Once she had dealt with the hunters, one of which was Thomas' father, John, Uri immediately created a portal, taking them to an island that was a few hours from where she'd told Thomas to go so she could clean up her weapons and armour. After that, Uri took them straight to the island where she told Thomas to take the others. They spotted the campfire and headed towards it, Uri screeching to announce their arrival. They landed just inside the ring of light created by the fire, Zoe pulling her helmet off and running her hand over the top of her head to tame the hair that had escaped from its braid.
"What took you so long?" Thomas asked her as she slid off Uri's back.
"I had to incapacitate them and then heal them," she explained as she removed her packs from Uri's saddle. "I'll explain when I get back, I need to clear my head and Uri needs to get her dinner. We won't be long," she said as she got back into the saddle.
"Ok, don't do anything stupid," Thomas said to her, the other three males sitting in silence, Finn looking from her to Uri and back again as if putting everything together.
"You do realise who you're talking to right?" she smiled before ducking to avoid Uri's tail. "OW! We'll go and get your dinner, just let me get ready," she huffed, rubbing her shoulder that Uri had slapped with a second swing of her tail. "Stupid reptile," she muttered. "I better get this monster fed, we won't be long," she said to Thomas before getting back in the saddle and putting her helmet on. "You coming or staying?" She asked Sharpshot who secured himself on her shoulder. "Coming it is," she said as Uri shot into the sky.
The flew further south for 20 or so minutes before coming across a small island that was barely big enough for them to land on. Nevertheless, they landed, Zoe dismounting Uri and removing the saddle before the dragon took off to get her fish and play in the water. Zoe sat down on the sand and took her helmet off, putting it in the sand next to her. She sighed as she lay on her back and looked up at the stars, spotting Hayden and Atlas' constellation right away. In less than a week, it would mark a year since she lost them. She missed him so much; would give anything to see Atlas flying towards them with Hayden on his back, smiling and telling her that he had found some more hunter ships to 'blow up', as he always used to say. She pulled his whistle out from beneath her armour, tracing her fingers along the delicate flames. She had done this so many times that she had memorised the position and curve of every flame that decorated the whistle.
She thought of the more pressing issue that she'd have to deal with when she got back to Thomas and the others. She needed to work out what she was going to do with Nick and Elliot; they weren't safe in the world of Grey but they hardly could defend themselves in the world Below either. She'd have to take them to the village so Remi and Amy could keep an eye on them, but that would take almost two weeks without Uri's portals and she doubted Uri would have the energy to make three portals, each one big enough for a dragon and two people. And they would no doubt bombard her with questions when she got back, Finn especially since he knew most about the fury riders out of the three of them. She hoped Thomas was answering some of their questions now. She sighed, tucking Hayden's whistle back into her shirt and getting to her feet, dusting the sand off her helmet and back. "You ready?" she asked the two dragons who were now just messing around in the water.
"We are, but I don't think you are," Uri said to her as she dragged herself out of the water, shaking herself to get the bulk of the water off.
"I'll be fine, can't put it off forever," she smiled.
"You sure?"
"Yeah," she sighed as Uri came over to get her saddle strapped back on.
-o0O0o-
As soon as they landed, she was assaulted with questions: "what took you so long? You were over an hour-", "are you ok?", "you're the fury rider?" "why-"
"Ok, let her off her dragon," Thomas said, effectively stopping the flow of questions. "And she doesn't have to answer anything if she doesn't want to," he added, Zoe nodding gratefully.
"Sorry," her three primary school friends apologised sheepishly. She took off her helmet and slid out of the saddle, walking over to her bags and resting her helmet on top.
"You hungry?" Thomas asked her once she'd sat down against Uri just outside the circle of light from the fire.
"I'm fine, your parents fed us well despite your dad trying to kill us."
"Wait? What do you mean?" Thomas asked, suddenly concerned.
"He was the one leading that little group of hunters," she explained.
"What did you do to him?" he asked nervously.
"What I did to all the others plus a little 'supportive parents don't try to kill their son and friends' speech," she shrugged.
"Elaborate," he raised his eyebrow.
"I just kept their attention off of you lot until you were out of weapon range and then I disarmed them and wrapped them in cacoon of vines. Uri destroyed their weapons and I cleaned up the field to hide what had happened, then I healed the hunters I had injured before leaving and removing the vines once we were in the sky. When I was healing your dad, I made some smart-arse comment about if he wanted to be a supportive parent and see his son again, he should refrain with trying to kill you."
