Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 17: Heart of the Dragons

"Faiya?" Hufanse asked, looking at her. He was so surprised by her presence he didn't even think to be angry that she had asked him to forget her. She looked at him with a worried expression.

"What have you done?" she whispered, looking at the two pieces of the Flute.

"Who are you?" Cy and Svrion asked simultaneously, looking at the new arrival.

"She is Princess Faiya of the Dark Kingdom, daughter of Cosmo Queen and Jinzo," Aundren explained. "Can you not tell the resemblance?" Cy and Svrion gasped.

"Princess…princess?" Cy cried. "Oh my gosh! Royalty! What an honor to meet you, your Highness."

"Oh please don't do that," Faiya said. The others were puzzled. She looked exhausted. Not physically, of course, because her curse or blessing prevented that. But, for some reason, she looked like she had just lost a battle that was thought to be won.

"Is something wrong?" Celton asked. Faiya nodded, picking up the pieces of the Flute and shaking her head.

"No. This can't be…"

"Faiya, that Flute is evil. We had to destroy it," Hufanse explained.

"No! You don't understand!" Faiya said, turning to face all of them. "The Dragons…the people…they were not controlled by this. They were controlled by the spell placed by my mother. And…something happened that released everyone."

"Your mother…" Cy said slowly. "She died…" Faiya nodded.

"That was the only way to free herself and the others from the curse."

"That's not the only way," Hufanse insisted, like he had at Cosmo Queen's death.

"Oh shut up, Hufanse," Faiya snapped. Cy and Svrion jumped slightly at the young princess's sudden harshness.

"Whether you like it or not, I'm not going to forget you. You might as well forget me forgetting," Hufanse shot back. "Your mother told me to save you, and Ra damn it I will!" Cy and Svrion looked at Celton confused. He put a finger over his lips to signal that they should just remain silent.

"Anyway," Faiya said, the word stressed to indicate she wanted no more of the argument. "The people and the Dragons were not controlled by this Flute. They were controlled by the curse that has now lifted."

"Then what purpose does the Flute play in all of this?" Aundren asked. Faiya cringed.

"That is why I was worried by this. The Flute lets us communicate with the Dragons and gives them human thoughts. You can kind of say that the Flute makes the Dragons…good."

"So…" Svrion reasoned. "We destroyed the thing that was making them evil and then destroyed the thing that was making them good, which means we've exposed the third layer which is…good? Bad?"

"Beast." Faiya's words sent shivers through the group. "The Dragons are kept in sections with restraints…this will cause panic and an uproar. The newly recovering people will not be ready for this. They all think they were at the king and queen's celebration until now."

"So we must go back!" Cy cried. "Back to Shadow Town. Back to the Dark Kingdom. If we don't, the Dragons might start…"

"Too late…" Svrion pointed out, showing where, past the treetops of the forest, the Dragons had all taken flight and were all heading in the same direction. The sunlight glinted off of their scales to make sparkles in the direction they were headed. This was when the group realized the bad clouds had also disappeared with the fall of the Castle. At least the residents would get a warning.

"Hurry!" Faiya cried, and she rushed back through the path she came, the other five following her the best they could. That was when Hufanse noticed that though the curse over the residents had been lifted, Faiya looked the same as she always had. She still had the beauty, the strength, the health…Hufanse realized the spell had not really been broken.

It's just living somewhere. It could have seeped out of the falling Castle and be living in the very air right now. Faiya is in danger every second. The Curse has destroyed the body it previously was in. Faiya's the only one left. Faiya will be captured soon by the spell. I wonder if there's a way to prevent it before it really starts…

The six of them raced through the group of trees back to Shadow Town, hoping to take the shortcut back to the Kingdom. Faiya showed them the quickest way. While they ran, each one of them hoped that they weren't too late. Hufanse and Aundren wondered if their brothers were free from the spell too. That way, they might have some chance since those two were the highest-ranking warriors.

As they hurried through Shadow Town, Faiya passed a few quick words to the members of COLD as they whipped past them. Equora, the leader, immediately began to gather up the warriors in the area. They had all been stunned when the Dragons had started to rear and panic, snapping their bindings and flying into the air. Now Equora helped the remaining Dragons escape as well to avoid injury to the men. Then, she gave everyone directions and they all mounted the aircrafts.

