"Enough is enough!" Eight yelled. "It's time for you to be defeated."

"No!" Tamnia yelled. "You are a fool if you think that I will be defeated by the likes of you! All of you will perish!" Tamnia turned to the injured dragon. "What are you waiting for? Destroy all of them!"

The Dragon braced itself before attacking Yangus with its ferocious teeth. Yangus countered the attach using his Dragon Shield. Yangus stuck the shield towards the Dragon's mouth at the same time that Dragon came down for the kill. While Yangus struggled to hold off the creature, Jessica took that moment to aim a spell at the Dragon but she didn't get the chance to fire the spell before Tamnia hit her with a spell of her own.

"Fuddle!" Tamnia yelled, effectively casting the confusion spell on the redhead. Jessica fumbled with the spell and ended up hurting herself in the process. Angelo took out a Greater Panacea from his bag and used it to cure Jessica's confusion and her health.

"Thank you," Jessica said to Angelo.

Angelo nodded. "You're welcome but we should probably deal with Tamnia and the Dragon Lord before we talk about anything else." Jessica nodded her head in agreement. Yangus and Eight ran up next to them and stood firm.

"Any o' ya got any ideas about stoppin' this crazy bird?" asked Yangus as he tightened his hold on his weapon. "This is gettin' tirin' real fast."

Angelo nodded his head in agreement. "He's right," Angelo said as he met Eight's eyes. "It's almost as if it really doesn't matter how much we hit her or that dragon."

Jessica looked at Angelo in confusion. "What? What do you mean by that? We may have taken some damage but so have they."

"Yes Jessica they did take some hits…" Eight trailed slowly. "But look closely at Tamnia and the Dragovian Lord and you might notice it."

Jessica took the time to quickly study her enemies in which case, Tamnia sneered at her as their eyes met. 'Stupid cow,' Jessica thought to herself vehemently. She turned back to her friends once she was done. "To be quite honest with you, I didn't really see anything. They look normal."

"That's exactly what the problem is Jessica," Eight took the time to look at the opponents before responding again. "We fought against them, our attacks have managed to connect already on multiple occasions but notice how they don't seem hurt or even tired. We have hit them with spells and some of our most powerful attacks but they don't seem like they have broken a sweat. They've even taken more damage from our attacks then we did from their attacks and I feel more tired than they look. Does that seem normal to you?"

"Wait a tick…," Yangus muttered slowly. "Now that ya mention it guv… I feel tired too. More then I should considrin' that I didn't get beaten up that much."

"I'm tired too…," Jessica muttered in understanding. "Are they really this much more powerful than us or is something else going on here?"

"That's what we were thinking," Angelo said. "Tamnia is a magic user just like you and I, Jessica. I think that she is using some kind of spell on us, one that is taking our energy so that Tamnia could absorb it somehow."

Jessica growled. "Can this situation become anymore hopeless?" Jessica turned so that she was looking at all three boys in the face. "So what do we do now?"

"I think there is only one thing that we can do Jessica," Eight said while rubbing his bandana covered head, "we will just have to fight them like we have been doing this whole time except that now we have to make sure that Tamnia is defeated first."

Yangus spoke with understanding. "I get it guv'. If we get rid o' the bird then she can't take our strength no more."

Eight nodded his head with approval. "That's it exactly it Yangus. And at the same time we have to keep our guard up against the Dragon. Does that make sense?" Everyone nodded their heads. "Good now lets do this!" At that moment, both Eight and Yangus charged at the evil sorceress Tamnia.

Tamnia, who noticed right what was happening right away, looked quickly at the Dragon. "Protect me! Destroy my enemies before they can reach me!

The Dragon roared before blowing fire out of its mouth. The flames were aimed towards the assailants, Eight and Yangus.

Both Eight and Yangus were still running towards Tamnia. Both warriors didn't notice the attack coming in their direction until they felt the heat coming from the flame and by that time it was too late to do anything about it. All they could do is hope that they reached the evil sorceress before they died themselves.

Fortunately, the warriors no longer had to worry about dying because just before the fire could burn them, a block of ice protected them before a gust of wind blew the fire out of existence. Eight and Yangus quickly looked towards the direction the block of ice and the wind came from. It was Jessica and Angelo. 'They must've used their spells to save us,' Eight thought to himself. 'Good. Now this us our chance to strike.' Eight and Angelo's eyes met. It was a perfect moment of understanding; both knew what the other had to do and both were ready for whatever was going to come. Eight, followed by Yangus, continued on with his attack. Before long, the two combatants soon reached Tamnia and struck.

