"We're here." Misery's voice spoke as she and the trapped Toroko materialized in the throne room. "Now show some respect for the Master." She would then pop the bubble, throwing Toroko onto the ground as she scrambled to her feet, cowering.
"P-please let me go..." Toroko whimpered.
"Mi'lord, I have brought you Sue, as per requested." Misery spoke, kneeling before the white-coated man. "Do with her as you wish."
"Ah, thank you Misery." The white-coated man spoke, his back to the two. "Now then Sue, things have certainly changed since you've last seen me, so for posterior's sake a reintroduction is in order." The figure of the Doctor would then turn around. "I am Doctor Date Fuyuhiko, the new possessor of the Demon Crown, the Island, and soon, the Surface. Good afternoon."
"Eep!" Toroko squeaked before running away from the Doctor towards the exit to the throne room.
The Doctor seemed disappointed in Toroko's behavior. "How unbecoming of you." He spoke. "Misery."
"Oh ho... where do you think you're going?" Misery spoke, soon trapping Toroko in a bubble again. "Trying to run; how adorable!"
Toroko cowered in her bubbly lift, shaking hard. "P-please... please don't hurt me..." She whimpered as she stared straight at the Doctor in fear and terror.
"Hmmmm..." The Doctor said, looking over the small Mimiga, his eyes seeming to narrow as he looked over her frame. "An interesting specimen you have captured here, Misery. She seems rather pure. Now, where is Sue?"
"I-I beg your pardon mi'lord?" Misery asked, confused. "Th-this is Sue, no?"
"No." The Doctor said. "I asked you to bring me Sue. This girl is not Sue. She has no blue sweater and no scar across her nose."
"B-but she was the only girl left in the village!" Misery spoke. "There's no way anyone else in there was possibl-"
"Young Mimiga, could you move aside, please?" The Doctor spoke, the eye on the Demon Crown starting to glow.
"Wh-what?" Toroko squeaked, cowering a bit.
"I prefer to avoid damaging pure resources as you when disciplining my servants." The Doctor answered, causing Misery to freeze up as her eyes shrank.
"Eep!" Toroko squeaked again as she ran off away from the two.
"M-mi'lord! Please!" Misery spoke, bowing. "Th-this was a mistake! I take full responsibility for this! Forgive me!"
"Afraid I cannot, Misery. A failure like this must be avoided in the future." The Doctor spoke, the Demon Crown's eye now glowing brightly. "Now take your lumps."
"No! P-please!" Misery begged before lightning shot forward from the Demon Crown's eye, the painful shock striking all over her body. Misery screamed in agony as she dropped to her knees, her staff clanking on the ground as tears came from her eyes. The painful lightning continued for a good several minutes before it stopped, smoke curling of Misery's body, now marred with electrical burns and frazzled hair.
Toroko was shuddering as she was watching the entire 'disciplining' unfold before she felt a light bump from behind her. She whipped around only to see the large frame of Balrog, who had just come up from behind her to see what was happening.
"Oof..." Balrog commented. "I'd hate to be Misery right now..."
"P-please don't hurt me..." Toroko whimpered. Balrog would merely plop down next to the Mimiga and lightly petted her head with one of his fin-like appendages. The petting would seem to calm down the frightened girl.
"Technically I can't." Balrog replied. "Unless the Doctor ordered me to, that is."
"N-not helping..." Toroko whimpered, as the Doctor grabbed Misery by the throat.
"Your task will remain as before." The Doctor growled, before throwing Misery onto the ground. "Find the Sakamoto girl, and bring her here. Do not fail me again, understood?"
Misery would scamper to her knees and kneeled before the Doctor, slightly trembling. "Y-yes, mi'lord." She spoke, before teleporting away.
"Good." The Doctor spoke, before noticing the Mimiga and the box-thing. "Ah, Balrog, you have perfect timing."
"What is your order Doctor?" Balrog responded.
"You've said there was a small boy interfering with trying to take this girl, no?" He spoke, his tone mildly filled with curiosity. "I want you to head for the Bushlands sector on this floating rock; see if he heads there next."
"Roger that boss!" Balrog said, about to take off.
"Oh, and before you go." The Doctor spoke, looking to Toroko. "Take our guest to the plantation. She has a lot of catching up to do."
"Okay!" Balrog said, hoisting the small Mimiga onto his back. "Hold on!" He said before bursting through the ceiling, leaving a Balrog-shaped hole in it.
"...he really needs a less destructive entrance." The Doctor spoke, before returning to his work...
Quote would soon find himself rematerialized within Arthur's house, slightly disoriented after having to avoid the gigantic death beetles around the corridor only to find... Sue was not here. Jack was however, leaning up against the wall as if he was expecting the boy's return.
"Ah, I see you've finally returned." Jack spoke, looking at Quote. "Everything okay?"
"I guess?" Quote responded. "Where's Sue?"
