| “ | Merga: Open your eyes, hatchling! This man has lied to you! ALL OF YOU! His entire life! Do you remember the question? The question I asked but he dared not answer? "What happened to all of the water dragons?" Lilac: Shut up! I'm not listening to you! Merga: They were murdered. All of them. Entire clans of water dragons, all wiped out... All so HIS kind could lay claim to the world that we once called home! Lilac: !!! That... That's... I... No... I don't...! Merga: Move aside, hatchling! He will answer for his people's crimes! And then we can talk! |
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| ~ Merga revealing to Lilac that the Earth Dragons, Magister's species, massacred the water dragons. |
| “ | Hear me, Magister! The weapon that you earth dragons created, that brought death to so many of my people...will now be my salvation! Bakunawa will rise to the sky and devour your moon, giving her the energy she needs to leave this solar system! And we will sail the stars while this world rots! This planet is yours! Long may you reign vainglorious over a dead world! | „ |
| ~ Merga declaring her intentions to have Bakunawa devour the moon and leave Avalice's solar system while leaving the planet to die. |
Merga is the main antagonist of the 2022 indie video game Freedom Planet 2, the second installment of Freedom Planet series. She is an ancient biologically-modified water dragon centurion who fought in one of the most catastrophic wars of Avalice's past. With earth dragons being unable to kill her, they sealed her away in the crystalline prison, powered by the Kingdom Stone's energy. However, the Kingdom Stone's destruction at Lord Brevon's hands in the end of the first game resulted in her breaking free from the prison, with her spending the next three years plotting her revenge, leading to the game's current events.
She was voiced by Morgan Berry.
Biography[]
Past[]
Long ago, in the distant past of Avalice, water dragons used to live in peace as Avalice's varied indigenous species until the earth dragons crashlanded onto the planet. The earth dragons allegedly brought prosperity to Avalice's natives, sharing with them their technology and culture, but in truth, water dragons, a mixture of countless various species given one name due to their biological compatibility, were enslaved by them, treated as second-class citizens at best and outright labor force at worst, and they were forced to build Bakunawa, a spaceship that would be able to destroy moons to absorb their energy and use it for interstellar travels. One day, to silence their complaints, the earth dragons used Bakunawa's mining laser to wipe out majority of water dragon population while writing the case off as an "accident", thus provoking the water dragons into fighting back, which led to one of the most catastrophic wars in the history of Avalice. To counter their oppressors, water dragons bred Merga, a genetically-modified supersoldier who would be able to fight back against earth dragons with ease.
Merga was one of the earth dragons' most dangerous adversaries, capable of wiping out entire armies singlehandedly, and was feared by friend and foe alike. One day, Princess Cordelia, daughter of the current Royal Magister of the earth dragons, snuck off to try and establish a peaceful communication with the water dragons, but ended up being captured and held hostage, with Merga keeping a watch on her. However, over the course of time after the initial hostilities between the two, Cordelia and Merga ended up growing closer to each other, with them bonding over their common interests and eventually developing romantic feelings for each other. After seeing what great toll the war took on Merga, Cordelia tried to convince the water dragon elders to allow her to establish peace between the earth dragons and water dragons, with them agreeing, as Merga was assigned to protect Cordelia during the negotiations. However, the peace negotiations have failed, as water dragons were eventually massacred by the earth dragons while Merga was imprisoned on the bottom of the ocean, sealed inside a crystalline prison that was kept powered by the Kingdom Stone's energy. Cordelia, meanwhile, went into the hiding.
For centuries, Merga remained imprisoned on the bottom of the sea, never to be freed. However, once Sash Lilac and her friends defeated Lord Brevon, who tried to steal the Kingdom Stone for himself, his Dreadnought exploded, destroying the Kingdom Stone with it. Though the Kingdom Stone's energy manifested itself as the energy vortex in the sky before taking form of a planetary ring, it could no longer power Merga's prison, and she broke free from her seal. Returning back to the surface with a rageful roar, Merga began to plot her revenge while hiding in shadows for the next three years.
