Noble Knight yawned and brushed some more soot off of her t- shirt. Sitting with her at the bar of the cafe were Elmina, Jane, Seph, and Boomerang, who were still cleaning off their own clothes, Lucied sitting at the base of Boomerang's stool (yes, Seph is sitting on a stool, too. =P ). Noble Knight took another drink out of the large bottle of beer in front of her. She had already downed five shot glasses of vodka/tonic while Elmina was still working on her first beer. Jane, Boomerang, and Seph had not drank anything yet, but seriously were thinking about it. (I don't drink, but NK does if she's had a nasty shock or if she's at a party. ^^ )

Across the room were Zed, Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia who were sitting at a table arguing about something that Noble Knight could not make out. She just shrugged and finished off her beer. She was about to say something when she was cut off by Zed yelling, "DAMN IT, CECILIA!! I DON'T CARE!!" The Dream Chasers at the bar jumped and turned around on their stools to look at the green-haired swordsman.

Cecilia was on the verge of a nervous breakdown while Zed had his arms folded on the table and his head resting on his arms. Not having noticed the Dream Chasers at the bar looking at him, Zed looked up and groaned, using considerably less force this time, "I'm sorry...just, please, do this for me. Then you'll at least be minus one troublemaker while you try and get rid of Zeik."

Jack protested, "Zed, we can't! We can't kill Dazer, because it'd be like killing you ourselves--"

Zed cut him off. "Jack, I'd rather die than let that sicko kill off, or help kill off, everyone on Filgaia."

Rudy started to say something when Noble Knight suddenly stood up and spoke, "That goes for me, too."

Boomerang stood up and stated, "And me." Cecilia lay her face in the palms of her hands, on the brink of tears. Boomerang looked at the floor and closed his eyes. He conveyed, "Something's happening, and I don't know what it is, but all I know is that I'm changing all over again." He looked back up. "Even if I die...again...I won't care as long as I take that bastard Chakrum with me." Noble Knight nodded, emphasising that she, too, felt the same way.

"Well, heeeeeere's yer chance!!" came a hauntingly familiar voice just before part of the roof of the cafe collapsed behind Cecilia. The Dream Chasers yelped in surprise and leapt backwards right as the owner of the voice leapt into the cafe via the new hole in the roof.

Before Cecilia could react, Dazer backhanded her, sending her sprawled across the floor. He laughed sinisterly and cracked his knuckles. The Dream Chasers all balled their hands into fists and took their fighting positions while Rudy gently helped Cecilia back to her feet and got between her and Dazer. They did not have their weapons, however, for they had been relaxing that day as they had the day before.

There was one differance about Dazer that everyone noticed right away. Set in his right wrist gauntlet was a diamond-shaped ruby that was about the size of his fist. Carved into the ruby was the zodiac symbol of Scorpio.

Dazer spoke, a sinister grin appearing on his face, "Looks like all of you forgot one of the most important rules when fighting in a war: never let your guard down." He looked at Zed. "Oh, and I'm not that sick."

Zed retorted, his eyes narrowing, "Anyone who would betray his own maker and chop off her head is more than sick."

Dazer grabbed his chest and laughed, "Ow! That hurt! That really did!"

Noble Knight demanded, "Where are the other two?"

"DK and Shocks? Oh, they're still at the shore with Zeik. They wanted me to wait until tonight to attack, but I wanted to kill all of you before then."

Rudy spoke, "You couldn't kill us back in the Filmsphere when it was only five of us and with Dark Knight's help. What makes you think you can kill all ten of us with no help?"

Dazer held up his right wrist, pointed to the ruby, and said simply, "I've got extra artillery this time."

Suddenly, the ruby began to glow a bright, fiery-red and Dazer's eyes changed from blood red to fire-red. He held out his right hand, palm up, just as a red sphere of light formed in his hand. The sphere abruptly became a large fireball.

"Oh, my god..." Zed muttered.

"By the gods!" Noble Knight gasped.

