All "Sonic the Hedgehog" characters and related © TM Sega, Archie 
Comics, DIC, etc. Larkazan © JC Chen 

Author's note: Hello! This is not my first piece of Sonic fan-fic, but
it is the first I have done in two years. So… Here goes. Oh, and, 
please use this with permission, because of my own insecure 
personality. E-mail me at Jchen25794@aol.com (Yeah, yeah, I'm an AOL
user. Haha, laugh on.) I'm not a scary person, so e-mail me. You can't
make a buck off this, because who would want to buy this piece of 
crud?  I would also like to thank Ali, Miyasha, Raz, and many of my 
friends online (Ya'll know who you are) for helping me and supporting 
me. Comments, reviews, flames (yes flames) would be appreciated. It 
would, however be pointless to try to kill my self-confidence since 
it's already dead and buried in some cemetary off in the Grand Canyon 
somewhere along with some dinosaur fossils. Okay, enough 
self-berating. Let's go on.

Timeline: Two months after "Doomsday" episode. (Author's note: This 
story is suppose to be in the third season that never happened, 
where Naugus took over. However, if you know what the original 
plotline was going to be for season three, you'll notice I bent the 
plot a bit to suit my needs.)


The dreary smoke choked off into the sky like a gray snake. The sky,
which was supposed to be a light blue, was so stifled with pollution 
that it assumed a tainted metal color. The place reflected its mood as
well: Corrupted. It was Robotropolis, or was.

"This place reeks of evil." A soft hiss split the dreary air. 
Somewhere else, a rat screeched its death cry. Misty gray eyes looked 
with a profound sadness at the place. "I was never much for the city 
that used to stand here, but… by the High Ones…" The hiss sounded like
a hand brushing soft velvet.

The piles of trash littered the mock-streets, scattered like leaves. 
The owner of the voice emerged from behind a pile, and nearly gagged 
at the sight before him: A young wolf, her body twisted in the most 
unusual way, the mouth opened in a silent scream, and the lifeless 
blue eyes gazing helplessly to the sky.

"Death," the owner whispered. He wore a simple tunic that probably 
dated back a few centuries in time, and a tattered pair of black 
pants. What were the remnants of a cape hung like a semi-dead bat on 
his shoulders. The humanoid dragon scowled, scratching his blunt 
snout, yet his eyes looked pained. +Ah, I've heard people describe 
death before,+ he thought mournfully. +All peaceful, face devoid of 
all emotion except a tranquility, a happiness. This certainly doesn't
look like that. She looks… pained, wanting to die, but holding… held
on in the same time.+ Snorting softly, he reached out a tarnished 
bronze claw, closed her eyes and mouth, and put her arms straight by 
her side gently, as if she was still alive. +Much better.+  Blinking, 
and with an afterthought, he knelt down beside her and carefully 
carved an intricate holy symbol by her.  

Whispering a prayer, Larkazan left.

 
Sally groaned softly and put her hand on her forehead in frustration. 
She growled softly at herself and forced the cogs in her brain to
start turning. Clank. Click. Clank. Click. Clack. Whine. Boom. The 
cogs exploded in a great burning inferno.

She looked wearily at the clock by her table. "Two twenty," she read 
aloud and looked outside through her window, and saw the moon, 
gloating like Naugus' twisted face. Gasping and blinking rapidly, she 
looked out again as her eyes adjusted to the night and saw the round 
moon casting its gentle web of light down, not malicious at all.

Blowing out an already dying candle, which had been the twentieth of 
this night, she stumbled ungracefully into her bed.


Larkazan snarled violently as the image of the dead wolf stuck to his 
mind like bad gum. Blinking his gray eyes, he absently brushed a claw 
over his eyes. The glorious night wind passed under his huge wings 
like a small, rushing creek. 

He would have to report to his kinsmen of this reek of evil. Never did
they know the thousands of years of seclusion had corrupted the world 
that the Mandaras held so holy in their mind. Maybe the priests of the
Gods could tell him something. Suggestions perhaps.

It had been three days since Larkazan left Robotropolis.  Haunting 
nightmares had trailed him every night like a shadowy stranger. The 
twisted bodies of innocents were strewn all over his feet, and more 
collapsing all about him. His kinsmen and he stood in the middle of 
the storm of bodies, being bombarded by accusations and shrieks of 
anger and fear. And always would he awake, gasping wildly and gagging 
with disgust at the dream.

The winds had been fair; normally, it would've taken him a week to 
reach Tormonith, the city of the Mandaras, but it took him only three 
days. 

A smile touched his gruff visage, almost impossible because of his
scaly face as he approached the huge city that touched only his eyes. 
Tormonith was a magnificent, sprawling city that reached high to the 
roof of the sky. It was a bronze color like Larkazan's scales, and 
four towers grabbed for the sky. A square stronghold was smack in the 
middle of the city. Huge, if humble, houses stood around the 
stronghold, marking them homes. And last, a stretch of plain land to 
the left of the stronghold, was the landing strip.

Larkazan twitched briefly with anticipation and let the wind catch his
wings as he landed on the long strip of land. +I have to tell the 
Elders,+ he decided with determination, and strode towards the huge 
stronghold.


The Freedom Fighters trudged miserably through the seemingly deserted 
city of the former Robotropolis. Their side was losing; lives have 
been lost at the fastest rate. Whenever a Freedom Fighter dropped, 
there was no one to replace him or her, but whenever a robot dropped, 
ten came to replace it.

Every so often, a body showed up somewhere behind a pile of trash. 
Mournful, but helpless to resurrect them, they would drag it to a 
graveyard elsewhere in the Great Forest. 

This day was a day just like that. A raid turned into a funeral, and a
shower of blood……

Sally walked behind a junk pile and nearly gasped in surprise. "Sonic,
come here, look!" She called out loud enough for her friend to hear. 
She stood gaping at a female wolf, laid out in a formal death pose. 
Knowing by instinct that Naugus or any of his henchmen wouldn't do 
this, she was shocked.

With a light skid, Sonic stopped next to Sally, and saw her excited 
reaction at the body. His face contorted with concern, and he looked 
at his friend as if she had finally lost her mind. "Um, Sal…" he began
as tactfully as he could.

Shaking her head, she explained to Sonic. "Don't you see? Someone's 
been here before us! Maybe another Freedom Fighter group." 

"Another group?" Sonic grinned, the few grins that came from the 
formerly usually cheerful hedgehog due to the circumstances. "Cool! 
That's great! That…." He blinked and stared at the body. "Hey, there's
something under her left arm." 

Sally followed Sonic's gaze to the left arm, and gasped in surprise. 
"Maybe… Could it be?" She mused wonderingly. Gingerly and 
respectfully, the princess moved the arm aside and stared at the rune 
carved neatly in the ground.

The rune was almost shaped like a pretzel, but by far more graceful- 
looking. It was a circle, with a large X inscribed right in the 
center, with two neatly lined dots in the X's gaps. 

"Nicole," Sally snatched out her wonderfully designed mini-calculator
and requested, "scan this rune and determine its origin, please."

A few beeps sounded as the information was being searched and 
retrieved. "Requested information found, Sally," the female-sounding 
voice replied, then continued. "This is a death-rune of the Mandaras, 
the ancient race of giants. It represents a great deal of respect for 
the dead, and is holy by definition. It blesses the soul of the owner 
a pleasant afterlife."

Sonic frowned in irritation. "In English, Nicole." 

"Of course, Sonic, my man," the computer answered. It almost sounded 
enthusiastic. Sally rolled her eyes with vexation as well as mild 
amusement at this. Nicole continued, "It is a Mandarian sign of 
respect for the dead." 

The simple, cut-down sentence satisfied Sonic. "Cool," he answered 
almost instinctively. 

"Wait," Sally said, "how old is this rune?"

