Chapter 13: Darkened Hearts
The inside of the room reeked a combination of sweat, mold, puke, and worst of all fly honey. In the very back of the room sat a pile of green puke with wolfish fangs and bulging black eyes. He also had an evil glare in his eyes as they approached him.
"So you are Moon?" the pile of puke burped as they approached. "I suppose that'd make you two Sarah and Erick." he added looking at the two of them. The trio didn't speak, they just stood still and waited. None of them dared to inch any closer to disgusting being that sat in front of them.
"I see then." the puke pile chuckled. "There is a prophecy that says that Master Giygas will be defeated by a boy...heh...you make me laugh so hard. If Master Giygas is scared of someone, he would have to be worse than the greatest evil. You three are nothing more than mere children. I'm an unstoppable being of nastiness. There is nothing you can do to me."
"Well this guy seems very egotistical" Erick muttered.
"I'll take you down big time, so get ready for the worst fight of your life!"
"PSI Freeze β!" Sarah shouted. The beam of ice shot out of her hand and encapsulated Belch. However he quickly made the ice prison shatter. Belch then upchucked a bit of himself. Moon quickly jumped in front of Sarah.
"Shield ⍺!" He shouted. A wall of light protected them from the upchucked puke.
"I doubt physical attacks like your bat and frying pan will do much too Belch." Erick said. "Strange though, your cyrokinesis should've done more to him...it's like he's...invincible."
"PSI Fire β!" Sarah shouted. Belch was partially hit with a bit of fire, it didn't seem to hurt that much as well.
Moon looked at Erick as a piece of puke hit the shield with immense force. "Okay genius, figure something out." he grunted. "He appears to immune to both Freeze and Fire, I can't use Rollin without putting the shield down, and he's not gonna take much damage from our weapons.
"Doesn't Sarah have electrokinesis?" Erick asked. "Maybe the shock of electricity would allow us to fry him."
"PSI Thunder ⍺!" Sarah shouted. A bolt of lightning struck Belch in center. Once again, it didn't do much to Belch. Moon felt Sarah's dark energy increase again. He knew that if they didn't put a stop to this battle soon, a potential Dark Sarah would probably jump in. Then an idea came to him.
"Dark Moon...you got an idea?"
"Yeah right, like I'm gonna help you when I'm a good ten minutes away from getting myself a girlfriend...together we'll be a nasty evil couple, nastier than that damn fly honey that's in your backpack."
Moon lit up. "Erick, set up the big bottle rocket you have...I've got an idea."
Belch exhaled some stinky breath. It enveloped Sarah's body and she started to wobble around with a green face. "Moon...I...I don't feel so...HPHM!" then she puked all over the floor. Erick looked at her through the corner of his eyes as he set up the bottle rocket.
"Moon...she's nauseous don't let her use her pyro-."
"P-p-PSI F-f-fire β!" Sarah coughed. A ring of fire erupted off her hand, hitting Moon in the chest.
"Sarah, stop using PSI!" Moon shouted, "Please just stay where you are!"
"O-okay." Sarah said.
"Hey Belch! Head's up!" Moon shouted throwing the jar of fly honey.
Belch turned around as the jar splattered on the floor. "I-is that...fly honey?" Belch asked.
Moon chuckled. "You better believe it."
"YOU FOOLS! Do you know how...how...delicious fly honey is?" Then Belch whipped out a barfy tongue and started licking the fly honey off the floor.
"Okay that's disgusting." Erick groaned. "Anyways, bottle rocket's ready Moon...we should probably get outta here."
The bottle rocket flew off it's coarse and into Belch's mouth. "Oh crap, that's not good." Erick shouted.
"What's not good?" Moon asked as he used healing beta on Sarah.
KA-BOOM!
A huge explosion went off sending Belch everywhere! Puke splattered all over the trio drenching them in green, smelly, slime.
"Well...isn't this repulsive." Erick snapped. "Some idea that was Moon."
"Hey, he didn't expect it to go into the things mouth!" Sarah snapped back.
Moon looked around, a small puddle of puke remained on the floor with belch's face.
"Looks like it was an even fight." Belch burped. "But, Master Giygas has managed to get the Mani Mani statue into Fourside. The city shall soon be in worse condition than living in your own puke!"
Sarah promptly whacked the small pile of puke with her frying pan. "You are a dirty, stinky, ugly, monster for what you've done to the Mr. Saturns." she snapped. "I'm glad we've dealt with someone like you."
The puke puddle laughed. "Oh is that so Sarah?" Belch asked. "Mark my words, I'll have my revenge...it's only a matter of time...actually, maybe I won't, you seem to be lacking something. You'll never finish your adventure together, and even if you do, you don't realize that every step you take you walk closer and closer to becoming just like him!" Moon had heard enough and stepped on the puke puddle moving his foot all over it.
Erick looked at them skeptically. "Should we be concerned about what he said?" he asked.
