=== Chapter 23 The Four Hounds === (Lava Fields) Seeking to break the barrier in the sky above Elyos, the party hunts down a Fell Dragon Shard. --- OP --- [Veyle] Over here! The Fell Dragon Shard is nearby! [Alear] I'm glad you can tell where they are, Veyle. I can't really sense them myself. [Veyle] Hold on, I see people. It looks like... [Alear] Yes. Zephia and Griss. [Veyle] ... [Alear] They must be guarding the shard. Are you going to be OK? [Veyle] If I'm going to stop Papa, then I can't avoid this. Sooner or later, I have to face them. Let's go. [Alear] All right. [Veyle] Zephia. Griss. [Zephia] My lady! We have been awaiting your arrival. [Veyle] ... [Zephia] Oh, I see... It's you again. And from the looks of it, the other Lady Veyle is no longer with us. She's...gone? [Veyle] That's right. [Griss] Wormed your way back in, huh? I never thought you'd come out on top, defect. [Alear] Stop calling her that. No one will speak that way about Veyle ever again. [Zephia] You?! [Griss] Hey! Whoa! What's this? Aren't you dead? [Alear] I have become an Emblem─by the power of all the Emblem Rings, so I can save this world. [Veyle] We're here to stop Papa. Both of you, please, step out of the way. [Zephia] And let you through? I think not. Lord Sombron is opening the portal to other worlds. We're here to protect this shard. Not even our Lady Veyle could command us to step aside. [Veyle] Then you're prepared to die. [Zephia] You mean to kill us, Lady Veyle? Oh, what a sad turn of events. Even after I doted upon you, cared for you, as if you were my own. [Veyle] It used to make me happy when you said things like that. But I know they're lies...now. You're just two of Papa's followers. Enemies to defeat, that's all. [Griss] Why you singling us out? There were four of us. [Veyle] Mauvier was my knight. Marni too... I've been told...she died trying to save me. Why did you kill her? I didn't even get to tell her goodbye. [Zephia] I took Marni into my family. I looked after her. What did I get in return? Betrayal. [Veyle] How can you call the Four Hounds family? Treating them so...viciously. [Zephia] Because I loved them. When children stray, one must punish them─or worse, as needed. [Alear] That isn't real love... [Zephia] Oh? Is that right? Then maybe I've never known "real love." I know my own heart and my own thoughts. That's all that's important to me. But we'll never see eye to eye. Not in a thousand years. I serve Lord Sombron. I've done so for a very long time, fully committed to anything he needs. [Griss] I got no plans to switch sides. Not even if we lose. Got it? [Veyle] I see. I suppose this is goodbye, then. I'm sorry to say, we've got no other choice but to fight them. [Alear] Are you sure? [Veyle] They're not listening. If only they would leave for their own sakes, but they want to fight. We need to stop Papa. That means I have to put them behind me. It's...about time I do. --- ED --- [Zephia] Heh... I suppose you've won. I'm sorry, Lord Sombron. [Alear] The battle is over. We should go. [Veyle] Goodbye, Zephia. Goodbye, Griss. I'm glad I could say that properly this time. [Zephia] Oh, Griss can't hear anything now. But don't worry. I'll tell him on the other side. [Veyle] Thank you. [Zephia] Ngh... One last thing, before I go... You won't be able to break the next Fell Dragon Shard. [Veyle] What do you mean? [Zephia] Well, it used to be in the mountains. Gradlon rose so mightily. But those mountains crumbled. That spot is now under a lake. Reaching the shard would be difficult, and then destroying it? Surely impossible. [Alear] It's at the bottom of a lake?! [Veyle] I did sense that one of them was weaker and farther away than the others. But I never imagined this... [Alear] What do we do now? [Zephia] Simple. You raise the mountains. Or drain the lake. Please, take this, an enchanted crystal that will bring that location...in reach. [Veyle] How did you get this? [Zephia] I am a Mage Dragon. My kind are capable of making magical objects... Small charms and such, you understand. But magic of this magnitude...that drains our years. To craft an object that would alter the very terrain around you...I've paid a steep price. [Veyle] Zephia, you don't mean... [Zephia] Yes, it's making this crystal that has led to my end. The magic, in exchange for my life. [Veyle] ... [Zephia] You two were quite fortunate, you know. Of all the Mage Dragons that ever were, only I am powerful enough to create this. I learned at the youngest age that I had vast powers that were...difficult