For the first time in their entire lives, the Nix Fixers found themselves waking up to the feel of the lightbulb sun spreading light beams into their faces, rather than the sounds of droning horns blasting them up extra-early. They managed to have a breakfast of champions, rather than a breakfast of that random gloop Frau Nixel kept continuing to shovel at them. For the first time, they were actually enjoying their lives, rather than having it forced to them by a dictator.
By the time their breakfast had finished digesting (after a good round of cartoons they had never even heard of before); the trio was trekking down the cliffs of Mixel Mountain, trying to find any sources of population. If they wanted to be full-fledged Mixels, they'd have to learn how to mix and mingle with the new tribes, both figuratively and literally in their cases.
"So, who's on our list to meet first?" Voyd asked, as Kybosh looked at the list that he had scrawled out from memory.
"Let's see…looks like the first tribe is the…"Infernites"."
As if instinct, Umbur's already-twitchy eye started to twitch even harder and heavier. Of course, his brothers took note of this.
"Dude, you okay?" Kybosh asked in confusion, though the slight hint of worry could be heard creeping in his voice.
"Y-yeah, fine!" Umbur shakily said, obviously lying. "Who's saying I'm not fine, I'm cool! GET OFF MY BACK!"
"Okay…" Kybosh sighed, as the three continued downwards to their location.
Eventually, the air grew hot as the temperature sweltered to heavy degrees. Even though the lightbulb sun was the same as it had been when they started their journey, the pools of lava that covered the area made it feel like it was multiplied tenfold. No doubt about it, they were in the Magma Wastelands.
"Welp, looks like this is the place." Kybosh said. "Now to scout out the locals, how hard can that be?"
"Hm, well let's see." Umbur said, his voice dripping with heavy sarcasm. "I guess we look for the color red? Oh, wait, everything is red here! Guess we're a lost cause! Good job team, let's pack it up and go to the next location!"
As soon as he said this, he swiftly did a 180 in his motions and started to walk out of the habitat.
"Stop." Kybosh dryly said, holding a hand out in front of his younger brother, making him bump into it with his chest. "The only way we can truly become Mixels is to mix and mingle with the actual ones, you get that?"
"And the first key is to actually find them!" Voyd chimed in. "Only question is where they actually are."
As if to place the answer, a red blur sped past the three Nix Fixers, kicking up dust and smoke, while leaving a heavy black scorch mark on the ground like a map line. As the three of them coughed while the dust settled, they saw the markings on the ground and started to follow them, Kybosh dragging Umbur towards the location.
In the distance, the three newcomers could hazily make out the bright red forms of the three Infernite brothers that lived in this stretch of the Wastelands. As Kybosh continued to drag his brother along, Umbur started to protest.
"Welp, there they are." He started, his voice dryer than the heat of the environment. "Shall we just pack it up and pack it in now?"
"Oh, grow up." Kybosh sighed, and then called over to the Infernites. "Hey, you guys over there!"
"Way to make a kind entrance." Voyd sighed, as the three of them ran over to the Infernites, Umbur still being dragged by the heels.
"Hey, dudes!" The fire-topped Infernite called back, as he and his brothers started running over to the Nix Fixers, meeting them halfway. "Never seen you guys around these parts."
"I don't think we've ever seen you guys…at all?" The cat-like one with firey paws said, sounding a gentle mix of curious and nervousness.
"Trust me, you have." Umbur muttered under his breath, while Kybosh elbowed him in the gut to shut him up.
"We're up from Mixel Mountain." Kybosh explained, fudging the truth slightly. "We just…haven't come down here really, is all?"
"Oh, you guys live up there?" The leader said. "Hey, sorry about using you guys' Cubit up there, was kind of an emergency."
"No harm done." Voyd said. "It's growing back pretty good right now."
"So, cutting this fancy talk, who are you guys?" The dark red one that had ran past them asked, a bit snarkily.
"Well," Kybosh started, introducing them. "I'm Kybosh. This is Voyd, and this is Umbur."
"We're the Nix Fixers!" Voyd added, grinning.
"And we were just leaving-" Umbur started, as Kybosh shoved his hand over his mouth.
"You guys are the Infernites, right?" Kybosh asked, trying to divert attention away to his brother that was now protesting in screaming mumbles, finally succumbing to licking Kybosh's palm to make him flinch soon enough and remove his hand.
"Guess our reputation precedes us!" The speedy one smugly said.
"Ignore him." The flame-crested one sighed. "Yep, that's us. I'm Flain, that's Vulk, and that annoyance is Zorch."
"Hi…" Vulk shyly waved, while Zorch just stuck out his tongue in the general direction of his older brother.
"COOL!" Umbur suddenly yelled, sounding like his irritation was being masked by false happiness. "Glad we got that situation settled! NOW, AS I WAS SAYING-"
"Your brother's kind of loud…" Vulk sheepishly said to Voyd, as Kybosh practically tackled his middle brother into the ground, trying to get him to shut up.
"Yeah, he's like that." Voyd casually said. "Normally not this badly, though. It's weird."
"DECLARE DEFEAT, YOU IDIOT!" Kybosh screamed, attempting to pin the still-protesting Umbur down.
"NEVER!" Umbur yelled, as he grabbed onto Kybosh's arm, rolling over and into Voyd's shadow, where he sunk down, as Kybosh merely slammed his head into the ground.
