Chapter 14: All Hallow's Eve
October 30th
Maple Street Elementary
Buses lined the streets at the end of the school day. The chatter was quite noisy as friends attempted to end conversations before they separated for their rides. While X did feel like he was getting better about not panicking over the crowd, he was still tense as he, Zero, Ash, Sandy, and Iris left in a group. The older boys gave him some respect in never mentioning this, and avoiding conversations until they were on the next block.
As it was raining today, they were sharing umbrellas. Sandy shifted his orange umbrella to under a rainspout for the amusement of Iris and Zero. Then he shook it off. "Man, I am so excited for tomorrow," he finally said. "Halloween is always awesome!"
"I thought you hated the morning church services," Ash teased him.
"Well yeah, those are kind of boring," he admitted. "But the rest of the day is excellent."
"Aren't the services in memory of those who've passed away?" X asked, looking up at Sandy. "It's important to remember and respect."
The brown haired boy gave a short laugh. "Geez, you sound like one of the old folks. You seriously need to lighten up, X. Although, that is important. I've always lit a candle for our dad." He quieted, now looking serious.
"Our dad was a hero," Iris said. "But I was too little to remember him."
Ash smiled warmly. "Yeah, he's only person known to have injured the Ice Dragon. Jando went out alone on a foggy day, with a freaking bear trap, and went out to bait her. He then enlarged the trap and waited for her to come. Since he couldn't see the Ice Dragon as an adult, he used the thick fog to tell where she was, then snapped the trap on her. She got away, but they found blood from her at the scene. Although, she killed him for doing that."
"That's really clever," Zero said.
"Yeah, but I thought he was abandoning everybody and called him a coward for it," Sandy said, looking down at the slushy sidewalk. "That was bad of me… but I've decided I'm not gonna let him down. I'm gonna become as great as he was. Although, I'd rather not die to prove that."
Iris giggled, breaking the tension. "That would be bad. I don't want to miss my big brother."
"Of course not," he said, smiling again.
"The marketplaces will all have stands up tomorrow, giving away free fruits and candies," Ash said. "And there'll be a carnival with all kinds of attractions, like the fun house."
"I love the fun house," Sandy said. "That's nearly always my favorite thing."
"Am I old enough to go in the fun house this year?" Iris asked.
"Sure, so long as you're with me," he replied. "It's only for kids though. We'll have to find you guys and take you in too. It'll be worth it."
"A fun house should be safe," X thought aloud. It wouldn't be like the mad castle that was Shadow Palace, after all. It would be constructed to be safe.
"It'll be fun," Zero said, a little more excited.
After parting ways, X and Zero went into the Light family home. "Halloween in this world sounds to be interesting," X said.
Zero glanced around. Seeing no one there, he tugged at X's sleeve. "Hey, can I ask you… have you found my friend yet?"
"Oh… no," he admitted. "I'm not sure what he's thinking even. I'm pretty sure he's with me too, but he keeps hiding from me."
"Well I'd help if I could, so if you need to know anything…"
"Welcome back," Roll's voice called cheerily, interrupting their conversation. She appeared at the top of the stairs. "Could you come up to the third floor? Sonya's been making the costumes and she wants to make sure they fit."
"Okay," Zero said as they both went up the stairs.
Following Roll up another flight, they came to Sonya's room. It was painted dark blue with fish pictures around the wall. "Good afternoon," Sonya said, flicking her gauzy tail. "I'm working on the final touches on everyone's costumes, so I want you to try on the main part to see if I need to make adjustments."
"All right," X said, looking to the bed. There was a pair of white gowns there. "Um, what are we going as?"
"This year, I decided to do angels. I'm working on the final touches on everyone's costumes, so I want you to try on the main part to see if I need to make adjustments."
"Angels?" Zero asked. "That's kind of sissy, isn't it?"
"No, you'll be adorable," the mermaid reploid insisted.
