The same disclaimer again.

We arrived in Furni, Mille Seseau's only major port, three days after Regole joined us. To my immense relief, those days passed without incident, except of course for Meru's endless pranks. (These at least kept Methos amused, go figure.) For myself, I concentrated on enjoying the voyage, as I knew full well it would be my last chance to relax for some time to come.

A lot has happened. I had no intention of broaching my idea about Dart's parentage with Rose. While she was not a particularly emotional person, learning that she had almost certainly killed her fiancée eighteen years earlier would be a major blow. Nor did I intend to tell Dart; that would have resulted in him asking unanswerable questions.

I grinned at Methos. "Nice place, huh?"

He smiled. "Reminds me of Venice about two hundred years ago."

"As in before the canals got all polluted." I shook my head, chuckling ruefully. "Is there anything you haven't done in five thousand years?"
The older man shrugged. "I haven't been to the moon, and I've never gone deep-sea diving. I did fight in both world wars, on the Allied side, naturally."

"Why am I not surprised." I gazed out at the sea for a moment. "What do you think of our little band? I've never seen you so open with mortals."

Methos shrugged again. "Dart is like a younger version of Mac: champion of justice, throws himself into danger, heedless of his own safety. If it weren't for those weird Dragoon powers I'd call Shana your basic damsel in distress, sweet but naïve. Haschel's a nice guy, if a little crazy. The big Giganto, Kongol, is amiable enough, but I wouldn't care to make him angry. Albert is the sort of person I could talk to for hours; he really knows his stuff."

I laughed. "There's an understatement. The King of Serdio will talk your ears off about virtually anything."

"Lavitz is a typical knight, chivalrous and loyal," Methos went on. "Meru's the comic relief."

I lifted an eyebrow. "And Rose?"

"Rose." The oldest Immortal shook his head. "I don't quite know what to make of her. I trust her, certainly, and she's good in a fight, but she has a dark core."

"Killing an infant every 108 years will do that to you."

"True-" Methos broke off. A second later, I felt it, too: the buzz of an Immortal.

"Ray! Methos!"

I grinned. "Richie! What are you doing here?"

The slightly younger man clapped me on the shoulder. "Checking things out." He caught sight of our companions. "Who're they?"

I laughed. "They're our friends. Everyone, this is Richie Ryan, Mac's only other student in the past century."

Richie shook hands all around, then abruptly froze. "What on earth is that!?"

Methos followed his gaze. "That, Richie, is Regole, our resident Dragon." He nodded to Meru. "Little Miss Sugar High here is her master."

"Hey!" Meru glared at him, then smiled at Richie. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Richie glanced back at me. "You might want to be careful. Everything's gone crazy here."

Rose frowned. "What do you mean?"

"A kid named Teo ran off with a mutated wolf about three days ago." Richie winced. "The whole town's up in arms."

"Any idea where he went?" Dart asked.

"To the Evergreen Forest, due north. The mayor's offered a reward for his safe return. We're going to help look for him."

"Who's 'we'?" I asked, a sinking feeling coming over me.

Richie shrugged. "Mac, Amanda, and me. Is there a problem?"

I sighed. "Sort of. We ran into Amanda in Tiberoa, and I didn't exactly enjoy the experience."

"Oh, that." He laughed. "Amanda told me about it. Don't worry, this just a search-and-rescue. Find the kid and kill the wolf. Simple enough."

"You hope." I snorted and looked at Dart. "What do you think?"

"I think we should help find the boy," Dart said at once. "The Moon Dagger is safe, so we can afford a detour."

"It's settled, then." I think. "Let's find Mac and Amanda."

The thief and the Highlander were easily found. The Mayor, apparently grateful for their aid, put them up in his own home. When he learned who we were he was happy to do the same for us. "The heroes who saved Tiberoa from the bandits and the Dragon are always welcome here," he said.

"Just remember that the Dragon is on our side now," I replied.

"Of course." He nodded to a couch. "I believe you, at least, know my other guests."
"No kidding." I grinned at Mac. "MacLeod to the rescue, eh?"

"Sort of." The Highlander shrugged. "I can't leave a kid in danger, you know me." He chuckled. "And so do you, old man."

