I own none of this.

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It is fortunate that I can function on very little sleep if I have to, because very little is precisely what I got. Plagued by nightmares, I kept snapping awake, breathing hard and sweating. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Cleyra exploding under the force of Odin's lance. So many people, snuffed out in an instant just to satisfy Brahne's greed.

After the fourth time, I gave up trying to sleep. Sighing in despair, I rose, pulling on my armor and retrieving my sword. Deciding that some exercise might help, I stepped away from the sleeping forms of my companions and began running through a broadsword kata, slashing against an imaginary opponent and parrying imaginary return blows.

This is more like it. The training distracted me not only from my nightmares, but from my worries about the coming confrontation with Derrick. I wasn't stupid enough to insist on dealing with him solo, but I wasn't sure how much good we'd do even seven-on-one. He had crushed us in Burmecia; the only reason we were still alive was because he had more important things to take care of.

Finishing the kata, I sheathed my blade and sat on the ground, gazing at the horizon. Far to the south, I could just see Pinnacle Rock, a natural edifice a few miles east of Lindblum. There were rumors of a ghost being sighted in the area. Most people dismissed such things, but I wasn't so sure, due to my own experiences. When I was fifteen, Dart had taken me to the Death City Mayfil. Anyone who's been there knows that those who don't believe in ghosts are naïve at best.

I heard footsteps behind me. "Couldn't sleep?" It was, inevitably, the Dark Dragoon.

"Yeah, something like that." I fell silent briefly. "I managed to identify the eidolon that hit Cleyra, by the way: Odin, warrior of the dark."

Although I couldn't see her face, I had the distinct impression Dari had gone wide-eyed. "How did you figure that out?"

I shrugged. "Zack found a book on eidolons in a library in Cleyra. I recognized Odin from the description he gave me." I shivered. "I've never seen anything like it. The sheer power was beyond any Dragoon spell I can think of, with the possible exception of Dart's Divine Dragon Cannon attack."

Dari laid a hand on my shoulder. "And that's why you can't sleep."

I nodded. "Nightmares. Whenever I close my eyes, I see Cleyra exploding from the force of Odin's lance, but even that's not the worst. No, the worst is the sound of laughter, scornful laughter. Then I hear a voice. 'Your quest is a fool's errand, Connell. If you go on, you will only be the cause of more death.'"

"Do you recognize the voice?"

"Of course I do." I snorted. "Who else could it be but Derrick. It's not enough that he's been my worst enemy for thirteen years, now he's even coming after me in my dreams."

Dari didn't answer at first. "I think you're worrying too much. Everyone has nightmares after witnessing something like what happened yesterday. And from what you and Zack have said, Derrick's no telepath, so it's not like he's invading your mind to torment you."

"I know, but what am I supposed to do about it?" I covered my face with my hands. "I tried exercise, but that was a temporary fix at best."

"Sounds like you need a better distraction." She surreptitiously moved a little closer.

I was about to respond with a snide remark, but something in her voice stopped me. "And just what do you mean by that?" I asked, suspicion coloring my tone.

Dari reached up and stroked my face. "I love you, Jason."

I'm not easy to startle, but that one was just out of the blue. She…she…what!? It took me nearly a minute to formulate a response, for the simple reason that I couldn't make my voice work right. She can't have said that! No girl in her right mind would say that!

The Dark Dragoon smiled. "Are you going to say something, or just keep gaping like a fish?"

Her teasing remark brought me to my senses. She's no crazier than I am. After all, I'm the one with the reputation as a cold-blooded killer. Feeling somewhat awkward, I took her hand. "I…love you, too."

We kissed, and for that moment I completely forgot everything else. Out of all the possibilities of this journey, the last thing I expected was to fall in love. And yet, there it was.

Dari pulled back, just a little. "Maybe that'll improve your disposition."

I chuckled and slipped an arm around her waist. "Not likely. Eighteen years is a long time to get set in your ways."

She rested her head on my shoulder. "True enough."

We sat together for the next hour, just watching the sky. I had a lot to think about, very little of it having to do with our mission. Mostly I was wondering how the folks back home would react when they found out about this. Dart and Shana, of course, would be happy for me, ditto Rose and Zieg. The others were more problematic. Haschel and Meru are gonna be unbearable. And then there's Zack's dad. The King of Serdio had developed a habit of needling me whenever he got the chance. This was going to give him years of material.

"Well, well, well, so Jason finally has a girlfriend."

I slowly turned and bestowed my iciest glare on the speaker. "You're one to talk, O Great Prince." I let a sly smile cross my face. "I've seen the way you look at Laura. I bet she's the next Queen of Serdio."

