Snowhead (Tsuill RP)

Kasumi looked at those knees as it once again neared. He was right, there were bunches of wires... She locked onto both legs, throwing her boomerang again. This time, the Aquarang was more successful, slicing into wires and causing a few sparky blasts. As Kasumi caught the weapon again, she backed up, allowing Goht to fall over and slide to a halt in front of her.

The Zora drew her rapier, slashing harmlessly at it’s face. “Urg... thisis doing nothing!” She called before having an idea. If it was using wires then... The climbed up onto the face, just above where the mask was, and held it by both horns. Focussing all her power to her center, the actress caused a massive surge of electricity to blast through the machinated beast. Strangly, the wires underneath repaired themselves, and Kasumi was quickly bucked off. Goht had clearly been hurt by the discharge, and now his running was harder, making jagged rocks fall from the ceiling. Kasumi laid on her back, chest heaving heavily. “T-tag in, anyone?”

The scary goat man was running, running, running all round the track. Circles, circles, circles, again and again and again. The stone buckled and shuddered under its horrible hooves, and Marcus mumbled about cracks and fire and death. Fish lady stumbled back, and Loft grinned. His turn now! Scary goat man running, running, running, then stop! Flash of Deku light made it stumble, shaking its head. Loft skipped forward, pulled out the throwing knife, and buried it into the thing's knee. Goat man roared, tried to run, and fell over. Loft giggled and sneaked over to it, using Prissy (one of his not-throwing-knives) to carve out its eyes.

Goht's roar was so powerful that Loft was thrown back. He bounced along the stone of the track, rolling to a stop several paces away from the glowing runes. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. Goht was definitely running crazier than before, not smooth at all. Loft stared at it as it veered left and right then left then right then right rather than left. Its eyes had healed, but it didn't look too good.

"One more," he sang happily, "just one more smack!" He bowed to the fish lady. "Have fun!"

Loft did surprisingly well at hurting Goht... Why had he not done that right away?? And of course, then the boy bowed and returned to Marcus’ side. “Wh-what? I didn’t mean tag in like ‘Help for three seconds’!” She didn’t have time for that... It was careening around again, moving even faster than before. All control was gone... Kasumi prepared herself to dodge, but didn’t expect a shard of rock to fly from the ceiling, slicing her along the arm. She winced, but held her ground, only diving to the side when Goht was near. She caught him by the horn, her body slamming into it’s hard metal side.She could only hold onto the one side, but good enough, she didn’t need to cut the wires this time...

She once again discharged electricity through the thing, making it veer more and more until falling off the ledge. Kasumi barely had the time to react, jumping off and landing scarcely an inch on the ledge. She wobbled on the rocky edge, but managed to direct herself forward, falling gracelessly onto her elbows. Shaky as they were, she let them go, sliding into a position where she was laying on her stomach. How had she done that? The thing was several times larger than her! Breathing hard, Kasumi couldn’t bring herself to fall asleep, but she was sure as hell taking a breather.

Goht hurdled out of the protection of the runes, and Marcus watched as his body immediately fizzled and melted and burned into nonexistence. By the time it reached the magma, Goht was little more than a shriveled husk. Marcus knelt down to the stone runes, carefully examining them. They appeared intact, thank the Goddesses, but the stone platform was still trembling from Goht's insane rampage. The golden barrier that had blocked the stairwell was gone. They were free to leave.

Kasumi had avoided an instant, fiery death by mere inches. She had hung from Goht's horn while it had rampaged across the track, and her body had been repeatedly smashed against its mettalic hide as it ran. Finally, she had thrown herself onto the unforgiving stone, and doubtless her elbows were bruised and bloody. A rest was what she needed, what she deserved, and also what she could not have.

He walked over to her, regretting his lack of magic. "Kasumi," he said gently, "we need to move. Goht was a very large, very heavy, mechanical monster. It is likely that its rampage has severely damaged the infrastructure of this stone ring, and if the runes were to be even slightly damaged the magical barrier would disappear and we would die. We need to get off this ring."

