Connery held his breath until he heard the Blood Knight leave. When he was sure the other had left, the White Knight, with suction cups on his hands, made his way back up the Tower wall and back onto the roof. The thief collapsed onto his back and let out a sigh of relief. He silently thanked the Goddess that he always had his thieving gear on him. "Now what?" he asked the night sky.
The guy who called himself Arguile had taken his Spear and said something about going to see his Lord. Connery tried to remember what the name had been, but he hadn't been able to hear everything clearly. "Either way, I have to find the others." He got to his feet and brushed the dust from his coat. "Let's see what else Crest of mine can do."
Using his knowledge that white is the combination of all colors, Connery took a gamble and released some of the power of the White Crest. His coat and armor slowly began to shift colors until he blended in with his surroundings. Connery released a small laugh and ran towards a staircase leading down back into the Tower.
"Who, I mean, what are you?" stammered Cole as he slowly backed away from the table.
The Dragonmaster's double calmly continued forward. "Why I'm you, or at least I once was."
Cole took a minute to take in what was happening before him. He looked into a face that was his own, yet not. The man walking towards him had a somewhat darker presence to him. His armor looked just like the Black Dragon's Armor, except darker and more alive. Beneath his black cape, Cole saw a blood red shield and a strange looking sword strapped to his sides. In his hands, he held a black helmet with a purple and blue jewel in the center, similar in design to the Blue Dragon's Helmet.
"You look a little confused," he said as he sat down in a throne which the Dragonmaster had sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "I guess you at least deserve an explanation for all the trouble you took just to get here." He placed his helmet on a small table near the throne and folded his hands in his lap. "For every action you take, there are several possible reactions that could occur. Let's say that for every one of these reactions, there was an alternate reality where the consequences play out. You see, at one point in time, you and I were exactly alike. But what if something happened to one of us, which didn't happen to the other? Something which changed his outlook on life itself." He rose and started to pace in front of the throne. "What if you lost something so important, that life no longer had any meaning for you?" Cole caught a brief glimmer of an unshed tear on the other's eye. "What if you realized that maybe if you had had more power, you would have been able to do things differently?"
He stopped pacing and looked the Dragonmaster directly in the eyes. "Well, I had that realization. I realized that the Goddess wasn't fit to govern over our reality anymore. But I also knew that Ziatoch wasn't either. So that left only one other choice, me."
He snapped his fingers and a goblet of wine appeared in his left hand. He sipped it and continued. "Like yourself, I defeated Ziatoch, but I did one thing you didn't. I stole his powers for my own and killed Althena for good. Unfortunately, the powers I acquired from the Green Dragon weren't enough for me to take the Goddess' place. So I used the Eye of the Universe to search for the knowledge that would make me as powerful as a god. During my search, however, I accidentally destroyed most of the universe, and the worlds along with it. But I did find what I was looking for. The Eye told me of a being more powerful than even Althena and Zophar together."
"But that still doesn't tell me why you're here," interrupted Cole.
Kole's eyes narrowed. "My, you're slower than I ever was." He dropped the goblet and it disappeared before it hit the ground. "My world was destroyed, so I had to find another one. The Eye told me of the opposite reality theory, so I decided to try a transportation spell. My Knights and I traveled here and were met by the Demon Dragons."
"Demon Dragons?"
Kole nodded. "Yes, they are the minions of this being. They graciously gave me my new armor and sword and made me the Demon Dragonmaster." He quickly stood and drew the sword strapped to his side. "But enough of this jabbering. I think I'll just kill you and get it over with. After all, that is why I lured you here."
Cole raised his own Sword and took another step back. "Lured? you mean this was all one big trap just to kill me?"
The Demon Dragonmaster chuckled. "Of course. You see while you and the Dragon Knights were "slipping" past my armies, I had Scorn, the Pestilence Dragon, release a deadly plague back in Lucitania. Without you there to catch him, he easily released it among the populace. By now it has spread all across the Western continent. Your Princess even tried to find a cure, but by now my spies have killed her and your cousin as well."
Cole felt his heart failing. Leeta and Carla couldn't be dead. "You're lying," he spat.
The dark warrior smiled. "Am I? And just to make you feel worse, IÊhave another surprise. By now, my armies have landed in the West and are already laying waste to your already weakened kingdoms. You've lost."
It took all of Cole's discipline to control his temper. "The Dragon Knights and IÊwill stop you."
"Oh really?" He pointed to the right with his sword. Cole followed the direction the sword was pointing in. He almost dropped to his knees at what he saw. "My Demon Knights have already defeated your Dragon Knights," continued Kole. "Three of them have been captured along with their weapons, but I'm afraid that poor Connery didn't fare that well against my Arguile."
Each of the Demon Knights, all of which were exact doubles of the Dragon Knights, placed a Dragon Weapons on the ground before the three crumpled bodies of Argile, Mirage, and Fox. For a brief moment, Cole could feel the specter of death looming over he and his friends. Then something moved behind the Demon Knights. For a quick second, Cole saw Connery's smiling face, and then it was gone. He was alive!
Being careful not to give away the one advantage he had, Cole looked back to his double. "You do know that I won't go down without a fight." He secured the Dragon Helmet, tightened the straps on the Dragon Shield, and raised the Goddess' Sword.
Kole did the same with his own equipment. "I was counting on it. Wake up those three fools and make sure they stay awake to watch their leader die," he ordered the Demon Knights.
Three of the Dark Knights obeyed and raised the three Dragon Knights up to watch the fight that was about to ensue. Cole waited until he saw Fox looking his way. The Dragonmaster knew what he was about to do was risky, but he hoped that the plainsman would realize his plan before their doubles did. "It's too bad this isn't like the time we were captured in Governor's Mansion in Meribia."
Luckily, Fox's eyes told Cole he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Cole returned his gaze to his double, who was just realizing what the Dragonmaster had said. Before he could warn his Knights, Fox and Connery had already acted. The Red Knight back handed his double in the face and threw him over his shoulder. Then he dove for his Bow. At the same time, Connery had emerged from the wall and reclaimed his Spear. With a word, a column of ice had exploded from the Dragon Spear and enveloped the remaining Demon Knights, who were completely taken by surprise.
The Demon Dragonmaster raised his sword to cast a spell, but Cole was one step ahead on him. "Dragon Tear!" shouted the Dragonmaster. The surprised double was bombarded by blocks of ice and unable to finish his own spell. While he defended himself from the Dragon magic, Cole raced over to his friends. Mirage, Fox, and Connery were a little battered but otherwise all right, but Argile looked on the verge of death.
"We need to get him to a healer, fast," said Fox as he handed Mirage his Scimitar and held on to Argile's Axe.
Cole nodded as he sheathed his Sword and pulled the Dragon Wings from beneath his cloak. "Take us to Lucitania!" As the teleportation magic pulled them away, Cole could hear the furious curses of his double.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" cried Kole.
He ran over to the Demon Knights as they extracted themselves from the ice. He grabbed Arguile and lifted the large Knight into the air with one hand. "Get Thiss and tell him to send a message to Arlax saying to attack the West without mercy!"
He dropped the Blood Knight who went running to find the Shadow Dragon. Kole picked up Kasra and sheathed the weapon. "It looks as if things may have to go a little differently than planned," he said in a low voice. He looked at the rest of his Knights. "Ready the airship, we go to join our army at the war front."