Chapter 11: Red Willow
"So, how are you feeling?" asked Musa concerned as she followed Bloom out of the hospital. The redhead had visible bags under her eyes.
"Better now. They got me some sleeping pills," replied Bloom. "Plus, a therapist has been by every day since I woke up... how long has it been?"
"Two days asleep, four awake in the hospital," replied the black haired girl, before fishing some papers out of her pocket.
"Thanks," said the redhead gratefully. "But the guy... can't remember his name, but he thought I was good enough to leave my sickbed and return to normal everyday life. Though of course the teachers will keep an eye on me, just in case".
"Glad to hear that. I don't blame you for having trouble sleeping," replied Musa as she began looking the papers over.
"The worst thing is that I know it wasn't you girls in there," sighed Bloom. "I know that, but sometimes when I sleep... at least Daphne's attempts to communicate with me usually interrupts whatever grotesque scenery my nightmares are conjuring. But the therapist said interaction with you girls would probably help ingrain the idea that you are all okay into my subconscious". She sighed again and said: "And if that doesn't work, I've got sleeping pills now. That also helps".
"Anything else? You looked quite, well, horrible to be honest after you exploded," asked Musa.
After a moment's thought, Bloom replied with: "Nurse Ophelia think I might have suffered minor brain damage. Could potentially result in me having lost some memories, but hard to tell, since it's pretty hard to find out what I have forgotten". As they walked down the halls, passing by a variety of students, Bloom asked: "So, are they any closer to figuring out how it happened?"
"Well, given the simulation, of course those three witches were suspected. But the teachers at CT couldn't find a single indication that they have been responsible," explained Musa. "They've even started investigating students at Red Fountain in their attempt to track down the culprit. To make matters worse, the simulator was so damaged that they have barely been able to find even the slightest fragment of the altered code". After a moment, she added: "Well, at least there's some good news. The simulator is getting a switch to directly turn of the power without asking the simulator to shut down".
"That's good to hear," replied Bloom. "So, how about the midterms? I heard they were delayed".
"Still haven't come up yet, thank the Dragon," replied Musa, waving her papers. "Means I still got time to study".
"Ah, so that's what you..." started Bloom, before quickly pulling the black haired girl aside.
"Wha... what?" asked Musa confused, before noticing another student whom she had almost crashed into. "Sorry".
"It's okay," he replied before continuing down the hall.
"Midterms got you worried?" asked the redhead.
"A little," Musa replied with embarrassment. "I just gotta memorize as much as possible, but every time I go over my notes, I find something I have forgotten".
"I just look forward to hanging with you girls outside the hospital wing," said Bloom as she opened the door to their cluster.
The first thing they heard was Flora saying: "Could you not just put lids on them?"
Stella replied: "Closing my closet did totally not work, my wardrobe is, like, covered in layers upon layers of that stuff, how's the lid going to help?"
"Hey girls. What's happening?" asked Bloom as she entered the room.
"Hi Bloom. Flora asked me if she could put some flowers in my windowsill," answered the Solarian princess. "And now they bloomed and my entire room is covered in pollen. My make-up has become chunky. Even my clothes are covered in layers of sticky, choking pollen. And my hair, don't even get me started on my hair, it was a complete, utter and total nightmare to clean".
"My apologies, it was never my intention to cause distress with the plants. I was certain they were not going to bloom for at least another couple of weeks," replied Flora earnestly.
"So, what exactly are you doing, Flora?" asked Bloom curiously.
"Since midterms were delayed, it meant I had time to expand my studies," replied Flora. "So I've done some experiments with plants I did not have the time for before the delay".
"And now Solaris knows how much of my make-up is ruined," sulked Stella.
"Again, I apologise. I am perfectly willing to replace it if need be," said Flora.
"No, no, it's alright, I got the money for it. Just need to get it sent here... from Solaria," sighed the blonde.
"So, what other things are you fiddling with?" asked Musa.
"Well, I of course have a couple of not so harmless plants in my room, plus I just finished testing a new type of weed killer. Very efficient," answered Flora. "And then I asked Techna to keep a deep cave creeper. I should probably go ask her how it is doing," she noted, before heading for said girl's apartment.
Bloom followed out of curiosity, an equally curious Musa and very pouty Stella following her.
The brunette knocked on the door to Techna's room, resulting in a call of: "Come in".
When Flora opened the door, her eyes widened and the three other girls gasped.
The room was covered in dark vines, snaking around the bed, closet, several computer parts and basically everything else in the room. Techna was currently on the floor trying to figure out what was cable and what was plant.
"What happened?" asked Flora surprised.
"Your plant grew," replied the scarred girl nonchalant, fiddling with the tangled mess on her floor.
"Well, that I can see," said Flora, eyeing the plant covered walls. "But how did this happen?"
"Dunno," replied Techna with a shrug. "Gave it the stuff you mentioned before going to sleep, woke up to this".
"Alright, how much of my quick-grow formula did you give it?" asked Flora as she began investigating the plant.
"All of it," replied Techna.
"What? I told you to only give it a couple of drops every evening," exclaimed Flora.
