Chapter Twenty-One: Union

It only took a few seconds of scrambled words and interjections for the small family to realize that they all had stories to tell. They all took a seat.

"One story at a time!" Sean instructed. "Who got here first?"

"We did." Brad said. "Okay, so we're climbing the mountains and all, you know? Not a pleasant business and I don't care to see another mountain for as long as I live! We tried getting in one a day, but that was really freakin' slow. Anyway, we're climbin' one day and suddenly, this little battalion of dark warriors starts running at us. So, we start fighting them, then next thing I know, I'm out."

"Lightning bolt struck him." Mike took over. "Lovely. Now we had to carry him across the mountain, which wasn't easy, might I had. Anyhow, we carry him for a day, then we run into another big problem…really big, like fifteen feet tall with muscles bigger than me and a reeeeally big axe."

Christie spoke up. "Are you talking about a giant zombie?"

"Yeah…why?"

The group of women looked at each other, nodding. "We ran into one as well."

"Just wait til you hear our story!" Robert scoffed.

"We'll get to everyone in time." Sean said. "Mike, keep going."

"Well, Jenn had to watch over Brad, so I took on this giant zombie thing, praying with every step. I mean this thing was as scary as it was enormous. In the end, I was able to get it to fall off the edge of the mountain…I quickly followed."

"We thought he was dead." Brad said a bit somberly, remembering the feelings of loss. Jenn squeezed Mike's hand tightly. "Well, we saw no other option but to move on. This is where things really get interesting. We go around the corner and find some guy fighting a bunch of zombies. Get this: it's a freakin' giganto!"

That brought a lot of wide eyes. "Yeah, that's what we did. Apparently, there's a whole community of them living in the mountains. The one we met, Dogul, took us in and showed us to the giganto elder-that's their leader. They let us stay the night and then we went into these…forbidden corridors that led right through the mountains. They were forbidden because of some sort of monster living in them."

"Was there really a monster?" Brittany asked.

"You bet there was!" Jenn snapped. "It was big, ivory, covered with blades, and really mean!"

Ben raised a brow. "So you met this fine specimen, then?"

"Oh, yeah. I got lost and wandered around into the wrong corridors. I even met Zackwell. He did the whole rap about joining him, but I declined, and then nearly became the monster's dinner. Fortunately, that's when Mike decided to come back from the dead."

Mike decided to take over. "When I fell down the mountain, the giant zombie grabbed hold of the ledge and I grabbed it. After some fighting, I got it to fall off and I spent the night on the mountainside. The next morning, I climbed back up and met a giganto scout, Logun. He brought me into the giganto community and I learned that Brad and Jenn had been there. So, I high-tailed it and made it just in time to save Jenn.

"After that, we met back up with Brad and got out of there. Once we were outside, we met Melbu Frahma. He didn't seem too happy that I was alive."

"That must've been a difficult battle." Christie said. Mike, Jenn, and Brad looked at each other with grins.

"Oh, yeah, reeeal tough!" Brad snickered. "The fight lasted about thirty seconds! He was so preoccupied with what he thought were the only threats: me and Mike, the experienced ones. He didn't even look at Jenn and she took him out quickly."

"Very becoming." Sean mused. Jenn took it as a great compliment.

"Then we got here." Brad continued. "Some time later, the girls showed up."

"Our turn!" Brittany piped up eagerly. "Our journey wasn't quite that exciting, but we did have a few unexpected events. First of all, we ran into one of those giant zombie things in a jungle. We couldn't fight it, so we ran. Suddenly, shwoop! We went through a portal to a hidden wingly colony."

Sean's eyebrows perked. "Was it Charle and the other Ularians?"

"No!" Christie took over. She figured that Brittany wouldn't want to tell this part of the story. "That's what made it even weirder. They were led by a guy named Cameron. It seems those winglies have been hiding in the forest since who-knows-when. We were going to stay the night, but…" This part got difficult. Melissa decided to say it.

