Multi's Writing Collection

[Multifavs]

This is a thread where I'll post stories and other writings of mine. I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Multifavs]

Some info on my upcoming story "Mystery of the Mirror Rift", the first chapter of which I'll be posting here soon. I've placed it in a spoiler because it contains a spoiler for the ending of Kirby and the Rod of Darkness.

Spoiler: Info

This time around, the main characters are Susie and Mirrobo, because I wanted to write about Mirrobo in its new state, and because Susie is cool. Mystery of the Mirror Rift takes place sometime after Kirby and the Rod of Darkness. I haven't thought of the entire plot yet, but the story involves Susie and Mirrobo finding a mysterious mirror and exploring the odd world inside it, the Mirror Rift, while dealing with a new villain named Reflectia (pronounced like "reflection" without the n) who lives there. The story will explain a few things that were not explained in Kirby and the Rod of Darkness and more.

Mystery of the Mirror Rift may not contain as much humor as Kirby and the Rod of Darkness, and the chapters will be different lengths. Aside from Mirrobo and Reflectia, I once again won't add many OCs. This time, however, there are a few original places (Planet Quartz and the Mirror Rift). We'll see how far I get before I lose interest or run out of ideas.

 

[Multifavs]

Mystery of the Mirror Rift

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Mirror​

Susanna “Susie” Haltmann was seated at the desk in her office, using her laptop. She was a young woman who had long pink hair and large blue eyes; she wore a silver metal top with a headpiece on either side of her helmet, a dark gray skirt, yellow-orange gloves, and a gold hair clip. She was the president and CEO of the Haltmann Works Company (HWC), a technology company founded by her late father, Max. She was skilled with machinery and had rebuilt the company herself after his passing.

Right now Susie’s focus was on studying the planet her headquarters had just landed on, one which she’d never visited before: Quartz, the crystal planet. Located between Halfmoon and Earthfall, much of this planet’s surface appeared to consist of crystals and caverns. However, the HWC also detected a strange energy signal coming from somewhere on the planet, so Susie decided to investigate.

“Miss Haltmann, I have located the source of the energy signal,” said a robotic voice as a small round robot entered the room. It was teal with a gray face, black eyes and mouth, two silver antennae, and a gold mirror on its top; it used a copter on top of the mirror to fly around. It was Mirrobo, the newest member of the company.

Unlike her other workers, Susie had not built Mirrobo; it was built by a mysterious villain named Shadread. After Kirby, Magolor, Taranza, and she defeated him, she reprogrammed the robot and erased its memories, so it no longer remembered Shadread or the trouble it caused. Susie was amazed by its abilities, which included teleportation, detecting and identifying any living beings in the area, firing lasers, and reflecting attacks. It could even temporarily be given more abilities such as emitting a hypnotic sound or wielding the elements. But to this day, where Mirrobo was built and with what technology remained a mystery.

“Good work, Mirrobo,” Susie replied, getting up and following Mirrobo out of the office.

The two of them went into the lab and approached a large computer screen, which displayed a map of the surrounding areas. They could see a small blue light blinking a short distance to the west of the HQ. “The unidentified energy is coming from a cavern nearby,” Mirrobo told Susie, “Its source is inanimate, but I cannot identify it further.”

“I think we should check it out,” she answered, her curiosity piqued.

The businesswoman and robot exited the spaceship and found that there was indeed a cavern nearby. Upon approaching it, they could see it was quite small and made of colorful crystals, but there was something off about it. Its exterior was surrounded in mist, and its interior was empty except for a large gold mirror on the innermost wall. Susie was surprised to find such a thing in such a place as she neared it. “This mirror is the source of the energy signal,” Mirrobo observed from beside her.

This was quite puzzling. As far as Susie could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary about this mirror, aside from the fact that it was in an odd location. When she reached out to touch its surface, however, her hand went right through the glass, causing it to ripple as if it was made of water. Shocked, she quickly withdrew her hand. “This is no ordinary mirror!”

Suddenly an unexpected turn of events happened. The mirror continued to ripple more and more until Susie felt herself being pulled toward it! “Mirrobo!” she shrieked, trying futilely to escape the force. Her mechanical companion rushed over and grabbed her hands while her lower body was already inside the mirror. It pulled and pulled, but the suction was too strong. Susie lost her grip and was sucked into the mysterious mirror, and Mirrobo, without any hesitation, went in after her.

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 2: In the Rift​

The next thing Susie knew, she was surrounded by a light blue color. It was seemingly endless, with no floor or any other objects in sight. She couldn’t tell how high up she was, for she felt as if she was drifting in a sea of nothingness.

Then suddenly she landed on her belly, on solid ground. She took a few moments to get her bearings before lifting her head to view her new surroundings. Everything was still light blue, but the floor could now be distinctly seen. The area was so still and quiet, Susie heard only the beating of her heart. She slowly stood up as Mirrobo flew down to her, breaking the silence. “Are you all right, Miss Susie?” it asked her.

Susie never told anyone she was not a fan of being suddenly pulled into portals. Not that such a thing was fun for anyone, but it reminded her of a certain incident from her childhood that changed her life forever. It wasn’t easy to hide this from her workers since they could pick up on her tension, but she did the best she could. “I think so,” she responded, “but I wonder where we are now?”

“Even I would not have expected to find an entire world inside that mirror,” Mirrobo stated, although the idea was not unheard of. After all, the Dimension Mirror floating in the skies of Planet Popstar was home to the Mirror World. “We will have to search for a way out.”

Not knowing which way to go, the two of them began to move straight ahead, but they didn’t get very far before they came to a spot containing a thick fog. Mirrobo’s eyes glowed with a white light while it scanned its surroundings. “Detecting three paths ahead.”

Susie squinted, but she could only see the beginning of where the path split into three due to the fog. “Which one do we take? I can’t see a thing with all this fog!”

Her worker’s mechanical eyes could see what she couldn’t. “Follow me,” it said, starting to advance down the middle path. Its owner carefully followed it, knowing its analysis was reliable. As they walked down the path, they eventually passed by the ends of the other two trails. Each of them led to a teleportation device that would probably take unsuspecting travelers on a frustrating back-and-forth journey.

Soon Susie and Mirrobo reached the end of the trail, leading them out of the thick fog. There they found something that stood out from the plainness of the previous sections, the first real structure in the dimension. It was a tall silver tower with a domed roof. Thinking they might find some answers there, the two travelers decided to check it out, so they went inside.

At first, the tower’s interior appeared to be very plain; the first room was mainly empty and somewhat small. But when Susie looked down at the floor, she gasped at what she beheld there. The floor of this room had a realistic image of a black mirror with four characters inside it: a woman who looked like Susie, but with red hair and a black and red outfit, a navy blue four-headed dragon, a caped wizard, and an ominous-looking spider-like creature. “What’s with this strange image?” Susie wondered aloud.

Mirrobo’s wide knowledge allowed it to identify those depicted in the picture. “Parallel Susie...Parallel Landia...Parallel Nightmare...Dark Taranza...these are the four beings who were brought into existence by the Black Mirror.”

“The Black Mirror?” Susie knew little about the sinister mirror, but she had encountered Parallel Susie and Parallel Landia before. After the former was freed from Shadread’s control, both of them helped her and her friends stop him. As for Parallel Nightmare and Dark Taranza, she’d never met them. They had been defeated by four heroes from the Dream Kingdom, who also destroyed the Black Mirror. Why this reference to the mirror was contained in this room, however, was anyone’s guess.