"Axes of Evil!" Yelled Yangus. A large, blue vortex appeared and surrounded Tamnia. Before any damage could be done, Tamnia cast a quick spell that created a barrier that effectively protected her from sustaining any damage until the vortex disappeared minutes later.

"Dragon Soul!" Eight jumped into the air and disappeared in this pale, blue light. It took the shape of a ferocious dragon. This beast of light charged rapidly towards Tamnia; effectively destroying the barrier she erected around herself, causing her to collapse on ground while landing on her butt.

Tamnia groaned in pain before slowly pulling herself back on her feet. If looks could kill; both Eight and Yangus would have already died a slow painful death before this moment.

"This battle isn't over yet," The sorceress informed the two warriors. "It is going to take a lot more than that to defeat me!" After that last sentence, Tamnia charged at Eight with a hand filled with dark, glowing, malicious energy cackling and ready to strike.

Eight, who saw the attack coming towards him, managed to block the attack with his sword while Yangus attacked Tamnia with his mighty axe. The sorceress fell back yards away on the ground, convulsing in pain. Eight ran towards the fallen foe; ready to go in for the kill. His sword was raised and ready to strike when there was an explosion of energy around him.

The energy soon began cackling and Eight could be heard screaming within that cloud of energy.

"Guv!" Yangus yelled while he ran towards his comrade in need. As soon as he was near the ominous aura he was immediately pushed back by the energy. After getting pushed back a second time, Yangus finally realized that his way wasn't working. 'I better do something quick- like or else the guv is in big trouble!' Time was running out for the the guv, and with that thought in mind, Yangus turned his attention on Tamnia. "Why, you evil bird! You're gonna pay for what you did ta the guv!" Yangus raised his axe and brought it down on Tamnia but the Dragovian sorceress managed to dodge the blow at the last minute. Tamnia muttered a spell in an almost animalistic language that Yangus had never heard before. Blood red chains appeared, almost out of nowhere. The chains moved as if they were alive, throwing themselves at Yangus. The ex-bandit destroyed the malignant chains without trouble and turned his sights back onto Tamnia. With his weapon of choice, raised and ready for action, Yangus went for another attack. Tamnia dodged again but, unlike last time, she was not fast enough to avoid Yangus' axe and received a huge gash on her arm. Blood soon gushed onto the ground and it wasn't long before Yangus went in for another attack. This time, as soon a Yangus was close enough, Tamnia used her powers to counterattack and caused Yangus to fly a foot away; rolling onto the ground in pain and exhaustion.

Tamnia sighed in relief as she held onto her wounded arm. '… finally managed to get rid of that pest. Now... To deal with my traitorous lover and soon to be slave...' Tamnia turned to the malignant energy that covered Eight and was shocked by what she discovered. The energy was fading rapidly. It looked Eight would be able to break out in any moment.

'No! The Tartarus clouds will soon dissipate,' Tamnia thought panicky. 'My concentration must've been broken when I was busy fighting against that other fool. It took too much out of me summoning that cloud... That stupid beast formally known as the Dragovian Lord is too busy fighting those other pathetic humans to help me... Cough... I will have to steal more of their energy if I'll have any hope of defeating them.' Tamnia began reciting the spell under her breath. Her eyes were so well trained on her Half- Dragovian love that she didn't notice that the fallen Yangus had gotten back up on his feet and walk stalking right up to her with his ax raised. She didn't realize that he would soon be close enough to deliver the finishing blow. The only time she seemed to notice anything was when Eight was finally out in the open, head bowed, bleeding everywhere on his body and leaning heavily onto his sword for support.

"It didn't have to be this way you know," Tamnia said. Eight just glared at her, but said nothing as Tamnia continued to talk. "We could have really been happy together after the Dragovian Sanctuary was taken over. We could have ruled together as King and Queen over those weak minded fools… I would've given you anything that you wanted…"

Eight shook his head. "No you wouldn't…," The Trodain guard pointed an accusing finger at his enemy. "Stop talking about me like you actually thought of me as your equal because you didn't; I was the same as a slave to you. Also, I do not want to be with you because I'm in love with someone else and I don't like what you're doing to these people."

"Why do you even care what I do to these people," Tamnia took a step towards Eight. "I know Chen Mui told you the story of your past. You must know how they- including your own grandfather- treated you and your mother. You must have heard about the tragic end of both your parents. After everything these people did to you… why would you want to help them?"

