The mountains were minutes away by dragon, and the air up in the north held more fragrance due to the rate blooming flowers growing on the harsh environment the mountains provided. It seemed as if the reborns had never come to the north, for there was no hint of death nearby, only the tall light purple and pink blooms of flowers that stood tall and proud over the green grass.

When the dragons made it to the base of the mountains, their wings whipped up the pollen into the air, causing Jasmines allergies to act up.

"I mean come on! My face is like a fountain now!" Jasmine said as she tried to wipe away her dropping nose and red eyes. As soon as they had encountered the first batch of flowers she had been showing signs of allergies, but now her face was leaking like a non-stop faucet, just waiting to burst.

"Be thankful there aren't any bees around~" Emma cooed in response. The girl huffed, sliding off her dragons and trekking the base of the mountain with the rest of the group. They had decided to allow their dragons to rest from the extra weight.

"Any idea what this weapon would look like?" David asked as he stretched his stiff limbs.

"It's supposed to be encased in stone, so maybe a cave, that's what I'm thinking." The grey eyed girl responded. They searched mountain after mountain for hours until they came across their final hour in the day, the sun dipping behind the shadows and allowing a cool wind to blow through the area. The dragons yawned as exaustion began to take over them, so Comet decided to place his rump on the ground with a thud, signifying that he wasn't moving anymore for the rest of the day.

"Fine, let's make camp by the cliffs." Noah said as he climbed onto his dragon once more. Near the edge of one of the rocky mountains was a sheer cliff that protected them from the cold weather, perfect for fire. Although, there was only flowers to provide any burning material, so Peter kept a fire going on his hand. The flames didn't burn him so he didn't have to worry, but he was quickly becoming tired from the magic use.

Emma stuck a few chunks of meat into a stick and began roasting them over the fire to cook. The dragons were taking turns going about the mountains and finding their own food, sometimes bringing back a mountain goat or two for the group.

"We should find the weapon tomorrow, I'll wake everyone up a few minutes after sunrise." Emma yawned, taking one last bite of the meat before throwing the stick away. Peter snuffed his fire out and took an extra plate of meat from David, who's eyes were glued to Emma.

The girl had left the book from the headmaster inside a bag leaning by a nearby rock, and David's senses were practically inching him towards the words inside. Sure, he was always a book worm, but he also knew that Emma was hiding something from everyone. As soon as he saw the brunette curl up into Comet's wing he waited for everyone else to retire.

After Richard had left the group, David noticed that Noah had been feeling down, and the man couldn't blame him, for he had just lost a possibly close family member without knowing his fate. In fact, Noah had been quite quiet compared to his first talkative and loud introduction to David, and his silence was concerning. The black dragon let out a purr as it approached the shadow mage, It's marble black eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"So pal, Noah I mean, how does it feel to fly to be out of that dome? Refreshing I presume?" David asked with a smirk. Noah looked over to David with his dead black eyes and a straight face, slightly disturbing the water mage.

"My home wasn't bad, it was just lead by the wrong person. The air is surely nicer outside, though I do miss the things I left behind, being with my dragon is much better. I wouldn't wish to ever be separated from her ever again." Noah pet Spirit's scales as she leaned her head into his lap, her teeth gleaming as she gave him a smile. She was happy as was he.

"Again? Were you separated before?" Peter inquired.

"Yes," Noah nodded, "I was completely unaware of the fact of every mage being bonded with a dragon. It was Emma who showed me the voice of my dragon, along with my destiny that I must follow." David smiled at Noah's small story. He couldn't imagine not knowing of his own dragons existence. The thought of loosin his dragon was like a world without air, he wouldn't make it for more than a few seconds.

"So what destiny?" David asked.

"The one where I stay with Emma and help her though these dark times, as she helped me though my own." Noah said breathlessly. The water mage stiffened, his teeth gritting together an a flash of anger. Peter seemed to notice this, yet he sat in his spot and watched cautiously. "Anyways, me and Spirit should be retiring for the night, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Noah, sleep well~" Peter waved the dark make behind, his red eyes travelling to the shadow mages rear. Noticing his slip up, he coughed and looked forwards, his face red as his eyes.