Suddenly evil laughter rang out from somewhere in the tower. “What have we here? Looks like two uninvited guests!” a feminine voice said, but its owner was nowhere in sight.

Susie was immediately on alert. “Who’s there?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Anyway, I’d say you’d best be on your way now.”

“Hmph!” Susie huffed, crossing her arms. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was when people were rude and impolite. As a little girl she was taught to mind her manners, and she’d retained that attitude all her life, even during the time when she and her dad were mechanizing planets.

At that moment Mirrobo sensed danger. “Look out!” it shouted, swiftly grabbing Susie and lifting her off the ground.

A split second later, a flaming arrow shot across the room and struck the wall behind where she had been standing, leaving a trail of embers behind it. “Where did that come from?” she asked in surprise.

“More of them are approaching! We must get out of here!” Mirrobo knew the danger was not over yet. Susie took out a small controller and pressed its button, and then a large pink and white machine with two clawed arms appeared below her. This machine, called the Business Suit, was her strongest weapon and also served as a method of transportation for her. Right now, she wanted to use it to escape without touching the flames.

Susie let go of Mirrobo and dropped to the seat of the Business Suit; when she landed, a yellow visor covered her eyes. She and her robot moved to the next room just in time, for a flurry of fiery arrows shot from the wall as they exited, filling the area with fire.

The next chamber contained only a long winding staircase. The Business Suit hopped up the stairs, since that was its typical method of movement on land, and Mirrobo hovered beside it. When they reached the top, they entered another somewhat small chamber with windows lining the upper walls. On the opposite side of the room, a figure was seated at a computer.

 

[Multifavs]

Took me almost two weeks, but I finally finished this chapter.

Chapter 3: Reflectia​

The Business Suit pointed one arm at the mysterious figure. “You!” its rider accused, “You don’t know anything about manners, do you? Don’t you know it’s rude to be inhospitable to guests?”

At this the figure turned to face her two visitors, revealing her appearance. She was a woman dressed in a pink hat and cloak, both bearing a white star pattern; her face was obscured by her clothing except for her bright yellow eyes. “So you didn’t heed my warning,” she replied, “Why should I be hospitable to a couple of intruders like you?”

“Well, if you don’t want intruders then maybe you shouldn’t leave your front door unlocked.”

At that moment the cloaked woman, upon taking a good look at her uninvited guests, was surprised when she realized she recognized them. “Wait a minute...are you not Susie, the one from whose thoughts and feelings Parallel Susie originated? And that robot with you...it can’t be! Mirrobo?!”

Susie was equally astonished. “How do you know who we are? Who are you? And why do you have that creepy image in the lower room? Do you like to admire the Black Mirror or something?”

“Ahahaha!” the unfamiliar character cackled, “I’m afraid most of that information is strictly confidential, but I will tell you this…” She stood up and continued, “I am Reflectia, the great and beautiful queen of the Mirror Rift. And you are intruders who should be punished for your insolence! Why don’t you make like a tree and leave?”

Reflectia raised a gold staff with a tip resembling a small mirror with a wing shape on either side; shiny oval-shaped projections shot from its tip like those from Mirror Kirby’s rod. The Business Suit’s arms spun rapidly and deflected some of them. Mirrobo’s mirror flashed when the rest collided with it, reflecting the attack and sending it right back at Reflectia. As a result, she and the chair she was standing in front of were both knocked down. “We didn’t come here to fight, Reflectia,” Susie said to her, “We’re only looking for a way out of here. But if you attack us, we’ll have no choice but to defend ourselves.”

Before another word could be spoken, everyone began to feel the room grow warmer. They looked over to see flames creeping up the winding staircase-the fire from the lower level was spreading! “Danger! Evacuate immediately!” Mirrobo cried out, swiftly grabbing the Business Suit and teleporting outside with it.

Susie and her assistant watched from a distance as the tower was engulfed in flames. “She must be crazy to burn down her own building,” the former said to herself in disbelief.

Reflectia had also teleported outside and could be seen floating unharmed above the tall structure. “Firefighters, where are you? I need your help!” she called out desperately. A few moments later, a group of small blue dragons called Water Galbos came, each of them wearing a red firefighter hat. They sprayed streams of water from their mouths at the fire until it was completely put out. Surprisingly, however, the building was still standing as if nothing had happened. “Haha!” Reflectia laughed to herself, “My tower can not be burned since it’s made of steel!”

While the self-proclaimed queen was busy gloating about her fireproof tower, Susie told her robot sidekick, “This isn’t getting us anywhere, Mirrobo. Let’s keep moving.” The two of them turned and moved on.

At first there was nothing but an empty path past the tower, but after a little while Susie and Mirrobo noticed their surroundings beginning to change. The endless blue gradually changed to green grass and a clear sky, but the two travelers had a feeling they were still in the Mirror Rift. Now they appeared to be approaching the outskirts of a city, with numerous houses and structures visible in the distance.

Three different small characters were standing beneath a tall tree just outside the city: a round reddish Waddle Dee, a clown-like Poppy Bros. Jr., and a round pink winged Bronto Burt. They were having a conversation when they spotted Susie and Mirrobo coming, at which point they started trembling and cowering in fear. “AAH! D-don’t eat us!” the Waddle Dee cried out.

Susie was initially confused as to why these three were so afraid, for she certainly didn’t think they looked appetizing. Then she realized they must have mistaken her for a monster because of her Business Suit, which made her look much bigger than she really was. She pushed the button on her controller again, causing her machine to disappear. “Why would I do something like that?” she replied, now standing on the ground with her visor retracted and her eyes visible.

The three frightened creatures sighed in relief when they discovered this lady wasn’t actually a giant. “Sorry, ma’am,” Poppy Bros. Jr. apologized, “I guess we’ve all been kind of jumpy lately. We’ve never seen either of you around here before.”

“I’m Susie, and this is Mirrobo. We’re outsiders. We came here accidentally through a mirror on Planet Quartz.”

The others seemed astonished at these words. “Wow! We rarely get visits from outsiders!” Bronto Burt said, “I’ve heard stories about the world outside the Mirror Rift, but none of us have ever been there.”

“Do you know how we can get out of here?” Susie asked expectantly.

“There’s a portal in the city hall leading outside,” Waddle Dee answered, “It’s a tall silver skyscraper in the middle of town-you can’t miss it. But Queen Reflectia has guards there, and no one is allowed to enter the portal without her permission.”

“Mirrobo here should be able to get past them,” Susie responded, “Thanks for your help.” She and Mirrobo moved on and entered the city. The two of them walked down the sidewalk, noticing all the different buildings and the numerous cars driving down the streets. Finally they came to the tallest skyscraper in town, which was silver just like Reflectia’s tower. “Rift City Hall,” Susie read from a sign above the front door, “This must be the place!” She went inside with Mirrobo.

The first room inside the city hall was a type of office containing two desks, one on the left and one on the right. The right desk was occupied by a Simirror, a wizard wearing a scarlet hat and cloak, who was seated at a computer. At the left desk, a peculiar girl with yellow hair resembling a paintbrush was painting on small pieces of paper using her hair. She was not allowed to use the computer because her paint would ruin it. “Cut it out, Vividria!” Simirror was saying to her, “You’re supposed to be writing letters, not painting them!”

“Do I have to?” Vividria complained, “Painting is so much more fun than writing!” She swiped her magical paint-covered hair across another letter.

At this point, Simirror took notice of Susie and Mirrobo approaching. “State your name and your reason for coming,” he told them.

