Day 16: Escape

When I had woke up, I was rather cold. I quickly got up and took a leak on some of the rocks. I quickly got out of the cave and looked around.

I looked around, not quite sure how I was going to reunite with the Smashers. For now, I decided the best course of action was to move to higher ground. I looked at several trees and began to climb up one of the taller ones. Eventually, I got high enough. There was only forest as far as the eyes could see. However there was smoke off in the distance.

I climbed down the tree, or rather, climbed down a few branches, before losing my footing and plummeting to the ground. I managed to surviving by using a burst of aura to create a cushion... at least that's what I think happened. Regardless I was now rather tired, and hungry. I began to eat the nuts and raisins that was in the survival kit and began to walk towards what looked like a hill.

I decided to go to where I saw the smoke, thinking that I might meet up with a Smasher.

In hindsight, this was an incredibly stupid idea.

When I got there, I saw several people, they were each armed with guns, and were currently putting away their camp. I however stepped on a stick and it snapped. They all suddenly froze and grabbed their guns, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. "We know you've been out there since last night, waiting to strike." One said. "Come on out with your hands above your head."

They had mistaken me for someone else. I tried to see my aura to see where this other person was. However, two people began to approach me, and I became nervous. I stopped seeing by aura and began to panic. However there was suddenly a scream from the camp. They stopped approaching me, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I began to hear guns constantly being fired along with more screams. Eventually there was silence. I came out from behind the cover of the tree and saw the camp. All of the soldiers were either cut in half, their limbs were missing, or they were beheaded. There were even a few that were cut in half vertically.

The camp was now covered in blood.

"So, there was someone hiding." A voice said.

I looked at the person. He was certainly older than me, I guess in his mid-twenties. He wore a red jacket, and jeans. He also was wearing glasses, in his hand was a beam sword. "I have to thank you, because of you distracting them, I managed to kill all of them." He laughed. "And here I thought that it was just going to be a chipmunk or an animal that they were distracted by. Who are you?"

"I'm just a wanderer." I replied, hoping that the lie would be enough to stop him from questioning further. "I was going to ask them for directions but-" He had suddenly approached me.

"I don't think a wanderer would have a cloak as nice as this, one that reflects your surroundings and allows you to blend in with the environment. I recognize you now. Nugai."

Oh crap...

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Travis Touchdown." He replied.

"Travis Touchdown? Well thanks for helping me."

His beam sword however was right at my neck.

Ah crap, he wants to kill me as well.

"I saw you fighting against Marth." He said. "I'm insulted that someone like you was accepted into the Smashers, but I wasn't! Maybe the Smashers are like the UAA. If I kill you, I join."

"UAA?" I questioned. Part of me really didn't want to know what it stood for.

"The United Assassin's Association." Travis replied.

Crap, crap, crap.

I activated my beam sword and stopped his beam weapon. "You're just an amateur, I can take you down in a few seconds!" Travis laughed. "You don't have the capacity to kill! I can see it in your eyes, you can't kill anyone!"

You should have seen me yesterday.

"You talk too much!" I said.

I tried to distance myself from him, however Travis continued to follow me.

I quickly closed my eyes and tried to use Aura to perceive everything around me. However, due to the constant pressure from the attacking Travis, I could only see a small 5 meter radius around me. I quickly began to weave in and out of the trees; Travis on the other hand seemed to have some difficulty and was clearly getting frustrated with how I was able to know where everything was. Frustrated, Travis cut through a tree and it began to fall towards me

Using aura, I was able to react quickly and jump out of the way, however I jumped right into Travis' range.

Oh crap!

I realized my error too late, and Travis readied his beam sword to cut me in half. I raised mine to counter, barely stopping his. The tree fell down, creating a deafening noise. If there were any more camps of soldiers out there, I'm sure they would come rushing towards us now.

Travis began to force me back, so that I would trip over the fallen tree. My mind began to flash through several things, trying to figure out what to do. Travis quickly tried punching me, however I created a barrier to block the punch.