To my amusement, Zack blushed crimson. "Hey, that, that's not the same thing," he stuttered.

Dari laughed. "Don't worry about it, Zack. You two make a cute couple."

The prince somehow managed to get even redder. "Come on, cut it out. I…we…" Apparently deciding that he was wasting his time, Zack spun on his heel and left.

Dari couldn't stop laughing. "I've never seen him like that. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel."

"He probably was." I grinned. "You should have seen him when he and Laura first met. That is the only time I've ever seen Zack at a loss for words. It was like he'd forgotten how to speak." I got to my feet. "We'd better get moving. Today's going to be very busy indeed."

How right I was.

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Judging by the looks Dari and I got when we got back to camp, Zack had spread the latest news. Laura was blushing a little; apparently Zack had also mentioned what I said about them. Seria just smiled; she knew me well enough to know how I would react to teasing. Indora was unreadable as usual, while Chris wore the look of someone who has just seen a pig fly and is still dealing with the unexpected reality.

My stern expression stifled any potential quips. "All right, guys, this is it. There isn't much we can do about Brahne at this point, but that isn't what we're here for anyway. Right now, our top priority is to take out a psychotic Dragoon." I let my face soften a little. "I'm not stupid enough to insist on taking him on all by myself. Dragoons are stronger when they fight as a team, and that is precisely what we'll have to do to win this battle. Derrick Sands is the most lethal opponent we have faced to date, but we have one major advantage: we have the Dragon Buster, and Derrick doesn't know it."

Indora raised a hand. "What exactly are we supposed to do?"

I drew my sword. "Use your strongest attacks, and your most lethal magic. Derrick has no element, so everyone will have something unpleasant for him. If necessary, I'll get in close and use the Dragon Buster on him, but that will most likely be a last-ditch tactic, which I hope will not come into play. Everyone ready?"

The Giganto nodded solemnly. "Ready."

"Bring it on!" Zack said.

"Let's go," Laura added.

Chris did a quick warm-up. "Ready to fight."

"Let's take him!" Seria piped up.

I turned to the Dark Dragoon. "Ready to go, Dari?"

She smiled and squeezed my hand. "I'll go with you to the end."

"Thanks."

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Derrick wasn't hard to find, far from it. He hovered over Pinnacle Rock, openly challenging us. Coming to a stop a hundred yards away, I searched his face for signs of his intent. It wasn't difficult; a feral grin twisted his face, and madness lit his eyes. It was like staring into a distorted mirror; he really did resemble me more than I cared to think about. He was a little shorter, perhaps, his hair a touch lighter, but we had the same build, and the blades we carried were identical, our armor nearly so.

He spotted me at once. "Ready for the showdown, Iceman?"

I stared coldly at him. "More ready than you realize, Derrick." At my gesture, the Dragoons spread out, surrounding the traitor. "You do know the penalty for treason, correct?"

Derrick laughed mockingly. "Treason? Ha! Are you really that naïve?"

"You betrayed your king and attacked his agents, one of them his own son and the heir to the throne," I countered. "That is treason by any standard. Add to that murder, looting, and very probably other crimes, and we have all the justification we need to kill you."

"Ah, but you don't have the ability! And I am not the only one you must fight!" He laughed. "Deal with this!"

"This" was a Dragon, like none I had ever even heard of. It bore a certain resemblance to Rose's descriptions of Michael, but the color was much different. Jade green predominated, with violet and light blue making up the rest.

Dari inhaled sharply. "The Storm Dragon," she breathed.

"'Storm Dragon'?" I repeated.

She nodded, her face white. "Rose told me about it. It's a tri-elemental."

Zack whirled, staring at her in disbelief. "Tri-elemental!?"

"Right. As the term suggests, it has three elements: Wind, Water, and Thunder." Dari shivered. "It's called the Storm Dragon because it likes to cause major thunderstorms. It could be even more dangerous than Sands."

"Holy fright."

"Don't you want to fight, Iceman?" Derrick taunted. "All you've done so far is talk! Have you lost your nerve?"

I ignored him. "Indora, Dari, with me! We'll take the Storm Dragon! The rest of you, keep Derrick busy until we're finished!"

"Got it, Jason!" Zack yelled. "Rose Storm!"

I focused my attention on the Dragon. "Final Burst!"

"Meteor Strike!"

"Astral Drain!"

The Dragon retaliated with a multicolored beam of light, hammering Dari and almost killing Indora and me. That was just for starters; it followed up with one of the thunderstorms Dari mentioned, scorching the land for about a mile around with lightning strikes. Were it not for Zack's Rose Storm, we almost certainly would have died.

The Dark Dragoon was the first to recover. "You'll pay for that one! Dark Dragon, attack!"

