Fenris Really Is Bullshit [Sunwell][Eevachu + WillowtheWhisp]

"Hmm, perhaps we should save them for later, then. . . " Rika pondered, gently playing with the bag in his hands as he resisted the urge to open them right there. As tempting as it was, the Kokiri knew that would lead to nothing but their destruction, defeating the entire purpose of opening the bag in the first place. His interest in the photographs immediately dropped as Bepu began speaking, the Kokiri's eyes lighting up with joy at his words. Crystals? Vehicles? FACILITIES? Rika and Dante had found out a lot about this place's past, which was certainly interesting, but Bepu hit the gold mine; he learned about this place's present. "Nice! Lemme see that!" Rika shouted, snatching the power crystal out of Bepu's hands before he could even speak. As his fingers touched the crystal, he could feel the magical energies reverberate inside, the magic surging at his fingertips at just a touch. His eyes widened and he couldn't help but have his jaw drop in amazement as he looked over it.

"This is. . . incredible!" The Kokiri joyfully exclaimed, almost to the point of tears. "We. . . we have ways of storing magic into crystals in Hyrule- I've done it a number of times-, but nothing like this. The magic in this is so powerful, so pure, so. . . refined! This power crystal is probably better than ten of what we could reproduce in Hyrule, it's astounding! How could they have possibly constructed something this incredible. . . ?" Rika began to ponder, before bringing himself back to reality. "Er, sorry. It seems this 'gate' will be where we need to head, then. Did you learn anything else about it, or these facilities?" Rika questioned, playing with the power crystal excitedly. "Oh, let's go to this vehicle. This desert," Rika said, glancing down at the map, "Looks far too big to traverse on foot. We'd be here for weeks, and that's if we didn't die from exhaustion or dehydration first." Tossing the power crystal back to Bepu, the Kokiri energetically commanded, "Then, Bepu, you're a delivery man, so you'll be our navigator!" He proclaimed, before adding, ". . . Truthfully, I could probably do it better than you, but everyone needs a job, right?" Bringing Bepu along was getting better and better, with this discovery he found. Rika knew he was right in forcing coercing him to come along.

Bepu scratched at his head, after having caught the power crystal. He couldn't tell if Rika was complimenting or insulting him... Likely, it was both. Clearly he'd have to make the Kokiri a sandwich upon their return, to instill some proper respect into him. Alas, now was not the time to think of food: while they had at least a few days of rations, it was clear that they were highly unlikely to find anything edible in this inhospitable place, so the clock was clicking with every passing moment. He nodded to Rika. "I do have a rough idea of where our destinations are, at least. Let's go find the vehicle."

It wasn't long before the trio came upon their mechanical transport. Dante let loose a low whistle. He'd dabbled with the schematics of his own custom-made vehicles in the past, but the thing that lay before them appeared quite sophisticated, and was certainly beyond his own grasp of understanding. The Deku tilted his head at Bepu, who still held the power crystal. "Seeing as you're the one with the power source, why don't you drive?"

The tiny korok shook his head--body, really--in the negative. He was plenty coordinated with his hands and feet, but never got the hang of driving anything, really. He looked over at Rika instead, holding out the crystal to Rika.

As they reached the vehicle, Rika's eyes widened at both the simplicity of it and the subtle complexity it held. It was long and narrow, and reminded Rika somewhat of a sailboat, though it was a bit larger than the sailboats he was used to seeing. It seemed to hold about four passengers total, though with the small size of its three new passengers it could likely hold one or two more. What was notable about it, however, was first, its material make-up; it seemed to be made of steel or iron of some kind, which was peculiar particularly if it was a sailboat. Secondly, there was an intricate looking crystal resting in the center of the sailboat, sticking out just above the edges between two seats. It seemed to particularly stand out despite it being completely dim and lackluster in color, which was also strange. Its entire existence was strange, just what was it even doing here? If it was true that this place used to be an archipelago, it could possibly be a remnant from that, though why it had the advancements of the robots would be a mystery then.

As Rika pondered, he literally jumped when Bepu handed the power crystal to him. Snatching it out of Rika's hands, the Kokiri shouted, "No way I'm refusing this!" as he leaped into the front of the sailboat, which he signified by where a steering wheel was. It was far more comfortable than any ship Rika had been on; he wasn't being splintered by wood, and though it was a boiling inferno in the desert, the sailboat was almost cool to the touch. Along with that, there was actually a seat to sit in; with a couple others behind him, though he supposed it might have made sense due to the formation of it. It seemed to be primarily for passenger use, with little in the way of transport of goods or materials; would that even be necessary here? It didn't seem like the robots connected with others much.

As Rika thought about the uses of the sailboat, he didn't seem to immediately question how to use it in the first place. As he did, Rika scanned his front for a place to insert the power crystal; there didn't seem to be any slot or indent along or around the wheel. Puzzling the Kokiri for a moment, it became so clear to him; turning around to face the large crystal in the middle, Rika noticed a small indent at the top, as if a piece of it was missing. Sliding the magical gem onto the top, it suddenly began to light up brilliantly, a flourish of colors filling it and reverberating from the sail. As it did so, the sailboat lifted a few feet off of the ground, hovering in place near-silently. The Kokiri was thrown back in surprise by the sudden movement, and when he re-oriented himself, his face was lit up in amusement. "It's floating, hahaha!" He laughed cheerfully like a child with a new toy.

