P - H - A - S - E -- D - I - S - T - O - R - T - E - D
By SaturnStorm
Authors Notes: No, this isn't a re-submit. For those who've read up to now, all you need to know is that the chapters have been condensed a bit. That's all that's changed, really. Saying that, this whole chapter's new. ;) The story's slowly moving! Honest!! Hey, eventually it might reach an END!! That'll be a change from my normal routine! Heck, it might not even get re-written (again)!
That said, one thing bugs me about this story, now. It doesn't work. To the theories before, when Mother 3 first came out, to the recent revision of those (all in my head :p), where I took it, and what actually happens, even to how I planned to get round a certain issue, none of it works. Of course, all the more reason not to care if its canon or not. XD After all, there's no point worrying about mistakes if I've come this far and its that far deviated already! Tell you what, I'll finish writing the story, and THEN I'll revise it! If I'm bothered. Y'know what I'm like.
On to the storyyy!
It was later in the night, and the many creatures of the swamp were awake and alert, looking for their next meals, whether it be each other, or foolish trespassers. However some were learning that the trespassers may have been foolish for waltzing into their territory, but they were smart, too. Those creatures who bumped into the ones still wading around in the marsh discovered that their technology was more than enough to keep them at bay. Those who saw the smaller ones found they couldn't actually reach them, high in the trees as they were. Since the trespassers weren't an edible option, the creatures mostly settled on attacking each other, such as their way.
In the trees, the two boys watched as a crocodile and one of the fish men (who was now visible) ripped into one another, mercilessly forcing one or the other to become lunch. Both young teens cringed, and then forced themselves to move on, using the branches and vines as platforms to keep them above the wild land below.
"You sure it was this way?" Aaron asked, trying to stick more to the branches than the vines. He was heavier than Elliot, so he had to be much more careful.
The smaller boy was easily navigating the treetops, practically gliding across vine swings and bending branches alike. "Should be." he responded, stopping on a vine to look back at the muddied up blonde. "We're definitely heading away from the entrance, and the navigator's telling me this is the way to go."
Scowling, Aaron mumbled "It better be right." Then pushed off the branch he'd been perched on and continued on his way.
Elliot -- Ao -- however, paused as something seemed to be tugging at his leg. He took a hold of a branch and looked down at what he'd snagged on. He was confused to find one of the vines was wrapped around his leg.
Noticing the other boy wasn't behind him, Aaron turned to see what had held him up. However when he looked he choked on his next breath, and began moving back toward the boy, "Where the hell did that weed come from??"
Weed? Ao wondered, before looking beyond the vines, to the brightly coloured flower below. More than that, it was a brightly coloured flower with an array of vines protruding from beneath the petals, one of which was what was wrapped around his leg. He gave a small shriek, seeing a pair of eyes open from within the bulb, staring at him intently. "Get it off!" He wailed, taking a hold of a much sturdier looking branch.
Aaron wasted no time thwacking at the vine the moment he got close. The thing twitched and writhed before letting go. "This next step'll be fun." he grumbled, bat at the ready, but out of range to hit it. He didn't really want to jump down into the waters, since they ran deep, and he already knew they'd submerge him entirely, which was almost painful.
Apparently Ao already had a plan, though, whipping out the small invention he'd made earlier, and pressing one of the buttons. The gadget began whirring, a high-pitched whine filling the air, already annoying the creature. But the moment it recovered and started for them again, Ao pressed another button.
Aaron had to jump away as a wild flurry of static bolts shot from the small device. The whole area lit up with blue light, as the bolts found homes in whatever they could find. The boys both found themselves feeling lucky the demonic weed had decided to try going at them from every direction, because the static bolts apparently found the vines were a good home. The electricity travelled down the numerous vines, shocking the creature.
"Let's go!" Ao yelled above the flower's screech of pain, and the two teens clambered across the treetops as fast as they could without risking falling to the swamp below. They could still hear the creature behind them, flailing and thrashing, trying to find the offenders, but soon they were well out of range and back on their way.
