Chapter 61: An Unforeseen Encounter
A couple of yards after getting everything sorted out, we were all seeing pyramid-like ruins that were on an island up ahead. It looked a little big from my view. We were this close to reaching the yellow stone from here.
…
Or rather, I think it's the Stone of Healing, according to Lunia. It can be both.
"Is that… the ruins?" I asked, while getting closer to it.
"Looks like it. But why does it remind me of Egypt a little bit?" Blue asked.
"I have no clue. We all haven't been there before. But hopefully the stone isn't moved."
"We'll find out once we get there." Scarlett said. "I'm sure there's gonna be information about this place. We'll do that and find the stone at the same time."
"Ok." Me and Blue said.
Once we reached the island, all of us landed on the sand with half of our team letting go Peach, Daisy and Mimi. We all then reverted back to our human forms. It was the longest I've been in an HGU form. It was pretty great trying it out in a different world.
"Haaa… Thank god, it's over. I'm not doing this again. One of you guys has to do it this time." Candace said while having a sigh of relief.
"We'll mix it up after this, Candace. Promise." Blue said. "But that rain was extremely brutal. We almost lost our forms and could've possibly drowned."
"Tell me about it! We were all soaked! I was so out of it!"
"And that definitely was another… Bermuda Triangle." I said. "But then again, like Peach said, it's something that she's going to take note of and investigate the matter."
"Right. It's not like I can just watch the area become more destructive than it was when we first got here. I'll have to do something about it later." Peach said.
"Please and thank you! I find that area to be a total wasteland!" Mimi said in disgust.
"You don't need to be upset anymore." Peach whispered with a sweatdrop.
"Anyway, is this the only ruins that the purple toad mentioned?" Zack asked.
"If that's where he went to, then yes. It's a major opportunity for us." Blue said.
"Just like the other places we went to, we need to stay sharp. We don't know if this place holds any traps." Kinsley said.
"She's right. If anything comes up, we need to say something." I said.
"All right. Let's walk up these stairs." Peach said.
"Phew! Those are a lot of steps to climb." Gemma said.
"I hate it here. Really." Candace said with a sweatdrop.
"What's wrong with taking stairs? You can't handle it?" Darius asked.
"No way. You expect me to get through all these stairs to get to the main entrance? That's not for me as a fashionista. I don't want to be sweaty."
"We have to do it, Candace. It's not something we can control." Blue said.
"Or I can just lift you up and we can walk up the stairs together." Gemma said.
"No! *frustrated sigh* Very well then. I'll just walk up these stairs without any complaints." Candace said after getting frustrated with what she just heard.
"Yeah, it's clear Gemma's more willing to do things than Candace." Darius said.
"I'm getting that feeling too." Kinsley said with a sweatdrop.
Candace was about to turn red for some reason but then calmed down in the end. It looked like she was about to let them have it.
This is going to get worse than it is.
As we reached the end of the long stairs, we entered the ruins where it was just empty at the entrance, but there were drawings on the walls. Neither one of us knew what they represent or what they mean. Especially Peach or Daisy.
"Huh. There's nothing but… drawings here." Scarlett said while looking at the drawings.
"Do you think this area feels abandoned?" Gemma asked.
"Kinda. It's like we went back in time." Kris said.
"Peach, did you have something to do with these ruins being abandoned?" Mimi asked.
"N-No, Mimi. I told you, I've never been here before so I can't say that I have something to do with this." Peach said.
"Hmm… these drawings. I see a star and an arrow pointing to the right." I said while looking at the picture.
"Is it some type of… code or something?" Darius asked.
"I don't know. It's just… it's a drawing so… maybe it is."
"Or maybe it could be a secret of how toads were born." Daisy said.
"Huh. It could be that." Blue said.
"Do you think there's someone we should ask? There's no way we can figure this out on our own." Candace asked.
"Well… Yes and no." Peach said. "I can also discover some clues about this place after we find that stone. It would be a waste of time before Cackletta shows up. We can't let her know we are here."
"Yeah, this is your world after all, so we can do some research later." Kinsley said.