"This is incredible guys!" He called out, glancing over the side of the sailboat to confirm with his own eyes that it was indeed floating. The magical waves bouncing out of the crystal seemed to harmlessly pass through his body, and it was likely a catalyst to harness the magical energy in the power crystal and channel it, allowing the ship to float in the first place.

While the two plant creatures were entering, Rika decided to take a look at how to control it. Aside from the wheel, there appeared to be a small handful of switches below where his knees rest and pedals at his feet. Once everyone was in, Rika knew the only way to learn was to experiment; so he slammed his foot on a pedal. The sailboat shot off at an alarming speed, zooming across the sand faster than any normal sailboat would sail across the ocean. Yet, despite this, Rika felt his body was completely at ease, as if he was still; it was a strange sensation, but he did not find himself flying out of the sailboat. He felt the wind rush at his face still, as an ocean of sand zoomed past him. "This is incredible!" The Kokiri shouted, his voice full of joy. He had to try another pedal now. Moving his foot over, Rika slammed on another pedal. This one had a less pleasant reaction. The sailboat almost immediately came to a skidding halt, and though Rika found himself smacking into the wheel in front of him, he was not sent catapulting out into the sand dozens of feet in front of him, though he felt slightly disoriented from the sudden change in movement around him. "Well, that stops it. . ." The Kokiri grumbled, moving his foot back over to the other pedal. He liked this one more. Perhaps he would stick to it for now. Pressing his foot against the pedal less harshly this time, the sailboat quickly gained acceleration, zooming forward at an alarming but somewhat less swift pace than before.

This was it. He was going to die. Killed by an overly zealous Kokiri, flying about the desert it what could only be described as a death trap. If a Korok could turn green, or really any less brown, Bepu would have. He promptly lost the last meal he had, thankfully ejecting his insides out of the vehicle and onto the sands. "SLOW DOWN." he screamed out, before hurling again. He doubted Rika would be able to hear him over the billowing wind, either that or Rika was just plain ignoring him. Either way, the vehicle continued at its current pace, zipping across the sands like nothing he'd ever seen. Sure, he was used to going fast. Hell, he was probably one of the fastest Koroks alive, but not even his best time could trump anything like this. Great. My entire existence is invalid now. Wonder if I can take one of these things back with me. he thought dryly, in between the waves of nausea.

Dante, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the ride as much as Rika, the Deku tossing his head up into the wind and whooping loudly. Though Bepu wouldn't have known, Dante remembered a time when he'd made vehicles with a similar purpose, though none had been land based. Speeding across the sands, as if they were a boat with an incredible gale behind its sails, Dante couldn't help but feel alive, and nostalgia for his plans for a great airship. Perhaps its time to finally realize that dream. he thought to himself, as he threw his arms up into the air. "Rika, we're going to have to try and replicate this when we get back!" he said excitedly to the mage, thinking of the applications such magic could have. Wherever they were, the technology was far more advanced than their own version of Hyrule.

Whether intentional or not, the Kokiri was far too absorbed into what was going on to pay any attention to Bepu. "Yeah, we do, I have to bring this back! This place is great!" Rika called back to Dante, giggling like a child with glee. He had completely forgotten the distaste he had held due to the sweltering heat, his love for the new wonders completely overpowering it. He himself did not even understand everything they were dealing with, and for once, he was willing to admit that; in fact, it brought him great joy to, because it meant that there was something phenomenal out there for him to tinker with and learn. He was happy he came here.

. . .
. . .
. . .

They had been traveling for some time, perhaps an hour or two. The distance they had covered in Rika's mind was gargantuan; this thing was far faster than any horse or ship he had ever been on, dwarfing their speed in a matter of moments. Surprisingly enough to Rika, they did not come across anything of interest as they rode, nothing more than open sand. This only confirmed in Rika's mind even more that this place was an ocean at some point in the past; if they were surfing over what would be water, there would not be any structures for them to find, unless they came across an island like what they were supposedly previously at. It was a tad disappointing to not have found any ruins to explore, but at least the lack of the accomplished something.

They had reached their destination. Resting a short distance away was a towering spread of structures; large, circular domes and a web of bridges stretched across them. It was certainly large, and there was no doubt in Rika's mind that this was the correct location, primarily because it matched the location on the map Bepu had obtained. What sort of robots would be inside? Would they be similar to the ones they had met before? Or, perhaps it was an unmanned location, since the facility was disabled. That would make things far more complicated if so, but Rika secretly hoped it was, as it allowed him an excuse to learn more about how the facilities and power system here worked.

The vehicle came to a somewhat harsh-though less so than before- slow, abruptly stopping with a slight pull. Though Rika had learned a lot about controlling the speed, slowing his ascent was still something he was unfamiliar with. Oh well, perhaps he would get it in time. "Looks like we're here!" Rika called out behind him, leaping out of the hi-tech sailboat and landing on the sand below. That was fun, but now it was time to get to work.

Meanwhile, in Wollo's Wild Eastern Caves. . .

