As the teens gathered their belongings, they started a fire to find their way back to the small camp they made. The teens hopped on the camels and thwipped the reins, causing the camels to groan and stand up. After leaving the campsite, the sky was a burning amber, making the sand glitter like gold.

"Alright, where is that temple?" Shane asked.

The dragons glanced at each other before propelling themselves into the orange sky. As they scouted the surrounding area, Cryo saw something twinkling.

"Everyone, follow me!" he roared as he flew ahead.

With a slight kick from Krystal and Shane's heels, the camels started picking up speed, keeping up with the dragons ahead. As they drew near, Krystal saw something poking out of the sand. Krystal pulled on the reins, causing the camel to stop. She quickly hopped off the large animal and sprinted up to what was poking out of the sand. Sticking up from the sand was a golden statue, no bigger than Krystal. Upon closer inspection, the statue was sitting on some sandstone with a hole through the top.

"This is it," Krystal said, "The temple is buried in the sand, just like the book said!"

The other teens left the camels behind and jogged up to the girl. When the dragons landed, the Cold Dragon snarled as he tried to poke his head through the hole.

"The hole is too small to fit through," Cryo growled, "How are we getting in?"

Meadow hummed before glancing around, seeing a stray cactus nearby. Using her powers, Meadow made the cactus become a thorny vine and wrap around the hole's circumference.

"Neptune, drench the area in water." Meadow instructed.

The Ocean Dragon nodded as she flew into the air, forming a dark cloud. Then, heavy rain poured down, drenching everything.

"Cryo, Tundra. Freeze the area covered in water." Meadow said.

The two dragons nodded and exhaled chilling breaths around the sandstone and the vines.

"Everyone, get back!" Meadow said.

The three other dragons quickly scooped up the teens and moved them away from their sister. The Lush Dragon tightened the vine's grip around the top of the temple once more before letting out a strained cry and yanking the temple's top off, bits of sandstone flying off in different directions and the other Overworld Dragons protecting the teens from the debris. When the teens looked back at the temple, the temple's top was completely ripped off, and the hole was a lot bigger for the dragons to fly through. Then, the dragons started groaning in pain, their eyes closed tightly as they clutched their heads. When their eyes opened, they were purple and hazy. The dragons picked up a teen before diving down into the hole.

"Here we go again!" Julia exclaimed.

As they neared the bottom, Cryo roared a chilling breath on the floor, freezing it. Then, he slammed his claws against the frozen sandstone and clay, shattering it like glass. As the dragons dove deeper into the temple, treasure littered the ground, from mounds of gold to chests overflowing with diamonds and emeralds.

"Whoa... Talk about a hoard." Krystal said in awe.

Laying on a mound of sand was a giant, malnourished dragon who was gray.

"There he is!" Blake exclaimed.

The teens hopped off the dragons' backs and landed in the sand. When they ran up to Apollo, he was barely breathing and not moving.

"Brother!" Neptune cried.

"Kids, the Dragon's Breath!" Meadow said, "Now!"

Blake nodded before reaching into his bag and pulling out the vial of the pink-purple gradient liquid. When he opened the bottle, Apollo didn't move nor open his mouth.

"Not good," Blake said, "Guys, open his mouth, quick!"

The others nodded and grunted as they pried open the dragon's large mouth. Blake took a deep breath as he poured the Dragon's Breath into Apollo's mouth. The other teens tilted his head back so he could swallow. After a minute, nothing happened.

"This isn't gonna be another Meadow situation, is it?" Julia asked.

Then, Apollo's breathing stopped, the atmosphere shifted, and the temperature dropped around them. The teens' shoulders slumped, and their faces fell.

"Apollo?" Meadow questioned, tapping her brother's head.

"What did you kids do?!" Cryo hissed, baring his fangs at the teens.

Krystal and Shane shielded Blake and Julia as they reached for their weapons.

"We didn't do anything!" Shane said, "All Blake did was give him the Dragon's Breath!"

"Cryo, leave them alone!" Tundra roared, pushing back his brother, "It wasn't their fault, and you know that!"

