Chapter 23: "Thinking Outside the Cart"

Alaylle runs into Ambernite Field from the northwest entrance and is quickly greeted by a large swarm of Ambernites. "Good morning, everyone!"

Amber, and the rest of the Ambernites all look up at Alaylle.

"Today we'll work on your rolling and teamwork!" Alaylle smiles happily. "Since there are so many Horns… teamwork's the only real way we can fight well! First… let's see how well everyone rolls."

Alaylle picks up a stick off the ground and draws a line in front of the Ambernites. "Okay! Roll as much as you can, but don't tire yourself out all the way!"

All of the Ambernites quickly start rolling across the field, with Alaylle chasing after them. When an Ambernite tires out, Alaylle makes a mark on the ground with her stick. Once the last Ambernite tires out, Alaylle gathers all of the Ambernites together again.

"Hmm… everyone rolls really well! I've split you all into four teams based on how long you could roll for… Why? Well… when you roll, you're really vulnerable to strikes from the side, right?" Alaylle looks down at the Ambernites, who all nod. "Well… we're gonna practice rolling in rows, not only to protect your sides, but to keep the Ambernites at the ends of the row from losing their balance if they should get hit!" She looks back down at all the Ambernites. "But… before we do that… let's rest!"

Alaylle sits down next to Amber. "How are you doing, Amber?"

Amber goes into her shell and rolls back and forth.

"A little bit nervous, huh?"

Amber nods and looks at the other Ambernites.

"Oh! That's right! I should name everyone else! I can't go calling them without names!" Alaylle smiles happily.

All of the Ambernites sweatdrop at the thought of being named by Alaylle.

"Hee hee hee… I'll call you Alan, and you Albert… Ohh! I'll call you Amy!" Alaylle giggles as she starts naming all of the Ambernites names that start with "A".

---
After several practice rolls…

"Okay! Apple, slow down just a little bit!" Alaylle runs after the rolling line of Ambernites. "Perfect! When we're going straight, keep it up just like that!" Alaylle smiles happily. "Eyaahh!" Alaylle trips on a discarded Ambernite shell and falls onto the grass.

The Ambernites turn around and roll towards Alaylle to see if she's okay.

Alaylle gets up slowly off the grass and dusts herself off. "Oh no… I'm fine! I just tripped on that Ambernite shell." She walks over to the shell, picks it up and looks it over. "Hmm…" Alaylle pockets the shell and turns back to the Ambernites. "Okay! Now let's practice turning while in a row!"

The Ambernites line up in their groups, and start rolling in a neat row.

"Group 1 and 3, turn left! Group 2 and 4, turn right!" Alaylle then winces.

The Ambernite rows have all scattered, and some Ambernites have bumped into each other.

"…Wonder why that happened… Oh! That's right! The Ambernites all have to roll at different speeds once they start turning to stay in a row!" Alaylle draws a circle on the ground with her stick. "Daddy explained this to me before… its like running a race in a circle… if you stay in the inner curve of the circle, you don't need to move as much to do a full circle. It's why the runners of a race in a circular track start in different places in the rows!"

Alaylle turns towards the Ambernites. "That means… the Ambernites that are more towards the direction you're turning have to either slow down… or the Ambernites that are more away from the direction you're turning have to speed up!"

The Ambernites think it over for a while, and then nod.

"Okay, then let's practice it!… Oops! It's getting late already!" Alaylle looks up at the sky and then back at the Ambernites. "Everyone, don't forget to practice!"

Alaylle waves goodbye happily to the Ambernites and runs off… only to trip on another discarded Ambernite shell. She dusts herself off and pockets that shell too. 'Hmm… maybe I should try taking some shells with me…' Alaylle thinks to herself for a moment and then nods, collecting any discarded shells she finds on her way back to Geffen.
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After barely getting home in time to keep her mother from cooking, and finishing her nightly chores, Alaylle sits down at a table in the living room, examining an Ambernite shell.

"Hmm…" Alaylle opens up her monster encyclopedia and turns to a page about Ambernite shells. 'So the Ambernite only lives in the outermost part of the shell, huh?' She looks back at the shell in her hands.

Alaylle giggles and starts playfully rolling the shells across the living room floor. 'The shells roll well, though!' Alaylle's thoughts are interrupted when a pair of hands covers her eyes from behind.

"Heh heh heh… Guess who!"

Alaylle thinks for a moment, and then sniffs a bit. "I smell smoke on this person's hands, so… it must be Daddy!"

