Quote could feel the heat rush past the two as they descended into the bowels of the island, the drop getting narrower and narrower as the lethal red spikes started to close in around the two. The blocks would start to turn orange as the island continued its collapse, Quote activating the Booster v2.0 and weaving through the spiky corridors before skidding to a stop on a slanted piece of ground to let the Booster recharge as he started sliding downwards towards another bed of red-tipped spikes. Quote held firm as he skidded down the slope before leaping and clearing the gap into a small corridor, keeping the momentum from his leap going as he rushed through the corridor before Curly yelled from his back.
"We've got trouble!" Curly yelled so Quote could hear her over the rumbling of the island's inner bowels. "We've only got ten minutes left before the island collides with the surface of the planet!"
Quote tensed up as he felt his legs run harder than he ever thought he could, soon leaping down another drop onto a small overhang above another bed of spikes. Quote would leap down before jetting forward with the Booster towards an opening in the spiky floor, falling down another long pass as soon parts of the walls burst open, molten rock now spewing out of the walls towards the bottom of the room. Curly clamped her eyes shut as the two plummeted towards the bottom of the room, Quote activating the Booster at the last second and landing on the tiny overhang just above the next spike pit, now filling with lava. Quote gritted his teeth as he lept down from the ledge, using the Booster as best he could to make it to the other end of the room and skidded on the ground, throwing himself and Curly through the doorway into a long open corridor lined with torches and ancient murals. At that moment Quote began to hear a voice echo...
'Did you know... the mystic Jenka had a brother? His name was Ballos... Like his sister... he possessed great arcane powers beyond anyone's wildest imaginations...'
There was that name again! Ballos... Ballos... what did it mean?
"QUOTE!" Curly yelled, snapping the male scout of his thoughts. "WE GOT COMPANY! MOVE IT!" Frantically scrambling across the corridor, Quote would soon find out why Curly was telling him to hoof it; the corridor was collapsing, large bricks falling out of the ceiling and smashing into the ground around them. Keeping his panic to a minimum as best he could, he kept his feet moving as he dodged the falling blocks from the ceiling... but he'd soon find out they weren't alone as hatches on the walls would open, small cherub-like figures flying out of the walls and making a beeline for them. Curly would keep her Nemesis firing at all the creatures divebombing at them as the voice continued.
'He used his magical powers to help and guide people, and the people loved and trusted him in return. Even more than they did their own king...'
Quote would keep his feet moving as he just narrowly dodged a massive falling block, soon seeing a massive hole up ahead that led further down into the ruins, noticinf the ground was only becoming redder and redder while the blocks had started turning to an ashen black. Leaping down the hole as a masive chunk of the ceiling fell and blocked their way back, the voice would continue...
'The jealous king had Ballos apprehended and thrown into prison, where his punishment was torturous and inhumane. Humans can be terrible creatures indeed...'
Their trek wasn't done quite yet; ahead of them lied a massive corridor with spikes, the massive metallic Presses hiding in the ceiling spaces, and more of those cherub-like creatures were standing guard as Quote and Curly charged forward, using all the weapons they could to obliterate them out of the way. To make matter's worse, the molten rock was starting to burst in from the ceiling, the heat starting to rise...
'Ballos was driven into a state of pure, uncontrollable rage. Under the extreme cruelty of the torture, his arcane abilities finally lost control. The king and kingdom were swallowed by Ballos' wild magical force. The life that he loved so dearly was turned into ruins in a single night... Shrouded only by fiery hot ashes.'
Quote felt the temperature rising as the two blew past more of the cherub-like creatures, soon larger golem-like ones appeared from higher ledges and began pelting the two with large stone blocks from the walls. Curly tightened her grip and opened fire on the two sides of the halls, striking down any of the large golem-like figures as several more parts of the ceiling collapsed behind them, leaving areas in ruins.
'Jenka, seeing her brother's madness, confined him to this floating island. That was the most she could do. Even as he was, she could not bring herself to kill her own brother...'
