The Schwa Saga-- Chapter 2:
The Return of West Side Island
Yes, the story of my adventures continued on... This is but the second chapter in the saga. Hang on tight and enjoy...
Angel rose into the heavens at about the time I turned 14, and by then I was currently residing at a costal city, one with a pretty nice view. The problem with this city, though, is that there weren't enough battles to satisfy my needs, since I was a guy (and still am) who's passion was the heat of battle. I quickly checked out an issue of Vaccation Articles, a magazine with articles on places to go to vaccation. The Index said something about West Side Island, which was not available to pulic access for some reason.
I decided to research West Side Island a little. What I discovered was that a long time ago, natives to the isle had a huge, flourishing civilization powered by 7 mythical gemstones called the Chaos Emeralds. Then, all the sudden, their civilization collapsed entirely... and hundreds of years later, the Chaos Emeralds were unearthed by a tyrant named Dr. Robotnik, who tried to control the world with them, but failed. That was all I discovered... and I thought it sounded like a worthy place to explore. But I needed a map, and a way to cross the ocean...
I tried a risky trick, but it worked. I dressed up in my archeologist uniform, which I had purchased from a merchant a few months ago for quite a sum of cash, and casually strolled into the city tavern. Every muscle-head in the bar stopped chatting and stared at me as I slowly, casually moseyed on over to the center of the room, paused, and announced, "I'm looking for a man... who knows the meaning of "West Side Island". ...Who's with me?"
There was a huge silence, and they stared at me as if I was dangerous. "You guys aren't so tough," I said next. Suddenly, on cue, one guy stood up. He was muscle-clad and looked like a pirate, but not the typical "Arrrgh" scavenger... This guy had dignity and looked like a real sea warrior, weilding a large axe with agile dexterity. I stared right at him. "You got somethin' to say?" I asked. Another pause... then the Pirate brings up his axe and, "Not me, mate... This here'll be my voice. Prepare!" And a battle began.
His axe came crushing down right at the beginning, and I just barely rolled away and conjured a psychic blast. He winced, meaning I hit the mark, but it didn't slow him down as he did a backwards lunge, swinging his weapon in a crecent behind him at the same time. The blow was fast and unexpected, faster than me, and this hit connected with my torso, but didn't create a deep gash... just a slice, because I had slightly backed off. Focusing, I blasted him with Golden Fire (a cool spell I had learned), which was mostly parried by the axe and reflected. This time, he spun the axe around in front of him, as a small tornado whirled around me. It was some kind of Special Technique! It threw me off my feet, but before I was floored I cast Hawk Chain into play, sending a chain-lightning blast that jumped from the tornado, strengthening itself, to the Pirate, dealing amazing damage. We were both floored.
We had amused the others with us in the tavern by now, who were cheering for both of us, but as we got up to our feet the noise stopped. We stared at each-other, then, "Nice special attack," I said. "I didn't expect the backwards lunge either." He looked at the ground, grinning. "Hm, well mate, not many can do what you showed me, either..." From here on it looked like the battle was over, and I may have even won an ally.
"You a sailor?" I asked as normal tavern activity carried on around us, even noisier than before thanks to our little performance. He nodded. "Alright, I gotta go to West Side Island," I told him. "If I had a ride like yours, I'd be most g--" He suddenly grabbed me by the shirt and shook me, stating, "Oi, nobody should ever go back to West Side Island!" He dropped me, and I quickly stood back up again. "Shoot!" I stammered, "Any particular reason?" ...There was a pause, and he told me. "Ever since that incident years ago, anybody who's gone to that island has NEVER come back. It is not open for discussion." He turned and began walking out of the tavern.
"Whoa," I stopped him. He turned back around. "Listen, uh..." I didn't know his name. "Captain Diago, thanks," he told me. "Right, captain... If you're really a sailor, not a humbug, you shouldn't be afraid to sail to ANY place. What gives?" He paused, looked down, and said, "My old man died on that island. I hope that helps." Interesting! But I had to pursuade him. "Then try this: Avenge your old man's death by going to West Side and finding out what did this. You have men, right? Let me talk to them." He sighed, then, "I have a FEW men. Not many. For a trip to West Side, we need more than I have."
