CHAPTER XXIX: Deep Darkness
They spent two days resting on the other side of the Pyramid. The tunnel had led them for almost seven miles before it branched back into daylight, and they camped there, sleeping during the day, sitting by the fire during the night, and making preparations for the next leg of the journey--wherever that was.
When Ness had fully recovered from his battle with the Guardian General, the group packed their things, and made ready to leave. As they were kicking sand over their fire-pit, an old, hobbled man in a tattered green robe approached them. He carried a knobby staff, and looked very strong for his age.
Poo and Ness recognized him immediately. It was the old man from Mu, the place of Emptiness in Dalaam. He eyed Poo with a squinty gaze.
"Ah," he began. "Poo-kun. I see you have grown much stronger."
"Hai," Poo bowed. "Thank you. I have been training very hard."
"So you have. You are ready."
"Ready...?"
"Hai," The old man nodded. "To learn the way of the StarStorm. It is a technique that will be of great help against Giygas. You must learn it, but to do this, you must leave your friends for a time, and return when you are needed."
Poo bowed again, then turned to his friends. "He is right. StarStorm is a legendary power known only by those who have mastered Mu. It will come in very handy. I must go now for a time."
Ness sighed lightly, then shook his friend's hand warmly. "I understand, Poo. I'm sorry to see you go, but if your new power will help against Giygas, then I suppose we'll see you again somewhere along the line."
Paula hugged him shortly, and Jeff patted him on the back.
Poo bowed once more, and then he and the old man vanished.
Ness sighed, and shouldered his yellow backpack.
"I guess we should go," he said. "We have to keep going while Poo is gone."
They trekked southward for almost four days until they reached the southern sea. It was a huge, vast ocean, cutting them completely off from going any further. There was a nomad camp on the shores, and they told the three friends that Deep Darkness was across the sea, but the ocean was bottomless, and couldn't be swam across. Ness and his friends took some time to sit on some rocks outside camp.
"Just great," he growled. "We can't go any further unless we get a boat of some kind..."
A new voice cut in.
"A boat, hm? How about a submarine?"
Jeff turned to look at one of the nomads. "Submarine?" He asked. "You have a submarine?"
"Not me," The nomad said. "But I have a key here for a man-shaped tower a bit north, out in the desert. Someone once said that the man living there kept a submarine in his vehicle collection. It's sketchy, but you might get something out of it."
Ness took the key gratefully, thanked the young nomad, and raced north, his friends at his heels. They went north for about an hour, and found the tower, a huge, man-shaped object. Somewhere near the left foot, Jeff found a door with a keyhole. Ness promptly used the Tower Key, and they entered the foot.
It was a surprisingly clean and well-lit place. There was a long, brown hallway that branched off to the left and right. One sign said "to hospital" and the other said "to the top--bring your questions here". Ness shrugged, idly wondering why a hospital would be in a man-shaped tower.
They took to the right, and began climbing. The interior of the tower was a terraced, zigzagging pattern that went almost directly vertical. Ness was sweating by the fifteenth floor, clinging to one of the vertical ropes, looking down at Paula.
"Jeez," he panted. "This is hard."
"Yeah," she sighed in response. "Just keep going, though, Ness!"
The hauled themselves to the top floor, a huge, round room with a small face sticking out of the wall at one end. Jeff scratched his chin.
"I know that face," The bespectacled young man mused. "Hey...that's BrickRoad!"
"Who?" Ness asked, still catching his breath.
"That guy I told you about back in Threed--the Dungeon Maker aspiring to be a Dungeon Man! Hey, BrickRoad! It's me, Jeff Andonuts!"
"Hello, Jeff," The mustachioed face grinned. "It's been months, hasn't it?"
"It sure has," Jeff grinned. "Okay, let's get right to the point. We need to cross the sea, and get to Deep Darkness. A native said that you had a submarine here. Is that true?"
"Darn tootin', I do," BrickRoad grinned. A small hole opened next to the three friends. "Just down that hole is my vehicle collection. There's a sub down there. Go ahead and use it. It's broken, but I'm sure you can fix it, Jeff!"
He nodded, and the three of them jumped down the hole, sliding on a winding path, all the way to the bottom of the dungeon. Ness landed with a thump, wincing at the sudden ache in his butt. Jeff dropped down next to him, and Paula fell onto his back.
"Oof!" He grunted. "Hey, what the...?"
