Chaos... destruction... agony... it was all everywhere.
The new spectral dragon finally took its first breath of life, and all it wanted was to destroy all in its path. Only the ruthless lich queen, Necrafa, was able to control it, and she wanted it to do just that.
Everyone had their own assignments; Arkayna and Zarya went to obtain two powerful rings that could potentially change the tide of the battle, Em and Kasey went to recruit Kymraw and her goons, while Piper, the Pinkskulls, and the Astromancers did the best they could to hold off the onslaught.
In the distance, Zorlon saw the spectral dragon wreaking havoc wherever it went, looking horrified by the destruction in its wake. What worried him more, Arkayna and Zarya were still nowhere to be seen. In light of this, he came to a rather drastic conclusion.
I need to buy them more time.
"Z-man?" Malvaron asked, wondering what he was thinking. To his shock, his mentor/foster father darted into the air, charging right for Necrafa. "Zorlon!" The young mage shouted.
One would almost think this was suicide, very few have ever had the courage to face Necrafa, and far less have lived to tell about it, the original Mysticons included. Yet, time was quickly running out, and picking off each and every specter the evil lich sent their way proved fruitless so far.
Necrafa barley turned her head to see the incoming mage, and scoffed.
What a fool.
Zorlon was flying at Necrafa at lightning speed, his staff glowing, decimating any specter that dared get in his way. He was ready to hit her with everything he's got. Alas, all in vain. With but one blood red fire ball, the evil queen sent him flying right back to the ground, like a comet.
"Zorlon!" Shouted Piper, quickly taking notice of the event. She rushed to help him, only to be intercepted by more specters.
Meanwhile, Zorlon was badly hurt, barely able to get on his feet as Queen Necrafa gracefully hovered down, just ten feet away from the fatigued mage.
With his all his strength, Zorlon unleashed a barrage of spell blasts at Necrafa. Yet, the vile lich effortlessly blocked all these blasts with merely her hand. Then, using her staff, she levitated a chunk of the ground, raising high up. Once it was high enough, She sent It hurdling right at the mighty mage.
With quick thinking, Zorlon sent a wave of mystical energy at the giant piece of rubble into a flock of butterflies, which flew gracefully in the sky. Feeling she's indulged long enough, Necrafa then let out a powerful blast of dark red energy to finish him off. Using his own staff, Zorlon made a mystical shield, which was barely holding out against the powerful blast.
"If it's any consolation, you're far more skilled with the mystic arts than I assumed." Necrafa said calmly, as if there wasn't any effort in her attack.
Zorlon didn't answer back, still holding of the blast with all his might. Noticing this, Necrafa added a bit more power to her blast, which was enough to break through the shield and pushed him against a demolished building.
Zorlon panted very heavily. That was everything he had... he was in dire straights. Necrafa approached him slowly, perhaps to deliver the final blow. Zorlon struggled to get on his feet, falling everytime.
"You still persist?" Necrafa said, somewhat amused. "Well, all objects break eventually. I just simply need to see what will break you."
"Wh- what are you-" Zorlon struggled to say just before he was cut off by a mysterious red mist, summoned by Necrafa's staff.
"Zorlon" said a mysterious female voice. Zorlon's eyes widened; something about this voice was... hauntingly familiar. Within the mist, a female silhouette could be seen, approaching the fallen mage. This mysterious figure appeared to be holding something, almost as if she was cradling it.
It can't be...
As the mist cleared just enough to reveal the mysterious figure. Zorlon's heart might as well have stopped.
"X- Xa - Xalia?" He stuttered to say, his voice breaking.
"Zorlon, why did you leave us?" Said Xalia in a somewhat echoed voice, lovingly holding their baby daughter.
"I- I..." Zorlon struggled to say.
"Why did you let us die?" She followed up, almost coldly
"No, no that's not true!" Zorlon retorted. He was on his knees, tears forming in his eyes. "I came as fast as I could! But... but..."
"But what? Did you not care whether we lived or died?"
"That's not it, I wasn't quick enough. I..."
It suddenly occurred to Zorlon that something wasn't right. He noticed the red mist surrounding him, and saw it was rather concentrated around Xalia. That was when it hit him, this was an illusion.
"No!" He shouted, using what little magic he had left to blow the mist away, thus the illusion disappeared. He then turned his attention to Necrafa, who seemed all too glad to torture him in such a way.
"Well, well." Necrafa said. "It seems I tapped into your deepest regrets" She then proceeds to walk toward him. "It would almost make me shed a tear. That is, if it wasn't so pathetic."
"I don't need to hear this, not from someone like you!" Zorlon attempted to engage in melee combat, only for Necrafa to raise tendrils for the ground and hold him in place.
She then called forth her Spectral Dragon, so that it may have its first taste of flesh.
"Farewell, noble starmage." The Dark Queen coldly said.
Zorlon closed his eyes, ready to accept his seemingly inevitable demise. Yet, as the beast was ready to consume him, it was hit by the train from above. Zorlon whirled, and, to his relief, saw Em with her reinforcements. Albeit they weren't exactly ideal allies, it was great to see he and the others had a fighting chance.
***
The fight was over. Necrafa, and Spectral Dragon were finally vanquished, all thanks to the combined power of the twin stars. Afterwards was a glorious celebration, with everyone having the time of their lives. Well, almost everyone.
After chatting with Kitty, Zarya took notice of Zorlon staring at the stars, looking ever so somber. Wondering what the deal was, she decided to approach him.
"What's eatin' ya Z-man? You're missing out on the party." Zarya said, lightly fist bumping Zorlon's shoulder. The older mage barely noticed the gesture, and continued to stare.
Zarya was a bit taken aback, she wasn't used to seeing the mighty mage quite like this ."What happened?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.
Zorlon took a deep breath before answering. "While I was battling Necrafa, she casted an illusion of my wife and daughter." He then pulled out his locket, revealing their picture together. "That's them, just a few days before..." he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.
"They seemed so real.", Zorlon Continued. "I wanted so badly for them to be real, to hold my daughter in my arms once again... to have my family back." He then shed one small tear, which trailed down his left cheek.
Zarya couldn't help but place her hands on her heart. From there, she knew what kind of pain her Solon was feeling, which hit a little close to home for her.
"Sorry to hear that Zorlon." Zarya said, her tone rather soft. "I've definitely been there; not a single day goes by when I wish I could see my family again." She then turned back to Zorlon, with a smile. "But, that's just the thing about family, it just gets bigger."
Zorlon turned his head, curious what the young rebel meant, to which she continued.
"Ever since I lost my parents, it was just me, Kitty, and the pink skulls. Then came Piper, Em, Arkayna, Malvaron, Doug, and yeah, even you. Get what I mean? Family is more than just being related to one another, it's about people you care about." Zarya then wrapped her arms around Zorlon, giving him a firm hug. "And who care about you."
Having been enlightened, Zorlon hugged Zarya back. The hug lasted a good few minutes until Zarya's song played in the background. "Think about what I said, huh?" She said just before she went to join the party.
Indeed Zorlon gave quite a bit of thought into the advise Zarya gave. She wasn't wrong, for his family grew quite a bit bigger as well, present company included. The powerful mage then glanced again at his locket, yet with a smile, knowing they're in a better place. He then wore that same smile through the night, as he stared at the stars, spotting two that shined brightly.