I don't own anything except the Takahari family, their Dragoon Spirits, Kenji Okamura, and Cassius

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It's hard to relax when you know that unless you kill a man within two weeks, you'll have to die. Alucard's revelation was probably the biggest shock I'd ever had.

Within minutes, Ryan was running a test on me using portable lab equipment he'd brought with him from the Shrine's Infirmary. When he looked up, his expression was grim. "I'm sorry, Ian. Alucard's right. The infection will have completely spread through your system in fifteen days. There's nothing we can do besides hope you can kill Cassius in time."

"It has to be you, too, Ian," Alucard said. "You have to strike the killing blow, or else you'll be turned at the moment he dies."

I turned, my face a mask of stone. "What do you mean?"

"It's not an ordinary infection; it's a curse, one which he cast even as the castle collapsed on him. I'd heard that the vampires of old were capable of it, but this is the first case I've seen. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

I nodded. "But it's not over yet. I still have a chance, if I'm strong enough. If I'm not..." I trailed off. "If I'm not, then I'll be the first ninja of my clan forced to commit seppuku in more than five generations."

Ryan glanced at me sharply. "What are you talking about?"

I managed a half-smile. "Before the Clan discovered kuji, Ryan, there were quite a few cases of the hunter becoming the hunted, and in most cases, the ninja committed hara-kiri, or another form of seppuku, rather than allow the virus to spread. When he couldn't, the Clan was forced to hunt him down themselves. That's why there's such a deep-seated hatred for their kind in our bloodline."

For the first time since Alucard made his pronouncement, Rose spoke. "What does hara-kiri entail?"

It was Karen who answered, her face pale and her voice like an automaton. "You cut open your own stomach and let your internals fall out. Self-disembowelment, basically. It was only wide-spread among the honorable members of the Samurai; to ensure you don't dishonor yourself by showing too much pain and weakness, your kaishaku-nin, or 'one who assists', cuts off your head before the pain becomes too great. Usually, your assistant is a close friend or relative."

I distantly heard Tidus running for the nearby bushes; he'd never fought people, and the description had apparently made him ill. Or so I judged from the fact that he was bright green, a color not normally associated with good health.

"This is what awaits me if I fail to kill that bastard in time," I said tonelessly. "A very messy death."

"There's no chance that healing magic would cure you?" Yuna asked.

"No. Kuji works on much the same principles; if magic were truly supernatural, humans wouldn't be able to use it. And I've tried everything I can think of for the past ten years to eradicate it. Even dying didn't do it, and if a White-Silver Dragoon was capable of the feat, I'd have been cured long ago, during the Second Dragon Campaign. I was injured often enough then." I stood. "All we can do for now is continue; Cassius will be back for me sooner or later. Let's go."

Alucard also stood. "I'm not going with you just yet. I'll see if I can find where Cassius is keeping himself; there has to be someplace he's staying in between attacking you. I'll be back as soon as I find it."

I nodded. "All right."

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For a time, we traveled in silence. Rose was a brooding presence at my side; no doubt she was thinking of what had happened to her first love: petrified, then possessed by a murderous dictator, then finally killed, at my hand. What I had waiting for me was potentially worse. Two weeks to save myself, or it was over.

Ordinarily, I would have enjoyed the view that greeted us when we reached the Moonflow, but these were not ordinary times. Instead of relaxing, I tried to look in all directions, watching for Cassius. His attacks came almost daily; perhaps he assumed that the constant pressure would make me weak. If so, he assumed wrong.

"What is this place?" Tidus wondered.

"The Moonflow," Lulu replied. "We must cross this to reach Guadosalam, our next destination. From there we cross the Thunder Plains, to reach Macalania Forest."

"Guadosalam," I heard Ryan mutter. "Home of the Guado, right? I suppose Maester Seymour rules there?"

"That's right," Wakka said. "He might even be there when we get there."

"I hope not," Karen said quietly. "There's something about him that I really don't like."

Ignoring the exchange, Lulu continued her explanation to Tidus. "The view is best at sunset, when the setting sun casts its glow over the river."

"We're not waiting till sunset," Auron said quietly as Tidus opened his mouth to speak. "We should move on. The shoopuf isn't far from here."