"I doubt it." Sarah said with a harsh tone. Moon felt her dark energy practically at its breaking point...if just one more thing went wrong...it'd be game over.
Sarah noticed Moon looking at her with worry. She wasn't sure what the deal was, he had been really nervous and a little harsh ever since Saturn Valley. "Am I doing something wrong?" she asked herself.
"I think he doesn't love you anymore!"
Sarah blinked and began to look all around. She had heard a sudden cold voice talking to her from somewhere, but she couldn't figure out where. When her eyes caught Moon's she noticed that his worried expression now looked liked more of a panicky one. He grabbed her hand, wrapped his other arm around her, and forced her closer to him.
"You've gotta relax Sarah." he hissed, his breath tickled her ear. "Please...relax...just stop thinking...you have to...do you understand?"
Sarah could only look at him with shock, she had thought that she was calm but he disagreed. While his eyes showed concern, his tone along with his grip screamed forcefulness. She didn't understand what the deal was and it was making her really, really nervous.
"Blarg." Erick groaned snapping both of them back to reality. "Guys, can we please get going so we can wash this repulsive odor and disgusting grime off of us!"
The two of them nodded. Erick looked at both of them with a hint of irritation, "You two have been acting really weird since Saturn Valley...care to explain?" he snapped.
Sarah hesitated and looked at Moon nervously. She wasn't sure how to explain this to him.
"We've been getting strange power senses since we arrived in Saturn Valley." Moon said out of nowhere. "I believe that we may be near another sanctuary."
Erick's expression changed. "Oh, okay then," he said. "Sorry about that, it's a little unfortunate that I don't have powers...makes it pretty hard for me to...you know...follow suit."
"Don't worry about it too much Erick," Moon said. "Having someone like you around might help us understand just how our powers work...they seem to get stronger at some times but weaker at others."
The trio walked down the cave system that Belch had been guarding and exited on a hillside in Saturn Valley. There were a few Mr. Saturns huddle around a tree stump with some drinks on it. To their left was a cave along with what looked like a giant pool of strawberry milkshake. The Mr. Saturns looked at the three of them standing there covered in puke and who knows what else. Their big round noses wrinkled at the smell of the chosen heroes.
"You nasty...enjoy bath...wash yucky stuff from body Boing!" One Mr. Saturn said hopping towards the pink water hole.
"Fascinating." Erick said looking at the pink liquid. "It's like water...but at the same time...the smell, look, and just about everything else make it...well...not water. Though this could be something toxic to humans, I must gather a sample to…"
"Moon don't you dar-EEK!"
SPLASH!
Moon pushed Sarah into the pink liquid then jumped in right next to her. Erick facepalmed. "Or...you two could just jump into what could've been a pool of acid without a care in the world for each other's safety." he muttered as the two began to splash each other. He stepped into the spring as well. Surprisingly, the liquid didn't soak him it was almost like it...wasn't water, it just began to wash away all of the grime and scum on their bodies.
One Mr. Saturn walked over to the edge of the pool with a cup on its head. "Drink coffee before go?" it asked.
"Eh...no thanks...not really a coffee person." Moon said.
"You drink please...I work long long time on drink...for you...as thanks...drink please." the Mr. Saturn responded.
"Just drink it Moon." Sarah said. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Moon hesitantly took the cup from the creature and took a sip out of it. Instantly he felt everything fade into nothingness. It was just a bright blue wall in front of him. Then out of nowhere. Words started to appear in front of him on the wall.
You've traveled very far from home…
Do you remember how your long and winding journey began with someone pounding at your door? It was Pokey, the worst person in your neighborhood, who knocked on the door that fateful night.
Moon stared at the wall with interest, this whole thing seemed very cool and relaxing but yet...at the same time, very creepy...who was talking to him?
On your way, you have walked, fought, but probably most importantly you've thought...about your future...and what it holds. Yet through all this, you have never lost your courage. You have steadily grown stronger, though you have experienced the pain of battle many times.
Moon blinked, suddenly the words were replaced by Sarah and Erick on both ends of the wall as more words appeared.
You are however, no longer alone in your adventure. For the first time, you've got friends to help you deal with your problems. Sarah, who is steadfast, caring, kind, and even pretty, is always by your side. Heck you two are more than what was expected.
Then there is Erick, he is with you as well. Though not as powerful, he possess great wisdom and knowledge. He came from a distant land just to help rescue you.
But of course, there is one other, your last friend awaits you...in due time you shall meet Dyson.
The image of a boy with an almost bald head, save for a long, black, braided ponytail in the center now shone in front of him. He had emerald green eyes and wore a karate outfit.
Moon, as you certainly know by now, you are not a regular young man...You have an awesome destiny to fulfill. However, there is still some knowledge that you lack. Your connection with the enemy is much deeper than you think.
Moon rubbed the back of his head. It had suddenly had a stinging pain to it.
The journey from this point will be long, and it will be more difficult than anything you have undergone to this point. Yet, I know you will be alright. When good battles evil, which side to you believe wins? Do you have faith that good is triumphant?
