Chapter 11: The Empire Strikes Back

"Nice morning." Belthasar, High Priest of Ladon, muttered as he looked out through the entryway of the Dragon Shrine that was his home. "Wonder when they'll arrive..." Shrugging, he was about to turn around and go back inside when something blue caught his eye. It was the hair of a young man holding a boomerang who was walking up the hillside to the Shrine, wearing a brand-new vest. Behind him were several others; a Wing Clan girl, a Forest Clan archer, a young Fusion Clanner, a fat orange Maniro, a tough-looking Builder Clanner, and... Belthasar blinked at seeing Deis.

"So she's with them... this IS serious, then..." All of them were well-armored and carried an assortment of shining weaponry, the result of a shopping spree in Prima paid for by the rulers. Belthasar stroked his drooping mustache and nodded politely to the Light Dragon youth as he came close.

"You would be Ryu, then. Melchior and Ladon have told me about you... I was expecting you a bit sooner, but better late than never."

"There was some trouble with the Dark Dragons." Ryu deadpanned. "We made it, though. I take it you're the High Priest of this Shrine?"

"High Priest Belthasar." The old Dragon nodded. "Trouble with the Dark Dragons? Figures, with the state of things today... Emperor Zog's nothing compared to his father, let me tell you..." Ryu's eyes narrowed.

"Are you a Dark Dragon?"

"Does it matter if I am?" Belthasar coolly returned. "I haven't taken part in anything political for fifty years. I'm here to help you along the pilgrimage, which is for both Light and Dark Dragons, I remind you. Not to fight. Now unless you want to just sit there and be huffy all day, follow me." With that, he turned and went inside the Shrine.

"Gets right to the point, doesn't he?" Karn observed drily. "Right then, shall we go in?"

"Ryu only, bud." Bo shook his head. "The rest of us have to wait out here."

"You're serious?" Gobi blinked. "Man, what a gyp." He flopped down on the grass disconsolantly. Nina chuckled darkly.

"You probably don't WANT to be in there with what's going to happen. Just wait and see."

"Okay, enough talking." Deis cut in. "Go on, Ryu. You came here, after all; even if you don't like him, you need to get the next stage of your transformation." Ryu frowned at her, then walked after Belthasar. Ox sighed and put aside his new spiked iron sledge.

"So, anybody got some dice?" Ryu heard the big Builder Clanner ask as he left the others. The second Dragon Shrine was built almost exactly identical to the first. At the back, Belthasar was waiting next to the familiar Statue. As soon as Ryu drew near, it became Ladon.

"Ah, there you are, Ryu." Ladon greeted him. "Belthasar tells me you're ready for the Second Test. Is this so?" Ryu nodded.

"Yes, sir. If I'm to have a chance against the Tiamat Unit, I need this." Ladon nodded back in agreement.

"A wise choice. Very well, then. Let us proceed without further delays.Oh, one thing..." He added on a thought. "Like the first test, you have to remain entirely in your natural form. No Whelp transformation allowed. To pass the test, you must put to rest another who made it this far, but then failed, just like the First. Belthasar?" The High Priest raised a hand.

"Come, Bain!" The air crackled, and then caught fire. Ryu gasped as the eerie blue flames formed into a birdlike shape, which grew a beak, talons and eyes. The mighty firebird shrieked and flew towards him, eyes shining with only one thing. The desire to kill. Ryu threw his boomerang quickly without giving it the first strike. The projectile weapon whirled through the air and smashed Bain in the side of the head. To Ryu's chagrin, it went right through the flames and returned to him blazing hot; he was unable to grab it, and it skittered to the floor behind him. Bain shrieked again in anger as it dived on him, buffetting the Light Dragon with wings of fire. Apparently, it had been hurt, but not nearly enough.

"Right, THAT doesn't work..." Ryu growled. "Looks like it's back to basics!" Drawing his sword, he waited until Bain flew in close again, then swiped at its head. Bain hissed and flew back, receiving only a scratch on the wing. Its head darted out and pecked a painful burn mark, then retreated to avoid his returning slash. Changing strategies again, Ryu held up a metal shield which he had picked up in Prima and used it to block the beast's assaults while he slowly backed off. Confident, Bain pressed forward, and when Ryu seemed to drop his guard for a moment, it lunged at him. The Light Dragon dived to the ground, grabbing his boomerang in his shield hand and rolling out of the way in one movement. Jumping back to his feet, Ryu threw the boomerang and charged. Bain, caught off guard, instinctively moved its head away from the projectile weapon, leaving itself open to the true danger until it was too late. With one swing of the sword, its head went flying, and the entire monster disappeared like a doused campfire, leaving only faint trails of smoke behind.

"Well done, Ryu." Ladon congratulated him. Ryu calmly grabbed his boomerang as it whistled back towards him, sheathed his sword and regained the shield he had dropped.

"That one seemed easier than the last one..."

"He attempted to take the pilgrimage far too early..." Belthasar explained sadly. "How he even survived the first stage, I shall never know... he was scarcely more than a child, but he was a Light Dragon... when he demanded to take the second trial, I could not refuse... and that was the end of him..." Ryu's face paled.

"That was a Light Dragon?"

"No... not any more. That was no more a Light Dragon than Talon was a Dark Dragon... they were simply tortured souls. You released them from that, Ryu... they would thank you." Ladon calmed him. "Light Dragon, Dark Dragon... once, they were the same, no difference made between them..."

