"And..." Meta replied to Dokuro, "as a necromancer, a summoner of undead, a being of evil yourself, should you not be teaming up with someone like my father rather than someone like this Ancient?" She said, gesturing at Juno.

"That is also an interesting question, I would think." Gilgamesh said, having arrived not too soon before, now standing near Meta as an ever-careful presence.

"As for why I hate him..." Meta continued. "Why should I answer that, when I don't even know why you hate, or at least, oppose him?"

Veronica nodded to the dragon, not having time to respond as she gripped the mane with all her might. She hugged her body against the dragon to allow less wind to push her.

The man stared at the woman who just appeared. One hand came down to the sheethe of his sword, slowly. He nodded to her. "I am. I am the man who orders this place to leave. Dargor is my name." Dargor introduced himself. "And as much as I would love to slay you all...I am willing to end this peacefully. With just you leaving the home I've protected for centuries." He said calmly.

Meanwhile Bryant had moved out of the way, as he assumed everyone was distracted by Dargor. He placed the whip on the ground silently and went to the machine. He turned it to allow Brandon some relief, then freed him. Both were silent, however Dargor did not miss this.

Dargor turned to the two and approached them, his eyes acting like javilens and peirceing through thier body, sending chills up the Hartnetts. Dargor moved his hand up the sheethe and pushed on the flank of his sword with his thumb allowing the blade to show a bit.

Dragor grew close to the two and then pushed the flank again and allowed the hilt to shoot up, nearly hitting Bryant in the chin. It stopped and then fell back in the sheethe. The blade itself had a dark light hug against it, twriling around the blade. However those parts of the blade could still cut just as well. "Are these men prisoners?" He then asked the two beings of evil as he turned to them.

Dargor nodded then turned to his steeds. "Girata." He commanded and the steeds backed out and found a place to turn then back in. The carrige was still open. He then turned to the two men. He thought for a moment and then looked to Hector and Lt. Heretic. "I will go." He said to her. He would however he felt something else must be done, these men would help him later to rid him of these beasts he knew.

Dargor then turned to the Hartnetts. "Into the carrige now!" He commanded and the two ran in without a word. Dargor then shouted to this steeds: "Denomini il KnightRider della sorte avversa e non si arresti fino a che non lo raggiungiate!" As soon as the men were inside the carrige it shut close and the horses sped off.

"I am ready, woman, take me to your master." He then commanded to the two. "Forget them, they will cause you no further trouble." He assured.

Veronica's dragon weaved skillfully through the tunnel, using its tail to lash out at the walls, ceiling, and floor as it left, causing multiple cave-ins to slow Kujo down. It soon reached the other end of the tunnel and burst out into the sunlight. A number of dragons had knew of its approach, and when it took off, they breathed massive amounts of fire into it, creating a massive wall of flame that travelled downt the length of the tunnel, and then moved a massive coverstone over the tunnel exit before flying off.

Bahamut shot through Sheena's coiling body and weaved through the icicles, ignoring the slight pain when one struck its body. His hide was tough, and none of the icicles managed to pierce it. When Sheena attacked with the beam, he countered with one of his own, pushing the beam back enough to escape. With a powerful flap of his wings, the King of Dragons narrowly escaped being pinned by his ancient nemesis, and took off into the air. He flew out far, sweeping around and coming at the side of Sheena's body. He fired the Mega Flare as soon as he shot by, the beam carving through the air as it streaked at Sheena's body.

Meanwhile, utilizing the hole left by Veronica's dragon, another dragon had entered Sheena's lair and was creating chaos as it rampaged through, seemingly attacking at random. However, it merely sought something, and had just found it. A long, slender blue crystal, rounded at one end and pointed at the other, lay before him on an altar of snow and ice. It took the crystal and put it in a pocket dimension, then tore its way through the lair and back outside. It took off and flew through the fray, bursting out of the other side of it. Its actions caused an uproar amongst the dragons; they began breaking off from the aerial fight and follow the dragon one-by-one.