Moon shrugged to himself. Faith was something he'd rather not touch upon, after all, faith is what ended him up with Dark Moon. But then again, it did also end him with Sarah.
One thing you must never lose is courage. If you believe in the goal you are striving for, you will be courageous. There are many difficult times ahead, but you must keep your sense of humor, work through tough situations and enjoy yourself.
Moon could only stare at the wall in confusion.
Once you have finished this cup of coffee, which is allowing you to see this message, your adventure will begin again. Next, you must pass through a vast desert and proceed to the big city of Fourside.
Moon, Sarah, Erick, and soon enough, Dyson.
I wish you good luck.
Moon was snapped back to reality. He was still sitting in the strawberry pool with Sarah and Erick who were giving him a look of confusion.
"Are you okay Moon?" Erick asked. "You've been spaced out for quite some time now."
Moon shook his head, "Uh...yeah I'm fine...just suddenly got another vision...we need to go to Fourside after we find that other sanctuary."
Sarah looked upwards, the sun was setting just about now. "Maybe we should just...call it a day." she said quickly. "We can check out that cave tomorrow." the boys nodded in agreement.
(Later that night)
Erick stayed up way later than Moon would've liked, his tampering with the new gun he had found took up a good hour of rest time and he desperately needed Sarah awake. Once he had heard the quiet breathing of the genius he took Sarah's hand and led her up a ladder onto the roof of the Mr. Saturn's house they were staying in. When they had sat down in silence for a moment Sarah finally asked the question.
"So...Moon...I want to know what's gotten into you...you said I'm in danger tonight...why?" she asked nervously. The look of fear in his eyes told her that whatever was about to happen would be far from easy for her to hear.
"Sarah...I-I'm not sure how to tell you this." he said quietly. "But...I have to do it to protect you." Sarah swallowed hard that's when she heard the voice again.
"He's going to break up with you...why don't you do it first!"
"Ignore the voice in your head Sarah, listen to me." Moon said grabbing her hand.
Sarah blinked in disbelief. "You could hear the voice too?"
"No, I can't...but I know you've been hearing it...Sarah...I'm so sorry." he said as tears started to flow down him. "But...I accidentally transferred a bit of my dark side into you." he looked down in embarrassment and despair. He had been trying to keep her safe...and now...he had put her, and frankly everyone else, in immense danger. However, when he didn't hear any sort of rage, sadness, or irritation, he glanced up to see Sarah looking at him with worry.
"Y-y-you...what?" Sarah asked in confusion.
"Last night...when Dark Moon was in control...he kissed you on the forehead." Sarah felt her heartbeat get really fast. "And...well, the kiss transferred a bit of him into you...now...you have a Dark Sarah in your brain." he buried his face in his hands. "Sarah...I'm so sorry...I just unleashed something horrible into you...all that pain, suffering, misery...it's going to happen to you too...I can't even bring myself...to...to...look at you."
Sarah stared at him in silence. She didn't know what to think. Or frankly, what to do, it was just so...unnatural. She had no idea about any of this, it was all just...unknown, an empty feeling. She didn't know anything about...whatever this was...she was helpless in providing comfort to him. All she could do was sit there with a brink of crying expression while he sat in front of her, devastated, defeated, confused, and afraid. In all her life, she had never seen someone so upset...and that said way more than you'd think...a friend of hers grandmother passed away a few months ago and she didn't come close to how upset Moon seemed. Even the PSI energy around him felt different...it seemed...weaker."
But, then again...she was intrigued by what had happened. Both Moon and his dark side had told her that she would never be able to understand just what torture Moon went through on daily basis. In some weird, stupid way, this might've actually helped her. The two times she had seen Dark Moon at his worst had left Moon in both immense pain and a complete melting pot of emotions. She wasn't quite sure how to react to them, how to provide comfort or relief to her boyfriend. Maybe having a darker side of her own would help her understand.
"Sarah." Moon's voice got sadder as he spoke. "I'm so sorry...I really, truly am...I would never want to invoke anything like this on you...I promise you if I find a way to get rid of it I-"
Sarah leaned in closer to him, grabbed his hands, and kissed him to make him stop talking. When she separated from him she proceeded to wrap him in a hug. "Moon...here's the thing." she said slowly. "I-I-I actually think...that this might be something...good."
That was a big mistake, Moon instantly pushed her off of him and backed away from her. Sarah didn't understand what had caused him to do that. She attempted to move closer to him only for him to draw back and ask. "Sarah...What did I call Dark Moon last night?"
Sarah looked at him in confusion and worry. He had just broke away from her...for no reason.
"He doesn't care about you...he only cares about his mess...look at him, pushing off your generous hug in a time of despair only to ask you about his problem...some boyfriend."
Moon placed his hand on her shoulder, there were still tears streaming down his cheeks. "Sarah...please...answer the question...ignore her, listen to me...please...I don't want you to be where I am!" he cried.
