She woke with a start, and found a sharp talon poking at her snout. Hissing and baring her fangs, she instantly sized up the dragon in front of her. Once the culprit squeaked and leapt back, she realized it was just Artemis.

"I almost bit you!" She exclaimed at the Nightwing, but Artemis's attention seemed to be focused elsewhere. "What are you looking at-?" Mamba began, but Artemis gave her a fierce look and held  paw over her own mouth, signaling for quiet.

She glanced around, taking in their surroundings. One thing was for sure, they certainly weren't in the desert anymore. The cool, damp stone beneath her talons was abundant with moss, and tiny weird little bell shaped flowers. She had been laying on a bed of leaves, and she could clearly see five more around her. The thing was, except for her and Artemis's, two more were empty. Snowfall was curled into a spiky blue ball, asleep, and he radiated a stronger cold than usual. Tempest was snoozing nearby, her wings splayed out like she was trying to take flight in her dream. But Potent and Mudpuddle were not there. For a moment, icy claws gripped Mamba's heart with a familiar feeling.

She hadn't lost more of her friends, had she?

"Well, would you look at that." A voice suddenly echoed, and Mamba took a staggering step back towards Artemis. Her gaze follows Artemis's own, until she sees what the Nightwing had been staring at. Two incredible blue eyes and the hazy outline of a dragon can be seen, shadowed away in a dark corner. "The colorful one is finally awake." It sighs.

Mamba glared into the corner, unease rippling down her back and up her wings, only to be muted by the red crawling up her scales. "Show yourself." She hisses, "or else."

"Or else what?" They barked a laugh, and Mamba confirmed the voice definitely belonged to a male. He had a faint accent she couldn't quite pinpoint, but it reminded her of bright, sunny days. Nice at first, but it could grow deadly. "Unless whatever tribe you are can bend time and read my mind-" they mocked. "You don't have a chance against me."

Artemis's brow creased once he mentions reading minds, but that was understandable. Mamba snorted, having enough of this mystery figure. She stubbornly marched to the corner, where she could easily see the figure trying to retreat, and grabbed a hold of his forearm. She quietly noted how muscular his arm was, but didn't say anything. Dragging the figure into the filtered light, she was startled by what she saw.

This guy was a Nightwing. At least, he looked a lot like one. A lot like a certain Nightwing in particular. Mamba glanced at her friend, meeting Artemis's astonished gaze. He was the same height, maybe a inch or so taller than her. His body shape, while a bit more muscular and less starved looking, matched hers exactly. Every snout curve, their tail shape, and talon length. It was like she was looking into a very messed up mirror.

But that's where the similarities ended.

He was gold. His scales were like coins that had been melted down to fit his mold. He had sharp white horns and spikes, talons as well. He wore a slightly ridiculous black mask, which had space for his eyes to peer through. But his eyes; wow. They seemed to be every color of blue at the same time. His underbelly was a softer gold, and was littered with small knicks and scars, as were his arms. A faded cloth was tied around one of his biceps, and crimson could be seen through the fabric. A necklace of dragon teeth encircled his neck.

"Draw a picture." He smirked. "It'll last longer." There's that accent again.

"Who are you?" Artemis exclaims.

"That is classified." He said seriously. "You are not allowed to know my name until you are fully accepted into the Desert Rogues."

Mamba's mouth opened and closed, and she wasn't sure she'd heard him right. "Desert Rogues." She repeated.

"Uh, yeah." He rolled his eyes and glanced at Artemis like, 'is she serious?' The Nightwing just gave him a look of bewilderment.

"What's a Nightwing doing in the Twin Islands?" Artemis said slowly.

"Nightwing?" He looked confused. "Um, first thing, what are those? And secondly, I'm a Daywing." He wrinkled his snout. "Not a 'Nightwing'. Is that what you are?"

Now it was Mamba's turn to look astounded.

"Well, never mind." The gold Nightwing held up his talons. "You have to meet our leader, anyway. Could you wake up those two?" He gestured behind him at the tribrid and Icewing. "He wants to see everybody."

Mamba was nearly about to ask what happened to Potent and Mudpuddle when Artemis cleared her throat, a tongue of flame curling from her nose in the process.

