I'm sorry that today's chapter is a day late. Some things happened yesterday (nothing drastic, just distracting) and I just ran out of time. Sorry to have kept you waiting.

SECTION 014

RED DEATH

Gadarrl.

His face was on every monitor, his body projected from every holoemitter. Every speaker and intercom spoke his words and across the battlefield, every Beskar'ad broadcast his signal both visually and audibly, inside and out.

And all Zearaan could do was watch.

"I do not know how long it has been since these words were recorded," he spoke the trade language of the Humans, yet the message's translation matrix made his words plain for anyone to hear, "but then, I suppose I will not know a great many things. Who are you, who listens? How much did the United States of America tell you before the Fall? Did they share our stories? Did they tell you of the wars of our world, of our flight into space? Did they tell you of the sanctuary we found in the orbit of your world, the sanctuary that they gave us? Or is our legacy solely that we are monsters from the stars?"

"Cut the transmission." Zearaan glared at the aide when he was met with fearful silence. "Cut the transmission!"

"We can't! The communication system is locked!"

And so, Gadarrl continued to speak. "To my brethren, Tsad Droten, I can imagine their anger to be labelled as such. It is my hope that the story of the Fall has been passed down. However, it is my expectation that eyes have been shadowed. The story may have become incomplete, perhaps through the passing of time, perhaps through the manipulations that paved the path to political power-"

The holoemitter exploded into a spray of sparks and debris, Gadarrl's smiling face flickering out of existence amidst the surprised cries of Zearaan's nearest subordinates. The High Superior glared at the emitter, his energy blaster whining as its' battery recharged its' lost shot and Gadarrl's face and voice continued to be broadcast elsewhere.

"First, what I expect to be passed down. Fifty Earth-standard years following our entry into your planet's orbit, a solar flare threatened our existence." The images changed; a basic map of the Sol system filling the screens as Gadarrl continued. "It was unpredicted, both by Human and Tsad Droten minds alike. As it was, time was not our ally that day. It was left to me to make a choice, and it was I that made the decision that set us all on this path." On the screens, the sun flared. It pulsed a blinding white, sending out a fiery wave in all directions. The monitors shifted again, and the satellite footage Zearaan had seen a thousand times before began to play. Footage of the Ruus breaking orbit, putting herself between the Earth and the star that it orbited. Her shields flared as the light engulfed her, explosions blossoming from the hull before the image devolved into static. "We paid a great price in the name of defence. Great damage befell our home, and I am sure most of it has remained known. Lives were lost, our engines were crippled and we were faced with a forced planetary landing. Had the loss of life and engines been our only problems, perhaps both our races may have travelled a different path? Perhaps we might have even travelled the same path together. But amongst the Ruus' failing systems was the one that could have saved us, and the one whose failure I fear has since been shaded from my brethren's eyes: the communication array."

A murmur spread across the tiers of the Command Centre. Subordinates looked uncertainly at each other, speaking in rushed whispers as their monitors and holoemitters flashed with new data. Damage reports, after action reports, repair reports, Zearaan saw them all and remembered each one. Those he has filed, and those he had discarded.

"Can you imagine it?" Gadarrl continued, unaware of the rising chaos he was creating from beyond the grave. "The sight of a vessel the size of the Ruus beh Tsad Droten falling to Earth, wreathed in fire, all attempts to ask why met with silence? Is it any wonder that the Humans of the past reacted the way they did? With fire of their own?"

Again, the screens changed, and with it came a bolder voice of outcry. Footage of the Ruus' fall from orbit played, interspersed with scenes of the Humans' panicked reactions and overlayed with their desperate attempts to contact the sinking ship. Gadarrl's message translated their words, and the anger across the tiers only seemed to increase.

It wasn't just in the Command Centre. Across the viewports, Zearaan saw the battle fizzle out. Most of the beskar'ad had ceased their attacks. Those on the ground now crowded around the holograms their fellows projected, while those in the air circled overhead. The Humans were no better. Some were even standing side by side with the Dragonoids they had been trying to destroy not so long ago. And within the Ruus herself, Zearaan knew Gadarrl's message was being broadcast. He could just picture his predecessor's smug face plastered across the central pillar, transmitted into every home and workplace. Reports were coming in amidst the anger of riots already breaking out in the streets. Just what had that fool unleashed?

