Chapter 11: Two Sides of the Glass
Having thwarted the Koopalings’ seven attempts to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, Mecha Guy had been looking forward to some well deserved rest and relaxation. Naturally, then, he had been excited to hear about the Yo'sters Isle Summer Festival from his comrade Yoshi. It was to the Shyster's dismay, however, that the festival would not start for another week and half. It was then that the Shy Guy Mechanic chose to busy himself with a new project before heading to paradise; the construction of a new, larger airborne vehicle for the technologically lacking residents of the Mushroom Kingdom. And so, Mecha Guy had left Yo'ster's Isle having constructed his newest machine, which he had dubbed the Mecha Cruiser.
Mecha Guy had been proud of his new creation. Using scraps of metal residue left from the fearsome Robo Lemmy, and also including materials given to him by the Mushroomers themselves, he had created a machine far larger then he had ever created before. Propelled by a massive rocket engine, the cruiser took the form of a jet plane and was over fifty feet in a length. Large star-blasters had been installed at the front of the vehicle, and at its sides were large barrels capable of firing homemade, heat-seeking missiles. Inside there were nearly a dozen separate rooms that were set about two different floors. The Mecha Cruiser was a grand airship, to be sure.
Currently the flying vessel was streaking through the sky above the Ogral Ocean, following the Koopa Kingdom's own airship at a considerable distance. It was very late into the night, and, apart from the designated pilot, there was only one soul aboard the ship that remained awake. Having stowed away in the storage area below the first floor of the Mecha Cruiser, Rio slid silently up through the metal floor, his yellow body completely transparent. He found himself in a narrow hallway where, to his right, there was a line of steel doors that led to what Rio guessed were sleeping quarters of the vessel's crew. As he made himself fully visible, the yellow spirit pressed on.
Ever since he had been stricken by what the voice in his head had called the Emerald Pillar, Rio had done a lot of wondering why his body wasn't cooperating with him. He had certainly not wanted to stow away on the Plateaus-bound Mecha Cruiser, but he had anyway. And now, he hadn't wanted to leave his inconspicuous hiding spot storage area. He's stupid, the puppet master that's controlling me at the moment, Rio thought as he neared the end of the hallway. Having me float around the main area of the ship where everyone and their mother could see me. Real bright.
The Boo then suddenly halted. A few yards in front of him was a final steel door, which stood ajar. Rio simply starred at the open door for a moment it began to creak fully open. Rio urged his body to teleport away, but found that he simply had to stay frozen as a stream of thick, purple mist swept out of the room and into the hallway. The fog-like substance undulated through the air for a moment, then surged for Rio, who could do nothing as a branch of the the purple mist slithered into his mind.
~*-*~
The nocturnal breeze tore at the long, tan-colored cloak worn by a Yoshi possessing skin that was a dark shade of green. Around him, the light winds tossed up small plumes of sulfuric dirt. The dust swirled around him as he pressed onward through the darkened streets of Ashton, his eyes scanning the shadows. Using a quick stride, it took very little time for the Yoshi to locate an enormous pile of rubble that had once made up a tall building that housed the elderly. Halting next to the debris, the cloaked figure sniffed the air once, then quickly hurled his right arm toward one of the larger pieces of rubble that had fallen. The chunk of decimated material was surrounded by a light green hue, then shifted from its resting place, tumbling to the right several yards.
Uncovered by the shift in debris was a small body belonging to a female Paratroopa. From what the Yoshi could see, she was a complete mess – bruises and bloody gashes covered her body, and her once silky, white wings were bent into horrific positions and surely broken. Not wasting any time, the cloaked figure strode briskly toward the unconscious Koopa, reached down and tightly gripped one of her arms, then yanked her from the rubble. Suspending her in front of himself, the Yoshi checked for a pulse and nodded. He then placed a palm on the Paratroopa's forehead and trickled a kind of healing magic into her cranium using his fingers. The Koopa stirred instantly, and slowly opened her eyes.
The Yoshi snorted and instantly threw her back to the ground. "You've done very poorly."
"I'm... I'm sorry," the Paratroopa murmured, stumbling to her feet.
Bang.
With a high-pitch yelp and a flash of light, the Paratroopa's body returned to the earth.
"I took a detour for you," the Yoshi said softly. "I felt your life force waning, so I came to rescue you."
"Th-thank you, Sir Hajikk," the Paratroopa sputtered. "I... I am unworthy of such treatment."
The Yoshi known as Hajikk narrowed his eyes. "Clearly. I sent you to kill a feeble old man and instead you ended up with an entire building collapsed on you."
"He saw my attack coming. I don't know how, but he knew. He took cover. My explosives would have killed him."