"Well, King came in." Jack responded, looking towards the door. "He's got Sue locked up in a cage in the village square."
"What?" The boy responded, concerned.
"Yeah, he was pretty pissed about Toroko being kidnapped." Jack answered. "He's got poor Sue locked up so he can exchange her for Toroko when the Docotr's minions come again. I do feel a bit bad for Sue though..." He looked down. "She really seemed to want to care for Toroko when Arthur died, but... Toroko's one of us. Sue's just an outsider."
Quote would push past the Mimiga before finding the female Mimiga in a cage on a pole, rested above the square on a pole as she thrashed about inside it. "Lemme out of here now! You don't understand!"
"There's nothing to explain!" King growled, pointing his sword at the cage. "Toroko was taken because of you! Now shut up!"
"There is something to explain! Now let me down!" Sue yelled back.
"No." King growled. "One way or another I'm handing you over!"
"You're crazy!" Sue yelled. "Don't you even realize she might already be done for?!"
"If she's not safe, your head is meeting my sword!" King roared, causing Sue to shrink back a bit, the concept of being killed not exactly meeting well with her mind as Quote would come up on the scene. "O-oh! The guy I met back at the Egg Corridor!"
"What's going on here?" Quote asked. "King what are you thinking?"
"We're exchanging her for Toroko." King growled. "And if you wish to keep that head on your shoulders, you won't interfere with this entire thing."
Quote would rule out simply blasting the cage open as Sue would grab his attention, causing him to walk over to the caged Mimiga.
"Hey, listen..." She asked Quote. "Could I ask a huge favor from you?"
"How big are we talking?" Quote asked.
"I told my brother Kazuma you and I would be going to where he is to break him out, but..." She motioned to the cage. "As you can clearly see I can't exactly do that at the moment. Could you go in my place and break him out of where he might be trapped?"
Quote would think for a bit, wondering if this girl could be trusted, but he had soon made up his mind and nodded. "I'll try to find him. I promise."
Sue's eyes would light up. "Quote, thank you!" She spoke, earning a nod from the boy.
"I'll be back before you know it." He said, soon heading back for Arthur's house.
'Please... just make sure my brother is safe...' Sue silently thought to herself as she remained in the cage...
Upon re-entry of Arthur's house, Quote made a beeline straight for the computer, checking the teleporter program for any new IPs that would have come up. Upon seeing the one selected for 'Bushlands', Quote hit confirm on the program, linking the teleporter with the one in the location of the island. Taking a deep breath, Polar Star gripped tightly to his hand, he stepped onto the teleporter as he felt himself warping...
Meanwhile, in a lower stone room section, only lit by a dim lantern, a Mimiga with bushy eyebrows wearing a green sweater would be investigating the teleporter in that small room, him seeming to grow agitated as he kept looking over the device.
"Consarnit..." The Mimiga mumbled to himself. "Over a week of kidnappings across Grasstown and Arthur doesn't show up? And now the teleporter doesn't work? What's goin' on over there?" His question would be abruptly answered as the teleporter fired up, throwing him off his guard and causing him to collapse on his back as soon Quote stepped off the teleporter, still as disoriented from the warp.
"Oof... I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that..." Quote mumbled to himself before seeing the Mimiga out of the corner of his eye. "I-I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
"Oh nonono, not at all." The Mimiga spoke. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to teleport here, that's all."
"Sorry..." Quote spoke, rubbing the back of his head. "This the Bushlands?"
"Well, yes." The Mimiga said. "Come on out, you'll get a better view from there." Quote would follow the Mimiga out of the small stone room to above it to soon see out into the vast grassy cavern, large stone ruin structures with owl faces carved into it dotting the place sporadically. Further away would appear to be a house of some sort halfway embedded into a part of the ground. Larger vines would be hanging from the ceiling, holding larger stone structures up themselves by their own volition, and small waterfalls would be dotting the verdant cavern. Even large mushrooms would be dotting the cavern, looking like large trampolines to lead to higher portions of the cave. To Quote, it was a breath of fresh air compared to the Egg Corridor or the dingy first cave he woke up in.
"Quite the view, ain't it?" The Mimiga spoke. "Name's Santa, by the way."
"Quote." The boy spoke. "I'm looking for someone named Kazuma, do you know anyone by that name?"
"Kazuma?" Santa asked, thinking. "Hmmm, can't say I've heard of a name like that... ah, maybe one of my old friends Chaco would know."
"Chaco?" Quote asked. "Who's that?"
"She lives further down in the house dividing Grasstown." Santa spoke. "Ya can't miss her, her house is right on the path."
Quote would nod, gripping tightly to his Polar Star. "Alright, I'll be going now." He spoke, and would start to head out before Santa had stopped him.
"Hold up!" Santa spoke. "Ya can't go in there all willy-nilly with a gun like that against the Power Critters here! They'll flatten ya into a pancake if ya don't have proper protection!"
