Characters: Arcee, Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, Breakdown, Knockout
The 14th Colossus:
"You've met Celosia, now meet her sister, Cenobia. She'll be your worst nightmare on the ground."
As Wander was navigated to approach the temple in the background, a large lion-like creature awoke and shook its head. Roaring, it clambered down the broken stairs before running after the character with an untamable rage.
"That thing looks so fucking vicious," Breakdown gasped. "I-I don't think I can verse it head on, can I?"
"Behold the king of the beasts!" Bumblebee joked.
Megatron breathed heavily, "This is going to suck...badly."
"It is a beautiful specimen but I am not allowed to spare it unfortunately. This game would be better if I had this option," Optimus mused solemnly.
The Colossus snarled and ran at the character as Bulkhead maneuvered him to dodge it. He accidentally fell into the small ruin canyon but looked up only to find Celosia pacing above him, waiting to kill.
Shockwave launched himself to the nearest fallen pillar and sat on it as the Colossus hit it hard trying to dislodge him from his position. "No, no fighting. Hurting me is not logical."
Climbing up from the pillar to the overview of the broken walls, Arcee watched as the creature ran rampant below following her. She smiled, "Does the kitty want to play? Scratch my back, I break yours."
"He looks pissed! Oh, he's pacing me. He's ready for me to slip up," Knockout laughed.
Soundwave climbed the vertical standing pillar until he reached the top ledge where he paused and a few seconds later, the Colossus rammed into it but the pillar did not fall. Standing on the top, he prepared his bow and aimed downward, hitting the creature in its rear and watching its eyes turn orange. It fumed and quickly turned back before realigning itself and once again hit the pillar with its head. This time the pillar tumbled and landed beside another structure to scale.
"It's going down, I'm yelling timber!" Bumblebee gawked as he quickly ran to the next platform and climbed it.
Wheeljack cringed as it roared at him as he stood on the pillar but before he could take his first shot, it scrambled the pillar as a warning and he nearly fell off. "Hey, fuck off! I'm only doing my job!"
Ratchet made it to the second pillar easily, then the third, and finally the fourth before the large monolithic tower that stood proud and mostly inaccessible to civilians at one point since no stairs were present. He shot at Celosia to test if it would ram and tumble the tower but it never could.
Jumping on the fifth and final pillar, Starscream prepared to fire. The beast lined up with his shot perfectly and he nailed it, driving the Colossus to pound the pillar. It fell but a cutscene played and the wall of stone leading to the entrance broke.
"Aw damn, now I have to book it over to that ledge without getting hit. Son of a bitch," Breakdown snarled.
Arcee tried to make it to the stairs but the Colossus managed to hit her and knock her out. Spamming the "X" button, she was in a state of panic. "No, no, I did not come all this way to die like this! Come on, you inglorious bastard! You owe me your soul if I die."
Scaling the wall, Optimus observed the creature pacing below and noticed the slab of stone perched on the unstable rock face. He raised a brow before standing on it. "I get the feeling this is not going to end well for me."
They each shot the Colossus and watched it twist around angrily. One strike on the column keeping the platform up and the entire thing came crumbling down. Some like Shockwave, Bumblebee, and Starscream managed to jump away to a portion that didn't topple while others like Megatron, Soundwave, and Wheeljack fell with it. The Colossus seemed to have broken its mane armor and damaged its head as it pulled out of the wreckage. Shaking feverishly, it roared again. The backside was now open for attack.
"Time to go, I'm on ground floor with this thing. It's going to kill me," Ratchet sighed blandly.
Bulkhead perched on top of the fallen pillar and waited as it fumed, dragging its heel against the ground like a bull ready to charge. It rammed the pillar again but this time, it went limp and whimpered a little. Taking his chance, he leapt on it and began stabbing away.
"Not so tough now, huh?" Megatron mocked, "Without your armor, you are nothing."
Striking this Colossus proved easier than its counterpart, Cenobia, because now it was subdued whenever it banged its head for a longer period of time. Many of them kept using the same pillar near the beginning as their weapon instead of wandering the remaining area. It didn't take long before the aggressive beast was killed, slowly flipping to its side with lifeless holes for eyes.
Soundwave made a cute cheering gesture and bowed before sitting back and relaxing as the cutscene played.
"As beautiful of a Colossus that was, he needed to die. He was too vicious and ain't nobody got time for that," Knockout nodded sadly.
The grey Seeker twirled his thumbs, "Only two more to go. Time flies so fast when you are busy killing monsters."
"Look at what you have made me do. Now I feel so sorrowful that this magnificent beast is gone. I hate you. You cannot see it but I am not happy with any of you," Shockwave hissed.
The 15th Colossus:
"Beware Argus, the guardian of the lost city. It'll be your tomb if you don't think fast."
