"We have arrived," Persica announced. Ahead, sprawled across the horizon, was the canopy of a forest. Giant mushroom trees were interspersed among oaks, and a few of them had stalks so tall that they towered over the rest of the forest. The heads of these mushroom trees were in the sky. The princess claimed, "Once past this forest, we'll find the land bridge that connects to Lord Shellie's domain."
Gamer checked the time by looking at the peeved sun; it was late afternoon. He asked, "How long will it take to get through the forest?"
"A few hours, if undisturbed."
"We're definitely going to be disturbed," Minnie said chipperly.
"Don't jinx us!" Gamer barked.
"With this reprieve before the forest, I'd like to ask that you withhold from violence, Gamer," Persica requested. She took a hit from her joint like drinking from a water bottle, "After some reflection, I have concluded that a peaceful approach is the healthiest. Even if Lord Shellie's minions make an attempt on our lives, I ask that we handle it with careful grace. If we are to convince Lord Shellie, we need a clear soul and clean hands."
"Simple and clean are the ways that we want to make them feel. I'm all for it, but his people make it hard. Look, we've been doing fine as is. You don't have to worry about my highly worrisome ways," Gamer responded with a bit of sarcasm.
"I want to help as many shellies as we can," Minnie added in her hopes.
"Can't help those who can't help themselves," Gamer tried to sound wise.
"That's not very heroic of you," Asterion mocked.
"Bitch, please. I'm not the protagonist – I'm the big cheese," Gamer grinned like a supervillain.
Persica's bratty side leered, "I bet your dad could do it..."
Gamer flipped on a dime and conceded, "Pacifist run! Let's gooo!"
Asterion gave him pity, "You're hopeless."
The group entered the forest. The brightness lessened, but beams of light cascaded through the cracks in the canopy. The wilderness bustled, with constant leaves rustling and insects going bananas. The thick foliage obscured the grounds ahead.
As for enemies, a few cropped up. Maneater flytraps were present thanks to pipes. It seems wherever Marco went, he created a pathway for them. The yosauri proved vital, as they could simply consume the plants.
An unseen threat surprised the group in a new way. While navigating around a fallen log, something pulled Persica and Asterion from their mounts. Gamer and Minnie looked above them to see a maze of spider webs. Due to height differences, Persica and Asterion were the only ones caught and pulled up by the arachnid trap.
Upon being caught, a few spider-like creatures scurried from arboreal hiding places. They were red, yellow, and black, and instead of tipped feet, they had hands with four fingers. The fingers wiggled enthusiastically as they descended on their captured prey.
"Ticklebugs!" Minnie identified. "They..."
"Tickle you until you pee yourself," Gamer said at the same time as his friend.
Minnie gasped, "How did you know?"
"Because whoever designed the enemies of this game needs therapy!" Gamer prepared to use the yosaurus to give him a boost and allow him to dropkick the ticklebug. However, Persica's request haunted him and gave him pause. He struggled with the impasse, "Uh...would any of you like...to talk about...radiated cola?"
But nobody cared.
The ticklebugs swarmed Persica and Asterion. The ones on the princess used their grubby hands to trace and wiggle their fingers on her cleavage, armpits, and feet *sniff* ('⧝｀) *sniff* Persica began to laugh and writhe uncontrollably. She begged them to stop, but the ticklers were relentless. They paid devious attention to her side boob and inner thighs, and her forced hysterics intensified.
The ticklebugs on Asterion were no different, but the minotaur barely reacted to their touch. He smirked, "Sorry, boys, but I'm not ticklish."
One ticklebug's hand fiddled with the base of Asterion's tail. It twitched his glutes and instilled within him abhorrent terror, 'Say it ain't so...'
Gamer had to think quickly. He could use his broom to fly up and swat them away. No; he'd fail the pacifist run if he accidently poked somebody in the eye. He could check Persica's body for a flare flower and set the web ablaze. No, what if he flicked a nipple? Pacifist run, gone! He couldn't risk it. Perhaps he could use the joint between Persica's fingers and blow smoke in the ticklebugs eyes, like what people do to mellow out yellow jackets. No! What if somebody started to have a coughing fit and hacked up a lung? Too much violence!
A lightbulb clicked on; he didn't have to be the one taking violent action. Gamer used his yosaurus's reins to make it jump. It reached a great height, nearly at the same level as his entangled companions. Gamer pointed and spoke with authority, "Get 'em!"
The yosaurus whipped its tongue and grabbed a ticklebug. It met its end in the dinosaur's stomach. The red dinosaur fluttered and licked again, disposing of another bug. Minnie followed Gamer's example and joined in pest control. They bounded about and ate up the ticklebugs around Persica. Soon enough, she was tickle free and could regain her lost breath.
Ego chose to help and save his rider. The big boi jumped half the height though, before attempting to lick up a ticklebug on Asterion's ass. Due to the height disadvantage, the tongue instead tagged Asterion's groin.
Asterion gasped, "Ego, no! Wait..."
Ego joyfully pulled Asterion from the webbing and scared the ticklebugs away. Asterion found out what the inside of a yosaurus's cheek was like as the big lizard landed with a hard thud. Ego released Asterion, and he sprawled onto the forest floor covered in saliva. He gave a disgusted sigh, "Thanks, buddy."
Gamer flew up on his broom and pulled Persica free from the web. The yosauri hopped and yipped for the princess's safe landing. The rest of the ticklebugs scattered into the canopy.
"Thank you, Gamer," Persica hugged him while he set her *sniff* ('⧝｀) *sniff* on the carriage. Her nerves were rattled, and needed some form of relief. She checked the chest in the carriage, found scant all, and said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a break. Mayhaps we can find some herbs around here to help with future problems."
"You already went through all your pick-me-ups?" Minnie asked.
"Shush," Persica blushed.
"More power ups would be great," Gamer agreed. A quick peek at his inventory showed his broom, the tanuki's tail, Persica's last red cap, and Minnie's shell. There were twenty-six more spots available that his collector's brain wanted to fill. The group chose to take a short rest.