"Well, for one, his minions tried to kill me, and at our last encounter, he seemed to enjoy to mentally raped me, which, quite frankly, I did not." Meta replied firmly, her expression hinting feelings of anger and hate within her. As if to offer some comfort, Gilgamesh placed a hand on her shoulder.

(OOC: How'd Kujo get past the coverstone? O.o)

With a barrel roll, Bahamut spun out of the way and shot forward as Sheena just fired the Mega IceFlare(oxymoron, dat >.>) and slashed at her unprotected eyes with his claws and talons. As the King of Dragons passed by, the dragon with the crystal suddenly spoke in his mind, informing him of its prize.

Now, Principality! Bahamut roared telepathically.

On a snowy hill, the Child had watched the battle. He placed the palms of his hands together and bowed. And with it, every single dragon of Bahamut's on the battlefield, as well as Veronica, was bathed in green light. One by one they flashed out of existance, leaving sharp thunderclaps with each disappearance.

Bahamut turned in midair and stared at Sheena, his mouth curled in what was as close as a dragon could get a smirk.

"I see you still haven't learned anything, whelp," he said as his cobalt scales glowed emerald, "I would've thought you would've seen through my little distraction ploy. Farewell!"

And with a crack of thunder, he too was gone.

On the hill, the rag-clad Principality of Observation smiled. "One down, six more to go," he said softly, "Neither Xastra nor Ziatoch may have that weapon."

Edited by RisingDragon on March 6, 2007 at 18:36:43.

The giant steeds whined as the bomb came closer only to speed up, avoiding the attack. Their speed reached a new height. Infront of the steeds was a giant wind dome, fighting them off. If they were to break it, they would exceed nearly 60 mph each. And with that times twelve brough an increadible power. Inside Brandon and Bryant sat, trying to get a grip on anything they could as to hold on and not be tossed around.

Meanwhile Dargor had just met Donovan. Dargor looked around himself before speaking. "And you are?" He asked, quirking a brow, showing little respect.

Ahead of the horses stood a man in a flowing cloak. A large two handed sword was stuck in the ground before him. He wore armor that was similar to Dargor, however there was no gold. In its place was more black. Spikes were on the shoulders and helm of the man. His boots were large and clumbsy looking and by his side was a another one of the steeds, but smaller, but still large. It snorted then whined.

"Calma giù, Airon." The man commanded his horse and it remained still. He saw the stampede of the twelve horses ahead and the attack behind it. "Hmph..." He then waited until the carrige was near and he jumped onto the driver's seat. His sword rested beside him. His horse, apparently Airon followed him from behind. "Fermata, cavalli di Dargor." The giants halted upon his command. Airon caught up and stopped at the man's side.

The man then stood and snapped his fingers. A sheild of darkness came over them, looking almost as if it were a flame. The man took his sword and slung his over his shoulder into its holder on his back. He then jumped down, his height made it so he may not need the stairs as much as Dargor did, he being about 5'9 and the man nearly 7'5.

The man then opened the door to the carrige to see Bryant and Brandon groaning from the ride. "Chi sono voi; parli rapidamente." The man commanded. Both Bryant and Brandon looked at him, bewildered as to ask 'what'. The man sighed. "I'm sorry...I said 'who are you'." He clairified in english.

"I am Bryant Hartnett and my brother here is Brandon Hartnett." Bryant introduced them. "We were just released by a man in black armor, the rider of this carrige. He stayed behind. I'm not sure why." Bryant then explained.

The man nodded. "I see..." The man looked to the side, his helm covering his face besides his mouth. "Dargor, voi sciocco nobile. Dovreste aspettarli d'ora in poi..." The man said to himself.

"Pardon?" Bryant questioned on his mumbleing.

"Nothing." He assured. "The man you saw was Dargor. He is the lord of the mountains nearby. I myself have no name I am known as a 'Rider del cavaliere della sorte avversa' meaning a 'knightrider of doom'. However because I assume Dargor brought you here, I shall not harm you. But whoever attacked you, I may." He said looking back. "I will take you somewhere safe, hold on."

