Chapter 35: Breaking Through the Forbidden Fortress
Nebule had emerged from the water's surface while panting. Crashing into that one building had managed to knock him out, but he found himself lucky to fall in the water, since it didn't take him long enough to wake up. He swam over to the staircase and climbed out of the water to take some deep breaths.
But then he noticed something. Two things actually. One, he hadn't felt any pain when he was in the water. He thought for sure that water in a dark area was very hazardous, considering what happened to many of the sea creatures residing in the water. Second, his group of friends were missing.
"Ummmmm... Guys?" Nebule spoke, looking around his surroundings. "Where are you? ...Did you go without me?"
After looking around long enough, he sighed. "Great... I guess they're not around. Looks like I have to explore this place myself."
Nebule suddenly noticed a third thing when he reached for his sword. In fact, he noticed his sword, bombs, and bow were missing.
"Hey... Where's my stuff?!"
"Oh, one of you is at least up," a voice called out, catching Nebule off guard. "Don't worry, it's me, Blooeity."
"How can I hear you?" Nebule asked.
"I'm speaking to you telepathically. It's something we gods possess." Blooeity explained. "Anyway, since I'm not getting anything from the others, I'm guessing they've been captured. Great... This was not what I planned."
"I'm guessing you didn't plan for me to crash and lose my weapons either."
"Oh, yeah... Sorry about that. My throwing's not so good with my bad tentacle. On the plus side, you're the only one who hasn't been captured!"
"I guess that's a plus..." Nebule sighed. "Looks like I have to go through this fortress and find the others."
"Yes, but you also need to get your weapons, too, especially your sword," Blooeity advised. "Taking on the monsters here weaponless is foolish and will probably get you killed. Plus, it makes it easier for you to get captured. Get your sword first so you can take on the Shadow King's minions, then you may find the other items you're looking for, along with the others. Otherwise, avoid enemies at all cost."
"OK... I guess that's what I need to do."
Nebule climbed up the set of stairs before him to reach flat terrain at the top. At least two searchlights were scanning the area. From the looks of it, running through would be too risky. But then he spotted a barrel nearby.
"Hmmmmm... Maybe that'll help!" Nebule jumped into the barrel, and after adjusting himself, he was able to move. He peeked through the small hole in the barrel, allowing him to see what was ahead. Now that he was ready, he carefully made his way over to the door ahead. Each time one of the searchlights would shine down on him, he stopped moving. To his relief, this was successful.
Unfortunately, he was unaware that someone was watching him from the large building with his glowing green eyes. Despite noticing him, he didn't look too concerned.
"Well, it looks like we have someone who didn't get captured," the figure smirked. "I'd tell the others, but I don't think it would make this any fun. They can handle themselves. My only concern is the map to Levith's Temple! But just to make sure no one peeks..."
He reached his right arm out and used his power to smash above the window, closing it.
"There. That should do it!"
When Nebule finally reached the door, he got out of the barrel and pushed it open into a small, square-shaped room with a few barrels in the upper left corner. Hanging on the ceiling was a rope holding a lantern, and in the center were some wooden tables. The right doorway was blocked by a rock, but the left side was open to go.
But what got his attention was his bag of bombs sitting on the table.
"Hey... My bombs!" Nebule gaped. He looked up and noticed a hole in the ceiling. "So they fell in here... Well, that's good to know! I was worried I'd have to search for them for a while."
Btu before he could grab his bombs, a dark, impish creature with pointy ears, a single spike protruding from the top of its head, and a upper, gray body and black legs landed on the table, staring at the bombs. It noticed Nebule as well, and while giggling, it snatched the bombs and ran toward the left doorway.
"...I spoke too soon," Nebule sighed. He ran over to the doorway, but he stopped when he found a hallway with a Shadow Knight patrolling. In the state he was, he wouldn't stand a chance against it. However, he remembered the barrel trick from before, so he slipped into one of the barrels and snuck into the hallway, remaining still when the Shadow Knight faced him. When it was looking away from him, Nebule reached the door ahead and got out of the barrel in order to go into the next room.
He was instantly caught off guard when he spotted a prison cell in this room. Inside was Malion, sitting on a wooden bench. Nebule ran over to him to get his attention, which Malion took notice of.
"Nebule? Oh, thank goodness you're alive..." Malion sighed. "I thought that water would've...well, you know."
"Apparently the water's not as bad as we thought..." Nebule trailed. "Anyway, where are the others?"
"I don't know. They're locked up somewhere else, I think. They took my hammer too, so I don't have anything with me now."
"Great... Well, I'd try to bust you out, but I need to get my weapons back. I lost them when I got flung into this place."
"Well, you wouldn't be able to free me with your sword anyway. They blocked the door out of my cell with a Yellow Block. If I had my hammer, then maybe I'd be able to smash it. If you can find it, I'll do whatever I can to help you find the others. If I'm not mistaken, my bro is probably being kept prisoner, and I'll do what it takes to free him."
"All right. I promise I'll be back to get you out!" Nebule waved goodbye to Malion, but before he could go, the imp-like creature, otherwise known as a Irrimp, jumped behind him and used its black spear to poke at him. He yelped and turned to the Irrimp, who giggled and proceeded to make a run for it. "Argh... Stupid enemy! I'll get it, I swear!"
Nebule chased after the Irrimp into the next hallway. This time, there were some purple bat-like creatures with a single eye called a Monolight with a ray of light coming from its eye. Obviously it was to detect intruders, and for Nebule, running toward them on his own would not be a smart move. Good thing there was a barrel he could go into, though.
