All right, I should probably clarify this now. No, CeliaxIssun is NOT an official pairing...yet. You'll see why early on in this chapter. But don't worry, it will be~
Celia: Goody. -.-
Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Cookie Island is thataway! *points in a random direction* We just installed a theme park! 8D
By the way, fail chapter title is fail. I'm on a very short time limit this morning and I can't come up with anything witty. XD
Chapter 23- The impostor
My heart pounded as we raced across the sand. Every step I took, I needed to go faster, forced myself to go faster. My lungs burned for more oxygen. My scrambled brain was trying to process everything. If anything, I blamed this all on Murphy's Law.
Explanations had been given during the first half of this little mad dash. While I had been sleeping off my sickness, Ammy went to go talk to Otohime. Said queen sent my friend off to the Water Dragon's stomach. How the heck did information leak out about the battle with Blight? …Anyways, Ammy not only got the Dragon Orb Otohime wanted, but she also found the Fox Rods. After a quick chat with the dying Water Dragon, she learned that he was actually kind of the Dragonians. Kind Wada had turned himself into a dragon to fight off the monsters from Oni Island. He managed to steal, AKA eat, the Fox Rods, which were actually the Dark Lord's weapon, but they drove him to insanity. After the talk with the king, Rao appeared on scene and Ammy gave her the Fox Rods, putting a giant bull's eye on her back. While giving the dragon orb back to Otohime, said magical sphere told them that a priestess taking a stroll back to her temple with one of the most powerful weapons in existence will not go unnoticed. So now we were on our way back to Ankoku Temple to hopefully safe Rao before it was too late. And, since I didn't mention it before, yes, I was once again in wolf form. Wake up healthy=wake up wolf. Fun little equation there.
Eventually, we got to our destination. Although it should probably be mentioned that once we got to the giant bell in Ryoshima Coast, I swear I imagined Rao wave at us urgently and go up the steps to the temple.
"Whoa, it's the busty babe!" Issun exclaimed.
"Good. So I'm not going mad."
"She's gone now…" He sulked, sounding way too depressed over the fact, and I had to keep myself from squishing him right then and there. Y'see, that's one of the reasons I tried to think nothing of prior events when I had woken up; Issun falls for every girl he sees. My mind was just fuzzy at the moment because I had been kissed, which explained my flustered behavior.
"Then let's follow her." Ammy decided, and we were off and running again, but not for long. As soon as we reached the bottom of the steps, Rao appeared again for a couple of seconds.
"W-wait, babe, wait!" Issun yelled. "She wants us to follow her?"
"Hm, well, that hand gesture usually means 'follow me.' What do you think, moron?" I asked, walking ahead. I wanted him to know that what happened before meant nothing as long as he kept gawking over other girls all the time.
Once I got to the top of the steps, Rao signaled to go to the back of the building. Luckily, this time Ammy and Issun arrived right when she disappeared.
"This was where I saw Rao." Ammy informed us. "She has to be close." A bad feeling started growing inside me. A feeling of total dread. Something in the back of my mind told me to prepare myself.
The next time Rao appeared, she told us to go through the cliff wall. Solid rock. I'm sorry, but what?
"What the?" Issun gasped. "You two see that? That busty babe went right through the wall!"
"Then that's where we'll go." Ammy dashed into the cliff side. I was expecting her to get a concussion or break her muzzle or something, but she just disappeared. A little bit alarmed, I ran after her and found myself in a small cave with a well in the middle.
"Who would have thought there'd be a secret passage here?" Issun spoke quietly. "You feel a draft coming out of the well? It must lead to that busty babe or I'm a monkey's uncle! Hurry! Leap before you think, right?"
Sticking to our motto, we went down the well and into a secret passageway. I nearly had a heart attack at the sight of a long-dead skeleton and the bad feeling I had only kept growing. I mean, it obviously wasn't Rao, but I was getting a bad vibe. Crap was gonna go down soon; I just knew it. Ammy and I walked through the eerie tunnel, ending up in a small store room. Some treasure chests gave us a pearl, a bull horn, and a scroll titled 'Northern Land,' but we mutually agreed to save reading time for later. Once outside, we got a pretty big shock.
"Huh? Isn't this…Himiko's Palace?" Issun questioned, clearly dumbfounded. I have to admit, I was, as well. "Why is there a tunnel from Ankoku Temple to here?"
"Maybe because Rao is Himiko's attendant?" I tried, knowing how pathetic the idea was. But this whole thing was starting to creep me out; I needed some explanation to cling to.
"We need to check up on Himiko." Ammy said urgently.
"No arguments there!" We ran into the main part of the palace, only to stop right before the elevator. Himiko's handmaiden was lying on the ground, barely conscious.
"Your…m-m-majesty…Qu-queen…Himiko…" She managed to mutter before passing out.