"Oh..." Quote spoke, holstering the pistol. "So... what should I do?"
"Here, take this." Santa said, handing Quote what appeared to be some sort of glove, yellow and orange in color with a blue wristguard. Curious, Quote would scan the object.
/FB-437 FIREBALL
/Glove Class Weapon
/Model No. 00352
/Registration to Mimiga Santa
/Case Color Golden-Orange
/Warranty for Damage
/Fireball weapon capable of spawning multiple fireballs at one, up to four at a single given time
/Fireballs travel in a bouncing motion along the ground
/Arc of fireballs throw changes height of bounce
Quote would be intrigued. This glove, a weapon? It sounded ridiculous... but then he remembered he found himself awake in a cave system with talking rabbit people and a hatchery of dragons. He safely decided to hold off on trying to apply logic for now as he slipped the glove onto his left hand, feeling the energy flow through it as soon a small fireball formed into his hand. Quote found it interesting as Santa soon spoke again.
"Interesting ain't it?" Santa spoke. "Try it out on your way to Chaco's, might be useful to ya!"
Quote would nod. "Thank you, sir."
"Anytime." The Mimiga responded, soon walking off to his house as Quote prepared to enter into the cavern's valley. With a quick hop he had soon skidded down the grassy side and ended up in the valley, the lush grass going up to past his ankles. He almost let his guard down for a second before hearing what sounded like a small growl coming from the grass, causing him to almost reach for the Polar Star, but then he remembered Santa said the pistol wouldn't work on the Critters. Instead he kept firm to the colored glove before spawning a fireball into his hand, throwing it at the grass pile where the noise came from. His suspicions were confirmed as a green blob-ish creature lept from the bushes, squealing in pain, soon having itself propelling in the air by its own white ears as it moved towards Quote. The boy would run under the blob just as it stopped hovering, coming down where Quote originally was as if it was trying to land on him. The boy would focus as soon he would throw another fireball at the Critter, soon the creature popping like a balloon from the second blast, leaving behind next to no trace of it.
Quote would still be curious, before hearing what sounded like another growl from nearby. Sneaking behind another stone structure, he'd peek around the corner to soon see a bunch of the Critters, along with a larger blue one right before a bridge. Without being noticed, he activated his scanner and analyzed the creatures.
/Name: Critter
/Scientific Classification: Critidae Loftus
/Phylum: Chordate
/Class: Euclid Mammalia
/Critters are a composite species bred by multiple DNA with genetic sciences. Mostly tend to inhabit man-made artificial biomes, but now can almost be found anywhere. Primary form of communication is by small growls, though these are also used when feeling agitated or threatened to try and intimidate their instigator, with varying degrees of success. Upon feeling threatened they will try to leap and fly over their instigator in an attempt to land on them and blind them with their hulking masses.
Quote nodded as the scan deactivated, electing to avoid the horde of the creatures for now as he soon climbed up the stone structures hanging from the vines. The boy would be amazed at the sights of how the entire stone scaffolding was constructed as he jumped from owl block to owl block, making his way across above the Critters before a reading came up.
/LIFE TANK DETECTED IN VICINITY.
Quote would stop on the block he was on, soon looking around the area for the familiar shaped heat cylinder. His eyes would soon dart up to see that it was tangled in a mass of vines up above. Quote would breathe in deeply as he soon vaulted up the massive hanging structure, gripping to the vines as he climbed his way up before reaching the top of the ruined section, grabbing the tank and slotting it into his arm as per normal. He proceeded to drop down from the vines on the other side of the horde of Critters, the impact of his feet on the ground from the high height causing his body to shake a bit as a new warning came up in front of him.
/WARNING. EXCESSIVE FALLS WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO RECOIL SPRINGS. AVERSION TO LARGER FALLS ADVISED.
"Okay... note to self, watch my step to make sure I don't overload my legs." Quote muttered to himself as he approached the stone house with the small waterfall. Taking one last deep breath of the fresh air before entering into the house. Upon entry inside the boy would find himself at the base of a set of stairs, winding up towards an upper floor. Quote would follow the stairs up the interior before finding a room with a table, two chairs, a nearby bed, a stove, a fireplace, and another door. Seated at the table would be another Mimiga, wearing what could only be described as a navy blue short dress and a red ribbon around one of her ears. What set her apart from nearly every other Mimiga he had met so far, however, was her fur color; bright lilac, a far more vibrant fur color compared to any of the other Mimiga's dull white fur. She appeared to be writing something on a book of some kind as Quote would soon cough to himself, hoping it would draw attention to the Mimiga's presence.
Luckily for him, it does.
The Mimiga would loo up from her paper at the boy, a smile appearing on her face. "Oh! I didn't even hear you enter!" She spoke. "Are you a traveler? I notice that pistol on your hip..."
Quote would nod. "Yes." He answered. "You must be Chaco, right? Santa told me to come see you."
