United Chapter 1: Alex and Shina
Thanks to Geno's powers, Shina is brought down in the center of a wasteland between some mountains, and Geno keeps the pillar of light up as the girl walks out of it and scans the environment for anything noticeable. In confusion and with a hand held against her forehead, Shina stares directly towards a base wedged in between a couple of mountains.
"What's that?"
"It's where Alex is located. I think it's fair to warn you though that you'll probably encounter a little resistance…" Geno puts his arms into his cloak and closes his eyes while Shina glances at him over her shoulder.
"Any tips?" She asked with a smile.
"Considering what you are…Just use your powers for defense if necessary. Are you worried?" Shina glances aside and lets out a prolonged hum, leading Geno to open his eyes and ask "Want me to come with just to be safe?"
"No that's fine, thanks for bringing me this far Mr. Geno." Said while she folded her arms behind her back and grinned.
"Well, I'll be keeping an eye on things just in case you need vouching for…I hope all goes well." After that, Geno looked up and noticed Shina scratching the side of her face with a blush in her cheeks, prompting him to ask "Something up?"
"Ummm…H-How do I put this…Oh gosh I never thought I'd get this chance, b-but…" Shina clamps her hands in front of her chest tightly and asked "C-Can I please get your autograph Mr. Geno?! YouwerealwaysoneofmyfavoriteMariocharactersandIreallyreallyREALLYwantedyouinSmashand-" While Shina stopped and caught her breath, Geno was a little taken aback and yet tried to smile even if his body made it difficult. Then he chuckled a little as Shina smiled his way.
"Unfortunately I believe neither of us have a pen or paper to work with. Perhaps another time…" Shina's sagging expression was accompanied by a fittingly disappointed sigh, though it didn't take long for her to perk up and say "Well, alright. I'll hold ya to that. Now, I'm off to meet this Alex Whiter person! Thanks again!"
She turned around and sprinted off, only turning back to wave goodbye to Geno, who met her thanks with a "You're welcome" before he carried himself back to Star Haven via the pillar of light. Shina kept sprinting along the wasteland with her arms held out behind her, her mind still racing with anticipation over meeting the Elemental Overlord. From the statue she saw combined with the history books she read, Shina closed her eyes and imagined the person wearing shining silver armor with far reaching angelic wings, riding an elephant sized Pegasus with flaming wings while he held his six foot long katana into the air.
Shina starts drooling a little but then ends up ramming face first into the steel doors at the entrance of the base, recoiling onto her rear while letting out a blunt grunt of pain. Sirens immediately go off, warning Shina to stay where she is very loudly, but she's too busy rubbing her forehead and let out multiple cries of "owie" to notice at first. It's only when she gets on her feet and finishes chuckling over her daydreaming that she acknowledges it.
"Oh…I set off the alarms…Well, it's Mario's world, what's the worst that can happen?" Shina nonchalantly hums a theme from this world while swaying her body forward and backwards until the doors open up and three Shy Guys wearing spy tuxedos come running out, surrounding her and pulling out tiny laser pistols as the sirens die down.
"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!" With that said in their species' normally odd tone of voice, Shina ended up freezing in place with her waist thrust out, not because she was asked to. Glancing at all the Shy Guys, she noted the absurdity of this situation and her cheeks slowly started puffing out as she calmly raised her hands above her head, though they twitched along the way as she wanted to do something else with them.
"I can't believe it, it worked…!" Another Shy Guy joyously proclaimed, though while they were celebrating their supposed success Shina's cheeks had puffed up so much that her eyes began watering, and unable to contain herself she suddenly swung her body forward with her arms held against her gut whilst bursting into uncontrollable laughter. The Shy Guys were left looking at each other in confusion.
"I-Is this some alien defensive measure…?"
"Hurry and fire before we're infected!" The blunt Shy Guy quickly shot laser blasts at Shina along with his comrades, but it only served to increase her laughter as they touched her skin and made little shockwaves of energy without leaving scars. Shina collapsed onto the ground, curled up and resting on her side while her laughter kept going.
"D-Did you set it to tickle?! It's not working…!" One of the Shy Guys looks the pistol over, while Shina was getting to the point that she was starting to lose breath from going at it for too long.
"Haaaaa…haaaa….I-I can't…the tiny guns, t-the trench coats…On Shy Guys of all, pffftttt-Hahaha!" Shina started smacking her right hand against the ground while one of the Shy Guys raised their eyebrows in irritation.
