The Sister Island

[Lord of the Dance]

We're going into a volcano!? Was my first reaction, but then I realized I would have to get used to it. This should be fun! I had never actually been to the volcano.
Then suddenly, I was paralyzed. I felt like my heart skipped a few beats. There was a buzz in the back of my mind, a feeling I had only gotten a few times before. The thought raced around my head uncontrollably.
SOMETHING TERRIBLE JUST HAPPENED.
I gritted my teeth, trying to resist the urge to double over in pain. I had to breathe deeply to get air, but I tried to keep it from showing.
I usually got this feeling after something bad happened, so I guessed it was that appearance of that Malthos guy in the town. I looked down at my hands while struggling to keep up the pace behind Henrikoshen- they were trembling. I quickly folded them in front of me and hummed while looking up at the sky, trying to hide my sudden anxiety. I tried thinking about something else; that usually helped. Aren't we at the volcano yet...?
I noticed that still no one asked my name, but it wasn't like I wanted to say it anytime soon. And my hands were still shaking slightly in their folded position. I unfolded them and shook them around a little, trying to clear the numbness and the lump in my throat. Something was wrong, I was sure of it. But it had already happened, so there was nothing I could do about it...
Skyler was the Paratroopa's name, right? Yellow-shell, I remember him. I forced my mind onto another topic, hoping that between that and rubbing my wrists a little would get rid of that terrible feeling I felt everywhere in my body.

[Chilaquiles]

Blood began to speak aloud to the group as he walked, to address a few things as well as combat total boredom.

"In case you're wondering, yes, we are going into the volcano. A cave at its base, more specifically...I'm sure this is very sudden for you all, isn't it?" Blood stopped walking and turned around to face his group. "I'm sure you all think I'm insane, right? I bet you're thinking this is all some sort of hoax, and I can't blame you. Just earlier today you were living peaceful lives, all of you. Completely oblivious to what was in store for you, then bang, the magikoopa comes along, you're directed to come to me and I've got to lead you all on some crazy trip to the foot of a flippin' volcano."

Blood sighed, "Look, I don't exactly like this either. I wish I could live on, not even having any idea what was happening to this place, but this is the sad truth: We're sinking. That's right, this whole island is going underwater, and pretty damn rapidly. If we don't do what we have to do, we'll all be treading water in a matter of days, and then what will we do? We drown.

Those weapons you hold are not ordinary. They are meant for you, and anyone else who attempts to hold and control them will find that they cannot. Those weapons have a spot of their own on a pedestal within the volcano cave, as well as the artifact that the magikoopa dropped. Our task is to activate the landbridge that leads us off this island, by fitting those weapons, and this artifact in their respective slots, then quite simply, get the hell off this island before we all drown. As for the civilian villagers that don't know what's happening, they will have to fend for themselves as the water slowly rises. There's nothing we can do to help them, and taking them along would only hinder us greatly. Once we've escaped this place, we seek help..."

Blood folded his arms and turned around again. "Take a minute to soak all that up. It'll be a long time before you all have the courage that heroes should."

[Enrique]

Henrikoshen's trust for Blood quadrupled as Blood gave his speech. Blood had verified each and every emotion that Henrikoshen had toward the expedition in the introduction of the address. It was also comforting for Henrikoshen knowing that he wasn't the only one that thought this adventure was ripped straight out of midair. "So, I guess I don't have to start flipping out because this dude just flipped out for me and everyone else. Good deal."

However, he thought it was crazy to think that the island was sinking. Though, after further examination, it seemed as if the world might as well have become a two-dimensional square after that magikoopa came in and destroyed the sanity of his life as well as the others', so a rapidly sinking island would seem quite normal. There was even further verification of this as he remembered that the "A-Team" was heading toward the base of a volcano. "Hey, why not?... What else could go wrong?"

Henrikoshen nodded and smiled in initial response to Blood's speech. Seconds later, he spoke. "I'm behind you all the way on this. Got nothing better to do. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

[Lord of the Dance]

"Oh, don't ask that..." I complained, the strange feeling still lingering a bit somewhere in the pit of my stomach.
The island? Sinking? I didn't want to believe him, but something told me he knew exactly what he was talking about. After the appearance of Malthos, I supposed anything could happen.
My first reaction was to think he was kidding around when he said we were heroes; I was a delivery kid, and hardly anyone even knew my name! There were many other more worthy Yoshis.
Although I felt a little drawn towards my new weapon. I wasn't sure anyone else in the town would look as... matched with it.
But at least we weren't actually going into the hot magma chambers within the volcano. I felt a little more relaxed at that thought- Magikoopas and sinking islands paled in comparison to my fear... no, concern of being burned alive. I was never afraid, only concerned.
But then I thought of something. "What about this Malthos guy? Does he knew about us, or are we safe now?" The elder had said something about him earlier...

