Alphario - Chapter 5

"What's going on?!" Dennis asked.

"Details later, kid." Eurid answered. "Now hurry up and get on!"

"Huh? What?"

Eurid had disappeared. Dennis saw a bright blue flash from behind, and heard him say, "Over here, kid!"

He turned around and saw a blue thing made of rocks like Eurid's, but the size of a billiards table.

"Yo," it said.

Dennis squinted at it.

"Is… is that you, Eurid?" he asked.

"Ain't it obvious, kid? Now get over here!"

Dennis blinked a few times. Eurid was still made of rocks, but he was longer and had a dragon's snout, and his hair had grown into a long, white mane that flowed down his back and front. He had transparent wings that didn't seem to do anything, and, like his body, his tail was much longer. His left horn was still broken, though, and he still sounded like Eurid: low, and gravelly.

"Hurry up, will ya!" Eurid growled. "You can gawk at me all you want later."

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Dennis grumbled. Ugh! He's really getting on my nerves.

Dennis jumped up onto Eurid's back. Pretty neat, he thought. It took a moment for him to steady himself.

"Got anywhere I can put my stuff?"

"Right in here."

Another flash of bluish light made a storage compartment appear just behind where Dennis was sitting.

"Sweet. Thanks!"

Dennis unstrapped his backpack and made sure his camera was properly secured. He put his hoverboard into the compartment, and then settled his bag next to it so neither would fall out.

"Done!"

Everything in the compartment shrank and disappeared into Eurid's rocky skin. Dennis saw him turn red, but only for a second. Then he prepared to take off.

"Hang on tight, kid!" he said.

Dennis saw Eurid's shoulders had grown thick spikes, so he grabbed hold of them and clung tightly. He was still a bit nervous after his last flight. He would have died if it weren't for Senjo.

"I'm ready... I guess."

Dennis didn't really sound ready at all.

"Then off we go!"

Eurid spread his wings wide and surged up into the air. It was rough at first, and Dennis was afraid he would all, but it got better once they were really flying. Dennis loosened his grip a bit after a few minutes. He could see all of Alter spread out below, and it was beautifully green. Eurid's white mane was very soft, and Dennis couldn't help but stroke it again and again.

"Kid." Dennis was too busy with Eurid's mane to hear him. "Hey, kid!"

"What?" Dennis growled. "And stop calling me kid! I have a name, you know!"

"Oh, right. What was it, again?"  

"Dennis," he sighed. "I told you that when we met!"

He scowled and started running his hand through Eurid's mane again.

"Stop that! It tickles!"

It was hard for Dennis not to tease Eurid for being ticklish.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"You'll see!" Eurid answered, and then Dennis felt him make a sudden drop.

"Oof!"

Eurid made a rough landing, and sent Dennis and his things flying. He hit the ground with a thud.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?!"

"We're almost there. Follow me."

Dennis grumbled, jumped up, and grabbed his camera and his hoverboard. He made sure his camera wasn't broken before shouldering the bag, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it intact.

Sheesh! What's up with him? he thought.

Dennis saw another bluish flash. Eurid had become humanoid again, and was already walking away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Dennis shouted.

"This is bad..." he heard Eurid mumble.

Dennis saw strange creatures — most no taller than he was — running around in a panic.

"What are those?" he asked.

"Kyvix, of course. Weren't you listening earlier?"

"I thought kyvix were big monsters."

Eurid's forehead wrinkled. "Don't tell me you thought all kyvix were big and scary."

GRAAAAAAAAAH! A terrifying growl tore through the forest and made Dennis's ears ring. A big tree fell from the sky and nearly crushed him.

Dennis pointed his thumb over his shoulder and said, "Sounds like whatever's causing the ruckus is over there..."

Eurid frowned and ran off towards whatever had thrown the tree, and shouted, "Hurry up!" after he was already half-way out of sight.

Dennis nodded, grunted, and ran after him, but Eurid was too fast for him to catch up.

How can rocks be so fast?

"Relku! Relku!" Eurid shouted. When Dennis found him, he was banging on what looked like a boulder. When he looked closer, he saw it looked like the shell of a turtle the size of a small house.

"Hey, Relku!" Eurid roared.

Dennis walked up to the shell and tapped it.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's no use, kid. He's not coming out." Eurid answered.

"But what is he?"

"Relku, chief of the village," Eurid sighed.. "He's asleep, and his shell's so thick he can't hear a thing."

"Some chief he is."

Eurid shrugged and sighed again.

"Let's go, kid. We've got bigger problems," Eurid said, and he pointed to a cloud of dust to the east. "Him."

Dennis climbed up into a tree and peered through the dust. He could see something that looked like a bear with the ears of a fox. It had a mineral body, like Eurid's, and its eyes blazed red. It had stopped throwing trees for the moment, and was sniffing about furiously.

"Kura..." Eurid sighed.

"You know him?"

Eurid's colour faded and he muttered something.

"I didn't quite catch that."

"It's nothing. Just focus on the fight."

Dennis grinned and stretched his arms. "This should be easy!"

