—She smashed her fists into the giant purple fruits, dangling on the ends of vines and swaying gently in the wind. They exploded in a sticky, colorful burst of jam and seeds, which coated her from head to toe, but she knew her sister would not even get angry at her for dirtying her clothes.
No, she would have this meek, apologetic smile on her face. Then, she would scurry away to prepare a bath for her, and the thought of that just made her gnash her teeth and want to tear something to pieces.
Huffing, she finally stopped, after she had reduced the last fruit to a pitiful smear. Uprooted plants and fallen branches were scattered across the ground. Her nose twitched at the few specks of dirt in the air. She had been sneezing non-stop, ever since she kicked up a dirt storm on her way here.
Stupid dust, stupid forest, stupid kid who runs away from her Basilicom and can't even...
Suddenly, she heard a rustle coming from behind. On reflex, two daggers materialized in her hands, and she hastily shifted into a combat stance, ready to strike. Must be some random monsters, which was good, because she really wanted to beat something up right now, and weren't all badass CPUs supposed to beat up monsters—
"Woah there!"
Someone let out a yell from behind the shrubs. Then, silence.
She stared at the trembling plants for a while, before moving closer to examine it, daggers still in hand. She needed to be vigilant. Bad guys and spies could be everywhere, waiting to prey on her declining nation. She had never fought a real villain before, and the thought of losing made her sneeze loudly, again.
Maybe this could be her chance to prove herself.
"Get out!" She slashed at the shrubs, sending leaves and twigs flying all over the place.
The vegetation soon gave away, exposing the bare earth beneath. But there were only more shrubs and grasses. Nothing else. After sparing a few more suspicious glances at the empty space, she lowered her weapons. They probably ran away at the sight of her, even though she didn't think she could be that scary. Unless they were a total coward—
She turned back, and stared right into someone's face, hanging upside down.
"Wah!" Their face scrunched up in a funny grimace, as they stuck out their tongue at her. She almost jumped into the air, and her daggers were immediately out again. Before she could make a move, the person backflipped down the branch and landed a few feet away from her in a showy pose.
"Uh, hello."
A little girl, slightly younger than her, was standing there, looking a bit embarrassed at her overly dramatic landing. The hood of her white hoodie was down, revealing her messy blond hair, and the rainbow-colored ring on her chest was glowing gently under the sunlight.
"What was that for?!" She pointed her daggers at the little girl. "Explain yourself!"
"Sorry for the lil' prank. I'm just looking for my other glove." The little girl raised her right hand, and she saw the oversized white glove. "Must've dropped it when I got out of the hammock this morning."
Scowling, she put her weapon away. Hammock? Did this kid live in the forest or something? Just wandering around and randomly scaring people, like a total weirdo?
"I kinda need it back, because the fairies told me there's a big meanie nearby. Everything's big to them, though. They'd see a dragon, or a flying piranha, and say the same thing—it's big, it can fly, and it means trouble!" The little girl chuckled, as she pulled her hood back up.
"Umm, by the way, have you seen someone throwing a tantrum in the woods? Tearing out grasses, kicking up dirt, and smashing those poor plum fruits—"
The little girl stopped talking, when she saw the fruit juice that was smeared all over her black hoodie.
"Oh." She gave her a dejected look. "That's not very nice of you."
"W-Whatever!" She felt her cheeks heating up. Great. She couldn't even take her anger out on plants in peace now. "I'm leaving!"
"Uh-oh. No you can't." The little girl shook her head. "You need to say sorry to Beti, Ly-Ly, Ludi, and Beti's sisters, first."
"...What are you even talking about?"
"The fairies, of course!" The girl raised an eyebrow, like it was supposed to be an obvious fact. "They saw you making a mess of their home, and they aren't happy, y'know."
"G-Get lost already!" She let out a groan and started walking in the opposite direction. She didn't even want to argue with this kid right now. She'd just go somewhere else, somewhere that was not the Basilicom, or a stupid forest that was home to some crazy kid who thought she could see fairies—
"Now you are just being mean." The little girl pouted, and the next moment, she was behind her, grabbing onto her right arm.
"Let go of me!"
