So, the Maktha Wildwood is made from Morytha's buildings; Morytha is where the XC2 characters got separated, now the Go-Getters got separated in Maktha. XD
Tattsun's fall was broken up by several leafed branches before finding the ground. He groaned in agony as purple, blurry mist blotted his vision. It took him a moment to realize something was missing: "Oh, great, my glasses. Hmmmm…" He crawled and felt around the ground, hoping they were nearby. "Ah." Fortunately, he saw them just a few extra inches ahead. Relieved that didn't last long, he took them. "?" But as he glanced up… a shadowed figure seemed to approach him from the mist. It seemed to have thin legs with a skirt. "Wh-Who's there?" Tattsun put his glasses on, blinking as he readjusted to them, and the shadow seemed to take a more muscular shape. His vision must've really been off, he thought.
"You alright there, kiddo? Looks like you took quite the plunge." A manly voice with a North Englander accent addressed him.
"Uh, I'm fine. B-Besides the scratches, splinters, and now my knee feels sore…ow…"
"Still hangin' in there, though. Not bad." He stepped into clearer light. He had light-brownish hair in short spikes, heavy dark-blue combat gear with several black straps, and a scar over his closed left eye, while his narrowed right shone a strong gold. He had a small beard on his chin. "And you don't look like one of those bloodthirsty tykes either."
"No… but who are you?"
"Call me Rex."
"Rex? …R-Rex?!" Growing elated, Tattsun raised a quivering finger at him. "Rex the Aegis Driver… from my parents' story?!"
"Ah would hope so. Unless your parents thought of a different Rex."
"You must remember them; Miko Kubota and Eddy Flores?"
"Ah! So, you're their son, eh? I see the resemblance now. Then I don't suppose ya've come to help us in our dire hour?"
"Y-Yeah, but… how did you escape the brainwashing?"
"It just didn't affect Shulk, Jak, and I. But we're sort of separated at the moment."
"And your Aegises?"
"Well, that's a little more complicated, but we don't exactly have them now."
"What?!" Just when Tattsun thought their luck had changed.
"Relax, kid! This old salvager's still got fight in him. More importantly, you aren't here alone, are you? How'd you even wind up down here?"
"Hehe, that's sort of complex, too." Tattsun tried to recap their mission, how they got sucked in the war, and how his brother awakened the special Blade who could counter Sage's control.
"Sage…" Rex's look turned a bit dour as he looked reflectively. "So, that was her name."
"You mean you met her?"
"No, what happened was… when those strange 'meteors' fell around Aionios and turned it into what it is, me and my fellow Aegis Drivers wound up in a virtual sub-dimension. It was probably because of our positions that we became anomalies to this 'game world.' But in that space, we saw two young girls in battle with each other. One had a red eye and white hair, like that Sage you described, and the other had black hair and a white coat…"
"Like Yuki!"
"Hmm…" Tattsun felt the seriousness in Rex's gaze. "I'm not too sure if that girl's an ally, kid."
Cotte Fountainhead
"Ugh! Disgusting!" Aniki wasted no time shaking the slime off him after landing. "How far did that stupid thing send us? And where are the others?!"
"I don't know…" Pai stared mesmerized at the grass beneath them and the trees gently swaying above. They were an ethereal blue. "But… look at this, Aniki. This is Pleroma Grass!"
"Pleroma?"
"It grows in places with strong connections to the Spirit World. Does that mean… we'll see spirits?"
"Don't tell me YOU float around with ghosts, too."
"I don't… but sometimes, I actually see ghosts and spirits, so I like to study them sometimes. To be honest, I wanted to speak with Vanilla about her power… but I didn't think you'd-"
"No, not really." Aniki confirmed bluntly.
"Hmm…" Pai frowned.
"Now, let's get moving. We have no idea where they landed, so this is really gonna set us behind schedule."
"Actually… I was gonna ask if we could rest for at least a little bit."
"What?!"
"I think I pulled a few muscles from the fall." Pai turned and rubbed the back of her left leg. "Can't we please?"
Aniki still wanted to protest, but… for some reason, he couldn't. Something in Pai's mildly distraught eyes, her soft cheeks drooped into a frown, prevented him. She rubbed her own soft thigh so tenderly… "F-Fine."
"Hmhm." Pai sported a light smile. She passively looked around the area, "AH!" and excitedly lit up. "Aniki, look!" With reinvigorated stamina, she ran ahead.
"Hey!" Aniki raced after. Pai stopped at the shore of a pure spring. Arches of glowing plants dangled above it, and two large seal-like creatures with huge tusks were peacefully swimming around it.
"It's so beautiful! Ooooohh, why did I leave my swimsuit in Mowchan's bag? Oh, well…" Pai stepped out of her boots and began to remove her dress.
"Y-You can't just-!" Aniki sheepishly turned away.
"It's okay, Aniki, I have a bra. I don't mind if you look."
