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Heading across the pure green land, Alex and James thought their separate thoughts on what the journey ahead entailed for them. Alex was largely concerned for his homeland, moreso than the fact an old man had just given him a map and a strange medallion before dying. James was more worried about the world in general, and what strange things it would hold for him to see. Eventually they came across a great plain, largely populated with a nasty bewildering supply of large scorpions and hungry frogs, which made James state: "That...doesn't look good." "They must be affected by whatever evil is affecting the land!" said Alex. "Like those birds on Mt. Eternal!" "Makes sense...how are we gonna get through them?" "Maybe that shop over there has something to help." Sure enough, against a treeline beside the plains, was a white shop with an igloo-like design minus the tunnel-like entrance. They knew it was a shop due to the word SHOP emblazoned proudly across the top of the entrance. James forgot to consider how odd it would be to see a sign in such, but they entered nevertheless. Within the circular-shaped store, where only a few items stood covered in cloth with price tags on them, they were greeted by a bushy-moustached man. "Welcome, welcome, can I help you?" "Uhm, yes, we'd like something that can help us cross the plains to Lake Fathom please." "Ahhhh, then you will want to see the Sukopako." "Ooh, yes, that's perfect!" "The sukowhat now?" The man went over to one particularly clothed object and revealed it dramatically for James to only turn incredibly excited with glee. A beautiful red and yellow motorcycle, of a rather Japanese design he noticed. His eyes shook with intense fervour as his mouth ran wild with joy. "...holy shit YES!" "Watcha think?" "It's a goddamn motorcycle!" "Sukopako actually!" "WHATEVER, IT'S FFFFFFUCKING AWESOME! We are so riding this. Right NOW. Alex, pay the man!" Much as James didn't like swearing in front of the hundreds-year old "kid", he was too excited to care, and eagerly awaited the chance to lay his hands on it. "How much is it, sir?" "200 Baums." "That doesn't sound a lot," said James as Alex paid without question. They soon immediately wheeled it out of the shop before trying to get on, with James stopping him.

"Woah woah woah, what are you doing?" "Getting on the Sukopako." "Ohhh no no no, you're not riding it." "Wh-what!?" "Come on, I ride these things for a living, you have to let me drive." "I can drive these things too!" As much as James could have just shoved Alex and made him ride at his back, he didn't want to mess with a boy who could punch an eagle out of the sky. "...alright, how do we decide then?" "Hmmm...Janken?" "Uhhh what's that?" "You don't know what Janken is!?" "Nope." "Well, it's a way to decide who wins something. You make a stone, paper or scissors out of your hand an-" "Woah woah woah that's just Rock Paper Scissors!" "Oh, you DO know it!" "I just didn't know it was called Janken too." "Well, okay you know how to play then, let's decide who wins! I warn ya, I'm good!" And so the raptor and the Arian put their hands out before each other, making their choices mentally before they proclaimed at the same time: "Jan, Ken, Pon!" "One, two, three!" James had all of his three fingers out, as Paper. Alex only had two, with Scissors. "...dammit." "I win!" And with that, Alex hopped upon the Sukopako unabated, while James went on the back to ride in the bitch seat, before Alex was racing away through the plains at top speed. James was surprised at the speed of the thing, though it was more because he had rarely ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle before, hanging on tightly as Alex smashed through scorpions, squashed frogs under the furious wheels, and even barrelled through rocks with no hassle. Despite not being the rider, James was enjoying the thrill of the ride, and was surprised by his guide's skill.

