//------------------------------//
// Wooden- OH MY GOD, SPIDERS! 
// Story: An Iron Pawn 
// by Eathlome 
//------------------------------//


An Iron Pawn

Wooden- OH MY GOD, SPIDERS!






I jabbed my fingers into the bark of the enormous tree, and hauled myself up another few feet.  Looking down I could see the path I had taken, marked by the many holes in the otherwise unmarred wood.  It wasn't the fastest way of travel, but the fact that this tree was actually Terra's body more than made up for the speed of the climb.  I glanced up at Twig, who had gone on just a bit ahead, using vines to aid in his ascent.  He offered to let me climb using them, but they snapped under my weight.
'So, Underbrush.' I thought up to him, 'What exactly are we doing up here anyways?  What's got you so scared?'
Twig pulled himself up with a vine, landing on a large branch.
'You don't w-wanna know...' he stopped and shuddered, 'Just...no.'
I glanced at Twig, as I swung myself onto the branch beside him.  Hopefully this one wouldn't break.
'Just tell me.  I can guarantee that I've seen worse.  And anyways, how am I suppose to help if you wont tell me what were up against?'
'Oh yeah? And just what have you seen...' Twigs voice was full of confidence, and he sounded just a bit condescending.
'Well... so far I've seen  the four horsemen, I've died several hundred times, had every one of my organs removed in such a way that I was conscientious and alive throughout the entire procedure, and I also brought back Hades' daughter after her curfew had passed.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.'
Twig was speechless for a moment.
'Wait... FOUR horsemen? As in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?  Well, have you s-seen a Giant Zombie Spider?'
Wow, this kid's got a phobia or something.
'No,' I thought, forcing as much sarcasm into it as I could, 'the Four Horsemen of jolly good times.  Of course Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!  And about giant zombie spiders?  Well I've fought giants, zombies, spiders, zombie spiders, giant zombies, and giant spiders.  A  giant zombie spider would just be saving time in my books.'
'I-i see...' Twig said, as he swung to another branch covered with webs ''W-we're h-here... j-just a l-little f-further...'
I took a jump, and dug into the branch, hauling myself up.  I was greeted with a fairly funny sight.  There was Twig, scrambling backwards, as a hoard of tiny spiders rushed forward.  I casually started forward, the spiders either being crushed, scraped into a paste against the branch, or sent flying over the edge with each step.
I glanced back over my shoulder at Twig.
'You coming?'
Twig was staring at me, and after a moment he replied.
'Y-yeah... sure.'





Cora glanced at her sister and smiled.  She was sitting on a large rock her sister had gotten for her, but even now her small form was starting to char the rock.
"Teeeeerrraaaaa~" Cora called out in a singsong voice.
Terra shook her head and looked at her sister with a slightly worried look.
"Oh don't be so fussy.  Adam won't let anything happen to Twig."
"It isn't that I don't trust Adam to keep Twigleaf safe." Terra sighed, "It is that I hope that he at least tries to stay out of the fighting. He is quite dedicated to anything I ask of him. I am worried that he will do something brash."
Cora giggled.
"I doubt he'll be much into the fighting.  He's terrified of spiders.  You should've seen him after we... rescued... him from one."
"And I am to blame for his fear of arachnids. I had sent him after the Seed a few days ago and Amalorg nearly killed him. He had fallen all the way from my canopy in pieces..." Terra looked towards the ground and sighed. 
Cora leaned towards her sister and gave her a hug.
"And he's willing to go up anyways." she murmured into Terra's ear, "That certainly says something about him."
Cora leaned back and gave Terra a huge grin.
"And if he breaks, you can just fix him again!" 
Terra smiled and embraced her sister. "Thank you big sister. I am glad you are back from your slumber." she said, ending the hug with a smile. "Just what woke you up after all this time?"
"I suppose hunger would be the easiest way of describing it.  Most knowledge of me is lost, and my creations are... gone now.  I have very few who even remember me, belief in me is quickly diapering..."
Terra gave Cora a warm smile.
"Then we shall have to change that now, won't we?" She said with a wink.
Cora let out a girlish giggle.
"Oh, you."





