Tempest looked at the others as they gawked at Artemis and Apollo. She didn't understand their amazement, she could pretty much tell they were siblings already. It doesn't take a genius to. Part of her was quite proud of herself.

"I'll explain everything later." Apollo said, gesturing up to the canopy with his wing. "But right now we need to get out of this place." He muttered as he walked past the group. "And we have to get out fast. So don't mess around."

She thought about what Potent had said, "It's war now." She couldn't hide the fear and anguish on her face. She had already lost loved ones to a war. Tempest hoped she wouldn't lose any more.

Tempest found herself leaning into Potent as they walked, the Sandwing, while stoic, put a wing across her back.

"Thank you." She said quietly, and Potent lowered his head.

"Sure."

~~~~

"Geode, I know you're mad." Flare looked up to the hybrid. "But I'll have you know we did what we had to. Artemis and Apollo could've been killed, or arrived too late. The eclipse is today."

"I know the eclipse is today." Geode said, voice low.

When Geode realized the group was missing, he sent out a small search party. They were intercepted on their way back to the portal, much to their dismay.

Now... they were here. At the mercy of Geode.

"I'll have you know that what you did was extremely irresponsible." Geode muttered. "But.. I can't deny that at your age, I would've done the exact same thing." He nodded at Artemis and Apollo. "I'm glad you two are safe. As for the rest of you, I hope you wouldn't go behind my back again."

"Of course not." Seaglass blurted quickly, his tail lashing across the ground. "Never."

"Yes, never." Flare agreed, as well as the others with their hurried nods.

"We were just so worried." Tempest said. "I'm sorry, Geode, we all are."

Geode lowered his head with a sigh. "I'm afraid, my dragonets, we no longer have time to be idle. The eclipse, as you know, comes tonight. We must prepare for the fight of our lives."

Tempest intertwined her tail with Mambas as she stood beside her, both grimacing at the thought. She watched as Artemis lowered her head solemnly, and she worried about her friend.

"Take the others to meet with Daybreak and Archangel." Geode said to Flare and Seaglass. That made sense, since they had become devoted rogues within the past month. Tempest never imagined they would. Part of her wondered if they would stay once the war was over... If they won that is. She lifted her head, blinking repeatedly. She was getting distracted. "Daybreak is discussing our battle strategy with the rest of the Queens in the center mountain. Most of them have arrived already with their soldiers."

That was quite clear, as they had seen Crystalwing soldiers flying in near the wooded outcropping of the territory.

"Of course, Geode." Flare said, nodding to the others. Tempest smiled a little bit to herself as Flare reached out and touched his wing to Artemis's, who sheepishly looked down and took off into the air with him. Would she stay with Flare if he decided to continue being a rogue?

"So, what are you thinking about?" Potent suddenly says, making Tempest jump.

"What will exactly happen to us if we make it out of this alive." She said quickly, her voice catching, and the Sandwing furrowed his brow.

"Let's survive, and then we can worry about it. Come on."

He walked forward to take off into the air, as the others were already leaving. He looked to the sky, his gaze flicked up to Mamba. She was, despite the weight of their situation, was managing to put smiles on the faces of Mudpuddle, Snowfall and Seaglass. Potent then turned back around, a fonder look resting the edge of his expression and gaze for a short time.

"Hello? Let's go!" He suddenly urged, back to normal, and Tempest felt butterflies erupt in her stomach.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

~~~

"Daybreak, this isn't necessary..." Artemis said slowly, but the Daywing lashed his tail and shook his head.

"It's absolutely necessary. As prophecy dragons, we rogues must make sure you are protected to the best of our ability. Many dragons wear armor, anyway. The Queens do. My soldiers do."

Tempest's helmet slipped down her face a little bit, and Mamba helped her put it back into place. She shifted uncomfortably, her violet eyes glancing to Artemis, who was eyeing her own helmet with dissatisfaction.

"What if they just distract us? We appreciate the concern, but..." Mudpuddle trailed off, and Seaglass put down his set of armor.

"I don't do metal." He said as Snowfall looked at him, who promptly lay his down as well.

"Me neither." They shared an appreciative glance, the two dragons looking to Daybreak with very little apology. The Daywing held up his talons, and shrugged his wings.

"I don't know, I kind of like it." Potent says, tapping the dark metal that encased his head. An extra set of horns was molded into it, and the dragons that made it even made a small slit so his frill easily protruded from the helmet.

"Of course you do." Mamba said, and Potent hissed at her. Mamba snickered and turned her scales a soft gold and curled in her tail like Potent. She shaded in darker gold to give herself a spikier appearance, mocking, "I'm Potent, I like to act mean and yell at stuff when I'm really trying to hide the fact I have genuine feelings."

Potent hit her with his wing, undoubtedly embarrassed underneath the shelter of his helmet. Tempest and Mamba shared a laugh, Tempest looking up at Potent with amusement, but some sympathy. Mamba really wasn't that wrong.

