Today it was time to question his mate. The Great Assistant, the Great Haru, would bring an end to this Lunar Dragon world. 'Haru' wasn't his real name, though. It was simply an easy name to remember.

"Bring in my mate," the Great Haru announced. Beside him, the Lord Kaito sat on the golden throne. Lord Kaito was a golden dragon, the color of the rich and gold. But the Great Assistant was pale-pink, the color of the rising sun. Which was more powerful: the sun or gold? Easy to say, the sun.

The doors creaked open, letting in the sunlight. Guards marched in, covered in white-and-gold armor, surrounding a lilac-colored dragon. Tatsuo.

"Tatsuo," the Great Haru said. Her name echoed through the chamber. Tatsuo lifted her head. Her eyes caught the light, showing the depths of the soft warm pools.

"My sovereign," Tatsuo whispered, her lilac scales catching the light. She looks like a Lunar Dragon... But she can't be one! The Great Haru thought.

Lord Kaito stood up suddenly. "Tatsuo. Are you a Lunar Dragon?" He asked loudly. The words bounced around the hall once more.

"W-Why do you ask, my sovereign?" Tatsuo whispered.

Thump. Lord Kaito banged his talon against the hard wood table. "Answer me directly. Are you a Lunar Dragon?"

The Great Haru cleared his throat. "Lord Kaito. I think she is not a Lunar Dragon. She has told me multiple times that she isn't-"

"Lies!" Lord Kaito roared. "She is a Lunar Dragon! Didn't you forget that we have her DNA samples in the lab? And we compared her genes to Lunar Dragon genes? Ninety-percent similarity!"

The Great Haru felt as if he'd been stabbed in the chest. He gasped, his wild eyes meeting with the sorrowful eyes of his mate's. "You... lied to me?"

His mate shook her head. "You must be mistaken, my Lord. I am not a Lunar Dragon. My mother and my father are not Lunar Dragons. My whole family tree aren't Lunar Dragons."

"Guards!" Lord Kaito hissed, his forked tongue slithering in his mouth. "Seize Tatsuo and lock her up. Make her confess!"

"L-Lord Kaito-" The Great Haru whimpered, reaching for his mate. His mate screamed with agony as General Takaya solemnly grabbed a taser and tased Tatsuo, and dragged her out of the room. He could swear he could hear General Takaya whispering, "I'm so sorry, my sovereign."

The Great Haru crumpled to his talons. "T-T-Tatsuo..." He sniffed, letting his tears slip down his cheek. Lord Kaito glared at him, but pulled Haru up and whispered, "remember our plan. We will succeed."

After a while, the Great Haru was dismissed, and he immediately made his way down to the cellar. There, behind the iron bars, was a familiar lilac-colored dragon. Tatsuo.

"Tatsuo!" Haru cried, jumping to the cell. Tatsuo just stared down at her talons. Her long whiskers were tangled together. Her scales had lost their shiny gleam. In front of her was a jug of sake and a plate of buns. She stared past Haru's shoulder, into the cell opposite from her, which was empty. "Tatsuo!" He waved a talon in front of her face, but Tatsuo just continued staring.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Tatsuo whispered. Her voice was all broken. Hearing it shattered Haru's heart.

"I-I-I tried—"

"But you failed."

"You don't understand, I can't—"

"Stop," Tatsuo's voice was short and curt. "I will tell you the truth. Then you will let me free. Little Ryoto won't make it..."

"Are you telling me that you are a Lunar Dragon?"

Tatsuo glared into Haru's eyes and said nothing. Instead she started murmuring the 4 Traits of Ecilar: "As swift as the wind, as silent as the forest, as fierce as the fire, as unshakable as the mountain." She then stared at her talons, cupped the jug of sake in her hands, and took a tiny sip. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I've never tried sake before."

Haru's neck muscle twitched. "Answer my question, Tatsuo! Please, I'm begging you..." He leaned closer to the bars, concern and suspicion in his gaze.

"You already know the answer," Tatsuo sighed, ripping a chunk off of the bread. She popped the bread in her mouth, chewed for a while and swallowed. She continued staring at the ground, but she reached behind her ear and took out a dragonberry. She put that in her mouth too.

The Great Haru continued glaring, but he shook his head. "No way. You can't be a Lunar Dragon." His beloved, a Lunar Dragon all along?

"If you say that I'm a Lunar Dragon, then I will be a Lunar Dragon," Tatsuo whispered. She glared at Haru. "And after the murders of Lord Falkor and General Gethynth, I know that you will kill me."

Shock struck Haru. He fell to the ground. But... Tatsuo was telling the truth. And he loved her. But... she was the enemy. She was a Lunar Dragon.

"No! I mean... Um-"

"Do it, then. Just take care of Ryoto," she hissed. She put the plate of buns on the rock again. "Ryoto is still out there, trying to survive on his own, with his fallen trained phoenix, Kato. Keep them safe." Then she turned away.

