Something tells me that this chapter was supposed to be released in May 2020...
Sure I could delay a release until the end of time because my back hurts but nope! I don't want to see another promising fanfiction randomly go on a hiatus, undergo one or more rewrites long before it finishes or even discontinue out of the blue (and even delete the story, preventing other writers from taking the helm because they have no material to reference from). That won't happen with my stories, I guarantee you on that. Besides… this story is almost over.
Actually, regarding the hiatus part I mentioned, even though the story could go months without a chapter update, it's not a true hiatus. Simply put, I'm brainstorming about what I could do to make the chapters engaging for you guys to read. One thing I've learned and will share about my writing aspect is that ideas come to me when I do activities that are anything but staring at my word document. Of course, the execution is the hardest part to deal with, hence why the updates come out later than I plan them to (not to mention other factors that I've mentioned a ton of times in the past).
What keeps me going, you may ask? Well, a simple answer to that is I want to tell a story to the best of my ability and show it to the world. My Kirby head-canons need to be told in some way, shape or form after all… and it won't stop once this story ends.
Hidden Chapter 4/14.5/19.5: The Cotta, the Sportle and the Unknown Clay
Claycia stared at her quaking hands, releasing a deep sigh to help quell her bubbling frustration.
Every day since Purple Fortress fell, the sculptress would devote some time to mediate on her balcony, hoping to have her remaining power that was siphoned from Dark Crafter be restored somehow. If she had her full power, she could properly ensure that Seventopia will be safe from any outside invader.
Her ability to siphon color has not been restored, though that is a good thing for the best. The Draining Light had not been used willfully by the sculptress ever since she demonstrated it to Elline back on Shiver Star.
More importantly, her main ability to create magical clay has faltered significantly. She could barely morph a piece of clay into existence without becoming exhausted depending on the size of the clay. It was foolish of her to revive Bastron as one of her first tasks. Especially since Elline was heavily against the idea for more reasons than one.
She was unable to move for a few days after that…
Currently, the cruise ship is circling around Seventopia as a means of transportation. Some of the inhabitants have taken the liberty to ride the ship for fun… but some others are very hesitant. Despite hating what Dark Crafter has done to the ship, she thought that it would be a good idea to use one of its functionalities as a planetary system line of defense… but it's not possible at the moment for obvious reasons.
When she mediates, she's able to observe events unfold from across the galaxy. Her perception allowed the duo to avoid all types of trouble and even out of curiosity, sometimes observe Popstar's orbit briefly. It was easy to do this when she was on HalfMoon but as they travelled the galaxy, the long distance perception puts a strain on her energy. Dark Crafter knew exactly what to take from her so it could use it to conquer the galaxy quickly and efficiently.
But alas, after months of waiting, nothing has come.
She doesn't want to think about the implications but… perhaps a fragment of Dark Crafter that contains the last of her strength still exists in Gamble Galaxy. She hopes that isn't the case but every day the theory seems to come closer to her as the truth.
The last thing Claycia wants is another unfortunate life form being possessed by the darkness in their heart.
"Elline?" she called out.
"Hmm, whaa!?" the fairy woke up from her snooze. She's been by Claycia's side for a full two hours since the sculptress started her meditating. It wasn't the most fun experience to watch Claycia, as she wanted to keep drawing and updating her Secret Diary but Claycia's wellbeing has the highest priority over everything, including her reoccurring nightmares.
However, despite her concerns and priorities, Elline is very exhausted. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to snooze away after Claycia sat in midair. Strangely, she experienced a dreamless, but welcome sleep.
"Do you remember those injuries Mimosa and Cyano received on the last day of the siege?" She asked without turning around.
"Umm…" she thought. Admittedly, their injuries they received were never brought up again after the five of them returned from their triumphant victory. "…I remember something about them being bitten by a 'wild, famished beast'."
"I do too." Claycia turned around, looking somewhat serious. "You should go to Orange Woodlands and ask more about what happened to them."
Elline nodded slowly. "Does this have anything to do with restoring your power, Claycia?"
"I believe so." She half answered. The sculptress didn't want to worry Elline about a possible Dark Crafter influencer looming over the galaxy… yet. Hearing the story about their injuries could be a start to something that the sculptress will intend to solve. Maybe even have Kirby and Bandana Dee assist them… if she was able to form a stable portal connection to Planet Popstar on the galaxy's edge and transport them here.
She just hopes that it won't come down to a scenario of a Dark Matter specimen returning for revenge again.
"Okay, Claycia. I'll leave right away to Mimosa's burrow." The fairy flew up from her seat on the ground and went down the stairs.
Claycia turned back around to face the stars yet again. "Even now, I can't escape the gloomy past that I have tried so hard to not look back on…"
Elline knocked on the door to Mimosa's burrow. There was no response for a while, which made Elline think that the pair are not home. She was about to depart but the door swung right open, revealing a cyan cotta. A look of shock was apparent on Cyano's face because he wasn't expecting Elline to come by.
"Miss Elline? If you're looking for Mimosa, she's not here. She's in Green Valley presently and not cosseting me again." He said.
Elline slightly frowned at the news but the cotta continued before she could speak up.
"At Master Claycia's request, the cottas and I also finished the new Seventopia postal service. So that means you and Kirby can write letters to each other from across the galaxy." He said in a carefree tone.
Elline couldn't stop the blush that crept up to her face. "I-I was hoping to talk with both of you about something but I think you'll be fine." She said, ignoring the "letters" comment.
"Oh?" The cyan cotta blinked and tilted his head. At a closer glance at his creator, he noticed Elline's dark circles under her eyes but he chose not to mention it.
The fairy sheepishly rubbed her hands together. "Do… do you remember those bite marks you received on that day?" she asked.
The cotta widened his eyes at what she was inferring to. "Y-yes…" he mumbled. "C-come inside, Mistress." He turned around and walked deeper in, with Elline following him.
"You're not going to dodge my question this time?" Elline genuinely asked.
"For better or worse, I won't. Besides, I've changed, thanks to you and everyone else, Miss Elline." Cyano smiled.
Elline couldn't stop the warm smile that spread on her face. Cyano dropped the smile as soon as it came though and he sat on the lobby couch, with Elline sitting next to him with her Secret Diary is in her hands...
A cotta ran through a multitude of bushes in Orange Woodlands. Despite its clear exhaustion and mild injuries, it continued running straight ahead on the endless path, paying no attention to its surroundings such as an overgrown tree root he is fast approaching. The cotta tripped over it and tumbled onto an open clearing. Too exhausted to get up, the cyan cotta remained in place and shook with terror. Something or someone is pursuing Cyano, but what or who, remains to be seen.
The cotta heard voices from the path he ran on. The sounds were getting louder. Whoever or whatever that was pursuing Cyano will catch up to him at last.
"It-It's over for me… I'm doomed!" He cowered in fear as the voices slowly grew louder.
Nearby, a figure who hid in its own set of bushes intently observed the cotta as it ran to the clearing. Once the figure heard the otherworldly voices, it immediately extended a pink tentacle to the cotta's foot.
"Whaa!?" he remarked as he is being dragged off into a bush.