Eight shrugged his shoulders. "I know the story but that doesn't matter. Whatever they have done to me and you; it doesn't give you the right to enslave them." Eight raised his sword and pointed it in Tamnia's direction, causing her to explode.

"You fool! How dare you raise your weapon at me! Prepare to die!" Tamnia began to glow. Eight soon felt as if his lungs were on fire and the life was slowly escaping his body; as if he was being squeezed by some invisible force. It caused him to drop his weapon.

Yangus, who noticed how Eight was reacting, decided that it was finally time to strike. He rushed towards Tamnia while her back was still to him and attacked. This was finally going to be over.

Or so he thought.

The attack never connected. No matter how much Yangus struggled, the axe stopped short of Tamnia's back. Yangus soon felt himself floating off the ground. After Tamnia turned towards him, Yangus began to feel a pressure, choking him. The helpless ex-bandit coughed and heaved; his axe fell to the ground with a clank as both his hands went to his throat.

"Die." It was all Tamnia said before Yangus felt the pressure around him rise, completely cutting off his oxygen. He struggled to get more air in his lungs.

Eight watched in horror as his friend was sing suffocated. "STOP IT! TAMNIA STOP IT!" Tamnia ignored him as he tried desperately to free himself to save Yangus. 'I have to save Yangus,' Eight thought desperately. 'If I don't; Yangus is going to die… I can't let that happen…'

A big bright light began to shine; effectively blinding almost everyone involved in the battle. Tamnia raised her hands in front of her face and turned around to catch a glimpse at the thing shining that shining that brightly.

It was a man.

With Angelo and Jessica fighting the Dragon…

Angelo took his sword and attacked. "Lightning Bolt!" The Dragon was soon struck by lightning. The Dragon screeched in pain and annoyance. It swung its mighty tail and Jessica- who could not avoid the attack in time- took a direct blow to her stomach that brought her to her knees.

Noticing the moment of weakness, the Dragon brought his tail to attack Jessica once more, but the attack was intercepted.

"Harvest Moon!" Angelo preformed a number of impressive cartwheels and back flips, effectively attacking multiple times and knocking the behemoth away from the redheaded spell caster. Once the beast was on its back, Angelo helped Jessica onto her feet. "Are you alright?"

Jessica nodded her her head. "Yes... I'm alright. But when is this going to be over?" As if to answer her question, a blinding light appeared. Both Jessica and Angelo put their hands up to protect their faces. "Where is that light coming from?" Jessica asked. Jessica winced as the glow seemed to grow brighter.

Angelo lowered his hands . "I don't know," Angelo looked into the direction of the light and saw a being a standing in the light; almost like a righteous angel. Once he looked closer he realized that he knew that person covered in all that light... It was Eight.

The young Trodain guardsman was almost unrecognizable. His new bandana was blown off his head, revealing his spiky short hair. His whole form seemed to glow with power as he faced off against the evil Tamnia; who seemed to be struggling for breath as she attacked Eight. Eight defended himself against the blows and counterattacked without even breaking a sweat. Angelo watched, mesmerized by the battle before him while Jessica noticed something else besides the battle.

"Angelo, over there!" Jessica yelled with her index finger pointed. Angelo looked in that direction and saw a barely conscious Yangus on the ground, struggling to get up. Without anymore discussion, Angelo and Jessica ran towards their fallen friend to help him up from the ground. Jessica kneed down to help Yangus up. "Yangus are you alright?"

Yangus opened his eyes and looked up at Jessica. "I'm a'right luv... Just need ta recover is all." Yangus slowly pulled himself up to his feet. "Where's the guv?"

Angelo pointed at the battle happening in the sky. Yangus looked up and immediately noticed his glowing friend. "Blimey! What happened ta the guv?" asked the bandit.

"I don't know what happened to him, but it looks like he's actually winning against Tamnia," Angelo took an arrow and aimed at the opponent with a bow, "and I intend on helping him end this once and for all."

At that moment an angry growl echoed throughout the whole battle field. The only ones that seemed to be immune to its ferocity were the two beings fighting in the sky. The three warriors on the ground turned around and saw the Dragovian Dragon had gotten up from the ground and was ready to fight. It noticed Angelo, Yangus and Jessica and stalked towards them, ready for battle.