"…And he does that." Voyd pointed out, to the shocked, confused, and somewhat concerned fire Mixels. Well, Flain and Vulk were concerned. Zorch found the whole thing hilarious and was failing at keeping a straight face.
"Get…out…" Kybosh muttered, his face still pressed against the warm lava stone ground of the wastelands.
"Only if we leave!" The echoed voice of Umbur retorted.
"It's obvious he doesn't like us…" Vulk sighed, sounding a bit guilty.
"Well, what's to like about you?" Zorch grinned, as Flain smacked the maroon speedster in the arm.
"Shut it, dude!" Flain warned, as Umbur finally rose from his younger brother's shadow.
"Cool." Umbur dryly said. "Now, as I was saying-"
Before Umbur could finish saying what he was planning on saying, the infernal repeated ringing of one certain word repeated spread over the horizon. The word any Mixel dreads to hear…
"NIX! NIX! NIX! NIX! NIX!"
A shadow of black and white on the horizon could only mean one thing: Nixels.
"NOT THEM!" Flain and Kybosh yelled at the same time.
"We don't have any Cubits for your tribe!" Vulk said, starting to panic.
"I—I think I have something!" Voyd said, opening up one of his portal holes, as a black and red Cubit launched out of it suddenly. "Someone catch it!"
"GOT IT!" Two voiced called out, as Vulk caught it…and so did Umbur.
"Oh, no…" Umbur shuddered, as he stared at both the Cubit and the glowing-red fingers of Vulk…and all those memories flashed back…
Find an Infernite Cubit. That's all the assignment was. Easy beanpeasy lemlime squeezy, right? Just a measly Cubit from a measly Mixel. Sure, the climate was much hotter than he'd prefer compared to Nixel Land, and maybe it was a lot redder than his eyes were used to, but it was a simple task to get through. He just had to find a Cubit.
And, then and there, as if it was calling him, was the Cubit. Bright red and maroon, just sitting there on a rock formation, one that was surprisingly well-sculpted. Almost like it was a table. Sure, there were a few other things on that table as well, but the Cubit was the number-one thing! Running over to the Cubit and triumphantly grabbing it, he suddenly noticed the things that were on that rock, which really was more table-like than he though.
A Lavanut shell with a straw and tropical lava drink in it. A magazine. A towel. And right next to that…was a lava hot tub. And in that lava hot tub…was a cycloptic Infernite Mixel with burning red hands, who saw that Nixel grabbing onto that Cubit.
"No! Bad Nixel!" The Mixel said, grabbing onto the top of the Nixel, as he felt the scorch of the Infernite's hands piercing through his shell between his ears, as the Mixel wound up and threw him off, his head still burning and his mind scrambling and scrambling more and more by the minute.
What snapped Umbur out of that memory was the sudden transformation of the Cubit, which suddenly had him in a bumper car out of his control that was slamming into one that Vulk was in…
"MIX!"
It's as if Umbur said it out of a habit that he didn't even realize, as the strange feeling that came over him during forming the Max came over him as well. It was brief, and as the dust settled…a proper Mix was in their place.
With a large round eye, a red head with Umbur's black cheek marks, ears, and mouth, Umbur's long neck, Vulk's jaw forming a collar on Umbur's now-squat body, Vulk's fingers on Umbur's hands, and Vulk's toes on Umbur's feet, he was a perfect cross between Infernite and Nix Fixer.
"Solid Mix." Kybosh said, sounding honestly impressed.
"W—what do I do?!" The Mix said, in Umbur's shaky voice, still bemused and panicked.
"I guess whatever?" Voyd suggested, as the chanting of "Nix" came closer and closer, as the Nixel horde came mere feet away from the two tribes.
"Do…something?!" The Mix freaked out, shutting his eye and thrusting his hands away from him, towards the Nixels, hoping something would happen.
And thankfully something did. Black flames grew from the hands of the Mix, as they branched off into smaller and smaller flames, which caused the Nixels to stop in their tracks. Soon, the flames were spreading away from the hands, acting on their own as floating will 'o wisps, as each flame found a Nixel to follow. Sparking at them, the flames kept chasing at the Nixels, no matter where they ran, eventually chasing them away from the location of the Mixels, as the Mix defused into both Mixels again.
"You did it!" Vulk happily said, ignoring personal space and shyness and hugging onto Umbur in excitement.
"I…I did it?" Umbur said in confusion, with a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. "But you did it, too!"
"You guys were awesome!" Flain called out. "What a Mix!"
"Congrats, little bro!" Kybosh called out. "I knew you had it in ya! And you've earned your reward, now we can leave!"
"Aww, so soon?" Vulk said, letting go of Umbur.
"We got other tribes to meet." Kybosh explained. "There's a whole Mixel world that we were stuck away from in the mountains. Any suggestions on which tribe we can swing by the closest from here?"
"Well, keep going north and you'll reach the Mines." Flain said, trying to visualize the direction in his mind, causing his flame to flicker a bit higher."
"Cool!" Kybosh said. "Thanks for the tip, catch you guys later!"
As the Infernites and Nix Fixers called out their goodbyes, the three black-and-white Mixels could still faintly hear the voice of Flain call out to them.
"Tell the Cragsters I said hi!" He yelled out, as Voyd suddenly slowed down behind his brothers.
"Wait…" He gulped. "Did he just say…Cragsters?"
