Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be seeing Naruko learning more about Chaotic from Sakura, as well as going on another Scan Quest where she'll meet another, friendlier, Creature. So, without further ado.
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"You just couldn't control yourself, could you." Sakura stated as she stood outside the school, having waited for Naruko to get out from her detention and was able to guess why, after hearing how she randomly stood up and shouted in the middle of class.
"Can you blame me?! I get a rush of memories the moment I touch my Scanner and suddenly I learn that not only is Chaotic real, but that I really went to the UnderWorld! That I actually turned into Brimflame and Ilx! How could I not freak out and be excited over that?!" Said Naruko with a large grin on her face, having been unable to stop smiling the entire day after getting her memories of Chaotic back.
Even when she was stuck in detention and had to write the same line over and over again that she wouldn't shout and interrupt class, she still kept smiling. Doubting anything could happen to ruin her mood with what she now knew.
Seeing how happy and excited she was, Sakura couldn't help but giggle. Knowing that's how new players usually react to learning Chaotic is real.
"Well I'm glad you're excited about it. Though I hope it goes without saying, you shouldn't go telling everyone about it." Said Sakura, reminding the Uzumaki of why she didn't tell her.
"Yeah, I know. No going around telling people Chaotic's real, no need to make them think we're crazy." Naruko said as no matter how amazing it is, she didn't want to tell any random person Chaotic is real and have them think she's crazy.
"Or crazier, in your case." Sakura added, smirking at the whiskered blonde, who didn't bother denying the accusation and smirked at the pinkette.
"You know you love that about me." Said Naruko, making Sakura roll her eyes in amusement.
"Like I said before, I blame you for being a terrible influence. Now come on, let's go home." Said Sakura as they left the school to return to their homes.
Though she didn't get far when Naruko grabbed her hand and began pulling her along with her, much to Sakura's surprise.
"Oh no! You aren't getting away that easily! You still have a lot of questions to answer, and I'm making sure I get them! So you're coming home with me!" Naruko said, making the Haruno look at her in disbelief.
"Wh-what?! Why?! We can just port to Chaotic once we're home, why do I need to go with you?!" Questioned Sakura, trying to free her hand only for Naruko to hold it tightly.
"Nope, I already decided you're coming with me. Besides, it's been a while since you slept over, so it's a win-win!" Said Naruko with a grin while the pinkette could only groan.
"That still means I need to go home to get my stuff, if I'm staying over." Sakura said, already knowing it'll be impossible to convince Naruko to change her mind once she's decided something.
"No need! You still have some spare clothes at my house, so that's taken care of. I also know you bring your deck with you to school along with your Scanner, so while we port to Chaotic we'll still have our physical cards with us. So, we can just go straight home!" Naruko replied, making Sakura sigh at seeing she really isn't getting out of this.
"…Can you at least let go of my hand? I can walk just fine on my own." Sakura said dryly, given Naruko's still dragging her along.
"Nope!" Said Naruko while smiling cheekily at her, with Sakura only looking at her dryly.
'I swear I'm going to get her back, one day.' Sakura mentally swore, before she remembered something and soon smirked as she started making a plan for just how she can get back at the Uzumaki.
*Later*
"Kaa-san, I'm home!" Naruko called out once she and Sakura stepped inside, already knowing her mother is back as she could smell her cooking in the kitchen.
With her being proven right the two girls saw her mother, Kushina Uzumaki, step out of the kitchen while smiling at them.
Kushina is a woman well-known for her beauty. Having fair, pale skin, violet eyes and long bright red hair that went all the way down to her thighs, along with a black hairclip that parted her hair to the left. With her wearing her normal outfit she wore at home, consisting of a white high-collared short-sleeved blouse under a dark green long, loose-fitting dress with a blue wristband on her left wrist and purple sandals.
"Welcome home sweetie, and Sakura. It's nice to have you over again, are you just visiting or staying?" Kushina asked while smiling at her daughter and her friend.
"Hi Uzu-I mean Kushina, and I'm staying the night after Naruko practically kidnapped me." Sakura replied while quickly catching herself from saying Uzumaki-san, knowing Kushina insisted she use her first name with how close she and Naruko are.
"Oh really? Kidnapping an innocent girl now, Naru-chan, you've certainly gotten very daring haven't you. Should I ask what you're planning to do with Sakura?" Said Kushina in amusement, causing the pinkette to blush at the meaning behind her words, even more so when Naruko smirked wickedly at her.
"You should ask what I haven't planned on doing to her." Said Naruko, much to Sakura's embarrassment.
"Oh my! Well, as long as you aren't too loud; we wouldn't want to disturb anyone, would we." Kushina said, her amusement growing along with Sakura's embarrassment.
"But then it won't be as fun if she's not screaming my name!" Naruko said, while looking at her best friend teasingly, as Sakura's face was bright red.
"Y-yo-yo-yo-you t-tw-t-tw-two…you're both crazy!" Sakura said before rushing upstairs to Naruko's room.
"Already so eager to get in my room, Sakura-chan?! You just earned a special reward when I join you!" Said Naruko as she and her mother giggled when they heard Sakura groaning loudly in frustration.
"You think she would've learned by now." Stated Kushina, always finding it funny that no matter how many times it happens, Sakura always grows embarrassed whenever they tease her.
"I'm not complaining, that just makes it more fun." Naruko said, loving how easily it was to make Sakura flustered.
"I'm sure you do." Kushina said, smirking at her daughter, before she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
"Now, should I be expecting a call from your school about you beating up any other students, again?" Kushina asked, guessing they're here late because Naruko got detention again.
"Not this time. I…might've suddenly stood up and shouted in the middle of class, and got detention for it." Replied Naruko, making the redhead blink in confusion.
"Any…reason why you did that?" Said Kushina, finding it rather strange her daughter did something that random, even by her standards.
"Uh…I just brought my Scanner with me to school, having thought it broke only for it to turn out that it was just rebooting. Where I got a really great scan that I've been wanting to get in a trade, immediately after it was done rebooting, and I was just so excited." Naruko said nervously as despite how good she is at lying and/or manipulating others, her mother always seemed to know when she's hiding something.
With Kushina raising a brow at this, already being able to tell Naruko is lying about something, something big with how nervous she's already acting. Before she shrugged, knowing she'll either pull the secret out of her daughter or she'll break and tell her the truth.
"Alright, as long as it's nothing bad. Now go on, dinner will be ready soon and I want both of you down here when it's done." Said Kushina, much to Naruko's relief that she didn't question her any further.
"Okay, thanks Kaa-san." Said Naruko before she headed upstairs to her room.
Entering her room, Naruko found Sakura already sitting on her bed, waiting for her, with the whiskered blonde pouting at the sight.
"Awww, and I was hoping to get a peek at your cute underwear while you were changing." Naruko said, with the pinkette only looking at her blankly, though was now sporting a faint blush.
