Hi…I've had another one of those moments where I had trouble getting motivated. Sorry about that. Also, I had serious writer's block about the Boss fight. But that's over! Do you guys realize that it's been over a year since Cameos started? And what a year it has been!
Flt. Sk.: Another year of unending torture for Floating Skull. Why must he suffer so, when Floating Skull was created for causing suffering?
B.B.: You know, dude, being a good guy isn't half bad. I remember when the Titans and I went to Tokyo, and the babes were all over me!
Ght. Flx.: Green pizzle's laying a sizzlin' konizzle!
B.B.: But I'm telling the truth, Ghetto Felix. Ya gotta believe me!
Be that as it may, I have an announcement to make. I have decided to continue with my latest Cameo spinoff, which will be named Cameos of Time: The Great War. I'll let you guys know when it's up.
Until then, enjoy your regularly scheduled Cameos of Time, already in progress. And for the third and final time, today's chapter name is brought to you by Hammermaster. Go meet the guy yourself if you're that interested!
Floating Skuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuull!!!
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Water Temple
"Ivan?" Link called again. He rushed over to his friend and gave him a friendly shake. "Wake up, nap time's over. Ivan, what's wrong with…" Link gasped as he looked at Ivan's face. His eyes were lifeless, as if he was in some sort of trance. Turning to Jack, he shouted, "What did you do to him?!"
Jack calmly walked over to where Ivan's body was sitting, but even he couldn't hide his surprise at what he saw. "Well…that's interesting,"
"Interesting?!" roared Link. "I'll show you interesting if you don't fix whatever this is right now!"
"Well, sorry to say this, lad, but I don't quite know what happened either," admitted Jack.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Link was become erratic now.
"Link!" cried Navi. "Calm down! For Ivan's sake."
Link opened his mouth to respond, but said nothing. He took slow, deep breaths until he felt calm enough to deal with this. "Alright, what do you know, Jack?" he asked in a determinedly calm voice.
Jack thought for a moment, "I can only guess that the fish-man put something in here he didn't tell me about."
"Fish-man?" repeated Kairi.
"The boss of this temple," answered Jack. "I forget his name, Gibby or something like that. Now back to your friend's condition, given that we know next to nothing about this, we should get young Ivan here to safety and defeat the boss in hopes that that will cure the mage of his affliction."
"Alright, Jack," said Navi before anyone else could talk. "I want you to get Ivan outside and keep him safe. We'll hurry on and defeat the boss."
"Hey, um, Navi?" whispered Link. "Are you sure we should trust this guy right away?"
"I agree," whispered Kairi. "I should be the one that watches over Ivan."
"It seems that your friends don't trust a pirate," replied Jack, who had overheard their conversation.
"Well, it's not…" started Link.
"Wise policy," finished Jack before Link could continue.
"True," agreed Navi. "But we have several factors to look at here. First, let's remember that we left Zero outside to fight with Bass. Now while we know that Zero's a competent warrior, we don't know exactly what he's up against. So, we have to assume that the battle's still going on, and will still be going on when we finish the temple."
Link nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if more than just Bass was out there. Megaman games are notorious for that type of thing."
"That brings me to my second point," continued Navi. "When we beat the temple, Kairi will be summoned to the Chamber of Sages, which would leave poor Ivan all alone. If we're wrong about the cure, then he'd be unable to contend with the battle that might be raging outside."
"You've got a point there," agreed Kairi.
"But what makes you think that I'd be willing to contend with said battle?" inquired Jack.
Link smiled. "Well, you'll get a huge rupee now and another one after we get out of the battle. That's fair, right?"
Jack thought for a moment before grinning. "Aye! That's plenty fair! I think you starting to learn how pirates think."
Link shrugged. "I had some practice during Wind Waker. But enough of that; everyone you know what to do!" Link flipped Jack a huge rupee before proceeding out the north door with Kairi.
Jack looked down at his charge. "Well, I guess it's just you and me then." He scooped Ivan up in his right arm, and gleefully examined the huge rupee in his left hand.