"Well, those days are long gone." Ryu grunted coolly, frowning at Belthasar. "So I don't kill Dark Dragons on sight anymore. I still don't like them."

"The feeling is mutual, young man." Belthasar grumbled. "You will never be able to complete the task destined for you as long as this hatred for my kindred remains in your heart."

"Save it." The Light Dragon growled. "I got enough preaching growing up. Now, where is the... whoa." He clutched his head as, involuntarily, he began to transform... but not like before. Tall, long and lanky, with an elongated snout and a wide wingspan... spines grew from its elbows and knees, and a fishlike spine sprouted along the neck, back and tail. Every trace of immaturity from the Whelp forms was gone; this thing was a full-grown killing machine. The scales were bright red, and the eyes sharp blue flames.

"The Fire Dragon..." Ladon noted. "Your emotions are burning very brightly at this time, Ryu..."

"Yeah, that happens." Ryu agreed. "I'll admit, this looks a lot more potent than the Whelp forms... so, what? Do I transform into adult dragons of fire, ice and lightning now?"

"Yes, and a fourth as well." Belthasar smiled slightly. "The Gold Dragon; useless against normal opponents, but the mere touch of its claws shrivels the undead. You probably won't use it often, but it might come in handy."

"I'll keep it in mind." Ryu grunted, reverting to his human form. He immediately had to place a hand against a wall to steady himself. "Whoo... I had gotten used to the Whelp forms, but this takes a lot more out of you all over again. Figures, I guess... bigger power, bigger drain."

"In essence, yes." Ladon stepped back onto his platform. "That's about all we need to talk about now, Ryu... you know where to go. The enemy is waiting for you. Be ready." He waved farewell and returned to being a statue. Belthasar helped Ryu down the hall.

"Come... there's a Spring of Life down this way. That should get you back on your feet by yourself."

"Thought you said you didn't like me, old man." Ryu smirked. Belthasar shrugged.

"You've improved from what Melchior said you were like at his Shrine. And I don't really have anything against Light Dragons... I left Scande for this Shrine long before Zog's mad dreams even began."

"I see..." Ryu gratefully drank from the Spring of Life the High Priest showed him, then rose to his feet. "Well, I should be going... the others will probably be wondering where I am. And hey... thanks, old man." Belthasar smiled.

"Get on with you, Light Dragon. You've got a world to save and not much time to do it." He handed him a piece of parchment without another word. Ryu nodded and left the Shrine. Outside, the group were waiting for him.

"Well, he's not twenty feet tall, covered in scales and breathing fire." Karn commented. "I'd say that's a good sign."

"Enjoyed the fireworks display?" Ryu grinned. Bo grinned back.

"Thought Gobi was going to bolt for a moment there."

"I was considering it when the flames reached twice the Shrine's height." Gobi admitted. "It's gonna be freaky when we see that up close, I can already tell."

"Yeah, but it'll be a lot more freaky for the suckers who are on the recieving end." Deis yawned, unconcerned. "Where's that piece of paper say the third Shrine is? It's probably relocated since I was last awake." Ryu opened it and read aloud.

In the north, a raging river,

Never seems to come to rest.

Across it, a great forest,

Hides the third and final Test.

"As usual, clear as mud." Bo sighed. Ryu shrugged.

"Yeah, but this should be enough to keep me in one piece for now, with luck... and the meaning will become clear when we need it."

"They always do." Deis agreed. "All right, enough talk about the foibles of the Dragon Clan. Who's cooking dinner?"

"Ah, the pleasant little town on the shore." Cort, the Blue Alchemist, observed. "Cozy. Rustic. Peaceful. Quiet. Nice little place, really." He shook his head sadly, smiling. "Almost a shame that I'm setting up shop here... but one can't waste such marvelous test subjects, can one?" The bald scientest was in an almost comically unnatural position; down on his knees, robes stained with dirt, and a trowel in one hand, on the mountain path above the town of Gust. The sight of the infamous Blue Alchemist gardening, however, would not have elicited a single giggle from any Dark Dragon soldiers; they were all too afraid of him to chance Cort's sense of humor. Cort judged the hole in the ground, nodded, and almost carelessly dropped a pink seed the size of his fist into the earth. "There we go... that should grow right." He immediately began burying it again. Behind him, farther up the path, Dark Dragon minion soldiers were remodeling a large stone edifice. Formerly the residence of General Targ, the officer who had been overseeing the town of Gust, it had been claimed by the Blue Alchemist as his new laboratory. The self-important General's rich tapestries and expensive works of art were of little value to the practical Blue Alchemist, and they had all been shipped back to Scande immediately. Now, the halls and chambers of the fortress were filled with chemicals, books, lava pits and cages.

"Lord Cort, sir!" One of the grunts saluted. "We have finished delivering all of your materials to the new fortress!"

"The new LAB, soldier." Cort corrected him mildly. Standing up, he dusted off his robes. "Post a new message on the local billboard, will you? Anyone who touched this particular dirt patch will immediately be transferred to the transformation magic research unit." He was smiling friendlily, but the soldier knew that he was dead serious. None of the soldiers who had been transferred to that unit had ever been seen again.

"Sir, yes sir!" The soldier saluted.