It's times like these when I'm really glad that Cora didn't make me with a mouth.  And be times like these, I mean times when I'm walking through what could possibly be over a hundred cubed feet of spiderwebs.  I turned to face Twig, showing that most of my body had a thick coating of webbing on it.
'Hey Barkbrains, are you sure you don't want to go first?'
Twig looked at me, and shuddered.
'No thanks. I think you got it.'
'Suit yourself.'
I continued to plow through the webs, occasionally coming across a spider, which I would either splatter, or throw at Twig.  Eventually the resistance began to lessen, and I pushed myself through the last wall of webs, into a large hollow chamber.  I glanced at Twig.
'So... where to next?'
Twig looked like he had swallowed a jackhammer, despite the look of determination on his face.
'W-we're here...' 
I looked around again.
'So, if were here... where are all the spiders?'
Of course this is a terrible question to ask, no matter the circumstances.
As if on cue, Amalorg slowly descended from the top of the dome.
"Why hast thou interrupted my slumberrrrr...." Her voice was annoying as heck, like nails on a chalkboard.
It looked down at Twig, and I could see that most of it's eyes were blind.
"Yoooooouuuuu...." Twig promptly scrabled behind me.
"Hast thou returned to take that which is rightfully mine!?" 
'I-it d-doesn't b-belong t-t-t-t-t-to y-you...' Twig said, clearly terrified. 'It b-belongs t-t-t-to Terra...'
I suddenly remembered something.
'Armalorg!' I pounded my fist into my hand, 'High Priestess Armalorg, the Spider Goddess' Emissary!  How did you screw up badly enough top end up like this?
Amalorg hissed as she recognized my voice.
"Yoooooouuuuuu..... yoooou did this toooo meeeee! with myyy faaaaiillure tooo defeeeeaaaat yoooouu, myyy goooodeeesssss cuuuurrsssseeeed meee tooo thiiiis foooorrrmmmm!"
"I WIIIIIILLL HAAAAAVEEEE MYYY REEEVEEENGEEE!" She screeched, while a long leg at me.
'Aww, I missed you too.' I said, grabbing the large appendage.
'Let me give you a HUG.' I wrap my arms tighter, and her leg starts to buckle.
Amalorg screeched in pain, as I crushed part of her leg, pretty much rendering it useless.
She drew her injured leg back to her bulky form. Small Drone spiders flowed from the wound like blood, and they began to bandage the wound with webs.  Amalorg shot a large stream of sticky webbing at me.
Twig leaped into me shouting, 'L-look out!'
Twig ended up caught in the webbing, stuck to the trunk of the tree.  The spiders began to crawl all over him, and soon they returned to Amalorg with some stone they took from Twig.
"Leeeeeet uuuussss ssssseeee yyyoooooooouuuu beeeaaaat mmmeeeee nnoooooww thaaaat I haaave a hoooosssstaaaageeee...." Amalorg said with her vile voice.
I looked at the stone.
'Soul stone?'
Twig slowly nodded.
'Hmm, I'll have to ask Cora about that...  Anyways, what makes you think that having a hostage would work?'