"Well sorry to disappoint, but I'd rather not port to Chaotic in my underwear or pajamas." Said Sakura, with Naruko simply grinning at her.
"That's fine, it just means I'll get a full view once we port there and then we change. Even better that you'll get to look at me too." Naruko said shamelessly, making Sakura sigh and shake her head.
"Just…let's just port already." Sakura said, wanting to try and save herself from further embarrassment while pulling out her Scanner.
"Right, let's go!" Naruko said, eagerly taking out her Scanner as well before the two pressed the button and ported away.
*Port Court*
Reappearing in the Port Court, Naruko couldn't help but smile in amazement as she took it all in, still feeling awed at the sight of everything.
"You'll get used to it, the more times you come here." Sakura said while smiling in amusement at Naruko's amazement.
"I doubt it. There's no way anyone could used to something this awesome." Said Naruko, doubting the amazement will ever really go away.
Sakura couldn't deny that, even with how long she's been coming to Chaotic she could still feel the amazement she felt when she first ported here.
Before she and Naruko walked over and sat down at the table, with the pinkette looking at the whiskered blonde expectantly for the questions she had.
"So, before you ask any questions, what have you learned about Chaotic so far? What did the robot you meet tell you?" Sakura asked, guessing she met one of the server bots like all new players usually do.
"Not much, it just told me about the different BattleDromes, the BetaDromes and the Port Court, along with a little about the CodeMasters. They're supposed to be the best players right?" Naruko asked, with Sakura snorting at this.
"They are the best, there's no supposing about it, the CodeMasters are on a completely different level from any other player. All of them have Creatures, Locations, BattleGear and Mugic that no one else has access to, giving them a major advantage since they know basically every card in the game, but no one really knows what they have. It makes beating them nearly impossible, but if you do get lucky enough to beat one then they'll give you one of their super rare Location Scans, giving you the chance to find and scan the rare Creatures in those Locations." Sakura explained, making Naruko's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Oh…have you ever seen someone beat a CodeMaster?" Asked Naruko, only for the pinkette to shake her head.
"Never. There are times when no one even gets close to coding a single Creature from a CodeMaster, let alone all six. When I said, 'if you get lucky enough to beat one', I meant that you need to have the best luck and the best strategy." Said Sakura, with Naruko nodding at this.
"Well I already have the Devils Luck, that just leaves the best strategy I can make." Stated Naruko, feeling eager at the chance to face a CodeMaster.
"Don't get in over your head, before you can even face a CodeMaster you need to get seven wins in their BattleDrome first, which is pretty difficult on its own." Sakura said, not wanting her friend to set such a high goal for herself when she's still new to Chaotic.
"Don't worry, I won't just run around challenging players to battles, I still need to work on my own battling skills. I might be reckless, but I'm not stupid." Naruko said with a confident smirk, making Sakura raise a brow at her.
"…Remind me again, how I found you here?" Said Sakura, causing the Uzumaki to deflate at the reminder of her encounter with Ilx.
"And that's why I have the bestest, smartest and prettiest Chaotic player to help educate me. Right Sakura-chan?" Naruko said, giving the pinkette her puppy dog eyes making Sakura squirm.
"Pl-pl-ple-please d-d-do-don't." Sakura said, with the whiskered blonde stopping and smirked at her.
"Only because I love it when you beg." Said Naruko, before yelping when Sakura kicked her under the table.
"You are just… What else do you know?" Sakura said in annoyance before calming down and getting back on topic.
"That you clearly like it rou-" Naruko said, only to yelp again when Sakura reached over and yanked one of her pigtails this time.
"Naruko." Sakura warned, with Naruko holding her hands up.
"Okay, okay, we can have fun later. I know basically all the basics about battling, porting to Perim and scanning stuff. I learned that from MajorTom after our battle, he also told me about some asshole player called Klay that likes scamming new players." Replied Naruko, making Sakura scowl at Klay's name.
"His screenname is Klayotic and yeah, he's one of the meaner Chaotic players, like Krystella. Though where Krystella does do her own dirty work at times, Klay usually just targets new players to try and scam them out of their decks or sends them to Perim straight into dangerous situations. The asshole even tried doing the same to me, when I first got here." Sakura said, with Naruko narrowing her eyes at this.
"What did he do?" Naruko asked, fully intending to find Klay and beat him half to death if he tried getting her friend hurt.
"I said tried, I could tell he was a creep the moment I saw him and didn't believe anything he said." Said Sakura, making Naruko now smirk eagerly.
"Then what did you do?" Asked Naruko, eager to hear what the pinkette did, while Sakura smirked wickedly.
"He was squealing so loudly I'm sure only dogs could hear it, after I kicked him. He was smart enough to not do anything stupid afterwards." Sakura replied, having relished in terrifying Klay into actually using his brain for once and not try pissing her off again.
"That's what I love about you, Sakura. You know how to kick ass while looking good, while doing so." Naruko stated as she smiled madly as she imagined how hard Sakura had to kick him to do that, making the pinkette blushed lightly.
"R-right. S-so…if that's everything you know, then ask what you want." Said Sakura, ready for Naruko's questions now.
"Right! First thing I want to know is, what do the Tribes in Perim think of Chaotic players?" Naruko asked, wanting to know what she should expect from the Tribes.
Especially the UnderWorlders, as they'll be the Creatures she'll be scanning or scanning in the territory of; more often than not.
"That's pretty difficult since it's kind of a mixed bag, as some Creatures don't mind us while others won't hesitate to attack. But for the most part, the OverWorlders are pretty tolerant of Chaotic players. Only really attacking us if they find us somewhere we're not supposed to be. UnderWorlders are kind of the same, willing to tolerate us, but if you can prove yourself then you could earn their respect and even find those who are willing to make deals in exchange for scans. The Mipedians are more closed off; while they don't mind Chaotic players, they also won't hesitate to attack if they think you're a threat. Especially if you're found sneaking in the royal palace or the Mipedim Oasis, though it's understandable since they live in a desert and are very protective of their only source of water. And finally the Danians, they're the ones you really need to be careful with. They aren't welcoming at all to any intruders, you'll be lucky if they choose to lock you up rather than simply blast you on sight. They take the security of Mount Pillar very seriously since they need to protect the Danian Queen from any potential threats, since if she falls the entire Tribe falls with her." Sakura explained, with Naruko nodding along at all the information.
"That's good to know, at least the UnderWorlders are open to Chaotic players. It'll certainly make getting scans of them easier." Naruko said, glad that she can still go and get scans of her favorite Tribe without much trouble.
"Just be careful, just because UnderWorlders are tolerant of us, doesn't mean they're welcoming. One other thing is that when the Tribes can get into conflicts with each other, sometimes they'll even try and get Chaotic players to help them in exchange for scans. Given how our Scanners let us port around faster than any Creature can move, going from one end of Perim to the other. But the help they want is usually dangerous, so it's better to stay out of any conflicts between them, unless you think it's worth it to help." Said Sakura, making the Uzumaki nod again.
