Chapter 9: In Dreams with Tad Mulholland
Well, this had to be the craziest battle I've ever taken. The kids along with the kwamis, Dave, and Mandu sleeping peacefully in a shallow pond while I'm fighting off against a large Wonderbeast with me using my Ninpo to protect myself from the water.
"Let me ask you this, Donatello," Said the large, blue Wonderbeast as I attacked him, my staff going right through him. "What is the body?" A voice asked walking about through the water and, for some reason, it walked by Kipo. "The way I see it, it's just a fun car for the mind to drive." I then rocket slammed him into droplets, but he managed to reform right behind me. "But if we free ourselves from our bodies, our minds be what they really are: energy. Pure, delicious energy." I then took stance, ready to fight him and rescue everyone.
Before we go any further, I bet you're wondering how exactly we all got into this situation. To better understand, I'll go back to before it all started and explain the best I can. I'll start with this morning…
I was up on the roof, keeping an eye out for anything while everyone else was asleep. It had been over three days since we found that clue on that billboard and we were still trying to figure out what it meant. At that time, we had been heading in different directions by the number of parsecs it said in the clue. Kipo counted every single step she took to make sure it was the same number as the clue. She even had Axel write up how many steps she took before we went back to the billboard, which had now become a constant returning point.
Though there wasn't much point in being lookout. It'd been quiet. Too quiet. There hadn't been any signs of Scarlemagne's flamingo riders or even the Mob Frogs or any nearby Wonderbeast Pack for that matter. While we had a break from dying, it also felt like we weren't making any luck and I felt like something was wrong, but I couldn't explain it. With the sun rising, I decided to go ahead and wake everyone so we could continue the route we were on yesterday.
"Okay, everyone, up and at 'em!" I called out, getting multiple groans in reply.
"Uncle Donnie, 5 more minutes." Aurico said as I watched him drift back to sleep.
"Sorry, but we got a big day today." I told him. "We still need to find Kipo's people."
"Hey, Rico!" Brook whispered as he nudged the Fire Dragon a bit.
"What?" He asked.
"Look!" Brook pointed to his right, snickering for some reason.
When he looked in that direction, Aurico's tired look turned into a look of surprise.
"Holy crap!" Aurico said, putting his hand over his mouth as he began snickering.
Curious, I decided to see what exactly they were finding so amusing. When I did, I was just surprised by the sight. It was Axel, sleeping there soundly, with a sleeping Kipo right up against him! The Burrow girl even had one arm around the boy.
"Oh, my, god!" Brook said before he and Aurico burst out in laughter.
This was enough to get everyone to get up and I mean everyone. I even watched as Axel and Kipo began to wake up.
"Wha… What's going?" Axel said, still groggy from waking up.
"Is it morning already?" Kipo said, being much the same.
It was within that moment the two looked at each other and were gained looks of shock. After they saw how close they were to each other, both their faces turned red as tomatoes before they quickly put some distance between themselves. They didn't even look at each other.
"Axel, I am so sorry!" Kipo said to him, apologizing for what happened. "I don't know how I even…"
"It's fine, Kipo." Axel said to her. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well, yeah." Kipo told him. "Really well."
"Kipo and 3, sitting in a tree—Aah!" Brook said before he ducked some claws shot by Axel, the claws puncturing the wall behind him.
"Okay, settle down, everyone." I said to them, resolving the situation. "We still have some Burrow people to find. That means you all need to get dressed and packed up for the journey ahead."
"Oh, yeah." Kipo said as she and Axel's faces returned to normal as the two looked at each other. "Axe, you still got that note of how many steps I took yesterday?"
"Got it right here." Axel said, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket before giving it to her.
"Alright, let's continue!" Kipo said as everyone then got up and started getting ready to go.
A few hours later, we continued on the route we set on yesterday. For the past three days, we had been going the exact distance in each direction we could think of. After we reach the endpoint, we would search around for any clues left by Mr. Oak that could lead us to the rest of the Burrow. We had already done this three times and didn't find much of anything. By the time we were closing the endpoint of this route, I saw we were right near an old flood control canal filled with water, flowers growing near the fence close by.
"3,260, 3,261," Kipo said, counting the number of steps she took before she then stopped. "3,262. Okay, that's how many steps we are from our starting point. 3,262. Like, 3.262 a parsec. Let's do this! Let's look for clues for my dad!"
"I got a feeling that, if the last one was hard to find, this clue will be too." Axel said as he went up to join her, the two beginning to search for anything that stood out of place.
As the two did, I heard some growling and looked to find Mandu in front of Wolf, glaring and growling at her. It was with that I saw Wolf gain a look of guilt as she looked to the ground. I could tell that she was hiding something. What exactly, I had no clear idea. Though I didn't have time to think about it much as I heard Axel speak out.
"Don't see a clue of where to go." He said to the Burrow girl. "What now?"
"Okay, so we headed south, east, west, and now north from our starting point." Kipo said to him. "So now we head back and that only leaves four more directions to go."
"Four more?" Aurico asked in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"
"Oh, relax." Kipo said to him. "We're halfway done, which is great!"
"Yeah, yeah, great." Benson said to her. "You know what else be great? A frosty beverage with a little umbrella."
"Wait! Proxima Centaur…" Kipo started before Axel covered her mouth.
"Whoa! Kipo, I think you're overthinking things a bit." He said to her, taking his hand off as she listened. "I believe it would be best for us to take a little break. We've at this since we woke up."
"Yeah, good point." She admitted. "Okay, I'll recharge my batteries."
"I'd thought she'd never stop." Benson whispered to Aurico.
"Me neither." Aurico admitted as all of us (except Wolf) walked over to the two. "If she kept on going like that, I was gonna snap."
As the majority of us were walking, we all looked back by the sound of a squeal to see Mandu running around Wolf who was trying to shoo her away.
"Awww! They're playing!" Kipo cooed, not really seeing what was going on.
"That doesn't look like they're playing." Axel said, commenting on the scene. "Not really sure what Mandu is doing, but Wolf seems to be trying to keep her away."
"Hey, Kipo. See you rocking the sleeve." Aurico noted as we all saw she was wearing that sleeve Wolf got for her birthday.
"Smart move using the sleeve Wolf gave you." Benson said to her, impressed by this. He then began to whisper. "In case of, you know, the fur ever pops out again."
"Benson, shh!" I shushed him before Kipo gave out a nervous chuckle.
"Why would it grow back?" She asked, looking at her sleeve for a moment before looking to me. "I'm sure it was just a one-time fluke, right?"
"No." Aurico and Brook bluntly answered her.
"I'm afraid they're right." I explained to her. "Like I said, there's gonna be more. What's going on with your arm is the least of it."
"Maybe I'll keep it on, just in case." Kipo said before Dave suddenly went into his toddler stage, jumping out of Benson's arms and onto the fence.
"Ugh! I can't take my eyes off you for a second." Benson groaned as he took Dave off the fence before he then noticed at what Wonderbeast was looking at. "Want some water?"
"I'm thirsty too." Kipo said.
"We could use some replenishing in our water supply." I added, noticing that the canteens were nearly empty.
"Rule Number 52 of the surface: Standing water is a hard no." She said as we all looked to the water flooding the canal.
"She's right." I added, noting the conditions of the water. "All this filth it's gathered has made it too contaminated. We'd need a water purifier if we can even drink it."
"If only that drinking fountain was working." She said as we saw her slowly walking over to the said device before she pressed the button, making it shoot out water and causing the girl to gasp.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's what it's for?" Benson asked as we all walked over and were in awe that it was producing water.
"Of course. That's why they're called 'water fountains'." Aurico said to him. "What did you think they were for?"
"I always thought those were tiny satellite dishes." He answered.
"Seriously?" Aurico asked in confusion, causing Benson to give a chuckle of embarrassment.
"How's the water?" Brook asked as Wolf drank some of it.
"It's safe." She told us before Kipo took a sip.
While the others got their own taste of the water, Dave then suddenly turned into his juvenile stage before jumping over to the smaller fountain and attempted to take a drink from it. Although, for some odd reason, it kept shutting off on him. It was odd for he was still holding the button and the water stopped like he actually took his hand off it.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" He said in frustration.
"Dave, this has literally never happened to you." Benson said as the bug shed into his adult form. It wasn't long until I heard some water splash and looked to find large amounts of water beginning to pour out of the fountain and head towards the canal. A moment after it reached the canal, some of the water began to rise in a large mass. It was so big that the shadow it cast covered us.
"What the…?" I said as we all looked to see the water take form. The form it took resembled an insect with six arms and two legs. This was no doubt some kind of Wonderbeast, but I wasn't sure what kind it was.
"Well, this day just turned fantastic." The Wonderbeast said.
"Okay, this is new." I said as I walked in front of the others before I spoke to the mysterious Wonderbeast. "Excuse me, but who… what are you?"
"A co-occupier of this planet. Just like you, my friend." He replied with a smile before he made a miniature version of himself appear on one of his insectoid digits. "I'm an entire community of tardigrades."
"Tardigrades?" Axel asked, confused by this. "What are tardigrades?"
"They're a type of micro-animal, creatures at microscopic size that are invisible to the naked eye." I explained to him. "They're more commonly known as moss piglets and water bears."
"Correcto mundo, my metal friend." He said as the little version of himself jumped into his mouth, making him shiver before he quickly got out of the water and stood to our right. He then made a hat out of water and bowed. "But you can call me Tad Mulholland."
"Okay, nice to meet you, Mr. Mulholland." I said to him. "My name is Donatello. If you don't mind me asking, but is there any reason you decided to greet us?"
"I'm glad you asked." He said to me before swirling around and taking on some sort of hippie appearance. "Some have referred to me as a guru. All though, I don't like to think of myself that way." He then made the clothes he had disperse, returning to his normal form. I then watched as he went over to the group and noticed that Dave, Mandu, and the kids were starting to look tired. He then made a pair of holding glasses that blinked as he stood next to Benson and Aurico. "I'm trained in different schools of visualization." He moved to Kipo, changing his form and acting as a meditation rock. "Meditation." He makes a makeshift table for Wolf with the said stones. "Warm-stone massage." Moving onto Dave, he made a cake made of water in front of the bug. "I also make a really neat upside-down, pineapple cake."
