Nowhere To Go But Up

The Thrill of Discovery

"Hey, Magolor. I was wondering what was taking you so long to show up here." Bandee approached him when he entered the castle.

"Well, I came here after I first landed, didn't I?" Magolor greeted the waddle dee with a smile.

"You did, it's just a little eerie knowing you're on this planet but no one can tell what you're doing."

"So, you missed me?"

"Maybe I did, but my aim is getting better."

Magolor chuckled. "Anyway, I'd like to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Did you notice anything about the mist yesterday?"

They shifted. "It was the thinnest it's ever been before you went out there, and now it's back to normal. I'd ask what you're doing out there, but I've learned not to expect an honest answer to things like that." They were about to let Magolor respond, but then realized something. "Oh, actually, on the subject of the mist, do you want to know any more about it?"

"Oh! Yes, if you have any extra information on it, that'd be wonderful."

Bandee laid their spear on the floor. "It wasn't always there."

Magolor cocked his head. "What?"

"The forest used to be mist-free. I remember one of the first times I joined Kirby on an adventure, I helped him get over a chasm in there. Then, about fourteen years ago, the mist just... appeared. No explanation, no other information, nothing else even happened. The mist just showed up and it's been impossible to get rid of ever since. No one ever figured out how it showed up."

Fourteen years ago? Is there anything else at all that happened around that time? Wait. Maybe... "...Thanks. I'll be going now." And just like that, he left.

When he returned a few hours later, Kirby, Dedede, and Taranza were also there in the front hall. "Good evening, everyone. The planet's in danger."

King Dedede just blinked. "Mind elaborating a little on that one, pal?"

"We're getting invaded in about a month. Big scary mechanization company is gonna get here and turn the whole place into a scrapyard. I'd recommend having some ways of fighting back ready, like extra shotzos, or a nuclear bomb."

Bandee tilted their head. "How are they going to do that?"

"This thing called the Mother Computer. I'm not completely sure how or why, I'm still working on that part, but it can - and has - caused irreparable damage to planets across the universe. I'm confident that with everyone here, it shouldn't be that difficult to get rid of them, but I do want at least you to know about it. That way, you won't be completely caught off guard when they show up."

Kirby started jumping up and down. "This is so cool! I've never had time to prepare for anything before!"

Taranza looked at him flatly. "And what are you going to do with this time?"

Kirby was already halfway out the door when he responded. "I'm gonna take a nap!"

.--- ..- ... - / .- / .--. .-. . -.-. .- ..- - .. --- -.

After elaborating on everything he needed to, Magolor was back in the forest. He had a theory forming, but something wasn't quite adding up. To take care of this loose end, he went down below the house-like area. To the large cavernous area at the bottom of the waterfall. The person who lives in that house must be somewhere, and I'll bet the universe they're down here. He had the earring tucked away in his clothes, turned off. It was just there in case he needed to call for help, but if everything was as he thought it might be, calling for help wouldn't be necessary.

The cavern was as lush as it was large, as he remembered. Time to start looking. The nooks and crannies in the mist flower were empty, and the ground around it was normal. Magolor left no stone unturned on the central rise of land, and found no one. Maybe the perimeter will yield better results. The perimeter was lined with moss, vines, and things that were colourful enough to distract the eye. Hiding something in this wouldn't take much time at all, and if you took any time getting the perfect hiding spot, it could take hours to find.

Magolor began checking the vines on the walls. Nothing behind any of them, maybe one would be attached to something out of place? That was the right answer. A vine that descended into a patch of colourful flowers seemed to loop around an oddly-shaped rock embedded in the wall. Magolor pulled on the other end of the vine, and saw the patch of flowers, as well as the ground it was on top of, rise out of the cavern floor. Below it, there was a dark tunnel. This place is just full of surprises, isn't it.

He never had any problems seeing in the dark, and something about ripping the mask off the face of the unknown was exhilarating. He wasn't sure who or what he'd find, and he wasn't sure he was going to like it, but making any kind of discovery was exciting to him in some form. He passed under a note that was definitely written by whoever wrote the extra page in the book. From the way it was positioned, it must have been meant to be read from the opposite side of where Magolor was coming from.

Congratulations. If you're able to read this, it means you aren't dead yet. Good job. Maybe if you can get out of here, you can try to find me? That'll be fun.

Who the hell would write something like this? Magolor continued down the tunnel. He didn't have to go for long.

The tunnel opened up a bit as the floor fell away, and the first thing he saw was a few scraps of metal on the floor. Whatever they were from, it was so destroyed it was unrecognizable. Magolor could feel his heart pounding. The suspense. The mystery. The... weird smell. No, not just 'weird'. It was blood. Someone got hurt down here. There were stains on the floor next to a bucket. The bucket had water in it, and the stains were probably from someone spilling it. In the far back corner was a small pile of mangled banana peels. The other back corner had an even smaller pile of uneaten bananas that had to be overripe by now. In front of that pile was a wooden crate. The crate was about big enough for Magolor to fit himself inside, but it looked like the open part of it was facing the bananas. Delaying this further, are we? He went to look inside the crate, and there he lay. Magolor had to stifle a gasp.

Not dead, but absolutely not well. Wrapped up in a metal wire, presumably to stop him from getting up the ledge that Magolor went down to get in here. He was out cold, and some of his blood was on the wire. Magolor unwrapped the wire, but kept it in the crate for evidence. Then he carried the crate, and the unconscious cargo, out of the tunnel. He continued flying with the crate in hand, up the waterfall, through the water-filled passage, out through the hole that brought him into the familiar embrace of the mist. You need to be brought into the Lor, probably.

He entered the Starcutter, brought the crate into the study, and unloaded the sentient half of the contents onto the couch. I hope he wakes up soon. I'd love to know what he was doing down there. He brought his laptop out of the Captain's Quarters, and sat down at the end of the table opposite the couch. After about an hour of watching videos on the internet, he heard a sound from the couch. "Nnnh, ugh, ow, ow, o...w?" Of course, it took a bit for him to notice how different the surroundings were from the last time he was conscious. "Where..." His eyes drifted over to Magolor, then stopped moving. Magolor, of course, greeted him with the most genuine smile he could come up with.

"It's been a long time, Marx."