"What about the players then?" Questioned Naruko, with Sakura shaking her head.
"It's basically like in Perim with the Tribes, everyone has their personal favorite and will support them in any way they can. Which includes battling players of rival Tribes, and this is important for you to know Naruko, the UnderWorlders and OverWorlders are arch-enemies. So it's of no surprise that a lot of players share that mindset. Especially the OverWorld players, ironically enough, since a lot of them have a very self-righteous and holier-than-though mentality given how the OverWorlders' tend to be depicted as the noble, heroic good-guys." Sakura warned, causing Naruko to frown.
"Anyone I should look out for?" Naruko asked, not surprised by this since she figured there'd be those who take things to the extreme after learning Chaotic is real.
"A couple. One is called HotShot, he's a really good player and known for not liking UnderWorlders. But he uses OverWorlders, Mipedians and Danians that use Fire Attacks since UnderWorlders are most known for using them; it's basically an ironic statement that he can beat UnderWorlders at their own game. Though one you really need to worry about is Hercu-Leon, he's been undefeated since coming to Chaotic and is seen as one of the best OverWorld players. He loves nothing more than crushing UnderWorld players and he also won't hesitate to battle anyone that insults OverWorlders. There are some others that might give you trouble, but HotShot and Hercu-Leon are the most well-known." Explained Sakura as Naruko nodded at all this, before smirking.
"Well, we'll just have to see what they think of UnderWorlders after I beat them." Naruko stated, making Sakura sigh but she honestly wasn't surprised that her friend wasn't deterred.
"Of course. Anyway, the rest of the players all usually stick together with those who share their Tribe. Sometimes they'll even form their own groups, working together to collect scans, battling against other groups in small competitions, things you'd expect from online games on Earth. Give it time and you might get the attention of an UnderWorlder group, if you prove you're strong enough." Sakura said, with Naruko looking intrigued at this.
"What about how the game is played? Since we turn into the Creatures, use BattleGear, cast Mugic and go to the Locations in the Dromes. How different are the rules compared to when playing with the cards or online?" Naruko asked, wanting to know just how different things are when battling in Chaotic than on Earth.
"Oh, right! Thanks for the reminder, since the rules here are pretty different compared to playing with the cards and online matches. One thing is that all Danians can use the Hive Ability, while all Mipedians can turn invisible. And speaking of Mipedians, Spectral Viewers can be equipped to Creatures even if they already have a BattleGear, which really helps when battling against Mipedians so you can still give a Creature BattleGear you want to use. Loyalty restrictions for certain Creatures are also non-existent, letting you mix them together with Creatures from other Tribes. One example being a recent DromeMatch, where Zhade and Blazier were used on the same Battle Team as Chaor. And one of the best things is that Mugic only require a single Mugician, each. Something that's very useful to use several different Mugic, without worrying about their cost." Explained Sakura, much to Naruko's surprise before she smiled excitedly.
"Cool! Seems it like we get a lot more freedom in how we can battle, here!" Said Naruko, knowing these differences will be really useful when it comes to making her teams during matches.
"Yeah, it helps make things much easier and more fun. Though one thing you should probably decide on, when it comes to making your team, is who your Ace will be." Sakura added, making the whiskered blonde tilt her head in confusion.
"My Ace? Like a Creature?" Naruko asked, with Sakura nodding in response.
"Yeah. Most players always have at least one Creature they almost always use on their team. The player you battled, MajorTom, he's already getting a reputation for his skill in using Maxxor. I've also seen him hanging around another player, KidChaor, who I'm sure you can guess the card he uses as his Ace." Said Sakura, with Naruko raising a brow in surprise at the screenname, remembering the response she got from the Chaotic Message Board.
'I guess he wasn't crazy…though he probably shouldn't just tell people Chaotic is real on the internet.' Naruko thought before she looked at Sakura questioningly.
"Do you have an Ace, then?" Naruko asked while looking at Sakura curiously, having never really seen a Creature that stood out on her teams before, wondering if that's changed since she came to Chaotic.
"…No." Sakura replied after a few moments while her eyes darted around, making the Uzumaki narrow her eyes.
"You're lying." Naruko stated, knowing the pinkette's lying.
"No, I'm not." Sakura quickly said, still not looking her in the eye.
"Yes you are, your eyes are moving around a lot. Which they always do whenever you're trying to hide something." Said Naruko, with Sakura forcing herself to look at Naruko while smiling nervously.
"It's not really a big deal, honestly. It's just a dumb Creature you don't know about, I just picked them randomly, really." Sakura said quickly, only for Naruko to look at her challengingly.
"Sakura, we both know I'm stubborn, we both know how incredibly nosey I am. So, we can do this the easy way, in which case you just show me who your Ace is right now. Or the hard way, where when we get back to Earth I find out myself, but do know if it comes to that…I'll let you use your imagination." Naruko said while smiling sweetly at the pinkette, making her gulp nervously at what Naruko could have in store for her.
"…Damnit." Muttered Sakura, figuring it was better to just get it over with now before it got worse.
"F-fine…th-th-th-thi-this i-i-i-i-is…m-my-my-my-my A-A-Ace…Creature." Sakura said reluctantly as she showed Naruko the Creature Scan of her Ace.
Feeling dread and embarrassment, when Naruko smiled like the Cheshire Cat at the sight of the scan.
"Ooooooohhh, so the cute little Cherry Blossom really wants to be a sexy vixen." Naruko stated, looking at the scan of Kinnianne, with Sakura quickly pulling her Scanner back glaring at the Uzumaki with a red face.
"No! Sh-sh-sh-she just has good Earth Attacks, and can use Mipedian Mugic along with OverWorld and Generic Mugic!" Said Sakura refusing to let Naruko assume why she has Kinnianne as her Ace.
"Don't worry, I'm not one to judge Sakura-chan. I'd use Kinnianne as my Ace in a heartbeat if she was an UnderWorlder, no need to be ashamed. As long as you don't forget me whenever you want to play with a vixen~." Said Naruko, winking at the pinkette, making her cover her face and groan, knowing she'll never be able to live this down.
"Well what about you? I'm sure you're going to have Takinom as your Ace, or will it be Nivenna or Skithia?" Sakura retorted, knowing those three were some of her favorite UnderWorlders, along with some of the ones she uses most frequently in online matches.
Only to see Naruko frown as she looked at her Scanner, going through the Creature Scans she had.
"I'm…not sure, actually. Yeah, I'd love to use one of them as my Ace, but I've only used them in online matches before. I haven't gotten the chance to battle as them in a DromeMatch, I also want to actually meet and scan them in Perim to see how powerful they really are compared to their stats in the game." Naruko replied, not sure what Creature would be her Ace, only that she wanted to scan more in Perim and battle as them, to really get a feel for what it's like.