Cryo growled and hissed as tears burned his eyes. Neptune cried out as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"He can't be dead! He can't be dead!" Neptune cried, "There has to be a way to bring him back!"

"Does that book say anything?" Meadow asked.

Krystal pulled the book from Blake's bag and flipped through the pages. Tiny sparks started flying off the weathered pages as she flipped through them.

"What the?" Krystal questioned.

Then, the book started flipping to the next blank page and etched some symbols into the pages, leaving small flames behind.

"You guys seeing this?" Krystal asked.

The other teens nodded as they watched the flames etch into the pages. When the flames died, the symbols shimmered a faint purple.

¦⎓ ᖋリ 𝙹⍊ᒷ∷∴𝙹∷ꖎ⌥ ⌥∷ᖋ˧𝙹リ ¦ᓭ ∴ᒷᖋꖌᒷリᒷ⌥ ᖋリ⌥ ⌥∷ᖋ¦リᒷ⌥ ᒣ𝙹 ᒣ₸ᒷ ⅱ𝙹¦リᒣ ᒣ₸ᖋᒣ ⌥∷ᖋ˧𝙹リ'ᓭ ʖ∷ᒷᖋᒣ₸ ᔮᖋリリ𝙹ᒣ ∷ᒷᓭᒣ𝙹∷ᒷ ᒣ₸ᒷ¦∷ ᓭᒣ∷ᒷリ˧ᒣ₸, ᒣ₸ᒷ ⅱ𝙹∴ᒷ∷ ⎓∷𝙹ᒲ ᒣ₸ᒷ ∷ᒷᒲᖋ¦リ¦リ˧ ⌥∷ᖋ˧𝙹リᓭ ᔮᖋリ ʖ∷¦リ˧ ʖᖋᔮꖌ ᒣ₸ᒷ¦∷ ᓭᒣ∷ᒷリ˧ᒣ₸, ᒷリ𝙹⚍˧₸ ᒣ𝙹 ˧¦⍊ᒷ ᒣ₸ᒷ¦∷ ₸ᒷᖋ∷ᒣ ᖋリ ᒷンᒣ∷ᖋ ʖ𝙹𝙹ᓭᒣ⎵

"What does it say, sis?" Blake asked.

"If an Overworld Dragon is weakened and drained to the point that Dragon's Breath cannot restore their strength, the power from the remaining dragons can bring back their strength... enough to give their heart an extra boost..." Krystal read.

"Like a kickstart?" Julia asked.

"Seems like it," Shane said, glancing at the dragons, "If you guys use your powers on Apollo, we might be able to bring him back."

The dragons turned to the teens and then at each other. After a beat of silence, the dragons nodded before surrounding the gray dragon. When the dragons took deep breaths, their eyes started glowing a hazy purple. Then, they exhaled purple balls of fire that exploded into purple smoke around Apollo.

"Kids, stand back!" Tundra hissed.

The teens nodded and stepped away from the purple smoke. Then, a faint purple aura appeared around the dragons. They reared before expelling a hazy purple flame that turned the area into a purple bonfire. In the center of the fire, Apollo's gray scales started reverting to their tan and brown color.

"It's working!" Julia exclaimed.

Then, Apollo's eyes snapped open. His raw, umber eyes turned purple instantly as he spread his large golden wings. With one flap of his wings, he propelled himself into the air and let out a roar that shook the small chamber, and the temperature started to rise.

"They did it!" Shane exclaimed, "Apollo's back!"

A red-purple gradient aura surrounded Apollo as he roared again, and the other dragons were surrounded by that same aura and joined their older brother in the air. Krystal and Shane shielded Julia and Blake as some rocks started to fall. When the chamber stopped shaking, the dragons landed as their eyes reverted to their natural color. Apollo shook out his spines as he glanced around him.

"Apollo!" the other dragons cried happily.

"Meadow, Cryo," Apollo began, "Tundra, Neptune... You're all okay..."

The bigger dragon opened his wings and embraced his younger brothers and sisters.

"We thought you were dead!" Neptune cried.

"But he's not, sister," Meadow began, looking back at the kids, "It's all thanks to them that he is not."

