--Sixteen Days Without Her--
"I have an offer for you."
The Guide grinned. "Well then--let's make a deal. What do you want?"
"I want you to bring Dawn back."
"Try again. You know I can't do that."
"Drop the charade. I remembered."
Slowly, the Guide's grin turned into a shocked grimace, which from there turned grudging or spiteful. "Well then. Let's set things straight. Rule number one: the other three don't need to know."
"I wasn't planning on telling them."
"Rule number two: if you do anything wrong..." he jerked his finger across his throat, his grin returning. "I have the right to kill any one of you: whoever I want, whenever I want. PERMANENTLY. Are we clear? Crystal?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now then. What I want." he stood and began to pace. "I have several requests--human lives are worth a lot, and I will have to go through a lot to convince the Creator to bring her back."
"I'm not a fool. I know you're the Creator."
Again, the Guide froze. Then, he continued, saying, "Very well then. Let me rephrase that. I will have to go through a lot of trouble to bring her back, and I can't even guarantee it's possible."
"Go on."
His grin split his face yet again. "The rabbits."
"...What?"
"The rabbits. Everyone's always killing them. They swing their swords around carelessly, just to see their fur and limbs go flying. Flying, flying, flying--BIRDS FLY, NOT RABBITS!" he raged. "They're killing them! She loves them and they're killing HER BABIES!"
"Her what?"
"Her babies," he said, grabbing his own head with his hands. "Her children, her babies, she said she loves them. She said they're her favorite animal, the most adorable things ever, she LOVES THEM, she can't stand seeing them killed--STOP KILLING THEM!"
He waited for his anger to cool down before he asked, "...All I have to do is stop killing rabbits?"
The Guide burst into laughter, holding his sides. His laughter increased in volume and monotony, until he collapsed in a fit of coughing.
"I swear, it's like you laugh like that just because you can. Stop it," Dusk said under his breath as the Guide hit his chest a few times to clear it out.
He let out one last, weak laugh, then picked himself off of the floor. "...You seem to think I'm an idiot. NO, I want you to become their BODYGUARD. If you so much as see a rabbit die, and you don't try to save it--" he snapped his fingers in Dusk's face. "BAM. Punishment." He stepped back, walking in circles around him. "I'm not a cruel man. If a monster kills a bunny and you're out of range and can't do anything, then I'll be kind and say it isn't your fault. Bonus points if you somehow manage to save it anyway. Now. One other thing. The Corruption." He stopped and spun around to stare at him in the eyes.
Dusk simply raised an eyebrow--"Two deals? And why the Corruption?"
"I'm the one in charge now. No, I'm ALWAYS in charge. YOU LISTEN TO ME!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms out. He lowered his voice and said, "And if you aren't going to listen, then the deal is off." he paused. Then, in the same tone, "I know you're fond of the Corruption, in your sick, little, twisted way. Whatever you think it is, you are dead wrong. The Corruption is pure evil. Evil condensed into a small, purple, sickly little biome that tries to kill anything and everything that isn't the exact same as it is. So when some hero, some little justice-filled moron waltzes along and finally, FINALLY realizes how the hell they could kill it--do nothing. DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Or I kill her, and/or you. Got it? Do we have a deal?"
He repeated the offer mentally, ignoring the rest of his speech and insults for the time being. Save rabbits. Do nothing. Save rabbits. Do nothing.
He sighed slowly. "...I accept. When will she be back?"
The Guide's eyes narrowed, but he smiled. "We'll see. It depends on how well you prove to be as a bodyguard. Besides, it'll take me a while to figure out how to bring her back."
"...Tell me when you're ready, then."
"I will."
"So we've conquered the Hallow," Thalia said with a hint of pride. "Now we just need Adamantite."
"One, you HAVEN'T conquered the Hallow. There's still the Underground Hallow." The Guide said from the shadows. "Two, Adamantite spawns randomly. I recommend either the Underground Hallow or Hell's ceiling."
"We might as well get the Hallow over with," Dusk pointed out. "Then we won't have to go there ever again,"
The others nodded, even Thalia.
"We'll go in an hour."
Not saying anything was proving to be harder than he'd thought it'd be.
There's a chance to bring her back, yet they're so gloomy...
...I can't change that though, can I?
A bouncing green shape in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a slime sneaking up on a rabbit.
In one swoop he slid forward and killed it.
"Dusk, stop wasting time. Don't kill the slimes," Dan called.
He wondered if it was a good idea to tell them about the rabbits--they didn't need to know everything...but it'd be best to stay silent.
He jogged up to them and kept following, constantly checking and watching.
Left, right, forward. Left, right, forward, protect. Left, right, forward, left, kill, right, left, kill, over and over--
"Dusk, why are you so slow today? Usually you're up front."
"I made a deal. I'm just upholding my end."