"Hey, we're not being taken seriously! She thinks we're a buncha jokers!"
"M-Man, w-w-what a buncha…jokahssss…HAHAHAHA!" Shina was really trying her hardest to regain control of herself, but that was clearly failing. It was only the logic of dying from running out of air that made her slowly stop herself and then push herself back onto her feet while the Shy Guys kept their weapons locked. Shina made an odd smirk and looked at all of the Shy Guys with her hands raised.
"S-Sorry guys…snort…I'm really blowing this 'not causing trouble' thing, aren't I? Go ahead and arrest me now, or you can 'take me to your leader'" She said that last thing in an alien-like voice and almost started laughing again after. The Shy Guys were confused, but guided Shina into the base anyways. It took a few minutes of wandering the hallways, with Shina just blankly staring at all the Mario enemies wearing trench coats, but then she was brought to an enclosed room with light-blue steel walls and only a tiny vent for air. Shina was made to sit on a steel bench in the room, and she did so with a smile that disturbed the Shy Guys.
"Look, just…just don't cause any trouble while we get our Commander, ok?" Shina nodded her head as the Shy Guy wandered off and slammed the door shut. She was left to look around the jail cell and think to herself in annoyance "Can't say I saw this coming, good going Shina…" she then let out a sigh and laid her hands atop her kneecaps while waiting for the so-called Commander to appear. Once more Shina went deep in thought and began to think about what the person could look like, thinking of the strongest enemies out there like Chain Chomps or a Hammer Bros.
"Gemini, I don't know what she's doing here, but it's pretty bold of her to come right to our front doors…" The gruff voice behind the door snapped Shina away from her imagination and left her resting a hand on her chin as support while she awaited to see the person the voice belonged to. The name of the person they were with got her attention too.
"Gemini huh? Oooh, so mysterious…" But she would be in for a big surprise, as when the door opened up the "Commander" was revealed to be a slightly larger Goomba with golden mechanical arms and an eyepatch on his face. Behind him was the yellow shelled Koopa named Gemini, who Commander Alpha looked away from as he entered the jail cell and glanced at the puzzled Shina.
"H-Huh? A…G-Goomba?" Was her immediate thought as she stared at him with shrunken pupils and her eyes widened. Alpha held his right arm out and bluntly said "You got some nerve entering our territory. Now where did you come from, and what are you after here?" Shina could not take the Goomba seriously, as she kept blinking as he spoke, more focused on his appearance than his voice. After a few seconds without a response from her Alpha scowled a bit.
"You had time to catch your breath, so start talking." Right as Alpha said that, Shina leaned forward and pinched his cheeks without thinking, leading to the Goomba widening his eyes as she starts pulling gently at his rubbery skin. Gemini was busy hiding a chuckle as Alpha turned to him and let out a sigh.
"Lieutenant, I think this is going to be one of those days…"
"Alpha, she did willingly arrest herself, I think she was looking for something here…"
"Well that's not at all suspicious…" As Alpha sarcastically noted that his skin was tugged a little farther, causing a jolt of pain through his body that made him grit his teeth and then suddenly clamp his hands down on top of Shina's arms while he bluntly said "Alright you, cut that out." Shina slowly let go of him and kept a cautious look on her face as she was allowed to pull herself back.
"S-Sorry, but it's just that, y-you're a Goomba…And yet you're a leader of an organization?"
"…Your point being?"
"One bop on the head and someone would succeed ya, hahaha…!" Shina swung her fist in front of her with a grin, and Alpha just shut his eye and mumbled to himself in a grouchy manner while Gemini just folded his arms together and leaned against side of the door.
"Can you at least tell us who you are?" He inquired kindly, whilst Alpha placed his arms behind his back and added "And just how you managed to find our hidden base." Shina, having had enough of her curiosity satiated for now, decided to not get into anymore trouble. With a relaxed expression she looked at Alpha and gathered her thoughts.
"M-My name is Shina Aurora, an Aurian, from Earth!" She mimicked the same tone as before and then followed up with "And Geno brought me here. I remember he said the Koopa's name, so…you must be Alpha?"
"…Hmph, now why exactly would Geno bring you here? I'm going to need more than that, kid." With Alpha's request, Shina widened her eyes and then stammered a little before reaching into her pocket to pull out the teleportation device, handing it over to the puzzled Goomba.
