CHAPTER 3: Soulsend, Part 1
The group of makeshift heroes made their way east towards the Life Force Segment.
"So, why's it called the Life Force segment?" Luigi asked Dimentio as they traveled airborne. "We already got the Nature Segment, you'd think that would count for life force."
"The simplest way to put it is that it should be called the 'Magic' Segment," Dimentio said. "We call it 'Life Force' because there are some people who evolved on our planet that need magic to survive."
"Oh. So, would you say that giant lavender bubble over there would be where the Thread is?" Luigi asked, pointing around Peasley's silent body.
Dimentio stopped and stared at the bubble. Half in the ground, it made a translucent dome around a fortress.
"Er... Yes," Dimentio muttered. How did I not notice that?! he thought, astonished at his own ignorance.
After a few moments of flight, they landed just in front of the bubble. "You think it's safe?" Luigi asked.
Dimentio poked the bubble and found that his hand went through it as if the barrier wasn't there. "Seems safe enough to me."
He caught Peasley's glare. He smiled back, sickly sweet. My, how the tables have turned! he thought.
"This Segment should be a cinch, so let's get going!" Dimentio said, floating through the barrier. Luigi shrugged and followed. Peasley rolled his eyes and entered.
In the bubble, the fortress appeared sky blue with an odd white outline. Peasley noticed that Dimentio and Luigi both had the same outline. He didn't.
He also noticed a sudden, dull pain in his head and that the air felt stale, as if he were in an air-sealed box and it was starting to run out of air. I hope I'm not getting sick, he thought. It's already been hard enough with both Luigi and Dimentio being so irrational...
He looked up and saw that his partners had already continued on. Shocked, he ran after them.
The doors to the fortress were turquoise and glimmered as Luigi pushed them open. The first room was dark and uninviting. Its walls and floor were a deep ocean blue, and the walls were lined with portraits of various, completely unrelated people and weapons both familiar and completely alien. Peasley noticed two things in common in the portraits: they all had ice blue eyes and the names underneath each painting were all those of royalty. He shuddered.
When the trio was halfway through the long room, the door at the other end opened and a short girl in a blue servant's outfit stepped through, approaching them fearlessly. She also had a white outline.
"Hello, there," she said calmly. "I take it you are the three heroes mentioned in the prophecy?"
"Uh... Yes?" Luigi said, unsure of what else to say.
She grinned. "Oh, good! My master, Soulsend, wrote a note for you." She handed Luigi an envelope with a wax seal.
Luigi opened the envelope and read the letter inside: "'Dear three heroes: Greetings. If my servant has not mentioned it, my name is Soulsend. I am the lord of this fortress, and the high Prince's second in command. I wish to give you a path around any unnecessary violence. If you come to the highest tower of the fortress, unarmed, led by my servant, and give me the pieces of the Thread in your possession, I will not harm you. However, I will be forced to bring you to my liege and whatever he does with you is out of my control. Please consider this offer. With hope, Soulsend.'"
Luigi stared at the letter for a few seconds, then folded it back up and put it in his overalls pocket. "I think we'll have to, er, politely decline."
The girl looked shocked, then disappointed. "Are you-Are you sure?" She saw the trio's expressions. "Oh, okay," she sighed. She mumbled, "He was so polite, too..." She sullenly walked back out of the room.
"What kind of heroes does this guy think we are?" Luigi said, astonished. He looked at Peasley and almost jumped back. "Woah, are you okay?! You're so pale!"
Peasley blinked. He had been lost in thought again. "What? Oh, I...I don't know. It's kind of hard to breathe, but I think I'll be fine."
Dimentio snickered. "I forgot to mention something about Life Force. If there's a high concentration of it in any one place, and if someone who can't use magic is in it... They'll slowly suffocate."
"What?!" Luigi demanded. "So Peasley and I are dying in here?" He paused. "Wait a second, I feel fine. Why am I alright? I can't do any magic!"
"It's probably because you can use lightning. Anyway, Peasley, you'll probably be fine. There's a lot less than lethal levels of it, unlike where I used to live," Dimentio said calmly.
"Probably? I'll probably be fine?" Peasley growled. "How could you have possibly forgotten this crucial, crucial detail?!"
"Woah, there! There's no use in getting riled up," Dimentio replied. "I just didn't think it would happen this way."
Peasley couldn't think of anything to counter, so he just scoffed. I can't believe this! And he laughed, too! He knew this would happen, there's no doubt about it, he thought, fuming.
"Um... Let's just keep going and hope for the best!" Luigi put in. "No point in fighting now that we're here."
There was no response from either party other than following him onward.
