Swarming Problems
Ashaki rested on the veranda of Sheriff HQ, her gaze tilted toward the giant gem that is the Ruby Pure Heart. It was a thing of beauty, each facet, perfectly cut. The only flaw was the ginormous crack on the side. She wanted to levitate up to it and study it.
"Morning!" Badgerclops called out behind her. "Taking in the view?"
Ashaki tilted her head, "Something like that." Ashaki pointed to the Ruby Pure Heart. "Do you know how that crack came to be?"
Badgerclops averted his own gaze. "Oh, I've never seen it without the crack as long as we've been here." That much was true, yes he and Mao Mao made the crack, but they didn't know what happened until after the fact. So he and Mao Mao have never actually seen it without a crack.
"Hmm, I see." Ashaki pushed herself to her feet.
"Hey, where you goin?" Badgerclops asked, Ashaki pacing over to the escalator panel.
"Royal archives, I have some things to wrap up," Ashaki half shouted back. Once positioned on the panel, she hit the button, triggering the mechanisms to purr. Before she disappeared from view, Ashaki shouted back, "I'll be back!"
Tanya stepped out of the house, looking side to side, "have you seen Mittens anywhere?"
Badgerclops shrugged. "Haven't seen him all day, you need him?"
"Nah, I just wanted to say I'll be back soon," swinging the keys to her gold plated Aerotruck — which were also plated gold.
"Hold up, your leaving?" Badgerclops said. His tone gave away that he was bummed to see her leave. He had grown used to her witty banter and easy demeanor, even if their first interaction had been a kidnapping.
"Yeah, but I'll be back in a couple days," she explained, punching a button on her fob. A low rumbling and splash of water could be heard just off the cliff face as her truck flew through the sky and parked itself on the front lawn. The on-board computer system didn't have the subtlety of an organic touch, so the bot's landing tore up the turf as it came to a stop.
Before she could even step off the patio, the blue blur of Adorabat flew out the front door, wrapping her wings around Tanya's neck.
"Nooooo!" Adorabat cried through the tears. "Please don't go!"
Tanya sighed. She loved Adorabat, she really did. If Tanya had a daughter of her own, she'd want her to be just like Adorabat. Begrudgingly, she pried the tiny wings off of her. "Kiddo, listen." Setting Adorabat down on the veranda, Tanya dropped to one knee, looking into those big doe eyes. "I'm coming back in a couple of days, until then, you can hold onto this." Tanya gives Adorabat one of her leaves. "This one is special. Use this if you ever need me. But I don't think you'll need it." Tanya looked up over to Badgerclops. "Keep a seat warm for me!"
And just like that, Tanya left the Valley.
Mao Mao slashed through the empty air. Stepped, moving Geraldine to her next position. Flowing between the different forms. All the while, he concentrated on his breathing. He had the general idea for the new technique down, he just had to give it shape. Once all that was said and done, he'd have to come up with a boss name to shout as he performed the technique.
Once he had concluded the form, he rested against a tree, heaving big breaths. Better, he needed to be better. Folding his legs, Mao Mao closed his eyes, picturing the other night when he fought Violet. He moved through the motions again, the flurry of jabs getting parried by his sword.
Image training, an under appreciated form of training. People will argue that it's more akin to daydreaming, but really it's mental preparation for possible scenarios. Mao Mao imagined himself knocking the spear away, using the opening to move in to restrain Violet.
Mao Mao replayed the scene again, only now when he knocked the spear away, Violet twisted on her heel. The spear tip arced towards his head, the edge of the steel was a mere centimeters from his face before rewinding just far enough back that when he played it again, he blocked the spear with Geraldine.
Will any of this come in handy? Maybe not, it's impossible to prepare for every kind of encounter, but being mentally ready will improve his reaction time should it actually happen.
After running what must've been fifty different outcomes, Mao Mao decided to finally have a real rest, mental and physical. Staring back through the trees, he caught sight of Sheriff HQ. A gold plated truck was parked out front, Tanya hopping through the window and into the driver seat.
