happy puyo puyo tetris 2 reveal day! i wrote this fic based on the few snippets of story we have so far, which is tee and friends evidently forgetting each other.
Tastes Like Home
As anticipated, the planet was uninhabited. Undeterred by the wiles of humanity, it flourished. From the crisp gust blowing sea salt from the calm, violet sea from the east to the deep gray mountainscapes in the distance topped with dark blue snow in the west, nature had evolved with rocky ridges and sweet scents emanating from the scarlet pine trees which ascended closer to the sky.
Emerging from a thatch of splintery shrubbery, Tee heaved out a breath. He wiped sweat off his brow and smoothed down his uniform. Brushing off sand which stubbornly clung to the high lapels of his vest, he sighed and kicked his boots against a tree, hoping he would not have to trek through another sand forest.
"Status report, O," he called, his faithful companion floating closer to him. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms, raising his gaze to the jutting rock of the mountain towering before him. As O peeped, Tee remarked, "This is Captain Tee of the Starship Tetra. We've cleaned out the influx of Tetriminos that crashed down on planet Zishar. However, my partners and I have not uncovered the reason why they crashed here. From our inspection, this planet is empty. Also, before we entered the planet's atmosphere, Ai concluded there was not any interference or influence from the nearby lifeforms off-world." He paused, shifting his attention to his footprints in the sand. "I suspect there might be some interdimensional foul play happening, but we'll need to do more research when we return to the ship. Captain Tee, out."
O bobbed his head, his round body charging with electricity. He closed his eyes, pipping to himself as he recorded Tee's message. He rubbed his hands, the air around him sparking and heating enough for Tee to subconsciously step forward. Thrusting his hands up, he fired off a lightning bolt, which pierced through the cumulus clouds and careened to a destination lightyears from their location.
"Thank you as always," Tee said, O chirping in response. "With that in mind, it seems we're down a team member."
O twisted himself to follow Tee's gesture behind him before dragging his hands down his face. He thought it had been too quiet. He tilted his head at Tee, grumbling and prompting Tee to chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure Ess is doing something really, really important," he said, lying through his teeth. His brow wrinkled as he leered into the forest. "She was right behind us, so I don't think she's lost. Maybe she became distract-?"
"Oh, my gosh! Tee! O! Get over here right now!"
Ess' shrill, demanding voice skewered through his question. Tee's mouth quirked, and O slumped deeper into his cloud. They exchanged a wary look, Ess snapping at them to hurry from the depths of the forest. Patting O's head, Tee marched forward with his floating friend fluttering in tow. He carefully paced himself, not wanting his heels to become stuck in the slick, deep sand and gripped each incoming tree to balance himself, following her bird calls.
Finding an opening where thick rays of sea green sunlight filtered through the trees, Tee and O emerged to find Ess with her hands on her hips. She rapidly stomped her foot, her displeasure wafting off her like a foul stench. She called out that they were slow and returned to what fascinated her, to which Tee bit his tongue and ignored O's insults muttered under his breath.
"So, this is what you wanted to show us?" he asked, his tone dripping with confusion.
Ess huffed, the sparkle in her eyes fading. "Don't you see it? Look closer!"
Tee followed her raised finger. She was standing next to a pine tree, which looked like the plethora of similar saplings that made up the forest. At first glance, he only saw vermillion pines jutting out as sharp as pins and needles. When Ess stood on her tiptoes and growled behind pursed lips, he squinted at the area where she pointed and gasped, leaning back when he noticed the oddities.
On a branch as thin as a ruler were fruits. They ranged from bubblegum pink to the light purple of his eyes. Small teal dots decorated their round exteriors. Even tinier silver leaves sprouted from their stems.
"I have never seen a fruit like that before, Tee," Ess said, clapping her hands together. "We have got to get them down and try them. It'll be good research!"
"There is the possibility that they might be poisonous," he warned, but she scoffed and twirled her umbrella in a slow circle.
"Don't be such a worrywart. As the leader, you should eat it first, and if anything happens to you, then Papa will rescue you before your heart explodes or something." Missing the paler tint to Tee's complexion, Ess closed her umbrella and aimed the sharp tip at the bundle of fruit. She arched her back, standing tall and proud. Channeling her power to her palm, she tingled as green magic, filtered with the translucent shapes of her favorite Tetrimino, surged from her hand to her umbrella. "Check me out!" she exclaimed, swinging her umbrella and firing off her magic spell at the branch, her grin etching into her cherub cheeks.
