"It's too dark, I can barely see anything."
"Tom, do you think you can turn up your natural glow?"
"Not without burning the rope and plunging us into the abyss below."
The trio of teenagers that'd set out to find Marco had found themselves in an odd predicament. They had expected some sort of lighting system in the well, but there was none. It had only taken a few seconds of descending for them to be almost completely enwrapped in shadows. If it weren't for the soft light that came from Tom's fire, they wouldn't have been able to see each other.
"Crap. Jackie, do you have any kinda flashlight or torch or miniature sun?"
"Sorry, Star. No flashlight, torch, and I don't even know what a miniature sun is."
"Drat."
Tom sighed, frustrated. "Star, come on. Just use your wand already."
Star's mouth shrunk in size. She bit her lip: an unconscious nervous tick. The wand had been acting oddly ever since she'd rescued Marco from Ludo's castle. Her spells had a chance of becoming cruel or turn against her. She wasn't quite sure why her wand was malfunctioning. All she knew was that she couldn't trust any spell that came out of the wand.
"Tom, I- I don't if that's a good idea."
He threw his hands up into the air. "Why the hell not? It's a magic wand, it's only useful if you use it for making magic. And right now we need some magic light!"
Star scoffed. "Tom, listen. I don't- I'm not sure why, but my wand hasn't been working correctly. Some of the spells come out green, and then they start acting funny. Like, attacking and almost killing us funny."
Tom stared at Star for a while. Afterwards, he politely asked, "May I see your wand?"
Star hesitated only for a second before handing it over. Tom examined the wand for a moment, mostly just staring and touching the broken star at the top. After a minute, he looked up towards Star. "It's definitely broken, but it can be controlled." He sounded like a doctor after a patient's examination, telling them what was wrong and what medications they were about to be on. "So long as you aren't in a bad mood, it shouldn't malfunction."
Star frowned. She still seemed hesitant. "A bad mood?"
Tom nodded genially. "Yeah, you know: angry, sad, distraught, nervous, complacent, bitter, jealous-"
Star interrupted him. "Tom, I'm already in a bad mood, and I don't think it's going away anytime soon. I'm scared for Marco, I'm scared for myself, I'm angry at Marco, I'm angry at myself, I'm-"
"Okay, okay, I get the point." Tom folded his arms. He looked like he wanted to criticize Star's lack of control, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't much better himself.
Jackie, who'd kept quiet and listened most of the conversation (it was her strong suit in larger groups in foreign lands) spoke up. "Star, you need to relax. Chill out, let the tension out of your body, etc."
Star and Tom both looked at Jackie as if she'd just said something obviously impossible. They didn't say anything, just looked tired and irritated. Jackie got confused and a shade defensive. "What, what gives?"
"Jackie, I've got two modes: hyperactive and asleep. I don't do calm and relaxed. I do me." She pointed to herself in a very convoluted gesture.
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Star, are you telling me that you aren't willing to relax your body for a minute or two in order to save your best friend? That you aren't even willing to try?"
Star's eyes went wide. "What- What are you trying to imply?"
Jackie kept her voice low in hopes that Star would do the same. "Marco treats you like family, Star. He loves you in a way he'll never love me: like a best friend. He's put his life on the line to try and make you happy. Right now, you're telling me that you aren't willing to even relax your body to save him." Jackie gave Star a hard look. "What kind of a friend is that?"
Star wanted to erupt. Jackie had no idea of what she and Marco had been through. What she'd done for him, what they did together, what they had together. What right did Jackie have to call Star Butterfly a terrible friend? She didn't know anything, she was just a stupid, pretty, dumb, skateboarding idiot who-
"Star." Tom's voice broke her from her inner monologue.
"What?" She snapped out, looking daggers at him. Then she noticed the green light that had lit up the well. She could that the well was made up of dirt and rocks, how little bugs crawled in and out of its walls, and that they were but three feet away from the surface of a pool of water below them. A small opening that led into the cave system faced the three of them. Jackie stopped the pulley system from letting them drop down any further. Star looked down towards her hand, the hand that had been holding on to her wand. The wand was the source of the green light.
