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Last time on Plan B: Ballad of Swords
Ness and Rock exited Magicant and found themselves in the Mushroom Kingdom. Not know that they had bypassed several defensive lines the two soon found themselves being chased into the royal castle of the kingdom by a man in green armor. Ness and Rock tried hiding from their pursuers but were found each time. When it finally appeared as though the two had the opportunity to escape they found themselves magically teleported by a ray of sunlight in the castle where they found the hat of the original Champion of Fire, Mario.
After climbing the stairs of the castle the two found a painting of the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom that turned out to be the actual Princess Peach who had been cursed by the Golden Empire to reside in the painting. Peach explained to Ness the legend of the elemental champions and that he has been chosen to be the new Champion of Lightning. Peach also managed to cast a spell on Mario's old hat so that it would guide them to the next Champion of Fire.
Ness and Rock were given access to a secret armory that was left behind the Wizard of Light which triggered some emotions in Rock. Ness and Rock now gear up in preparation to search for the next Champion who must join them to save the world.
Chapter 5: A Proper Story
Ness groggily opened an eye. He immediately closed it and waited a while. When he opened it again he was a little more prepared for the light that was shining in through the window. He slowly sat up in bed, his hair was a mess and his eyes wouldn't fully open. As his mind began to register his surroundings he realized he was in the room in the Mushroom Kingdom castle that he had shared with Rock, but currently there was no one else around.
Slowly, Ness took a look around the room and noticed everything was rather still and quiet. A morning breeze was flowing in through the open window carrying a fresh scent of dew. Though it was bright outside, Ness could tell the sun was barely over the eastern mountains and shining into his room. It took Ness a few moments to reach under the blankets and find his wrinkled pajamas. He quickly slipped them on and stepped out into the hallway.
Just as the previous day, the castle hallways were empty. Ness first checked in on his own room and, after determining that it was also empty, started trekking through the castle. He wasn't sure if he should call out, but then heard a sound like something swinging on metal coming from the armory. Curiously, Ness opened the door to the armory back up and looked inside. He found Rock doing pull-ups on a bar that hung from two beams on the wall. He was moving pretty fast from a dangling position, to his head just above above the bar, and then further pushing himself up and over the bar to full arm extension. Ness watched him for a minute as he repeated the exercise at a vigorous pace. "You've been doing that for a while, huh?"
Rock stopped in mid pull and looked over his shoulder, "Oh hey, maybe a bit..." Rock dropped from the bar and grabbed a towel he left nearby to rub the sweat from his forehead.
Ness's mouth went flat as Rock dropped from the bar, "I should be training too, why didn't you wake me?"
Rock scratched the back of his head, "Sorry, after a day like yesterday I thought you could use more rest."
"Yeah well," Ness crossed his arms and tried to look determined, "You told me you were going to teach me how to use magical items yesterday and that we were going to start working at becoming stronger and I'm ready to start."
Rock closed his eyes and smiled at his friend, "With an attitude like that you'll pass me in no time. First thing, let's get you some better clothes before someone sees you."
"I guess PJs aren't the best thing to work out in," Ness agreed.
"That and you can totally tell you didn't sleep in them from the way their wrinkled up," Rock grinned causing Ness to blush at the insinuation. With Ness in better clothes Rock began pushing to see what Ness could do from lifting weights to running to climbing. The two spent several hours going through exercises that were rigorous to Ness, but he could also tell that Rock was holding back so he could keep up. He didn't like it but vowed to keep pushing harder.
Once Rock had a baseline for Ness's abilities he found him a wooden sword and explained the basics on how to use one. The two were parrying and striking back and forth. Rock would sidestep and twist his sword sending Ness tumbling but the younger boy continued to push himself back and try again.
The two were at it for several hours, and Ness was definitely picking up the basics when there was a knock and the door opened, "A-hem, pardon the intrusion," Ness and Rock looked up finding an elderly man with a bushy mustache standing in the doorway of the armory, "Terribly sorry, my name is Toadsworth, the caretaker of this castle, and I have received direction by the
princess to assist the two of you in any way possible. I've already been told by my apprentice that you are in need of new garments suitable for adventure."
Ness bowed courteously to the man, "Yes sir, thank you, my name is Ness."