"Uhh. . ." Wollo mumbled, fear in his voice. He had followed the Moblins, but now he was in hot water. The two Moblin had dragged the man to a cave just outside of the civilization, and though Wollo had successfully trailed them, he was now in the heart of their nest, possibly even their home base; Moblin and Bokoblin alike stomped around, yelling at each other incoherently- that was what Wollo hated the most, it was the scariest part. They had dragged the man into a nearby room, but Wollo was too scared to look. He had successfully hidden himself, somehow, though perhaps that was due to the scattered nature the Moblins seemed to currently hold. Wollo didn't really understand the kinds of things that were going on or any of the complicated things everyone was dealing with, but he did know this; the place he was at was definitely dangerous.

Bepu stumbled out from the vehicle, feet slipping around in the sand, before falling to his hands and knees. He'd have complained about the coarseness, and how much he hated sand, but he was too busy dry retching. He let out a quiet burp, before wiping his face and wobbly returning to his feet. "That's their main mode of transportation?" he pointed an accusing finger back at the contraption, speaking to no one in particular. "If this place was really covered in water, I'd rather have swam from island to island!" he shook his head in incredulity. There was something deeply, deeply wrong with anyone who enjoyed driving around in such a thing. He gave Rika and Dante the stink eye. They were both clearly insane.

Dante merely chuckled, clapping Bepu on the back, which nearly sent the Korok lurching forward once more. "I'm sure it'll be better the second time around, yeah?" Truth was, after they were done here, they still had a few more places to visit.

Bepu waved his arms in refusal. "Screw that, I'll walk." As much as he wanted to, though, he knew he'd never beat the damn thing in a contest of speed. Maybe that's why it made him sick: he just couldn't agree with something faster than him. He shook his head once more for emphasis. "Anyways, let's see if we can't find an entrance, though. I'd say that we're burning daylight here, but, well, the sun hasn't even moved an inch." The Korok looked about, looking for any obvious portals into the facility. Nothing stood out, however, and nothing had yet zipped out to greet them.

Wordlessly, Bepu and Dante walked in separate directions, fanning about the immediate area, to find a point of incursion. Hopefully the entrance wasn't buried: with no way of knowing the general structure, trying to dig for one would be worse than finding the metaphorical pin in a haystack. It would, quite literally, be like looking for a rock in a sea of sand.

Rika let out a joyful chuckle. "Well, if you did that, you'd just drown!" He glanced back at the direction they had came from. "You can walk, but you don't have enough sandwiches to get anywhere." He teased. The vehicle was superior in every way to Bepu's walking, and it would likely revolutionize the delivery business and put him completely out of a job. "Don't worry Bepu. When Dante and I recreate this in Hyrule, you can get a job working as our assistant! A nice sandwich after a long day's work would be nice, don't you agree Dante?" Rika eyed Bepu, hoping to get a rise out of him. He was having too much fun today, everything was wonderful. He did not even care about the sweltering, seemingly eternal sun hovering above them.

. . .With that out of the way, though, it was time for Rika to get to work. Taking a moment to focus his mind, Rika put the pieces of his surrounding area together; the domes were certainly large, and they seemed to be numerous. It would take some time to actually search this place. Rika grumbled slightly, and called out towards Bepu, "Hey, this place is gargantuan! Didn't you get any instructions about where in this facility what we need is?" Rika wasn't even exactly sure where to begin. With a dismissal of whatever Bepu said, as it likely was not useful anyway, Rika returned to his mental image. At the ends of each bridge certainly appeared to be a door or opening of some kind- it was hard to tell which exactly-, and for a brief moment Rika considered simply leaping up to them. Surely both he and Dante could accomplish such a feat, and Bepu was light enough to be carried or thrown, right? As much of a possibility as that was in his mind, Rika quickly realized how futile it would be; the bridges rose dozens of feet into the air, and it would be incredibly difficult to actually get to them from the ground. Perhaps if they had no other option they could attempt such a feat, but for now it would be better to search the ground floor.

Then, all that mattered were any openings that were on the domes themselves. There were clearly a small handful of entrances on each dome, though Rika could not tell if they were locked or sealed in any way, and he also had little way of knowing which dome held the key to reactivating the facility. In essence, it was a game of chance which to explore first, and while they did all appear to connect eventually, each dome on its own was large in size and would not be simple to explore. They would wear themselves thin by attempting to explore every single one. With a sigh, Rika headed towards the direction Bepu went, both due to the fact that he saw some sort of entrance this way, and also because Bepu was the one with the most knowledge of what they were looking for, so perhaps he would have an idea of where it may be held.

It wasn't long before Rika would stumble on a contemplative Bepu, who was frowning at what appeared to be a sealed entrance. There didn't appear to be any external way of opening the portal, at least not an obvious one, but with the strange technology of this land, who could truly know but the original denizens? He looked over at the approaching Kokiri. "Alloy didn't give me very much information. I was under the impression that details specific to any facility are generally only known by those actually at a given location." he shook his head, wishing he could give more. "That does mean that if we can track down another critter like Alloy, that we'd likely be able to get a layout of the place. But I haven't seen, or heard, any of them buzzing about. With all of these openings closed the way they are, it's possible that, if any are left, that they are trapped within."