"So, what are we supposed to call you when we don't know your name?"

The gold dragon ponders this, then shrugs. "Come up with something- like
..Mysterio. Yeah. Mysterio. Or 'Too Awesome'." He grinned.

"How about Goldie?" Mamba suggests, and Artemis giggles.

"Goldie?" Goldie looked outraged. "Aw come on."

Mamba snickered, and flapped her wings. "Well, Goldie, we'll wake up our friends. Go do your thing until then."

With a regrettable hiss, he stalked out of the cave. Mamba and Artemis proceeded to wake up the two remaining dragonets. Tempest did so without a problem, but Snowfall was still about as useful as a sack of ice.

"Snowfall." Mamba snapped. She knew he was still mourning, but he couldn't act like this. It dragged everybody down and a few steps backwards. "Pull yourself together. Yes, I know you miss Seaglass. But we all do. But I'm not going to let you just sit around and mope anymore." Black and dark red billowed up her scales, but she beat it back until she was a cool lavender. She took on a softer tone. "We aren't the Opal Winglet without you."

Snowfall glared coldly into her eyes, but the glacier behind his gaze gradually melted away. He nods slowly, rising to his feet. He still didn't say anything. Tempest's violet eyes glowed weirdly, but she looked at Mamba and Artemis with a determined look anyway.

Mamba quickly made her way out of the cave, wincing at the bright sunlight that bombarded her eyes. Artemis gasped behind her as Mamba took in what was before them. There had to be at least two to three mountains. They were vast, beautiful, and blue. Pine trees grew in an abundance, as did various others; but Mamba didn't have the attention to find out what they were. Large caves opened up into a beautiful grotto. A clear lake was in the center of everything, and colorful specks of rocks skirted around it. Huts were simply everywhere, and walkways as well as bridges connected them together and to the side of the mountain. A waterfall cascaded down one mountain and into the lake, which led into the grotto. Mamba could barely even SEE the desert anymore. It was just a pale line on the horizon.

"Whoa." she breathed, and she heard a click behind her. 'Goldie' stood nearby, a wide smile on his face.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He nodded at the scenery, but Mamba had lost her ability to speak. Goldie beamed at her and walked a little closer to her and her friends, and he points a talon at the sky. "A really, really, long time ago, a talented Magicwing, with the help of a Titanwing, created this place. How long did it take her..Seventy years? A hundred? Ah, well. She was the first to be banished in the Barren Lands. So nobody knew a mighty Titanwing was living here. He helped her and healed her. He tended the lands after she passed, and his skull still sits in the sands today, just waiting to fade away like the rest of his bones." He explained.

"That's incredible." Tempest says. "But how come I've never heard of a Titanwing?"

Goldie waved a talon. "They went extinct forever ago."

Mamba whistled. "Dang. How long have the Rogues been here then?"

"Since she arrived." He shrugged. "Her and the Titanwing's offspring-don't ask how that happened; some sort of weird magic or something- have lived on here. Nearly all Magicwings in this place are descendants of her and the Titanwing." Goldie spread his wings. "Enough of history. Time for you to meet the dragon running all this."

He took flight in direction of the grotto. As they glided across the lake, dragons peeked out of the huts and caves. They whispered and pointed, but that was mostly the dragonets that did that. The sun was like a torch of gold, rising in all its glory. Mamba was relieved to have it back on her scales. The flight to the grotto was enjoyable, mostly because Mamba could marvel at the indigo leaved trees circling the lake.

Goldie suddenly plummeted, and Mamba realized he had folded his wings. He plummeted a good six or seven feet, then he slammed into the ground and skidded on the pebbles, but his legs showered no sign of shock. Mamba guessed he'd done this before.

He looked back at her with a smirk. "You coming?"

Mamba landed less gracefully, stubbing her talons in the process. Artemis, Tempest, and Snowfall followed. Even the Icewing had to look in amazement at the sight of the grotto. Fluffy green moss and wicked little glowing toadstools lined the entrance, and the inside was as beautiful as the home of the Crystalwings. These crystals were a milky blue, and were placed like the inside of a geode.