"Hey toots, what the heck happened?" Issun asked uselessly.
"In the elevator. Now." Ammy's commanding voice was starting to scare me. It was proof of how bad the situation was. I just followed her orders and trailed behind as we quickly made our way to Himiko's room. I re-equipped the fire tablet while we waited in the elevator so once the door opened we could go, go, go! That was probably the fastest I've ever swam in my life. The multiple rooms meant for security were starting to tick me off. It felt like they were only slowing us down.
The sight that greeted us when we finally got to the main room was not a happy one- Himiko lying on the ground with a lot of blood on her.
"Huh? What the heck happened?" Issun asked in horror. "Hey, pretty lady! Himiko!"
"That won't work." I whispered. "She's…"
"She's dead." Ammy finished grimly.
"It was terrifying…" All of our gazes snapped over to Rao, who was shaking on the other side of the room. "A monster ten times my height appeared…it destroyed the magical barrier and left Queen Himiko like that…"
"Busy babe? Is that you?" Issun questioned. "What monster are you talking about?"
"The thing that attacked her at Ankoku Temple, maybe." Ammy suggested, but judging by her flat tone, I had a feeling she had a different theory. One she didn't want to share.
"I'm…I'm scared now…" Rao murmured. I doubt Issun heard her that time. It was so quiet only a wolf could pick it up. Luckily, she spoke louder after that. "The evil beings we must defeat to save the people in the city…their leader is such a mighty beast! No human could stand up to it!" I would've tried to make a small comment about how we were technically two wolves and a poncle to lighten the mood, had I not been starting to freak out. "Our feeble mortal resistance is futile!"
"Dang it!" Issun spat. His jumps became more frequent. "Himiko said she'd be okay as long as she had that crystal ball. So how the heck did this happen?" He stopped bouncing for a second. "Hey, Ammy, why d'ya keep staring at the busty babe? Himiko's dead! Aren't you the least bit sad?" The wolf suddenly got into a battle position, growling dangerously. I took a step back in shock. "What's wrong, Ammy?"
"Imposter!" My friend snarled. If looks could kill, Rao would've died and died again in the afterlife.
"Amaterasu?" Rao questioned. "What are you doing?"
"Down, Ammy!" Issun commanded, sounding frustrated.
"Have you lost your mind?" Rao's voice suddenly quieted. "Are you in the grip of the curse as well?"
"Huh?" I froze, my eyes slowly drifting over to the woman. That bad feeling I had? Yeah, it got ten times worse.
Rao started mumbling some random gibberish and after about ten seconds of it Ammy had had enough and lunged. The priestess looked up, her eye glowing red, and she appeared right next to me. I flipped out and backed away quickly, my eyes wide in fear. I had absolutely no clue what was going on anymore, but I knew I didn't want to be near Rao.
"What the-?" Issun gasped as Ammy spun around, anger and frustration clear in her expression. "What's up with those freaky eyes of yours, babe? You're freaking me out!"
"Yeah, try being over here!" I yelled over to him, currently thing the fact that the creepy chick was in between me and Ammy. I felt helpless.
The creepy laughing didn't help in the least. "Well, carrying on with this any longer would spoil the fun. You are a cunning beast, Amaterasu. I lured you both to the treasure ship as bait for the Water Dragon, but you escaped and managed to get your paws on the lucky mallet. You even cleared the city of the poison mist. You also started searching for Oni Island to bring down my fortress, and you even managed to take the mighty Water Dragon!"
"B-but…" Issun was acting like a whiny baby now.
"But now that the Water Dragon has gone, my fortress is impregnable! And Himiko is but a lifeless corpse. You'll never know where Oni Island is now! Luck must be on my side." She chuckled. "Occupying the body of this priestess, Rao, made it so simple. Breaking Himiko's magical barrier was easy once I got close to her."
"Where's the busty babe we know and love?" Issun demanded.
It all started making sense to me. "Issun, we never knew her! That thing Ammy saw, it was showing how Rao died! Her body was at the bottom of the well! We've been helping a copycat!"
She turned towards me, giving a sarcastic appleause. I narrowed my eyes. "Very clever. But as I said before, the damage has been done. And it's all thanks to this item Amaterasu got back from the Water Dragon!" A bundle of nine bamboo rods appeared in her hands. "All because the Fox Rods are mine once again! Amaterasu, Celia…you foolish brats! And to think that the intelligent one of the group parted with this mighty source of magic so easily." She turned towards Ammy, a dangerous smirk on her face. "Know that it was you who revived the power of the Dark Lord!" She spun around and in a poof of smoke, her appearance changed. She looked more evil-y… okay, I suck at descriptions.
"She's really the Dark Lord?" Issun was in shock. "The grand master of all evil beings?"