Once past the Monolight, Nebule reached a circular room with two more Irrimps and another Yellow Block similar to the one blocking Malion's cell up ahead. The one Irrimp he was chasing had gone over to the others, who were staring down at two more items. Nebule instantly recognized the items and glared at them.
"Hey! That's my stuff!" Nebule yelled, running up to the three Irrimps. Two had spotted him and got away, while the one staring at his sword received an electrical kick to the face. With that, Nebule retrieved his sword and smirked. "Good. This is just what I need to fight!"
The Irrimp had gotten up and saw Nebule with his sword. It tried to attack him, but a single sword swing was all he needed to take it out. Nebule smiled as he put his sword away and headed back into the previous hallway. However, he was reminded of the Monolight, so he decided that maybe he ought to take it out. After all, Blooeity said that there was no problem fighting if his sword was back in his possession.
When the Monolight detected him, it fired a small, blue laser from its pupil in his direction. Nebule rolled out of the way to get closer, and with one sword swing, it exploded into black smoke. Once he was back in the room Malion was in, he spotted a dark shadow near his cell.
"Nebule... Watch out for that shadow!" Malion warned, noticing Nebule get closer to it.
"Why?" Nebule asked.
"Well, it's because—" Before he could finish, the Shadow Hand had risen from the shadow and attempted to grab Nebule, who recoiled in response. "It's THAT! If it grabs you, it's game over!"
"Great... And I don't have my bow with me..." Nebule grumbled. The Shadow Hand grabbed a rock nearby and threw it in his direction. He sliced it in half with his sword until an idea struck him. "Well... Let's see how it likes a Sword Beam! HI-YA!"
With enough energy, Nebule fired an ice Sword Beam at the Shadow Hand, leaving it frozen. Now that it couldn't move, he ran up to the enemy and drove his blade into it. This enveloped the Shadow Hand with light, causing it to explode and drop a hammer that looked all too familiar to Malion. He didn't have to bother telling Nebule, as he grabbed it and tossed it over to him. With his hammer back in his possession, Malion smashed through the block and walked out of the cell.
"Whew... It's-a good to be out of there." Malion sighed, giving Nebule a smile. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be trapped in there for much longer."
"Well... You can thank Blooeity for his bad tentacle..." Nebule trailed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He then gained a serious look. "But enough about that. We need to go find the others immediately. I saw a block that looked like the one you broke back in the other room where I got my sword. Maybe we should check that place out?"
"No, I think splitting up would be a better idea. We've got our weapons now, so we can defend ourselves. Plus, we don't know where the others are trapped, so if one of us can't find someone, we'll be sure the other will find them instead. Maybe we can meet each other near the big building?"
"OK... I guess that's not a bad idea either."
"I did see one of those enemies carrying your bombs go back in the other direction, so maybe you should go there?"
"All right," Nebule smiled, running toward the hall ahead of him. Once he was gone, Malion turned to the opposite direction with an even more serious look.
"Hang on, Lubert..." Malion trailed, running toward the other hall. When he ran into the circular room, he found the same kind of block he broke before. It took no effort for him to smash it. Along with that, he spotted some Magic Powder hiding in the block too, so he took that. Afterward, he burst the door open into a big room with barrels over by the left being stacked up. There was a hallway dead ahead as well, but there was a wooden platform hanging above the barrels. On it was a blue ! Switch. There was also a ladder near it, but it was too high to reach.
Knowing what to do, Malion split his hammer into two and threw one of them at the switch. This caused the ladder to touch the floor, letting him climb up. Unfortunately, the wooden platform he was on did not have a door. There was one on the other wooden platform dead ahead, but the gap was too big for him to jump. So, he checked out the cave-like pathway behind him. He swore he could hear a voice. A familiar one at that.
But it didn't sound like Lubert, to his dismay. Perhaps one of the people he was traveling with?
His thoughts were answered when he spotted Chalk in a prison cell, making marks on the wall with his stubby hand. Most of them were poorly-made drawings one would expect from a preschooler.
"Man, I'm so booooooored..." Chalk whined. "Why'd I have to get captured? How come they won't let me have my paintbrush?"
"Chalk?" Malion gaped, running over to the puffball. Chalk heard the voice and pressed his face against the cell's bars.
"Hey, it's...you!"
"Malion."
"Yeah... You! You've come to get me out of here! It's about time! I don't like seeing that weird hand thingy around here."
Malion instantly came to a halt. "Oh, crud! I forgot about those things!"
"Well, I doubt it'll be here now..."
As if on cue, the Shadow Hand rose from the ground and grabbed a rock nearby to throw at Malion. He grumbled to himself, but he stayed focused and dodged the rock. Since getting close was a bad idea, he started to throw some hammers. While it took several to throw, it managed to take out the enemy. It ended up leaving the Spectrum Paintbrush behind.
"Hey, my paintbrush! Gimme gimme!" Chalk cried, holding his hands out. Malion shrugged and tossed the paintbrush to him. This allowed him to use clear paint on the bars to free himself. "Yes! I'm finally free! ...So, what happened?"
"Well, Nebule was able to free me," Malion explained. "So we decided to split up to fin-"
"Wait, that's his name?"
"You...never knew his name?"
"No, not really. I don't really pay attention to names, Malon."
"Malion," Malion corrected.
"Yeah yeah... Now let's go kick some butt here and find the others!" Chalk suggested. "I kind of want to find the others."
"Let's hope Nebule finds someone..." Malion trailed, he and Chalk leaving the prison area and returning to the large gap. "OK... I'm sure there's something big by that door ahead. But I don't have anything to get us across."