"Ok. This feels like we're in a different country." Scarlett said. "But instead, we don't know what this is all about."
"Again, I'll figure out this place, so there's no need to stress." Peach said. "Alright, we're this close, everyone, so let's hustle."
"Right." Everyone said.
As soon as Peach said that, we all proceeded forward in the ruins. We looked at every single picture that was on the wall. We all knew what one of them was, but we couldn't tell what it meant. In my mind, I'm just thinking that it's either art or code. But moving forward, we stopped at paths to go to. There were three of them.
"Wow. That's pretty neat. A maze." Kinsley said with an annoyed look on her face.
"That's going to be a waste of time finding it. Unless you're lucky and say go for the left one." Darius said.
"Ehh… we'll go for the left one." Scarlett said.
"Wait a minute, should we split up and find it?" Kris asked.
"No no. Let's stick together. We can't leave a single man or woman behind. So… we'll go with Darius's choice and say the left one." Gemma said.
"Ok. The left one it is." I said.
We all went to the left side of the three-pathway area to check to see if the stone is lying in that area. My heart was pumping a little because of the pressure we were facing. It could be a chance we can walk out of here with the stone.
"Ok. Nobody's here. But we don't know where the stone is." I said.
"We need to look around. It has to be here. Maybe it's hiding somewhere." Blue said.
"Alright. Let's get to searching." Darius said.
We all took a look around to see where the stone was hiding. I checked the tables and the drawers to see if the stone was hiding there. Blue did the same thing and there was no stone in there. I checked under the tables to see if it was there, but to no avail.
"It's not on or under the tables." I said after searching.
"Nor in my area." Blue said.
"Nor on top of this tall shelf." Daisy said.
"Are we sure we're looking hard enough? It's not in this area." Scarlett said.
"It's not in here either. I checked this one." Darius said.
"Unbelievable." Kinsley said while facepalming.
"Looks like we gotta try the other pathways. Great." Alexis said with a sweatdrop.
"I told you we should split up." Kris said.
"Well, let's keep trying. We don't want either one left behind." I said.
"*sigh* This is getting ridiculous." Kinsley whispered.
"Well if it's not the left one, we could try the middle one." Daisy said.
"Yeah, the middle pathways might be the better ones. Since it has all the good stuff in there." Gemma said.
"It occasionally doesn't." Blue said with a sweatdrop.
"Well, when it comes to video games and movies, it does. I've experienced it before." Kris said.
"Are you sure it's the middle?" Alexis asked.
"We all haven't been here before. We have to at least use our best judgment and go for the middle."
"Ok. Looks like we got to go back and head for the middle one." I said.
We all headed out of the left side of the pathway and back to the previous position of where we were. We then proceeded to enter the middle position of the three-pathway area. Some of us were a little doubtful that the stone was there. But I was trying my best not to think that because this was our only lead and we don't have anywhere else to go. So I was attempting to feel confident.
"Ok. No one else is in this area, but it's much bigger here in this area. We have a better chance of getting the stone here." I said.
"We might. Let's look harder this time. This place is big. We can't skip most things." Scarlett said.
"I'll make sure I find the best spot this time. If I don't find it, then I'm just gonna assume that the purple toad was lying and walk out." Kinsley said.
"Kinsley, come on." Blue said. "We've never been here before. We came this far. You can't quit on us."
…
"Ok, fine. I'm just… I'm just frustrated that I'm letting my impatience get to me." Kinsley said after trying to calm down.
"Well, just try your best to find it. We'll look for it together." I said.
"Hopefully we hit the jackpot, y'all!" Darius casually said.
"Yup! Hopefully we do!" Gemma said.
We all checked the area to see if the stone was here. It was all of us this time that searched the area. I checked the shelves this time. Gemma was next to me checking the other shelf and was making sure the stone was in there.
"Is it in there?" I asked Gemma.
"No stone. At the top, middle, and the bottom." Gemma said after checking.
"Ok. It's not in here either."
"Oh no. Now it's getting more doubtful that the stone isn't here. Lemme check the floor. We must have missed that." Gemma then went under the shelf to find the stone.
