Chapter 48: Love, Hardships, and Guns
Morning came and I walked out of my room, stretching my arms. "Oh! Dave, Lemres is outside waiting for us." Ringo saw me. "Huh? Why?" I looked. "Well, that's we're gonna find out. Go ahead, open the door for him." She urged. I opened the door and Lemres came inside. "Hey dude, what brings you here?" I asked. "I'm gonna put this in simple terms... Ms. Accord wants all o' us to come back to the tunnel soon. She says that it's imperative and in our best interest. That's why I'm here, to bring ya to Primp and gather the other peeps." He answered. Uh oh, that's awkward… Dammit, I had planned to meet up with Draco at noon. Fuck, what do I do?! Do I just go along with this for now? I can't get to Primp on my own anyway. … I think I may have an idea, but it'll end up deceiving everybody for a little bit. God, I feel scummy for even thinking of attempting this… but dammit, I have to help Draco get a cell phone. "O-oh, is that so, Lemres? Alright." I pulled myself together. Ringo squinted her eyes suspiciously at me right before I said that. That obviously made me worry that she could catch on to me doing something. Shit, I think my thinking has brought in some notice from Ringo. I'll need to bluff and hide this stunt really well. "Dave, are you ready?" Ringo asked me. "Uh… um… We haven't had… breakfast yet, had we, Ringo?" I scratched my head. "... Oh yeah! God, how could we forget?" She realized. "Well, c'mon on outside when you're done." Lemres exited. Good, hopefully that took her mind off that moment… We ate with Serilly, who woke up some time after we did. She of course… was stuffing her face with pancakes. "She REALLY likes pancakes, does she?" Ringo turned and whispered to me, seeing the sight as awkward. "Uh, yep…" I felt just as awkward. Time elapsed and we left after saying bye to Serilly and Ms. Ando. "*sigh* 'Bout time… What took ya?" Lemres slumped before standing straight up. "If you were in there with us, you would know exactly why, Lemres. But, we're mincing words... let's get a move on." I told him. "Uh-huh… 'Aight, sure." He nodded slowly. We as a trio, entered the portal Lemres made and ended up in Primp. "Okay, I'm gonna get Amitie and the rest of our classmates. Dave, go get Arle and Carbuncle. And Lemres-" Ringo spoke before Lemres stopped her. "I'll get anyone else that hasn't already been spoken of." He finished. "Uh, ruuude. You interrupted me, Lemres." Ringo pouted. "Hey, I already know what to do, Ringo. That's why I did that." He pointed out. "Th-that's no excuse!" She lashed out somewhat. "*sigh* We're getting nowhere like this… We just all do our part in this, so stop acting like little kids." I facepalmed. "Fine…" They begrudgingly made up. Ringo and Lemres went their separate ways from me. Quickly, I looked at the time from Primp's clock. It's… 11:43 A.M., huh? I might be able to feasibly wait here for about fifteen minutes, then meet up with Draco for her cell phone.
A minute passed after twelve, and I saw Draco sprinting. It looked like she was desperately trying to find me in the huge crowd of people. "Hey, I'm over here, Draco!" I waved both of my hands. She saw me, then ran over to where I was at. Draco was catching her breath from the running. "So, why didn't you fly to me, Draco?" "Oh, well I did fly… but then I had to land because only birds are able to fly around here." "The hell? Who or what established that nonsense?" "Dave, it was this… bird guy. A big bird that can talk, with pink feathers and a pair of glasses. He claimed that he was a hero of justice for the town. I just took his word for it, cuz... I don't really go to this place." "If I see him, me and him are going to have the chat of a lifetime. Why, you may ask? What he says is probably not even a rule in the town… He probably just wants positive