"Darteth found us. He and Melbu invaded the wingly city and Cameron teleported us out before we were harmed. The next day, we faced off with Darteth and his Mega-Zombie pet. That's what he called them. They're made up of ten souls and enhanced by Melbu Frahma to be magically resistant. Darteth also gave them speed to keep up with smaller creatures. Anyway, we three fought them off and succeeded-barely, then we made it here and found these three." She indicated the first arrivals. "So, Sean, what happened to you guys?"

"What didn't happen?" Ben snapped. "Okay, we're walking through the savannah. It's hot enough, right? Then a freakin' stampede comes running at us! So, naturally, I came up with a good idea-quit laughing! Anyhow, I used by Heat Blade to make a fire in the grass, scaring off the animals. Like I said, a good idea…then Zackwell came and made the fire come alive and chase us off a cliff."

That got a bit of a shocked laugh from everyone.

"It wasn't too steep. Anyway, the fiery thing died out soon and we moved on peacefully. Then, we ran into the volcano…no, literally, we went into it, where we met the fiery monster again, with all the fuel it needed to survive! Naturally, we ran. Outside, we blew a big ol' chunk of rock off the mountainside and slid down it to escape the steadily-erupting volcano. We were tossed, we were turned, we were okay."

"Sounds…exciting." Jenn said, unsure what else to say.

"Well, not quite at the time." Robert admitted, "But later, yeah, we decided it was kinda fun. Anyway, we went into the forest and Marian got sick-real sick. You won't believe why! We found out that deep in the forest, we don't know where anymore, there's a small colony…of dragons."

This was the most interesting story yet and the other Dragoons could hardly believe their ears.

"Say that again." Mike requested.

"Dragons." Robert said. "Five of 'em. One can read minds, he's kinda cool. One of 'em even brought Marian back to life-and I'm eternally grateful for that!"

Brad's hand shot up. "Wait, wait. When you say she was brought back to life, you mean…brought back to life?"

"Did I stutter?"

Sean picked it up. "She's the Life Dragon, capable of reviving the deceased, but only if their soul has not left this world. In other words, it has to be quick."

Robert continued. "The reason Marian got sick in the first place is cuz of another dragon who can make lotsa poisons. Then there was a big metal one that didn't talk, and finally, a big, fat jerk who hates everything that's not a dragon! Not good, considering he could kill you with a bad stare."

"His views on humanity are twisted." Sean muttered. "He only allowed us to leave if the mind-reading dragon, their leader, would erase the location of the dragon home from our minds, which he did, so we can't go back there."

"Then the real fun began!" Marian groaned. "You guys talk about the big, nasty Mega-Zombies? Try facing FOUR OF THEM! Plus two-thousand more! It was a nightmare! They would have killed us if we hadn't found a healing spring that eradicates them."

"We were very lucky." Sean concurred. "But we made it out alive and made it here. After hearing all your stories, I have to admit, I'm amazed. Gigantos? Winglies? Dragons? All these creatures of old, still alive and no one knows it. Yet we found them, we dragoons, all because we were forced upon a quest. It's a lot of coincidences thrown into one phenomenon.

Sean shook his head. "At any rate, we're all here and okay. I'm glad for that. Even with our powers taken from us, we were able to travel all the way here and reunite, despite Zackwell's traps."

"It seems we were fated to survive." Mike mused. Brad smacked him upside the head.

"Thanks for the jinx, preacher, now we're all gonna die."

They laughed at that and Sean looked up at the sky. "Sun's still got a ways to go. How about it, team? Think we can get in some more tracks before nightfall?"

The Dragoons looked at each other and agreed, one by one. The ten of them stood and began walking, a powerful team refreshed and ready for battle.

"I like that we're all together again." Christie said it for everyone.

"Yeah." Ben chuckled. "I feel invincible."

Sean smiled and quoted the oldest phrase he knew: "When Dragoons meet, blood does flow, and when they part, time does slow."

For a couple hours, the group walked in the direction of Zackwell's castle. Soon, they came upon a rock jutting out that marked the end of the cliff. Sean looked over and saw that it wasn't too far down, but it was steep. Down at the bottom was what looked like a wide, circular cutout. Sean looked up and the sun was starting to set.