"With all those healing methods, you also make cakes?" I asked him, getting confused.
"Even Mulholland likes to mix it up a little." He told me.
"Okay, so let me get this straight." I said to him as I tried to piece everything together. "You're saying you're some kind of healer?"
"Yes, I guess you can call me that. Mostly, though…" He then leaned forward to me. "I'm a dream maker."
"Dream maker?" Suddenly, Axel, Kipo, and the others (who were beginning to fall asleep) were taken in the air by a large torrent of water.
"Everyone's got a dream, but most don't know how big they're allowed to dream." He then spread his tops arms out. "I reveal your best, biggest, most perfect dream for you and then I make that dream come true." Tad turned around before he then went forward, taking the others to the canal with him. "Neat, huh?"
"We didn't ask for this." Wolf said with strain in her voice, trying to keep herself awake. "Make it…stop."
"Stop?" Tad questioned her. "Why, we barely even began. I see this as more of a service we provide and you drank us. Isn't that a surprise?"
"Hold up." I asked him, wondering what he meant by that last part. "What do you mean they drank you?"
"Oh, it's quite simple really." Tad explained. "I take my little water bear friends here and send them just like that into your brains and they do their thing."
"Wait, you mean that water the kids just drank was…"
"Yep. Some of me. I give you that special little world, the dream you want most."
"Hold up, you mean you tricked them into taking some of you and are now putting them to sleep. Why?"
"Well, you know when you dream big your brain has the most energy?" As he said this, the others all fell down as they went straight to sleep, the water lowering them down. It was then that I realized what he was doing.
"You put people to sleep to feed on the energy produced in their brains!"
"Mm-hmm. And I do it while giving them a great experience. Isn't that something?"
"Yeah, it's something alright. Something insane." With that, I then turned my staff into a hand and got ready to pull the kids out of the water. "Look, I know you just want to give people a good time while keeping yourself going, but I'm afraid we're gonna have to leave so…" I then tried to use my staff to grab and pull Axel out of the water, but a whip form from the water and smacked it away.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid they can't leave yet." He told me. "To complete this journey of ours, they become a part of me. They live in a fantasy forever and I live off your brain energy." It was then that his eyes sparkle. "Oh, wow. That's an electric dream alright. I can already feel it."
[AF3's Dream]
In a blink of an eye, I woke up in a bed. Sitting up, I saw that I was in my room, back at my house, back in the Tribe. I was now really confused. How was I back home? I was just traveling with Uncle Donnie and the others… wasn't I?
"Axel?" A familiar voice called out and I knew who it was. "Axel!" When I looked to the doorway, Miwa then poked her head through it, looking around before she looks towards me. "There you are!"
"Miwa?" I said, confused by this.
"Hey, Yo! I found him!" Miwa said, calling out into the hallway. "He's in bed!"
"Sleeping in, huh, little tiger?" Asked another familiar voice, one that actually surprised me as I watched someone walk over and stand beside Miwa. "And here I thought you were always the early bird." Right there, I was surprised to find the one person I didn't expect to see. With his yellow-shaded sunglasses over his brown eyes, short black hair, green shirt, blue jeans, and silver sneakers, I was just in shock to find it to be my older brother Yoshi. It seemed impossible, but here he was, alive! "Hey, bro, you okay?"
"What?" I said as he managed to snap me out of it. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." After clearing my throat, I then got myself out of bed and stood up. "Were you guys looking for me?"
"Well, duh!" Yoshi said as he walked over, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We've been looking everywhere for ya! Father's been waiting for ya to show for training all morning."
"He has?" I asked, confused by this.
"Yeah, and he came back here with us before telling us to search the house for ya." Miwa answered me. I had no idea what was going on, but decided to roll with it.
"Okay." I said, trying to act casual despite the odd feeling I had about all of this. "Is he mad?"
"Edison Frank!" yelled a stern and familiar voice, surprising all three of us.
"Yep." Yoshi told me, answering my question before I gave a sigh of depression.
"Yes, Father?" I asked nervously about this.
"Come here, right now!" my father said to me.
"Coming!" I said as I then went over to the living room, Yoshi and Miwa following behind.
Sure enough, there he was, sitting on the couch. Fenyx Frank, the father I believed I lost years ago. He looked like me, sharing the same Wonderbeast hybrid characteristics as me like the skin, the hair color, and the eyes, and the Fire Dragon tail. Though he was tall, taller than my brother, was very bulk, his hair was thicker and was cut short, he had these black spiral markings on his arms and a few scars on his chest, and his attire consisted of a red opened jacket with white bandages wrapped around his abdomen, a pair of sandals, and a pair of black sweatpants with a rope for a belt. Just like I remembered him, he had the intimidating presence of a warrior as he had his arms crossed.
"Father." I greeted him with a nervous smile.
"You were late for training." My father said to me, a stern look in his eye.
"I'm sorry." I looked at him with a look of shame. "I sort of slept in. I promise it won't happen again."
"You better see that you don't go back on your word." He then got up and walked over to me, uncrossing his arms before I looked to see him looking down on me. "Is that clear, boy?"
"Yes, Father." I told him.
"Oh, ease off him, Fenyx." Said a feminine voice as we all looked to the kitchen to find someone in there. "Everyone haves an off day." By the sounds of it, it seemed she (that's what I was guessing by the sound of the voice) was washing dishes. Though I didn't actually recognize the voice. It sounded like Miwa, but in a more mature tone.
"She's right, you know." Heard one voice I recognized as I looked to find Duusu, the kwami sitting on the counter with a smile. "Axel just slept in, that's all. No need to get upset."
"Maybe to you, but I expect my son to be in top shape." My father said, speaking to Duusu and the one in the kitchen. "A warrior must always haves his blade as sharp as his wit."
"Yes, but a warrior must also know when to put down their sword and enjoy the peace that is around them." Said Nooroo, who flew in from the hall and floated beside my father. "It has been months since the Beast War has ended. I believe we all deserve to live in the moment."
"In times of peace, never forget the potential of war." My father said, giving a quote meaning one should always be prepared.
"Really? That old quote?" the voice from the kitchen said as she walked in, revealing her appearance and surprising me. "Honey, I know you're trying to make sure our son stays safe, but you shouldn't push him so hard. He's just a baby."
I was just shocked by who I was seeing. This was one person I had never thought of meeting in my life. With her long, black hair tied into a ponytail with a white bow, blue eyes, her fair skin, and her attire being a light blue sweatshirt (which had the Peacock Miraculous pinned to the chest area), brown Capri pants, and black slip-on shoes, I knew this was my mother. The one I only knew was actually alive but as a Mega Tiger, her human form I had only seen in pictures.
"Melody, he's not a baby anymore." My father said to her. "You are being too soft on the boy."
"Well, wasn't it your father that said 'it takes both a gentle touch and a firm hand'?" My mother said to him with a smug.
"She's not wrong." Nooroo said, backing her up.
"I can never win one discussion." My father said with a nonchalant look.
"I love you too, dear." My mother said before kissing him on the cheek. It was when she looked at me that she lost her smile and raised a brow. "Axel, is something the matter?"
"N-no, Mom." I told her. "Nothing's wrong."
"Good." She said, regaining her smile. "Now you better get dressed. You have to get ready."
"Ready?" Right there, I was confused. "Ready for what?"
"You know." She said to me, sounding like I knew the answer.
"Um… no?"
"Come on, bro. Don't you remember?" Miwa asked me as she and Yoshi looked at me with smug looks. "The thing you don't want to be late?"
"Yeah, don't you have something planned tonight?" Yoshi said to me. "With that girlfriend of yours?"
"Girlfriend?" I was now really lost for none of this really clicked.
"Guys, I don't think he's joking." Duusu said, shocking my mother, sister, and brother.
"Oh, Axel." My mother said to me, looking at me with disbelief. "Please tell me you didn't forget?" I was now getting nervous for it seemed like I had done something wrong. It lasts for a brief moment before Miwa spoke out.
"Your date!" Miwa told me, surprising me. "You got a date tonight!"
"My date?" I didn't really get it, but I decided to roll with it. Maybe if I had followed it through, I could get a clearer answer. "Oh, my date! You're right!"
"Oh, good lord! She'll be here in an hour." My mother said to herself before speaking to my brother. "Yoshi, mind helping your brother get dressed for tonight?"
"You got it, Mom." Yoshi said before he began pushing me back to my room. "Come on, little tiger! Let's get you ready for your big date."
I was still in disbelief. Seeing my whole family together, my parents and my brother in the house, and with the Beast War over as well. It was all I ever wished for. Something I dreamed of. Yet… I was having this odd feeling telling me that something was wrong here.
[Kipo's Dream]
"And then we pop in the more concave lens and—boom!—a telescope worthy of Galileo himself!" Dad said as he finished making the telescope, which he then gave to me.
"Cool!" I said, taking the telescope and looking around with it. "Are we gonna be able to see the fur on the glow worms tonight?"
"Uh, not that close." He said to me. "We would need a bigger lens."
"You know, Dad? We're the only people who would build a telescope inside a cave."
"Well, those other people are missing out." As he talked, I looked at a glass of water and saw something moving in it. "There are worlds within worlds, Kipo."
"Whoa!" Just after I said that, there was a knock at the door.
"Kipo, are you expecting anyone?" Dad asked me.
"Oh, that must be Axel." I said to him, putting the telescope on the table and walking to the door. "I told him he could come over."
"Going on another date, Kipo?" Dad questioned with a smug.
"Dad, he's coming to see the glow worms with us, remember?"
"I know, I know. I'm just kidding." He then walked over to me as we stood at the door. "Well, we better not keep your boyfriend waiting." Right there, we then opened the door and saw Axel standing there.
"Axel!" I said, hugging him before kissing him on the cheek.
"Hey, Kipo." He said as he returned the hug.
"I take it that Donatello is around?" Dad asked him as we broke the hug.
