Chapter 10: Grassy Hike
The Bushlands proved themselves to be disappointing in two ways. Firstly, despite being an area flourishing with significant vegetation and plant life, the region was still in a cave. Quote was wondering just how long he would be stuck underground for during his stay on the island- an island he still had to remind himself was actually floating in the sky by some mysterious force. Secondly, the scent of Mimiga fur had not diminished in the slightest. One of them was standing outside a house not far from the teleporter and waved at Quote as he passed by.
"Hiya, stranger! Haven't seen you around here before. My name's Santa."
For reasons he couldn't explain, that name almost made him smirk.
"I'm looking for someone locked in a shelter-like building. Do you know where that is?"
Santa cocked his head with a frown.
"Can't say I do. Chako lives just up the path from here, so maybe you can ask her. Watch out for the Critters along the way though, they'll try to squash you."
Nodding to show he understood, he continued to walk ahead. Quote decided to experiment more with the Bubbline weapon he'd just received, keeping his finger on the trigger for a good ten seconds. The bubble-shaped projectiles emitting from its barrel began to mill around him momentarily, then darted straight forward. He watched in surprise as they suddenly took on shapes not unlike lightning bolts, striking a nearby bush and tearing several holes in it.
"Guess this is more powerful than I'd assumed…"
His attention being focused on the new weapon cost him, as from behind another bush something jumped out and slammed into Quote's back. He stumbled with an irritated growl, turning to face his sudden enemy. The teal-colored blob had a pair of beady black eyes that seemed to glare at him, and three small fangs were visible in its mouth. Evidently, this was one of the Critters that Santa had mentioned.
Pulling the trigger again, he dealt with the creature easily via another storm of bubbles. As ridiculous as the concept was, Quote couldn't deny that it was an effective gun- perhaps more so than Polar Star. The only downside was that Bubbline couldn't aim very well, instead just relying on the sheer number of projectiles to do the job.
The dead Critter disappeared in a puff of smoke, confusingly, but he didn't have time to think about that as another four of them had emerged to attack as well. He clenched his teeth in annoyance when they spread out around him. Without them being clustered together, the Bubbline wouldn't serve him well. He swapped it out for Polar Star and blasted away.
In taking the first one by surprise, he'd managed to underestimate just how quick the little blobs were. The Critter he focused his attacks on sprang over his shots with a mighty leap, intending to crush him like Santa had warned. Quote backed away enough for the thing to hit the ground right in front of him and gave it a firm kick, only to recoil with a hiss of pain. Their gelatinous-looking hides were much sturdier than they appeared, and his foot had practically bounced off its target.
The other three Critters advanced on him as well, all from different angles. He took the opportunity to shoot the one he'd just tried to kick while it was right in front of him, putting it down. Quote just barely avoided the attacks from the others, but in their eagerness to rush him they'd all gathered in one spot. Taking Bubbline out again, he eliminated all three of them in one swift stroke.
With the fight over, he took a moment to inspect himself for any injuries. The first Critter's ambush left a stinging feeling in his back but didn't appear to have broken anything. Other than that he was in perfect shape. In fact, he realized that he no longer sported wounds at all- not from Toroko hitting him on the head, not from the mutated Mimiga also hitting him on the head, and even his badly scratched forearms from earlier had completely healed while he hadn't been paying attention. It hadn't been long since he'd sustained any of those injuries; how had they managed to heal so quickly?
He decided to just keep looking for Kazuma under the assumption that he could answer that question later. Quote turned around to proceed further down the path and was met with the sight of an even larger Critter pouncing toward him.
"Oh, come on…"
Ten minutes later, he arrived at another house in the grassy cavern. Between constant attacks from Critters and their larger blue variants, he felt like he should have cleared the distance in half that time. Regardless, he was here now, and he knocked on the door with a fatigued sigh.
When the homeowner answered the door, it wasn't immediately obvious that she was also a Mimiga. Her fur was a bright lavender in color with only a few patches of white, and the telltale strong floral scent was masked by some kind of perfume (which at least made her smell somewhat nicer in his opinion).
"Are you Chako? Santa told me to come looking for you. He said you might know about someone being trapped in a building around here."
She put a paw to her chin, thinking about it.
