SZ: Hey once again, minna. We're here to bring ya another Rising Sun chapter, and...well, it's slow, but we're getting reviews. Mostly from Bigby, but still. Those are some pretty good reviews he leaves.
GT: True.
SZ: Hai. And...uh...shoot. I can't think of anything to say. GT? Mind dealing with the disclaimer and moving onto the story?
GT: Very well. We do not own Okami, Megaman Star Force, or references to other games. They are owned by their respective owners.
SZ: *Nods* now let's beg-*hears a crash, followed by a roar*...uh...GT? Was...that one of the Rabbids?
GT: Not sure.
SZ: You sure? Beca-*the wall burst open, revealing a roaring Rabbid Kong*0x0
GT: …*throws a banana over to Knuckles the Echidna as he was walking in*
Knuckles: Huh. Thanks! *eats the banana*
SZ: 0-0….*grabs GT and runs*
Knuckles: Huh? Wh-
Rabbid Kong: *roars in pure anger as he tackled Knuckles just as the curtain fell down*
Knuckles: *offscreen* Oh man!
"Mmm...just about done…" Sonia muttered as she worked on a BattleCard, "Ah mou...This is harder than I thought it'd be."
=It'd take longer without me with you, I suppose= Lyra agreed =Oh! Sonia, change that to a bracket or it will just result in us getting a bug=
"Good idea," Sonia nodded as she did so, looking at the small pile of BattleCards, "Hope these turn out okay. Worked almost all night just to make these."
=True. It's nearly three forty-two in the morning= Lyra noted.
"Three f-?!" Sonia sputtered as she looked at the time, "...Wow. I have been working all night…"
=Betcha Geo's still up doing the same thing=
=Come on...hurry and finish…= Omega-Xis muttered impatiently.
"Okay, just a few more lines and this last one will be finished," Geo replied.
=Finally! Can't wait to go buck wild with those!=
"Shh!" Geo hushed, "Quiet. It's nearly four in the morning."
=Not my fault you spent that long making those BattleCards. The wait alone was getting my blood boiling=
"You were the one who wouldn't let up about making these new ones. It's like when you wanted me to go to school back when we first met," Geo deadpanned.
=True, but thank those old games Aaron found for getting me so pumped in using those moves from that fighting game...and playing that badass theme of Undine's while wielding her spear!=
"Shh!"
=Don't shush me! Y-don't you dare mute m-!= Omega-Xis began.
"Phew," Geo sighed in relief, removing his finger from the activated mute button, "Okay...just gotta finish up, and it's off to bed."
The moonlight shined upon an elegant tree. Surrounding it was a myriad of flowers and plants with signs saying their names set up neat each patch. At the outer reaches of the area, one could barely see the grid-like solid Denpa acting as a dome of sorts for the area. The only thing out of place was a cave sealed by a large boulder. As the moonlight shined upon the rock, it revealed a worn out piece of paper on it. An automatic sprinkler activated and rained down upon the area. The paper, assaulted by the water from above, finally gave in and fell off in pieces. The cracks around the boulder shined with a black and red energy for a moment before the boulder began to move, exposing a pair of eyes that glowed briefly.
Sonia stretched as she awoke, "Ah...That felt great. Hope I didn't sleep in too late today." she slid out of bed, wearing a pink and lime-green sleeping gown that barely reached her knees, before checking the time on her Transer, "Eh? Nani?" she opened the window and blinked a few times as she saw the sunrise, "I only slept for a few hours."
=Huh...odd= Lyra spoke up.
"Hai...What's weird is that it doesn't even feel like I've only slept for a few hour, but more like a full nine," Sonia tilted her head.
=That is weird…= Lyra noted =Is this another side effect of the change?=
"Maybe…" Sonia nodded, "Still…" she looked back out at the sunrise, smiling a bit, "It's kind of nice being up to watch the sunrise."
=Yeah. Almost...fitting in a way= Lyra admitted =Maybe we were a sun goddess in our past life?=
"That's silly, Lyra," Sonia giggled, "Well, since I feel like I'm fully rested, might as well get dressed."
=Sounds like a plan. I'll check and see if anything interesting popped up in the news=
"Good morning, Geo-kun!" Sonia greeted, wearing a white t-shirt and red jeans under a red short-sleeved jacket, as Geo walked down the stairs.
"Mor'in'..." Geo mumbled, small bags under his eyes.
"It's almost nine-thirty, Geo. You didn't stay up all night watching the stars from your skylight again, did you?" his mother asked.
"All night; yes. Watching the stars...no…" Geo muttered as he held up his VG Hunter.
"Ah. I need to set some ground rules for him," she frowned, looking at te device before it and Sonia's VG Hunter began to buzz together.
=It's Ace= Lyra informed.
"Eh? Ace-san? What could he want this early in the morning?" Sonia blinked as she answered, "Moshi-moshi?"
=Mushy-mushy?= Ace blinked twice.
=M-o-s-h-i, Ace= Acid informed.
"Hai," Sonia nodded.
=Adding it to the notes on the dead language= Acid informed.
"Is everything…" Geo paused to yawn, "...okay?"
=There's a situation in the Blossom Highlands' Blossom Flower Park= Ace informed =We're managing to keep it quiet, but considering the place is supposed to resume business in a few days we need to figure out how to deal with this quickly before people come here=
"We'll be there as soon as…" Geo yawned again, "Sorry. We'll be there as soon as we can."
