Author's Notes:

Hey guys! Sorry for the gaps between chapters, but I already explained the reasons for it last time. Also, I received a PM from an anonymous person regarding the story. Their question was "will there be a sequel to this fanfiction?" In all honesty, I don't know yet. I may write one, but if I do, it will be at least a month before I post the first chapter. Anyway, enjoy chapter 52!

Chapter 52: Another Dragon

Saito woke up on a beach with bright, nearly white sand. He was completely naked, with quite literally nothing else around him. The sky was clear, with only a few poofy clouds hanging in the air. The waves pushed water onto his bare feet.

He looked in all directions. In front of him stretched a vast ocean with gentle waves bobbling up and down. In both all direction, behind him, to his right, and to his left, the beach stretched as far as his powerful eyes could see.

He closed his eyes and tried to listen for anything, but all he could here was the sound of the crashing waves on the beach. He began to walk along the beach, trying to see if he could find anything strange. After a few moments, about to give up, he heard a dull sound under the water.

It sounded like metal chains moving, clashing together. He walked cautiously towards the water, not sure if he should jump in or not. After a few moments, with his curiosity getting the better of him, he jumped into the great ocean.

Underwater, it was extraordinarily dark. He could not see the floor of the sea, despite being close to the coast. He swam deeper and deeper until finally, he barely managed to see an extremely large chain very slightly moving with the current.

It seemed to be attached to something, as it was pulled straight and under a lot of stress. He looked around some more and saw something peculiar. There was a glowing, light blue dot very far down. It was too dim to identify, but he was determined to swim further to find out.

However, once he got to a certain depth, he immediately stopped. The water turned extremely cold, colder than ice itself. It was far too much for Saito to handle, so he started swimming upwards again. As soon as he breached the ocean's surface, he suddenly woke up in his bed in Tokyo.

It was still dark, approximately 4 o'clock in the morning. Louise slept peacefully next to him, very lightly snoring. Troubled by his dream, he picked up Derf, who he brought with him from Halkeginia, and made his way to the rooftop.

"Hey, Derf." He said, speaking to the sword as he looked at the full moon.

The sword, which had been dormant since Saito was injured during the Germanian War, said nothing. Saito was aware that Derf had been asleep this whole time, but he still attempted to wake him. He shook him around and hit his hilt on the chimney. After a few minutes, a tired voice emanated from the sword.

"Who the hell is hitting me?!" Derf said rather angrily.

"Derf, you've been asleep for months." Saito replied.

"Eh? Partner? You...You're better now?" Derf asked, feeling confused.

"Like I said, you've been asleep for months." Saito replied.

"Where are we?" Derf asked.

"My home in Tokyo." Saito replied, taking a deep breath of air.

"Why are we here? We weren't sent back again were we?" Derf said.

"We're here to meet my family." Saito replied, laying down on the roof. "Things have calmed down since you fell asleep."

"How is Louise?" Derf asked with a surprising amount of concern.

"She's fine." Saito replied. "She's sleeping in my room downstairs as we speak."

"I see. How did your family take everything?" Derf said.

"They were in disbelief at first, but they're okay with it now." Saito said.

"How did things go with the war?" Derf asked.

"We won. After Albrecht was captured, the Germanians didn't have the will to fight anymore." Saito replied. "His wife was made the Empress. I haven't had the chance to speak with Albrecht himself, but I'll do so once we get back."

"Wait a minute...Louise was pregnant! Please tell me the kid is okay!" Derf exclaimed, sounding like a worried grandfather.

"The kid, or rather, the kids, are fine." Saito replied. "We had twins. A baby boy and a baby girl. W named the boy Gabriel and the girl Riza. They're with Sasha right now."

"That's a relief." Derf sighed. "So why did you want to wake me up so badly?"

"I had a strange dream." Saito replied.

"That tends to happen after all you've been through." Derf said.

"No, this dream meant something." Saito replied. "It seems familiar to me somehow."

"Well, if it's something to deal with your soul or whatever, maybe you should ask that beast inside you." Derf advised.

"You're probably right." Saito replied.

He sat up and crossed his legs. Slowly he closed his eyes and began to meditate. Soon, he woke up in front of Gandalfr, who was wide awake and seemed rather agitated.

"You came here about your dream, I presume?" He said.

"Oh yeah, you can see my dreams, can't you?" Saito replied, sitting on the ground. "Any idea what that was?"

"Indeed. Tell me, how many times have you become Lífþrasir?" Gandalfr asked, laying his large head in front of where Saito sat.

"Twice. I died both times." Saito replied, rubbing the beast's snout.

"What happened to you when you became Gandalfr for a second time?" He asked.

"I got hurt. You know that." Saito replied.

"Listen carefully." Gandalfr said. "I believe that becoming Lífþrasir for a second time is allowing you to meet Lífþrasir"

"That was Lífþrasir?" Saito asked.

"Be cautious. She is even more hostile than myself." Gandalfr warned him.

"She?" Saito asked.

"Yes. Did you assume we were all males?" Gandalfr replied.

"Not at all! So how can I still have a link to her if I'm not Lífþrasir anymore?" Saito asked.

