Once the group returned one strong, Shining floated the Coordinate Sphere over to Keira to install in the Eco Seeker. She did, however, give Meg an odd look and Jak a firm one, which made Meg chuckle. Shining decided to smooth things over fast before somebody said something wrong. "Keira, this is Megara, the Blue Sage. Meg, this is Keira, the Green Sage."
Meg's eyes widened. "Well, looks like I found myself another sister, then."
"Skyheed has her 'sisters', the Yellow and Red Sages," Jak explained quickly when Keira showed confusion.
"Looks like we have yet another reason to take him down, then," Keira mused, installing the Coordinate Sphere in the Eco Seeker. It then projected the arrow again, pointing solidly in a single direction.
Phoenix frowned as he tracked the line of sight. "It's pointing back to the research rig," he murmured softly.
"We must have missed something while we were there, then," Jak concluded. "Was there anything in that area we didn't explore?"
Phoenix blinked. "Well, the rig was built over strange formations, but nothing could penetrate what was below the surface-"
"Precursors!" Keira concluded firmly. "It must have been one of their facilities from long ago, back when they were building the planet. That's got to be where the artifact we're missing is. We have to go back and dig deeper."
"We should be cautious," Phoenix warned. "If the Aeropans detect our return..."
"Then we head to the point in the smaller fliers, with this ship keeping a safe distance," Jak concluded firmly.
The smaller ship flew out over a massive vortex in the water. The signal came from the bottom. "This is going to be tricky," Jak murmured as he glanced down. "One wrong turn, and we could crash into the edge and the ship would get torn apart."
"Then we just need to make sure we don't turn wrong," Shining muttered firmly.
"We've got some repair patches if we take bad damage," Daxter offered hopefully. "That's a bit of a safety margin, right?"
"We'll just have to find out," Jak stated as he took the ship into the vortex.
The inside of the vortex was a narrow green tunnel, barely large enough for a single ship to fly down. Before long, the dark green faded to pale green, with debris floating in the passage which now felt more like a wormhole than a whirlpool. As they flew, faint outlines of ships flew alongside, shooting at them.
"Just when we thought we'd seen everything," Daxter moaned out. "Ghost pirates."
"I hope we never see anything like that again," Shining grumbled as they blasted their way past both the ghost ships and floating mines scattered along the tunnel in the water.
Finally, near the bottom of the vortex, a large stone wall could be seen with a spherical Precursor Artifact glowing in the center. Making a sweeping flight, Jak steered the craft right up to the wall while Shining seized the sphere in his magic. They then turned and flew right back out of the vortex, having a much clearer path to the surface.
As they arrived, however, the Behemoth pulled into view and opened fire, using Dark Eco weapons to turn the floating wreckage above the vortex into bombs. Jak struggled to take each out before they could reach the Pirate Flagship, but they just kept coming.
Shining frowned as he watched this happen...and then an idea came to him. "Jak, do you think you can fly near one of these wrecked fighters?" he asked. "I...have a crazy idea."
"What sort of crazy idea?" Jak asked worriedly.
"The sort that might involve you pulling me back from the brink of madness," Shining explained. "I think my magic might be able to keep me from exploding if I tap Dark Eco...but I'll be counting on your Dark Command to reign me in."
Nodding, Jak steered close to one of the wrecked fighters. "I've got your back, bro."
Smiling, Shining teleported to the wrecked fighter, landing amongst its Dark Eco charged bulk. With a roar, he drew the energy into himself, and once more changed into Black Knight. As his eyes glowed, every wreck in the area started to glow. Dark Eco crystals took shape around the broken wrecks, restoring their original shape as they turned on the Behemoth, swirling around the larger vessel like gnats, shooting at power nacelle and weapon systems alike. Each of the crafts roared with the howls of ghosts as shadows lashed from the crystal constructs, striking the enemy fighters from the sky.
Jak could only stare in amazement as one of the construct fighters led a deliberate suicide charge into the Behemoth's hanger, self destructing to wreck the facility so the large ship could dispatch no more fighters. "Wow...what the heck is this?"
"Looks like Shining found a new power for Black Knight," Daxter murmured as he watched the armada that had been constructed of the corpses of ships. "I'm gonna call it Army of Darkness."