"Good boy." Cort took out his monocle and squinted at it. Wiping it with his sleeve, he put it back on and turned back to look at Gust. "Take a look at that, soldier. Nice little place, isn't it? Loyal town, good stock of young men to serve in our armies... why, I'd bet that some of the guys we have serving at the Lab right now were born in Gust."

"I believe I know a few, sir." The soldier agreed.

"Where do you come from, soldier?" Cort asked conversationally. "No, wait, let me guess. You look like a city boy, so it'll be one of the major places. Not here, I think... and not Spring. I'd know you if you were from there... you're human, so you can't be from Gramor, and Scande is doubtful... so it's Carmen, I'll bet. Well?"

"Dead on, sir!" The soldier agreed, a little surprised.

"Nice place. White came from a place near there, you know." Cort told him. "Gust, though... it won't be quite so nice shortly. Sacrifices have to be made in the name of science, after all. I doubt many will die... but things will be quite unpleasant there for a while."

"Does this have to do with what you just planted, sir?" The soldier asked boldly. Cort wasn't offended, fortunately for him.

"Exactly, soldier. A new experiment of mine, but one I expect great results from. After all, we have to set up a nice reception when Ryu and his friends arrive, don't we?" The soldier paled.

"Ryu? Ryu, the... the Light Dragon terrorist?"

"That's the one, although I don't know if terrorist is the right word." The Blue Alchemist nodded. "This is the logical place for him to come to the Lands of the West... only one he could come out of the ocean on and not get spotted by the navy."

"Then... why are we here?" The soldier stammered.

"Why, to engage him of course, my good man." Cort laughed. "I daresay even he'll have a hard time trying to deal with me. I like to think that I am quite good, all things considered. The plant isn't all; I've got quite a few things I think he'll find interesting to try." He tapped a finger against his head. "That reminds me. How is that civilian who saw us setting up here and had to be captured doing?"

"He remains in good health, although defiant, sir." The soldier reported.

"Good, good..." Cort murmured approvingly. "I think I may have just the use in mind for him..." He frowned and adjusted his monocle. "Hello... what's this now?" There was somebody coming out of Gust, climbing the mountain path. It was a young woman with long blue hair, with a worried look on her face. "She looks like she's searching for something... or somebody? Maybe that villager we captured..."

"More than likely, sir." The soldier agreed. "Shall I get a squad to take her as well if she comes too close?" Cort began to nod, still watching her.

"Yes, that would be-" He suddenly froze. The soldier blinked.

"Sir?"

"Who... do I know..." Cort muttered to himself in short bursts, eyes fixed in place. "No... never. Impossible... but still..." Groaning, he turned away. "Cancel that order, soldier. If she gets too close, just get a couple friends and warn her off back to Gust. Act like this is still General Targ's base." The soldier looked confused, but saluted nonetheless.

"Sir! Yes sir!"

"Good..." Forcing himself to forget the incident, Cort turned his back on Gust and returned to his new lab. As he walked down the hallways, he silently evaluated the state of the remodeling and made mental notes to be implemented later. When he reached the transformation magic research section, he smiled for a moment, then entered. Ignoring the animallike howls that came from the restraining cells in the walls, he crossed to his notes and went over them once more. "Yes, yes... this should be perfect for the young man. There comes a time when one has to take a leap of faith, after all..." Humming, he left the section and walked decisively to the prison. This part of the base, like every other, had undergone remodeling. Under Targ's command, the prison had been a slimy, festering hellhole. The Blue Alchemist had taken one whiff and immediately ordered it cleaned and sterilized. After all, he didn't want anything happening to any prisoners he took that would interfere with his experiments. The guard on duty there was the surviving magician from Prima. He quickly came to attention as Cort entered.

"Sir! No changes in the prisoner, sir!"

"I expected as much... Ernest, was it?" Cort inquired, and the grunt nodded. "Thought so. Enjoying yourself working here, I take it?" Another nod. "Good, good... I have a special job for you. Just a tick..." Walking up to the bars, he peered inside. The young, blue-haired man inside glared back.

"What do you want, Blue Alchemist?"

"Ah, you know who I am." Cort smiled. "Quite good... Nicholie? Is that your name?"

"That's me." The prisoner growled. "What are you going to do with me? I know you're not going to just keep me here, and you obviously can't let me go."

"Of course not, my good man." Cort laughed. "With what you've seen... well, can't have you spoiling the surprise for the citizens of Gust and any guests they might be having soon, hm? Good to see you know the situation already." He turned to Ernest. "Soldier, be a good fellow and escort Mister Nicholie to the transformation magic research section, hm?"

"Yes, sir!" The mage saluted.

"Oh, and Ernest." Cort was smiling calmly. "Stick around there, will you? I'm having you transferred to that section."

"As you command, Blue Alchemist!"

"So, has anybody actually been to the Lands of the West before?" Ryu asked. The adventurers were riding on Gobi's back as he blasted through the water in Great Fish mode towards the town of Gust. Deis immediately raised her hand. "I meant within the last century."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place..." The sorceress muttered. Nobody else answered.

"I have, actually." Gobi said after a moment. "It's really not that much different from the Lands of the East... the people, the towns, the land are all alike. The only real thing is, of course, that the Dark Dragons control everything. Also, there's mostly just humans there... the actual Dark Dragon Clan tend to stick to Scande, and the only other Clan in the West is the Mole Clan, who are slaves. It's a bad state for them, but nobody can do anything about it. I've been to a couple of the bigger towns, Spring and Carmen, but not Gust, and not Scande."