Sakura nodded at this, knowing that while some players take time to find one Creature that really suits them and becomes a permanent member of their team. Before the pinkette smirked eagerly, seeing her chance to initiate her plan to get some payback on her friend for all her teasing.
"In that case, the best thing we can do is start getting you some more Creature Scans. That way you'll have more options to choose from and see which one works for you. So, it's time for a scan quest." Said Sakura while standing up, with Naruko instantly standing as well, eager to port to Perim.
"Yes! Do you have a scan of UnderWorld City?!" Naruko asked, eager to find more UnderWorlders to scan, hopefully ones that don't attack them on sight.
"I do, but I was thinking we should head to Mount Pillar instead." Sakura replied, making the whiskered blonde blink in confusion.
"Uh…didn't you just say that we'd be luck to be locked up if we were caught there? Why would we even go there, to begin with?" Questioned Naruko, confused at why they'd go to the heart of Danian territory.
"Yeah, if we're caught. There are ways to sneak around Mount Pillar, and if you know where the guards will be and the patrol routes then you can avoid them. And there are some worthwhile UnderWorlders to scan around Mount Pillar. Since Mount Pillar is in the UnderWorld, the Danians and UnderWorlders fight each other a lot. So it's not surprising some can be found around or even hidden within Mount Pillar." Said Sakura, intriguing Naruko that there were UnderWorlders around Mount Pillar.
"Huh, that sounds pretty cool. Alright then, Mount Pillar, here we come!" Naruko said as they headed over to the transporters.
"Now when we get to Mount Pillar, just follow my lead. We can't risk being spotted or arousing any suspicions that we're there." Sakura said, the Uzumaki nodding in response before they brought up scans of Mount Pillar and ported away.
*Later-Mount Pillar*
"When you said Danians take security seriously, you weren't kidding." Naruko stated as she and Sakura walked through a cavern not far from Mount Pillar with jets of blue fire occasionally shooting out of the ground
After they ported to Mount Pillar they had stuck to the shadows, only for it to not be long before they needed to hide from a patrol. With them soon needing to hide from another one before they could even reach a different tunnel. And when they weren't avoiding the guards, then they had to navigate all the twists and turns in the Location. Even Sakura needed to take a few moments to remember just which way they needed to go.
There had been a few close calls with the guards too, but luckily they were able to get away before being seen or heard. The whiskered blonde being relieved when the pinkette revealed they were in the clear and could proceed without worry.
"I told you, Danians really don't like intruders. Let's just be glad we were able to get past them all without alerting anyone, or that there weren't any unexpected patrols." Said Sakura with a shrug, having gotten used to the Danians crazy security since a good number of Danians use Earth Attacks.
"No kidding. So, do you know what UnderWorlder is down here?" Naruko asked, looking at her curiously as she wondered if she knew which UnderWorlder they could be looking for.
"I think their name is…Aokua. Yeah, that's it, from what I've heard he seems to the UnderWorlds first option when it comes to dealing with the Danians." Sakura replied, thinking of what she's heard about Aokua.
"Really? How does he do th-" Said Naruko, only to stop when she kicked something, making her look down only to pale at seeing dozens of bones scattered across the cavern floor.
"He eats them." Sakura said, nonchalantly.
"…Ah…seems like he has a big appetite, then." Naruko said nervously before the girls froze when they heard a raspy, high-pitched laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How true!" Someone said as they then heard the sound of something flapping through the air, making them turn towards the source.
Only to pale when they saw a massive Creature that looked like a black dragon with yellow horns on its head and matching spikes running down its back, all the way to its tail. While also having a dark yellow underbelly, solid icy blue eyes and a yellow bird-like beak. While its arms and legs were rather short and thin, resembling a birds legs as well.
"I'm always hungry!" Said the Creature while looking at the humans with a hungry gleam in his eyes, much to their nervousness as they slowly backed away.
"S-Sa-Sakura…i-i-i-is th-th-that…Aokua?" Naruko asked, with the pinkette nodding shakily in response.
"Y-y-ye-ye-yes." Said Sakura before they screamed and took off running when Aokua let out a screech and dove after them, shooting several fireballs as he did so.
Running through the cavern, Naruko and Sakura ducked underneath the fireballs as Aokua flew after them, along with moving out of the way of any pillars in their way or jets of fire.
"Sakura, any ideas?!" Said Naruko, freaking out that they were new being chased be a dragon of all things.
"Just keep running! We sho-" Sakura said, only for the girls to scream when they were suddenly grabbed and lifted into the air.
"Change of plans, we need to port out of here!" Said Sakura, reaching for her Scanner.
"No way! I came to get a scan and I'm going to get one!" Naruko said while trying to get a lock on Aokua, making the pinkette look at her like she's crazy.
"Are you insane?! We need to leave!" Said Sakura, screaming when Aokua flew close to the ground, nearly burning them from the fire jets shooting up at them.
"Come on! Ugh, I can't get a lock, he's too close!" Said Naruko, unable to get a lock on Aokua with how close he was.
"Naruko, would you please have a little self-preservation for once?!" Sakura begged, before Aokua began laughing again.
"Oh, what's the matter humans?! Don't you want to scan me?! Here, will this help?!" Aokua said before he tossed them onto the ground, making the girls grunt as they rolled across the ground into a pillar.
With the two shivering in fear when Aokua landed in front of them, leaning down closely and licked his beak mouth.
"Go on then, scan away. But then, it's dinnertime! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Aokua laughed, with Naruko and Sakura backing up as far as they could away from him.
"S-Sa-Sakura i-if w-w-we-we're r-re-r-really a-about t-to b-be ea-eaten…I- n-need t-to -te-tell y-yo-yo-you s-s-s-so-so-something." Naruko stuttered fearfully.
"Wh-wh-what?" Sakura asked shakily, only to stop when Naruko suddenly stood up and smirked at her, patting the pinkette on the head.
"You can't prank the queen." Stated Naruko, smirking at Sakura who soon gained an annoyed expression, with her turning and grinning at Aokua who looked at them in surprise.
"That was awesome! You almost had me there, for a moment! The whole chase and "you're going to eat us" act! It was great, especially flying around like that! But some advice, if you really want to freak out anyone, you need to really act like you're chasing and planning to eat them. Maybe when you grab someone, throw them in the air and look like you're going to swallow them whole, but instead have them land on your back then take them for a ride! That'll really get them! Oh, you could also try asking them how they'd prefer being eaten, raw or cooked!" Naruko said with the Creature slowly blinking at the advice, before Aokua threw his head back laughing loudly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Sakura was right about you, you are crazy! I like it!" Aokua said in amusement, as they turned towards Sakura as she stood up.
"Kami…damnit! How did you know?!" Sakura demanded, annoyed that her plan to freak Naruko out was ruined, with the Uzumaki smirking and crossing her arms.
