He didn’t know what woke him. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep. But Insoo never expected to wake up again. Certainly not to a beautiful blue sky with the sun shining down on him. Blinking hard, he rubbed at his eyes with gloved hands and tried again, squinting when nothing changed. “What in the…?” he trailed off, wincing as he levered himself into a sitting position against his dragon. He knew he needed to check on Gunwoo but the sight immediately before him made the rider stare in awe.

            Not more than two dragon lengths away, and far too close to Gain’s body to his liking, the ground surrounding them was blackened and charred. A veritable ring of burnt debris and torn ground arched around in his immediate view. When Insoo turned to check the rest of the area, he confirmed it was almost a perfect circle. It should have been impossible. He knew what he’d seen in that last moment before he’d closed his eyes and they should all be dead right now. But it was as if something had stood in the middle and managed to deflect all of the lightning away and around them.

            The fact that he was alive made him tremble and then laugh with the sheer overwhelming relief of it all. And with that relief, he could still feel his connection to Gunwoo, confirming his dragon lived too. “Woo?” he called, turning to place both hands on the sun warmed bronze neck.

            Sluggishly, the dragon’s closest eye blinked, slit pupil adjusting quickly to the bright light. No longer vacant, the orb roamed for a breath before it fixated on Insoo and blinked again. Soo? came the quiet, questing voice.

            “I’m here,” the rider smiled in relief, moving his hand to caress the smooth cheek.

            What happened? Gunwoo asked, eye darting about in his limited field of vision. Where are Tiamat and Bahamut? His confusion and… loss were palpable.

            “I… don’t know,” Insoo admitted before sitting back on his heels to look around again. He hadn’t even realized the dragon gods were quiet. Other than the obvious anyway. Behind him, other riders and dragons were beginning to stir. A general sense of wonder and confusion filled the air. “I thought you might,” he laughed once, wincing when he turned to look in the other direction at the slowly rousing Paramour. “Gain,” he called quietly, waiting for the gold to respond.

            She lifted her head with measured grace, observing the space in front of her before she swung around to see who had called her. Gold eyes touched on Insoo and Gunwoo before scanning the rest of the group. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, she arduously got to her feet and moved to paw and smell at the ruined ground like she was trying to put a puzzle together. Her head rose to look towards home and then fell, inspecting the ground again.

            She is thinking, Gunwoo supplied before Insoo could ask, his words slow and full of thought as well.

            “I figured,” the rider nodded in understanding, brow furrowed while he looked back towards the group at large. “But she is alright?” he asked first. When Gunwoo confirmed her uninjured status, Insoo took a breath and convinced his body to rise into a standing position. “Good. Then let’s make sure everyone else is too,” he encouraged, patting the bronze’s nearest shoulder.

            Coming, Gunwoo groaned, an audible sound accompanying the mental voice as the dragon hefted his considerable weight into a standing position.

            Not unlike a newborn foal, Insoo hobbled through the rousing bodies, using Gunwoo to check in with the riderless dragons and then pausing to speak with his riders individually. Hyunseong seemed just as lost as before but otherwise unhurt. He wasn’t surprised to see Chaerin literally clinging to Fei, who was also holding her close with one gentle claw, and trying not to cry. Jinyoung was trying to mirror Insoo, albeit at a slower pace. And as for Wooyoung, Taeyeon, and Jungkook, they seemed just as confused and dazed as he was, but none the worse for wear. Considering what could have happened, they had all come out remarkably well… Which left one largely unanswered question. How?

            Insoo wasn’t entirely surprised when Gunwoo let him know that Gain wanted to see him again. He just didn’t know if he should be worried or… It’s not bad. She wants to move on. She says something has changed and she thinks we might find answers at home, the bronze promised him with a look at the gold standing like a sentry on the outskirts. She was flapping her wings carefully, testing the feel of them.

            “I see,” Insoo frowned, looking back over the group. With a glance at Gunwoo, he figured they would be alright, and the other riders probably would be too, but for the rest of the dragons… Well, some would be fine, obviously. But whatever they’d experienced had left them all tired. The injured ones were certainly in no condition to move and the carriers likely wouldn’t be up to it either.

            “I know that look,” Jinyoung snorted as he limped closer with a mild grimace. JB was a half step behind him, picking his way through the dragons with care.

            Insoo wrinkled his nose as he focused his attention on his second. “We should stay together,” he mumbled as if trying to convince himself not to follow his curiosity.