Things only got worse as they progressed. The Life Force only got denser the deeper into the fortress they advanced, so it made Peasley's headache worse and made it harder to breathe.
Not only that, but he kept thinking he heard someone muttering right by his ear. He didn't mention it- he didn't want to make his partners think he was insane, as well as ill, -but he heard the small voice say the following before becoming silent:
"Interesting... Fearless, this one... I wonder what drives him... A shame, though..."
Otherwise, the fortress seemed to be silent. They went unattacked through several halls, an armory, and, strangely enough, a room filled with cloth and sowing supplies.
"What's all this doing here?" Luigi wondered when they took a brief pause in that room.
"Maybe Soulsend has a hobby?" Dimentio suggested.
"Who cares?" Peasley muttered. He was tempted to take the Flame Segment and light the whole place ablaze out of frustration.
Then, they came to a big, grayish-blue, empty room. The room was utterly featureless and without furniture. Perhaps if the fortress was a populated castle instead, it could have been a ballroom. But without anyone there, it was eerie and gave the feeling of being watched.
"I don't like this," Peasley said. "There's something wrong here."
"Well, we are in a giant magical fortress," Dimentio said snarkily.
"Uh, I think I'm gonna take Peasley's side on this one," Luigi said nervously. "This would be the perfect place to ambush anyone who came in."
Dimentio laughed. "There's no one in here! If there were, we'd have seen them by now."
"True," Luigi agreed. "But I still don't like it."
The trio came three-quarters of the way through the room when they heard a short whoosh of rushing air. Dimentio stumbled briefly, then fell over.
"Gah, Dimentio!" Luigi cried in surprise.
He knelt down next to him and Peasley loomed over. Dimentio remained on the ground, completely unconscious. There was a small, blue feathered dart in his neck. Considering the amount of clothing covering the spot, it was shocking that he had been hit there.
"I knew it!" Peasley shook his head. "He didn't believe us."
"That's not important right now," Luigi admonished. "Either there's some automated function in this room, or someone's here with-"
A similar blue dart hit him in the same spot. Luigi swayed for a moment, then fell over.
Peasley stared for a moment at his partners on the floor, then fear set in. Oh, no, no, no! What can I do?! he thought, beginning to panic.
He looked around fruitlessly for an assailant. It can't be some machine, because Dimentio was standing up and Luigi was kneeling. So there must be someone invisible in here!
He heard another whoosh, then it stopped right next to him. He looked down the side of his body. The dart had gotten caught on the shoulder of his cape! Suddenly, an idea sprung to mind.
Peasley's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, feigning sleep. After a long moment, he heard footsteps approaching. They stopped only a foot away from his face.
"Hello?" whispered a voice. "Helloooo?" it called again, louder. "Anyone there?" it said at normal speaking volume.
The person walked around him a couple times. They snapped their fingers twice. They began to laugh. "Wow! Echo said this stuff was potent, but geez!" They laughed louder. "This is perfect!"
"The prince will be so proud of me," they continued, dreamily. By the volume of their voice, Peasley could tell they were looking away from him. "He'll say, 'Oh, Soulsend, you really are the most capable, most intelligent, and most cunning of my minions!'" He adopted a deep voice for the prince. "And I'll reply, 'Oh, truly? You mustn't flatter me so, your Highness!'"
Peasley opened one eye. Soulsend appeared to be a short, redheaded man in a blue traveling shirt with black, knee-length pants, and, of course, a white outline. Peasley couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be lost in a daydream.
"Perhaps he'll host a ball in celebration of our victory! Oh, how wonderful that would be. He'd take me by the hand and say, 'Shall I have this dance?'"
Peasley resisted the strong urge to scoff. At any rate, the lord of the fortress seemed to have distracted himself. Well, maybe I can just... He slowly stood up.
"...Then, while we dance he'll lean close and say, 'You mean more than all the worlds to me, Soulsend. Do I, to you?'" He was still facing away, now hugging himself.
Peasley leaned down and grabbed Luigi by the back of the shirt. After a moment of consideration, he reluctantly grabbed Dimentio, too. He began to slowly back away from the daydreaming man. Still, there was something odd about the way he moved...
Then, Soulsend twirled around, and stopped looking right at Peasley.
Now, Peasley had never seen any stop-motion films, as they hadn't come into popularity yet. If he had, however, he would have thought that that was how Soulsend moved and blinked. This was because he was a giant, living doll.
"Uh," Peasley said. "Hey there."
For a moment, Soulsend looked embarrassed. Then, anger filled his odd cloth face. "You! You... Must have laid an enchantment on me to steal my wits!" he yelled.
