I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters.
Melbu Frahma
Cade watched as the massive silver explosion grew to swallow the Super Virage that had been acting as a road block for them. As soon as they'd seen it, before Rose had even finished identifying it, Cade had cast his most powerful spell. And as the explosion faded, it left nothing behind of the Super Virage. Cade strode forward instantly, the others all gaping at him before following.
"How did you do that!?" Dart asked. "Have you really become so strong?"
"I told you," Cade said. "The only thing I care about is stopping Melbu Frahma. If we stop him, we can save Shana and stop the birth of the Virage Embryo. That requires us to move quickly and not waste time with a pawn that the Virage Embryo will be able to spawn an infinite number of. Besides, you all could do it as well, now, if you truly used your full power. You've all grown strong."
"He's right, Rose said. "You're all as strong as the original Dragoons now. Maybe stronger."
They all nodded as they reached a portal, exiting it onto a stretch of root just before the core, and ran along it at a sprint. Finally, as they were nearing the core, they slowed to a stop as they found Melbu Frahma waiting for them. Behind Melbu Frahma was the core of the moon, a massive, curved wall like a section of a sphere, which it probably was, with light blue Magic Energy shining from it and flowing across it in waves. Shana was held in a sphere resting against it, several grey tentacles with green eyes on the end extending from the core to hold the sphere she was in.
"Shana!" Dart shouted.
Melbu Frahma smirked, resting the tip of his sword on the ground, a broadsword much like Dart's, and extended a hand toward Dart. "Come, Red-Eye Dragon! It's time we fought alongside each other once again!"
The stone flew to his hand instantly, and Dart and Rose both shouted in surprise as Melbu Frahma transformed the moment it reached his hand. The only difference between his Dragoon form and Dart's, beside Zieg's hair, was that his sword bore three teeth-like spikes on the back edge of the blade, near the tip.
Almost as soon as Melbu Frahma had transformed, he struck. He hurled a fireball at Dart, then deflected both Cade and Rose's blades, kicking Cade into Rose. The fireball exploded against Dart's chest, but his magic armor from Zenebatos protected him, even with his Dragoon Spirit gone, the enchantments remained. Dart charged, along with all of the other close-range fighters, only for flames to Melbu Frahma to drop, driving his sword into the ground, explosions erupting all around them, hurling everyone, though Cade shielded them all. As they landed, everyone but Dart and Cade transformed. Even Kongol, who now wore the same Golden Dragoon armor as Belzac, and whose axe had become identical to Belzac's. The Dragoons all shot forward, but now Melbu Frahma laughed as Cade sensed Wingly Magic mix with his Dragoon Magic, the thin, feather-like sections of his wings shimmering with Magic Particles. Melbu Frahma waved a hand at Meru carelessly, and a fireball exploded out of it, slamming into her and dragging her to the ground before erupting into a massive, raging pillar. He swiped a hand at Kongol, and a ring of flames formed around Kongol before the super-heated ground in the center exploded into magma, launching and burning him. Then, Melbu Frahma shot into the air, allowing Haschel to be forced to avoid Miranda's arrow as Albert finished casting Rose Storm to shield them all. Rose and Cade both rocketed upward after Melbu Frahma, who grinned sadistically before deflecting Rose's blade, then Cade's, Cade wielding his normal sword currently.
