Chapter 38 – The 2D Cat is a Soul Expert
Superstructure to the Skies – Butter Building
As the ship landed in front of a really old red-ish building, we could already feel the high altitude getting to us. I was already feeling super dizzy. And with me having this broken leg, I was easily losing my balance. And had to use Misuki as a way to keep it.
"You sure you're okay, Ammy?"
"I'm fine, Misuki. Really. I am."
"Okay. If you say so."
"Welp. This is Butter Building. One of the highest points in Dream Land." Adeleine said.
"Woah. One of the highest points?" Arle asked.
"Are you going to be okay, Ringo?" Maguro asked her.
"Y-Y-Yeah. I-I-I'll be fine. I-I-I can totally do this."
"Ringo…you're shaking."
"Wh-Wh-What? M-M-Me? I-I'm not shaking. I-I'm fine."
"She's definitely afraid." Yu said.
"Big time." Rei added.
"Wh-Wh-What do you two know?!"
"We're ghosts. We know everything about being afraid." Yu said.
"B-B-But…" Ringo then went silent for a bit. "*sigh* Fine. I'll prove to you guys that I'm not afraid. And I'll do it by going inside this building. Watch me now!"
"So now she's mocking me?" I whispered to Misuki."
"Oh come on, Ammy. It was kinda funny." Misuki whispered back with a few added giggles.
*RUMBLE*
"Gah!" Ringo screamed a little as she hid behind Maguro.
"Oh, yeah. You're doing a really good job of proving your bravery." Yu said.
"Shut up, Yu!"
"What was that?" Adeleine asked.
"Another Demon Beast, perhaps?" Francisca suggested.
"It better not! I've had enough of them!" Ribbon yelled in fear.
You and me both, Ribbon.
*RUMBLE*
"Well whatever it is, it seems to be behind this locked door." Maguro said.
"Door's locked, huh?" Flamberge asked. "Welp. Game over. Nothing we can do. I'm going home."
"H-Hey!" Adeleine yelled.
"Flamberge. Please don't give up so easily." Francisca said to her.
*RUMBLE*
"I guess we'll just have to find a key." Lidelle said.
"Oh, great. More searching." Schezo complained.
"And I supposed you have another idea?" Arle asked him.
"W-Well…no."
"Then quit complaining and start looking."
"You can't be serious!"
*RUMBLE*
"For once, Schezo's right." Misuki said. "Looking for a key right now would be a waste of time."
"But it's the only thing we can do." Raffina said.
Then suddenly, we all watched as Gooey made his way up to the locked doors. After staring at it for a short while, he stuck out his tongue, formed it into a giant fist, and them punched the doors down. Knocking them both as dust flew out into the skies.
…
…
…
"Or…there's that." Raffina said after the rest of us were speechless for a very good while.
"Gooey…how did you do such a thing?" Adeleine asked.
Gooey's response was him simply forming muscles on his tongue.
"He said that he has a really strong tongue." I translated.
"Okay then…" Was all the others said.
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
As we entered Butter Building, the weird noise has only gotten louder. We had no idea what it was. So a few of us were getting scared.
And by "few", I mean the usual three people. Being Ringo, Lidelle, and Ribbon.
"Okay! I seriously want to turn back now!" Ringo yelled.
"I really don't want to know what's making that sound." Ribbon whined.
"Can't we wait on the ship?" Lidelle asked.
"No." Arle, Adeleine, and Raffina all said together.
"*whine*"
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
"This thing. It's coming." Schezo said as he took out his sword.
"Looks like we may have to fight it." Francisca added as she brought out her battle axe.
"I knew it! It is a Demon Beast!" Ribbon whined in fear.
"Finally! I get to tear something to shreds!" Marx yelled with glee.
"You ready for this, Raina?" Raffina asked her.
"I'm super ready, Sis."
"Alright, guys. Be ready." Adeleine said.
The noise became louder and louder as whatever this thing is kept getting closer. We were all prepared for whatever fight was coming over way…
…but we weren't prepared to see who it was that we would be fighting.
