"That thing's not getting away with that Layan Eye..." Lyle muttered to himself as he ran through the forest, brushing past trees and thick shrubbery. For a man in his mid-forties, Lyle was surprisingly athletic and agile, darting past the plants and weaving through the trees with a grace and finesse other men his age could only dream of.

Sweat began to trickle from his forehead. Yet Lyle pressed on, not showing any sign of slowing down just yet. Acting quickly, he put his staff into his belt, freeing his right arm so that he could aid his running.

Five minutes on. The winged creature was flying ever higher, and it was getting further away from Lyle. Yet Lyle carried on the chase, the sweat now pouring down his face, despite the fact that he was tiring.

"Don't you even think about getting away..." Lyle panted, his fringe sticking to his sweaty forehead. He stopped and dropped to the floor to regain his breath.

He could feel his blood heating up inside him.

"It's happening. Maybe it's the only way I can get the Layan Eye now..." Lyle said to himself. His blood felt like liquid fire now. The only way he could quell it would be to let go and allow the Dragon Knight within him to awaken. So that's what he did.

Swirls of brown mist enveloped Lyle, covering him whilst the change overtook him. The mist expanded and rippled to keep Lyle's changing form covered. The mist dissipated, and a huge dragon stood where it had been.

"OK, I'm going after that thing. The Layan Eye won't be in his possession for much longer!" Lyle said in his head, and then he spread his huge wings and took to the skies.

The winged creature soared quickly, but Lyle the Dragon was much faster, catching up to it faster than Lyle's human form could have managed. Meanwhile, back on the ground, Rhys was staring intently at Lyle the Dragon.

"That's impossible! That dragon... that was the very same dragon that kidnapped Maia over thirty years ago!" Rhys gasped, staring at the huge brown dragon in shock. It was fighting with the huge winged creature that had the Layan Eye.

"That's no dragon - that's Lyle!" Wren shouted triumphantly. Rhys' look turned from shock to horror.

"Lyle? Wren, what kind of thing would make your circuits act like this? Lyle is no dragon, he's... Ah! That dragon's been hurt!" Rhys said in disbelief as the semi-conscious form of Lyle the Dragon landed on the grass nearby with a sickening thud. A cloud of brown mist settled over the dragon, shrinking around it and dissipating, leaving Lyle lying on the grass. It seemed as though the winged creature had attacked him and knocked him to the ground.

"But how... that's just..." Rhys stammered as he looked at Lyle, who was barely moving. Sean ran over to him.

"It's OK, everybody, he's alive! He's just taken a very bad hit." Sean said. Lyle began to regain consciousness, very slowly.

"No, Prince Sean, not that! How that dragon turned into Lyle, that's what I meant!" Rhys snapped. The prince stood up and turned to face him.

"Don't get rowdy with me, Rhys!" the prince shouted. Rhys backed down. Just then, the huge winged creature flew over and headed straight for Lyle. It dropped the stone it was carrying and swiped Lyle up in its ugly hands. Lyle wasn't conscious enough to struggle, so he lay limply in the creature's hands. It began to fly away.

"Oh, no! Lyle!" Laya screamed, but it was too late. The winged creature had escaped with Lyle in tow.

"This isn't possible... but why Lyle?" Rhys asked in disbelief as he walked over to the smooth, white, egg-shaped stone the creature had dropped and picked it up.

"I've not got a clue. But, at least we have two Layan Eyes now. Anyway, we've still got to get Laya's Pendant from the Frigidia Province. Let's do that." Sean replied, and then he allowed Wren to lead the party to the Frigidia Province.