Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the LoD characters in this FanFic except the OCs. Now that that's over with.

I added some more Furion into this one. Hope you like it. Maybe a bit dull eh? But I've got a great (well I think it's great) idea for the next chapter. Enjoy. :D

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The New Threat

Part VI:

Rest?

The dark-haired girl hummed softly to herself as she rinsed the soap off her body. Slowly, she got out of the river and towelled her body dry, then, she dressed in her usual dark purple and walked away from the bank, still humming quietly to herself. Retrieving her daggers from where she had stowed them between a tree's roots, Kayla sheathed them and continued back on her way to the castle.

Halfway back, she was met by a brown-haired girl, with a bow slung on her back. The Darkness Dragoon merely nodded a greeting to Shana and pressed onwards towards the castle. Today was her day, Lloyd would be waiting for her when she arrived, and she knew that. Shortly, she reached the castle, the majestic spires standing tall, far above her. With a small smile she leaped as high as she could, swung herself around a flagpole a few times to gain momentum, then let go and flew into the air. Moments later, she landed, lightly on the balls of her feet on a second floor balcony. She jumped up, and rushed into the room they had shared since he had brought her back from Mayfil. It was empty. Something inside her seemed to break. He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten their special day. She dropped heavily onto the bed and cradled her head in her hands. How could he do this to me? She thought. How could he forget?

"What's the matter? Someone stand you up?" came a teasing voice. Without looking up, she flung a pillow in its' direction, eliciting a satisfactory thump. Then she flew off the bed, straight into his arms.

"Don't scare me like that!" she said, the hurt evident in her voice. "I thought you'd forgotten!"

"Hmm? Forget? I was down in the kitchen getting the food." He replied, motioning to a large, overstuffed, picnic basket sitting on the floor outside the door. "Can't have a picnic without food, can we?" she flushed, the blood rushing to her face as she smiled at him.

"No, I guess not."

"Shall we?"

"Okay." The Wingly picked up the basket and started off down the stairs, the girl walking beside him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he felt her fingers intertwine with his. He turned to her, surprised at the show of affection. She just grinned up at him, like a kid who's just opened her Christmas presents, and leaned her head on his shoulder. They walked that way out the gates.

High above them another couple stood on a balcony, watching as the two lovebirds, strolled happily through the gates. Shana wrapped her arms around Dart's neck and sighed happily. Dart looked down into her brown eyes and smiled.

"They're so cute!" Shana squealed suddenly. Dart flinched, then, grinned down at her again.

"Yeah, they do look really happy."

"Mmm." He wrapped his arms around her waist, and for a long while they just stood there, staring into each others' eyes. Then, he pulled her close, and held her tight.

"I love you Dart." She whispered in his ear.

"I love you too." Those four little words sent a thrill of pleasure through her body.

In Fletz, Albert had just kissed Emille. The three day wedding ceremony was over. In the eyes of the law they were finally man and wife. King Zior stood over the newlyweds, a wide smile on his fat face. With a great flourish, he tied the sash around the new couple's wrists and held them up.

"Behold!" he bellowed to the gathered crowd, "Your future King and Queen!"

A tumultuous cheer rose from the crowd and they all bowed.

Furion stood leaning casually against a pillar, he was the only one who'd opted to come for Albert's wedding. It wasn't like he had anything else to do. Leaning stoically against the pillar, he remembered his own wedding, only two years before. He and Lilith had been so happy. He could still remember her smile, when he had asked her to marry him. The first thing she'd said was,

"God, Furion! What took you so long?" they'd both laughed, then strolled off to get their parents approval. Then the day she'd died flashed into his mind.

He'd been inside, cleaning his scythe after his last job, and she'd just walked out to get some water for their dinner. It had only been a few minutes when he'd heard her scream. In a frenzy, he grabbed his scythe and sprinted out the door towards the well. He was too late though. By the time he got there he was only in time to catch the lion-like creatures, each with a single, vicious horn on its' head fleeing back into the forest. She lay on the ground, a bite in her throat, and a huge gash along her stomach. Amazingly, she was still alive. He'd promised her, with tears in his eyes; that it would all be alright. That he'd take care of her. And she'd smiled and died in his arms. Dull with shock, he'd walked back to the house, packed his few meagre belongings, and set off to kill the beasts. He'd caught up with them a week later, and slaughtered the whole pack. With nothing left to live for, he'd become a mercenary. Until he'd found these people. Looking up he noticed the room was empty, how long had he stood there? Shaking the remnants of his memories off, he pushed away from the wall and walked from the throne room.