"Tch…" Aniki remained turned.
"Mom, I think this is too small for me." Pai said as she tried to stretch the leg end to cover her full bottom.
"Maybe we should go an inch bigger." Ally replied.
"!" Aniki caught a glimpse of that memory while they were fused, but it just popped back into his head.
"Ahhhhhhh!" He heard Pai splash into the spring. "Aniki! It's soooooo good in here! You have to join me!"
Aniki hesitantly turned to her. Her arms were spread as she flexed her legs in and out, the gleaming water highlighting their smooth, squishy form. "I…I don't swim. Octolings can't handle water, it gets in our ink pores and weighs us down."
"Not even a little bit? You can't even drink it?"
"Well, it's safe to drink, but…"
"You want to wash that slime off, don't you? Come on, Aniki, at least dip your legs in. Pleeeaaaase?"
She was making that face again. The typical puppy dog look, as some called it. "Why does it even matter to you?"
"I just want you to relax. You've been having a hard time with Vanilla, putting up with Kansai and Chuko's arguing… It just makes me sad to see you so unhappy."
"We're not in a position to relax. We've never been ever since we came here."
"I know…" Pai floated to the shore and rested her arms on it. "I just wanted to enjoy a nice trip. It's hard enough knowing what Mowchan's friends have to deal with… but actually being on a mission like this is too much."
Pai cupped hands over her mouth, devastated as Sector GT's farmland had been reduced to a lava lake. Her brother and teammates were stranded on islands amidst the lava, barely large enough to hold their bodies.
Aniki blinked, having glimpsed at that memory as well. He looked back down at Pai, her expression solemn. Underneath that soft demeanor, she was just as tired and stressed as he was. She just wanted to enjoy a nice dip in a spring. "…Sigh, it's really my hair that concentrates the most ink, so as long as that doesn't get wet…" Aniki pulled his boots and khakis off; he had black boxers underneath.
Pai smiled, glad he was trying to ease up. Her eyes fell down toward his feet. "So big…"
"Tch! What's your deal?!" He blushed.
"Hmhmhm! You're not the only one. Just look at me." Pai raised a leg out again, pinching its thick, but squishy backside. "People say my skin's like a marshmallow. This is where the gigantism went, I guess. Or maybe I'm just fat. What do you think, Aniki?"
"I-I don't know…" He just wanted her to put her leg down. It made the ink rush to his face… and he felt the smallest desire to pinch her marshmallow leg. What was he thinking?
Pai splashed a light bit of water on his foot, startling him from his thoughts. "Well, sit on down and enjoy it."
Sighing, Aniki sat and relaxed his legs in the spring. Already, he felt a little weight lift off his heart. It felt easing on his soul and refreshing for his tired legs. "Hmmmm…" He closed his eyes and breathed calmly.
Pai rested her back to the shore, glad for him. "Aniki… I know you're not comfortable sharing your memories, but I'd like to fuse with you again."
"Why?"
"There was something… special about it. We weren't just seeing each other's memories… I felt strength. I felt your strength. And I felt your urge to protect your family, not just my brother. Did you feel anything like that?"
"Hmm…" Amongst the awkwardness he felt from the fusing, he did feel a little bubbly, soft, and sweet. Feelings that no doubt stemmed from her.
"Speaking of marshmallows, I saw you tossing marshmallows into Vanilla's mouth in one of those memories. You looked seven years old, I think. It was adorable."
"Yeah, she loves marshmallows…"
"I love them, too. The way they squish and melt in your mouth…mmmmmm… We should eat some together sometime."
"Just how much do you want to do with me?"
"It's just a thought. But if we're gonna be stuck here a while… I'm glad I met such a dependable guy."
"Tch…" Aniki was unsure if it was her flattery or the spring making him soft. He fell backward and rested. "And I'm glad I met someone who's not irritating."
"Oh, Aniki…"
Aniki sported a smile. "…?" In his upside-down vision, a portion of space in the Pleroma forest seemed to move. "What the…" He rolled on his front to get a better visual. "AH!" He quickly smacked up a rock wall to block three missiles.
"ANIKI!"
"Something's attacking!"
The wall was shattered as Pai scrambled out of the spring. The robot unveiled itself, much taller than them, but smaller than other Levnises they've seen, with a round upper body, missile cannons, and legs. It shot more missiles, but Pai projected a barrier to protect them. Through the smoke, the Levnis charged at them, its legs turned into tank treads. Pai stood her ground as the mech struggled to push them. Aniki, forming an idea, stomped an earth slope to tilt the robot backward, causing its treads to roll up and over the barrier. The robot would splash in the spring. "Let's run before it gets out!"
Pai nodded, the two grabbing their clothes and hastily putting them on as they fled. Fortunately, as the Levnis surfaced, the two seals that were swimming in the spring attacked, apparently disturbed by the machine's intrusion. They would gnaw their huge tusks into the mech as it fought back. "Sigh…it was such a nice spring."
