Here we go again. I don't own LOD.
We arrived in Seles without incident, and gathered in the basement of a ruined building.
As usual, I got right to the point. "All right, Albert, just what is this 'Moon Gem' that Lloyd stole?"
Albert sighed. "It is a hidden treasure of Serdio, sealed within the body of each crown heir. It is a legacy of the ancient Winglies, filled with magic that only they can use."
Rose frowned. "If it's so secret, how did Lloyd find out about it?"
The king grimaced. "I was foolish. I bought his intelligence and employed him as an advisor. He was probably working for Imperial Sandora."
I turned to Dart. "Want to bet that Shana's abduction was Lloyd's idea?"
"I don't think there can be any doubt," he replied. "The question is, why."
"Somehow, I don't think that it has anything to do with the Serdian war," I said slowly. "I think that the war is incidental to his plans."
Lavitz said, "I don't care. We need to recover the Moon Gem and end this stupid war!"
Rose snorted. "It's not that easy. Lloyd is a very dangerous enemy, and Albert has no force of his own."
Albert stood. "Indeed, I am helplessly alone." He took out his Dragoon Spirit. "But as the Dragoons of yore led Humans to victory," we all brought out our Spirits, "so will we put an end to this conflict." He brandished his spear. "We have only one target: Emperor Doel in the Black Castle at Kazas."
Our journey to Kazas proved to be the easy part. The city was crawling with Sandoran soldiers.
We checked out the weapon shop first. Inside was a disreputable looking adventurer.
He spotted us at once. "Hey, there. You're warriors, aren't you? I can tell by your aura." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Just between us, I defeated the Dragon, Feyrbrand."
Rose rolled her eyes.
"As proof, here's one of his feathers."
A feathered Dragon? Give me a break I thought.
"For a limited time, I'll give you this feather, the Dragon beater, for free!"
Before any of us could laugh in his face, a Sandoran stormed in. "Is there a guy who defeated Feyrbrand in here!?" he demanded. He glared at the adventurer. "It must be you. Come with me!"
"Wait!" he protested. "I'm just a businessman. I was lying about the Dragon!"
What an idiot.
We carefully headed for the castle, only to be stymied yet again. It was easily the most heavily guarded place in the city.
"Oh, man, now what?" Krista moaned.
I looked around, and spotted the entrance to an old underground fort. "Guys, let's go down this way."
"Good thinking, Kyle," Dart responded.
He led the way into the heart of the fort, where we encountered a young boy representing something called the New Serdio Party.
He asked us three questions. "First, which country do you want to win, Basil or Sandora?"
Dart shook his head. "I cannot say which. The important thing is to end the war as soon as possible."
The boy nodded. "I agree. Always strife remains, no matter who wins. Next question: During the war, what should powerless kids like us do?"
"Take care at home," Dart replied. "The fighters need somewhere to come back to."
"I agree. There are things that we too can do. Last question: Why do people have to fight?"
"To protect something," Dart said without hesitation.
"That's right! I learned it from my grandpa."
The boy, Popo, guided us to a secret route beneath the castle. We traversed it easily enough, then came face to face with a guard and his attack dog. Shana dispatched the dog with an arrow, while Rose and I dealt with the soldier.
The path to the throne room was far more difficult. First we had to obtain some magic oil in order to operate the elevators, battling guards ad nauseam along the way. Then we had to get three colored stones so that we could unlock the final path. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, we had to fight a rather large enemy near the door.
Rose stopped. "Something's not right. I smell blood."
Dart froze. "It's Kongol!"
The huge Giganto stopped and glared at us. "Gigantos don't lose twice! Gigantos make payback for Hoax! For His Majesty Doel!"
Kongol lunged for us, but had the misfortune of facing two Wind Dragoons. He went down quickly, Rose having destroyed his armor.
"Me, brother of hero, has pride. Cannot live in disgrace. Kill me."
Rose shrugged. "As you wish."
I grabbed her arm. "Rose, wait! The game is over."
She glared at me. "'Game'? Don't be silly. This is a matter of life or death."
Shana stood over the Giganto. "It's over. He cannot fight."
Rose looked resigned. "Hope your sweetness won't kill you."
Doel's throne room was dimly lit. "So you came all the way here. Silly daredevils."
Albert walked to the throne. "Uncle, do you remember me? I am the son of your late brother…Albert!"
Doel gazed at him. "You remind me of…Carlo, twenty years ago. A bloodstained corpse in front of me."
"Uncle, why?" Albert asked. "Why did you divide Serdio by killing my father!?"
"To save Serdio from an incapable leader named Carlo."
Dart had a question of his own. "Why did you have Shana taken away!?"
Doel folded his arms. "Oh that. Lloyd had to find the girl. He is a mere pawn. Along with the Dragoons."
"How dare you!?" I snarled. "Prepare to die!!"
Despite his dual swords, Doel wasn't too difficult…at first. We thought we had him, but he suddenly transformed into a Dragoon. Uh-oh.
We transformed as well, and showed him that we had the greater power.
"Star Children!"
"Rose Storm!"
"Wing Blaster!"
"Astral Drain!"
"Gemini Beam!"
"Final Burst!"
The barrage of magic sent Doel reeling, but he wasn't through yet. "Atomic Mind!"
"Oof!" The blast of lightning had caught me full in the face. "You want to play games with me, Doel? Fine. Star Flare!!"
My star magic proved far more devastating than I had believed possible. He burned brightly for a moment, then slowly sank to the floor. "You have become…strong."
"Uncle…" Albert was in obvious pain.
"What you should know is not the past, but the future," Doel went on. "Pursue…Lloyd. He is in the western country of…Tiberoa."
"Tiberoa!?" Dart repeated.
"He…he knows everything. Go and find out. About the world. And about…everything." With that, he collapsed, dead.
Albert spoke after a long silence. "The war is over. This is the end of our journey, everyone."
Dart shook his head. "Not yet. There is still much that I want to know. About Shana's kidnapping, and the Moon Gem." He turned to face us. "I am pursuing Lloyd! I'll make him explain everything!"
Shana walked to his side. "I'm going, too! I want to know."
Albert nodded in agreement. "My journey cannot end, either. I must recover the Wingly treasure, the Moon Gem. I will live as a Dragoon for a while."
"We're with you, too," Krista and I said together.
Lavitz said, "I will follow Albert."
"I'll see how far you can go," Rose said.
Haschel was going to leave…but then he received the Dragoon Spirit of the Violet Dragon. "My choice is made. I will go with you, as well."
Author's note: This chapter has an abrupt ending because I was unsure of how long a given document could be. The next chapter is significantly longer. D.S.