Curiosity won out, Mao Mao stepped around the trees, winding his way back to HQ. By the time he emerged through the maze of bark, Tanya and her gold plated Aerotruck were already a small yellow dot in the skyline.
"Where's she going?" Mao Mao asked himself.
"She said she was leaving to take care of some stuff," Badgerclops answered, causing Mao Mao to jolt.
"What stuff?"
Badgerclops merely shrugged, "she didn't say."
Mao Mao grumbled under his breath. This was a weird time for Tanya to up an leave all of a sudden. She had seem invested in everything that was happening. Plus she still had to pay him back after she and Violet tore up the front yard.
Before Mao Mao could stew in this any longer, blaring alarms rung out and flashing red lights could be seen from their window.
"Looks like we should get to work!" Mao Mao sheathed Geraldine, making a beeline for the Aerocycle.
Badgerclops only had enough time to open his mouth before Mao Mao had ducked into the house. He was about to say Minori and Violet were already down in the village on patrol, but it would appear that was moot now. He leaned down and scooped up Adorabat, who was wiping away the last of the tears, tucking the leaf Tanya gave her in a safe spot.
Mao Mao ran up to the pole leading down into the garage. Leaping from the floor to the pole, his momentum brought him swinging around the pole as he descended. Before touching the ground, Mao Mao leapt from the pole to the floor, rolling into a final leap that carried him to the Aerocycle.
"That was so extra," Badgerclops said, sliding down the pole.
"It's been too long since I last defended the valley, I want my return to be... dramatic!" Mao Mao said, waving his hand with a flourish.
"Didn't you save the whole valley from a moth like a week ago?" Badgerclops said skeptically. "I think you just want a reason to be extra."
"No, technically, Ashaki defeated the moth," Mao Mao corrected. "I barely saw the thing, let alone fought it."
Badgerclops threw in the towel, there's no reasoning with Mao Mao when he's in this headspace. Setting Adorabat down on the seat, Badgerclops settled on the seat behind her. Revving the engine with a flick of his wrist, Mao Mao donned one of his wicked grins, feeling the itch to get back into the swing of things.
The bike lurched forward, splashing through the curtain of water and on the winds down to the valley. Once a few blocks away from the action, Mao Mao caught sight of Minori on the roof of one the resident households, batting away at something. Still to far away to see the source of the commotion, he spoke through the comm link in their helmets.
"I'm going to bring us in close," he told them. "I'll assist Minori, Badgerclops, I want you to take the wheel and locate Violet. We'll proceed accordingly."
Mao Mao didn't wait for an answer, jumping off the Aero-vehicle once they were overhead of Minori. Wind whipped through Mao Mao's ear as careened towards the thatch roof. Mao Mao slid along the tilt of the roof, drawing and burying Geraldine in the thatch, pulling himself to a stop.
Looking over to Minori, he finally got a look at the beasts she was fighting. A foot long wingspan and green bodies with a length of eight inches, Mao Mao was well aware of what the Jade Wasps were capable of.
Once Mao Mao saw what he and the team were up against, he hesitated. Looking down at the blade in his grip, he saw how violently Geraldine shook. Mao Mao shook his head, steeling himself. If he let these pests get the best of him before the fight began, he'd be worse off than he was prior.
Mao Mao dashed to his sister's aid, slashing through two of the wasps with ease. Minori clapped one of them between her hands, her face contorted into revulsion at the guts drenching her hands.
"What are these things?" Minori asked, wiping the bug guts off on her gi.
"Bad news," Mao Mao responded. "Especially if they sting you."
Minori's ears twitched when she heard that. "Why? What happens when they sting you?"
Mao Mao picked up on the urgency in her voice. "Did they sting you? How many times?"
"I don't know, twenty I think!" Minori have said, her voice strained as she tries to keep her composure.
"How the hell are you no-" Mao Mao's words caught in his throat, realizing that Minori can't succumb to their neurotoxin. They have to break her skin to use it. "Of course, your bangles protect you from the toxin."
Minori's shoulders dropped, returning to relaxed demeanor. "Geez, don't scare me like that!" Minori patted at her chest. "I thought I was going to die there."