Cyano followed the tentacle with his sight until he was face to face with an unknown figure. He only could only shriek a surprise gasp before the figure covered where a mouth would be with a tentacle. The cotta squirmed but the grip was too tight and he was exhausted from his long run.
"Shhh… I won't hurt you. I'm a friend." The voice said. Cyano calmed down but he is extremely tensed about his current predicament. First he was being chased by evil minions, and then he was forcefully pulled into a bush to hide with something that he can barely even see.
The Grab Hands appeared at location Cyano was collapsed on and looked around. Cyano quietly shivered when they looked at the bush that he and the mysterious creature were hiding in. Luckily, they didn't suspect that their prey was in front of them so they turned to each other.
"How… did we… lose… that runt…!?" the right hand demanded. "It was… exhausted… from… all that… running…!"
"We… wasted… too much… time…" the left hand reassured. "We… have more… important manners… to attend… too…"
"Bastron… again." The right clarified.
"Yesss… again…" the left said. "Besides… that pest… by itself… won't do… anything…"
"I wish… we caught… the thing. It… would have… been great…"
"Yes…" the left agreed. "Being… unable… to catch… Kirby… has made… Claycia… very angry… at us…!"
"Catching… the cyan one… would surely… make us… somewhat… more competent… to her…" the right hand finished.
The hands departed into the skies without another word. When the coast was clear, Mimosa escaped the bushes, still holding the petrified cotta close to her. She dropped him absentmindedly as she watched the hands disappear out of the orange sky.
"Th-thank you…" Cyano stumbled to his feet, still stupefied about what was going on.
Mimosa turned to him and smiled. "Don't mention it, cute little cotta. I'm happy to help." Her smile turned into a look of confusion. "But… why were they chasing you all the way out here?"
"I- I don't know." Cyano looked away from her gaze. "They suddenly swarmed in vast numbers and captured all of my brethren, except me. I was able to escape our home but those hands were right on my tail the moment they figured out that one is missing! I kept running as fast as I could until I appeared here."
Mimosa levitated motionless as Cyano trembled onto the floor. "I don't know what to do. Everyone is gone and I'm the last one to survive. I… I need help… from anybody. They may not be the best family I had, but… they're family to me."
"…You have help right here!" Mimosa smiled. "In fact, we could get even more! I know three guys that'll definitely help us get the job done."
"Are you… perhaps talking about Miss Elline and her friends?" Cyano asked, looking back at her eyes.
"Yes! You know them, little guy?" Mimosa instituted excitedly. "Err, her friends, I mean."
Cyano nodded nervously. "Y-yes… they helped me and the others and I've still haven't returned the favor to them. But…" Cyano paused, causing Mimosa tilt her entire body to the side. "Who knows where they are right now. The last I've seen of them is when they were heading to the actual Blue Sky Palace to stop the thunderstorms that ravaged the world.
"Judging by the fact that they helped me take down annoying monsters that like to destroy my home, I'd say they were successful in that act." Mimosa chirped. Cyano widened his eyes in surprise. "Let's go find them. They should still be on Red Volcano somewhere. It'll be our job to find them before we do anything else."
"So they helped this creature like they helped me and everyone else. Now they're in Red Volcano doing who knows what. I need to warn them about what happened to Blue Sky Palace! They could be in danger!" Cyano immediately began running into the wilderness to find the path to Red Volcano. He was promptly halted by Mimosa, who looked confused at his random and abrupt decision.
"Now hold on a second, if you're going back out there without my help then you got another thing coming, little guy." Mimosa glared slightly.
"S-sorry… I was just thinking about Miss Elline and how she could be in danger…" Cyano mumbled.
"Well if we're going to pull her OUT of danger we don't need one of us to be dragged INTO danger. Amirite?" Mimosa grinned, to which Cyano nodded slowly. "Good! Now let's hit the hay! No time to lose!"
Thus, the duo began their own mini Seventopia journey to the find the main protagonists. After double checking if the coast was really clear, they set out from their spot and into the direction of the Rainbow Bridge to Red Volcano.
"By the way, what's your name, little guy?" Mimosa inquired.
"Oh, um, Cyano." He replied slowly. "Umm… w-w-what's yours?"
"I'm Mimosa, the charming sportle." She posed. Cyano blinked at her pose a few times before snapping himself back to reality.
"S-s-sportle?" The cotta shuddered. "Aren't your kind more violent and territorial… and yellow in color?"
"Yessssss, but I'm different! Other than my pink color, I welcome outsiders as long as they don't seem threatening. My best way of welcoming them… is to prank them somehow!" She giggled.
"Okay, so how did you meet them?" the cotta asked, ignoring the pranking comment. He figured out that she was the sportle who caused everyone else problems each time they scavenge Orange Woodlands. "Surely, you didn't meet them in a similar situation as me meeting you."
"Actually… I kinda did…" the sportle stuck out her yellow tongue in a goofy manner.
"Wait what!? Cyano ran in closer. "What happened? Was Miss Elline in trouble? Did something happen to Kirby that caused her to act erratic again!?
"…It's none of that, Little Cyano. Something happened to Bandana Dee."
"The Bandana guy…" Cyano muttered in thought.
"While I was patrolling, I saw Bandana Dee fall off the waterfall. Before he would land on sharp rocks, I caught him and brought him to safety. He was unconscious but alive and well. So I placed him by the riverbed and waited for him to wake up. Then we bonded like you and me."
"And what of Kirby?" Cyano immediately asked.
"Kirby the fluffy ball—"
"Fluffy… ball…?" Cyano was confused at the nickname.
"It's what I heard Elline muttered in her sleep once. It has to be Kirby right, because he's so soft and fluffy yet as tough as nails." Mimosa shrugged. "A miniature version of me without all the other features."
"Ooh…" Cyano giggled slightly. "Go on, continue." Mimosa explained the events of Chapters 11-13 to the cotta. And likewise, Cyano explained Chapters 8-10 in his perspective. The two bonded as they crossed into the next world and unknowingly followed the direct trail of Kirby and friends.
"Poyo!" Kirby pointed at a different route that loops around the mountain.
"All right, we'll go that way then and see if there's another entrance inside." Bandana Dee said.
The trio walked alongside the mountain and vanished from sight.
Not too long after the trio left, the colorless zone faded away on its own. Soon after, Cyano and Mimosa appeared at the unguarded volcano entrance.
"They must be inside the mountain somewhere. It would only make logical sense." The cotta concluded.
Mimosa sighed and drooped slightly. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we get out of this world. I haaaate being in really hot places like this."
"Really? I find the environment very nice. Of course, it is a bit warmer than home but still, very nice."
The sportle slightly narrowed her eyes at him. "'A bit warmer' is a severe understatement, Cyano."
"Umm… maybe you'll get used to it…?" Cyano said as he walked inside before she could reply.
"Maybe. Maybe not. The thing I really need to worry about is some fire-breathing monster blasting fire at me while I'm not looking. I wouldn't last a microsecond." Mimosa almost shivered at the thought and joined her cotta friend.
The colorless barrier reformed but they never looked back to notice. The volcanic interior is cooler in temperature than outside surprisingly. Mimosa sighed in relief due to this.
