Star's Allies
Chapter 8 - Beach Break
The sun greeted the land with its warm smile, as the moon slowly sung its goodbye to that side of Popstar.
With the knights off on their ways, Magolor and Susie decided to toil on making a compass using the heart from Magolor's small collection.
Taranza, having no clue what the nerds were doing, decided that he'll just take care of Dedede's package, which arrived on that day.
Nevertheless, Magolor and Susie went and attempted the procedure.
"I've magicked the thing you want me to do… And I've confirmed that the heart points to somewhere, and usually try to find more if it's split. My jars moved last night." Magolor held a bottle on his palm.
Susie prepped her items.
"Right… so, you'll touch the heart. I'll prepare the body," Susie directed, whilst holding the metal case of a compass, as well as the piece of circular glass. Beside her, was the body of a radar.
"Okay. On the go…"
"Go!"
Magolor sliced the heart into a shard. His hands slipped, surprised by the sudden movement of the heart, as he managed to grab the smaller piece of the heart. The other portion, free from Magolor's grasp, flew off into the air. "Leave it! We've got the small one!"
Susie prepared the compass shell and gave it to Magolor, who plopped the dark heart piece into the compass and sealing the glass. The compass instantly reacted to the closest dark heart it could sense, at times spinning around like crazy. Eventually, it settled on one direction.
Susie took the compass and inserted it to her radar case. The compass slots just perfectly into the device, as Susie closed the radar shut and turned it on.
Green lights flickered, and numbers began to show on the screen. Coordinates were now shown on the radar.
"Right, so putting code into this thing is really easy. Based on how quick it calibrates, it can detect the coordinate. Well, it's general area, anyway…" Susie waved the radar around. She then handed it to Magolor.
"Well, this is a parting gift, I suppose? I'll need to head back to Ripple today, and with the resources and items I've gathered, I guarantee I'll make a profit!" Susie smiled. Magolor nodded back.
"Er… I see."
"Come on! It's a momentous occasion of my company! I've finally got new stuff to toy with! Just, smile or something."
Magolor gave her an awkward smile.
"...good enough. Well, see ya!"
Susie sped away, into her ship. As seconds ticked, she activated the engine, and a full two minutes later, she's up in the air and launched the boosters. Her ship sped off into the cosmos.
Magolor fumbled around with the radar a bit before deciding to head back to his ship.
As he entered the cabin doors, Taranza greeted him.
"Hey! So, what did I miss?"
"Susie went off, and gave me this thing." Magolor threw the radar at Taranza.
He caught the device, and looked at the doodad.
"Well. That's nice of her."
"Yeah…" Magolor began to walk to the command centre.
...
"How about we take a vacation on the beach?"
"Huh?"
The abrupt question came out of nowhere, as Magolor turned back around.
"Y'know, the beach! Bandana recommended it after I told him how annoying it was to fight every single time we travel somewhere. There's even a great sunset! C'mon, let's just relax for a week!"
The offer was tempting. Very tempting. To relax and not battle for a whole week? That will be amazing.
"Where's the direction of the beach?" Magolor eventually asked.
Taranza did a fist pump and gave the general direction.
"Well, Bandana said that it was somewhere south from here…"
"...let me have a look at the radar."
Magolor glanced at the radar on Taranza's hands. By coincidence, the Jamba Heart was also somewhere in the ocean. Well, looks like it's decided then.
"Right, beach it is."
"Yes!"
With enthusiasm, Taranza shook Magolor's hands, and walked off to his room. Magolor smirked and headed to the control centre, sending Lor to the beach.
Travel was smooth and steady, and hopes were high, both for Taranza and Magolor. As the somewhat functional boosters turned on, the ship zoomed off to the sea.
"The beach! Oh, shining white sand, tropical trees, and an amazing view!"
Taranza stood on deck as they approached the beach, ready with snacks and drinks he 'borrowed' from Magolor's fridge. As the starship stopped on the sand, Taranza jumped down straight from the deck and bounced himself until he managed to land on the sand, as he sat down enjoying the waves.
Magolor came out soon after with a peculiar device name the 'umbrella' and planted it in the ground, creating a cover for the two now relaxing magician.
They enjoyed the breeze of the wind, the calm waves splashing against the sand, and the overall relaxation they were having. Magolor gave a content sigh.