Chalk spotted a translucent plank on both sides and smiled. He started to paint it, fully revealing a plank acting like a bridge. Malion smiled at this and followed Chalk over to the other side.
"Good work, Chalk! Even though you might not be the best with names, I have to compliment you on what you have in mind!"
"Well I just saw something weird, so I decided to paint it," Chalk explained. "Anyway, onwards! Maybe we'll find that grumpy hedgehog or that cool girl!"
"And hopefully Lubert..." Malion thought as they headed through the door. To their surprise, they were back outside. There was a pathway up ahead leading to a door, but there was also a small balcony to the left with a ladder. Out of curiosity, they climbed the ladder to a large searchlight being operated by a Shadoo.
To their dismay, it heard them. It stopped working on the searchlight, causing it to turn off, and it charged at the two. Malion formed his hammers into one and smashed it in one hit.
"That monster was operating that searchlight..." Malion trailed, looking at the other two searchlights in the distance. He took a look at the big building, where one searchlight was shining. "That searchlight could be an issue for us... We should find the one operating that one."
"And take that guy out?" Chalk asked.
"Yeah."
"Then let's go find it!" the puffball declared, climbing down the ladder and heading for the next door. Malion soon followed after him.
"Whew... What a relief..." Nebule sighed, having defeated the Irrimp who had stolen his bag of bombs. He was back in the room where he found his bombs, but this time, they were back in his possession. "Good thing it stopped here. I can finally blow up this rock!"
He took out a bomb and rolled it toward the rock. The explosion revealed a doorway into another hallway. Two Monolights were patrolling that area, but Nebule threw bombs at them in order to destroy them, then he proceeded onward.
The next room had some wooden shelves all over the place. Some were tilted somewhat, while others looked pretty normal. But that wasn't what shocked him. The last remaining Irrimp was in the room, but once it spotted him, it leaped onto the shelves and got onto the higher floor. To add insult to injury, the Irrimp started to taunt him with silly faces.
Nebule made a face and continued his way to the doorway ahead. There were two Shadoos carrying swords called Shadoo Swordsmen patrolling, and when they spotted him, they charged. Nebule comboed them with his sword to take them out, then he proceeded into the next room. It was just like the prison room he was in before, but the cell was to the right.
In that cell was Zanex. However, he appeared to be sitting on the floor with his eyes closed and facing away.
Nebule smiled as he ran over to the cell and knocked on the bars. "Zanex! It's me, Nebule! I'm here to save you!"
Zanex slowly opened his eyes, but he didn't bother looking back. "I didn't ask you to save me. I was planning to do that on my own."
"How can you do that on your own when you don't have your weapons with you?" Nebule smirked.
"I thought about luring that hand that took me here into this cell...but with you here, I'm sure there's no need for that."
The Shadow Hand rose behind Nebule and grabbed his foot. He gasped and struggled to break free. However, when he kicked it, he was free, allowing him to jump up and drive his blade into the Shadow Hand to destroy it. Remaining from the explosion was the silver gem and Yami, which Nebule took.
"Give those to me immediately," Zanex demanded. "I only let you hold my emerald once, and I don't plan on letting you touch it again. And I don't even want you holding Yami for more than five seconds."
Nebule did as he said and slipped both items through the bars. Zanex got up and retrieved both items, and swiftly, he sliced through the cell's bars.
"All right... It's good to have you back." Nebule said. "Now we need to find anyone else and free them. We're going to meet Malion by that large building when we've searched enough."
"Fine. If it's anything to get out of this awful prison." Zanex scoffed.
"OK. Maybe you can help me get my bow back from that annoying enemy back in that other room. I'll show you." Nebule gestured Zanex to follow him before running back to the previous room. Though reluctant, Zanex followed anyway.
Surprisingly, the Irrimp had not left its spot when they returned. Of course, once it saw Nebule, it started to taunt him. ...Then its laughing was stopped once Zanex appeared behind it while sheathing his blade. It exploded into black smoke one second later.
"Thanks for that, Zanex..."
"Don't thank me. I only did that because that monster was getting annoying." Zanex stated, grabbing the bow and tossing it down to him. "Here. I don't want this, nor do I need it."
"Thanks...I guess..." Nebule trailed, catching his bow. He spotted a switch on the other side of the platform where Zanex stood. Now that he had his bow, he aimed it at the switch and fired an arrow. This caused a ladder to fall, allowing him to climb up to Zanex. He then looked at the platform where the switch was and spotted a door. In between them and the platform was a lantern being held by a rope. "Hmmmmm... Maybe we could swing across with that."
After taking a few steps, he ran toward the platform's edge and leaped over toward the rope. He was successful in grabbing it, and he even got some extra momentum when swinging back and forth. When close enough, Nebule jumped off and landed by the door. Zanex had done the same thing, but with less effort.
They entered the door to find themselves outside. There was a balcony near the door ahead, and the swore they could hear something above them. Curious, Nebule decided to check the balcony. To his surprise, he spotted a ladder leading up to one of the searchlights he was avoiding before. The Shadoo operating it had spotted them and stopped working the searchlight so it could charge.
One light arrow was all it took to take out the enemy. Along with that, they had gotten a Star Piece located in one of the jars nearby.
"That takes care of one of the searchlights..." Nebule sighed. He noticed another one was no longer in use. "I guess Malion handled that one."
"Let's just get a move on," Zanex grumbled, heading back to the door. Nebule frowned at his response before climbing down the ladder.
