The epicness of the original final terraformer battle made this chapter difficult, yet exciting to write, I even listened to the scene music to help with it. Nonetheless including the dragons in this was a great motivator, and I like how it turned out, hope you all do too.
To Vulpimaru: After reading your review about separating the Aether and Convexity elements, I agree with it. Truthfully I never looked into whether those special elements had a name other than Convexity. I agree though, Spyro using the light side called Aether as is the purple dragon's true calling, to maintain balance in life, opposed to Malefor seeking to consume everything in Convexity after he let it consume him. I tagged that in the last chapter when they attempted to hit him with the same attack as in their last battle, so that can be something that can be carried on in future stories.
Ch42: Invasion of the Terraformer
Outside Spargus, everything was calm despite the growing storm. Of course that meant nothing to the heroes that had immediately materialized outside the front gate in a flash of dark light. Their ottsel friend was the first to cheer.
"We did it! WOOHOO!" Daxter jumped in the air with pumped fists.
Sparx showed it next, "and we're alive! HUZZAH!...oh yeah!...oh yeah!..." he and his ottsel counterpart danced around in a jig at their incredible good fortune.
While sitting down on the sand dune, Calidan took a relieving breath, having escaped from the most death defying experience of his life. He then turned to the dragons, "is it always this intense with you guys?"
"More or less, though the trip into the upper atmosphere is a new one for me," said Spyro laying on the dune.
"Like you said, we're a strange dysfunctional family," Cynder began before turning cheeky, "welcome to it dirt boy."
Calidan just chuckled in good humor for once not caring about Cynder's nicknames. The dragons shared with a laugh themselves as the sidekicks continued to dance around. Jak quickly brought them back to reality.
"Guys," he said in a serious tone while looking up at the sky as a red meteor streak flew down from the heavens and made impact on the other side of the wasteland, "we're not done."
The smoldering crater of sand was billowing black smoke from the entity that impacted. Soon, six giant legs sprouted from the smoke and made their first touch on Elorin terrain. Piloting it from the cockpit was a former Elorin inhabitant turned global pariah who gave his former home a final declaration.
"You will all die at my hand!"
Emerging from the crash site, Cyber Errol piloted his stolen terraformer, albeit with every intention of using it to wipe out all life on the planet. As the machine stood to its maximum height, it was now noticed by the heroes near Spargus staring at it in horror. They weren't the only ones, for atop the Spargus walls, all the guards positioned there along with the dragons Terrador, Chloro, and Saphira looked at the giant dark machine with terror. Even across the desert at top of the Monk Temple, Seem and her monks along with Cyril, Volteer, and Zaxto were gasping in disbelief at the monstrous dark titan they could see in the distance. Unbeknownst to the other, one from each of their groups spoke their disbelief at the same time.
"By the ancestors," said Terrador.
"By the precursors," said Seem.
Calidan, Spyro and Cynder were wide-eyed gasping in horror at the sight of the terraformer. Sparx and Daxter were as well, until they spoke their own disbelief…
"You've got to be kidding me," droned Sparx.
"This guy just won't quit!" Daxter shouted.
Jak stood up while giving another order to snap them back to their wits, "its heading for the city, we've got to defend it!...For Damas," he finished that last part with a sad tone.
"For everyone," added Spyro. Calidan and Cynder nodded in agreement.
Jak remembered something that was said prior to their last showdown together, "Good to know you've got one last fight in you." His comment made both dragons grin and nod.
"Well what are we waiting for?! Time for the last charge of the dark, light and dragon brigade! Let's do it compadres!" Daxter said running to the gate which opened upon proximity.
"You up for this Cal?" Jak asked, turning to their now full fledged member.
"To the end," was his response. Jak gratefully nodded before following Daxter into the vehicle pen. They both jumped into the Sand Shark, along with Sparx who chose to keep up with the group in the least hazardous way. Jak started the engines, and the Sand Shark bolted out of the pen and into the wasteland. The dragons had rejuvenated themselves with the mystic gem, this time probably the last, seeing how the gem's light was now flickering, so they had to make this last fight count! Calidan, Spyro, Cynder then ran right after the Shark, with Calidan hitting his center power switch to re-engage his wings, taking off as Eagle once again. Spyro and Cynder took flight right behind him, following the Shark as it made its way toward the approaching terraformer. Their departure was seen by the dragon guardian atop the Spargus wall.
"May the ancestors be with you young ones," Terrador said softly watching them go.
"Isn't there anything we can do master?" Chloro asked.
"I'm afraid like with the golem and the Destroyer, it's now up to Spyro and Cynder," he replied sadly.
"Jak and Cal too," Saphira said dismally, receiving a nod from the guardian leader.
"Regardless, we must defend the city in case that abomination makes its way over here, we best help them prepare for evacuation," Terrador ordered. The acolytes nodded before they turned around to do so.