"Well, with luck, the ordinary people there won't recognize us... or if they do, they won't care enough to turn us in." Nina hoped. Bo chuckled drily.

"If we see wanted posters with our faces on them anywhere, we'll probably be in trouble."

"Well, aren't we gloomy." Karn snickered. "Cheer up, my dismal friend! We're going to an entirely new continent!"

"With entirely new pockets to pick." Ox snickered back.

"All right, settle down. Here comes the beach." Ryu announced. "You can set us down now, Gobi."

"Right, right..." Dropping to the ocean floor, Gobi waited until they had all disembarked, then returned to his normal form. The seven heroes rose from the ocean waters with no hassle. About a mile away, visible in the distance, was the town of Gust. It looked simple and uncomplicated; the houses were all white-sided, blue roofed and sporting windmill blades, like the style in Winlan.

"Nice looking place." Nina approved. Also like Winlan, the houses were built on multiple levels leading up the hills. It was situated at the entrance of a valley passage that led up into a large cluster of mountains. Beyond the town, further up the path, a large fortress was visible. Ryu frowned.

"That would be the local Dark Dragon outpost. We'll have to ask about the place once we get into town." They slipped into town without any hassle; there were no guards of any sort. Instead, they were confronted with a woman in a purple dress dancing around in a stationary whirl, making strange noises.

"Whoompapa... whoompapa..."

"Um... hello?" Karn asked hesitantly.

"Don't bother... she won't answer." A nearby man grunted. He was middle-aged and balding, with a sour look on his face. "She's insane, I'm afraid... just stands there dancing like that all day. It's all I can do to get her home to eat and sleep after the sun sets."

"I'm sorry..." Nina said sympathetically. "A head wound?"

"No..." The man shook his head in disgust. "Every so often, a blast of strange air will come down from the mountains... been doing so for about a week now. Some kind of golden pollen or something... anyone who breathes it in goes crazy. Both my daughter and her husband were hit head on..." He gestured towards a fountain in the center of the town, where a young man was running in circles around it.

"Up from the mountains... the Dark Dragon fortress, maybe?" Bo asked, narrowing his eyes. The man spat.

"Yeah. No doubt about it... before all this started, there was a big noise from where the big bridge up there is. One of the people who lives here is a structural genius named Nicholie..."

"Nicholie?" Nina blinked. "I know him... he once came to Winlan to do some work on our bridge!"

"That's the one." The man agreed. "Anyways, he went up there to take a look, but he never came back. Around that time, there were a lot more soldiers up there than there used to be. A woman named Tina went up there to look for Nicholie, but the soldiers turned her back. Shortly after that, the insanity wind started coming..." He shook his head. "It's a right bad scene, but none of us can do anything to the Dark Dragons about it. We just try to stay out of the golden wind."

"Where is this Tina?" Karn asked casually. The man shrugged.

"Probably working right now... if you want, though, I can tell her you wanted to see her and she'll meet you at the Inn tonight... I assume you'll be staying there?" Ryu nodded.

"That would be appreciated, sir. Thank you." They quickly found the inn, doing their best to avoid the crazy people, and took rooms for the night before retiring to the common room. A few hours passed, and then a young woman with light blue hair entered. She was wearing a simple crimson dress, but her eyes were intelligent.

"I'm Tina... are you the people who were looking for me?" Ryu slowly nodded.

"Yes... we are." Tina smiled wearily.

"The hair? I dye it... me and Nicholie both do. They say that Light Dragons had blue hair... we like the look, even if we're just normal humans." She blinked, taking in Ryu's own hair, as well as Deis'. "But wait... your hair's blue too! You do the same?"

"Not exactly..." Ryu admitted. Tina shrugged, not really interested.

"Well, it doesn't matter that much. What did you want to ask me?"

"We heard you went up towards the Dark Dragon fortress to look for Nicholie." Ox told her directly. "Did you see anything interesting up there?"

"Not really.." Tina thought for a moment. "But it did look like there was some kind of change of command going on... lot of soldiers moving things into the place. And the spot where I was halted looked like something had been buried there recently... but I was turned back before I could get closer. I've been too busy to go back up there ever since..."

"Busy?" Bo inquired, raising an eyebrow. She nodded.

"Yes... I'm the healer in Gust. I can't cure the insanity wind, but I'm trying to at least reduce the symptoms... it's been keeping me on my toes. I want to go find Nicholie, but..." She lowered her head. "The people here need me.."

"We'll look for him when we go up there tomorrow." Nina promised her. Tina slowly smiled.

"Thank you... your highness."

"Ha!" Deis laughed loudly. "So you knew who we are already, missy?"

"I've heard rumors." Tina admitted. "The Dark Dragons weren't a problem before... but this town is suffering now. And Nicholie... I can't help but think they're responsible for his disappearance too. Please, I beg of you... bring him back to me!" Ryu took in her face and realized what was happening.

"You and him...?" Tina nodded silently. "All right. We'll find out what happened... I promise."

"Thank you..." The healer smiled gratefuly.
"Tina! Come quick!" Somebody yelled as the Inn door slammed open. "It's old man Maestro! He's hurt himself!"

"One of the casualties?" Karn asked. Tina nodded.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but..."

