//------------------------------// // Aether: Torvus Temple // Story: Another Hatchling // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "So after besting the Boost Guardian," Samus continued, "we went to explore the one other area of Torvus opened by the new translator program...the underground - and underwater - sections of Torvus Temple." "Bet Spike was a huge help with that, given his swimming abilities," Rainbow pointed out. "Indeed he was," Samus replied. "Managed to make quite a bit go smoother." In the lower sections of the Temple, the water filled most of the area they needed to explore, making movement exceptionally difficult for Samus. Spike, on the other hand, was finally able to swim freely, making him especially effective both in maneuvering and in battle with Blogg - large eel like swimmers, heavily armored, with ram shaped heads and the ability to fire sonic bursts. Spike's strategy was to wrap himself around the Blogg, grab its face, yank its mouth open, and then use what he could of his flame breath to superheat the water in the Blogg's mouth, cooking its interior flesh, before ripping it apart and eating it. He stated that the Blogg had a mild taste, like various white fish. There were also three switches that would open a lower level of the Temple, but Samus was only able to reach one to activate it, as none of them could be activated from the center of the underwater segment, and she was only able to reach one directly with her limited aquatic movement. Looking at her map, she began to plot a course involving her taking the one path she could reach with her limited movement and looping around to the two switches from the doors that opened onto their platforms. While she did that, Spike swam around the chamber and activated the other two switches, causing the central platform to raise up, opening a gate for them into the lower depths of the Temple. The path deeper into the Temple led down the outside of two large cylinders, and Samus was able to scan an Alpha Blogg - a much larger version of the Blogg - through the screens separating the center of the cylinder and the outside path. Noticing a portal out of reach for Samus without water maneuverability, Spike swam up and went through it, collecting the last of the Torvus Temple Keys, having collected the other two during his first aerial survey of Dark Torvus. As the other two paths of the Dark Torvus side of the portal were sealed and could only be opened with Power Bombs, he went back through to rejoin Samus. In the innermost chamber of the Temple, Samus found the Gravity Boost, an airpack attached to the back of her suit that enabled her to move through the water as easily as on ground, as well as letting her glide through the water for a distance after her second jump. On the way back out, however, the Alpha Blogg burst into the chamber and attacked. Spike and Samus worked as a team in the water. While Spike couldn't attack directly like he had on the Bloggs due to how big the Alpha was, he was able to draw attention, keeping it distracted long enough for Samus to get a good shot angle to slam its sensitive mouth tissues with Super Missiles. Five Super Missiles later, the Alpha Blogg was dead. After that, the path back up into the Temple became available...but Spike paused, glancing elsewhere in the chamber. "What's up, Spike?" Samus asked. "There's a portal up there," he murmured. Following his gaze, Samus examined the indicated area. "...can't get up there until I recover the Spider Ball," she pointed out. "I can," Spike indicated, swimming upward. "I'll be right back." With that, he went through the portal. About 20 minutes later, Spike returned. "Got something for you!" Spike said happily. Opening the chest compartment of his armor, he handed Samus her suit's Power Bomb Generator. "The Power Bomb Guardian was on the other side. I dealt with it." "Nicely done," Samus commented, equipping the tech. She then noticed something else fall out of his compartment. "And this?" Spike looked away. "...Seeker Missile upgrade," he murmured. "Found it when I overflew the Temple Grounds." "And you didn't give it to me because...?" Samus led. "...I was hoping I could somehow equip it to my armor so I could have missiles too," he murmured shamefacedly. Chuckling, Samus equipped the Seeker Missiles. "We'll look into that for you when we finish up here on Aether, alright?" Turning, she led the way back upward. "Hang on a minute!" Scootaloo called out. "What about Spike's fight with the Power Bomb Guardian? I wanna know how that went!" Nods around the table indicated she wasn't the only one. Chuckling, Spike scratched the back of his head. "Alright. Let me tell you how it went. See, the Power Bomb Guardian was a Ing possessed Dark Aether Sporb, a plant based creature that could launch various projectiles. In this case, Power Bombs. My scans indicated that the exterior of the creature was impervious to everything except heavy kinetic damage. Now, there was a heavy weight above it that, if dropped, would have crushed it, but I had a better idea. See, my scans indicated that its base - against the platform - wasn't so indestructible..." Spike raced up the wall and across the ceiling, getting into position where he could attack. As the Guardian launched one of its Power Bombs, he acted. He knew the explosive could tear through his armor and scales easily, so he had to act quick. Grabbing hold of the projectile midair, he forced it between the creature's base and the platform before kicking back into the air. Flipping around, he fired off an intense blast of flame, setting off the bomb. The explosion lifted the giant Sporb up, exposing its base. Spike's continuous blast of flame scorched the Guardian to cinders from the bottom up. "Dude!" Rainbow shouted excitedly. "That was awesome!" "That's really how ya beat it?" Apple Bloom asked in awe. Spike smiled widely...perhaps just a bit too widely as his mind turned back. "Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" Spike raced around the chamber in terror, the Guardian launching Power Bombs to try and destroy him. He managed to keep just ahead of the bombs as he raced along floor, walls, and ceiling, desperate to escape death. Over the course of the next 20 minutes, the Power Bombs launched after him happened to land in the four Bomb Slots scattered around the room, resulting in the central weight crushing the Guardian. Staring at what had happened, Spike buffed his claws against his chest plate. "...maybe I shouldn't tell anyone exactly how I won here..." "Yes, Apple Bloom," Spike finally replied. "That's exactly how I beat that Guardian."