Chapter
42, Part 1 of 2
It
had been a good few hours since their last adventure. Foreman Spike,
Guido, and Oglian were now out of the water and on land. Their
travels this time had led them to a long path of dirt in the middle
of a vast field of grass. It was a nice scenery, complete with clear
skies and a brightly shining sun. However, at the end of this road
lied the fabled Forest of Dheos. Their arrival there, Guido was less
than looking forward to, but he really wanted his hammer back.
"So then I said to the guy, 'Oh, yeah? Well, my mouth, which is doing all the talking right now, he's got a cousin. He's right here, and he's got his own way of talking to strangers.'" Foreman Spike held up his fist to emphasize his point. "In a few minutes, the guy was talking with a fist full of broken teeth. Can you believe it?"
"Fascinating story, sir," Guido replied. "Um, about this Forest of Dheos; it's not as bad as they say it is, is it?"
"Don't worry, dear, we'll be fine," Oglian reassured.
"If you say so..."
"HEY!!" Spike fumed. Everyone stopped walking. The man started glaring at his partner with his hands on his hips. Both Guido and Oglian were a bit nervous now. "You didn't hear a single word I said, did you?"
"That's not true, sir, I heard EVERYTHING you said, from the part where the guy got you mad to the part where you... punched his lights out..."
"Rrrgh!! That's what you ALWAYS say!! Well, I for one am getting tired of it." Foreman Spike rolled up his sleeve. Guido looked at his arm fearfully.
"Um..."
"This is it, Guido," Spike said threateningly, "broken jaw time!!"
"Spike, you mustn't!!" Oglian urged.
"Uh, uh," guido stuttered, looking around frantically for a way out of this. He saw the forest at the end of the road. In his panick, for one brief moment, he swore on his life he saw something. The trembling Mario jammed an index finger in that direction. "Look, Spike! Look over there! Isn't that that one silver guy you were fighting earlier?!"
"Heh?" The foreman loosened the fingers in his fist some. He turned around and took a look for himself. At this point, there didn't seem to be anything more there than just trees, but the man couldn't ever pass up on an opportunity to beat up an old enemy of his, so he looked harder. "Hmm..." he said as he squinted his eyes and placed a hand above his shades. Now he could see something, too. Sure enough, it faintly resembled a man with silver skin and a striped uniform. Maybe even two of them. "Well shoot," the foreman mused. "You may be right..."
Spike turned around and faced his cohorts. "Alright, guys, it's decided: we're gonna go over there and-" He stopped upon noticing Guido with his back turned towards him. The smaller man's shoulders were hunched and his legs were standing on their toes. "Hey!!" Spike blurted accusingly. "You trying to run away?!"
"Ah, no sir," Guido sweated. "I'm just... doing my toe exercises."
"Well, hurry it up then," Spike replied. "We gotta teach that guy a lesson and soon!" The leader of the group turned around once more. He looked again. This time, he saw something else as well. It seemed even big humanoid frogs could be seen walking around in this forest. "Ho, they've brought their friends along. This oughtta be interesting..." The man spun around and grabbed Guido by the arm. "Dang it, man, hurry it up! Have you any idea how many butts we could be kicking right now?!"
"Uhh..."
"Geez," the man spazzed. Now he was running as hard as he could. A befuddled Guido was being dragged behind him. In the rear was a very flustered Oglian. Now all three of them were running down this road as though their lives depended on it.
Lord, Guido lamented, someone save me from this crazy person...
Indeed, inside the Forest of Dheos, a rather large group of people were marching around. They were none other than the 100 aliens from the ship, each of them headed by the ever imposing Wart. The whole lot of them had undergone their fair share of tree-evading and even marsh-exploring. It was tiresome, yet the entire army continued to march. After all, this was a group of strength and high spirits. A few of them were even chatting away between friends.
"So, uh," the colossal Toonga said to Tobi and Tapoleon, "we're going to the moon, right? That glowy thing in the sky, right?"
"Of course, Toonga! Don't tell me you've forgotten the mission already?" Tapoleon answered. His gigantic cohort started scratching the top of his head, much like the purple ape that he was.
"Uh," he hesitated. "Nope. I didn't forget, but... We're not gonna be seein'... cheese there, are we?"
"Cheese?" Tapoleon scoffed. "Please!"
"No cheese?"
"No cheese."
Toonga stared blankly. His left eye started twitching and a vein was beginning to throb on his temple. Then the humungous alien started snarling and clenching his fists. When Tapoleon saw this, he just rolled his eyes. The ever cautious Tobi just started walking a little slower, falling behind the group in the process. Up front, Trigg could only barely make this out going on behind him. The suave sharpshooter heaved a sigh.
Gimme something to kill, he prayed. I need it...
Nearby the purple aliens, there were the silvers. Taking the lead was Katana. The man remained quiet and well-behaved for the most part throughout this march. Behind him, the easily excited Cloaker and Domino were refusing to shut up.
"I don't know, Cloaker," Domino said. "I know he was an asset to the group, but seriously... who needs him?"
"For shame, Domino!" Cloaker objected. "Maybe he WAS a narcissus, but you have no idea what that boy's been going through!"
"Defending him, are you?" Domino retorted. "That Cutlass? Have you any idea what he plans on doing to our beloved Smithy?"
Cloaker gasped and covered his mouth. "Not Smithy!!"
Katana squinted his eyes when he overheard this. Cutlass and Smithy? he pondered. What in the world could be the connection?...
And next to the silvers were the frogs. The two up front were the worst of them all. Welt and Wartini were growling back and forth about something.
"BEER... "
"BLOOD!"
"BEER..."
"BLOOD!!"
"BEER..."
"BLOOD!!!"
After that, the two were silent, although Welt was still gritting his teeth, making strange clicking noises, and shaking his fists beside him. Wartini was just dragging his feet with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Then he said something again.
"BEER..."
"BLUH-"
"SHUT UP!!" Two other frogs, a tall one named Wax and a short one named Wane, had had enough. After their outburst, the two head frogs turned their heads and glared at the other two. Wax and Wane glared back. Then Welt and Wartini faced forward again.
"BEER..."
"BLUH-"
"WE SAID SHUT UP!!"
Beyond all the aliens, their rotund leader was feeling his nerves grating as he tromped through these woods and made his way around various shrubs and branches. It was clear even to him that few of his minions were the sharpest knives, yet he still chose to place his faith in them.
ALL OF THESE SOLDIERS ARE TOTAL BUFFOONS he thought, BUT I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME FOR A REASON...
"Say, Wart," Katana said to him.
"YES."
"You didn't catch sight of a couple of guys and a Magikoopa, did you?"
"NO."
"Just checking..."
Even deeper into the forest, the Swoompires were again at work. The powerful Swampic was rapidly digging a huge hole in the ground using nothing but his bare hands, the shapely Swan was peering between two trees, and the lanky Swoosh was using his insane legs to hop from one section of the woods to the next. Elsewhere, Swine was furiously digging into an opening in a tree's trunk. Swoompster wasn't in it, but a ton of little worms were. The peckish Swoompire promptly shoved them all into his mouth and began to chew.
High above this part of the forest was the authoritative Duke Swuke. The humorless man was floating in the sky having turned his arms and legs into pillars of swirling purple mist. Left and right, he scanned the area. His purple eyes were sharp, but they saw no sign of their missing teammate. One more place to look, and then we leave, he decided.
The Swoompires' desire to get their cohort back was running as strong as ever, but one of them was hardly contributing to the group. It was the elderly one with his back against a tree, his top hat covering the upper half of his face, and his mouth making loud noises.
"SNNRRKK... SNNRRKK..."
His mind was off in a mystical land full of all the blood and liver he could ever ask for, but his body was still in the Forest of Dheos. In a matter of seconds, a comrade of his had lunged to his side, and he didn't even notice.
