Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo

Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author’s permission.

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Enter Lombadra! Clash of Fire & Steel!

By nightdragon0 (nightdragon0@hotmail.com)

“Damn it! I should be out there!” Riot cursed, glancing out the window.

“I know...” Nala muttered, walking up to her partner’s side. “I just hope Jade and Firestorm are all right.”

The huge Pyro Dragon had suddenly been attacked by a smaller shape. Now, both had dropped out of their sight, down to the street level of the town. Hell knew what was going on down there, but judging from all the flames, nothing good.

“Hmmm...” Hazuki turned from watching the scene outside to Yusia. “Is this what you saw in your dream?”

“I don’t really remember. It was like...everything was so blurry.” The young girl replied. “But it was rather scary.”

“You said something about a ‘New Adventure’, right?”

“That’s what the magical voice in my dream told me.”

“Perhaps she is correct in a way.” Riot said, flexing her wings. “Perhaps our old group’s coincidental meeting was scripted all along.”

“You think we were meant to come to this, Dragon Realm?” Nala asked.

“That’s my theory, but...” Riot pointed her nose at Zian.

The psychic Dragon remained in his miserable state, staring aimlessly at the floor. As was as if he didn’t notice what was going on outside.

“Yeah, I really feel sorry for him.” Nala lowered her voice to a whisper.

“It’s not just that.” Riot shook her head. “Just think, 7 Legendary Dragons, who secretly guarded Earth Realm for centuries, were taken out all at once by this new, unknown enemy. And the only survivor is severely crippled.”

“And you’re wondering that if they couldn’t beat him, how can we?”

“Exactly.”

“Look! I think I see something!” Dr. Cid pointed, adjusting his glasses at the same time.

Rising from the ground below was a pillar of brilliant red light.

“That might be the answer to your question Riot.” Hazuki commented.

Yusia ran up beside her sister and tiptoed to get a better view of the transpiring events.

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“EXECUTE...DRAGON MELD!!!”

The voice still echoed in his mind, although Jade wasn’t sure if that had been his own voice or not. Glancing around, he realized he was still surrounded by flames. No, in fact, the fires were everywhere, as if he were standing in the midst of a blazing inferno and not feeling even the slightest burn.

Feeling something, Jade turned his right hand to find the Kanji Symbol for fire, ‘Honno’, engraved on the back of his fist. Looking up, he then saw Firestorm with the same symbol in the center of his chest, in-between his ribcage.

Behind the Charizard, a pair of red eyes glowed fiercely. Jade and Firestorm both knew what they had to do.

In his mind, Jade saw the background of a volcanic eruption, with flames everywhere. Firestorm walked up to him and spread his wings. The flames then came towards them, forming a pillar of flames around the two.

From that, a new shape began to form.

It was about 5 feet tall, primarily red but still humanoid in shape and standing upright. His head was elongated, much like a Velociraptor, with white teeth to match. Four horns decorated his head, two at back and two above eyes, all pointed backwards.

His eyes glowed with a reddish color that completely hid the pupils.

Strong white arms formed, with five fingered claws. Reddish shoulder pads with ‘claw’ patterns sticking out of them appeared. The body and waist were red, but center of chest was colored white and decorated with kanji for fire, honno.

The legs white again until knee, where they became covered in red shin pads. He had three toed feet, also in white and a long and thin red tail with a flaming end, like a Charizard’s.

On his back were pair of flexible ‘spikes’, resembling longer version of those on a Scizor. From these, a pair of blazing wings appeared, made completely out of fire.

“Fire’s Reign... Lombadra!”

With that, the new Dragon burst out from beneath the rubble, flashing his flaming wings proudly.

<OK, this is weird...> Jade muttered. <Storm? You in here or something?!>

<Unfortunately.> The Charizard’s voice growled. <Damn, just what is this? I can’t even feel my own body!!>

“We had a deal, remember?”

<Hey, you’re...> Jade stuttered.

“Lombadra, the Legendary Dragon of Fire. Been a while since I’ve been alive, but the feel is great!”

<Well, watch out!> Firestorm yelled.

Lombadra calmly stepped aside as a huge piece of debris crashed into the spot he’d previously been standing on.

“Hmmm...” Lombadra thoughtfully glanced toward the sky. “Wonder which Dragon I should be helping?”

“Fine, I get the picture.” Lombadra nodded, spreading his wings of fire.

The smaller Steel Dragon was currently using his wings to shield himself from a fiery breath attack. With a fierce roar, Lombadra rocketed upwards and rammed his shoulder into the Pyro Dragon’s face, sending it spinning in mid-air.