"Yep." Axel told him. "He's got a whole rally up downtown."
"You ready for a little glow worm-watching?" I asked my boyfriend.
"You know it. But first," He said as I then stood next to Dad. "I got a little surprise for you." With that, he then moved a bit out of the way as someone walked over to the door.
Who it was, a woman with long, braided, black hair and brown eyes. She wore this white shirt with pink sleeves, a pink scarf, and gray sweatpants. Right there, Dad actually gasped in shock from seeing her.
"Song?" he said to her in disbelief.
"Hey, Lio." She said with a gentle smile. "Long time no see." It wasn't long until the two then hugged each other.
"Um, what's going on here?" I asked as I had no idea who that woman was.
"Kipo, I'd like you to meet Song Oak." Nooroo said Dad and the woman (who I guess was Song) broke the hug and looked at me. "Your mother."
"Kipo?" She said to me with surprise.
"Mom?" I said as I couldn't believe that my mom was actually here.
[Wolf's Dream]
As a Mega Bunny is walking along the ruins of the city, Wolf and Kipo poke their heads out of a nearby bush, smiling with eagerness. After Wolf holds up a clump of fur, the Mega Bunny sniffs the air before looking in the duo's direction.
"Now!" Wolf called out as she and Kipo burst out of the bushes, revealing they had great, muscular figures and Kipo was wielding a spear.
After they reveal themselves, they then jumped down to the street and began running with the Mega Bunny chasing them from behind. After going through much of a distance, they split up as the Mega Mutant ran right into a giant mobile trap made of sticks with stones for wheels.
"We hunted the last Mega Bunny!" Wolf said proudly before looking to Kipo. "You and I make a great team!"
"Don't get all mushy on me." Kipo said as she held up her hand, Wolf taking it as they both clench their hands tightly before breaking it. "Now let's get back home before we attract too much attention to ourselves." With that, the two then picked up the vines holding the cage and began pulling it away.
[Dave and Benson's Dream]
"Holy crap! Ha-ha!" Dave exclaimed with a laugh as he admired the reflection of his muscular form on the door of the fridge he closed. "Oh, this is so cool!"
Over by a pool, Benson is sitting at the side with an umbrella drink in his hand and shades over his eyes.
"Satellites!" Bensons said as a floating drinking fountain came over to him. "I knew they were satellites!" He then hit the button before it shot a cashew into his mouth.
After eating it, he opened his mouth and a rainbow came out. Inside the nearby house, Dave is sitting on a couch and reading a newspaper before he notices something going on outside. He then opens a garage door to the room and sees Benson in the pool.
"Hey, Benson!" Dave said, happy to see his friend who comes out of the pool.
"Yo, Dave!" Benson said, taking off his sunglasses. "Check this out!"
He then hopped on the water fountain and shot another cashew into his mouth before sending a rainbow at Dave. After the Wonderbeast blocks it, the floor behind him begins to light up like a disco floor, impressing the two. A moment later, Benson got dressed before he and Dave started dancing on the floor, Dave rapidly shedding his skin and going into his different stages.
[Mandu's Dream]
Mandu is walking through the city ruins when she spots a cheese puff on the ground. She runs over and instantly eats it. She then spots another beside her and goes to eat it. Before she does, she looks forward and sees a large cheese puff standing in front of her. Tackling it, she takes a huge bite out of it. As she is chewing, she looks and her mouth hangs open in awe. What surprised the piglet was that, beyond the large cheese puff, there was an entire valley full of giant cheese puffs. Becoming excited, she then heads on down and begins eating all the giant cheese puffs.
As the amalgamation of water bears hummed, I watched as he made streams of water shoot out before reformed in between everyone and kept singing that song.
The world's a great big room!
Oooh!
But your mind is bigger and bigger!
It's greater and bigger,
Because it's free!
Let me show you,
How free you can be.
Ba-da-da-da…
As he was singing, multiple columns of water began to surround the kids, Dave, and Mandu, these columns no doubt the colony taking hold of the sleeping members of my group as they were slowly raised up into the air.
How free you can be,
When you're a part of me.
Not liking where this heading, I knew I had to rescue the kids from this psychedelic psycho. The only question was how I can even be able to save them. Tad had them all out in the water and my robotic body can't take water. Sure it was shallow, but soaking a foot in water would cause my motor controls to short-circuit. That was the other reason I couldn't get in the water. The surge from my short-circuiting body would electrify the water, which could harm the others. The only way I could save was to face that Wonderbeast without getting wet. It was at that moment I then remembered the old technique Master Splinter taught Leo. It might have been a long shot, but it was my only chance I had to save my family and our fellow travelers. Right there, I then took stance and began to focus, preparing myself to use the technique.
[Kipo's Dream]
After we all got inside and Dad made us some drinks, Axel told us how he managed to find my mom.
"So while I'm on a midnight stroll through the forest, Nooroo and I saw someone had set off one of Wolf's traps." Axel said as he explained to me. "And wouldn't you know it? It was actually your mother we found caught in the net. After that, we brought her back to the Tribe and let her rest there for a while. Remembering that I was coming down here, I decided to surprise you by having her come with me."
"I still can't believe you're here." I said to my mom, still in disbelief that she was here. "I… I thought you were dead."
"We… we both did." Dad said, just in much disbelief as I was. "When did you get…? How did you even…"
"When the Mega Bunny tunneled into our Burrow, I shielded you, Kipo." Mom told me as she explained. "You were just a baby. It grabbed me from behind and took me away. It's no wonder everyone thought I was dead."
"Dad, you always said Mom got sick when I was a baby." I said to my dad, wondering why he told me that.
"I was…" Dad started as he spoke to me. "I was gonna tell you when you got older. It sounded better than 'your mother got eaten by a bunny'."
"I was lost for so long." Mom said to me and Dad. "It was the thought of you two that kept me going all these years." She then looked to Axel with a grateful smile. "And it wasn't for this kind, young man, I never would have found my way home."
"Oh, it was no problem." My boyfriend said to her. "It's what I do."
"So welcome home, right?" I asked her. "I can just say that?"
"I think you do." She jokingly said.
"Okay, welcome home then!" I said before I then got out of my chair and got to showing her around the house. "This is the kitchen, which you already know." I then got the telescope off the table and began to look around with it, seeing the smiles on Dad, Axel, Nooroo, and Mom's faces. "Oh, and Dad and I were just making this telescope. See? Even though we can't see the stars, we can see other things ʹcause Dad says 'there are worlds within worlds, Kipo'." I said that last part with my impression of Dad.
After that, I put the telescope and brought her over to my room.
"This is my room. Oh, you'll want see Dad's room too, ʹcause that's where you'll sleep if you want." I then grabbed the jar of Burrow Beans off the shelf. "And this is from when I guessed correctly how many Burrow Beans were in a jar at the fair last year. Everybody guessed like a hundred, but I knew it was way more." Just when I held up the jar, the fur I got back at Rat Land came back on my arm. As Axel and Dad came in with looks of surprise, I knew I had to hide the fur as it no doubt shocked Mom. "Don't look!" Right there, I ran into the bathroom and tried to wash my arm with water. It wasn't long until I heard a knock at the door.
"Kipo," I calmed down a bit when I heard Axel on the other side, "you okay there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…" I told him. "Could you come in here please?" A little while after, Axel came in as I got my arm away from the sink. "It happened again."
"Kipo, calm down." He told me, holding my hand with both of his. "It's alright. Everything's gonna be okay. It's just your Wonderbeast genes acting up."
"But what about my mom?" I asked him, remembering what happened. "She saw it. How am I gonna explain this to her?"
"Actually, you don't need to." He told me with a smile before he looked to Nooroo, the kwami sitting on his shoulder. "Nooroo?"
Nooroo nodded before he looked to the door and said "Song, can you come in here? I think it's time to let Kipo know."
"Let me know? Know what?" I asked as Mom came in.
"Hey, kiddo." Mom said to me with concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just…" I said to her.
"Yes, I know." She said to me with a smile. "And I know exactly what's happening to you."
"You do?" I asked her as she undid my hair.
"Yes." She then went on to comb my hair. "It might seem scary, but it's actually really special."
"It is?"
"Cross my heart."
"Hair is special?"
"That kind of hair is." She told me. "Because it means you're part Wonderbeast, just like Axel."
"Wait, what?" I was surprised to find out my mom knew Axel was part Wonderbeast. "You know about that?"
"Of course. Seeing how much he's like Fenyx, I had no doubt Axel inherited the Wonderbeast genes from him."
"So what exactly does this mean for me? Am I gonna get angry more? Eat more? W-will my fur set off like an alarm or c-can I sense danger? Or, uh…or will other people tree me differently?"
"So many questions."
"Mom! If you were me, you would be panicking too!" Right then, I hugged her and she hugged back to tell me it was okay. Only had about a few minutes of this before Axel spoke up.
"We both know what you're going through, Kipo." He said to me as we broke the hug. "It wasn't easy for me either when it happened."
"He's right." Mom said to me. "I especially understand why you're so worried. Everything that you're going through right now, I've gone through." Just like that, I watched as the same fur I had on my arm appeared on hers.
"Whoa!" I said, surprised by this. "You're part Wonderbeast too? You're like me and Axel!"
"No." She told me as she held me close. "Just like how Axel is like Fenyx, you're like me. Your questions don't have easy answers, but I'll help you with all of them."
"That's really good." I said to her, really glad to have my mom around.
[Plagg's Dream]
Inside a mansion, Plagg is at a dinner table as he devours multiple pieces of cheese that gave off a great aroma.
"Servants, more camembert!" Plagg called out as he was halfway through the amount of cheese before him. It wasn't long until a few butlers came in with serving plates full of the same cheese he was eating. After Plagg finishes off the last of the cheese he had before, he laughs happily as he sees all the plates being set on the table.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Plagg said as he gazed upon all the cheese. "Keep that camembert coming!" With that, he then went over and began devouring all the cheese.
