PRELUDE TO FAREWELL

Iona Research Complex, seven centuries ago

The Dragonslayer felt his dying heart as he traced the titanic figure outlined against the sky.

They had told him what had happened.

An enormous dragon towered in the center of the research complex, its wings eclipsing the dawn light, its tail crushing buildings in a sweeping arc, its claws lashing viciously at everything in their path. The colossal monster roared in overwhelming fury, the sound so fierce it created an impact wave across the entire area.

No! Great Cosmos, no! Zee!

Inwardly, the Dragonslayer screamed in anguish. His soul wailed louder than any of the blaring avarial alarms of the base, torment rending his very essence. Outwardly, he was poised as a steel statue, his bearing a paragon of discipline, himself a champion of will and determination. He moved decisively, each running stride tearing him into a million fading pieces, yet his warrior spirit blazed with the fire of honor and nobility, compelling him to go above and beyond the call of duty, to save others.

And to end a tragedy.

"All personnel evacuate! This is a red alert!" the PA speakers blared distantly. "Repeat, red alert protocol! Evacuate immediately!"

The thunder of interceptor wings boomed in the sky overhead, squadrons rushing alongside ACUs to contain the threat, while land cruisers of rescue teams scrambled into the lethal battlezone. The dragon turned its murderous attention to these new targets. Its jaws opened, releasing a blinding blast of firebreath, engulfing squadron wings in a nova-hot inferno. One massive claw slashed, smashing an ACU to pieces, then smashed another on the backswing.

The Dragonslayer ran along the main runway, parallel to the carnage, a hundred meters away from his personal mech. The Templar's voice crackled over the commlink."Commander, we're taking heavy casualties! Half the patrol force is already down!"

"Concentrate on evacuating the civilians," the Dragonslayer ordered. "I am taking the field."

"Commander, this isn't wise, the situation–"

"You have your orders, Major! Tell the others to hold the line, and let the interceptors distract the target." Pain pierced his throat as he uttered the last word, yet his voice remained iron-hard. "I will deal with this personally. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," the Templar acquiesced, and cut the commlink.

The Dragonslayer reached his ACU and climbed swiftly up the mounting platform. The mech was already pre-activated and the technicians quickly cleared away from the bulky humanoid vehicle. The Dragonslayer stomped the move thread to full throttle and the ACU dashed forward, sending tremors and making cracks in the polyconcrete ground with every ponderous stride.

In the distance, battle raged and destruction thundered, with the titanic dragon at the epicenter of the chaotic maelstrom. Its dark crimson form loomed terribly like an avatar of blood and death. It tore mechs and incinerated fighter jets relentlessly, roaring in fury between its devastating attacks as it obliterated the remaining forces from the 23rd Starlight division. Half the research complex lay in ruins, soldiers and pilots sacrificing their lives valiantly to give time for the survivors to evacuate.

Zee! Oh, deus, Zee... Why...

The Dragonslayer rushed headlong, rubble and debris crushing under the ACU's heavy legs. The area was shrouded by dust clouds and thick fire fumes. Emergency lights from rescue vehicles flashed in scattered locations. People struggled to get away from the battlezone. The Dragonslayer saw a familiar face atop an emergency stairway of a laboratory section.

"Ferrtau, take cover!" he shouted over the ACUs loudspeakers. There was the briefest image of the Rival's terrified expression on the zoom-in camera, then the Dragonslayer continued onward without a second glance.

Ahead, the dragon plowed through the wreckage, laying to waste everything in its path with blasts of white-hot plasma. The Dragonslayer pointed his ACU and activated the specially modified mega-thrusters. The mech's forward momentum accelerated immensely, covering the remaining distance in a blinding dash. The Dragonslayer extended the veronite arm-blades of the mech and aimed them at the dragon before him.

Zee... I am sorry...