Rock shook the man's hand next, "And I'm Rock, we found material here that we wanted to have used in our equipment but are in need of a weaver and leather worker."
"You're in luck as I am well accomplished in these and many crafts," Toadsworth sniffed at the air, "It appears as though the two of you have been working quite a sweat today, why don't we have a bath prepared for you and then I will get to work."
"That sounds great, thank you," Ness and Rock followed the old man out and through another hallway.
Toadsworth led them to the large guest bath, "I believe you'll find the baths here quite refreshing, the water is pumped from an underground hazy maze cave and then heated over a lethal lava pit."
"Sounds amazing," Rock indulged the man with a grin garnering a laugh.
"Hohoho, there's a reason this man continues to be spry in his old age." Toadsworth made sure the bath was filling before turning to leave, "I'll return shortly to take your measurements."
"Thank you," Ness and Rock began to shed their sweat soaked clothes as the door shut.
Rock was the first to lower himself into the large sunken bath, "Wow, he was right, the water is really hot, this is awesome!"
A little more excited now that it had Rock's approval, Ness sank in on the opposite side, "It is hot, and there isn't even a fire under the tub."
"Yeah, you've never seen a hot spring huh?" Ness shook his head to Rock's question, "If they've got an underground lava pit then that's basically the same principal here, some kind of mineral water that's heated through geothermal ducts and then pumped up to the castle."
Ness grinned as Rock once again explained everything, "See, you even know how that works!"
Rock tilted his head, "What, about hot springs?"
"I mean everything," Ness leaned back against the warm tiles, "You always seem to know what's going on, you know how to fight with swords even though I had never seen you use one before, and you even know how to use magical items when Luigi was scared to even touch them."
"Oh... that kind of everything..." Rock looked down as he thought his words through, but his expression remained cheerful, "You know I only moved to Onett less than three years ago."
"Yeah," Ness replied, "You were quiet at first too, but you became a lot friendlier after you started hanging out with Ninten and me."
Rock sunk a bit into the water, his downcast face created a shadow over his eyes. Ness noticed the change in attitude and became quiet as he realized Rock was about to say something serious, "Things were rough before I met you."
"How rough?" Ness gulped.
"I..." Rock tried to keep a brave face as he continued, "was drafted into a war."
It took a moment for Ness to process what Rock said, "Drafted? But you were only twelve when we met, how could you have been...?"
"Things were bad," Rock looked off like he was remembering difficult things, "Some terrible villains joined forces and threatened many different countries. There were so few warriors left and the enemy was on the verge of winning so a state of emergency was called and the draft age was dropped to seven."
"How could they lower it so much?! You were only seven?!" Ness asked astonished.
Rock nodded, "Well... for special cases that they thought could help the war effort. Mostly what they wanted was access to my father. He's a smart guy you know, but he didn't want to make magical weapons even though everyone knew he could, he just needed enough motivation to do it."
Understanding flashed in Ness's eyes, "If you had to fight in the war, then he'd have to make magical weapons to help you."
"That's how it was," Rock smiled a bit sadly.
Ness hung his head understanding how painful it must be for Rock to think about such things, "And that's why you know how to use magical weapons."
"Bingo," Rock pointed his finger like a gun making a slight splash in the water, "Now you're getting it."
"I'm sorry," Ness shook his head, "We've been best friends for years and I never knew something so major about you."
Rock frowned and slowly moved closer to Ness so he could wrap his arm around Ness's
shoulder, "There was no way you could have known, and you don't need to worry about me, I can deal with it no problem."
Ness wasn't sure if he should push it or not but decided while he had Rock talking he should, "Then what happened yesterday when the princess brought up The Wizard of Light?"
Immediately Rock sighed and Ness wondered if maybe he shouldn't have brought it up, "My father has been called a lot of things; a great doctor, a powerful wizard, Doc Tom, Doctor Xavier, but back home he's known as Doctor Light."
Ness's mouth hung open, "So The Wizard of Light...?"
"Is my dad," Rock confirmed.
"So when the princess mentioned him, you were upset because..." Ness tried piecing the last bit together.