Bepu kicked the door just before him. It echoed loudly from behind, but the sound was muffled from the copious sand surrounding the structure. "I've tried to pry this open, but haven't had much luck. I've got some Ember Seeds on me, so I'll see if I can cut a hole open in the metal, but it'll take me a bit." With that, Bepu unslung his pack, setting it on the ground, before rifling through its contents. He grimaced as he pulled out a long tube made of metal, with one sealed end and a wrapping of leather upon that side. He removed a rod of stone from the tube, the two apparently a pair. "I'd normally use this to crush some particularly difficult spices into fine powder, but we've gotta get in there, somehow." He shoved a red seed into the hollow tube, threaded the stone rod in, and let it drop. Quickly removing the rod, the inner liquid of the Ember Seed ignited as it was exposed to oxygen, flames spewing out from the end of the tube, which Bepu aimed at the door.

As the Korok worked on breaking into the facility, Dante finished his circuit around the perimeter, finding much the same, so it wasn't long before he stumbled upon both of his comrades. "I'm guessing you two didn't have any luck either, eh?" He asked Rika, looking over at the glowing metal of door.

Rika's eyes narrowed, glaring at Bepu, his facial features drooping to mimic his displeasure. What Bepu said was not wrong in the slightest, but they were not the words Rika wanted to hear. His eyes trailing to the door as Bepu began working on prying it open, Rika could tell immediately that the, frankly, life-risking if his proximity to those exploding Ember Seeds was any indication, Korok's efforts would be in vain. The door looked to be incredibly sturdy, at least from Rika's perspective, and if everything else in this twisted desert of hi-tech equipment were any indication, it was likely beyond what they were capable of making back in Hyrule. It was possible that Bepu would be working at the door for hours, and even then his work may not be over. Plus, there could be other doors like it; they could not afford to waste their precious moments patiently awaiting Bepu to fry each door open.

So, when Dante inquired about the state of their investigation, Rika let out a dejected groan. "Nope." Glancing down at Bepu, he muttered, "Well, you're gonna be at that for quite some time. I'll search for an alternative." Giving a light wave to the duo, Rika began trailing along the side of the dome, his eyes wide for any possible ways to open the doorways dotting his mental map.

. . .

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Nope."

. . .

Rika's search was quickly proving fruitless. All of the doors were much like the one Bepu was currently burning away at- closed. Sighing, Rika was close to the breaking point, ready to give up and watch Bepu intently work at the door. Perhaps he could destroy the door with enough Aqua Grenades and Spires? Rika chuckled at the theory, but he would likely be burned out before the door. Glancing up at the bridges dangling precariously above his heads, Rika could not help but muse about his previous idea of jumping up to the bridges. Yet, even if he did succeed, surely the entryways at the end of each bridge would be barred just as the ones on the ground. Bringing his eyes to meet with the openings, the entryways, sure enough, were- wait, openings?

It was dark, but Rika could tell, at the very least, that there was no door guarding the entryway. That was it, that had to be their ticket in. How to get up there, though? Rika's eyes scanned the nearby vicinity- the dome was mostly flat, but curved as it approached the bridge. However, it was still too flat for Rika to use as a springboard to propel himself higher. As he pondered his options, a lightbulb lit up in Rika's mind once his eyes reached the ground. Why hadn't he thought of this sooner, he possessed the exact tool necessary right on his person. Reaching into his Adventurer's Pouch, Rika pull out a slim, brown wand, slightly less than a foot in length, with a strange, head-like attachment on its end. Normally, the Sand Wand was completely useless, but in a desert it was an adventurer's best friend for maneuvering among the sand.

He would have to use the shadows afforded by the bridge to his advantage, if he wanted this to work. With a swift flick of his wrist, the specks of sand below him rumbled for not even a second before clumping together and rising in a glorious, thick pillar. Pushing off the ground, Rika leaped on top of the pillar, wisps of blue, magical energy trailing his feet. Next would be the harder part. He would have to jump in the shadows properly if he wanted to gain enough height to reach the bridge. Pushing off, Rika saw himself going higher and higher, and pushing off thin air once more, he was so close. . . and he fell. Gently gliding to the ground, Rika was determined to succeed now- he was so close to succeeding.

Another failure. Yet another. This one was too. . . wait! Rika's fingertips latched onto the edge of the bridge, leaving him dangling precariously off the edge. He knew he could do it! The Kokiri was so elated, he was almost incognizant of the fact that if his fingers slipped and he fell, he would likely die. Bringing himself onto the opposite side of the bridge, Rika sat laying back, his eyes glancing at the blazing sun hovering in the sky. Was it ever night here? It, at the very least, did not abide to the same timezone as Hyrule- if it did, it would be night here. Bringing himself back to his knees, Rika got a better look of the entryway, and just as he had thought, it was open, though its contents were masked by a pitch darkness.

An entryway was an entryway, though. "Get over here! I found a way in!" Rika cried out towards his companions as he brought himself to his feet and began making his way closer to the opening.

Bepu looked up, watching Rika as he slowly, but surely, got closer and closer to the top. Great. What the hell am I doing trying to open this. He thought to himself, looking at his work, with which he was almost through. "You should have said you could get up there, before I started!" He yelled out in exasperation. Bepu leveled his eyes with Dante's. "I can only assume that you, also, have a way of reaching that entrance up there."

