Retrix grunted as he was shoved harshly into a small rectangular cell. He fell onto the rough ice floor, bruising a wing, and lay their for a moment, listening to the harsh laughter of the dragons responsible. There was a soft patter of feet and another grunt as Zepos was thrown into the cage next to his. He didn't bother looking up, knowing the lightning dragon would now be rushing over to his side to the cage. He was in the middle; Silver had been thrown into the cell next to his, still unconscious.

Slowly the void dragon pulled himself to his feet and glanced over to Zepos, who had rushed over to his side of the cage. The electric dragon didn't look at him, eyes only for the silver dragon. He growled angrily.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Retrix, glancing over at her body. She was breathing evenly now, and was more asleep then unconscious.

Zepos let out a small sigh of relief before sitting down and glancing around the prison they had found themselves. It was fully made of ice, and very different from the other places they had been trapped in. Spiked icicles hung from the roof, creating the bars for each cage. There were sixteen cages set in rows of eight with a corridor set in between them. There was very little light, most likely because it was still night outside, and what light there was had a blue tint to it, barely illuminating the dragons in the other cages.

"Newbies 'ey?" said a voice from the cage opposite to Retrix's.

The void dragon looked up, spotting an earth dragon in the cage. He had walked up to the edge and was now gazing at the three of them with a hungry glint in his eye. It made Retrix shiver slightly.

"What ar' you three in for?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" replied Retrix with a snort.

"Nothing. Just... curious," he titled his head, looking between the void dragon and Silver, "Never seen your two's species before, ey. Nothing like it before."

"I'm a void dragon," snorted Retrix, "She's metallic."

"That's interesting, ey. And why'd you be in here then?" asked the earth dragon.

"We were framed," said Zepos, taking a step forward, "They thought we were working for D.E.D."

Retrix chuckled slightly at that. The lightning dragon still hadn't figured it out. What he thought was a misunderstanding was something completely different.

"Ha! There ain't' no misunderstandings 'ere, 'ey. Must 'ave got you for something. Mind dragons can usually tell when you 'ave been do'in something wrong," snorted the earth dragon.

"Well, we didn't do anything wrong," growled Zepos.

"Why are you in here?" Retrix said, trying to take the conversation away from any conflict.

"Murder, 'ey" the dragon grinned with a flash of teeth, "Some numskull tried to beat me, so I crushed 'is skull in."

"Great," the purple dragon muttered before turning away and glancing once more at Silver.

He was worried for her, more then he cared to admit, and seeing her like this mad him angry. If he wanted to he could escape the prison within the next minute or so but something told him that Thylo was watching, and as soon as he ripped open a portal she would get his punishment. He shivered slightly, remembering the scream Silver had let out. It was unworldly, all this. It was so different to what he had seen of dragons so far.

"There's not many of you down here," Zepos said, continuing the conversation.

"'Cause not many dragons are stupid enough to go again the Syndicate, 'ey," said the earth dragon.

"Does anyone ever get out?"

"Well, every time these jail cells fill up, 'ey, they do this tournament thing. The winner gets ta' go free. It's a good way to clean up cells 'cause it's not uncommon for dragon's to die, ey'."

"But the cells are full now."

"Exactly young one," the earth drake grinned evilly, "Any day now they'll make an announcement, and the fight'n 'ill take place."

"And what if you don't want to join in?" asked Zepos.

"Ya' don't have a choice. And you'd probably be wanting to, especially since you were 'framed' and all," the dragon laughed before turning away from the lightning drake.

Zepos snorted before lying down, taking one more glance at Silver. The worry was evident in his eyes. Retrix sighed. If there were a fight to be had, the he wouldn't shy away from it, especially if there was a way to get free. The only problem was only one dragon got to go free, and while he wanted it a lot, he knew that it had to be Silver. She was the one they were after, and if she was captured by A.O.D.H then he hated to think what she would be used for.

A small groan escaped the silver dragon, causing both the drakes to glance over at her. She moved slightly, her shell catching what little light there was. It reflected the surrounding area, making her look the same light blue as the ice surrounding them. Her eyes opened and closed again as she growled. Retrix felt a twinge of pity, knowing that she would be in some pain.

"Silver!" called Zepos, causing the dragoness to growl again, "Are you alright?"

She didn't reply, lifting her heavy head up and looking around the area. A frown ran over her maw as she struggled to sit up. There was a cough, and another groan, before she pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes widened slightly as she finally realised where they were.

"What... what happened?" her angry voice broke through the silence.

"Thylo entered your mind and knocked you unconscious," said Retrix with a soft voice, "He then tortured you until we agreed to give ourselves up."

