Empire State of Mind, by Alica Keys (by her, not featuring her) is the song that I listened to the most when I was motivated to get words written for this chapter. It took some time to come by motivation for writing this chapter, and it was a difficult one to write even when I was in the mood.

Hopefully my struggles will make no difference to you, and hopefully it won't take me long to regain the inspired high that makes me love writing so much.

For Imperia meeting Volteer and Flare again I have a song suggestion: Wherever You Will Go, by The Calling.

Volteer and Flare emerged from their cave together. The two of them had lain there for a long while, perhaps too long. They needed to get back to the others. Volteer had a comforting wing wrapped around Flare. Flare was quiet, trying not to show how upset she still was. Imperia was gone, but that wasn't the end of the world.

Both of them wanted to just grieve, but there were other things that needed to be dealt with first, like the impending threat of the end of the world.

Flare and Volteer took off and rose above the forest of crystals. As they left the dead things began to squeal and chatter below them, glad the invaders had left their home.

As they circled back towards the fortress Flare spotted a dragon flying to intercept them. She spoke just loudly enough for Volteer to hear her. "Incoming dragon on your left. Doesn't look aggressive. Adult, ice dragon, male."

Volteer nodded in acknowledgement at Flare's brisk explanation, it was strictly practical so that he would have some idea of what was going on with only a few words needing to be spoken. "Cyril?" He asked. There had been another ice dragon that had come to Cynder's old fortress with their group, but it'd be far more likely that Cyril would be the one to come searching for them. Volteer turned to look; Flare beat her wings once to hover beside him.

The dragon who approached was not Cyril, and indeed he was not an ice dragon despite his blue colour.

It was Ignitus.

Volteer nearly fell out of the air; two bombshells in one day rendered even him speechless. However he was too worried about Flare to react immediately, at least until he'd seen her response to this.

Ignitus had taught Flare practically everything, training her to replace him as fire guardian. He'd trained her for over forty five years before Spyro and Cynder had been born, and then nearly eight more years while the purple and black eggs had been lost. As his fellow dragons had fallen and the other guardians, including the young Volteer, had been captured, Ignitus had become more and more distant; and once he had completed Flare's training he had seemed to lose all of his will to live. He had been a mighty dragon in his prime before the temple raid, but he had seemed to age by a hundred years in the decade after it. It hadn't been until Ignitus met Spyro that he had begun to come back into the world.

Flare had never gotten to see that change, she'd only been told about it by Volteer, Cyril and Terrador, the last she had thought she'd ever see of Ignitus was a weak, weary, sad eyed dragon who had only remnants of the glory she remembered.

But here he was, flying towards them now, somehow alive. And the blue colour wasn't the change that Flare focused on; it was the change in his expression that meant the most to her.

Ignitus looked calm in a way she had never seen before, his eyes were sombre and seemed to be full of memory. He had the same strength he'd lost long ago, but it was as if his fiery temper had cooled along with the colour of his scales.

There was something about him, a sort of peacefulness… Part of Flare wanted to be angry. Long ago, and for so long, she had wanted to rage at Ignitus to stop being weak and to shake off his apathy after he had finished training her and began to drift away from the rest of the dragon world. She had heard that he had regained his strength of will after meeting Spyro, but that wasn't the Ignitus she had said goodbye to. She couldn't be angry though, she couldn't do that to him.

"Master…" She whispered softly. "I… I did not expect to see you…"

Ignitus bowed his head. "Flare, I am no longer your master, you are a true guardian dragon. I only wish I had been able to be with you on your journey; although you certainly have not needed my help!" He chuckled softly.

Flare opened her mouth for a moment, and then closed it again, not knowing what to say.

Ignitus turned to Volteer with a smile. "I am no longer a guardian, I am only an old dragon. I have little doubt that you and I could spend every minute of the next decade talking at your prodigious pace and still not be done exploring each other's knowledge, but now is not the time to begin such a talk. Allow me just to say this; Volteer I am very proud of you, and I wish you both all the happiness I can give."

Volteer nodded, both grateful and sad, for Ignitus' words had again reminded him that Imperia was not present to also be wished happiness. He wiped away a tear and tried to smile.

Ignitus saw something was wrong. Without the aid of his library on the White Isle he knew not the events that had transpired in the rest of the world. For several days now he had been flying into the unknown with only fate to guide him, and now he feared the worst.

"Flare, Volteer, I see that you are deeply saddened by something. I have come to offer what help I can, and I pray to the Ancestors that I have not come too late."