Rock's eyes closed as his head tilted up, "Yesterday wasn't the first time I've seen these exact same weapons. He left all these weapons that I'm familiar with here on purpose so that means he knew we'd come here; he knew everything would happen the way it did. He calculated and expected all of this as far back as two years ago. I guess I just let it get to me that he has this big plan going on that I'm a part of but have no idea where it's going yet."
Ness nodded finally understanding Rock's struggle. As much as he always seemed like he was in control and knew what was going on and where he was going he was still just barely keeping up with his father's shadow which must have been maddening. Worse yet he couldn't even really be upset at his father because his actions were put in place to help them.
Ness's arm moved up Rock's back and returned the half embrace Rock still had on him as he leaned his head on his best friend's shoulder, "You're not just some pawn in someone else's game."
Water in the tub swished as Rock turned his head and looked slightly afraid after Ness's words, "What?"
"You're not your father's pawn in this game he's playing, he may be a few steps ahead of everyone else which does help us for sure, but we're still going to do things our way. You're my best friend, guardian, all that stuff, and... you're amazing, and a hero. Not because of your dad but because of who you are."
Rock blinked a few times feeling perplexed by Ness but finally smiled and wrapped Ness in both his arms, holding him tight for a minute, "Thank you, I'm really glad that if I had to be teamed up with someone that it was you."
Ness smiled back and the two remained locked together for a moment.
"Oh my," Ness and Rock looked up as Toadsworth was once again at the doorway, "I just thought I'd check on you two, I have the materials ready to craft your new equipment and only need your measurements."
The two boys slowly separated from their position in the tub, "Alright, that's cool."
Toadsworth held up a strand of measuring tape, "Who wants to be first?"
Rock motioned with his head towards Toadsworth, "I'll let you be first."
"Umm… sure," Ness reached over for his towel to provide himself some cover before standing.
"Don't worry about that, I can get more accurate measurements as you are," Ness nodded at the man's assurances and climbed out of the large tub with only a slight blush on his face. "Now hold your arms straight out at your sides," Ness stood with his arms out as instructed.
The man pulled out a tape measurer and first pinched it around Ness's chest, "I've heard rumors that you're quite the accomplished lightning caster? Enough to knock out General Luigi and his best men."
Ness nodded nervously as the tape moved to measure his arms, "I'm best with lightning magic, yes. I got lucky against Luigi though, he was standing in water at the time."
"Hoho! Absolutely shocking! Flex your arm please," Ness wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke but flexed his muscle as asked so his biceps could be measured.
"I get the strong inclination you're going to be growing some more musculature quite rapidly if what I hear is true and you're planning on venturing across the continent in search of the remaining elemental champions," Toadsworth finished with Ness's arm and pushed it back out of the way before wrapping the tape around his waist.
"That would be nice I guess…" Ness shivered as the tape and fingers grazed against his back.
"Oh you will, believe me, the heroes of this Mushroom Kingdom, the brothers Mario and Luigi, they were scrawny little things when they first arrived… well… Luigi was a bit scrawny, Mario might have been a bit filled out in his youth I dare say, hoho... but I'd wager it was around your age when they grew into fine warriors." Toadsworth wrapped the tape around Ness's upper thigh, "I believe they each went through three or four sets of clothes and armor within a year's time as they became more proficient in swordplay and combat. So I will leave your new garments with a little extra room to grow into in several strategic locations." Toadsworth moved around in front of Ness as he measured his leg length, "Oh my."
Ness looked down and blushed as he noticed what the man had seen. It didn't help as he heard Rock snickering from the tub, "My friend is a little touch sensitive I'm afraid."
Toadsworth chuckled but didn't seem too phased, "Hoho. That's quite alright, nothing to worry young chap, t'only means you're a healthy young man. It gives us the opportunity to take this measurement into account as well so we can be assured there will be room in the trousers for when that happens out in the field."
"I… guess that's a good thing…" Ness chastised himself internally for even saying such a thing while Rock snickered quietly from the tub.
"Indeed, I may not look like it now, but I have quite fond memories of youthful rambunctiousness," Toadsworth removed his tape and stood as Ness lowered his arms, "All done, apologies for the intrusion but I will have your wardrobe completed shortly."
"Thank you sir," Ness bowed courteously as Toadsworth turned to Rock.
