Chapter 15: The Remnant of the M.S.I.
Morning came sooner than expected, the relaxing rest I had allowing me to wake up fully healed from yesterday's events with renewed vigor and a smile on my face. "Man, its nice to not be having those nightmares anymore…" I said in a cheery tone of voice as I yawned and stretched my arms away from the back of my head. There was a little soreness in the muscles, but that's what happens when you press the weight of your skull against them all night. That being said, at the very least the feeling in them returned to normal in a matter of seconds upon lifting the upper part of my body up off the couch.
"I seriously need to get this type of couch for myself…" I noted as I creaked my back forward and stretched my arms out to try and touch my toes. After failing to do so even after a bit of quiet grunting, I reeled my body back and swung my feet to the right, bending my legs at the kneecaps so they rested on the floor without knocking anything over. Luigi was cooking in the kitchen just like yesterday morning, a different smell poking into my nostrils and glazing my eyes over with its rich aroma. Though really, the cause for my reaction lies in my senses being a bit heightened due to the fact that I just woke up, however much sense that makes anyways…
"Hey Luigi! Good morning!" I called out to get his attention this time around, and he peeked his head past the doorway with a bit of soot on his face. Needless to say, that garnered a flinch or surprise from me, but before I could ask a question he provided the answer. "Morning to you too Mew…Sorry if I looked a bit frazzled, but I accidentally burnt the first pancake and…Well, I think my face speaks for itself here." There was really no point in asking just how Luigi-Wait, did he say pancakes? My eyes lit up in ecstasy, but I stopped myself from thinking in detail about my enjoyment of that particular food after the big deal I made out of the omelet yesterday.
I turned my head to the right and saw Driad waking up, rushing out of the room energetically and leaping at me, wrapping his arms around me before giving his vocal greeting for the morning in a chipper tone. "Hey Mew, how are you feeling this morning?!" It was both comforting and yet a little strange to see Driad acting like this, but at the same time it really humanized him as a being so I had no right to start questioning his behavior. "Hehe…I'm feeling good, how about you?" As I slowly moved my arms inward to hug him, the Crayzee Dayzee quickly pulls away and lands on the floor, and I retract my arms before he gets a chance to see my movements.
He grins with his lips sealed, folding his vines behind his back and looking straight at me as he waits for me to get off the couch so we could walk to the kitchen together. "I'm feeling wonderful!" Driad giggles like a child and seals his eyelids shut as I stand up and pat him on the head, moving my hand around to ruffle his petals before withdrawing it and seeing him open his eyelids and stare at me in flustered annoyance. "Come on Driad, lets go eat." I say to him, and he quickly calms down and follows me to the kitchen table.
By the time we sit down, Luigi had gotten everything sorted out with the frying pans, as it turns out he accidentally set the stove temperature to "8" instead of "4", and was only a few minutes away from completing the pancakes for us. He already has six even-sized flat cakes stacked on a plate to the left of him, and from a glance over my shoulder I could see some blue specks in the texture of the pancakes. "Oh? Making blueberry pancakes?" I asked, to which the man in green turned to me while picking a pan up and flipping the batter in it around delicately while shaking his head in response.
"Though you weren't far off. I'm making pancakes with crystal berries freshly picked from Flower Fields. They were more than happen to let me have a few a while back since I was related to Mario and all." "Wait, aren't crystal berries supposed to be really hard though?" Driad asked, interjecting since fruit would be a subject that he was familiar with. "They are if you eat them normally, but they soften up whenever you pour liquid on them. The buttermilk I used in the mixture did the job just fine." "Huh, didn't know that…" The Crayzee Dayzee replied as he leaned back against the chair and blinked a few times out of surprise.
"Not very many people on the planet do, seeing as such information was just recently discovered." The man in green then noted as he used his acute levels of strength to flip two pancakes, one pan handle grasped in each hand. "You learn something new everyday, eh Driad?" I said with my head turned towards the Crayzee Dayzee. "I guess so…" He replies, still taken back in regards to what he just learned about. After that conversation we asked Luigi if he slept well, and he responded with a "Yes". It was nice to know that even though the rest of our friends were still stuck out there, we weren't worried about the situation to the point that we were deprived of any sleep.