"You have…" Flare murmured. "But thankyou for coming."

Ignitus looked taken aback. "I… I am sorry… I should have come earlier." He did not admit that he had truly believed he had been destined to arrive at a certain time. But now it seemed he had been too late after all. Had he somehow failed in his destiny? Had he never been meant to come here at all? These possibilities concerned him, but not nearly so much as he was concerned for the sake of the others.

Flare shook her head. "You're not to blame."

"And don't blame yourself either." Volteer said firmly to the fire dragoness.

Flare looked at him sadly, but she nodded.

"The last thing I knew before I departed was that many dragons would converge at this place, and that the omens of the future were very dark. I fear for Spyro's life, and for the fate of Cynder. I saw an image of her imprisoned, has Malefor captured her?"

"Only briefly." Volteer said. "I'll explain everything we know, but we'd better return to the others too."

The electric guardian filled Ignitus in on what he knew; starting with Malefor's ambiguous behaviour, telling Ignitus that none of them were sure if he could or should be trusted. He explained how Malefor had captured Spyro, and told him the scant details that he'd gathered from Cynder about what had transpired on the tower of the fortress. He left out information about Imperia for now, even just telling someone else that she'd died was something that Volteer didn't quite feel ready to do.

Cynder yawned, she hadn't slept yet and she might not be able to sleep even if she tried. She had been up for a long while now, and this was only one of several times in the last several days that she'd been getting by with only a small amount of rest. She was weary physically and mentally, but she wasn't tired.

After everything that had happened it was a great relief to simply be able to talk with Imperia. It was the first genuinely relaxing thing she had done since she and Spyro had rested together after their fight with Gracious below Shattershelf.

The silver dragoness noticed Cynder's yawn and tilted her head. "Maybe we should wait to talk till tomorrow."

"Maybe… but there is no way I'm letting Dark Spyro wander around for any longer than necessary, so if we don't talk now who knows when we'll get another chance? I'm not going to faint from tiredness." Cynder replied. "At least, not again." She added.

"You fainted from tiredness?" Imperia asked curiously. "You mean at Shattershelf when you used all your power to hit the orc army with a huge fear attack?"

"No, I was talking about the time before that, when this dragon called Gracious used ice attacks to chill the air until I was too weak to fight."

"He's quite a clever dragon, that one." Imperia said thoughtfully. "But I'm still impressed he was able to come up with a tactic like that while battling you. What did you think of him?"

"You know him?" Cynder asked sceptically, and then she frowned. "Oh, right. He works for Malefor and so do you. Of course you know him."

"I do know him. I met him and his brother a few times, although I wouldn't call them friends."

"He seemed friendly enough, actually." Cynder said. "I don't like him very much, mostly because he did try to kill us; but at least he wasn't nasty about it."

Imperia giggled. "So that's how to gain your respect? Try to kill you without being nasty about it? I'll keep that in mind." She teased playfully.

"You already have my respect, though, so being a lying spy apparently works too." Cynder countered.

"Harsh but fair." Imperia said with a sigh.

"At least I'm not being nasty about it." Cynder said with a smile. Cynder paused as Imperia laughed, then continued her line of thought. "So… how long has it been? Since you met Gracious and Seth, and since you met Malefor?"

Imperia lay down and tucked her legs underneath herself; Cynder sat down as well, curling her tail. The silver dragoness thought for a moment before replying. "I got in touch with Malefor through my attempts to gain a position as the first wind guardian. In the legend of his origin it's mentioned that he learned to master the wind element. Considering that purple dragons are supposed to be able to master all the guardian elements; I thought it was worth finding some solid proof."

"That sounds like a reasonable thing to do, but it's just typical of you that this is how it would end up. So how long ago was it when this happened?"

"Oh about sixty or seventy years… I think. It might be longer, oh how time flies when you're having fun. Anyway at about that time I started to get more seriously into politics, with Malefor giving me what advice he could. Although to be honest such things are not exactly his area of expertise."

"How did he give you advice? He was imprisoned in Convexity at the time right?"

"Yes he was, but we could talk to each other in my dreams. There are variations of the ritual your dark form once used to summon the Dark Master, we used one of those. When I slept I could sense his presence faintly, and when I focused on it I could hear and speak to him."

"That makes sense. So… Malefor helped you become wind guardian, and in return you helped him come back?"

"We help each other, yes, but it's not like a trade. We just both want the same thing."

