As The Hand launched into its first bound, me and Felicity were pinned to its bio-steel skin by the incredible G-force. It was a dizzying, stomach-lurching pressure that should have been terrifying, but instead, it was a pure, unadulterated thrill.
My laughter was a wild, infectious sound that ripped through the wind. "This is better than a roller coaster!" I cried out, my body vibrating with the sheer power of my mount.
Felicity's voice, equally ecstatic, was barely audible over the rush of air. "What are you talking about? This is better than sex!"
The Hand landed with a ground-shaking thud before rearing up on all four of its colossal digits. It lowered itself into a crouch, and then, with a thunderous roar of displaced air, it began to run. The scenery blurred into a stream of pulsing colors as we rocketed through the Vein's massive arteries, the Gutter Nest shrinking to a pinpoint behind us. A speedometer lit up in Felicity's cybernetic eye, she tacked it's speed ' '160 mph...170...180...190! ' '
The numbers felt meaningless as the sheer velocity overwhelmed our senses. We were both shocked and delighted, our laughter turning into a single, high-pitched shriek of pure joy.
' ' HEHEHEHEHOHOHOHOH!!! ' '
Then, with no warning, The Hand performed another physics-defying leap, launching itself over a chasm in the Vein. The sudden lack of friction sent us both flying, our bodies momentarily weightless. My cry was half-exhilaration, half-fear as I desperately cleaved to a knuckle. Felicity was holding on for dear life.
"Remind me to make some ring saddles for this thing!" I shouted, my knuckles white as I held on for dear life.
The Hand landed with a grace that defied its size, its run continuing unbroken. We just laughed, a deep, full-bellied sound that spoke of victory, power, and the terrifying thrill of a wild ride with our new guardian.
The Hand made a smaller leap, a blur of bio-steel and raw power, it performed a sudden flip mid-air as it gently grasped both me and Felicity inside it's cavernous palm. As it tucked itself into a tight ball, its colossal fingers curling into a protective fist that encased me and Felicity within its armored grip. We were momentarily shrouded in darkness, the world outside a rumbling vortex of motion.
With a bone-jarring impact, The Hand slammed into a massive, shimmering amethyst wall that had seemed to be a natural part of the cavern. But it was no natural formation. The hand didn't shatter the wall; it punched clean through it, the crystalline structure giving way with a high-pitched shriek of scraping stone and grinding bio-metal.
The Hand uncurled its fist, and light flooded in. Me and Felicity found ourselves on the edge of a breathtaking new biome cavern. The amethyst wall was just the entrance to a secret area. Below us, a hidden city lay dormant, its buildings and spires carved from the same brilliant purple crystal. The air hummed with a different energy, ancient and pure. The Hand had knowingly or unknowingly found a treasure zone.
Me and Felicity peered over the Hand's knuckles, gazing down at the hidden biome below. The purple ruins weren't stone; they were a forgotten city carved from crystalline amethyst, its spires and archways glowing with a soft, inner light. But the beauty was deceptive. The city crawled with formidable creatures—bio-weapons that had gone dormant, now awakened by our intrusion.
"I name this territory...Purple Ruin City" I said breathlessly.
A feral grin spread across my face. This wasn't just a new location; it was a proving ground. "This will be a good test," I said, my voice low and smoky with anticipation. "We might even find more powerful artifacts and relics. Let's pick out a target."
Felicity's cybernetic eye was already at work, a blend of wonder and predatory focus, it scanned the valley below. The chibis zipped around her head, mirroring her excitement, a tiny trio of chaos.
"There!" Felicity said, pointing a finger toward a spire at the city's heart. "A creature made of living flame and chitin. Its energy signature is off the charts."
I nodded in agreement. The challenge was set. The first true test of the Hand's strength and our combined might was about to begin.
The Hand moved with a terrifying grace, leaping from one crystalline rooftop to the next. Each jump was a controlled explosion, the G-force pinning me and Felicity to its armored hide with each leap. We were moving at a blur, a single-minded force of destruction zeroing in on our target.
The Bio-Balrog at the heart of the city pulsed with an inner light, a fiery giant of living flame and chitin that roared in defiance, its shadow dancing across the amethyst spires.
As we drew closer, The Hand's surface began to shift. A seam on the back of it's wrist, previously unnoticed, hissed open. From within, an umbilical cord, thick and pulsing with a deep crimson light, slowly unfurled. At its tip was a wicked, serrated spike—the Ecdysis Spur. The moment the spur made contact with the oxygen in the air, it hardened into a razor-sharp blade that shimmered with a dangerous light. The weapon was a perfect complement to The Hand's brute force, an implement of surgical precision capable of cutting through bio-steel like butter.
"Battle mode engaged," I murmured, a grin spreading across my face. This wasn't just a guardian; it was a mobile forge of charging war, and it had a purpose-built weapon for every fight.
The Hand landed on a rooftop directly across from the Bio-Balrog, its Ecdysis Spur twitching with anticipation. The creature roared its challenge, a sound of grinding stone and fiery fury. Me and Felicity stood atop our new weapon, our gazes fixed on the creature before us.
Me and Felicity dismounted just as The Hand leapt into combat. It didn't just run; it launched itself, a colossal blur of bio-steel muscle hurtling through the air. Its massive form dwarfed the Bio-Balrog, and with a powerful roar of displaced air, it flew into the creature with a sailing fist!
