DRAGON HEROES
At last, we're at the season finale! Previously, Ash had stolen Cynder's body with a spell and lured her friends into a trap. Fortunately, Cynder, in Ash's body, managed to convince everyone that she's the real deal, and after a brief battle with the evil albino Twilight Storm, she has managed to get her body back. Now the team are ready to have their long-awaited battle with Princess Ash. See for yourself what will unravel in this spectacular finale of season two!
Redemption
Chapter 1 – The Final Fight
A strong wind stirred up, causing the trees surrounding the battlefield to be swayed back and forth. The dragons focused on Ash, who stared smugly at them.
"Why don't you just give it up, you pathetic slugs?" she gloated. "Even though I may be in my original body, I'm only just getting started, and pretty soon you'll see that I'm the most powerful dragon on this planet! Even with all your powers combined, you're still utterly screwed! Ironic, isn't it?"
"Your trash talk only proves that you know nothing about achieving balance," said Cynder. "In fact, all it does is making you appear much weaker than your opponents."
Ash growled. "Impudent little cow! Just for that, I'm going to crush you into tiny pieces! Then we'll see who the weak one is!"
Cynder stood bravely, feeling ready to give the albino Twilight Storm her dues. She turned to her teammates, who were waiting for her commands.
"Draco, all of you, you'd better back away," she said. "I'll handle Ash on my own."
"Why is that?" asked Torden. "Don't you think we can be able to help you out? I mean Ash is a really powerful dragoness, and she doesn't seem to be showing any sign of relenting."
"Don't forget about all the things she saying," said Draco. "Much as you may think she's bluffing, I'm still worried because she could be telling the truth that she's holding back her true power, just by looking at her. She looks so eerily calm and confident, as if she doesn't seem to care whether we fight her altogether or not."
"I'm sure I can be able to take her out singlehandedly," replied Cynder. "Besides, this is mostly a personal thing as I'm the only one she wants to fight. She merely sees you all as acceptable targets just because of your association with me."
"We understand, Cynder," said Jakkin. "I can tell that this is goin' to be a fight to the bitter end, so ya better try to win this battle for us."
"Just remember that if you find yourself in a pinch, we'll be coming to help you anyway," said Torden. "As we have agreed back when we formed our group, we're all in this together."
Cynder nodded, even though she felt that there was no need for her friends to help her.
"Let's just join Bowser, Darky, Tails, and Blaze," said Percival. "Best that we don't distract Cynder so much as she needs to really focus on her battle with Ash."
With that, the dragons backed away from the battlefield. Draco stood beside Bowser, who held him close while he wondered what was happening.
"Hey, Draco," he began. "What gives? Why aren't you and the others going to fight alongside Cynder?"
"Don't worry, Bowser, it's alright," said Draco. "She wanted to fight Ash on her own."
Tails, Darky and Bowser were shocked. They never expected that Cynder would be so brave and bold against a powerful opponent.
"Is she nuts?" exclaimed Tails. "It's downright suicide! There's no way she could be able to defeat Ash on her own!"
"Oh no," said Darky sadly. "She could be killed!"
"I wouldn't fret if I were you," said Blaze all of a sudden.
"Huh?"
The group turned to Blaze who continued to watch Cynder and Ash preparing their fight. She smiled, feeling very confident that her student was going to emerge victorious.
"What do mean by not to worry, Blaze?" asked Lily. "Ash is a really tricky and dangerous dragon that she makes the Pyre Squad look like a bunch of chumps!"
"You don't know Cynder like I do," said Blaze. "She is a highly trained and disciplined dragon who learned so much from me. She was merely thirteen years old when I first met her during my travels in Norway. Despite being fairly young, she has displayed a lot of potential, power that she was yet to bring out, strength that was untapped. As a dragon master, I was amazed and impressed by her skills that I knew she was kind of dragon I've been looking for."
"I remember that very well," said Tails. "And that was before I reunited with you while I was on my vacation in London."
"Indeed it was, Tails," replied Blaze. "But anyway, after teaching Cynder how to find balance within herself, and also after she learned some valuable lessons of friendship on her own, she had come of age and became much stronger as the years passed. Still, I knew that she had still much to learn about herself, so I arranged that she would begin her journey across the world to look for new friends that she can form a group with."
"There's no doubt that Cynder has gone a long way over the years," said Draco. "I also remember the day that we first met, which occurred not too long after you and Tails got together."
"Yeah, and I was intrigued in getting to know you after I learned that you and Tails are close friends," said Blaze. "I'm glad you and Cynder also got together after defeating the Dark Queen, Draco."