Both robots could feel their servos burning as they pushed harder towards the end of this hell, soon a massive spiked room opening up before them as the smaller cherub creatures stared coming in like bee swarms from the hatches on the walls. Leaving no time to react, Quote lept into the middle of the room as Curly clamped her eyes shut before Quote activated the Booster, rocketing straight into the open hatchway and collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily.
'It was Jenka's daughter Misery who made Ballos create the Demon Crown. She was subsequently cursed by the crown, forced to do the bidding of all who wear it. If the crown is destroyed, the curse is lifted. If only it were that easy...'
Getting back to their feet, Curly would look around the room from Quote's back. "Shit, is this a dead end?"
"It can't be." Quote said, his optics darting around the area. "There's gotta be something..."
Their answer would come as a large lightning bolt would smash into the ground from the center of the room, catching the two off guard. With no time to think it through, their combat instincts would kick in as they immediately opened fire on the massive machine above them, the Spur and Nemesis shots tearing through the large metallic object like it was nothing else and as if their lives depended on it. But soon enough Quote would realize what that machine actually was...
"SHIT!" He yelled, making a lunge for the side of the arena. But it was too late; Heavy Press had already activated and smashed into the arena floor, sending the two androids tumbling down to the floors below...
'The Demon Crown will be restored anew an infinite number of times so long as Ballos' heart still beats... That is the supreme arcane power of his eternally enraged soul. It is intrinsically imbued into his evil creation, the Demon Crown...'
Quote moaned as he held his head in pain, getting to his knees and continuing to hold it there. "C-Curly?" He sputtered out. "H-how bad did that fall shake you?
"T-too much... ooooowwhhhh..." The short-haired blonde responded. "I can't feel my legs..."
Quote would weakly stumble forward from where they crashed; seems they were in a lower point, the crashed Heavy Press not too far from them as they weakly made their way to the corridor at the end of the room, leading out towards another corridor, now a bit broken apart as the two could see outsdide of the island, but was still composed of the same ashen-black blocks. In front of the two, a few steps up near where they were going... was a spectral dog.
'Does my explanation help enlighten you?' The dog spoke, even though it had no mouth. 'His soul has been stuck in an enraged torture for so long... only the embrace of death can quell his arcane powers...'
Quote would merely be staring and panting at the spectral dog while Curly twitched in pain from Quote's back.
'His death will undo the pain of the Demon Crown brought on this island...' The puppy would look to Quote and Curly with sad dog eyes. 'Please... you're the only ones who can stop him... to stop this cycle from ever happening again...' And with that, the spectral dog would disappear without a trace...
Quote would limp towards the opening past the spectral dog, but Curly stopped him. "Wait."
"Wh-what?" Quote asked.
"If there was ever a time for us to use our Life Pots, it's right now." Curly spoke, getting hers out of her pocket. "If we try to go in there now in our condition, we're going to be flattened."
"Are you sure Curly?" Quote asked.
"We have no other choice." The blonde responded, downing her healing drink. Quote would sigh and get our his as well, downing it too as the both of them could feel their strength returning. With a full restore in their systems, the two proceeded into the next room through the cracked wall above the massive sealed door...
The Seal Chamber was absolutely massive, the walls spanning in a complete almost dome-shaped structure as red spikes littered certain points of the ground. At the far end of the room sat a large ornate throne, and sitting on that throne was a new figure; he was large, orange skinned and cracked as if her were rocks, wearing a white robe with green trim. Two eye symbols adorned the front of the robe, and his eyes remained closed, although he could clearly sense that Quote and Curly had entered into the room...
"I sense I have new visitors here..." The figure in the chair spoke. "Pray tell... who am I speaking to?"
Quote and Curly would both keep silent. Even now, Curly knew his was no time for joking around.
"...not ones to talk I see..." The figure responded. "Then allow me to introduce myself..."
Quote would tense up as the figure in the throne would get to his feet, putting a hand across his chest.
