Operation: MASKED, Part 14

Alright, guys, we are going into the 5th world! The Land of Fire! But first some backtracking and story stuff.

Chapter 14: A Land of Choppy Animation

Sector V Treehouse… Termina

Cheren woke up that next morning after Melissa dragged him home, feeling more tired than he usually does. Probably since it was late at night when they did the dungeon. Cheren felt a shadow loom over his head, and when he rubbed his weary eyes, he was startled by Truman's sudden appearance, looming over Cheren with his unrealistic blue eyes. "Gyah!"

"Oh, sorry." Truman apologized as he backed away. "Melissa wanted me to make sure you were okay, so I watched after you last night."

"All night?" Cheren asked, feeling that sounded a little creepy.

"I got some sleep!" Truman chuckled.

"Well, tell Melissa I appreciate it, but I'm used to this stuff." Cheren said tiredly as he helped himself up and got dressed. He then took notice of Panini asleep in the nearby chair, her head upside-down while her legs bent up along the back. She looked awfully uncomfortable in that position.

"This girl seemed really worried about you after you left."

"I wonder why, Panini's not usually so worried. She's usually a lot more energetic."

"That could be just her mask." Truman remarked.

"How come? She knows me, I said I'd be fine." Cheren smirked. However, he then just realized what Truman said. "Wait… 'just her mask'?" That sounded familiar to him.

"You know… like a metaphorical mask. It's just a saying."

"I never hear anyone say that."

"Well, people should start!" Truman grinned.

"I'd rather they didn't, in this case." Cheren looked down at Panini again, remembering her awkward angle. He decided to lift the Irish-Polish off the chair and lay her flat on the couch, covering her in his sleeping bag. "That's better." He smiled. "Hey, watch after her. I'm going out for a bit."

"To pick up more masks?"

"No." Cheren replied, slipping on the Don Gero's Mask. "To collect frogs." On that note, he played the Song of Soaring on his flute and was whisked away.

After watching him vanish in a whirlwind, Truman looked to Panini, who looked fast asleep. His right arm reached out to touch her, but he fought against the urge and pulled his arm back.

Jungle Temple

Cheren warped back to Jungle of the Apes and afterwards made his way back to the Jungle Temple. He made his way back to the room where they fought Gekko and, as Cheren suspected, found the light-blue frog still hopping around. He kept Don Gero's Mask on and went to speak with him.

"Um, hey, are you part of Rainier's frog chorus?"

"Who wants ta know?"

"Um, Don Gero?"

"Oh, Don Gero!" the frog hopped excitedly. "I didn't recognize you! You look taller. It was scary! I was eaten by some lizard! And then these kids saved me. They looked weird, ribbit."

Cheren furrowed his eyes behind his mask. "Yeah, so I need you to go back to the park." He went straight to the point.

"Oh, absolutely. Better than lizard digestive, ribbit." With that, he vanished in smoke.

Holoska Snowfields

Cheren returned to the snowy wasteland, which was thankfully free of its harsh blizzards, allowing him to roam around with ease. He became a wolf and dashed across the fields as he made his way back to the frosty lake. He changed back to a human and used his new Ice Arrows to make icy platforms in the water, allowing him to jump across into the secret cave, which he couldn't access before. At the end of the small cave was a ledge where a dark-blue frog was hopping on a pedestal. He slipped his mask on again and went to talk to him.

"Are you Don Gero?"

"I am Don Gero."

"You want me to return to park?"

"I want you to return to park."

"Good-bye." With that, the frog vanished in smoke.

"Hmm… I wonder what else I could do." Cheren thought to himself. "Oh! There was that one place on Tortuga! I wonder what that's about?" With that, he played the Song of Soaring again.

Cursed Hillside

Cheren returned to the area of the Cursed Hillside where he recalled seeing a secret cave across the piranha waters. He used his Ice Arrows to make platforms in the water once again as he crossed over to enter this small cave, which seemed rather dark and eerie. He hopped onto a ledge in what appeared to be a dead end inside the cave. He looked around for anything of interest and noticed a particular gap in the wall.

The gap looked to be the size of a torch, so Cheren decided to shoot it with a Fire Arrow. Amazingly, a torch lit, causing the wall to slide open. Cheren quietly walked into this secret passage, which felt nearly pitch-black, the only lights coming from fluorescent bulbs inside cages of cockroaches. There were also several tanks of some kind of gas, which Cheren couldn't quite make out what was written on them. This cave was making Cheren more afraid by the second; and even more so when he found an unconscious (human) pirate sitting with his head down on a chair.

Cheren wasn't sure if he was asleep or waiting to surprise him, so he tiptoed at his slowest rate possible. He bent down a little to look at his eyes, not sure if they were closed. And when Cheren stood just inches from the man, looming his head closer-

"EEYAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHH!!!" the pirate screamed at the top of his lungs and shook uncontrollably before slumping back in the chair, dead.

Cheren's ears rung from the scream, and his body shook with absolute fright. Deciding not to explore this cave any further, he blew the Song of Soaring in his flute as fast as he could and warped away in a flash.

Alternate Sector V Treehouse

When Cheren appeared at the treehouse again, he desperately tried to catch his breath. Upon his arrival, he discovered a strange piece of paper on the balcony floor. He picked it up and unfolded it to find a note.

I have been watching you, and seen you are very confused. Come to Numbuh Zero's hideout, I will make things clear. :)

"…Hm." Cheren stuffed the note in his pocket and curiously made his way downstairs.

Uno Household; Termina

Cheren snuck into the Uno house and was about to sneak upstairs; he wouldn't have to if it was his real house, but since it was Harry's house, it would've been suspicious. He didn't quite make it to the stairs on time when someone came around the corner, Cheren giving the look that he'd been caught. And it wasn't just anyone.

"Umm… who're you?" Rachel Uno asked.

"Uhhh…" Cheren looked nervous, "Hey, Mom—uh, I mean, uh… Mrs. Uno."

Rachel chuckled. "Are you a friend of Harry's?"

"Y-Yeah, my name is Cheren; Cheren Un—" he remembered that he probably shouldn't say his last name. "Er… Cheren."

"Well, glad to meet you; I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new here? Where do you live?"

"I live, um, er… in the orphanage, downtown… I'm an orphan." Was the best lie he could come up with.

"Oh." Rachel frowned. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that."

"He-yeah, it's nothing." Cheren chuckled. "Anyway, Harry sent me to get something from his room, so…"

"Okay. I'll see you later." Rachel smiled.

"Hehe, bye." On that awkward note, Cheren headed upstairs.

"Oh, Cheren?" Rachel called.

Cheren turned around. "Yeah?"

