"So nobody can kill it, is that what you're saying?" says Fangs.

"Somebody can." says the mage. "But not us."

Markus starts thinking for a moment, he looks around himself, feet tapping vigorously. Fangs approaches him.

"Come on, I'm gonna turn into a hawk again and you can hop on my back-"

"Fuck off!" cries Markus in a fit of rage. "I am not doing this again! Never!"

"We need to act-"

"You go act! Let me think for a moment!" cries Markus. As the men are standing, watching the dragon, a sword is driven through the neck of one of the men, killing him instantly. The other men turn and raise their swords, it seems the remnants of the troll army had resurfaced. They start to clash once more.

"You better think of something fast." says Fangs. "We won't get another chance to knock it down."

Fangs hums while running towards the new battle, as he starts shapeshifting back into a bear. The dragon starts very hardly trying to rise, as it growls and struggles to open its still frozen eyes once more. Markus looks around, very frustrated, biting his lip, thinking, harder than he had ever thought before. He notices the slightly leaning watchtower, sudden realization just hit him. He slowly approaches the dragon while humming in a quiet manner. The dragon's eyes turn to slits as it threateningly growls at him. A mouse is summoned at Markus's feet, which starts running towards Fangs.

Fangs, who is now fighting the trolls with the others, notices the mouse, which climbs on top of him and whispers into his ear. Fangs, startled, turns to Markus, and then takes a glance at the watchtower. Markus turns to him. Fangs nods, then turns to the others. He knows the idea is crazy, quite possibly mad, but mad enough to actually work.

"Prince Michael, Grandmaster Oaklyn, gather up!" cries Fangs. "We need to help Mark!"

Markus unsheathes his sword and starts to orbit the dragon. The dragon suspiciously turns to him, following his rotation. He starts chanting, moving closer. The dragon struggles to inhale a gust of air. He raises an ice shield just before the dragon releases a very weak arc of flame only barely living up to the smoke that preceded it. Markus continues to reinforce his shield as he moves closer, trying to keep the dragon in place whilst still orbiting him.

Fangs starts running towards the watchtower, still in bear form, until he clashes into it. He pushes the watchtower with all his strength. Michael joins, pushing alongside him. They both struggle to exert any effort. Suddenly the watchtower starts glowing with different colors, from green to red to blue to yellow to orange, as the mages start unanimously chanting and magically pushing the tower further, the old mage, Oaklyn, joining them. The tower starts very slowly leaning further and further.

At the other end of the watchtower, Markus continues to reinforce his shield, as the dragon blows another, fairly stronger gust of flame. Markus struggles to fend it off, sweating profusely and fighting to stay on his feet. As the dragon stops, Markus rolls out of his shield and starts hitting the dragon at the feet with his sword. The dragon, unharmed by it, attempts to swipe its tail at him, but he rolls over and continues the onslaught. The tower continues to lean forth, Fangs and Michael are shouting, out of a combination of exhaustion and excitement, the sheer adrenaline rushing through their veins. The tower is almost 30 degrees down from its original angle.

"Get away from there now, Mark!" cries Fangs.

"Get out! What are you doing there?!" cries Michael.

"Dangit!" cries Fangs.

Markus rolls back into his shield, as the dragon attempts to bash it with its claws, not even leaving a scratch. The chants from the mages mixed with Markus's chants start to harmonize, forming a loud song of chants, as the tower finally starts falling on its own, detaching itself from the ground. A giant shadow overcomes both Markus and the dragon as the watchtower falls towards them. The dragon, barely able to move away, turns to the tower and screeches as loud as could be heard, but the tower very swiftly smashes into the ground, crushing them both underneath it. Complete and sudden silence. Fangs and Michael stare at it in shock, they quickly run towards the tower. Fangs, not even taking a breather from his absurdly exhausting task, starts digging in the soil right next to the tower with his claws.

"Markus!" calls Michael, worried. "Prince Markus, are you alright?! Are you alive?!"

Fangs continues to dig in until he disappears into the soil. Michael turns away and finds that the trolls have all been killed.

"Cut their heads off!" cries Michael. "They better not come back or I'm putting you all on cleaning duty!"

