Chapter 7
HELIOS
Grey clouds rolled over the sky as night fell across Kamakura. Already the streets had changed from their usual cultural crowds to being somewhat bare, people staying inside their homes.
The reason was of course, the Chrystek that levitated over the city and plunged it into further darkness than the night would have normally given. Hours prior, the purveyor of the ship, Xanthers took his move in taking two captives out of both of the Stitches' friends and furthermore, family- Yuna and Chiro.
The inside of the gold and red ship was just as twisting and turning as the outside. The outside had wires hanging off of its spiky exterior, while the inside had just as equal matching the alien metals that coated the floors and walls. Unsettling enough was the thought of where these wires, big or small were heading.
Down the halls of this mismatched mess of a craft and inside of a prison chamber, Yuna and Chiro lied. Yuna had been rattling the bars of a cell that Chiro and her were locked in, yelling in the hopes that the Chryston would hear her anger.
"Let us outta here! Don't make me come out there, 'cuz you're underestimating a blackbelt! I could whoop your- agh... what's the use?" Yuna suddenly stopped, turning around and giving up.
She must have been yelling for about a good half-hour at the mechanical doors only to have the echo of the room come back to her.
She sat down near Chiro with a huff and a toss of her bubbly hat off her head and onto the cold floor, her tri-pigtails shooting back up. Chiro had been rather down from the moment she entered this evil den and Yuna took notice now after some time of her fury.
"Hey... Chiro, you holding up okay?" she inquired.
The youth stroked her long brown hair in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, dude... but I never expected it was me he wanted. When that creep said he was going to take prisoners, I was so scared it would've been me. That I would've been the "damsel in distress", you know? What's funny about that was that was hours ago... and now here I am worried about the both of us. I feel like I'm back at 3rd Grade and there's no escape from the bullies this time," she explained.
Chiro had always been a true blue fan at heart. But she was never really brave. When Kyo had met her in grade school, she was being bullied tremendously by the fact her parents were bakers. Kyozuki had given her some boost of courage by being friends as long as they have been, but it still didn't mean she was that 100% brave. She always admired that trait in people though, including her "idols".
"Hey, hey! Don't be so down in the dumps! I'm sure if I know the Stitches and Kyozuki, they're cooking up some kinda awesome plan to save us both! They wouldn't leave us behind, never!" Yuna pepped, believing in the principle of "ohana" like Stitch taught her.
"Just keep your head up high and we'll come out of this... not exactly unscathed, because of that "Metropolis" project, but still!"
Chiro stared at Yuna for a moment after she said that. Yuna wasn't 100% optimistic, as sometimes she'd pull the realist approach, but seeing her try and perk her up like this not only meant a lot to their friendship, but to the very thing the TV shows and movies abundant on the blue creature taught- "ohana".
"Yuna... you know, your grandmother's right about you when she says you're restless, huh? Sorry, I remember that from the TV shows..." she chuckled, perking up.
Yuna giggled back- "I know! Me and Stitch are the definition of restless!"
"Well, I suppose I can't be too scared when I have company by my side. Thank you, Yuna..."
But that happiness between the two was rather short-lived. The mechanical doors clattered as stepping through the entrance to the prison chamber was the tall Chryston himself, Xanthers. The two girls immediately stood up and glared his way upon his entrance.
"You know, you could change your mind and let us go... this could make the world of hurt you're gonna be in later on be a little lighter" Yuna said, her eyes narrowing to the scientific mind.
Xanthers on the other hand didn't reply, merely staring at Yuna and Chiro with a growing smirk.
"Hey, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Yuna argued.
"...I don't need to when I know exactly what you're going to say..." Xanthers put out there.
He turned around in his thoughts, staring at the metal prison wall nearby.
"Tell me... why do you trust the filthy Kweltikwan when he sold me of all people out? Why do you put your trust in those blue vermin when you know the road they are going to lead you on will lead somewhere undeniably painful..." Xanthers pitched with a grumble.
"Uh, duh! Because that's the side we fight for, good! People like you don't even have to ask us this question, we just know it by heart!" Yuna fired back.
"Your partner there... she's worried. Worried she'll be the one used for the "Metropolis" project, isn't she? I've got news for her, it isn't her I'm going to be using for my network scheme... it's the other," he said.
Yuna looked on in shock, Chiro jutting up as well.
"Yuna?!"
"Oh no you don't, I'm not gonna be used in any psycho pla- ahh?"
As Yuna was about to give her two cents back to the Chryston, she felt herself being picked up again by Xanthers' psychokinetic forces, his left hand raised.
Chiro ran over and began pulling at Yuna's arm. "No! Y- You can't have her, you monster!" she said as she tried and tried to push all of her strength into pulling Yuna back from the powers of the menace.
To her own surprise, Chiro's strength was at least making Yuna budge back as opposed to the opposing psychic force skidding the two ahead closer to the bars of the cell they were locked in.
"Give up... she'd want you to, you know?" Xanthers said.
Yuna immediately chimed back. "Chiro, don't! You know what's gonna happen if you do let go, one of us won't be the same!"
Chiro knew what Yuna was saying very well. Xanthers on the other hand, played to that disadvantage. Catching her off-guard, an invisible burst from the alien's head sent the Kamakura fangirl on a collision course against the wall with a loud grunt.
"CHIRO, NO!" Yuna shouted as she was being levitated forward by Xanthers, now finding herself right against the cell bars.
Xanthers reached into his cloak to pull out a vial filled half-full with a purple substance. Yuna and Chiro, upon getting up and clutching a bruised arm, knew what this was. "Helios".
"I already sensed your heart was one of the stronger ones in the city... a perfect fit for the Deathly Cure of mine," he explained as he opened the vial and looked to Yuna, all but her head frozen from Xanthers' unseen yet still strong grip.
He then leaned closer to Yuna, whom was already looking uneasy- "Open wide..."
Yuna wasn't going to let herself fall this easily. "Open wide? Okay, EAT THIS!" She raised her teeth and bit the hand of Xanthers that was trying to feed her the "Helios" with a loud growl.
He jerked back from the damage, but not enough to drop the vial, his attitude taking a turn from her move.
"Good one, Yuna! Never knew your teeth were as dangerous as your karate skills!"
"You're feisty... I'll give you that. But where you're going, you won't need any of those human characteristics..." he said with a tinge of irritation.
"If you can get that gunk into me, that is!" Yuna said, shutting her mouth and closing her eyes, pushing herself to keep it that way.
Xanthers channelled the crystal on his head to force Yuna's mouth wide open. She fought back trying to keep it shut, but the powers Xanthers had were stronger than that of a human being's nerves, even one with a lot of will on her like Yuna. After another raise of his free arm, he drops the violet goo from the vial into Yuna's mouth.
However, she still fought back, giving her glares to the Chryston as she resisted swallowing the substance. She knew what would happen if she did, she was going to end up being unable to fight back.
"SWALLOW IT!" Xanthers yelled, his patience wearing thin with the young one. Yuna fiercely shook her head, muffling what sounded like "no way".
Chiro hobbled forward and and tried again to pry Yuna down from the doctor's powers, but that toss against the wall had her strength be cut down what with the pain of her bruised arm.
"SWALLOW IT BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" he yelled again, Yuna again shaking her head muffling the same noise.
"Fine... you've sealed your fate, you thorn in my side..." Xanthers said coldly, his eyes glowing the same deep blue that they did when his powers tore up the Dock hours earlier.
Yuna felt herself unable to control her throat, as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't help but finally swallow the purple muck.
"Stitch... anyone... help..." she thought in defeat as Xanthers let her down from the telekinetic hold, her eyes closed and her mouth agape. For all the fight she had going for her, she couldn't stop Xanthers forcing his plans down Yuna's throat. Literally.
Chiro rushed over to Yuna's side at her own pace, kneeling down to her friend. "Yuna! C'mon, speak to me!" she pleaded, shaking Yuna to try and come to.
