"I think I'm starting to forget what the sun looked like," Leeta said from behind.
Cole took in a short breath and looked up. Gray clouds blanketed the sky for miles in all directions. "It's up there," he assured her with a smile.
The pair was walking through a series of hills. The gravely ground crunched beneath their boots no matter how hard they tried to be silent. "Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" he asked her a moment later.
"Yeah," replied the princess. "My pendent is around here somewhere."
The Dragonmaster was about to respond, when his left ear twitched due to a sound in that direction. There was a swirl of fire around his left forearm that transformed into the Dragon Shield. At the same time he smoothly drew the Goddess's Sword. Leeta, taking a quick cue from him, drew her long sword and took up a defensive stance.
It wasn't long before they were surrounded by several dozen humans with cocked long bows. "Problem," whispered Leeta.
Cole gave her a half smile. "We can take 'em."
The princess couldn't help but smile back. "Sometimes I liked it better when you were a depressing realist or a cynic."
Cole's smile disappeared as he looked out at their attackers. "All right, I'm just going to give you guys one chance. Put your weapons down, and we won't have to hurt you."
"That will not be necessary, Dragonmaster," came a voice from behind one of the archers.
Cole and Leeta watched carefully as the archers parted to allow a new figure to walk past them. He was an elderly man wearing full plate steel armor. His stone like face and head were hairless, and he looked back at them with ice blue eyes. A broad sword slapped lightly at his side as he walked towards them.
"You seem to have us at a disadvantage, sir," replied Leeta.
The new arrival waved his right hand, which the archers responded to by lowering their bows. "Forgive my rudeness, princess. I am General Aratol, the commander of the remaining Fummarian forces. We have been expecting you."
The Dragonmaster and the princess lowered their weapons. "I see our friends found you then."
"You would be correct, sir," answered the General. "They arrived two days ago with one of the refugees. Now, if you come with us I will take you too meet Minister Crayal."
"Well then, lead the way," said Cole as he sheathed his sword.
General Aratol led them through a series of small valleys to a cave, which seemed to go down into the earth for at least a mile. The cave finally opened up into an oval chamber lined with torches. Waiting for them in the center of the chamber were the other members of their little group.
"Cole! Leeta!" exclaimed Carmen happily. The priestess rushed forward with her arms open. After a small exchange of hugs Fox and Lorene walked over.
"You guys certainly took your time getting here," commented Lorene.
Leeta flashed the elf a half smile. "You try evading an army of demons and see how fast you can travel."
Cole, all smiles, waved his hands up and down. "Okay, guys. Let's save this for later and get down to business." He looked over at Fox. "How do these guys look?"
The plainsman nodded. "They seem together enough, but I do not think their military strength will be as necessary as we thought."
"What do you mean?" asked Leeta.
Carmen took her friend by the arm. "Just come with us to meet the Prime Minister, and you'll see." She turned to the General, who was standing at the other end of the chamber. "General, would you please alert the Minister Crayal that we wish to meet with him?"
"Of course, lady Carmen," replied Aratol with a nod. "Some of my men will take you to some quarters until an audience can be arranged."
The general left, and two soldiers carrying spears appeared to led the group to some rooms within the network of tunnels. Cole and the others remained in relative silence as they walked through the tunnels. The Dragonmaster took note of everything he saw during their short trip. It was amazing that even though their civilization was on the brink of destruction, the Fummarian people were still going about their lives as if the war was not even happening. The caves beneath the earth had been converted to what could only be called an underground city.
Merchants were still peddling their wares, and businesses were thriving as they always had. Men, women, and children were happily walking about as though their lives were still normal. It seemed to Cole that even war could not stop the thriving merchant kingdom that was Fummara.
"Well, I'm impressed," whispered Leeta. Cole only nodded in response.
They were finally brought to a series of rooms that had been given to their companions already. Cole and Leeta quickly chose one of the rooms and went about cleaning themselves up as much as they could. It was not long before a messenger returned with the news that Minister Crayal was willing to meet with them immediately. Cole quickly put his Dragon Armor back on, while Leeta changed into a yellow and white dress she had been provided with.
Cole and his friends were led back through the underground city until they arrived at a portion that was obviously sectioned off for the wealthiest of the surviving populace. Several twists and turn later, they found themselves in a lavishly decorated room filled with fine pottery, carpets, and paintings. Sitting in a fine crafted chair surrounded by robed officials was Crayal.