[Lobbo's Dream]
Within a room, Lobbo is seen in a pool of bacon, swimming around like a synchronized swimmer as he stuffs his mouth full of bacon. He laughs happily as he grabs some bacon and stuffs it into his mouth.
"Bacon, how I've missed you!" he said to himself, hugging a piece of bacon before starting to eat it.
[Wayzz's Dream]
In a Japanese sand garden, Wayzz is seen sitting on a rock in meditative stance, smiling with content with Master Fu sitting next to him.
"Master, I believe I have finally found inner peace." Wayzz said to his former master.
"And I am glad to have found it with you, old friend." Master Fu said to him as they kept meditating.
[Forss and Thora's Dream]
Inside what appears to be a large house, Forss and Thora gaze upon in awe at tables full of all kinds of deserts, the kwami drool at the very sight.
"Look at all of these sweets!" Forss exclaimed in joy. "Thora, are you thinking what I'm thinking right now?"
"Yeah! Let's eat!" Thora said to her before the two went on and began consuming the culinary treats, Thora taking handfuls of cake and Forss eating brownies out of their tray before moving on to the next sweets.
[Kipo's Dream]
After Mom showed me that she was part Wonderbeast like me, us and the guys headed out to the spot where we could see the glow worms. A while after, Mom decided to take me somewhere that she wanted to show me for a long time and we split off from the guys as she also wanted to have a talk with me. Where we went was this amazing crystal cavern that I didn't know was around. While I did enjoy it, I was still worried as the fur on my arm still hasn't gone away.
"Kipo, when I was pregnant with you, I would come down here to show you my favorite place in the Burrow." Mom said as we kept walking and sat at a nearby lake. "I would talk to you, tell you about my day, about how I couldn't wait to meet you. And now, here we are, together. I can't tell you what this feels like to be here with you right now."
"I might have an idea." I told her before I looked to see some people whispering, no doubt they were talking about me. It was only a moment before they stopped and then walked away. "This is what I was afraid of."
"Kipo," Mom said to me as she put a hand on my shoulder, "sometimes, when you're special, you can feel really alone."
"When Axel talked to me about it, I felt less alone." I told her. "But maybe that's just because he's like me. If Dad talked to me, even though he wouldn't mean it, I think I would feel more alone."
"I know what it is like the feel that way." She then took her hand off me as we both looked to the water. "I had to bet Fenyx was the same before Axel came around. You know, I wasn't always a hybrid. I just used to be normal just like your dad."
"Really?" I was surprised by this. "Then how did you become a hybrid?"
"It's… a long story. Anyway, after Fenyx became a hybrid, I decided to make myself a hybrid so he wouldn't feel alone. But, after we lost touch with each other, I started to understand what he was going through, having to hide what he was from practically everyone around him." I then watched as Mom smiled at me, which helped me feel better. "But now we have each other and you'll never be alone again. That's what's most important."
[Kylo, Stella, and Bloom's Dream]
Within a clothing store, Kylo and Stella were looking around in awe as they saw rows among rows of clothing racks filled with fashionable pieces of women's clothing. With each of them going to one rack set opposite to another, the two girls searched through the hanged clothes.
"Oh, these outfits are simply divine!" Kylo said with a bright smile.
"Oh, which one should I pick?" Stella asked herself, thinking about which clothes to try on.
"Bloom, which one would look better on me?" Kylo asked her kwami, holding a yellow sundress in one hand and an indigo formal dress in the other.
"Oh, Miss Kylo, I believe both are absolutely perfect." Bloom kindly said to her.
"Hey, do you think they got some cute swimsuits?" Stella asked, getting the attention of her two companions.
"Well, I'd say it wouldn't hurt to find out!" Kylo told her before the trio ran deeper into the racks of clothes to search for more clothes.
[Aurico and Brook's Dream]
At a lake inside of a large cavern, Aurico and Brook are seeing sitting in the water with a crowd of full-figured women in bikinis surrounding them, the mass of females giggling and cooing as they gazed upon the two boys.
"One at a time ladies!" Aurico said as he and Brook were held close by two of the women around them. "There's enough Rico and Brook to go around."
"Dude, if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up." Brook said before they high-five each other. "This Burrow is absolute heaven!"
[Breez and Caldwell's Dream]
In an open field, Caldwell is having a martial fight with a ninja. The fight lasts four minutes with both evenly matched until the ninja does a leg swipe and trips Caldwell. The boy tries to get up, but is stopped by the ninja's hand at his throat, the ninja standing ready to jab him.
"You fought well, Caldwell." The ninja said to him before then helping the boy up. "A little more practice and you'll be an expert ninja."
"Thank you, Master Breez." Caldwell said, bowing in respect.
"Now, let us return home." Breez said to him, taking off his mask to reveal his face. "Tomorrow, we shall train and, if you impress me, we shall test your skills again." With that, the two then began to walk away as the sun began to set.
[Bruun, Gordy, and Riku's Dream]
Within an open field that appears to be singed and covered with ash, Gordy and Riku (who are dressed in what appear military apparel) are fighting against a large number of muscular humans wearing white masks with Riku using his sais on them and Gordy using his elemental powers.
"Gord, heads up!" Riku called out as he tossed one of his sais. His cousin ducks as the sai then hits a muscular human in the head, knocking him down.
"Thanks for the save, Ri." Gordy said to him as Riku goes over and pulls his sai out of the attacking enemy's head.
"No problem." Riku said, ready to use his sais again.
"Look alive, men!" the two boys look toward the sound of Bruun's voice as they saw a large bear that resembled the kwami run over to them. "This battle isn't over yet!"
They looked to where he was looking and saw a vast army of the same muscular humans the two were fighting, all of them with absolute rage burning in their eyes.
"Good. Was worried we would run out." Riku commented as the three stood at ready, facing the army.
"Charge!" the bear said as the three of them charged at the vast army that gave the same responding action.
[Kipo's Dream]
After that talk with Mom, we got back to the guys and we all started heading down to the spot where we could see the glow worms.
"Hey, there's a perfectly fine trail near here." Dad said to Mom after the four of us turned the corner.
"You're welcome to take that trail." Mom said to him before she and I kept walking.
"I'm just worried that we're bringing too much… attention to Kipo." Dad said with concern. "They haven't seen a hybrid like her before."
"Well, let's change that." Mom said before she raised her arm, bringing back the fur she showed me and surprising everyone (except for Axel and Dad). Right after she did, she then jumped over and got onto a wall. "Up on the surface, I learned there's no hiding from the world. We can't cover up how it will treat her." She then started climbing until she managed to get to the top of the wall. She then stood at the edge and used a hand motion as a way of inviting me up there.
I looked around as I thought about it for a moment, trying to see if I should do it or not. After that, I then went on and climbed up the wall to join her. After she helped me up, me and Mom looked down and saw Axel thinking for a little while before he then spoke out.
"Hey, wait for me!" Axel said before he got his own fur out and climbed up over to us. We looked down and saw that everyone was staring, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. "What are you guys looking at? You think this is shocking? Kipo's got purple skin for crying out loud! It shouldn't be surprising her and her mother are Wonderbeast hybrids like me!"
"Yeah, they're hybrids!" Dad said, backing him up. "Get over it!"
"Thanks, Dad!" I told him with a grateful smile before me and Mom then started making cat noises and Axel soon joined in.
After I finally got the technique in effect, I then looked towards Tad as he began making these cat-like noises while he faced Kipo.
"Oh-ho! Mulholland, You do get carried away sometimes." He said before I came in and gave him a rocket smash with my staff, causing him to burst and rain down on the whole lake. Thanks to the technique, my Ninpo kept me from touching water and kept me from being soaked as I stood on the surface of the lake. Seeing as those columns holding everyone weren't gone, I knew that Wonderbeast wasn't defeated, especially as I turned to see him reform behind me. "My, my. Aren't we all full of surprises?"
"Let them go, Mulholland." I told him as he looked at me like nothing happened. "I know you think this is fun, but you can't keep them here."
"Oh, my friend. You got it wrong." Tad told me. "I'm not keeping them here. They want to stay here. I just gave them a taste of what I have to offer and now they accepted it."
"They didn't accept anything. The reason they want to stay is because you're putting them into their perfect fantasies."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with a perfect dream."
"There is something wrong if you force it upon someone! Mulholland, if you won't set them free, then I'll make you! Rahhh!" I then dashed forward as I began my fight with the Wonderbeast.
[Musa, Hikari, Aisha, Brandon, Pollen, and Nadu's Dream]
In a darkened room illuminated by a few luminescent lights placed around it, music starts to play as five figures (one of them being small and floating) stood on a disco dance floor. More of the lights appear to reveal a deejay table with large speakers behind it, someone concealed in darkness with their back facing the front between the speakers and the table.
"Whoo!" the mysterious figure called out as they turn to the front. "DJ Music Musa in the house!"
With that, more lights appeared to reveal the room was having some kind of party with dozens of people present around the dance floor. The mysterious figure behind the table was revealed to be Musa as she begins to deejay, dressed in classic DJ attire that glows with luminescent lights. The figures on the dance floor are revealed to be Nadu, Hikari, Aisha, Brandon, and Pollen as they begin to dance, getting cheers from those closest to them.
"Man, this party is lit!" Nadu said as he kept dancing, adding some of his elemental power to give his performance a sparkling pizazz.
"You got that right!" Hikaru said to him, enjoying herself as much as he did. "I hope it never ends!"
[Hotaru's Dream]
Inside a building, Hotaru is at a workbench as she is wearing a welding mask and was welding something, sparks emanating from in front of her as Donatello is standing next to her.
"Okay, there." Hotaru said as she finished and lifted up her mask, revealing what she made to be a robotic arm before she looks to Donatello. "Did I do it correctly, grandfather?"
"Well, let's see." He said to her before Hotaru then pushed a nearby red button connected to the arm by a few wires. A short moment after, the arm began to move and waved toward the two, making Hotaru smile with joy.
"It works!" Hotaru said with glee. "It really works!"
"Well done, Hotaru." Donatello said to his granddaughter. "Keep it up and you might make another me."
"Though I doubt I would get that far," Hotaru said to him as the arm kept waving. "I do appreciate the compliment, grandfather."