The men oblige and start cutting the heads of the few trolls that haven't had their heads cut off. Fangs comes out of the soil with Markus in his hands, still surrounded by the mana that remains from his shield. Markus is shedding tears, silently whimpering.

"Are you alright, Mark?" says Fangs.

"Yes.. I'm f- I'm fine..." says Markus, as he closes his eyes and aches in pain, falling to the ground in such a manner as if his bones were jelly and speaking in a shaken whimperish tone. "I think I uh... I think I broke my knees... Bloody hell, it hurts."

"Take him to the sanctuary immediately!" cries Oakley. "Immediately, I repeat! If you wait too long, it's over!"

"Why immediately?" says Michael, confused.

"The higher sanctuary serves as a teleportation device, but it also completely heals the user in the process." says Oakley. "Broken knees are serious. If you don't take him there before the connections in his legs are completely severed, you won't be able to heal them ever again... and you'd need a reincarnation to bring them back. I'm afraid I've completely run out of mana so I can't be of help- what are you waiting for?! Run!!"

"Aight aight let's go!" cries Fangs, as he helps Markus on his shoulder and bolts off.

Michael joins, helping Markus from the other side. Markus turns to both of them, barely able to see from his pain, his eyes heavily shutting and slitting. He notices Tyler's headless body near the edge of his sight.

"Wait... I need to get... Tyler..." utters Markus.

"Listen, Markus, I'll take care of this mess, you just concentrate on getting back home and getting better." cries Michael. "You did much more than anyone would've hoped, you killed a dragon - twice! An immortal dragon, too! ... You are becoming a great man, a legend even, at a very young age. The gods were right to bestow you upon us as our chosen one, you are our true hope."

Markus slightly smiles, almost laughing as he whimpers and struggles to take a clear look at him. They finally reach the shed where they came from.

"We hope to see you again soon, but for now, please get well-" Michael says, but is interrupted by a man screaming as a hatchet is launched into his skull. Michael turns, frustrated. "Oh, stop that!"

Another group of trolls with hatchets and axes emerges from the jungle, screaming and crying at them. The men unsheathe their weapons for, like, the billionth time.

"Just how many trolls are there exactly?" says Fangs.

"Just a hopeless attempt to reclaim Thornridge." says Michael. "Their dragon is down and their leader is gone, they have nothing. Just go, get the prince to safety, and once again, thank you for your aid. The Hawks will forever be in your favor. Oh, and by the way... you guys are invited to the wedding! Especially you, Markus, I better see you there!"

"We'll be there." says Fangs. He takes Markus inside, they make their way through the few troll corpses in the passage and back into the main room.

"How are they feelin', your knees? Can you.. feel them?" says Fangs.

"Uh.. uh huh.." utters Markus.

He takes Markus and lays him into the sanctuary and stands next to him. In a few seconds, the sanctuary shines in a blinding white light as they perish.

---

They reappear at the library, Markus drops to all fours and starts hyperventilating. Fangs comes to his side and holds his shoulders, concerned.

"How are you feeling?" says Fangs. "Mark?"

Markus stops breathing and sits on the floor, putting his hand on his head, paining.

"Better?" says Fangs, after a moment of silence and rest.

"Uh... I'm..." Markus starts to say, before he leans to the side and profusely vomits on the ground. Fangs is startled.

"Shit, shit!" cries Fangs, turning to the door. "Hey, we need help here! Help! The prince is not feeling well!"

The three gentlemen from earlier stand up and shush him, angrily. Fangs loses his calm and starts grabbing books from the nearest shelf and launching them at the men. They panickedly start to cover their faces and run out of the library.

"I'm good, I'm good.." says Markus, getting back up and taking his breath, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Let's go talk to dad."

They exit the library and start walking across the hallway. Markus holds his head again, closing his eyes and very obviously paining. Fangs notices him.

"You sure you're good?" says Fangs.

"Ah, he'll be fine." says another voice from behind, which appears to be Emit, who is just now joining them. "Just a bit of regeneration sickness, happens with these sanctuaries when you heal from severe injuries too fast, it's a bloody mess."

"Commander of Police himself is joining us?" says Fangs. "What, fixed all the problems in the kingdom? Are the crime rates bordering on zero already?"

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Oh no!" laughs Emit, patting Fangs on the shoulder. "I haven't been assigned yet, I just thought I'd check on my friends! How was it? Anything to report? How was the peril?"

