Golden Sun: The Sands of Time
Because something in me refused to let this die, that's why.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 26: The Beast Within
"So you've come…"
The menace behind the Mar's Adept's voice was clear and unmistakable. Isaac shifted his weapon into a battle-ready stance, taking quick, darting glances around the entire cavern.
"Where's Ivan?" He demanded.
"Oh, your Jupiter Adept friend? He's currently… indisposed. Not to worry – I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough- " He was interrupted as Isaac hurled a spire of stone at him, forcing him to dodge.
"Tsk. Hasty one, aren't you." The Mar's Adept grinned a predatory grin. "Come then. "
Isaac charged forward, sword already swinging through the air, when a blur of motion to his side caught his eye.
Slamming a foot onto the ground, he pivoted, kicking into the hidden Karan that had charged him from the side, and slashing quickly at the brute's chest. The redskin staggered back.
From all around them, the strange pulsating sacs burst open, letting newly created Karan tumble onto the ground. Within a matter of seconds, they seemed to gain their bearings, and clambered to their feet. They bore no weapons, but their bulkier hide seemed tougher than normal.
More and more of the creatures were filling the room, scrambling towards them from all sides. A trap, and the adepts had walked straight into it.
Catching sight of the Mars Adept slinking into the shadows, Isaac quickly beheaded his current foe with a quick backswing, and charged him.
Picard leaned back, letting the wild swipe from the creature's claw scythe through the air. His Masamune flashed cerulean, and twin elemental dragons exploded from the blade, mutilating the Karan, and sending it crashing to the floor.
These newly-birthed brutes seemed… different from the ones they had faced before. The earlier ones seemed to show some signs of intelligence, and more often than not, cruelty. However, these ones… they simply appeared berserk, tearing at anything that wasn't one of their own.
"Cool!" He snapped as he caught sight of a trio attempting to charge him. The Psynergetical ice burst from the ground, stabbing into the legs of the advancing Karan. Unlike all previous attempts, however, these new Karan barely seemed to notice the spell, and stomped their way through the ice, smashing it with little apparent effort.
Picard sighed, and impaled the nearest one as it rushed him, clawed arms outstretched. The skin resisted for a tad longer than normal before giving way.
These Karan are definitely stronger than their previous counterparts. Picard realized. As the other two swung at him, Picard boosted himself, and lashed out at the nearer Karan with his knee. It caught the stunned creature in it's chest, sending it staggering back.
Landing, he swung his blade with all his might, hurling the impaled Karan on it at the last of the trio. The two collided and they were sent sprawling.
Taking a deep breath, he noted that Felix and Jenna were backed up against the far wall of the cavern, using both sword and spell to defend themselves.
Shifting his grip on his sword, Picard dashed over to aid them.
"Flare Storm!" The raging flames swept through the area, searing into the skin of the nearby Karan. As they staggered back howling, Garet charged, his Flame Brand making quick work of the nearer warriors. They may have been tougher than the other Karan they had faced, but without weapons they were no match for him.
Behind him, Davion was loosing arrow after arrow. The thickened hides of the Karan made it far harder for the Elf prince to shoot them down, and thus he was relying more and more on firing into their vulnerable spots, such as eyes and mouths.
Garet reversed his blade, slamming the hilt into one of the Karan as it lunged. The creature gave a choked groan, and a Heat Wave directly to it's face dropped it for good.
"Scorch!" The flash of flame exploded from his hand, blasting deep into one of the Karan attacking him. The attack sank past the creature's toughened skin, causing a screech of agony.
Garet ducked under the wild swipe of another brute – Mars, there were so many of them! – and pointed his blade forward, leaving the Karan to run himself through on it.
Kicking the brute's cadaver away, he ducked – jumped – sidestepped a trio of Karan reaching out to grab him. "Eruption!" Jets of burning fire exploded from the ground, incinerating everything in its radius.
More and more of the sacs across the vast hall were beginning to writhe and bulge as the infant Karan within them awoke, bringing with them the problem of an increasingly drawn out battle and the increased potential for casualties.
"Shade! Fog!" Picard whirled, slashed away at another of the blasted things, and raised his hand as a watery shield wrapped around him, Felix, and Jenna. At the same instant, Fog leapt forward, slamming into the massing hordes and creating a blinding cloud of fog around them. What wildly striking arms that reached towards them were efficiently deflected by the barrier of water.
Excalibur flashed silver in the light of Jenna's fires as Felix effortlessly cleaved his way through the massing beasts. More and more of them fell as he dealt swift, precise strokes with his blade, striking at neck, chest, and head.