"Go." Nina pointed at the door. "We understand... you're needed. We're going up there tomorrow." Tina nodded thankfully and left. Ox sighed and leaned back in his chair, nearly shattering it.

"Well, we've certainly leapt right into trouble. Think it's a coincidence?"

"About as likely as Bo flying." Karn snorted. "They knew we were coming this way... but they didn't have ships here. You thinking what I'm thinking, boss?"

"The Tiamat Unit." Ryu's eyes flashed. "They're here... one of them, at least. That would be that change of command Tina was talking about. Too early to tell which one, though."

"So what do we do?" Gobi asked. Ryu smiled.

"Like we told Tina... we're going up there tomorrow to see what's happening with our own eyes. We should probably turn in now... big day ahead of us." Nobody could argue with that, and after paying for their dinner, they retired for the night.

In the dim light of sunrise, the guards on duty outside the Dark Dragon fortress were hard-pressed to keep from dropping off. One of them yawned and peered dimly down the path, then nudged his partner.

"Hey, do you see that?" He pointed. The other guard nodded.

"Yeah... couple of people coming up here. What did the Blue Alchemist say to do in case of this?"

"Think he said we should lock 'em up so they wouldn't say anything to anybody else..." The first one scratched his head, then looked at the two intruders again. He did a double take. "Hey, now... look at them. Those are the prettiest-looking girls I've seen in a long time."

"Hey, yeah..." The other smiled. "Maybe we should be nice to them and just let them off with a warning, eh?"

"A warning, and maybe a few favors..." The other one snickered. Together, they walked down the path. In the bad light, they weren't able to make out Nina's wings or Deis' tail. "Morning, ladies. Something we can help you with?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, you can, sir!" Deis smiled, raising her staff as a signal. Two arrows flew through the air like angry bees and landed in the soldiers' foreheads. Even as they began to fall back, Deis and Nina caught them. Ox quickly lumbered up and, taking the bodies, he hurled them into a huge ravine that stretched to the left of the path, down into the ocean.

"Wow..." Karn stared across to the other side. "Is this as big as the Windian Bridge, Nina?"

"Not quite, but there's no way we're getting across..." Nina pointed to further up, where half a bridge dangled uselessly from the brink. "Dark Dragons must have taken it out. Let's hope that bridge builder, Nicholie, is still alive so he can fix it for us..."

"If he is, there's only one place he'd be." Ryu continued walking up towards the front door. "Let's go."

"Hey, wait... what's this thing?" Gobi pointed at the grass. There was a large, pink flower growing there, almost as wide around as they were, with small pink buds in a circle around it. As they watched, one of the buds disgorged a spray of golden pollen, which caught the wind and was carried into town.

"The insanity wind...?" Nina guessed. Bo nodded.

"Seems that way. Should we burn this thing?"

"No!" Deis said sharply. "We might need it for the antidote. We'll tell that healer girl about it when we go back into down... until then, we'll have to leave it be."

"Sounds like a plan." Ryu tapped his foot impatiently. "Into the fortress, then!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Gobi grumbled as they entered. Above the front door to the fortress, a dragon's head statue jutted out. None of the heroes paid much attention to it... nor to the fact that the fine sapphire eyes, which had recently replaced the emeralds that had been in the socket before, were tracking their every move.

"Doesn't look like there are any more guards around..." Bo muttered, keeping his hands on his weapon. "Strange, even at night. What do you suppose whoever's in charge here is doing?"

"Who can say?" Karn shrugged. "Let's look around, then!" The young thief sneaked forward, then jumped back in surprise as there was an explosion of smoke. From it, there was an angry growl, and two monsters stepped out, barring the way. For four of the heroes, they were completely strange... but for Ryu, Nina and Bo, all too familiar.

"General Graham!" The Forest Clanner yelled incredulously. "Two of him!"

"No, they're different..." Nina realized. "Look, their skin is yellow, not green. And they don't seem sentient... they're not talking. Just growling."

"Whatever they are, we need to take them down before they rouse the base!" Ryu commanded. Deis smiled darkly and raised her staff.

"I have just the thing." The others involuntarily jumped back as the massive fireball spell that had been Admiral Cean's last suicidal attempt blasted from the ancient sorceress and consumed the two beasts, charring the entire hallway. Ryu stared at her.

"You call THAT quiet!"

"You never said quiet. You just said take them out, and that got the job done." Deis lowered her staff grimly. "Look." Where the monsters had been, there were two charred human corpses lying. Both were wearing remnants of Dark Dragon uniforms.

"Hey, isn't that...?" Gobi stared at one.

"The guy we sent back to Scande with our message." Karn agreed. "Looks like being turned into one of those things was his reward. Not nice."

"Emperor Zog seldom is." Nina reminded him. "Let's go, quickly, before somebody comes to investigate." They ran up a staircase ahead of them, then stopped. Somebody was standing on the next floor.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that, Princess Nina of Windia." The bald man with blue skin smiled. "Hello, hello, hello. I've been watching you ever since you first came near my laboratory. That was a neat trick of yours and the Sorceress Deis to take care of those two oafs out front."

"Cort, I assume?" Ryu growled without any preamble. The scientest bowed deeply.

