HoloJourneys

by vanderblast

A fateful encounter with a fluffy sheep inside a castle dungeon, begins a journey that will change the world. In a world of magic, swords, magical spirits and endless possibilities, Anon, sets forth on a journey with his friend Watame to see everything this world has to offer and to find their origins. The journey won't always be easy, but together, they can always make it through.

12. A Desparate Showdown Guts vs Science

Watame follows close behind Undine at a swift pace. Getting the spell divination spell to work correctly took a lot longer than she wanted. Everyone was on edge the entire time, it was hard to sit still while Harold and Undine focused on the spell. Every second that she wasn't getting closer to saving Anon wrought her with worry. Flare and Polka were not much help either, they had their own issues to sort through. What actually made the time bearable, was the bubbly girl who Watame wanted to blame this entire mess on.

—-

The sheep knew that wasn't fair the second she had thought it, she knew Nene could not be blamed for any of this, but it was so hard not to have a target for her anger. Nene sat alone on a log with her legs kicking the air in front of her.. How could she be so cheerful at a time like this? Not ten minutes ago she was sobbing and almost hysterical. Maybe it was curiosity, or something more simple, like just not wanting to be alone with her own thoughts, but something compelled Watame to take a seat next to that ray of sunshine.

"How can you be so calm Nene?" Watame asks. "It's probably going to get really dangerous."

"Nene said she would help save hus-Anon…" she answers, as she catches her speech. "That all there is to it. Once Harold tells Nene where bad girls are, she will beat them up and take Anon back. Maybe have real blessing of Ursoc and Ursol when it's all done too, just like mama and papa."

"Would you really marry someone just because someone told you it was your fate?" Watame asks the question that had been burning in her mind ever since Nene explained her people's beliefs to them earlier that day.

"Yes!" Nene simply answers. "Fate will give Nene strong husband like Anon. Strong hero is meant for champion of Ursol."

"There is a lot more to someone than Anon than his strength though."

"Nene just begin to see that. He want to make world much better place. He also really respects and enjoys nature. Nene likes that about him."

"He does light up like the stars whenever he sees a new kind of tree or stream doesn't he?" Watame says, the idea of that seems to bring a smile to her face.

"And the way he looks forward down the road while we travel, like he just can't wait to see what's waiting for us. Like he just knows we will see something breathtaking. I want to be able to have that every place I go to."

"Watame really likes being around Anon doesn't she?" Nene asks genuinely.

"It's hard for me to explain, but everything just makes sense when I'm with him." Watame starts. "When we met he immediately accepted me for whatever I am, and wanted to give me the world since he thought I deserved it. I know it wasn't really that long ago, but I still think back to when he was brought to the cell next to mine."

"Nene think that is funny place to make friends."

"Anon also met Polka in a jail cell. I kinda hope it's not a habit. I was so nervous that night too. He was so scared at first."

"Anon gets scared?"

"Of course he does. He's still just a person like you or me. He has his own fears, doubts, and problems. Even though he gets scared sometimes, he finds a way to push past that for the sake of people important to him…for me."

"Anon cares a lot more for his friends than Nene thought…"

"He means a lot to us. That's why I want to bring him back as soon as we can, but…but what if they have already taken him far away?"

"Watame can't think like that!" Nene says what might pass for her upbeat nature as scolding. "Nene knows we will bring Anon back! He means too much to Watame for bad girls to keep him."

Nene had a good point. Watame remembers having similar thoughts when Flare was taken. Why did this feel so different though? What is making her feel like there is a deep pit in her stomach.

"It's strange, when we had to deal with something like this before, I barely batted an eye. I just knew that it would all work out, and wanted to give my very best to make that happen. Now that I look back, I think I was only able to feel that way because Anon was at my side. He makes me feel like I can do anything. Now that he's not here, and when I think about how he might be in pain, I'm not so sure."

"Watame should think of what Anon would say to her." Nene proposes. "If Anon is what makes Watame feel strong, she should think of everything that makes her want to fight for him. That's how Nene uses power of Ursol! She think about what she needs it for, and it makes Nene the strongest."

"He would probably tell me that he believes in me." Watame says with a bittersweet smile. "He would say he knows I'll always come through for him. Then once I know he's done talking by that look in his eyes when he just stares and listens, I'd tell him I believe in him too. He really is the world to me Nene, I can't lose him."

"Then Watame won't lose him then. Nene help too! Together, we save Anon! With Ursol to give us strength, there no way we can be beaten!"

Nene is absolutely right. I can't let myself be held back by despair. Anon would always find the courage deep inside him to stand against the really scary things. He would always come out better and stronger than he was before. I've been doing the same too, I've been growing right alongside him, all so I can really be the sheep he can depend on forever. Forever? I really did just think that huh? A life alongside Anon forever sounds just right when I think about it again. Hang on Anon, we're all coming to get you soon.

—-

The tide of the ocean crashes loudly upon the shore. Wave after wave relentlessly swells and falls upon the waters. Undine's calm and soothing demeanor is gone, her building focus and rage toward those who kidnapped her summoner are felt by the very ocean itself as she passes. It has been taxing to stay in his physical form while the distance between her and her summoner grew, a lot of her own mana has been expended to do so. She would not relent until she knows he is safe again.

"I think that's our little hideaway!" Harold yells over the sound of the ocean as he points to a large cave up ahead. "You feel anything yet, Undine? Any sign of the kid?"

"We are indeed getting closer." she answers, the feeling is faint, but she can feel herself getting closer to Anon's presence, she also feels something…harrowing. The water spirit decides to keep this to herself for now, what she may, or may not be feeling will not change their objective.

The group approaches the mouth of the cave, their steady run slowed down to a halt. Undine eyes the inside, focusing her gaze onto something, despite nothing of note being visible from the entrance.

"My summoner is definitely in there." she states, much to the relief of everyone else.

"Well that's some good news at least." Harold says as he readies his own staff. "How do you all wanna play this? I got us here, but this might have to be one of your calls now."

Looks were exchanged between Flare, Polka, and Undine, was there a certain way to do this? Even though they might have found where their friend is, there's no telling what else they might find. Chloe and Iroha were formidable to say the least, and who knows if Anon is in a position where they might try to use him against them. An uncomfortable silence only lasted a few seconds longer before Watame steps forward.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asks. "We're going in there and are gonna blow away anything that might try to keep us from Anon. He wouldn't care if he had to break through one hundred enemies to get to one of us. I feel exactly the same as he would. I'm going to charge right in. Are you with me Undine?"

"I will give you all that I have, little sheep." Undine responds, her trident appearing in her grip with a flash of blue light. "I believe at this point, my summoner would ask you to lead our rallying cry. Would you do the honors?"

With burning resolve and anticipation, Watame lets loose a powerful harmony of strengthening, its empowering notes raise everyone's spirits for the task ahead.

"Here we come Anon!" Watame yells. "And if any of you HoloX CHUMPS can hear me! I'm gonna kick all your asses if you hurt him!"

"Kinda a loud way to start a rescue…" Harold sighs. "Ah, to be young again."

"Loud is kinda our thing." Polka comments as she skips ahead to not fall behind Watame and Undine who had already started racing into the cave.

"It's just how we roll!" Flare adds, not wanting to fall behind either.

"Nene likes being loud!" Nene cheers as she races ahead of both Polka and Flare.

The cave grows darker the further the group runs in, the length of the natural shelter is surprising. In the dark corners of the ceiling above, something catches Flare's sharp eyes. She stops, and swiftly locks and lets loose an arrow from her bow. The arrowhead pierces through something…metal.

The rest of the group stops to see just what Flare had hit as it falls to the ground. A small sphere that could apparently float sits in shambles on the cave floor, where tiny electrical currents can be seen shorting out within it.

"What the heck is it?" Polka asks, poking it with the bottom of her baton.

"Looks like it could have been a big metal eyeball or something." Flare ventures a guess. "I just noticed its gaze on us, and it started to glow red before I shot it down."

"Looks like our hosts might have been expecting us." Harold says. "If they weren't already after we announced ourselves…."

"Flare." Watame says from the front as she points up ahead at the ceiling. "I think there's more of those coming."

A small group of the strange floating metal spheres comes flying along the ceiling, their centers glowing a threatening bright red. Flare lets another fly and hits one square in the center, but the others begin their attack as beams of energy fire downward from their centers. Everyone scrambles to avoid the line of fire, Watame and Undine press forward and deliver their own attacks from below into the flock of strange orbs.

Magical music and water both crash into a couple of their targets, pressing them hard into the stone ceiling that completes the job. Polka steps in front of the rest of her comrades and conjures a large standing mirror to deflect the blasts of light. The spheres seem to be able to adapt as they simply move to get around the mirror's protection, and begin to fire again.

"This junk is just gonna waste our time!" Polka complains.

"Get them all in one spot again, Polka." Flare directs. "I got something new that will bring them down all in one shot."

"You got it!"

Polka works her magic to conjure a second, and then a third mirror, leaving only the front of them exposed now, and like she had hoped, all the spheres moved to take a clear shot at them.

"They're all yours Flare!"

"Thanks Polka!" Flare says as she concentrates her mana around her readied arrow. The lessons you had given her on water are about to show results. Her mana begins to shift and change into free forming water, it spirals around the head and shaft of her arrow, growing larger and faster with each push of her will. "Let my arrow be the guide for the raging currents. Swallow my enemies in your unforgiving embrace. Now Fly! Azure Arrow Crash!"

Flare lets loose her hold on the arrow as it bursts forth, the waters around it swirling to become even larger. The opposition of the floating spheres cannot seem to pierce through the raging waters created from Flare's mana as they are engulfed within them along the arrow's flight. In brilliant flash, the arrow and waters crash against the ceiling, and with them, all the spheres that hoped to impede them. Some dropped to the ground in pieces, others fully intact but inoperable.

