During our flight, I tried to figure out what might have been in Madain Sari that would interest a thief. The village wasn't exactly brimming with treasure, and it wasn't like the Eidolon Wall could be moved, at least not without a lot of heavy equipment. And even without the difficulties of moving it, the wall was little more than an archaeological curiosity.

Chris appeared to be having similar thoughts. "Hey, Eiko, just what is there in Madain Sari that someone would want to steal, anyway? No offense, but you're pretty off the beaten track."

"It's a pendant, kept by the summoner tribe for generations," Eiko replied. "Grandpa told me to always keep it safe."

"A pendant?" I repeated. "Does it look anything like Dagger's?"

"Yeah."

I swore. "The Royal Pendant of Alexandria, Lindblum's Falcon Claw, Cleyra's Desert Star, and now the treasure of Madain Sari. Wonderful."

"What is it, Jason?" Dari asked.

"I sensed immense power in Dagger's pendant, as well as the stones of Lindblum and Cleyra," I said. "Also, each has a fragment of an engraving, consisting of a few words." I turned to the younger summoner. "Eiko, does your jewel have such an engraving?"

"How'd you guess?" she said, surprised.

"It was simple logic," I said. "The Royal Pendant, Falcon Claw, and Desert Star are all shaped in such a way that they almost certainly fit together as parts of a single jewel. If I'm right, the treasure of Madain Sari is the final piece. If Brahne wants it, as appears likely, then it must have something to do with a very powerful eidolon. That's the only way this makes any sense."

No one had any answer to that, which was just as well. We were about to land at Madain Sari, so there was no more time for conversation. Not that it mattered; Eiko immediately tore off for her room. Zidane took Dagger and Vivi and followed her, while the rest of us scoured the area for our mysterious thief.

This just gets better and better. Having seen eidolons in action before, I knew all too well that they would do incredible damage in the wrong hands. If, as I suspected, the jewel Eiko had kept here was the last piece needed to summon the ultimate eidolon, then we needed to recover it, before Brahne (or Kuja, more likely) could get a hold of it.

Seria's head jerked up. "Was that a scream?"

"Where?" I knew from experience that her hearing was better than mine.

"I think it came from the Eidolon Wall."

We raced for the entrance and almost ran over Zidane and friends, who had also heard. Glancing inside, I was somehow not surprised to see Lani, the bounty hunter we had previously encountered in Fossil Roo. She was holding Eiko by the winged ornament on her back. The young summoner was not pleased.

"Let me go, you old bag!" Eiko snapped.

Lani yawned. "Oh, shut up. They'll be here soon." Apparently tiring of Eiko's yells, she forced a dose of sleeping weed on her. "Much better."

Zidane and I chose that moment to step out. "Let her go," I snarled.

Lani gave me a look that plainly said, "You again?" "First give me the pendant. Then I'll let her go." Dagger started forward, but the hunter stopped her. "Not you. The mage."

Vivi obeyed, but Lani's victory was short-lived. A large man literally dropped in on her, sending Eiko flying and almost giving the rest of us heart failure. The guy was dressed in red and blue, with so much hair that I wondered how he could even see, let alone fight.

Dagger gasped. "I've seen him before! He's the one with wanted posters all over Treno!"

Lani, meanwhile, was glaring at the red-haired man. "What are you doing!? We're supposed to be partners on this job!"

He snorted, unimpressed. "I don't deal with hostage-taking scumbags. Give up the jewel and get lost." When Lani started to object, he slid into a fighting stance. "Or…would you rather fight me?" he asked menacingly.

The other hunter opted for the safer course of action, throwing the jewel at him. "I'll collect the bounty on you someday!" she snarled, and disappeared over the wall.

The man turned to Zidane. "Now, fight me!"

Zidane frowned. "What?"

"I'm not here to help. I just want it to be fair."

A bounty hunter who believes in a fair fight. Interesting.

Zidane considered. "Okay, let's go."

"Zidane…" Dagger said.

He drew his knives. "It's alright. I'm just looking for another way to impress you." I hid a grin at that.

The fight was short and brutal. Zidane's antagonist was significantly larger, and wore a set of claws on his right hand. In contrast, Zidane relied on speed and finesse rather than brute strength. He dodged the first blow with relative ease, then countered with s quick slash.

"Here I go!" This time the redhead's strike connected, sending Zidane into the wall.

Zidane slowly got to his feet, and suddenly started glowing. "Not this time, pal. Solution 9!"