"If you're looking for a family, we wouldn't mind adopting you. Harry always wanted a brother."

"Hehe. I'll think about it." Cheren smiled. To tell the truth, it didn't sound like a bad idea to him. If they couldn't find a way home, Cheren could live with Harry and Rachel could be his mom again. …Of course, she wouldn't be the same as his REAL mom… even if they sounded the same.

Cheren soon found his way to Harry's room, which was the same as his old room back in his world. It even had the part of the treehouse growing in the corner. Cheren approached the tree and pressed his ear against it as he lightly tapped it with his fist. Afterwards, he proceeded to kick the tree, revealing the secret door.

Cheren slid into the dimly lit treehouse and started to look around. "Helloooo? Mysterious person? Are you there?"

"WOO!"

"AHH!" Cheren fell on his bottom when a strange man with a hideous face jumped out.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" laughed the Happy Mask Man, pulling off his mask.

Cheren looked dumbstruck. "You?" He stood and brushed his pants, feeling at a loss for words. "How…How did you get here?"

"A person's desire can drive them to do many things." He sported his same, creepy grin. "Just as your desire to save Miyuki drove you here, so did my desire to retrieve what I had lost."

"Well… not the person I would've picked to get a surprise visit from."

"Hmmm. I suppose you wish I was your mother."

"Well…" To tell the truth, Cheren was hoping to see his real mom; seeing the alternate Rachel in the living room just now made him deeply miss her.

"Do not fear…" he gave a comforting grin, "if your beliefs are strong, you will see her again."

"Yeah, yeah. I wonder, are you the one who brought Nerehc here?"

"Hmhmhmhm." He gave an innocent grin. "Oh no. I am afraid, you were the one who brought him here all along. You see, each universe has its own corresponding Negaverse, to balance the light sides and dark sides of the coin. Each person in each dimension has their own Negative. And this rule applies when people travel between dimensions. When you warped to this world, there was no one in the Negaverse to balance out the Dark Side. This is why Nerehc was warped to this world, too."

"Hmm… Nerehc mentioned that when me and Panini got shrunk, he was shrunk, too. Do those rules apply to size changes?"

"Not necessarily. You and your friend entered a Minish Door. Minish Doors are portals into another dimension as well; the Minish Dimension is in coexistence with your own dimension, but dimensions can only coexist at different sizes. That's why the Minish are smaller in your eyes, while you are massive in their eyes. When you were shrunk by that portal, you actually entered a different dimension. As a result, Nerehc was forced to join you, too."

"Wow…" If there was one thing that drove Cheren bonkers, it was stories having to do with complex laws of dimension-traveling. However, one thing suddenly came to mind. "Wait… how did you know about the Minish Door incident? How long have you been following me?"

"I always need to be sure. Better to be safe then than be sorry later." He grinned.

"Uhhh… creepy." Was all Cheren could say. "But; we're getting off track. Why'd you send the note?"

"Ahhh… yes… may I please see your masks?"

Cheren gave a baffled look, but decided to show the man the masks he had collected. The Mask Man bent over and observed them, first taking the Great Fairy Mask.

"The Great Fairy Mask…" he grinned, softly rubbing his fingers against its surface. "Several innocent spirits have had their scattered souls reformed again. And is this?..." he picked up the Cobra Mask, "the Cobra Mask… a poor soul has gotten his much-needed sleep after years of unrest. The All-Night Mask…" he picked said mask up, "thanks to this, an aspiring singer has finally had a brief moment of stardom. Already, I can see these masks are filled with great happiness…"

"Yeah, but they take up too much space. Some of them I rarely even use, what's the point of them?"

"Ohh!" the man was shocked. "These masks have incredible points to them! You must keep them with you! People do not see it now… but this world was once rich with the strongest happiness and light you've ever seen… and still is. Masks were just simple, physical creations of forms of happiness. Each mask you see has a special light about them. It is filled with a light that keeps this world young; a light that has slowly lost its value over the ages. WHY would you EVER want to LEAVE them??" he started bawling.

"O-Okay! I was just-"

The man calmed down, his grin returning. "Please forgive me. Majora's power is the opposite of what these masks stand for. These masks were made from happiness and love… but Majora's Mask was crafted for terrible, evil things. And it has ONCE been used for the most terrible thing of all!!" he started crying again.

"What?? What was that terrible thing??"

The man calmed down and grinned immediately. "Why, the terrible darkness it is using now. The darkness it uses to take away all the happy feelings from the masks. And people have lost track of that happiness over the eons so much… that the guardians of this world lost their power, too."

"You mean… the Giants?"

"That's right." He grinned. "Those Giants are embodiments of the happiness that make this world. They were once honored by the people using the masks themselves. Each Giant represented a form of light. The Giant from the jungle was the embodiment of life force. That life force was what helped the jungle to flourish. The Giant in the park was the embodiment of the joy and fun that's expressed by children, when they have time to not worry and relieve their stresses. The Giant of the snowcaps represents the care and protection that humans and other creatures devote to each other, even in the harshest conditions. The Giant of the sea is the embodiment of freedom; the feeling of roaming free in search of great adventures, as expressed by the pirates. And it isn't just them; the Great Fairies are also embodiments of this energy. They were meant to serve their Giants and help keep peace around the land."

"So that's who the Giants were? I expected a bit more."

"Of course, you've only rescued four so far. There are two more who await freedom; one in the Land of Fire, a prosperous nation hidden in the woods of Japan, and one in the ancient ruins of Old Scotland. These six powers of happiness binded Majora's evil inside the mask. However, they only made it so that Majora himself couldn't use his power. But other beings could hold the mask, and use its darkness for whatever they pleased. The old gods entrusted the mask to the shadows of the Twilight Realm, hoping they'd keep it out of human hands. But the Queen of Shadows, Malevolous, became power-hungry, the moment she laid hands on the mask. The gods warned her that it couldn't be used six times, for doing so would break all six seals of light the Giants placed."

"But she ignored them." Cheren figured.

"That's right. Majora's spirit was freed from the mask as a result. The gods were able to subdue him again, but he regained control of his magic, so whoever would wear the mask, while they would seem to have free will, would be under Majora's control."

"But why couldn't the Giants hold him back when he possessed Miyuki?"

"I already explained that the Giants are embodiments of feelings of light. They were meant to hold back Majora's magic… but Majora overpowers them by traveling the world, creating chaos and misery in his path. Long ago, he poisoned the jungle, raised the dead from the ground… and even created the never-ending blizzard you've encountered before. This misery weakened the Giants' power, and Majora turned them into masked monsters as well. It was only when Link brought the happiness back to the world using the masks that they regained their power."