"Is it there?" I asked.
"No. It's not under there." Gemma said.
"Crud." I whispered to myself.
What the hell? This is a really big area and it's not here? Are we sure that purple toad was telling the truth?
"That's crazy. It's not over here." Darius said.
"I checked under this sandy area. No dice." Zack said.
"I got nothing here." Alexis said.
"What about you, Blue?" I asked.
"No. Nothing over here." Blue said.
"I found this lime green crystal thing. I thought it was the stone at first." Alexis said.
"Wait! Oh no… that's not it, Alexis." Scarlett said after she nearly knew what it was.
"*sigh* This is a big area. There has to be something here." Kris said.
"Yeah, this is lame. A big area where that was our chance but it's filled with nothing but that green crystal." Mimi said while pouting.
"Well, this is our last chance." Candace said. "If this doesn't work… I guess this was all for nothing."
"We have other options we could try if this all fails. I want to find that stone quickly so that Cackletta doesn't beat us." Peach said.
"I guess we can. We search ⅔ of this maze. So the right pathway has to be the only choice." I said.
"It has to be!" Daisy said with determination on her face. "We can't give up now! The purple toad gave us our only hint so we need to hold our breaths and hope for the best that it's in there!"
"Ok, I agree!" Alexis said. "I'm not about to give up so easily. We have other places we can try so there's no point in having to go back to square one."
"Alright. If Alexis and Daisy say so, then let's do it." I said.
"Right." Everyone else said.
We all went out of the middle area and went back to the previous position. We then went to the right pathway of this three-pathway area. This was our only hope since two pathways we went to had no yellow stone. I wish I had my fingers crossed for this one, but we were moving so I couldn't get a chance to do so. I just wanted to be hopeful.
But my hopes were immediately gone when we entered through the next pathway. In fact, most of us were in shock.
"Rrgh! Y-You think you can easily become the victor because of a simple hit?!"
We saw Infinite on the ground as he might've been injured by some attack. It was clear that Cackletta and Fawful were behind the attack as we literally saw them with Infinite. We also are seeing Fawful with the stone in his hands.
What the?! How did those three get here?! What's going on!
"You're the weak one! You lack the strength that I have! So of course, one simple attack will do you just good enough!" Cackletta said.
"D-Don't be so sure! You can label me as weak, but I'm more than just weak for you!"
"Pah! And what are you gonna do about it? There's two of us. You already lost the battle." Cackletta asked.
"Hey! Cackletta!" Peach yelled, alerting her and Fawful. They both looked stunned.
"What the?! Where?! When?! Why?! And "how" did you fools get here?! You weren't supposed to find this place! Yet you still appeared here!" Cackletta yelled.
"You can blame one of the toads for leaving information about this place." Scarlett said.
"We got you cornered, Cackletta! Release the stone!" Peach shouted.
"I have uneasiness. We've come up all the way over here just to get the stone just to get caught by stinky insects!" Fawful said, looking uneasy.
"Hmph. L-Looks like you are the ones that will be… *grunt* losing the battle before it even starts." Infinite said.
"Infinite, are you ok?" I asked as some of us rushed to Infinite.
"Cackletta did a number on me. She's too powerful for you. It's best that you let me handle it."
"But you need help. We can help you."
"It's not for you to risk your life on. You're human. You don't have anything useful to take on this abomination."
"You should listen to him, weaklings!" Cackletta said. "No matter how many of you there are, we'll be able to take over in no more than a second with this beauty in our hands."
"So you choose to disobey me?! Then we'll make you take it out of your hands!" Peach shouted with an angry look on her face.
"Oh, Princess! Make this easier for yourself! I've already won! So if you want to perhaps "join" me and take over the Mushroom Kingdom together, that'll do us just fine."
"That's not gonna work! You've nearly put my life in great danger with your villainy and you're gonna expect me to join you?! That's going out of the window!"
"Fawful doesn't believe she's not gonna give up the ghost. What do you think our next move is, Cackletta?" Fawful asked.
"Oh, I'll answer that for you! It's THIS!"
