Paper Luigi X
Chapter 24: Deeper Secrets
"Yes, excellent…their second hero has joined, and another piece has been obtained. Simply brilliant. Now is the time to advance things a little…"
"So tell me Éclair…" Huckleberry began, trying to stir up some light conversation before sending Éclair on another mission. She was sitting on the bed looking frightfully bored and sighing almost non-stop. "…what would happen after you and the Chestnut King got married?"
Éclair let out an unlady like snort at that. "Oh, ha. I haven't forgotten that you can see the future, Huckleberry…"
Huckleberry shrugged. "It's an indefinite future, though. I can only see solid things like…a big battle between a hero and a villain, certain people showing up, and…well, the truth is, I don't for sure know if Luigi will save you. That's why I can't tell if you'll ever get married. It's like a variable in an algebraic expression."
Éclair covered her face with a pillow. "Ugh, I was never good with math…"
Huckleberry flew over her head and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, it was just a simple question! Why are you in such a snappy mood today?"
"I'm so bored here…"
"Look on the bright side- you could be locked in an even more boring room in a base in an unknown location!"
"What gave you THAT idea?"
"Oh, no reason. So, to kill some boredom, we can go explore more of the tower…"
Éclair sat up instantly. "Oh yes! Let's go!"
Huckleberry shook his head. "I wanna hear about you and your fiancé. It's no fun if I'm spending time with a princess I know nothing about!"
Éclair sighed and folded her arms over her pastel yellow dress. "Oh, okay…fine…once we were married, our two kingdoms would unite in a time of peace. We were even thinking about taking a honey moon to his world! I would finally become a queen and have a large ceremony, almost bigger than my wedding itself, and then I would be free to fully rule my kingdom without my parents' overseeing." She stood up and started walking to where the secret exit was. "A paradise, right? Well, now those hopes are practically dashed now that you claim you don't have any idea how this'll turn out, and you can't tell me if things'll ever be right again…"
Huckleberry got very quiet. His mauve eyes gave a quick gleam before he began to speak again. "Princess Éclair. Earlier when I said I know how this'll turn out, I wasn't lying. I know how it'll turn out now, at this moment. Right now Luigi won't be strong enough to save you. But, as time goes on, fate happens, and fate effects the future. And that can change the outcome completely…"
He floated over and placed his spirit hand on Éclair's shoulder.
"…which means you still have a chance. Hope is still with you. And, if I can stand breaking the rules, I'll tell you Luigi will need the help of others to get here."
Éclair, much quieter than before, raised an eyebrow. "Who are these others?"
"The ones he has currently are a girl who can bend reality at will with music and a young fox who has the ability to fly and gifted with great intelligence. He'll need two more helpers, one of slight darkness and one that is literally unknown, to ever get here. If all four are there for Luigi, he'll be unstoppable…there. Now you know all you need to know. Happy? Because that's all I know so far."
He floated up to the ceiling, hit the switch, and opened the secret passage. Éclair took in all the info, but was still curious as to what Huckleberry wanted her to do.
"Where are we going today?"
"Remember the box we got last time?" Huckleberry asked. Éclair nodded. "We're going to find the key it goes to."
"And I'm guessing you definitely know what that is, right?"
Huckleberry flashed his bright toothy grin. "Of course! Something that close to now has been like a bee buzzing in my ear! This involves going to the 11th floor, and then taking a shortcut to the 9th. Are you up for it?"
Éclair's compass piece started to shine as she gave a confident nod. She took her first steps down the passage, exiting the 14th floor and passing the room on the 13th. She could've sworn it was getting warmer as she went down- had she gotten used to a cold environment during her stay? Or was she simply nervous? The duo started to head by the 12th floor, and Éclair shivered, recalling the big, burly, brown monster that had been there before.
"What the 11th floor like?" she asked. Huckleberry pondered the question for a brief second, the silence allowing the only sound to be the pitter patter of Éclair's heels on the winding stairs.
"Well…it's a weaponry, if you must know. You'll need to be extra careful when traveling through there. Swords, axes, knives, spike clubs, scissors…anything sharp, and it'll be in there-and trying to kill you."
Éclair shivered. "Brr…that fuzzy bear thing must have some addictive collection of sharp things, huh?"
Huckleberry had to cover his mouth and breathe heavily to prevent himself from laughing at "fuzzy bear thing".