Mogall Forest
Ivan's head pounded relentlessly. He groaned and opened his eyes to see a familiar face hovering above him.
"Rise and shine!" said Isaac cheerfully.
"Wha…what?" sputtered Ivan. "Wasn't I just inside a water temple?" he thought to himself.
Knowing nothing about Ivan's internal conflict, Isaac continued. "Sorry I couldn't use Revive sooner, but that Ape came at us pretty quickly."
"I can't you believe you got knocked out with one hit!" exclaimed a tall red head.
"Knock it off, Garet!" cried a blue-haired girl. She turned to Ivan. "Don't listen to him, that thing packed a wallop. If it snuck up on me like that, I'd probably be on the ground right now."
Ivan smiled. "Thanks, Mia." He groaned and climbed to his feet.
"All right, then," called Isaac. "I think there's another one hiding in that tree stump over there. Hopefully, this one will lead us through the forest instead of attacking us. Garet, if you would please?"
Garet grinned. "Sure thing!" He held out a small orb. "Force!" he cried.
"Wait a second!" thought Ivan. "I remember this! That Ape, it's going to attack!" He opened his mouth to warn his friends, but it was too late. The ghostly fist struck the stump, prompting a wild Ape to leap out of it, growling like mad. "Ray!" Ivan shouted, shooting a beam of electricity from his fingertips. The beam hit the Ape, but it barely staggered.
It turned to face Ivan, but was quickly intercepted by Garet. "Volcano!" he cried, causing a pillar of fire to rise up from the ground, engulfing the Ape. "Mia, finish it!"
Mia nodded and shouted, "Ice!" A small shower of icicles rained down on the Ape, impaling its vital organs. It gave one last, pitiful squeak before falling silent.
"You all right, Ivan?" asked Isaac. "I don't think your Psynergy is fully charged yet."
"I'm fine," grunted Ivan defiantly, enraged that his attack didn't even stun the enemy.
"Maybe you should let us handle the monsters for awhile, Shorty," suggested Garet, barely concealing his grin.
"Garet!" cried Mia. "Be nice."
"Yeah, yeah," replied Garet.
But no one noticed that Ivan wasn't paying any attention. "Is my existence so meaningless that prior knowledge of the future is worthless in my hands?" he thought sadly. "Am I really no more than a magnet for the others' restorative techniques and items? Perhaps the journey would have been more successful without me. And what of my current quest?" Ivan looked up at his friends. Isaac and Garet had gotten into an argument and Mia was trying to play peacemaker. "If I ever get out of this situation, maybe Link won't need me either…"
Lake Hylia
Jack grunted as he hauled Ivan's unconscious body onto the island in the middle of the lake. "Whew! That sure takes it out of ya!" He lay Ivan down on the ground and went to sit by the tree. "Well, at least I get some entertainment out of it."
The aforementioned entertainment involved watching Zero fighting with Dr. Wily's latest Skull Tank, which was in essence a large robot. But Zero found it less than entertaining. He had been going all out against this mechanical menace only to find that he was blocked at every turn.
"Kya ha ha ha ha!" cackled Wily as he shot off another round of missiles at Zero, who promptly leapt out of the way. "I've been designing this Skull Tank for the last seven years! It's my ultimate weapon!"
Zero grunted but didn't comment. He drew his Z-saber and leapt into the air. The Skull Tank aimed its massive fist at him, but Zero simply used it as a stepping stone to get to Wily. But just as he was getting high enough, a blast of energy shot out of the chest compartment, knocking Zero back against the cliff surrounding Lake Hylia. Getting to his feet, he tried to circle around to the machine's right side, but he was quickly grabbed by one of the monstrous hands.
