It was safe to say Cody was having a pretty bad day.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he and his sister moved to Hometown, but it certainly wasn't… this.
He followed his new… ally? Would he call Susie that? They weren't friends, that's for sure. He barely even knew her.
"This has gotta be it," Susie spoke up, as the two approached a large, black door with a golden design. It was slightly ajar.
Cody blinked. It was like being in a fairytale. Not that he wanted to be in one, of course. He really just wanted to go back to bed.
The two walked through the door, entering a dream-like forest. Trees of red and purple surrounded them, as they walked across strange, purple grass.
"I really hope this is a dream," Cody muttered.
"Pssh, you really think so?" Susie asked. "Way I see it, we get a day off from school."
"It's literally my first day," Cody told her.
"Not my problem, new boy," she chuckled.
Suddenly, a diamond-shaped Darkner known as Rudinn approached the two. Susie grinned, brandishing her axe.
"Outta' the way, dumbass!" she yelled, tossing her axe towards Rudinn.
Rudinn yelped, running away as soon as it was hit.
"That's what I thought," Susie chuckled.
"That really necessary?" Cody asked, raising his brow.
"You wanna move at a snail's pace?" Susie retorted. "Be my guest, new boy."
Cody gave her the fattest eye roll of all time. "I told you, my name is Cody."
"Hey, thanks to you, I'm not the new kid in town anymore," Susie replied, "so keep it."
Cody glared at her as they kept moving; they soon encountered a triangular, chef-like Darkner sleeping. A large cake was behind them, glistening on its table.
Susie had her eyes on the cake; drool fell from her lips.
"Don't even think about it," Cody told her.
"You think you can stop me?" Susie turned on him.
Cody clenched his fist. He didn't want to do this, but he drew the line at food being stolen from innocent chefs.
"How about this," he said. "I'll make you a much better cake."
Susie turned, and stared at him. "… you can cook?"
"You'd think the apron would clue you in," Cody deadpanned, "but yeah. Not much anymore, but I… I like cooking."
Old bashfulness crept into his voice. He turned away, head bowed.
Susie looked between him, and the cake.
"Fine, but it better be a good one!" she growled. "If it sucks, I'll eat your face instead!"
"Yeah yeah," Cody grunted.
The two kept going. The awkward silence made Cody wish he was dead.
"That thing you did before," Susie spoke up, "with your frying pan. That was kinda cool."
"Thanks, I guess," Cody replied, looking away. "Uh, nice axe."
"Uh," said Susie, coughing. "Yeah. Um. Thanks."
Yeah, this wasn't going anywhere. Luckily, Hathy and Rudinn got in their way.
Susie held up her axe, while Cody felt a strange power in his very being. Something warm, familiar… something protective?
He reached out, his green heart glowing. Suddenly, a green light surrounded him and Susie.
"The hell is this?" Susie asked, looking around. "What'd you do?"
"How should I know?!" he retorted.
Suddenly, the enemies' attacks came flying towards the two.
"Watch out!" Cody yelled.
However, the attacks bounced harmlessly off.
"Dude," Susie gasped, eyes wide. "No way."
"What the hell…?" Cody asked, gazing over his hands.
After Susie quickly scared the enemies off, she walked towards Cody and grabbed his shoulders.
"You got superpowers, man!" she yelled, shaking him.
Cody just stared at her, blankly. "What?"
"It's fascinating…"
The two jumped. Faye was on the ground, eating some kind of weird, dark candy. She appeared to have picked it from a tree nearby.
"Is this appearing-out-of-nowhere thing normal for her…?" Cody asked.
Susie shrugged.
Faye just smiled. "I found the exit…"
"Oh, sweet!" Susie asked. "Where is it?"
Faye looked around, tilting her head. "Oh… I forgot."
"WHAT!" Susie yelled.
She reached down, grabbing Faye's shoulders.
"Come on!" she growled, shaking her. "Remember, slowpoke!"
Faye blinked. "Only if you say please…"
"Oh, screw you!" Susie dropped her. "Come on, new boy, we'll find the exit on our own."
Cody ran his hand down his face. "You all give me a headache."
"You won't be able to get to the exit," Faye spoke up.
"I thought you forgot where it was!" Susie snapped.
Faye stared up at her. "There's a puzzle in the way. You won't get past it… without me."
"Wanna bet?" Susie growled.
"It's really hard," Faye told her.
"Psshhh, I could solve it in my sleep!" Susie sneered.
Faye shrugged. "If you say so…"
Susie grabbed Cody's arm, leading him away.
"She thinks she's so clever," she growled. "Just wait until we get outta' here faster than she can come up with some stupid joke!"