"Y-y-you...you called him a nightmare...your nightmare." she said nervously. Moon let out a long sigh before moving back closer to her taking her hand once again.
"Thank you for listening to me." he said with his still sad tone. "I was worried I had already lost you to Dark Sarah. Sarah...why on earth would you think that having a dark side be a good thing? You've seen Dark Moon, you've seen the pain I've been in, you've seen how evil he is. Why would you want that?"
Sarah looked at him and then she felt the floodgates in her head break. "I'm sorry." she cried as tears started to flow out of her. "I-I-I just thought that...since I'd never be able to experience the pain you're always in...I've never been able to help comfort you...I thought that maybe having something like this...would help."
Moon swallowed hard. "Y-y-you...think...that it'd be worth waking up in pain every morning, having someone with a mind of pure evil talking to you constantly, random outbursts of rage that end up with you losing who you are...You'd be willing to have that exact same problem...just to help comfort me?" he asked.
Sarah gulped. "Moon...I love you, and it hurts me that I can't understand how hard something is for you." she said tightening her grip on his hand. "I look at you, everyday, I see you in pain, getting tortured, and things that I'd never be able to understand. I just don't know how I'm supposed to help you if I don't know what is truly going on with you. But this...this gives me that opportunity. An opportunity for both of us to learn what the deal is with these darker sides. We can-"
"Sarah...I don't think you understand what this means." Moon interrupted. "Because of what Dark Moon has done, you can't ever have a normal life...you and I are, quite literally, bound by our hearts...we can't ever leave one another, not even after this adventure is over. Your darker side, it's a permanent part of you...no one...not even your own family can control it. Only I can."
"So I'm stuck loving you for the rest of my life." Sarah said. "Big deal, I love you, I always will. So what if I have to transfer schools just so we can be with each oth-"
Moon cut her off. His look of sadness was almost too strong at this point. "Sarah...it's much worse than that...I'm the only one Dark Sarah can't harm...your family, friends, the preschoolers you watch, Erick, and even our fourth friend, they can be. It doesn't matter who it is, if it isn't me, then that person can experience a world of pain. This...this isn't just something that we can just...stop. It's something terrible, something nearly uncontrollable, it's something that we both have to live with...I'm sorry, but there is truly nothing good about this Sarah, you may think that this is good, but you aren't ready for something like this."
Sarah started to feel a prickly pain in her head. "Fight through it." she told herself. "Show him you can do this."
"But you can't do this...he said it himself...you're going to be a cakewalk I can already tell."
The pain in her head got drastically worse. She had a feeling that Moon could tell something was wrong because he was looking at her with worry. "I'm fine Moon." she said quickly. "There's no need to worry...I'm alright." she laid back on the roof watching the night sky. She had to try and take her mind off the immense pain in her head.
Despite her attempts, she didn't stop crying...tears of pain flooded out of her non stop. After a few minutes of silently crying to herself, she felt herself being picked up. Moon was staring at her, as he held her. Then she was moved upwards, he placed her head on his shoulder as he sat back down. He just sat there in silence, holding her as she cried.
"I know it hurts Sarah." he said quietly. "It's alright though, I'm here for you, I won't let go until you want me to okay?"
"Pr-pro-promise." Sarah sniffed. With the amount of pain in her head was in she was stuttering more than usual.
"I promise you Sarah, until you're ready to meet your dark side...I won't let go of you." he said rubbing her back.
"A-a-alright...t-t-thanks."
For about ten minutes the couple sat in silence, Sarah's continuous sniffles of pain still came out occasionally, but she felt much better knowing that Moon was there with her, rubbing her back providing as much comfort to her as he could. Then he started to rub and move his hand upwards. Sarah let out a noise that sounded almost like a pur. He kept going until he reached the tip of her straight, silky, golden hair.
"Be confident." he told himself. "If she doesn't like it she'll let you know. You can't be afraid of messing things up anymore than you already have." he took a deep breath and moved his hand into her hair.
Sarah's body tensed up, it was a strange feeling for her. Her body wanted him to stop...but, it felt so nice and relaxing to have his hand tangled in her hair. So when he removed his hand from her hair out of fear that he had done something wrong, she was less than thrilled.
"M-Moon...p-please put your h-hand back in my hair...it...it...it felt really nice and relaxing." she said softly. "Don't be afraid...I promise I'll stop you if you do something I don't want."
She felt his lips on the top of her head near her blue ribbon. "I'll do anything for you my guardian angel." he said quietly. Sarah felt herself heat up inside. He rubbed the top of her head trailing his hand down her backside entering and stroking her silky smooth hair. "I just can't believe you are actually...in love with me." he said as he stroked her hair. "I can't believe that after all the disasters I've gotten you into...that you still want to be with me." Sarah felt the pain finally settle down after that. In response hugged him tight.
"Don't be silly Moon." she said. "We are truly bound by our hearts, we'll love each other until the end of time itself. Together, you and me will be the perfect duo...we have our whole future to spend with each other...this isn't just some teen romance phase...this is a serious thing!"