"About three days, Sally." Nicole confirmed. Sally's jaw almost 
dropped open, except her training as a princess ceased that from
happening. Suddenly, a smile appeared on her face, one of the rare 
smiles she had had since Naugus came into power. 

"Get the others, Sonic. We've got to tell them the good news!"


"Absolutely no, young Larkazan!" An enraged cry tore through the 
wirier Mandara. 

Larkazan stood before the Council of Nine, which included a group of 
elderly Mandaras. Bronze, gold, copper, silver, green, red, blue, and 
many other colored scales glinted brightly, as if protesting against
Larkazan. The one who raged was an old male with fiery red scales, 
shiny and polished, and not touched with the signs of traveling. Fat 
and round, this particular beast was less than graceful compared to 
Larkazan.

The Assembly room was round, with a domed roof that reached up about 
three hundred feet off the ground. Made from the same bronze colored 
material as the rest of the city, this room resonated at every sound 
heard. The oval-shaped table stood in the middle of the room, with 
simple chairs in which the council members lounged. Larkazan stood 
awkwardly at the head of the table, where the seated elders studied 
him coldly.

"But…" The younger Mandara protested loudly. His tail twitched 
angrily. The bronze Mandara had changed from his travel-worn clothes 
to more elegant attire. 

"Kankar is right, Larkazan," a venerable and elderly female with 
silver scales reprimanded gently. "We aren't to interfere with the 
current events on Mobius. You know what happened five thousand years 
ago."

"Yes, but…" Larkazan tried hopelessly to support his point.

The female continued as if Larkazan hadn't spoken at all. "Three 
thousand years ago, the Mobians and the dignified Mandaras lived in 
harmony with each other. Of course, that's how all fairy tales begin. 
Then a wizard- wizards are always a nuisance, especially Mobians-" The
female added with a brief grin, "He gathered up an army of insane 
humans and power-hungry animals to exterminate all Mandaras. Even with
our power, they slaughtered a good number of our population, cutting 
it down by seventy percent. And though we defeated them, our loss was 
great. That was when we vowed never to come in contact with the 
Mobians again. You of all history lovers should know that story, 
Larkazan."

With helpless anguish, Larkazan tried again. "But that's old hatred! 
Three thousand years, Mar! That's six generations! Six generations 
gone, Mar! Hatred must die, my comrades. Besides, what if this current
tyrant finally stamps out the last Mobians? He'll come after us, of 
course. We aren't unknown in the world, my friends!"

"Bah!" The red that made the outburst named Kankor snorted. "What can 
a measly Mobian do to us?" 

"Would you rather risk that and lose three-fourths of our population 
again, Kankar?" Larkazan snapped back with fury.

"Calm, young Larkazan," Mar said calmly, her tone never changing. 
"Your preposition doesn't support your idea much. But," she added and 
glared sternly at Larkazan before he could interrupt, "I will give you
a chance to prove yourself right. Here is what you do: Bring us the 
leader of the rebels, and if he or she can prove him or herself, I 
will allow our people to help the Mobians."

"Outrageous!" Kankor cried loudly. A few other elders took up his cry,
but were silenced quickly by a majority of the other elders. Taking a 
deep breath, Kankor tried more tactfully, "This cannot be allowed! A 
Mobian comes to our sacred city? Violate and desecrate the holy 
grounds? Are you insane, Mar?"

"Shut up, Kan," Marolla answered with a snap.

Larkazan grinned. "Thank you, great one." He scrambled out of the 
assembly room eagerly before the Elders could change their minds and
leaving Kankor sputtering with anger, with the other elders trying to
stop themselves from howling with wild laughter. 


Sally sat at head of a table along with the leaders of the other 
Freedom Fighters. She reflected on last night, and how the good news 
was received. Most of the Freedom Fighters received this news with a 
great eagerness and excitement, although some nodded their heads and 
wondered if their princess finally lost her mind in the heated 
struggle.

They greeted Sally in a friendly and respectful fashion, with grins 
and smiles. "I have good news," the princess announced formally. 
"Yesterday, when our fellow Freedom Fighters went to Robotropolis on… 
business-" She blinked awkwardly and held back some tears for the dead
friends and comrades. "I discovered a symbol of the Mandaras. Nicole, 
display." She opened up Nicole, and the semi-computer displayed the 
odd symbol to the leaders.

Lupe blinked, then gasped in realization of something. The others 
gazed at her with concern and odd interest. Lupe breathed in and 
explained the reason for her reaction. "That is the symbol of death 
and respect. Or, was, actually. That symbol is in the old language of 
the Wolves, when our people were still free." She growled softly and 
clenched her fist at the memories, then breathed in softly and 
re-composed herself. "Long ago, according to legend, and that legend 
is so old, it's barely remembered among my pack. A member of the 
Mandara would stay at a pack, teaching the young or future leaders the 
aspects and requirements, as well as hunting. They also taught the 
children their language, and pretty soon, we adapted their language 
into ours. After so long, the language had been altered a bit, but I 
still recognize it." She mused silently to herself for a long moment.

"Is it possible that it may be another Wolf Pack, one unknown?" Ari 
questioned, tapping his horns idly.

Shaking her head at the question, Lupe answered. "Not possible, Ari. 
All the wolves know each other, none may remain secret. That was the 
ancient agreement set a long time ago. I know only of five other 
packs, and none of them still use the old language."

The princess of the Knothole Freedom Fighters reflected upon the 
conversation, then offered. "Yes, but the sign was found next to a 
body of a female wolf, with her arms straight out at her sides, eyes 
closed… It seems somehow… ancient."

"No," Lupe denied, "it cannot be another pack; if the victim was a 
wolf, we would've given him or her a proper death ceremony instead of 
leaving the victim that way. Plus, we don't lay our dead out that 
way."

"It could be the Mandaras, then." Ari grinned joyously. "Magic! 
According to legends, Mandaras have powerful magic unperceived! Fight 
fire with fire, I say!"

"It's not official, Ari," Sally said, though it seemed like she didn't
want to believe it. 

Ari shrugged helplessly, and began stroking his horns again. Dirk 
looked about, then offered his suggestion. "Perhaps if the unknown 
thing will come back again-"

Eyes lighting up, Sally considered the idea quickly. "Yes, he or she 
might appear again." She smiled.

"Cool!" Sonic grinned, and begun to pump his legs in excitement.
"Let's go!"

"Tomorrow, Sonic." Sally rested a gentle, but firm, restraining hand 
on Sonic's shoulder. "It probably won't be there until later. I just 
have a feeling."

"Aw, Sal," Sonic sighed dejectedly, slowed, and stopped. "I hate 
waiting."

Everyone's expression reflected that.


Larkazan glided into the smoke-choked city gracefully. It was quite an
odd mismatch. With extremely good memory, he glided to where he last 
saw the wolf. As he landed with his two feet touching the ground at
slightly different times, he nearly tripped when he saw the female 
gone.

Had the evil that lurked in this place taken the body, desecrated it? 
The thought set Larkazan's teeth grinding as he approached closer to 
the place. He saw his sign of respect undisturbed and smiled in 
satisfaction at that. But there was no way to tell who took the body.

Sighing, he collapsed weakly next to a pile of foul metal, and 
absently carved the sign for "Greetings" next to the sign of respect. 
Sighing again, Larkazan stumbled up and hid a few yards away from the 
place, where he could see the place with the signs without being 
detected by the people there.


The next day, Sally rounded up a small group of Freedom fighters, 
consisting of Sonic, Lupe, Antoine (who came with great reluctance), 
Bunnie, and herself. Sonic went ahead to scout for patrols, of which 
were many. 

As soon as they arrived at the dreaded city, Sonic speeded straight 
towards them with a smirk on his face. "All clear to go, Sal." And 
with an afterthought, he added. "What took you so long, I patrolled 
ten thousand times already?"