The way Alex dodged and swerved through strange obstacles of floating red spheres, slamming through rocks without batting an eye and crushing creatures of ill intentions beneath him. James was genuinely impressed, and was starting to realise Alex wasn't just any ordinary kid, if he even was. He shouted out against the wind: "HAHAH, YER PRETTY GOOD ALEX!" "THANKS, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME I USED ONE!" "GOOD TO KNOW!" "YOU SAY YOU'VE RIDDEN THESE BEFORE?" "YEAH, BUT IT WASN'T A SUKOPAKO WHATEVER, IT WAS A TRIUMPH 900CC SPEED TRIPLE!" "SOUNDS POWERFUL!" "YEAH IT'D GO AT 160 MILES PER HOUR! WHAT'S THE SPEED LIMIT OF THIS THING?!?" Alex ignored this question as he roared furiously against rock and frog, with scorpions to boot, crossing the grand open plains without any trouble. Until they soon faced up against a strange wall, made entirely of red unbreakable spheres. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?!" Alex screeched to a halt in a rather daring side-turn to force the vehicle to stop, preventing it from hitting the wall before replying: "I...don't know." Both of them got off the Sukopako, slowly walking up towards the wall only to realise that it was actually not entirely solid. It had been built in such a way that there was an illusion. The lower part was sticking out more than the rest of it, enabling them to climb over then under the wall. "Why the hell would anyone build this?" asked James to his just-as-confused co-rider as they passed through. On the other side of the plains stood Lake Fathom, the islands of St. Nurari pristine and dome-shaped in the distance. But someone stood before them. A man dressed in blue martial-arts style clothing, with a head surprisingly shaped like a fist. His eyes glared from the tense palm-shaped area, or rather the one eye since one of them was covered with a black patch. His arms were crossed strongly as he proclaimed to Alex: "So, you are the one the king mentioned." "The king!? Who are you?!" "I am Gooseka, third of the henchmen of the king." "And I call you Stone Head," said James mockingly as the warrior snarled: "SILENCE, beast! This concerns me and the one known as...Alex." "How do you know my name!?" "We know all about you. And I shall only let you pass if you best me in the art of the great Janken!" "Janken? But why?" "DO NOT QUESTION THE POWER OF JANKEN, BOY! The power of Janken shall decide if you are truly worthy of passing me." "Alright. I accept your challenge!"

Alex got himself ready to battle in a test of luck against this strange opponent. They braced themselves, almost as if on a battlefield. Their feet shuffled ever so slightly as if ready to strike, the wind seeming to turn deadly silent around them. James stepped back when he realised that this wasn't just some coin-toss game. This was serious business. "JAN! KEN! PON!" Both of them shouted this to each other as they drew their hands. Gooseka had Scissors. Alex had Rock. "Darn it! I lose." They drew again, tensing themselves up, Alex turning all the more worried on what this goon could possibly want to prevent him from going further by a game of luck, a game of fate even. He was also worried at what'd happen if he lost, as they drew out their hand. "JAN! KEN! PON!" Alex had Paper. As did Gooseka. "It's a draw. You sure lucked out." They made their choices once more, another agonising wait, eyes of youthful spirit versus the gaze of an experienced warrior. James was curious in why Stone Head didn't just beat the shit out of Alex, or try to. But he waited and said nothing. Only the foolish would dare interrupt this. "JAN! KEN! PON!" Gooseka had Paper. As did Alex. "Another draw! Janken toys with both of us." "Why do you think this is gonna change anything!?" "It is the will of Janken! You dare question it!? Now, again!" And so they drew again, hands jostling before them in preparation to make their decisive move simultaneous, tightening their wrists, trying to think what move they should initiate. Once again they produced their hands. "JAN! KEN! PON!" Alex had Scissors. Gooseka, fittingly for once, had Rock. "I win. Heh...you got it." James turned tense, realising that one more result could make or break this for either of them now, drawing their hands once more. The world itself seemed to stop turning, holding its breath for the final result. "JAN! KEN! PON!" The world seemed to breathe once more as the wind slowly sweeped across the plains, with a roar of fury from their foe. "DARN IT! I LOST!" Gooseka cried out to the sky, gazing upon Alex's twin fingers pointing directly before his open hand. With that he snarled and disappeared into a man-sized cloud of dust before their very eyes, like a ninja almost. The world seemed to exhale with relief upon the outcome of this battle of fate. When James felt it was safe to approach, he asked: "Who WAS that freak?" "I...I don't know." "He was reaaaaally into Rock Paper Scissors, that's for sure, I mean it's just a freaking game you make decisions with when you don't have a coin to flip." "Yeah...but still, he really was serious about the power of Janken." "Well whatever, nothing in our way now right?" "You're right, we still have to cross Lake Fathom." "And...do you have an idea besides swimming?" "Nnnnope."

Swimming through the lake and its convoluted system of coral passageways, the two passed through rocky crevices and now-malevolent fish caused by whatever odious presence had befallen upon the planet Aries. Much as James disliked being wet again, he had to follow Alex, who swam on dutifully ahead without even seeming to tire out, compared to the raptor who was more getting hungry than anything else. He was desperate to reach the village of Namui for the sake of his stomach. At least he could have fun exploring underwater without worrying about his lungs, even if he wasn't sure how that even worked with magic. The journey through the now-treacherous waters of Lake Fathom amounted to little thanks to Alex's effortless punches. His power was not even affected by the force of the water itself when he punched wicked invertebrates clean through the lake, either above into the sky, below into the dirt, or even straight ahead through the coral itself. One time they even encountered an octopus, a rather dangerous beast who sat upon an old large pot and swung at them with its tentacles preventing them from getting past. James would distract him with his speed, swimming back and forth to dodge the longest tentacle, while Alex aimed to cripple the tentacle itself with his Shellcore power punches from the side, bending it out of shape. In fact he bent it beyond out of shape to the point the muscle was bursting out of its place, the creature writhing in a terrible pain at its exposed inner mold before the Arian promptly punched it right off its pot and into the wall, creating a sickening pile of mush. Trying to distract himself from the pains of food, James began to ponder on many things, continuing his swim. He felt so strangely relaxed without any worries of his current progress or his objective, not even needing to go up to the surface to breathe, his worries just slipping away from him into the water itself.

