-AUTHOR NOTES-
First of all, I thank all readers/comments approaching the past part. Now I understand from one of which about the possibilities of Christmas on a planet other than Earth. Before I go in depth with the next part, I can tell you that it IS possible. Let's go through a few examples –
MARIO – Christmas references aren't that closely regarded, but when they're there they do well to lighten up the spirit upon it. A reference to this holiday is shown at the end of "Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom 2" at should you want to take a look there.
SPYRO – Rumors have passed that in the recent title "A Hero's Tail" there is a Christmas tree standing in one of the snowy levels. (I saw a wallpaper with that aspect somewhere.) And considering the Dragon World isn't a realm on Earth, that makes that a more possible entry.
GEX – This may be a bit more of a silly example, but the Media Dimension (again, not a place on Earth) was thought to have a lot of levels relating to specific TV shows. There were three Christmas levels in there, so I suppose that aspect had to count.
I hope this explains as such. oO
Anyhow, I might as well be brief with the description for the final part; it takes us through to the Metal Head ambush as shown by the end of the last part. Will Crista, Damus and the ghost-ottsel get out alive? I think reading is believing, fokes. ;)
This may be the last fanfic I might publish here unless my University campus actually wants to link to again. Because of those people I could barely upload anything, and I've had to rely on someone else's net wizardry to upload the previous part!
But I hope you can all sit back, relax, and enjoy the conclusion.
Peace out,
-Rexy-
---
The silence that was around the main room of the Manor of the Fallen Star occurred for several moments at a time, with Crista and Damus on one side of the room, and a whole army of Metal Heads on the other. Then, Damus soon managed to break the silence by pulling the trigger of his own gun.
A few shots went out, striking the chests of a few of his opponents and sending them straight onto the floor, being drowned of their life.
At the same time, the ghost ottsel managed to hover his way among the upper balcony. Once he was up there, he climbed his way up several shelves that lead towards the top of the room, sitting firmly in a more secure location while looking on at the fighting from down below.
While that happened, some of the smaller Metal Heads started to surround Crista, whom started to show a devious smirk back at them. With that motion in mind, she brought back both of her fists and took a step back, her teeth showing a vicious snarl as she did so.
"Take this!" Crista shouted back.
She brought forward her fists, knocking the Metal Heads to the other side of the room in an instant. She soon managed to catch up, stepping over a few broken tiles on the floor, hurdling over the fallen Christmas tree and rolling underneath a few gun shots to match.
"Be careful, Crista!" Damus commanded. "Those morons could pierce a hole in your fur!"
Crista refused to listen. She continued to fight onwards, hoping to inflict further damage towards her opponents, using her paws and tail in open fighting gestures at whenever she could. That left Damus to continue shooting from his own position, his face maintaining his focused expression.
While that happened, a few monsters came into his eyesight all at once, ready to show their ferocious motions upon him. He then started shooting his gun in a more rapid fire motion around him, striking them straight into their own chests as he managed to do so.
"Steeerike!"
He gave out a sinister smirk, before he started to walk his way towards a few more. But... during that time, a few of which attacked him from behind, almost trying to strangle him from their positions on his back. From up above, the ghost ottsel started to show concern.
"Damus, be careful!"
"I'm trying my best!" he shouted back. "It's just that I've faced enough gun shooting problems in a lifetime!"
He then started to spin around, trying to wrestle some of the creatures from off his back. But that left him to end up tripping over the pine tree as he did so, landing flat on his face as he did so. That left his body to be almost swarmed by various smaller Metal Heads, chewing away at his face and armor.
That left Crista's expression to show shock from her position. From there, she started to dash her way towards the rubble for herself, and brought herself into a spinning motion to force some of the mass from off Damus's body. That left him to smile from his position, knowing he was in hope.
"I'll cover you!" she shouted towards him.
She smiled while looking on at the remaining Metal Heads that have managed to surround her. During that time, she brought out her paws and used them to pounce at several of the smaller ones, almost bringing them down in an almost harmless battle to her.