A hand rose to grasp the cliff ledge then another popped up holding a sword-like weapon before the terrifying face and upper body of the Colossus lurched upward. It bellowed as it stood upright, targeting the character with malicious intent.
"Shit, um...he's not what I was expecting when I saw his idol. I'm legit afraid of this thing," Wheeljack stuttered.
Ratchet gave a brief sound that may have been a gulp or whimper, "Oh, that's not good. That's very Cybertronian and human looking. That makes me question a few things."
Bulkhead glanced up and down at it, "That thing is ripped! So unlike the others there's probably not any way to hurt it enough to kneel or anything, is there? Damn, he looks better than me. I'm kind of jealous."
Shaking his head, Starscream coughed, "I am going to die on this one, I just know it. That's just something you don't mess with like at all."
The Colossus raised his foot as many of the Transformers turned their characters away. The impact made some stumble but others timed the jumps just right to dodge the shock of it. Some stayed near the Colossus trying to scout for possible insignias and routes to its head. It was discovered quickly that climbing it wasn't an option but the lost city had its environmental structure that could be scaled.
Arcee quickly ran to the nearest possible ledge she could use to get to a higher level, the problem was no stepping stones or anything. She couldn't jump to reach it nor was there any leverage. Peering around, none of the other ledges had any supporting blocks to climb on either.
A few kept going in circles, making sure there wasn't another way up before resorting to using the Colossus itself whereas many finally decided to stay in one place and let the monster come to them.
Argus stopped beside them and slowly turned, sometimes overstepping and realigning itself. As soon as it felt like it had its prey, it lifted its foot down to crush Wander.
"You missed, asshole! Trying aiming for me on the actual platform! Don't side-step me, you bitch!" Breakdown groaned as he watched the platform next to him rise up instead of the one he wanted. He tried to get a running start off of the second platform but the Colossus removed its hoof before he could complete the jump.
Others had problems with the A.I. not wanting to bring its foot up and down on them. Soundwave shook his head in severe disappointment as Argus kept turning left to right almost in confusion.
Finally, the creature did what they wanted and Optimus pared no moment to getting up the ledge to the second floor. The ceiling plates were obviously unstable so he presented his bow and took pot shots off the Colossus, attempting to anger it.
It managed to get provoked enough to swing its sword at the building's side and the ceiling indeed toppled to create stone steps to scale the remainder of it.
Bumblebee made a bleep noise as if he was giving a raspberry at the Colossus. "Whoever threw that, you're mom's a hoe."
Climbing up to the rooftop where three bridges were attaching to the other wall of the city, Megatron kept shoot arrows at the creature to lure it near the bridge he stood on. When the Colossus drew close enough, it swung its sword up and shattered the complex. Now he had a perfect view of the head of the beast.
He smiled, "Time to die, you ugly bastard."
Shockwave jumped off the bridge as soon as the Colossus was close and immediately began stabbing its insignia. Argus roared and tried to shake him off with two mighty sequences of resistance.
"Another shaker? Don't they ever learn?" Starscream growled.
After the insignia fled from sight, many climbed all over the Colossus trying to find the second one but a few like Soundwave noticed a little light near its elbow. Climbing down, he struck it and sure enough, the giant let go of its sword. A coarse whimper emitted from the beast before shaking its arm down menacingly.
Some accidentally fell off too early trying to find the second insignia and had to climb the entirety of the city again while others followed suit and managed to make the titan drop his weapon, revealing the light they were searching for.
Ratchet drew its attention by splattering it with arrows to make it throw down its hand. Like its foot though, some of them had trouble getting the A.I. to comply.
"You have got to be kidding me..." Bulkhead gasped.
Knockout scowled, "Do your thing, Gigantor! I don't have all day!"
The Colossus eventually swung its hand down and Breakdown didn't latch onto it in time, causing the Wrecker to curse loudly. Several others found the hand either knocked them out because they didn't dodge in time to leaving the ground before they could determine where to latch onto that was available.
It took a minute or more for most but finally, many found a way onto the hand though some fumbled and fell off causing more cursing and less productivity.
"Die, damn it, die!" Wheeljack bellowed as he went crazy on the insignia.
Stabbing the hand finally proved fruitful when the Colossus' eyes turned black and the large being came down. One last roar it managed to sound as it went down, tumbling on its front. Wander once again fled as some controlled him to do so but none ever got away.
"Valus, eat your heart out. Like god damn that bitch wouldn't die! It's like he knew we were going to kill him so he was debating attacking us and giving us an access point to kill him from. That was smart, scary smart for this creature," Arcee smirked.
The cameraman smiled back, "The last Colossus is ridiculously intelligent so if you thought Argus was considerate, you're in for a surprise."