"Don't you get it, you fool?" taunted Wily as the Skull Tank began to squeeze Zero. "I'm not an ambiguous villain like that wannabe Sigma. He's been defeated by no less than three people, while I've only been beaten by one. You can't possibly hope to defeat me! Only Megaman stands any chance…" but he was cut off as a massive burst of energy struck the Skull Tank in the back. In the confusion that followed, Zero slipped out of the robot's hand and landed nearby, bracing for battle. "What is the meaning of this!?" roared Wily. He turned to face his assailant, a blue figure standing on the hill near the Lakeside Laboratory. "No…could you possibly be…?"
"X!" cried Zero.
"The author thought you looked lonely, so he sent me here to help," replied Megaman X, not lowering his X-Buster an inch. He then added to Wily, "And I think it's time to show you what the Megaman series as been up to since you kicked the bucket."
The Skull Tank stood motionless for several seconds in silence before Wily issued his reply. "How dare you interrupt my victory!?" Wily began preparing a new volley of missiles when a siren blared. "What is this?" exclaimed Wily. "The sensors show something wrong with the arm, but it doesn't say what?" He looked out of the cockpit and screeched with fury; while he had been distracted by X, Zero had sliced off the right hand.
"Now I'm coming for you, Wily!" cried Zero as he leapt up onto what remained of the arm.
"Oh no you don't, you little pest!" Wily raised the left arm to grab for Zero, only to have it blasted to bits by a charge shot from X.
"Face it, Wily," called X. "Your machine is too slow to take both of us at once. Give up!"
"Never!" roared Wily. "I will never admit to defeat to you obsolete junk piles!"
There a crash and shards of glass rained on Wily as Zero climbed into his cockpit. "We might be obsolete, but at least we're not broken!" He raised his Z-Saber.
From the island where Jack sat watching the fight, he saw a flash of light emanating from the cockpit. Then, the Skull Tank fell over, lifeless. "Well, I guess the buggers beat him after all. That's good. He was bound to notice me over here after awhile," mused Jack to himself.
Water Temple
The remaining trip through the Water Temple had been long, but not particularly eventful. At long last, they came to the boss chamber which they found inhabited by an orange, humanoid fish. He was short, only reaching halfway up Link's chest, and held a small trident. He wore a light, white tunic with a green collar.
"Greetings, Hero and Sage," said the fish-man. "My name is Gobi."
"Wait a sec." Link held up a finger to signal for silence. "I remember you from somewhere. It was an RPG, it was for the Super Nintendo…Got it! You're from Breath of Fire."
"Correct," replied Gobi. "I am pleased that you know me. Perhaps that might convince you to consider my offer."
"Which is…?" prompted Kairi.
"Master Sephiroth would value warriors such as yourselves. He's still willing to accept you into his legions, and pay you handsomely…"
"Stop right there!" commanded Link. "I know where you're going with this and we're not interested. No amount of money will coerce us."
Gobi's smile faltered. "Very well. Is there anything you'd like to say before I dispose of you?
"No," replied Link. "But I know what Ivan would say. He'd rant about such an obscure reference taking place in this story. Let's face it, only a limited number of people have played a Breath of Fire game. Of those people only a fraction of them have played the first one. The people that did recognize you would remember you being useless for anything other than underwater fights. And the last third or so of the game takes place entirely above the water!" Link was huffing by the time he was done.
"What was that all about?" asked Navi.
Link took a deep breath. "Sorry, it just felt like something was missing without Ivan's cynical remarks. Irritating though he is, I've gotten used to having him around."
"Enough of this!" cried Gobi. "You're right, away from water, I am weak." He smiled sinisterly. "But as you may have noticed, there's a pool filled with the stuff right here in front of us." He raised his arms to summon two pillars of water, which he sent spiraling towards Link and Kairi. Of course, at that kind of distance, they were able to dodge quickly. "Now you will face my true wrath!"
Merchant of the Seas
GOBI
"Sorry, Gobi!" cried Link. "You'll have to do better than that!"
"I did," replied Gobi. He brought his outstretched arms in, causing the water he splashed on the wall to shoot forward, knocking Link and Kairi into the water. "Now you're in my domain!" Gobi leapt into the water after them.