She then noticed a few of the bigger and stronger creatures coming towards her from behind, leaving her to perform a backwards flip in the air before seating herself on the back of one of the creatures. Over there, she pulled off the shoulder plates for the monster almost harmlessly, and using her fists to slam it straight onto the floor, struggling to reclaim its strength.
"Strike doooown!"
She gave out a light smirk, before she started to look at the three remaining Metal Heads in the room. Both of which seemed to be four times the size of her, and their fangs were shown to be in a more devilish motion to surpass the nature of their comrades.
"Never fear the power of an ottsel, you idiots!" she cackled deviously.
"No, you're just going too far!"
She looked up and saw into the ghost ottsel hovering above her, showing a more panicked gesture upon his face. While that happened, she turned away, and continued to look on at the three beasts around her. They aimed their scepters towards her, showering the room with yellow bolts of energy, leaving her to fight on easily.
She then continued to roam on, hoping to reach the monsters in time. And in time she did, leaping on the back of one of which, leaving one of the Metal Heads to accidentally shoot it before it could ever reach her. That one managed to crumple into pieces upon the floor.
"Crista! Get out of there!" Damus commanded towards her.
"I can fight on, trust me!"
She gave off a strong glance upon the remaining two Metal Heads, which ended up shooting in a lot of directions. While that happened, the shots from their scepters continued to cover the room, almost hitting Damus before he took cover behind the stairwell.
Again, Crista leapt upon one of the monsters, leaving one of the Metal Heads to shoot its partner accidentally. It was there that she knew there was one Metal Head remaining, and for her, it seemed to be now or never. She then managed to run to the back of the room, sliding in a 180 degrees spin before she started going ahead once more.
"LE COUP DE GRACE!!!"
There, she managed to run straight towards the creature, with a fearless expression easily showing upon her two eyes. Several gunshots soon managed to get past her, almost singeing her fur slightly as she managed to dodge them. Her face continued to show determination upon her.
Both Damus and the ghost ottsel could only watch from the background, uncertain over what destiny could have over Crista's fighting gesture. While that happened, she reached her opponent and was about to kick him in the mouth, while at the same time it aimed a strong flash of golden energy from its scepter.
And as soon as time passed, the light from the scepter managed to escape from the scene, instantly causing an explosion to show upon the scene. The force went straight through the bodies of all entities that managed to go through it, leaving them to be brought into a white abyss around them for a few minutes.
Soon after that, the lights soon started to fade out around them, leaving the room to be eventually shrouded into a light scale of darkness. All that was used to provide lighting was a few surviving pyre flies, hovering their way around the room. They soon managed to surround a few select spots on their own.
Those locations have included the fallen Christmas tree, with its lights sliding off its branches, as well as the lying positions for Crista and Damus upon the floor and a few Metal Head plates and bones. A few golden sparks were seen going across the floor, yet there seemed to be no sign of the ghost ottsel anywhere.
Within the wreckage, Damus's hand started to stir, and it wasn't long until he lifted himself up into the air, his face covered with cuts and bruises. He looked upon his surroundings; blurry to his own eyes, but he soon managed to stand up firmly onto both feet, relieved that the fight was over.
"Wow, what a blow..."
He positioned himself carefully into a standing position, yet no matter he straight he tried to be, he ended up staggering around in his position. For that, he brought out a hand and rested upon the walls while trying his best to catch his breath from after the battle.
He then brought his attention towards Crista upon the floor, her body looking limp and lifeless from his position and angle. With a shaky expression, he soon managed to carefully walk his way back towards her, hoping to see into herself in full motion.
"Crista?"
He stepped over the fallen pine tree, before reaching her from an inch away. Once there, he brought his hands upon her back, feeling a sudden cold texture upon her fur. His eyes and ears both showed shock upon his face, leaving him to crouch to her level.
"Crista, are you alright?"