"The beach really is a good break after all."
"See, I told you!"
The two moved closer against the pole of the 'umbrella' as Taranza offered 'his' snacks to Magolor.
Magolor, already knowing where it came from, simply accepted the food and ate it.
This was the break that Taranza envisioned. No crazy stunts, no crazy events, and no crazy madmen.
Just the beach, a fellow friend, and a good conversation will do.
"So… your ship…"
"Yeah, it's… alive, in a way. Weird, huh? I don't even know its details myself."
"You're the captain, you should know your own ship."
"Yeah, yeah, gotten it many times before…" Magolor waved it off.
"Hm… what about that…?"
The conversation continued, as the two laughed at certain parts or gave up past experiences.
"I've had that time when I carried Dedede through the whole country, and half the time I look back and Dedede's the only part I remember."
"Eh, he's Dedede. Have I ever mentioned that I built challenge rooms and mini games for Kirby to play through?"
"Hm… might have to check it later. Right now though, sunshine and the ocean's all we need!"
The two drank their beverages as they sat on the sand, eyes out to the horizon, watching the waves ebb and flow from here to there.
Taranza eventually went out to enjoy the sun a bit more, as Magolor kept in the shade.
Magolor closed his eyes, searching for Energy Spheres. Most of them were at the bottom of the ocean, with the heart landing somewhere on an island. Great. He counted thirty spheres, too...
He turned around for a moment, eyes still closed, to see just a few faint dots scattered around in his vision.
He still had a few more spheres to go… at least, not in the forest, the canyons, nor the sea.
His ship will finally be repaired soon, and then he could properly launch his ship.
But today, Magolor supposed that he should enjoy the sun for a while. He and Taranza deserved it. Their goal was here too, so why not?
Magolor went out into the sun-soaked sand as Taranza invited him to build a sand castle.
"Never tried this before… would've been lovely to bring Sectonia here... right."
"Okay… you do know I have no clue on how to make a sandcastle, right?"
"So, make sure the sand stays wet, and it should hold. I think." Taranza said, unsure.
The two began building.
First, the castle walls…
"It's falling apart!"
"Put some compression on it!"
Next, a good castle.
"Dedede wouldn't be proud of this."
The castle was not a castle, more like a shambling pyramid.
"Eh, we did our best."
Last, a good moat surrounding the whole thing.
"Uh… the waves are eating our sand away."
"What?"
Indeed, the waves splashed at the walls. They had built it too close to the sea.
"Who cares? At least the moat will be filled to the brim!"
Voila! A perfect castle!
"...it looks like shit."
"It's good shit," Taranza confronted optimistically, trying to see the positive.
"Well, it looks… nice, I suppose."
The sandcastle consisted of a pyramid on the centre, a mound of wall that is constantly being chipped away, and an overfilled moat.
"Yeah, see? It looks nice!"
The two went back to the umbrella Magolor propped up.
The sun was now three-quarters down.
Taranza enjoyed the view, and fresh and calming breeze, and slept on the spot.
Magolor, on the other hand, fiddled around with the radar, trying to get it to give him an accurate reading. He smacked the device way too many times, trying to recalibrate it. Eventually, it settles on a position. Magolor marked that down on the sand.
As the sun starts to set, Magolor sighed and enjoyed the orange sun as he slowly fell into slumber, too.
A good day at the beach, some might say.
…
Waking up looking on to the sunset, Taranza rubbed his eyes for a minute, as he stood up and carried Magolor back to the ship, with the umbrella in tow.
He placed them on the control room floor, and went back to bed himself, as he pondered, peering through the occasional window to see the last light fade away.
Magolor soon woke up in his ship, and went back to sleep properly at his bed, the umbrella taken with him to the ship's storage room.
Umbrella thrown in haphazardly, he climbed back to hiss room and climbed on his bed, eventually settling on a good night's sleep.
"...are you sure that they're at the shore?"
"Confirmed. I heard the Dee suggesting where they'll go. Which is the beach. Therefore, you'll help them find the corruption and eliminate them.
The captain contemplated the offer for a second. "And what will I get out of this?"
"Treasure, boatloads of it…"
Enticing.
"Alright then… I'll set a course for mainland, should be there next morning…"
"I'll leave you to it, captain."
