The five kids stood in the darkness outside the cavern, breathing heavily from their close ordeal. Light bloomed from Nate's fingertips, and Ren rushed forwards to hug her twin. Crying, Rose squeezed her tightly in return, hiccuping, "I - I th-thought we l-lost y-y-you."

Stroking her sister's drenched blonde hair, Renata said soothingly, "You haven't lost me, Rosie. I'm here...I'm here."

Nick was still standing close to his beau's side, and as soon as she pulled away far enough away from Rosaminda to smile at her, he wrapped one arm tightly around her waist. "What happened to you when that stalactite fell?"

Leaning onto his shoulder, Ren let her sister step back before replying, "I'm not sure. One minute I'm there, then the next I'm falling into that icy tomb. I tried to escape, but the magic was too strong to overcome. I could feel myself slipping away, so I sent my soul out before I was completely consumed. Since the spell was cast frantically, I used my name instead of the medium, and that lead to - "

"The bird," Nicholas finished, his eyes wide in the dim light. "You were the wren that lead us to you."

She nodded, smiling weakly. "I was lucky that, due to my disorientation, in the spell I used the name of the bird instead of my own."

"And so the link connecting your soul to your body was the broken arm-slash-wing," Nia realized.

"Yes," Renata confirmed, looking up at her beau and clutching his free hand with both of hers. "If it hadn't been for you healing my arm, and Nia healing my wing, my soul would have remained trapped as a bird until the link was broken. And then I would have been drifting bodiless for most likely all of eternity."

"That wouldn't have happened," Nick argued, turning her around so they were facing each other, his eyes burning like emeralds in the firelight. "Because I would have found you. I will always find you."

Hands tracing his face, Ren's voice was choked as she whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again - never see any of you again. I thought the last glimpse I would ever have of your face would be one of pain."

"But it wasn't," he soothed, drawing her into a tight hug. "No more what-could-have-been's. You're here, safe, and that's all that matters."

Pulling back, the blonde grasped his face in her hands and pulled it down to kiss him fiercely. Once that was done, she turned to the other two who had yet to be personally greeted and spread her arms wide.

Niaomi was the first to come forward, touching her godsister's face lightly with one hand before she wrapped her arms around the other girl, tears falling as she whispered, "Thank all the gods you're safe. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably just never be the same again," Renata teased, and Nia laughed through her tears.

Nathan was the next to step forward, maneuvering the light so that it hung as an orb beside him. He smiled wryly and said, "Now that you're back, I guess I can stop being the tough guy."

"Never knew you needed me gone to be that," she replied, equally wry.

He laughed and hugged her tight, whispering an unintelligible phrase for her ears alone. Ren just squeezed tighter and replied softly, "I know."

Once they pulled apart, Niaomi rubbed her hands together briskly. "Alright, guys - time to keep moving. There's still two trials left and six elements to use."

"I'm fearless, remember? My trial can't be too hard."

Rose rolled her eyes at her beau's cockiness. "Of course, darling. You and Ren will do splendid."

"Easy for you to say," Renata chided her twin. "You completed your trial without a hitch."

"Nia was most definitely a hitch."

"Uh, guys? I think we're losing focus here - " Nia paused to glare at Rosaminda. "Hold on. Why'd you have to add the 'most'?"

"Losing focus like you said," the blonde replied rather than answering the question. "Lead the way, Nate."

Her godsister grumbled but followed the rest as they charged onwards through the darkness.

____________________________

The reminiscence's image rippled, displaying the five teenagers traveling through the winding passageway. Ren, still drained from her time spent within the ice, stumbled for a second as she yawned, but her beau was right there to catch her.

"How long do you guys think this thing is?" she asked drowsily, fighting off another yawn.

"Too long," Nate answered crossly, squinting through the gloom. "We've been traveling forever."

"And how long has it been since we came here?" Niaomi worried, biting her lip. "What if Alagaësia has since passed? What if Mom and Dad..."

"Stop that, Nia," Rose demanded. "They wouldn't leave us no matter what."

"But it's their home."

Walking over to take the raven-haired girl's hands in hers, she reminded, "Their home is with us, no matter where we are."

"You're right," her godsister said with a semi-relieved sigh.

"Of course she is!" Nathan agreed heartily, using his free hand to hug his beau to his side. "Now, let's find those dragon eggs!"

"Naaate," everyone groaned as the light in his hand was extinguished.