All three began to fly around the room, striking at each other relentlessly, sparks flying off of their blades rapidly. Rose struck from above and Melbu Frahma deflected her out to the side, then spun, blocking Cade's blade before kicking him away. His sword smashed one of Miranda's arrows, and he shot toward Kongol, slashing hard. As their blades met, Melbu Frahma's Wingly-enhanced Dragoon power sent Kongol exploding into the ground just before Meru flew up over him and swung downward, her own wings likewise shimmering. Melbu Frahma spun, deflecting her into Cade's path, only for four Cades to split around her, all slashing at Melbu Frahma together. His sword blocked all four blades and he skidded backward just before Cade appeared above him, purple fireballs raining down at Melbu Frahma rapidly. He flipped, forming a crimson barrier to block them, just as the same lightning construct as Faust had used appeared over him. Melbu Frahma shouted in surprise, just as the hammer exploded down on him, a massive explosion hurling him toward Meru. She spun in a circle, wings shimmering again, before her hammer exploded into him, sending him exploding into the wall. A second later, Dart reached him, slashing at him. However, Melbu Frahma was far from finished. His blade deflected Dart's before he blasted him point blank with a sphere of explosive magic, launching him across the chamber. He exploded out of the wall, roaring in rage, before beginning to fend Cade and Rose's blades off once again, as well as the others any time they tried to help. Melbu Frahma pressed them both hard, managing to score multiple wounds against each of them just using his sword before finally deciding to use magic again. He deflected Cade and used a barrier to repel Rose again before retreating to get them all in front of him. Then, flames burst to life around him. He pulled his sword up to his side, only to spin and fly high into the air, dozens of fireballs exploding off of him before he shot back down, exploding toward Meru. charged instantly, getting between the pair and slashing hard. Once again, his armor protected him from the flames, and his sword clashed with Melbu Frahma's, knocking him off course. However, the magic still superheated the ground and sent up a massive explosion that Cade only barely got Meru out of the way with by teleporting. A moment later, the ground itself exploded as well, Dart being thrown into a wall as the others were all launched into the air, then caught themselves.
"I'm getting sick of this!" Cade snarled, then formed a barrier, blocking a fireball from Melbu Frahma.
"Join the club!" Miranda said, firing rapidly, only for Melbu Frahma to slash the arrows out of the air easily.
Cade shot forward again, only to freeze as the world around them began to shine red, Magic Energy flowing through the pocket dimension thickly.
"Oh no!" Rose shouted, exploding forward. "Stop him!"
Cade flew at her side as the others all focused on their magic, Albert instinctively starting by refreshing their Rose Storm barriers. Melbu Frahma deflect both Cade and Rose, then grunted in pain as a massive formation of ice spikes shot up at him from below, only to shatter against his armor. A lightning bolt struck him, blasting him into whatever passed as an invisible ground, before an explosion of stone went off below him, launching him back into the air. An instant later, three massive ice formations exploded closed around him before Meru sent an arc of frozen Magic Energy exploding through it, the arc splitting around Melbu Frahma's sword. Then, a massive pillar of flames exploded up behind Melbu Frahma, easily as wide as the Super Virage had been. Flames from it began to swell and condense, forming a dull red dragon with several spikes running forward on its back, two sets on its sides angled backward, a long tail, and a pair of front legs. Cade swallowed hard, thinking fast. He didn't have any spells that could save them. His barrier would never hold, Meru would die since the dragon's fire magic was especially lethal to her. They had no way to stop this. Melbu Frahma had won.
Except, the pocket dimension was shifting colors. He looked around in surprise as the red behind them turned black, purple, and dark blue. A shadow formed behind them, and a dragon with a largely black body, whitish-tan underside, and a fin hanging down with red webbing and reaching the ground rose out of the shadow. However, a second later, Rose and the others all sank into the shadow. Inside, everything was black, except for a small window above where they could see what was happening. The Red-Eyed Dragon exploded forward, flames roaring from the two backward-curving spikes in place of wings, and rammed Rose's Dragon. There was a truly enormous explosion, one whose heat reached them even in the shadow and threatened to suffocate them. But once the explosion had passed, both dragons were gone and they were all expelled from the shadows just as the pocket dimension faded. Miranda cast Heaven's Gate instantly, and Rose and Cade exploded forward even before they'd been healed. However, just as their blades exploded into Melbu Frahma's and hurled him backward, the Magic Energy on the Moon's core began to flow toward Shana suddenly. Cade sensed the shift, dread filling him and making his body go cold and numb.