“Susie Haltmann and Mirrobo,” Susie answered, “We came to this world by accident and we need to return home.”

“Talk to the guards in the next room,” Simirror gestured toward the entrance to the next room behind him.

Venturing through that entrance led to a small hall, at the end of which was a closed door. On either side of the door stood an armored knight carrying a sword; one dressed in purple named Sword Knight and one dressed in green named Blade Knight. When they saw the two strangers coming, they pointed their blades at them. “No one goes beyond this point without permission from the queen,” Blade Knight stated.

“Now, Mirrobo!” Susie whispered, grabbing onto her mechanical worker. In response, it teleported both of them right past the door.

The guards were astounded by this act. Sword Knight quickly pulled out his cell phone to call the queen. “Your Highness, two intruders just entered the staff area! They got past us by teleporting!”

Susie and Mirrobo were now in what looked like a storeroom containing numerous crates. They were hurrying toward the next chamber, but little did they know that Reflectia was not going to allow them to reach their goal. She appeared behind them without being seen, charged up her staff, and then launched a powerful white beam. Mirrobo sensed the attack coming and moved above it at the last minute, but it was too late to warn Susie; the beam struck her and knocked her to the ground. “How clever it was of you to sneak into the city hall to find an escape,” Reflectia jeered, “but I’m afraid I can’t let you do that!”

Suddenly Mirrobo rammed into the queen at high speed, knocking her down. Its eyes were glowing with a red light as it spoke. “I have been programmed to protect my master at all costs. I will not allow you to harm her any further.” Reflectia raised her staff to attack the robot, but it fired a laser from its eyes at her. As a result, her weapon went flying out of her hand and shattered into pieces.

Now that the enemy was stunned, Mirrobo hovered back to its owner to check her condition; its eyes glowed green while it scanned her. She was injured, but nothing was broken and her vitals were good, so her worker picked her up and swiftly flew out of the city hall.

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 4: A Friend in the Rift​

It was about an hour later when Susie regained consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes while they adjusted to the light. The first thing she was aware of was that she was lying on a bed in a small room. An incredibly pleasant scent filled the air, sweeter than any smell she’d ever perceived. “Hey, you’re awake!” a familiar voice said, “How are you feeling?”

Susie carefully turned her head, wincing slightly at the pain she felt throughout her body. The fog in her head lifted when she saw a yellow-haired girl she recognized floating beside the bed. “Aren’t you Vividria from the city hall?”

“That’s right,” Vividria answered, “I work there. I saw how Reflectia hurt you-that was terrible of her! All you wanted to do was go home!” There was concern in her voice as she spoke. “I hate seeing innocent people hurt, so I led your robot to my house after my shift was over.” Indeed, Mirrobo was floating behind her.

“Thank you. That was very kind of you.” Susie was already starting to perk up when she decided to ask the first question that was on her mind. “By the way, what is that wonderful smell?”

Vividria turned her gaze toward a diffuser on top of a dresser beside the bed; it contained a pale lavender liquid and was giving off steam. “It’s oil from the flower of a tree that grows only in the Mirror Rift,” she explained, “It has healing properties. I’ve learned about aromatherapy from some friends of mine.”

Clearly the oil was working very well, for the pain Susie felt was fading and she was now able to sit up. Her injuries were nearly gone already! She couldn’t believe how quickly she was healing. “This is amazing! It’s like a miracle!”

Vividria looked pleased. “It’s not called a Miracle Tree for nothing! We make spices from its bark, tea from its leaves, essential oils from the Miracle Blossoms, and its fruit, the Miracapple, is absolutely delicious!” She paused for a moment. “Speaking of food, I bet you’re pretty hungry after being stuck here for a while. How about we get something to eat?”

“That would be wonderful!” Susie agreed; she was starved!

The two girls went to the kitchen, where they sat at a table and had some sandwiches and hot tea, and Mirrobo stayed nearby. They had a conversation while they ate. “So, Susie, how exactly did you and Mirrobo get to the Mirror Rift?” Vividria asked, picking up a sandwich.

“Well, we discovered an energy signal on the planet Quartz, so we went to investigate. We found a mirror in a cavern that pulled us in, and that’s how we got here.”

Vividria looked puzzled. “Huh. I know very little about the outside world, but from what I’ve heard outsiders are rarely able to see the Mirror Portal, let alone enter it!”

Susie was equally perplexed. She thought about the matter while she took a few sips of tea, but she didn’t have any answers. “We encountered Reflectia shortly after we arrived. For some reason, she seems determined to get in our way.”

“Reflectia doesn’t like outsiders. Then again, I don’t think she likes much of anybody. Nobody likes her either-she’s a tyrant. The Mirror Rift was a happy and peaceful place until about a year ago, when she came out of nowhere and took over.” Vividria looked sad as she said that last sentence, but then she cheered up again. “Anyhow…” she floated over to her freezer and peeked inside, “do you like ice cream?”

At the mention of her absolute favorite food, Susie’s eyes sparkled like dew on a sunny morning. “Do I? It’s my favorite dessert ever!”

Vividria giggled. “Wow, really? Mine too!”

“I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!” Susie declared with joy.

After enjoying some delicious vanilla ice cream, the two women cleaned up. Now that she was full and feeling better, Susie was ready to resume her journey. “Now we just have one problem,” she said, “We still have to get back to the outside world. We can’t stay here too long, or Mirrobo will run out of charge.”

Vividria had the answer. “Don’t worry, I know a way you can get to the portal without being caught!”

Susie and Mirrobo went with Vividria to the back of the city hall, being careful not to be noticed; fortunately, no one else was in the area behind the structure. Vividria showed the other two a door on the back of the building and told them softly, “There’s the back entrance. If you teleport past the door, you’ll reach the room where the portal is kept.”

Susie nodded. “Thank you for everything, Vividria. We greatly appreciate all you’ve done for us.” After she and her new friend said their goodbyes, Mirrobo teleported itself and its owner past the back entrance; this led to a very small empty room. There was a mirror on one wall that looked just like the one on Planet Quartz, which they knew must be the way out of the rift. Susie took a deep breath and jumped in, and Mirrobo followed her.

Author's note: The reason I didn't simply call the fruit of the Miracle Tree a "Miracle Fruit" is because an item by that name already exists in the Kirby series.

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 5: The Quartz Council​

The two of them briefly floated through a sea of endless blue, but this time they were expecting it. A few seconds later they appeared on Planet Quartz, in front of the small cavern where their journey began. Susie landed upright on the grass, noticing the sun was just beginning to set as evening arrived. “Whew, that was some adventure!” she remarked, “I’m just glad we were able to find a way out.” She led her robot back to the HQ.

That evening, the young lady’s mind was filled with thoughts of her experiences in the Mirror Rift. While Mirrobo was hooked up to the recharge station in the lab, she was back in her office typing up the information she had on her laptop. The Mirror Rift may be an unusual place, but it’s also quite fascinating! she thought to herself, I’m curious about how the Mirror Portals work, not to mention that oil from the Miracle Blossoms. I’d love to study them sometime. Even if technology was her main interest, she did find other areas of science fascinating as well.

At that moment Mirrobo entered the office and reported, “Recharge complete. The areas we explored of the Mirror Rift have been registered to my map, so we will not need to use the Mirror Portals again.” While Mirrobo’s teleportation ability was very useful, it did have one limitation: it could only teleport to and from places it knew the location of. That was why it was previously unable to leave the Mirror Rift that way.

