I've been posting once a fortnight for the past several chapters, but I can't promise I'll be able to post on time after this chapter, updates may become slow again...
If you're bored and looking for something to do after you finish this chapter then I can highly reccomend that you check out TvTropes. For any fellow writers having a look is practically a must, it's both entertaining and informative. For anyone who enjoys movies, books, games or any other pop culture taking a look is an incredible feeling. Imagine Wikipedia, but with an article on why there is inevitably going to be a waterfall when characters are being swept downriver.

I'm honoured to say that fanart of this story (my story! I almost squealed in excitement!) has been done by Mattiwia, and I also encourage you to check him out on Deviantart.

Lastly, the song for this chapter:
For Cynder and Ember: 'One Crowded Hour' by Augie March.
I had another song for them, but it was making me cry too much. Crowded Hour is an... unusual choice, and I'm interested to hear if you think that it suits. You'll see what I mean if you listen to it. I suggest playing it as their scene starts.

Imperia had figured out how to escape in the first five minutes of her imprisonment. In fact she had practically known how to escape before she'd even been locked in her cell. She hadn't tried to escape, as she'd been fairly confident that she'd be free again soon. Now as the conversation had gone by she was less sure.

Imperia had things to do and places to be. The wind dragoness knew it was essential that she get to Concurrent Skies as soon as possible. If Cynder was already there then things could get difficult without Imperia being around to diffuse tension, plus she wanted to ask Cynder for forgiveness again.

Imperia missed the young black dragoness even more then she had expected she would. She'd known there was a risk involved in telling Cynder that she'd been working with Malefor, but she had hoped that they could sort it out without too much difficulty. She wasn't sure exactly why it had hurt Cynder so much to find out that she worked with Malefor, but Imperia had a theory. She desperately wanted to be back with Cynder again. She'd said she loved Cynder, and she meant it with all of her heart.

Imperia was also curious to find out how Ember was going, she hoped that the poor pink dragoness hadn't been too terrified. Imperia had always liked Ember, she sympathised with the girl for not being able to attract much attention from Spyro. Imperia didn't like seeing unhappy romance and she'd been wishing the pink female the best of luck for years now. It had disappointed her to see Cynder and Ember become enemies, although she had been firmly on Cynder's side once it had happened.

Ember was interesting to Imperia, and that she'd gone after Cynder and Spyro all alone was especially interesting. The pink dragoness had apparently shown far more courage in Shattershelf then Imperia would have expected; she hoped that courage wouldn't fail.

Thirdly, she had to admit to herself that she really wanted to meet Malefor in person. She had glimpsed him from a distance before, at the siege of Shattershelf, and the sight had filled her with excitement. But she had never met him face to face and she could hardly wait for the chance.

She paced around the cell for a while, deciding if she should just escape now while she had the chance or if it was better to wait to be let out. Eventually she reached her decision. It was time for a proactive solution.

Imperia removed her choker. She'd been wearing it for about two years now, and once she took it off she felt strangely naked without it. Imperia rubbed her neck, giggling. Her scales were smooth, and it was odd not to have the metal there; but after several seconds it began to feel more natural. The lack of that familiar weight around her neck was unusual, but sort of nice. Maybe she'd put it on again later, it was a nice and stylish piece of metalwork, or perhaps it was time for a change. Red and sliver went well together, she might be able to find a ribbon. Or she could just go around wearing nothing like a normal dragon did. The options were practically endless.

Now that she no longer wore her choker, the energy chain that had been connected to it wasn't holding her trapped in the cell. It was laughably obvious.

Imperia sighed, wondering how the others had missed this. It was her choker; after all, of course she could take it off. Just because she hadn't taken it off in years didn't mean it was welded to her. That was half of her escape done already.

Stage two was similarly easy. Imperia had been friends with the moles who had built her cell, and she had learned a thing or two about metalworking. She loved poking around in the projects, hobbies, and interests of Warfang citizens, and she enjoyed the good natures of the moles in particular. They were pleasant to spend time with, and most generous in repaying kindness. She'd seen them bring the prison doors down here, and she'd watched the moles install similar doors in other parts of the city. These doors were extremely resistant to direct impact, but strength wasn't Imperia's style, and as it turned out her style was perfect for prison breaking.

