Chapter -9: Connected by Fate
Termina; Jungle of the Apes
It was a few minutes before Nerehc recovered completely. Rolling onto his knees so this being was right-side-up, he was sporting a lovely grin and holding a hand out to Nerehc, eyes closed upward and his brows slanted in a 'sad' fashion. He had shiny orange hair and a sleek purple gown, purple shoes with toe-ends slanted up, and a huge backpack with so many masks, Nerehc imagined his back snapping. His instincts told him not to take his hand, so Nerehc stood on his own and brushed himself off.
The man kept his hand extended and kept that grinning face like it was stuck. He spoke as though he was on the verge of tears. "The moment Cheren arrived here, I knew it would not be long 'til you did the same. You were delayed a while."
Nerehc instantly took interest by his words. "Whaddyou mean Cheren?"
"Why… a very dear friend of his was taken to this very world… by one dear friend of mine. And like me, his only wish is to save that friend from her sorrow." For a few seconds, his grin was frowning, hands on his chest. "But a person with light in their heart cannot go without his darkness. So he's taken you with him."
"He took ME with him?!"
"Well, not intentionally." He grinned again. "But does one ever wish to take their bad side with them? Positives and Negatives are one in the same, Child. One must go where the other has gone. It's what this, and all universes bear: an opposite side to balance them out. Why… can you imagine how torn Cheren would've become if you hadn't come? Just how he and Panini entered the Minish Portal."
"The…THE MINISH PORTAL?! You mean THAT was his fault, TOO?!"
"No, it was a fault of both of you. An important factor decides the outcome of your lives: the Coincidence Factor. If a Positive jumps off a cliff, the Negative will choke on a cookie. And one can never exist without the other in separate dimensions. All beings are bound by their Negative, and the Negative their Positive. It's so AMAZING what you and Cheren have in COMMON!" Indeed, tears were welling up in his eyes.
"So because of Cheren's goody-gutsy desire to be the hero, my life's in DANGER?! I am NOT letting him get away with that!"
"No, you must not blame him!" the Mask Man frowned and spoke panickingly. "Fates are decided for both of you. You cannot deride Cheren of his… and he cannot derail you from yours. Believe that coincidence is fate… and let it draw you closer."
"Yeah, I'll draw him closer, all right. Draw him closer to my sword if he don't get us the fuck back home!!"
"You must follow your own path." spoke the Mask Man sadly. "I cannot derail you, either."
"But what about you? If you know so much, don't you ever get worried of YOUR Negative?"
"Why… my species is one without Negatives." His grin returned. "We've always had somebody else to balance us out. Why, my special friend for instance, could never have survived without me."
Looking to the sky, he saw himself and his special friend drifting through darkness, as shadowed bodies that bore no resemblance to how he looked now. "Our love conquered all in that world… even that terrifying power. You must know that kind of love with Cheren."
"Love Cheren? Pleach. What kind of power would terrify me to do THAT?"
"A most terrifying power of all… you see." His open eyes sparkled like stars. "Even more terrifying than that war between Light and Darkness. I should happily tell you what it is… if you manage to find a way back to your world."
"Umm…okay."
"Believe in the bond you share with Cheren. Believe in your strengths… believe…" And he began to walk away into the forest. "Oh… and return this to him, too." He dropped a bow-and-arrow onto the ground before fading within the shrubs.
Believe in the bond he bears with Cheren… yeah… he would… he believed it would get one of them the ***k injured. Let's see what he could do about that.
Same jungle; Negaverse
And just in time, Yddam and Hcaz Yhprum made their land after swirling in an endless pink tunnel. They stood around and waited for the dizziness to clear before they could see they were in a jungle. "Hoo… Well, it's a good thing we didn't die, right?" Yddam smiled sheepishly.
"Hmph." Hcaz was already trudging through the shrubs.
"Heeeey!" Yddam hurried after him. "The least you can do is thank me for trying to save you!"