Flare stands tall and tosses her ponytail back in place with her free hand, proud of her new spellwork. The only thing that would have made this moment better for her, is if Anon was there for her to flaunt her furthering mastery of the element the two have been learning together.

"You go Flare!" Polka cheers. "With moves like that, Anon is as good as rescued!"

"That's the plan! Watame, Undine, everyone else, you all alright?"

"All good here!" Watame resounds.

"Nene and Harold are good too!" Nene cheers.

"That was very impressive, Flare." Undine praises. "Now let us continue."

The rest of the trek through the cave was thankfully uneventful, but that breeds its own variety of unrest. Soon the cave path widens as the end comes within sight.

"Damn this place is big." Harold remarks as he catches his breath a little.

"It's also a place you shouldn't even be." Chloe's voice comes from the middle of the area with Iroha walking at her side, her sword at the ready.

"You!" Nene hisses. "How dare you steal from Nene!"

"We weren't aware this boy belonged to anyone." Iroha says.

"And even if he does, he sure as hell doesn't belong to you." Chloe taunts.

Before Nene could turn her growling into a comeback, a third girl comes into view that the group does not recognize. Back in her white lab coat, Koyori stands in front of the pair.

"That's right, because now he belongs to HoloX." Koyori says smugly. "If you were hoping to take him away from me, you can just leave. All of you except his water spirit that is."

"You want my summoner and I?" Undine's voice rises as she steps forward. "Let us see if you can truly handle it."

"I think I've already proven I can." Koyori calmly declares. "I already have Anon's spell book solved and beaten. His physical and magical abilities as they are now, are also just as easily handled. You are no different, water spirit. With Chloe here, all your attacks are useless against us. Not to mention, I have a few other contingency plans for your specific brand of magic just in case."

"Where is he!?" Watame demands, stepping in front of Undine. "Where is Anon!?"

"He's had quite a long day." Koyori says with fake sympathy. "So I put him down for a nap. If he can actually sleep that is. He put himself through quite a lot of pain needlessly, you see. I thought about giving him something to help him get to sleep, but since you all decided to interrupt my work, I don't think he deserves my kind treatment."

"Psst, Flare." Polka whispers from behind the others. "I can see the light from Anon's soul in that strange little building near the end there. It's him for sure."

"That solves one problem I guess." Flare remarks. "I don't like what she said about beating Anon's spell book though. Do you think they actually fought and she won?"

"Knowing Anon, he found a way to fight. That's probably why he's in such rough shape."

"How can you tell?" Harold asks, turning his attention to the pair instead of the continuing blustering from the girl in the lab coat ahead.

"It's definitely Anon's soul down there, but something's off about it. That girl might have done something more than just beat him down."

"Let's hope there's enough of him down there for me to patch up then." Harold says. "Should the three of us try to head down there? I think the rest are more than itching to do the fighting up there."

"I don't think Anon is going anywhere." Flare replies. "We'll take them all on together, get this done, and get Anon out of there."

"Just back us up like last time, okay old man?" Polka says with a wink.

Nene's anger was boiling to its limit. She could not hold herself back anymore. Yellow mana crackles and sparks around her hands as she calls upon the power of Ursol. Large gloves in the shape of bear claws form around both her hands, and the hair buns on her head change to fuzzy brown bear ears as well. Everyone takes a momentary pause to process the minor transformation the girl has undergone.

"Nene promised Anon she would protect him! Nene is going to smash you all with the might of Ursol! Then she find Anon!"

"Ursol huh?" Koyori asks. "Never heard of it, but that mana you have is simply electrifying. Let's see what it can do then."

Watame looks ready to charge in as well, but just as she is about to push herself to move forward, Polka comes and whispers to her about where you might be.

"R-Really?!" Watame gasps. "You're sure Polka?!"

"As sure as I can be, so what do you say? Want us to clear a path? That little abode down there is probably locked, and you got the perfect set of keys on that head of yours."

The fluffy sheep is almost beside herself, she can do nothing but nod feverishly at Polka's offer.

"Polka…" Flare sighs. "What happened to taking them all down together?"

"This just speaks to me more." Polka shrugs. "The rescue was job one when it was you, ya know."

Flare blushes with embarrassment at the remark, until the still fresh memory of her friends bursting through the fog in her mind and eyes to come to her rescue plays in her mind. Despite it being an experience that almost completely broke her mind and soul, she may never forget how loved she felt on that night.

"Fine…" she concedes. "Watame will go in and get Anon…and we'll just keep winging it from there I guess…"

"Now you're getting it!" Polka laughs. "Nothing wrong with a little improv!"

"Are you home wreckers here to fight or talk to yourselves!?" Koyori spits. "You've wasted enough of my precious time already. So either leave, or come at us."

Having been taunted enough, Nene charges forward with an astonishing burst of speed toward the source of her rage. It was a flash of speed that even caught Iroha by surprise as she watched Nene and Chloe clash in front of her. The volatile mana around Nene's claws struggle against the powerful mana coats that cover the masked enforcers arms.

"That's wild…" Polka says, stunned.

"I told ya we would want Nene along on this one." Harold says, proud to be right. "The blessing of Ursol is the real deal, I've only seen her do it once before, but it gives her amazing strength and speed. Those gloves aren't just for show either. Those claws could probably slash through steel."

"How on earth did they think Anon had this?" Flare asks.

"The people of Bjornholm don't concern themselves too much with the fine details sometimes." Harold waves. "But that's enough of a history lesson for now, we got a job to do, and a friend to save."

Iroha steps forward to try and make quick work of Nene, but the blade of her sword is met with one of Nene's claws as she keeps both opponents locked in struggle.

"Think you can actually take us both on?" Chloe grunts. "Don't make me laugh. Iroha, let's teach this little bumpkin a lesson!"

In agreement, the two create a burst of water and air respectively from the points that are caught in Nene's claws. She is blown backwards but is quick to raise to one knee, but not nearly fast enough to defend herself from Iroha's coming sword. Nene braces for contact that never comes, the grinding of metal mere inches from her face reaches her ears as she opens one eye to see the blade of Iroha's katana locked within the prongs of Undine's trident.

"I did not get to properly pay you back for how you treated my daughter." Undine says coldly. "Allow me to rectify that."

The storm within her heart raging on, Undine unleashes a powerful pulse of water from her being that sends both Iroha and Chloe staggering backward. Chloe begins to try and inhale the water, but is cut short thanks to a quick jab by the butt of Undine's trident. Another swipe of her weapon helps her to create a deluge of water that swipes both of her opponents off their feet onto the hard cave floor.

Back on her feet again, Nene locks eyes onto the next possible outlet for her aggression, Koyori. The pink coyote might not have been there when Anon was taken away, but she definitely made him suffer, this is what Nene tells herself to fuel the spirit of Ursol even further. She charges past Undine, claws raised to maim the smug scientist.

Koyori just stares back with that dark glee in her eyes, her thumb has already popped the cork of one of her vials. Before Nene can bring her claws down, she finds herself constricted by a strange rubber substance. Falling helplessly before being able to harm her prey, she flails and struggles against the binding around her body.

"You brutes are all the same." Koyori laughs as she gives Nene a swift kick to send her rolling back. "You almost make me wish it wasn't so easy to render your attacks useless."

Hurrying to join the fight, Flare shoots an arrow aimed for Koyori that barely misses its mark, only grazing the fabric of her coat.

"Polka, back Undine up." she says as he readies another arrow.

"Before you do that." Koyori interjects. "Let's test a few things shall we?"

Flare and Polka try to grasp the meaning of what their newest enemy is saying, but things become more clear as Koyori takes out another strange object from the inside of her coat. She fiddles with the strange string where metal balls sit at each end. With a flick of her wrist, the hand-sized bola spins in the air as it curves and wraps itself around Polka's hat before either girl can react.

"What the heck!?" Polka yells as she tries to take her hat off of her ear. "I can't get this thing off of me!"

Flare stops in her tracks and tries to pull her friend's hat off, but the bola has tightly conjoined the colorful hat to the fluffy ear that sits under it.

Another sly grin stretches across Koyori's face as she flings a scalpel towards the pair. The small medical blade slices right through the string of Flare's bow that is gripped in her hand. The underhanded strategy takes both Flare and Polka off guard.

"I admit." Koyori starts. "I wasn't sure what to expect from the half-elf, but that little display you did earlier on some of my inventions told me all I needed to know. You're obviously a good shot, but that doesn't mean a thing if your weapon can't actually shoot anything."

Flare looks down at her bow in frustration. How could she be so careless? An enemy that preemptively thought of strategies to specifically counteract each of your individual strengths was intimidating to say the least.

"Now that preparations are out of the way, let's have some fun~" Koyori grins, as several of the same floating spheres from earlier ascend from behind her.

A mad smile covers the coyote's face as she somehow commands her inventions to begin their attack. Bright red rays of energy fire from their centers at their targets. Flare jumps backward to avoid the blasts, while Polka scrambles to punt Nene who is still struggling on the ground, out of the line of fire. Harold and Watame are not left out either as they wait for their opportunities from further behind. The older man immediately goes on the defensive and conjures a swirling shield of water to guard the two of them from the blasts.

All they could do is continue to get out of the way of the dangerous rays that fire from the floating spheres that scatter and circle above them. Undine is also faced with her new set of problems, as Chloe has her trident deadlocked under two of her daggers as she continues to suck water mana from the very air around them.

"Iroha!" Koyori calls. "Leave the water spirit to Chloe, it's time to test another invention of mine."

Obeying her orders, Iroha leaves Chloe and Undine to their own fight as she joins Koyori at her side. She watches with indifference as her superior calls for four of the spheres to create a square perimeter above Undine and Chloe. With a snap of her fingers, the spheres all connect to one another with a beam of red light that reaches all the way to the ground, creating an enclosed space around the pair.

