Chapter 40: Battle for the Sand Dollar
The group of six was on the prowl, getting closer to Mew and Maria with each passing second. As easy as it was to suspect, and worry, that the six of them had somehow figured out Mew's plot...Mew's eyes instead went towards the sand dollar in his hand.
"I don't know what's going on with this thing, but I get the feeling I know who put it here..." Thoughts of Auris' laughter went in his head as he groaned.
"Papa, what's going on?" Maria said with a curious eye towards him.
Mew tucked the sand dollar back in his pocket and shrugged, "Whatever it is I ain't sticking around to find out..."
He bent down and pointed to his back, "Hop on and hold on Maria, I'm taking you for a ride!"
She popped out a big smile and proudly nodded her head, "Ok! I'm ready!"
Mew felt a jolt up his spine as she leaped right on and wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, and braced her legs under his arms. As he stood up Jupiter was twenty feet away from approaching him.
"Alright Mew," She roughly waved her fingers towards herself, "Hand over the sand dollar. Make it easy on yourself."
Mew grinned and matched her gesture towards himself, fired up from the inside, "If you want it, come and get it."
"Heh...! I'm glad you said that!" Jupiter's eyes were locked to his trunks like the gaze of wolves and she squeezed her knuckles 'til the bones popped.
She dashed forth and dove her hand towards his pocket while he leaped back, Maria clutching on tight and giggling with joy.
"Hold still...!" Jupiter immediately leaped ten feet into the air and reeled her fist back.
Mew began to duck and put Maria in the line of fire. Jupiter widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Y-You don't want to take this one Venus!"
"Ok!" She closed her eyes with a smile and then whipped her hand out, "POCKET DUST!"
And threw a bunch of grainy gas into Jupiter's eyes, "GAH...! AH!"
She wound up swerving to the left, crashing and tumbling through the sand as Mew jetted out of there full of pride, "Ha ha! That's my girl!"
He gave Maria a brief hi-five and looked right on ahead to see Mars zooming straight for him. He swerved his hip to the right and he passed him by, but immediately dug in for a U-Turn and returned to match his pace.
"You'll have to do better than that to outmaneuver me Mew!" He proclaimed with determination.
He began to reach for the sand dollar when a dark portal opened up and a hand grabbed and pulled him down by the leg.
"OOOF!" He went. Mew couldn't help but chuckle.
"He's open, get him!" Proclaimed Joe Dark from the side.
Mew turned left, and found himself exchanging one speed demon for another as Lunis darted straight for him.
"Thanks Joe!" She would reach the sand dollar with perfect accuracy unless Mew countered with a perfect defense.
He looked over his shoulder with a exaggerated gasp of shock, "Oh NOW what is Solaris doing?!"
Lunis froze up a foot from him and looked to the right, "Where? What?"
Mew straightened his head out and shook it, "This is too easy..."
"I'm having a lot of fun right now papa!" Maria proclaimed energetically.
"Yeah I wish we had been doing this sooner!" Mew decided to U-Turn past Lunis just to extend the game a little while longer.
Jupiter was ripping up the beach towards them, her eyes now dry and red, "Nice trick...! It won't save you AGAIN!"
She went for the lunging tackle towards his gut. Mew bent at the knees, drifting through the sand as he hollered, "Hold on tight Maria!"
She clung to his neck with an iron grip and he leaped into the air, using Jupiter's sculpted back as a platform to launch off of with a flip. The amazon once again ate gallons of sand while he continued on in style.
Joe Dark suddenly flew at him from out of a dark portal only to miss entirely and fall flat on the ground. Mew paused to turn around and raised a brow, "Why're you all being so liberal with your powers? Is Auris offering you something THAT great?"
"RAAAAH!"
Kairi couldn't have telegraphed her staff swing any harder if she tried. Right after ducking it Mew smirked over his shoulder and taunted her, "At LEAST try some subtlety here!"
He then sprinted off, and she dispelled her staff and growled, "Mew...! Get back here!"
She ran after him and he allowed her to catch up to his side. Her breasts were bouncing obscenely so he might as well look while he can.
"Can't believe you're running in that thing!" Mew joked.
"I'm not going to let this skimpy thing Shina forced me into hold me back!" She took a swipe for the sand dollar and Mew hopped out of the way without losing his speed.
"Shina forced you into that?" Mew hardly sounded surprised.