"Heh. Don't underestimate him."

"We can take him down in no time!"

Eurid closed his eyes and breathed in and said, "Just pound on him until he can barely move."

Dennis wasn't paying attention.

Eurid opened his eyes, and regained his luster.

"So... ready for this, kid?" he asked.

"Game on!"

Dennis grinned widely. Eurid dissolved into a brilliant blue light and Dennis clenched his fists tightly and imagined himself ending the fight with a single, decisive stroke. Winning three fights in a row had made him feel invincible. The light disappeared in the blink of an eye, but Dennis found no sword in his waiting hand: instead, translucent blue rings were wrapped around his fingers.

"What happened to the swords?" he grumbled.

"Um... well, I've been watching how you fight, and I think you might find these more your style..."

Eurid's voice echoed in Dennis's head.

Can he hear my thoughts?

Eurid said nothing.

Dennis looked down at his hands.

Knuckles this time, huh? Haven't had a good fistfight in a while.

He made a few jabs at the air and then a leaping punch at an imaginary foe; his weapon was thick and sturdy, but felt light and natural, almost weightless.

"That beast's claws are no match for my fists!"

"What are you waiting for?! You'd better take him down before he flattens the village!"

Dennis locked eyes with his target, Eurid had called it Kura.

"So what's the plan?"

"The usual: knock him out before you get killed."

Dennis looked his target over.

"What's that large glowing red thing on his waist?" Dennis asked; he thought it looked like the weak point of an enemy in an arcade game he liked a little too much.

"Ignore it."

"Isn't that his weak point? It's gotta be!"

"Don't be stupid, kid! That's solid rock! Did any of the others have glaring weak spots like that? I didn't think so."

Kura heard them, and his ears twitched as he turned towards Dennis, took up a boulder, and let it fly.

Dennis was itching to test his weapon. He planted both feet firmly, faced the boulder, and put all of his strength into a right straight.

"Hiyaaa!!"

Dennis's fist smashed through the boulder, shattering it and sending fragments flying in all direction. The shock of the impact ran wild through him. It felt good. His grin widened.

"It's early to celebrate, kid. Focus!"

"Okay, okay!"

Dennis glared at his opponent. Kura stood a foot taller than Dennis. He pounced, and Dennis barely managed to avoid his claws. The ground trembled when he landed.

"Whoa!"

Dennis struggled to maintain his balance.

Kura got up and started throwing anything within reach, but it was so enraged Dennis could read him easily. The only problem was getting close enough to strike.

"Can't you turn into something else?" Dennis shouted.

Eurid didn't answer.

"Tsk! Help me out, will you?!"

Eurid remained silent.

Dennis tried to keep fighting, but he couldn't get close enough to attack.  He was getting tired of dodging, so he tried to run. Then he saw his chance. Kura lifted a boulder high above his head, but Dennis jumped into a tree, and when Kura threw the boulder, Dennis leapt from his perch, landed on the boulder, and then struck a powerful blow to the glowing stone with his right fist. It shattered, and Kura roared and doubled over in pain.

"Ha! Told you that was his weak spot!"

"The same thing would have happened to any part of him you hit that hard, Kid. Don't forget, I'm your weapon."

"Yeah, right!"

"Don't believe me, Kid? Try it. If he lets you get that close again that is."

Kura got down on all fours and glowered at Dennis, and began a slow but steady approach. Dennis was cornered, his back was against a sheer cliff.

"Tch!"

Dennis only just managed to dodge by jumping straight up and catching an overhanging branch. Kura had, however, run straight through the rock and gotten himself stuck. Dennis dived fists-first and delivered a crushing blow to the back of its head. Kura reeled backwards and hit the ground with a thud.

Dennis held out his arm, taunting him.

Kura charged Dennis, roaring. Dennis planted his feet and steeled himself for the final blow. It leapt forwards and swung its right paw at Dennis, but he slipped through its claws and gathered all the strength he had for a right-uppercut directly to the chest.

"Eat this!"

Kura was silenced by the force of the blow. His eyes turned white and he froze, and then he collapsed. Where he had been red, he turned a dull, lifeless grey.

Dennis kicked him a few times, but Kura didn't move.

"Is he dead?" he asked.

"Kura..." Eurid whispered.

Dennis saw another flash of bluish light. Eurid was humanoid again, and kneeling at Kura's side. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll have him quarantined," he said blandly.

"Quarantined?" Dennis didn't quite understand what was going on. Eurid didn't answer.

"We'd better check on the others," he said. "Let's split."

Eurid was gone before Dennis could answer.

"Wai... what should I do?"

Dennis heard something moving under a heap of rubble and started digging. He found several small kyvix buried underneath.

"It's all right, you can come out now," he said.

The kyvix huddled fearfully together, but one took Dennis's hand when he stretched it out. He heard a rumbling, and saw that Relku had awakened. Eurid was talking to him. He went on digging other kyvix out of the rubble, and saw others returning from the forest. Soon, an army of little kyvix had gathered around Dennis. He smiled and began to pick them up and carry them around. Soon, they were all patiently waiting for their turn to play with him.