Crayal was what one expected an official who had bought his way into power would be. Not only was he garbed in an outlandish red and orange robe, but he was beyond fat. His thin black mustaches and greasy hair were plastered to his sweaty face. Whenever he spoke his voice tumbled out in a loud, jovial way that made you wonder if the man was ever sober. Both Cole and Leeta had to swallow several times before they could take breaths.
Introductions were being made, but Cole's attention was being diverted else ware. A nudge from Carmen caused the Dragonmaster to look away from the obese man to the staff he was holding in his left hand. The staff itself was just one carved of fine oak with the Fummarian language carved up and down the shaft. However it was what rested atop the staff that caught his eye. Resting happily at the staff's top was a simple yellow sphere roughly the size of a human fist.
"Well I'll be damned," huffed Cole.
"Dragonmaster Cole?" It was Crayal. "Is something the matter?"
Cole turned his attention to the fat man and smiled. "No, your Excellency. In fact, things couldn't be better."
The meeting with Crayal had been a brief one. Between the Dragonmaster and his friends, it had not taken them very long to confirm that the sphere atop the staff was indeed one of the Resurrection Stones. According to Crayal, every Prime Minister who took office was given the staff. The staff was known to be something of a good luck charm for anyone who held it. No matter what, he would always come out on top of any deal.
With confirmation made, the small group of heroes quickly made it clear to Crayal exactly what he held in his possession. At first the fat man had wanted to make some sort of deal in trade for giving over the Stone, however, a few descriptions of what the Demon Dragonmaster would probably do to him once he found the Stone soon changed his mind. So it was that Cole and the others now found themselves back in their rooms all huddled around the yellow stone, which they had placed in the center of their circle.
"Doesn't look that powerful?" commented Vaul.
"Remember, alone it's nothing," reminded Leeta. "Once it is combined with the other eight Stones, they will somehow release the Chaos."
Cole reached down and grabbed the item. It was cool to the touch as he gripped it tightly in his right hand. "We're not going to let that happen."
"So now what do we do?" asked Lorene. "We have the last Stone that was on Lunar. You said you had a plan that would get the Demon Dragonmaster off of the planet." She dropped back on to one of the beds in the room and rested her head on her left hand. "Wanna enlighten us?"
Cole noticed Leeta staring at him. "I think it's time you filled us in."
The Dragonmaster relented. "Fine." He moved back and sat in a wooden chair next to a small, round table. "Ruby and I came up with this right before we left."
He tossed the Stone up and down in his hand. "Using this little prize, we are going to get the Demon Dragonmaster off of Lunar and back to the Blue Star."
Carmen whistled. "That is quite a claim. How do you propose, exactly, to do this?"
"Simple," replied Cole. "We walk up to him, dangle the Stone in his face, and then teleport to the Blue Star."
"Whoa," said Leeta. "If he just follows us, that still leaves the portion of the Hades Army still here in Fummara."
Cole was shaking his head. "That won't be a problem." The Dragonmaster reached down to a pouch hanging from his right side. Seconds later he was holding the Time Runes in his hand. "I can teleport not only us, but I can bring Kole and his entire army back to the Blue Star with these."
"All right," muttered Lorene with frown. "Let's say we pull this off. What keep's the Hades Army from just coming back here?"
Cole raised his left index finger. "That's the real trick. I'm going to pull an old spell out of the Dragonmaster's manual. Once everyone is on the Blue Star, I will use the power of the Dragon Tribe to seal Lunar off."
Leeta moved to stand over him with her arms crossed. "Are you sure you can handle a spell of that magnitude?"
He nodded. "I can do it, I figure that it's just going to take everything out of me. Once it's done, I'm going to need you guys to get us the hell out of there pretty fast."
"Easier said than done," huffed Lorene. "With the exception of Leeta, none of us are native to the Blue Star."
"That should be enough," Cole told the elf. "I'll be transporting us to Lucitania, so she should be able to get us someplace safe to hide for a while. I have to warn you all, though, once it's obvious that I've used up all my strength to cast the Seal spell, the Demon Dragonmaster will know that I no longer have the power of the Goddess Tribe at my command."
"Then he will no longer hold his in check," finished Carmen. Cole only nodded. "Can we possibly stand up to him if he turns such power on us?"
"The power of humanity beat a god once," Leeta reminded them. "Who says it can't do so again?"