"…And how exactly is this supposed to prove your case?" Shina shook her head immediately after and told Alpha "Someone I know back on Earth gave that to me and told me that I could use it to find the Elemental Overlord. One thing led to another, I might have freaked out some Toads, a-and then here I am!"
"Finding the Elemental Overlord eh?" Alpha quietly said while he looked at the device, scanning it with the cybernetic eye behind his patch, saying once he's done "The technology is a little advanced, but it does what you claim…So I'm going to clear with you on something kid…" Alpha then paused to slowly crack a grin while brushing his left hand out so Gemini understood to leave, which he did after a nod of his.
"You're being honest with me, I like that, but here's the thing…" He raised his brows and followed up in a more menacing manner "You never considered the possibility that this was all a trap, did you?" Shina flinched a bit as the door slammed shut, and Alpha stepped back to give himself room to crack his knuckles.
"Yep…You walked right into this one kid. Lord Bowser is going to have a field day experimenting on you when he gets back, but I'll soften him up for you in the meantime." Alpha then popped the tops of his fingers off and a series of tools you'd find on a standard swiss army knife pop out, but while a little shaken Shina looks him dead in the eye and tightly gripped the edge of the bench she is on.
"I don't believe YOU are being honest with me, Mr. Alpha."
"Tough claim for a prisoner, but can you back it up…?" Shina stayed focused on Alpha after being brutally honest with him, raising her hand up and closing her eyelids even as the Goomba edged closer with the blades on her fingertips.
"Your aura hasn't changed at all since I got here…If you were truly malicious, it would've become darker and spikier." From Shina's perspective, she saw a smooth white aura around Alpha's body while everything else lied in darkness, and that aura budged as Alpha pulled back on his hand. Before she opened her eyes, Shina felt another aura slowly coming towards them from outside the room, and she glanced that way and widened her eyes upon feeling it's power.
"Well…Suppose that surprise is out of the box. Guess I'll come clean, I just needed to do one more test to check if you could be trusted. Since I'm not damaged, you pass." While Shina let out a confused "Eh?" Alpha turned to the door and snapped his fingers.
"Alright, you can come in now. You're a little early though…" The door slid open at his command and behind it was the young boy Shina had been searching for, the Elemental Overlord Alex Whiter. Right now, he appears to have healed up a bit from his malnourished state, as his skin looks hydrated. He no longer has the cast on his arm or that cloak, showing his red t-shirt and blue jeans. Other than that, he looked the same as before, though from Shina's perspective she did not know that and was more shocked by just seeing him for the first time.
The two's glares locked together with a frozen look of shock, with Alex murmuring dryly "A-Another human…A-And she's a girl…?" while Shina's perception of what he would look like was shattered in a burst of disbelief and left her thinking with a blank look on her face "He…He's younger than me…?" Alex looked straight at Alpha with a puzzled look in his eye a few seconds later.
"What's going on here Alpha?" He demanded to know, and with a grin Alpha stepped back and said "I'll let her explain. Just pretend I'm not here for now." Alex raised an eyebrow and then glanced back at Shina who was still blankly staring his way, though now she was tilting her head. Before he said anything, Alex felt rather odd staring at this girl. He couldn't describe the feeling beyond his stomach churning, and he clenched a fist against his chest while staring at her smiling face.
"This feels…familiar…But why?" He then looked at her appearance once more, and from how tall and developed she was figured she was older than he was. "Alright lady, what's your deal?" He rudely asked while keeping a suspecting glare on her face. Shina lifted her head up and laid her hands on her knees, snapping out of whatever was on her mind.
"S-Sorry…I just wasn't expecting ya to be this young." She said with a nervous grin on her face. Alex slanted his brows and crossed his arms, tapping his foot on the ground while Shina sensed his unease and quickly said with a hand laid against her chest "A-Anyways…So you're Alex Whiter, right? My name is Shina Aurora, and I've come to this planet from my home on Earth to ask for your help." Alex widened his eyes a little and needless to say didn't expect that request.
"W-What?"
"I've read a lot about the original Elemental Overlord in our history books, I know how magnificent his power is, and that he was probably the strongest being in the universe! And right now, we could really, REALLY use that power…"
"We?"
