-=The Maple World Awaits=-

A bright morining sun was shining over what remained of the once well secured village of darkness, now only a shell of its former glory. Although the magical darkness still kept the remains of the village hidden, the amount of lives and buildings lost from the evil Dark Lord’s attack made the illusory protection seem insignificant. However, the remaining village inhabitants still held the village high as a home, as they had lived there all of their lives and weren’t about to give it up, not as long as it held at least some shelter for them.

That shelter was the village dojo, the only building not destroyed in the attack. Within it, the sun’s rays shined brightly through the windows, including that of Lord Scorpion’s room. The luminous rays slowly roused Shadow Viper from slumber. As he awoke, Shadow slowly realized the day’s important event: he would be leaving the village for the Maple World. He kept it in his mind with such a fervent feeling that he felt certain it would never leave him no matter what.

Shadow examined his surroundings. Scorpion’s room was just like his: plain overall, with the same furnishings-bed, window, closet, equipment chest, and reading desk-organized in the same fashion. He looked to the other side of the bed, which was empty. “Scorpion, you always did wake up before me,” he mused to himself.

Shadow climbed out of bed and began walking around the room. He did this every day following the day he lost his left arm, continually trying to get used to the feeling that he no longer had it. Every day he tried, and every day he failed. It quickly became apparent to him that he would never adapt to the loss. He had lost a part of him that made up much of his exceptional fighting skill.

Realizing this, a sudden surge of emotions rushed through Shadow, bringing him to his knees. *Of COURSE I can’t get used to losing my arm!* he thought angrily. He reflected on the fact that he had lost so much more than that. His second home was now a pile of rubble as a whole, and one of his remaining close friends had perished in his duel with the evil Dark Lord.

Shadow immediately snapped out of his emotions the moment he thought about the duel. He remembered what he had told Dark Lord.

“Whether who wins or loses, by accepting this challenge, you agree to spare our village.”

Raging fury began chipping away at Shadow. He remembered that the evil imposter had accepted that agreement, and still had the village attacked anyway. Slamming his fist on the floor, Shadow’s mind began burning from his recollection. *That fiend’s treachery knows no bounds,* he thought.

The fury didn’t last long, though. As Shadow focused on the duel, his anger suddenly changed to regret. *Wait a moment,* he thought before slamming his fist again. *Dangit all, I should’ve known! Of course he was going to destroy the village. I could tell from the onslaught of monsters he summoned; he wasn’t about to throw it away on account of a single duel. He WANTED this place!* He stomped to his feet quickly upon completing his thought, his guilt mixing with anger at himself. It seemed to him like he was to partly blame for what happened; he tried to carry the village’s fate on his shoulders, only to have his opponent push it all off.

This realization continued to surge through Shadow as he dressed in a new clean uniform left for him by Scorpion. *I shouldn’t have tried to make such a bold move,* he surmised. *Perhaps if I would’ve stayed with the group and fought together with them, then all the villagers would still be safe. Man, Scorpion was right. I was a fool.* Guilt and regret soon made themselves known in his heart as he began to leave the room.

No sooner was Shadow through the doorway than Scorpion came up towards him. “You’re awake!” Scorpion exclaimed. “Are you okay? I thought I could hear something slamming in there.”

Shadow solemnly shook his head, then explained the thoughts he had that morning as he and Scorpion headed for the school entrance. It wasn’t until Shadow finished that Scorpion halted their progress.

“Shadow, I never thought to tell you until now,” Scorpion began explaining. “To be honest, even if you did stay and fight with us, there was little chance that we could keep the village safe.” Scorpion then went over how a crimson balrog and two tauromacis, monsters of a level of strength no village defender could hope to amount to, rampaged the village with ease. “They were monsters only Ryu could’ve had a chance against,” he said in dismay.

Running all of this info through his head, Shadow’s guilt began to disappear from his mind. “I…I don’t believe it,” he said in disbelief. “Monster that powerful here? Truly, this evil I face knows no honor. Then again, evil doesn’t even care about honor.” At this, Shadow soon felt doubt creep upon him. “Scorpion, if this is the way evil chooses to fight, how will I be able to win? I don’t know if I can contend with those sorts of adversaries.”

Scorpion began replying by slapping his hands on Shadow’s shoulders. “Shadow, this doubt you have is running rampant over all the others, even the elders!” he yelled, annoyance strong in his voice. “I for one am sick of it. If you ask me, I’d rather stick with the hope that you can win. In fact, I know you can. One day, you’ll be whipping those giants around like they’re nothing. All you really need to do before then is train a lot, and that shouldn’t be a problem for you. I mean, think about it! You trained like crazy here!”