"Aw no, the finale Colossus is OP! That's not fair," she scoffed.
Megatron huffed, "The last one isn't going to be easy, that's obvious but to what extent? I kind of want a heads up before I go into battle with the big bad of the Colossus Empire."
"Stupid piece of-that bitch wouldn't die! He knew, he absolutely knew what I was going to do! That's stupid!" Breakdown snarled.
"A very vicious entity. Obviously, it was trained to guard that city with its life and it certainly tried its best. My condolences," Shockwave muttered.
On the way to the last Colossus, many of the Transformers were asked to "not skip anything". It was a confusing order as they didn't usually do it regardless but for the camera crew to remind them of it meant something was going to happen majorly.
"Go Agro, take me to victory!" Knockout whooped.
All of them reached the gate to the final Colossus and some wandered aimlessly next to it trying to figure out what to do.
Soundwave glanced briefly at the sunlit circle and turned his head slightly before raising his sword and slowly brought the light to the center. A beautiful tune sounded as the doors magically opened. The mech whistled impressed and snapped his fingers almost as if to clap for figuring out the puzzle.
"That's all we had to do?" Wheeljack questioned, "And here I was thinking there was a switch like in Ico to open that gate."
They each made their way up the stairs with Agro carrying them except Bulkhead who at first thought Agro couldn't and tried to cross the bridge by foot. It didn't end well. Agro was often times backed up to get a running start but some managed to get her to jump in the first try with so short a runway.
She sped across the bridge as piece by piece it broke with Wander holding tightly. When she jumped to the final piece of bridge, it gave way and before she went down, her last act of heroism was to save her master by propelling him forward. She fell with the remaining bridge to the ravine below. Wander shouted her name but no response came, no movement.
"No! You bitches never said Agro dies! What the fuck!?" Arcee cried.
Optimus had an expression of distraught as Agro made her sacrifice, "This is...not what I had expected. I am deeply sorry for endangering her."
"You! You! And you! You're on my shit list! I hope you know that!" Wheeljack angrily stared.
"That's not right, no! Poor Agro. Like...did she deserve this? Why would they do this? That's just fucked up," Megatron whined.
Ratchet's face twisted to one of regret and anguish, "I take back everything I said about this horse. He didn't deserve a fate like that."
"Maybe Dormin revives her? No? That's not happening?" Knockout sniffed.
"Ah! AH! NO AGRO! God...damn...it! Why Dormin, why would you curse her fate like that? That's bull, she did not deserve that and you know it, you freak!" Bulkhead whimpered.
Starscream rubbed his optics, "I'm not crying...it's just...a little stuffy in here."
"Goodbye may seem forever, farewell is like the end, but in my heart is a memory and there you'll always be," Bumblebee sorrowfully radioed.
"The poor animal. He was very loyal in the end and he will be remembered," Shockwave glumly said.
Soundwave didn't move, didn't twitch and slowly the controller fell from his servos. Several different emojis and video clips popped up as he carefully turned his head toward the camera crew. He didn't stop either which really creeped them out.
"I-I...no, no, no. This has to be a joke, right? Another dream sequence because that's not-no! That's terrible, dude! What-who thought this was okay? Where's the script writers? I want a fucking word with them!" Breakdown frowned.
The 16th Colossus:
"Malus has waited patiently for a worthy opponent and you've made it this far. Are you up to end it all?"
Levels of a building began to move as the camera panned up to reveal a torso bound to stay in one place with its feet implanted into the ground. A magnificent being flexed its clawed hands, energy bands on its arms swirling with power. Horns lining its head almost like hair or a helmet of sorts. In fact, it almost looked...human.
"He's actually rather handsome, holy shit! I kind of don't want to kill him because of that. Then again if I said that about all the Decepticons I've met then this war would have never ended when it did and the Autobots probably would have lost because one of the people I killed was vital in Megatron's army and he was a handsome bastard so..." Arcee laughed.
"Oh, that's a large one! Damn, that's what gives Shadow of the Colossus its name and purpose right there," Knockout gulped.
Cracking his neck, Ratchet grumpily scoffed, "This is it, the big kahuna as the humans would say. Let's bring this bitch down so I can go home."
"One last Colossus?" Shockwave breathed, "Very well then, it is time to end this."
The Colossus raised its hand as Wander approached and fired an immediate bolt into the barrier that protected the characters from it.
"That thing can shoot at us too?" Bulkhead stared in awe and fear.
Breakdown quickly dipped behind the fallen pillar to the right where a bunker lied and barely missed being sniped by a blast which made him jump. "Shit, bro! No one said anything about him being a camper fag!"
As Soundwave quickly scaled the broken block staircase at the end of the first bunker and ran to the next barrier, he jumped and rolled to gain some ground when he accidentally tripped his character, barely dodging a blast. He jumped into the second underground bunker and rushed to the exit.