"What…did…you…tell…them…to…do?" Svrion panted as he strained to keep up with the princess. The others didn't even have enough energy to speak at the moment.

"They're going to see whether they can get back control over the Dragons…" Faiya did not show the least bit of fatigue in her voice or her breathing. The others secretly wished they could have had that blessing.

………

The first blast rained down upon the unsuspecting Kingdom. People cried out in horror as the tallest house was shattered by the blue lightning blow, crumbling to the ground as its inhabitants were crushed instantly. Soon, screams followed as the people out on their front yards or shopping in the market ran for cover.

The army of Dragons soared through the sky, blasting and burning at will. They did not know what had come over them any more than the people did. The removal of the curse and the link with the humans made them panic, and the only thing they had were the instincts to destroy their enemies. Blinded by confusion, they aimlessly threw their attacks upon the Kingdom.

Luckily, some of the Dragon Shields had already been prepared. A few of the powerful blasts were absorbed and thrown out into the sky. Unfortunately, the majority of the power shots hit their mark. As people shouted and fled, houses and market stalls were vaporized one by one. From far up on the hill, the Light Kingdom warriors that had come to talk peace with the Dark Kingdom royals and rescue Cy, Svrion, and Celton – who were thought to be kidnapped by this evil Kingdom – looked upon the scene with horror. Among them stood Neo the magic Swordsman, the Dark Sage, and several healers such as Mysti, Clarrisa, and Renalyn.

"What is going on?" asked Dark Sage Morlen, looking up at the crazed beasts.

"I do not know…this is really strange," Neo replied, his eyes trailing all of them. Then he squinted, for in the distance behind them, he saw something else that was surely flying smoother than the Dragons. That 'something else' soon multiplied into a whole set.

"Look…the aircrafts! Are they going to battle with the Dragons?"

As the Light Kingdom residents pondered the situation, down below, Faiya, Hufanse, Aundren, Cy, Svrion, and Celton appeared just as a building nearby was hit. The six ran for cover as the building crashed down behind them, making the ground vibrate with the impact. The shudder caused Cy to trip, falling on Svrion who fell on the others. The six sprawled to the floor, looking up in fear as the Dragons circled above them.

"Maybe Spellblade can help?" Cy offered. Faiya shook her head.

"I do not think hurting them is going to do much, we must try to connect with them!"

"But our link is lost!" Celton protested, just as all the Dragons combined their attacks and blasted through the street of buildings behind the group. The buildings vaporized, sending black smoke rushing through the air. The six coughed violently, shutting their burning eyes. The smoke cut off the view the pilots of the aircrafts had. They looked in confusion as they lost sight of the princess.

"Hurry!" Hufanse whispered, getting to his feet. He reached down and felt Faiya's face. She was sitting. Since he couldn't see her, he used his hands to position her face so it was in his direction.

"Do you have any ideas?" she asked him. Hufanse shook his head, partly to shake off the smoke near his eyes.

"No…ouch!" Hufanse turned, feeling around behind him. Sure enough, his cloak had been snatched and taken. Then, he felt air on the side of his neck. The smoke around him cleared. A few feet to the side, he saw Cy and Svrion frantically moving the cloak up and down as a fan to clear the smoke.

"Good idea," Faiya said. When he felt her jaw move, Hufanse realized he had been holding it and dropped his hand abruptly. A chilling roar dragged the new blush away from his face. The Dragons hadn't forgotten them.

"What do we do now?" Celton yelled as the Dragons roared again, charging towards them. The six looked up in the sky frantically, hoping to find something that might help them.

That's when the fighter aircrafts came into view. At full speed, they whipped past the beasts as the occupants launched attacks upon the gleaming scales. Angered, the Dragons charged upon the aircrafts as they struggled to keep far from the dangerous blasts flying freely from the provoked creatures. Meanwhile, on the ground, the six gathered all the men to come up with a plan as the women and children were rushed to the stable buildings that were equipped with Dragons Shields.

"What should we do?" a man asked, looking urgently at the princess. She was tense and nervous, her mind seemingly jumbled in confusion from this attack. Usually, she always had an answer. However, now she stood there blankly staring at the man who had spoken.

"You suggested that we try to link with them," Aundren offered to Faiya. "Perhaps we should try this method?"

"How are we going to link to them?" Celton demanded as he pointed towards the battle going on above with the Dragons and the aircrafts. "The Flute's gone too."