"Of course he knew!" Hajikk snapped. "He was a high-ranking Shaman! The smallest hostile trigger would have alerted him of your presence!"
"Then how–?"
"Clearly you flushed him out," Hajikk cut in, motioning toward the mountain of rubble. "What's your excuse for not killing him then?"
"I had him on the run. I was so close. Then he–"
"I didn't arm you with Earth weapons so you come close! If I knew you’d fail in such an utterly pathetic way, I would've never spent time forging the portal."
The Paratroopa rose once more. "I'll get him next time."
Bang.
The Koopa was knocked off her feet once more.
"What makes you think there'll be a next time?!" Hajikk roared. "He could have spilled the vital secrets to half the continent by now thanks to your blundering!"
"I–"
"And furthermore," Hajikk continued fiercely, "what makes you think I'll have you go after him again? After this disaster?"
"I'll find him before he tells. I'll kill him. I swear I will."
Hajikk looked down at the Paratroopa for a long moment, then slowly nodded his head. "Rise."
The Koopa quickly obliged, swiftly clambering onto her feet.
"Miss Jipt," Hajikk said softly, "I very rarely give second chances. In this case, then, you are very fortunate."
Jipt bowed deeply. "Thank you, sir. Thank you. I'll–"
"Your wings will need healing. And you'll need a way to find him."
"Yes, of course. Thank you."
Hajikk stepped smartly behind Jipt and ran his hands quickly over the surface of her wings. Cuts scarring their surface healed instantly, and the broken bones mended and straightened. The Yoshi then lowered his hands and stepped back as Jipt turned to face him. Slipping his right arm into his cloak, Hajikk withdrew a small, transparent cube.
"Keep this with you at all times," Hajikk instructed. "It will pulse and turn a bright green as you draw loser to your prey."
The Yoshi paused and smiled. "Now go."
~*-*~
Shadowy bars surrounded Mario in every direction as he gazed helplessly forward, watching a highly realistic replay of the battle between Aid and the Watcher he had seen so many times before in his dreams. Aid stood alone, ready to deal what she thought was the final strike, when a dark magic spear blasted from the Watcher's hands and passed through her middle. She collapsed instantly, and the Watcher floated toward her slowly. He would then, Mario knew, hold the lifeless Aid aloft and proclaim her dead, but the dream sequence never got that far; instead, the plumber felt his body freeze completely as his surroundings erupted into a vat of complete blackness.
The darkness didn't stay completely unbroken for long. Far off in the distance, and quickly gaining ground, was a spherical blob of yellow light. As it drew closer, Mario recognized it instantly as the Boo Rio. This really makes no sense, Mario thought as Rio drew quite close and halted next to him. At least the dream I was having before actually made sense, however much I dislike it. This... this just doesn't feel like a dream. But it has to be. How else would I be-
"Mario, listen to me," Rio's voice echoed through his mind. "You have to close your eyes."
Mario would've liked to ask why or, perhaps, how; his body was completely frozen, eyelids and all. But how could he tell Rio that?
"Close your eyes," Rio's voice repeated.
I can't, moron, Mario thought. Don't you understand?
"Just do it. I bet you can. Just try."
Mario tried, and found the experience comparable to lifting a large, steal door with nowhere to grip his hands.
"Let me help."
Then, suddenly, there were handholds. Mario's mental fingers slid easily into them and he lifted with as much power as his brain could muster up. It took quite awhile, but the mental barricade was indeed rising and, after what seemed like hours on end, the steal sheet had been lifted. Mario felt his eyes twitch into a closed state.
"Open them."
Mario did, and found hundreds of Marios looking back at him.
He, along with Rio, who hovered next to him, were stationed inside what appeared to be a palace constructed of nothing but semitransparent glass. The room they occupied was large beyond description; the ceiling loomed thousands of feet above them, and the width of the room was so immense that it was difficult to tell where it ended and where it began. Thousands of glass sculptures forming various Plitian beings decorated the room, and at the center, there existed a spiral stairway, also glass, that seemed to descend to the floor from the heavens themselves.
"Where are we?" Mario asked Rio softly.
"The Realm of Antimatter," the Boo answered.
Something in Mario's brain clicked into place upon hearing these words. The blinding darkness... the frozen body... he had experienced it before when the Seven Elemental Gems had called out to him to stop the resurrection of the Watcher. They had explained to him his physical limitations in Realm, and that it was this way for all Plitians. And yet...
"How were you able to move around, then?" Mario asked. "I thought Plitians weren't able to move at all."
Rio cocked an eyebrow. "You actually know about this place?"