to control. I would control them, in time, but not before my mother, father, and many others, died. Oh, memories... Back to the here and now... My very powerful gift. [Veyle] Why are you helping us now? [Zephia] Hah...I'm not sure of that myself. Perhaps here at the close, I'm feeling that it's just the right thing to do. The crystal's enchantment will last for only a few hours. So, hurry along. The shard awaits. Do be careful, Lady Veyle. I'll pray for your good fortune in the battles ahead. [Veyle] You─ You could have done this at any time! Any time at all! But now you're dying! We could have made things right! If only you'd told us any of this before we fought, maybe we could have forgiven... [Zephia] Why now, indeed? Because it is the end. [Veyle] Huh? [Zephia] I can be kind, just this once, because it's too late for me to make things right. Had I done any of this earlier, would you have really forgiven me? We, allies? Heh, nonsense. I had no intention of dying today, but then all this happened. So, I made you a crystal. I doubt any of you could swim to that shard. It's a long, long way down. [Veyle] ... Zephia, I... I don't understand you. [Zephia] Some advice, dear. Leave those you cannot understand behind─forget them entirely. It's just unsettling to let someone like that linger in your thoughts as you grow older. [Veyle] Once we defeat Papa, and peace arrives... I won't forget you, Zephia. No matter how many hundreds or thousands of years may pass. [Zephia] Oh, child... No more of that, please. Hurry off to that shard. Unless you prefer to stay and watch me die. Would that make you feel safer? [Veyle] ... [Alear] Let's go, Veyle. [Zephia] Yes, go. We can at least end things with a clean slate. Goodbye, Lady Veyle. And to you, our new Emblem, . [Alear] Goodbye. [Veyle] Goodbye, Zephia. ... Thank you...for everything. [Zephia] You are too kind, child. Default [Griss] Hell of a time to switch sides. [Zephia] My word. I thought they had killed you. [Griss] What, you think I'm gonna kick off in the middle of this once-in-a- lifetime pain? This is the good stuff. I gotta savor every last drop. Woulda been real ticked off if they'd put me out of my misery, not gonna lie... [Zephia] That's really the reason you were playing dead? Even at the end...you're an odd man. [Griss] How come...you told 'em about the shard? [Zephia] Like I said. I'm just trying to wipe the slate clean. [Griss] Cut that out. I wanna know the truth, OK? [Zephia] To get back at Lord Sombron, I guess. Why should I die in the dust, while he... While he gets everything he wanted, just like that. Does that seem fair? Now that they know about the shard, they're sure to break it... and he'll know I've met my end─that he's lost me forever. [Griss] You gotta really love somebody...if you wanna hurt 'em that badly. [Zephia] I wasn't in love with Lord Sombron. I just wanted him to give me a child of my own. That was the dream I clung to through all of the long years. A family. The love of a daughter or a son... When I called the Hounds my family, I meant every word of it. What we had was something very rare, indeed. You, me, Marni, Mauvier. Working together to protect Lord Sombron and Lady Veyle. [Griss] But it's too late for all that now... If you were gonna turn on Sombron, why'd ya wait? If you'd done it sooner, maybe we'd still be together. And maybe I wouldn't find myself bleeding out at the moment. [Zephia] I have to wonder if you'd have been happier on the other side. [Griss] You really think I would just abandon you? Not a chance in hell. [Zephia] Huh? [Griss] The Four Hounds, a family... [Griss] I always did like the sound of that. I can't even remember what my parents' faces looked like. You're the closest thing I had to a mother. Ever since the first day you met me, poor little Twisted Disciple that I was...hoping that my suffering would be good enough in the eyes of Lord Sombron. You were like a mom to me. And a big sister. Honestly, even a god. The most important person in the world to me. [Zephia] Griss...I don't like this joke. [Griss] It's no joke. I'd follow you anywhere...dummy. [Zephia] You're right. How could I have been so blind? [Zephia] The one thing I always wanted...staring me in the face all the while. If only I had realized... But no. It's too late to think of that. I hope you forgive me. We are...a family. I thank you, Griss. ... [Zephia] [Griss] Zephia? You drifted off already? Guess I will...too. No reason to stick around without her... Nothing hurts me...anymore. --- EV --- [Veyle] We have to defeat Zephia and Griss. Then we can break the shard. [Alear] What was that?! [Veyle] Those two... It must be their doing. They can attack using the shard. And I'm sure they'll do it again. [Zephia] Retreat isn't an option. I will die, if I must, to protect the shard. " [Griss] You? That's crazy talk. If anyone's dying today, I've got first dibs. Besides... We'll fling these babies at 'em till nothing's left but bone char! [Zephia] Retreat isn't an option. I will die, if I must, to protect the shard. But first, in Griss's name, I will burn you all to cinders! [Griss] Zephia's down... It's all on me, huh? Well, I won't go down easy. I'll fling these babies at you till nothing's left but bone char! [Alear] We did it... We broke the Fell Dragon Shard! --- MOVIE --- --- BT --- [Griss] Oh, yeah. Mortal wounds... The really good ones. Can't say no to any of that. " [Zephia] Will it be me or you who dies here, I wonder? [Zephia] Ah, Lady Veyle. You mean to kill me, do you? [Veyle] That's right. [Zephia] Those eyes... So like your father's. You really resemble him, you know. Far more than the other Lady Veyle did. [Veyle] You don't see me, do you, Zephia? You see me and you think of Papa. Or that other me. When we met, you seemed so kind. I really liked you. " [Zephia] Really? I hated you. No, that's not right... I was indifferent to you. [Veyle] ... [Zephia] Lord Sombron's puppet. That's all you were. A thing to be used and cast off. Yet somehow...I knew this day would come. [Veyle] The day I would kill you? No wonder you didn't like me. [Zephia] Well... You finally have my undivided attention. [Zephia] My dear, sweet Divine Dragon. We've been through a lot together, haven't we? [Alear] Zephia... You must have known who I was a thousand years ago. [Zephia] Relax [Zephia] Yes, I believe we met. But the details are hazy. Lord Sombron had so many children, you see. A bug would have had more luck getting my attention. [Alear] Oh? Am I that forgettable? [Zephia] Oh, not at all. You're the Divine Dragon now. But in due time, you'll be me. One tends to lose count of the lives that pass by. You'll understand one day. [Alear] I will never be like you. [Zephia] Haha. Well, it barely matters anyway. You aren't leaving this place. You're going to die right now. [Zephia] You're going to kill me, Mauvier? After everything? [Mauvier] At one time, I would not have imagined it myself. I believed our path to be just. That we were family. $ [Zephia] Family... I'm surprised to hear that from you. [Mauvier] I am, I admit, solitary by nature. But I felt a true bond with the Hounds. I let our "family" distract me too long. Until you took Marni from us. [Zephia] You know, Mauvier... You can turn your back on all this. You can leave. [Mauvier] I left you, Zephia, after you made a wreckage of the Hounds. I don't have any last sentiments. You see... I learned something from you in the end. [Zephia] Lord Sombron... No... [Griss] Live as a hound... Die as a hound. [Griss] So, Lady Veyle! Where's my reward? [Veyle] Reward? [Griss] The real Lady Veyle promised me all the agony my heart could want. I was really looking forward to it! The cold, the severity... But in the end, nothing. Not even a scratch. [Veyle] That Veyle... She's gone now. [Griss] Yeah, 'cause you killed her! So you can't be all bad. Now, you tell me─how are you gonna do it? Kill me, I mean. [Veyle] I'll never forgive you, Griss. But I never hated you, at least from the start. I think I understand why you were with the Hounds. Why you're you. But I'm not cruel. None of this will be... a reward. [Griss] That's a neat trick, getting killed but not dying. Just what I'd expect from the Fell Dragon's kid. [Alear] Griss... All else aside, I'm grateful you told me the truth. While I can't forgive what you've done, I do want to ask you one thing. Why are you doing all of this? Is Zephia making you? " [Griss] What kinda question is that?! I'm here because I wanna be, OK? [Alear] I see. [Griss] Hah! How sweet! Worried about little old Griss! That's an insult to me and Zephia! I won't forgive that ever. Ever! EVER! I'm gonna hurt you every which way, and then kill you once and for all! [Griss] You come to get revenge? Or were you hoping the Hounds would take you back? We were a family, Mauvier. That makes us like brothers. No one would blame you for missing us. [Mauvier] I am here to strike you down. I have nothing more to say. [Griss] Geez, a stiff till the end. Guess there's no point in holding back the killing, then. --- DIE ---