"It was perilous." says Fangs.

"Lay off them, Emit, they've been through a fuckton." says Jon, who has just now joined them. They are all walking together now, heading towards the throne room. Markus looks at them, smiling, though still tired.

"Great to see you guys again." says Markus. "I thought for a second that I might not make it back."

"Don't be an idiot." says Jon, bumping him on the shoulder, laughing. "If you ever die out there, I'm gonna fucking kill you."

They all laugh, but they stop to a halt as Markus stops in his place, closing his eyes and holding his head tight. They turn to him and start to exchange worried looks. He stays still for a moment, before he roughly shakes his head and looks back up.

"On second thought, let's postpone the... talking to dad, just for a while." says Markus, struggling to keep his focus.

"You should get some rest, at least for an hour or two." says Emit.

"What? Aw man." says Fangs, disappointed. "We were gonna walk up to the king all together, like y'know, make a power entrance and shit."

"We can just wait in the glass room until he's all healed." says Emit. "It won't be long."

"Yeah, actually, you guys can go wait in there." says Jon. "I need to get home and... have a talk, with someone."

Jon walks to the exit. Fangs hastily follows, slightly grabbing him by the shoulder and bringing him into whispering distance.

"Hey, listen." whispers Fangs. "If you need any help with the issue, I got you."

"What issue?" whispers Jon, puzzled.

"Y'know, I've had some adventures in the past where things could... go wrong, know what I'm sayin'? Y'know-"

"I don't know," interrupts Jon, "you're not making any sense."

"-Y'know, the diddy daddy kind-"

"What?"

"The 9 month kind of problem-"

"No, Fangs, no we've... we've literally been... living together for..."

"Three months now?" whispers Fangs. "C'mon, you're delaying the inevitable."

"Fuck off." says Jon, as he walks off. Fangs catches up.

"I'm just sayin' y'know, I know a guy that-"

"Eli, fuck off." says Jon, as he starts leaving the room.

"Okay, okay!" cries Fangs, backing away, laughing uncomfortably. "Pshh! You didn't have to 'Eli' me, man... but hey, good luck! Eli's a great name for a boy, by the way, just putting it out there!"

---

Jon gets back home, just barely a few steps in, before he is tightly and suddenly taken into a hug by Rose.

"Oh Jon, I'm glad you're alright!" cries Rose, restless from worry. "I've heard news about the Battle of Thornridge, are you hurt?"

"I wasn't with them." says Jon, coldly. "I was at the castle, actually, attending to other matters relating to the... I'm good, Rose. Great, actually... We won."

"I'm glad." says Rose, joyful as she moves back, but then her expression darkens for a moment while her eyes meet his. He looks away and then back at her, hesitant.

"Listen, about that talk-"

"Hit me, I'm ready to hear it." Rose interrupts. She knows she's about to hear something she won't like and she's been preparing all day.

"I found your family." says Jon. Rose is shocked, she becomes even more restless, all whilst her face lights up.

"Y-You did?!" she cries.

"I've been sending men to investigate for the past few months." says Jon. "Your parents are at the Tefermorian capitol. Your mother is a librarian at the royal castle."

"And my father?" she asks, with a pleading and happy look on her eyes. Jon's expression darkens, he looks around and takes a deep breath. She starts to grow anxious. How can he put this?

"He didn't make it, I'm sorry." says Jon.

"Oh." she says, looking at the ground, you could swear that she was preparing to break into tears, but she just stays still and silent, then looks at him again.

"I've sent for your mother." says Jon. "From what I heard, she was overjoyed when she learned that you were alive. She's sent an escort for you, it should be here to take you back in an hour or so."

She nods, staying silent for a moment. The silence almost lasts too long, she looks away, then back at Jon, with tears in her eyes, yet still calm.

"Hey, Jon," she says, smiling, taking a breath, "are you doing this to push me away? I'm sorry... No offense but... Are you?"

"I've already told you, Rose, it's not safe for you here." says Jon.

"I... I don't care if it's safe or not." she says. "I don't want to be with my family, I want to be with you, you are my family-"

"It's not. Fucking. Safe, Rose... Gods!" shouts Jon, losing his temper. "I'm trying to save you here!"

