Everything Explodes

Tent nodded, figuring out Cecil's plan rather quickly. Moldorms were rare, and so Tent had little experience fighting them--but he supposed someone who burrowed as frequently as a Mogma would know exactly how to handle such a monster. As the colossal beast sprang up from the sand, Cecil was on it in an instant, and Tent threw himself forward just the same. He was too slow, however, hitting nothing but open air.

"Alright, alright--screw this," Alice spat. The last place she needed to be right now was on the ground, and there was no legitimate reason she had to be. Her seemingly wooden feet slowly lifted off the ground and into the air, as she hovered what she presumed to be a safe distance above the sand and out of the monster's reach. With a hatchet in one hand and a Mini-Bomb in the other, she aimed to tear into the thing whenever it reared its ugly head again.

Tent wanted to throw out Din's Burst, but the attack left him too vulnerable, and could easily have hit Cecil in these close quarters. No, it seemed their only choice was to counterattack the gigantic wyrm whenever it app--"Din's grace!" Tent felt the sand suddenly rumble beneath him, a split-second before he desperately leapt out of the way. The wyrm launched out of the sand directly between himself and Cecil, unintentionally exposing itself to a flaming superman punch from one side and Cecil's best attack from the other side. As if that wasn't enough, Alice's hatchet flung into its backside before it could go back under. A squeal of pain burst out of the creature's gullet, as it skid onto the sand instead of diving under. Recovering quickly, it dove back underneath before another solid attack could be made against it.

"Fiesty fool," Tent growled softly. "The next time it misses the sand, you should both throw a bomb at it--and I'll detonate them both with a Burst. Got it?" He glanced towards Alice, who gave him a nod, then looked towards Cecil.

Cecil had not seen his employer angry before, and despite him being short and pious he pulled off the holy "I will smite you" wrath thing off well.

He would have been more frightened had this plan involved something he didn't know and love so well. So instead of doing something more sensible, the Mogma gave a smile and nodded. Arranging explosions, he could do. That was largely his job, after all.

Moving slowly so as not to alert the beast prematurely, he knelt to feel the sand. It was more difficult than his own familiar solid earth, but he felt, after a delay, vibrations. Weak at first, then getting stronger. He prepared a bomb. Three... two... one...

He threw in the direction he the vibrations move off towards.

The resulting explosion went off with almost perfect timing, flinging the Moldorm awkwardly, disorienting it so it once again slammed into the sand, leaving itself vulnerable. From there, both Alice and Cecil each flung a volley of bombs, both of which were detonated with what Tent intended to be a particularly potent Din's Burst.

The resulting detonation forced Alice to flinch away, eyes squinting through the titanic, fiery blast. Through the deafening boom, there were what were unmistakable, high-pitched death-cries of one utterly roasted Moldorm. After the explosion died down, flames were visibly crackling on its charred corpse. Even the high roof above them was slightly charred...

"Good thing no one was standing closer," Tent chuckled, happy with the result of their combined effort. Surely the world could do without one vicious, unintelligent Moldorm. After an explosion like that, how could Din--or one of her devotees--be anything but happy? He smiled towards the other two--after the luck they'd been having, it was a wonder all three of them made it out of that battle unscathed. "Neither of you are injured, correct?"

The two metallic doors audibly opened with a metallic hiss, once again allowing exit and entry into this sand-filled chamber. Tent couldn't help but wonder how or why the doors seemed to work like that--it was as if some divine force was putting them into an arena, forcing them to fight for her amusement until one died. He smirked, slightly, at that thought.

"Well then," Tent extinguished his gauntlets, "Shall we press on?"

"Right," said the Mogma, brushing himself off. He could feel it... they were getting closer. To what, he didn't quite know, but there had to be treasures here.

Or was that...? He dug around the spot that the Moldorm had been on impulse, and after a few moments of concentrated effort, he found a blue gem under the sand. He turned it over in his hand. Hmm... No, he thought, this wasn't what his instincts were alerting him to. He pocketed it all the same, though, and turned to follow the others.

