Chapter 7: Crash and Burn

After a few moments of intense staring between the two, the sounds of the ensuing battle resonated through the forest, accompanied by the sound of falling trees caused by the confrontation. Makoto dashed around, bobbing and weaving to avoid Bridget's yo-yo attacks, while throwing powerful punches at her opponent. Bridget deftly dodged each blow, nimbly bounding around while swinging his yo-yo around him. Both combatants were hell-bent on bringing each other down, for their own reasons. Makoto simply wished to protect her friend Noel, while Bridget wanted to bring Noel in for her bounty. "I won't let you touch a hair on Noel!" Makoto shouted, still throwing blows tirelessly and with furious power. Bridget hopped up onto a tree branch, attempting to catch his breath. "Wow, you're pretty good!" he said, giving Makoto a faint thumbs-up and a smile. "Still, it's not quite good enough!" He then tossed his yo-yo towards his teddy bear, attaching the toys to a device in the bear's stomach. "Roger! Punch Formation!" He then whipped the bear around on his yo-yo string, flinging it towards Makoto. The bear's hands seemed to enlarge as it then started to punch wildly at the squirrel beastkin.

Surprised, Makoto threw her arms up defensively, trying to block the oncoming punches as best as she could. "Man! For a stuffed bear, it sure packs a wallop!" she said to herself, a bead of sweat rolling down her face. The barrage of attacks seemed never ending, as if Roger had a limitless supply of energy. Bridget simply sat down on the tree branch, crossing his legs as he watched the fight with a smile on his face. "Oh, just give up already!" he called out to the busty squirrel. "You're not gonna win." Makoto, getting frustrated with the situation, jumped back and took a boxer's stance. "That's it! I'm gonna pummel you, you little brat!" She then dashed forward towards the bear, unleashing a barrage of punches of her own, matching Roger blow for blow with her fists. "Rolling Thunder!" With a fierce right, she struck the bear across the face, sending it flying away from the yo-yo, and from Bridget's control. "Aw, darn… It was getting good too." Bridget said, nonchalantly hopping down from the branch onto the ground again. "Oh well. I got the rest I needed anyway." Makoto's sweat dropped again, realizing that she had spent a lot of energy against a decoy while her opponent was getting a breather.

The blond-haired lad playfully twirled his yo-yos again, before dropping them both to the ground, causing them to spin along the ground. He then jumped on top of them, speeding towards Makoto with blinding speed. The tired beastkin was unable to react in time, as the boy leapt up and planted the yo-yos directly in her face with a tremendous kick, sending her reeling back. She caught herself, flipping back onto her feet into a defensive posture again, panting heavily as she regained her balance. Bridget only smiled, twirling his yo-yo again as he slowly walked towards the enemy. "You're not too bad, I guess…" he said, stopping and grasping his weapon in his hand. "… but it's time I put an end to this!" He then flung his yo-yo towards her, the string wrapping around her waist and catching her off guard again. The boy hoisted his string back, yanking Makoto around and swinging her around his head. "For my final trick… Shoot the Moon!" With a mighty swing, he flung Makoto through the trees, rocketing her into the sky and out of sight. After that, he merely dusted his hands off and made his way back towards Roger lay on the ground. "Well, no bounty from that… but now I don't have to worry about—"

His statement was cut short, as he felt an acorn hitting him on the top of his head. He looked up, seeing Makoto grasping onto a branch for dear life, her tail completely straight and her fur on end, a despaired expression on her face. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be?" Bridget grinned, tossing his yo-yo over to Roger, attaching it to the bear's stomach again. "Roger, Saw Formation!" With that, he tossed the stuffed bear towards the trunk of the tree that Makoto was clinging to, a circular saw appearing from Roger's waist. The saw sliced through the tree, causing it to fall to the ground. Makoto jumped off, rolling away from the tree as it crashed onto the ground, then looked up at the blond with a sour look on her face. "I've just about had with you!" she said, gritting her teeth in frustration. The boy simply shrugged. "Well c'mon then, bring it! I'll put you down for good if that's what you want!"

Just then, the two fighters heard more footsteps coming through the brush towards them. "Bridget!" a burly voice called out, as an older man came into view. With the man, a young blond woman stepped into the area, adjusting the beret on her head. "Makoto!" she called out, waving to the squirrel girl. "Noel!"

"Noel?"

"Bridget?"

"Bridget!"

"Dad!"

"Makoto?"

"Noel?"

"Alright, that's enough!" the man cried out, ceasing the senseless name calling and hushing the group. "Young man, what have I told you about startin' fights so close to the village?" "Wait, young… man?" Makoto looked over at Bridget with a confused look on her face. "You mean to tell me… you're a boy?" Noel blinked in confusion as well, stupefied upon realizing that the man's other son looked rather… feminine. "Eh, eheheh…" Bridget chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I, uh… I forget that some people don't realize that!" Bridget's father brought a hand up to his face, sweat rolling down his face. Bridget's gaze then locked on Noel, his eyes widening as he realized who she was. "Wait, that's Noel? You mean she was here the whole time?" Noel looked over at the lad, wondering how he knew her. "Well, if you came home every now and again, you woulda known that!" his father said. "Don't even think about it!" Makoto chimed in. "You're still not getting any bounty from my friend!" "Bounty?" Noel brought a hand up to her mouth in surprise."Don't worry about that, Noel…" Bridget's father said, lightly bonking his son on the head with his fist. "Bridget ain't gettin' any bounty from you… RIGHT?" "Uh… Y-Yes sir…" Bridget looked down, an expression of disappointment on his face. Makoto then walked over to Noel, wrapping her arm around her friend's neck. "Well, I'm glad I found you. Now we can get outta here!" "R-Right…" Noel said, chuckling nervously at her friend's enthusiasm. She then turned to the man that had brought her to the area. "Thanks for looking after me, sir!" "Eh, it's no trouble at all! Remember, you're always welcome back to our village, Noel!"

However, unknown to the group, another band of mysterious persons were watching them, gazing into a screen in some sort of secret lab.

"So, you say she's worth the trouble?"

"Of course. Her body houses power even unknown to her."

"Sounds fun… Want me to fetch her for you?"

"I'd rather you not, I-No…"

"Aww~ Why not?"

"Honestly… you don't exactly have the best track record for retrieving what I ask…"

"… So?"

"Just… no."

"Well then, who will you be sending… 'master?'"

"Hmm…. Raven and the captain are already on another hunt, and the good professor needs time to work on his own experiments… However, I do have one other operative that I can send…"

The trio walked through the darkened lab, passing through a mechanical door and entering another room, which was dimly lit with a bluish light emanating from a large glass tube in the middle of the room. Inside the tube was a darkened figure, floating in a strange liquid, seemingly in suspended animation, waiting to be let free.

"We'll send him to fetch her… After all, a promise is a promise…"