"To rule the world?" Cynder asked sceptically.

"You make that sound so sinister. We just want to make the world a little bit better."

"And you think Malefor will be satisfied with that?"

"I trust him." Imperia said confidently.

"You've been wrong before." Cynder replied, not entirely sure what to think about all of this. She was suspicious of Malefor still, but he truly did appear to have good intentions. "So you put the snake charms on me and Spyro. Did you do anything else? Suggesting using a Golem for the trap seems like the type of thing you'd find amusing."

"Golem? Trap?" Imperia blinked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about." Cynder said, smiling slightly. "Don't worry I've forgiven you for that stuff too. But did you suggest it?"

"Cynder I actually don't know what trap you mean. When did this happen? I had nothing to do with it."

Cynder looked at her sceptically. "At the Catacombs? Dagger… well he said his name was Dagger, it was actually Thoran. Anyway he gave us a message from Malefor, saying to go to the Catacombs. So we went there, and then Gracious and Seth tried to kill us."

"Malefor told me he was going to test your skills." Imperia said with a disapproving frown. "I knew he could have planned a dangerous test, but I really had no idea he'd send you to the ice dragon brothers out in the middle of nowhere. Gracious is very powerful, and Seth was; let's just say he was rather odd. I'll let Malefor know that I think letting them have a chance to fight you and Spyro was a bad idea, although I'm sure he'll say he had it under control. And maybe he did, after all the two of you made it out okay and Seth apparently didn't."

"Did you know them well?" Cynder asked curiously.

"Well enough to be sad that Seth died." Imperia said.

"No offence, but I'm not all that sad about it. He threatened to tear out my eyes. We were going to spare his life, but then the Golem just showed up and threw him into the lava." Cynder glanced down at her paws, hoping that Imperia wouldn't mind her apathy.

The silver dragoness giggled faintly and nodded. "He was always a bit obsessive and pretentious, and the way that he would look at me was… interesting. So I can understand him leaving a bad impression on you. I guess he died for what he believed in, and that's not a courtesy afforded to everyone. Gracious is nicer, and I hope that he'll be okay. Although I expect he'll be angry and upset and whatnot. Everything he thought he had and everything he's been trying to achieve; has collapsed around him. Well, aside from Magmar being dead."

"I can't imagine how that must feel." Cynder said sarcastically. "It's not like I've ever been in a situation like that. And I'm sure not in one right now."

"Oh Cynder, there's always hope. And unlike poor Gracious we're ready to work together; we do have a good chance of saving Spyro and making everything okay again."

"I guess so..." Cynder said.

"I'm sure so." Imperia responded happily. "Now what were we talking about?"

"I was questioning through your history with Malefor. I want to know what you've been involved in and what you didn't know about."

"I knew about most of Malefor's plan. Aside from a few little additions that he made once he returned. Freeing Thoran and sending him to me was part of the plan. I didn't really want to have to fight him, but we figured it was better that he come after me rather than Malefor needing to track him down and kill him once he inevitably started to cause trouble."

"What happened in Warfang? We didn't realise Thoran was so dangerous until we'd reached Darkmire's Tomb and by then it was too late to follow him."

"He entered the city stealthily, killing one dragon and one mole before he found out where I was living. After that he came directly to me. Fortunately Volteer arrived to help, and before long Cyril arrived with guard dragons. Thoran fled, but I chased him down and killed him."

"You killed him?" Cynder looked impressed but also slightly concerned. "I wouldn't have thought you had it in you to kill another dragon."

"Well he was a really bad dragon. It felt more like justice than murder."

"That's a bit of a dangerous line to blur." Cynder responded. "After all the same thing would have been said by many of the dragons who wanted to kill me for what I did as the Terror of The Skies. Fortunately none of them were brave enough to actually make an assassination attempt."

"That is very fortunate." Imperia agreed. "Although maybe they just weren't as hateful as they seemed to be."

Cynder made a derisive sound, clearly indicating to Imperia how little the black dragoness agreed with that idea. Imperia decided to change the subject.

"Is there anything else you want to know about my involvement in this whole thing?"

"What is your relationship with Malefor? Do you flirt with him like you flirt with basically everyone else? Or is there something more to it? The things you've done to get his attention have been, well… practically insane."

"I hadn't actually thought about it that way." Imperia admitted. "Oh dear… Have I been trying too hard? I didn't mean to."

