Chapter 8: The Watchdogs of the Depths

I did not know where the sound of chains came from, but as the Chronicler invited me over to speak I quickly forgot about the noise and made my way into the monochrome realm, my colors being retained as I turn my head around and notice that I can no longer see into Toad Town. There was a massive wall of fog built up, something of which would leave one wondering just how the Chronicler knew I was behind it were it not for my knowledge of his omniscience. I turned to him, his arms folded together gently as he creaked the upper part of his robe up to gaze into my curious eyes.

"What do you want to say?" I asked, folding my arms as I turned to face his shrouded expression. He chuckled, not menacingly but happily, at my inquiry. "First off, I wish to congratulate you on restoring one-seventh of the planet to its natural state, while also reclaiming the Nature element you were so wrongfully robbed of." His first words were filled with praise for my accomplishment, one of which I could not sully with any remark as I grinned and let out a chuckle through my pearly teeth. His next comment, however, did away with my grin as he reminded me of the obvious, "Don't get too happy, you still have six temples to go."

"Right, right, I knew that." I said as a rebuttal to ensure the Chronicler that I wasn't get too arrogant in the head. I swung my arms out to the sides of my body, moving it until I was standing diagonally before saying to him, "Is that all you have to say? Cause if so then I'm going to get a move on to the Aqua Palace if that's alright with you." "As a matter of fact, that was not all I had to articulate to you." He said in a wise tone, the gargled sound in his voice returning after a brief period of absence. "I wanted to tell you a bit of this tale I had stored in my library, of a person you may or may not be familiar with."

It was a rather weird time to tell me a story, I thought as I looked at him with my right eyebrow raised in an awkward fashion. "Really now?" "Yes. But don't worry, I know you are a busy teenager and would rather not listen to the words of an omnipresent spirit, but I do wish to note that I will only tell you a part of the tale now and the rest at later dates." The Chronicler was honest in his explanation, I could tell that simply by peering at the shroud that covered his ghastly face. "Alright, I can spare a couple minutes." I said. After all, I had plenty of hours left until the sun set, so a few minutes won't put me in a situation where I have to rush to get the job done. "Then let me begin…" The Chronicler said.

"It all begun in Earth year 2025, when in a small countryside a young couple gave birth to a wonderful baby boy. He was given the first name of their grandfather, and had eyes as blue as the night sky. He was raised on elementary values on what was right and wrong, and though his heads were sometimes in the clouds he listened to his parents as the years passed by. He was attentive when it was required for him to be so, and was considered to be rather wise for his age. Though his parents loved him, they never over coddled him. They wanted him to have the capability to depend for himself after all.

Innocence was also a quality well-noted in this boy's personality. He always had a smile even in the eyes of a person he never met before. Eventually the family moved out of the countryside and retreated into a humble, mountain abode. They still kept in contact with the human world though, since their car could travel down a road that only had a slight incline to it. Everything was fine, the mountain air was peaceful, the wildlife was tame, and the sights the parents took their kid were simply breathtaking. The kid had some of the greatest memories built with his parents, those so precious that there was nothing that could take them away.

But how wrong the child was. Under the shroud of innocence he knew not the consequences of death, nor of its existence. The memories forever tainted by those left in the dark on such a matter, many times have I had to write down such incidents, my tired mind failing to comprehend just why history has to repeat itself in such ways as often as it does. You see, the boy's history was forever decided on a specific day over six years ago…" The way the Chronicler spoke was chilling, like a reaper on the prowl during the cold midnight hour. The intensity of his voice increased on the final paragraph, worrying me into believing that the being wasn't just a recorder of life, but a taker of it as well.

However, the being ended his tale right then and there, folding his arms back into his robe and looking up at me, his stare repressing all doubts before he says, "I will stop there, give you some time to reflect on the person before I bring up his life again." My response to his sentence was already prepared, but as I leaned my right arm and body forward to say it, the Chronicler raised his right hand and a flash of light filled the area. When it passed he was gone, leaving me in a frozen position with nary a clue as to where he left to.