            “We should,” Jinyoung nodded in agreement, even as he looked at Gain with a thoughtful frown. “But we also need to know what’s going on. It’d be best if you ran reconnaissance and just came back to let us know.” He gestured at his copper and added, “JB says things are calm. I can’t say for sure but it should be alright.”

            I agree, Gunwoo confirmed, turning to face the direction of home.

            “If nothing else, we can start walking and we’ll send Taeyeon if something comes up,” his second added with a glance at the rider and her white dragon. Said rider looked around curiously before focusing on the wing leader and his second. She made an okay gesture with a reassuring nod and then leaned over to brush her fingers against Wooyoung’s arm, relaying whatever her dragon had told her. He nodded in understanding and the pattern was repeated for Jungkook who was hovering between Chaerin and Hyunseong.

            “Well then,” Insoo laughed once, feeling both conflicted and grateful. “I’ll leave you to it,” he finally conceded, clapping Jinyoung on the shoulder with a firm hand.

            “Baha-” he stopped himself on the familiar phrase and shook his head. “Heavens watch over you,” Jinyoung corrected, patting the hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

            “And you,” Insoo responded, pulling a weary smile into place before he waved at the others and started walking to the outskirts. Gain was waiting for him to arrive with a strange stillness about her.

            Ready? Gunwoo relayed, the question coming from Gain.

            “When you are,” he answered verbally, gesturing for the gold to lead the way. She seemed to have a better idea about what was going on anyway.

            Gain nodded once and then stepped forward to put some distance between them. Getting airborne was more work than usual, but the gold managed it with a minimal amount of backwash from the wind. She started climbing in gentle circles to gain altitude slowly, waiting for Insoo and Gunwoo to join her.

            Insoo felt stiff and tired when he clambered onto Gunwoo’s back, but the straps and the harness did most of the work as his dragon heaved himself into the air. He still felt like a ragdoll in the process, his strength strangely sapped. But in the air, the dragons could move easier, coasting on the almost too still air towards the Aerie.

            They were surrounded by a strange calm as they traveled. The skies were unusually empty and the day itself felt too bright for what they’d faced not more than several marks ago. After a couple marks in the air, it was easier to see the Aerie. Or at least what remained of it. The mound he’d seen earlier was indeed home, but the mountain had been nearly destroyed, the top half virtually demolished in blackened and smoking ruins. Home as he knew it was gone…

            Is everyone…? he trailed off, afraid to finish the question.

            Gunwoo didn’t answer for a moment, his head tilted and body still, like he was listening. The bronze shook his head and joy flowed through his answer. No. They are under the mountain, he promised, head angling to focus on the base of the natural structure.

            “Oh, thank the Heavens,” he whispered in dizzying relief. He didn’t know the numbers, but the fact that anyone had survived was worth being grateful for. “We should go check on them,” he started to urge, nudging Gunwoo to begin descending. But his dragon did not heed him.

            No, Gunwoo shook his head, swinging closer to the gold. Gain says there is something more important ahead. Look, he urged, body surging just enough to jostle his rider.

            Frowning, Insoo pulled his attention to the horizon. It took a moment but he realized this was the direction that the strange shadow had been. He was reluctant, but considering he was little more than a passenger, he did not object. And after what felt like another mark, where the sun continued to move across the sky and into the mid-afternoon times, he could begin to see what they were aiming for.

            The way was clear except… on the ground, lying in the largest depression he’d ever seen, were Bahamut and Tiamat. At least he thought they were. The dragons were black and silver after all, and they were enormous… Both bore the wounds of combat. Bahamut’s wing was folded strangely and one eye seemed to be scarred over. Tiamat had long scars over both shoulders and she seemed smaller than he remembered. Despite their injuries, they looked very much as if they were… cuddling together, necks intertwined and wings overlying each other.

            “Are they dead?” he wondered, a peculiar nervousness swirling in his gut.

            No… Gunwoo hummed uncertainly, the answer reflexive. I don’t know, he admitted after a pause. He turned to speak with Gain and she looked back as if to shrug. The dragons are not dead but we do not feel Bahamut and Tiamat, he explained, at a loss.

            “But… how can that be?” Insoo asked, staring at the sleeping dragons.

            He felt Gunwoo’s literal shrug. We have to get closer to find out.

            “Is that a good idea?” he couldn’t help but murmur, hands tightening on the straps that connected him to Gunwoo.