[Chilaquiles]

Blood grinned at Henrikoshen's reaction.

"It's good to see you're all understanding. I don't want you thinking I'm some sort of loon." After saying this, however, his grin disappeared and he came back to the harsh realities of things.

"Well, the worst that can happen is that we all die at the wand of Malthos and his minions, and that he succeeds in escaping from this island and manages to claim the entire world as his own..." Blood said, rather grimly, "But let's not think so far ahead. If we take things one step at a time, we can accomplish our goal."

Blood then turned to the young yoshi girl's question, which he was happy to give a more reassuring answer for. "No, Malthos does not know of us yet, only because I have the artifact. If he had kept it any longer, he would have found us and killed us all mercilessly. However, if we happen to run into him, our only option is to flee. We are in no state to face him at the moment, as he is hardly mortal. This is why we must reach the volcano as quickly as possible, there is an ancient power for each of you to acquire that will give you a bit more of a fighting chance against him, myself included, ad well as deactivating the landbridge we can use to get the hell out of here...But, as long as he doesn't know we're the heroes, we're safe."

Blood looked ahead. The path grew denser with trees as they moved forward, a sure sign that the volcano temple was dead ahead.

"I think we may have gotten here a bit sooner than we thought...It looks as if it's just yards from here, come on!"

[Enrique]

Henrikoshen was definitely awake and alert when Blood first described the "worst thing that can happen," as Henrikoshen had half-rhetorically asked earlier. However, he didn't see Malthos or any other magikoopa cross the path of the heroes at this point; in fact, it was also calming knowing that Malthos didn't even know that the "A-Team" was the "A-Team" yet; this made Henrikoshen very relaxed as he learned that the volcano was paces from him. This news made Henrikoshen excited.

Henrikoshen made two short hops at the news of the nearby volcano, with the second hop slightly higher than the first. "Woohoo!" It seemed as if he had never been quite as happy in his life...

[Lord of the Dance]

I peered forward at the volcano. Time does fly, I thought to myself, and watched Henrikoshen jump ahead. I preferred to stay just behind Blood. He would be able to tell us how to deal with any obstacle, I was sure.
The knowledge that Malthos did not know of us comforted me a little, but there was that slight caution in the back of my mind. Just how powerful was he? He didn't seem all that high and mighty if he was clumsy enough to drop the item he needed to rule the world.
Oh well. We were nearly there, it seemed. I wondered just what kind of "power" Blood meant.

[Not-Garr]

Lorro frowned, he didn't like it, yet at the same time... "Fine, let's do this! I want to save my home.. ..We WILL be able to save this island, won't we, instead of escaping and just letting the entire thing... ... ...Drown?"

He looked out at the volcano, thinking about the lance he had strapped to his back, just this morning he woke up feeling like it was going to be a special day, but he had no idea it would be something like this...

[Chilaquiles]

"The island will stay intact," Blood replied to Lorro, "But it might suffer some severe damage. Once the water level returns to normal, everything should return to the way it was."

Finally, the entrance to the volcano cave was merely feet away. Blood dashed ahead to examine the entrance, and ancient looking stone door that didn't have any knob or handle, just a small alcove at its center slightly larger than an average sized rock. Blood took the artifact and jammed it into the alcove. It lit up and the door trembled, then seemed to vanish completely into thin air. The artifact did not vanish, and dropped to the ground. He picked it up and took his first step inside...

"Come on in, guys!" Blood looked around the cave. His first step put him in a large chamber, standing on a narrow bridge, maybe about a meter wide that was suspended from the ceiling by iron chains. The bridge crossed a gap above a massive pit of cooled lava and lead to a manmade, concrete platform in the middle of the circular room. The bridge had no rails, and shook unsteadily as Blood walked accross it.

"So this is the place...Watch your step, guys."

[Lord of the Dance]

I followed Blood inside somewhat uneasily. I made the mistake at looking down over the edge of the bridge. The cooled lava below seemed to grow larger every second I gazed down at it until I tore my eyes away. The lava was probably still hot enough to incinerate someone a few yards above the surface if they fell off the bridge.
I hated heights. Even more than being weak, I hated heights. I had leaned forwards, almost ready to crawl across the bridge if I felt like I was about to lose my balance. The concrete platform looked even welcoming at this point, but I didn't want to hurry in case I stumbled and slipped off the bridge... I tiptoed behind Blood, sweating a little and keeping an eye glued to the edge of the bridge.