"Oh don't play innocent! You're the mastermind behind all this, I know it!" She aggressively swiped again to no avail.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Mew proclaimed, laughing on the inside, "So what kind of bet did you lose that allowed Shina to do that anyways?"
Kairi grunted and scowled, "T-There was no bet...I didn't want her treating me like a child anymore so we made a deal to pick out each other's swimsuits."
"And you had to wear it?"
"Yes..." She groaned.
"...But she didn't say it was the only thing you had to wear? You couldn't have like...covered yourself up like your mom has?"
Kairi's eyes widened like she was caught in headlights and she reeled her head back, slapping her forehead so hard it'd leave a bruise, "FUCK!"
Mew gasped in exasperation, "Kairi...! In front of our kid?!"
Maria's eyes fluttered and she gasped with glee, "FUCK!"
She then started giggling aloud as Mew listened on in horror, "That's a funny sounding word mama...! Fuck! Fuck!"
Kairi's head began to hang and Mew shook his head at her, exaggerating just how ANGRY he was, "I can't believe you...And I'M the bad influence?"
She quickly grit her teeth and took a swing at the prize, "S-Shut up...! This is still your fault!"
Mew dodged again but this time felt something gurgling on the back of his skull. And Maria began to groan in discomfort.
"Uh oh..." Mew slowed to a glacial pace and bent down, helping Maria off. Her face was discolored and she was holding onto her stomach.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea..." Mew reached down to her stomach and felt a miniature earthquake going on in there, "Yep. Major indigestion..."
He snuck his hand down to create a glass full of water and then used a clever combination of Earth and Wind to mimic an Alka-Seltzer. With the water fizzing white he handed the glass to her and said, "Drink up Maria, it'll help your stomach."
She hesitated to take the glass until it was nudged at her a couple of times. But while he was busy with her...
"YOINK!" Kairi had snuck around and plucked the sand dollar from his pocket. Mew leaned over his shoulder with a more genuine gasp of shock.
"Really?" He said as she fanned the shell before her smug face.
"Sorry not sorry Mew, looks like you got this handled anyways!" She looked down at Maria and said, "I promise I'll share the meal with you Maria, bye!"
She then turned around and sprinted for the towels, leaving Mew and Maria to shake their heads.
"Mama's very tense..."
"Yeah but you get used to it..." Mew sighed and resumed focusing on her.
Kairi made a mad dash for her destination, sand dollar in tow. Finally she was feeling happy today, "Hehehe! That meal's mine suckers!"
"Not if I can help it!" Yelled Mars, "Sand Tornado!"
Kairi was suddenly swept up in a small sandy tornado and forced to close her eyes, "Gah! Ppphhttt...!"
"Gotcha!" Yelled Jupiter, as a second later Kairi felt a pound lighter.
"Hey...HEY!" By the time she opened her eyes Jupiter was on the way to the towels with the prize.
"Took some scrapes but this'll totally be worth it!" Jupiter was about to tuck the shell into her pocket when a massive shadow was cast over her body. A towering effigy of sand rose to greet her, with a void mouth and hollow eyes.
"Heh...! Trying to slow me down eh?" Jupiter threw a punch at the beast but it had no effect, "What?"
She tried again, and again, and again. Suddenly though, the sand effigy disappeared like wavy mist, and she plopped her fists on her hips, "Huh...? What was that..."
She realized quickly that she shouldn't have been able to do that with the shell in her hand. It had been snagged from her, and now lied in Alura's grip.
Alura stared at the shell in both hands and turned to look at Kairi, who was frantically waving her arms in the air and yelling, "HURRY! TAKE IT TO MOM!"
"...Who?" Alura tilted her head, and Kairi slapped her face for some reason.
Joe Dark walked up to her breathing a little heavily, and reached his hand out, "Alura...could you please give me that shell?"
Alura stared at it some more, then handed it over to him.
"Thanks." He said with a smile.
"WHAT?!" Kairi yelled and dropped to her knees, gripping and pulling at her hair a lot, "GHHGHGFFGHGFHFHGHFHH! WHY?!"
Alura stared at her and said, "Joe Dark said please."
Lunis ran up to them and Joe Dark passed the shell off to her, "Here, you'll have a better chance of making it."
"Roger!" Lunis buckled down and made a run for it. A second later Jupiter flew in and punched Joe Dark square in the face, his skull making a good-sized trench in the sand.