"So there is something more." Cynder tried not to think about it too much. Romantic was the first word to come to her mind; but creepy was not far behind. "I'm not entirely sure if I should be asking about this..."

"Oh nonsense, dear, there isn't anything to hide, and not much to tell either. I respect and care for him, and I think he'd be a fine romantic partner. Besides our personalities match up very well."

"I can't imagine a way for that to not be awkward, and I don't want to imagine too hard in case I imagine something that I can't unsee."

Imperia blushed but grinned. "It's not that awkward, really. Malefor is very smart and rather charming, although I do think he needs to get more comfortable with socialising. I'd like to think I can help him unwind a bit more."

"Please stop talking." Cynder looked at the floor. "I really don't want to know any more. We are not having this discussion right now."

"Maybe later?" Imperia asked playfully but hopefully. "It'd be such a fun talk!"

"No promises." Cynder said, although she had little doubt Imperia would manage to get her into that discussion eventually. Imperia was extremely persistent. "Although..." She paused for a moment, slightly reluctant to mention something spoil the good mood of the silver dragoness.

Imperia tilted her head curiously. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering how you'd manage having a relationship with Malefor, when you're already so close to Flare and Volteer."

Cynder expected Imperia to falter slightly, doubting that the other dragoness had thought through her current situation completely. However Imperia waved a paw cheerfully. "The three of them will get along really well! Volteer and Malefor have already met. As for how we'd actually manage the relationship..." Imperia shrugged. "No idea, but I'm sure we'd figure it out easily enough. If it happened, that is."

"I'm glad you're so optimistic." Cynder said.

"It's one of my best abilities." Imperia responded with a grin. "Although I guess it can lead me astray on rare occasions. I don't think it's done me any favours with Flare, for instance."

"I expect she'll be a little bit upset; she thinks that you're dead."

"Oh dear… You mean nobody was around to explain it to her?"

"No. Malefor didn't even explain to me until right before he tried to bring you back. I doubt Flare and Volteer have any idea there's even a chance you're alive."

"Oh dear." Imperia said again. "They must feel awful… I'm so sorry. What if I've ruined everything? I barely even thought about how they'd react to the news"

Cynder wrapped her tail comfortingly around Imperia's. The older dragoness was looking genuinely worried. "They'll be happy that you're back, although something tells me that Flare will give you a telling off that will put Malefor's to shame."

"I hope so. I deserve everything, but I really don't want her to give up on me."

"What happened to your optimism? I'm sure Flare won't leave you."

Imperia nodded, slightly nervous but grateful for Cynder's reassurance. "Thanks Cynder. I hope you're right."

By the time Volteer had told him Spyro had been taken over by his dark side, Ignitus' face was very grim indeed. The three of them flew into the fortress, touching down in the same antechamber that they had arrived at. Immediately Cyril stalked towards them, clearly the ice dragon was intending to rant at them or at the very least to let them know he didn't approve of what they'd done. However he was stopped dead in his tracks the moment he recognised Ignitus.

"Ignitus? I… how? I don't understand. Spyro and Cynder told us that they saw you die. Did they lie? Where have you been?"

Ignitus shook his head. "No Cyril, they did see me die. The Ancestors chose me to become their next Chronicler. I saw the world at peace, and though it grieved me deeply I knew that I could not return to you. My story is over, old friend. Or, it was meant to be over."

"But… all the legends said that the chronicler could never leave his or her library. Were the legends wrong?"

"No, the legends were right. I've just broken the rules."

Ignitus chuckled slightly.

"I never did like to follow the rules too closely, and some things are more important than the traditions the Ancestors have built for the Chronicler dragon. Speaking of rule breaking, where is Imperia? I learned of her treachery years ago, when I first examined her life in the library of the White Isle, but I could not inform you. I saw her confess to you at Shattershelf, and I recall that you intended to imprison her. She may be of some use to us now."

Cyril glanced and Volteer and Flare, quickly gathering that they had not quite told Ignitus everything. "She died, Ignitus. According to Cynder she was killed by Dark Spyro, and I myself saw her body."

"Oh." Ignitus said quietly. He too glanced at Volteer and Flare. "I see now. I am sad that happened."

"She wouldn't want us to grieve too much." Volteer said with a surprisingly even voice. "She'd be telling us to hurry up and save Spyro, befriend Malefor, and promote world peace."

"I came here because I felt that things were serious enough that my help would not go amiss, so I think that we ought to get started." Ignitus agreed.