"But why did it take so long?"
"I stopped by an island with fresh water to clean my blades. Didn't think it would be a great idea if I turn up with blood on my weapons and I didn't want them to stain my armour, which it would if I let it dry."
"Fair enough," Thomas nodded. "Anyway, this lot have a ton of questions. I tried explaining the basics to them but no doubt they have more that I couldn't answer."
"I figured," she sighed. "And thanks for babysitting."
"Hey! He didn't babysit us!" Elliot pouted, making everyone laugh.
"So can we ask you questions now?" Finn asked.
"Sure, I might not answer them but you can still ask."
"Ok, first off, what do we call you? Because Thomas said you went by 'Zoe'," Finn asked.
"You can call me whatever you want. As I'm sure you know, the Academy just calls me the 'white rider', but everyone else here calls me 'Zoe'."
"That's another thing, I assume that what the Academy has told us isn't true?"
"Depends what they've told you. They have declared me an enemy which was back when I was 19; they didn't like the strength of my gift of winter or my lightning. They kicked me out and told me I wasn't welcome but I wasn't an enemy after only two months of being there when they found out I'm an elemental and had the gift of winter just after I turned 18," she explained. "But I do what every rider before me has done: fight the hunters and look out for the dragons."
"So you didn't kill the last rider?"
"What?" she said in a dangerously low voice. "What did you just say to me?"
"Uh...no she didn't, that was Drago. Let's move on, next question?" Thomas quickly said. She had been completely taken aback by that question. Why the hell would the Academy think that she'd killed Hayden? First it was Amy saying that it was her plan that got him killed, and now Finn had asked if she had been the one to kill him. Had she really been responsible for her boyfriend's death? It took her months to accept the fact that she had listened to him when he told her not to heal him, but should she have tried to save him regardless? Getting up, she walked away from the group and ignoring their voices calling out to her. She mindlessly walked through the forest until she came to the edge of the island and could hear the water lapping at the rocks that were only a few metres below her. She sat down, her legs dangling over the side, the water splashing her legs when a particularly large wave crashed against the land. What would have happened if she had healed him? Would he still be with her now? But he had said that he'd had his Dream and that the Bewilderbeast had decided it was his time to go. No one could change what the Bewilderbeast had decided. She vaguely noticed when Uri and Sharpshot joined her, Uri laying down next to her just before she fell asleep, a tear escaping and running down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know she'd react like that," Finn kept apologising over and over.
"Relax, she'll be back tomorrow. But I highly recommend to the three of you to not bring up Hayden. He was the other rider that died almost a year ago," Thomas added for Nick and Elliot's benefit.
"What happened?" Nick asked. "And where's the new fury rider?"
"Or can you not tell us?" Finn asked, who genuinely didn't know as the Academy put out so much disinformation.
"I guess I can tell you," Thomas sighed. "You knew Hayden, right?" he directed to Finn who nodded.
"I don't know everything, but I can tell you what I do know," he started, the three males nodding in understanding. "Hayden was the fury rider from when he was 16 to when he was 25. The rider before Zoe was a guy named Max who passed just after Hayden turned 18, so Hayden and Zoe worked together for most of Hayden's time as fury rider. As far as I know, they've travelled and worked together since Hayden turned 19. He and Zoe were in a relationship for almost five years before he died, which will be a year ago in four days. Drago killed Hayden during a battle between Drago's dragon army and a bunch of villagers where Zoe's friends live. As for the new rider, she sorta...how do I put this...she doesn't perform her duties," he explained.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked.
"It's hard to explain, but Amy, the other rider, and Zoe had a fight a few months ago and one thing lead to another and now Amy lives with Zoe's younger brother. Amy and Zoe are on good terms now, but Zoe gave Amy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and Amy took it."
"I'm still confused," Finn said.
"It's probably best that Zoe explains that situation."
"If she ever speaks to me again," Finn mumbled.
"Hey, stop beating yourself up. She won't be angry with you, she's just got a lot going on around her and in her head. It took her months to stop blaming herself for Hayden's death so she's probably going over everything again."
"Great, so I dragged up all the mess again-"
"No, its not like that. Anyway, we should probably get some sleep, Zoe likes to get us moving early," he said as he settled himself against Phoenix.
"How early is early?" Elliot asked, also getting himself comfortable.
"Just before sunrise."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope, so get some sleep," Thomas smirked. It took him a while to adjust to Zoe's schedule; she always wakes up early and manages to do a thousand things a day.