"The Fox Rods made the crystal ball's barrier shatter like glass!" Not-Rao bragged. "Oh, if only you'd been here to see Himiko die! I think I'll take the crystal ball with me in the event that one of your pathetic friends tries to locate me." She shrunk the orb and swallowed it whole. I gagged. "And if I deal with you two now too, Amaterasu and Celia, nothing can stand in the way of my world of evil beings!"
"Boy, you're a real good faker! You had us totally fooled!"
"Issun, why the heck are you encouraging her?" I nearly face/paw'd.
"Wait! Jeez!" He snapped. "At least we won't have to worry about Oni Island anymore. We're gonna finish you off right here!" Ammy let out a snarl to agree with the poncle's statement.
"Die!" I yelled. Being behind the faker gave me an advantage I wouldn't miss out on. I ran up to her and used an exorcism slip L. I attacked her with my rosary and ended with a powerslash before backing off, easily dodging her sword. "…that was easy."
Not-Rao was stunned while trying to pull her sword, which she had tried to attack with, out of the floor, so Ammy copied what I had done the first time and used her rosary followed by a powerslash. I was curious and tried a cherry bomb, but that idea failed. Note to self: In Okami, bombs suck. So I decided to use the awesome hurricane attack for the first time. That also did squat. And I got a knife to the leg again. What is up with my bad luck with daggers? At least it only scratched me, unlike in some certain battles. (Coughwakacough) Not-Rao attempted to hit Ammy with her sword and I am glad to say it was a failed attack. Karma~
Aaanyways, I suddenly got the best idea ever. After somehow managing to tell it to Ammy, she nodded. I then proceeded to use exorcism slips and the awesome stun effect they produce to finish the battle. So what if it was cheating? It got the job done, right?
The force of one of the blasts sent her flying into the wall, which also caused her to spit out the crystal ball. Killing two birds with one stone!
"Okay, we have her now! Let's finish off that fox-headed wench!" Issun yelled.
"With pleasure!" I growled. We all charged, but once we got close to the faker, a barrier stopped us. We could only watch as nine balls of blue fire with kanji appeared behind her. I kid you not, it looked like she was having a really freaking huge crap or something when she started growing tails. After that weird phenomenon, there was a blast of blue smoke emitted by the tails, and when things became at least a little bit visible, evil Rao was replaced with a giant animal with glowing red eyes.
"That was the thing that killed Rao!" Ammy snarled.
"Ignorant fools! Did you really think it would be that easy?" She questioned. "I have powers beyond belief! Here is but a taste of what the Dark Lord can do!" I didn't even have time to gasp as a glob of green smoking goo hit me and Ammy, sending us both flying backwards. "Hmph! Petty deities! It is only the size of this room that saved you. It is far too small for me to unleash my true fury. However, resistance is futile, for your last remaining hope is gone. I shall now return to Oni Island and rally my dark forces! Then we'll go forth and crush all who stand against the darkness!"
A pretty glowing blue and purple light appeared, and with one last evil chuckle, the monster was gone.
Amaterasu and Celia had allowed the Dark Lord to slip away. The display of evil sent chills down the wolves' spines. Amaterasu, Celia, and Issun were left to wallow in overwhelming sadness. Himiko had remained steadfast in her quest to find Oni Island. In the end, she lost her life at the hands of the Dark Lord. With Himiko died all the clues to the location of Oni Island. Amaterasu, Celia, and Issun were left with nary a shred of hope. Giving up on their quest seemed the only option…
That's when they noticed the blood caked crystal ball spewed forth by the Dark Lord clearly displayed an image of Himiko. Issun, doubting his eyes, listened intently as Himiko began speaking. She explained that Oni Island would not be easy to find and that she had determined to become ethereal and enter the crystal ball herself in search of clues. She had allowed herself to be consumed in order to use the Dark Lord's power. She was also aware that the Dark Lord now possessed the Fox Rods. All was planned. Himiko's will infused the crystal with great power. The fortress housing the dark forces materialized. Oni Island appears only at sunset in a certain location. The place revealed by the crystal ball was none other than a spot just off the northwest shore of Ryoshima Coast, near the spot known as Watcher's Cape. Oni Island would appear at Watcher's cape at the next sunset. A small glimmer of hope sparked in Amaterasu, Celia, and Issun's hearts.
Just as the image of Oni Island faded from the crystal, a deep crack appeared and split Himiko's image. She had paid the ultimate price for manipulating the dark power. The crystal itself had been spent. The destiny of Himiko's wary soul had been inextricable intertwined with that of the crystal ball. A burst of blinding light heralded the crystal's demise. Himiko's soul was caught up in the shattered fragments…and drifted serenely toward the heavens above, even as she prayed fervently for Amaterasu and Celia's safe passage.