Zig-zag spirals struck the branch. The wood cracked and showered them with bark and pines. Ess popped open her umbrella, shielding herself while Tee and O hid underneath Tee's disc. She flipped her umbrella over, catching the fruit before they could sink into the sand. With a giggle, she snatched one, surprised to find it rather squishy, before stuffing it in Tee's free hand.
"Well, let's hope Zed doesn't need to use the defibrillator," he said, brushing the fruit against his vest.
Loosening his grip, he noted the smooth texture. Based on its coloring, he had assumed it would have been covered in a thin layer of fuzz. He traced his thumb along the base, noticing its natural curve, but when he blinked, the fruit was red.
His heart skipped a beat as he brought it closer to his mouth. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice whispered his name. He glanced at O and then to Ess, but they merely gazed at him. Ess urged him to stop hesitating and eat when they caught eyes.
Shrugging, he chomped down, and flavor exploded on his tongue. Tang and sweetness overwhelmed his taste buds. He pulled back, his teeth grinding down on stray seeds. He chewed slowly and methodically, savoring the juice in his mouth before it rolled down his throat, the taste blurring his other senses.
"Pi pi?" O asked, unnerved by his silence.
"Tee, what do you-?" Ess' shoulders stiffened, a gasp escaping her. She dropped her umbrella, letting the fruit roll out. She drew back and hugged herself, O crying out next to her. "H-hey, hey! Tee, what's wrong? What's the matter with you?"
Tears rolled down his cheeks and blurred his partners. He thrust the fruit back into his mouth, gnawing through it as if he was starved. His incisors cleaved hunks of the fruit, the juice dripping down his quivering lips and chin, staining his uniform. The more he ate, the more tears streamed down his face, the remnants of the fruit turning redder by the second.
Nostalgia washed over him. A voice murmured through his ears. He felt hands clutching his, the fingers faintly calloused from years of holding pens and pencils. Each bite formed a tangible piece of the voice. A gray sweater vest decorated in shapes, long twists of crinkled hair, fingernails decorated in a deep green polish, Tee felt like he could touch the soft sweatvest, run his fingers through the coils, and let whoever it was pull him into an endless embrace.
"Pi! Pi pi! Pipipipi pi pi!" O boomed, his entire body flashing, Ess' yelp muffled.
Feeling as if someone slapped him, Tee blinked. A bit of the leaf hung out of the corner of his mouth. Tee cupped his face and rubbed it off, the material like leather. He stared at the fruit nestled together in Ess' umbrella, speechless.
"Tee! Captain Tee!" Ess cried, voice warbling. Gasping when he looked at her, she sagged her shoulders, her cheeks coloring as she said, "Oh, way to worry me. What was that big fuss about?"
"I've-I've had...I've had this before," Tee whispered, the core slipping from his fingers. It bounced off his boot and became one with the sand. "It was th-the exact same taste from a similar fruit. A red one, yeah, definitely-definitely a red one. I got it from...from…"
Red crossed his vision. It curled like soft coils, flowing out. It framed a face with bright green eyes shining with knowledge and confidence.
"From what?" Ess asked, gripping her elbows.
"Pi pii pii," O crooned, fidgeting with his cloud.
Tee stared at the core, fogginess numbing his senses. His brain throbbed, and with each pulse, the red and green faded. There was only the tang in his mouth reassuring him of the unknown.
"I don't know. It just tastes so familiar," he whispered, closing his eyes.
Ess swallowed back insults when O narrowed his beady eyes at her. She sneered at him, but their derision came to a ceasefire when they peered at Tee. As he started to quake, they wrapped their arms around him, steadying their captain, who seemed ready to leap out of his own skin, enraptured by something they could not understand.
When Tee wiped his eyes, he stared straight ahead, and all the blood pumping throughout in his body chilled.
There should not have been any other inhabitants on Zishar.
Yet, when he blinked, the smiling girl with vibrant scarlet hair holding an equally scarlet fruit, disappeared.