Disclaimer: I own only the Hunters.

Kadessa was both the most magnificent and dreariest place I had ever seen. It was huge, for one thing, with the sort of grand architecture one would expect of the rulers of the world. At the same time, there was an air of sadness, as though the souls of those who died there were still wandering the empty streets.

"This is where the final battle was fought," Rose murmured. "Where the evil dictator Melbu Frahma met his end." She seemed lost in thought.

We fought our way through the local monsters without much trouble. The only creature that posed a problem was something Meru identified as a "spinninghead". It quickly fell to my ninja techniques.

We moved through the city via warp plates until we came to an apparent dead end. It proved far more dangerous than we thought.

"Wait!" Rose said. She pointed. "This is a Virage!"

"Not again," Lavitz groaned.

Rose moved in for a closer look. "And this scar…This must be the Virage that killed Belzac!"

Belzac?

She turned back to us. "Let's go." It wasn't that easy, however.

The Virage started to shake. It slowly rose to its full height. It was noticeably different from those that we had battled before. There was no discernable head, and it only had one arm.

"Be careful!" Rose yelled. "This is a Super Virage. It is far more powerful than a normal one!"

We transformed, and assumed our places. I glanced worriedly at Miranda; though she was obviously an experienced fighter, this was her first battle as a Dragoon. I wondered if she could handle it.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by Albert's voice. "Rose Storm!" The comforting barrier enveloped us.

Dart curled into a ball and stretched out again, wreathed in flame. "Final Burst!"

Lavitz stabbed the Virage with his spear, then twirled the weapon over his head and shoved it forward. "Wing Blaster!" A bird-shaped blast of wind smacked it.

Kongol chopped several times with his axe, then rose high into the air. "Meteor Strike!" The Virage was bombarded by falling rocks.

Haschel charged a blast of lightning in his fist. "Atomic Mind!"

Miranda pelted the thing with arrows while tossing an occasional healing spell.

Rose hurled her sword into the enemy's head. "Astral Drain!"

Meru perched on her hammer and spread her arms wide. "Diamond Dust!" The Virage was briefly trapped in ice.

Krista and I focused our power together. "Gemini Beam!" The Virage hit us with a final energy blast, then died.

"How powerful," Dart gasped.

With the Super Virage defeated, we soon found the Dragon Block Staff. Taking it wasn't so simple…

Miranda looked skeptical. "This can weaken Dragons?"

Rose glanced at her. "You can't tell an object's power by its size."

"I'll get it," Meru said. She sprouted her wings and flew up to the staff. She tugged, but was unable to pull it free. "It won't move!" We soon found out why.

Krista saw it first. "We've got company!"

This creature, the Grand Jewel, was nowhere near as dangerous as the Super Virage. We took it out without bothering to transform. (Which was fortunate, given that the Dragon Block Staff would have severely weakened us in Dragoon form.) We claimed the staff and got out of Kadessa in a hurry.

When we got back to the Forest, we were met by a very agitated Blano.

"The Divine Dragon has attacked again!" he said. "I'm teleporting you to Deningrad." He failed at first, but was joined by several more Winglies, including Meru's parents, her fiancée Guaraha, and my mother. Their combined power was enough to send us on our way.

Deningrad was a mess. That was my first thought. The Divine Dragon's attack had wreaked havoc on the city. The shops had been totaled, the library was a wreck, the church was in shambles, and a big chunk was missing from the Crystal Palace. Oddly, the hotel appeared unscathed.

Miranda glared at the rest of us. "What are you waiting for!? Shana is in the palace!" She ran off before we could respond.

The inside was barely recognizable. There were holes in the walls, and rubble strewn everywhere. The Sacred Sisters were tending to injured knights.

I spoke to Setie. "Is Shana all right!?"

"I think so. She's in the throne room with Queen Theresa," she replied.

We charged into the throne room and almost went blind. The room was filled with a brilliant light, almost like a shield. It faded to reveal Shana standing in front of the Queen. She collapsed.

The Queen assured us that she was all right, so we took Shana to the hotel to rest. She was more than a little frightened.

I wandered around the city while the others made Shana comfortable. The populace seemed to be recovering from the attack, but I knew that it would be a long time before the wounds fully healed. Too many had died for it to be otherwise.

I caught up with my friends near the city entrance. "Are we ready?"

Dart nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be."

We embarked on the long journey to the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon.