The ACU cleaved into its target with shattering force. The dragon roared in pain and surprise as its side was torn open, black-purple blood gushing, and fell with a tremendous crash, lifting up a thick cloud of debris and smoke. The Dragonslayer arrested his momentum, the mech's grip pads spewing sparks as it skidded to a halt in a battle-ready pose.

"All units, retreat!" the Dragonslayer shouted over the commlink. "Everyone, retreat NOW!"

The comm channel buzzed with scattered acknowledgments and the surviving interceptors and mechs began to disperse. The Dragonslayer scanned the devastated area, searching the ACU's viewpanels for the colossal dragon hidden in the obscuring smoke. A flash engulfed his vision and he pulled sharply at the controls. He barely escaped the blast of firebreath, yet alarm warnings still blinked across the control interface. There was a roar, so close it rattled the mech's cockpit, and the dragon emerged from the settling fog, a blood-red epitome of annihilation and infinite fury.

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My love... Please come back...

The dragon swiped with its claw and the Dragonslayer fired the ACU's thrusters, jumping out of the way. There was the grinding tear of metal and more alarms appeared on the interface.

The Dragonslayer landed out of reach and considered his opponent. He blinked away the tears to clear his vision and raised the mech's armblades. Across him, the dragon moved swiftly to make another attack, nothing but primal rage in its eyes.

So be it...

They clashed in a spectacular battle of steel, flesh, and fire. Despite its titanic size the dragon moved in a blur, clawing and lashing with blinding speed. The Dragonslayer immediately went on the defensive, his reflexes and experience strained to their limits. He dodged and leapt around, maneuvers enhanced with the thrusters, impossible for him to parry such massive attacks. He barely kept the cumbersome mech out of reach from his deadly agile foe.

The dragon lunged suddenly, tearing a great chunk of the ACU's torso. The Dragonslayer staggered inside the cockpit; the mech shuddered violently and status alarms went off in amber frenzy. He concentrated, trying to call up that mysterious power of his which extended time beyond perception. Seconds passed. Nothing came. The dragon blasted him with firebreath, then smashed the remains of a building with its tail, narrowly missing the dodging mech. He tried to make a counterattack, yet an enormous wing swooped upon him, nearly knocking the mech down. The ACU's energy reserves were rapidly depleting, its thrusters were beginning to overheat, and its major systems were minutes away from giving out due to damage. The Dragonslayer realized he had to commit – in the ultimate manner.

I see. It is better for both of us, this way...

The dragon came at him again.

This time, the Dragonslayer took the blow, parrying, the impact so hard it tore off the mech's arm completely. He forced the overbalanced ACU forward, and slashed twice with his remaining arm-blade. The dragon bellowed in pain, as two more deep wounds bled freely from its flank and belly. It swiped at the mech, another almost-direct hit, its claws tearing along the ACU's axis. In the cockpit, viewpanels blinked out, sparks flew, systems went off. The Dragonslayer had seconds before he lost his battle armor.

He made one final attack.

The mech shot up, mega-thrusters flaring at full power. The dragon reared its head, preparing to unleash its lethal firebreath. The ACU's whole frame twisted into a sideways kick and the Dragonslayer activated the emergency ejection system, just as the mech's massive leg actuator smashed squarely into the dragon's snout.

There was a crashing boom as armor-hardened metal collided with supernaturally-tough flesh, followed by a screech, then an explosion when the ACU self-destructed. The Dragonslayer fell toward the ground, the impact foam of his pilot suit swelling. He landed hard, the wind knocked out of his lungs. He lay dazed, and stared in determination while the dragon reared once more to its full height, wounded, bleeding, yet alive and full of fury.

The Dragonslayer rose to his feet and drew his sword. He had no chance now. Still he rose, weapon drawn, bent in pain, ready to fight until he reached an end. The dragon shrieked and opened its jaws to incinerate him.