She glanced over at him, and then at the worried Zepos in the other cage, "Why didn't you attack him?"

"He was invisible to us," the void dragon continued, "And if I went through the void he threatened to destroy your mind."

She growled again, and shook her head, "That explains the headache."

"Are you alright?" Retrix finally asked.

"I'm fine. It'll go away eventually," Silver replied shortly, before glancing around the prison, "Where are we?"

"You are in Cinder prison!" came a familiar voice, "I hope you're finding your accommodations suitable."

They all turned to look at the culprit and Silver let out a growl, standing up on all four feet. She swayed slightly, before managing to balance herself. Taking measured steps down the corridor was Zoralth, the king of Eldawin's Syndicate. He had a triumphant smile on his maw and a glint in his eyes. The other dragons in their cages had all backed away slightly and some even looked scared. The silver dragon paid them no mind however, and stepped forward with an angry snarl.

Zoralth's eyes narrowed slightly as he came to a stop outside her cage, "What is with all this hostility little one?"

"Little one? Little one! How dare you!? You traitor to the dragon race! You steel the minds of others and use if for your own gain," Silver snarled, her metallic tail whipping against the hard ice floor.

A growl escaped the telekinetic dragon, "What I am doing... is for the betterment of the dragon race."

Her eyes widened slightly, "You're working for A.O.D.H! How on earth is that for the betterment of the dragon race?"

"You're too young to understand," he said standing up straighter and looking down on her.

"Too young? You're mind has been muddled. They're feeding you lies! You think controlling every last dragon on earth will make it better for us! That's quite possibly the stupidest thing I've heard!"

"You make too many assumptions young one. We don't want to control every dragon on earth. In actual fact, there is really only one more we need," Zoralth titled his head, looking at her, "I'm sure even you are smart enough to figure out who this dragon is."

A shiver of fear ran through her. They were after her. For some obscure reason, they were after her. There was really only one reason she could think of, but that didn't make any sense, because if it was for that reason then they would be after Retrix as well.

"Why?" Silver asked, "Why do you want me?"

"Because of you're metal. We need you're metal."

"But why?"

Zoralth laughed, "You'll find out when you get to A.O.D.H."

Silver growled in response, "Good luck getting me there."

"There's no escape from this place, young Silver, but you are welcome to try."

With a roar the dragoness suddenly leapt forward, the end of her tail forming into a blade. She crashed into the icicle bars, lashing her tail forward in an attempt to cut through them. However, instead of cutting through the bars like she had planned, her tail simply bounced backwards, followed by her body, and she was thrown into the centre of the cage, landing on her back with a grunt. She roared as pain lanced through her head once again. Taking a deep breath she slowly rolled to her feet before standing up.

Zoralth was laughing, and he shook his head, "You won't be able to escape this place Silver. Every icicle is protected by a field of telekinetic energy, making every attempt at attacking them hopeless. Attacks, of any sort, will simply bounce off."

"I will get out of here," growled Silver, "You won't hold me."

"I agree with you, which is why, sometime this month, I will be handing you over to A.O.D.H."

A small smile went over Silver's face, "You know, everyone in these cages knows who you are now. That's sixteen dragons that can give out information that you are working for A.O.D.H, and then everyone in the Syndicate will know about it as well. You will be destroyed."

"Ha! You really think I didn't already know that? I've put certain measures in place to prevent anyone in this forsaken prison from hearing this conversation. Mind dragons are the most useful creatures on the face of the earth," Zoralth smiled, "And Silver, every time you try to mention this conversation with anyone, a bout of pain will flood you, much like the collars of D.E.D, but this pain will be mental instead of physical. Do you understand?"

A growl escaped her once more, before she lowered her head, "I... I understand."

"That's a good dragoness," Zoralth laughed before turning away to look at the rest of the prisoners, "As I'm sure you all know, whenever there is sixteen dragons in here I host a tournament, where the winner will go free. It will start the day after next."

A small cheer ran through them all.

"However, there will be a unique... challenge in this tournament. Instead of going free, the winner will face the greatest dragon of Eldawin's Syndicate. The dragon of equilibrium, Firefly. If you manage to defeat her, then you will go free. Good luck," the telekinetic dragon added with a grin before turning and walking out of the prison, followed by the complaints and groans of the several dragons inside.

Silver watched him go, feeling a seething anger rise in her. She would destroy that dragon, and escape from this prison. Taking a deep breath she looked into the sky, she just hoped Merene would reveal herself before it was too late. The mind dragoness was their only hope now.

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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed. this is a fair bit shorter then most of my other chapters recently, so sorry about that :) Anyway, vote if you did enjoy and comment what you thought about it. The next chapter will be out soon. See Ya! 

Pennator^^