"What if I don't want to be adorable?" Zero countered. It was the child, which made X snicker. "What?"
"Do I have this on right?" Rock's voice interrupted them. They all turned to see him doing the same thing, trying out his costume. Except instead of looking 'kind of sissy', he looked rather impressive with a mock golden breastplate, matching boots and gloves, and a regal look.
"That looks fine," Sonya said, coming over to look at her work. "Does it fit right?"
"Oh, here's the vest part," Roll said, pulling out something that looked like chain mail, except fitted for a child. "Go on and use the bathrooms to try it on. I have to get back downstairs in case some guests come."
"This might not be bad," X told Zero. They went off to go swap out of their school uniforms and into the costumes.
While he was looking over the outfit in the mirror, X felt like this would be decent for a day. Maybe not much longer, but it was just a one day thing. He looked over himself, then back in the mirror. A shadowy being rose up behind him in the reflection; strangely, it held a silver pinwheel. It beckoned him, as if asking to be followed.
X turned around, but there was nothing behind him. When he looked back, the shadow creature was gone. "What did that mean?' he asked softly. "Child, do you know?"
There was no response.
What was that? Some kind of vision? He recalled back when he had first come into this world, crossing the frozen lake. He had seen a brief vision, or so he figured, shortly before the Dark Hunters had come into view. That vision had warned him that a great threat to them was coming. If this was a vision, what did it mean?
Unfortunately, he didn't know. He thought of fragments of deciphering such things, but nothing immediately stood out to interpret it. Perhaps he ought to be careful for the rest of today and tomorrow.
He came out to get a review from Sonya. "There's other parts to the costume, but these will take longest to alter," she told them while checking how tight or loose Zero's costume was in certain spots. "But it looks like you two are ready to go."
"Ash and Sandy were telling us what was going to happen tomorrow," Zero said, smiling. "It sounds fun!"
She laughed. "It sure is. Okay, go get into your regular clothes so I can have these back. Oh, and you might want to help out Roll at the front desk today. We've got some special guests coming in."
A couple of hours later, the guests arrived. There were quite a few of them, as Roll had offered to put up an entire Snow Patrol unit for a few days. "Good afternoon," the blond haired woman said as she led the rest in.
"Hi Miss Ciel!" Zero called; he was kneeling in a chair by Roll. X smiled from where he was doing some paper sorting.
She laughed. "Hello there Zero, X. Good to see you boys well. And thanks for taking us in on short notice, Miss Light."
"I'm glad I had space to take you all," she replied. "Can I get you to fill out a couple of forms? X, I need number 8 and 12."
"Okay." He found those two and handed them to Roll, who checked before handing them to Ciel.
Since she was busy, Hirondelle came over by them. "So how are you boys doing? Being inn servants?"
"No," Zero said. "We're just helping and I'm doing homework."
"First grade stuff, huh? That's the easy stuff."
He nodded. "Yeah, but the spelling's hard. X is in eighth grade though."
His eyebrows raised. "Really? That's quite a leap from no school to senior."
"But he's doing very well there, I hear," Roll said. "Especially when it comes to magic."
"Well that's no surprise. He's quite the little healer."
"I've got an essay on magical beasts to write, but it's not due for a few days," X said.
"Ah. Well if you've got any questions, I'd ask Laguna while we're here. I'm sure he could help."
"Help with what?" the human asked as he came in from outside.
"School work," Hirondelle said.
"I've got an essay on vampires," X told him.
"Ah, vampires." He pulled off a yarn cap, letting his black hair loose. "There's quite a variety, based on their core magics. Good thing is, most of them aren't intelligent and although they're strong in many ways, they're weak in others. We could talk later, but I've got to get my things put up for now."
"I'll get the keys," Roll said, getting up. "You'll all be on the east wing, second and third floors. I don't have any room there assigned, so arrange things as you see fit. Just be respectful, as there's a few other guests on the first floor."
While most of them were elsewhere, Zero looked back to X and said, "Vampires are real here, huh?"