"What the hell!" Travis said. "It's like I punched a brick wall!"

I used this moment to jump over the log and to try and run away, however Travis followed. "You're not going anywhere!" Travis shouted.

As I passed several trees I cut through them, hoping that they would fall down towards Travis and at least impede him a bit so I could distance myself. Unfortunately, I soon ran myself right to a cliff. I looked down; it was a good 100 feet drop. Something that I wasn't likely to survive. And if I did survive, using the aura burst, I would be incredibly vulnerable. "Now that you've stopped running, where were we?"

I turned around and faced Travis. "Why did you kill all of those people?" I asked.

"Do I need a reason?" Travis wondered. "Well, I might as well tell you since you're going to die. It was my job to make sure that the soldiers in this forest didn't make it out alive."

"And why are you trying to kill me?"

"So I can take your place in the Smashers!" Travis replied.

I'm pretty sure that isn't how the Smashers work...

He swung his sword. I blocked with mine, however his strength was much more than I had anticipated. I was sent sliding several feet back, right to the edge. I closed my eyes terrified.

How did he have that sort of strength?

I don't know what it was, but I could suddenly see Travis' maximum range. I had no where to go. I then did the unthinkable.

I stepped backwards off of the cliff. I used the beam sword to help slow down my descent, and used a bit of aura to create a cushion. I survived, and felt relieved. There was no way Travis would follow me now.

Unfortunately I spoke to soon. Travis was also apparently insane. He jumped off the cliff and had used two beam swords to slow his descent.

Perhaps it was the shock, but I couldn't react until Travis was actually only twenty five feet above me.

I quickly tried to retreat, I hoped that Travis couldn't keep up with me. By putting aura in my feet I was able to run faster than I had ever ran before.

However, I really should have been more careful with where I was running.

I tripped on a root, and fell onto the ground. I looked back and saw Travis approaching me. He had his weapon ready for the kill. "It's over!" He said. He swung his sword for the kill. I closed my eyes.

"Now, playing with weapons like this is dangerous, someone could get hurt." A voice said.

"Move it old man!" Travis replied.

I opened my eyes, blocking the attack was Tabuu, who was simply holding it back with his cane. "Get up Nugai, get out of here." Tabuu said.

I obeyed. I got up and tried to flee, however, I was too concerned about Tabuu.

"You won't hurt him." Tabuu calmly said.

"Oh, and are you going to stop me old man?"

A blue energy sword appeared in his hand.

"Now you're speaking my language!" Travis laughed. He ran for Tabuu and attacked. Tabuu however blocked the attack with the energy sword.

"Go Nugai." Tabuu said. "I'm fine, don't worry about me!"

"But-"

"Go!" Tabuu said, this time in a much stronger commanding voice. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"You really ought to pay more attention to yourself than that kid Old Man!"

"What's your name?" Tabuu asked.

"Travis Touchdown!" Travis shouted.

"I see, I'll remember it." Tabuu calmly said. He teleported behind Travis and then a portal appeared beneath him. He fell.

"What just happened?"

"I teleported him out of here so our fight wouldn't gather any more unwanted attention." Tabuu calmly replied.

"What's going on in this world?" I asked.

Tabuu looked at me. "Chaos." He replied. "Wars. The Reaper caused them. He must enjoy it, like it's some sort of game to him. Everyone is just destroying themselves, and he is enjoying every second of it. And you might be at the most risk. If anyone finds out that you're from the same world as the Reaper, you could be in major trouble. And unfortunately, you're not in the safety of the Smash HQ anymore. The world is a big and scary place. It's even scarier if you're alone."

I couldn't help but feel terrified. "But I don't even know where to go."

"I can lead you to their other meeting place." Tabuu calmly replied. "They left it in favor of the Smash HQ. It has a ward, so that only those recognized as Smashers could enter the area."