Almost right on cue, we looked up and saw an unfamiliar ship in the harbour. It looked pretty weird... almost as if the ship was half-computer. Interesting. I headed over to the strange ship, and Captain Diago followed for some reason. As we approached the bridge, a figure leaped off the ship, right over the bridge, and landed behind us... It was indeed a robot, but it looked like a cybernetic pirate (see picture)! It turned around, and the two of us could only wave and stare... "Hi?" I offered, and the bot closed his eye (one eye was patched) and nodded in approval. "Hm, well... I see the locals are not hostile. Come out, Scizzors." A second character came off the boat, this time using the ramp... It was a metal lobster of some kind, with fresh ruby-colored paint, and REALLY big, scizzor-like claws (see picture)! It walked on two small legs, which amazed me how those legs could hold up such weight. I mean, the thing had to weigh tons!
"I am PirateMan, and this is Scizzors Shrimper," the robot explained. "What can I help you two with?" I looked over at Diago... He looked back, and we both got determined grins for a moment. I turned to PirateMan. "Ever heard of a place called West Side Island?" I said. PirateMan jumped back in alarm! "Arrrrgh! You mention that death-trap to me? You must have guts! Yes... There is a sinister force there, an old curse or something, that swallows up the bravest adventurers, never to return. Arr, you don't intend to SAIL there, do you?" I nodded, smiling. "And I'll need some help with it," I added. Scizzors spoke next, which half-surprised me. "Oi, you speak of a task that gives shivers to even a tank like I. But if it's the desire of Admiral PirateMan, so be it..." This got Diago's attention. "Admiral!? Yeah, mate, you can definitely help us. Lead us to the island! Schwa here has taught me that I need to avenge the death of my father. And I WILL do that!"
"We'll need men," PirateMan stated bluntly. Diago held his hand up. "I got men, no need to worry... Not many compared to an Admiral, though... With your forces and mine combined, we'll overtake anything!" PirateMan looked at Diago confusedly. "Uh... Sir, Scizzors IS 'my forces'." Diago looked in disbelief... "You mean your only crew-man is this guy? Some Admiral! Bah... I'll go get my own men." And he stormed off. PirateMan looked at me with a chuckle. "So sad... Nowadays it takes quite an effort to hold a title." I wasn't impressed. "So you're not really an Admiral?" He shrugged. "Arr, well, depends on how you look at it... Where I come from, Admiral has nothing to do with how many men you lead. But do know that I have mastered the art of Water Pressure, and Scizzors here is a total tank in battle, so you can say that together we hold the strength of 50 men." I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up... I liked that view.
At about this time, Diago came back, leading 7 battle-trained characters. He introduced them all, and I'll paraphrase... The first were Zi and Baloo, the team's swordsmen. Zi weilded a sapphire-embedded Rapier that looked very special and quick, and Baloo showed me his broadsword made of smokey diamond, that looked able to cut through anything. Lunaris and Laze followed right behind the swordsmen. Lunaris was a Lunar Wizard, weilding cosmic powers at her disposal, and Laze was a Lightbending Wizard that could manipulate light in any way desired. Sal was titled 'The Reconisance Specialist', and apparently she was good at scouting missions. Rabbi Joe had fists of fury, and Diago mentioned that it was rumored that this guy could break rocks with his fists. And finally, the guy in the very back with the callsign 'Storm Flamingo' was said to have weather-sensing abilities, good for long oversea journeys and/or expeditions. This group, along with Captain Diago, seemed to be able to accomplish anything... and they'd need all the skill possible for a dangerous trip to West Side Island!
We decided to use Captain Diago's ship for this expedition, rather than PirateMan's half-computer ship... The computer ship would've been too hard for the whole crew to operate, for only PirateMan and Scizzors Shrimper knew how to steer it. We all boarded Diago's ship, the Teal Cruiser SP, spent 30 minutes preparing everything for launch, and after a throrough check of the systems... "Anchors away!" PirateMan commanded, as the ship slowly took it's leave from the harbour into the great blue sea... destination: West Side Island.
Day 01:
I got to know Scizzors Shrimper a little better. It began when PirateMan, who was manning this sea expedition, said he needed somebody to move a bunch of massive bags of potatoes from the main deck to the storage. Scizzors took to the task, and I helped... I thought it was cool that Scizzors could lift so much at a time. "How much does each bag weigh, do you think?" I asked him as he carried 18 bags at the same time, me only carrying 2. "Oi, let's see... 70 lbs, about," he estimated. I did the math... "So you'd be carrying, oh... 1300 pounds at the same time..." I casually mentioned. Without pausing to stop, he replied while walking down the stairs to the storage, "That ain't nothing. See these pincers? They can destroy ANY metal object that'll fit, like a knife cutting butter. This metal was specially designed for this body of mine..." By now he carefully placed the 18 bags of potatoes in the corner of the storage room and headed up to get some more. I looked at the two bags I was carrying... and winced, knowing now that I shouldn't be bragging about my physical strength from now on.