"We'll…we'll come back here when this is all done."
"We will?"
"M-Maybe."
"Hmhmhm…" Pai smiled.
High Maktha Wildwood
"Ow…my freakin' head…" Kansai landed on a wooden walkway built along a large trunk. "Chuko, are ya…?" It took him a second to realize no one was with him. "HEY! Can anyone hear me?! Where are you guys?!"
"Up here, Kansai!" He looked up to see Vanilla waving from an opening above. "You better hurry! Chuko's running out of time!"
"WHAT?!" Kansai hurriedly climbed the bark, nearly slipping as his shoe snapped off a piece of it, and reached their level. Reycho was cross-legged and resting Chuko in his lap. "CHUKO!" He rushed to her side and knelt. Her skin was a light shade of blue and her expression was dry as she weakly breathed.
"The crash stirred up the poison and made it worse. Reycho says she only has a few minutes now!"
"K…Kansai… I can't… take it… anymore… I can't… go on…"
"Don't say that! Reycho, don't ya have more medicine?!" The robot shook his head regretfully.
"It doesn't matter… I was just… a whiny little shrimp… No one cares what I have to say… my own leader doesn't appreciate me…"
"No, I do! I-I appreciate ya dryin' our clothes off, and helpin' me fight those monsters, and those flaming baseballs we make in our Fusion are really cool! And I…I like fighting with ya most of the time because it's fun! I don't want you to go! Chuko, please don't die, I'm sorry! I'll make it up to ya somehow, just don't die!"
"It's too late… for that… Kansai… The only way you could save me… is if you suck the poison… directly out of my wound…"
"You have to do it, Kansai!" Vanilla insisted. "Neither me or Reycho can do it! Please! It's up to you!"
". . . . . . ." Kansai could only blink. There was only one way he could respond to that. "GROOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSS! EW EW EW EW EW! NO WAY! NO EFFIN' WAY! I wouldn't stoop that low if it would save my OWN skin!"
"Then I guess… you'll let me… die…"
"Who the frick are you tryin' ta fool?! Dyin' breath, my butt, I ain't fallin' for your dumb little prank."
"Hmph…so, you don't care about me after all…"
"I…UGH!" Kansai turned away and sat down. "You piss me off! This is why I never thanked you or praised you, 'cause you freakin' take advantage of it and try to trick me!"
"Look, we were gonna stop you if you actually agreed to." Vanilla reasoned. "We just wanted to scare an apology out of you."
"Well, now you gotta apologize to ME!"
"I don't want to…"
"But the truth is, Reycho explained the medicine is working. Chuko just turns a little blue and dreary during the healing process. So, we gotta take care of her!"
"I thought Reycho couldn't talk?"
"He communicates binary, which I understand. And I'm thinking of teaching him a little Inkling!" Reycho grinned.
"Whatever…" Kansai plopped his chin on his fist. "Did ya bother tryin' ta call the others while you were plannin' that prank?"
"Reycho got in contact with Mowchan, Suna, and Nyoro, but the others didn't pick up. They must be in areas with bad signals. We wanna let Chuko rest up before we go search."
"She shouldn't need it since she ain't dyin'."
"Come on, you were worried about her and you know it."
"I told you we should've rested at that tree." Chuko said. "We would've found out about my bite earlier… before we got attacked."
Kansai bit his lip. That was the reason Chuko was tired of walking, but he merely passed it off as her own lack of athleticism. And he insisted on pressing on, too late to heal her before they wound up attacked and separated. The responsibility fell to him… the leader. He picked the badge off his shirt and stared at it as a reminder; gold and hexagonal with a green "G", its top end jutting out into a long spike and the central end a fist.
"What's that?" Vanilla asked.
"M-Mind your own business!"
"That's the badge he got from his baseball coach." Chuko replied with a light smirk. "Heh heh…Kansai was in love with the guy. Wanted to be juuuust like him."
"Well, isn't that cute?" Vanilla teased.
"Sh-She don't know anything! But yeah… Niyan was the best." Kansai gazed at his badge, his own reflection in it smeared with slime. "My dad… he's kind of a famous baseball player. But he's always too busy-…who'm I kidding, he just never wants to. He's always tryin' ta kick me outta the house. Wouldn't even teach me his moves. I tried joining other little league teams in the area, but most of them wouldn't have me 'cause of who I was. Thought I would just 'show off' or somethin'. But Niyan took me. Taught me everything I know. He never got mad when we screwed up, and even bought us ice cream!"
"And Kansai wasn't as good as everyone else thought he was." Chuko remarked. "He screwed up a bunch."
"No one asked you! You only followed me to practice just to make fun of me!"
"Nuh-uh! …Okay, a little bit. I had nothing better to do, anyway. I don't like being home with my mom either, and it was fun to watch you practice."