Xanthers on the other hand tossed the vial onto the floor, his job finished. "I'm afraid that bull-headed girl you knew is now my host. I may as well leave you two alone to get re-acquainted while I plot a course to the highest point of this urban jungle. Not only is she going to be that way for a long time, but this city is going to meet the "Metropolis"... " he said, now taking his leave from the prison chamber.
Chiro was already angry as he was leaving. "Hey! You messed with the wrong "ohana", dude! When Kyo and the Stitches get here, you'll be begging for mercy, maybe even worse! YOU HEAR ME?!" she called consistently as the Chryston mad doctor left the room, doors shutting behind him.
Her yells only left the familiar echoes Yuna heard before she fell. Chiro looked at herself a second, her yells especially. She sounded like Kyo in this situation. Was she being... brave?
Before she could wrap her head around such a thing, Yuna came first.
"Yuna, don't tell me that the "Helios" made you braindead!" she said. However, it was far from that when Yuna did come to.
By the time Yuna opened her eyes, she didn't look to be the same "idol" Chiro had known her to be. Her face looked deadpan as a permanent frown and a set of hollow brown eyes stared off into the distance, the light purged from Yuna's irises. One might have also seen a fair hint of purple in her eyes as she entered what "Helios" had planned for her.
"Yes... Chiro?" she asked in a monotone way.
"Yuna... Please tell me you're able to fight this thing..." Chiro looked on in worry.
Yuna's cold response said it all. "I can't, Chiro. I don't feel... well... I don't feel like I can fight it..."
Chiro looked in woe at her friend, now turned into a "Helios" host. She wished she could do something, but there's no way she could have figured it out on her own.
She dug through her overalls' pocket to pull out her own cell phone, Samsung-branded. Looking at the usual signal bars as they came up empty, she was able to realize that Xanthers had some kind of jamming signal in effect on his ship, making her unable to call or text Kyo for help at the moment. All she had by her side was Yuna and she wasn't doing so good...
"Just stay strong, Yuna... you know how this works. Us heroes will get the beat down onto Xanthers and then things'll be fine and dandy once again, dude! Just you wait!" she said, channelling the younger soul beside her had she not been in such a fugue state.
The islander couldn't give a positive response. "But how can things be fine... if I've fallen to this? If I've fallen to Xanthers, no one's safe... Face it... We're all doomed..."
Chiro looked over to the side of the floor and grabbed Yuna's bubbly blue hat, fitting it atop her own hair to try and keep it safe as she leaned her head up against Yuna's. Even with her "idol" under something terrible, the teen Yokoi remembered one of her teachings... "Ichariba Chodei".
"It'll get better, Yuna... you'll see..." Chiro said with a smile, trying to reassure her fallen friend.
"No, it won't... If "Helios" took me, it will take everyone..." the "Helios"-driven soul said, hiding her head between her knees in the sorrows the substance was feeding her.
It was the beginning of Xanthers' plan being set in motion. Take a strong heart and make it his "host". Then take it to the highest point and unleash the "Metropolis" project, causing absolute pandemonium as everything would become assimilated.
One of these steps was already complete, the other was being done as Xanthers was plotting a course to the tallest point in the city. Chiro only hoped that Kyozuki Yamada and the Stitches would be able to save them and save Yuna from "Helios". She had to wonder how him and the others were keeping upon their separation and if a plan of their own was underway...
An hour later, Kyozuki opened the door up to his house's attic, one that was accessible from the roof of the hallway. He led Jumba and Pleakley up the way to the room about while the Stitches remained downstairs, to which the Kweltikwan was able to fit through.
The attic was a dusty sort covered in forgotten belongings of the Yamada family- broken surfboards, several knick-knacks and appliances and other things among the dim room only lit by the window in the corner bringing in the light from outside, however low it was due to the clouds looming.
"What is this very filthy place?" Pleakley asked.
Kyo couldn't help but feel a little insulted by the word "filthy", but knowing both of the Admins weren't of Earth, he pressed onward.
"Mm... well, this is our attic. We haven't really had much use for this place since our Dad went into the hospital, so it's been collecting dust ever since," Kyo explained.
"Ugh... by Earth standards, this is totally something I'm going to have to clean up by any means necessary! This just won't do-"
Pleakley was interrupted by Jumba who bumped himself in past the ranting Plogonarian.
"Excellent! This wooden stock reminds me of home! Thank you, teenage boy!" he said, shaking Kyo's hand.
He rubbed the back of his head in a modest way. After all, the urban heart was glad someone appreciated his offer of a room at least. "Heheh, don't mention it, dude!"
"This is why we were total opposites at the Federation's community college..." the Plogonarian sighed. He set the green suitcase onto an empty corner of the room, one not cluttered with odd belongings and clicked the lock on the green luggage.
Clicks and clacks resounded from the green suitcase as the group. "You might wish to step back, teenage boy..." Jumba urged, as Kyo stepped back near Jumba and Pleakley.
In a matter of seconds, the suitcase unfolded and burst out a flow of smoke from inside.
Kyo couldn't help but cough at the smoke, he was human after all. "W- What the heck, dude? Warn a guy before you smokescreen my house!"
"Wait just a second, teenage boy..." Jumba reassured Kyo.
As the smoke cleared out from the room's right half, it was revealed that the suitcase had transformed into a green-coated lab room, following suit in the color of the ship. Computers and equipment adorned the cubic mobile lab, one that this alternate Admin Jumba Jookiba felt right at home at.
Kyo looked surprised at this, it was alien- very much like the TV shows and the movies he'd seen Jumba in, but lightweight enough that it wouldn't have caved the traditional house he and Uncle Haka lived in in. The attic had become one half forgotten junk, one half scientific marvel.
"Duuuuuude..." Kyo said in awe.
Jumba chuckled as he walked right from the wood of the attic onto the green of the lab. "Home sweet lab, am I right?" he said, seating himself on a trusty lab chair that fit his girth as Pleakley also walked on.
Kyo shrugged the awe of the lab away as Jumba went right to his computer screens. "Well, now that we're set up here, hopefully you wouldn't mind answering a few questions for me, Jumba?"
"Sure! Fire away, teenage boy!"
"Xanthers... how was he able to tear up the entirety of that city square and listen in on us so easily? I know from what Stitch showed me Chrystons are powerful psychics, but it couldn't be to that extent!" the Yamada boy asked.
"Xanthers was always a tricky sort. And a normal Chrystek ship would never give him that potential power. But he enhanced that Chrystek of his, the wires hanging from around are connected to a form of psychokinetic modification unit in his ship. His destruction of the city square and use of telekinesis to read minds certainly came from him using that very modification unit and the moment those wires around the ship fall when his creation goes active, that amplifier goes with it."
"So, away from that one little thing on his ship, he's not as powerful?" Kyo curiously asked.
"Oh, definitely. A common Chryston is able to read minds and use psychokinesis. With enough mastery, they're able to use it to the extent Xanthers did against all of us. But while he is extreme, he can be taken down. His powers are only limited to so many things around him..." Jumba explained.
"But shouldn't we be focusing on the "Metropolis" project? I can't bear to think those two girls, let alone the entire city here could be in trouble because of that mad man!" Pleakley butted in the scientific questionnaire.
The Kweltikwan nodded. "Yes... that is first worry, besting the "Helios" should it be one of them has become a host. Then we'll worry about the Chryston later."
Almost as if it was on some terrible cue, a loud yell came from downstairs.
"KYOZUKI YAMADA! I'D HATE TO BRING UP UNCLE'S INTUITION, BUT COME DOWN HERE AND SEE THIS!" the voice yelled shakily.
Pleakley and Kyo had run down to the Yamada's living room to find the apparent source.
Both of the Stitches, along with the straw-hatted Uncle Haka looked on at the Sony television set against the wall in alarm at what was shown on the other side of the screen as Kyo and Pleakley joined them.
"Isa naga beautifa, dude..." Kyo's Stitch said. Yuna's Stitch only added a nod and a glare.