Link tried to get his bearings, but was quickly forced to the wall by an army of small fish. He looked to the left to see Kairi in the same situation. "I can't fight him like this," thought Link to himself. "I'll have to evaporate the water with Din's Fire." Ignoring the fish tugging at his arms, he cupped his hands together and began to gather heat.
"Trying to steal my water away?" drifted Gobi's voice through the water. "In here, even thieves have to pay the price." Link felt a change in the water. The spot where he was gathering heat was rapidly becoming pressurized. Try as he might, he couldn't force the heat through the water. The ball of pressure followed his hands wherever he moved them. "Your attacks are useless. But I'm still a merchant. Since I took your attack from you, I'll give you one in return."
The ball of pressure burst, crushing Link against the wall he was stationed against. His entire body felt as if he were being squished, not with water, but with another solid wall. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, but despite his efforts, the pain was overwhelming, making him light-headed.
Link's vision was quickly becoming fuzzy; he could barely make out Gobi as an orange and white blur, charging right at him! He tried to raise his arms, but it was as if he was in slow-motion. He couldn't even brace himself for impact, but right before Gobi struck, another blur, this one pinkish, slammed Gobi into the nearby adjacent wall. Before Gobi could regroup, the blur grabbed Link and pulled him up out of the water and on to the floor. The pain faded as a pink light washed over him.
As Link's vision cleared, the pink blur focused into Kairi's worried expression. She had released one of the fairies he had in a bottle. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Link sat up. "I'll be…look out!" Gobi had leapt out of the water with his trident bared. Rising to their feet, Link and Kairi pushed their respective blades between the prongs of the trident and flung Gobi back into the water. "Stay here!" commanded Link. "I've got an idea!"
Link ran up to the edge of the pool and dove in. He saw Gobi floating there, obviously taken aback by Link's maneuver. Link darted forward and grabbed Gobi around the torso. Spinning himself around, he used his newly acquired Long-Shot to latch on to the wall above the water. Gobi had freed one of his arms and was punching Link repeatedly in the gut, but Link ignored this as they were dragged out of the water.
The Long-Shot latch released as Link reached the wall. The next few seconds were a blur as Link and Gobi tumbled around on the floor. Then, Link somehow climbed to his feet, holding up Gobi by hooking his arms under Gobi's armpits. "Kairi! Now!" shouted Link. Kairi raised her Keyblade to strike, but Gobi somersaulted while in the hold to place his feet on Link's shoulders. He then slipped his arms out of Link's and leapt off of Link towards the water.
Most unfortunately for Link, Gobi's timing was impeccable.
Crack!!!!
The sound resonated throughout the water filled room as Kairi's Keyblade connected with Link's head. As Link slumped against the wall, fighting to stay conscious, Gobi successfully landed back in the water.
"Oh, Link!" cried Kairi, her hand at her mouth in mild horror. "I'm so sor…"
"Forget it!" snapped Link, who had stumbled back to his feet. "I've had enough of this! Navi, you know that thing I told you never to do?"
"Y-yeah…" replied Navi timidly.
"Go down into the water and do it!" ordered Link.
"But you said it was just a distraction in battle," protested Navi.
"Not this time," responded Link. "Just think about it." He pointed at the pool of water.
"But what do you…Oh!" Navi's voice now brimmed with understanding. "I get it now!" She flew over to the pool and dived in.
"Kairi, you might want to plug your ears," suggested. Kairi did just that, not knowing what was about to happen, nor why Link was pulling the chain out of the Long-Shot.
Her answer came soon enough. A loud, piercing shriek burst from out of the water. Even with plugged ears, it was the single most horrible sound Kairi had ever heard. She looked over at Link to see his face had contorted to one of extreme discomfort, though he continued pulling out the chain until the Long-Shot had reached its limit. He then began twirling above his head like as one would a mace. After several seconds, Gobi's head burst out of the water. He was panting heavily, obviously perturbed, and the head of the trident was hovering just above the surface.
