This was really fun to write. XD It took me a while to place all the details though... I hope it turned out alright!
Reviews:
SilverDragon2891- Thank you! Haha, many stories with cliffhangers has hardened me. I may never be the same. XD Ack! I can't escape the grammar errors!

XxTheSomeonexX- Thank you so much! :D
gr4n1t3 th3 dr4g0n- Aw. Thanks! :)
And of course. I do not own Spyro or any canon characters. Only Asteren and Melaine.

~ -.- ~

"How could you do this?!" Melaine wailed from beside Asteren, her blue eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I didn't do anything!" Asteren snapped, a dark scowl on her face. They had been 'escorted' to the jailhouse of the Dragon Village and 'shown' into a dark room. The room's only source of light was a small fireplace near the side. It was eerie, with an air of gloom hanging about. Asteren found herself fighting back shivers.

"You were seen talking to the ape suspect just before the Oracle Orb disappeared." The green dragon said, leaning towards her. He had a dangerous glint in his eyes that had Asteren leaning away from him.

Before she could get much further, the red dragon guard pushed her back from his position behind her. "Don't try to escape." He snarled.

"Then tell your friend to stop shoving his face in my space unless he wants to get smacked!" Asteren growled, burying her claws into the soil below her. "All I did was ask the monkey mutant if he knew where the mango cake stand was."

"You knew it was a he!" The green dragon loudly accused, pointing at her with a finger.

Asteren groaned in aggravation, wanting nothing more than to get out of here. "A blind fish could tell that was a he!"

The green guard hummed in acknowledgment, stepping away from her. He paced in front of the two dragonesses, shooting Melaine what he probably thought was subtle glances. "Very well then. If you don't want to confess your crime, we'll do this the hard way."

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Asteren snarled, feeling her mane bristle. She buried her face in her paws, trying to hide the fear that had welled up in her at the thought of the 'hard way.' What was the hard way? Did it hurt?

"Lying won't work here!" The green dragon yelled, stopping in front of her. He puffed his chest out proudly, a slight smirk crossing his face. "I can tell a lie when one is told."

"Well there's a nice example of an oxymoron." Asteren mumbled, taking her paws away from her face.

A third guard, a rather small yellow dragon, poked his head in. "They're here."

"Ah. Show them in." The green dragon gave Asteren a last glare. "She's not admitting anything."

The door was thrown wider open, exposing more light inside the dark room. Asteren turned at the sound of footsteps and almost cursed aloud at what she saw. Three dragons and a dragonfly were walking into the room, seeming to ignore Asteren's presence. Melanie's eyes grew wide at the sight of the three heroes, her mouth slightly agape.

To say Asteren was angry was a big understatement. She was furious! It felt as though all her dignity had been stripped from her and thrown onto the floor, then stopped on by a herd of stampeding cowlets! Every single instinct she had was telling her to bolt away while the door was still being held open but the single rational thought left was reminding her that she wouldn't get very far with Spyro here.

Spyro. She almost sneered at the name. The very dragons she had tried her best to avoid, now walking into the same room as her! Her lips quivered as she suppressed a snarl and she quickly turned away from the dragons before she lost control. Instead, she glared at the wall opposite from her.

"The blue one was spotted talking to the ape just before the orb went missing by a turtle. The ape was apparently wearing a disguise, a pink cloak with flowers." The red dragon explained to the heroes as they walked in, gesturing to the scowling Asteren with a paw.

Asteren's jaw fell to the floor. "The turtle?! The turtle told you?!" She snapped, whirling back around to face the dragons. She glowered at all four of the esteemed band of heroes, ignoring the flashes of surprise that crossed their faces. "Did he also mention that I was running for my life from that sorry excuse of a monkey?!"

Sparx snickered. "You ran from an ape with a pink cloak?"

"Oi! I wouldn't be talking, you glowstick!" Asteren barked, her silver eyes narrowing.

Her words had the desired effect. Sparx's smirk disappeared to a dark grimace and he glared over at her from above Spyro's head. Spyro shook his head before the dragonfly could counter her insult. "Enough you two."

"You aren't the boss of me!" Asteren stated sharply.

Melaine whacked the back of her head with her wing. Asteren cursed, lifting her paw to rub ruefully at the back of her head. "Quit arguing!" Melaine quietly hissed.

"Who are you? My mother?!" Asteren snapped back, glaring at the iridescent dragoness.

"Of course not!" Melaine sounded almost insulted.

"Thank God." Asteren muttered, turning back to the band. "I didn't do anything wrong and no matter how many times you interrogate me, I won't lie! So you might as well either give up or accept that I'm innocent!" She huffed.

"Cause you certainly sound innocent." Sparx said sarcastically, his arms crossed over his chest.

Asteren rolled her eyes, turning back around to face the wall. Footsteps sounded behind her but she stubbornly refused to turn. Cynder cautiously poked her head in Asteren's line of sight, studying her curiously with emerald eyes.

"How are we supposed to believe you didn't help? What proof do you have?" The black dragoness asked, stepping closer to her.

That made Asteren pause. What proof did she have? She bit her lip as she pondered over this, turning it over and over in her brain. She gave an aggravated sigh, scratching at her mane as she thought.