Moon smiled to himself. "Well Sarah, now that you've finally settled down." he said. "As much as it pains me to say this...this is where your whole life is about to change...you're going to meet your darker side, and you're going to have to work out an agreement. Just remember, be persistent, she's going to try to hit you with something...just wait until you've whittled it down to just your anger."
Sarah nodded and the two climbed back down the ladder and climbed into the bed they were sharing. "Good luck Sarah." Moon said. "I love you."
(Mindscape)
Sarah found herself in the empty voided mindscape once again. She couldn't remember ever being more nervous...what was in store for her? "Moon said be confident." she told herself. "Don't be afraid of...whatever this is."
A shadowy figure suddenly flashed in front of her causing her to flinch. Then, the shadow became a solid image. Sarah found herself face to face with her shadow. It had blood red eyes, wore a black dress and ribbon, and had a psychotic smile.
"Well...hello Sarah. I've been waiting to meet you." the shadow said.
Sarah swallowed, she shadow's voice was like Dark Moon's, cold and heartless.
"Touching, your silence is going to make this fairly easy...I assume my idiot "partial boyfriend" has already prepared you for this...in any event...I guess I shouldn't expect to get anywhere with you." Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. The shadow grinned evilly.
"Well I guess I'll just have to stick to our default agreement." Dark Sarah continued. "As I'm sure Moon has made you aware, if you become too angry, I will step in for you. I already assume that I can't invoke anything more than that...so...I guess we should just get this over with." she outstretched her shadowy hand, blue flames erupted off it.
Sarah only gave her shadow a blank stare. The shadow smiled evilly back. "What…is something wrong?" Dark Sarah asked.
"What, no torture, pain, suffering, talking, misery...nothing?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "You're just getting straight to the point?" After everything Moon had said...she had expected this encounter to be much worse. Dark Sarah shrugged.
"Since Moon has had Dark Moon for nearly ten years, I expect that there really is nothing I can do other than offer you the default deal...if you don't take it then well...I don't have to listen to Moon...sooooo...yeah just hurry up and shake my hand."
Sarah reached for the hand before suddenly stopping. She remembered what Moon had said, these darker sides were sneaky, evil. She looked her darker side in the blood red heartless stare and asked. "This is the deal...I'm in charge, you listen to Moon, and you only step in when I want or when I'm too angry...by shaking your hand that's all your stuck too...correct?"
The flames on the hand of Dark Sarah extinguished. She grinned evilly. "Clever, very clever." her cold voice hissed. "Not shaking my hand when I had never truly told you what exactly we agreed to...any imbecile would've shaken my hand...but you caught me by surprise. Look at your hands sweetheart."
Sarah glanced down at her hand, much to her surprise, it was now the one erupting blue flames. She stared at it in awe. Then she outstretched it to Dark Sarah. "This is my only offer." she said firmly. "I'm not going to fall for any of your dumb tricks."
The shadow took her hand. "You've got yourself a deal girlie." it said. "I look forward to torturing you for the rest of your pathetic life. Mark my words, you'll soon wish you never declared your feelings to Moon."
"Fat chance." Sarah retorted. "There is nothing you can ever do that will make me not love him."
The shadow crackled. "Is that so?" she asked slyly. "Well, I guess you're more braver than I thought. Goodnight Sarah, I shall speak with you again real soon." the shadow then vanished.
(Twoson)
Sarah suddenly found herself on the streets of Twoson. Confused, she began to walk down the street. Everything seemed...normal...kind of. People were looking at her with worried expressions, not one person wanted to come up and talk to her, ask her about her powers...nothing of the usual. She looked to her left and saw Moon right next to her. Though, he looked...different. He was holding a sword...a blue blade with a green grip. He also looked more serious than usual.
"Moon?" Sarah asked. He ignored her, and just kept walking. Sarah stepped in front of him only for him to just walk right through her.
"I'm...invisible to his eyes...what...what's going on...is...is this a dream?" she asked. She continued to follow him down the street curious as to what he was doing. She watched him as he approached Polestar Preschool and walked up to the door. Only for his progress to be halted by Everdread.
"Not so fast kid...you're not supposed to be here...Sarah's family has forbidden it." Everdread said.
Sarah's eyes widened, her family...had...forbade him from seeing her. She looked at Moon who showed a severe hint of irritation.
"I was contacted by her to come...I frankly don't give a damn if her parents forbade it...unless they'd rather die, I'm going in, and you aren't stopping me." Moon responded.
Everdread halted him again. "You have been a monster of an influence to her, you've turned this once sweet and kind girl into someone we can't recognize. Her parents don't give a damn about what faith said about you two...I was instructed on her father's request to stop you."
"Hypnosis ⍺!" Moon said without a care in the world. Sarah watched in shock as Everdread collapsed onto the ground. Moon then put his hand on Everdread's back and said. "Paralysis ⍺!" Moon then stared at the door in silence for a bit. Sarah stood next to him. "It was just as she feared." he said quietly.