"It's still hot but not scorching hot." Mimosa remarked.
"If we find a lava lake, It will get warmer." Cyano warned. "That is, if we find lava lakes ahead."
"…don't say things like that. I gotta rejoice the time I have now!"
Travelling through passage was a silent trip as only the sounds of moving lava can be heard. The ground was soft enough for Cyano to leave behind a faint trail of footprints that someone can see later. The duo eventually came across a fork in the road.
"Do you think they went right?" Cyano asked.
"Hmm… right is too obvious. Righty tight-y, lefty loose-y is what they probably thought. Let's go left because left is best!" Mimosa declared before swiftly flying into the left passage before Cyano could say anything. The cotta blinked in slight amusement before following the sportle.
The uneventful path they travelled on steadily rose upwards, suggesting that the duo is steadily climbing the volcano. With Mimosa leading the cotta to the summit, this allowed for Cyano to get time to think.
Long before Elline arrived again, Cyano was considered an outsider by his own cotta brethren. Was it for better or worse? He wouldn't have a solid answer for that. All that he knows now is that he somehow escaped the evil Claycia's forces and joined up with the unusual, yet fascinating sportle he's quickly grown to like. No one else could get him to be this social up until now, so how did Mimosa do it to him?
Of course, the implications of this were that he was being chased into a vulnerable position and he was forced to run to her for shelter. Cyano himself, aiding with the same sportle that caused harmless trouble to everyone else. That leaves him with another question… what is up with Mimosa's color? Is she… an outcast like him? Is that why she's being so friendly to him because she sees her own situation in him?
…At the very least, he's done everything he could to not be a part of the big picture, despite fate telling him otherwise. Something compelled him to go out into harm's way to make sure Elline was safe back in Blue Sky Palace. And that was the best decision he's ever made. If he didn't show up, who knows what would happen. And now that same feeling is propelling him to take steps into danger despite his "Hide-and-Scout" mind says otherwise.
What would Mimosa say about all of this if he told her what he was thinking now?
"We're back outside..." The sportle wiped away the sweat on her face. "…And back in this intolerable heat."
This woke the cotta from his daydream. Standing beside her, he could see that they were pretty high elevated on the mountain already. Only about one-third of the climb left to the summit.
Cyano smiled to himself at the progress. Surely, Elline is somewhere at the top preparing for their trip into Purple Fortress. Perhaps if they hurry, they can…
"What is that flying thing!? It looks… like… something horrific, haunting and creepy!" Mimosa pointed to a damaged ship in the distance. When Cyano took a glance at it, his blood turned blue.
"N-no… that ship… is—"
Before Cyano could finish, a pink Rocket flew out of Bastron's nozzle and headed inside the volcano. Then the airship blew up, which scared the cotta senseless. He jumped onto Mimosa's tentacles and shivered in fear. Mimosa couldn't help but cradle him like a baby. Most of the remains of Bastron fell into the lava lake which decreased the volcano's stability.
"I-i-is it over…? Are we dead?" Cyano shivered.
"Nope! We're alive and kicking. And we're going to keep going all the way to the bitter end!" Mimosa said with glee, still holding onto Cyano.
The cotta opened his eyes and the first thing he was Mimosa's eyes and her beaming smile. Feeling himself get warm despite the temperature, he requested her to release him.
"Aww… I wanted to carry you like this for bit longer…" she pouted.
To this, Cyano had no response, other than a blush forming. Mimosa smirked internally; she wanted to see his reaction to this. Contempt with herself and her plan, she placed him on the ground beside her.
"So, what was that ship all about?" Mimosa asked, her serious expression somewhat returning.
"That ship is Bastron. According to Miss Elline, it was supposed to be a cruise ship for Seventopia. But the Master transformed it into a battleship and had it terrorize our home as you know."
"Right, you mentioned that name earlier when talking about what happened before those three came to the Woodlands." Mimosa said thoughtfully, and then grinned. "And if I remember correctly, it was you who saved them from being captured by those same hands who were chasing you."
The duo reentered the volcanic interior. The current trail barred a single path with a seemingly mystical red light emitting from within. However, the duo didn't notice it because of their current chat.
"I… I didn't think they need my help." Cyano looked down. "I just wanted to retrieve something for them before they forget. They… they were very thankful to me afterwards…"
Mimosa remained silent as she stared at him intently. Cyano continued, as if he a leak occurred and the plumber that can fix it refuses to do so.
"My fellow cottas are all different than me in more ways than just our skin colors. I've been the outcast for all this time. Yet, I've abided it for the short time that we've been alive." The cotta dropped small tear. "Even though they eventually learned to tolerate me… everything… is all for the worse…"
"Hmm..." Mimosa hummed, causing the cotta to look her in the eye. "We have a lot in common and it's no coincidence that we met in times like these. Sometimes I think to myself why I am the only type of pink sportle and why I have another side of me. The two sides of the same coin that joins together and unites with the same idea."
Cyano blinked to himself, realizing that Mimosa had similar thoughts to him earlier. "That's what I think about myself as well, minus the 'second side'. The master and mistress say I was colored differently by mistake but they don't mind my appearance at all. But my cotta brethren thought otherwise. I've been treated almost harshly by everyone just because I'm cyan in color." Cyano sighed. "I've avoided direct conversations with them all for the time that we've been alive. I'm… scared of them…"
"Even now…?" Mimosa asked without looking at him. "You're scared of them, yet you want to rescue them?"
"Yes, now. I'm scared of them but I… want…" Cyano now realized what he was saying.
"Cyano, remember this…" Mimosa hesitated. Cyano adorned a look of confusion before it changed into a look of surprise when the sportle underwent "Mimosis" in front of the cotta.
"The two of us may seem like we have two brains but it's just a part of our brain." She said.
"You're only using one part of yours." 1
"You have the brains, but you only use one part of it for fear and vigilance." 2
"Let go of yourself and be free!" She emphasized.
"Let go of myself…?" Cyano repeated. "How would I do that?"
"You don't need to know, you just need to show. For example, you are the first one who didn't run away from me at first sight." She beamed.
"I didn't have much of a choice you know. You caught me off guard at my weakness moment." Cyano retorted softly.
Mimosa widened her eyes at the realization but shook her head before quickly reforming back to her original self. "Look, just, don't let your fear overcome you, okay? Don't always be so scared and isolated. Life is a lot more than just being constantly vigilant even though you always must be constantly vigilant. It'll all be for the better, I'm sure of it!"
"Mimosa, just how do you think you know me? No matter what you say, I don't see a part of myself in you." Cyano cried. "You were alone by accident but I was alone on purpose!"
"You're right, Cyano. You don't see yourself in me. But I see some of myself in you." Mimosa looked towards the rocky ceiling. "Those yellow sportles… I've once tried to be a part of them but I quickly learned that there was no way for that to be possible. Once they realized that, they outed me."
The cotta said no words to her and his expression remained completely neutral.