"When I said I had a contingency for Anon's other abilities, I meant it." Koyori says, as she presses the button of a remote that was now in her hand.

The air around Undine suddenly starts to grow hot, it feels as though she is surrounded by fire. The sudden increase in temperature causes her to lose her balance, she uses her trident to keep her on her feet. Every passing second makes it harder to focus, and even so, she begins to form water around her, slowly building to hopefully counteract the sweltering heat.

This strategy is swatted down, as Chloe inhales the water faster than Undine can create it in her current state. Panic starts to set in for her onlooking comrades. Koyori simply looks on in pride at her plans executing perfectly.

"Undine…" Watame says, still taking cover behind the shield Harold keeps in place for them.

"This is just going from bad to worse." Harold grunts. "How is the one in the mask not even phased by it? I can practically feel the heat from here."

"I see all your brains are struggling to comprehend what you're seeing, so I'll graciously enlighten you." Koyori says as she commands all of her spheres to cease their assault, so that her audience can give her their full attention.

"It is rather ingenious if I say so myself." Koyori starts again. "I designed this trap for the water spirit we had originally set out to obtain. I had no idea what the limit of its powers over water could be, so I needed a reliable way to keep it under control. What can truly stop water from getting out of control? I asked myself, and the answer was simple: heat. Dry up the water spirit, dry up their magic, remove their only means of retaliation. Chloe is also the natural enemy of any water spirit, you already know of her ability to neutralize water magic with those interesting lungs of hers, but did you know she also can withstand immense levels of heat without even breaking a sweat?"

This is bad, this is really bad. Above us are weapons I can't even reach anymore because my bow is broken, Polka is not faring much better after having the source of most of her magic closed off to her, and now Undine is struggling just to stay standing. It's like this girl knew how to perfectly disable each of us one by one. Can we even win like this? We even outnumbered them two to one, but they took control before we could even get to Anon. I wonder what Anon would do if he were in one of our shoes…

"You can just give up now, you know." Koyori taunts. "The clown won't be getting her hat off any time soon either. I would have never guessed she was hiding her own little magical storage box in there, but you know what they say? Fortune favors the prepared. And I'm very prepared to disarm each and every one of you. You won't be taking my research subject from me."

"So what?!" Flare retorts as she throws her bow to the side along with its quiver of arrows. "Someone very important to me, someone you think belongs to you, once showed me that you only run out of ways to fight when you give up. He's overcome being more disarmed than I am right now. If he can do it, I can sure as hell do it too!"

"That goes double for me!" Polka says with a thumb pointing to herself. "This fennec still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve instead of her hat."

"Nene too!" she growls, still trying to free herself from Koyori's trap.

"That's very cute, but that person you claim to be getting this inspiration from, he was nothing against my genius." Koyori scoffs. "Not that I didn't enjoy playing with him though. It's very fun to watch him squirm, that look he gets in his eyes when he thinks there's no way he's going to fail. It drives me wild when I think about how I cut that down."

"You're lying!" Watame shouts. "There is no way you could ever break him!"

"Watame's right!" Flare joins in. "No matter what you try to put him through, he never loses his faith. Faith in us, and faith in himself. I've watched that guy stand up again and again, it doesn't matter how many times you try to knock him down. I bet he still hasn't given up yet, and neither will I!"

Nice speech Flare, but just how are you going to back that up? You got two people trapped at the moment and no good ideas on how to free them. Nene keeps trying to bite that weird rubber that's coiled around her. It's insane how it manages to just stretch no matter how hard she tries to break free, if only it were harder she might be able to just smash through it. Wait! That's it!

"Polka, cover me!" Flare shouts as she suddenly rushes toward Nene.

"You got it! One fun cover coming right up!" Polka replies as she twirls her baton and in a burst of pink mana, a giant circus ball appears and begins to roll toward Iroha and Koyori.

"Don't worry Nene, I'll help you get out of this." Flare says as she slides along her knees to reach her. Flare takes a deep breath and begins to focus her thoughts as she places both her hands on the strange material that has Nene ensnared. White mana begins to glow around her palms as the biting embrace of ice betweens to spread all along the pink surface.

As Flare enacts her plan, Iroha quickly slashes through the large circus ball with ease, but Polka is already up close to meet her blade with her baton.

"Looks like we meet again!" Polka chirps as she and Iroha struggle against one another.

"You won't get the better of me this time." Iroha says cooly.

"Maybe…but it's not just me you have to worry about this time!" Polka says with a grin.

From beyond Polka's head, Iroha spots the light from magical spells coming her way. Harold had used the reprieve to help the offensive, firing a spread of missiles made of pure magic toward her and Koyori.

The pink coyote is unimpressed as she commands some of the floating spheres to fire intercepting shots at Harold's own magic, creating an array of explosions midair.

"That should do it Nene." Flare says. "Try to bust through it now."

Nene nods, and with a flex of her own strength and magic, the material around her shatters. She happily springs back to her feet, but the look in her eyes is more primal than before.

"Thanks Flare." she says as her temper rises higher. "Nene is angry she fell for such a dirty trick. It won't happen again…Nene will smash uppity pink girl."

"Hold on a sec Nene. I need you to do something else first. You see those little orbs around Undine? I want you to smash them as quickly as you can, and then smash the girl in the mask after you do that. Can you do that for me? Will you do that for Anon?"

"Pretty blue lady is very important to Anon…Yes! Nene will help her and then teach whale face the power of Ursol!"

Nene refocuses her anger onto the task Flare has given her, mana and electricity begin to crackle with even more intensity around her.

With an angry, bear empowered wrecking ball pointed to set Undine free, Flare is free to join the fight alongside Polka. She may not have her bow, but she has other ways she can fight. She sprints toward the circus fennec who is currently on the defensive, doing her best to parry the slashes from Iroha's sword while dodging blasts from Koyori's flying contraptions.

"Let's try burning one of those things out of the sky." Flare says to herself as she begins to focus her mana into her palm. She focuses on the roaring image of fire while trying to apply the same principles you taught her about elemental magic, and their individual meanings. A ball of fire ignites within her palm, ready to be directed and fulfill its purpose. Flare smiles at this and takes aim. A firm overhand throw launches the fireball straight into one of the spheres poised to take a close shot at Polka. The two collide in a small explosion, smoke and debris fill the air around it.

"Thanks a ton Flare!" Polka cheers as she disengages to stand next to her comrade. "It was getting kinda dicey to keep covering you like that. Did your idea work?"

"Take a look for yourself." Flare says as she points back to Nene darting forward towards the makeshift oven that holds Undine and Chloe.

"How did that little brat get free!?" Koyori gasps. "My constrictor rubber can't be pulled apart by any force. What did you do!?"

"You're the genius here aren't you? You figure it out." Polka mocks.

Koyori trembles with anger as she tries to ignore Polka's mockery, her focus directed solely on having her machines intercept Nene before she can free Undine. Spheres race toward her and fire blast after blast. The hasty shots completely miss their mark as Nene races to her goal. One ray flies on a clear collision course with her, but Nene answers it with a single punch from her charged paw, the energy fired from the sphere was completely snuffed out.

Nene has had enough of all this stalling. She hates that she still hasn't been able to hit any of the girls that caused so much strife. Now that is finally going to change, if she does what Flare told her too, she can finally get revenge on the girls who took you. With the magic of Ursol empowering her, a circle of mana appears below her feet that she uses to jump all the way up to where one of the spheres that connects the heating prison floats. With a ferocious slash from one of her claws, the sphere explodes as it is cut to shreds.

With one of its links gone, the trap is undone, and Undine can finally feel herself cool down. Chloe, who had been content to simply guard the water spirit to keep her from trying to escape the perimeter, was taken off guard by the sudden change in temperature. As she tries to decide how to best recover from the change of plans, Nene comes charging in. Chloe is barely able to guard her front as Nene's pawed fist collides with her, sending the masked fighter staggering backward. Nene's assault does not relent, she closes in again and with a primal roar, begins to barrage Chloe with her mighty claws. The clang of steel clashing against sharp claws echoes through the cave. With every strike, Chloe feels more and more pressured, Nene's strength is made even more formidable by the electrical current that conducts around her attacks.

"No no no!" Koyori stomps as she watches Undine use her waters to dismantle the remaining three spheres that helped make her prison. How are her plans falling apart!? She had them all right where she wanted them.

"Check it out Polka, I think she's losing it." Flare mocks, putting on her best mean girl impression.

"Aww, I think you're right~" Polka plays along. "Guess your little toys were no match for a real powerhouse like Nene"

This really starts to make Koyori seethe. Two nobodies were making light of the genius inventions that took her mere hours to make when it would take anyone else years! It was unacceptable.

"You know what, Polka. I've been thinking it's kinda weird that another kitsune would be all about technology and not use any magic whatsoever. I thought magic was a regular teaching among your people?" Flare continues, hoping to make their foe even angrier.

"I'm not a fox!" Koyori screeches as she stomps her foot against the hard cave floor. "How on earth can you look at me and think I'm the same as her!"

The battle seems to be put entirely on hold as Koyori marches over to be next to Polka with Iroha following closeby.

"Just look at our tails! They are completely different! See!?" Koyori demands as she lines hers and Polka's tails for a clear side by side.

"Seriously?" Polka asks a little dumbfounded. "They look kinda the same to me. I know she's not a fennec like me, but I just figured she was another kind of fox."

"Don't you play dumb with me!" Koyori accuses. "Even our ears are different! I'm nothing like a fox! I'm a coyote you idiots!"

As everyone tries to make sense of the sudden change in the coyote's demeanor, Iroha is struggling to hold something back. Her gaze can't seem to break from the pair of fluffy tails that sway ever so slightly in front of her. Sweat starts to roll down her face as she begins to shake, something is about to break.