The shriek abruptly halted, but before Gobi could act, Link threw the Long-Shot in an arc towards him. The head of the Long-Shot fell just beyond the trident, but the chain fell in between two of the prongs. Link smirked and pressed the retract button on the Long-Shot. As the chain retracted, the head caught the trident and pulled an unsuspecting Gobi towards him.
Link caught Gobi in his right hand, holding him by the scruff of his shirt. Dropping the Long-Shot, he reached for his sword. "You know, Gobi. We're about to combine my two favorite foods. Sushi, and shish kabob!" Link lifted his sword jabbed downward. A bright light filled the room. When it died, Link stood with his right hand empty, save for a shining Heart Container.
Link's Health
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxx
"What was that?" asked Kairi as Navi flew out of the water.
"Oh, that," said Link as he flopped down into a sitting position. "A few years back, we discovered that Navi can scream like a banshee."
Navi had flown in to join Link. "I never used it because it wasn't that useful. It distracted Link and was never more than a nuisance to the enemies. But this time…"
"…The enemy was underwater," finished Kairi, catching on. "Sound travels much better in water. That annoying shriek would have been enough to knock Gobi silly."
"And since he was knocked silly," said Link with a smirk. "He never thought to let go of the trident."
Kairi's eyes widened as her final question was answered within her mind. "That's why you threw the Long-Shot like a rope instead of firing it. If it was thick enough to catch the trident, it never would have fit between the two prongs." She looked at Link with awe. "You know, I have to admit. The first time I saw you fight was against Jack, and afterwards, I was a tiny bit skeptical that you were as great a warrior as they said you were. But you really know how to think on your feet. Nice work!"
Link smiled at her. "Thanks. Really, I mean that. It's all sarcasm with Ivan…Ivan! I forgot all about him. I wonder if he's okay."
"There's only one way to find out," said Navi. "Come on!"
Link climbed to his feet and followed his friends into the shining blue light.
Chamber of Sages
Link landed in the center and stared across the platform to where Kairi stood.
"I don't really have anything new to say, so here…" Kairi raised her arms and delivered the Water Medallion to Link. "This should help you at some point, somehow."
"Thanks," replied Link. "I don't want to seem rude, but can I get going? I want to check on Ivan."
"Of course," said Kairi. "I just have one more question. Are sushi and shish kabob really your favorite foods?"
"Nah!" answered Link with a shrug. "I just thought it made a great one-liner."
"It didn't," said Kairi. Link opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he saw her wink. "Good luck!" her voice said as light overtook him.
Lake Hylia
Link landed on the small island to find Jack, Zero, and a blue man waiting for him. "Megaman X!" Link cried in recognition. "So you're here, too?"
"Yep," replied X. "Zero needed my help, as always."
"Hrmph!" snorted Zero. "I could've taken Wily at any time. I just felt like holding back."
"Sure, sure," chuckled X.
"How's Ivan doing?" asked Link.
"Your little mate's over here," answered Jack, indicating the tree. "He came to just a moment ago, but he seems out of it."
Link nodded and walked over to Ivan, who was sitting against the tree. "How ya doing, buddy?" he asked.
Ivan blinked twice as if clearing his thoughts, before turning to Link. "I've been better, but I'll be fine." Link smiled, unaware of the internal doubts his friend was suffering from.
"Uh, pardon me, mate," interjected Jack. "But there's still the matter of my…compensation."
"Oh, right," replied Link lazily. He reached into his pocket and handed Jack a Huge Rupee.
"Much obliged, mate," said Jack, pocketing his prize.
"So what now?" asked Link. "I'm not going to keep paying you."
Jack thrust a thumb a Zero. "This fellow here convinced me to stay and guard the lake with him. Seems to think that Sephiroth might try and reclaim this temple."
Link nodded. "It's possible. Sephiroth's a crafty one."
"And I'm going to guard the Zora's Domain," said X. "Just in case." Link was about to comment when a horrible thought struck him. And it wasn't just him, either.
