Chapter Forty-One: Little Mutant

Boom Bloom walked through a thick jungle, getting trapped by vines and plants wherever she went. It was hard to maneuver around the foliage. It was as if the jungle hated her, punishing her for what she was. Each vine that wrapped around one of her bulbs seemed to say, We should trap a monster like you before you burn us to the ground. Every thorn she stepped on seemed to shout, You should suffer with every step you take. The large blooming flowers, sporting pinks and oranges and yellows, seemed to scoff, Look at us lovely things, and look at you- you don't deserve to exist.

It's not my fault! Boom Bloom begged to them. I didn't choose to be like this!

She pushed past a thicket of bushes and vines, and she suddenly found herself tumbling down a steep incline that the foliage had hidden. Up and over Boom Bloom felt herself go, until she finally reached the bottom. Her arms and legs were scuffed up, her clothes tattered, and she felt an open cut on the side of her cheek. She touched a hand to it, finding a kind of green blood ooze out. Normal plants didn't bleed like that- Boom Bloom didn't think that they bled at all.

That thicket seemed to sneer, Watch where you step, little mutant! Ha ha!

Boom Bloom slowly picked herself up, her limbs aching from the fall. She looked up to see someone else in this jungle with her. It was a tall tree-like man, with a pointed snout-like face. He wore black-and-gold armor, a golden belt tied around the waist. Was he an ent? No, ents were something different. But he was still a plant, and she didn't want to have a sentient plant mock her with the rest of this jungle.

"Little girl, are you alright?" the tree man asked.

Boom Bloom stood up to her full height, staggering a bit. "I'm fine," she replied.

The tree man stepped closer to her, looking her over. "You sure? That fall looked pretty bad," he added. "You have cuts all over."

"I've suffered worse. What does it matter?"

The tree man looked back to the thicket he came out of. "Guess it doesn't," he shrugged. "Just worried, I guess."

Boom Bloom felt something inside of her come up, though what it was, she wasn't sure- emotions were new for her, and they'd all made herself known to her without allowing her to sort them out. She guessed that she couldn't believe the man's statement. He'd been worried about her? He hadn't been there to scorn her?

The tree man slowly turned away, walking back to whence he came. He took his time, contemplating whether or not he should just leave her there. Boom Bloom had the sudden desire not to see him go. He'd been nice to her- who would ever be like that again?

"Wait!" she shouted.

The tree man halted, turning his attention back to her. "Yes?" he asked.

Boom Bloom staggered forward, nearly stumbling down as she tried to come to him. The tree man hurried to her side, holding her to help keep her from falling. She quickly wrapped her arms around him, finding herself pouting as she buried her face in his shoulder. She'd figured out what the thing inside her had been- loneliness. She didn't want to stumble around in the jungle alone anymore.

"I'm sorry for crying," Boom Bloom choked out. "You don't even know me, and I'm acting like this, and-"

"Don't worry. It's okay," the tree man promised. "Have you been alone for a long time?"

"Mm hmm."

"This is what bothers you?"

"...Don't leave me out here."

The tree man suddenly picked her up, carrying her through the jungle. "I have friend close by," he continued. "We are currently on important mission. You can stick with us."

Boom Bloom's eyes widened in surprise. "Th-thank you," she gasped. "My name's Boom Bloom, by the way."

"I'm Ambush."

The two of them came upon a little camp set up in the jungle. A woman was there, stoking a little fire. Her armor had the same black-and-gold color scheme as Ambush's, even with the belt, though hers was more like a dress. She had a tail-like flame instead of legs, which moved when she did. A helmet was set on her head, with a fire piece on the front.

"Ember, how does the path look?" Ambush shouted.

The woman, Ember, moved away from the fire and grabbed a map from a bag near their tent, studying it and noting, "From the point we're at now, we should be only a day away from those Arkeyan ruins."

"What about food rations?"

Ember opened the bag further, counting the items inside. "We should be good for a few days, but it's the return trip we should be worried about," she continued. "I think there's a village nearby where we can restock, though timing is a bit iffy. Of course, we could just have the Portal Master send us home-"

"Is there enough for three?"

