Chapter 16: Spider Cave Brawl
About twenty minutes after leaving the lab, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka were each riding on a minecart to the Spider Caves. While they were riding their way to their location, Chase was still having the thought of taking down Talos for good, but it still would require the use of him handing over the four Eco crystals.
"How much further 'til we get to the caves?" Sunray asked Jade curiously as she tapes her medallion that shows the magic projection screen of their whereabouts.
"Looks like we'll be there in about two minutes." Jade said as she made the projection screen go right back into her medallion after she was done.
"I hope it's soon." Chase said firmly as Trini turned to her cousin with concern.
"Chase, you can't let Talos get to you. You know he's trying to deceive all of us." Trini said with concern.
"He's been kidnapping our close friends and family members, Trini." Chase replied back sternly. "If I'm taking that demon down, we need to free the others."
"That's exactly what he wants to do, Chase." Jade said sternly as Chase turned to face his sister. "Talos is just getting into your head so he can get the crystals' powers. We can't just let him do this. It's crazy!"
At first, Chase wanted to argue more, but he grew silent and knew Jade and Trini were right.
"I know, but we don't have another choice. Especially if he's gonna release the Red Eyes Black Dragon." Chase said firmly.
"Well, we're almost to the cave now, guys." Sokka said as the rest of the team turned to see that they were heading toward the opening of Spider Caves.
As they arrived inside, they came to a stop at one of the buffers that were still intact. One by one, the Elite Ninja, Sokka, and Clay jumped down as they looked at their surroundings of the caverns. They spot the opening leading a trail to the inside of a tunnel.
They make their way down the path with Chase leading the way as water drips down stalagmites from the above the cave. As the seven continued walking down, Antonio wasn't paying any attention on where he was going as he bumped into Sunray and let out a yelp, making the others turn to him.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Sokka asked annoyingly. "Are you trying to get us caught?"
"Sorry, guys." Antonio said as he walked over to join his family, Sokka, and Clay. "All that talk about us getting the last crystal for Talos had me thinking. Maybe we're in over our heads."
Sunray bonked Antonio on the head with an annoyed glare as his older cousin yelped and rubbed the spot where it hurts.
"You're always in over your head every time." Sunray said irritatingly.
"I'm saying now we all are! And that scares me." Antonio said frighteningly.
"It's okay to be scared, Antonio." Chase said gently and smirked at Sunray. "Sunray is scared too."
"I am not scared." Sunray said annoyingly as Jade smirked and poked him in the head, causing her younger brother to scream in fright.
He clears his throat timidly as Jade giggled silently and her brother growled at her annoyingly when a strange chitter like growl was heard from above them as saliva drops down in front of Chase, making him and the others go stiff as they saw it.
The seven ponies looked at the saliva for a few seconds before they turned their attention up to the ceiling to see a group of Spider Lurkers crawling down to them.
In their appearance, they are large, thick black, spiders with a large red dark eco symbol on their body, large yellow eyes, overgrowing skin appendages along their jaw line, and a metal collar. But unlike the usual spider kind, these lurkers have six legs instead of eight.
"You should be." One of them spoke sinisterly.
"Well, look what we've found. Seven delicious ponies." Another one said with a wicked smile as saliva falls from its mouth.
"I'm sure glad it's okay to be scared right now." Antonio said with a fearful whimper.
"You and me both, buddy." Sokka added, scared.
"This is no time to panic." Chase said as he got into a fighting stance. The Spider Lurkers reached the bottom while baring their fangs with hisses they sent to the seven. "Okay, maybe a little."
Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio lit their horns, stood on their hind legs, aura hands replacing their front hooves, dished out their respective weapons, and held them in a fighting stance. Sokka and Clay dished out their respective weapons as well, holding them in fighting stances.
"Get them!" One of them shouted as they charged at the seven ponies who blocked their attacks before jumping further away into a large chamber.
Chase dodged a Spider Lurker jumping at him and high kicks another in the face, sending it off screen somewhere. Suddenly, one of them pounces on Chase as he struggles to block the monster's fangs with his katana swords.
"Man, these guys are tough!" Chase commented while struggling to break free.
Jade side steps to the side from being pounced and spin kicks another Spider Lurker away.
"Naturally!" Jade said as she front flipped over to avoid an incoming attack from the arachnid beast. "Spider's are amongst the toughest and strongest life forms in Equestria!"