Time to provide some backup. Picard thought as he likewise slashed away at the crowd of redskins.
"I call upon the ancient princess of the ocean! She who controls the tides and guides the waves! Let your strength fall upon our foes! Nereid!"
The area was instantly flooded with water. As the Karan staggered and whirled about, trying to discern the source of the sudden deluge, Nereid, princess of the sea, appeared, mounting a giant turtle. She gestured towards the center of the Karan pack, and pillars of water shot out of the flood, tossing Karan up into the air, or knocking them back through the sheer force of the jets.
Abruptly the water disappeared again, leaving the airborne Karan to impact rather harshly with the floor, breaking their bodies with a grim efficiency.
Stepping back a moment to collect his breath, Picard's eyes suddenly widened as he felt claws tearing into his back. Twisting, he managed to sink his blade into the chest of the creature that had assaulted him, but the Karan refused to be shaken off. With a snarl, it dug its clawed hands deeper into Picard's back, causing him to utter a choked cry of pain.
The two combatants struggled, locked in a deadly embrace for what seemed like an eternity. Picard shifted, trying to twist the Masamune enough to cut through the brute's chest, when…
"Blast!" The Karan's head exploded and Picard lurched forward, barely avoiding damage from the heat of the explosion. Jenna dusted her hands and smiled a coy smile, before raising her palm.
"Aura" A crimson light surrounded Picard, and he could feel his wounds healing already. "My clothes are going to be mere rags by the time we're finished." He mumbled. "Someone has got to find a Psynergy spell that can patch cloth."
The two combatants clashed blades again and again. Isaac twisted, dodged, parried, riposted… always seeking an opening, always doing his best to strike the single blow that would end the fight.
The Mars Adept was just as fast, silver blade flashing in the dim light of the hallways. Blow for blow, strike for strike, he matched Isaac perfectly.
Isaac stepped away, the flung a Ragnarok at his opponent. A blast of heat quickly cut through the earth-based spell.
Isaac shifted his grip on his weapon. He could still hear the dull roar of combat echoing through the corridors behind him. His friends wouldn't be of any help here – this was his fight alone.
"Where's Ivan?" He demanded. The Mars Adept smirked, his crimson eyes gleaming in the gloom.
"You can go join him, if you like." Then Geldor raised a hand –
And Isaac lashed out. Geldor was only barely able to pull back in time, before they were once again forced into another deadly dance, blades clashing so fast no normal human could hope to catch their movements.
Mia raised her hand, sending icicle shards raining on her foes. As they stumbled back, crystals of ice coalesced around them, freezing them to the spot and leaving them wide open to attack from Davion or Garet.
Panting with exertion, she raised a hand, letting Mist leap form and smash into a Karan attempting to sneak up from her side.
"I summon the spirit of Mercury! The water of origin, the elixir of life, the power concealed within the expanse of azure! Mercury! Come forth!"
Blasts of water exploded from the ground, slamming into the Karan chests and knocking them back. As the hordes stumbled and fell, Garet struck out, a massive blaze of fire sweeping through their ranks.
Mia leaned wearily on her staff. The endlessness of this battle was beginning to tell on them. Isaac had already dashed off after what was supposedly the mastermind behind this whole mess, and the rest of them were stuck in this room.
Then above the din of battle, she heard Picard call. "Everyone to the door! Now!"
Nodding her consent (although Picard wouldn't have been able to see it), Mia turned and headed towards the exit, Davion and Garet swiftly following.
Davion frowned. He was fast running out of arrows, and that was never a good thing. Drawing a long knife, he stabbed through the throat of another Karan attempting to rush him. They were pressed together so thick, that it was only the powerful psynergy spells of his allies that could give them any breathing room.
Picard held his ground at the door, one hand gesturing towards the three of them to hurry up, the other desperately fending off the berserk Karan.
Garet half-turned, and pointed behind Davion. "Get out of the way!" He snapped, and Davion readily complied.
"Pyroclasm!"
The explosive force of the spell erupted from the epicenter of the room, sending Karan sprawling in every direction. As the wounded and seared redskins collapsed around them, the three used the distraction to their advantage, running past the door.
Once the adepts and Davion were all safely on the far side of the door from the rushing Karan, Picard raised his hand.
"Diamond Berg!"
A massive iceberg crashed down right in front of Picard, effectively sealing the doorway. Angrily, the Karan starting tearing at it, but their weaponless claws could not do very much against the Psynergetic ice.
"That should buy us some time." Picard panted. "Come on, we've got to help Isaac."
Davion nodded, and they took off down the dark hallway.