"I was given the chance to show my worth to them, that I am not an abomination, but I… didn't take it. It was for the best though because the Claycia as we know right now manipulated them into something more than just problematic parasites." Mimosa growled slightly but shook off the anger before turning back to the cotta. "You on the other hand, still have a chance to show the cottas who you really are. I guarantee you, freeing your friends will show you how brave you really are. When they realized that they misjudged you, things will be for the better."
The pair stared at each other, waiting for the other to say something. The only sounds around them are the distant echo of volcanic rumbling.
"I didn't know you had so many years of pep talk in you… Mimi." The cotta said, breaking the unwavering silence.
The sportle giggled, which lightened the mood. "A sportle like me spent a vast amount of time alone in the jungle competing against my own treacherous species and dangle sloths that really make a mess out of things. Naturally, you'll pick up a thing or two. Now let's-a-go moving! The sooner we find Mi—err, Elline and the others, the sooner we get out of this unbearable heat." Mimosa flew on ahead with a grin.
Cyano watched her fly on ahead with a thoughtful expression. "'Don't let your fear overcome you.'" With a deep sigh, he followed the sportle down the volcanic corridor.
Not too long later, the duo appeared at a large flat rocky platform that's floating on top of pure magma that's surrounded by various smaller floating rocks that seem like it hasn't been above ground in thousands of years.
"GAAAH! The heat is UNBEARABLE here!" Mimosa moaned.
"I think I see something up ahead." Cyano voiced.
Truth be told, the cyan cotta is correct. There is a treasure chest on the center of the large platform. It seems like it crashed there some time ago, based on how it was slightly wedged into the rock, forming a miniature crater.
"Another one of those stars?" Mimosa gasped. "We hit the jackpot! Lucky us!"
"Wait but… D-do you think we arrived AFTER Miss Elline?" Cyano gulped nervously. "They should be ahead of us, no?"
Mimosa shook her head without hesitation. "Even if we did, we'll just catch up to them and give them what they missed. I can't blame them for wanting to get out of this volcano. It's too hot to search this whole sweltering place!"
"So are you going to fly over and grab it?" Cyano asked without second thought.
"What? I do not want to be over direct lava! What if it rises and burns me?" Mimosa shivered at the thought of that occurring.
"I… won't let that happen." He replied.
"You won't?" she blinked in confusion.
"I won't, because I'll get it for you." The cotta clarified.
"Umm, if you say so, Cyano…" the sportle gulped, displaying a rare act of nervousness.
Cyano's gaze returned to the treasure chest. He mustered the strength to jump across the rocks on the volcanic pond and Mimosa watched him intently, not wanting to get too close to the lava but also readying herself to save the cotta from a nasty burn if needed, despite her current fears.
Once he reached the center of the crater, he examined the chest. Despite the light pollution from the lava beneath them, the red light emitting from the slightly opened crack outshined the glow of the lava.
"H-how do I know a trap won't activate if I pick this up?" Cyano remarked.
"Pfft! You think this story has some clichés like that!?" The sportle laughed, her nervousness from before vanishing.
"…Yes." Cyano answered much to his and Mimosa's surprise, especially the former.
"Okay… then name one. I'll wait, as long as this sweltering heat doesn't swelter me up."
"Miss Elline. The Ending." He spoke. "Kirby is the hero and technically Miss Elline is the damsel in—"
"…t-t-the point is that nothing should happen if you grab that chest." Mimosa said quickly. "Even if something happens, I'll come get you and fly away to that corridor up ahead."
At the mention of a corridor, Cyano turned around and noticed the corridor that's just a few hops on volcanic rock away. The reason why he didn't notice this eluded him.
"I thought you didn't want to hover over direct lava." The cotta reminded.
"Yessss… but I'll do anything for you, little cotta." She smiled. "I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you on my watch."
Cyano couldn't help but feel warm inside. "She does care about me…" As quickly as the emotion came, it faded and the cotta quickly turned back to the chest. With a deep breath, he lifted the chest with his own head and balanced it perfectly.
The pair looked around the room for a moment to see if anything changed. And apparently nothing has changed, which made Mimosa grin widely.
"See? I told you nothing would—"
A red light shined from within the treasure chest. This caused the lava in the room to shine momentarily in a red otherworldly light as well before rising steadily.
"Umm…" Mimosa blinked in surprise.
"Th-things can't get worse… can it?" the cotta asked while shivering.
The entire room rumbled and the magma gurgled. The shaking caused the pillars of rocks on the roof to fall around them. Some large rocks fell onto the rocky path that leads to the next area and destroyed it.
The sequence of events caused Mimosa to split apart again.
"If it was up to me, I would have ignored that chest." 1
"But we agreed with our plan, which is to have him pick it up." 2
"I regret agreeing with you." 1 grumbled.
As the two were arguing, Cyano noticed that the lava began to rise and the rainfall of rocks slowly increased in magnitude. The two clones noticed a larger rock in their peripheral vision about to collapse onto the stranded cyan cotta.
"Cyano, look out above!" she called out before merging into one again.
The cotta looked above and paled at the falling rock speeding towards him. With reflexes that he did not know he had, he jumped out of the way at the last second, much to her relief. However, the jump caused him to drop the chest to the edge of the rocky platform.
"The chest! I must get it!" the cotta declared and ran to it.
With a look of determination, Mimosa moved out of her stationary spot, despite her clear unease of the lava heat from below her. Once Cyano picked up the chest again, he failed to notice another large rock dropping onto his position.
Luckily, she scooped up Cyano and the chest and flew ahead. The rock that fell onto Cyano's old position destroyed the platform, forcing it to sink in the rising magma. As she got close to the passage, the chest emitted a light to cause pillars of lava to erupt in front of them, blocking their passage and forcing Mimosa to perform mimosis again with Clone 1 holding Cyano and Clone 2 holding the treasure chest.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this!?" 1
"'This' is heat and annoyance!" 2
"L-Look up there! There's a spiral stairway at the top of this room." Cyano said. "J-just don't drop me!"
"Like we'll ever do that!" they said before flying up, being very careful to avoid the falling debris.
As they flew up, Clone 2 had to deal with rising lava pillars that homed in on her location while Clone 1 simply dodged the falling debris.
Clone 1 makes it to the staircase without looking back and sets Cyano at the base of it.
"Umm… what about your other half?" The cotta pointed out.
"Other half? That bozo should be… right… next… to me…" Clone 1 glanced around and noticed that Clone 2 was surrounded by lava pillars below her.
"Tell her to give you the chest." Cyano said. "I'm convinced that the treasure chest is the source of our problems."
"What, so I would now have a target on my back?"
"No, well, yes, but you'll be able to save yourself from getting burned." Cyano stuttered, before running up the staircase.
With a sigh, Clone 1 flew down to near Clone 2.
"Oh so now, you show up to help!" 2
"Just give me the chest so you won't be in that sauna anymore!" 1
Without hesitation, Clone 2 tossed the treasure chest to Clone 1, causing the lava pillars to instantly drop down, but then rise to Clone 1.
"Eep! I gotta go now!" Clone 1 zipped off.
"Not without me, you're not." Clone 2 followed somewhat closely.
"Pass the darn thing back and forth, whenever one of us gets in trouble…"
"…then we'll meet Cyano at the top."
