Chapter 6: The First Yet Familiar Inner Guardian
Having now entered the Nature Castle, I looked at the familiar ruined surroundings, and even behind the shades of green the place still retained the signs of age that it did the last time I was here. "Decaying brimstone and cracks filled with moss…" I sniffed the air, taking in a bit of the dust and rot through my nostrils and quickly bending my head down to cough. "Why…Cough…Did I do that?" I question myself as I then realized something. "Wait a second, why the heck am I coughing if that stuff went into my nose?" After noting my goofy error I lifted my head up in a dignified manner.
"Heh, no wonder the Toads were looking at me, I act like such a nutball sometimes…" As I mentioned that to my lonesome self, the chuckle that follows leads to me withdrawing into other silence, my mind beginning to contemplate the views that others had of me and taking them all to heart. My mood becomes somber as I feel the weight of their opinions piling up on top of me, my body nervously drawing air in through the mouth in order to calm myself down. I try to think happy thoughts, but the atmosphere did little to help my situation.
So with no other options, I lie to myself, thinking in my head, "Hey, who cares what they think?" Which is then followed up by me waving my right hand in front of me as if I was in a conversation with someone and saying quietly, "Yeah…I got friends who don't care how I behave, so who needs to be accepted by strangers, right?" After a half-hearted chuckle, I was satisfied with my response and felt reassured and ready to move on. After all, I can't just waste time focusing on my personal problems when everyone else is in trouble. That's just selfish, and that's not the type of person I want to be.
As I walked ahead I remember how before I needed a torch to see where I was going. Unfortunately, while the wooden bases were available to pull off on the dew drenched walls, I lacked to fire of which I could start them. Not like it mattered much anyways, since my eyes were not only well adjusted to the darkness, but the emerald tone helped light up the environment enough for my advance to be made easier. Though as I walked forward with my arms crossed in front of my chest and all caution tossed away I knew I was forgetting something. "Hmm…" I thought hard about the detail that plagued my mind, and after reaching a certain point in the center of the hallway I stopped all of a sudden and swayed my arms away from my body.
Looking up, I expected to see two massive holes leading to the top of the Nature Castle, only for the ceiling to be completely sealed up. As I calmed my beating heart by standing in place with my head still pointed upward, I nervously grinned and waited a few seconds before returning my eyes to normal and closing my eyelids to release a sigh of relief through my mouth. I then adjusted my pose so my left hand hung against my hip as I used my right arm to swipe across my forehead. "Wait, why am I reacting like this?" I suddenly ask as I calm myself down.
Though really, it was a foolish thing to ask because of how simple the answer was. Loneliness, paranoia, nostalgia, such a volatile blend of emotions was driving me crazy, and I didn't know how to keep control of any of them. I knew I had to keep my head in check for whatever battles lied ahead, but the ridiculousness of my behavior was starting to take its toll on me, and as I grit my teeth I said to myself, "I seriously need to either restore Toad Town or find one of my friends, or I'm going to go INSANE!" With my urgency to find some peace now taking priority over all other thoughts, I charged towards the staircase as fast as I could.
The staircase is a bit unsteady, but I still run up the spiral of steps without any concern until I reach the second floor. I was now in another hallway, and the first thing I said after stopping myself to catch my breath after that sudden burst of speed was, "Oh thank god there are no vines here this time…" I was concerned about every trap being reset after seeing the holes in the ceiling patched up, but it seems that Mr. Reality allowed some of our work from the last trip here to stay intact. "…Heh, now that I think about it, he probably patched the holes so I wouldn't just take a couple leaps to reach my destination."
I congratulated the alien in my mind for having the brains to think matters through, but then another thought arose as I raised my body up. "…And since he wants me to take the long way around, he probably set up new traps for me to deal with." I slapped my forehead, berating myself for assuming even for a second that things would be easy. With the peaceful first floor now behind me, it was time to don my sense of caution and trek slowly across the delicate flooring. One misstep could cause the ground to collapse beneath me, and all things considered the roof would probably come down to crush me as well.