"Yeesh... Why has Zanex always been this grumpy around us?" Nebule thought. "I'm not surprised, but there has to be some reason for this..."
With that, they headed into the door.
Malion found himself panting when he had taken down a few Shadoos that tried attacking him. Good thing Chalk was there to help, because he had a feeling he would've been overwhelmed.
The room they stood had a wooden bridge leading up to a circular platform. Down below was a dock where a few Battleships were. They didn't appear to be active, much to Malion's relief. But there were some Shadoo Rangers firing at them at the platform. Thankfully Chalk had run in and decided to paint them yellow, leaving them paralyzed. Malion joined him and started bashing the enemy's heads, destroying them in an instant.
"Well that takes care of them..." Malion sighed. "You know, Chalk, I don't think I would've been able to stop them without your help."
"Uhhhhhh... Same here?" Chalk replied, unsure of what else to say. "...Well, I think I could've done this all myself! 'Cause I'm that awesome!"
"Yes... I guess you are..."
"...Oh, I think I remembered something!" Chalk took out a Star Piece and held it in front of Malion. "While I was in that cell, I managed to find this under the bed! Pretty cool, huh?"
"Well, it's nice that you found something. Anyway, let's keep going. There might be someone we can find ahead."
Malion ran on ahead and opened the door outside again. Instead of a ladder, they found a small staircase to the right leading up to another searchlight being operated. As they headed there, they noticed one of the other searchlights were off.
"I guess Nebule took care of that one..." Malion thought. "What a relief."
Chalk did away with the Shadoo with no problem, stopping the searchlight in the process. They went back down to the next door so they were both inside, but they came to a halt when they spotted several Bill Blasters firing Bullet Bills from the side. One was firing at the end of the bridge ahead.
"I...don't know how to get past that," Chalk sweat dropped.
Malion spotted a ladder nearby and decided to climb down to the lower floor. It looked much nicer compared to the other rooms below. The floor and walls were cleaner, and the table had a nice staff with a red and blue glowing end on each side. He had to do a double take when he realized what staff he was looking at.
"That's Lubert's staff!" Malion gaped.
Unfortunately, his shout caught the attention of a patrolling Shadow Knight in the room. It wasted no time in charging in his direction, so he got his hammer out and readied to battle. Luckily, the Diamond Hammer had no problem breaking through this knight's armor, so at least one swing managed to smash its body armor, leaving it partially vulnerable.
As he wailed on the Shadow Knight, he stopped for a moment before he could deliver the last blow.
"Why do you stop?" the Shadow Knight asked, noticing the blacksmith lower his weapon. "You must be foolish if you don't plan to finish me."
"Because I need a question," Malion started, glaring at the knight while grabbing the staff. "You probably know whose staff this is. Did you guys hurt him?"
"What would you say if we did?"
"Then I'm not going to be merciful with you."
"Well, to tell you the truth, we haven't done much to him...yet," the Shadow Knight replied. "He's in his prison at the moment. What will happen to him really depends on what the keeper of this fortress, Bringer, wants to do with him."
"Bringer? So he must have the location to Levith's Temple..." Malion trailed.
"Yeah... That's right."
"All right. Thank you for the information. I'll be merciful to you."
"Really?" the Shadow Knight smirked, raising its sword. "Well don't expect me to do the same thing!"
Just before it could attack, a paint beam had struck the Shadow Knight, defeating it in an instant. Malion looked in the direction of the attack and spotted Chalk over by the ladder with a silly look. Malion smiled in relief, but he was interrupted by a large treasure chest appearing on top of the table.
"Huh... I wonder what's in here?" the blacksmith got onto the table and kicked open the chest. Inside was a black shell resembling a Koopa's and also a black cap. Just from touching it, it immediately equipped onto Malion.
Equipment: Defensive Suit
By wearing this, Malion is impervious to all damage if he ducks. The shell on the suit is nearly indestructible, making nothing stand in its way! Very useful for projectiles you can't avoid! However, you can't move once you put up this defense.
"Huh... So I've got a new suit..." Malion trailed, feeling the new, hard cap he now wore, along with the shell on his back. "It feels like it should be heavy...but I don't feel like I'm being slowed down."
"Will that help us get past those things above us?" Chalk asked.
"Only one way to find out!" Malion got back up to the upper level with Chalk, and when he saw the moment, he made a dash for the door. That was when Bullet Bills started to fire. One got close to Malion, but he ducked and allowed his new shell to protect himself. This turned out to be successful. He had no problem reaching the end and smashing the Bill Blaster in his way. There was also a switch near him that destroyed the other Bill Blasters on the sides. Very convenient!
"Man, these people are stupid to put stuff like that in their base!" Chalk remarked, making his way to Malion.
"Well, I'm not complaining. Seeing our enemies be stupid is probably for the better!"
"Yeah! Now let's keep going!"
"That's what I had in mind..." Malion nodded, a determined look appearing on his face as he kicked the door open.
"Looks like I made a big mess here. Not that it matters." Zanex said, walking past the destroyed Shadoos and Monolights that were in this hallway. He found himself stopping when the main path ahead was blocked by debris. "Great... Just what we needed."
"Well..." Nebule's eyes shifted to a pathway to their right. "Why don't we check that way?"
They took the right pathway, which happened to lead them into a room with stone walls and a stone floor. It felt pretty dull in the room too, with only a small amount of water dripping from the ceiling.
Aside from that, the two had found another prison, and it just so happened that Mars was in there. Unfortunately, she was not in her Power Suit.
