"It's a riot!" A man from Amaryllis' village exclaimed angrily. The six stared at the scene, Amaryllis' eyes shaking as she looked worried. If they fought back now, they'd face the dire consequences. And she couldn't have that, since she indirectly caused all of this... Kohaku, Gen, Sumi, and Senku put on the gas masks.
"Science's suppression device...choloracetone," Senku chuckled a little. "Probably better known as tear gas. This'll put a stop to the riot!" Gen was bent down in front of him, Kohaku and Sumi holding the pump while Senku aimed it. The two women rolled the crank around to release the gas. Once it hit the villagers, floods of tears flew from their eyes. All of them were laying around uncontrollably sobbing. Sumi reached out to her own gas mask, pulling it off while shaking her hair around.
"Since the tear gas got released outside, most of it should be gone in a few hours. At best, your fellow villagers will experience a runny nose after excessive tearing and some slight coughing," She explained with a small smile. "So they'll be completely fine once the effects wear off!"
Amarllyis stared at them in shock. "Wow...was that sorcery?" She muttered in disbelief. "Who are you people?"
Kohaku held the end of her sheathed sword. "We wanna be as quick as possible...so we can save our petrified friends back on the ship."
Amaryllis then slowly opened her eyes. "Listen..." She thought of the petrified people in the water that Ginro saw earlier. "I know the secret of the petrification beam," She revealed, to the utter shock of Gen, Sumi, and Senku." She looked out to the sea, turning around to the five. "I'm begging you, will you help us? Please, fight by my side!"
They all stared at her in silence, as they contemplated on what to do...
5 years ago on the island, someone was dragging Amaryllis down a pathway of rock. She was only 13 at the time. Waiting for them up ahead were two men and another woman. "Amaryllis! Hurry up and climb aboard!" A man waved to her, but she looked very hesitant about all this. The four were planning on leaving the island, which was something that was not encouraged...after all, they had been warned beforehand to not even leave the island. Otherwise the master would find out and punish them all, and she didn't want that. Everyone was perfectly aware of the consequences, and she didn't want to become petrified like the others down in the water.
"Um, are you guys really going out to sea?" She questioned while speaking up, unsure. "It's not safe! We'll get in trouble."
"Hey, lighten up," Another man tried to assure the young teen.
"Are you scared of the old man's warnings?" A woman with black hair and pigtails spoke, wearing a blue dress. She then mimicked an old man's face, even having a mustache. "Stay on the island, don't you dare make anything new! Break the rules or the master will use the sorcery he inherited to turn you into stone!"
The other woman, with brown hair in pigtails, a hair ornament, and a mint green dress, hugged her stomach while laughing. "He'd never shut up about that!" She replied playfully, the other woman waving her hands around.
"But we couldn't care less about the master!" She replied back confidently; if anything to them, it was in one ear and out the other. Especially since they had never actually seen anyone be petrified themselves.
"Come on, it'll be fun," The other woman stepped forward, dragging the unwilling Amaryllis onto the boat. She let out a small whine, but hoped to herself that everything would be okay. However, a small part of her didn't really believe that...
"Alright, let's go!" The two men clacked their paddles together. The group then started going out to sea. Everything seemed to be going well as the two men rowed in silence...that was until one of them turned around in confusion. It was faint from the distance he was looking at...but he could make out a small boat from their position, following them, and following them fast. He gave a light gasp as the others turned around, looking up ahead. Eventually, the other boat came into view, shadows obscuring the people in it.
"Crap, this is bad!" One of them looked absolutely terrified. "The top two are coming!"
"You're just being paranoid," The black-haired woman mocked him a little.
"Take his word for it!" The other man screamed in fear. "We gotta row!" He continued rowing as fast as he could, even though it wasn't helping at all.
"I see 'em now. Who's that?" The other woman asked in confusion.
"You don't recognize them? They're like the master's right and left hands!" The first man explained for her.
"Look at you all panicked," The first woman teased the two.
"This is no time to be joking around! They're the two strongest warriors!" The other ship meanwhile was catching up to them. "Moz..." Moz had long brown hair and a spear. "And Kirisame!" Kirisame was a black-haired woman with stone ornaments in her hair. Everyone gasped, wondering if the two were here for them since they had wanted to leave. They didn't even know how the top two even found out about them leaving, and so quickly too.