"Ah, that old pal of mine?" The Mimiga, Chaco, responded. "Well, yeah, I'm Chaco. What brings you through here?"
"I'm looking for someone called Kazuma." Quote responded. "You wouldn't have happened to see someone by that name would you?"
"See, no..." Chaco answered. "But heard, yes. I heard some kind of voice coming off in the back sector of Grasstown, but I thought that place had been abandoned for years when those weird headstone creatures started popping up back there. If you're looking for this person, he must be back there."
"How... do I get to the back sector, per se?" Quote would ask.
"Oh! Just right through my house." Chaco responded before getting up from her chair, walking over to the door before unlocking it and holding it open for Quote. "Just right through here to get to the back sector!"
"Alright. Thank you." Quote said, staring to leave before Chaco grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" She said. "I completely forgot to tell you about another danger! Keep watch for those giant red spike sets; one wrong fall onto those things and the toxic energy inside them are gonna make you burst on an instant!"
Quote would nod. "Alright. Thank you." He spoke, before walking through the door...
How long had Sue been strung up in that cage? Quote seemed to be taking an awfully long time to get back with her brother, and now she was starting to think she'd never be getting out of the cage until the Doctor's lackeys came. She slunk against the side of her cage, staring up at the ceiling as she started to drift into a nap...
...and then a loud gurgling came from her stomach region.
"What was that?" King asked, glaring at Sue.
"What, that?" Sue asked, looking at King. "Ah... sorry about that. I'm starving. I guess all that running around the place here didn't make me notice."
King would sigh, shaking his head. "It's about time for the village's lunch hour anyways. You want any specific sandwiches or some well-cooked salmon?"
Sue's thought process would come to a screeching halt. "Wait." Sue said. "I'm your prisoner... and you're giving me meal choices?!"
"..." King was silent for a bit before he spoke again. "Look. Around here the Mimiga care for one another; we see eachother as family and would do anything to at least show signs that we have hearts. You, on the other hand, seem to be only selfish for your own well-being and not caring about anyone-"
"Except for Toroko." Sue shot back, catching King off guard. "Need I remind you when that witch of the Doctor's killed her older brother, who was the one to comfort and console her after a death of her family member? Oh, yeah, that was me! While you were busy trying to figure out how to keep the rest of the Mimiga safe instead of tending to the one who's brother, your friend, was killed by that witch!"
King fell silent, looking down at the ground as Sue crossed her arms defiantly. "You see what your pursuit of me has wrought?"
"...we'll continue this discussion later." King spoke. "Now what do you want?"
"...I'll take the sandwich." Sue sighed.
"Alright, wait here. I'll be back in a bit." King spoke, walking away from the cage as Sue would slump back down against the bars.
Sue would sigh to herself, looking back up at the ceiling of her cell. "Now what... the boy is off god knows where and I'm still trapped in this cage..."
"...maybe try being a bit more friendly towards King?" A voice asked, causing Sue to tear her eyes away from the ceiling to see... herself, in the cage with her. Not just herself, her old self; her human self. Sue would be in shock as she stared at... herself, really.
"Wh-who-" Sue started before the human herself raised a hand.
"Relax." She spoke. "I'm your conscience, that's why I look like you. And no, don't worry; only you can see me."
"O...kay?" Sue asked.
"But honestly, you should try to be more friendly to King. He did lose almost the entire village and his best friend after all." The conscience spoke.
"Why though?" Sue fired back. "He's just a jerk!"
"Put yourself in his shoes." The conscience spoke. "Say for instance you lost your entire family. Everyone you love now either taken away or possibly dead because of a madman's power. How would that make you feel?"
"But that-" Sue started before realization hit her like a truck of bricks. "already... happened..."
"See?" The conscience spoke. "Now, here he comes right now, try socializing with him a bit more and relate to him. Get him to open up a bit."
"...alright." Sue spoke, looking back to her conscience. "I'll tell him everything."
The conscience would nod before it faded from view, right as King came back with a sandwich on a wooden carved plate. "Alright, here's the sandwich. Now I'll be right back." He said as he left the cage again. Sue would take a bite out of the sandwich, and her eyes would light up. Something in it gave the sandwich a light, airy sweet taste, causing flavor to burst inside Sue mouth. Curious, Sue opened her sandwich to look at its contents, seeing what looked like a thin slice of meat and cheese alone with a layer of blue flower petals. Sue would take one of the petals and pop it into her mouth, and almost instantly she'd have the taste overwhelm her mouth in how it tasted. She would continue to eat the sandwich as King came back again.
"It tasting okay?" King asked.
"Yeah." Sue spoke. "Hey..."
"Mh?"
"You know why Toroko was taken, right?" Sue asked, seeming to strike a nerve in King.
"Because those minions mistook her for you." King spoke. "You're my only shot at trying to guarantee her safety. If she's gone... I don't know what I'd do..."
"I... I know the feel." Sue spoke. "I'm honestly afraid of losing my own family... and for all I know right now, my mother... might be dead..."