The sun shone through the trees, dappling the floor of the quiet glade. A deer scampered out of sight as the two humans intruded on its territory. Well, one human, and a Wingly. Lloyd had his arm around her waist, and Kayla rested her head on his shoulder. They walked slowly into the clearing, their eyes taking in its quiet beauty.

"Let's stop here." Said Kayla softly.

"Alright." He let go of her and laid out a large cloth on the ground. Then, reaching into the basket he brought out plates, and cutlery, and even glasses. Kayla laughed.

"Did you remember to pack any food in there?" He just smiled, and brought out what seemed like a huge feast from the basket. He poured some wine into the glasses and handed her one. Smiling the whole time.

"Well, milady," he said putting on a falsely sophisticated voice, "shall we have a toast?" she giggled.

"Of course kind sir." She replied, playing along. "What shall we toast to?"

"To us." He said.

"To us." She replied. They clinked glasses and drank down the contents.

Hours later, they lay next to each other their heads touching, looking up at the sky. The Wingly rolled over onto his side and stared at Kayla. Strange how she's changed me, he thought, oh gods, I must be loosing my nerve. With a smile he wrapped his arm around her again. The girl looked over at him, surprised by the tender gesture. Could this be the same Lloyd she had met just a few months ago? The cold, calculating Wingly, with the killer gleam in his eye? No matter, she thought happily, I like him like this. That's why I fell in love with him. That thought stopped her. Kayla my dear, you're going soft on me. She smiled back at him and rested her head on his chest. In moments she was asleep, and, lulled by the peaceful sound of her breathing, the Wingly soon followed.

Haschel hit the training post again. "Flurry of Styx!" A blast of electrical energy exploded against it, leaving a huge burn mark where it had made contact, but not doing any other noticeable damage. "Hex Hammer!" the thick oak tree trunk, snapped like a twig. With a small smile the Martial Arts Master moved to the next one. With a loud crack the next three posts shattered. Satisfied that he'd done enough for one day, Haschel turned to leave, only to be met by a loud voice, calling out,

"Hiya Haschel!"

"Hi Meru, come down to train?" he replied, taking in the young Wingly with the shining eyes and a huge hammer slung over her shoulder.

"Nah! I was just looking for Kongol. Have ya seen him?"

"Uh, he was sitting in the gardens, last time I checked."

"Okay! Thanks Haschel!" she called over her shoulder as she rushed off towards the gardens. The old man shook his head indulgingly after her, then, walked slowly back to his quarters to meditate some more.

Outside, sitting in the midsummer sun, the hulking form of the Giganto could clearly be seen. He sat uncomfortably, on a stone bench that looked like it came from a doll house under him. With his eyes closed, he leaned back against the trunk of a tree that had grown up behind the bench and breathed deeply of the summer air. This life good. He thought to himself. Soon a flashing, blue figure came sprinting out of the castle, and jumped squarely into his lap. Patting his cheek affectionately, Meru looked up at the Giganto.

"Hiya!" Kongol only grunted, with a slight smile on his face. "Don'tcha wanna say something to your bestest best friend?" he simply grunted again and leaned back against the tree again. Meru, however, was not to be dissuaded so easily; she rested her head tenderly on his large chest and closed her eyes. His eyes flew open, looking down at the small figure resting on his chest, he felt a new feeling dawn on him. Someone cared for him. It was a strange feeling, one he was not accustomed to, but it felt good. He raised a hand and awkwardly patted the top of her head. She smiled, snuggled more into his chest, and promptly fell asleep. He just sat there, feeling even more uncomfortable, yet not wanting to move, lest she awoke. In the end, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree again.

Lloyd's eyes practically burst open. A noise had woken him, something that didn't belong in the stillness of the woods. Slowly easing himself out from under Kayla's head, he drew his sword, and walked to the edge of the clearing. His sword in its classic fighting position, by his side, he advanced, slowly, calmly. He was in his element, for years he'd been a hunter, of many things, men not least among them. There was someone, hiding unseen in the darkness under the trees. All of a sudden, a hand touched his shoulder, and he whirled, bringing his sword to bear on his assailant.

