//------------------------------// // Chapter 41 - The great parasite // Story: Celestia Trigger // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// Once more we were at the great cave Lavos had carved out near the core of the world. The massive thing let out its unearthly cry as we appeared and drew our weapons. I noticed some of the spines on its back start to detach, and braced myself... Only to find none of them impacting us. They'd all been stopped short by some sort of glowing field. I looked around to see Justice glowing brightly, additional cubes hanging off his form. "Aegis defense system online," he said. "I shall shield you all from his attacks. Please return fire." "You don't have to tell me twice," Zehan said as he channeled his magic. "Gregory, together. Let us show this creature how cold we can be." "A wise sentiment," the gryphon returned as his claws glowed blue. The chamber started to grow colder, and it was only when I noticed the ice forming on Lavos that I realized what was happening. The pair of them were pulling off a dual Ice-Tech. One that froze the entire cave, apart from us. The beast roared in pain and tried to blast us again, but the shield Justice was emitting dispersed the impact. "Alert," he pinged. "I cannot protect us forever. Do what you can to make sure I do not have to." That was fine, though. I had a plan. I looked at Sombra and Copper, and nodded once, before raising one hand up and gathering the spark for a Luminare above me. The spark changed and shifted, as Copper added the magic for a Flare to the mix, and then it became some sort of...dark star when Sombra added his dark magic. I gently pulled the thing down and looked at it, before looking to Scorpan. "Your brother got stronger the more magic he absorbed, right?" I asked him. "Yes," the gargoyle replied. "Why?" "Would you be able to do something similar then?" He blinked a few times before nodding. "Yes," he slowly said. Then I held up the dark star to him, and he grinned. "Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, that could work." Scorpan gently took the dark orb from me, looking it over...before opening his mouth and inhaling the entire thing. Once he was done, his body started to...shift. He became larger, more fierce looking. His muscles fairly bulged out of his body comically. I was half expecting his hair to spike upwards and for him to gain an aura of power, but thankfully he stopped short of that. Still, once he was done with his sudden growth spurt, the new and improved Scorpan delivered the best right hook to the face of Lavos that I could ever ask for, followed by a series of punches that I was sure would leave bruises if he had been human. The parasite roared in pain again as it unleashed a humongous blast of power at us, and Justice collapsed after shielding us from that one. "Aegis defense system...offline. I will be able to restore it after some time, but he will not give it to you. You must end the fight now." I nodded and had an idea. It was time to combine all our powers into one last blow. It was all or nothing now. "All of us!" I said. "Focus your magic on my spark!" I held up my hand again, conjuring forth another Luminare. Gregory was first, his magic slipping and sliding around the electricity I'd conjured. Copper added hers next, the flames mixing with the water like, well, water and oil. Sombra's dark magic slipped in and changed the entire coloration of it, and the entire thing became a bomb encased in ice once Zehan had added the final layer. I nodded as it finished before turning to Lavos. "You want our world, our power, for yourself?" I asked him. "Here, have a taste!" With that, I all but threw the bomb of magical power at the creature's head. It exploded in a brilliant flash of sound and light, rumbling through the cavern and causing a few minor rockfalls. Once I could see again, I could determine one important fact. We had, in fact, succeeded in blowing Lavos the hell up. His head was gone, leaving a hole deeper into his body via what looked like the neck. The job was only half done, though. I panted as I recovered from all the exertion we'd gone through, before drawing my sword and stalking closer to the massive body. "Crono?" Copper asked. "We did it. We stopped him." "Not yet we haven't," I said. "I won't be satisfied until I stick my sword in his heart and watch it stop beating." "A grim view, but one I can agree with," Sombra said. "I shall join you, if no others will." "Of course we'll go with you," Gregory said. "If this is what you need to be satisfied that you've saved the world, then we'll go through with you." I was right, of course. Why could I not be wrong once in a while? When we arrived at the core of Lavos, we could hear what passed for a heart still beating, and we saw that there was a massive form