This story's one-year anniversary is approaching in just a few days. Wow. I figured I'd be done by now, but that's what I get for writing something way longer than the other novelizations!


Chapter 54: Plunge into Darkness, Part 2

"What… what is this?" Jeff whispered, seemingly afraid to go near any of the tubes.

Ness, though no less appalled at the sight, was braver. He slowly walked up the nearest aisle, forcing himself to look at the people sealed inside. Each individual was kept in some kind of stasis, suspended in the liquid with their arms and legs hanging limply. Their eyes were closed, and they didn't appear to be in pain, but there was no way their condition was doing them any favors.

"These must be the people who were kidnapped," said Poo, going so far as to gingerly place his hand on one of the glass containers. "This is too horrible for words... there are so many."

At least two dozen of the pods were lined up in three rows, every single one housing a victim. Ness didn't even know who most of them were; they had nothing to do with his fight against Giygas. They were bystanders, abducted regardless of their innocence. He felt a ten-ton weight crushing down on him at the nightmarish sight, and was only distracted when he saw two familiar faces in adjacent tubes.

"Hey, I found Dr. Andonuts and Apple Kid over here!"

His friends joined him, silently gazing at their trapped allies. Jeff's attention wasn't just on his imprisoned father, but also the boy housed in the tube to his left.

"Tony…"

Jeff, like Poo, put a hand it as if to contact his trapped friend. He looked on the verge of tears, and Ness didn't blame him. The uneasy feeling in his stomach had long since mutated to a sickening knot.

Paula was at his side, pointing a shaking hand at another tube. Unlike the others, which contained human prisoners, this one held a Mr. Saturn. Where it had even come from, Ness couldn't tell.

"These people… they are alive, right?" Jeff whispered, not looking away from Tony.

"They are."

The voice came from the room's entrance. Startled, Ness spun on his heel and reached for his bat, only to remember he'd abandoned it not long ago.

"However bad it looks, I promise you none of them are dead."

Lloyd was standing in the doorway, his hands folded behind his back. They were ready for battle in an instant, but he did nothing more than sigh when they raised their weapons (or, in Ness's case, his PSI-charged hands).

"I'm impressed you kids made it this far. Ninten and Ana aren't here, if you were looking for them."

He stepped further inside, walking over to one of the tubes in a different aisle.

"Are you here to fight us?" asked Ness, a bit confused by the lack of hostility. He knew the Commanders were steadily escaping Giygas's control, but this was much more passive than he'd expected.

Lloyd cast him a glance before turning back to the tube. His red eyes looked passionless for the brief moment Ness could see them.

"Technically I'm here to just check on the prisoners one more time before leaving."

Ness peered at the container he seemed so interested in and gasped.

"Teddy?!"

Sure enough, their old companion was sealed inside, suspended just like the others. It was both relieving to know he was alive, and all the more disturbing to see him in such a state.

"Ana brought him in," Lloyd said, "after she took you on inside the pyramid. "They were both in pretty bad shape, but they're fine now."

"Why are you leaving?" Jeff asked. "Aren't you going to try and stop us?"

The Commander chuckled.

"By myself? No way. It's the four of you against me, and as much as I want you to free me from Giygas's control… how do I put this? He won't let us willingly put ourselves in fights we can't hope to win. He's holding on as desperately as he can, but to tell you the truth I don't think he even recognizes us anymore. He's gone a little crazy lately."

"So… if you're not going to fight, where will you go?" Ness asked. In all honesty he had over a dozen questions, but that was the first to come to him.

"I'll rejoin my friends. They're waiting at the final Sanctuaries. Which reminds me, you're making great progress in tearing apart our armies."

Another chuckle.

"That is… unless you want to take me on now? If only one or two of you would stay here and fight, that's something I can work with. The others can head to the final chamber. There you'll find the main controls for the base, including a way to release all these people. I guess I'll give you a minute to think it over while I finish my inspection."