She gently grasped the door hinges with her wind. They had pins, because it was easier to install and mend pinned hinges. The pins could be lifted straight out of the hinge. Of course a dragon would be frustrated doing this with their claws as the pins were on the outside of the cell bars and were also too tightly fitted to easily be pulled out. The moles weren't stupid and they didn't make stupid doors, but it was nearly impossible to design something that would foil skillful wind manipulation.

The pins popped out, and Imperia tugged the door to the side, then carefully pulled it from its frame and laid it down on the floor.

Easy.

She sashayed out of her cell, waving her tail playfully as she walked. There was nobody around; which was fortunate, because this was her escape after all and having an audience to it would probably be counterproductive, but she still couldn't resist looking sassy after performing such a stylish escape.

It was then that Imperia realised that there was a stage three to her plan: Climbing the stairs and flying away. That should have been easy too, but it was not to be.

Even as Imperia took the first step she sensed a dragon coming down the stairs from above.

Hissing quietly in annoyance the slender dragoness jumped into the air and flew up to the roof, using wind to support herself. She clung there, waiting to see what would happen.

She recognised the folded wings, skipping gait and spinning tail instantly. Flare walked directly below her, heading to the cell. The fire dragoness stopped instantly on seeing the door lying on the ground. Imperia slipped behind Flare and onto the stairs.

"Oh Imperia…" Flare sighed. She turned around and immediately saw the wind dragoness standing between her and the exit.

"Hi, darling. Would you believe that I did this because I really wanted to come and talk to you?"

"Not really." Flare said. "No, I think you're going after Cynder."

"Oh, correct on your first guess, well done." Imperia tried a smile. "Am I really that transparent?" Flare didn't return the smile; she didn't look to be in the mood for Imperia's charms.

"Please get back in the cell. And how did you get out anyway?"

"Not with Volteer's help." Imperia said.

"That's a very specific denial." Flare commented.

"Ok, I took off my jewellery and I had a passing knowledge of how hinges work. Really he had nothing to do with it; I just don't want him getting in trouble. I have to ask, by the way, do I look good without my choker? I'm not sure the metal was working for me, honestly."

"You look stunningly attractive, as usual." Flare said. "So I take it that you're going to continue escaping, despite me asking you not to?"

"I'm afraid so. And I was thinking I might try something red. Red and silver look simply gorgeous together, the two of us being a wonderful example."

Flare took a step towards Imperia.

Imperia backed up the stairs slightly. "I can outrun you. I can outrun anyone. You haven't a hope of catching me, Flare."

"No, I don't." Flare admitted. "And I wasn't going to try."

Imperia knew that she should probably run away now, but just looking at Flare she felt compelled to stay and talk. Flare was her mate, after all, even if they'd never bothered with making it official.

"So, you came to visit me? I'm really grateful that you did, despite it being awkward timing. While we're here alone I'd just like to say how sorry I am that I kept this secret from you."

Flare took another step forwards, Imperia backed away. The fire dragoness spoke with hurt in her voice. "I wanted it to be anyone but you. For a while I had reason to suspect Cynder, and I was actually glad that you might not be working with Malefor. In the years after the raid on the temple I even thought my master, Ignitus, was a bit too perfect to be genuine."

Imperia didn't respond; Flare advanced on her.

"I told myself I was just being paranoid."

"You sometimes come across as being a bit paranoid." Imperia commented. "But I think you're just more cautious and more intelligent than the rest of us."

"You're saying Volteer and yourself aren't intelligent?" Flare looked doubtful, her accusatory tone softened.

"No, I'm not saying that. But I think that we lack some of your caution."

Flare nodded, still edging forwards. "I think that you're right about that."

"Can you forgive me, Flare?" Imperia asked in a small voice; she kept retreating up the stairs. "Please say you can, I couldn't bear it if I had to leave you like this."

Flare sighed, she was about to respond when a new voice interrupted her.

"Stop there."

Terrador stood between Imperia and freedom. The wind dragoness looked back and forth between him and Flare, feeling suddenly trapped.