"But I'm not really a Smasher." I protested.

"The necklace they gave you." Tabuu replied. I quickly pulled it out. Inside the Smash Ball pendant there seemed to be an arrow made out of energy. "It will lead you where you need to go."

"That's rather convenient." I said.

"It will also let you go through the ward." Tabuu replied. "All Smashers have this located on their person. And if it's taken you won't be recognized as an official Smasher."

"I see. I wish they explained this to me when they gave it to me." I sighed.

"Well, good luck." Tabuu said. "Hopefully, we will meet again. Follow the pendant, and trust it. It will protect you."

Tabuu began to walk into a portal. And once again I was all alone. I looked down at the necklace and began to follow where the arrow pointed.

I was afraid. At any moment someone could jump out from behind the trees and attack me. That the Manager was dead. That the Reaper was someone I knew. Everything was happening far too fast for my liking.

How many more attempts on my life was there going to be. I just sighed. I found a nice alcove and sat down. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and decided to stay there for a few minutes in order to regain my energy. I pulled out the bag of nuts and raisins. If I rationed it, I would have enough to last until tomorrow morning. I reached in and grabbed a small handful of nuts and began to eat.

"Where is everyone?" I asked to no one in particular.

I pulled out my cell phone, noting that it didn't have any reception. The battery was also beginning to get low again.

After ten minutes of resting, I got up and began to walk again. I stayed off of the normal path. Eventually the necklace led me to a river. I looked at the river and there were plenty of fish swimming around. Thinking with my stomach rather than my brain I stripped to my boxers and stepped into the river.

It was really cold. I looked around and seemed to remember watching some kung fu movie where the master would catch fish with his bare hands. I stood still for several minutes, and eventually the fish came near me. As soon as I reached for a fish it would flee.

I tried using the beam sword to impale the fish, however, the few times that I did succeed in hitting it, the river's current would immediately send the fish downstream. I reacted quickly and caught a few.

I got out of the stream and put my clothes back on. I looked back at the fish. I still needed some way to cook them.

I gathered a bunch of firewood and started a fire. Once the fish was cooked I ate it.

I looked at the necklace, and an arrow was now pointing upstream. I stood up and followed the river, until I eventually came to a waterfall. There was a perfect rock sitting underneath the waterfall. I thought about sitting on this rock to meditate and perhaps help train my aura to see farther, however just as I stepped forwards a log came crashing down upon the rock. I backed away slowly and just whimpered.

I looked once again at the necklace and it was now pointing towards the waterfall. I could actually see a cave behind the waterfall. I covered myself with the poncho and stepped behind the waterfall. The necklace directed me into the cave, and I closed my eyes and used aura to see. Within moments it was pitch black. The only light was coming from the flame in the necklace.

Everything was completely silent. I couldn't even hear the waterfall. The silence was maddening.

I suddenly felt another presence. "I've been waiting for you." A voice said. I looked around the cave however I couldn't see anything. "You won't find me by looking around."

"Who are you? Where are you?" I shouted back.

"I'm you." the voice replied.

I drew my beam sword, however for some reason it wouldn't activate.

"I can see it, all of the terror that is in your heart. How you're afraid of being alone. Imagine what would happen if the other Smashers saw you being like this." The voice laughed.

For now I decided that the best course of action was to remain calm. I sat down and closed my eyes trying to focus. However the voice didn't go away. "I know everything about you." The voice said.

"Then what is my name?" I asked.

He said something, but I couldn't make it out.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"This is the Cavea of Madness. Where you slowly lose your sanity and die!"

I held the necklace, it felt warm. I tried to wonder why the necklace led me here of all places. I suddenly felt the ground shake. I quickly got up and rushed back to the entrance. From behind the waterfall all I could see was fire. The forest had been set on fire.

