CHAPTER TWENTY
The Test of the Beast
December 5th, 2053
Gamewell Maze, Thorntail Hollow
"OK, am I being excluded from something here, because you two were NOTHING like that yesterday!" Damalgo asked impatiently.
When the three had woken up early the next morning, the Warpstone had informed that the entrance to the Krazoa Shrine where the Krazoa Master dwelled was deep inside the Gamewell Maze (which he had been conveniently placed over). What Damalgo was talking about was that, as they proceeded down the dank, dusty tunnel, Marcus and Coyote were standing no more than an inch from each other and blushed bright red each time they looked at each other. Damalgo was one who didn't like to be excluded from what was going on, so when he was, it ticked him off.
"That's our business, OK?" Coyote replied. "You stay out of it!"
"It would be easier if you weren't chumming it up DIRECTLY next to me!" Damalgo shot back
"Hey, don't start, you two!" Marcus spoke up. "I have a hard enough time keeping Chase and Anne from fighting."
The three slid down a rotting wooden ladder that led into the maze. When they touched the ground, they saw three paths branching out into the maze.
Marcus handed Coyote and Damalgo each a flare gun.
"It looks like we're gonna have to split up, so take these with you." he instructed. "If you see anything suspicious, send up a flare. If you see a flare, go towards it."
"Got it." Coyote replied.
"Right." Damalgo answered.
Coyote took the path on the right, Damalgo the one on the left and Marcus the one in front. But right as he rounded the corner, Marcus immediately wished that he hadn't ordered the other two to split up. Almost as soon as he reached the end of the path, he found three more paths.
He went left. Dead end. He ran back and went right. Another dead end. He went back, ran down to the other end and turned right. Dead end? You guessed it. No matter how much he tried to deny it, Marcus had only been in the maze for two minutes, and he was already hopelessly lost.
Damalgo wasn't having much luck, either. No matter how many corners he turned, it just seemed like he was running around aimlessly in circles. He took a left, then a right, then another right, then left again, right, right, left, left, right, left, right….
He stopped and doubled over panting. Where the hell was he going?
"Heck, I don't even know how to work this thing." he grumbled angrily, turning the flare gun over in his hands and inspecting it. "What the heck is a gun?"
Coyote panted heavily as she rounded the umpteenth corner, hoping to find at least something OTHER than a dead end.
She did: another three paths.
She quickly grew frustrated and kicked the stone wall. Bad idea, because about two seconds later she was hopping up and down on one foot clutching her other one and grumbling through clenched teeth.
"Who could possibly have been stupid enough to make this?" Coyote thought. "Man, when I volunteered to help Mark, I wasn't planning on running through a damn labyrinth!"
Suddenly, her ears pricked up when she heard a low humming noise. She turned her head and saw an odd light around the corner. She didn't know what came over her, but she quietly tiptoed toward it. As she peeked around the corner, she saw that the light was coming from a large well. It was perfectly circular, and it didn't look like it was man-made…not from the way it was molded from the ground.
She walked over to the well and carefully looked down. Though there were a few small glowing objects floating up from the well that looked similar to fireflies, Coyote could see nothing but darkness. Black, empty darkness. She couldn't even see the bottom.
Just then, as though someone were standing right next to her, she heard a quiet voice whisper in her ear.
"She does not look like you, she does not speak like you, and she does not think like you, but do you think she may still be closer to you than you realize?"
"Closer to me…Wha…who are you? What are you talking about?" Coyote asked aloud.
The voice repeated itself, then faded away.
"Hey! I'm talkin' to you!" Coyote exclaimed. "Answer me!"
Too late. The voice was gone.
"What was that thing talking about...Who's 'she'?" Coyote asked herself.
Marcus had had enough. He fell flat on his back. He had absolutely no idea where he was going. He'd been running around like this for about ten minutes and he hadn't found diddly-squat!
He closed his eyes. He didn't want to fall asleep, but he was so fed up that he had tuckered himself out. Even worse was that he wasn't getting a signal on his communicator through the cave walls, so he couldn't call any for help. If Anna had been there, she would've found the entrance to the shrine by now. It was almost as though she had internal radar. She never got lost.
Suddenly, Marcus heard a voice whispering to him. It was his mother's voice.
"Let your senses guide you, Marcus." Krystal said. "You'll find what you're looking for."
Marcus opened his eyes and stood up.
"Well, Mom, you haven't steered me wrong yet." he thought.
Marcus touched his index fingers to his temples and concentrated as hard as he possibly could. After remaining absolutely still for a few moments, a paranormal blue line appeared in front of him, directing itself down one of the paths.