"Nah, that's a bit much for the first temple…" Was the reasoning I used to assure myself that my theory was wrong. Really, it was times like this that I was glad that I had played plenty of video games in my spare time, cause the levels of savviness I gained from them really come in handy for places like this. "I guess another thing I should watch out for is the classic, 'Boulder from the ceiling' trap." I made a joke to lighten the mood, only to shake off such a notion with a shift of my head. "Nah, that would be something for the Terra Cave. Though honestly, the environment is very fitting for such a trap."
As I stared at the walls that surrounded me, I inched closer to the next familiar obstacle and began to think of something. "Heh, I think I get how this is going to work. Obviously, the traps I believe are going to happen aren't going to happen, because Mr. Reality noted my perceptiveness and thus set up traps that aren't going to be easily noticed. He isn't going to use the same traps I dealt with on my previous journey because they'd be easy to solve with my reliable memory. Therefore, I have to rule out all the obvious traps and just deal with the rest as they come along." It wasn't the most brilliant of deductions, but until I went through a temple or two it was all I had to work with.
Either way, my thoughts took my attention away long enough for me to reach the edge of a long pit filled to the brim with poison dripped spikes. "Poison and acid…Geez, would it be too hard to ask for a little more variety in these plant-based locations?" I said with my arms folded in front of my chest and my head raised towards the ceiling. I was hoping that something had been set up for me to swing across, but those very hopes were dashed as I caught something out of the corner of my eyes and looked down to see some sticks and ropes melting away between the spikes. I sighed, bemoaning to myself, "Just like last time…"
The familiarity of things thus far was admittedly starting to grate on my nerves, but I just decided to roll with it for the time being since honestly, I had no choice in the matter. I turned my body to the left, saying in a submissive yet sarcastic tone, "I could waste time bitching, but who would that benefit?" as I examined the wall for the trigger that opened the way to a passageway that would allow me to completely skip the thorn pit. Though how exactly I would activate that trigger was something of a mystery, since the last time around Mario was the one who figured it out while me and Driad focused on a giant vine that was thrusting itself at us.
…Ugh, I'm going to be saying "last time" far too often during this quest. ANYWAYS, as I bent down I looked towards the ground and noticed that there was a part of the wall where a brick wasn't in place. Curious as to this choice in design, I lowered my right hand and curved my fingers into the small crevice, rubbing the tips against the wall on the other side in hopes of finding something to press. After a few seconds with the right side of my body pressed against the moss-covered bricks and my tongue licking against my lips to salivate it, my pointer finger rubbed up against the bottom of a curved object that I predicted was about a half an inch thick.
Though it was a pain to push part of my arm through the crevice to reach the button, I succeeded in my goal, for the pushing of the button led to a portion of the wall shifting forward and releasing a bundle of dust from all sides before it pulls itself into the passageway. I get my arm out just in time before it is scraped across the ground, and stand up to see the door fit perfectly into a hole in the wall ahead of me. "Huh, it didn't do that the last time…" I say. On one hand, it was nice to finally see a little differentiation in the temple, but on the other hand it just made me a bit nervous to walk into the passage. Just to be safe, I peeked my head into it and rested my chin against the edge of the wall.
I could tell that something was amiss though from the way the temple suddenly started to rumble. It was light at first, a harmless tremor I thought, but then I recalled something that happened before and my heart started racing as the intensity of the rumbles increased. The vast, black hallway was suddenly filled with the violent form of a long, thick, slithering rose and black vine. The head flailed about as it approached my face, snarling like a rampant demon much to my surprise. As my heart continued to pound against my chest I smiled brightly and leapt back away from the entrance as the vine tried to thrust itself between the moss infused bricks to reach me.
The head was the only thing that made it through, and that was just barely. The impact with the edges of the passageway caused the room to become unsettled, and a cave-in could've been imminent were it not for the temple's structure maintaining its strength even after all this time. Even so, as I plastered my arms and legs on the wall behind me with my heart continuing to pound and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I cocked a half-hearted grin and widened my eyes slightly as sweat dripped down my forehead. "Now this…This is more like it!" I said with a bountiful amount of exuberance in my voice.