Suddenly a pink portal opened next to him and Erick walked out of the portal. "You called?" he asked irritably. Moon stood in silence for a bit. "Well, why did you open a portal for me?" Erick snapped. "It'd better be important."
Moon turned to him. "I'm sending you to Dalaam...tell Dyson I've started Operation Darkness."
Erick's eyes widened. "A-a-are you sure?" he asked. "You know what that means."
Moon nodded. "The amount of dark energy I've been sensing is too much for their safety. We have no other option...other than...well."
Sarah blinked...Erick and whoever Dyson was somehow knew about their darker sides...and where exactly was Dalaam? She had never heard of a place like that.
"Alrighty then, I'll inform Dyson of your decision. Just um...try to get out of here quickly...and make sure that...you know your darker sides don't jump in...just out of curiosity...how bad is it?"
Moon gave him a dead stare. "Pretty damn bad...I haven't seen her in three weeks...Dark Moon has been rallying me with nightmares...and when I saw Sarah in the mindscape, she looked severely pale...words can't begin to describe how nightmarish this must be for her without me."
"You've changed Moon...you really have." Erick said. "You used to be so...well...weird...like I always knew you had been more...mature...because of Dark Moon...but...now you're...well...I'm not quite sure...you still show your caring side to Sarah...but...you're just...not you."
"Well aware of that Erick, I had always prepared myself for a day like this one, long before I even met you three...I just never would've thought that it'd be forced upon someone else as well."
"Oh...one last thing." Moon said. "Tell Dyson to be on standby...things might get ugly." A pink portal opened showing Sarah what looked like a grand palace on the other side. Erick walked through the portal and as it closed she saw him look back with a look of concern.
Moon stepped over Everdread's unconscious body and pushed the door open. Sarah could hear muffled shouts and sobs coming from the kitchen. When Moon pushed the door open she saw herself backed into a corner, crying, with both of her parents shouting at her.
"NO...NO...A THOUSAND TIMES HELL NO!" her father shouted. "HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO SEE YOU! WHY THE HELL DID YOU CONTACT HIM?"
Sarah watched herself cry harder. "Y-y-you don't understand." she sobbed. "H-h-he needs to be with me! Y-y-you have to let me see him."
"SARAH DON'T YOU SEE?" her mother shouted. "HE HAS TURNED YOU AGAINST US!"
"H-h-he hasn't!" Sarah cried. "I-I-I am not against you...h-h-he hasn't done anything wrong!"
"THEN WHY HAVE YOU STARTED HURTING YOURSELF?" her father shouted. "YOU'VE BEEN CUTTING, HITTING, AND TORTURING YOURSELF! YOU WERE NEVER LIKE THIS UNTIL YOU MET HIM!" Sarah noticed that the other Sarah's hands had cut marks on them.
"It-it-it's not me dad...and...it's not him either! I swear!" she shouted.
"SARAH YOU HAVE TURNED INTO A LUNATIC! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!" her mother shouted. "YOUR FRIENDS HARDLY HANG OUT WITH YOU, THE PRESCHOOLERS ARE SCARED OF YOU, EVERYONE IN THIS TOWN HATES WHAT HE HAS DONE TO YOU!"
"Hypnosis Ω!" Moon shouted. Both of Sarah's parents collapsed onto the ground. Sarah watched him move over to the other Sarah who was still sobbing. "It's alright Sarah." Moon said softly, as he wrapped her in a hug and ran his hand through her hair. "I'm here now...everything will be fine...just stop crying."
"I can't Moon." she sobbed. "She...she...she's hurting me...so much...I keep having nightmares and pain shooting through me...I just feel...so angry...all the time! Now look, my family hates me!" Moon hugged her tighter.
"I know...it's hurting me as well...but it won't for long. Please, get up off the floor, stop crying, and go upstairs and pack your things. Dyson and Erick have been informed that we've started Operation Darkness."
Sarah swallowed. "B-b-but...that means that...we have to."
"I know Sarah, but we have no other choice, your parents are making this too dangerous for everyone...every day they're getting worse...we need to be close to each other, otherwise it's lights out for those we care about."
Sarah watched herself go upstairs in shock. Whatever was going on wasn't good...but.
Suddenly her parents began to stir. Moon obviously didn't seem to care though as he simply moved over to the staircase and blocked it watching them.
Her father and mother both got up. "OH NO! NO NO NO!" Her father shouted. "Sarah is forbidden from seeing you."
"It's not your decision anymore Mr. Polestar." Moon said calmly. "I'm the only one who can protect you...I know what's best."
"I FORBID YOU FROM-"
Moon put the tip of his sword at the brim of her father's chest. "I don't give a damn, Sarah and I both agreed to these conditions!"
"WHAT CONDITIONS?" her mother shouted.