“Hey, you all right?” Lombadra called.

The dazed Steel Dragon didn’t answer, but dropped down to a nearby rooftop. He had his eyes closed and was clutching his chest in pain.

The Wyvern-like Pyro Dragon suddenly attacked, lashing out with its tail and throwing Lombadra headfirst into a building.

“OW! OK buddy, no one gets away with doing that to me!!” Lombadra roared, leaping up, opening his jaws and unleashing a huge Flamethrower attack.

The Pyro Dragon did the same, flames meeting in an intense struggle.

“Uurrghh!” Lombadra groaned, with his mouth still wide open.

<He’s too strong! Pull away!> Firestorm’s voice yelled.

Lombadra executed a mid-air roll, taking him out of harm’s way as the fire charred another building.

“What the hell?! It can’t possibly be this strong?!”

<Better not underestimate it.> Jade warned.

“Yeah...” Lombadra flew up as the Pyro Dragon lunged for him, missing by inches. “But don’t underestimate me either!!”

Putting his claws together, Lombadra sent off two Fire Blasts followed by a multicolored Psybeam. His opponent roared in pain, hitting the ground hard.

“Let’s end this! Overdrive time!” Lombadra unleashed a column of flames from his body, shrouding himself in them. He began spinning rapidly, forming the flames into a tornado.

“Salamander Breaker!”

The Pyro Dragon got up just in time to see Lombadra drive his clawed foot straight into its chest. The larger Dragon let off one final howl before exploding in a ball of flames.

Lombadra stood watching his opponent’s demise, then turned his back on the scene and did a ‘Zero-style’ thumbs-up over his shoulder. (As in Zero from Rockman X)

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<Bahamut?> Kris tried.

“Shut up.”

<Fine, be that way! I was only trying to help.>

“Grrr...you’re not the one who’s got ashes in his eyes.” Bahamut coughed.

<If you’d at least tried to listen to what I was saying about not charging headfirst into the flames, it might not have ended up with that other guy saving your butt.> Nightslice muttered.

<Kris! Nightslice! Any of you in there?!> A sudden voice interrupted.

<Jade?! How...> Kris started.

<Listen, Jade and I are sort of inside the Dragon that just bailed you guys out of the frying pan.> Came another voice.

“Damn, more voices in my head. I’m gonna lose my mind if this keeps up.”

“You should be able to live with it.” This voice was different, an actual spoken voice. “I’m in the same situation as you, through I can’t exactly explain how everything works. By the way, you all right there, pal?”

Finally, someone who at least knows something. Bahamut thought. But why...why does he sound so familiar...?

Bahamut was facing the ground and was still blinking his eyes, but he could hear footsteps approaching from behind.

“Grrr.....”

“Hey, take it easy. I know it’s not a nice thought owing ‘one’, but better than being dead, right? Rather, ending up dead again in our case.”

Bahamut felt a claw on his right shoulder and lowered his wings folding them back carefully.

“I suppose that’s....” Bahamut began, turning his head around.

For the first time, Bahamut made eye contact with the Dragon. At the same time, the Dragon just stared straight back at him.

<Erm, guys...what’s wrong?> Jade asked nervously.

The two Dragons just kept their gazes locked on one another, as if contemplating something far beyond belief.

Then, all at once, both jabbed their fingers at each other and blurted out a single word.

“YOU...!!!!!!”

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“But Jade told us to wait in the lab.” Hazuki yelled over the winds.

“That was before that huge wyvern got blown to smithereens!” Nala called back, grasping onto the horns at the back of Riot’s head.

“Jeez, this place looks like a war zone.” Riot muttered as they entered the deserted town.

“Jade! Firestorm! Any of you there?!” Nala shouted, dismounting.

“These look like the remains of that large one.” Hazuki said, bending over and touching a charred bone. She suddenly gasped, stumbling backwards.

“What’s wrong?” Nala asked.

“I was stepping on a puddle of blood.” Hazuki replied. “I hope this isn’t...”

“Please don’t think that way.”

All of a sudden, the sound of an explosion caused all three to look up. The scene was barely visible from their position, but it was definitely a battle.

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Yusia leaned against the window ledge, tiptoeing to get a better view. Unfortunately, all she could see were bright flashes every now and then.

“Do you see this kind of thing often, Dr. Cid?” She turned and asked.

“I’ve seen all sorts of fights and battles.” The bearded man replied. “But, something feels strangely different about this one.”

“Sometimes, I see these in my dreams.” Yusia said softly. “It’s the Dragons...who are waking up again...”