Methos shot him a mock-annoyed look. "At least I care about my own survival, Highlander. You have yet to show any sign of an instinct for self-preservation."

Mac laughed. "'Death before dishonor', remember?" He glanced at me. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

I mentally kicked myself. "Right, of course." I gestured to each in turn. "Dart and Shana, from Seles in southern Serdio. Albert, King of Serdio, and Sir Lavitz Slambert, head of the First Knighthood. Haschel of Rouge, a martial arts master. Kongol the Giganto, from Tiberoa. Meru the Wingly, from a forest just north of here." Meru nodded. "You know Rose, of course. Guys, this is my teacher, Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. Amanda you already know."

Dart grinned and shook Mac's hand. "So this is the famous Highlander. Ray's mentioned you. Several times."

Mac chuckled. "Has he, now."

"Don't read too much into that, Mac," I said. "I know you're not some kind of superhero, but I owe you a lot nonetheless. And yes, they know about Immortals. I managed to impale myself on a magic sword a couple of weeks ago."

"Amanda told me about it." He stretched. "It's been nice meeting you, but I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day."

"'Night, Mac." Albert snickered. "What's so funny, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, nothing."

Amanda giggled. I shot a glare at her. "And what do you find so funny, thief?"

She smiled sweetly. "I just think we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few days."

I groaned. "How very delightful. I do hope Mac will be along, too."

"Yep."

"Good. Maybe he can keep you under control." I shook my head wearily. "Of course, it's always possible that you can't be kept under control, which does not bode well. Just please remember that this is supposed to be a rescue mission, okay?"

"Oh, all right."

'All right,' she says. I sighed wearily. "Guys, maybe you should prepare for our next move. Richie and I have some catching up to do."

The two of us found a quiet corner. "You have the weirdest friends," Richie said.

I raised an eyebrow. "No weirder than waking up from the dead. And don't underestimate Meru just because of her happy-go-lucky personality. She has a hammer and she knows how to use it."

"I'll remember that." Richie glanced at Rose and shivered. "What's with her, anyway? I thought Connor was cold-blooded, but at least he smiles once in a while."

"She has a dark past, Richie. Don't ask for details, because I promised to keep them secret. Rose can be trusted, just leave it at that."

"Okay, sure thing." He grinned suddenly. "You try asking her out?"

I glared. "Do I look that stupid? She'd take my head if I pulled a stunt like that. Besides which, I'm not interested." I chuckled a little. "Lavitz tried something like that just after the Hero Competition in Lohan."

"What happened?"

"Rose decked him."

Richie laughed. "So the chivalrous knight gets smacked by the lady. Figures. What are you guys doing this far north, anyway?"

"We're chasing someone," I replied. "You know about the recently concluded civil war in Serdio, right?" Richie nodded. "The guy we're chasing manipulated the war from behind the scenes. Albert hired him as an advisor, but he was really working for the Imperial Sandora. This guy, name of Lloyd, had Shana kidnapped from Seles, torched the village, and stole a treasure called the Moon Gem from Albert. Oh, yeah, and he killed me."

"Ouch. What's he look like?"

"He's tall, with platinum hair and blood-red eyes. He wears a sleeveless black and silver outfit and black gloves. He carries two swords, one normal, and the Dragon Buster, which looks like a flame."

The younger man frowned, then nodded. "I saw him a couple days ago, headed northwest."

"Northwest." I looked up. "Hey, Rose, is there anything significant northwest of here? Richie saw Lloyd heading that way."

Rose thought for a moment. "You mean aside from the capital, Deningrad?"

"Yeah."

"Then there is one place where he would have gone: the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon. Long ago, the ancient Winglies sealed the king of Dragons, the Divine Dragon, there."

Richie winced. "Divine Dragon? King of Dragons? That doesn't sound good."

"That is an understatement." The Dark Dragoon snorted. "The Divine Dragon was stronger than all seven elemental Dragons combined. Even Melbu Frahma himself was unable to defeat him, so the Winglies sealed him away."

I felt my blood run cold. "If Lloyd awakens the Divine Dragon."

"Then there will be a major catastrophe," Rose finished. "Even with the Dragon Buster, Lloyd is no match for the king of Dragons."