"Turns out I don't have a pipette. Go figure," replied Techna. "You'd think I'd have one somewhere in here, but no. So I figured the plant could sort it out itself".
"And instead it ended up being you who had to do the sorting," commented Musa.
"Eh, it passes the time," replied the magenta haired girl.
"Back home, they sometimes call that oven logic," said Bloom. When Stella gave her a questioning glance, she explained: "It's the sort of logic that only makes sense to people who don't actually know what they're talking about. Like thinking that a cake that takes ten minutes at a hundred degrees takes five minutes at two hundred degrees. Thus the name".
"Oh," noted Stella, suddenly looking away.
"Seems like Techna's not the only one who has used oven logic," noted Musa with a smirk.
"I was hungry and wanted a cake immediately. I was twelve," replied Stella annoyed.
Flora sighed and said: "I am afraid it will take time to coax this thing out of your room".
"It's okay, it adds to the atmosphere," replied Techna with a grin.
"Yeah, well, I can conclude that most of my recent experiments at Alfea have failed," continued Flora. "The environment has simply affected them too much to give me the data I wanted. What to do?" After a moment of deliberation, she said: "I got it. I am going to go on an expedition to investigate the plants in their natural environment. Classes are cancelled for the next week due to all the rescheduling, so the timing is perfect". She turned to look at the other girls and said: "And I want the four of you to join me".
"Okay," answered Techna.
"Wait, now?" asked Musa.
"What?" Stella asked in disbelief.
"I'd love to. But why?" asked Bloom.
"Part of my future job as a magi on Limphea will involve escorting people around the wild for various reasons. It will be beneficial for me to strengthen those skills before they become relevant," explained Flora.
"I don't know," said Stella slowly.
"Come on, Blondie. It's going to be super fun," said Techna.
"Techna, you're entertained by placing buckets on your head, singing about cleaning and sorting out your cords. Of course it's going to be fun for you," replied Stella sourly.
"Nothing wrong with enjoying the simple things in life," replied Techna with a grin.
"I'm still studying," said Musa.
"Bring your notes. It will only help enhance the experience," said Flora happily.
"Well, I guess if I can get to do some studying, there's no harm in helping you out," said Musa after a moment's consideration.
"I just had nature wreck my make-up. Why would I want to go on an expedition out there?" asked Stella.
"Come on, Stella. Don't you want to help Flora?" asked Bloom.
"Not if it involves trekking through the wilds. It almost never ends well," replied Stella stubbornly.
"Please?" asked Bloom, displaying her sad puppy look.
"I am not going. And that's final," replied Stella with an air of finality.
...
"So... that sure was final," snarked Musa as the girls waited for the bus. The morning sun was barely peeking over the top of the trees.
"Shut up," replied Stella while pouting.
All the girls where clad in form fitting clothes with suspenders, boots, backpacks and gloves, all in a green and brown camouflage pattern.
"So, where are we going?" asked Bloom.
"I have decided to investigate a plant called cheerful gladiolus," said Flora. "The closest place I could find where it grows is Melmamora".
At the mention of the swamp, Stella immediately turned around and began walking away, only for Bloom to grab her by the arm.
"Come on, Stella. You promised to help," she insisted.
"But Bloom," moaned the blonde. "You were there last time. That place is, like, totally dreadful. It took days to get clean".
"Please, Stella. For Flora's sake," pleaded Bloom.
"Alright, alright," groaned Stella frustrated, before stomping back to the group, folding her arms and pouting really hard.
"Anyway, why so interested in this... happy flowerthing?" asked Techna.
"The cheerful gladiolus is a very effective natural anti-depressant," explained Flora. "Several medicines have been made based on its harvested juices, although it is a rather... well, skittish flower".
"The flower is skittish?" questioned Bloom.
"Correct. It is capable of pulling itself down into the ground from which it sprouts," explained the brunette. "Nothing that stops it from being harvested, of course, but it does complicate it. One has to be quite gentle. That or one has to be bringing a shovel". She looked down the road and proclaimed: "Ah, but here is our bus".
...
Four hours later, after a bus ride and a long walk into the marshy area that was Melmamora, Stella dropped down on a big, relatively dry rock and moaned: "My feet are killing me".
"Well, this is as good a spot as any. Is the oil working at least?" asked Flora concerned.
"Yeah, at least I'm not being eaten alive this time," sighed Stella. "Still... what are you two doing?"
Techna and Bloom looked confused at each other, before the scarred girl sincerely asked: "Was that a trick question?"
"You're raising a tent," Stella said, pointing at the sheets of fabrics and various poles the two had unpacked.
"How very observant of you," commented Musa dryly, looking up from the papers she was going through. "Your sharpened senses do not betray you. That is indeed a tent".
"Why?" asked Stella in a voice that was equal amounts of worry and suspicion.
"Did you expect an expedition to only take a single day?" asked Flora confused.
Stella stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief, before groaning loudly and burying her head in her arms, letting out a muffled: "What am I doing here?"