"Hey, Sward," the competitive Swoosh urged as he knelt down and shook the old man by the left shoulder. "SWARD!!" Still nothing. Frustrated, the humungous Swoompire finally just slapped the geezer in the face. At last, the aged man slowly awoke.
"Ahh, nothing quite like a good nap," he mumbled. Gradually, he shifted his face towards his towering ally. "Eh? You need something, Swoosh?"
"Do I need something? Forget about me, have you any idea what you're doing right now?!"
Sward took a long pause. "What am I doing?"
"NOTHING!" Swoosh exclaimed. "For christ' sake, man, Duke Swuke is watching! He'd take your head clean off for slacking off if he got the chance!"
Another pause from the old man. "That so?"
"Agh, you're hopeless..." The irritated Swoosh stood back onto his long legs and turned around, rubbing the back of his head. Behind him, he could hear the eldest member of the group giving out a prominent yawn. "Hey, as long as you're here, maybe you can help me with something," Swoosh added.
"Yes, son."
"About those ghosts we met earlier," he began. "Nothing about them seemed... off, did it?"
The wrinkled Sward thought about it for a second. He faintly remembered a group of nine people floating around in the middle of nowhere. Some of them had some pretty big noses whereas others didn't have any noses whatsoever. All of them looked pretty pale. "Anything threatening about'em, m'boy?"
"Not really, I guess," Swoosh stated. "It's just... I heard of a group called the Spookalings."
"...What of them?"
"I heard they openly declared war on Tondariya... Not even we would do something that huge... Would we?"
"Why not?"
"Uh..." Swoosh rubbed the back of his head some more. "No reason, I guess..."
"Buck up, boy," Sward advised. "Scared of a little faerie like Tondariya? Come now; you're the Swoompire of Pride. Show us some spunk."
An exclamation mark materialized above Swoosh's head. He suddenly bent his knees and jammed his fists in front of him. "DAMN RIGHT!!!" he bellowed. Sward nodded. He pulled his hat back over his eyes and began to nod off some more.
"SWOOSH! SWARD!!" Both Swoompires jerked their heads up. The intimidating Duke Swuke was back on the ground and walking past them. "Pack up. Last area..."
The two Swoompires nodded and began to follow their companions. Swan bumped into Swoosh in the process, and the two yelled at each other. Afterwards, it was only a matter of time until they reached the final area and began to take their search for the missing Swoompster to the next level...
Meanwhile, a very excited Razeil was hopping from tree to tree. He had been keeping at this for a good deal of time now. The number of interesting things he had seen in these woods was too vast to count. Giddily, he stopped somewhere and peered beneath him. Down there was that group of nine from earlier, the Spookalings. He madly giggled to himself as he kept his distance and maintained a watchful eye. "One-hundred-and-twenty-three coconuts," he whispered to himself anxiously. "My mouth is watering..."
In the ghost' case, they had ways of their own to keep themselves entertained throughout this expedition in the forest. "Just a little longer," the Wereyoshi growled to his friend Jax. "I'll wait that long for some action around here." The small Il from Il Ville nodded in agreement.
Further away from them were the girls of the group. Each of them seemed to be ticked about something. "Those stupid little Raven things," Princess Cherry Blossom grumbled. "When I get my hands on them..."
"I know!" Dorreen fumed. "The nerve of some people! Taking away my parasol like that... RRG!!"
"Forget about your parasol," the princess commented. "That staff was a family heirloom!" The girl heard a cynical snorting sound beside her. She turned and faced Capt. Spatula. "Got a problem, missy?"
"It was worth a few thousand," the pirate explained. "Why does it come as such a surprise to you it'd eventually be stolen?"
The princess growled furiously. She held out her hands as if to strangle her selfish partner. The captain just folded her arms and scoffed once more.
"You guys don't think my nose is too big, do you?" The two girls stopped and turned towards Yoshiki. The female Yoshi was worriedly patting at the facial feature in question.
"Oh, of course not, Ms. Yoshiki! It's the most lovely nose in the world!" Holy Troopa adjusted his glasses and pulled a sheet of paper out from behind him. "Here, I wrote a poem about your nose. Ahem...
"Your
nose is like a rose
'Tis
a fine nose
A
nose that arose from-"
"NO NO NO!! I HATE POETRY!!" Big Boo wailed. "I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT!!" It didn't take long for Holy Troopa and Yoshika to start bickering with him. All the while, the other three girls were continuing to gripe, and the remaining three people were starting to get a little annoyed, King Boo and the Wereyoshi especially.
For the love of God, someone shut them up, King Boo thought bitterly.
Up in the branches, Razeil was still giggling excitedly. "One-hundred-and-twenty-three," he repeated. "I can't wait..."
Outside the Forest of Dheos, three friends were giggling crazily over the weapons they had just received. They were all swinging them around here and there, grinning excitedly as though multiple enemies would fall after each blow.
"So much power in a simple piece of metal," Goomba Prince admired. "I feel like a king again!"
"I can block the sun!" Razule declared. He flipped open his newfound parasol and held it high over his head. "No one's gonna rain on my parade now!"
"You guys are kidding yourselves," Ren said. "I got the best one..." The power-hungry Raven shouldered his new staff, closed one eye, and started aiming at different spots in the sky. Surely some unsuspecting birds were around for this. "Come on," he urged. Finally, he was able to lock onto something. The Raven laughed heartily. "Jackpot!!"
FOOM...
Up in the sky, a devious golden Yoshi was soaring through the air, courtesy of the strength of his powerful legs. His destination, the Forest of Dheos, was just a few meters away, but he was actually looking for something a bit more specific.
Hmm... he thought as he kept his eyes peeled for his real target. If I recall correctly, that brown Yoshi is on a hunt for seven people, and one of them is in this forest. If my calculations are correct, his travels would have caused him to meet someone beforehand, and the two should meet again right about-
FFWWOOSSHH!! "AAUURRGGHH!!" The Kroshi's concentration was destroyed. He had been nailed by somethin huge and burning like a massive fireball. Now he was going down.
Damn it all...
Down below, Razule and Goomba Prince were confused beyond redemption. Indeed, Ren had hit something, but it resembled a humanoid goldmine.
"Ren," Goomba Prince said, "what did you hit?!"
"D... Don't look at me," Ren said, just as dumbfounded as his friends.
"HIT THE DIRT!!" Razule shrieked. The three jumped out of the way and WHUMP!! The prize had crashed into the ground. The Kroshi bounced off the grass and started rolling around in an endeavor to extinguish the flames. In a few seconds, all of them were out. Now they were just scorch marks on his skin. When he stood up, he was as angry as a demon.
"Alright," he growled, "which one of you hit me with that?!"
"It was Ren!!" Goomba Prince blurted. "HE did it! Kill him, not me!!"
"If you insist," the Kroshi seethed, cracking his knuckles. Ren was infuriated.
"Nice going, blabber-mouth," he growled. The Kroshi was quickly advancing on him and the little Raven was not looking forward to a fight with his threatening man. The golden Yoshi had his fists held up when Razule suddenly dove between the two fighters.
"Hold it, hold it!!" he protested. "We shouldn't be fighting; we should be sharing!"
"Shut up, runt," the Kroshi spat. "Your friend hit me. I aint letting him get away with that!!"
"W-We'll comensate you!" Razule insisted. "Satisfaction guarenteed."
The Kroshi stopped and glared at the Raven-like creature. He looked behind him and saw Ren. Ren stared for a second and he started nodding. Goomba Prince was confused. "Alright, squirt," the Kroshi said, folding his arms. "What can you do for me?"
"I can tell you your fortune..."
The Kroshi cocked his eyebrow at the little man. "My fortune?"
"Trust me!" Razule continued. "I can see any apple for miles!"
The Kroshi heaved a sigh. He could still feel the fire burning. "Alright," he said, "but this better be worth it."
"Oh, it's worth more than a thousand monkeys on a whale made of doughnuts!" The Kroshi stared at him impatiently. Razule laughed nervously, then cleared his throat. "Right then," he said and he closed his eyes. "In your future... I see..."
