Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of Yoshis, Yoshi Dragons, Cheep Cheeps etc I also don’t own any of the lyrics to the songs Hoshi sings.

 

“Are we there yet?” asked Hoshi tiredly. The sun was setting from what Kristen could tell through the dense trees. Cory stopped in front of a strawberry patch. Hoshi looked down at her blue shoes and put her hands out behind her to adjust her black saddle, which was beginning to slide off due to how much Hoshi was sweating. Hoshi scratched the back of her neck, over her light purple spines.

 

“Obviously we aren’t there yet...” said Cory, irritated. His tongue shot out and latched onto a few strawberries before coming back into his mouth. He ate the strawberries gratefully. Kristen picked up a few strawberries and stuffed them in her mouth as did Hoshi. Hoshi began walking south bound. She walked out of the small clearing with the strawberry patch.

 

                “Hey wait!” called Cory. Kristen and Cory scrambled after Hoshi on the wet spongy ground. Cory and Kristen had a bit of trouble not stepping on the strawberries. Cory saved the location of this patch in his mind as they rushed out of the clearing and back at Hoshi’s side. Kristen re-adjusted her silver saddle as she came back at Hoshi’s side. She stared down at her silver shoes for a moment before looking back up to admire the beautiful scenery.

 

                “How do you know where we’re going anyway?” asked Hoshi impatiently.

 

                “Weren’t you listening? The Yoshi Dragon told me to go south and we should come upon a castle.” said Cory. Kristen sighed. Cory seemed irritated, and Kristen was beginning to tire. It was dark under the cover of the trees. Kristen could tell it was night. Kristen tapped the tip of her crystal wand and it began to glow.

 

                “Can we please stop? I’m tired.” complained Hoshi. Hoshi plopped onto the ground.

 

                “And I’m not moving from this spot till I’ve slept.” said Hoshi. Cory gave an exasperated sigh and sat down. Kristen sat down as well, thankful for the rest. Kristen didn’t care that the ground was soggy and slightly muddy. She was tired. Kristen lay on the ground and closed her eyes as did Hoshi; soon they were asleep. Cory sat against a tree. He too fell asleep soon with the thoughts of why the dragon could be destroying villages. Most motives the black Yoshi could think of didn’t make sense except for one; a prophecy he had heard of saying that four Yoshis will one day overcome the Dragon of Darkness. But they were only three Yoshis...

 

---

 

                “Humph.” said a female voice. A silver Yoshi with yellow eyes and golden spines stood over the group of three Yoshis that lay asleep in the jungle. “So these are the other three...” she said in a cold voice. She had been looking for three Yoshis. She had been ordered by the Darkness Dragon to kill them. But something held her back...

 

                “What do you want?” asked Cory. He was now awake. He had been awaken by her footsteps earlier on and had feigned sleep.

 

                “Y-you’re awake... I came here traveling.” she replied. “Mind if I travel with you?” she asked. She nervously rubbed the golden triangular spikes of the back of her neck. Cory did the same with his triangular red spikes. He looked deep in thought. Meanwhile, the silver Yoshi nervously rubbed her hand on the hilt of her sword that was tied around her waist. After realizing that would look suspicious, she began to adjust her golden saddle.

 

                “Yeah sure.” he said after a moment of deliberation. ‘Four! Are we the ones in the prophesy?... No, too early to tell. But the legend speaks of four Yoshis skilled in one of the four basic elements...’ Cory thought to himself. He had never particularly believed in the prophecy but he needed hope if he was to go up against the dragon... “So... who are you?” asked Cory.

 

                “Yume.” she replied simply. She couldn’t bring herself to kill this black Yoshi. Something about him held her back. There was something familiar about him... She wondered why the dragon had sent her out and not one of his more skilled Yoshis or humans? She wasn’t very skilled at fighting. Perhaps he wanted her dead? That thought was totally out of line yet it made sense. Yume suddenly began to fear her boss. But she cleverly hid her fear and seemed calm.

 

                Yume sat down and lay on the ground, deep in thought. She remembered how the Dragon had found her. She had been abandoned at a young age due to her color. Her parents called her a disgrace all because she was a different color than them. She was taken up and raised by the Dragon. The Dragon hadn’t been particularly kind to her, but she was able to live. He trained her in her already flourishing water magic. She was now very good at water magic.

 

                Cory created a ball of flame in his hands. Yume stared at the flame. The prophecy of the downfall of the dragon came to her mind. Where the others adept at another type of magic? The wand, Yume took note of a bit earlier, near Kristen told a story of crystal magic. Yume struggled to remember all of the prophecy.

 

                ‘There are four basic elements. Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Air and Fire combined make Light, while Water and Earth combined make Darkness. A Dragon born of pure darkness and death shall rise and cause chaos. As the chaos continues, four Yoshis of the four basic elements shall rise and defeat the Dragon with the help of the Elemental Stones.’ 