As Flare is about to egg the coyote on further, Iroha makes a mad lunge forward, her eyes wearing a crazed and desperate expression. Polka suddenly feels chills through her entire body as her tail is hugged between Iroha's arms.

"Ahhh!" she yelps as she tries to shake the unwanted assailant off of her. "What is she doing!? Get her off! Get her off!"

"Fluffy tail~" Iroha says drunkenly as she buries her face into the bush of Polka's tail.

This makes Polka scream even higher as she begins to run in circles to try and dislodge the swordswoman from her. As Flare stands confused as to what to do to try to help, Koyori is laughing hysterically at her friend's displeasure.

"Serves you right!" she squeals.

"This is really happening right now isn't it…" Harold says as he takes in the ridiculous scene ahead.

"I should go help her." Watame says as she starts to move forward.

"And waste the best chance we got to get you to the kid?" Harold asks. "Take a look at things, Nene's got the one in the mask on the ropes, and the other two are so distracted they won't even notice you run by. You gotta go, quickly before the pink one gets her head back on right."

"But-"

"No buts, the kid needs you right now. I'm gonna help Undine and then catch up when I can, okay?"

Knowing Harold is right, Watame nods and psyches herself up to come to your rescue. With a small jump in place, and a low melody, Watame rockets forward. Like Harold said, no one was paying any attention to her. Chloe and Nene continue to exchange blows, both desperate to secure an advantage over the other. Polka and Flare continue to pry an infatuated Iroha from the tail of the fennec, while Koyori just continues to laugh. The only one who seemed to acknowledge the sheep's passing, is Undine, who still recovers from the overbearing heat she was forced to endure. The water spirit simply smiled at Watame, but they did not need to speak. Watame knows that Undine believes in her, she knows Anon believes in her too, that's what gives her the drive to run faster than she ever has before.

The building that Anon should be in is only a few feet away now, Watame lowers her head slightly so that her horns will be the first thing to greet the door.

This is it! I'm coming Anon!

Watame feels that she hit something. She definitely hit something, but why was she sitting on her butt in front of a perfectly intact door?

Koyori's mocking laughter brings everyone's attention to her.

"Did you honestly think I would just leave him somewhere you could just walk in and take him from?" she asks. "What you just slammed your head against is a forcefield of my own design. Resistant against force AND magic. You won't be stealing my prize anytime soon."

If Watame was listening to anything Koyori said, she wasn't showing it. The sheep simply got up, dusted herself off, and rammed herself into the door once more. A shimmer of green energy appears around where her mighty horns attempt to reach the door. She staggers back slightly, but her focus does not wane, she pushes herself forward again, and again.

"Little sheep…" Undine says, sad that she cannot come to the aid of her summoner and her friend.

"You look like you could use a boost." Harold's voice then comes to her. "I've never actually used my healing magic on an elemental spirit before, but it should all work the same right?"

"Thank you Harold…although even if I feel renewed, I do not have much mana left…I'm afraid I can't be much help to Watame."

"Try not to worry." the old man says as he begins to use the healing powers of water upon Undine. "That girl's got a fire in her that not even you would be able to put out. She's not gonna stop since she breaks past whatever is unlucky enough to stand in her way."

"This is very similar to how they started, you know." Undine muses. "One not willing to give up until the other was safe. I believe they will triumph on this day as well."

"Get off of her!" Flare says through her teeth as she tries to pull Iroha from Polka by her ankles.

"Flare! Flare! Stop! You're gonna pull my tail off!" Polka cries on her hands and knees as she pounds the floor.

"Do you want her off you or not?!"

"'Not if I have to give up my tail! It's a source of pride for foxes!"

"I should probably go help them." Harold sighs. "Take another quick breather Undine, you should feel a lot better soon."

With that, Harold jogged over to where the three girls were locked in a comical struggle. Harold has seen a lot of stuff, but even this is a first for him. Channeling his mana, he thrusts his open palm forward as a stream of water flows from it, completely drenching Polka and Iroha.

The combination of the shock from the cold water, and Polka's tail becoming stringy and firm, seems to break Iroha from her stupor.

"Huh?!" she gasps. Her cheeks begin to flare with a bright red as she slowly realizes what she had done.

The now soaked swordswoman, quickly lets go of Polka and crawls back to where her sword was left on the ground. She promptly stands herself up and takes a fighting stance, preferring to not acknowledge what had happened at all.

Polka on the other hand, looks like the world is about to end. She is petting her droopy tail as if it had actually fallen off, never to be a part of her again.

"Polka…come on, get up." Flare says, poking her shoulder.

"My poor tail…" she whines.

"Polka, get a grip, we have a fight to win." Flare tries again, before she seems to think of just the trick to perk her friend back up. "Do you want to try that new combination attack we thought up together? It should dry you off a bit too."

This got that fluffy ear to straighten and twitch a little. Polka finally takes her eyes off her tail and looks up at Flare.

"Really?! Right now?! Even though we didn't plan the whole thing yet?"

"Let's just think of the rest as we go okay?" Flare says offering a hand to help Polka up.

"Look at you!" Polka says, already sounding back to her normal self. "Letting yourself act in the moment. It looks good at you."

"You still want to fight?" Koyori interrupts. "I'm not sure why you would bother. You already know you can't reach Anon."

"We don't have to!" Polka retorts. "Watame's gonna break through that! You'll see!"

"Unlikely." Koyori waves. "But if you all just want to fruitlessly bash your head against it, who am I to argue? Besides, you're both fighting at effectively half strength. With no hat of tricks, and no bow, you both only have mediocre magic, which isn't enough to beat me, or Iroha."

"I'm tired of this girl's mouth." Flare spits.

"Let's get 'em Flare! She sure won't think this is mediocre!"

Flare's and Polka stand side by side, their hands beginning to glow with faint red mana. Flare lifts her hand to eye level as she begins to concentrate further, and her closed fist opens to reveal a ball of flame that dances brightly.

Polka begins to twirl her baton from her side to her front, the tips of both ends also start to glow to match the mana she is emitting.

Flare begins their act as she launches the fire she had created toward Koyori, who only looks at it with mild bemusement. One of her discs is already hovering in its trajectory, spinning and giving off a shimmering veil of energy in front of it. The fire collides and spreads into sparks through the air.

Iroha stands with her hand on her blade, ready to cut down either who try to get close under the diversion created by the impact, but Flare and Polka both keep their distance, having now taken opposite ends with their enemies in between them. It was time for the true spectacle to begin.

Polka spins her baton above her head as the bright trails of flame that taper in the air are drawn to it, converging and enveloping her weapon. Flare has already let loose another fiery projectile which is this time cut in two by Iroha.

Again, the remnants of the flames are drawn to Polka, as she dances in a circle, keeping pace with Flare's movements, they are never on the same side, always drawing the eyes of their opponents between the both of them. The magic continues and grows even more dramatic. Flare doubles her efforts by producing double the firepower, one flies for her foes, the other overarching them to be caught directly by Polka.

The look on Polka's face tells Flare it is finally time for the grand finale. Her suppressive fire has done well to hide the true intention of their movements, now it was time to really light things up.

Polka beams as she twirls her baton even faster, with each full turn, a portion of the fire leaves its holding place around it and floats slowly into the air above.

"Our souls burn with a fire that can never be extinguished!" Polka chants as she begins to twirl even faster.

"Our hearts roar with the passion to burn away fear and despair! Flare continues as she adds her own flames to the swirling collection in the air.

"This dance shall inflame the hopes of tomorrow and give them life!"

"Our song will ignite the way to a brighter future!"

"Dance as loud as you can! Foxfire festival!" The two end in unison as they are joined side by side again and give their spell the last bit of their mana it needs to be fully realized.

The singular swirling flame that looms overhead begins to crackle and roar. Its bright orange now became a mix of purple and red, as it begins to rain fireballs down onto Iroha and Koyori.

Even Iroha's control of the wind itself through her sword is not enough to keep the flames from getting closer. Two of Koyori's discs become completely engulfed by the magical flames as they fall to the ground.

This was the combination of Flare and Polka's magic, trust, and teamwork. The light of the fires was almost blinding up close. Chloe could only look on in shock at where her comrades were trapped when the spectacle earned her a brief reprieve from Nene's aggression. She knew she could not leave them to survive that themselves.

Chloe delivers a hard kick to Nene's stomach to send her backward. She then focuses hard and creates a jet stream of water in front of her that she uses to reach her comrades before the flames fully devour them. Steam fills the air as the water from Chloe's magic meets the fire.

The air clears to show Chloe, breathing heavily and slumped, but her comrades are relatively unharmed.

"Thank you Chloe." Iroha says as she fills her lungs with clean air again.

"To think those two could pull something like that off…" Koyori says annoyed.

Flare curses, they were so close too.

"It's no problem Flare!" Polka encourages her. "The collab spell worked amazingly! You were so awesome!"

"But they all got out of it, Polka. We used a lot of mana for that too. We might be worse off than when we started."

"I know we wanted to hopefully char that mouthy coyote a bit, but there is one very important thing our spell was still able to do." Polka says as she points towards Watame, who is crashing into the forcefield between her and your holding place with all her might, and are her horns glowing?

—-

There sure is a lot of strange noises going on outside, you think to yourself as you lay, well wherever you are. You can't really remember where exactly you are, all your thoughts are so hard to reach. Why is it so hard to move? Everything feels like it hurts too, the last thing you remember was the feeling of smoke in your chest, then nothing. Did you fall asleep? You don't feel rested, you can't even fall asleep if you try.

There are voices you think you recognize outside too now. Are any of them asking you a question? It doesn't seem so, which is good. If you are asked a question you would need to answer, and you don't really think you can talk that well right now. The names belonging to the voices feel so close now, if only you could grab them.