Jak drove the Sand Shark into the northwest area of the wasteland where they had engaged the marauder army earlier in the week. Daxter clung to his usual spot on Jak's left shoulder guard while Sparx gripped the other one, keeping one eye open as best he could. Above, Eagle and the dragons did their best to keep up overhead despite the storm, though as they reached the center of the area, the sight of the terraformer unsettled them all.
"I am officially out of my mind," Eagle muttered to himself as he flew up higher to reach the top of the machine. Behind him, the dragons were reminded of a similar size monster back on their world Terrador had unknowingly mentioned earlier.
"Like the Destroyer all over again," Spyro said to Cynder.
"Only there's no dam to break this time," she agreed, "so we just keep hitting it all over until it falls!" He nodded back and they both flew down opposite Eagle to meet up with Jak. Eagle meanwhile made his way to the top of the terraformer, and directed himself toward the cockpit. Unfortunately his approach was completely clear to Errol, who aimed the head at the aerial warrior and let loose a pulsating blue beam from its mouth underneath him.
"WOAH!" Eagle shouted barrel rolling away, just barely avoiding it. He kept ahead of the sustaining beam as it followed him around the head back to its main body. Unfortunately even as he avoided the beam, another terraformer weapon fired at him, this time it was dark purple lasers firing from the claw-like appendages attached to the main body.
"Agh! It's even more hazardous up here than it is down there!" Eagle radioed to Jak through the comm.
"Are you alright?" he asked from the Shark, finally reaching proximity to the terraformer.
"Well I'm not dead yet if that's what you mean!" Eagle shouted back while avoiding another laser shower. Accepting he was alright for now, Jak drove toward one of the feet that had just planted in front of him. There were two dark eco nodes attached to it, each one providing a supplementary power source for each leg. Noting the weak spot, he aimed and fired the Sand Shark's front mounted machine guns, destroying them both in two seconds. He drove around the empty foot to head for another, while the terraformer entered the northwest area. The dragons had witnessed the whole tactic from behind the Shark, giving Spyro incentive to start their own attack.
"Split up to take one each, and then regroup," Spyro told Cynder. She at first seemed hesitant to separate, but understood the reasoning quickly, splitting up to destroy the nodes would ensure the terraformer would be stopped a lot faster. Spyro split off to the right and Cynder to the left. The purple dragon flew toward another foot that had planted itself on top of a rock, and let loose a fireball at the single node visible to him. It exploded upon contact, allowing him to move around to find the other one.
Cynder flew toward a foot on top of the mountain which led to the volcano. She noticed one node was visible to her, and deduced the second was on the opposite side. She fired a poison bomb at the exposed node, shattering it, allowing her to ascend higher than the foot over to the other side. It was exposed to the black dragoness now who destroyed the second with another poison bomb.
Above the ground units, Eagle continued evading laser shots from the appendages. He was deducing himself how he could help inflict some damage as well as keep Errol occupied until his friends below did their job. Finally, he realized that the best way to avoid the claw lasers was behind the other, like the Walkers had done in Spargus once before. He flew around to the backside of one claw, and flew his way up to its highest point where the laser was positioned. Setting himself just right, he freed his one hand to grab a bomb from his pouch as the laser opposite him took aim at the flyer. He had just thrown his bomb as the laser fired at him, though his timing was perfect one two fronts, one was his bomb attaching near the top of the appendage body, and two it was as it was rising, making it take the hit from its counterpart causing significant damage. Eagle put some distance between him and the appendage before pressing his trigger.
KABOOMM!
His Omega bombs proved just as effective on the giant dark extraterrestrial machine as the others. Although the body of the appendage was still functioning, the laser atop was destroyed, rendering it a lesser threat. From his cockpit, Errol saw the warning on his console, forcing him to turn around in fury at the aerial pest who had joined with his greatest enemies. Needless to say his alliance with Jak and the others made him an enemy as well, so now he focused on destroying him first before moving onto the main ones. He fired another beam from his cockpit mouth, forcing Eagle to ascend higher to avoid it as it climbed to catch him.
The terraformer had not halted its movement despite the attacks on it, and was now exiting the northwest area and entering the space outside the Spargus gate. Jak continued following it with the Sand Shark as it followed one of its rear feet into the area. Although following the monolithic machine proved to be even more hazardous from below now that the machine was unleashing dark eco mines from its underbelly onto the sand dune below. Fortunately Jak's machine guns were more than able to blow them away before he hit them, but it didn't help that there were so many of them. The foot he was chasing had lifted itself up past the Shark, and due to the machine's massive size, took a step over a mile long to plant itself well ahead of it. That was fine with Jak, as he pushed the pedal to the floor racing towards it and the visible dark eco node while the sidekicks continued to hold onto him. He fired his machine guns, first destroying the mines that had landed in front of him before destroying the node. He then hit the turbo to speed up past the foot, before turning his head to see the other node on its adjacent side. Bringing the Sand Shark into a skid, he aimed and fired the machine guns at it just as the foot prepared to lift for another step.