"For starters, you were acting way too casual when talking about Aokua and him eating Danians. Along with having lead us specifically here, which shows you've likely been here before. Not to mention knowing that Aokua was here at all. Then there's the whole chase, he's a giant black dragon, I'm pretty sure if he really wanted to eat us then he would have. And most of all, I know you don't scare easily, Sakura. Making it pretty easy to know you were trying to pull a prank on me." Explained Naruko before she patted Sakura on the head again.
"It was a good effort, but you can't trick me that easily. But don't worry, I still love you." Naruko said, her smirk growing when the pinkette smacked her hand away.
"I swear, I will one day!" Swore Sakura, refusing to give up on getting Naruko at least once.
"You're adorable when you're annoyed." Stated Naruko before turning back to Aokua.
"Thanks again for the ride, Aokua! Let's do this again sometime, and think of new ways to freak people out! But first, I'm Naruko Uzumaki and I love UnderWorlders!" Naruko said, making Aokua laugh again.
"Now I see why Sakura talks so much about you, you're very fun!" Aokua said, which made the Uzumaki smirk.
"Oh, she talks about me? How exactly did you two meet, anyway?" Naruko asked, with Sakura shaking her head behind her, not wanting the Creature to say anything.
"She stumbled into my nest a few weeks ago and I gave her a ride then too, and she was certainly angry after seeing it was just a little fun. Which only made it more fun when Sakura began shouting and threatening me, I never had a human threaten me before! It was very funny!" Said Aokua, having found it more amusing than annoying.
"Yeah! Sakura always looks so adorable when she's upset! Isn't that right, Sakura-chan?!" Naruko said, grinning at the pinkette who only looked at them in annoyance.
"Hate. You. Both!" Sakura said, still annoyed her prank was ruined.
"Love you too, Sakura-chan!" Naruko said cheekily before looking back at Aokua.
"Though I would really love to get a scan of such a cool Creature, like you. Can I Aokua?" Naruko asked, eager to scan an UnderWorld Dragon.
"By all means, scan away!" Aokua said, standing tall and spreading his wings out.
"Cool!" Said Naruko, grinning as she pointed her Scanner at Aokua, with Sakura doing the same as they scanned the UnderWorlder.
With Naruko's excitement growing when she saw how high Aokua's disciplines were, though also saw he had Exhaust 10 on all of them as well, and lower energy than she expected.
'Oh well, that's easy enough to solve with some Stone Mail. Or a Chorus of Cothica with a Trills of Diminution to negate his ability.' Naruko thought, still pleased at having such a powerful new Creature on her team.
"Thanks Aokua." Sakura muttered, feeling a little glad that at least Naruko's happy with her new scan.
"Yeah thanks! And if it's not too much trouble, do you know any good Locations we could get scans of?" Naruko asked, hoping they can get more scans while they're here.
"Of course! But I hope you don't mind going for another ride!" Replied Aokua, laughing as he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the girls before flying into the air.
Though rather than pretending to be scared, Naruko cheered loudly as Aokua took off flying through the caverns while Sakura let out a small yelp at the unexpected flight before relaxing. With them seeing everything around them begin blurring together until they came out of an opening. Their eyes widening in amazement when they came out into the massive cavern, letting them see Mount Pillar in its full glory.
"Woah…Mount Pillar is really something." Naruko stated as Sakura nodded in agreement, having never seen Mount Pillar from this high up before.
"Yes, it's quite something…filled with so many delicious meals, even better when they come straight to you." Said Aokua, licking his beak at thinking of all the Danians he could devour.
"But wait until you see where we're going, I'm sure you'll find it a spot not many Chaotic players can reach, alone." Aokua added, making Naruko and Sakura look at him curiously.
Only to be shocked when the dragon-like Creature flew higher and higher into the air, until soon they now had to look down at Mount Pillar. Their shock only growing as he flew closer to the top of the pillars, where they saw numerous fortified platforms jutting out around the top of the pillars. Though they were worried when they also saw numerous Danians patrolling the platforms.
Luckily they weren't spotted as Aokua lowered himself down to the top of the central pillar, finding a good spot to land before setting the girls down.
"What is this Location?" Naruko asked quietly, not wanting to risk the Danians overhearing them.
"Oipont's Lookout. It's guarded and patrolled by Oipont and his elite guard, from up here they can see all those coming and going in Danian territory. They can even see far into the UnderWorld from here. Anyone that tries attacking would already be spotted days before they can even reach Mount Pillar." Aokua explained, much to their amazement.
"Woah, no wonder Chaotic players wouldn't be able to get a scan of a Location like this on their own. They'd be lucky to even get halfway up one of the pillars, let alone the very top." Said Sakura, doubting anyone but the most diehard and knowledgeable Danian players had scans of this place.
"Yes, it's the one place in Mount Pillar that no one but Danians and flyers can reach. It's also a special Location as Creatures that have the Air Element also gain the Earth Element, while Danians get both when they use their Hive ability." Revealed Aokua, surprising Naruko and Sakura before they smiled and began scanning the Location.
"Then this is definitely a good scan to get." Sakura said, liking the idea of any Creatures that can do Air Attacks also being able to do Earth Attacks.
"Oh yeah. Even better that all it'd take is one wrong step, and you're code no matter what." Said Naruko, knowing the Location will be very useful and dangerous against opponents.
"Well this turned out pretty good. Thanks for the help getting this Location, Aokua." Said Sakura as she smiled in thanks at the UnderWorlder.
"Of course, I'm always happy to help humans…I love humans, especially the different flavors they come in." Aokua said before he began laughing, while Naruko grinned at the dragon-like Creature.
"Better! You think you could also fly us back down?" Naruko asked, making Sakura look at her with a raised brow.
"We can just port out of here, ourselves." Sakura stated, not seeing any reason they needed to fly down.
"And miss the chance to go flying, again?! I don't think so!" Said Naruko, eager to go for another ride down Mount Pillar, with the pinkette sighing but she wasn't surprised.
Before she yelped when Aokua grabbed them both again and flew down, with Naruko cheering loudly at how fast he was going.
"You really need to relax a little more!" Sakura said dryly with her voice somewhat raised, given how she's currently moving high up in the air at high speeds, knowing Naruko needed to dial back her excitement for doing something crazy.
"This is relaxing! But you know what'd be even better, flying around with BattleGear you can pilot! Ooooh, what if we could find a Drilldozer, a Wing-Fin, or a Flitflut?! That'd be awesome!" Naruko said, excited at the idea of driving a BattleGear vehicle, while Sakura paled at the idea of Naruko controlling any BattleGear vehicle.
Thankfully she was pulled from her thoughts when she and Naruko heard their Scanners beeping, confusing the girls before they looked at them. Only to frown when they saw the proximity detector was showing nearly a dozen Creatures nearby, with them getting closer the closer they got to Aokua's nest.
"Hey, Aokua! Stop for a moment!" Sakura called out, seeing that there were other Creatures in the cavern.
"Hm, what is it?" Questioned Aokua as he stopped in midair, wondering what it was they wanted him to stop for.