More loud noises come from nearby, shaking you from your unrestful dozing. This sounds more like a knocking. Was someone trying to get into wherever you are? Should you be afraid? No, you somehow know you shouldn't be afraid, but how? Every time you try to find an answer to your own questions, all you get are clouds, soft fluffy clouds.

On the other side of the door, Watame continues to try to break through the forcefield Koyori created to keep you trapped. The sheep does not care how strong or indestructible it might be, she's going to bust it down and find you.

"Anon!" Watame yells. "Don't worry! I'm coming to rescue you!"

"I will never give up!" she yells again as her horns press against the screen of green energy. "I will not stop until you are safe, and free to travel the world with me again! We are going to see all the wonderful and beautiful things in this world, remember?"

"We are going to find our homes, help our friends accomplish their dreams…all of it together…" Watame says a little softer as her head rests against her target, tears start to form in her eyes.

"If you're not with me…all those new places and things…won't be half as beautiful…I want you to see it all with me Anon…I want to share it all with you."

"That's why…that's why I can't give up." Watame says through tears as she begins to ram her head into the barrier again.

"You would never give up! So I won't either! I'm your combat sheep! You can always depend on me! Nothing will keep us apart! Not HoloX, not a door, and not even a mountain! I'll break through them all!"

Watame's mana begins to swell and concentrate around her horns. The loud declaration of her feelings and resolve give rise to new strength.

With a final deafening battle cry, Watame takes a few steps backward before charging once more. The gold mana around her horns shines brilliantly as it shapes itself to form even larger and wider horns.

"One more time! One more time! One more time!" Watame repeats to herself.

The forcefield shatters like glass against Watame's horns, as the metal door to the building crumples like paper in the face of her might. The sound of the breakthrough brings everyone else in the cave to a standstill. Koyori watches in disbelief as one of her inventions is again thwarted by her enemies. That should not have been possible. How did a sheep break through the product of her genius with brute strength and a mana coat?!

The breaking down of the door causes you to slowly turn your head to the side to see what all the commotion was about. The face of who enters feels very familiar. You know this sheep don't you? She's looking around, and seems to stop at you. The sheep rushes over to you and kneels down. That is a smile you like very much.

"Anon!" Watame says as she grabs your face to better look at you. "It's really you! Are you okay?! Say something to me please!"

Are you okay? You don't think so, but for some reason that answer does not seem to be the truth.

"I'm okay now that you're here." you say weakly as you try to smile. "I knew you would come find me. I always knew that to be the truth."

Watame's joy from finally finding you is short lived as she takes notice of the awful state you must be in. Her eyes scan you up and down, stopping at each and every injury you have sustained today. What is either fresh or dried blood, you can't really tell anymore, it's all a constant dull pain to you anyway. She puts a comforting palm on your forehead and looks deeply into your eyes, as if looking for something.

Tears begin to swell in Watame's eyes as she tries to keep herself from crying.

"Undine!" she screams, that is a name you definitely know.

Everyone outside hears Watame's pleading call. Undine pushes herself to move forward again, the heavy fatigue she feels would have to wait its turn, her summoner and sheep need her.

"Don't let that spirit get to Anon!" Koyori hisses. "If they somehow fuse together he could get away!"

Chloe and Iroha are quick to recollect themselves and dash toward Undine who is marching toward the small building as fast as her legs will take her. Flare and Polka move to pursuit, but Koyori isn't going to leave anything else to chance. Taking one of the round bottles from the strap on her leg, she pops the cork and downs the whole thing. The hair on her ears and tail stand on end, and her nails grow and sharpen as a menacing pink aura of mana begins to radiate from her entire body.

Koyori cuts Flare and Polka off to their surprise and takes a slash at both of them with her elongated claws. Despite the pair raising an arm to guard themselves with a quick mana coat, Koyori's own mana cuts right through them to draw blood on both of them.

"Polka go!" Flare commands as she bites through the sharp pain and grabs both of Koyori's arms to keep her in place. "Make sure Harold gets to Anon! If he's hurt he can fix him!"

"Right! Be careful." Polka agrees as she dashes past Koyori.

"That's just fine!" Koyori growls, her voice becoming more and more guttural. "Iroha alone can handle her, and your weakened spirit stands no chance against Chloe. All I need to do is clean you up and make a meal out of the sheep. Then I'll take Anon home with me to continue my research."

"Not while I'm still breathing!" Flare spits back, her own golden mana starting to glow with more intensity around her hands. "I don't know what you did to make yourself so much stronger, but I've sparred with someone my entire life who could snap you in two with just her pinky finger! I would never hear the end of it if she found out I lost a brawl to someone like you!"

Digging her heels deep, Flare begins to lift and spin Koyori by her arms. She turns and turns until finally letting go towards the cave's exit. Koyori flies through the air before making a skidding landing on all fours. Flare ignites her mana with her fist again with the thought of Noel, and charges to engage her again.

Undine braces herself as she sees Iroha and Chloe approach with their weapons at the ready, she can't afford to fight them both, and to use her waters to push them away might take the rest of the mana she has left. In front of her, she sees a shape dash by, the next instant, Nene has the blade of Iroha's sword caught between her sharp claws.

"Nene is not done with both of you!" she growls.

"Just go get the spirit Chloe!" Iroha grunts as she fights to push against Nene's strength.

Somewhat reluctant to leave her friend, Chloe nods and continues on, the water spirit in this state could be easily subdued by her, that is, if she is allowed to reach her. She suddenly trips as something around her ankle tugs her back. A loop of purple mana is wrapped around her ankle, tethering back to Polka's baton as she closes the gap between them.

"Get going Undine!" Polka yells as she comes to a stop and pulls Chloe toward her with all her might.

Undine gives her friend a grateful smile and continues to urge herself forward. With no one else to stop her, she finally reaches the building that she can feel your presence faintly from. Undine walks in slowly as she sees Watame, trying her best to keep herself together as she gently brushes the top of your head with her hand. The water spirit was expecting to see you in a pretty bad state, but she could not have painted a picture like this if she tried.

To see her summoner with such fresh and painful injuries scattered all over his body leaves her speechless. Most of them were not received in battle, this much she could tell. Someone deliberately caused you pain in some of the worst ways imaginable. She is almost afraid to get closer, afraid to learn of possibly more injuries that lie beneath. Still, she steels herself and joins you at Watame's side.

"Undine…" Watame sniffles. "He's hurt…everywhere…."

Undine places a cautious hand over one of yours, you welcome the familiar touch. This is the best you've felt in a while, two familiar presences so close to you.

"My summoner…you're safe now." Undine says softly.

That much you know, you're exactly who you should be with now. You almost feel whole again, but everything is still scattered and unfocused.

"What's wrong with him Undine?" Watame asks. "When I look into his eyes, he sees me, but I can't see him, like he's not all there."

"I don't know little sheep. Whatever has been done to him, was not from any magic. I can feel that he is still him, but it is like you said, he is not completely here with us."

As Watame and Undine try to rack their brains on how they can possibly help you, Harold's heavy footsteps are heard among the fallen metal that litters the ground of where the front door once stood.

"How's he doing?" he asks as he walks in, and quickly reprimands himself for the question as soon as he gets a look at you. "Yeesh! What did they do to ya kid?"

That voice also sounds familiar, they also asked you a question, you should answer it.

"I'm not really sure anymore…" you manage to say truthfully.

"It was kinda rhetorical, kiddo…" Harold sighs as he evaluates the damage. "They really busted you up good, I bet you didn't make it easy for them at least. Just stay still, I should be able to fix you up for the most part."

Harold begins to go to work as a soothing sensation starts to spread from your midsection to the rest of your body. The pains start to shrink and subside, it feels so nice. You feel your skin shift and mold back together in certain spots, it was really strange at first, but once it finishes the pain is practically gone. You feel relaxed, like floating in a calm stream. This is great.

"Well that should do it." Harold says as he lets his magic fade and he wipes the sweat from his brow. "All that made the stab he took last night look like a tiny prick. How's he doing now?"

"Better I think." Watame says as she continues to caress your head. "I don't think he's in pain anymore at least, but that look in his eyes…"

"Yeah…he's kinda messed up." Harold agrees. "I don't know what they did, but it's out of my range of expertise…sorry. My magics only good for the hurt you get on the outside. Things that mess with someone's head are dirty business."

"Summoner." Undine calls to you. "Can you hear me?"

"Sure can…" you say, your words coming out easier now that your body doesn't feel like it will fall apart on you. "I know who you are too."

"Do you remember what happened to you Anon?" Watame asks next. "Maybe if we know, we can fix it."

Everything is still hard to sort through, but somehow, something comes to you.

"Something…I was given something…I can only tell truths…" you manage to say as you barely piece facts together in your mind.

"They were forcing you to tell the truth?" Watame confirms. "Why would they do that?"

The words escape you, but you can feel the answer, so you point toward Undine.

"They wanted to know about me…" Undine guesses. "You wouldn't tell them would you? Even though they tortured you?"

You smile and nod. More things are becoming clearer, you know that you want to protect these two. Another truth comes to the surface, you need to say it.

"You're both my reason." you say, more strength returning to your voice. "The reason I can do all I can do. The reason I fought. The reason I hope to have forever."

The sheep was crying again above you, but this time, her face is smiling a little more. You want to be the one who hugs her this time, so you push yourself to a sitting position and wrap your arms around her. This feels right, this is who you needed the most. You need to part the clouds and get back to her.

"I don't know why everything is so hard to think about." you apologize. "I'm trying to figure it out…but I don't think I can on my own…can you help me?"

"I want to Anon…" Watame sniffles as she holds you closer to her. "But I don't know how…"

"Little sheep." Undine whispers. "I think you should use the power of your voice to help my summoner like you have in the past. He is struggling to make sense of his own thoughts, desperately trying to refind who he is. There is no one else he cares for more than you, this I know for a fact."