What he saw was not quite what he had been prepared for.

A room that was dimly lit by two small bonfires, a skeleton and the message "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE" etched into the floor and walls an inordinate amount of times. Further, some of the walls showed signs of wear and tear, as if someone had been scraping them in an attempt to get out...

Cecil didn't say anything, but he dug a little hole and pushed the bones in. Then he covered them. It was a crude burial, but he figured that would be better than nothing.

(Considering how long I've let this dungeon hang, I don't blame you if you don't want to continue it. Just in case you do, though, here's a post. )

Already in the next room, the Scrub and Poe were just as perplexed by the messages as the Mogma seemed to be. Silence hung in the air between the three of them, until the burial began. Tent helped push the bones in.

Alice sneered slightly. It went without saying this was beyond suspicious. She'd dealt with enough Stalfos in her time--if those bones were undead they would have moved by now. Still, she needed to ask, "...What drove this poor fool to do this?"

Once the bones were covered, Tent stood up, stretched his back, and then sighed. "The door was barred when we came in here. Maybe the insanity of loneliness struck before hunger or thirst?" Still in a good mood from their recent victory, he shrugged it off, "He's been dead for ages. Perhaps it's best not to dwell on him too much."

Alice spoke flatly. "Whatever made him crazy could strike us as well, Tent. Besides, these bonfires are still lit..."

"True... but, in any case," Tent was eager to change the subject, "I've handled enough Dodongos to know how to deal with them... regardless of how much they dislike smoke."

A chilling wind abruptly rolled through the room. Where did it come from? Alice's eyes widened. This uncanny sensation in the air; it seemed eerily familiar. "It's not a Stalfos... It's a Poe."

They all turned towards one of the dimming bonfires. Just as the flame extinguished, a red figure appeared in its wake. The eerie floating noise it made was unmistakably that of a fellow Poe, adorned with a tattered red robe, and featuring a lengthy white beard. It glared silently at the three interlopers.

Finally, after what seemed like months of silence, the spectral figure raised one ghastly hand. An accusing finger jabbed towards the intruders. The monstrous voice of the creature rang not from any one source, but seemed to fill the entire room with a tumultuous, hoarse whisper, "YOU... ARE NOT... THE ONE..."

Tent's gauntlets burst into bright flames, fists held at the ready. His eyes narrowed. What in the grace of Din was that remark supposed to mean? His eyes darted towards Alice, then towards--wait, where was Alice? Where was Cecil? Tent begin to wonder where the hell he himself was. In an instant he was surrounded in naught but eternal darkness in every direction, with only the red-robed ghost floating before him. The bonfires were gone, replaced by a chilly wind.

Speaking slowly but deliberately, the Deku Scrub's voice rang back. Of all the things he was most curious about, he chose first, "...Who is the one?"

Silence.

Tent’s foot slid forward, carefully. Just when he was working towards a second question of the specter, it abruptly and suddenly exploded forth into dozens—if not HUNDREDS—of Keese, gushing forth endlessly, fluttering and shrieking through the darkness. Tent’s gasp pierced the darkness. Flaming fists frantically smacked, punched, and palmed the seemingly infinite wave of flying bats rushing towards him. His breathing grew deep and ragged, panicked as he fought and fought through the monsters. Fangs and wings smacked across his arms and face even as he desperately fought them off. The wave drove him back and back until he landed on his rump, still flailing and gasping, before finally SCREAMING out at the top of his lungs and setting off a Din’s Burst right in front of him, the sound of the explosion deafening.

Soon, all Tent heard was the ragged sounds of his own breath. The Keese had all vanished abruptly as they had come. His body nonetheless ached with cuts, scrapes, and bruises—numerous, but minor. The endless abyss that surrounded him mere moments ago was replaced with the cold blue ceiling of the labyrinth he had left.