Wakka glanced at me, his usual glare tempered by my recent threat to him. "So what are the chances your vampire friend decides to make more trouble there?"

"He's not my friend, as you well know, and the answer to your question is simply 'I don't know'," I replied. "Cassius might take some time to recover, especially after the nasty blow Auron gave him. We can only hope. I may need to kill him soon, but I can't do that in the shape I'm in. I need a break from his attacks, especially now that he's a Dragoon."

As we moved on, Rose finally spoke again. "Are you all right, Ian? You seem to be better than when you first heard Alucard's news."

I sighed. "You can't be terrified all the time; eventually, you just move on. After all I've been through in my life, I tend to assimilate such matters quickly." I paused and turned to face her. "Look, Rose, we don't need to panic yet. I'll beat Cassius. If nothing else, I have the Dragon Buster. It might not suffice to kill him, but it'll hurt him pretty bad if he transforms. It might just weaken him enough for me to get in the deathblow."

After a moment, she nodded. "You're right; I just hope your friend finds Cassius quickly."

"As long as I get a chance to rest for awhile first, I agree."

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Not far from there was what looked somewhat like an Earth or Endiness port. I gathered that this was where the "shoopuf" was, whatever a shoopuf happened to be.

Ryan let out a startled oath in Japanese. "What under the moon and stars is that!?" he added in English.

"That" was a two- or three-story-tall dinosaur-like creature, with a platform on top reminiscent of those used for elephants back home, and a blue, frog-like being on its neck.

"The shoopuf," Auron said quietly. "We'll use it to cross the Moonflow."

"That'll be interesting," Ryan muttered. "I haven't used any living transportation more exotic than a horse since Coolon."

"Let his name be honored," I said softly. "He got us to the Divine Tree, six years ago, even after he was fatally wounded. Remember his sacrifice, Ryan."

"Better this than machina," Wakka sniffed. "You use machina, and Sin kills you, yah? Just look at Operation Mi'ihen."

I heard the distinctive sound of a revolver's cylinder being spun under Ryan's jacket, and he muttered something especially vile in Japanese.

I was actually starting to worry about him; even during the Second Dragon Campaign, Ryan had seldom been without his gallows humor. He laughed in the face of death, and death ran away in fright. Now, it seemed that while he retained the gallows part, the "humor" was gone. If this kept up, someone was going to get hurt.

Probably Wakka.

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After stopping briefly for supplies, we boarded the strange animal known as the shoopuf. It's an experience I'll never forget, if only for its sheer outlandishness. I'd never encountered a creature quite like it, but the ride, at least, was smooth. Few people could have gotten seasick aboard it, for instance.

I paid careful attention to the skies; with Cassius now a Dragoon, I couldn't be sure which way he'd attack from, if at all. He could be a bat, a mist, or simply an apparition, for the vampires of old were the most powerful and eerie. I had to be on my guard.

A ways into the crossing, Wakka glanced over the side, and pointed something out to Tidus. "See that down there? That's the ruins of a city that used to be here. A machina city. It was built over the river. Sank under its own weight, 'bout a thousand years ago. You know why they built it that way?"

"Well," Tidus replied, "it would be kinda handy, having all that water nearby."

Wakka snorted. "Nope, that's not why. They wanted to prove they could defy nature! Sin's our penalty for letting things get out of hand."

Yuna nodded. "A thousand years ago, there was a war, with machina, which threatened all of Spira."

"The weapons became more and more powerful," Lulu agreed. "Until it seemed they would destroy the world."

"But the war did not stop!" Wakka said angrily.

"Then Sin came, and destroyed the machina cities," Lulu finished.

"But you use machina yourselves, don't you?" Tidus asked. "Like in the sphere pool?"

"Yevon decides which machina we may use, and which we may not," she replied.

"What kind of machina 'may we not use', then?" he demanded.

Wakka leaned back. "Remember Operation Mi'ihen? That kind."

I could practically feel the violence Ryan was building up to. His expression didn't change, but his fists clenched, and I could have sworn that smoke was coming from his ears. "Wakka," he said, tightly controlling his voice, "if you actually believe that excrement you're spouting, you're stubborn as a mule, and not very bright besides. Do me a favor, and shut your stupid, pig-ignorant, bigoted mouth!"

