Chapter Four
Iggy stared long and hard at the girl, who had simply had enough of the bombardment and passed out. He looked at the syringe in his hand, and then back at her. Was he really going to do this, knowing the chances of her survival? He really didn't want to kill her… but he had to do what his father instructed him to do first. He flinched slightly and injected the girl with the fluids, then began waiting for her to wake up.
"I can't… I can't just… take another person's life…" Iggy said to himself, almost tearfully. He reached for his wand and a pair of scissors. He took the scissors and cut the ribbon out of the girl's ponytail. Her blood-red hair fell like waterfall, long and beautiful. He looked at her unconscious face, seeming so pale and innocent. He ran a claw along the curvature of her cheek and down her neck. "I'll save you as best I can," he murmured her.
Thirty minutes would pass before her lifeless body began to stir once again. As her vision came into focus, she met his eyes, staring at her with a sad curiosity on his face. "I see you're awake now," he said after a moment.
"Who are you?" She asked in a weak, drowsy voice. "Who am I?"
"My name is Iggy Koopa, and I am your master," he explained. "Please, sit up."
She sat up. When she glanced in the mirror, her hair was down, shoulder-length, and a deep bluish black. She tilted her head at herself and blinked. "Is that… me? Who am I, master?"
He blinked back tears of remorse. "I will tell you after you do a favor for me."
"Yes, master? What is it?"
He approached her with his arm outstretched. "You have an Essence in your heart, called Chaos. Please give it to me. Give it to me and I will tell you who you are."
"As you wish, my master," she replied in a robotic, monotone voice. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. Her energy began emitting from her in sharp, immense waves of chaotic strength that went from massively intense to timidly weak.
"Good girl," Iggy said through a wavering voice. "Hand over your Essence to me…"
All the sudden, a bright burst of light erupted from her chest, and a reddish-black object hovered over her—the Essence of Chaos took the form of a spiraling orb. She looked up at it and gently grabbed hold of it, handing it over to Iggy. When he looked in her eyes, he saw no life or soul. "Is this what you wanted, master?"
"Yes," Iggy replied. "It is. Thank you."
"Who am I?" She asked again.
He was busy admiring the Essence in his hand—for a moment, he had one of the strongest and wildest Essence under his control. Oh, the things he could accomplish with this kind of power! He looked to the girl again, who was gently touching her reflection in the mirror.
No, he said to himself. I can't let myself be swayed by power like my father. I must hold up my end of the promise to this girl.
"Quickly now," he suddenly said to her, handing her a vial of some bluish concoction, several Mushrooms, and a blue ring. "I am going to lead you to safety. You are in danger if you stay here."
"But master…"
"No," he shook his head. "When I tell you to, I want you to drink that blue potion there. From there, we shall part ways, and you shall never see me again."
"Please tell me who I am before we separate," she said with a shivering voice.
"Your name…" He paused for a moment, and then smiled. "Your name is Bliss."
"We're almost at the border between the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Land," Daniel announced to the group. "Phil, what's going on with Luca?"
He was standing up straight once again and didn't have a greenish look upon his face. "Give me a moment," he said simply, pausing to inwardly meditate and focus on the Twin Bond. After a full minute, Daniel grew impatient.
"Well?" The younger boy asked.
Phil's eyes flew open. "I don't feel her. At all. There's nothing there. I've tried communicating with her but my voice just echoes in my own ears…" He grasped his stomach, feeling extremely nauseous once more. "Something's gone horribly wrong…"
"We'd better hurry to Bowser's Keep then," Jim said, beginning to walk forward. Suddenly the ground beneath the three began rumbling. "Stars above!" He cried. "What's going on!"
A loud, ominous laugh echoed from the sky. "Beware, mortals! This is my world now!" More laughter, and then an eerie silence. Phil looked up at the sky, which was churning violently and a strange reddish-black haze. It reminded him of his days back home when the sky changing colors meant danger was approaching… He wanted to throw up. The grass beneath their feet suddenly began to wither and turn brown before their eyes. The wind began blowing so hot and hard that the trees were sideways—weaker trees were uprooted and flew through the air like they were toys.
"Chaos!" Daniel exclaimed. "Bowser's got Chaos! He's changing the world!"
"Let's get going!" Jim insisted.
Phil felt his world spinning out of control. What was he supposed to do? He always had Luca there to help him… but even through the Twin Bond, he could not sense her. Was she really…? Was he really alone without her? He grabbed his temples and whined with an impending headache.
"Stop it!" Daniel growled, pushing him forward. "Let's go before things get any worse!"
"How much worse can they get," Phil dismally asked aloud.
"How about that much worse?" Daniel pointed towards the direction of Dark Land. A massive wave of what looked like reddish water was rapidly heading their way. Jim and Phil looked up at the tsunami of energy heading towards them with rising speed, beginning to step back in a panic. "That thing's going to kill us!"
"Is that Chaos' true form?" Phil asked. "That's… scary…"
Jim grabbed his brother and friend by an arm and began focusing his energy. The three slowly began to turn transparent as the wave steadily lurched towards them. "My strength's not enough… Phil, help me."
Phil grabbed the half of the Amethyst Medallion—a magical stone that he and Luca shared possession of that could capture and harness the power of souls—that was in his pocket and clutched it tightly. He closed his eyes and began channeling energy from himself into Jim. The ground beneath them began to rumble as the wave began to wash over Toad Town. The sky turned black and lightning erupted from the heavens.
