OoO( 23 )OoO

All of the heroes stood before the cullis gate in the center of the town as they saw off the last remaining townsfolk. Lyle stood, holding a young girl as she hugged him tightly. He smiled down at her and stroked her hair gently as the girls companions went through the gate. They smiled at Lyle and waved as the small troupe left.

The warrior looked down at the girl that hugged him and he knelt down, gently brushing the hair from her face. "Hey...don't worry alright? I'm not going to die here. And as soon as I'm finished, I'm going to come and perform with you for the guild members." he said looking into her tear stained eyes.

She sniffled before mumbling, "Promise?" she asked. Lyle nodded and hugged her back. She cradled his head gently before leaving through the gateway with the rest of her companions. Lyle turned to Michael, who was staring at him intently.

Walking over to the boy who was only up to his shoulders, he held out his hand. Michael reached up and clasped his hand tightly, signifying their bond as brothers. "You are no longer a student. You are now a guardian." he said, getting a nod from the young man. "Always remember what it is you fight for." he said.

"And you always remember who it is you fight for." said the young hero. "Remember that you aren't allowed to die, because if you do I'll come back here and kill you." he said, making the warrior laugh.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You still have to beat me in a duel before I let you become a full hero." he said. "Now, go and defend those people. They need someone to look up to." he finished. Michael smirked, then nodded and turned to the gateway. The light swallowed him and his large spear as he was transported across the country.

Lyle turned to Elizabeth, who stood next to the gateway. She nodded to him. "I'll be praying for your safe return." she said to them. Van walked forward and hugged her tightly, before kissing her.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon enough." he said, then turned to the others, and noticing a strange look on Lyle's face. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

The hero shrugged. "Don't know, guess I'm just not used to you two being married yet." he said smiling.

Van smirked and crossed his arms. "Well, don't even think about it because she's taken." said the mage smartly. Lyle held his hands up in defense.

"Take it easy." said the hero. Turning to the others, he nodded to them. "You all know where you belong. Lets end this quickly so we can celebrate with our families." he said. They all cheered, and moved to their locations.

Ark turned to Scarlett and Theresa with a smile. "Well, lets hope we can have a nice family reunion after this." he said, getting a hug from the older woman.

"I'm sure it will be a night to remember." she said. "It's been so long since I've seen you, I thought you had died so long ago."

"Well, lets hope tonight doesn't finish the job." he said nervously.

OoOoO

The wind blew strong as the night wore on. The sun hadn't been seen in days, hidden behind dark clouds in the day and replaced by a perfect full moon at night. The wind, though devoid of snow still bit coldly at the army as they headed to the ruins on the other side of the island. It seemed that the closer they got to the tomb where Jack was hidden, the less and less snow and plantlife there was to be found.

Lyle stepped over the hill and looked forward at their goal. It was a large gateway built in the middle of countless dead ruins. The land seemed somehow, hollow. There was no life, no twittering of birds, no flowers or trees, nothing. Ark stood next to him and looked at the grim scenery.

"Makes you realize what we are up against, huh?" asked the dark warrior.

"It does. But we aren't faultering now." he said as he continued down the hill. Cara and Alex stared at the destroyed ruins from their perch on a large tower. Nobody had any idea what was going to come out of the gate once it was opened. But nobody cared, they knew that whatever came out was going to be destroyed.

"It's almost time." said Alex, getting a look from Cara.

"Time to let the demon loose..." said the younger girl.

"Time to end what started over ten years ago." said the beautiful bowmaster.

OoOoO

The last orb was placed in the gateway, and they all three began to glow brightly. The door came to life with glowing runes and symbols as the three orbs darkened. A loud mechanical movement could be heard from within the massive door, before the glyphs finally faded. The huge gateway cracked, then swung open.

Lyle and the others stared into the darkness, knowing what was inside the portal. The hero was the first to step forward. He entered the darkness, slowly followed by the others. The tunnel was vast as they all moved forward, feeling a sweltering heat coming from in front of them. Lyle was suddenly aware of the sound of running footsteps. In the darkness, he couldn't see who it was, however someone had just run past them.

"What the hell?" asked Van.

"I don't know, but whoever that was is suicidal if they think they can take Jack alone." said Lyle, then they all began to run through the tunnel until finally they emerged into a large chamber that had been heated by pools of lava. They stopped when they saw who ran past them.

"Briar...Rose?" asked Van.

"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be with the reinforcements." said Thunder.

The woman turned around and had a smile on her face. "Fools..." she said as she reached the top of the stairs. The heroes watched her as she removed something from her side.

"Where is she going?" asked Ark. But nobody answered. They all quickly moved up the stairs after her, when suddenly they were stopped in their tracks. "Uhhh...Lyle..." said Ark as his eyes widened.

"No way..." said Van unbelievably as he stared at the scene in front of him.

"You know...my history is kinda rusty, but one thing I do remember is that dragons are extinct right?" asked Ark.

