Chapter 10: Volcano (II) – Dragoon's Den
I wrote all my Japanese terms with the "u" intact, like Hyouretsuzan instead of Hyoretsuzan, and Hadouken instead of Hadoken.
"What was Zero thinking?"
"Going in alone? Obviously it's a trap!"
"He will get himself killed!"
"What should we do? We should deploy a backup unit to provide support!"
"Silence!"
A powerful voice quickly ended all chatter inside the Great Hall. Dr. Thoth stood high up the platform, overlooking his men from above. His eyes extremely displeased.
"I heard Dr. Thoth had no tolerance for breach of orders."
"Indeed, he mercilessly expelled one of my friends for disobedience."
"Don't tell me he is going to expel Zero too…?"
"I said, silence!"
The whispering voices was immediately halted with a thunderous roar blaring out from Dr. Thoth's throat.
"I already knew what happened. Zero, disobeying the principles of a Maverick Hunter, and went out on a mission alone, without my jurisdiction." His voice bitter, his words were straight and piercing. His presence was intimidating that his statement earlier effectively served as a powerful warning to everyone in the hall.
"But… Supreme Commander, Sir! I believe Commander Zero has his reasons! And… I am sure he will be able to retrieve Dragoon successfully, and bring him back to the H.Q.!" Ruby was the first to voice out, her wounds still not fully recovered, her gears not fully armed for combat, and she wasn't standing as straight as before, some of her circuits were still unfixed and causing her minor aches.
"Reasons or not, it is inexcusable to act without permission!" Dr. Thoth's voice echoed out as if enhanced by a gust of wind, causing Ruby to retract a step backwards out of fear.
"Dr. Thoth, as much as I know Magma Dragoon, I believe Zero made the right choice in going alone." X stepped forward and stated some facts Dr. Thoth might be unaware of. After all, Dragoon was with them for some time, whereas Dr. Thoth only took the reins few months ago. It's not surprising to say that they had never met each other.
"And what reasons do you have in making such statement?" Dr. Thoth shot his unnerving glare towards X, who stood firmly and faced him.
"Dragoon always valued personal strength above everything else. He and Zero once dueled each other, but the fight was interrupted and there was no outcome. It is to my utmost belief that, Dragoon had called out to Zero, just so that they could again face each other, one on one."
"However, this Dragoon you spoke of, did mention the words 'to the death'! I do not see this as some petty rivalry between him and one of our best soldiers!"
X stuttered, not knowing what to reply to Dr. Thoth's ferocious words. However, it was surprising to many at how he also labelled Zero as 'one of our best soldiers', from the professor who normally had never look upon anyone except himself.
Perhaps, he knew as well, that Zero was an indispensable member in order to secure victory for this war. Dr. Cain had passed away, the Hunters were disorganized, and there was no leadership. Upon being assigned Supreme Commander, the burden was unto him to rally the Hunters and bring them together to fight the war.
The burden may be too much for him, as his overly inflated pride and ego was slowly corroding away, forcing him to rely on the most revered members of the H.Q., such as Zero.
X and the Shinobi Unit members were equally puzzled, they knew it was never a good option to interrupt the fight between Zero and Dragoon, but at this rate, if Zero failed to defeat Dragoon, then…
"Send in a backup party to the Volcano! Zero must be rescued!"
"No! Their duel must not be interrupted…" X quickly added his objection.
"I do not care! This is also a good opportunity to capture Dragoon, who had been missing since the fall of Sky Lagoon!"
"Dr. Thoth?" In an elaborate room prepared for a duel in the Volcano, the mysterious man, now without his cloak all over him, perhaps due to the overwhelming heat in the Volcano. Currently he bore huge shoulder pads and a powerfully enhanced Adamantium body, his signature cackle unmistakable, as he was totally amused upon hearing the acting Supreme Commander of the Maverick Hunter's name.
"What do you know about him?" The other person beside this enigmatic figure was Magma Dragoon, who never returned to the H.Q. since three weeks ago, with the fall of the Sky Lagoon being a fortnight before, while Repliforce declared the independence ten days later. Dr. Thoth took the reins two months ago, whereas Dragoon was dispatched for a mission, but never returned to report back to the H.Q., hence his lack of knowledge on the new leader, whom was always cooped up in the labs instead of making his face known to all.