"It's a trick!" his aide was wailing, glaring desperately at the masses, his knuckles turning white as he threatened to rip the balcony railing from the floor. "A ruse of the Humans! They have our beskar'ad! They have what why need to blind us to the truth, but only if we allow it!"

A pitifully small cry of agreement was lost in the roar of rage that engulfed it. Zearaan was losing his people. Almost a hundred and fifty cycles of loyalty dismantled in an instant.

Not that it would stop him.

"Deploy the Ge'tal Kyr'am."

The aide faltered, his sweaty face paling.

"H-High Superior, the Ge'tal Kyr'am is still being calibrated. If we are off in our projections-"

His voice died as Zearaan's fingers wrapped around his neck, a single powerful hand lifting up to meet the High Superior's eyes.

"It will be enough," Zearaan whispered as his aide's legs twitched uselessly in the air. "The weapon is aimed in The Dome's general direction, is it not? Even a glancing blow will be enough to end the Human threat."

"B-but sir…o-our forces are still-"

"If they are foolish enough to believe the lies of a Human imposter, they can burn with the ones they side with. The loyal know better than to fly into the Ge'tal Kyr'am's path."

"B-but-"

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," His grip tightened, the aide's voice devolving into strangled gurgles. "I have spent over two hundred cycles planning for this day. Every choice, every motion, it has all led to this moment, and I will NOT LET SOME UNREMEMBERED FOOL WHO HAS MOVED ON FROM HIS LIFE STAND IN MY PATH!"

The aide screamed as he was thrown from the balcony, the noise lost as he dropped down the tiers and fighting broke out amongst the consoles and displays. Zearaan didn't falter. He had no use for those who questioned his orders, and despite Gadarrl's best efforts, there were still some who stayed loyal to him. As some held the traitors off with fists and blasters, others worked furiously at their terminals; overwriting protocols, adjusting programs and bringing the Ge'tal Kyr'am online and making sure it stayed that way.

A grin slashed itself across Zearaan's face as the Ge'tal Kyr'am began its' final deployment countdown. Everything was finally falling into place, but it wasn't enough.

"Tsad Droten! Citizens truly loyal to the Ruus beh Tsad Droten!" he bellowed into his comm. unit, hopefully drowning out Gadarrl's endless blather. "Hear my proclamation! Do not be deceived by the lies the Humans have woven. The deceit they have created to shadow your eyes! You must do as I do: Take up your weapons, strike down the traitors! Protect your home from those who would take it from you! Fight, and keep fighting until the Ge'tal Kyr'am engulfs all who oppose us! And to those who still stand when the dust falls, I promise that you will earn more in this life than any incarnation, past or future! So rise up, Tsad Droten! Rise up and be remembered!"

Roars went up, both in support and defiance. Zearaan ignored them all, striding away from the Command Centre and batting anyone who tried to stop him out of his path. The Ge'tal Kyr'am was active. Now he had to make sure it stayed that way to the very end.

And he couldn't do that here.

DATE: JANUARY 15, 251 A.D.E.

TIME: 1445 HOURS

LOCATION: ENGLAND, NEWQUAY RUINS AIRSPACE

"…This message is embedded in the irremovable running protocols of every AI programmed by Tsard Droten. Answering the question in the presence of any machine you call Dragonoid, piloted or pilot less, will relay this message to them. It is my hope that this will open eyes and begin us all on a path to peace. It is my last hope, to undo the damage I unwittingly caused and to save my brethren from those who would exploit it. I wish you luck, and farewell."

Astrid wanted to sigh with relief as Gadarrl's face faded from her monitors. She wanted to lean back and close her eyes and just rest, knowing that the war was over.

Except life could never be that simple, could it?

"Lies!"

"Meg la ibic gehat'ik duse!?"

"That's not true! How naive do you think we are!?"

"Aruetii!"

The groups were small but vocal, Humans and Dragonoids alike filling the frequencies with their hate and blindness. In truth, a small part of Astrid could hardly blame them. After all, she was no stranger to finding any excuse to hate the Dragonoids, now was she?

On the ground below and the skies around her, the two once well-defined factions was now splintering into chaotic groups. Most, to Astrid's relief, were sticking together. Humans and Dragonoids clustered in the protective firing arcs of friendly mobile fortresses, some even flying and running with Alex's squads and flights. Even though they were without a translation matrix between them, it seemed to be enough to know an ally was a machine with its' guns facing away from your back.