"Star?" Jackie tried not to let on that she was scared, but only partially succeeded. Star looked up. Jackie had been right. Of course she'd been right. Star's best friend was in danger and she wasn't fit to help as she was. And if there was anyone who could teach Star how to calm down, it would be Jackie.
"Jackie," Star asked in a small voice. "How do I relax myself?"
Jackie took in a deep breath. "Breathing. I have a technique I use whenever I get upset." Jackie showed Star, and Star repeated the technique. It took a couple of minutes for her to get the hang of it, but she did. It was a weird feeling for Star, like when she dipped down or did a complicated spell. It felt like a weak protection against her emotions, but it was some protection.
"Thanks, Jackie," Star finally said. Her voice no longer sounded bubbly and chaotic. It wasn't void of life and emotion, but those aspects were dimmed down considerably. Her foot was no longer tapping itself against the floor, a noise that none of them had realized was there until it was gone. The color of her wand changed from green to purple and illuminated a larger portion of the tunnel ahead of them. Tom looked at her in awe and, if he was being honest with himself, a bit of envy.
"Huh," he said. "How did you learn that?"
Jackie didn't look at him. "Too long a story. We need to help Marco."
Tom didn't argue. He simply kept staring at Jackie and made a mental note to himself. Star nodded and gave a small, cute smile. "Right, let's."
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Marco's group didn't have any trouble with the lack of light. Jam had a miniature lantern with him and Elizabeth had a perfectly working wand. There was a bit of arguing between the two of them at the start about who should get to light the way, until Marco suggested that they both do so and to shut up. The cave turned out to be more of a cave-mine hybrid, with some parts of the cave made of earth and others rock. Wooden supports could be seen every twenty feet or so. It smelled like rotting food; more specifically, it smelled of corn. Bits and pieces could be seen almost everywhere. There was no sound, save for the occasional drip of water from the low ceiling.
The cave-mine lead the trio through several different rooms and forks. One room looked like it had been made to store corn, although no corn was currently stored. Another room had three levels, the bottom level for churning corn and the other two levels for bringing corn in. That room had a bit of cornmeal left in it, but not much. A third room looked like it was made for shucking corn, as piles and piles of rotting leaves were scattered throughout the room. Every single room that they went through had one consistent detail: they were vacant. Marco had expected having to sneak around just to avoid getting into a big quarrel with the guards, but no guards could be seen. Every new room they found that didn't have anyone made Marco's paranoia get worse.
"Elizabeth," Marco's voice sounded tense. "Are you sure that-" A wooden support creaked as it slipped half a centimeter. Marco jumped so high that his head hit the ceiling. He made a sound of pain and hit the floor with his bottom. His future kids looked modestly disappointed with him.
"You okay, dad?" Jam asked, holding out his hand. Marco shook his head, tried to act tough, and fell again. Embarrassed, he took his sons hand.
Elizabeth had her arms crossed. She wanted to make a smart comment about being wound up like rat trap, but she thought better of it. It wouldn't make her chances of being the preferred sibling any better. "You were asking, Dad?" She couldn't keep all of her sass out of her voice. After all, her father had just made a fool of himself. She did what anyone would have.
Marco looked around nervously. "Are you sure that this is Ludo's hideout? This looks abandoned."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Of course this is his hideout. I had to listen to you recall your adventures with mom a million times when I was younger. You still have this place on my map at home. Besides, how would you explain the rows and rows of corn?"
Marco nodded, but kept looking all around them. "Okay, yeah, but then where is everyone? There should be workers and supervisors and guards all around."
Jam shrugged. "Maybe they went on vacation?"
Marco shook his head. "I doubt Ludo would give out vacations, especially considering how weird he's been lately. It's almost if…"
Marco trailed off, but before either of his kids could prompt him, a scream rang out through the cave. Marco looked up, and suddenly froze. The trio didn't say or do anything for a five count. Then Jam exclaimed, voice filled with chivalry, "Prisoners! We need to help them!" and ran off towards the noise. After a moment, the other two ran after him, if only to stay as a group.
