Chapter Eleven:

Trouble in The Cathedral

An eerie breeze rushed through the valley that was the Dark Web, in Belmont deep within the Mushroom Kingdom countryside, riding an ominous gray mist that loomed throughout the region.

The mist was so strong, the beams of the sun were barely able to squeeze through and cast the yellow light of day upon the drab and dark land.

The ominous dark-red and green cathedral, once occupied by the viral monstrosity known as Zero, still stood, casting a foreboding shadow in the misty daylight. Under the cover of night, it was said the place let off an eerie glow as if to indicate something was still inside that terrible place. Some denied it, saying it was just ghost stories.

But there was still something in that cathedral and it wasn't a sentient being.

Even before the battle, many wary people had already opted to stay away from the foreboding cathedral. And even after the horror within was defeated, they all continued to stand by their decision to stay away.

While some avoided that cathedral, it didn't stop any others from visiting that frightening place.

Long ropes dangled from the edges of the cliffs above, casting a shadow against the flat surface as they swayed in the breeze and shook gently as the Dark Web's latest visitors climbed their way down, slowly and carefully with steady hands gripping the lengthy cords.

The newly-arrived travelers surveyed their surroundings cautiously, taking in the sight of the mist and the cathedral.

Two of the climbers looked at each other half-nervously, then they looked back at the structure as the rest of their group joined them. The travelers were a mix of different people; most of them were from different lands and cultures.

One traveler was a deep-purple Toad from Toad Town wearing a captain's hat named Calin, the second was Flarie, a cyan-blue Jellyfish from Inkopolis, wearing a detective's hat and a grey jacket.

The third individual in the group was Blaine, another Toad, who sported a green-yellow color scheme along with a Safari uniform and a ball cap. Jeno, a Koopa with a greyish skin tone and a light-yellow cowboy hat, accompanied them along with two Inklings from Flarie's hometown;

One was Vaila, a vibrant-magenta Inkling girl wearing a silver dress and pink gloves. The other was Riquo, a blue Inkling boy wearing headphones and a fiery orange T-shirt with a squid spirit symbol on the front.

And with the ragtag Splatoon-Mushroom Kingdom group was the Team Fortress hero, Soldier.

"Here we are." Calin said, not even showing a hint of fear as he gazed upon the cathedral.

"It's so big, bigger than any church in history." Flarie remarked.

Everyone heard clunking and turned to see Green aka ASpider25, a masked Inkling with green hair, and his associate, Inkura, collecting a camera and a reporter's microphone from their bag they'd brought with them.

Inkura held up the camera and Green held his microphone in a steady position. The former tapped the record button and a red light blinked while the squid girl adjusted the antenna, making sure that people were catching the news live, be it on the computer or TV. Once Inkura was set up, Green began his reporting.

"We're here live in the Dark Web with the Splat-Shroom Expedition..." The SplatTuber announced in his best reporter voice, "...and, in this vicinity, is the ominous Dark Web cathedral where some freaky activity took place not too long ago, involving a freaky virus hand thing. What secrets await in there and is the place still dangerous? Let's find out."

Soldier coughed and the group faced him in an instant as he stared firmly at all of them.

"Okay, you grunts! Listen and listen well!" He said in his trademark gruff voice, "This place may be full of hazards, so keep alert and, whatever happens, stay together! I don't want ANYONE getting lost and seeing someone get badly hurt on this mission is NOT AN OPTION! YOU HEAR ME?!"

"YES, SIR!"

A loud thud made everyone turn with wide eyes. Heavy, the famous Russian merc, had finally climbed down. However, his grip on the rope had slipped, when he was only inches from the ground, and he ended up landing on his face.

Luckily, he didn't seem to be too badly hurt. Heavy climbed back up on his feet and rubbed his head, then he grinned and gave the explorers a thumbs up.

"Don't go anywhere without Heavy!" Heavy said with a light chuckle, he grabbed his rail gun and held it firmly.

"You big bald bastard!" Soldier shouted, "HOW ARE YOU SO SLOW AND HOW CAN YOU FALL LIKE THAT?! No wonder we call you 'Heavy'!"

Heavy grinned widely, "I'm not fat, HEAVY IS STRONG AND BIG!"

"Maybe we should call you 'Big'." Inkura commented, causing everyone to laugh.

Unbeknownst to the group, a large purple cat with yellow eyes overheard the conversation as he was passing through and turned around while a frog on his shoulder let off a croak. Big the Cat stood silently, half-surprised and nearly hurt, as he took in what he'd heard and a small tear rolled down his furry cheek.

Did nobody know that he existed and that his name was Big?

"Enough joking around, you laughing pipsqueaks!" Soldier shouted, "Let's get moving! And remember, there is no 'I' in team!"

The group composed themselves, took their minds off any distractions, and nodded in agreement with their co-leader. With everything settled, they walked towards the entrance to the cathedral, moving at a slow pace while watching their environment in a cautious manner.

Inkura held the camera and Alex briefly put away his microphone, there would not be a need for any reporting at this time.

Heavy gripped the handle of his rail-gun as he and the others stepped over the threshold, entering the halls of the mysterious structure, seeing the green coding-style writings etched upon the black-colored walls, along with the eerie dark-red color scheme of the ceiling and pillars.

With his years of combat experience, Soldier calmly adjusted his helmet and remained on alert, his hand reached for the pistol resting in his left pocket, just in case there was danger lurking around the corner.

Dust lay in the corners, partially tainting the walls, and shadows loomed in the hallway, with barely any light for everyone to see a thing here.