Day 04:
A powerful monster attacked our ship today... a Kraken! This fire-breathing serpentine beast is no joke... Our men and I were all on it as soon as it appeared, for it dodn't seem very inclined to let us live if we gave it the choice. Lunara and Laze blasted it for all they were worth with energy blasts and laser attacks respectively, PirateMan launched his signature weapon into it-- the Remote Mine, and I helped out with psychic blasts. But our combined efforts were not enough to keep it on the ropes... It kept letting loose fire into our crew, taking chunks of our HP, and occasionally damaging the ship hull integrity. Finally, I announced, "Guys, we need to lure it closer and bring it in range of a physical attack!" Lunara immediately casted her Green Glow ability, and a green, hypnotic light appeared. This had an angering effect on the Kraken, which lunged out and tried to bite the light. Immediately Scizzors Shrimper leaps forward and clamped it's jaw with his left claw, while beginning a repeated crush attack into the Kraken's middle. Captain Diago leaped forward and performed a dynamic leaping combo attack on the head with his huge axe, and the combined attack finished it forever. As the Kraken sunk into the waves, felled, PirateMan turned to Diago and commented, "Well... It appears you have much to teach me." From then on he kept glancing nervously at that axe of his...
Day 06:
Land ho! At the crack of dawn, Sal, in the Crows Nest, cried out "Laaaand Hoooooo!" as we all stared into the distance where she was thrusting her finger. Sure enough, the mythical West Side Island stood, gleaming in the distance. It was a truly remarkable piece of land, with soft, green hillsides, old cities, jungles, the whole like... a perfect paradise for the exploring warrior. But my mission was no longer a vaccation... Now I was here to help Captain Diago avenge the death of his dad. I also wanted to make West Side Island available for public access, if possible, by removing whatever 'curse' PirateMan said had afflicted the isle. I mean, this place was too good to pass up.
But as we entered the bay, sharp rocks did our ship in, crushing the outer hull and half-sinking us right at the coastline. None were injured, but it looked like we wouldn't be leaving for a long time... Suddenly, all the crew members, save PirateMan, Scizzors, Diago and I, became completely terrified to venture out. "We've been stranded on a cursed island," Baloo said darkly, and the others nodded. One of them even had a nervous breakdown. But I was determined. "Guys, if we stay together, we won't let no curse overtake us, if I do have anything to say about it. Now get out here, 'cause we ARE coming out. Let's explore!"
No arguing with that, really... They all warily ventured out of the broken ship, led by PirateMan. "I will lead the way for now," he said. "We need someone to recon before we go out, though." All eyes were locked on Sal, who shook her head violently. "No no, nonononononono... I don't think you realize just how afraid of the curse I am! Certainly, uh, Scizzors could aid me, right?" Pirate Man sighed and replied, "Okay, miss Sal... Scizzors Shrimper will aid you. But don't let each-other out of your sight." So it was decided that they would scout for 10 minutes and return in that time. They headed off, Sal expertly leaping up tree-branches to the top of the first emerald-green hill. Scizzors just climed right up the nearly vertical slope with his little legs and huge steel pincers.
Though I can't describe what Sal and Scizzors saw up there, I know it must've looked like this (see picture), because that's eventually what I saw when it was my turn. Scizzors came back 8 minutes later with some bad news: "Oi, Sal is missing. I will go back and find her. If I'm not back in 5 minutes, shove off without me." And he took off again. The crew began to worry like Hell now... and when Laze casually asked me how long it's been, and glancing at my timepiece I said "Six minutes", things were set into a tizzy. Just about everyone broke down, except the vigorous ones (like Rabbi Joe)... Even PirateMan was uneasy, since Scizzors Shrimper was his good companion... but I didn't let the pressure get to me. I mean, here we were on a cursed island, two of us have disappeared already, but I'm not the guy who gives up so easily. "Let us press on and search for them," I called, and we moved out.