"Ah crap, I mistimed that..." Jupiter threw her hand up and yelled, "Sorry!"
Meanwhile Lunis was in a mad sprint and seemed untouchable. However, Mars rolled up right beside her and proclaimed, "You're not the fastest one here by a long shot!"
Mars suddenly tripped and went tumbling through the sand shouting "BLARGH!" once he collapsed. Lunis looked back and saw Joe Dark giving a thumbs up out of the trench, then his trembling hand fell.
"Victory is ours!" Lunis narrowed her eyes towards the approaching finish line.
Finally, Gabriel smirked and began to stand, "Our opportunity has arrived..."
He laid a hand over his sheathe and took steps towards greeting his rival in battle. Riku stood as well, the samurai cautiously drawing his other hand behind himself.
"Wait for it..." He too narrowed his eyes as Lunis was seconds from arrival.
Lunis hunched towards the ground and prepared to jump. A click came from Gabriel's sheathe, as he prepared to draw his blade.
Kairi dragged her hands over her eyes and exclaimed, "He wouldn't...!"
Mars dug his head out of the sand and went wide-eyed, "For a shell, really Gabriel?!"
Even Riku believed that the samurai was fully committed to this attack. The aggression he exuded was like he was battling a worthy opponent on a rain-soaked bridge.
"Fatal Strike of One-Hundred Dancing Leaves..." Gabriel and Lunis made their moves at the exact same time, and with the grace of a grasshopper she narrowly avoided the cleave of his...wooden sword?!
"Hmmm!" Gabriel smirked and his glance back cued Riku to strike.
Lunis had nowhere to go but forward, carrying the coveted prize straight towards him. He reached his hand out towards her, and she clutched the shell against her chest. Riku stayed undeterred and stretched his arm out further.
Forced into a corner, Lunis desperately played her last card, and began to spin around in the air. Riku grabbed onto her arm the moment she started turning, and over the next few seconds was caught up amidst her spiraling body as gravity sent them colliding into the towels.
The perfect arrangement of towels was flung around where they landed, and threw up a brief cloud of sand. Riku coughed a few times and then put his hands down.
"Aaaah~ !" A flowery exclamation of bliss made his eyes bulge quite a ways open as the sand settled.
Lunis was staring at him with a glaze over her eyes and her whole face bright red. She puckered her lower lip and squeaked internally.
"..." Riku's eyes were drawn further down. His hands were on her chest. Her now bare naked, topless chest. Naked. Chest.
"Ummmm..." His mind shutdown and rebooted twice.
She started to smile but did everything in her power not to look him in the eyes. Tensely gulping she muttered, "R-Riku...?"
His mind was an empty space filled with a dial tone.
"C-Can you...g-g-get my...bikini...please?"
Riku's head pivoted like stone towards the left where it had fallen a few inches away. But as he lifted his hand she squealed in shock, "N-Not yet!"
He slapped his hand back over her chest and felt a bump stiffening on his palm.
Complete, and utter meltdown...
Gabriel walked up to the two, picked the bikini up, and passed it over to her, "Here, trade you."
Without a second thought Lunis handed him the sand dollar and quickly slid her bikini under Riku's palms. She then went to tie it back on, and Riku slowly stood himself up.
Meanwhile Gabriel handed the shell off to Auris and said, "I believe this is yours, Lady Auris."
She raised the shell high into the air and proclaimed, "The winner is...the team of Gabriel and Riku!"
The losers of the competition gathered back at the towels. Kairi and Jupiter were hanging their heads.
Gabriel closed his eyes with a tender smile and imparted some of his earthly wisdom, "It is always important to conserve your energy and know when to-"
"Oh pipe it Gabriel!" Jupiter exclaimed.
"You played dirty and you know it!" Kairi joined in.
"W-Well..." Gabriel stayed steady and nodded to the two of them, "Its also always important to learn from your mistakes."
"..." Kairi and Jupiter glared and flipped him the bird.
Everyone agreed to settle down a bit for the next few hours after that rousing game...All the injured players totally had nothing to do with that.
The sun was starting to set, though it had a long way to go. Speaking of suns, Solaris was...
"SLAM!"
The woman patted her yawning mouth and stood up, while Solaris stared yet again at his defeated arm. He shook his head and exclaimed, "AGAIN!"
