Mother X: Father

by Tatsurou

Into the Jaws of Death

As Jeff climbed down the ladder first, trouble struck almost immediately in the form of what looked like the classic bedsheet design of ghost. Rather than attack physically, it simply phased between the robot arms and touched Jeff, its icy hand causing his body to freeze up and fall off the ladder.

"Jeff!" Ness shouted as he tried to leap down the ladder to help, only to trip and land head first on the ghost, flattening it to the ground.

Moondancer leapt after them, landing more easily as she unleashed a blast of cold on the ghost, turning it solid before spinning and kicking to shatter it. "Are you alright?" she asked Jeff and Ness worriedly.

"...now that's using my head," Ness offered with a dazed chuckle.

"I'm alright," Jeff confirmed as he got to his feet. "You guys need to focus on the ghosts, though. I can't parry them."

"Then we'll...deal with them," Paula managed to say as she slowly climbed down. "Ice...ice seems to work well. I can do ice..."

Jeff shook himself off as he checked his robo-pack for functionality. "Okay, let's go."

The cavern beneath the cemetery had a winding path, but it was most definitely a tunnel to somewhere with no splits or false dead ends. The corridors frequently opened into large chambers where zombies swarmed, while the ghosts patrolled the corridors between them. When confronted with ghosts, Jeff went on the offensive with shooting while Paula and Moondancer unleashed Freeze PSI to slow them down or halt them. When confronted by Zombies, Jeff stayed defensive, letting them shamble up to him so he could take them out one at a time.

However, in one corridor, they encountered multiple ghosts and zombies together. "Watch out!" Moondancer called out as the ghosts went straight for Jeff. One was quickly vaporized, but the other managed to touch him with an icy hand, locking his body up...and letting the zombie it had concealed beneath it lunge in with a bite.

"Einstein's sideburns!" Jeff swore as the teeth dug into his flesh as he struggled to move. A blast of fire suddenly washed over him and the zombie attacking him. The zombie was reduced to ash, while the Star Pendant he wore left him feeling only a brief feeling of heat that warmed his limbs and let him quickly strike down the other zombies. "Are the rest of you al-GYAK!" He clutched his arm where he was bitten, the wound pulsing and green.

"It's infected!" Moondancer gasped out worriedly as she quickly used her PSI to seal the wound, to at least make the limb usable. "What do we do now?"

"We keep going," Jeff stated firmly. "It...it should take longer to fully consume me. It's based on how often we need to rest, which is when we can't fight back against it...and I'm used to running on only a half-night's sleep while I work the other half. Let's...keep going."

Ness and Paula glanced worriedly between themselves, but let Jeff keep leading the way.

"Gyork!" a sudden voice declared, drawing their attention to what was - apparently - a sentient pile of puke with eyes and a mouth.

"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," Paula muttered as she looked at it, her hand going to her mouth.

"Good, gyork!" the creature declared. "The weakness of nausea will accelerate the infection, and we will get another of me from the infected puke! You may not be Fly Honey delivery zombies like I first thought, but we will prosper from this. Now give me the Fly Honey!"

The pile lunged for the group, but Paula and Moondancer quickly unleashed fire while Jeff fired with his Gaia Beam. Ness swung his PSI Bat through the combined energies to smash the pile apart...quickly bringing his hand to cover his mouth and nose as the scent of burned vomit assailed him.

"Please tell me someone has an air freshener PSI," Jeff murmured queasily. He then blinked as Buzz Buzz flew through the stench, dispersing it. "...you actually have one?"

"No, but I can collect scents that appeal to me to spare others," Buzz Buzz allowed. Noticing their stares, he spoke again. "What? I am insectoid."

"That is...surprisingly easy to forget, all evidence to the contrary," Moondancer allowed awkwardly.

"Thank you," Buzz Buzz replied happily.

---

Infection has spread
Jeff - Infected
Ness - Infection 3
Paula - Infection 3

At the end of the cavern, the group stepped back into light. The grass was green, the sun shone down, and a waterfall could be heard in the distance. "Looks like we're out of Threed city limits," Jeff observed.

"Y...yeah," Ness confirmed as he pulled his cap down as far as he could to shade his eyes. "T...too bright..."

"Can we get inside soon?" Paula pleaded as she struggled to shield her eyes.

An older man leaning against a nearby tree spoke up. "It looks like your friends aren't doing so well," he observed in a friendly tone. "Would some food help perk you all up? I've got some for sale, good prices."

"Sorry, but we aren't carrying any money," Jeff apologized. "Beyond that, we're already carrying a good amount of food."

"Well, perhaps somewhere to rest would be good," the old man suggested. "Further up the path towards the waterfall, there's a cave to the east. Leads to a valley full of the strangest creatures I ever saw. Friendly little buggers...but strange. Like...like faces with feet and bows."

Moondancer perked up. "Do they talk funny? Say things like Boing and Zoom all the time?"

The old man blinked. "Why...yes. Have you been there?"

"No, but somewhere very like it." Moondancer turned to Jeff. "I don't know how, but there's a settlement of Mr. Saturns here, and we should get there as soon as we can."

"What?" Jeff asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because Mr. Saturns are from Saturn," Buzz Buzz explained. "Not of Earth. Not only that, they're excellent healers and field medics, which means they will have with them medicine not of this world. If anyone can help with the infection you three are dealing with, it's them!"

"Exactly!" Moondancer confirmed. "Let's go!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jeff demanded as he turned to resolutely lead the way forward.

Infection Worsens
Jeff - Infection 1
Ness - Infection 4
Paula - Infection 4

Comments

[InsanityStreak]

Did not expect a talking zombie puke monster, honestly made me a little nauseous with the burned vomit line.

[Emtu]

puu.sh/yQwZd.png

[Jakomi of the Rose]

"Gyork!" a sudden voice declared, drawing their attention to what was - apparently - a sentient pile of puke with eyes and a mouth.

"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," Paula muttered as she looked at it, her hand going to her mouth.

Guess Paula wouldn't like the Pokémon world, then.

[Xenoguyver]

8637731

Then obviously, you've never played the game before. That thing was NOT the worst or strangest they will run into in this adventure.

[InsanityStreak]

8638103
I have not, played very few games at all. It's what makes these stories entertaining since so few have any relative knowledge to know what's coming or how the characters interact.

[the other sans]

it's icy hand causing his body to freeze up and fall

1. Its.

[Xenoguyver]

8638111

Good point.

[Starcat5]

8637731
To be fair, who would expect a Zombie Puke Monster? That said, there is at least one more boss, and (iirc) several late game mooks of this type still on the way.

[Bugsydor]

Man, that boss took me forever until I figured out I could cheese it with the fly honey...

[Voldine]

8638365 That's not cheesing, it's the intended strategy.

There's a REASON this game's instruction manual was also the official player's guide.

[Tatsurou]

8638474
Wait, the Fly Honey is a reusable item. Does it work on the Mini Barf as well as Master Belch?

[Voldine]

8639120 I honestly cannot remember. My copy of Earthbound was sold years ago by my parents in a tag sale, along with Ogre Battle: the March of the Black Queen, and I kept the guide with the game at all times.

Ogre Battle itself is worth over $200 to collectors. I was PISSED when I found out they had sold it on me.

[F14m3rz]

The cavern beneath the cemetery had a winding path, but it was most definitely a tunnel to somewhere with no splits or false dead ends.

As opposed to a "true" dead end...?

There's not much to say about this chapter. It's pretty straightforward, after all.

[Dark Feather]

8639120
No it dosn't.
been replaying the game and checked just becous.