"This is horrible!" Cy cried, leaning her head against Svrion. "It's a battle lost."

"There is still a chance!"

The group of men and women turned towards the new speaker. He was dressed in the robes of a Dragon Master Knight and he had a Lord of Dragons companion with him. Behind him followed a few more guards, some of whom were recognized. Aundren and Hufanse gaped.

"Randren?"

"Harsh?" Celton noticed the followers.

"Sinth?"

The group of Dark Kingdom warriors approached the princess and bowed low. Then, Randren spoke first.

"It appears my memory is a bit foggy, and the last thing I can recollect is the ceremony of our king and queen. Only a few moments ago it was reported that they have now departed this Realm and are on their way to better places. My most sincere sympathies, dear Princess."

"Continue," she replied briefly, used to hearing the news by now. Randren turned to his brother.

"And my most sincere apologies to you, little brother, for I have been told by my Dragons, when I could still communicate to them of course, that I was not particularly kind to you in the time that my memory chooses not to disclose."

"And I better apologize to you to," Harsh said, going over to his brother and putting an arm around his shoulder. "I learned the same, and I guess I better catch up on what really happened at a later time."

"But for now," Randren said. "As I stated earlier, there is still a chance. I was taught that it is the bond that we share with our Dragons that really controls them, not the Flute. In fact, the Flute came later, after the bond was established. The original legend was greatly skewed to include its making."

"Of course," Cy exclaimed. "He told us that night when we were spying on them at the campfire. Why did I not remember it?"

"So you believe we can still connect with the Dragons?" Aundren asked.

"That iswhat I said, is it not?" Randren looked at Harsh and then at Aundren, who looked at Hufanse who looked at Faiya. Faiya looked at the others, who shrugged back. It was decided: it was worth a shot.

"Equora!" Faiya shouted into the sky, holding up a blue firelight. The signal brought all the aircrafts down from the sky, except for a few that were to hold the Dragons' attention. The Dark Witch ran over to the princess.

"Everybody, listen!" Faiya commanded. "The only way to stop the Dragons is to try to connect to them. With or without the Flute. The connection must be established. Choose a Dragon and try to reach for its heart. You've done it before. This time, just pretend the Flute is still there. We must try this!" Her words rang out throughout what was now a large crowd. They all shouted in agreement before spreading out throughout the ruined streets of the Kingdom.

Each warrior picked a Dragon, and like in training to their position, tried to imagine the Dragon right in front of them. Then, they reached out with an arm in their mind and felt for the heart.

Aundren and Hufanse worked together on the leading Dragon, the biggest of the group. They pressed their palms together and imaged the Dragon before them, pouring out with their heart.

At first they felt a little resistance. This was natural. No creature liked to have its privacy invaded by some unknown presence. However, there was something different about this block.

It was cold and icy, just like the soul-freezing glare of the Blue-Eyes. And it seemed to be enveloping the heart with such a passion that for all their mental prodding, Aundren and Hufanse could not pry it off. The others seemed to be in a similar situation from the expressions on their faces and tightly shut eyes. Luckily for the others, like Harsh and Randren, the sticky cape on the Dragon hearts was easy to pry off. The one shadowing the leader was not.

"There's…something…wrong…" Hufanse muttered to Faiya, struggling because he was straining to put all his energy on concentrating. Faiya narrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" she asked.

"Something is there," Aundren replied. "It is some sort of barrier we cannot penetrate."

"Maybe we can help?" Cy offered, looking at Svrion and Celton as they nodded. Hufanse extended his hand and the three of them took it, pouring their energy though they had no training to know exactly what they were doing. They simply focused on Hufanse, Aundren, and the Dragon. Their power worked. The sickly cover was sliding off.

"I've done it!" shouted one of the nearby warriors. At that moment, a single Dragon roared and reared back in the sky. But instead of a blast, a small blue spark flew out of its open mouth. Soon, that Dragon's cry was followed by many others as sparks gathered on each Dragon's nose.

"What is that?" Hufanse asked, pulling his head away and forgetting the concentration at the strange sight. His Dragon found this the best time to put up the resistance he had been waiting for. With a jerk of his head and a scream that jarred the earth, the Dragon tore out of the grasp and flew towards the ground at amazing speed.