            Gain thinks so.

            “Oh.” Insoo didn’t know that her opinion here qualified it as a good idea in truth, but it at least made him feel slightly more inclined to agree. “Well. I suppose we could try.”

            We go, Gunwoo urged, banking to follow Gain’s initial dip. Insoo was not prepared for the immediate shift and he yelped, mentally cursing himself for agreeing so easily.

            The dragons landed on the outskirts of the depression, the trees in the area uprooted and scoured clean. Patterns in the remaining debris showed a spiral as if a giant storm had raged like a cyclone here. When they approached the edge of the depression, the interior was completely barren. Nothing but lifeless earth and scattered bits of debris remained. On foot, the gold and bronze padded towards the heads of the black and silver dragons, eyes trained on the giant slumbering bodies. When they were immediately beside them, not in front, Gain sat down and wrapped her tail around her feet, wings settled comfortably against her sides.

            “What’s happening?” Insoo whispered while he looked between Gain and the dragon gods, full of nervous tension. If they should wake…

            We wait for an answer, Gunwoo responded, lying down with his front arms crossed loosely in front of him.

            “How long?” the rider asked reflexively.

            As long as it takes? he responded in a very questioning voice.

            “Huh,” Insoo grunted, this whole moment feeling quite surreal. He didn’t know if he should be hopeful, worried, or just plain grateful to be alive. Since he couldn’t pick just one, he settled on all three and then debated whether he should get off or not. Caution bade him stay in case they needed to move quickly. He could be hopeful all he wanted. That didn’t mean he shouldn’t at least be prepared for the worst. Having decided, he shifted carefully, trying to make himself more comfortable in the meantime to await whatever would happen next. Whenever that would be…

            Taekwoon would have been happy just staying close to Jinki for as long as he could. Feeling his other half in his arms after the agonizing days of him being gone was a balm to his spirit he hadn’t known existed. They had both settled into a content lull where they just held each other, bodies loosely intertwined where they sat and breathed and simply felt the other’s existence. He could have listened to Jinki’s heartbeat and the steady inhale and exhale of his breathing forever. But eventually, the questions of their situation now began to pile up and press in on them.

            It was Jinki that broke the peaceful silence. His arms tightened around Taekwoon and held him closer as he admitted, “I still don’t know what happened. What is still happening…”

            “I’m not sure either,” the rider whispered, his lips as he looked inward to where his two dragons were – the inner bronze and Jonghyun. It felt good to have his dragon back. Strange now, like things had changed irrevocably, but good and whole and right.

            “I remember Bahamut taking over. Almost disappearing,” Jinki murmured, pressing his lips to Taekwoon’s shoulder like he could trap the words there. “And then I remember feeling Jonghyun. He was like a ghost,” he explained with a laugh. “Something crawling over my skin before he… sank into me,” he said, words uncertain, like he didn’t know how to explain it. “I stopped disappearing. And I could hear him!” he exclaimed in wondrous excitement. “Like you always could.” His voice fell though and he shook his head. “He said he died. Bahamut had… eaten him. And I didn’t understand because he was there with me.”

            “I’m glad he was,” Taekwoon whispered, cupping the back of Jinki’s head as he raised his lips to kiss the soft brown hair.

            “He said he thought you were alive. He felt it,” Jinki smiled, nuzzling harder against the rider. “Over and over, he said we just had to wait. That you’d come to find us. No matter what,” he sniffed, ducking his head again and taking a shaky breath.

            Taekwoon sobbed a laugh and swallowed the lump in his throat. “Of course,” he almost choked, voice trembling. “I was so lost without him. Without you. Even now, it’s almost hard to believe you’re here. In my arms.”

            “I am here,” Jinki promised, pulling back so he could see Taekwoon’s face. He smoothed the wavy hair back and cupped the rider’s cheek. “See? I’m right here,” he assured him again, grabbing Taekwoon’s hand and pulling it to his cheek so the rider could feel for himself.

            “I know,” Taekwoon agreed, wrapping his arms around Jinki tighter and holding him close once more. “I just keep feeling like this might be some sort of cruel dream,” he exhaled once, taking a quick breath. “Tiamat…” he trailed off, pursing his lips with a tight frown. “It was so hard to know what she wanted… what she intended… So much happened when I was with her and I still don’t understand it all,” he nearly cried, firming his jaw so that he wouldn’t.

