The Legend of Dragoon: The Next Generation
Prince of Darkness
By Archangel
Chapter One: Celebration Before the Nightmare
"I think I'm gonna hurl." Sean said to the mirror. He stood in the bathroom, staring down his reflection, a tight, wide-eyed, sickly face.
Don't do that! The Divine Dragon laughed in his head. You'll ruin that perfect suit!
Sean looked down at his very sharp black tuxedo, complete with black tie and white shirt. The last time he'd dressed this fancy had been at Mike's wedding to Jenn. He had worn it a few times before, when Ben, Brad, and Robert also got married. Now, at long, long last...it was his turn.
Today was the day...Sean McMann and Melissa O'Riley were finally tying the knot. That was why Sean was feeling sickly.
Since when does the Divine Dragoon get so nervous, much less ill from it? The Divine Dragon asked from his safe spot in Sean's pocket. The Dragoon spirits didn't go wit the outfits so well, but the Dragoons couldn't depart from them.
"This is unlike anything I've ever been up against." Sean said. "When it's an enemy of sorts, I know I can tackle it one way or another, and I've done that on occasion, you know. But this...this is something entirely new for me...maybe that's why I'm frightened. I'm vowing never to hurt Melissa again, allowing myself to be bound to her forever." Sean shook his head. "I don't know...maybe it's just paranoia."
You fear that you will botch the commitment one way or another?
"That's one way to put it." Sean sighed. "I mean I did it before, right?"
But you learn from your mistakes. The Dragon pointed out. Do not allow the past to haunt you...remember that lesson you learned so long ago?
Sean gave a small smile. "Do I ever." He had learned so many things, being with his friends, and had truly changed over the years. Only a few months had passed since he proposed to Melissa-they were eager. He was glad and considered himself blessed to have this opportunity: to spend his entire life with the woman he loved. Now...all he had to do was not screw it up! That was the part that kept worrying him.
Sean shook his head. "I'm just nervous. I'll do fine. A relationship is one thing, but marriage will give me more resolve not to screw things up."
That's the spirit. The dragon congradulated.
A light knock rapped on the door. Sean quickly washed the sweat off his face and wiped it dry. The leader of the Dragoons must show no fear. Sean turned and opened the door. Standing there was his Best Man, Ben Freeman.
"You okay?" Ben asked.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"A simple 'yes' would have made me believe you." Ben gave him a look. "Marriage is a big step. I know how nerve-racking it can be."
Sean portrayed a big grin. "I'm up to the challenge."
"That's one way to look at it." Ben chuckled. "But try to be more courtious with your language."
"What do you mean?"
"No girl likes being referred to as a challenge."
Sean socked him lightly. "Melissa loves it when I call her that. Makes her sound tough."
The church was packed with Sean's and Melissa's friends and family, intermingling with one another. Up front, Sean's heart pounded mercilessly, echoing in his ears. The organ music played beautifully as couple after couple walked down the isle. Sean saw the faces of his closest friends, his Dragoon companions, most of whom winked as they walked by.
The groomsmen lined up on one side and the bridesmaids on another as the number of couples counted down to the big entrance. Each one made Sean take another deep breath.
"Chill." Ben whispered to him.
"She's almost here." Sean retaliated, explaining his stacattoed breathing.
"Everything is going to be okay." Ben encouraged.
Before Sean could think otherwise, it happened. The organ music stopped, getting ready for the next song, the big song that announced Melissa's coming.
Before it began, Sean stole a glance at the man who would be wedding them, none other than Pastor Mike Edwards. Mike looked back at him and perked his brows in anticipation.
The organist lifted her fingers and struck down the keys before her, booming the announcement. All the crowd stood upon the first few notes and turned to the door in the back.
The doors creaked open and Sean held his breath.
Here comes the bride, the organ declared as the doors opened all the way and Melissa O'Riley stepped inside. Sean's heart stopped, his stomach lept, his eyes widened and his jaw hung open.
Elegant, graceful, radiant, and utterly beautiful were the words running through Sean's mind...along with "perfect." Behind the veil, Melissa's face was flushed with all the eyes staring at her and the gorgeous white gown enveloping her. Her gloved hands held a deathgrip on the bouquet within them, an outlet for the butterflies reproducing in her belly.
Mike couldn't help but stare as Sean did. He had always known his sister to be a bit of a tomboy, and definetely not one to wear dresses, much less a long, flowing, frilly, lacy, expensive, white one. Seeing her like this was a rare treat and Mike could not be happier for her.
The father of Mike and Melissa had been dead for many years, so the one to accompany the bride down the isle was Sean's father, Hank McMann. Hank was aging, as it showed in his weathered face and his white hair, but he still had his health and his spirit, so he didn't act his age, so to speak.