"Sorry," Paula giggled, getting up quickly.
"S'okay," he replied with a laugh. "It didn't hurt much!"
"Hey, guys!" Jeff called. "I found it!"
They ran over to where Jeff was sitting. There was a small, yellow submarine in front of him, and he was picking at the workings.
"It looks simple enough," the young man said with a smile, adjusting his glasses. "I can fix it in a jiffy. It may take about an hour, so you two go over there until I'm finished."
Ness nodded, walking over to the corner, and sitting down. Paula walked archly towards him, sitting as well. Jeff toiled endlessly over at the submarine, while the other two stayed silent. Finally, Ness broke the silence.
"What is it with this country?" He asked. "Yellow helicopters, yellow submarines..."
No response.
"Paula? You okay?"
Her breathing was slow, easy. Her eyes were closed. She was asleep.
"Oh, boy,." He sighed. "You're not a very good conversation partner."
She leaned slowly against his shoulder, snuggling into it. He blushed in spite of himself.
"But, jeez," he whispered to himself. "You sure are cute when you sleep..."
"Okay, gang," Ness sighed. "Here's the kicker. How are we gonna lug this thing--across the desert--to the ocean?"
A voice echoed in the chamber. "I can help with that," It was BrickRoad. Another hole appeared next to the submarine. "Just push it down there. It's the exit. I'll handle the rest."
They shoved the sub into the hole, and jumped down along with it. In a flash, they were outside the man-shaped dungeon. The huge tower began to move with a moaning grind. It reached down, picking up the submarine, while the other hand spread before them.
"I'll carry you," BrickRoad's voice boomed. "Hop on!"
They reluctantly jumped on his hand. He lifted them up, and began running, his massive fingers shielding them from the raging wind that occurred at his passing. They reached the edge of the ocean in about five minutes, thanks to the cheetah-like speed of BrickRoad's massive feet. He set down the teenagers and the submarine, and saluted massively.
"I'll see you kids later," He boomed. "Take care, and put that sub to good use, okay?"
With that, he stomped off, leaving Ness, Paula and Jeff to shove the sub into the water. They opened the hatch at the top, and sat around it.
"I've programmed Deep Darkness' longitude and latitude into the navigation system," Jeff sighed, closing his eyes. "We can just sleep until we get there."
"Good idea, Jeff," Ness yawned. "I'm beat. Let's just nap all the way there."
"Strange," Paula mumbled. "I don't seem the least bit tired...oh well, let's just go."
They piled into the large submarine. Jeff set the autopilot, and they all wrapped themselves in blankets, and slept a long, dreamless sleep.
>BUMP!<
Ness popped awake in a very uncomfortable position. Jeff's elbow was in his ribs, and Paula's foot was poking painfully into his stomach. Judging from the loud bump from outside, they must have reached Deep Darkness. He shook Jeff.
"Dude," He yawned. "We're here. Paula, wake up. C'mon, guys."
They woke slowly, and made ready to depart to the rainforest. Ness twisted the hatch, and opened it, standing up. He looked around, a bit surprised at his surroundings. The place was surprisingly well lit, a nice, sunny place, with broad-leafed trees, and curious-looking bushes. He hopped out of the submarine, wondering idly why he would need the Hawk Eye to light this darkness.
Paula came out next, squinting as she looked around, and Jeff followed after her. They were all a little dazed as the exited. There were strange noises coming from the bushes, and strange shadows lurking in the trees. They readied their weapons, and jumped off of the sub onto dry land.
Or what should have been dry land. What looked like solid ground before was actually a thin film of brown scum over the water. Ness was suddenly up to his waist in freezing water. Little snaky eels and things ran by his legs, making him shiver with fear. He motioned for his friends to follow him, and he began plowing through the scum, not really sure of where he was going.
A monkey in a tree looked down at them.
"Hello," It grinned. "Welcome to Deep Darkness!"
"Thank you," Ness saluted. "How are you?"
"Okay," The monkey nodded. "Where are you headed?"
"Dunno," Paula sighed. "We're pretty much wandering."
"Why don't you head to Tenda Village?" The simian chattered. "It's just through the Big Dark Patch. If you can feel your way through, Tenda is just around the corner."
"The Big Dark Patch?" Ness asked questioningly.
"Yeah," The monkey squeaked. "It's a pitch-dark area that Deep Darkness got it's name from. No torches or flashlights work in that area, so you have to feel through. It's creepy."