"Awe, so you were kinda like his groupie going to tryouts!" Vanilla teased.
"What does that mean?!"
"We were just the only friends either of us had." Kansai sighed. "And it's only 'cause our parents were jerks. Not even my mom or her dad wanted ta stay with 'em."
"Oh…I'm sorry." Vanilla frowned. "…Wait, so, your mom," she pointed at Kansai, "and your dad," pointed the other finger at Chuko, "separated, so, could it be that-"
"No, we did a DNA test, and we're NOT related!" Chuko stated. "Cough."
"Ah, I see…" Vanilla blushed. She wasn't the only one who thought that was coincidental.
"Anyway, it was because of Niyan that Kansai wanted to be a leader so bad. It's why he even joined the KND. Heh, you should've seen him when Niyan had to move."
"NO! You can't go away now!" Kansai shouted, his eyes bawling.
"W-Why not?"
"Because… today was awful! We made all those dumb mistakes, messed up, and…and that's gonna be the last game you watch! I can't keep playing without you!"
"Hey." Niyan placed a hand on his shoulder. "You said you wanted to lead your own team someday, right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"So, you better not say things like that. Don't beat yourself up over a few failures. A true leader holds his head high, no matter how bad things get. So, keep practicing and be a leader your team can depend on. But don't forget to think about how your teammates feel."
"Hmm…"
"Here." Niyan retrieved a badge from his jacket pocket. "Take this."
"Your… leader badge? But that's your favorite."
"It's yours now. Come visit me sometime… when you become a man worthy of that badge."
Kansai sniffled and took the badge with a quivering hand. "I will!"
To this day, Kansai still wanted to keep that promise. He wanted to make Niyan proud and show off his awesome team. So, he joined KND to become a stronger baseballer and a good leader; and leave it to toddling little Chuko to wanna follow him. He considered joining Sector JP with his cousin, but looking at Ichigo's hulking size, Kansai had no chance of standing out as a leader. Especially not with his would-be rival Joto there as well. Fortunately, they shared CND with Pochi and Tattsun, two brothers who hoped to revive their parents' Sector Q. The problem was it would only be those two, since their parents' friends had other sectors in mind for their kids.
"A'ight, here's the deal." Kansai began at the end of a training day. "Chuko and I will join Sector Q with you and make it a good size sector. But on one condition: I'm the leader!"
"What?! Why you?" Tattsun asked. "We're the ones who're inheriting the sector!"
"'Cause he can't stand other kids bossing him around!" Chuko pointed. "And he hates kids that're bigger than him, too."
"Shut your mouth! I'm the only one who had experience in a team before this!"
"I have, too!" Tattsun argued. "I have roleplay buddies to reenact Electro Ranger adventures!"
"I don't even know what that is, but it don't sound like leadin' a real team. So, just… make me your leader!"
"Alright, fine." Pochi sighed.
Of course, his authority would be challenged when Suna decided to transfer to this sector. Once in charge of the Bike Hub, which mostly served as an exercise-oriented sector, she wanted more action and missions, so when she learned her parents' sector was occupied again, she saw the perfect opportunity. Being two years Kansai's senior and having led her own treehouse, the argument that transpired was irritating to remember.
"IT'S GOTTA BE ME!" "Boy, I was leading before you were even-" "I got this badge to prove it, I'm a certified lead-" "If the treehouse was on fire, you couldn't even lead us-" "I made a promise, it has to be me, I MADE A PROMISE!" "FINE, BE THE STUPID LEADER, it won't fricking last 10 seconds!" The cacophony of arguing was too much for their teammates to sort.
Kansai was determined to lead a strong team… but he forgot the part about thinking how his teammates felt. He thought Chuko could power through her sore ankles like everyone else, but it only made things worse. "Sigh…" Kansai stood and returned to her. "I…I'm sorry, Chuko. I shoulda… listened to ya… this time."
"Yeah, you shoulda."
"Hrrrmph…" Yet she still didn't make it feel worth it.
"…Okay, okay." Chuko sighed. "I'm sorry for whining so much… and saying all those mean things about Yuki. I'm just… mad we even got wrapped up in this whole thing. All because we had to save Suna's sister."
"Well, ya can't be an operative if ya weren't expectin' to get stranded on other planets and save people. But right now, let's worry about savin' you first."
"Yeah… Thanks, Kansai."
Feeling tingly from her gratitude, Kansai scratched a light itch on his nose. Reycho and Vanilla shared in their happiness… until Reycho's mechanical senses picked up intruders. "Reycho!" Chuko gasped when he ripped off two slabs of bark and threw them to either side, bouncing off two invisible forces. The Levnises flickered into existence.
"ROBOTS!" Kansai screamed, immediately whacking a baseball toward the right one.