 

Yume recalled the prophecy and sighed. Water. It fit. But what about the young child before her? How could she be the one of Air? Nah, it had to just be a myth. Yume then dismissed all such thoughts from her head and closed her eyes. She was soon asleep.

 

---

 

                The next morning, Kristen felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see Hoshi’s smiling face.

 

                “Up! Time to wake up!” exclaimed Hoshi. Cory jumped up and looked around, startled by Hoshi’s voice. He looked over at Hoshi and sighed. He then looked over at Yume who appeared to be just waking up.

 

                “Huh? Who is that?” asked Kristen while pointing at Yume.

               

                “Apparently, her name is Yume and she’s a traveller.” said Cory as if that answered all their questions. Kristen shook her head and looked up at Hoshi. Kristen sat up and picked up her wand. Kristen pat Hoshi on her nose and stood up. Cory began walking southbound.

 

                “Hey wait.” said Yume as she got up and ran after Cory. Kristen held Hoshi’s hand and led her after the others. Hoshi skipped along, humming an unknown tune. Kristen looked down at Hoshi for a moment before turning her gaze onto the patches of sky barely visible through the trees. It appeared to be early morning and cloudless.

 

                They soon caught up to Cory. Cory moved slowly through the jungle. As time progressed, Kristen became aware that the marshy ground became swampier and swampier. Suddenly, three hours later after they started that day, Cory came to a halt. Yume ran right into him.

 

                “S-sorry.” said Yume hastily. Cory nodded and pointed at a large lake in front of them. A few different colored fish, Cheep Cheeps, swam around in the bottom.

 

                “We can’t cross here. Cheep Cheeps eat Yoshis.” said Cory. Kristen gave a sigh.

 

                “Those tiny things can eat a Yoshi? That’s impossible.” said Kristen. Hoshi nodded in agreement.

 

                “And they look so cute!” exclaimed Hoshi. Cory rolled his eyes and pointed further down the lake. There was a giant blue Cheep Cheep. It had a mouth big enough to eat a whole Yoshi! Hoshi and Yume backed away from the water. Cory pointed towards a stone bridge over the lake that was far off to their right.

 

                “Let’s take that.” said Cory. From what Cory could see, despite the trees growing out of the water that were in his way, the lake went on for miles. It’d take to long to go around it. Cory wanted to be at the domain of the Darkness Dragon now. Cory began walking off towards the bridge. The large blue Cheep Cheep followed his every move. Kristen grimaced. Cross the bridge with that thing scouting their every move? That was a crazy idea! But Kristen followed along with Cory anyway, admiring his courage. Yume and Hoshi looked at each other. Yume held Hoshi’s hand and followed along. Yume was fighting against her will not to run away.

               

                For ten minutes they walked on towards the bridge. The bridge proved to be farther away. Soon, though, they were within a few meters of the bridge. Cory ran up to it and began to walk across. Kristen then Yume and Hoshi followed along. Kristen looked over the bridge to see the Blue Cheep Cheep. Kristen jumped back as the giant fish narrowed its eyes and swam deep under water. Kristen broke into a run and ran past Cory. Yume, having seen the Cheep Cheep, began running too. Hoshi was dragged along as her short legs were hardly able to keep up with Yume’s fast running speed. Cory looked at them and shrugged. He began to run after them.

 

As soon as Cory broke into a full run, the floor of the bridge he had been standing on just before shattered. The Cheep Cheep had jumped right through it! The Cheep Cheep dove deep underwater again and came back up right in front of Cory. The Cheep Cheep smirked and narrowed its eyes. It jumped up onto the bridge with its jaws open wide.

 

Yume gasped and withdrew her sword from her sheath. Kristen held up her crystal and pointed it towards the fish as did Yume with her sword. A spray of acid appeared from in front of the sword and sprayed the fish. Before it could get to Cory the spray hit it. It stopped as Kristen took note that its flesh was beginning to melt off. Kristen shot a spray of sharp diamond shards that went right through the fish and mortally wounded it. Hoshi then regained her composure. She held her hands up. A strong gust of wind suddenly picked up under the Cheep Cheep and sent it flying off into the other side of the lake.

 

Cory jumped across the gap in the bridge over to Kristen and the others. He stared at Hoshi in disbelief of what she had done. He shook his head, the prophecy running through his head. After Hoshi’s attack, he finally remembered it all. He shrugged and continued onwards across the bridge as if nothing happened. Kristen shook her head and began walking after him. She sighed. Why had she tagged along? It was beginning to be more work then she had originally thought...

 

They all continued down the bridge. It seemed to take forever (actually, only one hour) to reach the end. But they finally came to the end. They were now back in a jungle like area. Only this area was shrouded in mist.

---

 

“Hey!” exclaimed Cory. Something had run into him. He turned around and peered through the thick fog. He saw a confused Yume behind him. She had hit him yet again; the fog was that bad.