But a few miles away from the Boombateers were Xoshi and friends. The five of them were walking down a dirt road, enjoying the nice day and fearing not even the most deliberate of perilous possibilites heading their way. In fact, the quintet was just sharing things between one another. The setting was quite serene.
"I suppose me and Davey HAVE encountered much since the start of our travels back in our hometown in Grass Land," Chogun admitted. "We've recovered strange stones from Clefts, outlandish clothings from Gulpits... You name it."
"We were almost able to get these two gems from a giant monster that looked like it was made out of blue jelly, but it was too strong," Davey added.
"Ah, yes. There was a green one and a gold one, but... I guess the beast deserved them more than we did."
"Ho, you should have seen the thing me and White Rose took down in the Dry Dry Desert," Xoshi commented. "It was humungous! Do you remember that, White?"
The knight was actually paying little attention. He had his left elbow resting in his right hand. Two of his fingers were strumming the side of his face. Those two gems, he thought. It couldn't be... The ones from the legend?...
Xoshi stared at his spacey white-garbed partner. "White? You alive over there?"
"The White Rose, some dignifying responses, if you will," Leif demanded, konking the swordsman on the head with a curled fist. This woke up the wandering knight with a start.
"Ugh... My apologies, Sir Xoshi, but no, I hadn't forgotten of the Pokey. It was a gauntlet of biblical proportions if my memory serves me correctly."
"Yeah, 'biblical proportions' sums it up," Xoshi quipped. "Although, it was really White Rose who did most of the work."
"Of course," Leif agreed. "His eyes possess the glimmer of an experienced warrior..."
The masked knight had quickly become the center of attention, yet his mind was still elsewhere. I remember hearing a lot of things, he speculated. Now it's as though history is finally coming alive...
In Xoshi's mind, there was a certain Star Warrior making an observation.You've become quite fluent with the new language, he remarked. Maybe you don't even need me anymore...
Well, I guess I have gotten pretty good and- Xoshi stopped. Wait... Come on, I couldn't POSSIBLY not need you anymore! You know so much!
Most of what I know isn't that important, Beel replied modestly.
Well... What IS important?
Take for instance... the names of the last two people we'll be tracking down and where we can find them...
...Yeah?
Yes, Beel answered. First off, after our expedition in the Forest of Dheos, we shall seek out Jeremiah Skai. His abode can be found-
"-GAAHHH!!" Chogun wailed. The others turned their heads toward him.
"What is it?" David asked.
"Some rock," Chogun wheezed, clutching at one of his bug-like feet. "Came out of nowhere and... got my foot..."
The others looked where the bug man had stepped. As a matter of fact, a rock was there; a jagged one with a few drops of blood on it. "Some others are popping up as well," Leif pointed out. The others looked ahead and saw it for themselves. The dirt path and the grassy field surrounding it was now infested with all kinds of jagged rocks popping out of the ground, one after another, like warts.
"I don't like the looks of this," Xoshi fretted.
"Everyone, stand back!!" Leif ordered. The five-some jumped back a few steps and watched this strange phenomenon take place. Gradually, the rocks were getting closer together. They were even getting bigger and causing the ground to shake. All Xoshi and friends could do was watch and wait.
The rising rocks shook everything for a few seconds more. Finally, the show was topped off with a massive explosion of earth. A tremendous boulder bigger than any the travelers may have ever seen shot up from the ground and blocked their path. On top of it was a notably smaller one, but it vaguely resembled a statue of sorts. The group looked on at it. They tried identifying it, but falling bits of dirt were getting in their eyes.
A crack popped open on the figure's chest. Then another, and another. In a matter of seconds, the entire stone figure was completely covered in fractures. Then FOOM!! The thing exploded and the group could finally see who was beneath it. It was a very cocky-looking man they had all met back in Carnival Alley. His spear was there and everything.
"Labyrit!!" Xoshi called out.
"Who?" Chogun asked.
"Yes, kiddies, it's me," the Bandit greeted. "We haven't seen each other in a while, now have we? Tell me: how many dreams have you been shattering while I was gone? Hundreds? Thousands?"
"Just tell us what you want, you weirdo," Xoshi retorted. "We don't exactly have time for you."
"Don't have time, you say?" Labyrit said. "Now, that's not very nice. I went through all this trouble to make this new maze for you..." The brown Bandit picked up his spear and pointed it at the front of the giant rock he was standing on. From there, a gateway made of stone opened up before the group. Each of them were surprised by this ability, Chogun especially.
"A... new maze?" Davey asked.
"Yes, and one more elaborate than you could ever imagine," Labyrit gloated. "Gentlemen, I give you..." He spread his arms out dramatically and yelled it out. "LABYRIT'S ELABORATE LABYRINTH: THE ILLUSTRIOUS ELIMINATOR!!"
Xoshi and friends were shocked. Davey was just muddled. "What is it with this guy and all the tongue-twisters?"
"Your objective is simple," Labyrit elaborated. "You have three hours. You must split into groups of two. Each one is to find a pair of elemental stones, then destroy them with their opposing elements. I know you can do it, because I've been asking around; you all have wands... if not something similar..."
White Rose pulled out his red-tipped wand and looked at it carefully. Then he looked at Xoshi who was just sweating. I hadn't even considered the possibility of us becoming well-known, he thought. Is this the consequence of seeing the world?
"But," Davey objected, "there are only five of us! How do we get in groups of two?"
"Oh, that's right," Labyrit said with fake sympathy. "Well, don't worry; I'll go easy on you guys. After all, I was going to make it required that you take out all twelve of the stones, but... I guess just five will be fine."
Davey slowly nodded. Then the Viking of the group stepped forward. "And suppose we find and destroy these five stones," he said, "what shall be our prize?"
"Then you guys get to go on your marry way, and I won't bother you ever again."
White Rose raised an eyebrow at the dubious Bandit. "And if we lose?"
Labyrit pointed his spear at the brown Xoshi. "Then your little friend here will have no choice but to give me back my pendant."
The others looked at Xoshi. The brown Yoshi looked at them back through shifty eyes. "Look," he said to Labyrit, "if you want your pendant back that badly, then I could just-"
"-No," Labyrit spat. "It was your wits that got you that pendant. Now it's your wits that will determine whether or not you deserve to keep it."
Xoshi stared at Labyrit without blinking. He looked away and sighed. "Alright," he conceded. "We win... and you won't bother us ever again?"
"Ever again," Labyrit repeated.
Xoshi nodded. "Alright then," he said. He signaled to the others with his hand. "Come on, guys," he beckoned. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice here..." The others nodded and began to follow their leader. Labyrit watched excitedly as the quintet entered the cave. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled mischievously.
"Little do they realize," he gloated, "there's a reason why they only have THREE hours..."
It was right in the middle of the ocean. A nice little island full of trees and safe places to hide. Somewhere deep inside this secluded forest was a base; a base with two oddly shaped backdoors. When Swoompster found these things, he couldn't have been any happier.
The diminutive Swoompire looked around himself in amazement. There were metallic walls, fancy-looking counsels, and all kinds of weird things the man couldn't have ever dreamed of. "Yeah," he breathed, looking around in astonishment. "This place is perfect. It's so quiet and clean."
The small man walked into the middle of the widespread room. He threw down his sack of orbs and withdrew three small ones. One red, one blue, and one yellow. He held them in the palm of his hand. The three things suddenly sprouted pairs of orange wings and sets of wide staring eyeballs. Then they started fluttering around in midair like litle bats.
"Alright, Fangel, Fangie, and Fanget," the Swoompster said to the Fangs. "I want the three of you to remain here and keep on the lookout. I've got some errands to run. But, whatever you do, do NOT touch anything. Alright?" The three bats nodded their little heads in reply. "Good," their master said to them. "I'll be going now. Bye..."