"Uh-huh! My people, the Aurians, have been ruled by a tyrant by the name of Gravitus for the last two-thousand years. He kills all who oppose him, and uses any children my mother has to try and test the Neo Drive, an object of limitless power. And-"
"Wait, wait, hold on a second here, you're feeding me too much here and it's giving me a migraine…" Alex said while holding a hand out and rubbing his forehead with the other, though he didn't make it clear that Shina's overall appearance was a part of his irritation as well. With her mouth agape slightly as she nervously chuckled she replied "S-Sorry…"
Alex paused for a moment and took in a deep breath through his nostrils, thinking "What is up with this strange girl…" as he released it. He then tapped his fingers on his arm before asking "Can you at least tell me what an Aurian is…?"
"Oh, sure!" Shina perked up and then wasted no time in weaving her hand through the air in front of her as it glowed sparkling white. The aura around her hand was released to create a small veil that lingered in front of her chest. All the while, she explained "Aurians are people that, well…can manipulate the aura in all things. People, objects, you name it. This white energy you see is my own aura, pretty cool huh?"
Alex glanced at the energy for a while and tried to feel it for himself, but when he did all he got was a sensation of familiarity from a moment he had forgotten for quite a while. He then looked at Shina's smiling face as she was anticipating his response, and for a moment the face he saw before him belonged to a woman he had fought when he was accidentally sent two-thousand years into the past. His eyes then widened and his teeth clenched together, with muscles tensing and his heart beating against his chest at a faster pace.
"This person has the same energy as that woman. But…But that's impossible. That woman should be dead by now…Then again, she said that one day I would see her again, and if she knew I was from the present…" Alex glared Shina straight in the eyes as she looked puzzled, coming to the realization "She's that woman's daughter…"
"Hey, it's rude to keep a gal waiting Alex. You might want to say something…" Alpha said to grab Alex's attention, but still stunned by what he figured out he let out a stammering "W-Wha…?" with an agape mouth before he turned to look at Shina once more. Though now he didn't know if he should bring up what he was thinking of or not.
"Don't start on that Alpha, she's too old for me anyways…" Was the response he gave after letting out a tired sigh, though this inevitably causes Shina to let out a humored "Eeeeeeeh?" before laying some fingers against her lips and chuckling at him.
"You actually think I'm an adult? Whatever gave ya that idea…?" From the way she spoke, Alex couldn't tell if she was clueless or purposely pulling his leg.
"What, you aren't?" He inquired, and Shina's immediate response was "Of course not ya silly goose. I'm 16 years old." Needless to say, hearing that caused the strange sensation to well up in Alex's body once more, stronger than before. He once more clenched his hand against his chest, but was accompanied by a warmth in his cheeks and a little sweat.
"What the hell…? Why am I feeling this again…?" As the cold sweat trickled down the sides of his face, Alex quickly tried to get things back on track by glancing aside and stating frantically "S-So you came to find me so I could stop this Gravitus person, is that it?"
"Yeah! With your help we can send his butt packing out of our city forever! So…" Shina held her hands together and bowed, continuing on to ask with her utmost politeness "Please please PLEASE could you help us out?" Before Alex could respond, Alpha had something to say to him.
"Well Alex, this sounds like a good chance to put your three months of training to good use. But I'll leave it up to you to decide…" Alpha holds his arms behind his back as Shina lifts her head up, where Alex looks at her and could just feel the anticipation and expectations on her mind at that very moment. Even after the initial surprise of his appearance, Shina saw him as the powerful and mighty Elemental Overlord…A sentiment Alex could never bring himself to share. As such, he closed his eyes and went into a state of deep thought.
"Me…stopping a tyrant? …If that woman is still alive, then this Gravitus person must have defeated her. Sure I'm stronger than I was back then, but she never even used all of her power against me." Alex peeked out only to see the anticipation on Shina's smiling face once more, but this time he scowled a little. "Stop looking at me like that god damn it…and quit putting all of your hopes into that expression of yours…"
Her face, her personality and especially her wishes left Alex feeling flustered, and he once more glanced away from the girl to try and better concentrate. Gritting his teeth a little, he thought "Damn it, but if I don't try, then how can I ever truly get away from this anger…? But if I fail, then it'll just leave these Aurians in ruins…Yeah, that sounds about right. I'll just screw this up if I go with her now…" Alex then looked back at Shina, took a deep breath, and readied his answer.