"Well..." Everyone's eyes seemed to be trained on her. Melaine was staring at her from beside her, Cynder was looking at her from in front of her, and she could feel the gazes of the other dragons behind her.

The hair along her back bristled. Asteren shifted herself into a more defensive position, meeting Cynder's gaze head on. "How could I have possibly helped him from the other side of town?"

"SO YOU KNEW HE WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!" The green dragon bellowed, jumping in front of her. "I knew it! Guilty! Guilty!"

'Asteren. Just stick your foot in your mouth and get it over with.' Asteren inwardly groaned, clapping a paw to her forehead. "I only knew he was on the other side of town because-"

"It's the jailhouse for you Missy!" The red guard snapped, stepping towards her.

'Oh no. No. No. No.' Asteren gasped, her eyes widening. The guard reached towards her, his paw heading for her arm.

"NO!" Asteren burst, leaping out of his reach just as his claws brushes against her scales. "Stay away from me, you pillock!" She snarled, positioning herself for a fight.

The green dragon jumped in to help his friend, glowering at her. "You're just making it worse for yourself!" He warned, taking a threatening step towards her.

Asteren backed away from them, her eyes narrowing. Her heart twisted in fear, driving away all logical thoughts. She bared her teeth at the two guards, the mane along her back fully bristled.

"WAIT!" Melaine screamed, making everyone in the room jump. "This isn't how it's supposed to go!" She cried when everyone turned to her, her eyes a bright shade of blue.

"What?" It was Flame who spoke first, his face twisted in confusion.

Asteren rolled her eyes, glancing at the guards. Both their heads were turned, staring at Melaine. Her gaze traveled to the doorway, looking longingly out at the light visible.

Before anyone could blink, Asteren bolted for the door as fast as she could, shoving past the two guards. "HEY!" The red guard yelled after her.

Teeth sank into her tail and her flight was stopped abruptly, followed by a sharp pain in her tail. Her paws slid out from under her as she was yanked back, away from freedom. Hissing, Asteren turned to glower at the green guard, trying to pull her tail free. "LET ME GO!" She roared, striking out at him with a paw.

"ASTERN QUIT!" Melaine shrieked from the sidelines, her eyes turning a bright red.

"To your cell!" The red guard grabbed her arm.

Asteren kicked out at him, slamming her footpaw in his hind leg. The guard stumbled, landing directly on top of her. Asteren tried to shove him off as the green guard gave her tail another painful jerk.

"STOP!"

Everyone in the room froze. Asteren had one of the red dragon's curved horns in her paws and her footpaw was in the process of kicking his stomach. The guard had a pawful of her mane clenched tightly in his paw, trying to push the outraged dragoness back. The green guard still had her tail clenched tightly in his jaw, pausing in the process of pulling her away from his companion. Melaine stood on the sidelines next to Cynder, both dragonesses watching the fight with wide eyes.

Eight pairs of eyes turned to look at the purple dragon but only seven of them were friendly. Asteren was shooting him the darkest glare she possessed. Spyro seemed to ignore her hostility, turning to look at the guards.

"She'll come with us."

"WHAT?!" Four voices yelled at the same time. Asteren, Sparx, Flame, and the red guard all had similar expressions of disbelief, staring at the purple dragon before them.

Spyro glanced at Asteren before turning back to the guards. "She'll come with us and bring the Oracle Orb back."

"Spyro! What are you doing?!" Flame growled, turning his blue gaze onto the purple dragon.

"Giving her the chance to prove her innocence." Spyro stated, glancing between each member of his band.

Sparx huffed, shooting Asteren a glare. "She'll just run off the second she gets a chance."

"If she does then we'll take her to the nearest jail." Spyro decided aloud, turning his gaze on Asteren. She could see a few glints of icy coldness in his purple eyes and glared back at him.

Asteren wrenched her tail from the green dragon's grasp and shoved the red dragon off her. She stood up to meet Spyro's stare, her eyes narrowing. "And who says I'm going to go with you?" She sneered.

Spyro raised an eyebrow at her. "It's either that or jail."

Her lips turned down in a scowl.

~ -.- ~

"Keep up pokey!" Sparx hovered near Asteren's head, staring her straight in the eyes. "No resting until nightfall!"

"Shut up Tubby or I'll throw Melaine's book at you." Asteren grumbled, shoot him a dark glower.

"Oh. This is going to be so much fun!" Melaine squealed from beside Cynder, clapping her paws together. Cynder smiled at her, her emerald eyes dancing happily as she gazed around the forest.

Sparx turned his head to give Asteren a smirk. "Don't try anything Bluebutt. We're keeping a close eye on you."

Asteren raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps forward. "Oh really?"

"Yes. Really." Sparx answered, keeping his gaze trained on her.

"Well if I was you, I would keep the other eye on where I was going."

"Hm?" Sparx turned around just in time to bonk his forehead on a low hanging branch. He gave a dramatic yell, clapping his hands to his head.

Now it was Asteren's turn to smirk.

~ -.- ~

I really hope no one is too OOC. DX I'm trying to keep their personalities the same while showing how they would react to someone like Asteren. Cause even I'll admit, Asteren is a turd. XDD
Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!