The long walk down the isle finally came to a close and Hank handed off the bride. Sean slowly, but surely took her hand and guided her up even with him. He stared at her through the veil, to those beautiful eyes, those windows to her shimmering soul. Her smile was intoxicating. She was as excited as Sean was. It took a moment for them to both remember where they were and they turned to face the pastor. Mike beamed brightly to his sister, pronouncing his gladness for her, and then turned it to Sean, warmly welcoming the new family member.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Mike began, "We're gathered here to witness the union of Sean McMann and Melissa O'Riley..."
Mike went about the speech, repeating much of what he said at many weddings, though he was the most enthusiastic about this one. Finally, it came to the vows.
"Sean and Melissa have written their own vows," Mike told the audience, "which they will recite now. Melissa?"
Christie Freeman, fellow friend and Dragoon, stepped up to give Melissa a microphone for all to hear her words.
She cleared her throat and tried to remember what she had rehearsed.
"Sean...we've been through a lot together, you know. It's been a roller coaster of ups and downs, goods and bads...and it's been worth every hurtle. Since we were teenagers, you've had my affection, and I've waited far too long for this day." The audience chuckled with glee. Melissa continued.
"Since you came into my life...you've opened my eyes to a whole new life." She winked at Sean to show the hidden meaning. "So much changed since you stepped into my life, all for the better, of course. If you hadn't come around, I don't know where I would be, and I don't know where I'd be if you ever left...so...now that his day has come, I can finally tie you down! Ha!" The crowd laughed again.
"Call it romantic security." Melissa laughed. "So, this is my life now...and you're every part of it. Sean, McMann, I do take you as my husband. I vow to forever honor you, support you, cherish you, love you...and totally rock your world."
While the audience laughed, Melissa turned and winked to Brittany Sparks, who had added in that last line at the last minute.
Mike rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to force the image out of his head. "Okay...Sean? Your turn."
Sean had lost his memory by this point and fought to regain it as Melissa handed him the microphone.
"Melissa...before I met you, I was blind. I kept a shell around my emotions so they couldn't get damage again. I tried to force you away, but you kept pounding at my walls with utmost fury and passion, and finally, you broke though.
"Since that night so many years ago, I've seen the world in a new light. I was able to feel again, to laugh and to cry. Even in the painful times, just having the emotion back felt so wonderful. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be the man I am today.
"In return, Melissa O'Riley, I promise to let you change me however you see fit." The crowd chuckled. "And I promise to love you, honor you, and protect you for today and all of our tomorrows."
Melissa was ever-so-anxious to kiss him right then and there, but she waited for the big moment.
"And sorry." Sean concluded. "I don't have a whimsical line to end with." Everyone laughed as Mike took the floor once more.
"Is there anyone here who believe that his couple should not unite? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Robert Williams nudged Brad Sparks. "I dare you to say something."
Brad shot him a wide-eye stare. "Sean would tear me to pieces!"
"Alright then" Mike said after the silence "Bring up the rings."
The little ring bearer brough the couple their rings and they held them over each others' fingers and waited.
"Sean," Mike began, "Do you take my sister..." they all laughed. "...to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold for better or worse, richer or poorer, and in sickness and health?"
"Darn straight." Sean smirked. Mike turned to Melissa.
"Sis...do you take this guy to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and hold for better or worse, richer or pooer, and in sickenss and health."
"Uh-huh!" With her brimming excitement, Melissa squeaked out the words and then quickly covered her mouth in utter embarassment as the audience laughed it up.
Brittany grinned deviously. "I will never let her live this down."
Mike regained himself. "That's a yes if I ever heard it. Good then! I now pronounce you both...man and wife! Sean, kiss her already."
Sean pulled the veil over her head and rushed to merge his lips with hers as the audience applauded joyfully.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Mike wrapped up, "I present to you Mr. And Mrs. Sean McMann."
The audience stood and cheered for the couple as they walked down the isle, arm in arm, as happy as their bodies and spirits could allow.
The other Dragoons gathered together in the front. Brad, Robert, Mike, Christie, Brittany, and Ben exhanged smiles and were quickly joined by Jennifer Edwards, Mike's wife, and Marian Willaims, Rob's wife.
"That's all of us!" Rob joked.
"Took 'em long enough!" Brittany chuckled. "But at least they got all the kinks worked out beforehand."
"Yeah." Mike nodded. "I think they'll be alright."
"Of course they will." Ben said. "They're Dragoons! What's the worst that-?"
Five hands shot out to cover his mouth. The Dragoons knew well enough never to ask that question.