He used his hands to turn her body over like a spring roll. Her arms were left to scrape upon the floor like a rag doll, and her facial expression was shown to be at peace - eyes closed, and with a light smile showing upon her. Hints of color were also drained away from the lower portions of her face.
That left Damus to show panic at the sight of her, as he brought one of his ears over her chest, hoping to see into a response from her. But... there wasn't. No breathing. No heartbeat. Absolutely nothing at all. With that, he lowered his head, revealing an expression of sadness.
"This can't be... you had to sacrifice yourself against them? Please... please don't let it be so!"H
e brought her body up towards her chest, bringing it into a hugging motion around her. While that happened, he continued to express deep sorrow upon his own expression, with his feelings showing that he has lost a true companion upon him.
While that happened, a few golden sparks started to rise from the ground, almost covering him with light yellow energy during his time of his unwanted expressions. While that happened, a small tear started to show upon his eye, bringing itself down one of his cheeks.
"I just wish I didn't underestimate you prior to the mission. If only if I knew sooner that this would happen..."
He then gave out a light sigh, burrowing his face deep within her fur. While that happened, more golden sparks started to surround him, eventually starting to cause a light gale around him, blowing his dreadlocks and clothes gently within the breeze that passed.
The force then continued to show itself into a stronger force, almost covering them both in a manner of bright goldenrod energy. During that time, the sparks took up a more energetic form that soon managed to shoot their way across their bodies.
"Crista..." Damus gasped to himself. "Crista..."
Damus's legs soon started to quiver into jelly, leaving his shadow upon the light to almost crouch down uneasily. His arms then flopped in front of him, leaving Crista's body to fall in front of him. And then, it was there that he soon managed to collapse onto the ground, lying upon the left hand side of his body.
The energetic forces continued to surround them, showing their enthusiastic gestures upon both of them. And then, the light from the scene soon managed to flash straight around the room, with the sound of chimes reflecting upon the walls nearly endlessly.
The lights soon started to fade out, revealing the room to a more spacious and natural matter. All rubble was clear from the floor, and the room felt as fresh as if no one ever stepped inside it. And there... Crista's eyes opened up, seeing into the pleasant scenery around her.
"Damus?"
She then brought out both of her hands, bringing herself back up onto both feet once more. During that time, she looked further ahead, seeing around the sight around her. She looked behind her, and saw that the pine tree was restored into its natural standing order, as if it had never been torn down in the first place.
Then, she went towards Damus, his body lying upon the floor for himself in an unconscious state. While that happened, she brought her hands towards his face, feeling upon the texture on the surface. Warmth and color were still there, leaving her to show a light smile at him.
"Damus, are you okay?" she said in a deep tone.
"He's alright."
The voice of the ghost ottsel was brought among her own ears. She looked to the left of the room, then to the right, and then in all sorts of different directions. Yet no matter how far she could go, she couldn't see him anywhere, leaving her face to show some slight unease.
And then, she ended up seeing into a light set of white energy hovering from above her. Its shape looked so similar to the ghost ottsel, and even there his voice managed to fit the same tone. She looked on at him, wanting to understand the answer to everything.
"He's just frozen in time, as far as I know", he said confidently. "It's just that he has seen too much of what has occurred to us both over the past few moments or so."
She lightly blinked back at him, before she brought her attention towards the scenery behind her. King Damus, in spite of him still being alive, was still seen in a state that would leave him uncertain to know about his true surroundings. The sight left him to face the white essence once more.
That in itself suddenly started to show itself as a more majestic rat-like figure than before, almost as if the particles around it were starting to undergo a transformation. She then walked closer towards the essence, while pointing on at Damus's body as she next raised her mouth to speak.
"Whichever is the case, can you bring him back onto his feet?" she asked him.
"I can, but it may have to be a wait."
The essence then showed itself into a more unclear form, of no distinct color. While that happened, Crista looked back at Damus's motionless body once more, giving off a light smile towards him. Then, she in herself brought herself down onto her knees, bringing her focus upon the specter for herself.