Meta Knight left, and soon his ship whirred on and flew off the area.
Well, looks like I'm off to another escort mission...
"Change of plans! We're heading to mainland to pick up a few adventurers!" The rat yelled, informing his ever-ready crew of their new destination."
Another day, another task to do.
Magolor took care to his ship and washed it, mainly by dumping its bottom half on a freshwater lake and washing the top half himself. He checked the energy sphere count and returned to maintaining the vessel.
Taranza gathered fruits and berries in the meantime, preparing a juice that'll (hopefully) taste good.
…
Now then, where's that berry?
Taranza was looking for a specific kind of berry, usually found in shrubs and grown in certain places.
"Aha, there it is!"
He's spotted it, reaching for the fruit as he pocketed it in his small basket.
Now, coconuts…
Taranza headed back out to the beach.
…
Magolor swiped the deck clean, as he trashed all the garbage on the floor, and stored the cleaning supplies.
A good check of the ship's conditions…
Energy Spheres are about halfway done now.
His midnight excursions helped… He had gone all-throughout the country to gather the few spheres not in the ocean, which managed to total up to a good amount.
He still didn't know why fate decided that his main fuel source should be thrown deep in the ocean.
Oh well, I'll need to get them later…
Magolor did another roundabout looking at the statistics. The ship was in pristine condition.
Maybe he ought to take a break now…
Magolor exited the main command centre and checked his fridge. To his surprise, a glass of… something was placed in there, a blend of… he didn't even know.
He took the glass, sloshed the liquid around, before drinking it.
It… tastes pretty good! A hint of sourness, and a tangy sweet flavour mixed with the fresh taste of coconut water makes it feel like some sort of tropical drink.
Magolor took the glass with him as he drunk and left the ship. Taranza was still gathering his ingredients.
"Hey, nice drink!"
"Eh? Well, I just thrown what I had together… Is it really that good?"
Magolor nodded. "Of course!"
Taranza headed in the ship. Minutes passed, and he left with a grin on his face. "Haha… I've nailed it!"
"See? You make quite good drinks, I'd say."
"...it's only one drink," Taranza brushed it off as he climbed back up a tree to get its fruit.
"Eh, still. Quite a nic-"
TOOT!
A horn was sounded. It was rather loud, ringing clear in both of their ears. Taranza climbed down with his hand holding a coconut, and gazed off into the horizon to see a ship approaching them.
'Well, that ought to be interesting…' Taranza thought.
"Someone's coming in a ship," Taranza warned, as he ran back in the ship.
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, let's see what they've got." Magolor followed the spider in.
A press of a button lit the ship's radar, and a ship decked out could be seen miles from the shore.
"Well well well! We've got company! So… how do we greet them?" Taranza flashed an evil smirk.
"We try and talk with these… pirates? Seafarers? I don't know the term…"
"Not really fun, huh… Maybe I'll try and shoot that star cannon you have."
"Are you crazy, Taranza?"
"No, I'm chock-full of ideas!" Taranza laughed.
The ship edged closer to shore as it sailed dead ahead to the two. Taranza went back to shore to wait for the vessel to arrive, whilst making another drink, accompanied by Magolor who grabbed a telescope and looked at the ship.
"I see… rats?"
"Hm, a rat ship. Oh! That's a rad ship, ain't it?"
Magolor groaned at the awful joke. "Yes, that's a rad ship."
Taranza chuckled at the egg's annoyance and returned to mixing his drink.
The ship began approaching shore.
Taranza finished his drink right then and there, drinking it as soon as it was done. He cleaned his impromptu bartending area, and returned it to the Lor, going back and forth, coming just in time to see the ship docking by the beach.
Magolor noted the vessel and approached it cautiously.
As the two arrived in front of the boat, a figure could be seen exiting a cabin or sorts. He was wearing a type of red cloak with a fancy red hat on.
"Greetings. My name is Daroach, and this is my crew," he said, pointing to his side. "I'm the captain of the Squeak Squad, and we used to be famous back then…"
Daroach offered his hand to the magicians.
Taranza boldly accepted it, while Magolor hesitated for a bit longer before also shaking the rat's hand.
"Taranza here."
"Uh.. Er.. I'm Magolor."