"Rare but real," X said. "I wouldn't be surprised at any of it, though. We did run into harpies, after all."
-+-
October 31
Light family residence
After a breakfast of pancakes with strawberry syrup, Zero went back up to his room to change into costume. Sonja had managed to get it in there while he'd been eating. "Did you ever dress up for Halloween?" the child asked. His door was shut, so they were safe to talk.
"Never," the adult replied. "It wasn't a big holiday, so I've never participated before."
"Well I'm glad we can now."
There was the white gown with silver trim. Angels wore that kind of thing, so it wasn't too girly, he told himself. Plus, that was just the bottom layer, padded for warmth, and the rest made up for it. He then had the silver chainmail vest; it was just a plastic thing coated in metallic paint, but it made a metal kind of noise and looked good enough. Sonja had also made him a white belt, which had a place to put Dusty Blade. With that, he was more of an angelic warrior, which was cool enough.
For his feet, Zero put on his usual socks and school shoes, but then put on a cover that made it look like he was wearing boots instead. Then there was a pair of wings with white feathers. The adult noticed that they were synthetic; a clever force field made sure the soft feathers didn't get wet or matted over the holiday festival. Using a pair of clear straps, they hung off his shoulders, spreading out a few inches past them and tapering down to his waist. There was a small hook on them, although he couldn't figure out what to hook it to. Finally, there was a sparkly halo made of silver garland around a wire frame. That was attached to a clear hair band. He brushed his hair and tied it back before putting the halo on. Then he left his room.
X was out there too, looking around. He had an outfit that matched Zero's, also silver and white. "We look awesome!" Zero called.
He turned, then laughed. "Yeah, but your wings are crooked."
Glancing, he asked. "Well how was I supposed to tell? They're on my back."
"There's a hook back there I couldn't reach. Let me see yours." He came over as Zero turned around. "Yeah, I think she meant to attach it to the vest. I'll fix that if you fix mine." He straightened out the wings, then clipped them securely.
"Okay. I got this belt for my plasma blade, but you don't have anything like that." He clipped X's wings in place.
"That's okay," X replied. "I don't have a weapon beyond what's on my armor."
"I might have something," Rock said, coming from his room. "You two look good."
They looked up to see him in his full costume. Slightly different from theirs, it was gold and white with platemail armor as well as a gold crown to attach the halo with. He also wore a red and gold scabbard with a sword inside. Child Zero was awed. "Wow, I thought we'd look kind of sissy, but you look awesome."
"Sonya does good work," Rock replied. "And it's good she let you carry your blade."
"Is that a real sword?" X asked.
"It's not a plasma weapon, but yes." He drew it out, showing off a steel blade with very little decoration. But it looked to be a genuine weapon. "Sometimes you can't beat a good metal blade against certain monsters. Come here, X. I'll have to pull them out of storage, but I'm sure I still have them." He put the sword back and went to his room.
The two boys followed. "What is it?" X asked.
'I think that's my friend talking!' the child Zero thought excitedly. 'He seems a bit different from yours. I'm not sure how, but I think it's him.'
'I know you're anxious to speak with him,' the adult Zero thought back, 'but we don't need to overwhelm him.'
'Okay. I wouldn't want to frighten him anyhow.'
In the meantime, Rock had made something materialize from his computer storage. "A pair of crystal bracers my father made me, when I was a robot and about your size," he explained. "They're a support accessory to amplify and control spells cast by a young mage. If your calculations go wrong somehow, these will help protect against the magic going fully wild. They are many years old, so…" he turned them over in his hands, inspecting them.
"You used those to fight Dr. Wily?" X asked, putting his hands on the desk and watching in interest.
"Yes, until I was given my last body overhaul. Looks like they're in good shape, and they should match. Let me show you how to put these on properly."