The elder boy watched as Elliot tucked the device back into his front pocket, looking a little uneasy about keeping it close anymore. "Was that what you made earlier?" Aaron asked.
Ao nodded, "yeah, I wasn't expecting it to do that, though." he admitted. "I need to work on making it more focused, so it doesn't risk catching everyone."
"You need to not work on a log being dragged through a swamp." Aaron added, smiling a little. "For making something in such circumstances, it's a pretty neat little weapon. Just don't use it too often."
The smaller boy could only agree with this.
The two travelled in silence for a short while, being a bit more wary of where they tread, in case of more demonic weeds, or other plant-like creatures trying to trick them. But soon they were finding vines were thinning out, and the tree-branches were less entangled. They were reaching the edge of the swamp. Aaron found himself struggling to keep within the branches, several times nearly falling to the swamp below because of miscalculations between his trajectory, and the branches he was landing on. Ao on the other hand was using whatever vines he could find to swing to whatever trees he next needed to get to, light-footing his way around each branch.
Aaron gripped the base of a tree as he checked his next step. "Shouldn't be too much further now." he said, looking out as shallow waters came to view.
Nodding, Elliot checked his device, "From here we should be able to get into the water again, providing there are no monsters about." That said, he clambered to one of the last trees and peered at the water below. "I can't see anything here. We should be able to climb down now."
Under his breath Aaron mumbled "Finally," and allowed himself to slide down the tree, landing in the marsh, before turning and helping Ao down as well. "Looks like the land dries out again from here. Should be plain sailing now."
The two boys looked back into the darkness, toward the monsters they left behind, and then looked forward, to the end of the darkness. There was a strong chance the worst was waiting for them, yet...
Lloyd looked up into the trees, feeling slightly irate. He could not believe his son had run off while he was saving the boy's life. It was such an ungrateful move! Surely the boy had been taught better than that? Aaron... he had no idea about how he was taught, but after this he was going to have a stern talk with his mother.
Turning back to the marsh trail, he noticed Jack looking rather irritated himself. Not that he was much surprised; Elliot had a habit of annoying Jack and running off on him if ever a chance was available. Not only that, but since the young man had devoted himself to keeping the boys safe, and then them just running off on him like that, it hardly seemed fair.
Seeing fins in the water, making a bee-line in their direction, Lloyd just pulled out his plasma gun and sent it back on its way with a well-placed shot. He wasn't even paying much attention anymore, keeping creatures at bay detachedly, as he navigated the possible direction his offspring and the other boy could have taken. After all, their goal had been the other side of Deep Darkness, so, logically, that would be where they were heading now.
"Any idea how long it'll take before we reach the other side of this place?" Jack asked curtly, gripping his makeshift weapons, swinging at anything that looked vaguely threatening. He barely cast a glance at the man.
Lloyd just shrugged, firing at a petunia that shifted twitchily through the marsh. It shrivelled up right there, no longer moving. "Probably a couple hours, give or take. Depends if things keep getting in our path or not. Or wrong turns." he added under his breath.
The black-haired male turned, frowning through his shades, "Elliot programmed his faux Hawk-eye to see the most direct path through this place. Can't your Hawk-eye do that?"
Stopping to look at his gadget, Lloyd responded "No, I didn't have navigation in mind when I decided to slap this thing together." He began playing with the device, using a screwdriver that had been concealed in his pocket. "Shouldn't be hard to work that out though. I won't be happy if it is."
Grinning, Jack asked "Is that because we'll be wandering blind, or because your own kid one-upped you?"
Lloyd didn't see a reason to dignify that with a response.
Four dreamers wandered their World, from bustling cities, to the most desolate of landscapes, to try and answer the dreams that plagued them, as each night they shared a terrifying dream, filled with darkness and dread, and the horrible feeling of being so terribly alone. Their World was filled with peace, now the one thing threatening it had left, but they were still having such dreams. Their journey at present had no answers, searching the continents upon which they lived.