"Sir." Goldie called into the darkness. "I have the rescued!" Shuffling followed, and shortly after, a dragon emerged into the light. His talons splashed in the water that trickled in from the lake, but he didn't seem to mind. He was different chases of blue and teal, with electric blue wing membrane. He had a old, kind, face. Startlingly, he looked like a Crystalwing. But he was much too big for that.

"Ah." He said in a calm voice, his dark eyes looking Mamba and her friends up and down. "Nice of you to join us." He smiled. The Rainwing noted small blue gems around his eyes.

Mamba squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was.

"A hybrid, my dear." The old dragon said, noticing her staring, but his smile was still visible. "Cave and Crystalwing. My name is Geode."

Ironic.

"Sir." Goldie furrowed his brow. "Are you sure it's safe to share personal things about you? These are strangers."

"Don't worry about me. There isn't much dragons could learn from hearing my name." He nodded at Goldie. "Why don't you go retrieve the brown and sandy friends of theirs, eh? We have a little talking to do." Geode added. "Privately."

Goldie adjusted the black mask around his head. "Yes, sir." He said without hesitation, then he gave Mamba one last look before retreating back out the entrance.

"Now." Geode turned to them with a kind light to his eyes. "Go on and tell me your story." He smiled. "I'm quite a good listener."

~~~~~~~

It was a while before Mamba, Tempest, and Artemis finished their tale, but it was eventually completed.

"That's when we ended up here." Mamba explained, shuddering as a dark blue tendril swirled up in her scales. Cold blue and violet were now occupying her scale color.

Geode was quiet for a long time. "Skywings.. Mudwings..Nightwings.. They all seem quite familiar. But faded.."

Mamba glanced up, interested.

Geode had his eyes narrowed in concentration. "I'm sorry. You know how minds can get with old age."

A sudden splash brought their attention to the entrance where Goldie stood. He smiled brightly, walking in to meet them. "Hello, sir! I found the dragonets you asked for."

Geode gave an appraising glance towards the gold dragon. "Well done. Bring them in, if you will."

"So you've accepted them?" He nodded towards Mamba and her friends.

"Indeed I have. We have gone over everything."

"Even about what not to do when they leave?"

"Yes, Apollo."

The gold dragon froze, like he had been shocked.

"So that's your name?" Mamba smirked. "Shame. I was starting to like 'Goldie.' "

"I-I'm going to go get them." Apollo then stutters, turning tail and wincing. Artemis giggled at Mamba, and the two exchanged an eye roll. Tempest was bouncing excitedly, happy to be able to see Potent and Mudpuddle again.

"Sir, these others wanted to come as well!" Apollo's voice shouts, just as Mudpuddle comes barreling in, dragging Potent behind her. She then collides with Artemis, the two exchanging a long hug. Tempest approached Potent, a wide smile on her face. Mamba saw him turn to glance at her, his gaze meeting hers. His mouth twitched up slightly, then Tempest threw her wings around him, turning his attention away from Mamba.

But she just shrugged and joined in on Mudpuddle and Artemis's hug.

"Who are the others?" Geode calls, staring at the approaching Apollo.

"The new recruits, sir."

Geode raises a brow, and Apollo huffs.

"Sparky and that red one."

"Ah, yes." Geode nods. "Of course, let them in."

Mamba breaks her hug to glance over at Snowfall, who's ears pricked at the approaching talon splashes in the water. The Rainwing gives him a confused look, but his attention is focused on a glowing toadstool at the moment.

"That's pretty great." A voice echos as the talon splashes grow louder.

"Right? Honestly, it's been a while since I'd been able to do a trick like that. Especially since..you know."

"Yeah, I know."

Small chattering noises followed, which Mamba didn't understand. But there was something about that second voice..

"Talons and tails, I'm nerv-"

Artemis suddenly gasps, squeezing the Rainwing's forearm. Mamba glances up, but she only finds her friend staring at a red and yellow Skywing. The Nightwing is stiff, her mouth partly open. The rust orange eyed Skywing spares a confused glance at her, but he too freezes once his eyes land on her own.

"Yo, Flare. What's the big deal- oh."

The cave falls silent, and Snowfall, for the first time, raises his head. His bloodshot eyes widen, and he instantly digs his talons into the ground.

"What's wrong, guys?" Seaglass smiles. "You look like you've seen a ghost."