Pulling himself up, Tent glanced behind him. A hole had been blasted through the wall… and suddenly he realized his spell was the cause. Glancing through the room, he found Alice’s eyes—gaping at him in shock.

Her voice, hesitant and almost fearful, prodded, “You… you done?”

“…Done?”

A deep sigh came from the woman’s face, and a mixture of relief and annoyance overtook her face. “I wish I could possess people like that. Would make things so much damn easier, sometimes…”

“I was… possessed?”

“Well, I don’t know, you were rolling around the ground, screaming, and singing burning fist-prints into the tile, before finally blowing a damn hole in the wall. I don’t blame that Mogma fellow for bailing and leaving us here.” With a gesture, she pointed towards the burrowed hole Cecil used to flee the labyrinth. “Guess he isn’t used to ghosts…”

“Wait, so that Poe—“

“Gone.” Alice held up her lanky arm, fingertips flicking outward, “Poof.”

An uneasy sigh escaped Tent’s gullet. Of all the foes he had fought, that one was the most terrifying—to be able to completely possess, control, rendering all his actions and thoughts useless on a level which Tent could not even fight. Why did it release him? The warrior’s eyes met the hole in the wall, contemplating still…

“Hey…” Alice slowly drew a hatchet. “…Do you hear that hissing noise?”

Tent pressed forward with a sense of urgency. All he wanted to do right now was forget that... that possession... This place was eerie enough on its own to put one on edge, let alone wake up from a nightmare to realize your body wasn't even in your own control. If that meant he had to occupy his mind with locating a hissing noise, so be it.

"Din's grace..." Tent murmured. In the room through the hole--the hole he himself supposedly broke open--he discovered the source of the noise. He could see it clearly, through the hole that poured sunlight in through the crumbled ceiling. 'Twas not a serpent nor air seeping through a crack, but the fuse of a Bomb Flower... seemingly lit by the edge of his Burst... on the edge of a sunlit patch of dozens of them. He was too late. This was too late. It was the end. May Din have mercy.

"GANON'S TITS!" Alice squealed in horror, "FUCK THIS!!" She rushed in front of Tent, and her hands flung upwards in front of her, creating a veil of blue light--a barrier--before herself and Tent at what felt like the last possible second. What erupted was a light so bright it was blinding, and a roar of an explosion so loud it was deafening... Everything seemed to blur and fade from existence--Alice could neither see nor hear, and the last thing she remembered feeling was the distinct sensation of the barrier breaking before her fingertips...

The pillar of smoke which rose into the air could no doubt be seen from the next town over. Wherever Cecil had gone, he could no doubt feel the tremor which shook the earth. Small fires erupted on what little vegetation had dotted the mountainside... It was as if the entire mountain had collapsed. Nothing could have survived that... Not without some kind of ridiculous magic protection, anyway.

A certain Deku Scrub, ragged of breath, could see nothing but black. His entire body ached beyond ache, and it felt like the world was weighing down on him from every angle. A groan of pain groaned from his gullet, but he managed to push upward--not because he wanted to, but the adrenaline pulsing through him demanded that he needed to. In an instant, a portion of the weight was lifted, and blinding sunlight hit his eyes. It was then Tent realized he was half-buried in a huge pile of rubble, ears still ringing from that explosion... By some miracle, he not only wasn't dead, but even though everything hurt... he was pretty sure nothing was broken. How did Alice make that shield... Wait a second. "Alice!!"

Tent sprang up in his aching body in panicked concern, almost to immediately collapse back over due to vertigo--barely catching himself on the rubble. He shuddered, struggling to stay conscious, "A-Alice...! I had only taught you so little... Even if you were undead, you were still so young... I can't accept that you could already be dead... This..." His voice shook. His fist pulled back, wrapped in flames, before brutally punching the stone beneath him into dust. "...I won't let it end like this... A warrior dying at my side is one thing, but my pupil--my first pupil on her first field exercise... N-no... I'll find some part of you... your lantern... anything. With Din as my witness, I will find a way to restore your undeath..."

