When the sun rose, painting the land with a bluish-gold hue, the teens awoke, rising with the sun. As they put away their belongings, Meadow caused their makeshift hut to slink back into the ground.

"So, where does the book say we need to go to find Apollo?" Tundra asked.

Krystal pulled out the book and flipped through the pages. She then stopped when she a saw a picture of a large and muscular dragon

ɾⅰ!੭ꖎꖎ੭ ¦ᓭ ꖎ੭ᶖɾ⅂ᒷ⟍̅ ¦⧶ ɾ ⟍̅ᒷᓭᒷ∷⅂ ⅂ᒷᒲⅰ!ꖎᒷ ⦣⚍∷¦ᒷ⟍̅ ¦⧶ ⅂⍑ᒷ ᓭɾ⧶⟍̅ ੭⎓ ⅂⍑ᒷ ˧∷ɾ⧶⟍̅ ⟍̅ᒷᓭᒷ∷⅂ ⎓ɾ∷ ⅂੭ ⅂⍑ᒷ ᓭ੭⚍⅂⍑.₋. ⅂⍑ᒷ ੭⧶ꖎǁ ∴ɾǁ ⅂੭ ⎓¦⧶⟍̅ ¦⅂ ¦ᓭ ∴⍑ᒷ⧶ ⅂⍑ᒷ ᓭ⚍⧶ ¦ᓭ ᓭᒷ⅂⅂¦⧶˧.₋.

"Apollo is located in a Desert Temple buried in the sand of the Grand Desert far to the south," Krystal read, "The only way to find it is when the sun is setting."

"The Grand Desert?" Shane parroted.

"I remember that place," Blake said, "Our parents used to go there all the time and bring back some incredible treasure!"

What Blake said made Krystal smile as she saw for the first time her brother was not sad when he brought up memories of their late parents.

"South it is, then," Meadow said, spreading her wings, "Let us make haste."

The other dragons nodded as the teens hopped on their horses. As the Dragons propelled themselves in the air, the horses started galloping south with the dragons in tow. As the group passed through the birch forest, they stumbled upon a dense jungle.

"Meadow, a little help down here!" Julia called out.

The Lush Dragon nodded before making the trees split down the middle. The horses reared before darting down the makeshift path and leaping over bushes. When Krystal saw a lone zombie under a tree, she took out her bow and fired a flaming arrow at it, smiling as the walking dead burned to ash.

"Nice shot, sis!" Blake said.

"Thanks!" Krystal said with a smile.

As the jungle neared its end, traces of sand could be seen.

"We must be getting close to the Grand Desert!" Shane said.

When he said that, the grass beneath them turned to wheat-colored sand. The horses came to a stop as they shook out their hooves of sand. Cacti grew everywhere, small desert rabbits hopped around, and the temperature spiked drastically. The teens found themselves sweating from the unexpected temperature rise.

"Let's keep pushing forward." Krystal said.

With a thwip of the reins, Toronado and Ash trotted across the sand with the dragons above. After a few minutes in the heat, the horses started slowing down and panting.

"There's gotta be a well nearby for the horses." Julia claimed.

"Guys, is there a well anywhere nearby?" Shane asked towards the dragons above.

The dragons glanced at one another before glancing around them to scout for a well. While the older dragons looked around, Neptune flew down to the others and landed beside them.

"If it helps, I can give your horses some water until the others find a well." Neptune said.

"That'd be great, thank you." Shane said.

The Ocean Dragon nodded before cupping her claws, causing water to form. Shane and Krystal gestured for their horses to drink from the dragon's claws, but they snorted and backed away.

"It's okay, guys," Blake said, "Drink up."

The horses snorted and let out a neigh.

"This isn't good," Julia said, "If they don't drink any water, they'll get dehydrated."

Neptune gently shoved her claws towards the horses, but the horses reared and let out frightful neighs.

"Easy, Toronado; easy, boy!" Krystal grunted, tugging at the reins.

Krystal groaned before hopping off her horse and grabbing the reins from the front.

"Toronado, calm down!" Krystal said, bringing her horse back down to all fours.

Shane did the same as he tried to calm down Ash.

"I'm so sorry..." Neptune said, her voice a bit shaky.

"It's not your fault, Neptune," Krystal said, "This isn't like Toronado at all. Stubborn, yes, but never like this."

"I agree," Shane said, "He and Ash have been traveling with you and your siblings for a few days now, almost a week. I've never seen them act like this before."

When Krystal stared into her horse's eyes, they looked panicked and almost hazy.

"Shane, does Ash's eyes look hazy to you?" Krystal asked.