"Hi Terrador, I'm sorry about this… I just… well..." Imperia trailed off, lost for words. She giggled faintly.

Terrador looked at Flare. "I was concerned when you disappeared, but I did not expect you to let Imperia go."

"She didn't!" Imperia hurriedly said. Flare's denial was only a moment behind hers.

"She was free when I arrived." Flare exclaimed. "She got between me and the stairs, and then she started backing away."

"I did." Imperia said, not wanting Flare to be in trouble any more then she had wanted Volteer to be. "Escaping the cell was amusingly simple; it was just bad luck that Flare arrived as I was making my brilliant little escape."

Terrador laughed slightly. "Very well, I was surprised to think that you'd free Imperia, it makes more sense that you didn't. But I'm afraid we can't let you go, Imperia." He began to come down the stairs. Imperia looked like she wanted to back away, but Flare was below her.

"Now let's just talk about this. Terrador I mean no harm at all, please let me go."

Terrador shook his head. "We can't take that chance. This is Malefor we're dealing with; I can't let you go off on your own, especially not now that Cynder and Spyro are both missing."

Imperia looked back and forth between him and Flare, she moved down the stairs, closer to the fire dragoness.

"I forgot to mention that I came to visit you in the middle of a meeting." Flare said with amusement at Imperia's predicament. "I thought that someone would come to check on us."

"Oh come on…" Imperia muttered. "I hate being outwitted." She turned in a little circle on the step, no longer having anywhere to go. Imperia spread her wings slightly, looking past Terrador, up the stairs, trying to decide if she could make a break for it.

"Don't bother, Imperia." Terrador said. "In an enclosed space my element completely outmatches yours. You're not leaving."

Imperia looked back at Flare, she was well aware that Terrador spoke the truth. She had no chance of fighting her way out of here, and she couldn't bear to hurt Terrador even if there had have been a chance she could get past him. The fire guardian went to speak, but she was interrupted.

"That's no way to treat a lady, least of all your fellow guardian."

Terrador's head whipped around as he looked for the source of the new voice. It was a smooth and pleasant voice, deep and confident. He saw who had spoken and his eyes widened in shock. Malefor was strolling down the stairs behind him.

Cynder and Ember were bored. They had been locked in their room for a while now, and there wasn't really anything to do. After Cynder had made her revelation Ember had gone quiet, and Cynder had wandered back to the bed and sat there in silence.

After some time Ember joined her, lying down nearby.

Cynder put her wing over Ember's shoulders, the pink dragoness was warm and her presence was comforting to Cynder. Ember looked across at Cynder and smiled again, resting against Cynder's side.

They lay there for a while in comfortable silence, and then eventually Ember spoke.

"Cynder? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Cynder said. The pink dragoness hesitated.

"How… How should I act around Spyro?"

Cynder raised her head to look at Ember. "I'm sorry, what?"

The other girl looked away shyly.

Cynder frowned, but not with any anger. "I guess that depends on what you want."

"I just don't want to annoy you." Ember said. "But I want… I mean… maybe… for him to notice me… and in a good way, rather than noticing me and trying to avoid me." She laughed slightly. "I hated it when he did that, but I liked him enough to keep trying even though it made me feel bad."

Cynder didn't respond immediately, Ember tried to explain a bit more.

"I know that you see me as just a clingy, useless, girl, and I don't want that any more. I'd like to be different."

Cynder looked at Ember, this was a moment for relationship advice, and she was probably not the best dragon for Ember to be talking to in this particular situation. But she had to try.

"Ember, why didn't you ever end up dating Spyro in the time while I was gone?" Cynder asked.

Ember blushed. "Well… I just… I tried my very best, but I didn't want to force him to go out with me. I wouldn't do that to someone I cared about, not even for someone as incredible as Spyro."

"But you're so persistent. You had years; surely you could have found ways to get to know him a bit more?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Ember asked. She didn't sound as if she disliked where the conversation was going, in fact it sounded more like she was hoping Cynder was doing this in preparation for solving all her problems.

"I'm just… trying to understand." Cynder said.

"Oh. Ok." Ember nodded, looking glad for the answer. "I guess… I just… Well… I wanted Spyro to… y'know… make the first move." She admitted.

