Chapter 31: Prime Pt 8
Ben and Samus slowly backed up as the rock monster slowly approached them. When they went to the quarantine cave to investigate the seismic activity that their helmets picked up earlier, THIS was not what they expected.
"Uh… Samus? Any ideas as to how we deal with this?" Ben asked.
"Working on it." Samus said as she scanned the monster
But before she could finish scanning, the monster suddenly brought down its arm in an attempt to squish them forcing Ben and Samus to quickly dodge out of the way. Ben quickly changed into Astrodactyl and took to the sky before quickly firing several blasts from his mouth. The rock monster then took Astrodactyl as a more serious threat it began to chase after him leaving Samus to finish scanning the rock monster hoping to find a weakness to exploit. When she finished scanning the monster it revealed some interesting information.
Morphology: Thardus
An animated, sentient creature of stone charged with Phazon radiation.
Logbook entry
The Phazon radiation given off by Thardus negates auto-targeting systems, preventing lock-on. It may be possible to acquire alternate targets with a different Visor. The chaotic nature of Phazon irradiation leads to instability in its structural integrity. Thardus can encase targets in ice, and its colossal size and strength make it a formidable opponent.
'Different visor'? I wonder if…' Was all Samus thought as she switched to her thermal visor and saw the lower part of the rock monster's right leg was the only thing in its body that was illuminating brightly.
Seeing this she began to blast Thardus right on the lower part of its leg. This caused the monster to stop pursuing Astrodactyl and look towards Samus before it began to attack her instead. Samus quickly avoided several attacks before Thardus suddenly shot its arms upwards much to Samus and Astrodactyl's confusion. The answer came in the form of six smaller rocks shooting into the air and shot toward them with the first three heading towards Samus and the other three heading towards Astrodactyl.
Astrodactyl was able to avoid the first two projectiles and quickly destroyed the last one with his energy whips and Samus did the same but just as they were about to continue their attack Thardus suddenly did a one eighty and knocked Astrodactyl out of the sky and he landed right next to Samus. Thardus wasn't done yet as energy formed around its hands and it slam its fists into the ground sending an ultrafrigid beam at Samus and Astrodactyl and enchased the two in ice, preventing them to move.
Trapped in their icy prisons the two struggled to break out as Thardus slowly approached them. Before the monster could step any closer Samus was able to break free before delivering a solid blow to Astrodactyl which cracked his ice encasing and after a bit of struggling the pterodactyl like alien was able to break free as well.
"*Squawk* Ok this isn't working. Any ideas?" Astrodactyl said as he managed to dodge an attack from the monster.
"While you were distracting Thardus, I saw that there was a weak spot on the lower part of the creature's right leg." Samus said as she blasted several rocks that Thardus sent flying towards her.
"*Squawk* Ok I see what you're saying, keep it distracted while we blast its weak spots." Astrodactyl said as he destroyed a bunch of rocks with his energy whips.
"My thought exactly." Samus said as she started blasting Thardus's leg.
Astrodactyl quickly took to the air and blasted Thardus's leg as well and it seemed that it was working but then Samus fired a charged blast at the spot and then there was a sudden flash of light and Thardus let out what the two assumed was a cry of pain.
When the light finally died down the two saw that the monster's leg was glowing brighter in some areas and it became more apparent to Astrodactyl that this was the creatures weak spot. The two then unleashed their massive blast on the spot and it seemed to do little damage to the creature but then Samus fired a missile at it.
The moment the two made contact the projectile completely obliterated the rock that made up the lower leg. Thardus roared out in pain as he took a step back. Astrodactyl landed and looked toward Samus before looking towards Thardus who quickly began to form its body into a giant ball.
"*Squawk* Uh-oh. I don't like the looks of that." Astrodactyl said as Thardus began to roll towards them.
"Quick! MOVE!" Samus shouted as the two quickly scattered to avoid being crushed.