            Jinki’s hand rubbed small circles on Taekwoon’s back. “What did she want with you?”

            Taekwoon grimaced and exhaled. “She wanted to use me. Us. I think,” he explained with a shake of his head. “All of us.”

            “Jongup,” Jinki murmured, stilling carefully, “says he has more information.”

            “I knew he was hiding something,” Taekwoon grumbled, not sure if he was more annoyed or if it even mattered. “What about you, Jong? And why aren’t you guys out here?” he asked, suddenly aware that the dragons had been existing inside of them for at least a little while now.

            Uncomfortable silence fell as neither dragon said anything initially. Then he heard Jonghyun speaking through their bond like always, only it remained inside his head and not echoing into Trance space like it typically would. We died. All of us.

            “What?!” he flinched, easing back enough to look at Jinki who shared a similar expression. “But we’re here,” he pointed out, well aware that he could feel Jinki’s physical form and he could feel the connection he shared with his dragons.

            Taekwoon shuddered when he felt Jonghyun’s energy shift, breaking from him to allow the ghostly form of the copper dragon to sit at his side. He was still touching the rider and still connected, but now his voice could project to the surrounding area. Our bodies died. But our spirits live because of dragon gods’ power.

            Across from them, Jongup separated from Jinki and nodded in agreement. Trance different for Bahamut. Tiamat. More power. More possibility.

            “We’re… dead?” Taekwoon murmured again, suddenly flinching when something Bahamut said came back to him. “That’s what he meant,” he exhaled in disgust, rolling his eyes. “’You have nowhere to go.’ That’s what he told me,” he scowled, irritated anew at Tiamat’s deception. “This is what he meant.”

            Yes, Jongup nodded with a guilty expression.

            “Don’t be mad at him, love,” Jinki soothed, placing a calming hand on Taekwoon’s. The dragonrider took a breath and closed his eyes. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for any of us.” Though he was trying to be reassuring, his expression was equally conflicted.

            “No,” Taekwoon agreed with a weary groan, one hand rising to rub at his temples with a thumb and finger. Jinki quickly moved to take over, massaging little circles in his stead. Under Jinki’s hands, the rider gave a soft groan and relaxed a bit more. After a few breaths, he nodded to show he was okay. For now anyway. It was just a weird realization to come to.

            Tiamat know you not trust her, Jongup explained, his head still perilously close to the ground. It was like he was trying to hide. Jinki reached over and lifted his chin up and then Jonghyun extended his neck to nuzzle at the blue’s head. She tell me many things. I believe. She is mother, he explained with a subtle shrug of his shoulders.

            “Bahamut was your father and you didn’t want to listen to him,” Taekwoon grumbled, one hand flailing with impotent irritation. He wasn’t mad at his dragon, but he was… frustrated about everything.

            Father want to end everything. Mother want to save. Believe mother. Help mother. Stop father, Jongup explained again, looking at Jonghyun as if searching for approval. The copper crooned appreciatively and butted heads gently with the blue.

            Jinki shuddered at the last comment and Taekwoon had to wonder why. His questing touch made his other half look up. “Jongup… killed Bahamut,” he explained hesitantly, an accepting frown on his face.

            Wide eyed, Taekwoon looked at the blue dragon, not sure he’d heard correctly. Part of mother’s plan.

            That… was new. “Okay…” Taekwoon trailed off, not really sure how to respond to that revelation. He glanced at Jinki, who shrugged helplessly, and then motioned at Jongup with one hand. “Maybe you should explain from the beginning.”

            Beginning beginning? the blue wondered, head tilting curiously.

            The Tiamat beginning, Jonghyun clarified for him, glancing at Taekwoon to confirm for sure but snorting in satisfaction when the rider nodded at him.

            Oh. Okay, Jongup agreed, settling in as if he was preparing to tell a story.

            But when he did try to explain, it was hard to follow. The sentences were choppy and several words that Taekwoon and Jinki thought might be important were missing. And when Jonghyun tried to explain, it often made things more confusing. At one point, Jonghyun fell quiet, a distant and listening expression on his face, while Jongup kept trying to soldier forward. Politely, Jinki was still trying to listen but Taekwoon had defaulted to rubbing his face and shaking his head.

            Rider… Jonghyun interrupted, stalling his mate and making both Taekwoon and Jinki look up to the copper dragon.

            “Huh?” Taekwoon blurted, surprised by the call.

            Gain calls, he explained, turning to look at his rider with bright amber eyes.