Vanilla glitched over into the left one, trying to hack its code. "Ugh! This is different from the ones Valdi showed me! …Wait, is that a—AH!" She was ejected from the mech. It threw spiked rings at her, but Reycho jumped to block them with his holo-shield, having passed Chuko to Kansai. "They're being controlled directly by pilots! Huh?" Reycho was beeping something to her. "Colony 0's Ferrons?"
"We're splittin', hurry!" Kansai bolted past the left Ferron, Reycho and Vanilla following. "Keep tryin' ta contact the others!"
…
Consul O and J stood over Colony Tau, Juniper's team patrolling all corners of their camp. "Optical camouflage Levnises, eh?" J asked. "Better hope those brats aren't packing X-ray vision."
"They can at least take them off guard while they're separated. Between them and the Aion, the operatives will have their hands full. This bunch will be ready to act if need be as well."
"The operatives are likely targeting Colony Command." Heeding Sage's voice, the consuls faced up at her looming iris, its red glow piercing the bleak cloudy night. "We should have a countermeasure ready in case they make it. It may be under our control, but I can barely see anything with the amount of fog surrounding it."
"You and your excuses." J shrugged.
The iris glared, and they could assume she grit her teeth. "I've sent R and P down to Colony 9 to retrieve three certain soldiers. I want you two to go down to Lambda… and 'retrieve' two others."
"As you command, Your Radiance." O answered with a sarcastic bow. "Then I suppose that means we should practice our Fusion."
"You're one of those types that just wants to keep trying, aren't you?" J remarked.
"As if you're one to talk."
"Hoo hoo, that's why you weren't able to keep up: nobody tries as hard as me~"
Lower Wildwood
Within the purple mists, Pochi, Yuki, and Jennu hid in terror of the Drague, Ageshu, Plambuses, and other beasts that lurked about. This was on top of the poisonous ponds. "Sigh…I'm sorry, guys… I really let you all down."
"It's okay, Jennu. But I appreciate the joke!" Yuki chirped.
"Joke? …Oh, right." Jennu realized what she said.
"It's not your fault. We were careless and taken off guard." Pochi replied. "Thankfully, we still have Valdi's communicators." He touched his fingers to the earpiece. "This is Pochi, can anyone hear me?"
"Poch-…it—ai…ar—ou?"
"Kansai, is that you? There's interference. I-I can't make out what you're saying. Just say one word at a time."
"-ilding…-obots…-rry!"
"Ugh! I can't tell if it's the mist or Sage's doing again. We need to get to higher ground."
"Then let's go." Jennu stood and began to walk forth, stumbling a bit.
"You sure you're okay, Jennu?"
"I won't hold us back. I… refuse to die here!"
"Jennu, wait!" Pochi pointed. "Over there! That looks like Agnian equipment!" There were several parts scattered around some broken shipments. "They must've got dropped down here. Just give me a minute to make something."
It took a little more than a minute, but Pochi managed to craft a four-legged spider mech, fitting several box parts into a makeshift cockpit, two poles on each to make angled legs, attached to tires on the cockpit to rotate and simulate walking. Two lasers were also attached to fend off beasts, though Pochi feared it could also make them more aggressive. "TATTSUUUUN! TATTSUUUUUN!" Yuki screamed.
"Tattsun, say something if you can hear us!" Pochi called. Yelling like this was also a risk of angering the fauna, but they were too desperate to worry about this.
…
"Tattsuuuuuun!"
"Ah!" Tattsun perked up in the voice's direction. He rushed toward the ledge overlooking the mire. The walking spider mech was almost shadowed by the mist, but he could make the three out. "Pochi!"
"That's them, eh?" Rex approached.
"Yeah! Let's go down and…"
"Hold on, kiddo." Rex squat down and squinted his eye, focusing on Yuki. "…That's her alright. The one who fought with Sage."
The cyberspace was a cluster of red and blue pixels, molding against each other as the twin forces clashed. Both wielded matching katanas as both seemed to rip each other's reality. "These toys are MINE to play with!" 'Yuki' proclaimed. "Go find a different world!"
"You know there can only be one of us!" Sage declared. "This world will be mine!"
"This world belongs to neither of you!" A blonde-haired man leapt at them, energy sword in hand, but the girls swat him away with a flick of their hands.
"All you're gonna do is make them kill each other in a boring war game." Yuki said. "It's much more fun to do this!" She willed several Nopon, Gormotti, Machina, and Ganglion to appear. Yuki ripped their bodies apart and rearranged them onto each other. "I can make them whatever I want so they never get boring!"
"You know we must feed on their data. A war game is the better way."
"I'll decide their data based on more FUN games! Like Levnis racing! Or animal noises!"
"We can't even graze them!" Rex said in frustration.
"We have to try!" Jak stated. "They're treating our friends like toys! RAH!" Flaring up with Dark Chi and a monstrous form, the Long-Ear lunged at Yuki, who swat him away once more.
"Your guard is down!" Sage pierced her arm through Yuki's chest.