The two were able to avoid the walking (or in this case rolling) rock pile for a few minutes and when it was over the Hunter and pterodactyl-like alien saw that the rock that made up the lower right arm where the wrist would be. Astrodactyl tapped the Omnitrix and changed into Jetray and took to the air where he began to blast the creature's arm with several neroshock blasts.
The Aerophibian kept Thadus distracted while Samus blasted the lower right arm. Thadus brought his arms up again and shot out several more large rocks at Samus, who was able to destroy the rocks before Thadus shot another ultrafrigid beam at Samus. The Hunter saw the attack and quickly dodged the icy attack before Jetray fired a much more powerful neroshock blast at the arm effectively destroying it. Thardus let out another cry of pain before it began to form its body once again into a ball.
Seeing its attack pattern before Samus quickly dodged out of the way as the creature rolled right by her. After a bit of dodging Samus saw that the next weak spot was now on Thardus's lower left arm. Seeing this it caused the two to now focus on the other arm but Thardus managed to swat Jetray out of the sky and just as the Aerophibian was able to recover Thadus shot another ultrafrigid beam at him freezing him in place.
"BEN!" Samus shouted as she quickly dodged several rocks that the monster sent and finally shot a missile at the arm destroying it.
As this was going on Jetray struggled to move but fortunately before he was frozen he moved his hand right above the Omnitrix and while barely able to he was able to reach it with his finger and tapped it changing into NRG. The Prypiatosian-B began to heat up his suit and melt away the ice that was surrounding his body until it was weak enough to allow him to break free. Now free he saw that Thardus was giving Samus some trouble but before he could act, Thardus began to motion its arms around and all of a sudden he raised them up and energy began to illuminate from them and at the same time lightning bolts began to shoot down around them. When it was all over the two suddenly noticed that the snow was picked up from the small storm and now the area began to fog up making it difficult for either Samus or NRG to see.
"Oh great." Was all NRG could say as he and Samus looked around the area.
With that the two then fired several beams at the monster's next weak spot which was located on the left thigh. It took a bit of doing but they were able to destroy the rock and after dodging the monster's rolling attack the began to open fire at the next weak spot located on the rock on the right shoulder. Thardus conjured up several rocks and they shot towards the two. Since NRG's containment suit is virtually indestructible he was able to use himself as a shield and protect Samus against the attacks while she fired a missile at the monster's next weak spot that was located on the left shoulder.
The missile completely destroyed the rock and at the same time the fog started to debilitate thus returning visibility to normal. As this was going on the Hunter and Prypiatosian-B began to see that Thardus is becoming more wild and as such it began to beat the ground in wild anger, and it closed itself up and energy began to course around its body before finally it expelled the energy as various thunderbolts that shot down around them.
The two were barely able to avoid the bolts and even more barely when the monster then rolled itself up and began to roll around in a much faster pace as it tried to crush the two like insects. Eventually it stopped rolling and the two saw that the final weak spot located on its head.
Samus and NRG were about to fire but then all of a sudden Thardus curled up into a ball again and rolled towards them. Neither Samus or NRG expected this and while Samus was able to dodge the attack the Prypiatosian-B wasn't so lucky and was immediate crushed under the monster's weight. When Thardus rolled past him, NRG slowly got back up and as he looked at it Thardus stopped rolling and that left the monster open for Samus to attack. NRG was about to step in but then he noticed that some of the rocks that were from Thardus's destroyed body parts scattered around him. Knowing what he needed to do, he tapped the Omnitrix and he was engulfed in a flash of green light.
When the light faded in NRG's place was a ten-feet-tall robotic humanoid alien with some shark-like characteristics as well. He was dark blue, almost purple, and light blue in color. He had a long horn on the top of his head connected to a shorter protrusion on the back of his head and a large mouth that spread over part of his chest. He also had a silver belt, matching wristbands, oval-shaped eyes, and it wore the Omnitrix symbol is on his chest.
"EATLE!" He shouted.