*POW*
This was said by Mimi as threw one of her rubees at Fawful with much of her strength. Suddenly, it hit him in the process, making him drop the yellow stone.
"Hey, you!" Cackletta yelled.
*ZAP*
"Ouchie!"
"Mimi!" Me, Blue, Peach, Alexis, and Daisy yelled as we saw her get electrocuted and launched to the wall by Cackletta, making her get injured.
"Little girls like you should know your place!" Cackletta shouted, with an angry look.
"Kaze! Everyone! Take care of Cackletta! I'll take care of the rest!" Peach shouted.
"This will be the end for you, Cackletta! If you wish to fight, we will not show any mercy!" I shouted.
"You want your little fight?! My partner may be down, but I don't need him! I have no problem ending all of you!"
"Then bring it! This will be simple work! Just a simple headshot to your face and a… Wait a minute…" Darius stopped himself for what he just said. I think it was because he's thinking it's cruel to fight a lady.
"Ha! What's wrong?! You're scared to fight a lady? And you were so confident! Here, let me help you with that."
"NO!"
*ZAP*
*BOOM*
As soon as Cackletta was getting ready to fire another of her bolts, Gemma had to fend Darius off using her own bolt to make contact with it. It then caused an explosion, which resulted in all of us to step back from it.
"Not bad. That little girl couldn't dodge my surprise attack, but you did. But, I'll be sure to wrap up all of you quickly."
*POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF*
Cackletta then spawned a boatload of clones of herself to even the odds of winning this battle. It was much to the surprise of all of us. Except for me.
Yeah, I'm not fooled by this. I watched movies where there are clones. I'm an expert at this too.
"EEEYAH HA HA HA HA! Surprised aren't you?! I bet you are! Now…"
"I'm not."
"Huh?!" Cackletta was confused after hearing what I just said.
"It's cliche. I know it. I've seen this clone stuff before several times. You can just give it up already."
Ok, I know a move that will definitely work. If it works.
I then raised my hand to create some magic.
"K-Kaze, what are you… doing?" Candace asked.
For a couple more seconds, I was feeling magic coming out of my hand. It was starting to form into swords.
Target all the clones.
As soon as I said that, the swords, up in the air, were all moving directly above the clones' heads.
"EEYARGH! TAKE COVER!"
I then brought my hand down to my current position to lower the swords and then…
*SLICE SOUND 10X*
*POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF* *POOF*
They all sliced all of the clones, making them disappear, leaving Cackletta all by herself. It left her shocked and infuriated.
"All done. Now you're all alone." I said.
Well… I guess this is what happens when I play too much Random Dice. Especially when using the Holy Sword dice.
"Y-You destroyed all my clones with ease! Who do you think you are, you violent little ditz?!" Cackletta yelled.
"My name is Kaze Matsuzaki." I said. "I already know you're working for this mastermind. Already helping him or her collecting stones to put an end to everything. I won't let you. You're outnumbered. Like Peach said."
"Hah! So you've already known our true intentions! That's great! Let's see if you still want to play the heroine role now with THIS!"
*ZAP*
As soon as I was able to dodge Cackletta's electrocution yet again, I was able to create a magic of my own. I formed a lunar ball this time…
"Grrr!"
*ZAP* *ZAP*
All while dodging every bit of Cackletta's lightning bolts. And suddenly…
"Fawful! Assist me!"
She was looking directly at Fawful, who was still on the ground, leaving me with a chance to attack him.
An opening! I gotta take it.
"HAH!"
I then hurled the lunar ball at Cackletta…
*BOOM*
"GYAAAAHHH!" And then it made direct contact with her, sending her back from a far distance and leaving her injured.
"Detain them both!" Scarlett shouted.
"Alright, Cackletta! Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time!" Kris shouted as he and Daisy were grabbing Cackletta.
"Grrr! Y-You… Pests! You think I'll go down this easy?!" Cackletta yelled.
*BONK*
"Shut up! You don't get a say in this!" Daisy shouted at Cackletta while clobbering her in the head.
"Now then, Fawful! You will stay there like a good little peasant, until we're done here! Understood?!" Candace asked as she planted her foot on Fawful's chest.