"Ha ha ha! That's right!" Corin uncovers his daughter's eyes and then sits down on his cart while looking at her. "Playing with Ambernite shells?"

Alaylle nods slowly after a soft giggle. "Hee hee hee… just a little. I'm really thinking about the Ambernite shells, not playing with them!"

"Well, don't strain yourself too much." Corin grins and ruffles Alaylle's hair.

"Kyaaaahh!" Alaylle pouts as she straightens her hair. "Oh, Daddy, you're so mean!" Alaylle then bursts into giggles.

Corin shakes his head with a smile, gets to his feet, and leaves his cart on the side of the entrance to the living room as he walks towards his workshop.

Alaylle watches her father leave the room and then looks back at his cart. 'Oh! That gives me an idea! It'll take a few days but… I think it'll work!'

---
Alaylle walks into the northwest corner of Ambernite Field tugging along her father's cart. 'Eyaahh… this thing is so heavy… I don't know how Daddy can lug this around all day and not get tired…' Alaylle looks around quickly and calls out, "Everyone! I'm here!"

All of the Ambernites quickly roll towards Alaylle in a single row and stop right in front of her.

"Whaaaa!" Alaylle jumps up and down while clasping her hands together. "That was soooooo neat looking! Do it again?"

All of the Ambernites promptly fall onto the grass (and at the same time too!) from Alaylle's request.

"Okay, okay!" Alaylle giggles and softly whispers to herself, "Maybe later?" This time in a louder voice, "Alright! Today we'll take back your home from those Horns! First of all, we gotta get there, right? The bridge is broken so… the shortest way is to go through Geffen and enter your home from the south side. It's just… uhh… you know… we can't really have a trail of Ambernites going through Geffen out in the open… someone's gonna mistake you all for invading or something silly like that so…" Alaylle shuffles through the cart's things, pulls out a folded picnic cloth and unfolds it.

The Ambernites look at the cloth and sweatdrop.

"Huh? Oh no, my plan isn't to have a picnic!" Alaylle giggles. "Nuh uh! It's to use the cart to get you all through Geffen without any problems! Everyone, get in the cart! I'll cover the top with this cloth, and we should be fine!"

The Ambernites look at each other for a moment, and then nod.

Alaylle smiles happily and starts scooping up Ambernites by the armful and placing them in the cart.

Amber waits to be the last to be loaded into the cart and hops into Alaylle's arms instead of waiting to be scooped up.

"Eep! Oh… Amber! Huh? No need to thank me yet! Wait until we get your home back, okay?"

Amber nods vigorously once she is put in the cart with the rest of the Ambernites.

Alaylle places the cloth on top of the cart. "Okay! All set! Let's go!" She grabs the cart's handles and starts pulling the cart towards Geffen. "Eyaahah… Daddy, how in the world do you manage to do this all day?"

Alaylle carefully pulls the cart along the path to Geffen, through the north bridge leading to Geffen, and manages to get to Geffen's East Gate without too much difficulty, until…

"Alaylle, that sure looks heavy… do you need some help?" The Kapra girl at Geffen's East Gate watches Alaylle tug the cart up the stairs.

"Huh? Oh… no, I'm fine, really!" Alaylle sweatdrops.

"If you say so… whatcha doing with a cart, anyway?"

"Uhh… just… uhh… delivering some things, that's all!" Alaylle smiles awkwardly.

"You know, I could teleport you to Prontera instead of you lugging that thing all the way there."

"No!… uhhm, I mean… oh no, it's alright, really! I'm fine!"

"Well, alright… it looks like a nice way to exercise anyway"

"Hee hee hee… now that you mention it, it is! Oh wait… I'm not doing this for exercise… uhh… anyway! I'll see you later!" Alaylle awkwardly tries to pull the cart out of Geffen faster.

The Kapra girl blinks her eyes and watches Alaylle. "Well, that was… weird… it was almost like she was hiding something… but Alaylle hide something? That's like a Poring not wanting to eat…"

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Alaylle sits down on the grass just outside of Ambernite Field's south entrance. "Whew! I'm not doing that again! Everyone okay in there? Oh wait… Ambernites don't make sounds…" She lifts up the cloth and peeks inside the cart. All of the Ambernites look up at her. "Aww… that's sooo cute!" Alaylle smiles happily. "Ahh… now what was I gonna say… oh yeah! This cart… isn't just to get us to this place without being seen…" Alaylle winks at the Ambernites. "Here's my plan…" Alaylle leans into the cart and starts whispering…

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Alaylle walks into Ambernite Field from the south entrance and is greeted by a large swarm of Horns. She pulls her chain out of her left sleeve and whips the links forward. "Everyone, go! Let's take back your home!"