            “Gain?” both Taekwoon and Jinki echoed at the same time.

            Yes, Jonghyun nodded, tilting his head again. Need to wake dragon body up.

            “We’re still in Tiamat and Bahamut’s bodies?” Taekwoon asked with new surprise.

            Yes.

            Taekwoon and Jinki exchanged uncertain glances. “Tiamat did say it was up to us now…” Jinki offered hesitantly, clearly not sure how to respond. Jongup nodded beside him.

            “How…” the rider started to say, one finger in the air like a silent question.

            Me and mate can wake. You can see. Trust us, Jonghyun explained with a small nod and shrug in Taekwoon’s direction.

            “Do we have to…?” Jinki motioned with his hands to show them separating.

            Short time. Wake and come back with Gain, Jongup explained reassuringly.

            Jinki’s hand tightened on Taekwoon’s and the rider took a breath. “It’s okay, my heart,” he promised, patting Jinki’s hand reassuringly. “If anyone can help make sense of things, it’s Gain.”

            “I know,” Jinki murmured, face downcast. “It’s just…” he started to say before he took a breath and forced a smile it would have been impossible to feel just then. “It’ll be okay. It’s just for a little while.”

            “I’ll be right here,” Taekwoon promised, squeezing Jinki’s hand with a brave smile. His other half smiled and nodded back as the dragons shifted back into their humans’ bodies.

            It was wholly disorienting feeling himself change. Like he was filling a space much larger than himself. Taekwoon wasn’t worried so much, with Jonghyun taking control in a very natural role for him, but it was odd… Not to mention actively seeing from a massive dragon’s perspective…

            They’re waking, Gunwoo warned quietly as Gain shifted to a more alert position. From their vantage on the edge of the depression, the three watched as Tiamat’s and Bahamut’s brilliant eyes opened. They glinted like polished silver in the fading sunlight as the orbs looked around and then sighted on them. Insoo tensed up, inordinately aware of how tiny and defenseless he was in the face of such dragons. But Gunwoo was unaffected, more aware of just who they were looking at.

            Two massive black and silver noses came down to be level with Gunwoo and Gain. Tiamat spoke first. “Good to see you, Gain.”

            Insoo looked between the two with the utmost confusion. It only strengthened when the gold dragon literally bumped her nose against the black dragon’s. “What…?” the rider started to ask, pointing between the two with an open mouth.

            It is Tiamat’s body, but Jonghyun is the one speaking, Gunwoo explained with confused excitement.

            “What?!” the wing leader gasped, freezing entirely when his outburst caught the black dragon’s attention, huge silver eyes in an obsidian face sighting on him.

            “Wing leader,” the dragon practically smiled, leaving Insoo dumbfounded.

            What happened to Tiamat?! he asked in a near panic through their shared bond.

            She is gone.

            And that’s Jonghyun?

            With Taekwoon, yes, the bronze confirmed, not bothering to hide his pleased amusement.

            What about Bahamut? Insoo gulped, glancing at the silver dragon nearby.

            Jongup and Jinki.

            All of them?! the wing leader almost literally flailed. He might have fallen off his dragon if the straps didn’t hold him in place.

            Yes. They want to talk to us. Well, with Gain of course, but do you want to come too? Gunwoo asked, craning his head back to look at his rider with mirth dancing in his eyes.

            “Yes,” Insoo muttered quietly, trying to contain himself as he looked at his dragon, Gain, and the forms of Tiamat and Bahamut.

            Trance with me and we will go, Gunwoo promised, bringing his head close so Insoo could meet his eyes with ease.

            The wing leader took a breath and swallowed his nervous apprehension. It was hard to be calm in the face of dragon gods turned friends… Alright, Woo. I trust you.

            Good, the bronze dragon smiled in approval as he pulled his rider into Trance.

(a/n: Thank you for reading and I do hope you enjoyed this update! I had a burst of inspiration this afternoon and figured it would be good to share considering where we left off last chapter. We are certainly in the homestretch now. I think we should have two, maybe three more chapters left at this point. Not entirely sure yet. It will depend on just how much information I cover in the next one. But this one here should get us started. I'm trying to explain things and answer any questions you might have about what happened in the last few chapters. If I don't answer to your satisfaction, please feel free to ask. I am trying but I'm not always good at filling in all the blanks. haha If nothing else though, thank you again and I hope you look forward to the next update!)