"Relax." Kayla said, as she took a step back. "You almost killed me. Again"

"Shhh, there's someone hiding in the trees over there." With a silent nod, she drew her daggers from behind her back. Without another word, they advanced, cautiously towards the unknown watcher.

With a roar the huge bear lunged out of the trees at the pair. Suddenly relieved, Lloyd simply let his instincts take over. Rushing forwards, he seemed to disappear right in front of the bear. Then, large slash marks appeared on the creature's skin, and Lloyd reappeared behind him, a thin trickle of blood running down the edge of his sword. With an ear-splitting cry, the bear dropped to the ground, dead before it hit. With a flick of his wrist, Lloyd returned his sword to its sheath on his back, and walked back to Kayla. She sheathed her daggers as well, and flopped down onto the cloth again.

"You coulda let me at least touch the thing." She said huffily.

"No way, it would have killed you before you touched it."

"Oh?" she said angrily, "so I'm just supposed to sit back while you risk your fool neck trying to protect me all the time? No thanks."

"Look," he answered vehemently. "You're not fighting unnecessarily. And that's that." She threw up her hands angrily.

"FINE!"

"Fine." With that, the dark-haired girl stormed out of the glade, back towards the castle. Shaking his head at the insanity of women, the Wingly repacked the picnic things. Just as he closed the basket, a voice spoke.

"Lloyd, it's been awhile." Turning slowly, the platinum-haired man, faced an all too familiar figure, dressed in dark purple, with a deep purple breastplate.

"About a year and a half, as I recall, Doel." He said coolly. "Have some unfinished business?"

"No, actually, I'm only here to do this." He lifted his arm, and Lloyd felt a sharp pain in his chest. "Doel, you bastard."

"I'm merely releasing your full power. Have fun." And he vanished.

The Wingly remained writhing on the ground. Then, suddenly, a shimmering light burst forth from the stone sewn into his vest. It engulfed him. And he felt the Dragoon armour solidify around him. But this time it was different. The stone had finally recognised him as its true bearer. His headband grew, and became encrusted with emeralds, the largest of which slid over his left eye. Then he felt the six huge wings sprout out of his back. His sword changed, the light surrounded it as well, and it turned into a wickedly curved, razor sharp weapon. After a long moment, the light cleared, and Lloyd stood there transformed, he was now, truly, the Divine Dragoon. With a single stretch of his magnificent wings, he lifted off the ground, and flashed off towards the castle.

Far away, in the Twin Castle of Fletz, Albert lay next to Emille in their bed; she rolled over on her side and twirled a stray strand of his hair around her finger. He rolled over as well and faced her.

"Enjoying yourself, my love?" he asked her playfully.

"Yes, exceedingly." She smiled back at him. "Do you…" her question was cut off by a gigantic blast, which rocked the castle. Albert jumped up and grabbed his lance from where it hung on the wall. With a worried look at his wife, he rushed from the room. Running along the halls, he spotted Furion on his way outside as well, scythe in hand.

Another blast rocked the building, just as they burst out the front doors. The sight that greeted them was nothing short of horrific. Dead and dying castle guards were scattered all over what was left of the town square. And right in the middle of all the rubble, sat the Elemental Dragon. Oh damn, thought Furion, how the hell am I supposed to handle this? He saw Albert hurl his spear right at the beast. It sunk up to its spiked end into the Dragon's middle eye. The creature simply thrust it out again, and launched itself into the air. Before he knew what he was doing, Furion heard his own voice calling,

"Jade Dragoon! Emerge!" the flash of green subsided, and he stretched his mighty wings and soared after the Dragon. As he rose, he called down to Albert.

"Get back inside! Send word to the others! I need their help! Quick!" with a nod, the King rushed back to the castle grabbing the nearest messenger and giving him the urgent message. The boy nodded, and ran towards the stables. With a sinking feeling inside of him, Albert rushed back into the chamber he and Emille shared.

"Emille, we're under attack, you have to get out of here." Without a word, she nodded and left. When he was sure she was gone, he sprinted to the barracks and called the soldiers together.

Soon he was marching back towards the town square with a whole contingent of archers, knights, and spearmen behind him. He arrived, just in time to see Furion plummet from the sky and smash into a nearby stall, only to jump back into the air. With a cry, Albert ordered his men to open fire on the great beast bearing down on them.

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Review? Thanks! Hope you liked this one. I finally had Lloyd come into his full powers! The stone accepted him! Wow! Can't wait for the next chapter. :D Thanks. and hope you liked it.