They stared at him briefly but didn't question it.
They reached the Underground Hallow disturbingly fast--Dusk decided he must've gotten lost in his own thoughts again.
Neon pink blurs sliced through him, tried digesting his face, and clawed at him.
He kept moving his arms in the same patterns of arcs and swipes, feeling strangely empty.
Do nothing?
Sick? Twisted?
...Do NOTHING?
The phrases and words were repeating, like a vague song that you play on loop, trying to understand its meaning.
...But do nothing to WHAT?
He'd never considered it before now, but could the Corruption actually be destroyed?
...How the hell would that happen?
And then the Guide wasn't exactly trustworthy...
The blur.
A psychotic grin and a stab of laser-hot pain.
The dark.
He blinked open his eyes, a really strong tickling feeling pestering him from the back of his throat.
As soon as he gave in and began coughing, he couldn't stop--his lungs kept rejecting air on their own, over and over until even his back was aching.
He groaned slightly and closed his eyes, hiding in the depths of the covers.
A pair of hands grabbed his shoulder and shook it back and forth.
He swore loudly--then, "Leave me alone!"
"You need to get up. Hurry before you get too far behind."
He peeked over the covers, already feeling revolted. "Oh. It's you," ...Creep, he added mentally.
He sat up, his head feeling heavy. He looked down and noticed blood splatters on the pillows. "I assume that's what I coughed up?" he asked hoarsely, rubbing his throat. "Your work's getting sloppier."
"I'm a little busy trying to revive a legitimately dead person--I don't need distractions. So I'm sorry if your revivals are slightly rushed." he said icily.
"So I take it there's nothing new?"
The Guide glared at him. "That's none of your business."
He got up to leave--Dusk raised his voice.
"Wait--how could the Corruption be destroyed?"
Stop. "Well, what is the Corruption?"
"You tell me."
"Ah. I see," the Guide said, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "You don't remember, do you? You'll find out, one way or another."
He walked off.
Dusk coughed one last time and went to see the Nurse.
When he reached the Hallow, he realized he had no idea what paths they'd taken or even what cave they were in.
He wandered around, but he still didn't know.
He turned on the Chat Box. "I can't find you."
"Do you want us to come back? We can stop by the village, then go back."
"No, I'll find you." Eventually, anyway.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rabbit--he whipped around and scooped it up in one thoughtless motion.
He looked down at the rabbit--he stared at it for a second, saw how the rabbit rested in his arm--"Oh GOD, I'm becoming like him...!"
"Who?"
He brought his hand to his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut. "Nothing. I'm coming,"
He turned off the call and let the rabbit jump out of his arms.
He looked around for slimes, then, satisfied, he left.
The random wandering was proving to be even worse than he'd thought it'd be, though at least he'd gotten a couple Souls of Light. He knew they were useful, but they still made him feel sick every time he saw them.
A vwoosh and a neon blur.
He brought his sword up, in front of him in a horizontal line.
Vwoosh. A blurred, pink grin.
Ah. The Chaos Elementals again.
Far-off pattering of impossibly swift footsteps.
One second....
His muscles twitched in anticipation, but he kept his stance.
Vwoosh.
The pink, hairless humanoid stood confidently in his face. Heat seemed to crackle out of its body of energy.
He let go, his arm regaining its own control. He slashed at it in quick, diagonal motions--it flashed away after only a few seconds.
Vwoosh--the back of his hair moved. Heat at his neck and back--
He spun himself and the sword around in an arc.
Facing the creature--it was stunned--
He sliced forwards--
Vwoosh.
Nothing left but melting, oozing pink "blood".
He shook it off of his sword, moving on.
There wasn't any sound except for the sound of his boots on the hard, pearl-like stone.
The only light was from the dozens and dozens of spiked crystals--he must've been in the wrong place. If they'd been there before, there should be some other light sources nearby.
Vwoosh.
He stabbed to the side--he was wrong--another impossibly hot stab in his other shoulder--he hit the smooth ground. A foot rammed into his back--burning, burning--a strange scream of pain that turned out to be his--vwoosh--he drank the potion in his shaking hands--a wave of coolness. The burning faded and the wound healed shut.
Vwoosh.
He rolled to his feet.
Vwoosh.
A white-hot slap to the face. He stumbled, drawing in a strained breath--it hurt too much to see from that eye--
He swung wildly--vwoosh--right next to him--
He swiped again--it disappeared--its head with its insane expression rolled away, then it dissolved too--
He picked up the money and its soul, leaned over until he caught his breath, then kept going.
Just as he'd found the trail of torches again, they called him.
"Dusk?" Thalia asked, sounding tired.
"Yeah?"
"We're thinking of going down until we get to Hell. Then we'll search for some ore there, like the Guide suggested."
"In that case, should I just use the Hellevator and find you from there? All this pink stuff is creeping me out," he teased.