"Indeed. I am Cort, Blue Alchemist of the Tiamat Unit. We, who have no past and no future, salute you." Cort was wearing a long-sleeved sky-blue robe, with a strange insignia on the front; a dragon with six heads, each a different color. One of the heads, a silver one, bore faint traces of having been added on after the others. Cort adjusted his ruby monocle. "And you would be Ryu, the Light Dragon. Nina, Princess of Windia... Bo, the great archer of the Forest Clan... Karn the thief, last active member of the Fusion Clan... Gobi and Ox, from Prima and Gant... and the legendary sorceress of Wisdon, Deis." To her, he bowed even more. "Ladon speaks highly of you, great lady... I am pleased to meet your acquiantance in person. As I am with you all..."

"Like you'd know what Ladon says." Ryu laughed mirthlessly. Cort smiled at him amusedly.

"Old boy, of course he does. He speaks to you, does he not?"

"Yes, he does." Ryu answered. "But we're... hey, how did you-?"

"Know?" Cort laughed. "Well, there you go. Who but Ladon himself could have told me? We of the Tiamat Unit are the opposites of your group, Ryu... not your inferiors, like Cean and all that came before him. And we've been talking with him for a great deal longer than you have, so we know some things you don't." His visible eye glittered. "Would you like me to tell you what the outcome of your quest shall be?"

"We don't need any help from you." Bo shook his head. "We're ready for you. Come on, then."

"Oh, don't be so uncivilized." Cort shook his head sadly. "We are colleagues in a way, meeting for the first time.. we should be more friendly than that. Have you had breakfast yet? I have a chef here who is quite excellent... why don't we get to know each other, compare differing views on morality, chitchat about the state of the war, that sort of thing, before we break out the arms?"

"You know, I actually believe you're serious." Gobi chuckled, then held up his pike, still smiling. "Unfortunately, we're on a bit of a tight schedule. I'm afraid we'll have to decline. Thanks for the offer, though..."

"Ah, such a shame." Cort closed his eyes in sorrow, then opened them, smiling evilly. "It seems that destiny cannot be halted, then. I should have known better. Let us begin, then. Feel free to come at me."

"If you insist!" Yelling, Ox charged and swung his spiked sledge downward. Cort didn't even flinch as he was hit head-on... and collaped into a puddle of liquid. "What the-?"

"A trick!" Bo hissed, spinning around. Cort was behind them, holding a flask of red liquid. Before they could react, he hurled it at them, splashing them all.

"Exactly, old boy. Let's see how this new formula affects you..." Ryu shook himself off and growled.

"Formula or not, you're going down! Huh?" He blinked. The tall Blue Alchemist had grown taller... but so had the room. The others, however, had not... and everything else just kept growing... realizing too late what was happening, Ryu charged, yelling, but before he could reach Cort, the Blue Alchemist moved left as quickly as a breeze in the air. Ryu was unable to strike again as the floor rose up to meet him, looking like a series of trenches in stone. Ryu quickly jumped onto a safe brick, and saw the others doing the same.

"Shrunk... he shrunk us!" Karn spat, disgusted.

"Ah, wonderful! Six different Clans AND an unknown, and it worked on them all perfectly!" Cort laughed, delighted. "My friends, you have no idea what a service you have done for science this day. I'm afraid, however, that the antidote has not yet been deemed safe, and I never use the same test subjects twice. Ah well, I suppose you'll manage. Enjoy the mouseholes!" Still laughing, he walked off.

"Well, THAT could have gone better." Gobi commented. "For example, we could have had just a little less of the getting our butts royally kicked. In record time, no less. This is going to be an embarrassing part when we tell our story."

"Will you stop jabbering and start thinking of a way out of this mess?" Deis snapped. "Being tiny sucks. A friend told me it wasn't so bad once... I think I'll hit him if I ever see him again."

"Maybe if we got that antidote he was talking about...?" Nina suggested, wondering if she looked like a hummingbird. Bo snorted.

"Yeah, maybe we can get to it in about a decade..."

"There's big trouble a' brewin', all right." A new, high-pitched voice agreed with the group's annoyed analysis of the situation. They all stared. It was a squat, grey mouse, and it was talking.

"You... how...?" The normally eloquent Gobi stammered, at a loss for words. The mouse shuffled its feet.

"Shucks, I don't know, partner. We used to be kept in a big metal cage by that one fella with blue skin, and he did some stuff to us. Then, bang! We could talk you big folks' language! He let us go soon afterwards... you're the first big folk we've talked to in a while now."

"Do you know where the place he kept you is?" Nina asked quickly. The mouse winked at her.

"Sure do, missy! Know a shortcut there through the walls, too... and I know what kind of stuff you need from there to get back to bein' big folks, even! Nothin' personal, but our size... just isn't a good look for you."

"Then let's go!" Karn grinned. "Lead the way!"

"Well, see, there's one thing..." The mouse coughed, looking embarrassed. "There's three real nasty roach fellas that were in there too... they got the same stuff as we did, but that wasn't all, no sir! They also got somethin' that made 'em super-strong! We can't take them! We've been at our wits' end trying to deal with them!"

"Leave that to me." Ryu cracked his knuckles. "I've been wanting to try out my new stuff in actual combat."

"All right then, this way!" The mouse led them to a hole in the wall. Ryu led the way, following the instructions of the mouse behind him, until he came to a slightly more open area. Three bright red roaches whirled on him. The entire room stunk of spoiled food, which was lying in clumps everywhere.