"That looks like a great place to stay for the night." He told everyone else. "We'll continue in the morning."

That cliff went on for quite a while. They found some ledges and headed down them, then went back to that spot. They got a fire going and sat down in the mixture of grass and dirt. The yellow sun was setting steadily, casting a warm, comfortable light upon the Dragoons.

"So, Sean." Ben said. "What exactly is your plan to going into Mayfil?"

Sean looked at him for a while, tapping his fingers together with a blank face. "Plan…right."

"You don't have one, do you?"

"No. I figure we'll just wing it."

"How wonderful and reassuring. I feel great already!"

"Ah, chill. We'll be fine. The four of us along took out two thousand."

"At that ratio, we'll be able to take out five thousand." Mike said.

"Mind your own business!" Sean snapped.

Ben shook his head. "Whatever you say, man."

"Well, have you got any ideas?"

"…um…"

"I thought so."

"How's this," Brad said, "We go in and kill anything that comes at us and then we take our Dragoon Spirits back and kill everything else, take our kids, and get the heck outta there."

"You make it sound so simple." Marian said.

"It is!"

They all rolled their eyes. Then, Sean thought he heard something over the roar of the fire. He looked around. There was a hill in the distance and Sean thought he heard something on the other side. He stood up and took a few steps closer.

"Sean?" Melissa asked. "What is it?"

"Shh. Hang on." He kept listening and the noise became more distinct. "You all hear that?"

"I do." Rob said, standing.

"So do I." Brittany said.

"Me too." Brad said.

Everyone began hearing it. It sounded like…hollering…a lot of hollering.

Then they came.

They stormed over the hill. Hundreds, no, thousands of zombie troops charging over the hill and heading straight for them.

"Whoa" Brad said.

Sean drew his sword. "Zackwell is sure determined. Let's get ready to fight."

No one disagreed. They got their various weapons ready. Of course Zackwell would toy with them and give them all hope, then steal it from them when they were so close. The Dragoons stared at this dark hoard rushing at them, feeling defeated already. Sean tried to keep the morale up.

"We're still the Dragoons! Until the very end, we are Dragoons! Zackwell can't take that from us, nor can anyone else! No matter what happens to us, our kind, or this world, we are still the Dragoons! Now come on! Let's show these warriors just how hard a Dragoon is to kill! GOOO!"

Then he charged forward, followed by his nine companions. Both armies charged into the fray.

Sean jumped up and spun and slammed his sword through one zombie, the swung up and cut through another and slashed horizontally, cutting through another. Then he ducked under a fist, then cut through that zombie and kept spinning and slashed three at once. Sean kicked one back into the sword of another, and then punched another back into a spear. Then he parried a blade and cut two coming at either side of him. He thrust his Claymore into a zombie's throat and tore it out the side and through another's. Sean spun his feet around to trip three, causing a small domino effect. Then he tossed a Gushing Magma to take out a bunch more.

Ben knocked the sword out of a zombie's hand and it landed in another's stomach. Then he cut through that zombie and quickly sliced through another. He ducked under an axe and struck that zombie in the stomach, then jumped up and kicked off another two, then cut through another. Ben raised his sword up and sliced down through a zombie's head, then spun around with his blade out to slice through three stomachs. Ben blocked a blade, then kicked him down and deflected a spear headed for him, then he pounded that one in the face then spun and stabbed another. All this time, Ben's blade had been powering up. He sliced through three more, then he swung it again and a flaming wave shot from the blade and burned through many. Finally, he spun and a wind blast sent them flying.

Robert spun his spear to block two blades, then he planted two quick stabs, then swung his spear up through one. Robert spun low with his foot out, catching many zombies, and then she spun higher up, cutting through them all. Rob ducked and let two zombies stab each other, then he shoved them into the fray. Robert then planted his spear in the ground and spun around it, kicking two back. Then he stabbed one and then twirled the spear in his hand and sliced two zombies when they got close enough. Robert jumped and kicked two zombies coming on either side then he stabbed his spear into the heart of another and tore it out the side to kill another, then quickly stab a third.