We fought many battles that day, but they were only minor battles against the lesser beasts native to the isle... The main worries were the Ant Groundcracker and the Ant Eaglescout, the former being a Giant Ant variation with a single scythe on it's mouth rather than two pincers, the latter being a winged Giant Ant with chemical-flinging capabilities. Attacking in numbers, they would've made short work of us if we were alone... but we stayed together. And the whole time, we worried about the disappeared comrades... As it got late, we found a cavern entrance, and decided to camp out there for the night, planning to enter the cave that morning.
Day 07:
We entered the cave, me now leading the way, for PirateMan didn't seem too happy about being in the cavern. But right when the first enemy attacked, I knew it would be wise to allow Zi or Baloo to lead, for the first foe we encountered were Prism Mages, which were not actual beings but instead made of plasma and energy, surrounded by a cloud of crystals that reflected any spell. Zi and Baloo took the lead, using their swords to attack the beings and the crystals effectively. On the other hand, as we travelled through the cave, BuraCanos attacked us, which were caterpillars each with 7 huge, sphere segments and twin cannon-like protrusions from the sides of their heads... They could attack from a longer distance than the mages, so it was up to Lunaris, Laze, PirateMan and I to neutralize them when we heard them coming from the ground.
It was soon that we found an underwater passage entrance inside this cave. We all thought PirateMan should enter first, because his specialty is water, but he didn't want to be seperated from the group. "Arrrrgh, nothing has unnerved me more greatly!" was his comment. "Scizzors is gone, therefore so is my courage..." I did feel bad for him, but I had a feeling Scizzors would be alright... He was a tank, for crying out loud! But in the meantime I understood PirateMan's sadness. Still, we needed a way to find out what was down there... We had Lunaris combine her power with PirateMan's to form bubble-barriers around us, so we could all breathe underwater... and we entered.
Underwater, we couldn't hear each-other's voices at all, so it was important that we stuck together. This was relatively easy, until we found the part of the tunnel that turned into a powerful current. It shot us through the passage at Mach speed, and apparently one of our groupies, the Storm Flamingo in back, was getting too scared to go so fast underwater, and by scraping her feet against the ground, she was able to slow down. By the time we got to the end of the current, which shot us out of the water as well on the other side of the cave, we waited and waited for the Flamingo but she wouldn't come. "Did she get stuck in the passage? It wasn't narrow," mentioned Diago, and I agreed... "She couldn't have gotten stuck." Suddenly, PirateMan began cackling wildly, which made all of us jump in alarm. "Arrrrgh, hahahaha! It was the curse, I tell you! The island's CURRRRSED!! We're doomed, guys, doooooomed!" Everyone froze in terror, and I bumped PirateMan with my elbow. "Shut up, you're scaring the crew. Maybe it WAS a curse... but it's nothing we can't overcome. C'mon, the cave exits over here. They can't have disappeared for good, y'know." We all exit the cave, and when we got out it was too dark to see anything, so we camped out there for the night.
Day 08:
We woke up and set off, now knowing that we were surrounded in jungle. It wasn't long until we discovered we were also surrounded in an ancient ruin of some kind, and as we traveled even further we found the beginning of a lake, and learned that half of the ruins were sunken! PirateMan would have the advantage underwater, but he was too afraid to be seperated from the group for any length of time. "Ay, I'm not much of an Admiral in the face of doom," he admitted. We all nodded, not impressed. It wasn't long before an arrow whizzed right by, inches in front of me... I turned and another arrow was on it's way already. I barely dodged, and yelled "Run!" We began running through that part of the jungle, with kobolds of some kind in the underbrush firing arrows at us. Some of them hit us, in fact... One arrow scored Baloo in the leg, so I helped him the rest of the way. We finally had gone above the bushes enough for us to be out of the kobolds' range. I did a short roll-call, and whaddya know? Zi is missing. In the chaos we must've lost track of him. By now PirateMan was going crazy. "Cursed! Currrrsed! Wahahaha!" Diago was highly worried, the others were VERY worried, and I admit by that time even I was beginning to feel pressured. But I refused to give up... "No matter how worried we get, we can't give up," I said. "Even if I'm the last one left, I'll fight for all of you. Like I said, they can't be disappearing from existance! They're going SOMEwhere, we just need to figure out where." Words of wisdom, they were, and they helped, for we began trudging on again.