"The time has come," Melbu Frahma said, Zieg's eyes shining green. "I no longer need this flesh."
Then, Zieg collapsed as Melbu Frahma's spirit formed above him, a silhouette of blue Magic Energy with his bald, pale head about where it should be, fully visible, then a large, spiked, white design covering most of his silhouette, forming the outline of what Cade was pretty sure was Wingly Power Armor. Cade swallowed hard, sheathing his normal sword in favor of his Magic Sword. It was time. The Virage Embryo was about to be born.
"It's time," Cade said. "We're too late."
"What?" Rose asked. "No! We can still save Shana!"
"Shana, yes," Cade said. "But the spirit of the Virage Embryo has left her body and merged with the Moon's Core. The Virage Embryo will be born."
Above Melbu Frahma, the tentacles began to drag Shana into an opening in the core. However, Melbu Frahma flew up and a beam of light caught her, sphere and all, and pulled her free before he flew into the opening in her place. There was a pulse of red light and Cade's dread tripled, bringing him to his knees as he stared at the thing Melbu Frahma had become. His upper body was now the size of a Virage, and looked like Wingly Power Armor, and it was attached to something like a worm's body, which extended backward into the core. Melbu Frahma began to cackle madly.
"Shana!" Dart shouted, kneeling beside her as Rose knelt beside Zieg.
Cade stared at Melbu Frahma in silence for a long while before walking forward.
"I have obtained the flesh of the God of Destruction!" Melbu Frahma gloated. "I am the god himself!"
"A god?" a voice behind them all scoffed. "Don't make me laugh."
Just then, Lloyd landed at Cade's side, Dragon Buster in-hand, and his Power Armor fully intact for Cade to find a time to steal it later.
"Lloyd!" Dart gasped. "You're alive!"
"I cannot die with the wrong god still around!" Lloyd said, raising the Dragon Buster as Cade held his Magic Sword out to his side, narrowing his eyes.
"I recall you being somewhat powerful," Cade said. "Care to lend a hand with this parasite?"
"Let's kill him," Lloyd nodded.
As they both shot forward to meet Melbu Frahma, four of the same tentacles that had tried to pull in Shana formed around him from the core, waving repulsively in the air. Both of them streaked past Melbu Frahma several times, slashing him and making him roar in pain each time. They backed off after three slashes each, watching the wounds seal before the tentacles lashed outward at them, only for each strike to miss by a mile.
"You forgot our supernatural will and pursued your own interests!" Lloyd shouted. "That is unforgiveable! Destroy yourself and preserve my vision!"
"Die!" Cade shouted, swiping his fingers in a circle and upward as Lloyd formed a sphere of shining blue Magic Energy around himself.
Then, as Cade's blasts began to rain back down, Lloyd began to rapidly rain blueish-purple magic blasts on Melbu Frahma at the same time before finally hurling the massive sphere as Cade swiped his fingers in an "X" and sent a beam of pure white light exploding down on Melbu Frahma at the same time as the sphere exploded. Melbu Frahma's burns all sealed in seconds a he scowled up at them.
"You bothersome dragonflies!" he seethed. "You're so annoying! Die!"
Lloyd and Cade shot forward again, but as they did, Melbu Frahma swung a hand downward at them and Cade instinctively rammed Lloyd to the side. A solid red beam of energy punched through Cade's heart before he could react, and Meru and Rose both screamed. Cade fell, the world seeming to be moving in slow motion. Lloyd was racing after him, Melbu Frahma was laughing in silence, Rose was racing to catch Cade. He bounced off the ground, flipping out from under Lloyd and over Rose. Rose transitioned into her next act instantly, hurling her sword into Melbu Frahma's chest at the same time as clouds formed above Cade and were parted by Miranda's arrow, a ring of rainbow light began to shine around Meru and race up to the head of her hammer before it began to rain on Cade, and Dart, Haschel, Albert, and Kongol all dumped healing potions onto him. Then, as rainbow light began to shine from around Cade, Rose's Astral Drain hit him at the same time as Miranda's Moonlight. No feeling returned to him. His vision began to darken just as the world around them transformed into a pure white pocket dimension. A moment later, the White-Silver Dragon appeared, firing its beam into the distance in a complete circle, uncaring about Melbu Frahma's presence, then used that attack's light to empower its healing ability, the beam of light it unleashed crashing down on Cade exclusively. For several seconds, there was no change. Then, feeling slowly began to return. Cade blinked several times as the dragon and the pocket dimension both faded, and pushed himself into a sitting position, staring down at his restored chest and his regenerating armor.