Kasumi sighed, knowing that what Marcus said was indeed true. She could feel a slight rumble, meaning they had some time, but certainly not enough for a decent break. “Ugh... fine...” She slowly clambered to her feet before spotting a pathway that led further into the caverns. “That... wasn’t there before.” She slowly said, perplexed as to what had happened. Did Goht have some sort of life link to this place? Maybe with his death, some places had shifted, allowing them to move on? But that could also mean...

She looked behind her, seeing that the path that they had taken was gone. “Oh, damn it... what more could we have to do here? Wouldn’t killing Goht break the curse?” She ranted to herself, then motioned for the two Hylians to follow her. “Agh... Dammit... Come on then. Only one way we can go.” Kasumi then began walking the path provided, clutching her elbow. She’d landed pretty hard on it...

Marcus walked down the stone pathway, noticing idly that navigating the treacherous catwalks became easier with every attempt. He barely had to concentrate on Kasumi's pink form directly in front of him, although for the sake of his life he decided that would keep somewhat focused on staying within the boundaries of the runes. They were the only thing keeping them from instantly combusting, after all. Marcus frowned, a thought suddenly coming to him, as thoughts often do. The runes were filtering heat generated from magma, magma that was burning at around one thousand degrees Celsius. How were they being powered? Magic like that would use tons of energy in a very short time, and moreover, he had no idea how old this place was. How had the architects managed to fuel such a powerful and long-lasting spell?

Gas erupted from somewhere to his left, and Marcus jumped. He looked down instinctively to check that he was safely within the runes. It was close, but he was fine. His left shoe was being a bit of a daredevil, but other than that everything was good. He exhaled softly, wondering what it would feel like to have his foot burned off by the intense heat radiating from the magma. No doubt he would scream and leap out of the runes' protection, and then he would be at the mercy of the magma.

The magma! And then, suddenly, Marcus knew where the runes were getting their energy from. It was so simple, and so obvious, that Marcus felt like kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. The pure power flowing through this room would be more than enough to supply a few runes. His curiosity satisfied, he then thought about what Kasumi had said earlier.

"Wouldn't killing Goht break the curse," Kasumi had asked. Marcus had thought so too, but now he wasn't so sure. He wasn't sure how intelligent the creature had been, but he knew that if he had been sitting on a mammoth-sized power source like this volcano, he wouldn't have bothered to use his own life force to fuel a village-wide curse. Which meant...

Marcus groaned. Which meant that there were likely to be some sort of conduits placed at certain locations around the volcano, all of which were probably equidistant from the ring where Goht, being the spell-caster, had resided. That was just perfect, more time spent trying to not slip to his death. Before he could relay this slightly negative news to his comrades, the walkway widened out into a larger platform. They stepped onto it, and a similar golden barrier cropped up behind them, sealing off their escape route. No other walkway branched off of this platform, but Marcus didn't bother worrying about that. After all, if history repeated itself, another walkway would probably just branch off like last time. No, what he did worry about was what was in the center of the platform.

There were two things in the center of the platform. The first, and the most prominent, was a shining red crystal embedded into the platform. It shone so brightly that it hurt to look at, but the second thing kept him from spending too long gaping in awe. A Lizalfos stood between them and the crystal conduit, its left arm encased in solid rock, and its tail barbed and spiked. It snarled, leaning forward and baring its fangs at them. Obviously, it wasn't going to let them anywhere near the crystal.

"We have to damage the crystal," Marcus said, "it's part of what's powering the curse. Be careful not to destroy it completely; it's drawing power from the magma, and it's likely that it's in direct contact with the magma below the platform. If you destroy the crystal completely, we'll all instantly combust from the un-protected hole in the floor. Just damage it enough so that it won't function as a conduit anymore."

Loft sprinted forward, not waiting for anything else. "Loft, wait for Kasumi," Marcus called after him, but Loft didn't listen. His throwing knife was already spinning through the air towards the Lizalfos, and Loft followed it quickly by leaping into the air and bringing his leg down in a solid midair axe kick. The Lizalfos' stone arm whipped forward, blocking the throwing knife and sending it clattering to the floor some ten feet away. It dodged the axe kick, and Loft had to twist awkwardly in the air to prevent his leg from shattering against the stone floor. He landed with a heavy thump, completely exposed to the Lizalfos.