There was the faintest sound of what sounded like a small laugh. Then, a slightly less exhausted, "Okay. You know, sometimes you sound like--"
Her voice stopped on its own, unable to finish the thought.
"It's fine. So we'll do that?"
"Sure. That sounds good."
He turned off the Chat again and brought out the Mirror.
Unsurprisingly, this time the journey was extremely easy, and after the others got there, it continued to be unremarkably bland-- just quiet mining, and trying to ignore the smell of burning ashes.
No more jokes or teasing or sarcasm--just the quiet, quiet silence and the expressions of loneliness.
Something inside of him snapped.
"What is WRONG with you?" he asked.
The other three immediately turned to stare at him, stunned.
"It's been what, two, three weeks? And yet you all sit here, depressed, gloomy--and doing nothing. Nothing. Would she really want you to be like this? This is stupid. ILLOGICAL. This is freaking absurd--yes. SHE IS DEAD. ACTING LIKE THIS WON'T BRING HER BACK TO LIFE!" he shouted, his lungs already aching from his own sudden volume.
Micheal's expression turned to one of rage--not pure rage, but mixed with something else...anguish?
Michael growled as his words echoed.
"YOU'VE CLEARLY NEVER LOST SOMEONE THEN!" he shouted. He let his words resonate and bounce off the walls as well. Then: "YES--YES, IT IS ILLOGICAL! BUT IT HURTS, AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO--"
"YOU CAN BE HAPPY!" Dusk said, beginning to rant. "I MAY HAVE NOT LOST SOMEONE LIKE THAT TO MY MEMORY, BUT I KNOW THIS ISN'T WHAT SHE WANTS. BE HAPPY YOU MET HER! BE HAPPY YOU HAD THE TIME YOU DID! DON'T BE SELFISH, CRYING OUT AND DEMANDING FOR MORE WHEN YOU WERE LUCKY ENOUGH AS IT IS!"
The echoing continued and continued, yet the silence seemed to continue long after the echoing stopped.
Michael sniffed and rubbed his eyes with his arm. "He has a point," he admitted to the other two. He turned back to Dusk. "I don't agree with you about everything, though. I'd feel like crap if I didn't feel anything or miss her at all."
Dusk realized some of what he'd said--his lips pressed together and he looked down slightly. "Missing someone is one thing. I...we all miss her. And that's normal. But wallowing in it--that's another. I don't think you--we'll--ever stop missing her. But I hate seeing you guys like this. I mean, the first week made sense, but--"
"You really don't get it, do you?" Michael asked seriously. He walked up and grabbed his shoulder in a brother-like gesture. "I appreciate the concern though. She'd hate it, too. So I'll try." he let go and walked past him.
--Four Days Later--
"Sweet, full Adamantite armor!" Michael commented. "Hey Dusk, you want magic or melee?"
He paused, seriously considering. "You know what, let's go with melee. I should probably start worrying about defense more, given how often I've been getting injured lately."
"Alright, I'll go tell Dan." he got up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with an uncomplete set of Adamantite armor. "Sorry, he used up the rest making a magic hat for Thalia. I mean Headgear."
"No, that's fine." he put on the helmet and chestplate, causing Michael to snicker slightly.
He tried to frown and look serious, but he couldn't help but smile. "What?"
"Nothing," Michael said, smiling. "THALIA, YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!"
There was the sound of running down stairs, then she ran in. "What is it--" she saw Dusk, then began giggling as well. "Is that it?"
Michael nodded, still smiling.
"No, really, what is it?"
"You look terrible in red,"
"Michael!" Thalia exclaimed, smiling faintly. She looked at Dusk again, trying to mask her amusement. "You do look strange though. Like...like a blueberry dressing up as a strawberry for Halloween, except worse."
"That doesn't even make sense,"
"THANK THE LORD FOR FAMILIAR CLOTHES!" Thalia exclaimed, throwing some at him and running off, Michael following her.
"This house is so weird."
"They're just getting used to it," Dan said, appearing out of nowhere. "It'll go back to normal eventually. Right now they're just trying...a little too hard, maybe."
He nodded quietly. "Hey, Dan...is it bad that I contradicted myself?"
"What?"
"My speech. I'm a hypocritical idiot..."
Dan stood there, thinking. "I dunno. We're just a bunch of teenagers still trying to adapt, and apparently that includes attempting to be psychological."
"I wonder how badly we're failing," Dusk commented.
Dan shrugged again. "I dunno. But at least you gave them that push they needed--it'll be hard, but hopefully we can start recovering."
"I feel like you're narrating now."
Dan looked at him weirdly. "Um...okay...? Anyway, I'm going to go find Thalia. Please stop wearing red," he added, then he walked out of the door.
Dusk grumbled half-heartedly and picked up the Familiar Clothes.
To be continued....