"And the grossest!" Antonio remarked as he struggled to break free from a Spider Lurker trying to bite him when it quickly jerked him away into the wall and he landed face first into an empty minecart with a muffled grunt of pain. "Sensitive bugs!"
"Antonio, spiders are not actually bugs, they're-" Sokka was about to finish when one of the Spider Lurkers caught him with a silky web as he yelped in surprise. He was then flung against the wall as he slid down on his back. "...arachnids."
"They're too strong! We need an exit!" Chase shouted as he kicked the Spider Lurker he was struggling with away and got back on his hind hooves. He looks to see the opening of the cave. "Quick, this way!"
The seven ponies made a quick dash to the opening and got to the other side just in time as the Spider Lurkers chased after them, but Antonio immediately used his Earth Element to slam both his aura fists down as the entrance closed the monsters' way to get inside.
Breathing heavily, the seven ponies went back on all fours, sheathed their weapons as Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio stopped using their magic.
"Okay, those were probably the ugliest Lurkers I've ever seen." Antonio commented while catching his breath.
"Yeah, too ugly." Trini added as she stood back on all fours with the others following her.
"Well, how are we gonna get out of here anyway?" Sunray asked his family friends curiously. "We don't know which way to find another exit."
"We'll just have to explore this place to find the Red Eco crystal before we find it." Chase said as Clay took notice of their surroundings and looked scared.
"Uh, guys? Look." Clay said as the others turned to see what he was looking at and became shocked.
It was the Spider Cave which is a very large cavern beneath Volcanic Crater. It consists of various dirt caves, stalagmites, stalactites with networks of tunnels, dark eco pools, and other craters. To top it off, the cavern also had large cobwebs with various animal types that were presumed to be down here for a very long time or had been eaten.
"Looks like we made it to the cave." Jade said with a grim look.
"Okay. Is anypony else starting to get the feeling why it was such a good idea to find the Red Eco crystal down here?" Sokka asked with concern.
Deciding to put his fear aside, Chase became determined.
"Let's just focus on finding its location." Chase said as he turned to Jade. "Jade, which way do we find the crystal?"
Jade taps her medallion as the magical projection screen shows their location as well as the network of the cave tunnels. Eventually, she found the path to a second cave that leads straight to the last crystal.
"Best guess right now is in that direction." Jade said as she looked at the path leading to the second cave and tapped her medallion, making the projection screen flow back into it.
The seven then make their way down the path as they come across a large wooden bridge while cautiously looking for any more signs of Lurkers. When they turned a corner, they eventually arrived at their destination of a second large cavern of the cave.
"Of all places to find a crystal, why did it have to be in a cave like this?" Sunray asked with a glare.
"You're guess is as good as mine, Sunray." Trini said in agreement with her younger cousin.
"Come on, we need to keep going." Chase said while leading the way down the platforms with his family, Sokka, and Clay following him.
They made their way down a long platform as they kept a visual. As they got back on the ground, they walked toward some stoney pillars and into a large clearing when another sound was heard along with a mechanical clank.
Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka looked up to see Celtic walking to the edge of a large platform looking down at them with a sinister smirk.
"Well, looks like I've found some new friends to help me conquer this puny little world." Celtic said mockingly as Chase and the others glared at him angrily.
"We know you're bluffing, Celtic. We'd never help you and Talos for this." Chase said disdainfully as Celtic cackled evilly.
"Then you may as well give up if you don't surrender to my master's will." Celtic said as he showed the Red Eco crystal. "Good thing my soldiers and I found this just in time before any of you fools could come here looking for his prized gem."
The sight of the Red Eco crystal made Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka gasp in surprise.
"Yes. Honestly, these crystals have so much power that no mortal can take, unless they are controlled by itself as you all are aware." Celtic said as he looked at the crystal statiscally and looked back at the seven, who glared at him angrily. "You know, it was impossible to get you all out here just so that you could witness the return of the Demodragons, but I'm more interested in taking care of you children."
"We've already grown up and taken worse stuff before, Celtic. And we're gonna do it again." Chase said firmly before he grunted in pain as purple electricity of Dark Eco surged through him again and Celtic chuckled at the sight with amusement.
"This is just too…too rich." Celtic said as he cackled deviously as the seven glared at him. "It seems as though the Dark Eco is almost complete. You're nearly corrupted with its power. Well, Chase soon you'll be just like Talos eventually. Well, even if you can cure yourself. My master wants a new home. Someone, to call a friend… destruction of all life around Equestria! Very soon, the Solar Eclipse will begin once you and your loved ones see the sight of him releasing the Red Eyes Black Dragon to put this puny world out of its misery."