Seeing the havoc wrought by Dari's attack, I summoned my own Dragon before our foe could recover. Indora came next; he was last due to the fact that he had trouble with magic in general, an unfortunate hallmark of Gigantos.

"Laura!!!"

I spun at the sound of Zack's scream. Laura had gotten too close to the Blood Dragoon, and paid for it. She was in freefall, still in Dragoon form, fortunately, but she was clearly unconscious. Her bow fell alongside her, broken in half.

"You bastard!!!" Zack shouted, charging. "I'll kill you!!!"

"Oh really?" Derrick laughed harshly. "I think not." Moving faster than I had thought possible, he parried Zack's attack and countered with a punishing chop, knocking the Crown Prince out and reducing his spear's shaft to splinters.

I was quickly reminded of my own problems. Indora had found an opening in the Dragon's defense and driven his axe into the beast's hide. Roaring with pain and rage, the Dragon bit the axe handle in half and disabled the Giganto with one swipe of its tail.

Blast it! That's three Dragoons down in less than a minute! This is not going well. The only bright spot I could see at this point was that the Storm Dragon was almost dead. I decided to finish the job. "I have had enough of you! Final Burst!"

The Dragon gave one last roar and fell, crashing at the base of Pinnacle Rock. I didn't spare it more than a glance; Derrick had just taken out Chris and Seria simultaneously. Chris had lost his gloves, and Seria's hammer was in many pieces.

"Seria, no!!" In the confusion, I had forgotten that Seria and Dari had been close friends for a long time. Dari's cry of anger reminded me at the worst possible moment. The Dark Dragoon was flying straight for Sands, all sense of caution forgotten. "Die!!!"

Watching Derrick's stance, I saw what was coming at once, but I was too far away. "Dari, don't!"

Too late. Derrick's attack shattered Dari's rapier, then cut deeply into her side. With a single cry of pain, the Dark Dragoon followed the others down.

"NO!!" Only my years of training kept me from losing it altogether right then. Lucky for me; Derrick abandoned his defensive stance and came after me directly. I was able to block his attack, but not soon enough. My blade snapped in half from the force of his blow, and I watched in horror as it tumbled to the ground. Only once chance left. I'd better make use of it. I reached into my pack. "This has gone on long enough, Derrick. I swear I'll kill you."

He laughed. "With what, Iceman? I just broke your sword."

"That sword, true." I smiled thinly, and the Dragon Buster flared to life in my hand. "You know what this is?"

I had finally managed to shatter the Blood Dragoon's composure. "The Dragon Buster!? How did you get that!?"

"I'd tell you to ask Beatrix, but that won't be possible!" With a snarl of rage I plunged the weapon into his chest. "It's over, Derrick."

He stared at me for a long moment. "You might think so, Iceman," he said, blood streaming from his mouth, "but you won't be so lucky. I may be finished, but Kuja is still out there. You can't possibly beat him." His eyes glazed over, and his lifeless form tumbled to the ground.

"We shall see." I waited for the Dragoon Spirit to leave, then pulled off one last spell. "Explosion!" The raging flames reduced Derrick Sands to nothing more than a pile of ash.

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My comrades were in better shape than I had anticipated, thanks to the timely arrival of Zidane, Vivi, and Dagger. The princess's healing magic took care of the rest. Thank goodness. I was afraid they wouldn't make it.

"Jason!" Dari almost knocked me off my feet.

I held her close. "It's over. Derrick won't be bothering us again." I glanced at Dagger. "Thanks for taking care of them. That bastard almost did us in."

Dagger shook her head. "There is no need for thanks. I owe you a great deal."

"Whatever." I caught Zidane looking at me with a puzzled expression. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." He held up a glowing tricolor gem. "Is this what I think it is?"

Zack caught on first. "That is the Dragoon Spirit of the Storm Dragon. Congratulations, Zidane." He grinned. "Now you get to be really nasty."

The thief frowned. "I know what a Dragoon is, but you sound like there's more too it."

"There is indeed," I said. "You remember that each of us has a different element, right?" Zidane nodded. "Note that our Dragoon Spirits have different colors." I held mine up as an example.

"I'm following you so far," Zidane said. "Each color represents a different element."

I nodded. "Precisely. Red for Fire, jade green for Wind, dark blue for Darkness, white for Light, violet for Thunder, gold for Earth, and light blue for Water." I gestured to his spirit. "Yours is what we call a tri-elemental, meaning it has three elements. Wind, Water, and Thunder, to be exact."

"And that's why it's a tricolor instead of a solid like yours, I get it."

I stooped and retrieved Derrick's Dragoon Spirit. "This will go to General Beatrix when I get the chance to deliver it."