Peasley stared at him, feeling the pressure in his lungs and the pain in his head. The doll-person had cartoonish eyes with ice-blue pupils.
"I... What are you talking about?" Peasley asked. "Whatever. You're Soulsend. You have a piece of the Thread, right?"
Soulsend tilted his head. "Yes, and you have two other pieces." He smiled as if he had recalled a pleasant memory. "You know, I'm still willing to settle this peacefully! Just put your sword on the ground and-"
Peasley dropped his companions, unsheathed his sword and pointed it at him. "How about this: you give me the Thread, and I don't rip out your stuffing. Sound good?"
Soulsend's face darkened. "Oh. So you can't be reasoned with." Two machetes materialized in his hands. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!"
The doll side-stepped around Luigi and Dimentio, then lunged at Peasley. He dodged to the side, turned around and stabbed at Soulsend's back. Metal clashed on metal when Soulsend turned andraised one of his machetes to block the attack. For a moment, there was an intense power struggle before Peasley pushed his assailant backwards. He went in for another stab and Soulsend jumped to the side and slashed downwards. Peasley threw himself on the ground and rolled out of the way. Soulsend's machetes got stuck in the floor tiles and Peasley took the opportunity to knock him to the ground with a harsh kick. With a sword point to his neck, Soulsend looked up, terrified.
"Now," Peasley panted, half from exhaustion, half from suffocation. "Give me the Thread before I cut off your creepy little head!"
"I don't have it with me," Soulsend growled. "But I'm not going to let you (-even-) near it."
Then, the blue faded from his eyes and they closed.
Peasley stared at him, then nudged at him with his foot. No reaction. "Did you fall asleep or something?" he demanded.
He sheathed his sword and sighed. Well that was a waste of time, he thought. He glanced at his two, still sleeping companions. What am I supposed to do now?
He walked over and continued to think, tapping his foot. It won't do to leave them here. I somehow get the feeling that I'm not done with that Soulsend creep yet. He looked around, almost expecting something to come and attack him. Maybe I'm just paranoid. I mean, that was him, afterall-
Something death-gripped his ankle and pulled it out from underneath him. The back of his head hit the floor and shocked his whole head, and dazed him for a second. When he could think straight, he looked for what knocked him over.
Luigi was staring at him from the floor with a fixed grin and ice-blue eyes. (ooooshit o0o)
"Oh, I'm sorry, this isn't very fair is it?" he said cruelly. "After all, you can only inhabit the one body and I can use so many..."
Peasley started to back away and try to get up. "What- Luigi, are you okay?"
Luigi laughed and stood up, swaying slightly. "Oh, you don't understand? Didn't you see the lavender barrier? I can possess anything- or anyone -within it!"
"...Soulsend?" Peasley said breathlessly.
Still wearing the creepy, uncanny grin, Soulsend replied, "You got it!" He clumsily grabbed the dart in his neck and yanked it out. "Yeesh, what are these things on my hands? They're so heavy! And what do these dials mean?" He heard the door behind him swing open. Peasley, carrying Dimentio, had run out. "Hey! Where are you going?!" (smart)
Rage. Fear. Confusion. Words like these could barely begin to describe the violent cocktail of emotions shaken within Peasley's core as he sprinted at top speed with Dimentio in his arms, bridal style.
When he thought he had put enough distance between him and his unfortunate lover, he threw himself against a wall. He turned Dimentio's unconscious body so that he was grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Wake up, wake up!" he commanded, shaking him violently. "Come on, don't leave me like this, you sleeping pile of human garbage!"
There was no response.
Peasley wanted to scream in frustration. Of course this had to happen! He had to be stuck lugging around the one person he hated the most at the moment, meanwhile he could hardly breathe and his head was being pounded with pain.
He heard a crack of thunder from somewhere behind him. "Woah!" Luigi- or Soulsend, the vile creature, -yelled. "This body is amazing!"
I can't keep running for much longer, Peasley thought. There has to be somewhere I can hide!
He looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. He had taken the door opposite of where he came in when he started his escape, so everything was new. Something caught his eyes: A green-ish yellow door on the east side of the room he was in. This will have to do!
Peasley put Dimentio over his shoulder and cautiously entered the room.
The first thing he noticed was that everything, ceiling to floor, wall to wall, was yellow. From custard to bright daffodil, the furnishings and decorations were painted or upholstered yellow. It was such a stark contrast to the now dreary blue that at first Peasley thought he was dreaming.
