Alrighty! Last time on 'Dormin's Curse', Mone and his men did battle with a strange magic-wielding beast and it killed one of his men as well as injuring three others. He awakened Phaedra and continued on his way. In this chapter, Mone will give rise to Kuromori.

I own nothing, except for the creatures that protect the Colossus areas, Mone, the Colossus's history, Dormin's Colossus design and Mone's soldiers.

P.S. Sorry for the long wait! I became obsessed with beating the sh-- out of LittleBigPlanet's last boss. I'll try harder now that I've kicked his ass.

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Dormin's Speech

Sound Effects

Thoughts

Chapter 22

Malus's Story Part 3

"Damn this heat!" Skar growled as they trudged through the Forbidden Lands. "Well, as long as we're far away from any creatures, I'm fine." Pyro replied. Mone rolled his eyes and unsheathed the Ancient's Sword for the fifth time that hour. Again, it showed a completely different direction from the time before it. "Damn, where is this thing?!" he spat. "We should get out of the heat, Sir." Daine said.

Mone sighed and agreed, and they moved towards the mountain range that held Valus's plateau. Once in the shade, Mone was able to think much clearer. They walked for a time through the gap between the two mountains until finding themselves in front of a giant stone wall. Pyro and Skar circled the structure before appearing on the other side. "The formation is completely circular, its percision is almost scary." Pyro reported. "There's an opening over there." Skar added, pointing to a small hole in the rocks. They moved forward and Mone examined it, then turned to his men.

"Skar, Yaz, you two stay here and guard the entrance. Daine and Pyro, you're with me." he said. Daine and Pyro nodded, then unsheathed their swords and advanced with Mone. They walked for some time and then came upon a bridge. A waterfall positioned fifty feet away from the bridge roared in their ears as they crossed. Daine slipped and part of the bridge broke off, crumbling to the bottom of the waterfall. "Quiet!" Mone hissed. Daine nodded and carefully proceeded.

Down at the base of the waterfall, a large stone dragon shook its body and was struck on the head by the chunk of bridge. It shook its head and growled before looking up. Its yellow eyes amplified its vision so it could see the three soldiers. It roared and spread its massive wings before leaping into the air. It soared straight up, then let loose a jet of flame. Mone dodged to the right and looked back to see the dragon land on the bridge. "This thing is huge!" Pyro growled. The dragon roared at them and slammed a claw on the ground. The earth shook and the bridge cracked. "Get off of the bridge, NOW!" Mone screamed, racing towards the opposite end. The dragon screeched and entered a quickened stride, occasionally trying to slash at one of the warriors.

Mone turned when they were all across and flung a bag filled with explosive powder at the bridge. Upon contact it erupted and blew a large chunk of the bridge into dust. The dragon roared and backed up slightly, the bridge beginning to lean downward. With a final bellow it leaped from the bridge and landed on safe ground. Now they could see it clearer.

Its stone body was pure white, its claws numbering ten on each foot, its tail long and whiplike with spikes on the end and its mouth filled with blood. It had no ears but two huge spikes on its head took their place. It had four wings, the biggest in the front, all of which were extremely large and batlike. Its neck was lengthy and covered in sharp plates, and its chest was covered in diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

The stone dragon raised a claw, then slammed it down onto the ground and bellowed at them. "Run!" Mone ordered. They raced through the mountain pass and the dragon followed, tearing through the underbrush. Mone saw up ahead a small temple and urged Pyro and Daine inside. The dragon roared and took a tree into its jaws, then snapped its neck forward and flung the tree at the temple. The trunk hit Mone in the chest and knocked him backwards down the flight of the stairs next to the entrance, and the tree collided with the door, blocking the entrance.

Mone raised a hand to his forehead and felt blood. "Damn...well, at least that dragon can't get us now." he whispered. Shakily, he got up and turned before walking through the hall. He caught up with Pyro and Daine, who nodded in understanding at his wound. "Let me get that for you, sir." Daine said, taking a long strip of cloth from his pocket and wrapping it around Mone's head. "Thanks, now let's get going." Mone replied. They strode forward through the halls and finally reached what appeared to be a large colesium-like structure. "This is amazing!" Pyro exclaimed, looking down at the bottom. Mone laughed, then looked up and saw no ceiling. His face turned pale. "We're in trouble." he whispered.

With a screech the dragon flew overhead before dropping into the pit. It slammed a claw on the ground and bellowed, shaking its stony scales. Some of them fell off and became five-foot-tall drakes. The drakes stood on two feet, but their legs were the same kind as the dragon's back legs. They had frail-looking bodies and long arrowhead tails. Their wings looked crumpled, and their eyes were dark. The drakes also had long reptilian arms that ended in nasty-looking claws, and their heads had beaks instead of jaws.