[Enrique]

Henrikoshen quickly entered the volcano cave as soon as the stone door vanished and the yoshi girl had entered. However, the smile eventually was erased from his face as soon as he found the lava pit and found himself on a narrow, nearly unstable bridge. Following Blood's order, Henrikoshen had his head at an angle toward the bridge as he crossed it. His speed across the bridge was slightly slower than what it would have been had he had not been following the yoshi girl. He noticed a sense of nervousness about her as she crossed the unsteady bridge. The only thing he could do was to maintain his balance as he - and the yoshi girl- moved at a snail's pace across the bridge toward a platform on the other side.

[Sky]

A lot ran through Skyler's head, so much he couldn't even start to keep up with what to think first. Island sinking, going in a volcano, being some sort of hero, that Magikoopa being evil, the new traveller with them; everything kept makng him more and more nervous. He couldn't help but to think about the island sinking though, it was something so mind-boggling to one who was just living day-by-day and just getting by with what daily events brought. Nothing had ever been this dire, nor anything was ever close to dire in the first place, and quite frankly, he shook in his boots.

Seeing that the group were now in the volcano, Skyler tried his best to stop thinking so much about everything and try his best to at least pay attention to what was around him and was going on. Thankfully, for he stopped short of just walking down the edge of that gap leading downwards, and noticed the small drawbridge used for travel. He hesitated, although he didn't want to cross it at all, he didn't want to seem, superior, in a way. This was simple for him, he could just fly across.

Finally, coming to a conclusion, he takes flight, although stays behind the group and watches them, not wanting to really get ahead of them, and not wanting to be a distraction to anyone either.

"I'll just.. hang back here, yeah. No need to endanger them by my crossing the bridge on foot, I'll make that shake so much.."

[Not-Garr]

Lorro frowned at this, looking on as the group crossed the rickety little bridge, looking rather nervous himself, drawing the lance he was given, staring down at the lava below, and gulping.

He'd never faced something like this, and frankly, it was damn scary. He held the lance with both paws out in front of him like a balancing pole, giving a gulp as he started to walk after them.

"...This is troublesome.." he stated, looking after his companions, and even looking after Skyler rather jealously.

[Chilaquiles]

(A Malthos post. Sorry Teo for not giving you a chance to post til now)

The goonies dropped Trombador onto the sweet, solid ground of Malthos's home and dispersed, flying off in random directions to resume their unknown duties. Malthos dusted off a fine looking, yet rather aged broomstick and presented it to his new minion.

"This will be yours. It's a bit old, but I've no doubt that it works just as good as my own, my friend. Why, you could even use those wings of yours to give yourself a little boost." Malthos smiled, admiring his evil creation. "Yes, you will be a great help to me. You'll need an outfit, though, since you'd look a bit silly flying about on this broomstick without a proper robe." Malthos snapped his finger yet again, and, as usual, goonies were there to provide for his exact needs. The goonies were holding up a red robe almost identical to Malthos's, and a matching pair of trademark magikoopa spectacles. Before dropping it in Trombador's arms, one goonie pulled a pair of scizzors seemingly from nowhere and cut two holes on the upper back of the robe, so that his wings could stick out.

The goonies dropped the new gear in Trom's arms. "Well, boy, now you're complete with a broom, wand, and a stylish new garb. Don't delay! Try them a-Oof!" Malthos was interrupted by a goonie who had run into him from behind. The goonie had a frantic expression, and began speaking once seeing Malthos's face.

"S-sir! Someone has entered the volcano cave! That must mean they have your artifact!" Malthos's eyes lit up instantly, and he grew cheerful.

"Hahaha! A raise for you, my goonie!" He turned to his new paratroopa minion. "Come on now! This is your chance to show your worth in battle, Trom!" The magikoopa hopped on his broom and took off for the exit at full speed.

---------------------------------------

Blood had made it accross the bridge and let out a sigh of relief. He examined the concrete platform he was standing on. There were five stone pedestals arranged in a circle, each pedestal had an indentation on the top, shaped like a certain type of weapon. Blood found his, the sword pedestal. He laid down his sword, fitting it firmly into the hole of the stone. It clicked.

"Well, I think it's fairly obvious what we do here."

[Teo]

(Ah, sorry for not coming to this earlier)

"Finally, let's have some fun!" Trom said to himself, right at the entrance to the cave. Hey, Malt would probably want me to get his stone back to rule the world... sounds easy enough. Heh heh... Malt... that's a good nickname. Trom had lagged behind Malthos when they were flying to the volcano, but he had known the initial route. Grah, why'd he make my shell black and give me a bright red robe? It's not very... incongnito. Wonder where Malt went? Bah, he's probably inside already. If not, I must have passed him at mach 4 without realizing it. Lol...(YES, He THOUGHT that).

