Carol pauses at the sound of the explosion. "No…"
"Milla…" Lilac whispers.
Silence falls.
A few moments later, Carol resumes her attempts to open the door, finally succeeding. Fearing the worst, she and Lilac burst into the dojo to find the entire room littered with debris from the mech's explosion.
Looking around frantically, Carol is the first to see the basset hound. "Not again…"
Lilac follows Carol's gaze, spotting the prone form of Milla lying motionless among the debris. Unleashing a Dragon Boost that's powerful enough to create a shockwave that almost knocks Carol off her feet, the dragoness slides to a halt beside the battered basset. "Milla?" she asks, her voice shaking with worry.
"L… L… Lilac?" Milla croaks, slowly opening her eyes.
"Milla!" Lilac exclaims, kneeling and scooping the hound up in her arms, relieved her friend is alive. "We'll get you out of here, don't you worry."
"I can take… care of myself," Milla informs, her strength slowly returning. "I'm… in control again."
"We'll call for help," Carol decides as she arrives at her friend's side. "Spade? Maria? Danny? Anyone?"
"Maria here," the lynx replies, her voice badly distorted but clear enough to understand. "Is everything OK?"
"Milla needs evac and medical attention immediately," Carol answers. "How quickly can you get to us?"
"A couple of minutes," Maria answers. "Danny will come with me."
"Perfect! Follow my beacon." Carol activates her radio's beacon mode. "Don't worry Magic Mutt: you'll soon be in a nice warm elixir bath."
Together, Lilac and Carol lift Milla and carry her towards the nearest door, which opens as they approach to reveal Merga blocking their path. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" the engineered dragon asks, advancing on the trio.
Lilac places herself between Merga and her friends. "You won't win," she growls.
"You're tougher than I thought," Merga compliments.
"Must be because I'm a dragon," Lilac smirks.
"Why do you keep lying to yourself?" Merga asks. "We both know I'm the only true dragon here."
"Just goes to show how little you know of our kind," Lilac retorts.
"I know enough to know I'm the future," Merga argues.
"And yet, I was the one who hatched naturally," Lilac counters. "You're nothing but an experiment, one that should have been terminated a century ago."
"That's rich, coming from the faker who's more reliant on technology than ever," Merga scoffs, referring to Lilac's new high‑tech outfit. "This time, I won't rest until I'm sure you're dead."
"I'd like to see you try," Lilac challenges, her chargers glowing as she taps into their power.
Merga charges in to attack, but Lilac is ready: she sidesteps the engineered dragon's charge with ease, maintaining her position between Merga and her friends. As Merga halts and turns, Lilac charges with an attack of her own, pushing the engineered dragon back and away from Carol and Milla.
Carol takes advantage of the opening to pull Milla out of the dojo and into the corridor. However, before she can return to aid Lilac, the door slams shut. "Not again!" the wildcat exclaims.
"Don't worry," Milla assures, stiffly pushing herself into a seated position. "Lilac… she'll win… I know it."
"I hope you're right," Carol sighs.
A moment later, Maria arrives, Danny following a short distance behind. Immediately, the two Scarves attend to Milla, the lynx cutting strips of cloth from her dress to use as bandages for the hound's limbs.
In less than a minute, all Milla's wounds are dressed.
"Thanks guys," Carol smiles warmly. "Make sure she gets the best."
"We will," Maria assures as she and Danny lift Milla to her feet and help her retreat to the hangar.
Carol watches them go. Not the last memory I wanted of her, but at least she'll be safe now.
Inside the dojo, the initial flurry of attacks comes to an end, and the two combatants face off against each other in the centre.
"You've learnt from our previous encounters," Merga observes. "You might actually prove a challenge this time."
"Helps that my chargers actually work properly now," Lilac adds.
"It's pathetic how you rely on technology to make you powerful," Merga mocks.
"If it wasn't for technology, you wouldn't exist at all," Lilac retorts.
"Whether I was born or created is immaterial," Merga dismisses. "The fact remains that I am the pure dragon, and you are inferior polluted scum."
Lilac smirks knowingly. "Want to meet Pangu?"
Merga hesitates, a little confused.
Lilac places two fingers of each hand in her mouth and whistles long and loud. A moment later, the blue and white cephalopod form of Pangu materialises by her shoulder.