As I reeled back with my eyelids blinking a few times in surprise, I folded my arms and said to myself, "It was obvious who that tale was about…" I remembered the details far too well. That was a recap of the early years of my life, probably stated to convince me that the Chronicler was who he said he was. But there had to be another purpose behind it, seeing as he was going to talk more about my past the next time we met. "What an enigmatic being…" I said. Even with the explanation of his purpose, there were still a lot of flags being raised in my mind about him.

"For now, all I can do is keep listening to what he has to say and hope I'll get some answers out of him." As I spoke to myself, another voice called to me from behind, much to my annoyance. "I see you enjoy speaking to yourself." I swiftly turned around, the being that has earned my ire staring at me from a holographic screen. "Speaking of enigmas…" I say as I give Mr. Reality a sarcastic, hesitant smirk and turn my head away slightly to make my displeasure at his presence more prominent. "I must admit, I'm quite surprised that you made it through the first temple. All those things your 'friend' Driad said to you did nothing to weaken your fighting capabilities…I guess you are merely someone who cares not about the things that trouble others."

The alien was quick to berate me with his sharp tongue, but in the midst of his baseless insult I tightly clenched my left hand into a fist and thrust my right pointer finger at the screen that floated before me. "How DARE you say that after you controlled him with your powers and forced those words into his mouth!" I made my accusation with seething bluntness, though I was secretly trying to determine the truth about the effects he had on the world. Mr. Reality raised an eyebrow, already signaling to me that he knew not of what I talked about. "Are you serious?" He said as if I was a lunatic that lost my mind, which is ironic considering the lengths the alien has gone to keep this game going.

"I only brought in the effects of the Midnight Channel to draw out the true selves of your former comrades for you to face." My second theory was right on the dot, and I drew my hand back and cocked an eyebrow with a smile hidden below the shadow of my hair. "Wait, when you say my former comrades…" "Your assumption is correct. I pinpointed the seven companions that had traveled with you once before and made them the new inner guardians of the temples. My original plan was to revive the Genesis Samurais, but my powers can't affect the spirits of the dead, so I simply chose a secondary option and took pieces of your powers and infused them into the fourteen inner and outer guardians to make them capable of fighting you."

"But why? What do you gain from any of this?!" I was furious at Mr. Reality's disregard for the lives he is manipulating, and I swung my right arm out to the side to greater express my disgust. "What I gain is none of your concern. You have only started and you are already asking for the motivations of your villain? I refuse to break the sequence of events to disclose that info. Speaking of that sequence…" Mr. Reality starts moving his lips in silence, and without warning my sword suddenly spawns into the grasp of my right hand and the green trigger is pulled without my consent.

A couple of poison ivy leaves rise up around me much to my surprise, and they quickly spin themselves around my body. When they sink away without a trace after five second, I am now wearing a dark green army vest with various other colors plastered onto it in order to give it an appearance befitting a camouflage for a jungle at nighttime. On my legs are tattered jeans, and at the bottom of these I find myself without shoes. My hair has become an olive-green color, and if I were to look in a mirror my eyes would be purple and there would be two streaks of dirt across my cheeks. Instead of my sword, I now had in my grasp a chain-whip that comes out of the center of a black crystalline tulip.

I was forced into my elemental form against my will, and though the first thought on my mind was that this felt rather unnecessary, I glared up at Mr. Reality's visage and said to him, "Ok, you got me…What do you think you are doing here?" His response was quick, as expected from a game master who had everything planned out from the start. "Every time you reclaim a power, I'm going to force you into the form related to that element at the beginning of each section of the planet that has been put under the influence of the Midnight Channel. How you solve the temples puzzles from here on out is going to require some clever use of yours powers, especially when you are lacking everything that made the solutions so obvious before."

