Ultima Staffs:
The next several days for the Kruna Yura passed in a smooth and quiet manner. However awkward it was to relax and rest considering the situation down on the planet underneath the great barrier of red and purple, the Kruna did it and kept in mind that it was the right thing to do in the long run. A lot of their time on the great sky citadel of Rainbow City went towards recovery and making sure they stayed in the right mindset. Though homesickness and remorse posed recurring issues from time to time, they did their best to take things easy and stay optimistic.
The eight Kruna adjusted to life in Rainbow City fairly quick. The chain of seven floating islands had a lot to offer and prevented things from getting stale. Athelstan spent a lot of time at the Rainbow City Academy and College and the Rainbow City L&A, satisfying his need for knowledge gains; though he often spent time at Toad and Alden's Forge too, helping them tinker with their works in progress. He along with Daisy, Andrew, Wario, and Waluigi had started making a routine of training sessions at the Rainbow City Gym; though for the sake of recovery, the sessions were more leisurely than they were taxing. And if Daisy wasn't there at the gym, she'd be out at the Elemental Training Grounds, Astral Stadium, or the Rainbow City Sportsplex skilling up on either combat or athletics. Sometimes Neva would join her, though she liked to spend her evenings at the Milk Bar. In fact, if she wasn't with either Daisy or Andrew at any point, increasingly the latter, Neva was usually wandering about by herself. Ramona, Marut, and Warra tended to group with at least one of the other Kruna if they did not go anywhere else.
Bowser did a lot of meditation at the Elemental Training Grounds by instruction of the five Black Mages to try and regain strength and power from the Giga Soul and essentially starve it, a method of which showed noticeable promise after a couple days of use. Much of the excessive fatigue vanished, though Naraka warned that Bowser had to stay consistent with his meditations; for if he were to go too long without those meditation periods, he would risk giving up a rebound effect to the Giga Soul that would possibly allow it to break free at the first sign of weakness.
"That is the best way to keep it at bay for now and not make it as debilitating," Naraka had said. "Though we believe that given enough time, the Giga Soul will eventually give out and either expel itself from your spirit or die, it's not a certainty. We'll still do our best to try and see what we can come up with to get it gone for good in a more timely manner. Until then, it is of utmost importance that you keep at least somewhat consistent meditations going – or otherwise risk the Giga Soul snapping back with merciless recoil. Ideally, the more meditation each day, the better, but a minimum of twenty minutes a day is the bare essential amount we recommend. Essential, but far from optimal."
On one particular dawn just as Bowser was about to begin an early morning bout of meditation at the training grounds, Ramona trotted up behind him. Her footsteps made him turn to see who was coming, for he did not expect anyone to come by. Though Bowser had told the others about his meditations, he had not told anyone of the reasoning behind it.
"Is it alright if I join you?" Ramona asked with a smile.
Surprised, Bowser replied, "Uh...yeah... Sure!..."
After that response, Ramona took a seat next to him on the grass, and the two went into a deep, meditative state for nearly two hours. Birds and Waddlewings flew in and grazed around them in the rising sun as time elapsed.
It was almost a week since the Kruna's initial arrival at Rainbow City when Toad and Alden released a call for the eight elemental wielders to come by the forge for a special unveiling. Bowser, Warra, Ramona, and Neva had made their way to the forge after sunset and met with DK, Wario, and Toadette inside the main room. Ramona had returned the Glimmering Longsword Toad had gave her, and Neva had just walked in as Toad and Alden started getting out several lengthy and thin elemental-colored, case-like chests from bolted, locked storage units towards the back.
"So where's everybody else?" Alden asked the group.
"Oh, those fools're just outside," said Neva. "You know; ribbing, horsin' around, chewing the fat. That nonsense."
"That's great chemistry they're working on there," said DK. "If they want to cut loose, then why not?"
"They're just spewing BS out there!" Wario exclaimed. "I've heard Waluigi and Koops go at it before – it's ridiculous! And now they've practically got a whole routine ensemble to add to it!"
"Didn't think bull sessions could be so 'infamous,' if that's the right way to put it," said Bowser.
"It's nice to just be able to shoot the breeze," said Toadette. "And those two are good at it."