"Ammy! Silver! The sun's gonna set soon! Oni Island's gonna disappear! That revelation Himiko risked her life to tell us…"
"We can't let it go to waste!" I finished for Issun.
"Yeah! Who cares if we can't break the barrier on Oni Island?"
"Enough talking; Let's go!" Ammy yelled, and we were off.
(Time Skip: Dang it, I thought I was going to be replaced by that ~ for a second.)
"We made it!" I breathed a sigh of relief as we passed the gate to Watcher's Cape.
"Hey…is that…" Issun was cut off by the dragonian who had beat us to the area.
"Why, Amaterasu and Celia!" Otohime- or at least, I assumed she was Otohime. I had never seen or met her before- turned to face us.
"Hiya, babe!" Issun greeted in a cheery tone, reminding , me of why I wanted to kill him. "How'd you find this place?"
"I sensed Himiko's fathomless regret on her last breath. It made its way to the distant halls of the Dragon Palace." Okay, I'll admit, that answer made me feel really bad for Himiko. Otohime didn't even give us time for that to sink in before gesturing to the horizon and continuing. "Behold, the sun! Even now it sinks down beyond the sea. Once it is gone, so too shall Oni Island disappear. No one knows where it will appear next. And no act known to mortals can derive its location!"
"That may be true, but listen…" Issun said glumly. "It doesn't matter because we can't break the barrier. I mean, the Water Dragon was our only hope, and it's dead now."
"The Water Dragon is not dead in the true sense of the word." Otohime informed us. My ears perked up in interest. "I can harness its power with a sincere prayer to the dragon orb." Ammy and I shared a hopeful glance. To us, any new opportunity for success was a cause for immense celebration, no matter what other crap was inevitably in store for us. "Behold, Amaterasu and Celia! I, Otohime of the Dragonians, shall transform into a dragon and break through the wall that divides. May I serve you as a divine bridge to the heavens!" She pulled out (What I assumed to be) the Dragon Orb and in a burst of light instead of a dragonian there was a giant, huge, enormous water dragon in front of us. Did I mention it was big? Like, big enough to stretch out all the way to Oni Island, which was exactly what she did.
"Now, Amaterasu and Celia!" By Nippon logic, we could hear Otohime's voice coming all the way from said island. "You must cross while life still courses through these veins!"
"Okay! Hang in there, babe! We'll be there in a jiffy!" Issun yelled as loud as he could in an attempt to get the message across. Then, to us, he said, "Sorry, Furball and Fluffy. Looks like millet dumplings aren't in your stars."
"Yeah, ya think?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
"You'll just have to settle for kicking some monster butt on Oni Island instead!"
I looked at the new Water Dragon's back. It seriously looked like a bridge made just for this purpose. Ammy and I began to run across, although Issun stopped us about halfway.
"All right, listen up, you two."
"What now?" I groaned. "We need to get to the island as fast as possible. Now isn't the time for your annoying as heck stalling."
I would've thought he glared at me, but given the quickness of his response, I actually think he didn't.
"Himiko's probably watching over us, so…promise me you two won't give up for some stupid reason like you're hungry or have to go to the bathroom!"
"Wow. That was arguably the worst pep talk in existence."
Ammy shook her head in amazement. "Don't worry. We're ready, Issun."
"Okay, then…I'll hold ya by your word!" He warned, and with that, we were off to Oni Island.
(Time Skip: Seriously, can I go home? This is a stupid job.)
We slowed down once we passed the barrier, which kept making loud noises every other second. It almost seemed to be growling at us for being able to pass through unharmed. We jumped off Otohime's head and literally two steps later, Issun seemed mystified at the small pool of lava before us. I figured out what to do before he even said anything redundant and/or useless and used waterspout to make the lava rise. (Yes, the brush technique waterspout apparently is multi-purpose. Who would've guessed it?) I jumped onto the small platform of lava, totally ignoring Issun's complaints of going too fast and being impatient, and waited for Ammy to swim up next to me. We continued on the path, passing a golden gate, before coming face-to-face with a giant pit of lava.
I turned to Ammy. "Leap before you think, right?"
"Yup." She answered, and we leaped towards the nearest stone platform. (Which was probably there because any lilypad put in the lava would instantly burn up.) After a short swim to the next platform, there was a fork in the road. By mutual agreement, Ammy took the path on the right and I took the one of the left. And hey, not having to deal with Issun for a minute or two was good enough for me.
I swam to the left, climbing up on a platform, before noticing the raised rock with a konahana blossom. By video game logic, that meant something good. Well, if you consider a pearl good. Meh, it was better than nothing. I made my way over to the obvious lava spout, riding it to the top and arriving at a very long pathway. I smiled as I spotted Ammy. Apparently both paths lead to the same place.