"Don't worry, we're not going to be here for long," said Bloom comfortingly. "Three-four days max, since I can't expect Jacob to look after Kiko for much longer than that".
"So, I've checked the map and found a couple of promising spots where we might find the cheerful gladiolus," continued Flora. "We should spend as much daylight as possible".
"But my feet are pure murder," groaned Stella.
"So is wandering around a swamp in the dark," replied Flora. "Except in that case, it is not an exaggeration".
Stella starred at her, trying to find the slightest hint of a joke, before sighing and saying: "Fine".
"Excellent. Once the tent has been pitched, we can go," said the brunette.
...
Twenty minutes later, the girls had started their walk through the marsh, a thick mist covering the landscape. With weird, squelching sounds, the group traversed rusty pools of water and wandered beneath the thick overhang that was blocking out the sun.
"Musa, tree again," said Flora sharply.
"Huh, what?" asked Musa, looking up from the notes she was reading, suddenly realising that there was a large tree in her intended path. She took a couple of steps to the left before continuing, chewing on a pencil while reading her homework.
"Hey, remember when I said my feet hurt? Well, now my legs hurt. And my back. And my neck," said Stella tiredly.
"That's fine Stella. Watch out for the mud pool," warned Flora.
"The what?" asked Stella, before she fell in with a splash.
"Are you okay?" asked Flora concerned.
The Solarian princess, her front covered in mud, just looked at herself, sighed, shoulders sagging, before marching on.
"I will take that as a yes. Musa, tree again," warned the brunette.
"Are you okay?" Bloom asked Flora with concern.
"Whatever do you mean?" the brunette questioned nonplussed.
"Well, you almost constantly have to keep an eye not only on the environment, but also on us," explained Bloom. "Is it stressful?"
"I have been trained to handle stressful situations," answered the brunette. "Plus, it is only good for me to have a... Musa, hole in the ground... For me to have a chance to test my escorting abilities. It will often involve people less experienced and trained than me".
"Wait, so Stella complaining like tomorrow never comes and Musa not noticing anything at all is actually helping?" asked Techna.
"Indeed," Flora confirmed.
Techna thought about it for a moment, before zipping over to a plant asking: "What is this?"
"A blue mur. Smells good," replied Flora.
"And this?"
"A blackthorn. Do not touch it".
"And this?"
"A mossback rake. Put it down or it will bite".
"And this?"
"Musa, big rock. Techna, that is an ordinary mistvale willow".
"And this?"
"That is just a rock".
"And this?"
"Stella, big root... you should probably stop and look whenever I warn you. Are you okay? Anyway, Techna, that is moon moss".
"And this?"
"A three-eyed nightwatcher. Do not poke it. They hate to have their sleep disturbed".
"I'm helping,"
"Very much so".
...
Half an hour of walking, investigating thickets, turning over rocks and wading through shallow rivers later, the girls came upon the edge of a large stream.
"Alright, let us take a break here," said Flora after surveying the area. Almost immediately, Stella collapsed into a pile of princess, groaning and moaning about how her everything hurt.
Bloom opened her backpack and started handing out the prepared dinner, some sort of bread with stuff on it.
"So, haven't run across that fancynamed prettything," concluded Techna.
"No surprise," answered Flora. "We may even have passed it. If it is disturbed it does not come out of its... well, its hole for quite some time".
"Sounds like more walking," groaned Stella from her crumpled position on the grass.
"Musa, water's edge," called Flora.
"Huh, water?" asked Musa, looking up from her notes. "Oh, a stream".
"Yes, and we're taking a break. Did you also miss that part?" Techna asked teasingly.
"I did. Sorry, mind's preoccupied," apologised Musa before sitting down, receiving her lunch from Bloom.
"So, what's the next step?" asked Bloom.
"It is the middle of the day, so we still have time to search," replied Flora. "Once we have had fifteen minutes of rest, we should get going".
"Only fifteen minutes?" questioned Stella disbelieving. "What the blazing sun are you made off?"
"Sterner stuff than you, apparently," added Musa.
"Why did I agree to this again?" questioned the blonde sulkily.
"I guess it was when Firetop started resembling a puppy," answered Techna in a genuine attempt to be helpful.
"Well then, why did I absolutely have to go?" asked Stella.
"Because we're Flora's friends," answered the redhead.
"But I tots suck at this. Look at me, I'm a complete wreck," whined the Solarian princess.
"Which is a big help. Apparently, the more useless and annoying we are, the better training it is for Flowergirl," explained Techna. "Isn't that fantastic?"
Stella sighed and in the driest voice imaginable said: "Absolutely stupendous".
"Everyone, quiet," whispered Flora suddenly. The four other girls immediately clammed up and paid attention. The brunette pointed out in the river and they followed her directions. Bloom couldn't help but gasp at the sight.
Out in the stream swam two small creatures. They reminded Bloom a lot of mermaids, except a lot smaller. They had fish like tails, except not scaly, arms with webbed fingers and hairless heads with big expressive eyes.
"Undines," whispered Musa excited.
"This is great. As locals, they might be able to help our search for a reasonable prize, or for free if they are generous," whispered Flora. "We just have to establish contact peacefully". She slowly rose up from her crouched position and held her hands in the air.
