Nowhere To Go But Up

Haze

Right when Bandee had finally come up with something to say, their phone started ringing. "Hey, it's Dedede. We found the ship." But how helpful would that be at the moment?

"Can you get ahold of it?"

"No."

"Fine. Taranza and I will pursue our current lead and get back to you." They hung up.

Taranza was displeased. "Bandee, what was that? We need to investigate the Lor!"

"No, we don't. I already know where Magolor is."

"Really?"

"Never been more confident about anything. Let's go!"

Bandee quickly ran into Castle Dedede and came out with a map. "C'mon! This way!"

"What makes you think this is where he is? You can't see anything more than a few inches in front of your face!" The mist was already giving Taranza a bad impression.

"It's clear from the footage that Magolor was hiding from the Starcutter. And where better to hide than somewhere no one can see?"

They traversed in silence for another few minutes. Then, Taranza spoke again. "Is this really a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Magolor's out hiding, it's because he doesn't feel safe out in the open. Is it really a good idea to go looking for someone who's this scared?"

"Scared? I don't think he knows that word. Have you ever met him before?"

"I have. He's like one of those dolls that you open to find another doll inside, and you just keep going and going until you get to the true self in the center."

"I suppose I haven't been doing much opening, then. Not for a lack of effort, though. I've been trying to figure him out since I met him, and I still don't have a clue what he's actually thinking most of the time. You're really good at reading people, right?"

"I can't say I've ever thought of myself that way. I know I'm not stupid, but I can rarely ever tell what's going on in your head, or Meta Knight's, or-Watch out!" He grabbed Bandee as they were slipping.

"Thanks. I've noticed a few things, too. Like how whenever Magolor gets in trouble, you're usually the first to try and give him an excuse to leave, or to defend himself. Are you just generally that protective of others, or is there something about him in particular?"

Taranza hadn't realized this himself. They weren't wrong, though. He did often try to help Magolor whenever he needed it, but that was just because he felt bad for him, right? Regardless, he thought it would be best to just play it off. "I guess it's just a general thing, though I can't really be sure."

The rain had started to come down, and there were distant claps of thunder echoing throughout the woods. "I hope we find him soon, I'm cold." Bandee was shivering.

Taranza seemed to be able to tolerate it just fine. "You two might not be that different after all." He spoke with an edge of humor.

"Well, that's not something I want to be hearing."

"Can you still read that map? It's already tough enough finding our way around, I hope you can at least keep the map intact."

"It's getting a little worse for wear. Damn this guy for making us come all the way out here in this weather."

"Can you stop? He didn't even want us to follow him, and there's no way he predicted the weather. Besides, there's still a chance he's not around here."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I just can't stand storms."

Taranza scratched his chin. "Neither can Magolor. Hey, what was your first instinct when it started raining?"