-31: Old rivalries clash as the intense battle continues. However, a dark force is about to be released. The very one behind the tale of the Dragon Riders… Third of the 4 part season finale!
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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.
The
Chimera Saga and the Legendary Dragons belong to Theo ‘Blitz’ Leung and are
used with permission.
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Full Circle
By Gregory Stephen nightdragon0@hotmail.com
Nightslice
The room looked empty, but I knew much better than to believe that. It was apparently some miniature water processing plant. I glanced around in anticipation, noting every movement of the machines and every sound. There were hissing sounds as steam escaped from the pipes around the area.
“Alugard! Come out! I know you’re here!”
“The force is with you young warrior…but you are not a Jedi yet.”
“Oh, don’t patronize me!”
On a platform above me, Alugard stepped into view. It had been a long time since I’d seen him personally. As confirmed by the others, he was a Scizor.
He had added components, just as I remembered. A silver chest plate looked that something like a sleeveless Kevlar Vest with several blinking lights on it. The helmet that was also silver and was worn over the upper part of his head, leaving the lower jaws exposed. A red visor over the eyes' section served as his means of vision. The black and gray armguard covered his lower right arm, ending before the pincer-like claws. However, he’d apparently dropped his storage pack.
It was impossible to see his eyes through that visor, but I didn’t need to at all. For this was the time, I would put an end to my nemesis.
“I’ve let you mess with my life long enough!” I declared. “This time, we’ll end this. Here and now!”
“I find that your terms are agreeable.” Alugard calmly replied, pointing a claw at me. “But no matter what, you’ll always have that darkness within you…”
“SHUT UP!” I roared, charging.
Alugard opened his right pincer, revealing the hidden Gattling Gun inside. Instinctively, I vaulted to the side as a spray of bullets hit the floor. I landed on my feet and kept running.
My opponent ceased fire and leapt down towards me.
“Stone Prison!” I called out the name of the technique, summoning a wall of stone from the ground, blocking Alugard’s path.
It didn’t take him too long to break through, but I was better prepared by the time he did. My slash caught the old warrior in mid-air, but he managed to recover and land upright. I threw myself into a sweeping kick, which he somersaulted over and landed behind me.
We got into a frenzy of slashes, like a pair of swordsmen.
In the midst of that, a small pink shape came skipping past.
“Jiggly!”
“Huh?!” Both Alugard and I stopped fighting and stared at the Jigglypuff, holding a marker in its hand.
(Alugard and Nightslice sweatdrop.)
“Jigglypuff!”
“Arrrgggghhhhhhhhh!” Simultaneously, we kicked it, sending the pink Pokemon smashing through the wall and rocketing off into the distance. (Viewable through a Jigglypuff-shaped hole.)
“She outta consider a contract with the Powerpuff Girls.” I muttered.
“Yeah…” Alugard said in disbelief.
Then, we stared at each other and remembered the situation we were in.
Alugard’s kick threw me down face first, but I managed to roll away as he tried a follow-up stomping attack. With a spinning motion, I brought my legs up, taking Alugard down. I quickly got up and sprinted a short distance off.
“Disintegration!” In the flash of an eye, I attacked, lashing out with the water elemental slash.
Alugard used his claws to guard, but the Forbidden Technique still did some damage to him. I had to dodge again as he sprayed me with another round of bullets.
“Face the shadows!” He growled, putting a claw across his chest.
The world around me seemingly darkened.
“What the?!” I gasped. I literally couldn’t see anything past my own snout.
I was suddenly smacked below the chin, and then slashed form the side. Roaring in pain, I dropped to one knee, desperately trying to think of something. I then heard the click as Alugard prepared to fire.
“Matrix armor!” I called out.
My body was engulfed in a golden light as the armor welded itself around my body. The light also pierced through the darkness of Alugard’s Forbidden Technique, allowing me to see his position. However, I didn’t have time to do anything but raise my claws and defend against the volley of gunfire.
My mind screamed in torment as I struggled to hold my ground. The golden armor protected me from harm, but the stress of maintaining it badly wore me down. Unable to hold it any longer, the armor dematerialized.