On the television screen, a reporter was in the middle of explaining what looked, from the live picture on the opposite side of the screen- to be a purple blob that surrounded around the legs of Kotokan Tower and spread out to the area around, trees and other smaller posts getting engulfed in its multiplying form.
It looked like the mass was attached like flesh to a pink-ish core in the center of the Eiffel Tower-like structure, with cords unhooked and connected to the tower legs from the Chrystek high above Kotokan, matching what Jumba explained about the amplifier going offline.
Even worse, the amorphous thing was growing slowly yet surely outward to more of the world, its murky essence shifting between the violets and purples within. The words of the reporter though confirmed everyone's suspicions of the terror that was going on outside.
"To those within the Kamakura area, we ask that you find a place of shelter! Just minutes ago, one of our news rovers in the air caught what looked like cartoon star Yuna Kamihara on the roof of Kotokan Tower and what looked of a purple liquid in front of her. Beside her was confirmed to be daughter of Grant Yokoi, Chiro Yokoi- known for her bustling work at the family run Yokoi Breads. Before the feed was stopped though, the liquid began to grow out at a surprising rate, transforming into what is now covering Kotokan Tower. It is assumed that the two females are stuck inside of the core dead center of the impending purple chaos that is growing outward into the city. We advise everyone to stay away, as it is believed that this is all connected to the alien spacecraft connected to the purple mass above the city. Fiction is beginning to merge with reality here in Kamakura and the rest of the world is staring baffled. For TV Asahi News..."
The group- Kyo, Pleakley, the elder Haka and the Stitches all watched in complete shock as the report ended. The blob at the far-northern part of the city had only one cause. Not to mention, he took one of their own as "host".
"Yuna! Naga takabah!" Yuna's Stitch called out in his anger.
"That's gotta be "Helios"- isn't it, Stitch?"
"Ih... at least, meega think so!"
"I figured... plus, with Yuna already seen in public via the news, there goes our sense of cover we've kept up for so long..."
"Ih..." both Kyo and his partner 626 had agreed to themselves.
Haka though, looked to his relative Kyo in worry.
"Kyo... are you going to be going out there to fight that thing with Stitch?" he asked, his usual smiling demeanour thrown off for a moment.
"We aren't fighting that thing, since it'd wipe the floor with us... but we're gonna be fighting against who dropped it into Kamakura, that's for sure, dude..." the teen nodded.
Uncle gave a low look to him, he knew when he said that, things weren't going to be easy for him and Stitch.
"I know you look up to your "idols" and all... but this isn't a TV show... this is reality. Are you sure you're willing to risk it, Kyozuki?" he asked.
The Yamada boy only nodded with a big smile to his guardian. "Don't you worry about me, Haka... Stitch and I? We won't stop 'til the city's back to normal... well, as normal as it can be for a buncha us on the wave, you know?" he chuckled to the elder.
"Was it ever normal, gaba ee?" Yuna's Stitch quipped in.
Uncle Haka could see Kyozuki's confidence in him. His gut said to hold the boy back for his own safety, but he knew to forget what his gut told him and give the Yamada boy the vote he surely needed- not one against him, one with him.
The eldest smiled to the younger boy.
"Then go show that alien what you and a celebrity like Stitch are made of! Especially two of 'em!"
"Seriously, Uncle?"
"Yeah, seriously! Would I lie about you kicking alien keister? An Uncle knows these things! Now get on with your plan before Kamakura's under purple sludge, dude!" he said, urging Kyo along.
He smiled back at Haka. "Thanks, dude... we'll do our hardest!"
"I'll come back... I'll come and get you, we can run away tonight..."
Kyo recognized that as his Disney phone's ringtone.
"Wolf Club... no one else's in the room but mine..." he uttered, picking it up and giving his own greeting to whoever was on the end.
"I dunno, that ringtone sounds pretty spiffy..." Pleakley followed.
"Kyo, it's Jonathan... I wanted to call and let you know me and my P.S.Y.C.H team currently have a citywide evacuation underway given that purple Jell-O that has shown up..."
"Jonathan! Dude, you can't tell how happy I am to hear you! Uhh... but where are you gonna lead everyone?"
"Well... that's where you're gonna help me, kid. You know this city's lifestyle... what's the one place that'd be safe and sound from that gelatin? And hurry, before that thing grows out of control and people actually get caught in the crossfire..."
Kyozuki gave it some thought to Mr. Pride before it dawned on him. What did the people of Kamakura absolutely adore beyond the iconic surfer's den of the beach? The "flash-mobs". And he knew just the one who could help in the evacuation of the Kamakura city, knowing of the several cell phones and communications in the area. It was the digital era after all.
"Jonathan, call up the number 0467-41-1337. That's my friend Zane, if you get in touch with him, maybe you guys can double up and make it seem like a DJ party's happening down at the Kamakura beach! Sure, they'd show up in confusion as to why there's no party, but as soon as you say what's going on, there's no way they'll turn tail. Trust me, I know Kamakurans, dude..."
"Kid, that's false advertising... but I like it. I'm gonna get to that immediately before anyone gets hurt in the line of that dark slime's path. Thanks, Kyo... I certainly hope you have a plan to stop this along with your friends..."
Kyo nodded as Jonathan hung up, stuffing the phone in his pocket as the ears folded down on the device.
"Well... it's now or never, we've gotta scheme something up with Jumba on how to stop that glob from eating our city alive for Xanthers' plans... If he knew about Xanthers, there's a shot he might know how to stop this "Helios" onslaught without us getting close to that thing, right?" he asked both Stitches.
The two Experiments excessively nodded.
"Ih! Isa time to get Yuna back!"
"Meega with tay 100%, bro..."
Kyo, the Stitches and Pleakley ran up the pull-down stairs to the attic as Haka looked their way upon their leave.
"You're reminding me more and more of your Dad, Kyo... he'd pull moves like this all the time. That's why ya looked up to him. Heck, you could run the Yamada surf shack someday... But maybe I'm looking too far ahead?" he said with a chuckle, tilting his straw hat up and feeling rather proud of the boy he had a hand in raising.
From hereon in, it was all on them to stop a cataclysm from growing out of hand...
Over the course of minutes as the clock struck midnight, the "Helios" mass had grown out from the pile merely surrounding the area of Kotokan to another yard of the cityscape nearby. The structures caught in the path of the sludge teetered and tilted by the force of the blob pushing all around them. It was to be believed in another hour, a quarter of Kamakura would be engulfed...
The Astral Jumpers had watched from the distance at the danger zone the "Helios" was creating from a building they knew as familiar down near Kamakura Dock. While it was shut down from the public, they weren't necessarily the ordinary public. They wouldn't have known what the duo had done in their time.
Regardless, the building was familiar to the duo because of the door Yai decided to "mark" with their Tantalog-esque symbol, it still hanging on the rooftop door.
"Kyohaku, what is that purple mess?" Yaiko had asked her partner, having never seen anything like it in her few years of spacial travel.
The doppelganger Stitch shook his head, for once he didn't have an answer to give the young soul. "Naga know... but meega know we should keep our distance like we already are..."
"I can only assume it was this Chryston's work... and if that's the case, we shouldn't be a part of it. Whether this world makes it out alive or not is none of our concern. In fact, Kyohaku- I think it's time we up and left," Yai concluded.
"Gaba? Left?" Kyohaku had asked the girl.
She nodded, knowing her answer after leaving from Opion days ago. "Yeah, left... that girl from the Tri-Rune has already seen me too many times, her suspicions could be dangerous to our plans if she gets too deep... plus, it's almost time for our true intent to go live. You know what I mean, yes?" Yai followed with a wink and a smirk.
Kyohaku knew immediately what she meant, the very thing they had been hanging out in the alleys of Kamakura for, let alone dumpster diving near Kotokan before the "Helios" began to spread. A plan that carried their motive to show the Federation where they went wrong.