clout." "Uh… what's clout, Dave?" "Clout? It's kind of another way of saying attention. Specifically, it's the way that one creates some buzz among people. Um… were there any other features of the bird guy that you can describe?" "Uh… …! The tail feathers! They're small and few, only three of them… There was a red, blue, and green feather. And… his beak was also pretty large, and yellow too." "Alright, so if I see a huge bird with those features… I'll know right away. Let's get you that cell phone." "Then we can go on a date! Yippie!" Draco instinctively grabbed my hand while I led us to the shopping part of town. "Let's see here… no… no… … DEFINITELY not… Ah, here it is." I found it after some searching. Looking about in the shop allowed me to see that they had phones of the same model as the one Ringo gave me. "Perfect, these ones are the same kind of my own, Draco. Go ahead, see what color you want." I showed her. "... … Ah! This one looks cute!" She smiled. "And, it's fitting for you too. How much are these…?" I squinted my eyes to find a price tag. "Dave, you can't see it? I can see the price just fine." "Huh? Where…?" "The tag might be shoved back to where you don't see it. It doesn't matter, I can pay for it." "Oh? Well… good, I guess…" Draco purchased the phone and we left the store. I eased her into its functions, by demonstration. After that, I made it so that my number was in her contacts and vice versa. "Excellent, now we can call and message each other whenever we need to, Draco." "Yay! *giggle*" "How about we go there and have some fun?" I pointed her over to where the woods were. "In the woods, Dave? I dunno…" "Aw, c'mon… the woods carry more joy than you would think." Oh my God, that is very much a lie… but I can't tell her that I have a job to do. If I do tell her, she'll be so upset. Draco really wanted a date… ... Fuck it, I'll make it so that me and her are dating and move myself over to the tunnel. Multitasking! "... If you say so, darling!" She called me "darling"! Now I CAN'T go back on her; I must provide her a fun time. "Let's go!" I started. We ran and ran until reaching the start of the woods. Once we were inside the thick of it, we cycled between walking and making out. In the middle of it, I got a phone call. "Hold up." I stopped Draco. I took out my phone and she nodded to me in silence. It was a call, from Jace. "Dave, it's me." "What is it, Jace?" "Can you reach out to Ringo? Where is she?" "Uh… we are both not in Suzuran currently… why?" "Why? The authorities need a bit of an… agent, and they came to me for a recommended person for the job. At first, I thought you would be best for this… but I don't think you're quiet." "Uh, what kind of agent are they looking for exactly?" "A secret agent, an individual who can hide in the shadows. I realized that Ringo's body size is smaller than yours. By the way, how good is her aim?" "I'm… not too sure about that, but… aren't you a good candidate for whatever this job entails?" "I WOULD have been, however... remember when Spy Gala-tea almost escaped from the Puyo Isles? I was wounded during that time and because of that. The authorities don't trust me with doing it myself." "Huh… okay then, what about Gilbert?" "Tch. He has no experience with this kind of thing at all." "Oh…" "Anyway, tell Ringo that I'll be waiting by what's left of Suzuran High." "Uh, alright." "Thank you, goodbye." Jace hung up. I called Ringo a few seconds later. Maybe this can serve as a coverup for my tardiness at the tunnel. "Ringo? You hear me?" "*sigh* Yeah, what is it this time? Can someone take you back to Suzuran, Jace needs to see you at what's left of Suzuran High." "Why-?" "Don't ask why, it'll make more sense if you ask him yourself. I don't know all the details, he just called me." "Fine. What a pain in the ass…" Ringo hung up the call.