Sally smiled lightly, but didn't reply to that. More likely he ate 
about ten thousand chilidogs than patrolled. Smoothing her hair back,
the Freedom Fighters moved stealthily about the city, barely able to 
contain a cough every time they took in a breath.

Her eyes catching the almost inconspicuous signs, her brain 
immediately picked up the new symbol there. Racing to the elegantly 
marked signs, she knelt down and traced the rune with her finger. 
Excited, she brought Nicole out from her boot and questioned the 
computer thoroughly, not missing anything.

"The symbol is a sign of formal greetings to a non-hostile stranger. 
In other words, it means 'hello'," the computer intoned with a few 
bleeps.

Lupe nodded her affirmation of the info and added her own piece of 
information. "It is the first word that a child learns, although it 
looks a little more different." She tapped her chin. "If this stranger
made this sign just recently, he… or it should be around here if it 
wants to be found."

All of the Freedom Fighters looked about almost involuntarily. Antoine
let out a little whimper that drew more than just one annoyed glare.


Larkazan peeked from behind a pile of scrap metal, his tail swinging 
about in elation. Grinning wildly, he wondered if he should step out 
and introduce himself. His mind, turmoil of thoughts, was clicking so 
fast that he did not notice the all too evident clanking from behind 
him.

"Freeze, Freedom Fighter." The cold, emotionless voice struck 
Larkazan's mind. 

+This… cannot be good. + The young Mandara thought bitterly then 
clutched at the saber at his hip. The pummel, which was a golden head 
of a dragon, its mouth wide agape in a silent scream, glistened with a
soft light. 

The metallic harshness whirled and clicked, and Larkazan bared his 
teeth, which were quite sharp, his eyes glowing, spun about, and 
plunged his sword in the metallic man's chest. An electrical surge 
shot up the Mandara's arm, but his different physical stamina 
prevented him from collapsing in pain. Instead, he howled, a sound 
that reflected the fury of the winds.

And it certainly drew more than just a little attention from the other
metal men.

"What was that?" Sonic asked as he heard the anguished howl. 
"Definitely not cool." He turned his head to the side and tried to get
where the sound was coming from.

"It's coming from over there." Lupe pointed to behind her, where they 
could now see a dozen or more SWAT-bots by and behind a large pile of 
metal. However, their attention seemed diverted towards something 
else.

"What're y'all waitin' fer?" Bunnie smiled. "Let's go!"

Antoine yowled with protest as the others dragged him towards the 
battle.

Larkazan's breath came in ragged gasps, and his head was swirling and 
jingling like a snow-globe. His muscles burned painfully as he danced 
away from the laser blasts that tore madly at his cloak, which didn't 
improve its shape at all. Also, the electrical surges had drained the 
little energy he had left.

Maybe he should've just left the regular Mobians to their own 
problems, maybe he should've stayed home, maybe he shouldn't had been 
born at all. Larkazan's garbled thoughts distracted him from the 
battle, and a misstep caused his arm to be burnt painfully.

However, his cause hadn't been vain; more than two dozen SWAT-bot 
remains were strewn about everywhere like discarded dolls. He had cut 
the patrol down by half, and a grim smile of satisfaction formed 
slowly on the Mandara's face.

Steeling himself for another electrical jolt, he swung his sword in a 
wide arch, slicing off a bot's head. The jolt was smaller than the 
first one he'd received, and the body stumbled towards him, then 
toppled over. 

Just then, like a blinding light, a blue streak blasted by him. And 
within two blinks of an eye, half a dozen more SWAT-bots lay crumpled 
on the cement ground.

"Hey, bro!" Larkazan heard a shout from the right of him. "Need help?"
Larkazan grunted loudly and looked to the owner of the voice.    

The blue hedgehog looked back at him with a grin. "I said, 'Need 
help?" he reiterated. Larkazan could only nod dumbly, his mind a 
tangled ball of yarn.

As if that wasn't enough, more people came out from behind a pile of 
metal. Larkazan struggled to stand up straight, then drove his sword 
into the chest of another metal-man. Out of the corner of his eye, he 
caught sight of a ground squirrel, a fox, a tall wolf, and a rabbit 
with obvious metal arm and legs. 

His sword arm grew numb as he cleaved another bot in two halves from 
the thigh. Grinning, his spirits restored, he tore madly at another 
bot, the blue of the electricity crackling like a globe of light. This
time, the jolt didn't hurt that much. 

The wolf pulled out a sling-shot, and squinted as she aimed at a 
robot. An onyx stone was set in the sling, and she let go with 
efficiency. The rock whistled loudly like a bird, and struck a bot in 
the red screen of its semi-sphere head. The head sizzled and crackled 
and smashed to the ground with a loud clatter. And the wolf smiled 
grimly with satisfaction.

Larkazan's attention was drawn away from the wolf when he saw the 
half-metal rabbit smash her metallic fist into a bot's midriff with 
fury, tearing a fist-sized hole in its middle. The Mandara's jaw hung
open in shock at the show of magnificent strength. +Magic,+ he thought
wonderingly. He dispatched another bot with a swipe of his arm. 

However, the SWAT-bots' attention seemed to be drawn to the blue 
hedgehog, their mono-tone voice droned, "Hedgehog, Priority One. 
Hedgehog, Priority One…" The blue hedgehog laughed, his mouth upturned
in a smirk. He whirled up and turned into a shrieking wheel of razor, 
slicing everything in sight.

Only two SWAT-bots were left standing, and the squirrel finished them 
off with a gadget that blasted holes clear through the bots. The fox 
grinned as he stepped triumphantly off a fallen SWAT-bot, although it 
didn't seem as though he did all the work. 

Instead of saving them, Larkazan was saved. And he smiled mockingly at
him with that thought. "Ah, thank you," he rasped, and bowed low. "I 
would've died if it tweren't for you. I am Larkazan of the Clan 
Lawng." 

Sally smiled a greeting at the odd dragon-man. This Larkazan stood 
well over seven feet, almost two feet taller than Lupe, who was tall 
already. She begin introducing the group. "This hedgehog is Sonic the 
Hedgehog, here's Bunnie Rabbot, this is Antoine D'Coolette," she 
heard Sonic mock-gag in the background, "this is Lupe of the Wolf 
Pack, and I am Sally of the House Acorn."

She noticed Larkazan's oval and gray eyes widened slightly. "Aha, 
royalty. Your House rules well, my people honor yours." He hesitated 
at what he had just said, wondering if it was the right thing to say. 
"I'm not trying to mock you in anyway," he hesitated again, "Queen 
Acorn."

A stifled snigger came from Sonic, but he tried his hardest not to 
offend the strange creature before them. The others kept a straight 
face. However, they seemed slightly surprised at the same time at 
Larkazan's ignorance. 

"Princess Sally," the squirrel corrected gently. "My father is still 
alive in a place called the Void." 

If Larkazan could blush, he would've. He did felt heat rising from the
base of his neck, though. "Ah, sorry, Princess." Everyone stood in 
awkward silence as Larkazan scratched his arm awkwardly. "Ow." He 
grimaced as he saw the ruby red blood flow sluggishly from the wound.

"Let me look at your arm," Lupe broke the silence, and held Larkazan's
long arm awkwardly. "This needs to get treated. We should go back to 
Knothole."

"Yees," Antione finally spoke with a slight accent, "But could we be 
trusting heem?" He showed his open distrust at the tall reptile.

Larkazan ignored the fox's view of him, his eyes intent on the wolf. 
He licked his jaw and carefully observed the gray wolf without drawing
her attention.