"Took you long enough!" Issun huffed in exasperation.
"And just what's that supposed to mean? I'm surprised you two even got here before me." I retorted.
"Got here before you and finished a fight."
"What?" I yelled in disbelief.
"Can we please not fight now?" Ammy cut in. "We have an entire island to get through."
"Yeah. Good idea." I agreed, although I was giving Issun a death glare. I'm positive he was returning it.
And on that uneasy note, we entered the main part of the dungeon: Oni Island's interior.
(Time Skip: Really, why am I here? Just because all the past methods of dividing chapters into different parts failed?)
The inside of the hideout was about as pretty as the outside. And that's putting it kindly. Creepy scrolls, spikes, and an annoying eye symbol were pretty much the only decorations. (That we could see at the moment, anyways.) The pathway directly in front of us was closed off with bars, the door on the right was occupied by a lockjaw, so we could only go left. Not a few seconds later we had to choose between another locked door or an open room with the lockjaw key. Which one do you think we went into? But, as with all rooms void of everything but a conveniently placed key, of course we ran straight into a battle with two poltergeist.
Luckily for us, one was using electricity and one fire, so galestorm did the job. A few attacks with our weapons and both were dazed, just giving us enough time to finish the fight.
"…well, that was pathetically easy." I commented.
"Don't underestimate your enemy. We're only at the beginning." Ammy warned before picking up the key.
"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled, following after her as she ran to get rid of the lockjaw.
Issun finally spoke up. "Y'know, I think Silver might have a point. It took us forever to get the key in the Sunken Sh-"
"Do not mention that place unless you wish to never again see the light of day." I said bluntly, continuing down the newly opened path. I double jumped over a staircase to reach a treasure chest with a bullhorn, pausing for a second as the lighting changed from yellow to blue. I noticed Ammy did the same thing. Sharing a short glance and a shrug with my friend, I jumped back down the stairs. Once we got to the next staircase, the lighting switched back to normal.
"All right, it's official. This place is creepy." Issun decided.
I'll admit, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to taunt the poncle. "Aww, is wittwe Issun afraid of changing colors? You can go back outside if you'd like. Oh, wait, we'd have to go through the blue staircase, huh? Would you like me and Ammy to go with you?"
"I'm perfectly fine with going through this place!" Issun snapped, although quickly and somewhat frantically, which made it difficult not to laugh.
As we rounded the next corner, the first thing we noticed was a sign. I just stared at the title for a second. "To the Labyrinth of Torment." It took me a few seconds before reading on.
"Before playing in the Labyrinth of Torment, please note the following:
1: Step on the foot switch and the demon slip will start moving. Get through the exit gate first, or you'll be sealed in.
2: To make a dash, swing the Wii Remote to perform a tackle, and press and hold the control stick forward. Dashing is the fastest way to reach the exit gate.
3: The Labyrinth of Torment is for the enjoyment of everyone on Oni Island, so don't make a mess of it while playing.
"…wow."
"The enjoyment of everyone?"
"What's a wii remote?"
"Just ignore it, Issun. It'll hurt your brain."
"Hm?" A new voice caused us all to turn and notice the floating piece of paper surrounded in pink and purple flames. "Excuse me, good sirs. Might I ask what you are doing here?"
"Invading your stronghold and coming to kill your leader?" I tried, giving the most innocent look I could.
"Huh? Did that scrap of paper just say something?" Issun gasped.
Considering the paper ignored me but responded to Issun, I figured this wasn't a character who could understand wolf. "Scrap of paper? Do not dishonor me with such an unflattering name. My name is Tobi!"
"A demon slip disguised as a prayer slip that can float, talk, and be on fire- discolored fire- and not burn to a crisp? Okay, what have I been unintentionally smoking?"
A small montage of every time I'd ever wall jumped or double jumped flashed in my mind, complete with comical music.
"…right."
"Yeah, whatever." Issun said, seeming uninterested in the whole situation. "So whaddya want, motor mouth?"
"I serve as a gatekeeper of Oni Island." Tobi answered. I swear, I heard pride in his voice. For some reason, it made me want to use inferno, had he not already been on fire. "My job is to keep suspicious people out. I have never seen you around here before, good sirs. Who are you and what business do you have here?"
"You talking to my fine furry friends?" Issun asked. 'Well, this here is Full-throttle Ammy!"
"Wait, who am I, then?"
"Hot-headed Silver."
"ISSUN!"
"Well, we have to get to the top of this place as soon as possible." He addressed Tobi again, totally ignoring me. "Sorry! No time to shoot the breeze with ya!"
"I am afraid I cannot allow that. Did you not hear me? I am the gatekeeper of Oni Island. But let us disperse with the formalities. So, good sirs. You are known as Full-throttle Ammy and Hot-headed Silver, are you?"