"Pre-diplomatic stretching?" questioned Techna in a hushed voice.
"Probably trying to appear non-threatening, I guess," replied Bloom in a whisper.
Pretty soon, the two undines caught sight of Flora and appeared to be shocked, but seeing that she didn't do anything, they kept looking at her from a relatively safe distance.
"Hello, I am Flora," greeted the brunette. "And I have four friends with me here. Get up girls and stay where you are". The four others obeyed, Stella a lot more slowly than the others and with a lot more cursing and creaking. After the undines had noticed them, the brunette continued by saying: "We are looking for a flower. Can you help us? We are willing to compensate you for your troubles".
The two water creatures started speaking to each other in hushed whispers. After a short debate, one of them carefully made its way towards the shore, the other keeping a sharp eye on the group.
"You... you wish to help us?" it timidly asked, though its voice had a strange croaking quality to it that reminded Bloom of a frog.
"Sure. All we ask for is directions to a cheerful gladiolus, the flower we are looking for," confirmed Flora.
"Well, then you will have to speak with our queen," it replied. "If you would please follow us".
"Lead on," replied Flora.
As they followed them down the stream, Bloom asked: "So what are they?"
"Undines," replied Flora. "A sapient amphibious species living in freshwater areas. Related to the ocean dwelling selkie".
"On Harmony, they live in small lakeside villages and aid in the maintenance of lakes, rivers and so on," said Musa. "They're fully fledged citizens, a few even joining some of our academies and schools, though it is pretty hard considering they need to remain moistened to survive".
"They also live on Limphea. They are organized in several tribes and live in small burrows in the mud of river banks," Flora explained. "They are very territorial and can be quite aggressive, having managed to weaponize the poisons of several other native Limphea species".
"Anything else you could tell me?" asked Bloom eagerly.
"The most peculiar thing about them, and selkies for that matter, is that they are all women most of the time," explained Flora. "However, when mating season sets in, they release pheromones into the water which causes a random number of them to convert into males for a couple of months".
"It's true," confirmed Musa when she saw Bloom's shocked expression. "Then what happens next depends to the gender ratio. The rare time there's an equal amount, hey, everyone's happy. More women than men, every male gets a little harem for the season. But if there are fewer women than men, they engage in ritual duels to determine who's worthy".
"Those duels are of course highly ceremonial and very popular on television," added Flora. "The ones on Limphea are much bloodier. They always end up with the excess males dead. A grim business".
"But what then if they all turn into males?" asked Bloom.
"It happens rarely," replied Musa with a grin. "But those years when it does happen, well, I once asked and I was told that, and I quote, 'those years suck'".
...
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the undine village. It was a relatively big and overgrown lake with a shallow stream entering and exiting, making it hard for larger fish to get in. Bloom starred into the depths and saw what looked like woven bubbles with small houses in them.
"This is incredible," the redhead said.
"And unusual," said Flora. "Clearly, the local wildlife presents a threat for them, thus the hidden village. Why lead us to it?"
"You suspect something's wrong?" asked Techna.
"I might just be a bit paranoid," replied the brunette.
"I dunno. They're taking us to their HQ at the drop of a hat. Seems to me something's not quite right," replied the scarred girl. Flora didn't reply, instead mulling over what they were getting involved in.
At the end of the lake was an open-air throne room, with an undine dressed in small but impressive looking clothes sitting on the throne. By her sides where other undines, clad in armour woven from discarded shells, bug plates and leaves, tightly gripping their small spears.
"Welcome, humans," said the undine leader. "I hope you appreciate the amount of trust we grant you by bringing you here".
"We do, your... majesty?" questioned Flora at a loss for proper protocol. The royal undine nodded in acknowledgement. "But this also makes us suspect something is gravely wrong".
"Indeed it is. Tallis here said you offered your help and you are our greatest chance yet," replied the amphibian royal. "Let me explain. When we moved to this lake, we discovered a very useful plant we named xylith. It allows us to weave the bubbles we build our homes in, allowing us to easily hide from those who would harm us. But alas, the xylith is a plant with very special requirements and our attempts to farm it has never worked. Thus, all undine villages nearby who has adopted our method are dependent on us to supply them with xylith. And here is the problem. Xylith only grows on the nearby Black Island, but the island is home to a fearsome monster. Every once in a while, an undine is picked at random to go pick the xylith leaves, but far too many never come back. Just recently, we lost Lusiz to the island. This cannot go on. My people and all other undines need the plant, but whatever haunts that island will not let us take the xylith. But given the chance, it takes us. Please, you are all much stronger than any one of us. We will grant you any boon we can in return for you ridding us of this nightmare".
"Wow, I am getting serious flashbacks to some of my computer games," said Techna, rubbing her head. "I feel like I should click somewhere to accept quest".
"This is a lot more than we anticipated, your majesty, when we offered our help," said Flora. "You will have to excuse me while I talk with my friends here about it". The queen acknowledged her request with a nod of her head.
The girls found a shady spot not far from the throne to talk.