She was as beautiful as his people had described wolves in the old 
days. Her face was magnificent in his opinion, but her jaw was set in 
a grim mask, the result of war. Maybe his people can be with the 
wolves again, maybe…

"Sal," Sonic whispered, "A moment with you?"

"Sure." Sally hesitated as Sonic and her walked a few feet away, out 
of earshot. 

"Hey, I hate to admit it, but I agree with Ant." Sonic frowned 
slightly. "Are you sure he's not one of Naug's tricks?"

"What do you mean?" Sally pretended not to understand. 

"What if Naugus was the one leaving those bogus signs, not the Mand… 
Manda…" Sonic faltered, "Um, those guys. What if this guy's just a 
phony? And even if this guy was a Mand… He's suppose to be a giant."

"Stop being so suspicious, Sonic," Sally remonstrated. "And he is a 
giant; he's taller than any one of us. And, well, this doesn't seem 
like one of Naugus' plan."

"Well, uh…" Sonic tried to crank his mind to shoot back a retort, but 
his mind refused to acknowledge him. "Well, you're the boss, Sal," he 
ended lamely.

Sally sighed. "Trust me, Sonic," she implored.

"Aw, alright." Sonic smiled reluctantly and he stood protectively 
next to Sally as they strolled back to the group.

"Let's get back before Naugus notices this," Sally announced, then 
added. "Which is gonna be soon."

  
The forest had a young and fresh smell to it. The light filtered down 
through the green leaves, warming Larkazan as he took in a lung-full 
of clean air. This was the Utopia of Mobius, and certainly a relief 
from the disheartening city of Robotropolis.

Lupe glanced at the huge half-dragon, who was as tall as Dulcy, but 
not with the build of a dragon. "The air is quite fresh, isn't it? A 
blissful thing." 

Her words seemed to startle the tall dragon-man as he shook himself 
from deep thought. "Ah, why, yes," he stammered, "Of course, I've 
never seen many forests before in where my home is."

The lean wolf considered the odd newcomer's words, noting that 
Larkazan said that his home "is", meaning that it still stood despite 
the ravages of war. "Where did you came from?" she questioned. 

Nearly tripping over his feet, Larkazan opened his mouth, closed it, 
and repeated that for at least one minute, drawing curious looks from 
the Freedom Fighters, minus Sonic, who was already at Knothole, bored 
with walking. "Ur, ah, huh…"

"I am wondering if he can be speaking," Antoine muttered.

"Hush, 'Twan," Bunnie admonished, resting an arm on the fox's, 
startling him slightly.

Larkazan coughed and cleared his throat rather loudly, "Ah hem. I 
live, far, far, off. To somewhere in another place, on the far side of
the continent."

This attracted some arched, suspicious eyebrows, and Larkazan tucked 
his head between his winged shoulders, swearing that he would never be
as clumsy as to speak like that again. However, this won't be the last
time, naturally.

"You spoke to me that your people honor mine, and I thank you for 
that. But," she paused uncertainly, for this was the question that
might decide the Freedom Fighters' condition, "who are, if would 
excuse me, what are your people?"

It was Larkazan's turn to look amused, finally. "Why, the Mandaras, of
course. Has time passed by so swiftly that all traces of my people are
forgotten?" He expected this to draw gasps of shock, but it didn't, 
although it came close to that. The princess bore an expression of 
pure elation, Lupe of surprise, Antoine a hesitating look, and Bunnie 
an odd look that was stuck between awe and confusion.

"Well, sugah," Bunnie spoke, "I've never heard of yer people until 
Sally gal here mentioned it."

"Oh, I guess we were forgotten," Larkazan said with an air of 
melancholy. "I guess it has something to with us not being as social 
as we should be." He chuckled weakly, his throaty voice dry.

"Not by the wolves," Lupe declared firmly. "We will always remember 
the Mandaras like one of our kin. We cannot ever forget the time when
the Mandaras saved our clans from being utterly destroyed."

The rigorousness of this statement caused Larkazan to smile, fleeting,
and it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "And we shall cherish the 
memories of the wolves, as well," Larkazan replied in a stern tone.
"Not to mention the many times when our tails were pulled from the 
roasting pit by the wolf clans." He made a bow towards Sally, "Nor 
shall we forget the time the Acorns kept the Mandaras from being 
hunted." 

"I…" Sally started, still too joyed to think of something formal to 
say, "Thanks."

The Mandara smiled and congratulated himself.

"We will have to prepare the people for this, naturally," Ari 
declared, watching the tall Mandara sitting uncomfortably in a tiny 
chair uneasily. "I find it hard to believe myself." He gave Larkazan 
an apologetic look, which the giant shrugged off with a mild grin.

"If I were you, I would be suspicious as well," Larkazan nodded 
understandingly, "After all, legends are legends, and shouldn't be 
believed quickly. And let me assure you, I will offer my help. It's up
to you if you want to take my offer. I would regret it if you don't."

"I will take your offer," Lupe said with uncharacteristic rashness, 
then flushed greatly and backed down at her comrades' concerned faces.

"There is much to discuss, and our own people have to be backing us on
this," Sally reminded everyone. 

"Well," said a skunk that had been lounging on a chair. "Not to offend
ya or anything, lizard," he said this with a slight sneer, "but you 
don't at all seem like you're equipped for this type of thing."

Larkazan smiled drily, and his mouth turned upwards so that all his
teeth were showing; he knew for sure that the skunk was trying to 
offend him, though more tactfully. "I assure you, I am well-equipped 
for this type of thing." He fingered his sword. 

"Yeah? Like what, mate?" Geoffrey snapped, infuriated that his insult 
hadn't reached Larkazan's nerves. The rest of the Freedom Fighters 
kept their mouths shut, even Sonic, with help from Sally. The outcome 
of this confrontation will be a key point in deciding whether to 
accept the Mandaras' help or not.   

"Like this," Larkazan replied casually, and the bandanna wrapped on 
Geoffrey's neck caught on fire.

"Aie!" Geoff yelped and yanked the bandanna off, and the fire
disappeared, leaving the bandanna lying tangled on the table, 
unburned. The skunk rubbed his neck for any injuries, and found none. 
He growled and snatched up the bandanna in irritation.

Sonic began to howl with laughter. "There's one for 'Kazan, 
skunk-boy!" He howled and doubled over with hysterical laughter.

The skunk snarled loudly at the hedgehog, but said nothing. Standing 
up stiffly, he stormed off in a huff, and one could almost see a dark 
cloud floating above his head. 

"It was pure illusion, of course," Larkazan apologized to the more 
than just amused Freedom Fighters, "The fire only felt hot to him. I'm
only an apprentice in the art of magic, after all." He grinned widely,
flashing his rows of teeth. "However, that seems just enough."

Ari began to laugh along with Sonic, who was still chuckling. The 
laughter grew louder as soon as Geoffrey was out of earshot, and 
everyone joined in. 

It was after some time before the laughter died down into soft 
chuckles. "I think my people will like him," Dirk grinned. Ari and the
other Freedom Fighters agreed with smiles. "I will accept his help." 
He offered a hand to the Mandara.

Larkazan looked at the hand inquisitively, then grabbed the proffered 
hand and shook it heartily. Others began to offer their hands, and 
Larkazan smiled.

"Sal," Sonic whispered, "I think I like this guy."

"I told you to trust me, Sonic," Sally replied with a broad smile. 
"Larkazan of the Mandaras," her voice rose regally, "I accept your 
help. And do all of the others agree?"

A chorus of cheers assaulted Larkazan, and he hissed with laughter, 
"I am glad you have accepted my help, Princess Sally of the Acorns." 
He bowed in the same mocking regal manner, then he glanced at Sonic. 
"'Kazan'?" he asked mildly.

Sonic started to laugh again.