=Right. Bud's already on his way here, so don't wait up for him. And, uh...you need some coffee, Geo?=
"Omega-Xis."
=...Yeah, I'll see if there's any coffee here then if you don't have any there= Ace nodded before hanging up.
"Oh, now that takes me back," Hope smiled fondly as Kevin walked down the stairs, "Your father proposed to me there right below the biggest tree there."
"...Blossom Highlands' Blossom Flower Park?" Kevin asked for clarification.
"Ace wants us to meet him there," Geo explained.
"Wave Change business?"
"Most likely, Kevin-Hakase," Sonia replied.
"Good luck out there then," Kevin grinned before tapping his cheek, "Hopefully it's nothing too bad. I was thinking of an outing to there when it's time to pick blueberries."
"Oh, honey," Hope giggled.
=Ick. Get going before they start kissing, kid…= Omega-Xis grumbled =All this love talk is reminding me of my Ex=
"Your what?"
=NOTHING! YOU HEARD NOTHING!= Geo yelped as the VG Hunter on his arm was tugged hard towards the door =Wave Change now! Let's go see what the jerk wants!=
"Okay okay! I'm going, I'm going!"
=It's not even the afternoon and already he ain't right in the head…= Lyra sighed.
=SHUT IT, OUT OF TUNE HARP!=
=BAKA!= Lyra barked.
"So what do you think we're going to find there?" Megaman pondered as the two traveled the Wave Roads.
"Not sure," Lyra Note answered.
"Well, we're coming up on the exit to the we should know soon," Lyra noted.
=Ugh. Finally! I'm itching for a good fight!=
"Mega…" Megaman sighed.
Lyra Note giggled before tensing a bit as they were getting onto the new Wave Road. Megaman looked around as he noticed that the skies were much darker than they should've been for a cloudless morning. In fact, it was as if the sun had become absent.
"Geo-kun…" Lyra Note gasped as she pointed ahead, "Look!"
Megaman looked ahead and his eyes widened. The wide open field on the plateau ahead of them was littered with a strange black and red fog of sorts, seemingly sucking the light around them. There was hardly anything except for bits of clear land that seemed to be drained of their colors while a lone tree without a single sign of life on it stood in the center of it all near a cave entrance covered by a boulder.
=What the….what is this?= Omega-Xis asked.
"D...dark...so dark…" Lyra Note whispered.
"It feels like every frequency of my being is screaming 'danger' when I'm here," Lyra gulped before looking, "I see Ace down there near the tree!"
"Hopefully he knows what's going on," Megaman said as they flew down towards the tree.
"Yo!" Ace greeted as the two landed.
"You have seen the area, have you not?" Acid asked, hovering beside him.
=Hard not to from where we were at= Omega-Xis snorted as he materialized, "What the hell's going on here?"
"We're not sure," Ace frowned, "The landowner called me about this appearing in the early morning, but when I got here…"
He pointed towards one patch of the 'fog.' The two looked and blinked twice. Near the 'fog' was a statue of an elderly man, a hand reaching out as if about to touch the 'fog.'
"That is the landowner," Ace informed.
"?!"
"You mean that's a statue of the guy?"
"No," Acid replied before displaying a screen that played a security feed of the elderly man standing where the statue was reaching out to the 'fog' before his body turned to stone right on screen, "That is the landowner."
"Ace!" a voice called before a red, orange, and cream-colored humanoid armored minotaur ran up, "Everyone around here...the other workers...they're just like the landowner."
"...Damn it. What the hell is with this fog?" Omega-Xis growled.
"We're not sure," Ace replied.
"Analysis on it hasn't provided any insights, but visual observation has provided that this fog seems to absorb light and has the property of petrification upon contact," Acid noted, "However, attempts to remove the fog have been unsuccessful. They do not blow away from wind or sucked into vacuum-like devices and, as mentioned, contact results in instant petrification."
"Could this have been caused by a Wizard or FM-Ian rogue?" Megaman pondered.
"Not to this level," Omega-Xis noted.
-He's right- a deep voice came from the bull-themed figure, the gold bull head-shaped emblem flashing in time with the voice -I've never seen any FM-Ians that could do this mist stuff. I do know that Ophiuchus could turn others to stone with her laser eyes, but that's the only petrification user I knew-
"We have no reports of a Wizard going berserk from Noise," Acid added.
"...Then what's causing this?" Megaman asked.
"Not sure…"
"Sonia, what do you…" the bull began to ask as he turned, only to see Lyra Note looking up at the tree, "...Uh, Sonia?"
Lyra Note just looked at the tree. For a moment, she didn't see the landscape as it was at the moment. Instead, she saw the tree in full bloom amidst a field of flowers and animals with the sun shining upon it all as if watching it all like a mother to their children. Resting upon a branch of the tree was a beautiful woman in a pink dress with peach-shaped cutouts on her impressive chest and on her behind, looking right at her in hope. She motioned towards a cave entrance, sealed behind a boulder, before a flurry of cherry blossom petals went by her eyes and the ruined landscape was back in her sight.
"...who...was that?" Lyra Note whispered to herself.
"Sonia!"
"Ahh! H-hai?!" Lyra Note asked, shaking her head a bit.
"Well, hi to you, too," the bull greeted.