"Oh, I'll shoot a breeze for 'em..." muttered Wario.
"Whaaaa-tever," said Toad. "As long as they're in here when we've got everything ready for the big reveal, they can make a bonfire out there and barbecue for all I care. It's all in good fun. Stress reliever and stuff."
"Except that Waluigi has a tendency to make things crude," said Toadette.
Hanging around outside the forge, Waluigi, Koops, Daisy, Andrew, Athelstan, and Marut all stood by the street near the fence and some lampposts. The cool air made their breathing easily visible in the figurative and literal chill of the dimming night sky. Other residents were out and about throughout South Island as well on what had been a peaceful day and evening and what was shaping up to be just as quaint of a night. Not wanting to wait inside Toad and Alden's Forge, the group of six had been out there for close to a half hour.
"I've been getting so steamed up about the canteen at the Rainbow Suite," said Athelstan. "They didn't have the buffalo sauce I liked because they didn't have enough time to make it, and yet they have like eighteen thousand packets of ketchup overflowing off the condiment tables and onto the floor."
"That kinda reminds me of my dad and sister back home," said Andrew. "Because apparently, it was a house where for some odd reason, it was okay for two-thirds of the refrigerator to be filled with sauces and condiments and dressings and vinaigrettes – how ya like THAT vernacular, Waluigi – as opposed to actual food. And then when they get food to put in the fridge, they like to think it lasts forever, or just forget about it, then get snappy when somebody else eats into it; but then they end up throwing away whatever's left over because they let it sit in the fridge for over two weeks so it could grow it's own Santa Claus beard."
In the midst of everyone else laughing, Athelstan added, "Well, you are from Christmas Village, aren't you?"
"Why I most certainly am," Andrew replied. "But that doesn't mean I want my food climbing down the chimney leaving gifts around the tree and the Yule Log! When you've got someone who constantly asks for berries and peaches, and then lets them sit in the fridge until they fuzz up and mold over and you have to get rid of them anyways, there's some shenanigans going on there, to put it lightly!"
"And that's how you get sick and spend half the day in the bathroom," said Koops.
"You know what would be really awesome..." Waluigi then said. "There should be, like – or we should make if nobody else will – a toilet that goes 'Om nom nom nom nom!' every time you flush."
Koops threw himself off balance as he haphazardly stalked away several steps, bursting out laughing as he did so and gasping for air as he came back around. "Dude, do you know how many people would freak out if they did their business and then flushed the toilet to hear that?!"
"That's if they flush the toilet," added Daisy. "I know plenty of times I walked into a stall and somebody didn't even bother to flush."
"Well, it might help them remember to flush," Koops replied. "You know, you gotta feed the toilets, man. They get hungry too."
"They need their nutrition, too," Marut added, barely holding his laughs down.
"Raise awareness for starving toilets all across the world," Koops quickly mumbled, drawing more laughter.
"Just traumatize all the little kids while we're at it," Waluigi added with a snicker. "It's the magical toilet that eats what we don't need."
"No wait-" Koops quickly said. "What about making it so that the faucets sound like they're throwing up when you turn the knob?"
"Then nobody'd wash their hands!" Marut exclaimed. "They'd pull back as soon as they heard the faucet throw up and then think that they would be getting barf on their hands!"
"You'll have the toilet eating on one side of the room and then the faucets throwing up on the other," said Daisy.
"See, it's ideas like these that we come up with on a daily basis," said Waluigi. "We should save these for next Halloween."
"Let's do it for Christmas instead," said Koops. "Let's just get some plumbers and technicians and make this a bit!"
"Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum!" added Athelstan.
"Geez, you guys," Daisy muttered, stifling laughs as she put a hand over her eyes and shook her head.
"On the subject of bathrooms, why are fire alarms right above the urinals?" said Waluigi. "Can somebody please explain that? Because if I'm doing my business and the alarm goes off, then that means I'm going to either go deaf, or my bodily fluids are gonna go flying all over the urinal, and onto my pants, and on the floor, and at the guy right next to me; and I'm not going to be able to do a thing about it because we all gotta get out the building! If the place doesn't burn down, then the janitors are all gonna be pissed, that's for sure – no pun intended!"