"You've made yourself a pretty bad enemy, Larkazan," Ari said with a 
slim smile as the individual Freedom Fighter leaders left the meeting 
ground. "He's not a guy who would just go home and laugh about what a 
fool he had been. He's pretty headstrong, and he's not gonna forgive 
you for embarrassing him in front of the princess."

The giant tilted his head, "Why the princess?" He asked with a puzzled
frown.

"Ah, I thought you would've noticed," Ari replied casually.

"Mandaras are known for wisdom and magic, but we're not perfect."

"Right. Anyway, Geoffrey loves 'his' princess. And well, the rest 
speaks for itself."

"Ah." Larkazan nodded, and grinned. "I was pretty good though, wasn't 
I?"

A hearty laugh responded Larkazan. "Oh, yeah."

"I've noticed something, Ari. All the others seem to have a group, 
and, I hope it's not personal, but…" Larkazan left the question 
hanging.

"Oh," Ari said glumly. "That's something I rather not go into detail 
about it. Anyway, seeing you're my ally as well as a soon-to-be good 
friend, it doesn't seem to hurt that much." He told the Mandara his 
story and his first meeting with Sonic, the betrayal of Robotnik, and 
everything else after. 

"After I was pulled down into the Void," he said with a shudder, "I've
met the dreaded wizard Naugus, the one that holds the city now. He 
then sealed me off in another section along with King Acorn." He 
lowered his voice, even though there was no need. "Sally loves her 
father very much, and most of the time it pained her to think about 
his situation right now."

The lizard cast an involuntary glance at the princess, who was 
conversing with Lupe. The wolf looked back, and Larkazan quickly 
averted eyes. "How were you able to get out, then?" he questioned the 
ram curiously, still feeling the wolf's eyes at his back.

"I wasn't in the Void as long as the king or Naugus. There seemed to 
be some type of magical property that effects its dweller." Ari 
shrugged helplessly. "The best thing that could happen to Sally is her
father's return." He paused. "Next to winning the war, of course. She 
is selfless in the war."

Larkazan nodded thoughtfully and reminded himself that he would look 
in the libraries regarding this Void. Which brought him to another 
important thought. "Oh, by the High Ones…" he muttered, then began to 
swear a bunch of expletives. 

Blanching at Larkazan's use of language, Ari backed away cautiously. 
"Wh-what's wrong?" 

But Larkazan was already off and running. He reached Sally, who had 
stopped talking to Lupe, and for that Larkazan was grateful. "Your 
Highness," he gasped, then remembered himself and made a customary 
bow. 

"Please don't do that," Sally repremanded gently and helped Larkazan 
up. "What's wrong?"

"I've forgotten an important issue regarding the Mandaras' alliance."
Larkazan replied, calming himself. "The Mandaras have requested that 
you come with me to the city, and the real decision lies there."

Sally suddenly was crestfallen, "You mean that this wasn't…"

"I'm sorry," Larkazan expressed his regret, "But that's your end of 
the agreement. I need to persuade my people to help you. You have to 
come with me. Don't worry," he told the princess, "I've already got 
the highest elder's support. And," he tried to puff up, "You've got my
friends and my support. As well as my family."

The princess smiled wanly. "Thank you, Larkazan. We'll depart tomorrow
morning. I have to get prepared." 

"Tomorrow morning?" Larkazan gasped. 

"Yes," Sally replied wearily, looking far older than her stated age. 
"You and I better get some sleep." Then she wiped off her look of 
depress, replaced with a determined mask. "We'll need it to persuade 
your elders. We need the Mandaras," she added softly.

"Don't worry; we won't fail," Larkazan reassured. Then with a gentle 
smile, he said, "Good night, Princess." Then both of them went to bed,
preparing for the next morning.


That night, Sally twisted and turned in her bed. Unanswered questions 
snapped loudly in her mind, and she woke up, shivering. What if I 
fail? What will we do then? These thoughts echoed loudly. But 
Larkazan's family and friends will help. But what if they decide not 
to? What will they do then? These thoughts were almost hysterical.

Finally, Sally inhaled deeply and thought rationally. But Larkazan w
on't abandon us; why would he offer his help in the first place?

She decided not to think more about it, in case some horrible thought
decided to come up. Then forced herself to go back to unpeaceful 
slumber.


The morning was cold and a fog had settled down around Knothole. The 
village was still curled up in its sleep, and the sentry was dozing 
slightly. 

Larkazan stood huge and almost ominous in the middle of the village, 
waiting patiently. He would not fail in this quest, he musn't. His 
tail jerked twitched uncomfortably. Then he heard silent footsteps 
approach him from the back. "Morning, Princess," he rumbled softly 
without turning.

Hesitation greeted the Mandara. "Good morning, Larkazan. I'm ready to
go," Sally said quietly.

"Are you sure not to tell your comrades of your departure?" Larkazan 
replied with uncertainty. 

"I left a note," Sally retorted with unusual curtness. 

"Alright," The giant lizard replied dubiously. "But, it would be 
faster if you could wake the dragon…"

"No, no one must know. Besides, the people here need her," she 
insisted. "C'mon. Let's get out to the Great Unknown before noon."

"Ah, no offense, Princess, but," Larkazan stammered, "I can't carry, 
uh, fly you to the Canyons because I lack the strength of a dragon. 
That was why I asked for her. And, your people need you here, too."

"I'm needed in your city or else we're close to being doomed," was the
retort, then a sigh. "If we keep this up, we'll never get to your 
city."

"It's going to take two weeks to get there," Larkazan warned, 
"Depending on good weather."

They walked silently out of the village, passing the dozing sentry. 
Larkazan rubbed his neck and wondered if that what he was doing was 
right. Ranging through the forest at a steady pace, they were out of 
the forest within the hour. "If we keep it up at this pace, we can be 
at the Great Unknown by the afternoon," Larkazan grunted.


"She WHAT?" Sonic exclaimed.

"She left for Tor, ur, Tor-mon-ith." Rotor held the paper aloft, and
squinted as he read the note. "It's a city of the Mandaras." 

"She WHAT?" Sonic echoed himself. "I can't stay here. Oh, boy…" He 
groaned. "I gotta go after her and Larkazan!" 

"But you have to take charge, Sonic. I…" Rotor broke off when Sonic 
sped for the door.

"Yeah, um, well, as the leader, I… want you to pick someone to be 
leader." Sonic blasted out of the hut, leaving a trail of strewn metal
scattered around Rotor's room.

"What? Wait!" Rotor shouted. Then, after getting no reply, he sank 
down in a chair. "Oh, boy."


"Sonic!" Lupe shouted. "Wait, where are you going?" The blur sped past
her, but backtracked and the panicked hedgehog explained the note. 

"Not cool," Sonic said every-so-often. "I've gotta go after them."

"But where are they going? You don't even know where they're going." 
Lupe calmed Sonic.

"Yeah, I know," Sonic snapped. "It's that Manda… place, thingie. 
Tor…monolith, or something." He scratched his head in confusion. 
"Yeah, that's it."

Lupe frowned slightly, her mouth twisting with every thought that went
through her head. "Ah, I know of the place. It's known to every wolf 
that the capitol city of the Mandaras is located far, far, west of the
Great Unknown."

The hedgehog smacked his head. "The Great Unknown is already… well… 
unknown. Who knows what's west of that place? Oh, man, oh man." He 
looked about for the nearest wooden post to bang his head into.

Seeing Sonic's distress, Lupe hesitated before she spoke her thoughts.
"I… have a map to the place. It, it's a secret among the wolf clans, 
not to be revealed to strangers, but I suppose I can make an 
exception." She grinned a wolfish grin and winked.

"Really?" Sonic abandoned his search for a wooden post and focused his
attention on Lupe. "Yeah? Um, well, let's get that map and get going!"