"Of course we have to help them," was the first thing Bloom said.
"I believe I mentioned something about us not being heroines starring in our own feature film at some point," sighed Flora while rubbing her temples.
"But helping them is the right thing to do, Flowergirl," said Techna. "Plus, we got no phones. We left them back at the tent".
"Yeah, sorry about forgetting that bag. Was reading my notes," said Musa apologetically while scratching the back of her head.
"I know," replied Flora. "Still, I would be much more comfortable getting somebody trained for this to look at it".
"Well, what about you, Flora. Weren't you trained on Limphea?" asked Musa.
"Yes, but I am still in training," replied Flora.
"Maybe we should, like, just take a look at it," suggested Stella. "I mean, the undines are small. A big fish is, like, a serious threat to them. But to us, well, we might totally be able to handle it".
"And what if it is bigger than we can handle?" questioned Flora.
"Then I brought the boom," exclaimed Techna with a big grin, revealing a couple of grenades. Everyone else immediately took a step away from her. "You know, you gals are developing some weird habits," continued Techna while attaching the grenades to her belt again.
"It's called survival instinct. You should get one," commented Musa. "Anyway, we can do some reconnaissance, see what's up, and if it is too big for us, then we go back to the tent and call somebody for help".
"I guess that would be for the best," mumbled Flora. "Okay then, all in agreement?"
The four others nodded.
They returned to the queen and Flora said: "Alright, your majesty, we will agree to take a look and see if we can handle whatever it is that troubles your people on Black Island. If we can handle it, we will, but if not, then we promise we will call for assistance as soon as we return to our camp".
"Thank you. I cannot express how grateful I am for this aid," replied the queen relieved.
...
"I'm starting to, like, rethink this idea," groaned Stella tiredly as they followed the riverbank.
"Why?" asked Bloom.
"Because calling the boys from RF and getting them to take a look at it would have involved less walking," groaned the Solarian princess. "I can only barely feel my legs and the only thing I can feel is pain. That and sweat. I can smell myself. I am not supposed to smell myself, that is dis..." She was interrupted by Musa walking into her.
"Oh, sorry Stella," said the black haired girl quickly, looking up from her papers.
"Really?" asked Stella. "Still on those notes?"
"Still haven't memorised it," sighed Musa sadly. "Maybe I should have one of you girls do a pop quiz".
"Can it wait until we're done with our epic quest?" asked Techna.
"That would probably be for the best," agreed Musa, before the group started walking again.
They rounded a bend in the river and came to the edge of a very large lake, in the middle of which was an island. Thick clumps of bushes covered most of it.
"Right, Black Island," said Flora. "We should look for a good spot to conduct surveillance from. Follow me". Slowly, the girls skirted the edge of the lake.
"I vote we eat again before we start starring at the..." started Stella, before Musa walked into her again, pushing the princess to the ground. "SERIOUSLY!" bellowed Stella. "IS THAT PIECE OF PAPER REALLY SO FASCINATING THAT YOU CAN'T TAKE TWO SECONDS TO NOT PUSH ME FACE FIRST INTO THE MUD?"
"Sorry, sorry," pleaded Musa regretfully. "But I have to memorise these if I want to maximise..." The rest of the sentence was cut short as the water's surface exploded and a massive, serpentine head launched forth, biting into Musa's leg. With a terrified scream, the girl was dragged into the water.
Immediately, Flora, Bloom and Stella dove into the water, Techna taking a second to pull out an antique diving helmet from her backpack before following.
Stella's finger lit up, allowing them to see a bit better in the lake. A thin stream of blood guided the girls through the water. Bloom could already feel the pressure building, her lungs felt like they were on fire, screaming for air, when they saw her. Musa was hanging lifelessly from the jaw of the beast, which had pulled back into a cave, blood drifting gently from her leg. Her eyes were closed and the only movement she made was gently swaying in the water, immediately giving Bloom flashbacks to the simulator incident. She gritted her teeth, determined not to fail her friend in real life.
The creature's head was massive, with folds where Bloom assumed its eyes were beneath, two closed slits beneath it that were probably nostrils and a massive mouth shaped almost like a beak. Both Bloom and Stella immediately went to work trying to get Musa's leg free from the monster's mouth. Flora instead swam up to the beast alongside Techna. The scarred girl pulled a grenade and pointed at it questioningly, but Flora shook her head before pulling something of her own out of her pouch. With a determined move, she shoved her fist into the monster's nostril and released the contents of her hand, causing a thorny bush to start growing in its nose. Immediately the beast opened its mouth in pain and started shaking to the point that the entirety of Black Island vibrated. Quickly, Techna and Flora assisted Bloom and Stella in bringing their black haired friend to the top. They breached the surface and swam to the edge of Black Island, all of them gasping for air. Flora only took a second to breathe before turning to Musa, who was lying still at the water's edge. She rolled the black haired girl on her back and checked for breath and pulse. With a worried look on both her and her friend's faces, she started applying regular pushes to her chest. After that, she adjusted Musa's head and breathed into her nose. Suddenly, Musa's eyes opened, and Flora barely managed to move before the girl shot up and stared coughing up water, where after she puked on herself.