[Nooroo's Dream]
On top of the tree where AF3 and Kipo found Yumyan Hammerpaw, Nooroo is sitting amongst the leaves with AF3 sitting next to him as they watched the sun rising over the horizon.
"Ah, nothing like watching the sunrise on a new day." He sighed with content.
"You got that right, Noo." Duusu said, lying beside her fellow kwami.
"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this." Kipo said as she is revealed to be sitting next to AF3, smiling as she laid her head on the Fire Dragon's shoulder.
"I know that feeling." AF3 agreed. "But it's always better when you're higher up."
"I bet." She said before she and AF3 look at each other. "Though it's the best for me when I'm doing it with you."
"The feelings mutual." AF3 said to his fellow hybrid, the two touching foreheads
"Oh, how romantic." Duusu cooed at the sight. "Isn't it lovely, Nooroo?"
"Yes. It is." Nooroo said, smiling at the sight, especially when he sees the Peacock Miraculous pinned to Kipo's shirt.
[Sora's Dream]
In a theater, Sora is standing on a stage with a microphone in front of him and a sign that says "Stand Up Comedy" behind him, a spotlight shining on him.
"Boy, oh, boy." Sora said in a comedic way. "Let me tell ya about my ex. Ever since she was little, she wanted to be an actress. But she was so ugly, she couldn't even get a part as a stage prop. Hey-oh!" After a rimshot came through, there was the sound of laughter. "Oh, and she's stupid too. You wanna know how stupid? She thought photosynthesis had something to do with a camera. Ho!" Another round of laughter came in after the second rimshot. With each joke Sora made, there was a rimshot followed by the sound of group laughter. "Yeah, she was terrible. Just after a week, I decided to make like a hockey stick and get the puck out of there. I swear, if I was an orange, I can tell you she was rinding me down."
A while I started my fight with Tad, he kept moving around as he dodged my attacks. Only after about five swings of my staff, he then began pushing me back with water tendrils. I blocked a dozen of them before trying to swing my staff at him. This was something that went back and forth constantly.
[Steel's Dream]
In an opera theater, music begins to play as the curtain rises. After it has fully risen, two spotlights turn on and reveal Steel on the stage. It was only a moment until Steel then began to sing, singing the classic song "Figaro".
La-la-la! Largo!
La-la-la! LA!
La-la-la! Largo!
La-la-la! LA!
Largo al factotum della città.
Largo!
La-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Presto a bottega che l'alba è già.
Presto!
La-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Ah, che bel vivere,
Che bel piacere.
Che bel piacere!
Per un barbiere di qualità! Di qualità!
Ah, bravo Figaro!
Bravo, bravissimo!
Bravo!
La-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Fortunatissimo per verità!
Bravo!
La-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Fortunatissimo per verità!
Fortunatissimo per verità!
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Pronto a far tutto, la notte e il giorno,
Sempre intorno in giro sta.
Miglior cuccagna per un barbiere,
Vita piu nobile, no, non si da.
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Rasoi e pettini,
Lancette e forbici,
Al mio comando,
Tutto qui sta.
Rasori e pettini
Lancette e forbici,
Al mio comando,
Tutto qui sta.
V'é la risorsa,
Poi, del mestiere.
Colla donnetta…
Col cavaliere...
Colla donnetta...
La-la-li-la-la-la-la-la!
Col cavaliere...
La-la-li-la-la-la-la-la-la-la! LA!
Ah, che bel vivere,
Che bel piacere!
Che bel piacere!
Per un barbiere di qualità! Di qualità!
Tutti mi chiedono,
Tutti mi vogliono,
Donne, ragazzi,
Vecchi, fanciulle.
Qua la parruca,
Presto la barba,
Qua la sanguigna,
Presto il biglietto.
Tutto mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
Tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
Qua la parruca, presto la barba, presto il biglietto,
Ehi!
Figaro!
Figaro!
Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!
Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!
Figaro!
After he is done singing, there is a roar of applause as he bows, accepting it and silently telling his audience thank you.
[Wolf's Dream]
In Cäctustown, Wolf and Kipo were pulling the cage over to the patch of cactus where they found the Mega Monkey.
"We're hauling a thousand tons of caged fur barefoot." Wolf said to Kipo with a smile. "I'd tell ya, this is the life!"
"Better find something else to hunt before we get lazy." Kipo said to her, returning the smile. "Man, I really love hunting!"
Wolf then looked up at the sky and was surprised to find a cloud shaped like the ram's head on the letter she found back in the city. Though confused, she shrugged it off as soon as it disappeared.
"Yeah! I love hunting too!" She said as the two of them kept pulling the cage.
"Let me ask you this, Donatello," Tad said as I attacked him, my staff going right through him. "What is the body?" As I fought off some tendrils he made, Tad then walked by Kipo as he kept on talking. "The way I see it, it's just a fun car for the mind to drive." I then rocket slammed him into droplets, but he managed to reform right behind me. "But if we free ourselves from our bodies, our minds be what they really are: energy. Pure, delicious energy." I then took stance, ready to fight him and rescue everyone.
And that's basically how I ended up fighting against a Wonderbeast that was holding my group captive. Though I was able to hold my own against him, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. Even if he wasn't really fighting back, it would only be a matter of time before he managed to overpower me. Things seem to be a little bleak for us, huh? Well, it would unless something useful didn't come along.
"Do you even hear yourself?" I told him, not ready to give up. "You're treating everyone like they're your own personal buffet. You think what you're doing is actually helping anyone? The only person you're helping is yourself!"
"Really?" He said to me with a questioning look. "If what I do really is such a problem, then would anyone be enjoying the experience like them?" We were both then caught by surprise by the sound of grunting and looked to see it was coming from Wolf who seemed to be stirring in her sleep. "Uh-oh, that's not alright."
"Enjoying the experience, huh?" I said to him, realizing that Wolf was trying to wake up. "Seems as though Wolf wants out of this."
"Hold on now." Tad said before he disappeared and reformed himself in front of Wolf. "Okay, let's see what's going on here."
Seeing this, I knew that Wolf's subconscious was trying to tell her something was wrong and that I had a chance to wake her up. From there, I then dashed forward until I was being the little survivor trying to wake herself up.
"Wolf, can you hear me?" I called out to her, trying to see if my voice could get through to her dream. "Wolf, Wolf!"
[Wolf's Dream]
Inside the patch of cactus, Kipo is pouring some water into a cup made out of a skull a Wolf pulled in unconscious Mega Bunny, a large piece of meat cooking over a fire beside the Burrow girl.
"Oh, this is not alright." Kipo said with a look of worry.
"What's not alright?" Wolf asked, confused by what her friend said.
"Nothing." Kipo told her in reassurance before started turning the meat around so it was cooked all the way around. "Wow! I'm hungry." Kipo stops turning when something comes barging into the patch.
Both of them are shocked to find, standing proudly in the hole it made, was a large brown ram that looked down at Wolf.
"Wolf, you didn't show her the map." the ram said, speaking with a distorted voice that sounded like her own. Wolf thought for a moment as she gained a look of shame before she spoke.
"You're right." Wolf said to the ram. "I can't keep a secret forever." She then turned to around to face Kipo. "Kipo, I hid a map from you!" As she is walking over to her friend, she then pulled out the letter. "I-I think it could lead you to your dad. I'm sorry." Looking at Kipo for a moment, she is then shocked as the Burrow girl rips up the letter.
"Whatever." Kipo said, acting like what she did was nothing serious. "It's in the past. No point dwelling on it." She then held up Wolf's staff to her. "What do you say we change the menu tonight from Mega Bunny to talking ram?" As Wolf looks at her staff for a moment, she is caught by surprise when she hears a familiar voice echoing through.
"Wolf!" the voice called out. "Wolf!"
"That voice…" Wolf said to herself before watching Kipo call out as she ran towards the ram with her own spear. Seeing this, Wolf then took action and tackled Kipo to the ground. "You're not my Kipo."
"Wolf!" the voice called out again. "Wolf, can you hear me?"
"Donatello?" Wolf said before she looked to the ram, the Tribe elder's voice coming out of the large, horned animal.
"Wolf, listen to me!" the ram said to her. "Whatever you're seeing, it's not real! Wake up!"
"This isn't… real." Wolf said to her in realization. "It's all… a dream."
"Oh, man." Kipo said in disappointment as the whole area breaks apart.
A moment after I told Wolf to wake up, he finally woke up and managed to break herself free from the water column.
"Wolf!" I said as I put my staff away, went over, and caught her. "Wolf, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Wolf said to me as she rubbed her head. "Oh, what happened?"
"Tad put you to sleep and was trying to feed off of you." I explained to her.
"Wow, that's a first." Tad said to us with surprise.
"You mean it was the first time someone has broken out of one of your messed-up dreams?" I said to him with anger. "Ones you use to keep them asleep while you drain their energy until they're lifeless husks?"
"Oh, that doesn't sound right." Tad said with shock. "That sounds sad."
"It's not sad, it's twisted and wrong!" I told him. "With how Wolf figured it all out, I suggest you let everyone else go too before you end up opening a can of worms."
"Oh, it was actually more than that." Tad said as he explained, me putting Wolf down so she could stand. "That ram you saw must've been your guilt, little pup." He then formed a jar that he smashed into nothing to emphasize his meaning. "Those are some big feelings you got sealed up tight like a jelly jar. They interfered with the dream I made for you."
"Ram?" I didn't take me long to realize what it was. "Aries." Piecing it all together, I then looked to Wolf. "You found one of Mr. Oak's clues."
"Yes." Wolf said to me.
"We'll talk about this later." I said to her, getting my staff ready for another fight. "Right now, we need to save the others before it's too late!"
"Right!" Wolf said, readying herself like me.
"Shhh!" Tad shushed us before he began speaking quietly. "Not so loud, you're gonna wake them up."
"That's the point, you water-based psychopath!" I told him.
"If you wake them up, you'll both yank them from perfection." Tad replied before he spoke to Wolf. "I can reveal a better dream for you, pup. I can make you more buff." He made his body look extremely buff while flexing.