"You really don't think you're gonna leave without me, mate?" The 
familiar, agonizingly annoying voice assailed the duo. The armed skunk
grinned insolently at them, and folded his arms in front of him. 
"Besides, I've got a score to even up with that lizard." His lips 
curled slightly in derision.

Sonic flushed with anger and scowled fiercely until Lupe rested a 
restraining hand upon his shoulder. "There's no time for an argument."
She hissed quietly, but she, too, showed that she was far more than 
just a little displeased at Geoffrey's arrival.

"Well, let's get going," Geoffrey declared and strolled over to Dulcy,
who was curled up and snoring loudly, oblivious to the conversation.

"Who died and made him the leader?" Sonic muttered.

Lupe gave Sonic a level look, and the hedgehog flushed and grumbled, 
"Oh, yeah, right."


Somewhere in the Great Unknown, an echoing cry of a hungry beast rang 
off the canyon walls. The cry was a wailing screech sounding like 
sharp nails scraping off rock combined with a call of a banshee. 
Larkazan scowled horribly then hurried his steps to a quick stride.

"If we keep up at this pace, we can be in Tormonith in two weeks." He 
rumbled darkly and glared up at the sky, all the time fingering his 
sword nervously.

"What was that?" Sally questioned apprehensively, jogging lightly to 
keep up with the Mandara's strides. 

"A dragon," Larkazan replied, and frowned up at the daylight. "We will
make camp in a few hours. We'll find a hiding place." 

"Hold on a minute," Sally looked up at the Mandara. "A dragon? But…"

"Your dragon friend is civilized; the one you'd heard is not. His 
species did not participate in the Segregation. Don't underestimate 
him, though. These dragons have the same intelligence as any other 
dragon you will meet, they just chose to use it differently."

"What's the Segregation?" The princess asked, wanting to keep up a 
conversation. If the silence lasts until their arrival, she thought 
that the anticipation and a rising fear would drive her insane if she 
didn't keep her mind off it.

Larkazan's eyes darkened with disapproval. "What do they teach people 
nowadays?" he muttered gloomily. Scratching his back idly he begin, 
almost making it sound like lectures Sally used to hear from youth. 
Strangely, that made her smile briefly at the safe times before the 
war.

"Well, the Segregation was simple. It occurred, oh, about a few 
thousands of years ago," he said. "The dragons were still plenty, and 
the Mandaras got their teachings from them. They were nomads, hunting,
learning, teaching, even playing. They taught us the ways of tracking,
searching, fighting with bare hands, almost everything. Then one 
dragon, an eccentric one, decided that the Mobians, that's your 
people, Princess, were becoming an enlarging threat to the dragons. 
Indeed, the hunting of dragons was an entertaining sport among the 
other Mobians.

"Of course, many dragons agreed that that was true. There were still 
other dragons that insisted to hold on to the old ways, however. And 
that was when the Segregation begun. The dragons that wanted to 
withdraw themselves from the world begun their move to… well, 
actually, it's not even known to the Mandaras. But they came back 
after the dragon hunting subsided and created a civilization, a city, 
part of it known to you as the Dragon's Nest. But that's another 
story.

"The dragons that didn't participate in the Segregation disappeared 
one by one. Everyday, there would be at least one dragon missing." 
Sally noticed the giant's hand tightening around the hilt of his 
sword although his expression didn't change: grim. All the 
friendliness he had shown vanished now. "The dragon you'd just heard 
was the descendant of the dragons that didn't participate in the 
Segregation."

The Mandara stopped, cocking his head for further sounds of the 
dragon.  Larkazan just stood there, seeming to be in a trance, then 
walked on so abruptly that even Sally got taken off guard. "Let's set 
camp there." He pointed at a projection from the leering, orange-ish 
cliff wall that acted as a shelter.


"Turn left here, Dulcy." Lupe pointed at a fork made by two yawning 
chasms. Sonic was up ahead, scouting for danger, as well as Sally and 
her companion, with the direction given by Lupe. 

"Alright," Dulcy replied dutifully. She came reluctantly at first, but
after she had been informed of the situation, she agreed to drop off 
the three companions off.

Dulcy landed in a round indentation in the ground, throwing her riders
off into an ungraceful tumble in the dirt. After a series of daft 
mumbles and dancing stars, she blushed, "Sorry 'bout that."  

"S'all right." Geoffrey dismissed it with a wave of his hand, although
his scowl didn't prove that. Dulcy ducked her head and plopped down 
next to Lupe. 

In roughly about ten minutes, Sonic dashed into the clearing with a 
disgruntled appearance. "It doesn't look good, +ladies+," he said, 
with a meaningful glare at Geoff. "I didn't find their tracks, it's 
like Sal doesn't want to be found."

"Well," Geoffrey snorted, "What made you came up with that notion? 
Like it wasn't obvious already." He snorted again and grinned. "Either
that, or you ain't good enough." With an insolent laugh, he challenged
Sonic with an open sneer.

"I…" Sonic snarled in anger and balled his hands into fists, cracking 
his knuckles. "You wanna bet on that?" He snapped and took a menacing
step towards his challenger. Geoffrey looked up with a grin, and stood
up with a chuckle.

It seemed like a good time for Lupe to step in, and naturally, she 
did, on the two males' feet. Ignoring the restrained grimaces, she 
reprimanded them without any anger in her tone. "Enough." She stepped 
off, and the two mumbled apologies, but exchanged glares that clearly 
stated that they would finish it later.

Lupe ignored the glares between the two. "We'll have to camp here 
tonight. It's getting dark, and we should continue our search 
tomorrow." Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but Lupe continued, "It's 
dangerous in the Great Unknown at night, Sonic. There are things 
beyond nightmares that live here. The wolf clans have known how to 
avoid them over the years." 

Sonic sighed in resignation, since Lupe was their guide to Tormonith. 
"Alright," he agreed reluctantly, and looked to see if Geoffrey would 
agree. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Geoffrey did. 

"Well, I guess I'll be taking off now, guys. Good luck!" The dragon 
gave a wave and a hopeful grin, then launched herself into the air, 
leaving the three mismatched travelers behind.


Day came quickly for the two travelers; the red, merciless sun rising
like a giant disc over the cliff horizon. It would've been almost been
poetic if it weren't for the situation.

Sally had almost never felt that haggard before often, except maybe 
during major campaigns that took weeks without sleep to plan.  Rubbing
the sleep out of her eyes, she slung on her jacket and went outside 
the tent. 

"Rise and shine, Princess." Larkazan greeted her drily, without any 
humor. He sat on a rock, nibbling on a loaf of bread. Handing her a 
loaf, he said. "We might be able to halve the time of our travels if 
we take a shortcut. It is, however, through… difficult terrain." His 
look proved otherwise, and he did not bother to hide it.

"I'm willing to take the risk," the heir to the throne said grimly.

"Better get started."


The sun was a giant, ugly bulb dangling in the sky. The very air 
around the company of two seemed to swirl about in frenzy. Sally 
grunted in pain as a jagged blade cut through her leg. Larkazan looked
back at his faltering companion. It was almost night anyway, and the 
sun would drop as soon as it rose. "We should rest," he rumbled. "I'll
set up the camp. You should… um, take care of that leg." 

Maybe this alliance was a mistake.

Geoffrey hated trekking through deserts; he absolutely hated it. 
Period. Why couldn't the god forsaking Tormonith be located somewhere 
else? Like a nice forest maybe. Also, he despised the smug look that 
the hedgehog gives him when he stumbled and panted. Maybe Sonic would 
fall off a cliff while scouting.

Sonic speeded back to the ragged party, though Lupe appeared in a good
condition. Geoffrey realized with resentment that she was actually 
+enjoying+ all this walking. 

"… I've found some tracks, but I think they are LONG gone by now," 
Sonic reported. "Definitely not cool, I KNEW that Larkazan guy had a 
bad smell about him."