She smirked and weakly laughed, "What're you trying to prove? I ain't gonna take your virginity if you win..."
"Ha! I don't want to lose my virginity cause I don't lose!" Solaris squeezed his fist for another round.
"Heh, your 0-60 record would like to say otherwise..." The women tucked her fists into her hips and thrust them out to crack her back, "Fine, if this is how you want to spend your day..."
"SAM!"
The women cocked her head back and another woman with black frizzy hair and buttoned up tropical shirt appeared from around the building, "BBQ's ready, stop beating up randos on the beach and come eat some boneless ribs!"
"Alright coming!" The woman named Sam cocked her head back with a rough shrug of the shoulders, "Oh darn, guess I'm done beating you up today..."
"What? Oh we are NOT done here!" Solaris stood up and slammed his hands on the table. The woman began to turn her back when he said, "How can a human like you be so strong?!"
The woman propped her hands on her hips and scratched the skin. She then glanced over her shoulder with a wily smirk, "I could tell you..."
She dipped into her pocket and twirled a card between two fingers. She then laid it down on the table and patted it, "If you ever feel like losing again, come find me here..."
She then stood up all the way and Solaris noticed that the skin on above her left hip was darker than the rest, like it was damaged. And sticking out from a couple holes in her pants looked like pieces of metal...
"Later!" She waved him off as she turned around, leaving him with even more questions and no answers.
He picked the card up and glanced it over. There was a fireball stuck in a glass mug, with a fuse attached to the handle. It was advertising something called the "Bombbrew Bar" and below it was a name..."Server: Samantha J."
He stared up at the strange women meeting up with her friend and chatting to themselves. He heard a giggle or two, and for a moment she stared at him with a smirk.
"...What an odd person." He tucked the card into his pocket and decided to head back to the others.
A grill was set up and Auris and Shina were working together to unpack ALL the food they had brought with. Dozens of steaks. A plethora of chicken breasts. And all the vegetables you could ever want...Unless you're Joe Dark, who loudly swore them off at that moment.
But there was one cooler that remained unopened, which she took to the winners seated at their own unfolded table.
This is your prize... She laid her hands on both sides of the lid and plucked it off. Gabriel's lips began salivating while Riku gave a strange look at the giant cube of salt she slid out of the cooler.
"Ah, as I suspected...A Saltpuffer." Said Gabriel.
"Salt...puffer?" Riku's curiosity was piqued.
Auris delivered a chop faster than the naked eye could see that split the salt in two. Beneath was a round, porous fish, colorless with dead black eyes.
She took the fish to the grill and ignited the coals. As the fish was laid to sizzle, Gabriel educated his company, "The Saltpuffer projects a heavy layer of salt from its body to ward off attackers or protect itself from heat. Those who brave the salt, however, will find a flavorful experience beyond their wildest imagination..."
"Unfortunately, the species is extinct...But Lady Auris preserved as much meat as she could."
Riku folded his arms below his chin and murmured, "I can't wait to try it."
"It'll be the time of your life..." The two of them waited patiently while the rest of their group gathered at a larger, less shabby table waiting for their meals. Fortunately Auris brought a very, very huge grill.
When the Saltpuffer was done the meat had tenderized into an exotic rainbow color in each large slab plated for the two to eat. Once given knife and fork, Gabriel nudged at Riku and said, "Be my guest."
Riku cautiously eyed the meat as he dug his knife in and juices bubbled out. He stuck an inch sized cube to his fork and put it in his mouth...
"MMMMRRR!" Intense flavor gushed through his whole body, bringing even his stiffest bones and muscles to life. His vision melted as he pulled his head back, feeling the acid on his tongue turning the meat to juice. Layer after layer of flavors tickled his taste buds. First, the sweet crispiness of an apple. Then the vitamin rich sensation of a carrot. The mushy joy of a banana followed. Then came crisp, leafy greens liquidized into a creamy form. The tart taste of fresh blueberries zipped to his brain, and finally, it ended off on the sharp punch of eggplant.
All these flavors, wrapping around a succulent piece of medium-rare meat, created the quintessential meal all in one bite.
Riku's face was driven mad by a smile and he cut away at the fish, desperate for another bite. Gabriel calmly took his meal into his mouth and let out a smooth moan of delight.
"Yes...perfect as always Lady Auris." He gestured his fork to the chef, and she took her humble bow.
