Shu POV:
After we finally left Pachess Town, we tried to figure out a way to get past the large crevice in our way. But then, when we approached a rock pillar that was very tall and wide, we gasped as lasers from the moons started to fire down on it, our group having to retreat a few feet to prevent getting hurt! But when the dust cleared, we saw the rock pillar lean forward and make an accessible bridge across the gap with a thundering boom.
"This is my way of saying thank you," said a voice behind us. We looked back and I smiled at how it was the elder of Pachess Town.
"Quite a loud way to say thank you, that's for sure," Kluke smiled, which made me chuckle.
"I think that you should have this before you go. Such technology is beyond my comprehension. I'm sure that your group can use it better," the elder smiled as he handed us the device we got from the spider robot.
"Thank you, sir," I smiled.
"Also, I have a message from Mister Sinda. He said he's going to go to Noluta Village and wait for you guys outside of the village. He wants you to rescue his daughter so he can see her face again," the elder smiled.
"Don't worry. Tell Mister Sinda that we'll not only save Anya, but the world from Nene's wrath," Jiro said. We then bid farewell as our group crossed the stone bridge and proceeded to the north. "Where could Nene have taken Anya to? That remains to be the main question," Jiro asked as he looked at the map and frowned. The area we were in was pretty spacious, so we had to choose on a destination.
"Well, I say that we should proceed to the north. Nene once mentioned that he has a giant fortress in the northwestern part of this continent that he keeps well-hidden. If we go there, we may find Anya," Zola said. We nodded and proceeded in that direction, also encountering some monsters along the way that were right at home in the frozen tundras. There were ice mages that attacked with water spells (though our defenses were pretty ridiculous now, so it barely made a dent), giant mammoths, ghosts that hunted said mammoths, and even some strange star-shaped enemies that had powerful spellbooks on them that, sadly, disappeared with them when they were defeated. But then we came to an area that was immediately of interest. It was a giant sand pit and we happened to see the giant robot within it!
"This could be a trap, but I don't care! We need to save Anya! Let's go!" Jiro exclaimed as he did something he didn't normally do. He rushed headfirst into the sandpit with all of us following after him. When we got to the robot, it started to slowly rise out of the sand pit, our group feeling the ground quake as it did so. It only stopped when the entire robot's torso was readily visible and we saw Nene appear from the top of it with an unconscious Anya in his grasp!
"Anya! Nene, let her go right now!" Jiro exclaimed. But he simply smiled.
"What the hell is so amusing about seeing us care for her safety, you bastard?! Let her go right now, or I'll take her from you by force!" I exclaimed at him, Nene's smile still there as he simply commanded the robot holding her to drop Anya from the top of the robot! "Don't worry, I'll catch her with an updraft!" Kluke exclaimed as she used her magic to make a small wind emerge from underneath where Anya fell from, allowing Jiro to rush in and grab her before she could collide with the ground.
"Anya! Anya, wake up! Come on!" Jiro exclaimed, seeing that the necklace was missing from her and in place of it was a strange collar he'd never seen before. I'd never seen it before either, and Zola looked confused about it as well. "Nene! What is this collar?! You better not have stolen her ring along with that necklace!" Jiro exclaimed at Nene. When he said that last bit, though, Nene's scowl appeared.
"I stole HER necklace?! That necklace belongs to my Himiko and it is staying with me!" Nene exclaimed angrily. Jiro didn't listen and tried to wake up Anya by shaking her a bit, Anya's eyes opening slowly as she then looked around in confusion.
"Rgh... J-Jiro?... Is that... you?" Anya asked.
"Anya! I'm so glad you're alright!" Jiro smiled as he tried to hug her, but he gasped when something accidentally shocked him.
"What was that?" I asked as Anya then looked at the collar she wore and she turned from groggy to alert in the blink of an eye.
"Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! Not this thing! Get it off of me, quick!" Anya exclaimed in extreme worry, our group trying to do so, but when I grabbed the collar, I gasped when it sent extremely powerful electricity through my body.
"What is this thing?!" I asked her through the pain. I then looked up at Nene and saw he had pulled a remote out of his hand. He pushed a button and the collar started to blink and beep a red light.
"SHIT! FUCK! AND ALL KINDS OF DICK!" Anya exclaimed, me surprised by how she was swearing like a sailor. She almost never did that unless she was extremely worried or extremely scared.
"What have you done to Anya?!" Kluke exclaimed at him.
"You better try your hardest to reach me and get this remote, children. There's a bomb in that collar she's wearing. In about 59 minutes, it will explode, and her along with it," Nene said, his voice far away, but we heard it in our heads.
"A BOMB?! You ARE GOING TO PAY! MARO MAKE YOU PAY!" Marumaro exclaimed angrily.
"Come on into my fortress. If you can make it to my quarters within the hour time limit, you can still save your robotic friend..." Nene smiled, our group then being whipped up by a large flume of sand as the Jumbo Mecha Robo rose up and, when the sand cleared, we gasped as a giant sphere suddenly jutted from the sand that was at least 40 times bigger than the Mecha Robo!
"He's got a lot of stuff, doesn't he?" Kluke gawked as Nene and the robot disappeared into the top of it and he sent out a staircase for us to climb to go inside.
"He's inviting us in? Big mistake," I said.
"Don't worry, Anya. I'll save you no matter what!" Jiro said to Anya. She simply cried and clung to him with tears in her eyes before getting out of his grasp.
"I know I haven't said this to you guys... I'm scared beyond all belief right now... if this collar explodes, even with my robotic enhancements, it will still decapitate me and kill me on the spot! We need to get to Nene as soon as possible and pray that he'll keep true to his word," Anya said with concern in her eyes.