"I'm sorry Shina…But while I may have the original's powers, I don't have his strength. Placing your hopes in me stopping Gravitus is a risky gambit that I reckon would doom your people if I failed…" Shina's expression slowly slunk into one of confusion as she let out a cry of "W-What?" Alex groaned a little and glanced aside with his head hung, not wanting to see the sadness growing on her face. Alpha looked at Alex in turn, and him saying nothing ironically told the boy enough about what he's feeling.
"B-But you're the Elemental Overlord, the universe's-"
"Don't say that again please, that's just putting me on a pedestal I can never stand on. My best suggestion for stopping Gravitus is to train yourself up to get stronger than him. Maybe it might takes a few years, but-"
"I don't have a few years! I need to stop him NOW!" Shina suddenly exclaimed in tearful rage, causing Alex to look as her face was left fully distraught, and she began to pant while tears form on the sides of her eyes. Even as Alex stared at her for a while, he couldn't figure out at all what to say. Looking at Alpha still remaining quiet, he knew not to expect any help from him on this front either.
Suddenly though, Shina's head perked up, and with a nervous grin she reached for one of her pockets and pull out a piece of paper that was folded and wrapped by a string. "W-Wait a second…Mom said to look at this if this didn't work out. Y-Yeah…There's still a chance I can use this…!" She put Alex and Alpha out of her mind for the moment and frantically tugged the string off, unfurling the note and hanging it close to her face so she could read it over. Meanwhile, Alex turned around, ashamed of himself for what he said.
"Dearest daughter, if you chose to read this note, then that means Alex Whiter has rejected your request to stop Gravitus because he feels he's too weak…" Alex immediately turned around with a completely stunned look on his face while Shina continued to read "…but don't give up on him yet. He is still essential to helping you out with Plan B. There is an object of grand power that was sealed away in the deepest reaches of the universe called the 'Cosmos Drive'. It's power is even grander than that of the Neo Drive…With it, you can certainly stop Gravitus. If you are willing to take the risk, then that's the only option you have left…" Shina then looks back up at Alex with a smile slowly growing back on her face, and she began to wipe the tears away while Alex was still dumbfounded by how exact the contents of the note were.
"Hang on a second, how the hell…"
"I-I can't believe the Cosmos Drive is real! Our history books always labeled it a myth, but if mom said it's true, then it must be true! There's still a chance…THERE'S STILL A CHANCE!" Shina clenched the note tightly, her heart fluttering with excitement as she then looked to Alex and proclaimed "Alex, you can help me find it! Mom's got plenty of faith in ya to do it!"
"I-I…wait, huh, what?" Alex stood there, frozen and dumbfounded with a blank stare on his face as Shina held her hands before her chest and fluttered her eyelids excitedly, hoping he'd say yes. But with teeth grit Alex felt a lot off about this note. "Is this what that woman meant when she said 'we'd meet again'? That I'd do so through her daughter…? And for what, to chase after a myth? Unbelievable…That she would try and force this on me, and her own daughter too…!"
Shina kept waiting patiently with a smile on her face, Alpha was looking his way expecting an answer that was more satisfactory, and Alex looked around him and felt as though the walls were closing in tightly. With heart clenching against his chest in stress, Alex held a hand against it and leaned forward, grunting in annoyance before suddenly proclaiming "D-Damn it, I don't know…!" he then suddenly turned around and ran off, leaving Shina reaching her hand out and exclaiming in shock "Wait, what are you doing?!"
She was left with her hand held out and her mouth agape, clenching a hand against the front of her shirt while Alpha scratched the side of his head and let out a sigh, telling himself that he knew this would happen. Then he was left looking puzzled as Shina gets off the bench and prepares to sprint. Before she made it to the door, Alpha extended his right hand out and gently grabbed the back of her shirt.
"Hang on a second there kid. You don't have proper experience handling this." He said as she turned around and looked very desperate.
"B-But I didn't come this far just to…!"
"And I assure you it's not over yet. Just give me a few minutes to talk to Alex. Sit down and calm yourself, I can tell this day's been a rollercoaster for you." Alpha then let go of Shina and reluctantly she took in a deep breath, clenched a hand against her chest, and slowly sat herself back down on the bench. Alpha could see her heart racing through his robotic eye, and as he made his way out of the room he thought "You're making a damn big mistake here Alex…"
Next Time: Relating