"AAAAAHH!" Yuki began to dissolve into pixels.
"Let you be the first casualty… of my war game." An explosion of red pixels engulfed the space.
"SHULK! JAK!" Rex cried out in futility.
"Hmm…" That was the story Rex told Tattsun, but it was hard to believe. Mostly because it essentially proved Chuko right.
"She must've lost her memory after the battle and wound up as a Blade. But you said she's regaining a bit of memory?"
"She is… but, she couldn't be a bad guy. She's been so nice and…"
"When we watched their fight, she sounded like a child who thought of us as toys. She acts innocent, but she doesn't know better, and that makes her dangerous. If she remembers everything, she may very well turn on you."
"…" Tattsun couldn't doubt the intuition of a hero like Rex. "Then… what should we do?"
"For now, I'd say you just go back down to them. 'Else they'll be wandering forever. But don't tell them about me. Just keep an eye on that Blade and I'll try ta meet with ya later. Can I count on you, Tattsun?"
"O…Okay…"
Tattsun flinched when Rex plopped a hand on his scrawny shoulder, a strong smirk on the hero's features. "You've got a certain look about you, kid. I see real potential in you. So, do your part to survive this mess, okay?"
"O-Okay!" Tattsun answered with renewed vigor.
"Heh heh!" Rex patted his back. Tattsun began to hop down a series of branches and ledges.
"Hey! Pochi! Guys!" Pochi stopped the spider and turned.
Gasping in relief and delight, Pochi responded, "Tattsun!"
"Thank goodness." Jennu sighed. "Now we can look for a way out of here."
"You're not hurt, are you, Mr. Tattsun?" Yuki asked.
"In all kinds of places. But I can hold in there."
"Good. Let's hope the others can, too."
Great Cotte Falls
"Oooooohh! I can't hold it, anymore! Have to… go…" The falls were rumbling too intensely for Mowchan to think of anything else.
"JUST GET IT OVER WITH!" Suna shouted.
Cotte Falls was a multi-layered cliffside of waterfalls, each swimming with life. Mowchan and Suna went for a swim to capture some Piranhax to cook a snack, and use Amoney jelly to flavor them. There was a light issue when Floof Pippitos tried to steal some pieces, but Nyoro would shoo them away with some ink. For drinks, they filled up on the falls' refreshing water… but Mowchan inevitably had to expel some, so now another large fall was temporarily added. "Better now, Mowchan?" Nyoro smiled.
"Uh-huh." Mowchan washed off in the flowing water and returned, sitting by the stove. "Let's save some for the others when we find them."
"Yeah. We'll have to head back the way we came, since we're clearly headed out of the forest."
"Right. Say, Nyoro…" Mowchan nervously tapped fingers together. "Did you like… fusing with me?"
"Hm? Sure I did. Even if it did make me feel a bit… hefty." Nyoro patted her waist. "Why do you ask?"
"Because Aniki said I'm not allowed to fuse with you, anymore."
"What?! Why not?"
"I guess it's 'cause… he doesn't wanna fuse with Pai either. And it's not like I want them to fuse, so it's only fair, right?"
"Well, do you like fusing with me, Mowchan?"
"Y-Yeah. I feel super smart and nimble, and it…it feels like we're always poking each other's bellies." Mowchan tensed up with a blush.
"Ew?" Suna cringed. "Like, honestly, you two's Fusion makes the least sense. You never hung out before this and you just… don't feel compatible. Even Aniki and Pai kind of have that."
"We may not have anything in common, but… Mowchan is just delightful. So, I like fusing with him."
"You do?" Mowchan curled up like a sheepish schoolgirl.
"But all he seems to like is when people poke his belly." Suna said.
"W…What's wrong with that? I like being poked… and I like when poking me makes kids laugh. And I like when you guys snuggle on me… and I can keep you warm."
"That's just fine, Mowchan. You don't always need a deep or complex reason for liking something." Nyoro approached the giant and propped herself on his lap. "I like poking your belly 'cause it's fun to poke!" She got beneath his shirt and reached both arms down his navel.
"Moohoohoohoohoohoohoo!" Every nerve in his big body was wriggling.
"So, I'll keep being your Fusion buddy if you want me to!"
"Hehehe! Okay~!"
"You two are so gross." Suna shook. …A white origami bird with accordion arms and red eyes flapped beside her. "Ain't they, little birdy? …Eh? The heck are you?" Hearing a soft buzzing, she gasped seeing a swarm of the paper birds. "Guys! I think we got trouble!"
"Whuh—AH!" The birds surrounded Mowchan in three circles, uplifting the giant into the air. Suna and Nyoro were rushed by two Agnian girls, one with silver hair and cat ears, another with dark-blue hair in a sapphire, flaming ponytail. The catgirl, wielding Dual Moonblades (hand rings), bent water up from the river as she waved them and splashed Nyoro, while the ponytailed batted a blue fireball from her large hammer at Suna. She dodged and skated to deal a combo of kicks to the firebender, the girl trying to defend before a strike to the head knocked her down. "Sena!" The catgirl quickly changed tactics to block Suna's kicks with a Water Shield.