Brad gave three quick punches to the heads of three zombies, then grabbed the arm of a fourth and threw him over his shoulder and into a few more zombies. Brad then jumped up and kicked off one zombie, then another, then spun his leg around, kicking down three more. Brad ducked under a sword, then gave an uppercut that blasted the zombie back and then spun low, tripping two zombies, then he quickly got up and kicked them both away. Then Brad raised his foot up and kicked two zombies, then did the same with the others and then punched a zombie into the blade behind it. Brad had then gathered enough energy and thrust his fists forward and a violet electrical force shot through the army.

Mike parried two blades at once with the flat side of his axe. Then he slammed it into the zombie on his right and raised his foot up to kick another one. Then he pulled up his axe and spun left, then right to slam a bunch of zombies away. A zombie swung a sword at him, but Mike blocked it, then kicked it down, then turned and punched a zombie into the blade of the one behind him. Then he ducked under a blade and spun around, backhanding four of them. Then he spun an upward swing, knocking a zombie away, then kept spinning and slammed away many more. Then Mike jumped into the air and slammed his Earthshaker Axe into the ground. The ground shook and a seismic wave zoomed through the ground, blasting back several zombies.

Melissa thrust her spear into a zombie's stomach and tore it upward. Then she brought it down onto another and then she spun and sliced through another and stabbed a third. Melissa then ducked low and stabbed a zombie's knee and then spun around and sliced through a bunch of legs. Then she jumped up and kicked off two zombie's chests and flipped backwards. Then she stabbed one heart, then a head, then a throat. Melissa made a quick swipe to slice off a head, then she back flipped and kicked two zombies away. She spun around to sliced through three zombies. Melissa finally gave a powerful swing and a black wave shot through many zombies.

Christie stabbed two zombies with her light-based arrows and then yanked them out and stabbed two more. Then she spun around, kicking another zombie. A zombie stabbed at her with a spear. Christie shot her arrows into its chest and grabbed the spear. She thrust the it into another zombie, then spun and sliced three more. Christie evaded sword and then stabbed an arrow into that zombie and the other into the zombie coming up on her left. Then she did a back flip, slicking through two zombies and kept back flipping until she was away from the crowd. A Sparkle Arrow and twirled it in her hand She fired it. The white magic caused the arrow to shoot through several zombies with a wave effect.

Marian moved away from a blade and knocked it away, then spun her halberd around and sliced upward through the zombie, then changed her angle and tore through another. Then she began spinning her halberd vertically and knocked various weapons out of zombie's hands, then spun, slicing through all of them. Then she planted her spear in the ground and flipped over it, then spun around, slicing a bunch of zombies. Jumped up and back flip-kicked off two zombies to get away from the crowd once more. Then she stabbed a zombie, the spun around and thrust her spear behind her to cut through one. To gain more ground, Marian poured a bit of magic into her weapon and spun around, smacking the zombie crowd back with a great force.

Brittany spun at an angle, smashing down on a zombie, and then swung her mallet back up, knocking away one more. Brittany then slammed her hammer down onto a zombie and flipped over it and crushed another zombie. Then she spun her hammer around, then turned back around and slammed a zombie and flipped back over and spun again to knock away a few more. Brittany put the head of her hammer onto the ground and leapt up and forward, kicking off zombies, running along them until she was back in place, then she just spun and knocked a bunch of zombies away. Brittany then spun the mallet around her hands and it glowed a light blue. Then she spun with her hammer out and she smacked away a few zombies as well as sent a white, freezing blast through the crowd.

Jenn blocked a sword by crossing her daggers, and then spread them apart to shove the zombie back into the spear of the one behind him. Then she spread her arms out to stab the two zombies coming at her. Then she swung her daggers up to slash through two heads, then she spun low to trip several more. Zombies leapt over the fallen ones and Jenn ducked under a blade and stabbed that zombie, then spun and kicked the blade out of a hand then stabbed that one. Jenn turned and ran at a zombie, then slid under its legs and let the one chasing her kill it, then she kicked off the zombie now in front of her and back flipped back to her original spot and sliced through the zombie.

