Chapter 10 – Mushroom Zone
The Time Barrier jump this time wasn't just on one truck this time, but a full caravan. Myra shivered and clutched the purple crystal under her shirt as they burst through on the other side.
Flare-Up, who was sitting on the other side of the truck bed from Myra, didn't even flinch as they passed through and jolted as the truck hit cobblestone ground.
"They're getting worse," Flare-Up muttered.
"The Time Barriers?" Myra turned her gaze away from the twisted trees that were on either side of the road, and the ruined buildings with dome-shaped roofs that were scattered in the distance.
"The worlds." Flare-Up's tone was clipped and grim.
"The Dark Arms don't put much attention into the upkeep of the worlds they've brought here," Seeker explained from the cab of the truck. "They keep more track of the people they control than anything else. I know you can guess why."
Flare-Up's eyes narrowed while Myra frowned.
"You mean, it's because we were able to get close enough in the beginning to win them back, right?" Crystal asked from where she sat next to Myra.
"That, and they just don't care about the people who were already there."
Myra felt a chill run down her spine at Seeker's words. "You mean – we could run into some of them here?"
"We won't know until we get to what remains of the castle." Seeker turned to look at the man dressed in green who was sitting next to him in the cab. "I'm not sensing any presences nearby; it seems this part of the Zone's been abandoned, at least."
"Not even Boos?" the other responded.
"You remember what happened; Boos have a very distinct aura and I definitely know how to sense those."
"Have you run into them before?" Myra asked.
Seeker tilted his head slightly as the man in green shuddered. "Once. Before. They were more of an annoyance than anything else."
Flare-Up snorted.
The truck caravan broke out of the scraggly trees and entered what once was a central plaza. Cobblestones were uprooted left and right, houses had collapsed in on themselves, and there was an eerie quiet over everything that made Myra feel horribly uneasy.
The partially destroyed castle that stood over everything, faded pink walls looking more gray under the dark, clouded-over sky made that feeling double in strength.
"I don't like the feel of this place," Myra said.
A dark chuckle came from her shadow, causing her to stiffen. "No one likes to stay long after the Dark Arms have passed through. Keep your eyes and ears open. There may be some stragglers here yet."
Myra instantly turned her gaze away from the inside of the truck and looked out towards the horizon in the distance, looking over the destroyed trees and the strange, brown, crumbling floating blocks that were hovering in the air in random places. There wasn't so much as a breath of wind to this place, and it made her uneasy.
Flare-Up shifted in her seat on the other side of the truck bed, eyeing a crumbling brown block that was in the air a short distance from them. It bumped against the smoke stack of the red and blue vehicle that was following behind them, and it crumbled to the ground. The sound echoed. "So time isn't completely stopped here, then."
"It can do that?" Myra blinked sharply.
"In some places," Seeker replied from the truck cab. "Don't worry about it, Flare; this place follows the game mechanics pretty closely."
Flare-Up looked away from the place where the brick had been and nodded shortly.
Seeker brought the truck to a stop a short distance from the stairs that led up to the destroyed palace. The other vehicles came to a stop in a tight circle around the central plaza of the destroyed town as Seeker climbed onto the top of his truck cab. The green man who had been in the cab scrambled after him.
"Everyone, this is Luigi." Seeker looked around as the others looked out from their vehicles – or, in some cases, the vehicles themselves shifted their positions some. "He's one of the few from the Mushroom Zone who escaped the Dark Arms. He's offered his help in finding us a temporary base to hide in while we see about winning this area back as much as we possibly can."
"H-hello." Luigi waved, a distinct accent in his voice that Myra hadn't really heard before.
"Will there be enough room for the Cybertronians?" Gear poked his head out the red and blue semi truck. "I mean, Optimus and Megatron are pretty big themselves."
"S-sure, sure." Luigi nodded. "Space gets-a bit—" He made a motion with his hands and made a noise that sounded similar to a ghost moaning. "Just-a be careful where you go." He motioned for the caravan to follow him, then jumped off the hood of the truck with a "hup!" before he started up towards the deteriorating castle.
Seeker and Flare-Up followed after him instantly on foot, prompting the rest of the small army to do the same.
