They're gone, kid, and even if they come back, it won't be the same as it was. You'd be better off building yourself a new one.

He's wrong, Conquistador silently repeated with every stroke of his limbs, watching the shape of Atlantis rise from the sea. Wrong. The sky overhead was a grim, foreboding grey - a second ocean that threatened to drown him, to bury him in its abyssal depths. It reminded him of the time a hurricane had raged across Atlantis - of being separated from his family in the chaos of the storm, and fearing for them throughout the long night. Certain that they were dead, and he would be left all alone in the world again. To distract himself from the disturbing memory, the palomino stallion focused on a narrow strip of bone-white sand that marked Atlantis's shore. That marked his home.

But it was as empty as the day he'd last left it - as empty as the sea beneath him, and the sky overhead.

His hooves touched the sand moments later, but Conquistador hesitated, his wide brown eyes staring down the beach. A small, naive piece of him had hoped to return to find Xina and Mera, Dia and Sokka and maybe even Sahin. But (they're gone, kid) the only scent he caught on the strengthening wind was Elliot's, and the young stallion could not bear the shame of facing him, and admitting his failure. He'd been so certain that Rade would help him, but the roan bachelor had refused, and-

Conquistador's gaze had come to rest on the sandbar where they'd once stood side-by-side, and his brow furrowed. He knew that his brother cared about him - so why had Rade evaded the efforts to find his family? Because he already knows where they are, a small voice spoke in the corner of his mind. Think. You know that Xina was there - why would the Lagoon have taken only one mare, and left the rest? Dia, and the little black filly... Conquistador stumbled backwards, the sea tugging at his limbs.

You promised you'd be there if I needed you...

And he had been here. He'd taken everything that the tawny boy had, until there was nowhere else for him to turn. Had that been Rade's intention all along - to use loneliness to drive his brother into the Lagoon and into his arms? The truth of the betrayal cut deeply, leaving a gaping hole in his chest that no amount of air could fill - though he still tried, sucking in breath after greedy breath. They're gone, kid. Inhale, exhale. Conquistador's ears buried themselves in the tangled threads of his pale mane, and his dark eyes slipped back to the sea. Suddenly, he turned and threw himself back into the waves, a scream of primal fury tearing into the silence.

Felony was right. He was weak - but it wasn't his love that had made him that way. It was his refusal to fight, even for the sake of those he loved.

And if there was anything in the world worth fighting for, it was family.