Obediently, X gave him his hands so Rock could slide the bracers on. They were blue and silver. A four inch sleeve of material went over his wrist and down his arm, trimmed on both ends with black leather. Over the hands, they had crisscrossing blue straps with silver rings and trim. In the middle of the back of the hands, there was a silvery-white crystal shaped like a pentagon.
X looked over them when they were secure. "These are great. I'll take good care of them, thank you." He bowed.
Rock smiled for a moment. "It's okay. You don't need to be formal with me. We probably should be doing practical training with your spells, or just a review of what you know. These will help."
"Are you all set?" Roll peered in the doorway. Her costume was in white and pink, with a floral crown and trim instead of armor. "You guys look cool."
"Yeah, we get to be guardian angels today!" Zero said, hopping in place.
"To protect the innocent and defend the weak," X recited from the Maverick Hunter-Snow Patrol Code of Honor.
"And to keep monsters far away," Zero winged.
"That would be lovely. We'll be heading out to the church for the memorial service soon, so make sure you have everything."
-+-
The memorial service was a little boring to Zero, although X had no problem paying attention. Most of those in attendance were in costume too, even if the costumes weren't exactly appropriate for church. This day seemed to be a special exception and the place was packed. To keep him occupied, Roll gave Zero some crayons and scrap paper to draw with.
After the service, the Light family, Sonya, and Ciel's Patrol joined a potluck at the apartment building Sandy and Iris lived in. Ash and his mother had come too, instead of joining the lunch at the hotel they lived in. "Your dad looks awesome," Ash commented to X.
"Yeah, and I bet anyone would think it was really appropriate for him to dress that way," Sandy added.
"Really?" X asked.
"Of course; Rock is only the greatest hero of reploid kind! But he's never vain about it or anything and just keeps protecting people."
'Like X is in our world,' the adult Zero thought.
"I thought angels were the best costumes for your family," Sonja said. Her costume was like Roll's, but with sea lilies instead of roses. "I just hope my Star is with the angels if he's no longer in this world."
"We haven't found any trace of Star Guise," Ciel said. "He may still live."
"Yes, but… where is he then? I know he'd want to come find me, but…" she quieted and looked at her plate.
"Your husband's name is Star Guise?" X asked.
"We met him," Zero added.
Startled, she looked at them. "You have? Are you sure?"
"Sorta," Zero said, then looked at X.
"It was when we were in Shadow Palace," X explained. "We were helped in finding the exit by two reploids and a cyber elf, Star Guise, Neko, and Xenophon. Star has armor with a black cloak, right? With little sparkling crystals set in it."
"That could be him," she said, starting to look hopeful again. "But getting in there is tough. And Star, well, if he's still in there, he surely won't be well. At least his friends are with him."
"There are people who can get in and out of there safely," Ciel said. "We just have to contact one of them. This could be wonderful, dear." She put a hand on Sonya's shoulder. "It won't be easy helping him, but you'll be together again."
"Yes if he's survived this long." She had a small smile on her face.
Iris put her fork on the table. "Miss Ciel, may I ask you something?"
She looked at the little reploid girl, spending a second to recall her name. "Oh, yes you may Iris. What is it?"
"I heard that your patrol is from another world. Is that true?"
She chuckled. "Not our whole patrol. But some of us are from another world, including me."
"You are?" Zero asked.
"How did you get to this world, then?" X asked, apparently wondering the same as him. Perhaps she knew of a way to help the adults contact their home world.
"Well I really don't know," she admitted. "You'd have to ask Neko and Xenophon, when they get rescued too. You see, our old world got destroyed."
"That's terrible," Sandy said.
She nodded slowly. "Right. Although, I'm afraid there wasn't much left to it at that time. There was a great man in our world…" she paused, glancing at Rock. "But it's a long history with many secrets. Anyhow, he somehow used a powerful artifact to pull as many people as he could out of our world and into a safer one. The effort killed him; he was Neko's friend and Neko was the only surviving witness to that rescue. We know our world is gone." Then Ciel smiled. "But the people of this world have welcomed us warmly. We've been doing all that we can to help them in thanks."