"Certainly fits," Jak mused as the Behemoth desperately deployed a new weapon, drone ships equipped with Eco Lasers, only for the construct ships to slam into the drones and break them...and then Dark Eco Crystals took shape on the drones, causing them to turn on the Behemoth. As the ones in charge of that ship saw they were badly - impossibly - outgunned now, they turned to flee. As the construct ships pursued, Jak realized what Shining had meant. Flying close to the ship he'd left him on, he reached out with Dark Command. "...Ar-Mar..."
Just barely, he felt the connection, and then the response. "...J...Jak...?"
As Jak focused on the link, the Army of Darkness slowly collapsed, and Shining - once more back in his normal form - teleported onto their ship. He promptly turned, stuck his head out the window, and vomited into the vortex below, blood, Green Eco, and Dark Eco mixed with the bile. "N...Not doing that again any time soon..."
"I should hope not," Jak agreed. "That was...terrifying..." Turning, he flew back towards the Pirate ship.
I don't think that new ability will go well with anypony when Shinning gets back to Equestria.
On an unrelated note, I have the feeling that Shinning will have to use that new ability sometime in the immediate future...
...............I wanna see it. I wanna see Shining Armors army of Darkness vs Twilight Sparkles Ghost Pirate Robots it would be GLORIOUS!
This is actually making me look foreword to the New Game Plus!
Now i have the mental image of shining with a chainsaw hoof...
And i don't have the money to do a commission.
image.prntscr.com/image/c7077fed48f74f7dbab88957a43d4060.png
I'm hoping Black Knight somehow contributes to Shining Gaining a light eco ability.
7694322 I'm with you. Nothing like a friendly exhibition match between siblings.
7694318
I have to agree with you; don't see Celestia condoning the use of necromancy, no matter how useful. On the other hoof, sometimes you have to do what you're able; holding back can get you killed. As long as Jak is there, Shining can always be pulled back before he goes to far.
Army of Darkness...would this make Shining Armor Ashley Williams?
7694329 That'd be kinda funny
7694322
7694443 That would be awesome if Tatsu tied Shining and Twilight's stories together like he did with Vinyl's and Octavia's. A longshot, yes, but it'd be cool.
7694498 That would be quite the twist, wouldn't it?
7694329 Remember, the safe words are: Klatoo Verata Necktie! *growls* huh... wrong words.
7694318 knowing their luck? Almost indefinitely!
Well... considering what's been going on with his sister, I wouldn't count on that.
Just wait, your LSBFF has a fleet of ROBOT GHOST PIRATES serving her.
I'd say this is more of a skill tree, with individual names or each type: ie Fleet of Darkness for ships, Dark Mecha for robots,
7694866
It works on anything broken and dead.
Ships, carriages, golems, corpses...
It's a trick. Get an axe.
And this is why you don't meddle with the forces of darkness unless you're evil enough not to care, or Jak. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
7695337
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Did Shining Armor just create an army of crystal slaves?
7695930
Yup.
I like your new profile pic Tats.
7696548
Thanks. ProfessorCatPro made it for me.
7696558 He did good, that can't be denied.
if you wanted to maximum cheesiness, you could call it knightmare
7700071
...but he's a stallion.
7700074
7700074
Only for as long the author wants him to keep being one.
7694318
Yes... necromancy.. I wonder, is it punishable by lunar banishment?
7700071 No, what's cheesy is him losing his limbs in a fight only to reanimate them for his army and call it "a flesh wound".
Just wait til he hear what his little sis has been up to.
Sisters, good plan.
Necromancy is- like demonology -one of a handful of magic schools I tend to avoid like the plague. It's not religious belief so much as it is that those forms of power are often fueled by the very darkest emotions. And once one is set upon that path, it's damnably hard to get away. Forget that; there's no coming back from it.
Of the two I mention, the one I find no use for other than as something that should- and is in my fics -be destroyed. There's simply no such thing as a good demon. I have plenty of Dark-aligned creatures in my created worlds, but they are often some of the best defense against demons. Someone born of demonic influences might start out as neutral, but their abilities would fast turn whichever way they were raised.
9359655
Meg from Supernatural is a debatable case.