Marcus grinned.
"The solution presents itself." he said smugly.
Marcus followed the path left, then right, left, left, right, left, right left and right again. The path stopped. Marcus now stood in front of a regal looking door. A Krazoa head was imprinted into the center. Three holes were carved in a triangle formation.
Marcus looked down at the blue path again. It stopped right in front of the door. This was it. He whipped out his flare gun, aimed it up in the air, and pulled the trigger. A flare went shooting up about fifty feet, and then detonated. Within minutes, Damalgo and Coyote had rounded the corner and stopped in front of Marcus.
Damalgo took a few seconds to inspect the door.
"You never see anything like this on the surface…even in the Hollow."
Coyote took notice a small stone slab placed just above the door. As she looked closer, she could make out a few Saurian letters.
"What does this say?" she asked.
Damalgo looked at it. Slowly, he translated it.
"When stones and souls approach the door, the mighty seal will be no more."
"Which means?" Marcus asked.
"'Stones' are the Keys, obviously. 'Souls' are people…I got it! See those holes? We each need to put one Key into the holes to open the door."
"Makes enough sense, I suppose."
Marcus dug the three Keys out of his backpack, then handed one to Coyote and one to Damalgo. Carefully, Marcus placed the Key into one of the slots. Coyote and Damalgo did the same with theirs. They stepped back.
The door flashed bright blue for a few seconds, then slowly but surely slid out of sight. Behind it was a glowing pad.
"That's the entrance to the shrine." Damalgo said, pointing at the pad. "As soon as we step on that, we'll be warped inside."
"We? As in 'all three of us' we?" Marcus asked.
Damalgo grinned.
'Why? Am I growin' on ya?"
Coyote smirked.
"You ARE a little contagious."
Damalgo rolled his eyes.
"I appreciate your humor, and yeah, I can go with you this time."
"Then let's go!" Marcus said.
The three stepped onto the pedestal and closed their eyes. In the blink of an eye, a bright beam of light enveloped them and warped them away.
Within moments...
The light faded. The three were now standing in a tall chamber lined with columns. A ladder in front of them led up into another. Falling drop of water quietly echoed inside the room.
"Are you sure this isn't Krazoa Palace?" asked Coyote, looking around the room. "It looks pretty familiar."
"The Krazoa always make their buildings like this." Damalgo replied. "My tribe's been studying them for centuries."
Marcus stepped toward the ladder and knocked on it. It echoed with a hollow metal noise.
"I'll go first." he said. "Who knows how old this thing is?"
He slowly started climbing up the ladder. It creaked with every step he took, but it was still able to hold his weight. When he reached the top, he looked down and beckoned for Coyote and Damalgo to follow him. They did, carefully making sure it wouldn't collapse under their weight.
The room that they had climbed into seemed like a straight walk across to the other side. Despite the fact that the tiles were stamped with very odd symbols, the room didn't look dangerous.
Apparently, Coyote thought so, too.
"Piece of cake!" she said.
She was about to step forward when Marcus stuck out his arm and blocked.
"Hey, what gives?" she asked.
"…it's too simple." Marcus replied.
He knelt down and looked carefully at the tiles. The one that Coyote nearly stepped on had a strange spiral shape on it. Marcus pulled out his staff and poked the tile with it. It gave way into a straight drop to oblivion.
"….you go first." Coyote said, with her eyes wide.
Marcus glared at her.
"What happened to 'Move your ass, buster'?" he grumbled.
He looked at the tile next to the spiral one. This one had a Krazoa head printed on it. He poked it with his staff. Nothing happened.
"Alright, guys." he said, standing up straight. "Follow me. Step where I step."
The one Krazoa tile was the first in a pattern on twenty others that formed a zigzagging pattern throughout the room. Watching their step as they went, the three slowly edged themselves along the path.
When they were just an inch from the other side of the room, Coyote slipped and nearly fell on the spiral tiles when Marcus caught her in mid-air.
He carefully stood her back up.
"See?" he said with a grin on his face. "I can be useful, can't I?"
Coyote lightly smiled.
"…thanks."
The next room had three large blocks in a triangle formation. The door to the third room was sealed by a rusted, iron gate. Damalgo took a good look at the sizes of each block and at the switches near them, then at the gate.
"Judging from the size of the blocks, I'd say that they're heavy enough to weigh down those switches. And assuming we all have equal strength…"
He snapped his fingers.
"I got it." he said. "We need to place all three blocks on the switches simultaneously to open the door."
Marcus grinned and crossed his arms.
"You sounded just like Chase right about then." he said.
"Who?" Damalgo asked.
"Never mind."