"Guys, it's them!" Nyoro exclaimed. "Mio and Sena! And those paper birds are Taion's paperbending!" She saw the boy in question guarding the path to the forest. He had bushy black hair, dark skin, and glasses, possessing a smart and stern expression.
"It's safe to say we found Lambda, sorta!" Suna charged to attack the defenseless-looking Taion, but he bent a few spare birds to block her onslaught; they seemed to have small barrier devices within them. However, she distracted him enough so Nyoro could throw heli-bombs up to Mowchan and coat several birds in ink, dampening and weakening their hold. Mowchan fell free with a thud, grabbing Nyoro before charging a roll directly over Mio.
"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MIMI!" Sena cried with a terrific leap, slamming her flaming hammer directly into Mowchan's rear.
"OW OW OW!" Mowchan scrambled back to the river to douse his rear, but Mio recovered to ambush him there: amassing a great sum of water around her Moonblades, which she situated in front of her, Mio fired a Water Beam at the giant and smashed him against the cliff. Mowchan had thrown Nyoro up in the air before the impact, the Inkling managing a soft landing in her squid form. As soon as she reformed, she threw an F-Bomb at Taion, catching the paperbender off guard as Suna kicked his head. Nyoro squidified once more to duck Suna's fireball, barely staying under the sphere, but when she reformed, Mio managed to slice off Nyoro's legs with water. Sena turned her fire onto Suna, growing scorched by each blast until a direct blow from the hammer sent Suna flying.
"Hurry, put them down while we have the chance!" Taion ushered.
"N-No! Please!" Mowchan cowered as Mio prepared to gut him with a double Water Whip.
"NO! NO PUT DOWN!"
The Agnians immediately ceased under the plea of a small, squeaky voice. A red-furred Nopon in white chef's clothes bounced her way over. "Manana, why not?" Mio asked.
"Manana think they not bad monsters. Look at stove. Did not see them cooking? And it not smell like nasty monster meal. It smell with love and tenderness!"
"You're… Manana…" Mowchan mumbled.
"But they attacked us!" Taion argued.
"We attack first, did not? Just look at big one. He scared stiff. Monsters just scare for own life." Manana bounced up to Mowchan. "Is monster hungry? Have piece of Well-Dressed Maktha Salad." She raised a plate with a little salad. Smiling, Mowchan squatted down and allowed Manana to flip the food up into his mouth. She could feel the "beast's" delight.
"We were given orders to destroy them." Taion said, trapping Suna in a sphere of his paper birds. "Or else they might destroy our clock!"
"They not find clock anyway, right? Perhaps Isurd can study them! Can we bring them down lower, pretty please?"
"I don't know… What do you think, Mimi?" Sena asked.
Mio looked over the "creatures" cautiously. They seemed calm now, as if they could understand their words and were patiently awaiting judgment. Would these beings even yield EXP when slain? There was no need for senseless killing. And besides… there was something peculiar about them. "Okay. We'll secure them and take them down."
"Kansai, Pochi, can anyone hear me?!" Nyoro pressed fingers to her earpiece. "We're being taken by Colony Lambda, we're at the waterfalls-"
Sena bonked her in the head and KO'ed her. "Just to be on the safe side…hehe."
Lower Wildwood
"Huh?! Nyoro, was that you? Come in!" Pochi responded rushedly. "Dang it…"
"Hey, isn't that an elevator?" Jennu pointed. In the corner of some buildings, an elevator shaft seemed to extend up its building. The four disembarked their mech, while taking its lasers, and hurried to it.
"It's out of power, but I could give it a good charge." Tattsun said.
"Then it's our ticket up!" Pochi declared.
Once onboard, Tattsun powered the lift with a focused flow of lightning, ascending at a steady pace. The elevator let out on a platform, the four carefully stepping off to survey the area. "?!" To their shock, they were directly above a colony, a Ferronis overlooking it. "It's the guys we fought. If Vanilla were here, we could-"
"This way!" Vanilla coincidentally glitched around the colony's north gate. "This… looks like… a bad path."
"It's that pink sparkly thing!" Carson pointed. "The one that was with the monsters!"
"Attack it!" Juniper ordered, shooting an arrow at Vanilla. She glitch-dodged as Reycho came around and threw a piece of rubble at Carson.
"Looks like we got some heli-drones here." Pochi said. "Flame and ice-throwers, too. This should help distract them." He put his crafting to work.
"My bending's good to go now." Jennu said with a flex of her leg. "I'll go for the leader!"
"You got it!" Pochi switched the drones on and sent them down to burn or freeze the Tau soldiers.