Soon we reached a wall, and the only passage through was underwater. We tried the bubble-trick again and ventured down... and immediately found that the water was inhabited by viscious fish, and later by poisonous fish. Fighting underwater was a bad idea, so we tried our best to avoid them, but once we accidentally angered 3 of the shark-like fish at the same time! PirateMan neutralized them by firing the Remote Mine, as he wasn't in a bubble at all (since he's a pirate robot, who specializes in water, lol). We reached the end of the water passage soon after, followed by the outer-edge of the jungle. I took roll again, and Lunaris is missing. "Weren't you guys watching each-other?" Diago snapped, frusterated. Silence. "Not enough, apparently. That makes FIVE missing characters from our party! And we can't go underwater now, because of Lunaris's disappearance! Gah... I must be going CWAZY!!" I don't blame the poor man... PirateMan started laughing again. Good for him.
There was one more small hill to go, and as we reached the top, we saw a brilliant city in the far distance! Some of us cried in joy, and all I could do was stare and try not to cry. Finally, a solution to our problems... I took one step forward, and as soon as I did, a greenish light whizzed across the down-slope ahead of me, as a HUGE chunk suddenly disintegrated in front of my eyes, leaving a massive crater! The downhill slope had suddenly become a sheer drop, and to our horror we now had to find another way around, which would give whatever's snatching us up more time to get us. This time I really did cry... "We were SO close..." I managed to say. "Gah... It seems to me that the one responsible for the detour is the force that's making us disappear."
Day 09:
By now our food supplies had begun to run low. We had to be careful about preserving the rest from this point on. Rabbi Joe managed to clear the way for us as we headed alongside the outer jungle, where there was a small, rocky desert. Giant Scorpions began attacking us, and our forces fought against them. But the trouble hit us when Rabbi Joe kept clearing the rocks, and at the same time we were suddenly surrounded by the Scorpions. He kept bashing on ahead as we fought, and when we finally beat all the scorpions and ventured on ahead, we saw some of the rocks cleared for us but the clearance stopped a little ways through... and Rabbi Joe was gone. He had disappeared just like all the others before him.
The thing or whatever that was making us disappear was smart-- taking out the forces that were most vital first. Or maybe we were just losing whomever strayed away from our group, and those happened to be our vital helpers? Either way, we were in trouble... Without Rabbi Joe to help clear rocks, where could we go next?
The answer came to us when we looked over the next hill, and before our eyes stood a huge, abandoned factory. A half-finished highway led towards it, starting relatively close by... I said to the group, "This highway should lead right through the factory, then continue on to that city in the distance." They nodded and wearily followed. By now, there were only 5 of us left... Laze, Baloo, PirateMan, Captain Diago, and I. We really had to find out who was snatching us up... or what...
Day 10:
I'm in a highly perilous situation. We hit the factory at dawn, and Diago suddenly had the bright idea for me to cast Haste All into play so we could dash through without tiring. I did that, and we all suddenly took off at Mach speed down the highway. We were dashing along, not feeling tired at all, when Diago thinks he can just pull right ahead of me. So the race was on! He and I began racing each-other along the abandoned factory highway, without even a single thought about the others.
When suddenly, the haste ran out, and we found ourselves in a full Industrial area of the island. This place, too, had been abandoned. We looked around. "Where are the others?" I asked. Silence... then it dawned on us. "Fool!" Diago exclaimed angrily, "You let them get swallowed up by the curse!" I was shocked. "I did that, huh? Mister pull-ahead-of-The-Schwa? Mister 'Let's race down the highway'? And it's my fault. I understand. No worries." And I began walking away from him. I suddenly sensed a quick movement behind me, and I barely dodged in time for Diago's crushing overhead axe-sweep. I turned around. "Whoa, chill," I said cooly. "Anger will just make you weak. C'mon, we still gotta go to the city." He stared at me, and his face turned red. "No! I give up! Go to your damn city! I'm waiting here for my inevitable fall, like you should be. Get outta here!" There was a silence... then, "Suit yourself," I told him. "Now that I'm alone, the curse will get me too, and I'll finally get to see where you're all disappearing to."
So I started off... never looking back, and made it through that industrial area. I then found myself inside a giant, underground, computer matrix, CHALK FULL of machines. And I was all alone... at the total mercy of the island's curse... As I climbed and blasted my way through the machine maze, fighting high-tech enemies along the way, I kept wondering when the curse would strike... but as I neared the exit, it still hadn't swallowed me up yet. I restlessly began thinking of why... and it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Why would the curse take ALL the others that Diago and I left behind, instead of us, being the smaller group?" I said aloud. The curse was afraid of me! It wouldn't touch me for some reason, and I could use that against it to get our comrades back! I exit the matrix and found myself less than a mile from the glittering city. I threw my head up, shouting, "Curse of West Side, I'm ON to you! I'll get my allies back!" And continued on to the city...