“Wonderful!” Susie replied, pleased to hear this, “That will make things much easier for us if we have to go back to the Mirror Rift!” Then she yawned; it was getting late by now and she was getting sleepy. She closed her laptop and stood up. “We’ll continue our research tomorrow. Goodnight, Mirrobo.”

“Goodnight, Miss Haltmann,” Mirrobo watched her leave.

Susie got ready for bed and went to her room. She pushed the curtains aside and gazed out her window at the starry night sky for a few moments, remembering what Vividria had told her about Reflectia’s effect on the Mirror Rift. She closed the curtains, lay down, and pulled the blankets over her. I feel bad for Vividria and the other natives of the Mirror Rift, she thought as she stared at the ceiling, It must be so hard for them having to live under Reflectia’s rule. I feel like I should be doing something to help them. She was too tired from the day’s adventure to think about this too long, and she soon fell asleep.

The next morning, every member of the HWC was gathered in the lab. Mirrobo hovered beside Susie, who stood across from the rest of her workers. She had 15 other robot workers besides Mirrobo, all of which were identical. They were small, round, and gray with yellow eyes and each of them carried an electric blaster for defense; they were based on creatures called Haltworkers who previously worked for the company under her father’s lead.

“All right, everyone!” the president said to her underlings, “I’d like to learn more about this planet, so today we’re going to study it. Mirrobo and I are going to take another look at that cave where we found the Mirror Portal. The rest of you check out the surrounding areas. If anyone asks what you’re doing, tell them you’ve come in peace for the purpose of research.”

“Yes ma’am!” all the Haltmann robots in the group said at once. They filed out of the lab, followed by Susie and Mirrobo.

The Haltmann robots were very sensitive to the world around them, which made them excellent at gathering information. But Mirrobo’s abilities were even greater than the others, which was why it often accompanied her in her work. It could sense changes in the weather, approaching obstacles, and even tell how she was feeling. And its ability to detect one’s life force made it impossible to sneak up on, provided it wasn’t preoccupied by an important task. Susie could never fully understand how her workers perceived the world, and vice versa.

The pink-haired woman and her companion left the HQ, where they soon got the shock of their lives. When they came near the spot where the small cave had been, they found no trace of it or the mist that once surrounded it. Susie rushed over and looked around the area, completely bewildered by the structure’s absence. “Wait a minute...isn’t this where that cavern was yesterday?”

“It is gone,” Mirrobo confirmed, “Does not compute.”

Before either of them could investigate any further, rustling was heard from the bushes nearby, followed by a peculiar character jumping out. He looked a lot like a Bronto Burt, but he was purple and had a yellow beak like a bird. “Hello there!” he said.

“AAH!” Susie yelled, jumping back in surprise. She wasn’t expecting the sudden greeting.

“Sorry if I startled you, miss,” the newcomer said, “I couldn’t help but overhear you saying something about a vanishing cavern. It’s the one leading to the Mirror Rift, correct?”

“Who are you? How do you know about the Mirror Rift?” Susie questioned.

“The name’s Koozer. My friends and I are interested in the legends told around these parts. Some folks have claimed to see a cave with a mirror inside leading to the Mirror Rift, which later disappeared. If you want to hear the whole story, you should talk to my friends.”

Susie and Mirrobo glanced at one another for a moment and then, seeing he didn’t appear to be a threat, began to follow him. They moved straight ahead for a few minutes until they came to a small building with a handmade sign placed above the front door. Written on the sign in black ink were the words “Quartz Council Clubhouse”.

The three of them went right inside, for the door was open. Inside the clubhouse, three small characters were seated at a long table and having a chat. “Attention, please!” Koozer said, causing all three of them to fall silent and turn their attention to him, “I’d like to introduce you to these two who I met outside. They’ve seen the Mirror Portal.”

“How do you do?” Susie said, “My name is Susie, and this is Mirrobo.”

In turn, the three creatures also introduced themselves. “Nice to meet’cha! I’m Boomer!” replied one who looked somewhat like Poppy Bros. Jr. and carried a boomerang.

“Meow! I’m Whiskers!” added a bodiless pink cat head with big black eyes.

“And I’m Spikey!” said a hedgehog with black quills.

Koozer turned his gaze toward another member of the group who was standing quietly off to the side. He was much bigger than the other four and dressed in silver armor. “That’s Kibble Blade over there. He’s kind of like our boss since he’s bigger than the rest of us.”

Without a word, Kibble Blade advanced toward the table. Something about him made Susie feel uneasy. Even though his face was hidden behind his helmet, she got the feeling he was staring right at her. Her suspicions were confirmed when he stopped on the opposite side of the table and looked in her direction. “You! You were involved in the mechanization project!” there was anger in his voice.

At this Susie became flustered, unprepared for the accusation. “Y-yes, but I-”

“I was forced to flee my home planet because of you! How could you do something so cruel?”

Before this could continue, Koozer positioned himself between the armored knight and the one he was accusing. “That’s enough, Kibble Blade. I say we give the lady a chance. Hear what she has to say.” He returned to his chair and added, “Now everyone, please be seated.” Kibble Blade sat down quietly.

Susie took the empty chair next to Koozer and stared at the floor, guilt weighing down on her as she began to explain. “Look, I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble. I promise the Haltmann Works Company won’t be doing any more harm. The Mother Computer we had, which was responsible for the mechanization, has been destroyed, so I couldn’t continue the project even if I wanted to. President Haltmann, who was my boss at the time, is now deceased and I’ve taken his place.” She always hid the fact that Pres. Haltmann was actually her father from strangers. “I was only involved because I didn’t want to lose my job. I know that doesn’t excuse what I did but, I want you to know I plan on doing good rather than harm with the company.”

The others could sense the sincerity in her words. “Don’t worry, we believe you. We can see you’ve clearly changed your ways,” Whiskers reassured her, helping her feel a bit better. Koozer, Boomer, and Spikey nodded in agreement.

“Now then, back to our reason for bringing Susie and Mirrobo here,” Koozer changed the subject, “They saw the Mirror Portal and are interested in the legend about the Mirror Rift.” He turned to the two visitors and continued, “You see, we call ourselves the Quartz Council, and this here clubhouse is where we study and discuss myths and legends told on this planet.” He flew over to a bookshelf, grabbed a book, and opened it upon returning to his seat. This is what he read aloud:

“The story goes that long ago, a terrible villain invaded a portion of Planet Quartz and sent the inhabitants living there into turmoil. A great hero who lived there, in order to protect the rest of the planet, sealed the affected area in a magical mirror. There he battled and defeated the villain, and the area became its own world known as the Mirror Rift. Today the Mirror Rift is said to be seldom seen, and only those who are chosen are allowed to enter it.”

Once Koozer was finished reading, Boomer asked the question he’d been eagerly waiting to ask. “You saw the Mirror Portal!” he said to Susie excitedly, “Does that mean the legend is true?”

“Well, I can’t say for certain if every part of it is true,” she answered, “but I do know the Mirror Rift exists. Mirrobo and I were there.”

The Quartz Council was utterly amazed to hear this. “Really?! You were?!” Spikey exclaimed, “That means you must be some of the chosen ones! What was it like in the Mirror World? I wish we could have seen it.”

“We didn’t see much of it,” Susie replied, “Part of what we saw was a lot like the outside world, but the rest was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Mirrobo can now teleport to and from the rift at any time, but it’s not exactly safe there right now. An evil queen has taken over and is intent on making life difficult for everyone.”

“That’s too bad,” Koozer said disappointedly, “I do hope the rest of us can see the Mirror Rift someday.”