"SHIIIIIIIIT!!!!" Boomerang, Jane, and Seph shrieked.

Dazer grinned evilly and yelled, "Scorpio...STRIKE!!!!" With that, he threw the fireball at the Dream Chasers. Zed, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia dove to their left and huddled against the wall while Boomerang, Noble Knight, Elmina, Lucied, Seph, and Jane dove behind the bar. The fireball crashed into the back wall of the cafe, taking the entire wall and the rest of the roof with it. Dazer snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, damn...I missed..."

Lucied silently got out from behind the bar and snuck behind Dazer. With a high-pitched howl, Lucied lept forward and sunk her teeth into Dazer's left shoulder, catching him by surprised. Zed clapped a hand over his shoulder and cried out in pain. Dazer, however, was not thoroughly disturbed by Lucied's attack. He merely grabbed the Guardian by the throat and threw her across the room.

Dazer yawned and asked, grinning and ignoring his bleeding shoulder, "Anyone else want to try their luck?"

Zed whispered, his eyes squeezed shut, "Kill him...please..." Cecilia sorrowfully closed her eyes and prepared to cast a spell.

All of a sudden, Noble Knight leapt over the bar, ran to Dazer, and high-kicked him right in the face. She then let loose with an onslaught of attacks ranging from regular punches to roundhouse kicks. Zed's eyes widened as he looked down at himself in confusion and disbelief. He stated, his voice barely above a whisper, "I...I can't feel any of her attacks!"

Rudy gasped, "No way!"

Zed called over to Boomerang, "Boomer, attack him! I've got an idea!" Boomerang just shrugged and leaped over the bar.

Just before releasing his own assault, Boomerang turned to Zed and teased, "The day you have a good idea is the day that the universe comes to an end." However, once Boomerang started his attack, Zed realized that he was right.

He stated, "The connection doesn't work the other way around! The three of us can fight them without hurting ourselves!" With that, he leapt forward and attacked his clone, his spirit lifted and renewed.

Dazer, deciding to take desperate measures, unsheathed his sword and slashed at the three of them, causing them to back away. He swung his sword at Noble Knight, slicing her stomach. Dazer then leapt over her and prepared to drive the blade of his sword through her back.

Suddenly, Boomerang bolted behind him, put him in a headlock, and pulled his head back so that the slightest movement from Dazer would cause his neck to snap. Boomerang growled, his eyes burning like fire, "You touch her, and I'll tear you apart!" Dazer grabbed ahold of Boomerang's left wrist and threw him over his shoulder.

Dazer then picked his sword up from where he had dropped it when Boomerang had put him in a headlock and said, "You'll see me again, soon. Count on it!"

With that, Dazer ran out of the cafe and let out a shrill whistle. A deep brown horse trotted up to him which he mounted and galloped away from Adlehyde, heading south to the shore.

Boomerang and Rudy helped Noble Knight back to her feet. She looked up at Boomerang and laughed, "Thanks. That's two I owe 'ya."

Dark Knight yawned and leaned back onto the deck of the ship, her hands behind her head and her eyes closed. She spoke to no one in particular, "I suddenly feel laaaaaaazy..."

Zeikfried retorted, "It's probably a combination of the sunlight and that triple cheeseburger you ate for breakfast." Dark Knight razzed at him, not bothering to open her eyes.

Chakrum, who was just a few feet away from her and in the same position on the deck of the ship, suddenly asked, "Do you hear something?"

Dark Knight listened and then sniffed the air. She replied, "No, I don't hear anything, but I smell something. It smells like blood--oh, wait. Now I hear it! It's probably Dazer getting back from where ever he went."

Sure enough, Dazer galloped up the ramp on the side of the ship. Zeikfried yelped, "What the hell happened to you?!" Dark Knight's and Chakrum's eyes snapped open and the looked at Dazer.

His face was bruised and his right eye was swollen shut. Blood was trickling from the side of his mouth. The enraged demon merely stated, "We've got a problem..."