"Loft!" Marcus yelled.

Kasumi led the way, but when the path behind her gave way and this massive crystal stood in front of her, she couldn’t help but get the feeling this place was sentient. Loft threw himself at the enemy lizalfos eagerly and recklessly. When that failed, the actress sprung to action. The lizalfos moved in for the kill, but Kasumi whipped her Aquarang at high speed, focussing her magic power upon it. Once it swept the thing across it’s face, she looped it around again, smashing right down onto it’s skull, then returning to it’s sender.

The lizalfos was seeing stars, so Kasumi went in for an attack. She drew her rapier, slashing across her enemy’s chest. A bit of blood poured out as it roared and gained attention again, smashing Kasumi back with it’s rocky arm.

“U-urg...” Kasumi muttered, putting away her rapier. She knew how she had to take this thing out. It’s scales were tough, but armor didn’t protect from blunt force. She threw her Aquarang wide as the lizalfos came in, swinging it’s arms at her in a frenzy. She dodged left and right, ducking occasionally as the swipes came in. When it least expected it, the Aquarang made a return trip, slamming the lizalfos from behind right into Kasumi’s grasp. Using momentum, Kasumi wrapped her arms around the lizard, suplexing it right onto it’s head. Unfortunately, this wasn’t perfectly done. Her back wasn’t trained for such hits, thus once she slammed her foe, she too sprawled onto the floor. “Ah shit! My back!” She bent over, gripping her back, though the lizalfos was indeed hurt, dazed on the ground.

Loft stood back as the Zora battled the Lizalfos, but once Kasumi hit the floor he figured it was his turn to switch in. While the fish-lady gripped her back and swore to high heaven, Loft dashed in to press the advantage. The Lizalfos lay dazed on the stone floor, the wrestling maneuver leaving it stunned and concussed. Loft's second throwing knife whipped through the air, embedding into the Lizalfos' shoulder. It screamed and flailed its limbs wildly, and Loft dove for his first throwing knife lying on the ground several feet away. He didn't want to get anywhere near its stone arm, so he was going to have to hit it from far away. He took a second to steady his aim as the stunned Lizalfos got to its feet, wobbling and swaying, then he smoothly let the knife leave his hand and bury into the Lizalfos' head. The creature dropped to the ground, and Loft dashed forward to finish it off. Prissy, one of his non-throwing knives, flashed red in his hands before sinking deeply into its left eye. Prissy was longer than most knives, and it was honestly much closer to a short sword than a knife. It skewered the creature's brain, and the wounded, dazed, and concussed Lizalfos died instantly.

With the threat gone, Marcus was free to rush over to Kasumi. Watching her, he was keenly aware of his lack of healing magic. She was on the ground, having incorrectly performed a suplex. Her back was injured, and she was cussing and gripping it tightly. He knelt down beside her. "Kasumi," he said soothingly, "I need you to relax, okay? You just injured yourself pretty badly, and you need to relax your muscles and rest."

He rummaged around in his pack and brought out an ice pack. He grunted in frustration; the ice within had melted, leaving the pack full of lukewarm water. He mentally made a note to learn the magic of Ice; ice packs were annoyingly temperamental, and it would be nice to not have to rely on them. Then again, he was used to just being able to zap a person back to full health. He hadn't needed to perform basic first aid in a long time.

The acronym used for this kind of problem was RICE; Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Rest was set; there was no way that Marcus would let them leave this platform, not until Kasumi was fully healed and his healing magic was restored. He mentally rebuked himself for allowing them to enter into the dungeon while he was dry. That was far too careless. They were lucky that Kasumi's injury wasn't worse; it was entirely possible that any of the three could have been fatally wounded, either in the battle with Goht or in the fight with the Lizalfos. Thankfully, Kasumi's injury was non-fatal. She was resting now, but she needed magic to recover quickly. Without it, she wouldn't be in top fighting condition for weeks. Still, Rest was essential for healing. Ice was obviously out, so that left Compression and Elevation.