"Yes. I've been here before."
"Really? How'd you pull that off?"
Mario starred at him. "What'd you mean?"
"The Realm of Antimatter, simply put, is where we go when we die. When you cease to exist on Plit, your mind is locked into a state similar to the one you were experiencing before I came and helped you out."
"You mean," Mario said, his eyes wide, "when you die, you get frozen in a state of complete darkness for all eternity?"
"No, not at all. As I just showed you, there are ways to escape the eternal lockdown. 'Course, without help, it takes a lot longer, believe me. Most people only get their legs working, which allows them to stumble blindly around the Realm until they walk straight out of it."
"What happens then?"
"Well..." Rio said uncomfortably, "I'm not really sure. Never happened to me. I was one of the few fortunates who were able to open their eyes and find their way back onto Plit in the form of a spirit."
"How'd you do that?"
Rio motioned toward the enormous spiral staircase. "They give you a direct route. Anyway, returning to your question about what happens when you leave the Realm of Antimatter in a way other then the stairs; like I said, I don't really know, but I can hypothesize. I'm fairly certain that the Realm of Antimatter keeps your soul whole after you die and it – for lack of a better term – ‘leaves’ your body. Once you leave its boundary... it's most likely that your soul would essentially shatter and enter an invisible sort of energy that powers the Realm."
"That sounds awful."
Rio shook his head. "Not really. Not in comparison to being frozen in darkness forever."
"Great. Well, that's interesting and all, but that still doesn't explain why I'm here if I haven't died yet."
"Maybe you have," Rio said mysteriously. "Maybe someone murdered you in your sleep."
"Maybe. But, incidentally, why are you here? You die again or something?"
"I'm here for the same reason you are."
"And what reason is that?"
"The Watcher's staff," Rio said. "You brought it on your journey, and it's looking to return its master back to the face of Plit."
"The staff? How–?"
"I don't know how," Rio cut in heavily. "But it was the weapon belonging to the most powerful being Plit has ever seen, so that probably has something to do with it. All I know is that it let off some sort of funky purple gas, and seeped into my mind, bringing me here. It's probably the same thing that happened to you."
"How is it going to use us to resurrect the Watcher?"
"Well, first off, plumber boy, there's no such thing as 'resurrection'. If the Watcher were to return, it would be in a form similar to what I've got going. And for why it wants us here, I have a theory."
"Well?"
“Well," the Boo said carefully, "if you've heard anything about a Judgment Day in the afterlife, this may make sense to you. When you're sent to the Realm of Antimatter after you croak, you're soul is spiritually filled into either the 'Good' category or the 'Bad' category. I suppose if you’re, ah, sins outweigh your virtues, you end up as a 'Bad' soul, and vice versa."
"What difference does it make?"
"If you're a 'Bad'
soul, returning to Plit in spiritual form isn't so easy. You have to make
up for any sort of death you may have directly influenced
before you can
free yourself from your frozen prison. Usually, then, it’s impossible for
these 'Bad' souls to ever be freed because you can never leave your prison
to fulfill the requirement. Kind of a flawed system, huh? 'Course, with
the Watcher, he has his little staff thing, so–"
"How do you know all this?" Mario interrupted.
"It's written here, in the Realm," Rio explained. "All around this glass palace there are bits and pieces about the nature of Antimatter. Needless to say, I had to read up a little to find out my best options."
"But how... how did all this all get here, anyway?"
"Probably the same way Plit itself came to be, not to mention the universe at large. But no one really knows the specifics."
Mario shook his head. "Of course." He paused, then added, "But wait. If you're telling me that it was the Watcher's staff that did this, and the Watcher is on board the Mecha Cruiser with me, then–"
"I stowed away," Rio finished. "And don't ask me why, because I don't know."
There was another pause, then Mario sighed. "Well, this leaves us with an interesting choice, doesn't it? Aid must be here somewhere, and I don't know of a more worthy soul that deserves releasing, and yet..."
"And yet if you release her, the Watcher will be able to return to Plit in the form of a spirit," Rio finished. "Quite a decision for you to make, indeed."
"We."
"I'm afraid not. Some nagging force is already mentally dragging me back to reality. I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave very shortly."
"No, wait. You can't–"
"Have to, but I have to say one last important thing, though you'll soon discover it yourself. The glass statues, Mario, are the–"
Pop.
Rio had vanished.
Chapter 12: Pianta Peril
"Okay, so here's what you're telling me," Yoshi said slowly. "There's just one man in all of Rogueport that can get us blimp tickets to Glitzville, and you... and you card-counted at his little casino place. Am I right?"
"Pretty much."
