TIME-FOR-HYDRUS!

Who else hated this guy?

(silence)

Yeesh, fine. I own nothing.

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Dormin's Speech

Sound Effects

Thinking

Chapter 8

The Electric Eel

There were more whispers than ever now. He felt Agro nudge him as the idol representing Barba fell to oblivion. And as usual, right when he opened his eyes the whispers stopped. Standing, he walked over to Mono and gazed at her. Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, he contemplated the peaceful expression on her face.

Then, hearing the rumble signalling that Dormin was about to speak, he turned and faced the ceiling.

Thou hath been doing well. We should congratulate thee on defeating Barba.

"Um, yeah. Next time, Lord Dormin, please tell me if the Colossus will be able to walk through solid stone." Wander said sarcastically.

We said We would congratulate thee. Just because thou hath defeated six Colossi doth not mean that thy duty to Us has changed.

Wander sighed and pointed the Ancient's Sword at the hole in the ceiling. "Tell me where the next colossus is so I don't have to listen to you anymore!" he snapped. A strong force hit him square in the chest, and he was flung back before he slammed into the alter with Mono on it.

Remember that thou art here to complete the task We gave thee. If there is no task, or if thou doth not complete the task, the maiden shalt not be revived!

Dormin really sounded mad. Sheathing the sword, Wander stood and said, "Very well, Lord Dormin. Tell me where the next colossus is."

Thy next foe is...a ruin hidden in the lake...a ripple of thunder lurks underwater.

Still being able to make no sense of Dormin's riddles, Wander mounted his horse and set out. Had he looked back he would have seen six human-shaped shadows staring at him with cold, lifeless blue eyes.

After several hours of traveling, Wander remembered the lake with the spiral staircase that Dormin had said was forbidden. Eagerly heading to that location he didn't realize he was being stalked by a giant hawk, which was flying high overhead. What he also didn't realize was that the hawk would be a great ally in the future.

Reaching the lake, he kicked Agro lightly and the horse slowly stepped through a crack in the pillars to the lake below. Dismounting, Wander left his faithful horse behind and ascended to the stop of the spiral staircase, where a small platform let him overlook the entire lake. Remembering that Quadratus, Avion and Barba had all been hidden until he got to a certain spot he was not about to ask Dormin for Their help.

He heard a whinny behind him and looked back to see Agro fleeing the area as fast as he could. Evidently something in the water had scared his mount. That meant the Colossus was close. Taking a deep breath, Wander plunged into the waters.

This led to three effects. Wander surfaced and shouted 'WHY IS EVERY LAKE SO DANG COLD?!'. Several birds took flight due to his blurted question. And something started to move under the lake.

Turning, Wander saw that underneath the water was a long, slim shape with three spikes jutting out along its body. At first Wander just thought it was some rocks attached to an unnaturally long stream of seaweed, but then he noticed it had eyes. He also noticed it was heading right for him.

The Colossus surfaced for only a moment before diving down again, and in that short time Wander collided with one of the spikes. He felt pain jolt through his veins and shoot outwards through the water, numbing his entire body in a matter of seconds. As he floated belly up, his thought rate slowed dramatically. I-it's...electric...?! he thought weakly.

In the back of his mind he heard Dormin chuckling Their amusement, and it jolted him to his senses. He quickly swam to a platform jutting at an odd angle from the water and screamed at the sky, "I'M FIGHTING AN ELECTRIC EEL IN A LAKE?!"

We would call Hydrus a seaserpent, but electric eel works just as well.

Seeing that Dormin would be no help, Wander looked down and noticed how large and furry Hydrus's tail was. Quickly getting an idea, he timed how long it took for Hydrus's tail to re-submerge, then he jumped. His timing was perfect, and he landed directly on Hydrus's tail.

However, he realized this was a problem as Hydrus resubmerged. If he lifted a hand to crawl forward, the grip he had on Hydrus would weaken and he'd be forced to let go of the Colossus. His worries were quickly eliminated, however, as it seemed even Hydrus needed to take a breath: the beast resurfaced.

Running down the length of the creature's spine, Wander knelt next to the first spike and stabbed it roughly. Black blood spewed from it and blinded him as they submerged, but when Hydrus next went up he found the spike no longer shocked him.

Grinning he repeated the process with the other two spikes, but then Hydrus dove deeper than it had before and Wander found his need to breathe becoming more and more urgent. By the time the Colossus resurfaced he was blue, and inhaled a great quantity of air before stabbing the beast's head fiercely. So angry was he that his thrusts were agonizing to the poor beast.

Hydrus was clearly in too much pain for it to bear, and when Wander let the final blow fall Hydrus flipped over, belly-up, and sank to the bottom of the lake. Gasping, Wander struggled to keep above the water. He needn't have bothered--the black tendrils overtook him quickly.

Was that too rushed? If it was I'm sorry. Read and review please!