"Well… I haven't heard of anyone being trapped lately, unless you count Santa locking himself out of his own house for the third time this week. There is an abandoned town further ahead, though. Some buildings have tightly-shut doors that we've never been able to open. Whoever you're looking for could be in there."
Quote was beginning to notice a pattern with his progression- namely, that his goals were always one step ahead of him. As annoying as that realization was, there was no other option at the moment. He needed to find Kazuma and help Sue quickly. Bidding Chako a hasty "thank you," he broke into a run down the path.
Fortunately, the aforementioned town wasn't very far away. He made it there without further interference from Critters to begin his search. Right away, he could tell that it was indeed abandoned. With the exception of some enormous frog-looking creatures that aimlessly hopped around, the place showed no signs of life at all. Quote wandered between the dilapidated stone buildings with an enormous sense of unease, like he was being watched by some unseen force. He kept Polar Star and Bubbline holstered, but one of his hands hovered near them just in case something unfriendly showed up.
His search of the ruined settlement eventually led him to a very conspicuous-looking building. It wasn't made of stone bricks like the others, but rather sheets of slightly rusted metal coated the exterior. A large steel door was firmly shut in front of him, the words "Power Room- Keep Out" written on its front. There was a spot for a key card to be swiped next to it.
Deciding that this looked like an appropriate "shelter," as Kazuma had described it, Quote knocked on the door hard.
"Hello? Is someone in there?"
There wasn't any response. It could have been too thick to hear through easily, so he repeated the question louder. A reply came this time, but from a similar-looking building directly across the town's dirt road.
"Huh? Hey! Who's out there? Can you help me?"
He ran over to the smaller metal structure. The panicked male voice had come from a large crack in the wall to the left of the entrance, wide enough to fit one's hand through. Upon hearing his approaching footsteps, the man inside let out a delighted cheer.
"Sue! You there? Oh thank heavens, you came to save me!"
Quote wondered how he'd mistaken his voice for Sue's, as they sounded nothing alike, but that was hardly his first concern. He stepped closer to the crack, trying to see him inside the room.
"I'm not Sue, but she sent me in her place to rescue you."
"Huh? Then who are-"
Kazuma's face appeared on the other side of the crack in the wall, and his eyes widened slightly upon glimpsing Quote through it. The green-haired man was definitely not expecting to see a stark white youth who looked unlike any other human he'd ever encountered, judging by his expression. At least, that was what Quote interpreted it as.
"Why didn't Sue come herself? Is she in trouble?"
"A Mimiga was kidnapped by someone named Misery, thinking she was Sue. Now she's being held as a bartering tool to get her back."
Kazuma scowled on the other side of the wall.
"Misery… a witch in more ways than one. Well, help me get out of here and we can go save my sister."
Quote felt the urge to ask how a human could have a Mimiga for a sister, but his better judgement prevented him from doing so.
"I found a key card in this room. Can it open the door? Here, take it."
"I'll give it a try."
The trapped man passed him a card through the crack. He walked back to the door and swiped it in the appropriate scanner, but to no avail. Even if it had worked, though, the door was far too rusted to be openable.
"Doesn't look like this key goes to this door."
"Damn it… it has to go somewhere. Look around for the building it opens, there could be a way to blow this door apart instead."
Quote already had an idea on where to look. He ran back across the street to the Power Room and swiped the card. As he'd hoped, the door swung open to reveal an unlit chamber. Cautiously stepping inside, he tried to find a light switch. The only thing he could see in the darkness was a dim computer screen flashing a message at him.
"Power offline. Lights offline. Malco offline. Activate all? Y/N"
He affirmed the selection with the computer's keyboard, at which point fluorescent blue lights illuminated the room. Several large crates were revealed to be stacked against one wall, a fan system on the ceiling whirred to life, and for the first time Quote noticed the five other figures in there with him. They were evidently robots, colored light gray with very angular bodies and rectangle-shaped heads. All five were curled up near the door, their arms wrapped around their knees. He nearly jumped out of his skin when one of them emitted a loud, metallic screech and stood straight up. A pair of red "eyes" flickered on, and the lone robot (which was about his height) stared at him for a moment before reacting in what seemed to be panic.
"Intruder detected! Intruder detected! Must protect Team 9's equipment: commence destruction!"