"Uh, Bud, I think that her speaking the dead language again," Ace noted.
"See? The way that sounds would throw off any enemy!" Omega-Xis grinned.
"Is everything okay?" Megaman asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Ano…" Lyra Note looked at the cave that the woman had motioned to, "Was this always open?"
"...Uh...last I checked, no," Ace replied.
"Examining data from security files," Acid informed before speaking up after a moment, "Footage recorded something coming off a boulder before the cave entrance during the initial testing of the new rain program last night. After that, recording equipment was knocked out."
"So when they were still on, a boulder was there," Megaman noted.
"Well, I think I know what this calls for," Ace grinned, "Let's go spelunking!"
"YEAH!" Omega-Xis whooped, "...Wait. The hell does Spelunking mean?!"
"Oh, so you meant 'Let's go into the cave,'" Omega-Xis noted.
"Baka-inu…" Lyra muttered.
"...Okay, I don't know what that means, but I get the feeling you just insulted me," Omega-Xis growled.
"Omega-Xis, calm down," Megaman sighed as they continued down into the cave.
"Arigatou for the light, Taurus Flame," Lyra Note smiled at the bull-like figure, flames coming out of vents on him to light up their way.
"No prob," Taurus Flame gave a thumbs up before whispering to Ace, "Psst. What does 'Arigatou' mean again?"
"Uh...Acid?"
"Kevin Stellar's notes correlate 'Arigatou' with 'Thank you.' There is a variation called 'Arigatou gozaimasu,' which means 'Thank you very much,'" Acid informed.
"Huh...That's kinda neat," Taurus Flame noted.
"...Huh. It kinda is now that I…" Ace began before spotting some light up ahead, "...I think I see an exit up ahead."
"That was fast…" Omega-Xis muttered a bit.
The group entered the exit, covering their eyes a bit for the glare of the light until their eyes settled. Before them was a large cavern with purple and black water going down pathways while the ground was littered in moss and foliage. A crack at the top of the cavern allowed light to shine into the area.
"Alarm. Unknown contaminants in the water," Acid warned, "It is ill-advised to make contact with it, even in Wave Change."
"Oh, gee...Ya think?" Omega-Xis snorted before seeing some of the water splash onto the ground and on a patch of grass before it hissed and rotted away almost immediately, "Yeesh. What kinda water is this?"
"...Poison…" Lyra Note spoke, earning their attention, "I'm not sure, but….I think it's poison."
"Could this be why the big tree out there looks like it's dying?" Taurus Flame pondered.
"Most likely. If so...who's producing the poison?" Ace pondered.
"Well, there's only one real way to find out," Lyra Note replied.
"We follow the water where it comes from," Megaman nodded.
"Right!" Ace grinned, "Let's get going then!"
"Beginning mission," Acid informed.
"Let's go!" Taurus Flame roared.
'That poison...why do I feel something...dark emanating from it?' Lyra Note thought, taking one last look at the poisoned water.
"Kero."
"Eh?" Lyra Note blinked.
"Kero."
"What was that?" Megaman pondered.
"Kero kero kero."
"Alarm. Motion detected in the water," Acid informed.
"Get ready…" Ace ordered, the group standing ready as something began to surface.
Jumping out of the water was a toad of sorts. Its slimy skin was a pale red while it had pale blue frills around its neck. It was also big, roughly the size of a golden retriever. Several more jumped out of the water.
"Kero. Kero kero kero."
"Care oh?" Taurus Flame raised a brow.
"Nani? I keep hearing them croaking. Where are you getting a caring king from?" Lyra Note tilted her head.
"What? They calling their boss or something?" Omega-Xis snorted.
"KERO…!"
"...I swear if you invoked Murphy, I'm killing you, baka-inu," Lyra growled out as something large began to slowly surface.
"What does that mean?! I didn't invoke any…!" Omega-Xis began before the water erupted.
"KERO!-!-!"
Landing in the only clean pool of water before them was a massive two-story toad. Its body was primarily a bloodshot red while its underside was a dark, sickly yellow. Its head was covered in spikes turning the same color as its underside, shaped to be akin to a crown of sorts. It had a pale blue frill around its neck, wider than its own body and decorated in intricate black swirls. Covering its left eye was a massive gold coin of sorts with a square-shaped opening in the center that let two large dark-brown ropes to be attached to it as an eyepatch.
"...That's a big toad…" Taurus Flame whispered.
"And what brings you little animals here, kero?"
"It talks!" Megaman exclaimed.
"There are no traces of electromagnetic waves emanating from it," Acid observed, "It is completely organic."
"You're not here to make a joke about defeating me, are you, kero?" the toad sounded amused.
"Wh-Who...What is this thing?" Lyra whispered in shock.
"Not even a Fudegami can match me, kero," the toad informed before noticing something shining on Lyra Note, "What is this?"
"Wh...why's it staring at me?" Lyra Note gulped.
"Your tattoo's glowing, that's what," Omega-Xis pointed out that, sure enough, the red heart-shaped tattoo on her body was shining right through her outfit.
"A Fudegami is with you? How interesting. Gya-gyah-gyah!" the toad noted with a laugh, "Since you have brought one here, then I shall play with you, kero!"