Cole watched as all of his friends slowly allowed smiles to appear on their faces. "So," Lorene said finally, "what's part one of this plan of yours?"
"Find Itise."
There was a bright flash, and Ruby found herself standing in the middle of her forces. Everyone from elf to human was looking around at their new surroundings. For miles in all directions stretched an endless desert.
"Ruby!" The Red Dragon turned to meet Nall, who was storming over to her. "Where the hell are we?"
She shrugged. "Looks like a desert."
"Bingo!" cried the other dragon. "You've dumped us into the middle of a desert with no signs of civilization for miles around!"
"Take it easy, Nall," said Alex as he came up beside them. "I'm sure she had a good reason for doing it."
"Don't try and be peacemaker, Alex," growled Nall. "She screwed up, and I want her to admit it."
During the entire rant, Ruby merely stood by with her hands resting on her hips. "Are you quite finished, dear?" she asked at last. When Nall didn't respond, she reached out to pat him on the cheek. "You can be so cute when you are flustered."
"We brought the army here for a reason," said Reinalthus, who had come up to stand next to Ruby. "We are here because our allies are in the same place."
"Are you sure?" questioned Alex.
Ruby nodded. "I can feel them heading towards us now." She leaned close to Nall to whispered. "If you calm down and take a deep breath, you can probably feel the blue and black auras, too." The White scrunched his face and folded his arms. Ruby only smiled.
The small fleet of sand skiffs raced across the desert's surface at a blinding speed. Mirage, in his armor, stood at the wheel of the lead skiff with his face a mask of concentration. Behind him stood Argile, also in his armor. A pair of massive shadows passed over, reminding them that Onyl and Rayn were flying above.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Argile.
"They might be following us," answered the Blue Knight. "We've got surprise and maneuverability on our side. We quickly crush them and then keep heading north."
"We have yet to try a full scale attack in such a manner," warned Argile. "Our goal has always been to harass the enemy and hurt them without ever really engaging them in an all out conflict."
"Things have changed, and you know that," spat Mirage. "They've been collecting the Resurrection Stones like pebbles on a beach. We've got a line on the last one, and we have to get there first. And we can't do that with the Hades Army breathing down our necks."
"Still," said Argile worriedly. "Are our forces ready for such a battle?"
"They're going to have to be," was all the Blue Knight said in response.
The skiff fleet sped along the sand towards their unknown enemy. It was not much longer before Mirage spotted a black patch on the white sand in the distance. As it always did, the Hades Army seemed to go on for miles around. "Well, here we go."
He was about to give the command to ready all ranged weapons, when something unexpected happened. Everyone had expected dragons to be among the enemy force, just not the three that flew up before them. Mirage found a smile forming on his face as two white dragons and the only red dragon he could think of launched themselves into the sky.
"Send out the stand down signal!" he called back to his crew. Next he reached beneath his armor to grab his Crest. "Rayn! Both you and Onyl stand down."
Why? came the Blue Dragon's response in his mind.
"Because we're among friends."
Ruby, Nall, and Alleia landed in the front of their forces just as the skiff fleet and the two other dragons came to a stop. There were several flashes as everyone returned to smaller sizes. Narin came flapping over to rest on his mother's shoulder.
"I wish I could do that," he said.
Ruby reached up and scratched her son on the head. "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll get to do that someday."
"Here they come," alerted Nall. They all looked over to see the delegation from the skiff fleet walking towards them.
At their lead was none other than Mirage and walking beside him was obviously Argile. However, Ruby was most interested at the other two members of the approaching group. One was a somewhat tall young woman wearing all black, and the other was a small boy dressed in white and blue clothing with a mess of blue hair on his head. A thin smile played out on the Red's face.
Mirage came to a stop right in front of them. "We'll I'll be a dog's blistered ass. It's about time you guys showed up."
"We've been busy," answered Ruby. "Looks like you two have been working on things as well for the past few months."
"Well," Mirage started to say, "we've been working, but it's been a bumpy ride up here." He looked past her at the army. "That's quite a force you've got there. Are those elves I see?"
Ruby nodded. "Yup. Cole brought them."
Mirage's face lit up. "Then he really is back."
"Did he find Leeta?" asked Argile.
"Brought her back safe and sound," answered Nall. "Along with a few others."
Mirage squinted at the dragon. "Who's this?"
Ruby stepped back and placed a hand on her beloved's shoulder. "Mirage and Argile, let me introduce Nall."