"Look out!" everyone cried and scattered. The Dragon was plummeting to the earth. The ground below it was a flurried mess of fleeing people. In the midst of them, Hufanse, Aundren, Cy, Svrion, and Celton stood rooted to the spot, looking out for Faiya who had mysteriously disappeared.

"Duck!" Equora screamed. By instinct, the five obeyed. The Dragon swooped down, lashing with its tail. The scaled made impact with a woman, slamming her into a nearby building. Hufanse cried out in horror as he realized whom it was.

"FAIYA!" Despite his friends' protests, he ran towards her, fighting past people who were going in the opposite direction. The Dragon soared up once again.

Hufanse reached Faiya, dropping on his left side next to her. Faiya had her eyes squeezed shut and was breathing heavily. Propped up on one arm, he took his right hand and held both her hands.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. The warriors stopped as they realized what had happened, the few who had found shelter peaking out behind rubble and scattered pieces of debris. Faiya slowly opened her eyes.

"Something's awakening," she said weakly. "Something in my heart!" Hufanse gripped her hand tighter.

"It's the curse! Don't let it take you!"

"Hufanse, I can't stop it! I-I-," Faiya sighed once before her head dropped to the side. Hufanse mouthed the word 'no' before shaking her.

Suddenly, a blue light started to pulse on her breast right above her heart. Starting faintly, it slowly grew in intensity until it was a glowing blue wave of power that rippled out in circles all around and into the sky. This power affected the blue sparks in some way, and they all gathered towards the leader Dragon. In a bright flash of light, the power was absorbed into the Dragon.

As everyone watched in awe, the Dragon grew in size. Doubling, tripling…its wings nearly blocked out the sky. Its long neck arched over till its nose neared the Princess, and its claws were each as long as a man. The tail swept side to side, covering the land in a shadow wherever the wings had not already blotted out the light. Its gleaming blue eyes glared viciously at the couple as they lay there defenseless. The entire body was cloaked in shadow so dark it looked like the essence of a nightmare.

"Poor, pitiful princess," it spoke. Hufanse gripped the princess so hard even his hand hurt. He did not care how big that thing was.

"What do you want?" he snapped. The evil Dragon chuckled.

"I want her! I cannot live in this body! I need her body! Don't worry. She has great beauty, great health, and great power in return! Give her to me!" Hufanse's eyes darkened in realization.

"You are the Curse!" he cried. The Dark Dragon chuckled again.

"Why yes…awfully observant, aren't you? Don't even think about protecting your little princess from me. I have so much power you cannot fathom. You have heard that much from my princess, haven't you?"

"You will not have her!" Hufanse exclaimed. The others gathered quite a bit away stared up at the Dragon in fear and wondered how it was that the young Lord of Dragons had enough bravery to stand against it.

"You can't stop me! What will you do to shield yourself? I will enter her heart quietly and painlessly. She won't know the difference…only you will…"

"I said you will not have her!" Hufanse insisted, staring up at the cold, gleaming eyes as they malevolently glared back. A thousand ideas ran through his head, but he knew none of them were plausible. How could he save Faiya?

"You speak without knowing, boy!"

"You…will…not…have…her!" Hufanse clenched his teeth in anger. He was also frustrated that he couldn't think of a way to save Faiya, who lay helplessly beside him. The Dark Dragon screeched and rose up into the air, glowing black as he did so. Hufanse looked over at the others. Cy, Svrion, Aundren, Celton, Equora and all the others…they looked so worried. And so lost. How could they protect themselves from that giant beast of pure shadow?

I need power, Hufanse thought. This is a way to stop it before it starts, to prevent the curse. But I don't have enough power. Wait…wait…power? Cy had so much power. But where did she get it from…wait, of course! That kiss! But I can't just…

I will save Faiya, with your love and mine.

Those words…I promised Cosmo Queen. And that's what I'll do! Love is stronger than any shadow…the strongest light in any darkness…

"I will crush you if that's what it takes to get that princess. Think you can stand up to me?" The Dark Dragon jeered, interrupting Hufanse's thoughts. He glared up at the Dragon.

"Try me!" The Dragon chuckled and dived down towards him. He flew at such lightning speed that the air around him split with a resounding crack, sending sickly black waves in every direction. Hufanse narrowed his eyes, turned back to Faiya, and kissed her lips.