Myra scrambled to catch up with Flare-Up before looking back when she heard metal slide against metal. Her eyes widened in amazement as the Cybertronians shifted out of their vehicle forms and stood tall above the others.
"I don't think I'm going to ever get used to seeing that," Myra said.
Flare-Up snorted. Seeker looked back at his sister with an odd expression before looking back at Myra.
"I used to think that. But then I met with so many of them the novelty of it wore off." Seeker looked back at the Cybertronians as they reached the top of the stairs. "Still, there is something about them that you can't help but admire."
Flare-Up paused at that, looking over at Seeker with a guarded expression. He noticed and gave her a slight shrug in response before moving to catch up with Luigi as he walked through the palace gates.
The courtyard of the palace – as well as a palace itself – had clearly seen better days. Trees had been uprooted, the stone wall looked like it had exploded in some places, and craters littered the ground.
The only thing that stood untouched in the courtyard was a large, green pipe that was sticking up out of the ground. It almost looked cartoonish compared to the rest of the area.
Luigi let out a sigh of relief. "It's-a still here. Good." He jumped up on top of the edge and balanced there for a moment. "Okey-dokey."
The man in green took a deep breath, then jumped down into the pipe.
Myra jumped back at the noise that echoed as soon as Luigi disappeared from sight. It only seemed to echo inside the pipe, however – it didn't echo in the air around them.
"It's a good pipe," Seeker said in surprise. "I'd have thought the Dark Arms would have demolished every single one of them. At least now we can get down there and clear out the sewers."
Flare-Up nodded, then leapt into the pipe after Luigi.
Myra started to follow after her, but a loud scream from somewhere in the caravan behind them stopped her short.
Seeker turned sharply. "We're under attack! Move!" He bolted out of the courtyard towards the central plaza; Myra and Crystal quickly ran after him.
Out in the central plaza, a small swarm of humanoid creatures with mushroom caps was starting to attack the Cybertronians, crawling up their legs in silent unison.
"Toadstools!" Seeker's hands started to glow with blue fire. "They're locals here! Do what you can to free them – stunning energy projectiles only!"
"Azari! Torrun!" came James' shout from the caravan. "Get them with a lightning—"
Something sparked to Myra's right. "Shock Wave!"
Myra jumped away from Crystal when a burst of bright yellow electricity shot out and collided with the five mushroom people on Arcee's legs. They fell off at once, little streamers of smoke shooting off the backs of their heads. "How did—"
"Any move a Pokémon can use, I can too." Crystal looked at Myra with a determined spark in her eye. "I'm not just a Psychic-Type."
"Smart thinking." Seeker nodded. "Don't let up and bring them back to their senses!"
crackle crackle BOOM.
Myra jumped as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her eyes were wide as blue-white and yellow-white branches of lighting shot out from the left side of the truck ring, cascading sparks over Optimus and Ratchet and causing the Toadstools to fall off their limbs.
"Infernal little creatures," snarled the spike-covered Cybertronian as another Shock Wave from Crystal threw them off him. "If I could get my hands on—"
"If you so much as harm them, Megatron, we will be having words," Ratchet hissed. He pulled out a wrench that was as big as his torso and shook it at the other mech, who raised his hands in a placating gesture.
Myra shook her head as another round of sparks hit their marks, and she started to focus on her own powers. Purple fire bloomed to life on her hands, but instead of throwing it, Myra held onto it and started to create more.
Seeker's eyebrows shot up as the fire started to crawl up Myra's arms, but she ignored him. Her focus was on the dark green, round Cybertronian – Bulkhead, she remembered someone saying – and the little people he was covered in.
Myra's mind went back to the attack that Seeker and Flare-Up had used on the Cybertronians in Mar's Haven, and she instinctively pushed her powers out.
The words that came out of her mouth that same moment weren't the ones she had been expecting herself to shout.
"Mental Shock!"
zzzzap!
The purple blast of fire-lightning zipped across the plaza and rammed into the Toadstools crawling all over Bulkhead. It zipped from one to the next, causing them to fall off him in a cascade of little mushroom-headed figures until the move dissipated into the air after colliding with the last of them.