"Not a problem at all, go ahead and finish up and we'll measure your friend next," Ness turned to finish rinsing off while Rock unabashedly climbed out. Ness had to mentally admire his best friend. He understood now why Rock was in good shape as well as a good fighter. Being sent off to war at such a young age would force that on you. Rock remained stoic while being measured and maybe showed off a bit when he knew Ness was looking.
"Excellent," Toadsworth scribbled the final measurement down, "I'll get to work right away, though it may take a few days to complete. I don't normally work with such fine materials and I want to be sure your new attire is ready to stand with you through the challenges ahead. Though it may not be much at the moment, please enjoy what hospitality we can offer you in the meantime."
"Thank you so much," Both Ness and Rock bid the man as he left the bathroom.
The two boys were drying off when Rock laughed again. Ness wasn't sure what was funny, "What?"
Rock tried to stay quiet for a moment, but quickly gave up, "It's just such a relief that your pants are being designed with a strategic location for a certain growth!"
Ness blushed as Rock kept giggling to himself. Ness composed himself and crossed his arms, "Yup, and you may end up wishing your pants came with that feature after a few times."
"Hey," Rock put his hand to his chest, "I have self control unlike some people."
"It's not my fault… It's that crystal thing..." Though at first Ness seemed to be looking for excuses, he eventually gave Rock an evil grin and gestured his hand up and down, "And besides I know you do it at least once a day without any excuse at all!"
Rock rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Come on, you need to learn how to use enchanted items next."
The tone between the two immediately shifted to one of determination and readiness. Rock taught Ness the basics of identifying different forms of enchantments, runes, and incantations on items and how to activate them. Over the next few days Ness continued training with magic, swords, and different enchanted items Rock let him use.
Ness pushed himself hard, refusing to laze about the castle. He got up early with Rock and pushed the limits of his body, mind, and soul. The sun was barely rising in the morning as Ness was sprinting over the hills beyond the castle. He jumped off the top of a steep hill and rolled into a landing before springing back up and launching several lightning bolts from his hands to take out the targets Rock had set up the day before. A tree at the bottom of another steep hill signified the end which Ness still had to quickly climb and then leap from the top of the tree to the castle grounds.
Ness's feet hit the ground and a series of clapping caught him by surprise, "Keep up that kind of effort and perhaps you could stand a chance."
"General Luigi," Ness gulped as the man approached with his two highest ranking guards beside him. "You were watching?"
Luigi nodded, "You've only had three chances to run this kind of gauntlet training and each day you've gotten better and faster than I would have expected in such a short time. If you can keep up that level of improvement…"
Ness had a look of surprise from Luigi's compliment.
"Make no mistake," Luigi almost immediately took a step back, "I'm not praising your current level. Mario used to run similar training gauntlets in these fields and last I saw him he would have wiped the floor with you and your abilities… as they are now."
"Umm… okay." Ness scratched his head, "So…"
Luigi sighed and took a deep breath before continuing, "I apologize, I've had to keep strong since… well… I leave today for the front and only wanted to wish you both well on your travels."
Ness smiled, "Good luck to you too."
Luigi actually gave Ness a salute, "The path ahead will be difficult, but we're counting on you." The uncomfortable expression didn't leave Luigi's face as he untied a leather pouch from his belt, "You will need this…"
Ness was unsure what was going on as Luigi handed the pouch to him. With no further explanation, Ness opened the pouch and pulled out a thin case. It opened to reveal a red crystal shard, similar to the one he'd found on Mt. Itoi, "This is…"
"I found it, almost immediately after Mario disappeared," Luigi explained, "I've held onto it for years now, but the new Champion of Fire is the one who will need it most…"
Somehow Ness understood the sentimental significance Luigi had placed on this item and intrinsically knew it was not so simple to just hand it over, "Thank you."
Luigi nodded as he turned and walked away with his soldiers still close behind. Ness grinned to himself and returned to the castle.