Moon gave him a heartless look that Sarah grew nervous about. "Unbelievable." he said with a firm voice. "I asked her to inform you...but you guys are so ticked off with her for no damn reason that you didn't even bother to listen to your own daughter. No wonder she wanted me to come and get her without letting you know."
"EXCUSE ME?" her father shouted. "YOU ARE NOT TAKING OUR DAUGHTER ANYWHERE!"
"If you had bothered to listen to her, maybe you would know that this is her choice. It's Not mine and it most certainly is not yours. I recommend that you think before you speak considering the situation we are in at the moment."
Sarah watched herself come back downstairs but what stunned her was that she didn't seem bothered by Moon having her father at sword point.
"SARAH TELL YOUR PSYCHO BOYFRIEND TO STOP!" her mother shouted.
Sarah watched herself shake her head. "No, I don't think I will." she said. "If you won't listen to me maybe you'll listen to him."
Moon lowered his sword. "Thank you...now, two rules...number one don't interrupt...number two don't even attempt to grab Sarah...or else."
Sarah was watching this whole thing play out in horror "Please make this nightmare stop." she told herself. She kept trying to wake herself up but it wasn't working.
"Now, let me begin." Moon said. "Sarah has been emitting way too much PSI energy, so have I. As such, we are losing control over them...the injuries that you keep seeing on Sarah and myself are caused by an outside force that we have no control over. The only thing that keeps it in check is well...both of us being together."
"Lies, you are full of lies." her father snarled.
"AS I WAS SAYING!" Moon shouted completely ignoring him. "Because your actions have prevented Sarah and me from seeing each other our outside forces have been torturing us for days on end. Hell, you two should be thankful you aren't dead! I have decided that I can stand for this no more...your lives are in great danger unless Sarah and I can continue to see each other. So with that being said, Sarah is leaving your care effective immediately."
"I'M SORRY...WHAT?" her mother shouted.
BANG!
Several cops jumped through windows pinning Moon to the ground and grabbing Sarah escorting her back to her parents. Her father grabbed her when she tried to break away.
"We got the word from Everdread." one officer said to her father. "Don't worry we'll make sure that he gets sent away for-"
"MOON NO!" Sarah cried basically trying to escape the grasp of her father. "YOU CAN'T HE'S TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"
"If you don't mind." her father said. "How about you just put an end to this now, we'll vouch for you that he was threatening your officers. Just make sure you shoot him in the heart, he can heal himself if you try anything-"
"STOP THIS PLEASE!" Sarah cried. "HE'S ONLY TRYING TO HEL-"
Her father covered her mouth. "As you can clearly see, my daughter has been brainwashed by this boy and I want him gone...for good."
Sarah watched herself look at Moon there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "Sarah...I'll be alright." Moon said looking her in the eye. "I promise, just stay calm...I love you don't forget that...please don't forget that...just keep that in your head." the officer pinning him down put his gun directly on his back.
Sarah bit her father's hand causing him to uncover her mouth. "MOON NO PLEASE!" She screamed.
Sarah noticed Moon's eyes turned to horror. "SARAH NO!" he shouted.
"PK FIRE Ω!"
A huge blast of fire erupted off her hand in all directions everyone was hit by it and engulfed in flames.
"PK HYDRO!"
A bit of water and steam came from where Moon was as he got up off the ground and moved over to Sarah coughing.
"S-S-Sarah...d-d-do you have any idea what you've just done?" he asked with worry.
Sarah watched herself do absolutely nothing but when she looked around, she saw the absolute worst. The entirety of the room was now in burnt to a crisp...including everyone in it."
A pink portal opened behind them and out popped a boy with an almost completely bald head save for a black braided ponytail down the center of. He wore a cloak alongside what looked like a samurai helmet and two bracers on his arms. He also carried a silver bladed sword. His emerald green eyes which for a moment were sparkling were now staring at two of them in shock and horror.
"Erick said it was bad." he said in shock. "But…"
"Forget it Dyson." Moon snapped. "There's nothing we can do except get Sarah out of here."
"M-m-Moon." Sarah said shakily.
"Not now Sarah, We have to get out of here."
With that the entire image faded in a flash of pink light.
(Reality)
Sarah bolted awake. She was now sitting upright in the bed in Saturn Valley house. She had a splitting headache. She looked around, Moon was already awake and was actually sitting down by his backpack with the picture postcard he had bought yesterday. He noticed Sarah awake and breathing heavily. "Is everything alright?" he asked. "You don't look so good."
Sarah shook her head. "It-it-it was just a bad dream."
"Actually...that wasn't a dream...that was the future...your future...a future that I can't wait for."
Sarah felt her headache get severely worse "M-Moon."
"You really wanna tell him what you just saw? Damn you really are stupid."
"Sarah?" Moon asked. "Are...are you sure your okay? You don't look too good, you're shaky, your skin seems pale, and um...you look scared."
"It-it-it hurts Moon...so much...please...make it stop." Sarah cried holding her head. "I-I-I can't take it...please...how do I make her stop?" Moon stood up and sat down next to her.