There was really no point is arguing with him. After all, he was forever in control until I would be able to confront him again. So I reluctantly calmed myself down and let out a sigh, saying, "Fine. So can you leave me be? I got a game to beat, after all." Mr. Reality merely nods his head, complying to my wish and shutting the screen off to leave me alone once more. I turned towards the fog wall that covered my view of the outside world. I could tell right away that I would be unable to return until I restored this part of the world. So as I thought about Driad as my motivation to press onward, I turned towards the wooden boards that make up the docks and walked onto them at a slow pace.

I remembered the exact location of the Aqua Palace, but the problem was that it was submerged under the sea's surface. The last time, we used the Grass Stone to funnel in sunlight and shoot out a beam that split the waters apart to create a passage to the temple. That wasn't an option now in this bizarro world, so I had to figure out an alternative method to reach the temple in one piece. "There has to be something set up to split the waters, a device perhaps…" I said to myself as I folded my in front of my chest and hung my whip over the skin of my left arm.

I couldn't dispel my weapon once I was in my elemental form, since I needed to keep a connection established with it at all times to sustain it. Since I was now forced into this form until I completed the temple, who knew what would happen if the connection were to break. I didn't want to think about that for too long, and looked out to the desolate sea to try and come up with a solution to my current predicament. First, I would need a breathing apparatus to keep a steady supply of oxygen going as I swam around in the waters.

The answer to that was obvious. All I needed to do was create a bamboo rod with a curve that could go into my mouth. As I went deeper I would just increase the length with my powers so the tip would poke through the surface and keep the air coming in with each breath. The second problem came from my vision, which would be cut off with the sealing of my eyelids. I needed a pathway on the floor of the sea that I could detect with my powers and follow to the temple's entrance. "Now, what would be the best plant to use…" I flipped through many options in my head, the primary ones being lily pads and seaweed.

Of course, lily pads would just get in the way of the bamboo rod, so I decided upon the second option. I slipped my whip between the belt of my pants and raised my hands into the air in front of me like a symphony conductor, swinging the fingers at the water to cause bundles of seaweed to thrust up out of the ground and created a widespread trail that extends out to the Aqua Palace as planned. I couldn't see the spectacle unfold, but I knew it worked nonetheless. However, there was something up with the sea floor that caught my attention right away.

One part of the seaweed was raised in a format similar to that of a button. There were many possibilities as to what this device served, but only one that struck me as useful. "Could it be a button to split the waters? I guess Mr. Reality had to make something to help me out here…Or it could very well be a trap. I have to remember the outer guardians after all." I voiced my suspicions quietly as I pulled my arms back and curled my fingers into a loop, summoning energy to create a bamboo shoot with a curve, whose length is as big as I am tall.

The bottom taps against the wood of the docks, and without any afterthought I leap into the waters, closing my eyelids as I feel the bubbles created by my impact tingling against my bare skin. I used my detection powers and lifted the bamboo into my mouth, breathing the water put into my mouth outward so it emerges past the surface. I then use my arms and legs to swim through the sea, following the trail of seaweed towards the raised ground with caution. After all, I couldn't detect any disturbances in the water's form, so if any wildlife tried to approach me I would be utterly defenseless.

I moved closer to the "button", my eyes straining to stay closed but I never gave in to that struggle. After a few more seconds I make it, diving lower and moving my right hand out to feel for the button. I tapped it, the object moving downward on its own with the sides scraping against the ground underneath. The sound was diluted, but I got the basic idea of what was happening. After a few seconds of silence, I suddenly felt a disturbance in the waters, my body being moved around from a pulling motion on both sides. I swayed up and down and kept myself still to avoid being carried off suddenly from even the slightest of movements.

The water was splitting apart, and I could feel the crack reaching me from behind. If I didn't hang on to something quickly I would be torn away, where the air would be replaced with the water. I extended the length of the bamboo shoot and commanded the seaweed to rise up and wrap themselves tightly around my body in a multitude of layers. I was pulled to the ground, safe from harm as the water split above me. The process took all of five seconds, and I could feel the water dripping through the cracks of seaweed afterwards.