Grah, this robe isn't very practical, I keep stepping on it. Maybe I can do something about this broom for now... He grabbed his wand and imagined it somewhere else... say, behind the bush he was looking at... and maybe invisible. The wand sparkled, the red tip gaining a bright glow. Why does he have to give me so many indescreat things? Trombador let loose words he never knew, a force glowing inside him and releasing itself. He touched the broom and it vanished, a russle in the bushes immedietaly following. Wonder if I can do the same with my clothes? Trombador held the wand, imagining his clothes in the same spot as his broom, and the flow of an untold power flowed through him. He touched his robe and it vanished too. There was no rustle in the bushes though. Huh, the robe must be quite light. Oh well, I better hurry, something tells me the people Malthos was talking about and their journey into the volcano is no coincidence.

Trombador dashed in the cave, somehow seeing the outline of the walls clearer than expected. Not quite as bright as daylight, but he could see as if someone had lit the whole cave with candles. The candles were really hot and had a lot of Silica, though.

Eventually, granted that Trombador could see and fly, he soon came to a bridge... with four people still crossing, the fifth having rested his weapon on a stone pedestal. There were 5 other pedestals, as Trombador would later realize were for the weapons the group was carrying and the stone, but he didn't know that. Considering his momentum, it was too late for a well placed shot, but more of a time for a single, momentum requiring shot. It didn't take long before Trombador's possesed, but still wide, immagination gave him an idea. He quickly gripped his wand and it glowed white, leaving a streak behind him. No words were needed for the spell he had thought up. The spell created extra-air displacement, both in front and behind him. The air in front was shoved further in front, and air particles behind him would refuse to take up the space where he had just passed, in short, creating a small vacuum wherever he passed.

Trombador's attack had to be fast. As soon as there was enough room, he dipped under the bridge, crossed sides, rose again, and eventually just created a spiraling wind tunnel, shaking the whole bridge. Unfotunately, Trom could not launch any other spells as this required his full attention, AND for the fact that the group was almost at the end of the bridge. There was one thing Trom knew he could win at if he couldn't knock the others, and that was the unbalance the wind could cause to the flying Paratroopa that was with them...

[Chilaquiles]

Malthos yelled angrily at Trom. "No, you fool! You've given us away! Come back here!" But it was too late, all Malthos could do was watch as Trom executed his quick and foolish attack.

Blood had already drawn his sword at the sound of an intruder. He saw the enemy: a magikoopa? No, it wasn't Malthos, but he definitely had malicious intent. Blood took out the stone artifact and aimed it directly at his new threat, praying that it would do what he expected. The stone shined brightly, and changed color from a murky purple to a pure, milky white. It shined brighter, and brighter, and brighter... directly into the face of the new intruder.

"Repel the unholy worm from this sacred place!" He shouted. At this point, the light shone so brightly that it reached the eyes of Malthos himself. The light caused the magikoopa to shake violently as if he were being tasered, until finally, he was knocked unconscious.

Blood dropped his arm and the light disappeared. The intruder had gone with it, as well as the magic from the spell he had casted, which could be seen diffusing calmly into the air... The tall red yoshi let out a sigh of sweet relief, and turned back to his companions.

"That...was Malthos. Or at least, one of his cronies."

---------------

Malthos had almost woken up until a body fell on his stomach to knock the wind out of him once again. The body was Trom.

"I told you...not to be so hasty..." He sputtered, and passed out again.

[Teo]

"I...did not... know..." Trom said, lying on his teacher, right outside the cave. The light had repeled him out of the cave faster than he had come in, even with the magic speed boost. "I believed shadow was strong... than light... I am sorry..." Trom fainted upon uttering his last words.

[Chilaquiles]

"Hurry!" Blood shouted, "They'll be back, and we've got to get out of here and cover our trail!" Blood placed his weapon back in the stone pedestal and looked back at his companions.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

[Lord of the Dance]

I stood, my mouth open, as Blood dispelled the strange Magikoopa. He looked a little familiar, but I was too shocked that we had been found to move at all.
I came to my senses as Blood shouted for us all to make haste. As I pounded my mace down on the pedstal, I turned to Blood.
"Will he be okay?" I blurted out without thinking.

[Enrique]

When the green Yoshi halted progress on the bridge, Henrikoshen turned his attention toward the source of the reasoning; a Magikoopa, claimed to be Malthos or something associated with Malthos by Blood, had invaded the area. However, Henrikoshen didn't pay too much attention to the invasion; he had one goal; it was to insert his dagger into the pedestal on the other side of the bridge.

When the green Yoshi had exited the bridge, Henrikoshen quickly hopped of the bridge and onto the circular platform. Approaching the pedestal, he located the probable slot in which his weapon would fit; removing the dagger from the holster and slamming it in the slot in two non-hesitant motions.