Ember looked up for the first time, noticing Boom Bloom with him. She left the bag and floated over to them. "Who's this?" she wondered.

"This is Boom Bloom," Ambush explained. "She's sticking with us."

Boom Bloom was set back onto the ground. She looked up at Ember, suddenly feeling nervous around the two of them. She'd impeded on their work, hadn't she? What was Boom Bloom thinking anyway, inserting herself into their camp?

"I'm sorry if I'm of any trouble," Boom Bloom quickly stated.

"Oh no, it's fine," Ember insisted, though her hesitation at this arrangement was quite clear. "There...there should be enough food for the three of us if we grit our teeth, though I think we should make a stop at that village tomorrow, before we do anything else. Ambush...she's not coming into the ruins with us, is she?"

"Not sure yet," Ambush admitted. "But she can't stay out here alone."

Ember nodded meekly. "Well, Boom Bloom, you can stay in my tent tonight," she decided. "We'll start off in the morning."


Boom Bloom felt much better about traveling in the jungle with Ember and Ambush. If there was a vine in her path, Ambush would move it for her. If they were crossing through a wide river, Ember would carry her over. Boom Bloom helped them out, too, of course. She carried the bag of supplies for them, aware that they had enough on their hands. It was the least she could do.

Nearing the village, a kind of whirring sound stopped them in their tracks. Ember and Ambush dropped what they were carrying and pulled out weapons, Ambush wielding a mighty sword, and Ember holding dual-blades. Boom Bloom wasn't sure what to think, so she followed their lead and dropped what she was carrying as well, pulling out her thorny whip. The whirring sound grew closer and closer, filling the air with dread.

A swarm of strange metallic creatures emerged to their left, claws clacking menacingly, blades whirring as they tore down vines and branches. That action alone made Boom Bloom's blood boil in rage. What were these abominations, and what right did they have to tear up the forest like that?!

Ambush was the first to attack, slicing his blade through the red-and-orange metal of the leading creature. The others charged at Ember, though she made quick work of them with her spinning blade technique. Boom Bloom herself charged at several of the creatures herself, entangling them with her whip and slamming them into the largest tree trunk. One leapt into the air to attack her, but she quickly caught it with the glint it made in the sun, and promptly choked it out with sticky pollen from her bulbs. More metallic creatures charged after her, but she knelt to the ground and created briar traps to hold them in place.

There didn't seem to be more metallic creatures coming for them after that- she must've trapped the last bunch! Boom Bloom wrapped her whip around them all, tightening it harder and harder and listening to the strange popping sound that came from it.

Yes, you have no right to tamper with these woods. You have no right to bring your evil here!

She found herself glancing over to Ember and Ambush. They had put away their weapons and were watching her, eyes glazed over in shock. Or maybe...fear? Were they afraid of her like everyone else was? Like what she was created to do? Boom Bloom loosened her grip on the whip, ceasing her attack.

"I was just...I mean...I'm sorry," Boom Bloom muttered.

"Such passion and ferocity," Ember gasped. "I haven't seen anything like it in a while."

And then the two of them walked past her, picking up the supplies they had dropped. Boom Bloom stayed where she was, arms wrapped around her torso as she shivered in fear. She'd acted the way a monster would act. She'd mercilessly attacked those creatures like a savage beast. That wasn't the way a plant acted. Heck, it wasn't the way a proper creature acted either. She wasn't even better than the things that had attacked them.

"Ugh, that's the fifth robot horde we've fought on this mission," Ember sighed, rubbing a temple with her finger.

"Or perhaps the same horde?" Ambush wondered. "I have funny feeling that we've fought those ones before."

"Why would you...? Well, now that I think about it, they looked similar to the last few robots we had to deal with as well. Are you thinking that whatever's in those ruins is repairing and reanimating them?"

"You know mission statement. Robots reactivate in this area, so we must find ruins."

"Reactivation is one thing, Ambush. But if you destroy a machine, it stops working. Period. You said yourself that we might've fought those ones before, so maybe it's more than an artifact that we need to find."

Their conversation ended right there, neither one sure what more to add. Ember floated over to Boom Bloom, handing her the bag she'd dropped. "Hey, good job," she smiled.