I turned to Issun. "I'm only going to warn you once. Start sleeping with one eye open, bug boy."
"Well, I fancy myself a fine racer too, you know. How about we challenge each other to a race? Just a race to see who can reach that exit gate over there first. That sign there explains how to race against me."
"Already read it."
"WHAT IS A WII REMOTE?"
"No one here quite knows. But as you said, let us stop shooting the breeze. From now on, let our race do the talking!"
"I'll do all the races and you can follow after it's over." Ammy offered. I thought about it for a minute before nodding.
"All right." I stood back and watched as Ammy for some reason backtracked. By the time I started wondering what she was planning, a wolf goddess and poncle raced past me, pressed the button, and shot past Tobi, not even giving the paper a chance.
I ran after her, wide eyed at the spectacle. "Impressive."
"Thank you." She smiled, and we continued to the next room.
"Not bad, good sir!" Tobi complimented. "But that was a mere warm up for me."
"Someone's a sore loser~" I sang under my breath.
"Now you shall see what I really can do. Now, I ask you, good sirs…can you bear being skewered alive?" My jaw dropped. "Stumble and you will fall headfirst into a sea of needles! Well, can you bear such a thing?"
"You are an insane piece of paper!"
"What're you talking about? I mean, who possible could?" Issun exclaimed, a bit of exasperation in his tone.
"Well, whatever happens, please do not give up. It is so exciting to finally have a worthy opponent after so long!"
"I don't think you'll wanna use that trick this time, Furball…"
Ammy nodded, eyes narrowed in determination. "I'll be able to outrun him."
And then they were both off. I watched in fear and amazement as my friend easily pulled ahead and got to the end without serious injury. I took my sweet time getting across, although I couldn't take too long, unless I wanted the small platforms I was standing on to fall and leave me as a wolf kabob. After the spider incident, I wasn't in any way eager to repeat the experience, two full astral pouches or not.
While I wasted time carefully getting across the pointy pit of death, Ammy apparently collected a crystal while silently and patiently waiting for me to make my way to the other side. And I don't think I should have to mention that Issun was doing the exact opposite and ended up ranting as soon as I was in hearing distance of him.
"Shut up, bug boy. You get to be lazy and ride on our heads." I retorted once I made it across.
"Sorry I'm not the size of a normal human." He shot back while we climbed the stairs to the next area.
"Apology not accepted. We still have the Lucky Mallet. You're just too lazy to walk."
"So what if I am?"
"Then you will forever be haunted by the evil changing lights." I told him as soon as we came to another blue room.
"You're insane."
"Look who's talking."
"Are you calling me a hypocrite?"
"'Leap before you think'?"
"I may have made the motto, but you're the one who likes to follow it- DEAR KABEGAMI NOT ANOTHER LIGHT CHANGE!"
I just shook my head and followed Ammy up the catwalk path, jumping across a few platforms with spikes for edges afterwards. Seriously, what was with this place and spikes?
"You seem a bit winded, good sirs." Tobi commented once we reached the next race. "Do not risk your life by overdoing it. Hee hee. The terraced passage ahead is not at all dangerous. Shall we?"
An idea suddenly formed in my brain, and I smirked. "I say we make Issun do this one."
"What?" Said poncle yelled. "No way!"
"Oh, come on. This race isn't even that dangerous! And it looks like there'll be jumping involved. It's perfect for you! Or are you afraid you'll be beat by a piece of paper?"
Issun muttered quite a few curse words as he jumped off of Ammy's head and pulled out the Lucky Mallet, growing to full size.
Seeing him at full size suddenly reminded me of the events that had happened only yesterday. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me. I liked him, but there was no way in heck I was going to be his girlfriend or anything…even though at this point I kind of wanted to…just a little…
Shut up. I'm a typical teenage girl, what'd you expect?
I hope you catch that sickness I had, you idiot player of a poncle, I thought bitterly, trying to get myself to quit thinking about how much I had actually liked the kiss. I watched him start the race, then quickly disappear from my view.
"Are you okay?" I gave a small jump when I heard Ammy's voice. I had forgotten she was with me.
"I'm perfectly fine." I answered bluntly, lying down and looking away from my friend.
"Could've fooled me." Ammy walked to my other side and looked me in the eye. I gave a small growl of annoyance and turned my head away, but she just repeated the process. "It's Issun, isn't it?"
"How can you do that?" I inquired, but with a small glare.
Ammy dodged my question and replied with her own. "You like him."
"What?" I shot up, suddenly feeling on edge. "Where'd you get that idea from?"
"It's pretty obvious."
I gave my friend the best death glare I could. "So what if I do? It's not your business so just stay out of it!" I snapped.
