A/N: Here we go! Meant to have this out yesterday, but got home so late I fell asleep instantly. Now, instead of being in gym, I'm in the library posting this. The mystery surrounding Liress and Nathan is cleared in this chapter, and the five finally begin the next stretch of their journey. But first, one of them must face the ultimate loss of innocence, and our protagonists will finally realize what sacrifices they will have to make.  Being a Rider is not just their destiny; it is their duty as well.

Now that our cast is complete, check out the banner above!

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"Nate, c'mon!"

Nathan shook his head at his brother's words and began following him once more. Toparien asked, Are you alright?

"I'm fine," he muttered aloud, too focused on shielding his thoughts to speak mentally.

The dragon snorted, displeased by his response. I still do not understand how you managed to drive Liress off. We were all incapacitated. It was an easy win for her, so why did she not - 

"I don't know, Toparien! Now can you please quit asking and leave me be?"

To say Toparien was surprised by his Rider's outburst would have been a vast understatement. Probing his mind, the orange fire dragon could only sense Nate's anger behind the wall which kept him from knowing the thoughts of the partner-of-his-mind-and-heart...and that titular description did not seem fit to currently describe their bond.

A wave of loneliness swept over him as the brother-of-his-Rider demanded, "Calm down, Nate! What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing," the other lied with such obviousness that Toparien would have snorted again in different circumstances. "And we don't have time for a discussion; we have to keep moving. Liress could return at any moment."

There was something oddly wrong in the way Nathan spoke the black-enchantress-servant's name, but the dragon could not sniff out the single foul odor amidst the rest. Opheila's mind touched his and asked in her soft-like-a-rockslide voice, When did Nathan begin acting like this?

I cannot recall the exact moment, for I have not seen him in over a fortnight. Toparien hesitated before adding in a questioning tone, Perhaps he has been like this for a while...?

The pink-wind-she-dragon cocked her head at him, blinking her inner eyelids. Nicholas seems just as surprised at his behavior, and Rose would have told me if something had been amiss when she last visited.

His silence was answer enough, and Opheila faced forwards once more as they continued following the two young men. Toparien was unsure of his course, which was unusual for him. He had always known what direction he and his Rider were traveling, as they had always been traveling together. But now, for the first time in his life, he felt alone.

Even shielding his mind, Nate could feel the pain he was causing his dragon and winced with guilt. It felt unnatural to keep secrets from Toparien, but Liress had been firm in her instruction. He was to continue on their journey and inform her of when they had determined the Progenitor's exact location. Then he and his love could finally be together, and that was all he wanted.

No matter what the task, he would do it for Liress. Every second his entire soul burned to have her, to hold her, and she had said that the aching sensation could only be stymied by her presence. So Liress had promised to visit him during his journey as often as she could, and he in turn swore he would keep her updated on their progress. He would do anything for her, even if that meant hurting himself by cutting off his other half.

"This is the place," Nicholas spoke up, and Nathan looked around to see that they were by the shore once again. It brought up fuzzy memories of faces that hurt him to think about, and so he shoved the thoughts aside to focus on the present.

"When did they say they'd arrive?"

His brother shrugged. "Angela just told me to wait here until they came. I still can't fathom how they expect to find a vessel large enough to hold all the dragons."

Don't forget about us! Dew huffed, sitting down with a soft thump.

A rustle sounded above, and Nate looked up to see Ion land on one of the nearby branches to inform them that, A ship is approaching, and it seems as though it can hold all of us.

"Are Nia and the twins on board?" asked Nick.

I could not ascertain for sure.

"Then let's hide - if it's anyone else, we don't want to be spotted." They all followed his directives, and Nicholas chose to hide beside his triplet. Nathan looked uncommonly tense considering the situation, which only served to worry him further. Emere had already informed him that his own brother was acting strangely quiet, and Nick knew that if Toparien was acting off, then whatever was eating at Nate had to be serious. "Is everything okay between you and Rose?"

"Huh?" Startled brown eyes met his own before quickly darting back to look at the ocean. "No. I mean, yes. There's nothing going on between us."