The clones followed with their plan. Whenever too many obstacles get in their way, they pass it to their other selves to reset the obstacles.
Eventually, they meet Cyano at the top, with the magma slowly being on their tail. The two clones merge into one before the duo entered the passageway just as boulders fell onto the entrance to seal the path. Both Cyano and Mimosa sat on the ground to take a breather.
"There were sooo many times where I thought I was gonna get roasted." Mimosa shuddered.
"…I'm sorry. I just wanted to get the treasure chest for Miss Elline to have." Cyano said.
"Nonsense, little cotta." Mimosa cooed. "It was surprisingly thrilling to go through all that. Though I wish that the 'lava' factor was taken out of the context."
As she said that, the chest emitted another red glow before fading. Soon after, lava began to pour through the rock slide.
"Oh come ON!" Mimosa groaned before taking off, with Cyano right behind her.
As they ran, they noticed that there was no sign of outside light, which troubled the pair. They came across a scalable wall that led outside. Wordlessly, Cyano allowed the sportle to grab him so she could fly up to safety, just as the lava was about to reach them.
The moment they were outside, the chest emitted another glow, which caused the lava to stop rising. Both Cyano and Mimosa stared at the chest as the light dimmed away.
"So… what was that about nothing bad will happen when I touch the chest?" Cyano asked, with a surprising hint of sarcasm.
Mimosa could only pout and grumble, making him feel bad instantly. The cotta offered a form of patting on the "shoulder" for her hard work by laying his head onto her body.
Surprised at the bold action, Mimosa simply pet the cotta on the head as an affectionate gesture.
Mimosa and Cyano slowly trekked alongside the mountain path. Knowing that the summit was close, they both felt that they could relax a bit until they find Kirby and friends. As they were lost in their own thoughts, a loud 'thud' sound occurred from right behind them, causing them to freeze up for a few seconds. Cyano slowly turned around and came face-to-face to a spear that landed mere inches from him.
"Is… that… a spear?" Cyano questioned in a tone of horror. Mimosa floated closer to the spear and observed it.
"T-that's not just any spear, little fellow." Mimosa said with a surprising tone of seriousness. "Carry it with you; I think Elline and the others are in trouble. The little dee wouldn't drop the spear like that."
"Especially not on my head…" he murmured before carrying it. "Why don't you carry it? You have eight tentacles."
"N-no reason!" she murmured, subconsciously thinking about how angry the waddle dee can get if pushed to the edge. "Let's keep moving."
Red Volcano's summit is in far worse shape than anywhere else the Seventopian duo has seen in their lives. And that's saying something considering what they've seen already. Various unnatural small craters are scattered across the surface. Some seemed to have been created from a pair of large fists, others form a trench from a concentrated attack, and there is one sizable crater that struck gold with something… or someone…
Yet, the duo strangely weren't concerned with the condition of the summit. Instead, they were concerned with… the aftermath.
"Muh-Miss Elline!?" Cyano yelled before running over to her.
Bandana Dee and Elline are unresponsive and Kirby is nowhere to be seen. Whoever attacked them didn't finish them off but the same could not be said for Kirby.
"Muh-Miss Elline!? Elline!" Cyano shook her lightly to no avail.
"This... complicate things…" Mimosa said sadly as she hovered over Bandana Dee's body.
Cyano teared up. "We could… go back to my home, the Blue Sky Palace…"
"Go back? Are you sure? What if they're waiting for us there?" The sportle questioned.
"They… wouldn't… Kirby is not here… sniff…" The cotta mumbled before collapsing on the ground. "There's no way I can forgive myself now…"
Mimosa watched him cry on the ground for some time, feeling his sorrow wash over her. She's never felt so… helpless before. The sportle thought back to scenarios where she was sad. For the most part, she would tough it out because things would get better quickly. A good example of this would be when the small army of Dangle Sloths would ruin the area around her home. The sportle knew that mushrooms grow back quickly so it wasn't something to fret about. But this is different. Cyano is not as tough natured as she is as far as she can tell so she has to find a different approach.
As she looked around the area, her eyes settled on Elline. Then she looked at Bandana Dee right next to her. And lastly, looked around for the M.I.A. pink hero. From there, a lightbulb went off in her head causing her to slowly smile.
She pulled the unsuspecting cotta into a hug. Cyano hugged back without thinking, his tears slowly coming to a stop. This was his first hug. It felt special, warm and… gooey.
"M-M-Mimi…"
"Shh… we're friends… aren't we Cyano…"
"Y-yes…" he said without hesitation.
"If you won't forgive yourself, then I will. I'll be right here for you whenever you need me the most. Just like how Kirby and Bandana Dee always has Elline's backs..."
Cyano widened his eyes. "Y-you really mean that?" he asked in disbelief.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Mimosa cooed. "Y'know, I'd never forgive myself if something bad happens to you."
Cyano couldn't hold back the small blush that crept to his face. "She… she really does care about me…" The cotta smiled before backing away from the hug and looked back at Elline and Bandana Dee.
"Now let's head back and treat their injuries. Though, it's gonna take us a while to return to Blue Sky Palace." Mimosa frowned at the thought.
"Don't worry about that." Cyano said. "I know a quick way back from here."
"Wait what!?" The sportle shrieked in surprise.
Bandana Dee barely opened his eyelids. He made out a blur of two familiar figures walking towards him, speaking gibberish to each other. His brain could barely process himself being picked up and hoisted on the back of something large. He could only mutter a few words of surprise before drifting off to sleep again.
"So that's what happened to you two after we left this world." Elline remarked. "I had no idea."
"Yes, Miss Elline." Cyano closed his eyes in thought and turned away. "It wasn't exactly something I wanted to bring up right away. And it didn't help that my cotta brethren wanted to know how I bonded with Mimosa, the mysterious creature." He opened them and looked back at Elline. "You're the first one I told my tale to with no details left out."
"Still…" Elline put a hand to her chin and closed her eyes in thought. "This doesn't answer my original question…"
"What question?" Cyano genuinely asked.
"How you got those bite marks, you silly thing!" Elline said amusingly.
"Oh… you should have said so." Cyano gulped lightly.
"Should have said what!?" a familiar high-pitched voice yelled. The figure flew into the main lobby and revealed herself.
"Wha!? Where did you come from?" Elline said in shock as Mimosa settled on the couch as best as she could.
"The Grass Cottas weren't a problem like us Sky Cottas were they?" The cotta asked, completely unfazed by the sudden appearance of the sportle.
"Problem? They are way more carefree than you guys, except you, of course. It was much easier to bond with them." Mimosa eyed the bewildered paintbrush fairy next to her. "What were you two up to while I was gone?"
"I was telling Miss Elline about our bite injuries we received before." Cyano answered.
"Oh, so… you told her about the… clay beast?" Mimosa asked in a somewhat gloomy manner.
"Clay beast?" Elline asked. "Wild and famished right?"
"I was getting to that, actually. I've only told her about our adventure through Red Volcano." The cotta clarified.
"Hey you two, what's this 'clay beast' you mentioned?" Elline asked, annoyed that she's being ignored.
