Four days in, and Lily was not where she wanted to be at all. Restless, hungry, and alone. With only a talking roomba to keep her company, she felt more lonely than she ever felt in her life. She just wanted her friends to be okay. Not knowing where they were or what happened to them weighed heavy on her, not to mention how many of their disappearances she blamed herself for. They didn't deserve to be lost in a cursed forest with monstrous demons everywhere.
"Hey, are you okay, Lily? You look troubled," asked Cocorobo. The two of them managed to find a small cave to hole up in for the night, one without any bears or ISBs in it. The roomba rested next to Lily's head while she slept on the cold ground without a blanket or a pillow. She even thought she saw a tear run down the blonde's cheek.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Lily just barely noticed the sunlight peering through the cave, showing that morning had come. She really wanted to be back home for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest ones was so she could finally sleep in a bed again. The rocky ground did not make for a good mattress.
Since she stayed awake for most of the night, Lily and Cocorobo did a bit of talking, mostly about the presumed location of the Fountain of Diolacov. Lily wondered if such a thing even existed, but the ISBs clearly had something to do with it. She recalled their overnight exchange:
"Why don't they just go into the fountain? Wouldn't that heal them?"
"For them, it's not that easy. The shadow beasts that chased you were cursed long ago. They are remnants of the old days, literal shadows of the past. Like the fountain, they are part of the forest and can't be detached from it. Since I'm just a prisoner here, I'm hoping the fountain will work on me. If not..." Cocorobo stopped speaking. Lily sat up and listened to what her friend was about to say. "Please make good use of me. I'm really good at cleaning."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Coco, you're not gonna be a roomba forever. I'll get you back in your human body in no time. Okay?"
"You're so kind, Lily. It makes me so happy to know you want to help me so much. If you can find a way to make me human again, I'll be forever in your debt."
Lily mulled over this conversation for hours. She wasn't so sure she wanted Cocorobo to feel indebted to her, especially since she didn't even know if they'd find the fountain. She couldn't promise Cocorobo she'd be human again, but she sure as heck tried. How could she, a lowly musician, stop such a great curse?
"We should probably get going. It'll take a few hours to find the fountain. I hope you got lotsa rest!" Cocorobo told her human partner.
Lily lifted her heavy body from the ground and stretched her arms out. She ached all over, and she really did not want to embark on a grand quest right away. Unfortunately, Coco was right. If they had a few hours of walking ahead of them, they needed to go straight away.
Lily lifted Cocorobo in her arms and carried her out of the cave, walking back into the forest and hiking down the nonexistent path. She followed Cocorobo's directions, but even the vacuum cleaner was unsure if they were reliable or not. If things got hairy, Lily would be able to climb on Coco's back and fly through the forest like they did before. She did not want it to come to that, since she still wasn't used to being launched at such speeds.
As Cocorobo predicted, the walk through the forest took hours. She and Lily made idle conversation, discussing things such as their favorite animals, memories, friends back home, and then some.
"Your friends sound really nice! I can't wait to meet this CUL person. Una, too! Gakupo seems a little scary, though."
"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Lily laughed. "What about you? Do you have anyone to go back to?"
"No," Cocorobo sighed. "I never had too many friends. I'm not... good at talking to people. I kinda got kicked out of my home at a young age, so I've been struggling to get by. I guess that motivated me to seek adventure. I didn't have anything to lose! I guess I do now, though."
"Why is that?"
"Because now, I have a friend."
Lily blushed, surprised by such flattery. They hadn't known each other for long, but Cocorobo already trusted her enough to call her a friend. It felt good to hear that, it was exactly the motivation Lily needed at that point in time.
"I'm happy you think that way. Maybe when we get out of here, I can help you get back on your feet. I know you've been missing for a while, so it'll be hard for you to get back into society on your own. I'll try to help in any way I can."
"Really?!" Cocorobo's enthusiasm showed. "You're the best, Lily! Thank you so so so much!"
It felt good to make someone else feel so happy. Lily did not know how she would help Cocorobo, but she swore to stay true to her word. Suddenly, Lily didn't feel so lonely anymore. She had a friend right there with her.
After some mindless chit chat that lasted for hours, the singer and her roomba finally reached a stretch of land that seemed manmade. Large hedges that stood in perfect square shapes led into a grassy field, where there seemed to be much less dirt and filth.
"This way, we're almost there!" Cocorobo encouraged Lily to keep going.
The further they walked through the hedges, the more remarkable things the duo saw. Rows of perfectly-maintained flowers lined both sides of the walkway, and at the furthest end, a great fountain of clear water poured into a large pool. No insects flew there, no animals bothered it, and not a single plant wilted. Wherever they were, it was undoubtedly magical.
"It's so beautiful," Lily admired the fountain from afar, but Cocorobo invited her to move closer.
The pair stood in front of the great fountain, gazing into their reflections and watching the endless stream of water pour into place. The sight of such a wonder was breathtaking. Absolutely the work of the gods.
"Well, go on, then. Put me in!"
Lily looked down at Cocorobo with astonishment.
"Are you sure about this? You're electric, and this is water! This might..."
"I'm confident it won't!" Coco didn't let Lily finish. "The fountain is meant to heal, it's not possible for anyone to die in it. Trust me, I'll be fine!"
