"Where are we going?" Young Link asked. It was a good question since I never knew where I was headed. We were in the green-tinted tunnel again, just following where it leads to like how I've always done.
"Umm, hopefully another city… or meet some more people." I shrugged.
Young Link grinned and adjusted his belt. "Okay, good with me." He affixed his sword and shield to his back professionally like he was going on any other adventure. I wondered where his bow and arrows went, but he was already wearing that beneath the shield. He seemed to have other accouterments that somehow all fit on his back, and he still stepped up to his feet lightly.
The blades on my bow popped fire. It was an odd fire since it didn't smell of smoke, didn't sizzle when it came in contact with my toga, and wasn't hot at all even when I twirled my bow like a fire dancer. All the fire was a flickering red flare, but nevertheless it was an excellent source of light.
We had to hold onto each other or the walls to prevent slipping, but eventually, the water deposited to a thin waterfall. A stone bridge was built above it in a gentle arc so we could marvel at the enormity and beauty of the room. The ill-lighted, dark green space housed many thorn-like rock formations that hung from the ceiling, glistening a murky, jade color. Trickles of water slipped through the blunt teeth heavily like saliva as they deposited to the supposed lake below us.
Young Link pointed to the ceiling. "So the rock-cicles that hang from the top are…"
"Stalactites. The ones from the ground are stalagmites. When stalactites and stalagmites connect, then they're called columns." Roy answered, as if this was common sense.
"Cool." Young Link smiled. He continued to point at the rock formations and ask Roy what they were, and Roy answered each and every one of them without stopping to think. I rolled my eyes at him; Roy could be a human encyclopedia.
Once his curiosity was satisfied, he turned to me. "You know leader, it's like, a different experience when you're with people. I didn't have the time to spare and look at the rock-cicles before I became a phantom. But now I do!"
The rest of us watched him bend over the on the railing, peering over the waterfall. He made playful laughs every once in a while and I had to smile a little bit. Captain Falcon crossed his arms and nodded. "I'm glad he's doing okay."
"Me too."
"So, how were you like when you were Young Link's age?" Roy asked. I had to sit and think, since my memory is blown off a bit. But around his age, I remember running across the fields with my first flight feathers. It was the young angels' competition to see who got their set of flight feathers first. And that was around the age when I first visited my goddess. It was an unforgettable experience.
After I told him what I could remember, I caught him staring at my wings. "I-I know my wings are small. Shut up."
"I didn't say anything." He said, with a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Whatever. So, how was your childhood?" I asked.
Roy made a quick glance at Young Link and sighed thoughtfully. "My father took me everywhere, since it was polite to introduce a feudal lord's first born son to other noblemen, I guess. So I liked running around in their big mansions playing hide-and-go-seek."
Young Link scampered across the bridge and went off to go see the stalactites better, but Ike and Captain Falcon followed. Roy explained that most of the mansions he visited were as big as the one all of us were housed in and I wondered, why would a single family need so much space to live in? But I held on to that thought because Roy probably has a big mansion he lived in.
"One of the lords we visited was um, unique, and he had trap doors and hidden passageways all throughout his manor. Every time I went there, I found different passages so that was exciting."
"That's really cool. We should make some passages and secret doors to the big house when we get back." I suggested. Roy's face lit up with so much delight, it made me flinch a bit. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy before.
He was about to unravel his mountains of ideas to me, just as Young Link called back to us saying he found a trap door.
When the two of us met up with them, it was a dead end. I imagined there was a landslide of some sort that covered the way; I spotted some train tracks that cut off into the pile of boulders. There were also all kinds of pipes, thick and thin, all wound together in a perpendicular network. But with closer inspection, the ends of the pipes were open and leaked an odd, thick liquid.
Young Link pointed to the ground where a circular hatch was camouflaged with the black rock. It was big enough for a large man to pass through easily but it was small enough to be hidden. There was a define circle where the dirt and pebbles separated from the hatch and the ground. It was opened recently.