"Oops."

Though the mirror was pitch black, Eragon could still pick out the distinct sound of a hand hitting a forehead, though whose he could not say. "Well, the words act as a trigger, don't they?" questioned Renata in the darkness. "Can't one of us just say them again?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Nicholas's voice echoed. "I think the words must come naturally for them to activate and inactivate the cavern's traps."

"But what about when I said it the first time?" his sister asked.

"I think that was the catalyst," the boy replied. "All these other times should be normal occurrences."

"So it wasn't my fault!"

"Shut up, Nate." Nia's tone was a bit too sharp for mere irritation. "So what will happen if we say the phrase on purpose?"

Nick's sigh resonated through the tunnel. "Judging by what's happened so far, it'll probably be nothing good. So our best bet is too keep moving."

"Do we have to hold hands again?" his brother groaned.

"Let's just go," the oldest triplet directed crossly, and footsteps started moving forward. More sounded as the others followed.

A few moments later, Rosaminda whispered, "We're walking through pitch black darkness yet again, but there's no lava. So where's the issue?"

Nate's voice spoke up hesitantly, sounding muffled. "Uh, maybe it's the fact that your voice sounds like it's coming from inside the wall?"

Nicholas groused, "What have you done now?"

"Me? How is this my fault?"

"Because your voice is the only one on the opposite side of the wall," Ren explained tiredly though another yawn.

It was silent as the boy digested the news before he finally moaned, "Dammit, how'd this happen anyway?"

"Must've been a fork in the tunnel that we didn't notice in the darkness," Nick answered. "I guess our best bet would be to continue on and hope the two paths converge."

"But first of all, can anyone use magic?" asked Niaomi, cursing quietly after a sharp thud echoed.

"Watch your step, sis."

"Shut it, bro."

"Stop squabbling," Nicholas chided his two older siblings. "It doesn't seem we can on our side."

"No go here." Steps sounded as Nathan continued, "Might as well keep trudging through the blackness, like you said. It'd be too difficult to turn around and find out where the fork is."

"Alright," Rose agreed hesitantly. "Be careful, Nate."

"You too, Rosa."

"Ugh," Nia groaned as they started moving forward again. "Beaus."

"Shut it."

"Make me - oh, wait, you can't."

"Purple-eyed nagger," Nate scoffed.

"Covetous weakling," his sister cruelly countered.

"Ugh," Renata groaned as the two continued trading insults, the girl's distinctly meaner than her brother's. "Siblings."

Their voices faded as present-day Niaomi explained, "It took some time, but we managed to reach the place where the tunnel rejoined."

In the reminiscence, the scene of which she spoke was being displayed. The image was beginning to grow lighter as Nathan's voice called, "Hey, we're finally back together again!"

"Yippee," his beau cheered drolly. "I was counting the minutes."

"Not aloud, thank the gods," Nia sneered as the darkness dissipated, her twisted expression becoming visible.

"Watch your mouth, you insolent brat." Ren's voice was colder than Eragon had ever heard. "That's my twin you're talking to."

"I don't need a pathetic 'big sister' to stick up for me." Rosaminda didn't sound like herself, and Eragon was quickly realizing something was very wrong. It was getting brighter, but not from any actual source of light; the five cast no shadows. The pockets of black that remained seemed to be seeping into everyone except for Nate, making him and their surroundings grow brighter by comparison.

The brown-eyed boy had also come to see the true problem at hand. "Hey bro, what's happening to you guys?"

The curl of Nick's upper lip became visible as the rest of the gloom finally disappeared. "You always need me to explain things, don't you? By Athena's hand, it's like you haven't got a mind of your own!"

"Now that's uncalled for," Nathan ground out, fists clenching. "It's not stupid to admit you don't know something."

"You're right," Renata smirked. "It's just stupid to not know in the first place."

The others laughed with her, and he turned to the other blonde in confused dismay. "Why are you laughing? You're the one in love with the 'stupid' guy."

Her laughter halted at once, and she twirled a long golden strand around one finger, murmuring, "You're right. I'll have to remedy that."

Nate's face grew increasingly horrified by the second. "What?"

"We're through, Nathaniel."

He froze as Rose turned and walked away, the others giggling as they followed. Eragon heard Ren say, "Good decision, sister."

But what was even worse part was viewing the boy's expression as his once beau replied, "Best I've ever made."

[Chapter Word Count: 16387]