"Of course they are!" said Lyle, believing himself to be hillucinating. "It can't be..."

Thunders jaw dropped. "Then what the hell is that?" asked the dark knight as he pointed to a large scaley body laying across the hot cavern floor. Briar rose stopped in front of the body and knelt down.

Lyle ran forward. "What the hell are you doing! Get away from that thing!" he shouted as he dashed to stop her.

"Lyle! Stay away from her!" shouted Scythe as he watched from behind them all with fear in his eyes. "She isn't who you think she is!"

The warrior stopped and felt the blood in his system run cold as the woman held up the object that was hidden at her side.

It was the mask of Jack of Blades. She held it up to her face, covering her smiling features before turning and placing the mask on the forehead of the innert dragon. The mask sank into the scales and solidified among them before the air inside the cavern shifted and blew out the tunnel.

The woman turned to the others and fell to her knees before looking up. The warrior noticed that her demeanor changed rapidly. She now looked scared. "Lyle...I'm...sorry..." she said. Suddenly, everyones attention turned to the large serpentine body behind her. It rose from its prone position, climbing on all four of its massive scaley legs.

"You played your part well woman..." said a voice dripping with evil. She turned and looked up with tears in her eyes as the fiery golden eyes of the red scaled dragon stared down at her. "But I'm afraid you are no longer useful to me." he said. Lyle ran forward as he reared his head back, but he didn't make it in time.

"Noooooooo!" shouted the hero as the dragon unleashed a fire that scorched the air and swallowed the woman, instantly incinerating her body and reducing it to ash. The heroes all had to cover their faces as the heat almost overwhelmed them. "Damn you!" shouted Lyle as he glared at the dragon.

The serpent looked at the hero, and it almost seemed as if it was smiling. Suddenly, the reptile erupted into maniacal laughter. "Lyle the Saber. My my, hasn't it been a long time." he said as he stepped forward. Lyle stepped backwards towards the others as the dragon moved towards him. "If I recall, the last time we spoke, you took what was rightfully mine."

Lyle smirked. "I took your life, if that's what you mean." he said, getting a glare from the dragon. "Tell me Jack, how does it feel to be defeated by a mere human?"

A low rumbling came from the throat of the giant beast. "As foolish as ever." said Jack as he continued to walk forward. "To show such disrespect even in the face of certain annihilation. Only that fool Maze had the nerve to do such a thing, but I see he has passed the trait on." he said. "No matter, now that I have the souls from this mask, I am at my full power. You stand no chance."

"From the mask?" asked Scythe, seemingly confused.

"You didn't realize it old man?" asked Jack before laughing to himself. "This mask was my connection to the outside world. It collected souls for me, fed me and kept me alive, as well as controlled my puppets. If you had wanted the threat of me truly gone, you had only to destroy this mask." he said with a wicked draconic smile. "But now, it's too late. All the souls collected over the last 400 years by this mask are now mine. And I will use them to destroy you all!" yelled the beast before roaring loudly. The sound echoed off the walls, shaking the very foundation of the cavern.

Lyle noticed the dragon rear its head back again, then turned and shouted, "RUN! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" The others followed his orders and fled from the cave, back into the ruined city. Jack unleashed a wave of fire that swallowed the chamber and enveloped Lyle.

When the fire vanished, Jack noticed that the hero was standing with a magical shield protecting him. The serpent quickly turned and lashed out with its tail, hammering the hero off into the darkness of the night.

Lyle gasped painfully as he flew and hit the ground out in front of everyone. Thunder helped him to his feet as the draco flew out of the cave and took to the air, laughing loudly. "Freedom! Finally, I'm free!" it shouted as it landed heavily on the ground. Turning to the others, it smiled evilly as the battle began amongst the ruined city.

OoOoO

Alex and Cara's eyes widened in horror when they saw the monstrosity appear from the cavern. "W-What the hell is that?" asked Cara.

"It's Jack...but he..." she said as fear gripped her. Her eyes traced the body of the serpent. It stood at least twenty feet tall, towering over the heroes like a giant. It's behemoth structure was unlike anything she had ever seen. "Jack is...a dragon?" she asked.

OoOoO

Elizabeth's heart began to race as she heard the loud roar from the other side of the island. She looked off into the distance before closing her eyes tightly. "Please Van...Lyle...everyone. Please be safe..." she said.

Her eyes opened wide when she heard the gateway behind her flare up. She turned around in time to see a figure wearing all black, with long black hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. She looked startled as more figures appeared from the gate, wearing the same all black uniforms, before vanishing with unrivaled speed.

The man walked up to her and stopped, staring into her eyes. Another loud roar ripped across the landscape as the battle raged between man and beast. The man looked up as Elizabeth thrust a palm alight with electricity into his gut. However, the man didn't even flinch. Looking down, he pulled her arm away, before he too vanished into the darkness with speed like the wind.

"W...What...?" she asked stunned as she looked around. The area was again silent.