Again they stood at the edge of the sandy expanse, looking in sadly. But this time a small fear welled in them as well. Had something gone awry? Was there something still in the World, in the darkest of locations that bubbled and waited? Or worse, was there something deep within the recesses of the Earth they weren't meant to see? In spite of the fear, they ventured forward, to find out...
Fears of danger, thoughts of dark and desolate caves, concerns of having come back out at the entrance, everything was driven from Aaron and Elliot's minds as they stood in a warm, well-lit cave, filled with little green creatures that had kindly offered them a place to stay. It had been Elliot who said (albeit uncertainly) that these creatures were no danger to them. These were tender creatures. These were Tendas.
"I think I remember mother talking about them once." Aaron agreed, awkwardly trying not to step on any as he moved, "She did say they were peace-loving creatures. She also mentioned they were shy, once."
One of the green critters shuffled up to them, "Many a year ago, we were indeed very shy," it explained, "but a kind-hearted soul gave us the tome of overcoming shyness! We have since been able to re-establish connections with our lost brethren of the Under-World! Such a strong boy he was..."
Elliot knelt down and petted the Tenda. It didn't seem to mind, reaching forward and petting Elliot's knee. "This boy, was he one of the last people who came through this way?"
"Oh certainly!" the Tenda replied, "In fact, he and his friends were the second group of his species – your species – to visit us. You two are the third."
Nodding, Aaron said "I'd expect group number four along in the next few hours." When Elliot looked at him Aaron added "no doubt your father and Jack will make their way over to us the moment they can. And I wouldn't expect them to not make it through, that weapon of his was strong. Of course, I'd love to see him try and pull out of this, now. We're on the other side; it's too late to turn back."
Smirking, Ao agreed "That's very true."
The Tenda smiled, "We're always glad to have guests around here! You humans are always so fascinating! Your ways of showing affection can be very pleasant, if sometimes a little strange." At this, Ao stopped petting the creature, looking sheepish. "When your friends arrive, you will all be welcome to stay as long as you like."
"Thank you." Aaron said, "I must ask, though, is there much beyond this settling? You mentioned an Under-World."
Beaming, the Tenda responded "Yes! The Lost Under-World! Land of beasts! It's dangerous in the cages, but it's such a beautiful place. Some of our brethren commute down there still, and we've set up some safe travel, so we can reach the other settling. I'm sure we can help you down there as well.
This made Aaron smile, "That's good news." He stated.
Elliot looked over to him pleadingly, "We're not leaving already, are we?"
Checking the time, Aaron decided it would be wise to at least get some sleep before they set off again. "I suppose we can wait around a few hours. Hey, do you guys have coffee?" he directed the last comment to the Tenda.
The critter's eyes lit up, "We haven't got coffee, but we do have tea."
"That'll do." Aaron decided. "Hey, Ao, you might want to rest for now, conserve your strength."
The moment Aaron was out of earshot, walking along with the Tenda toward his next caffeinated beverage, Ao turned to another Tenda, "hey, by any chance do you guys have a place I can fix some machinery?"
Nodding, the Tenda responded "Why yes, we do! This way!"
A disgusting bubble in the bog rose from the depths, settling on the surface, a gruesome ooze pouring over it. A few more joined it, before a small rise of slime pulled itself up, over the rest of the otherwise flat marsh waters. Two disgusting eyes opened within the slimy pile, scouring the landscape, looking for its newest meal.
A powerful shot of plasma quickly dispersed it again, and it sunk once more beneath the depths.
Lloyd completely ignored his latest enemy, still pushing through the murky water, wondering how much longer this journey would take.
He'd already reprogrammed his makeshift Hawk-Eye to map out the paths, which hadn't taken that long. Using this was making the journey shorter than it otherwise would have been, what with all the different pathways through. This wasn't making it any less disgusting, though, nor was it stopping the monsters that were now eager to catch food before the sun rose. At least they weren't stopping at every dead end.