Dante only chuckled in reply. Bepu threw both hands into the air, metal pipe falling to the ground, the flames guttering out as it bounced in the sand. "Great!" The Korok griped. If he'd known about all this, he'd just have scaled the wall. He sighed, collecting his things, preparing himself for the climb ahead. Dante, in the interim, had preparations of his own. He looked up at his destination, gauging its distance from the ground, before strolling away. Much like Rika, he'd need to use the shadows to his advantage: he couldn't be fighting against this plane's intense gravity, not if he wanted to reach his mark.

Drawing in a deep breath, Dante drew his Whirlwind and activated his Hover Boots, setting off at a dead sprint. With each sliding step he took, he squeezed out a blast of air just behind him, accelerating himself faster and faster. The shadow that marked the end of his run approached quickly. Now! Dante leaped into the air, squeezing out one final blast of air, the force of its collision adding to his jump, and throwing him up further into the air than he could have achieved alone. Augmented by the weakened gravity in the shadow, he flew up swiftly, yet it was apparent he would not reach his goal. Then, a scream of whining energy pealed out, and in a moment he was gone in a green flash.

He appeared a good deal higher in the air, just vertical of where he had just been. Continuing his momentum, and activating his Hover Boots' hovering ability at the peak of his jump, Dante quickly slid over the top of the bridge, before falling into a roll. Yet his momentum threatened to carry him off the other side, the Deku scrabbling to find any sort of purchase with his wooden fingers. He found it, just before careening to his doom, letting out a sigh of relief. Dante stood to his feet, brushing some sand from his tunic, before looking around for Bepu, whom he'd assumed could reach the bridge, judging by the Korok's reaction. A few seconds passed, before Bepu clamored over the edge, grumbling about something or other.

"Hopefully getting out doesn't require nearly as much effort." Dante mused.

Rika was cautious in approaching the doorway this time; he had a better understanding of how gravity and light correlated with one another in this place now, and would not be tripped up yet again by it. Making his way into the doorway, the Shadow Orb's spirited, swirling blackness slowly came to a halt. As it did so, Rika snapped his fingers, a luminous wisp forming into place next to his head and illuminating the darkness in front of them. He could feel his body lighten as he moved in- though there was light provided by his Will-o-Wisp, it was still far dimmer here than it was on the outside, leaving him with a quite noticeable shift in gravity. Ahead of him, as far as Rika could see, was a narrow hallway reaching further into the dome. At first glance, it appeared similar to the structure he had entered in the previous village; barren, steel walls and light fixtures. Yet, while the other one felt artificial and inhuman, this one was almost ominous in nature- perhaps it was due to the absence of light, or the fact that they were forced to break in from the upper level. Rika would not be erred by any such feelings of caution, though, especially not at this point in his adventure. Making his way further in, Rika began exploring the depths of the cavern.

. . .

. . .

They had been traveling for a short time. The lightly tinted, yet vile odor of bodily decay wrestled against their noses- and quite possibly their stomachs as well- since shortly after they had entered. There was nothing signifying a source, and it was not quite repulsive enough to scare them away, but it was. . . unpleasant, to say the least. Still, with the sight of undead still fresh in Rika's mind, it left him more than wary, especially due to the fact that they had not located any robots to guide them as of yet. They had taken a handful of twists and turns so far; many of the doors they had come across were sealed shut just like the one Bepu had been blasting away at, leaving them swerving back and forth around corners and split paths with no real idea where they were going. They had changed elevation a couple times as well, and it was difficult to say if they were on the same floor they had entered from. Even with Rika's natural navigational instincts, they were on the fast track to getting lost.

As they rounded yet another corner, a door in the hallway they had just left slowly, silently slid open, and out of it crept the next alarming threat. Slinking closer to the group behind Bepu, the lanky, undead monstrosity threatened to latch onto and clamp down on the small Korok- though likely to its displeasure, as he was a plant-based being.

Suddenly, the Korok found himself bodily engulfed by a fleshy horror. "Oh Din!" He yelled out in surprise, then in disgust, then finally in fright. "Ow!" It's teeth dug into the wood of his head, and while it wouldn't be able to kill him with its mandibles, it certainly stuck. "Get it off, get it off!" He screamed out in alarm, swinging about, trying to throw the creature from his back. Then, a tiny orb bounced on the ground, flashing as it exploded. The bright emanation threw Bepu, Redead Bokoblin and all, to the metal floor.

Having expected the change in gravity from his own Deku seed, Dante had braced himself, brought to a knee alone for a brief moment, before he set off at a sprint, leaping across the distance in only a few short steps. Before the Redead could climb back to its feet, Dante's blade was lodged in its head, but it was too shallow... The light gravity made it much more difficult to strike forcefully. With a grunt, his fist glowed green and he slammed down onto the spine of his blade with it, wind exploded out from his clenched hand. The force of the explosion forced the blade down through the Redead's skull and through its jaw, swiftly ending its existence.

And yet, as quickly as one Redead had fallen, the moans of several more could be heard approaching, the shuffling echoing in the dark. The sound must have gotten their attention, both from Bepu's screams, as well as from the explosion of Dante's magic. "I don't like the sound of that... We should get going. Maybe we can avoid them?" Dante said quietly towards Rika, as he pulled Bepu to his feet.