Then it probably wasn't of much use to them. "If we knew they were your friends, we would have told you sooner," X said. "I hope they can be rescued still."
"Everyone who knew them has been praying for their safety, I'm sure," Ciel said.
-+-
The others weren't a solid theme with costumes. Ciel's patrol all wore their standard blue and white uniforms; they had just come for a break, after all. Iris was dressed like a flower fairy, in a purple leotard with a lavender tutu and a flower wand; she wore a sparkly purple coat with butterfly-like wings when outside. As for the older two boys, they were both dressed like pirates, but very different ones. Sandy wore a scarlet and gold longcoat, tall boots, and a red fedora decorated with a long peacock feather. Ash wore a patchwork green, blue, and black coat with black pants, shiny leather shoes, and a triangular felt cap.
"I just have a fake sword, though," Ash said, patting his belt. "Sandy's got Dusty Blade like you."
"Yeah!" He pulled out his blade and activated the brown weapon. "I'm captain of the fencing club this year. Too bad you're too young to join."
"But I can join once I turn four, right?" Zero asked. "I'll be in then."
He nodded, putting his sword away. "Then you'll have to carry on my legacy of following Gage's code of honor. I'm afraid a lot of the kids fight just to be cool rather than to be true heroes."
"I'll be a good example."
"Hey, there's the fun house!" Iris said, pointing it out with her wand. "May we go in there now, Mom?"
"We can watch over the three of them," Ash added.
"Sure, go on in," Iris' mother Daisy said.
Dahlia added, "And you'd better not play tricks on them."
"Of course not, Mom," Ash told her.
"It's safe, so you two will be okay," Roll said. "Go on."
"Thanks," Zero said, and the five kids went off to enter the fun house.
Normally, this building was an ordinary store. For Halloween, a temporary maze had been built inside filled with all sorts of strange things. There was a room that looked ordinary, but was tilted crazily so it was hard to walk through. There was a hall of warped mirrors, making them look thin, fat, tall, or fuzzy. In one hall, Iris and Zero were able to go to one end and look as though they were way taller than even the adults.
There was even a room that looked like a normal dining room, but was upside down. There were plates and silverware settings sitting on a table that was on the ceiling. On the floor with them, there was a ceiling fan with tulip lights. Nothing seemed to obey the gravity they were experiencing. "How do they get them up there without strings or glue?" Iris asked, looking up at the silverware. "Or even tape?"
"I'm not sure," Sandy said. "It might be a spell."
"I think so too," X said, checking out a china cabinet. He spotted a dial. "Or an enchanted machine. Look, it has an alternate setting to put us on the ceiling too."
"Really?" Zero asked. "Can we try it?"
"I don't see why not. Sandy, can you reach that?"
"Sure thing." He came over that flipped the dial from 'static' to 'static plus visitors'.
It felt like the room had flipped around somehow. The kids were all drawn to a mostly empty wall, while the main door was shut. Then they were put onto the ceiling where all the furniture was arranged. Laughing, Iris turned around. "We're right-side up in an upside-down room!"
"Don't you mean we're upside-down too?" X asked, smiling.
"Look, we can get through this door now," Ash said, turning to a small red door in the wall. "Maybe it leads to a secret area."
"Would they have a prize?" Sandy asked. "I don't remember anything mentioned about a secret area this year."
"It wouldn't be a secret if they told everyone it was here," Zero pointed out.
"Let's check it out." Ash opened the red door.
What was behind it was odd. It seemed to be a broom closet with nothing in it. However, the back wall had a semi-liquid look to it, a strange lustrous black. "What is that?" Iris asked.
"That doesn't look normal," Sandy said, putting his hand on her shoulder before she walked right up to it.
"I'm not sure we want to mess with it," Ash said, right before a black arm tore out of the blackness and snatched him away.
"Ash!" Zero called, running forward. Then more arms appeared, grabbing the other four children.