Footsteps and light breathing filled the corridors and the Splat-Shroom team turned the corner, proceeding further through the cathedral. Their footsteps slowed and Jeno let out a yelp, pointing to the wall with wide eyes and a shaking finger. Despite the dust, words written in a blotch of blood could be seen etched unto the wall.

'Turn back!' The words read, 'Danger!'

"Someone didn't come here to clean up when that Zero thing was defeated." Inkura remarked.

"EW! MORE BLOOD!" Flarie winced.

They had proceeded onward through the hall, that was when they saw there were more words written in blood. They poked their head through a door, seeing an empty and dusty room with nothing but words written in blood on the green-black walls.

"Viewers..." Green said as Inkura pointed the camera at him once more, "We are seeing the great horror within. Terrible things did happen in this place and, to judge by the blood, someone must have been injured and went mad, drawing messages before things got worse for them. The Dark Web Cathedral is not your ordinary tourist attraction, I can tell you that."

"Keep a brave face, grunts!" Soldier ordered, "We cannot despair!"

"I am brave." Heavy said, "No big surprise."

Backing away from the foreboding and empty room, the group of explorers proceeded onward through the halls as if there was nothing else to see, especially beyond the other doors. And aside from shaky breaths and steady footsteps, an ominous silence continued to carry through the cathedral.

Soon, they turned another corner and finally entered the grandiose chamber, filled with pillars and charred rubble that was left laying about in the aftermath of the battle that had unfolded many fortnights ago. The place was empty, devoid of anything else, and more traces of dust were visible at the base of the pillars.

Nobody had set foot here in ages, not since the monster that lived here was defeated.

"Hey, is that...?" Jeno asked, pointing ahead.

The group stopped halfway across the room, their eyes staring past the altar. Right there, in the midst of a pile of debris, was a large, glowing purple USB with a blank screen on it. The USB's aura let off a red glow, then it changed to a dark-purple hue, and humming could be heard, even from a distance.

"Look at the size of that puppy." Riquo quipped.

"Wonder what will happen if we go near it while saying 'O' Long Johnston'." Flarie chuckled.

Calin pulled out his phone and tapped his Jellyfish friend with a giggle. "Oh man." The Toad remarked, "That's gonna be so much fun."

"Hey, does nobody notice that we already have a camera?" Inkura asked.

"Inkura, on me!" Green cried, the female Inkling turned to him and he began speaking in his reporter voice, "This here is extraordinary, folks! We've just found a giant USB in the cathedral, undoubtedly the one that was used to eliminate that viral monster thing. But what secrets does it hold and where did it come from?"

At that moment, Flarie had taken several steps towards the big USB and Calin had his phone ready, the video feature was set up and he was giggling with delight.

"Okay, I'm recording you!" He said to Flarie, "Go!"

Flarie turned to the camera phone and walked backwards while striking some duck and floss posses, holding his tentacles to his face. And then, he began to iterate the three words like no tomorrow.

"Oh. Oh, long Johnston." The Jellyfish said, "Oh, long Johnston. Oh, long Johnston."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Soldier yelled, "GET AWAY FROM THAT USB, YOU MAGGOT!"

"Oooooh, long Johnston. Ooooooh looooooong Johnstoooooon."

Vaila and Riquo giggled, all amused by the scene. Flarie continued to walk towards the USB while repeatedly uttering "long Johnston", then, when he was a few inches from it, a red light washed over him and a buzzing echoed through the cathedral. Everyone gasped, Flarie turned and looked at the pod with curiosity, then he heard a beep.

"YOU ARE NOT A GUARDIAN!" A voice blared as the words appeared on the screen above.

"Okay...?" Flarie raised a tentacle.

Without another warning, the large USB's aura glowed a bright shade of red and a port opened up. Seconds later, a beam of vibrant orange energy shot out of the USB and struck Flarie. The Jellyfish shrieked as the currents tore through his body and then, in a bright flash of light, he was gone and all that remained of him was his hat.

"FLARIE!" Calin yelled, he quickly pressed the 'stop recording' button on his phone.

"Oh, carp!" Inkura muttered, nearly dropping her camera.

Heavy brought up his gun, glaring angrily at the USB, his finger hard-pressed on the trigger. He yelled furiously and opened fire, shooting all of the ammo that he had at the pod that took the life of an innocent humanoid Jellyfish from Inkopolis. He fired and fired until a beam of energy blasted Heavy and he dropped his gun.

The merc could feel his consciousness slip away, replaced by something else. Everyone looked at Heavy with concern, even as the beam faded away. Heavy stood with a blank expression in his eyes.

And then, he threw up his arms and started making goofy sounds while dancing a goofy dance.

"DA DUN DA DUN DADADADADUN!" Heavy blabbed, "Look, I'm dead, no surprise! LOL! I am dancing, I am Heavy, Heavy, Heavy..."

"I suggest we make a retreat!" Soldier quipped.

"Yeah, let's get out of here..." Green remarked, he sniffed, "...and maybe get some new pants for Inkura, I think she just inked herself."

Inkura was dancing with a pained expression on her face, even though everyone could notice a small green ink puddle under her feet.

"I need to ink." She whimpered.

Soldier grabbed Heavy and his rail gun, then he made a run for the exit.

Taking the cue that it was time to leave, the other members of the Splat-Shroom group ran and didn't look back. Seconds after they left, a blaring noise filled the room as the screen on the USB flashed red and a message appeared;

"WARNING: ANTIVIRUS SUBSCRIPTION WILL EXPIRE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES AND TWENTY-FIVE SECONDS! RENEW NOW!"