The rider then remounted himself on the driver's seat. He turned down to Airon, his horse. "Soggiorno." He commanded then turned back to the steeds. "Alle montagne nere!" He yelled and snapped the reins. The sheild of darkness went down and the steeds sped off once more.

An the northern coast of Japan, a pinpoint of light could be seen. It suddenly widened and blazed, and with a crack of thunder, the light had disappeared as quickly as it had came.

On the beast, the dragon tribe was suddenly flying around. A number of them settled down, including Bahamut and the dragons that had rescued Veronica and taken the crystal. The other dragons flew off into the sky, disappearing from sight.

The dragon that carried Veronica laid down on the sandy beach, stretching its tail out to allow Veronica to depart. As it did, Bahamut watched with interest.

Veronica sighed in relief as she slid herself off the dragon and onto the sandy ground. Because of the new apmosphere she took off her coat, snow pants, and gloves. She tossed them aside and sat down promptly. She took several deep breaths before she noticed Bahamut watching her.

"Thank you, so much." She said softly, unsure if she were to be afriad or thankful. However she assumed thankful and thats what she was.

"Will he, now?" said a young, soft voice behind Xastra.

The Child was suddenly there, rags and all. He looked at Xastra with a wisdom well beyond the looks of his body's age. When it would be a strange sight to behold when Xastra turned to face him; two children squared off in a battle of wills fit for gods. "Can you be so sure that, Xastra?"

===At Japan===

At Veronica's unsteady words, Bahamut's upper torso sank into an unmistakable bow. "Our pleasure, child," he rumbled softly, "It is our duty to help those preyed upon by the foul wyrm Sheena. Although it boggles the mind as to how you came under her insane eye."

The dragon that raided Sheena's lair and took the crystal then approached Bahamut. "We found the piece," it growled, holding it out in its claw. "She didn't even realize what we had done, but we shouldn't rule out that someone knows we did take it."

Another dragon roared. "We've got the illusion set up!" it said. The air around them all suddenly shimmered as an illusionary field surrounded them. Now they'd be invisible to anyone who came near, and they wouldn't even be able to sense their presense at all, no matter how close they got or how powerful their abilities were... such was the perfection of dragon magic.

Bahamut accepted the crystal, and stared at it for several long moments. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and he brought the crystal down to Veronica, holding it out to her. "Take this," he said, "It is one of seven pieces that make a weapon of ultimate power. Find the other six pieces to rebuild the Chronoscepter. I have a feeling you will need it."

"This way," Soma said, opening a door to the left of him. Inside was a private study, with shelves along two walls, an easy chair, and a quiet fireplace. "Ugh, wrong way."

"I see you have discovered others here, Soma."

Soma turned, and behind the group stood a handsome man, with pale skin, that wore a midnight black suit:



"Arikado," Soma said. "I was looking for you."

"And vice versa. We have some things to discuss." Hands folded behind his back, Arikado's gaze now focused on the rest of the group. "But first, I'd like to know who these people are, and how they happened to find themselves inside this castle."

R.D. rested the the flat side of the upper blade of the Phase Lance on his shoulder, watching Arikado warily. "That's easy," R.D. said, beating Matt to the punch, "We followed the yellow brick road."

Despite the tense situation, Alasea was forced to stifle a giggle.

Matt smiled, not at all pleased. "You'll have to excuse my friend," he said to Arikado, placing a hand over his chest. "He's an idiot."

"I found them in the courtyard," Soma explained. "They seem to have special abilities too."

"I see." Arikado's eyes narrowed-he was thinking about something, that was for sure.

"Soma," he suddenly remarked. "Did you happen to meet a man named Graham?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Stay away from him if possible," Arikado warned. "I believe he is attempting to inherit Dracula's powers."

"Inherit Dracula's powers?" Helena asked. "But I thought Dracula was gone."

Arikado nodded. "Indeed. However...this world remains in balance with both the presence of good and evil. Dracula was the ultimate representation of evil in this world...now that he's gone, something must fill that place. It is only natural."

Soma blinked, seeming to disbelieve at first. "That's weird...he acted so nice to me. I didn't think he was trying to get Dracula's powers."