"Whichever has happened, you have done a lot to me already, by restoring my life and helpingus protect the crystals from the Metal Heads", she said confidently. "I really need to repay the favor. Anything!"
Her eyes started to show a more unsure nature upon her, determined to see what the figure would come out with. And there, the figure started to show itself to be a more human-like proportion, almost reflecting upon her eyes with wonder and enchantment.
"I wish that can be possible, but..." the voice paused. "You have already done a lot for me."
"Huh?"
And there, the light around the essence itself started to change, from its white color straight to an essence of sky blue. A bright flash was given off from it, leaving her to bring up one of her own arms, shielding herself away from the light, feeling unsure about what has managed to happen.
There, the figure itself managed to take shape. And it was there that it was soon formed as a humanoid shape, the same species for Damus. And there, some of its key features soon started to highlight upon itself. The cape around its shoulders. The metal plating towards one side of his face. The eye shape. And the facial hair brought under his nose.
Then, it started to show itself with fuller colors, granting more elements of light energy around him. No longer was he one sky blue color, but he soon showed himself to have peachy skin, deep navy clothing around his body, and armor showing upon a few portions of his body. His sightings left Crista to gasp at the sight of him.
"Oh my Goodness...!" she gasped with shock.
"Yes, it's me."
He then hovered down to her level, and once there, he brought out a hand, ready to reach out for her. She looked onto his face, seeing into his figure in full light. And that was shown to be a face that she never thought she'd see once more; one that she knew during her time as a humanoid.
"Baron Praxis? You're..." She paused. "You're here? How can it be?"
"I don't have much time to explain."
At the sound of his voice, a few tears started to flood upon her face, only this time, they were expressing emotions of happiness upon her. She tried to bring herself around his spiritual body into a hug, but... she ended up losing her balance and falling through him.
She then looked up from her position, seeing the spiritual essence hover closer towards the ground, with tension starting to show through his one remaining eye. He tilted his face towards her angle, and lightly smiled back towards her as he did so.
"Due to the war granted by the Metal Heads, I never really had time for eternal rest", he sighed with sorrow. "I'm not surprised; neither did most of the other people I know during my time."
"I can understand what you mean by that", smiled Crista. "But..."
She soon managed to stand up on both feet, her eyes starting to show a lot of uncertainty through her own expression. Then, she ended up seeing into his eye from her angle-based position, willing to see into more answers lying within her own mind.
"How can we truly bring this war to a close?" she asked. "They've granted a lot of pain to us all already."
"I still don't understand the answers as of yet", sighed the Baron. "Even now, Haven City has undergone a ferocious siege relating to the war, and it may take a period of time before order can naturally be restored. If you can keep fighting on, and believing in the Precursors, then you'll see that someday the nightmare will end."
He smiled on towards Crista, before using his own two hands to carefully lift her up into the air. While that happened, her hair started to blow in the wind, with images of her humanoid form casting in the light behind her. Her eyes focused upon her lost partner, waiting to see into another response from him.
And there, it wasn't long until she was carefully placed, back towards the front door leading out towards the mansion. While that happened, she ended up looking closer towards Praxis once more, whom soon managed to swerve his way towards the front door for himself.
"Can you please stay by my side and offer guidance to this?" Crista pleaded. "You know that I can't wander around Spargus alone, let alone survive a war!"
"I have understood your call; however most of your calling is for you to understand yourself."
And as if in a flash, his spiritual body started to reform itself into a blur. The sight of the transformation left her eyes to start panicking at the sight. Then, the essence then started to zoom down the corridor in a flash, starting to bring itself far away from her.
She then started to run as far as she could, thus she tried her best to catch up with his level. She then ran down the hallway she came from, with the few skull gems showing up to gradually light the way for her. She extended her hands out, trying to reach for him once more.
"Please, don't go!" she screamed towards him. "I need you!"
"Remember to believe in the Precursors..."
And there, the blur itself suddenly started to transform into a blur of white light once more, before using that as a stronger light source to guide Crista out from the room. The energy behind it soon reflected upon her own eyes, almost obscuring her path if not done right.