I guess it also showed how much faith Luigi and Driad had in me, that even though I didn't have a clue on how to defeat Mr. Reality at the moment, I wouldn't give up and would eventually find a solution to the problem. I just wish they could join me, but the risk level of them getting repossessed by their "Shadows" was far too high. I hated having to remind myself of that, but that just comes with the territory of being a hero. You worry about those close to you, even when they ensure you time and time again that everything is right, your mind and heart won't stop thinking negatively until absolute tranquility has been ensured.
Bah, I got to stop thinking about this too hard, especially since Luigi is drizzling the maple syrup on top of the three stacks of three pancakes that he is going to hand out to us pretty soon. It seemed as though he had nothing to go with the pancakes, which I guess is fine since he had made so many of them anyways and probably ran out of eggs. I picked up the knife and fork that had been laid out on the napkin beside me, holding them upright against the table's surface as the man in green set the plate down in front of me, then Driad, and finally in near the chair that he was going to sit on, as any courteous chef would do when he had guests in their house.
We ate our meals, and to give you an abridged version of what I tasted in those pancakes, the crystal berry reminded me of a gooey blend of a blue raspberry and a blackberry mixed in with the tartness of a lemon and the juiciness of an orange. Amazingly, that taste blended well together with the rest of the batter despite how I just described it. After it was done, Luigi thanked me for not being over-satisfied with his meal, and I politely thanked him and complimented his cuisine while bowing my head. Once again, we worked together to clean-up, which lead to the man in green asking me a question while his hands were dipped in the warm, sudsy sink water.
"So what are you going to do today? Since you got your power of flight back, getting to the rest of the temples really shouldn't take you that much time, so you are welcome to stay and relax a bit before heading out." Luigi gave me an option, and it really did sound nice from the way he put it, but alas I had to shake my head and say to him "I'll have plenty of time to relax once I get the Lightning Palace taken care of. The sooner the better, after all." "That's true, actually." It was nice to hear the man in green agree with me, though I don't know why I was expecting an objection from him.
"So what are you and Driad planning on doing today?" I then asked. "Probably just follow our regular routine, though I am thinking about going up to Nimbus Land to check on Mallow myself, so if I'm not back later tonight, you know why." I nodded my head, with that motion thanking Luigi for giving me the heads up. After that it didn't take very long for us to clean the dishes, at which point I made the decision to head off. The man in green wished me good luck, while Driad decided to follow me out the front door since he needed to take his morning stroll anyways.
The skies were clear outside as usual, and the rays of the sun were a bit dim thanks to the celestial body being concealed behind a nearby mountain range. What little light there was reflected brightly off of the dew drops, bringing a holy glimmer to the leaves whose fibers they were attached to. I could tell just by turning towards Driad that he enjoyed the sights, especially with his deep connection to nature. "I really missed this, big brother…" The Crayzee Dayzee then said to me with his face relaxed and a calm sigh being released from his body. "You know, getting up with you in the morning and enjoying the fresh outdoor air…"
"It does feel nice, doesn't it?" I responded with a calm sigh of my own. "Nice to know that your mornings are starting off so pleasantly…" A familiar voice interrupted our brief period of relaxation, and both Driad and I turned our heads around to follow where it was coming from. Looking atop the roof of the house we saw the Master standing there, his eyelids closed gently as his arms are folded into his robe. The first question that came to mind, besides my curiosity as to whether or not this is legal of him to do, was "How long have you been up there for?"
"About an hour…" He quickly replied. I suddenly felt a tug on the back of my shirt, and turned my head to notice Driad pulling at it with his right vine. He looks up at me with a somewhat depressed look on his face, which wasn't there until the Master showed up. I guess there was a history between the two of them, and things weren't exactly pleasant on Driad's side of things. With a quick somersault through the air, the Master lands on the ground in front of us as we turn around with our eyes following his movements. He pulls his arms out of his sleeves and turns his own body around to look at us both.
His eyes move towards Driad, and the Crayzee Dayzee pulls his arms away from my shirt and nervously takes a step back. I flung my thumb behind my shoulder to point at me friend, asking the Master "What happened between you two?" He calmly replied as only he could "He blames me for the death of his friend, which was the person I mentioned to you who could've been my apprentice." "I…I see…" Considering everything I knew thus far, I guess that explanation makes sense out of Driad's behavior. "Driad, you don't have to stick around if it makes you feel uncomfortable. He just came to talk to me anyways." I turned and said to my friend.