The Dragoons were actually doing quite well, but the zombies just kept on coming and coming. There didn't seem to be and end to them. They fought and fought for a time they couldn't decipher. But every zombie was new and fresh, while the Dragoons would soon begin to tire. They had all had a rough day already. None of them were really ready for this, and it soon showed.

The Dragoons were slowly getting pushed back against the wall. Finally, one of the zombies had something. It threw a small ball at the Dragoons and the other zombies stepped back. Before the Dragoons could think to do so as well, there was an enormous magical blast.

All the Dragoons were blasted far back and slammed against the stone wall. They all could barely get back up. And when they did, they were in no fighting condition. The zombies had stopped to laugh. They too knew that this was their moment of triumph.

Sean spat out blood and hobbled. His left leg wasn't working right. He looked back at the Dragoons, who all had their own variety of problems. He then looked back at the zombies, who still hadn't moved yet. The flow had finally stopped, but there were still a ton of zombies around and not enough working Dragoons.

Sean wished that now more than ever that he had his Dragoon Spirit. He longed to be able to use the Divine Dragon Ball to destroy them all. If he couldn't do that, he'd at least be able to fly right to Mayfil and take Eric back. But he would be able to do neither of those things. He wished he could apologize to Eric for failing him. Just to say goodbye even, just a few seconds. But it looked like he wouldn't even be able to see him anymore. Sean wished that he could also thank the Divine Dragon for all he'd done. He'd been like a second father to him since Anna died, a mentor and friend. But that wouldn't happen either. The Divine Dragon's spirit would be kept captive forever, Eric would become some mind slave or whatnot, and the world would be conquered by Zackwell and every human would die.

Finally, Sean spoke to the other Dragoons. "Guys…I just want to say…I'm glad I found you all." They all looked over at him. "Being a Dragoon would've really sucked without you guys. Without you, I never would've even made it this far…and I thank you all. It's been fun. And hey, let's take out as many as we can before we go, eh?"

"But they'll just be revived anyway." Ben said.

"True, but at least we'll have the satisfaction of taking something down with us." He looked back and grinned. The others smiled back. "Alright then. Let's make this death an honorable one!"

He pointed his sword at a zombie and said, "You can give Zackwell this message: You tried to break our spirits, you tried to drown our hope. But we're going to fight until the very last! And all other humans will do the same!"

The zombies roared back, angrily, tired of their stalling. As they got ready to charge, Brad spoke.

"Remember the last time we were in a jam like this?" He looked at the faces of his comrades. "Remember how the Endiness Army came to save our hides?" He chuckled and then saw the zombie army charging. "I sure wish that would happen again."

WHOOM! Military helicopters flew right over their heads and instantly began firing their machine guns at all the zombies around. They all shouted and looked around, but could not stop the onslaught.

The Dragons stared for a moment, and then looked at Brad.

"I also wish I had a million bucks!" Brad looked around for some granting of his wish.

Helicopters kept flying over the cliffs and opening fire. Plus, many swooped low and allowed soldiers to step off. However, the first one to step off the chopper was a man the Dragoons knew quite well. The recently-appointed General Jeffery Sanders. He wore the typical camouflage outfit with a general's helmet on his head. With an sword in his hand, an Uzi at his side, and a cigar in his mouth, this man was ready for action.

General Sanders tossed the cigar to the ground and stomped it out, then turned to the Dragoons. "You all alright?"

"Um," Sean said, "We're a little banged up, but we're alive."

The general nodded, then reached into a sack at his side and pulled out a Healing Rain and used it. A cool, refreshing, healing shower rained down upon the Dragoons, healing their wounds. Within seconds, the Dragoons were fine again, and ready to go.

"General," Ben spoke up, "what are you guys doing here?"