"And do what?" Cyril asked. "Saving Spyro, befriending Malefor, and world peace are hardly viable plans of action. I for one am not going to condone rash and dangerous behaviour."

Ignitus looked at Cyril. "You haven't changed very much. You're a fine leader Cyril, but there are times when it's worthwhile to take a risk."

"That's why there are guardians for each element." Volteer observed. "No one dragon gains final authority."

Cyril opened his mouth to retort, but then paused for a moment and swept a chilly gaze over the others. "We'll continue to discuss this later. But believe me I have serious concerns about this fiasco and its potential impact on the prestigious traditions of Warfang politics."

Flare nodded. "So do I, but we have to do something."

"Cynder has gone to see Malefor. Let's make sure she's okay." Cyril said, reluctantly accepting that everyone else wanted to act and that it was his duty to support them, he began to lead the others to the room that he and Dash had found earlier. "We found Malefor down here, and sent Cynder to him perhaps half an hour ago."

"Sent Cynder to him?" Ignitus asked curiously. "She asked to go, I presume; although I'm surprised that you allowed her to."

"I didn't have any way to stop her." Cyril said, trying but failing to keep his irritated tone. He found himself unable to muster up his usual bad temper while in the presence of his old friend. There was no magic to the effect Ignitus was having on him, just old memories.

"And you wouldn't have stopped her, even if you we certain you were able to. You respect her a lot."

"You never were able to hold your tongue, were you?" Cyril smiled wryly at Ignitus. "As a young dragon you were rash, but you've grown shrewd in your old age. Your observations are as acute as they are unwelcome."

Ignitus chuckled. "I'm glad you haven't changed, Cyril."

Cyril wasn't sure quite how to reply to that, so he simply nodded. "Thankyou. As long as there are dragons who need someone intelligent to stop from making foolish decisions I don't expect I will change very much." He increased his pace to walk slightly ahead of the group of dragons; leading them to the room where he had found Malefor.

"Arrogant as ever." Ignitus muttered after he was sure Cyril wasn't listening.

After only a couple of minutes they arrived at a large door and Cyril stopped. He looked back at the others. There were at least fifteen dragons gazing at him or at the door. He frowned.

"I don't think we should all go in together. This group is far too large." He quickly counted the group, making sure that none of the dragons had gone missing while they had walked. "Everyone is accounted for, that's good. Volteer, Flare, Ignitus, this is where I directed Cynder to come to. Anyone who doesn't need to meet Malefor should head back to the antechamber to wait for Terrador and the other dragons searching the fortress."

"I'm going in as well!" Ember squeaked, doing her best to keep a brave look on her face. She stepped forwards and spoke again in a steadier voice. "If Cynder's in there then I'm going. And besides I already met Malefor so I'm ready to do this."

Flare spoke up before Cyril or anyone else could object. "Thankyou Ember. Is there anyone else?"

There was a moment of silence; then Ivorii, the long horned earth dragoness who had volunteered to bring word of Imperia's death back to Warfang, stepped forwards. "I want to come too."

Flare nodded to her. "Very well." She glanced back at Cyril.

The ice guardian stepped forwards and raised a paw to open the door, but then he hesitated. What if Imperia was alive? He hadn't told any of the others that there was a chance she would be. Worse, what if she was still dead? He may have got along with her poorly in the past, but it would still hurt to have his hopes raised and then crushed.

Ignitus saw Cyril's hesitation and, to Cyril's gratitude, didn't comment on it. The Chronicler simply stepped up beside him and then pushed the door open.

Cynder had moved to lie down beside Imperia, a wing tucked over the weakened silver dragoness.

"Imperia…"

"Yes dear?"

"Did you know that Thoran was going to be set free?"

Imperia tilted her head, curious as to where this question was leading. "Yes I did. Why?"

"And did you know that he was going to kill other dragons and moles?"

"I was fairly sure that he would, yes. Are you asking me if I think that what I did was worth the lives lost?"

Cynder nodded.

Imperia sighed sadly. "That's a hard question to answer, and it's one that I'm probably going to wonder about for the rest of my life. But I think that what we've done, what we've achieved though this, has been worth it. Dragons died in the siege of Shattershelf too, but in the end we were able to create a strong alliance. Either way I've decided to keep calm and carry on for as long as I have to, and then make amends after we're all safe."

She looked at Cynder.

"The way I judge myself is important, but so are the opinions of the ones I love, so what do you think? Do you think that risking or sacrificing the lives of others is worth it?"