Cynder was surprised by that response. "Why?"

"Because I thought it was the way it should happen." Ember said, blushing. "I thought that was how it was supposed to work."

"Why?" Cynder asked again.

"What do you mean?"

"Why is that the way it should happen?" Cynder clarified.

"I don't know… it just is." Ember said. "And I guess… I didn't want to seem too… I don't know…" She shrugged, not wanting to use the word 'desperate' and unable to offer any more explanation. She had never questioned why romance worked like that before. Males were meant to ask females out, and that was just the way it happened.

"Did you ever consider just trying to be his friend?" Cynder asked.

Ember looked away. "Well… no… Not really. Is that what you did?"

"What I did was I had to trust Spyro; I was never given a choice. His was the first face I saw after I was freed from the Dark Master's control, and once I was told what happened between us I knew that I owed him everything. It was scary, but… he was just so nice, and kind, and he has a good heart. I was very lucky that if I had to owe my life to anyone that it was someone like him."

Ember nodded in understanding, imagining what Cynder must have felt. "That's romantic." She said.

"No, it wasn't." Cynder said, promptly shattering Ember's imaginings of what might have happened. "I didn't want to care about him. I thought it would be safer to be alone. I hated the idea that I'd only been saved because of the mercy of someone who could have easily left me to die, that idea scared me and made me feel helpless. Only we ended up together again, stuck together with a magic chain to be specific. I hadn't wanted to get to know anyone. That way I never needed to be at the mercy of anyone ever again, I could do everything for myself, but I was forced to be around someone, and I was forced to be around him."

Ember wasn't sure what to say. It didn't sound quite so romantic now.

"Spyro was the only living being who I really knew… I had feelings for him, but I had no idea what they were."

"Love?" Ember asked.

"Something like it, I guess…" Cynder said. "Well yes, I suppose it was love, but I didn't want it for a long time. He saved me again and again, which only made me feel even worse. I couldn't help it; he was all I had. And then I finally got chances to return the favour, times when he needed me like I had needed him. I finally felt like I had found someone I could trust, and there were all these feelings inside me..."

Cynder trailed off. Then she tilted her head and looked at Ember.

"Would it be normal to expect Spyro to make the first move?"

"Well… Yes?" Ember looked unsure. "I mean it doesn't have to be that way, and it's not like a dragoness just has to sit there and do nothing and wait for a boy to notice her. It's just that generally it'll be a male who asks the female on a date or whatever. Did you not know that? Is that not what happened with you?"

"I got the entirety of my dating advice from Imperia, and she was of the opinion that the best place to look for a lover is among your friends." Cynder told Ember, blushing.

Ember frowned. "That was her advice?"

"Oh she had plenty of advice, and a lot of it contradicted itself. As far as I can tell her thoughts on relationships overall was just to do anything that you felt like, as long as it was done in a spirit of respect and fun."

"That's not bad advice." Ember said thoughtfully. "So you asked Spyro out?"

"Not exactly. Just before he saved the world I thought we were both going to die, I told him then that I loved him. He didn't respond in words at first, but I could sense that he wanted to tell me the same thing. When we made it back to the surface the first thing he did was tell me that he loved me too."

Ember blushed, thinking about that. "That's really nice."

Cynder nodded. "It was, but I was stupid and I ran away."

"That was my fault for making you leave Warfang, you can't blame yourself." Ember said.

"Don't worry about it." Cynder said. "Imperia dragged me back to the city to sort it out eventually." She smiled, and then her smile faded as once again the mention of the beautiful wind dragon sent a stab of pain through her heart.

"She really cares about you, I think. Maybe she even loves you." Ember said, hoping to comfort Cynder.

"That's why it hurts so much." Cynder said.

"Oh."

"It was Spyro who asked me out, once I came back to Warfang." Cynder said, trying to change the subject. "But I would have asked him out if he hadn't done it first."

Ember looked at her with admiration. "That's really brave of you."

Cynder nodded awkwardly. "Maybe we should talk about something else, when Spyro agreed to go out with me one of the first things I did was rub it in your face, and I still feel a bit bad about that."