"I... am Ballos." He spoke. "Ages upon ages ago, I allowed my drive for arcane power to grow recklessly without fear of enduring any retribution. An arcane fuel so potent... so powerful... that even it's own master was helpless to contain it..."
"So furious and unstoppable was this force..." Ballos continued. "...that its raging blazes consumed the child that had adored me, and the wife that had once loved me. They were swallowed by its intense flames, their cries of agony soaring above the blaze and having me know of their suffering... all because of my selfish transgression. My eyes were affixed and I was unable to turn away from the fiery horror... created by my own arcane power."
Ballos would grimace, his head looking away from the two even though his eyes were still closed. "I could only laugh then..."
"Jenka sealed me away, the raging storm of arcane power within my heart spiraling out of control with each passing minute..." A smile would start to creep up on Ballos's face. "I've waited long for this day... for the people who will bring my immense arcane fury to an end..." Ballos would hold his arms out to the side, as if accepting Quote to attack him. "Now, kill me! Or-" Ballos's eyes shot open, and instantly Quote remembered the beginning of the riddle the Cthulhu back in the Sand Zone gave them...
'Eye of red, eye of white...'
"I SHALL KILL YOU!"Ballos roared as he charged the two robots head on. Quote barely had time to dodge out of the way as soon Ballos shot up into the air, dashing back towards the two bots.
"Split up!" Curly yelled, disconnecting the Tow Rope as she lept off Quote's back. Quote nodded in response as Curly spread away from Quote, Ballos making a charge straight for the blonde. Quote immediately would start charging up a Level 3 charge in the Spur before firing off it right at Ballos, nailing the wizard straight in the back and getting his attention. Ballos would then charge for Quote, the robot boy just barely managing to dodge out of the way as the rock figure dashed past him, colliding with the side of the chamber wall. Ballos would look back to Quote with a sadistic grin on his face as he lept up into the air, the hands starting to charge up a large amount of electricity before lightning strikes would start pelting around the arena. Curly gritted her teeth as she unloaded Nemesis shots straight into Ballos, as his hands charged up a new red energy in them before shooting it into the ground, soon a barrage of red spikes shooting up through to try and impale the two scout bots. Curly would barely manage to evade with her Machine Gun hover, and Quote used the Booster before drawing the Blade, charging at Ballos and taking a slash at him, the damage clearly evident as Ballos flinched from the attack.
Ballos's sadistic grin returned as he soon gripped Quote's face and pile-drived him straight into the ground, leaving him in a crater on the floor.
"QUOTE!" Curly yelled, her anger building as she opened fire on Ballos with her Machine Gun, distracting him from Quote as the robot crawled out of the hole, cringing in pain. His left eye had been smashed again, now hanging out of it's socket like before, but now part of the paneling on his left cheek had broken off from the impact, his head circuitry showing. Enduring the pain as best he could, Quote would soon get the Missile Launcher off his back and unleash a burst fire right onto Ballos's back. The figure would whirl around, the grin back as he charged at Quote, his red eye glowing...
...before being launched to the side by Curly's Nemesis. "You alright Quote?!" She yelled.
"I'll live, it's merely cosmetic." Quote responded before turning to Ballos, getting the Spur out again. "Focus on the fight at hand!"
Curly nodded in response, keeping her Nemesis squarely trained on Ballos as he rose to the air, the red eye glowing as lightning started to crash down from the ceiling at the two robots. Curly dodged to the side and unloaded more Nemesis shots straight into the wizard causing him to stagger back a bit, before Quote rushed in with the Spur and opened fire with a Level 3 Spur laser, knocking Ballos back as he stood there frozen, eyes widen and jaw slack in a shocked expression as he had gripped his head, just frozen there...
"Di... did we do it?" Curly asked, confused by the frozen Ballos just standing there. "He's not moving..."
Quote would be cautious... thinking of how to test to see if he was actually defeated. Getting an idea, he'd disconnect his smashed eye and throw it right at Ballos.
As soon as the smashed eye had touched Ballos, the wizard had tensed up and shot into the ceiling, out of the sight of the two...