Others weren't so forgiving. Still separated by species, the non-believers shot at anything that came too close. Some even actively tried to attack those that were trying to stop. Their lack of numbers was the only thing keeping them at bay. The mobile fortresses likewise seemed split amongst the Human centred groups, although there were a fair few even trying to flee the battle altogether, chased by Humans and Dragonoids, either trying to destroy them or follow their example.

Astrid had given standing orders to let them go. They shouldn't waste ammo on those who didn't want to fight.

"Rho Flight, report in. Any sign of Hiccup?"

"Fishlegs reporting negative, Valkyrie." Patrick responded first, doing well to keep the fear out of his voice. "I don't get it. They played the message. They must've gotten to the Night Fury to answer the question, so why-?"

"Uh, Valkyrie?" Snotlout cut in uneasily. "I think we've got a problem here."

"Just the one?"

"Might be a big one. Got a bunch of Dragonoids, the people not the robots, on the line. They don't sound too happy. But not like angry, not happy? They sound scared."

"Let me hear it."

A chorus of chaos assaulted her ears, a dozen or so voices struggling to be heard over each other. Through the noise, however, she could make out something. Words spoken urgently again and again and again.

"Ge'tal…Kyr'am?"

A low rumble broke through her thoughts, her ribs seeming to rattle against her chest from the noise. The voices of the Dragonoids only became more panicked as the rumble became an outright roar. Even through armour and her own helmet, it now seemed to pierce through it all to her very brain.

And then, through the pain, Astrid saw the cause.

Far below, the Rock of the Assembled seemed to blossom. The large heavy plates that made up the lower petals separated and folded back along the hull, the four slabs of the third wing at the warship's head rising up like a flower in bloom to project a shield between them. Within the sphere, a new form rose; a pillar of metal, straight from the heart of the Rock. Emitters unfurled at the base of the petals, six in total and three to a side, a purple light slowly turning red as the pillar split in two, forming a pair of pylons.

"S-Sarge?" Fishlegs whimpered, "I-I think we should stop this-"

"F-focus firepower," she cursed the fear in her voice. "Focus firepower! Concentrate everything you've got against that shield!"

Her Nadder shuddered as the trigger was pulled, her energy bolts joining from Nadders to Nightmares and the plasma mortars of Gronckles and Zipplebacks. The shield shimmered and flared under the barrage, a glare that only grew as the Rock's own forces turned against her and those at the controls of Assault Frames and mobile fortress guns added their firepower. For the first time since they had met all those centuries ago, Humans and Dragonoids worked together to bring down a common enemy.

And yet the shield held. The Rock stood firm. Worse, those Dragonoids that stayed loyal defended. Some threw themselves into the firing line, others broke the line itself with hit and run attacks. And through it all, beneath the shield, what had to be the Ge'tal Kyr'am continued to charge, slowly but surely. Arcs of red lightning sparked from the emitters one at a time, three to a pylon. Its' power and light only grew with every passing second and there was nothing to be done to stop it-

"Gotab!"

The voice cut through the panic; a voice somehow familiar and the word alien.

Astrid blinked, "G…Gotab?"

"Gotab! Lenedat te gotab! Ukoror te Ruus! Gotab!"

Astrid didn't understand, couldn't understand. She wished Alex was here, both to translate and to comfort. She felt so helpless. She didn't know what to do…

The Nadder shook, a green light pouring into the cockpit from her right. For a moment, Astrid panicked. She wrenched at her controls, tried to pull the Nadder out of the way of what could be an energy attack, only to find herself locked on course.

The Nadder was being held in place, Astrid realised, and the green light wasn't an energy bolt at all. Hesitantly, she looked to her right and found a Night Fury's humanoid head staring back.

Her first thought was Alex and Ruusaan, and with that came relief, but it was followed by a sense of uneasiness, then realisation as her eyes picked out the differences. Alex and Ruusaan had put their Night Fury through the wars even before its capture and the battle at the Arena. Alex had told her about the first accidental launch into space and the battles with Boneknappers over the ruins of Paris, and she had seen with her own eyes the damage left behind by their fight at Washington Crater. This Fury had seen battle but lacked the worn look of a machine that had been stuck in the British countryside for the winter months. This was a different Fury, a newer Fury…

"Gotab!"

…one with a pilot trying to tell her something.