No one was facing Zian, but at those words his head suddenly snapped up. If there was someone who’d get those kinds of Dragon visions, it would’ve generally been himself.

Waking up? He thought. As in, reviving?

Somehow, he felt oddly drawn towards the little girl. If he still had his powers, he would’ve probed her, just a little. However, this time it was his own gut feeling telling him that there was something special about her.

Not being able to do anything about his curiosity now, he turned back towards the window.

Legendary Dragons...? Zian wondered, glancing out towards the flashes in the sky.

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“Grrr....show some courage and face me!!” Bahamut roared, furious that Lombadra had just dodged an energy burst from his arm-mounted blasters.

“Standing in the middle of those is suicide, not courage.” Lombadra replied. “I’ll give you credit for that, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!”

“Don’t mock me b**tard!” Bahamut shouted. “I shouldn’t have let my guard down!”

“Ungrateful snob! Still...If I’d known that was you, I would’ve let the Pyro Dragon charbroil you!”

“SHUT UP AND DIE!!!” Bahamut lunged for the Fire Dragon, the two clashing in a fierce claw battle.

<Hey! What are you two fighting each other for?!> Kris yelled desperately. <Stop it!!>

Unfortunately she, like her friends, was being completely ignored by the Dragons they were ‘within’.

<Can’t you get that crazy Dragon of yours to cut it out?!> Firestorm yelled.

<Have you tired stopping yours?!> Nightslice called back.

<Guys, this would be very funny.> Jade cut in. <If not for the small fact that this is gonna get US KILLED!!>

<Shut up! You’re not helping either Jade!> Kris growled.

Oblivious to the ‘inner conflict’, the two Dragons continued trading blows. Bahamut blocked two punches from Lombadra and swung his tail, catching his opponent at the side of the head.

Lombadra spun in mid-air before up-righting himself and charging right back. The two locked fore claws and went forehead to forehead, staring each other in the eye.

“I’ve waited an eternity to have my revenge!!” Bahamut snarled.

“Too bad you’re gonna be waiting till the end of eternity!!”

“Big words, but they’re still just words!”

“Then let’s see some action!” Lombadra kneed Bahamut in the chest.

The Steel Dragon responded by releasing his grasp and head butting Lombadra in the face. Lombadra wiped his bleeding jaw with the back of his fist and unleashed a torrent of flames. Undaunted, Bahamut burst through them and grabbed the Fire Dragon around the neck.

Lombadra jabbed his foe in the eyes, forcing Bahamut to let go. The faster Dragon was suddenly at Bahamut’s side, with his arm held in a ‘lock’ position, twisting it around sideways.

Screaming in both pain and fury, Bahamut made a last ditch attempt, lashing out wildly with his tail. The blow struck Lombadra at the back of his head, sending him spinning forward.

“This is the end!” Bahamut roared, putting his arm blasters together. “Mega Flare!”

“NNOOO!!!” Riot was suddenly on the scene. She rammed Bahamut’s chest at full speed, knocking his ultimate attack off course.

The laser burst exploded just to Lombadra’s right, sending the Fire Dragon plunging towards the ground.

<Jade! Storm!> Kris cried.

“Damn you!” Bahamut swung a fist and knocked Riot out, sending her spinning to the ground as well.

<Riot!> Nightslice gasped. <What do you think you’re doing?! This has gone far enough!>

“SILENCE!!” Bahamut ordered. “I’ll deal with you once I’m done with him!”

Altering his direction, the fuming Steel Dragon moved into a steep dive, relentlessly seeking out his targeted prey.

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“Riot! Riot, are you OK?! Please wake up!” Nala desperately shook her partner’s side.

“I’ll...live...” The Aerodactly panted.

The girls had run out into a forest, where Riot had landed. Fortunately, several tree branches had helped to lessen the impact of her fall. The two Dragons were somewhere deeper in the forest, close to a river, as the sounds of their fighting were still audible.

Hazuki was standing by the side, staring in disbelief when her cell phone rang.

“Sis, it’s me.” Yusia said. “Dr. Cid got our phones working with some computer of his.”

“That’s about the only piece of good news we’re heard so far.” Hazuki replied.

“Sis, about the two Dragons fighting, Kris, Jade, Firestorm and Nightslice are in them.”

“We’ve sort of figured that out...” Hazuki nodded.

There was some shouting on the other side. Briefly, something along the lines of ‘give me the phone’ and ‘hold it near me’ was heard, but it was Zian’s voice that continued.

“Listen carefully.” He explained. “Your friends may be inside those Dragons, but they’re not in control of them. The Dragons have minds of their own.”

“Would you care to elaborate?” Hazuki asked.