Yoshi shook his head. "You are such an idiot."
"Hey, hey!" Mecha Guy said, raising his arms. "How was I supposed to know we were going to need to go to Glitzville?! I can't tell the future, you know!"
"Yeah, well I was sort of thinking you could for a moment. That prediction that we’re going to... wait a minute."
"What?"
Yoshi scowled. "Remember back a little while ago, when you snapped at me for not reacting in time when you told me we might collide with the Rogueport dock? You never warned me at all. It was me who thought that it would be a good idea to–"
"Is that relevant in the slightest?" Mecha Guy cut in. "We need a blimp ticket from Don Pianta – or I guess, Frankie, since Don Pianta is retired – and pretty much every Pianta in his town wants my head. So what are we going to do?"
"We aren't going to do anything," Yoshi said firmly. "You are going to wait in hiding somewhere while I go sort this out. It's to dangerous for you – and me, most likely – to have you scampering around next to me while I travel this town."
Mecha Guy shrugged. "I guess that makes sense."
"Glad you agree," Yoshi said. "Tell me something first, though, before you wander off; how do I find this... Frankie guy?"
"It's easy. On the West side of town, there's a shop... oh. Wait."
Yoshi raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh?"
"Well..." Mecha Guy said slowly, "it used to be that you could see Don Pianta if you bought certain items in a row and told the clerk that your favorite color was yellow, then you could see the Don. Frankie kinda scrapped the idea, though; too many people knew about the little trick, and he was seeing too many people he didn't want to see. So..."
"So what?"
The Shyster twitched his eyes back and forth for a moment before saying, "We improvise?"
~*-*~
As he stepped carefully through the dimly lit streets of Rogueport's West side, Yoshi looked quite out of place. The street dwellers eyed the dino oddly as he passed them, but the Yoshi chose wisely to ignore them; he had a set mission plan, and it was too risky to stir up any kind of trouble. So he plodded on, passing several modest-sized houses and dried up flower beds before a stream of flashing light caught his eye. Yoshi smiled as he saw them – they decorated the entrance to the Casino owned by the Pianta Syndicate, which was the building the dino had been searching for.
Upon his reaching the casino entrance, a Pianta dressed in a slick, black suit smartly slid open the glass door that stood in front of him. Yoshi thanked him and entered the building, which immediately caught him off guard – being rather opposed to gambling, the Yoshi had not been prepared for the thousands of dazzling lights and beeping slot machines that the enormous casino held. Plodding further inside, Yoshi realized that the Luv Bote casinos hadn't even been this bad; the air was thick with smoke billowing from cigars held by the casino users, and the temperature might have been over a hundred degrees.
Wanting to vacate the building as fast as possible, Yoshi quickly located one of the casino ushers. He seemed almost identical to the Pianta outside who had greeted him; he wore a clean, black suit and held a firm, solemn expression behind his tinted black glasses. Licking his lips, the dino approached him slowly, wondering what in the name of Plit he was going to say. The Pianta guard seemed completely oblivious to Yoshi's approach, but the dino knew that he had been watching him carefully behind his shaded eyewear.
"I'm looking to meet with," Yoshi said carefully as he halted near the usher, "the, uh, Don of your Syndicate. That is... Mr. Frankie."
"Do you have business with him?"
"Well, no, but–"
"Then he'll not see you," the usher cut in.
Yoshi was not put off; he had been expecting this. "Look, I'm just trying to get a pair of blimp tickets to–"
"Glitzville?" the Pianta. "Aren't we all?"
"Right. Well, how do you suppose–"
"You could win them here."
"Excuse me?"
"You can win them here," the Pianta repeated. "In the casino."
Yoshi snorted in spite of himself. "Yeah, and how much cash would I have to–"
"Look buddy," the usher said. "Mr. Frankie doesn't give out blimp tickets to any bum on the street who wants 'em, all right? He ain't gonna do a stranger no favor."
"What if I offer him something in return?"
The Pianta lifted his sunglasses from his eyes to his forehead. "What kind of something?"
"Well, money, of course, but–"
"He don't need that."
"Then what does he need?"
The Pianta usher shifted uncomfortably and cast the area around him several looks, then lowered the sunglasses onto his eye once more. "Look. There's something Frankie's been real peeved about as of late."
"Yeah? And that is?"
"Well," the usher said slowly, "a few months ago, we caught this Shy Guy card counting in this very casino. And, like we always do, we sent the boys after 'em. Thing is, the little bugger fought 'em off and got away. Got Mr. Frankie real steamed 'cause it's something his father never allowed, see? The Don Pianta I worked under for twenty years would never let a cheating Shyster like that escape without punishment. I guess Mr. Frankie feels like he let him down."
