Chapter Twenty Five

Masa looked out in horror as one fused Draconic stood still outside the hospital, now slowly walking towards her. Masa stepped backwards, being stopped by the receptionist's desk which was now in shambles.

"That can't be... But Jacron is... No, I can do it myself." She said, quivering in the slightest. She took a deep breath and clenched her fist before walking outside. She confronted the Draconic which was a few feet away. "I can protect you, Jac. I'll show you. Just get better." She said, readying herself with her claws bore.

The Draconic screeched before hitting her in the side of the head, which sent her realing into a nearby parked vehicle. She rolled off the side, popped her neck side to side as she said, "If strength isn't my speed, I guess tactics are next in line."

The Draconic went for her leg, but she moved it away just in time to throw a kick at the thing's face. It stammered, but showed no damage. Masa quickly shot an array of stun needles out of her claws which pierced the Draconic and slowing it down. She began to rush it, slashing it more and more, still delivering more stun poison to it. She delivered a sweep kick, tripping the

Draconic that couldn't move very fast anymore.

The Draconic roared again and Masa stepped back, watching her poison flow from the Draconic's scratches and oozing on the ground below it. It pushed the poison out! Masa scrunched her face, looking for a new strategy and tried it. She fired off another array of needles from her claws, but this time, the Draconic dodged them all and quickly rocketted a punch into Masa's abdomen, who spit up blood from the impact.

She stood, stunned for a moment before grabbing the Draconic's arm with her right claw, digging into it's forearm deep and pouring stun poison in it. Before the Draconic could roar again, Masa fired stomach poison needles at its abdomen, causing it to vomit quickly. It's vomit was hotter than magma! It spew it's vomit onto Masa's arm which got extremely burned before she pulled it away in time. She quickly put out her arm which was momentarily on fire. The Draconic

began to roar again, watching the poison seep from it's arm and abdomen.

"I can't do much if it keeps seeping it out... But I won't lose!" Masa said, holding her arm just above her elbow where it wasn't burned. She looked at her singed arm and noticed her claws had been burned into her fingertips.

She couldn't feel her arm and was both happy and concerned about it. Her fingers wouldn't move unless she spread her STA-mana through it at a high

concentration. "Lefty it is then. Here's hoping." She shrugged and turned her attention back to the Draconic who was no longer in front of her.

She turned around fast enough to get hit with the butt of a large sword and thrown to the ground. She spat blood and a tooth before slowly rising to her feet once more. "Now it's fair, we can only use our one arm." She said moving her limp one about slightly.

The Draconic looked at her arm and then back to her. It spun around, giving it's sword some heavy momentum and went for Masa. She ducked in time to lightly parry his blade by pushing the center with her left arm claws as she ducked down. The sword flew up a bit higher than the Draconic was expecting, but it still maintained control. It brought the sword full swing to another round to which Masa jumped off the sword and clawed at the Draconic's side and arms.

Once again, it was stunned. It opened its mouth to roar again, but Masa grabbed a clump of bloody mud and shoved it into the Draconic's mouth. It gagged on the mud, biting down onto Masa's arm, trapping it in place. Masa screamed tried to pull away. She kept stabbing the Draconic's tongue with every kind of poison she had. She fired stun poison, knockout poison, stomach poison and even lethal poison, but nothing was working.

The left eye of the beast began to lower and Masa felt it's jaw begin to loosen up, but it fully swallowed the bloody mud and rocketed another punch into Masa's gut, dropping the sword. It's jaw re-tightened as it dug it's teeth into her arm again. It began to punch her in the gut repetitively, getting weaker as it did so. The poison was having an effect, but it wasn't affecting the Draconic fast enough. At this rate, Masa was done for and she knew it.

She concentrated all her remaining STA-mana into her other arm and shoved it straight through the Draconic's chest. It let go of Masa's arm as she began to take a few steps back and fall to the ground. The Draconic let out a small roar, letting some of the poison seep from its mouth before falling to its knees.

Masa had won! She smiled to herself, "I knew I could do it. Now… To get back to-" Suddenly, a loud rush of wind fueled the air around her. She looked up to see two objects, rocketing from the sky and towards where she was. She began to push herself back, using her legs on the wet mud, proved much harder than usual.

She got back to the hospital door before the two objects landed before her, next to the quickly dying Draconic. As the dust settled, two more Draconics stood at either side of the dying one. The Draconic on the left side nodded to the one on the right side. The right side Draconic began to pick up the fallen one before and light glowed around them. They began to phase into one another and another light blinded Masa.

"Crap. They fused to save the dying one. Well, that's unfortunate. For me, at least." She looked over to where Jacron's room should be and spoke again. "Well, Jacron, it was fun while it lasted. Guess I should've gone home when you said. I'm not strong. No matter how many times I tell myself. I'm not strong. Now I am to die here, but I won't, I can't die in vain." She got up, shakily with blood still dripping from her arms.

She shoved open the hospital doors as the Draconics were still fusing and retrieved a device from her bag as another bright flash shone around them. She stumbled down to Jacron's room, muttering to herself, "Is the other fusion... Really necessary?" She opened his door and he was still unconscious on the bed.

"Figures you'd still be asleep. You always were a heavy sleeper." She said, holding the device in her bloody hand. "Just press this and hook these up here... Okay. I suppose this is goodbye, Jacron... I love you..." She said, giving him a kiss on his forehead before pressing the button on the device.

The device roared in tune with a roar that was sent outside as a small light began to emit from Masa's chest. It stopped in the midpoint of the device and Masa fell to the ground, still holding Jacron's hand limply. She let out a final breath as the light moved to Jacron's chest and his eyes shot open.

Jacron sat up, quickly and full of strange power. He looked at his hands in which one still held Masa's. Jacron looked shocked at Masa's corpse and then over at the machine which dinged. A message lit up on the side of the screen and it spoke aloud, "Soul fusion, complete. You may remove device now." Jacron looked at Masa, who lay still on the floor beside him, lifeless.

"No... No, no, no, NO, NO, NO!!!" He screamed, "Get up, Masa! Get UP! You can't be gone! You can't be gone! Masa, wake up! Wake up, please! You gotta wake up! I can't do this without you, please!" Jacron pleaded, but her body did not move. He rested his head on her chest, tears streaming and mixing with the still-warm blood.

Jacron then heard a loud laugh from outside. He looked out to see an all new Draconic that breathed fire into the sky with happy ferocity. It had grown wings on it's back and it's body seemed to be much bigger than before. He looked at the Draconic and then back to Masa. Her right arm was burnt and her left still oozed ever so slightly with blood. He then noticed the small traces of blood that ran down Masa's jaw and down her neck to soak into her dress. Jacron quickly ripped off the device's pad and walked calmly outside, followed by a quick spark.

He didn't bother to open the doors, as he walked through them, seething in rage and addressed the Draconic ahead of him. "You did this, didn't you!? You killed her! You killed my Father! You! Are! Dead!" The Draconic opened its mouth and spoke,. "One of me killed your friend, yes. Your father? I am unsure, maybe one of my fallen brothers did. Such a shame that they had died. I suppose I'll have to avenge them, and with this form... This body, that shouldn't be hard."

Jacron's left eye twitched. It began to glow white. His right eye began to glow purple and his aura began to flow all around him, mixing the colors as he drew his blade. "You... Will... PAY!!" Jacron yelled, his blade also sparking in white and purple as it was drawn from it's sheathe. The Draconic picked up it's large sword and leaned it on it's back.

"You may call me, Spauul." Jacron slashed at the air, "I don't care what your name is! You're going to die here, by my hands. You're dead!" He yelled as they both lowered their stances.