None of this stopped him from worrying, though. It was really getting late, now, and so far he and Jack had seen no sign of Aaron or Elliot. This either meant they'd reached the other side, or that they had met a horrible fate. Unconsciously he scraped his feet along the ground, both hoping he'd find the kids, but also hoping he didn't.
Unbeknownst to Lloyd, Jack was doing similar, dragging his blades along the ground to see if they would run into anything solid. Feeling the muddy, rocky ground as his blades ran along it, made him shudder. It was a horrible feeling.
It didn't take long before the silent adults reached an opening in the trees. Even the enemies were thinning out around here, and the marsh was getting shallower again. They both felt relief flood through them, realising they had reached the other side, and that from the looks of things so far, so had the other two. In the back of their minds fear still played that they'd simply been eaten by something, but they wanted to keep their hopes relatively high at least.
Rubbing the top of his arm on his forehead, Jack stated "Well, at least we made it. Lost kids or not, we've done something not a lot of people have."
Lloyd smirked. "Just a group of kids and some guy in a helicopter." He quipped. "But you're right. At least we're at the other side now. A wonderful scientific development and a step toward my father's last wishes." He scowled, "Now let's go show the kids not to run off like that."
"Right behind you!" Jack agreed whole-heartedly. Oh how he wanted to show the little brat Elliot a thing or two...
The boy who started this whole affair smiled down at friends he hadn't seen in a long time. Behind him the friends be brought with him were all chatting, discussing more theories and concerns that came with them as to why they were dreaming in such horrible ways. Soon the boy turned their discussions to whether or not they should bathe before they left for the further depths of this cave. This idea was well-received, the four of them relaxing in the warm waters.
The girl didn't speak about this, but she was having a very strange feeling as she lay in the waters, like there were more people there than there really were. Whether this meant there were people hiding in the darkness or not, she couldn't decide, but she determined not to tell her friends until she could figure it out. All she could really hope for was that whoever was lurking in the back of her mind was friendly.
"Welcome!"
Lloyd and Jack stood in the mouth of a cave, looking down at creatures that barely reached up to their shins, pleasantly greeting them and peacefully going back on their way. The two adults lowered the weapons they'd gotten out, seeing things that weren't human, but didn't lower their guard. There was always a chance the things were trying to lull them into a false sense of security, making them easier to take down.
Rubbing the back of his neck Lloyd asked "Um, by any chance did two kids come by this way?" he proceeded to describe their height and vaguely what they looked like.
One of the creatures nodded, "Yes, they're currently relaxing somewhere about the village. I'm sure you'll bump into them in no time."
"Right." Lloyd mumbled, and began making his way through, looking around, keeping his eyes open for anything familiar.
He didn't get far before a static 'Z-Zap!' made him jump somewhere to his left. Recovering fast he headed down the tunnel toward what looked like a scrap-yard. He knew exactly who he'd find down this way, and was more than ready to give him an earful.
Elliot was only a little difficult to spot, leaning up against a trash-can lazily, tinkering with a device in his hands. Across from him was the lid of the trash can, tied to a bird's perch, which looked like it had been long vacated. He didn't even look shocked when his father came into view. If anything, he looked far too tired to care.
"Elliot," Lloyd boomed, "So you have any idea what trouble you are in right now??"
The boy looked up. "Its 'Ao', dad. You know that." He turned back to his work, setting down his tools and firing the weapon, which hit the trash can with another loud 'Zap!' noise. At the very least, he'd managed to focus the static discharge, but it was nowhere near as powerful as it had been.
For a few moments Lloyd's scientific curiosity took over his fatherly instincts, as he watched his son tinker with the device he'd created. But it didn't last. "Elliot, you should not have run off like that! That was incredibly dangerous! You and Aaron could have been killed, and we wouldn't have been able to find you! You could have drowned! Been eaten!" he stopped as his son fired at the lid again, then continued, "You have no idea how worried Jack and I were about you! We feared the worst! What would I have told your mother? What would I have done if you'd died?"