"Oh, Éclair…sometimes you truly amuse me…" he chuckled lightly. The entrance to the 11th floor was right next to them, and Huckleberry opened the way into the dark and dank chamber. "here we are! Watch your step, Princess…"
"Can't we just walk all the way to the ninth?" Éclair asked warily. Huckleberry shook his head.
"this secret passage ends here, but there's another passage though the 11th that goes straight to ninth. You can reach the 10th floor from 9, but not from 11."
Éclair grabbed and shook her head. "Oh, this is too confusing! If we have to go through a death trap of a room, then let it be."
She sighed, picked up her dress, and cautiously entered the room. The light glow from Huckleberry lit up some of the way, but it still wasn't very much. The walls were pure concrete, unlike the dining room from previously with a decently nice setting. The room was cold, the air was moist, and every weapon under the sun and their brother lines the walls, and Éclair wondered whether someone should be able to keep all the artillery.
"That's definitely unsettling," she muttered, a slight chatter evident in her voice. Éclair took a step forward and accidentally activated a trip-wire.
"Oh great- you've activated a trap!" cried Huckleberry. Éclair was sent into a fit.
"Oh yeah- my fault? It's dark, and I hit a near invisible wire! Not to mention you probably could've seen that coming-"
"I'll tell you what I don't see: you running! Hurry before you get stabbed or spiked to death!"
Éclair threw up her hands and started to scream. "Oh my goodness-why must this happen to me?! I was never trained for situations like this!"
She ducked under spears, jumped over spiked logs rolling for her, and just about limboed under a swinging hammer that came down from the ceiling. Éclair desperately wanted to fix her waffle cone based crown that was threatening to fall off, but one wrong move and a sword would slice her in two. Her pupils shrunk as the walls suddenly jetted out sharp needles and began to close in on her. She glanced to the other side of the room and she wasn't really sure if she could make it.
Éclair started running anyway, breathing heavily as she cried out, "Huckleberry! Can't you do anything?!"
Huckleberry cringed, then took a deep sigh. "Just keep running Éclair! I've got this!"
"No need to tell me twice!"
The sweet princess was a pastel yellow and chocolate brown blur as Huckleberry floated into the center of the room. For a brief moment, he crouched into a small ball before spreading his arms wide apart, two transparent beams shooting out. Éclair heard the sudden "ZING!" and was forced to turned around. Huckleberry's temporary powers were preventing the spike walls from coming any closer.
"Hurry up Éclair!" Huckleberry grunted. "I can't do this forever!"
"What about you?" Éclair asked back as she slowly started to the other part of the room.
"Don't worry about it! Go!"
Éclair had three stands of hair cut off by a ninja star, and she instantly ran off without thinking about Huckleberry- at least, she tried not to think.
"Man, I haven't used this power in years…"
The power started to flicker as it weakened, and the walls suddenly slammed together.
---
Éclair gave a battle cry as she barrel rolled to safety. The thunderous sound coming behind her caught her off guard, and slightly timbered to the floor. After catching her breath, she finally remembered Huckleberry, and how he didn't make it out. Éclair gasped at the realization and cover her mouth.
"Oh my goodness…poor Huckleberry! He…he saved me…"
Her eyes started to water, and she hung her head to give Huckleberry a moment of peace. While she was mourning, the Luff spirit gave a light laugh as he cart wheeled right through the walls.
"You forgot I was already a spirit, didn't you?" he teased, a smirk very evident. Éclair's head shot up, along with a small hiccup.
"Huckleberry! You just about made my heart stop!" she said angrily. "And to think! I even gave you a moment of silence! Ugh…I thought you…you'd…"
Huckleberry folded his arms in midair and rolled his eyes. "You're welcome, Princess. Now come on! The faster we get the object, the faster we can get back to your safe cell!"
Éclair gave a minute nod as she quietly followed.
"I did forget Huckleberry was a spirit…"
As they got farther from the dreaded trap area, the walls began to separate again, and all the weapons were put back in place automatically. A new passage began, and as Éclair used the wall to guide her down, she wondered what rested on the 10th floor…oh well- who knew? She might find out next time!
Ninth Floor-
Huckleberry stuck his head around to corner to see if it was clear- which he made Éclair mad by stating how he already knew that- and floated in.
"In here! It's in here!"
"Okay, okay…" Éclair delicately entered the room, only to have her jaw drop.