The grains of sand rubbed against my chest and legs while the slime of the plant stuck to the back of my vest. I dispelled the seaweed around me with a thought and pressed myself off the ground, getting on my feet and quickly looking at my holster to make sure that my whip was still there. After discovering that it was I looked ahead and beyond the trail of seaweed I saw the entrance to the Aqua Palace at long last, the area around me covered entirely in an aqua blue shade. As I once again bemoaned the dullness of the environment, I spat out the bamboo rod that I had forgotten about in my mouth.

The crashing walls of water surrounding me were the most prominent thing I could hear, thanks to my wet ears, but as I tilted my head and beat the liquid out with a few pats of the hand I heard something approaching me from the side. I let out an unsurprised sigh, and with not hesitation I shrugged my shoulders and back flipped out of the way of a beast that ripped right out of the water in an attempt to push me into its territory. I could see its shadow swerving back around to re-emerge near the entrance of the temple, and with a smirk I said to myself, "I guess it was a solution and a trap…Clever."

The beast sprung forth from the cascading sea, the water that follows hiding its true form for but a moment. I land on the ground and pull my whip out as the beast turns towards me. It was a three-headed creature, each one of a different color. Their heads were rounded vertically but not horizontally, those sides being flat as scales trail down to the spot where their bodies connect. There were triangular fins on all of their heads, the gills spread out beside their snapping, fanged jaws that clanged out like smashing metal with each bite. From left to right, they were red, blue and yellow in color, and after I looked at their appearances a bit more I realized just what the creature was. It was the Underchomp, the guardian of the final door in the Underwhere. Its appearance had been merged with that of a fish and an eel, and the only reason it was still alive outside of its natural environment was because of the element that had been imbued into its body. No matter the circumstances, this creature was an obstacle to me here and now, and I raised my whip out from my shoulder ready to combat it.

The Snarling Guard Dog of the Depths: Sea King Underchomp

The beast made the first move, the blue head opening its mouth and firing a high-pressure bullet of water straight at me. I didn't have time to swing my weapon, so I leapt to the left to avoid the attack, which struck the ground with enough force to push a part of the ground away from the impact zone. The rest of the water flew into the air, splattering down as I stood in place and pulled my weapon behind my neck, the sections splitting apart while still connected to the chain until I lashed it outward with a powerful swing.

The metal whip charged towards the head that shot at me, leaving me certain that my attack would collide straight-on. But to my surprise the yellow head opens its mouth and shoots out a water bullet shrouded with electricity. It doesn't strike as hard as the other bullet did, but nonetheless the water bursts and the electricity suspends my weapon in mid-air as it travels through the metal towards my hand. I still couldn't let go, so I quickly used my powers to summon wood around my hand, which absorbed the voltage and left me unharmed.

I retracted the whip and jumped away from another water bullet, these few actions allowing me to determine just what the beast's gimmick was in this battle. The yellow head had the capability to fire water bullets with electricity to counter my whip, and the red head more than likely combined fire and water somehow to burn any plants I would try to use against them. Then there was the blue head, which had the purest control over water, and thus the stronger bullets. That one was the biggest target, but not the one that I could deal with right away.

I analyzed my opponents as the blue rapid-fired three bullets at me, sending them out in a trail in anticipation for a backflip that never came seeing as I leapt to the right. The red head fired a red water bullet at me and I swung at it with my whip to stop it before it collided with my body, which landed on the ground and lead to me rolling to get back on my legs. The sand nearly scraped my kneecaps, but even if they did the pain would be but a minor nuisance for me to deal with. I wiped my left hand against my chin, standing up tall and swinging my whip out in an arc to cleave through a red and blue water bullet fired at me.

A yellow one followed behind those two, but my weapon was out of range and all I had to do then was duck to avoid it. This creature's gimmick really wouldn't be annoying if it was a singular head I had to deal with instead of three, but to take it down I would have to deliver three hard strikes with my whip at each head. The fins didn't deceive me, the Underchomp had a metal skin underneath those that could only be damaged by my weapon. The plants I can create won't be able to work in that capacity. However, that's not to say that they couldn't be used as a distraction.