As he walked back to his room he noticed Rock's door was open and Toad was inside helping Rock organize his weapons while he tried on his clothes. Rock's pants were two toned, with a light grey cloth from his waist to just above his knees, a different charcoal cloth to his feet, and dark leather knee pads and side guards at his hips. He had a tan colored muscle shirt on while he was buckling a set of leather cross belts. "What do you think?" Rock showed off to Ness, "They know how to weave here!" He had a pair of black leather mid top boots nearby, and a blue jacket with dark leather shoulder and elbow guards.
Ness felt the material on Rock's jacket "It looks cool, but it feels light, is it gonna be okay if we're rough with it?"
"This material is quite special and exotic," Toad explained, "Most of the material is an extremely durable weave of sylphic cotton and thunder wool which both resists elemental magic spells and amplifies electrical charges. The leather is thunder sheepskin which is an amazing insulator and resists cutting and piercing almost entirely. I'm unsure where the Wizard of Light was able to acquire such a large amount of these materials."
Rock chuckled, but didn't say any more.
There was a knock on the open door behind Ness as Toadsworth entered, "Good morning Master Ness, I was taking your new garbs to your room when I heard your voice in here." Toadsworth placed the clothes on Rock's bed.
Ness looked over the tightly woven light blue pants, brown leather boots, a loose white short sleeved tunic top with black hems, and a purple mantle and tabard with brown leather shoulder guards.
"I also took the liberty of repairing your hat," Toadsworth set the purple bycocket hat over the tabard. "I hope you don't mind."
"Thank you," Ness picked up the hat and ran his hand over the brim. It was the same hat but felt stiffer and there was a new vibrant feather on it. Ness quickly dressed and looked himself over in the mirror.
"Not bad," Rock stopped to check Ness out as well, "Oh, and I finished this for you."
Ness turned around as Rock held a what looked like a metal yoyo in his hand, "What's that for?"
"You'll need to be careful with it, but watch this," Rock flicked his wrist and Ness could tell he was activating a magical enchantment as he threw the yoyo down hard.
Ness watched as the yoyo travelled down its cord, the further it went the bigger it grew and then formed serrated blades along its edges, "Whoa!" Once the yoyo hit the end of the cable it began to spin with the blades spinning like twin buzz saws. Rock tugged on the cord and recalled the weapon allowing for the blades to retract and the disks to shrink before returning to its normal size by the time it returned to his hand.
"That was awesome," Ness watched in amazement as Rock placed the yoyo in his hand.
Rock made sure the ring was adjusted as he slid it on top of Ness's knuckles, "I thought since you were always playing with that wooden yoyo that this would make a good sub weapon for you until you get better with swords."
"For sure!" Ness excitedly examined the weapon more closely.
"The reason it's metal," Rock grinned as he pointed out, "is that it's very conductive; if you were to cast a lightning spell through it you could probably get some interesting effects. Just a thought."
Ness looked as though he liked the idea as he hung the yoyo off his belt. Rock had quite a few weapons hanging off of his own belts and of course the huge sword on his back that could light itself on fire.
All their weapons were secure as Rock grinned at Ness, "So what direction is Mario's cap pulling us in?"
Ness held the cap up with his hand under the brim and the cap indeed pulled in a certain direction, "That way, southeast I think."
Rock nodded, "Then we've got a long trek ahead of us, we better get going."
Toadsworth looked worried, "There is not much in that direction, arid wastelands, strong winds, and desolate dunes, we've come to call the area The Mushroomy Desert. I'd strongly recommend taking routes around the desert if at all possible."
Rock put his hand up to his chin in thought, "The routes that go around the desert, what lands do they cross through?"
A deep sigh came from Toadsworth, "They cross through lands heavily patrolled by the Golden Empire."
"Twelve of one, a dozen of another…" Rock thought for a moment longer. "I think we'd be better off keeping our distance from anything empire related for now but what do you think Ness?"
Ness nodded in agreement, "Yeah I'd rather not have to deal with those empire guys for a while."
"I must warn you," Toadsworth spoke again, "There are creatures that roam the desert, vile things that will make passage extremely unsafe."
"Thanks," Rock smiled to the old man, "But we're going to be facing some danger no matter what we do, at least this way we may have a chance to get some more practice in before we have to deal with anything really bad."
Toadsworth gulped to himself but nodded, "Very well, we have some old maps of the desert which may help you find a few shelters along your way. And please take these packs with all the supplies we can spare." Toad carried in two large backpacks filled with food, water containers, and emergency supplies.