Finally Elliot looked up at him again, still looking really tired, "Dad, in a place like that, anything could have happened to any of us. It could happen to anyone—"
"You put yourself in that position!" Lloyd reminded him sternly, "You decided to go off on your own, more than once! Even after I told you to come back, even after I told you to stay put, you disobeyed me and did it anyway!! I wasn't telling you that for nothing! I wanted to keep you safe! I was trying to stop you getting killed!!"
"I'm not dead though, am I?" Elliot pointed out. "In fact, if I hadn't gone off you'd never have opened up Deep Darkness. You'd never be here. You wouldn't have done what grandpa wanted, and you wouldn't have done what you wanted. At least you're not stuck in that same stalemate anymore."
Eyes narrowed, Lloyd stated "You still could have died. Any one of those creatures could have--" He stopped as Elliot once again fired his weapon.
Elliot looked up again, "I made this in the swamp. To protect myself from any of the monsters that would have wanted to eat me. And it worked. Just like the Hawk-eye worked. And if I was in trouble, Aaron could protect me, too. The same way he protected Jack and me from the eel that wanted to kill us before you showed up."
Even though he wanted to keep yelling, Lloyd was speechless.
"Perhaps it's time you stop underestimating me. I can't grow up and become strong if you keep treating me like a baby. No, that's not accurate," Elliot mused, "I can't grow up and become strong if I give in and let myself be a baby." He stood up, looking woozy on his feet. "I think someone mentioned a hot-spring earlier. Maybe we should go use it."
Deflating, letting all his previous anger dissipate, Lloyd nodded, helping lead his son away from the scrap-yard. "All right." He murmured. "Then you go to sleep."
Jack, on the other hand, had headed off down one of the other pathways, finding himself in what appeared to be the main room. Aaron wasn't hard to spot, either, sitting at a low table, a hot beverage in front of him. Jack immediately stormed over, and noticed that the blonde's eyes were closed. "Hey, wake up Goldilocks!" he shouted, smacking him over the back of the head.
This didn't seem to have much effect physically, although Aaron did open his eyes. "Are you always so noisy in the morning?"
"Oh, is it morning?" Jack questioned mockingly, "I didn't notice, because I was up all night searching for you! You ungrateful little brat!" he sat down heavily on one of the stools and stared at Aaron through his muddy glasses.
This didn't faze the boy, "What a shame. There was probably a wonderful sunrise on the other side of the darkness. Probably looked spectacular." He lifted his cup before Jack's hand slammed against the table.
"Do you think this is funny?" he demanded. "The doc and I nearly freaked, thinking you might have died or something! What if we weren't there when something attacked?"
Deep eyes staring at the tall young man, Aaron said simply "You weren't there. And we took care of ourselves just fine. Besides that, who took care of the swamp eel, I wonder?" he returned the mocking look.
Part of Jack wanted to complain about being picky about who defeated what before, while another wanted to freak out at the realisation he hadn't been needed to stop another enemy.
Aaron sipped his tea, "I think it'll be best to drop this big-brother attitude of yours for now. Please be aware that all of us are, at the very least, able to hold our ground against the unknown, and since we're far from human civilisation, and beyond human contact, we should at least consider that we can't shirk any strength any one of us has. This is not the time to be protective."
"I hate to say it but I think he has a point." Lloyd said, walking up to the table, Elliot walking tiredly beside him.
Aaron looked round, and gave Elliot a firm look, "I told you to rest."
Elliot shrugged, "I had to fix my weapon."
All four males sat down at the table, and more tea was served. The older males had decided to hold off on punishments until they had come back out the other side, while the younger ones were willing to compromise, now that there was less talk about heading back through the swamp.
"Besides the possibility the enemies won't all be asleep yet, there's also no guarantee we'll be as lucky passing through again, saying nothing about heading through with the expedition." Lloyd had pointed out.