Moz gave a small hum looking up ahead. "This is such a shame..." He murmured in disappointment at the sight in front of him. "A complete and utter shame. There are some cute ones on that boat. Especially her..." And by her, he meant Amaryllis herself. She was shaking in terror as she could just feel his eyes on her, and she didn't like it at all. "The one peeking out at the end. She's still too much of a child, of course, but I can tell. She'll be a real looker in five years...guarantee it."
"You can save your preserve remarks for the inner palace selection event," Kirisame remarked, reaching towards her clothes. "We were sent here to dispose of troublemakers..." She reached into a red pouch with a yellow star on it that was combined with the bulbous ornaments covering her chest.
He gave a small grunt while leaning back against the boat, a hand behind his head. He gave her a small grin. "Then let me ask you something, Kirisame...what's the point of life if not enjoying the existence of cute girls...?"
She then held up a rope above her head, spinning it around. "You're disgusting..." She commented in distaste for his desires. He was always like this around the women on the island, except for her of course. Mainly because she could see right through him, and didn't care for his lustful thoughts. "But that's nothing new." He glanced up at the rope and then noticed something.
"That angle is a bit shallow. Go for one head higher," Moz suggested and she listened, raising her wrist to change her aim.
"Understood," She tossed it seconds later into the air, and it headed towards the other boat the villagers were in. The five all gasped sharply, Amaryllis giving a small sound of fear. There was a faint glow coming from what was just thrown, and the glow continued. It then expanded into a giant glowing green orb. It continued to grow right towards them.
"What is that light...?" The brown-haired woman sweated nervously while looking towards the sky, the green light taking over all of them. After seeing this, they now wanted to take everything back that they had said regarding the master and being petrified. "I'm so sorry, Amaryllis. We shouldn't have pressured you..." She whimpered a bit.
"Only men will be shields!" The man right in front of Amaryllis turned around and pushed her away. "Amaryllis is the youngest, send her to the back!" He and the other man held up their hands while standing in front of and behind the two women.
The girl looked up in horror with tears in her eyes, frightful of what would happen next to them...
Amaryllis was telling the story to her new allies at her village. Everyone else was asleep, so they couldn't hear them. The five all gasped once they had heard what she had just explained to them. "...Anyone else getting traumatic flashbacks, or is that just me?" Gen wondered anxiously after a few seconds, glancing towards Senku and Sumi. "I mean, do we think the light is you know what?"
"Uh-huh," Senku confirmed while Sumi was leaning against the wall to Senku's left, close enough that their shoulders were touching. "The one from thousands of years ago. We'd never forget that. Must be like the event that started it all..." Senku from thousands of years ago, looked outside the window from the science lab in school. "But on a much smaller scale, of course." Compared to the one from that day, that engulfed the entire world, while this one was only a few amount of people in a shorter amount of distance. Senku screamed while running up to Sumire, pushing her behind him and she fell, staring back at him with glistening eyes.
The black-haired scientist then opened her eyes from the memory. "It's likely that these people have a connection to Why-Man..." Sumi spoke up in thought, her arms crossed. "Either he gave it to them or they did it under his command. Or maybe they're not even connected at all..." It was possible that somehow, the village created this petrification weapon without even consulting Why-Man. There was no real way to tell if he was even connected to them just yet since they didn't have much to go on from him other than his message. Which the natives wouldn't have the technology for.
"That is a good point..." Senku murmured in agreement while glancing at her. "But there's no way to know for sure just yet until we get more answers."
"Obvious follow-up here..." Kohaku spoke up to their new ally nearby slowly. "But you're sitting in front of us right now not petrified years later. How did you ever manage to escape it?" She knew that without nitric acid, there was no way Amaryllis broke free on her own if she was petrified. Especially on an island that didn't have any. Or that Kirisame and Moz would show mercy just because she was only 13 at the time. Plus, there didn't seem to be anyone like Chrome around who could even help them with their knowledge.
Amaryllis gave a small frown at the question. Just like Senku, Sumi, and Gen could never forget the green light...she could never forget how she managed to not get petrified. It was so bizarre that she still couldn't believe it herself...
Everyone on the boat screamed in terror as the light approached them. The man in front screamed as his arms started to turn into stone. The others followed, and their screams were silenced once they became statues. Amaryllis laid on the boat, looking back in fear. She could see it getting closer and closer. To Moz and Kirisame, they believed every single person was petrified, as Amaryllis was too small for them to see her. The woman had a pleased smirk on her face.