Boomerang hummed a strange tune to himself as he walked slowly along the stone balcony just outside the royal bedrooms of Adlehyde castle. Noble Knight had gotten bandaged up and was raiding the kitchen while Boomerang was taking his walk. After the incident only half an hour ago, Boomerang had immediately donned his armor and visored helmet once he got back to the castle. Noble Knight, Zed, and the other Dream Chasers had also re-equiped their armor and fighting uniforms as well as their weapons.

Boomerang whirled around when he heard footsteps behind him, immediately clapping a hand on the Sabre Fang. He relaxed when he saw that the footsteps had belonged to Cecilia. Cecilia walked up beside him and laughed half-heartedly, "You know, you'd make a pretty good soldier. You've got the reflexes and the fighting skills that all of the soldiers need."

Boomerang laughed and confessed, "Well...actually...the reason that I was in Adlehyde in the first place was because I wanted to be a soldier." Cecilia looked at him. "When I returned to Filgaia, I wanted to change. I really did, but it was hard, and it still is. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do to change, because all I know how to do is fight and kill. I finally decided on a soldier, but I knew that I was taking a risk since my first thought on where to go was Adlehyde."

Cecilia shrugged and stated, "Well, you have changed a lot during the past week." Boomerang looked at her, confused. "Well...you've lightened up." Boomerang playfully pushed her, grinning underneath his visor. Cecilia grinned and continued, "Plus, I think being around Noble has helped to change you."

"Huh?!"

Cecilia turned to him. "You love her, don't you?"

Boomerang asked, confused, "Love? What the hell is that?" Cecilia was taken aback by this. She had figured that even he knew what love was.

"Uh...well..." she struggled to find an answer, "Love is when you care about someone so much that you're willing to put their life above your own."

Boomerang looked down at the ground. Was that what was happening to him? Was he learning to love someone? Was that why he felt so strange whenever he was around Noble Knight?

A high-pitched, demonic war cry suddenly broke into his thoughts. Boomerang and Cecilia both whirled around and ducked just a split second before their heads would have been severed by two razor-sharp disks. The disks rebounded off of the stone and trees before flying back to their owner.

Chakrum.

Behind him stood Dark Knight, a peculiar-looking ARM in her hands. As with Dazer, there was one new thing about both of the clones that Boomerang and Cecilia noticed right away. There was a fist-sized, diamond-shaped emerald set into the collar of Dark Knight's armor. Carved into it was the zodiac symbol of Taurus. Now set into the forehead of Chakrum's helmet was a diamond- shaped sapphire that was slightly smaller than Dark Knight's emerald. Carved into the sapphire was the zodiac symbol of Aquarius.

Boomerang told Cecilia, "I'll keep them busy, you go get Zed and Noble Knight." Cecilia nodded and ran into the doorway which led to the royal chambers.

Dark Knight grinned and aimed her new ARM at Boomerang. Boomerang shifted his weight onto his right leg so that he would be able to dodge quickly. Dark Knight pulled the trigger, but instead of firing just one bullet like all other ARMs would, her new ARM sprayed dozens of bullets at Boomerang. The visored demon cried out and dove to his left, just barely escaping from the onslaught.

Boomerang leapt to his feet and threw the Sabre Fang at Dark Knight, hitting her fully in the face. The demon dropped her ARM and it went sliding across the stone floor.

Chakrum leaped forward and pointed the palms of his hands toward Boomerang. The sapphire in his helmet began to glow a bright, sky blue as did the palms of his hands, and the blood red glow of his eyes changed to ice blue. Boomerang's heart skipped a beat, for he just then remembered what Dazer had done.

Chakrum yelled, "Aquarius Vlash!!" Suddenly, small throwing weapons made completely of ice shot out of his hands, launching with such force that he was actually pushed backwards. The weapons were anything from shurikens to small boomerangs. Boomerang dodged as many as he could. The ones that he could not dodge sliced his arms, shoulders, and sides. He was fortunate that none of the ice weapons had been heading for his head. By now, Dark Knight had gotten back to her feet and had recovered her ARM. She aimed at Boomerang again and pulled the trigger.