"Hey, Mars!" Nebule cried, he and Zanex approaching the cell. Mars looked up and saw the two as well, but she looked surprised when she saw Nebule.
"Wait, you're alive?!" Mars gawked.
"Well... The water in the dark areas isn't exactly THAT harmful..." Nebule trailed sheepishly. "Anyway, where's your Power Suit?"
"Not on me. That disembodied hand thing ended up taking what I need to equip it. It-" Mars paused when she spotted the Shadow Hand appear behind Nebule and Zanex. "Oh, and speak of the-"
In no seconds flat, Zanex had swung his blade without looking back, destroying the Shadow Hand in an instant. It ended up dropping a wrist pad that the hedgehog tossed to her.
"Oh... Well, looks like you got that taken care of."
"Just take your suit and get out of here," Zanex suggested. "I've been feeling a little stressed after getting caught, and I've been waiting to find some monsters to take out my frustration on."
"I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't mind doing the same thing," Mars remarked, putting on her wrist pad and pressing the button on it. She was now reequipped with her Power Suit, and with one missile, she blew out of her cell. "Ahhhh... It feels nice to be back in this! Hopefully we can find the others and free them."
"Well I freed Malion, so I'm sure he at least found Chalk," Nebule said. "Anyway, let's get going. We need to meet Malion at the large building in the Forbidden Fortress."
"Got it!" Mars ran off, heading for the main hallway. The other two followed behind until they stopped at the debris. Mars had done quick work on it with a missile to reveal the rest of the pathway ahead. There were two Monolights near the door, which Zanex and Mars disposed of quickly. Once they were clear, they headed into the door.
Unlike the other rooms, this one appeared to have another pathway all the way to the left. There was also a door dead ahead, and down below was another dock leading out of the fortress. Two Shadow Knights were patrolling the room, with one of them being at the left door.
While the Shadow Knights weren't aware, Nebule, Zanex, and Mars spotted the left door open. Walking out was Chalk and Malion, the latter holding a staff that appeared unfamiliar to the others.
"Hey, Malion found Chalk!" Nebule smiled. "Great!"
"Good. That way these armored knights won't be a problem." Zanex stated. "But what is he wearing?"
"Something new, obviously," Mars replied.
Chalk and Malion had spotted them and started to wave.
"HEY, GUYS!" Chalk yelled. "WE FOUND YOU!"
This, unfortunately, caught the attention of the two Shadow Knights. They immediately charged at the two.
"Dang it, Chalk..." Nebule sighed. "Let's go help them..."
When the first Shadow Knight swung its sword, Malion ducked, shielding himself from its attack. This caught it off guard, but it gave the blacksmith the opportunity to get up and smash its armor. Zanex dashed for the Shadow Knight and wasted no time slicing it sixteen times. Once Malion smashed the other Shadow Knight's armor, Mars finished it with a charged shot.
"And that takes care of that!" Mars smirked, lowering her Arm Cannon. "Man, that felt good!"
"It's great to see us all back together," Nebule smiled. "It stinks that the start was kind of rough..."
"Well, it's all in the past," Malion sighed. "So, if you guys ended up here, then I guess it's safe to assume that we're getting close to our destination..."
"Definitely," Mars nodded, approaching the door nearby. "So, did you get anything?"
"All I know is that the person in charge of this fortress is called Bringer. He probably holds the location of Levith's Temple."
"Then let's go get it!" Chalk proclaimed, pushing the door open. The others followed him, only to pause when they found a hallway that looked more like a prison room. There were cells everywhere, and they certainly looked worse than the ones they were in. "Wait... Why is there a prison hallway?"
"Probably for those who this Bringer wants to torture..." Mars deduced.
"Hey, is someone here?!"
Malion paused when he recognized the sound of that voice. At the last cell in the end of the hallway was a human that resembled him. The only difference was that he was taller, his cap and shirt were black, while his overalls were white, and his mustache had a different appearance to Malion's.
"LUBERT!" Malion cried, making a run toward his cell with all his might. Curious, the others followed him to Lubert's cell. "Bro! Are you all right?!"
"Yeah, Bro... I'm all right..." Lubert assured. "How did you get here, though?"
"I had a little help..." the blacksmith stepped aside to introduce the other four with him. "These guys helped me get here, and now that we found you, we're going to set you free!"
"Oh, really? Well... That's nice and all...but you'll need a key to get this cell open!"
"Really? This cell looks weaker than the one I was in!" Mars smirked, aiming her Arm Cannon at the cell. "This shouldn't be a problem!"
With one missile, the prison's bars were destroyed, freeing Lubert in the process.
"See?"
Lubert stepped out of the cell in surprise while approaching his brother. Both stared for a moment until the younger brother quickly embraced him.
"Oh, Bro! It's so good to be back with you!" Lubert cried. "Honestly, I felt so scared when that armored monster had taken me!"
"There there, Lubert..." Malion assured, patting his back. "Everything's all right now. You're safe. ...Well, you're safe with us, that is."
"I don't know about safe... They kept my staff away from me!"
Malion smiled as he held out Lubert's staff in front of him. "Well... I don't know about now. It's-a right here!"
Lubert had the same look upon seeing his staff, and with relief, he took it. "Thanks, Bro... I wouldn't know what to do without you. ...So who are the others here?"
"Boy, do I have some explaining to do..."
With one deep breath, Malion began to explain what was going on to his brother. He introduced him to the others, while Lubert did the same thing as well. Nebule even gave some details on what is going on too. By the time the explaining was finished, Lubert was gawking.