"Very nice to meet you. Now then…" Daroach flipped open a book.
"I've got a job to escort you throughout the ocean, from a guy named Meta Knight, or something like that." A flip, and the book was closed.
"So. You're probably going to be stuck with me and my crew for the next few weeks or so..."
Taranza brought his hand up to his chin. "Well, I suppose we could do it, yeah."
Magolor accepted this, with a single question.
"What if we tag along in a flying ship?"
"Flying ship… mumble… mumble… Okay, I suppose…" Daroach permitted the duo to use the Lor in the ocean travels.
"Sweet!"
Taranza rushed off, leaving Magolor.
"I'll, uh, keep you in touch. Shall I lead the way?"
A moment of consideration, and Daroach responded. "Yeah, sure. I have no idea where we're going, anyway."
"Alright, We'll lead. Just don't lose sight of the Lor."
"The what?"
A question asked a million times.
"The Lor Starcutter, my ship."
Daroach nodded to the egg, and Magolor sped off back to his ship. Soon, the ship was on and floating.
Daroach, satisfied to know his clients, yelled to his crew.
"WE'RE HUNTING TREASURE TONIGHT!" A lot of clapping was heard in response.
While he and these two travel… what harm can treasure do?
His crew's morale up, he entered his own chamber and wrote a quick entry on his captain's log, a log of the Squeak Squad formation for the past few years.
'Ship Log
Day XX/XY/YZ
I've met two interesting people today. Their names are Taranza and Magolor (and the knight told me someone named Marx will be there, which is a complete lie...). They're who I'll be escorting for reasons (ordered by client) across the sea. I just hope that this'll be a fun mission, for once. Looking at that Lor ship, I've felt a bit jealous too… But then again, it's done and dusted. Had my time in the glory, after all.
…
Crew is doing fine. Rations are fine. Water supply is fine. All items in running condition. Out I go.
-CD'
A quick entry, with data and fiction crammed in for good measure, making the illusion really seem 'meh'.
He laid the book in his drawer. A quick look to the windows showed him the Lor. He remembered when his ship was airborne. Too bad it came with drawbacks and cons.
Daroach turned and exited the cabin to find the Lor booting up.
Magolor flipped a few levers, switches, as he slapped the missing machinery into the ship. Now, the Lor is running at 56-ish%, a massive improvement due to his energy sphere gathering sessions.
That meant that the ship is faster too.
Magolor tapped his broadcaster a few times before saying a word. "Hello. I'm Magolor from the, uhh… adjacent shield. Please prepare for a launch in… about ten minutes." Relieved that his message was out, he went and gathered the last food available in the shores and the small woods behind it.
Taranza, intrigued by the prospect of food, helped Magolor to pick up the much more easier and delicious ones to incorporate into a bland state or as a topping to a dish.
Magolor turned to Taranza.
"So… you better use that ten minute timespan correctly." Magolor warned.
"Of course, of course; who do you take me for?"
"Well, you're Taranza."
"True. I am Taranza."
...
A faint shout was heard in the distance, piercing through the Lor's walls. "Ready to roll, lower them masts, and a' set sail we go!"
"Come on..." Taranza ran, as Magolor flew back to his ship.
Ah. I've made it to the ship.
The ten minutes before gave them enough time to roll back into the ship and with a simple countdown over the intercom, Lor Starcutter launched with speed, with the Squeak Squad right behind them.
They took off, ships swimming as they travelled into the vast ocean.
Magolor, upon launch, set his sights on the radar running on the main screen of his control, and watched the small dots blip as they cross the ocean. He noticed something though…
A dot was quite close to where they are. The ship's estimation gave him thirty five minutes to sail to the location.
Thirty minutes later, Magolor asked for a rest, as the two ships began to set up camp on their decks. There was relief in Magolor's face when he saw the Energy Sphere right below them. Well, at least near to it, anyway. The Squeaks, however, was irritated at the stop. Manning a ship takes time and energy.
Daroach saw Magolor coming on board his ship.
"Right, pal; what's your business out in the middle of sea?"
He was irritated, but tolerated Magolor's words soon after. "Well, uh, I'm finding the energy crystal needed for my ship and one of them happens to be here, deep in there," Magolor pointed over the deck railings.