"Our Scanners are picking up eight Creatures in the cavern where your nest is, something they didn't pick up before." Replied Naruko, making the UnderWorlder narrow his eyes before bared his teeth eagerly.
"Danians, it seems they're making another attempt to try and get rid of me. And only eight this time, they must be confident, I'll enjoy feasting on them!" Aokua said, realizing the Danians must've been planning to ambush him, something they've tried before but it always ended in him enjoying another meal.
Flying into the caverns, Aokua landed before setting Naruko and Sakura down, seeing that the Creatures were still far enough away that they wouldn't be spotted.
"Feel free to leave whenever you wish, or stay if you want to enjoy the show." Said Aokua, flying up to the ceiling of the cave where he dug his claws into it and began crawling towards the Danians.
"Naruko, we should-and she's already gone." Sakura said while turning to the Uzumaki, only to see that she's already sneaking towards the Danians, much to her exasperation.
Rushing to catch up to her friend, Sakura quickly pulled Naruko behind a pillar before they could be seen.
"Remember what I said about staying out of conflicts between the Tribe." Sakura said lowly to not be heard.
"I know, but you heard Aokua. If there's only eight Danians here, then they must be confident they'll be able to take him out, and we can't just do nothing if he'll need help. He helped us, so it's only fair that we help him. But only if it looks like he's in any real danger." Naruko said, not wanting to just leave her first Creature friend if he was going to need help.
Not to mention that if she helps Aokua, then it could also help her get an in with the UnderWorlders as well, giving her the chance to meet more of them.
"…Fine, but only if it looks like he really needs help. Otherwise, we stay out of it." Sakura said, willing to accept that they did owe Aokua for getting them some scans, but would prefer staying out of it if he could handle the Danians himself.
Grinning at the pinkette, Naruko carefully and quietly moved closer to get a closer look at the Danians that were trying to ambush Aokua, with Sakura staying close behind her. The two stopping and hiding once they saw the Danians, not wanting to be spotted, themselves.
"There are six Mandiblor guards, I see one with a Pyroblaster and another with a Plasma Pounder. But who's the one with the wings and sword?" Naruko said, seeing six standard Mandiblor guards, the rest of them being armed with the pikes they all seem to carry but she didn't recognize the lead Danian, surprised to see they had wings.
"That's Ulmquad, a Danian Battlemaster. He's supposed to be good with Air and Water Attacks, along with being one of the Danians capable of flying. And that sword he's holding is the Stingblade, a new BattleGear the Danians have been working on." Replied Sakura, surprising Naruko at hearing what Ulmquad can do, only to notice what else he had on him.
"It looks like he has more than the Stingblade. Look, a Torrent Krinth and a Torwegg, those'll boost his Water and Air Attacks." Said Naruko, seeing the Danians were confident in taking down Aokua if their leader was equipped with that much BattleGear.
"Yeah…but that's only seven, our Scanners showed there were eight Creatures here. Where's the last one?" Sakura said, not seeing where the eighth Danian was, meaning that they must be hiding.
"We're about to see, look." Naruko said while nodding up at the ceiling, seeing Aokua was now right above them waiting to strike.
Ducking down to avoid being seen or hit during the coming fight, Naruko and Sakura watched and waited as the Danians kept moving through the cavern.
"No sign of movement, Battlemaster. Could Aokua have moved his nest, elsewhere?" Questioned a Mandiblor, since they haven't seen any sign of Aokua since coming nor any movement.
"No, he hasn't left since building his nest here. If he isn't here then he's likely out hunting. With any luck the UnderWorlder will be gone long enough for us to get into position." Ulmquad said, fully intending to make sure Aokua dies today or pays for all the Danians he's killed by becoming one of them.
"So sorry to disappoint then, Ulmquad! Flame Orb!" Aokua said, detaching from the ceiling and diving down at the Danians, shooting a barrage of fireballs at them, shocking the Danians at the sight.
"Move now! Torrent of Water!" Said Ulmquad while firing a jet of water at the fireballs, extinguishing them, while the Mandiblors jumped out of the way.
"Fire!" A Mandiblor said, raising their pikes and firing energy blasts at the UnderWorlder, only for Aokua to block the blasts with his wings.
"Windslash!" Said Aokua while rapidly flapping his wings, releasing blades of wind at the Mandiblors, throwing them back only for the one with the Pyroblaster to take aim.
"Let's see how you like flames UnderWorlder!" Said the Mandiblor, releasing a blast of fire at Aokua.
"Toxic Gust!" Ulmquad said, releasing a green cloud of toxic gas, which was intensified when it hit the flames rushing towards Aokua.
"Try harder insects!" Aokua said, flying into the air avoiding the attacks before he inhaled deeply.
"Megaro-" Said Aokua, about to unleash a roar, only for a blur to speed beneath him.
"Spirit Gust!" The blur said, unleashing a horde of wailing spirits that slammed into Aokua and began surrounding him.
"Who else is he-" Aokua said, looking for the blur only to see they vanished, before a blast of green goo hit him in the face.
"Try this next!" Said the Mandiblor with the Plasma Pounder while shooting globs of slime at the dragon-like Creature's wings, causing Aokua to crash into the ground when his wings got stuck.
"Keep firing! Lightning Burst!" Ulmquad said, firing a blast of lightning from his Stingblade, making Aokua grunt in pain as he was electrocuted.
Before he began growling as the Mandiblors all began shooting blasts at him or hitting him with the fire, while the one with Plasma Pounder kept shooting slime blasts at him to keep him restrained.
The sight made Naruko scowl before moving to go and try helping Aokua, only for Sakura to pull her back.
"Not yet! If we go now, we're dead! Especially if that fast moving Creature sees us!" Sakura whispered, seeing that the eighth Danian was either really fast or using a BattleGear that boosted their speed, letting them strike while moving between the shadows.
"Ugh, fine!" Said Naruko, not liking to just stand and do nothing, before they saw Aokua roar loudly before breaking free from the goo.
"Megaroar!" Aokua shouted, unleashing a powerful roar at the Danians, making them cry out from the volume while numerous rocks began falling from the ceiling.
"Telekinetic Bolt!" Said Aokua, releasing a blue energy wave at the rocks, taking control of them before having them slam into the Danians.
"Rip Tide!" Ulmquad said while firing rotating jets of water from his Torrent Krinth, that were strong enough to smash through the rocks.
"Skeletal Strike!" Aokua said as a skeletal version of himself emerged from his chest, launching itself at Ulmquad.
"Not so fast!" Said the Mandiblor with the Pyroblaster, shooting a fireball that destroyed the skeleton.
"Now, freeze Aokua! Freeze Flash!" Said Ulmquad, unleashing a blast of frozen air and rock debris at Aokua.
"After hearing you scream! Fearocity!" Said Aokua while shooting a swirling vortex of black spirit-like heads with sharp teeth and glowing, red eyes at Ulmquad, with both attacks colliding against each other.