"No, that's alright…" He replied somewhat hesitantly, but since he wasn't budging I guess it didn't matter if I insisted that he leave. "So I'm guessing you are here to give me a lesson on the sky since I reclaimed that element and all?" I then redirected my attention towards the Master, inquiring to him what was on my mind before he nods his head to prove that I was right. "You know how the sky is clear now?" The wise old Toad said with his head lifted up towards the blue expanse above. I kept silent since I knew he was going to continue in a second. "The clearest skies hold the deepest of secrets. Close your eyes and listen carefully, and perhaps they will tell you a few things…"
I closed my eyelids after taking his advice into consideration, drowning out all other sounds around me save for those coming from the sky. I heard a whisper, which said to me "To the north…" and guided my ears along a path until I heard a new sound enter through them, one that reminded me of the rotary blades you'd hear on a helicopter. It seemed as though it was coming our way, getting louder with each approaching second as it also dragged the air around it in a cohesive spiral. I opened my eyelids up wide and said to my company, "Someone's coming, due north I believe…"
I pointed in that direction, and as the Master and Driad looked towards the sky that way we saw something coming into view. It was a jet black helicopter, just as I predicted, with a bubble-like glass window that showed that there was enough room for only one person inside, and the rotating blades looked a bit damaged but were still able to function as far as travel goes. It kept going until it was above the patch of grassland behind the fence to the left of us, at which point it landed on the ground and the rotary blades died down.
The three of us walked over to the aerial vehicle and watched as the left door creaked open and a figured emerged from behind it. It was a red Yoshi, a dinosaur-like creature who sported stout arms, a bulbous nose, and a red-shelled saddle on its back. This particular one though also wore a dark-blue vest of which part of it wraps across the top of the saddle and is buttoned all the way down. His left hand was just barely resting under his chin, and his left eyelid was sealed tight, a light scar having been cut through it diagonally. He looked exhausted, and as he stepped out of the helicopter he nearly tumbled onto the ground were it not for Driad running over and suspending him with his vine arms.
"Captain Florence! What happened to you?!" Driad addressed the Yoshi by his name and rank with a distressed tone of voice, and the insignia on the side of the helicopter helped me realize just who the dino was associated with. He was part of the M.S.I., the organization of which Gemini and Alpha were a part, or in Alpha's case was the leader of. I didn't recognize this particular member though, but obviously my flowery friend had become acquainted with him since I last time I was around. Florence lifted his head up, using his one good eye to look at Driad as he panted heavily and said to him "Driad…I'm glad…That you are…Around…Hah…Hah…"
It was difficult for him to breathe, and even though he is in a critical condition it didn't appear as though he was going to perish anytime soon. "Its…Terrible…Everyone…Commander Alpha, Lieutenant Gemini…They were all…." It was clear that coherence wasn't going to be Florence's strong point the way he was now, so I interjected and said to him "Calm down Florence, take a deep breath and tell us what happened." The only thing the Yoshi did though was look towards me with a confused, vacant glare. "And who…Are you…Supposed to be?" "I'm the Elemental Overlord, Mewmaster!"
Florence looks at me in utter, disbelieving silence. I guess he didn't believe that the legend of my existence was actually true, and the shock was a bit much for him to bear considering his condition. However, he closed his eyelid gently and took in a few steady breaths, following my advice to calm himself down so he could better explain himself. I noticed that the Master had been strangely silent during all this, and I had to wonder why he was still around since he had already given me the advice I needed for the sky element. Florence finally calmed down, and said to all of us "…I believe it all started two days ago…"
"Alpha had called me and Gemini into the Command Sphere when he began noticing changes in the planet's environment, ranging from the different colored Elemental Temples to the monochrome landscapes everywhere else. He was beginning to worry about what was causing this phenomena, especially since he had noticed no one suspicious wandering around the planet. The corruption was starting to make its way to our base, but it suddenly stopped at an unspecified location. The only places left untouched besides our base and the wasteland around it were the icy mountain ranges."