"Whoa... You guys sure went through a lot..." Lubert remarked. "So you're trying to get to Levith's Temple and get the Land Tablet by calling for him?"
"Yeah," Nebule nodded.
"Well, since you guys went through all the trouble to save me, I think it's fair that I return the favor! Besides, my bro considers you friends, and any friend of his is a friend of mine!"
"Great... Now we have another one..." Zanex grumbled.
Character: Lubert
Info: Like his brother, Malion, he comes from the Toad Kingdom, but there are rumors going out saying that he and his brother had not originated there. He is the younger brother of the Malion Bros., but unlike Malion, he is not as well-known. That doesn't stop him from trying to help others, though, especially with his superior jumping!
Equipment: Enchanted Staff - With this staff, Lubert can not only attack enemies from a distance, but he has the choice of using it offensively or defensively! When both ends glow blue, he can create a barrier to protect himself temporarily! When red, Lubert's staff becomes a force of nature!
Lubert twirled his staff around, showing off his skills. When both sides were glowing blue, he created a blue barrier that surrounded himself. He then went on the offensive and started to jab at the air around him. His finishing jab appeared to be the he was done, he smiled and lowered his guard, while the ends of his staff reverted back to blue and red.
"OK... I think I'm ready to go." Lubert declared. "Let's go find this Bringer guy you mentioned and get that map!"
Everyone nodded in agreement and pushed the door open outside. The only thing that was between them and the large building was a staircase. At the top was some food apparently available. When they reached the top, they took the food to heal themselves.
"All right... We're finally here." Nebule smirked. "So, ready to take down this Bringer guy?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Mars replied confidently, raising her Arm Cannon.
Nebule pushed the door open into a navy blue room with a spiral staircase going up to the top. There were a few tables, along with a chair facing away from them. For a moment, the group swore they saw a bottle by the chair.
"So, you're the Chosen Ones the Shadow King has mentioned before..." the figure on the chair trailed, his green, glowing eyes looking back at the group. "I had a feeling you'd be here for my map."
"Yeah, we are," Lubert nodded.
"Hmph, so you got out of your prison? Can't say I'm surprised... Anyway, let me introduce myself..." the chair turned around, and the bottle was tossed to the side. The figure stood up, revealing himself to be a blue-skinned being with messy, black hair, while two strands at the front were at least white. He wore black clothing, and around his waist was a blue sash. His shoulders and lower portions of his forearm had two spikes protruding from the back, and his pants were white with blue open-toed boots. However, what stood out the most was his right, silver forearm. His blue, glowing fingers appeared pointy compared to his left hand, and another blue glow traveled through the front of his arm. "I am Bringer, the ruler of the Forbidden Fortress, and I will be the one that destroys you all!"
"Huh... You look a lot different than the other enemies here." Malion remarked.
"Not all of the Shadow King's minions have to be all dark, you know," Bringer scoffed. "It just makes me superior to them, I suppose."
"You don't look all that special!" Chalk mocked. "Come on, guys! Let's beat this guy up!"
"As much as I don't want to agree, he's got a point," Zanex agreed. "I just want to get to the battle."
"So you want to get started already? Well that's disappointing... Then again, I don't mind starting the fight so early, so..." Bringer balled his right fist and gave the group a grin. "Come on!"
Mid-boss: Bringer, Leader of the Forbidden Fortress
This demon is famous for his powerful right arm. He can create larger versions of his own hand made up of energy! Not even large opponents can get away from this!
Bringer had thrust his hand forward, creating a spectral fist that had come their way. Everyone had avoided it, except for Lubert, who had crashed into the wall behind him. Bringer smirked, satisfied that he hit someone. That look had changed when he noticed Lubert appear unharmed. Both ends of his staff were blue, and the barrier he created had disappeared at that moment.
"This is for leaving me in that cell!" Lubert yelled, jabbing his staff at Bringer multiple times. His staff's end began to glow brighter when he jabbed at him one last time, knocking him backwards. "And that's for allowing those armored monsters to mess with me!"
"And this is for capturing my bro!" Malion added, swinging his hammer at Bringer. To his dismay, he saw this coming, and by raising his arm in front of him, he created a spectral arm and blocked Malion's Diamond Hammer. "What?!"
Bringer knocked Malion away and prepared to punch him. Before he could strike, he was struck by one of Nebule's bombs. Bringer turned his attention to his and fired a spectral hand his way. Nebule was able to slice through it and swing at the demon. The attack was blocked, but Bringer was struggling to push him away. This gave Mars the perfect opportunity to fire a charged shot at him.
"Nice! A direct hit!" Mars cheered, adding in a kick to Bringer's back as well.
Once Bringer managed to get up, he saw Chalk charging at him with his paintbrush. With a confident look, Bringer swung his right arm at the moment the puffball got close, and his spectral hand managed to grab him. He threw him like a baseball toward Nebule and Mars, knocking them onto the floor. Despite that, Zanex had managed to hit him with a Homing Attack.
Zanex went with full force at Bringer, but even he was surprised when his spectral hand was able to block all of his attacks. He tried striking the demon with one last katana swing, resulting in them trying to hold each other off. But Zanex smirked and summoned two Materialized Swords to strike Bringer from behind, allowing him to land a few hits on him. Before he could get one more hit, Bringer fired a spectral arm behind him to pull himself back and dodge Zanex's next attack.
Unbeknownst to him, though, Malion was near him, and with all his might, he knocked him to the ground with one hammer swing.
"Argh... You guys were lucky with those hits." Bringer grumbled. "But I'm just getting started!"