A long smear of blood was splashed across the wall of the dark corridor. Isaac stood panting, holding his Sol Blade steady. On the floor before him lay the sprawled form of the Mars Adept.
"Guess you weren't used to that trick." Isaac said in between gasps. "Too bad. I was on the receiving end of that once… a Proxian much like you gave that wound to me."
The Mars Adept raised his head, gritting his teeth. "You… you… rrgh…"
Isaac slumped against the wall. "It's over. You don't have any healing psynergies, and the wound I gave you is fatal. You wanna spend your last moments redeeming yourself and telling me where Ivan is or not?"
The Mars Adept let out a low growl, and then… a chuckle. "Fool." He whispered. "That which I have consumed… shall billow forth… and consume you… in… return…" The crimson glow of his eyes faded, and he slumped to the ground. Dead.
An instant later, the rest of the group rounded the corridor. Isaac raised an eyebrow. "You're late." He chuckled slightly.
"Aw, man." Garet griped. "I wanted to beat up on that jerk."
Davion frowned. "I thought I caught the tail-end of something he was saying. Something about consuming?"
"Yeah." Isaac shrugged. "Not sure what it means, though. I'd wager- " He was cut off midsentence by a low growl. Instantly every eye was focused on the crumpled form of the Mars Adept.
It was twitching. And glowing. Probably not a good sign.
Isaac took a half-step forward, and prodded the body. No response.
"Guys?" He heard Garet say. "It's getting warm in here…"
Isaac glanced curiously over the body, before his eyes widened. Across the shoulders… the scales on the Proxian's body were beginning to spread.
Isaac stepped backwards. "I think getting out of here would be a good idea." He suggested.
"What? Why? What's wr-" Whatever Felix was about to say was drowned out in the inhuman shriek exploding from the body of the Mars Adept.
A shockwave of energy exploded from the body, and the entire fortress shook. Twisting, the body of Geldor seemed to shrink into itself for an instant, before beginning to grow larger and larger. The golden glow rapidly increased in intensity, until it shone so bright none could see the actual body, only the golden shape.
"Trust me. Go!" Isaac turned and dashed back, just as a roar sounded from behind him. Confused, the rest of the adepts joined him.
Weaving through the corridors, they finally came back to the Egg room, where the Karan had just about succeeded in carving away enough of the iceberg to squeeze through. Isaac's eyes narrowed, and he threw out his hand.
"Mother Gaia!" A beam of golden light exploded from the ground, ripping through the granite stone of the room. In seconds, the immediate area was largely free of Karan, which Isaac used to his advantage. Dashing through the crowds, he heard Picard casting Diamond Dust behind him, sending the colossal chunks of ice into collision courses with the surrounding Karan, further clearing room for the warriors.
From behind them, another roar echoed through the corridors, and the entire fortress seemingly shook.
"I see cracks in the ceiling that were not there before." Davion said nervously. "And they are growing larger rapidly."
Ducking back into the room, Isaac caught sight of Sheba's still form. "Garet, grab her!" His friend complied, just before the far end of the room collapsed on itself. Through the rubble, one could see what appeared to be a giant red eye glaring at them.
Isaac swore under his breath. Even if they could retrace their steps perfectly – which they couldn't – they'd never make it back to the ship in time-
"Isaac! A breeze from this way!" He heard Felix call.
Nodding and changing direction, Isaac followed the rest of the group and more and more of the beastly screams resounded through the dark hallways. Chunks of the ceiling and walls gave way and crashed down around them, their reflexes saving their hides more than once.
Finally, Isaac rounded yet another corner, and came face to face with a blinding patch in his face – a doorway into the light. After so long in the gloomy caverns, the light of the harsh sun reflecting on the sand was nothing short of blinding. Nonetheless, he screwed his eyes up and headed for the open air.
The shock of the desert heat was the first thing that hit them upon emerging to the outside world. From the looks of things, they were almost on the desert ground, part of a low slope that led up Snarlgrin mountain.
Panting for breath, he suddenly caught sight of a fiery-red glow exploding from behind them. "Granite!" He yelped.
"Flash!" Garet called.
"Shade!" Picard intoned in kind.
The triple shield stood strong against the massive rush of flame that jetted out from the opening of the mountain, the adepts and Davion feeling the intense heat, but not receiving any real damage. An instant later, the rock around the opening crumbled, and with a croaking scream, the creature emerged.
"Why is it that no matter where we go on our epic quests, we always, always end up fighting people-turned-dragons?" Garet asked resignedly as he flipped his Flame Brand into position.
Isaac's only response was a shrug and a grunt.
Then the battle began.
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