"Alright, guys. One person to each block! Let's go!"
They each stood behind a block and placed their hands on it.
"One…two…THREE!" Damalgo shouted.
Straining slightly, they pushed the blocks in the direction of each switch. At exactly the same time, the three blocks hit the appropriate switches. Slowly, yet surely, the gate slid up and out of sight. The third room had criss-crossing lasers coming from almost every angle. They all loudly hummed.
"Ooookaaaayyyy….." Damalgo said. "I knew the Krazoa were advanced, but not THAT advanced."
Marcus picked up a loose rock lying on the ground and chucked it right at one of the lasers. When the rock made contact, the laser sliced it in half!
"High-frequency beams. One touch equals instant bifurcation." he said.
"English, please?" Coyote said.
"Whatever part of you DOES touch them gets sliced off."
Coyote grinned and cracked her knuckles.
"Allow me." she said.
With a running start, she dove between two lasers, then back-flipped over another, cart-wheeled between two more and quickly rolled underneath another. The two boys watched in awe.
"Where did you get this chick?" Damalgo asked with his mouth agape.
Marcus shrugged.
"She shows up when you least expect it."
"Honestly, what did you two do to each other last night?"
"Nothin' you can prove."
A few handstands and a front-flip later, Coyote was on the other side of the room. She looked back at the boys and smirked.
"When it comes to stuff like this, I'm a freakin' ninja." she said, crossing her arms.
"Uh, yeah…do we have to do it EXACTLY like that?" Marcus asked.
Coyote rolled her eyes.
"Nope. You don't have to do it at all!"
She grabbed the lever sticking out of the wall and pulled it down. The lasers disappeared. The boys ran to where she stood.
Marcus took in a deep breath and said, "Good job."
Coyote responded with a cat-like smile and "Thank you."
The three turned and walked inside the final room: a tall chamber with mighty silver columns lining the sides and an off, wavering mirror-like object on the back wall. The room was dimly lit by a pair of large torches that were burning with blue flames. They cautiously tiptoed inside the room. As soon as they were five feet inside, a stone barricade slid down and blocked the way out.
No going back.
The mirror flashed a brilliant violet color. Some of the strange, wavering matter on the mirror slowly oozed down to the floor, before taking the shape of a very tall creature in front of Marcus, Coyote and Damalgo.
The being was at least thirty feet tall. It wore a robe that covered its limbs, hands and feet, though both the robe and its wearer were near transparent. On its head, it wore a mask that resembled the Krazoa head drawings that they had seen before. Its bright, white eyes gazed down at them with a welcoming glance.
"So that's the Krazoa Master?" Coyote whispered to Damalgo.
"Must be."
Without warning, the Master spoke.
"Marcus James McCloud. Come hither." it said in a male voice that sounded like many men with British accents all speaking at once.
Marcus' eyes widened. How did this thing know his name?
But still, Marcus stepped forward and stood before the mighty being.
"You have done very well to come as far as you have." the Master said. "If you were able to seek out the three ancient Keys, it can only be because you wish for my knowledge, am I correct?"
Marcus hesitated, but then nodded.
"Yes. Our galaxy is suffering from sieges from the Venomian army, and we need to find out who is behind the attacks. I humbly ask that you provide me with the answer."
"A very just cause, indeed." the master replied. "Alas, I can not bestow my knowledge to those who have not proven themselves to be pure of heart."
"How do I do that?"
"A trial. One simple test that you must complete. If you can succeed, I will answer all."
Marcus looked at the door. It was still sealed shut.
He looked back at the Master.
"What must be done in this test?"
"The test requires that you face your deepest fear. Panicking will result in failure and if you accept, you stand alone. Do you wish to accept this trial?"
Marcus wasn't sure about it anymore. Facing his deepest fear? Was that really what he'd have to resort to find out who was behind all of the attacks?
Who was he fooling? Of course it was!
Marcus looked back at Coyote and Damalgo. They both grinned. Damalgo gave him a thumbs-up. Coyote winked at him and mouthed the words, "Go for it." Marcus nodded, then looked back at the Krazoa Master.
"I accept."
"Very well."
The mirror flashed again. An opaque, shadowy barrier appeared between him and the others.
"Close your eyes and clear your mind." the Master said. "Bring up your fear from the depths of your imagination."
Marcus closed his eyes and thought. At first, he thought of Andross…the evil monster that murdered his grandfather. He had obviously never seen Andross before, so that just made it all the more intimidating.
But then, he thought of someone he was even more afraid of…that horrible voice that had haunted him for months now.
"My blood is coursing through your veins."
"Your fear is absolute." the Master announced. "Let us begin."