"That's enough, Ryan!" I snapped. "Control yourself, or take one of those sedatives you no doubt carry in your wonder bag of medical tricks!"

He sagged against the seat back. "Sorry, niisan," he murmured. "I will, of course, comply."

"Good." I accepted his statement, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be the last outburst from him.

Before there could be any further discussion, however, a man wearing goggles leapt out of the water, grabbed Yuna, and dropped back in with lightning speed.

"Al Bhed!" Wakka shouted, and jumped over the side, with Tidus not far behind.

"What the blazes!?" Quickly taking stock of the situation, I dropped my coat and drew Raiden-Ken. "Dragoons, stay here and keep a lookout for more Al Bhed. I'm going in!" Without further ado, I took a swan dive into the river.

If only I'd brought scuba gear, I thought as I descended. Well, kuji will just have to be enough. Here goes! Using a kuji technique I'd only performed on a handful of other occasions, my body began to change shape, reforming into that of a great-white shark. The skill of kuji transformation was second only to time-travel in terms of difficulty to master. The first time I'd attempted it, I was seventeen, retrieving Arashi-Jisan from the ocean.

This time, I'd have to hope that a shark's teeth were sharp enough to cut through whatever metal was used in Al Bhed machines, because that was what Yuna was being held in.

It was a strange contraption. Its main body was somewhat like a drum, and it was propelled by a set of propellers. Atop it was some kind of bubble, with Yuna inside. Even if we hadn't seen an Al Bhed grab her, there would have been no doubt it was them.

Tidus and Wakka were already fighting the mechanical monstrosity. "Yuna! We'll save you!" Wakka called through the water.

Yeah, right, Wakka. Some Guardian you turned out to be, if you can't take the most basic of precautions. Just get out of the way and let a professional take care of it!

I quickly discovered to my discomfort that this professional wasn't going to do much good in his current state. My shark teeth weren't nearly tough enough to bite through the Al Bhed metal. I'd have to return to my normal form.

I had no choice but to trust the power of the magic ring I wore to prevent me from drowning.

Once my body had resumed its normal shape, I gripped Raiden-Ken in one hand and my Dragoon Spirit in the other. It was time to teach the Al Bhed what folly it was to fight a Dragoon. The exhilarating rush of power drove all thought of death or failure from my mind, and I reached out to the shade of my Vassal Dragon. Diamond Dragon, I call upon thee in this time of battle to smite this machine and rescue my friend from its clutches!

There was a dark flicker, and with a roar the Diamond Dragon was summoned back to the land of mortals to turn its wrath upon the pitiful machine before it. The diamond claws ripped at it, and in a moment it was gone.

As Wakka and Tidus helped Yuna back to the surface, the Dragon seemed almost satisfied for a moment, then returned to the grave.

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Things were eerie when we surfaced; there was little sound, and none of the commotion I'd have expected from our companions. It was far, far too quiet.

"What happened here!?" Tidus demanded, as we climbed back aboard the shoopuf. It was a very good question: the other Guardians, and my fellow Dragoons, were all sprawled about the gondola, unconscious. Even the Hypello driver was knocked out.

"I don't like the looks of this..." I muttered. "They're near death. What the blazes happened here?" Kneeling beside Rose, I felt for a pulse, then sighed with relief. She was alive.

"What could have done this?" Yuna asked. "What could overpower everyone?"

"It must have been the Al Bhed!" Wakka snarled. "They had others around, just waitin' to hit 'em while we were in the water!"

I slammed my fist into the floor and cursed vilely. "Not the Al Bhed. Only Cassius could have done this! And I led him right to us when I used my Dragoon Spirit!"

"Quite right, Takahari," Cassius said. "Quite right indeed."

He was hovering in the air next to the shoopuf, in Dragoon form, and before any of us could react, the vampire produced some kind of mist, knocking out my three companions. "Cassius!" I screamed. "This time you're gonna die, bastard! This is the end!" Springing into the air, I transformed, sheathed Raiden-Ken, and drew the Dragon Buster.

"We are in agreement, Takahari," Cassius said, flying away from the shoopuf. "Either you are turned, or I die. I would not have it any other way." He nodded at the Dragon Buster. "But don't you think that's a little unfair?"