Sudden rustling sounds from the trees above us began to make themselves known. "Hoho! Is that the dragon girl that I saw this morning?" I heard a voice. "Huh?! Who's there?!" My eyes darted. "Hm? Why is this boy with her now? Hm…" The voice continued. "...! Dave, it's him. The bird I told you about, he's here!" Draco recalled the voice. "Hey, show yourself, birdbrain!" I demanded. "If I must… HOHO KICK!" He shot out from the trees above and aimed a kick at me. "Holy shit! What the hell?!" My eyes widened. I barely dodge-rolled out of the way and the bird landed, creating a small crater in the ground. "Mm-hm… that wasn't half bad kid, you managed to avoid one of my signature attacks. Though, that one was only made with seventy-five percent speed. I could have gone full speed if I wanted to. However, it is of my best interest to not go all-out... unless I deem it to be necessary." He said with arrogance. What is up with that arrogant demeanor? It's pissing me off. "Who are you? What do you want from us?" I demand an answer from him. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Boy, how do you NOT know me? I am the shining hero of justice for Primp and its citizens… Hohow Bird!" "Yeeep, never heard of you." I lost interest in conversing with him. "H-huh?! Are you living under a rock or what?" The bird took an offense to my comment. "I dunno, I just know that I've never seen you from around here." I rolled my eyes. Hohow Bird stopped for a bit, then sighed. "I guess it can't be helped… I did take a leave of absence from my hero duties up until recently. But… this is where things change! I'm here to capture someone who has done wrong, and I see her right in front of me as the villain she is! CAW!" He charged. "E-eeeh?! … Gyaaaah! Let me gooooo, you stupid... not-hero bird!" Draco tried to break free. She was grabbed by him and couldn't escape. "Draco!" I screamed. I initiated for combat, applying the bulky armor. "Hey! No one takes somebody that I care about away from me like that! What's your justification for bluntly labeling Draco as a villain, big beak?!" "My justification, you say? Well, I told her that only birds can fly about in Primp Town, but... Mm-hm. She broke that rule of wing." "That's a bunch of avian shit! I've never heard ANYBODY or even any one thing mention that to be a rule." "Boy, you lack evidence to prove it as nothing more than turkey baloney." "So?! You lack evidence to prove your case too! Unlike you, I've been doing actual heroic things. People adore me with this armor, for how strong I am, and for how much determination I have." "Uh… say what…?" "? Didn't you hear me, dodo brain? I said that I'm a hero!" "... Pff… PAAAH-HAHAHAHA! HO-HO-HEE! Oh-hohoho! hoo-boy… You can't be serious. What kind of hero dons a set of armor THAT evil-looking? You can't possibly be a hero if you look like a demon from Hell! *chuckle*" "Tch. Make fun of me all you want… it won't make a difference, because I will force you to let her go!" "Uh, no. That... that will not do. I won't just let you have her back. Instead, I'll make a proposition for you." "A proposition?" "Mm-hm. I am going to fight in a tournament tomorrow… and I want you to be in it as well. If I am eliminated and you win the entire thing, I'll give her back. As a hero: I pledge to keep this as a promise to you." "Fine. Whatever it takes to get her back from you, I'll do it. Prepare yourself when I do face you, Hohow Bird!" "Do the same, boy. Until then, I'll have this "troublemaker" restrained!" Hohow Bird dashed into the shadows with Draco screaming somewhere in the distance. Draco, I promise that I will rescue you!
Draco's POV
The bird held me tight and I got more and more furious. "That's it! I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but go to Hell!" I breathed fire at him. "...! Sorry, but no fire will be burning me!" "H-How?! How is my fire not burning you?!" "After the last time that I got cooked like a goose from a girl… I decided to always have access to a special gel! As long as I'm covered with it, flames of any kind don't affect me. I used it once to save a child from a building engulfed in a raging hellfire, believe it or not. None of the firefighters of Primp could get close to it, even with hoses and fire extinguishers. So, I stepped up to the plate to save the kid. She was a little tyke, about six years old. I saw her terrified face and when she saw me, the girl hesitated whether she could trust me. To me… that was just another act of heroism, but for her, it must have been the scariest thing she had ever experienced at that point. Once I had convinced the girl, I managed to carry her to safety and into the arms of her mother." "H-how long was this ago?" "Mm-hm… so NOW you're interested to hear my side of things, isn't that right?" "Don't get me wrong, I still think your way of thinking as a hero is screwed up compared to Dave's. You wouldn't take me captive like this if you were a real hero." "Think of my actions as you wish… Anyway, I believe that it was the second to last heroic act I did before taking that leave of absence. Here we are… my base." "A… very tall tree…?" "No, not JUST a very tall tree; check this out!" He pressed a hidden button to reveal