“Yusia tells me Kris was holding a crystal before she and Nightslice merged into the Dragon. It was most likely a Spirit Crystal. You remember me talking about those earlier on, right?”

“Yes...”

“Besides just being the source of our powers, they also interact greatly with our thoughts. Essentially, they are our essence. They share our thoughts, our emotions and our memories. Even in death, it’s like part of our spirit remains within the crystal, but it’s a theory I’ve never been able to prove.”

“Then, what happened to our friends?”

“Remember when I fought the shadowy creature that attacked us? I was channeling what powers I had left to tear the boundaries between worlds apart. It may have been no more than a split second, but I might’ve stunned the creature and I suspect he dropped some of the Spirit Crystals. Being thrown through a time/space void like that would certainly supercharge them.”

“Charge them?”

“Yes, and the humans seem to have the power to unleash that charge, also awakening the essence of the Dragon within. But a human alone might not have been able to take all that raw energy, which is why Nightslice and Firestorm were drawn in as well to help contain it. They become the heart and body, if you’d call it that. However...”

“The ancient Dragon’s mind still exists, and he controls the whole thing.” Hazuki gasped.

“Not just any Dragon...a Legendary Dragon. My brethren who died in the Great Wars.”

“But what happens if the Legendary Dragons kill each other?”

“Then those within will most likely die too...”

“Zian, you have to tell me how to stop those two from fighting!” Hazuki cried frantically.

“I...I...I don’t know...”

Clenching her fist, Hazuki started at the ground. She just felt so helpless.

“Hey kid! Are you there?”

Without answering, Hazuki dropped the phone and sprinted away.

“Hey! Don’t go there! The Dragons are still fighting!” Nala warned as her blue haired friend dashed past her. “Hazuki!”

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“You’re finished!” Bahamut roared, diving towards the crumpled form beneath.

At the last instant, Lombadra rolled away, sending Bahamut into a large puddle of mud.

“Didn’t think you had me that easily, did you?”

“Grrr...rrrrarrrrrggghhhh!!!” Bahamut opened his jaws and released a furious Dragon Breath attack.

Lombadra threw off a Fire Blast from his claws, the two attacks canceling out each other, but with much damage to the surroundings. However, Bahamut was already moving, his tail flashing as it hardened even more.

Lombadra rolled under the Iron tail move and slammed Bahamut’s back, throwing him forward.

<Dammit! That hurts!> Nightslice shouted.

<Hey, I’m in more pain thanks to that stupid Dragon of yours!> Firestorm retorted.

<Our stupid Dragon?!> Kris yelled angrily. <What about yours?!>

<You started attacking us first!!> Jade growled.

<Will you shut up?!> Kris argued. <It’s not out fault!>

<It’s not mine either!>

Needless to say, tension was building up, both on the outside and within as the enemies turned to face each other. Panting wildly, both gathered up their remaining fighting powers for the finale.

The next second, both sprang into action, fangs prepared and claws at hand.

“YAMERU!!!!” (Stop it!)

Suddenly, Hazuki ran between their paths, arms outstretched.

All of the Dragons, humans and Pokemon gasped in shock. However, there was no time to stop their attacks.

Hazuki closed her eyes and cringed, expecting the worst. Her heart was pounding wildly, but when her thoughts didn’t abruptly end, she risked a peek and found herself even more amazed at what she saw.

Both Lombadra and Bahamut had one hand and one knee protecting her from different angles. Each one had their one free hand locked up with the other’s. It was as if both had the same idea, trying to shield her whilst deflecting the blow of his opponent.

Slowly, the Dragons opened their eyes and immediately pulled back, uneasily standing back up and staring from each other to Hazuki.

<Hazuki! Are you all right?> Kris asked with concern.

The stunned girl could only nod. Otherwise, she seemed physically unharmed.

<Thank god...> Jade muttered.

On the other hand, Lombadra and Bahamut were still glaring intently into each other’s eyes. A long, uneasy silence broke out and for a while, it seemed as if they two were about to start fighting again at any time.

“Why did you do it?” Lombadra broke the tension. “Why did you want to save the girl?”

“I...I don’t know.” The Steel Dragon shook his head. “I just felt it was...the right thing to do.”

“You belong to the evil side! Why should you care?”

“Those sides don’t exist anymore.” Nala stumbled onto the scene, supporting Riot with her shoulder. “There may still be good and evil in this world, but you’re not on opposing sides of it.”

<The Great Wars you fought in are long over.> Firestorm added in. <It’s a new time now, and things have changed.>

<But, I take it you two know each other pretty well.> Kris commented.