"But the Giants don't seem to be interested in taking out Majora. I mean, they said they could break the curse, but they also sound like they wanna let Miyuki hang with him. I mean… Majora's evil, right?"

"Is anyone truly evil, Child?" he asked with his usual teary eyes.

"Uhhh… kind of?"

"Perhaps they do not want to destroy him because they are binded by fate. Never has Miyuki felt more joy! The same happiness goes on in Majora. For once, his mask is delivering happiness. Maybe that's why the Giants are so hesitant."

"But don't they know what Majora might do? You said it yourself, people seem to have free will, when he's really controlling them!"

"The case is different here. Miyuki is allowing Majora to control her by choice. Because of that choice of free will, the bond between them is stronger than ever. He is just a troubled creature like yourself and Miyuki." The Mask Man frowned. "He is eons of sadness and anger embodied within a mask. That's why the mask does terrible things… and looks so terrifying. Oh, but you shouldn't judge someone because of their mask." He said as he turned around, giving Cheren the view of his mask-covered backpack. "One looks at Majora's Mask and shudders at how terrifying it looks… but none ever wants to wear it, and see what's on the inside."

"But Miyuki got where she is in the first place because she- er, I… put the mask on her." He mumbled quietly. "And wearing the mask at all is a bad thing, right?"

"Maybe… but because she did, she has gotten to know the real Majora. She sees more than what is shown on the mask. Why, just think…" the Mask Man looked terrified as he placed his hands on his face, "I may look joyous and happy to you… but if you saw what was under my mask, you would shudder with fear!"

"You mean… you're wearing a mask, too?"

The man grinned and turned back around. "Why, of course I am. Everyone wears masks. Metaphorically of course. It lets us wonder… what lies deep inside…" as he spoke, he loomed his grinning face closer to Cheren. Considering the way he acted and how he smiled constantly, Cheren didn't wanna know if this man had a real form, afraid of what it might look like.

Cheren backed away in fright. "Mr. Mask Man… just who are you, anyway?"

The man's grin grew wider. "A name is an important thing to have, Dear Child. It holds much power… and when uttered, that power could be released, and cause immense chaos. Maybe when you need it most… I will tell you my name. Until then… your friends should be awaking soon. I'd suggest going to greet them."

"Okay…" Cheren turned and was about to walk out. But questions still flowed through his mind, so he turned around and asked, "Can I talk to you later, 'cause-" However, the Mask Man was long gone. Cheren sighed and made his way upstairs.

Sector V Treehouse… take a guess which one

"Well, look who's back from his midmornin' walk." Panini smirked when Cheren returned.

"Enjoy your frog-collecting?" Truman asked, half-rhetorically.

"For a time." Cheren replied, remembering his little scare. "Then I got an unexpected space lesson from someone who I'm hoping is an evil science teacher. My brain hurts."

"Ya should 'ave paid attention in astronomy." Panini remarked. "Oh, and Cheren, Melissa told me what happened on yer mission."

Cheren flinched, his expression turning to worry. "Uhhh… she did?"

"Yaah. Ye didn't think ya were goin' ta hide it from me, did ya?" she grinned.

Cheren grabbed her by the shoulders and began screaming, "IT'S A LIE!! IT DIDN'T HAPPEN! SHE'S BEEN OUT FOR ME ALL THIS TIME!! YOU!!" Cheren glared at Melissa and angrily grabbed her by the shirt. "I KNEW I couldn't trust you!! Where's that shrink ray so I can minimize you and SMASH YOU LIKE A STINKING COCKROACH!!!"

"GET a GRIP, Cheren." Panini retorted. "Don't blame Melissa because ya got captured by pirates!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!! I DIDN'T EVEN LIKE… captured?"

"Ya!" Panini jabbed a finger in his face. "Ya got captured by pirates the MOMENT ye took off! That means I shake my butt atcha!" And that's just what she did, laughing cockily.

"…" Cheren felt totally stupid right now. He glanced at Melissa, who glared hatefully at him, so he sported an innocent grin as he unruffled her shirt and patted her head. "Hehehe…"

"Soooo any news on Majora?" Truman asked, trying to change the subject.

"Huh? Oh, right." Cheren shook back to reality. "Well, we almost had him, but he…he knows how to manipulate." Was all Cheren could think of. "But next time, he's mine. For sure."

"But what about that Nerehc guy?" Thomas asked. "That was the whole reason you went to Tortuga."

"Oh yeah… I almost forgot about him." Cheren answered as he rubbed his head. "Being a drunken pirate can sure make a kid woozy."

"Just throwing it out, would've been so much better if we went to Candied Island." Melissa commented, earning a disbelieving look from Cheren.

"We still have a track on him." Harry told them. "Wanna try and go after him?"

"No… we may be opposites, but I have a feeling Nerehc can take care of himself. I think I wanna just focus on Majora. Besides, knowing him, he'll come look for me."

"So, what's next?" Celeste asked. "We haven't found any other leads."

"I have." Cheren said. "We're going to save the last two Giants. I just learned that they're sooper important… oh, and so are the sidequests I keep running off to do. There's two more we haven't rescued, in the Land of Fire, and Scotland."

"The Land of Fire?" Kellie asked. "You mean in Japan?"

"Y-Yeah. You've heard of it?"

"Yes!!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I always wanted to go there, ever since my mom told me about it! But she said it was too dangerous."

"I've never heard of it… but then again, I'm not from this world. What does it have?"

"It's some place they train ninjas to fight bad guys, and demons!"

"Demons? Sounds like a hotspot."

"Ay dunno." Panini replied. "Ay've always wanted ta visit Scotland. Me grandma says Ay have ancestors from there. Ancestors who aren't crazy demons."

"Yeah… but a supposedly demon hotspot sounds like a place that could use a demon fighter."

"In other words, you're up next, Kell." Thomas said to Kellie.

"Yaaaay!" she cheered. "Oooh! Can we ride H.I.P.P.I.E.-H.O.P. there? I feel like we don't use him much anymore."

"We don't use him much because we're tired of fixing him!" Melissa shouted. "Or at least I am. Besides, Japan is across the ocean, so you'll need something that flies… and is fast."

"Well, it's not like we have a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. sitting around." Harry grinned sarcastically.

"Leave the jokes to someone whose dad was a comedian." Melissa remarked.

"You know he couldn't tell a joke to impress unfunny clowns."

"Actually, her grandpa did use to be a clown." Celeste reminded.

"O-kay, if this isn't going anywhere, we'll just be on our way." Cheren stated, on his way to the hangar.

"Bring back a postcard!" Panini shouted.

"Your grandpa just ripped off of Bill Cosby!" Harry argued.

"Not exactly, his jokes were actually good."

"They were not!"

"Were too!"