"They're gonna wish the whole place got burnt down anyways!" Koops added. "Then they're gonna put up a sign that says, 'Please don't urinate on the walls, floor, yourself, or the person next to you,' and people are gonna see it and look at it like, 'The hell – what kind of jacked-up place did I meander my way into?!' Like, I get there needs to be safety, but can we not have the alarm on full blast in a heavily reverberating, compact room where people'll be defecating and expelling wastes and then have to rush outside with their pants down, unclean and exposed because they had to protect their ears from getting ruthlessly murdered?"
No one could give a legitimate response on account of laughing too hard. At that moment, Neva came out of the front doors of the forge to call them in. She paused just long enough to take note of the group's laughter and almost went over to join them, but she shook herself out of it and dismissed such a notion.
"Hey!" Neva shouted. "Are y'all gonna get in here or you wanna stand out there spouting off for the rest of the night?"
The elemental-colored chests lined the open area of the main room of Toad and Alden's Forge in two rows of four. They all appeared to be roughly the same size – not thick or tall, but long and stretched out. At Toad's beckoning, the eight Kruna marched up to the chest that matched their individual element. The others watched as the Kruna opened the chests and pulled out glossy, metallic, long-handled implements. The decorative and accented weapons looked unwieldy, but of superior quality than any other elemental tools they had seen before. Though not exactly of the same length and girth, each staff, whether single-bladed or with a blade on each end, stretched about five feet.
"What's with the giant toothpicks?" asked Wario.
"These are our greatest creations to date!" Toad barked back, crossing his arms and smirking. "Ultima Staffs."
The eight Kruna inspected each of their individual bladed staffs, all of which had a special elemental design respective of their controlled element. Although Ramona's, Athelstan's, Bowser's and Warra's staffs had a blade at only one end, theirs were substantially larger and bulkier than the double-sided attachments of the others. Because of this, Toad referred to their tools as "swordstaffs," while he deemed Daisy's, Marut's, Andrew's, and Neva's as "bladestaffs." The swordstaffs as a whole had the benefit of the blade nearly taking up half the length of the whole tool, while the two blades of the bladestaffs seemed to take up a quarter of the staff length individually at each end; making the two styles roughly equal in terms of the surface area of available staff for holding and gripping.
Warra's Tidal Swordstaff's wavy, scaly contours on the staff and blade face made it one of a kind and invoked feelings of nautical pride. Athelstan's Obelisk Swordstaff easily had the thickest, densest, and probably even widest blade of the bunch. Bowser's Pryo Scimitar was a swordstaff with a wickedly curved blade that somehow still managed to take up half of the tool's length. He found that the staff fit nicely in his grip even though he still had his Blazer Claws on. Ramona's Luster Swordstaff had a blade broad, straight, and symmetrical to contrast with most of the other Kruna's Ultima Staffs.
Marut had already gotten to work twirling around his Dragon Bladestaff with its two blades partially resembling a combination of dragon heads and his old Cyclone Ninjato. The staff even had slots and latches at each end to attach and detach his Gust Boomerangs; likely to aid in aerial maneuvers and acrobatics or flight. For Andrew, Toad and Alden had taken his Shadow Blades and conjoined them together to a dense, melded black and purple rod to make his detachable Umbra Bladestaff, therein still allowing him to use the blades as skates. The two blacksmith-engineers had taken Neva's Frost Crossbow and Frost Bayonet and converted it into a staff with the crossbow running parallel near the middle and a normal-sized blade on both opposite ends. Technically tri-bladed considering the standard two blades at the ends and the bayonet in the middle, the Blizzard Bladestaff was therefore both a melee and projectile weapon; a fact that made Neva feel particularly smug despite her short and small stature making the tool seem cumbersome on her.
Daisy looked at her Terra Bladestaff with confusion, almost unsure of what to do with it. The sleek, clean-look of the matte black handle and the shiny silver blade at each end of the staff made the tool seem both easy to handle and only suitable for an elite earth wielder. Toad actually thinks I can use something like this when I could never get a grasp on a basic elemental tool? Daisy thought as she looked his way.