"Ih... Codename Nuntium... the very thing we were digging in the trash for."
Yai nodded at this, her cold shoulder showing.
"Yes, that... you said before you were ready to install the transmitter for Nuntium in a good place?" she inquired. Kyohaku gave another nod.
"Ih... isa in a dumpster nearby that ice cream shop before we took to higher ground. Provided blob naga takes it out... we should be still in business..."
Yai nodded again, her chuckling turning into a laugh and a snort after- "This is all coming together... After all these doings against the Galactic Federation and company, Nuntium will be the be-all end-all of our plans... All those transmitters we've placed across the universe won't be in vain, isn't that right, Kyohaku?"
Kyohaku only gave a modest look in return. "Yes... but gaba ee? Gaba the big idea tay have after this all goes into effect?"
Yai looked at him with a cross of her arms, very much in thought. "We'll figure that out once Nuntium is done. Although, I've remember from my colony something that'd give us enough power to turn the tables on what we're up against... But no matter, for now, we keep this on the low. We don't need anyone, especially anyone on the side of the Federation figuring out about Nuntium before we put it into execution. Correct?" she quizzed her Jumper opposite.
"Ih... meega know the plan, tay'll put that into effect when they least expect it," the opposite said, pointing out the red gem that laid on the very mechanism that read Yai's Cosmo's Cards.
The flaxen-haired girl looked to her partner once more. "Well... with all that said and done, shall we take our modest leave?" she asked, giving a soft smile to Kyohaku Stitch.
The other nodded, knowing Yai wouldn't have given her "thanks" or compliment him. It wasn't anything personal, but with her having been served the worst in life with A-113 and the galactic travels following, her mood took several a shift down to dissonant.
Kyohaku Stitch took his claw and scratched into the thin air near the center of the building. Much like before, it wasn't just a swipe for nothing, as a gateway was created and cleaved open by that of Kyohaku's prototype claw, opening up an aperture to another realm entirely.
"The co-ordinates are exact this time... now maka maka," he said, the Variated Experiment taking no time in leaping through the portal as it hung open for Yai to leave through.
Yai though, before she left, looked back to Kamakura in a form of pity. She wasn't of good will, but part of her mind yelled at her to do something to help out against this growing menace "Helios". Again, it was the briefest pause for a criminal so cold and distant- a hint that maybe she wasn't all bad somewhere in that heart of hers. She could've listened to her head if she so wanted to, she was still human...
...But she didn't. She instead turned around, not letting her worry take her over as she walked into the portal her Jumper partner opened, it closing behind her. She threw away whatever she was feeling over the city and left, clearly more concerned for her own plans than with the lives of thousands in a city that seemed in peril.
All that was left from the Jumpers being in Kamakura was a transmitter in one of the dumpsters near Aisu Machi and that of their eclectic insignia on the door on the roof of a dockside building, things that clearly weren't of any help to the city in their time of need.
Although, what was Codename Nuntium? It needed transmitters and had to involve the real United Galactic Federation, yes- but what was it that the two criminal minds were planning for not just the parallel realm of Kamakura, but the universe beyond? Now certainly wasn't the time to find out...
"Multiplicity at its finest... Oy gevalt..."
Jumba Jookiba said staring at his computer screen in his lab, Kyozuki and the Stitches having joined him minutes ago. Being as it was already late at night, Kyo decided it best to try and keep himself awake via a caffeinated energy drink, its label reading "Monster".
He wished he could have given something to either of the Stitches, but he knew what would have occurred if he did- completely manic activity from either Experiments, something that would have hindered their chances to fix what "Helios" had started due to the devastation the Experiments would've caused.
Luckily, the two cute and fluffy aliens didn't look like they needed anything like that, what with having nocturnal senses from one of the hundreds of species that went into their creation in their systems.
On the lab's computer screen, the group looked at a birds-eye view map of Kamakura, it showing a massive amount of red dots near the main beach, showing P.S.Y.C.H had succeeded in their intent to get the city folk down to safe ground. Or at least, safer than what would've happened if they stayed in the city with what Jumba had explained about "Helios".
Speaking of "Helios", the screen showed that the growing violet threat had covered a small chunk of the city from Kotokan Tower where the purple gunk was connected to the Chrystek and the core to farther out, where it looked like in another hour leading into the morning hours, the alien mass would have leaked into the Gozan and the natural Genjiyama Park.
"See, I assume in matter of 24 hours... Kamakura will have been swallowed whole by this, even those humanoids on the beach. Xanthers, you are psychopath, I hope you realize this..." Jumba said, cursing the opposite scientist.
"To Katuna with that logic! I bet the two of these little monsters, let alone the fancy human boy want that to happen!" Pleakley retorted.
Kyo looked at him wondering how in the world he knew of a certain sand planet from a TV special, but he nodded regardless.
Yuna's own Stitch joined into Pleakley's protest. "Ih! Meega want Yuna back, naga this purple stuff from fridge of orange juice ad!"
Kyo noticed how tense his own Stitch was getting. His low growl, his eyes going in and out of their usually timid state. He knew his Experiment wasn't alike Yuna's, who was a little more of a troublemaker and a outgoing soul for an alien made for pure destruction.
Kyo's on the other hand, he had raised with a sense of lightening him up. His was a savage and feral genetic Experiment, with the intent to hurt and to destroy still in his blood. It just took the heart of the "master surfer" near him to stop that and get some control.
"Dude..." Kyozuki said, putting a hand on his Stitch, who in turn quelled at his touch and looked at him.
"Don't worry... we'll give that mad doctor a piece of his mind soon. First, like Jumba said before, our friends..." he said kindly.
His Stitch, knowing the Kamakuran meant the universe in changing him from bad to good, breathed in and nodded. "Ih... soka..."
"Don't mention it, dude... I know well that this is a stressful time..." Kyo said, rubbing his dark blue partner's back before he stood back up.
"So, Jumba- my question is, does that thing have a weakness? You seemed to remember every other bit and piece about that Doctor Helios' files, how 'bout a weakness before Kamakura ends up becoming a core part of you-know-who's science experiment?" Kyo asked the Admin of this universe's broken Federation force.
The Kweltikwan looked in thought, stroking his wide chin.
"Well... there are two weaknesses, but they have to be applied equally, one before the other..." he said.
"Really? Two?"
"Yes, teenage boy... two. See, upon thorough scan, I've come to the analytic conclusion that the weakness of the "Metropolis" project is positive solution of this..." Jumba had explained to the young Yamada, pausing.
"Sodium."
The others looked in confusion.
"Really? Salt?" Pleakley asked, dumbfounded by such a simple weakness for a dangerous scientific anomaly looking to use anything and everything it could get like "Helios".
"Not just any salt, my Admin partner... salt mixed with compound H20. As it turns out, saltwater is very major weakness to the element of "Helios", able to break it down quickly and without harm. Granted ecosystems might be little shaky from using such means, but it should deal with the element and stop it from further multiplicity..." Jumba continued.
Kyo cut into this instantly. "But the only saltwater we have's the ocean out farther right now, dude! How are we gonna bring that to break down that thing before it finds more hook ups to feed itself with?" he said, gutted.
"That's... not the only saltwater in the area, teenage boy..." Jumba said with a simple smirk.
Yuna's Stitch tilted his head at this answer- "Gaba ee? Naga blabla?"
The Administrator Jumba cleared his throat- "Rainwater has been said to have trace elements of salt in it if near an ocean or any place with high sodium compound, yes?"
Kyo's eyes widened, him fixing his glasses after. "...Rainwater has traces of salt near the ocean, DUDE! You're a genius!"
"Eheh... "evil genius", keesa may guess?" Yuna's Stitch corrected Kyo.
The teen knew what with the clouds rolling over the sky above tonight, it would've rained at some point. He just didn't know when. However, an opposite thought dawned on the young teenager's mind, knowing he and Stitch couldn't go out there to fight the thing like any normal enemy from one of his films or TV programs.