"I don't believe in fighting fair, Cassius," I said angrily. "The man who fights fair is the man who loses. Oh, but I forgot; you're not a man, are you? No, you're just a vampire. And before this day is done, I will have claimed your life, as well!"

When the clash of swords echo

We sped toward each other, Cassius with his gladius, myself with the one weapon that could be relied upon to get through Dragoon armor. One clean hit was all I needed.

Our blades clashed, and we pushed apart, wings flapping hard to cancel the inertia. "Is that all you've got?" Cassius taunted. "You're no different from when we first met, ten years ago!"

"You're wrong, Cassius," I replied. "I have killed over a hundred people since our first meeting, and several hundred vampires. Do you think that the heir to the Kyuuketsuki Ryoushi would be a weakling?"

The journey chasing the past ends and

"Perhaps not. All the better! You will be the finest vampire obtained from your clan since Kenji Hideoshi was turned four centuries ago!"

"Shut up!" I snapped. He'd picked the wrong example, if he wanted to demoralize me. Kenji Hideoshi was the grandson of Goro Hideoshi, one of the three founders of my clan. He had been the clan's most respected poet, just as his brother Tatsumaru had been our greatest swordsmith.

The journey to know today begins.

Giving up on conversation, Cassius raised his cannon arm. "Divine Dragon Cannon!" he shouted, firing an immense energy beam at me.

I barely dodged, thanking the world in general for my phenomenal reflexes. I decided it was time to respond in kind. "Diamond Cannon!"

One soul seeks another and

The beam caught him right in the chest, blasting him backwards. "Urgh!" Cassius slammed into the water with such speed that the impact was equivalent to being smashed into a concrete wall. Only the Dragoon armor he wore kept him from breaking his entire rib cage.

Pledges their sworn friendship to another.

After taking a moment to recover, he swept back into the air. "You'll pay for that, Takahari! I'll make you suffer for it!" Cassius flew at me again, aiming his blade at my heart.

I batted it aside with the Dragon Buster. "You nearly killed the woman I love," I snarled though gritted teeth, "and have caused me more misery over the years than anyone else!"

One mystery begets the next and

"Then let your misery be complete!" Cassius struck my blade with all his strength, knocking it from my hand. "It ends today, Takahari!"

But to my surprise, he didn't continue his attack on me. Instead, he flew back to the shoopuf, preparing for another cannon blast.

And it was aimed straight at Rose. "Nooooooo!!" I screamed, and collided with him at full speed.

The doors of fate are opened.

Raiden-Ken shattered Cassius's gladius, and he was forced out of Dragoon form as he struck the water. He floated there, with an expression of extreme surprise on his face. "How could you have won? A mere human cannot outshine me, a vampire..."

"You sound remarkably like the late Melbu Frahma," I said coldly, "just before I killed him. Except he was a god, not a vampire. Believe me, bastard, you may be the most terrifying enemy I have ever had, but you are not the strongest. It... ends... here." I raised Raiden-Ken, the sword forged from the shards of the great vampire-hunting blade Arashi-Jisan, and it glowed with power. "Wrath of Heaven!"

You are free to sever the chains of fate that bind you...

The blast of pure white power annihilated Cassius, and the concussion blew me backwards, as well. And then the pain came, overwhelming agony that wracked my body with spasms, until at last I mercifully blacked out...

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Author's note: Well, now you know that The Second Story of the Diamond Dragoon is still alive; I haven't abandoned it. Sorry for the delay, but I've had a world-class case of writer's block. Credit goes to Red-Eyed, Divine Dragoon77415 for curing it.

I won't reveal much, but I'll say right now that the ownership of the Divine Dragoon Spirit will remain undecided for now; it will play a large role in the Third Story of the Diamond Dragoon, though of course I have no idea when that story will be written.

In response to Knightblazer85, I believe you'll find that in Chapter 30 of The Story of the Diamond Dragoon, I did explain that Matthias Cronqvist and Dracula are one and the same. I went back and checked it myself. If memory serves, it was just after the group reassembled in the ersatz Bale.

To reply to dark dragon 24, I actually did know that Tidus returns in FFX-2, but I'm going to complete disregard that for the purposes of this story. I've never played X-2, and I have no intention of doing so. Suffice it to say that I have a very low opinion of it.

That should cover things for this chapter. Read it and let me know if it was worth the wait. -Solid Shark