"How'd I get myself into this mess?" an all too familiar voice asked, echoing through the dimly-lit underground caves. Lined with torches, it provided little illumination for the cells, all empty except for the last one, occupied by Marie. Both dumbfounded and confused, she quickly glanced around, noticing the dull reflection of steel bars in the torch flames.
"Wha?" she sprang up, finally realizing where she was "How'd I get here?"
Walking towards the door, she felt soreness in her ankle, discovering an uncomfortably tight metal band. She thought nothing of it, dismissing any idea of what it could be, and set to work. Peering through the lock, she took off one glove, retracting a tiny claw from her finger. Using her claw, she prodded the inner mechanisms of the lock until a light click signaled that she could escape. She gave the cell door a light shove, as it slowly opened, squeaking on its old hinges.
"Yes!" she cheered, slipping her glove back on "Now ta get outta here!"
"I wouldn't go anywhere if I were you!" a semi low male voice said. Marie's ears perked up as she quickly glanced over, seeing the blue fox, stroking a peculiar object in his hand. It seemed to a turn dial and a button, which he cautiously rested his thumb upon.
"You again?" she said angered "Ya have some nerve lockin' me up here!"
He ignored that statement, smirking at her in a mocking way. She readied herself to attack, concentrating her energies into her palm, manifesting itself as a sword. Getting into fighting stance, she stared him down, confidence brimming, that is, until her sword flickered out. Shocked, she quickly rematerialized her sword, only to get the same results.Over and over again she tried, until the villain interrupted her.
"How clueless you are!" he chuckled to himself "All the Chaos energy looming about this room nullifies your magic. Try all you want, you'll just exhaust yourself."
She simply grinned, moving onto a new plan she announced "I don't need magic ta tear ya apart!"
She dashed at him with blinding speed, fingers curled into an outstretched fist. She swung at him, but he managed to block it. During those few moments, he countered, grasping her arm tightly, he swung her around, letting go. She flew into the stone wall, making a loud thud upon impact.
"Tsk tsk" he mocked, kicking her in the side "Did you really think you could get the better of me without your magic? I'll have to punish you for your poor judgment."
He held out the device in his hand, pressing the button to activate it, and turning the dial slightly. She instantly felt pain surge through her body, but managed to get back up to attack. Using all the strength she could muster, she leapt towards him, but he avoided the attack easily, rotating the dial more. The pain greatly intensified, jolting through every muscle and limb, but soon ceased. Lookup up weakly, she could only assume that the device was deactivated. The entire world seemed to fade away, darkness melded with everything she saw. Before everything went black, she heard him say, "I heard you're an immortal being. An eternity of torture awaits you."
Meanwhile, not too far off, small creatures wandered about. The Popul Purels, a group consisting of many Moos, except for their leader, seemed to be searching. Considered to be the pests of Lunatea, they could easily be recognized by their small, spherical body, smooth red skin, cream-colored faces, blue round paws and long ears with a single yellow strip. They searched every corner thoroughly; behind forest trees, under tiny rocks, everywhere imaginable. The leader watched on intently, anticipating their next find.
He called himself "the King of Moos" which probably explains the gaudy, over-sized crown he wore (I'm kiddin' about the crown, I think it's cool :D). His appearance stuck out in the crowd in every way imaginable; his wardrobe alternating between magenta on the right side and navy-blue on the left, except for the yellow cuffs on his sleeves and pant-legs, and two yellow buttons on each side of the shirt. The shoes and gloves followed the opposite pattern of colors though. An orange tail bent in distinct angles and curled slightly at the leaf-shaped end, floating behind him, not attached to the body. His face, white with black eyes that had yellow pupils, and five stripes on each side of his head, magenta on top, blue on bottom, two yellow and a black center.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't seem to notice that the Moos found something until he saw them circling by a dust patch. They all murmured in their simplistic language, calling "Moo! Moo! Moo!" Glancing over, he approached, finding a small peculiar hole in the ground and soon dismissed the thought of it possibly being important, but before he could walk off, the ground shifted beneath his feet.
"Whoa!" he said, slipping into the abyss. The dry earth crumbled as they all plummeted down below. Many thuds could be heard as the Moos started to pile, their leader being at the bottom. Sputtering out some dirt, he asked the Moos "Get off, will ya?". They all obediently shifted themselves until they were standing up, and off their leader.