"Yeah. Let's get moving." He agreed, making his way further ahead just as a handful of other Redead began pouring out of the now opened doorways they had left in their wake like a flood. The monsters themselves on an individual level were not especially threatening- after all, even when one had gotten the jump on Bepu, it was still dispatched mostly harmlessly. A horde of them, however, could prove to be a problem. Even if Rika and Dante could dispatch small groups at a time, if they were swarmed by overwhelming numbers, it would be difficult to manage in such a small and unfamiliar place.

. . .

The horde didn't stop. It only seemed to be growing at an alarming rate; every corner they turned, another zombie peered out of a doorway, or stood waiting in the center of the hallway, only adding to the forces they had already accumulated. Dispatching them, therefore, certainly proved fruitless. Just where were they coming from? There was not a single sign of an undead creature, other than the stench, for some time when they first entered, and now they were like ants, and Rika, Dante, and Boris were the sweet nectar. This level, at least, was proving fruitless- It was hard to say if they were even treading new ground or not-, and if they wanted to make any progress, they would have to change that.

"Let's go up a stairway. I believe they will have a harder time following us up there, anyway. I think. . ." Rika paused, taking a moment to contemplate what of this floor they had and had not traversed, "there's one this way."

It was just as Rika had thought; there was a stairwell close by, and it was perfectly timed, as Redeads were beginning to converge on them. Rushing up the stairs, the door leading out into the hallway on the next level slid downward as they passed through it- either a blessing or a curse, depending on if they wished to return down.

Taking a moment to surmise his surroundings, there seemed to be only one pathway to take; the entrance to the stairwell seemed to be at a the end of the hallway. The other way did not seem to be a clear path, though- they were met with two imposing figures, who now appeared to be charging at them. Two Gibdo were rushing towards the trio, intent on barreling over them with their intimidating, formidable bodies.

Dante cursed under his breath. They couldn't get a break, could they? With the the hallway being so narrow, avoiding the lumbering creatures was going to be difficult. "Pegasus seed, sandwich man." Dante barked out at Bepu, who complied with a moment's notice, shuffling nervously at the swiftly approaching monsters. Taking off at a dead sprint, Dante responded to the Gibdos' charge with his own, while Bepu began to climb up the wall in case the undead managed to bypass the Deku. He had no desire to be trampled by the heavyweights, which still seemed as if they might crush him despite the reduced gravity.

Hopefully this works. Hand glowing green, an aura which quickly overtook his short blade, Dante threw the Pegasus Seed at his feet, throwing him forward at an even fast pace. His speed, combined with the explosive power of his Wind Enchantment, would hopefully stop the Gibdo in their tracks. A green blur through the air, Dante's blade collided with the chest of the lead Gibdo before it could even raise its arms to swipe at him. With a defeaning Boom! that resounded in the hallway, Dante was thrown back several meters by the force of his own magic, and likewise for the Gibdo. The strike didn't appear to have done much damage, but the first Gibdo was thrown into the other just behind it, resulting in a jumble of arms and legs on the floor. At the very least he'd bought them a few moments.

The fact that Bepu provided something other than sandwiches had slipped Rika's mind. Come to think of it, he had never even tried one of his creations. Considering he was named after creating them, they were sure to be good- while he had little appetite with the stomach-wrenching stench of rotted flesh pervading his senses, he would surely be hungry once they had exited this facility. He would have to try one and judge Bepu's skill then.

. . . Regardless, these thoughts would have to wait. Lingering behind Dante as the Deku bolted foward, his steps empowered as he trampled the ground at his feet, the Deku found himself crashing into the Gibdo. Propelling backward past the Kokiri, the Gibdo found themselves mirroring Dante. "Nice job, my turn!" Rika shouted at the flying Deku as they crossed paths, the Kokiri zooming forward towards the now prone Gibdo. Forming an Aqua Grenade in his palm, Rika hastily chucked it forward toward the Gibdo. Rushing into the splash of water after it had exploded, he wasted no time continuing his onslaught.

Leaping into the air, Rika's blade was enchanted with chilling ice. Twisting, the Kokiri vaulted foward, moving into a vertical spin as he unleashed an ice enchanted, Deku Pirouette Helm Splitter onto the downed Gibdo. Landing a few feet past them, Rika stumbled a moment as he stepped onto the ground, and turned to see his handiwork.

The Gibdo on the top had been brutally damaged by his assault- aside from the Aqua Grenade tearing at its body, his slicing and dicing tore at its body, and the Ice Enchantment combined with it being drenched from the Aqua Grenade had seemed to freeze it. If it was not dead- downed, rather, as a Gibdo could not exactly die- yet, it was certainly incapable of further combat. That was the topmost Gibdo.

Rika's eyes had little time to examine his work, as he suddenly saw the top Gibdo moving very rapidly towards him. It took him less than a moment to gather what was happening, as the bottom Gibdo had begun moving- with its monstrous strength, it had used Rika's own results against him, flinging the frozen Gibdo at him just as he had passed.

The Kokiri had little time to react as he had just landed. Breaking into a hasty sprint forward, Rika dived to the side, the frozen Gibdo crashing into the wall next to him and shattering into large pieces. He could feel the large chunks painfully pelt at his body as they crashed down upon him, but he had, at the very least, avoided being hit.

It seemed the top Gibdo had acted as something akin to a shield to the bottom Gibdo, saving it from Rika's advance.