"You've been so kind!" Ness grinned as he looked through the bag, "Thank you."
"I truly wish we were in a position to offer you more…" Toadsworth sighed, "Only a few years ago we would have backed you up with heroes and a grand army, now we are reduced to this…"
Rock put a hand on the elderly man's shoulder, "We'll be fine on our own, it'll be easier to stealth around the empire this way believe me. And soon things will start to go back to how they once were, you'll see!"
"Our hopes go with you," Toad waved as the two boys began to leave the castle.
The boys bid farewell to the Princess, Toadsworth, and everyone else they'd come to know at the castle before setting out. Across the bridge, and over a hill and already the castle was falling into the background. Ness looked over his shoulder at the remains of the Mushroom Kingdom, "I'm glad we ended up here first, despite it being a little scary in the beginning, everyone here turned out to be really great. I sure hope we can come back and help them someday."
Rock grinned, "You can count on it!"
Ness psyched up along Rock as they continued walking on, "So are we going to keep up our training while travelling?"
Rock couldn't help but smile at Ness's eagerness, "I figure we'll walk until we get to one of the
shelters Toadsworth marked on the map and then see how tired we are once we get there."
"Sounds good!" The two boys cheerfully bantered as they trekked through the outskirts of The Mushroom Kingdom. Soon the trees and foliage became sparser as they entered a small savannah and from there it became obvious only dirt and sand would lie ahead. Entering the desert with the sun high in the sky almost immediately ceased all conversation between the two. The effects of losing the canopy of trees was immediately felt by both boys.
Rock dropped his backpack and slid his arms out of his jacket. "There's a breeze but I can barely feel it through this thing," He slid his backpack over his shoulders again and held his jacket over his head to make himself some shade. Ness decided it looked like a good idea and pulled off his Tabard and mantle to shield his face from the sun as well.
The dunes went on for hours. If it weren't for the sun it would have been impossible to tell which direction was which. The two climbed over another dune as Rock gauged the map.
Ness was obviously fatigued, his shirt soaked with sweat and his pace several steps slower than it had been, "I need a break…"
Rock nodded, "We both do, but stopping in the sun isn't going to help us much." He looked up at the sun still high in the sky and around to the sides, "If I'm reading this right, then there should be an outpost just another mile or two that way."
"Mile or two… that's not bad right…" Ness took a deep breath and tried to keep up.
The two walked across two more dunes and then while standing at the top of one made out what looked like a brown brick structure with a torn flag fluttering on a tall pole in front of it.
Both boys smiled as Rock pointed toward it, "That's it! Come on!" With their goal in sight they found their second wind and pushed themselves toward the shelter.
One last tall dune separated them from their goal. Ness hopped over the top and slid down the steep drop to other side. Rock joined him in the sprint and the two rushed past the flagpole and through the slightly buried entrance. Enough sand had piled up inside the outpost that it was obvious there was much less headroom than there had once been. Caring only that he was in a slightly cooler shade and away from the burning sun, Ness pulled off his soaked shirt and collapsed on the sand to catch his breath.
Rock set his pack down with a little more care before he sat beside Ness and slowly recovered from the long trek.
After several minutes of lying sprawled out on the ground, Ness reached over and poked his friend, "How much farther does this desert go on for?"
Rock took a few more breaths before laying back on the ground next to Ness, "Far…"
Ness blinked a few times while staring at the ceiling, "Like how far?"
A sad laugh came from Ness's right side, "If we make the same distance a day that we did today… we have about seven more days to go through this desert."
"A whole week?!" Ness's mouth hung open, "We're gonna die!"
"It'll get better," Rock assured his friend, "These old outposts are spread out pretty equally along the desert, and you're used to cooler mountain temperatures still. After a few days out here it won't feel so bad anymore."
Ness's head hit the sand again as he groaned in displeasure.
"At least it's a lot cooler in here," Rock put a hand up and felt the breeze coming through the broken windows, "Deserts like this are super hot in the sun, but once you're in the shade it's much cooler."
Ness slowly opened his eyes and looked around the fort. The brown brick structure was pretty sparse, it had definitely been abandoned for some time.