The general gave him a look. "Oh, Zackwell invited us over for a violent tea party. WE'RE HERE TO FIGHT, BOY! What's it look like? Now less stupid questions and more fighting!" He turned to the zombie army with the many troops that were landing and drawing their swords. This revealed the stinger missile latched to his back.

"He's been itching for this, hasn't he?" Brittany chuckled.

"Seems so." Sean mused. "Alright, let's go!"

The army's aid was incredible. Soon enough, Tanks and jeeps were able to maneuver around the cliffs and join in the fight, bringing more men and weapons. They remembered their last encounter with these zombie warriors and kept to their swords, hacking and slicing through their thick skin. The general proved to be as excellent a fighter as the Dragoons remembered.

Sean made a point to work his way near the general for a few words. "Somehow, I didn't think you'd be here, since you're the general now."

General Sanders just laughed. "And miss out on this? Not on your life, son!" They started fighting again. The general had enough morale to go around.

Zombies were being slaughtered by the hundreds, and the humans lost few. But trouble then came over the horizon. The Dragoons saw them. Mega-Zombies came over the hill, at least five hundred strong. They stormed through the crowds, wanting a taste of human flesh.

General Sanders turned to Sean, trying to keep his cool. "And I suppose you know just what the heck those things are?

"Mega-Zombies." Sean groaned. "They're no pushovers. Pull out your heavy artillery for this."

"How's this? He pulled another grenade out and pulled the pin, then counted and threw it. He had great accuracy and the Mega-Zombie had a huge mouth, because that's where it went.

BOOM! The Mega-Zombie's head exploded.

"That'll work." Sean said with a nod. "Can all your soldiers land it in their mouth?"

"Nope."

"Nice knowing you."

Soldiers fired heavy machine guns from the choppers, but they barely prevailed. The Mega-Zombies came on far too strong. The humans stood no chance as the zombies made their comeback.

Brad kicked through a few more zombies before he saw one of the giant counterparts coming at him.

"Uh-oh."

The zombie swung a big sword and Brad moved away, but he'd forgotten to anticipate the giant's speed and met the creature's backhand. Brad went flying across the battlefield and landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. The Mega-Zombie ran to Brad and swung his blade down.

CLANG!

A giganto axe blocked the attack and pressed against it. The giganto at the base end pushed back and struck the zombie in the gut, piercing it with little difficulty. When the monster hunched over, the giganto bashed its face with its blade.

Brad stared in shock. "DOGUL!"

He turned and nodded to him. Then, more gigantos came all around him, charging into the battle.

The other Dragoons also saw them coming around. They were actually able to fight the Mega-Zombies! They were still a deal shorter, but they could strike much harder and block more efficiently than the humans could.

Brad got up. "Dogul, what are you doing here?

"Helping humans win war! Humans convince gigantos to come out of mountains and fight! May die, but may win too."

"That's the spirit!"

Dogul nodded and got back to fighting. Two Mega-Zombies swung at him with swords, but Dogul parried them both, then kicked on in the stomach, so it doubled over, then swung his axe up through his head and slammed it down on the second. Then he swung another kick to the smaller zombies, then swung his axe horizontally to knock away a bunch. Dogul ducked under a swinging spear and swung his axe, cutting the weapon in half. Then he chopped off an arm, then rammed the axe into its heart. A larger Mega-Zombie swung a huge axe down. Dogul put his axe up to blocked it and was being pushed back. But then in a burst of strength, Dogul shoved him back and he fell onto two more. Dogul jumped up and slammed his axe into its throat, then into the heads of the two under it.

The smaller zombies didn't even stand a chance against the gigantos. The odds were evened now, and the combined forces were quickly wiping out the zombies.

But then, something else came. The Dragoons hadn't seen anything like this since their first real battle. They swarmed in the sky like locusts, covering the sky with their long, ivory wings. Their long, bulky arms were stretched far out in attack and their many green eyes scanned the scene.

