The Search for the Macguffin

[Mami Tomoe]

I yawn, stretch my arms and crawl out of the tent. The heat hits me in the face like a slap from a hand made out of... something heavy, like whatever bricks are made out of. For some reason, I don't really feel tired, or like I want to go back to bed at all. If anything, I want to keep exploring.

I feel a gentle tap on my right shoulder, then Histy's full weight lands there. It's not a lot, but it's still enough that I feel a difference. "I guess you're ready to keep going? It certainly looks that way," she says with a smile. She looks refreshed, happy in a way I've not seen her like before. "Yup! But what about--"

I hear a moan from inside the tent. I turn my head and see Compa poke her head out. "Are we going already?" she complains, then yawns loudly. "Can I sleep a little longer? Just... just five more minutes," she adds, then tries to crawl back into the tent. I dip into the tent, grab her arm and drag her out. "That's not happening! On your feet and outta that tent, sister, 'cause we're going oasis hunting!"

I ignore Compa's protests and continue to drag her away from the camp and into the desert.

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"Can't we just fast-travel, Nep-Nep? This is boring," whines Compa, "and I'm still tired." It's probably been a good hour or so since we started traveling. I'm already feeling tired - I did enough walking yesterday - but I'm definitely not gonna show it. I have to show some degree of strength as a leader, I decide. "We haven't discovered the place we're going to," I respond, "so we can't, really. Oh, and the map's not working right," I add.

Histy's floating along just in front of Compa, scrawling away at her tome and working on her map. "It looks like we've reached the dots of undocumented land we saw on the map, but after crossing a few of the locations we've traveled over with the map we're editing, it doesn't seem as though we'll find anything of interest out here," says Histy matter-of-factly. "I suppose that you want to keep going either way, right, Neptune?"

I nod. "Leave it to RNG. Maybe we'll find something neat that someone just forgot to mark! Or maybe somebody found something out here and thought it was really cool, so they didn't mark it so other people couldn't find it--"

Compa picks up the pace a little to be right beside me. "Nep-Nep, we're not looking for just anything. We're looking for a--..." she stops. "Uh... what are we looking for again?" she asks.

"A Sharicite," Histy clarifies. "We're looking for a Sharicite, and if we can find one out here, I'd be impressed. If someone intentionally found one and didn't mark it, I would be surprised someone didn't mistake it for a simple gemstone and decide to sell it."

I shrug. "We've got time! Why not look around here? If we find something, great - if we don't, we have a whole desert to search!" Compa sounds less than enthusiastic when I finish talking, but Histy seems almost encouraged by my enthusiasm. For a moment I wonder whether I should prioritize making Compa happy or keep Histy positive, but I soon discard the idea of a binary moral choice system for the ridiculous idea it is.

I slow down a little to look at Histy's tome. The black dots where the structures were are gone, but we've gotten rid of a couple of the unmarked parts of the map that were there before. Evidently we didn't find anything, otherwise Histy would've marked it. I pick up my pace a little. "Sooooo, how's map-making, Histy? Having fun?" I ask.

"I can honestly say I lack the words to describe it," she answers. "I can't say it's a riveting hobby, but it's not boring. Maybe it gets more interesting when we find things worth mapping out," she decides.

Maybe when we find things worth mapping out. Those words bounce around in my mind a bunch while we walk through the desert, finding absolutely nothing to make the search worthwhile.

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We travel for what has to be multiple hours. After a short break spent eating some summoned food and drink, we continue traveling for another hour or two. By then I can feel my stomach growling again and my throat begging me for more water. Unfortunately for me, I've already finished my last bottle and I can't summon another without stopping us for another three minutes. "Can't I just have some of yours, Histy? Pleeeeeease?" I beg.

"I told you that you shouldn't have had a Nep Bull with your lunch, Neptune," she says, clearly dodging the question.

I look over my shoulder at Histy to give her my best puppy dog face, then look at her water bottle. I must have forgotten it was Histy-sized - It wouldn't even be a mouthful for me. I decide to give up. "It wouldn't even be worth your time to have anything from this," she says. "It's so small that--"

"Way ahead of you, Histy," I cut her off. "I just forgot about the size issue, is all."

"I'd offer you mine," Compa starts, "but I already finished mine. And the other one. And the other one," she continues. "And... I think I lost count."

I turn back to face Compa. "Aw, no problem. We can just get some more, no problem! Maybe..." I trail off and my eyes wander over Compa's shoulder. I can see a pair of trees bending into one another just off in the distance. With an expression probably coated with curiosity, I take a step to the left, leaving my vision completely unobstructed by Compa. My eyes meet with what I think I could have never even imagined in my wildest dreams--

A pool of pudding. My jaw drops. Without a word, I dash across the red-hot sand toward the in-ground mass of custardy goodness. With a cheer I leap into the air, land beside the pudding pool and crouch down on my knees. I dip my hands into the pudding and pull it up to my mouth, but something seems wrong.

This isn't pudding, is it? Suddenly, I feel myself lose balance and fall into the pudding. Rather than being in pudding, though, I find myself looking at the sky. It's dark and there's solid ground beneath me - rocky ground, cold and hard and uncomfortable to lay on. I try to stand up, but before I can, I feel something press against my stomach. I look to the source and see a boot - a familiar-looking boot, a lot like the ones I wear as Purple Heart.

I follow the leg to a torso and the torso to a face. My own face. "I think it's time we had a talk."