The man ran to the back of the room. He found the two Melon Bug-shaped holes in the wall and slipped through them. Then he spread his wings and flew away. The three little bats that were left behind looked at each other, shifty-eyed. Then they scattered and started flapping around all over the place. They kept ramming their faces into all the buttons on the counsels. Meanwhile, the huge telescope-like device at the center of the room started shining with little lights lining it.
Outside, the humungous lens of this device was glowing. It flickered a bit, and then it focused. Now there was a single bright light glowing in the center. Out of it was bursting a powerful laser. It was aiming at the sky...
In his lab on the moon, the very dubious Mad Scienstein was toiling away at a new invention of his. It was considerably smaller than the Giga Mole, but it looked equally insteresting. Whatever it was, it appeared to be some small flying device with a bubble dome and rocket propulsion. The man himself was underneath it, fastening another gear on with a wrench. He pulled himself out from underneath the contraption and wiped his brow.
"Gonna be a while 'til the Giga Moth's completed," Mad Scienstein said exhuastedly. Then he just looked pensive. "Which reminds me... Whatever did happen to those two Crooks I helped earlier? Hopefully, they're not trashing that Giga Mole I gave them. I worked hard on that thing..."
The man mumbled to himself some more and slid back beneath the newer invention. He pulled and twisted at all the gears and gaskets that made the machine tick and he stopped. As he remained perfectly still in the deep shade of his device, he would have sworn he could feel something huge was just miles away from him. It was almost as though his house was really atop a gigantic turtle and he hadn't even realized it.
After contemplating on the matter even further, he came to the conclusion he was NOT imagining things. There were vibrations deep beneath his feet, and it had been a while since anything remotely like this had happened.
Worriedly, the scientist pulled himself back into the open, got up, and sauntered on up to his giant computer built into the wall. He hovered his fingers above the keyboard and began to type up commands. "What is it this time?" the intellectual wondered. "It's not those carrots again, is it?"
A few passwords later, and the answer seemed to be right in front of Mad Scienstein's face. What he got on the screen was a computer generated image of the moon's surface. Originally, the force-field surrounding it looked like a desert full of yellow rocks and craters. Now its material seemed to be slowly transforming into a different substance, something white and reflective. Mad Scienstein watched all this in confusion and astonishment.
"My word," he breathed, scratching his goatee absentmindedly, "what is going on here?..."
Swoompster had been flying for a while now. The bat-like wings growing out of his back were starting to give him massive pains. He just kept telling himself to keep at it, and he'd be there in no time. Just when the pint-sized Swoompire was about to call it quits, he saw it right there, right before his eyes: Lava Lava Island. "Alright," the criminal dwarf elicited. "Now let's see if this place is as much of a tourist attraction as everyone says..."
The Swoompire swooped down and hovered above the trees. His wide eyes kept moving back and forth in search of anything that might be round and valuable. So far, nothing seemed to be of interest. All he saw was Yoshies, Ravens, and a whole lot of plants.
"Geez," the Swoompire moped. "I know it's around here somewhere..." Then at last he found it: the horde! "Ho yesss," the little man hissed as he dove in for a closer look. "What have we here?..."
Somewhere deep in the jungle of Lava Lava Island, there was a small opening filled with tall blades of grass and other vegetation. In the middle of some of this shrubbery, there were a few nice shiny things the greedy Swoompster would consider taking for himself. He zipped out from behind the leaves in the air and slowly hovered to the ground.
"Alrighty then..." The small Swoompire ran through the field and pounced. Lo and behold, his mits were able to latch onto something smooth and expensive. Pumped on anticipation, he pulled himself back and took a good look at his find: a big, round, shiny, glass red ball. "So this is the Ultra Stone I've been hearing so much about; the legacy of the Ultra Ravens that fought a great evil long ago. But if one can be found here, then another can be found..."
Excitedly, the Swoompire took another pounce. As luck may have it, again, he landed on another sphere, just like the one before it. "YES!" the avaricious man belted. "Then that means...
"A-HA!!" He found another one. In fact, after running around quite hecticly throughout this field, the tiny man was able to get a hold of quite a few of these orbs. In time, he managed to push them all into a nice pile. He counted them and found 39 could be added to his collection. Yet he looked at this in confusion. "Thirty-nine Ultra Stones?" he asked himself. "Whatever happened to the 40th one?..."
"Is someone there?"
The miniscule Swoompire jolted. He jumped in front of the pile of orbs with his back facing them and protected them with outspread arms. "Who is THAT?!" he snarled. "Out to take my orbs away, eh? Well, we'll see about that..."
The Swoompire reached behind him. He pulled out a golden ball. He released his fingers from it and the thing began to hover and glow between intervals. Swoompster chuckled to himself and glanced at whatever opponent was coming to him. "It's showtime..."
In a different section of the forest, three other individuals were continuing their march. Two of them were green, and one of them was dark orange. These three guys were Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy. Right now, they were on their second day of trying to find Raphael the Raven.
His tree was still a ways away, but at least the road there was plenty interesting. In this vibrant place, there were vast stretches of marshes, countless kinds of trees and wildlife, and hordes of spiraling plants. All these things, Fyooshi could remember from that time he trekked through this place with Raphael the Raven. In the meantime, Glishy was continuing with his lessons for Yoshi.
"Those two guys we met earlier," he said, "Ebony and Ivory... They're actually not from around here. They're travelers, just like their parents. Word is, all four of them were from Yoshi's Island, but their children were born elsewhere."
"...'Yoshi's Island'?" Yoshi repeated slowly.
"Yes, though you might be more familiar with the term 'Yo'ster Isle', am I wrong?" Yoshi shook his head. "As I thought..."
Ebony and Ivory just came at a bad time, Fyooshi thought to himself, recalling when the island was attacked by the Koopas one year ago, following the events of the war. Stuff like this is happening all over the world...
Glishy scratched his chin and looked squinty-eyed. "Say," he said to Yoshi, "you wouldn't happen to be from that island, would you?"
"Yoshi's Island?" Yoshi asked. Glishy nodded back. "Yes."
"I thought so," the dark orange Yoshi replied. "So," he added, "how'd you get here?"
Yoshi heard what the man said and translated it in his mind. He thought about it, then said, "Ghosts."
Glishy was a tad confused. "Ghosts?" he repeated.
"And thieves," the green Yoshi clarified. Glishy just held his chin and made a humming sound.
I heard Ebony and Ivory were visiting Ninjaka one day, Fyooshi continued to think as he pushed another big leaf out of his way. The two fled, though. They say the place was-
-SHHRRIIEEKK!! The three Yoshies all jumped back fearfully. Their path had suddenly been blocked by a group of Hurt Plants, botanical creatures with huge drooling mouths for heads. They were all baring their fangs at the group, dying for some fresh meat to rip into.
-Attacked, Fyooshi thought, finishing his speculation from before. Then he turned his attention towards his partners.
"Okay, guys," Fyooshi said to his companions. "Let's just show these guys what we're made of and get this over with." Yoshi and Glishy nodded. The three Yoshies stretched, put their fists up, and ran forward. For a second time, the trio would prove its strength in battle...
Not long after entering the strange cave that had been materialized right before them, Xoshi and friends were able to happen upon a familiar sight: a set of six separate doorways lined up before them. Xoshi remembered all this clearly, but this time, there was a subtle difference. Above each portal, there was a pair of symbols, each one a different color, and each one representing a different element.
The first one had a white sun and a black moon above it. The second, a red flame and a light blue snowflake. The third, a blue teardrop and a yellow lightning bolt. The fourth, a gold star and a green leaf. The fifth, a silver hourglass and a grey explosion mark, and the sixth, an orange hexagon and a purple swirl. The group was quickly able to make its decision.
"Well," Xoshi said, tapping his lower lip, "I guess me and Leif will take the fourth one, Chogun and Davey get the fifth one, and White Rose takes the second one."
"Are you alright with this?" Chogun asked White Rose worriedly. "You'd be heading on in there alone. It could be dangerous!"