As it began to make its way to its feet to charge the Kokiri, Rika quickly reached into a pouch and pulled out a few small packets. Flinging them forward, they slid across the ground as the Gibdo began stomping its way forward. As soon as it stepped on them, it felt a powerful, forceful boom wash over it as it was launched back once more by the Ignition Powder, though it was likely a weaker blow than what Dante had delivered.

Groaning as he pushed the frozen Gibdo's disembodied limb off of his head, Rika began making his way to his feet. There was no telling if it would charge at him again or how long it would take for it to recover- or if there were others that would appear.

As Rika stood to his feet, the Kokiri would see that there was no longer a need to concern himself over the remaining Gibdo. The two had fought too many battles together for Dante to let an opportunity presented slip away. Seeing the Ignition Powder packets slide along the floor, the Deku understood what was to come next. Staggering to a full run, still aching from the impact of his collision, he groaned with exertion. Already his discerning eyes could see the direction in which the Gibdo would be thrown, where he needed next be to take full advantage of the creature's balance being thrown. He flipped his blade, grasping it tightly by the hilt: already it was showing signs of warping, from the strain he had placed on it within the past few hours. It would have to hold out. The Gibdo's feet were briefly engulfed in light, though not nearly enough to bring it to its knees from the increased gravity. Instead, it staggered backwards.

With a howl not unlike the sound of screeching metal, Dante appeared in a flash of green light above the Gibdo, just before a Deku Seed, shot brief moments before, exploded just above Dante's head. The light bathed them and Dante plummeted in a dive, blade piercing deep into the skull of the Gibdo. It speared through bone and tissue alike, and passed cleanly out through the creature's upper mouth, fully dislodging its lower jaw. That wouldn't be enough to take it out of commission, but the moment its bottom teeth swung like a hinge, Dante's arm cannon was shoved into the undead's mouth sending a glowing orb into its fully exposed gullet.

Despite recovering its balance, the Gibdo was still too slow as it swiped clumsily at the Deku atop its head. Dislodging his blade with a flip backwards, Dante's once former cannon-now hand returned-grasped at his Whirlwind, sending a powerful gust at the Gibdo. The creature, unable to gain momentum, slid back a few inches before attempting to lurch forward to maim Dante--much too late. With a final glowing blink, the orb that had descended to its rotting stomach unleashed a final faint emission of light, before exploding violently and scattering bone shards and flesh throughout the room.

Dante huffed with exhaustion: this last encounter had taken a lot, with no end in sight. He shook the stars from his vision, trying to dispel his grim thoughts, as Bepu dropped down from the wall and promptly began to dry heave at the gory scene.

"Guys, between the fleshsicles and the fried skin," Bepu waved an arm out at their surroundings, "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." He turned to the side, spewing out dry leaves in a poor imitation of a forest in fall.

Rika had readied himself for the Gibdo's charge, but it proved unnecessary as Dante had dispatched it. The sandwich Korok seemed to have difficulty dealing with the scene. Rika felt a brief soreness ache throughout his body, but he would have to push past it for now.

"We have to keep going. We have little time to rest- the hordes of undead could swarm us at any moment." He said as he began making his way down the hallway. They had been walking- and running- for some time, so truthfully, taking a moment's reprieve would be nice, but he had no mental knowledge of the floor they were on, and this place was so complex that comparing it to the lower floor was somewhat fruitless. If they were to be swarmed, they would have little idea where to go outside of wandering, and it was entirely possible they could end up in a dead end. It was simply to risky for them to stop and rest at the moment.

. . .

. . .

Once again, silence. Their path was short and straight so far, but they had not encountered anything as of yet. At least, until Rika came across an open doorway. Glancing inside the dimly lit room, there was one thing Rika saw, one thing that was incredibly useful to them as of now- it was one of those mechanical robot things! Yet, it seemed collapsed and still. Rika could hear a faint bzzt emanate from the robot similar to what they had heard from the robots they met previously.

"I think I found our solution, guys!" Rika called back to Dante and Bepu just before he stepped into the room. As they began to follow, Rika quickly learned they were not alone- a shrill scream echoed throughout the room, as three Redead Knights slid out of the corners of the room, dragging rusted claymores across the ground behind them. Rika could not see all of them, as his body had tensed up and froze from their paralyzing cry, but he could hear the ear-piercing, chilling screech of their blade scraping against the ground as they all slowly approached him.

For once, during this Din-accursed quest, being the least battle ready paid off. Due to his general sense of nausea and exhaustion from their previous encounters, Bepu had lagged behind the other two by a short distance in a constant struggle to maintain his composure. His unsure steps into the room, a few moments after Dante and Rika had both entered, saved him from the paralyzing echoes of the Redead Knights' screaming: Bepu, nevertheless, stared at them in a moment of slack-jawed surprise. A dozen thoughts jumbled together in his mind, though one managed to disentangle itself from the rest. Run. Bepu's instincts were to get as far away from these creatures as possible, get as far away from this blasted hell-hole in general, and return to his normal life of sandwich delivery. Even as his hand moved reflexively to the fiery red Pegasus Seeds at his side, his entire body shivered with fear, moisture sweating from the bark of his skin.

Run.