"I see. So what is it you want me to do?"
"I want you to find that Shy Guy and bring him here," the Pianta replied. "We got a little information on him, see? He goes by Mecha Guy, and he runs a little business he calls Mecha Guy's Mobile Mechanics. He usually wears a yellow robe, and more often than not he carries around a little red toolbox. Unfortunately, that's–"
The Pianta was interrupted by a soft beeping sound that came from his suit. Reaching down, the usher prodded something invisible on his black wear.
"Pedalle," the usher said.
"We found him," a voice came from the communicator device hidden in the usher's clothes.
"Who? The Shy Guy?"
"Yes."
Yoshi's eyes widened, but the usher was too focused on the relay of information to notice.
"Where is he?" the usher asked.
"The Main Plaza. Some of the boys are after him now, and he's scampering off toward the East Side."
"Figures. Do we need any additional help tracking 'im down?"
"Send help if you feel the need."
"All right. Pedalle out."
As the Pianta focused his attention back on Yoshi, the dino was gazing at the ceiling.
The usher smirked. "Now's your chance, buddy."
~*-*~
"Bad bad bad bad," Mecha Guy gasped, wheezing heavily as he ducked into a small, darkened alleyway.
"You can't hide here, thieving Shyster," a voice from within the ally rumbled.
The Shyster's hand tightened around his toolbox. "Oh really? I see no reason why I couldn't."
The voice snorted, and from the darkened alley stepped a member of the Pianta Syndicate, his black overcoat camouflaging him in the shadows.
"Got you," the Pianta growled, stepping slowly forward.
"Wanna bet?" Mecha Guy asked, lunging at his opponent and throwing his toolbox forward.
Being a trained professional and expecting resistance from the Shy Guy, the Pianta easily jerked back and avoided Mecha Guy's vertical swing, which had a lengthy, unavoidable follow-through, leaving the Shyster open for attack. The Pianta took advantage of this and thrust his fists forward, landing several punches before the Shy Guy recovered and blocked the blows that followed with his toolbox. Pulling his arms back, the Pianta shifted tactics; instead of a jab with his fist, he threw a quick, sweeping kick, aiming to knock Mecha Guy's legs out from under him. The Shyster's reflexes were too quick, however; he hopped over the attack and made a speedy vertical swing with his toolbox.
The Pianta saw it coming. He quickly raised his arms and easily caught the oncoming toolbox, then, digging his feet firmly into the ground, pulled back and wrenched the toolbox from the Shy Guy's grip. The momentum caused Mecha Guy to stumble forward, which allowed the Pianta to knee him painfully in the forehead with his right knee. With a yelp, the Shy Guy staggered back in the other direction, only to immediately then feel cold, hard steel meet his cranium. With a bit of a twirl that was not so graceful, the Shyster was knocked forcefully backwards and to the ground after being stricken in the head by his own toolbox.
The Pianta chuckled as he stepped toward Mecha Guy, raising the Shyster's toolbox above his head while doing so. "You're pathetic. I thought this might actually be a bit of a challenge."
"Guess not, Lipud," another voice came from behind the Shy Guy.
"Yeah," agreed a third. "I can't believe we actually let this one get away."
Wonderful, Mecha Guy thought bitterly, his mind spinning woozily from the last attack. Reinforcements.
The Shy Guy looked up. Standing directly in front of him was his Pianta foe, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
"Given up already?" the Pianta asked, his tone emphasizing mockery.
"See for yourself!" Mecha Guy spat, exploding from the ground and shouldering the Pianta Syndicate member directly in the gut. The hulking Pianta loosened his grip on the toolbox as he was impacted, then let go of it altogether as the Shyster, accompanied by a leap, uppercut him in the face. The metal box clattered to the floor and the Shy Guy dove for it and snatched it up just as the new foes that had arrived began to charge him. Turning to face him, too, was the original Pianta, his mouth twisted into a furious scowl and his large nose bleeding profusely. He lunged, and Mecha Guy knocked him cold immediately with a swift diagonal blow with his toolbox.
Before the body of the original Pianta hit the ground, Mecha Guy grabbed a hold of his unconscious foe's suit. As the second and third Syndicate members closed in, the Shyster heaved the heavy, unconscious form at his nearest attacker, who let out a yell of dismay as he collided with his ally. Both he and his temporarily motionless partner tangled in each other's limbs, then hit the ground in a jumbled heap as the Shyster engaged his third attacker. The third Pianta began to scuffle with a quick punch, which Mecha Guy avoided by ducking. Staying low, the Shy Guy made a low sweep with his toolbox, which was countered via a block made by the Pianta's left forearm. Using his free right hand, the Pianta smacked Mecha Guy aside the head, which forced the Shyster back.