"Say, Link," began Ivan slowly as he climbed to his feet. "I'm still a little woozy, so refresh my memory. Who did we leave to guard the Fire Temple?"
Link didn't respond because both he and Ivan knew the answer. Turning to the others, he bid them farewell and played the Bolero of Fire, warping Ivan, Navi, and himself to the distant volcano.
-
Whew! About time. It's been nearly three months since the last chapter. I really hope this was worth it. But wait! It's not over, because it's now time for…
Ask Floating Skull!
Sakurelle writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
You know, you really sound cute. I would love to hug you or something, but that would probably make you gag. So I shan't.
Flt. Sk.: …….
B.B.: ……
Ght. Flx: ……
Ivan: ……
Link: ……
Sephiroth: ……
…Yeah. We should probably just ignore that one.
Darkcomet writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
What do you want for Christmas?
Flt. Sk.: Your soul!
Link-the-hylian writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
Is there currently a person's soul you really want to eat more than any other? (Besides mine, for asking stupid questions and wasting your soul-eating time.)
Flt. Sk.: Floating Skull would have loved to consume the wretched soul of Saddam Hussein. Most unfortunately, Floating Skull was beaten to the punch.
The Digital Dimension writes:
Dear Floating Skull:
Will you help me and my army of soul stealers on a quest to destroy/devour all Communists? Please?
Flt. Sk.: Floating Skull would gladly join your crusade, but puny author DRX9 forbids it.
Yeah, last time people tried to do that, they confused communists with people living in communist countries. Not quite the same thing you see. Poor Atlantis, it never stood a chance.
Ganheim writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
If you live by consuming souls, do you leave people alive to stew in torment.
Flt. Sk.: Bah! Souls rarely taste better if left to stew. Floating Skull prefers to consume his souls as soon as possible!
Numdenu writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
If you had some kind of scale to measure how you were at the author, how high would it be?
Flt. Sk.: There is no measuring such a thing, because Floating Skull's fury is beyond measurement! Floating Skull will have his revenge on all mortals when the chains the bind him are lifted!
B.B.: But dude! You don't have any chains.
Flt. Sk.: Foolish changeling! Floating Skull was speaking in the metaphorical sense!
Twili Da Great writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
Could you eat my soul for not reviewing if I say Locked it in my Wii which is inside a pure crystal cage within my impenetrable double-cemented top-of-the-line-securty-systemed basement?
Flt. Sk.: Floating Skull laughs at puny mortal Twili's defenses! No amount of technology is a match for Floating Skull's mystic might!
Dare Deville writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
Who's your favorite Teen Titan? Mine is Raven she's cool. And Beast Boy is only funny when he doesn't try to be. One last question, would you rather be an over weight female celebrity or be a no good dirty rotten pig stealing puny mortal author?
Flt. Sk.: Floating Skull must agree with puny mortal Deville. Raven becomes very attractive when she becomes angry. But puny changeling muse is most certainly unfunny, whether he tries or not. Lastly, Floating Skull would rather be an author, because at least they control the world in which they work.
TEH CHEEZORZ! writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
Have you ever had a pet?
Flt. Sk.: Floating Skull once owned a pet squirrel. But then Floating Skull ate it.
Kitsune-dan writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
My fox demon "friend" and muse Kyuu would like to receive some soul-devouring tips from you. Any help for her?
Flt. Sk.: Yes. STAY OUT OF FLOATING SKULL'S WAY!!!!!
And lastly,
Dragon-elf writes:
Dear Floating Skull,
Someone already asked about the taste of souls, so I'll shall ask about their texture. Are some souls crunchy and others chewy? And which do you prefer?
Flt. Sk.: Each soul is different, as Floating Skull has already pointed out. But that is all that your puny human mind could possibly understand.
Well, that's a wrap!
Ght. Flx: S'been too kizzle without no sizzle!
B.B.: Yeah, let's hope it doesn't take this long next time.
I'll try Beast Boy. Until next time!
Floating Skuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuull!!!