Paula grinned. "I have a feeling we'll be able to get through," She whispered. "After all, we have the eyes of a hawk."
The bid farewell to the helpful primate, and began taking a winding path through the swamp. They slogged through the thick mire for what seemed like hours.
And suddenly, there was no light. Not even a spark in the plunging darkness. Ness bumped into a tree, falling back into a shallow pool.
"Oof," He grunted into the darkness. He felt a soft, comforting hand on his arm, and Paula's voice rang out.
"Are you okay, Ness?" She asked. "Maybe you should get the Hawk Eye out!"
He felt for the flap of his backpack, and fingered around until his digits wrapped around the tear-shaped crystal. He held it up towards the sky, closing his eyes, focusing his entire energy into the stone.
With a crack, the Hawk Eye shattered. Ness could feel the powder flowing out of his palm. Slowly, the sun began to pierce through the trees, and the plants that had been protected from the sun for so many years suddenly shrunk back in painful fear.
And the first thing that Ness saw when he opened his eyes was a yellow helicopter, crashed into a tree, parts scattered everywhere. A familiar burn-spot was on the tail, where his PSI Rockin' Beta had seared it. A short once-over revealed that the engine was missing, and Pokey was nowhere in the wreckage.
"Crud," Jeff sighed. "Looks like Pokey is still gonna be bugging us. Pity, he took the engine. We could have used it for something. Judging from the couplings, it was hugely powerful. Oh, well..."
They continued their walk through the muck, slogging their legs through the thick soup of the swamp. Ness suddenly stopped, sniffing the air.
"Ness?" Paula questioned oddly. "What is it?"
"I smell," he stopped, taking another sniff. "I smell...puke."
"Puke?" Jeff asked. "As in regurgitation? THAT kind of puke?"
He nodded, even as a deep, familiar voice broke through the rainforest. It was deep, throaty, and strangely squishy.
"Regurgitation is right!" It bellowed. "The MASTER of regurgitation! It's your old pal, Master Barf!"
A familiar, blobby ball of slime with two huge eyes and a pair of evil tusks slithered into view. It was, instead of the old, familiar blue, a bright shade of pink.
"Master...Belch?" Ness asked almost laughingly.
"Master BARF now, spanky!" Barf yelled. "Master Giygas put me back together, and now, you're on the road to ruin!"
"Shove it, smelly!" Paula leapt forward. "PSI Fire Gamma!"
A huge fireball wafted from her fingers, streaking towards Barf, making the swamp boil like a pot of stew. The flame struck the huge pile of goo with tremendous force, but the fire slid to either side of it flew around, as if Barf was surrounded by an invisible shield.
"Oh, damn," Ness growled, running toward his foe as fast as he could. He readied his bat, and swung with all of his weight behind it. The end of the baseball bat caught in the gooey body of the enemy, and it was wrenched from his hands, being thrown into the air.
Jeff hefted his bazooka, looking through the scope. He pulled the trigger, and a huge shell flew toward Master Barf. The weapon had about as much effect as the Fire technique, however, and Barf laughed hugely. With a roar, he plunged his body into the ground. Without warning, spikes of his gooey mass flew from the water, throwing Ness and his friends into the air. The young man landed with a splash, coming up choking. He pulled Paula and Jeff from the muck, staring at Barf with a look that spoke whole volumes of contempt.
Then, another familiar voice rained from the canopy above.
"PSI STARSTORM!"
A barrage of huge, star-shaped bolts of energy slammed into the blob of barf. The explosion that rocked the forest was enormous--the ground was shaking, and the very leaves were shaken from the trees for miles around.
The smoke wafted toward Ness, who stood with his arms crossed in a guarded position. The mist cleared slowly, leaving a figure standing there. The white karate gi, the easy posture, and the flowing black ponytail alerted his presence immediately.
"Poo!" Ness cried.
"Hello, Ness," Poo bowed with a smile. "It's been awhile."
"Not really," Jeff grinned, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "You left this morning."
"The Master said I am an apt pupil," Poo declared modestly. "He says that I have mastered the art of Mu faster than any in history. I learned the StarStorm an hour after I left, and I spent most of the day trying to find you three."
Paula hugged him warmly. "All right!" She cried. "Poo is back!"
"And Tenda is just around the corner," Jeff grinned. "Let's get going!"