Ammy's gaze softened, and I felt my neck fur rising. I didn't want or need any help with this. "Listen, Ce-"
"Furball, Fluffy! I beat Scrap!" A voice yelled, and I gladly took the distraction, taking off through the terraced passage. I was relieved when I felt my paws touch the floor past the exit gate.
"You can't run from your problems forever." Ammy muttered under her breath to me before Issun, back to regular size, claimed her head as a perch once more.
"Watch me." I growled softly, knowing she wouldn't hear me. I'm ditching this place as soon as we kick that fox wench's butt. It shouldn't even matter anymore.
The magical, amazing, friendly, logic-defying slip of paper Tobi pulled me out of my thoughts. "I must warn you now, good sirs. The true horror of the Labyrinth of Torment starts here. Perhaps it would be best if we turned back now."
"Getting' cold feet, aren't ya, scrap?" Issun chuckled smugly. "Now stop blabbing and let's get on with it!"
"I was hoping you would say that, good sir! The Passage of Saws lies ahead! This is where I get serious!"
"I vote Silver does this one!" Issun exclaimed.
My jaw dropped. "The stupid poncle suggests what?"
"You forced me to do the last one!"
"That one wasn't dangerous!"
"It had spikes."
"Yeah. A few. This one has saws."
"Issun, she doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to." Ammy stepped in. But at the moment, I wasn't exactly happy with her, and I most certainly didn't want her help.
I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps back. "Ready, set, go!" I yelled, instantly taking off down the dangerous hallway. I was doing well until I reached the fifth saw. It was placed right after the fourth and I misjudged the distance. Long story short, I ended up colliding with the wood holding up the blade, tried to rush to the finish, failed, and the floor dropped from under me, somehow sending me back to the start. I stood up as quickly as I could, shaking out my fur.
"Celia! Are you okay?" Ammy asked in a concerned tone, rushing over to me. But I just pushed past the wolf goddess and ran off again. Unfortunately, the outcome was exactly the same as before, only this time the loss was caused simply by me not being fast enough.
"Celia, honestly. I don't think you can complete these races." Ammy told me, this time standing in front of the button protectively.
I glared at my friend. "Third time's the charm. Let me through."
"You're going to end up hurting yourself." She said, her tone turning slightly desperate, but it sounded fake to me. I wasn't a weakling and I wasn't stupid. I wasn't going to cut myself or anything on the blades. The second race was a lot scarier than this. I could make it if I tired.
"Sorry, Ammy," I said apologetically. "But I know what I'm doing, and I'll do it with or without your permission." I painted two horizontal lines and slipped past a surprised-looking Ammy, hitting the button on the ground and starting the race a third time. I couldn't tell if the brush technique affected Tobi at all. I was too focused on putting one paw in front of the other and not skidding into any walls. Of course, paying attention to those things and those things only distracted me from another equally important part of the race- the saws.
I yelped in pain when I felt something slice my back right leg. I stopped instantly to inspect the injury, letting Tobi pull ahead. It actually get me too bad, which I was immensely grateful for. It stung a little, but I figured I could ignore it for the time being and win the race next time, and I clung to that thought as I fell through the floor once again.
When I stood up to re-do the challenge, I realized my head felt kind of weird.
Something I'd learned from Nippon was that the whole health system was one giant mix 'n match of realistic life and video game life. I was a lot less likely to die from getting hit by imps than in the beginning of the adventure because of all the upgrades and sun fragment. This also worked as a pain tolerance system. When my life was getting low, I felt bad, like the natural beeping noise you normally hear in a game. Sickness didn't affect the health bar at all. Holy bones and spirit globes, on most occasions, healed me up instantly. But certain attacks or injuries affect a person in the way they normally should. Back when I was stabbed by the spider, that normally wouldn't even be worth a solar unit of damage, but taking into account I was impaled b a huge fang, I died nearly instantly. Another little thing to note is for most attacks, I could just tell how much damage it did. A third of a solar unit, two thirds, a whole unit, etc.
Even though it took me a while to notice, each failed race was costing me a unit of solar energy, as well as my normal energy, and my pain tolerance, although supposed to be equal to Ammy's, was actually a bit less. Which meant I had a little bit less than eight solar units left and I was starting to feel some of the side effects. And of course it didn't go unnoticed by my companions, judging by the fact that I was being pinned down by a frustrated sun goddess.
"Celia. We aren't kidding when we tell you to quit racing."
"She's right." Issun agreed. "We can tell you've been getting more tired each time. C'mon, Fluffy. Just let Ammy do the race."