But suddenly, Phil felt as if he needed to open his eyes.
Everything was gone, and he was standing in a black void. Floating in front of him was a young woman wearing a flowing white outfit. He could halfway see through her form, her pale red hair flowing long and beautiful down the curvature of her back. Her eyes were closed and her hands were grasping at her chest where her heart would be.
"Who are you?" He asked her. "Where am I? What's happened?"
"Keep faith alive, Phil…" the woman's wispy form hovered towards him. "Keep faith alive and everything will be okay once more…"
He walked towards her and outstretched an arm towards her, feeling a warm sense of familiarity to her that beckoned him to try and touch her. "Are you… is that… you?"
She gently touched the side of his face with a nearly transparent hand. He felt the delicate warmth touch his cheek and leaned his head into the caress, closing his eyes to fully absorb the sensation. He felt something flutter in his chest—was that his heart missing a beat? In the corners of his eyes, sorrowful tears began to well.
"You must be strong, dear," the woman said, her other hand coming to rest against the other side of his face. She cradled his head gently and he felt a breeze rush through his very core. "If you want the wish in your heart to come true, you must be strong and be willing to fight…"
He opened his eyes, by now the droplets in his eyes streaming down his face. He was confused—he felt a heavy, looming sadness in his soul, but a warm, comforting happiness in his chest. "I know it's you."
She opened her eyes. He gasped—her eyes were completely black. It caused him to look down and away in surprise and fear. This caused him to notice her chest area. Where her heart was meant to be, there was a gaping black hole there as well. "Don't be afraid of me, Phil. Please."
"What has… what has happened to you?" He cried gently, trying to rest his hand atop hers. His hand simply fazed through hers, and he was touching his own face. He looked down at his feet, afraid to look at her pale and emotionless face. "What have they done?"
"Chaos resided in my heart," she explained. "When they obtained it, they obtained my very life."
"You… you're…" He closed his eyes tight and felt weak in the legs. "No. No, please." He began to crumble to the ground, but felt something catch him. Through his tears, he saw her looking him square in the eye.
"It's time for you to be brave and strong," she chided in a gentle voice—she had caught him in her arms and gently lowered him to his knees. "I sense the wish in your heart—I sense you want the world to return back to the way it was. If you are unwilling to fight for what you believe in, all will be lost… including me."
"I can't do it alone, not without you…" He sobbed softly. "Please tell me this is a nightmare."
"Keep me alive in your heart, and I will be there with you. And you aren't alone. You have Jim and Daniel at your side to help you. Fight for what you believe in, Phil. Keep the faith alive." She began to levitate into the air, away from him.
"No…" He looked up at her, scrambling to his feet and reaching up for her. "No, please. Come back… don't leave me…"
"I have faith in you," she said gently, her voice beginning to echo through the void… echoing through his mind… "Have faith in me, and we will be whole soon…"
"Please!" He begged, tears streaming down his face in a downpour. "Come back to me! I need you!"
"I have left a gift for you… please make good use of it…"
"Phil? Phil! Wake up!" A distorted voice echoed in his ears. His eyes opened and he found himself lying on the ground staring up at a reddish black sky. He moaned softly, confused and disoriented.
"Wh… what happened?" He mumbled gently as his friends helped him into a sitting position. He clutched his head and felt the world spinning around him.
"The wave hit us," Jim explained, "and we lost sight of you. It simply bowled you over and washed you away…"
"We've spent the better part of half an hour looking for you," Daniel continued. "You seem to be okay, though… right?"
Phil nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked up and recognized where he was as his hilltop hideaway. Did Chaos' power really wash him that far away? He looked up at the sky, which boiled and churned with angry storm clouds. The air felt extremely hot and heavy, full of malevolence. He looked towards a nearby creek—the water was a strange brownish color and stagnant, barely moving at all.
"Where'd you get the pendant?" Daniel suddenly asked, kneeling down and pointing at his ally's chest.
"What pendant?" Phil questioned in confusion. He looked down at his chest—around his neck was a silver chain with an emerald stone on it. The stone was shaped like that of a green Koopa shell. He blinked in puzzlement and gently grasped the green stone. It felt strangely… warm. Almost comforting. "What's this?"
"We'll ask Jared when we get back to the house," Jim answered.
"If there's a house left," Daniel added dismally.
Phil stood up and looked out over the horizon. "So where are we now?"
"Abysmal view, isn't it?" Daniel asked.
The ground was darkened by the effects of Chaos, the grass withered, flowers wilted, shrubs browned. The nearby lake was filled with more of the same stagnant swamp water that filled the nearby creek. The sky flickered with heat lightning, and a strange reddish haze had enveloped the world. Houses nearby looked halfway dilapidated. In the distance, the Forest of Illusion looked as if someone had simply blown half the trees away. Phil felt sick to his stomach for a moment, but then started down the hill. "So this is it, then."
The brothers looked at each other in confusion at Phil's sudden change in attitude.
"This is our world now," Jim answered with a nod. "Welcome to it."
Phil clutched the item around his neck and closed his eyes for a moment, and then immediately began walking with a confident, strong gait. "Let's go see what's left of Star Town."
Daniel blinked. "Since when is he calling the shots?" He asked in an arrogant, offended voice.
"Since now, apparently," Jim replied with a confused look on his face. "C'mon. Let's go see what's left of home."