The Oryctini wasted no time in grabbing some of the rocks and began eating them. As he did he began to feel the materials' matter being converted into energy and when he ate enough, he began to shoot a green laser beam out of the slot on his horn. The beam scored a direct hit on Thardus causing Samus to look over to see Eatle devour another large rock and fire another green beam. Seeing this Samus continued to blast at the monsters head until finally the head exploded.
Now without a head Thardus let out a dyeing moan as it dropped its arms, and it began to fall forward forcing the two to move out of the way before it exploded. Eatle was about to check on Samus when suddenly a large rock hits Samus in the head after she moved out of the way of the falling boulders, making a sound similar to that of a metal drum.
Despite his appearance the Oryctini did his very best to prevent himself from laughing but all he did was let out a quiet chuckle as he found the incident humorous, which in turn caused The Hunter to look at him. But this didn't last as a rock that was much larger than the one that hit Samus hits him in the head, and it let out the sound of someone hitting an oil drum with a sledge hammer. That caused Eatle to stop laughing and look at the rock before he looked towards Samus and he had to squint his eyes a bit because he could have sworn he heard her quietly chuckle a bit.
Now that the moment has passed the two looked back to see the remains of the monster, but something stood out in the center of it the rubble. Samus and Eatle slowly made their way towards it and saw that it looked like Samus's morph ball. She touched it and as soon as she did she suddenly began to summersault at an extremely fast pace and then the ball split in two before encasing her. After another flash of light Eatle saw that the item was in fact a new upgrade for Samus's morph ball.
"This is called the Spider Ball. With this I can now scale Spider Ball tracks." Samus explained as she returned to her normal form.
"That could come in handy." Eatle said as Samus walked passed him.
She walked towards what looked like a rail track on the wall of the south side of the room and entered her morph ball. Planting a bomb she used the explosion to launch herself into the air and using her new upgrade she was able to magnetize herself to the track and move up much to Eatle's shock.
"Huh. Well that's one way to get around." The Oryctini said before tapping the Omnitrix and changed into Ghostfreak.
The Ectonurite followed her as she made her way out avoiding two Pulse Bombus that were there before reaching the other side. Upon entering the two were met with a tall, round room with an elevator in the center and large rocks hanging from the ceiling. Ghost freak tapped the Omnirtix and changed back to Ben just as Samus scanned the elevator terminal. As the elevator descended they felt the temperature slowly rising signaling that they were reentering the Magmoor Caverns. When the elevator finally stopped the two passed through the door and made their way across a corridor avoiding six flame jets on the ceiling. Upon entering the next door they were met with a very large room, open to the sky, with lava cooling equipment and Morph Ball tunnels with steps that are formed out of the rock walls, which lead up to two doors while the third door that they entered from is reached via constructed metal platforms.
Before they could ponder what to do Ben and Samus quickly took cover after being shot at by three Flying Pirates that noticed the two. Ben quickly tapped the Omnitrix and changed into Diamondhead before he leaped over the edge of the top platform and fired several crystal shards at two of the Pirates killing them instantly. The third one however was able to take off into the sky, but before it could even fire a blast Samus fired a missile at its jetpack causing the pirate to fly out of control and ultimately crashing into a wall on the far side of the area where it exploded on impact. Now that the area was clear the Hunter and Petrosapien began to ponder where to go next but then Samus points towards one of the doors and the two climbed the steps and entered the next door to reveal a short hallway which opens out into a pool of magma in the middle. But what peaked the Petrosapien's attention was a lare creature that was floating in the middle of the lava.
"What the heck is that thing?" Diamondhead asked not seeing a creature like that before.
"That thing is called a Puddle Spore." Samus explained.
"Puddle Spores are creatures that float in lava with their shells tightly closed most of the time. When a predator approaches one, it will open its shell in an attempt to make itself appear larger than it really is. If the predator continues to approach, then the Puddle Spore will slam shut and eject a spread of harmful energy globules. Its shell is impenetrable and emits a foul smell." She added as the creature noticed the two.