"And I should thank you for getting our butts caught to begin with. Who knows WHAT kind of dimension this is. And naturally our Positives were transported here by some means too, so even THEY'RE in danger."
"Well—then we should work together to find Nerehc, shouldn't we?"
"If anyone's bringing Nerehc back safely, it'll be me, it wouldn't make any difference if you stayed here."
"Uh!" Yddam stopped for a minute. "Is that what you're gonna tell Mom and Dad?!" She ran back after.
"I'll tell them you were eaten by wild gorillas. That'd be you."
"How can you say all this, don't you worry about me at all?"
"I wish I didn't…" he mumbled to himself.
They stopped at what appeared to be a vine-covered wall with a ladder leading up. "This doesn't look natural… maybe there's civilization nearby, let's go up." Hcaz climbed up first, with Yddam following a few spaces behind.
It stretched up higher than they could tell under this night, and this wall was actually one side of a very huge tree, an excellent view of the jungle, which looked beautiful under the starry sky. Some faint, classy music sounded above them, growing louder by the time they were at the top. After climbing onto a ground around this tree, what they saw astonished them: apes in charming tuxes and clothing were everywhere, walking on two legs, talking, and behaving like civilized people. Not torches, but electrical lanterns kept this place alight, and to the many other giant trees in the distance, lights were alit and there was activity going on. There were curtained tables where they sat and drank tea, reading newspapers, and to cross to other trees, they could ride platforms moving back-and-forth on electric wires.
A tall, brown gorilla approached them and spoke with a British accent. "Ahh, good evening, children, welcome to High Jungle, the most sophisticated region in Acirfa, home of the most intelligent apes on Earth. Here, we welcome humans of all age and height, as we are all brethren under the same deity. Please explore our home as you see fit, and do watch your footing, we are quite a good meters over the ground."
"Well, I'm glad we landed someplace respectable. Did any other humans come by by any chance?" asked Hcaz.
"Not through here, no, but do see the other trees if it pleases you."
"All right, then… sure to find something useful around here."
After waiting in a line of apes, Hcaz stepped onto one of the moving platforms to what seemed like the largest tree in the jungle. After realizing he was on by himself, he yelled to Yddam, "Finally decided to get lost?" as she had stayed behind.
"Er- these things look dangerous!"
"Relax, you're lighter than a feather compared to all these guys." He had gotten a reasonable distance.
A few more platforms came around, but Yddam was always worried one would fall, or she would mess up her timing and slip and fall. "I SAY, carry along, Old Bean!" An ape, tired of waiting, shoved her onto a platform before joining her. She grabbed the thin wire supporting the lift in both hands, shuddering. The gray gorilla was so big, it left Yddam little room, and they were so high up, she kept her feet glued to the surface. Eventually, she made it to the ledge and jumped off with a skip of the heart, then stood and waited for it to settle down. After wandering around confusedly, a gorilla told her with a 'butler' tone, "Mmm, your fellow Homo sapiens is in there, Miss." He pointed to the entrance to the big tree, so she nodded thanks and entered.
This huge tree was very high-tech inside compared to outside, and the sound of active machinery contrasted the peaceful, calming music outside. A huge, dark gorilla in a white labcoat was burning a blowtorch into the wires of some machine that stretched down the tree's shaft. "I say, Nazrat Old Banana, are the internal workings hunky-dory down the bottom levels?"
"Exceedingly hunky-dory, Father." replied Nazrat, a charming human man with short brown hair, white labcoat, and not the most muscular build. "I say, we're going to have a bully good time completing this. Rightio, gents?"
"Yes, bully!" "Bully!" "Bully." "BULLYYYY." "Bully!" a bunch of apes sang around the lab.
"Can't imagine what Niatirb is like." Hcaz mumbled as he entered. "Helloooo? Who's in charge here?"