Taking this in, Lily gulped and nodded her head. She did not support combining electrical objects with water under any circumstances, but this fountain was supposed to be a healer. If it could heal "any ailment," would Coco's condition count as one? Cocorobo seemed quite convinced, and Lily did not want to let her down. Especially not after promising to help her out.
"Okay, here goes..."
Taking a big step back, Lily stretched out both of her arms with Cocorobo in her hands. With a great heave, Lily tossed the roomba into the Fountain of Diolacov. After giving a little "Wee!", Cocorobo made a splash and disappeared under the surface. Lily shielded herself from the water that splashed ashore, but kept her eyes peeled for what would happen next.
In the next instant, a bright light emitted from underneath the water. Lily stepped back and watched as the blinding force in front of her gave way for a rising silhouette. The shape of a girl appeared and slowly gained color as the light faded. Her hair was pink and twirly, with a cowlick and small twirls on both sides of it. Her eyes were greenish blue, her cheeks were red and rosy, and she was quite adorable.
"Coco?" even without having seen the girl before, Lily knew who it was. The fountain had worked exactly as they planned, and Cocorobo successfully returned to being a human.
"Lily! Oh my gosh!"
Having regained her human body, the first thing Cocorobo did was leap out of the fountain and embrace Lily, bringing her to the ground in the biggest hug she could possibly give.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Lily giggled as Cocorobo squished the heck out of her. It felt good to do a good thing. Once they finished hugging each other to death, the two stood up. Cocorobo shook herself out, still being drenched from swimming in the fountain. Lily was also wet, thanks to her. She didn't complain about it, though.
"It feels so good to be me again!" Cocorobo twiddled her fingers and walked in small circles, regaining a sense of balance in her legs. She almost forgot what it felt like to be human, so being able to move in such a way again meant everything to her. "I owe you so so so much, Lily! I'll never be able to thank you enough!"
"Don't mention it. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
Once Cocorobo finished basking in the delight of having her body back, she and her partner decided it was time to leave. They still had work that needed to be done.
"Wait. Did you hear that?"
Before the fountain's visitors could leave, a loud rustling sound erupted from the trees. Lily and Cocorobo backed into each other, watching all angles from where they stood. Someone was coming. Or maybe something. Lily hoped it would be one of her friends, or all of them, preferably, but would she be so lucky?
As soon as Lily heard a very specific sound, she knew who was approaching. Without any doubt in her mind, she recognized that exact word.
"Meow."
The first thing to enter through the hedges was the shadow of a wild cat. The very same wild cat that attacked Lily's camp on the first night. The same wild cat that caught her in the rope trap and terrorized the campers for most of their stay. The real kicker? It wasn't a cat at all. As it came closer, it turned out to be a person. A person Lily knew.
"Iroha?!"
Crawling on all fours and rising to her feet to stand before the campers, Nekomura Iroha of the AHS household presented herself. On her hands and feet, she wore gloves and shoes that resembled cat paws. That explained how she managed to leave behind such imprints. But, what was she doing out here, and what was her motivation?
"You... You were the wild cat this whole time!" Lily concluded.
"Lily, who is this?" Coco asked in a hushed voice.
"Nekomura Iroha. She's a singer just like me, but she's been attacking me and my friends ever since we came out here!" Lily answered, then addressed the cat. "What's wrong? You were always so kind to me before! We even did that Hello Kitty collab together!"
"Hehehehehehehehehe..." Iroha responded with a conniving cackle. "HeheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
Once she finished with her obligatory evil laugh, Iroha explained herself.
"Oh, Lily. You were always the silliest of the Vocaloid singers. You should have known better than to come out here. This forest is no place for girls like you."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain anything! What's gotten into you? Do you know where my friends are?"
"Hehehehehehe... Sorry, Lily. I can't let you or your pink vacuum cleaner leave. You two will be coming with me now."
Lily and Cocorobo weren't sure if they were hearing this right. Was Iroha threatening to take them away somewhere? This wasn't right. Iroha wasn't supposed to be like this. Something was terribly wrong.
"We're not going anywhere with you! What makes you think you can talk to us like that?!" Lily shouted in her growing anger.
"Oh, I don't know..." Iroha rubbed her fake paws together. "If you won't listen to me, maybe my friends can be a little more convincing."
"Friends?"
A high-pitched roar from the distance indicated what Iroha referred to. Lily and Cocorobo backed closer to each other and watched as numerous Indefinable Shadow Beasts flew in from all sides. There were too many to count, and all of them were angry. Along with them, a certain twin-tailed spirit flew in, giggling to herself in a similar manner to Iroha.
"Ring? I guess she wasn't bound to the cabin," Lily murmured.
Soon enough, Lily and Coco were surrounded. They had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. On all sides, they were met with ISBs, Iroha, or Ring. They couldn't hope to escape if they tried.
"What do you say, Lily? Will you surrender, or face the wrath of the Indefinable Shadow Beasts?" Iroha laid out the options.
"And me!" Ring included herself.
Given the circumstances, Lily's answer was decided for her. She and her partner could not fend for themselves against the vicious spirits. They needed to give in.
"Fine. We surrender," Lily hung her head in defeat.
A despicable smile curled up on Iroha's face, and she slowly sauntered over to where her newest catches stood. This little game of hers was nearing its end, and she would be the winner.
"You made the right decision."