Stella was glad to return to the cave back at the beach. The warmth was intoxicating against the chill of the salty ocean air. When she entered the shelter, Spyro was sound asleep with Sparx snoozing on his foreleg. Flame was at the back of the cave, curled around an exhausted Ember. He stroked his dragoness along her neck, dabbing her with gentle kisses. The fire dragoness smiled peacefully in her sleep. Candice lay off to the side, facing the wall with her back to the fire. Stella guessed that she wasn't too happy with Tremor running off in his condition judging by the frozen ocean outside.

"How's everyone doing?" The lightning dragoness asked softly.

"As well as could be expected." Flame shrugged. "Spyro's wound is healed, but Ember is spent. They'll both need a couple days to recover at least."

"At least we have a sheltered place to stay." Stella sighed and sat down by the two fire breathers in front of the fire.

"It does make things a lot easier on us." Flame nodded. "We should use the time we have to begin planning on what to do about Cynder. When Spyro gets up, I have no doubt he's going to want to go after her right away. So we'll need a plan to find out where she's being held captive."

"Good idea." Stella nodded. Their conversation was interrupted by Spyro's subconscious mumbling.

"Cynder...Cynder..." He whimpered and shifted in his sleep.

Stella sighed sadly. She nodded to Flame and moved over next to Spyro and curled up alongside him. The lightning dragoness draped a comforting wing over him and Sparx before drifting off to sleep.

Tremor sighed as he lay down in the long grass beneath the apple tree. He was completely spent. He felt a chill run down his spine as the wind blew across the field. Tremor began to glow and the aura spread out from his body. The entire field began to glow, casting a calming green aura across the sky and forest. The blades of grass whistled in the wind and Tremor began to close his eyes. The tall foliage and tree branches seemed to bend towards him, letting their energy flow into him. Tremor felt the spiritual energy of the earth flow through his body, giving him new strength. His wounds began to heal as the blades of grass touched his body ever so delicately. As his body continued to heal itself, the aura began to fade away. By the time it was fully dark again, Tremor had fully recovered. But instead of heading back to the cave, he stayed in the field. The earth dragon sighed deeply as he started drifting off to sleep. It was peaceful out here. His only wish was that the ice dragoness was there with him.

Liun staggered onto the castle grounds. He was extremely sore from his fight with Tremor; more than he had expected or realized. He trudged up to the stairs and collapsed at the bottom of the flight. As he did, dark magic swarmed around him. Malefor leered down at the young black dragon.

"What are you laying down for? Get up!"

"I'm sorry Master." Liun wheezed. "I didn't expect to be beaten this badly. I didn't expect to be beaten at all."

"I, for one, am disappointed." Malefor growled. "You now possess my power and you still lost to the guardian of earth; with a handicap!"

"I have no excuses Master." Liun hung his head in shame. "I only wish that the other guardians were not around so I may have been able to use the full extent of your powers to beat him."

"Hmmm..." Malefor narrowed his eyes at the black dragon. "I agree that the situation was not ideal." He gave an irritated huff and the black flames pulsed in unison.

"I was hoping to break up their union in hopes that they would part and taking them down would be easier."

"Indeed." Malefor nodded. "I felt your intentions when you decided to open your mouth and get yourself expelled from the group."

"I'm sorry Master." Liun raised his head with a bit of difficulty. "I failed in my duty as your insider to the guardian's plans."

"If you were one of those wretched wolves, I'd dispose of you here and now." Liun's heart began to race as he saw the thoughts passing through the Dark Master's eyes. "However, you've done a good job up until now. So I will spare you on the account that you're a dragon as well as a loyal servant." The dark flames leaned in closer and Malefor's eyes glowed purple. "Don't forget that."

"I will not." Liun nodded loyally and his eyes flashed purple. Malefor's presence faded away and was absorbed into the black dragon's body.

Just then a pair of wolves entered the main chamber of the castle. They saw the black dragon on the floor and crept over to him. Liun looked up as they stared down at him curiously.

"Take me to my throne." Malefor growled, surprising the wolves. The canines looked at each other then the leader picked him up in his muscular arms. The wolves carried the wounded dragon to the tallest towers of the castle to the throne room where they set Liun down upon an old, somewhat dusty throne. Liun curled up and was about to drift off to rest when he cringed at one of his irritated wounds.