"...if she is, you have my condolences." King spoke. "Just understand this entire thing has stressed me out because of what this Doctor is doing..."
"I don't really blame you, to be honest." Sue spoke. "But... I don't think this is going to work. I'm sorry..."
"...what do you mean?" King asked.
"The Doctor." Sue spoke. "He's going to want all the Mimigas on the island."
"So he's not going to return Toroko?" King spoke.
Sue would merely shake her head. "He's going to keep her. And every other Mimiga on the island."
"Why should I beli-"
"He's searching for the red flowers." Sue spoke, causing King to freeze.
"Wh... wh..." The Mimiga stuttered. "The flowers? The..."
"The Hell's Hibiscus." Sue spoke. "He's going to enrage the Mimiga."
King's expression would turn to one of fear. "Jack!" He yelled for. "Get over here! NOW!"
Quote's step into the back sector from Chaco's house would be quite the departure compared to the first sector of the Bushlands. These caves were way darker; something Quote didn't even notice it when he was back in the first sector of the Bushlands. His optics lit up, flashlights built into his eyes lighting as he began his trek through the back half of the caves. The grass was still rather long back here, though a bit less vibrant compared to the front half. There were several mushrooms dotted around the area, giving off soft white glows as Quote continued back into the area. Soon enough he'd see what Chaco meant; there were odd headstone like creatures with blank red eyes staring at the ground scattered all across the area, even next to some of the old rusted metal buildings that had been abandoned back here, some on suspended chained platforms.
The boy was so observed in looking in the area that he didn't even see himself bump into one of the headstone creatures. He stumbled back, looking at the creature as it soon looked up from its position, staring at Quote with those red eyes. The boy felt a chill run down his spine as he moved around the creature, grabbing his Polar Star and keeping it close to his body as he kept slowly moving through the area before he felt something crunch under his boot. He moved his foot to see he had crunched a lightbulb under his feet, which confused him for a second, but then he looked up to see an array of lights lining along the ceiling of the cave system. He connected the dots and decided that there must be some sort of generator somewhere back here that could turn on the power.
His attention, however, would soon be turned to the larger metal building near the area, part of the paneling broken open in one area. Curious, the boy would approach the building and peer through the crack in the wall. It was hard to make out, but there appeared to be a green-haired human inside the structure with a white coat thrown over a chair at the desk he sat at, showing the red long-sleeved shirt and jeans. The computer would be on, and next to the desk was a similar make of teleporter like the one in Arthur's house.
"H-hello?" Quote spoke, lightly rapping on the metal panel to get the attention of the figure inside, which seemed to scare the person until he saw the figure of the young boy.
"Oh thank goodness..." The figure breathed, approaching the crack. "Are you that friend my sister talked about?"
Quote nodded. "You must be Kazuma?"
"Yes." The figure, Kazuma, spoke. "You're here to break me out? The door's locked from the outside."
"That was the plan." Quote said, looking over to the door. "Is there any key for it?"
"I have one right here." Kazuma spoke, slipping a rusty key through the open panel. "Try this one."
Quote would nod before walking over to the door, trying to investigate... before finding out there was no keyhole in the door. "There's... no keyhole." Quote said.
"There isn't?" Kazuma asked.
"The door is completely rusted shut." Quote answered, trying to force the door open. "I won't be able to open it this way."
"There must be a better option..." Kazuma stated.
"I'll take a look around, see if I can find any sort of other means to get that door open." Quote spoke. "You sit tight while I investigate, okay?"
"Not like I have a choice..." Kazuma stated as Quote walked off, starting to explore the rest of the powered-off area. The boy's optics would scan across the area as he saw an pathway on stone owl blocks held up by chains leading up to a house on scaffolding. Quote would start following the blocks upwards as a reading came up again.
/LIFE TANK DETECTED IN VICINITY.
Quote would sigh. "Of course..." He muttered to himself before reaching the house on the scaffolding. His sensors would go off as he heard some kind of growling from inside the building, causing him to grip tightly to the Polar Star as he approached the door...
With a swift kick he'd break down the door as he entered the house, Polar Star held up in an offensive position to shoot... but the house was abandoned, nothing inside the house giving off any sort of dangerous or living vibe... except for the Life Capsule in the corner of the room. Quote would cautiously approach the glowing capsule, not noticing the glowing eyes that would open in the fireplace as he passed by. Kneeling down next to the capsule, Quote would pick up the capsule and slot it into his arm before he heard the growling. Quickly whipping around with the Polar Star in hands, he open fired as the large creature lunged at him, screeching as Quote unloaded a whole cylinder of rounds into the creature's face. The creature would collapse to the ground, dead from the shots the boy had fired. Quote would be breathing heavily, shaken a bit from the sudden attack of the large white figure, only to realize what he had fired at...
It was another Mimiga. A Mimiga like the one he had fought back in the Egg Corridor.
