Don had already told the guards to let the group into the audience chamber, though if Raven did anything he might have been able to vouch for them. They found Don already waiting in his chair, though he was already attending to another guest.

"So, you've come back, have ya?"

Flynn, however, wasn't expecting this. "…Yuri!"

Don didn't expect that either, "What, you two know each other?"

Flynn nodded, "Yes, we're old friends…"

"Ya don't say."

Flynn's eyes glared back to Don, "I see you know Yuri as well."

"We crossed paths during the assault on the city. Now then, what business did ya have?"

It would seem that Flynn hadn't gotten to his reason yet, so Yuri came out and said his peace. "We came to ask you about Barbos of the Blood Alliance."

Flynn wasn't too surprised, "You're after Barbos, as well?"

"You too, huh?"

Flynn knelt before the Don on one knee, "I've been sent to ask that the Union abandon all ties with the Blood Alliance. Barbos and his guild have been abusing blastia and disrupting the order of society. Other guilds have begun to follow Barbos' example. With your assistance, I believe we can bring the Blood Alliance down."

Don smirked, "Barbos, huh? I'll admit, he's been testing the limits of my patience lately. Looks like it's time to remind that brute how a proper guild behaves."

Flynn was still showing the Don respect, crossing his arm over his chest, "It's thanks to you that we avoided a clash between the guilds and the empire the other day. But if Barbos is left unchecked, relations may once again begin to deteriorate. We must stop Barbos now!"

Don scoffed, "That's not gonna be fun for anyone. Since we'd be cooperatin' with ya, I assume we'd be on equal standing with the empire in this."

Flynn retrieved a letter from his pouch, offering it with both hands, "Of course, sir. I've brought a letter saying as much from his Highness Ioder."

"A secret letter from the imperial candidate, huh?" Don took the letter, though, after only a few seconds of reading it, Don passed the letter to Raven, "Read it aloud."

"If Don Whitehorse is taken out of the picture, we are willing to overlook the Union's responsibility in the Barbos affair."

"Wha—?!"

Don laughed hysterically, "Don't make me laugh!"

Raven handed the letter back to Flynn, reading it over and over, "What…this isn't…"

"Seems you and his highness aren't exactly on the same page."

"There must be some mistake! Master Ioder would never—"

"Oi, show our guest to his own private suite." Two of Don's men moved to 'escort' Flynn to a cell.

"Flynn!" Deesh stopped Estelle from interfering, "Why would you…?"

"One wrong move now, he could die, or we might join him in a cell."

Don quickly rose from his seat yelling as he marched out of the room with the others of his guild, "All-out war with the empire! We'll take everything we've got and march on the imperial capital! Try and make a fool out of me?! I'll tear these little messengers limb from limb!"

Karol had never seen Don in such a foul mood before. "Th-this is really bad!"

Rita seemed disappointed, "And it looks like he's forgotten all about talking with us." Estelle soon tried to rush off on her own, "Wait, where are you going, Estelle?"

"To confirm this at the Imperial Capital. If I don't, Flynn will…"

Rita grabbed Estelle's wrist, "I get how you feel, but, if you move without thinking, it'll just make things worse."

"That's right. And if you go off by yourself, you'll just make Yuri worry." Karol then noticed something was missing, "Yuri?" Even Deesh and Aile had disappeared on them.

Shadow laughed, "Looks like they're going to have some fun in a strike. Then again, Don doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd blow his top so easily. All of that huff and puff could just be a trap for our enemies and to shut up any dissidence from his idiots."

Estelle asked, "Do you really think Don knows the letter is fake?"

Shadow could only shrug, "I can't speak for every leader, but sometimes you got to do the dumb decisions before someone else does and gets themselves and others killed. And Whitehorse seems smart enough to not believe something so blatantly provocative."

The trio who disappeared from the group managed to sneak their way into the prison where Flynn was quietly meditating in his cell. Flynn didn't even need to look back to know who was standing behind him from the other side of those bars. "Yuri…"

"Oh? Caught me already?" Yuri didn't even pretend to be surprised, mocking his jailed friend.

Flynn was calmly sitting on his knees, looking to the back of his cell. "I suppose you've come to laugh at me."

"Absolutely. How often do I get to see you looking all meek after being arrested?"