"No it wasn't!" Boom Bloom yelled. "It was atrocious!"

Ember stammered, then looked back at the robots entangled in the vines. "Oh! I didn't mean what I said in a negative light," she insisted. "Fury is a powerful element in battle if used right."

"Your skills need work, but not bad," Ambush added.

Boom Bloom relaxed her stance a bit. "So I...didn't do anything wrong?"

"Not at all," Ember promised her. "You actually reminded me a bit of Ambush over here. At least when we first started out. Now why don't we head to that village, then?"

Ember led the way, heading past the trees. Boom Bloom was quick on her heels, suddenly feeling a bit better about her situation.


There was a tower that was hopefully not too far away, one that looked to be in horrible condition. No, that was just how the mad doctor wanted it. He prided himself on telling his experiments again and again about his unique and ingenious floor plan. It was just so obnoxious and annoying, just like he was. And yet, those were his better traits.

Dr. Krankcase was sinister, ruthless and abusive to his subjects. He kept his experiments locked in cages, giving them tests and quizzes whenever he felt like it. Those tests could be ones of the mind, or physical labor that they had to endure. Boom Bloom had only been thankful enough to have been blessed with unnatural fighting abilities to help her get through those. She seemed to be the doctor's favorite because of it, and often went easier on her- all the more reason for her to despise herself.

Though the fact was, every plant in that tower had strange new abilities from their mutation. They were all abnormally smart, and many of them had physical traits that differed from plant to plant but helped them get by nonetheless. They were all unnatural freaks, and when they could, they took solace in one another's company. Boom Bloom remembered the stories they told each other, of dandelions that chronicled the world through their offspring, of how the cacti outsmarted the desert heat, and of how generous the nepenthes in the rainforests were by offering water to the birds. She remembered one she told of a milkweed and a caterpillar, and how happy her cage neighbor seemed to hear it.

But the majority of stories that they told each other were of freedom and revolution, gathered from books they snuck away during tests. Stories of how Giants liberated the world from metallic overlords. Stories of how beetles defended their home from attackers that wanted to abuse them. Stories of how the clans in Cloudbreak broke away from the massive islands trying to take advantage of them. Those stories gave them all the impression that they could be more than mutants. That they had a right to exist as they are now. That they had a right not to be taken advantage of like they were now.

It had only happened a month ago, but they started their own revolution. It began when Dr. Krankcase opened the cage next to Boom Bloom's, hoping to drag the mutant out for his test. The mutant refused, landing a blow to his nose that knocked him off his wooden spider legs. He'd gotten to work tying the doctor up, stealing his key and quickly opening the other cages. The mutant was almost onto Boom Bloom's cage when a whistle emerged from the doctor's lips. Wooden creatures ran into the room where they were locked up, primed for attack. Boom Bloom was familiar with those things- "Evilikens" by the doctor, "Corpses" by the mutants.

The freed mutants were immediately on their feet, fighting off the Evilikens and buying their rebel leader time to free everyone else. It was an epic battle, vines and pollen and wood flying across the room and floating in the air. The rebel leader was snatched up by an Eviliken, dropping his key. Boom Bloom tried to grab him, but was unable to pull strong enough and only managed to deliver a vine to him. She slid the key across the room, where it was picked up by a caged mutant for her to free herself. Boom Bloom was prepared to leave her cage, to join the fight, but things suddenly changed for the worst.

Dr. Krankcase had managed to free himself, quickly jumping up and attacking them. His goo gun launched a barrage of the sticky green stuff at them, trapping them in place and ending the battle. Boom Bloom collected a pollen spore from her bulb, hiding it behind her back. She knew what was coming next. She couldn't do anything else just yet, or else they'd trap her too and the rebellion would end.

"Heh heh, and I thought I could control you," Dr. Krankcase muttered, his face appearing to be weary from their actions. "I wanted more intelligent minions, but I guess I made you too smart. We'll have to start from square one, but don't worry, I wouldn't want the progress made on you to go to waste."

He quickly encased them all in goo, sticking it up to their necks and trapping them like that. Boom Bloom gasped, horrified by what was happening. The Evilikens picked them up, carrying them downstairs. In all this confusion, they had neglected to do anything to her.