"Speak of the devil." Roy chuckled as he crouched down to take a look.
While Roy and Young Link watched Captain Falcon inspect it, Ike informed me, "This is the only way out. …Well, I guess there was a train passing by here before, but this is the way."
"Then I have no choice."
Once Captain Falcon found the handle, I took the lead down the spiral staircase. We were close together, and I had to sneak in a smile when Captain Falcon commented we were like a family of ducks.
The spiraling stairs gradually leveled out so we were stepping straight down to a warmly lit alcove. Two electric lamps were connected to thin black wires on the wall, enhancing the receptionist's desk. No one was there, but there was an old poster with a romantic, old-fashioned city with the caption: "Welcome home to Polis 1"
"Are we going here?" Young Link pointed.
"Yeah. But I hope there're people there this time." I shrugged.
While everyone looked around the train station past the receptionist' desk, I flipped through the tourist pamphlet. The photographs were stunning and the information was well made to attract people. High buildings and the idealistic antique touch reminded me of a city I saw on television, some place called "London". But of course, the photos showed the amber-colored city with many people smiling invitingly.
I didn't want to imagine how lonesome Polis 1 looked without its people.
The abandoned station was grand, and not as desolate as the one I saw in Polis 3. Synthetic white light poured on the platform. Some of them flickered with fatigue but most of them just whined for a bit and immediately turned on. With high ceilings and cleanly swept floors, I wouldn't be surprised if a train stopped here right now. But there was not a single soul in sight.
Large patches of shade spotted on the ground, and as I looked up, I saw that there was a network of tree branches that covered the ceiling of the station. The fluorescent light peered through the canopy like the sweet spring sun. They may be from other tree houses and the roots sneaked through the rock, but that was the only sign of 'abandonment', so to speak. Not a speck of dust or leaf fell on the floor.
I spotted Ike and Young Link wandering on the tracks as they waved to me. I closed my notebook with the pamphlet. Young Link pointed to the wall, where a large bulletin board was propped up against the wall. "There was a time schedule. The train goes from this station to the Polis 1 station every thirty minutes, so we were thinking we should walk the tracks."
"Okay." I replied. There were several papers stapled up the bulletin board and the largest one was the schedule. The print was faded but the times were legible enough. Around that were job offers, and advertisements for restaurants and coffee shops.
But the one that caught my eye was the handwritten paper, probably made by someone that was on the edge of rage. It read:
Hiring exterminator, electrician, hunter, ANYONE that can rid the
"PLASMA CREATURE"
LARGE REWARD
Contact the city hall for details
I decided to take that paper as a souvenir also. Whatever this "Plasma Creature" was, it smelled of a monster. And who knows, we might be able to rid the thing if it's still lurking in the Polis.
Young Link contemplated with me about what the creature was as we walked along the tracks. The five of us were in a cluster, but in a comfortable scatter because the electric light through the roots was somewhat soothing and illuminated our way very well.
"Do you think it's a ghost?"
I pulled out the paper I picked from the bulletin earlier. "It could be, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. But what do you think about this 'electrician' part? Why would the city hall want to hire a electrician to get rid of this monster?"
"So this creature… can conduct electricity, maybe." Young Link said quietly, but then he started to laugh. "I don't know, I'm just saying things haha."
After a good half hour or so of walking, we came across a small red trolley. The petite formation and wooden chairs were empty, but polished and seemed to be used recently. It may be in repair, seeing the plastic cover for the lights and light bulbs were removed and there were some long black marks on the body of the train. There wasn't anything inside except for a tourist map of Polis 1 on one of the seats so I decided to borrow it.
Polis 1 consisted of two levels, with the main part of the city on top, and an excavating area just below their feet. I guessed the architects exhausted their creativity making Polis 1, because there were so many living complexes and public facilities, and "luxuries for those who want to forget the confining cave life" (excerpt from the pamphlet).
I scoffed. "Well, it's more of a city than the other Polis I've been. This place is big."
