The backhand hit home, crushing through the middle of the Avalanche Dragon. Matt and Helena yelled as they fell with the debris, too surprised to land properly. They hit the sand rolling.

Noticing this, Hugo glanced at Stallord's massive form. "You're mine." He broke free from the crowd of skeletons and began boosting towards Stallord, exchanging his Blade Option for his hammer.

As Hugo rushed in, Stallord roared in fury once more, twisting about to attack at the two people it had struck out of the air. The sand shook about each time its gigantic claws struck the ground while it turned.

And even as it moved, the blue light shone out from the sword embedded in its skull, coiling into winding beams of energy that smashed into the sand. Four such beams struck down at the base of the monster's spine, and Hugo found his path blocked off by four skeletal men holding gigantic shields before them. The set down the shields into a phalanx to block his attacks against the Stallord.

The undead monster roared again at Matt and Helena, and blanketed the sand with its fire.

Matt threw up his hand and shouted, casting an impromptu energy shield over him and Helena. The flames blanketed over the shield.

Hugo just stood his ground, brandishing the G-Stone enhanced hammer. "Get out of my way!" He swung at the first shield in the phalanx.

A shield swung out, and R.D. was slammed back into the dirt, blood flying out from a lip that'd been cut on his teeth. He hit the sand with a grunt, and quickly had to roll out of the way as the Stalfos that attacked him plunged a spear at his chest. "Damn!" he cursed, getting into a kneel. He threw up his hands and obliterated the undead warrior with a plasma blast.

Link whirled across the outer edge of the arena, looking for an opening. Seeing Hugo attack the undead guarding Stallord's spine, he nodded and kicked off, sending the Spinner hurtling down the slope. With a press of the trigger, the teeth ripped out from the Spinner and tore into the vertebrae, shattering it as well. With a scream, Stallord cut off its flames as its body collapsed downwards. Snarling, it looked off in Link's direction.

"Get up!" Alasea shouted, rushing over to them from the edge of the arena and helping them up. More Stalfos were rushing in at them. "Come on!"

Hugo swung about like a mini-dervish, crashing into shields left and right. "Back off! MATT, get UP!"

"I got it, I got it!" Matt called, yanking Helena up. "Looks like we've got to take out the spine before we can get at the sword! Push through the undead!"

Helena bent down, bearing her teeth. "Got it!" She and Matt rushed towards Stallord, using their shoulders to batter away any obstacles they could.

Stalfos were knocked aside left and right by Matt and Helena's charge, but yet more got into the way the fighters. Link himself had to duck under a blade, only to find more ahead of him as he skimmed up the sand on the Spinner. Frowning, he dismissed it and rolled, coming out of it with a fatal thrust at the Essence-charged skeleton in the middle of the pack. Back behind him, Stallord smashed a claw down in front of Matt and Helena, barring their progress.

With a roar, the monster belched flames across the arena at Alasea, forcing her to kick up a magical shield as she tried to get out of the way. Stallord continued to breathe flames down on them, ignoring the beams of light streaking down from Ileyna's hand and pinging off of the energy field around its skull.

"Look out!" the girl suddenly shouted, spotting something below. R.D. looked up at the sound of the girl's voice, and immediately ducked at what he saw--namely, a blade coming down at his neck. As he came up, blue light flecked about onto his skin and clothing, and in an instant, he was once more clad in the Dragon King Armor. A poleaxe swept down, and an armored hand grabbed a hold of it, stopping it cold.

"I'm done playing around," R.D. muttered before the faceplate and visor of his helmet closed down around his face. With a wrench of the weapon and a stationary jumping back kick, R.D. sent the Stalfos hurtling through the air, where it smashed apart against the side of Stallord's face. One glowing red eye turned to peer down at R.D., and it cut off its flame attack.

"... uh-oh," Ileyna squeaked as the Stallord began to turn.

"I don't think it liked that!" Matt shouted.

"Get out of the way!" Hugo called at the group, boosting over.

Eyes narrowed behind the armor's black visor, and flashed gold for the briefest of moments. The center ruby embedded in the breastplate began to shine as the matter converter activated and R.D. braced himself, and then the Stallord attacked, covering him in flames.

"R.D.!" Alasea screamed.