Dr. Krankcase silently counted the mutants as each of them was set in the basement, pausing as he realized that one was missing. He looked over and noticed that Boom Bloom had not gotten out of her cage. "Hey, come out slowly," he told her.

She did, crawling as slowly as possible. Boom Bloom stood to her feet, head bowed slightly, hands clasped and concealing the pollen spore. Dr. Krankcase walked over to her, studying her over.

"You're the only one who didn't participate in this debacle, huh?"

Nod.

"Maybe you didn't like the commotion."

No comment.

"Why don't we make a deal? Follow everything I say from this point onward, and you don't have to be locked up with the others. The rest of the Doom Raiders might even let you accompany us on raids. Sound good?"

Nod.

Dr. Krankcase turned away from her. "Okay, let me do another count," he told the Evilikens.

He was focused on counting the mutants again, allowing Boom Bloom to open the lid on the goo vial that supplied his guns, dropping the pollen spore inside. She watched as the spore dissolved, turning the goo an ugly gray color. Seizing the opportunity, Boom Bloom shoved him in the back, sending him to the ground. She brought her thorny whip out, throwing it around the room and slamming the Evilikens against the wall. To her horror, the basement door had slammed shut before she could do anything about it.

Boom Bloom hurried over to the door while the Evilikens were down, trying the doorknob, finding that it wouldn't budge. Something wet and slimy shot at her, and the gray sludge dripped down her arm- slimy maybe, but not sticky in the slightest.

"Little brat!" Dr. Krankcase shouted.

Boom Bloom then slammed her body into the door, trying to bust inside. She landed a kick at the bottom, managing to break through, but not without pain firing up her leg.

"I can't get it open!" she shouted. "What does it look like over there?"

A mutant's face popped up through the hole. "They reinforced it over here," he explained. "Nothing but the winds of a hurricane are going to bust through."

Nothing but that? But...

"Boom Bloom, you have to go. Get out of the tower and don't look back."

"No!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I can't leave you guys behind!"

"We'll figure something out on our end, I promise. But if you don't get out, then we really would have failed today."

She wasn't sure if she believed him, but she had to take this chance at escape. Boom Bloom rushed through the room, slipping past the Evilikens trying to attack her, fear and dread and self-loathing growing in her heart.


She suddenly felt someone shaking her awake. Boom Bloom bolted upright, her heart racing from the nightmare/memory. Right, that event was over. At this moment, she and Ambush were sitting on a bench in the village, waiting for Ember to get back from wherever she had wanted to go. She insisted that they needed a few more supplies, even though Ambush insisted that they'd gathered everything they needed for the return trip back, and...well, it was all a blank after that.

"How long was I asleep for?" Boom Bloom muttered, rubbing an eye.

"A few minutes at most," Ambush suggested.

"Oh. Felt like two days."

This sent the tree man into a fit of giggles. "Yes, certainly feels that way," he agreed. "Ember should be back soon, though."

Boom Bloom was surprised that they didn't go after Ember. She and Ambush were concerned with making sure everyone was safe, and that included ensuring that no one went off alone, especially in the jungle. Or maybe they were going to, but they didn't want to rush their drowsy little mutant. Indeed, her apprehension couldn't have gone unnoticed by them. Elves populated this village, and they all looked at her curiously whenever she passed them, aware that she wasn't a natural-born plant person- elves were very perceptive about that. They probably decided that she needed a break from walking among people all day, then.

"Do you have nightmares often?" Ambush asked.

"Y-yeah, how did you guess?" Boom Bloom replied.

"Since we brought you along, I've noticed you whimpering in your sleep a lot. It's something my other friends do, and I've been told I do it as well. You were doing it just now."

No comment.

"Does it have to do with why you were alone in jungle?"

"...It might."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Boom Bloom so desperately wanted to. She wanted to lay it all out on him, expressing the pain she felt. It was just...not possible, though. He and Ember had already gone through enough trouble for her, and it would be too much. And if that wasn't the case, they would readily turn on her if she told them that she was a mutant and abomination. A monster that had to be destroyed.