Cynder shrugged. "I don't know. I'd kill to keep those precious to me safe, but sacrificing the lives of some to protect many? I'm not exactly comfortable with that idea. Honestly I'd prefer to find a way where nobody needs to die at all, but I guess sometimes we don't live in a world where that is possible. You did the best that you could."

"I wish I could do better." Imperia said.

"Pretty much everyone does." Cynder pointed out.

The silver dragoness nodded, and then she looked towards the door. Cynder felt Imperia's body grow tense. She reached out with her wind magic and felt what Imperia had sensed: that there were dragons outside in the corridor.

"Time for your dramatic return from being pronounced dead."

Imperia relaxed slightly. "It's not like this is the most shocking thing I've ever done. Do you think you could help me to my feet?"

Cynder frowned. "I think you should stay lying down. You look like you'd fall over."

"As you wish, doctor Cynder." Imperia said with a slight giggle.

As Imperia giggled the door opened, a pair of blue dragons lead the way into the room.

Cynder recognised Cyril, but dismissed the other dragon from her mind as she noticed Volteer and Flare. Ember and a vaguely familiar earth dragoness brought up the rear of the group. Ember spotted Cynder instantly and gave a hesitant smile.

"You're alive." Imperia said to the second blue dragon. Cynder thought this was obvious, but it wasn't the worst thing Imperia could have said to start the conversation.

"Thankyou. Allow me to return the compliment. You're alive too. Surprisingly." The blue dragon replied.

That voice caught Cynder's attention rapidly. That voice belonged to…

"Ignitus, really, I have more excuse to be alive than you do." Imperia said. "You look good in blue, though."

Ignitus chuckled ever so slightly, but then he stepped aside so that Volteer and Flare could speak to Imperia directly.

"Umm… hi?" Imperia said. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two dragons facing her.

Volteer rushed forwards. "Imperia! I'm so glad you're alright! You are alright aren't you?" He grabbed her horns and turned her head his way and that; examining her eyes, teeth and tongue before checking the rest of her for injuries.

"Blarg… I'm fine." Imperia mumbled from under his paws. Cynder slithered aside so that Volteer could hug the silver dragoness, which he immediately did.

Imperia was wrapped tightly in Volteer's wings, she snuggled up to him. Volteer looked up at Flare and beckoned her to join them, which the fire dragoness did after a moment's hesitation. She wrapped her long streamer-like tail around them both. "It's been quite a hectic day." She said to herself.

"Volteer, Flare, I'm really sorry…" Imperia's emotional voice said. She was buried under Volteer's wings so it was impossible to see her expression, but it wouldn't have surprised anyone if she was crying. "I'm so sorry for putting you through this..."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Volteer said softly. "It's more than I hoped for."

Imperia sniffled and giggled, her tail squirmed until it found Flare's and then curled gently around it. "Thankyou..."

Flare smiled faintly, putting aside all emotions other than relief for now. She unfolded one of her wings and put it around Volteer's shoulders.

Imperia peeked her head out from Volteer's hold to look at Flare, she wiped her eyes with a paw and then nuzzled the fire dragoness. "I love you both."

"You're a stressful dragon to love sometimes, but I love you too." Flare said.

Volteer nodded. "My sentiment precisely."

Ember made her way over to Cynder, circling around the room until she was standing beside the black dragoness. "Is it weird that I feel like crying from seeing this?"

Cynder looked up and saw glittering water in Ember's eyes. "I don't think so. You're allowed to be emotional."

Ember wiped her eyes, smiling. "I don't know why I'm crying. I'm happy for them. I just feel bad for what happened as well."

"Me too." Cynder agreed.

Ignitus looked across at Cyril, seeing the ice dragon's smile. Cyril noticed Ignitus' gaze and sighed. "Yes I'm glad that she's alive and glad that this whole incident hasn't been a disaster. It means we have a few less problems to deal with."

"But it's too early to celebrate." Ignitus agreed.

"Not while Dark Spyro is out there in the world."

Many parts of this chapter seemed slightly off as I was writing them, but after proof reading it all feels a lot better. Hopefully you think the same, and hopefully you can't understand why I might have had any trouble at all with this chapter.

If you can see any issues, however, then please do point them out in reviews. I may edit this particular chapter if it seems to need it.

I appreciate purely complimentary reviews too, so if you thought this chapter was perfect then I'd be grateful if you'd tell me I shouldn't worry so much. XD

Until next time!

-4Dragons