Chapter 34: Toxin
A/N: The Illness Has Spread. Time for Hat Kid and Bow Kid to fight for not only the sake of Alpine Skyline, but the whole world. I'll let y'all try to guess what the name means. *cackles evilly*
Hat Kid walked out into the main hub, smiling peacefully. However, the tranquil look on her face was quickly replaced by a look of confusion when she looked down at the planet below and saw Alpine Skyline covered in dark purple clouds.
"Bow, come here," Hat Kid beckoned.
"Did something bad happen again?" Bow Kid asked as she walked out into the main hub as well, and saw the dark purple clouds around Alpine Skyline.
"I dunno, but I have a really bad feeling about this. Let's go see what's up," Hat Kid responded, and Bow Kid nodded, and they dropped down to the Goat Village. They were horrified by the sight. Purple pollen was everywhere as the area was covered in violent storms, and to make it worse, it seemed like the goats were possessed by something.
Holding back against the howling winds, they ran up to a sheltering Alpiner.
"What in the Universe happened?" Hat Kid asked the panicked nomad.
"W-we don't know! Those purple plants bloomed, then suddenly the big Goats went crazy and started attacking everyone as a giant storm rolled in!" They explained in distress, and Hat Kid sighed.
"I knew those plants were no good," She mumbled, then something came into her mind. "I remember something about these plants, there should be three main roots we need to take out. Do you know where the first plants appeared?"
"We first saw them near each peak except Twilight Bell," The nomad explained a bit more calmly. "Take care, kids, those flowers seem very nasty." Both girls nodded and took off. They would go for the one at the Windmill first.
They took the left zipline and saw the flowers at the base of the small windmill in bloom, which sparked another memory. "I think I studied these flowers in school, I don't remember why, though. Don't touch the flowers, they'll register your action and retaliate," Hat Kid explained.
Bow Kid nodded and they hooked onto the windmill, and the Goat was still there, and noticed them, and chased after them, but they climbed onto the house and continued. When they came to the next zipline, it was covered in pollen, so they couldn't attach to it. However, there were some large floating pieces of pollen with hooked ends that they could hook onto.
They did so, and came to a large outcrop covered in the flowers' roots. They saw the main root, and it shifted, almost seeming to sense and register the girls. "Oh, right, the main roots are self-aware and semi-sentient and will attack us, so watch out," Hat Kid muttered, then coughed repeatedly, then cleared her throat, which concerned her first officer.
They jumped over to the next outcrop, and pieces of pollen landed near them, and flashed. They ran forward just as the pollen exploded, and they continued, dodging a few goats, until they came to the main root.
Hat Kid whacked it repeatedly until it uprooted and flew off, releasing a burst of pollen, then, near the windmill, the haze cleared and plants died. Hat Kid coughed more, this time a bit more violently, and Bow Kid was even more concerned.
"Are you ok?" She asked her captain.
"Yeah, fine, why? I think I just have a cold, I'll try to see if I can remember anything that might be of use," Hat Kid responded. They returned to the Goat Village and continued, Hat Kid wracking her brain for more information, then proceeded to make their way to the yellow zipline to the Birdhouse.
They jumped across the tightropes and hookshot clamps and hooked onto the next zipline. When they landed, Hat Kid coughed more again, but shook it off and continued. Lightning struck ahead of them, causing the ladder ahead to burn and the fencing to fall off, so they climbed up the outcrop and continued their journey until they saw more large pieces of pollen, which they swung off of.
The main root, which seemed larger and nastier than the other one, responded to the intruders and began shooting pollen at them, as well as a new attack, suddenly spouting vines from the ground to attack them. They managed to dodge all of the attacks and make it to the main root, and they both whacked it until it uprooted and died, causing another large burst of pollen to cleanse the air and kill the plants.
Hat Kid doubled over and began coughing extremely violently, rolling as she did so, until she stopped and had to gasp for air. She looked into her hand and saw blood spattered across it, as well as some tiny pieces of pollen, then her memory finally clicked.
"Repeat after me what you will do if you see these flora on a planet,"
"Okay"
"If I see these plants..."
"If I see these plants..."
"I will flee the planet as fast as possible,"
"I will flee the planet as fast as possible,"
"Very good."
Hat Kid's heart dropped, and she gasped, remembering everything about the plants. "Illonessia Titaniauria," She said without emotion, causing her first officer to turn to her. "That is the official name of these plants."
"You remember them?" Bow Kid asked
"Yes, for better or for worse," Hat Kid answered. "I remember everything, and now I remember why I studied them."
"Are they toxic?" Bow Kid inquired.
"No, not to most," Hat Kid responded. "But for Time Lords..." She turned to her first officer with a dead serious look on her face and put her hands on her shoulders. "Bow, I want you to promise me something," She said.
"What?"
"If... no. When I fall, I want you to promise me, you'll leave me behind and take out the last root," Hat Kid stated.
"What?!" was Bow Kid's response. "No, no. I can't leave you behind!"
"Bow, listen to me. If these plants aren't stopped, then all life on this planet shall be wiped out as they spread. One life cannot stand in the way of saving millions," Hat Kid explained. Bow Kid teared up.