The Great Haru suddenly felt rage burst through him. "Tatsuo!" He roared, rearing up. "Are you telling me that-"

"Shh!" Tatsuo hissed. "I am a Lunar Dragon." After saying that, she leaned back and let the truth blossom around Haru. She sneered at the shock on Haru's face.

No. No. Haru felt a wave of emotion. The air was pushed out from his lungs. He started clutching at his throat. Memories suddenly started flooding back... The feeling of soft scales under his claws... Fresh blood coating his fangs... The limp body of a lilac-scaled dragon, and countless other purple dragons.

He gasped and flew out, feeling the cold stare of Tatsuo's eyes on his back. He flew and flew until he couldn't fly anymore. He landed with a big thump on the ground, and he sat there, panting.

"Well, look who's back from seeing their mate," a big voice boomed. The Great Haru jolted up and saw Lord Kaito, the great golden dragon. "We will be unbeatable. Take her out," he said to a nearby guard. The guard saluted and flew off to carry out the task.

Haru didn't complain. He only thought of one thing. Lunar Dragon. Lunar Dragon. Lunar... Dragon...

He hated them. He despised them. He detested them. But he loved Tatsuo! He didn't want to kill her! There wasn't a way out of the whole Lunar Dragon persecution plan! But... she was a betrayer. She was a Lunar Dragon. She had to be cleansed.

Shrieks and scuffles sounded, and guards appeared, dragging Tatsuo. Tatsuo was filled with rage, her scales spiking up, making her scales sharp to the touch. Her once-calm eyes were filled with crazy rage. "You... Will regret this," she hissed as she saw Haru.

"Put her to the blade," Lord Kaito announced. Tatsuo stiffened as a soldier came forward with a large saber, and with a howl of agony, the blade sliced through her heart like a knife slicing butter.

Tatsuo was gone. Dead. Her body fell and hit the ground, her blood pooling around her body. Lord Kaito wrinkled his nose in disgust, and ordered, "go. Take her body away. Burn it."

Haru was filled with sorrow as he remembered what he just saw. He sighed as he glared at his old friend. "Kaito, please. Stop torturing my feelings."

Kaito just only glared at Haru and said, "our plan, Haru. Our great plan."

So the only thing Haru could do was sit there and weep.

Tatsuo was gone, her dark lilac-colored blood soaking the entire carpet. The stench of death was strong, but it was stronger for Haru. His mate's death. It felt like accidentally freeing a loved bird from its cage, watching it fly away, never to be seen again.

Kaito slapped Haru's back. "Toughen up, Ta— Haru," Lord Kaito stammered a bit. He shook his golden mane, whiskers quivering. "Go fetch your son, old friend. Our plan will succeed."

Haru sighed as he stumbled out of the palace. He felt tears welling in his eyes again. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around and saw his best friends, Shenron and Shenlong. They were twins.

Concern pricked Shenron's dark green eyes. He put a green talon on Haru's shoulder. "Haru, we saw what happened."

Shenlong nodded. "We saw the guards... Do that thing," he did a dragging motion. "We can feel your pain, Haru. I still miss Saphira, my flame burning in the darkness, the blue flames lighting up the sky."

Saphira was brutally murdered by Lord Kaito because she was a Lunar Dragon, Lord Kaito had said that Saphira was a 'dirty-blooded dragon' and 'will destroy all of us in the future'. But Saphira was a warm-hearted, kind dragon. Shenlong was heartbroken.

Another light-brown dragon glided up to them.

"Arman," Haru greeted the dragon.

Arman said breathlessly, "Great Haru! Your son Ryoto is by the Wisdom Lake. He is crying, and his great phoenix is kneeling by his side. Do you want to go comfort your son?"

Haru was about the say yes, but he withdrew his answer. He whispered, "I can't look at Ryoto without seeing Tatsuo," his voice breaking. He wiped a tear off his cheek. He ordered, "Arman. Call someone to escort him to the palace. He will be alone..."

"Yes," Arman said, saluting. He then turned around and called to one of the guards standing still by the palace door. "Dagahra. Go bring Ryoto here."

Dagahra nodded her dark-green head and leaped into the sky. Arman watched Dagahra leave, his dark-brown eyes shimmering. Then Arman nodded. "May the Great Haru go back to his chamber to rest."

Shenlong and Shenron nodded. "Haru. You need to go rest," Shenron said. "You're tired, and you need to grieve. And Lord Kaito will never give her a proper burial."

Haru wanted to give up on the Great Lunar War. He wanted to collapse and die, ready to join his mate in the sky. He remembered the fury he felt when he thought of Lunar Dragons before. He thought that they were going to bring the dragons down. He had whipped and tortured the Lunar Dragons. Now, when he thought of it, he felt heartbroken. He was wrong.

Arman offered him his shoulder, and Haru accepted it. He leaned on Arman, and he escorted Haru all the way to his chambers.