"You're just jealous I beat you to the line for once," R.D. remarked to Matt lightheartedly. He then looked over at Soma, all traces of humor gone from him.

"You can never be too careful. We've already learned that lesson... the hard way," he remarked seriously, thinking of Maya.

(OOC: Bahamut is a child dressed in rags? o.0)

"Let's." Gilgamesh spoke, referring to the packing they had to do, before letting go of Meta's shoulder and walking past her. Within half a minute he had broken down the two tents belonging to himself and Meta, holding them in bags underneath his arm. "So, whereto?"

"Più velocemente, più veloce, alle montagne nere!" The rider yelled and yelled again as a mountain range came into view. The steeds weaved through the trees and soon buildings to reach their goal. Even some buildings were taken down as they avoided Burno's attacks. "Verso l'esterno il funzionamento questo bastardo sanguinante in modo da noi può fuoriuscire questo hell!" The rider yelled to motivate the steeds. They picked up speed, and continued to avoid Burno's barrage.

Dargor nodded a bit before answering Donovan's question. "Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountains." He responded plainly.

Veronica looked over the crystal and slowly took the object in her hands. She examined it before placing it in a pouch on her waist. "I will." She promised Bahamut. She then looked around at all the dragons in wonder, and interest.

"I never thought," Veronica began, "that dragons existed, let alone be this civilized." She thought aloud. She had always thought of them as being mindless, cruel beasts. That only burned whatever they saw and ate whatever was edible.

(OOC: The Principality of Observation, aka the Child, is NOT Bahamut.)

The Child's strange and disconcerting eyes twinkled with amusement. "Why, I am not after them at all," he said lightly, "Why would you think such a thing? I would have thought you, of all people, would know we of the Isle have little use for war, Child of the Dark."

===At Japan===

Bahamut could only grin. Dragons found the old rumors of them, if anything, amusing. "The old legends have been lost," he said, "But we live on. However, there are some like Sheena who give us a bad name. Tell me, child, was there anyone else that you were with when you were captured?"

The Rider, using the powers given to him during his ritual, snapped his fingers once more to allow the shield that came up before come up again around the carrige and horses. The Rider grunted as the bombs nearly destroyed the shield. He spit some blood to the side as he it was wearing on him as well. The horses however were unharmed and continued on.

Once the the transport finally reached the mountains they would leap into a narrow cavern. The horses whined as a sphere appeared and took them to Dargor's lair. However it dissapeared as soon as the carrige was in and would not allow Bruno as he was seen as a threat.

"Because these are my lands!" Dargor shouted, insulted. "I am there to protect them and reign in my kingdom there. I am the hier of Vankar, the wizard who adopted me and once ruled that very kingdom!" He shouted once more.

Veronica nodded. "Yes...my husband and his brother. Bryant and Brandon Hartnett. My name is Veronica Hartnett. The last place I saw them was Gouki's palace, however I'm not sure where they are now." She said a bit, discouraged.

(OOC: Then what is it? o.0)

"Very well then." Meta said. "Let's go."

As she started walking, Gilgamesh hurried to go walk near her. "Milady, wouldn't it be a good idea to conceal your identity once we approach Electra?" He asked.

"No," Meta replied, "She'll know it's me anyways. Let's not bother with it."

(OOC: What about *points at last post* hm?)

(OOC: Someone about as old as God, really.)

"Who said anything about acquiring the Chronoscepter?" the Child said, "To keep it out of your hands, I would merely need to have a single piece of it destroyed. Should that happen, the other six pieces would become useless."

"Besides, I have the advantage. I know where all the pieces lay. You do not. And you would not be able to defeat me."

===At Japan===

Bahamut held out a single scaly claw. "Let me see your wedding ring," he said, "It should be a simple matter of finding them if I had something that your husband gave you."

"Only if the wielder can use them to their full potential," replied the Child, "The Seven Perfect Weapons are seeking out their destined wielders, and one is already rising to its greatest potential. And yet another one is in the hands of your most dangerous rival. Do you really think that Sword of Time you hold can protect against the ungodly hunger of the Lance?"