His heart thundered in his chest was he listened to the other speak. Moonlight fell over their backs from the bars they shared in their cell.

Artemis was his sister. His sister. His parents had lied to him his whole life, of course he wasn't a Daywing. He knew deep down he wasn't like the rest. But this, Lightray and Catastrophe, he still didn't understand why they couldn't have just told him the truth.

Not only a Nightwing, but a prince as well? And immune to the bite of that horrific monster? He had just spoken to his dead mother. Apollo's head was reeling. He was going mad.

"Apollo." Artemis said gently, from the darkness of their cell. Apollo blinked a few times, finally looking back to her.

"I know, I know." He shook his head. "We have to find a way out."

"I would say I could use my necklace, but I can't change unless I'm in contact with the other tribe I want to turn into. " Artemis said, the purple dragon touching the pendant hanging from her neck.

"How come they didn't take it from you?" He questioned, and Artemis slumped her wings.

"I think they know that it will protect me." Her eyes turned distant, like she was remembering. "It has once before."

"How do we get out, then?" Apollo cried.

Orange eyes suddenly materialized in front of their cell once again. Neither of them were startled this time. Apollo glared at Mimic, expression turning ferocious.

Mimic smiled at them, his scales turning into a lighter shade of purple.

"What do you want?" He spat.

"To help you." Mimic tilted his head. "You need a plan."

"Forget it." Artemis said. "We'd never accept help from you." She flicked her tail at that. "Don't think I would forget what you did. You manipulated me, and used my necklace to lead me here because of the Magicwings and their sick experiment."

Her voice was shaking with rage.

"All of that, the talking in my head and trying to convince me you were the Darkstalker and that I was special. You're the one who drove Shadowbender away from me by manipulating him as well. Why help us now? Neither of us trust you, you're crazy."

"But you need me." He hissed, grabbing at the bars of their cell. They glinted coldly at the glow of his gaze. "You'll never make it out on your own." He slumped his wings, face turning pained. "Don't you dare think I was exactly thrilled to help them, either." He hissed through sharp teeth.

"We don't need you. You need us. We don't want any part of your mind games." Apollo mumbled, folding his wings.

"Do you want help or not?" Mimic snapped. "I just want to get out of this place, same as you!"

Apollo looked at him, Artemis casting the gold dragon a questioning glance. Artemis steps up a little bit, warily tilting her wings as she neared the bars.

"What's your great plan, then?" Apollo asked, and Artemis turned to him in surprise. The gold Nightwing looked up at Mimic. "Say we were willing to accept your help."

"Apollo no-" Artemis began.

"Hear me out." Mimic said, pressing his talons to the bars.

Apollo arched his brow over at his sister, the other Nightwing giving him a pained look.

"Fine." Artemis hissed begrudgingly.

Mimic smiled, and Apollo growled at him. "Seriously, why are you so weird?"

Mimic rolled his eyes, and leant in a bit closer.

"Your necklace is enchanted." He said, pointing at Artemis' necklace. She clasped it in her talons at the obvious accusation.

"Pretty sure that's well known." She said slowly.

"How exactly does it work?"

Apollo wrinkled his snout. He loathed this dragon, no doubt about it.

"If I want to turn into a certain tribe, I have to be in contact with them before my necklace works it's magic and I become a different dragon." She said, rather quickly. "It only works for me."

"Well that's boring, I can do the same thing without a fancy piece of jewelry!" He exclaimed, his scales melting into a darker purple color and form shifting before he was now an exact replica of Artemis. Mimic grinned over at her through the bars, and Apollo shivered. That was so strange.

"But you can only be other dragons." Artemis commented, arching her brow. "Not new ones."

Apollo's ears suddenly perked up.

"Maybe that can be useful, though." He glanced at Artemis sideways, mind racing.

"We just need the keys to unlock the cell.." He began. "You can turn into a Magicwing to be our escort." Apollo pointed at Artemis, then, over at Mimic. "He can be you."

"I get it!" Mimic exclaimed, cackling a little bit. "Brilliant, far better than my plan."