Some years later...
Melbu Frahma, wingly dictator of old. Adam Young, teenager who allied himself to darkness to win the heart of a girl. Frank Darteth, morbid man turned into a soul-stealing monster.
Zackwell, a demon of unthinkable might. It was he who revived Melbu Frahma from within his prison of light so that the evil dictator may continue his dark reign. It was he who gave Adam his powers in exchange for a way to escape from that prison. It was he who converted Darteth into the evil fiend he became. All of these evils came to be because of Zackwell.
He was an incredible criminal mastermind, a malicious genious. Only one force had ever been able to destroy him: the Dragoons. He vowed revenge on their kind afterwards. Eight hundred years later, he siezed his chance. A young boy had been chosen by one of the dragons and was training early. Zackwell came to destroy him, but his guardian, a very powerful wingly, fought him. She was destroyed, but in her last moments, she sealed him in a world of light. Being a creature of darkness, he suffered ongoing pain day and night.
Every day he fought to escape the light realm. On the outside, he had an ally: Melbu Frahma. He fought to destroy the dragoons but was destroyed.
Zackwell got another chance with Adam Young, a young man who got lost and found himself in Mayfil. Zackwell gave him the power to immitate a dark dragoon in exchange for aid in escaping. Unfortunately, Adam was not evil at heart and overcame Zackwell's influence and foiled his escape at the last second.
Frank Darteth was also be granted great power, but before doing so, he was able to finally release Zackwell. Darteth was defeated, but Zackwell continued on in his reign of terror. He created a dark army from the soil of Mayfil and launched it on the humans. However, they ran into the same wall that had stopped everything else: The Dragoons.
Eight humans given the powers of fallen dragons and guided by their spirits, this team challenged every threat to humanity. They began as a handful of inexperienced teens, but time molded them into hardened soldiers. They didn't know it, but every time they fought an evil force, they had been fighting Zackwell in the background.
Zackwell finally faced them himself but was struck down the the blade of irony. The boy that Zackwell had attempted to kill when he was sent to the light realm was Sean McMann. That boy grew to be the leader of the dragoons. In this position, it was he who finally destroyed Zackwell, getting revenge for him killing Anna, Sean's wingly step-mother.
But demons are never killed; just demoted. Upon his defeat, Zackwell was sent right back to where he was created: The Eternal Abyss. It was here that he had been crowned King of Darkness on Earth and granted unfathomable dominant power.
However, when Zackwell returned to Hell, the situation was very different. There were few names higher than his and who else would he meet upon returning than the head of them all: Lucifer himself.
Lucifer was enraged by Zackwell's defeat. For thousands of years, Lucifer had been attempting to destroy the Dragoons, the undoers of all evil, but could not grasp them. Zackwell had been in charge of that department, but had failed thrice. Few dared to fail even once, for fear of Lucifer's wrath.
The only reason Zackwell would not be eternally tortured was due to Zackwell's tremendous amount of victories and the countless souls he had attained. He was allowed to remain unscathed, but he would never again see the light of day.
And so, here Zackwell sat sulking, stripped of his title and his pride, humiliated amongst his own kind. He was laughed at, ridiculed, and forever taunted. They called him the Demon Who Fell Furthest. Zackwell could not believe his miserable luck. He had gone from King of Darkness...to this...guard duty.
Within Hell lay countless prison cells, stacked atop each other in long, seemingly endless rows. Inside them, the souls would lie, shrieking in pain, only awaiting their next punishment session.
Guard duty was the lowliest of demon positions. Why? Because no one escaped the Abyss-ever. Zackwell was chief warden of the prisons, but it didn't help much. He would have even preferred to be a warden in the demon prisons, special cells set aside for traitors and continuous failures. There was more of the later; no one ever tried to displease Lucifer. It was the biggest act of foolishness one could perform! These cells actually saw some action, with demons trying to escape their punishment, but humans could never leave-they didn't have the means.
Even worse, Zackwell was only in charge of the red-level cells. Red! The lowliest layer of Hell! Zackwell was utterly miserable in his position, torn from his place at the top and thrown down to his knees, forced to watch others do what he used to.
Then, one day...it finally happened.
Zackwell sat in his chambers, uninterested in the work before him. It was the usual junk; countless attempted escapes, but no successes. Zackwell didn't want to be bothered with the boredom. He lay back in his chair, eyes closed, remembering the good ol' days, where he was a vicious monster that tore apart human souls.
Suddenly, the door opened and a black figure walked in. Zackwell sat up straight, eager to hear the news. The demon didn't seem too pleased.
"Lucifer has agreed to see you...you must come at once."