"A familiar like yourself never entirely loses their connection to us." Gandalfr replied. "If they lose their power, they are simply unable to access our own reserves anymore. You became Lífþrasir twice and you are not human anymore. Perhaps that makes it harder for your connection to be shut."

"I see." Saito said. "So what do I have to do to get her to talk to me?"

"She hates all humans, so perhaps you should show her that you're not quite human anymore." Gandalfr replied. "Show no hostility. Leave yourself open to attack. You may be able to gain her trust this way. If she does attack you, do not fight back. Just run."

"She seems terrifying." Saito said with fear in his voice.

"You're wrong." Gandalfr said. "She was the sweetest of us all. The one willing to give humanity a chance. But she has been wronged so much, that her heart has become cold."

"That's awful." Saito replied. "I'll do my best to talk to her."

"Good luck, boy." Gandalfr said, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Saito's eyes opened again as he came out of his meditative state. It was still dark outside, although the sky was turning from black to a deep blue.

"Did he tell you anything?" Derf asked.

"Yeah. It's another creature like him. His sister." Saito replied, picking up Derf and jumping off the roof.

"Sister? Do you have to talk to her?" Derf asked.

"Yeah." Saito replied. "She's apparently more hostile than Gandalfr is, so I'll have to be careful."

"Are you going to tell Louise?" Derf asked.

"No. I want her to relax while we're in Japan. I'll deal with this alone." Saito replied, walking into the house and upstairs to the bathroom.

He undressed and filled the tub with boiling hot water, which after removing the barrier of magic he kept around his body, felt quite lukewarm. He started thinking about how he should approach speaking to Lífþrasir. At this point, he was incapable of going into her realm at will, so he would have to wait until he slept again.

As the water in the tub began to boil from his body heat, the door to the bathroom cracked open. He sister, not knowing he was in the bathroom, walked inside. She jumped from shock when she saw him staring at her.

"Sorry!" She said, about to leave.

However, she hesitated when she noticed his body. He told her he had been in wars, but she now saw the proof in the dozens of scars which covered him. Before he could ask why she was staring at him, she left and closed the door.

"What a weirdo." Saito said to himself, standing up and putting on his clothes. He went back to his room, where Louise had just woken up and was tying her hair with a rubber band. He hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Good morning, Saito." She said, gently rubbing his cheek.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"Yeah. More importantly, you didn't sleep too well, did you?" She said, turning to face him.

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"Well firstly, whenever you wake up as early as you did, it means something bothered you." She said. "I was also able to feel your magic in your sleep. It felt disrupted and agitated."

"I just had a weird dream, that's all." He said, trying to reassure her that he was fine.

"What happened in it?" She asked, not giving him a chance to escape.

"Ehhh, it's hard to remember." He replied, rubbing the back of his head. "If I forgot, it probably means it's nothing."

Although dissatisfied, Louise decided to do him a favor and stop pursuing the topic.

"So what will we do today?" She asked.

"I want to go and meet my old friends." Saito replied. "We should also go into town and look around. I'll buy you anything you like."

"You're such a good husband!" She said, tightly hugging him.

Although he was happy to be feeling this affection from her, the thought of perhaps being killed by Lífþrasir still dwelled in the back of his mind. However, he soon managed to push it away and simply enjoy the feeling of his wife.

In Sasha's House

Riza and Gabriel happily played on a soft rug in Sasha's home, under close supervision of the dragon Hayai. He was extremely agitated, constantly staring in the direction of Mariel's mountain, and shielding the children if they ever started wandering in that direction.

Sasha and Mariel, who sat on a sofa watching them closely, noticed the dragon's extremely protective behavior.

"This dragon has a connection to the magic in the mountain." Mariel said. "Let's just take it there and observe what it does."

"No, Elder sister." Sasha replied. "If something bad were to happen, I would never be able to face Louise again."

"Little sister, we can't keep pushing away this issue. We have to do something." Mariel said. "Louise's husband. This dragon. They both have a strange magic within them. This dragon also seems to be drawn to the mountain. There will be no harm if we escort it there."

"But what about your son?" Sasha asked. "He and his wife have not returned from their trip into town yet."

"Inform them that I took a short walk." Mariel said. "This is important."

"If you really insist, you may take it there. But I am going to stay here and watch over these children." Sasha said.

"Very well." Mariel said.

Hayai seemed to understand what they were talking about, so he lifted the two children onto Sasha's lap, then lowered himself onto the ground to allow Mariel to ride him. She waved goodbye to Sasha, then let the dragon take her to the mountain.

She was shocked to discover the dragon's method of travel, but decided to study it at another point in time. The dragon knew its way around the mountain, successfully navigating the plethora of dark, damp corridors.

After a few hours, they reached the centre of the mountain. It was a vast room which contained nothing but a large, light blue, glowing orb in its centre. Mariel, of course, had been to this room several times to study the orb, but she was never able to take much information about it.

In all of her previous attempts, any tools she would try and use on it disintegrated when they were within a certain radius around the object, so she gave up on it long ago. All she knew was that it excreted a magic which seemed to be designed to work with a counterpart.