"Here she is," Lilac informs. "She was created by the dragons who crash landed on Avalice over a thousand years ago, and she contains a complete record of draconic science up to that point."
"I don't believe you," Merga dismisses.
"Pangu, mind informing Merga who is the true dragon here?" Lilac requests.
Pangu pauses briefly as she performs a scan of both Lilac and Merga. ++It's my pleasure to inform you both that, while Merga is a pure dragon, Lilac is the true dragon.++
"Lies!" Merga growls. "I am the true dragon!"
++Not according to thousands of years of draconic science, you're not,++ Pangu retorts cheekily.
"Face it Merga, your whole existence is a lie," Lilac continues. "The reason for your creation is a complete falsehood, driven by the misguided foolishness of someone who defied scientific facts she found hard to accept. Even the Magister, who supported your creator Princess Cordelia, recognises that I am the true dragon."
"ENOUGH!" Merga bellows. "No more lies! When I'm done, the world will finally know the truth!"
"Then you leave me no choice," Lilac sighs as Pangu teleports away. "There's only one way this will end," she continues, locking eyes with Merga. There's no alternative: I must let her out.
Merga senses a drastic mood change in the hybrid, the clearest sign being a new fire in her eyes. "You cannot defeat me," she boasts. "I am stronger and faster than you."
"You are stronger and faster than her," Sash growls. "But you're nothing compared to me. When I'm done with you, you'll be nothing but a scarlet smear on the deck."
"Enough of this pathetic charade!" Merga charges directly at Sash, aiming to rain a relentless barrage of kicks and punches on the hybrid, only to find Sash blocks and parries every attack seemingly without effort, soaking up the assault with ease, slowly creating an opening for her to counter attack.
Eventually, the inevitable happens: Merga makes a mistake. Sash takes advantage of the opening immediately, landing a crippling gut punch on the engineered dragon, smashing the wind out of her body. But Sash doesn't stop there: she follows with a brutal series of punches and kicks to torso, face, and limbs, opening several deep gashes across Merga's body, and almost shattering the engineered dragon's lower jaw.
Desperation sets in: Merga curls up and charges a Dragon Boost, reaching out to pull Sash into it. The hybrid reacts on instinct: tapping the full power of her chargers, Sash charges a far more powerful Boost of her own, and quickly overwhelms Merga's attempt.
Sash continues to build the energy until she can hold it no more.
The Dragon Boost is unleashed with a shockwave that rattles the entire dojo, blowing out all the doors and warping the walls. An instant later, the brilliant streak of light that is Sash and Merga rockets across the dojo, slamming into the wall with so much force it almost blows straight through it. But the wall holds: instead, the Boost bounces and ricochets around the dojo, leaving massive dents on every impact.
When it expires a few seconds later, Sash releases Merga, catapulting the engineered dragon across the dojo and hard into the wall. Sash lands, pops the expired crystals from her chargers, and slots home a fresh pair as Merga collapses to the floor. "Who's the true dragon now?" she cackles.
Merga picks herself up and shakes her head to clear it. "How…?"
Sash advances on Merga, fury and hatred burning in her eyes. "She gave you a chance in the Arctic Wastes, and you squandered it," she growls. "And now I will make you pay the price."
"I'll die before I surrender!" Merga cries defiantly.
"I'm counting on it," Sash grins malevolently.
For the first time, Merga feels genuine fear as the hybrid closes in on her. Knowing she only has one chance, she waits until the time is‑
A gunshot echoes throughout the dojo.
Sash halts in her advance and turns towards the sound of the gunshot.
"Surrender," Corazon demands.
Sash is about to reply but stops when she realises something is running down her chest. Looking down, she's alarmed to see a bullet wound, the shot having narrowly missed her heart. "That was a mistake," the dragoness growls back, ready to‑
Corazon fires the remaining five bullets at Sash.
With no time to react, Sash is unable to dodge the bullets, each one hitting her in the chest just left of her sternum. Tapping into her chargers, Sash tries to remain standing, but the damage to her body is too much, and she drops to her knees, then to all fours, spitting blood as she desperately tries to remain conscious.
"Maybe now you'll stop interfering in my operations," Corazon states flatly, holstering her pistol. "Come, Merga: we have a Bakunawa to awaken."
Lilac can only watch as Merga follows Corazon out of the dojo, unable to summon the strength to move, barely able to breathe, slowly bleeding to death.