Zackwell's eyes lit up. This was his chance- his only chance to regain his former glory. He jumped to the chance, exiting his chambers quickly.
Outside, Zackwell looked over a rail to see the stacked prison cells and could fully hear the cries of the souls-it was the only real perk to the job. However, Zackwell cared not for any of them, not even their outcries. He was in an anxious hurry.
Zackwell jumped off the balcony and allowed himself to fall, flying past row after row of prison cells. Ride fire licked all around him, but he was not singed. He was used to it. Zackwell pumped his wings, flying faster and faster downward, searching for the bottom of this pit. It was quite a flight before he saw the floor. Next came a talent only demon's possessed: passing through to the next level.
Zackwell flew right through the floor. He exited the red level and entered the blue. It was called such because the fires were an eerie blue hue, burning hotter than those of the red level. Down here, the torture was worse and the prisoners cried louder. As stated earlier, Zackwell was in charge of the weakest level.
Still, he pressed on, flying a nearly equal distance to the ground and passed through once more, entering the last void, the innermost circle of Hell: the black level.
In here, there was not the faintest glimmer of light, only pure darkness and tongues of black fire, licking at you. Only demons could see through the darkness and Zackwell could see the souls of the damned, shrieking in agony as the black fire scorched them endlessly. It was rumored that if black fire were to ever touch the earch, no amount of water could put it out, and it would scorch the entire planet. However, no one, not even Lucifer, could figure out how to get it to the surface.
Speaking of Lucifer...
Zackwell redirected his gaze to his goal. He flew down to the ground, but did not land. He flew parallel to it until he found a large chamber. Zackwell flew inside and allowed himself to fall down the narrow tunnel. Down, down, down into the darkness, into the chambers of Lucifer.
When Zackwell landed, he looked about the darkness. On the other end of the sizeable room, Zackwell sat at a large, stone desk, his chair facing away from Zackwell. On his back wall, Lucifer had set up a large display of numerous screens, each like a television turned to a different channel. Among the pictures, Zackwell could see that Lucifer had set them up to promote humility. Each screen showed Zackwell facing the Dragoons in one way or another. Zackwell knew the outcome of each story: He would lose. His eyes narrowed at Lucifer's cruelty, but dared not say anything.
"As you can see," Lucifer said in his deep, regal voice that sent a shiver up even Zackwell's spine. "You have repeatedly angered me. Your plans haven't proven very useful against the Dragoons in the past..."
Lucifer turned in his chair and faced Zackwell. "So this one better be good."
Zackwell smiled. "You will, My Lord. I-"
"The only reason I agreed to see you," Lucifer interrupted, "Was that your messenger said that you mentioned someone more powerful than yourself. It's not like you to be so humble, Zackwell...what are you planning?"
From there, Zackwell explained his brilliant new plan of action, detail for detail. Zackwell was a bit surprised how long Lucifer allowed him to speak, and even more surprising, he seemed interested.
Zackwell finished his speech, unsure where to go form there. He hadn't expected to get this far; coming here was a long shot.
Lucifer sat with his hands folded in front of his face, his eyes boring against Zackwell's, studying. Zackwell went further out on the limb.
"I take it my plan appeases you?"
Lucifer's eyes narrowed, as if unhappy with his decision. "Remarkably enough."
Zackwell felt a rush of hope and adrenaline rush over his spirit. "Do you agree to let it pass, then?"
"I am hesitant." Lucifer clarified. "I'm not too fond of allowing you to return to the surface after your misgivings. However..." Lucifer rubbed his left temple. "You are the only one who can strike the Dragoons hard enough emotionally...so only you could go through with the plan..."
Zackwell held his breath.
"The other thing I am hesitant about is your request for two souls. Can you guess how often I let a soul leave this place?" His terrorizing sneer said enough. "And yet...if all goes well, the Dragoons could finally be out of my way...I do not like a troubling dilemma, Zackwell." He closed his eyes and considered deeply the outcomes. Finally, he spoke.
"Alright. You may put your plan into motion."
Zackwell fought to contain his excitement. "Thank you, my Lord! You will not regret this decision!"
"I had better not. Because if I regret it...you will regret it."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ahoy hoy. Archangel here, back to send in the final installment of our series. Hopefully, you'll appreciate it as much as you did the previous story-over 130 reviews! THANK YOU ALL!
Anyway, I know this was posted quickly, but Spike's last chapter was very short, so I figured I'd give you something more to read.
This story is significantly longer than any of the other stories, I'll warn you all now, but I'll do my best to keep you entertained. Things are going to get VERY messy in this story and the world will flip entirely, you'll see soon enough. Please review your thoughts. Enjoy!