Disclaimer:
Captain N was produced by Nintendo and DIC Entertainment. The Shin Megami Tensei, Persona, and Devil Survivor series were produced by Atlus. This story uses reference material from all.
New Captain N: Warp Zone
By: RB3
Explorers of Videoland 03: Demon of Darkness
With their adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom over, Lana, Kevin, and Sonia returned to Power Palace. The three had come back with a new ally in the form of the King of the Koopas himself, Bowser, who they introduced to King Charles. "So this is Bowser Koopa IV?" asked Charles.
"Yes father," replied Lana. "We were friends and allies with them before our ancestors sealed the warps."
"Oh yes, I know. It's been so long since our families met each other. We have a lot of catching up to do, but that will happen in time," said Charles. "For now, let's discuss the matter of the warps."
"I spoke with Peach. The Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Troopa are building a guard post near the warp in Peaceful Woods," said Bowser.
"Thank you," said Charles.
"I was wondering how many of these warps are open now?" asked Bowser.
"Two," replied Charles. "After my daughter went to explore the Mushroom Kingdom, the seal fell off of the warp to the Amala Universe."
"What's that place like?" asked Kevin. "I don't think I've heard of that game."
"Neither have I," said Sonia.
"We don't have much information, but from what Lyle has told me, this warp leads to a demonic world. This one sounds very dangerous, so be careful," said Charles. "I've sent my men ahead to prepare a camp for you at the other end. Use that location as a base of operations."
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The Explorers travelled down the vast hallways of the warp zone, the hub which connected all of the worlds together. The group came upon a door with the engraving of a spade with numerous tendril-like roots. The spade was within a circle and looked like a magical sigil, a fitting symbol of a demonic world. When the Explorers travelled through the warp, they found themselves among a group of Power Palace guards.
When they spotted Lana, the commander and his men saluted. "Greetings Princess. Please be careful as you explore the area."
The Amala Universe was the most bizarre and surreal world yet. The sky had a burning, blood red hue to it. The world itself seemed filled with a strange sensation of supernatural power. To this world, "laws of physics" were probably a misnomer. The vegetation of this strange place was much like that back in Kevin and Sonia's home world, but more dense. They recognized the trees as pine trees, which could mean they were in the wilderness in the northern hemisphere.
The area around the warp was a set of standing stones erected in concentric circles like Stonehenge from England. The warp was at the centre of the Stonehenge replica. Lana's guard had already explored the general area and had reported being attacked by animated trees. They had destroyed them without much difficulty. Also, they had located a small mountain range to the west, but have yet to cross over to see what was on the other side. Lana's team was to go beyond the mountain and explore.
The Explorers made their way westward through the untouched primeval forest. "This place gives me the creeps," admitted Sonia.
"I don't blame you," said Lana. "This is a demonic world so expect there to be many monsters living here. You heard how my soldiers said those trees attacked them."
"If that happened to me, I don't think I'd ever look at a tree the same way again," said Sonia.
As they approached the mountain, Kevin spotted a dirt path leading upwards. "We cross the mountain that way. Let's go."
Kevin's road went up on a slight incline, gradually travelling higher and higher off the ground. After an hour of travel, they were high enough that a fall would spell certain doom. It was quite tiring to ascend the mountain on foot, but this was much easier and safer than climbing over it. They eventually came upon a large, rounded mountainside platform. Some sparse grass was growing through the dirt, in and around the rocks on the ground. The Explorers decided to rest here before finishing the remaining half of their journey.
There was a dark cave in the mountain near this rest stop. A set of fires lit up from within and started to enlarge as they approached the outside. Kevin spotted them coming, revealing themselves to be creatures made of pure flame. These fire elementals had torsos like that of a muscular man, but their bottom halves were more like trails of flame. The creatures scowled at the group, clearly intending to cause them harm.
"Uh oh, we got company!" said Kevin, drawing his Zapper.