The blackness soon dissipated, leaving them in a kitchen with a checkered tile floor. The counters of the kitchen were lined with human skulls and several bloody butcher knives were on display. While it might have been someone's idea of a sick joke, the magic of this place was distinctly different than that of the reverse gravity dining room. "This doesn't seem like something they'd put in this fun house," Ash said.
"We're not in the same building," Sandy told him, looking around worried. "This place feels hostile."
"This place is like Shadow Palace," Zero said, edging towards Sandy.
"It is Shadow Palace," X said in alarm. "I wouldn't forget that aura."
"What?" Ash turned and came towards them. "How'd we end up in Shadow Palace?"
"It was a trap, you nitwit," a gruff voice interrupted them. A strange green lizard came into the kitchen. Instead of being long and thin like many lizards, this guy was round and had back legs made for a kangaroo. It had a large spike of hair growing from its head and a large butcher knife in one hand. The other held onto a glowing metal tin. The lizard grumbled. "Got more of you then I meant. Hmph, it's not like they'll complain about getting more prisoners."
"Hey!" Sandy activated his blade. "You won't get away with…"
The lizard swatted him with his knife, which the boy blocked. However, he couldn't block against the lizard's tail, causing him to crash into the counters. "Shaddup, kid. You ain't got a chance. Besides, you're not one the masters asked for. Sheesh, those big-headed puffballs complain about how hard it is to capture some two dumb kids and I get you within a day."
Although shaking, Zero activated his weapon. "You're not taking us back."
After putting the glowing tin on the counter, the lizard turned to face him. "You think you can beat me? I just kicked your older friend across the room; you don't stand a chance."
"We do together," Ash retorted, throwing a knife that he had snatched while the lizard wasn't watching.
He scowled and tried to return the favor, but Zero was able to move in and jam his blade into the lizard's ankle. Sandy had gotten back up and went to help him, while Ash got another knife at ready. Looking over the creature, X noticed that it had small eyes, but large ear holes. Iris crept over towards him. "I'd help, but I can't do anything," she whispered, her fairy wings trembling some.
"I don't want to hurt them with my spells," he replied. "But I think this guy may be sensitive to noise. Would you try screaming?"
"Um, all right." She looked at the lizard, who was preparing to sweep its knife at the three boys fighting it directly. Then Iris took a deep breath and screamed at a high pitch.
As he thought, the lizard howled in pain and tried to cover its ears instead of fighting back. That gave Zero and Sandy good shots at destroying the beast. Ash made certain it was dead by putting a knife into its forehead. "Good fighting, both of you," he said.
Sandy smiled at Zero. "Yeah, you've been learning well."
"Thanks," Zero said, smiling some.
There came a twinkling from the tin on the counter. "If you don't mind, would you let me out of here?"
"What's that?" Iris said, looking up at it.
"There's an elf in that container," X said.
"I think you're right," Sandy said, taking it. "Doesn't feel like a Shadow elf, though." He twisted off the lid.
A humanoid elf with angelic white wings and white armor came out. His glow was faded, showing weakness or exhaustion. "Thank you. But… I'm rescued by angels and pirates?"
X laughed. "And a flower fairy. It's Halloween… wait," something seemed familiar about this elf. He was a holy elf, and it felt like they had met before. "Are you Xenophon?"
"Oh, you remembered my name." He flew over, so X let him land on his shoulder. "It's too bad you got trapped back in here."
"He's a holy elf, right?" Iris said. "I've read about them. We'll be okay now, right? Cause their aura can protect from curses."
"He looks tired, though," Ash said. "He's Xenophon?"
"Yeah," X said. "What happened to Neko and Star Guise?"
The elf paused. "Neko's still alive. Our souls are connected. Star should be with him. The Shadow elves have been trying to turn me into a stew lately. I can help you leave here, but if you would, could you come free them? I cannot abandon my partner."