"Web Cocoon!" The blur said as it reappeared, rushing past Aokua while firing a stream of webbing that ensnared the UnderWorlder.
"Stop hiding insect and die! Iron Balls!" Aokua said, firing a barrage of iron balls from his eyes towards the blur, only for them to dodge the attack and rush back to the shadows.
"You're the only one that'll die here, Aokua! Frost Blight!" Said Ulmquad, unleashing a blast of snow, freezing wind and razor-sharp ice shards at the dragon-like Creature.
With Aokua roaring in pain as the attack impacted him and began covering his body in ice, even worse when the Plasma Pounder-wielding Mandiblor fired a stream of goo at him which was frozen as well. Further encasing the UnderWorlder and leaving him unable to move.
"Now's our chance, fire!" Said the Mandiblor with the Pyroblaster, shooting a jet of fire at Aokua as the rest fired energy blasts.
"Can we do something now?!" Naruko asked while looking heatedly at Sakura upon seeing Aokua being overwhelmed.
"Not yet, we need to wait for a good moment." Said Sakura, wanting to help as well, but right now they'd be useless unless they get a good chance to do something.
Before their eyes widened when they saw Aokua releasing a bright light as the ice and frozen goo suddenly shattered around him.
"Flash Mend!" Aokua said while restoring some of his energy, before growling at the Danians.
"I will feast on your bones! Fear Projection!" Said Aokua, releasing an energy wave that slammed into the Danians, before they began screaming in horror as they were assaulted by terrifying images.
"Flashwarp!" Said Aokua before shooting a blast from his mouth at two Mandiblors, encasing them both in stone, with the UnderWorlder lunging forward and biting down on them to them shatter into pieces.
"No! Winterclaw!" Ulmquad shouted in anger, thrusting his hand forward unleashing a large, clawed ice hand at Aokua.
"Power Pulse!" Aokua said, releasing a blast of blue energy from his mouth that blasted through the ice, making Ulmquad grunt as they crashed into him.
"You'll pay for the lives you stolen!" Said the Mandiblor with the Pyroblaster, shooting multiple fireballs at Aokua, which he blocked with his wings.
"You'll be joining the fallen soon, in my stomach! Windslash!" Said Aokua, flapping his wings rapidly, unleashing blades of wind at the Mandiblor, which sliced through the Danian and knocked the Pyroblaster away.
"Torrent of Water! Lightning Burst!" Ulmquad said shooting a jet of water from his Torrent Krinth and a blast of lightning from his Stingblade at Aokua.
The attacks combined together as they hit the UnderWorlder, making Aokua roar as he was sent crashing into a wall, being pinned to it by the attacks. With the remaining Mandiblors joining the Battlemaster in keeping Aokua held in place, the one with the Plasma Pounder shooting several shots at him.
"I-Iron Balls!" Aokua said before firing a barrage of iron balls at the Danians to knock them back, just as the blur came out again.
"Sleep Sting!" Said the blur shooting a barrage of stingers at Aokua, making his eyes widen as the stingers stabbed into his body causing him to feel drowsy.
"T-Tele-Telekinetic…Bolt!" Aokua said, trying to stay awake as he released a blue energy wave, animating the debris around the cavern and directing it at the Danians.
With the Danians trying to move only to grunt as the rocks and debris slammed into them, knocking them away or knocking their weapons out of their hands. Giving Aokua a chance to get out of the way, while fighting off the Sleep Sting.
Seeing the Danians were picking themselves up from the Telekinetic Bolt, Naruko looked around for anything they could use to help until Aokua recovers. The whiskered blonde soon spotting the Pyroblaster the Mandiblor had been using. Along with seeing the Plasma Pounder that had been knocked out of its wielder's hands.
"Sakura! You get the Plasma Pounder, I'll get the Pyroblaster!" Naruko said while rushing for the Pyroblaster.
"Okay!" Said Sakura as she ran to the Plasma Pounder.
Reaching the Pyroblaster, Naruko grunted for a moment as she lifted it up, steadying herself as she got a hold of it before aiming at the Danians.
"Hey! Creepy Crawlies!" Naruko shouted, getting the Danians attention just as she pulled the trigger releasing a blast of fire at them, forcing the insect-like Creatures to move out of the way.
"Chaotic players! Deal with them!" Ulmquad ordered, annoyed that Chaotic players were interfering in their mission.
"Be more worried about me! Evaporize!" Aokua said as he glowed brightly before a layer of sand fell off his body, showing him to now be in a less damaged state.
"Megaroar!" Roared Aokua, releasing a shockwave at the Mandiblors, throwing them across the cavern and crashing into the wall.
"You're turn!" Sakura said, struggling for a moment to lift the Plasma Pounder before firing a blast of goo at the Mandiblors, trapping them, while stumbling back from the recoil of the BattleGear.
"You humans should have minded your own business! Hail Storm!" Said Ulmquad, unleashing a wave of hail at the pinkette, only for it to be incinerated by the Pyroblaster.
"Don't fuck with my friends, bug boy! Not unless you want to be burned!" Naruko said before shooting a stream of fire at the Battlemaster.
"Don't interfere in a battle you have no hope of winning! Rip Tide!" Ulmquad retorted, firing a jet of water that impacted against the flames and began pushing them back, forcing Naruko to quickly get out of the way before she was hit.
"Didn't I say you should be worried about me, Ulmquad?! Iron Balls!" Said Aokua, looking at Ulmquad and firing a barrage of iron balls at him, making the Danian cry out as he was thrown back against the wall, gritting his teeth as the barrage kept up.
With it only getting worse as Aokua approached him, intensifying each impact as Ulmquad was forced into the ground while the dragon-like Creature towered over him.
Spotting the blur rushing out of the shadows again, Sakura quickly aimed the Plasma Pounder in front of it, firing a stream of goo which the blur couldn't stop in time before hitting it. With the blur tripping and skidding across the ground, revealing the Danian that had been running around.
"Chaac as well. A Danian Squadleader and Battlemaster sent after me, what an honor to kill you both! Power Pulse!" Said Aokua, gathering a large amount of energy in his mouth before unleashing a single much more powerful blast of blue energy that smashed right into the Battlemaster.
"NO!" Chaac yelled in horror as the attack impacted Ulmquad, forming a small crater as the Battlemaster collapsed to the ground unmoving.
"Hehehehehe, four down…four to go." Aokua said, turning to the trapped Mandiblors next, wanting to have a meal to restore his energy before devouring Chaac.
"You…death is too merciful! Become one of us, UnderWorlder!" Said Chaac, spitting a Danian Parasite at Aokua, making him quickly turn as his eyes widened at the sight of the Parasite.
"Not happening!" Said Naruko as she aimed the Pyroblaster, releasing a fireball that incinerated the Parasite before it could reach Aokua.