"I don't think we have much of a choice," White Rose explained as he began to walk towards the second door. "Besides... I've been through worse situations..."
"Don't worry," Xoshi reassured. "He'll be fine."
"Alright then," Chogun replied.
"Let's get through this with the utmost of haste," Leif stated. "The Star Spirits are depending on us."
Chogun, Davey, and Xoshi nodded. Then the group split up and ran through their two designated doorways, bravely taking Labyrit's challenge...
In White Rose's case, he was running madly through all the stone hallways of this extravagent dungeon. All of them were very oddly-shaped, full of twists and curves that seemed to constantly callenge the man's sanity. No matter what was coming at him, though, he held his ground and continued to navigate this ungodly place.
In my homeland of Ninjaka, the swordsman thought as he spun past another wide curve, there is a 300-year-old story telling that the nightmares will rise again. It will happen once a certain castle of great power is unveiled. It will happen once the 24 sacred treasures reappear and find new people to wield them... But what are they?...
The knight began his ascension of a large stone hill built into this unusual maze. He pulled out his Fire Wand and looked at it intently.When I held this thing for the first time, I felt something, the swordsman continued to think. It felt like something shot out from the sky and merged with my body. It was as if the gods themselves were telling me I was meant to wield it...
White Rose looked up. He saw a wide pit of stone spikes blocking his path. Squinting his eyes a bit, he strained his muscles, ran even faster, and leapt. As anticipated, he soar straight over the danger and landed safely on the other side. Maybe the others felt the same thing, he thought. And the lot of us... We're destined to find and fight this so-called oncoming evil... And the legends say it'll be a dark day once someone finds that all-powerful castle... But what does it all mean?...
Now the knight was sprinting his way into an enormous circular room in the labyrinth. He shook his head, feeling it becoming heavy with worries and uncertainties. Whatever the case, he decided, when the time comes, all will become clear. And until then, we simply must fight for survival...
The white-garbed traveler stopped in his tracks. He looked around himself, sensing something. His suspicions became clear once he noticed more things coming out of the ground, just as they did outside. They were made of stone, but they were all taking on more complicated shapes. In a matter of seconds, the knight was surrounded by a group of angry-looking stone Bandits. When White Rose saw this, he merely tightened his grip on his wand, making its red jewel start to glow brightly.
"Don't try to tangle with fate," White Rose growled. "You will only shorten your lifespan..." The Bandits then started leaping through the air, aiming their fists and feet for the knight's head, but he was faster. Swiftly, he spun around, blasting at the enemy with the power of his wand. Now they had a tsunami of raging flames to deal with, and this man in white was the master-mind of it all...
In a different part of the cave, Xoshi and Leif's incessant exploration of the place had led them to a particularly interesting room. This one was a long hallway with a wall at the end of it, and on that wall was a large symbol etched into the rock. It was circular and inside it was a large star made of four big triangles. At the tip of each point was a jewel embedded into the wall. Each one was a different color, one for each of the twelve elements. Seven of them were glowing.
"So once all five of the stones are destroyed, this thing will... activate," Leif said as he observed the symbol.
"Yeah, but then what?" Xoshi asked.
"Then you have to stab the middle of it with your pendant..."
Xoshi and Leif turned around. In the doorway of the room, they found their way had been blocked by a peculiar group of stone Bandits. The one in the middle folded his arms and raised one eyebrow at the pair of heroes.
"Come get me if you want more information," the Bandit clarified, "otherwise, you may never find your way out of this tunnel..."
Xoshi stared inquisitively at the Bandit. He reached beneath his saddle and pulled out the Penta Pendant he won back in Carnival Alley. "You know how to use this thing?" he asked.
The Bandit didn't answer. Instead, he snapped his fingers. After that, the two Bandits behind him ran forward and tackled Xoshi and Leif. Now the four were wrestling with each other on the ground. Slowly, the two good guys fixed themselves into the right positions and they blasted the two Bandits off of them. The duo of enemies flew back and crashed into a wall. Xoshi put his foot down and Leif put his mace down. "You're serious?" the Viking asked.
Again, the head Bandit didn't say anything. He snapped his fingers again and the other two Bandits sprang back to life. Both were trying to break the limbs of the two travelers. "Alright fine," Xoshi growled as he punted his Bandit right in the jaw. "If you want a fight, you're getting one..."
Meanwhile, Chogun and Davey had found themselves before another trio of doorways. Davey turned towards his bug-like friend. "Alright, which one now?" he asked.
Chogun placed two fingers against his forehead and thought for a moment. "That one," he said, pointing to the one on the right.
"But that's the third time in a row," Davey objected. "Are you sure-"
"-If you wanna take the left one or the middle one, be my guest," Chogun said, and he began to stride towards the one on the right. Davey stood thinking for a second. Then he shrugged his shoulders and went after his partner. For them, at least, things were looking good...
Another burnt Bandit fell to the ground. That was the tenth one by White Rose's count. He knew one was left, yet he had put away his wand. When the eleventh enemy saw this, he smirked and leapt out of nowhere with his legs spinning wildly. The knight had foreseen this. SHINGG!! He stood at the center of the room with his sword in hand. Behind him, both the Bandit's head and body had fallen to the ground. Now none were left.
Then another strange occurrence came. White Rose watched inquisitively as all the stone Bandits sank back into the ground as though it were water. Once this backwards exit of theirs was complete, the swordsman was alone again and he could continue his mission.
I can't die just yet, he thought as he walked towards the next door. There are too many things I have not yet seen...
BAM!!! Xoshi and Leif leapt back from the explosions from their elemental spells. The cocky Bandit in the doorway looked on emotionlessly at the way his two cronies had been beaten. One of them was lying unconscious in a big, steaming, star-shaped crater. The other was suffocating beneath the tangles of a large bush of thorny vines. Now that these two were gone, Xoshi pointed his fist at the leader, and Leif pointed his wand at him. The leader scoffed.
"You have won," he said, "so I'll tell you this: stab the emblem, then pray to the Star Spirits. They are your guides, after all..."
Leif stared at the intelligent Bandit. He slowly lowered his wand. "Alright," he replied quietly.
"Wait a minute," Xoshi stated. "You gotta tell us: who exactly are you? Do you really work for Labyrit?"
The leader Bandit stared at Xoshi uninterestedly. "All you need to know is how to get out of here," he said, "and now you know that." The Bandit folded his arms and began to sink into the ground. His two downed cronies were doing so as well. "Goodbye..."
Xoshi made a choking sound and took a step forward as if to try and stop the Bandit from leaving, but it was too late. All three of the guys were gone. Now he and the Viking were on their own.
"Come on, Xoshi," Leif said, beginning to walk towards the exit. "We have to find that stone that Labyrit spoke of..."
Xoshi stood in the room and thought for a moment. Then he nodded and began to walk after his partner. He made special note to remain extra cautious of this place from here on out...
I don't know what that Labyrit is planning, he thought, but he doesn't have to go THIS far...
Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy rushed towards their botanical nemeses with their fists clenched and their adrenaline flowing. In a flash, the two parties had exploded into a massive fury of Yoshi and Hurt Plant war. Yoshi kicked one of the Hurt Plants square in the jaw. Its head flew off and knocked one out behind it, having landed right on its head like a blunt cannonball. Yoshi gave out a yelp suddenly feeling the seering fangs of one of the Hurt Plants biting right into his leg. He tried shaking the fiend off, but the hold it had was unwavering. Then Glishy flew out of nowhere and flattened the Hurt Plant into the dirt with a ground pound. The two Yoshies nodded to one another and returned to their respective battles.
Fyooshi looked around himself with sweat on his brow. He could see all those Hurt Plants growling at him with drool continuously sliding off of their fangs. The once magenta Yoshi was starting to have second thoughts about this. He wondered if there was a better way than to just throw his life away to these carnivorous plants. Then he saw a few of the green predators advancing towards him, seemingly with death written all over them. Fyooshi jolted, but then he realiazed something.