Quote wasted no time getting out of that room and off the scaffolding. Upon reaching the ground again he continued his search looking around again before seeing what looked like a bunker in the ground, with a door with a keyhole...
The boy had an idea as he took out the rusted key and put it into the keyhole, turning the key and opening the lock. The key snapped off in the door as it unlocked, Quote opening the door slowly and descending into the area. The room was rather large, grass lining the floor as a machine was sitting at the back. A couple of robotic endoskeletons would line the wall, one of which would be sitting down on the ground near its slot in the wall. Quote would feel unease as he stepped into the room, soon walking to the back of the room and approaching the computer panel on the machine.
/LIGHTING POWER SUPPLY OFFLINE.
/FAN POWER SUPPLY OFFLINE.
/MALCO POWER SUPPLY OFFLINE
/SET ALL TO ONLINE? Y/N
Quote would hit the 'Y' option on the screen, as soon the lights to the room would come online, the sudden change in the visibility nearly blinding the boy. He stumbled a bit as he soon heard the whirring of air throughout the area as cleaner air filled his body; the fans were working now. He would blink a couple times, soon being able to see inside the room... just in time to see the robotic endoskeleton on the floor activating, standing up as it looked straight at Quote... and then appeared to perform some kind of jig?
"INTRUDER SIGHTED! COMPROMISE TO TEAM 9'S PLANS IMMINENT! TERMINATION COMMENCING!" The endoskeleton yelled, followed by a loud robotic screech. Quote readied his Polar Star to engage the rouge A.I...
"HUZZAH! EMERGIS EXMORTIS!"
Goddamnit.
Right after those words were yelled the ceiling to the room burst open as the light from the outside area flooded in, the large box figure of Balrog hopping down in and crushing the robotic endoskeleton. "THERE you are! You've had me running around this part of the island for several hours trying to find you!"
"I don't care." Quote spoke back. "Now, if you could do yourself a favor and please get out of my way-"
"NONSENSE!" Balrog said. "After all, you're responsible for what happened to Misery!"
"And I can see why..." Misery spoke, soon warping into the room. "I didn't see it my first time laying eyes upon him, but now I can see... he's that soldier from the surface."
"Really?" Balrog asked. "The one from ten years ago?"
"I'm almost certain of it..." Misery stated, narrowing her eyes on the boy. Quote wouldn't have the slightest idea as to why they were talking about him in that way, so for now he kept to himself and kept his Polar Star trained squarely on the two.
"Yeesh!" Balrog commented. "How'd he stay alive after THAT whole thing?"
"I'm not entirely sure..." Misery spoke, her staff starting to glow again. "But I think it's time we ramp things up a bit."
"What if he's more powerful than you?" Balrog asked.
Misery merely smirked. "I never said I was going to be the one handling him..." With a wave of her staff Balrog would be enveloped in a massive beam of light, muting him entirely as Misery looked back to Quote. "I just need an assistant to 'test' my little theory about you..." She would then rise out of the hole in the ceiling, before adding, "Balrog, see that you break him for sure this time..."
Balrog, within the light pillar would let out a massive croak before the light dissipated, revealing the massive hulking frame of a frog, nearly four times the size of Quote, it's peering eyes looking down at the boy as he readied his Polar Star. The frog would start slowly hopping at Quote, its weight causing the entire building to shake as it lumbered forward. Quote would run forward and duck and roll under the massive frog's hop, soon turning and unloading a cylinder of shots straight into the back of the giant amphibian. The shots, however, would just dissipate off of the frog's back, causing it to turn around and face the boy, mouth opened as red energy started building up. Quote's arcane energy readings would go off, meaning he would NOT want to get hit by the incoming attack... but he soon saw his chance, holstering his pistol and activating his fireball glove, soon throwing large amounts of fireballs into the frog's massive mouth. The massive amphibian's eyes widened, soon watering from it's spicy meal of fireballs directly to the mouth. It croaked in pain before spitting out a massive fireball at the boy.
Quote would just barely dodge out of the way as the fireball shot past him, impacting the wall and leaving a massive scorch mark in its wake. The impact would also set small fires to the grass in the generator area as embers started to fill the room, soon filtering out through the massive hole in the ceiling. Quote would tense up as the massive frog would slowly hop at him again, trying to crush him under its hulk. Quote dashed forward again and slid underneath the massive frog, just barely getting clipped as his hat got knocked off and trapped underneath the hulking beast. He kept his comments to himself as he got up, soon glaring down the frog as it turned around again, opening its maw to fire more red shots at the boy. Quote would unload another round of fireballs into the massive frog's mouth as it soon had the flames build up before it snorted at Quote two large streams of fire from its nostrils. The boy would just barely dodge out of the way before glaring at the frog, still spewing those nostril flamethrowers.