"We'll need the deep sea team to get there…"
Magolor turned down Daroach's plan. "No need. I can get it myself. Just give me a snorkel and we're off again."
A sigh. "Right. Crew, prepare the snorkel."
They came back with the item, fitted onto Magolor's head. "Right… and off I go!"
"Hold on, take off your clo-"
Splash.
Well.
Daroach calmly went back into his cabin, with the rest of his crew going back to their business.
Magolor was deep in the sea now.
Taranza, meanwhile, chose a better activity to do…
Taranza began fiddling around with the Lor's controls. He needed to find which one drives the thing, so that he could use it for… 'recreational purposes'.
Yeah. 'Recreational'.
Actually he just needed to open his room's door. Taranza is locked out from his room, and he didn't know how to open it ("It's too complicated," he said), so off to the manual he went.
Too bad the Lor didn't come with manuals.
So here he is, pushing buttons to open his room door.
After pushing a substantial amount of buttons, the lights were off, the alarms were blaring, there was no air-conditioning, and somehow anti-gravity mode was turned on, with Taranza himself currently floating in mid-air trying to press the button again. It included a lot of flapping and off he went to press the button.
The second click of the gravity button returned the ship's gravity to normal. Now… how is he gonna find out which buttons do what?
…
Daroach stirred his look to the Lor once again.
The last time he looked at it, it was a complete blackout. Then, it squashed in on itself.
Now, it had managed to flip upside-down, with Taranza dangling on the crow's nest.
What the hell is happening on that ship?
…
Taranza needed to not touch buttons. Too bad he wanted to.
His door wasn't going to open otherwise.
Taranza climbed back up...down…? He made it onto the control panel again, and pressed the last button he had not yet pushed, in a cluster of six on the wall.
ZZZZZT.
...is that my door?
Taranza went off to check, ship still upside-down.
His door was open.
Success! Now, I coul-
Alarms began to ring.
…
Magolor had a strange feeling. It was not the multitude of fish and corals around him, but that of a ship. His ship.
Oh well, he needed to stay at the task at hand.
He'd seen the glinter of light that was reflected in the sphere's glassy shell, and he needed to retrieve it.
Grab, pull.
A piece of wreckage lay on top of it, as Magolor took the sphere with him, exploring the surroundings all the while. Bonk!
Bonk? I didn't hit anyone…
Magolor looked down.
A wooden… something lay on the surface of the sand.
Magolor tried to pull it out. He yanked the wood off, and what greeted him was a box full of treasure presumably).
He'd still take it though, just because.
Deep in the water with the single energy sphere secure Magolor started heading back up. He wanted to avoid the unsavoury hazards of diving, and decided to the surface via the long route.
The long route was just floating up at a very slow pace.
Well, this'll take a long while…
Magolor came up to Daroach's ship, fishing himself out via floating.
"Got it!" he shouted, carrying an orb and a small chest.
"Hand this to Daroach, alright, big guy?"
Storo, the muscle of the ship and known for his size, was handed the snorkel and the treasure.
"...boss!"
He opened the cabin door. "The guy's found treasure!"
A desk slam was heard. "What?"
Daroach exited his cabin and confronted Magolor.
"What happened down there?" the captain questioningly asked.
"Oh, I found the thing and a chest!"
"...hand him the snorkel, Storo."
The snorkel was handed back to Magolor.
"Right; we'll lend you this equipment for the treasure location."
Logic entailed that if there's treasure in an area, there's bound to be more.
Magolor took the snorkel and paid his end of the deal. He'd already accepted.
"It's about thirty minutes away from here to the south-west, right by a long tall piece of red coral."
Daroach jotted that down and contacted Doc, his local scientist. "Ey, doc. Still got that submarine?"
...they have a submarine?
"Course I do! It's in the garage!"
...they have a garage in here?
True to the doc's words, a small entrance opened up by the side of the ship, as a small boat was lowered onto the water by Daroach and a few of his men.
"Set sail and we find treasure, lads!"
They're off.
Magolor saw them cheerily leave as he picked up his borrowed snorkel and his energy sphere and flew back to the Lor.
He opened the door and what greeted him was not a friendly sight.
