"L-let's get out of here..." Paula groaned as she covered her mouth, desperately trying to keep from throwing up. "It feels like he's still here...that stench..."
"That's because he splashed when you blasted and smashed him," Moondancer pointed out, gesturing to where their clothes were spattered with a substance it was best not to think about.
"We should hurry through there," Jeff suggested urgently. "It looks like a stone passage, so it should lead towards the Sanctuary...I hope."
"Go go go!" Ness urged as he grabbed Paula's hand to pull her through.
As the group raced through the passage, several Mr. Saturns greeted them happily, crowing about how they escaped. Eventually they stepped out into Saturn Valley on a higher plateau, one that had a hot spring in it that glowed pink.
"Special hot spring, boing!" a nearby Mr. Saturn told the group. "Light filled, zoom! Self clean, wash off yurk, feel good, Kay-O!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Moondancer said quickly as she pushed the group ahead of her into the spring.
After being briefly submerged, all four youngsters surfaced with gasps of relief as the pleasant scent of the hot spring water washed away their nausea and other symptoms, and as the gunk stuck to their clothes broke away, dissolved, and vanished before their very eyes. Before long they were completely clean.
"We...we can take time while here in the Valley, right?" Ness asked hopefully. "I could...really use a break...and this spring feels...so nice..."
"Need spring towels, boing?" a Mr. Saturn nearby offered. "Hang clothes dry, zoom!"
The group glanced at each other and shared a smile.
Soaking in the hot spring stalls the Infection timer.
Ness - 3/6
Paula - 3/6
Jeff - 5/12
With plain white towels wrapped around the humans' bodies to preserve modesty, the four youngsters happily soaked away in the spring until they felt their strength returning and their stress and aches fading. As they soaked, one of the Mr. Saturns approached with a thermos and cups. "Drink coffee with me before you go?" he offered hopefully. "Say yes to me? Say no to me?"
"Say yes," Moondancer advised the others with a soft smile. "Mr. Saturn coffee is...unique and invigorating. And it won't stunt your growth."
Smiling somewhat bashfully, Ness held out his hands for a pair of cups, passing one to Paula while Jeff accepted his own.
"Bottoms up, Boing!" the Mr. Saturn declared happily as they all drank.
As the coffee flowed into her, Moondancer once more found herself floating in a space that was somewhere between dream and reality, but not quite Magicant. She could feel Ness, Paula, and Jeff there as well, but could not see them...but that wasn't really important. The voice, when it came, had more to say to them.
You've traveled very far from home, Ness...
Do you remember how your long and winding journey began with someone pounding on your door?
Before the voice could continue, Ness spoke up. "Pokey. He was the mean kid...but it wasn't his fault. I...I still need to apologize for how I treated him that night..."
You are a very forgiving boy, Ness. This is good
But Pokey is not yet ready for forgiveness.
He too has a role to play in all this before it comes to an end.
"But I want to save him, too..."
You and Moondancer, despite your obvious differences, are very alike.
It is no wonder the Earth shares its strength with both of you.
But as far as you've walked, as strong as you've become, you aren't strong enough to save anyone yet.
"What do we need to do?" Moondancer asked thoughtfully. She felt like she should be more emphatic here, but it felt like her emotions were muted somehow, her mind clearer as a result.
The Prophecy speaks of the chosen four...
When all four gather, strength will be unleashed.
But strength alone can't save anyone.
You've felt the power before, Moondancer. The power that comes from those bonds of friendship.
A time will come when it must be unleashed again. It is the key to the warps of time, that will open the path to your goal.
No one alone can accomplish the goal.
Hold onto your courage, and share it with your friends.
Do not fear separation, as it may prove necessary at times.
As long as you hold each other in your heart, your bonds will remain strong.
Three fates await this world and all tied to it, and the choices you make will determine which comes to pass.
Once you complete what you came here for, you must journey East.
Beyond the vast desert is the city of Fourside.
The path forward awaits you there, along with great danger.
I wish you all luck...
As the group returned to their normal awareness, they found themselves fully dressed and standing just inside a cave, the light of the Valley behind them. "That coffee has...quite a kick," Jeff observed as he straightened his glasses with one hand and blasted some attacking plants with the other.
"And here I thought strong drinks made humans lose their clothes?" Buzz Buzz joked. Paula blushed brightly.
Ness, Jeff, and Moondancer all turned to stare at Buzz Buzz in confusion. "I don't get it," they chorused together.
"...never mind," Buzz Buzz allowed lamely. "I forgot how young you all were. Let's keep going."
Beyond the short cavern, the group stepped out into bright sunlight, where more plant-based creatures attacked. New colors of Sprout and Mushroom attacked alongside a strange plant-man that wielded a giant leaf. However, Paula and Moondancer were able to push all of them back with PSI Fire, with Jeff and Ness striking out occasionally with their weapons. This left them with a clear path into the next cavern.
The path they walked on within was high above a distant darkness their eyes could not pierce. At the end of the path, a glowing starburst signified another Sanctuary Guardian. "You finally got here," the voice from within the starburst said. "This is the third 'Your Sanctuary' location." The voice paused, and they could feel themselves being examined. "And you arrived in plenty of time, too. So this place is mine now. Take it from me-"
"Wait!" Ness interrupted. "Plenty of time? Are you talking about the Infection?"
The voice in the starburst did not respond.
"And what if we weren't in plenty of time?" Ness demanded. "What then?" When there was still no response, his eyes widened. "The monsters around here are caused by Giygas...but you're brought here by the Sanctuary! You're not here to keep me from getting the power...you're here to test if we're ready!"
"And it looks like you have advanced in ways unanticipated," the voice spoke calmly. "So let's see what you're capable of." The starburst erupted, revealing a massive brown plantform topped with a golden sprout. "I am the Trillionage Sprout," it spoke in a different voice, the golden sprout at its top glowing as two of the silver Sprouts that had been patrolling the path came to its aid. "Best me if you can. Fear not my death, for this form is shaped by the Sanctuary, and in defeat I will only become what I was."
"FIRE!" Paula and Moondancer screamed together as they unleashed waves of PSI flames. Lunging forward, Ness dipped his PSI Bat into the flames, absorbing the energy before striking forward with it. Jeff primed his Gaia Beam and began to fire rapidly.
The Trillionage Sprout attempted to fight the assault with physical force and sudden blazes of light. It was large enough to knock any of them onto their backs if it hit, but the flashes of light were neutralized by the Star Pendants the group was wearing, rendering them useless.
In frustration, it glared at Ness as an eerie glow surrounded its eyes.
"Move!" Buzz Buzz shouted, using a spot-shield as a battering ram to knock Ness out of the line of sight. "That glare can turn you into diamond!"
"Then lets make it hard for him to see!" Ness cried out as he brought his hands to the front of his head. "PSI Flash!" A blaze of light erupted from the center of his forehead, causing the Sprout to cry uncontrollably.
Not long after that, the Sprout took too much damage and collapsed, reverting into an ordinary plant and leaving the path to the Sanctuary clear.
Stepping outside, the group found a well that seemed to be filled with milk. A round stone in the center sprayed the liquid up constantly to fall back into the well. As they approached, the Light of the Planet washed over them, cleansing their Infections as music filled the air.
Moondancer felt her father gently brushing knots out of her mane, and heard her own voice firmly declaring, 'Help Da!' As she and Ness became attuned to Milky Well, she found her determination to keep that promise renewed.