"He can help us leave and will do so," X translated for the rest. "But we ought to help him rescue his friends."
"We are in enemy territory, so to speak," Ash pointed out. "We must be careful. Still, we should do the right thing. Where are the others?"
"I can't control the path there, but I'll show you the way I feel." He flew off again and led them to what appeared to be a walk-in refrigerator. Past that, in the infamous ways of this place, there was a murky swamp area with a stone path. Something like rotted vegetation moved through the thick muddy water, if it were water.
Iris went immediately to her brother's side and took his off-hand for safety. Ash took one of the knives and silently offered to walk alongside X, who was torn between dread and a need to be brave so he could act as the elf's translator. Although afraid as well, Zero walked between the pairs determined the show that he was strong enough on his own, even as the youngest there. But the others were there to help. Xenophon ended up back on X's shoulder, as he seemed too weary to fly for long.
"I've spent months acting as a mental shield to them both, or trying to anyhow," he said. "But the master of the palace was infuriated when he realized you two were gone. He did something to Neko. I've been ill with worry lately."
"I'd imagine," X said softly. Elves were strange creatures in that things like worry and fear could make them physically ill. Or even kill them.
Xenophon shivered. "I have been weak. I should have simply given you an exit. But my bond…"
"It's okay," X said. "They've helped us before, so I'd like to help them."
Ash tightened his grip. "X, look at that."
"Huh?" He looked ahead.
The swamp area blended into a rocky wall that had white torches along it. A tapestry hung off the wall, depicting a strange event. In the center, a blue dragon and a red dragon circled around each other, preparing for battle. On the edges were various scripts, including, 'Bearer of endless winter and bearer of endless summer, come into the world and battle for your corrupted powers. All involved are corruptions of the pure original, modified for the sake of vanity, false ownership, and perversion. Add to the complexity, overbearing the false idea with its own weight, so as to collapse it to where even those who watch will turn away. All such perversions of originality should be persecuted into ridicule and shame.'
"What does that mean?" Iris asked. "It has a lot of big words."
"I think much of it is nonsense," X said. "But it talks about the Ice Dragon and the Fire Dragon as the bearers of endless winter, and endless summer."
"We want seasons to go back to normal," Sandy said jokingly. "Not get re-cursed."
"Neko is nearby, behind a door," Xenophon said. "I'm not sure where the door is, other than near here."
"Xenophon says there's a door nearby," X said. "But it must be hidden, because he's not sure where."
"Maybe it's invisible," Iris suggested, looking over the burbling marsh. "Oh, look at this." She reached over to take a silver pinwheel toy.
The pinwheel represented a child's distraction, X realized. This trap was what his vision yesterday had meant. Still, that couldn't be good. "I wouldn't trust that," he said.
"Anything could be dangerous," Sandy said. "That's what people say about this place."
"Oh, I see." The silver pinwheel then shivered, and a large blobby monster appeared. Iris screamed and jumped closer to her brother. If she had taken it, it might have gotten a free chance to eat her.
The monster slurmped onto the walkway. "Foolishness," it said. "Why did you fall for that trap? I want to be the one to eat you."
"Are you the closet monster that keeps bugging X?" Zero asked spitefully.
"Yes, and now I will eat you all!"
In a moment of fright, X cast the Shining Light spell. "Stay away!"
It howled in pain, but remained. Zero ran over to attack it. Meanwhile, Sandy got between it and Iris. "No way, you can't be a closet monster," Sandy said. "You're a Glormp."
"Yeah, Glormps can't live in cities," Ash added. "You must always have boggy grounds, or grounds you can make boggy, like here."
"So you've been bluffing me?" X asked.
"Fine, so I was," the monster… a Glormp, said. "I'm still going to eat you here."
"You can get rid of it by fire," Sandy suggested. "But we'd better get away quick."