Shadow knew Scorpion was trying to motivate him against his doubt, but it wasn’t helping. He pushed Scorpion away and began his rebuttal. “Scorpion, you don’t get it! Of course I train here a lot, because it’s continuual practice! Out there, it’ll be different. My life will be on the line just training out there. How do you expect me to have no problem training out there? The stuff you said about the tauromacis and this crimson balrog doesn’t even help! With the destruction they created, how can I stand up to-“

Scorpion suddenly held a picture in front of Shadow’s face. Shadow took the picture and examined it. It was a picture of Yuka, smiling while stting in a field, holding lotus blossoms in her hands. Beside her, Ryu stood tall with a smile of his own, holding a powerful-looking dagger at his side. Shadow found himself forgetting about everythhing else he was about to say as he continued gazing over the photo.

Scorpion took that time to explain his action. “Shadow, you and Ryu each have something in common. You both stood up against an extremely powerful figure of evil in the name of protecting everyone and everything you care about. Even though the enemy was in most every way more powerful, you guys still had the guts to face him in mortal combat.Now in your case, I know I called you a fool for trying to challenge him in that battle, but deep down, I realized you did it for the right reasons. You were willing to pay the ultimate price to keep us safe. And even though it didn’t quite work out for neither you nor Ryu, it still doesn’t change the fact that you were willing to take a chance. You have no idea how much respect I now have for you and that selfless act.”

Listening to Scorpion’s words as he looked at the photo, Shadow found the pieces coming into place for him. He had accepted a challenge that nearlt killed him before, and now he was about to do it again. Shadow quickly knew that Scorpion was right. He couldn’t let this talk of mighty monsters stop him from his chance at eliminating the threat of a coming evil, certainly not before his adventure had even begun.

Shadow slipped the photo in his pocket. “In that case,” he said to Scorpion with renewed confidence. “I’ll keep this on hand so I don’t forget it. Thank you for your words, friend.”

Scorpion smiled at the response. “Now that’s the old Shadow I know and like so well!” he proclaimed proudly, shaking Shadow’s hand. He then began wakling down the hall again. “C’mon,” he beckoned. “Everyone is waiting to send you off.”

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A cool breeze accompanied the warm sun and blue, cloudless sky as all of the survivors, the five elders, and Scorpion stood in a group before Shadow. The elder Hakkera sttod at the forefront of the group. He spoke to Shadow in a strong, stern voice, reminding Shadow of what he faced.

“Remember, young thief Shadow Viper, that this quest is a long and dangerous road. Even with the experience you acquire and the power you gain, the evils you face will always grow against you. You will know pain, tribulation, and, if you aren’t careful, death as well. Do you truly wish to undertake this mission? I will give you one last chance to reverse your decision.”

Without wavering, Shadow pulled his photo from his pocket and held it in front of the survivors as he made his reply.

“To everyone before me, in the name of this village and all who lived in it, I will not reverse my decision. I will follow through on my quest to reclaim our lost honor and bring peace to those we lost, especially these two. Ryu sacrificed himself to keep the village at peace, and Yuka sacrificed herself to keep me alive. Against all odds and at any cost, I will make certain that their deaths won’t have been in vain. Now, to each and every one of you here, and to all with us in spirit, I proclaim to you that I, Shadow Viper, swear on my life to ensure that this evil that looms before us will be decimated.” Upon finishing his speech, Shadow bowed before the crowd.

“Then your decision is final,” Hakkera declared. “We elders will now teleport you to the Maple World. Be warned, however: we elders used up a great deal of power in our unsuccessful attempt to save the villagers. We will do what we can to regain it, but without our meditation chamber that was in the town hall, we cannot recover like we used to. You go to the Maple World knowing that you may not come back here for a very long time.”

Shadow didn’t flinch from a single letter of Hakkera’s revelation. “I understand,” was his only reply.

“Very well,” Hakkera concluded. “Know that all of us here have great faith in you. We are always behind you no matter what, and we wish you unparalleled success in your endeavour. Good luck, Shadow.”

The elders then began weaving their magic. As they did so, a bright glow began surrounding Shadow. At once, he could feel himself slowly beling pulled to the maple world. As the glow encompassed his vision, he could still see the others in front of him. The defenders looked on with a unified salute. Scorpion, however, stuck to his friendly nature and gave Shadow a wave good-bye. Shadow returned the wave, saying “This is for all of us, and our home.”

Shadow then turned his gaze to the hill where Yuka was buried. Shadow was almost warped out of existence, but not before he spoke his final words that his village would hear.

“This is for you as well, dear Yuka.”

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And that clinches it for the pre-story! Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! Believe me when i say this chapter was the toughest to put together. I had to think about it a lot! The main story won’t start for quite some time, as I have to think about that as well. I promise, though, it will come before Christmas. thanks again for the comments and likes you gave me,and happy mapling to all of you! *Uses the elders’ magic porting to summon some Mountain Dew to you*