I say that because…
"Meow."
…
…
"H-Hey, guys." Arle said after another bit of silence. "I-Isn't that…Akaineko?"
We all kept staring at the 2-dimensional red painted cat. Wanting to believe that we were seeing things. But we weren't. Akaineko was standing right in front of us without a care in the world.
"Y-Yeah. I-It is him. It's…Akaineko." Lidelle said.
"Wait…who, or what, is Akaineko?" Adeleine asked.
"He's a 2D cat made out of red paint." Ringo answered.
"What?"
"Meow." Akaineko started walking up to us. Then climbed up and rested on top of Kirby.
"Poyo…" And Kirby was extremely confused.
"Hey, Amitie." Raffina said to me. "If Akaineko is here, do you think…"
"Yeah. It sounds possible. But I don't think…"
"Akaineko! Where did you go?!"
"Never mind."
We soon heard footsteps heading our way. And then saw the owner of the 2D cat reveal herself from the shadows. Wearing her cat-inspired outfit and all.
"Chetta!" Those of us who knew her shouted her name.
"Huh?! Guys?! You're in this weird world, too?!"
"Yeah. We've been here a while. How long have you been here?" Arle asked.
"Uh…a couple days. Maybe even a week or two. I don't even know how I got here. I was just playing with Chu and then this bright purple light came out of nowhere and blinded me. Next thing I knew, I was stuck inside this old building in the sky and Akaineko was nowhere to be found. So I've been looking for him ever since."
"I see. Well, he's right here."
"Akaineko!"
"Meow." Akaineko jumped off of Kirby and walked over to his owner, who picked him up and cuddled him with so much affection.
"Geez! Why do you keep running away from me?! You sneaky cat!"
"Meow."
"Uh…so, guys. Who is this?" Adeleine asked.
"Oh, right." I said. "This is Chetta. She's another person from our world and is a really good painter. In fact, she painted Akaineko."
"She painted her cat? And it's alive?"
"She's a lot like you. Adeleine." Ribbon said.
"Yeah, I guess." Schezo added. "But I still find it hard to believe that an 11-year-old has so much power over paint."
"W-Wait, she's 11?!"
"Well, she does look like it."
"Why are you so upset, Adeleine? How old are you?" Raffina asked.
"I'm 16."
…
…
"Really?" We all asked after yet another brief moment of silence.
"Yes, really! Were you guys not able to tell?!"
"Of course not! You don't look 16 at all!" I yelled.
"Huh?! How?!"
"Well, where to start…" Marx said.
"You know what, I rather not know." Adeleine said while sounding insulted.
"A-Anyway, Chetta." Lidelle said. "You said that you were here for about a week or two?"
"Yeah, kinda. I tried finding a way out, but the front door was locked and I kept getting lost. I'm just glad I'm not the only one here anymore."
"Yeah. I can agree with you on that."
Chetta then went silent for a second.
"Uh, by the way…what happened to Amitie? A-And why is there two Raffinas? A-And why is Yu…human?"
"Well…" I said. "I-It's kinda complicated, Chetta. Let's just say that it's a legend of sorts."
"A legend?"
"Meow. Meow."
"The Legend of the Red Puyo Hat? So you're saying it's active, Akaineko?"
"Meow."
And of course, they know about it. I wouldn't pass anything with this girl-cat duo.
"Chetta. How do you know such a thing?" Ringo asked.
"Well…Akaineko told me one day…"
"Of course he did."
"Hold on. There's more. Since then, I've been researching it during my free time from school and art shows. I remember reading about how the Light Soul must defeat the Dark Soul in order to save the universe."
"Yeah. That's about it." I said. "And I just happen to be the Light Soul."
"Wait, really? You're the Light Soul, Amitie?"
"Yep! Pretty cool, right?"
"Amitie. Quit bragging." Raffina said to me.
"So that means you have all 8 Copy Abilities?"
…
…
"U-Uh…eight?" I asked nervously.
