believe that whoever is controlling you does not want to harm us. For what reason that is, I can not begin to fathom, which is why we are here today. With your permission, I'd like for you to fall asleep and let them manipulate you."

Spyro was taken back by this. They wanted to talk to it? Granted he wasn't sure what he said or did while he was being controlled, but he always assumed it was just bad.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to hurt anyone." Both Guardians smiled at this, giving them more of a reason to believe that either Spyro wasn't a threat to them, or that he was an amazing liar.

"That is why I'm here" Terrador took a small step forward so that he was closer to the bars. "Trust me Spyro if you do try anything, I will stop you."

Not knowing if that was a threat or a fact, Spyro looked back to Volteer, who just seemed gity about this idea of his. He wanted to argue about how this was a bad idea, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what else to do. If he disagreed with them, all they had to do was wait for him to pass out again. And this is only assuming that his theory about this other being is correct.

"I… guess we can give it a try. Just, please don't let me hurt anyone."

Somehow it was possible for Volteer to seem more excited as he heard this. They had the guard unlock Spyro's cell, and both Guardians walked inside the now cramped prison. Looking up at them this close, Spyro couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.

"So… you just need me to fall asleep then?" Saying that out loud, Spyro couldn't help but feel even more nervous about the idea of these two elders looming over him as he slept. Getting a small sense as to what Spyro might be feeling, Volteer looked over to his green partner.

"Terrador could you actually wait on the other side. It's a little cumbersome with you in here."

Though Terrador would feel better if he was in the room with them, he had to agree, it was very cramped with all of them in there. He got up and sat down near the entrance. With him out of the room, Spyro did feel a little better, but the fact that they would be watching him closely still made him uneasy. This was probably the best he was going to get though.

With that out of the way, Volteer addressed Spyro's last question. "Actually before you do, there are some things I'd like to know for the sake of your own safety. For starters I'd like to know if you are aware of what is going on while this thing controls you."

Spyro shook his head. "I have no clue. As far as I'm aware, when this… creature uses me, I awake in a black void. Last time I was there, I saw someone." Spyro paused to think back to last night, to that misty dragon. If it did show up, maybe he should ask it his own questions.

Volteer looked like he could hardly sit still at this news, and even Terrador took a slight interest in this. "Do you think this person is the owner of that heartbeat you are hearing?"

Spyro retreated back a little as Volunteer had started to creep closer and closer to the younger dragon, wanting an answer desrpitly. He assumed the only way to get the yellow Guardian to stop was to answer his question.

"I… I don't know. Maybe? This whole thing is new for me, and I don't know what's going on either."

This answer seemed to sour Volteer's mood. Maybe he was hoping for something more, or perhaps an answer to some other questions he had in his head. Spyro was not sure.

Realizing that he probably wasn't going to get a better answer than this, Volteer leaned back again. "Alright, well that helps at least a little." He didn't bother trying to hide his disappointed look on his face.

"How do you know about the heartbeat I hear?" Spyro asked after taking a moment to realize what Volteer asked him.

Volteer was quick to answer this. "Your predecessor Malefor also heard a heart beating in his head. We never figured out who it belonged to before he went insane. I was rather hoping that maybe you somehow learned more about it while on your travels."

Spyro shook his head. "I've tried asking around when I was younger, but most people just called me crazy for hearing voices and dismissed my questions. So I stopped asking a long time ago...But if you find out anything, please, I'd love to know."

Volteer could see a genuine desire to learn in the young dragon's eyes, and he couldn't help but smile at that. In a small sense Spyro almost reminded the yellow Guardian of himself with that look.

"Maybe after we are done here, we can have time to figure that part out, but for now, let us focus on this." Spyro just nodded back to the Guardian.

"That's all I was mostly concerned about. So, if you are ready young dragon, would you please fall asleep?"

Spyro knew this was just his own theory about when the other being would take control, but just hearing Volteer ask that just seemed awkward.

"I'll… try my best?"

Laying down as best as he could with his restraints, Spyro closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of both heartbeats as he waited.

And waited...

And waited…

And waited…

He opened his eyes back up and looked up at the two Guardians staring back down at him. They were just sitting there watching him as he was trying to force himself to fall asleep. Never before had Spyro felt so tense about drifting off.

"Is something the matter?" Volteer seemed confused as to why the purple dragon was having troubles slumbering. Spyro opened his mouth to explain himself, but there was this heavy awkwardness in the air that held the words in his throat.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh"

Much to Spyro's own relief, Terrador seemed to clue in as to what the problem was. The green Guardian tapped on Volteer's shoulder. "Why don't we go deal with some of our other responsibilities for now. A guard can alert us if and when this creature takes control over Spyro.

Volteer shook his head, "I don't mind waiting, and besides I want to see this change I've heard about. Is it an instant transformation, and does his body contort in any sort of way? Where does this black smokish stuff come from, where does it start? Does anything else change or does-"

"Volteer!" Terrador had to shout over his fellow Guardian to silence him. "We should give Spyro some space, and let him rest when he is able to. Us standing over him is only causing problems." Terrador wished he didn't have to be so blunt about this, but then again he forgot for a moment who he was speaking to.

Volteer seemed reluctant on the idea of leaving, and began to grumble bitterly. "Well I suppose you are right."

The two Guardians left the cell, and Terrador requested one of the guards to find them when Spyro started to change. The armored cheetah saluted the Guardian before they left, leaving Spyro alone with the guards. The purple dragon blinked as he looked around the room, trying to find something to help him fall asleep. He had spent at least half of last night awake, so he was feeling a little tired right now, but the sheer awkwardness of that previous echange left his body stiff and uncomfortable.

he glanced out the window and sighed. "How in the ancestors name did he end up in this situation?"