Cyano and Mimosa looked at her briefly before looking at each other, then back at Elline.
"W-W-what's the deal?" Elline asked nervously, hating it when someone stares at her.
"Heheh… when I said that this all would be covered in another chapter such as right now, I assumed that it would be sunshine and rainbows for the most part. Turns out, I was wrong about the 'most part'…"
The state of Purple Fortress is anything but fortified and secure.
After the Clayfission Machine exploded, there has been nothing but chaos roaming the hallways and outside. Without Claycia or the Grab Hands to direct the clay creations, it is every handmade clay for themselves. Each minion focused on getting outside the castle before the roof could collapse on their heads. As for the clay specimen outside, they were still trying to clean up the mess a certain group of rescuers caused, adding more fuel to the fire.
Meanwhile, beneath the first floor, a large pile of rubble formed a miniature mountain over a passage that presumably leads outside. The top of the rubble shook for a moment before it unearthed, revealing a staggered pink sportle.
Mimosa inhaled a breath of fresh air and circled above the pile. Soon enough, the rest of the cottas emerged while coughing, much to her relief.
"I sure hope the other two found Kirby and are in a safe place." She said while scanning the cotta group, making sure everyone is accounted for.
"Wait, where's my little Cyano!?" She yelled, or rather, demanded.
The cottas looked at each other nervously as they tried to pinpoint where he would stand out.
Before Mimosa could say something else, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway behind her. As she turned around she witnessed three exhausted green cottas with chef hats.
"Oh great, this path is blocked!"
"Look on the bright side, we found everyone else."
"Along with the sportle from earlier. I do wonder why the creature here with us in the first place?"
Mimosa instantly flew close to them. This compelled the three cottas to back up in fear. The only reason why they didn't run was because they've seen something far worse than an angry looking sportle. "Have you three seen Cyano while you were rummaging around the pile of debris behind me?" she demanded.
"Um… I…"
"We.. errr…"
"...K-Kirby found us earlier. Does that count?"
"KIRBY… can take care of himself. Cyano, one of your own, CAN'T, even though he's braver than all of you COMBINED. So have you seen him or not!?" Mimosa repeated.
None of the cottas in the area said a word, either out of fear or shock. This frustrated Mimosa but she knew that she can't spend any more time here now.
"If that's the case then I'm going back after him." The sportle declared. "You guys should unearth this rubble so we can all get out of here. It should take us outside to safety." She immediately flew off the path that the cotta chefs were running on.
It took a few seconds for them to get out of their shock. "Wait sportle!" Shamorocka cried. "There's something down there that's very scary and deadly… you don't… want… to…"
"And she's gone…" Pear and Olive simultaneously said.
The rest of the cottas looked at each other nervously, unsure of what to do now. Yes, they escaped captivity and are no longer in danger of turning tan but…
"Y'know, if she cares about Cyano that way then we should all care about her and Cyano in the same way."
Some quiet murmurs erupted from the group.
"I guess that makes sense."
"He helped us in many ways but we left him out."
"We should return the favor to him and the creature."
"Let's not put the creature's faith in us in vain."
"She and Cyano helped us escape so let's help them escape too!"
"Let's all get out of here and find Master Claycia and Miss Elline."
"Yeah!" they all cheered.
And thus, the cottas began to remove each piece of debris and stone that was blocking their exit. The cottas paired up in miniature groups and pulled away the material. All except two cottas who stared at the path Mimosa went into.
"Do you think she'll find the cyan one, Tealeo?"
"Possibly, but we need not to worry about what she does, Cadeto."
"Hey you two, help us unearth this rubble so we can get out of here!" A cotta yelled from afar.
"I'm surprised no one else fell down along with him." Cadeto said. Tealeo nodded in agreement
The sounds of rubble falling on marble ground were constant and noisy. But it didn't bother an unconscious cotta who slumbered by the entrance of a prison cell meant to hold a certain pink life form.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to examine his limited surroundings. There was a single staircase in front of him. When he looked behind him, he almost jumped back in fright. A Colorless Zone enshrouded what seemed to be a prison cell without bars. And above him, minus the covered up hole he fell down into, is a small vent that he could probably squeeze into and sneak way if he could find a way up there.
"T-This must have been where Kirby was kept prisoner." Cyano deduced. The cotta looked around inside his cell. "I wonder how he got out from there."
As the cyan cotta thought to himself about the current situation, he failed to notice something ominous coming his way.
An unusual sentimental lifeform that is slightly larger than Kirby in size drifted aimlessly down the stairs, mumbling weird and otherworldly gibberish. It has dark blue eyes and its skin is a deep dark silver color. It leaves behind a faint but dark trail of purple aura after each movement. On the top of its head, a part of its body has been morphed into a small makeshift spikey crown. Below its body, it has a small peacock-like tail that drifts with the creature's movement.
Once it set its eyes on Cyano's back, it revealed its four vicious fangs inside its mouth where the inside is a deep black abyss.
"Assess mind…!" It yelled, causing Cyano to turn around and instantly freeze in fear as the dark ball of clay viciously lunged at the cotta.
"Now if I was a cute and shy little cyan cotta who fell through a hole created from the explosion I have caused, where would I be?" Mimosa thought out loud.
As the sportle turned the corridor, she saw a lone door towards the end of the hallway. She quickly flew over to it and looked inside.
The entire kitchen was a mess, which is expected. Other than parts of the ceiling collapsing onto most of the kitchen's utilities such as the refrigerator and stove, there were plenty of small bite marks all over the place. What surprised her most is that part of a large apple is lying in the middle of the room, virtually unscathed from the damage of the fortress. Ideally, this would tell someone that someone brought this apple to this kitchen recently but…
"Who eats part of an apple and not finish it?" Mimosa pouted before flying over to take a closer look. "Then again, Kirby purposely avoided eating the apples when we were all in Orange Woodlands. I do wonder why that is…"
"P-Pink…?"
Alerted, Mimosa instantly turned around and widened her eyes in what she sees.
The unusual lifeform is in the doorway, analyzing the sportle with its mouth agape. If the sportle could look past the leaking purple aura from its mouth, she'd be staring at an endless dark abyss that could swallow her up if it chooses to lung at her, despite her being over double its size. Instead, it remained still and silent.
"W-w-what the heck are YOU supposed to be!?" Mimosa shouted, forcibly keeping her fear in check.
The life form didn't respond as if it didn't hear the question. Instead, it stared at her, analyzing her.
"Not pink…" It suddenly declared and flew away.
Normally, a sane living being would feel relieved at a predator leaving its prey, but Mimosa is not entirely sane.
"Huh!? Whaddaya mean, 'not pink'… and 'not entirely sane'!?" She snapped. "I'm plenty pink for you, thank you very much." The sportle followed it at a socially acceptable distance.
The lifeform ignored her remarking as it looked around everywhere, looking for specific color that's not necessarily the color following it.
"Pink and cyan…" it randomly announced.
"C-cyan…?" Mimosa gasped.
"Both… not true target but assisted, they have… and will…" The clay lifeform went up a stairway that is largely unaffected from the explosion.
