When the group stepped out of the lifts at the top, Moondancer rushed forward to explore, only to jump back with a yelp as her paw-covered hooves sank into the white ground before her. Thankfully, any people around were too far away to hear a dog scream in shock. "What's that?" she gasped in surprise. "Why did the ground sink?"
"That's snow," Zarbol told her gently. "It's-"
"I know about various weather formations," Moondancer interrupted. "I just didn't know snow was...soft ice?" She gently took another step, only to jerk her paw-wrapped hoof back as it too sank into the white layer over the ground. "How...how strange..." She continued to paw at the snow as the group made their way forward, occasionally leaping to let all four paw-hooves crunch the snow...unwittingly perfectly imitating puppyish behavior. Alinivar and Col. Saturn did their best not to coo at how adorable it was. They fought off the few hostile sources as best they could without calling her attention to them, trying to let her enjoy her innocent fascination.
They continued to make their way through the town, stopping here and there to talk to the townsfolk. Moondancer didn't really listen as they continued, too focused on the snow she was now dancing in. Eventually, however, Zarbol tugged the string to get her attention, guiding her to look at where they'd stopped.
At the very top of the mountaintop town was a statue of four youths. One young boy wore a baseball cap. One was a young girl with pigtails. One was a young boy in glasses. One was a somewhat older young man wearing shades. Due to the grey stone, Moondancer was unable to distinguish further details. However, the description on the statue illuminated her as to their identities.
'The four heroes who bravely marched forward up Mt. Itoi and repelled the alien forces.'
That's wrong, Moondancer thought to herself. Dad told me about that day. While there were four youngsters who stood against him, only three actually climbed the mountain to face him. Then again, all four seemed to weigh heavily on his mind...
Alinivar calmly focused his mind, raising his disguise's hands against the statue before releasing his PSI, causing it to slide backwards revealing an entrance to an underground facility of some sort. Her eyes alight with curiosity, Moondancer eagerly followed into it, though she let Zarbol carry her down the ladder.
Below the ladder was a single chamber made of metal, with missing panels here and there exposing circuitry. There was only one door aside from the ladder as an exit, off to one side of the room next to some exposed cables. A warning sign reading 'Danger: High Voltage' hung between the broken cables. Alinivar stared at that for a time before taking a few breaths. "If any of you don't want to risk that-" he began.
"No worries for lectric, boing!" Col. Saturn insisted. "Saturns part rubber!" His large nose wiggled as if to prove his point. "Only PSI lectric bad."
"I can take a few thousands volts before I need to worry about system damage," Zarbol provided helpfully. "I'm really durable."
"We're assuming an Apple is here?" Moondancer asked curiously. When that received nods of confirmation, she steeled herself. "Then I'm not backing down. I...I need to see one of these up close."
Nodding, Alinivar led the way towards the door, only for the voltage symbol on the sign to come to life and leap off the wall to attack them, flanked by two small concentrations of PSI charged electricity.
"You were saying, Colonel?" Moondancer pointed out as she shifted into a defensive stance, powering up her PSI to back up the protective shield Zarbol was already generating.
The electric shapes attacked primarily with electricity and bright flashes of light, which with PSI amplification turned into PSI Thunder and PSI Flash. While the electrical discharges could be deflected somewhat by Moondancer and Zarbol's combined shield, the flashes of light pierced right through, dazzling the eyes and inflicting physical disorientation if they didn't time blinking their eyes properly to filter it out. Thankfully, despite the devastating potential of their arsenal, the creatures energy based bodies proved readily disrupted, and enough concentrated firepower eventually forced them to dissipate.
With the creatures destroyed, the group made their way through the door only to find an even smaller room of metal panels, the only other feature being a small wooden table with a glowing gold apple that was somewhat see-through sitting atop it. Unerringly, Alinivar walked up to the table, quickly followed by the others. As he reached out to take it, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the world - save the Apple - went grey. A voice Moondancer recognized from her nightmare - now known to be true - echoed.
"Your struggles to defeat the destroyer
Are all too little too late.
But within you lies the power
To ensure my prophecy rings true.
For alongside you is life's messenger,
and your story may in time be passed on.
His call must be answered by the
fated four, Earth children, one girl among them."
As the world returned to normal, Alinivar collected the Apple of Winter. His eyes seemed hard. "...no," he stated firmly.
"Beg pardon?" Zarbol asked curiously, seeming disturbed by the message they'd received.
"No. It's not all meaningless," he snapped angrily. "And I say we prove it to the Apple that we have what it takes...starting by storming our way back up that tower and wringing Greyface's neck!"
Moondancer was rather unsurprised to see Col. Saturn and Zarbol immediately get behind this course of action. She couldn't really dispute it herself, as she was certain Greyface had something to do with why Giegue was so far gone now. At the same time...she couldn't help but feel that somehow they would regret this decision...
No it is far to early for Greyface to meet his fate.
He has just resantly been born after all.
to focused on the snow she was now
1. Too.
So that was frustrating to read. It's formatted like a rhyme, but it doesn't rhyme. I kept trying to rhyme it, but just ended up frustrating myself.
Black and blue, anyone?
Also, updates! Yay!
No mention about the hat? It was sort of an important plot point to the first game... but I guess I understand.
... I mean... not really? I'd say it has more to do with the ship not being fixed and Niiue not being at the apartment than it does wanting to directly confront Greyface. That would probably be the dumbest thing they could do at that point. They're not even gonna call Niiue, maybe see what he thinks about all this? Maybe rest a bit before they decide to fight the guy they only "won" against last time because he ran out of ammo (which he most assuredly won't this time around)? I think the force guiding them is slacking just a tad. They didn't even take the chance to pick up any AA Batteries; the horror!
Ok... I have no real working knowledge of the Mother games... But I'm familiar with time travel and reincarnation loops... If that "prophecy" is what I think it is...
8183418
The walkthrough I'm using to research and write didn't have them go back, so I didn't have that to work from. Instead, I tried to think what would motivate the group to go straight to confronting Greyface without contacting Niiue. Frustration and a desire to prove they could make a difference seemed to work.
8184063 But the AA Batteries! Zarbol can't use as much PSI without them! But I guess I understand.
8184070
I've also been avoiding addressing specifically item-related points unless they're plot-significant (like the Gems) or can bring emotional moments (like items for Larice while he's still under repair), in order to keep this as a novelized retelling and not a walkthrough.
8183284 I dunno, no one really had a problem with the Mysidian Legend from Final Fantasy IV not rhyming.
8184082
Ite just that the way it's formatted suggests a rhyme. It looks like it was supposed to rhyme and because of that you try to rhyme it. Which makes it frustrating when it doesn't work because your brain is like "Lol wtf this doesn't rhyme I'm so confused"
If they are successful in killing off Greyface AKA Porky Minch, then the vast majority of Mother 3 simply won't happen in this timeline, regardless of what happens with Earthbound, unless something rather convoluted happens involving time travel, which is altogether likely.
8185462
So THAT'S who Greyface is!
I kinda wish I could see the direction this would go if Moondancer just zapped that particular apple and it disintigrated into nothing.