Watame looks over at Undine with unsure eyes. Could she really break whatever hold HoloX has put over your mind? What if she can't? She can't bear the thought of letting you down.

"If Undine says you can do it, she's probably right." Harold adds. "They do literally share a space in his soul after all. Whatever you're gonna try though, you might want to be quick about it, things are getting even uglier out there. Nene looks like she's losing steam fast, her powers are not meant to be active for this long."

Watame gathers her resolve and begins to focus all her thoughts and feelings into her magic. This will be a song just for you, it will bring you back to your old self, it will just have to.

Your head is pulled closer to your fluffy sheep as she begins to sing into your ear. It is a wonderful and soothing melody. Each note within every scale seems to pierce through the clouds in your mind. Your focus belongs entirely to this wonderful voice that serenades your senses. More and more things start to return and become tangible in your thoughts. You begin to recall where you are, and what happened to you. Images from earlier race through your mind and threaten to break you, the overwhelming pain you felt then looks to resurface. Your body begins to shudder, but the gentle arms around you hold you tighter, the voice they belong to continues to comfort you. That's right, you are okay now, Watame is here with you. That's right! It's Watame! The entire time your will was lost, she was the one who protected you, who she is, what she means to you, acted as a shield against all Koyori tried to pry from you. It's finally clear.

As Watame's song ends, you finally feel able to grasp hold of yourself again. You take a deep relieving breath as you enjoy the closeness to your favorite person in this world. There you stand in each other's embrace in silence. You want to tell her that you're back, but you also don't want this moment to end.

"That was beautiful Watame." you whisper, you can feel the sheep's eyes shoot open behind your vision.

"A-Anon!? Did it work!? Is it really you!?" she asks as she pulls herself back from the hug and looks directly into your eyes.

"All me, whatever exactly that means for someone like me anyway." you smile back. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I'm also sorry I worried you."

"Don't be sorry." Watame shakes her head. "I'm just so glad you've come back to me…err us! Everyone is worried about you!"

You look over at Undine who is trying to hold back tears of her own as she looks back at you, she then does something that surprises you, she comes and hugs you from behind. This is certainly new, but it is also rather nice. As much as you want to not leave the dual embrace right now, there's something you have to do. As you look around for your spell book and sword you can't help but notice Harold is here too, who just gives you a relieved smile.

"Glad you're still in one piece, kid. We should probably pack up and high tail it out of here though. I've had my fill of being out of retirement."

"And I thought that was a privilege reserved only for Uisce." you joke, it feels good to be able to form real sentences again. "The others are all outside aren't they?"

"Mhmm!" Watame nods, seemingly not wanting to let go of you. "I should go help them, we are getting you out of here."

"We, are going to help them." you say.

"Hold on kid! You just recovered from who knows what. Are you sure you're ready?"

"Ready or not, I'm going to fight alongside everyone." you answer. "Besides, Undine hasn't quite gotten her payback yet huh?"

"There are quite a few transgressions I would like to make our enemies pay for." Undine replies. "I'm afraid I must ask for your help to do so, my summoner. My mana is just about spent and I would have to revert to my spiritual form."

"No problem Undine. What about you Watame? Do you have my back?"

"Always!" Watame chirps, as she is then surprised by you pressing your forehead against hers.

"Thanks again Watame, you're the best." you say as you let yourself enjoy the close contact for a few more seconds before begrudgingly letting go.

Thankfully your sword and spell book are close by. With your weapons in their correct places, you are ready to join the fight. The four of you walk out of the broken building together as you take in the scene underway. Nene is actually fighting Chloe! She even looks like she might be winning, and was she wearing bear ears on her head? She was actually not exaggerating about how strong she is. Flare is also fist fighting with Koyori? You would have never guessed that from either of them, and Polka is well, Polka is bouncing, twirling, and conjuring a stack of bowling pins to fall on Iroha that she slices to ribbons…that actually makes the most sense out of the three.

"Koyori!" you yell into the cave as your anger starts to resurface as Undine's own rage creates a storm in your heart.

This stops everyone dead in their tracks as they look at the very reason they were all fighting. Koyori's eyes stare at you in shock and disbelief. Still she thinks she owns you. All that pain, all that helplessness you felt because of her, it shakes your very core. That coyote has tricked you battle, insulted the spirits, tortured your body while you were defenseless, warped your mind and even tried to have her way with you, but no more!

"You want to learn what happens when Undine and I join forces!? Well here it comes!"

Undine steps forward and firmly takes your hand in hers. The light from your spirit resonance fills the cave as both of your souls become one. You finally feel back in control of your own destiny. As you acclimate to the changes caused by your resonance, you notice something different. Undine's trident sits firmly in your hand.

"This is yours isn't it Undine?" you ask as you marvel at the weapon of an elemental spirit. It is sleek, balanced, and familiar in your grasp. How could something you've never touched before feel familiar? Is the familiarity Undine has for her weapon felt by you as well?

"It is. It appears your connection to the waters, as well as our own bond has increased enough so that you may yield my weapon. Use it, summoner! Use it to deliver punishment onto those who incur my wrath!"

"Woooo!" Polka cheers. "You chumps are in for it now!"

Chloe and Iroha seem to both retreat from their respective fights to join Koyori near the opposite end of the area. Flare shares a similar idea and races to join up with Polka and Nene who come toward you.

"You did it Watame!" Flare says through heavy breaths, scattered scrapes and cuts trail along parts of her arms, and her ponytail is completely undone. "I'm so glad you're in one piece Anon!"

"Nene is glad too!" Nene says as she falls to a full kneel. She was certainly worse for wear too, she has her own share of cuts in various spots, but that smile could not look brighter.

"You guys are awesome!" you say. "Take a rest, Watame, Undine and I will finish things from here."

"What the heck are we gonna do now?" Chloe asks. "The boy's no pushover when he and that spirit join up. And your plan to handle that was blown to bits Koyori."

"I know I know! Just shut up!" Koyori barks as her eyes dart around the area, looking for some advantage to be seized. Then she sees something, she reaches down and grabs a small cave snake. Her maddening smile returns. "Let's see how they handle this~"

From across the cave you see Koyori pop the cork of another one of her vials, you might not be able to look at one of those without winching for a while. She pours the contents down the throat of the snake she holds in her other hand before tossing it in front of her. The tiny snake begins to enlarge right before your very eyes, growing larger and larger with every passing second.

"What the hell is up with this girl!?" Polka screams as the snake towers over you all. "Who just carries something that does that?!"

"It doesn't matter what she tries to throw at us!" Watame declares. "Anon and I can't lose!"

As if to answer your challenge, the serpent looks down at you all and unleashes a hiss that could almost shake the cave itself, the saliva from its gigantic fangs dropping to the ground with a loud splash.

"E-Even if it's something that might eat me!" Watame says through quivering knees.

"We'll take care of this one in a flash. I won't give it time to think of making you its snack." you say as you flash forward, propelled by water under your feet.

Before it can even react, you deliver a hard stab into its midsection with your trident, only to be surprised that the sharp prongs bounce right off its scaly skin. Your lapse in concentration is capitalized on as the snake turns and dives downward at you. A powerful jet of water leaves your hands to propel you away from its path before you are swallowed whole.

"What the hell is it made of!?" you ask. "Even if it's bigger, it's just a normal snake in the end isn't it?"

"Oh Anon~ You should really know to expect more from me by now." Koyori laughs from the sidelines. "Have I really made such a poor impression on you that you don't consider how effective my mixtures can be? Not only will it enhance the size, strength, and ferocity of whatever animal drinks it, it will also make their hides harder than steel. I'll offer you a deal though, surrender now and agree to come home with me, and I'll gladly call the beast off, and all your friends can just leave. How does that sound? Pretty good right?"

"Get bent." you spit. "If you are really so confident, you wouldn't offer me a way out. Turns out I might know you better than you think Koyori, even though it disgusts me to think so."

The snake makes another lunge for you with its maw wide, but before it can reach you, Watame's mighty horns come to your rescue again, knocking the serpent to the side. Was that a mana coat around Watame's horns!? They look absolutely awesome!

"Thanks Watame!" you say as you follow up her attack with your own, creating a large wave of water alongside Undine to come crashing down on top of the snake's skulls. If you can't pierce it, you'll just knock it down, as many times as it takes.

"Anon! Let's try your spell book!" Watame suggests.

Although you are hesitant to show this to Koyori, you know it's the right thing to do, you smile and throw your book down to Watame who catches it.

"What's he doing!?" Koyori asks wide eyed. "Why did he give the book to the sheep?! Why is it starting to glow!?"

"I think we're about to find out." Iroha states.

"You got a new spell Anon!?" Watame gasps.

"Sure did! And it packs a punch! Give it a try!" you respond as you continue to bombarde the snake with strands and streams of water.

"The sixth spell! Stellaruga!" Watame shouts, all her most powerful emotions filling the book with power. The relief of having you safe, the joy of being by your side, the anger toward your foes, and something much stronger, gives your spell immense power.

The stellaruga spell lights up the entire cave as it collides with the scaly hide of the snake, pushing it hard into the stone wall. You close the distance and try to give it another slash with your trident, but its skin is just as hard as before. Shaking the stars from its eyes, the shine from your spell book attracts its gaze as it slithers for Watame. Creating another wave, you surf to the aid of your sheep as she begins to cast the next spell.

"Stellashield!"

Your hand raises to erect the shield of starlight to shield you both, but you know this may not be enough, so Undine adds her own waters to reinforce your shield as the snake bashes its head against it. The impact staggers you slightly but the shield holds.

"Now! Charge! And Stellaruga!"