Stepping quickly forward, the Pianta attempted to capitalize his last blow by shouldering Mecha Guy in the face. The Shyster glanced up just as the Pianta's body was only feet from colliding with him, and hurriedly sidestepped the assail. Momentum carrying him past Mecha Guy only slightly, the Pianta quickly turned and launched toward the Shy Guy once more. Mecha Guy retaliated by tearing the lid off his toolbox and hurling its contents directly toward the face of the oncoming Pianta. The Pianta swiftly shielded his face with both arms, giving Mecha Guy an opportunity to land several fierce punches in the Pianta’s stomach, which forced the syndicate member to collapse.
Mecha Guy breathed a sigh of relief as the Pianta's body slumped to the ground, and began to retrieve his fallen tools and stow them in his metallic box when he heard soft footsteps approach him from behind. Grabbing a fist full of miniature screwdrivers, the Shyster whirled around and pelted the approaching Pianta – the one who had gotten tangled in the limbs of his fallen comrade – in the chest with his projectiles. The Pianta yelled in pain and covered his face as more metallic objects slammed into his body. Grinning, Mecha Guy continued his storm of projectiles until he reached the bottom of his toolbox. Reaching in, the Shyster withdrew his large, battery-powered drill, which he flipped on and gunned twice. Horrified by the sound, the Pianta Syndicate member quickly turned his tail and fled.
A look of triumph etched Mecha Guy's masked features as he playfully spun the electric drill in the air several times before dropping it back in his open toolbox. He then continued to retrieve his scattered tools, which were nearly all in place, when a tall shadow fell over him. The Shyster looked up and spotted Yoshi, who was striding briskly toward him.
"Yoshi! Good Lord, they spotted me, I–"
"Sorry pal," Yoshi said softly as quickly drove the heel of his right boot into the side of Mecha Guy's cranium.
The Shyster was leveled instantly, having blacked out before hitting the ground.
Chapter 13: Fogged Up
Captain Valshi felt the nocturnal wind caress his face as he stared forward, his features set with slight concern. A thick blanket of fog had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded his ship which, Valshi knew from years of experience traveling the seas of Plit, was never a good thing. The fog made it difficult to see more then a few yards in front of him, for one, and the area of sea the Crooked Gobbler currently skimmed was well to be littered with small islands. Valshi's second worry was the ominous feeling he almost automatically connected with sudden fog – something was messing with the delicate balance of nature, and it wasn't in a good way.
Pop.
"What do you think of this fog, eh?" Splurge, having just appeared at his Captain's side, questioned.
"I don't like it," Valshi said quietly. "Naturally."
The green-colored Boo nodded knowingly. "That's the odd part though, innit? There's nothing natural about it."
"Yes. I fear that you are correct."
"We'll just have to keep a keen eye out for anything– What the...?"
Suddenly, it was as if an invisible rip in the night sky had sucked the heavy fog from the air; as quickly as it had come, the fog was gone. In its place was a large island, littered with enormous stone cliffs and tall, leafless trees. From its shore, the island seemed to slant upwards. The slant peaked at the island center, where a huge, funnel-shaped rock formation loomed in the far distance, scratching at the heavens. Even from the distance Splurge and Valshi were observing the island, they could depict small opening at the funnel-shaped formation's top.
"I've never known there to be an island here before," Valshi said, slowly shaking his head. "How could I have missed it?"
"We have to turn back," Splurge said, his voice alarmingly solemn. "Now. We have to get away from this island."
Valshi glanced down at his comrade with a look of concern. "Why?"
"I've been here before," the Boo said in little more then a whisper. "I... it's the bridge between... no. You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"No," Splurge repeated. "We must leave from here at once."
"I disagree. This island may as well be a caching site used by the merchants of the surrounding area. I'm not steering clear of this island if there's something to be had."
"There is nothing to be had! Don't you value the opinion of your first mate in the slightest?"
"I do very much, Splurge," Valshi said tightly. "However, I believe you're being irrational. I would not have believed that you would become so frightened over a little bit of unnatural fog and an island home to few dead trees and rocks."
"If you go onto that island," Splurge said, his voice ominous, "you'll encounter more then just trees and rocks."
"That's what I'm hoping," Valshi said with a grin, turning away from his comrade. "All right, men! Let's get ready to dock this ship!"
