Robyn did her best to keep a level head as the overloaded laser beams shone around her. She was caught between two of the beams, forced to just move around in the circle as the beams all rotated. A few of Ares' cannons fired at her as she moved, which somehow felt unfair, but she was familiar enough with their attack patterns that she could dodge them all.
Then, right after the attack ended and Ares snapped itself back to directly above her, Sid arrived.
"Let's scrap this thing!" he shouted.
Ares kept up its many attacks, using its Exo Overload Beam attack not once, but twice more. Its health dropped and dropped, Sid continually expecting Draedon to surprise them by pulling one of his mechs back into the fight, but he never did, and Ares soon fell, its body and all of its laser cannons falling apart with a bang.
"Curious, very curious," Draedon spoke. "You progress steadily against more difficult challenges."
Robyn and Sid weren't given a second to breathe, as Apollo, Artemis and Thanatos all returned in full force.
"Focus on either Artemis or Apollo," Sid said. "They share health."
Robyn nodded. She fired and fired, using her bow's primary fire. Its rate of fire started slow, but quickly got faster and faster, blasting away at Apollo. Both of their new attack patterns took her by surprise, but she was able to avoid getting hit by either of them.
"Your nature remains unknown to me," Draedon said. "This will not do. I sought perfection. Fate must favour irony, for that must have been my first mistake."
"There's a lot of that going around," Sid said. "I get a cactus rolling over me, now it's my go-to curse word!"
Thanatos seemed to retreat after that, leaving just Artemis and Apollo for Robyn and Sid to deal with. As it should have been.
Sid's Draconids swarmed the two of them while Robyn's arrows pummelled them. Despite the exothermal beams from Artemis and the zigzagging from Apollo, the twin Exo Mechs were quickly brought down.
"Absurd," Draedon said, as calmly and evenly as one could. "I will no longer let my calculations impede my observation of this battle. I shall show you the full fury of my final machine."
Sid was not surprised when Thanatos resurfaced into existence.
Just one mech. Just one more, then we can finally give that bucket of brain-bolts a good talking to and get him to show us how to get back to Firstworld!
Thanatos charged towards them, laser-lines roaring around it, while Sid's summons shot back into it while Robyn opened fire along its length. Enough of her arrows hit vulnerable parts of the serpent that its health went down quick.
But it was not going to go down easily. A massive array of red laser-lines suddenly burst from its mouth, waving from side to side and slowly coalescing together in a way that reminded Sid of the Last Prism Meg had had back in Firstworld.
The laser-lines soon came together into a single disintegration beam that Sid and Robyn flew about to avoid. Parallel laser-lines shot out from the beam, more shots being launched along them.
"It's almost down!" Sid shouted.
Once Thanatos had used up its disintegration beam, it indeed didn't take much longer for it to lose the rest of its health. It gave a final laser-filled roar as its entire body collapsed, falling to the world below.
Robyn touched down on top of a hill amidst the wreckage of Thanatos. She adjusted her helmet, seeing Draedon hovering down in front of her.
"An unknown factor – a catalyst is what you are. Nearly as alien as I, to this land and its history."
Draedon moved his hand, which had been instinctively resting on his chin, back down to his armrest.
"Excuse my introspection," he said. "I must gather my thoughts after that display. This land has become stale and stiff with blood that has been spilled until now."
He leaned forward in his chair. "You have also spilled blood, but it may be enough to usher a new age... Of what, I do not know. But it is something I am eager to see."
Robyn watched Sid land behind the robotic weaponsmith.
"Okay," he said, "We blew up everything you sent after us. We went into this believing we only had to fight what we chose, not all three options depending on your whims!"
Draedon rotated to face Sid and cocked his head. "I said at the beginning you will face my creations. I utilised the plural form of that word, did I not?"
"Not in a way that was clear enough," Sid muttered. "But anyway, we beat them. All of them. They're scrap, just like you and your labs!"
Draedon tipped his head. "You wish to reach the Tyrant. I cannot assist you in that."
Sid looked shocked. "What do you mean? You said you'd show us how to travel to the Nexus!"
"Incorrect. I never said that. I only said I will know by the end if you are worthy of travelling between worlds using the power of my laboratories."
Sid looked like he wanted to shout more, but he just groaned.
Draedon turned back to Robyn. "It is not a matter of spite, for I would wish nothing more than to observe such a conflict. But you will find a way eventually. There is a way, with the resources you have access to."
Draedon's chair began to hover upwards into the sky, the sun shining brightly behind him. "I must acknowledge your triumph, but I will return now to my machinery."
With a yell, Sid sent one of his Draconids flying into Draedon's chair.
His chair and body were torn to shreds in an instant. But a few seconds later, a circular device appeared out of nowhere, a holographic image of Draedon flickering into existence.
"...Quite unnecessary," it spoke.
With that, the hologram flickered off and the floating device silently blasted up and out of Robyn's eyesight.
...well, that actually did feel quite unnecessary. Maybe a vote will help Robyn and Sid feel validated?