Slag's Flagship

"Buy me some screw nuts and FIIIRECRACKS! IIII don't care if we EVER-" The robo-pirates merrily sang, raising bottles of grog in the air.

"Oi, lads!" Their singing stopped when a pirate ran in, holding Nerehc's cellphone. "Take a look wot Nerehc dropped in the bar!"

"'is cellphone?" a pirate asked.

"Lessee wot the little runt 'as on this!" he excitedly began searching the phone as Sprocket and the other pirates gathered behind and looked over his shoulder.

"'e's got a bunch o' messages from this Lehcar person." Sprocket noticed. "'o's that lass, 'is girlfriend?"

The pirate clicked one of the messages, and Lehcar's voice was heard. "Nereeeehhhc? I'm heading off to the store, I need to know if I should steal any clean underwear." He clicked another one. "Nerehc, where are you? If you're out stepping on too many bugs again, don't expect me to scrape your shoes." He clicked one from Arorua. "Bro, did you take my favorite dress when I was asleep? I swear, if you did anything to it, don't expect to sleep well tonight." One from Sirhc. "Um… N-N-Nerehc? Mom's really gonna be mad if you don't hurry up before dinner. Sh-She might spank you, and I get scared when she spanks."

"'e 'as some pictures, too." Sprocket pointed out. The pirates searched through Nerehc's collection of photos. There was one of Lehcar fixing Young Nerehc's booboo, one of Nerehc and Arorua pushing each other in the mud, and one of Lehcar spanking Nerehc, with Sirhc cowering in the back, and the following one of Arorua smirking and winking at the phone's camera.

"Ye know what I'm thinkin', lads?" a pirate asked. "I'm thinkin' this lad ain't no Demon Prince at all. 'e's jest a wee scallywag."

"AYE." They all shouted.

"Yawn, sorry I'm late." Nerehc said, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the cabin with Pablo. "So, did we catch Cheren? And where's Captain Slag?"

He was only met with the hateful, deadly glares of the Slag Pirates.

"…What?"

"'eeeeyyyy, lads!" Rusty Pete exclaimed, suddenly bursting in as well. "I think you'll be happy ta know our captain came through for us! The grotto is saved! Oh, and don't mind the wee bit o' treasure I 'ave in me pockets. …Oi, wot's going on here, lads? Are we havin' a staring contest?"

Before Nerehc knew it, he was tied by the arm and legs as the pirates shoved him into a cannon aiming out at sea. "'I be the Demon Prince', ye told us." Sprocket said mockingly, trying to squeeze Nerehc in, "'Ay'll save yer island from the monsters.' Yer nothin' but a wee mama's boy." They tilted the cannon a little upward and prepared to fire. "Ye'll wish ye had your mummy's spankings, when Davy Jones drains the last bit of life from your lyin' lungs." As they lit the fuse, they tossed Nerehc's phone into the cannon with him. "'appy swimmings."

With that said, the cannon launched, and Nerehc flew miles out into the sea.

When he was far out of earshot, the pirates directed their attention to Pablo, who watched the scene with worry. The frightened child quickly strummed a quick tune on his guitar before zipping off.

Land of Fire

It wasn't long until the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. arrived in Japan, taking land on a clear spot near the edge of a vast forest. The weather felt much warmer than any other area they've been to as they stepped out to view the forest around them. Fi jumped out of Cheren's sword to confirm they've arrived.

"I have a report for you, Master. I can confirm with 85% accuracy we've arrived in the Land of Fire. Signs indicate that nearly 93% of the land is covered in forest. This was likely designed to conceal the Hidden Leaf Village, where the ninjas are trained and the people thrive. This land is so named because of the constant warm temperatures throughout each year. This particular area, known as Hidden Passe, is a trail to the Hidden Leaf Village, leading through the forest and mountains."

"Well, then we won't have to save time by flying. Thanks for the info, Fi." Cheren said half-interested as Fi returned to the blade.

"Does she always do that?" Kellie asked.

"Kind of. It's her thing." Cheren then skimmed the small area around them, feeling the landscape looked very strange. "This place is… kind of different."

"Really? How come?"

"I dunno… it's just the way things look. Ah well." He shook it off. "Let's just look for this… Hiding Leaf Place or whatever. Heh. I wonder if these ninjas are as cheesy as the ones on TV." (Play "Kung-Fu Alley Part 1" from Ape Escape 3.)

Stage 20: Hidden Passe

Mission: Find the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Cheren and Kellie began their venture across the trail. The first bit of the path was a rocky trail between two walls. They were already ambushed when a squad of Miniblin, dressed as ninjas, appeared out of puffs of smoke. The pretend ninjas started leaping around and throwing pitchforks. Cheren protected them with his shield while Kellie tried shooting at them with her T.H.U.M.P.E.R., able to knock them to the ground. When Cheren shot arrows at them, they suddenly turned into logs and kicked them from behind. They avoided their pitchforks and kept repeating these maneuvers until they were able to take the monsters out.

They progressed further down the path as Bulblin archers launched fire arrows at them from atop the walls, while at the same time, Bulblins riding Bullbos came charging down the trail. Kellie tried to shoot up at the archers, but her T.H.U.M.P.E.R.'s teddybears were only shot down by the arrows. "Heeey! Those bears cost 5 cents each!" she yelled. Since Cheren's arrows didn't work on the Bullbos, he launched Ice Arrows instead and froze the bulls solid, causing the Bulblin to fall off. The Bulblin raised shields as Cheren ran to attack them, but he simply flipped over and attacked their exposed backsides. He saw that his friend appeared to be taking a lot of beatings by distracting the archers, so he quickly shot the archers down with arrows.

They trekked further down the trail, only to come to a large, wooden gate that blocked the way through. There wasn't a doorkeeper for Cheren to do the pirate dance, and no switches that they could find. However, they did look back and see some of the ice wore off on the Bullbos, which were now standing in place. The kids smirked at each other and ran to hop on a Bullbo, riding it like a rodeo bull as they had it charge through the series of gates, successfully getting through. "In the Underworld, this is what passes as pony riding!" Cheren panted as they rode the Bullbo further down the trail.

"WHEEEEEE!" Kellie cheered, raising her arms in excitement. They passed along a trail through a forest before they were coming to a small ledge with a mountain trail behind it. "WHOOA!" The Bullbo crashed facefirst in the ledge, flinging Cheren and Kellie on top.

The mountain trail was wider than the previous trail and between two rock walls. They saw some Bulblin archers on a ledge up ahead, but were luckily too out of range to be shot. So before going ahead, Cheren decided to shoot the Bulblin and take them out now. When they walked further ahead, they were ambushed when a group of Nejiron appeared from the ground. Cheren ran to strike the first one, but the Nejiron exploded, covering him in soot. So to avoid taking damage, the two backed up and shot the Nejiron with their respective projectiles from a safe distance.