"It was a difficult fight, but we managed to pull it off working together," said Torden. "Now we have the daughter to worry about."
"Maybe it will be best that we stay quiet now and watch the fight," said Tails.
"Good idea, Tails," said Blaze.
While the dragons watched, Ash smirked at Cynder who stood silently still as she stared at her, determined to bring her down once and for all.
"So, princess," said Ash. "Are we going to fight, or are we going to continue this useless chit-chat?"
"For the last time, stop calling me that!" hissed Cynder. "We're going to fight!"
"Very well then," said Ash. "But know this! I am going to obliterate you, one way or another! You should be scared, because this match will definitely be your last!"
"I am not afraid of you," said Cynder. "Even if you may think you're more powerful than me, I'm still determined to give it my very best, for Draco, for Darky, for Blaze, and for all of my friends who have shown me support! All the same, they'll stand up for me should I ever go down in this fight!"
"Very touching indeed," said Ash in a disgusted tone of voice. "They're just the kind of words that only a fool would spout from her mouth! Well, enough is enough! Prepare to meet your doom! I'm going to enjoying marking this niche as your grave!"
With that, Ash charged straight at Cynder with the intention of crippling her. Despite having her body battered before getting it back, she was still able to hold her ground against the albino Twilight Storm. The two dragons pounded away at each other in a flurry of scratches and tail whips. Soon, they engaged in a lock and neither of them showed any sign of yielding. Cynder saw it as an opportunity to deliver a sneak attack on Ash, and she struck her on the face with her tail, causing a scar near her left eye.
"Argh!" she grunted. "My beautiful face is ruined! Now you've done it, you filthy little twerp!"
"It takes one to know one!" retorted Cynder.
"YOU'RE DEAD, CYNDER!" screamed Ash. She flew up into the air, looked down to Cynder, and then proceeded to let out a destructive plasma burst attack, intensifying its power with each second.
Cynder quickly realised that it meant trouble as the attack not only had enough power to wipe out life in one fell swoop, but also to destroy the entire planet.
"What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed. "Are you insane? You'll blow up the planet!"
"I DON'T CARE!" thundered Ash as she increased the power of her plasma burst. "I'M PRINCESS ASH, THE ONE AND ONLY DAUGHTER OF THE DARK QUEEN! MY FAMILY ALIGNS WITH EVIL, AND I INTEND TO GO THAT PATH!"
Immediately, Ash released her attack. Cynder fought back by blocking it with her own plasma burst. Both attacks locked in, but it became clear that Ash had the upper hand as she had put more power. Struggling, Cynder screamed as she intensified her attack. The plasma bursts continued going upward and downward, and when Cynder finally reached full power, she was able to push the attack upward towards Ash. The albino Twilight Storm tried to get away, but she was caught and propelled up high into the sky. Ash got out of the attack as soon as she had reached cloud level. The plasma burst continued careening upwards before disintegrating into nothingness.
Such immense power, she thought. Cynder surely has gotten really strong, and I'm very impressed that she still has her natural cunning streak, despite being softened by the teachings of lesser beings. In the end, though, all her efforts will be for naught, for I have finally reached the point where I can be able to reveal my hidden and most powerful form to her. Soon, the tables will be turned for her and everyone else she held dear will discover the true meaning of pain and suffering!
Ash flew all the way down to the battlefield where Cynder was waiting. The others thought the battle was over, but the Twilight Storm knew better, and no doubt that the battle was going to continue.
"I must say, Cynder, you really are what I expected from my own kind," she began. "Your cleverness, your shrewdness, you're a chip off the old block!"
"This proves that you should never underestimate me," said Cynder. "You should just give up and apologise for your wrongdoings, as none of this is worth the bloodshed."
"Bah! More senseless namby-pamby tripe to sympathise with mammals!" scoffed Ash. "Where's your dragon pride, Cynder? We dragons are born to fight, conquer the lands, and stamp out the weak! Surely some of your partners should understand that as well!"
"Percival, Lily, and Torden have been raised to love and respect every living thing, and they've learned that from other like-minded dragons," said Cynder. "But the point is that together, we found balance within ourselves, and that's enough to beat you."
Ash grinned malevolently. "You still don't get it," she said. "I'm about to show you a power I've been holding for so long, and now's the time for me to unleash it!"
Author's Note: A hidden power? That doesn't sound good! Wait for the second chapter to find out what kind of power Ash is about to reveal to our heroes!