The flames raged out across the sands for several seconds, and suddenly they billowed outwards, splitting apart and dissipating as something flashed upwards through the air--a sonic blade had blasted right through it, revealing R.D. with his right arm pointed upwards and the ground around him fused into glass. His damaged rifle and shattered blade were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a new weapon had appeared, in line with R.D.'s upraised arm. A shimmering blade matching the sword he had won from the Helmaroc King extended upwards, and the swiveling hilt seemed bolted in place along the underside of his gauntlet. A small buckler was similarly attached on the outer side of the gauntlet, shielding a cannon that had combined with the sword. Cables ran from its side into the armor plating itself.

R.D. swung the weapon back down, lashing out with another sonic blade, and the sand split before him. The blade folded down into the rail, revealing the barrel of the gun as it glowed white-hot with energy. With a snap of his wrist, he aimed at the phalanx beneath Stallord and opened fire.

The ray of emerald energy that lanced out cut through the armor and exploded deafeningly, showering the immediate area with broken bone and charred armor.

"Bring it!" R.D. snarled, causing the rest of the undead horde to charge.

What the hell was that thing? Matt covered his head to protect himself from the shards of bone. When it seemed clear, he shouted, "Take 'em out!"

Hugo leapt back into the fray, grappling his way in while Helena dove into the thick of it with flashing blows. This gave Matt the opportunity he needed - he chambered his fists and drew power. "Megaton..."

Chunks of glass disappeared suddenly, and a Nova Reactor formed in the back of R.D.'s armor. As it spun up and emitted its energy, R.D. glided forward, the blade of his new weapon flipping back in place. Swiftly, he shot forward and attacked, easily cleaving through the Stalfos as his sword was infused with Lumiya's potent energies.

And so, he began a brutal dance of death among the undead as he cut his way over to Matt. "Clear a path for Link!" he called out, as the green-clad hero tried to cut through the enemies to try and get back to the Spinner track.

"Cannon!"

Making awfully sure not to strike his allies, Matt unloaded the brilliant beam of power, carving through the Stalfos ranks and towards Stallord itself.

Link shot up to the edge of the Arena and latched into the track there with the Spinner as Matt unleashed his most devastating attack on the undead horde protecting Stallord. Riding about forty-five degrees around the arena, Link kicked off and hurtled down at the Stallord.

As the two attacks cut in, meaning to strike the undead beast simultaneously, Stallord called upon the power of the Essence once more--and this time, an entire circle of shield-carrying Stalfos rose up to protect their gigantic, undead master.

Link yelled as the Spinner bounced wildly off of their phalanx, and soon, the the Megaton Cannon crashed into the shield wall. There was a thunderous sound as the beam struggled against the barrier, but to everyone's shock, the monsters held their ground and lasted through the beam. Their shields had fused together, and slowly, the Stalfos sank back into the sands.

With a roar, Stallord sent one claw plummeting down at Matt and R.D., meaning to crush them.

R.D. rolled out of the way, bringing his new weapon up to bear. "We gotta stop those things from appearing!" he shouted over the din of combat.

Matt broke off the beam and dodge-rolled away from the attack. He hated it when something stopped the Cannon. That was supposed to be his trump card, dammit! "Okay, maybe we really DO need to get the sword first! Fuck, I don't know!"

Link used the rebound's momentum to propel him back up to the Spinner track, and after another pass, he made another attempt on Stallord's third cracked vertebrae--three Stalfos were felled as he ricocheted off of them on his way to the monster's spine.

And once more, bounced off as the undead rose up from the sands to deflect them with their shields. As Link spiraled out of control, back towards the edge of the arena, R.D. had an epiphany.

"Matt, the sand!" R.D. said to him. "Harden the sand so they can't get through it!"

Of course! "Got it!" Switching to the power of earth, Matt curled his fingers at the sand around Stallord's spine, forcing it to solidify.

Stallord was turning to attack someone else as the sand hardened beneath its skeletal body, and it groaned in surprise as its movement halted. It straightened out, glaring furiously before roaring.

Link kicked off with the Spinner and hurtled down at the spine, smashing into it as its teeth spun out. They tore through the fragile bone, causing it to shatter in an instant. The gigantic monster flailed as it overcorrected, and finally fell backwards into the sand as its spine snapped in half. The chamber shook as the massive weight impacted against the dirt--testament to its impressive strength despite the sand being there to absorb the impact.

