~~000~~

Tales of the Multiverse Bit 173

Fuck! Welp! At least those motherfuckers are taken care off.

The H.I.V.E. Five just finished taking care off a large group of velociraptors, the boys then decided to leave the Jurassic-inspired jungle and made their way towards another jungle with colorful trees.

~~000~~

After a few hours of walking, the members of Grand Empire's Team B which consists of Bubbles Utonium, Darkwing Duck, Dib Membrane, Golem Head, Hinomaru Izumo, Johnny Test, Mahoro Andou, Poppy the Popplio, Tadakuni and Zoe Orimoto alongside Ran the Warrior and Paletta, arrives at the entrance arch of Yellow Town where a pair of mice greeted them.

"So it is true!" one mice spoke in glee, "Someone is collecting the shards!" it acknowledged, "And now they've come for us!" it declared, "Well, children, luckily for you, we shapeshifters happen to be the generous people!" it claimed, "We are willing to give our shard of joy and all the good things if you can find it." it beckoned, "You will have to guess who is carrying it!" it furthered, "We will give you two chances." it added, "Don't let us down, starchildren!" it encouraged before scampering off.

"I'm the only adult in this group..." Drake mentioned, "... but why am I being included whenever everyone refer to us as children?" he questioned in disbelief.

"And why refer to us as starchildren when Paletta is the only the starchild in this group?" Ran added.

Golem Head then sat on the ground in a fetal position, "Indeed, indeed..." he uttered out loud, "What am I?" he questioned, "Am I really a human or something else?" he assumed while rocking back and forth.

"Why are you like this is a better question?" Dib questioned with a blank look.

Tadakuni crossed his arms, "Anyway..." he uttered, "... I think we should start looking around and see which of the citizens in this town currently had the shard." he beckoned.

Mahoro then looks around and took notice that the town folks consists of mice and ragdoll-looking creatures, "What are these people?" she questioned in confusion.

"Those mice mentioned that they're shapeshifters, so I assumed that's not what they really look like." Bubbles stated.

"But how are we going to know which of these folks had the shard?" Zoe asked, "Simply asking them won't be enough." she mentioned.

"And add that the fact that we only had two chances makes it more trickier." Hinomaru added.

"Then let's talk to every citizens in this town and judge things through our conversation with them." Tadakuni beckoned.

Drake nodded in response, "Then let's do it." he accepted.

And with that, the group began to walk around town while talking to different shapeshifters in hopes of finding out who got the shard.

"Looking for the shard? Well, it's not here! The one with the shard had big ears... that's what the others made me say. Sorry, that was embarrassing..."

"Games are fun but I can't stop thinking about the past. This is getting annoying. The princess... Chroma was a friend to all of us. I really... She was just a child. Did the thief take her with them? Is she safe? Is she okay? Is she... alive? Sorry. I'm not in the mood for Auri's game right now."

"Auri?" Bubbles uttered.

"Probably the leader of this town." Ran assumed.

The group then resumed talking with the town folks:

"Hmm? The shard? It's not here but that one who has it... had four limbs. Well, at least they usually had. Being a shapeshifter and all. Eh? That wasn't helpful?"

"Do you want a hint? Well... the one with the shard isn't easy to catch."

"Like a mouse?" Bubbles guessed.

"It could be something else." Dib replied.

The group then resumed talking with the town folks:

"After the king died, we haven't gotten any food deliveries from Green & Blue Town... We only have cheese left in our stocks, and being mouse... makes cheese taste better... And we don't need to eat as much in forms like these! Being a shapeshifter finally has more pros than cons. I wonder how long we will be without other town's food... I miss ice cream."

"Aren't you worried about yourselves? Stay with us. It's safer here. I'm being genuine right now, you know! It really is safe for you to be here."

"Magic? I don't have that but I wish I did. Not a lot of people in this world can do magic. Wonder what makes it so rare?"

"I never met the king or the princess, I heard that they were both very kind, though... To have so much power and to still be kind to everyone, even people you don't know? I think that's really important. Kind people... They really are inspiring."

"Oho, the one with the shard? Well, that isn't me. They aren't on the side of this town, that's for sure. Try the east side!"

"I'm the ratman!"

"You're going to have to look harder if you want to leave with the shard. The one with the shard is small - smaller than you and me."

"So, it is a mouse!" Johnny declared.

"We can't be too sure just yet." Ran interrupted, "We did encountered a cat earlier, so it's possible that they're referring to it as well." she stated.

The group then resumed talking with the town folks:

"Why are you people here? Why did you come here? Is it really that important to you to gather the shards? What are you even going to do with them? The world is like this because of one person, yes, but... Do people deserve to be united? Aren't we better like this? I'm not sure. Oops, don't let me distract you."

"Well..." Zoe uttered, "... that was ominous." she commented.

Drake then crossed his arms, "So, who do you think had the shard?" he asked.

"Putting aside the self-proclaimed 'ratman' and those who gave us hints..." Ran mentioned, "... a few folks got me thinking that they had the shard based on our conversation with them." she stated.

"Our clues so far includes big ears, aren't easy to catch, four limbs and are located at the east side." Mahoro listed off.

"It's those mouse I tell ya what, I swear!" Johnny insisted.

"There are tons of mouse here, so we need to be specific." Ran stated.

Paletta thought about it before turning to Tadakuni, the normal high school boy took notice of her gaze and immediately understood what she's trying to say, "I see, I see, you had a point, Paletta." he acknowledged.

This got the rest of the group's attention, "What's up?" Dib asked.

"Paletta figured out who owns the shard." Tadakuni replied.

"Really? Then who is it?" Bubbles asked.

"Let's go and meet them." Tadakuni beckoned.