"I don't want anything that turns me into this!" Wolf replied as she pulled out a skull from the pond.
"What? A hamster?" Tad said as he formed a hamster in his arms. "I can make you a hamster if…"
"No! Dead!" Wolf snapped before we heard some heavy breathing and looked to find Axel struggling in his sleep.
"Him too? That's not good." Tad said, looking at Axel with worry.
"What's wrong with Axel?" Wolf asked me with concern.
"Looks like he's starting to see through the illusion too." I told her, knowing what was going on. "He's trying to wake up! Axel, wake up!"
[AF3's Dream]
After Yoshi helped me find something to wear, Father came around and pulled me into the bathroom, telling me I needed to shave. I did as he asked, but was having a bit of trouble, especially since I was using a hand blade to cut off the wet hairs I had on my face and I didn't want to cut myself. Uncle Donnie told me that there was an easier way of doing this with something called an electric razor. Knowing what the name implied, I knew that wouldn't be much of an option as we didn't have really have a working electrical system yet.
"You missed a spot." My father said as he walked up to me and held out his hand. "May I?"
"Sure." I said as I gave him the razor before standing up against the counter while holding my neck out. "Okay, so why am I shaving?"
"Sometimes shaving is the most important part of the day." My father said as he began, taking his work on the shaving very slow. "It also takes a real man to hold a blade against his throat every day and not cut himself."
"Are you quoting somebody from the past?" I asked him.
"Not exactly." He told me. "I'm quoting my father."
"Oh, Grandpa Lee." I said with an amused smile. "He was a funny guy."
"He was an asshole." He bluntly said as he continued doing the spots I missed. "But he taught me how to shave."
"Like father, like son, right?" I said to him with a teasing smug while my father paused to examine me.
"You want me to help clean your face or not?" He said to me.
"Sorry." I apologized as my father chuckled.
"Another smartass, just like your mother." He said as he continued to work. "Hopefully she doesn't turn you against me like your brother and sister." After he said that, he stopped and then stepped back. "There we go. All finished."
"Thank you, Father." I said to him.
"You're welcome. Now, go on and get dressed."
I nodded before I then went to my room and got the clothes Yoshi helped me pick out off from my bed. Using my super speed, I instantly got rid of my pajamas and put on the suit, which consisted of a blue jacket with a white undershirt, a pair of matching blue jeans, and a pair of fancy black shoes.
"Awww!" My mother cooed as I saw her smiling at me from the doorway, looking like she was about to cry. "You look so handsome."
"Thanks, Mom." I said to her before Miwa called out.
"Axel! Your girlfriend's here!"
"I'll be right there!" I told her.
"Have a wonderful night, sweetie." My mother said to me, petting my head.
"Will do, Mom." I said as she stopped petting me and started heading out. I was just at the doorway when…
"Him too? That's not good." I stopped when I heard those words. The voice that said that sounded like my mother's, but seemed distorted.
"Mom, did you say something?" I asked as I turned back to her.
"Said what, dear?" She said to me, looking confused before she brightened up. "Now go on. Don't want to keep her waiting."
"Right." I said to her, not really sure if I believed her or not. I pushed that aside as I continued on and got to the living room. "Okay, I'm here."
"Hey, Axe." Looking to the direction of the voice, much to my surprise, I saw it was Kipo as she walked over to me with a smile. There, I realized that the date my family was said I had tonight was with Kipo, who apparently was my girlfriend now? I pushed my questions about the situation aside and focus on what was happening now. She was dressed in a violet gown with a pink bow tied around her waist.
"Wow, Kipo!" I said, admiring Kipo's dress for our date. "You look great!"
"Thanks." She said with a chuckle. "You don't look bad yourself."
"So what does this make?" Yoshi said as we looked to see him and Miwa standing in the hallway with smiles. "Date Number 6 or 7?" This earned him an elbow from our sister.
"Yoshi, don't tease your brother." Mom said to him, glaring at him from across the room.
"Yes, listen to your mother." Father said as he walked into the living room, moving past my older siblings. "He haves more important matters to attend to." Yet again, I had a feeling in my gut, something telling me that something was wrong.
"Well?" Kipo said to me, breaking me out of my thoughts. "What are we waiting for?" She then took my hand with a smile. "Rat Land's holding that special dance. It's gonna start pretty soon."
"Right." I told her, clasping my hand around hers. "We should head out."
"Have fun, you two!" Mom said to us as we were walking towards the door.
Just as we were about to go outside, there was a loud rumble that made us stop halfway to the door. Looking around, we all saw the house begin to shake. Whatever it was, it certainly big. It was only a moment later that it stopped before some crashed through the ceiling. Looking in front of us, we all saw this massive, blue, five-digit claw. It wasn't long until the claw moved and we all saw the creature it belonged to: the Mega Mutant I had nightmares about, the winged Mega Tiger. It stood proud as it glared down at us with a growl.
"Everyone, run! I'll hold it off!" Father told us as he brought out his wings and fly off to fight the Mega Tiger.
As we ran, I looked back and watched as Father managed to put up a good fight and get a few hits on the Mega Mutant before being trampled by one of its claws. After it was done, the beast reached out and managed to snatch me.
"Axel!" Kipo called out in worry as the Mega Tiger brought me up to its face.
I tried to break out of its grip, but it was no use. It had too good a hold on me. I was trapped. I then closed my eyes as I prepared for the worst. But, as it roared, I began to hear a voice.
"Axel, wake up!" The voice I heard belong to Uncle Donnie as I opened my eyes in shock.
"What?" I then turned my head and looked right at the beast. Looking right into its eyes, I then had a great realization. "You're not here to hurt us, are you?" There, the tiger turned its claw halfway around, allowing me to sit up in it. If that wasn't surprising enough, it then slowly lowered its claw and allowed me to safely get to the ground. As I stood there, I looked up at the Mega Tiger and smiled as it looked down at me.
"Axel!" In that instant, my father came around and snatched me up, trying to take me away from it.
"Father, what are you doing?" I asked him, confused by this.
"Getting as far away from this Mega Mutant." He told me.
"But it doesn't it mean us any harm!"
"I'm not taking any chances!"
"No, wait! I think I can talk to it!"
"There is no talking to that thing! We have to go!"
"No! Let me go!" I then started to struggle, trying to break free from my father's grasp. After a moment, I managed to break free and quickly made a break back to the tiger.
"Boy, get back here!" My father tried to go after me before the Mega Tiger stopped him, pinning him under its claw. "No! Boy, stay away from that thing!" I ignored him, now knowing something was wrong here and that this Mega Tiger was trying to tell me that.
"You came here. Why?" I asked the Mega Mutant. "Are you trying to tell me something?" At that moment, it kneeled down to my level and gently pressed its forehead against mine. With both of us closing our eyes, I began to hear Uncle Donnie's voice again.
"Axel, you have to wake up!" I heard my uncle say. "Please, wake up!" Then another voice called out.
"Axel, you have to wake up now!" That voice belonged to Wolf. "Wake up!"
With that, I finally pieced it all together. I knew what the tiger wanted and why my gut was telling me everything was wrong. It was because… it was wrong. What I was seeing was a lie.
"Of course." I said after the tiger and I put some distance between our foreheads. "That's why they're here. After all this time."
"Boy, what are you talking about?" "Father" asked me, sounding confused.
"This… isn't real." I told him.
"Bro, what are you talking about?" "Miwa" said as she and "Yoshi" appeared to my right, walking towards me.
"Yeah, this is real life." "Yoshi" said to me.
"No, it isn't." I told them. "It's all an illusion."
"Honey, you're not making any sense." "Mom" said as he and "Kipo" appeared to my left, walking to me like my "siblings". "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, do you need to talk?" My so-called girlfriend said to me with a look of concern.
"You know we're here for you." "Nooroo" told me, he and "Duusu" appearing beside me.
"Yeah." The other kwami said.
"Get away from me!" I smacked those two away before I then found myself back against the claw "Father" was pinned under as the others surrounded me.
"Axel!" "Mom" snapped at me.
"Give it up already! You're not my mother!" I said, speaking to each of the people who were actually fakes of the real deal. "You're not Kipo! You're not my sister! You're not my brother! You two are not Nooroo and Duusu! And you're not my father! You're not real! None of this is! This is all… a dream!" It was there that I realized what was going on. "You guys aren't trying to help me, you're trying to keep me here!" They all then gained looks of shock and horror as I walked forward a bit, making them back away. "Nice try, Tad! I've seen through your tricks! I'm not staying and you can't keep me here!" With that, I then jumped up and landed on top of the Mega Tiger's head. It then removed its paw as the illusion of my father got up and joined the rest of the illusions.
"Axel, wait!" he said, begging me as I crossed my arms and looked down at him. "Let's just talk this out!"
"No way, Tad!" I told him, not letting him the chance to trick me. "I've had enough of this 'perfect dream'! It's time for me to wake up!" With that, the Mega Tiger then raised its claw and clenched it into a fist, ready to punch down at the fakes.
"Oh, crud." All seven of them said in despair at the same time before the tiger then slammed its fist on the ground, the shockwave causing the seven fakes to shatter and cracks to form around the area before it all broke apart.
Just like what happened with Wolf, Axel shot awake before he broke out of the column and landed on his feet, crouching as he held himself up with one hand. After catching his breaths, he coughed out some water along with the water bears that he drank. After they formed in a water bear the size of a mouse, he then growled as he slammed his fist down where the water bear was at, his act of anger scaring it away.
"You!" Axel said after he stood up and pointed at Tad angrily.
"Little cub, you are something else entirely." Tad said to him with disbelief. "That tiger there was more than just some emotions. It was like a whole other you that you had been locked up inside you, your dream tainting with fear."