The mountain turned out to be a dormant volcano. It was steep, rough and difficult to climb, but we had no choice. The Divine Dragon had to be stopped before more lives were lost.

About halfway up the ground began to shake. At the same time, there was a huge flash from the top of the mountain. Uh oh.

Rose gazed at the summit. "He is unburdening his anger, his hatred against Winglies."

Miranda looked worried. "Deningrad used to be a Wingly city. Is that why it was attacked?"

We proceeded to the summit, finding the Divine Dragon being attacked by a familiar swordsman. "Lloyd!"

My half-brother was knocked back, gasping. "He is stronger than I expected, but it is nearly over. There is no need for you to help."

"You released the most powerful Dragon, but you can't control it!?" Dart snarled.

"Forget it! We can kill him anytime!" Miranda yelled.

"So, the First Sacred Sister is the replacement for that girl. How convenient for us."

We ignored him and concentrated on the Divine Dragon. Dart tossed the Dragon Block Staff into the air, where it promptly shattered.

"Remember, don't transform!" he shouted. "Let's take him!"

This was the most powerful foe we had yet faced. Were it not for our combat experience and Kongol's immense physical strength, the Divine Dragon would probably have killed us in minutes. As it was, since we dared not use our Dragoon powers, it took us almost a full day to win the battle, and even then he refused to die.

Suddenly, Lloyd jumped off a nearby ridge, and stabbed the Dragon Buster through the Divine Dragon's eye. The Divine Dragon roared, then collapsed, releasing a glowing gem, which Lloyd caught.

Dart took a step back. "Is that…?"

"Yes. This is the Dragoon Spirit," Lloyd said. "The crystal that glows at the last moment of a Dragon's life. As I expected, it doesn't sparkle in my hand. It is merely a trophy."

I clenched my fists. "Do you have any idea what you're doing…brother?'

He stared at me in shock. "What did you call me!?"

I smiled thinly. "Brother. Or, more precisely, half-brother. It's a long story."

Lloyd vanished.

Rose cursed. "Winglies can teleport. Lloyd could be anywhere. We have to go, now!"

We caught up with Lloyd briefly, but he knocked Dart and Rose off a cliff, giving himself time to escape.

After we rescued them, I turned to Miranda. "There is no reason to hide any longer. Doesn't this country have a Wingly treasure?"

She sighed. "It is called the Moon Mirror, kept in the Tower of Flanvel."

"Flanvel?"

Rose said, "It was a Wingly fortress during the Dragon Campaign. Humans shot it out of the sky with a weapon called the Spear Shooter."

Miranda nodded. "It is trapped in Kashua Glacier. Only the Queen can open it."

I started. "That means Lloyd will be after Queen Theresa! We have to get back to Deningrad!"

With no time to waste, we transformed into Dragoons and flew to the capital. Unfortunately, we were too late; the Queen had been abducted by a man with silver hair.

We flew to the tower, but couldn't enter right away. First we had to deal with an ugly monster called the Windigo. It quickly fell to Fire magic.

We climbed the tower, using warp plates as necessary. It didn't take long, as there weren't very many.

At the top, we heard a strange sound.

"The Divine Dragoon Spirit is resonating," Rose said.

I ran for the last warp plate and entered the tower. Lloyd was just starting to turn, but I was too fast. I lunged forward, kicked the Dragon Buster out of his hand, and pressed my blade to his throat.

"One wrong move and you die," I hissed through clenched teeth.

He regarded me calmly. "Will you fight against fate, little brother?" Amazing how quickly he adjusted to our relationship.

"There's no such thing as fate!" I retorted. "And don't call me little!"

I prodded him out of the tower to where the others waited. To my surprise, Sister Wink was with them.

"Shana was taken away!" she said.

My jaw dropped. "What!?"

"By the man named Emperor Diaz."

"Finally. He has begun to take action by himself," Lloyd murmured.

I backhanded him across the face. "You idiot! Neither you nor he had any right to take her! She was living peacefully until you torched Seles."

Wink went on, "He said to bring the Divine Moon Objects and Lloyd to Vellweb."

Dart clenched his fists. "I guess we have no choice. But Diaz isn't gonna like the results!" We all nodded agreement.

I returned the Dragon Buster to Lloyd. "You obviously don't intend to fight us, and we're certain to encounter monsters on the way to Vellweb"

Author's note: It might seem like Lloyd went down to easily, but remember that he's never faced a ninja before. D.S.