"Bring it on, Froggy!" Omega-Xis declared, "Geo, let's kick some froggy a-"
"I AM NOT A FROG, KERO!" the toad roared, the cavern rumbling from it, "You will refer to me as Master Anura, pitiful mutt!"
"MUTT?!" Omega-Xis snapped, "Okay, that's it! You're going down, froggy!"
Master Anura's sole eye narrowed at Omega-Xis before his body erupted in a menacing dark aura. The smaller toads all turned their attention on Omega-Xis, their eyes glowing briefly. Their cheeks swelled out before he was repeatedly struck by a barrage of red tongues, knocking him into a wall.
"Insolent mutt," Master Anura rumbled before slamming his webbed hands down on the ground, causing bits of the ceiling to fall down at them, "I will crush you all for his defiance!"
"...Acid…"
"Affirmative."
"Transcode 001! Acid Ace! On the Air!" Ace called out before Acid combined with him into Acid Ace and became a blur, swiftly slicing through the rocks about to hit them, "This will be a first. Fighting something that doesn't have EM Waves."
"Oh no! I called dibs!" Omega-Xis exclaimed.
"Don't waste my time, fools. The young Fudegami girl is mine...you can all play with the Imps."
"Imps?" Taurus Flame repeated.
Anura inhaled before expelling a purple smoke on the toads. Their bodies twisted and shifted until they became the same creatures Megaman and Lyra Note had fought in the mall with three of them becoming the ones with the two-stringed instruments.
"More of these things," Megaman gulped.
"Any advice on how to fight them?" Taurus Flame asked.
"Cut the strings on their weird guitars and they panic," Acid Ace replied.
"Shimasen," Lyra Note corrected on pure reflex.
"Shimasen, fleshbag," Anura corrected at the same time.
"There's a difference?" Acid Ace raised a brow before ducking under a strike from one of the creatures, "...Bud, back me up here. Geo, Sonia, the toad's yours."
"Okay! Let's go!" Omega-Xis roared.
"Wizard Off," Megaman stated as Omega-Xis vanished into his left arm.
-Aw come on!- Omega-Xis barked before the two jumped out of the way of the toad's webbed hand trying to crush them.
"You want to test those new Battle Cards or not?" Megaman argued, "Because I think we're gonna need them for this fight."
-WHOO!- Omega-Xis roared.
"Incoming!" Lyra Note yelped as Anura's cheeks swelled up before he fired his long tongue out like a spear.
"Hoo boy!" Megaman yelped as he and Lyra Note jumped out of the way.
-Oh it wants a 'spear' battle eh?! Geo, do it!-
"Right...Battle Card Predation! Undyne's Spear of justice!"
Holding out his left hand, a spear of blue energy formed before it. He quickly grabbed it before throwing it at Anura. It passed through him, leaving behind no physical evidence while he grunted in pain.
"...What did that accomplish?" Taurus Flame asked, currently punching the face of one of the green creatures, "And what's that music playing?"
(Cue: Spear of Justice(Undyne's Theme))
"Mega refused to leave it be unless I made it do that," Megaman sighed, "As for what it does, the spear attacks internally. Couldn't really duplicate it attacking the soul, so I went for that."
"You insolent ningen, kero," Anura croaked before diving into the pure water and shot out of it and slammed the ceiling, causing more stalagmites to start falling down.
"Battle C-" Megaman began.
"Battle Card Predation! Nox Nyctores Bolverk!"
Lyra was engulfed in red denpa before dispersing into a pair of ornate pistols as long as Lyra Note's arms. Lyra Note spun the guns around before she began to fire them at the falling stone spikes, blowing them up with energy shots. Anura fell back down towards the clean water and exposed his rather enlarged belly and the swollen belly button on it. Megaman and Lyra Note fired at it at the same time just before Anura landed in the water. Emerging from it, Anura coughed and gagged until he turned around and hacked up a large blue fruit, crushing one of the Shimasen-playing Imp and making Taurus Flame skid to a halt in his charge at it.
"Not bad. Not bad at all…" Anura grunted as he turned around to the two, "You made me throw up the fruit I ripped from the Guardian Sapling's roots, kero!"
"Guardian Sapling?" Lyra Note repeated.
"Does he mean the dying tree outside of this cave?" Megaman pondered.
"Roots?" Acid Ace pondered before noticing a cluster of roots nearby, shaped as if they were meant to hold something, "Maybe...Taurus Flame, get that fruit over to those roots!"
"You got it!" Taurus Flame roared as he grabbed the fruit and began running towards the cluster of roots.
"You think I will let that happen?" Anura asked.
He shot his tongue out at Taurus Flame, only for Lyra Note to shoot at his tongue as several blue energy spears impaled the tongue. Anura screeched in pain as Taurus Flame managed to get to the roots.
"What now?"
"Put it in the roots!" Acid Ace replied, spinning around to bisect a flute-playing Imp.
"Got it!" Taurus Flame nodded..
-I don't get why we need to do this- Taurus admitted as Taurus Flame slammed the fruit into the roots.
"?!" Anura's eye widened before he let out a screech, letting a sphere of forest-green light come from his mouth and into the fruit, causing the fruit to start glowing and made the roots hold it close as the energy went up into them.
"I get it now. This guy must have used that fruit to absorb the energy of the area," Acid Ace noted, looking around and spotting two more clusters, "Try to make him hack up more of those fruits!"