Night 10:
Sparkling neon lights and glittering gold... The city was like this, only 10x the intensity. It was the most activity-filled city plaza I had ever been to! But something seemed wrong when I entered... There didn't seem to be any people around on the streets. I entered many of the buildings, and there were no people there either. The whole city apparently had a population of ZERO... yet there were still so many lights and stuff. I wondered if the curse got these people, too... until the moment I reached the Park in the back of the city. There was ONE person there, and he looked native to the isle because of the way he was dressed. As I ran up to him, I thought he may run away in terror, but he just sat on the bench lookding down. "Hey man," I said to him, "Can you tell me what happened to all the people in the town?"
"There were never any people here..." the old man said sadly. "Nor was there a machine matrix, an industrial harbour, or a chemical factory back there. My people died out a long, long time ago, and thankfully never got to see these abominations..." I was curious about this. "So, I take it it was Dr. Robotnik who built those things... But why are you still alive?" I asked. "Robotnik did indeed build them. I am still alive because I fell into the Mega Mack in the factory, and it makes me age more slowly. Alas, I have lived to see my people die off, and for the Emerald's Curse to swallow up countless people..." Whoa... He knew about the curse! "Oh, please tell me about the curse! I came here with 10 others and they're all gone! Where'd they go, do you know?" I asked hopefully. The old man stood up. "After the Emeralds were mistreated by Robotnik, they, having almost a mind of their own, created a guardian for the island. The guardian is said to cause anyone who intended to harm the isle, vanish. If he has not gotten you yet, chances are your intentions are pure."
I thought about this. All I wanted on this isle was some vaccation and battles and stuff. What about the others? Diago wanted revenge against his father, so him and his whole crew would qualify for the curse's effect. But PirateMan and Scizzors Shrimper... I didn't know yet, but if the curse got them then they were obviously planning SOMEthing naughty. So, unless I found a way to communicate with the guardian of West Side, I would never rescue my friends...
Day 11:
The answer hit me in a tense dream. There was a crystal chamber underground, and my friends were all locked up there, calling for help... I woke up with a yelp and fell out of bed, looked up, and guess what? Scizzors Shrimper was right at my door! I stared with my jaw open. "Please tell me, is that REALLY you?" I stammered... Scizzors took a few steps forward and nodded once. "Oi, listen Schwa... We must move if we are to save our comrades. I know where they are. Climb on." I got on Scizzors' back, and asked, "Can you move quickly enough with me sitting here?" He answered by tucking in his legs as wheels popped out, and we rolled right out of that building and out of the city.
Once we were out of the city, we found ourselves on a more dry part of Emerald Hill, rolling along like a dune buggy. He took us right through that cavern again, and took a different passage than before... and as we approached an uphill slope with a light at the end, he shook me off and morphed his legs back. "Be careful here, Schwa..." he warned, as we approached the alternate exit.
We found a crystal cavern, the same one in my dream. There were waterfalls everywhere, and a lake at the bottom of the cavern... and glowing, emerald-colored spheres were embedded into some of the walls. This place did indeed look like where the Emeralds would be stored. We walked through the cave, until the path split. "I'll go this way... Search for our crew," he said, turned, and went down one path. Before I could stop him, he was gone. "Dang... I could've helped him out a great deal," I said with a slight chuckle, casting my spell Terrainial Clairvoyance into play. Instantly I knew the entire map surroundings, but I could only detect terrain... not water or live creatures. Still, it would help a great deal. I had studied the terrain in my head for a minute and decided where they were, and was just about to start going, when ALL the emeralds in the cave began glowing magenta, and I heard Scizzors Shrimper battling something. I made my way over to the commotion, and Scizzors had been defeated... and it's foe was right in front of the body. Instantly I knew I was staring at the isle's guardian.