I'm the new leader, he thought, swallowing his fears and doubts. I have to prove that this is nothing!
Bravely, the noble dinosaur shot his tongue out at the forthcoming Hurt Plant. He gulped it down, turned it into an egg, and sent it flying at the next pest coming for him. When his eyes caught sight of one coming from the side, he quickly spun around and stomped on the thing repeatedly until it was a mess of flattened leaves smushed into the ground.
The dutiful reptile then heard the sound of more snarling and gnashing teeth. He turned around and saw an entire other mess of fanged plants wanting a piece of him. Fyooshi's face was covered in sweat, but his fists remained clenched tight.
Noshi, he thought as he boldly rushed towards the new battalion of Hurt Plants. I will carry your will on for you. Watch me!...
Yoshi and Glishy held their backs to each other. The next wave of Hurt Plants was about to be upon them. Frightening as they were, to the two Yoshies, this was just a flock of insects. The two tightened their fists and threw themselves upon the meddlesome creatures. Yoshi punted one and made it splatter against a tree. Glishy swung his tail around and took down three more in an instant. Then the two started running around, slurping up one Hurt Plant after another until all that was left of them was a bunch of eggs.
BAM!! The next thing Yoshi and Glishy knew, Fyooshi was on his back, skidding on the ground between them. When they looked up, they saw some leaves fluttering to the ground. Several Hurt Plants had been taken down, but many others still remained. The green Yoshi and the dark orange Yoshi nodded to each other. They placed their eggs into their arms and let them fly.
In an instant, the sky above the Hurt Plants had been transformed into a barrage of these spotted projectiles. The little monsters said their prayers and felt the pain being hammered into their roots and their heads relentlessly. The storm carried on for what felt like one entire agonizing decade. When the assault was over, none of the Hurt Plants were still there. Victory belonged to the Yoshies.
Fyooshi sat up and got a good look at the handiwork of his two companions. Immediately, he realized how beneficial it was to have such formidable allies. He even started wondering how he was to keep up with guys like this...
SHHRRIIEEKK!! All three of the Yoshies jumped up about ten feet. They spun around and saw one last Hurt Plant remained. The thing was foaming at the mouth and staring down Fyooshi's jugular vein. Yoshi and Glishy were about to pounce on this last enemy, but Fyooshi waved them down. The two companions stepped back.
Fyooshi stared at the final obstacle. It was charging towards him like a shark. The newly appointed leader gathered his wits and flexed his muscles. No fear, he thought, and he sprang high up into the air. The Hurt Plant below came to an abrupt stop and looked around in confusion. Then it noticed it was trapped in a shadow bigger than its own body and gulped. The rest happened in two seconds.
SPLAT!! The Hurt Plant was no more. Fyooshi's ground pound worked like a charm. He got up and brushed the dust off of himself. Yoshi and Glishy ran up to him and started patting him on the back and shaking his hand.
"Good job, Fyooshi," Glishy said. "Now the entire jungle knows not to mess with us."
"Aw, it was nothing," Fyooshi replied, blushing.
"Right," Glishy said. The group reformed and they pointed themselves back in the direction of the designated area. "Raphael's just ahead. He's GOTTA be."
"Yeah..."
The three Yoshies returned to their journey. Yoshi was in the back, watching Fyooshi in interest. It's funny, he thought. He reminds me of me when my dad was teaching me how to fight...
Swoompster stood dead in his tracks. He thought he could take this new enemy on simply by jumping him when he least suspected it, but he didn't expect the opponent to be so... huge. He was at least ten times his own size, and he had a very deep-pitched voice to top it all off.
"Well?" Raphael stated. "I asked you a question: who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I, uh, I'm..." Swoompster's knees were shaking. His mind was racing frantically. In the midst of his eratic thoughts, very little was making sense, but he was able to catch on to one thing: maybe now's not the time. "The name's Swoompster, Swoompire of Greed!!" the little man finally declared. "And you've been had!!"
Raphael stared at the man inquisitively. "I beg your pardon?"
"PSYCHE!" Swoompster quickly turned around, dove into the grass, and commenced shoveling as many Ultra Stones into his arms as possible. Then the Swoompire spread his bat-like wings and took flight, cackling wildly. Some of the stones were falling from his arms, but the Swoompire seemed too delirious to care. Raphael watched confusedly as this unexplained stranger slowly disappeared.
"Odd fellow," he remarked. Then he started walking towards whatever it was the man was in such a rush to get a hold of. The giant Raven looked at them in awe and bewilderment. "Impossible," he whispered. "It couldn't be... Ultra Stones??"
The massive bird picked up one of the stones and stared deeply into its lustrous red being. "All this time I thought the family's Ultra Stone was the only one in existence. I had heard rumors that several more were hidden somewhere in the Jade Jungle. I just didn't want to believe so many dangerous things could be lying around..."
Raphael thought deeply for a moment. Images of numerous Ravens fighting viciously with something great began to flow into his mind. The female one in the lead was just starting to come into focus when the enormous foul suddenly came out of his trance. He heard the rustling of leaves behind him. He turned around and saw three figures walking between the trees. It was none other than the three Yoshies he spoke with the last time he was in the village: Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy.
"Ah! What a pleasant surprise!" Raphael said. He walked towards the group and greeted them. "Friends, what brings you here?"
"Oh, well, we were kind of wondering the same thing," Fyooshi answered. "We heard something going on over here, and we decided to check it out."
"Ah, that," Raphael elicited. "A strange little man was just here a second ago. I think he was trying to steal something."
"What was it?" Glishy asked.
Raphael walked towards the Ultra Stones. Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy followed him. "These," the Raven pointed out. Fyooshi and Glishy were mystified. Yoshi was confused.
"Orbs?" the green Yo'ster said.
"Not just any orbs," Glishy explained. "Ultra Stones. They say they're all that's left of the Ultra Ravens, the heroes of this island."
"They faced a terrifying conqueror, then had their spirits sealed within these," Raphael added. "In theory, great power can be extracted from them if used properly. But the fact so many of them were just lying here..." Raphael shook his head, still feeling it heavy with ramifications.
"Raphael," Fyooshi spoke, "I thought the one you had was the only one. Your family had it for generations."
"I did, too," the bird replied. "Supposedly, me, my brother, and our mother, Ramona, are all descendants of the leader of that group, Rowena. The orb we had originally belonged to her. Now I find several more just like it..."
The group had become wrapped up in the mystery of these orbs. Fyooshi was feeling himself drifting further and further into it. Then he woke up and realized something. "Oh yeah, Raphael," he said.
"Yes?"
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you. See, while you were away, a giant Melon Bug came out of nowhere and started attacking the village. Then-"
"-A Melon Bug, you say?" Raphael interrupted, looking pensive. "Hmm... I hope that doesn't mean..."
"Look, I don't know what you're thinking, but that's not the part that bothers me," Fyooshi elaborated.
"Oh yes, of course..." Raphael moved back towards the Ultra Stones and picked a few of them up. "Could you help me with these? We shall move them to my room. We'll be more comfortable there."
"Ah, good idea," Glishy quipped, and he began helping Raphael with the legendary spheres. Yoshi was doing this as well. Fyooshi observed this for a few seconds, then shrugged his shoulders. He grabbed the last of the balls and followed his friends. For now, he reasoned they'd be dealing with this smaller matter, but he knew all his questions would be answered later. The group of four disappeared into the trees with the fabled Ultra Stones...
Deep inside the maze, two men had been running for what felt like a very long time. At last, their run of hallways and doors had led them to the very room they had been looking for. It was a small place and sticking out of the far wall was a small ledge with two large dimples in it like a pair of bowls. Each one had a large irregular-shaped rock, similar to the Sun Stones that had been lighting their path. The one in front of Chogun was green and had a mild glow to it. Davey's was a shade coming somewhere between yellow and orange. It, too, had a radiant glow to it.