My body was all riled up now after narrowly escaping that unexpected obstacle. This was the type of excitement I needed to keep me focused, something to keep me from thinking about the familiarity of these temples I will be traversing. Still, this vine needs to go for me to continue onward, so I drew my sword into my right head and approaching the flailing head. With a swift swing in front of me I cut part of the tip clean off, the portion flying towards the spike pit and dissolving in a matter of seconds after letting out a dying screech. Having now suffered damage, the rest of the lumbering vine slinked back into the passageway to mend itself.
With my way through now freed up, I dispelled my sword and energetically ran into the passage, reaching the other side in a matter of seconds while noticing the whimpering vine rejuvenating its fibers in a hole befitting its girth. "I guess I won't be returning this way…" I say as I exit the passage with my head looking back at it. Either way, my exit didn't matter at the moment, since my way ahead was now completely freed up. I made my way to the staircase nice and slow, folding my arms behind my head and whistling a pleasant tune to keep my present mood intact.
The trek to the next floor goes off without a hitch, my arms slinking down to my sides as I take a look at my surroundings. If the sunlight still existed, it would light up this room through the six rectangular windows on each wall, but as it stood now it was hard to see much of anything. The moss-covered pillars were still there keeping the place supported, and at the very end was a leaf covered throne that was decaying without end. It was then I thought of something and crossed my arms to deeply think about it, "Now that I'm here, how am I going to restore my powers?" Was the question I asked in my head.
There was really no clear answer. There was no sign of an Elemental Stone on the throne, and even if there was I doubt it would help my situation since those aren't enough to restore my powers. As I continued to think about this problem, I suddenly heard a voice whispering to me from afar, which made me thrust my eyelids open in surprise. "Plant your blade into the throne…" There was something familiar about the wise tone the voice took, but I couldn't put my finger on it as to just who it belonged to. Still, I felt that I could trust what they had to say, and decided to summon my sword and walk slowly towards the throne as they suggested I should.
I didn't really feel like being cautious. After all, without the Elemental Stones there wouldn't be any inner guardians for me to worry about, so I could just put my sword into the throne and hopefully get part of my powers back. But as I edged closer to the throne I heard someone else's footsteps in the general vicinity. I froze in place and shifted my body to the right, looking at the pillars where the sounds came from only to find nothing in sight. Assuming that I was only hearing things, I shook my head and looked back towards the throne, continuing on my way undeterred by anymore noise.
However, a new sensation overtook my thoughts, a feeling of bloodlust protruding from behind that signaled to me that I was in danger. I didn't stop this time though, instead moving my eyes to the right and left cautiously while advancing to see how the one responsible for this sensation would then react. Once I was only ten feet away from the throne, the being took action, the clink of metal heard as they draw a blade from their holster and kick themselves off the ground to head my way. Feeling their aerial approach, I spun myself around, placing my feet firmly into the ground and holding my sword out horizontally with one hand to block a sword strike from my opponent. My blade is forced to be pointed diagonally, but I am able to keep up my defense against the pressure of this precise strike. As I turn my head to see who I was fighting, my eyes widened in fear and shock, for I couldn't believe for even a second that he was floating in the air before me.
Clad in a small set of oak wood samurai armor while both his vine arms grasped the handle of his Rose-bladed katana was my old friend Driad. As he continued to press his blade against my own, I noticed that while his eyes were obscured by the shadow of his helmet, he had a furious smirk spread on his yellow, flowery face. "D-Driad?" I said out of nervous confusion, hoping deeply for some type of response. Without warning, Driad lifts his head up, and I find that his eyes have changed. Instead of pure black ovals placed vertically, they had become golden-brown with pale black pupils while the eyes themselves were now placed horizontally on his face.
It was rather disturbing to look at, but as much as I wanted to believe that this was a fake created by Mr. Reality, the fact of the matter was that there was no change to Driad's energy signature. He was the real deal, and he has been mind controlled to fight against me. That was the reality, and I had no choice but to accept it. After our blades grinded against each other for a few more seconds, Driad backflipped away from me, using his mind to summons hundreds of vines and roots to cover the throne behind me so I wouldn't be able to plant my sword into it.