She flung her arms wildly, but the girl's grip was surprisingly tight. Even after she gave up trying to pry her fingers open, and went on a mad dash through the bushes, hoping to throw this annoying burden off, the girl was still clinging onto her. Finally, not used to dragging a dead weight behind her while running, she dropped onto the ground, sneezing again as her face landed in the dirt.
"Say sorry and I'll let go."
"Yeah, like I believe in your fake friends! Don't make me hurt you!"
"You won't." The girl replied. "The fairies say this forest is right next to a Basilicom, and the CPU would come and get you."
She opened her mouth and stared at the girl. "Y-You don't even know who I am, huh?"
"You are a meanie who really hates plum fruits?"
"I'm the CPU, you delusional idiot!" She blurted out, and immediately covered her mouth. What was her sister going to think of her, using her title so carelessly?
...She'd just try to distract her little sister with toys and stories, like nothing had ever happened. But there would be this look in her eyes, like she was hushed by an invisible phantom. And it drove her nuts, every single time.
"Oh, really?" The little girl said. "I thought CPUs were supposed to help people, not beat them up."
"Not true! Lady Cyan Heart is like, a badass CPU, and she's a badass because she never just sat there and took it. She always fought back!"
"Who's Lady Cyan Heart." The girl responded with a blank stare.
"What?! You are in Tari, and you've never heard of—Ugh!" Of course. Of course this homeless kid who spent her entire life in the woods would know nothing about Tari's glorious history. "Just stop bothering me, or—or I'll show you how a real CPU fights! A-And I'm telling you, you'll regret it!"
She couldn't, of course. She would not be out here, sulking, if she had her HDD. But this kid didn't know that.
"Liar." The girl still had that annoying smile on her face, as she tightened her grip. "You are just trying to scare me off."
That was the last straw.
"Oh yeah? Take! This!"
Gritting her teeth, she punched the girl in the face with all her strength, feeling the grip loosen as the girl staggered back from the impact and fell down. It was not as satisfying as she thought it would be, seeing her wince like that. But maybe the girl would finally learn to leave her alone.
"Oww. Are you just looking for a fight?" The girl held her palm over her cheek as she stood back up, actually looking a little angry this time. "That's a shame. The fairies really don't like blood."
"No! I've been telling you to back off—"
"But, since you won't apologize, I'd have to teach you a lesson." The girl turned away, seemingly towards empty air. "Oh, don't worry, I'll go easy on her. So, pretty please, Beti?"
There was a popping sound in the air, before a silver sprite of light suddenly came into existence, and flew at the rainbow-colored ring on her chest. The ring glowed even brighter—she was glancing all over the place, searching for the unknown helper who could have sent out that sprite, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
"See?" Noticing her frown, the girl added. "They are watching us. You still don't wanna say sorry to them?"
She gritted her teeth and readied her daggers. So this girl here had some fancy magic she thought was given to her by fairies? Screw that. She was not backing off, not after her dignity as a CPU had been insulted, and she would show this crazy kid that she was a proper fighter who could kick her butt, even without going HDD—
She heard a "swoosh" sound, right before something punched her squarely in the face. Staggering backward, she steadied herself and dashed away, glancing around frantically for the girl. But the little silhouette was already gone.
Another punch came from behind, shoving her off balance, and she face-planted on the ground. As she propped herself up, she caught sight of a blur of white, floating above the tallest trees.
"Coward! Get down here!"
She leaped onto a nearby branch and started making her way up, stabbing her daggers into the trunk like climbing picks. Another flying punch hit her in the face, and she nearly fell off the tree. She winced—if she could transform and fly, this would never be a problem!
Now that she was almost at the top of the tree, she could see the kid, her hood off again, gliding through the air and jumping from tree to tree. A silver aura enveloped her glove as she turned back, and fired a few fist-shaped projectiles at her pursuer. Now that she could see it coming, she had a much easier time dodging them.
"Stop flying around!" After nearly slipping off a branch, she could not help but let out a frustrated scream. "You're cheating!"
"Uh, can't you fly too?" The girl asked. "Do you pretend to be a CPU, just because they can fly?"
Why was this girl such a pro at making her mad? Well, she was not the only one who could attack from a distance! Roughly aiming one of her daggers at the girl, she hurled it through the air, just as the girl came to a halt on a branch.