He swung his right arm up and grabbed Malion. With all his might, he slammed his head to the ground, even causing some damage to the floor in the process. Lubert, infuriated by this, leaped in the air and swung his staff down at Bringer. He saw this coming and caught his staff while the blacksmith was in midair.
"Oh, geez..." Lubert sweat dropped.
"I'd be more concerned about me taking you down than being caught in midair," Bringer grinned, slamming the staff to the ground, along with Lubert. Now that he was left in a daze, Bringer prepared to punch him, but he was stopped by a paint beam coming from Chalk's paintbrush.
"Ha! I got you!" Chalk called out. "And you didn't see it coming!"
"But now you made me more aware of what's around me!" Bringer growled, diving toward him. Lubert had noticed this and ran after the demon. Just before Chalk could get hit, Lubert had leaped high in the air and stomped on Bringer's head, stunning him for a moment. This gave the blacksmith the chance to spin his staff and hit him several times. Finally, he kicked Bringer's stomach and struck him with an overhead staff swing.
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to defend against Bringer's punch, knocking him to the floor.
"Why don't we kick this battle up a notch?" Bringer suggested, raising his arm. "I feel like this place doesn't have enough room... Why don't we take this up at the top?"
"No, we're ending it now!" Lubert declared.
"Well, if you guys refuse, then I guess I'll change your minds," Bringer fired a spectral arm upward to the ceiling. He flew upward, reaching the top of the spiral pathway. Right next to him was a lever. Pulling it, water started to come out from the bottom, and it was rising quickly! "Either you fight, or you drown!"
"Urgh... Fine, if that's how you want to play!" Zanex growled, immediately running up the spiral pathway. "There's no way I'm going to even touch that water!"
The rest followed, but as they moved, large jars containing Shadoos burst out. Unfortunately, they didn't have a chance when Zanex sliced through them with no questions asked.
When they finally reached the top, Zanex went on for the assault, but Bringer pulled another switch, creating an opening in the ceiling. He jumped to avoid the hedgehog's sword and headed to the building's roof. The rest followed, and they were brought into a much wider battle arena sporting largestatues of swords, spears, etc, along with some rocks scattered all over the place. There was a pathway leading up to a smaller building resembling a hand, but it was blocked by a magic barrier.
"Well, how do you like it? This is my personal battleground!" Bringer introduced, looking over at the small building. "That building nearby is where you'll find my map. Unfortunately, I don't see you guys getting it, not when I have the advantage now!"
Bringer punched the ground with all his might, creating a powerful shockwave that sent everyone flying. Nebule had crashed into a rock, which surprisingly got smashed upon impact.
"No fair... I used that move way before him..." Nebule frowned, clenching his open fist. He stood up and ran for Bringer again, but he saw it coming and punched him with another spectral fist.
"Heads up, Nebulo! I've got your back!" Chalk assured, making Nebule smack his forehead in annoyance for the umpteenth time. Bringer tried knocking him away with another punch, but he held his paintbrush in front of him to block it. When he had the chance, he fired globs of yellow paint to paralyze him.
"Argh... I...can't...move...!" Bringer hissed.
"Yay! Now to beat him up!" Chalk started bonking him continuously until Zanex kicked him aside and swung Yami while dashing. "Hey! I wasn't done!"
Zanex ignored him and got in a ball to rev up a Spin Dash. Once he hurled himself, Bringer held out a large spectral hand to catch him. An idea struck him, so he threw Zanex like a bowling ball into the two Malion brothers.
"Now that was one heck of a strike," Bringer chuckled, seeing the three hurt on their knees. "But I don't think I'd spare it if I missed."
"Urgh... I'm not finished with you yet!" Zanex hissed, charging at him. Bringer threw another spectral arm, but this time it was an uppercut punch that flung him in the air. But when he finished this, he was hit with a barrage of hammers. He brought his attention to Malion, who came charging his way.
"You're guys are getting so predictable!" Bringer scoffed. "Is this all you can do?!"
Malion smirked and leaped in the air, hurling a few more hammers down at Bringer. He tried blocking a couple, but most of them struck him. Once close up, Malion started to swing his two hammers. He got a few hits, but Bringer finally started to block them and resorted to a few punches. What he wasn't expecting was Malion to duck and use the indestructible shell on his back to defend himself.
"What the..." Bringer gaped. "Where did you get that?! I swore that was supposed to be hidden safely!"
"I guess not!" Malion smirked, getting up and forming his hammers into one. He held his hammer like a golf club and swung, sending Bringer flying. He smashed a few rocks along the way. Finally, Bringer got up, his eyes glowing bright.
"Well, looks like I can finally do what I was hoping! It's time I showed you what this hand can REALLY do!"
Bringer fired a spectral hand at the sword statue, except this one was a lot bigger in size. It grabbed the statue and pried it off the ground, much to everyone's surprise.
"Whoa..." Mars gawked.
"Now... See how you like this!" Bringer began to swing the statue around, making everyone duck. Nebule had swung his sword at it when it came at them again, which ended up slicing through it and making a chunk fall to the ground. "There's plenty more where that came from!"
As he reached for the next statue, he was suddenly struck by someone from above, leaving him stunned. They found out that it was Zanex, who got out of his ball form and readied his blade.
"I just needed a moment to make my move," Zanex said. "Now to finish you off!"
"Wait," Lubert stepped in. "I'll handle this! He's the one who's kept me prisoner here. I want to make him pay for what he did!"
"Fine. But don't take long, or else I'm stepping in." the hedgehog stepped away, allowing Lubert to approach Bringer.
