//------------------------------//
// On a Jetplane 
// Story: Mother X: Father 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

As the group passed by Stonehenge on the way to the cave, Ness paused and turned towards the center.  He couldn't help but feel like there was something there...watching him.  However, despite the sensation of such an ominous presence, there was nothing there to indicate the cause...aside from some exceptionally aggressive bears and a few oversized Cave Boys.  However, the Cave Boys fled from the group unless a Mighty Bear had already charged in to battle, and despite their size and speed they proved to have difficulty maneuvering around the stones of Stonehenge.  As a result, only one encounter - which ended quickly due to the bear going for Jeff first and lacking the strength to push past the Robo-Pack's servos, thus serving only to distract everyone from Ness' momentary hesitation - actually occurred before the group reached the cave.
No other creatures stood between the group and the Starburst on the uppermost floor of the cave, and so there was no hesitation in approaching it.  "So you've come," the voice echoed from within the shimmering light.  "This is the fourth 'Your Sanctuary' location, but it's mine now.  Take it from me, if you dare..."  As the voice trailed off, the starburst exploded, the light expanding to surround the entire group and reveal what it had hidden.
A huge mushroom stood upon a glade of smaller mushrooms, it's wide red cap overhanging an aggressive face as it waved beady little arms at the group...a sight that would have been more comedic if it didn't tower over them all by at least six feet.  "I!  AM!  SHROOOM!" it declared in a bellowing voice full of power but lacking in intellect.  "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!"  It began to swing its arms at the group.
Ness instinctively ducked under the first swing, only for it to pass harmlessly three feet over the top of his head.  "Huh," he murmured thoughtfully as he straightened.  "I don't think he can hit us physically-"  He ducked lower as a wash of flame swarmed in the air over the group.
"That's not the threat!" Paula declared as she caught her breath as her hands smoked from how quickly she unleashed the fire, and how difficult it was to control its focus without a target.  "Every time he moves, spores shake free of him!"
"Mushroom and spores?" Buzz Buzz yelped worriedly as he ducked into Jeff's pack for shelter.  "If those infest you, you might lose control of yourself and attack each other without meaning to!"
"Then we should stop its movements!" Poo declared firmly as he dashed forward, slashing with his sword.  He grinned as one arm fell off.  "That should-"  His voice failed as the arm turned into normal mushroom where it landed, only to regenerate completely where it was severed.  "-do...nothing.  Curious."
"YOU CAN'T HURT ME!" Shrooom! declared dramatically.  "I NOT FEEL PAIN!"  He shook with laughter, scattering multiple different spores into the air.
Before Paula was able to unleash another wave of flame, several of the spores wound up going down Jeff's throat due to a badly timed sneeze.  "Ugh..." he groaned as he went to his knees.  "Feels like...food poisoning or something..."
"Healing!" Ness declared immediately, placing his hands on Jeff's side as they glowed with his PSI.
"My thanks," Jeff stated calmly as he got back to his feet.  "But I think you should focus on damaging this beast as best you can.
"The fire isn't doing much," Moondancer stated with a frown as she tried to reconfigure her PSI Shield to filter out the spores, only managing one type at a time and that requiring constant maintenance.  "And cutting doesn't do any good."
"Well I can't get close enough to strike him without trying to dodge rain!" Ness pointed out as he rolled out of the way of another volley of spores.  As he came to a stop, he felt a rock under his foot.  "...worth a shot," he mumbled as he picked the rock up, tossed it lightly into the air, and struck hard with his bat.
The rock shot through the air and embedded itself in Shrooom!'s flesh right between the eyes.  It had no other noticeable effect.
"Well...that didn't work," Ness grumbled as he shifted his bat to his back.
A blast of energy from Jeff's Gaia Beam vaporized a chunk of Shrooom!, only for it to rapidly grow back.  "Physical damage seems to have no effect on this creature," he observed worriedly.
"I!  AM!  SHROOOM!!" Shrooom! declared proudly as he shook more spores around.  "I NOT FEEL PAIN-"
"We get it!" Paula snapped out irritably as she launched a Freeze Gamma, the concentrated burst of cold solidifying part of the beast's flesh.
"I...AM..." Shrooom! continued, seeming to slow from the cold as the solidified portion restricted its movements.
"Of course!" Jeff declared excitedly.  "Plants like mushrooms have solid cell walls!  If we're able to freeze it solid, we should be able to shatter its very cellular structure and prevent regenerative mitosis!
"Understood!" Poo declared as he also launched a PSI Freeze Gamma, freezing another portion.
"Ness!" Moondancer called out as she unleashed a Freeze Omega, solidifying even more of the creature.  "See if you can't imbue your bat with some of your own PSI for a stronger hit!"
"On it," Ness stated calmly as he stepped back, calling forth the energy waves that he was able to unleash and infusing them into the Psi Bat at both ends, readying for a devastating attack as the metal seemed to vibrate from the focused energy.
Focusing her own energies, Paula was able to unleash her Power-Freeze.  While it didn't cause the beast to begin crumbling as it had other creatures she'd hit with it, the rest of its body solidified.  "Now, Ness!" she called out as she staggered.
"KIAI!" Ness screamed out as he leapt into the air, positioning the sweet spot of the bat's swing right where he instinctively knew the cold had left the beast most vulnerable.  With an echoing crash, the beast shattered, the pieces scattering throughout the starry field the battle was contained in.
As everyone caught their breath, Buzz Buzz noticed something.  "Why hasn't the field faded?" he asked worriedly.  "Shouldn't the fight be over?"
"It should be..." Moondancer murmured with a frown.  As she spoke, one of the pieces began to thaw...and wriggle, as did some of the mushrooms in the glade.
Seeing this, Ness though fast.  "Poo, Starstorm!"
"At once!"  Focusing his mind, Poo called down the stars as his sword had opened his mind to do.  Starlight showered from the field surrounding them, smashing into every piece and mushroom and obliterating it.  As they all ceased, the field faded.
As everyone finished catching their breath, Paula straightened her hair.  "Is it just me...or was that a lot harder than these fights have been?"
"They're supposed to test me," Ness explained as he straightened himself, brushing off his shirt.  "All of us, but me especially.  Their forms are empowered by a mixture of Giygas' Madness waves and the Earth's energies from the Sanctuary..."  He hesitated thoughtfully.
"And both the Madness waves and your energy nature shifted dramatically as a result of you and Moondancer using Star PSI to try and heal Giegue through the Mani Mani Statue," Jeff concluded decisively.  "I imagine we can expect future encounters - both at Sanctuaries and elsewhere - to have become much more challenging."
"Then we must push on all the harder," Poo declared firmly.  "If things have destabilized as it seems, then there should be more of a chance to accomplish our goals.  For now, let us enter the Sanctuary and hear its melody, shall we?"
Nodding, Ness led the group through the no longer guarded cave entrance.



Outside the cave, the group found an odd puddle in the middle of the snowy clearing, rain seeming to constantly fall into it, and yet the water level never changed.  As they stepped up to the edge, the Planet's Light enveloped them, and the Melody of Rainy Circle washed over them before being recorded in the Sound Stone and Glowing Stone.
As Ness caught a brief whiff of his Mom's spaghetti, Moondancer found her mind drifting back to her very first trip into her Father's Magicant...her first meeting with Niiue...and her first sight of the Red Swirls that tore at her Father's mind, the Whorls of Madness.  She remembered their names, and the memory filled her with determination.
She would save her Father yet.