"He is selfish and arrogant, yet is also a coward, and weak. As a researcher and a scientist, he is a genius, only behind Dr. Cain. However, as a leader…" He could not finish off his sentence before breaking again to a hysterical laughter. As if trying to imagine Dr. Thoth standing in front of his troops and rallying them was the silliest thing ever to be concocted.
Dragoon was thoroughly annoyed by how the bald man amused himself over and over again, and he himself was unable to share the same hilarity. He paced around the stage set up by the same insane person, every step he took pleased him more. The room was inside the Volcano, fortified walls envelop the room from four sides, yet the ceiling was empty, exposing the battlefield to the harsh temperatures of the Volcano. The overall size was simply average, it gave sufficient room for mobility, yet not overly provided lest a strategy of cowardice could be implemented.
It would be here where he and Zero made their mark as the strongest Maverick Hunter.
"I must thank you, for everything you've done. You granted me power, and this… wonderful arena." Dragoon humbly thanked the other man with all his heart, his one and only wish granted, and he was currently very satisfied. The last and final glee coming in after he secured his victory against his nemesis, after that there was nothing in the world that he needed.
"You also helped me a great deal, I am also enjoying every moment ever since you brought down Sky Lagoon!" Time and time again during this conversation, this man never stopped laughing, something had been utterly amusing to him, be it the awkwardness of Dr. Thoth's unassuming leadership, or how the fall of Sky Lagoon led to the Great Repliforce War, as if he was the sole benefactor of this entire scenario.
"Dragoon! Where are you!?"
Zero's voice could faintly be heard from afar, he had arrived into this Volcano, and surely would not miss the artificially made room sitting amidst the fiery ground.
"It looks like our honorary guest had arrived. Fight to your heart's content, Dragoon. And thank you." The man bowed to express his gratitude, his gestures overly elaborate, with his head totally lowered to a right angle, his right arm clutching his chest while his other arm behind him, his right leg shifted behind as well. It was too elaborate as if it was mocking.
It doesn't matter, Dragoon did not want to think about anyone else, except for the man who was approaching him and could made his appearance any minute. In a short while, the room was totally silent, except from the bubbling sounds emanating from the boiling lava, and he was alone standing at one side of the room, overlooking the sole entrance.
Not long later, the door slammed open and there it revealed a red Maverick Hunter, with his signature long, flowing yellow hair and a green saber, already unsheathed and wielded in his hand.
"Dragoon! You called for me, and now I am here, alone!" Zero called out to his opponent on the opposite side, his hand gripping his beloved weapon hard, his determination amplified by fury as he glared upon his enemy in front of him.
"Alone… wonderful… let's finish this, Zero…" Dragoon's voice, on the other hand, appeared intoxicated, as he seemed to enjoy this very moment to the fullest. He brought himself into a battle stance, striding his feet wide and retracted his right hand just above his waist, his left pushed forward towards Zero. His stance was famously known for its similarity to martial arts from the Far East.
Zero also, placed his saber to his side and he prepared himself for a fast horizontal slash. Both stared down at each other and did not move an inch, until a lava sprouted up due to extreme heat striking the rocky walls, causing a large bang.
This was used to cue their start of the fight. Both of them rushed to the middle of the room, Dragoon unleashed a strong straight punch with his right aiming for Zero's head while the other ducked and spun around his saber aiming at Dragoon's neck, which he effortlessly blocked with his other hand. Dragoon's arms and feet were additionally fortified and sharpened, like the claws of a dragon.
After a brief struggle of strength between them, they broke away and added some distance between them, shuffling around the room seeking a golden opportunity to land the first blow. They strode around in circles before Dragoon released a howl, leaping into the air and came crashing down with a powerful dropping kick imbued with fire, breaking the floor as the impact was made.
Zero maneuvered around gracefully and dodged the attack, preparing himself for a counterattack as he quickly rushed in to attack Dragoon whom just missed a strong attack.
However, this was all already premeditated by Dragoon, his eyes sharp as he spotted Zero's charging towards him, he clutched his right fist and pulled it back, his knees lowered.
"Shouryuken!" With his strong legs he lifted himself up in the air, his right fist raised upwards, burning with utmost passion from the flames he received as a gift from the crazed man just before.
The unlucky red Hunter got too close and was caught up by the flames, however, perhaps due to the luckiest strokes of luck descending at the same time, he did not receive the full blow from Dragoon's powerful fist. His red armor now charred a little, Zero stumbled back and used his hand to stop his landing.