"Where's Violet?" Mao Mao asked, surveying the surrounding area, making sure no wasps snuck up on them.
"Not sure," Minori admitted. "When the wasps attacked, we evacuated as many people as we could before getting separated. There were just so many."
"Don't suppose you got a rough estimate?"
Minori brought her hand to her chin. "Hmm, I'd say a hundred, at least."
"A hundred?!" Last time, there was only a few dozen. Now there's more than double that. "Well that is just great. Let's try to find the others."
Mao Mao and Minori leapt from the roof, kicking off into a run, their red and orange capes fluttered behind them. Wasps littered the air, zipping from one side of the street to another. Mao Mao prioritized avoiding them if he could, slashing at any that came too close for comfort.
Minori swatted at a wasp that tried to attack from Mao Mao's blind spot, knocking it flat into a wall. "How did you deal with these things last time?"
Mao Mao ducked around a corner, Minori following close on his heels. "Covered the plaza in smoke, but I don't think that'll work this time. They're too spread out, we'll never get them all in one shot!"
"So we're playing the long game then? Fine by me, I need a stress reliever." Minori hopped onto a nearby wall, vaulting off of it. Whilst suspended in midair, she slashed through another wasp with her claws. "Where's Ashaki? She should be helping us!"
Last Mao Mao saw her was at breakfast, however, he had left early for his covert training in the woods. "If I were to guess, I'd guess say she's in the palace." Mao turned another corner, a wall of wasps waiting for him.
Minori reached out and grabbed Mao Mao by his cape, pulling him back around the corner. "Let's head this way!" Mao Mao nodded in response. The two rushed through the cobbled streets, half a horde of wasps listing after them.
Badgerclops unleashed a volley of laser blasts, burning the Jade Wasps to ashes. Adorabat hid behind him, the skies too littered to have free reign. If that wasn't bad enough, Violet was nowhere to be found.
"Adorabat! Battlecry!" Badgerclops' arm shifted into a device resembling a bullhorn. Holding up to Adorabat's mouth, Badgerclops braced himself, covering his ears by draping his remaining arm over his head.
"GO AWAY BUGS!!!!" Adorabat screeched, the air distorting with the sound waves. The wasps were knocked back as the glass windows to the surrounding stores and houses shattered.
This gave them some breathing room, enough for Badgerclops to turn and run. "Come on, Adorabat!" Answering the call, Adorabat followed suit, flying low to the ground. Badgerclops moved as fast as he could, his arms pumping, his breath heaving. They barely made it two blocks before he got winded. "I *gasp* can't *wheeze* run *hack* anymore!"
"Come on Badgerclops," Adorabat pulled at his leg, trying to coax him into taking another step. "We have to keep moving!"
"Just go, find Violet, I'll keep the swarm busy!" Badgerclops faced the swarm once more. The green color of the wasps peppered the sky, accompanied with the buzzing of their wings. "If I'm going down," Badgerclops placed his hand on his robotic arm, moving his hand back and forward, mimicking a pump action shotgun. "I'm going down blastin'."
"That's unnecessary." Violet's voice said in reply. The two looked back, searching for the source of her voice. They cast their gaze up, finding Violet perched on a rooftop, shurikens gripped between her fingers. Whipping her arm in a large arc, the throwing stars sprayed out, each one hitting a target. Violet stepped off the roof, hooking the rain gutter, she slid down the side of the building. "This way," Violet ducked into an alley.
Badgerclops and Adorabat exchanged glances. They looked back to the alley and followed Violet. The swarm streamed into the alley after them. Violet stopped in front of a door, throwing it open, she motioned for them to jump inside.
Badgerclops dove into the doorway, landing on tiled floor. Violet and Adorabat came in after him, slamming the door shut. The Jade Wasps could be heard on the other side of the door, trying to inject their stingers into the wood.
Buzz. Tick. Tick. Click.
Violet stepped away from the door, finally heaving a breath. "Are you two okay?"
"I'm fine," Adorabat said cheerfully. Badgerclops lazily threw a thumbs up.