"Bah! I can live without a fruit or two!" Anura declared before more of the dog-sized toads came out of the poisoned water, letting him released the black smoke and turn them into more Imp, "And this fight isn't over yet, kero kero!"
He inhaled before his cheeks swelled up to the size of his belly each. He swung his cheeks down at the ground, making Megaman and Lyra Note jump back to dodge. He opened his mouth, releasing a shockwave of a croak that knocked the two into a wall, dismissing their spears and guns.
(End theme)
-Oh that god damn frog bastard… Let's fill him with holes!- Omega-Xis roared.
"Got it. Battle Card Predation! Pinstripe Tommy Gun!"
"A what kind of gun?" Acid Ace raised a brow.
"Battle Card Predation! Sealed Weapon Izayoi!"
Lyra was engulfed in electromagnetic radiation once more before dispersing, revealing a red sword resembling the tip of a pen and a shield resembling a rounded book with her eye in the center. Megaman held up a comically large Tommy Gun.
-When did they have those?- Taurus pondered.
"No idea!" Taurus Flame grunted as he smashed a Shimasen-playing Imp into the ground while incinerating another.
"Probably made them with blank BattleCards!" Acid Ace grunted between slashes of his blades.
"Wait...we can do that?!" Taurus Flame asked, crushing the head of a flute-playing Imp he had grabbed in mid-leap.
"Silence, worms!" Anura roared as he shot his tongue out at the two he was fighting once more.
Lyra Note moved before Megaman with her shield held up. The tongue bounced off it and the blade became segmented as she swung it, turning it into a bladed whip that sliced into the tongue, making Anura screech in pain. Megaman jumped over Lyra Note and fired a barrage of shots at Anura.
-Ahahahahahaha! Eat bullets, asshole!- Omega-Xis cackled before the gun jammed -...SERIOUSLY!?-
"You said you wanted it to be accurate, but stronger," Megaman replied.
-SO YOU MADE IT JAM AT RANDOM TIMES?!- Omega-Xis snapped as Anura jumped into the air and slammed into the ceiling once more, making it rain stalagmites once more.
"Can't make it too broken."
-DAMN IT! AND SHUT IT, YA OUT OF TUNE HARP!-
-I have no idea what you're talking about…- the eye on the book shield looked to the side and away from Megaman as the two dodged the falling stone spikes.
-That snickering! I know you're snickering!-
-Maybe you hear that from the fleas in your head-
-WHY YOU LITTLE…!-
"BattleCard Predation! Plus Cannon!" Megaman declared, turning his gun and lower left arm/fist into a white and yellow bulky blaster.
He fired a large magenta shot, hitting Anura in the swollen belly button once more before he could hit the water. Anura emerged from it, hacking and coughing before expelling another large fruit.
"I got it!" Taurus Flame shouted, charging for the fruit before a trio of semi-large yellow Imps popped in front of him, large taiko drums on their backs, "Woah!"
"Now there are ones with giant drums?" Acid Ace pondered.
"Taiko," Lyra Note replied.
"Taiko, ningen," Anura croaked, "Also...beware the ground."
"Why didn't I like the sound of that?" Megaman whispered as the yellow Imp dove into the ground.
"They tunnel," Lyra Note groaned, "It's those mole viruses all over again."
-Please. We can take those things! What're they gonna do? Hit us with their dru- Omega-Xis began before one of the yellow Imps erupted from out of the ground, wearing tattered clothes of various shades of yellow while sitting on top of its taiko drum before beating on it, sending out a few large shockwaves that knocked Megaman away.
Lyra Note looked at their faces, seeing a white paper covering them with two eyebrow-like markings, "ハ (ha)?"
Inside of the VG Hunter, Omega-Xis's eye twitched, believing Lyra Note just laughed -...GRAH! GEO, WE'RE PLAYING WHACK-A-MOLE!-
"BattleCard Predation! Jumbo Hammer 3!" Megaman declared as the blaster was replaced with a large dark-brown and dark-blue mallet as big as him.
The yellow Imp gave a cry before it dove back into the ground, joining its brethren as they surrounded Megaman. As Megaman walloped at them repeatedly with his mallet, Taurus Flame reached the fruit and picked it up.
"Over there!" Acid Ace pointed to another cluster.
"Got it!" Taurus Flame nodded as he ran off for the cluster.
"You insufferable…" Anura growled as he fired his tongue once more only for Lyra Note's segmented whip-blade to cut into the tongue once more, making him screech in pain, "You insufferable Fudegami, kero!"
"Why does it keep calling me that?" Lyra Note whispered, jumping away from an attempted slam from Anura's webbed foot.
"Could it be referring to your gift from the elder?" Lyra pondered as she changed from shield and blade back into guitar.
"The brush?" Lyra Note pondered as she took it out.
A yellow Imp erupted from the ground behind her, preparing to slam her with its taiko drum. She turned around as the brush glowed. She blinked as the world turned sepia and felt more like she was looking at a scroll of paper before her.
"...Nani?" Lyra Note whispered, taking a step back only to trip on a rock, "Whoa!"
Her brush-holding hand moved wildly. A swipe caused a slash of black ink to come out of the brush and overlapped the attacking Imp's Taiko drum. Falling on her back, Lyra Note's hold on the brush faltered and the world changed back. The Imp screeched as its instrument/weapon was sliced down the middle.