connected to the walls via tendrils. It let out its usual cry as we arrived, and the seven of us saw that the fight had only just begun. "Aegis defense field online," Justice said. "Begin phase two." Lavos didn't take kindly to that, and blasted at us with a wave of magic. Something that was handily deflected by the shield, though I saw it flicker. "Sombra," I said. "You help Justice, keep that shield of his up so we don't get hit during this! We need all the defense we can get! In this battle of attrition, we cannot take any ourselves!" The unicorn nodded and moved to stand next to the robot, the shield flaring back into full life as I called forth another Luminare. I felt Copper and Zehan's magic mingle around my own, and the Delta Force attack was unleashed, causing massive pain to the creature's core. Gregory opted to use his sword, slashing away like a mad griffon. Something the still-highly-powerful Scorpan joined in on, the pair of them just wailing on the core. It unleashed lasers from its chest in an attempt to destroy us, and I was ever so thankful for the shield holding up. I had already died once, apparently. I wasn't eager to repeat the experience. Nor would I stop until Lavos was dead. I drew my sword and slashed away, doing my best to add to the damage we were racking up on it. The beast roared again, and Zehan and Copper did their flash-freeze trick, causing it to howl in pain. Gregory and I performed an X-Strike, both of us charging at the creature and catching it in the middle of our charges. Scorpan added another barrage of punches to the pain we were heaping on it, and the beast roared once more, this time unleashing a pulse of debilitating power. The shield failed instantly, and I was driven to my knees, but I was satisfied with what I heard next. The hissing sound of the tubes retracting and the armor falling off. We'd done it, we'd damaged the core enough to advance to the true, final fight. From within the once-armored form, a pony-esque form emerged. And of course, it was arrogant enough to assume an alicorn form. "This...is Lavos?" Copper asked. Justice beeped as he scanned the thing. "I am detecting high energy signatures...and DNA from all the creatures of this world," he said. "This thing," I said as I pulled myself up, "Has existed here since this world was young. Guiding it, shaping it, feeding from it to better itself. On this planet, it is the culmination of all species. All your art and history. Your culture and magic. Everything you were and are." "Has͟ ̨ju͢s̷t̷ e͠xist̕ed b̷ec͏au͘s͡e ̡Ì p͠e̡r̵mit͟t͜ed ̶it t̶o̕.͞" ...Okay, that was a new one. Lavos...never spoke in the game. Even if his voice was composed of what sounded like a thousand other voices that grated on my ears and brain to listen to, he never spoke before. I shook my head and focused on the words, rather than the sound. "Bu͡t̛ ̡y̴ou ̧s͡even. ͢ ̀Y̸ou ̀ha̶v̷e ̷d͞one w̧ha͢t̀ nòne̷ befo̧r͞e̷ ̸h̷ave̷ dar̨ed͡ t̀o̡ ̢do̷. ̛Y͞ou hàve҉ ͡t҉r̡an̸sc̶e͘n͏de҉ḑ ti͞me it͝şelf ̴in ̢an ͞eff̶or͏t͟ ̢to s͟t̵o͘p ̀wha͠t҉ I ̕wo͞ul͟d̸ ҉d̛o to̶ th͡is ̵w͘or̸ld ̵wh̶en I a̕m ̵ḑone̡ wit͠h it͢.̡"͢ He walked forward, each step sounding far more menacing than any simple step should have. "Ą fùtil͜e ̸g͏est̡u҉r̛e͡, but̛ ͠one̸ Ì c̛ań apṕrèc͡įat͝e͘ none̡theles̵s͏." "How?" Copper asked. "How did you know?" "T҉hȩ L̨̕á̕v͢҉̛ó̶҉͝ş̀͘͝ a̶re͏ bein̨gs̛ ̷th̸at͡ ҉str̕addl̶é ͞the̴ ̸ti͜me-st̶rea͢ḿ.͢ ̨ ͟I̸ ẁa̧s ͟a̵w̢a̕re ̵of͟ wh͞at̢ yo̵u̕ ͞we̸re d̨o͏ing͘ ͜a̶s ̷y͠ou̢ ͝w͟e̶r͏e d͏oing ìt҉.̢"́ He charged his horn and summoned two orbs that floated nearby. "҉I͘ wa҉s͘ ͟merely͟ w̸a҉it̴i̕n͜g͟ t̸o̧ ͠s̢e̡e ͞ho̶w̡ fa̴r y̵ou ͜wou̶l҉d̛ c̡om̢e. ͏I ͟w̢i̛l͢l̷ re͜p͜air͠ ͝t́he ̨dama̢g͟e t͏o ̨my҉ ̷sh̡e͏l̨l̛ a͏nd c͝o̴r͟e, in ti͠m͏e. ̧ B̛u̡t now̕ ̷that͟ y̧ou͘ ̛háve co̷ḿe ̨all ҉this ͠w͞ay̴, ͞yo̵u w͢ill̶ ̡see h͢ow ͠fu͡ti͢l͜e̢ ́y͠ou҉r ͟a̡c͡ti̢óns ̢w͢er͏e.̵" "Fuck that noise," I said as Gregory, Zehan, and Justice put their power to use, setting us all on our feet again. "I did not come all this way just to fall at the last gate. You will pay for everything you've done and would do. This world will be free of you. The cycle will stop here." "Ỳo͟u͏ ͡in̨ten̴d ͢t͘o̕ c̷h̛a̡l̸len͘ge ͡m̸è ҉w͡i͟th ̀you̵r ̢batter̨e͘d͏ a͟nd w͏éa͝ry sȩl͟f,̶ ̕w͞i̵t̕h̷ ņo͘ p͞owèr̕ ͢in y̛o̷ur͞ ͠r͡eser҉ve͞s?̕ ͜ ͟I͘t̡ will̴ b͜e a ̧s͟ļa͟u̷ghte͏r.̧"̶ "Maybe," I said as I drew my blade. "But I am not going to make it easy for you either." "For the future," Copper said as she charged her turret and stood by me. "For the past," Sombra agreed as stood on my other side. "For the times in between," Scorpan rumbled as he cracked his neck. "For the fallen heroes," Gregory said as he drew the shining Masamune. "For all the races of this world," Zehan said as ice coated his staff. "We will make you pay for your crimes," Justice finished. And with that, the final battle was joined.