"What was your plan?" Apollo scowled.

"Take that gal Pandora hostage-" Mimic began, but Artemis cut him off by slamming her talons on the bars.

"Nope, no, don't need to hear it."

"I can't believe we're actually considering working with this guy." Apollo groaned.

"Just considering?" Mimic rumbled.

"Shut up, we have every right to not trust you one bit." Apollo snapped at him, hissing under his breath a bit as his arm began to sting from the bite wound. He glanced over at Artemis and sure enough, hers wasn't looking the best either. Looks like they'd have matching scars on their forearms soon enough.

"But how do we get the keys to our cell?" Artemis pondered. She looked over at Mimic.

"Could you steal some keys? You're not even in a cell..."

Mimic suddenly lifted his tail, and a tight silver band was apparent around it. It seemed to have been welded onto and embedded in his scales.

"This thing won't even let me past the next few cells." He seethed, slamming his tail back down.

"Then what makes you think you can help us?" Apollo exclaimed, flaring his wings.

"You can get out and use your fire to destroy the crystals that are keeping me in here." He pointed past their cells view, up at the ceiling. "Two quartz pieces enchanted to hold me from going any further."

"And that will deactivate the band?" Apollo said slowly, while Artemis held a doubtful look.

"Yes, it will."

"You don't have fire?" Artemis suddenly asked, and Mimic glared at her.

"I don't have a lot of things, freak." He muttered.

Artemis rolled her eyes and slumped against their cell wall, Apollo looking over Mimics wings and squinting into the dark.

"So how are we supposed to get the keys, then?"

"I've got just the thing." Mimic cleared his throat, and turned away. He suddenly threw back his head and let out the loudest, thundering roar Apollo had ever witnessed. He could hear the guards shuffling and stumbling from above them, despite the faint ringing in his ears now.

He could hear the other prisoners, too. Some started to growl, some wailed and roared. Others shouted in a tongue none could understand.

"Mimic I swear-" Scalebreaker's groggy voice suddenly started up from beside them, and Mimic's eyes sparkled.

"Awake at last, nice to see you, Scalebreaker." Mimic turned, his lithe figure barely visible in the darkness.

"Just leave me alone." Scalebreaker groaned, and Apollo heard his talons hit the bars.

"But why? I have some splendid news! Your children survived, can you believe it?"

Apollo stiffened, and he watched as Artemis did the same from behind him. It seemed that Scalebreaker was going to say something, but the sound of Magicwings thundering into the hallway leading to their cells inturrupted him.

"Mimic!" An enraged female voice echoed out to them, and Mimic's sharp white teeth flashed in the darkness.

"Freya..." He said slowly, and Apollo watched as a light blue dragoness suddenly appeared and slammed him into the bars of the empty cell across from them.

"Nice to see you again." Mimic crowed, unfazed as he twisted his neck around to look at her.

Apollo and Artemis exchanged confused looks, watching as two more Magicwing guards with light radiating gemstones on their chests appeared behind Freya.

"How many times must I tell you." Freya began, digging her talons into his wing as he grinned again. "Shut your trap, before I rip out your tongue and shove you back in a cell. You're only walking around this place because you helped the queen. Don't mess this up."

"Sure, darling." Mimic said, sounding a little bored.

Freya hissed at him, low and menacingly, before backing away from Mimic. He was smirking as she backed away, looking over at Apollo and surprising him by winking slyly.

Freya only looked over at Apollo for a second, but when she did, Apollo felt dread build in the pit of his stomach.

"Leave the other prisoners be." She said, mint green eyes flashing over Artemis as well. She glared at Mimic once more, before turning away with her tail lashing behind her.

"Of course, darling! I promise." Mimic called as she walked off, and Apollo heard the dragoness curse at him before disappearing down the way she came.

Apollo blinked over at Mimic for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what just happened when just like that, the twisted Magicwing lifted his talons and swung a ring of keys around the claw. Mimic flicked his tail and folded his wings again.

