We stood transfixed as the floating creature loomed over us. Its slender antennae twitched independently while its pointed limbs grasped a bomb-rock—one that was bigger than average. As its pupils locked onto us, I could sense the malice in its narrowed eyes. "Yellow? Any orders?" I asked feebly.

"Just one," he replied. "MOVE!"

We made a break for it just as the creature tossed its bomb. As a sharp hissing filled the air, we scrambled behind a dirt mound that was barely big enough to hide us. Seconds later the ground shook as a molten light flashed, and then all was quiet.

…At least until I heard gigantic footsteps. "The Demon is approaching," I whispered.

"White? Do you have a visual on it?" asked the male yellow.

"I do," she answered, staring through the mound. "It's on high alert right now, but it doesn't seem to know we're here. I can see the other creature, too."

"Do you think it'll blow up the Demon for us?" I asked.

"Doesn't look like it. In fact, it seems to be deliberately ignoring the Demon."

"My, isn't that convenient?" I grumbled. "What're we supposed to do now?"

"Can't we just wait for them to lose interest?" asked the red.

"We can't," said the male yellow. "It won't be very long before that bomb-creature spots us from the air, and when it does, it'll make another explosion and draw the Demon's attention all over again."

"He's right. We can't keep running from hiding place to hiding place," said the female yellow. "The bomb-creature needs to be dealt with somehow."

"But how?" asked the red.

"Here's what we'll do," said the male yellow. "White? You'll distract the Demon. Pink? Red? She-Yellow? You three and I will take on the bomb-creature."

"What about us?" asked the bright black.

"You harlemin will go back to the Onion where it's safe," the male yellow said curtly. "We'll meet you back there as soon as we can."

"Wh-what?! You're going to f-f-fight these creatures on your own?" she stammered.

"It's not a fight. We're just gonna keep them busy so you can escape."

"But don't you want our help?" asked an orange. "I thought we were learning how to hunt?"

"Yeah, you said you'd teach us how to fight these creatures," said another.

"This isn't what I had in mind," the male yellow growled. "This was supposed to be a tutorial, not a trial by fire! Now get out of here and leave this to the experts!"

The bright black frowned. "But-"

"Don't argue with me!" he barked. "Go! Now!"

The harlemin briefly looked amongst each other before scampering off. The bomb-creature must've noticed them, because I heard the sound of it making another bomb-rock. "It's about to strike," I said. "We need to act fast."

"Pink, you're up first," said the male yellow. "Divert the bomb-creature so it doesn't interfere with White's objective. Once she engages the Demon, we'll figure out the rest from there. Got it?"

"Got it."

I launched myself straight up, cutting off the bomb-creature in the process. It snarled and ascended towards me, swaying furiously but unable to angle itself skyward. Splendid! I had already found a weakness!

I positioned myself directly above the creature—right where its blind spot was—and dove for the vulnerable-looking sacs. There was a bizarre crumpling noise as I plunged into the soft flesh, and the next thing I knew, I was flung backwards. Once I regained control of my flight, I could see that I hadn't so much as dented the sac. I had merely bounced off, and to add insult to injury, the creature let out what sounded like a cackle!

Frustrated, I glanced down to see how the others were doing. The white had already led the Demon far away, and the other three were waving at me. It was time to descend.

I dove to the forest floor, but halfway there, my friends perked their stems and darted off. A moment later, a bomb-rock went hurtling past me, barely missing by the petals of my flower.

I quickly swerved away before the creature could throw another one. The bomb-rock hadn't been live, but a collision like that would've been enough to knock me out of the air. And if I were to land right next to it…

...Yeah. Not something I wanted to picture.

As the bomb went off behind me, I flew in the direction that the others had fled. It didn't take long for me to catch up, and when I did, I asked, "Please tell me someone has an idea?"

"I've got a loose one," said the male yellow. "That thing obviously has good vision, so shaking it won't be easy, especially when there's no cover. We have to reconvene with the white and find a more sheltered area before it blows us to smithereens."

"I know where its blind spot is," I replied. "I'll buy you some time to escape, then I'll scoop up the white and-"

"Pink! Behind you!" the red exclaimed.