Three rows of Ambernites consisting of 10 Ambernites each come rolling from behind Alaylle, with one row on Alaylle's left and two on Alaylle's right.

The Horns panic at seeing that many Ambernites rolling towards them and scatter, making it all the more easy for the Ambernite rows to spread out and roll them over without any resistance or slow down. The Ambernite rows quickly turn back around and regroup near Alaylle after the Horns run.

"Everyone, get ready… they're gonna counterattack!"

Sure enough, the Horns come charging at Alaylle and the Ambernites in a wide column, too wide to roll through without slowing down from the front or the side.

Alaylle and the Ambernites both charge at the column, Alaylle carefully flipping the Horns over so that they can't counterattack and the Ambernites tackling any Horns that get near Alaylle. The column of Horns slows down at first, but soon there are far too many Horns for them to handle.

Alaylle frowns as several Ambernites take bites for her, but then brightens when she hears a rumbling from behind her. "They're finally ready! Everyone, get to side!"

Alaylle's father's cart comes rolling in from behind Alaylle and company and arrives on scene just as Alaylle and the Ambernites get to the side.

The Horns pause for a moment in disbelief as they watch the cart move on it's own towards them, and then panic when they see the cart suddenly turn and start to swing itself at them. Several Horns go flying into the air upon impact with the cart, and the remaining Horns run at seeing the rampaging cart.

Alaylle giggles and looks down at the wheels of the cart. "Finally got how to control it, huh you guys?"

The "wheels" of the cart are revealed to be Ambernite Shells… with Ambernites in them! The Ambernites peek out of their shells and nod.

Amber quickly nudges Alaylle and turns towards the north.

Alaylle turns in the direction that Amber is facing and is shocked at what she sees.

A huge red Horn with three mandibles rather than the usual two is lunging at the retreating Horns. The Horns all sweatdrop and reluctantly turn back towards Alaylle and the Ambernites, but don't attack, looking warily at the Ambernite Cart.

"Th-that isn't in my book…" Alaylle takes a step back and stares at the Tri-horn. "But… it looks like this is what caused the Horns to come here so…" Alaylle grips her chain and charges at the Tri-horn. The Ambernites roll after Alaylle, and the Ambernite Cart rolls off slowly, trying to pick up speed again.

The Tri-horn lunges at Alaylle, but she quickly sidesteps and tries to flip it over from the side. Several Ambernites roll straight at the Tri-horn in anticipation of the Tri-Horn flipping over. Unfortunately, the Tri-horn is far too massive to be even tipped a bit from Alaylle's chain and quickly grabs one of the charging Ambernites with its triple pincers. The Tri-horn grips the Ambernite tightly and the shell starts to crack from the pressure.

Alaylle quickly strikes the Tri-horn's lower left mandible with her chain and the Tri-horn's mandibles quickly separate in pain. "Aaahh! That actually worked! Everyone, the mouth! That's where we can hit!"

The Tri-horn quickly turns towards Alaylle and lunges at her again, only to miss as Alaylle sidesteps the repeat attack. The Tri-horn then suddenly swings it's closed mandibles at Alaylle. Alaylle quickly ducks the strike and hits the two bottom mandibles with her chain while she's ducking. The lower-left mandible goes flying off of the Tri-horn, leaving it with its single upper mandible and a lower-right mandible. The Tri-horn shrieks at losing a mandible and quickly lunges at the passive Horns nearby.

The Horns sweatdrop and quickly start attacking the Ambernites. The Ambernites quickly get back into their rows and start combating the few Horns that attack them.

Meanwhile, Alaylle is cautiously watching the Tri-horn, and the Tri-horn is watching Alaylle. The two stare at each other, waiting for one to make a move… and then the Tri-horn suddenly shrieks in pain. Amber has sneakily rolled in from behind the Tri-horn and has tackled off its bottom right mandible.

The Horns stop for a moment, and turn at the Tri-horn, but the Tri-horn quickly stabs at the ground with its single mandible. The Horns sweatdrop at the Tri-horn's display and quickly go back to attacking the Ambernites.

The Tri-horn has had enough of waiting and charges straight at Alaylle with its mandible raised high. It stabs at the ground where Alaylle is. Alaylle scrambles out of the way of the stab, but doesn't see the Tri-horn quickly turn and hit Alaylle with its massive body. Alaylle falls onto the ground and skids on the grass from the hit. She slowly sits up and then starts to cry.