Myra dropped her hands as another burst from Crystal, Azari, and Torrunn took out the remaining Toadstools. Her arms felt much heavier than they had been a moment ago.
A dark chuckle came from where Pitch was hiding in Myra's shadow. "Interesting…."
"I wouldn't recommend doing that again."
Myra turned as Flare-Up came out of the pipe and started towards them. Luigi popped up after her with a "hup!"
"At least not for a while," Seeker added.
"Pushing your abilities like that drains you more quickly than basic attacks," Flare-Up continued, glancing over at Seeker. "You probably aren't ready to use an attack with that kind of strength yet. Use it as a last resort for now."
Seeker raised an eyebrow as Myra nodded.
"That makes sense," Myra said.
"Sewer's clear," Luigi chirped from the pipe. He motioned for them to come over.
"What about the Cybertronians?" Crystal asked. "They won't be able to fit!"
"They will," Luigi replied. There was a mysterious tone in his voice. "Pipes have a weird-a magic. They've-a shrunk me before, they'll shrink-a the big bots, no problem!" His expression brightened, and he disappeared down the pipe with a "yahoo!"
Myra blinked in confusion. "Magic...?"
"Magic comes from Materia. Some people are able to tap into the Lifestream itself and use the Mako there, but that's a last resort. Mako can be a poison to people who aren't used to it."
"Mako." Myra frowned, then shook her head.
Flare-Up and Seeker looked at her, then exchanged looks.
"Come on." Seeker motioned for Myra and Crystal to follow him, then raised his voice. "Follow us into the sewers below the palace! We'll at least have some cover there."
Myra quickly followed after Seeker as Flare-Up reached the pipe first and jumped down it. Seeker followed after her a moment later.
"Think we can jump down it together?" Crystal looked at Myra as they started to climb up onto the edge of the pipe.
Myra looked down at the pipe's opening. "Uh…I think we'd barely be able to fit? It looks like it could be big enough for two people…."
"Well then let's go!" Crystal grabbed Myra's hand and jumped, pulling Myra down with her and into the darkness.
The same noise Myra had heard before echoed three times around them, and then everything brightened up again as Myra and Crystal tumbled out of the pipe and fell into a scrambled pile.
"Ha! Well, that's one way to make an entrance!"
Myra looked up and saw Seeker with his hands on his hips and a grin on his face.
"I guess you two aren't used to traveling by pipe." He held out his hands.
Crystal and Myra took one hand each and were pulled to their feet by Seeker, untangling themselves from each other as they did.
"Is that…common, around here?" Myra looked around in order to see where they had ended up.
The large, circular room that the pipe opened up into had a dome roof like their last base had, but this one was clearly smaller. Green pipe openings shot out at regular intervals around the wall, but some of them looked horribly rusted while others had part of the ceiling collapse over the openings.
"Pretty common for plumbers." Seeker paused, then pulled Myra and Crystal away from the pipe as more figures started to tumble through – Gear first, then Forge, then James and his team, followed closely by Captain America. "We'd better steer clear of the pipes for a while; people are going to be coming in."
Nightwing came in as Cap and the first group moved out of the way, followed closely by a small number of older teenagers in various costumes.
"Never thought we'd use this place as a base again," Nightwing said grimly.
Seeker nodded in agreement as the next group of people tumbled in: X, Zero, Serges, and Cain. "I know. But we probably won't be here for long, considering what's going on now. With Flare-Up back, things are going to be moving a lot more quickly than I think either one of us was expecting at first."
"You're either saying that because my presence means you can get more done or because we're more at risk of being found." Flare-Up looked over from where she was standing in the center of the dome, arms folded across her chest. "In any event, you'd be right on both counts. Winning back Zones and those who have been controlled will get the Dark Arms' attention, which will mean that we have to move quickly. As soon as everyone is settled in, I'm taking Myra and we're looking for Bowser."
Something about the name didn't sound friendly. "Who?"
"He's-a King Koopa," Luigi replied, as though that explained everything. He suddenly looked nervous.