-o0O0o-
Just as predicted, Zoe was back at their camp and getting their breakfast as the sun was just peeking over the horizon. No one mentioned the previous night, they just forced themselves awake to help Zoe and pack up their camp site before they ate. Once everyone was sitting down and eating, Zoe more or less brought up the topic that Thomas had been questioning all morning; what to do with Elliot and Nick. "I think we should head to Zeb and Alice's village; Nick and Elliot can stay there until things blow over in the world of Grey and they can learn to defend themselves. Anyone can teach them more than they already know."
"How do we get there?" Thomas said over Nick and Elliot's protests about knowing how to defend themselves, Finn shutting down their claims.
"We're going to need to fly, Uri can't create that many portals big enough for a dragon carrying two people. But that means we need to find dragons that are willing to take Elliot and Nick because I doubt Agni and Phoenix will want to carry two people over such a large distance. It will slow us down too."
"Where do we find the dragons?" Finn asked.
"I know a place," she said with her smile that meant she was going to do something risky and involving the hunters.
"Zoe, you better not be referring to Grimmel's camp just north of the gateway," he warned.
"And what if I am? It's not like you can stop me, Tom," she teased, but she had a point. He had no way of stopping her.
"So predictable," he huffed. "You're not going now!" he told her when he saw her walk over to her bags and strap her weapons to herself before picking up her helmet.
"When am I going to go then?"
"Just let me get ready and then I'll come with you," he said, getting up.
"You stay here. It'll be easier if I go alone and I'll be quicker," she said to him as Uri bounded over to her, Sharpshot settling himself in front of the saddle.
"But-"
"I'll be fine. Keep those three out of trouble and maybe try and teach them a few things," she said, getting into the saddle.
"Great, babysitting duty again."
"You know it. I won't be too long. If I need you I'll send Sharpshot." Before he could respond, Uri took off at full speed heading north.
-o0O0o-
Finn was showing Elliot and Nick his water bending, Thomas just watching the three of them amused, leaning against Phoenix. Finn stood next to Elliot and Nick and got them to pretend they were water bending with him, Thomas chuckling to himself. After a few minutes, Nick and Elliot pretended to earth bend, Finn showing them common movements the earth benders used. Nick and Elliot both copied Finn except this time however, unlike when they were pretending to water bend, one of them actually made a rock shoot across their clearing.
"Who was that?" Thomas asked as he got up, the other three males standing there in shock.
"It wasn't me," Finn said still in shock.
"Did either of you feel a weird tingling in your arm just then?" Thomas asked.
"I think so?" Elliot said quietly.
"Do it again," Thomas instructed.
"But I don't know how I did it."
"Position your stance so its the same as before, and concentrate on pushing that rock away from us as you push your hands out like this," he said, demonstrating the action.
Nodding, Elliot squared his stance and did as he was instructed, the rock moving further away from them but with not as much as force as the first time. "Looks like you're an earth bender," Thomas said, slapping Elliot's shoulder and going to sit back down. "Zoe can help you with it when she gets back and then when we get to the village, Mathew can teach you," he said to Elliot who was staring between his hands and the rock in awe.
"No fair! Why am I the only one that can't bend," Nick grumbled.
"You might be able to fire bend, you guys haven't tried that yet," Thomas shrugged.
"How do I try?"
"I think we should wait until Zoe gets back to try that."
"Why?"
"I've only ever seen Hayden and Zoe fire bend but they were always doing more complicated stuff with their arms and hands since they can do the basics just using their mind."
"So you don't know how they summon a flame?"
"Not a small one, no. They sort of just do it," he explained.
"How long will she take?" Finn asked.
"Not too- oh gods...that woman is crazy," he muttered when he saw a giant flock of dragons on the horizon.
"Wha- oh...I think she found enough dragons," Nick said weakly.
"You think?" Elliot said, his jaw dropping at the sight of so many dragons that were still foreign to him and Nick.
Ok so maybe she only needed the help of two dragons, but most dragons want to repay their rescuers, particularly the fury rider, hence why she had a very large flock following her. She had no trouble sneaking into Grimmel's camp, managing to release every single dragon without being spotted until the dragons all burst from their cages at the same time. She had gone to each cage, unlocking it but telling the dragons that they had to wait until told before they were to push the cage doors open and fly straight up and out of range of any weapons before they could fly away from the island.