"Cade!" Rose gasped out, throwing her arms around him as Miranda drank a pair of red potions to restore her Magic Energy.
"You saved me," Lloyd said. "Even though I still consider you an obstacle."
"But I don't consider you an enemy anymore," Cade said. "There are ways to create a utopia that doesn't involve slaughter or destruction."
Lloyd nodded, then tossed a small, silver-blue stone with a red slit-shaped marking on it to Dart, the Dragoon Spirit beginning to shine blindingly instantly. At the same time, Lloyd's armor shone and vanished, leaving behind a silver necklace with a ruby pendant, which he pulled off and offered to Cade, along with the Dragon Buster.
"You'll all need these more than me," Lloyd said as Rose took the sword and Cade the necklace. "I'll protect those two." He looked back at Shana and Zieg.
"Here," Cade said, holding out the sword he'd stolen from Lloyd what felt like a lifetime ago. "How does this armor work?"
"Put the necklace on and will it to appear," Lloyd said. "The rest is automatic."
Cade pulled the necklace on and focused. Light shone from the necklace, covering him, before fading and leaving him in Lloyd's Wingly Power Armor. The moment he was, however, he grunted in surprise as he felt his own Magic Energy multiply rapidly, the sheer speed with which it did shaking the ground. Then, the shaking subsided and he grinned.
"I love this armor," Cade grinned, sensing his armor was roughly on-level with Faust now.
"Well, whataya know," Rose said, sheathing her normal sword and holding the Dragon Buster out to her side, as Cade was holding his Magic Sword. "You're actually stronger than me, finally."
"Like that matters," Cade said. "I'm not stronger than the God of Destruction. And besides him, Dart's gotten a whole new power of his own."
They all turned to look at Dart's new form. Silver armor covered his body with six silver wings fanning out from the backs of his shoulders, the feather-like sections replaced by flames, the left arm a miniature version of the Divine Dragon's cannon, his left shoulder bearing a massive pauldron that looked like it could open, dark red armor over his abdomen with the Divine Dragoon Stone in the center of the chest, which was ballooned hugely like the armor was too big for him, feet with one main section in front, then two toe-like sections sticking out to the sides, his legs bent like a canine's hind legs, and his right bearing a new sword. This one was silver with a finger guard in place of a cross guard, and a red strip up the center of the two curved silver edges, the rear of which was a third of the blade's length shorter than the one in front. Dart's headband was much the same as the one from his Red-Eyed Dragoon form, except with one huge difference. There was a section extended down in front of his left eye with a dragon's eye like a lense.
"It chose him," Rose noted.
"Was there ever a real chance that the King of all Dragon would choose anyone beside the man who delivered the wound that pushed it past the point of no return?" Cade asked.
"True," Rose nodded. "I was kind of expecting it to choose you, to be honest."
"It's fine," Cade said. "I have this armor now. I'm content."
Rose glanced at him, then back to the front. "Let's kill him in one round."
Cade glanced at her, realizing what she meant, and nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."
His heart throbbed agonizingly as the sobbing and screams of the Rose in his trial returned to him, as well as his understanding of his fate. He would die, that much was certain. But for her, he could pretend to believe in an alternative option, at least for a little while.
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