"I'm sorry! I don't understand you! I can't-"

The Fury's head turned away from her, one hand secure against the Nadder's hull as the other pointed its' rifle towards the Rock. Tactical data flowed onto her screens in response. She couldn't read the words, but the target was clear. Outlined in red was one of the three main thrusters nozzles.

"A target? The engines…" her eyes widened. "If we take out one of the main nozzles it will throw the Rock off balance. If we can't stop the Ge'tal Kyr'am from firing, maybe we can stop it from hitting its' target! You want to attack the engines! Err, akaanir gotab elek?"

A relieved laugh was her answer. "Elek, majyce emuurir meyg."

Elek was good enough for her. Already most of the allied Dragonoids were making their attack runs. Even some of the Human units, both assault frames and Dragonoids, were hesitantly following their lead. But it had to be all of them. She opened the channel.

"Attention all units. Focus your firepower on this thruster assembly only." Astrid sent the data. "We need to knock the Rock off balance before she fires. Throw everything you've got at it!"

Her energy blasters blazed, the Night Fury releasing its' grip and joining her barrage with a hail of energy fire of its' own. Others quickly joined them, Human and Dragonoid together. Bullets, energy bolts, plasma mortars and a slew of other weapons old and new rained down on the thrusters, those that still defended the Rock now doing little to stop the onslaught.

And yet, the thruster held. Maybe it was built to last. Maybe whatever the nozzle was ejecting was disrupting too many energy bolts and melting too many projectiles. All Astrid knew was that nothing was working, and the noise coming from the Ge'tal Kyr'am was reaching fever pitch.

She had an idea. A horrible, desperate idea. The thruster itself refused to break, but most of the firepower being thrown at it was coming from below. But from Astrid's position; high above the battlefield, she could see where the nozzle connected to the hull. She could see that the metal seemed to flex as the thruster made corrections, both to keep the Rock afloat and under the weapons' barrage. The sheer size of the nozzle was keeping the weak point safe for now, but with the plates retracted, and if she hit it with the right amount of force…

Astrid gunned the accelerator, dropping the Nadder into a stomach-dropping dive before she could change her mind.

One chance. One shot. Alarms screamed in her ears, drowning out the surprised shouts of Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Night Fury pilot (She vaguely thought she could hear Ruffnut and Tuffnut egging her on).

She had to do this. All other options were gone. Even as she plummeted, she emptied her energy blasters into the joint, only for the bolts to bounce harmlessly off in all directions. But she pushed the Nadder on. Down and down, faster and faster until nothing should have done would have stopped its' descent.

Explosive bolts ripped the roof off the cockpit as Astrid wrenched back the ejection lever, her body crushed into the seat as it was launched into the frigid air and away from the falling Dragonoid. She barely had time to look down before her Nadder hit. Fire and heat erupted as it smashed into the joint, reds and oranges turning to blues and whites as the thruster assembly ruptured.

The effect on the Rock was instantaneous. As the thruster spluttered smoke and spat spurts of fire, Astrid watched as its fellows tried to pick up the sudden slack and fail miserably. Several of the secondary nozzles exploded as the Rock careened to one side, the massive vessel doing everything it could to stay in the air and stay on target, only to finally crash pitifully into the bay moments later, a wave of saltwater rippling out to wash over the battlefield as even then it struggled to stay upright…

Then, the Ge'tal Kyr'am fired.

With an ear-splitting roar, a beam of burning red erupted from between the pylons as the shield vanished. It could have engulfed Saint George and then some, but instead, it split the sky in two as it arced over the beaches. Dragonoids scatted from its' path as it tore through the air, the unlucky few caught in the blast reduced to atoms scattered on the wind. Through squinted eyes and the pain lancing her brain, Astrid watched as the beam disappeared over the horizon, inland. A second sunrise blossomed over the misty hills, the beam dissipating as a target was struck out of sight.

The Dome. The target had to have been The Dome. Astrid wanted to take comfort that the explosion seemed so close. That she could see fire and light, a heavy cloud cresting the horizon, could only mean that the Ge'tal Kyr'am had been off by miles…

And then the shockwave hit.

It cracked through the air, a destructive wall of sound that rushed ahead of a thunderous cloud of debris. Astrid screamed only for a moment as the wave struck the back of the cockpit seat, the air forced from her lungs as the ejection jet exploded beneath her.