In a situation like this, Aile couldn't see how Yuri could still joke with his friend's life on the line. "If you're quite finished, I think we have other concerns at the moment."

As she checked on the lock, Flynn reflected on the dark wall before him, "Being thrown in jail once in a while is good for one's perspective."

Deesh disagreed, "Yeah, the abyss before death." She leaned against the wall between the cells, "That prince of yours would never say those things. Something must've happened recently?"

"It was those red eyes' doing. We were attacked before arriving in Dahngrest."

Yuri didn't believe that. "You don't screw up like that. Was it one of your people?"

"Even if it was, the responsibility is mine to bare."

"I'm not so certain." Aile had one of her Biometals projecting an image of Zagi, "If the red eyes are involved than that must mean the order probably came from Ragou."

"What makes you say that?"

Yuri didn't want to see that mug again, even as an image, "At the harbor, we saw Ragou giving orders to one of their assassins, Zagi."

"So, it was like that…"

Deesh wanted to confirm her own thoughts, "So, what do you think will come of this?"

"Most likely a war between the Knights and the guilds."

Yuri could already imagine it. "That'd be bad. And it's likely the Knights got a fake letter, too."

"Yes…in order to rile the Knights."

Aile pushed the iron door open, "If you already knew that much, you'd better go and get the real letters back."

Flynn got up, "I was wondering how long it'd take you to get rid of that damn lock." He stopped next to Yuri, "You've got to stay here."

"What, and be your scapegoat? You're just itching to get rid of me, aren't you?"

"Yuri, if I don't make it back…you'll have to die in my place."

Yuri closed his eyes and smiled, "I know…" As Yuri walked into the cell he turned back to the others. "You mind helping out?"

Aile nodded, "Of course. We'll try and find Barbos, and if we're lucky Ragou will be with him." The two quietly left the Union headquarters, seeing that Flynn had already left on horseback with a conspicuously unguarded stable. "So, where do we begin searching?"

"It's hard to forget that weasel's scent; it shouldn't be too difficult for us to track in a city that smells nothing like the magistrate."

Aile stopped as she spotted Whitehorse walking back toward the Union building. "He doesn't seem too upset to see Flynn leaving the city."

Deesh was focused on following the scent before she loses it. "Probably because he already knew it was a fake. So let us do our job and find the puppet masters before Yuri gets out here."

Aile did a quick scan of the area, "It looks like Karol, Repede, and Strider are also on the hunt."

"Then we should team up. I'm sure Repede and Strider can track the scent down better than I."

Barbos had one of the best seats in Dahngrest as the Knights gathered just outside the city and guild forces started to march toward them. The slightest move on either side could inadvertently start a war at this point. "Seems everything's going nicely."

"Barbos!" His perfect view, however, was rudely interrupted by an annoying gnat, "What's the meaning of this?!" Barbos tried to ignore Ragou's complaints, though his yelling in Barbos' ear made that difficult. "Since when have you been building that tower and using Leviathan's Claw as you please?! And moreover, not reporting any of it to me!"

Barbos didn't want to miss the bloodshed, so he didn't bother looking back to Ragou, "And why would I report to you? I'm not your lapdog, Ragou. Just as you asked, I gathered cores. And it's thanks to that you were able to build your weather-controlling blastia, correct?"

"Exactly- But I don't remember telling you you could keep the extra cores!"

Barbos finally turned in his chair, grinning to Ragou, "Our mutual non-interference was a condition to our arraignment, was it not?"

"Wh-what…!" Ragou made that condition as a means of not being bothered by the oaf, but it would seem his precaution was not returned in favor.

"And did I ever interfere with what you were doing?"

Ragou was trapped by his own measure, "…Barbos, how dare you!"

From behind them, a new voice clamored, "It's the world series of villains and you had to take the best seat in the house?"

Estelle pointed out Ragou and Barbos, "All of this chaos, it's your doing!"

"You kids, huh…?" Barbos turned back to the field, "Like I said, there won't be a next time." A series of cannons far off in the distance fired, a signal but for who was a mystery. Even so, Barbos was getting excited now. "Ha! The fools have started to march! Now that annoying Don and those Knights will tear each other apart!"

"Why would you do such a thing? With the Knights gone, who will protect the empire?"

Karol seemed just as confused as Estelle, "You mean, you did this to destroy the Union, and get rid of the Don!?"