"Thank the Dragon you are okay," sighed Flora relieved.
"Define... okay," gasped Musa, trails of digested food still on her lips. "I feel like crap".
"For now, sit still, I'll need to take a look at your leg," said Flora. She used some water from the lake to wash off the puke and blood, and then applied bandages from her backpack. "Best I can do at this point," said the brunette apologetically.
"Best you can do? Dang, that was amazing. You just managed to save her life," said Techna, voice echoing from inside her helmet.
"Good job, Flora," said Stella with a warm smile and placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"It was nothing. Just basic first aid," answered Flora.
"I had some first aid training at school, but I don't think I could have pulled that off," said Bloom.
"Well, despite my help, I have far from healed her," said Flora. "We need to get her back into proper care. Problem is that we do not have any way to contact anyone and if we try to swim over at this part of the lake, I have no doubt the beast will take the chance to attack again. And I doubt we will be so lucky again this time".
"Well, what can we do?" asked Stella.
"Either look for a shallow place to cross over or for materials to make our crossing safer. We will have to investigate before I can say more," answered the brunette. "Stella and Bloom. Could the two of you assist Musa? Leaving her here is too dangerous, but so is using her leg right now".
The two girls nodded and helped their wounded friend walk.
"So, why not let me use da boom on that ugly sea cretin?" Techna asked Flora, the magenta haired girl's face obscured by the diving helmet's glass.
"I have no idea how powerful your home-cooked explosives are, so I found it prudent to resort to known quantities," responded the brunette. "Why the diving helmet?"
"I got a re-breather in here, plus, the neck is completely sealed," answered Techna. "Which would have been useful if some of you needed to go up for air.
"A brilliant idea. You seem to have a lot more of those than some of our classmates give you credit for," said Flora. They started walking inland as a line of plants that had grown to the water's edge blocked their path.
"Right. I get stereotyped a lot," answered Techna in a voice that made it very clear how hard she was rolling her eyes. "Just because I like parties, action and threesomes, some people think I couldn't possibly have a single good thought bouncing around in my skull. Pisses me off at times".
"Well, I will say you have managed to prove all of your critics wrong," answered Flora. "In fact, though you have acted thoughtless on occasions, I would never think of you as stupid after what I have... wait a moment". The brunette stopped up, her face the very expression of alarm. "Can you hear that?"
"It might be the helmet, but I can't hear anything," answered Techna.
"Exactly. The swamp is full of animal life, yet this place is dead silent," replied Flora.
"And you know what else?" began Techna. "We've been walking for two minutes and for those two minutes we've had these two walls of bushes on either side, like a frickin' hedge maze. But I sincerely doubt there's a wild gardener living out here, so what's up with that?"
They both turned around and starred at their friends, who were sluggishly following them.
"Hey... wait... for us," said Bloom in a dazed voice before yawning.
"Yeah... we should... have a... break now," agreed Stella, fighting to keep her eyes open. The two of them were dragging a sleeping Musa along.
Both Flora and Techna stared at them in horror.
"Alright, I'll say that's super-duper bad sign number three," said Techna slowly.
"The air," said Flora suddenly, as if sensing something. "It is full of spores".
"Right. Number four," added Techna.
Suddenly Bloom and Stella collapsed on the ground.
"Bloom, focus. You can't sleep here!" exclaimed Techna as she ran over to the redhead.
"Just... two more... minutes... mom," was her last words before drifting into sleep.
"Flowergirl, spores are your field. Can't you do something?" asked Techna.
"I am afraid it is too late. Even if I were to force the spores out of their bodies, they have already poisoned them," answered Flora. "The only thing we can do is allow them to sleep it off, but that will not happen as long as they are here. We will have to identify the source and stop its spore production before I can even hope to shield them from it".
"Alright. So what do we do with the sleeping beauties here?" asked Techna, gesturing with her thumb.
"As much as it pains me to say it, we have to leave them for now," sighed Flora. "We would be ill equipped to handle whatever it is that befouls the air while burdened with three of our sleeping comrades".
"Right. Gotcha," answered Techna, although she sounded less that pleased with the idea. The two of them hurried down the path created for them by the two lines of bushes.
"So, how come you're not affected?" asked Techna as they hurried down the path.
"I have trained myself to constantly keep myself free from spores and such with my magic. It is more or less second nature for me now," answered Flora.
"Right. Any idea what is doing this?" asked Techna.
"A couple. None of them good, but some worse than others," replied the brunette. Suddenly, the path ended in the centre of the island and Flora said: "Oh no. I was hoping I was wrong on this one".
The ground was littered with the mummified bodies of birds and small mammals, a carpet of dead insects covering them. There where even a few undines among them, their dry, cracked skin stretched thin across their bones. In the centre of this macabre graveyard was a massive red tree. Its roots dug deep into the cracked ground, from which seeped a yellowish substance that smelt of rot. Smaller roots had dug into a collection of animals lying by its trunk.
