"What is with this place and giant things?!" Yuuki wondered aloud as he ran. "First the giant evil worm, now a giant evil shark!"
"What about the giant rock?!" Liuva yelped as she nearly tripped over a small bush.
"The giant rock's punching the giant shark!"
Hayato yelped as he swiftly cut through a creature in his path that looked astonishingly like a deer with a pineapple for a head.
"I feel as though I should evaluate the life choices that led to today…" Hayato mumbled.
"Less talky more looky!" Aran snapped. "Any sign of Tear?!"
"It is a bit difficult considering we do not know where she is." Xenon said, as he dodged a small boulder in his path.
"She's gotta be around here somewhere!" Yuuki shouted, glancing around.
"How do we even know?!" Hayato exclaimed. "Wouldn't she be running away from the giants?!"
Yuuki took a moment to think about this, and immediately collided with a tree.
The group simultaneously skidded to a halt near their comrade, who had fallen to the ground with an unceremonious "whump".
"I…" Yuuki muttered, rubbing his bruised head. "...did not think of that…"
"So we were just running towards the giant monsters in the hope that she'd be there?" Aran crossed her arms.
"Hey in my defense, this is Tear we're talking about." Yuuki grumbled. "And none of us are trackers either. 'Balanced team' my foot…I swear I'm gonna stab Neinheart when we get back."
"What, you want to climb back up the waterfall and tag-out for a mage instead?" Aran huffed.
"I wouldn't not do it." Yuuki huffed back. "I mean, does any one of us know how to heal?"
"No."
"Nah."
"Does first aid count?"
"I am more of the hack-and-slash variety, actually."
There was a pause.
"Oh boy," Liuva rubbed her eyes, "we're charging towards two island-sized monsters without any sort of reset button on hand."
"That's it…" Yuuki sighed in exasperation. "Stabbing is too good for Neinheart. When we get back, I'll need a fishing rod, a jar of barbecue sauce, and a harmonica."
"You are going to use Neinheart as bait for some sea creature?" Hayato asked. "But, what is the point of the harmonica?"
"Using him as shark bait would also be too good for him." Yuuki grumbled. "And as for the harmonica…I'm gonna say, 'half-time entertainment'…"
"Can we go back to the important topic?!" Aran snapped. "We can yell at half-glasses later, let's focus on finding Tear first!"
"You're right." Yuuki said as he stood up. "Buuut…I don't know how to find her, because, full-circle, I'm not a tracker."
"You're thinking about it too literally." Aran sighed. "We might not be able to track her down, but we could send up a flare and let Tear find us, or at least signal us back."
"But the monsters–" Liuva started.
"The monsters won't notice us." Aran finished. "We're literally ants to them."
"She's got a point." Yuuki said, then thought for a moment. "Liuva, send up a flare. Xenon, you hover over the treeline slightly and see if you can spot a response of some kind."
Xenon nodded and took off. Liuva bit her lip anxiously, but began charging her gauntlet anyway. In one swift motion, she punched straight upward with a loud "bang", and a few seconds later there was a larger, much louder "bang" as the makeshift flare went off.
The group waited with baited breath.
"Anything yet?" Yuuki asked Xenon.
"With all due respect," the cyborg said, "it has been all of ten seconds since–"
He was interrupted by a second bang, this time further in the distance.
"I see her."
"Where is she?"
"On the island closest to the giant monsters."
He paused a beat.
"Should we–"
"Yes."
The group collected themselves, and then continued their sprint towards their friend.
As Gulla and Muto's clash echoed across the heavens like thunder, Tear stood staring at the giants with a triumphant smirk on her face.
"Well Master Lyck," she said, "seems like Muto liked the food after all."
She heard no response.
"I hope you'll at least treat Simia with a little more respect now."
"Sniff…"
"Huh?"
Tear turned around.
Was…was he crying?!
"WAAAAAAH!" Master Lyck wailed, confirming Tear's suspicions. "I'M SO SORRY, SIMIA!"
Lyon patted the head chef on the back.
"From now on, I will give you the recognition you deserve…" The anteater wiped his eyes as he continued. "As Muto's personal chef!"
"R-really?" Simia asked, startled. "That's…TH-THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
As the group joined together for a comfort-hug, an odd "bang" echoed across the clearing. Tear turned and noticed a bright orange light sparkling for a few seconds before vanishing. Tear thought for a moment, until…
"Ah!" She gasped. "That looks like...like Liuva!"
As her words sunk into her brain, her expression changed to one of pure glee.
"It's LIUVA!" She exclaimed. "And-and the others too! They're here!"
'Hey, kid!' Eskalade chimed in. 'Send up a response!'
"Ah! Right, right!"
Tear summoned her Soul Shooter, and quickly shot up a second, pinker flare to match the one she saw.
"What's a 'Liuva'?" Simia asked. "Someone is coming?"
"My friends!" Tear clapped her hands together. "I can't wait for you all to meet them!"
"Well," said Lyon, "even if they're weirdos like you, we'll be sure to welcome them to our village!"
"Especially now!" Said Pibik. "Muto's eating again!"
"We should celebrate!" Pimi chirped.
"Buhuhuh…party!" Pidol mumbled.
And like that, the celebration began.