As mischievous thoughts raced through my head, I smirked and looked at my opponent once more. I stamped my right foot on the ground, the seafloor rumbling past the notice of the Underchomp until it stops underneath the red head. A massive tree stump pops out and rams straight into the underside of the Underchomp, colliding with the red head with such force that the wood cracks into splinters. However, the duty is done, and the head widens its eyes and plops onto the ground, spinning around in a daze. I calculated that I had fifteen seconds to take it down before it got back up.

I charged forward with great speed, which had now been amplified by my change in form. However, the other two heads had a bead on me, both of them opening their jaws up wide to rapid-fire water bullets at me. I could tell the differences between the two shots as they smashed into the ground behind me, as only the water dispersed by the blue shots were able to touch me as I ran. I reached the red head after a period of time that felt longer than it actually was, and jumped into the air, swinging my extended whip below my feet and grinding the sharp tips against the forehead. When the weapon moves over the head I spin myself around, dragging the whip around my form for a few seconds before I swing my arm outward to launch it at the backside of the creature.

When it strikes dead-on I swerve my arm to the left, guiding the weapon away before I launch it out once more with a swing in the other direction. With the three lashes of my weapon the Underchomp snaps out of its daze, only to raise its head up high and let out a deflated screech as its form begins to flash until it fades into oblivion. I landed on the ground behind where the creature's body once was, retracting the segments of my whip against the handle before holstering it and watching as the two remaining beasts merged together in an action that could only be described as revolting, what with their fins splitting horizontally and the flesh binding together with a loud "Shlurp!" being heard.

But for some reason, I didn't feel guilty about what I just did. Considering the circumstances this time around, it was obvious just why I felt that way. The Underchomp wasn't sentient like King Boo, it was just a mindless, three-headed guard dog that happened to be in my way. Killing it is doing it a favor in all honesty so it no longer has to exist as this unholy abomination. My next target was the yellow head, who was now vulnerable to my plant-based abilities. I ran ahead, using my mind to command some of the seaweed that was plastered against the ground to rise up and fling itself at the beast as it turned around to face me.

The eyes were covered in an instant, but with the metal surface I knew it was not to last. I leapt up and swung my whip, striking the yellow head with all my might to make sure that my damage will be sustained. My attack was so powerful that is successfully cleaved a mark into the creature's skin with the help of the spikes. I pulled my whip out immediately, moving the handle around above my head so it dances around me like a tornado as I descend. The flurry of spikes and metal strike the yellow head in full, tearing apart the seaweed that covers his face and repeatedly damaging him in the process.

By the time gravity drags me to the ground, I had already harmed him to the point that the creature's head reels back slightly before splitting away from its opposite and falling to the ground to perish like the red head did. The splintered fins on the blue head seal away the vulnerable flesh, and the final eel-like beast snarled at me in vicious anger. I met its roar with a piercing glare, and swung my whip to use its length to cut through four water bullets that shot from its mouth at once. I then used my mind to call forth vines from the ground and wrapped around the Underchomp's solid form and tethered it to the ground, walking up to it while flipping my weapon around with a flick of the wrist.

The tip pointed at the beast's head, and as it was raised with the jaw preparing to open I thrust my weapon straight into its steel blue skin, piercing it with such force that the Underchomp freezes in place and its pupils shrink into the size of pixels. I pulled my weapon out, the tips grinding against the sides of the hole I made, and the beast's head falls the ground with a mighty thud. I silence myself, and as I once again hear the water crashing upward around me the beast fades into oblivion, now truly defeated.

I holstered my weapon and turned towards the entrance of the Aqua Palace without feeling anything for the fallen beast. "…" Silence was the only thing I used, and I began to walk to the temple without ever looking back. I thought about who I would be fighting in this temple, and as much as I hated to I needed to come up with a strategy to deal with them in my current form before I reached the sanctuary where the elemental stone once existed. I walked underneath the deep-blue entryway with these thoughts continuing to linger…

Next Time: A Deep Soaked Battl