"Umm, I think I'm going to bed too, Joel is very tired after today's search." Joel made a noise of argument, but let it go as he realized that his rider was just desperate for the escape of the silence. Peter walked over to his dragon and layed on his back, the weather too warm for him to be sleeping in his dragons wing tonight. David however, waited for a few minutes of silence, picking out everyone's breath and confirming that they were all asleep.

He moved across the stones stealthily as he approached the bag holding the book filled with secrets. His fingers gracefully opened his own black book bag that Emma had used for this long, the button now worn from all the times it had been opened. Pulling out the book, a chill had run down his spine and reminded him that he had to hurry, just in case someone woke up.

Peeling open the first page, his eyes found normal notes from classes and marks of students, but as he went further, those notes changed into paragraphs of history.

It started with notes of The beginning of the world, moving onto important parts of history, but the very last note had caused him to shudder in fear. Emma was the weapon, she had to find this dragon at a cost, but what was it? The male swallowed, gently closing the book and slipping it back in the book bag. Comet stretched in his sleep, causing David to jerk back in suprise and dart away from the silver beast. The dragon settled back down into his resting place, showing no sign of acknowledgment to David's sudden movments.

The water mage took a breath of relief as he walked over to his drowsy blue dragon. Aqua had seen what he read, and the dreading feeling in her stomach was just as bad as David's. She leaned her head down to her riders chest, purring at the feeling of his hands stroking her for gently.

"At times like these, a sacrifice must be made to save the lives of many." The dragon offered some words of wisdom despite her emotions raging in her mind. She did not want to loose the girl, yet she knew that if they prevented her destiny, no one would remain to fight the darkness.

"I don't want her to go, Aqua, she's my friend and someone I don't want to let go. It's not fair." He whispered to the blue dragon. He wished to cry, but men don't cry, right?

Neither dragon nor rider wanted to accept this news, but they had to, for they both knew that Emma would follow her choices to the end. After a few words of convincing, Aqua had curled David into her wings and against her side, the pair embracing the calming dreams and pushing away from this dark news.

°°°

The next morning, Emma woke at first light and allowed her friends to have a few minutes of extra sleep. She felt the pulling sensations trying to guide her though the mountains, yet she wants to wait knowing that this was going to be her last day with her friends like this. She wished she could freeze time and escape.

As promised, Emma woke everyone up after a few minutes past first light, and they all got up with tired eyes. For some reason, their nights were dreamless, nearly sleep-depriving as the night wore on. It felt as if no one slept that night. The riders mounted their dragons and proceeded their search for the weapon, and Emma had the full intention of finding it through the day.

She followed the pulling sensation in her chest, allowing her grey eyes to scan over the grey rocks of the mountains. The purple flowers seemed to be the only thing that kept the mountains livley, for there weren't many animals below.

"David knows your true intentions." Comet suddenly said though the link nearly making the female jump.

"That's fine, it won't stop me." She replied. Comet huffed in approval, sending 'thanks' to Aqua for the news.

When a sudden jerk in Emma's chest caused pain, she knew they had to land. Almost as if reading her mind, Comet began to decend while letting out a roar to alert all the others of their plans. There was a hole in the mountain just like the book had said, but the hole seemed to travel downwards into the earth at a steady angle. It didn't seem like the dragons would be able to fit though the hole, so Emma dismounted and stood by the mouth of the hole.

"In coming with you." Emma heard someone say behind her. She spun around and saw Noah standing with pride, his eyes shining with confidence as he stepped closed. The brunette smiled as she saw him, making note that the others were approaching too.

"I agree with skinny, since we started this journey together, let's end of together." Peter said while puffing out his chest and striking a pose. They all giggled, surrounding the entrance of the cave.

"If that's the way you think this should go, then yeah, I'd like you to come with me." Emma didn't wait as she slid down the cave entrance, the angle nearly making her slip. She was soon joined by Noah, then Peter, and finally Jasmine. David had a second of hesitation, looking back to the dragons behind him.

"Remember David, that girl is special, she will find a way to fix all of this." Aqua's words were the only things David needed to hear in order to gain his coinfidence. Turning to the cave, he was plunged into darkness.