Loft broke into his thoughts. "Marcus, what're we going to do with that crystal?"

"Damage it," Marcus said, "but don't destroy it completely, remember." Loft nodded and raised Prissy, ready to plunge its tip into the glowing red surface of the crystal. "No, Loft," Marcus called out quickly, and thankfully the boy stopped before plunging the blade into the crystal, "you might lose your knife. Use the Lizalfos' arm to break off the tip of the crystal." Loft nodded, and bent down to the Lizalfos. He surveyed the body critically, then placed the tip of his knife at the creature's upper arm. He cut away the flesh and muscle on both sides of the arm, scraping the bone clear, then used his foot to smash the exposed bone. He picked up the newly severed stone arm and slammed it into the top of the crystal.

Marcus held his breath, hoping that the whole thing didn't shatter. If it did, the platform would be flooded with the volcano's heat and they would die instantly. With a loud crack the tip of the crystal was smashed into tiny shards that tinkled as they fell onto the stone floor of the platform. The remaining crystal dulled, its light fading into nonexistence as the red color seeped out of it. Soon, there was nothing left but an empty, translucent husk of plain crystal.

There was a humming sound, and Marcus turned to see that the blockade on the previous walkway had disappeared. The platform rumbled and shook, and soon a new pathway had risen out of the magma. Those runes must have protected the stone from being destroyed, but it was still strange to see anything rise up out of the volcano's depths.

Marcus turned back to Kasumi. Where was he? Oh yes, RICE. Rest, check. Ice, unable to be checked. Now it was time for Compression and Elevation. Elevation was already taken care of, as Kasumi was lying down and would be lying down until Marcus could magically heal her. Compression, though, required something special. Marcus rummaged around in his pack, pulling out a long elastic bandage. He asked Kasumi if she could indicate where exactly the center of pain was, and requested permission to wrap the bandage around her. He told her that they were going to rest until he could heal her, and that she was to lie still and relax until that time.

Kasumi was used to medical professionals helping her out. Trying new choreography during rehearsals and such often ended in a bump on the head or something. Or when she was in the hospital because of those two Zora who broke into her house... She’d taken a fire poker in the back of the head. The actress grimaced at the memory. Overall, she went with whatever Marcus said, indicating a spot midway down her back, near the bottom of the ribs. “Right there... It’s good that you having healing magic hasn’t made you lazy...” She said, still in some pain.

She glanced around the cavern, once again noting the heat. Dammit, it was so hot in here... And why was here any better of a spot to rest than the last spot? If anything, the crystal may be deteriorating now... “Hey Marcus?” She said with a smirk. “If I die in here later, no letting Loft anywhere near me, okay?”

"I assure you, Kasumi," Marcus said, wrapping the elastic bandage around her, "that if you die I will not hesitate in dumping your body into the magma." He tied off the bandage and sat back, smiling. "I've made sure not to become content with my magic. Oh, speaking of magic." He pulled out his Blue Candle and hummed quietly. "I could probably use this for your injury. It's much too cold to directly apply, of course, but it could probably refreeze the ice-pack pretty quickly."

He called Loft over and instructed him to hold the pouch of melted water over the Blue Candle's flame until it had frozen. "Kasumi," he said, "I'm going to go to try and sleep now, alright? It's the fastest way to replenish my supply of healing magic, and it's too dangerous to continue without any. Once that's frozen, I want you to hold that to your wound for twenty minutes. Make sure it's well wrapped in cloth, otherwise there could be damage. Actually, since you're a Zora, make that only ten minutes. Try and rest as much as possible, and Loft? Don't disturb my patient; she's resting."

Loft pouted. He scooted closer and whispered in his ear, "no nibbles and tibbles for Loft?"

"No," Marcus hissed quietly, "I already told you, you can't eat Kasumi."

Loft sulked, but slunk back to the Blue Candle to hold the melted ice pack above the freezing flame.

"Kasumi," Marcus said, "is it alright if I go to sleep? If you're uncomfortable, I can stay awake. My magic will still replenish, it'll just take more time."