Kevin fired at the leading fire elemental, who collapsed to the ground, snuffed out, and vanishing into nothingness. Another followed and was shot by Lana. Despite both of them shooting down the fire elementals, more replaced the fallen. Kevin and Lana noticed that more of these creatures were coming the path back and the path ahead. The elementals had trapped them in the middle, with no way to escape but down the cliff.
"Lana, focus fire on the ones from the path ahead. There are fewer coming from there," said Kevin, shooting in that direction.
"Okay," she replied, turning her Zapper in the same direction as Kevin.
Two of the fire elementals pounced on Bowser, trying to burn him and knock him to the ground. He was much too strong for them, even with their combined might. He threw off the one on his back and grabbed the other one trying to pull his right leg. Bowser quickly hurled him into the mountain, with enough force to shake the rock. "Who do you think you're messing with pal?" asked Bowser to taunt the fire elementals. "Come and get me!"
In support of Bowser, Sonia blasted the ones taking up the rear with numerous Smites. "The back way is clear," she cried.
"Okay, we've almost got the front clear too," said Kevin. "Keep it up!"
The fire elementals exhaled flame at Bowser, who covered up to withstand the blaze. Bowser forced his way through and grabbed one. He hurled that creature into the mountain with great force. Fatally wounded, the fire elemental fizzled out, leaving nothing behind but hot air. However, the impact had cracked the mountain. It shuddered and a loud crashing noise came from above. Kevin heard it and looked up to see what the commotion was about. He saw numerous rocks tumbling from high above.
"AVALANCHE!" he cried.
Kevin quickly rushed ahead, taking refuge in the path to the other side of the mountain. Unfortunately, all of his friends had gone the opposite way. The rock slide crushed all of the fire elementals in its wake, leaving none alive. It also buried the cave entrance, preventing any new fire elementals from exiting. The rock slide also completely covered the rest stop and was so thick that neither side could see the other. Although the fire elementals had been dealt with, Kevin had a new problem. He had been separated from the others.
"Kevin, are you okay?" asked Sonia.
"Yeah mom, I'm fine," replied Kevin. He tried to climb over the rocks, but they rolled out from other him. The pile started to shake. He dropped back down to safer ground. "I can't risk climbing over. I'll start another avalanche."
"What do we do?" asked Lana. "We can't get to you either."
"I'm going on ahead. Work your way around the mountain another way and meet me at the other side," said Kevin.
"Okay, but be careful. We'll be there as soon as we can," said Lana.
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Elsewhere in the demon world was a town which had built up around a single tower in the middle of a grassy plain. This gold-plated tower was the Tower of Babel. It had been damaged by divine lightning in ages past, which had sheered off the top. Below, was a JSDF base and a town which grew up and around the tower. Near the tower was a dark, cathedral-like building for the ruler of the demon world.
At the top floor of this mansion was a young, blue-haired Japanese man in his late teens. His eyes were pure blue and he was dressed in a black cloak which gave him the appearance of a dark warlock. He also wore a set of headphones over his ears. Its wires curved up such that they almost seemed like horns on his head. He was Saemon Ichihara, also known as Abel, the current King of Bel. As the King of Bel, he was the avatar and new form of the demon Bel, and by extension, was the ruler of this demonic realm.
With him were two of his demonic servants. The first was an alluring naked female demon. She had long, fiery red hair and perfect, silky smooth skin. She also had a pair of red, leathery wings. She wrapped her arms around Abel's shoulders and looked over his left shoulder at a handheld electronic device in his hands. "Abel darling, what is it?" asked the succubus, Scarlet.
The device was much like a handheld video game player. It was beeping, indicating that a new message had arrived, which Abel read. "I just got a message from Fushimi. He said that a dimensional portal had become active in New Stonehenge. Someone had used it to cross over."
Abel's other demonic servant, a mass of glimmering white orbs, looked over his right shoulder. He was Yog-Sothoth. "The Yog wants to know, who are they?"