However, someone snuck up behind her and tripped her, causing her to fire into the air instead. Dark Knight quickly got back to her feet and whirled around, just to become the victim of a kick to the face. Once again, her ARM slid away from her. She looked up just long enough to identify the one who had ambushed her.

Noble Knight back flipped over to Dark Knight's ARM, picked it up, and threw it over the castle walls. Dark Knight surged back to her feet and backhanded Noble Knight who retaliated with a roundhouse kick to the gut and an uppercut.

With Dark Knight distracted, Boomerang focused his full attention on Chakrum. As they fought, Boomerang almost immediately realized that his clone was not a very strong physical fighter nor was he very fast, for every blow that Boomerang inflicted onto him seemed to do almost twice as much damage than Chakrum's attacks.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Zed and Dazer thrust and parried at each other, neither of them even coming close to inflicting damage to one another. Dazer was caught by surprise when Zed suddenly hit him full in the face with his attack Ouji Kyoujin-ranbu. He stumbled backwards and yelled in pain when Zed hit him in the stomach with the Garyu Ichimongiri.

Zed grinned and laughed, "Not so superior to me now, are 'ya, Daze?" Dazer glared at him and struggled back to his feet.

He retorted, "I'm not finished yet!"

Noble Knight screamed and dove to her right. She did not know what was happening, but after seeing what Dazer and Chakrum had done, she did not want to take any chances. She and Dark Knight were now in the courtyard of Adlehyde castle, but Dark Knight had suddenly stopped fighting. Now the emerald on her armor was beginning to glow and her eyes had changed from blood red to deep brown.

Dark Knight grinned and screamed, "Taurus Blast!!" The ground started to break up around the two of them, and then stone spikes suddenly shot up. Noble Knight grabbed onto one and clung onto it as it drove up from the ground. When the spikes stopped coming up, she leapt down and grinned.

Noble Knight stated, "I've got a trick, too!" Dark Knight looked at her. Noble Knight closed her eyes and brought her hands together. She then chanted, "Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night. Guardian of the heavens who shines like gold upon the Sea of Chaos." Dark Knight slowly backed away as a bright silver glow formed around Noble Knight. "I call upon thee and swear myself to thee. Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess."

Noble Knight's eyes snapped open. Dark Knight's eyes widened with fear. Noble Knight finished, "Phoenix....FIIIIIIRE!!!!" The silver glow around her abruptly took the form of a large bird which screamed like an eagle and skyrocketed toward Dark Knight.

Boomerang laughed sinisterly. He had Chakrum in a headlock and was about to finish him off. Boomerang growled, smiling mischievously underneath his visor, "This'll teach you to try and get me executed."

Meanwhile, Dazer was having to lean against the wall of the throne room, for his injuries were so bad. His breathing was labored and blood soaked his fighting uniform. Zed grinned and stated, "It just goes to show you: overconfidence can really hurt you sometimes. I should know." With that, Zed plunged the blade of the Doom Bringer through Dazer's chest.

The silver bird engulfed Dark Knight who screamed in both fear and pain. When the silver fire disappeared, Dark Knight was lying on the ground, lifeless. Noble Knight just grinned and yawned.

Boomerang jerked Chakrum's head to one side, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. The clone fell limply to the stone floor.

A fiery-red glow engulfed all three of the clones' corpses and they disappeared. Boomerang and Noble Knight walked slowly to the throne room where Zed was still standing. The three of them looked at each other and collapsed to their knees, completely worn out.

"I am GLAD that's over!" Noble Knight laughed. Zed and Boomerang nodded.

Zed dug around in his pocket and counted the gella that he had. He then looked at Boomerang and Noble Knight and asked, "You two up for a drink?"

"Yeah!" they immediately answered, hopping to their feet. With that, all three of them ran out of the castle and towards the cafe.