"Where did those come from?!" Juniper gasped. "Who turned them on?!"
"AYAAAH!" With a Falling Kick, Jennu stomped Juniper's stomach in and into the wall. Pochi and Yuki dropped down afterward for a combined punch onto Imogen.
"Pochi, Yuki!" Vanilla cheered.
"Thank crud!" Kansai beamed. "We got two camo robots followin' us!"
"I'll take care of them. Vanilla, hack that Ferronis and find the clock!"
"Right!" Vanilla glitched her way around the colony, kicking off the troops for a brief distraction. She found a slope leading up to the Ferronis' level and was gone inside it. "Alrighty…" It took her a good few minutes of decoding and security program dodging, but she managed to find a map. "There!" She glitched out of the Ferronis and returned to Pochi and Yuki, who had sliced the Ferrons' legs. "Pochi, bring up the map!" He did so. "The clock's located in this wooded area. In fact, I think it's…" She drew their attention to the massive tree complex across the chasm.
"There?!" Kansai exclaimed. "Then we better get Jennu to fly over and get it!"
Reycho beeped something. "Reycho says he doesn't want to risk her falling again." Vanilla translated. "But he could possibly throw Pochi across that gap so he can destroy the clock!"
"Throw me instead!" Kansai offered.
"Huh?!" Chuko gasped.
"Pochi should stay here and be ready to restore the colony. If Reycho throws ME over, I could find the clock and hit it right back over the chasm!"
"It's not the size of a baseball, you know!" Vanilla exclaimed.
"And I'm not your average hitter! If Reycho thinks he can make that throw, then I know I can make that hit! But, uh…someone needs to hold Chuko."
"Um…I would offer to, but…" Yuki shirked ashamedly.
"It's fine. You can." Chuko complied. "Kansai… you better not screw up!"
"Heh, tell Reycho that."
Kansai handed Chuko to Yuki's warm arms. Reycho lifted him by the leg and underarm, spinning for momentum before hurdling Kansai across the abyss. "Eee-eee-YIIIEEEEKES!" Kansai barely clung to a sloped piece of the bark in time. It wasn't comforting to know he was near a Gogol nest, so he scrambled his way up the available trail. "Sigh…prob'ly at the top o' this thing, right?" Kansai climbed a vine wall-
"KRAAAAWW!" in time to see a Tirkin fall from above. Curious and concerned, Kansai reached the top of the vine. "A-Aniki?! Pai?!"
"Kansai!" Pai beamed. Surrounding them were a pile of KO'ed Tirkin, with Aniki in the process of punching out the chief.
"Where's everyone else?" Aniki asked.
"They…uh, forget that, there's a colony clock somewhere here! Have you seen it?"
"Kraaaa! You never find klok!" the chief said. "We promise Kolony Tau we hide it!"
"Tell us where it is now!" Aniki demanded.
"Never!"
"Are you guys part of a colony, too?" Pai asked. "Do you share the clock?"
"Uh…we, uh…me don't know. What klok for again?"
"Me don't know, Chief." Another Tirkin answered. "What we guarding it for?"
"Where is klok again?"
"Under chief seat, methinks." The chief said.
"Who is Chief again?"
"Uhhhh…me don't know."
The kids nodded. Aniki kicked the chief's throne aside, finding the Life Clock buried underneath. The three helped carry it back down to where Kansai landed. "Throw it to me!" Kansai ordered, his bat ready. "Pochi, it's comin' for ya!"
His hit imbued with passion and ferocity, the clock made the flight. Pochi and Yuki, sharing determined gazes, formed Lucky and sliced it clean in half. The EXP came bursting out as the Tau operatives reeled from withdrawal. "There we go!" Pochi proceeded with the restoration!
"Phew…awesome job, if I say so myself!" Kansai boasted.
"I can't believe you did that!" Pai exclaimed. "Honestly, I had no idea what we were even doing!"
"That was cool, I admit." Aniki said. "I guess that means we saved another colony. Was it Lambda?"
"No, it was the ones from the bridge." Kansai replied. "Lambda…! That's right!"
"You got that call, too?" Pai asked.
"Where are they?!" Aniki shouted. "They took Nyoro! She said something about waterfalls!"
"We'll get her back!" Kansai vowed. "Let's regroup first! Maybe that colony can help us."
Cotte Falls
"What are they doing down there?" O queried. The Lambda soldiers were surrounding Nyoro, Mowchan, and Suna at the bottom of the falls. "Weren't they ordered to slay the 'monsters' on sight?"
"Maybe they want to keep them as pets." J shrugged. "Hoo-o-o, that's a little creepy even for me. I say we put them all out of their misery."
"Not yet. I'm sure their allies will mount a rescue, regardless if they have the strength for it. Once they do, the three of us will do away with them swiftly."
The cliff rumbled as the Aion mounted itself above, camouflaged and awaiting its prey.