"Grant me my assistance, please! Any way you can!"
She continued to run, although she seemed to be uncertain upon where she was trying to run, and how she was trying to get there. With one arm used to block the light force, and the other to try and reach for the spiritual essence, it seemed as if she was struggling to get through her own grasp.
And it wasn't long until the texture on the ground started to show a more different texture, leaving her to take footing onto a new patch of ground altogether. Even there, the light sources seemed to remain the same, leaving her to try and continue to reach for the light essence ahead of her.
The problem was... the light essence soon ended up to be further away from her than she once thought.
---
The white flash then faded out, leaving her to see into the scenery from around her once more. Over there, Spargus was seen facing a set of lilac-crimson skies around it. She looked towards the East, and saw the sun starting to show itself over the mountains.
With that, she gave off a blink, before she looked around from her position. She was shown in the manor's front garden, as gritty as it was when she first saw it. Shrubs were seen sparking everywhere, developing within the ground around her. She looked from one place in the other, still determined to keep her eyes focused upon Praxis's ghost.
Several minutes passed, and after a lot of aimless searching... she soon brought her head down, almost desperate to give up. She brought herself over a small wall, perching herself over one of the edges and looking straight ahead of her. Not a single star seemed to be still around at that moment in time.
"Where are you?" she whispered to herself.
Her voice was soon carried over through the cold wind, with warm air starting to drift through the breeze. She looked down, with her hair instantly obstructing her view from the world around her. Her looks seemed to be as if she was lost in an endless maze that she couldn't break out of.
She then looked on at the doors behind her from her position, bringing her light expression back into full light once more. But... there, she ended up seeing that the doors leading inside the mansion were shown to be slightly open once more, leading her to show an expression of tension.
"Oh no, Damus!!!"
She then jumped down from the wall, and was about to run right inside it for herself, but... once there, she ended up seeing into a shadow stepping out from inside it. And that showed himself in full light to be Damus, looking refreshed from the whole attack.
"Crista, how did you... what did you..." his expression showed confusion. "What happened?"
"Huh?"
"I thought you were dead the last time I saw you! How?"
Crista lightly blushed to herself. "I'm still trying to figure out everything myself."
She looked down at herself, seeing her shadow gradually shorten as the daylight start to show upon her. While that happened, Damus took a light step forward, looking onto the light ahead of him which soon reflected upon his own two eyes.
"Could it be the power of the Precursors?" Damus asked.
"Maybe, but... all I know is that we've managed to clear our own mission", she smiled. "What do you suppose we do with the crystals?"
"I'll put it with the rest and analyze them further. It'll be a long while until this war is over, but this mission could mean the start of something big."
He smiled on towards her, while taking a hold of the star-shaped eco crystal from Crista's grasp. Once there, he placed it inside the sack with the other smaller crystal, and that left him to start walking down the long path towards his palace home.
Crista gave off a light smile, before she started to follow him with her own expression showing joy and happiness to match. But... it wasn't long until Damus came to a light stop in his tracks, bringing his attention towards his partner. He gave off a devious smirk while doing so.
"Then again I might take a break for Christmas."
Crista couldn't help but chuckle. "You said it!"
She threw her hands in the air, leaving Damus to give off a light chuckle, as they both soon managed to sprint their way down the pathway together. The cold air suddenly started to brush themselves against their skin, but even there it didn't hinder their performance too much.
By the time they reached the crossroads leading towards the castle, Damus was left to run towards it alone, while Crista stood in the center, waving towards him from her position. And as soon as he left her eyesight, she started to leave the sight for herself, taking the left hand side of the crossroad.
As the dawn of a new day soon started to unfold, the visions of the past experience soon started to show upon her mind, ready to show a lot of peace, relief and happiness upon her mind once more. A small snowflake soon fell upon the ground, and even if it did melt soon afterwards, she smiled at the sight of it. Indeed, the experience could end up being the start of something big.