He felt it then, the pressure upon his senses. Time slowed down, then stretched and became a near-infinite line of motion. Before him, the blast of nova-hot plasma delayed, turning into a hazy cloud, heated air flowing ahead like an inverted shadow.

The Dragonslayer blinked, then without further pause dashed, getting out of the firebreath's path. The heat wave still seared him, burning his suit and blistering his flesh. Gritting his teeth, he ran with incredible speed, the dragon moving to intercept him, but he dodged past its slowed swipes. He pounced at an angle against a lashing claw and sank his crystal-bladed sword to the hilt in the dark-red scales.

The dragon roared, the bone-rattling cry of pain sounding eerie and drawn-out in the distorted temporal field. It shook its limb violently, trying to dislodge the Dragonslayer, and he used the momentum of the swing to launch upward, pulling out the sword and aiming it right at the dragon's eye.

For one long moment, their gazes locked to each other. In that eternity of a second, the Dragonslayer's soul sang a single note of remorse. Then the apex of his leap passed, and the end came.

He missed, for the distance was greater than he anticipated. Yet as he plunged downward, he shifted his strike, and the blade tore into the dragon's neck. The Dragonslayer continued to descend and flesh parted freely, slashed open from his extraordinary sword. Veins were severed and a torrent of black-purple blood spout forth.

Time returned to its normal pace. The Dragonslayer again met the hard embrace of industrial polyconcrete. Behind him, the dragon made a pitiful cry and collapsed, rattling the ground and blowing a new cloud of dust in the ash-filled sky.

The Dragonslayer slowly rose, and turned to regard his fallen foe. The dragon lay its head just meters away from him. Its brilliant purple eyes watched him, while the life in them quietly drained away.

The Dragonslayer's sword clattered on the ground, and he fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his face, yet his throat was held in a vise, unable to make a sound.

What have I done???

The dragon blinked, and sighed softly. "Thank you... Airo," it said in a rumbling, yet recognizable voice. Her voice.

A shock ran through him, piercing his heart. "Zenassa?!?"

"Yes... I am here... Airo," she said, twisting her snout into a weak smile.

Agony and hope burned simultaneously in his mind. Then horror. "Zee!" he wailed. His voice shook. "I... I... I killed you!"

Her smile became sad. "You... did the right thing, Airo. You saved... many people. You saved them... from me. And you... freed me. So I... thank you... again."

"Why, Zee?" he asked pleadingly. "Why you??"

"I... could not control... myself. When I changed... there was... like a pair of shadowy wings... falling upon me. Now, as life escapes me... my vision is clear again. I saw it, Airo... I know why they struggled... for so long..." She closed her eyes, exhausted by her wounds.

"Zee!! Stay with me!" he shouted frantically. Sirens echoed in the distance, a fleet of rescue team cruisers rushing to the scene. "Do you hear me!? Zee!!"

She opened her slit-pupiled eyes weakly. The brilliance of their purple color was gone, but the love inside shone brightly as ever. "Airo... do not blame yourself... for what happened today. This was...is... my fate. My Way ends... here." Her voice was tired and faltering. "Yours, however... continues. You must..."

"No, no, no, Zee! Stay with me! Please, stay awake! Oh, Great Cosmos! Please, Zee!!"

"Airo... Listen... One day... we will meet again. I... promise. Yet now... I must... depart. Farewell... my love. We... will see each other... at the Fire Eternal.

"May the stars... always... shine upon your soul."

Her eyes closed, and she moved no more.

"NO! ZEE! NO! NO! NO! OH, ZEE, NOOO!"

The Dragonslayer angled his head upward and screamed in pure anguish. His howl drowned out the approaching sirens, rushing toward the grime-shrouded skies. In that moment the winds blew, chasing away the clouds of dust, and the sun bathed the devastated research complex in numerous shafts of light. There, amidst the ruins, many lost their lives on that day, while one man lost the flame of his soul.

Despite Zenassa's final words, Airo Blueborn had lost his Way.