The thing had to be made of gel, for crying out loud! It was dark purple and glossy, shining with a magenta outline and contained two maroon, crystalline eyes. It's body looked like it was made completely of liquid. The guardian stared at me cooly, no expression determinable on it's glossy face. I stared back, and neither of us made a single move. Then... "You were the one to cause my friends to disappear," I said, voice low. No response. "Where are they?" ...The being's eyes narrowed, but other than that it still didn't make a move. I looked at the fallen body of Scizzors... This thing had to be pretty powerful. "I have not come to harm the isle," I told it. "I wanted a vaccation to a place where I could do a lot of battling. Your island has that feature... I'll leave you alone, as long as you promise to return my crew. That's all I ask." What happened next surprised me. The gel being took a step backwards. "Eaaaasy," I coaxed, "I wouldn't try and hurt you. Why are you afraid of me?" The guardian, in response, jumped into the air and on a higher-up platform nearby, motioning me to follow. Using a levitational ability, I followed him.
On the platform up there, there was an altar, and a single green gem shard hovered above it, bathed in light. The guardian walked over to it and grasped it gently, removing from it's place suspended in midair, and held it in my direction. I was confused. "Whoa, you want me to take this?" I asked, but it pulled the shard away in response. "No... Okay, I'm stumped. I've never seen or heard of that thing before... Is it a Chaos Emerald or something? I thought they were all gone by now." It didn't move. "Anyway, I'm not interested in hurting you... I want my crew back, then I want a ride off the isle. That's all. You think you could provide for me?"
The guardian suddenly became hostile. Throwing the shard into the air, he took a fighting stance, and the shard landed back to it's suspended position above the altar. At the same time, the emeralds in the room became magenta again. "Oh, boy," I said to myself, not really wanting a fight... but the guardian had already begun by swiping his arms in a cutting motion, which sent razor-sharp gel blades in my direction. I summoned a shield, followed by Golden Fire; he countered by forming a gel-wall in front of him, then shot an energy beam out of it's mouth... The battle continued for a long time, each of us attacking and counterattacking in turns, and the thing was wearing me down and it didn't seem damaged at all. "Dang, what's with you?" I tried to reason... And suddenly, the guardian melted and died! I had KO'd it and won the battle!
Instantly, two things happened. First, the whole crew appeared by me in a flash of light. "Where YOU guys been?" I started to say, but Number Two interrupted me; the whole place began to shake violently. Diago, seemingly full of energy, headed for the exit and called, "We gotta get back to our ship!" Storm Flamingo wasn't thrilled. "Our ship's broken, remember?" she mentioned as we all dashed for the exit. "Yeah, but we still gotta get to the coastline!" Diago answered. I cast Haste All again, and we all became faster. We dashed through the crumbling cave, back to Emerald Hill, to the spot we came to the island, and a familiar computer-ship was waiting for us... It was PirateMan's ship! Then I remembered something... "PirateMan, we left Scizzors behind!" Not a moment later, we heard a metal snap behind us and turned around-- Scizzors Shrimper was waiting for us on the ship. "All aboard!" He called. Nobody laughed, we just piled on to the ship and high-tailed it off the quaking island.
Night 11:
"So, what happened to you guys one at a time?" I asked the crew as we heded back home on a new ship. Diago explained. "We were trapped in the guardian's heart, his Shard. The guardian secretly targeted each one of us that fell from the group, and encased us in that shard." I thought that was an interesting concept, but I had another question. "Scizzors, how did you manage to get to this ship so cleverly?" I asked. "Oi, simple... As you battled the guardian, I woke up, sent a signal to PirateMan's ship, and got here as fast as possible to wait for it. We arrived at the same time." There was a murmur from the crew. "Wait, you could've summoned the ship the ENTIRE time and ya didn't tell us?" I asked. He nodded. Well, you gotta love that logic! "Another thing... How come the guardian didn't encase you in the shard?" I asked again. "Oi... He and I fought, but we were evenly matched, so he couldn't trap me. Instead, he teleported me into an underwater cell in the crystal cave, but since I'm a machine I don't need to breathe." Wow... Everything worked out perfectly, didn't it?
The following days and nights were spent sailing to a different land, where all of us, save PirateMan and Scizzors Shrimper, were dropped off to explore new places. There was a small village nearby, and I rested there as soon as I got dropped off... and from then on, it was off to another adventure... one that DIDN'T involve West Side Island.
And that was the adventure of West Side Island! Stay tuned for more on the Schwa Saga. In the meantime, if you're curious about anything involving my adventure or have questions, or even complaints, write 'em down here and hit Schwa's the Law, and the text you typed will be hastily e-mailed directly to yours truly. No spam or one-liners, or they will be ignored. And without further ado...