Mew wagged his perfectly good looking piece of chicken around on his fork and leaned a hand against his face. He stared at his meal which looked, fine, of course, but then shot envy towards his brother.
"Damn it if I had known that'd be the prize..."
"Ughhh right?! I've always wanted a bite of that!" Saturn proclaimed a couple chairs next to him.
"You know if you two decided to join, you probably would've been paired up." Neptune remarked.
Mew and Saturn took one look at each other, turned away and proclaimed "Nah" and "No way!"
Neptune chuckled as bits of food sprayed onto her shoulder from her ravenous wife and sister nearby. They were in an eating contest, and Shina was there as a third party...?
"OM NOM NOM!" Shina was hording food in her mouth like a dragon hoarded gold.
"Oh good grief sis..." Muttered Kairi.
"Wait..." Jupiter paused for a moment, her voice muffled with food, "I thought you said the results were random Belle?"
Neptune shrugged, gently sweeping the food off her skin with her fingertips, "Lady Luck works in mysterious ways..."
Meanwhile Alura and Joe Dark quietly tried to eat their steaks. Alura had her front teeth latched onto the meat and slurped up the loose juices.
She hadn't even taken a bite of the meat itself yet.
"...I think I like ice cream more, Joe Dark." She murmured.
"T-That's not..." Joe Dark groaned and cut into his steak, "Haaaa, I'm just glad you're not getting overwhelmed."
"Hmmm?" Alura tilted her head and stared blankly at her plate, "Joe Dark I think...I had fun today. Is...that what it means when your chest feels light?"
"Yeah, I...guess so."
"Heh." Her lips widened, retracting when Joe Dark glanced her way.
Everyone enjoyed their meal in relative peace. Surprisingly, Mew was the first to leave the table. He went closer to the crosswalk and turned to face the arrangement of colorful friends and the good times they were having. He took his fingers into a box shape to "Capture" them all and clicked his tongue.
"That's one for the memory books..." He gazed up towards the violet skies with a smile, "I really, really hoping you're looking down on this Alex."
"Sis, cut it out!"
Mew looked down and saw Kairi escaping the table, with Shina threatening to throw a small lump of mashed potatoes at her.
"C'mon, one food fight! We need to have one! Just one!"
"Haha no...!" Kairi laughed, shook her head and then turned away, immediately bumping into Mew.
"Oh..." She blushed and crunched her arms down atop her chest to stop its bounce then looked at him with a pout, "What're you doing up?"
"Nothing," Mew slyly snuck his hands into his pockets and smiled, "So, looks like you're having a good time now."
Kairi glanced aside and muttered, "Y-Yeah maybe I am..."
She then wagged a finger at his chest and rubbed her face towards his, "But I still ain't buying that you had nothing to do with this!"
"Will you relax already? If I'm guilty of anything its gathering us all here to have a good time..." Mew brought his hands up together before his stomach and sighed, "So if that's so wrong, then cuff me up and put me away copper..."
Kairi backed away and let out one long groan, dragging the bangs of her hair back with one hand, "Uuuugh why can't I ever figure you out?"
As Mew had a laugh at her expense she looked over her shoulder and remarked, "This has been the happiest Shina's been since she got back..."
"And look at Maria," Mew gestured to the little girl trying to strike up a conversation with Mars, "She had the time of her life today."
"...Haaaaa," Kairi turned aside and looked disheartened, "I feel really bad about not being with her more but you...actually seem to be doing fine with her."
"I don't know Mew, what am I supposed to do?"
"Well..." Mew rubbed his chin, "She wanted to get out more so...next time we go somewhere, I'll invite you to come with!"
Kairi nodded in agreement, "I still got time before school starts up again. I'll keep my schedule open."
"Great! She'll be delighted to spend time with 'Papa' AND 'Mama'."
Kairi's eyes squirmed shut, "That still sounds so weeeeeird..."
"Hehehe you'll get used to it!"
"No!" She playfully nudged him in the gut with her elbow.
Dinnertime began to settle down after that, with their guests taking turns leaving the table to help clean up. The night was young and the sun was still in the sky, but the fun time's had been exhausted, and some people WERE exhausted.
Maria was nodding off at the table when Mew came to check up on her.
"Ready to sleep?" He said.