"Where'd he go?!" Curly spoke, gripping her Nemesis tightly as her eyes darted around the Seal Chamber. Quote tensed up as he scanned the area... before he had a reading come up.
"GET AWAY FROM THE CENTER!" He yelled, diving for the side of the arena and barely missing some spikes as Curly did the same, a massive round-shaped uneven stone dropping from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, Quote realized it was no stone...
It was Ballos.
"What IS HE?!" Curly yelled as the giant Ballos now began hopping around the room in large leaps, kicking up a shockwave with each landing as bones flew into the air in a shockwave motion with each leap. All the while, small green bat-like creature would start swarming in at the top of the room, creating almost a moving ceiling in a way as the flitted and fluttered in an erratic pattern. Quote would still be dodging the shockwaves, but without a viable weak spot to target they'd be sunk in the ground.
Then the island shook again, this one more violent than the last. Their time was running out.
"GO FOR THE EYES!" Curly yelled, trying to open fire on the creature before the shockwave knocked her away. Quote activated the Booster and flew upwards charging up the Spur for another Level 3 blast...
...and he'd soon find himself in immediate trouble as the green bat creature started to swarm him, a repercussion for going too high. He could feel the creatures tearing at him as he soon just grabbed the Missile Launcher off his back and open fire, thinning the swarm a bit as he landed back on the ground, looking a bit worse for wear; parts of his top and pants had been torn and large open metal gashes lined his arms, but thankfully his circuitry was still intact as his empty socket sparked, taking aim with the Spur and directly firing at the white eye... only for it to do nothing.
"HIS WHITE EYE'S NOT THE WEAK POINT!" Quote yelled to Curly. "AIM FOR THE RED ONE!"
Curly nodded in response as she grabbed her Machine Gun and ran at the gigantic stone-being, soon seeing it leaping up into the air. Gripping tightly to her weapons, she'd jump as Ballos would come crashing down to the ground, sending another shockwave out. Curly would whip out the Nemesis and open fire into the red eye, and judging from the flashing on Ballos, it was doing some serious damage to him. Although, the feeling would be short-lived before Ballos's massive form knocked Curly away into a wall, causing the shot-haired blonde to hit the ground hard...
...and her left forearm to impale on one of the spike groups. Curly screamed in agony as the searing pain shot through her, the intense arcane energy electrocuting her insides...
Quote quickly had rushed over and tried to pull Curly's arm out of the spike bed, but it was no use; her arm was too far impaled to try and pull out. With critical loss approaching, Quote acted out on instinct.
He unsheathed the Blade from his side and sliced down hard, the metal of the Blade cutting clean through the circuitry and the endoskeleton of Curly's arm, leaving her with only half an arm on her left side. Feeling faint, a reading came up on Curly's end.
/DANGER! DANGER! ARCANE CORRUPTION HAS REACHED LEVELS OF 97.5%. SHUTTING DOWN TO INITIATE ARCANE PURGE...
"F-fuck..." Curly whimpered as she felt her systems shut off, leaving her unconscious...
Quote felt his rage rising as he glared back at Ballos, dark flames in his eyes as he tied Curly around him with the Tow Rope once more, then charging the Spur. Taking a running leap, he'd jump up and unload a Level 3 charge shot straight into Ballos's red eye. Ballos would shut his eyes, unmoving from his position on the ground...
And then Quote would leap back as eight large stones emerged from Ballos's head, each one having a blood red eye as he'd start moving towards Quote like a wheel on the new stones. Sheathing the Spur and pulling out the Missile Launcher, Quote would open fire on the eyes of the smaller stones... but would become fruitless as Ballos would move up into the green bat creature ceiling, leaving Quote unable to open fire on him. That'd soon be the lead of his worries as large flaming stone skulls would drop from the ceiling as Ballos moved through, leaving Quote with a tricky placement to dodge as the massive wheel rock would come barreling his way again. Gripping tightly to the Spur, Quote pulled the second trigger to activate the Whimsical Star while charging up the Spur again.