Fire… Dragoon did not have that ability when we last fought! Magma Dragoon was named so, not because of his fiery powers, but his fighting style and passion for battles, which were said to be burning intensely like magma, and he was modeled to be an anthropomorphic dragon.
Zero looked up, only to be startled again by an onrushing surge of flames coming towards him, low and fast. Sensing the danger, he quickly jumped and just missed the flames by a hairline.
"Hadouken!" Dragoon unleashed a second string of flames from his hands, now joined together facing Zero. This time, Dragoon aimed upwards at his opponent's direction, who was currently midair and had reduced mobility.
Damn it! Zero twirled his body, rolling his right shoulder forwards to cause his entire body to shift away from the rapidly approaching flames from Hadouken, once again barely dodging it. The flames were immediately put out once they hit the fortified walls, built specially to withstand heat, allowing Dragoon to fully unleash his new powers.
Dragoon halted his relentless attacks, stood straight up and observed his two hands in awe, marveled by his own power, his new ability. It was merely a small chip that the other guy gave him, a red DNA chip, but it was so compatible with him, as if a match made from heaven.
"Who gave you this power? Who?" Zero yelled out, realizing immediately his old friend, his nemesis, was so infatuated with this battle because of these new flames he obtained somewhere, from someone. It had driven him mad, it had caused him to act peculiarly, as if he was another person altogether.
For Dragoon to abandon his duties and called him out just for a battle was already ridiculous, and he also claimed to have this fight 'to the death'. It was pure insanity, it was not like Dragoon at all.
"You do not need to know!" Dragoon charged in and pummeled Zero with a flurry of straight punches, Zero was familiar with this combo, Dragoon used this before during their previous encounter, but something seemed amiss…
His fists were then enhanced with flames, dodging them alone was no longer sufficient as the flames still managed to get to Zero, slowly yet surely hurting him at the shoulders and his face as he only attempted to dodge them by short distances to minimize movement.
Zero then came to a quick conclusion: close combat was no longer an option, Dragoon would surely outmatch him with the flames on his side.
Yet without close combat, what else was left for Zero? Who was extremely proud of his finesse fighting close-up.
Zero pulled his distance to think of a better plan to even the scales, which were currently heavily tilted against Dragoon's favor. It was also reckless of him, to come unprepared, unlike his rival who had everything laid down all the way.
But Dragoon shouldn't know about the two new attacks he just obtained from the spoils of this war.
Maybe he could use them to turn the battle around.
"What's wrong Zero? You've hardly improved since the day we fought." Dragoon taunted him, sarcastically. They were initially evenly matched, but it was no longer the same since Dragoon received his enhancements.
Zero fell for the taunt, angry at his own reckless decision to come here alone unprepared, as well as his naivety in he thought he could defeat Dragoon alone and bring his old friend back to the H.Q. He rushed in and then dashed to the side in quick succession, confusing Dragoon with his abrupt movements. Judging from Dragoon's attacks from before, they were rather straightforward and mostly could still be avoided if he could see them coming. Zero paced around the room, pulling himself closer then backtracked a few distances away, looking for a perfect opportunity to land a killing blow. Before long, Dragoon found himself trapped in the middle with Zero dancing around him the room.
Dragoon then closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that Zero pranced around him, his body then morphed into a different shape, his head slightly hunched, his shoulder blades raised and his legs wide open, anchoring himself on the ground. His mouth opened impossibly wide, inhaling the heat around him as he converted the heat energy to a powerful barrage of fireballs, sprouting out in quick succession from his mouth. His lower body still intact on the ground, his waist became loose, turning around as he spread his fireballs around the room to wherever Zero was running.
The arena, which was already unbearably hot, the heat now elevated to insane levels as the fireballs scorched the entire area and became a cauldron, capable of roasting anyone unprotected.
Zero was agile enough to remove himself from immediate harm, but the lingering flames that did not rid themselves after making contact with the walls instead became hazardous obstacles preventing Zero from utilizing the entire room as effectively as he could before.
It's now or never! Zero jumped his highest to save himself from the merciless stream of fireballs from Dragoon's mouth, which were never aimed upwards as his mechanized torso could only spun around the latitudinal axis and never vertically. Upon descending onto Dragoon's head, Zero gripped his saber reversely, enveloping his beloved weapon with rigid ice cold enough not to be melted instantly by the scorching heat around.