"Don't." Ember said. "I'm totally ok with talking about Spyro. I won't feel bitter towards you."

"Why not?" Cynder asked, surprised.

"Well… In the past I knew that if you got Spyro then I wouldn't stand a chance, but that's not so true anymore. So now I feel as happy about you making a good impression on Spyro as I would if it had been one of my other friends."

"Other fr-? Oh right." Cynder blushed again. "Cyria and Flora and the others." And Miasma, she thought, but she decided not to mention that one out loud. Miasma had trusted her with that secret and she wouldn't tell it carelessly.

"Yes, them." Ember said.

"Just how many dragonesses want to date Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"Well there's me, Cyria, Flora, maybe some of the older dragonesses but I can't remember their names. And then there's Miasma, who I suspect secretly likes Spyro."

"You think Miasma likes Spyro?" Cynder asked. She certainly hadn't given that away, but she still felt slightly guilty that Miasma's secret hadn't been as much of a secret as the green dragoness had hoped it was.

"She's really shy, and hard to read, but I think so. I'd be surprised if she didn't. Anyway that's four, and I imagine there are several others."

"Would Spyro date Miasma?" Cynder asked curiously.

"It was her or Imperia that probably had the best chances." Ember said. "They were the two who spent most time around Spyro, and the ones who he'd talk to the most." She realised she'd put the topic back towards Imperia and mentally kicked herself for doing so, but Cynder didn't seem upset.

"Does Imperia like Spyro?" the black dragoness asked.

Ember shrugged. "Who can tell with her? You'd probably know more than I do. Does she?"

Cynder sighed and rested her head on her paws. "Probably she does. She has good taste. That would make five, and I guess I'd make six."

Ember saw that Cynder was beginning to fall back into a sad mood, so she put the conversation back to where it had started. "So I'll just try to be Spyro's friend. Now that you mention it I probably should have done that years ago."

"Yeah…" Cynder said. Ember touched tails with the other girl and smiled encouragingly.

"It's going to be ok."

"I hope so." Cynder said. "And thanks for trying to cheer me up."

Ember nudged her. "I'm not done trying yet. Come on, let's talk about something."

Cynder smiled. "Something like what?"

"I don't know. Where did you learn to fight? Your fighting is really amazing."

"A lot of it I taught myself." Cynder said. "Imperia gave me lots of pointers on my melee fighting techniques, and she taught me everything I know about wind magic. I only saw Volteer occasionally, but he taught me a bit too. I also learned from Malefor, but I've forgotten most of the details about what that was like."

"All I know is the Dragon Standard style, which is better for defence then attack."

"And also is heavily simplified and standardised to ensure that it can be learned quickly by any dragon but will never be mastered by anyone." Cynder noted. "You, Nero and Flora all used exactly the same techniques with no indication of originality. Feyer I never fought in proper combat. The ice dragoness Cyria, was the only one who was a challenge. Seizo told me before the fight that she had been learning at a far more advanced level then most users of the Standard style and I could see it when I attacked her. She specialised, but none of the rest of you seemed to. Spyro too has expanded his fighting style from your average one, learning a lot from Terrador as well as doing some of his own creating."

"What?" Ember looked surprised. "How do you know all of that?"

"I assumed it when I first learned how and when Dragon Standard was taught, and I was proven right when I saw users of the style in combat. Before the start of out match I had a rough idea of what you'd be capable of, and I learned how to fight you even as I was fighting you."

"In the middle of our fight?"

"Well, yes. If you don't learn to respond to what your opponents are doing then you'll usually fare pretty badly against them."

"I should really keep that in mind." Ember said.

"It's good to know. But you don't seem like the fighting type really." Cynder replied.

"That's true." Ember admitted. "But… well... sometimes I'd like to be."

"To be a fighter?" Cynder asked, curious about this side of Ember's personality.

"Yes. I mean… not really to hurt anyone, but just to be strong and tough and brave."

"You are those things." Cynder said. "The only things you lack are confidence and skill."

"And you're so good at those two things, how do I do them? And I thought you just said I didn't seem like the fighting type." Ember frowned at her.