"While we still had time, Alpha said that we needed to go out and investigate what was happening, when suddenly…'He' showed up. That limbless alien with the glass dome helmet and blue cloak made his presence known near the exit of the Command Sphere. He said that he needed Gemini and Alpha for the fourth and penultimate stages of a 'game' he was concocting, and when asked if he was responsible for the changes to the planet he responded nonchalantly with 'Yes'. We all attacked him with our strongest attacks and weapon, but he just mumbled something to only himself and the next thing we knew he was able to nullify all of our attacks with the raise of his right glove."
"Things only got worse from there for me…He whispered again, and the computer screens behind us began to fizzle out and become monochrome like most of the planet was. Alpha and Gemini stood in defiance again and prepared to fight the alien to the last of their strength, but he merely said that then they wouldn't be of any use to him, and with another breath the Commander and Lieutenant were forcibly frozen in place. They were allowed no struggle as the mysterious monochrome realm began to invade their bodies, but the alien said to me with in a coy tone 'You can try and flee if you wish. You will just suffer the same fate as the rest of your comrades…' I was scared, but truly wished to believe that he was wrong."
"I ran for my life out the doors, feeling that Alpha would've commanded me to do the same were he able to speak then and there. I rushed through the hallways, trying to make my way to the hangar so I could take a vehicle and escape the realm before it was too late. As I turned to take a faster route, I saw a horde of my fellow men and friends crawling and lumbering down towards me, their flesh decaying and their mouths craving for flesh. The monochrome effect was crawling across the walls and ceiling towards me, and I ran away from it down the hallway to take the long way, my heart pacing with each step I took."
"I never thought I'd have to outrun all of my comrades, but it was an experience I never wished to go through again. I eventually made it to the hangar, and was about to get into the vehicle you see behind me, when suddenly that monochrome effect entered the hangar and covered it completely. I began to feel my vision blurring, but I forced myself to stay myself out of sheer willpower…However, the alien would have none of that. He appeared behind me with Alpha and Gemini standing beside him. Something had changed though about them…Gemini was acting differently, talking about how 'No one understood where he wanted to be…' and there was a robed figure with a crooked red grin standing behind Alpha that I was certain I recognized…"
"Needless to say, the two of them were commanded to attack me, and I ended up having to fend both of them long enough for me to get a chance to hope in the helicopter and escape. Even as my sanity and consciousness started to slip, I managed to hold them both off simply because they weren't in their Star Spirits empowered forms, and even with the magic that Alpha was somehow now able to cast I threw them both against the wall and knocked them out temporarily. The alien, impressed with my fight, did note that my efforts were futile since he was just going to restore their health and sick them on me again if I didn't escape."
"So I ran into the vehicle, flung open the doors, and flew far away from the base until I suddenly blacked out. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a grassland not far away from Toad Town in the middle of the night, but waited until morning to fly my way over here…" And that was the end of his horrific tale. "But what happened to your left eye?" I decided to ask. "It got scarred by Alpha's blade during the battle…But I gave the responsible for turning my comrades against me a little gift of my own…That being a needle shot through the helmet that scarred the right side of his face. Anyways, listen Elemental Overlord…I haven't known you for very long…But please, I bequeath of you…Save everyone of my comrades who have been lost to that paranormal realm…"
Florence then collapsed in Driad's arms, fully exhausted after giving me a request. The Crayzee Dayzee looked at me, and my concerned glare told him all that he needed to know. "…Go get them big brother." He then rushed past me after draping Florence's body over his shoulders. I watched him jump over the fence and head towards Mario's house right as Luigi exited through the doorway. I decided to let the two of them be and looked towards the sky once more. The Master addressed me, saying "The sky called the Captain to you to remind you of what is at stake here. The atrocities this alien has committed extend beyond the moral boundaries that any mortal should be allowed to crossed, and a desire to rest easy cannot be fulfilled until his presence is made scarce….You know what you must do now."
"Right…I have to-" As I turned to look at the Master, he had already vanished, leaving me surprised but with a new understanding of what needed to be done. I wasted no time in nodding my head in hopes that he sees it from afar, and dashed across the grassland, picking up momentum before I launched myself into the sky and began rocketing in the direction of Toad Town, which would then lead to me heading towards the Lightning Palace beyond the sea. To help Florence recover, I WAS going to bring Gemini to Mario's house safe and sound. Mr. Reality's shenanigans be damned, this was not a game to anyone but him and his sick, twisted mind. With gritted teeth and fists clenched in anger, I kept heading towards my destination…
Next Time: The Truth behind the Fligh