"I say, that'd be me, Old Acorn." The large gorilla said as he raised his protective mask and approached. "And darest me, welcome to our humble home, you may call me Kahcrek." He also spoke with a high British accent—he sounded like Triple Extra Large.
"Professor Kahcrek, this might sound crazy, but I got blown here from another dimension, and we-"
"NO, not at all, that means you are living proof of what we are trying to accomplish!" Kahcrek grinned eagerly and shook Hcaz's hand in both of his. "We have always believed other dimensions exist beyond our own, 'tis why we are constructing a very device to warp between dimensions at will!" He directed to the huge machine behind him. "With this, we may be able to see worlds BEYOND the fabric of space and time, and venture to them! Why, you MUST tell me what kind of world you inhabit!"
"Well, it's… got a lot less intelligent apes from what I know."
"I dare say, you mean there is a whole world where apes have fallen mindless like our dear friend, Retceps?" He indicated a white monkey that was Hcaz's height, who-
"Ooo-ooo OOH! OOH! OOOOOHH!" appeared less well-mannered, wearing nothing except a curious metal helmet.
"He's been experimenting with headwear to download the intelligence of creatures and—poor fellow—became a little wrong in the head after slipping and falling into it. I sincerely hope we may be able to pin him down for medication, soon."
"Okay, well… we may need to use your machine when it's finished. Also, a friend of mine also came to this world, and I dunno where he landed."
"Well, I do not know how to help you locate him, but we would be delighted to let you borrow one of our 500 mile-per-hour aircraft for any sort of world-scouring you see fit. Uhhhh unfortunately our flight decks are closed for the night, so if waiting 'til morning isn't too much of a hassle for you.."
"No… it's not. Wherever Nerehc is, I'm sure he can survive. I haven't eaten since I got captured, have any restaurants around here?"
"Yes, the next tree over actually, we possess the richest collection of cuisine, do help yourself."
"Hope it's good as the lunch at school." So with eager curiosity, Hcaz exited the lab, passing Yddam by the entrance. She waited a few seconds to see if he'd acknowledge her, but once he was on the transport lifts, Yddam followed.
Eporue; Ailivinrac
"WAAAAAH!" Ikuyim Latsyrc came falling out of the sky like many before her, crashing on the ground. "Who-oa he-e-e-ey!" She recovered quickly with her perky spirit. "THAT was sure outta nowhere! Talk about a sensitive spacebender!"
Moments ago, she was in her own world, going for a joyful walk around town. She stopped and perked when she noticed someone peculiar: a tall, teenage girl with ocean-blue hair leaned beside a restaurant wall, smoking. Ikuyim approached her with a smile, "Hi there! You have really weird hair! Are you from around here?"
The teen blew a smoke. "Nah, just visiting. What's it to you?"
"I'm only curious! What's your name?"
"Name's Ydnew. I'm a spacebender. You goin' somewhere with this or what?"
"Wow, a spacebender! I've never met one before! Are you a great one?"
"Great enough at buildin' me a bod, yeah."
"What's that mean?"
"I'm 10 years old, but I wanted ta get into older teen parties, so I used my powers to stretch my body. Gave myself some cans, too. See?" She indicated the large breasts on her chest.
"Holy wow! I never woulda guessed! But why would you expand yourself? I'm sure you were pretty just the way you were!"
"'Course I was pretty, not as pretty as THOSE girls though." She pointed to three teenage girls at a nearby table, very pretty with slim, perky bodies. "Now I'm hittin' the big time, goin' to all the neat clubs, and me and this boy are totally spending a night together."
"But… you're only 10 years old. And you're smoking, even."
"Yeah, so what?"
"You're way too young to be doing this sorta stuff! You have your whole life ahead of you! I can't just let you ruin yourself like that."
"You ain't my MOM, what's this got to do with you?"
"I'm sorry, but I won't sleep well knowing you're doing stuff you shouldn't. So I'm gonna teach to live in the now, starting right-"
With a snap of her fingers, Ydnew zapped Ikuyim away. "Mmm… wonder where I just sent her. Don't really care. Think I'll hit the strip club, could use some extra money." So with that, she warped.
