As Cybr heads further in, he notices the same movement in the trees that Paalgae saw, and stops.
"Your friend already left you. Your ambush failed." Cybr says, presuming the movement to be another Order member lurking in the treetops. To his surprise, though, the person that emerges is a young kid in a superhero costume, who, according to a quick background check by Cybr, goes by the name of Gruper Cheero. Gruper raises his hands as he comes out from his hiding spot.
"Ah! There weren't supposed to be any guards on duty right now! I-I'm sorry, we can just climb back over the wall and leave, please just let this slide!" Gruper stammers, his voice laced with genuine fear. Cybr facepalms and shakes his head.
"What're you doing here, then?" Woo Hoo says, stepping forwards.
"I'm just scavenging for scrap with my buddy!"
"Scrap? See anything that looks like this?" Cybr says, holding up an Order communication device.
"H-huh? How did you know? Look, i-if it's some government tech or something that you want back, just take it! I-I don't want to get in any trouble!" Gruper cries, tossing the device to Cybr.
"Hey! Don't just go handing out our haul to strangers!" Gruper's friend, Shrublicker, butts in, emerging from his own hiding spot.
"B-but, they're cops! If we don't give them what they want, they'll arrest us!" Gruper insists, but Shrublicker shakes his head.
"Those guys in the back? Maybe. But the ringleader up front sure as hell isn't a cop. He's just a chump. We could take him."
"B-but...what if he's just undercover? He could whip out his badge at any moment! And you can't forge badges! We're trespassing, man! If they want to arrest us, they don't need to wait!"
"And yet, they haven't arrested us. They're clearly a bunch of posers. Let's show them why they shouldn't mess with us. Think of how much that tech could sell for on the market."
"Yeah...y-yeah, you're right…" Gruper rubs his nose, and his demeanor suddenly shifts entirely, a determined expression crossing his face as he stares down Cybr. "I'll be taking that little doodad back from you. And while I'm at it, I'll take the one you already have."
"Hi at it, I'm Dad!" says Dad, before tripping out of the tree to the ground and disappearing.
"Go ahead. Try it." Cybr says, not stepping back. Wanted Woo, Woo Hoo, and Dr. Woo all step up next to him.
"Wow, was that supposed to sound tough? Ha! You're pathetic." Gruper scoffs.
"Listen here, bargain boy, unless you've got some super special secret technique up your sleeve, you don't stand a chance." Shrublicker adds, as both kids begin to climb down from their tree.
"In fact, I saw someone who looked a lot like you walkin' around earlier. I caught 'em in one of my inescapable snare traps. Stupid idiot never saw it coming." Gruper snickers, earning an eyebrow raise from Cybr. Meanwhile, Shrublicker takes advantage of the distraction to unsheathe the Ultima Box Cutter and sneak up on Cybr and his buddies. Before anyone notices Shrublicker, he's able to shank Wanted Woo in the thigh and dart away, causing Wanted Woo to fall to the ground in pain. Woo Hoo sees this, and quickly looks over at Dr. Woo, who nods and hauls Wanted Woo out of the jungle to safety.
"Haha! And just like that, it's two on two!" Gruper gloats, while Shrublicker charges towards Cybr.
"You really don't want to do that." Cybr says, still standing his ground.
"Oho, trying to get in my head, are we? I'll have you know I scored in the top 22% in an online IQ quiz once!" Shrublicker laughs.
"Yeah, he once finished an entire crossword in just one dinner sitting! And it wasn't one of those piss-easy Monday puzzles, either!" Gruper adds.
"Doesn't seem very smart to me if he's willing to lose himself over this." Cybr says nonchalantly.
"What're you gonna do, hit me?" Shrublicker taunts, reaching Cybr and snapping the Ultima Box Cutter up three levels, preparing to stab Cybr.
"No, instead I'll just do this." Cybr reaches out to grab Shrublicker, but to his surprise, Shrublicker uses the Ultima Box Cutter to slice off Cybr's hand in one swift motion. Cybr blinks as his hand quickly reforms, and when he reaches out to grab Shrublicker again, he finds himself tangled up in some of the hanging vines, giving Shrublicker a chance to jump back. Woo Hoo begins misting the area again, suspecting a potential Stand attack, but nothing about the situation seems to change.
"The jungle is OUR domain, buddy. We know how to fight here, and you don't. I'll make you pay for calling my friend dumb." Gruper says, holding out his arms to his sides.
"Didn't you say you broke in here?"
"Yes!"
"Don't you know? The definition of domain is a place in which you enter illegally!" Shrublicker affirms, before jumping up onto Gruper's outstretched arms. "Team attack!"