"Warning, warming, waaaaaaa-"
Klaxons were blaring with the air conditioning blowing at full speed, with trash around the main control room. Overall, it looked like something tore through the Lor. Something in the shape of a spider…
"Taranza, what the f-"
After disabling the alarms, Taranza got a stern talking to by Magolor, who did not appreciate his ship being messed around like this.
Magolor exited Taranza's room after his tense warnings of not doing it again, and started the engine of the ship.
…
"Oh, we're flying?" Daroach looked at the starship floating on.
"Alright, then. Spinni, get the controls and ram the stick. We're speeding tonight."
Spinni, the resident small and speedy mouse of the crew, grinned and sped inside the ship. Soon, the ship blasted off.
Daroach walked the edge of his deck and prepared his shout.
...
Magolor took his sweet time with the ship, still wary from Taranza's 'stunt' ("It was accidental!" he said).
nyoom
Something whizzed by like a blur, with a faint shout somewhat sounding like a "So long, suckers!" from Daroach as they sped off.
Well then. He did not expect that ship to go that fast. At least his next few nearest energy spheres are quite far…
'Alright, then.' Magolor flipped the controls and off the Lor went with great alacrity.
He still had more spheres to get, after all.
Their break was worth the time, and now it's back to work they go.
Magolor stretched his hands as he glanced over the radar's findings. He had 8 spheres to get tomorrow. Fun.
Maybe he'll invite Taranza for once…
He closed his eyes.
Hmm…?
He saw an energy sphere up on the clouds. A singular one. It was moving, too.
...how did it even land there?
So, he had a lot in the sea… some stray ones here and there… with one single Energy Sphere on a cloud.
That'll be a lot of work. Not to mention the things that can kill them…
Tired from his journey in the sea, he slept early, and leaving the Lor flying all on its own. The ship has a mind of its own, after all. It be small, but it's there.
He closed his eyes, this time to sleep. A ghost of himself watched through the crack between the door, as he smiled and walked to the control room.
Souls were meant to watch over themselves, after all. They were the guardians, and yet the weakest parts of a person.
And they were proud of that.
The wind blew softly on the ships.
The moon had finally shown its face as it in turn waved its hands at those who could see it.
Daroach certainly can't, as he directed his attention to nowhere in particular.
He looked at the blurred horizon. He really was having a fun time again after moving to the sea. Seemed like his choice of moving really gave him a renewed sense of adventure.
…
"Well… We've got a problem," the captain talked to his crew members.
"I fear that the skies have lost its treasures. The People of the Sky, for one, blacklisted us from their floating settlements just now. So, I propose my idea."
"As captain, I propose that we move to the sea."
Storo raised his hand.
"Boss, you sure that'll be a good idea?"
Daroach tipped his hat.
"Of course, Storo. There's too many people in the skies now. We must take advantage of the unexplored."
"We'll follow you anywhere, Captain. Even the sea itself," Spinni added, the usually quiet individual giving his opinion.
"Good to hear that my decision is supported. Doc, any objections? The Squeaks, too?"
No answer.
"Okay, great."
Daroach turned to Doc.
"Doc, you'll need to build us new tech for the great seas. Hopefully, you can get it done, and then we're off."
"Yes, yes. I'll try to hurry, at least at a good pace…"
"Our plans are set then. Let's find some treasures, shall we?"
A collective agreement formed that night.
…
Daroach knew he could trust his team. His loyal crew.
After all, he was one not to repeat mistakes. Countless mistakes done, but never repeat blunders.
He's developed a sense of paranoia for chests, for those dealing in dark places…
And it helped.
It helped him avoid a good amount of… unsavory types, after the opening of the dark star and Kirby's victory over the possessive being.
Well, lessons learned, he supposed.
He had responsibility. And that was enough to carry him across the skies and the seas of Popstar.
Determination, Curiosity and Responsibility.
The three driving forces behind his actions. Not of the past, and maybe not the future, but his present. The greatest ideology he could have right now.
AN:
Yeah, writer's block managed to get me.
We've got Daroach here! Also, a chapter without boss battles, for once. Amazing!
Gotta give them a good break, after all. I can't have these two run around and get in trouble without rest.
Things are finally moving again.
icanwrite13: Hm. People need to have their fame in the spotlight for a little while… no matter if they're like Taranza or not.
rachael. : Extras do have that detail that I just like to add for the sake of the characters and worldbuilding.