"She's wonderful, isn't she?"

He approached their cell, rummaging through the keys as he tried a few.

"What's taking so long?" Apollo hissed irritably, just as their cell swung open. He stared up, blue eyes wide and surprised.

"You owe me." Mimic narrowed his eyes, pointing up at the now clear crystals on the ceiling as Apollo stumbled out. It was still a tight fit, but he could finally properly stretch his legs and wings. Artemis walked out not too far behind, nodding at him.

Apollo was walking to the crystals when his wing brushed against Scalebreaker's cell, and slowly, he looked in at the dark Nightwing who was slumped in the corner of his cell.

He set his jaw, turning back to Mimic with his talons outstretched. Though irritated, Mimic seemed to get the message. Apollo thumbed through the keys until he found the one for their row of cells. He met Scalebreaker's eyes as the door swung open.

He felt Artemis walk up behind him, her wings trembling just slightly.

"Find your own way to escape." She suddenly said, Apollo nodding firmly. "Don't follow us."

Scalebreaker slowly lifted his head with a sad sigh.

"I'm never going to be able to make things up to you two, am I?"

"Never." Said Apollo, and he and his sister turned away.

"Tough crowd." Mimic mumbled under his breath, and Apollo groaned in irritation.

"Shut up, let us concentrate." He said flatly, and Mimic, well, mimicked him as he said this.

Apollo narrowed his eyes up at the quartz, which was easily the size of his paw. He could probably knock it off and shatter it, from the right angle... He tilted his head and completley missed with the first ribbon of fire. He was reassured, though, as Artemis was having trouble as well. Finally, though, they both hit the quartz and knocked them to the ground, where they shattered into tiny pieces.

Apollo didn't bother to sweep them aside.

"Alright, what's next?" Artemis asks, and Mimic stares down at the quartz. He seems awed.

"Mimic." Apollo cut in, and orange eyes quickly met his blue ones.

"Yes, yes." He held out his talon to Artemis. "Do your thing."

Artemis was hesitant in reaching out to Mimic, scowling a bit. "Will this even work? You're not a pure Magicwing, right? You change too much.."

Mimic growled. "It will work."

Artemis outstretched her talon to his, her palm wresting on his wrist. She closed her eyes in concentration, and surely enough, her scales began to melt away.

A Magicwing now faced them, but Apollo knew it was still her. Dark purple faded into an even darker shade, and she had twisted silver horns.

"Nicely done." Mimic praised, his own scales melting away. Apollo knew better to look away this time, and his stomach was spared of the overwhelming nausea.

Another Artemis now stood and faced him. This was all too weird.

"Now, for extra precautions." Mimic cheered in Artemis's voice, slowly reached out to the necklace sitting at her chest, and Artemis immediately smacked his talons away.

"Paws off." She hissed, and Apollo cut off a laugh.

"We can't have that obviously hanging from your neck, though." Apollo suddenly said, and Artemis sighed.

She paused for a moment, before opening her wings and carefully tucking it in the folds of her wings as she closed them again.

"Only for now." She declared, looking down at her chest. "Moons, I don't like this."