It was all layered on thick, and after looking at them for a moment I turned towards Driad as he landed on the ground and started to giggle in a ghastly, echoing tone. I raised my eyebrow as I eased my body back into a normal position with my sword pointed towards the ground. A thin layer of leaf-green fog started to settle in the air, the abysmal atmosphere becoming rather unsettling in a matter of seconds as Driad raised his head up high and started to laugh like a lunatic with his eyelids sealed tight. The echoing madness in his voice lasts for what feels like forever, and once he had finished his uncharacteristic behavior he creaked his eyelids open slightly and glared over at me.
"I can't believe you actually came here." He said to me, his once innocent tone discarded in favor of a more mature, crazed one. "What do you mean?" I asked while slanting my eyebrows to return his glare with one of my own. Driad holsters his sword and holds his right vine in front of his body while continuing to smirk at me with arrogance. "You think you are such tough shit huh? Just because you were handed your powers on a silver platter you think you can just conquer anything that stands in your way? Well what about the rest of us who work hard to obtain our strength? I realized long ago how stupid and futile it is to try and strive to become as strong as the Elemental Overlord, since the gap is so big and a glory-hog like you would never allow an inferior specimen such as me to take the credit even if by some miracle I did manage to catch up. It makes me sick just thinking about how much of a fool I was to try and look up to someone like you, especially after you abandoned me when I needed you the most! Well I'm not kissing your ass any longer Elemental Overlord! I'm going to free myself from being damned to subordination by killing you, and when I do people will have no choice but to recognize the strength I got from MY hard work, while they recognize the fraud of a god you truly are!"
Those words hurt me, far more than any other cut simply because of the person I heard them from. However, it was from his very rant that I realized and recognized just what Mr. Reality had done to my friend. What I was seeing before me was the Driad who never wished to be seen, the side of him that was hidden away to avoid the negative perceptions of his peers. But as I thought about my revelation I couldn't help but scowl at the alien's decision, cursing the bastard out in my head for forcing this side of Driad out. There was also a part of me that wanted to deny that what I heard him say wasn't what the Crayzee Dayzee truly felt, but I knew right away that if I said the correct words that my troubles would increase tenfold.
"You aren't Driad, how dare you pretend to be him!" I repeat the trigger in my mind as I grasp the handle of my sword with both hands and raise it in front of my face so the blade covers my mouth. My piercing glare reflects off of its surface as I look at Driad. As he appeared to me now, he had a weapon and was perfectly capable of fighting, so I figured that I would be able to best him so long as I don't try to deny what he really is. The first step towards doing that was obvious, I had to acknowledge the points in his long-winded rant so he would lower his guard as he fights me. "Alright then Driad, since you feel that way about me, then I will not deny your view. Show me what you've achieved with your hard work and try your best to end me!"
The Jealous, Forgotten Child: Shadow Driad
Driad charged at me with blade at the ready. He swung forth to try and cut down my legs, but I slanted my blade with the handle loosely gripped and blocked it with ease. The strength of his blow causes my weapon to twirl around, my arm moving away from my body so I am not cut in the process of waiting for the blade to get to the proper position. When it points into the air I firmly grasp the handle once more, moving my legs back before bringing my sword down towards Driad's helmet. My friend parries the blow with a swing of his wood protected right vine, only for my blow to knocked him back a few feet due to how unprepared he was to withstand my strength.
After I see him force himself to a halt by planting his feet into the floor's cracks, I rush ahead with caution. His next move was expected, he would summon vines from the ground to constrict me, and with his morals seemingly tossed aside he would chop my head clean off. That's what most fighters of his nature would try to do anyways, and him pushing his vines into the ground just reinforces my concerns. With the short gap I quickly close-in, leaping into the air the moment I sense vibrations in the ground and spinning my body so my head is pointed at my opponent. I grasp my sword in both hands and swing it, the weight of my weapon carrying me around in a circle many times like a whirling buzz saw to pressure Driad into raising his blade up above his helmet and pressing his arms against the dull side to keep me from breaking through it.
As the tip of my sword grinds against the shining rosy metal, I notice that my efforts manage to put a few scratches into it. I then slow myself down by dispelling my sword momentarily so I can time my landing just right. All the while the vines finally erupt from the ground in front of my friend, the dried, decaying flora wrapped around them representing the darker part of Driad's psyche. After flailing about they are consumed by black flames and wilt into ashes that fall into the holes they emerge from. I land on the ground and immediately turn myself around, nearly tripping over my legs as I take my blade and brandish it before me to taunt my opponent as he creaks his head to the right to glare at me with fury.