"Hmmm… Well, I hope she does all right on her own. I wonder where I ended up? It doesn't look very friendly.."
Indeed, it didn't. It was daytime, a sad cloudy sky over a near-dead amusement park. Tents were very old and torn, the roller coaster was dangling from its broken tracks, and the Ferris wheel was off its perch, rolling back and forth glumly. "Awww, woe is me, woe is me…" Ikuyim looked to a short man in blue clothing, a round nose, and a fluffy black mustache with sad eyes above. He spoke in an Irish accent, "My carnival's about to go under. We've had nary a customer in years, Ay'm only tortured with the burden of runnin' this place, day after day after day hopelessly. And fer what? A failed family legacy and unsatisfactory pay. Ay-ay-ay… how glad Ay'll be when it's all gone."
Ikuyim approached him. "Excuse me, Sir? What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's my park, Dear Lassie. No one's wanted to come in over 30 years. Too many rides broke down… because we've never had the money for maintenance… and even less so now. The whole place started to decay… and look what it is now. The entire legacy of the Sloucher Family… this is the end."
"That's too bad." Ikuyim frowned. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not unless you have -6 million cnarfs worth of repairs and a decent carnival. I suppose all those rich types who live in Aksoloh might have a few lying around."
"Aksoloh? Where's that?"
"Thousands of miles to the North Pole. All those icebenders living the good life in fancy ice-mansions, living off the mountains of priceless crystal growing around… if only my body was built for Winter, I would so set up carnival there."
"Hmmm… well, maybe I can go to Aksoloh and get some of their crystal."
"Don't trouble yourself Miss, this carnival isn't worth all the effort. You probably have so much to live for than destroy yourself doing this."
"All I have to live for is what life throws!" beamed Ikuyim. "And if it's an adventure, so be it! I'll gladly go up to Aksoloh for you!"
"Hoooh… you're far too sweet, Dearest. The youth of today… enlightens me."
"I'm renting me a plane and flying down to Aksoloh ASAP! Don't worry! Your park'll be saved, yet!" And she joyously skipped across the ruins.
Jungle of the Apes; Fancy Banana
Hcaz and Yddam arrived at the giant tree labeled 'Fancy Banana', in which the entrance was unfortunately on a higher point. They could easily get there with a few ladders, but looking to a lower ledge, Yddam was catching her breath. "Don't tell me you're tired again." He stated.
"I've been through a lot this week, of course I'm tired!!"
"Well, it's only gonna build on from here on out." So he proceeded ahead again.
But to Yddam's relief, a brown female gorilla lifted her onto her back. "It's okay, Li'l Cub, I'll help ya up some." Yddam smiled in gratitude as the ape carried her up the rest of the way, afterwards climbing down the ladder into the restaurant. Hcaz was waiting at the entrance line when the gorilla set Yddam beside him. "You ought to be more respectful to her, Dear." She scolded before climbing back out.
"I'll give her some respect, you dumb…" After the ones before them were seated, a monkey waiter came to them.
"Good day, Lady and Gent, welcome to the Fancy Banana, shall that be table for two?"
"ONE." Hcaz stated sternly.
"Well, I'LL have one, too!!" Yddam shouted.
"Ehhh… rightio, then." So the waiter led them to two tables beside each other, where both twins sat back-to-back. "Please take a moment to view our menu." He left them both menus before walking away.
"…" Yddam turned in her seat to Hcaz after a few minutes, "Hcaz, why are we always fighting like this? I wanna help find Nerehc too, I tried to help you, why are you always so mean to me? How come you never help me?"
"…" Hcaz turned to her resentfully, "Why do you need me to help when everyone else does it for you?"
"Whaddyou mean?"