Nall waved at them along with a sheepish grin. "It's a long story, but Cole managed to bring a few of us old school heroes back into the game."
Mirage, smiling the whole time, nodded. "Can't say I'm going to complain about that." The Knight stepped aside and motioned behind and Argile. "Cole brought in the old, and we bring in the new."
The girl in black and the boy stepped forward. "Hi," said the girl as she extended her hand. "My name's Onyl, and this is my brother Rayn."
Ruby took her hand and shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you two." She released Onyl's hand and looked back at Nall. "Why don't you take Mirage and Argile to Alex and Reinalthus. We need to move this army to someplace safe until it's time."
"Time for what?" asked Argile.
Ruby flashed him a devious smile. "Until Cole and the others finish on Lunar. You two," she said while pointing at Onyl and Rayn. "Come with me. Alleia, you too." She nodded once at all the men. "Gentlemen."
There was a red flash as Ruby launched herself into the air and transformed to her true self. There were three other distinct colored flashes as the other three dragons followed her into the sky. With several mighty flaps of her wings, the Red Dragon soared higher into the sky. When she was at least thirty thousand feet above the ground, she leveled out as did her three companions. Alleia had formed up at her right, and Onyl had pulled up to her left with Rayn on hers.
"It's been a long time since I've seen this," Ruby told them all. "Finally, the Dragons of Althena are back at full strength."
"But Vaul's not here, mom," said Alleia.
"He's here in spirit, sweetie, and he'll be with us soon enough," replied the Red.
"Is he the Gold Dragon?" asked Onyl.
Ruby looked over at the Black. "Yes. How did you know that?"
"Luna told us," Rayn piped in.
"Did you just say Luna?" gasped Ruby with wide eyes.
"Yeah," said Onyl. "She's back at our temporary base."
Ruby couldn't find the words. "How far away is this base?"
"On foot a few hours," Rayn told her. "For us, a few minutes."
For the first time Ruby felt Her presence. It was like a special song that only she could hear. Not needing to be told where to go, the Red Dragon turned and flew right for the hidden base beneath the desert. As Rayn had predicted, it only took them a short ten minutes to reach it. The four dragons dropped out of the sky to find themselves along a coastline. Onyl nodded ahead towards a raised reef.
Ruby, still in the lead, focused in on the reef. Standing at its very edge looking out at the see was a single figure. Each of the dragons transformed back into their preferred smaller sizes as they landed just several feet behind the woman. Luna slowly turned around to greet them. Ruby immediately stepped forward and dropped to one knee.
"My goddess," she said with bowed head.
She felt a pair of gentle hands rest on her shoulders and beckon her to stand. "You don't need to do that, Ruby. You never do."
The Red blushed slightly while smiling. "I dunno. I kind of feel like I have to."
Luna's beaming smile made her feel at peace. "Despite who I am, we are all equals, Ruby."
"Mom," whispered Alleia as she landed on her left shoulder. "Who is this?"
Ruby couldn't take her eyes away from the blue haired woman. "This is Althena, Alleia."
Luna reached out and took the young dragon in her hands. "You can call me Luna, little one."
The young white was wide eyed and speechless. When Ruby was finally able to clear her mind, one burning question was a the fore front. "Luna? Should you really be out here like this? I mean, you were safe as long as you remained in the Tower."
Luna, with Alleia purring happily in her hands, frowned. "I had to come out, Ruby. The planet's pain was too much to bare. I could not just stand by and let everything die. I will not make the mistake of sacrificing the Blue Star again."
Ruby folded her arms. "Well, I want you to promise me that you will stay far away from the battle fields. If the Demon Dragonmaster finds you..."
"Do not worry, Ruby," Luna assured her. "I am here merely to ease the suffering of the people. It was never my intention to take part in the fighting."
"Good," said Ruby with a nod. "Let's go inside. I want to know what's been going on up here while we've been battling it out on Lunar."
"Interesting," commented Alex. "So you're sure they have collected that many Resurrection Stones?"
The army, with Mirage, Argile, Alex, Nall, Reinalthus, and General Bireial at the front, was just exiting the desert into the coastal regions. "Pretty sure of it," replied Mirage. "Our spies in Xobelisk report that the enemy has recently returned with three heavily guarded items. According to what we know now, that is almost how many Stones were left on the Blue Star. It took a little doing, but we've been able to locate the final Stone on the planet."