She had even managed to release one of Grimmel's deathgrippers which she was very pleased about. She had been unlocking the cages closest to the main tent when she saw the male deathgripper sleeping outside the entrance. She had pulled out her bow and nocked an arrow, aiming for the syringe of venom that was attached to the dragons neck. Her armour, already making her practically invisible, allowed her to move so she had the best angle. Taking a deep breath in and out, she had released the arrow, the syringe shattering and the purple liquid spilling out. She quickly repeated the process with the other two syringes that weren't yet drugging the dragon which woke the deathgripper up. After twenty or so minutes, the venom wore off so she felt it safe to approach the dragon, still blending in with her surroundings. The dragon could hear and smell her, turning in her direction he cautiously approached her. She spoke to it softly, letting him know she was there to rescue him, the deathgripper immediately taking a liking to her. It didn't take long for the deathgripper to follow the rest of the dragons and follow her and Uri back to the island where Thomas, Finn, Elliot and Nick were waiting.
As she approached the island, she told Uri to let the dragons know that they were free to go. After Uri let out a screech, the majority of the dragons dispersed; the deathgripper and a hackatoo stayed with her.
When they landed, Thomas and her three primary school friends were staring at her, the latter three with their mouths hanging open. "You definitely know how to make a dramatic entrance," Finn said.
"Something she taught Amy, too," Thomas muttered, likely remembering the first time he and Remi had met Amy in the forest.
"Anyway, I found two dragons who are willing to carry you two," she said to Nick and Elliot. "Just let them check you out and they'll decide who they want as their rider."
"Oh, and Zoe, we have a situation," Thomas said to her.
"Explain."
"Elliot's an earth bender."
"I'm not surprised," she nodded.
"Wait, you knew?"
"No, but benders seem to unconsciously be drawn to each other in the world of Grey. It's likely that Nick is a bender too."
"Well he's not an earth or water bender."
"Let's see if he's fire," she said walking over to Nick who was getting to know the deathgripper.
"I think he likes me," Nick smiled when he saw Zoe approaching him.
"He definitely does. C'mere a sec, let's see if you're a fire bender, otherwise you might be an air bender."
"I thought air benders didn't exist anymore?" Finn asked. "Or is that another thing the Academy hasn't told us?"
"You've seen me air bend," she said confused. "You were there when I saved the Academy again from the hunters like...six years ago now."
"That was you?"
"I am the white rider," she smiled.
"I know, I just never made that connection back. Oh my god...so everything that the white rider did was you?"
"Yep. So you know I can air bend."
"But I thought that was because you're an elemental?"
"Nope, air was my first element."
"Huh..." Finn seemed to be processing everything.
"Anyway, Nick, I want you to put your hand out like this. Now close your eyes and picture the campfire from last night and imagine a small version of it sitting in your palm. There you go, you're a fire bender."
"Whoa..." Nick breathed when he opened his eyes and saw a small flame in his palm. "How do I stop it?"
"Just close you hand and imagine the fire dying," she instructed.
Nick did as he was told, the flames disappearing.
"What now?" Thomas asked her.
"Same as before. We head for Zeb and Alice's village and now I train these two when we camp for the night," she shrugged. "Enjoy your legs while they last, we're going to be flying all day everyday for the next week or so, you're going to become very sore," she said to Nick and Elliot who blanched.
-o0O0o-
They'd been travelling for three days, and today marked a year since Hayden passed and joined the stars. They had been flying in silence all day. She suspected that Thomas had told the other three to leave her alone today, and for that she was grateful. She'd have to thank him later. It was getting onto dusk and they'd been flying all day, so any complaints that met her ears were completely reasonable. She knew the world Below so well now that she knew an island would come into view in the next fifteen minutes or so, and depending on how fast the dragons flew, they would reach the island within the hour of sighting it.
By the time an hour was up, the five of them and their dragons had landed and were setting up for the night. The dragons had gone to get themselves some fish for dinner, the riders opting to just snack on the food they'd picked up in a village along the way where Zoe had bought saddles for Nick and Elliot.