"Ever since we were kids, you've been the same. Whiny little Yddam, bitch nag moan, that's all you did, never did anything for yourself. When we were two and learning how to walk, I helped myself up and fell on my face attempt after attempt until I did it right, but what were Mom and Dad doing? Moving little Baby Yddam's feet FOR her, kept her on all two 'til she could go it on her own, never gave little Hcaz praise for learning himself. DNK Training, slip slap fall on the ice, over and over, can't hold onto a gun when it shoots, can't send fists or kicks 2 inches forward, can't keep hands on the damn slippery virtual ship controls. No, but let's have Helpy Eizus stand behind and hold the gun for you, let's have Ytram stand like a stick and take fake punches from you, or how 'bout Retep man your station and do it in your namesake, ALL THE WHILE lonely Hcaz is shootin' the robots, getting bloody noses, memorizing EVERY little control ALL by his lonesome. In school, 'Oh this math is so hard, I don't know Hsilgne, does this potion go on this rock?', that's okay let's let Hcaz waste hours of his life figuring it out while POOR LITTLE Yddam gets EVERY smartass in the school ON HER SIDE. You passed training, you passed 3rd grade with PERFECT marks, well you know what Yddam, you're NOT perfect. You're a bitchy, whiny, good-for-nothing tramp who'll never learn how to hold a spoon herself, and I hope you get kidnapped by criminals so they can rob a bank without flaws, and then GUT you when they realize you've been a giant fraud."
"…Oh… Hcaz, I had no idea. I didn't mean to act like-"
"You know what Yddam, YOU DID. You're the little baby that never stopped crying, you refuse to use your normal body 'til you get superpowers, I've got absolutely no reason to show sympathy for you. Nor do you have any reason to complain."
"…I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you better be."
"I say, there's no reason to sound so gruff to her." a female ape stated from another table. "She is only trying her best. As your brother, you must try to help her, too."
"Mm, yes, I say." agreed a male ape, and murmurs of agreement sounded all throughout the restaurant.
"No- you know what, fine, you're all gonna support her too?, well why don't YOU all adopt her? Carry her up trees and ladders her whole life, letting your other kids do it themselves, show her forever and ever how to make the perfect banana stew and let your kids go hungry learning to do it, 'cause then THEY'LL know where I'm coming from. And for your information, I DO help Yddam, you whined about me never helping you?" he said to his sister, "Well, I DO. I saved you from Trepur, I TRIED to save you from the damn merkids, you're still just a sad little bitch who's as ignorant to my existence and my hard work as anyone. Sigh, forget eating." He abandoned his table and stomped toward the exit. "I'm finding someplace to sleep."
It was much quieter outside the restaurant, and Hcaz enjoyed the peace and calmness of the night. He meant every word he said to Yddam, and frankly he wasn't sorry. Now he would just let the results play out. …But something was disturbing the peace, it seemed. In the central tree where the laboratory was, apes were screaming and panicking. Hcaz hurriedly rushed there to see what was wrong, not bothering to ride the lifts and running across the bars that they moved along.
He made it to the tree and rushed into the lab. Kahcrek and Nazrat were on the floor, and standing over them were seven brown monkeys. "Hey, what's going on here?!" Hcaz shouted.
The apes whipped around and faced him with evil looks. "Hoo-hoo, what's wrong, indeed?" asked the gorilla in the blue tie.
"We're the Gnok Family." grinned the chimpanzee with the yellow hat and shirt evilly. "Yddid Gnok."
"Ynit." A slim teenage girl with a blonde ponytail and red pants.
"Yknal." An orangutan with a paper-like body.
"Yknuhc." A slim gorilla with an afro and sleek blue robes.
"Eixid." A girl with blonde pigtails and purple shirt and hat.
"Yknuf. Ook-ook." An ape in a small jeep.
"And Yeknod." said the gorilla with the tie.
"I say, get away from here, Lad!" Kahcrek exclaimed. "These are rowdy hooligans who terrorize us on regular occasions and they won't stop 'til they've taken what they desire!"