"Alright, so this is definitely the mother of all bad signs," said Techna, staring as the scene in front of them. "Flowergirl, could you update the city girl on what the fuck that piece of weed is?"
"A red willow," replied Flora. "Also known as a blood willow, deathtrap willow or slaughter willow".
"Yeah, with those names, there's no way that's something you just use to spruce up your windowsill," said Techna, eyeing the vibrant red plant. It was massive, with long leafless branches hanging from its top.
"Not at all," replied Flora. "It controls lines of normal looking plants to herd animals towards it and then it poisons them with pollen and feasts upon them once they fall asleep. This one must be really old to be so big".
"Right. It's time do some pruning," said Techna and took a step forward.
"Wait, a word of warning," said Flora quickly. "Those branches are not just for show. It will be able to sense us through its root network, which probably covers the island by now and it can swing those branches to defend itself".
"Spectacular. Weed that fights back," sighed Techna. "So, a plan of attack".
"The roots," Flora replied.
"Right. Let's hit its weak point for massive damage," replied Techna with a grin. The scarred girl stormed towards the tree, kicking up clouds of dusty cadavers as she did. The shiver went through the red willow, before one of its branches launched out towards her. Techna dodged to the side, the massive branch cracking like a whip.
Flora had also set off, trying to approach the red willow from the opposite side of Techna. Another one of the red plant's branches lifted into the air and came down towards her with fearsome force. Flora focused her magic and forced the branch to freeze. She could feel the strain of the tree fighting her magic. She ran forward and let the branch go, the red appendage now smashing uselessly into the ground behind her.
A branch that Techna had taken for a root launched out and hit her legs, causing the girl to fall. Another branch came down towards her, the magenta haired girl only barely managing to avoid having her head caved in.
"Crap, my shins feels like one giant bruise now," she mumbled in a pained voice as she rose from the ground. "Alright, Willy the Willow. You're really starting to piss me off".
Flora could feel the force from the branch cracking the air behind her. She jumped forward, plunging a syringe into a big exposed root. Almost immediately, a blackness started to spread across it, as the root started dying and shrivelling. Flora got no time to enjoy this moment of victory, as at that moment, a branch hit her back, sending her flying face first into a pile of corpses, her spine and ribs buckling from the force.
An explosion ensued as Techna's grenade exploded, sending stumps of flaming root in every direction. The tree visibly shivered from the damage.
"Wohoo, point goes to me!" yelled Techna happily, throwing her arms in the air. A branch suddenly lashed out, hitting her head, sending her through the air in a somersault before landing hard on her stomach. The visor had cracked, the helmet itself had become slightly deformed and Techna herself hoarsely mumbled: "Alright. Point goes to the pissy tree".
With a pained yell, Flora forced her dislocated shoulder into place. She starred at the irate tree, pondering their options. So far, three big roots had been destroyed, but she only had one dose of weed killer left and it just wasn't affecting the tree enough when injected into the exposed roots.
"TECHNA! GRENADES! HOW MANY?!" she yelled to the magenta haired girl, who was dodging another assault from the angry plant.
"THREE!" she replied.
"USE THEM ALL ON THE TRUNK!" ordered Flora, before dodging another strike from the tree's branch.
Techna shrugged, before charging at the tree. She slid under a massive branch, crumpling animal parts spraying into the air, before she rolled forward and deposited her three grenades as the foot of the tree. Then she dashed away, helped on her way by a branch crashing into the back of her helmet, deforming it even more and sending her flying face first into the ground.
"GRENADES DELIVERED! GET READY FOR FIREWORK!" she yelled excitedly from her position in a pile of mummified cadavers.
With a resounding explosion, the side of the red willow was torn open, at the same time also snapping off a couple of branches. The tree wavered and shivered from the massive wound it had been inflicted.
"So, now what?" asked Techna.
"Now, use this on its exposed inner parts," said Flora, handing the scarred girl a syringe. "Hopefully, this will kill it. If not, it should at least severely weaken it".
"Alrighty then, once more into the breach," said Techna before storming towards the tree. All of its remaining branches lifted into the air, as the plant seemed to register the two as a grave threat. And then they all came down towards Techna. The magenta haired girl desperately looked for a sweet spot to dodge them that wouldn't require her to spontaneously become two-dimensional, when the branches froze in mid-air. Techna looked over her shoulder and saw Flora straining to keep the branches under her control. Pearls of sweat started pouring off her face from the massive exertion of magic. Techna gave her a quick thumbs up while running forward, before jabbing the syringe into the tree's exposed wound. The red willow shivered as the deadly poison spread up its trunk. It shivered and writhed, its branches spasmed as it slowly died. And then they crashed to the ground for one last time.
"WE'RE BUTTSLAPPING AWESOME!" yelled Techna excitedly, jumping up and down.
"Good job, Techna. Good job," gasped Flora tiredly as she allowed herself to sit on the ground.
"I did a good job?" questioned the scarred girl. "Girl, give yourself some fucking credit, because you're awesome. Who's awesome? That's right, you're awesome".
Flora couldn't help but chuckle at the excited girl's comments.