James also wondered if anyone in this world COULD help him get back home, what with all the apparent magical powers that might exist and had been hinted at by Alex, as well as possible science from the fact they had motorcycles in this world. Then again, it could have been a magic motorcycle, and he knew that magic barely even warranted an explanation, much like religion. All this and more confused him. But despite this, he was enjoying this land, the way everything was so vivid in colour, a land of simpler times and simpler rules. And yet he felt this was going to be a struggling journey he had to undertake with Alex. He was already tiring out from the swimming by the time they finally reached the island of St. Nurari, the raptor collapsing on the sweet grassy shores, while Alex merely walked out of the water in a striding pace. The afternoon turned dimmer than before, reaching towards sunset. "AGH JESUS! Finally!" "Hehehe, tired?" "Oh god I'm just starving now, I need food so badly." "Well...uhhh...I think you might have to wait a li'l longer." "Wh-wha..." And sure enough, he saw another lengthly obstacle course of walls and platforms, made of the same impassable sphere materials that had cut their Sukopako ride shorter than they wanted on the plains. Not only that, but menacing giant scorpions and fiendish eagles were moving around, guarding, traipsing, mad with malevolence. And then they heard and saw the pits of lava bubbling inbetween parts of this path. "...you gotta be ffffricking kidding me." "Iiiii wish I was." "Uuuuaaaaaaagh!" James bent over clutching his stomach as it growled with hunger, sucking it up and standing up stiffly. "Alright, your village is at the other end of this lake?" "Yep." "Then the sooner we plow through this, the better." "We can probably jump on some of those spheres and get through this a lot faster than climbing each and every wall." "Greaaaat, an obstacle course. Well, I'm ready, are you?" "Of course." "After you, Mister Kidd."

And with that Alex ran forwards first, easily leaping up on the spheres and walls, and over enemies with the occasional flying punch, brutally slamming them in any direction his knuckles pointed at. James headed up the rear, having no problem in keeping up despite his hunger, running upon and along the walls Parkour-style, leaping back and forth. Compared to Alex's incredibly high jumps, he was making admirable efforts with his walljumping reflexes, keeping up with the Arian who would leap twice as high, or even three times as high as the raptor could. Their only real concern were the lava pits, running above and leaping past them. The heat got a little too close sometimes for them when they failed to leap over a wall and had to resort to the low road. Other than a few close calls, particularly one time where James almost lost his foot in the lava had he not managed to grab a higher ledge, or when Alex was almost stung by a scorpion underfoot that had snuck up behind him within the tall grass, they managed to reach largely unscathed to a single lone building. A solemn place, tall and pure white, which Alex rushed to hurriedly. "Father? Father!" "Hmmm???" The sound of an old man awakening came to them as they peered inside the building, only to see said wizened old man appear in light blue robes. He walked slowly towards the newcomers, holding a gnarled wooden staff to support himself. His beard was almost perfectly triangular in the way it pointed straight down, directly from his chin to his waist. "Alex? So good to see you, my boy! How is your training?" "I have finished my training, father, but I have come with a message from a strange old man who died near Mt. Eternal." "Really?" "He gave me this map, and this medallion." When Alex produced the medallion to dangle from his fist before the old man, a look of shock came over him, halfway to a heart attack even that worried both the younger travellers. "Ohhhh dear...then we are in grave times truly." "The old man said that the kingdom of Radaxian was in danger, and there's all these creatures that have been attacking people for no reason! And this stranger called Gooseka, with a head shaped like a fist, challenged me to Janken!" "What!? A man with a head shaped like a fist!?! So...he does know of you." "Who, father? He said he came from the king, but he didn't look like one of King Thunder's men!" "...perhaps it's time you knew the truth." Alex was a little confused by this statement and was beckoned inside gently by the elderly sage, who looked up at James before fully entering. "Pardon me, stranger..." "Oh, this is James," introduced Alex, "he was on Mt. Eternal with me yesterday and he's travelling with me." "I see...I am Saint Nurari, a pleasure to meet you James. If you do not mind, would you perhaps wait outside, while I discuss personal matters with my son?" "No problem, I'll wait."