The two then approached the large cliffside, looking for a way up. There weren't any ledges for Wolf Cheren to leap to, no Arrangement Pads, or any Hookshot targets. "Any ideas?" he decided to ask Kellie.

The Japanese girl looked up to the right, seeing that part of the trench wall stuck out a little. Smirking, the girl charged toward the corner, leaped, kicked off the cliffside to bounce higher, kicked off the trench wall, then kicked off the part sticking out to successfully reach the ledge. Once up there, she found a rope ladder and lowered it down for Cheren. However, the ladder stretched too short, but Cheren was able to latch it with his Hookshot and pull himself up. "Nice move!"

"Ta ha! It's my Triangle Jump! My parents taught it to me!"

The rest of this trench trail had several large stones laying around, and when they walked further, the stones transformed into Ninja Miniblin and started leaping around. The kids only dodged and countered with their projectile weapons. To take them out quicker, Cheren froze them using Ice Arrows, then shattered them with Fire Arrows, preventing them from turning into logs.

They hurried further down the trail afterwards, in which the path brought them along a cliffside where they had a great view of the woods below. The only thing that assaulted them were Bulblin riders, which Cheren easily took out by shooting arrows at them. They followed the winding path as it led them around several corners of the cliffside, eventually coming to a point where bombs lay in parts of the path. When they approached the first one, they all immediately exploded, creating large gaps in the path. Cheren could easily glide them across, but a Flamethrower Fatblin guarded the ledge, ready to blow his device if they flew across.

Instead, Kellie stepped back, charged toward the wall, then jumped over the edge and wall-kicked over onto the Fatblin's head, getting behind him. When the monster turned to attack her, Cheren quickly glided over with the Sail and sliced the monster's behind, taking it out. They approached the next ledge and found a Long-Shield Fatblin guarding the other side, meaning Kellie wouldn't be able to jump off of it. Cheren decided to toss his Remote Bananarang and hit the Fatblin from behind. It didn't damage him, but the monster turned around to see what hit him. They took this moment of distraction to glide over and quickly slice the Fatblin, taking him down.

They came to the next gap and saw a third Fatblin guarding the next ledge, only it stood further away. The Fatblin was unarmored and unarmed, and was dressed like a sumo wrestler. Cheren tried to shoot arrows at it, but it swiftly swatted the arrows away. The two exchanged glances and shrugged as Kellie decided to wall-kick over first, and when she did, the Sumoblin immediately charged over and pushed the girl over the edge. Cheren launched his Hookshot down quickly to pull her back up, watching as the Sumoblin stepped back to the other side. Cheren thought of a plan and glided over by himself, quickly switching into Captain Slag's form. When the sumo charged over, Cheren used his equal strength to push the monster back. He was able to push the Fatblin over the other ledge, changing back afterwards to pull Kellie over with his Hookshot.

The two then glided over this last gap and continued along the windy path. They were eventually led into a forest area, the path unclear by all the trees in their way. As they traversed around the trees, Cheren heard quick whooshing sounds above them, the image of quick, silhouetted beings zipping over their heads in the corner of his eyes. "Hm?" Kellie looked at him curiously when Cheren stopped and looked up.

"Did you… see that, Kellie?" he asked.

Kellie looked up at the tree branches. "I don't see anything. Did you drink too much salt water when you went to that island?"

Salt water's what I shoulda drank. He thought to himself. "Just keep your guard up, Kell."

They reached a clearer opening in the path, but the sky was blocked almost completely by the leaves from all of the long branches. They didn't walk far when a small, sharp knife-like projectile shot in their path, forcing them to stop in shock; it was a kunai knife, like the ones ninjas use.

"HALT!" They looked up and saw three men in blackish-blue jumpsuits, having only their eyes exposed like ninjas, and wearing headbands around their foreheads that bared a strange symbol, which almost looked like a swirly leaf. The first man spoke something in Japanese, "(State your name and homeland, or we'll believe you as enemies.)"

The second one said, "(Yeah, it's sort of our thing to accuse strangers of being enemies if they don't tell us who they are fast.)"

"Uhhhhh…" Cheren was totally dumbstruck.

Kellie cheerfully said, "(Oooh! Are you guys ninjas? You guys are silly on TV! Um, how do you breathe in those masks?)"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You're Kuki's daughter." Cheren remembered. "Good thing I brought you along."

"Ta ha ha! Yeah! Otherwise, you'd be all, duuuuuhhh."

Cheren looked annoyed. "Makes me wish I brought Makava along."

"Who?"

The first ninja said something else that Cheren didn't get. "What?"

"He said, for not stating who we were when they asked, they're going to kill us." Kellie answered.

"Oh- WHAT?"

Immediately, the ninjas threw more kunai knives, and Cheren jumped in Kellie's way to defend her with his shield. "Stay behind me." He ordered, running to attack the ninja. As he did so, the camera turned to face Kellie, who stared confusedly at it.

"Why do all these Naruto fights always happen offscreen?"

My new assistant, Kris Hallows, who was the cameraman, said, "Ahh, sorry. Following this guy around everywhere gets so boring, and I get distracted."

"Just point the camera at him!!"

"Alright, geez!" With that, the camera redirected at Cheren, who had already defeated the ninjas.

"Kellie, I won."

"Already? Man, this story needs tougher enemies."

They continued through the forest, keeping their guard up in case other ninja tried to attack them. Immediately, a ninja shot by their left. …It looked like the ninja was moving fast, but he was actually slowly moving in place, making him an easy target for Cheren's arrows. They faced ahead when another ninja leapt above them. The ninja stylishly reached under its clothing to throw a kunai knife, but it moved too slow to avoid Cheren's arrow. Kellie yelped when another ninja jumped out of some bushes on their right, running like a cheetah toward them… or at least, it looked like he was running, but he wasn't going anywhere fast. This made him yet another easy target for Cheren's arrows.

"Man, what's with these guys?" Cheren asked confusedly. "It's like we're in some anime or something."

They gasped when another ninja dropped on the ground a few feet in front of them. The ninja had his kunai ready, eyes fixed on Cheren as he thought to himself internally. This boy is quicker than anyone I've ever seen. His garb is strange… he doesn't even resemble a ninja, and yet he flings his arrows so quickly. If I'm going to defeat this boy… I need to-

Cheren just decided to shoot the ninja and knock him out, for just standing in one place made him an easier target. "And THAT'S why it's better to not think, and just go." Cheren remarked.