At this point Susie remembered her reason for venturing out. She stood up and said, “If you’ll excuse us, we’ve got to be going. I need to check on my other workers.” She and the others said their farewells before she left the clubhouse with Mirrobo.

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 6: Clues and Trouble​

When Susie and Mirrobo made it back to the HQ, they waited in the lab for the other workers to return and reflected on everything the Quartz Council had told them. “The Quartz Council is an interesting bunch,” Susie remarked, “but they do seem to know a lot about legends. That was an amazing story about the Mirror Rift-I wonder if it’s true?”

“I have a feeling we will find out as we continue our research,” Mirrobo responded.

Susie nodded. “How intriguing that we are among the few who are called to enter the Mirror Rift-but I can see why we would be chosen!” Her biggest character flaw was her pridefulness. After surviving on her own for most of her life, she came to believe she could do anything all by herself. When she made a terrible mistake and had to rely on Kirby to set things right, she learned she did need help sometimes. Her ego had toned down since then, but of course it wasn’t totally gone.

At this point all 15 of the other workers, having completed their research, arrived in the lab one by one. All of them reported the things they’d seen and studied; some of them brought back small pieces of colorful crystal and others described the inhabitants they’d encountered, all of which also existed on other planets. But there was one robot who found something particularly interesting, something which its boss wanted to see for herself. It was a certain cave with ancient drawings inside.

Susie went with Mirrobo and the other worker to the cavern, which was located to the south of the HQ in a remote area. Upon approaching its entrance, they could see it was quite large and presumably uninhabited. It was dark inside, so Mirrobo shone a light from its mirror that lit the way. The two mechanical workers carefully led their leader through the cavern.

At first there was nothing of interest on the dark path, but after a few minutes the travelers’ surroundings began to change. The multi-colored crystalline walls changed to shades of blue, and what looked like ancient tools were scattered around, as if someone had lived here long ago. The area grew colder and patches of ice were visible in spots; Susie could see her breath as she neared the deepest section.

The three of them paused when they reached the innermost part of the cavern, and Susie gasped in awe at what she beheld there. The wall at the end of the cave was covered in images etched into the crystal. A frozen waterfall extended from a high ledge on the right to a frozen pond beneath it, glistening beautifully when Mirrobo’s light shone on it.

Being careful to avoid the ice, Susie approached the wall and studied the ancient artwork. One drawing appeared to depict a caped figure with his sword raised to the heavens, facing a giant monster. Another displayed creatures of all kinds gathering in front of a mirror. “Amazing!” Susie marveled, “These drawings look to be based on the events of the Mirror Rift legend!” She was utterly fascinated by them.

Mirrobo analyzed the images. “If my calculations are correct...these drawings were made approximately two thousand years ago.”

“It sounds like the story may be true after all!” Susie took out her tablet, which she’d brought along, and took some photos so she could reference them later. Then she turned back to Mirrobo. “Mirrobo, take this worker back to the headquarters. We need to go back to the Mirror Rift. I want to see if we can find any more clues about the legend there.”

“Roger,” Mirrobo answered, and it did as it was told.

After teleporting, the two of them arrived near the place where their adventure left off-behind the city hall. Taking a look around, Susie could see that no one else was around. “The areas we haven’t explored are beyond this point,” she said, “Let’s go.”

Susie and Mirrobo moved on through the remainder of the city, not knowing exactly where to go. Past the city was a vast grassy field, where they soon found something that caught their attention. It was a huge tree covered in beautiful lavender-pink blossoms. “Wow! I’ve never seen such a beautiful tree!” Susie breathed, “Could this be the Miracle Tree Vividria told us about?”

“It sure is!” said a cheerful female voice.

When Susie turned her gaze toward where the voice had come from, she at first thought she must be seeing things. No one was there except for two flowers next to the tree. One looked like a buttercup with yellow-orange petals and the other was a red rose, but they were as tall as she was. Even more surprising, each of them had a face and used one leaf to wave at her! When she realized she wasn’t dreaming, she approached them and asked, “Are you friends of Vividria? We met her yesterday. She told us she had some friends who taught her about aromatherapy.”

“That’s right!” the buttercup smiled, “Since we’re flowers, we’ve always been interested in the benefits floral scents can have. My name is Lovely, by the way.”

“And I’m Rosely,” the rose added, “Vividria usually visits us every morning before she goes to work, but she didn’t come today. I hope she’s feeling all right.”

A bit concerned by these words, Susie said, “I think we should go check on her.”

She and Mirrobo teleported in front of Vividria’s house, but it seemed no one was home. Mirrobo’s eyes turned blue as it scanned the area. “No life forms detected in the house,” it concluded, “She is not here.” It then searched its map of the Mirror Rift and added, “According to my calculations, she is currently in Reflectia’s tower.”

Susie was alarmed at this. “Reflectia’s tower?”

Meanwhile, poor Vividria was locked up in a cell in a dungeon, which was the lowest level of the tower. The evil queen was seated on a throne outside the cell. “Tell me, Vividria, why did you help an outsider?” she questioned.

“Susie was hurt! I couldn’t just leave her like that! That’s why I took her to my house so she could recover.”

Reflectia’s eyes narrowed. “Ah, but you also showed her the way out of the Mirror Rift.”

“Why is it such a big deal?” Vividria was exasperated, “Didn’t you want her to leave anyway? Why do you hate outsiders so much?”

“Well now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate them. I just don’t like it when intruders visit my tower uninvited or leave the rift without my permission. But I want you to know this, Vividria-that woman is a threat!”

At that moment Susie and Mirrobo appeared in front of the cell, to the surprise of both Reflectia and Vividria. “AAH! What are you doing here?!” Reflectia growled, “I wasn’t calling you!”

Susie glared at her. “Why are you treating Vividria like a prisoner? She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Reflectia replied, “She didn’t know I had a hidden security camera on the back of the city hall when she helped you out. What she did was against the law.” She stood up, pulled out her staff, and continued, “If you think you’re going to free her, you’ll have to get through me first!”

“Bring it on!” Susie pointed her white and pink blaster at her.

 

[Learning always]

Chapter 6: Clues and Trouble​

When Susie and Mirrobo made it back to the HQ, they waited in the lab for the other workers to return and reflected on everything the Quartz Council had told them. “The Quartz Council is an interesting bunch,” Susie remarked, “but they do seem to know a lot about legends. That was an amazing story about the Mirror Rift-I wonder if it’s true?”

“I have a feeling we will find out as we continue our research,” Mirrobo responded.

Susie nodded. “How intriguing that we are among the few who are called to enter the Mirror Rift-but I can see why we would be chosen!” Her biggest character flaw was her pridefulness. After surviving on her own for most of her life, she came to believe she could do anything all by herself. When she made a terrible mistake and had to rely on Kirby to set things right, she learned she did need help sometimes. Her ego had toned down since then, but of course it wasn’t totally gone.

At this point all 15 of the other workers, having completed their research, arrived in the lab one by one. All of them reported the things they’d seen and studied; some of them brought back small pieces of colorful crystal and others described the inhabitants they’d encountered, all of which also existed on other planets. But there was one robot who found something particularly interesting, something which its boss wanted to see for herself. It was a certain cave with ancient drawings inside.

Susie went with Mirrobo and the other worker to the cavern, which was located to the south of the HQ in a remote area. Upon approaching its entrance, they could see it was quite large and presumably uninhabited. It was dark inside, so Mirrobo shone a light from its mirror that lit the way. The two mechanical workers carefully led their leader through the cavern.