“Let me ask you, human.” Bahamut growled. “You’d certainly feel the same way I did if you were standing next to the bloke who killed you in the PAST!”

<OK...point taken.> Jade muttered.

“That feeling is mutual.” Lombadra responded. “Especially since YOU decapitated ME!!”

“So, I did hit you with that last attack.” Bahamut chuckled. “Serves you right for roasting me alive.”

“Grrrrrr!!!”

“Whoa, time out!” Nala stepped between the two, waving her hands.

“Guys, I did manage to get some information of our current...situation.” Hazuki stepped up.

The two Legendary Dragons both stood with their arms folded, constantly glaring at each other while they listened to Hazuki relating Zian’s theory.

“Seems there’s a greater evil now.” Lombadra commented.

<Perhaps that’s the reason you were brought back.> Nightslice suggested. <It’s probably also the reason we were able to activate those Spirit Crystals too.>

“I suppose...” Bahamut and Lombadra nodded simultaneously, and then stared at each other in surprise.

<Well, like it or not, we’re a team now.> Firestorm spoke.

<So try to cut us some slack, Lombadra?> Jade continued.

“Will do.” Lombadra smiled.

<Bahamut, same goes for you, OK?> Kris told him. <Try to co-operate with Nightslice and me, and it’ll be easier on all of us.>

“Humph...seems I have no choice.” Bahamut growled. “But, it might not be all bad. I’ve got a nice new body and all now.”

The Steel Dragon vainly spread his wings, snapped his tail around and ran his claws over his arm blasters. Lombadra too, seemed to be doing the same.

<Huh? What?> Jade asked, confused.

“We’re physically different from what we remember ourselves as all those years ago.” Lombadra explained. “If you think about it, we didn’t have guns and metallic armor attached to our bodies back then.”

“It’s like they’re a perfect fusion of living, organic matter and machine.” Riot commented. “Most fascinating indeed.”

<By the way, this also means the two of you are going to have to work together instead of fight each other.> Kris cut in.

“WHAT?!” The Legendary Dragons defiantly stared at each other before turned their backs.

<Hey, come on you two.> Firestorm urged. <I know Fire and Steel aren’t a good mix, but come on, Nightslice and I get along.>

“All right.” Lombadra reluctantly sighed. “If I must be the first to submit, so be it. However...you’re pretty much all right for someone of your caliber.”

“I suppose you’re not too bad yourself.” Bahamut faced him. “I guess I could tolerate you, flame-face.”

“I have to agree then.” Lombadra muttered.

The two then stared at each other again.

“Humph!” Both snapped, turning their backs on each other.

With a sneaky grin, Lombadra stuck his Charizard-like flaming tail into Bahamut’s back.

“Gguuarrghhhh!!” Yelling uncontrollably, the Steel Dragon drove straight into the nearby river.

(Everyone else sweatdrops as Lombadra bursts out laughing.)

“WHY YOU!!!!” Bahamut sprang out, rolled over Lombadra and tossed him into the river instead.

“HELP ME! HELP!!!” The fire Dragon lost his cool instantly. “I CAN’T SWIM!! MY TAIL FLAME’S GONNA GO OUT!!! HEELLLPPP!!! HEY!! WHY ARE YOU HUMANS JUST STANDING THERE STARING???!!!! HELLPP!!!”

“Yo, hot-head, try standing up.” Bahamut said calmly.

Lombadra did that...and the water only came up to his waist level.

“Something wrong, fire-butt?” Bahamut teased. “You look a lot redder than usual.”

“Grrrrrrr....!!!!!”

<Great, I’m trapped inside an IDIOT!!> Jade groaned.

“HEY, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

<HEY, what’s that supposed to mean?!>

The next line came from both Lombadra and Firestorm.

<Erm...heheh...nothing.> Jade replied nervously. <Cause, technically I am inside both of you. But it’s interesting how both of you assumed I was referring to you...>

“SHUT UP! Just how the hell...”

<...did we end up with a defective human like you?!>

“Ah well, I suppose beggars can’t be choosy.” Bahamut smirked, shaking his head.

“I’ll make you eat those words!!” Lombadra yelled, tackling the Steel Dragon.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Riot asked with concern.

“Nah, they’re not really fighting this time.” Nala replied. “They’re just making friends.”

“Do all guys have to fight to be friends?” Hazuki wondered aloud.

Even as the girls stood watching Bahamut and Lombadra in their childish brawl, all failed to notice a cloaked figure spying on them from the shadows. Coincidentally, this was the same one who’d been watching them from the harbor roof during the storm in their Home World...