"No..." Dilandau whispered. "She has to live!"

Folken glanced at him sharply. "But she is a traitor," He said softly.

"If she dies now, she can't serve as an example to anyone else who might betray Dornkirk," Dilandau replied quickly.

"Someone will need to watch her," Folken said, watching Dilandau carefully. "Perhaps you would, Dilandau. After all, you surely won't be able to trust any of your Dragon Slayers to watch her."

"I suppose so," Dilandau said grudgingly. "Though hopefully we should be getting to Dornkirk soon and can get rid of her."

Folken nodded and left the room. Gatti looked uncertainly after him, then at Dilandau. At the sharp nod, he left the room slowly, casting a glance back over his shoulder. To his surprise, Dilandau was sitting on the side of the bed, watching Naoko's face and holding her hand lightly. Shaking his head, Gatti hurried to join the other Dragon Slayers.



Yolanda looked up in consternation as the bright day suddenly darkened dramatically. Expecting to see black storm clouds, she instead saw the massive belly of an enormous dragon. Her mouth dropped open as she recognized the fierce countenance of Darakk. He wheeled in the air above her, his wings blocking out the sun and raising up a wind that blew dust in tiny tornadoes. Flexing his giant claws, he landed in front of Yolanda with an earth-shaking thump. Grinning wryly, revealing fangs larger than Yolanda, he greeted her quietly.

"I'm afraid my landings are not as graceful as they once were," He apologized, extending a claw to help Yolanda up from where she had fallen.

She took it shakily and climbed to her feet, struggling against the natural fear she felt around Darakk, even though she knew he was Naoko's friend and guardian.

"W-What brings you here, D-Darakk?" Yolanda stammered, straightening her mussed hair.

"Have you heard any news of Naoko? I seem to have lost contact with her," Darakk replied, frowning.

"Lost contact? Last I heard she was still with Zaibach."

"I can't feel her presence anymore," Darakk said worriedly. "When a dragon loses contact with their Chosen, it usually means that they've... died. First she wasn't acknowledging me, and now every time I reach for her, it's like I come up against a brick wall. That's why I believe she's still alive; it only feels like something's blocking me from reaching her, not the nothingness that comes from the death of a counterpart."

"No, I haven't seen her. What if Zaibach has discovered who she really is? Or worse, what if they've found out that she's Draconian? They'll kill her!" Yolanda started wringing her hands.

"Or take her to Dornkirk! Of course!" Darakk rumbled, accidentally raising his voice. Yolanda winced.

"Why would they take her to Dornkirk?" Yolanda asked, her ears ringing.

"To be tried as a traitor. They love torture and they'll want to use her as an example," Darakk told her angrily. "There's been unease among the High Council, and I've heard it's because Dilandau and his Dragon Slayers have stopped killing every dragon in sight. They think they're getting ready for an all-out attack, but it must be because they're taking Naoko to Dornkirk!"

He snarled, raising up on his hind legs and loosing a great stream of fire into the air. Heat rushed over Yolanda, making her feel light-headed. Nearby trees were charred into ashes. There were screams from the village just over the hill; they had seen the flame and recognized it as dragon-fire.

"I had a hard enough time finding you, Yolanda. Why are you here in this tiny town?" Darakk asked, lowering himself back down onto his belly.

"I had to move. Zaibach soldiers were searching houses, looking for someone. I never caught who it was, but there's many things in my house that would've earned me a quick death," Yolanda replied.

"I have to go find Dilandau. He must have Naoko prisoner, and somehow she's being blocked," Darakk growled, flapping his wings slowly in the heated air.

"I'm going with you," Yolanda said firmly. "She's my friend too."

"But, it's too dangerous," Darakk protested.

"More for you than for me," Yolanda retorted, dropping her basket and walking up to Darakk's side. "Crouch down, will you? Besides, if these Zaibach soldiers have hurt her, they'll answer to me."