The power of the enhanced spell blows the serpent back again, but it recovers and looks ready to come back for more. What the hell can you do? Whatever Koyori fed that thing is making it almost indestructible. There has to be some way out of this, something you haven't thought of yet. You can't come this close to freedom only to be stopped by some stupid reptile.

Suddenly, something starts to spark and speak in your mind, it's not your voice, and not even Undine's it's…Uisces!?

Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.

"Go around the problem?" you say to yourself. "Undine, did you hear that too?"

"I did summoner, it seems to be the knowledge of water that Uisce had instilled you with, it's teaching will be our salvation."

You look back at Watame as you try to find how Uisce's teaching is somehow your solution, and the realization comes to you. Just like how Watame helped you fight off Koyori's weird drugs, you could maybe do something similar with this snake! It's worth a try.

"Watame!"

"You got it Anon! Stellaruke!"

Empowered by starlight and the water resonance, you burst forward again. This time you meet the snake's maw head on, as you plant your feet firmly along its jaw and lodge Undine's trident inbetween to keep the beast from closing down on you.

"Anon!?" Watame gasps, her face is white as she watches you stand in the mouth of a creature eager to eat you.

"It's alright Watame! I'm gonna go around this obstacle!" you try to reassure her as you begin to focus your mana on water. You focus on the purity of water, how it washes away unwanted evils, how it springs life within everything.

With a mighty thrust of your palm, you unleash a rushing torrent of water down the throat of the giant serpent. More and more of the azure waves fly down its body as it continues to try and break what is keeping it from closing down its jaw around you.

"Just be a little more patient, big guy." you say. "I'll help you get back to normal soon. Give it all you got Undine, we gotta purify whatever sick stuff Koyori gave it."

Undine nods and doubles her efforts to support the waters you both create. As the waters continue to rush and fill the belly of the snake, you begin to notice the pink tissue around you slowly begin to shrink. The serpent shrinks more and more around you, it seems your remedy is washing out all the weird stuff Koyori made to make this snake into a bloodthirsty monster. Satisfied that your waters will finish the job, you quickly take Undine's trident and jump out from the jaw of the beast.

Creating waters from underneath your feet, you safely land in front of a very ecstatic and impressed sheep.

"You both did it! You made that mean snake get small again!" she points.

From behind the shrinking behemoth, you see Koyori stomping her feet in anger again, it feels great to piss her off.

"What do you mean 'was it waterproof'!?" you hear her screech at Chloe. "Of course it's waterproof you idiot! How else would it survive in something's digestive system!?"

Just like that, all your hatred and rage seemed to flow away like the tides. Sure Koyori was insane, but drowning that ego of hers will hurt her more than any injury you could give her. But then again…you think she might have earned herself a dowsing for all the stunts she pulled on you earlier.

"Anyone else sick of being in this cave?" you ask behind you.

"Not as sick as you probably are." Polka comments.

"Polka has a good point." Flare adds. "But I'm ready for a bath, and something to eat, maybe both at once."

"Nene is very tired." the poor girl says as she wobbles to stand.

"Well I already know the old man is itching to get back to Uisce. What about you Watame? Ready to take a ride out of here?"

"I'll always go wherever you want to Anon!" Watame gleams at you.

"Alright, but hang on for this one, it's gonna be a little bumpy!" you say with a grin as water begins to churn and rise all around you. "Let's exit in style Undine! Grab something to float on everyone!"

The swaying aqua around begins to reach higher and higher levels, as you and your friends become half submerged in their cool embrace. Once the swell feels complete in your heart, you release the full roar of the tide toward the cave's exit. Koyori and Chloe are too busy bickering to notice the coming tidal wave before it is right on top of them. The rest of you are happily guided through the cave by the rushing wave. This is insanely fun! You just might have to do stuff like this more often, the rush of just riding the water is unlike anything else you have ever felt before.

The orange of the setting sun comes into view as the cave's mouth approaches. Eager to get into fresh air, you give the waters below you an extra push as the speed of the wave picks up. Everyone is spit out of the cave as the wave crashes downward and recedes into the ground underneath you.

"Woooo!" Polka yells with tired lungs as she begins to dry her tail.

"Kid…give an old man a warning next time you are going to make him ride a tidal wave okay?" Harold says as he tries to catch his breath.

"Oh please, you know you had fun." you scoff.

"That was amazing Anon!" Watame cheers. "It felt like we were flying!"

"I had no idea you could even do something like that…" Flare says as she rings water out of her long hair.

"Just some more inspiration courtesy of Uisce." you remark. "HoloX was a big problem, so I decided to just take us around them. Just like water does."

"I would say we kind of went through them." Undine says as she floats beside you, the glow of your resonance finally fading.

"We clearly went around them, they weren't even in front of us." you argue.

"Because you trapped them at the bottom of the wave." Flare points out as she collects her bow and quiver off the ground behind her.

"So we went over and around then." you compromise.

"Nene thinks that's close enough!" Nene cheers to come onto your side.

Before you start to give your thanks to Nene for joining the fight to rescue you, the coughs of a certain pink coyote grabs your attention.

"This isn't over Anon!" she howls as Iroha helps her to her feet along the sandy shore.. "Not by a longshot!"

You look over to see the once sinister group barely keep themselves upright. They're all absolutely soaked, demoralized, and plain tired looking, you know that feeling. Koyori stares back at you with those hungry eyes again, like she still hasn't given up somehow. You also can't help but notice that the handiwork of your magic had torn her clothes a little, in some rather choice spots if you are being honest. The coyote notices your gaze and puts on a sinister smirk.

"You may have gotten away from me today, but know this Anon! I have my eyes on you! I will get you alone in my lab again someday! And when I do…maybe I'll let you perform a full body examination on me~" she says with that thirsty smile curving her lips again.

"And that's enough of that." Iroha says as she and Chloe both take Koyori from both arms and sprint off down the shore.

"Anon?" Flare asks cross armed. "What exactly did she mean by that?"

"Let's just say…when I was being uncooperative…that made her get a little handsy…when that didn't work, she drugged me out of my gord. And that's how Watame found me, fully clothed and drugged. But hold on a sec…" you say as panic starts to set in, what if she did something to you when you lost time?! How can you find out?

"Excuse me for possibly imposing upon you summoner, but are you perhaps concerned that the one girl may have done something unsavory to you while you were not in control of yourself?" Undine asks plainly.

"I guess there's no better way to put it…" you sigh.

"Rest assured, that I did not detect any feelings from you that would indicate as such. Shortly before our arrival I could still detect your conscious presence, and by the time we had arrived, it was barely there. Since I was paying attention to our link so strongly to find you, I would have noticed if you had undergone such an experience."

"Wait…you can do that?" you ask, if your feelings are actually linked on this level, things can become very, very complicated.

"Only should I make the conscious effort to do so." Undine answers. "Do not worry, I will not intrude upon your feelings if you do not want me to, and I will be sure to excuse myself if I detect things getting heated for you in the sense we are talking about. You will never have to worry about not having privacy during your most intimate moments."

Flare looks like she has just learned more than she wanted to, as Polka is rolling over laughing, Watame looks unsure how to respond, and Nene looks well…clueless.

"I've learned way too much about myself today…" you groan. "Can we go back to Bjornholm, please?"

"I thought you would never ask, kid." Harold says as he walks past you and pats your shoulder. "These old bones of mine are ready to keel over. Two days of hard battles in a row? Have mercy on an old man."

"Oh please. That spring of Uisce's had you right as rain for today." you retort, in no real mood for the old man's self depreciation.

"What do you mean Anon?" Watame asks.

"The spring in Uisce's shrine can make you feel like you just got a full day's worth of rest. It got rid of the awful hangover I had this morning instantly." you answer, kind of surprised that the others did not know this from their visit there earlier.

"Hey! The old man was holding out on us!" Polka shouts.

"Will it get rid of these unsightly cuts and bruises?" Flare asks.

"Y-Yes…" Harold replies, clearly not happy about the guests that will be inviting themselves over.

"That's where we're going then!" Polka decides, taking Nene along by the hand. "You're coming too, Nene, the champion of Ursol definitely deserves to be pampered in a magical spring."

Even with Harold patching you up earlier, your muscles did not work all that well. The adrenaline and the boost from Undine's own resonance wearing off did not help that much either. Thankfully, Watame refuses to leave your side and gladly gives you her shoulder to lean on as you begin to walk down the shore toward Bjornholm.

"So Anon." Watame starts with a proud grin. "Tell me, how does freedom look?"

You appreciate the question and look out to the setting sun over the ocean's horizon that sits just past her face next to you.

"Absolutely beautiful." you say, feeling nostalgic of your first meeting with the fluffy sheep.

On the walk back to Bjornholm, Polka asks the burning question of what Koyori really meant when she said she solved your spell book, it was unreal to think that someone could find exact ways to counter it. You explain how Koyori used the information from your previous fight the night before to create counter measures for your various spells that worked frighteningly well.

"Speaking of countermeasures." Polka begins. "Can someone get this stupid thing off of my hat!?"

It was a little uncomfortable to relive, but your friends deserved to know what you went through, so as Flare carefully tried to use ice magic to freeze the binding enough so it would break, you continued, from the operating table, to the cuts, the shocks, and the drugging. You even went into how you basically held Koyori off with just a chair and a splash of cold water when she tried to jump you. What kept you going, was the faith that your friends would definitely come for you, even when things seemed at their darkest.

Back at Uisce's shrine, everyone took a short dip that magically replenished their spirits, and also did a good job at healing any injuries anyone had. You of course needed a full body soak to allow it to better handle some of the deeper inflictions you had. To allow you to have some sense of privacy while you are down to just your underwear, Uisce uses her own powers to fill the area around her spring with a thick mist. You did not exactly have any problems with being seen after what you had gone through today, but you suppose it was the polite thing to do.