"Skeletal Strike!" Said Aokua as a skeleton emerged from his body, rushing at Chaac and slamming into him, sending the Squadleader slamming into the wall groaning in pain.
"Is that all of them?" Sakura asked, looking around for any other Danians.
"Yes, that's all of them. It seems I owe you both my thanks for your assistance, and saving me from such a horrible fate as being turned into a Danian." Aokua said, thankful for their help, having not expected a Battlemaster and Squadleader to both be sent after him, let alone with the amount of BattleGear Ulmquad had on him.
"No problem, glad we could help. But what was that thing Chaac spat at you? And what do you mean, being turned into a Danian?" Naruko asked, confused at what he meant.
"That thing is called a Danian Parasite, some Danians use them to infect other Creatures." Replied Sakura, with Aokua nodding in agreement.
"Yes, and those infected will soon turn into Danians themselves, a fate worse than death in my opinion." Aokua added, making Naruko's eyes widen.
"Oh…" Said Naruko, feeling unnerved that Danians had something like that, along with relieved that they did stay to help, given that could've happened to Aokua.
Though, unknown to the three, Chaac began getting up from the hit before pulling out his BattleGear; a Talisman of the Mandiblor that helped boost his speed, but it also had another use.
"T-Talisman of t-th-the Mandiblor…revive Ulmquad!" Said Chaac as the Talisman opened up releasing the mystical energy within which flew over to Ulmquad, causing the Battlemaster to gasp as he was revived.
"Go! Ulmquad go, now while you ca-" Said Chaac, only to gasp in pain when Aokua lunged forward and stomped down on his back.
"You should've just died, Chaac!" Aokua growled, annoyed that he revived Ulmquad before looking at the Battlemaster.
"Will you fight and die again, Ulmquad? Or runaway a failure?" Said Aokua, making Ulmquad clench his fists while looking around at the remaining Danians.
"…I swear you will be avenged! And you will pay Aokua!" Ulmquad swore before activating his Torwegg and flying away.
"I thought so. Now for you." Aokua stated while looking down at Chaac hungrily, with the Danian glaring defiantly at the UnderWorlder, already knowing what'll happen next.
Before the Danian could react, Aokua's head shot down biting down on Chaac's own head, tearing it off as he began devouring the Danian Squadleader. Making Naruko and Sakura quickly turn around, neither of them wanting to see a Creature being eaten.
"This…really isn't like the game." Naruko muttered, really seeing that unlike the game, there are real consequences to losing a battle; consequences that can sometimes be lethal to the losers.
"Yeah." Said Sakura, having already learned that it's not just a game in Perim, it's a constant fight for survival for the Creatures, here.
"Aaaaahhh, Danians are always so delicious once you get past the hardened shell." Aokua said once he finished eating Chaac, before picking up the Talisman of the Mandiblor along with the Stingblade, Ulmquad had dropped.
"So…you'll be alright now?" Naruko asked as they turned around, wondering if more Danians will show up.
"Of course. This isn't the first time the Danians have tried getting rid of me, and it won't be the last. Though after losing a Squadleader and almost losing a Battlemaster, they'll likely be more hesitant about who's sent after me." Replied Aoku before going over to them and holding out the BattleGear, much to their confusion.
"Here, since you came here for scans, then I'm sure you'll enjoy having these." Aokua said, surprising the girls before they smiled and scanned the Stingblade, seeing it as the more useful of the two.
"Sweet! A Creature, a Location and a BattleGear! This turned out to be awesome!" Said Naruko, happy at getting three new scans.
"Yeah, not many players have scans of a Stingblade, it'll really be useful to have." Sakura added, before they saw Aokua still holding the BattleGear out to them.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'd also ask that you bring the Talisman of the Mandiblor and the Stingblade to Ulmar or Khybon in the UnderWorld for study." Aokua said, wanting to make sure such powerful BattleGear have been studied and reverse engineered for the UnderWorld.
"Definitely!" Naruko said, eager to bring the BattleGear to Ulmar or Khybon, knowing that'll really help her get on the UnderWorlders good side.
"But isn't the Talisman of the Mandiblor used up, after it revived Ulmquad?" Questioned Sakura, looking at the Talisman.
"It was, but that doesn't mean it still can't be researched." Said Aokua, handing the BattleGear to Naruko, who managed to put together a make-shift harness to place the Stingblade on her back before pocketing the Talisman.
"You wanna come Sakura?" Naruko asked while looking at the pinkette, only for her to shake her head.
"No thanks, I've had enough excitement for one day. I'll meet you back in Chaotic." Sakura said, not wanting to get caught in any more trouble after everything else.
"Okay, see you later. And see you too Aokua!" Naruko said, waving to them as she ported away to UnderWorld City.
"…I see why you like her so much, she's a fun one! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Aokua laughed, while Sakura blushed in embarrassment and glared at the UnderWorlder.
"Remember that, the next time you need help!" Said Sakura, before porting back to Chaotic.
Aokua only laughed louder at her embarrassment, taking a few moments to calm down before turning to the remaining Mandiblors that were still trapped. Growling eagerly as he approached them to finish his meal.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see Naruko and Sakura heading to the Uzumaki Household where they meet Kushina, before porting to Chaotic. With Sakura answering all of Naruko's questions while revealing everything she'll need to know about how things work in Chaotic and Perim, along with some differences to the game compared to the rules on Earth. While also showing some teasing/flirting from Naruko, much to Sakura's embarrassment.
Before the two port to Perim on a Scan Quest, where they encounter Aokua at his nest near Mount Pillar, with him taking them on a ride and seems like he's going to eat them. Only for Naruko to reveal she knew it was a prank from Sakura, much to the pinkette's annoyance, even more so when Naruko and Aokua hit things off, while getting a scan of him. Along with being taken up to Oipont's Lookout to scan it as well.
Then we see them returning to Aokua's nest only for their Scanners to pick up several Danians inside, finding Ulmquad and Chaac and several Mandiblor guards inside waiting to ambush Aokua. With the UnderWorlder putting up a fight but soon starts being overwhelmed due to Chaac's ambush attacks and Ulmquad's power being boosted by his BattleGear. Luckily Naruko and Sakura manage to help after grabbing a Pyroblaster and Plasma Pounder the Mandiblors had and dropped. Distracting the Danians long enough for Aokua to gain the upper hand. With him managing to kill Ulmquad until Chaac uses his Talisman of the Mandiblor to revive him allowing the Battlemaster to escape, only to be eaten himself by Aokua.
Finally we see Aokua thanking Naruko and Sakura for their help, with them scanning the Stingblade Ulmquad dropped, with Naruko also taking the Stingblade and Talisman to the UnderWorld for Ulmar or Khybon to look over. While Sakura returns to Chaotic to wait for Naruko to return. So, for those that like the story, thanks for your support. For those that don't or at least don't like the direction taken, you're more than welcomed to drop the story. But thanks for giving the story a chance anyway.
Storm out