Freedom Planet 2[]
Three years after Brevon's defeat and Merga's escape, the robot attacks became more and more intense, with Merga's machines attacking the lands along with remnants of Brevon's forces. At the same time, she also enlisted help of multiple powerful or influential people under various promises: Corazon Tea, Carol's mercenary sister and the captain of airship Sigwada who was promised an amnesty aboard Bakunawa along with her sister; Aaa, a young tarsier and a child prodigy with the vast mechanical knowledge who was promised companionship in the space travels; and Captain Kalaw, a Rufous Hornbill hailed as a hero of Parusa and who established himself as a champion of Shang Mu's Battlesphere who was promised a chance to become a true hero by avenging her people's genocide.
For her first stage of attack, Merga ordered Corazon and Aaa to steal the Pangu drone from the Avian Museum and has Captain Kalaw join Shang Tu's military as a spy in their ranks. Once Lilac and her friends thwart an attempt to steal Pangu and (seemingly) recruit Captain Kalaw to their ranks, along with thwarting Serpentine's plans to continue Brevon's legacy, Merga has her robots kidnap Mayor Zao of Shang Mu, holding him hostage in Shang Mu's Globe Opera. Afterwards, she sent Magister a message, showing them Bakunawa and stating that it's missing Pangu, a vital component, demanding that Magister and his people bring her a drone, threatening to kill and eat Mayor Zao if they won't comply. At the same time, she also noticed Lilac and tried to tempt her into turning against the Magister by trying to get him to reveal what happened to all of the water dragons.
The heroes tried to trick Merga by repainting Syntax, a Brevon's robot that looked just like Pangu that they claimed after beating Serpentine, in Pangu's colors and giving it to her. Captain Kalaw was the one to deliver the drone as the heroes would go to rescue Zao. However, Merga figured out that the "Pangu" drone she was given was fake and, after locking Lilac and her friends in the Globe Opera's auditorium, ordered Kalaw, Corazon and Aaa to kill them. The group was able to destroy Aaa's robots, but they were too late to return to Shang Tu's palace before Merga invaded. Convincing Askal to join her by revealing the Magister's role in covering up the war crimes of his ancestors, she then came in to confront the Magister by herself. As she tried to charge at the Magister to deal the finishing blow with her Dragon Boost, Lilac countered it with the Dragon Boost of her own, standing by the Magister's side. Merga demanded that Lilac steps aside and lets her kill him, revealing to her that the water dragons were massacred by the earth dragons, and that the Magister covered it all up. Lilac tried to convince her to find another way, but Merga refused, stating that all earth dragons are schemers and liars. As Lilac's friends came to the scene, Merga demanded that they leave, but when they refused, she told her troops to leave and demanded that the heroes show her their resolve.
Regardless of the outcome of their fight against Merga, the group ultimately loses due to the fact that Merga's army vastly outnumbers and outpowers the Magister and his allies, and they were forced to retreat and find refuge in Shang Mu. Askal tried to give them chase, but Merga answered that they got what they came for and successfully claimed the Pangu drone, and stated that she will kill any of the Magister's allies should they return to Shang Tu. Having taken over the city, Merga states to its people that they will live as long as her plans will advance without any interference.
Lilac and her friends head for Parusa to figure out more about Merga and her past while also trying to find Carol who ran off on her own. In the meantime, Merga had Captain Kalaw set up beacons to activate Bakunawa and sent Askal, Corazon and Aaa to prevent the heroes from foiling her plans. The group successfully repelled Merga's minions, along with Serpentine who ended up in the conflict with Aaa and even managed to hijack his army with Syntax's Code Black protocol. When Merga learned of their exploits, she left Shang Tu and left a message for Lilac, expressing disappointment that a fellow water dragon would continue assisting her enemies, instructing her to meet her alone at Gravity Bubble tonight, where she plans to have a discussion with her.