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
"Okay," X said, casting a fireball. He and Ash got back, along with the other three. The Glormp went up in green smoke and flames (even thought X had cast an orange fireball). In doing so, the stench of it got worse, like burning rotted eggs and cheese. When it finally blew up, part of the stone walkway had been destroyed, showing a wooden door.
"Ick," Iris said, wrinkling her nose and putting her free hand over it.
"That's the door we need to reach them!" Xenophon said.
"Okay, let's get this open," X said.
It was heavy, but the five kids managed to pull it open together. Past it was something like a cellar. A dry cellar, thankfully. A reploid in red armor stood up as they came in. Neko looked over them worriedly. By him, Star was curled up against the wall. Yellow bands of energy were tied to his wrists and ankles, but nothing else seemed to be holding him down.
Xenophon flew over to Neko. "I managed to get free, with their help. X and Sandy here are both skilled in magic, so they should be able to do something about Star."
Neko nodded, but didn't say anything.
"What's tying him down?" X asked.
"It seems…" Sandy started over, but Neko grabbed his shoulder. "What?"
"Something in this room powers those binds," Xenophon explained. "But if you go too close to Star, they zap him. Whatever it is I can't sense, but we have to find it before we can free him. Oh, and Neko can't talk anymore." X explained what Xenophon had said, then asked why he couldn't. The elf shook his head. "I don't know what exactly, but it was punishment for helping you before."
"Well those binds are electric in nature, I can tell you that," Sandy said. "They're tied to that panel, but I can't tell where the power is coming from. Normally, you'd feel the system, however lightly."
"I'm afraid I can't help you much with that," Ash said. He moved aside to sit on a ledge so the others could search.
The binds flickered. "I think you can help, Ash," X said. "Maybe your magic deaf state is affecting the source. Would you run your hand along that ledge?"
He smiled. "Odd, but okay." He did so while X and Sandy watched the chains. When they found the right spot, X was going to tell Zero to use his blade there. But Neko seemed to have the same idea and activated his green blade and ran it down through the ledge. There was a pop and the binds vanished.
With that danger gone, X went over and examined him. "He really needs to get out of here and to a hospital. This is beyond what I can do."
Silently, Neko went over and picked Star up to carry him over his shoulder. Xenophon went over to a flat wall. "Okay, I'll open an exit gate. I think… Star needs to get out, and so do you and Zero. This may be a bit much for me. Ask Ash to go last and pick me up if I collapse." Then he started on drawing a mystic circle on the wall.
"Okay. Ash, you need to come through last; take Xenophon if he gets exhausted."
"Sure enough," he replied. "Still, let's go quickly."
"Where did you come in at?" the elf asked.
"2771 Jackson Avenue in Monsteropolis," X answered. "It's a department store normally, but was a fun house for Halloween."
"Doesn't sound fun if it led you here. Okay, go!" He activated a glowing white ring, similar to the one that had gotten them out before.
Neko took Star out first, followed by X and Zero, then Iris and Sandy. Ash managed to get out with Xenophon right before the red door in the upside-down dining room decided to collapse into dust. Unfortunately, the gravity decided to return to normal for them, so they soon fell back to the regular floor.
"Which way do we go to get out?" Iris asked. "I don't remember."
A human woman abruptly teleported into the room. "Oh, there you kids are. What happened? We lost track of you three hours ago." She looked to Neko, who was still holding onto Star. "And what are you doing in here?"
Ash came forward to speak for them all. "M'am, there was a red door in here that drew us into Shadow Palace. We brought them out with us; they should go to a hospital."
She nodded. "Okay. But, that place? You kids probably should too." She tapped a radio headset and asked for an ambulance.
-+-
Well good news, for me anyhow. I found a draft copy of this on an old computer. I added a few particular details I had missed. As it turned out, I only missed four complete scenes and one important revelation. And what I rewrote from memory, like the Shadow Palace scenes here, I like better than what is in that old draft. Anyhow, I have a solid reference of what's supposed to go in the gaps, which means I shouldn't be getting stalled in the updating schedule.