"All right... Time to end this!" Lubert swung his staff with all his might. To his dismay, however, Bringer was no longer stunned, allowing him to block his staff.
"Nice try! But I'm not going to go down so easily!" Bringer knocked Lubert away and grabbed the spear statue. "Take THIS!"
Lubert saw the statue coming, and at the distance he was, attacking would get him nowhere. An idea struck him, but he was unsure if it would stop the statue. Without hesitation, he put up another barrier, and the statue made contact with it, creating a large sphere of dust. And that was when everything became silent.
When the dust cleared, the barrier was gone, but so was the statue. Lubert was left unharmed by the attack too.
"What?!" Bringer gaped.
"Now that you finished your move, now it's my turn!"
"Like you can defeat me! That chubbier brother of yours hit harder than you did!"
"OK... I may not be as popular or strong as my brother at times... But that does not stop me from trying to beat foes like you!" Lubert cried, going in for the offense as he started to swing his staff at Bringer. This time, the attacks hit harder than before, but it was his final attack that hit harder than the previous attacks. Lubert's staff started to glow red, and with one final swing, Bringer was knocked to the ground in defeat.
"You... I don't believe it..." Bringer moaned, a blue, glowing mist surrounding him.
"There are three things I can't stand. One of them is if someone tries to hurt my big bro. The second is when people make fun of my 'stache! The third? When people put me down for being weak!"
Malion walked over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think you're weak, Bro. I mean, you've been traveling by my side for so long, and you've even manage to hold your own when you were captured!"
"Thanks, Bro..." Lubert smiled, looking back at the others afterward. "So... I guess we can go after that map?"
"Yeah," Mars nodded. "Let's get out of here."
Just as they were about to leave, Bringer's voice halted them.
"Hold on... Don't leave..." Bringer groaned, limping over to them. "You guys have some extraordinary abilities. If you guys are really going after the Shadow King... Then you might stand a chance. ...But you might stand a bigger chance if I help you."
"Help us? What do you mean?" Nebule gawked. "You're in no condition to fight..."
"That's true... I can't do much in this state... But I can transfer all of my power into a gauntlet that one of you can wear. ...I was thinking about giving it to you, tall blacksmith."
"Wait, me?" Lubert gawked.
"Yes... Everyone else seems to be well-equipped, but you don't seem to have anything to help you other than that staff. Take my power with you, and I can do what ever it takes to help. You saw what I could do, but with my power in your hands, you could do so much more. It'll probably help you get through Levith's Temple as well."
"But why would you want to help us?" Malion asked.
"Because I don't want my power to go just yet," Bringer said. "Let someone else use it. Someone stronger, like you guys."
"Well... All right..." Lubert trailed. "I'll make sure to take good care of your powers."
"Thanks you..." Bringer smiled, now surrounded in a glow. "You will not regret this. I assure you!"
The mist around him started to become less transparent, and soon he disappeared into the mist. When the mist cleared, the only thing remaining was a gauntlet resembling Bringer's arm. It had the same kind of glow that his arm did when he fought them.
Lubert approached the gauntlet, but he didn't have to do anything else. The gauntlet immediately responded to him and went into his right arm.
Equipment: Bringer Gauntlet
This is all that remains of Bringer. Create a spectral arm that can not only pummel your enemies, but destroy and activate things that share the same kind of misty glow to this gauntlet!
"All right! Now we can leave!" Chalk smiled, heading toward the pathway, only to bump into the barrier. "Never mind!"
"Hey... That barrier has a similar glow to my gauntlet!" Lubert realized. "Maybe..."
Testing out his new ability, Lubert thrust his hand forward while balling it into a fist, creating a spectral arm in the shape of a fist. It managed to smash through the barrier and wipe it out completely, clearing the way.
"Good work, Bro!" Malion complimented. "Now we can get to the map!"
Without hesitation, the group took the pathway up to the building and headed through the door.
The interior didn't look like anything special. It was a bit old-fashioned, sporting a hammock to the side, and an old rug with Bringer's hand depicted on it. There were two windows up ahead, and to the right was a table with a piece of paper on it, along with a Dark Orb.
"A Dark Orb!" Nebule gaped. He wasted no time in running up to it and striking it with his sword. Soon enough, light had finally returned to this area, and to the relief of many, it looked better.
"Whoa... So that's what you mentioned about those orbs, Bro..." Lubert gaped.
"Yeah..." Malion nodded.
Now that that was out of the way, Nebule turned his attention to the piece of paper before him. He picked it up and looked at it carefully. From what he could see, it was pointing to a location somewhere in the ocean.
"Yeah... This is definitely it!" Nebule smiled, showing the map to the others.
Item: Map to Levith's Temple
This map has a location pinpointed to Levith's Temple. Let Delphine and the others get a look at it!
"Whew! What a relief!" Mars sighed. "It took us long enough! Now we have a chance of finding the Water Tablet!"
"Yeah... Though, I don't know where this location is..." Nebule sweat dropped. "But I'm sure Delphine would be happy to help us."
"I bet they're happy to know that this place is no longer covered in darkness too," Malion smiled.
"Let's get going before we run into any more trouble here..."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and without wasting time, they began to make their exit out of the Forbidden Fortress.
Funny story about the Bringer Gauntlet... Originally, I was going to make something like that Lubert's actual weapon, but I decided against it, since it felt out of place to make it his own weapon. However, I did manage to insert the idea into here with an upgrade for Lubert instead!
What's also great is that we now have all six major characters! It's about time!