Lilac obliges with Merga's request, visiting her alone. Satisfied that Lilac was willing to listen, Merga told a fellow water dragon her people's story: about how water dragons used to be free and varied species that went under many names until the earth dragons came and stripped them off their names, dubbing them "water dragons", and enslaved them, forcing them to build Bakunawa before genociding them once they outlived their usefulness. After Lilac expressed her sympathy, Merga asked the half-breed dragon to join her aboard, promising that they'll find a new world to live in while leaving the earth dragons to their machinations alone. However, after Merga confirmed to her that she doesn't care for Avalice's fate, Lilac refused to leave her world to die, to which Merga responded by sending a trick bomb to incapacitate and render Lilac unconscious, with her trying her best to resist. Afterwards, Merga then prepared to go to Bakunawa before Serpentine tried to unsuccessfully ambush her, though the distraction allowed Lilac's friends to catch up to her and help their friend. However, Merga was still able to awaken Bakunawa, having revealed to have installed Pangu before their conversation and using the beacons Lilac and her friends didn't deactivate, she activated the spaceship and sent it to Avalice's moon, intending to have Bakunawa destroy it and consume its energy to gain energy to leave Avalice's solar system while leaving the planet behind to rot.
On Avalice, all hope seemed lost as it appeared that there's no way to stop Merga and her plans to have Bakunawa devour the moon. However, Milla was able to convince Serpentine to assist the heroes by providing them with a ship that would let them reach Bakunawa. But before they went, the Magister revealed that he managed to learn of Merga's story and find out the true story of the war between the earth dragons and water dragons, realizing that Merga's rage against the earth dragons was fully justified. Though he believed that Merga was beyond reasoning, Lilac managed to convince him that she may still be willing to listen to reason, with the heroes deciding to try to talk her out of her revenge plans. The Magister, in turn, also requested Lilac and her friends to let him contact Merga, trying to reason with her as well.
With Serpentine's help, Lilac and her friends were able to reach Bakunawa, where they fought Askal, Aaa, and Corazon, finally convincing them to abandon Merga's plans once they learned that Merga would destroy Avalice. However, in Carol's story, Merga would respond to Corazon's inaction with trying to blast Carol, with Corazon taking the blow and requiring urgent medical assistance. As the heroes fought their way through Bakunawa, Serpentine betrayed them by activating Syntax's Code Black to take over the ship, revealing that he was planning to let Bakunawa consume the moon and collect its energy so that he may hijack the ship and return to Brevon's homeworld. In response, once Lilac and her friends defeat Serpentine and destroy his mech, Merga regains control of the ship and demands that Serpentine leaves, with the snake willing to oblige before Milla blasts him away from the ship.
Eventually, the heroes reach the Lunar Cannon, with Merga trying to destroy them with Bakunawa's laser. However, the cannon gets destroyed, much to her frustration, which is when she decides to confront Lilac and her friends directly in the cockpit. Through the heroes' communication device, the Magister tries to reason with Merga, trying to convince her to spare the people of Avalice, apologizing for hiding the truth and confessing that he plans to tell the world the truth of what the earth dragons have done. However, Merga refuses to back down, refusing to let the water dragons be remembered neither as monsters who destroyed the world nor weak slaves who lost the war, and attacks the heroes. However, after a long battle, she ultimately gets defeated. Despite this, even with Lilac trying to talk her out of her lust for vengeance with a long speech about how her past only brought her pain and sharing her own experiences regarding how far she has come thanks to her own friends (in Lilac's story), Merga refuses to back down, too consumed by her thirst for revenge to listen to reason, with her final outcome changing depending on whether or not were all time capsules collected.
Default Ending[]
In the default ending, her inability to let go of her past becomes her undoing as the platform she stands on breaks, resulting in her falling to her seeming death. Afterwards, when Lilac wakes up, she discovers that Merga's body was never found, thus implying that she may still be alive, and vows to find her and try to convince her to let go of her mad revenge quest and, hopefully, find answers about the other water dragons, her own parents included.