"Passionate," a cold voice remarked, "But there's really nothing you could have done."

Tent's head raised, looking over to see a banged up figure floating up out of the rubble. Relief washed over him. He wobbled towards her, desperately and eagerly. His arms sought an embrace...

"That..." Alice's eyes wandered off. A hand raised towards him, warding off any attempt at a--ugh, hug--he was trying to make. Nonetheless, an uneasy smirk spreading across her dark features, "...was really kind of you, though. To say those things... You actually meant them even."

A sigh of relief escaped him, and he collapsed back into a sitting position. With a smirk, he remarked, "You should know by now I'm always genuine, Alice."

"Yeah," came a fanged grin, almost laughing, "It's kind of obnoxious... Anyway, that'll teach you to go around getting possessed, throwing around fiery explosions all willy-nilly."

A chortle came from Tent, "I guess so. I really feel bad for whoever that 'the one' guy was supposed to be. Either there's a ghost out there trying to murder and maim him, or we just inadvertently destroyed his secret getaway." Leaning back, he changed the subject, "Speaking of learning lessons, though, I can't believe you were able to... how did you... that Barrier? Is that what it was? It's a Sheikah spell I've never even come close to using..."

"O-oh, yeah," Alice grinned uneasily, glancing away, "W-well, you know... I guess it was everything you taught me up until now. It didn't come out with a Fire Enchantment like I was hoping, b-but, you know... magic is mysterious, as they say." She didn't have the heart to tell him she had always been able to cast Barrier, for as long as she could remember, and only forgot to tell him about it because it came so easily to her. In fact, she had totally forgot to do or practice anything the man had taught her, throughout this entire 'field exercise,' as he called it. She really hadn't learned a single thing. It was really all for naught, tragically enough.

"Remarkable," Tent admitted, eyes still full of awe as he gazed upon the Poe before him. "You really are quite talented. I was beginning to fear I had yet to teach you a single thing..."

"Y-yeah!" Alice laughed uncomfortably, "See! You're a pretty great t-teacher... totally." This was certainly an exciting prospect, regardless. She might not have mastered any new magical arts, but she was definitely learning how to fight and explore... and, truth be told, the girl was beginning to think that was more valuable, anyway. It might be worth sticking around as this man's pupil a bit longer, she thought.

"You do not seem too worse for wear, either... I am quite relieved. Even with the Barrier spell, that was miraculous." Tent laid back, eyes reaching up to the sky and the clouds within them. "I still need a few minutes... but we should head back to town before dusk. Thankfully it is not too long of a walk... I barely feel like I have the energy to stand."

All of a sudden, Tent felt his shoulders wrapped in cold limbs, and plopped over Alice's shoulder. She hovered almost effortlessly over the coarse and loose ground of rocks. "Psh. Sometimes I think you forget how tiny you are. Even an undead girl can carry you without--" she grunted, slightly, "--too much strain." She didn't want to admit he was actually way heavier than she expected, and she definitely wouldn't be able to carry him if she had legs. Oh well. Like he said, at least town wasn't too far from here...

...

...not that anyone had known it, but a handful of monstrous bosses had been consumed in the dungeon-destroying explosion. Dodongo dislike smoke indeed.

Evening. On the way back, Tent had passed out...

One Deku Scrub in mail was safely delivered to the magical-medical bay, re-purposed after the war for adventurers and the like. Ample rupees for his care were left by a 'ghastly figure'... Well, they didn't need to know the rupees came from the man's own pocket, Alice thought.

...

In some dark alleyway on the way back to her own caravan, Alice found herself idly snapping her fingers, reflecting back on the magic her instructor had cast in that dungeon. Though it was unlikely, she mused, perhaps something could be gleamed from it. When her lanky fingers next snapped, a spark of fire appeared between them. Her eyes widened, marveling at the tiny flame now hovering above her fingertips...

"Huh... Guess I learned somethin' after all..."