a door in front of us. "..." "I made this myself, girl. Inside there is an elevator that can take us either up or down. Above us is the base's perch, where I can see many things from a distance. Meanwhile, the underbelly contains the majority of this base. I think it will be better to show you rather than tell. That's where we'll go, since it's my… crib, so to speak." He carried me inside and lowered us to what should be underground. "Here it is… you can have one look at all of this before I hold you in a container." He presented. I walked around slowly, taking in the place's aesthetic. A lot of crazy gadgets and whatnot rested on walls, looking rather organized. For a human-sized, and overly "heroic" bird, he knows how to make his own home neat and cozy. Five minutes passed without either of us uttering a word. "Alright, get in and stay in this container, troublemaker." He waited. I sighed and walked over to it. "Hm? Waaaait." He halted me for a second, prying into my pockets. "Ah-ha! I thought there might have been a phone…" "N-no! Give it back, I just got it today!" "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to it. I'm just... separating you from it, ensuring that you can't contact somebody. Like, maybe that boy for instance. What's your story with him? You two seem to be rather close." "... How long were you watching us for, bird?" "I would say… just before the boy had his first phone call. Yes, I saw him go through two back-to-back calls." "But what you said before appearing to us was different from that..." "That was just to not come off as a heavy eavesdropper. It was inevitable for me to be seen as one, but I said that so it would sound like I was only there with you by sheer coincidence. After all, what kind of hero goes to eavesdrop on an unsuspecting person? Unless it's if it's used for the purpose of intel gathering, it's not fitting of a hero. But… back to my question: What's your story with the boy, hmm?" "*sigh* Me and him… we go a few months back. When I first laid my eyes on him, he was… attractive. He didn't accept my love at first, because he-" "Hold it. Before you go any further… I need you to tell me his name." "I-it's Dave…" "Last name?" "L-last name…? I don't know… he never told me what his last name was." "Hm-hm… so his name is Dave… continue." "-because Dave didn't really know much about me at the time. After he saw my true colors while we were at this island resort… I felt like he got to know me through all of that. Dave saved me from being declared guilty in a trial there... and also woke me up from a coma I received just after that. He wouldn't have done those acts himself if he treated me as mostly a stranger, but he was… my hero." "Heh. A soppy love story with a bright ending... This sounds like something right out of a soap opera if you ask me. I would say you are lying to me, but your cheeks are red. Do you truly love him?" "Y-yes! As a partner, and my personal hero..." "Either way, you're still in here because of that rule I had established. Until Dave wins the tournament, you're stuck here. Get in the container, I'll give you food that you want when you feel like you're hungry. Just ring the bell at any time before 7:00 P.M. Ask and you shall receive! Even though you're a troublemaker in my eyes right now, I still must be a fair host to my guests." It's good to see that he at LEAST has manners… "Okay… get in." He told me. I stepped inside. The seal closed back up and I was trapped. I noticed a slot of sorts in the seal almost right away. "Oh-ho, that? It's a tray slot. This is how I'll be able to bring the food to you without opening the container. I might toss a book in there too so you don't get bored. … … Ah-ha, here's a book that will keep you entertained for a long while. A love story, I get shivers in my wings every time I read it." He tossed the book inside. I took a look inside the book as he walked back to a chair to sit down. Before I knew it, I was reading full paragraphs. I wasn't much of a reader, but I was being pulled into the story.
Ringo's POV
I told everybody at the tunnel that I would be going somewhere else for important business. Arle and Carbuncle came on their own, and I asked if Dave got them to come. Arle said that Dave never told them to go to the tunnel for the day. I don't know what's going on, Dave… but this is NOT making me happy. Having me go back to Suzuran… and he didn't even bring Arle and Carbuncle to the tunnel! What the hell?! When I was back in Suzuran and within his sight, Jace gestured to me. "Okay… why do you want me?" I walked to him. "..." He went on with his reason for dragging me into this. "Jace… I'm not a person of stealth." "Well, you are going to be! Look, we don't have many other candidates for this. Dave's body size was too big, his shoulders were too broad, ect." "*sigh* If you're looking for somebody that fits this bill, I think I may have a better choice than myself." "Who?" "I'll go get her." Luckily a portal that I used to get to Suzuran was still around. I relayed the information back to the others and urged that Feli would enter that same portal, along with Lemres. I didn't want her to be trapped in Suzuran. Lemres agreed to come along for the ride.
