CHAPTER XXXI: Lumine Hall

They returned to Tenda Village, and delivered the Overcoming Shyness book to the Tendite Elder. Just holding the leather book, he said, made him feel full of confidence, and he proceeded to read it to the entire village.

"And now," Ness sighed, leaning onto a cushion provided by a friendly Tenda. "All we have to do is find that Tenda that can move the boulder that leads to the next melody..."

At that moment, the Tenda they were staying with came around the corner.

"Did you say something about a boulder?" he asked. "I'm the only one in the village who can lift that rock! If you want me to, I'll move it."

Paula laughed. "That was a major stroke of luck," She giggled pleasantly. "I say we go as soon as we rest."

Jeff nodded vigorously. "That whole thing at Stonehenge wiped me out!"

Poo was already snoring from a nearby cushion.

"I think our Dalaamese friend has the right idea," Ness yawned. "Let's get some sleep tonight, and tomorrow we'll head to the next Sanctuary."

"Good," The friendly Tenda smiled. "I'll pack some food for you. Get lots of sleep tonight, though...the tunnel under that boulder is really long..."

"Ness..."

"Ungh...umm..."

"Ness, my friend, wake up..."

He opened his eyes. The familiar shape of Buzz Buzz hovered before him. He sat up, looking around at his surroundings. He was sitting on top of a grassy hill, with a single oak tree beside him. An unreal, hazy sun filtered through the leaves, and a few of those leaves fell to the ground in an autumn-sort of way. Ness sat up, completely alert, running a hand through his tangled black hair.

"Buzz Buzz?" He asked. "Are we...?"

"Yes," His friend responded. "We are in the Spirit World. I wanted to talk with you a bit before you head to the next Sanctuary at Lumine Hall."

"Lumine Hall? So that's what it's called..."

"Yes," Buzz Buzz nodded with a light buzzing noise. "The Guardian of Lumine Hall is called the Electro Specter. It is a creature made entirely of molten metal, and should prove to be a tough fighter."

Ness grinned. "I'll be ready," He said confidently. "After all...I'm one of the Chosen, aren't I?"

"Don't get too cocky," The bee reprimanded. "Prophecies don't always come true."

"I'm just messin' with 'ya," The young man laughed.

"Ness," Buzz Buzz said in a flat, grim tone. "Past Lumine Hall is the Lost Underworld, a place under the Earth's crust where dinosaurs still live. Through the Lost Underworld is the final Melody, and after that...do you remember what I told you way back in Saturn Valley?"

Ness thought back a ways, his brows furrowing. "Saturn Valley...you said that I would fight the greatest of enemies...and that enemy would be myself."

"Exactly. You will understand when the time comes, my lad. Dawn is swift approaching, and I have work to be done. As do you, I gather."

"Thank you, Buzz Buzz. I'll see you later..."

He woke up the next morning sandy-eyed, but ready to take on the world. He dressed in the silence of his rented room, then hefted his backpack.

He took a sniff of the air. Then he sniffed again. Then, he sniffed his backpack.

"EEEEEEW!" He recoiled, dropping the yellow bag. "What is that rancid stench?!"

"Tendakraut," The strong Tenda walked into the room. "It's something akin to Sauerkraut, but made here in Tenda. I packed your food, and I included the Tendakraut as a little dessert."

"Um...thanks," Ness forced a smile. "I'll eat every bite."

They all met out in the living room. Jeff's clothes had been neatly pressed, Poo looked ready to take on a hundred Sanctuaries, and Paula's golden hair had been combed to a shiny luster. He nodded to his three friends, and followed the Tenda to the huge boulder.

The Tenda wormed his fingers underneath the rock, and heaved. The rock, easily as big as the entire party of five people, flew up to the ceiling of the cave, lodging itself there. Jeff let out a low, surprised whistle.

"Cool," he smiled, glasses shining. "I wish I was that strong."

They waved a solemn good-bye to the friendly, beefy Tenda, and leapt into the hole, and into the darkness.

Ness landed first, then rolled forward. Paula landed next, then Jeff, then Poo. Ness summoned a psychic light ball, and they began their trek through the long tunnel. The darkness, suffocating, pressed in on all sides, but the light ball circling Ness' head provided a stout beacon on the black path.