"He thinks they might be scouts," replied Abel. "Their group is too small to mount an invasion and they haven't done anything hostile. Fushimi had sent a small detachment to monitor them." Another message came from Fushimi, which Abel read. "One of their scouting parties got into a fight with Flaemis demons and accidentally caused a rock slide which blocked a mountain road. They're trying to cross the mountain on foot."
"Are we going to check them out?" asked Scarlet.
"Yeah, let's go," replied Abel.
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After several minutes of travel, Lana's group had returned to the bottom of the mountain. Now that the path was blocked, they had no other choice but to go the long way around the mountain. Worse still, Kevin had been separated by the avalanche. The Explorers found a new dirt path which curved to the north side of the mountain. It was fairly narrow and rugged. It seemed like they had to step over a rock every inch of the way.
Despite the slower pace, they somehow made it around, to a wooded area to the west of the mountain. Hopefully, they could meet up with Kevin here, once he reached the end of his path. As they travelled through these dense woods, Sonia couldn't help but feel unnerved by this location. The redness of the sky blanketed the forest, making still seem dark even during broad daylight. The shadows seemed to move on their own, as thought they were alive.
"Let's find my boy and get out of here," said Sonia.
"Scared?" asked Bowser.
"Who wouldn't be?" asked Sonia rhetorically. "Since we got here, we were ambushed by fire elementals and nearly buried by an avalanche, no thanks to a certain someone."
"Are you insinuating something?" asked Bowser.
"Enough you two," said Lana. "If you have the energy to fight, you can spend it looking for Kevin."
Sonia looked around at the trees. One of them, a tree with a set of violet leaves like autumn, appeared to be in a different location than when she last saw it. It appeared to be slightly closer. Before, it was at least a foot behind a pine tree. Now, this same tree was slightly ahead of the pine tree, as though it had moved up and planted itself in its new location. "Is it just me, or did that tree with the purple leaves move closer?" asked Sonia.
"It's just your imagination. The redness makes things look strange, that's all," said Bowser. "It's nothing to..." At that moment, a something clubbed Bowser in the back of the head. He turned to look for what hit him. "Who did that?"
Sonia looked at the source of the attack, that same tree with the violet leaves. Only now, the tree was right behind them. She noticed a set of yellow eyes open on the tree. "That thing's alive!" said Sonia.
The tree demon swung at Bowser, who suddenly caught its branch. "Ha ha! Not this time! You're firewood now!" he cried, breathing flame which seared the tree demon black.
The tree demon recoiled in agony and fled from the Explorers. Lana noticed more rustling in the forest and stood on guard, with gun in hand. More of these tree demons were closing on their position. They were all around her and the others, surrounding and boxing them in. "Uh guys, we've got company," said Lana.
All of the tree demons opened their eyes, revealing their supernatural nature in entirety to the Explorers. "They've got us surrounded. Looks like we have no choice but to fight," said Sonia.
"I'll burn you all to firewood, just like the first one," cried Bowser. "Go ahead, make my day!"
Before either side could make their move, a violet vortex opened in the very fabric of space to the east. A tendril lashed out and wound around one of the tree demons, trapping it in place. Another portal opened with another tendril lashing out and snatching a different tree. In the west, a succubus appeared out of thin air and drained violet energy from a third tree demon. Exhausted, that tree demon collapsed in a heap on the ground. To the north, black rain drops fell upon the demons, encrusting them in ice on contact.
The leader of their rescuers, Abel, appeared beside them in a flicker of blue light. "Who are you?" asked Bowser.
"I'd ask you the same thing," replied Abel. "These woods are dangerous. They are filled with Jubokko, who attack anyone who intrudes in their territory." Lana introduced herself and her companions to Abel. "So you're the princess of the land beyond that portal, and you say a friend of yours got lost?"
"Yes, his name is Kevin Keene. We got separated by an avalanche while travelling on the mountain road. We were trying to find him before we got ambushed by the Jubokko," replied Lana.