Rolling his eyes, he teased lightly, "Besides one thing, that is."

"What? What d'you mean?"

Nick looked at the other incredulously. "I mean the fact that you two have a courtship."

"We do?"

"Ha ha, very funny, playing the clueless idiot. As if you could forget about being in love with her!"

Nathan chuckled hesitantly along, still utterly confused about what his brother was suggesting. He in love with Rosaminda? She was, without a doubt, his closest friend - but love? That was preposterous. There had always only been Liress. Nicholas had no doubt mistaken their closeness for something more than it actually was.

Here it comes, Luminous said, radiating as much excitement as the twin dragons were at seeing their Riders once more. He glanced at Toparien who was staring at him to offer a weak smile. The dragon's gaze seemed to brighten slightly at that, but before either could speak, the ship came into view.

His jaw fell open in shock. It was a humongous vessel: twice as tall as their two-storied home with a width easily thrice of that and a length of at least thirty yards. The main deck had room enough for the five dragons along with extra space to move about, even with the mast taking up a good portion. Since it was clear, Nate assumed that their supplies were below deck.

From the bowsprit waved Niaomi, and so they all emerged from hiding as the ship came alongside. It settled further out from the coast that he'd initially expected, no doubt because it would be grounded if it came any closer. With a roar, Luminous sprung into the air, and Opheila and Silveran close behind.

Nick looked at the bondmates without wings before turning to Dewdrop. "Can you ferry the others across?"

Sure thing, the mistwolf replied, leading Bramble, Ava, and Ruyi out onto the water as he solidified it enough for them to walk across to the ship.

And we can fly you guys, Vindrlíf suggested with a horsey grin.

He quickly accepted his pegasus's offer while his brother chose to fly with Emere. Once his Rider was seated the green dragon took off, and Toparien followed without a word. Nathan didn't bother trying to rid himself of the oppressive wave of remorse and merely climbed onto Vinny, who was trembling with eagerness to fly once again.

The pegasi launched themselves into the sky, flying past Dew and the others below to arrive on the ship just moments after the dragons had. He smoothed down his hair as he dismounted, furrowing his brow at the figurehead that seemed a touch too familiar. His attention was soon redirected as his sister hailed him.

Nia's smile was too bright to be real, and Nate instantly knew something must have gone amiss. She refused to meet his quizzical glance as she hugged him, instead whispering into his ear, "Go to Rose; she needs you right now."

"Why me?" he murmured back, and she pulled away to stare at him in disbelief.

"Because you are her beau. Now get going."

Her shove didn't give him time to argue the fact, and he pursed his lips as he made his way to where Rosaminda was resting her head against Opheila's snout. The girl glanced up as she heard his footsteps, and the desolation in her usually bright blue gaze disturbed him.

The situation did not seem to call for words on his part. Resting against the stern nearby, Nathan simply waited for her to come to him. A minute had yet to pass before she turned, head still bowed, to walk up to him. It felt as natural as breathing for him to enfold her in a warm hug and rest his chin atop her dark brown waves, and - even more puzzling - was that it felt right.

He didn't have time to further analyze his feelings as she had finally begun to speak. "I killed someone today."

Instinctively his grip tightened and his lips brushed the top of her head. Rose shuddered once as she finally wrapped her arms around him in return as she continued. "It was at the docks. One of the soldiers saw us boarding the boat, and reached for his sword. I drew mine first, and he was about to alert the other guards when I struck him down. Just before he fell, his eyes met mine, and I...I could see the l-light go out in them. N-Nia had to pull m-me away...cause I - I couldn't..."

She finally broke down, sobbing onto his shoulder, and Nate rocked her back and forth as she cried. Opheila stretched out her neck so that her breath could blow across her Rider's back, and he looked up into the she-dragon's dark pink eyes and could read the depths of Rosaminda's pain in them. It was then that he realized what being a Rider truly meant: fighting for what was right. They had to find the Progenitor, which meant they couldn't be taken captive - no matter what the cost.

And as Rose's tears stained the shoulder of his shirt, Nathan wondered how much higher that cost would grow.