And then she was falling. The chair left her back as great clouds of debris hide everything from her view. She was spinning, flailing, the sky and the ground becoming a single blur as she struggled to break against the roaring wind. Astrid vaguely thought she saw the Rock fall, toppling over into the ocean in the face of the blast it created. Astrid couldn't be sure, couldn't think, couldn't see beyond the end of her nose (and wasn't that ironic?). She tried to even out her fall, push her face into the oncoming wind, tried to slow her descent by spreading out her limbs for all the good it would do. Even hitting the water at this speed would have made it as soft as concrete. At least she couldn't see it coming. She closed her eyes and tried to smile, filling her thoughts with Alex and the people she hoped she had saved before she hit the ground…only to hit it a lot sooner than she had expected.

Cool metal touched her face, her body bumping against a hard metallic surface before she finally rested against it. Machinery groaned in her ears as she rolled onto her back, opening her eyes blearily in time to see the floor rise up and curl around her like the fingers of a giant hand.

A giant mechanical hand.

"Did we get her?"

Astrid's voice caught in her throat as a bright green visor stared at her, upside down, Alex's voice so wonderfully loud in her ears. He was alive. Alex was here and he was alive.

"I'm okay," she croaked, "I'm okay, Alex."

He probably couldn't hear her, so she gave him a thumbs up, just to be sure.

The Night Fury's shoulders seemed to sag in relief. "I got here in time. The Fury wouldn't take off until the message finished transmitting, and Dad-"

Astrid shook her head with a smile. He was here, and the Ge'tal Kyr'am had been rendered useless. That was all that mattered now.

Until fire and noise roared up from the debris cloud.

Metal on metal, thrusters firing, the cloud billowed as something awoke within it, parting them like a curtain in time for Astrid's heart to stop.

Slowly, the Ge'tal Kyr'am rose back into the sky.

As the dust started to settle, it rose out of it like an island on a sea of mist. The entire top half of the Rock has detached. The petals spreading out below the weapon, the thrusters now able to keep the lighter load aloft. As it continued to rise, Astrid saw the Ge'tal Kyr'am had extended down into the Rock, the column narrowing to a point two miles down. Lights pulsed upwards as the emitters began to glow once more. It was a small condolence that the shield hadn't activated this time. Perhaps whatever powered the Ge'tal Kyr'am didn't have the strength to fuel both weapon and defence. Or perhaps whoever flew the weapon thought its' newest defence would be more than enough.

The last of the loyal Dragonoids flanked the Ge'tal Kyr'am on all sides, both on the ground and in the air. They numbered around two hundred in all, a wide enough variety of machines amongst them to mount a serious defence. At its' heart, however, hovering above the Ge'tal Kyr'am's pylons, a new machine entered the battle.

A Night Fury watched over the conflict, but that was only at first glance. A second look showed a mech slightly larger than the one that held her; one locked into its' humannoid form. Its' armour was heavier, cast in royal purple and bristling with weapon hardpoints: Missile launchers mounted to the lower legs, retractable blades mounted at the wrists, an extra pair of collapsible plasma energy cannons mounted to either side of the waist, the cannons mounted to the back now twin-barrelled apiece. What was once built for speed and been rebuilt into a mech of massive destruction. Purpose built too. This Dragonoid wasn't an act of desperation.

"Zearaan." Ruusaan's voice growled, and Astrid had to agree. She could see it in the way it was poised, a rifle in each hand, the way the other loyal Dragonoids seemed to circle and protect it as well as the Ge'tal Kyr'am. Even from what little she'd seen of the High Superior, it seemed so very like him.

"Astrid, I'm going to have to let you go."

"Wha-"

The Night Fury dropped into the debris cloud before she could protest, the ground swooping up to meet them in moments. She felt the Dragonoid shudder as it landed. It lay its' hand against the sand, fingers uncurling to let her down.

She didn't want to go. She wanted to climb into the cockpit, join Alex and be at his side in what she hoped would be the final battle. But the Night Fury only had two seats, and while she hated to admit it, Ruusaan was a better fit to be his co-pilot.

In this case anyway.

So she slipped off the hand, doing her best to smile as thrusters roared and the Fury took off once more.

"Go."

Perhaps the word was lost as the Dragonoid transformed and wheeled into the sky. But it was all the encouragement Astrid could give. All she could think to say as Alex disappeared into the clouds.

Go, so he could come back to her all the sooner.

