Chapter 30: Garden Quest
Sidney, as Katarin, was scouting out Invectoid Garden. She was riding her Skeletal Steed across the terrain, careful not to step into any quicksand traps that may be nearby. She stopped at a cliffside, looking about at the other side. She leapt with her Steed across the gap in between and continued on. Just then, she stopped at a bigger crevice. She looked around and spotted a small set of rock steps that led into the dark at the bottom. She started to slowly ride her Steed down the steps, being careful not to slip. But then, the Steed's back hooves slipped off, causing them to fall.
(Intro)
Katarin screamed as she fell to the bottom, getting coded upon impact.
Sidney grumbled with frustration as she ported back to the Beta Drome. She then took her scanner and stomped out. "I don't believe this!" She snarled as she passed her friends. "Sid! Wait up!" Minnie called as she and the others raced after Sidney. "We saw what happened, luv." Robbie said. "Yeah. Tough luck with the Skeletal Steed. It was like watching a rodeo in a rockslide." Gisele said. "Whatever, guys! But I'd rather mess up in the Beta Drome than in Perim!" Sidney said.
"You've been in the Beta Drome a lot lately. We hardly see you, Sid." Minnie said. "Yeah. You're in the Beta Drome more than I'm in band practice." Nika said. "Well, who can blame her? The girl has to figure out all she can about Invectoid Garden before she ports there and starts trying to scan stuff." Gisele noted. "Dad gave me that advice from when he was scouting Prexxor Chasm." Sidney said. "I can't make the same mistakes I made from when I was battling CodeMaster Amzen. That garden is a tricky place to be." "Obviously." Robbie said. "That's why I've been scouting out that Location for so long now, guys. I have to be prepared for anything. But I have to port there sometime. It might as well be now." Sidney said.
"Go for it. Scan yourself some of those awesome Invectoid Garden insects." Robbie encouraged. "And when you get back, I want to be the first to battle them." Gisele said. "We all do. But a fair warning. Other players have won Invectoid Garden scans too. But Amzen excluded, none of them ever came back with any Creature or BattleGear scans. I've heard rumors that some players ported there and never came back at all. Are you sure you're ready for this?" Minnie asked with concern for her best friend. "Ready or not, I have no choice at this point. I'm going." Sidney said.
Sidney and Minnie headed for the Transport Center. "You may need to port back here quickly. So, keep your scanner ready." Minnie said. "Thanks, Min. See you soon." Sidney said, porting away. "I hope so." Minnie said with worry.
Sidney arrived in Incevotid Garden. She looked around for a while and proceeded into the Location. She carefully treaded further into the garden, keeping an eye out for anything to scan. Just then, she saw something reflecting in the puddle beneath her. It looked like a Creature. She jolted around to see. But it was only a dead tree shaped like a Creature. She just smiled, shrugged and continued on. Little did she know, but a certain butterfly Creature watched her from behind the tree.
As Sidney came towards the giant grass blade forest, she proceeded with caution. As she reached the end, she saw that she came to the ledge of the gap she came to as Katarin in the Beta Drome. 'This could be harder without my Skeletal Steed.' She thought. She then took a few steps back, dabbed her finger on her tongue and held it in the air, gesturing the wind's direction. She then took a deep breath and charged for the ledge. She gave a big leap across the gap and landed on the other side. But suddenly, she nearly lost her balance and fell over the edge. She quickly steadied herself, sighing in relief and continued on.
After a minute, she came up to the edge with the small rock steps. "Now this should be easier without the Skeletal Steed." She said as she started to make her way down the edge. Suddenly, a web attack hit the wall above her head. She looked down and saw a big blue, yellow and light green Spider Creature hissing at her threateningly. "Whoa! Easy there! I just wanna get a scan!" She said, getting her scanner. The Spider hissed again and started to move towards her. "Now or never." Sidney said, scanning the Spider. The Spider lunged for her, but she managed to leap over the Spider and then it fell. "Whoa! That was close. At least I got a scan." Sidney said, looking at her scan. This Spider wasn't exactly a Creature, but a BattleGear. "Interesting. Now let's see if I can find a Creature."
Sidney continued on as soon as she reached the bottom. The butterfly Creature kept following her, keeping her distance in the trees. "Maybe I'll grab a Location scan while I'm looking for Creatures. That way I don't go away with just one scan." Sidney said, scanning around the Location. Suddenly, a big familiar bee Creature appeared in front of her. "Hornux!" She said in surprise. Hornux attacked with Cyclone Slam, but Sydney dodged the attack and ran away. Hornux chased after her, firing Plasmarrow. "I can't outrun that big bug! But I'll scan him before I port out!" Sidney said. She turned around to scan Hornux, but he was gone. Just then, Hornux came in behind her. She turned around, but Hornux knocked her against a tree. She struggled to get up, but she was in too much pain. Hornux was about to go in for the finishing blow, but then, the butterfly Creature zipped in and tackled Hornux. Sidney sight went blurry, but she could make out who the butterfly Creature was. "Flitterix." She panted out before she lost consciousness.