"More like a part of me trying to help me escape your illusion. For once, I'm glad that thing came along." Axel said to him before he looked around and gained a look of horror at seeing the others trapped in Tad's trap, starting with Benson and the two Wonderbeasts we had with us. "Oh, no. Benson! Dave! Mandu!" He then looked at his cousins. "Hotaru! Sora! Riku! Gordy! Kylo! Stella! Musa! Brandon! Hikari! Rico!" Then to our other Tribe members. "Thora! Brook! Aisha! Nadu!" Then to the kwamis. "Plagg! Lobbo! Bloom! Forss! Breez! Bruun! Steel! Pollen! Wayzz! Nooroo!" Though what got him the most was seeing Kipo in one of those columns. "Kipo!" He then rushed over to the Burrow girl and tried to wake her up. "Wake up! Kipo, snap out of it!" Just then he got washed away by a small wave, no doubt Tad trying to stop him.
"Psst!" Tad whispered as reformed in front of him. "Little cub, I wouldn't do that to your friend. You'll wake her up."
"I want to wake her up!" Axel snapped back. "And I want the others to wake up too! Let them go!"
"Little cub, please be reasonable." Tad said to him. "I can make your dream much better if…"
"No way!" He snapped, sending a fire blast that caused Tad to fall apart. "I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life in any of your fake dreams! I am taking my friends back!"
"I speak from the heart when I say that my feelings." Charging right at the Wonderbeast, Axel then jumped into the air and tried to punch him, only to get sent back flying through the air. Luckily, I managed to get over and catch him.
"You okay, Axel?" I asked him as I put my nephew down so he could stand.
"Yeah. Thanks for the save, Uncle Donnie." He told me before Tad reformed himself into two different beings, one of them I recognized: Miwa and what appeared to be a muscular version of Wolf.
"Axel, wake the others!" I said as Wolf came over and joined us. "We'll hold Tad off!"
"On it!" Axel said as Wolf and I took on the water beings while Axel slid under the Wolf clone and ran over to Benson and Dave.
[Dave and Benson's Dream]
At the beach house, Benson and Dave are having a party filled with tons of people, humans and Wonderbeasts alike. They were really enjoying themselves until…
"Dave! Benson! Wake up!" AF3 called out, his voice echoing. "All of what you got there is not real!"
"Axel? Wait." Dave said before he looked to Dave, the insect Wonderbeast getting up onto his feet. "This is all a dream? None of it's real? Did you know it wasn't real?"
"Yeah, man. I made shirts." Dave said, motioning to a man holding up a yellow t-shirt with what he said printed on them. "'I went to Benson and Dave's super sick house party and all I got was nothing because it's not real'."
"Yeah, something this awesome couldn't exist." Benson said with despair. "This is totally not real!"
"Hey, come on, man!" Dave begged out, talking to AF3. "Can't we stay a little while longer? We're so popular!"
"Sorry, boys, but you really need to wake up!" AF3 said to them. "Also sorry in advance."
"Sorry?" Benson asked as he and Dave were confused by this. "Sorry for what?" After he said that, Dave's horn suddenly snapped off and the Wonderbeast began screaming in pain. As he was screaming, the house began to receive cracks as the whole ground began to shake. "Dave!" Benson was about to try and calm Dave down, but stopped when he gained a weird sensation and screamed out in terror, holding his left ear. Almost in an instant, the whole area broke apart as the two fell into darkness.
After the two woke up, I then pulled my finger out of Benson's ear as the columns disappeared and the two fell to the ground.
"Benson! Dave!" I said to them, relieved that they were awake. "You guys okay?"
"I was five minutes ago!" Benson answered. "Why is my ear wet?"
"And what happened to my antennae?" Dave question, seeing his left antennae was missing.
"Sorry. I had to shock you guys away." I told them, apologizing for what I had done. "It was easy for Dave, but I had to resort to giving you a wet-willie, Benson. Sorry."
"Apology accepted." Benson said to me. "Can we go back now?"
"Yeah, we were so popular!" Dave exclaimed in despair.
"It wasn't real, guys." I told them as I helped them to their feet. "Besides, you were gonna die if I didn't wake you up. Plus, I need your help. A Wonderbeast is trying to feed off us while we sleep. Uncle Donnie and Wolf are keeping him distracted so I can rescue them. Help me wake up the others before he comes back!" With that, the two joined me as we went to free our friends. In the process, we were able to save Mandu, the kwamis, my fellow Miraculous Warriors, and the ninjas. All that was left was to wake up Kipo.
After a while of fighting Tad, Wolf and I soon got into standstills with the water clones, the two of us trying to push our opponents back and vice versa. This lasted for a good three minutes before…
"Ugh!" I heard Gordy groan as I looked to find him along with most of the others awake, Kipo being the only one still asleep. "Cuz, I know you just saved us, but did you really have to wet-willie us?"
"Sorry, it was the only way I could think of." Axel said as he turned to face Kipo. "Now we got no time to lose. We need to wake up Kipo!"
"No." Tad said with shock before he pushed me away and started heading towards Kipo. Looking farther, I saw Wolf had experienced the same thing as the two water clones turned into a stream as they traveled.
"Axel, look out!" I yelled out before my nephew got smacked away by a tendril and Tad reformed with Kipo in his hand.
"I don't think so, little cub." Tad said as Axel got back to his feet. "Her fantasy is my best work yet, just like yours."
"What?" Axel asked, confused by this.
"Mm-hmm. Turns out her dream is almost exactly like yours." Tad said before he took the giant form of a woman I haven't seen before. "I had her mom come back to life." As he kept talking, he then went back to his original form. "I made her feel strong in the face of diversity." He then dissipated before he reformed in front of her. "I don't get jealous. But, if I did, I would be…of me." With a light, evil laughter, he then turned into a torrent of water that made us head towards the shore before taking the form of a colossal-sized head of a ram.
"It's no use." I said as I canceled out the technique. "We can't beat him. He's just too strong."
"No, I refuse to give up." Axel said as he got back to his feet. "That water bear may have tried to control our fantasies, but he won't control our reality." Right there, he ran straight toward the ram's head and cried out "Kipo!"
"3, get back here!" Aurico said, but Axel ignored him and kept on going.
The only time he stopped was when he became surrounded by water clones of multiple individuals, most were people I didn't know, but a few I figured out. With two of them, I could tell (after that last human form Tad took) were Kipo's parents. Five of them I recognized right away as Miwa, Nooroo, Duusu, Yoshi, Fenyx, and Melody. Though it seemed like he was outnumbered and was going to be defeated, I was caught by surprise when I saw green energy surging around his body, one that I knew had to be only one thing.
"Get…" Axel panted angrily, the energy around him becoming more wild as he clenched his hands into fists. "The hell…" As the energy focused and into his fits, he then yelled out "OUT OF MY WAY!"
Just like that, his fists and arms were then surrounded in green energy as he began his fight with the army of water clones. All of us were in awe as he managed to beat down every single clone with just one hit to each of them, some hits taking out about three of five. After he was through with all of them, he then jumped right at its mouth, cutting right through the water and managing to get where Kipo was. After that, Axel stood over her as the ram's head broke apart. A moment later, Tad reformed into his normal form.
"Little cub, think about what you're…" Tad said as he faced the Fire Dragon.
"Shut it, Tad!" Axel snapped at him in anger. "You crossed way too many lines today! You think that you can control our realities? Think again!" I then watched as he managed to calm down a bit and looked to Kipo. "Kipo, wake up!"
[Kipo's Dream]
After we got to the spot, Axel and I looked up at the ceiling while my parents. It was pretty great, looking at the ceiling lit by glow worms with my boyfriend. Though… as I was looking, something weird happened.
"Kipo, wake up!" I heard Axel say. "Come on, wake up!"
"Huh?" I said before I looked at Axel. "Did you say something, Axe?"
"I didn't say anything." Axel told me before I heard his voice again, only his mouth wasn't moving.
"Kipo!" We both looked around and tried to figure out what that noise was.
"Something's not right." I said as I sat up.
"What do you mean?" Axel asked me.
"I heard something."
"Oh, that's cave acoustics." Dad told me. "The roundness of this place makes noises ricochet and it can sound weird."
"I can make some soup when we get home if you're not feeling well." Mom said as she put her hand on my forehead.
"No, I-I feel fine." I told her as I stood back up before motioning to the Burrow. "It-it's all this. Something's wrong with all of this."
"It's because of some of the people you saw today didn't accept you, isn't it?" Mom asked me. "I get it and I love you. I accept you. I know you are part Wonderbeast. I know you're special, just like Axel."
"You saying that, coming back… It's too good to be true." I then looked back to my mom, not really believe what she said. "Are you really part Wonderbeast?"
"Why would you ask that?" Mom asked me, confused.
"Mom, please, answer me." I said to her, wanting to know. "Are you?"
"Kipo, you're being hysterical." Axel told me as he stood up. "Maybe we should get you back to the house. I'll get Uncle Donnie to give you a medical check."
"No, I'm fine." I told him before I then realized something. "Axel, where is everybody?"
"Excuse me?" Now he was confused.
"Where is everyone? Benson, Dave, Wolf, your cousins, Sora and the others."
"Oh, them? They're back at the Tribe."
"Wolf is at your Tribe?" Now I was having a hard time believing him. "I thought you said she didn't want to be a part of your Tribe."
"Well, after we got you home to this new Burrow, she changed her mind and joined the Tribe."
"That doesn't sound like her."
"Well, life is always full of surprises." He then grabbed me by the hand. "Look, let's just head back to the house and get some rest."
"Hold on." This is where I got to the important question. "Axel, what happened to the Beast War?"
"The Beast War? It ended a while ago. Scarlemagne was taken care of and now the surface is at peace."
"It's over? How?"
"I just told you, we defeated Scarlemagne."
"But how did you do it?"
"Well, uh… we, uh…"
"Kipo, why are you asking all of this for?" Mom questioned me.
"Because I need to know." I told her.
"Know? Know what?" Axel asked me.
"If this is real or not." There, I knew there was only one question that would prove it. "Axel, Mom… why was Mr. Frank turned into a hybrid for?"
"Oh, that? That's because…" Axel started.
"He wanted to be one?" Mom added, both of them looking at me with nervous smiles. "You know, to see what it was like?"