The drakes, seven in total, screeched and raced into the four holes surrounding the pit. Mone and his men unsheathed their swords and stood back-to-back. "Don't let them sneak up on you." Mone whispered. "I was about to say the same thing, sir." Pyro replied with a chuckle. A drake sprang from the nearby staircase with a screech and leaped at them, swinging its claws. Mone blocked the strike with his sword and kicked it in the gut, knocking it back. He yelled in pain and clutched his foot. "Damn, those little creatures are made of stone too!" he gasped. Pyro moved in front of him and parried the next strike from the drake. Its shriek had alerted the others, and they were rushing to assist it.

Pyro tripped the creature and kicked it. It rolled over the edge and screeched as it fell, then shattered upon impact with the ground. It landed right in front of the stone dragon, which roared and spread its wings before slashing the wall with one of its claws. The claw stuck fast to the stone, and the dragon hoisted itself up before climbing the wall. Meanwhile, Daine pinned a drake to the ground but it kicked him off of it and lunged with a screech. Daine dodged to the side and the drake flew over the edge with a scream, hitting the stone dragon's head and cracking it slightly. The dragon made a confused moan, then dropped back to the ground and impacted with a quake that made the whole colesium shudder. "Two down!" Daine shouted before engaging a third.

Mone, having recovered from the blow, sliced through a drake with the Ancient's Sword. "My blade can cut them!" he said. "Only three more!" Pyro shouted, having thrown one of the drakes into a wall.

The dragon roared again and resumed climbing the wall. Mone pushed a drake down the stairs and leaped down after it. He stabbed it before smashing it into a wall, and he laughed before turning. What he was froze him in his tracks. In the large hole in the wall, the dragon looked in at him, its stone mouth set in a snarl. With a roar it swung to the side and its tail lashed into the hole. Mone dived to the side and the spiked appendage struck the wall behind him, breaking a large chunk of it. The stone beast tugged on its tail, but the object was stuck in the wall. Mone drew his sword and swung it down, severing the beast's tail.

The dragon, having pulled with all of its strength, flew to the opposite wall from the sudden release and crashed into it, causing another large hole to form in front of the entrance before it tumbled to the ground below. Mone looked at the tail, but it was gone. He looked below the cracked area of the wall where it had been and saw a mass of white dust right below where the tail had been.

With only two drakes remaining, Daine and Pyro charged. Pyro lunged and grabbed it by the tail, then swung it around before smashing it into a pillar. The drake's head fell of and its body crumbled into dust. "Only one left!" Daine shouted. However, the last remaining drake rammed headfirst into his chest and knocked him over the edge. "DAINE!" Mone cried. Daine hit the ground and yelled in pain, clutching his arm as his sword clattered to a standstill one level above him. He heard growling and turned to see the dragon right behind him. It roared, then a new tail burst into view to replace its old one. It swung its tail from side to side, then lashed it at Daine. The soldier rolled to the side and the tail pierced the ground where he just was. Snarling, the stone dragon ripped its tail from the ground and advanced on him.

Mone raced down the stairways until he came upon Daine's sword. He picked it up and jumped the rest of the way down. He heard a screech and looked up to see the last drake flung from the collisseum. Pyro had done his part. Now it was time for Mone to do his.

He advanced on the dragon, both swords in hand. Pyro dashed in and grabbed Daine before racing back to safety. Mone charged and the dragon hissed, then drew back a claw and slashed it forward. Mone rolled to the side and stabbed the claw. The dragon screeched and flung its arm to the side. Mone was thrown into a wall and his back cracked from the impact. The dragon breathed fire and Mone turned before ducking. The fire scorched the stone walls, and Mone charged before stabbing into its neck. The dragon hissed and grabbed him, then threw him to the side.

"I'm not getting anywhere with this!" Mone yelled in frustration. He ducked as the stone dragon tried to slash him again and swung his arm up. The Ancient's Sword sliced through the dragon's claw and it roared as the claw turned to dust.

The dragon slammed a claw down on Mone and he yelled in pain as his left arm was crushed by the weight of the stone creature. "What is with these things?!" he growled. He stabbed the Ancient's Sword into the creature's only remaining front limb and severed it. The claw immediately turned to dust and Mone jumped up as the stone dragon recoiled. He raced at it and grabbed on of the spikes on its neck to haul himself up. With a grunt he slashed his sword through the dragon's neck. There was a pause, then the head fell to the ground and both halves of the dragon turned to dust. Mone wiped his brow and sighed, then grunted and clutched his arm.

He turned and took the idol from his pocket before laying it down in the center of the collessium. A small, lizardlike Colossus rose in a flash of light. "Kuromori..." he whispered.

Hmm...I think I spelled collesium wrong...eh, whatever.