"Where is this place?" he asked himself, rubbing his sore head, grabbing one of the torches that lined the walls of the underground cave. Seeing all the dank cells, he quickly assumed it was an abandoned, creepy prison, and searched for a way out. The room was empty and cold, moldy tables and chairs sprawled about, but a small heap occupying the last cell caught his attention. Curiously wanting to get a closer look, he found some keys lying on the table. Upon closer inspection, he found they weren't dusty, more like they've been handled recently. Trying each key in the lock, it took several tries until the door finnaly opened as he approached the limp body, an unconscious girl, faced down in the stone floor. Turning her over, he found fresh cuts and bruises on her face and body.
"Boy, I don't want ta stick around here anymore" he said to himself, nervously imagining what being could possibly hurt her so much, and if it was still lurking about its evil lair. The Moos prodded her with their claws in curiosity, causing her to twitch. Forcing her eyes open, she groaned in pain, and clutched her side, where she was kicked before.
"Hey, you're awake?" he asked, turning back "Who did this to you?"
"You…. must….. escape…….." she uttered weakly, wheezing as she breathed "Get….. out………."
"What about you?" he asked, a little concerned.
"No! Go……….." she said in a daze. He thought for a few seconds knowing that it would be wrong to leave her, but he might get someone angry if she's freed, mainly the one who attacked her. After much thought, he decided to bring her with him, noticing the Popul Purel seemed to be fond of her. Though she seemed weak, she managed to stand on her two legs, and with the Moos making sure she didn't lose her balance, she could get around.
"You're coming with me." He told commanded, not sure what to expect. She didn't protest, placing her trust in him. Holding the torch up, he saw a hallway, the only one, and assumed it led somewhere. He set off in that direction, the Moos and the girl followed. Wandering down the rocky corridors, he kept a close eye on the girl ever now and then, until they could see sunlight.
"There's the exit!" he said, relieved "Now ta get outta here!"
"Moo! Moo! Moo!" the Moos cheered in glee. Weakly limping outside, the girl squinted at the sunlight, and then sat down. She made strange gestures with her hands, manipulating her fingers in a hypnotic way. The girl's palms glowed slightly as she held them over her wounds. He and the Moos stared on, wide-eyed as they witnessed blue magic at work. When she finished, most of her wounds had been reduced to a few tiny bruises.
"That's better" she said, getting back up, she was probably less than an inch taller than him, she noticed him gazing,"Ummmm what are ya starin' at?"
"………." he paused, and then thought "Hey, why didn't ya do that…… whatever it was before?"
"The magic?" she asked "Oh, it couldn't work inside the cave…… there's a lot of chaos energy there..."
He gave her an odd look, and then just shrugged it off.
"Who are you anyway?" she asked, fiddling with a blade of grass.
"I'm OPowaga" he said pruodly "The King ov Moos, and you are?"
"Marie!" she said, taking an object out from her shawl "That's odd... I don't remember having this..."
She held up a peculiar, egg-shaped artifact, inspecting it closely. OPowaga gasped, trying to grab the object, leaping at her. She leapt to the side, causing him to trip, and gave him a curious look.
"What was that all about?" she asked him, quickly pocketing the object.
He lifted himself off the ground and paused to think "I need that... it's for a special contest. Wait, you're not in the tournament, are ya?"
She gave him a puzzled look, unsure of what to say, "I didn't know there was some kinda tournament, I was on my way ta La Lakoosha... and I ended up here."
"Hmmmmmmm that's far away" he said "We happen ta be outside ov Klonoa Town."
"Klonoa?" she asked "That's the name of my brother! Maybe I could find someone there that'll help me... fine, let's make a deal!"
"Huh?" he thought, looking up.
"I'll tag-a-long with you so I don't get lost, and if ya help me find Klonoa, then I'll give ya the egg ya want!" she announced. OPowaga rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking over, he said "Sure, ya can join, just give me the egg an-"
"No!" she said "How am I sure that you won't ditch me when ya get the egg? I'll keep it nice an' safe with me until ya carry out your part of the deal!"
"Hmmmmmmmm, you got yourself a deal!" he said, "Let's go! Off ta Klonoa Town! I'll lead the way"
"Moo!" the popul purel cheered. They all set off into the distance.
"Trickin' her will be easy..." he thought.