"That's right. And today, we've a unique fascination with some humans that wandered mindlessly into the jungle." Yeknod said evilly. "We've always wanted some new toys. Please, do come with us, and we promise not to… sever too many body parts."
"Hmph… unfortunately… I've never been too into action figures." Hcaz rolled forward and swung a kick at Yddid, who flew back, whipped on a barrel backpack, and extracted drills from it as he burrowed beneath. He watched as Ynit grew three times her size, stomping her sandaled feet around to crush the boy, who dodged around, ran up her legs, and leapt to kick her left eye. Eixid's pigtails stretched her up to the ceiling as she attempted to bind Hcaz in its strands, wrapping his wrist as he grabbed the hair in his free hand and pulled her down, only for Eixid to land a kick and send him back.
Kahcrek and Nazrat both acquired machineguns and roared as they started blasting the Gnoks, but Yknuf drove forward in his jeep and leaped out to start bashing them with his bo staff, swiftly kicking their weapons away, getting Kahcrek in his hands and Nazrat in his legs, and spinning like a wheel 'til they were dizzy. Hcaz tried to punch Yknal, but his paper-thin body made this impossible, and he was blown back when Yddid popped up from below, followed by Yeknod pinning him underneath.
Yddam had just arrived, and watched Hcaz's hopeless efforts against the fiercesome apes. She looked to the ceiling and noticed the emergency sprinklers. Yddam pulled off her right shoe and chucked it at Yknuf. "You think you're so tough, why don't you bring that jeep over here? !" Enraged, the ape hopped in his car and sped over, Yddam diving aside while skipping a heartbeat, the jeep's hood smashing against the wall. Yddam rushed over to Kahcrek and Nazrat, but slowed when a tiny, 3-inch-tall monkey with a sleek robe got in her path: it was Yknuhc, who before looked much taller.
But he was very swift as Yddam tried to get around, blocking her path, and soon found the tiny gorilla going up her right pants. "Hey-Hey, ahahahahaha, get ou-u-u-ut!" He tickled her all around, 'til she was on the ground.
"Yknuhc likes the ladies," clapped Yddid smirking, "likes 'em when they're down."
"Hahahahahaha, quick!" Kahcrek and Nazrat looked questionably. "Sh-Shoo-oo-oot the, sp-sp-sp-SPRINKLERS!"
The two looked to the faucets above. Exchanging a glance, both grabbed a machinegun and blasted all around the ceiling, 'til the resulted smoke activated the system and rained water everywhere. "I say, we don't quite enjoy liquid," Yeknod mentioned, "but this is tolerable."
"Nnn!" Hcaz kicked the ape off and rolled forward to grab Eixid's legs as she stretched up high, grabbing both pigtails and yanking them forcefully as she wobbled out of control, due to the rising wetness. He kicked over to Ynit's giant face, but the girl whipped her head around and whacked him against the wall with her ponytail. He recovered and saw that Yknal was shriveling helplessly due to the water, and proceeded to hop over and stomp him to the floor. Yddid flew over with drills aimed, and leapt overhead to dodge, then ran as he came back.
"Ahahahahahahahaha!" Yddam still had a monkey on her back. Then her belly, then under her arms, then under her knees, then on her hip. "St-Sto-o-o-o-op i-i-i-it! I-…am-…"
But the sogginess of her clothes impeded his speed, and once Yknuhc was behind her left shoulder, she flopped up and smashed him against the floor, then pulled and threw the monkey out as he grew back. She recovered and ran to get her discarded shoe, then once firmly on both feet, the entire floor a puddle, she caught her breath and closed her eyes. "Fishman KARATE!" Spinning at breakneck speed, a cyclone of water appeared around her as she lunged a gush at Yddid's drills and destroyed them, then at Yeknod's face, then leapt and performed countless flips in the air before slamming a watery fist at Ynit's giant foot, the teen hopping on the other before slipping and banging her head against the machine.