She shook her head no.

Ambush looked at her for a moment, eyes casting a sympathetic glow. He turned his head away, muttering, "Okay. But I'm here if you decide you want to."

Oh, he really was too nice.

They watched as Ember scooted around a crowd of gabbing elves, being careful with the plastic bag in her arms. She floated back to them, the widest grin on her face. She was appearing more cheerful than she had been these past few days. Ember handed the bag over to Boom Bloom, waiting around for her to open it.

"Um...," Boom Bloom stammered.

"Go on, you don't need my approval," Ember replied.

Boom Bloom opened the bag, digging out two pieces of apparel. One was a typical pair of jeans, and the other was a lilac button-up shirt with a felt rose patch on the left pocket. They were both about her size, and they looked nicer than her old gray shirt and slacks- both of which looked as if they were falling apart by now.

She looked up at Ember, who gave a sheepish shrug. "I felt kind of bad for you in those rags, and I saw those in the store window when we first came here, so I figured, 'why not'?" she explained.

Boom Bloom quickly shoved the items back at her. "Oh no, this is way too nice!" she argued. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you!"

"It was my pleasure, honestly."

"But I really should do something to pay you back for everything you've done for me! I'll set up the tents, I'll prepare dinner tonight, I'll...I'll..."

Ember's solemn countenance returned, and she crossed her arms in contemplation. "I was thinking you could come into the ruins with us, but...Ambush, I think we need to talk again."

She pulled the tree man away, and they went behind a small house to talk. Boom Bloom shifted the weight on her feet a couple times, antsy about what to do next. She decided to listen in on them, and hid behind the wall close to where they were. Boom Bloom looked behind the corner and studied their movements, noting how they were trying to stay inconspicuous- likely for her sake- but they ended up being loud enough for the gabbing elves to hear them.

"I remember you were cautious about bringing her along before," Ambush noted.

Ember placed her hands on her hips. "I know, and I still am," she sighed. "I don't even know why I brought it up. Maybe because I thought she could handle herself? I mean, you saw her fight, too."

"Yes, but Boom Bloom is...she's behaving impulsively. I don't know if she's trying to please us, or make up for something she thinks she did, but it shows in the way she talks with us. Haven't you noticed it?"

Ember relaxed her stance, biting her lip.

"Yes, she can fight, but she probably doesn't know how to control that fury yet. I don't want her running headfirst into those ruins, coming across dangers that she finds herself incapable of handling."

"So what should we do? Just make her wait outside for us? Maybe we could tell her she's going to be on lookout for us. Oh, but...what if something attacks her outside?"

Ambush ran a hand through his grassy hair. "I was thinking we should call King Pen and have him send backup."

Ember clenched her fists at her sides. "Out of the question! I told him we could handle this on our own, and I'm not going to back out of it!"

"Things are different now. It is no longer just the two of us. We have someone else who needs the protection of the Skylanders, too."

They were tearing themselves up over her. Boom Bloom couldn't stand it. She was causing them so much trouble. Well, why didn't she just go away, then? All of their problems would be solved if she just did that.

Boom Bloom snuck away from the wall. She slowly stepped back near the bench, making sure they didn't notice her. Ensuring that they were quite distracted, Boom Bloom rushed down the street, leaving the bench, bag, and two allies behind.


There was no delaying it now. She needed to go back for the other mutants. She didn't care if Dr. Krankcase and his minions overpowered her. She needed to free her friends somehow.

But as she wandered the jungle as sunset cast its gaze, Boom Bloom realized that she had lost it. She didn't know the path she'd taken to get out here, nor the one that was needed to lead her back to the tower. It was all wrong! She couldn't find the way back!

A vine wrapped itself around her bulb, and it took a great tug to set her free. "Oh, let me help with that," Ambush used to say. It had made Boom Bloom feel better not to have to be alone with that. Near that stupid vine, she found a large river, one that looked extremely wide, and there was no way to tell how deep it was. Boom Bloom recalled how she told Ember that she couldn't swim, and Ember had replied, "Don't worry, I can carry you across here." She missed them both so much. She wanted to go back for them, apologize for running off, and maybe have friends in this world again.