Feli's POV
I felt like this was a job that I could do well in after Ringo came to me. Arriving in Suzuran, I met up with Jace after Lemres stayed behind. "So, what does this mission entail, Jace?" "Feli… have you heard about Suzuran's citizens being taken hostage recently?" "N-no… I haven't." "I see... That's what this mission is about: Saving the hostages from the clutches of those assholes. If they don't have a single one to their name, they have no bargaining chip to coerce the city in submitting to them. Now, your body is definitely small enough to slink through the shadows. Are you sneaky at the very least?" "I'm silent when I don't talk, which is a good amount of time." "Have you ever held a gun of sorts before? Don't worry, authorities won't give you the lethal stuff. You will be giving simple things, like tranquilizers with natural suppressors." "Uh... what's a suppressor?" "It's a thing that you put on a gun to make it produce little, to no sound when you fire. Also, the authorities will give you powerful sleep stuff to spike into drinks. It's important not to kill terrorists in this, for it is incredibly risky. If the others see a dead body, they WILL react badly to it and become desperate. The less dead bodies, the better the outcome will be. So, how good is your aim? Should we test it out before you go?" "Yeah, I guess…" He handed me a stun gun for me to shoot at a dummy. My eyesight is above average, but can I really do this? There's only one way to know for sure… I decided to take a shot at the dummy. I ended up hitting it roughly where the neck should be. "Pretty good, Feli… you managed to hit what would have been an exposed area. Granted, the dummy was a still target… but the shot itself was accurate. Do it a couple of more times; prove that it isn't a fluke." He was a bit impressed. I took two more shots at the dummy, landing roughly on the same portion of the body. "Heh. Looks like I have found the perfect person for the job..." I heard him speak to himself. "It's bizarre, Jace… I've never really held a gun before, but I feel accustomed to how shooting works." "*light chuckle* That's called being a natural, Feli. You must have some good dexterity in those hands and arms." "I… guess so." "Follow me, I'll take you to where you'll be assigned the rescue mission." He led me to a helicopter that flew us to an island in the middle of the ocean. As we landed, I took in the interesting building that stood tall in front of me. "Feli, this must be the main sector of INTERPUYO. Are you ready to convince them that you are qualified? It won't be easy." "Heh. I think I can do it…" "I like you… You have guts and charisma, the best surprises tend to come from small packages. Now, let's get inside." We entered the building and Jace talked to the front receptionist. A while later, a man and a woman came to us. "You are Feli, yes?" The man looked at me. "Uh yes, that would be me…" I confirmed. "Come with us." He said. "I'll head back to Suzuran now, Feli. I don't have any further business being here." Jaced walked away.
I didn't say anything to him, only seeing him leave the building. I followed the man and woman for a few minutes before entering a room. "Go ahead, sit down." The woman lightly shoved me inside. I took a seat and the two closed the door behind them. "I think we should introduce ourselves… You can call me Major Zeke." The man bowed. "And I am Diana, Feli." The woman followed. "Nice… to meet you, sir and ma'am." I spoke with a little anxiety. "Not much of a talker huh?" The major assumed. "Uh... oh no, sir. I do talk… it's just that I've never done something like this before." I admitted. "That's understandable, dear. You look quite young, how old are you?" Diana wondered. "I'm… fifteen. I know it may seem strange, but… I WAS the person that Jace recommended." I said. "That's fine, I can trust Jace's choice in this instance. Going back to us… I will give you your mission objective and help locate where the band of borderline terrorists are. Diana here is your tech support. She will provide you with the necessary gear to stealth your way to completing that very objective." Zeke detailed. "Here, take this." Diana handed me. "What is it…?" I grabbed the object. "This is a codec radio; a small earpiece and microphone that transmits sound to the tiny bones in your ear. Whatever is spoken through the earpiece, only you will be able to hear it. We'll occasionally call you if a situation requires it. If you ever need to call us through it during your mission, you use one of two frequencies." The woman explained. "Feli, do you have a good sense of memory?" Zeke approached me. "I do, for the most part." I told him. "Then, my frequency is 140.85." He gave me. "And mine is 141.80." Diana gave hers. "Okay. What now?" I nodded. "Before I can bring to you your mission objective, we have to come up with a codename for you." The major brought up. "A… codename? Why?" I asked him. "You'll understand why when I explain it here: A codename serves as a form of protection for your identity. In the case of something going awry… it would be bad if those people were to use your name to blackmail you into submission. Trust me, it's much safer to have yourself go by a codename for missions like this." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "It… makes sense, I suppose." I agreed to the idea. "How about… we refer to you as "Iguana?" He suggested. "Iguana…?" I raised an eyebrow. "You know, named after a kind of lizard." Zeke pushed the envelope. "Major, don't you think that possible codename is a little too tacky? I think I have a better one for her. Feli, what do you think of "Chameleon" It's still the name of a lizard, but one that focuses on stealth." Diana proposed. "Chameleon… yeah, I think that can work…" I slowly nodded. "Then it's settled! From now on, we will refer to you as Chameleon during this mission." Major Zeke established.