True to Samus's words the creature opened its shell up as if it was attempting to intimidate them before it slammed shut and released its globules. Diamondhead quickly formed a shield out of his arms to block the attack just as Samus fired at the creature just as it opened it's shell again. The blast made contact with the creature's mantle causing it to flip over. Using this as their opportunity the two leaped onto the creature's flatter side as a makeshift platform and jumped again to reach the other side of the lava pool.
After dealing with a few creatures that Samus identified as 'Burrowers' the two entered the next room where they were met with a room that has three pillars in a large pool of magma. Deciding they will come back later the two made their way a cross the lava after forcing two Puddle Spores to flip over. When they reach the other side they entered the next room where they were met with a Magmoor. Before the creature could shoot out a stream of fire Samus shot at a stalactite that was directly above it, causing it to fall and kill the Magmoor.
"Ok, How stupid are these things to the point where they don't even look up?" Diamondhead asked as he and Samus used the fallen stalactite as a 'stepping-stone' to cross the pool safely.
When they entered the next room the two were met with a large cave with a giant pool of magma and almost no way across. Samus looked around to see if there was away across when the spotted a nearby stalactite and repeated the same action she did before and blasted it. Once the large rock hit the lava the two jumped across to reach it and spotted nine Puffers that could pose a problem. But before they could deal with them, another Magmoor emerged from bellow and shot a stream of fire at them.
Quick to act Diamondhead created a shield and blocked the flames allowing Samus to fire a missile at it obliterating it's whole head. Now that the creature was dead, the Hunter made quick work of the Puffers and after shooting down another stalactite the two were able to reach the other side with relative ease. Samus entered her Morph Ball and rolled into a small tunnel forcing Diamondhead to change into Ball Weevil and follow her avoiding the flames that were jetting out from the sides.
When they reached the other side the two were met with another Magmoor which quickly met the same fate as the ones before with Samus blasting a stalactite directly above it. Now that the area was clear Samus jumped across the lava while Ball Weevil casually scaled the side of the cave to reach her before they entered the next door minding the flames that were jetting from the walls and ceiling. They entered the next room where Samus entered her Morph Ball and entered a small opening before using the spider ball track to move across the tunnel. Ball Weevil followed her by crawling across the track and they made it to the other side avoiding the lava below them.
They exited the tunnel and found themselves back in the elevator room that took them to Tallon Overworld West. The two walked past the elevator and entered the next door where the two made their way through Transport Tunnel B. They made their way across the tunnel and reached the next door which led to the Fiery Shores. There they had to avoid the flame jets coming from the ceiling and they reached the side that was much larger. Ball Weevil tapped the Omnitrix and changed into Ghostfreak and he grabbed Samus from under her shoulders and they flew across the large cavern.
The two entered the next door and they walked down a tunnel, with the middle section providing access over a large lava pit, while the ends are made of rock. Upon entering the next door they found that they were back at The Monitor Station. The two slowly made their way up to the station where they walked through the door and trekked through Transport Tunnel A with Samus using her Morph Ball while Ghostfreak phased through the walls. When they exited the door they reentered the elevator room that took them to the northern parts of the Phendrana Drifts. Ghostfreak tapped the Omnitrix and changed back to Ben and the two stepped onto the elevator and ascended.
As they did they felt the temperature dropping and when it finally stopped the two made their way across the corridor where they reached the Phendrana Shorelines. Before the two could continue on they were spotted by two Baby Sheegoths (which were quickly taken care of by Ben who changed into Heatblast in order to melt their shells allowing Samus to finish them off).
With the creatures disposed of the Hunter and Pyronite made their way up to the Ice Ruins Access where they passed through the corridor before reaching the Ice Ruins East. Before they could get verry far the two heard a sound ond looked over to their right to see that they were spotted by an Adult Sheegoth.
'UH-OH.' Both the Hunter and Pyronite thought.