"Mmmm, so much food..." She rubbed her belly happily, then hopped off the chair. Mew patted her on the back and walked her out towards the crosswalk.
"We'll be heading back shortly. Just got to..."
"Hey you, come here a second...!" Solaris intercepted them and Mew's immediate response was to groan.
"What is it Solaris?" The two went a little more out of the way to talk.
"Ok you know that girl I was arm wrestling?"
"The one who kicked your ass sixty times yeah what about her?"
Solaris grit his teeth in a grimace and then pulled out a small paper card, "She gave me this card and I don't know what ANY of it means..."
Mew took it in his hand and deciphered this "Complex" message in a second, "Oh...!"
His eyes lit up and he nudged his brows a couple times, "Seems she wants to see you again. Not bad stud muffin."
"I...I don't get it." Solaris said as he got the card back.
"She wants you to go to her bar and have drinks."
"Ooooooh..." Solaris nodded his head with an utterly blank look in his eyes, "The hell's a bar?"
Mew slumped over and muttered, "Ask Auris..."
"Well whatever. I'm going to figure out what makes that woman so damn strong, and then beat her in a rematch!" Solaris scoffed, a wound on his pride.
"So you had a good time overall?"
"Yeah yeah I guess..." Solaris gripped his waist and wiggled his fingers, "The beach isn't that bad..."
"Everything worked out in the end," Mew smiled, "We all had a good time but most importantly...I got to see all the girl's in sexy swimsuits, just as planned!"
A subhuman chill. Terror incarnate manifesting as a glare at his back. Such is the way of arrogance, that one becomes blind to restraint, even on the cusp of victory.
The hairs stood on the back of his neck, and he gawked wide open as he looked behind and saw Kairi's eyes wide-open.
"I'm sorry Mew," She said without any emotion in her voice as she raised and cracked her knuckles, "Would you mind repeating that."
Not a question. A demand. One that'd be forced out of him by the skin of her knuckles.
Mew spun around and shook his head repeatedly, "You're just hearing things...!"
"Oh REALLY?" Her eyes were hollowed out with rage, "So when you said 'girls' and 'sexy swimsuits' in the same sentence I was just going crazy huh?!"
"I...I may have said those words..." Mew barely raised a finger and started backing away with a grin, "B-But come on what could I have done? Its not like I control the sun!"
"OH!" For once in his life Solaris opened his big mouth and Mew thrust his head at him.
"Shutupshutupshutup!"
Solaris snapped his fingers at him, "Is THAT why you had me use my powers? To get all the girls in swimsuits?"
Kairi's hair began to rise from the sheer intensity of her growing rage. Her voice was little more than a subhuman growl, "You're fucking dead Mew."
"Now hang on a second...!"
Mew was about to defend himself when the shaking Solaris uttered, "W-Wait am I in trouble too...?"
Kairi limply wagged her hand out and his eyes lit up with a smile, "Sweet!"
He turned around and walked off whistling. Mew threw his hands down and gawked.
"I knew it...I KNEW IT!" Kairi's voice echoed in anger, "Of all the low brow, depraved schemes you could've pulled...JUST TO GLARE AT MY TITS AND ASS?!"
Mew waved at a cowering Maria to hide behind him and Kairi stamped her foot down in the sand, "YOU get away from her! You used your 'daughter'...FOR GUILT TRIPPING?!"
"Hey hey hey everything I said about her was the truth! You-"
"Sis what's going on?" Shina suddenly waddled up to the scene with a worrying look in her eyes.
Kairi thrust her finger out and exclaimed, "MEW plotted the whole day just so he could leer at us in our swimsuits!"
Shina gasped and placed a hand before her mouth, "No..."
She frowned and shook her head, "I thought you were better than that Mew...Alex would've never done something like this..."
"Bull fucking shit that horndog had sex with you...!" Mew's eyes bulged in disbelief at how quickly this was escalating.
"HARK!" Hollered Saturn, approaching the scene with Jupiter in tow.
"Oh fucking end me..." Mew stood there and watched the heroine get to work.
"I heard sounds of distress, so I am here to answer the call! What seems to be the pro-"
"Mew's been a giant pervert!" Shina exclaimed, pointing at him like a child.
Saturn's sunglasses slid off her face from how hard she gasped. She firmly crossed her arms and exclaimed, "How dastardly! So you finally show your true colors, delinquent!"
"N-Now wait a minute...!"