Hayai let her off of his back, then walked towards the ball of light. He put his front feet onto it, then closed his eyes. After a few moments, he suddenly jumped back, making sure to grab Mariel as well, protecting her from whatever was about to happen.

After a few seconds of silence, with a deafening sound, a large crack formed in the orb. Several smaller cracks began to form, revealing a bright light coming from inside the sphere. More and more cracks began to develop until eventually, the sphere broke apart and disintegrated into nothingness.

When Mariel opened her eyes, recovering from the blinding light that came from the orb before it shattered, she saw a creature lying on the ground. It looked rather similar to the black furred dragon which was protecting her at the moment.

However, the creature had white feathers instead of black fur, which covered it's entire body, including it's legs. It also had three tails instead of six. It slowly got onto its feet, looking puzzled. After a moment, it seemed to notice their presence. It turned towards them, allowing Mariel to view it's face.

It looked similar to Hayai, but was far more streamlined in the shape of its snout. It had two long ears sprouting from the back of its head. The sclera of its eyes were light blue, while its iris was black and its pupils were white. It was also quite a bit smaller than Hayai was, perhaps around 75% his size.

Despite this, Hayai seemed extremely threatened by the other dragon. The other dragon also seemed to feel threatened, but not towards Hayai, but Mariel. It stared at her intently, with its eyes filling with hatred.

After a few seconds, the two dragons made eye contact. For several minutes, they seemed to be communicating, with Hayai making a series of deep, low pitched sounds and the other making a series of high pitched sounds. Mariel observed, hiding behind Hayai for protection. After several minutes, both dragons seemed to lower their guard, although they both still seemed to dislike one another.

Hayai let Mariel get on his back, then began to leave the room, signaling for the other dragon to follow them. It seemed hesitant, but followed them at a distance. They quickly arrived back at Sasha's house, where Mariel ran inside to talk to Sasha.

Inside, Alex and Shion had returned and were playing with the children. Sasha immediately stood up. Not from her sister arriving, but from sensing the other dragon outside her house. The magic felt strange, like it was extremely heavy and weighing her heart down.

"What the hell is that thing?" Alex said as he, Sasha, and Shion went outside and blocked the door to the house.

"I don't know." Mariel said. "It seems that these two creatures have some sort of relationship."

They noticed the feathered dragon staring at the children, so they covered the doorway to defend them. However, before they realized it, the dragon was inside the room, staring down at the two babies which stared back at it with awe.

After a few seconds, they noticed that the feathered creature was already behind them, something which even Sasha couldn't understand. Hayai seemed unfazed and simply laid on the ground, watching what was happening.

The feathered dragon observed the two children for several minutes, sniffing them and softly pushing them around. Several minutes later, the creature went outside and laid down next to Hayai, trying to gain his attention, but to no avail.

"We have to tell Louise and Saito." Mariel said.

"You are correct for once, Elder sister." Sasha replied.

"What's going on?" Shion asked.

"We're as confused as you are." Mariel replied. "Listen, I promise that I will help you find your family, but this is extremely important. Will you please wait for just a little while?"

"Yes. I understand." Shion said, sounding disappointed.

"Sasha, is there a way we can contact Saito or Louise from here?" Mariel asked.

Sasha thought for a while, then remembered the green gem she gave Saito. She pulled a matching stone from a pouch on her waist, then closed her eyes. It slowly began to glow until it illuminated the entire room.

"Please get hear quickly..." She said to herself.

In Tokyo

Saito and Louise sat around the dinner table with their family, laughing together and telling stories about adventures that both families had at different points in time. Louise was having a brilliant time hearing about Saito's various embarrassments, from being rejected by girls, to his many failures in sports.

When dinner was finished, Louise and Saito cleaned up, doing the dishes together. As they washed, they talked about their day. Saito had bought Louise several items. Clothes, jewelry, shoes, and other random objects.

"Sorry we couldn't meet my friends today." Saito said.

"They're on summer vacation. We can meet them when they get back." Louise replied.

Before Saito could say something else, a bright green glow shined from Saito pocket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the source of the light, the green gemstone she had given him when he was still recovering from his injuries.

"What is it?" Louise asked.

"We have to go. Immediately." Saito said.

"Go where?" Louise asked.

"To Sasha's place. She's the one who's sending this signal. Something must be wrong." Saito said, thinking immediately of his children's well being.

"I'll inform Mother and Father." Louise replied.

She left the kitchen to inform her family that they would be gone for an unknown period of time. Their family was, of course, heartbroken and worried to hear this news. However, Louise assured them that they would not be gone for long.

She then went back to Saito and opened a world door to Sasha's house. They held hands together and took deep breaths before stepping through the portal, their hearts filled with fear.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Luckily, I managed to get this chapter out today. It wasn't easy, so it may seem rushed, but I still enjoyed writing it. One more thing. I have posted a poll on my profile page asking which anime I should write a fanfiction for. Feel free to vote there or send me a PM with your ideas. I'll be accepting ideas about plots and setting for any of the anime on the list. Thanks for participating! Please leave a review for this chapter. It really helps me out. See you next time guys!