---
The day soon managed to pass on, and it was there that the people around Spargus soon managed to fill the streets once more, determined to see the days pass on further and further. The sun in the sky may feel to be a bit colder in comparison to the past few days, but it soon reflected strongly upon their armor.
While some of which soon managed to leave the city, ready to hunt down more Metal Heads, a few of which managed to stay behind and open up their own trading spots for other wastelanders to come in and possess their own material, glad to see that a normal day was about to unfold.
During that time, a few smaller humanoids were seen roaming around in the streets, playing with one another; chasing, hugging one another, playing games... you name it, they managed to do so, adding to the lively atmosphere that was brought around them.
Sitting near a few children playing games, was a small ruined flat hidden near the North West area of the city. There, Crista was seen walking her way towards it, ready to settle into it once more. Bags started to form under her eyes, knowing that she was set to face a day to recover.
And as soon as she stepped in, she saw the empty room that she was granted with. Once there, she stretched her arms, and placed herself inside a nearby basket, ready to catch up on the hours of sleep that she missed during the course of the mission.
---
Several hours passed, and it wasn't long until the sunset colors soon managed to pass upon the sky, although only faintly. Inside the building, Crista was seen nearly tossing and turning through her own position. And it wasn't long until she ended up sitting up, stretching her arms and yawning as she did so.
She opened her eyes, expecting to see an empty room once more, but... that was when she suddenly noticed that the room was suddenly painted a bright gold color. She gave off a curious blink at the sight of it, causing her eyes to widen, and her posture to bring herself into a standing motion.
She then looked up at the ceiling, and saw sights of tinsel hanging upon her ceiling. She then paid attention towards her own door leading into her small room, and it was there where she saw a holly wreath attached straight onto it. At the sight of those features, her jaw almost dropped to the ground.
"What is this?"
She then started to look into the individual corners around her. Near one of her window sills, a small snow globe showing a flut flut playing around a winter paradise was seen, and with more tinsel running underneath there was shown to be a lot of life granted upon it.
To its right was a coffee table, and on there stood a few ornaments - a humanoid variation on father Christmas standing with a creature that looked like a crossbreed between a yakow and a reindeer. And there was a snowman figure sitting right next to them, with a string outstretched from his hat - it was shown to be a novelty candle.
She then paid attention towards the furthest corner of the room, where a nearby Christmas tree was seen resting upon the walls. Underneath it, a few parcels were seen shown upon the ground, showing labels as written by a few residents around Spargus itself.
"I didn't remember setting all this lot up! Who did this? Own up!"
She gave off a light blink as she started to inspect the labels carefully. Most of which came from some of the people she knew around the city and from the outskirts slightly, most especially from people like Damus, Kleever and Seem among a few others.
She then started to look on at the tree from her position, and it was there that she saw that more tinsel was wrapped around it, with a replica of a dark eco star made out of sandpaper and glitter shown at the top. Multicolored baubles showed themselves around it, as did another sight that came in parallel around the tinsel.
"What are those strange lights?" she said while pointing at them.
She looked on at the lights for herself, which in themselves started to grant off a bright blue motion to begin with. Several seconds later, they faded to white, before they soon brought themselves into a golden color, and switching back to blue once more.
She brought her face closer towards one of which, so that her nose was almost touching the tip of one of the lights. So far, all that she could see was her own reflection, showing her own signs of curiosity within them. By then, a light smile started to show upon her.
She brought out another hand in order to touch it, but there, she ended up feeling a strong airy gust that started to run through her own fingers. That soon circulated through her body, causing her hair to blow lightly in the gust that was soon provided alongside it.
A light flash soon occurred within the light, before a few Precursor letters were shown in sequence, spelling out "Believe in the Precursors". She thought about the quote for herself, trying her best to remember where she has managed to hear it once before.
And judging from the events of the past night, she knew that she had found her answer.
-fin-
---
The Manor of the Fallen Star is © Rexy 2004. The Jak 3 universe is © Naughty Dog 2004. All rights reserved.