The room was even more gorgeous than her own castle. She didn't know where to begin! The sight almost made up for the fact she had almost been killed moments earlier! First off, it was gold. Gold walls, gold ceiling, gold-and-crystal chandelier, gold table, gold chair…and gold cabinet of some sort. It all seemed to shimmer with magic…and Éclair couldn't help but wonder why a hateful beast would have such a beautiful room.
"Wow…it's…so…unexpected, that's for sure!" she gasped, feeling a wall. "How can the key be in a place like this? I'd think it'd be in high security or something!"
Huckleberry let out a laugh. "You'd be surprised, Éclair…now, can you do me another favor?"
"I don't know…" Éclair responded while folding her arms. "Your favors usually cause stress for me, like…five minutes ago, for example?"
"No, this one benefits you!" he floated toward her and tapped the compass piece in her crown. "You never knew you could tap into your crown jewel's power, did you?"
Éclair shook her head. Huckleberry grinned and began to explain.
"This piece happens to contain the Compass Move Future Sight- a move that can predict what someone else can do within seconds! But, since its not united with the other 6 pieces, its power is much, much weaker than it could possibly be. Still, if you focus again Éclair, you can at least use the power to see where the key is!"
Éclair's eyes lit up. "You mean my compass piece has a power that's exactly like yours!? And you chose now to tell me?"
"You can't rush these things, Éclair."
"Well…fine. I'm just glad to see what its like to be you for a change."
"Do what you did when you tried to communicate with Luigi, but think about that key!"
Éclair took another deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused deeply on the key. All energy channeled into the compass piece, and it began to spark. Éclair let out a yelp and took an unintentional three steps back. Huckleberry grinned again.
"you found the key, right?"
Éclair nodded, but she had a worried look.
"N-Not only that…but I saw a blue robed man…then a man in green and a cluster of his friends, probably The Others you were talking about…they were…they were here…"
Huckleberry cocked his head. "Whoa…I don't even know anything related to that! But, now that you mention it…it seems likely to happen now!"
"Extraordinary…"
"We'll ponder this later- go get the key so we can head back to your room before we're caught!"
Éclair nodded and walked to the suspicious looking cabinet. She opened it, where it looked like any other cabinet, but it had a secret. She tapped each side of the cabinet twice, then the bottom and the top 4 times. Like magic, a key materialized from thin air, and Éclair grabbed it.
"Excellent. Now we can go open that box!"
Éclair gave a sigh. "I feel like we just got here…"
"We'll be back Éclair. But my Future Sight tells me the…"Fuzzy Bear Thing" will be coming soon!"
Éclair made a face, but traveled carefully back to the room- taking extra caution in the weaponry.
She had many questions: what was in the box, what was the purpose of the golden room, and there was some secret about Huckleberry, she now knew…
But she also wondered why that statue in the passage hall looked so much like that blue robed figure…
14th Floor-
Huckleberry was all too eager to go and crack that box open. Éclair had barely stepped foot into the room when Huckleberry zoomed by her head, grabbed the small wooden box, and anxiously held it out to Éclair.
"take it easy, there! What's so special about this anyway?" Éclair chuckled, at last sticking the key in and literally unlocking the secret within the box. It gave click, the lid popped open, and a soft melody started to drift out. Éclair stopped smiling, though she was far from being unhappy. "Oh my goodness…it's…it's…my…"
"It's the song the Chestnut King wrote for you, isn't it?" Huckleberry said, a hint of knowing in his smirk. Éclair could only nod as she set the key on the bed and took the box from Huckleberry.
"Oh Huckleberry…how did it get here? What's it doing with that thing? And…I don't understand. Why is all this happening?!"
She officially broke down in tears, the first time since she got there, and all Huckleberry could do was float beside her and pat her back.
"In time, Princess…it will all come together. I promise. That's definitely one thing you can count on."
Huckleberry had felt he had failed his original job, but there were things she just needed to know! Time wasn't on his side though…but at least the song of her beloved play softly in her ear.
...And enter the mystery of a music box! :D Oh, how I love Eclair chapters...there's so much potential! But, I don't like Jazzafrazz Town. Ugh, I'm STUCK there! I mean, I CAN write it, but it just doesn't feel as fun as any of the other places, I suppose. Don't worry- it's a good dose done, the problem is just trying to finish! We might have a "skip week" (where I don't post as chapter) sometime soon because of it, but it's not THAT likely.
And I really wanna get to Raptorous Ruins! That's my favorite part in the story- though I haven't written it because of Jazza! *starts working on story afterwards* Happy Sunday!