Zidane shot me an odd look, clearly not surprised. "I figured you knew something about her that we didn't."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you don't want to kill me for it?"

"Hey, just because I'm a skirt-chaser doesn't mean I'm stupid." He grinned. "I figured you had a good reason, so I stayed out of it. Besides, I didn't want to tangle with someone who can flatten whole cities."

"Very wise, my friend." I turned to the princess. "Speaking of Beatrix, is she alright?"

"She was when we left," Dagger said softly, "but…"

Zidane came to her rescue. "Beatrix found out that the Queen was planning to kill Dagger after the eidolons were extracted," he explained. "She, Rusty, and Freya stayed behind to cover our escape, with a little help from Tantalus." His lip twisted. "We were supposed to go to Treno, but a big monster chased us all the way here."

"I see." I looked at Dagger. "I don't think you have much to worry about. Freya is easily Burmecia's best dragon knight, Beatrix is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, sword masters in the world, and Steiner, however annoying he may be, at least knows how to fight. They should be fine."

"Sorry to cut this short, be we've gotta go." Zidane pocketed his new Spirit. "Dagger's trying to pass some sort of test to earn a new eidolon. We only stopped when your friends dropped in."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. We have an errand of our own. What say we meet at the entrance when we're finished."

Zidane looked at the princess. "That okay with you, Dagger?"

"Sure."

"Excellent." I nodded. "One more thing, Zidane. Quina made it out of Cleyra alive."

He sighed with relief. "Thanks. That's a load off my mind."

"Good luck with the eidolon." While the three of them resumed their trek, I dug around in my pack. "It should be here somewhere."

"What are you looking for?" Chris asked.

"This." I produced an old, dusty book. "Since our little set-to with Derrick resulted in the loss of our weapons, we're going to need new ones before we can proceed. This," I said, indicating the book, "will tell us how to get them."

Seria eyed it curiously. "It looks like it's in Old Wingly."

"Correct. It belonged to my grandmother." I opened it and began reading aloud. "'These weapons shall be made for the seven Dragoon Warriors,' that's us, 'when they are in dire need.'"

"It doesn't get much more dire than this," Zack said with a snort.

"'Each weapon shall be imbued with the element of its wielder, thus giving it unimaginable strength.'" I closed the book. "What that basically means is, once your weapon is almost complete, you need to bathe it in light from your Dragoon Spirit. That will infuse it with it's proper element. Any questions?" None came. "Then let's get started."

Pinnacle Rock proved to be well-supplied in all the materials we needed. I didn't understand why, but to be honest I didn't care. What we needed was wood, stone, and metal, and Pinnacle Rock had more than enough. I see no need to describe the forging process, since it was unbelievably dull, but I will say that Zidane and friends were finished with their test well before we were ready.

Four hours later, we were ready.

Seria lifted hers first. "The hammer of Water, Tsunami."

Indora hefted a truly massive axe; I doubt I could have lifted it. "The axe of Earth, Mountain's Bones."

Chris pulled on a pair of thick gloves. "Gloves of Thunder, Lightning Fist."

Laura strapped a quiver to her back. "Arrows of Light, the Shining Bow."

Zack twirled his new lance, testing its balance. "The spear of Wind, Kamikaze."

Dari stabbed once, driving the blade into a tree. "The sword of Darkness, Raging Demon."

I hefted my new sword, slashing experimentally. "The sword of Fire, Burning Dragon." I sheathed the blade. "Come on."

Zidane and Dagger didn't even notice us when we caught up with them, not that I blamed them. We stared, mesmerized, as Lindblum came under attack by Alexandrian forces. The Red Rose hovered just outside the city wall, firing away with its cannons. This, however, was just to soften up the defenses; I saw the distinctive teleport effect. They're sending Black Mages into the city. This will be very bad.

"Uh-oh," Zack said. "Brahne's summoning an eidolon."

I growled a Wingly curse under my breath. "Do you recognize it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Atomos. It has some kind of gravity attack, very nasty."

Once again, the Crown Prince showed his gift for understatement. Atomos looked like just a head with a huge mouth. Its purpose became clear almost at once; chunks of debris, weapons, and, horribly, Lindblum soldiers, were simply inhaled. After about two minutes the eidolon vanished, leaving those who hadn't reached its mouth to a very long drop."

"What do we do now?" Laura whispered in horror. Zack gripped her shoulder.

"We sneak into Lindblum," I said grimly, noting Dagger's pain and Zidane's all-too-obvious fury. "And we hope some survived."

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Author's note: And so the "Scourge of Seles" bites the dust. Next up will be a covert trip to Lindblum, and then to Fossil Roo. Not much else to say here, except thanks for reviewing as usual.