He then summarized the details of the mission for me: I am to infiltrate the criminal base, subdue the borderline terrorists, and rescue every single hostage. I must not be seen by the terrorists under any circumstance. And then, I must learn what they are hoping to gain out of taking people hostage, if possible. "Feli, here's a stealth suit for you. If you don't like the color.. then too bad, these only come in navy blue for a reason. Before you ask why, I'll tell you that reason. Are you familiar with what a ninja does?" Zeke handed me. "Roughly… I visited Japan for some downtime recently, albeit, not much. My boyfriend got ill from eating sushi, in case you were wondering why. But yeah… I saw bits of ninja things here and there, but nothing concrete." I crossed my arms. "Ninjas live in the shadows when they infiltrate places. For this mission, you are going to be sneaking around the criminals' base tonight. Luckily, the sky is supposed to be clear-ish, to partly cloudy. Wearing an entirely navy blue outfit allows you to blend into the night sky better. That's IF the sky itself isn't polluted and pitch-black…" He added. "So that's why it only comes in navy blue…" I stretched. "We are currently in the process of developing a stealth suit that automatically blends into anything, but it has been taking us years…" Diana disclosed. "I'm sure something that complicated takes a lot of time to whip up." I nodded. "Well, once we finish the first one under ideal conditions… it'll be easy to reproduce. Until night falls, feel free to mentally prepare yourself." Zeke finished. Hm… I should really take that sentence seriously. After all, not everybody can handle this kind of stress. And no sane person can fire even a tranquilizer without thinking of the consequences. But… I think I can make an arrangement to be slightly heartless to the criminals, all without them knowing my presence. Time to wait for subduing to ensue by my hands…
Dave's POV
I arrived at the tunnel, with a couple of new faces joining the fray. "Good, it looks like most of us arrived just fine." Accord said after taking a short glance at me. "Ms. Accord… this whole turn of events has been scary." Amitie shook. "I-I agree, that fact that Sig was taken over for some time by that Yog thing…" Lidelle stopped. "I dunno what to make of it happening to me." Sig scratched his head. Accord just looked at them, appearing to feel their emotions. "Look, as soon as all of the Yogs are out of commission… Yoggus will be formed and we can lure out Yog Swartus being formed, or whatever equivalent of it appears before us." Satan informed everyone. "Tch. Regardless, it's going to be a lot harder than it sounds… even with all of us together. And remember, we STILL don't have the ore we supposedly need for my new sword." Schezo pointed out. "..." Everyone stood in silence. For a minute, none of us said a word. "But… after going all this way, there's no way that we can just give up. I REFUSE to let these bastards have their way!" Schezo broke the silence. "Sch-Schezo…!" We uttered. "... Do not get the wrong idea here, everyone… I only want to live for myself. But to do that, we must forge an alliance. In doing so… it'll give us the chance that we have been seeking. When my new blade is made… we'll quickly hunt any remaining Yogs down. We don't need to hurry with that right now, because it'll be reckless." Schezo ended his speech. "That was... well said, Schezo! What happened to you? You sound… different." Arle walked over to him. "Arle, something that Dave said to me changed who I am… just a little though. I want to do productive things in my life. Before, I just rested in my cave constantly, wasting my days away. I didn't even do much of anything that would be considered beneficial. I only did things that would make me look selfish or relieve me of annoyances. That was me, Schezo Wegey from the past; now though, I want to at least return the favors to others who helped me. What we are doing now is a case of that. I must return the favor to Dave for helping me see things differently. However, at the end of the day, I still don't like him. I won't lie, he has continuously made me jealous of his power... and his disgusting levels of kindness towards certain people. I'm still only doing this out of expected courtesy, for my new sword, and to eliminate the Yogs. Do you understand, Arle? I am not a hero, I am not kind, and most certainly… I am NOT anything like Dave. And, when this is all over… I will try, more than ever before, to seize your magical power; then, I will make it my own. After that… Dave! I WILL