"Uhh... One question... would that rainwater melt down that freaky core the blob's connected to?"
Jumba instantly shook his head. "That central core has too much inner workings to it. Xanthers genetically modified that core so it could be extreme engine to his crazy "network", fuelling the shifting mass no matter what happens. Provided we were able to break the main "Helios" spectrum and send gelatinous creation packing, if the core was still active, it would merely create more "Helios" because of the grasp on so-called "host", that little girl."
Kyo looked on at the Admin. "I suppose that's where the second weakness comes in?" he asked.
Jookiba nodded. "Yes, teenage boy, let me explain", he paused.
"The core was made to ward off any radio waves or outside Earthly connections from world in order to make its own for the "host" out of the sole intent of keeping him... or her, under emotional lock and key. This means your ordinary Earth cell phone or radio won't work in there, as is only affecting element that is part of "Metropolis" project", the Kweltikwan stated.
Kyo looked to his Disney Mobile phone again. "Dang... guess that I can't contact Chiro with my phone, huh?"
"Yes. See, the only thing that would break the "host" and its connection to the core is the one true thing it cares for. Something that close to heart of "host" will cause the thing to shut down. Then and only then we would just have to hope that it rains tonight..."
It was then the word dawned on Pleakley. "Earthly".
"Hey, hold up just a comet-chasing minute! You said "Earthly" devices, didn't you, Jumba? What if there was any devices that weren't of this Earth in that core? Maybe then we'd have a shot at taking that thing down!" the Plogonarian wondered.
This caused Kyo to jerk up in excitement. He had an idea.
"Earthly"? ...Hold on... That's it, dude! I've got it!"
"You've got what? Case of the jitters, teenage boy?"
"No, no, Jumba! I have an idea about how we can get in touch with Chiro in that core! Maybe even perk Yuna back to normal!" the human exclaimed to the alien scientist.
"What about Yuna's Good Deed Memory?" Kyo asked with a smile.
Yuna's Experiment 626 instantly perked up at the sound of this, gasping. "YUNA'S MEMORY! Akata!" the genetic creature exclaimed.
"Good... Deed... Memory, you say? Explain..." Jumba said, bewildered at the idea of such a device.
"Yuna has this PDA-like device called a Good Deed Memory on her. You... or actually, another version of you made it for her and it's kinda got its own wavelength, plus a map system, music services, instant messaging and calls, etcetra etcetra- anyways, that's not important! If that core stops "Earthly" signals, Yuna's own device should get a total bypass, dude!" Kyo said, bringing his idea full-circle to the "evil genius" before him.
"Are you sure the other human girl in there would take such notice? And what in the world would I even do to contact such little girl's personal device?" he asked, turning in his lab chair to meet the teenager's glassed eyes.
Kyo bumped over Jumba with a smirk, taking to the keys of the alien computer. "Allow me!" he chuckled, typing at a quick-fire rate a series of numbers from the Tantalog keys of his computer. "Wait, you wouldn't know about computers like this! What if you-"
"Access of call reach: Yuna Kamihara's personal Good Deed Memory device..." the computer said after Kyozuki finished his typing.
Jumba and Pleakley looked to Kyo stunned at what he just did. "What? I've watched Stitch's adventures longer than any sane person would- of course I would know the code of a Good Deed Memory! Granted, the numbers are different between both hers and Sae's, but it's there!" he said, stopping a moment.
"And don't ask me for Sasha's, I wouldn't know hers off the bat like Yuna's. Besides, I only know that number from something microscopic in one of the episodes... It's the little details..."
"Well, if we're going to take down a evolving entity like "Helios", we have to start with first step..." the Kweltikwan said, pressing a button and starting a call with the device within the core of the madness.
Kyo nodded to himself. "Right... step one's breaking Yuna outta that core nonsense... then step two? We do a rain dance and hope for the best for Chiro and Yuna before the madness starts again..."
All eyes- between Stitch, alien and humankind alike were on Jumba's computer screen on the green lab of the attic, as it attempted to connect to Yuna's own device from within a terror zone that was growing by the hour. The others crossed their hearts, hoping that Chiro would've heard the device ring a mile away...
The inside of the "Helios" core was basic, a magenta void to match the sphere that powered the growing nightmare outside. Within this blank space, Chiro and the "Helios host" Yuna sat, Chiro trying more and more to get her friend turned around from the influence the element seemed to force-feed her.
She fixed the bubbly hat of Yuna's atop her head as she continued to find a way to get to the younger one that would have toppled over the mad doctor's plan.
"Yuna! You've taken worse in your life, I know you have, dude! And I know you have the power to be able to turn this around! Please!" Chiro budged Yuna, who sat hugging her legs in depressed way.
"Just... leave me alone... You know, like I should've been my whole life..." Yuna said.
Clearly, the "Helios" fed bad memories into her head, ones that she had tried to leave in the past.
Chiro looked in worry at Yuna, just as much as down as the hollow-eyed tomboy. "Why... why won't you fight back like you would on TV?"
...That was until the familiar 5-note chime of the Good Deed Memory filled the air. Chiro immediately looked down Yuna's pocket. Not caring about the idea of stealing her device for one minute, Chiro grabbed out the device from Yuna's left pocket, the Kamihara conduit too depressed to care, let alone notice.
Chiro looked at the device to see the blue ears perk right up, a mail icon and a question mark showing up on the screen before it. Pressing a single button, Chiro was determined to figure out who was able to get through in here where her cell phone failed.
"Hello? This is working, yes?" a familiar voice cut in.
"Jumba!?"
Chiro seemed shocked at who it was.
Jumba Jookiba had succeeded in getting into touch with Yuna's Good Deed Memory after Kyozuki had set up the connection to it. Turns out their hunch was right, only Earth devices were affected by the core.
"That's me, young girl!"
"Chiro, you're alright! Ohh... you had me worried you'd be in a total wipeout, dude!" Kyo said with relief.
"Yeah, I'm fine... Yuna on the other hand isn't. I keep trying to get through to her, but every attempt she just shrugs me off and goes on about how "Helios" is gonna destroy everything and how she should just be all alone..." Chiro explained.
Jumba nodded, Yuna's Stitch easing into the frame of the Memory's screen. "Is sounding like little girl is already deep into "host" process. Tell me, how long has she been under?"
"At least three or four hours. She went after twilight and it's just past midnight now, dudes..." Chiro told to Jumba.
Yuna's Stitch went on- "Tay are gonna have to do our first job for us, Chiro!"
"What? What do you mean "first job", I can't do much in here! What makes you think I can?"
Kyo again looked into the frame of Jumba's computer, or to Chiro, the Memory screen. "Chiro, our Admin here's figured out the weakness of that purple junk. And that starts with you. You gotta use what Yuna loves most and conk her out of the "host" process! Then it'll stop the core!" he brought forth.
"But what happens if the core breaks and we fall into the "Helios"? Then it's all over for us, dude!" the opposite teen asked.
Kyo reassured her. "Just trust us! It's getting cloudy over Kamakura right now and if the core bursts at just the right time, it might end up raining and take out the most of what's already in the city!"
"You mean to tell me rainwater's gonna destroy that stuff?"
"I know, it's pretty hard to believe! But Jumba says because we live near the ocean, salt could get mixed in with the rain and break it down once it starts raining! We just gotta get you to break Yuna out of that thing's control and the rest should be smooth sailing!" Kyozuki told the disbelieving girl.
"But how do I do that? What would break something like that? I've tried everything, she just keeps being irreversibly sad, dude!" Chiro exclaimed.
"Gaba tried what was closest to her? Gaba ee?" Yuna's Stitch explained with a smile through the screen of the girl's device.
Chiro looked surprised. Much like Kyo knew, she knew what would've swayed Yuna in the heart of danger. Something she knew near and dear to her heart.
That wasn't the only thing near though. As Yuna sat in isolated way by herself and Chiro talked to the others via the Good Deed Memory, the slosh of "Helios" began to resound from behind her, causing her eyes to jerk up.