"We should go through the animals closest to it," said the brunette as she slowly got up on her legs. "See if any can be saved. The spores are quickly thinning out without the red willow constantly pumping them into the air".
The two split up and started to investigate the beings the red willow had fed upon. Many were long gone, just corpses with enough fluids left to feed on. Others were alive, but beyond saving from the roots that had burrowed into their organs. But a couple were only mildly harmed, among them an undine that Techna ran off with to get some water. Flora, however, returned to their three friends. Roots had stretched out from the surrounding plants, probably to drag the sleeping girls to the central part of the red willow to be eaten, but had ceased moving with its death. Flora helped get the three of them into a shade and then patiently waited for them to awaken. After waiting for nearly half an hour, her friends' eyes slowly opened.
Stella yawned and said: "That was just what I needed. A nap".
"What happened?" asked Bloom groggily. "I remember... we were trying to get off the island..."
"You were all poisoned by the red willow that dominated the island," explained Flora. "Do not worry, Techna and me managed to handle it. With some trouble".
"A red willow?" questioned Bloom.
"An unpleasant plant that lures animals close to it and then poisons them so it can feed on their sleeping bodies," replied Flora. "I will explain in detail later, for now, we should join up with Techna".
...
After a short walk, they found the magenta haired girl sitting by the water's edge, holding the undine so she was almost covered in water. The little amphibian was breathing weakly, barely able to turn her head to see the others arriving.
"It's okay. Those are the friends I talked about," said Techna comfortingly.
"How is she doing?" asked Flora.
"Better now that she's in the water again," answered Techna. "I got her to answer a couple of questions. She's Lusiz, the undine the queen mentioned".
"What about... the others?" asked Lusiz weakly.
Techna looked away before saying: "They didn't make it".
"Oh... I am not... surprised. Though it... still pains me," wheezed the amphibian.
Suddenly, the entire island shook, vibrating with force.
"Oh what now, we get an earthquake too as a bonus?" questioned Musa annoyed, as Bloom and Stella held onto her to keep her from tipping over. "Seriously, screw the universe today".
"It is not... an earthquake," said Lusiz after the trembling stopped. "The island... I found out... it is a great turtle. The willow... grew on its shell... infecting it".
"That explains that liquid that leaked from the ground around the willow," said Flora. "The wound must have festered. And the willow must have feasted on the turtle, directly poisoning it and keeping it asleep".
"That's great, but what is a giant turtle doing here?" asked Musa confused.
"There is a species of giant turtles on Magix, called island turtles for their size," explained Flora. "They sometimes migrate across lands like Melmamora to lay their eggs before returning to the sea".
"And while it was up here, it got infected by that red willow plant," concluded Musa, causing Flora to nod in agreement.
"Plus, it has been both tortured by its wound and deprived of food, which is why it lashed out against us," continued the brunette.
...
"You are our saviours," said the queen loudly, trying to be heard over the cheering undines. "How can we ever thank you for aiding us?"
"Well, we were looking for a flower before this mess," answered Flora. "A cheerful gladiolus to be specific. If you could tell me where there is one, that would be payment enough".
"We will do even better," insisted the royal undine. "We will bring said flower to you. You all deserve nothing less for what you have done, especially since you also saved Lusiz. And though we are saddened by the loss of those who perished on the island, we are even happier the threat has been ended".
"Yeah, but how are you going to get your xylith now that the island turtle is moving on?" asked Musa.
The queen's eyes fell before she replied: "We will not. We managed to gather quite a supply, but that will not last forever. Eventually, we will run out. But we will persevere".
"Maybe it is not so bad," said Flora. "I took some soil samples from the turtle and I might be able to figure out what a xylith needs to grow. Hopefully, you will be able to use this knowledge to farm the plants".
The undines broke out into a cheer again, despite Flora's protest of: "Wait, wait, I cannot promise anything, I have to test it first".
"Even so, the fact that you would attempt this for us says a lot about you," insisted the queen. "Ah, and here is your flower". Two undines came forth with a slightly purple flower.
"Thank you many times, your majesty," said Flora gratefully as she placed the flower inside a glass with water. "You even managed to get its roots out. I will be sure to plant it and take good care of it".
The girls waved goodbye to the assembled undines, before starting the trek back towards their camp.
"So, can we go home now?" asked Stella completely exhausted.
"Yes. We have the flower and I dare say we have been through enough today," confirmed Flora. "Though I will say this expedition has been quite the success".
"I wonder if the teachers will believe this story?" questioned Bloom.
"I think my leg is proof enough," grumbled Musa, still supported by Bloom and Stella. "Hey, wait a moment. What happened to my notes? I think I dropped them when the turtle grabbed me".
"Don't you worry, I managed to grab them before we started saving you," said Techna.
"Really?" asked Musa, her face lighting up.
"Yep. Here they are," said Techna before fishing a clump of half-melted paper pulp from her pocket and handing it over to Musa. "Always happy to help".
Musa just starred at the white mess of ex-paper in her hand, her lips quivering and eyes twitching, before she let loose a frustrated scream that could be heard for miles.