Celtic chuckled some more as Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio Clay, and Sokka continued to glare at him.
"You're in for a big surprise, Celtic. The Demodragons don't play nicely with others. Just ask the Quinkan." Chase said sarcastically.
"Talos has been given the opportunity to wield a power even the great Gol Acheron could not control!" Celtic replied back as he smirked evilly. "Don't fret. You and your team won't live to see what the Demodragons will turn this world into. Maybe a rock or a floating puddle of slag or nothing at all! COMPLETE OBLIVION!" He had a crazed sinister smile on his face before he calmed down, but still kept a sinister smirk. "So hard to choose."
"We won't let you do this!" Chase shouted angrily as Sunray powered up his Fire element and shot a ball of flame at Celtic when suddenly purple smoke appeared around the mad unicorn stallion as the fire ball dispatches.
Once the smoke cleared away, Celtic was surrounded by a forcefield consisting of Dark Eco as he had a wicked smile on his face, causing the seven ponies to look shocked by this.
"You forgot one thing. I am one step ahead of everything." Celtic said sinisterly while putting the Red Eco crystal down and brought out a shard of a Dark Eco crystal. "The Dark Eco has incredible power to have ultimate control. I'm certain that you were aware that it's done the right way around?"
"So you have a shard of your own. Big deal, what's that supposed to do anyway?" Antonio quipped with a glare.
"Oh, just one of my few surprises I have in store for you all." Celtic said sinisterly with an insane and evil smile. He looks to Chase, who glares back at him. "Tell me, Chase. Do you wish to know the best way of merging with the Dark Eco? Well, let's see what happens when I use its power from this shard ON MYSELF!"
Without hesitation, Celtic implants the shard into his chest, which causes the Dark Eco to flow into his body with purple electricity surging around him.
He starts to undergo a transformation as he grows roughly to the size and shape Tirek use to be in his third form, only much larger as a pair of arms sprout from his sides, horns growing out from his head, his eyes became all purple, and spurs growing out from his lower jawline until finally he became a horrible Dark Eco hybrid between a centaur and a unicorn.
Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Sokka, and Clay gap in shock at Celtic's horrifying form as the mad hybrid cackles louder before laughing evilly. He then jumps down with a large thud on all fours with his new hands pounding the ground as seven heroes jumped back with surprised yelps.
"The power! THE ABSOLUTE POWER! HAHAHAHAHA!" Celtic shouted with his fists in the air and laughed crazy yet evilly. He then turned to Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka as they stare at him in horror. "WHO'S YOUR MASTER NOW?!"
Slamming his fists to the ground, Celtic created a shockwave combined with Dark Eco electricity as Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka were sent flying back while screaming loudly before they crashed against the cave walls, falling down on their backs with loud grunts of pain.
"That guy really knows how to pick a fight when he sees us." Clay commented as he rubbed his back.
"No mistake. Let's see if we can get that shard off of him." Chase said with a determined look as Celtic slowly approached them wickedly.
"Let us finish this once and for all. I've waited a long time to destroy you fools." Celtic said sinisterly as Dark Eco electricity surges around his hands as he curled them into fists. "The more, the marrier! Now come! COME AND FACE YOUR DOOM!"
Celtic then fires two Dark Eco energy balls from his hands right at the Elite Ninja, Clay, and Sokka as they got out of the way just in time as the balls made contact with the wall, causing it to explode. This resulted in the seven ponies to get knocked down on their backs again as they groaned in pain.
"All too easy! My new form gives me unlimited power!" Celtic said as he laughed wickedly while Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka got back on their hooves.
"And a real bad ego to go with it too." Antonio quipped sarcastically as Celtic approached them again.
"Today is the end of days for you, Elite Ninja!" Celtic declared wickedly. "You and all who stand with you!"
"Look out!" Chase shouted as Celtic tried to punch the seven to the ground, but they dodged it and got a safer distance from the mad hybrid.
Thinking quickly, Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio lit their horns, stood on their hind legs, aura hands replacing their front hooves, dished out their respective weapons, and held them in fighting stances. Sokka and Clay took out their weapons as they held them in fighting stances as well.