"What the?!" Megaman gawked as the Imps in the area tensed up.
"...That belonged to Tachigami...no other Fudegami has that ability….unless…" Anura muttered before giving a low dark chuckle, "Gyah gyah gyah! Talk about lucky, kero! Out of all the Fudegami to face, it had to be her!"
"Tachigami?" Lyra repeated before Anura screeched in pain as another orb of forest-green light came out of his mouth and into the fruit now held by the roots.
"...If I eliminate you, my master will be pleased…" Anura noted, his visible eye twisting into a sort of dark smile shape, before summoning more of the three kinds of Imps, "Minions, deal with the ningen! The sun's Fudegami is mine…"
"The sun's what?" Megaman repeated before yelping as a Yellow Imp slammed its Taiko into the ground where he had been before jumping over a Green Imp's flute stab while kicking a Red Imp in the jaw.
"Looks like they're getting desperate," Acid Ace noted, "Sonia, don't worry about us! Just focus on getting that last fruit out of him!"
"Hai!" Lyra Note replied before dodging another attempt to slam her with his inflated cheeks before seeing him about to let out a loud croak, "Oh no you don't! Machine Gun String!"
She aimed Lyra at the toad and the strings of her guitar form shot out and ensnared the toad's lips before he could open his mouth. The cheeks swelled up further before they burst open, causing the toad to let out an agonized wail.
"MY CROAK, KERO!" Anura roared out, "Grr...Blasted Wolf Wench!"
"I'm not a wolf!" Lyra Note argued before looking at the water he was in, "...Ah mou...Baka…" she facepalmed.
"What?" Lyra asked.
"BattleCard Predation. Thunder Ball 2," Lyra Note deadpanned before forming a sphere of red electricity in her free hand and used Lyra as a bat to send it right into the water.
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRT!*
"K-K-KERRRRROOOOOO~!" Anura screeched as he was electrocuted badly by the attack.
He shot out of the water, but his swollen belly button was covered by a shell. His head smashed into the ceiling once more, shattering where he hit it and crashed into the water back first, exposing his shell-covered belly button.
"BattleCard Predation! BreakSaber!" Lyra Note called as she rushed at the shell and stabbed with with a magenta blade covered in blue energy rings, shattering the shell and impaling the belly button, making Anura throw up the final piece of fruit, "Bud, now's your chance!"
"Out of my way, demon boys! Ox Tackle!" Taurus Flame roared, bursting into flames as he plowed through the imps surrounding him as he charged towards the fruit.
"N-No…" Anura grunted, his body tensing as some sparks came off him before a chunk of the area he broke slammed into his face, "GUH!"
"And it's a slam dunk!" Taurus Flame roared as he picked up the fruit and threw it right into the last cluster of roots.
Anura screeched for a final time as a final orb of the forest-green light went into the fruit and then into the roots that held it close, "Kero, kero?! I-Impossible…!" he struggled to get up, "Nyargh! M-My power…! I can't...kero!"
"He's on his last legs. Let's end it, guys! Your best Elec BattleCards now!"
"Ahem!"
"...And ladies."
"Arigatou~!" the two girls thanked.
"BattleCard Predation! Strike Edge!" Acid Ace declared as his arms and fists turned into yellow generators that produced blades made of electricity.
"BattleCard Predation! CloudShot 3!" Megaman declared as his buster arm turned into a pink cloud with a black generator emerging from the tip.
"BattleCard Predation! Zero Gun: Thor!" Lyra Note declared as Lyra formed into Bolverk once more for a moment before changing into a chain gun.
"BattleCard Predation! Stealth Laser 2!" Taurus Flame bellowed before his eyes began to spark with electricity.
Acid Ace became a blur, delivering a barrage of slashes to Anura, before jumping out of the way as Taurus Flame fired concentrated streams of electricity from his eyes into Anura. Lyra Note open fired on Anura as Megaman fired blasts of lightning from the generator on the pink cloud covering him limb. The attacks caused an explosion and everyone stood at the ready. The smoke dissipated, revealing Anura's body was completely limp and fried. His body glowed with a dark aura before it dissipated into a black and purple smoke.
"Take that, ya stupid frog!" Omega-Xis laughed, appearing beside Megaman before he sniffed the air and looked at the entrance to the cavern, "?!"
"Alarm. High temperatures detected," Acid informed, appearing beside Acid Ace.
"What?" Acid Ace asked before the black and red sphere emerged from the entrance.
"Ah! It's the sphere again!" Lyra Note gasped.
"You want a Round Two, ya stupid ball?" Omega-Xis snarled.
The sphere ignored them and went into the smoke. The sphere's lines flashed a dark crimson before it spun around like a top. The smoke was pulled into the sphere before the black markings turned the same color as the smoke once it was all absorbed. It pulsed briefly before shooting out through the entrance before anyone could stop it.
"The heck was that?!" Taurus Flame exclaimed.
"We have absolutely no idea," Megaman admitted in concern.
"But we have it to thank for Sonia and the out of Tune Harp looking like they do," Omega-Xis snorted.
"Baka-inu…"
"What does that mean, dammit?!" Omega-Xis snapped before a glow caught his attention, "Hm?"
"What's going on up there?" Taurus Flame pondered, seeing a white light shining from the expanded hole in the ceiling of the cavern.
"Are those...stars?" Megaman pondered, seeing a dark-blue sky in the light with several stars in it.
