Time had done as little to fill the holes in his home as it had done to fill the holes in his heart.

Paradise had been reduced to a shadow of its former state - though its beaches were as beautiful and the jungle as lush, the absence of laughter and love had darkened it. Wherever Conquistador went, he was reminded of those that were now lost to him. The beach where he had once chased seagulls with Dia. The sandbar where he had once stood side by side with Sahin, and then Rade. And Xina - Xina was in the jungle, as if he was still the young colt who had struggled not to fall behind her that first day. But as time passed, the palomino stallion's memories of were starting to fade - and he feared that one day he would not remember Xina's fierce determination, or Dia's kindness.

And he couldn't decide which he feared most - carrying the reminder of his failure with him forever, or forgetting those who had once been his family.

Conquistador had been wandering, lost in thought, and now stood parallel to the sandbar that stood between the shore and the worst of the sea. He could not bear the thought of wading out to it - of standing there alone, with only the wind and sea to whisper in his ears. Secretly - silently - he longed for Rade to appear, as he had done that fateful day - to come to him with the promise of a new home, and a new life. But after a few moments of wistful waiting, the tawny boy forced his wooden limbs to work, and moved on. Though he had once promised he would always be there if Conquistador needed him, his brother would not suddenly step from the waves. After everything that he had lost here, Rade would never return to Atlantis.

So Conquistador would go to him.

The golden boy turned to charge into the sea, relishing the burn of the salt-tanged air in his lungs, and the gentle caress of the waves on his skin. It was here - weightless, free from the burdens of both future and past - that he truly belonged.