Suddenly, I found my air supply cut off. Alugard had me in a chokehold from behind.
“You may have grown, but your will is still weak.” He taunted.
“NNOOOO!” I screamed.
In my fury, I sank my fangs into his forearm, the one not covered by the armguard. It hurt my jaws terribly, but I managed to pierce through his outer skin. Despite the pain, Alugard managed to keep his iron grasp on me.
I felt the salty taste as my opponent’s blood went down my throat. I thrust my elbows backwards, again and again.
Finally, I gathered up enough strength of break loose, throwing Alugard to the ground.
Several machines exploded around the room, starting some small fires. Their orange glow reflected off our bodies, producing a stunningly eye-catching effect.
“RRaarggghhh!” Another roar came as Kris leapt onto the scene, swinging her blades.
Alugard blocked the surprise attack and leapt away, standing to face the two of us.
“You used me!” Kris yelled in anger. “Dammit! That whole time, you’ve been playing me like a puppet!”
“I only gave you what you wanted.” Alugard replied. “The chance to take out your anger. Besides, when I gave you that promise that we wouldn’t be killing any innocent bystanders, I kept that. Nightslice counts as an entirely different thing. And you were particularly easy to mold to that purpose.”
“Gggrrraaagghh! Kris, let’s send this b****** to hell!” I roared.
“Delighted to oblige!”
The blade fight resumed with three combatants this time. Screams of combat filled the room. Alugard expertly warded off our combined attacks and we leapt and jumped around, pulling off all sorts of aerial maneuvers.
I somersaulted over our opponent and swung my claw. Alugard blocked it and threw me off just in time to face Kris. His attack was mistimed and caught her on the side of her chest. However, Kris managed to twist her body slightly and kicked his face, causing him to stumble.
That was the perfect opportunity. I lunged, with a wrath I’d never know, and drove my claw right through Alugard’s chest. Blood splattered everywhere as I withdrew my sword-like claw.
Alugard’s face was contorted in pain. But then, he grinned and begun to laugh.
“Hahaha…well done. You did have it in you after all.”
“W…what do you mean?!”
“By my blood, you have gained the Bug elemental dragon’s Forbidden Skill, my Forbidden Skill, the aura known as the Will of Shadows. A ghost type technique combining Night Shade and Confuse Ray, it drives darkness into the minds of your enemies itself. However…it is tied to…my life force.”
Kris approached as Alugard dropped to his knees.
“Your life force?” I asked. “You mean…I could only obtain it if…”
“If you killed me, yes. And killed me out of hatred.” Alugard continued.
“Then why, why everything?” Kris muttered. “The base, your troops?”
“I was reborn with the mission to bring you to this world, Nightslice. Those were the times where even I tried to deny my destiny. But, that day I was captured by the humans, and later when you hatched, I realized …I could never truly be free…until this time.”
I knelt down and faced him. My eyes were tearing up, but I didn’t care.
“It was true at first that I deceived those other Pokemon with false visions to get them to join up with me. However, as time passed, I realized I truly begun to care for every one of them. It was something I’d never experienced in the past, as the Bug elemental dragon. And I was caught between myself and my destiny.”
“Father…”
“Haha…I’m glad you can for once, call me that and truly mean it.” Alugard coughed. “Now, with the 8 Forbidden Skills at your disposal, density is in your hands.”
BOOM! A nearby machine exploded, sending a large portion of it falling down onto our position. In a flash, Alugard jumped up and shoved me out of the way.
“Gguuarrggh!”
My world spun as I went flying. I groaned as Kris helped me to my feet and gasped in shock seeing Alugard had caught the large mass on his back, struggling with his weakened body to hold it up.
“You must hurry; your friends are in grave danger.” He whispered. “There’s no time for me…to explain.”
“Nightslice, we’ve got to get out of here.” Kris tugged on my arm. “I have a bad feeling this sector is on the verge of annihilation.”
“Heed her advice. It doesn’t matter what happens to me.” Alugard nodded weakly. “The path you take from here on is entirely up to you. Farewell…my son…”
I somehow let Kris drag me all the way across the room and out the door.