Toad noticed Daisy looking at him and spoke to ease any concern from her and the other Kruna. "Although somewhat awkward at first, these two-handed tools make up for their lack of mobility through their most primary function: when you focus your elemental powers through them, the energy cost is greatly reduced compared to when used through normal tools. Compared to using your elements freehand, you expend merely a fraction of your power. These tools also offer unmatched – so far, that is – elemental control."
"Dude, get out of the way!" Marut screamed, pushing past Andrew and heading for the door. The others in the room followed the air wielder to see what he was going to do.
Once back outside, Marut took out his Gust Boomerangs, attached them to their slots on the Dragon Bladestaff, then held up his combined tool. The others came outside and scattered to get a good view as Marut brought down a swift gust to hit him from behind. With the added lift of his Dragon Bladestaff and Gust Boomerang combo, he swept up off the ground like a feather. His tool sliced through the air around him as he moved through the sky, at which point he activated his Pendant of Flight to add to his control and momentum. With his Alkemei Furaito and Dragon Bladestaff working for him, Marut flew about through the air with the agility of an eagle and the speed and precision of a fighter jet. He dove towards the ground and cut back up, bringing a downdraft just on the displacement of air from his movement alone.
"Wow! I feel like I just got the most awesome Christmas Present ever!" hollered Marut as he looped around and gently hovered down to make a soft landing.
"And we've got special slings for you all to use so they'll stay put across your back when you're not using them," said Alden.
"You don't have to worry about these breaking either," said Toad. "We've done extensive testing on them. They're practically as indestructible as you can imagine. In fact, if you find any materials you want us to use to upgrade the stats of your stuff and beef them up any more, stop by at any time and we'll see what we can do!"
"You just gotta bring enough raw material is all," added Alden. "So if you guys find anything useful on the surface, bring it back with you."
"I don't feel like we can say enough how grateful we are for these Ultima Staffs," said Ramona.
Toad cocked a sly smile. "I'll know how grateful you guys are based off of how much tail you all kick with those staffs."
Later on that same night, late enough for the city to go dim and turn off most of its lights, Daisy, DK, Ramona, Warra, Marut, Athelstan, Waluigi, and Koops sauntered about on Central Island before coming around to the Courtyard Square. Daisy had pulled Warra aside and led him to the grand water fountain while the others stood around the benches. Barely anyone stalked the streets other than a few Rainbow City guards.
"Warra, you still have my mother's bracelets with you, right?" asked Daisy.
Warra took out the case from his inner jacket pocket and opened it up to reveal the two flower bracelets. "I haven't touched them since you gave them to me."
"Just checking," Daisy replied. "I wanted to make sure. Are we going to start with this Idaho thing tomorrow?"
"Iaido, Daisy," Warra said with a chuckle.
"Whatever!" Daisy said, giving the water wielder a shove as they turned to return to the group.
"You shoulda saw her at the track the other night," DK said, pointing at Daisy. "She was going around corners like some rally car on loose dirt – and she did it on her feet! I wish I could drift while running."
"You kidding? You should see Marut," Daisy said. "He kicks up dust clouds running sharp corners; it's ridiculous."
"Yeah, but he's an air wielder," said DK. "He's supposed to be at least somewhat fast."
"You're strong and fast," Koops said to Daisy. "And tough. And durable."
"Yeah?" Waluigi snapped. "Well I'm strong-er, and fast-er, and tough-er, and durabl-er!"
"Oh, you wanna test that out?" asked Daisy.
"Please, not at two in the morning," muttered Warra.
"Yes at two in the morning!" shouted Marut. "We're all out here, we're all wide awake, so we need to hit the streets of Rainbow City! Let's rumble and make some noise! Let's make this night legendary! What happens on Northeastern Island stays on Northeastern Island – am I right, Bro Beans?" He then gave a swift, wicked high-five to Waluigi.
"No, c'mon," Daisy said, giggling. "We've already really stayed out longer than we should've. It's been real fun, but we need to call it a night now so we can get ready for tomorrow."
"And the days to come," added Ramona. "We're going to train for our return to the surface, right?"
"We're all gonna get started tomorrow," said Daisy. "We've got roughly two months. Let's not take any longer than that. Two is already long enough for Marissa's rule to continue, so we need to make the most of our time; training and recovery-wise."