"You…" Mimosa growled. "Hey! Get back here! What did you do to Cyano!?" the sportle flew into its general vicinity, ignoring her own safety protocol of staying at a socially distant manner.
This apparently finally got the lifeform to notice the sportle that's been following it for a while now. The clay turned around and growled as she got close, revealing its four fangs as it growled. Mimosa wasn't fazed one little bit but she couldn't help but be surprised at the calculated animal instincts it has.
"Leave me…!"
"Not without my best friend, I won't!" Mimosa stood her ground.
The clay morphed itself into an almost perfect copy of a cotta. If it had their colors, the replica would be flawless.
"Cyan… inferior… but useful..."
Deterred, Mimosa shook her head and refocused. "So you do know where he is!? Tell me!"
The clay growled in response before lunging at Mimosa.
The Experiment – Unknown Sentential Clay…
In an instinct, the sportle flew to the side to avoid the attack. Then she extended a tentacle to whack the false cotta's back and knocked it into a wall. After the dust cleared, the clay was virtually unharmed as it stood tall and angry. It tried to ram into her again but Mimosa flew over it and retaliated by knocking it onto the wall again.
The clay growled again before its eyes flashed purple momentarily. Then, it changed its body shape from a cotta clone to a sportle clone. With this new body, it flew up in the air at Mimosa's level and readied itself.
"You can't copy ME without a shade of pink." Mimosa said in shock.
"Color is weak…!" The clay didn't carry the voice of the combatant it copied. The otherworldly sounds left the real Mimosa freaked out by this clone.
With that, the carbon copy of the sportle attacked by stretching all eight of its fake tentacles at the real Mimosa and grabbed her.
While in its grip, Mimosa extended her free tentacles to combat the monster. Unfortunately, the Clay extended more tentacles out of its body to stop hers in their tracks.
"Okay, you can't just copy me and use your other tools!" she complained.
Without a word, the Clay slammed her into the ground a few times, leaving her woozy. Then the Clay slammed her into a wall.
Mimosa slowly looked up from her grounded position and watched the fake tentacles retract. Seeing a possible opportunity, the sportle attempted to levitate above ground but she fell back down in pain.
The Clay rotated its false body quickly and rammed into Mimosa again, sending her flying through the wall and into a vacant room. It wasted no time in following the injured sportle, intending to finish her off. When the dust settled, the Clay stared at not one but two sportles. It seems that the constant beating forced her to split apart into her argumentative selves.
"Unclear..." it mumbled before morphing back to its ball form and remained motionless in the air.
Mimosa clone 2 is the first to sit up. Upon looking at herself, she gets her other form up.
"Wait, how did I underwent mimosis!?" clone 1 looked over herself. Clone 2 gazed at the confused dark clay before smirking.
"It doesn't matter because that thing was no match for MY skills and willpower!" 2 said smugly. Naturally, this tipped her identical twin off.
"If you have half a brain as you claim, you'd realize that thing was pulverizing us!" 1
"We may have split up but I have a full, whole and well-functioning brain compared to you." 2
"Okay, Einstein… what should we do next like this!?" 1
"We… uh… umm…" 2
"Exactly! Let's continue this battle already… as ONE UNIT! 1
The two clones merged back to one swiftly. "Can't I ever get along with myself?" the sportle frowned and winced at the bruises she received.
The Mind Clay muttered something inconceivable under its breath before turning around and flying away.
"No you don't!" Mimosa took to the air once more and prepared to ram into the mysterious clay. However, the mind clay anticipated the attack. It flew above the sportle just as it was about to get hit, throwing her out of balance. Then, with its eyes settled on a particular spot on Mimosa's backside, it latched its four fangs onto the spot.
"YOWCH!" she cried. Mimosa franticly flew around the room, bumping into the surrounding walls to get the parasitical clay off of her. It took a few seconds of extreme discomfort from both sides before the clay released its grip.
"Pthweeeh… nasty clay taste...!" The Mind Clay remarked. Seeing as there's no need to waste any time with the sportle, the Clay flew up through the large holes in the ceiling and disappeared, leaving an exhausted and injured Mimosa behind.
"That… must have left… a mark…" Mimosa collapsed onto the ground, blacking out soon after.
"Th-that's the wild and famished beast you were talking about?" Elline gasped.
"Yeepp…" Mimosa shrugged.
"Why didn't you tell me or Claycia about this sooner?" Elline pressed.
"Neither of you didn't ask us to explain it in detail, Miss Elline." Cyano bluntly said. "Like I said, you're the first person we've told our tale to."
"And besides, it's not like we'll be controlled again because of those marks. After we defeated Dark Crafter, the bite marks disappeared. Check it out!"
Elline looked them over. They were telling the truth as the dark wounds from before disappeared entirely. Not even scars were left behind. The fairy made note of that in her diary.
"Anyways… I'm not done with my part of the story." the sportle said. "I still need to mention how the two of us found you three. That's where the sunshine and rainbows part kicks in."
"Quickly… let's get her out of here…"
"Wh-what if she wakes up and… eats us!?"
Mimosa shuffled her eyes a little bit as she is regaining consciousness.
"Don't be delusional."
"But we are delusional."
"Not as delusional as those purple shock creeps dissolving out of thin air for no reason."
"That's not what 'delusional' means but okay."
The sportle groaned lightly as she felt a major headache after waking up. The cottas that are carrying her didn't notice she's awake due to her making groans of discomfort earlier.
"She's… heavier than… I thought…"
"How could… sportles be heavy?"
"Never mind her weight. How much further are we going?"
"If we could get her to the elevator I found up ahead, everything will be fine… I hope." A cotta said.
Despite all the voices she heard, none stood out from the most recent one. In fact, she could already pinpoint who said that and where they said that in the cotta group.
"Cyano!? You're okay!" Mimosa woke up fully and flew off of the cottas' heads. It took her a few seconds to locate the cyan cotta's voice in the masses then dived straight at him. Then she lovingly wrapped him in the form of a hug, pushing away everyone else. "I was afraid that something bad happened to you."
"N-n-no but yes, but actually n-n-no bub-because you're awake now…" Cyano stuttered with a huge blush on his face. The cottas who weren't shoved like dolls backed away to give them space. Most were surprised at their actions and others were amused.
"Hehehe, that's so sweet of you little Cyano… wait, what's this on your back?" Mimosa saw a dark bite mark on his back.
"A… v-v-very scary and floating dark clay bit me." Cyano shiverred. "I don't remember what happened after I got bit but when I woke up, I wasn't anywhere near Kirby's prison cell. That's where I fell down towards when that machine exploded."
"Y-you ran into it too!?" Mimosa set him down on the ground. "I got bit by the strange thing too! And I lost consciousness not too long afterwards so I have no idea where it went." Mimosa growled lightly.
The cyan cotta walked around her and saw the dark, swollen bite mark. He noted that the marks are near where the brain would be. "Wh-what should we do? What if it's around here somewhere?" Cyano said. The rest of the cottas shivered nervously at that thought.
Mimosa opened her mouth to reply but then she remembered something before she got bit…
"Pink and cyan…" it announced.
"C-cyan…?" Mimosa gasped.