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Alugard
I stood and watched, feeling the last of my strength slowly leaving my battered body.
Kris and
Nightslice…
There wasn’t much time for me now. Everything I’d done, everything I’d been through, now came back in these few seconds to haunt me. More ‘bad’ than ‘good’, I admit. However, it still depends on what you view either one as.
Now that my story had been told, I could go.
In my mind, I reached out with what was left of my powers. I called out to all of my surviving troops, the Pokemon who’d fought for me, and told them their task was over. With the passing on of my Forbidden Technique, its effects on them were likely to fade. Most probably, they wouldn’t remember anything. It was good them, that I could clear my trails, so to speak.
Yet, I felt a familiar presence nearby. Not physically near at least.
“Zian.” I growled. “Come to taunt me one last time?”
<No, not this time, my old enemy. Only to say goodbye. > The psychic dragon replied.
“Heh, I always was the only one who could whip your ass Zian. Shame we’ll never get to finish our battle.”
<Indeed. However, it’s out of our control now. >
My head had been hanging downwards, and now I looked up. Kris and Nightslice were still at the doorway. Only now Kris had to use a bit of force, as she was literally holding Nightslice back.
Nightslice was definitely screaming something out to me, but I couldn’t make it out. My head was spinning too much due to the blood loss. In the midst of his yelling, Nightslice glowed, and he evolved.
I grinned, seeing his new Scizor form.
<Reminds you of yourself, doesn’t it? >
“A me I could’ve been. But will never be now.” I replied. “At least now…I am free…”
That moment, my body gave way.
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Kris
“Nightslice…You’ve…”
I’d let go of the newly evolved Scizor and let him stand on his own.
“I know.” He replied. “Alugard…was trapped between two sides. He did what he felt he had to. But me…what will I have to do to be free?”
“Whatever it takes, I will be by your side.” I said, stepping up beside him and glancing into the burning room.
“Thank you.”
Nightslice smiled, tuning towards me. “Let’s go. Our friends need us.”
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Jade
“This way!” Firestorm led.
I had noticed the encounters we had along the way were drastically decreasing. It was like the two opposing sides had decided to stop fighting and start running.
[Wait!] I growled.
Our party ducked round a bend as a group of SF soldiers came running in the opposite direction.
“Goddammit! The commander’s gone insane!” One of them was yelling. “To heck with it, I’m outta here!”
They just went past us and out of sight. Firestorm looked towards all of us and nodded, before taking the lead again. There was only one door at the corridor’s end and it lead into a large open room. It was some sort of amphitheater, through its purpose in this base eluded me.
“I tell you, I don’t have it!” A panicked voice was pleading.
“Oh yeah, let’s see.”
“NNOOO…”
The scream was cut off by the sounds of gunfire. On the stage were two people, one of which who’d just shot the other and was digging through the dead one’s lab coat.
I recognized him the instant we got close enough.
“Jubei!” Firestorm roared up.
“So, you came. Just like any would-be hero would.” Jubei faced us and stood up. “How fortunate. I do need witnesses to the Angel’s return.”
“What the hell is he talking about?” Serac muttered.
“And it was all thanks to you.” The madman continued, hardly paying attention to us at all. “Testing the Chimera virus and testing implementing serum of the Chimera process on a living subject proved to be a complete success.”
“Too bad there were some bugs in your precious virus!” Hazuki yelled, entering from a different entrance.
Flanking her were Nala, Riot, Luminair and Kyle.
“It’s busted, to put it short.” Nala added in.
“It doesn’t matter now!” Jubei laughed. “For now, I hold the ultimate evolution!”
He held up a syringe.
“This here is the DNA of the legendary Angel, enhanced with mutagens and genetic advances! The greatest psychic ever known! Mankind and Pokemon alike will have a new ruler in this form! And you! Will be the first sacrifices to this new reign of terror!”
With that, he turned and jabbed the syringe into himself. The changes begun almost immediately, causing everyone the gasp and some to cry out in horror.
First thing to show were the wings, through black as darkness itself, ripping out from beneath his clothes. Bones burst out from under his skin. No, not actually bone, but rather an exoskeleton made of bone. The whitish mass twisted and melded with his head and body, making some gruesome sounds. The bone-like exoskeleton wasn’t uniform, creating horrific deformities all over the former human.