Rita pieced it together quickly, "And once the Knights are weakened, the Council can step in and dominate the empire…"

Shadow quickly punched holes in the plan, "And how exactly would the Council step up? Besides gaining control over the knights, you still rely on them for protection regardless. So, you're depleting your own forces just to get rid of someone you don't care about?"

Barbos was laughing now, "What can you do now that you know? This battle can't be stopped anymore!"

Yuri had a confident smirk on his face, "We'll see about that."

Off in the distance, a lone knight on horseback rushed as quickly as he could, charging straight between the two charging armies, "STOP! STOP! Everyone, sheath your swords!" When the two sides halted Flynn quickly raised a pair of letters high into the air for all to see, "My name is Flynn Scifo! I come bearing a letter from Master Ioder! The letter you received was the work of a rebel faction! Withdraw your armies!"

The Don personally stepped forward to Flynn, taking the letter as he whispered, "I was beginning ta think you weren't coming back."

"I would never dream of abandoning him."

Barbos snarled, "Ragou, you fool. You didn't keep up your end of the bargain."

Ragou was quick to cower from the brute, "Don't hurt me…!"

Barbos didn't have time to deal with him, nodding to one of his men as he pulled out a strange weapon similar to one of Shadow's. Aile recognized it, "We have to stop him from firing!"

Deesh was quick to respond, tossing two daggers into the man's shoulders, rendering his unable to use the weapon properly. "You're lucky I didn't lace those with poison."

"You brats think you can stop me?!" Barbos quickly snatched the weapon away and turned toward them.

Aile had just as quickly pulled out Model X and Model P, merging with the two then rushing forward. "Everyone stay behind me!" She had her arms covering her faces as the two gauntlets opened up and projected a purple energy field around them. Even as the blast from Barbos' weapon hit the barrier held and quickly dissipated.

Shadow was more than ready to rumble now, with rifle at the ready. Deesh's deepstalkers were getting anxious now, jumping out of her satchel and ready to rush the man with Strider. Strider, however, was waiting for Deesh's signal, as the Argonian readied her own shield. "We must strike before we lose this opportunity!"

Estelle tried to stop her, "It's too dangerous!"

Rita was working on something now, "It should take time for the aer to recharge. I'll try and stop him before then…"

"Now!"

They were ready to charge toward Barbos, but Aile stopped them, "No…wait!"

"You're too late!" Barbos readied the weapon again.

"No! It charged up too quickly!"

From the open-air patio, a familiar roar echoed before the dragon flew into the room and the rider used his spear to slice the weapon's barrel, causing it to explode in Barbos' face and knocking him off his feet. "Wh-What the hell?!"

Rita was pissed just seeing him again, "Oh, so you're back for more, dragon freak!"

As she started to glow with energy Aile was the one to grab Rita's arm, "This isn't the time, Rita. We have a common enemy here."

Rita broke free of Aile's grip, "My enemy is this dragon freak!"

Yuri yelled at her, "Leave it alone for now!"

Barbos was back on his feet, pulling out a weapon he had stashed away in one of the lockers, "I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't done that!" He was now carrying a massive sword made of a chainsaw for its blade.

Instead of fighting here, Barbos raised his blade into the air as the blastia just above the crossguard started to glow and a small vortex swirled around the sword, lifting him into the air.

"What? He can fly?!"

With a grin, Barbos yelled back as he flew north, "Get in my way, and I'll make sure you regret it!"

The dragon rider looked ready to pursue Barbos, something Rita wouldn't allow, "Ah! Get back here you freak! Think I'm just gonna let you get away?!"

Yuri stepped in front of Rita, "Hey if you're chasing after him, let me come along. No matter what happens, I've gotta catch that guy." The rider turned to Yuri, the helm hiding any sort of signal, yet the dragon lowered itself to the edge of the balcony for Yuri to get on. "Yes! Thanks!"

Yuri quickly hopped on behind the rider, much to Rita's protest, "Are you crazy? This jerk is our enemy!"

Shadow looked up, "Shade, summon the Wolf Hunter."

"And cause a panic? I don't even know if a ship is available for us to use."

"It worked back in Thedas."

"Because we somehow crashed there…"

Karol cried out to Yuri, "Wait! What about us…?!"