Sidney woke up in a hut at the top of the trees. Flitterix fluttered up to her with a bowl of soup. "I insist." She said. Sidney took the bowl and started eating as Flitterix smiled and examined her. "It's been about 30 solons since I've seen a Creature such as you in the Invectoid Garden." Flitterix said as she looked at Sidney's scanner. "And she had something like this as well." "Like me? That must've been CodeMaster Amzen." Sidney said. "Pluxis attacked her, but she used this to get away after she used it on him." Flitterix said. "Not that I blame her. This is a very treacherous Location. Even my own daughter left here a long time ago to journey to Kiru City." "Daughter?" Sidney took her scanner and started fiddling with it, going through her Creature scans until she got to her scan of Quadore and showed it to Flitterix. "Does she look anything like this?" She asked. "That would be her." Flitterix said as she sighed. "Quadore was always an adventurous spirit and couldn't be confined to the Garden forever."
After Sidney recovered, Flitterix took her to a nice peaceful spot near the grass blade forest. "Sometimes I wonder how Quadore is doing during her time in Kiru City." Flitterix said. "I can tell you. She's doing quite well with the OverWorlders. More especially since the Tribal Alliance reunited." Sidney said. "I just wish she would come back to visit once in a while." Flitterix said with a sigh. "Maybe I can talk to her sometime. If that's okay with you." Sidney said. "That would be wonderful." Flitterix said. "Oh, and uh, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would it be okay if I get a scan of you? You know, for the game we play where we're from?" Sidney asked. "Do as you wish, my friend." Flitterix said. Sidney took her scanner and scanned Flitterix with a smile.
Sidney ported back to Chaotic and met up with her friends. "So, how'd it go?" Nika asked as Sidney smiled and showed off her new scans. "I scored a scan of Flitterix. And I got a new scan of the deeper part of Invectoid Garden." "Sweet." Minnie said. "Let's go battle in the Beta Drome so I can check them out." "Oh, that's a great idea, Minnie." Gisele said. "You can be the first one to battle Sidney in Invectoid Garden…after me!" "Hey, I'm the only guy in the group!" Robbie said, crossing his arms. "I'm the first friend you ever made here! I should be the one who gets the first shot at you!" Minnie said. "You promised to battle me in the Garden like 2 weeks ago!" Gisele argued. "What about me?" Nika asked. "Sorry, Nika. You're still new in our group and I kind of already gave these guys first dibs at me. So, you're just gonna have to wait a little bit." Sidney said. "Fair enough, I guess." Nika said.
"Okay, guys." Sidney smiled. "Let's settle this the way my parents and uncles did. You decide who goes first." "Okay. How?" Gisele asked. "Let's see. Got any Chaotic cards on you, Nika?" Sidney asked. "Sure." Nika said, pulling a few cards from her jacket pocket. "Okay." Sidney said as she pulled out cards of Asadab, Makrabon and Ranun. "I pulled an UnderWorld Creature card for Minnie, a Danian card for Gisele and a Mipedian card for Robbie." She shuffled them like a shell game before stopping. "Whoever picks their favorite Tribe first gets to battle me first."
"Robbie, since you're the only male, you go first." Robbie looked through the selection. He picked the card on the left, but it was Asadab. "Bloody hell!" He groaned. Minnie went next. She picked the right card, but it was Ranun. She sighed sadly as Gisele cheered. "Yes! Invectoid Garden, here I come!"
In the Beta Drome, Sidney and Gisele prepared for their match. 'This is my chance to try Flitterix out for myself.' Sidney thought, putting Flitterix up on the board. 'Gisele normally plays Danians so I'll use my Song of Geonova for a little offensive play. And a Torwegg will boost my air attacks.' 'I'll use Khavakk for his awesome water attacks.' Gisele thought, putting Khavakk up, 'I've never battled in Invectoid Garden before, so I'll take a Mowercycle so I can cover terrain quickly. And a Song of Symmetry Mugic in case Sid tags me too hard.'