"Was it my camp fire? No I extinguished it." I reassured myself. I suddenly saw planes flying over the burning forest. One plane dropped something in the river up ahead and it suddenly exploded. I closed my eyes and turned back into the cave. The necklace had led me into the cave of madness because it was safer.

"You're back." The voice laughed. "Did you enjoy seeing all of the destruction? It's all because of you, you know. They are desperate to find you. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter to them."

"Why?" I asked.

The voice just laughed. "The world you envisioned. They want you, they need you for the Reaper's plan."

I looked down at the necklace, it was pointing for me to go deeper into the cave. I figured that this might be the best course of action, that people would be searching for any remains or someone fleeing. I began to walk slowly.

Using aura constantly was much harder than I thought. I was all ready exhausted from constantly using it against Travis Touchdown. And now, I was about to learn how the Caves of Madness got its name. The Caves of Madness was also playing tricks on me. Illusions of bugs rushed towards me ensnaring me. I could hear creatures moaning, and scratching. "Many people come here to train their mind." The voice explained. "Eventually, most of them succumbed to madness. They went insane, either killing themselves, or starving to death. You will be the same."

I tripped and fell. In front of me was a skeleton of some other person who had gone through the Cave of Madness.

I regained my composure and began walking forwards. However I suddenly saw a light, there was a fire, and someone whimpering in front of it. The smell of urine was in the air. I walked forwards and opened my eyes. Sitting in front of the fire was Lucas. He was crying. He suddenly looked up at me. "Nugai! You're here! Thank you! Everyone is waiting inside." He rushed towards me and hugged me. I could feel it all, warmth from his body. His tears and some snot that was running down his nose was now on my shirt. "I can't go on!" Lucas said. "Nugai, please kill me."

"Lucas?"

"I saw my mother and brother in this cave. They hate me for what I did. They said I have no right to live. Please kill me!"

I looked at Lucas who was still crying on my shirt.

"Lucas?" I asked.

"Please, if it's you, I know you can do it." Lucas cried. "Please do it. Please end this."

His hand's reached for the beam sword fastened upon my belt. I tried to stop him, however in the struggle, I had hit the switch to activate the beam sword. It went right through Lucas' chest. Lucas looked up at me and just mouthed "Thank you."

"Murderer!" A voice shouted. I turned around, to see Ness. His fingertips on his right hand were glowing with a PK Fire, to help illuminate his way. His left hand was on his baseball bat. He swung it at me, however I dodged. Instead he hit Lucas who let out a scream of pain. "I'm sorry Lucas!" Ness said. "Once I deal with him, I'll help heal you!"

Ness ran towards me. As he swung with his bat, I blocked with my beam sword. He quickly reacted with a PK Thunder, which stunned me. I quickly delivered a kick that sent Ness back several feet. He however rushed right back towards me. "Murderer!" He shouted. "You're going to join the Reaper!"

I cut right through Ness' bat and right arm. His arm fell on to the ground. It took him several seconds to realize what had happened. He rushed towards me in rage, ready to attack me again. This time I cut his abdomen. "Ness, stop this." He ran for me once again. This time I stabbed right through him. "Ness, where is Dr. Mario, he can heal you." I pulled out the beam sword and Ness just fell down to the ground.

A weakened Ness crawled towards Lucas. He placed his head on Lucas' chest. "Lucas, I've always loved you." He said. "I want to be together forever. And I know a way we can." He suddenly opened his mouth and began to bite into Lucas' skin. Lucas screamed in pain.

"What the hell is going on here?" Another voice said. I turned to see Captain Falcon. He saw Ness' arm that had been cut off and the beam sword in my hand. Immediately he drew his gun and shot me in the right shoulder. I screamed in pain.

"I told you I was going to kill you if I even thought you were going to turn against us!" Captain Falcon said.

He shot again, this time I blocked with my beam sword. I ran towards him and cut him across his chest. He however stood up and punched me in the abdomen winding me. He charged up a Falcon Punch, however just before he punched I cut off his hand. I gasped for air. "This has to stop. Please stop."