Without warning, several large, round, tomato-looking creatures zipped from the path, all mumbling the same strange word--"Fobby, fobby, fobby..." over and over again. Ness looked at one of the Fobbies.

"Wow," he said. "They're like over-ripe tomatoes."

"How cute," Paula smiled.

One of the Fobbies eyed Ness with its beady little globes, then spoke. "Fobby, fobby BRAINSHOCK!"

Ness recoiled, clutching his head, falling to his knees. A giant mental fist had just railed against his mind, driving him back. He growled, struggling to rise against the tremendous force on his mentality.

"G...guys," he stuttered weakly. "Watch out!"

Paula stepped in front of him. "PSI SHIELD SIGMA!" She wailed. A sheen of greenish light appeared around them, rippling whenever one of the Fobbies yelled that horrible BrainShock attack. Ness stood up, thinking for a moment.

"We can't blast them in close quarters," he said a bit shakily. "And we can't clobber them. As soon as we get beyond the boundaries of this shield, they'll start frying our brains. What do we do?"

Paula's teeth were clenched. "I can't hold it much longer..."

"Analyzing brain patterns," A metallic voice spoke. "...analyzed...replicating shield...replicated. Shield Generator activated."

Paula's psychic shield shattered, but the green sheen remained. Jeff sat on the ground, smiling proudly. A little machine sat next to him, humming lightly.

"How do you guys like it?" Jeff asked. "I've been working on it for awhile. I couldn't figure out how to make it generate a shield, but replicating Paula's psychic brain waves did the job. Nifty, wouldn't you say?"

"I sure would," Ness grinned.

"Most impressive," Poo nodded thoughtfully. "Quite a handy little thing to have around. We'd better keep moving if we ever want to get to...what was it called again, Ness?"

"Lumine Hall," he half-whispered. "Let's get going, then..."

They trekked through the dark hallway for an immeasurable amount of time. The unending march of minutes and hours seemed to tick by in Ness' head. He gauged that they had been walking for about four days in the suffocating darkness.

"This is NUTS!" Jeff remarked belligerently at mealtime. "We've been walking for who knows how long, and where is this Lumine Hall, huh? Where is it?"

The crackling of the fire was the only response.

"I knew it," The bespectacled young man sighed. "We're gonna die down here, aren't we?"

"Jeff," Paula reprimanded. "Don't lose hope. We never know when..."

"SHHH!"

It was Ness. He had his ear cocked to one side. "Be quiet," he whispered. "I hear something..."

They all listened. In the distance, a drop of water hit the ground.

Then, they heard it. A song, soft and light, was reaching their ears. They all smiled and looked at each other, almost laughing. Ness took out the Sound Stone, looking at the faintly glowing, misty blue surface.

"We need to get our rest," Paula sighed. "We'll fight once we wake up. How's the shield doing, Jeff?"

"Pretty good. It'll hold for days."

"Great. Ness, put out the fire. I'll break out the sleeping bags."

They woke a few hours later, alert, and ready to fight. Ness picked up his bat, and set his baseball cap on his head, then rolled up the sleeping bag he was sleeping in, and tied it to the top of his backpack. Paula flipped her frying pan around in her hand, and tossed her shining, combed waves.

"We ready?" The young woman asked as they all picked up their equipment.

"I am," Ness grinned.

"As am I."

"Hai."

"Then let's go," Ness said, wrapping some tape around the handle of his bat. "I'm sure we can beat this thing, and then we'll have the next melody!"

They began walking down the hallway, the ringing of the Sound Stone guiding them as they continued. It was almost an hour before they found the right spot--or rather, it found them.

A huge, shiny metal form stepped from behind the next corner. It was enormous, maybe twice as tall as Ness, it's body squared off--in more ways than one. Its head was a square, and its hands were huge hammers of metal. It had two beady little eyes that eyed them with a low, evil growl.

"Children," It whispered in a surprisingly quiet voice for its size. "Give me the Sound Stone, or I'll rip you all in half. Surrender yourselves to me..."

"Not a chance in the world!" Ness shouted defiantly, gripping his weapon in both hands.

"The world that will soon perish, thanks to my Master," The Electro Specter hissed. "Just give up now, or..."