Stallord's skull half-buried its left side into the sand, and the red light of its eyes faded into darkness.

"Get the sword!" Matt shouted at Helena, and as she bolted towards the skull, Matt followed to make sure nothing happened to her. The weredragon bounded through the sand, leaping on Stallord's forehead and running up to the sword. Summoning her strength, Helena grabbed the handle of the sword and yanked as hard as she could.

Eldritch energy ripped out from the hilt of Helena's hands, delivering an excruciating shock to the weredragon.

"Don't touch it!" Ileyna cried, floating down towards the buried skull. She settled down before it, with the hilt of the sword pointed at her. She lifted up her left hand and readied her powers.

"Recro!" she called out as light shone from the hand-sign her fingers had formed. "Singulus... restituo... animus... substantia!"

Her hand swung down to point at the twilight-formed blade, and the light around the area wavered and distorted as blue energy was pulled from its hilt. It condensed into a single point and flashed, forming a brilliant shard of Omega Essence. The girl snatched it out of the air triumphantly, and presented it to Matt.

"Hold on a moment!" Matt snapped. He reached out with healing hands to Helena, laying against the skull. Looked like her draconic powers absorbed some of the pain, but she was clearly hurt, trembling from the attack. "You okay, Helena?"

"Yeah," Helena said, her twitching calming as Matt healed her. "Really need to watch what I'm doing."

"Don't worry about it." Matt pulled her up with a grasp of the hand, then faced Ileyna. "Okay, now we can talk. Thanks for plucking it out." He produced the pendant and it absorbed the Essence.

Meanwhile, Hugo was studying the sword. "Nice blade," he said. "What do you think, R.D.? You going to add this one to your collection?"

"I doubt it," R.D. muttered, examining the weapon while hefting the one on his right arm. Its weight was unusual to him, making him feel heavy on his right side. He shrugged it off, figuring he'd get used to it. "I prefer weapons that kill my enemies... not bring them to life."

Suddenly, the ground shuddered, causing them all to leap back in shock. The skeletal remains of Stallord's broken form began to sink beneath the sand, turning a dead black as it did so--soon it was gone from sight, and the sand itself began to drain away.

"Careful!" R.D. called out as Ileyna took to the air, hovering over it.

Within moments, the sand was gone, leaving them in a large, circular pit with nothing but Stallord's skull to keep them company--it rested on its side, propped up by its horns, off to the side. In the center was another gear, one that looked as if the Spinner would fit into it.

"I'll take care of this," Link said as he stepped forward. Midna caused the Spinner to appear and Link fit it into the slot, before kicking off on it. It spun and spun, activating ancient mechanisms hidden beneath the stone floor, and soon, the center of the arena rose up out of the pit.

As the gears beneath them turned on their own momentum, Link stepped off and Midna dismissed the Spinner. He walked over to where Matt and R.D. stood, close to the edge of the circular platform.

"Its no wonder that you're seeking these shards out," he said to them. "This must not have been an easy quest to undertake."

"Don't I know it," Matt remarked, folding his arms. He glanced down at the bottom of the pit, studying the Stallord skull. He was a tough one, that's for sure.

"Now we can FINALLY get out of here," Helena said. "I never want to step inside ruins ever again."

"Its only right for me and Matt to take care of this," R.D. replied, ignoring Helena's complaints. "Its our fault in the first place."

Link nodded. "I won't worry. You and your friends have shown you're capable of handling this task."

The platform shuddered as it came to a halt, level with the outer ring of the arena. As it was, Link, R.D., and Matt stood just across from the door opposite of the one they came through.

And suddenly and silently, Stallord's skull rose up from the floor, red light glaring in its eye sockets.

Link turned around quickly, sensing the movement--startled by his actions, R.D. turned as well. Stallord stared at the three of them, targeting them specifically.

"Shit."

The floating skull darted forward, smashing the three of them off of the platform and into the pit.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Matt shouted as he hurtled down.

"Matt!" Helena screamed, rushing to the edge of the platform.

Catching the wind, Matt stopped his fall and entered a hover. He switched his gaze up at Stallord's floating skull, which was turning around from its dashing attack. "Oh, you want some more?!" He fired a cyclone. "Tornado Buster!"