Geoffrey mumbled something obscene about Sonic and Larkazan in the 
same sentence as Sonic sped off again, and he was forced to trudge on 
miserably.


Night settled like a giant bird on the horizon, yet there were no 
stars. Larkazan sat in on watch again; Sally had offered to take the
night's watch, but Larkazan rejected zealously, insisting that she 
rest her leg. "You can make up for it later," he added with a straight
face, though there was a glimmer of humor that she had seen in him 
when he set "fire" to Geoffrey's bandanna.

Does he ever sleep? She wondered drowsily. Then she drifted off to, at
last, peaceful slumber as the cloudy darkness of sleep settled over 
her.

Larkazan sat on a rock, which were many in this environment, and 
brooded. What if the Council of Elders rejected his preposition right 
there on the spot, in front of the princess? Maybe that might start 
another war. The Council was getting, regrettably, senile. 

Their foolishness will probably exterminate the whole Mandara 
population! He clenched his hands and teeth. No, no… Marolla would 
never allow that. Not even the fool Kankor would. I was just ranting.
Larkazan took a deep breath.

And the sound of inhaling continued even after Larkazan stopped 
breathing. The Mandara spun about, his cloak rippling behind him. The 
creature had stalked up to him even when he was on guard! Larkazan 
cursed himself furiously and drew his sword.

The creature seemed to realize that it has been discovered, and all 
signs of it revealed itself to the youth. Cackling madly, a claw the 
size of a small boulder made a swipe at Larkazan. He was barely able 
to dodge away, before the claw made a huge tear in his cloak. The 
warrior took a careful look at the claw as it retreated, and noted 
that it was a dragon's claw.

Sounding like a thousand toothpicks scraping a blackboard, the cackle 
continued crazily.  "Show yourself, dragon! I'm Mandara, your cousin, 
kin…" Larkazan wasn't able to finish that sentence as another claw 
flashed in front of him. It didn't hit him, though the smell of 
kerosene assaulted the warrior. Soon, he realized with horror that 
this claw was a greasy black with brackish liquid dribbling off the 
twisted claw. It was even worse when the creature did decide to show 
up.

Sally limped out of her tent, her eyes widening at the sight of the 
creature. Just the right timing, Larkazan thought angrily. 

The creature was the size of a small cabin, and two huge, orange, 
lantern-sized eyes glared up from under the hooded, oily face of the 
dragon, no demon. The creature was so black, that it almost looked 
purple in the night light. The oil dripped out of the creature's mouth
like saliva, and Larkazan noted that its right claw was one of a 
normal dragon, while the other was thin and shriveled, though no less 
dangerous. The ridges that rode from the creature's head to its tail 
looked like chewed-on popcorn. It spread its bat-like wings to 
increase the tension, its sinuous neck snapped back and it attacked.

Larkazan darted away, making a swipe at the dragon's neck, seeing that
this "dragon" was in no mood to make peace. The sword, to the youth's 
relief and surprise, sank deeply into the monster's neck. Soon, 
though, the dragon's eyes focused on the Mandara and it hissed 
furiously in anger. 

This time, the claw was too fast for the Mandara, and the claw grazed 
Larkazan's flesh. It was more painful than anything was though-
perhaps there was poison in the oil- but Larkazan gritted his teeth in
pain. This time his swing at the dragon's neck was half-hearted. Lucky
for him though, the dragon's defenses weren't good, and the sword sank
even deeper in the dragon's neck, though it still didn't slow it down.

During all this time, Sally had not been idle. Smelling the kerosene, 
she immediately got an idea and knelt down, picking up some dry picks 
lying by. She soon started a fire and grinned weakly. Limping 
cautiously toward the demon, her steps slow and deliberate. She froze,
as did her heart, when the dragon spun about to glare at her; Larkazan
made another move, but was deflected by the demon.  She sighed at the 
distraction, and moved faster this time.

Closer, closer… She got close enough to the creature to touch its 
greasy hide. Hand trembling she set the fiery stick on the dragon. 
Ducking behind a rock to avoid getting her fur burnt up, she peeked 
over the rock. 

Then her heart fell into the bottom of her stomach. The dragon was 
still up and fighting fiercely, now gaining the upper hand against 
Larkazan. The Mandara seemed to recognize his doom and bared his teeth
at the creature.

The creature burst like a flaming torch without warning. The black 
demon had turned into a red and orange ball of flame. Screaming in 
anger and bewilderment, the creature bucked about like an untamed 
Earth horse. Seeing this opportunity, Larkazan leapt up and made the 
final swing.

With all the strength he had left, Larkazan cleaved through the 
dragon's neck. He forced himself to dig the sword in as the hit bone. 
The demon screeched its death cry, much like its cackle, except 
longer and collapsed like a giant potato sack right after Larkazan 
dodged to the side. I's orange eyes dimmed and turned flat gray with 
death.

Larkazan grinned weakly and he staggered up. No warrior had ever had 
the power to best a wild dragon since the Segregation. Larkazan did it
with the help of a Mobian; that fact would certainly boost the view of 
the Council. We have slain a dragon, he thought of what to say, yes, 
we've slain a….

The horrifying realization hit him square in the chest and he nearly 
double over, gasping. He had killed a dragon, the closest kin to the 
Mandaras, the beings that they had promised not to kill. But it 
attacked him. Still, it was a dragon, and his honor was on it. As well
as his and Sally's life. He groaned and knelt down.

Sally, not knowing the real reason why the Mandara had doubled over, 
rushed over to his aid, supporting half of his weight. Now she knew 
why they were called giants; they weighed like them. Larkazan waved 
Sally off, not aware that he was extremely weak. "No," Sally spoke 
with firmness, "You're wounded." 

She's just like my mother, Larkazan thought dimly, ah, well, aren't 
all women like that? Stubborn? He tried laugh, but instead found 
himself croaking. If the Council found out about the dragon, they 
would be executed, forget the alliance.

"What the Council don't know won't hurt us." His voice was below a 
whisper.

"What?" Sally queried, concerned at her companion. But the warrior had
passed out with pain. Now Sally had to carry Larkazan's complete 
weight, which was twice or maybe thrice of a normal Mobian's weight. 
Now she knew that the legends were correct: Mandaras are truly giants,
at least in weight.


Wolves had the sharpest senses compared to the skunk and the hedgehog.
Her ears picked up the sound of the high-pitched wailing, and she 
instinctively bared her teeth and snarled as she snapped upright in 
her bedroll. "You heard that?" she whispered harshly. That might be 
the Tainted Ones of the Northern Great Unknown. 

"It's just Geoff's snoring," Sonic mumbled sleepily then rolled off to
the side snoring loudly.
 
Lupe growled with frustration but there was nothing she could do right
now, but it was best to travel with caution from now on. And to take 
watches. Sighing, she went back to sleep, her last thought was hoping 
that the mysterious Mandara and Princess Sally Acorn were alive.

"Whew! This reeks!" Sonic held his nose as he came into a clearing. 
"Man, what died…" He coughed and turned his head, seeing the twisted 
corpse of the demon dragon, "here." He ended in a tiny whisper. "Lupe 
might want to see this."

Looking about more, he saw tracks leading off to the west. The steps 
looked heavy, and a bigger pair of boot prints sagged and dragged a 
bit. Despite of the dead beast lying off to the side, Sonic let out a 
whoop of accomplishment and set off to tell his companions of the good
news.


"We'll be arriving at night. It'll be better anyway; Mandaras have… 
negative feelings for Mobians." Larkazan scratched his blunt snout and
bowed his head in an apologetic matter. "Old hatred runs deep, 
unfortunately, for many of my race." 

"I'm ready for it," Sally replied… anything to win the war, she 
thought, almost mouthing it.  She squinted off to where Larkazan was 
facing. "I don't see your city."