Yddam breakdanced on the ground and flew a rounding gush of water at Yknuf's side, then a flat slip of water at Eixid's pigtails to slice them so she fell. Yeknod recovered and glared at her once again, so Yddam rested and performed fluent, nimble poses. Yeknod lunged at her ready to smash her bones, so Yddam jabbed her fingers forward quick like a bullet against his chest…
Hcaz beat her to the punch and aerial-punched Yeknod dead in the face, sending him backward. "I don't think you were gonna beat 'im." he told her honestly.
Ynit and Yknuhc picked Yeknod up as Yddid said, "Let's book it!" before they all made an escape from the lab.
Eventually, the sprinkles came to a stop, and Hcaz and Yddam went outside to squeeze their clothes dry. "When did you learn Fishman Karate?"
"When I was kidnapped, I asked one of the guards to lend me a book 'cause I was bored. It wasn't really that hard to figure out, it sorta just… came to me." She grinned sheepishly.
"Hm… so you're not totally helpless after all." Hcaz admitted. "But that doesn't mean-"
"I know." Yddam really didn't wanna hear any of that again. "I…I know I can't make any of it up to you, Hcaz… but you don't have to help me with anything if you don't want to. But I still want to help you save Nerehc. So… can we not hate each other until we've found him?"
"…Siiigh… all right." Yddam gave a light smile. "Now let's find the Hotel Tree… think one ape said it was over…"
The next morning
After their well-earned night's sleep, the duo borrowed an airship from the docking facility and zoomed across the jungle. "These ground-scanners sure are state-of-the-art." Hcaz observed. "If Nerehc's hiding anywhere around here, we can't miss him. Get comfy, Yddam… we might just be here awhile."
Posiverse; Tortuga Island
Pirates and drunken, hairy men were swinging bottles of rum all around the land as accordion music played in the distance, fists flying and jaws being dented all around as Captain Slag and Rusty Pete guided Nerehc into the run-down village. Oh wait, you probably have no idea how the hell Nerehc got shanghaied by pirates. In actuality, these are just little copied-and-pasted bits of a story that was already told, and would take up too much unnecessary room to paste them all. All you need to know here is Nerehc met some pirates in the jungle, and commissioned them in hunting down Cheren. A few days later, we're here on Tortuga.
"Well, here ye be, boy. Tartuga Oiland, land where ALL sea-lovers and deck-moppers come ta drink and partay 'til the noon is nigh." Captain Slag looked down at the boy and asked, "Now, what be yer reason fer us havin' sailed ya to these shores, boy?"
"There're kids that live here, right? I'm just looking for someone who can play me a good theme song." Nerehc stated as he skimmed the raggedy town. He looked to the corner of an open area and saw a familiar Spanish child strumming a Mexican guitar as he sat on a box, attracting many listeners who dropped coins into his sombrero. Nerehc smirked as he skied over and pushed the people out of the way to get in front of the child. "Do I… know you?"
The Spanish child looked confused and spoke "Yo nunca he visto antes, Señor."
"I guess not." Nerehc frowned. Of course, in reality, Nerehc knew the real Pablo: he was a boy from Posiverse Miracle City, who by some means got into the Negaverse with his family. Since things weren't so good where they lived, they hoped the Negaverse version of either Miracle City or America would be much better, and it was. Pablo attended Nerehc's school as the only Positive, and Nerehc made him his henchman. But this Pablo didn't seem to have a clue about… anything. "But that guitar of yours, eh, Pablo, how good are you?" He pointed at the guitar.
"Muy bueno!" he exclaimed as he strummed a familiar tune to Nerehc's ears (Dark Pit's Theme).
The Negative nodded his head to the music and said, "Yeah, yeeah, VERY good! Now, tell me something, Pablo: do you seek adventure away from this penniless town? A life away from all the sorrows and hardships and desire to see the outside world, in exchange for a little work? As rightful Prince of the Demon Realm, I would gladly pull you away from this town of poverty if you would submit to my rule and play that catchy little tune for me whenever the need arises."