The Tri-horn, satisfied that Alaylle doesn't want to fight anymore, turns its attention towards Amber. Amber is quickly rolling in circles around the Tri-horn, and the Tri-horn is simply standing still with its mandible ready to stab.

Amber takes a wide turn from behind the Tri-horn and comes straight at the Tri-horn's face. The Tri-horn just stands it's ground and watches. Amber pushes herself up while rolling at the Tri-horn, causing her to jump at the high mandible. The Tri-horn simply turns when it notices the Ambernite in the air and Amber's strike bounces harmlessly off the Tri-horn's carapace.

As Amber falls from her failed attack, the Tri-horn quickly runs towards where Amber will land and readies a stab. As soon as Amber lands, she tries to start rolling forward, but the Tri-horn quickly stabs its mandible right in front of Amber, killing her momentum while her rolling is still slow. Amber tries to roll in reverse, but is stopped exactly the same way. Amber desperately tries to get away, but the Tri-horn simply stabs in the way. With her momentum completely halted, the Tri-horn gets ready to stab the Ambernite.

The Tri-horn stops when it hears a rumbling sound. It looks left and right, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from. Amber quickly rolls away during the distraction and over to Alaylle. All of the Horns battling the Ambernites halt, sweatdrop, and immediately start to panic at that sound. The Ambernite Cart finally arrives on the scene again with plenty of momentum behind it… and rolls straight towards the Tri-horn. The cart quickly swings at the Tri-horn's face, knocking off its last mandible.

The Tri-horn shrieks as it loses it's last mandible, and once again, all the Horns stop and turn towards it. The Tri-horn sweatdrops as it's completely weaponless. All of the Horns notice this and start looking angry at the Tri-horn. They all suddenly charge the Tri-horn and start biting it with their mandibles. The Tri-horn panics and runs away from the Horns, only to meet a row of Ambernites rolling straight towards it. The Ambernite row strikes the Tri-horn head on, and flips it over. The Ambernites and Horns relentlessly attack the Tri-horn as it tries to thrash itself back onto its feet. The Ambernites and Horns then suddenly stop attacking the Tri-horn and get as far away from it as they can. The Tri-horn manages to flip itself back right side up only to see the business end of the Ambernite Cart meet it's face.

Alaylle and Amber watch the Tri-horn fly up high into the sky and both watch its path in the sky as it falls onto an adjacent mountain range in Mt. Mjolnir. "…Wow… good hit…" Amber looks over at Alaylle, and Alaylle bursts into giggles. The Ambernites, Horns, and the Ambernite Cart come up to Alaylle as she gets back to her feet. She looks at the Horns and notices that they aren't fighting the Ambernites anymore. "Aahh… looks like everything's back to normal now, huh?"

Alaylle shuffles in the cart and gets out several Ambernite shells and places them in front of the "wheels" of the cart. The Ambernites crawl out of the shell wheels and into their usual shells.

"But… it's not over yet! We have to do the usual thing!" Alaylle smiles happily.

The Ambernites all simultaneously sweatdrop.

"Nuh uh uh! You have to do it! Karian, Kaori, and me have done it since we were kids! You can't break this tradition, you know!"

Alaylle bends down and picks up Amber. "Just like we practiced! All together!"

The Ambernites quickly form a small pyramid while Alaylle stands in front of it, smiles, and holds out Amber. "Victory Pose!"

The Horns all stare at Alaylle and the Ambernites starry-eyed.

"Huh? Oh, alright, I'll help you all make one too!" Alaylle smiles happily as she sets Amber down. "But… uhh… I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something…" Alaylle taps the top of her head with her pointer finger.

---
Talien sits at the base of a tree near the broken bridge of Ambernite Field sipping some grape juice from a straw from a glass shaped like a bunch of grapes. "Heh, now this is the life."

He adjusts his sunglasses and leans against the tree trunk while watching the bots try to cross a nonexistent bridge. The bots walk in mid-air for a moment, and then fall straight into the Geffen River to be carried off to parts unknown.

"It's not a giant pool of lava, but it works."

End of Chapter 23
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Chapter 24 Preview!

Father Renauld: "Alaylle… I'm sorry…"

Alaylle: "…"

Corin: "I can't stand to see Alaylle like this!"

In the Next Chapter: "Finding Confidence"

Neyrilla: "Corin! Stop… let her decide on her own…"
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