Chapter 10

Under the Mango Tree

The road leading to the Field of Champions and running past the ruins also cut through a forest full of fruit. Dark World mangos, bananas, pineapples, and oranges were all very tasty and very good at restoring health. Something the team desperately needed as they fought their way through the tropical woods.

"Watch out Kris!" Susie shouted, yanking them out of the way just in time.

A Banana Slip Spyder tried to chomp down on Kris' exposed feet. As it retreated, it threw banana peels everywhere. The battlefield was littered with them. Ralsei had already tripped and landed flat on his face.

"These guys just keep coming! How many of them are in this forest?" Susie wondered, frustrated.

Kris quickly calculated. They had already fought seventeen of these beasties, and according to the map they were not even halfway through the forest. However, there were a bunch of offshoot paths that had been scattered with loot they could use. Even if they decided to push on ahead, Kris figured that there were more Spyders than the Tally Man wanted to deal with.

"Quit trying to be cute with old song references and ACT!" Susie shouted, throwing Kris as the Spyder.

The Banana Spyders, Mango Spyders, Orange Spyders, and all the others had something in common: they were spies trying to infiltrate their enemies' trees. They were dressed in suits made of the fruits whose trees they were infiltrating. In order to beat them, Kris had to expose them for who they really were by turning their suits inside out and revealing the true fruit underneath. The only problem was getting a hold of these mobile, tricky, and often very prickly spyders.

Susie's aim was true, and Kris landed on the Spyder with a grizzly crunch. Though the air was driven out of them, Kris scrambled to get a hold of the clothing and yanked hard. The banana peel suit made a weird fffwpt sound and turned inside out with a splash of sticky juices. After so many battles, Kris and Susie were covered in them.

"Oh no! I've been exposed! Please don't imprison and interrogate me!" the Spyder pleaded, just as all the others had.

Kris spared the monster and it scuttled back up a tree, leaving behind 58 Dark Dollars. Kris pocketed the money and went to help Ralsei up.

The Dark Prince shuddered and complained, "Why does it have to all be spiders!? There are more than just hairy arachnids in the rainforest you know!"

"I don't normally correct you Ralsei," Susie said with a grin. "But it's Spy-der. Make sure you say it so that everyone knows it's one of those guys trying to be sneaky and not just a regular bug."

"Arachnid!" Ralsei grumbled. "Arg! I feel so sticky and dirty! Kris, please tell me there's a river nearby on that map!"

Kris checked. There was one. Just down a path to their left. A slight detour but washing up sounded wonderful. For a shocking change, Ralsei led the way, running as fast as he could.

"Huh, guess all have our limits," Susie said, licking some of the dried juices off her arm. "Mmm! Tastes like a banana smoothie. Need some healing stuff, Kris?" They nodded yes. Tossing them a banana, Susie continued, "I still don't get it. How can we eat so much good stuff in the Dark World and never get full! I get that it's another universe and all that stuff, but why doesn't the food stick? I thought the Dark World was there to help us out. Well, I'm hungry and I'd like to feel satisfied after eating!"

Kris smirked. They had had this conversation with Ralsei so many times in the past. The issue was that the Dark World existed to help Lightners work through problems that they would otherwise be unable to or have a harder time sorting out back in their own world. It was symbiotic relationship of high needs. That was what gave each Dark World its form: thought and need.

Susie had complained enough to fill a series of books that eating was most definitely a higher need. Unfortunately, the powers and rules of the Dark World didn't see things the same way as her. That hadn't stopped her from cramming her face with all the goodies, sweets, and meals she could find as they hopped from world to world.

Kris peeled their banana and quickly scarfed it down. Susie located a healing mango in a nearby tree and plucked it. Her jaws were soon wet with sweet juices as she scarfed the fruit down.

"This curse sucks!" she grunted. "Taking extra damage and getting less TP is really cramping my style. We've got to be too careful when we ACT. It would suit Ralsei just fine, but these Spyder guys require too much of the hands-on approach."

Kris agreed, licking their fingers to try and get rid of all the fruity stickiness. Susie surprised them a bit by approaching and helping herself.