Rumbles above the bunker signified Malus knew exactly where they were. Megatron winced a little when a bolt shattered the sound barrier on the ceiling, "Does he have see-through-solid object abilities because I call that cheating."
Starscream hooked himself on the ledge on the outer area of the battlefield and ran towards the next underground bunker, a bolt barely blocked by the cliff edge. He held a look of panic, worried that he would have been shot off the arena and would have to start all over again.
Up to the surface again, Wheeljack ran by each barrier in the third row until he suddenly misjudged his timing and a shot hit him back. He was exposed as he laid there with the Colossus aiming his hand directly at him.
"Okay you got me, buddy," he fake-laughed. Malus shot him again right before he could get by the last barrier in the third row but this time he was knocked closer. He wasn't happy though, "Seriously fuck off!"
Optimus rolled into the third bunker and huffed, "This is very daunting of an experience. I certainly would fear for my life if this was real."
As all of them reached underneath the Colossus' form and saw it stand menacingly as if it could no longer detect them which most doubted because it was able to see them through rock.
"Imagine falling off this, that would hurt like hell," laughed Megatron.
Bumblebee began to climb the robe-like structure it wore, and he figured out how to scale it quickly until he misinterpreted the steps near the waist of the creature in which he tumbled a good several feet and his health bar depleted a very great portion.
He angrily gawked, "Yeah 'oh shit'. Yeah 'oh shit'! Took a hard, violent fall, kinda pin-balled down there. Hit a lot of railings, broke a lot of shit! I'm not saying I survived, but I thrived."
Bulkhead tripped on a few of the ledges of Malus' skirt and hissed as he kept falling at one portion of the platform. "This isn't designed to be user friendly, is it?"
Reaching the waist of the Colossus, Soundwave stabbed the backside and watched the giant bring a hand back in pain before latching onto the flexing hand. Curiously, it brought its hand back to look at the intruding being hanging on its fur. It stared long and hard at the mech's character before he got the sense to scale the arm of the beast.
"Oh god, this thing's horrifying up close. This feels just like when I met Omega Supreme up front and personal," Starscream grimaced.
Arcee stabbed the upper arm of the Colossus and jumped onto the other hand where it then lurched back. This time, it kept moving its hand from side to side with little time to stand and stay in a stable place.
Knockout narrowed his optics, "So what in the Pit am I supposed to do now? Quit moving, you bitch!"
Some Transformers didn't notice the small glowing weak point on its shoulder and just stabbed its hand to keep it still as they figured out what to do.
"What am I missing? What am I not getting?" Ratchet scowled.
Eventually, many found the weak spot but some ended up falling off the hand as their stamina meter depleted completely and they fell back down to the stone dress of the Colossus. Those who fell off screamed and cursed, of course.
Hitting the weak point with an arrow, Shockwave went as fast as he could and ran across the broad shoulder before attaching himself to the head. Stabbing the insignia, he stayed put as Malus reared back and did its thing but afterwards, it didn't exactly pause. Instead, it shook more than just its head. It shook its entire torso as if it was testing the grip of the invader hoping they would fall to their death.
When some of them tried to stab it a second time after its second brief jolt, it left little to no period between the next shift again before it started the whole process over.
Breakdown growled audibly, "You fuckboi!"
"W-what's a fuckboi?" The camerawoman laughed.
He gave a small smile despite still being irritated, "You're about to find out."
Considering all options many got their shot off after learning the timing and noticing how low their stamina was. Some decided to stab the shoulder wound instead to keep the Colossus still long enough to strike. It surprised all of them that the fight was actually much simpler than they've been doing.
Finally, the last strike was posed and Malus roared. It grabbed its face in visible pain and sank to lean droopily since its bolted feet could not uproot. Its structural clothing broke apart slightly as its knees caved under its weight. It half-stood, permanently dead as Wander slipped off and was taken by the darkness. In some screens, he sank into the Colossus or the floor as a funny glitch.
Bumblebee nodded, "The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you get hit; it's about how hard you get hit, and keep moving forward."
Optimus placed the controller on the nearest desk and breathed solemnly, "It is a shame I have done what I have done but the past cannot be erased. At this time, I can only pray this game has one last thing to give me as karma for these unspeakable actions."
"This is it. That's the end of it all. I finally destroyed the last one. The question now is, what will the effect be now that we have established a cause of genocide?" Starscream murmured.
Megatron's grin slowly faded, "Well now that I've killed everybody, what's to do now? Surely Dormin's not going to keep his word, is he? Oh, maybe I get to fight him next! Please tell me I do!"
"You don't fight him," the crew member stared blankly.
"Then I do win by default."
"You don't win either."
