"Maybe I forgot to tell you, Maria. But I personally enchanted that doorway to allow no one except Richard, you and myself through. And as you probably noticed, they are not in the aforementioned list. This prevents the introduction of unexpected problems. Makes my life so much easier." Drakonnan said, smiling to the pile of bumbling heroes. They were starting to sort themselves out. Cyrus' wings were becoming more distinguishable from Amani's robes. And Galanoth had managed to pull about half of his weight off poor Cyrus (Who was by this point, desperately gasping for air.) Maria was now really mad at herself for charging ahead Helter-Skelter without any support.
"Drakonnan, the roots of my hatred for you goes deeper then you can possibly know. My disdain for your tactics knows no bounds. Every time I think about you I puke. I hate you that much." Maria muttered, just loud enough to be heard by Drakonnan.
"That's a lot of hate there, Maria. Pity it's not mine to use." He hissed.
"Leeroy! That's my hand you idiot!" Amani called from the back.
"Sorry. I can't move. I feel like a Dragon fell on me!" The Paladin shouted back.
"Dragon? Who said Dragon? Where's the Dragon! I'll tear it to pieces!" Galanoth ranted.
"There's no Dragon here, Galanoth! Get off of it! Get off of me!" Grodd replied frustrated.
"Aww...you had me going there."
"I grow tired of all this moaning and complaining. Shall we see what my little discovery yields?" Drakonnan threw his good hand to the corresponding side and turned to the girl. "Serras Nerra! Destroy her!" He shouted. The light around the girl faded. She slowly fell to ground. After her foot hit the ground, she went into a kneel, one hand on her knee, then other hanging freely. At first, nothing moved. Then, steadily, she began to twitch and move ever so slightly. Even the pile of Heroes (Which was now about eighty percent sorted out) stopped what they were doing to watch the rise of this Serras Nerra.
"If you want to strike her down, I suggest you start moving, Maria! She may seem like nothing more then a tender, harmless little girl to you, but soon, once she awakens and recharges her power to full, nothing or no one can stop her. Even the great Akriloth shall bow and quiver in fear at the very sight of her. This is the wave of the future, Maria dear! This is MY future! I'm glad you could be part of it! Thanks for playing! Try again!" Drakonnan shouted, one hand held above his head (His, oddly, mangled one.)
"Maria! Finish her! NOW! Don't let her wake up!" Leeroy shouted. It was his smartest idea to date.
"I don't know if she really IS a threat. She could be just what she appears to be. An innocent little girl!" The Guardian replied, turning her back.
"Hey. Where'd the girl with the red hair go?" Cyrus asked. Everyone looked to where Serras once knelt. Nothing. Maria spun around to face Drakonnan. Serras now stood wobbly next to the red-horned monstrosity.
"You waited too late, Maria. Serras! Destroy her and her friends."
"Who are you to control me, Inferior?" Serras asked, turning to face Drakonnan. He turned to her.
"I am Drakonnan! I found you and resurrected you from your long cold sleep! You MUST obey me! I control you!"
"Control...control is sought only by those who do not have it...or lost it. Control is a feeble thing. Control is as stray as the wind. One day, it is yours. The next, it is not. I obey only one person. And that person is not you." She droned without a hint of emotion. Drakonnan retracted in time to attempt to block Serras' strike. In one clean, almost blurry motion, Serras planted the palm of her hand right in the middle of Drakonnan's nose. This knocked him clean clear across the room, slamming him into to wall.
"Ohmygod!" Maria shouted as the bulky mass of Drakonnan came to a complete stop three feet into the heavy stonewall. "Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, OHMYGOD!" Maria repeated, trying to stay calm (As if it wasn't a dead giveaway she was all ready panicking.) She held her Guardian Blade at a 45-degree angle with the floor. With Drakonnan unconscious, the shield around the door dropped, allowing her friends entrance. They all scrambled to their feet, and rushed in.
"Finally! I thought you were gonna have all the fun without us, Maria!"
"Would I do that, Amani?"
"Two words: Vamphook Spyre." Amani replied, recalling their Botched-By-Paladin raid on the large tower northwest of Battleon.
"That was different. You couldn't help me then. Those stupid Vampragons."
"I wonder if Element X affects her..." Galanoth sneered, preparing his Dragon Blade.
"Only one way to find out..." The Guardian replied, watching her Guardian Blade glow neon green.
"HYPER BEAM!" The large green dragon that had crashed through the ceiling at Maria's summons screamed, charging a very big ball in its mouth. It found its target, Serras Nerra, and fired right at her. Concentrating 100 percent of the blast on the frame.
Serras drew up her hand and absorbed the blast, taking no notable damage from doing so. She sneered and shaped the unruly mass of gaseous Element X into a concentrated ball (Which was very Dragon Ball Z style.) She pulled back, cradling the ball in her hand. She smiled and fired it back at Amani. She absorbed about seventy percent of it and converted into the health she lost taking damage from the other thirty percent of the blast.
"Okay. It's official. That really freaking hurt." Amani responded, brushing a burning ember from her robe. Maria was getting agitated at this point. Serras had absorbed, deflected or otherwise was unaffected by anything that she (Maria) threw, tossed, or otherwise hurled her (Serras') way.
"Enough of this pathetic waste of time. It's about High-Time I destroyed you!" Serras shouted, throwing a hand to the side. A long, thin blade formed in the open hand. It resembled the all-mighty Blade of Awe every Guardian would kill to get their hands on, but it was different. This was longer, the blade thinner. The four runes in the center were now oriented to a circle, not a line. Maria watched as a thick, viscous gel began to ooze off of the blade. Maria swore.