"Acid?" Acid Ace asked.
"Unable to analyze. An unknown energy is emanating from them and interfering with my scanners," Acid informed.
"It feels...incomplete," Lyra noted, making the others look at her, "Sonia, doesn't it feel like there's some stars missing?"
"Hai...I...I think it is missing some," Lyra Note admitted.
"Odd…" Acid Ace noted.
"...I wonder…" Lyra whispered to herself, "...Maybe...Sonia."
"Hai?"
"It might be a long shot but...try and use the brush."
"The brush?" Lyra Note repeated as she took it out once more.
The brush began to glow with the same light as the light shining from the hole. She looked up at the three stars in the sky before they pulsed with the brush. The sky above turned the sepia tone as a set of lines connected the three stars together with two white lines touching nothing. Lyra Note held up the brush and 'tapped' at the two empty spots. The ink remained in the sky as it changed back to normal. The ink glowed before turning into two stars.
"Did...did you just make stars?" Megaman asked, his eyes widening as he looked at her.
"Ano…" Lyra Note began before the stars began to shine brighter, the shine taking the shape of a monkey playing some strange instrument that blocked its face.
The monkey glowed before swirls of musical notes in a myriad of colors erupted from it. The area rippled as the monkey in the sky took form, becoming a white-furred monkey wearing a pure white cone-like hat with crimson markings on its body. It spun around and landed on a tiptoe, posing like a ballerina as the area settled down, becoming a vast cloudy landscape with mountains emerging around the distance while the sky was a pure white with a crimson sun above. The monkey held a gold pipe-like instrument in its outstretched palm.
"A shō?" Lyra Note pondered.
"?!" the Monkey yelped as it noticed them and sweated heavily before quickly assuming a position with its legs bended down as being used as a seat for its upper half and began to play the instrument, "Ah...Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all...My gratitude for releasing my body from its imprisonment. I had hidden inside of the fruit of the Guardian Sapling on this piece of Nippon when you made your decision a century ago. Please accept my humble thanks in return for your great kindness."
"Amaterasu?" Acid Ace repeated.
"Is...Is that monkey talking while playing that weird instrument?" Taurus Flame asked.
"Shh!" Lyra Note hushed as she listened to the monkey.
"I am Sakigami, one of the triumvirate of flora gods known as the Hanagami. My brethren and I have been entrusted with the brush techniques known collectively as Greensprout," the monkey introduced himself, "I now grant my humble power to you. Use the power of Bloom wisely, for it can make any plant revive with a simple circle."
"Bloom?" Lyra Note repeated.
Sakigami glowed before collapsing into a tiny multicolored sphere. Resting in the center of the sphere of light was a symbol resembling a series of strokes with a box on the side.
"咲 (Saki)," Lyra Note read before the sphere floated around her before entering her body.
"Oh not again…" Lyra groaned before blinking a few times, "...Nothing's happened."
Lyra Note's body flashed before the area changed back into the cavern.
"...Uh...what just happened?" Ace blinked, dropping Wave Change.
"D...does not...compute…" Acid twitched a bit.
"Seriously, how was that monkey talking and playing that weird instrument at the same time?" Taurus Flame scratched his head.
"Let's get out of here and see if anything's changed up there," Megaman advised.
"I don't get it," Ace frowned, looking out as nothing outside had changed in the slightest, "We beat that toad and put those fruits back where they belong, but…"
"Are...Are they stuck like this?" Taurus Flame asked in concern.
"Damn it…" Ace muttered.
"...Bloom…" Lyra Note whispered, looking at her brush before looking at the tree, "...Maybe…"
"Something up, Sonia?" Megaman asked.
"'Use the power of Bloom wisely, for it can make any plant revive with a simple circle,'" Lyra Note repeated as she pulled the brush out.
The world to Lyra Note became sepia once more. Holding up her brush to the tree, she slowly moved it. Once she finished drawing a circle around the upper half of the tree, she put it away. The ink remained as the sepia vanished before flashing green. Almost instantly, the dying tree transformed into a magnificent tree in bloom, cherry blossoms covering it with some falling around it. The tree glowed before releasing a pulse. From the base of it, a wave of foliage erupted from it, washing over the area. The mists were dispersed as if they were never there, exposing magnificent beds of flowers in a myriad of colors and even mighty trees erupting from some of the places the mist had coated. Animals hidden in the mists were released, allowing them to go around and even fly about for the birds and insects. The tainted water was swept away as pure, clear water dispersed its taint from its beds as the people turned to stone was swept up in the green wave of flora, dispersing to reveal them back to normal and startling many. Above, the dark skies gave way to a beautiful sunshine giving a divine sense of serenity to the land.
"...D...does...not...com...pute…" Acid twitched, "How...how…"
"Sakigami...It said that it was a 'floral god,' didn't it?" Ace pondered.
"It did, hai," Lyra Note nodded.
"I...I think I get it...Anura...he said this was a Guardian Sapling," Megaman noted as he looked at the massive cherry blossom tree, "And everything was cured when it bloomed. Do these 'Guardian Saplings' need to be healthy to prevent...whatever that was...from happening?"
"That is correct."
"?!" the group tensed as they looked around.
"Is the monkey back?" Omega-Xis asked, appearing beside Megaman.