At this point the Whimsical Star's true purpose would be revealed as the stars orbiting Quote would start to tear through the smaller eye rocks, the pupils shutting upon contact with the stars. Realizing this, Quote would turn and open fire with the Spur, the laser blast shredding through the eyes like nothing else as the rocks broke away. Smirking that he had finally found a pattern, Quote would keep the assault up on firing on the eye rocks until only four remained around Ballos.
At that point the gigantic rock moved to the center of the room, the smaller rocks whirling around it faster and faster as the small green bat creature's cleared out from the room. Quote's heartrate would skyrocket as he began to see spikes starting to fill the floor, completely engulfing it as he lept up, just barely managing to cling onto a floating platform as it circled around Ballos, the entire floor now completely coated in the red-tipped spikes. But his gut would wretch upon looking back at Ballos; parts of the rocky skin had burst open, showing what appeared to be moving flesh under it made of tortured souls, as well as pouring out of the mouth and in the eyes. His head started to hurt as he heard their screams of agony...
He gritted his teeth hard and focused; as painful as the screams were, he couldn't let them get the better of him! Quote lept up and took aim with the Missile Launcher, firing off several missile bursts right at Ballos's body, the shots exploding on contact with him as hatches would open up on the sides of the room, the cherub creatures swarming in with red faces, armed with bows as they took aim and fired on Quote and the unconscious Curly. As if that wasn't enough, the things would start coming from Ballos's head, making a direct beeline for him!
Quote clamped his eyes shut as he soon felt the island shake even worse than last time. He had almost no time left; if he didn't kill Ballos now, he will die, along wit everyone else on the island. Feeling the determination ell up in his heart, his remaining optic started to glow blue as he unsheathed the Blade, opening up swing after swing on Ballos's frame as King's ghost unleashed blade maelstorms onto the mad mage, feeling his own power grow with every swing before he launched up into the air with the Booster v2.0, gripping tightly to the Blade as a roar ripped through his metal throat, soon plunging the Blade... and himself... through Ballos's forehead and out the other end, crashing into the ground and blowing the spikes apart. The gigantic body of Ballos would start smoking and flashing, and Quote soon dashed behind the throne as Ballos soon erupted into a massive blinding white explosion...
"!" Sue gasped from her seat on the helicopter, looking out the window. "MOM! MOM!"
"What's wrong honey?!" Momorin spoke, rushing in from the cockpit area.
"Th-the island!" She exclaimed. "It stopped! The island stopped falling!"
Misery soon felt as if something had been ripped from her soul, a burning sensation coursing through her entire body...
...and yet it felt so... liberating...
"They did it..." Misery breathed. "They managed to actually kill him..."
"So... it's done?" Balrog asked, landing next to the witch. "Our curse is finally broken?"
Misery would nod in response. "It is done. The Crown is finally gone... this time for good." Her expression would turn to worry then. "I fear for those two's lives if they're okay. Balrog, could you go and make sure they're okay? You know where the Seal Chamber is, right?"
"Right!" Balrog said, running to a wall and "HUZZAH! EMERGIS EXMORTIS!" blowing open the wall before he lept our. Misery chuckled, shaking her head.
"Some things never change..." She spoke.
When the explosion died down, Quote would soon find that the throne had barely survived, now only a rubble around him and the unconscious Curly. A massive white scorch mark remained of where Ballos once was, several ashen piles lying around the blast, presumably from the cherub-creatures disintegrating from the explosion. With the calm now settled in, Quote came out from behind the ruined throne and undid the Tow Rope, sitting down and surveying over Curly's damages; her top was completely destroyed, only her green bra still intact as the lower parts of her pants were also shredded. Part of the metal plating on the left side of her torso had been completely ripped off, and gashes marred the female robot's body. Keeping quiet, Quote would remain silent as Curly powered back on, showing Quote that the glass of her right optic had been cracked.
"Q-Quote?" Curly coughed, trying to push herself up before she realized she only had half an arm on her left side and went lopsided. "I... is it over?"