Kasumi nodded, a smirk still present on her face. It was the only time it would ever be touching for someone to tell her they’d kick her body into lava. “Well, you rest. I should be fine.” Her arms still worked, so if Loft tried anything she could just give him a taste of what that Lizalfos got. For now he’d be preoccupied with the ice pack, anyway. She watched Marcus go to sleep, then laid herself fully down as well.

Why was she here? In this weird cave... In this icy place... Outside the domain... Was it to get stronger? Or maybe something else. Was it to prove she could? Risking death like this was so unlike her... And how she’d left was horrible. Told Liraz she was going on a special trip, and didn’t even tell Triton or Thria. Just packed up and left. It was cruel to her friends and fans, looking back. So was it all for herself? .......No. It still didn’t feel like it. For now, Kasumi didn’t have the answers. Perhaps they’d come to her later.

With another glance at Loft, she decided to check something. The woman gradually closed her eyes, as if sleepy, until she had them open barely a crack, just enough to watch. Now what would the boy do?

Loft spun the sloshing ice pack around over the blue flame. He held it with a fore-finger and thumb high enough over the blue flame that it would still freeze without his fingers turning into Loft-sickles and shattering. That wouldn't be fun. It was slow, boring work, but Loft knew that Marcus would have his head if he didn't finish and give it to Kasumi.

Speaking of Kasumi, the ice pack was finished. He pulled it away from the Blue Candle, tossed it up and down a few times to see if it was solid, and crawled over to her. She was sleeping. Marcus would probably want to leave her be. Didn't he say that rest was important? Loft sat back on his haunches. But he also said that he needed to apply the ice pack! Loft leaned forward again. But she was resting. But she needed the ice pack! But- Loft screamed. Out loud. It didn't wake Marcus up, thankfully, and Loft smacked his head against his hands loudly several times until the conflicts in his head went away. Stupid voices, shut up! He didn't know what to do... he decided to ask Kasumi what to do. She could go back to sleep, easy, if she didn't want it.

He poked her in the side. "Fish-lady? Fish-lady?" Not sure how to wake her, he leaned in close to her ear, and said breathily, "I'm gonna eat you up."

Kasumi’s eyes shot open in terror. She had never encountered a person this creepy. The people who stalk her aren’t even this bad... She sat up, forgetting that she’d hurt her back. “O-Ow! Loft, what is WRONG with you?!” She asked, angrily looking at the boy. “It’s not normal to want to eat a person! In many places it’s a damn crime!” She laid back again, trying to get her back into a position that wouldn’t hurt. She saw the ice pack, taking it from Loft.

“Just.... Stop.” Kasumi laid on her front, placing the ice pack onto her lower back.

Loft busted out laughing, rolling on the stone floor and pointing his finger at Kasumi. "You should have seen your face," he snorted. "I'm not really going to eat you," he laughed, still clutching his stomach and giggling, "I just needed to wake you up." He looked at her with his head tilted slightly to one side, and said, "we already had this conversation; I'm not allowed to eat you, remember? Besides," he said, pulling out a Deku Nut and tossing it up and down to himself, "you're a girl fish. I might get cooties."

Kasumi let out a heavy sigh, still icing her back. “You little... You scared the hell out of me...” She then shook her head at that last thing he’d said. “Oh, so you still think girls are all nasty with ‘cooties’?” She wasn’t sure if he’d ever get past that with his current mindset and derpiness. Poor kid. Never getting to realize getting close to a woman is a good thing.

For now though, she’d just do as Marcus instructed. Not her problem.

Time passed. While there was no moon or sun to mark the passage of time in the volcano, the flow of time could still be felt through a person's biological clock. Marcus stirred, his long rest finally having reached its end, and opened his eyes. He felt completely refreshed. The fatigue that had permeated his being throughout their journey into the depths of Snowhead Mountain had finally receded. It was replaced by a vigor and sense of life that surged through his veins, and he could feel it swell throughout him, bursting with an energy that longed to be released. The magic now contained within him was fresh and new as a mountain spring, and Marcus smiled at the familiar sensation of reassuring warmth. Truly, he thought, sitting up and stretching, magic was a gift from the Goddesses.