The group made their way at the east part of the town and approaches a black-colored cat in a dead end alley located between two buildings.

The cat turns to them upon noticing their arrival, "Can I help you?" it asked.

"You're the one who had the shard, am I right?" Tadakuni asked.

The cat stares at them in silence for a few minutes before chuckling in amazement, "Kehe!" it chortled, "You found me!" it cheered and all of a sudden, the cat began to glow bright yellow including it's eyes and ears.

Shards of Joy

Auri

"So it was the cat!" Johnny squawked in disbelief, "You sneaky little-" he growled.

"How did you know that it was the cat who had the shard?" Golem Head asked.

"They're the only shapeshifter in town whom had a different and rare appearance." Tadakuni answered, "Plus, they had big ears, had four limbs, can't be easily catch and is located here in the east of the town." he listed off.

"Hello there, my name is Auri." the cat introduced itself, "I'm the keeper of the shard of cool tricks and stuff." it shared, "Or I guess was the keeper." it corrected, "I'm happy to be parting with it to be honest." it admitted, "I will miss everyone but I feel like this is the right thing to do, y'know?" it stated, "Thank you for playing with us." it expressed in joy.

Auri then hands the shard to Paletta and upon doing so, there was brief flash of light and the next thing everyone know the whole town gained its color back and everything are now sporting a bright yellow color, much to everyone's surprise and awe.

And just like with Rosa, Auri disappeared without a trace.

"Woah! Everything is now yellow!" Hinomaru exclaimed.

"Fascinating, so fascinating..." Golem Head uttered.

"It's bright but I prefer it this way." Mahoro admitted.

"I wonder if the egg from Pink Town had changed color." Johnny thought out loud.

Suddenly, both Tadakuni and Paletta heard the Moon speaking through their minds, "You did it everyone, you've obtained another shard." it complimented in joy, "The Shard of Joy contains a Sleep Spell that grants you the ability to make mortals fell asleep." it explained, "Use it wisely, everyone." it advised before cutting off.

"Where did Auri go?" Zoe asked.

"Just like Rosa, the moon took Auri to their domain to keep them safe for now." Tadakuni answered.

Dib looks around and notice that the town folks are sleeping, "Is it me or is everyone in this town are fast asleep" he pointed out in confusion.

"It's still high noon and they're already snoozing." Johnny said in disbelief, "What a bunch of lazy asses!" he exclaimed.

"I think Auri puts them asleep." Tadakuni answered, "The Shard of Joy had the ability to put someone to sleep and Auri must had used for the last time before the moon took them." he explained.

"I see." Ran uttered in acknowledgement.

"So, where do we go next?" Bubbles asked.

"One town folk mentioned Green & Blue Town." Drake mentioned, "I guess where going to that town next." he assumed.

"I wonder kind of town the Green & Blue Town is?" Dib thought out loud.

"Guess we'll had to see it for ourselves." Ran beckoned.

And with that, the group made their way out of town while carefully not trying to wake up anyone and after walking past the sleeping mouse guards, the group treks towards another bleak-colored path.

"And here I thought I don't have to deal with bleak-colored whatever..." Johnny grumbled in annoyance.

"We've only gathered two shards so far, we can only revert the other colors once we get the remaining shards." Bubbles stated.

The group then arrives at a rather long crossroad with a few yellow-colored gravestones on the sides and some weeded flower buds.

"Hey look! Gravestones!" Johnny pointed out.

"Is your name written on it?" Mahoro asked with a grin and everyone laughed in response.

Johnny facefaulted in annoyance, "Ha-ha! Very funny!" he grumbled.

A few minutes later the group arrives at the Green & Blue Town with it's town folks consists of voodoo doll-looking creatures and black & white rabbits.

"What are those things?" Dib asked, "A scarecrow?" he assumed.

"I don't know about you guys but I prefer the shapeshifters back in Yellow Town than these things." Hinomaru admitted.

Golem Head then sat on the ground in a fetal position, "What are these creatures?" he uttered out loud, "Are we gonna get cursed if we approached those things?" he asked while rocking back and forth.

"This is getting old, GH." Dib chastised.

"At least the rabbits are cute." Bubbles pointed out.

The group then approaches one doll and it creepily turns to them with a smile, "We heard about you, children!" it cheered, "The children sent by the moon, collecting the shards?" it pointed out, "My, you look worn out." it commented, "Stay for a while?" it suggested.

Drake facepalmed, "Once again, I am an adult." he repeated.

"And only Paletta is the star child in the group." Ran added.

Johnny chuckled, "Well, I don't mind being called a starchild." he admitted, "It makes me feel like a Herowood Star." he described with a smug grin while slicking his hair back.

"There's a difference between a cosmic being and a celebrity, Johnny." Zoe pointed out.

Suddenly, both Tadakuni and Paletta heard Auri speaking through their minds, "Those are some weird looking dolls..." he commented, "What?" it uttered, "I can judge them if I want to, I'm a shapeshifter." it reasoned, "This town seems a lot emptier than what I remember." Rosa's voice was heard, "I can't help it but to feel as if something is wrong..." she confided.

Tadakuni's face turned serious, "I had a bad feeling as well." he uttered in agreement.

Note: Dear readers and fellow fanfic authors, I'm hereby announcing that I'll be taking a break from uploading new chapters in the entire month of December due to me being extra busy at that time. Don't worry, I'll be back uploading new chapters in the early January of next year, whether or not I'll upload three times a week or one time a week is up for debate. Anyway, I'll be back uploading new chapters this January, so please do look forward for it.

A/N: Inspired from someonestupED, damnlastwords, Jamesdean5842, Hope the Victor and Ace Neptune. All OCs and concepts not created by moi were given permission for me to use by it's respected creators.