Once you are feeling a lot better physically, you dry off and get dressed under the veil of the mist. Uisce gladly undoes her magic and the entire shrine shimmers and gleams again in its natural lights. Everyone is looking at you tentatively, inspecting you to really make sure the gruesome injuries you sustained are actually gone.

"Well if no one else wants to ask first, I will." Polka says to break the uneasy silence. "Anon…how are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Are you okay? That was a very good question. You scan the looks your friends are giving you, filled with concern, but also relief. As you think of how best to answer that question, you are brought back to the promise you made to Watame, to be more open about your feelings with them.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure." you begin. "I don't feel the pain anymore from the spots Koyori messed with, and between the drug she gave me and everything else that happened, the images of it all are getting spotty at best. I want to believe that's the end of it, but I know it might be something that's gonna live with me for a while…"

"I can't change the past." you continue as you walk toward everyone. "I can only keep moving forward with the flow. I also know I don't have to make the journey on my own. Which reminds me of what I was actually the most terrified of, what hurt me more than anything Koyori tried to do to me. It was the idea of not getting to keep traveling with you all. Never getting to see you all again."

"We would never let you get taken from us!" Watame cries as she leaps forward to hug you.

"Especially not by girls like that!" Flare joins in the hug as well, followed by Nene and Polka.

"You'd do the same for us right?" Polka chimes in.

"Nene will always keep promise to protect Anon now!" Nene sniffles.

"Thanks everyone." you say, letting your own tears start to flow. "I love you."

Those words felt good to say. They felt right. The sobs from the sniffles from the girls also got extremely quiet.

"Did you all hear that too?" Flare asks.

"Mhmm! Mhmm!" Watame mutters while nuzzling her cheek into yours.

"Anon is finally letting himself be that big softie we know he is on the inside!" Polka says playfully while giving you a harder squeeze.

"Does Anon really love Nene too?" Nene asks, looking at you with glee.

Through everything that happened, you almost completely forgot the original problem you had today. This girl was convinced she was going to be your wife, and you just included her in a declaration of love. Maybe you can still salvage this.

"He does!" Polka chimes in. "We got this team love thing going on. It's a little different from what you might be thinking, Nenechi."

"Yeah! Like how I love you, Polka, Watame and Undine!" Flare adds. "And You too Anon."

"That's right!" you join in, thankful for the quick save from the pair. "Which reminds me. If you could all let me go for just a second, I got something I want to ask."

Reluctantly, everyone breaks from the hug, you almost feel bad yourself until you see Watame's still beaming blissful expression when she looks at you. Unloading your feelings really did a number on her, you can definitely try doing this more if that is the result.

"Nene." you say after clearing your throat. "I know we talked about this earlier, but I still want to ask you again. You saw what kind of dangers we might face, and we will likely face HoloX again someday. Do you still want to come with us to see the world?"

"Yes!" Nene says without hesitation. "Nene wants to see what's outside Bjornholm with new friends. She wants to help Anon beat up bad people."

"Well you already know it's fine with me. What does everyone else think?" you ask.

"For real?!" Polka gasps. "What about the whole engagement thing? Ursoc and Ursol and all that?"

"Nene will put that on hold." Nene answers. "There much more important things for Nene to do than get married. She can think about that once she's back home again."

Well it doesn't exactly sound like she's given up on you yet, but it's a safe start at least. This you can live with.

"Well if Anon's fine with it. I am too." Flare says.

"Same here!" Watame adds.

"Of course it's fine with me too." Polka says putting an arm around Nene. "I'm glad that the might of Ursol is gonna be tagging along with us. This calls for a celebration! Let's head back to town, get some drinks, some food and-"

Polka suddenly stops as she takes a deep look at you again.

"Or we can just chill here or something. Anon has had a pretty rough day after all."

"Actually, a round of drinks and good food sounds great right about now." you admit happily. "This is probably the first time after a big battle that my legs don't feel like they'll collapse from under me. So I'm ready to go."

"Are you sure Anon?" Watame asks. "You don't have to push yourself, you know."

"After what I went through today, I think a night of fun with you all is just what I need. A kegs worth of that Bjornholm speciality wouldn't hurt either. You'll join us too, right Undine?"

"That sounds like a wonderful way to end the day, summoner."

"Harold?"

"I'll pass, kid. I only just got home yesterday, and you youngins have taken up a lot of my attention today. Feel free to stop back by tomorrow though. Late, tomorrow."

The way Uisce looked at Harold after he gave you his answer told you more than you needed to know. Most importantly it told you it was time to leave, you've seen enough today.

After successfully summoning Undine back to physical form, you give your sincere thanks and goodbyes to Harold and Uisce as you depart from the shrine. Polka happily pulls out a raft from her hat so you all can take the more leisurely way across.

Undine happily pushes the raft at a smooth, relaxing pace across the lake. You sit in the back with Watame and watch the night sky pass from overhead. The stars are definitely nice, but you can't take your eyes off that beautiful face that shines in the moonlight. Despite being perfectly physically capable again, Watame insisted on helping you into the raft, and she just never let go of your hand, not that you're complaining of course. Her silky digits just fit perfectly, and the bliss you feel like you could jump to the moon itself if you tried.

No one seemed to notice or mind that Nene had not been seen in the village for the entire day. You would think that the chief's daughter being gone for an extended period of time would have caused some concern, but then again, she is blessed by Ursol, so it's likely assumed she can take care of herself.

A night at the inn was exactly what you needed after all. The strong drinks and good food went a long way in making you forget the tribulations of today. You couldn't help but ask about the battle that took place before you were able to join. You wish you could have seen this "collab spell" as Polka calls it, and seeing Nene actually transform to use Ursol's power must have been really cool to watch.

While she is reluctant to leave, Nene excuses herself so she can go home and let her parents know that she plans to go with you all, and of your "postponed" engagement. The girl was absolutely ecstatic at the idea of starting her own adventure, you can understand the feeling. You tried to reassure her that there was no real rush, you didn't need to leave first thing tomorrow after all, the more time you give HoloX time to go back where they came from and lick their wounds, the better. The bubbly girl gives you a big final bear hug goodnight and leaves.

It's funny how just this morning you were dreading just seeing the girl, and now you are actually looking forward to seeing her every day from now to who knows when. Actually now that you think about it, that was going to happen either way wasn't it? Either by marriage or friendship, Nene might be stuck with you till the end of the line, you guess it could be worse, it could be Koyori.

Maybe it's the booze, the trauma of today, or the fact that you can't seem to keep the reins on where your eyes wander, but Watame, Flare and Polka look even more alluring than usual as they dance for the happy crowds. Your thoughts are interrupted by Undine giving you a gentle poke to your arm to get your attention, she probably noticed you ogling, that's probably something unbefitting to a summoner.

You collect yourself and continue to just enjoy the atmosphere. You've had enough learning experiences for one day, try to spread them out a bit.

Soon the night reaches an hour that tells you it's time to pack it in. You are a very comfortable amount of drunk right now, but you are not very comfortable with the idea of sleeping alone. In fact, you are even a little afraid. Everyone seems to pick up on this and you are taken by the hand by both Undine and Watame.

You are taken to the familiar room that you had stayed in the night before. A little confused at first, but Watame continues to lead you toward the bed. After lifting the sheets, she settles in and Undine nudges you forward. You drunkenly accept this as normal, as you snuggle in with your favorite sheep. Undine is next to squeeze in, as the three of you test the limits of this bed. Thankfully, the people of Bjornholm are quite large, so they build large furniture to accommodate themselves.

In the caress of your two favorite people in the world, you feel nothing but love and safety. This makes it all feel worth it. You begin to drift off to sleep thanks to the calming fluff next to you.

"Good night Watame…Undine…I love you both." you say as your eyes shut for the night.

You may have been in a drugged stupor, but you might never forget how magnificent Watame looked as she broke down the building's door. It was breathtaking if you had any extra breath to be taken at the time. The way she held you in her arms, the sound of her voice, it was all exactly what you wanted right then. That sheep was your hero today. You promise to always be hers as well. Now, and forever.

—-

In some unknown location, a tall woman with feathery hair sits in front of a bright screen within a dark room.

"Koyori?" she asks to the screen. "I was not expecting to hear from you directly so soon. Where are you? It looks like you're outdoors. Where is the elemental spirit?"

"About that…" Koyori chokes, her voice slightly distorted. "It's gone, and we can't go back for it."

Koyori's expression shows that this answer did not really sit well with whoever was on the other end of this conversation, but she steadies herself, a mild confidence flashes in her smile.

"We found something even better!" she chirps.

"Even better than something that will cause tidal waves on demand?!" A second, much more childish voice comes from behind the tall woman.

"Yes my darkness!" Koyori confirms. "We met a human who has powers I've never seen before. A magical book that doesn't work like others, and he has his own water spirit that is bound to him."

"And where is this human?" The deeper voice asks.

"Gone." Chloe states. "Him and his dorky friends sprung him free. Good riddance to that jerk if you ask me."

"So this human is part of a group of adventures?" The voice asks again with interest.

"He's a real goody two shoes." Chloe continues. "He's the reason we lost the original spirit in the first place. He couldn't stand to see it and some old man separated."

"I see…well nothing that can be helped now. Come back to base you three. I expect the full report of this human's abilities to be quite interesting."

"Yes of course! I got a lot of good data during my time with him." Koyori assures. "If we can use his power, the world is yours for the taking, my darkness."

"Wahahaha! Good job Koyori! Soon we will rule the world!"

"Thank you my darkness. Koyori, Chloe, and Iroha out!"

The screen flashes as the communication is cut. The tall woman puts a finger to her chin as the apparent child behind her, celebrates the accidental progress of the mission. The possibilities run through the woman's mind as a sinister grin forms on her face.

"Human heroes are so easy to manipulate." she says to herself. "This may prove to be more progress than we could have hoped for. IF just the right touch is administered…"