"Then we'd better find him as soon as possible," said Abel. "There are far more dangerous things in these woods than the Jubokko."
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Kevin continued on his way across the mountain path. There was no other way to go except forward now, thanks to the rock slide on the way back. Kevin had been separated by the avalanche and was continuing on alone to the meeting place at the other end. The mountainous dirt road was winding and long. He passed through a small tunnel, which exited onto more road. When he reached the mountain's base, he encountered more forest than the eye could see.
The redness of the sky made the world seem darker than it really was. The shadows seemed to move on their own, but that appeared to be merely a trick of the light. Kevin found a nice, nearby rock and sat on it to rest. Now, it was simply a waiting game for when his friends would come to pick him up. A few minutes passed and still there was no sign of them. He continued to wait, as it would take longer for them to circle around the mountain than simply going straight through like he did.
As he relaxed, something was watching him, hiding in the bushes deeper in the forest. This spy was a creature with red skin and long fingernails which were like claws. This evil witch of a demon had long, unkempt black hair and a crone-like disposition. She was largely consisted of her torso, from which a yellow ribbon dangled downward. This ribbon was flanked by a pair of gold ropes which ended in anchors and was beaded with black orbs.
The evil witch approached Kevin, alarming him greatly. "He he he, hey pretty boy," remarked the evil witch. "Come to mama, dearie!"
"No way, I never go anywhere with strange old ladies," remarked Kevin, pointing his weapon. "Stay back or I'll shoot!"
"Is that any way to treat your elder? Naughty boys must be punished!" said the demoness, advancing.
Kevin immediately fired at her, but his shots rebounded off of a once invisible barrier of golden light. They ended up hitting himself instead. He stumbled back, pushed away by his own shots. Fortunately, his personal force field, a blue aura, had protected him from harm. "This isn't good!" said Kevin. He immediately lagged the creature back a few paces as he turned the other way and ran.
The witch was right behind him as he ran deeper into the forest. As he raced through the forest, he leapt over bushes and rocks along his path. The witch, being largely a floating torso, had no legs and thus had no worry of tripping. Despite her ability to float, Kevin was still faster than her. When he was far enough, he hid himself behind a tree to catch his breath. He felt a slight draft as the witch flew by in search of him.
Kevin let out a bated breath, relieved that he hadn't spotted yet. When the witch was far enough away, Kevin left his hiding place and ran the other way. Unfortunately, in his haste to leave the area, he had snapped a twig underfoot. "What was that?" asked the evil witch. She went to the source, where she spotted Kevin in the distance. "There you are! You're not getting away!"
Kevin continued running through the forest trying to flee the witch. He tried to motion control pebbles and branches into her way, but her barrier knocked them away. He looked over his shoulder to see the witch. However, this lapse of attention caused him to miss a small dip in the ground. Kevin stumbled over it and fell facefirst into the dirt. As he tried to turn get up, the witch had reached him. "Uh, can't we talk about this?"
"No need. I'm going to make you mine. Come to mama!" said the witch as she slowly crept up to him. She opened her mouth and wisps of misty violet energy started to bleed out of Kevin's body. He felt weaker, as though his very life was being drained away.
Suddenly, electricity surged around the witch, triggering violent spasms throughout her body. Kevin scurried away a safe distance and got up. Her flesh started to burn and she eventually vanished in a poof of inky black mist. His saviour, a young man in headphones and a black cloak, looked over him. "Are you okay?" asked the sorcerer-like man.
"I am now," replied Kevin.
"Kevin!" cried a female voice, which he recognized as Lana's. Lana embraced her Game Master, glad to see that he was unharmed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, your friend here saved me from the wicked witch," replied Kevin.
"We got here just in the nick of time. I'm Saemon Ichihara, but you can call me Abel like the demons do. That demon was a Rangda. They prefer to eat children, but won't mind snacking on the soul of adults," replied Abel.