Now it was the hunter's turn to be slammed into the wall; and unlike Zidane, he didn't get up.

"Now give back what you stole," Zidane said.

The bandit complied. "Now, finish me!"

The newest Dragoon seemed puzzled by that. So was I, for that matter. Death before dishonor is all well and good, but wanting to die after losing one fight, regardless of the opponent, is something I will never understand. I prefer to live to fight another day.

"Do you really want to die?" Zidane said at last.

"I attacked you!" the man snapped.

"The fight's over, and we're both still alive, right?" Zidane shrugged. "The sly eagle doesn't kill at whim."

I nodded mentally, impressed. There's even more to you than I thought, Zidane.

His opponent, however, was definitely not impressed. "Listen to this. I lost to some spineless thief."

Indora spoke up then. "Hardly spineless. My people have a great deal of experience with thieves and such, and I can tell you that Zidane is not like most, nor are his friends from Tantalus."

Not bothering to answer, the red-haired man turned and left.

Well, that was interesting, I thought. One bounty hunter takes Eiko hostage, then another one shows up and sends her on her way, and then insists on fighting Zidane one-on-one. Zidane and his opponent had clearly met before, though I suspected that Zidane didn't remember the previous encounter.

I shook my head. Whatever the man was after, it clearly had little if anything to do with Brahne's wishes. My guess was that he took the job just so he could have it out with Zidane. That meant it was personal, rather than some hunt gone sour. I shook my head again. This is getting nowhere fast.

I sighed. The reason I was dwelling on such a minor incident was simple: I didn't want to think about what would happen if Kuja managed to obtain all four pieces of the jewel. Seeing the way Brahne used eidolons was bad enough; I had no desire to find out what Kuja would do.

"Jason, wait up!" I slowed enough for Dari to catch up with me. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular. I wasn't paying attention."

"No kidding." She snorted. "You know you almost ran into a wall twice?"

"Did I?"

Dari laughed. "You know, Jason, for such a serious guy, you sure are funny sometimes. Oh well." She gave me a quick kiss. "I love you anyway."

By then it was getting late, so we returned to Eiko's rooms, pretty much the only habitable part of the village. Much to my surprise, Zidane, Dagger, and Eiko were still up, though Dagger was looking somewhat haggard. There was no sign of Vivi or the other Dragoons.

"I have no memory of my early childhood," Dagger was saying as we entered. "I grew up in the castle, but only from age six or so."

Zidane gaped. "Six!? Where were you before then?"

"Until I was six…I must have been here, in Madain Sari."

"That explains a great deal," I said, taking a seat. "Why you can summon eidolons, for instance, and that song you're so fond of."

"But why doesn't she have a horn?" Eiko wanted to know.

I had no answer for that, but Dari did. "I'll bet that when Dagger was adopted, her father had the horn removed," she said, then glanced at me. "Jason, do you think that there might be records here? Something that could help Dagger."

That hadn't occurred to me, and it should have. "There might be at that. Do you mind if I search, Eiko?"

Eiko smiled. "Sure, go ahead. Anything to help Dagger."

"Thanks." I rose. "If you'll excuse me, then, I have some work to do. See you tomorrow."

"Right," Zidane said. "Oh, by the way. Eiko's coming with us. That alright with you?"

I glanced at Dari; she nodded. "Fine with us. Two summoners are better than one," I said with a shrug, and slipped into the night. For the next several hours, I dug through some books that had been left in a lower chamber, just below Eiko's room.

Sneezing from the dust (ten years is a long time to leave this sort of thing unattended), I finally found what I was looking for, a genealogical record. Let's see, I thought, carefully turning pages. The family listings were rather extensive; whatever else the summoners were, they apparently believed in tracing ancestry back as far as possible.

My eyes widened at one entry. No way.

I closed the book. So, not only is the princess a summoner, but she's related to Eiko. Interesting. I wondered if Steiner knew that Dagger was adopted. It seemed likely; he'd been a knight for longer than Dagger had been alive. Shrugging, I tabled the matter and went to bed.

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Talk about surprises. Eiko had just finished saying her goodbyes to the Moogles, when who should show up but Zidane's flame-haired opponent from the previous day. My hand immediately went to my sword; there was no telling what he would do. Peripherally, I saw Dari whip out her rapier.

As it turned out, my worries were unfounded. "What do you want?" Zidane asked.

"The victor lives, the loser dies," the man said. "Tell me! Why didn't you kill me!?"