Turning, she caught wind of what made the sound, or rather what it had become...
The slimy sound of "Helios" seemed to come from what looked like... Yuna. But it wasn't her. Whereas the real her in the guise of her "Flo" disguise sat nearby, this odd duplicate of her stood there like a crooked puppet dressed in the girl's usual outfit of a floral shirt and slacks, her bare feet on the ground of the pink void they were in. What was the most unsettling part were the dead purple eyes of this clone and the insane grin that she bore to Chiro.
"Was...I interrupting something?" she said, mustering a rather demented chuckle after, taking on a pitch-perfect mimicking of Yuna's own voice.
Jumba heard this on the other end of the Memory. He knew what was going on instantly from the sound of the third girl's voice. "Oh no... little girl's been part of the "Helios" process for too long..." he uttered, Chiro hearing him.
"What?! What do you mean, Jumba?"
"This thing has sapped the young girl's emotions to point where it is starting to replicate her for sake of self-defense... recall my explanation before the Chryston attacked us?" he said. Chiro nodded after at his explanation, remembering just what he had said about the "Metropolis" project duplicating the "host" with enough exposure.
"Listen... I'm gonna go. I promise I'll get Yuna back to the way she is, Jumba..."
"I know you will, teen girl... Good luck..." Jumba said as Chiro's finger hit the alien device's star button.
Chiro stuffed the Good Deed Memory in her pocket, ending the call and meeting the unrealistic eyes of this second Yuna. It had turned into a stand-off between the two...
"...You humans... are confusing creatures, you know that? Relying on one another so aimlessly and so diligently. Yet you turn around and backstab one another on a dime because of greed. One by one, you always turn out the same- your ill intent contaminating every relationship you've had..." the being stated, chuckling to herself rather confidently.
"And? You think you know humanity so well?" Chiro said, a bit on the afraid side as she stared down the other.
"...I've learnt enough within the last few hours... 9:37pm, Yokoi Breads. Your father, Grant- seems to be worried sick over you. He's thought about cutting off ties with the Yamada family, including the boy you've been crushing on since grade school. 10:42pm, Yamada household. Kyozuki thought of leaving you behind to go save his father at Kazuka Hospital. 11:56pm..." the drone went on and on about things that supposedly happened, exact time frames too.
Chiro's eyes twitched, she knew this apparition was lying. "SHUT UP! I know you're lying to me just so I'll give up and join Yuna! It's not gonna work! You've got her pinned down via some kinda chemical mess, but you'll never pin me down!"
"...Oh well. I tried. After downloading enough surveillance data from the city, you would assume any human would snap at the truth of the matter. That every one of you fleshlings betray one another at some point. No matter... every single soul in this city will become a part of the "Helios" network Xanthers has planned. A "metropolis" under his command, if you will. And they will enjoy it! How would it feel to be part of something that is all knowing, all powerful even? I'm sure anybody in their lifetime, especially a human being would love it!" she followed with a cackle to herself, keeping the grin she kept.
Her grin was short-lived though, as Chiro looked sternly to her. She wasn't having any of this entity's propaganda-esque statements.
"And you think you know the truth? Be real here and think logically, human... know your place..." the second Yuna said, sidestepping and watching Chiro with that hollow gaze ever still.
"I do. I know my friends wouldn't abandon me in a time where the city needs it. I certainly haven't abandoned Yuna either in her time of need. And I know for sure that you... oohoho, you of all people have no right using one of my friends, let alone my "idols" as a surrogate for what you've got planned! You're a total phony, dude! And I see right through you, no matter what you've downloaded or known from whatever you've got in that ever-growing and ever-evolving goop, I know you've got no right to stare down at us like this! Something can only grow for so long before it falls... and I'm gonna stop that endless growth by taking Yuna with me! I'll die before you can make me a part of that stupid "network"! You... you monster!" Chiro yelled, allowing what was seen as bravery through her words. She looked angrily to the "Helios"-induced clone of her "idol" watching her every move.
The drone only smirked at Chiro. "...Well. You said it yourself. You'd die before you joined us. You brought this on yourself, Earthling..."
These last words caused the Yuna clone's eyes to go yellow, turning her irises into feral lines down the girl's eyes. Her height shifted, becoming taller than Chiro at this point and dwarfing over the real Yuna's height.
Her hands and arms jerked and transformed, becoming odd purple claws meeting the tan skin of the girl this thing had replicated. Her bare feet jolting out of way and becoming rather jilted forms of themselves. Adding more to the monstrous transformation, the clone's face took what would've been Yuna's usual nose, ears, hair and face, spiking them out in a lethal-looking manner.
Finally, her mouth and teeth transformed into a horrific cubic mouth and behind her, a pair of spiky wings sprouted from the monster's back. The being had turned from a doppelganger of Yuna Kamihara into a monster that mixed Yuna's attributes and turned them into a nightmare, purple and red colors mixed into the extended limbs of the beast.
Its eyes set onto Chiro as its demented take on Yuna's own vocal chords let out a shrill yell...
"NOW DIE WHILE YOU HAVE SOME DIGNITY LEFT IN YOU, HUMAN FILTH!"
Chiro, looking in fear, leaped out of the way as the monster Kamihara flew at her in a form of bloodlust.
It was clear what she had to do, get Yuna back to herself before this traumatizing "Helios" self-defense mechanism killed her and before worse could happen to the city below. She didn't want to think about the idea of more of these Yuna clones down in Kamakura causing pandemonium.
Her head tilted over to Yuna in the corner of the chaos.
"Yuna, you have to fight this! Before this thing actually kills me!" she yelled to the girl in her fugue state.
"I can't though! What makes you think I can? I'm just... a pawn in his game..." she said, forced into defeat by the chemical signs of "Helios".
The monstrous duplicate turned around, flying for Chiro. "LET YOUR FEAR GIVE IN SO I CAN MAKE THIS QUICK!" the creature yelled, taking a swipe for Chiro again.
Again, she leapt out of harm's way, though one could tell the duplicate was catching onto her moves.
Chiro tried again, trying to not only fight her fear of standing at death's door, but against the monster chasing her.
"Yuna, you can fight this! I know you care about all of us and if you cared, you would stop this mess, dudette!" she yelled.
"Quit trying to, I know I'm useless! I know there's no way out of this!" the Kamihara girl bluntly said again in monotone way.
Something tackled over Chiro after this, sending her sliding across the magenta floor of the core.
Leaning over the girl's body, the "Helios" spawn eyed her, its yellow eyes and twisted version of Yuna's face looking deep into Chiro's scared eyes. She was trying her best to be brave, she really was- but fighting against something that could give children nightmares kept her at bay.
The monster raised its human-met-"Helios" claw, ready to strike down Chiro and deliver the final blow. "Ready to meet destiny where it sits, Earthling? Because your destiny is death..." it said out of its cubic mouth, drool oozing out.
Chiro was scared, but she knew she only had one last thing to resort to as a few drops of the monster's spit fell near her. It was what she was going to say when Stitch said "closest thing to her".
As her eyes teared up, she gave one last yell before the monstrosity carved her a new one...
"WHAT ABOUT "OHANA", YUNA!?"
Yuna turned her head up after this. She was slowly met with something she recognized. "...O- Ohana?"
The Yuna-monster's claw trembled, knowing its power was starting to fall apart with its "host" starting to slip.
"WHAT!? No!" it yelled, its yellow eyes narrowing to try and deliver that final blow it so desperately wanted to give to the Yokoi girl.
"Y- Yeah, Yuna! "Ichariba Ohana"! It... means... "meet once... family forever"... right?" Chiro explained, half in tears.
Yuna looked in her own world as the tense situation lingered with the monster looming over Chiro... but in reality, she was being met with something far different within the reaches of her mind...