At first there was nothing of interest on the dark path, but after a few minutes the travelers’ surroundings began to change. The multi-colored crystalline walls changed to shades of blue, and what looked like ancient tools were scattered around, as if someone had lived here long ago. The area grew colder and patches of ice were visible in spots; Susie could see her breath as she neared the deepest section.

The three of them paused when they reached the innermost part of the cavern, and Susie gasped in awe at what she beheld there. The wall at the end of the cave was covered in images etched into the crystal. A frozen waterfall extended from a high ledge on the right to a frozen pond beneath it, glistening beautifully when Mirrobo’s light shone on it.

Being careful to avoid the ice, Susie approached the wall and studied the ancient artwork. One drawing appeared to depict a caped figure with his sword raised to the heavens, facing a giant monster. Another displayed creatures of all kinds gathering in front of a mirror. “Amazing!” Susie marveled, “These drawings look to be based on the events of the Mirror Rift legend!” She was utterly fascinated by them.

Mirrobo analyzed the images. “If my calculations are correct...these drawings were made approximately two thousand years ago.”

“It sounds like the story may be true after all!” Susie took out her tablet, which she’d brought along, and took some photos so she could reference them later. Then she turned back to Mirrobo. “Mirrobo, take this worker back to the headquarters. We need to go back to the Mirror Rift. I want to see if we can find any more clues about the legend there.”

“Roger,” Mirrobo answered, and it did as it was told.

After teleporting, the two of them arrived near the place where their adventure left off-behind the city hall. Taking a look around, Susie could see that no one else was around. “The areas we haven’t explored are beyond this point,” she said, “Let’s go.”

Susie and Mirrobo moved on through the remainder of the city, not knowing exactly where to go. Past the city was a vast grassy field, where they soon found something that caught their attention. It was a huge tree covered in beautiful lavender-pink blossoms. “Wow! I’ve never seen such a beautiful tree!” Susie breathed, “Could this be the Miracle Tree Vividria told us about?”

“It sure is!” said a cheerful female voice.

When Susie turned her gaze toward where the voice had come from, she at first thought she must be seeing things. No one was there except for two flowers next to the tree. One looked like a buttercup with yellow-orange petals and the other was a red rose, but they were as tall as she was. Even more surprising, each of them had a face and used one leaf to wave at her! When she realized she wasn’t dreaming, she approached them and asked, “Are you friends of Vividria? We met her yesterday. She told us she had some friends who taught her about aromatherapy.”

“That’s right!” the buttercup smiled, “Since we’re flowers, we’ve always been interested in the benefits floral scents can have. My name is Lovely, by the way.”

“And I’m Rosely,” the rose added, “Vividria usually visits us every morning before she goes to work, but she didn’t come today. I hope she’s feeling all right.”

A bit concerned by these words, Susie said, “I think we should go check on her.”

She and Mirrobo teleported in front of Vividria’s house, but it seemed no one was home. Mirrobo’s eyes turned blue as it scanned the area. “No life forms detected in the house,” it concluded, “She is not here.” It then searched its map of the Mirror Rift and added, “According to my calculations, she is currently in Reflectia’s tower.”

Susie was alarmed at this. “Reflectia’s tower?”

Meanwhile, poor Vividria was locked up in a cell in a dungeon, which was the lowest level of the tower. The evil queen was seated on a throne outside the cell. “Tell me, Vividria, why did you help an outsider?” she questioned.

“Susie was hurt! I couldn’t just leave her like that! That’s why I took her to my house so she could recover.”

Reflectia’s eyes narrowed. “Ah, but you also showed her the way out of the Mirror Rift.”

“Why is it such a big deal?” Vividria was exasperated, “Didn’t you want her to leave anyway? Why do you hate outsiders so much?”

“Well now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate them. I just don’t like it when intruders visit my tower uninvited or leave the rift without my permission. But I want you to know this, Vividria-that woman is a threat!”

At that moment Susie and Mirrobo appeared in front of the cell, to the surprise of both Reflectia and Vividria. “AAH! What are you doing here?!” Reflectia growled, “I wasn’t calling you!”

Susie glared at her. “Why are you treating Vividria like a prisoner? She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Reflectia replied, “She didn’t know I had a hidden security camera on the back of the city hall when she helped you out. What she did was against the law.” She stood up, pulled out her staff, and continued, “If you think you’re going to free her, you’ll have to get through me first!”

“Bring it on!” Susie pointed her white and pink blaster at her.

Hey Multifavs, that's interesting story.
Everyone is welcome to post his/her tory on CF.

 

[Multifavs]

Took me forever to finish this chapter with everything going on lately, but here it is.

Chapter 7: Vividria the Escape Artist​

Susie fired several laser shots from her blaster. Reflectia dodged these and teleported behind her, allowing her to strike with a ray from her staff. Her opponent quickly got up and continued firing while Mirrobo launched a beam from its eyes at the queen. She fell back and was struck by a series of blaster shots before using small projections from her staff as a counterattack.

Susie jumped aside to avoid this attack. She took out her Transporter, a small gray machine with a copter on top, which she’d use to fly when Mirrobo wasn’t around. By holding it behind her, she could also charge it up and use it to zoom ahead for short distances. That was exactly what she did in order to charge at Reflectia, but the other woman saw her coming and used her own powers to charge at the same time. This resulted in both of them colliding with a burst of power, knocking them to the ground.

Susie stood back up, though more slowly this time. She charged up her Transporter again and used it to launch a blast of air at Reflectia, who leapt over the attack. The enemy shot another series of projections at the businesswoman, who moved side to side to evade them while zooming at her. However, she was hit by another beam from the staff just when she was about to strike.

Panting, Susie slowly pulled herself up. Her rival was still ready for more, but she was taking a beating. Reflectia laughed wickedly. “You are more foolish than I would have expected, Susie. You should know you don’t stand a chance against me-” Before she could finish speaking, she was zapped by an electric beam from Mirrobo’s eyes. The robot could tell its master was tired and knew it had to act fast. While Reflectia was stunned, it swiftly grabbed Susie and Vividria and teleported back to where the Miracle Tree was.

Vividria was relieved to be out of the dungeon and Lovely and Rosely were glad to see her, but Susie was exhausted. She collapsed on the grass as soon as she was let down beside the tree. “Susie! Are you okay?” Vividria asked her worriedly.

“I’ll be all right,” she answered weakly, “I just need to rest for a bit.”

Her creative friend knew she was right. “No worries, you’re right underneath the Miracle Tree! Just relax, take deep breaths, and you’ll feel better in no time!”

While Mirrobo kept an eye on Susie, Vividria approached her two flower friends. “What happened, Vividria? We were worried about you!” Rosely said to her.

“It’s a long story. Reflectia had me imprisoned, but Susie and Mirrobo rescued me.”

“Imprisoned?!” Lovely exclaimed in disbelief, “Why would she do something like that?”

While Vividria was explaining the story to Lovely and Rosely, Susie breathed deeply in the familiar, wonderful scent of the Miracle Blossoms. She lay on her back and watched the beautiful flowers sway gently in the breeze, feeling her energy slowly return. She saw a petal drift down from the tree, which she caught in her hands. She decided to hold on to it so she could study it later.

“Wow, I can’t believe Reflectia punished you for doing a good deed!” Rosely said, “Not to mention how she hurt Susie just because she wanted to go back home! How could she be so cruel?”