"Both… not true target but assisted, they have… and will…"
"We should find Elline and Bandana Dee." She concluded after a moment of thinking. "Chances are, they reunited with Kirby and are taking on Claycia right now. As much as I want to pound that clay into the ground for hurting you, we don't have time to look for it." Mimosa finished calmly.
Her words surprised Cyano because the idea behind them was well thought out to him. Before he could reply, Mimosa continued.
"…Although, I just remembered that the path I took to find you became buried by the fortress debris from that explosion." She said.
"Oh that shouldn't be a problem. I memorized the layout of this fortress. If we turn the corner, we should see the elevator from before up ahead."
"Ooooh, I told you that you have the brains. And you're using all parts of it too!" Mimosa beamed.
"Heheh… thanks to you, Mimosa." Cyano smiled.
"Excuse us but… what about us?" A few cottas said, causing the duo to turn around and face them all.
"You guys… should go back home. Rebuild the Cotta Cloud." Cyano suggested.
"With Elline's help, we'll find out why Claycia is acting like this." Mimosa added. "Though, I already have my suspicions…"
The cottas looked towards each other and murmured amongst themselves.
Cyano widened his eyes at the action. "Umm… Mimosa… they're going to be talking like this for a while…"
"What makes you say that?" she asked.
"I know them almost as much as they know me." The cotta concluded before turning around and walking off, surprising the sportle.
"Hey, hey, hey, we're just gonna leave them out here by themselves?"
"…yes."
The two stared at each other for a moment. The only sounds around them were faint sounds of the sky cottas' murmurs and echoes of the fortress falling apart.
"…alright then, let's go in that elevator." She shrugged.
The pair continued through the hallway and came across the central elevator which is no longer surrounded by the Colorless Zone. They entered it and awaited the rise to the top.
Not too long later, the door opened and it revealed a small hallway of colorless enemies such as cottas and sportles. This made the pair shudder at the sight of them, especially Cyano.
"It looks like we're at the very top of the fortress…" Cyano mumbled.
"Yes, we are. And to prove that point, I see our friends ahead." Mimosa pointed out. "With a non-hostile Claycia too. Let's go!" Mimosa wrapped a tentacle around Cyano and dragged him across.
"You know I can walk." The cotta cried.
"Where's the fun in that, you little cute cotta." She giggled.
"So that's what happened?" Elline muttered as she wrote down the last sentence of the story in her Secret Diary.
"Mmmhmm! That's what happened!" Mimosa said.
"Yes, that clay ran off and we never saw it again, then we rode the elevator straight to you." Cyano confirmed. "For better or worse, I suppose." The cotta stood up and walked towards a wall, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. "Of course, it was the best choice of action for us to accompany you, Miss. But for worse is… well…"
Cyano turned looked into Elline's eyes again for a moment before looking away. "I confess... for a while, I truly forgot about that scary clay… and I don't forget easily."
"I didn't forget but there was no need to bring that thing up until you showed up and asked us." Mimosa shrugged. The cotta shot her a look of disbelief but he didn't speak his mind.
"Okay, I understand now. Thanks you two." Elline smiled. "This will be all for the better, I'm sure of it!"
"Of course Elline! Always happy to help you!" Mimosa chirped.
"Does Master Claycia need to know all this for something important?" Cyano asked.
Elline nods in confirmation. "The information is important for her so you are doing her a big favor." Cyano smiled inwardly at that.
Contempt with everything, Elline put away her diary and flew outside. The Seventopian pair followed her closely.
"Umm… there's a faster way to get to the resort, Miss." Cyano called to her.
Elline laughed. "Of course there is and of course you know the shortcut. Though…" The fairy shot him a glare. "…you know entering the resort without permission is against the rules, correct?"
Cyano nodded, though he did everything in his power to keep his stoic façade in check. "Y-yes, but please understand that knowledge of the shortcut is only for my interest of... knowledge..."
"In other words, it makes life a looooot easier, Elline!" Mimosa added. "Don't you know that Little Cyano's shortcuts are top notch?" The sportle turned to him. "Don't you agree, my little dumpling?"
"Yes, those hidden light bridges are top notch in everything but visibility." Cyano muttered to himself.
"Anyways Elline, you got everything you needed to know right?" Elline nodded silently. "Good, well I'm going back inside. Holler if you need me, little cotta." With that, the sportle flew inside and disappeared. Elline and Cyano looked back at each other.
"What do you intend to do in the future, Miss Elline?" Cyano asked.
"I… want to visit Popstar someday… but Claycia and other things comes first." Elline replied. "What about you?"
"Judging by the dark circles under your eyes, I agree." Cyano thought. "Letting go and learn more about everything." He replied quickly.
"Is that it?" Elline narrowed her eyes playfully.
"Yes." The cotta replied with a neutral face. "But I have someone to thank for that." Elline tilted her head curiously. "After all, meeting Mimosa is for the best in hindsight…" Cyano smiled slightly.
I don't know what would have happened if Mimosa and Cyano didn't help us in our adventure. You know… I'd rather not talk about the "what ifs" and focus on the now, which is looking forward to another relaxing day in Seventopia.
Still, I wonder how Kirby is doing right now…
Meanwhile, on a certain starry planet, a giant battleship is literally drilled into the planet itself and mechanized the surface. Despite this siege however, its five legs have been destroyed and its underside has an opening.
Upon closer inspection, a bright yellow star with two passengers, one is pink and the other is wearing a bright blue bandana, flew straight into the opening, right as the battleship sealed the aperture.
Furthermore, somewhere far away from the invaded planet, a strange gray meteorite approaches it. At the speed it's travelling at, it will be long after the invasion is when it will crash onto Popstar…
I've mentioned the events of Planet Robobot briefly in the ending author's note last chapter. So I'll mention it again. Why? Because timeline and consistency is something I'm not good at so I have to bring it up to tell myself one of the many things I'm bad at.
Either way, the next chapter will be the last one in this story… or is it? Why I bring this up now is because I've been formulating ideas of what to do for possible world building in Seventopia. Whether I do this or not, depends on the context of the next chapter. If I decide to go with the original five chapter route for this story, the last chapter will cover the events of Purple Fog from Chapter 19 in the main story, something that I originally was going to include but I cut it for a variety of reasons including but not limited to: Chapter Pacing, Executing the ideas were (and still are) difficult and nervousness of my head-canons.
To reiterate that last point about my head-canons, there are scenes, situations, events and ideas within the world of A Rainbow Tale that I wish I did differently, researched more in-depth before executing, and/or use as part of a reoccurring theme for the grand theme. For instance, Dark Crafter's origins are a perfect example. The dark matter being a part of the legion that attacked Ripple Star made sense but… it apparently lost its memory after Dark Star exploded and destroyed Zero 2 and all its underlings. I made one direct reference to this event and implied it various times in text. Yet, story-wise… the execution of this idea made little sense I feel.
I could keep going if I wanted to but this is an author's note for crying out loud! Someone could have (no, should have) put that as one of the reviews and I'd realize this mistake of mine sooner.
The Hidden Chapters is the perfect story to put those events here, despite my general fears of how it will be perceived by you, the reader...