"H-Hey! I have a small chest! That's abuse!" Fawful said.
"What was that? I didn't hear you correctly!" Candace asked as we saw her press his body even harder.
"ACK! I say to you yes! Just… don't!"
"Hmph!"
"Alright. We got the stone. This felt like a breeze." I said as I was able to pick up the yellow stone.
"This must be the Stone of Healing. It looks gold though." Blue said.
"Do you think I should test it out? To see if it works?"
"N-No. I would like to test it out. Because I'm still injured." Infinite said.
"O-Oh? You want to test it out for us, Infinite?" I asked.
"I was trying to hold off Cackletta and Fawful until you showed up. Someone like me should at least earn compensation."
"Well… that's true. You were at least trying to help us in the long run, so… I'll let you test it one time." I asked.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok, Mr. Infinite?" Gemma asked.
"I'll be fine. If it doesn't work… then, it's on me. I'll say that."
"Ok, then. Here you go." I said as I then passed the stone to Infinite.
He then was starting to squeeze it with all of his might, which was then starting to concern me.
"W-Wait! Infinite! Don't squeeze it too hard!" I said.
*GLOW*
The stone was then starting to glow after a few seconds.
"Oh! It's starting to glow! Wait… that's what happens?" Gemma asked.
"Yeah. That's the only way to activate it." I said.
Soon after that, there was yellow energy coming out of the stone and it was sparkling too. It was then heading towards the stomach of Infinite, which then gave him a sparkling aura for 3 seconds before the stone deactivated.
"Hmph. I feel normal now. This stone doesn't seem too bad."
"Do you feel better?" Blue asked.
"Yes. I thank you for giving me the chance to heal myself."
"Is Infinite better?" Peach asked.
"Yes, he's better now Peach." I answered.
"Ok. We need to get out of here. That stone needs to be protected." Scarlett said.
"Right. There's one more thing, though. I need to do this so that this won't happen again." Infinite said.
"Oh?"
Then the next moment was something that I thought would never happen.
Infinite already spawned red energy spheres and then…
*PEW* *PEW *PEW*
"GAH!" He directly hit both Kris, Daisy and Candace in the chest, sending them back tumbling to the ground.
"What the…" I was shocked at what Infinite did.
"Infinite! What are you doing?!" Blue shouted.
He then started to grab Fawful's hand…
*GLOW*
And the stone was glowing as the energy was coming out of the stone towards Fawful's body.
Infinite then started to grab Cackletta's hand…
"Wait… What are you…"
"I'm healing you. Stay still."
*GLOW*
And the stone was still glowing as there was more energy coming from the stone. It was now coming towards Cackletta's body.
"I HAVE EXCITEMENT! Fawful's been revived from finky rats!" Fawful said with glee.
As soon as he was done with Cackletta's body.
"H-Huh? I feel much better? That's not supposed to happen." Cackletta asked, looking shocked.
"Well… it's the Stone of Healing. I was supposed to help you get back on your feet."
"Huh. Well, I guess you were serious about this plan of yours." Cackletta said.
"Plan?!" Alexis asked.
"Yes!~ Cackletta said "plan"!~" Fawful said.
"I-Infinite! Are you insane?! You literally freed Cackletta and Fawful!" I asked, looking shocked and upset.
"I did. They are villains… working for me now." Infinite said.
"W-What?!"
"You stupid chumps fell right into our trap, so that was your punishment!" Cackletta said. "You thought Infinite was there to be your savior? Think again!"
"Instead, he was just using you to gather information on where the stone was so we can take it back to this mysterious mastermind." Fawful said.
"I knew it. I knew it. I knew it! I f… *sigh*" Kinsley was about to explode in rage after hearing what Cackletta and Fawful said, but then was calming down. "This traitor, Infinite. You set us up all along. Had us go to Gloomy Woods. Had us go to Doop Doop Dunes. Had us go to Twinsy Tropics. And now…we helped you… all for you to betray us like we're worthless now. You're a snake!"