The second thing that sprung out, was that it was the opposite of what you'd expect in the fortress of an evil, monstrous creature. It was like a lush parlor of a rich artisan or business person. It had a plush love-seat and a fainting couch side by side in the middle of the room. In front of those was a fire place with a warm fire, and upon its mantel were various trinkets and bobbles. There were two doors, and one had light coming from it. Peasley wondered if they were as yellow as this room.
Third, he noticed, he could breathe with ease and his headache was gone. Dimentio's body didn't have a white outline around it, either.
"What...is this place?" he muttered. He found himself sliding down along the wall until he was slumped down on the floor, out of exhaustion. He sighed. He knew that Soulsend was still after him, but was satisfied that he wouldn't think to check here.
He set Dimentio's body down beside him, and sudden rage bubbled up inside him."This is all your fault," he muttered, knowing it wouldn't do anything, and probably wasn't true. "If you had some caution or sense in you, you would have agreed with us and we could have found another way through this stupid fortress to the Thread! (true, dimentio is an arrogant butt)
"And for that matter," he continued, not noticing his volume growing louder. "If you weren't so selfish and just realized that you can't have Luigi, everyone's lives would be much easier!" He slammed the floor with his fist. "You know, I wish that monster would have possessed you instead, then I could have just-"
The door with light coming out from it opened to reveal a woman in a bright yellow noble woman's dress, with contrasting curly brown hair. She held a frilly yellow fan in one of her delicate, gloved hands. Her eyes widened when she made eye contact with Peasley.
He nearly jumped to his feet. "Oh! Miss- Ma'am- Madame! I didn't mean to intrude in your room, I just-"
The woman giggled, hiding her mouth with her hand. When her laugh subsided, she said, "It's quite alright... Handsome."
Peasley's face turned bright red. Oh, no. I don't need this right now!
She held her hand out to him, but not to be shook. "I am Lady Sibella of the Null Empire. A pleasure, to be sure."
He stared at her for a moment before saying. "I'm Prince Peasley of the Beanbean kingdom."
Her eyes widened again as she quickly curtsied. "Oh, do accept my apologies, your highness. How rude of me to assume you were a lower class..."
"It's fine." He reached behind him for the doorknob. The Lady quirked her head quickly to the side and Peasley heard the lock in the door click into place.
"Surely you don't have to go so soon after you've come?" she said pleasantly. "Come, sit down with me, please."
Peasley tried to unlock the door quickly but the lock would only move back into place. Damn it! I hate magic, I hate magic, I hate magic!
"Okay," he said instead, as politely as possible.
He picked up Dimentio and laid him down on the fainting couch. He sat down on the side of the loveseat closest to the door. Though the loveseat could have easily sat both of them far apart enough to be comfortable, Sibella sat down close next to him.
"So, what brings you to Soulsend's fortress?" she asked, putting a hand on his.
He drew his hand back. "I'm after the Universal Thread," he said bluntly.
She didn't appear shocked. "Oh. So, is that...masked man over there your companion?" She seemed somewhat uncomfortable around Dimentio.
"... In a way," Peasley said.
"Aren't there supposed to be three of you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Well, about that..."
She gasped. "Oh, did Soulsend possess him? I'm sorry about that," she shook her head solemnly. "He's so awful about that. And cruel, too. Never lets me out anywhere anymore."
"Oh?" Peasley said, feigning interest. "That's a shame."
"You know, I don't want to live with him. I only do because..." She paused and looked around the room. "My father was indebted to him," she nodded to herself. "Yes, that's it," she murmured.
"You know, you'd be doing me a great favor if you took him out." She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes. "I'd be willing to tell you his weakness-"
"Oh, yes, that would help tremendously!" Peasley said, perking up.
"-For a price." She smirked as Peasley's smile fell. "Oh, don't worry. I don't want money or anything of that sort. All I want in return is a kiss."
"Oh. Well, how about I kiss you after I get the Thread?" he offered.
She pursed her lips. "Well, I guess that will do." She grabbed his hands again, gripping them tightly. "Now, listen closely. At the top tallest tower at the north end of the fortress, Soulsend's real body lays in a deep sleep. If you kill his real body, he won't be able to possess anyone anymore and he will be defeated. Now, the Thread is wrapped around the hilt of his sword; as far as I know, his body is holding it. When you take the Thread, the barrier around the fortress will disappear. However, you will have only thirty minutes to escape once you kill him, because this fortress is made with his magic. Otherwise, the floor on which we stand will evaporate...and I wouldn't want to be up that high when that happens."
After waiting to see if she was done, Peasley said, "Thank you very much. I should be going before things get worse than they already are."
He wrenched his hands free of her grip, and quickly grabbed Dimentio and slung his body over his shoulder. When he went to unlock the door, it came open with ease.
"And your highness?" She said. "Good luck."