Strapping Krystal's staff to his back, Fox looked around the Hollow. "Alright, you know every nook and cranny of this place," he said to Sunset. "Since we can't see the Queen Earthwalker, if she's here we can assume she's sought shelter of some sort. Where could she seek shelter in the Hollow?"
"Well if we limit ourselves to the area actually defined as part of Thorntail Hollow as opposed to the paths leading to other areas, to whatever level of accessibility they have at the moment, then there are only four locations that aren't in plain sight," Sunset observed. "Shabunga's shop, the Warpstone's glade, the Ancient Well, and the Temple. Of those areas, Shabunga's shop and the well aren't accessible to a full grown Earthwalker, and the Warpstone's glade is sealed off by a wall. So she's probably in the temple there." She gestured to where a structure built into a rock wall overlooked a clearing surrounded by a stone wall low enough to be considered more of a fence. The door appeared to be sealed shut.
"Then we'll try there first," Fox concluded firmly as he led the way there.
As soon as he stepped past the opening in the low wall, the door of the temple slid open, and four Sharpclaws raced out. Unlike every other living being on Dinosaur Planet, Sharpclaws resembled a cross between reptilian and mammalian life, having four strong limbs, walking upright, covered in scales, and - unique amongst the residents of the planet - possessing opposable thumbs. Their faces extended forward with a flat front and narrow muzzle, a predatory head with a mouth filled with sharp teeth. They were about Fox's size, wearing light armor, and armed with heavy spiked maces. The door closed as the four moved to surround Fox and Sunset.
"This'll be quick," Fox murmured eagerly. Reaching to his hip, he yanked out his blaster and pulled the trigger...only for it to explode in his hand. "GYAAAH!" he screamed out, clutching at his wrist as the fragments of the blaster dropped, his fur falling out from the thaumic burn.
"Dad!" Sunset called out worriedly. As the Sharpclaws were still advancing, she thrust forward with her hands glowing with her magic. Two of the Sharpclaws were lifted into the air in her aura before being slammed head first into the heads of the other two. She repeated this until all four Sharpclaws stopped moving. "Dad, what happened?"
"I don't know!" Fox gasped out as he slowly flexed his hand, sensation returning slowly. "My blaster just...exploded..."
At that moment, the communicator beeped. "Fox!" Slippy called out worriedly. "I need to warn you! Don't use your blaster! The unstable magical field of the planet due to its fragmented state will render the mana battery we used to redesign the blasters to a more powerful level to experience an explosive backlash!"
"...well, at least now I know why it happened," Fox groaned out.
"...how late was I, Sunset?" Slippy asked sadly.
"About twenty seconds max," Sunset allowed as she wrapped Fox's hand in hers, her magic repairing the damage.
"Wait, how come Sunset's magic is working fine?" Fox asked curiously.
"Because her magic is shaped by her thoughts," Slippy explained. "Her mind and body actively react to the unstable shifts of the planet's magical fields, the same way the Ar-Wing's G-Diffuser reacts to shifts in g forces. In fact, the only reason the Ar-Wing functions at all in this state is because of the G-Diffuser."
Fox sighed as the pain left his hand. "Okay...how am I supposed to fight then?"
"Mom's staff," Sunset suggested. "It's made of living wood, and will grow and shrink to the needs of the wielder to a certain extent. It should be able to handle the shifting fields, not to mention absorb spell forms stored within the planet at various locations specifically crafted for this situation by the Krazoa."
"While that could work, I've never been very good at staff combat. Any chance of a non-magically boosted blaster, Slippy?" Fox asked hopefully.
"Sorry Fox," Slippy apologized, "but other than the Ar-Wing, most of our tech isn't going to function in the unstable magical fields any more the scanners did. Rob sent down a few things to help, but they took damage from the instability. Shabunga's already gathered several pieces, and is working to tweak them to function in the altered fields...but he's going to charge you for the work."
"You mean he's going to charge me," Sunset grumbled. "Well, I've still got a few thousands scarabs in store credit. We shouldn't have to waste too much time hunting Scarabs to pay him."
Fox sighed as he pulled out the staff to look at it. "I'm really better at range..."
"Well, there's one Spell Shrine over there," Sunset pointed out, gesturing to an ancient door that had slid open as soon as the four Sharpclaws had stopped moving. "It's got the fireball spell. Pretty basic magic, should be good for range if that's what you really want to do. Just take the staff inside and have it absorb the spell. But you'll need to draw from the staff's magic stores, since your own are just barely enough to interface with it."
Fox stared flat-eyed at Sunset for a time. "...if you weren't 11 and my daughter, I'd be handing the staff to you and letting you handle this mission solo. You certainly seem to know exactly what you're doing."
"I'd still need a lift to the floating chunks," Sunset pointed out blandly.
Rolling his eyes, Fox got to his feet, looking down at Sunset. She'd certainly grown more than he'd noticed. Bare-hoofed she now came up midway to his chest, and she was already starting to fill out her 'focus outfit' in a parentally distressing manner. "Alright," he mused idly. He glanced up at the glowing sun sigil above the temple door that looked like a button. "I take it I'll need the fireball spell to hit that?" he asked ruefully.
"You will," Sunset confirmed. "I could hit it myself."
"Not until I'm better armed," Fox insisted. "I don't want you getting hurt or overexerting yourself."
Rolling her eyes, Sunset followed Fox to the spell shrine so he could get the spell for the staff.