"Now-" Mimic grinned. "Let's get out of here!"

~~~~

"OW."

"Sorry, sorry."

Seeing Artemis bicker, at, well, Artemis, was unnerving. His sister had bound Apollo and Mimic back up, and they both stumbled after her.

He tried to look forward and as inconspicuous as possible as they reached the top of the stairs that led to the cells.

Two new guards stood by, only one holding a staff encrusted with charms. They were quite startled by Artemis's sudden appearance.

"Where did you come from?" One of them asked, narrowing her eyes in obvious suspicion. She pointed the staff at Artemis's chest.

He expected the Nightwing to buckle. But to his surprise, she simply straightened her posture, scoffed, and pushed the staff away. The two Magicwings blinked at her in astonishment.

"Haven't you heard?" She said in an overly irritated voice. "I'm Chamomile, the new head guard!"

"New..guard?" Said the second female. "Nobody ever told us-"

"Unbelievable, Pandora is so unreliable." She scoffed. "She was supposed to spread the news, I was jus transfered in."

"You know Pandora?" Questioned the first female. "Well, she is a little inattentive and, how do I put it?"

"Forgetful?" Apollo offered. The Magicwings just glanced at him strangely.

"Isn't that one of the Nightwing-" started the second.

"Its a Nightwing, but that is all you need to know." Artemis said hurriedly. "The rest is classified. Now, ladies, would you please-?"

"Oh, oh of course, yes, sorry." Stumbled the second, backing away and accidentally stepping on Mimic's talons. He hissed in irritation, but cut it off when Artemis glared at him to stay silent.

Artemis walked past, her tail flicking behind her as Apollo and Mimic followed with bowed heads. As soon as they turned the corner, Artemis gasped and immediately slumped back down, wings trembling as they walked in the cold halls.

"Three moons, that was close."

"Nice improv." Mimic commented, arching a brow.

"Yeah, yeah, do you know a good way out of here?" Apollo asked Mimic.

"Er.. no, not exactly, but I have a feeling you may have a friend who does.."

Pandora.

"Well, I can't just waltz up to her with you two trailing behind me." Artemis said, narrowing her eyes. "You're going to have to hide, or we need a better plan."

Mimic glanced from Apollo to Artemis, another grin suddenly forming on his face.

"Hey, kid. I have a way to get out of this place, clear your names and ruin Shade's day. You know how to play dead?"

~~~

Mimic had taken the form of the second female guard. They would just have to hope that nobody realized there were two of them in the castle before they could escape, because there was only one way out.

Apollo was currently slumped over Artemis and Mimic's back, acting as limp as he could. He broke open the scab beginning to form over his bite wound, and just to sell the fact the poison had killed him, they had taken some ashes from the torches and smeared them near his wound and on his face.

Nobody gave Mimic or Artemis a second glance, but they certainly were baffled by Apollo as he was carried through corridors and large swinging doors.

"Out of the way." He heard Mimic saying. "He's infected, we need to burn his body right away."

"Is he really dead?"

"Moons..not again.."

"There isn't a new outbreak, is there?"

"Someone tell the Queen!"

Voices rang out in his ear as they passed, and dread twisted in his stomach at the fact they weren't as inconspicuous as he would have liked.

"Stop right there." A voice suddenly boomed, and he felt Mimic and Artemis stop.

He recognized the sound of talons scraping the floor as Magicwings hurried to bow to their Queen.

Shade loomed over him.

"What is going on here?" She said, voice bitter.

"The Nightwings were infected. They didn't make it." Mimic said curtly. Apollo could hear his struggle to keep his voice from turning enraged. Apollo never considered what the dragon had been through because of the queen..

"We're taking them away and burning them before they have a chance to infect others." Mimic finished, and Artemis was standing as still as a statue.

"Where's the female? The one with the necklace." Shade hissed.

"Nobody else wanted to handle her. She hasn't been brought up yet." Artemis said, and Apollo tried to still his breath as the Queen glared down at her.

"Why didn't you tell me it failed?" Shades voice became icy.

"We wanted to get out and destroy them as quickly as we could as to not arouse any suspicions or panic about another outbreak, your majesty." Mimic said in a clipped tone.

"Failure..another failure." Shade said, and suddenly she started laughing. "We're all doomed, it seems!" She then hissed under her breath. "My son has once again bested me, even in the state he is now."

The Magicwings around the Queen still hadn't risen from their bowed positions, and she roared to them.

"I don't care what you do with the bodies, but bring me that necklace." She seethed, slamming her tail to the ground as she glared down at an unfortunate guard near her. She looked around her at the others. "You may rise! Proceed."

Apollo nearly let out a cry of relief as he felt himself being moved along. They had to go quickly, though. They would realize something was up as soon as they didn't find Artemis or her necklace in their cell.

"Three moons three moons." He could hear the Nightwing now as she worried, walking a bit faster.