"Dear God, what have I done?" Marcus muttered to himself.
The Krazoa Master flowed back into the mirror, which flashed again. This flash was enough to force Marcus to shield his eyes. When the light had ceased, Marcus uncovered his face.
"What the f…what the hell is this?" he sputtered.
The room was incredibly distorted. The sky was black and dark purple. The floor was split up into several platforms that were wavering. Far below him, Marcus could see absolutely nothing.
Just then, Marcus felt a rush behind him. He whipped around. Nothing was there.
Then, the voice whispered right in his ear.
"Marcus…my son."
"Oh no…"
Another rush. Marcus whirled around again. Still nothing.
He breathed in through his nose, out through his mouth. In through his nose. Out through his mouth.
"Get a grip, Mark." he said to himself. "Don't panic. Whatever you do, don't panic."
"That's right." Kursed whispered. "Suppress your fear of me. Don't be afraid of your mother."
A black shadow zipped by a few feet away. Marcus heard a low growling noise, but at the same time, it sounded a bit like maniacal laughter.
"It's only my imagination…only my imagination." he muttered to himself.
The black shadow appeared again, this time running behind one of the distorted columns, getting nearer and nearer every second.
"You think that there's anything you can do to drive me away? Come now, you don't want me to leave, do you?" the ominous voice asked, chuckling slightly.
Marcus could feel his forehead beginning to sweat…not just from the fear of his mother's evil doppelganger being just a few steps away from him, hidden in the shadows, but also out of anger that he could do nothing to fight her off. That was besides the fact that she was mocking him.
Suddenly, the black figure jetted out from behind the column and leaped right at him!
He yelped and ducked. The figure landed on its feet and vanished again. He stepped back a few inches and nearly stumbled when he reached the edge of the platform he was stranded on. He looked down. He couldn't tell if falling off would actually cause him to fail the trial (or worse, fall to his doom), but he certainly wasn't going to risk finding out.
The black shadow rushed at him from the depths of the pit, its mouth wide open and with large white fangs out. Marcus back-flipped away from the edge. He looked around the room, scanning every nook and cranny for any sign of movement.
Suddenly, right from behind him, the voice whispered in his ear.
"Wanna play hide and seek?" Kursed asked, with, once again, a voice that sounded like it was combined with maniacal laughter.
Marcus whirled around. Nothing!
He growled.
"Where are you, dammit?" he shouted.
Within a split second, Kursed's face was suddenly right in front of his own.
"Here." she whispered.
Marcus yelped out of surprise and fell on his butt. He scurried away from Kursed, just before she vanished yet again. He heard her laughter echoing throughout the room. He couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, slammed his eyes shut, and tried to think of something other than a cannibalistic woman with a lasting hunger for him.
"Oh, but why are your eyes closed?" Kursed asked. "Are you afraid to look at me?"
Marcus didn't say anything. He stood as still as a statue.
"It's okay, sweetie. You don't need to be afraid. Mommy's here now."
Marcus could feel his tail and arms rapidly fidgeting. He had to take his mind off of Kursed.
"C'mon, Mark! Think! Think of…think of…the first time you flew an Arwing!" he thought aggressively.
Now he could feel Kursed's breath on his fur, almost as though she were standing right next to him. For all he knew, she probably was! He felt something that felt an awful lot like a hand on his cheek. It was like he had fallen into one of his dreams…one of his nightmares. It just goes to show that your imagination is your greatest weapon, but at the same time, it's also your worst enemy.
"Go ahead. Sneak a peek." Kursed whispered. "No one's watching. Look at whom you fear, but who loves you with all her heart."
"I can always tell when someone's lying! I'm not your lunch platter!" Marcus yelled.
"Oh, don't think of it as that. Just think of it as…say…staying with me."
Marcus was silent. All he knew was his hearting beating like a hammer, He felt as though one of his veins would burst any second.
"You can stay here with your mother…forever, if you want. Just you and me. Mommy and Marky. I know you want that. All you have to do…"
Here it sounded as though she were whispering in his ear again.
"…is look." she finished.
Marcus' eyelids started twitching. Just like that, he couldn't bear it anymore. He opened his eyes. For a moment, he saw nothing. Kursed was nowhere to be seen.
Then suddenly, a massive hand seized him and pulled him off the ground! His staff fell out of his backpack and landed on the ground with a loud clatter. The next thing he knew, he was gazing fearfully into Kursed's face. She was standing at a height of at least thirty feet and was lustfully smiling at him.
"Are you frightened?" she asked, slightly giggling.
Marcus didn't see what was so funny, but he answered anyway.
