Loonatics: United

The Wrath of Tenebrous

Episode 137: Mirthful

The young sun illuminated the treetops, Ace and Kufai walked over the soft grass, being occasionally hit by warm rays of light. "When men fell, God went to cry to Bapto…at least, that's what tradition states." Kufai said. "The water there is filled with his tears."

Ace had a gaze of intrigue. "And what do you think?"

Kufai thought for a moment. "I think he still goes there, frequently." He lowered his head. "Evil has reached every corner of the universe, in unimaginable ways." Kufai looked into the horizon, with a glare of hope. "But that doesn't mean we have to stop fighting, quite the contrary, Ace." He nodded at his own statement. "There's still good in his creation, we have to preserve it, expand it. A single candle can bring light to a room full of darkness."

Ace was gazing at the horizon as well, with amazement and purpose. "We are the candles."

Kufai chuckled. "Yes." They stopped walking when reaching a cliff that faced the tall and green mountains, the sun over their heads, the light covering the trees and the rivers. Kufai sat down, crossing his legs, followed by Ace. "Look at this." He let out a chuckle of bliss. "What else do you need?"

Ace admired the beauty of the landscape while thinking about Kufai's words. "Thank you." He glared at Kufai. "I mean it."

Kufai looked back at him. "I recognize a warrior when I see it. You are a warrior Ace, a leader. Lead them, with a strong spirit, with faith."

"I will." Ace smirked. "I promise."

Kufai smiled back. "I know." He glared back at the horizon. "Let's just admire this wonderful view, it's a gift, Ace."

The Maniacs and the rest of the Loonatics were taking a walk in the forest. Lexi yawned while stretching. "So, what are we doing today, guys? Cuz I slept like a baby, I'm filled with so much energy now."

"Same, this was my best sleep in years." Vale replied. "Maybe we could, uhm…hm, I guess there's no much stuff to do here."

"Yeah other than seeing lots of trees and rivers and grass, a blue sky with no pollution at all. I'm not complaining I'm actually praising the planet because it's pretty cool." Rev opined.

"We get you, Rev." Duck replied then let out a sigh. "There should be a bar here, that would make me very happy."

"A beer doesn't sound bad." Lexi responded.

"Yeah, you read my mind, sis." Duck yawned. "Is anyone sleepy already?"

"Guys, this is the most incredible thing in the universe." Tech was looking around with awe. "When will we get the chance to see this again?" He glared at them. "I…I'm just amazed with all this nature, it's…perfect. Like seeing a paint in a museum."

"Uhm, you okay man?" Duck raised an eyebrow while glaring at Tech.

"Yes." Tech replied casually.

Akinyi chuckled slightly while shaking her head. "You really are the nerdy type." She looked at him with a smile.

"Yeah he says stuff like that all the time, it can be annoying." Duck said.

"If you had studied, you would understand me." Tech replied, making everyone chuckle.

"Whatever." Duck rolled up his eyes while crossing his arms.

"Aw, don't get angry." Lexi patted his head amicably while letting out a chuckle. "Sometimes you can be so sensitive."

"I'm not…sensitive, I'm an alpha male, don't you see?" Duck pointed at himself.

"A small, alpha male." Akinyi joked.

"Hey, I'm almost as tall as all of you. Well…at least almost as the mouse." Duck gestured at Randy.

Vale chuckled. "Well let me tell you something, inside this guy here…" He patted Randy's back amicably. "…there's a ton of heart, I've seen it since we met."

"Aw yes, you're pure heart, Amigo." Akinyi giggled then hugged Randy, who blushed right away.

"Heh, uhm…thanks." Randy expressed with a soft laugh.

"So, guys, would you like to maybe…do some sparring?" Edison proposed while scratching his nape and gazing at Akinyi.

"Hm, that doesn't sound bad." Lexi looked around. "Outdoors sparring, seems good to me."

"I choose Aki." Edison raised his hand. Randy looked at him while raising an eyebrow.

"Woah, that was fast." Akinyi giggled.

"You wanna get your tail kicked again, sis?" Duck looked at her daringly.

"Keep dreaming." Lexi replied. "You know it's always the other way around." She thundered her fingers while smirking at him with a challenging gaze.

"Hey." Rev told Randy. "You and me bud?"

"Oh, okay." Randy replied.

"I guess it will be a three men match." Vale stated.

Slam growled arrogantly, saying it would be a short match.

"You seem pretty confident, big guy, but be warned, the boss has taught me some neat moves." Tech adopted a battle position. "Bring it on, boys!"

The sparring session started, the heroes began to fight, sportively, having fun in the process, the tackles, kicks and punches were mixed with cocky words, sweat and an intense, fast and vigorous breathing.

After a couple of minutes, they ended the exercise. Lexi had beaten Duck as she forecasted. "I told ya…" She offered him her hand as she recovered her breath. "…I always win."

Duck gasped as he got onto his feet. "I let you win."

"Seems we're even now." Rev helped Randy stand up.

"Yeah." Randy chuckled.

"I think it's a tie." Akinyi was laying over the ground next to Edison, they were recovering their breaths.

"Yeah…I wouldn't mind to decide this in other occasion." Edison chuckled while looking at her.

Akinyi let out a chuckle as well. "Me neither, that'd be nice." She blushed. Edison gasped while getting onto his feet, helping Akinyi do so.

Slam grunted arrogantly while dusting off his arm.

"You're a beast, man." Vale said while recovering his breath.

Tech was rubbing his back. "That's why he's our muscle." He chuckled briefly.

They decided to keep exploring the depths of the forest. The color and height of the trees still amazed their eyes, the sounds of the wilderness were music to their ears. After a long, peaceful walk, they reached Bapto, walking over the white rocky path, between the white mounds. They arrived at the pool, adopting faces of awe while glaring at the waterfall. "This is something else." Tech said with a smile.

Akinyi walked towards the edge, looking at the crystal clear water. "Oh my…" She felt a spark in her heart, which made her smirk with bliss.

"Watch out!" Edison rushed towards her and tackled her, making her and himself fall into the water.

They got their heads out of the water. "Ed!" Akinyi threw some water at him playfully as he laughed.

"Come on, sis!" Duck took Lexi's hand and rushed towards the pool.

"No, no, Duck! Let g..!" Duck jumped into the pool, getting in the water along with Lexi.

Slam, Tech, Rev, Vale and Randy jumped in afterwards, Slam made a huge splash of water with a cannonball. The Loonatics and the Maniacs laughed while swimming and playing with the water, battling amicably with it, enjoying its freshness, letting it clean their fur, getting lost in their laughs and words of frolic, listening to the sound of the falling waterfall as their souls felt abandon and renewal.

Kufai was looking at them from the distance, standing on a mound among the trees, smiling as the youth played. He made the signal and looked into the sky, nodding and closing his eyes, letting out a tranquil sigh of thankfulness, walking away afterwards.

—

Author's note: First of all, thanks a lot for reading, guys, I really appreciate your support. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long for a new chapter, these have been tough weeks for me. As it's getting difficult to update the story each Friday, I'm gonna update it each two weeks, on Saturdays instead, starting from today, March 12. Thanks for understanding.

Also, I have a Youtube channel called Loonatics Universe, I'm gonna be uploading some extra content there, like trailers, music, a lot of stuff related to the fanfic. Again, thank you so much for your constant support, God bless!