They came to a cliffside area where a ledge above launched darts from small holes. There was a staircase on their right that led up to the ledge, but the darts shot out from it awfully fast. Kellie decided to shoot her T.H.U.M.P.E.R. at some of the holes, and was able to clog them with her teddybears. Cheren gave a congratulatory nod and began to sidle along the ledge while Kellie clogged the dart holes from below. He made it across with no troubles, then pulled Kellie up with his Hookshot.

Before they moved forward, Cheren noticed a snake crawl into a tiny hole in the wall. This reminded him of his Cobra Mask, which he placed over his head to speak to the snake. The snake crawled out of its hole and spoke, "It'sss believed the Cobra Mask was manufactured in Japan, by sssomeone who was friendss with itss buyer."

The two entered another forest area, which was covered in thick, steamy fog. There were geysers of piping hot steam popping out of the ground. Cheren almost walked into one, but Kellie pulled him back quickly. "Man, this place is dangerous." He commented. To make it easier, Cheren turned into his wolf form and used his senses to see through the fog.

"Aww, you're a puppy!" Kellie exclaimed. Cheren used his wolf sense to see the gaps in the ground, safely navigating their way around the geysers. Along the way, Green Chuchus emerged from the ground and leapt at Cheren, but the wolf boy easily ripped the jelly to shreds with his teeth.

When they arrived at a more clear area of the forest, another ninja stood in their way. Cheren growled, getting ready to attack it, but the two took notice of something different: an evil look brimmed in his eyes, and he was surrounded by a strange, dark aura. "(None shall pass here.)" he said in Japanese. They avoided as the man threw a kunai, and Cheren leapt to attack him. The ninja used another kunai to hold back Cheren's teeth, but the wolf grabbed and tossed the weapon away before gnawing at the ninja's chest. During his weakened state, Kellie hurried over to jump on the man's face and knock him out.

Cheren reverted to normal as they curiously watched the dark aura leave him. "This guy was… odd." He said.

Fi came out and reported, "Master, I have some information for you. The aura I sensed from this ninja was different from the ninja I have scanned earlier. There is a 90% chance that an evil presence is overtaking these people. I'd advise extreme caution, Master."

"Relax, Fi, I set the difficulty to Easy before we started this adventure. But thanks for the heads up." With that, Fi returned.

They progressed a little further through the forest as more possessed ninja ambushed them. The ninja still moved in an anime style—in other words, rather slow, so Cheren was able to knock them out easily. The duo then arrived at a narrow trench with a mist-filled chasm down below. The walls were close enough to Wall Jump across, but steam geysers erupted from holes in the trench. The geysers could be avoided if they timed their jumps carefully, but to make things easier, Cheren shot Ice Arrows at the geyser holes and froze them shut. After Wall Jumping across the chasm, they arrived at another foggy area.

The path was pretty straightforward; the only thing that intervened were a few Fatblin patrolling the area. Kellie distracted the monsters by dancing around in front of them as they tried to hit her with their spears, leaving Cheren to run behind and slice them up. They eventually came to another Sumoblin, which took them by surprise as it charged over, grabbed them, and threw them back. Cheren turned into Captain Slag's form and pushed against the sumo. He saw an even larger geyser coming out of a hole behind the sumo, so Cheren pushed the monster in and clogged the geyser, allowing the two of them to pass. (End song.)

The two suddenly found another ninja warrior, bleeding and panting heavily as he faced some kind of puppet being, surrounded by darkness. "Orokana ninja wa... Anata no ishi wa ningyō-han no mono to wa itchi shite iru. Anata no yūjin ga motte iru yō ni narimashita sarendā. Ningyō no sore ni anata no ishi o teishutsu shite kudasai. (Foolish ninja… your will is no match to that of the Puppet Clan. Surrender now like your friends have. Submit your will to that of a puppet.)"

The ninja panted a little before speaking. "Anata dake no ningyō wa, nō ya shinzō... Ga attara watashitachi wa kesshite akiramenai riyū wa... Anata ga shitte iru to omoimasu. (If only you puppets had a brain… or a heart… then you'd know why we never give up.)"

"Anata no kokoro wa anata ga osoku narimasu. Anata no kettei wa anata no botsuraku to narimasu. Atode anata no tamashī o seikyū sa sete itadakimasu to, ima no tatakai ni wa pointo wa arimasen. (Your hearts and minds slow you down. Your determination will be your downfall. There's no point in fighting now, when we will claim your soul later.)"

"Sōna no? Anata wa kore o sanshō shite kudasai? (Is that so? You see this?)" he pointed at his headband. "Watashi wa akirametanode, watashi wa kono heddo bando o kakutoku suru koto wa dekimasendeshita. Toshi ga ninja no yō ni jibun no sukiru o migaku tame ni no tame ni watashi ga kunren o uketa. Kono heddo bando wa watashi no seishin o arawashite imasu. Watashi no tamashī wa eien ni atte mo, watashi no karada wa shimasen... Sore ni baindo sa remasu. (I didn't earn this headband because I gave up. I trained for years to hone my skills as a ninja. This headband represents my spirit. My soul will forever be bound to it… even if my body won't.)"

"What the crud are they saying?" Cheren asked.

"Well, the puppet guy told him to surrender, but the ninja says he'll never give up." Kellie explained. "But what are they doing? …Ooh! They're probably playing hide-and-seek!"

"Yeah, I… don't think hide-and-seek involves getting beaten to a bloody pulp." Cheren told her.

"Hmm… well, maybe it's paintball!" Kellie grinned.

Cheren rolled his eyes and continued to watch this battle unfold. The ninja and the puppet stood silent and still, facing each other with fierce glares. The air was thick with tension… anxiousness wore on their faces. Who would make the next strike… and who would fall. Those questions rang in Cheren and Kellie's faces. The fog was increasing from all this tension, the two opponents wearing tight, determined stare-"

"WILL SOMEBODY JUST DO SOMETHING??" Kellie screamed.

"Nani?? (What??)" the ninja turned and spotted the kids. "Ooooh!" Immediately, he was pierced in the back by the puppet's knife.

"Oops…" Kellie blushed.

The puppet kept its knife in for a few seconds before yanking it out and allowing the ninja to fall down. Cheren immediately leapt and sliced the puppet up with his sword, his severed bits falling to the ground.

The ninja lay panting heavily on the ground as more blood spilled from his backside. "Oooh! I'm sorry, Mr. Ninja!" Kellie apologized, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a yellow Rainbow Monkey. "Here! You can have my Don't-Die-From-Being-Stabbed-With-A-Knife Rainbow Monkey!"