No. It was better like this. They weren't suffering as much without her around.

Boom Bloom spotted one of those strange robots standing idly by. It just floated in one spot, immobile, probably unaware of the mutant's presence. She wandered close to it, and then spotted another robot near by. She walked by that one, and spotted yet another one. There were robots making a line up somewhere, leading to someplace. Boom Bloom followed this line, aware of the possible dangers of doing so and yet still lured to it. She ended up in a strange clearing, near some kind of ancient temple covered in vines. Was this the place Ember and Ambush had been looking for? Why did that feel right?

Boom Bloom heard an angry voice, and strange beeping from the back of the temple. She rushed over to that spot, discovering a frightening scene. There was a robot, gray-and-green and much larger than the ones she'd found, tied to a post. Something was clamped onto its chest, pulsating with electrical energy. An elf was standing near a strange box, metal clamps in his hands. The elf's attire looked almost as ragged as her old clothes, though his maniacal smirk made it clear that he was a technical genius.

"I'll ask again, robot," the elf growled. "There was a gang of villains around here, piloting an airship. You were seen near them, so you must've been helping them get out. Now tell me where they're going."

The robot closed its glowing blue eye, shaking its head.

"Alrighty then."

The elf put the clamps on the box. The robot was alight with white sparks, emanating a loud shrieking sound that forced Boom Bloom to cover her ears. The robot's shrieking was filled with so much agony that her heart ached for it. That was the scream of a human creature, a feeling creature, one that came from someplace different than those other robots. The elf soon took the clamps off the box, asking the same question.

Boom Bloom rushed into action. She threw her whip at the elf, pulling him away from the box. The elf went to attack her, but she trapped him with vines. As he struggled to get out, she ran over to the post, undoing the binding around the robot.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this," she told it. "I promise it's going to be okay, though."

The robot beeped a few times, reminiscent of chirping birds.

"You...you can't speak, can you?"

The robot shook its head.

"He can't even speak!" Boom Bloom yelled at the elf. "What's the matter with you!?"

"What's the matter with you?" the elf spat, his face contorted in a frown. "And what are you, like nine? I don't think a little girl has any right attacking me."

"Answer the question."

"Alright! The Trap Masters are paying for information on the Doom Raiders, you know. One hundred for basic info, and an extra twenty for locations. I want the full bounty."

The binding fell away, allowing the robot to take the clamp off its chest.

"He saw them last," the elf continued. "I need to know where they're going."

"It's not exactly civil to hold someone against their will," Boom Bloom groaned, fists clenched.

A familiar whirring sound was heard around them, and they discovered that the robots were creeping up on them. They weren't in attack formation, and all eyes seemed to be on the strange box. They were drawn to it, yearning to come close.

"Oh, these things," the elf grumbled. "They've been coming after my power core for weeks. They get hostile when people step close to this place."

A power core. So that explained it. "How do we turn it off!?" Boom Bloom shouted.

"Let me out and I'll do it."

That sounded too much like a ploy for escape. She didn't go for it.

She instead ran toward the power core, only for the robot to hold her back. It threw the clamp at the box, and a strange force from it pushed the item far into the sky, where it vanished without a trace. There was a force inside the power core, however it worked, that allowed it to protect itself that way. The robot set Boom Bloom behind it, and it shot a bluish-white laser from its eye to try and destroy the power core. The move didn't last long, as the robot collapsed to its knees, and the power core barely had a scratch on it.

"Oh no, that thing must've sapped your energy," Boom Bloom gasped.

The robot let out a few more beeps, staggering to its feet.

The other robots were suddenly lured away from the area, distracted by something else. Dread filling her gut, Boom Bloom rushed after them, tightly holding her thorn whip. She ran back into the trees, finding Ember and Ambush engaging in battle against the robots. Trapping them all in vines, she halted in front of the two, panting heavily.

"Oh my gosh, Boom Bloom!" Ember shrieked, nearly dropping her dual-blade. "Where did you go!? We were so worried about you!"

"I found the cause of this!" Boom Bloom shouted, pointing behind her. "The temple's over there, and there's a power core right outside! We need to turn it off right now!"