I knew there was only one way I would be able to win. A "Shadow", as Driad's current state can currently be called, cannot be truly defeated, but instead subdued for a brief period of time. Honestly, I was perfectly fine with that, since I only needed to knock him out to get him to lose his focus on the vines and roots wrapped around the throne. Though I hated the fact that I had to fight a close friend of mine, I was thankful to Mr. Reality for making Driad my first opponent inside of the temples instead of someone stronger. All I had to do now was break a hole in his armor and punch him hard enough to knock him to the floor unconscious and the rest should simply fall into place from there.
It was a good thing that out of all the elements, Nature had the most easily telegraphed attacks of them all. I also hate to admit, but while Driad has a few moments of brilliance, for the most part he is a bit aloof, and I could tell amidst his shadowy aura that that trait of his has remained intact, so I had no reason to fear him launching multiple moves my way. "Sorry Driad, but I can't really be held liable for this…" I murmur to myself, and in a way I once again cursed Mr. Reality for forcing me into this scenario. Now was not the time for anymore silence, especially when my opponent finally broke his to turn around and continue the battle with a headfirst charge.
The most troublesome part of Driad's fighting style was not the plants he could summon, but the sword he used in combination with those moves. His vine arms allowed him to strike from different lengths, and vines bursting from the ground aren't the only way someone like him can paralyze a foe. As I thought about this key part of his fighting style, he hovered above the ground, increased his speed, and swung right at me. I drew my blade in defiance of his attack, but with little time to brace myself my entire body is dragged backwards along the tile-rock floor for a total of fifteen feet, the heels of my shoes kicking up some of the tiles away from me as they move between the cracks.
The only reason I stop is because Driad's momentum comes to an end, his feet planting into the ground as he wraps both of his arms tightly around the handle to strengthen the pressure he is using against my blade. Now was the best time for me to disarm him while he was so focused on the obstacle in front of him. As I kept my sword at arms length to defend myself I looked into his eyes. They were staring up at me, my calm expression being the cause of his irritated focus. He was not looking downward, which is where I planned to strike from, so before he realized what was up I pulled my right leg back until the toes of my shoe are pressing against the edge of a rather loose tile.
This also worked in my favor in regards to distracting Driad, for his eyes shifted for only a moment, leading me to believe that he saw my leg's movements as an act of me strengthening my own defense. I waited a few more seconds, budging the tile a couple centimeters so it is raised at the proper angle for the launch. "1...2...3...Now!" My eyes flared up as I ended the countdown in my head, my foot rising upward to send the tile flying through the air. Right before that I dispelled my sword, using the momentum of my kick to backflip from Driad's sword as it falls down and leaves his face wide-open to my project.
The tile shatters against his face and helmet, the impact leaving him dizzy while the dust cloud afterwards blinds him from everything around him for a few more seconds. In that span of time I landed on the ground, leaning my body forward at a sixty-five degree angle before calling my sword and running at my friend. My head was level with his armor, and I moved my arms over my head and grasped the handle of my weapon with both hands and performed the first slash. It was swift, seeing as I needed to get enough blows in before Driad recovers. I could feel the wood trying to stop me from breaking through as I continued to swing my sword at it, but the sharpness of my blade wasn't about to let itself be stopped no matter how much resistance went against it.
I was able to get nine cuts in before I was forced to pull back and stand up straight, grinding myself to a halt and leaping over Driad as his vision returns. He lets out an echoing cough due to some of the dust entering his mouth, but by that time I had landed behind him, where I heard the bits of armor I cut off falling to the ground in a series of clunks. "Phase one complete…" A said in a joyous tone without letting my opponent hear that my scheme was still in motion. The Crayzee Dayzee turned around after a leap, and I twisted my head to see him looking at me with his eyes widened with seething jealousy.