"Unfortunately, we are unsure of how to go about getting it," added Argile. "We have the forces across the globe, but we cannot pull them together fast enough, nor could we transport them to the location of the Stone."
"That's changed with the arrival of you guys, though," said Mirage. "Now we have the dragons and enough strong fighters to go after the Stone without the army at our backs."
Nall was grinning from ear to ear. "Hell, we can get you anywhere on the planet in under a day," he boasted.
"I'm counting on that," agreed Mirage.
It was not much longer before the army came to a stop along side a large reef. "This is one of our temporary bases," explained Mirage. "For the past eight months we've been liberating as many cities as possible and putting all the survivors into these bases. At the same time we've been putting together an army that could be large enough to at least stand up against the Hades."
"How many bases do you have?" asked Reinalthus.
Mirage shrugged. "Several hundred scattered across these two continents. I Figure we have at least several million troops combined from all the bases. Only problem is getting them together without drawing attention."
"There's something you haven't mentioned yet," Alex pointed out. "We all know that the Demon Dragonmaster is commanding his forces on Lunar. Who is in charge up here?"
The former Dragonmaster noticed the pirate's feature's darken. "A mage," was all he said.
General Bireial staid behind to begin organizing his forces into camp formation. Mirage lead the others towards the now visible shanty town set up along the reef's side. Ruby and the other dragons were there to meet them when they arrived. Mirage walked right up to the Red.
"Are you up to speed?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. We've got a bead on the last Stone."
"Good." The Blue Knight folded his arms. "Then let's go."
Ruby shook her head. "Can't yet."
"Why not?" replied the Knight in a confused tone. "We need to get that last Stone, Ruby!"
"We can't go until Cole finishes what he's doing on Lunar," she told him while continuing to shake her head. "After that, we can go."
Mirage huffed and started pacing. "Well what the hell is he doing up there? How will we know when he's done?"
Ruby started chuckling. "Oh, don't worry. It'll be crystal clear when he's made his move."
"Fine," mumbled the pirate. There was a blue flash around his body as he deactivated the magic of his Crest. Dressed in a white silk tunic and black pants, he strode off in towards the shanty town. "We'll start organizing everyone to pull out and head back to the Nest."
Alex watched as everyone started to go their separate ways. All the dragons moved off to talk to each other in private. Argile offered to take Reinalthus on a tour of the area, which the old elf happily agreed to. Thus, the former Dragonmaster was left all on his own. With a small sigh, he started off towards the nearest beach. Ever since he had returned to the living, Alex had not really had that much time to reflect on everything that had been happening. He'd been so busy helping out with everything, that he barely had a single thought for himself. Now, though, he did have the time to think.
His mind wandered over all the events he had recently witnessed as he walked along the ocean's edge. It certainly felt strange to be alive again. No, that wasn't what was strange. The strange thing was that he was a hero out of time. This battle, while an important thing, was completely his. Alex was not the leader or the hero this time. He was just another warrior who had been gathered to help out against overwhelming odds. No, this was not his time anymore. There were other heroes who had stepped up to take the places of the likes of himself and Hiro. That being said, Alex suddenly found himself asking a question he had been dodging for the past couple of weeks.
Why had he been allowed to come back?
It was clear why Nall had been given a second chance. He had a family that loved and wanted him near. But why was the former Dragonmaster walking on this beach now? Aside from his strength and experience as a great warrior, what business did he have being alive again?
Alex loosed a long sigh as he turned to head back to the reef town. He lifted his head and stopped when he saw a lone figure walking towards him. The closer this person came, the easier it was to see that it was a woman. Wearing a simple black and brown dress, this woman had a shawl wrapped around her face, hiding her features all too well. Alex, however, could shake a feeling of familiarity about the approaching woman.
She finally came to a stop directly in front of him. "Can I help you?" asked the former Dragonmaster. He watched silently as she unwrapped her shawl.
Alex's jaw dropped.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost," said Luna with a bright smile.
"I must be dreaming," whispered the red headed man. He gingerly reached out towards her. "Are... you really here?"
Luna took his right hand between hers and placed against her face. "I'm as real as that look on your face."
Alex didn't need to be told twice. In one swift move he pulled his one true love into a tight embrace. Luna seemingly melted into his arms. "Oh, Luna," he whispered. "I've..."
"So have I, Alex," she said in her own quiet voice. "So have I." She lifted her face, and the two kissed.