defeat you in a fight and assert my dominance over you. I will not be written off as a weakling or joke for any longer." He pointed at Arle first, then me. "..." I stood. "... Do you not have anything to comment on, Dave?" He walked around me. "... No. No I don't, Schezo. You are free to say all of that, but it'll be a challenge at the very least to defeat me. I can assure you of that…" I told him. "Heh. That's the kind of thing that I'm hoping for." He smirked. "If you guys are done bickering, we need to find that Yog." Ex snapped his fingers. "Yes, that would be the most important thing to do right now." Accord nodded. "Rulue has filled me in on everything, so I'll help out as much as I can." Minotauros readied his axe. "Just... don't get yourself banged up too much, Mino." Rulue said to him. "I know…" He sighed. "These Yogs must not be allowed to do as they please... my psychokinesis will put them away." Yui rolled her hand into a fist. "I-I want to live a happy life, not one f-full those Yogs causing chaos…" Lidelle stuttered. "These things should die." Sig stated very bluntly. "I don't care if I have to kick them in the tear duct, they'll suffer pain for messing up our world!" Raffina stomped. "These unruly… cretins should know their place." Klug adjusted his glasses. "Agreed." Tarutaru nodded to Klug. "We must save our world for the sake of everybody!" Amitie chimed. "To the Puyo Underworld they go, for eternal punishment." Satan looked off in the distance. "I want everybody to be able to live life how they want to, not experience something shitty like this." Ringo stood up. "I must redeem myself by helping out as much as I can." Witch whipped out her broom. "I want more fun adventures and to still eat the godsend that is curry. And of course, enjoy them both with Carby." Arle straightened clothes out. "Gu gugu!" Carbuncle jumped. "No other person or thing should tell anybody how to live life… I intend on making those giant sacks of eyelids see that." I cracked my knuckles. "Now… the issue here is FINDING the Yog. Where do we search for it?" Rulue turned her head left and right. "..." Nobody said a word in response. That was the case before a new voice came through. "Nohoho… are you guys looking for a giant floating eyeball? I've seen one around lately, near my home." A human-sized frog paced toward us with a ball by his side. "Who are you?" Amitie asked him. "I am simply known as Nohoho, a traveling merchant of sorts. Say, aren't you…?" He glanced over at Arle. "Oh, um… it's been a while, Nohoho… Hehehe…" Arle laughed awkwardly. "It has been far too long since we last met. I can see that you've grown up into an adult." The frog noticed. "Y-you said that you saw a giant floating eyeball near your home, right? Could you show us." She asked of the frog. "Sure. But, it's going to cost you some gold for that." He nodded. "*sigh* How much are we talking?" Schezo felt slightly annoyed. "Thirty-five gold. No more, no less." Nohoho established. "Fine. Take this." Satan tossed a small bag next to where Nohoho stood. "Nohoho… this is perfect. Alright, follow me." He grabbed the bag and urged us to walk behind him.
Author's Notes: Dave was able to get Draco a cell phone, for the sake of maintaining contact. After some time spent in the woods together, a human-sized bird ambushed our main hero. This feathered individual presented himself as Hohow Bird, the supposed hero of justice for Primp Town. He noticed Draco, who was told by him that she violated the rule that stated the following: Only birds can fly about in Primp Town. Dave lashed out, regarding how no one person or thing ever mentioned this rule. As the argument progressed, Hohow Bird captured Draco and told Dave that if he wanted her to be free, he would have to participate and win in a fighting tournament on the very next day. In his mind, Dave vowed to free Draco from this ridiculous situation. Arriving at the tunnel, he noticed that everyone else who could make it came. Schezo made a speech of sorts, showing his level of change to anybody who hadn't seen it before then. This made everyone feel more willing and determined to defeat the Yogs. But without a way of tracking the second one down, the group remained silent before a new voice emerged. The frog, Nohoho, mentioned that he saw a giant floating eyeball near his home. He was willing to show them where, for a price. Satan chucked a bag of gold next to where Nohoho stood. With our huge party now following behind this amphibian merchant, it's only a matter of time before a fight will ensue. Next chapter, Chapter 49: The Second Yog.