Quote would nod, hugging the female android tightly. "It's done. Our mission is finally done."
Curly would start to smile, tears forming her her eyes. "Ten long years... and finally we put a stop to what our creator wanted..." She'd hug Quote tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face. Quote would return the hug, crying as well. "Q-Quote... I'm so happy..."
Quote nodded, rubbing the female scout's back. "It's finally over. We can rest easy..." At that point a low groan could be heard, catching the two's attention.
"Di... did you just hear that?" Curly asked.
"Yeah..." Quote said, his good eye looking around the room... before he noticed the walls were starting to close in.
"Oh no..." Quote spoke, swallowing hard. "The walls!"
Curly would grip tighter to Quote. "W-we're gonna get crushed!" She screamed, holding tight to Quote as he did to Curly, the walls starting to draw in closer...
"HEY!" A familiar voice yelled as Balrog crashed in through the ceiling, landing next to the two. "Are you two alright?!"
"B-Balrog?!" Curly exclaimed. "H-How'd you know we were here?!"
"No time to explain!" Balrog said, hoisting the two robots onto his back. "Just hold on!"
Quote would nod and grip to the massive box-thing with Curly as he burst up through the ceiling just as the walls missed them, basing a ton of rocks in the way during the process until they broke free into the open air.
"H-how's your head?" Curly asked.
"I-I'm not sure..." Balrog merely responded.
From the helicopter Sue would soon see the massive toaster box Balrog burst from a section of the earth, and not only that...
"M-MOM!" Sue yelled, hopping from her seat. "Oh my god, it's the robots! They're alive!"
"Wh-what?!" Momoin said, rushing to the back to look out, soon in shock. "I-incredible! They survived?!"
Sue would trying to wave to them. "I think they must have had something to do with stopping the island from falling!" She exclaimed. "They saved everyone living there!"
"Oh my..." Momorin breathed. "I didn't know they had it in them..."
At that point Sue would notice a familiar figure riding on a Sky Dragon near the Balcony. "Mom! I see Kazuma! By the Balcony!"
Momorin merely nodded. "Itoh, the island has stabilized. Land there so I can pick up my son."
"Understood!" Itoh spoke, piloting the helicopter towards the island for a family reunion at last...
"Whew!" Balrog said once the group was aloft flying in the air. "That was WAY too close for comfort back there!"
Curly sighed in relief. "I thought for sure we were gonna be goners that time... looks like we owe ya another one, huh?" She asked.
"There's really no need to." Balrog said. "I just did what Misery told me to."
"Wait, she sent you?" Curly asked, confused. "How'd she know where we'd be?"
"Misery's one of the only people on the island along with myself and auntie Jenka that knew about the Seal Chamber." Balrog explained. "Once the island stopped falling after you two destroyed that Core, she could only make the inference that you two killed Ballos."
"And that's why you helped us?" Quote spoke, crossing his arms. "Because we broke your curse upon killing Ballos?"
"We don't have to take orders from anyone at all now." Balrog spoke. "Our influence from the Crown was completely eliminated when you two destroyed the source."
"So all those things you did were just because of the Crown itself?" Quote asked.
"We asked for it. Misery's been trying to break the curse ever since Miakid, but destroying the Crown itself wouldn't work." Balrog spoke. "Once you two came along, she saw an opportunity we never got to have with the previous Crown bearers."
"And instead of killing us when you knocked us out at the Sand Zone, Misery just warped us to the Labyrinth." Quote spoke. "But why there?"
"She said it was some kind of test." Balrog spoke. "I guess she just wanted to see if you had what it took to be the ones who'd end the curse."
"Mmmhh..." Curly mused as Balrog kept flying. It was silent for a bit aside from the breeze of the flying before Curly spoke again.
"Hey... Balrog?"
"Yeah?" The box-thing responded.
"You mind detouring back to the island for a bit?" Curly spoke. "I... kinda have some unfinished business to take care of."
"Same." Quote said.