They then charged at Celtic, who tried to punch them, but missed them as Clay cracks the whip of his kusarigama from the end at his enemy's face, making him reel back a bit before steadying himself with a wicked smile as there was a red mark on his face.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Celtic said as Dark Eco electricity surges around him before he fires a beam at Chase, who dodges out of the way just in time. "I'm just getting warmed up with this new body!"
Chase jumps on the cave wall before running on it while avoiding another Dark Eco beam from Celtic and jumps toward him, landing a solid kick to the jaw.
Celtic staggers back in pain as he grunts when Sunray and Jade come up behind him as they tried to take the hybrid by surprise, but Celtic immediately swats them aside as they scream in surprise.
As Celtic was distracted, Antonio jumps on a upper platform before coming down on the villain with a kick, only to get punched aside by the evil mutated whack job.
"Honestly, this is still too easy for me and too hard for the likes of you." Celtic said tauntingly as Chase jumped down on his hind legs while gripping his katana swords in his aura hands. "The Dark Eco inside of me has a lot of permanent energy that courses through my veins. Its powers are much stronger than any magical life form put together. Even against all sorts of aura energy."
Chase growled as he charged at Celtic again, swords at the aura hand, but the hybrid blocks them effortlessly a few times. He grabs Chase, punches him a few times and tosses him to the ground on his chest, making him grunt in pain.
"It's no use, guys!" Sunray shouted in concern. "He's just too strong!"
"Tell me about it!" Antonio replied back while throwing some rocks at Celtic's front legs, which did nothing. "Even rocks have no effect on him!"
"Oh, brother!" Sunray said as he facepalmed himself annoyingly.
Celtic grinned mercifully as he jumped high into the air and raised his fists up while coming down on Antonio, attempting to slam him as the unicorn stallion gasped in surprise.
"LOOK OUT!" Trini shouted, grabbing her brother while pushing themselves out of the way as Celtic slams his fists down to the spot they stood.
Trini and Antonio got back up as they breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"That was close! Thanks, Trini." Antonio said to Trini gratefully as she turned to him with a smile in return.
Celtic then rose up as Chase, Jade, Sunray, Clay, and Sokka regrouped with Trini and Antonio as the whack job of a unicorn hybrid glared at them sinisterly.
"Let's try that again." Celtic requested sinisterly while charging up a Dark Eco energy ball before throwing it at the seven ponies, but they dodged it and charged at the hybrid.
They continued to throw whatever they could at Celtic, but he effortly dodges them without ease and whacks them to the ground with a single punch.
"You know, for a unicorn who's been on Zhao's side for a long time, you've really been crazier than the last time we saw you." Chase said sternly as Celtic glared at him.
"More than you think, Chase. This time, you're going to be buried alive in this cave." Celtic said while shooting a Dark Eco beam at the seven ponies, but they jumped out of the way as it destroyed part of a platform that was holding some dynamite.
"Have you really gone mad with all of the Dark Eco powering you, Celtic?!" Jade asked furiously as Celtic cackled wickedly.
"Mad?!" Celtic replied back while laughing evilly. "I'M ALL POWER HUNGRY CRAZY!"
He slammed his fists down, creating another shockwave, but Chase, his family, and friends saw it coming as they jumped high in the air, letting it go right past them. They land back on their hind legs while going into fighting stances.
"Do you really think you can defeat me?" Celtic asked deviously. "Well, in about three hours, as soon as the Solar Eclipse begins, Talos is going to release the Red Eyes Black Dragon as well as the Dark Eco from the silos, which will infect everyone around Equestria. Then, he will be taking his first stop to Canterlot and turn it into an armed fortress." Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka were shocked by this. "Then, he will unleash the Demodragons from the Netherworld and destroy everything."
"No!" Chase said in horror.
"Oh, yes, Chase!" Celtic said as he powers up again. "And this time, you pathetic pests won't be there to stop him!"
"Not unless we have anything to say about it!" Chase shouted as he charged at Celtic again while dodging his Dark Eco energy balls, jumps on a pillar before launching himself at the unicorn hybrid centaur with a devastating kick, making him stagger back. Chase lands back on his hind legs as his family and friends joined him while glaring at Celtic. "We're stopping this right now! Together as a team! And there is nothing that can take us down!"
