Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: "Black Onslaught" by Faytxstay (
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door 'Black Onslaught' OC ReMix)
The adventurer lay asleep, trapped within her familiar dream, feeling unsafe without her sword or armor. A cavern of light stretched before her, affected only by the steps she continued taking. But she knew it couldn't last forever.
Sure enough, the darkness began to appear in front of her, its form unclear. Jagged black lines filled her vision, forming the armor and sword she had desired. But both were stained with blood and tainted by dark magic; it tore at her soul just to wear it. The darkness laughed at her pain.
The girl, Kit, did something that she would have never expected to do: she ran. Behind her, the darkness only grew and began to pursue her. Kit would have continued running, but the armor was dragging her to the ground and she fell, unable to get up. The darkness threw itself upon her...and she woke up with a start.
From one nightmare to another, Kit thought. The cave she had been resting in was not one of light, but of damp stone and looming danger. There was the occasional crystal or gold nugget embedded in the wall, reminiscent of the days when this cavern was used for mining, but they served little purpose now.
Kit reminded herself that she couldn't be too cautious. There were monsters in this cave, lusus naturae that should never be allowed to see the light of day. It was only natural; this cave was the home of her kingdom's evil, the faceless villain known only as Kabudo, that she had been sent to destroy.
But at least her nightmare had ended quickly. On most nights, Kit was pursuing the darkness, seeking to erase it, or at least understand it. But no matter how far she ran, the darkness (almost certainly Kabudo) was the same distance away from her. Then the black lines would appear, and it would be the same story. Perhaps this new dream was Kabudo's acknowledgement of his/her entrapment, a way of saying he/she would show no mercy?
Kit was startled out of her musings by the sound of two wolverine-silme hybrids approaching her, ready to attack. She unsheathed her sword and waited for them to get closer. Then, with the skill her training had given her, she sliced the creatures' heads off with near superhuman efficiency. She bowed and was about to give an apology when the ceiling rumbled above her. With a slightly heavier heart, she began to run.
The next few areas of the cavern were but a blur to her. She knew this was a trap meant for her, for her mission also required the rescue of the six ancient Saviors, masters of magic and combat that Kabudo had captured. But the very sound of the ground shaking had sent her into a panic even in her younger days, for reasons even she didn't understand. Thankfully, the shaking of the cavern freed the Saviors from their earthly prisons within the cavern's walls and they guided her to Kabudo's chamber.
The shaking stopped. It was peaceful once again, but eerily familiar. However, the light was only within the walls and floor this time; the rest was darkness, formed into torches with dark stands and a throne with someone on it.
The torches suddenly ignited with dark flames. The heroes prepared themselves for the fight that was to come. The person on the throne finally acknowledged the group's presence, standing up and looking directly at Kit. Kit and the Saviors were in the throne room of Kabudo...herself.
Kabudo smiled.
"Do you like what the mirror shows?"
Not bothering to answer, the Saviors gestured at Kabudo, the colorful magic flying off of their hands. Kabudo didn't even deign to look concerned, throwing up a field of dark energy to absorb it all. Kit merely stood still in shock and horror. She forgot she was there, that she had a weapon, that she should kill Kabudo. It was as if she was trapped in that cursed armor in her nightmare yet again, but with no real escape.
With a grin, Kabudo removed the field and absorbed the spells of the Saviors herself, making the energy as black as her own. It balled up in her hands, becoming a giant boulder. That brought Kit back to her senses, but before she could do anything, Kabudo threw the boulder and it exploded.
When Kit opened her eyes, she and Kabudo were the only ones left; the Saviors' bodies had disappeared, not even allowing Kit to pay her respects. Kabudo lifted her hand, a wordless offer. Kit, swallowed by fury and grief, took the offer and challenged Kabudo to a duel. She pulled her sword out and Kabudo unsheathed a sword of her own, made of steel and obsidian.
The villain merely grinned as the two began their dance, their swords clanging in the air. Kit tried her best to gain the advantage, but only continued the stalemate, dodging the dark energy Kabudo occasionally threw. Kit realized all too late what the plan was; Kabudo's dark energy had created a large pit behind her, and Kabudo pushed Kit into it.
Kit bled on the dirt underground, barely living. Kabudo cackled above her and walked away. With what remained of her sight, Kit saw six shadows that appeared to be monsters; she closed her eyes, awaiting the end.
But the shadows were the Saviors, or rather, the ghosts thereof. They put their hands over Kit's body and combined their magic. The resulting energy was sent into Kit, and she jumped out of the hole with newfound strength and power, revived as a warrior of light.
Kabudo was shocked, but immediately threw as many dark bolts of energy as she could. With her magic, Kit swatted them aside with bright white discs and walked slowly to Kabudo. Kabudo attacked harder and faster, but her efforts were looking more and more fruitless by the second. Soon, Kit and Kabudo were face to face. Kabudo tried to surprise Kit by lunging for her neck, but with one last strike, Kit pulled out her sword and cut off Kabudo's head.
Kabudo's reign of terror was finally over. But at what cost? Kit looked down at her feet, remembering the brave and influential people that she had been unable to save, the teachers that had given her and all others like her the combat training they needed. She fell to her knees and began to sob. She had failed her kingdom.
(It's not very good, but I'll edit it when I come up with some better ideas.)