“He can’t possibly control that!” Nala cried. “All Chimeras were created under special conditions. There’s now way he could survive that!”
“Maybe he can’t control it, but I think he’s going to survive that.” Hazuki muttered. “But what was this Angel anyway?”
<A beast who should never have been allowed to exist. > In a flash of blue light, Syndrea teleported in. <Known as the ultimate destroyer of life. Long believed to be a myth, but as you can see here, not entirely true. >
The Angel’s transformation was complete now. Still roughly humanoid, but with that bony exoskeleton weaved all round his body and limbs. His black wings stretched out behind him. A silver crystal was imbued onto his chest, and from there up was his ‘helmet’. A silver mask with no visible eyeholes that covered his entire head.
The fallen one’s head turned upwards, towards us.
<It awakens. > Syndrea declared.
“Then we shall send it back to void, for good!”
“Nightslice?!” Storm gasped as his friend came running into the room. “You’ve evolved!”
Behind the newly evolved Scizor was a Scyther, Kris.
“We use our triple teams.” Nightslice growled.
“Understood.” Firestorm nodded. “People, some help!”
Firestorm, Dracia and Ehrgeiz combined their Fire Blast, Blizzard and Thunder. Nightslice, Kyle and Syndrea did the same for the Confuse Ray, Ice Beam and Solar Beam.
“Trinity Burst!”
“Desolation Claw!”
The two beams converged and headed straight for the Angel. It stood still until the very last moment, they raised its arms and formed a back shield around itself. The attacks bounced off it and came right back at us. Screams were everywhere as the explosion threw everybody in random directions. The fallen Angel wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation.
I heard a roar of pain as Riot was tossed into Hazuki, Nala and Kyle. Firestorm let off a Flamethrower, only to be grabbed from behind and thrown aside. Kris and Nightslice attacked and were promptly tossed away. I had no better luck, and ended up in a pile with Luminair and Ehrgeiz. Dracia and Serac were too stunned from the blast to help.
Just as he reached Syndrea, she formed a blue psychic shield around herself. There was a bight burst of energy as the Angel was actually thrown back. Syndrea collapsed, the blow obviously having been extremely taxing on her energy.
However, The Angel hovered up in the air with an emotionless face.
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Nala
“We…can’t lose…now.” Nightslice groaned, stumbling to his feet.
Serac painstakingly pulled herself up, drawing the sword she’d gotten from Nightslice. The Angel was now making another round towards us. Using the sword as a conductor, Serac ran a Thunderbolt through it, only to have our nemesis dodge it and ram her aside, losing the sword in the process.
“Serac!” Hazuki and I ran over to pull her to her feet.
“Watch out!” Riot yelled.
I snapped up just in time to see the Angel sweeping down towards us. I screamed and closed my eyes, but the impact never came.
I looked up and stared mouth-opened at what I saw. The Angel had been halted in mid-flight by a long, serpent-like body wrapped around him. The creature grunted as it struggled with its foe. I realized it reassembled a Chinese Dragon, with its long body, four limbs and wings. Its scales were a dark purple and its eyes glowed with a deep, pinkish color.
“Kel’ Tharus!” Nightslice exclaimed.
“I have come to return my debt to you.” The purple dragon said. “Riptide’s still outside. But there’s no time! Attack now!”
“Fanaticism!” Firestorm placed an orange glow around Nightslice’s body.
This was meant to boost his comrade’s attack power.
“Counter Rockets!” Nightslice took the opportunity to execute the dual technique, with help from Luminair’s Reflect skill.
The Scizor took to the air, positioned himself head facing down, and shot towards the battle like a missile. It looked like he was about to hit the dragon. However, the dragon’s body turned translucent.
Nightslice passed right through Kel’ Tharus and slammed the Angel to the ground.
“Wow, how’d he do that?” I wondered.
“Kel’ Tharus is the Ghost Dragon.” Hazuki pointed out. “I’d guess he has some ghost abilities.”