He looked around their makeshift camp. Loft was stretched out against the stone, his eyes closed. Marcus wasn't sure whether he was sleeping or not. His leg was twitching slightly as he lay, and Marcus was suddenly reminded of a dog who's leg twitches as it dreams of chasing cats and its own tail. He wondered what Loft dreamt about. Then he decided, as he stood up and gathered his things, that he didn't really want to know.

Kasumi was still applying the ice pack. Marcus hoped she had been taking it off every ten minutes like he had told her to. He walked over to her and sat down. "Kasumi," he said, "I apologize for making you wait like this, but I am ready to heal you. After this, we can move on to the next crystal."

Kasumi let out a soft sigh of relief as Marcus woke up. She was a patient woman, but all she could think was ‘About time...’ She took the ice pack off, handing it to Marcus. “Certainly a good thing you’re up, the thing’s almost melted.” She glanced over to Loft, who’d fallen asleep a few minutes back. She sat up, the numbed pain still in her back. “Urg... If you could heal me, Marcus, I’d appreciate it.”

She stood up once healed, stretching her back. “Ahhh, there we go... Thanks a lot.” She mischievously pretended to push Loft off the edge of the platform into the lava below, giving only a slight chuckle. She walked back over to Marcus, whispering in his ear. “Sooooo tempting. So do we wake him up now?”

Marcus accepted the partially melted ice pack, slipping it back into his pack. He wasn't worried about it leaking; the pack had proved that it could easily contain fully liquidated contents. "Of course," he said, using his magic to soothe the already relaxed muscles and alleviate her pain and injury. "There," he said, leaning back. "Finished."

Marcus considered the question. Loft had been aggravating Kasumi, creating tension and animosity in their ranks. It was possible that this would, in the future, cause Kasumi to hesitate in saving one of their lives, and it was probable that this same tension would make working as a team very difficult. Marcus anticipated that, if Kasumi were to be continually aggravated, he would have to spend much of his time practicing the art of diplomacy. This would be a waste of his time and energy. Loft was unlikely to cease in his tactics, and Kasumi was unlikely to cease taking offense at them. If Kasumi were to take revenge on Loft now, it was possible that her pent-up frustrations and anger towards Loft would be vented, and if this were so, then it was probable that relations between them would become less hostile. This was greatly desirable.

However, there was a problem with the idea. "We might need him later," Marcus said, "after Goht and the Lizalfos, I'm not willing to take any chances." Still, the opportunity to alleviate much of Kasumi's frustrations was too good to pass up. "Still," he mused, "that doesn't mean we have to wake him gently."

He knelt down and reached for something attached to Loft's belt. He quickly found the shrivelled wooden organ and reached inside. Loft had acquired it while travelling without Marcus. The wooden organ had been carved from the still-breathing body of a Mad Deku that had attempted to sacrifice Loft to the gods of the wind and water. He decided it was best not to tell Kasumi the object's origin story, however. The organ only required a tiny drop of magical power to activate, and Marcus was easily able to pluck out a Deku Nut.

"Here," Marcus said, holding it out to Kasumi. "You know what this is, right?"

Kasumi smirked as Marcus handed her a deku nut. This would normally be where one makes a long, thoughtful deduction about whether or not revenge was worth it. Where you come to the conclusion that such an act would be cruel and unnecessary. Normally. But not now. Kasumi had been tormented greatly by Loft and this would feel so good...

Se turned towards the boy, throwing the Deku nut down right next to his sleeping head, stoked to see if there would be any adverse reaction.

Loft was dreaming about roasted fish encapsulated in jell-O when the Deku Nut hit. His left ear was nestled in the crook of his arm, but his right ear was completely vulnerable. The nut smashed into the stone floor with an almighty CRACK, and Loft screamed. His eyes flew open and he surged up in one fluid motion, staggering away from the group and clawing at his ear.

The pain slowly subsided, replaced by a sharp ringing. He felt disoriented and woozy, and the adrenaline pumping through his veins had him hopping up and down on the spot. "Ow!" He cried. "I'm awake, I'm awake!"