"What sort of dragon did you say you were again?" Asked Archangel, the paler Daywing eyeing her with curiosity.

"A Rainwing." Mamba said, then folding her wings and asking, "Hey, where's Queen Diamond?"

"She went with her daughter Amethyst to speak to the Crystalwing soldiers. They should be near the cove of the island." Intercepted Daybreak, but Archangel stepped up in front of him.

"You have an incredible camouflage ability, that could come very useful in getting to Solar."

Tempest felt a chill run down her spine at the name of the Daywing Queen.

"Speaking of it." Said Artemis. "Do we...do we know what we're going to do to stop her?"

"Solar is, in most cases, unpredictable, but one thing I know for certain is that she's going to want a fight." Daybreak told her. Artemis looked down, like she was thinking about something. She grimaced, and then looked at Mamba.

"I have to face her." Artemis said suddenly, startling the dragons around her. "Alone."

"Are you crazy?" Potent barked, lashing his tail and bristling. "That's suicide!"

"There's no way we're letting you do that." Mamba hissed, and Flare looked to Artemis in shock.

"Artemis... You can't face her alone." The Skywing said, his eyes wide in concern as he took her talons in his own.

"What are you planning to do? Kill her?" Snowfall asked.

"What then?" Added Seaglass.

"The Daywings will be left without a Queen." Tempest urged, flapping her wings in agitation.

"My mother, Nightflier, told me that a prophecy foretold Solar had to be stopped by an heir." Artemis explained. "It's the only way."

"She can be stopped by an heir, fine, but that doesn't mean we're going to let you go in alone." Potent said firmly. "And that's that."

"We're a team." Mamba told her, and Artemis pulled her talons from Flare's. The Nightwing sighed, her blue eyes almost electric.

"You're forgetting about an entire tribe out there." Tempest extended her wing outward from the ledge they stood on, gesturing out at the territory.

"I will deal with the aftermath." Daybreak said, breaking his moment of silence. "For now, Solar is our greatest concern." He met Tempest's violet eyes.

"How will we get to her without being attacked by her soldiers, though? Chances are she won't come looking for us." Seaglass asked. "The main fight, after all, will take place at her kingdom."

Artemis clasped her necklace in her talons, a determined expression on her face. "It's already been decided we're going to intercept the soldiers before they can come for the other kingdoms. We're just going to have to slip through the chaos."

"The castle." Archangel suddenly said, and everyone looked to him. "Solar will be there, I know she'll be waiting for you at the very top. We can sneak you in through the belly of the castle while our forces take on Solar and the other queens. Your Rainwing friend and yourself can put your camouflage to use."

"May I?" Artemis asked, reaching out to Daybreaks wing. A bit intrigued, he let her talons touch his wingtip, and everyone stood in awe as Artemis changed before them. Soon, a Daywing with a silvery sheen stood before them, the only noticeable sign of it being Artemis were her eyes, scars and necklace. She folded her wings back, lowering her head. "I'm getting Apollo." Artemis looked back briefly, walking to the ledge. "We're going to end this all tonight."

She spread her wings and dove off the ledge, gliding down and landing near the still glowing pool of glassy water at the center of the territory. Apollo's golden figure could be seen walking with Geode. She watched Artemis wing down to the both of them, and wondered what she was saying.

Soon enough the others left, to say some goodbyes in case the worst happened and to prepare for the journey to Solar's kingdom.

Soon it was just her and Potent standing on the ledge. She sat down with a soft sigh, the Sandwing sitting close beside her. He seemed to be thinking about something too.

"Hey. Tempest." She looked over at him, puzzled. "After this is all over, if you want, you could maybe stick with me."

Tempest flicked her tail, processing his words.

"You've said countless times how you don't really belong to a tribe, or a place. But home doesn't just have to be a place. You have a home with all of us." He said, confident. "And, it just so happens that after this is all over I plan on visiting and staying with my brother, Bronze, for a while. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you tagged along. I wouldn't."

"Oh, Potent... that's.." she wasn't sure what to make of it. She realized that they had come a long way from the start of this journey. At first she hadn't enjoyed his mockery. But as time went on, she began to see what kind of dragon he really was. He wasn't bad. Just.. struggling. She had a feeling he wasn't too good with other dragons. He probably had never been around so many that he had to speak to now that she thought about it. And the fact that he was trying so hard to be kind now was good enough for her. "That's so nice of you. But like you said, let's survive, and then we can worry about it."

Potent smiled slightly at that, and Tempest bumped him with her wing. She looked over her shoulder as she began walking to the edge. "I'm going to go talk with Mudpuddle and Mamba, I think they're with Diamond if you want to tag along."

"Later." He said, folding his wings back silently. "I'm gonna stay up here for now."

Tempest leapt off the ledge, the Crystalwing soldiers in her sight.

~~~~~
I've been dealing with really rough times. I'm sorry, I know I've been slacking. But, I finally managed to overcome the worst of it, and I have the final chapters summarized so they only need to be fully written. Hope you guys will stick around to read them