CHAPTER IV – A TRUE BROTHER

When Timaeus heard the news about his brother, he was heartbroken. He told Hieremos and Critias, who were also just as saddened. They retreated into a cavern, far from the castle, where Dartz couldn't find them. Timaeus perked up, hearing footsteps approaching. Could it be Dartz?

"In there, Kris, and quickly!"

It was Ironheart and Kris.

When Kris stepped through the small passageway to the cavern, she was greeted by Timaeus. She ran to him and began to cry.

"Father's gone…" she whimpered.

"He's not gone. We'll save him, and wipe out this Orichalcos," Timaeus said.

Dartz stood on the balcony. He looked down at the ruins that had once been the grand city of Atlantis. The streets were filled with Orichalcos soldiers.

"Go my children and conquer Atlantis, and this world shall be yours!"

He started to laugh. He knew he had the strongest ally. The Great Leviathan was his. There was no way that it could be stopped. The souls of his fellow Atlantians had been used to fuel the Leviathan's power.

When Dartz heard that Ironheart and Kris had raised their own army, he knew he had to see what pathetic group they had. What he didn't expect was to find his "brothers" among the new army.

The battle went on for days. Dartz's Orichalcos soldiers and the beasts that Ironheart had summoned had relatively the same strength. Dartz wanted to face the three Knights of Atlantis on his own.

Critias was the first to battle Dartz. He tried his hardest, but as in their last battle, Dartz was still stronger. He possessed immense power, Critias noticed. When Dartz knocked Critias's sword from his hand, the Knight realized in horror what was happening. Wings burst through his armor. His hands became claws. Slowly but surely, he was becoming a dragon. Dartz had been good at slaying the pretend dragons in their games. When Critias had fully transformed, he took off into the sky.

Hieremos was next. He battled Dartz with all his might, but he too, noticed a change in Dartz's battle plan. Hieremos, when defeated was also transformed into a dragon. Timaeus watched in horror as Hieremos cried out it pain.

When Dartz spotted Timaeus, he smiled.

"So, 'brother,' we meet again."

"You're not the Dartz I know," Timaeus growled.

"You're right. The old Dartz is dead. He died along with Iona."

"Iona… is dead?"

"You foolish knight. You think you know everything, when you can't even see your own brother's strife!"

Dartz charged at Timaeus. The two battled for what seemed like forever, neither one letting up. Dartz suddenly fell. He looked at Timaeus, sadness in his golden eyes. Timaeus believed that his brother was back. He ran to Dartz's side. Dartz lashed out at Timaeus, taking out his left eye. The knight cried out in pain. Dartz stood up, and his left eye turned Orichalcos green. Timaeus coughed up blood. He looked at Dartz, his hand covering the left side of his face.

"Brother, why?"

Dartz threw the Sword of Kings to the ground and stood over Timaeus. Timaeus's eye met Dartz's eyes. They had turned gold again.

"I…"

Dartz cried out in pain. He grabbed at his head. His eyes flickered from gold to Orichalcos green and back. Timaeus knew something was wrong. A pain shot through his body as well. He realized that he was turning into a dragon. Like his other "brothers" he had been defeated by Dartz, and not even the Dartz that he had known as a child.

Dartz reached toward Timaeus and gasped for air.

"Brother!" he called, "Get out of here! It's just going to trap you like it did Critias and Hieremos!"

Timaeus, now fully a dragon, looked sadly at Dartz. He pawed at Dartz's sword, in a sad and childish manner. Dartz's eyes were changing again. Timaeus flew into the sky and disappeared.

That night, Dartz summoned Leviathan. The great beast rose over the castle and Dartz led it to the battlefield. Ironheart, upon hearing of the Leviathan's coming, told his beast army to give it their all.

When Leviathan attacked, Ironheart saw that he would need all of the beasts' powers combined to defeat Leviathan. Dartz stood below Leviathan and commanded one more attack.

The blast shook Atlantis. The Leviathan fell, and Ironheart's beast army disappeared. Dartz realized that he had failed his quest. He heard the voice of the Orichalcos. He would wander until he had enough souls to bring Leviathan back.

Ironheart and Kris disappeared into the spirit world, they would wait until they needed to fight again. Dartz too, disappeared into a different world. He watched as his kingdom of Atlantis sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Iona…

The Orichalcos had promised to bring her back if he defeated the next hero.

I vowed to protect you always.

He would do anything to win her back.