Eurid suddenly appeared.

"Hey kid! Chief wants to have a word with you."

"I'll be back!" Dennis said to the mass of little kyvix.

Relku seemed taller than before. His head looked like a snail's, and his skin was smooth and slimy, like a snail's, but the rest of him looked like a turtle. He towered over Eurid and the other villagers.

"Kid, meet Relku, chief of the village."

"Pleased to meet you," Dennis said, and he bowed politely, like he had seen people everywhere do in Japan.

Relku lowered his head began speaking in a strange language Dennis couldn't understand.

"Err... ahh..."

Dennis scratched his head.

"Chief wants to say thanks for saving the village from chaos, only fancier."

"Fancier?"

"Fine, ahem: 'Honored hero, I humbly thank you for saving our little village.' That better, kid?"

"Ahh, it's nothing. Glad to help, uhm... sir."

From Relku, Dennis learnt that many kyvix had started disappearing, and that they would reappear like Kura, changed into savage monsters who glowed unnaturally red. Relku called him a "hero" several times, and even invited him to a feast, but the sun was setting, and SPOT was probably already worried. At the end, Relku said something Eurid clearly didn't like.

"Kid. Chief told me to go with you... well, bring you back to Evergrowth."

"That would save me a ton of trouble!"

He knew he would get lost again if he went himself. It had happened the first time he wandered into Kyoto from Calave.

"Ready to go, kid?" Eurid asked.

"Before we go," Dennis said, and he took his camera from his bag, "let's have a picture together!"

Nobody in the village knew what a camera was, so Dennis took a picture of his hoverboard and passed it around; everybody wanted to be in the next one, so they all crowded together around Relku. Dennis carefully placed his camera on a level rock and set the timer to ten seconds. He ran back and put his arm around Eurid's neck.

Snap! The first ever photograph of Altre had just been taken.

"I'll miss you guys," Dennis said as he waved goodbye. He didn't know if he would ever get to come back.

The troop of little Kyvix followed them a short way out of town. Before long, the village was out of sight. Eurid had insisted they go on foot.

The silence was only broken when they were halfway back.

"Something bothering you, kid?" Eurid asked.

"Well, yeah. It's that kyvix we just fought..."

"His name is Mualkura. We grew up together. We swore we would always protect the village, but now..."

Dennis's eyes widened.

"Then why did he..?"

Eurid stopped walking suddenly and turned almost completely black.

"One day he just disappeared. And now..."

"Well, he's back now, right?"

"No. He'll never be the same again. That monster isn't really Mualkura at all..."

Dennis didn't know what to say, and both were silent for the rest of the trip.

"Hey, kid." Dennis pointed to the north, at Senjo. "It's that punk again."

Dennis watched him for a few seconds.

"What's with him? He's not moving at all."

He approached the motionless Senjo and tapped his shoulder. "Hey."

Senjo sounded just a little worried when he said "Something's wrong" before disappearing into the shadows.

"There he goes again."

They continued on their way, with Dennis in deep thought. In what seemed only seconds, they were already at the entrance to Evergrowth. Dennis knew the path back from there.

"Well, this is where we part ways, kid."

"Awww... you're really leaving..?"

"Kid..."

Eurid looked away, turning a bit reddish. But, returning to his usual grey-green, he said, with a smug grin, "Hey, this place needs someone like me around!"

"Will we meet again?"

"Who knows?"

Dennis was silent again. He was thinking about everything that had happened. It had been less than a day, but it felt like he had known Eurid for years. And he wanted to stay with the kyvix, and to protect them. He felt like he was leaving his best friend behind, perhaps forever.

"Thanks for everything," Dennis said, and he smiled.

"H-hey..." Eurid blushed again, "stop saying things like that."

Dennis chuckled when he saw Eurid turn red.

"I hope you haven't forgotten my name, if you were even listening earlier."

"Denny."

Dennis raised an eyebrow. "It's Dennis. At least get my name right before you I go."

"Dennis."

Dennis flashed a smile and the two bumped fists.

"See ya around!"

Dennis waved goodbye as Eurid disappeared. His smile slowly turned into a frown as he wondered what to do next. Should he pretend that nothing had happened? His adventures to another world — should he just forget about them? So much had happened since he stepped out of the plane earlier: getting lost in Kyoto, discovering he had a fan club, nearly falling to his death, getting saved by someone who would later on attack him, meeting Eurid, fighting monsters, becoming a hero... There were also the two identical maps and the strange involuntary memories. His mind was full of questions, but for now, he only wanted to go home: it had been a long day, and Dennis was exhausted. When he crossed the road leading to Calave, he was relieved to see that nothing had changed while he was gone. At least that's what he thought.

"I'm home."

Dennis did not know that SPOT had been waiting quite some time already.

"Warf! Where have you been, master? SPOT was extremely worried. We couldn't contact you, and..."

"Huh? But I've only been out for a few hours..."

"Warf! Master couldn't be contacted for two whole days, warf warf!"

"Say what?!"