I stayed still and quiet for a minute, contemplating my next move. I smiled inwardly when I figured out what to do. "Listen, you're both my friends," I started, my tail twitching at the thought of my next move. I waved it in a horizontal motion three times, trying to ignore the gasps coming from my friends as the wind flung them off of me like ragdolls. "But I've gotta do something stupidly brave!" The wind seemed to clear my head from the earlier pain, if only slightly, and I took my few seconds of freedom to dash through the track once more. I bounded through the challenge, barely escaping most of the saws, but emerging relatively unscathed and finally victorious. I couldn't stop myself from laughing once the realization hit that I had actually won. Can't complete these races, my tail.
With the adrenaline still rushing through my veins and my heart pounding rapidly, I decided to start the next challenge by myself before Ammy and Issun realized they could go through the track. Two races in a row. That'd show 'em that once I have my sights set on something, I never give up.
"Okay, logic-defying paper, just cut to the chase, please. I wanna race already!" I barked quickly, my eyes narrowed in gleeful, good-natured determination. "I can handle anything you throw at me!"
"What a fine race you run, good sir." Tobi praised. "But I cannot bear to lose again. It is a matter of personal honor!"
"Same here, buddy. Sorry, but you're goin' down!" I warned him, my tail wagging excitedly.
"Well, shall we? The passage of demonic wheels awaits!"
I'll admit, the name threw me off my game a bit. I looked down the hallway and stared for a second at the two huge spiked wheels moving back and forth, leaving only a tiny space to evade the sharp edges.
I shook my head and crouched won, preparing to sprint through the hallway as fast as possible. I wasn't going to back down now. Besides, the look on Ammy and Issun's faces would be priceless once I finished this.
For Narnia! And Aslan! I thought, trying to add a little humor to the situation. No…For Nippon! And Shiranui! And with those words in mind, I was off.
I, of course, made an unlucky mistake on my first try. I went too far to the right and ended up cutting my shoulder. I shook it off and tired to regain ground, but made the exact same mistake as before, this time getting a pretty big scratch on my side. But I refused to give up, even though Tobi had already passed the corner, and still ran through the passage. I managed to make it past the third set of wheels, as well as the next two, but by the time I reached the steps, my time was up. The floor opened up and I fell back to the start, three solar units short of what I had before.
"Five solar units left. That's more than I started with at the beginning of all this. I'll be fine." I muttered to myself, ignoring the tiredness I was now feeling. "Ammy and Issun aren't here yet. I can still prove to them I can do this." For some reason, I couldn't feel the two injuries I had sustained anymore. They were both bleeding, but the adrenaline still going through my system was keeping the pain at bay.
"Let's try this again." I said out loud, trying my hand at the race once more. I safely made it past the first four wheels, but my thoughts of victory were thwarted by that stupid fifth wheel. I got yet another cut on my back, Tobi pulled ahead, and I was left to fall back to the start.
The tiredness I had felt increased even more after that, not to mention I couldn't ignore the pain anymore. Well, so much for adrenaline. The back of my mind called out to Ammy, to have her arrive and take over, but the stubborn side of me refused to accept defeat, especially in the insulting form of paper.
Whatever brush god is listening, give me strength. I sent up a silent prayer before charging back into the hallway of evil wheels. First wheel, fine. Second, same. Third? Let's just say more pain was added to the growing list of it. Fourth was fine as well. At the fifth, my heart sped up as I realized I might win the race. I was in front. All I had to do was climb the stairs…
But life is cruel, and I was passed while climbing up said stairs, eyes widening in shock as I watched the flaming scrap of paper fly faster than I could jump. My jaw dropped as the stairs just turned into a ramp and I slid towards the non-existent floor and back to the start.
I would've been cursing up a storm, had I not been left with low health. Low meaning one solar unit left. The fatigue and pain was almost overwhelming, and I thought about grabbing a holy bone M. But still, my friends hadn't arrived yet. If I brought something out of our inventory, especially a healing item, they'd come rushing in without hesitation. That was the last thing I wanted. I needed to take advantage of the situation while I still had the head start.
"I've still got two astral pouches." I tried to convince myself, although saying aloud I was probably going to use one was a scary thought, especially after the emperor's palace. "And a crapton of golden peaches. C'mon, Celia. You can do this."
I faced the obstacle course ahead with bared fangs and narrowed eyes with a furious and determined glint in them. My ears were flattened against my head, not in embarrassment, but in anger. Being killed by a paper and a few spiked wheels? Oh, heck no. I sure as heck wouldn't let that happen.
"See ya at the next race, Tobi!" I yelled and made an absolute mad dash through the passageway. I reached the slip at the first wheel, passed him on the second, and held my lead until the end.
Relief and joy flooded through my for five seconds before the exhaustion and pain caught up with me. Not to mention a slap to the face from realization.
I only have one solar unit of energy and I completed a race while bleeding from four different injuries.
"Oh cra-"
And then I blacked out.
(Time Skip: SEE? SEE WHAT I MEAN? IT'S OVER-USED! SO BADLY OVE-)