Having finished her explanation, Vividria sighed. “I’ll never understand Reflectia, but I’m glad Susie and Mirrobo came to help me. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”

At this point Susie sat up, seeing the others had finished their conversation. “Excuse my manners, Lovely and Rosely,” she said, “I must have forgotten to introduce myself with everything going on, but it looks like Vividria told you about us anyway.”

“It’s okay,” Lovely smiled, “Thank you for helping Vividria.”

Vividria came over and sat down beside Susie. “By the way, Susie...I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again after you left the Mirror Rift. What brought you back?”

“Well, we heard an interesting story about the Mirror Rift this morning. We found a clue related to its content on Planet Quartz, so I wanted to see if we could find any more clues here in the rift. Mirrobo can now teleport to and from here at any time. Rosely told us she hadn’t heard from you today, so we went to investigate.”

Vividria was both surprised and interested. “Really? A story about the Mirror Rift in the outside world?”

Susie nodded and showed her the photos she’d taken of the ancient drawings. “According to legend, this world was originally part of Quartz. These two thousand-year-old cave drawings seem to confirm the idea.”

“That is fascinating!” Vividria remarked upon standing up, “Now you have me curious.”

Little did anyone know that something was swiftly approaching in the bushes nearby. A large round blue furry creature with sharp claws named Gao Gao leapt out at Vividria and Susie, who quickly jumped out of the way. Then they found themselves surrounded by a pack of growling Gaw Gaws, small brown wolf-like creatures with sharp claws. “We’ve come to take you two back to the queen,” Gao Gao said, “Escaping from jail is a serious offense.”

Susie knew what to do. She got in her Business Suit and said, “Hop on, Vividria!” Vividria jumped onto the top of the machine behind her and it lifted off the ground, and Mirrobo followed it. The Gaw Gaws tried to pounce just before it took off, but the sudden movement caused them to crash into each other instead.

Vividria looked down when the Business Suit was hovering through the sky. Even though it was out of their reach, Gao Gao and the Gaw Gaws were closely pursuing it. “They’re following us!” she cried out. In response, Susie launched two missiles from her mech that knocked all the beasts down; this allowed her and her friends to escape, but they knew they weren’t safe yet. “What will we do?” Vividria wondered worriedly, “Reflectia will surely be hunting us down!”

“We’ll have to show her that messing with us is a mistake,” Susie replied.

“How can I do that? You clearly have your own weapons, but I don’t have any way to defend myself.”

“You can use your art as a weapon!”

At this Vividria gave Susie a confused stare. “What?”

Susie landed her machine on a high ledge and explained, “I’ve encountered other Vividrias in the outside world. They were able to make paintings that came to life and attacked enemies, and sculptures which they used like clubs. I bet you can use those abilities yourself!” Once she said this, she put away her Business Suit and returned to land with Vividria.

The yellow-haired girl wasn’t quite sure if this was actually going to work, but she knew she had nothing to lose. So she brought a canvas from out of nowhere and painted a picture of herself on it; to her surprise, a flick of her hair made the painting leap right off the canvas and wander off. Amused, she made artwork of Susie and then Mirrobo and watched both of them move straight ahead. “See? You can make your own army out of paint!” Susie told her.

“Hee hee!” Vividria giggled, “If Reflectia tries to bother me again, she’ll be in a world of paint!” She and Susie both laughed.

Meanwhile, Gao Gao and the Gaw Gaws had gone back to Reflectia’s tower to tell her what happened. “What do you mean you couldn’t catch them?!” she said angrily.

Gao Gao flinched at the anger shown toward him and his underlings. “We’re sorry, Your Highness, but those two are fierce! They attacked us with missiles and flew up into the sky to escape!”

The queen growled. “Then I guess I’ll have to find them myself!”

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 8: More To Discover​

Despite this declaration, Reflectia took Gao Gao and the Gaw Gaws with her when she set out to find Susie and Vividria, so they could show her where to look. “They were headed this way last time we saw them,” Gao Gao informed her as they all neared the high ledge.

Vividria was still practicing her new painting skills when Mirrobo sensed the enemies’ presence. “Reflectia is approaching!” it announced with its eyes glowing blue. The three of them dove behind the nearby bushes and watched from there.

A few moments later, Reflectia and her army arrived at the scene. They noticed a peculiar sight in front of them right away: a small flat Susie, Mirrobo, and Vividria! “We’re in luck! They’ve been turned into paint!” Gao Gao said when he saw this.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Reflectia answered him, “It’s not possible for someone to be turned into paint!” Still, she was quite surprised to see paintings moving around in the middle of nowhere. She was even more surprised when the Susie painting pointed its blaster at her and shot tiny lasers, which she moved aside to avoid.

Gao Gao picked up the Vividria painting to get a closer look, but it smacked him with its hair so he dropped it. “Ow! They’re pretty strong for being made of water!” he said.

One of the Gaw Gaws tried to play with the Mirrobo painting, seeing how it was round like a ball, but it fired a laser from its eyes. The startled creature ran away until it came near the bushes; then it stopped and sniffed the air, picking up the scent of someone hiding close by. When it peeked into the bushes and found the real Susie, Mirrobo, and Vividria there, it barked to alert its allies. All of them gathered around where the Gaw Gaw was looking and Reflectia said, “Aha! There you are!”

Much to the trio’s dismay, they had been discovered, but they had a backup plan. When they came out of the bushes, Vividria had a tall block of stone, which she somehow carved with her hair in record time until it became a statue of Reflectia herself. The evil queen was surprised to see this and questioned, “Where did that come from?”

“From the skills I never knew I had,” Vividria replied plainly. She swung the huge statue at her enemies like a club several times, scattering them all until it broke into pieces.

Reflectia was clearly frustrated when she saw her opponent was more dangerous than she thought. “Fine!” she growled, “I’ll let you go this time-but you’d better not break the law again, or you’ll be sorry!” With reluctance and anger she led Gao Gao and the Gaw Gaws away.

Once the opponents were gone, Susie and Vividria sighed in relief. “Now that that’s taken care of, we can get back to what we came here for,” the former said.

Vividria noticed the sun was beginning to set. “As much as I’d like to join you, I’d better be heading home before it gets dark,” she said. Upon turning to leave she added, “I’ve heard there are some ancient ruins at the easternmost part of the rift. Maybe you’ll find more clues there.”

After saying their goodbyes and parting ways, Susie told Mirrobo, “We should be going home soon ourselves, but first I’d like to find out where those ruins are. Mirrobo, see if you can spot them from the air.”

Her robot rose high into the sky above the trees to get a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding areas. Then it returned to its owner and reported, “According to my map, we are headed in the proper direction. There is a pile of rocks of substantial size up ahead, but some of the natives are working to remove them.”

Just as Mirrobo had said, there was an enormous pile of rocks on the ground past the high ledge, which took up a great deal of space. Yellow Moles wearing sunglasses were digging up the smaller rocks, along with tan mole-like creatures called Dokas who carried shovels; Hacks, who looked like axes with feet, were breaking up the larger ones. At the front of the pile, where a decent amount of rocks had been cleared away, one Doka remarked, “We’re starting to make some headway, Hack!” He dug up some more pebbles using his shovel.

The Hack next to him, who was literally using his head to break up the rubble, replied, “We’d better be-all this chopping gives me a headache.”

Between the two of them, a Mole popped out from underground and saw Susie and Mirrobo approaching in the distance. “Hey, there’s an interesting pair of robots coming this way!” he said.

Susie was close enough to hear this statement and responded immediately with a displeased tone. “Who are you calling a robot?!”

The Mole looked alarmed when the two visitors came near. “S-sorry about that! My eyesight’s not the greatest!”

