When Child of Promise spotted the injured member of the House of Night, her heart nearly stopped.

He was alive but in desperate need of a rescue.

"Aether!" she called, her attribute pulling her towards him.

The word came a moment after the slingshot beside her released its load.

The rock that Flint slung at the dragon was never meant to injure the beast seriously. It was merely a distraction. Using Noble's Aspect, Flint floated away, taunting the dragon as he loaded another projectile.

"Hey, you lazy lizard! Leave the scrawny meat alone and come after some real muscle!" He kissed his armored bicep.

Enraged, the Prince turned his good eye on the brazen newcomer. His tongue flicked out, threatening to unleash the inferno of power underneath. The pink flesh froze in place before reaching its adversary, only to sizzle as the ice coating it turned to steam.

Before the dragon could chase after the ice man, a bolt of lightning struck him from the other side. Atop a magnificent griffin, Roan challenged the rule of the monarch of the hill. Sunlight streamed from behind him, making the Legacy Master look like a returned deity.

"Over here, King of Beasts! Or I'll crown my griffin instead of you!"

Noble shot an arrow right at a broken scale between the dragon's front toes. The shaft broke off immediately, but not before leaving the head behind like an obnoxious splinter.

The Prince roared.

Aether stared at the three flying heroes in disbelief.

There was a fourth presence among them, shimmering like a beacon of destruction as it rammed into the dragon's hide.

Was he hallucinating? Where had they even come from?!

"We will cover you. Go!" Noble's words broke the man from his reverie.

The trio was really there, ready to put their lives on the line to aid him in his escape.

Aether gritted his teeth. "I must stay..."

"Get out so we can!" Child of Promise used her Aspect to lift him over a wall and set him farther down the hill. "Go! My Echo will carry you the rest of the way!"

A beautiful purple Symncus formed next to Aether, purring with urgency. Helios bared his teeth, ready to haul the man up like a kitten by the back of his armor.

The young man wanted to argue, but when he turned his head, the world swam around him. He was of no use in this battle. Every second he wasted by staying was putting the others in his cohort in danger. Retreat was, unfortunately, the only option. The dragon was too mighty, and the risk was far too great.

So, with the little strength he had left, Aether climbed on the back of the Echo and the pair raced down the hill.

Noble watched him go with her second sight. Part of her wanted to accompany him and fly him to safety, but until he reached the lake, she was better off helping the others stall the mighty beast.

Despite their efforts, they were barely holding on against the Dragon Prince. It had fought against much more terrible things than three mere Masters and a Saint.

It was a Remnant of the Doom War and a survivor of untold horrors. The four humans were merely flies that needed to be swatted and consumed in the place of their friend.

The tail swatted Syrce from the sky. In her transformed state, she hit the ground in a burst of energy. Her human form appeared from the rubble, and she rolled up her sleeves.

Unable to keep his eyes on all the combatants, the Dragon set his sights on the ice maker. Ice was the enemy of fire, and he had not taken kindly to being extinguished even for a moment.

The jaws, which had snapped so many enemies in two before, shot forward with malevolent force.

But the surly Master simply smiled, released his hold on the sky, and dropped toward the ground where a slide of his favorite frozen friend formed to break his fall.

The left side, though blind, was not without its defenses. The dragon beat his battered wing against the air, pushing back the griffin and threatening to dislodge the rider. Both lost sight of their goal as they turned end over end in the unwieldy hurricane.

But it was Noble who received the worst of the onslaught. Shooting off another arrow, she dipped to find the next weak point, her cape fluttering behind her like a flag. This was a mistake.

One of the Prince's claws lunged out to pluck the buzzing bee from the air. At the same moment, the dragon's good eye went searching for Flint again, pushing his jaw back in Noble's direction.

The angry beast roared, and with it came another plume of fire. The torch pelted the air above his claw, leaving Noble with the impossible choice of a rock and a fiery place.

Well, there was no choice, really.

The fire was deadly, but ending up in the Prince's grasp was even more undesirable.

Noble held her breath as the flames washed over her. Her armor glowed almost instantly; the charm in it was pushed to its limit. The Memory covering her hair, which she had often used when fighting Sarai, sizzled and threatened to disintegrate under the immolating heat.

Even with her back turned to the fire, sweat poured down her forehead and coated her closed eyelids with salt.

'Keep…going…'

Up was the only way. Unfortunately, it felt like the dragon's head was tilting upward as well, making the flame chase Noble as an unwanted companion.

Her armor burned her skin, beginning to crack under the pressure.

Just as she thought that her Memories would devolve into a rain of sparks, the temperature around her shifted. Ice attempted to form, failing and immediately turning to steam. It took what was left of her sweat with it, but Noble didn't care. The temperature lowered, and her armor held.

She exited the flames, gasping after holding her breath for so long.

'I…I'm alive!'

'Blondie, get out of there!' Flint's warning was just in time. Having turned her back on the dragon, she failed to see how close the creature's mouth had come.

She dodged the teeth, shooting away from the Prince with force augmented from somewhere deep in her soul.

She caught up to the griffin and her cold companion. The three of them sped with all their might away from Bastion.

An explosion erupted behind them. Syrce hit the Prince, pulling his attention away from the others. Then she, too, fled from the scene.

The group hurried with such fervor that they almost forgot the reason they had come in the first place.

"Where's Aether?" Roan scanned the side of the hill.

"There!" Flint found him before Noble could reach for his emotional signature.

The injured man and Helios had made it to the bottom of the ridge and now faced the shore of the lake. The Symncus looked poised to jump in and swim. But before he could, Aether leapt from his back and began running…right across the surface of the water.

Dismissing her echo, Noble and the two other Masters met their youngest member on the far side of the lake. Aether collapsed into Roan's arms with a groan.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," the young man managed with a small smile.

"We could say the same about you!" His cohort leader answered, helping Aether onto the griffin.

"Uhh, guys…" Noble pulled the men's attention.

The others turned to look back at Bastion, their faces growing pale.

The dragon had at last spread his wings to their full length.

The Prince was taking flight.