The warlord raised a brow before peering off to the side in confusion then back at the crew member, "Then what the fuck happens?"
The cutscene began to play and the shaman with his personal guards transcended down into Dormin's temple.
"Are they going to confront me? Did I do something wrong?" Knockout spoke, his servos together over his mouth as he watched the screen intensely.
Down the spiral pathway they descended by sound until they got to the idols. When they passed the sixteenth idol, it suddenly glowed as rays of light shined out and in an instant, it collapsed in a pile of rubble. The head of the statue cracked and twisted lied in its place as the only remaining part intact. The shaman spoke in the unknown language of the game and it became apparent something wasn't right.
Wheeljack gasped, "Oh, I was doing everything wrong? I committed mass genocide for the wrong reasons? Oh shit, I'm not the hero in this, am I?"
Immediately, the shaman caught sight of the girl on the stone slab and eerie music began to play. After a brief show of her still form, the sixteenth Colossus reappeared in a different scene and slowly Wander's unconscious body was lifted almost magically.
"Dormin's saving me," Breakdown chuckled. "Of course, he won't let me die; he still needs me to stop these guys from ruining everything, right? Unless he's just showing off my sacrificial body as a warning which is a dick move."
The shaman was the focus again as he examined the girl before a thud sounded behind him. He and his guards turned to see Wander but the boy wasn't a natural color. He was grey with blackish purple hair and blue iris eyes with black scleras compared to his original auburn hair color at the beginning of the game. He once looked lively, now he looked dead.
Arcee winced, "Ew, what happened to him? That black stuff really turned his complexion into a rotting corpse. He looks terrible!"
"That looks absolutely revolting. He looks like he got hit with a car and tried to come back to life mid-deterioration," Bulkhead gulped.
Wander tried desperately to stand but found himself too weak to function. His voice sounded ghostly as he moaned from his own weakness. The shaman scolded him, explaining in great detail how Wander had been just a pawn in Dormin's game, a tool to make the demonic entity return to full power. This made many of the Transformers emit several responses.
"I did a horrible thing, I knew it! There was something off about this whole 'kill the Colossi to save her' scrap! You lying son of a bitch, Dormin," Ratchet yelled, gesturing at his revelation.
Optimus muttered, "What have I done?"
"This is what I call trust issues. This right here," Starscream snickered.
The shaman ordered an arrow to be shot from one of the guards and the official obeyed, tagging Wander right in the leg.
"And then I took an arrow to the knee," chuckled Wheeljack.
Shockwave's audial fins posed back, "That looks infected. Medical assistance is definitely needed or he must be slaughtered, whichever is more convenient."
One of the guards brought out his sword and positioned it over the fallen boy, keeping it steady as Wander stared right back at the man. In one swift attack, the blade ran through his heart and black blood spewed from the wound.
Soundwave made a disgusted response before adding three question marks to his screen.
Wander still got up with sword inside and pulled it out before falling. In his last moments, he only saw Mono and attempted to reach towards her despite still being so far away. Finally, the black essence engulfed him and he was just a dark husk on the stone floor.
Bumblebee chirped, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain."
Suddenly, Wander's dead body shifted into a massive entity. The shadows previously around him charged into the enlarging body until a huge shadowy creature that vaguely looked like a combination of various Colossi nearly touched the ceiling. Dormin monologued his transition, proving indeed he was the villain all along...and now so was Wander.
"Oh okay, I get what you guys said now. I was the bad guy this entire time. I killed an entire species and helped a murderous god complete his revenge. Eh, not the first time this has happened to me," Megatron said with a mocking grin and a wink to the camera.
When Dormin was in a view common to character controls, everybody lost their minds.
"Oh my god, I can be Dormin!? Damn, I am the villain here! And it feels so good to be bad! Die, shaman, die!" Arcee laughed.
Wheeljack clapped happily, "Hey, I still get to fight back from damnation. Who fucking knew, right?"
"And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" Bumblebee whirred excitedly.
Optimus was the only Transformer who refused to do anything, crossing his arms and placing one leg to sit on top of the other casually. The only motion he did was turn Dormin around to watch the shaman and his guards grab the sword and run to the exit. "I am not stopping them. I deserve everything I did."
The others used the god's all-mighty powers, from slamming its fist down to causing a wave of bluish orange fire to engulf the battlefield. They clambered to keep up with the human scum below but a few did take into consideration why they were moving so slow. Wander had been shot previously so his injury must have carried into the possession as well inconveniently.
"Die, they aren't dying! This is foul gameplay," Ratchet whined.
Knockout cackled madly, "No witnesses!"
Unfortunately, the humans managed to get away regardless of how hard and how much they hit the fleeing intruders.
"Well shit, now am I dead?" Breakdown scowled.