She ran back to the temple, Ember and Ambush following after her. The elf was sitting there, trying to gnaw his way out of his vine trap. The gray-and-green robot was staggering forward to the box, prepared to fire another laser. Boom Bloom shouted after it, warning it out of doing so. Ambush ran toward the power core, sword in hand.

"This is larger than what any archaeologist has found," he gasped. "Where was this found?"

"Let me out and I'll turn it off for you, for Pete's sake," the elf spat.

"Don't do it!" Boom Bloom argued. "He was hurting this robot here! He can't be trusted."

Ambush put his sword away. "No matter. I'm familiar with how to work these."

He set his hand on the power core, shocking Boom Bloom since it didn't push him away. Ambush tapped on the top, causing a hole to open up. He then set his hand in it, pulling up a strange lever. All of the robots powered by the device fell to the ground, dropping like rag dolls. Ember had slashed a few during this debacle, and they didn't come back up. Boom Bloom felt her heart race in her chest from the adrenaline, though it was slowly going back to normal.

"Ember, call King Pen and tell him to pick us up," Ambush announced. "And let him know we found the artifact causing this."

Ember nodded, heading out to get a signal.

"Wait, you're taking my power core?" the elf gasped, struggling in his binding. "You don't get to do that! It's mine! I found it fair and square!"

Ember looked behind her shoulder, brow raised. "And where exactly did you find it?"

No comment.

"Something tells me that it's better if we have it."

The robot fell to its knees again. Boom Bloom made a move to help it up, but discovered that it had lowered its head far down to her feet before raising it back up. It had no difficulty in standing up, either, meaning that the move was intentional. That was a full-blown bow, wasn't it?

"You're welcome," Boom Bloom muttered.

The robot waved her goodbye before hurrying off into the trees, disappearing somewhere in the jungle. Boom Bloom gave a wave of her own, and suddenly found Ambush hugging her from behind. She stiffened up, guilty for leaving then behind in the village.

"You don't get to leave without telling us," Ambush growled sternly. "Without telling us what you want. We searched the village for you. We searched the jungle for you, too. We were so worried that you'd gotten hurt out there. It was the only thing on our minds, and the mission didn't feel important anymore. So tell us now, what do you want?"

It suddenly clicked for her. They literally didn't care if she was causing them trouble. They didn't care if she needed help. For whatever reason, they'd grown fond of her and were willing to do anything for her.

"I...I want to be by your side," Boom Bloom decided. "I want to become a warrior like you two. I want to find my friends, but I can't imagine doing that on my own. I want...I want to stay with you. So if you don't think I'm too much trouble, can you take me with you?"

Ambush nodded, releasing her from his grasp. "You have a home with us," he promised her.


Ember described an extraction point for them at the edge of the island, to which they were headed next. They traveled through the jungle one night, pondering their new situation. Boom Bloom carried the power core, finding that her feet were aching from walking so much. Ambush agreed that they should set up camp for the night, and set his supplies down in order to do so.

"So Boom Bloom, you'll start out with us as a student," Ember began. "We can help you hone your fury for battle, and train you in different techniques of fighting. Not to mention a basic education, complete with...are you even listening?"

Boom Bloom sat on the ground, head set on the power core. She nodded in response to Ember's question, but she found that her eyes were rather heavy.

"Yeah, I'm getting kind of tired myself," Ember agreed, sitting next to her. "And you haven't been sleeping all that well, I've noticed."

"You said something about training?" Boom Bloom muttered.

"Yes, but it's not important right now. Is something the matter?"

Boom Bloom tapped her finger on the device. "I was just thinking...well, if it turned out that I wasn't a natural creature in this world, one that might be considered a monster...would you still want me around?"

"Were you thinking about that when you snuck away from us?"

"Maybe."

"You don't have anything to worry about, we promise."

A hand patted her head, and Boom Bloom noticed that Ambush had come up next to them. His eyes held a warm affection within them, agreeing with Ember's statement. He added, "Whether it be a monster or warrior, that's something you get to decide for yourself."

The chance to decide for herself, huh? Boom Bloom's eyes watered a bit, and she wiped it away. "That's something I've always hoped for myself."