"Wait!" He called to the lead wolf before they could leave. He beckoned him to return to him. The wolf walked over to the black dragon and knelt down until he was eye level with him. Liun's eyes began to glow purple and dark magic filled the room. The wolf yelped in surprise and stepped back. The black flames surrounded him and spread throughout the entire castle. The wolves all howled as they began to feel a new power rush through them. High above the castle, the dark clouds began to thin out, allowing the moonlight to shine through. The light struck the wolf through an open window and it fell to its knees. The beast howled as it began to grow larger and larger. It's mane stood on end and his fur grew longer. The wolf's long fangs extended from its upper and lower jaws, forcing his muzzle into a terrifying snarl. The claws grew longer and sharper. The beast's muscles increased in size, turning the canine into a monstrous hulk.

The clouds thickened and the moonlight was blotted out once again. The dark flames withdrew into their host and Liun smiled, pleased with his work. The massive wolf breathed heavily, leaving globs of slobber on the floor. "Now, go on and exact my revenge." He ordered. The wolf turned its head to the sky. A thunderous roar burst from his throat and echoed throughout the castle halls.

Spyro woke up a couple days later. He let his eyes sweep around the cave at the other dragons. Flame and Ember were entangled lovingly together as usual. Candice was in the corner by herself and Tremor was on the opposite side of the cave from her.

Sparx rested on Spyro's foreleg and Spyro nudged him awake. The dragonfly yawned and looked at his brother who motioned for him to be quiet. Sparx nodded and groggily fluttered into the air. Spyro got to his feet, letting his stiff joints pop as he stretched out. It was then he heard a soft moan next to him . His head jerked down to see Stella sleeping beside him. She had placed her wing over him during the night and he had just moved out from under it. The lightning dragoness murmured in her sleep as Spyro moved away from her. The purple dragon smiled to himself. She had always been a very kind and nurturing friend. He hated to leave her in such a manner, but he only had two things on his mind: finding Cynder and defeating Malefor once and for all. As Spyro walked to the cave entrance, Stella's eyes opened.

Outside, the sun was already coming up. The rays felt warm against his scales and he sighed. The feeling was enjoyable if only able to last for a minute. He shook himself and rolled his shoulders, working the kink out of them. He was about to take off when he heard a voice behind him. Spyro turned to see Stella coming towards him and cursed himself for waking her.

"Stella..." Spyro stammered, feeling awkward at having been caught in the act of trying to slip away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I was...um...just stretching out..."

"Save it Spyro." The lightning dragoness gave a disappointed look. "I don't know why you all feel the need to lie to me. I can always tell with you guys." Spyro immediately felt bad. "I know you want to go after Cynder, there's no doubt in my mind that you're worried about her."

"He really is that easy to read isn't he?" Sparx laughed. Spyro gave his brother an annoyed look.

"We've been coming up with a plan to get Cynder back for the past couple of days." Stella continued. "You should stay and hear what we've come up with. We could really use your input since you have the most experience dealing with the Dark Master."

"I'm sorry." Spyro shook his head. "I can't risk you guys for a fight that Cynder and I should have finished before."

"You didn't know it was going to be like this." Stella protested. "You can't blame yourself."

"I'm not blaming myself." Spyro thrust his chest out. "I'm taking responsibility for a problem that is mine."

"But you don't have to do it alone Spyro."

"You're right. But if anything happened to any of you, I'd never forgive myself."

Stella felt hurt. She hung her head sadly and Spyro sighed to himself. He walked over and lifted her head to his.

"It's not you." He explained. "This is just something I need to do for myself."

Stella pressed her lips tightly together and sighed. She knew Tremor was stubborn but she had never expected that streak to run in Spyro. "I still don't understand." She shook her head. "But I trust you Spyro."

"Thank you Stella."

"Just promise me one thing." Stella looked him up and down in the early morning sunlight. He seemed almost majestic with the sun radiating off his scales. Upon closer analysis, she also noted how faded his purple scales seemed. "Promise me you'll be careful. And bring Cynder back safely."

"I promise."

"Alright then." Stella nodded with a smile and a feeling of ease. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Go get her."

Spyro blushed, surprised by the gesture. " I will." He nodded determinedly. He turned with Sparx and took off into the air.

"Good luck you guys!" Stella called after them as the two disappeared over the horizon.

Meanwhile, miles away from civilization, Snarl lumbered through his pack's cave that their village resided within. The entrance to the cave was too small for an adult dragon to enter but the inside was the equivalent of the eastern dragon city. Wolves scampered through the streets and across building tops. The structures in the middle to the massive cavern were where the females raised the cubs and fixed their clothing and food. The walls were littered with holes which were each family's home.