"Hhhheeeee iiissssss yyyyooooouuuurrrrr fffrrrriiiieeeeennnndddd. Yyyyyyoooouuuu wwwwoooouuuullllddddnnnnn'ttttt hhhuuuurrrrttt yyyoooouuuurrrr ffffrrriiiieennnddd..." she said, with spittle flying from her mandibles. 
'Are you sure about that?  I only met him a few hours ago tops.' I said to Amalorg, before addressing Twig, 'Don't worry Twig, I'll avenge you.'
Twig was shaking like a leaf.
'Just make it hurt... Alot.' 
'I'll gladly honor that last request.'
I took a step forward and raised my fists, then there was a white blur and Twig was gone.
'Well...' I saw the look of shock and horror on Amalorg's face, 'That was convenient.'
"Ssssssoooooooo, aaaaaaaaa bllllluuuuuufffffff thhhhheeeennnnn."
'No, not really.' I replied, before launching myself at her.
Amalorg leaped away, and started climbing further up.  I grabbed the leg I had injured earlier and pulled her back down.  Amalorg fell, landing on top of me. I started to pummel her bulbous form, while she squirmed about, in an attempt to right herself.
By the time she got back up, she had several nasty bruises, and had many breaks in her chitin, some oozing a thick yellowy-green fluid.  I shook off the slime, and turned to look at her pointedly.
'Care to surrender yet?'
The only reply I received was a combination of snarl and hiss.  Many smaller spiders started raining down on me.  And by smaller I mean smaller that Amalorg, they were still roughly the size of a dog.  I thrashed about as I was mobbed by the veritable army of spiders, sending many of them flying and leaving many others dead.  Eventually I grew tired of the game, and I charged at the trunk.
When I collided most of the spiders were either knocked off, or crushed between me and the tree.  I gave a final shake, which sent the remaining spiders flying off of the branch.  I turned to face Amalorg once again.
"WWWWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYY!  WWWWWOOOOOOOONNNNN"T!  YYYYYOOOOUUUUU!  DIIIIIIEEEEE!"
I leaped towards her, and grabbed her in a bear hug around her abdomen.  I tightened my grip, causing her to let out a wail of pain.
'Just give up!'
"NNNNNEEEEVVVVEEEERRR!" She hissed, "IIIIIIIIIII caaaaannnnn't!  Sssssshhhhhheeeeee wwwwwoooouuuuulllllld nnnnneeeeevvvvvveeeerrrrr fffffffoooooooooorrrrrgiiiiiiivvvvve mmmmmmmeeeeee."
'Damn it Ama!  Just give me the seed!'
Amalorg stopped struggling, and began to softly weep.
"Wwwwwhhhhhyyyyy?  Wwwwwwhhhhhhyyyyyy doooooooo yyyyyyyoooooouuuu ssssspaaaaarrrrrre meeeee?"
I released my grip on the arachnid, and backed up.
'The same reason I spared you during our last battle, I never forget a debt.  You saved my life, so I won't take yours.'
We were both silent for a moment, then a small spider scurried towards us, carrying a gold acorn.
"Taaaaaake iiiiiiiit.  Juuuuuuusssssstt lllllllleeeeeeaaaaaavvvvvve."
I reached down and picked the seed up.
'Than-'
"IIIII SSSSAAAIIIIID LLLLLEEEEAAAVVVVVE!" Amalorg hissed, bashing me with her legs.  The force of the blow sent me reeling over the edge of the branch.  As I was falling only one thought came to mind.
'Well, it's faster than climbing down.'