Without warning, one of the hammer-like hands flew directly at the party. They leapt in all directions, the giant block leaving a huge hole in the ground. Ness growled under his breath, and leapt towards the towering figure, whipping his bat in a wide arc. The wood struck metal with a resounding crash, but there was no effect. The other hammer-hand struck him in the gut. He gasped sharply, flew across the tunnel, and slammed into the wall. Instead of bouncing off, however, the sheer force of the strike buried him in the side of the wall.

Paula looked over at Ness, then turned to the Electro Specter, raising her hands. "PSI FREEZE GAMMA!"

A dozen sharp chunks of ice formed over her hands. She leapt into the air, hurling her palms downward. The ice blazed across the chamber, striking the enemy. A blue sheen ran along the metal skin of the Electro Specter as it laughed.

"Such a weak attack will never harm me," It hissed evilly. "I am one of the strongest Guardians employed by Master Giygas! You will never beat me..."

Poo took a defensive stance, drawing the Sword of Kings. He leapt from the ground, swinging gracefully. The blade, however, bounced harmlessly from the metal covering, and Poo suddenly went the way of Ness as one of those horrible blocky hands hit him in the side. He arced across the tunnel, and hit the ground, rolling a few times.

Jeff snarled, pulling up his bazooka. "Eat this!" he shouted, pulling the trigger. A giant shell left the tubular end, flying across the tunnel, and exploding on impact once it hit the evil metal.

"I got him!"

"You did, did you...?"

Out of the smoke, the Electro Specter stepped from the smoke, it's eyes red with fearful glee. From behind it, Ness was standing, as erect as he could, small sparkles of light spinning around him slowly. He looked over at Jeff, and smiled a painful, grim smile.

"PSI ROCKIN' BETA!"

A huge beam of red-and-blue energy twisted and snaked from his hands, right past the Electro Specter, and straight up the barrel of Jeff's bazooka. Ness fell to his knees, looking up.

"JEFF! FIRE NOW!"

"Right!"

The young man pointed the bazooka, grinning through his smokey glasses. "Feel the love!"

His finger gripped the trigger, sending a new shell--plus the Rockin' Beta blast--straight towards the evil monstrosity. With a shout, a horrible, rasping shout, the Electro Specter was sent sailing down the tunnel. A moment later, a shockwave of orange flame, plus small chunks of molten metal, came back to them. Ness shielded his eyes, and bracing his sneakered feet on the ground. When the blast cleared, he lowered his arms.

"All right," He yelled, high-fiving Jeff. "We did it!"

"You sure did," Paula gripped Ness' neck in a tight hug, bestowing a short kiss on his cheek. "Good going, you two!"

"A job well done," Poo sheathed the Sword of Kings and dusting off his knees. He clasped his hands, and bowed. "I compliment you."

Jeff put away the bazooka in its tube, and slung it across his shoulder. "Let's head to Lumine Hall," He said, polishing his glasses. "We'll be able to access it easily now."

They walked deeper into the tunnel, past the wreckage of the Electro Specter, and into another chamber. It was a long hallway, covered with small stones in a seamless wall of glittering light. Ness gasped at the enormous wall. The Sound Stone began to glow with a bright, luminous light. Ness seemed mesmerized by the blue glowing rock.

"My name is Ness," Paula said aloud. Ness looked up at her with a questioning gaze. She continued. "I remember the first day I began this journey. The Sound Stone is reminding me...hey...what the...? Why is Paula talking like that? What in the name of...?

Ness looked up at the wall of Lumine Hall. The words were being displayed on the wall, moving across like a theater's lights.

"My thoughts are being displayed on the wall!" The words said. "Why the heck is this happening to me? This is totally embarrassing! Okay, Ness...don't think...don't think at all..."

Jeff laughed, and Paula wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't be so embarrassed," She whispered in his ear. "It's all right..."

Poo diverted their attention before his thoughts about Paula's closeness registered on the wall. He had found a small hole near the end of the hall. There was a light shining from inside. Poo looked between his three friends.

"Well?" He asked. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Jeff grinned, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Here we go!" Ness shouted, leaping into the hole. "To the Lost Underworld!"

Part 32