“Like being able to assume a spectral form.” The dragon turned towards us and grinned. “Hit the jackpot kid. Now, let’s take this abomination down!”
The fallen Angel was climbing to his feet. It so happened he was standing right in the middle of the raised stage. Syndrea teleported in behind him and waved her hands, glowing with blue energy. The Angel roared in pain as his body glowed with the same blue light.
<This won’t hold him for long! > Syndrea warned.
Kel’ Tharus joined in, adding his psychic powers to restrain the fallen Angel.
“Finish him, now!” The Ghost Dragon declared.
“Trinity Burst!”
“Desolation Claw!”
The two triple techniques were joined by the attacks of the other Pokemon. All together, the attacks formed into a single beam, with its head shaped like an arrow. The fallen Angel let off one last, ghastly scream as the ‘arrow’ pierced its heart.
Finally, it fell and lay still. Slowly, its body begun to break up, dissolving into nothingness.
Everyone begun cheering…for about 10 seconds.
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Nightslice
A black column of energy burst from the Angel’s body, causing everybody to back away from the stage, arousing astonished cries from all.
“I must thank you for getting rid of the fallen Angel for me.” A disembodied voice laughed. “This pathetic human was getting far too ambitious.”
“No…” Kel’ Tharus gasped. His eyes were wide with shock. “It…it can’t be!”
All of a sudden, it hit me. The cold, dark feeling.
“Jubei was possessed all along.” I told everyone. “This was the reason why his transformation was so complete. It was no work of science. It was his spirit.”
“Whose?” Kris asked.
“Kaiser.”
“Ah, you know me too well, my other half. Indeed, everything you’ve been through has been through my manipulation.”
The back column of light took shape. It could be best described as a Dragon-man, a humanoid dragon that stood upright on two legs. Only he had the wings, claws and a serpent-like face. His scales were completely black. His eyes glowed with a malicious red tint.
He was about 7 feet, the size of a large Pokemon. Not in his full dragon form…yet.
Snarling, Kaiser reached down and absorbed what was left of the fallen Angel. I gestured for the others to wait, and then walked forward to face him.
“My spirit was split into two parts.” He calmly explained as I approached. “It is time for us to rejoin, and be reborn.”
I stood face to face with him as he held out his five-fingered claw.
“Come…”
“Never!” I slashed at him with a sudden swipe. However, he simply vanished and appeared several feet back.
“Why do you side with the mortals? They are weak, foolish, imperfect. We however, are the ultimate beings.”
I slashed again, only to have my attack dodged.
“Persistent fool. Why do you continue to defy your destiny?” Kaiser asked.
“It’s being with your ‘mortals’ that I’ve learnt much more.” I replied. “What life truly means to us. It’s not immortality and power…its living…and experiencing all that’s around!”
“Very well, my other half. If you will not come willingly, then I will regrettably have to force you…”
The attack came so swiftly that even I had no time to react. However, I found myself shoved off the stage and back down to the others. That was followed by a loud roar of pain.
“Kel’ Tharus!”
A large hole had been torn through the dragon’s body. The rest of his body was charred. His wings had been left in tatters. Unable to maintain flight any longer, he collapsed before his former master.
“Fool, did you truly think you could stand against me?!” Kaiser grabbed the wounded dragon by his neck.
“Perhaps…I could never…emerge victorious.” Kel’ Tharus choked. “However…defying you…will be…my one…true contribution to this world!”
“So be it then…”
“NNOOO!” I screamed.
Kaiser literally slit the dragon open from the chest downwards. I choked seeing his innards spilling out, hearing them land with a disgustingly squishy sound. What horrified me even more was that Kel’ Tharus was still alive and screeching in anguish…right until the moment Kaiser snapped his neck.
I let off a long scream of rage as Kaiser tossed the dragon’s body aside. In that frenzy, I felt the changes begin, cladding me in the black armor of the Knight Blazer.
I assumed a shape quite similar to his. Completely black except for the twin guns mounted at my waist. Blades attached to my wrists as my claws morphed to a five-fingered claw. A mask hid my face, leaving a red visor for vision.
With a battle cry, I charged. A furious claw fight broke out as we clashed.