The boy barely understood a word from Nerehc's mouth. "…Qué?"
Nerehc face-palmed and mustered all the Spanish he could comprehend. "Would you… be mi amigo… por favor?"
"Ohh! Sí!" he nodded excitedly.
"Sweet, I got a minion!" he exclaimed as Captain Slag and Pete approached him. "Now, the first order of business is to teach you English. WHICH, I will leave Rusty Pete to that."
"You c'n count on me, Cap'n!" Pete exclaimed with a hiccup and salute.
"Arr, so ya got yer wee guitar strummer. Now, what be the next order of business, Cap'n?" Slag asked with a tone of smugness.
"Now, we're going after Cheren. Any idea where he might be?"
"Uhh, I come barin' the news, squire." a pirate spoke as he suddenly ran up to them. "It seems the fleet of wee munchkins be stormin' up a brigade up in northern Holoska."
"Then that's where Cherry is goin' next." Nerehc smirked. "Chart a course for Holoska, Slag, we're going ice-fishing."
"Arr, ye expect us to charge a whole fleet of whiny munchkins unscathed, scallywag?"
"Leave the whiny brats to me, Slag." Nerehc's eyes remained cool and sharp behind his sunglasses as Pablo strummed a quick, dramatic tune with his guitar.
Nega-Sector W7 Treehouse
Ininap shuddered at the sight of Sipa's room. So scary… so deadly… she wondered how one could sleep in such a room. But, what Sipa told her… it was… "A-Are you really sure th-that's what happened?…"
"Yes." replied Sipa. "Nerehc's been warped to another dimension. Unless he's back soon, the Dictator's sure to attack us."
"A-A-And, this is the only way?"
"If my faith is strong enough, this ritual will send you to the very world where he lies. You will be able to bring him back. …Unless you are not loyal enough?"
"N-NO!" She spoke more determinedly. "Ah-I am loyal. To Nerehc more than anything. …Ay'll do this."
"Okay… stand in the circle."
With incredible fear, Ininap stepped into the middle of the magic circle. Sipa ignited a brimming violet flame in a cup before her, sitting on her knees. She raised a knife high and pierced it through her left hand. "AAAAAAHH!" The room mysteriously fell darker. "O King of the Devils, Ganon-sama, Emperor of the Dark Realm, hear that which I desire." She held up some tiny strands of hair. "Send the underling before me to where the source of this essence lies. Let her never to return until she has carried out her duty. O King of Devils, Ganon-sama, I beseech you: let part of my soul be your fill, should that whom I love return safely to me!" She threw the hair into the flame as they exploded into a column that lit the room purple.
Ininap began to shudder greater than ever, watching as odd magical shapes and creatures made of colorful lines soared everywhere, surrounding Sipa as her body furiously twitched. Her very head was forced downward, and when it shot up, Inap grew more terrified at Sipa's brown-yellow eyes surrounded by black. "It's time."
"Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom, bom bom bom bom…" Sipa's room had become a purple dimension where floating masks and demons danced, growing closer to Ininap as their eerie eyes fixed on her.
"Are you reeeeady-"
"ARE YOU REEAAAADY?"
"Are you: REEEEAAADY."
They brought forth a burner which bore the magic circle's design.
"Transportation Central-"
"TRANSPORTATION CENTRAL." They pulled off Ininap's shirt.
"Transportation Central-"
"TRANSPORTATION CENTRAL." Inap screamed when they forced the burner against her back and burned the circle into her flesh. The entire world started spinning, everything turned blurry, until Ininap fell into that endless golden vortex.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Ininap swirled and swirled into the depths, and all of the demons and magic swirled after her like a dimensional toilet.
Sipa closed her mouth to the swirling portal inside, swallowing it all in one gulp before she grinned with malice.