The impact was cataclysmic. A sound like a thunderclap ripped through the cavern as The Hand's armored knuckles slammed into the Bio-Balrog's magma chitin chest. The creature of living flame was momentarily extinguished, its inner fire flickering as it was sent skidding across the crystalline floor, gouging a deep trench in the amethyst!
Me and Felicity were not idle. As The Hand engaged, we moved into support roles. I slammed my Broodmother Palm against the ground and ley my mana surge, and from the amethyst floor, a miniature Giga beast—a smaller, spectral echo of the one we had defeated—rose to its feet. Beside it, a grotesque Snapping Maw Polyander plant erupted, its vines lashing and snapping at the Bio-Balrog's legs, biting at its ankles with rows of razor-sharp fangs. But I didn't stop there my Plasma Canon Tail hummed, and I unleashed a barrage of Plasma Bursts, the bright blue bolts providing cover fire for The Hand and adding to the chaos of the assault!
Felicity, meanwhile, was a whirlwind of motion. She launched herself into the air with her succubus wings and hurled her energized chakrams, the violet discs arcing through the air like vengeful satellites. They zipped past The Hand and tore into the Bio-Balrog's exposed joints and the seams where its fiery essence met its physical form. Her chibis zipped around the Balrog's head, giggling and making rude gestures, their chaotic energy disrupting the creature's concentration and mocking it relentlessly.
The Bio-Balrog, recovering from The Hand's blow, was now under a unified assault. The Hand's overwhelming brute force was a perfect complement to my summons and Felicity's precise, agile attacks. The creature of made of magma chitin roared in fury, its energy signature flaring in response to the overwhelming attack. The test had begun, and the odds were stacked against it.
The Hand didn't just stand and fight. With a powerful lunge, it leapt to the side of a cliff wall, its massive fingers digging into the amethyst wall with a sound like a dozen grinding picks. It clung there for a moment, its form a shadow against the glowing stone, before it flicked its umbilical cord. The Ecdysis Spur slashed through the air with a high-pitched hum.
The Bio-Balrog roared, swinging its massive, fiery fist to block the blow, but the spur was too fast. It sliced past the creature's defenses and plunged deep into an exposed blood-bulb on its chest. The bulb exploded in a shower of black, oily ichor, and the Balrog shrieked in pain, its body shuddering from the unexpected hit.
Enraged, the Bio-Balrog whipped its arm, transforming into a searing flame whip. The fiery lash whistled through the air, wrapping around The Hand's forearm with a blinding flash of light. But the fire didn't burn the bio-steel hand. It didn't even scorch it. The crackling energy dissipated on contact, the strike bouncing harmlessly off the bio-steel plating.
I watched, my eyes wide with awe. my voice filled with a stunned disbelief, "The Hand is super resilient."
The Bio-Balrog roared, swinging its fiery fist to counter the onslaught. But it was fighting a machine with a mind of its own. The Hand, perched on the wall, didn't just attack with brute force. Its single, crimson optic flared with a brilliant, pulsing light, and it unleashed a focused sonic resonance.
The blast hit the Bio-Balrog like an invisible hammer. The sound was a low, bone-shattering hum that resonated through the cavern, and the creature of flame reeled back, its body shuddering violently. The resonance tore at its internal structure. Its fiery essence flickered and dimmed, and visible cracks began to spiderweb across its tough chitinous plates. The beast was disoriented, its movements becoming sluggish and erratic.
From atop the ruin, me and Felicity watched in awe. "Wow," I breathed, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and satisfaction. "It has a countermeasure for everything."
The Bio-Balrog stumbled, its great form momentarily vulnerable, its inner flame guttering. It was a perfect opening. The Hand hadn't just hit it; it had silenced its power.
The Bio-Balrog, disoriented and wounded, let out a desperate, sputtering roar. But its time was up. We didn't hesitate. I unleashed a final, searing plasma burst from my tail, a blue bolt of energy that tore into the creature's chest. At the same moment, Felicity hurled all three of her energized chakrams, which struck the creature's head with a series of sharp, ringing impacts.
The combined attacks staggered the beast, and The Hand seized its chance. With a final, decisive leap, it landed atop the Balrog's shoulders, its Ecdysis Spur slashing down with a sound like tearing silk. It sliced clean through the creature's neck, severing the head from the body. The Bio-Balrog let out one last, terrible shriek as its inner flames died out, and its massive form collapsed into a pile of cold, dead chitin.
The Hand crawled atop the corpse, its bio-steel skin humming with victorious energy. It sent a psychic signal to my mind, not in words, but in a vivid series of images. I saw the Hand's middle finger, and then the finger transforming, the tip splitting open and glowing with a brilliant, blue light. A powerful projectile weapon, a new ability forged from the remains of our enemy—an X-Buster.
"It wants permission to absorb it," I explained to Felicity, his voice filled with awe. "It's going to gain a new weapon."
Felicity's eyes widened. "It learns?" she breathed.
"You have my permission, do it!" I commanded.
The Hand slammed its middle digit into the smoking cavity of the Bio-Balrog. There was a sickening, gurgling sound, as if the very air was being sucked from the ruined beast's core. The Hand's skin pulsed with a deep crimson light as it absorbed the necessary components. The flesh and chitin of the Bio-Balrog seemed to dissolve, melting into the Hand's middle digit, which grew and bulged with new, contained power.
When the absorption was complete, the Hand lifted its hand from the now-empty cavity. It pulsed and changed, a final transformation. A small, circular aperture opened on the tip of the digit, a miniature plasma chamber already glowing with a faint blue light. The X-Buster was ready.
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