"Yeah, I almost became her meal," said Kevin, as Sonia cast magic to seal up the scratches he had sustained from the fall.
"Abel, I'd like you to meet my father," said Lana. "Since you represent this world, we'd like to open relations with this world."
"Of course," replied Abel. "I'll have to take Fushimi along with me. I'm curious about Power Palace myself."
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Some time later, Abel and a second man, a Japanese soldier with a long face and spiky black hair, walked down the opulent hallways of Power Palace. The two men, Abel and Colonel Fushimi, marvelled at the beautiful construction of the palace of the Power family. Brass, arch-like structures supported the roof above, in a combination of practicality and elegance. Abel's cathedral of shadows was not nearly as opulent as Lana's palace was, but it had its unique charms and the presence of his friends.
Abel and Fushimi followed Lana to the throne room where Charles held court. They bowed in the presence of the king. "Ah, so you are Abel and Colonel Fushimi," said Charles. "I'm pleased to meet you. I'm King Charles XXI of Videoland. I wish to open a dialogue between our two nations and if possible, discuss potential alliances. Please tell me more about yourself and your world."
Abel told the king about the demonic Realm of Bel. The world he came from was once much like Kevin's. Recently, it had developed technology which could control demons for a variety of ordinary uses. This system came into being as a result of his ascendance as King of Bel, the ruler of the demons, and some technical expertise by his cousin, Naoya, and his friend, Atsuro. Since then, the Japanese government wished to explore and colonize the demon world. Abel was helping with this effort through his power as King of Bel, the avatar of demon lord Bel.
"That's quite a history," replied Charles upon hearing.
"Yes your Majesty," said Fushimi. "I was involved with the events which led to Ichihara becoming the King of Bel. My unit has been dubbed the Counter Demon Force, or CDF, and assigned to security in the new colony."
"I see, let me explain where we come from and why we wish to seek an alliance," said Charles. He told them about the history of the Power family, whose palace sat at on a warp zone which connected a myriad of worlds together. He also explained his concern about hostile forces arising in search of Power Palace as an invasion staging ground. "That is why I wish to form an alliance. If my palace were to ever be captured, many other worlds would be vulnerable to attack, including yours."
"I understand," said Abel. "In that case, I'm willing to assist you in fortifying your palace. I'm also curious about these new worlds. I'd like to travel with your daughter and the Game Master to learn about them. The name of 'Bel' means 'lord' or 'master' in the ancient Akkadian language. More specifically, I'm a master of magic and the supernatural. As the King of Bel, I can be of great assistance with my magic and my demonic servants."
"I don't doubt that you'll be a great asset. Let's consider this alliance unofficially established. I'm sure my daughter and their friends would love to have you travel with them," said Charles. "My daughter will show you to your new quarters. You can stay there between missions if you'd like."
Lana led their new ally, Abel, down the halls of Power Palace. Like Bowser before him, Abel had his own quarters to stay in between expeditions into the other worlds of Videoland. He entered the living area Lana had showed him, which was a set of guest quarters for visiting officials from other nations. "This is the place," informed Lana. "Take a look. I hope you enjoy your accommodations."
The entrance of the quarters led into a white living room with brown carpeting, a large television set, a wooden coffee table, and a brown couch. The upper floor had three bed rooms and a large bathroom which was more like a spa than a bathroom. The room had a white hot tub with therapeutic jets for relaxing the muscles. There were also stalls nearby for showering and for toilets. His entire quarters was equivalent to a small, luxury two-storey house.
"This will more than do," replied Abel. "If we get hungry, where can we go for food?"
"The dining room is at the north side of the palace, on the ground floor," replied Lana. "Just talk to the chef and he'll fix you up."
"I will, thanks Lana," said Abel. "When are we having our next meeting with the king?"
"I think tomorrow. Lyle has told me that one of the warps will become open then," replied Lana.
"I see, I'll be there for the briefing," said Abel.
END OF CHAPTER