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Serac
Neither one seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Firestorm was the only one to react, charging in to lend Nightslice his aid. The Charizard waited until they pushed each other apart, and then let off a Flamethrower.
Kaiser dodged it and grabbed Firestorm, using him as a meat shield. Nightslice hesitated, afraid of hitting his friend.
“Humph, pathetic!” Kaiser roared, spitting a fire ball, sending Nightslice crashing into a pile of tables, moaning in pain.
“Nightslice!” I cried.
Kaiser tossed Firestorm aside and charged up a huge ball of energy. Syndrea’s eyes widened as she realized it was aimed at Hazuki and Nala. However, Kyle reacted first.
[NO! Get down!] With a tremendous burst of energy, Kyle threw his body in front of Hazuki and Nala, taking the blow for them. [Aaaarrgghh!]
I shielded my eyes…and didn’t see Kyle after that.
The blast threw the girls back, against Riot, all three ending up in a heap.
Syndrea had her hands raised, blue energy flickering around them. It seemed like some sort of shield, but the light faded as she collapsed, unconscious.
“KKKKYYYLLLLLEEEE!” Hazuki screamed. Nala could only stare in shock.
As that happened, I noticed something glowing in Nala’s hand.
Wait! That’s the…
“Nala, the pendant!” I requested, holding out my hand.
“Here!” Nala tossed it to me.
Just grasping it, I felt something very special radiating from it. In my mind, I called out to the Pokemon I felt closest to.
“Dracia! Hell fire!”
Dracia roared from her spot on the floor and took to the air, surrounded by a great circle of fire.
[Attack!] Jade ordered, realizing the opportunity.
Everyone else fired off their individual attacks. Some hit the evil dragon, some didn’t. But most importantly, they distracted him.
Dracia descended and slammed into Kaiser. A column of flames surrounded the two as Kaiser let out an inhuman screech of pain. With his body charred by the flames, Kaiser was thrown out of the fire pillar, landing motionless on the ground.
There were multiple cheers from our party at seeing our foe fall.
“Dracia!” I yelled, running forward. “Finish it! Nova Barrage!”
With a dragon’s roar, Dracia fired off a series on Fire Blasts, one after the other. Each time, the fallen dragon seemed to grow weaker and weaker. Finally, Dracia merged three Fire Blasts into a triangular formation around herself and sent it towards our foe.
However, his head suddenly lifted up. He raised his claws and a black shield formed around himself, turning the Nova Barrage back against us. I saw it was headed for Nala and reacted instinctively.
“Get down!” I shoved Nala away.
I let go of the pendant in my hand during that process. Unfortunately, my act of courage had also put me directly in the Nova Barrage’s path.
I expected it to hurt a hell lot. Instead, all I felt was…nothing…
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Jade
It was horrific, seeing nothing left on the spot Serac had stood. Nothing but a charred, blackened hole. What made it worse was Dracia’s long howl of anguish and Nala screaming. Hazuki was covering her eyes, not being able to take much more.
I roared too, partially though my own intentions, partially through my Charizard body.
Jade, your time is now!
Firestorm, who’d
landed next to me, turned his head, as if he’d heard the voice too.
[What the?! You again?] I gasped. [Who are you?!]
Think of me as the force behind your survival Jade. The one who brought you here. Here, for Firestorm’s final Sacred technique.
“But how?” Firestorm muttered.
It has been within you Jade. The voice continued to address me. Since the time you fell into the volcano, I’ve been lying in wait within your body. Waiting for the time you grew strong enough for me to pass Firestorm his Sacred Skill .For I am the Legendary Dragon of Fire.
There was a lot more
I wanted to ask. However, I knew too that this was something I had to do. And
do now.
[Storm? Ready?] I asked, giving him a firm look.
“Let’s go.” He nodded.
My body glowed with a golden light as I reached out with my claws and touched Firestorm’s head.
This is Paladin. The ultimate transformation. Feel the fire, and unleash the light. Defeat this evil once and for all.
I felt myself being lifted up and closed my eyes as a blinding light engulfed my world.
After all that had been said and done, I knew we would
either triumph…or die…