"So these are the stones Labyrit wanted us to get," Chogun mused. He raised his Energy Wand and waved it a little. "So all we have to do is blast them with our wands, right?"
"If I recall correctly," Davey said, scratching his chin, "while light is the opposite of shadow, fire of ice, water of lightning, and earth of wind, plant's would be energy, and star's would be time." The boy raised his Time Wand and started making its gem glow. Chogun nodded.
"Then we're on the right track," he added. The two partners pointed their mystical weapons at the rocks and concentrated. Then BAMM!! Both rocks exploded. In their wake were little pebbles and flames. Chogun's were grey and Davey's were purple. The two felt satisfied and they put their wands away.
SHHEEOOoommm... The two treasure-hunters looked around. The sound they just heard was like a machine powering down. It confused Davey, but Chogun had a hunch.
"That room we found earlier," the bug man said. "Let's check it out!"
"Right." The duo ran out of the room. All the while, Davey made sure to stick close to his friend. He knew better than anyone why this was such a good idea.
I'll bet the others haven't even found the stones yet, the young treasure-hunter thought as he and Chogun rounded another corner...
As a matter of fact, the other three members of the group really were still struggling to work their ways through this stone dungeon. White Rose was concentrating on it as hard as ever, but Xoshi's mind was elsewhere. As he continued to follow Leif's lead, he couldn't help but notice something in this place he found to be a very familiar sight: Sun Stones, keeping every inch of the way in this realm illuminated.
That reminds me, the brown Yoshi thought, striking up another conversation between him and the Star Warrior. You said earlier that Sun Stones can only be created by people with earth-elemental powers... Does Labyrit really have them?
He actually possesses all twelve of the powers, Beel replied. Xoshi's eyes widened.
What?! he blurted. How's that possible??
Well... He may look like an ordinary Bandit, but he's actually much more than that. He's a demi-god.
Xoshi's eyelids spread apart even further. His eyeballs had even become in danger of popping right out of his head. H... He... the Yoshi stammered. He's a WHAT?
A demi-god. In short, like a god, but not quite.
You know, Xoshi commented, I had heard of something called the Twelve Gods of Chaos. He's not related to them... is he?
Well, just so you know, they're not the only ones in history to have ever achieved such a rank. In fact, some say there are actually about a hundred others who have pulled it off.
W... Wow...
Believe it or not, it's not that high a number, Beel clarified. Becoming a god is extremely hard to do. Thousands have died trying to do it... or worse...
Xoshi and Leif stopped in front of a pair of doorways. The two stared at the two options before them, then agreed to take the one on the right. Xoshi asked Beel another question. So... How exactly do you become a god?
Through a very complicated process called absorption, Beel elaborated. Becoming a god is actually the same thing as becoming a one man army of 120. Anything below about 80 of that is considered to be of demi-god status.
So Labyrit's only like the one man army of 50?
Something like that, Beel answered. Then he seemed to take the discussion in a bit of a different direction. Xoshi, do you know what a 'forbidden technique' is?
Yeah... Something someone can only use two times, right?
Exactly. Do you know why that is?
Uh... I don't know.
It's because using a forbidden technique is the same thing as transforming 50 years of your life force into an extremely powerful spell. In other words, both times you use it, you shorten the amount of years you have left to live by a significant amount. And since people tend to only live up to about a hundred, the second time is often when they die.
Oh... But what does this have to do with becoming a god?
Absorption is when you take someone and make their body, their consciousness, their powers... everything... and make it a part of your own. You also increase your own lifespan since you're adding theirs to yours. Gods are people who have done this multiple times. And with that many life expectancies at your command...
Xoshi placed a hand against the side of his face in shock. Whoa...
That's right, Beel said. You become a being who can live for an indefinitely long time. You can also cast these spells any number of times you want...
Oh man, Xoshi gasped. He and Leif ran down another hall and took a left turn.Wait, the Yoshi thought. Wouldn't that mean you can kill a god by just... making them use the forbidden technique over and over again?
That's one theory, Beel stated, but it's actually not a tactic that scares them. For every forbidden technique they use, they can just absorb another person. For them, it's no difficult task as they've done it dozens of times before. Also, each time they use the technique, it's only a few years they lose. The memories and abilities of the people they absorbed... they remain. So, you see, there are literally thousands of ways in which gods are incredibly dangerous beings.
Hmm, Xoshi thought. And Labyrit... He's absorbed people of all twelve of the elements?
Exactly, the spirit said. Thankfully, though, he only uses them for mazes like these...
In another section of the labyrinth, White Rose had found the thing he was looking for: a big, light blue stone on a ledge coming out of the wall. There were tiny broken pebbles of some rock that was red and pink next to it, but the knight could tell it was ultimately of no importance. He drew out his Fire Wand and pointed it at the stone that remained.
Here goes, he thought. BAM!! Red flames shattered the rock, and the swordsman could hear a strange noise in background. Thinking of a certain room he had found earlier, he began to head back...
BAM!! Two more rocks were taken down. Xoshi and Leif watched contentedly as the two became silver pebbles with gold flames and grey pebbles with a mess of thorns growing around them. When the two heard the strange noise, they nodded to each other and ran off. Perhaps now the intricate maze would unfold and have the group freed...
Meanwhile, outside the maze, Labryit was standing in the middle of a vast stone balcony sticking out from behind the stone structure. He smiled deviously and tapped the ground with his spear. Before him were six emblems of the twelve elements engraved in the wall. He snickered to himself, picturing the progress of the five people he captured. "One more hour, cretins," he said to himself. "Then we'll see what you think of my elaborate labyrinth..."
The Kroshi stared at Razule very fixedly. The Raven-like creature looked very confident. Ren looked bored as usual, and Goomba Prince looked a bit frightened. "So that's it?" the golden Yoshi asked. "That's what my future has in store for me?"
"You know it like a xylophone on an airplane!" Razule replied.
The Kroshi's lips were still tightly nit. He stared at Razule some more. Then he glanced at his two companions in turn. "Fine," the Kroshi said. "But if that time comes and nothing happens, I'll kill you. THEN we'll be even."
"Sure thing!" Razule said. The Kroshi gave him one last glare. Then he rocketed into the air and began flipping off towards a new destination. Razule watched him with great concentration. Once the strange golden man was gone, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Thank noodles!!" he said. "That was scary!!"
"Yeah, well," Ren piped up. "We should be going now. Maybe those two people we're waiting for are at the fortress now."
"Ah... Capital idea, Renny Boy..."
Now the Three Boombateers were back on the road. The Forest of Dheos was gradually fading away behind them. Their business there may have been officially done, but something was still bothering Goomba Prince to a tremendous degree. "Hey, Ren," he whispered. "Is Razule really right? Will his prediction come true?"
"Of course it will," the greedy Raven stated. "You should know... Both he and his illegitimate mother are descendants of one of the greatest psychics of all time..."
Chogun and Davey had found the room. In front of them was one of the emblems of the twelve elements. This time, all twelve of its gems had lit up. Surely this spelled good news, but, other than that, the pair of travelers were finding themselves at a complete loss as to what it was they were to do now.
"That blasted Labyrit," Chogun cursed. "Is this another one of his tricks?"
"Well, we can't give up just yet," Davey added. "We have at least a half-hour left. Shall we search for clues until then?"
"No," Chogun decided firmly. "I sense we'll only be getting ourselves in even deeper if we leave this point..."
White Rose grunted harshly as he tripped over something. Prying himself off the ground, he looked behind him. What he saw was undeniably a strange sight: there were rocks growing out of all the walls, floors, and ceilings behind him. Slowly, they were connecting with each other and forming bigger, more solid rocks. His paths were disappearing one by one.
That Labyrit, he thought darkly as he continued to run through the passages. He didn't hold back when he made this place...
At that moment, Xoshi and Leif themselves were finally before that special emblem once more. The brown dinosaur could faintly tell what was coming next. It was making his heart beat faster and his bones starting to tremble. He swallowed deeply feeling anticipation tearing away at his mind.