His optics would dart around the area, searching for anything that would be able to plug up those holes... before he saw what appeared to be artillery shells in the corner of the room. He acted on instinct and grabbed two shells, soon running for the massive hulking frog, ducking under the jets of flame before slamming them straight into the nostrils of the hulking frog. The sheer pressure buildup of the flame inside the frog's head would soon cause it to burst entirely, throwing Quote to the back at the room, colliding with the wall as a new reading came up.
/WARNING. TORSO HAS BEEN DAMAGED 54.93%. AUTO-REPAIRS SYSTEM STARTING...
Quote silently cursed to himself as the massive frog body dissolved back into Balrog, the box-thing soon leaping out of the ceiling with the comment, "Just what the hell ARE you?!"
Quote would stagger to his feet, clutching his stomach area as he hobbled forward. "Sometimes I wonder that myself..." He would then hobble towards the endoskeleton that Balrog had unintentionally landed on, feeling a bit of pity for the poor thing as he grabbed it by the sides of his head, pulling upwards as best he could as the metallic frame was wrenched out of the ground. Quote would bring the endoskeleton to it's feet, soon resting it right as it appeared the one side of its head was slightly caved in, the red optic on the right side of its head crushed completely but somehow still functional.
"Hey, you alright there?" Quote asked the active endoskeleton.
"Th-thank you." It spoke. "You are a good person. And a strong one on top of that! Apologies for earlier."
"I-it's fine..." Quote spoke. "I just couldn't help but try and help you out after that big guy crushed you into the ground like that."
"I really appreciate you saving me!" The robot replied. "I am known as Malco, one of the units set to guard here. Tell me, what brings someone like you here?"
"There's someone trapped in one of the nearby houses here by a door rusted shut, an-" Quote started before being interrupted by Malco.
"Say no more, I have the solution for that!" The endoskeleton said, running over to the one corner of the room. "Give me a hand with some of these boxes, would you?"
"O...kay?" Quote asked, walking over and grabbing one of the boxes before noticing they were labeled 'HIGH EXPLOSIVES'. "Uhhhh..." Quote said. "How many of these do we need?"
"Just two will do!" Malco replied as it exited the room with a box, Quote following with the other box in his hands as he led Malco to the shack where Kazuma was trapped. Upon placing down the boxes in front of the door, Malco would run off to grab something while Quote went over to the crack.
"Hey, Kazuma, you still in there?" Quote asked.
"Yeah?" Kazuma responded.
"You might wanna stay clear of the door..." Quote responded, sweatdropping at the sight of the boxes. "There might be colateral damage with how we're opening it..." Kazuma nodded as Malco would come back with a long metal object.
"Got our primary trigger right here!" Malco said, handing Quote the object. "This should help keep us at a safe distance while we blast it to smithereens!"
Quote would look over the weapon Malco handed him, feeling the smooth curved shape of the weapon in his hands as he slung it over his shoulder. "One second!" Malco spoke before slotting in what appeared to be a magazine into the back of the weapon. "Alright, open fire!" Quote would tense up as he took aim at the box and pulled the trigger...
...and almost immediately found himself thrown backwards from the sudden kickback of the weapon, crashing into Malco as the missile that shot forward collided with the boxes of explosives, causing a massive detonation at the front of the building as the metal completely curled into the building, a massive hole in place of the door's location.
"SUCCESS!" Malco responded. "The door is no more!" Though that wouldn't be on Quote's mind as he rushed through the hole.
"H-hey!" Quote yelled through the smoke. "Kazuma! Are you alright?!"
A cough would come as the green haired male would wave the smoke away from his face. "Yeah, I'm fine..." He coughed. "A little warning next time would be great though..."
"Sorry..." Quote said. "Either way, we need to get you back to the village. Soon. Sue is there, and-"
"Right, let me just grab my coat..." Kazuma said before the teleporter soon activated suddenly, catching both of them off guard. Quote would put the launcher onto his back as he whipped out the Polar Star, keeping a steady aim on the teleporter...
...then be caught off guard as an old man with red glasses tumbled out of the teleporter, landing in a heap on the ground. "P-Professor Booster!" Kazuma stated. "You're alive!"
"Of course..." The professor responded as he got up, taking off his glasses and wiping them off. "Somehow. I'm not quite sure, but somehow. And what of Sue?"
"She's alive!" Kazuma said, pointing to Quote. "She had sent one of the friends she made to get me out of this building!"
Professor Booster would walk over to Quote... and stare at him a bit, intrigue growing on his face a bit as he looked him over.
"Is... is something wrong professor?" Kazuma asked.
Professor Booster would be silent for a bit before speaking again. "...no, not really." He spoke, before walking to the opening. "So where is she?"
"She's in Mimiga Village." Quote finally spoke. "There's a teleporter near the front end of the Bushalnds from where I came in."
"Ah, simple enough." Booster spoke, walking out of the building. "Come along now Kazuma, let's go get your sister."
"R-right, professor." Kazuma spoke as he left the building, leaving Quote to himself as he soon took the rocket launcher off as he scanned the weapon.