Aaron nodded, "I had hoped we could set out once you two got here," he motioned to the adults, "because a group of four is better than a group of two. However, since Ao decided not to sleep, we'll have to put it off till we've gotten some rest."
"What was that about not being protective?" Elliot yawned.
Shooting him a sharp look Aaron stated "There's a difference between babying you, and making sure you don't collapse from exhaustion."
The muscle-bound one rubbed his chin, "I think we could all do with a little rest. It's not like that swamp's a walk in the park. We should all get our strength up before we even think of going anywhere else." He paused, "Where else is there anyway?"
"The Tendas said something about a Lost Under-World, which is full of beasts." Aaron explained, "Apparently it'll be fine if we stay out of the cages. They also said something about a safe-route through, which we should probably follow. The less danger we expose ourselves to, the better."
The other three nodded.
As another Tenda passed by, Elliot tapped its shoulder, "Hey, is there anything beyond the Lost Under-World?" he resisted the urge to add 'which is full of beasts'.
The creature looked awkward for a moment, and then sat himself with the humans. "There is," he agreed, choosing his words carefully, "but we Tenda don't go there very much. The caves of fire are too hot for our delicate skin, and..." he looked around, as though someone was spying on them, "The lost caves are sacred to our World. We don't dare go near it."
All four humans leaned in, "What makes it so sacred?" Lloyd asked. Was this what his father had sent him for?..."
"I..." the Tenda paused, and then finished "I don't know."
All four humans deflated.
Straightening himself, Aaron said "Would any Tenda object to us going there? Into the lost caves?"
Lloyd, Jack and Elliot all looked at him, unsure of why he'd requested that, but he ignored it, instead waiting on the Tenda's answer. Lloyd had to admit, he needed to know this for his own ends, anyway.
For a moment the creature looked unsure of how to say what he wanted to say. Finally he spoke, "No, no Tenda will stop you. We will advise you against it, but we won't stop you." Four pairs of eyes were still on him, intently, well aware that there was more that wasn't being said. "It's the land itself that may prevent you from getting through."
"How so?" Elliot questioned.
It was clear the Tenda was feeling too jittery to continue this conversation, babbling "I don't know, I haven't been there myself! But there's something in there the World wants to protect, and I think it would be a good idea to let the World keep it!" then he evacuated the chair and shuffled away quickly. The four humans were left wondering just what the World was protecting, and just how the World was protecting it.
The dreamers stood amidst their friends once more, having bathed, and ready to head once again toward the last areas they felt they must check for the source of their dreams. The lost lands were their next goal, and their uneasiness was catching back up with them. The unknown wasn't something they liked dealing with, even though they'd had to in the past.
As they headed toward the gates to the lost worlds, one of the boys stopped the girl, and both of them shared a look. While she knew the source of her uneasiness, the feeling of being watched, the boy did not, nor did he have a way to know. He explained how he felt, and the girl assured him it was all okay, even though she knew it wasn't. And he knew it too. The boy, the shorter one, knew only that he felt a very horrible feeling, as though he had solved a puzzle, but the picture was not a pleasant one. At this, the girl told him all they could do was try to prove that puzzle wrong.
The eldest boy did not hear this discussion. He knew not what the girl was thinking, nor what the other boys worried about. But he had a way of seeing beyond the normal, which he had tried not to use, till now. He wished he hadn't, and he knew now what they were heading for. But he couldn't stop it. It would be unfair to now. All he could hope for was that there was some sort of light at the end of this terrifying journey, and not just the eternity of the dreams that they feared when they slept at night...
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: And there you have it, another instalment in a fiction! WOW! Doesn't happen often enough. :p
Oh! Hey! This is completely unrelated but if you get time, check out I'm in charge of the comics, now! SaturnStorm/LalalaKirby brand humour in a 4-panel sprite-comic (gotta honour tradition). Watch me ruin the Nintendoverse!