"And the only other person in the Zone who owns a castle in this area," Seeker added as a man in a red and yellow suit of armor tumbled out of the pipe and into the room. He was followed by Jean Grey and a bald, older man in a wheelchair. Somehow, he looked more composed than Jean did. "I don't know if he's been taken or not, but it might be a good idea to try to find him. If the Dark Arms took him, we'd have a very difficult time on our hands as a result."
"Are you-a sure you can-a take-a down Bowser?" Luigi looked up at Flare-Up. "He's a bit of a brute if you don't-a know his weak spots."
"I've got the permanent affects of a Fire Flower; if he hits me with a flamethrower, I'll be fine," Flare-Up replied without pause. "Myra's abilities would still have an effect; as a mental attack instead of a physical one, Bowser's natural defenses wouldn't do well against it."
Clang clang clang!
"Waa!" Starscream came flying out of the pipe and skidded across the stone floor before coming to a stop with a groan.
Flare-Up looked down at the now-shrunken Cybertronian with a deadpan expression as Myra stared with wide eyes.
Starscream grumbled something and pushed himself to his feet. As soon as he reached his full height – which was a head and shoulders taller than Flare-Up – he shrieked. "What in Unicron is this?! I'm the size of a Mini-Con!"
Clang clang clang!
The rest of the Cybertronians fell through, now shrunk down to a closer-to-average-human-size.
"Considering that I've been compared to that before, I'm nor sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult." Flare-Up inclined her head and looked at Starscream with lidded eyes.
Starscream spluttered as Ratchet came up behind him, wrench in hand. "I-I-I—"
"I'll decide later; we have other things to worry about." Flare-Up looked over at the pipe as Ratchet lowered the wrench and Luthor, Brainiac, and the hooded man they'd rescued at the same time as the Cybertronians came through, followed closely by the small mob of Toadstools that had been rescued moments before. "Myra, Crystal, Luigi – we should get moving, before they find us again. Be ready to head up to the surface to find the locals."
"Not gonna give yerself a breather?" asked the mostly-white Cybertronian standing next to Optimus.
"If I did, Jazz, they could be all over us before we even have a chance to fight back," Flare-Up replied. "I don't plan to give them that chance."
"The kid's turning into a Prowl," a red Cybertronian whispered to his yellow-armored twin.
Arcee slapped him upside the back of his head. "Sideswipe, I don't think you have a right to say she's anything."
"Wait! You want me to go with you?" Crystal looked at Flare-Up with wide eyes.
"Yes." Flare-Up blinked. "You're powerful, and you can remove the Mind Tech without permanently damaging the victim."
"B-but what if I—"
"There's always that risk no matter where you go." Something in Flare-Up's gaze softened for a second, then hardened again. "Constantly moving and assisting will keep you on your toes. It will help." She looked around as the last few figures stepping into the room – a rather haggard-looking, dark-haired man with dark green clothes and an archer wearing a purple costume with an "H" on his hood. Flare-Up's eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked at Seeker again. "We have work to do."
Seeker nodded. "I agree, but we can only send out one team at a time unless we want to leave any refugees alone here." He nodded to the Toadstools, who were looking around at the group with worried, nervous expressions.
One of the Toadstools looked at Seeker, and his expression brightened. "Matthew! Boy, am I glad to see you!" He waddled over quickly and grabbed Seeker's legs in a hug. "Now you can save us like you saved those pillow people!"
Seeker looked down at the Toadstool in surprise as Myra and the Toadstools looked between the two of them in confusion.
"Matthew?" Myra repeated.
Seeker looked up, then gave a half-smile and shrugged. "My name isn't dangerous to say like Flare-Up's is, but I've gone with Seeker for so long it's sort of stuck." He knelt down and patted the Toadstool's mushroom cap. "Yeah, we're here to help, little guy. You and your friends stay down here while we take care of what's going on up on the surface, all right? We'll get your princess back in no time."
"Yay!"
The Toadstools started to cheer, only to get shushed by Seeker.
"There are pipes open; we don't want to be heard!" Seeker warned.
The Toadstools quieted down rather quickly.
"Let's get moving." Flare-Up looked at Crystal and Myra before looking over at Luigi. "We have a Zone to win back."
Luigi nodded, a determined expression in his eyes as his mustache quivered. "And-a my brother."