Inside of Yuna's head at that moment, she pictured a pitch black realm... A smaller version of Yuna ran and ran through this black space, trying to mask her tears from the terrors that surrounded her. It was crazy to think that even then, the young girl had warn a smaller variation of what she usually had worn today, her Gram seemed versatile with her wardrobe. Although, she had to have been 6-years-old in this "Helios"-induced vision, reliving a point of her life where she had been most vulnerable.
Thunder rolled and lightning struck the ground nearby, terrifying the poor girl with a scream. In the flash of the lightning, a song was heard as the silhouette of a faceless yet brown-haired woman was seen in the instant it did strike.
"Baby mine... don't you cry... baby mine, dry your eyes..."
Her Mom had sang that song to her when she was only a baby. It comforted her as a memoir for someone who wasn't there in life. While it left a hole she couldn't fill in life, she made due with her grandparents later, especially Obaa. But there was barely any time for her to stay in place and feel comforted, she kept running away, the tears still coming down the young one's face.
Next, crashing waves seemed to roll about the edge of what felt like a drop off. The sight of a boat cutting through the waves of what looked to be a pitch black ocean was seen. There, an older man dressed in a blue shirt and tan pants waved outward at what would have been her, his black hair blowing and his glasses watching her with a smile. A mirror of her own voice seemed to echo as the ship seemed to sail on...
"Don't go, Daddy! Daddy!" her mirrored voice cried.
Her Dad left her at the age of six for his job as an oceanographer. And while Yuna had later taken his knowledge of the ocean for herself and learned to become an expert swimmer because of her Gramps, the very thought that her Dad left her behind still lingered with her. Even the trips he forgot, Aguni included. Still, she ran far away.
Again, lightning struck the black reaches from all angles, scaring the young one senseless. One gigantic flash struck the black down as Yuna huddled and hugged herself in defeat. The girl was always scared of thunder and lightning, even today. The flash, the sound, the mere thought set her off. Even more, she was scared that she'd be alone, after her Mom died and her Dad left her there, leaving for his own work.
As her twin fears set in, she felt like nothing would've saved her from feeling this depressed, like she'd be forever trapped in this "Helios" dream, reliving a time in her life she felt like everything had gone wrong...
As the young girl laid shivering in her fears, a comforting tan hand came from out of nowhere and held her shoulder.
"Hey... hey, don't cry..." Yuna had to look up to see who it was, her eyes still wet from crying in this dark place.
Standing before her was... Yuna. It was her at her current age of 10 with a modest smile, her height and appearance double that of the smaller. The younger Kamihara half her size rubbed her eyes.
"W- Who are you? Are you gonna try and scare me?"
"No, no... I am you, silly! And you don't have to be scared!" she explained to her opposite. She grabbed both her hands and stood the younger her up.
"Listen, you don't need to worry anymore. I remember when I was your age. I was so worried every day I'd end up home in tears... The thought of my Dad leaving and all the bullying hurt. That was until Gramps taught me something. Karate. I trained and trained and by the time I was 8, I earned my blackbelt! Of course he passed on some time after and he passed the Chitama dojo onto me and Gram... but I'm still proud of what he taught me, kick-butt karate and swimming skills aside. He taught me to be tougher, stronger! To face the world with a wild heart and nothing but that! To be... well, me! But while I still hate thunder and lightning and I still hate to feel alone... I know for a fact I can do anything for one reason..." the current day islander explained.
"What was that?" the younger asked.
"For "Ichariba Ohana". You'll meet a friend who teaches you that, you know?" she stopped with a chuckle.
"I might be too tough to admit I'm scared, but I can admit that things get better with a little help from friends and family. You become me, you know? You become someone who's able to take on the world with a smile and a hand on heart... and a kata inbetween", she continued.
She raised the younger's smaller hands again. "So please... fight this. Be reunited with your "ohana". We're the same rough tomboy with a good heart, right?" she said, grinning to her younger equivalent.
Her surroundings began to go from black to white, as she looked into the older her's eyes. She believed every word of what she said. Because it was like Yuna had said, "she becomes her".
The youngster's head nodded with an equal grin. "Okay... I will... I will! Meet once, family forever!" she beamed.
The two hummed Mom's memoir to Yuna, her lullaby- together as the space around the young and the old turned fully white and blinding, the midst of this fever dream coming to an end...
"Baby of mine..."
Yuna's eyes had widened as she sat at the end of a vision in her head, tears breaking through her hollow stare. The very thing she cared for was doing something miraculous to her against the "Helios".
"Ohana... means family... family... means nobody gets left behind... or forgotten... I... I remember..." she said.
Chiro smiled at Yuna as the Kamihara-monster brought its claw down, her eyes closed and expecting herself to be dead in a moment.
...
...However, the nightmare's claw had completely missed Chiro, stuck away from her head entirely. Even moreso, it was broken off, as if the Kamihara-based beast had grown unstable.
Suddenly, Yuna clutched her head- it throbbing and hurting more and more as what was truly her collided with the chemical reaction of that of the "Helios" inside. She let out a loud and painful scream before she fell to the floor of the pink core, fainting...
Meanwhile, the self-defense abomination did similar, grabbing its head with an equally loud scream. It clutched its only one hand on its head as the whole of its body, disembodied and disfigured claw broken from its body near Chiro included, began to melt.
More and more, the nightmare began to degrade and break down until it became a mixed tan and purple puddle that further degenerated from there. Chiro sat herself upright as she watched the fearful creature dissolve into nothing, panting...
As she caught her breath from her near-death experience, she ran over to Yuna, holding her unconscious body with both arms.
"Yuna! Oh, Yuna... you're safe..." she said, happy she wasn't able to hear her "idol" in such a depressed manner. That was never her in the first place unless something really set her off. Alas, she was overjoyed to have got through to Yuna with a word she held near and dear to her.
Chiro noticed the "Helios" core was getting smaller and smaller, it starting to fade around her as she stood, Yuna in tow.
"I was brave, Kyo... you owe me a Stitch Shaker..." the Yokoi teen said with a smile.
The two had landed on the higher walkway of Kotokan Tower, the core fully faded now.
Suddenly, a boom was heard from afar in the clouds above. Coming down from the skies one drop at a time was rain- pounding against not just the city's skyscrapers and buildings, but the purple mass of the "Metropolis" project's "Helios", breaking it down with every pint of salt within the raindrops.
In a matter of time, the mass that had rattled the north part of the city had dissipated into nothing, leaving dead trees dash nature and a few buildings off tilt from the assault, their beams and inner workings showing as they teetered. And all without it pouring in and ruining the Genjiyama Park or the farther out Gozan.
Chiro looked up as the rain hit her and Yuna with a smile. "Guess we did that, huh dudette? Together... Ichariba Chodei..." she said with a fangirl's giggle following.
"Always wanted to say that!"
She watched above as the cords of the Chrystek fell, the ship levitating back into the air and flying over the city once more. It was as Jumba explained, once the cords of the ship went off, there was no way to fix them unless you had a tremendous amount of psychic power to place them back.
And without the amplifier unit plugged in, Xanthers was lacking that power. This bought them a lot of time...
Almost as sudden as the "Metropolis" project degenerating to nothing, Chiro heard the tone of the Good Deed Memory again, as she reached into her overalls' pocket and pulled out Yuna's device. She could've used her Samsung cell phone, since it was now able, but the alien device seemed more convenient.
After a press of its star button, she saw it was the entire group.
"Teenage girl, you broke her control!"
"DUDE, YOU DID IT! Man, I could shed a tear at ya, Chiro..."
"Tookibawaba!"
Jumba, Kyo, Yuna's own Experiment and even Pleakley and the opposite Stitch in the background all voiced their cheers to the teenage soul as she gave her smile to the video feed of the group, no words spoken.
"We are not done though... the little girl has only been subdued of "host" process. What you just saw was very breaking of said process, but what we need to do now is to get this girl to "place of clarity", the Kweltikwan Admin explained.
"A place of clarity? Whaddaya mean clarity? We've got plenty of it here, Jumba?" Pleakley argued.