/MS-451 MISSILE LAUNCHER
/Explosive Class Weapon
/Model No. 45017
/Registration to TEAM 9
/Case Color Chromium
/No Warranty Applied
/Missiles able to be fired in either single shots or burst fire for multiple shots simultaneously.
/Knockback allows for user to perform 'Rocket Jump' technique.
Quote would be curious as he soon put the weapon back onto his back, walking forward to the hole when he heard Kazuma and Booster talking.
"So... the war?" Kazuma stated.
"And he plans on repeating history." Booster spoke, soon taking notice of the pink airbike nearby the shack. "Say... does that thing work?"
Kazuma would walk over and investigate the bike. "Looks like it still does. Think this'll help get us back?"
"It should." Booster said, hopping onto the back as Kazuma mounted the front of the bike, switching it on. Soon enough the bike would roar to life before taking off, in an odd circle, causing Quote to jump out of the way as it soon took off towards the entry to the Bushlands. "It wooooooooon't stooooooooooooop!" Kazuma was heard yelling as the bike took off, Quote sighing.
"Well, looks like my work is done!" Malco spoke, looking to Quote. "I wish you luck on your journey friend!"
Quote would nod back. "Thanks for the help." He spoke before taking off after Professor Booster and Kazuma...
"I don't understand though." Jack spoke as he and King let Sue out of the cage in the village square. "Why would the Doctor want to use Mimigas like us to take over the entire world?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself." Sue spoke. "But what I do know is that once he gets his hands on those flowers, those Mimiga forced to eat them..."
"Including Toroko..." King spoke, soon stamping his foot. "I won't allow this to happen!"
"None of us will." Sue spoke. "As far as I know right now, the Doctor hasn't found the flowers yet, so there still might be time to stop him. That's why I had Quote get my brother from being stuck in the Bushlands."
Jack's ear would twitch as he looked towards the house. "And judging from that sound, looks like they're back now."
Sue's eyes would light up as she ran off towards the house, followed by King and Jack. Sue would fling open the door to the house, her heart rising upon seeing the familiar green haired male and the old man...
"KAZUMA!" Sue yelled, running hand hugging tightly to him. "Oh my god bro... oh my god..."
"It's okay Sue..." Kazuma said, holding the hug. "I'm here now..." At that point King and Jack would enter into the room, catching the attention of Professor Booster.
"Ah, yes. Hello there." Booster spoke, earning confused looks from King and Jack. "I assume you two are the leaders?"
"Oooooookay, this is officially weird." Jack spoke as the teleporter booted up again and Quote stepped out of the teleporter, slightly disoriented.
"Ooof..." Quote moaned, grabbing attention of Sue as she rushed over to him.
"Thank you!" Sue spoke, before looking to Professor Booster. "Professor, can we take him along once the egg is hatched, can we can we pleeeease?"
"..." Professor Booster remained silent.
"Professor?" Kazuma asked.
"Sue, we will have to put our escape on hold for the time being." Professor Booster spoke.
"What?" Sue asked. "Why? what's wrong?"
"...the Doctor has found the hibiscus." Booster spoke. King tensed up as the rest of the room fell silent. "At the moment, he doesn't have his hands on them, but he is more than aware of the location they are stored at."
"Wh-where are they?" Sue asked.
"Their location is the Sand Zone, but-" Booster started before King interrupted.
"I'm going." The Mimiga said, drawing his blade. "I have a score to settle with that bastard."
"That would be inadvisable." Professor Booster spoke. "The Sand Zone is no walk in the park, or place for someone like us to go to without high risk of death."
"So that's it then?" King growled. "You're just giving up?"
"Not exactly." Professor Booster spoke. "There is someone who can go in our stead."
"And... who exactly is that?" Quote would ask, finally speaking for the first time in the interaction.
"Simple." Booster spoke, pointing to him. "You."
"Him?" Kazuma asked. "Why him?"
"Do you not see what he is Kazuma?" Booster spoke, indicating to Quote. "He's an armed scout robot that was dispatched to this island almost ten years ago."
"Wait, he's a ROBOT?!" Kazuma exclaimed.
"Yeesh, coulda fooled me!" Sue spoke. "I legit thought he was human!"
Quote would deadpan. "Yes, because I'm very sure all humans have metal skin." He dryly commented, before looking to Booster. "So, you want me to go?"
Professor Booster would nod as Kazuma walked over to the computer. "You right now are the most ideal candidate for stopping the Doctor before he gets those flowers. Find them in the Sand Zone, and destroy them before he gets the chance to use them."
Quote was silent for a second... then nodded, determination in his optics.
"I've linked with the Sand Zone, Professor." Kazuma stated, before looking to Quote. "It's all up to you now."
Quote nodded, stepping onto the teleporter as he felt the world warp around him...
洞窟物語
Cave Story: The Demon Crown Saga
Chapter 2 End