The doors. They finally made it to the doors. They swung open with a loud groan, and Apollo felt a gust of wind sweep over his body.

"Oh." He heard Pandora exclaim, and Mimic and Artemis stopped in their tracks. "They're...dead." Something in her voice didn't seem right for a Magicwing soldier. She sounded remorseful, and sickeningly guilty.

"No, they made it." Artemis suddenly said, and Apollo felt as he was suddenly dropped in the empty room that held the castles doors.

"Ouch." He said, and stumbled to his feet. Pandora's eyes were blown wide.

"Idiots." Mimic said, flaring his, well, the guards wings. "Inches from freedom and you just had to go and say something to the guard that brought you here in the first place!"

"We can trust her-" Artemis began.

"I-" Pandora began, but she just shook her head and placed a talon on Artemis's shoulder. Apollo tensed, not really knowing what to expect. "You're crazy. " She said, baffled. "I'm..I don't even know what to say, you glorious maniacs, other than you need to get the heck out of here before someone sees you."

They began walking out of the doors, when, like Pandora jinxed it, a sudden exclamation sounded out from the beginning of the right hall.

Pandora suddenly fell over right in front of the doors like she had fainted, so it was clear she wouldn't be any help.

"Later, Pandora." He murmured as he passed her, Mimic beginning to cackle as he changed back to himself.

"Wow, Scalebreaker's children really are something!" Apollo opened his wings in a grand sweep, and he watched as Artemis swung her necklace back over her head as they raced put to the path that lead into the forest. It was their best bet.

He was then struck with a sudden, blinding pain in his left wing as he prepared to take off into the forest. He stared at his wings membrane as he ran, seeing the five small holes that now peppered it. He dared to look back, and really wished that he didn't.

Seven, eight, nine, now ten Magicwings were now after them. In shades of purple, blue and even green, they looked like sky lights that had come to life. He stared back at the culprit of his new injury, a thin male Magicwing that was a dark colbat blue. He was in the front of the pack, and his eyes glowed pink as he circled small pebbles above his head.

Another stream of them raced at Apollo, and he was lucky enough to leap out of the easy as they thudded into the tree beside him. Now weapons of all kinds were being hurled at them as the Magicwings called upon their charms.

It wasn't exactly the best place to be, but for some reason, Mimic was cackling again, so much so that tears raced from his eyes.

"These are trees, aren't they! I've never seen trees before!" He bellowed. "By the Titans, why is the air so clean!"

"You can go mad over plants later, Mimic." Artemis said, yelping just as a spear raced over her head. "Let's just focus on not dying right now!"

"Glorious!" Mimic turned back to face the onslaught of soldiers, bellowing once again. "You and your stupid castle can kiss my a-"

"Mimic!" Apollo exclaimed.

Artemis suddenly roared as she was struck in the back, and Apollo watched as a dagger dug itself into the base of her neck. She stumbled and nearly fell, but Apollo caught her wing and hauled her back up.

"We need to get to the air." He hissed, and Mimic laughed again.

"Air! Flying!"

They were coming upon a break in the trees, and it looked like their only chance.

"You just move these giant things up and down, right then, Apollo?" Mimic said, flapping his ragged wings.

"Typically, yes." Apollo breathed.

This was it.

He was held back a little as he pushed off into the air as he tried to pull Artemis with him. The other Nightwing grimaced and hissed under her breath as Apollo reached down and wrenched out the dagger, and soon she was flying beside him.

Mimic was in the air, but flapping too much and trailing behind.

"Come on." Apollo roared down at him. The Magicwings were drawing closer.

"Kid! I'm working on it-"

With a thud, a spear nailed him straight in the back. The twisted point dripped with a silver blood.

Apollo watched as Mimic's face fell, and he closed his eyes.

"So much.. for a taste of freedom."

"Mimic-"

"No time." Artemis gasped. "Apollo, we have to go."

Mimic's wings went limp, and he fell back, deep into the canopy. Apollo felt a hollow feeling in his chest return as Mimic's glazed over eyes turned skyward.

They had no time.