The fallen ninja weakly glanced up at them. "…Kodomo-tachi wa anata ni daredaredesu ka? Anata wa, sutōrī wa yori ōku no tenponohayai doko anata ga sekai kara kite, dare mo shinu n… Noyōnimieru. (Who…Who are you kids? You look like… you come from a world where the storylines are a lot more fast-paced, and no one ever dies.)" he panted.

"I don't think he likes the Rainbow Monkey…" Kellie frowned.

Fi emerged from Cheren's sword and spoke, "Master, chances of this ninja surviving in this state are 24%. I'd suggest playing the Song of Healing to give his soul peace."

Cheren figured that was the answer… but by playing the Song of Healing, he knew exactly where this would lead. "Holy crap, this is gonna be so cool!" That said, he excitedly pulled out the Spirit Flute and played the Song of Healing.

Doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo-dooo, doo-doo, do-do-doooo.

And just like every other time, the ninja vanished in a flash of light. Only his headband remained, which lay slumped on the ground. Kellie knelt down and skimmed the ground in confusion. "Where'd the ninja go?"

"He…" Cheren picked the headband up, "his soul is in the headband… I think."

"It is?" Kellie took the headband and observed it from all angles. "How do you get in there?"

Cheren took the headband back and chuckled. "It's… not like that, Kell."

You got the Hidden Leaf Headband! Within this headband lies the soul of a proud, fallen ninja. Wear this and you can inhabit the body of a ninja-

"HO YEAH!" Cheren exclaimed.

Um… as a ninja, you'll be able to move quicker and be a master at stealth. You can also understand Japanese!

"What?" Kellie looked baffled at Cheren's outburst.

"Oh, it was just the… nothing." Cheren laughed. "O-kay, let's try this baby out!" With that, he slipped the headband on, tying it around his forehead. However, after a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Cheren only stared at his forehead with disappointment. "Uhh…"

"It looks great on you!"

"I don't get it. Aren't I supposed to transform?"

Kellie stared at it for a second. She noticed what was wrong: "You're wearing it backwards!" With that, she turned the headband around so that the symbol's side was over his forehead.

Immediately, Cheren felt the transformation overcome him. He grew twice his normal height, the ninja mask was forced over his mouth and nose, and the jumpsuit appeared along his body. Only difference was his hair was visible above his head and the red glasses were still on his face. Indeed, Cheren had become a ninja. "Awesoooome!" he said in a gruffer voice.

"Ta ha ha! You look like Waldo!" Kellie giggled.

"Silence! I am a ninja now! I must be quick! Vigilant! Sneaky!" he said quickly as he made swift, anime-like motions. "And talk really fast! And make as little motion as possible! Because that would add to production value! And animation costs money, OO-OOOHN?!"

"Fanfictions don't have animations, silly!"

"I wish." Cheren chuckled. But right away, the warping sound reached his ears again. He raised his kunai knife, putting on a serious ninja-face.

"Does you being a ninja mean you get sooper hearing?" Kellie asked, not hearing the warping sounds.

"No, but it means I'm about to fall asleep randomly, as far as you can tell."

"Zoni." Cheren was ambushed from behind as the alien creatures zapped him into unconsciousness.

Land of Crypts and Helium (Play "Land of Crypts and Helium" from Homestuck (right here: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006720 )

When Cheren awoke, he found himself in yet another unfamiliar land. The sky was pitch-black, the land was dead and grey, and salamander skulls lay everywhere. The only signs of color were that of the clear blue river, and the thousands of colorful balloons that drifted across the heavens, sprinkling water down onto the lifeless planet. "Wow… I wonder what could've happened here."

Stage 21: Land of Crypts and Helium

Mission: Explore the strange land.

Cheren began the venture along a curvy, narrow pathway that brought him to an expansive valley, where a small waterfall poured into the river. The road split into two paths, and both seemed to lead to far-off areas. Cheren was just confused as to where to go; the land was so massive. He decided to head along the right path for now, which zigzagged as it led up over a hill. Cheren ran as quick as he could, knowing it was going to be a long way. It didn't take long until he made it to the other side of the hill. All he found was an open, empty area, with a few large holes in the ground, and a balloon sprinkling water into one of the holes.

Cheren peeked down into each of the holes. They were both far too dark for him to see. Cheren reverted to his human form and launched a Fire Arrow down one to see if it would create enough light. The arrow hit something, but the flame went away too quickly. He decided to return back up the hill and into the valley. Upon his return, he looked at the river, curious if anything might be in it. He dove in and began to have a swim around. To his good fortune, he found a tunnel along one of the ledges. At the end of the tunnel was a large button, too big for Cheren to push normally, so he had to perform a Torpedo Spin to shove it in.

Cheren resurfaced afterward, wondering what the switch did. Fi came out to confirm his suspicion. "Master, I have detected a tremor emitting from the region we previously were to the east."

Cheren nodded and hurried back to the area with all the holes. To his surprise, a strange tower had risen from a spot on the ground. Atop the tower sat a large, round mirror. Cheren walked around and studied the tower, still not sure of its purpose. He decided to leave it for now and return to the valley. This time, he decided to follow the western road. Part of the road split off and led into a secret cave behind the waterfall. The cave led him deep underground, eventually bringing him to a flooded cavern. There were two mirrors spread apart along the stalactite-covered ceiling, and two more mirrors sitting on stalagmites in the water. There were also a few platforms in the water where air seemed to be pumped into balloons, but rather weakly, and along the corner of the left ledge was an orange crystal switch.

He saw there were Keese blocking the mirrors on the ceiling, so he shot the bats with arrows to uncover them. However, he still wasn't sure what the mirrors were for. Cheren then walked over to hit the orange crystal switch, but nothing happened. Cheren entered the door on the other side and found a smaller room with a door that had three round slots. They were each aligned like a triangle around the middle, with two on top, and one lower one. Aside from the door, there was also a strange fossil sitting on a pedestal. It was a skull, but it wasn't shaped like any Cheren had seen. Cheren removed the fossil, but nothing happened. Not seeing anything else of interest, Cheren made his way out of the cave, but kept the skull with him.

Cheren followed the rest of the western path and came to what appeared to be some old ruins. Inside were several stone tablets laying about the ground, likely talking about prophecies and crud like that. Cheren decided to ignore them and continue ahead, eventually reaching the center of the ruin. There was a strange chandelier with four different colored lanterns; a blue one, a purple one, an orange one, and a green one, which was the only one that wasn't lit. The chandelier was held by a rope, which went up to the ceiling, then came down to another pedestal.

"Master Cheren, I have information to report." Fi spoke, popping out of the sword. "Signs indicate the height of this chandelier is weight-controlled. If something were to be placed on the pedestal before you, I conjecture an 80% chance the chandelier will be risen."