"You don't know, do you?" Right there, I then realized. "Mom, you're not part Wonderbeast. It was no Mega Bunny that took you away. You died from being sick when I was a baby!"
"Kipo, please! You've got to wake up!" Axel's voice called out through the cave. "We still have to find your father! Wake up!" With that, I then turned to the three.
"You're not my dad, are you?" I asked him as a crack formed on his face.
"Whoa! Kipo, take it easy." Axel said to me, looking worried.
"I have to go." I said as I got ready to leave. "I have to find my dad, my real dad!"
"Kipo, hold on." Axel said as he got a hold of me, stopping me. "Are you worried your people don't accept you the way you are? Calm down and remember you're not alone.
"You're right. I'm not alone." I said as I turned to him. "Because I have Axel, the real one. And you're not him." Right there, I then slapped and he instantly broke apart. As the whole Burrow began to shake, I then looked to my mom. "You're not like me! You're just saying that to keep me here. And I… I don't want to be here!"
"Kipo, if you do this," Mom said as a crack formed on her face. "I'll be gone forever."
"I know and I'm sorry." I said to her before I shook my head. "But you're not really here." Feeling them build-up, I let tears flow from my eyes. "Because, this, isn't, real!" With that, everything broke apart and I started falling down a dark pit.
A moment after Axel spoke out to Kipo, Tad began to ripple until he eventually popped, raining down on the pond.
"Is it over?" Caldwell asked, surprised as much as the rest of us.
"Look!" Brook exclaimed as he pointed forward. We looked and all gained relief as to see Axel walking over to us, carrying Kipo bridal-style, the energy that surrounded him now gone.
"Axel! Kipo!" Gordy exclaimed with a bright smile.
"Hey, guys." Axel said as he managed to get over to us, our fellow Tribe members surrounding them and expressing their worries in their own ways. "Guys, give Kipo some room. She's been through a lot today." With that, Axel then let her down as Kipo stood up next to him. "You okay, Kipo?"
"Yeah." Kipo said to him. "Where are we?"
"Same place we got to today." I told her as I explained. "That Wonderbeast we met put you all to sleep and was feeding on your energy."
"Though the important thing is that we're all awake and it's all over." Axel said before Tad reformed in the pond again, taking on a monstrous form. "Oh, come on!"
"Mulholland, stop!" I said as I got in front of everyone. "Can't you see the wrong what you're doing? They don't want to be living in those fantasies you made! They want to be free in the real world."
"Wait a second." Tad said with surprise before he returned back to normal. "So you're all happy to be here instead of the perfect world I created for you?"
"Yeah, we are." Brook told him as the rest of us nodded. "As good as it is to be having a dream like that, we still got a lot of things here in the real world we can't miss out on."
"Yeah, like our family and friends." Sora added.
"And it's actually better to have the real thing than it is in a dream." Gordy added, proving more of a point.
"My, oh, my." Tad said, being in absolute awe. "I was supposed to take you on a journey and you guys took me on one instead."
"Look, it's not that we don't appreciate what you did for us, having us see our greatest fantasies, but there's still much we have here in the real world, things that are important." Axel said to the water bear. "No matter how good it might be, whatever you made in those dreams weren't real. I do wish my father and brother were still here and that my mother was human again. But you can't make people come back from the dead or undo what's been done, Tad. No matter how badly you want it." Looking at Tad, I saw that the Wonderbeast was taking it in and understood what he said. "All you can do is just keep moving forward. That's what my father taught me." Axel then gained a small smile. "Still it was good to see all of them again even if it was a lie." Axel then lost that smile as he questions the water bear. "Tad, is this really right? Making people think their fantasies come true and not letting them wake up to live out the rest of their lives?"
"No. I understand now." Tad said as he dispersed his body, leaving only his head as he gained a look of shame. "This isn't the best way to get my nutrients. I'm gonna take some time to do some thinking at the mountains and also at the sea and maybe outer space."
"Hold on." Axel said to him as he was about to leave. "That form you took earlier, the woman with the braided hair. Was that Kipo's mother?"
"Yes, it was." He told him.
"That's where I'm a little confused. I get that she was part of Kipo's dream, but why did she look that? Was that some guess on her physical features?"
"Actually, no. Her attire was actually my own handy work. I'm not exactly good with making human faces."
"So why did she look like that?"
"That was actually because Kipo knew what she looked like."
"Hold up, are you saying that the woman I saw was what my mom looked like?" Kipo asked as she walked over. "But I've never met my mom before."
"Not when you were old enough to remember." Tad explained to her. "When I made your dream, I managed to find a memory of your mother. My best guess would be that it was a memory from when you were born."
"Whoa." Kipo said, surprised in awe of that. "Well, thank you for helping remember her."
"You're welcome, Kipo." Tad said with a small smile of appreciation. "Now, see ya next time, my friends." With those words said, he slowly disappeared under the water.
"Come on, guys. Let's go." Axel said before all headed back to base.
After getting back to the ruins, we set up camp at a stairwell and sat close to the burning campfire. All the while Axel wrote down about the Wonderbeast, even though he wasn't exactly much thrilled.
"Well, that's gotta been the weirdest Wonderbeast I've ever come across." Benson spoke up, trying to lighten up the mood.
"Yeah. And quite the unique one." Axel said as he finished the entry. "Who would have thought the virus could infect something so small?"
"Or that it could make see all those weird dreams." Aurico added before I then remembered something.
"Speaking of dreams," I said before I looked to Wolf, "Wolf, I think it's about time you told us."
"Tell us what?" Kipo asked, confused by this.
"Kipo…" Wolf spoke up as we all listened to her. "I need to tell you something." She then started reaching into her back pocket. "When we split up to find birthday presents and split up again to look for you, Dave and I found…this." She then gave Kipo a letter with the Aires symbol on it.
"We did?" The bug asked, surprised by this. "I'm so proud of us!" Benson cleared his throat elbowing his friend.
"Wait, that letter's got a ram's head on it." Axel said as he gained a look of surprise. "Is that actually…"
"Yes. It's the other clue Kipo's father left for her." I told him. "Wolf was hiding it from all of us and it left her with guilt."
"I… I don't believe it." Kipo said in disbelief.
"What is it, Kipo?" Axel asked her.
"It's a map." Kipo told us. "A map to a second Burrow." All of us (except for Wolf) gasped in shock from hearing this.
"Wait, there's some kind of backup Burrow?" Aurico said.
"Kipo, did you know about this?" Aisha asked the Burrow girl.
"No." Kipo answered. "I had no idea there was a failsafe."
"If there's a second Burrow, then that must be where they're heading." Axel said, coming to the same realization.
"But how exactly are they getting there?" Gordy said, putting up a good question. "The wolves would have found them in an instant. Even if we took out the telescope before they did, we should've bumped into them by now."
"What if they weren't traveling on the surface?" Axel said, putting his own guess on what happened. "Maybe when they created this second Burrow, they made an access tunnel that leads right to it."
"I would say that would be accurate." I said as I saw how it would make sense. "And I would have to bet that they placed it in that bunker so that no one else could find it and they could use it for emergencies."
"This map shows us where to go," Kipo said as she kept reading the map, "only this says were going the wrong direction." She then looked over to Wolf, who was looking away in shame. "And you knew?"
"Wolf!" Axel exclaimed as we were all disappointed in Wolf.
"Kipo, I'm so sorry." Wolf said before Kipo snapped at her.
"My dad left me a note!" Kipo slammed her fist in anger standing up. "And you hid it from me!"
"I'm sorry…"
"How could you?" Kipo then turned away as she no doubt felt very betrayed and hurt after the trust and bond they'd made together.
"Let me get this straight." Aurico said as Wolf looked to him. "We have been going miles on end back and forth for three days while you had directions to a Burrow this entire time?"
"Wolf, you know how important it is we get Kipo home." Axel said to her in disbelief. "Why would you even keep something like this from her? From any of us?
"Because I was afraid of losing her!" Wolf spoke out as she stood up, breaking into tears and surprising us. Kipo even turned around to look at her. "I was afraid of losing you."
"Wolf, what are you talking about?" Kipo asked as Wolf wiped away her tears. "Losing me?"
"I was afraid when you go back underground, that'll be it!" She answered, motioning to all of us. "All this, us, will be over!" She then turned away as she sobbed. "That we'd go… our…our separate ways." All of us were shocked to hear and witness this go down. Hell, even Aurico and Axel were shocked by this as they never thought they'd see Wolf break down like this.
"You don't want to be alone again, do you?" Axel said as she understood her reason for her actions.
Even though we were upset that she had lied to all of us, especially the first friend she made in a long time, we all knew that she did this because she didn't want to lose her best friend, that she was afraid that her leaving would break our group apart. Apparently, Kip did to as I watched her place a hand on Wolf's shoulder, making the little survive to turn to her. While she had a stern look, Kipo closed her eyes for a moment before embracing her friend, showing she had forgiven her. As Wolf returned the hug, I watched as everyone smiled at the touching moment. Mandu even went over rubbed her head against the girl's leg.
"Rico, are you crying?" Axel asked as I looked to see a few tears leave his cousin's eyes.
"No." Aurico said in denial, wiping away his tears. "It's just some water in my eyes."
"Oh! I remember now!" Dave ruined the moment. "The Parts Etc. store! You should've seen the look on Wolfy's face when that map meant goodbye. I don't think she likes goodbyes."
"We got that, Dave." Benson said in annoyance.
"Yeah, so shut the hell up." Brook told him.
As this moment continued, I looked up at the night sky, thinking about Tad. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to find Kipo's Burrow or help Wolf get over her guilt and tell us the truth. In a way, he did take us on a journey. A journey that strengthened the bond of this group. As we keep on going, I don't know what to say but… Thank you, Tad Mulholland. Hope we meet each other again.
Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry it took me so long. I've been a little tied up with some stuff. I hoped you like the chapter and the story. I also hoped you all like the dream sequences I put in. And you're wondering about Tad, don't worry. This isn't the last time the heroes will be seeing him again. That's all I got for now. Don't forget to leave a comment to tell me how you think of it. See ya in the next chapter!