"VIRAGES!" Sean exclaimed. There were tons of them. The humans and gigantos looked up at them, but couldn't think of a way to stop them. Then, they began firing their beams at the humans. Many were obliterated with every blast. The Dragoons could dodge easier, however. Humans fired at them, but their skin was too thick. Gigantos couldn't even touch them before they died. A virage landed on the ground and grabbed a giganto and crushed it in its grasp like a grape, then threw it back onto the ground. Gigantos were strong, but they couldn't defend against magical blasts and the uncharted virage strength. Once again, things looked hopeless.

Melissa sliced through two zombies, then backflip-kicked two more. Then, a virage swooped low and Melissa hit the dirt to avoid it. She watched it circle around to try again. She again moved away when it swooped. Then she noticed a red dot on her shirt, like a laser pen. Then it vanished and she looked up and a virage fired a white beam from its eye. She flinched only a little before a magical shield appeared in front of her and deflected the blast right back at the virage and it fell to the ground. Now the question arose: Where had the magic shield come from?

Just then, there was a white flash as a person came into view with silver hair, almost touching his shoulders.

"Cameron!"

He looked back and nodded. Then he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. There were many white flashes as a wingly army stormed forward in the sky.

"Let me guess." The general said, "Winglies."

"Yep." Brittany said, "Who was nearest to him." Then she looked over at Cameron and bit her lower lip.

The virages fired their beams at the winglies, but they put up magical shields strong enough to withstand the attack. They also fired their own beams, and the virages could do nothing against it. The winglies could keep in the air with the virages, giving the other forces time to deal with problems on land.

A sword appeared in Cameron's hand and he jumped into the air and his wings appeared. He thrust the sword out and a beam ripped through a virage. One tried to grab him, but Cameron teleported and stabbed the virage in the head, then spun and fired a beam from his hand to kill another virage. Cameron tossed his sword up and crossed his arms together. Flames spread across them and he swung them out and a fiery wave shot through four virages. Cameron reached up and caught his sword. He shot forward at incredible speed and dashed through a virage, then another, then another. Finally, he closed his eyes and spoke wingly words, then flicked his wrist and a black light surrounded several virages and killed them.

Humans, winglies, and gigantos. There hadn't been an alliance like this since the time of the second Dragoon Calling. But it proved to be a very powerful one. Humans took out the great masses of zombies with their strength and numbers. Gigantos fought Mega-Zombie's with their extraordinary strength. Winglies slaughtered the virages with their magical skills. With such a combination, nothing seemed to stop them. But Zackwell wasn't one to give up easily, and Melbu wasn't done showing what he had up his sleeves.

The ground trembled and all races looked around in confusion. Then, something rose up out of the ground behind the zombie hoard. They were massive, bulky beasts. Their left arm seemed paralyzed at a 45 degree angle. The other arm just looked like a rectangular stub with many holes. Their heads barely jutted out of their bodies. They didn't look like much, but they were even a Dragoon's worst nightmare.

"SWEET MOTHER OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN!" The general exclaimed. "WHAT ARE THOSE?

"Aw, man." Sean said. "Super Virages."

"Eh?"

"A sub species of the virages. Virtually indestructible. We fought one of these a long, long time ago. But it was far from easy!"

The Super Virages all stuck their lever-like arms into the ground and tentacles shot up from the ground and each grabbed a human, giganto, or wingly and lifted them up, slammed them all together and dropped them and the tentacles sank back into the ground. Those who lived could barely shake it off. Then, they began firing incredible blasts. Winglies put up shields, but they were easily broken through. Choppers swooped in close and fired missiles, but they did almost nothing.

Finally, a bunch of winglies flew in and fired their most powerful blasts at one Super Virage. They strained with all their might, but when it was over, the Super Virage still stood.

"Even they can't kill it!" The general said.

"Don't be so sure."

"It's still standin'!"

But then, the Super Viarage began to tremble and power up.

"Oh, it's dying, alright." Sean said. "Super Virages have this finishing move. It's more deadly than anything else they can throw at you."

"How deadly is that?"

"GET DOWN!" He shouted.