"You will," Larkazan answered with a tiny grin. And they set off.


That night, they came upon a huge spire that towered high above 
everything, almost touching the skies. "This is your city?" Sally 
asked, looking at the spire almost in a confused manner.

"Not exactly, Princess," Larkazan rumbled. Then he threw his head back
and bayed loudly like a crazed monster. The young leader of the 
Knothole Freedom Fighters stumbled back and stared oddly at Larkazan. 
First the howl was toneless, then it rose high, then dropped low, 
almost like a song. And as the song progressed, Sally saw that the 
spire shrunk, glimmered, enlarged, then finally disappeared as 
Larkazan lowered his voice and let the song die away slowly in a 
rumble.

Before them, a sprawling, glowing city lay before them. Though there 
was no light coming from the city, the moon's and the stars' light did
enough to illuminate the city. Sally couldn't help but stare in awe; 
to imagine a city almost as big as Mobotropolis lying only two weeks 
off from Knothole was left alone for hundreds, maybe thousands of 
years!

"Grand, isn't it?" Larkazan said in a low voice. The odd thing is, he 
didn't sound hoarse at all. His eyes flickered, "Alright, try to look 
regal, or grand, or the sort. It's how a typical Mandara walks." He 
paused to chuckle. "And don't worry about your height; there are short
Mandaras in our city, actually. Also, when we come before the Council 
of Elders, mention not of the demon we killed." Here Sally shot
Larkazan an curious look. "Just do it. Trust me."

If I get a penny for every time someone says that… Sally thought with 
a faint smile, as she strode purposefully into the city.

The city was silent, quiet. Normally, in Mobotropolis, the city 
would've been bustling with people. But not in Tormonith. Yet Sally 
felt penetrating eyes looking at her back, and she shuddered despite 
of herself. In no time at all, they approached a building taller than 
the other buildings, and very foreboding. The rectangular building 
glared at them with two windows that appeared like eyes. Also… 

"Who goes there?" a thick voice called out. It seemed to come out of 
the building itself.

"Larkazan, Elder, coming back from my mission," the giant answered.

"Enter."

And they stepped into a gateway that led into the building.

Do they ever sleep? Larkazan thought warily. It's as if they know we 
were coming. Sighing, he stretched and offered Sally a seat in front 
of the Elders. 

"No, thanks. I, um, think I'll stand." Sally rejected the chair. 
Apparently, she was as nervous as he was. She shifted about when the 
Elders stared at them expectantly.

"Say, 'Elders, I hold a request for thee.'" Larkazan whispered softly.

"Elders, I hold a request for thee."

"What is thy request?" The Elders said in unison. Even Kankar, who 
said it with a twist of disdain in his mouth, said the ceremonial 
line.

"I am Princess Sally Acorn. I, no, we, the people of Mobius, require 
your… thy help. There's a wizard of great power, a tyrant, in control 
of the Kingdom of Acorn. We require thy help in removing the wizard. 
My people are in great peril, and we need thy assistance in this 
matter," Sally said in her best archaic.

"Sally, say, 'Will ye grant my request?'" 

"Will ye grant my request?"

The Council looked at each other questioningly, then Marolla answered 
for them all. "Request denied."

"What?!" Larkazan cried in outrage. "I thought…"

"I'm not finished yet, young one," Marolla rumbled sternly.

"Y'know, mate, Lupe, uh, I don't see any big city," Geoffrey chuckled,
looking up at the grand spire. "In fact, I see a mountain on where 
this Tor… city, is suppose to be."

"Hush," Lupe snapped, tired of the insolent tone from the skunk. She 
took out the map, and read something that neither the skunk, nor 
hedgehog could see. She begin to howl loudly, tonelessly, then it 
progressed into the same song that Larkazan had sung. 

The spire shimmered, shuddered, then disappeared like a mirage, and in
its place, the large, glowing city lay. "Wow," Sonic whispered and 
Geoffrey echoed that. 

"I'd never imagine," Lupe murmured softly. "All those legends were 
true." 

How long they stood in a trance, they did not know. But soon, they 
felt a sharp jab of a spear at their backs. "I don't know how you 
unwarded the defense, but you are coming with me," a raspy voice of a 
Mandara crackled behind them.


"Clan Marnot is too weak, and all their warriors aren't even capable 
of standing. Clan Belard is my clan's ally but they don't have the 
strongest army." Larkazan lay out the situation before Sally. 
"Marolla's clan are more diplomatic than strong. The Honards," 
Larkazan coughed, "are horribly deformed but are excellent fighters, 
though they have less than Belard's. And the others are out of the 
question: They despise Mobians, despite all House Acorn had done for 
us. I apologize on the behalf of my people." He inclined his huge 
head.

"Don't be," Sally smiled wanly for it was far into the night, "I've 
seen you fight. And I heard the Mandaras have great magical powers, 
and just to have a little help… Well, it's a start."

Larkazan smiled hugely. "Wonderful. We only have a few minutes left. 
What is your choice?"

"The Honards." Sally said with decisiveness, "They're good fighters, 
and you mentioned earlier that they have a powerful wizard in their 
clan."

"Thy time to decide is finished," A courier said. "Make thy decision 
in front of the Council."

"Well, let's go." They were about to strode into the Council room when
he heard a loud clamor behind him.

"Hey, leggo, ya crazy bloke!" The familiar voice of St. John rang down
the halls. 

Sooner than imagined, pairs of Mandaran soldiers dragged the unwilling
prisoners down the halls. Only Lupe didn't seem to be struggling, 
instead, she seemed to be in a trance of wonderment as she looked 
about the splendors of the Mandaran society.

"Sonic?" Sally blurted in confusion, "What… what are you guys doing 
here?"

"Following you, what else?" Sonic managed a grin. "What the heck were 
you thinking when you left?" 

Larkazan took note that one of the soldier's eyes was welted shut, and
his mouth set in a grimace as he kept a tight hold on Sonic. "Release 
them," he commanded. 

"What?" the leader seemed to snarl. "You fool! They're prisoners… 
Disgusting little cr…"

"Release them," Larkazan said again, this time he had his hand on his 
sword. "Or do you dare anger the Clan of Lawng? Do you desire your 
head one foot away from your neck?" He drew his sword and grinned 
toothily. 

"You'd never…" the leader rumbled, then yelped loudly when Larkazan 
poked him, hard. Letting go of his prisoner, he signaled the others to
do the same, then practically ran down the opposite halls. 

"I have quite a reputation." He leaned back, and watched the new 
arrivals. "Well, no sense leaving you out of this." Then as quickly as
they could (the courier was getting impatient), they told the others 
of what happened and the situation.

Geoffrey wasn't about to let go of his grudge that easily, though. "We
have a score to settle, mate. And I prefer to get that over with." His 
eyes flashed with challenge.

"Later," Sally set a firm hand on St. John's shoulder. Turning to the 
courier, who heaved a sigh, she spoke with a commanding tone, "Take us
to thy Council."

As they marched before the Council of Elders, the old Mandaras said 
nothing at the new arrivals, though Kankar did mutter something about 
a plague. 

"Alright, what's your decision?" Marolla said, dropping all 
formalities. 

"The Clan of Honards," she decided with finality. 

"It's settled then. Finally." A craggy, old, silver Mandara staggered 
up. Much unlike the other Mandaras, whose snouts were mostly blunt, 
his was long and twisted, like a deformed crocodile. And when he 
spoke, whistling could be heard because the huge gap between his two 
fangs. "Well, my house is certainly glad to help. Ur, that is all." He
sat down and started to unceremoniously pick his teeth while the 
others grimaced with disgust.

"Great start," Geoff muttered nastily under his breath.

Larkazan couldn't agree more.



The End for now. Heh heh heh.