The node was destroyed as the foot lifted up. Realizing now that he had destroyed nodes on two feet, and the dragons had each taken out one themselves, that left only two more feet with nodes to destroy. In fact, as he hit the gas again to spin the Sand Shark back around to continue pursuing the terraformer, the dragons had regrouped and were about to attack another foot together. They had seen their next target set down ahead of them, and after giving each other a nodding smirk, they flew ahead and latched themselves onto it on opposite sides, where both nodes were right in front of their faces. Rather than waste their elements on a close proximity attack, they destroyed these nodes like they did dark crystals back on their world. One mighty claw strike and each node busted to bits. They released their grip as the naked foot lifted itself again.
"Alright! That only leaves one!" Spyro exclaimed, and at the same time he and Cynder saw the Sand Shark drive ahead of them, heading for the last foot that was up at the front of the terraformer.
"Looks like blue boy is going to finish it up!" Cynder bellowed before turning to Spyro, "we should help Cal out in the meantime." Spyro nodded back as he and Cynder began their ascent up the terraformer's main body. Jak continued his drive toward the final foot, before another obstacle, a dark eco spinner landed ahead of him, along with more dark eco mines. Unlike the mines, the spinner was able to move on its own, and was moving in a zigzag pattern to avoid its primary target before attacking. However its defensive maneuvers were no stranger to Jak, and quickly turned his aim to shoot the spinner before it assaulted him, allowing him to quickly turn his direction back to the last foot just ahead of the mines in front of him.
Above, Eagle tried firing at the cockpit with his blaster hoping it would be somewhat effective. Unfortunately it was even less so than against the Walkers, as Errol fired another blue beam forcing him to evade again. He had not been able to inflict any damage on the terraformer since the laser, but took comfort that he at least kept its attention. However, two other attacks proved even more effective on the dark machine, first was a fire blast followed by a poison bomb, both hitting the cockpit head from underneath shaking up its psychotic pilot. Eagle saw that Spyro and Cynder had flown up to aid him, splitting on both sides of the head, before rising higher than ever. As they hovered above him, Errol merely glared at the dragon whelps before regaining control. Spyro activated his earth powers, and in a familiar tactic enveloped himself in a boulder shield and began plummeting toward the head. However, it was proved now to be too familiar, as Errol aimed his beam at the falling purple dragon before firing. Cynder's warning came too late, and the beam hit the boulder pushing it back before making its energy cancel out revealing Spyro and causing him to tumble back in the air. He fell halfway out of the sky with Cynder following him before he was able to right himself, albeit disoriented. Satisfied the dragons were dealt with for the moment, Errol turned his attention back to the other aerial pest, forcing Eagle to fly toward him in an evasive manner.
The terraformer was now in the main east section of the wasteland littered with cacti and rocks, the very same area Jak remembered he was dumped at after banishment. Well it would soon be the area where this abominable machine would be stopped. Jak had caught up to the final foot and was about to get ahead of it. He drove over a ruined ramp, making him fly over a small river in the area to the other side. Once he landed, he immediately skidded around to see the final two nodes exposed for him. He hit the gas and fired his machine guns upon proximity, destroying both nodes as he did the first ones. The foot had just lifted up, allowing him clearance as he drove away from it and saw the aftermath.
With all of its auxiliary power units destroyed, the underbelly of the Dark Maker terraformer began to detonate. Errol immediately noticed the warning signal signifying the critical state of the lower body. Realization finally came to him that he had been distracted by Eagle long enough for Jak to damage the lower body, and only had time for one last trump card. The body attachment for the legs had reached a critical point, forcing the main body to detach from it, and hover above the wasteland area. It slowly moved away in the opposite direction from which it came, while the legs fell to the dunes below, before detonating upon impact. Fortunately, the Sand Shark was far enough from the detonation to avoid being damaged, and the aerial heroes were high enough as well.
Jak, Daxter, and Sparx watched from below as the terraformer's main body flew off on its own in the direction it came from, its jets emitting a color mixture of red and purple from underneath as its hovering capabilities slowly died. Eagle, Spyro and Cynder watched from the air as the body flew past the volcano mountain, before it fell and finally made touchdown in the northeast area with a monstrous crash. The impact caused all the attached appendages to fall off as it skidded through the gap which led to the Spargus city entrance. All the Spargusians and the resident dragons watched as the body skidded to a halt outside Spargus's front gate, completely immobile. Seeing the monstrous machine now permanently grounded, the natives cheered in victory, along with the elemental acolytes. The only one who wasn't was Terrador, who looked at the grounded terraformer that still functioned despite its damage, for he knew as well as the two main heroes in the wasteland did, the battle may have been won, but the war would only end with the finale.
Be prepared for the final brawl next chapter, nuff said.