"We're going to have to change up how we travel," Rock licked at his dry lips, "It's too hot out here to travel during the middle of the day, we'll be better off getting to sleep early so we can start walking before the sun rises and make as much distance as we can before it gets hot."
"Sounds good to me," Ness agreed.
Once the heat exhaustion had passed, the two explored the fort a bit more. There was a second floor to the fort that wasn't buried as badly as the first floor, "This should be a good place to stay for the night."
Ness agreed as he looked through cabinets for anything useful that might have been left behind, "What's this?"
Rock stepped up behind Ness and looked at the odd cube in the cabinet, "That thing's got some strong magic in it, I can feel it…" Rock put his hand over it to try and decipher what it was, "It feels like it's some kind of earth spell, but of course the only clue we get is someone childishly wrote POW on it."
Ness grunted as he lugged it up off the ground, "Should we bring it with us?"
Rock shook his head, "It's too heavy, it would be exhausting trying to carry that thing everywhere."
The block was put aside as the two prepped their rations for dinner and practiced with more magical weapons before bed. From the outside, the windows of the old fort gave off brilliant colors of light and sounds every few minutes until the sun sank below the horizon and all became quiet.
Several hours into the darkness Ness woke up. It had still been warm as he fell asleep, but he found himself shivering in the cold of the night, "This is crazy!"
Ness pulled his mantle over his arms to try and act as a blanket, but the bite of the low temperature was still more than he expected. Ness curled up on his side to try and conserve as much heat as he could. He was still uncomfortably chilled when arms wrapped around him from behind, "Huh?"
"You're cold," Rock stated plainly.
"Well yeah…" Ness gulped.
Rock seemed to still be half asleep as he pulled Ness closer to him. Ness was about to protest but quickly realized it was warmer huddling up this way. Ness went ahead and pushed himself back into Rock as Rock pulled his jacket over the both of them. Rock gripped tightly onto Ness as he fell back to sleep. Ness stayed awake for a short time longer; he could feel Rock's breath gently blowing against the back of his neck and their legs entangled. His eyes closed as he felt warm and safe.
Some time later Ness could feel something strange almost tickling the bottom of his bare foot.
"Ness…" a voice whispered softly in his ear. It was quiet but there was some urgency in the voice, "Ness… you need to wake up."
Slowly Ness's eyes opened and Rock's hand moved from his chest to his mouth. "Mmm?" Ness quietly muffled out.
"Shhh…" Rock whispered again, "Don't make any sudden moves or noises…"
Ness's eyes widened as he noticed what looked like a gigantic beetle at their feet, it's beak dangerously close to their legs. The beetle was at least five feet long and had a thick black shell but was a light reddish brown under it.
Once Ness was aware of the situation and calm he felt Rock's hand loosen up. Without turning his head Ness whispered, "What do we do?"
"There are more of them behind us," Rock whispered back, "At least two of them between us and our gear. We're going to have to get our stuff but I don't know how aggressive they might turn when they notice us, so be ready."
Ness nodded as the mandibles were getting closer, almost as if it was sniffing them out.
"Slowly, let's stand up, try not to make much noise…" As carefully as they could, the two pulled their feet away from the beetle which then snapped its mandibles in their direction causing them to jerk slightly. The other beetles in the room stopped what they were doing and looked in their direction.
"Are they…?" Ness gulped finally noticing that there were quite a few of the gigantic beetles in the fort now. From under the shell one of the beetles started buzzing loudly. A second beetle then mimicked the buzzing sound and then it spread to most of the beetles in the room.
"I get the feeling that's not a good sound…" Rock bit his lip and then the closest beetle charged forward.
Ness pointed his hand at the beetle, "Thunder!" A loud crack of thunder rumbled the fort as a bolt of lightning shot out from Ness's hand and hit the beetle. The electricity hit dead on and deflected around the shell in several smaller bolts. The beetle stayed still for a moment as the crackling passed but then continued pushing forward.
"It resists magic!" Rock pushed Ness out of the way as the beetle lunged in with its mandibles.
"What do we do?!" Ness looked around the room trying to assess the situation as the other beetles were charging in as well.