Captain Falcon stopped in his tracks and placed a finger over his mouth. The rest of us stood still to listen. The tracks were beginning to descend into a gentle slope and the lights eventually dimmed out into the darkness. At first, I heard water sloshing back and forth.
Then, laughter. We heard laughter.
And not just one person; there were maybe five or six men laughing vulgarly and I could sense some alcohol with their tone.
"People." Captain Falcon nodded.
Ike pursed his lips and glanced at me. "Drunks, more of."
Before I could say anything back, my feet were already shuffling. The sweet, faint smell of cheap beer and cooked meat watered my mouth. How long has it been since I ate anything?
My first look at Polis 1 brought back some memories. The canals with green water, buildings scraping at the ceiling, and dim alleyways. I dreamed of this place before, probably when I was with Lucario.
And just to confirm my suspicions, there was the bitter old man sinking deep into his chair, reading newspaper with the dim electric lamp. I remember; he called me a "chicken." I scrambled up the platform, ignoring the confused looks of the station staff and my friends behind me and approached the man in the dock.
I almost lost my footing going down the wooden stairs so fast, but I managed not to fall. The man looked up with round eyes, and I wouldn't doubt his amazement, since I did make a lot of noise on the old stairs. My friends finally caught up with me, all of them breathing heavily and exhausted.
The old man's eyes squinted. "And, what in the world are you bunch?"
I was stumped. I've only met him in my dream, not in real life. This is my first encounter with the old man. I stuttered a bit but I decided to go straightforward with him. "Um, what do you think of my wings?"
"What wings, boy? You ain't got no wings." The old man grumbled.
I knew I had small wings. I was aware. But I couldn't help but sigh. When I stretched out my wings for him to see, the old man gasped and fell off his chair with a blunt 'thud'. I gasped also and tried to assist him up, but he slapped my hand away.
"Please, have mercy! G-Guards, guards!" He cried.
"What are you doing?" Roy hissed and pulled me back.
I was just as confused as everyone else. But Roy pulled me down to an alley and Ike, Captain Falcon, and Young Link followed. Shortly after, a group of men with chain mail and long guns called muskets with the bayonet knives came to the scene. At first they seemed bored but when the old man described my appearance, the supposed leader of the guards stepped up to the poor senior. He interrogated him so closely and intently, the old man cringed as much as he did when he saw my wings spread.
Young Link volunteered to listen into the conversation as the rest of us hid in a narrow corner. I could just see a tiny slit of the guards and Young Link since Roy and Ike were in front, preventing the guards from spotting me. I felt like a dumb princess being protected but I couldn't do anything but hide.
After maybe five minutes or so, Young Link poked his head into the alley and grinned.
"Well, they're looking for a monster with wings, apparently." He laughed. I chuckled a little bit at how playful he made it seem. But I have wings, and guards with chain mail and muskets are searching for someone with wings. This is maybe the first time I didn't want them.
"The leader of the guards was talking about the 'Plasma Creature' too. That monster had wings that looked like yours, I guess. But we should hide them for your safety."
"I agree." I groaned. I wished I could go back in time and make a more… discreet entry. But I was probably going to get caught anyway if the guards are that disturbed of the 'Plasma Creature'.
Roy came back from the thrift store with a dark, indigo-colored cloak. It fit around me comfortably and not only covered my wings, but my face also with a large hood. There were some beads that hung over my chest but they were modest and didn't jingle around. It looked like one of those Arabian cloaks.
"It looks good. Better, since your wings are small enough to not bulge through the cloak." Roy smiled.
I just scowled at him. "Thanks. So how did you find the money to buy this?"
"I didn't. So let's go." He patted my back into another alley where Captain Falcon waved.
Thirty minutes. We spent thirty minutes in this Polis 1 and already I'm being accused as a monster, and as a thief. Behind me, Young Link laughed heartily again.
"I really like this adventure!"
Author's Note: You can reread the dream portion in chapter 12.