True Ending[]
In the true ending, however, if all 13 time capsules have been collected, Pangu responds to Merga's anguish by playing the message from Cordelia, her lost love, who apologized for not being around with her and praying that Merga will find her own happiness. Once the message got cut off, Merga began to plead for Pangu to play the message again, wishing to see Cordelia again. With her finally stepping down, the heroes finally manage to talk her out of her vengeance, however, Bakunawa gets taken over by Syntax who uses an upgraded version of the Code Black to take control over the whole ship and intends to continue the moon harvesting as scheduled. Merga tells the heroes to go, deciding to stay to think about everything she has done.
When Lilac and her friends confront the fusion between Syntax and Bakunawa's schemes inside the Weapon's Core and prove themselves to be unable to beat the Bakunawa Fusion due to its intense regeneration abilities, Merga finally makes up her mind and assists the heroes in stopping the creature, wishing to make up for starting the whole catastrophe in the first place. Ultimately, the heroes emerged victorious as Bakunawa begins to crash. As Carol, Milla and Neera turn to leave, Lilac tries to convince Merga to come with them, but Merga refuses, having lost the will to live out of guilt over her pointless revenge. Despite this, Lilac still persists, which eventually results in her getting knocked unconscious by a piece of debris from Syntax's Bakunawa Fusion form and nearly falling to her death as Merga rushes in to save her life.
Afterwards, the scene plays out not unlike how it does in the default ending, with Merga's body being never found and her fate remaining ambiguous and Lilac still believing that she may be alive and vowing to find her to make sure she won't have to struggle alone on her own. The post-credits scene for the true ending reveals that Cordelia, her love, is actually still alive, but hiding, with the message she transmitted to Merga in Bakunawa being written somewhere in the present day, implying that they may reunite in the future.
Personality[]
Merga is a ruthless and determined warrior who seeks to claim her vengeance on her captors and will stop at nothing to make them pay for their crimes. Bred for battle, she shows little to no mercy to her enemies, and is feared by a friend and foe alike for her brutality. She is also cunning and manipulative, managing to claim loyalty of multiple people with various promises, regardless of whether or not she would be willing to keep them.
Ever since her kin, the water dragons, were massacred by the earth dragons, she became obsessed with trying to avenge her species and punish the earth dragons for their actions, refusing to see anything good about them and believing them all to be schemers and liars (though, after bonding with her, she did make an exception for Cordelia, excusing it with her being "one of the good ones"). Due to that, she refuses to reason with the Magister and believes him to be equally guilty in genocide against her people, even if his only role was simply unwittingly covering up his ancestors' crimes. Her wrath and hatred for earth dragons, combined with the anguish over being one of the last living water dragons, drive her to extreme measures of trying to enact her revenge and make her nigh-incapable of being reasoned with, which becomes her seeming undoing in the default ending.
However, despite her cold exterior, she is not completely vile and heartless, as her actions were driven by genuine anguish over losing her kin, and she respected Lilac for being a fellow water dragon, even trying to convince her to take her side and leave with her on Bakunawa. She also had a good relationship with Cordelia, her lover, and upon being reminded of her through Pangu transmitting her message in the true ending, she was able to come to her senses and be reasoned with before she ultimately chose to atone for her sins by assisting the heroes in taking down Syntax when the drone took over Bakunawa and then risking her life to save Lilac from the brink of death.
Cordelia's recordings in the time capsules also show her in a different light, revealing multiple traits of her personality that contrast the cold demeanor she shows on the outside: she truly cared for water dragons she fought for, even trying to comfort a child who ended up crying after witnessing her brutality, and being hurt by how her attempts only made the child cry more. She was also proficient in horticulture, managing to recognize the names and purposes of many different flowers, and even took offense to Cordelia asking her whether she knew a name of more than one flower. She also had a mischievous streak, which was evidenced by how, when Cordelia was irritated by how Merga took all siopao from her favorite stall (which turned out to be hers as well), Merga responded by taking one siopao from her bag and, with a smirk, placing it on the top of her head before leaving, much to Cordelia's annoyance.
External Links[]
- Merga on the Heroes Wiki
- Merga on the Freedom Planet Wiki
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 Villains
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Brevon's troops Merga and her allies Others | ||