(Well, I used my Action Replay to see the normal ending to the game; it spared me the agony of beating the game all over again, even thought it is a great game.)

One Last Chance:

Chapter Thirteen

Arad was almost always liberal when it came to believing things. Rather than consider something fictional because of a lack of evidence, he would usually think up different scenarios as to why the incident, for example, occurred. This attribute, if one would call it that, made him an unlikely candidate for the throne of Persia, but he always thought he was unfit for the title of 'king'.

In the days when he was younger, his time would be spent looking after his youngest brother, him being the second youngest. He was older than his brother by five years, but this never bothered him. He personally would teach his brother various sword techniques, among other things. Yet, even though Arad was normally cheerful, his optimism had drained as he rode back to Babylon. His older sibling, Farzad, had been left in charge of the palace as long as their father and other brothers were away in India. Farzad was a responsible, yet kind, man, and Arad had no concerns over the condition of the palace, but his recent errand outside the capital city had scared him, too much for a man of his type of emotion.

It was not the errand itself, yet the reason. A soldier, who was a good friend of Arad's on a personal basis, had died during the voyage to India; according to letter, a great, black shadow had spread out over the ship. Some of the survivors described the shadow as being man- shaped, yet so horrific was its true form that some men had gone mad. The shadow had supposedly went down below deck and enveloped the soldier, taking him. The moment he disappeared, the shadow evaporated.

The soldier was named Rahim, and he had been a childhood friend of Arad and his younger brother when they were children. After discovering this news, Arad had traveled out of the city to a small altar out in the forest to pray, and it was there that he discovered a peculiar dagger with a golden glow emanating from it. The dagger's blade contained strange, golden sand, which seemed to hypnotize Arad whenever he looked at it. He kept this dagger with him, since this dagger had been Rahim's personal, inherited possession.

He had obtained the dagger that morning, and he was now heading back into Babylon, and he found it in an abstract state. There was a commotion within the city, and Arad had no idea of what it could be over. Seeing this as an unusual situation, he had hurried his pace to the palace, and his mind worked overtime to try and place everything in order, but when he reached the palace, he was shocked beyond words.

Countless deceased bodies with signs of blade wounds were scattered about, and servant, guards, or nobles left were running about in a crazed manner. There was no order, and Arad made his way straight to Farzad's office.

With a loud cry, the Prince lunged at Kamal, the Cobra Sword arched over his head. Massoud had moved out of the way, and Kamal met the attack with his own; the two locked blades for a moment before the Prince exploded into a flurry of slashes. Kamal blocked each, and retaliated with a horizontal slash. The Prince spun to the side and back flipped, avoiding the next attack.

He ground his teeth and threw himself at Kamal, hitting him with such force that he knocked him through a wall and into a separate room in the palace.

The past Prince, Kaileena, and Saeedeh were, among everything else, bewildered by the situation, but Massoud had begun to back away.

"Wait!" Kaileena stepped forward, before the entrance of the palace, taking two swords from a pot on a podium to the left. Massoud frowned. "I don not have a quarrel with any of you, so just let me leave; I've done what Kamal wished me to do."

"Perhaps, but you tricked all of us; I cannot forgive you for such treachery!" Farah had also taken a bow from a slain soldier, aiming at arrow.

"So, both of you want to stop me? What have I really done to cause any harm?" Massoud asked seriously as he glanced back at Farah. "You stole me medallion, and used us like pawns! You were the one who released us from the dungeons; while I may not have treated you with as much respect as I thought you deserved, I trusted you!" she exclaimed before arching the arrow. Massoud closed his eyes and sighed before grasping a sword from another pot. "If I cannot deter your judgment, then I suppose I have no choice then to use force."

He moved his right elbow back and laid the tip of the blade on his outstretched left palm. The present Saeedeh, fidgeted slightly, looking up to the sky. "This… did not happen before; Massoud, Farah, Kaileena… None of them were present, so why is it happening here?" she thought as Kaileena swiped at Massoud, who avoided the attack.

He countered with a combo of his own, but she easily blocked each of the slashes, jumping back and attacking again. Farah was busy trying to get a clear shot at the man. "If they keep it up like this, I'll have no chance to release the arrow!"

Kamal twirled around and knocked the Cobra Sword aside, slashing the Prince in the chest. His leather armor split slightly, but the Prince only rolled around Kamal and attacked him from the back, but the dark figure only back flipped over the Prince, kicking him to the floor. The Prince broke into a roll and stood up, throwing his weapon at his adversary. Kamal stepped to the side and dodged the projectile, however, the Prince used the opportunity to assault Kamal with a punch to the face. He forced him back a foot, giving him enough time to recover the Cobra Sword.

The Prince flinched and backed away from his opponent, taking advantage of the large room. Kamal chuckled. "Rage can only get you so far, but acting recklessly will only get you killed," he stated as they circled around the room.

The Prince smirked. "We'll see… once you are dead!" He ran at Kamal, preparing to strike. The dark version of the Prince countered against the slash, spinning around to kick the Prince in the back.

The Prince turned around, recovering from the blow quickly and grasping a small mace from hanging on the wall as a decorative piece. He threw the weapon at Kamal, but he knocked it away with his sword. The Prince roared and, using as much strength as he could muster from his fatigued body, vaulted over Kamal, slashing him in the back and kicking him away. Kamal flipped back up when he touched the floor, but the Prince grasped a pillar in the room and launched himself off of it at Kamal, who had not expected the move. The Cobra Sword's tip collided with Kamal's leather armor, piercing it and digging it into his skin. The Prince forced the blade through in a stabbing motion, knocking Kamal outside and against a bench.

Kamal only winced however, before standing and kicking the Prince down.

Kaileena and Massoud kept the rhythm of their blades intact, attacking and countering each other. Farah still struggled to get a clear shot at Massoud. "Kaileena, move!" she yelled before releasing the arrow. It sailed beautifully through the air at Massoud, but he noticed it from the corner of his eye, slashing it in half the moment it neared him. Kaileena seized the opportunity and attacked, but he blocked it and pushed her down.

"Enough of this! To think my training could have been so effortlessly matched? I will not allow this to continue! I do not want to fight!" he shouted before throwing his sword against the floor.

Kaileena rose to her feet as the ground began to tremble. A dark shadow began to seep across the area, enshrouding everything. It blocked out the sun, attracting the attention of everyone. A huge figure lumbered out of the cloud of darkness, its horns protruding through the air. Two crimson eyes could be seen in the figure's head; its huge body glowed golden as a grainy substance flowed through its body.

The Dahaka roared in what seemed to be triumph. The Prince and Kamal stared at in horror as two golden tentacles shot through the ground, wrapping themselves around Massoud and Farah. "What is this beast?" Farah shouted as Kaileena stood frozen. Massoud only stared at its eyes, his body shaking in fright.

"Impossible! The Dahaka…? I killed you!" the Prince shouted before grasping the Cobra Sword and running at the entity. Kamal stood slowly, surveying the situation. The past Prince and Kaileena were shocked in fright, and the past Saeedeh was clutching her mother's arm tightly.

Saeedeh, however, cocked her head to the left, slightly amused.

The Prince leapt at the beast, attempting a slash, but another tentacle shout out from the Dahaka's stomach, stabbing his lower stomach area and raising him into the air. The Prince cried out in anguish and swiped at the tentacle, but the blade only bounced away.

Kamal grabbed the Water Sword and ground his teeth. "Damn you! I will not be taken again; I will be the one to merge with the Sands!"

(Introducing Super Dahaka! No, just joking, but as you can see, the Dahaka has changed, and more will be explained next chapter.)