"Are you here to steal our food?" One of them hissed.

"I hate the huge ones! They always cause trouble!" Another complained.

"But these ones aren't so huge now!" The third snickered. "Let's get 'em!" All three charged, and Ryu met them head-on, changing into the Fire Dragon. The Roaches skidded to a halt and stared, open-mouthed. Before they could recover, Ryu opened his maw and released a chain of flaming death in the form of a serpentlike dragon that streaked from one to another to the third, leaving each charred and on their backs. Ryu turned around and grinned, gator-like.

"That wasn't so bad..."

"Behind ya!" The mouse yelled urgently. Ryu turned as the three roaches latched onto his back and sides. Roaring with fury, he tore one off and ripped it apart with his claws and teeth. The second one was hurled against the wall and then slammed viciously. It didn't get up again. The third had clamped onto his back between his wings, where his claws and teeth could not reach. His spearlike tail, though... the roach shuddered and expired as it was run through.

"That... was... AWESOME." Karn summarized all their thoughts. "Ryu, you're the MAN! Er, the DRAGON! Er... you know what I mean!"

"Young fella's right." The mouse shook his head. "Never seen NOTHIN' like that in all my days. Come on then, let's move! The stuff you need is right this way!"

"Right." Ryu reverted and leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. "Ooog... forgot about this part..."

"Come on, Ryu." Nina helped him to his feet and assisted him down the tunnel.

"Something's bothering me..." Gobi muttered as they walked. "Cort could have killed us, easily. But he just walked away after shrinking us. Why?"

"He probably thought we'd never be a threat again, and didn't want to waste time finding a few bugs." Ox shrugged. "Come on, Gobi. Next you'll be saying he let this mouse out just so it would help us."

"Just thinking, is all." Gobi defended himself.

"Now, enough bickerin'. We're here." The mouse announced as they left the tunnels into another human-sized room. "Wait just a tick... I'll be back with what you want." Selecting a worn wooden table leg, he scaled it, and returned with what appeared to be a bottle cap, filled with deep blue liquid. "Everybody drink up. Don't worry, it'll just reverse what the other one did... you can't drink too much and turn into even more of a giant by accident.."

"That's reassuring." Ox smiled as they all drank the antidote. Immediately, the floor began getting farther and farther away. Before long, they were back to normal, standing in an empty lab. Down below, the mouse waved farewell, then scurried off.

"Nice guy, for a rodent." Deis smiled. "So, what now? Do we track down the Blue Alchemist for a rematch?"

"I think not." Nina gestured towards Ryu, who was still exhausted. "Our fearless leader here wore himself out... and I don't like our chances without him, considering how creamed we got the first time, even if it was a cheap shot. Let's get out of here and come back in better shape."

"Only question is, which way is out..." Bo muttered as they left the lab and emerged in a huge chamber that was dominated by a lava pit in the center. A thin bridge stretched across it, and on the other side... a door with daylight shining through it.

"Must be a back exit!" Karn exclaimed happily. "How lucky can we get?"

"How lucky, indeed..." Gobi muttered as they walked across the bridge.

"That depends on your definition of luck, old boy." Cort remarked casually as he walked out from behind a pillar next to the door. The group screeched to a halt. He examined them. "Hm... you seem to have bounced back quite well. My congratulations... but I'm afraid it won't be happening again."

"We weren't planning on a rematch right now, to be honest, but if you're going to insist..." Bo notched an arrow. Cort shook his head.

"Oh, no no no. The time is not right for OUR confrontation yet. No, I have somebody else who's interested in seeing what you have." He snapped his fingers, and a blood-red version of the transformed guardian beasts from the entrance walked out from behind another pillar. The Blue Alchemist smiled wickedly. "You'll find that my good friend the Rogue-X is much more of a handful than the ordinary Rogues you saw earlier... and much, much more than that fool General Graham. If you can get past him, you may leave my home whenever you wish. Until we meet again, my dear friends!" He melted into the floor, and the red Rogue-X howled.

"Errooo! Errooo!"

"We've got this one, boss!" Ox assured Ryu as the group dashed forward, leaving their leader on the bridge. Nina quickly powered up all their weapons, and they took up positions around the beast. Each time it turned to one of them, the others would attack. The dull-witted beast kept shifting its target, not bright enough to realize the flaws in doing so. One time, though, it almost hit Gobi. When it missed, it ripped an entire stone pillar out.

"Advice for today: Don't get hit." Karn whistled. Fortunately, none of them were; before long, the Rogue-X howled one last time and collapsed. Karn looked down and whistled again. "Boss, you'd better come see this." Ryu slowly walked up. Where the monster had been, there was a young man in common clothing. His hair was dyed a light blue. "This guy's no Dark Dragon soldier, is he?"

"No... this has to be Nicholie, the bridge builder." Ryu declared. "Is he...?"

"No, he's still alive... just unconscious. I'll patch him up." Nina quickly used her healing spells to seal the wounds. Nicholie slowly groaned, but didn't regain consciousness. "What's wrong?"

"Your spell's not strong enough." Deis told her bluntly. "That stuff that jerk Cort used on him must have been real heavy-duty bad news. Come on... we'll take him back to Gust with us." Bo and Ox carefully hauled Nicholie between them, and the group departed, Nina muttering to herself under her breath.