~*-*~
Torshi was awakened by the sound of yelling and scuffle that came from the deck. Groaning, he sat up in his bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He cast his surroundings a quick look, then dropped to the floor and strode slowly toward the door; with all the racket outside, returning to sleep would be nearly impossible, so the crimson Yoshi reasoned he should probably figure out what was going on. As he left his cabin, a flash of yellow immediately caught his eye, and he turned to meet Alishi.
"What's going on?" Torshi asked groggily.
"I'm not sure," Alishi replied, "but I think we're docking on some island. You can see it from here – it's pretty creepy looking."
Torshi frowned as he gazed past the deck of the boat and toward the island. "Why would they want to dock here?"
A voice behind Torshi answered the query. "You never know what you might come across on an uncharted island."
The crimson dino whirled around to see Captain Valshi approaching him from behind.
"Who knows what kind of treasures we'll find, eh?" the pirate captain said with a smirk.
"Sure," Torshi said impassively. "I suppose if your crew will be shutting up soon, I can go back to bed."
"Ah," Valshi said, his large eyes flashing in the dim light provided by a torch that hung near the door of Torshi's cabin. "You see, I have a different idea."
"Do you, now?" Torshi questioned, wondering what this could be about.
"Yes. My first mate informs me that we may encounter something... dangerous when we find ourselves trekking the island. I thought it would be fair, then, that in exchange for the safety and provisions we've so kindly provided you, that you join myself and a few of the crew as we initiate our island expedition."
Torshi glared at him. "And what if I refuse?"
"Then you may find," Valshi said delicately, "that the safety and provisions we provide will suddenly be... out of reach."
"So you're forcing me to come along, then?"
"Essentially."
Torshi cast his partner a quick look. "What about Alishi?"
"I'll leave the choice up to her. She can come along if she wishes, though I would recommend that she would stay here."
"I'm coming," Alishi said firmly.
"What?" Torshi exclaimed. "Look, Alishi, you heard the Yoshi. He said it's going to be–"
"Dangerous," Alishi finished. "Yes, I know. That's why I'm coming."
"I'd rather you stay here. Please."
Alishi starred into his eyes, then nodded. "Fine. Just... be safe."
Torshi stepped forward and kissed Alishi on the mouth, then drew back. "I will."
~*-*~
A chilling breeze tore at Torshi's flesh as he and Captain Valshi pressed forward along a small, poorly cleared trail that led through a large grove of pale, leafless trees. Flanking the two Yoshis were three of Valshi's crew – two bandana-wearing Koopas and a Shy Guy, each armed with a long cutlass. The group proceeded in silence as the tree branches crackled above them in the wind. Valshi kept a close eye on his surroundings, as did his crew, while Torshi stared forward with an empty look, wondering when Valshi would finally give up and head back to the ship.
After five or so minutes, the group encountered a steep rock face that stood in their way. Valshi halted the group and glanced upwards; only by straining his eyes could he see where the cliff reached the peak of its height.
"Great," Torshi said, following Valshi's gaze. "Dead end. I suppose we can head back then, right?"
"No," Valshi said. "By the looks of the geography, I'd hazard a guess that there may be some sort of cave system that runs through the rock here. I'll take two of the crew members and head this way," he pointed to the left, "then Torshi and the other crew member can go in the opposite direction. Comb this rock face for any sort of opening. If you don't find anything in – oh, I don't know – half an hour, head back to the ship. We'll meet up there."
"And if we do find an opening?" Torshi asked.
"Send your escort back in this direction and have him call for me," Valshi replied, "then wait by the opening until I arrive. Understood? Do not go in by yourself."
"Fine."
"Very well," Valshi said, nodding as he motioned one of the Koopa pirates. "Cryo, accompany Valshi. You two, follow me."
The group broke apart, and Torshi sulked slowly after his escort.
~*-*~
Scanning the rock face for an opening turned out to be seriously boring business. Not long after twenty minutes of searching, Torshi grew tired and miserably impatient. So dulled his senses had become, when his pirate escort halted, he very nearly ran into him.
"Find something?" Torshi muttered, trying to clear his muddled mind.
"Yes," Cryo said, pointing toward the rock face, where there existed a gapping hole. "We've come across an opening."
"Swell," Torshi said. "I guess that means you have to alert the captain, then?"
Cryo nodded. "Yes. I'll be back shortly."
The Koopa pirate turned and entered a brisk jog as Torshi slumped against the rock face and sighed. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the island that was making him feel odd – sort of detached and impassive. As he glanced forward at the strange, leafless trees and rocky soil, he tried to picture Alishi's beaming face, but found that he couldn't. Shaking his head, Torshi was on the verge of crying out in annoyance when a flash of movement caught his eye.