It missed her target by a tiny margin and plunged into the dirt below. The girl did look a little spooked, but soon regained her composure and jumped away. She was now standing still on another branch, sticking her tongue out, as if daring her to throw her remaining dagger. Perfect opportunity.
She might not be able to fly, but if this girl thought she couldn't catch up to her, she was in for a painful surprise.
"Panther Pounce!"
She felt her boots lighting up with heat, as she leaped towards the tallest, thickest tree nearby. Stomping down hard on the trunk to propel herself forward, she rapidly accelerated through the air like a shooting star, heading straight towards the girl.
She had her dagger out, in a piercing grip, but she was suddenly seeing red and her sister's disapproving looks and a good CPU uses her blade to protect her own people—
She dropped her dagger. The next second, her target vanished. Unable to halt her charge, she crashed right through the canopy and into a small pond below the trees. Muddy water got into her nose; when she was done coughing and sneezing, the first thing she saw was a white silhouette, slowly floating down and landing on the grass.
The little girl was holding her lost dagger, with a huge grin on her face.
She bolted up from the water, and tried to catch the girl while she was still on the ground level, but her boots were caught in the deep mud. By the time she wrenched herself free with a slimy, squishy sound, the girl had already leaped onto another branch.
"You shouldn't play with sharp things, if you can't hold onto it, y'know?" The girl tossed the dagger into the air, before catching it with her gloved hand.
"Give it back!" She jumped up at the girl, who cartwheeled onto another branch behind her.
The next moment, she heard multiple "swoosh" sounds. Before she could turn and dodge, the fist projectiles hit her, causing her to fall back onto the muddy bank.
"Say sorry to the fairies, and you can have it back."
Like heck she would! Wiping the mud off her face, she prepared for another pounce. The water beneath her boots started to sizzle, before she launched herself into the air again. Her eyes widened when the little girl tossed the dagger through the air, but with much more force this time.
It flew past the tallest branches, across the far sky, and vanished in her sight.
She was still zooming upwards, wind rushing into her ears. She did not realize that the girl was no longer there until gravity started pulling her back down, and a forceful kick connected with her butt in midair, sending her flying through a web of vines and branches. Seconds after she landed face-down in the dirt, a weight crashed onto her, pinning her to the ground. Before she knew it, her arms were held behind her back in a tight grip.
"You lose." The girl announced, in an annoyingly cheerful voice. Her eyes were watering up; she started sneezing again, as she stirred up more dust in a wild struggle to free herself.
"So don't be a sore loser. Say sorry. S-o-r-r-y. It isn't that hard!"
Against her best efforts, more tears were rolling down her cheeks.
What kind of CPU lost her weapons, then got her butt kicked by some delusional little kid? What kind of CPU couldn't even fly, a decade after her birth?
She squeezed her eyes shut. She was stupid, stupid, so stupid. If her sister saw her like that, she would never believe that her little sister could become someone as great as Lady Cyan Heart.
That strained smile kept flashing through her mind. Her sister was always smiling, even when she could not hide the disappointment in her eyes, even when she could not hold back her own tears, and it took every bit of her self-control not to yell at her sister to please please please just stop smiling and get mad at me for once—
Would she still be smiling, if a villain came to destroy Tari, and her useless little sister could not even put up a fight?
No.
There was no way she would be able to fend off a bunch of nasty criminals, or the terrifying CPUs of their neighboring nations.
She couldn't even beat some little kid.
They would show no mercy, and once they finished her off, they would find her sister and—
"—NO!"
She did not even realize that she was screaming out loud, as a burning sensation surged through her small body. The grip on her wrists loosened, and she caught a glimpse of the girl, leaping away with her eyes wide open, like she had just seen some big, scary monster.
Her surroundings faded into a bright white void. There was a buzzing sound in her ears, and she had no idea what was happening, but it felt right and powerful in a way she had never experienced before. For a moment, she saw a faint shadow in the distance, its long cyan hair flowing in the wind.
Then the light faded away, and she was back in the woods again, floating above the trees.
She looked down at her palms, and saw the claw-like gloves, the sleek red and black fabric that covered her arms. The heat swelled up in her chest again, as she clenched her fists, and two daggers materialized in her hands.
She was giggling so hard, it became full-blown laughter. She was finally a real CPU, who would grow up to be more badass than the First Goddess of Tari, and that annoying little kid would be the one saying sorry, now that she—
"Golden Ray-Punch!"