Dragonoid Translations

"…Ge'tal Kyr'am…"
(Red Death)

"Meg la ibic gehat'ik duse!?"
(What is this story of rubbish?!)

"Aruetii!"
(Traitor!)

"Gotab!"
(Engines!)

"G…Gotab?"
(E…engines?)

"Gotab! Lenedat te gotab! Ukoror te Ruus! Gotab!"
(Engines! Target the engines! Push the Rock! Engines!

"Gotab!)
(Engines!)
Note: The pilot is expecting a fellow Tsad Droten to be piloting Astrid's Nadder. The reason he doesn't send her the targeting data first is because he expected her to understand him and target the engine herself.

"Akaanir gotab elek?"
(Fight engines yes?)

"Elek, majyce emuurir meyg."
(Yes, something like that.)

Author's Notes

I hate writing big battle scenes. I just never seem to be able to convey the scope that I see in my head. I try to make it chaotic, to steal glimpses of a battlefield from various perspectives, but it never seems to be enough for me.

Anyway, Gadarrl. His message feels like a bit of a cop out to be honest, as originally it was only meant for Human ears. Back in Section 07, I mentioned that originally Alex and Ruusaan were supposed to find a secret Human/Dragonoid colony amid the ruins of Disneyland, and it was here that they were supposed to find allies for the final battle. Remember, for a long time the Dragonoids of the Rock of The Assembled were supposed to be almost completely evil. If anyone rebelled here, they were going to be in the minority. The removal of the scene from Section 07 left me without an ally for Alex, which I think may have also been an influence on Alex and Astrid's adventures with Juuniis, and the 'not-so-different' aesthetic that the Rock took on. As such, when I came to the final battle, Gadarrl's message was the only thing I had to bring in the allies Alex needed. I'm hoping it comes across that Gadarrl was a well respected High Superior, based on the fact so many take the message at face value and rebel, but I'm just not sure how well that came across. I think time was a major enemy here. I know I go on about how it took me seven years to finish Dragonoid, but I do wonder if I'd been on schedule that I might have found another way of bringing everything together.

As a weapon, the Ge'tal Kyr'am was inspired largely by the Wave Motion Gun from the various incarnations of the anime Space Battleship Yamato, although ironically it's the live action movie version that directly inspires the beam (aside from colour), noise and explosion. I also took some inspiration from an element from the Mortal Engines novel series by Phillip Reeve, but there's a movie coming out next December and I don't want to give away spoilers for what I hope is going to be a good film. The emitters were supposed to invoke the original Red Death dragon's eyes before they turned red.

This chapter also has another couple of Night Furies show up. As I've said before, I wanted to showcase that Alex and Ruusaan's mech wasn't a one off or an advanced super protoype, except now Zearaan's piloting one that obviously is. That wasn't intentional. Originally, the Ge'tal Kyr'am's second form was supposed to be directly based off of the XMA-01 Lafressia from the anime film Gundam F-91 (something that also inspired the design of the Rock of The Assembled in general), which used combat tentacles as its primary weapon. Zearaan was supposed to have piloted the Ge'tal Kyr'am in this form, but this fell through when I realised the sheer size the Ge'tal Kyr'am would have to be to retain its intimidation factor would make a single pilot look a little ridiculous. I also felt that it wouldn't convey Zearaan's power all that well, especially when compared to the Red Death from the original film. While I could have developed a brand new Dragonoid for him to pilot, I stuck him in a Night Fury because it would be a shape you the reader would recognise, and thus I wouldn't have to interrupt the flow of the chapter as much with the description. The addional weapons were inspired by various mobile suits from various Gundam series. The missile launchers were taken from an optional weapon of the ZGMF-1017 GINN from Gundam SEED, the wrist mounted swords were inspired by the GN-001 Gundam Exia from Gundam 00 and the hip mounted cannosn were taken from the ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, also from Gundam SEED. The additional barrels to the back mounted cannons weren't inspired by anything, I just thought it would make the weapon look overpowered. The decision to give Zearaan's Night Fury purple armour was taken from the Red Death's scale colour. I initially thought just to give it gold accents to differentiate it, Ala the IFX-V301 Gawain from Code Geass, but then I remembered a reviewer from on of the AVATAR fics noting that I tended to use a lot of black in my mecha designs and when with a connection to the original dragon instead.

That's all for today. Onto the final showdown! See you next time!