Jupiter cracked her knuckles and grit her teeth, "How scummy of you...! I'm going to break your balls."
Mew paused and fought briefly with some temptation, then shook his head and threw his hands up, "You all have the wrong idea here!"
He turned to the left and saw Riku and Joe Dark wandering in from the side and waved to them, "Riku help me out here! Defend my character!"
Riku slowly walked off, put his hand on his shoulder, and quietly shook his head, "You're on your own this time brother..."
But at the very least, he helped walk Maria a bit further away to safety.
"Oh fine! Traitor!" Mew crossed his arms and looked to the left, "At least ONE brother can attest that I'm not a perv-"
Joe Dark was now standing beside Shina shaking his head with contempt.
"Is my entire family traitorous?!"
He was facing impossible odds, but while his knees shook, his footing remained strong. He was without allies. A lone star in the inhospitable depths of space.
His eyes glimmered, facing the hath'd fury of these women scorned with a smile. He crossed his arms tight, as Kairi's eyes radiated with malice.
"Any last words Mew Whiter...?!"
Mew closed his eyes, and swung his left hand down, "Maria..."
The little girl stared up with worry and awe, "Remember this moment. Ingrain the image of my back and the words I speak now into your mind forever...!"
"P-Papa...!" She cried out.
Mew mustered up the spirit within his burning soul, and ushered out bravely with a roar, "I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!"
The vibration of his roar stilled his aggressors momentarily, from which he then swung his arms out and forced them into his captivity, "My actions were perverted yes...! BUT! Did I violate any laws? Did I disrespect any of you?!"
Mew firmed his arms up and let the wind blow up his back, "No! I have done only as man is intended to do! My gazes were lustful certainly, but it was born of a respect for your bodies...!"
"And who are you to judge me anyways?!" Mew widened his eyes with a firm, slanting glare, "Deep down we are all perverts!"
All the girls had blank expressions easy to take advantage of, "And don't try and hide it! Saturn I know you thirst at the sight of perfection embodied in the male form...! And Jupiter, don't think I haven't seen you tossing admiring gazes at your own muscles! You're proud of your body to the point of it consuming you in lust! Joe, my brother, my man...Its like, the only way your attraction to curvy women could be any more obvious was if a wooden post sprung out of your trunks saying 'HOLY SHIT THOSE TITS!'. And Shina! Kairi! ...Come on guys, do I really need to say anymore?"
His aggressors were now staring at each other with varying degrees of blushes on their faces. So, for the coup de grace, there was but one thing Mew had to say...
"THE FIRE IN OUR LOINS PROVES THAT WE ARE ALIVE! To deny our perversions is to deny ourselves! So it is for that, I say, that I stand here today with pride in who am I! You may judge me as you will, but I have done nothing wrong...!"
"Uhhh..." Shina blubbered on, while Jupiter and Kairi began lowering their fists.
Joe Dark, however, swung at the group and gasped in utter shock, "Are you serious? He still tricked you all into wearing these damn swimsuits!"
Their eyes widened and immediately refocused all their anger upon Mew, who solemnly closed his eyes and sighed, "Thanks Joe..."
He crossed his arms one last time, facing the whirlwind of indomitable rage with a smile, and a sense of tranquility in his heart.
"...Riku," He uttered, "Take Maria to safety. This isn't going to be pretty..."
Maria gasped "Papa no!" as Riku carried her over his shoulder and looked back with pity in his eyes, "Brother...are you serious?"
"Yes..." Mew clutched his shaking fists by his hip and grit his teeth, "I know what I must do now."
"PAPA!" Maria stretched her hand out towards him and cried as Riku ran her away from there.
A tear fell from Mew's eyes as he closed them one last time, "No...This won't be the end. I refuse to be another statistic in the pantheon of slice-of-life cliche's!"
He grit his feet into the sand and threw his fists down, roaring triumphantly into the sky, "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Power exploded like a shockwave from his body and he turned his fiery gaze upon his enemies. Carried by the inherited wills of those before him, struck down for their ambitious perversions by Tsunderes and terrible writing, or both at the same time, he proclaimed to them one last time.
"YOU'll NEVER STOP AT ONE...!" He leaped twenty feet into the air as his blood boiled like magma, "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL OOOOOOOON!"
Mew spent the next three days lying and broken in bed.
Next Time: The Will of the Books