Time for Basaran.

Man, I hate this guy. It would've been better if they cut Basaran out and replaced him with some other Colossus. But sadly, they didn't. So I am now to write how Wander battled with this monster.

I own nothing.

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Dormin's Speech

Sound Effects

Thinking

Chapter 10

The Tortoise

KRMMMBLL

The sound, as usual, awoke Wander from his unconscious state, and he dizzily looked up to see Kuromori's idol crumble to the floor. Grinning, realizing he had now slain eight Colossi, he stood and gazed at those that remained. Half are gone. he thought quietly. He then looked up, curious as to why Dormin hadn't spoken to him yet. "Lord Dormin?" he called.

Aye?

"Is there something...wrong?" Wander asked. There was silence for a while, then he heard the rumbling sound that signalled Dormin's speech.

If there is any tiredness in thy body, thou must get rid of it now, before thou moves to the next Colossus. It shall consume all of thy strength.

Contemplating this, Wander checked himself. Kuromori had been a bit of a doozy, but its electric shock wore off after the first few minutes. Overall, except for an ache in his arm from when he'd grabbed the opening in the wall, he was okay. "I am ready, my lord. What is my next foe?" he was sure if he could prove to Dormin that this next Colossus, whatever it was, was something he could handle then Dormin would give him another item.

Apparently, his overconfidence only annoyed Them, but They said nothing.

Then thy next foe is...the land where trees nary grow...sleeping at the bottom of the lake, it is a rude awakening.

Even though he had expirienced similar riddles, this one made no sense. Hoping it wasn't going to be aquatic like Hydrus, he set off on Agro.

Wander's first thought of the place where the Colossus lay was 'Eww.'

The air was murky and although there was no water in sight, a closed-off field filled with geysers was right in front of him. Seeing that this could, at one point, have been an underwater lake, he headed for a great cave seeing as that was usually a favorite hiding place of colossi.

He approached the cave and peered in. It was HUGE. If the Colossus really was in there it'd be bigger than Phaedra! Unfortunately for him, the Colossus heard his footfalls and opened its electric blue eyes.

With a deep rumble and a roar a great stony head rose into view. Wander gulped and stepped back as the great beast lifted itself on legs that seemed far too skinny to support its massive body. It looked like a turtle, but with spikes on its shell.

Make that a snapping turtle.

Its lower 'jaw' hung far out past its upper jaw, and its body was entirely cased in stone except for its chest. No other furry patches were visible on the entire Colossus. Wander felt his jaw drop open. How was he supposed to climb this thing?!

Either the Colossus could read minds or it was thinking the same thing as him, because it clearly saw him as not any kind of threat but as an intruder invading its property. It raised its head to show four bright yellow glows on its chin before the shots fired at Wander. "NOT AGAIN!" he yelled just as they hit him, and he was flung back right over a hole in the ground. Unfortunately that hole turned out to be a geyser which erupted at that exact moment, and he was shot sky-high.

Landing only a few feet from the Colossus, Wander stood and whistled for Agro. Lord Dormin, what do I do?! he pleaded.

Use the environment to thine advantage. The power of the earth shall shake even Basaran...

Basaran? THAT'S what it's called! Wander thought. Having just been shot out of one, he knew how strong the geysers were. Maybe that was what They were talking about. Luring Basaran over to him, the Colossus lifted its chin just as the geyser sprung up.

Basaran roared in surprise and it flailed wildly, only two legs on the ground. Something on its ankles shifted and revealed two glowing weakspots. Seeing a fatal flaw in the Colossus's armor, Wander drew two arrows and shot them at the same time. Both found their mark, and Basaran, without anything to support it, was knocked clean over. Its momentum rolled it over for several seconds, then it stopped on its side. This revealed a furry path to its back.

Unsheathing the Ancient's Sword, Wander leaped up and grabbed the fur before hauling himself to its back without thinking of where he would stab on a beast entirely encased in stone armor. When he reached the top Basaran flipped back right-side-up and roared, feeling the tiny adventurer crawling around on it. Finding nothing to hold on to, Wander simply kept going.

His way of seeing things changed drastically when he reached its head. A tiny patch of fur, just barely big enough for him to climb on, was sitting neatly on top of Basaran's head. He wouldn't have even noticed it if he weren't looking for it. Jumping, Wander landed right on top of the furry patch.

This was where it got tough. With so little to hang on to he'd be a goner if Basaran shook him off. That meant he only had a few seconds to kill this thing. Stabbing in rapid succession, twisting the Ancient's Sword as he did so, he managed to topple the mighty Colossus.

Basaran was too heavy to fall sideways, so it merely dropped, its weakened legs unable to support its weight. Roaring in pain, Basaran's head collided with the ground and it moved no more. Congratulating himself, Wander didn't see the black tendrils poking from the Colossus's head underneath him. He blacked out, seeing Agro run back towards the Shrine.

Hahahaa! Take THAT, Basaran!