"I did just say that, but I changed my mind once I thought through what I was saying. You might not look or act like much of a fighter, but you're tall for your age, our age that is, and I know from seeing you fight that you're really brave and determined."

Ember blushed. "Thanks."

"As for how you get to be skilled and confident, all I can say is that you practice." Cynder said. "You just need to learn confidence, and skill is about finding what works for you."

"What works for me?" Ember repeated doubtfully.

"No two ways of fighting are the same. For instance Dragon Standard is mostly about dodging and blocking, while focusing far less on powerful physical attacks, it relies on your elemental abilities to a large degree. That may not the best style for you."

"But I don't know anything else; I wouldn't even know where to start."

"I haven't actually seen Flare fight seriously, but I've heard a bit about her using dancing and setting herself on fire. Maybe ask Flare about her melee style when we next see her, it might give you some ideas, even if it's not perfect for you."

Ember nodded happily. "That's an excellent idea; she uses her fire element really well and I think that's one of my strengths. Thanks Cynder."

"No problem." Cynder smiled.

"Could you please tell me about your style?" Ember asked.

"Ok." Cynder nodded. "It practically essential to be able to use the wind element, and the attacks that I'd use my wings for might not work at all without that, so don't expect too much if you learn to fight in my way."

"You use your wings to attack?" Ember asked. As far as she knew dragons usually only used their wings to block or deflect; and to move around.

"Yes, and not just by sometimes using them for defence or to smack my opponents, I use wind to give them cutting edges and fight with them as if they were two extra blades."

"Right. I don't think I could use that then."

"Maybe not, but there are a few things that my way of fighting could teach you. Speed, aggression, strategy. Those things can be useful to anyone, I think."

"Grace, finesse and beauty." Ember added.

Cynder blinked. "Really?"

"Definitely." Ember confirmed. "Maybe that's more about you as a dragoness then about how you fight. You just always seem to be so powerful and in control."

"Except when you saved me from Magmar, and both times I've tried to fight Malefor." Cynder said. She got up and stepped off the bed, looking annoyed. "I've failed plenty of times…"

"But you don't let it get to you. You stay strong no matter what the problem is." Ember said.

Cynder laughed without humour. "You keep complimenting me, but I couldn't even get us both out of this room."

"Well no." Ember admitted. "But you did get out on your own for a while. That was pretty impressive."

"That's just because I have an element that can do those things, it's not like I can do that any… more…" Cynder stopped, frowning thoughtfully

"What's wrong, Cynder?" Ember asked.

"Nothing." Cynder glanced back at Ember, and then looked at the door. "I just remembered something."

"What did you remember?" Ember looked curious.

Cynder reached out with her paw, and within moments she felt a slight tingling. She grabbed at the air and pulled the Dragonslayer out of nowhere. "I remembered this."

Ember stared at the golden weapon. "Wow… it's beautiful. Is it a spear?"

Cynder gave the weapon a test spin, enjoying its balance and weight, admiring the way it cut the air. "It's the Dragonslayer, it's an ancient magical weapon. Imperia gave it to me, but I forgot all about it until now."

Cynder looked more closely at the blade, it seemed to have changed shape since she'd last seen it, the blade was no longer quite so broad and weighty, and it was no longer a diamond shaped blade. Instead the spearhead was now narrow, with a flat blade, and had a slight curve to its razor sharp edge. It resembled a naginata, although Cynder didn't know what a naginata was and instead thought of it as a slimmer blade to what the spear had previously had, which was good enough for her.

It had definitely changed shape, and Cynder didn't take long to figure out why.

It was still too thick to put into the edge of the door, but Cynder felt the weapon gently tempt her into trying it. This object had a certain level of consciousness, and it would try to help her discover its full potential. She grasped the spear in both paws, taking a comfortable stance, and rested it against the door. It slipped into the gap easily, despite such a thing not being physically possible. Cynder slid the spear from the top of the door to the bottom and she felt slight resistance. After a few seconds she withdrew the blade, and the door swung open.

"Well… I can see why she liked it so much." Cynder said. She looked back at Ember.

The pink dragoness stood up, filled with new determination.

"Let's go save Spyro!"

-4Dragons