The duo initiates Team Attack B, since they haven't saved up enough team points to utilize Team Attack A in this battle. As the attack charges up, Shrublicker calls out to Cybr.
"Last chance to back down before we knock you all the way to the moon and back!"
"Nah. I don't think I will." Cybr states, pulling out his gun-like device and firing a blob of the material from his body directly into Shrublicker, who's too caught up in the attack to deflect the projectile with the Ultima Box Cutter. Shrublicker stumbles off of Gruper's arms, and Gruper stares at Cybr in shock.
"What do you think you're doing?! Disrupting a team attack is against the rules!" Gruper growls. Cybr fires at Gruper, but Gruper's head expertly slides to the side at just the right moment to dodge the attack. Shrublicker notices the substance spreading across his hand, and drops the Ultima Box Cutter in disgust.
"Oh, gross, man! What the hell is this stuff?" Shrublicker says as he collapses to the ground, the Ultima Cutter falling just out of his reach.
"That's it! I have no tolerance for cheaters! I'll show you what happens when you mess with US! PANTERA!" Gruper shouts out, his Stand aura appearing as a plant-like phantom manifests behind him. The vines of the jungle writhe to life, sprouting thorns as they ensnare Cybr from every direction, hoisting him up into the air and constricting him from all sides. Cybr doesn't struggle, simply staying still and clutching the communication devices in his hands. "Have you finally admitted defeat? Just hand over those devices and I'll let you go!"
"Go ahead, try to take them from me." Cybr calmly states. The vines try to grab away his radios, but his grip is tight enough to keep them in his hands.
"Grrr...you're a crafty little jerk, you know that? Credit where credit is due. But it's over for you! If you don't give up the devices, I'll rip you to shreds!" Gruper threatens, the vines beginning to tug at Cybr's arms and legs to back up this claim.
"You already saw that I can regenerate. It would be useless to rip me apart, especially if you don't want to meet the same fate as your buddy there."
"Wha-" Gruper looks over at Shrublicker, who is about half covered by the substance now.
"H-he's melting me or some shit! It hurts like hell!" Shrublicker cries out, as Gruper's eyes go wide.
"No! No, get out of there!" Gruper exclaims, rushing over to help, but Shrublicker raises his hand to stop Gruper.
"It's too late for me. Take this and finish what we started." Shrublicker solemnly states, using the last of his energy to kick the Ultima Cutter over to Gruper. Gruper picks up the weapon, trembling slightly, and starts to turn back towards Cybr. "Wait! Before you do...give it to me for just a sec."
Gruper confusedly hands over the Ultima Cutter, and Shrublicker unceremoniously gouges his own brain stem out before the goop can fully overtake him. Gruper gasps, and drops to his knees, staring in shock for several moments, as a cold wind blows through the jungle, sending Gruper's cape fluttering behind him as he picks the Ultima Cutter back up and looks at Cybr once more. The two are completely silent, with only the sounds of jungle life and sirens from beyond the jungle walls to break the intense atmosphere.
"Just...die, you piece of...CRAIG!" Gruper yells, lunging at Cybr with the Ultima Cutter at its maximum length. Just as Gruper brings the blade down to Cybr's neck, though, he's knocked out of the air, and the vines holding Cybr in place unravel as Gruper collapses to the ground, and a foot presses his face into the dirt.
"You're under arrest for trespassing and assaulting officers of the law." Wee Woo says coldly, before using his Whappin' Stick to knock Gruper out in one clean strike. Wee Woo slings Gruper over his shoulder, and marches out of the Painforest, depositing Gruper on the sidewalk nearby. Woo Hoo follows Wee Woo out, leaving Cybr alone in the Painforest. As Cybr turns to leave, though, he hears a crackling coming from one of the radios in his hands, and as he listens to it, he hears a voice through the garbled static.
"Fancy meeting you here." the voice says, and Cybr looks around as a large amount of red eyes appear in the surrounding shadows. The sound of beating wings comes from above, and Cybr looks up to see Bella descending from the treetops, arms crossed as she glares at Cybr.
"And what might you want from me? Clearly you aren't part of the Order anymore."
"To see you suffer. I already couldn't die, and thanks to you, things are a whole lot worse than usual in that regard." Bella states nonchalantly, though she makes no effort to attack Cybr.
"Well then. Go on, it's just me, wide open and alone."
"No. I won't kill you. To live like this is suffering enough." Bella scowls. "The rest of the Order, though, won't be so friendly."
"You mean Crowbarre?"
"I mean everyone."
"I can handle them."
"Good luck. You'll need it." With that, Bella recedes back into the shadows, and the red eyes vanish from the surroundings. Cybr shrugs, and heads back out to the Vengabus, leaving the Painforest behind.