When Apollo saw the teens, he released his younger siblings and approached them. Apollo towered over them before lowering his head to their level.

"You have my eternal gratitude, young ones," he said, "Thank you for saving my life and the lives of my younger siblings."

"You're welcome, Apollo." Krystal said.

"We're just so glad you're back." Shane said.

The Dry Dragon nodded before straightening his posture.

"How are we even here in the Overworld?" Apollo asked.

For the next few moments, the teens and the dragons explain to Apollo what Endra has done to them and where everyone stands except for Neptune. Apollo growled under his breath and glanced down at everyone.

"We're not killing our Mother." Apollo said.

"What do you mean we're not killing that witch!?" Cryo questioned, "We were all knocking on death's door at one point! You died! All because of her!"

"You want to say what Mother did was justifiable, brother?" Meadow asked, "You died because of her, which makes her a murderer. What mother does that to her children? If it weren't for these kids, you would be a rotting corpse right now!"

Apollo sighed and turned away from his sister.

"What she did was wrong, yes, but I cannot bring myself to kill her." Apollo said.

"She sent us here to die, Apollo!" Cryo roared, "Open your eyes! That witch is a murderer!"

"Don't call her that!" Tundra hissed.

"That dragon is no Mother mine!" Meadow snarled, "What mother banishes her children to have them rot and die because we posed a threat to her, even when we would never raise a claw to her? Tell me, Tundra! Tell me!"

The two dragons growled and hissed at one another. The teens worriedly glanced at each other before looking back at the dragons.

"Let us finish this conversation outside," Apollo said before glancing at the teens, "Whatever treasure is here, you may have it; you have more than earned it."

The teens' eyes lit up as they approached the mounds of treasure and chests. Krystal picked up an enchanted book and opened it, skimming through the symbols that flew off the page.

"Nice, an Unbreaking III book," Krystal said, stuffing it in her back, "This will come in handy in the future."

Blake and Julia grabbed handfuls of diamonds, emeralds, and gold and shoved them into their bags, whereas Shane grabbed whatever enchanted weapons he could find. After some time, the teens returned to the dragons with bags full of treasure.

"We're all good," Julia said, "Thanks again, Apollo."

The Dry Dragon smiled inwardly and bowed his head. The other four dragons extended their wings for the teens to climb on. When the teens were on their backs, the dragons spread their wings and flew out of the temple. Once they were out, the sky was midnight blue, and the moon was full. The dragons landed, and the kids slid off their backs.

"So, remind me again," Apollo began, "Where does everyone stand in this? I have no reason to kill my mother."

"Neither do I, brother." Tundra said.

"We don't want to kill your mother either." Julia said, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"We want that witch to rot." Cryo hissed.

"And have her know exactly the pain she inflicted on us." Meadow said.

"We're with you." Shane said, glancing back at Krystal.

"We don't want our world to potentially become a target for her." Krystal said.

Everyone's eyes fell on Neptune. She glanced between with a worried expression.

"You are the deciding factor, sister," Cryo said, "Whatever you say, we will do."

Neptune paced around in the sand, growling and groaning.

"I don't want to kill Mother," she said, "But I want to get back at her for what she has done to us..."

Neptune looked up at Apollo, and tears started welling in her eyes.

"You died... all because of Mother..." she said sadly before glancing at the other dragons, "We all could have died... We all almost died because of her..."

Neptune hissed back the tears as she started to thrash around, clutching her head. Then, Meadow and Cryo's words echoing in her head.

"We were all knocking on death's door at one point! You died! All because of her!"

"You died because of her, which makes her a murderer. What mother does that to her children? If it weren't for these kids, you would be a rotting corpse right now!"

"Open your eyes! That witch is a murderer!"

Then, Tundra's words echoed in her head.

"As it stands, the others and I are the judges and jury, but it will come down to whether or not you will take up the role of executioner."

After Neptune heard that, her eyes snapped open, and her pupils became more slit. As she started to growl, she bared her silver fangs as purple drool spilled from the corners of her mouth. She then glanced back at the others as her eyes turned a hazy purple.

"I... know what role to play now," Neptune growled, "That witch must die!"