Snarl broke away from the other warriors of his pack and made his way to the dungeon. The prison had been installed at the back of the cave and was dug deep into the bottom of the floor. The Alpha descended the stairs to the central prison and nodded to the guards who stepped aside respectfully. Once inside, Snarl walked to the darkest, coldest cell he could find and flung Cynder into it. The dragoness awoke when she hit the floor. She tried to speak but her limbs and mouth were tied. Snarl spat on her and left her in the darkness.

Cynder watched as what little light there was left from the outside disappeared. She sighed and slumped to the damp floor. She shuddered from the chill and curled around herself as much as she could. Using her tail she cut free from the ropes that held her. The black dragoness gave her cell a quick sweep before curling up into the corner to try and retain some of her body heat.

"Well Ignitus." She thought to herself. "I'm here. Now what do I do?" She was only answered by silence.

"I can't believe Spyro!" Candice fumed as she paced around the cave. Stella had deliberately waited until all of the guardians had woken up to tell them what Spyro had done just hours before. None of them were particularly pleased.

"Look, I trust Spyro to be careful." Stella interrupted. "I suggest that we come up with a plan on our own and be quick about it."

"What are you thinking?" Flame asked calmly. He detected some sort of hidden agenda lurking in her tone.

"If we can find Cynder before Spyro, then we'll be able to find out where the Dark Master is hiding. We can meet up with Spyro and we can all take down the Dark Master as a team. As it should be."

"So why did you let him leave?" Candice demanded. "If we're supposed to fight together, then why let us split up to begin with?"

"Because it would have happened sooner or later." Stella replied calmly. "Holding Spyro back would have just caused tension and anxiety for everyone."

"That's true." Candice seemed to settle down at the explanation. "But even still, did he really have to go out alone?"

"He's not alone." Ember pointed out. "He has Sparx with him too."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Candice raised a brow.

"It should." Ember gave a slight bob of her head. She was still recovering from constantly healing Spyro and the others. Her recovery was taking longer than expected and Flame was insistent that they not act until she was back to one-hundred percent. "As loud and obnoxious as he can be at times, he's still a good voice of reason for Spyro. Those two will take care of each other."

"I suppose you're right." Candice sighed. "I just feel...uneasy about him going out on his own. I mean, he just barely recovered."

"I, for one, support Spyro in what he's doing." Tremor piped up. Candice noticed the tone of defiance in his voice and her temper immediately flared up out of habit. "If it were me and my dragoness was missing, I'd do the same thing. Hurt or not. I wouldn't care." Before Candice could say anything, he got up and left the cave.

The ice dragoness trembled furiously and unleashed a beam of ice. The energy streaked out of the cave and froze the ocean over again after having barely begun to thaw out. Tremor heard her angry scream over his shoulder but continued walking without so much as a glance behind him.

"Candice?" Stella walked up beside her friend. Candice was gasping for breath from the exertion. Flame and Ember stared at each other. This was the second display of the ice dragoness's rage within the week. Both were worried about her but feared the wrath they might face if they pressed her too hard. However, Stella knew what she was doing.

"Candice." Stella placed a paw on her shoulder. The ice dragoness had begun to tremble and looked up at her with tears in her eyes. Stella frowned. "Come on. Let's go for a walk. We need to talk."

"No...I-I'll be fine." Candice choked back her tears and wiped her cheeks with the back of her paw.

"No. Now." Stella ordered and locked her eyes with Candice's. The ice dragoness saw that her best friend was dead serious and that there was no way she would convince her otherwise. She just nodded and turned away from them and trudged outside.

"We'll be back soon." She said to Flame and Ember. "Keep the place warm alright?"

"Sure thing." Flame nodded and curled tighter around Ember.

Stella followed Candice outside then led her away from the cave in the opposite direction from Tremor.

Tremor sighed to himself as he walked across the field where he had found Stella two nights before. He couldn't get the ice dragoness off his mind. He had contemplated talking to her when he returned but when he saw the thick ice covering the ocean he knew he had best stay away for the time being. Now it seemed that the ice guardian was even more furious with him. The earth dragon began to wonder if he would ever get Candice to be pleased with him again.

Tremor was sitting beneath the apple tree, lost in his thoughts, completely oblivious to the world around him and the creature lurking nearby; watching him with evil yellow eyes.

The sea birds called out to the two dragons from overhead and drifted by on the cool sea breeze. The Stella and Candice walked for a good half hour before either of them spoke.

"What's been going on between you and Tremor, Candice?" Stella asked.

Candice paused for a long moment. She sighed heavily and hung her head. "I guess I can't hide it anymore." She admitted. "I do have something I need to tell you. Just... I needed someone to talk to."

"Go ahead." Stella coaxed gently. "I'm listening."

Candice turned her head back to the lightning dragoness. "You may want to sit down for this."