"You just can't let me have anything at all, can you? You are always taking everything from me. My significance, my self-esteem, and even your life! I've had enough of your bullcrap!" The "Shadow" was breaking down, the cries of hatred becoming nonsensical in their meaning. I was succeeding in my efforts, and I was undamaged thus far to boot. It was a good thing too, since I can't rest so long as Toad Town is the way it is. I turned my entire body around, waiting for Driad to charge at me once more so I could deal the final blow. I didn't respond to his words as he ran my way with his sword held furiously above his helmet and his mouth widening to release the brunt of his anger in the form of a bellowing scream.
I didn't worry, I dispelled my sword and kept my arms at my side. "I want my friend back…" I thought to myself. "If he has his issues with me, then it is imperative now more than ever that I free him from Mr. Reality's control." I continued to think as Driad was only ten feet away from my body. I clenched my right fist, closing my eyelids and relying on the sound of his approaching footsteps to determine when to strike. "I'm sorry again Driad, but I hope you forgive me whenever you wake up." This final sentence fell on deaf ears as I whispered it through my lips.
With a short burst of speed I kneeled down, leaned forward and thrust my right fist straight into Driad's vulnerable chest right as he began to bring his blade down. The first thing I notice as my eyes look into his is that they have widened from the sudden pain I have brought down upon him. The sharp edge of his sword was buried into my hair, but as I could see his vines sinking downward the blade cut off a few of my hairs as the weapon itself dropped to the floor to the right of him. I pulled my fist away, my knuckles covered in a sticky green substance as I lifted my body up and looked at them. In a matter of seconds, Driad collapsed onto the ground, my fight against him now complete.
Though this victory wouldn't be permanent if I stood around doing nothing. As I turned my body around to head towards the now freed up throne, I whispered in a guilty tone, "I can't ever take that back…" I spread my fingers out and called forth my sword so I wouldn't have to see the stains caused by my actions. "Whether you remember what I've done or not, I just want you to forgive me…" My thoughts were only on my friend as I put one foot on the second step of the throne and look at the seat, where a pin shaped hole was releasing a miniature pillar of pure green light for me to see. "Well, this had better work." I said as I spun my sword around so the blade was pointed downward and held the sharp tip above the hole.
I planted my blade straight into the throne, a "Schink!" ringing through into my eardrum as the light suddenly erupts around the sword in a wave-like spread. And then that very light blooms throughout the entire room in a flash, my eyes being blinded by it for a brief period of ten seconds before I can see things again, albeit with my vision now a bit blurred. It took a while for me to adjust to the environment, but I pulled my sword out of the throne as I felt a weird yet familiar type of energy flowing into my body in an ethereal form. "Did I…Do it?" I asked myself as I blinked a few times and my sight returned.
I lifted my sword up, moving one of my fingers aside to check the triggers on the handle. My eyes and lips widened in glee as I saw that one of the triggers had become green once more, signifying the return of my ability to control plants. It was a rather tame ability, but it was better to be outfitted with a squirt gun than nothing at all. "…Actually, that comparison would've been better if I had gotten my water powers back first…" I said while staring blankly at the area in front of me. It was from that blank stare that I noticed something else had changed besides my sword. The color had returned to the temple in full. No longer would I have to glare at the emerald-green walls and fog, and what was even more relieving was that the sunlight flourish through the windows once more.
As I enjoyed the splendor of the sun's rays beating down on me I realized something rather important to my situation. "Oh!" I cried out in shock, swiftly turning around to see Driad's unconscious body on the ground, where I could see that he had reverted to his original, Crayzee Dayzee appearance. I ran over to his body, dispelling my sword and kneeling down to pick him up with both of my arms. I flipped him around so I could take a look at his face. Sure enough, his eyes had gone back to being vertical, so he was no longer a "Shadow".
In fact, he looked rather peaceful now, his lips grinning as he occasionally opened them and mumbled pleasant sounds while he enjoyed his slumber. I felt as though I was cradling a newborn child, and this face of innocence rejuvenated my resolve more than restoring a portion of my powers could ever hope to have done. The return of color to this temple made me think back to Toad Town, in that it may have been restored thanks to my efforts. "I better go back and check…" I said as I lifted my head up and looked towards the exit, walking towards it after letting out a sigh of relief. "One element down, six to go…" I reminded myself as I left the room behind…
Next Time: Rest and Train, the Master's continuous cycle