A huge blast hit her on the temple, knocking her right out of the sky. The heat was gone before she hit the ground. Little sparks swarmed her vision when she opened her eyes with a groan, and saw the familiar black sleeves of her hoodie, now clean and unstained.
"Uh, thanks for getting my other glove back, Ly-Ly!"
The little girl appeared in her view again, yelling towards empty air before descending from the sky. Faint whiffs of smoke were coming out from both of her huge gloves, now shimmering with a golden light. For a moment, she just lay there, stunned.
How? How could that kid just pull some super-powerful move out of nowhere? She shouldn't even be able to touch her, once she went HDD!
"Beti?!" The girl turned away from her, frowning. "Yeah, she said she was a CPU, but you didn't believe her! So I didn't either!"
She jumped up from the ground. No matter. She could do it again, she just needed to focus, and this time, there was no way she would fall to the same sneaky cheat move—
"Who could've known that she's such an angry little kid?"
She squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to call up that burning, searing sensation again. Yet all she felt was lingering nausea and a dull pain in her temple. When she opened her eyes again, she was still in her small, frail body.
"Okay? How's throwing tantrums at plants a...Goddess thing?"
She couldn't do it again.
The dam burst, and this time, she was not holding the tears back. Her intense sobs soon turned into full-on wails, as she dropped to the ground on her knees.
"Uh, Beti...what do I do now?"
The girl was probably standing there, watching her bawl her eyes out. But she did not even care at this point. She was enough of an embarrassment already.
Just when she thought she had become stronger, she was smacked down like the weakling she was. Why wouldn't she? Her HDD Form was just a bluff, like how she scowled and yelled and played with her daggers so people would not notice how badly she wanted to run away—
"Okay, I admit, I might have been a lil' too pushy. I never want to make you cry." The girl's voice was coming closer. "Your transformation thing is cool, and I'm sorry that I knocked you out of it."
She almost choked on a sob at that reminder, and when she felt a touch on her shoulder, she smacked the girl's hand away.
"I-I don't..." Her voice was cracking, as she hastily wiped her face with her sleeves and glared up at the little girl. "...I don't need your pity! D-Do whatever you want to me! You won, and I'm...just a stupid, stupid loser!"
"You mean that?" The little girl put both of her hands on her shoulder. "But I don't wanna do anything to you. You punched me, and I punched you back. We are even now..."
Her voice trailed off, and she suddenly had this thoughtful look on her face.
"Hmm. Wait. I do need you to do a thing."
"Oh, I know! Sorry! S-Sorry for not believing in your stupid fairy friends! Sorry for messing up their trees! Sorry for—"
"Yeah, you're...welcome." The girl interrupted her angry barrage of apologies, and pressed a finger against her lips. "Now, can you just look at me, and be very, very quiet?"
She frowned a little, but still did as the girl said, once she stopped rubbing her eyes raw.
At first, it just looked like a breeze was blowing on the two locks of blonde hair, which were stubbornly sticking up on top of the girl's head. Until they started wiggling up and down in a rhythm, like little wings.
One by one, little sprites of yellow light slowly floated out of the girl's hood and started circling around her head, going faster and faster until they became a blur. Suddenly, the swarm of sprites dispersed in a mini firework of glittering light.
They flew back into her hood in an orderly line, and for the next few seconds, she just stared at the girl, mouth agape, unable to take her eyes off these...things.
"Ta-Da." The girl gave her a wink, before pulling her hood back up.
"H-How? How did you..."
"Oh, they just really like that trick." The girl shrugged. "Maybe they'd come out to you, too, once they warm up to you—"
The little girl suddenly paused, as if she had just remembered something important.
"Wait, I haven't even asked for your name, before we started beating each other up!" She slapped her forehead. "Silly me. Might've saved us a lot of trouble—"
"Flare, CPU of Tari." She mumbled. Now that she had her HDD, she should probably start thinking of a Heart title for herself. That was, if she stopped being pathetic and learned to transform at will. Preferably in front of her sister, who could really use some happy news to distract her from her endless work.
"Cool." The girl nodded, then extended a hand towards her, and helped her up.
"I'm Ubi. At least that's how the fairies call me."
A/N: Giant Rayman Reference: The Chapter.