A soft giggle echoed, "Well, I'm not a monkey. I do apologize if you thought Sakigami had returned."
Lyra Note looked at the tree and gasped, "It's you…"
Taurus Flame looked and his eyes turned into hearts, "Whoa~!"
Sitting on one of the branches was the voluptuous woman in pink. She slid off the high branch she was on...and floated down to them, giving a small spin in the process. Megaman's face lit up in a blush as Taurus Flame nearly fell over with pink steam coming from the vents on his form, both having seen the peach cutout on her behind.
"And who might you be, madam?" Ace asked.
The woman giggled as she moved a hand over her lips, a smile in her eyes, "I am Mokusei Konohanasakuya-hime, but I enjoy being called 'Sakuya' for short." she turned to Lyra Note, "Oh Amaterasu. Goddess of the Sun that shines upon us all and mother to all life. My joy blossomed upon feeling one of my Guardian Saplings being restored upon the mainland through your power given by Sakigami."
"Your Guardian Saplings?" Omega-Xis raised a brow, "You mean the tree?"
"Why yes, my interesting Hoshi no Ryuu," Sakuya replied.
"What now?" Omega-Xis raised a brow.
"Star Dragon," Lyra Note translated.
"...Okay, you I like so far," Omega-Xis grinned, puffing his chest up and earning a giggle from Sakuya.
"Arigatou," Sakuya thanked, making Lyra Note's eyes widen, "The Guardian Saplings connect to the tree where I reside in back in Kamiki Village, connecting me to all over the land." she looked back at Lyra Note, "I am glad my message was able to reach you, my old friend."
"Message? …!" Lyra Note's eyes widened, "The scenery restored and you pointed at the cave…"
"I was barely able to send it through the Guardian Sapling," Sakuya nodded before looking over at Acid, who was twitching on the ground and seemed to be out of it, "Oh my...Is he well?"
"Not...com...pute...not...com...pute…" Acid sputtered.
"He's had a long day filled with talking toads, toads turning into imps, magic fruit apparently, a talking reality-altering monkey, and now a floating young woman," Ace sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Ah...A non-believer in the Gods," Sakuya nodded, "He is not the first, nor will he be the last."
"Um...Ms. Sakuya?" Megaman spoke up, earning the woman's attention, "Are there...more of these Guardian Saplings out there?"
"Hai," Sakuya nodded as she floated over to the tree, placing a hand on the trunk, "Scattered all over the land are my Guardian Saplings. Despite the millenia they have existed, none of them have been harmed by mortal hands directly. However...It has only been in the recent month or so that my Guardian Saplings have begun to be suppressed, causing them to wither and begin to die." she turned around and more pink steam erupted from Taurus Flame and a heavy blush emanate from Megaman as the sudden turn caused her impressive bosom to bounce and jiggle enticingly almost like the fruit the cutout in her outfit's chest area imitated, "But now that Bloom has been returned to you by Sakigami, I feel an entire forest of hope blossom within me, Amaterasu."
"That name again…" Lyra Note whispered.
"...Is...something the matter?" Sakuya asked.
"Um, well...My name is Sonia," Lyra Note replied.
"Sonia? …" Sakuya giggled, "Ah. Soka...I should have remembered your choice a century ago. Though, in honesty…" she cupped Lyra Note's cheek and gave her a smile, "You look more like a 'Misora' to me as this."
"Misora?" Lyra Note repeated as Sakuya floated back to the tree.
"Please help restore the Guardian Saplings scattered across the land of Nippon," Sakuya pleaded as she phased into the tree, "May the fresh scent of flowers protect you always!"
"...Misora…" Lyra Note whispered to herself.
"...What?" Vulpecula frowned as a few Imps backed away from her, "Anura lost? How could that stupid toad have lost?!"
"$ **&$!#%#..." a Green Imp imitated throwing something at a Red Imp, who acted like it was electrocuted.
"...Of course he'd be electrocuted…" Vulpecula sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I told him staying in the water was a bad idea, but no! He had to insist on it, thinking no one could beat him in the water! Ugh...and I thought AM-Ians and humans were stupid...Ugh...okay. Who killed him?"
"! $ %#% (!"
"?!...Omega-Xis...and the Sun Goddess?" Vulpecula repeated, "...Please leave…"
The Imps looked at one another before nodding. They quickly left, letting Vulpecula be alone.
"...My darling...with that damnable goddess…?" Vulpecula whispered, "...No...no no. She must be using him...of course...and they say demons are manipulative…" the sphere floated in, "Ah...You came back with what Anura was given? Good, good. Go deliver it to the master."
The sphere gave a 'nod' as it floated away.
"Now...what to do…?" Vulpecula pondered, tapping her cheek in thought as her tails swayed a bit, "Hmm…" she looked at a sphere nearby chained by shadows, "...Perhaps destroying a Guardian Sapling will be good retribution..." within the orb, a pure white mouse with crimson markings tried to break free, "...especially done by the hands of a protector of them."
GT: Well this was something.
SZ: Indeed. Been a long while, but we're finally getting this story back on track.
GT: Very true. With a big scary toad and coming into contact with a monkey and a tree spirit. ...How does Sakigami speak when playing his instrument anyway?
SZ:...Good question.
GT: Ah well. For now, Readers we hope you enjoyed the story. So please Read and Review.
SZ: And we shall see you all next time. Ja ne.