The seven charged at Celtic as he tried to swat them again, but they immediately dodged his relentless attacks and landed a few blows at him. Sunray punches Celtic in the face, making him stagger back as Jade whacks him in the face with her tessens, Clay and Sokka throw some kicks from behind the whack job hybrid in the back. Celtic looks up to see Trini and Antonio coming at him, landing a spinning back kick to the face, making him stagger back as Chase comes in and fires a magical energy ball from his aura hands right at the Dark Eco crystal shard in Celtic's chest.
In a result, it exploded as Celtic was thrown against the platform that had the dynamite on it as purple smoke formed around him as he screamed in pain, feeling the Dark Eco draining away from him. Once the smoke cleared away, Celtic was back to normal as he turned to see Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka glaring at him sternly.
"You fools!" Celtic said sinisterly. "You may have taken me down, but this war is far from over!"
A loud creak was heard as the platform came crumbling down on Celtic, who looked up just in time to see the debris and the dynamite falling on him as well as taking him down a large endless chasm as he screamed in horror before it echoed a bit and died down.
Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, Antonio, Clay, and Sokka run up to see it when a loud explosion bursts from the chasm as the seven shield themselves with grunts of surprise. Then Celtic's mechanical prosthetic leg lands behind them, making them turn to see it smoking with electricity sparking out of it before stopping.
Seeing that there was no more Celtic Shanyu anymore, the seven ponies sighed with relief. Chase, Jade, Sunray, Trini, and Antonio stopped using their magic before they went back on all fours again while sheathing their weapons. Clay and Sokka did the same as they sheathed their weapons as well.
"Well, no more Celtic Shanyu, guys." Clay said in relief with a smile.
"At least now we can grab the Red Eco crystal and get back to the others." Jade added with a grin.
"I'm on it." Chase said as he flew up to find the Red Eco crystal still intact and grabs it before joining the others.
Suddenly, a large stalagmite landed between the seven as they jumped out of the way in surprise.
"Guys! The cavern's coming apart!" Antonio exclaimed in fright as more debris came crumbling down from above them.
"We gotta get out of here! Now!" Chase said as they looked around for anything that might get them out of the collapsing cave.
Jade then noticed a large geyser in the middle of a large pool of water and saw an opening leading straight to the outside.
"Guys, the geyser! That will get us out of here! Find anything to steady ourselves!" Jade shouted as she and the others tried to find something to ride out of the cave.
Finally, Chase noticed a large chunk of a platform and used his magic to grab a hold of it before flying over to the geyser, placing the platform on it.
"Come on, guys! Hurry!" Chase shouted to his family, Sokka, and Clay as they ran over to him before jumping on the platform with the alicorn stallion joining them.
The cave continued to come down as the seven braced themselves. All of a sudden, the geyser immediately sprouts a huge ball of air with the seven ponies clinging to it as they scream at the top of their lungs.
On the outside of the tunnel from Volcanic Crater, the screaming came louder before the Elite Ninja, Clay, and Sokka came out of it as they landed clinging to their platform. They fell onto the ground with the platform shattering to pieces as they grunted in pain.
They groaned while getting back on their hooves just in time to see the opening of the cave crumbling down with smoke bursting out of the opening. The seven, who had braced themselves again, looked to see where the Spider Caves were at now became a mountain of rubble.
"I guess that's the last of the Spider Caves." Chase said as he looked down to see the Red Eco crystal, which was still intact, and picks it up.
"And at least now the Red Eco crystal is still in our possession." Jade said with relief.
"Guys!" Twilight's voice shouted, making the seven turn to see her and the others running up to them as she hugged Chase with much relief. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine. We got the crystal and Celtic's no longer a problem." Chase said, shocking the rest of the group, minus his family, Clay, and Sokka.
"Celtic was down there?! How did he survive?!" Rainbow asked in shock.
"Guess Talos found him a while back. But that's not important, we need to hurry now. The Solar Eclipse is going to start soon." Jade reminded everyone, who nodded back in reply.
"Then we've gotta hurry before Talos begins the ritual." Santos said with a firm look.
The group then went back to the lab, but Chase remained behind for a bit before looking up to see the Sun and Moon almost coming together. He stares at it for a few more minutes before running off to catch up with the others.
Author's note: Hey guys,
Here's chapter 16 and Celtic's final moment. I've added a few surprises for this one as well as Celtic absorbing the Dark Eco into himself to make him more insane. I did my best on this one again. I'll be back again to write the other chapter when they'll come to Talos' lair for a fight before the invasion begins.
Peace out!