Yuri could feel the dragon struggling with the added weight, "This guy's overloaded enough as it is!"

Aile had switched to Model HX, "Which is why you two won't be going alone. These wings aren't just for show." Her four wings opened before she started to hover next to the dragon.

Deesh snorted, "I would summon Durnehviir for the rest of us. We'd probably have enough room for everyone, but he can only remain in the realm for a few minutes each summoning. Not enough time to properly pursue the fat one. And I think some might protest flying on an undead dragon."

Karol turned to Deesh, "What should we…?"

The dragon flew off as Yuri called back, "You guys hold down the fort here! Stay out of trouble. And let Flynn know I'm stepping out for a while!"

Aile waved back before following, "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Karol was really upset, "No way! How could he just leave us behind?! Damnit, Yuri."

Rita wasn't willing to wait that long, "We didn't come here just to look after things."

Estelle didn't want to be left behind, "I agree—"

Shadow kicked one of the unconscious Blood Alliance members, "Maybe we can wake of these guys and get them talking."

"In that case, why not chase after 'em?" It was Raven as he looked around to some of the damage caused by Barbos' weapon, "I've got an idea where Barbos is heading. You wanna go or—"

Deesh pushed forward, knocking into Raven's shoulder, "There's no point for us to loiter here, this is Flynn's battle now. And Barbos is a man that will strike again when he finds another opportunity."

Aile, Yuri, and the Dragon Rider chased Barbos into the desert even as night fell. Barbos' trail led them to a massive sand cyclone, "That's definitely strange and unusual. A cyclone that size shouldn't be capable of sustaining itself under these weather conditions, much less remain stationary. Nor should it be sparking with thunder from the inside."

"You're thinking it's artificial?"

She turned to him, "Are my ears composed of Titanium-X?" Seeing Yuri's confused face, Aile shook her head, "Never mind…"

Aile and the Dragon Rider flew above the giant twister, and just as Aile had stated, the cyclone was nothing more than an elaborate smokescreen. In the eye of the storm were several massive gears in constant rotation. The dragon fired at the heart of the problem, hitting part of the controlling mechanism while damaging one of the gears at the same time.

Aile did the same and targeted one of the columns nearby one with a ball of electricity. The damaged pillars were enough that it caused the blastia at the center to spark with out-of-control energy as the massive gears spinning around it came to a screeching halt and the twister quickly dissipated to reveal the tower as a whole with all of the gears that once helped create the cyclone forcefully stopped.

Aile smiled, though it quickly disappeared as she pushed the dragon out of the way and blocked two shots with her light swords. "Go, find Barbos. I'll deal with the sniper." Aile dove straight down toward one of the lower platforms and sliced the gun in two before she kicked the gunner back with her boot jets and cutting the sword of another Blood Alliance goon.

The Dragon Rider flew in low so Yuri could jump off near the out-of-control blastia. Barbos himself even came to greet him, "Here comes trouble."

"You…You've destroyed the blastia!"

Yuri was ready to attack Barbos alone, then Aile shouted, "Look out!" Yuri stopped just in time as a small object whizzed in front of him, aimed at the Dragon Rider. The shot hit the rider's shoulder, knocking him down onto the tower. During the confusion, Barbos used that strange sword of his to blast Yuri's blade out of his hand.

Aile quickly shifted targets, rushing toward Barbos as fast as she could. Despite her best effort, Aile was too far away which gave Barbos enough time to grab Yuri by his shirt and dangle him over the pit. "You should really give up if you don't want to see your friend fall to his doom."

Within the tower was a thick concentration of aer, undoubtedly the excess power leaking out of the tower after destroying the mechanisms. Aile could save Yuri given the height of the tower, unfortunately the concentrated aer would probably kill him before he was pulled out of it.

Aile deactivated her blades, "You better not be lying," tossing them away.

Barbos scoffed, "I'm a man of my word." He effortlessly tossed Yuri back onto the platform. "Take them to the cell. We'll deal with them later. And somebody fix the damn blastia!"

A pair of Blood Alliance goons surrounded Aile as the two grabbed her arms. She immediately shrugged them off, "I can walk myself." Yuri reluctantly let the grunts take him too, though not before he saw some members of the Blood Alliance struggling to lift the Dragon Rider in his full armor.