However he tried to knee me, I brought up the beam sword and stabbed him right in the throat. I just collapsed on the ground exhausted, a lifeless Captain Falcon fell on the ground. I gasped for air. "Damn it, what the hell is going on." I muttered.

Slowly I stood up. The pain seemed to vanish. The feeling in my right arm disappeared. I suddenly felt as though I was intoxicated, I had a lack of reasoning. Another Smasher had shown up, this time it was Marth. He rushed for me, with his sword. I just cut through him with out hesitation.

What's going on? This isn't like me... Is this the fault of the Caves of Madness?

I no longer had control over my body, I just cut through each Smasher who tried to attack me. Each of them had descended into madness as well. Wolf and Fox had become feral. I killed each and every one. When they were all dead I just began to laugh. "I am the greatest Smasher!"

No, what's going on?

However soon I wasn't even thinking straight.

Yes, I'm the greatest Smasher. I did all of this! I'm free! I can do whatever I want in this world! AHAHAHAHA!

Appearing in front of me was the Reaper.

The Reaper smiled. "You did it Nugai." He said. "You killed all of the Smashers, now I'll return you back home." A portal appeared in front of me. "Go home." I walked into it.

I fell onto a bed. I had finally escaped that world. I looked up at my ceiling, and around my room. I was here. I was finally back home. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, my door was kicked down. Several armed people barged into my room. "He is the one who crossed over!"

"Capture him!"

I was restrained and taken off in a strange van. I was put into a streit jacket and put into a pure white room. I was tortured. My torturers were talking about how I went into the other world and no trace of me must be left in this world, how it must be like I never existed at all.

Time drifted to a standstill. I could feel each of my fingers being broken.

This isn't really happening!

Suddenly in front of me was a glowing blue man. He stretched out his hand. I reached for it and suddenly I was brought back to reality.

The old man, Tabuu, was in front of me. "You're all right."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You descended into madness." He replied.

"I killed all of the Smashers!" I said.

"No, they were just hallucinations."

I looked at my clothing. What should had been covered in blood was just covered in a little bit of dirt. Where I was shot by Captain Falcon, there was no holes. Where I was tortured by the government there were no scars.

I collapsed, everything about it felt so real. Yet none of it happened at all. Tabuu just gave me a thermos. "Drink it, it will warm you up a bit." I opened up the thermos and in it was a peppermint tea. I took in the fragrance until eventually drinking it.

"I'm quite surprised that you made it as far as you did." Tabuu said. "And I'm surprised that you decided to go into the Caves of Madness."

"This pendant led me there." I said.

Tabuu looked at the pendant. "Why would it lead you there?"

"I figured that it was safer than those people bombing the forest." I said.

"People bombing the forest?" Tabuu questioned. He closed his eyes. "I see, I think I understand now, you had been grabbed by madness earlier, and it led you into the cave. The pendant should never lead you into danger."

I had all ready been ensnared by the illusions?

I just continued to sit there in shock. "You said that you came and got me in the Caves of Madness. What did you see while you were in there?"

"Nothing." Tabuu said.

I wondered, what sort of man would see nothing in those caves.

"Tabuu."

"What is it?" Tabuu asked.

"I don't want to face the Smashers after what I did." I said.

"Everyone sucumbs to madness." Tabuu calmly said. "Don't be ashamed. They won't hold it against you."

"But if they knew that I killed them all, they would trust me even less."

"They won't." Tabuu said. "Trust me. Now, go to sleep, I'll make sure nothing happens."

"How do I know that this is real?" I wondered. "When I was under the infulence of madness, I could feel pain."

"Trust me." Tabuu replied. "I hold no ill will towards you."

I closed my eyes and tried to create a barrier out of aura, however due to the exhaustion I couldn't even summon some basic aura. Under the watchful eye of Tabuu I fell asleep.

Travis Touchdown is from No More Heroes.