"Shh." He hissed.
It seemed as if the person made that shrill noise on purpose. The creature snapped a yellow eye open and wrinkled its snout to pull back the sharp, sometimes dull set of teeth. I stared stupidly into the deep muzzle creaking open. The creature lunged, snapping his mouth as fast as a mouse trap. A part of my toga was bitten off and I yelped. The person who held me swung me around and back. I was thrown in the air for a second before I could gather myself again.
A smile came on my face. "Link!"
He turned back to smile at me in time before the creature lashed out with its paw. There was a brown pack over Link's shoulder and when he threw it at me, I knew that that was what I felt when he came from behind. Roy stumbled to the ground trying to dodge the creature's teeth. I grabbed him by the arm to hoist him up. In the corner of my eye, I saw Link jabbing and slicing open the creature's muzzle. His swings were strong, but somewhat elegant like a lion tamer in a circus.
Roy regained his stance and charged. His long double-edged sword flashed with yellow brilliancy and his deep purple cape whipped behind him like remnants of the flames. The creature seemed very afraid of the fire spewing from Roy's sword. When it cringed and backed up a few steps, its skin scraped against the black walls. Scales the size of my hand peeled off but the creature didn't mind.
The sword it feared was brought up high, now resembling a miniature sun. I saw the white in the creature's pupils as it faced its near death. Link and I stood still, waiting for Roy's move.
Two flashes of radiant red engulfed the area around us. Instinctively, I covered my eyes and looked down. When the light withered away, the colossal creature was frozen in place with two blades protruding from its head. It opened its maw one last time to exhale and two edged steel columns were speared through its mouth. Sticky black blood dripped from the soft part of the throat. I couldn't help but stare at the monster as it pulled its lips back as if it were smiling at me.
I saw Link cover his nose with one arm. The creature crashed to the ground, leaving behind a sour stench worse than when it was alive. I could almost see a pink vapor spewing and whistling from its pores. Its stomach crushed under its weight and splattered to all the corners on the wall. Wiggling worms with different shapes and sizes escaped its host to seek another parasite. The creature was supposed to be dead a long time ago. Its existence was just a squelch of bugs with teeth and claws.
We all stepped back and crushed the occasional bug that wanted a new host to house in. Roy called out to the other wielder in the back, "...Thank you."
A large bronze sword swung around once to shake off the blood and the wielder materialized from behind. He handled the supposedly two-hand sword with one and greeted the three of us with a vague bow.
"Ike, what in the world are you doing here?" Link joked. His sword made a light snap as it was placed in the case. The shield was thrown behind to its usual spot. Ike smiled briefly.
"What is this, a swordsman reunion? We're missing a couple."
Roy casually picked at a centipede crawling on his chest plate and flicked it away. "And in this tunnel with bugs crawling in our steps. Perfect place for a party."
"Let's move on. We'll talk later." I said shortly. But Ike stepped up to me and grabbed at my toga. Before I could wonder why he did that, he pried off a giant centipede, at least twice or thrice the size of Roy's, and crushed it with his bare hands. To my horror, I think I heard a tiny screech coming from the poor vermin when Ike crushed it. Its soulless body was insolently dropped on the floor with a dry sound. Shivers went down my spine to think that thing was on me. And I didn't notice.
"It's holding a piece of paper."
I looked up and saw Ike holding a rather large piece of paper (compared to the other ones I collected). The corners were chewed on and dipped in a light, meat pink color. I held it with the tips of my fingers and read it out loud to everyone: "I hate my name I hate my name I hate my nameā¦"
A strange, crawling sensation filled me. Roy saw the suspicion in my eyes and took the paper away. His eyes furiously scanned the four words. The entire paper was covered with "I hate my name". Over, and over, and over again.
The two of us shared a silent conversation: Does this have anything to do with my amnesia? What is the meaning of this piece of paper?
Link tilted his head. He was looking at the back of the paper while Roy held it up. "Hey, it says something here. 'The entrance is an oxymoron'. Hmm, somewhat creepy. Do you know what this means?"
I shook my head and I immediately felt light-headed. Without even thinking, I went through my toga and produced the other two pieces of paper I collected. I was surprised to find the pieces of paper to be blank, but then I noticed my vision oscillated back and forth. I saw four pieces of paper, and then back to two, and then eight pieces.
"You're pale." Roy said.
"Let's find a place to sit down. I don't want you fainting here." Link suggested. I think I nodded to him, looked back at Roy and Ike, then looked down on the papers and saw the word 'five'.
And somehow, that word scared me.
Author's Note: Short chapter. And also, sorry for the many swordsmen. All of the characters come out but these guys may end up leading the story. Gross words that I can use are always welcome in the comments/reviews.