It was a bone. Some fifteen feet in front of him, a large leg bone was – there was no other way to describe it – crawling across the rocky surface of the island toward him. Cocking an eyebrow, Torshi felt a stab of fear as the flickering of additional movement entered his vision; the ground in front of him was littered with chalk white bones, all of which appeared to be slinking slowly in his direction. As the bones congregated, they began to form into somewhat distinguishable figures, taking the appearance of skeletal Koopas.
Dry Bones. Before the crimson Yoshi could realize the full extent of his predicament, no less then half a dozen Dry Bones had formed a semicircle around him. They began to close in on the frightened Yoshi, their arms, bearing knifelike claws, stretched forward in a zombie-like fashion. Torshi was completely trapped, and had only two options left: he could either enter the opening in the rock – which he had been instructed not to do until Valshi had arrived – or he could fight off the advancing creatures.
Torshi's decision was made for him when the nearest Dry Bones lurch forward and caught the dino's right arm with its claws. With a cry of surprise, the crimson Yoshi delivered a fierce kick to the torso of the attacking undead creature. This, of course, resulted in immediate detachment of the Dry Bones's limb, which stayed gripped to Torshi's arm, drawing blood with its grip as the rest of the skeletal Koopa was booted backward. As the dino tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the claw that clung to his arm, he delivered a forceful roundhouse kick to a Dry Bones approaching on the right, then dismembered another with a crushing blow via his thick tail.
Having momentarily downed three of the six attacking Dry Bones, Torshi had created a gap in the enemy forces, which he promptly took advantage of by sprinting forward, leaping one of his foes while doing so, and hightailing it in the direction his escort had left. The Yoshi didn't get far, however; he had not taken five steps before he was forced to screech to a sudden halt as four more skeletal Koopas rose before him. Shaking his head, Torshi turned to see a dozen or more Dry Bones approach him slowly from all sides. Several loud curse words erupted from the Yoshi's mouth as the claw clamped to his arm tightened its grip, and the approaching undead beasts cut off any chance of escape.
With a vicious growl, Torshi ripped the Dry Bones's claw from his arm with a heartfelt heave and hurled it at his nearest foe. Whirling around, Torshi then shattered a pair of skeletal creatures behind him with a single circular kick and darted forward, shouldering past another undead Koopa while doing so. Four more Dry Bones still loomed ahead of the Yoshi as he pressed on toward the rock wall cavern, but the dino could not halt his pace, for nearly a dozen more were pursuing him. Thinking quickly, Torshi lashed his tongue out at the nearest skeletal Koopa, raised it into the air by its leg, then hurled it at its comrades, smashing them to pieces it impacted.
Heart racing, Torshi made a high leap over the pile of his defeated enemies, but made a high pitch yelp as several of the dismembered claws shot from the ground and latched themselves to the Yoshi's legs. The extra weight and searing pain of the attacking claws brought Torshi to a halt as he attempted to beat away the limbs with jabs via the heel of his blue boots. Most of the claws fell away as Torshi kicked at them, but one resilient limb stayed latched to his shin. Feeling the approach of the thick flock of Dry Bones lumbering after him, Torshi abandoned his efforts of dislodging the final claw and sprinted toward the cavern entrance.
A final pair Dry Bones stood in Torshi's way as he neared the cavern, but the crimson dino easily leveled them by making a small hop in the air and throwing down a complete rotation, during which he lashed his tail forward and smashed apart the final foes. Taking care to avoid stepping near the piles of grounded bones, Torshi continued his advance, making sure to knock off the limb still attached to his leg by throwing his lower body against the solid rock face. Completely free of nearby enemies for the moment, the crimson dino took one last look at his herd of skeletal creatures that pursued him, then ducked into the opening.
~*-*~
Torshi wasn't aware of how long he had been running before he finally lost his breath and collapsed his torso against the cold rock walls of the dimly lit cavern. What the Yoshi found odd, though, was that the cave was lit at all; small torches hung from the walls of the narrow cavern and Torshi had no idea why-. In fact, there were quite a few “why”s circling through his head at the moment, most of them dealing with the island – why was it infested by the undead? Why had the said undead creatures been so keen on his elimination? Why had they not followed him into the cavern?
As his breathing returned to normal, Torshi's curiosity was getting the better of him – he wanted answers and, for whatever reason, he felt he could get them if he just proceeded further into the cavern. This, of course, defied nearly all logic and reason, but the crimson dino didn't care. He knew something important was waiting for him at the end of the cavern, and he had an enormous desire to find out exactly what it was. As he felt himself step slowly further along the torch-lit path, he could hear his conscious scream, No, no, no!
Torshi was deaf to the shouting. He pressed on.
To Be Continued...
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