"If he's going to take it on anyway, Lloyd has miscalculated badly." I shook my head. "What does the most lethal Dragon of all time have to do with his 'utopia'? Is he insane on top of everything else?" I sighed. "That explains why there's no Void Dragoon."

"Dragoon?" Richie repeated. Apparently Amanda hadn't filled him in on everything.

"Dragon Knight," I explained. "Magical warriors who rule Dragons. The can, among other things, fly."

Richie gaped. "And your friends.they're the Dragoons?"

"Yep. Incredible, isn't it? You'll get to see for yourself tomorrow, when we take on that wolf."

He shook his head in disbelief. "I'd heard a little about some mega powerful warriors, but I thought it was just a rumor."

"No rumor, my friend." I yawned and stretched. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. See you in the morning."

The next morning found us in the forest, just north of Furni. To no one's surprise, we had to fight yet more monsters during our search, ranging from giant squirrels to large, bearlike creatures. Fortunately, we were more than a match for such vermin.

Mac slashed what looked like a giant peacock in half. "Crazy place. I don't know how you stand it, Ray."

I shrugged, neatly carving up what I think was an animate tree. "I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. Seriously, Mac, is it any worse than some of the Immortal duels you've gotten into over the years?"

"You got me there," he admitted.

"Teo! Get away from Kamuy!"

I started. "That came from up ahead."

We charged through the brush, ignoring the small fry. Soon enough, we came to a small cul-de-sac, almost running into a knight. Facing us was the ugliest dog I had ever seen. Kamuy's wolf origins were still discernable, but he had mutated almost beyond recognition.

"Stop!" the boy, Teo, shouted. "It wasn't Kamuy! It was a different monster!"

Further conversation was stopped by the appearance of an axe-wielding thug I remembered from the day before. "I'll take care of Kamuy! The reward is mine!"

He took a step forward, and was promptly knocked flying, thus proving once again that big talkers are almost always pathetic fighters.

I gripped the knight's arm. "Leave it to us. Teo will be safe."

The knight looked relieved. "Thank you."

Richie drew his rapier. "Is this where I get to see your pals in action?"

I grinned. "Exactly."

Eight Dragoons transformed simultaneously, startling even Mac. The next moments were filled with a litany of spells.

"Rose Storm!"

"Wing Blaster!"

"Thunder God Attack!"

"Star Children!"

"Diamond Dust"

"Meteor Strike!"

"Astral Drain!"

"Final Burst!"

My fellow Immortals (except Methos, of course) stared in amazement at the display. Nothing in all their centuries could have prepared them for what they witnessed that day. Mac later told me that the raw power reminded him of an erupting volcano.

Kamuy might have withstood the thug's attack, but this was too much. He fell, mortally wounded.

"Kamuy!!" Teo hurried to the animal's side, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Shana gazed at them, obviously torn. "I may be contradicting myself," she said at last, "but I can't just leave them like this." She focused on her Dragoon Spirit. "White Silver Dragon, please save Kamuy!"

In seconds, the mutation reversed itself. A normal wolf ran around Teo's legs, where a vicious monster had stood just moments before. Shana is truly the Dragoon of healing.

Teo smiled at Shana. "Thank you." He looked at the knight. "Can Kamuy come home now?"

The knight hesitated, then nodded. "He seems to be back to normal. Alright, if anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

I smiled. "We've got to get going. Say hi to your friends for us."

"Okay!"

When they were gone, I turned to Mac. "So, what do you think? Incredible, huh?"

"You've got that right." The Scot looked at the Dragoons. "They're quite an impressive team." He glanced back at me. "You folks heading for Deningrad?"

"That's the plan. Lloyd could show up at any time."

"We might as well travel together, then. We're going the same way."
"Sound good?" I asked Dart.

"Fine by me."

"Then let's go."

Author's note: Not much here, but it was intended primarily as a transition of sorts. It'll really start to pick up at the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, though that area will have a couple of major changes, as will Vellweb. As regards the Immortals, Methos is of course around for the long haul, but I haven't decided about the other three yet. Sorry if this one's boring, but that particular sequence is boring anyway, so I was anxious to get it out of the way. D.S.