"Let me talk to her." he said firmly.
"Moon...I don't want to let her out...what if she...what if you...what if Erick..."
"I'll be fine, Erick woke up earlier, he's at the shop getting food."
"A-alright."
Moon watched as her eyes flashed red and her loving stare became cold and heartless.
"You've got ten minutes." Moon snapped. "You know what I want...speak."
Dark Sarah grinned. "Operation Darkness, the future you hope to avoid, it's inevitable, and now, Sarah's seen just a bit of what the future holds for the two of you. She didn't like it too much...the whole time she watched she was terrified." her cold voice hissed.
Moon gave her a dead stare back. "How much does she know about Operation Darkness?"
"Not much honestly, she seems to write the whole thing off as a bad dream. I know for a fact you aren't gonna tell her about it, and I know she's too ignorant to ask you about it. Oh, and don't bother asking me what I showed her, I know I don't have to answer that honestly."
Moon sighed. "Very well then, Sarah, stop."
Sarah blinked, then shook her head. Her eyes became the same loving look he was used to.
"Moon?"
"She didn't want to talk...but at least your pain will be gone for a brief time."
The door to the house swung open and Erick entered into the house. "Lovely weather outside today." he said to the two of them in an upbeat tone. "The Mr. Saturns kindly informed me that the place we are looking for is through that cave we saw near the pool yesterday. It's called Milky Well, it's guarded heavily though, I hope you two are prepared."
Moon nodded. "We are more than prepared Erick, let's get going...Sarah?"
Sarah got up off the bed. "Yes...we must get going...let's claim this third sanctuary and keep going."
Moon reached down to his backpack only to be halted by Dark Moon.
"So what'd you think...isn't she perfect for me."
"She's spectacular, a match truly made in hell." Moon muttered.
"Whatever, so about what you talked about. Operation Darkness, I haven't heard that name in a long time...I think the last time you considered it was when exactly...after...Olive…"
"I'm warning you Dark, not one word about Olive, my past, or Operation Darkness to Sarah. I don't give a damn if she asks you...you better lie."
"Why should I."
"She's not ready, none of them are, plus I can't prove anything to them until we return home."
"Is that why you bought that second postcard? Damn you really are planning ahead."
Moon shook his head. "Annoying little piece of crap." he muttered placing the second postcard in a special section of his backpack.
He knew eventually all this would come back and bite him. But frankly, he didn't care, not one bit. Olive was a horrible mistake that he made in the past that nearly cost him everything. He was not going to repeat that mistake with Sarah, it was going to take a long time until they reached that one horrid moment. But it was for the better...he had to do it.
"Don't ever question what you're doing." he told himself. "This is for the better, you're doing it to protect not just her, but also Erick, Dyson, and the rest of the world. It doesn't matter how much it hurts...it doesn't matter how dangerous it is. They aren't ready...more importantly she's not ready...I suspect many sleepless nights for me ahead...but it's for the better."
The words still rang in the back of his mind. "Don't forget...Don't you ever forget."
Ahem, I have encountered a bit of a problem. When writing this chapter I wasn't sure what I was going to do in terms of Dark Sarah's final role in the story. At first I wasn't going to do much with it just have her appear now, do some shenanigans with Moon and have a few chapters with Sarah getting used to her before putting her away until she was needed again. Now while that plan may have been better suited...I don't think I truly was thinking when coming up with what exactly I was going to have Dark Sarah do. I'm going to be upfront, the dream sequence that played out in front of Sarah was always meant to be here. It was, apart from the Belch fight, the only thing I didn't end up changing from my original draft of this chapter. Everything else was rewritten for a better sounding chapter.
Though, I'd think better is kind of an incorrect term. I was told by a friend that this chapter was pretty dark compared to and I quote. "The other encounters with the Dark sides that he'd seen so far." I'm not quite sure what to think of that considering that um...the Mother/Earthbound series is often times called Nintendo's darkest franchise.
So, with all that being said, I wanted to ask something. Do you want to see more of Dark Sarah and those future dream sequences? I'll continue writing chapters even if I get no response, just know that I'm only asking because I'm not sure if continuing down the road that I'm heading would end up being a bad idea. I don't know, my current plan for continuing down this path may end up getting a little confusing for some people. As you can probably tell by Moon's interactions with both Dark Moon and Dark Sarah, he's afraid that she'll discover something. My plan was to have these whole future dream sequences build up to Moon's past reveal once we get deeper into the story (By the way, if any of you are theorizing on that, I'd love to hear it, I'd be surprised if someone could piece together everything currently and then keep building off that to figure out the whole thing before it actually happens).
Anyways, if you don't want to see more of Dark Sarah that's completely okay. Moon's past play out will still happen in terms of Dark Moon, but again I feel like going in the direction of Sarah would make things a bit confusing despite being my more favored play. Thanks for reading and I'll being working on the next chapter right away.