So it was that the cowardly, and not entirely useful, sandwich Korok found himself careening towards the Redead Knights, feet leaving a blazing trail behind him. "WhyyyYyy-y-yyyyyy!" He screamed, as he zipped past Dante, who was struggling to recover from the paralysis, then Rika. Despite his protests, his feet were carrying him bravely on, right through the trio of Redead Knights. Their attention broken by the much closer target, they turned away from Bepu's companions and lurched to catch or cleave him in two. Their strikes whistled through naught but air as the Korok whizzed by, still screaming insensately. Bepu skidded to a halt some distance behind the three Redead and shot several Ember Seeds through the air with his Seed Shooter, the tiny red spheres colliding with the chest of the nearest Redead. It scratched at the flames burning at its chest, though it seemed to otherwise be hampered very little by the quickly dwindling embers.

"Help meeeeeee!" Bepu squeaked out.

Rika's gaze, and therefore his focus, was locked in the direction of the Gibdo, and as such, it came as more than a surprise that Bepu had charged forward with a level of recklessness that would put Rika and Dante to shame. At first he had thought Bepu was just an amusing little sandwich boy, but now he was so much more- a STUPID amusing little sandwich boy. Even more humiliating were his shrill cries of terror, his pleas for help that he let out throughout the whole ordeal. Were it any other creature, Rika would have found them boring and pathetic for their unamusing cowardice. With Bepu, though, there was something else about him, something about his ridiculousness that Rika found positively hilarious.

That was when it wore off. The numbness pervading his body persisted yet, but he could move. "Alright, alright!" Rika nonchalantly laughed at Bepu's request. He didn't have to be so dramatic about it; the Redead weren't even close to him. "Let me show you real fire." He called out to the Redead Bepu had shot his seeds at. Palm drawn, swirling flames rocketed towards its back, sending it vaulting to the ground with a crash of its body and clank of its blade.

Rika rushed towards the prone Redead Knight before the other two could react, leaping onto its back and impaling it with the pointed end of his scythe. Smug in his victory, Rika had neglected to account for the fact that the reduced gravity meant he would not have the force for an easy killing blow, especially not on an undead creature. The Redead Knight's arm shot up and grabbed Rika, sending him violently crashing to the ground beside it with its supernaturally monstrous strength. It let out another roar at Rika- not one of paralysis, but of intimidation, its other palm balled into a fist and sent catapulting to smash the stunned Kokiri.

Dante staggered, falling to a knee as Bepu careened past, screaming at the top of his lungs. Goddesses, the korok could scream with such a tiny body. Still, he'd have to praise the poor little delivery man: he certainly wasn't brave, but no one could dispute his timeliness. Glancing to his side, he followed Rika's gaze to the grouping of Gibdo, in a moment registering the Kokiri's intent. I'll take one of the others, then. Shrugging off the effects of the paralyzing scream as best he could, arms still sluggish and trembling and legs laboring to even take a step, Dante lurched forward. Kukri drawn and faintly glowing with the power of the wind, Dante began to shimmer. With two more labored steps, he disappeared in a flash of light, accompanied by the faint whine of his magic.

Dante appeared in front of the Gibdo nearest him, grunting with the effort of moving so soon after the paralysis. Knowing full well he couldn't yet swing his blade at any meaningful strength, instead he held it close to his body, bracing his arms and shoulders. His pseudo-sprint threw him bodily at the Gibdo, and at the distance with which he appeared from it, it had little time to react. The creature's arms flailed in an attempt to stop the deku from colliding with it, but far too late: Dante ran full-body into the ReDead, blade cutting deep into its knee caps. The enchantment of winds exploded with powerful gusts, throwing the creature back and briefly into the air, its now broken legs flailing almost comically as its body careened through the air and towards the end of the room from which Dante had warped. Not yet dead, but no longer a pressing threat.

Dante whirled, not missing a beat, his eyes darting as he ascertained the situation. One hand released from his blade, moving to his snout and loading a Deku Nut into his arm cannon. One ReDead approaching him quickly, the second now bearing down upon Rika. His Wind Enchantment and Wizzwarp both unable to be cast for the moment, and Bepu fumbling seeds in an attempt to reload his shooter. The ReDead shuffling towards him was moving into his line of sight to Rika, so any conventional support would be difficult. Making a snap decision, Dante whirled his body, heaving his Kukri into the air and into a long arc over the Gibdo's head in front of him. Now! Recalling his mental image of the other Gibdo just behind, Dante fired the Deku Nut stored in his hand, aiming it straight to the ceiling of the room. The nut collided with stone, cracking and releasing a brief, but bright flash, flaring like a tiny sun. The light reasserted gravity, altering the trajectory of the blade, while throwing both Gibdo momentarily off balance. With a meaty Thunk! the short blade collided with the Gibdo's back midriff, further interrupting its blow against Rika, but not killing or otherwise incapacitating it.

Hoping that would be enough, Dante gave his full attention to the enemy before him, grasping at his Whirlwind and watching the creature warily. No sword, bow unstrung, and no magic to speak of yet. To make matters worse, he could hear the first Gibdo behind him, dragging itself along the ground, presumably with its arms. From the sounds of it, the Gibdo was moving at a fairly decent clip, too, leveraging the reduced gravity to its advantage. Damn things were too persistent.