"Hyouretsuzan!" Zero plunged with all his might hoping to connect his new ice-based attack onto Dragoon's head. But Dragoon was not caught by surprise, quickly reverting to his original fighter form and pulled off a very quick Shouryuken, his fiery fist clashing with the icicle saber of Zero's. The heat advantage from the entire surroundings gave Dragoon the edge he needed, as his fist shattered Zero's Hyouretsuzan and Zero was dealt a crushing blow that hits right onto his middle section, sending him flying across the room, his back slamming against the wall.
Dragoon was extremely pleased, seeing his nemesis struggling to get back to his feet, tiny electrical jolts could be seen from the red Hunter, detailing the damage he had suffered.
The attack did not work…! No…
Dragoon, triumphantly, strolled his way towards Zero, taking his time and savoring the moment witnessing his opponent was lying on the ground being defeated.
And then something struck him.
An energy projectile.
Dragoon searched frantically for the origin of the projectile, unbeknownst to him, the entire arena was already surrounded by Maverick Hunters, with an estimated number of three squadrons.
"Damn you…! How dare you interrupt this very moment!?" Dragoon reared back with his head almost touching the ground, surrounding himself with a spherical half of barrier made of flames, he opened his mouth, unleashing an uncountable barrage of fireballs upwards, which were then hovering around the Volcano, suddenly nosediving on Dragoon's telekinetic command, each fireball taking out a Maverick Hunter with utmost ease and effectiveness, melting them from the outside and the insides instantly, reducing them to ashes.
Within seconds, the entire assault team, made out of three units of the Hunters, were on the brink of being wiped out.
"No…! Noooo!" Zero was also witness to this sickening moment, his allies, his comrades, all wiped out almost instantaneously with the overwhelming new power Dragoon had obtained. No longer willing to see any of this being dragged out any longer, Zero mustered his entire strength to get back up, the damage on his torso was so great that it affected his left arm, no longer able to move it, his legs were also wobbly and difficult to control, but he had to rely on them to approach Dragoon, he had to.
With a last ditch effort, Zero commanded his boots to perform a final dash, pushing him forward enough to cover the required distance, his right arm sheathed his Z-Saber back to his rear, gripping it hard and charged it with electricity. As his dash almost came to an end, he braced himself for an attack he had never used until now.
"Raijingeki!" Zero pulled out his saber, and performed a thrust forward, the electricity imbued saber extended longer than usual, piercing through the flaming barrier Dragoon erected, and reached far enough to impale him in the heart, where his processing cores were located, causing him to let loose a deafening scream of pain, the telekinetic fireball attack stopped, and his barrier was lowered.
After sensing his saber had lost its charge, Zero pulled it out from Dragoon, causing him to collapse onto the ground, his legs being separated from his upper body due to the connecting sinews being disintegrated from the fatal attack.
"Z… Zero…" with his last ounces of breath, Dragoon called his old friend out.
"Dragoon!" Zero quickly ran up to dying Maverick, holding him up onto his hands. There was no longer hatred between them, now only respect and bitter sense of regret, for they had both lost a strong rival.
"I am sorry… Zero. I wanted… to defeat you…"
"Who gave you your new power, Dragoon? Who?" Zero asked quickly, hoping to get any answers from his dying friend.
"His offer… was too good to refuse… it was too… wonderful." Dragoon was gradually smiling, his face no longer stiff, and Zero recognized this pleasant face of his former comrade, when he was still one of them.
"Dragoon…" Zero gripped Dragoon's hand hard, hoping for a miracle which he knew would never come true.
"One more thing… Zero… Sky Lagoon fell… because of me…" Dragoon closed his eyes as he finished this last sentence, the last remnants of his sparks from his circuitry finally died down.
"Sky Lagoon!? Dragoon, wait!" Zero grabbed his fallen comrade's shoulders and jerked them, but there was no reply, not even a single twitch.
The last few remaining soldiers of the Maverick Hunters descended and joined Zero, also overhearing the conversation.
"Commander Zero, we are glad that you are alive!"
"We have to send you back to the H.Q. to repair you!"
"Sky Lagoon? I thought the Repliforce were behind it?"
Zero slammed the ground, silencing all the Maverick Hunters, "who sent you here?" He asked.
"Dr. Thoth did, he said you needed backup."
"You saw what happened! Dragoon disliked external interruptions the most, especially during a duel! Because of this so-called backup, many lost their lives here!"
"But, commander…"
"Enough, we are heading back now. I will report to Dr. Thoth personally."