"That's good," letting her shoulders relax for a moment, Violet immediately stiffened them again. Looking around, she took in her surroundings. The floor was tiled in white porcelain, the room was filled with metal tables and shelves, filled with bowls and utensils. "It would appear we are in a kitchen."
"Kitchen?" Badgerclops' head popped off the floor, looking around for himself. "Hey I know where we are!"
"I believe we are in one of the bakery shops," Violet added.
"It's Ms. Muffin's Bakery shop!" Adorabat exclaimed, flapping over to a white door suspended a few inches in the air by their hinges. Adorabat swung the door open with little effort, the interior of the shop in view. From the inside, the first thing you see is the counter with a register, and plenty of creamy delights in the display case.
"This is the best place to be trapped in!" Badgerclops barged into the store, taking samples of the food in the case.
"We need to figure out how to proceed from here?" Violet added. "I've never seen Jade Wasps in such massive swarms before."
"This is the second time they've attacked the village," Adorabat added, standing before the display window, the name of the shop backwards on the glass.
"Ashaki would know more about these insects than I do," Violet said, her eyes intently watching the wasps as they wizzed around. "What a minute." Violet took a double take, seeing Mao Mao and Minori running through the streets. "What are those two thinking?"
Violet ran to the roadside door, throwing it open, she called out for her siblings. They changed their direction with their next step, twisting on the ball of their foot as their warm toned capes flourished behind them. It didn't take them two seconds to jump through the door, tucking midair, rolling across the tiled floor.
Violet slammed the door behind them, casting a glare back at the two Mao's. "Are you insane? Running through the street while there are Jade Wasps polluting the skies?"
"Don't know what you wanted us to do," Minori dusted off her gi. "But we were looking for you guys."
"Well, you found us, now we're all trapped in this bakery!" Violet gestured to the surrounding sweets.
Minori looked around casually. "Meh, not the worst place to be trapped in."
"Right?" Badgerclops chimed in, mouth stuffed with food.
"Wh-Badgerclops!" Mao Mao shouted. "What are you doing?!"
"What? I'm a stress eater!" Badgerclops defended himself.
"It's still thievery, and heroes don't steal!"
Minori rested her arm against the window, a Jade Wasp staring at her from the other side of the glass. "These things are ugly."
"Is there a way to contact Ashaki?" Badgerclops asked, swallowing the last the sweets, for now.
"She never picks up her phone," Minori answered. "She's always got her nose buried in her books and tomes."
"Can we use my 'secret weapon'?" Adorabat asked, more sounding like she was asking permission than she was saying it was an option.
"No!" Mao Mao said sternly. "You need more training!"
"What are we supposed to do?" Badgerclops said, throwing his arms in the air.
Tapping on the glass deterred them from the argument. All of heroes swiveled to where Ashaki stood on the opposite side of the glass, green energy coating her body.
"Uh..." Badgerclops was left stunned. "Why is your sister glowing?"
"I believe she's coated in chi," Violet examined. A Jade Wasp hovered near Ashaki, never able to plant its stinger as the chi lashed out, burning the wasp to cinders.
Ashaki looked back, counting the wasps that swarmed the city. Holding out her hand, an orb of green light floated inches above her palm. Arcing her arm over her head, the orb shot into the sky. Ashaki held still for a few seconds, finally spreading out her fingers, the orb scattered into countless smaller lights. Each one careened towards a wasp, killing it instantly. The bodies dropped to the cobble, the sound resembling hard rain until the last body hit the ground.
Ashaki took another look, double checking that she took out all of the wasps. Gliding over the dead corpses, Ashaki stepped into the shop, donning an annoyed look as she glanced at each one of them. "Does anybody want to tell me why you have a Jade Wasp problem?"
"Problem?" Badgerclops raised a brow. "This is only the second attack we've had!"
"Exactly," Ashaki retorted. "There should never be more than one! You never took out the nest!"
"There's a nest?" Adorabat asked.
"Indeed, complete with a Queen, who will keep sending swarms until we're overrun."
The air in the room became more tense.
Finally, Mao Mao said, "well, great."