"Why?!" she cries, coming closer, almost angrily.

"Because I like you!" cries Jon. "I like you, more than a person would normally like another person... I-"

"You love me? Just say it, if you really do." she says.

"I fuck with you!" he cries.

"You fuck with me?" she says, slightly laughing, angrily. "That's convincing."

She holds her head, almost about to cry, but desperately trying to hold it in. He takes a deep breath, thinking for a moment, before he walks to her and takes her in with a warm and heartfelt hug. She closes her eyes and starts to tear up, crying in a very subtle manner. He holds her head closer with his hand and kisses her on the forehead, before he brings her back to a distance where he could speak to her.

"I've been chosen as a mentor to the chosen one. Mentors don't live past their prophecies." says Jon. "As soon as I'm finished with my job... That's it, I'll be gone, that's how these things go. I can try to fight it, run away from it, or even leap towards it as a means of challenging its integrity, but in the end... it's not going to change, what's meant to happen will happen. It's either me or the world, and if I choose me, I'd still die with the world... which is sort of funny now that I think about it but... You don't have to trap yourself in this with me. You're in love with a dead man."

She stands still, shocked. She looks away and dries up her tears.

"A terrible war will befall Nexonia City and I don't know if I can protect you from it." he says, shaking his head and looking her in the eyes. "I'm old and I have one leg, you're young and beautiful, and perfect, and you deserve to live a happy life, away from all this."

They hear wheels stopping outside, she looks out and sees a cart waiting.

"That's your escort." says Jon. She looks back at him, almost prepared to cry again. "It's been great, you've been great. Maybe in another life we would have been... great, together."

She bites her lips, restless, looking him in the eyes with an expression of grief and sadness. He shrugs, smiling at her.

"Fuck your prophecy, and fuck another life." she says, as she starts heading out, startling him, as this is probably the first time he's heard her curse. "I'm seeing you again soon, whether you like it or not."

She stops in her way as she passes him, hesitating for a moment, then she turns back to him and grabs him by the shoulders and turns him towards her.

"You should go before it gets too late." he says.

"It's never going to be too late." she says, as she slowly lays her lips on his, kissing him intimately for a long moment, tears rolling down her cheeks, and a single tear rolling down his. She backs away, smiling at him, before she bolts off, leaving and shutting the door behind her. Jon stands there for a moment, not knowing what to do after this interaction. He walks to the window and watches as the cart starts to set off. Rose looks at him through the window and waves at him before the cart disappears from his sight. He stands by the window, deeply saddened. This went... well it went. At least they weren't attacked by a dragon, that's all I have to say.

---

The oracle and his two frog companions, who had been walking in the middle of the forest for a while now, finally arrive at a lonely old wooden house. The oracle knocks on the door, and a pair of froggy eyes peak out.

"What's the pickle?" says the eyes.

"It is what it is." says the oracle.

"No, the other one." says the eyes.

"Oh uh... 'We die for what is ours.', I guess... Just open up." says the oracle.

"We die for what is ours." he repeats, as he opens the door, letting the three of them in. It is a very crude and dusty house, with barely anything but a few cobweb-ridden tables and chairs and some other old furniture, dust flying around the place and being made clearer with the bright morning sunlight. The person who let them in is a frog person in a black cloak. He watches them both, waiting.

"Your services are required." says the oracle.

"Anything for the grand frog." says the cloaked person.

"Do you have enough mana for a trip to the Nexonish capitol and back?" says the oracle.

"Oh, I have enough for ten trips." says the cloaked person, confidently. The oracle and his two companions exchange looks, he nods to them and returns to the cloaked person.

"Well, you know the drill." says the oracle. "What, do I need to cue the end of our interaction? Take us away!"

---

The glass room, a large chamber with comfy couches, elegant wine glasses arranged at every corner, shelf, and even layering the floor, almost thousands of them. Fangs, Emit, and Jon are seated. Jon seems to still be affected by earlier, pondering, within his own thoughts, a combination of nostalgia and worry, while Fangs and Emit are just waiting, bored.

"What's the point of this room, anyway?" says Fangs.

"Well, when his majesty, King Harry, started implementing the plastic cups... He thought it'd be a waste to get rid of the old glasses," says Emit, "and since his majesty is an artistic man with an artistic vision, he decided to turn this room into something that... well, something that looks cool, I guess."