Darakk flattened himself as much as possible, but Yolanda still had to climb using the scales which were twice the size of her head. Finally, she seated herself on Darakk's back, between two of the ridges, and held on tight. With a roar that shook the ground, Darakk jumped into the air, flapping his wings powerfully as he gained altitude. A minute later, they were mere specks in the air. The ground where they had been looked as though a war had been fought there, with deep gouges from Darakk's claws and the trees charred and black.



"C'mon, Naoko, wake up. Open your eyes, if only for a second," Dilandau pleaded quietly, watching the unresponsive girl in front of him. "Show me that the real Naoko's still in there."

Suddenly, Naoko's eyes did open, but they were blank and unseeing. Dilandau's breath caught as she stared up at the ceiling for a second, then turned her head slowly to look at him with that vacant gaze. He shivered at the look in her eyes. Unblinkingly, she looked at him for a moment, then her eyebrows lowered slightly in confusion. Her eyes cleared a little and she opened her mouth as though to speak.

Dilandau leaned forward, but Naoko's jaw clenched and she closed her eyes again, her face twisted in pain. She gripped the blanket so tightly her knuckles were white, trembling. She started to whisper his name, then cut off with a scream of agony. At that instant, a bellowing roar shook the fortress. There were startled exclamations and the sound of running feet.

Naoko's breathing, harsh and irregular, started to slow down until her chest was barely rising. Dilandau jumped to his feet as there was another roar and something large and heavy hit the fortress hard enough to cant it to the side. Dilandau grabbed Naoko by the shoulders, lifting her up. Her body was limp in his hands, her head falling backwards. He shook her hard.

"Naoko, don't you dare go," He whispered fiercely. "Don't leave me again."

She took a deep breath with a gasp, her eyes fluttering open. Her eyes were unfocused, but her face wasn't vacant like before. She blinked a few times, awareness returning to her expression. Dilandau helped her to sit up, and she rubbed her forehead.

"Naoko, are you okay? What happened?" Dilandau asked.

She looked at him blankly, then smiled wickedly. "Naoko doesn't exist anymore."



Yolanda held on tightly as Darakk threw himself against the fortress again, nimbly swerving around the flying guymelafs that sought to bring him down. More young men were standing on the deck of the fortress, swords out and ready.

"Darakk, get me closer! I'll jump onto the deck!" Yolanda yelled, the rushing wind tearing the words from her mouth.

Darakk heard, however, and twisted suddenly, diving straight at the young men, who scattered in terror. Yolanda leaped off Darakk's back as he swooped past the fortress, landing solidly on her feet and ducking a youth's swing. Smiling grimly, she held her hands out, palms pressed together and loosed a green ball of light at the nearest Slayer. It caught him in the chest, flinging him back against the wall, where he slumped down, unconscious.

"Mage!" someone yelled in terror. "Look out, it's a mage!"

Yolanda frowned, spinning on her heel. She muttered something under her breath and a silver sword materialized out of the air in front of her. She grabbed it by the leather-wrapped hilt and spun to catch another youth's blade with it. She pulled the sword from his hands and hit him with the flat of her blade, knocking him out.

Three more Dragon Slayers surrounded her, white with fear but determined to fight. Yolanda looked at the closest one and he was sent flying into the other two, sending them sprawling in an ungainly heap. She glanced up to see how Darakk was doing fighting the guymelafs and barely missed the thrust of yet another Dragon Slayer. This one looked uneasy about something and squinted at her as they locked blades. Suddenly, he grinned.

"You must be Yolanda, Naoko's friend," he said, straining to hold her sword away from him. "She's told me a lot about you."

Yolanda's eyes widened. "You know Naoko? Where is she?"

"Here. Down there somewhere," The young man indicated with a jerk of his head. "D'you want to let up on the sword now? I'm not going to hurt you."

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried," Yolanda replied cheerfully, the sword vanishing in mid-air. "What's your name? Is Naoko all right? Can you call off the other Dragon Slayers?"