The shaman cried out a verse that sounded like it came from The Exorcist and threw the sword into the pool below. A massive light erupted from it, simmering the room as wind was pulling Dormin towards it. Dormin clawed to get away but slowly his essence left Wander, shrinking the form back to his original size but he still remained a dark entity. Mono lied still lifeless in the distance.
Now the Transformers could control Wander again but it was proven difficult to evade the winds, impossible actually.
"Resistance is futile," Shockwave shook his helm. "No escape is logical."
Bulkhead frowned, "Whelp, nothing I can do now. Take me to hell. I deserve it."
Megatron tried his best to evade it, laughing at his failing attempts, "Go, puny human, survive! Conquer! You suck at this."
Wander seemingly fell in after a while and the light portal closed, sealing the evil of Dormin and supposedly Wander himself inside. Outside the temple, the guards and their leader mounted their steeds and quickly galloped across the bridge. However, the pillars between the bridge and its supports disintegrated one by one, toppling the structure one section at a time.
"Very cinematic, feels like it belongs in a movie," Knockout gawked.
Mono awoke not long after. Her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings, sitting upward to glance around the chamber she lied in. The ruins of the idols sat defeated as she placed her feet on the ground.
Starscream huffed, "She's not bad looking for a human female. But still not my type."
"That has to be the worst, waking up in an unknown place with no one there to comfort you and you remember dying days before that," Ratchet sighed. "I remember I managed to revive a patient in the middle of the battlefield and I was the only one there for her. She was scared, frightened and no one she knew was anywhere near her. I was forced to leave her afterwards and I remember the expression on her face when I did that. Breaks your spark."
A neigh of a horse suddenly rumbled to Mono's right.
"No! She's alive!? You serious right now!? Nobody's yanking my chain?" Breakdown shouted.
Agro appeared, limping up the steps of the temple. She hobbled up to Mono, briefly pausing to assess who she was approaching before sniffing the girl and letting her pet her face.
"Agro, oh my god!" Arcee happily cheered, "I feel like I'm about to cry, like you guys didn't tell me she would return! I got so anxious for nothing!"
Optimus smiled, "So Agro, you survived the war in the end. You may be confined to this land out of punishment for helping release an evil but your sacrifice was out of loyalty to your owner, not of dedication to the cause. Well done."
The credits began to roll, showing the solidified Colossi who now resembled dirt structured to their body shape. Only the stones of their bodies were identifiable. Beautiful music emphasizing the deaths made them feel almost like the real heroes of the story had died protecting what they were built for.
Megatron nodded, "Well, I certainly kind of feel guilty for what I've done. It is cool though how their bodies turned into natural designs despite some of them you can't identity at the angles they are posed."
"Ten out of ten, would play again," Ratchet sarcastically said.
"No matter how filthy something gets, you can always clean it right up...said no one ever...in this situation...we are monsters," Bumblebee cried.
As the thirteenth Colossus rolled around, the music took a very light-hearted turn that sounded like something from a sermon.
Starscream clapped slowly, "This game had great cinematography, like this would be a really fun place to explore if it was real."
"To think their lives were wasted out of simple greed is such a metaphor for real life how many of us take advantage and destroy what we do not understand. Sometimes what we do in response makes us the enemy when we try to be the hero of the situation," Shockwave grumbled.
Wheeljack groaned, "Wander's not getting out there, is he? Like I just damned him because I wanted to revive a girl which interestingly enough had a doomed fate. The theory is she's the Queen from Ico because she became power-hungry and took all the horned boys to muster their powers of Dormin. And even stranger, the beach Ico and the Queen's daughter end up on is in this game which meant the lost castle was somewhere near here. Like I don't know about you but that may be why we also are the villain but at least one of Wander's descendants made everything right again by killing her. I don't remember how Wander gets descendants though."
The cameraman gasped, "That's...a pretty interesting theory. I've never heard of that before but it sounds reasonable."
The Wrecker shrugged, "I mean the evidence is pretty solitary for this theory too with Mono's fate being cursed and all but it's never stated why then you notice the Queen and it just makes one wonder what the hell happened?"
As the credits continued and Malus made its last appearance, the scene cut back to the shaman and his guards as they slid to a halt on the platform at the end of the bridge. When the last portion of the bridge collapse, he spoke eerily about Wander's fate and his future atonement.
"Foreshadowing the boy in Ico who may be related to Wander. Very clever, game. Most people don't put that together the first time, especially when they haven't played the first game," Knockout smirked.
Bulkhead narrowed his optics, "This is the prequel to Ico, isn't it? What happens to Wander because the boy is supposed to be his descendant but he got stuck in the pool so how does that work?"
