"So how'd you handle the cannons?" Gandrayda asked suddenly, shattering the mood of quiet contemplation that had fallen over the table from her own revelation regarding the Pirates and the Korakk. While several glares were leveled her way at her seeming insensitivity to the mood, Rarity saw Gandrayda's eyes slip away from Spike as he was pulled out of obviously unpleasant thoughts, and her own glare softened.
Spike shook himself out of his reverie in response to Gandrayda's question. Smiling, he sat back. "That was actually rather fun," he admitted. "Intense, too."
"The turret points were, of course, heavily defended," Samus explained. "And a ground assault isn't exactly the most efficient. However, we worked out an effective strategy..."
Samus' scans of the 'Tiamat' turret showed her just how durable the thing was. However, it also revealed a few weak points. To power the turret, the Pirates had loaded Fuel Gel canisters at four points, the caps on three of the points were controlled by another unit underneath the turret. That point could be targeted by her grapple beam, causing the three points to eject the Fuel Gel capsules for a time.
"Alright, here's the plan," Samus explained as she ducked back into the corridor leading to the turret. "I'm going to stay under the turret and keep the points open. You run around outside, taking down as many pirates as you can and hitting the Fuel Gel capsules with your flame whenever you can."
"Got it," Spike agreed.
The plan worked out quite well. As soon as Samus charged out, the Pirate troops focused on her, leaving their backs open to Spike's assault. When they turned to face him, Samus pulled open the valve, releasing the Fuel Gel capsules. When the Pirates turned to stop Samus, Spike destroyed one of the capsules. When the Pirates spun to stop Spike, Samus opened the valves again.
By the third time this was done, with the turret detonating, only one Pirate Troop was left standing, and he was so confused by the tactic that he actually ran away in tears.
"Seriously?" Rainbow burst out in laughter. She wasn't the only one around the table who was laughing at that tidbit.
"Yup!" Spike replied proudly. "Of course, the defenses were stronger at the other turret, since he managed to warn them about our strategy. The Pirates were split into two groups. One focused on Samus, while the other focused on me."
"Don't you just hate it when your enemies get smart?" Gandrayda asked expansively as she leaned back.
Pinkie turned to look at Applejack and giggled. Applejack just stared at her in confusion, not getting it.
The second turret was secured differently. The control valve for the ammunition was secured underneath the turret, held by several clamps that were manually locked in place by levers scattered around the area. It was also guarded by Aerotroopers.
"Switch it up," Spike suggested. "You stand by the ammo valve, I'll throw the levers. I'm faster on the ground or air than you, and the turret can't aim downward!"
Nodding, Samus moved to make the plan into action. While she focused on destroying as many Pirates as she could while heading for under the turret, Spike raced around the outside of the area, taking to the air and flying low. Normally, the levers would have had to be pulled from the outside, but Spike was able to strike them hard enough with his tail as he passed to throw them. The turret tried to track him, but as he'd determined, it couldn't aim downward. As long as he stayed below it, he was safe.
Once all the levers were thrown, the three Fuel Gel canister sets popped out. Samus destroyed them with quick shots of her Phazon Beam, causing the turret to self destruct.
"With both turrets destroyed, we were able to call the ship in to destroy the second shield generator," Samus continued. "With that down, there was nothing stopping us from going after the Leviathan core."
"So we flew the ship inside," Spike explained. "It was...unusual..."
Flying in through the only opening on the Leviathan, the ship landed in a sea of blue. Dark blue platforms rose out of the pale blue light of flowing Phazon. Tiny critters skittered all over the area, as floating organic platforms marked a path deeper inside. Massive glands pulsed, slowly generating more and more Phazon. An organic door was shielded by energy, though it resembled nothing so much as an oversized heart valve.
Passing through the door, Spike and Samus saw a passage blocked three times by large growths. A few blasts to the vulnerable points were able to destroy them, granting them passage into the center of the Leviathan.
Inside the center was a fully functional Mogenar, one of the giant war golems built by the last Bryyonian Lord of Science through a fusion of Science and their native magic, now corrupted by the Phazon and drawing power from it. Spike and Samus braced themselves, certain in their minds that they would have to fight the behemoth in order to destroy the Leviathan's core.
They weren't disappointed. As they approached, the Mogenar activated, seizing four power core units from around the chamber to plug into itself. Three were in the front in a triangle formation - one at each shoulder and one at the navel - while the last was high on the center of its back. Samus' scans revealed that the orbs contained pure Phazon, and had to be completely depleted to shut down the Mogenar.
Since it was only a single target, the pair of Hunters split, seeking to take it from both sides. Oddly, it focused entirely on Samus, possibly seeing her Chozo tech as an echo of its own maker's techniques. Samus focused on the orbs in front, while Spike locked on the one in back. While Samus leapt into the air to avoid the shockwaves released when it jumped, Spike took flight to avoid them completely.
They were able to destroy the two orbs they were focused on - Samus' orb had shifted to the left shoulder before being destroyed - at the same time through a combination of Phazon beam and Fazite breath, causing the behemoth to roar in agony before encasing its feet in a Phazon shell, creating an energy barrier around its body.
Samus rolled into Morph Ball, intending to use her bombs to shatter the crystals and break the barrier. However, the Mogenar charged forward, trying to slam her with its fists. A quick shift to Hypermode shielded her from damage due to the shockwaves, and her bombs took out the crystals. As the behemoth staggered, dazed, Spike flew down and landed on the right shoulder just as the metal flap protecting the orb slid briefly open. Slamming his clenched fist in, he broke the shell of the orb, exposing the Phazon. Spike then unleashed his Fazite breath, exploding the orb.
The Mogenar immediately created another barrier, but Samus dealt with it the same way. As the beast staggered around, dazed, Samus and Spike combined their weapons fire to obliterate the final orb, Samus' Phazon Beam delivering the final blow.
The Mogenar exploded, releasing an immense wave of Phazon that overwhelmed both Hunters. Spike was able to absorb and metabolize the Phazon that hit him completely, but Samus found herself saturated. She felt the Phazon Seed inside her growing as it absorbed the Phazon energy from the explosion. Falling to her knees, she quickly disengaged her helmet to let herself vomit. As she retched, she was disgusted to see the electric blue coloration of her expulsion.
Putting her helmet back on, she saw an alert from her suit.
New functionality for PED suit.
Hyper Ball obtained.
While in Hyper Mode, you can no longer drop bombs. Instead, arcs of Phazon energy will lash from the Morph Ball to any nearby target, overloading and destroying it. Certain targets can only be destroyed in this manner.Alert: Hyper Mode currently overcharged with absorbed Phazon.
Seeing her body glowing with the light of Phazon, Samus quickly shifted to Morph Ball to destroy several flowers that had appeared. When the energy of the Hyper Ball had destroyed them, a surge of Phazon from the floor shot up to the ceiling, causing the bulbous core of the Leviathan to drop down, exposing its half organic, half mineral visage.
Triggering her PED, Samus unleashed the overcharged levels of Phazon from her suit into the core, killing it. It collapsed and exploded violently.
"With that, Bryyo was cleansed completely of all Phazon," Samus finished to the silent audience.