"…yes."
She chuckled, as though the word had tickled her.
"Good, because I'm the only one you should be afraid of."
"I don't know how you exist, and I don't care." Marcus started. ", but what I DO know is that you're a curse on me and my parents!"
"Oh, Marcus…why do you think they call me Kursed?"
Suddenly, Marcus felt her grip getting tighter. She was trying to crush him in her hand! And he was powerless to stop her!
He spotted his staff lying on the ground as he felt his airway getting cut off. He had only one chance. He squirmed to get loose, until finally he got one arm free. He reached out to the staff and yelled at it.
"Staff to me!"
As though it were heading his call, the staff went flying into his hand. Kursed caught sight of it and growled.
"You'd dare to use that against me?" she asked in disbelief.
Marcus didn't answer. Instead, he said…
"You wanna curse somethin'? Curse your ass on the way to hell!"
He stabbed the spear end of the staff into Kursed's hand. She screamed and let go of him. As soon as Marcus hit the ground, he jumped back up about forty feet into the air. Without warning, he let out a large battle cry, and a massive laser beam fired from the firing end of the staff and shot through Kursed's body.
Marcus dove back down to the floor and rolled to his feet, while Kursed's hulking form came crashing down.
She weakly looked up at Marcus.
"Maarrcuuussssssss…" she moaned.
Just like that, her head came down and her breathing stopped. They were now back in the Krazoa Master's chamber.
Coyote and Damalgo came up behind him. Coyote caught a glimpse of Kursed's body lying on the ground.
"…she actually looks like that?" she asked.
"…yeah…well, almost."
"Did you kill her?"
Marcus sighed and shook his head.
"No…that's not her."
Marcus looked at the collapsed form of Kursed. As soon as he saw it take that massive shape, he knew something was up. He also noticed that he hadn't gotten the cold, numb feeling he usually got when she assaulted his mind.
"I'm just so sick of having to deal with her. I mean, do you know how hard it is to live your life when you've gotta worry about some CANNIBALISTIC BITCH!"
As he screamed those last two words, he ran up to Kursed's body and gave it a sharp kick. With that, it slowly faded into nothing. It had been only an illusion. Kursed hadn't actually been there.
What a shame.
"The real Kursed is still out there somewhere." Marcus said angrily. "…still hunting me down like wild game."
"What'll you do?" asked Coyote. "It's not like you can just run away from her forever, right?"
Marcus turned to her.
"Yeah…I guess you're right…maybe I'll just get stronger. The next time she finds me…it ain't gonna be peaches and cream for her anymore."
Another blinding flash shot from the mirror, and the Krazoa Master reappeared.
"Well done. You have proven yourself to be pure of heart. Your goals are just, thus I grant you this."
A glowing, spherical object appeared from the mirror and floated into Marcus' hands. He could see inside it, though all that was there was a group of swirling clouds.
"That is the Krazoa's Orb." the Master explained. "It will answer any and all questions you may have for it. I advise you to use it wisely."
Marcus, Coyote and Damalgo took a few moments to stare at the orb in complete awe. After those moments had passed, Marcus put the orb in his backpack.
"Thank you." Marcus said, giving the Master a short bow.
The Master nodded.
"Then you may go."
A light enveloped the three and carried them up and out of the shrine.
Within moments...again...
When the light faded, the three were standing in the Warpstone's grove.
"Marcus, m'boy!" the Warpstone beamed. "Looks like ye passed the Krazoa Master's test, eh?"
"Yep." Marcus replied. "Now we can finally figure out who's behind all these attacks!"
"Phew. I'm just happy we didn't have to go back through that frickin' maze again!" Coyote breathed.
"Wait a minute." Damalgo spoke up. "If you got what you came for…does that mean you guys have to leave now?"
Marcus turned to the young Sharpclaw and nodded.
"Aww." Damalgo whined. "It seems like you just got here!"
Coyote and Marcus both grinned.
"Hey, it's good to make friends in strange places." Coyote said. "You're a nice guy. Besides, we can come visit you anytime."
Damalgo smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Don't try to cheer me up." he said sarcastically. "But I can come with you back to your ships, right?"
"Sure, pal." Marcus said.
"I'll see along down the road, then." the Warpstone called as they left the grove. "Good luck, laddie!"
The three were just about to step out of the Hollow and into the tunnel leading to Moon Mountain Pass when Marcus froze in his tracks.
"Sweet mother! I forgot!" he exclaimed
"Forgot what?"
"Our ships are out of fuel cells! We won't be able to get them off the ground."
"Fuel cells, huh?" Damalgo said. "I think I know someone who could help."