The camera panned with Agro and Mono slowly making their way to the now-waterless circle that had trapped Dormin and Wander prior. Agro paused near the pool, ears twitching curiously. A small cry suddenly caught their attention and Mono descended into the warped pit to find a horned baby lying naked in it. She held it, bring the child close to her chest to keep it warm and its whines died a little.
Soundwave turned his helm side to side like a dog curiously scouting the sight at hand.
"Oh so that's how he got great great grandkids. I thought Dormin just made Mono pregnant and said 'here bitch, this is for you' like a curse or something. I didn't think he would revert back to a little baby," Breakdown scoffed.
Starscream stuck out his tongue in a disgusted manner, "Ew, kill it with fire. Don't hold it, you don't know where it's been!"
Limping, Agro scaled the pathway up and Mono followed. They reached the platform where the bridge once resided but the horse knew instantly there was no way out now. She simply turned to climb up to the gardens on the upper level of the temple where the sunlit hole that Dormin often talked down from resided.
Mono caressed the baby while peering around her new surroundings with no fear. In the corner of her eye, a young deer no older than the equivalent of a teenager walked cautiously around the hole in the ground and towards her. When it was in petting distance, the deer sniffed at the baby before looking at Mono as if deciphering whether she was the mother or not. The deer continued as more animals gathered from squirrels to doves as well as Agro herself.
As the camera zoomed out, the hawk from the beginning of the adventure soared away across the vast forbidden land. It brought the viewer to see the various beams of light representing the Colossi spirits before night fell, the moon shining bright as a new era began. The camera passed the hawk as it gave one last screech and the music faded on a sad note.
"So you've played the game and finished it on a high note. Do you have anything to add on this experience?" The camerawoman asked.
Optimus lied comfortably against his chair with his hands intertwined and a peaceful expression, "I was impressed with the graphics, the lifelike movements of the Colossi and how this was a game of adaptation to survive. No method was always used in the same way and it really made the game wonderful. Story-wise, it was very depressing once you figure out what you were doing and it is not like other games where you always win in some way. Technically, no one won. Everybody lost in some way and that also offers a unique take to it I certainly was not expecting."
Megatron smirked, "Definitely loved the visuals and fight sequences which I know basically defines the entire game but those aspects are vital for gamers to be appreciative of and if both of those aspects are terrible, it's obviously not going to be as good as it may be contributing to the story. It would make the story hard to follow because it would be an eyesore. Then again other games have done that and it worked but of this caliber, those aspects are great to have."
"That was a surprise ending," Wheeljack chuckled. "Like I was not expecting that to go the way it did but I did know beforehand that something in the story was going to go wrong and result in Ico. In between sessions, I did cheat a bit and checked that theory that I stated before because I got curious ahead of schedule but I made sure not to reveal too much to spoil what happens. Again, I wasn't expecting that to happen but the overall story buildup was fantastic for such a simple game."
Starscream held his chin in thought, "I liked it in terms of story and visuals but for me, the gameplay was a little less fun because the strategy behind some of these Colossi isn't presented so the puzzle aspect of it is a hassle. It's not bad per say but I wasn't a very avid fan of it. Other than that and once I got what I was supposed to do, the flow of the gameplay worked a lot better. Maybe I'm being a bit stingy but as a first time player of this game, I need a bit more of a hint otherwise I'm going to be wasting time on one Colossus for an hour just running around in circles."
Soundwave a thumbs up but then gestured as if he was giving a lecture and played a series of voice clips, "Let's go again, I'm ready, baby!...what we do in life echoes in eternity...I know what I have to do now. I've got to keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?...someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail or worse yet, afraid we may succeed...turn your wounds into wisdom...what a day. What a motherfuckin' day."
"I have really nothing to say about it except that was one of the most revolutionizing gameplays I've ever gone through," Arcee smiled. "Quite honestly, there's nothing really bad I can say about it but only point out the good aspects of it like the gameplay itself. I really enjoyed the fight sequences; I love challenges and puzzles incorporated into boss fights are like my favorite thing. And visuals really looked great compared to the PS2 and PS3. I'm amazed they went to the lengths they did to make this game that stunning. Great job, Team Ico, you really outdid yourselves!"
Breakdown patted the table, "Personally, I found the aspect of scaling the Colossi and the Colossus A.I. a very big pain in the ass but I understand why it's like that. I mean a game with only an advanced boss run is not going to be easy or else the game would only be maybe an hour but how intelligent they started and continued to be became really emphasized that most of the game's abilities all revolve around that A.I. and how it reacted. That's often frustrating to deal with in terms of time and of strategy. Otherwise, I didn't have a problem with anything else. I absolutely loved the designs and everything, including Mono. Yay!"
"Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'...will I get in trouble for that?...I think about the hands I have held, the places I've seen, the vast lands whose dirt is caked on the bottom of my shoes. The world has changed me...so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you...I'm a bad man...ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?...the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist...life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get," Bumblebee emphasized.