"Yeah. There are 8 Copy Abilities the Light Soul needs in order to take on the Dark Soul. One main weapon, and seven elementals to make the main weapon stronger. You do have them, right?"
"Uh…"
Chetta looked confused as I tried to think of an excuse for how I'm one short right now. But eventually, I couldn't think of any. And decided to tell her the truth.
"A-Actually, Chetta…I-I only have seven."
"Seven?"
"A-And there all the elementals."
"What?! You mean you don't have the main weapon?!"
"I'm sorry, okay?! I didn't even know there was a main weapon!"
"*sigh* Kore wa ima hontōni okotte iru no ka?"
"What?" Flamberge asked.
"Right. Chetta can speak Japanese. She basically said "Is this really happening right now?"." Lidelle explained.
"And she speaks Japanese, too." Adeleine whined under her breath.
I-Is she jealous of Chetta?
"We're really sorry, Chetta. We really didn't know." Raffina said.
"Yeah. We really didn't know. I only heard of this legend from Sis earlier." Raina added.
"Sis?"
"Long story."
"Meow…meow."
"Huh? What's wrong, Akaineko?"
"Meow. MEOW!"
Akaineko then jumped out of Chetta's hands and started heading in the direction both of them came from earlier.
"Meow."
"Huh? You sense something?"
"Meow. Meow."
"A powerful soul is nearby?"
"Meow."
"An entity with extreme power?"
"Meow."
"And it…reminds you of Lidelle?"
"Meow meow."
"Wait. A soul-like entity with an extreme power similar to Lidelle?" I repeated all the stuff Akaineko said. Then it hit me. "G-Guys…"
"We know, Amitie." Arle said. "It sounds like Lidelle's clone is nearby."
"Oh no…" Ribbon said.
"Wait, what? Lidelle's clone? Why does Lidelle have a clone?" Chetta asked.
"We'll tell you along the way, Chetta." Raffina said. Then looked over to Lidelle, who hasn't said anything about it.
"Hey. Lidelle."
"…I'm ready."
"What?"
"I'm ready. I want to face my clone. And defeat her before she comes after me."
"Well, this is a new side of you." Schezo said.
"I promised my family that I'll come back to them safe. And I'm not going to let an evil me ruin that for myself. I'll defeat her. I know I will. And I won't run away this time."
Wow. Lidelle really sounds serious. I've never seen this side of her before.
And I think I kinda like it.
"Lidelle." I said to her. "Trust me. We'll beat her."
"Beat her to the damn ground!" Raffina added.
"Thank you, girls. That really means a lot." Lidelle said while almost shedding tears.
"Hey, Chetta. Can Akaineko lead us to her?" I asked.
"Sure. He can sniff out souls for days."
"Okay, seriously. Just how powerful is this cat?" Marx asked.
"Really powerful." Maguro said.
"Maybe even more powerful than you, Marx. Oh, La-Ti-Da!" Raffina added.
"Tch! We'll see about that!" Marx got insulted.
We all then started to follow Akaineko as he led us to where Lidelle's clone was waiting for us. My guess is…it won't be as easy as it was with Rania.
Meaning…we're going to have to fight this time.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: And here it is. The FINAL Puyo character to be added to the story. Now I know what your thinking. "Chetta doesn't really count". Well, she kinda does. I mean, just because she only appears in Puyo Puyo Quest (a mobile game, for those who don't know), doesn't mean she's not a real character. The same can be said about Peruvis and the angels in Love of Puyo Puyo.
I also wanted the last Puyo character to have a major role in all this. I actually considered Rulue. Then Chico. Then Peruvis. Then Ecolo. Until I decided to bring Chetta into the story because of how freaking OP I made Akaineko sound in Fever.
By the way, "Akaineko" means red cat in Japanese.
And as far as I know, Adeleine is NOT 16-years-old. In fact, I don't think she even has an age. Which is weird, since she's the only human.
Anyway, that's all I have to say. Next chapter is the battle with Lidelle's clone. Look forward to it. And thanks for reading. Later.