Ness turned to his friends.

"What kind of sense does that make?" Paula whispered.

"None," replied Jeff, "but I think that's the idea. If Giygas really is going crazy, he could be tricked. It's probably best for us to try and save Mr. Megane now, while he's by himself. I'll stay behind and take him on, you should all keep moving to free the prisoners."

Poo spoke up.

"I'll fight with you. None of us should be alone in the battles ahead."

Jeff stared at him without a word, but Ness could tell he was touched by the offer.

"That leaves me and Paula to go on. Everyone ready?"

They all nodded in agreement. Ness turned back around to face Lloyd, who was almost smiling. Seeing them together must have brought back memories like it did for Teddy.

"We've decided," he said. "Two of us will stay, and free you from Giygas's control."

"Works for me. Here we go!"

Ness and Paula darted away, leaving the room as the fight broke out behind them.

"They'll be okay," Ness told himself. "They'll be okay."

"Are you okay?" Paula asked.

They rounded the corner, proceeding down the dark corridor.

"I'm…" he began.

"Scared. Tired. Worried. Homesick."

The voice again. It spoke into his head, taunting him for just a moment before disappearing.

"…fine," Ness somehow forced out. "Let's just take care of this."

He felt Paula's hand slip into his, and could tell she wasn't convinced.

"I'm here with you. As long as we work together, we won't lose. And after this, we can visit your family again. You deserve it most after all you've been through."

"Don't you want to go home too?" he asked. "You've been away for almost as long as I have."

She hesitated, but gave him a smile.

"I'm fine. I guess I just don't get homesick too easily. Besides, you've already met my family. Now I want to meet yours."

Ness smiled back, unable to put into words how glad he was to have her accompanying him.

They were already out of range of the prison, and the sounds of fighting had faded into the background. Another branching room came into view up ahead. Ness frowned; he'd assumed there was only one chamber left based on what Lloyd said. Nonetheless, they stepped inside to investigate.

It appeared to be a maintenance room. Automated mechanical arms in the walls held various tools but remained motionless. A golden Starman was held in place by clamps, shut down for repairs. Scrapped parts were strewn haphazardly about the floor alongside- curiously- a broken, splintery wooden object lodged in one of the discarded metal slabs. Ness picked it up and realized it was the head of a bat. He put two and two together almost instantly, memories of the fight for Rainy Circle rushing back to him.

"Paula, this is Starman Junior!" he whispered, wary of the chance it could hear them.

"Really? Why do they keep fixing it if it's lost twice?"

They got an answer on a terminal next to it, displaying information in the form of blinking green text.

"Message to technical crew: Starman Template unit undergoing reparations. Templates duplicated: Junior-Class, Super-Class. Once repaired, initiate next experimental phase as directed by Master Giygas. Repair status: 51%."

"Update: Template shows abnormal behavior and fixation on the humans, repeatedly requesting a third battle with them. Past defeats have caused critical damage to its systems used as the basis for the army, and more damage cannot be risked. To avoid the loss of such a valuable unit, this malfunction in its mental processor is to be corrected immediately. Repair status: 67%."

"Update: Deluxe Prototype has so far been successful without prior Template experimentation. Malfunction persists despite all attempts to correct it. Template is dangerous and unstable, and is to be sealed away until further notice once reparations are complete. Repair status: 99%."

"Those Starmen we've been fighting must be copies of it," Ness said. "But I guess they don't need it to test any new types. Heh… sorry, big guy. You wanted another fight, didn't you? Looks like we got here just before they were about to put you away."

He thought all the way back to the night his adventure began, to fighting it for the first time alongside Buzz Buzz and Picky. He'd left it scrapped back then, and when it returned to challenge him a second time it had been damaged even worse. Seeing it now, almost fully repaired but scheduled to be locked away indefinitely, made Ness for just a moment feel bad for it. Starman Junior showed something different than most of Giygas's minions: tenacity. Even after losing to Ness twice, it still wanted to try again. It may have been his enemy, but he could respect- and relate to- the feeling of not wanting to give up.