"We need some weapons!" Rock ran toward the two beetles between him and his equipment. The beetles tried to lunge at him once he was close enough but Rock jumped over their mandibles and rolled across their shells. Rock's weight on top of the beetle pushed it to the ground and immediately it retreated into its shell. Rock didn't stop until he rolled past the monsters and grabbed his sword and metal blades from the ground. Immediately Rock unsheathed the flame sword and it ignited into a burning blade. The inside of the fort lit up in flickering red and orange as Rock swung at the nearest beetle. An echoing clang signified the sword made contact, but Rock found his sword had sliced into the shell of the beetle as any sword should have done, but the magical fire was dissipating around the shell, "Oh shit…"
Rock put a foot up against the shell of the beetle and flipped himself back to pull his sword out from where it had become slightly embedded.
Ness was nearby gathering his things. As a beetle approached him he swung his Yoyo at it. The blades expanded to a giant size, and as Rock had suggested he channeled his lightning magic through it causing it to glow brightly and crackly wildly with bolts of energy as Ness swung it around. The beetles stayed back when the yoyo swung too closely, but their shells were still able to dissipate the effects if they were hit just as before.
The two boys were able to hold the beetles off for each other long enough that they had all their gear, but more beetles were coming up the stairs.
"Out the window?" Ness suggested.
They took a look out the window and noticed dozens more beetles converging on the fort, "Not gonna work."
Ness grit his teeth as he swung his yoyo at a few other beetles, "They're gonna get us eventually if this keeps up! We need to…" Ness's voice trailed off as if he thought of something.
The flame sword also only scared the beetles back but did no real damage on contact, "We need to what?" Rock turned and saw Ness pushing his way through a group of buzzing beetles, "NESS!"
"I got an idea!" Ness was holding three of the beetles at bay when a fourth one lunged at him from another direction, "Whoa!"
Rock had taken a running leap and came down hard over the beetle causing it to retreat into its shell, "Alright, let's do it!"
Ness smiled as he ran to the shelf he remembered from earlier.
Rock drove his sword forward but one of the beetles caught the blade in its beak. Rock began pushing and pulling to get his sword back but beetle was insistently holding onto it. Rock exposed his teeth and grunted as he put his boot up against the beetle and pulled his sword back until it let go. Rock flipped over backwards and landed besides Ness, "Hurry!"
Ness rummaged through the cabinet for a few moments and hurriedly dragged the block out from its resting spot, "Okay! Let's see what a POW can do!" With a grunt of effort, Ness tossed the block across the room.
Both boys watched as the block began to glow while it fell through the air. Rock felt the magic emanating from the cube built up immensely, "Oh crap!" Ness had no time to resist as Rock grabbed onto his hand and forcefully dragged him to a window before jumping out. The two were falling from the fort when a massive shockwave overtook them. The shockwave tore through the area with so much force that it flipped every beetle upside down from the initial blast. Then everything started to quake.
Before Ness and Rock hit the ground, it was as though the entire desert shifted and then split open. The fort lifted, tilted sideways, and then fell into a giant chasm that had opened in the earth. The two boys hit the ground in a roll only moments before the ground beneath them gave way and fell into the pit as well. Rock grabbed onto the new ledge with one hand and held onto Ness with the other.
Neither boy had much time to contemplate what had happened as the ground Rock was gripping to then fell as well and both boys plunged downward into darkness.
End Chapter
Nintentrash drew Plan: B Ness all decked out in fantasy clothes! Check out the cover art to see it! Also check out more of his art on DeviantArt and Tumblr, a lot more awesome Ness and Lucas to be found there! Links can be found on my Tumblr.
Sorry for taking even longer than normal to post this chapter. My laptop got smashed up by TSA while traveling and has made it a little difficult find both time and easy access to a computer. I have so many projects to work on but keep working on this more than anything so hopefully that's a good thing. I have a few friends who are demanding I focus more on one project at a time, so we'll see if that means we get somewhere good.
For anyone who's never played Super Mario 64 I apologize for all the strange references to areas around the castle. For the Mario players out there I hope I'm doing a good job with the twisted details of The Mushroom Kingdom.
Thanks for reading and please leave a review/comment, and feel free to message me on any of social media thingy.
'Til next time!