I spun around and saw the creature sinking towards us, and unsurprisingly, it was carrying a fresh bomb-rock. For a split second I considered attacking the sacs again, but I knew it was pointless. My dainty pink body was wonderful for flying but terrible for fighting. If I could have just summoned the strength of my inner red, this would not have been so… Wait…

"I know what to do!" I blurted. "Yellows? Keep that thing preoccupied for me. Red? I'm gonna steal you for a bit."

I grabbed the red and pulled him upward. The creature immediately rose to intercept us, its sacs expanding as it did so. Initially it matched my speed perfectly, but then the male yellow came rocketing up and hit it square in the eye. With a cry of pain, the creature flung its bomb away and fell behind. "Nice shot!" I hollered.

"Thanks! Now make your move already!" the female yellow hollered back.

Before the creature had a chance to recover, I positioned myself above it and dangled the red. "Ready to do some damage, bud?"

"Always am, Pink!"

I released my grip, allowing him to fall onto the middle sac. It ruptured instantaneously, giving off a sharp crack as it burst into nothing. While the red tumbled off the creature's body and to the ground, I noticed a small but sudden drop in its altitude. "Those sacs! It needs them to fly!" I exclaimed. "Strike them now!"

The female yellow threw the male again, hitting and popping another sac. She was then promptly thrown by the red, popping a third. With only two sacs remaining, the creature tilted at an awkward angle as it twirled downwards.

Boom. Gotcha.

After the creature hit the ground, I swooped down and rejoined the others. We all watched as it clumsily tried to stand on its two limbs, only to topple over time and time again."Ha! How does it feel to be grounded, bomb-breath?" I sneered.

"I don't think this thing will be bothering us anymore," said the female yellow. "Shall we find the white?"

"It's probably best if we leave that to Pink," said the male yellow. "You don't mind, right?"

"Not at all," I said.

"Alright then. I guess we'll see you back at the Onion."

We went our separate ways while the creature uttered what I could only assume were obscenities. After a short period of flight, I saw the white being followed by the tired-looking Demon. "White! Incoming!"

I swooped towards her, plucked her off the ground, and swung around to fly back to the Onion. Once I gained some height, the white asked, "So how did it go?"

"It went pretty well," I answered. "That thing wasn't exactly a pushover, but it was much easier to deal with than I expected."

After I said this, I felt her go tense. Looking down, I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Um, Pink?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you spoke too soon."

My body flinched as an explosion rang out. I jerked my head up, and what I saw nearly made my flower wilt. The red and the two yellows were on the run, fleeing from none other than the bomb-creature, which was now airborne again with all five of its sacs.

"…HOW…?" was all I could manage to say.

"Pink? Care to explain how you 'dealt' with it before?" the white asked.

"We popped those sacs so it couldn't fly! It must've regrown them somehow!"

"Then let's pop them again! And this time, let's outdistance that thing before it recovers!"

"Roger that!"

I ascended higher and closed in on the creature. Unlike before, it was floating at an altitude that not even the yellows could reach. Clearly it had learned from its mistakes, and if we were to bungle things again, it would learn from that, too.

We could not afford to underestimate it again. We had to get it right this time.

While the creature tossed another bomb-rock, I flew above it and dropped the white onto its sacs. But alas, she was too lightweight to break them and bounced right off. As I dove to catch her, I heard the creature cackle again. Of all the accursed beasts…

"It's no use," said the white. "Put me down. I'll give it something to chase after while you grab another… Ah, crap!"

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Demon is coming this way! It must've heard that last explosion!" she replied. "I'll have to go and distract it agai-"

Before she could finish, a bomb-rock soared over and knocked her straight out of my grip! My stomach turned as both she and the bomb plummeted to the same spot. "No! Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

I plunged after her as the bomb-rock landed and ignited. Right before she hit the ground, I seized her by the stem and veered away just as the bomb went off. There was a brief but powerful burning against my skin as I went spinning through the air and over the dirt. Then everything came to a stop.

I creaked my eyes open, but all I could see were blurry shapes. I tried to listen, but all I could hear was a faint ringing. My body ached and my head throbbed, but for some reason, I felt at peace. Ominous figures began to surround me, but I did not care.

My eyes fell shut, and the world vanished.