Of course, his short burst of pity for the robot faded quickly. If it was locked away as planned, that would just be one less threat to worry about. Ness spared Starman Junior a final glance before leading Paula out and back down the hallway.

Dim lights came into view further ahead, as well as a lone gold-plated Starman at the end. It stood guard outside a metal door and snapped to attention when they approached. Paula didn't give it a chance to attack, shooting the robot with PK Thunder and causing it to collapse.

"You… will not prevail," it said, its voice heavily distorted with static. "Your end is at hand... at your hands…"

The robot didn't remain active long enough to say anything else, and stopped moving. Behind it, the door slid open with a loud bang.

"What did he mean by that?" Paula asked.

"No idea. Let's just go in and free everyone."

Lights turned on inside the last room upon their entry. The horde of remaining golden Starmen were lined up against the walls, apparently deactivated. There was just one exception: a silver unit, even taller than its cohorts, stood in the middle of the room. Its visor and chest insignia both shone red, and it sported decorative spikes on its head and shoulders. The Starman looked onto them, hands on its hips as was common for the robots, and let out a sound that might have been a laugh.

"There you are, little Earth creatures," it said, its voice clicking between every few words. "Did you enjoy your tour of the facility?

"Not really," Ness challenged, "you haven't been the best host. At least tell us your name!"

"I am Starman Deluxe, the latest and greatest of my kind. I know your other two companions are in the prison, engaging our Second Commander. His likelihood of victory alone is difficult to calculate, but that hardly matters."

The door slammed shut behind them.

"Are you here to destroy us? You have proven yourselves to be formidable opponents. The Apple of Enlightenment's prophecy may repeat itself: a red-capped Earthling and his companions could be responsible for Master Giygas's downfall yet again."

It stomped a foot on the floor, causing the entire room to shudder.

"HOWEVER. You must not underestimate us. I have been designed for the sole purpose of overcoming your party. With your numbers halved, this should be a trivial task. To prevent such a prophecy from coming true… I am going to crush you, Earth vermin. Prepare yourselves."

Ness was still fatigued from using up so much psychic power beforehand, but he stood his ground anyway. He and Paula stared into its expressionless visor, channeling all the energy they could. Tension hung thick in the air as both sides waited to see who would make the first move.

As it turned out, Ness didn't see the first move. In an instant the Starman Deluxe vanished on the spot, then there was the sound of a hard impact beside him and he saw Paula collapse, the robot's tendril having clubbed her over the head. Its attention turned to him, and the fight was on.

ooo

Jeff set his laser pistol to the lowest power setting he could, intent on bringing his enemy down with as little physical harm as possible. Lloyd, thanks to the lingering evil influence, wasn't about to offer the same courtesy and opened fire with a deadly red beam.

He ducked behind one of the tubes in the aisle closest to him, only to blanch at his mistake. Jeff could only watch helplessly as the laser struck his makeshift cover, already imagining it piercing the glass and disrupting the helpless prisoner's life support.

Except that didn't happen. Rather than damage the tube, the laser ricocheted onto the adjacent ones, bouncing throughout the room until it ran out of energy and faded away. Curious, Jeff leaned out from behind his cover and fired his low-power beam at Lloyd, who dodged the initial blast but was struck in the back when it bounced off the tube behind him. The Commander stumbled, his expression somewhere between amazement and irritation.

"What just happened?" Poo asked, looking rather bewildered himself.

Jeff smirked. He was already envisioning the possibilities.

"These prison tubes aren't made of normal glass. They've got some kind of reflective property for lasers, I'm guessing so the Starmen wouldn't damage them in case a fight ever broke out down here."