Leaving the group to their chatting and story telling, Zoe weaved her way through the island until she came to the highest point. It was a large rock formation that was slightly off centre of the island. It wasn't as tall as the cliff at Zeb and Alice's, but it was tall enough to take her above the tops of the trees and to have an unobstructed view of the sunset and the fading sky. She stood there and watched as the sun dropped below the horizon, the first few stars beginning to take their places in the sky. It was nearly half an hour before it was truly dark and all the stars were out. Walking to the edge of the cliff, she stared up at the sky, scanning for Hayden and Atlas. She quickly spotted them, not too close that she had to have her neck on a weird angle, but close enough that she could see the entirety of the constellation. Their stars were brighter tonight, brighter than all the others around them. She wished that she could be with Alice and Zeb tonight, but then again, she didn't know if she could handle being around people right now. She didn't know how long she stood there, just staring up at the stars, when Thomas came a stood next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. They stood in silence, eventually both of them laying down but still watching the sky where they must have fallen asleep.
-o0O0o-
She woke to a purple and red terror nudging and chattering in her ear, Viggo's terror, Magny. Sitting up, she noticed Thomas groggily waking himself up a metre to her right. "What does the terror want?" he asked still half asleep. The sun was well and truly above the horizon, but not by far; the others would still be asleep.
"Its more of a question of what the one who sent her wants," she said as she untied the letter and began reading. "Shit..." she mumbled as she read Viggo's letter. Drago was rebuilding his dragon army and becoming more active; she needed to finish him before he got too powerful again otherwise she was never going to get anywhere with these hunters, although Viggo was a nice and easy win.
"What is it?"
"I need to get you guys back to the village as soon as possible so I can deal with a few things," she said, burning the letter.
"And why are you burning that?"
"So no one else reads it," she said simply. "C'mon, we need to get moving. We'll eat in the air."
After waking her grumbling friends and getting them all into the air, she told them that she needed to handle something and that they needed to keep flying.
"Where are you going?" Elliot asked.
"To meet a friend to get an update on a situation," she responded. "Keep flying and no detours or stop-overs, I'll be back in an hour or so. Thomas is in charge so listen to him and don't cause problems. Do exactly as he says if you run into trouble," she said firmly.
"Stay safe," Thomas said to her.
"I'll try," she said with a smile. "Let's go," she said to Uri who fired a golden blast before twisting into it and leaving her companion behind, emerging above an island that Uri glided down to, altering her course when she saw Bolt and Viggo. When they landed, Viggo headed straight towards her, Bolt behind him and Magny leaving Zoe's shoulder to land on Viggo's.
"You got my letter?" he asked her.
"Yes, this isn't good. I need more time," she sighed.
"We always want more time, but I believe you can end him now."
"I need to get some new riders to Amy and the others to train first; apart from their dragons, they're defenceless."
"Do you need me to come with you for support?"
"No, its ok. I need you to stay 'dead'," she said with a smile. "I can't tell you how grateful I am for your help this past year."
"Just repaying a life debt. Besides, I owe it to Bolt and all the other dragons," he said earnestly.
"You've well and truly repaid your debt to me, but its up to you to decide what you owe the dragons. Can I ask a favour of you though?"
"Of course."
"Can you meet me at the sea stacks a half hour flight from Drago's main base of operation?"
"Is it going to be the real deal this time?"
"I sure hope so."
"When?"
"One week. That should give me enough time to get to the village and get myself together. And sunset."
"I'll see you then," he nodded, getting onto Bolt, his terror still on his shoulder. "Will you be able to end him?" Viggo asked softly.
"I'm going to the air benders now to see if there's another way, but if it comes down to it, I will avenge Hayden."
"Good luck, and see you in a week."
"You too," she said as Bolt took off. "Alright, lets go to the City," she said to her dragons, Uri taking off.
-o0O0o-
"I don't see any other way, he will escape any prison you put him in and him being alive will only keep his hunters loyal, either from fear or hope that he will return," Gus said to her. They were sitting on the edge of the cliff, both of them dangling their legs over the edge; it was most definitely an air bender thing.
"So I'll have to kill him?"
"I believe that is the best option," he nodded solemnly.
"So I'm going to have to ignore the fact that I'm an air bender that doesn't kill?"
"You must understand that whilst you are an air bender, above all else, you are the fury rider, and your highest priority is to end the hunters and protect the dragons even if it's at the cost of your personal values and those of the air benders. Nothing worth fighting for is easy, and sometimes you must sacrifice a part of yourself or your values to protect what you fight for and believe in, especially if others will benefit. So in this case, I'd say that Drago's life in exchange for the freedom of all of his slaves and hunters as well as the dragons is a fair sacrifice. And the same applies for Grimmel when you get to that stage. Although I must say, I'm glad that Viggo is now an ally. An ex-hunter that knows all the ins and outs is highly beneficial, but also one less necessary death for peace."