"What did you DO to him!" Tina yelled, outraged, as Ox and Bo set the still-unconscious Nicholie down on his bed. "Can't you tell a human from a monster!"

"We tried, believe me, madame." Gobi assured her with his best honest-salesman act. "Unfortunately, the creep in charge of the facilities intentionally obscured the matter." Wisely, he chose not to tell her about what had happened to the other Rogues. Tina sniffed, still angry.

"I still think this was FAR too much. I just hope he's fine once he wakes up..."

"Er... I don't think that's likely." Deis frowned. The ancient sorceress had been loking steadily more worried ever since they had returned from Cort's Lab. "We may still have a problem, folks."

"What is it?" Tina asked sharply. Deis looked at her steadily.

"I'll be blunt with you, missie. While your friend Nicholie was up there, the Dark Dragons did a lot of nasty things to him. When we met him, he was a giant monster, and we had no idea it was him. He only turned back to the way you see him now after we knocked the crap out of him and beat him unconscious. Unfortunately, mass times acceleration is hardly a medical cure-all."

"So you think..." Karn paled, and Deis nodded.

"That's right. It's very likely that as soon as he wakes up, young mister Nicholie will turn back into that... Rogue-X, I believe he called it." Tina looked both angry and frightened.

"No! There has to be something you can do!"

"Calm down, miss. There probably is." Deis assured her. "Healing normally isn't my area of expertise, but I think I remember dealing with a case like this long ago. If I recall the ingredients for the antidote properly, you should have most of what I need on hand... there is one thing, though." Her eyes narrowed. "Frog Oil. We need Frog Oil."

"Frog Oil?" Tina blinked. "No, I don't have any of that..."

"Didn't think so..." The sorceress grunted, turning on the group. "Well, come on! Does anybody know where we can get Frog Oil? Talk!"

"Well..." Ox spoke up hesitantly. "There is one place. I don't know if this is true, but... my wife told me once that she went climbing over the mountains east of Gant... and on the other side, she found a cave full of talking frogs."

"That sounds like exactly what we need." Deis nodded. "All right, I'll stay here... I know some things that'll keep him asleep for longer. They won't work forever, though, so you'll need to move and get to that cave."

"You want us to go mountain climbing?" Bo asked incredulously. She made a rude noise.

"No, you doof, there should be a beach Gobi can take you ashore on!" Exasperated, she began talking with Tina. Nina frowned.

"What do you think, Ryu?"

"I don't see that we have much choice." Ryu sighed. "Even if we can take down the Blue Alchemist, that bridge is down, and Nicholie's the only person who can fix it. I'll need a couple days off anyways before I'm back in real fighting shape... this sounds like the best use of our time. We'll go as soon as we've gotten a little rest and some food back at the Inn."

"This Inn?" Bo shook his head. "I think not. That'd just be inviting a midnight attack from the Blue Alchemist. Sorry, boss, but you'll have to hold on until Gobi takes us back to Prima."

"Guess there's no helping it..." Ryu gave in. Deis spun on them.

"Hey! What are you all still doing here? Didn't you hear me! We're talking a time limit that may count on seconds here! Go! Get that Frog Oil!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The group simultaneously yelled as they fled, as fast as possible, out of Gust to the south, with Deis still hurling dire epithets behind them.

"Bossy lady." Karn commented drily once they were safely away. Bo nodded in agreement.

"That's for sure. I'd still rather have her as an ally than an enemy, though, and she makes a valid point. Up for taking us as far as Prima so we can catch some quick Zs, Gobi?"

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" The fat Maniro griped. "Come on, let's go before she comes out and starts chasing us again. The heroes began walking down towards the shore, grumbling to each other on the subject. Save for Nina and Ryu.

"You sure you'll be okay, Ryu?" The Princess asked, concerned. "I know you're acting fine, but these new transformations... you're on the verge of collapsing entirely. It's not healthy."

"I've taken worse." Ryu reminded her, smiling wanly. "I'm tough, remember? I'll make it. I just have to get down to that beach, and then Gobi'll be doing all the work the rest of the way... although, I would appreciate it if you kept an eye on me in case I nod off-and possibly fall off-during the trip."

"No problem at all." Nina assured him. Ryu smiled.

"Thanks, Nina..." The smile disappeared. "I just hope we're ready when we come back here..."

"For Cort, you mean?" She guessed.

"Yeah..." The Light Dragon looked worried. "Nina, we really got our butts handed to us there... and this is only one of the Tiamat Unit. And hardly the strongest... if we had this much trouble with the Blue Alchemist, how would we fare against the Black Warrior or the White Assassin? Not to mention Jade and Zog..."

"We'll be fine, Ryu." Nina promised. "Trust me. Cort caught us by surprise... we didn't get a chance to see what our own hits would do to him. That won't be happening again... especially not if you use your new Dragon forms on HIM once you're back up to speed. We'll win, Ryu. We always have before, and we will this time, too. We have to, don't we?"

"Yeah... we have to." Ryu was smiling again. "Thank you, Nina... I needed to hear that from you."

"Any time, Ryu." Nina nodded. For a moment, it seemed like one, or both of them, was going to say more, but neither did; they just kept going onward, towards the ocean that sparkled with setting sunlight. Behind them, unobserved by them all, the same sunlight glinted off of a polished monacle of red ruby. But the owner of the monocle said nothing either; he simply watched them go, until they had vanished beneath the waves.