"I-I can't. Y-you're a sister to me!" Bow Kid stammered, and Hat Kid put her hand to her mouth and let out a 'shh'. Tears were gathering in her eyes as well.
"Yes you can, you must. The whole planet depends on it," Hat Kid replied reassuringly, and Bow Kid nodded sadly. They hugged, then returned to the Goat Village. All that was left was the Lava Cake root, which would most likely be the strongest one.
They made their way to the red singed zipline and rode it, then bounced off of the spiders to cross the gaps to the next zipline, which they latched onto. Hat Kid began coughing even more violently, sending agony throughout her body, but refused to give in. The girls then climbed up onto the outcrop, jumping on some huts and platforms, until they came to the top, and climbed on top of two big houses, and hooked onto more large pieces of pollen, landing on an outcrop, where, not very far away, the final root lay.
This root looked even nastier than the last two, and had small plant barriers built along the path to it. The girls began running toward the flower, but Hat Kid was impaired by the toxins in her system and took a direct hit from a piece of explosive pollen and fell to the floor, then began coughing extremely violently, and vomited blood before falling unconscious. The root then gathered vines around her, which proceeded to wrap around her, trapping her in an organic prison.
Bow Kid was going to try to help her, but remembered her wish and sprinted toward the root, then let out a battle cry as she whacked it, uprooting it, which killed it. It released one final burst of pollen which cleared the last bit of air and killed the last bit of plants, then the skies became clear again.
The vines around Hat Kid withered, and Bow Kid picked her up gently, then returned to the Goat Village. When they arrived, all the Goats and Alpiners had gathered to show their appreciation.
"Is it... over? The air is clear again!" One Alpiner exclaimed. "And, the goats seem to have come to their senses again! I don't really understand it, but I assume we have you two to thank!"
Bow Kid, hearing the nomad refer to them as a plural, looked down to the girl in her arms and put her hand to her captain's face, then a tear rolled down her cheek. "We found this in a cluster of those flowers after they wilted again. You two were pretty insistent on going after the others, so I guess it belongs to you?"
Bow Kid took the Time Piece sadly and smiled sadly at her captain. "It's hers, not mine. I'm simply a helper. A sidekick," Bow Kid said sadly, then thought of something. "Oh peck!"
The Alpiner was startled by this sudden outburst. "What's wrong?"
"The plants are extremely toxic to her species, she needs medical help, NOW!" Bow Kid shouted. Hearing this, the nomad turned around and ran off, then came back around a minute later with some nomads clad entirely in white, Bow Kid assumed they were doctors or medics.
They picked up Hat Kid and brought her inside a house, where they laid her down on a bed and got her a damp towel for her now-hot forehead. She groaned in her unconsciousness and shifted slightly. The medics seemed troubled. "What?" Bow Kid asked.
"These plants are foreign to us, we have no cure, no antidote. We have no idea how to help her heal, other than simply to give her basic aid and hope she struggles through," The lead medic stated. "However, judging by her condition, how long she's been exposed to the toxin, and her youth, she's not going to make it without an antidote."
Hearing this made Bow Kid stomp her feet. "So, you're just going to give up on the person that saved your home?" She shouted angrily at the nomad, who seemed flustered.
"Of course not, I'm just telling you not to get your hopes up," The medic replied, and Bow Kid walked outside and sat down at a cliff, then began crying.
"What's wrong, young one?" A familiar, mysterious voice asked, and Bow Kid turned to see the Badge Seller at her side.
"S-she's dying, and there's nothing I can do about it," Bow Kid stammered hopelessly.
"Actually..." The merchant replied, "I know these plants. I know their antidote."
"You do?!" Bow Kid said excitedly.
"Indeed. However, I cannot help you without some form of compensation, I have already shown you much generosity and mercy," He explained. "1000 pons for the recipe of the antidote."
Bow Kid sighed and paid the merchant, who handed her a piece of paper. She read the paper, and it said to find 10 flower stems and mash them together in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. "The flowers growing around this land are a natural antidote, if you find the stems and turn them into a liquid form you should be able to heal your friend, but, no guarantees," The Badge Seller explained.
Bow Kid took off immediately and found ten of the glowing white flowers, and collected them. She ran back to the makeshift hospital and asked the medics for a mortar and pestle, and they found one and gave it to her. She put the stems of the flowers inside it and crushed them into a liquid, then poured the liquid into a vial.
She brought the vial over to Hat Kid's lips, but because of her being unconscious, she didn't drink it. Bow Kid sighed and grabbed her chin lightly, then tugged down to get Hat Kid's mouth to open, then poured the liquid in and tilted her head back to get her to swallow it, which she did.
Bow Kid then sat down and sighed, then groaned. She was tired and had a headache after all of this, and a medic put their hand on her shoulder. "I don't know where you're living, but you should go back there and rest. You don't look too good," The medic explained sympathetically.
"I won't be able to rest knowing she's like this," Bow Kid replied, "I might as well stay down here."
"You've done all you can do, so go back and rest. She'll be worried if she sees you in a bad condition if-when she wakes up," The nomad told Bow Kid. "Go back and rest."
"Fine," Bow Kid responded, then took the Time Piece and flew back to the ship, then got into bed. She was so used to seeing her captain there, seeing the bottom bunk empty made her cry herself to sleep.