A While Earlier





Cora looked at her sister.  Terra was wincing slightly.
"What's wrong?"
Terra winced again.
"Nothing it's just that- ugh -Adam's not being as courteous as her could be."
Cora patted her sister's hoof.
"That's just how he is.  You don't expect him to climb up with those flimsy vines, do you?"
"Well I suppose not..."
Cora leaned back on her rock, which by now was almost completely burnt through.
"Well, I suppose that now's a good a time as any."
Terra smiled at her sister.
"Yes, I do suppose now would be a good time to start. We wouldn't want you to burn your way back to the core, now would we?"
She lowered her horn towards Cora, the wind itself was wrapping around Terra's form and the tip of her horn glowed in a majestic green light.
"Come sister, let us become one. Even if it is only for a moment."
Cora reached up a hand, covered in a dark red glow, and gently touched a finger to the tip of Terra's horn.  The lights merged, turning the color of rich loam, and enveloped the sisters.  Their eyes began to glow a bright white, and when Terra pushed the pure energy into her sister, the glow slowly subsided, until it had completely dissipated.  Cora glowed red for a moment, then it was finished.
"It is done, my sister." Terra panted.  She slightly exhausted, as she had given Cora a little more than what was agreed upon.
"Thank you, sis."
Cora gave her sister a hug.  This touching moment was rudely interrupted as I slammed into the ground, only a few feet away from the pair.  Soon after a bird flew down with Twig's soul stone in its claws.
'Well, that could have gone better.'
Once I pulled myself out of the small crater I had made, I pointed an accusatory finger at Terra.
'I blame you for this.'
Terra smirked at me.
"Then let us call it even for gouging out my flesh during your climb.  Besides that, where you successful in your mission?"
I started to casually toss the Seed of Gaia from hand to hand.
'What do you think?'
Terra gave a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Adam. Can you bring it over here?" She asked, pointing to a small stone that looked like a pedestal. "Just place it on the stone."
I shrugged and started towards the pedestal.  As I passed by Twig, the seed began to glow.
'Um...'
It slowly floated out of my hands and headed towards Twig.  When it reached him, the seed melded with his soul stone.  There was a fury of motion, as fallen branches, vines, moss, and other vegetation flew towards Twig.  The various plants merged together, reforming Twigs body.
Twig opened his eyes, and dropped to the ground, now having a slight glow.  I glanced at Terra.
'Was that supposed to happen?'
Twig started to shudder violently, thrashing about, growling and snapping at anything close to him.
'...Evidently not.'
Twig suddenly charged, and slammed into me head first.  The force of the collision sent me back a few feet.  I responded with a charge of my own, it being far more effective.
'TERRA!  WHAT DID YOU DO?'
"It wasn't me!  The Seed of Gaia, it chose Twigleaf, but it's too strong."
Great, just great.  As Twig lunged at me again, I wrapped my arms around his neck and torso, and flipped him over my shoulder, slamming him into the ground.  Before he could recover I grabbed hi back legs and started to spin in a circle, before tossing him, hammer-throw style.As twig slammed into a tree, I turned towards the goddesses.
'What are you going to do?!'
Terra seemed quite calm with her reply.
"We just need you to restrain him for us, them we will be able to seal most of the excess power."
"Please Adam."  With Cora siding with Terra, I had no choice.
'...fine.'
I returned to face Twig, while the two deities began to cast their spell.
I rained blow after blow onto Twig, but more branched kept on filling in the damaged parts.  Eventually I got a solid blow, right in his chest, and his soul stone was shot out.  I may have celebrated a little premaaturaly, as his body quickly reformed around him.
'OH COME ON!'
After several minutes of me pummling Twig and him regenerating, Cora and Terra were finally ready.
"Just hold him still!"
'Easier said than done.'
Well, it was.  You try holding a seven foot long, god-powered, wooden canine.  I tried grappling, and pinning him, but he kept on wriggling away, or breaking my hold.  Eventually I decided to just sit on him, and use my weight to restrain him.
'Any time you're ready.'
Cora rushed forward and lightly touched Twig on the head.  His entire body instantly turned to ash, leaving his soul stone vulnerable.  Terra quickly shot a net of her divine energy, which wrapped around Twig's soul stone, and quickly sunk in.  I backed away, and watched as Twig's body slowly reformed.  When it had finished, he was laying on the ground, unconscious.
Cora rushed towards me, and clambered her way up to me shoulder.
'Well, I guess this is goodbye...'
"Bye-bye sis, see you later!  Thanks for the power boost!"
Cora cheerfully waved.  Terra gave a small grin.
"Goodbye sister, it has been good to see you again, although your choice in helpers leaves much to be desired."
Cora giggled, and I harrumphed.
"Love you sis."
Our departure was much easier than our arrival.  The wall of vines opened up, as we approached it, and no animals attempted to deter us from our path.  Once we had left Gaia's Naval, I decided to ask Cora something which I had been wondering about for a while.
'Cora...'
"Mm-hmm?"
'Let's say your full strength is the size of Terra's tree, ok?'
"Alrighty."
'What is your current power at?'
Cora looked around for a bit, before pointing at a nearby tree.
"That."
I looked at the tree, it was about 12 feet high, give or take.
'That tree, hmm.'
Cora looked at me with a smile.
"Not the tree silly, the leaf!"
'Oh.  This might take a while.'	






A/N

It's done!  Well here's the newest chapter of An Iron Pawn, this has been the last chapter of the crossover with Zombie_Lizard's... scratch that, with Chewed Pencil's story, Broken Howls and Tattered Leaves.  Anyways, give me your take on the chapter, how was it?
Please be brutally honest, let me know if you spot any mistakes that I didn't.
I've also started an ask blog, for any of you who want me explain Adam's or Cora's background or personality or anything else you would like me to elaborate on in the story.  Find it here.  I probably won't have image replies, but I might try my hand at drawing a few.

~Eathlome