Zidane raised an eyebrow. "Are you that anxious to die?"

"I'd rather die as a warrior than live as a beggar."

"Hmm." Zidane thought for a moment. "Then come with me."

The man was taken aback. "What?"

"You seem pretty good in a fight. Besides, we're hunting a man down. We could use you," Zidane said.

The bandit considered. "Alright. I'll find out what makes you so strong."

"What's your name?"

"Some call me the Flaming Amarant," was the reply.

This trip is getting weirder by the minute, I thought. Not that I was against letting Amarant come along, far from it. As Zidane said, he was good in a fight. Nor did I care about Amarant's background; Dart had made his living as a sword-for-hire until about a month prior to the end of the Serdian War.

We started off, but didn't get far at first. One more surprise awaited us.

"Mind if I join you?"

I turned, a grin spreading across my face. "Lloyd! When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago." The famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) Wingly swordsman leapt lightly off a crumbling tower. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier, but I had investigations of my own. Those are now complete."

"Excellent!" I clapped him on the shoulder and turned to Zidane. "Lloyd is easily the best swordsman I have ever seen. He's the only person ever to defeat Dart in single combat."

Zidane's eyes widened. "If he's that good, then nothing can stop us now. Let's go!"

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I see no reason to describe our trip up the Iifa Tree except in the most general terms. We spotted Kuja almost as soon as we arrived, so we knew where to go. The monsters gave us much less trouble than lest time, thanks to Amarant and (especially) Lloyd.

Once we caught up with Kuja, my comrades and I transformed, managing to startle Amarant in the process (not an easy thing to do). This is it.

"Good grief, what a stupid outfit," Zack muttered.

I glanced at him sidelong. "First you're a drama critic, now you're the fashion police? Give it a rest, Zack. And be quiet; Dagger's about to speak."

"You are Kuja, correct?" Dagger asked. "My name is Princess Garnet Til Alexandros. I have something to ask of you." She glare at the effeminate man. "Are you the one who started the war…"

"The war that threw the entire Mist Continent into chaos?" Kuja interrupted with a laugh.

"And created Black Mages to be used as killing machines!?" Vivi snarled.

"Oh, dear. The Princess has such a bloodthirsty puppet." Kuja shook his head. "All I did was give them a recipe. Take the essence of souls, add a touch of black magic, bring to a boil and…"

"Stop!" Vivi shouted.

"But I'm not finished telling you how to make puppets from the dregs of souls."

"Dregs of souls!? Are you talking about the Mist!?" Zidane demanded.

"First you tell me to stop, now you want to ask questions?" Kuja laughed. "It doesn't matter. You're not ready yet." He looked at Dagger. "Your mother wanted the war. All I did was give her a little push."

She turned bright red. "Liar! My mother was sweet and kind! You changed her!"

"Oh, not at all." Kuja laughed again. "She told me that she won't be content until she has everything. Her ugliness and stupidity are truly impressive." Something out to sea caught his eye. "See for yourself. Act One, the end of the ugly desire! It's showtime!"

The entire Alexandrian fleet was approaching rapidly. How Brahne managed to track Kuja down I don't know, but it was plain that they were no longer allies, because the Alexandrians opened fire the instant they were in range.

"So it begins," Lloyd murmured.

"You know what's going on?" I asked.

He shook his head. "All I know for sure is that Kuja is no more a Gaia native than we are. I don't know any more than that---there goes the princess."

I followed his gaze. Dagger was making a mad dash for a statue that, according to Eiko, contained a sealed eidolon. Zidane and the others were following her. "Let them handle it. Dragoons, to the skies!" I was more concerned about what Brahne was up to.

Dragoon powers sharpen one's senses, so I clearly heard Brahne's next words. "Come! Draconic Seedling! Bahamut, King of Dragons!"

King of Dragons!? I stared in disbelief as a beam stabbed skyward. A glowing shape appeared and splashed once in the sea: the eidolon Bahamut. He let out an ear-shattering roar and attacked Kuja and his Silver Dragon. The conflagration was beyond belief; I'd unleashed destruction before, but never on such a scale.

And then, to my shock, Kuja rode his dragon out of the inferno. He touched a hand to his forehead, and it came away bloody. "Blood! Excellent, Bahamut! Power mobility, you truly are the best! You even hurt me…a little." He laughed. "And now, elephant-lady, it ends. I'm sure you'll enjoy the next act, from your soul's hellish prison. The third act will take us away from Gaia, and I will kill my nemesis, with my own hands!"