"Alright then." Balrog said, confused as he was, turning around and heading back for the island, soon landing down in front of the ruined castle to see Misery greeting the two at the entrance. Her outfit was certainly shredded from her transformation earlier, but she was thankfully still alive.
"I should thank you two, really." Misery spoke, looking at the two. "Thanks to you two, both Balrog and I are now out of the Crown's influence."
"It was nothing, really." Curly spoke. "Not like we had much of a choice in the matter; we got blocked in that prefab house when the entire castle was coming down."
"True." Misery responded. "But still, both Balrog and I are grateful for what you two have done for the island; even if at times it was a little counterproductive like with the Core originally..."
"Heh... have no one to blame for ourselves for that one..." Curly spoke, rubbing the back of her head with her remaining hand. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"No offense taken." Misery responded. "So, what are you two going to do now? You're always welcome back on the island whenever you want."
Quote would nod. "We appreciate the hospitality Misery." He spoke, nodding. "We'll try to come by here every now and again to visit."
"Appreciated!" Misery spoke. "I could use some company from time to time..."
Quote and Curly nodded before looking to Balrog. "We've got a few more stops to make. You don't mind, do you Balrog?" Curly asked.
"Not really." Balrog said, the two crawling onto his back again as he flew for another part of the island...
"...so... is that everything?" Balrog said as the two were back up on the Balcony some time later, Quote at this point only having the Spur on him as Curly did with her Machine Gun and Nemesis.
Quote nodded. "King's Blade is back in the right hands now." He spoke, smiling a bit. "I think it's time we head out now."
"Yeah," Curly said, now with a backpack on her back filled with a few extra supplies. "I think it's time we put this place behind us and move on. I'm at least thankful Jack agreed to have Chaco help raise the Colons for me."
"I'm just glad they understand the entire situation." Quote spoke, getting onto Balrog's back. "Especially Malco lending you that extra endoskeleton forearm."
"I'm surprised he did to be honest." Curly said, getting on as well. "He seemed a bit erratic when we talked to him."
Quote would shrug before tapping Balrog. "Alright, we're ready to go."
"Alright then!" Balrog said, soon taking off into the air. "So, where are you two wanting to go now?"
"Well..." Curly thought. "I wouldn't mind living somewhere just peaceful with a nice view..."
"Same here..." Quote said. "I think I've had enough action for a year or two..." The group would remain in silence for a while before Balrog spoke again.
"Pardon my asking, but..."
"Yes?" Curly asked.
"...can I join along?" Balrog asked.
"I don't mind!" Curly said. "All three of us can find a nice place to settle down. You could even pick the spot where we can live!"
Quote remained silent, but he smiled. Balrog seemed happy with the fact that he could come along as he flew for a good while before landing down next to a beautiful spot; a lakeside view with a nearby forest, with the floating island merely a sight in the distance. Curly would smile.
"Perfect here!" Curly said, looking around. "And such nice atmosphere!"
"I'll get the wood to start making a house!" Balrog said as he went off into the forest, leaving Quote and Curly to themselves.
"Well..." Curly said, looking to Quote. "This is a start of our new life..."
Quote nodded, looking at Curly in the eyes, blushing a bit. No other words were spoken between the two as they looked into eachother's eyes for a bit, blushing...
...before Quote made the first move, gently embracing the female robot and planting his lips squarely on hers. Curly closed eyes as Quote did with his remaining one, both scouts keeping their lips locked as they embraced the comfort of eachother before Curly pulled away, panting.
"H-how long were you holding that in?" Curly asked.
"Ever since I saved you from drowning..." Quote breathed, holding the hug. "There's no one else I'd trust my back to..."
"Same here Quote..." Curly said, looking off into the setting sun across the lakeside. "You're the one I trust the most more than anyone else."
"Together forever?" Quote said, taking Curly's still intact hand.
"Forever." Curly said, slipping her fingers inbetween Quote's as the two looked out at the sunset setting on the horizon. For now, their work was finally over...
洞窟物語
Cave Story: The Demon Crown Saga
Chapter 9 End