"Ah, yes," Leif said proudly. "Just what we've been looking for. Xoshi, I'll need that pendant of yours. I believe I've dealt with things like this before..."
Xoshi just held his breath. His fingers twitched uneasily by his side.Xoshi, what's wrong? Beel asked.
I tried not to think about it, the young Yoshi said, but it's been bothering me ever since me and Leif paired up. This place... it's the one from the dream, isn't it?
Well... It could be...
Labryit's on the other side of that wall, Xoshi explained fearfully. If what you said about him is true... I'm no match for him. I could even die.
Well...
"Xoshi?"
The Yo'ster snapped out of his trance. He quickly whipped the pendant out from underneath his saddle and jammed it into the Viking's hand.
"Thank you. Now stand back!!" Xoshi shifted a few feet away from his Marinotropolan companion. The Viking stood a few feet in front of the center of the emblem, held the pendant out before it in his right hand, and closed his eyes. "Hear me great Star Spirits," he prayed, "lend me your power! Vanquish the evil that stands before us..."
Xoshi watched all this uneasily. Both the pendant and the lines in the emblem were beginning to shine with an eerie green light. Leif could see it through his eyelids. Realizing what he had to do, he approached the symbol on the wall and lifted the pendant up. He stabbed the center of the seal with the small trinket and stood back. He and Xoshi watched in amazement as each of the stones in the emblem took turns shining even brighter. Then beams of light started shooting out from cracks in the lines. The two travelers shielded their eyes. Then they could feel a deep rumbling beneath their feet as if the earth was splitting open. Xoshi's heartbeat was pumping eratically. He didn't know what to expect.
I don't know what to tell you, Xoshi, Beel said, other than just... brace yourself...
Alright...
FWOOSH!! A huge beam of light shot out at the duo, but they remained unharmed. Sensing no danger, the two put their arms down and blinked their eyes open. Now they could see that the emblem had split open like a double-door. Beyond it was nothing more than a stone balcony.
Xoshi picked his pendant back up. The two of him and Leif walked through the door and onto the balcony. They found themselves wandering around on it in confusion. "Is this it?" Xoshi asked. "Do we wi-"
"Xoshi! Look!!" Leif pointed ahead of them. As it turned out, Labyrit was here, but he was all covered in bruises. He was lying on the ground, barely able to move. The culprit was standing beside him with his back turned towards the heroes. Labyrit's spear was in his hands.
Xoshi looked on at the intruder. Again, he could feel terror clutching at his throat. At first, he was afraid of what Labryit was capable of. But who was this stranger that had defeated him with such ease?
"Who are you?" the brown Yo'ster called out. "What are you doing here?"
The stranger turned around. It was a golden Yoshi covered in spikes and jewelry. He stared Xoshi deeply into his eyes. It was almost as if he was telepathic. Xoshi could feel chills going up his spine. "Xoshi, right?" the Yoshi said.
"Y-Yes," Xoshi said slowly.
"I'm the Kroshi... and I've gotta message for you..."
Xoshi stared determinedly at the Kroshi. "Yes?"
The Kroshi closed his eyes. He bobbed his head up and down in thought and tapped the back of his head with the spear's dull end. At last, he opened his eyes. "In 24 hours... one of us will be dead." Suddenly, Xoshi could feel every cell in his body becoming frozen solid. The Kroshi laughed when he saw this. "Excited, huh?" he remarked. "Well, it's not gonna be me... I'm powerful..."
"How dare you say that?!"
Xoshi, Leif, and the Kroshi turned their heads. Chogun--along with Davey and White Rose--had run onto the balcony as well. Two of the other emblems here had opened up for them.
"Xoshi is a great man," Chogun declared. "How do you know he'll go down so easily?!"
The Kroshi scoffed. "You don't know me, either," he retorted. "I can tell with just a glance I'm beyond his level... I'm a god..." Xoshi and his four friends immediately became silent. The Kroshi laughed some more. "Yeah, and on top of that, I've got this magic spear, so if any of you want to take me on, you're gonna have to cross..."
The Yoshi lifted up the spear and jammed it into the ground. BBOOOMM!! The five heroes leapt back. The entire balcony had been split in two by some strange earthquake. The half that the Kroshi was on fell to the ground. Labyrit's unconscious body had rolled right off of it, but the Kroshi still stood firmly atop it. The five friends could feel even more distanced from him.
"...This line..."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!"
The six people on the two balconies looked up. Two more unexpected guests had arrived, via broomsticks. Kammelina and Kammeo had returned with a vengeance.
"Kroshi, we've had it up to here with you," Kammelina threatened. "We summoned you. It's your duty to take down those aliens whether you want to or not!!"
"Aliens?" Davey repeated quietly.
In response to the witches, the Kroshi just calmly looked at something to his right with his eyes. He put his gaze back on them. "Well," he said slowly, "you can nag all you want, but... I'm out of here. Angel Mountain awaits!"
"WAIT!!" Kammelina blurted, but it was too late. Like a shooting star, the golden Yoshi was off again. Kammelina started snarling loudly, clenching both her teeth and her fists. "That windbag!! Where does he get such arrogance?!"
"Um, sister," Kammeo piped up.
"What is it, Kammeo?! Can't you see I'm busy drowning in my rage here?!"
WHAM!!! The elder witch didn't see it coming. Her skull had been bashed in and she was out like a light. As limp as a rag doll, she flopped onto the broken ledge unconscious. Leif landed right behind her, proudly holding a bloody mace on his left shoulder.
"I told you," he exclaimed, "they don't call me Leif Erripipe the witch-hunter for nothing!!" Defiantly, the muscular Viking held his mace up high and wound it up for the final blow.
"NOOOO!!!" Kammeo screamed. BAASHH!! A seismic explosion of broken rocks ensued. Leif had missed. The unconscious Kammelina and her broomstick were now in the hands of her younger sister. Leif glared at them spitefully. "Glare all you want, witch-hunter," Kammeo spat. "We're outta here!!
True to her word, the young Magikoopa zipped off like an overgrown fly. Leif squinted his eyes in hatred at them. Once they were gone, he closed his eyes, hung his head, and sighed.
Xoshi watched this powerful comrade of his worriedly. White Rose slowly walked up to his reptilian friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Sir Xoshi," he said. "I know that what that fortuneteller said is haunting you, but we've been through worse things than this. We won't let you die, even if it kills us."
"No," Xoshi replied, calmly taking the knight's hand off his shoulder. "I'm not the only one who's feeling desperate right now..." The Yoshi walked away from the silenced group and up to the edge of the balcony. He jumped off of the thing and flutter-kicked his way onto the giant broken rock. He approached his Viking friend and put a hand on his arm. "Hey, don't sweat it," he said. "That Yoshi said he was going after Angel Mountain, right? Well, after our business here in the Forest of Dheos, that's where we're headed. Anywhere the Kroshi is, those witches will be, right?"
Leif picked his head up slightly and looked Xoshi in the eyes. "I don't know how you know all this," he said quietly, "but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's the fact the Star Spirits really did mean for us to be in this together..."
Xoshi smiled and slapped the man on the back. "That's right," he said. "We gotta remember: the Star Spirits are counting on us!"
Chogun, Davey, and White Rose watched this in high spirits. This had been a very trying experience for all of them and the sun was starting to set, but it had become clear that nothing would ever be impossible for them as long as they had the will power. All five of the friends felt empowered... But something felt amiss to Chogun...
"Wait a minute," the transformed man interjected, "what about Labyrit? Do we get to keep the pendant, or not?"
The group just looked at the downed Bandit and the stars above his head. Whatever he was, right now, he was a pitiful sight. "Aw, let's just leave him," Xoshi decided. "The guy's a jerk anyway..." The others nodded. Then the group proceded in climbing down from the disorienting maze and their venture into the woods could begin at last. They had all worked extremely hard for this moment. Now the real action could begin...