What came next was even more bizarre. Kuja threw up his arms, and something like a giant eye opened in midair. A cone of blackish-purple energy cascaded down from the sky, enveloping both Bahamut and the Alexandrian fleet. It quickly faded, but the relief was short-lived. The energy had clearly had an effect on Bahamut, because he turned and attacked the fleet, staring with the Red Rose. The rest of the fleet soon followed; I doubt there were more than a handful of survivors.

---------------------------------------

We found Brahne, mortally wounded, on the shore.

Dagger knelt beside her. "Mother, I'm here." Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Brahne reached up with a trembling hand. "At last…I am free…of that…terrible greed. I haven't felt this way…since I saw that play…with your father." Her voice was getting weaker. "I led…Alexandria…down the path…of ruin. The people…will be happier…with you…on the throne." The arm fell, and Brahne lay still.

Dagger bowed her head and sobbed.

"The Queen is dead; long live the Queen," Zack murmured sadly.

Laura pressed against him. "Why did it have to end this way?" The Prince wrapped an arm around her.

"It isn't over, Laura," Indora said, fingering his axe. "If I'm right, this is just the beginning."

"I'm with your big friend," Amarant put in. "I've heard stories about the eidolons. Whatever Kuja's after, you can bet it'll be nasty."

"Too true." I sighed, then moved to Dagger and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Dagger. Let's go home."

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Seven people stood in the Royal Cemetery: Dagger, Dr. Tot, Adelbert Steiner, General Beatrix, Zack, Dari, and myself.

Dagger, though clearly in agony over her mother's death, was holding up remarkably well, showing an inner strength few suspected she possessed. She was still dressed in the orange-and-white jumpsuit that she wore during her travels.

Dr. Tot, a man with the longest nose I have ever seen on a human, stood holding a wreath of roses, Brahne's favorite flower. Dagger had told me when we arrived that the bespectacled, bearded scholar was her tutor when she was very young. He certainly looked the part, reminding me of Albert in his more thoughtful moods.

Steiner, who for some reason had always reminded me of a heavyset scarecrow, flanked the princess on one side, still in his rusty armor. He and I had for the most part settled our differences, though I knew full well that Zidane was going to be a bone of contention for some time to come.

On Dagger's other side was General Beatrix, the blood-red Dragoon Spirit I'd won when I destroyed Derrick gleaming at her throat. She'd been surprised at first when it chose her, but got over it more quickly than most ( Beatrix is not an easy person to rattle). She'd then asked me to train her in its use. I had agreed without hesitation; not only did someone with her position need to know how to use such powers properly, but I had come to think of the one-eyed general as a friend. Beatrix, not surprisingly, learned fast; the only reason I could take her in the air was my greater experience at such combat. Enemies of Alexandria, watch out.

The Crown Prince of Serdio stood to my left, dressed in the jade-green royal finery he usually hated. He gave no sign of that attitude now, though; Zack's something of an iconoclast, but he also knows when such antics are a very bad idea.

Dari stood at my right, toying nervously with her rapier. The Dark Dragoon hated funerals; she later told me it reminded her of her grandfather's death two years earlier. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She returned it, smiling gratefully.

For myself, I showed no sign of my own feelings. My crimson armor was concealed beneath a gift from Lloyd: a hooded cloak, black with silver trim. The hilt of Burning Dragon hung within easy reach.

Dagger hung the wreath on her mother's tombstone and sighed. "Steiner, Beatrix. How terrible her life had to end this way."

Steiner and Beatrix both tried to take the blame, but I interrupted. "It was no one's fault but Kuja's," I said gently. "None of you are to blame."

The princess managed a smile. "Thank you, Jason." She turned back to the grave. "Mother…I shall become a great queen!" She turned around and walked to the canal that separated Alexandria Castle from the rest of the city.

"And she will become a great queen," Beatrix murmured. "I have no doubt of that."

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Author's note: Again, I apologize for the delay; I was having trouble getting the events in Madain Sari right.

Next chapter will be more of an interlude than anything else, before things go crazy again. (On a side note, has anyone else noticed that Beatrix is a lot like Celes from Final Fantasy 6?)

One more thing: I've been brainstorming on another Legend of Dragoon story, one which has nothing to do with anything else I've written, but might prove interesting nonetheless. I haven't decided whether to go for it now, or finish this first. If anyone has an opinion one way or the other, please let me know.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.