Cody sighed. He was in for the long haul.
Melody and Kris followed Ralsei. He was walking with a skip in his step; Kris and Melody, well… they were much more subdued.
Ralsei gasped as they approached a dummy wearing similar attire to him.
"A dummy… of you?" Melody asked him. "Why?"
"Well, I've just been alone for so long, and…" He paused. "Would you like me to teach you two how to fight?"
Melody and Kris stared at each other. Melody got nothing from their expression.
"That would be helpful," she spoke up.
And suddenly, much like before with Lancer, the three of them entered combat.
"You see those hearts?" Ralsei explained. "Those are your SOULs. They're the culmination of your being. Within, they hold your WILL, your COMPASSION… and the fate of the WORLD."
"If I may, why are they different colours?" Melody asked.
"Each human SOUL has a different ability," Ralsei told her. "An ability that will assist in battle. For example, Kris has the ability to perform several unique ACTs, as well as their natural capacity for leadership. As for you, Melody, you have an ability called BLUE mode!"
Melody perked up, remembering the strange feeling from before. Was that what it was?
"Before you can use it, though, you'll need TP," Ralsei said, "and you get TP from DEFENDing, as well as narrowly missing the enemy's attacks! You'll also take less damage from attacks by DEFENDing. Really, take care to avoid damage - if your SOUL gets hit, you and your friends will take damage, and if your HP gets to zero, you lose the battle."
Melody nodded. Kris instructed her to DEFEND as several white bullets approached the two; luckily, the bullets weren't too fast. Their TP had increased to 20%.
"Great work!" Ralsei complimented. "You two are naturals! Now, you can either PACIFY the enemy with one of my spells, or you can try BLUE MODE!"
Kris instructed Melody to try BLUE MODE. She was surprised that they weren't a bad leader at all, staying calm and direct.
She felt the power in her SOUL. The TP bar drained, and a wave of energy emitted from the blue heart. Suddenly, the dummy's projectiles fell to the ground, having turned the same blue as her SOUL.
"Wow…" she muttered.
"Yes, that's it!" Ralsei clapped. "This ability should help a lot if you're ever struggling in combat! It's a way to weaken your enemies without actually attacking them."
Kris instructed Melody to FIGHT, next. Unlike their sword, she didn't appear to have a weapon.
Wait, she thought, I don't need a weapon… I already have one!
She raised her leg, kicking the dummy in the face. Together, she and Kris did quite a bit of damage.
"W-wow!" Ralsei complimented. "Those were amazing attacks, um… have you two done this before?"
Melody had to admit, attacking had been somewhat fun. It reminded her of ballet dancing; the pain tugged at her heart.
"Well, not exactly," she admitted. "I used to do ballet dancing, so…"
"Wow, really?" Ralsei asked. "That's wonderful! And it explains your outfit as well!"
"I suppose," Melody agreed, "even though I… quit a while ago."
"Oh," Ralsei sounded sad. "That's a shame. It sounds like you really enjoyed it."
"I did," Melody admitted.
She blinked. She could be sad later; right now, she needed to focus.
"Anyway, great work, you two," Ralsei said. He held out a rather thick manual. "You're both wonderful students! … and, er, in case you ever need a refresher, I... Here! I wrote a Manual for you and your friends!"
Kris held onto the manual, making no reaction as usual. Melody grimaced at the giant, heavy tome. She would hardly call Susie her friend, and she barely even knew Cody. As for Faye… it was complicated. That girl just made her uncomfortable more than anything. She wasn't sure what her friend Brayden saw in her…
"Well, we better get going if we want to catch up to the others!" Ralsei said, cheerfully.
And thus, the trio made their way to the golden door, which was somewhat ajar.
"Oh my!" Ralsei gasped. "The Great Door is open… so that's how Lancer got through." He turned back to face the humans. "Um, guys, once we pass through this door... Our adventure will really begin. A journey foretold exactly by the prophecy…"
He turned to Melody. "But, Melody, Kris… I believe YOUR choices are important, too. This world is full of all kinds of people. In the end, how we treat them makes all the difference. So let's try our best to get by without FIGHTing. If we can manage to do that... I believe this tale may have a happy ending. Otherwise, I fear that…"
He swallowed.
"...you may not... find the result favorable." He blushed, looking down. "... Oh, I'm sorry! Is that too much to ask?"
"No, I understand," Melody assured him. "After all, I'll be sealing the fountain, won't I? So it's my responsibility to do the right thing."
Kris said nothing.
"I knew you both were heroes the moment I saw you," Ralsei declared. "Let's try our best, alright?"
And thus, the heroes entered the gate, truly beginning the legend…