"Mmmm! I can still taste the apples! An apple and banana shake! Gawd, I could go for one right now! When we get back from the beach, we are all going to QC's and feasting!"

Blushing, Kris said it was a deal.

It was then that Susie realized what she was doing. Her scales blushed a wonderful mix of magenta and crimson as she slinked away, mumbling an apology. Kris responded by scooting next to her and licking one claw.

"Mango. Not as good as pineapple."

"Not as good as apple," Susie corrected with a grin.

Ralsei had not returned. They were completely alone. Dressed in skimpy armor and their swim gear. A very dumb flood of thoughts washed over the two teens.

Susie swooped down on Kris and pulled them into a fierce kiss. Their tongues crossed each other's lips and explored the other's mouth, taking in the after taste of medical fruit. It was nowhere near as pleasant or romantic as some people would have described it. Though Alphys would have certainly given it a go with one of her fanfictions.

There was release in their embrace. It was as if neither of them had realized just how tense and worried they had been throughout the journey thus far. Months and months had passed since they had last been on a quest this intense. Making out switched the teens' brains off to the stress and horror and they went someplace else. Literally.

Susie dragged Kris under the shadow of the nearby trees. They sat down together so Susie wouldn't have to keep bending over to make out with Kris. They broke apart, checked to see if they were properly obscured. Nah, they were kind of in the open. Smirking, they crawled deeper into the woods and behind a larger dark mango tree.

Caution? The two teens didn't know her!

Hands and claws fumbled with each other's clothing. Being in swim gear and less armor made things pretty easy. A pair of swim trunks soon flew out from behind the tree, along with a two-piece bikini, a pauldron, a cape, and a skirt. Susie kept her spiked floaties on.

"You know, Kris… I'm glad we took this side quest."

"There's no one else I'd rather be cursed with."

"Shut up, dork!"

Two claws wrapped themselves around the tree's trunk and dug into the bark. Primal sounds emanated from behind the mango tree. The ruckus attracted the attention of two Spyders. They crept along the canopy and lowered themselves to catch their prey unawares. But upon witnessing what the teens were up to, they blushed so hard that their brains fried. The Spyders quickly retreated.

The pool noodle sword lay across the shark-took axe, just within the couple's reach. However, their hands were far busier with other things. Gouges were left even deeper in the tree. The tension was completely loosed. Doubt and anxiety were completely lost as love took over.

Eventually, Kris collapsed against Susie. She folded them into a soft hug, skin against scale. They were stickier and smellier than before. It would have been good for them to move and catch up with Ralsei, but they just laid there.

"Thanks, Susie," Kris whispered.

"Love you, Kris," Susie whispered back.

They began slowly kissing again. Ralsei, who had returned around some point in the middle of all this, lay under a tree on the other side of the path and fanned himself off. These two were really a handful. He was happy for them, but there was a time and place to enjoy themselves. Yes, everyone had a point of weakness and needed comfort, companionship, and love, but these dorks still had a lot of maturing to do.

Still, he let them be until he knew the heat had cooled down. Rearranging himself and pretending to only just return, he shouted, "Kris! Susie! The water is great! If you still need to clean up, we should hurry!"

He smirked as he watched their hands frantically reach for their discarded clothes. Did they really think no one could have spotted their hiding place from the road? After an awkward moment, the two of them came out from behind the tree, flustered and sweaty.

"Uh, sorry about that Ralsei. We, uh… Found some interesting moss!"

Kris was trying to make their face look smeared with green by rubbing leaves all over themselves. It wasn't working. Ralsei, however, grinned and played along.

"More moss!?" he pulled a disgusted face. "You two are so weird! Alright! Let's get you two cleaned up and then get going! We need to get this curse removed posthaste!"

The river they found to wash up in was sparkling and beautiful. It wasn't very deep. Barely up to Kris' waste. There was a large rock the cut through the river. The two teens glanced at each other and silently agreed. They would wash up on opposite sides of the rock. Though they had just had sex, there was no telling what seeing the other clean would do to them.

Ralsei watched them from a rock in the sunlight, drying off his fur. These two really were funny. One day they would get over their teenage awkwardness. Though, until then, he prayed that they would have many, many more fun adventures.

It wasn't bad to stay young for just a little bit longer.