"Gatti, Naoko's... not so good and no, I can't," Gatti replied.

"Well, Gatti, I'll leave Darakk up there, who's Naoko's guardian, and you can show me where Naoko is. Now," Yolanda said menacingly.

"Um, ok, follow me then," Gatti said, leading the way and looking as though he had just remembered Yolanda was a mage.



"W-What?" Dilandau stammered.

"Naoko doesn't exist anymore," It was Naoko speaking, but the voice was deeper, more menacing.

Dilandau backed slowly away, one hand going to his sword. "Who-what are you?"

"I-aaah! No! This body is mine, now, not yours!" Naoko shrieked suddenly, struggling to get up and falling to her knees. "Get out!"

Dilandau stared at her, seeing another face superimposed over Naoko's; a malevolent face that looked strangely familiar. Naoko held her head with both hands, her arms trembling. At that instant, the door slammed open and another girl stepped in, one with flame-red hair and cool grey eyes. She took one look at Naoko and ran over to her, chanting something under her breath. She lay a hand on Naoko's shoulder and the other girl slowly stopped struggling and fell against the redhead.

Dilandau looked up at a movement by the door and looked into the wide eyes of Gatti. He arched an eyebrow slightly. Gatti shrugged and walked over to him.

"Lord Dilandau, her name is Yolanda. She is a mage and also Naoko's friend," Gatti said softly as Yolanda pushed Naoko's hair away from her face.

"Yolanda," Dilandau called quietly. She looked up at him, frowning. "Is-is she okay? What happened?"

"Doppleganger," Yolanda said shortly. "She's fine now."

"Of course. That's why it seemed familiar," Dilandau murmured. "I'm..."

"I know who you are," Yolanda snapped. "I know what you stand for too."

"Not anymore," Dilandau replied quietly. "I wasn't in the right... state of mind before. Naoko helped me see clearly."

"That's your excuse for all the deaths you've ordered?" Yolanda snapped. "You killed entire villages, destroyed people's homes and left them out in the cold, and you say you weren't in the right state of mind?" Her voice rose until she was yelling, grey eyes flashing in her flushed face. Her arm tightened around Naoko's shoulders. "You're nothing but a cold-blooded murderer and you can't give me any excuses. You-"

"Yolanda." Naoko struggled to sit up. "Please, he really has changed."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Yolanda muttered, but subsided. "Naoko, how are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over," Naoko groaned. Her eyes widened suddenly. "Darakk! He's here?"

"He's the one who brought me," Yolanda replied. Another roar ripped through the air, and she winced. "I don't think he's very happy."

"I couldn't tell," Naoko replied dryly, swinging her legs off the bed and standing up. Both Yolanda and Dilandau jumped up to stop her, then glared at each other. "Excuse me, you two. I'm going to stop Darakk before he completely destroys this place." She neatly avoided Yolanda's hand and slipped out the door.

"You," Yolanda snapped, glaring at Dilandau, "stay here. We don't need your help."

"Yes you do," Dilandau retorted. "Who else is going to call off my Dragon Slayers?"

"I'm sure we could find a way." Yolanda said ominously, exiting the room. Dilandau blanched and followed her down the hallway, cursing all mages under his breath.



A/N: Ah, it's been a while. ^^ Okay, readin over this, I am gettin way supernatural again... Must stop that. Unless, of course, my dear readers like it... Hehe. I've been reading Stephen King books, so that's my excuse. He rules! So, anywayz, I'll leave off here and let you decide whether I should keep it sorta supernatural, or calm down a tad on magick and dopplegangers and possession and that type-a stuff. Ooh, b4 I forget... There's a very awesome book called "Dmitri" about a 20-something man who is possessed by the spirit of the young Dmitri Ivanovich, son of Ivan the Terrible and heir to the throne of Rus (Russia). Except he's murdered when he's 9 years old. So I guess that influenced this too. *beams* If you can find that book, I suggest reading it. It's very, very good.