"I know I am." Infinite said. "Which is why I wanted to thank you for being helpful servants. Each and every one of you was finding information for me that helped make my objective a lot easier. Especially you, Kaze Matsuzaki."
"I can't believe you." I said, looking mad, clenching my fists. "From the start, you were helping us… then you turned on us. Just know that I already eliminated of some of your teammates that your mastermind is keeping."
"Oh? So you know some of our teammates? Then that means they must've told you what our goal is. You'll be bowing down to us before you know it after we collect all these stones."
"Not a chance in hell we will do that!" I shouted. "We'll make you surrender quietly AND before you know it!"
"So you wish to defy us by taking action? Very well. Since you helped me get this stone back, I'll let you fight for it back. Meet me at the first location that you went to in an hour, and I'll consider giving it back. If I don't see you in over an hour… well, it was very fun meeting you all. Good luck becoming the sore losers that you are. Let's go, you two."
Infinite then disappeared along with the stone, Cackletta and Fawful. Leaving us in distraught, guilt, and anger after we let Infinite get away with the yellow stone.
"GAH! The nerve of that psycho! He just using us as resources! When I get my hands on him, I'm breaking his head into pieces!" Alexis shouted with fury.
"Now do you believe me?" Kinsley asked all of us. "Infinite was setting you up for failure. That's why I labeled him as a threat in the first place. That's also why you can't trust anyone."
"Yes. I didn't listen to you, Kinsley." I said in guilt. "I was starting to trust in Infinite and I let it lead to a disaster. That was a cardinal sin I committed."
"Agreed. We were too nice helping Infinite." Scarlett said in disappointment. "We were wrong to not stick with your plan, Kinsley. Infinite was winning our respect, but his true intentions were the reasons why you didn't want to trust in him."
"Yeah. So… I'm sorry." Gemma said in humiliation.
"*sigh* Look, Infinite's already gone with the stone, so if we don't do something about it now, Peach's world is in jeopardy. We only got an hour, so we have to act fast."
"But he mentioned something about the first location. I don't know where we first went to." Zack said.
"Hey, everyone. I have Mimi recovered." Peach said as she was with Mimi.
"Cackletta really has no remorse, hitting cute girls like me. I'm super happy you guys took care of her." Mimi said.
"Well… we didn't take care of her, Mimi." I said. "She got away with the stone, along with Infinite."
"Wait, that Infinite guy?! So it was him that let Cackletta attacked me in the woods, steal my rubee and then attack me again here?!"
"That's right. Now it's time we get redemption. We only have an hour."
"An hour?! Now someone's going to get spanked! I can just find a fast object and then I'm finding him on the dot!" Mimi yelled.
"I wish we could Mimi, but let's rely on our new friends to find him ASAP." Peach said.
"Ok. Like Kinsley said, time is running out. We have to find Infinite so that we can retrieve the stone and get out of here." I said.
"H-Hello! Y-You're not gonna help us out?!"
As soon as we were about to leave the ruins, Candace yelled that as her, Kris and Daisy were still on the ground wounded.
"Oogh… That Infinite guy was brutal there." Daisy said, while wincing in pain.
"Tell me about it." Kris said.
"Oh yeah. I forgot to take care of those three." Scarlett said with a sweatdrop.
I forgot those three were still on the ground. We much needed that stone back that they were hurt from Infinite's surprise attack. We were caught off-guard, but I'm not sure if anyone in our group has any type of… health resources. Maybe that's something we need to take note of.
Author's Note: Well that was a bust! The yellow stone got taken by the hands of Infinite and now Kaze and her team must find a way to retrieve it back in 1 hour. If they don't, Thanos and Infinite will have two stones captured.
I know you guys might be thinking this Mushroom Kingdom arc just feels short, boring and simple. This is the first ever fanfiction I'm writing. So if you want me to add more context and flavor in this story, let me know. I'm always down for some tips.
Especially when we are in the Hyrule arc. Because I've not played a single Legend of Zelda game. Ever. So don't be afraid to leave a comment if you know.
That's all I got for now, so if you are enjoying this story so far, make sure to follow/favorite/review this story, and I'll see you in the next chapter.