Jumba merely shook his head at his Plogonarian partner. "Not a case of feng shui here, Pleakley... what I mean is, we've got to free her from whatever "Helios" is left inside before it comes back around in hour's time... and the only way to do that is the same way we destroyed the bigger one... Saltwater... do we know a place like that?"
Kyo nodded his head with a smile, as if to recall a place he kept secret.
"I do Jumba. Crescent Beach... kinda my own little peace of paradiso. Chiro, dude- meet me and the others there with Yuna in tow, okay? I've gotta call Jonathan up and tell him to keep the city dudes beachside 'til we're rid of Xanthers..." he explained.
Chiro nodded, knowing perfectly well the scenario at hand. "Right, I'll take the elevator down the tower and meet you guys there.. Ciao!" she said, smiling at the group before ending the call.
She looked to Yuna in accomplishment, smiling at the unconscious girl as she pushed her onto her back.
"Don't you worry, Yuna... you'll be yourself in no time..." she said as she walked into the Tower elevator near the high floor of Kotokan Tower and began her trek towards Crescent Beach...
The way to Crescent Beach wasn't as blocked off as one would've thought from the shifting buildings and dead nature around from the material before it. Carrying Yuna seemed to slow things down too, for a girl who was on a good diet, she was still quite a bit to carry.
Alas, it didn't take long for Chiro to go down the right alleyway she knew well and make it to where Jumba, Pleakley, Kyo and the Stitches all lied on the beach's sandy and beautiful shore as the rain came to a early morning standstill...
Kyo ran up to Chiro and gave as big a hug he could to Chiro, being mindful of Yuna in her arms.
"DUDE! Chiro..." Kyozuki stopped a moment before looking at her.
"I knew you could do it..." he finished his sentence with an honest smile.
Chiro looked at him with a light blush on her face to the Yamada boy. "Being brave? It's easy when you're led by the right people..." she said, smiling at him as if he'd know what she was talking about. Luckily, he knew and he gave a smile right back around.
Kyo took Yuna into his arms, walking towards the waters that crashed against the sands consistently.
"Jumba told me we have to hold her underwater 'til all of that gunk comes out," he said in a serious tone.
"Hold her underwater?! But won't the little one drown? This is honestly a bad idea!" Pleakley butted in.
"Not unless you're her... besides, I know from the TV show that Yuna can hold her own in water, above and below" Chiro explained, coughing an answer that sounded like "2 minutes" inbetween, clearly knowing how good the islander's lungs were.
Jumba nodded to the Yamada as he walked out onto the ocean waves, him nodding back. It was now or never.
Kyozuki lowered Yuna fully under the ocean water, still keeping his arms over her in case she started to drown. Coming out of her nose in a trail was the purple "Helios". As it met the ocean's surface, it began to sizzle and dissolve into nothing.
"Eugh... that's not a very sanitary way to come out," the opposite Admin said, disgusted. And for a Plogonarian to say that, it had to have been quite repulsing.
Second after second passed until a full 30 seconds had gone by. The last of the "Helios" had oozed out and melted away into nothingness as Yuna's body had laid floating underwater.
Yuna's Stitch stepped forward in worry, hoping that did the trick.
"Did... did that do it?" Kyozuki asked, keeping a careful eye on her.
It was then that Yuna's eyes had opened up. Instead of the dim purple hue and the hollow eyes that were previously met with, her eyes had light in them and looked as they always should have, a flush of pure brown.
Looking up at the rippling surface, it took her a moment to realize she was submerged as she tried to breathe out only to find a bunch of air bubbles leave her. With a cover of her mouth, she jolted up and broke the surface, coughing to herself as Kyo let her sit on the sandy coast of Crescent Beach.
"Yuna! Dude, you're back to being you again!" Kyo said with glee.
Yuna looked to the others. "Guys?" she said, her tone coming back to her.
"YUNA!", Yuna's Stitch ran forward, disregarding his usual hate of water for a moment as he hugged his "ohana".
"Meega was worried..." he said as Kyo and Chiro hugged her as well.
"Yeah, us too, dude..." Kyo and Chiro said in unison over Yuna.
She gave one more cough. "Thanks... for saving me, guys..." she said to the others, getting herself up and hugging the three of them, patting their backs with both of her hands.
"I'm glad you guys got me outta that mess... I thought I'd never come back to being me..."
"Well, don't mention it, dudette. After all, "nobody gets left behind", am I right?" Kyo said to Yuna, who equally gave a smile and a nod of her head back to the teen.
Kyo's Stitch walked up to them, Yuna especially given what she had been through tonight. "So... tay okitaka, Yuna?" he asked, rubbing his arm in shy way.
Yuna looked at her hands in curiosity. "You know... it's funny, my arms and legs feel totally weird, but... I feel fine. In fact, I feel better than ever!" she said with a nod, doing a few karate kata with precision before allowing herself to fall into the ocean, floating there with a grin and a blissful sigh.
Chiro though, had something for Yuna.
"Hey yo, Yuna!" she said, Yuna's head perking up out while floating on the water. Chiro reached for the top of her head and threw Yuna her bubbly hat.
"Here, I kept your hat warm for you!" Chiro said as it landed on her chest.
Yuna smiled and picked herself back up, fitting the hat on her head but not bothering to fix her tri-tailed hairstyle. "I knew you wouldn't lose that on me!" she said giggling.
Kyo had some explaining to do given tonight's events. "Well, needless to say- because of what happened tonight, our cover's blown... that means you guys and your disguises'll be no more from hereon in, dude..." he said, lowering his head in a sorry state.
Yuna smiled though, not phased by this news. "Ah well, who cares? Just so long as there's not people asking us to do ridiculous things, at least we won't have anything to hide this time, huh? We're good. And if we're just that, we'll know what to do no matter what reality seems to think."
Yuna was right. What was there to hide now? If they were going to stop Xanthers, they were going to do it as a team of just themselves, nothing to camouflage who they really were. Just a group of humans and aliens fighting for the side of good.
Kyo seemed delighted at this and nodded to Yuna. "I guess that's the best way to look at it, huh? Like Jonathan said, "we've got nothing to hide", dude..."
"Well, duh! That's the only way to look at it now!" Yuna said, as Kyo and Yuna equally laughed.
Yuna's Stitch looked up at the Chrystek hanging over the city and casting it in the shadows once more between the balance of night and morning. With Xanthers out of his "Metropolis" and unable to reattach the amplifier cords he used to do damage and read minds in Kamakura's many people, this bought the group precious time.
"So... now we take the fight to Xanthers? Nala kweesta?" Yuna's Stitch said while raising a fist and giving a stern look, pounding it between his other hand.
Kyo merely put a hand on his shoulder with a nod. "Yeah... now we bring the fight to him, dude..." he reassured Stitch.
Yuna nodded as well, giving as firm a glare to the sky as her partner Stitch was. The synergy they had showed well. "The moment you use me in your evil scheme is the moment I say "you're going down" and mean it!"
Jumba nodded at the group's zeal despite how late at night it was. "Then we regroup... and maybe take rest at teenage boy's house. Then and only then shall we pit us against him..." he said, the group nodding and turning around from Crescent Beach to go back to the Yamada house and rest easy. After all, they couldn't fight Xanthers exhausted from no sleep.
The events of tonight had been a sight for the world to see. The group had met the Federation Admins Jumba and Pleakley and stopped what was a cataclysm in the making from happening via the "Metropolis" project. Chiro learned to be brave with herself and saved her "idol", Yuna. It was a small victory, but one that meant a lot for the city of Kamakura.
And now, it was the final countdown. The Stitches, Kyo, Chiro, Yuna and both of the Admins against that of one psychokinetic madman, Dr. Helios Xanthers... could they win against him come daybreak at his own turf?
They didn't have a choice masking it anymore, as reality had now met fiction and the world knew that the characters they loved were real and fighting with ordinary people to save the Earth. And it was only a matter of time for the group to show the Chryston doctor what was coming to him...