At this point, Doka and Hack paused their work to see the two newcomers. “Good day, miss,” the former addressed Susie, “Have you come to see how the excavation project is going?”

“Excavation project?”

“We’re uncovering the biggest set of ruins in the Mirror Rift,” Hack explained, “As far as we know, a great avalanche occurred in this area about fifteen hundred years ago and buried a sanctuary of some kind. No one has been there since.”

Susie didn’t know what to think. Here the ruins were, right in front of her, but she couldn’t see them yet. It was surprising to think that they were left alone for so long. “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?” she inquired.

“Well, not many people come here since this is a remote location,” Doka answered, “Most people don’t know anything about the ruins except that they exist, and I guess those who knew more about them thought it would be too much work to uncover them.”

“For some reason we felt compelled to do the job,” Hack added, “It’s a lot of work, but if we all work together we’ll be done in no time!”

Susie was intrigued. What could be contained in the ruins? Would she find the answers she sought there? She knew she would have to wait to find out, though; besides, it was getting late and she was starving after not eating much all day. “This is so exciting!” she said, “We’ll have to come back tomorrow and see how things are going.” With that, she and Mirrobo teleported home.

 

[Multifavs]

Chapter 9: Secret of the Ruins​

The next morning, Susie couldn’t wait to explore the ruins. There was no telling what kind of condition they’d be in after being buried for such a long time, but she had hope there was something left to observe. Of course, she knew it was going to take time for them to be completely revealed, so she sent Mirrobo to check on the progress. It was to return, if the excavation project was close to completion, once all the rubble was cleared away.

In the meantime, the young woman decided to study the petal she’d caught from one of the Miracle Blossoms. She took it to her lab and evaluated it using the large computer there, viewing the information displayed on its screen with interest. This is what she learned:

The Miracle Blossoms (and presumably the other parts of the Miracle Tree) contained a compound found nowhere else that triggered cell repair, causing rapid healing and boosting energy. While it couldn’t cure illnesses, it did help to reduce their duration. It could technically work on all forms of life, but air-breathing creatures got the most benefit since they could inhale and ingest the compound.

“Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating!” Susie marveled at the discovery, “If only we had Miracle Trees here in the Gamble Galaxy.”

At that moment, Mirrobo appeared beside her and reported, “They have just unveiled the ruins. We may now view them.”

Susie’s eyes sparkled; she could almost feel the excitement bubbling up inside her. “Excellent! Let’s go!” she replied, allowing Mirrobo to take her back to the Mirror Rift.

The two of them returned to the spot where they’d left the rift the night before, but there was no longer a pile of rocks there. The Dokas were carefully clearing away the last bits of rubble from the ruins while the Moles and Hacks were supervising from outside. And when Susie saw the ruins themselves, she was completely and utterly awestruck, for they did not look like ruins at all.

The ancient sanctuary was the most beautiful building she had ever seen. It was large enough to be a palace and appeared to be made of yellow crystal that glittered in the sunlight. It was surrounded by spaces that had likely been gardens long ago, along with fountains and stone Cupie statues. The tops of the fountains resembled Driblees, and the entire area was surrounded by a white fence with a gate in the front. Amazingly, aside from the empty gardens and dry fountains, none of it seemed to have been harmed by time or by being buried for many years.

“This is unbelievable!” Susie breathed upon gazing at the ancient objects.

“I gotta admit, we’re pretty surprised ourselves,” a nearby Mole said in reply, “It’s not at all what we expected to find under all those rocks.”

As the Dokas finished their work, everyone else approached the open gate. “Oh, welcome back!” one of them said to the pink-haired girl and her mechanical companion, “As you can see, the ruins are finally ready to be explored. We’re all curious about what’s inside the sanctuary, but I wonder if it’s safe to enter?”

Mirrobo hovered in front of the building with its eyes glowing white. “It is solid and sturdy. We may safely enter.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” one of the Hacks remarked.

Susie almost felt as if she’d gone back in time as she entered the huge structure with Mirrobo and a few Moles, Dokas, and Hacks (the others waited outside to avoid overcrowding the place). Once she was inside, she gasped in awe at the splendor of the sanctuary’s interior. It was perhaps even more beautiful than the exterior; there were colorful stained glass windows on the side walls on which were images of Cool Spooks and white Twizzys. The sunlight shining through them illuminated the yellow crystalline room. The area was so spacious and majestic that its visitors suddenly felt very small.

All of them began taking a closer look at the contents of the room. There were wooden tables and chairs placed in rows, and in the center was another Cupie statue, this one made of crystal. Mirrobo, meanwhile, was analyzing the crystal that composed the sanctuary. “This crystal is identical to that of the caverns on Planet Quartz,” it told Susie.

“Really?” she responded with amazement, “Then does that mean-”

At that moment, one of the Hacks rushed in from the next room. “Hey, you guys need to see what’s in the next room!” he called out.

Everyone else hurried after him into the second chamber. It was much smaller than the first but still of decent size, and its interior walls were dark blue. There was a desk on one side, but the most notable feature was that there were images etched all over the walls resembling various creatures. When Susie took a closer look at these, she also found some writing etched into the center of the wall opposite the desk. “There’s something written here,” she said, “but it’s in an ancient language. Mirrobo, can you translate it?”

Orange light emanated from Mirrobo’s eyes as it read the translated text aloud. “Ever since this sanctuary was built one hundred years ago, it has served as a place of refuge and protection for the troubled and the needy. We are immensely grateful to have been kept safe from the great evil that struck our homeland today, leading to its splitting into its own world. We are confident that our good work in the sanctuary will continue in our new home.”

Susie could hardly contain her excitement when her worker finished reading. “So the legend is true after all!”

Before the others could ask what she was talking about, one of the Dokas got everyone’s attention by saying, “Here’s another interesting find!” The rest of the group turned to see him holding a scroll. “This scroll was lying on that desk over there. I wonder what could be inside?”

Susie’s heart was pounding as she watched the scroll slowly unfold. Indeed, the answer to another of her questions was inside. When the scroll was open, an illustration of a familiar tree was visible; there was some text above the drawing which Mirrobo translated. “The Miracle Tree, the miraculous gift we received when our world was split.” That explained why there were no Miracle Trees on Quartz.

The whole crowd was excited by yet another amazing discovery. There was a bit of a commotion before Doka spoke again. “Well, I’d say it’s time for us to move out so the other workers can have a turn. We should take this scroll to the museum and have the staff there see this place for themselves. Won’t they be surprised?”

The group left the sanctuary and some of the other Moles, Dokas, and Hacks went to explore its interior. As they stood outside the gate, they pondered everything they’d just observed. Susie was taking photos of the “ruins” when a Hack spoke to her. “Hey, I don’t think we ever got your name. What was that legend you mentioned earlier?”

“My name is Susie Haltmann,” she answered, “Mirrobo here is my assistant. As for the legend, it says that this world was once part of Planet Quartz, until it was separated by an ancient hero when a terrible villain threatened it.”

The natives who heard this were astonished by this visitor’s knowledge of a planet from the outside world. “Planet Quartz?” a Mole questioned, “You mean you’re not from the Mirror Rift?”

Susie shook her head. “We came here through a mirror on Quartz, found a way out, and then we came back in search of clues about the legend. Looks like we got more than we bargained for!”

“Wow, you must be someone special!” the Mole replied.

“I guess you could say that,” Susie said, “Anyway, we’d better be going for now. Thanks for letting us check out the ruins-it was an unforgettable experience!” She and Mirrobo then returned home.