"Cor blimey!" Yangus cursed. He turned to Angelo "I'll take th' Dragon. Just get th' bird wiv an arrow.," Yangus said before turning to Jessica. "Come on luv; I'll need some assistance to take 'im." Both Angelo and Jessica nodded their heads before they all ran their own separate ways. Yangus and Jessica ran towards the Dragon while Angelo ran in the other direction- closer to both Tamnia and Eight- with his bow and arrow raised and ready for action.

With Tamnia and Eight (the final showdown)...

"It's over Tamnia," Eight said after he managed to deflect another spell. "You no longer stand a chance against me. Just surrender and this can all be over."

"NEVER!" Tamnia yelled after casting another spell that Eight deflected. "I will not give up! I will not accept this defeat! I will rule this world and watch YOU suffer-" Tamnia was interrupted when she was brutally attacked by Eight. She bent over in exhaustion. "I don't understand... where did this new power come from."

Eight quickly noticed that Tamnia had grown weaker. He moved closer to her and decided to be merciful and offered Tamnia his hand. "Look Tamnia. We can put this behind us and forget about this. All you need to do if forget about trying to rule over the Dragovians."

"NEVER!" Tamnia yelled. As soon as Eight moved close enough to her, she raised her hand, filled with enough malevolent magic to do great harm, ready to attack her vulnerable opponent. Eight raised his own hands to defend himself from the oncoming attack. He braced himself but it never came. It hesitantly put his hands down and noticed that Tamnia was no longer attacking. Instead, hand was no longer filled with her dark magic and her eyes had a blank, glossy look to them. Eight watched as Tamnia started falling towards the ground, finally noticing the arrow that was protruding out of her lifeless body. Eight look at Angelo and smiled a tired, relief smile before he collapsed towards the ground himself.

Jessica and Yangus with the Dragovian...

Yangus and Jessica could practically feel the flames that were about to come out the Dragon's mouth any second. They braced themselves when the Dragon opened its mouth… but it never came.

No, instead the Dragon paused for a long time until the creature was covered in light. Once the light cleared, the Dragon was nowhere to be found and was replaced by a man. The same peaceful man that was there before the violent Dragon appeared.

The Dragovian Lord.

The Lord looked at his hands than turned to his opponents. "What has happened?"

Jessica sighed in relief. "We'll explain everything to you once everything once we get out of here." Jessica took a look behind the Dragovian Lord and saw two figures that were that were down on the ground and Angelo kneeling over one of them. Jessica, followed by Yangus and the Dragovian Lord, ran towards Angelo. Angelo came back on his feet, carrying a weakened Eight. "Is he alright?" Jessica asked Angelo.

"I'm okay," Eight answered for himself. "But I can't say the same for Tamnia. Angelo managed to shoot her with one of his arrows… she's dead."

"So you have managed to defeat Tamnia?" The Dragovian Lord walked calmly towards Eight and Angelo. "We shall get out of here and head to your grandfather's house to recover our strength."

Everyone in the group nodded their heads in agreement. They some left the Sanctum and arrived shortly to Chen Mui's home where they soon learned that all of Tamnia's henchmen were defeated. The group- including Trode and Medea- were too tired to deal with the information and took a very long rest.

In the Dragovian Sanctuary, a week later…

"I want all of you to know that you are welcomed in the Sanctuary any time my friends," the Dragovian Lord said to the party. "Meeting all of you has made me realize how wrong I have been about humans in the past. I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you and goodbye," King Trode said for all of the party members. "I hope when we meet we will meet in a more peaceful way next time but until then." All of the party members waved goodbye and the Dragovian Lord watched as all of them left.

Chen Mui had decided to once again- like he did so many years ago- leave with Eight in the form of Munchie the mouse. He stayed in his grandson's pocket, nibbling on a piece of cheese. Eight stood close to Medea, rubbing her face tenderly and lovingly. They realized that though they loved each other and wanted to marry one another, they could do nothing until the Rhapthorne possessed dog was vanquished.

"Now it's time to kill that dog once and for all!" Trode exclaimed.

"Now that's more like it granddad!" Yangus exclaimed in agreement.

The other members of the party- Angelo, Jessica and Eight- nodded in agreement while "I'm not your granddad!" was yelled in the background. Nothing more needed to be said.

Though many hardships and tough battles were still somewhere in their futures; they knew that unless Rhapthorne was destroyed they would never be able to lift the curses that inflicted them, avenge the loved ones that had lost or prevent the other deaths that might happen in the future. They knew that they had to come out of the final battle triumphant.

NOW THIS IS THE END

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