"Would've been nice of them to tell us that," muttered Lloyd. "Still, as long as I know it now…"

He fired a beam off to his side at just the right angle to rebound it behind their cover, forcing Jeff and Poo to dive to the floor. The blast sailed overhead and left a faint burning smell in its wake.

"This ought to be interesting!" the Commander said, a grin of his own coming onto his face. "Let's see how good you are at lining up your shots."

Poo got to his feet, fists clenched tight.

"I shouldn't risk using PSI against him; there's no telling what it could do to our surroundings. Perhaps I can help you in another way."

Jeff was limited himself. Bottle rockets or other explosives were out of the question, so he would have to rely on his skill with the pistol alone.

Another laser rebounded toward them, heading straight for Poo. Jeff's wide eyes apparently were enough of a warning, as he turned around and reflexively covered his face with his forearms just before it reached him. The beam collided with the armored bracers Ana had given him back in Summers, then faded entirely without bouncing again.

"Well, that's handy," Lloyd chuckled. "And it reminds me; I've got another one of your things here. You can have it if you win."

"Stay by the door," said Jeff, "and make sure he can't get out."

Poo moved to the exit as told, keeping his arms raised in case another laser went toward him. Lloyd's eyes narrowed, and he withdrew a small metal object from one of his suit pockets and tossed it into the doorway. The item rapidly expanded, becoming an iron pencil statue just large enough to block Poo's reentry.

"Jeff!" he yelled from the other side of the obstruction.

"I'll be fine! Go see if Ness and Paula need help; you can't do anything else here!"

Poo's footsteps could be heard moving away from the room after a moment, leaving Jeff to stare down Lloyd as the two raised their pistols again.

"It's you and me now," the Commander said. "Ready for your exam?"

Jeff fired another laser to the side and immediately dropped to one knee. His reflected blast shot over his head, bouncing against more tubes and grazing Lloyd's arm. The indirect hit didn't do more than briefly annoy him, and he returned with a series of his own attacks. Red lasers streaked throughout the room and left little space for Jeff- or his foe himself for that matter- to find a better vantage point.

"Maybe that was a bad idea," said Lloyd once the onslaught had ended, frowning at the singe mark on his suit. "No more being so trigger-happy for me."

His momentary distraction didn't go to waste, and Jeff rebounded a series of stunning blasts against the tubes to hit Lloyd in his legs, stomach, and chest. One even knocked the laser pistol out of his hand just as he released a final shot, which struck Jeff on the side. Both collapsed, the Commander unarmed and struggling to move while Jeff leaned against a tube to steady himself, holding his own weapon in one hand and clutching at the burn he sported with the other.

"I guess," Lloyd chuckled weakly, fumbling in his suit pocket on the ground for something, "that's all for me. You've become a really good shot, you know that? I wish I could stay, but there's no way I'll win this. I have to leave. You'll see me again soon enough, all right? Next time… well, that should be enough to free me. I'm sorry I hurt you."

He withdrew his hand, holding the same spherical device he'd escaped with after Jeff and Paula beat him in the fight for Milky Well. Lloyd dropped it in front of him, vanishing yet again.

There was no time to lament his escape; he had to tend to his wound. Jeff found his bag and dug through it for medical supplies. He'd started to take them for granted thanks to Ness and Poo being able to heal with their PSI, but it never hurt to be prepared for the worst.

As Jeff began applying treatment to his burn, he noticed something on the floor where Lloyd had been. It was a thin, silver band, adorned with small gems of various colors around its circumference. The object almost looked like a sort of crown, like…

"Is that one of Poo's lost items?"

He got to his feet- cringing from the wound- and picked it up. If this was another stolen Dalaamese artifact, it needed to get back to the right hands as soon as possible.

Then he remembered the pencil blocking his way. Until his friends returned with Apple Kid's device, he was stuck there. Jeff could only hope they were doing well against whatever last line of defense the base no doubt had.

Although he wasn't psychic, somewhere in his gut he had a feeling things were going anything but well.