The older teen looked into his horse's eyes, turned back to Krystal, and nodded.

"Why are their eyes hazy, Krys?" Blake asked.

"I don't know." Krystal said.

Then, the teens heard a gale of wind behind them. They turned around to see the other three dragons.

"While we couldn't find a well, we did find a village not too far from here." Tundra said.

"What's going on with your horses?" Meadow asked.

"We don't know," Shane said, "They started acting like this when Neptune tried to offer them water."

Cryo glanced at the water in his sister's claws and quirked a brow.

"It looks fine to me." Cryo deadpanned.

"We know, but it's like... they see something else." Krystal said.

The other dragons glanced at each other with knowing looks.

"We'll lead you to the village," Meadow said, "Surly, the villagers there would be more than helpful."

"If not... heh, well, let's just say we'll have to reenact those children's fairytales about dragons burning down villages and taking all their gold." Cryo sneered.

Meadow groaned and rolled her eyes. The Lush Dragon walked over and shielded the horses with her wings. Shane and Krystal gripped the reins and walked as Julia and Blake rode on their backs to comfort them. As the group walked through the desert, the horses slowed down.

"Please tell me the village is close." Krystal said, glancing at the dragons.

"We're almost there," Tundra said, "Past this dune, you'll start to see sandstone towers."

When they walked past the large dune, as Tundra said, there were tall sandstone towers and houses. The teens sighed in relief as they dragged their tired bodies toward the town. As the group drew near, the dragons left their side and took to the skies. When Krystal saw a lone villager, she smiled and waved him over. The villager glanced at them before rushing over.

"Hello, and welcome to Ollopa Town! The name's Javier," he said, "How can I help you?"

"Our... horses..." Julia panted as sweat dripped from her face, "T-They're severely dehydrated..."

"Oh goodness! And you kids look like you could fall at any moment."

"Don't worry... about us..." Shane panted, "Please... just get our horses... water..."

Javier nodded and gestured for the teens to follow. As the teens walked through the large village, the town square had a glittering fountain in the middle with many colorful shops. When the teens saw the fountain, Shane and Krystal led their horses to the water, and thankfully, they dipped down and drank.

"Don't exclude yourselves, kids." Javier said.

The villager pulled out four bottles and filled them with the fountain water.

"Go on; drink up!" Javier said.

As Shane and Krystal helped their younger siblings off their horses, they each took a bottle and drank the water. As if by magic, any dehydration they felt ceased to exist.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Julia exclaimed, "What kind of water is this?"

"Oasis water," Javier said, "It may sound funny, but it is true. Years ago, this town used to be a great oasis, and our great founder decided to make a town right here, especially for travelers like yourselves."

"That's amazing," Blake said, "And very smart."

Javier nodded before turning to the older teens.

"What are you kids doing out here?" Javier asked, "Judging by your looks, you guys are from a village, but somewhere in... the plains, yes?"

"That we are," Krystal said, "We're... looking for something, or rather someone, and our sources led us here to the Grand Desert."

"Well, as a native, I'd be happy to help. What're you looking for?"

Krystal walked over to her saddle bag and pulled out the old book. She flipped through the pages and stopped when she saw Apollo's picture.

"A desert temple buried in the sand," Krystal said, "And it's only visible when the sun is setting."

"Hmm, there are a lot of temples in this desert," Javier said, "Is there anything special about this temple, besides it being buried in sand, that would make it stand out?"

The four teens glanced at each other with knowing looks and nodded.

"Well... this temple harbors... a dragon," Krystal said, "Apollo, the Dry Dragon, to be exact."

Javier glanced between the teens and chuckled.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked.

The teens stared at the man with serious eyes. Javier's smile dropped, and his eyes widened.

"Whoa, uhm, okay..." Javier said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Well, I may not be able to direct you to where that specific temple is, but I can give you a map of where some of the temples are surrounding Oasis Town, and mark off which ones are buried."

"That'd be great, thank you." Shane said.

Javier nodded as he glanced at the horses.

"Why don't you leave your horses here?" Javier suggested, "If you guys go back out there, they'll dehydrate again. You kids can borrow some camels."

Javier then pointed to a stall next to one of the sandstone buildings. Inside were camels eating some hay and cacti.

"Are you sure?" Julia asked.

"Of course," Javier said, "When you're done with your excursion, just bring them back here."

The teens nodded and thanked the villager.

"Stay here; I'll draw a map for you guys." Javier said before sprinting away.

The teens watched as the man sprinted between some buildings before sitting along the fountain's edge.

"Hopefully, we'll find the temple in time," Julia said, "If we have to wait until sunset to find it, Apollo is knocking on death's door..."