"It does kinda look cool." says Fangs, looking around. "What was this room anyway?"

"It was a housing chamber for old people." says Emit. Fangs turns to him, surprised. They are interrupted by Markus, who walks into the room. They get up to greet him, sighing in relief.

"Finally!" cries Fangs. "Are we doing the power entrance or what?"

"Are you alright, Mark?" says Jon. "You look like you've just been hit by a horse!"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Are you alright?" says Markus. "You look like... you've just been hit by a bloody train... are you alright, though?"

"Yeah, no, don't worry about me." says Jon. "Ready to talk to dad?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, let's go." says Markus, as they follow him out of the glass room.

They continue to walk through the hallways until they reach the throne room's door. The two guards stationed at the door start chanting as they see them, causing the door to start opening itself slowly. They enter the throne room, where the king is seated on his throne, wearing his eyepatch on his right eye.

"I've been waiting for you." says the king.

"Yeah, sorry we were late, the prince needed a break to cry his eyes out from the trauma." says Fangs, immediately being punched on the shoulder by an annoyed Markus.

"Is your... eye good?" says Jon.

"Yes, why?" says the King, genuinely confused.

"It's been a victory, your majesty." says Markus. "We won, the dark army has retreated from Thornridge, the town was restored, and I have personally, and proudly, killed the Dark Lord's immortal dragon. Well, not exactly killed him but... well, he's not coming back any time soon."

"What about the man himself? Is he dead?" says the King.

"The Dark Lord, you mean?" says Markus. "He got away, your majesty, but we will defeat him soon."

"Hmph." blurts the King, sitting still and pondering for a moment. "I guess this is a victory we could celebrate, at least. Guards! Fetch the cups over here!"

They rejoice, exchanging a few looks, joyously, before two guards enter the room and start distributing cups to them and spilling wine. The king smiles, raising his own wine bottle up high.

"For Nexonin, and all of Nexonia!" cries the King. They all cheer. "Today, all of us shall drink, even those of us who swore not to! I'm your king and I command it!"

Before they could even start to drink, a spark strikes in the room, as the oracle and the cloaked frog person appear in front of them. They are startled, Emit is shocked.

"Bloody hell, they are real!" cries Emit, staring at the frog people.

"I have come to relay a message from the grand frog." says the oracle. "The link is within your kingdom, be wary, and be wise."

They disappear just as they came. The others start exchanging looks and murmurs, for a few seconds until they reappear again, forcing their concentration back to them.

"Okay, I relay a new message from the grand frog." says the oracle. "The link is no longer within your kingdom. Goodbye."

They disappear again. The others start to exchange looks, silent...

What?

---

The Alijonian soldiers and men are rebuilding, back in Thornridge, lifting rocks and logs and cutting and repairing and so on. Four soldiers surround the watch tower and attempt to lift it, struggling and failing to even raise it an inch above the ground. Prince Michael notices them, and quickly rushes to stop them with all the strength he's got in him.

"Don't even think about doing that! Back off from that!" he cries, causing them to stop in their places and back off. "There's a dragon under that thing, and we don't know if it's dead or alive!"

"What do we do, your highness?" says one of the soldiers.

"Open a new door, use it sideways, or build a statue on top of it, I don't know." says Michael. "Just don't lift it!"

The soldiers bow and salute him. Michael turns and moves away, overseeing the rebuilding and the reparations. He stops in the middle of the town, where a statue had just been erected, an iron statue in honor of the fallen Tyler Hawk, raising his sword to the sky, which had been set aflame as a torch. He admires the statue, then takes a deep, melancholic breath, wearing a broken smile, of grief, but also hope.

"We have lost one black-mask, but hear me out, brother - I will birth nineteen more to take your place! ... Not that they would, obviously, but a man must try!" says Michael. "It's been an honor having you as a brother... Fear not, for your death will not be in vain, it will serve to fuel hundreds of Alijonians' angers against the Dark Lord, and I'll be the first of them."

He turns back and looks into the sky, the sun is setting and the stars are starting to show.

"They are watching us, always, and they will guide us to victory." says Michael, smiling at the stars, hands behind his back. "They will."