Stallord wobbled in the air as the wind attack smashed into its horns, and it turned about to face Matt. Opening its mouth, it launched an inexplicably large fireball at the flying boy.

R.D. and Link hit the ground with hard thuds, and both groaned as they got back up. "That's it. The fucker dies now," R.D. snarled as he got up. Energy charged through his arm and into the conduits linking to his blaster sword, and R.D. aimed up and fired. Emeralds burst of power burned through the air at Stallord, but the creature nimbly flew backwards out of the way.

Link darted ahead and called for the Spinner, jumping on top of it as it latched into the Spinner track on the upraised platform. Sensing Link coming, Stallord picked up the pace, sweeping out around the track at high speeds and nearly barreling over Matt in the process.

Ileyna watched the fight ensue. From her high vantage point, she could see how Stallord flew around and around in circles. She thought she might get sick if she kept watching.

Matt was able to arc out of the way of the fireball, but he almost got tagged by the fleeing skull. He reoriented and shot at Stallord, flying fast enough to reach it and grab onto a protruding bit of bone.

"Hey!" Matt shouted. "I ain't done with you yet! Seismic..." Rearing back his foot, he swung it hard at the first open spot on the skull he could find. "Crash!"

Fireballs exploded within the pit as Stallord attempted to shoot down its enemies, as Matt flew through the air, Link rode on the wall, and R.D. skimmed across the ground. Link's Spinner jumped between the wall and the platform as the fireballs came in, but soon, Matt had landed on Stallord and attacked.

The undead creature screamed in rage as the attack fractured part of its skull, preventing it from attacking for the brief moment. Seeing his chance, Link caught up to Stallord and kicked off from the wall. The Spinner flew through the air and smashed into the opposite side of Stallord's face, sending it careening into the wall. It tore into it, leaving a large gash in its wake, and R.D. flew up into the air after it.

The blade of his blaster sword swung up and locked into place as he stabbed it right into Stallord's forehead. With it lodged into place, R.D. gained purchase and rode the skull down. He pulled the blade out and switched back to its rifle mode. Aiming, he fired twice into the eyesocket of the creature, and it screamed once more as chunks of bone exploded out beneath it.

He jumped off at the last second before Stallord's skull impacted against the ground and lay still. The red light from its eyes and the sword still blazed brightly.

"Let's finish it!" Link shouted, readying the Master Sword as he ran at the skull. R.D. swung his weapon around, locking the blade back in place as he readied his own sword. With a burst of energy, he rocketed across the air at the instrument used to resurrect the creature from its eternal sleep.

Having managed to hang on all this time, Matt crawled up onto his feet. "Die, you piece of shit!" He reared back with his own blade, and brought it down at the demon sword, just as Link slashed with the Master Sword and R.D. tore through with his heavy metal blade.

As the three blades struck, cutting through the dark metal of the Sword of Twilight, dozens of angular red lines spread out from the wound and across the surface of Stallord's skull. With a terrible roar, the skull jolted up from the ground, throwing the three of them off.

It soared high up into the air, eliciting startled screams from the girls on the platform. It reached the pinnacle of the room, and halted. With another mournful cry, Stallord's skull fell back down, striking against the edge of the outer platform and bouncing off. Downwards it plummeted into the chasm surrounding the inner platform, bouncing off of it once before striking the ground. It bounced three more times around the circle, past Link, Matt, and R.D., before disappearing out of their sight and exploding in a cloud of ash and fire.

The Sword of Twilight rocketed up through the air, spinning end over end before it slammed down point first into the center of the platform, in front of the girls. Before they could say or do anything, the sword burst into a flurry of shadow magic, disappearing from sight.

"Whoooooooooooooooooooo!" Matt hollered, raising his arms. "He won't be gettin' up from THAT!"

"Quit yelling before you raise more dead," R.D. said. He swung his arm around, and the blaster sword's blade swung back and locked into place on its underarm rack. He let go of the grip and the rifle seemed to slide back into the attached shield, allowing him to use his hand freely.

As his faceplate opened up, R.D. looked overhead and saw bridges appear, extending out from the walls to connect to the central platform. "Let's get back up there."

Within moments, they had all flown back up to the top and met up with the girls.

"You three okay?" Alasea asked.