"Ready?" Sidney asked. Gisele nodded as they locked their decks, revealing their teams. "We already know where we're battling." Sidney said, pulling up Invectoid Garden and tapping the butterfly Creature. "Flitterix attacks Khavakk!" "Let's get Chaotic, girlfriend!" Gisele said as she transformed into Khavakk and looked up at Flitterix as the butterfly Creature smiled and started flying. "Amzen was right. Flitterix is awesome!" She smiled.
At Invectoid Garden, Khavakk watched on his Mowercycle from on top of a hill. 'Beautiful.' Gisele thought. Just then, a Hail Storm headed right for Khavakk. He rode his Mowercycle down the hill, dodging the attack. Flitterix came into view. "Hey, Gisele! Are you a warrior or a tourist?" She asked. Khavakk just fired Rainspears from his hands. Flitterix dodged the attack as Khavakk took off on his Mowercycle. Flitterix formed her Torwegg on her back and jetted after Khavakk. 'I can finally try out one of those awesome attacks Amzen used!' Sidney thought as she caught up with Khavakk. "Pollen Gust!" Flitterix flapped her wings, firing her pollen attack at Khavakk, knocking his Mowercycle off balance and causing him crash.
Flitterix slowly closed in as she inspected the crash. Just then, a Riptide blasted her down. Khavakk emerged from the crash, his shoulders a bit scuffed. "Boy, that was a wild ride. Good thing I came prepared. Song of Symmetry!" He called, casting his Mugic. The Mugic played in key and an orange beam hit Khavakk, restoring his energy just as Flitterix recovered. "Not bad. Here's a better one. Cyclone Slam!" She fired Cyclone Slam. Khavakk, jumped out of the way and scurried into the grass blade forest. Flitterix flew after him, firing Airize attacks from above. Just then, Khavakk leaped out from the forest and grabbed onto Flitterix. The weight from his was causing the Torwegg to short out. "Hey! You're too heavy!" Flitterix said. "That's the idea." Khavakk said. Then the Torwegg gave out, causing them to crash to the ground.
The 2 Creatures recovered and glared at each other. "Rock Wave!" Khavakk slammed his fists on the ground, creating Rock Wave. "Spirit Strike!" Flitterix fired a spirit of herself, shattering the earth attack. Khavakk then fired another Riptide. Flitterix leapt out of the way and fired Blizzard Blast, knocking Khavakk into a tree. Flitterix sped towards the Danian, preparing to punch him. But then, Khavakk recovered and fought back with Coral Balls, knocking Flitterix back.
"Time for some sightseeing." Khavakk restarted his Mowercycle and drove off. Flitterix formed her Torwegg and flew after him in hot pursuit. Just as Khavakk jumped his Mowercycle off an edge, Flitterix attacked with Lightning Burst, nearly grazing the Mowercycle. As Khavakk landed, he turned the Mowercycle around and fired a Rainspears from the gun on the bike. Flitterix dodged the attack in a zigzag motion. She then fired another Cyclone Slam. But Khavakk countered with Frostblight, causing an explosion. Flitterix zipped in through the smoke and kicked Khavakk off his Mowercycle.
"Sorry about this, Gisele, but it's time to end this. Song of Geonove!" Flitterix cast her Mugic. It played in key and shined a green beam over Khavakk, lowering his energy. But Khavakk wasn't out of the game yet. "Is that all you got?" He asked. But then, Flitterix hovered above him. "Not necessarily. I've saved the best for last." She gathered winds from every corner. Khavakk watched with shock and awe as the winds gathered into a big orb in the middle of Flitterix's hands. "Time to say goodbye, Gisele. Windstrophe!" She tossed the orb at Khavakk. The winds from the orb surrounded the Danian. 'What am I gonna do? There's no way out of this!' Gisele thought. Khavakk tried to think of something to do, but then the wind struck him, coding him.
They transported back to the Beta Drome. "Whoa! That was the craziest defeat I've ever experienced." Gisele said. "I know." Sidney said, feeling surprised at what she did.
Afterwards, Sidney and Gisele sat down with Minnie, Robbie and Nika. "So, what was that Windstrophe attack you used?" Minnie asked. "Don't know. I tapped into Flitterix's memory and found the attack. So, I just decided to try the attack for myself." Sidney explained. "So, do you really think you can get Flitterix and Quadore to see each other again?" Robbie asked. "I know I can. As a daughter myself, I know that a mother/daughter bond will last forever." Sidney said, thinking about Flitterix.
In Invectoid Garden, Flitterix sat on the edge. Then she looked at the sky, thinking about Quadore, hoping that Sidney would keep her promise. Just then, there was a rumble behind her. She turned and got ready to fight as a bright orange glow shined over her.
New Card:
BattleGear: Arachnobeast
Adds 20 to either Courage, Power or Speed