He held up his hands to show he had no intention of getting into their business and merely waited outside, listening in on their conversation regardless. "Sit down Alex. I suppose I must now tell you the truth, my son." "Wh-what is it?" "It pains me to say this...and as much as I knew this day would come, a part of me had always wished that it never had. Alex......you are not my son." "...f-father?!?" "You are not a native of Namui. You are something far greater than I first told you all your life. You are in fact a prince, from the country of Radaxian." Alex was speechless. For a minute he said nothing, fists clenching with incredulous disbelief. James merely listened, saying nothing but feeling rather surprised he'd been travelling with royalty all this time. Royalty that actually knew how to defend itself and did everything by itself. Despite the growing pain of hunger in his stomach, he kept quiet. "A...a prince?" "Indeed. You are the long lost brother to Prince Egle, heir to the throne, and the long lost son of King Thunder himself. When you were but a small boy, men from an evil lord kidnapped you and whisked you away from the castle, only for you to end up here, where I have watched over you as your spiritual father. I have been waiting for so long to tell you this." "But why didn't you tell me before!?! Why tell me now?!?" "For two reasons. Firstly, I did not want you to become lazy within the bosom of royalty, I wanted you to become a strong powerful individual, for the second reason. That should anything happen to your homeland, you would be the one to save it, the only one who could, as a master of Shellcore!" "I...I see...father." The old man placed a firm but wizened hand upon Alex's shoulder, and said: "I no longer deserve such a title...your highness. Please, call me Saint Nurari." "I...no...NO, I won't!"

Alex stood up with a fierce pride in his eyes. You raised me since I was a child, to me you are my father! Even if you did not bring me into this world, you will ALWAYS be my father!" "...ohhh...my dear boy. Regardless of labels, your true family is in mortal danger at the hand of King Janken, as well as all of your friends and subjects throughout the Miracle World." "King...Janken?" "A cruel and terrible warlord from far away. The village elder in Namui has learnt more of him than I have, despite my years of wisdom. But he is a dangerous and terrible being, armed with three henchmen, and his great power over the fates of Janken." "Janken...so...that's what Gooseka meant." Saint Nurari gripped both of Alex's strong young hands with his own, tightly so. "I beseech you, as both your father and your subject, to please hunt him down, rescue the royal family, and defeat him." "...I...I..." The boy seemed to falter, even despite having hundreds of years of experience and willpower that James himself envied Alex for having. But after a stern mental resolution, he made his proclamation. "I will protect my homeland from all evil, as I have been trained for! I will journey to King Janken's lair, and destroy him like the vile beast he is!" "Oh, bless you Alex! Bless you indeed!" Saint Nurari hugged the boy as tightly as he could, with Alex merely hugging back warmly so with a nuzzle into his shoulder, before being let go. "Now go, hurry to Mt. Kave and onwards to your true homeland! I have arranged a Peticopter to transport you across the water." "Thank you! I will save this land for as a master of Shellcore, I swear to protect all people upon this planet!" And with that, Alex left the old sage's home, with James leaning against the outside of it, looking down upon the determined young-looking hero. "I couldn't help overhearing." "Yeah?" "You're gonna save the whole kingdom?" "I have to! It's my destiny! It's what I've been training for all these years! I just never realised it before!" "Well, having a goal in life is always a good thing. I'll help out, if you need it." "A hero always needs allies, so thank you! But...you've only known me a day." "Well...I'd look like an ass if I didn't help." They shook hands once again, firmly so. "Should I...kneel or something?" "Nah, I don't wanna be treated like a prince all the time." "Good, cuz it hurts my knees." "Hehehee." "Hey...uhh while we're here, can I ask the old guy something?" "Sure!" And with that James walked into the small home of Saint Nurari, who politely asked: "Yes, stranger?" "Uhhh, I was wanting to ask you...do you know any great and powerful wizards or mages or magical guys who can make a portal to another world?" "Ahhh...I suspected your aura was otherworldly, though at first I assumed it was because you might have been a spy of Janken." "Believe me, I'm getting really sick of that game now." "Very well. I am sorry to say that nobody in this world that I know of has such power." "Ah...well, thanks anyway, sir." With a bow, Nurari let him leave and James headed out once again to Alex who had heard it all. "Sorry James." "It's okay, maybe we'll still find someone. Now come on, let's head to Radaxian." "Okay! But first we gotta stop over at Namui to rest up and eat!" "Aw man, you're right. Then let's go!"