Ratchet rubbed his servos together awkwardly, "Well this has been a fun game and all but I'm going to take my leave."
The cameraman raised a brow, "You're not going to give us an opinion on it?"
"You want an opinion? Fine, here's the deal. I hated those boss fights with an absolute passion and I hope you feel happy about yourselves because now I feel guilty as hell. I hate it, I hate you and I don't know why I agreed to play this game because my trust issues have definitely increased. That's it, I'm done! End of conversation! Bye!"
One of the crew members stuttered, "Ratchet, come on! B-but...?"
"Nope! Done!"
Knockout twirled in his chair happily, "That was an amazing experience. And I kind of want to play its sequel now, The Last Guardian I believe it's called? My main complaint has to be the Colossus A.I. because that made things completely random and it got relatively frustrating, especially with the later ones. The visuals and the gameplay mechanics were marvelous, I actually can't complain about that. Agro was very fun to steer and pretty balanced for firing arrows on which felt like an accomplishment being able to hit Colossi like Phalanx with ease. The movements of all the characters were absolutely stunning and I noticed they improved the water physics too. I played some of the game when it was on the PS3 and the water physics were still very bland like on the PS2 so that was an interesting thing to see. I'm looking forward to its sequel."
Shockwave leaned towards the table with his servos clasped together formally, "I certainly did not like the killing aspect of it because why would I do such a thing even if it meant resurrecting someone? You don't tamper with life unless there's a probable cause that benefits more than just yourself. The fluid motions of the Colossi also felt real which is a great thing for me because I like to study creatures from head to toe, how they move, how they interact with others and seeing that almost made me awe which is a rare thing for me to do. The visuals were gorgeous, the gameplay felt smooth with occasional bumps like the horseback riding section of the tenth Colossus, Dirge."
Bulkhead sighed, "What can I say about this game? Um...I have little to no problems with it in general but the one thing that stood out to me was the designs of the Colossi. Like what were those artists smoking when they created them? Some of those Colossi are the most nightmarish things to ever be put in a video game. Dirge and I believe its name was Barba looked hideous. Imagine waking up with those two staring down at you, would not be a pleasant time. Everything else I can live with and it is honestly one of the most emotional and challenging games I've played in a while so there's that."
The producer asked each Transformer one last thing. "Would you play this again but on hard mode?"
Breakdown grimaced, "Fuck that! It was hard enough on normal! Why would I ever?"
Arcee nodded with a considerate expression, "I mean I'd do it just to prove that I can and to see Malus again maybe. I'm pretty damn determined to take on all challenges so go ahead, hand me the controller and I'll do it right now."
Optimus and Megatron coincidentally both shook their heads. While Optimus bit his lip in explaining why, the warlord huffed, "Oh hell no! I've beat it and it's done! This isn't like Super Mario Galaxy where every item leads to another secret level, I know that much therefore it's not worth it."
Soundwave put on a wide smile emoji and clapped but Bumblebee blinked a few times in uncertainty, "I don't want to die. I want to live forever down there in the lands I conquered, my kingdom. That should be my reward...I have no plans to die today."
Shockwave gulped or made a sound just like it, "I would prefer not to go through...that again. I have already done enough damage for one day, I think."
The green Wrecker gestured "no" as he glanced with a strained face. "I'm not going through that sadness again. Once is enough!"
Wheeljack hummed, "If you pay me, I'll consider it but I'm not going to lay a digit on that controller with that game in there until I see something worth the strife. It was already hard as shit before, is it going to be on a 'nightmare' mode now?"
Knockout laughed like a hyena, "Aw, at least give me some recovery time. That was a minefield plus taking many of those creatures on hard mode would give me a spark attack from absolute misery. No thank you!"
"No, plain and simple," Starscream snarled.
The camerawoman giggled, "Why?"
The Seeker's wings fluttered with a somewhat forced frown to keep him from breaking into his own laughter as he replied, "No-o-o-o! No-o-o-o! N. O. What part of that don't you get?"
"Ratchet, would you play it again on hard mode?" The producer shouted.
A faint sound echoed through the halls far away from the room Ratchet was in. "Nope!"
The remaining crew was cackling madly as the producer came on screen to peer out the door and raised his arms up in slight disappointment while holding his questionnaire. He looked at the camera before bending over and placing the sheet to cover his face from his reaction.
AN: And that's that! Hope you all enjoyed that "playthrough" of Shadow of the Colossus and if you couldn't tell, some of the events that happened while fighting the Colossi as well as some of the reactions were built from my own experience with it the first time through. To be honest, I can speed run both normal and hard modes easily so this isn't valid currently but the first time was multiple instances of mixed reactions, let me tell you.