After a few forks in the tunnels, they arrived at a prison. Bars of what appeared to be magically reinforced wood created a long hallway of prison cells. Monsters of all shapes and sizes filled the cells. Some looked like bugs, others like amphibians, others still looked reptilian. All of them looked about ready to fall over and pass out. Their bones touched their skin almost all over, and most of them didn't look like they were focusing on anything. Beneath the trio was a set of similar wooden bars, below which were what appeared to be hundreds of rats. They scurried around in filth so horrible that Marco and Elizabeth nearly puked. They all looked dumbfounded.
"What, what happened?" Jam demanded, asking no one in particular. One of the monsters looked over towards him and coughed. He seemed only mildly more coordinated than the other monsters.
"Ludo… insane…. Paranoid…. Locked away…. Starving… thirsty…." Then he passed out.
Jam began to shake with rage. He pointed his gun at the wooden bars. "One second," He muttered, completely focused. Elizabeth tried to say 'wait', but her voice was lost in the din. Jam's plasma bullet ricocheted off of the bar and bounced around the room until it hit the ceiling. The entire prison shook.
"Dumbass!" Elizabeth shouted, her eyes wide. "Those bars are magically reinforced, they won't budge to anything until their source turns them off or loses power."
Jam's cheeks turned red. "Oh. Sorry, my bad."
Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. Meanwhile, Marco approached the cell and looked around. He saw a monster that looked familiar.
"Lobster Claws?"
Lobster Claws looked up. "Huh?"
"It's me, Marco. The human who tried to teach you how to be good. Remember me?"
Lobster Claws squinted his eyes, trying to think. Just before Marco thought that it was a fruitless effort, Lobster Claws smiled and waved.
"Great!" Marco's hopes rised. "Do you know where Ludo is?"
Lobster Claws squinted again, then nodded. He (as well as the rest of the monsters) pointed towards the end of the hallway. "Follow the green light," he whispered. Marco barely got it before Lobster Claws passed out.
"Don't you guys fret, we'll be back for you," he assured them. He gestured to Jam and Elizabeth, who had started to get into a small fight. "Let's go."
They went down to the end of the hallway and eventually started to see a dim green light. They followed the light until they came across a large chamber. In the chamber was dozens upon dozens of half-eaten corn cobs. A small green bird thing was sitting on the ground, holding an odd wand. There was a large, messy book in front of him. Ludo was talking to the book, and it sounded like the book was talking back.
"No, I've told you a thousand times, I'M NOT A PRINCESS!" Ludo shouted with such force that the room shook.
"Whatever you say, m'lady," a cocky, annoying voice responded. Glossaryck. "And anyways, deary, that's not important right now. You have guests."
Marco grinded his teeth. He couldn't tell if Glossaryck was on Ludo's side at the moment, or if he was just being cryptic and helping him in a weird way. What he did know was that Glossaryck was pissing him off. Ludo made a weird, confused sound before turning around. He scowled at Marco.
"Do you mind, boy? I'm sort of in the middle of something." His eye was twitching and he kept looking back and forth between Marco and his wand. Then Ludo looked at Jam and Elizabeth. "Who are you two? Star's friends? Marco's? Mercenaries?" He put his hand over the wand in a possessive gesture. "Are you here for my wand?"
"Not quite," Jam answered.
"We want the book," Elizabeth finished.
"Hmmph. Finishing each other's lines. Did you rehearse that?"
"No, they're just… weird like that." Marco answered, hoping he wouldn't hurt his future kids' feelings.
"Whatever. I'm busy, so you're going to have to play with my pets first." Ludo snapped his fingers. His pet spider and eagle, who'd been hiding above close to the ceiling, feel onto them and attacked.
Well, not as much progression as previously hoped. I had wanted to get through the fight in this chapter, but it doesn't look like that's happening. I got caught up in that well scene. Ah well, enjoy and please leave comments below.