               

                “Sorry...” said Yume for what seemed like the tenth time. Kristen held Hoshi’s hand so they wouldn’t get lost. Kristen avoided walking into a tree and walked over, on the very soft earth, towards the sound of Yume and Cory’s voices. Hoshi bumped into Yume. Yume jumped in surprise and turned around to barely see the purple of Hoshi.

 

It was then Kristen got her idea. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier. She held up her crystal wand with her remaining free hand and focused on it. It began to give off its same pink glow. It wasn’t really much, though it gave Cory the idea to use his flashlight.

 

“Good idea.” said Cory. Kristen smiled (though no one could really see it). Kristen began walking forward after Cory who had now turned and was heading due south again. Yume was now the one holding Hoshi’s hand as Hoshi skipped along with Yume having trouble matching her stride.

 

Eventually, it became dark out. The whole group was beginning to tire. They had covered a good amount of distance that day and deserved a rest. Cory shined his flashlight on the other Yoshis behind him and sat down.

 

“You have all worked hard. You deserve a rest.” said Cory.

 

“Yay!” cheered Hoshi. Hoshi plopped down onto the soft ground where she was and lay down. She closed her eyes. Yume sat on the ground too. Kristen, meanwhile, looked nervously around. There was something unsettling about this place. The fog made it appear creepy and it was far too quiet. Aside from the sounds the other Yoshis made, Kristen had heard nothing. Kristen shivered despite it was still fairly warm out.

 

Yume and Hoshi fell asleep soon. Cory sat down and leaned on a nearby tree. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. Only Kristen was awake by then. She silently thought about her memories with her parents. ‘Maybe they are alive...’ thought Kristen as she began to drift off to sleep herself.

 

---

 

                Kristen awoke the next morning to see the fog was a tad worse then the night before. Kristen grabbed her crystal beside her and lit it. It only illuminated a tiny sphere around Kristen. Kristen looked around. Her friends weren’t to be found. Kristen began to panic.

 

                “Say... Where’s Kristen?” asked Cory as he stopped. Yume bumped into him again and hastily apologized for the 17nth time.

 

                “I thought Kristen was up here.” said Hoshi. Cory shined his flashlight back on them.

 

                “Damn! We forgot her.” cursed Cory. Cory began to walk back around. After ten minutes of walking, a pink light began walking towards them. Cory breathed a sigh of relief as they were reunited with Kristen.

 

                Kristen smiled as they came within the small sphere that illuminated the area for a couple feet in front of her. “Glad to see you came back for me.” said Kristen. Cory pointed his lit flashlight out into a southward direction.

 

                “We need to get going now.” said Cory. Kristen nodded and took her place behind Cory. Yume and Hoshi, hands locked together so as not to lose each other, walked in the rear. Hoshi skipped a bit ahead of Yume, stretching her arm. They continued on with little problem other then Yume or Hoshi occasionally hitting someone by accident. Of course, they would soon find out why this part of the forest seemed so empty...

 

                As they kept going on, Hoshi suddenly burst out into song. Yume jumped in surprise and let out a surprised squeak.

 

“On this planet riding my bike...” began Hoshi. “I notice, I notice many, many things that look alike.” sang Hoshi.

 

“You like human music?” asked Yume. Hoshi nodded while singing and dancing. Yume sighed as Hoshi kept on singing the song. By the time they were half way through the foggy section of the forest, the song was indented firmly on all the Yoshis’ minds.

 

                While Hoshi was singing, Kristen became aware of a distant thumping sound. Kristen whirled around and extended the arm holding her crystal. Hoshi stomped on Kristen’s foot accidentally.

 

“Ouch!” cried out Kristen. Cory turned around and shined his flashlight on the others. He then listened to the thumping.

 

                “Everyone turn off your lights and shut up!” exclaimed Cory in a whisper. He had heard of a terrible beast that lived in the jungle. He thought it to be all myth, but as Kristen shut off her wand light and the thumping grew louder, Cory began to question the tale. Cory grasped Kristen’s hand.

 

                “Everyone, hold hands.” whispered Cory. Hoshi eventually found Kristen’s hand and held on. Together, they set off again in the direction they thought was south, Cory in the lead. Cory led them on, the thumping, or what Cory guessed to be something walking, never getting any louder or dimmer.

 

                Eventually, the fog began to clear. They now weren’t bumping into trees or each other anymore. Soon, what looked like a huge stone castle was faintly visible through the trees. The sound of their pursuer suddenly became louder and was increasing in sound.

 

The castle’s front doors were open. Cory led them towards the castle. Cory looked over his shoulder to see what looked like a black lizard with patches of skin missing chasing them. The smell of death and decay suddenly washed over the group. Hoshi and Yume retched as they ran. Kristen merely stopped breathing out of her nose. “What the hell is that?!” exclaimed Cory as they were then engulfed in the temporary safety and darkness of the giant castle...