The Super Virage inhaled and its eyes glowed. Finally, it fired a billion rapid-fire violet blasts, each able to destroy a building. Everyone dodged and ducked the best they could, but many were killed. Then, the Super Virage exploded. It was far enough away that it couldn't effect the alliance very much, but if it had been close enough, it could've wiped them all out. This worried Sean because they were slowly moving forward.

Sean and the general got back up.

"Okay," The general said. "Got any more secret armies?"

"Not expecting any. Man, the explosions didn't even hurt the other Super Virages!"

Then, one of them looked at them and fired a violet blast. Sean and the general jumped back, but then, three virages jumped in front of them and took the hit. They were all quickly killed. But the men were stumped. Why had they done that? Then, more virages suddenly turned and began fighting everything else. The zombies, Mega-Zombies, and Super Virages were baffled, as were the humans, gigantos, and winglies. What was going on?

Sean stared very carefully, then he smiled, and then laughed. Then Sean said aloud, "Nagasil! You sly devil!"

The alliance all heard a chuckle in their heads, then a voice say, "Correct again."

A green dragon flew over their heads and hovered in the sky. All four of his eyes glowed intensely as he roared. Zombies all around grabbed their heads as their brains were shattered from within. The victims dropped dead.

Sean looked up to see the other Dragons coming at the crowd. Ira was getting in some good practice with her powers of light. The dark zombies didn't stand a chance. Smurgh spread his poisons across the battlefield and attacked the virages mercilessly. Clayton threw his bulk about, smashing the larger foes and toppling them easily.

As he looked towards the skies, Sean couldn't help but notice that one was missing. Of course. Norgoth. Why on earth would he come to save the humans? Sean sighed. He would be so very helpful, too.

Still, the four dragons that were present did very well with their combined forces taking out the many foes. They stayed in a bit of a clustered group, protecting each other…at least that's how it seemed.

Suddenly, all four dragons scattered in different directions and Sean saw the purpose behind the cluster. They were hiding something: a fifth dragon flew onto the scene, scales blacker than midnight, blades all down its back, devilish horns on its head with two more pointing backwards, eyes redder than blood, and jaws salivating for some. The massive dragon floated over the enemies and its body shimmered with the power of darkness. Norgoth landed with a heavy thud in front of the enemy lines. With eyes flashing red and wings spread wide, the dragon emitted an incredible roar that made the earth shake and the skies rumble. Black flashes danced across the battlefield as many, many zombies suddenly thrashed and dropped dead where they stood. The roar carried on for an incredible time and when Norgoth's lungs were finally empty, he halted the attack and breathed normally again. His entire body was shaking, not from exhaustion, but from the sheer intensity of it all.

The general's eyes nearly flew from his sockets. He groped for a cigar and lit it quickly. "Shee-yit!"

"No thanks." Ben muttered. "Already did."

All races went at it in this battle, all fighting for the same thing: the chance to save their species. Dragons showed their power, Winglies showed their skill, Gigantos showed their strength, and Humans showed their determination. All of them kept fighting what they could defeat and left everything else to everyone else.

Virages and Super Virages were quickly defeated, and dragons and winglies turned their attention to the zombies. The dragons help wipe out the Mega-Zombies and the winglies helped the humans in obliterating the zombies. At long last, the battle was over, and now, the Dragoons had four armies at their aide. The battle for Eric, Mark, Sabrina, and the Dragoon Spirits would begin tomorrow.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: But not for two more chapters! Sorry, got some ground to cover before we can fight for humanity. Thanks everyone for your marvelous reviews. Lots of action happening lately, but the next chapter will be much more mellow. Can't be sure when it'll be up, but hopefully soon.

Some of you are wondering about Spike's story and why he hasn't posted lately. Well, first off, Spike's life is kinda busy at the moment. Second, we're having technical difficulties. I tried to take a look at the story and upload it for him, but it turns out that the file is corrupted, so we can't even open it. Spike's going to have to re-write the chapter, I think (and hopefully no more). As far as I know, he has no plans for cancelling it, but I don't know how soon the next chapter will be posted. When Spike finally gets it done, he'll be sure to put it up as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience. Ciao!