"Weight-controlled, huh?" Cheren said as he pulled out the fossil from earlier. "Thought this'd come in handy." The fossil held down a switch on the pedestal, causing the chandelier to lift up. The lanterns were lifted up in the center of four magnifying glasses, creating four colorful beams that shone in different directions.

Cheren hurried outside and saw the four beams stretching miles across the land. He suddenly realized the purpose of the mirrors and dashed across the valley to reach the eastern side. Indeed, the blue light was being deflected off the mirror, making it shine onto the giant balloon's hole, where the water was leaking from. Cheren didn't quite understand the significance, so he returned to the valley. The purple beam was shining out to the south; where Cheren first appeared in this realm, so he hurried in that direction. He ended up finding a wide chasm behind the point where he started, and two mirror towers stood on the other side. The purple beam was aimed at the top of the right tower, but the mirror was on the other side.

However, Cheren spotted a blue crystal switch stationed atop the tower. He fired an arrow to hit the switch, but it wouldn't activate. After shooting a few more arrows up to hit it, it dawned on him that he had to shine the blue beam onto the switch. Cheren hurried back to the ruins and studied the chandelier. Curious, he threw his Bananarang up to hit it, causing the chandelier to turn. Now the lanterns were each shining beams in a different direction. The blue beam was aimed south now, so Cheren dashed all the way back to find the beam making the crystal switch alight. Cheren shot it once more with an arrow and activated it, causing the mirror tower to turn so that the beam was reflecting off the mirror.

Cheren peeked into the pit, seeing the beam was being deflected into it. Cheren also noticed a few other mirrors within the pit, but the beam wasn't hitting them. He sent the Remote Control Bananarang to search for any more switches, but found nothing that could change the direction of the mirror again.

Cheren decided to return to the eastern area, seeing the purple beam was now shining in that direction. Amazingly, he saw that the mirror deflected the purple light into the nearby hole, when the position of the tower hadn't looked like it changed at all.

Fi came out to report this, "Master, I have new information to report."

"Can't you come out just to say 'hi'??"

"While I am unfamiliar with this type of mechanism, it would appear that the mirrors deflect each different light in a different direction. It is unknown how the beings who designed these mirrors were able to create them this way, but I would suggest using this knowledge to your advantage, Master."

Cheren peeked down into the pit to see the light bouncing off several other mirrors, eventually shining on a purple crystal switch. Cheren fired an arrow down below, and it sounded like a door opened inside of the pit. However, feeling it wasn't very safe, Cheren threw his Remote Bananarang down to skim around. There appeared to be other ground inside the pit, but the area where the switch sat was surrounded by an invisible barrier.

Cheren decided to look into the other pits for a solution, namely the pit that the balloon was over. He noticed the water pouring out of the bottom and remembered how the blue light shone on it earlier. Cheren decided to shoot an Ice Arrow at the balloon's hole, and successfully froze it solid. This caused the balloon to slowly sink into the hole. Cheren quickly jumped on and rode it down. The balloon stopped partway down the pit beside a tunnel pathway, where Cheren could see the platform with the switch.

The end of the path had an open door, which revealed a room with a stone with a strange symbol. Cheren proceeded to collect the symbol, knowing it had to be used somewhere. He went back to the balloon to search for a way out of this pit. He saw one of those Arrow Spheres along one of the walls, and peeked down to see a series of Arrow Spheres, in which the last one aimed at the bottom of the balloon. He saw the solution to this puzzle and shot a Fire Arrow at the first sphere, making it redirect at all the other spheres before hitting the ice on the bottom of the balloon. The water was free to pour out again, making the balloon lift back into the air.

Before jumping off of the balloon, he saw a ledge that was within gliding distance with a chest on it. Cheren glided over with the Pirates' Sail and opened the chest, finding another strange symbol. Afterwards, he jumped down and hurried all the way back to the ruins. This time, he turned the lanterns so that the orange was facing south. He dashed back to the southern region and found that the orange beam bounced off the right mirror, to the left mirror, and into the chasm where it bounced off the series of other mirrors.

Wondering where that mirror trail ended up, Cheren hurried back to the cave behind the waterfall. The orange beam had indeed been led into the flooded cavern, bouncing off the four mirrors as it was led to the orange crystal switch. Cheren was able to hit the switch, and it caused one of the balloons on the platforms to inflate and lift off. Cheren watched as the small balloon floated up to the ceiling and popped on the stalactites. Another balloon was inflated then, and Cheren ran to grab and hold it shut. The balloon wouldn't lift him off, so he put his Kateenian Mask on to make himself lighter.

He held on with both his small hands as the balloon lifted him off. Cheren saw an opening in the wall far on the other side of the stalagmite-filled water, so he pushed himself further in that direction. The balloon kept floating upward, so he had to squeeze tighter to hold the air, er, water inside, to keep himself from touching the stalactites, but then release the water to keep from touching the stalagmites. He got a little aggravated from having the water spill over his head as he floated, wondering how these balloons stay afloat this way.

He was able to reach the opening and let go of the balloon to open a chest containing the third symbol. Afterwards, he changed back to a human and swam across the water to reach the foothold. Before entering the door, he saw a snake crawl out of a tiny hole, then retreat. He slipped his Cobra Mask on and approached it. The snake slithered out with some information.

"They sssay that when the new era has begun, the 20 will come once 20 have passed. When that happensss, Time will be at war with its own self…"

Cheren entered the room with the three-slot door and placed each of the symbols within the right slot. Nothing appeared to happen, so Cheren figured he had to turn them the right way. He discovered that the three symbols, when turned the right way, formed some kind of strange heart. After turning them correctly, the stones seemed to fuse with the door as the symbols magically moved into the center and formed the heart symbol. The symbol emitted a bright light before the door creaked open, allowing Cheren access to another computer terminal. He studied the terminal to find another chat session. (End song.)

veneerGuise began pestering MajorMonstros

VG: :)

MM: MMmm, what is it this time?

VG: DiD yoU see what i maDe for yoU? :)

MM: MMmm, it's a MMask.

VG: Do yoU love it? :,)

MM: … ovMvo

VG: i'D say it Closely resembles yoU. ^U^ look! It has yoUr horns, the spikes on yoUr hair, anD it is even shapeD like yoUr faCe! ^U^

MM: It is hideous.

VG: ==C

MM: It looks little like MMe. You've wasted your time.

VG: i Don't ConsiDer it a waste. Whether it has the faCe of an angel… or of a Demon. A frienD maDe it for yoU. shoUlDn't that be all that matters? :(

MM: Friendship can only last so long… having pointless keepsakes around will only strengthen the pain of the MMemory of what once was.

VG: …):

VG: Zanifr…