"Targets successfully petrified," She confirmed, and they'd inform their master soon after. Amaryllis gasped as the green light started to overtake her hair to become strands of stone. She gripped the left side of her hair, ripping part of it off while leaning back as much as she could. The flying strands turned into stone and she backed away. She shielded her eyes...but then nothing else happened as the light just stopped all on its own. She gave a look of shock at this, unsure of what to think. And in fact, the light just sat there, right in front of her face.
'Wait...the light stopped right in front of me?' Moz held out a hand to stop the rower from getting any closer. If they did, they'd be petrified too. And thanks to the added weight of the boat from the four people-turned statues, it tilted over and caused everyone to fall off. Amaryllis swam away from her fellow stoned villagers, forced to leave them behind as they sank towards the bottom of the sea...
"They claim it's sorcery..." She continued the story to the five. "Passed down through the master's bloodline. But I've seen it with my own eyes. The master wasn't there. It happened when he wasn't even nearby..."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Amaryllis. It must've been scary..." Sumi's eyes softened at her. To have to witness that as a child, unable to do anything...it was a sinking feeling. And she felt similarly when she and Senku were petrified, since he went out of his way to try and save her without a second thought.
"Mm," Amaryllis nodded at her in silence. "Thank you for your support," She spoke up gratefully to the woman.
"So his goons have some sort of weapon," Senku spoke up to everyone, his eyes closed with a small smirk on his face. "One that they throw up into the air, that right?"
"Mmhm," Amaryllis nodded curtly in response. "If the master could petrify people without assistance, we'd be powerless. Which is why everyone just obeys. However...if it's done using a weapon, all I need to do is steal it!" Her plan was to sneak up from behind, using her looks as a distraction if needed. That is, if the master even had one himself. "That's what I want to do," She smiled with a hand on her cheek. "And I'd just be over the moon if you fine people would lend me a hand! So..." She looked away while holding her arm, using her looks to try and charm them, specifically Senku once again. "I know we only just met today, but...it's just that you're so heroic and muscular, I can't help but depend on you," She glanced towards the men. "Forgive me..."
Soyuz reacted by having his entire face red, smoke coming from his ears. He then passed out, Gen turning to him with lines over his eyes with a small groan. Given that he was a mentalist, it made sense that it didn't work on him to Amaryllis. He could tell what she was doing, and she knew of his tricks, so his lack of a reaction wasn't too surprising. But Senku on the other hand looked away with a chuckle, a big smirk on his face.
"You can stop puttin' on your little show, you know," He remarked and she turned red in anger, holding her cheeks. Tears flew from her eyes as her eyes were white, unable to determine why he was immune. And it was starting to baffle her a lot.
He's really immune to it?!
"Probably because he's got Sumi as a girlfriend, therefore he doesn't pay attention to stuff like that?" Kohaku suggested while turning to Sumi, who looked a little unamused by Amaryllis herself. Something about her attempting to get a reaction out of the green-haired scientist just made her a little annoyed. She knew he'd never fall for it even if he wasn't her boyfriend, but still...
"Yeah, having her around makes it easier. Because she's all I need, so don't take it personally and don't worry about it," Senku remarked casually, and the black-haired scientist flinched, blushing deeply by what he said. She gave a small chuckle as their previous conversation about being lovers came back to mind.
"You always love making me flustered, huh? Although I'm definitely not against the compliment," She smiled at him before turning back around to Amaryllis. Senku had an amused look on his face as he placed his hand on top of hers knowingly. "But please stop using your charms on him. Just because they don't work doesn't mean I'm a fan of watching you continuously do it on my boyfriend," She held up a warning finger.
Senku turned to the black-haired scientist and leaned in. He then lightly kissed the side of her head. "You're cute when you're jealous," He smirked at her in a teasing tone. "Even though it's completely illogical to feel that way when I have no interest in little tricks like that by other women."
"I am not..." She whined a bit while her face was still red and Amaryllis blinked, snapping out of it. Watching them interact, she could tell how much they cared about each other. Sure, Senku wasn't a romance guy, she could tell. But she could also see how it was possible for them to get along, despite being literal opposites in the way they acted. She gave a small smile towards the two, as she started to find them a little cute in their own weird ways. The two were definitely less than ideal as a couple, but they didn't have to be that way. All that mattered was that they still had strong chemistry.
"Anyway, our goals align with yours," Senku glanced at Amaryllis. "We're hoping to figure out the mystery of the petrification ourselves." The woman blinked in confusion as he continued to speak. "If the phenomenon is like something out of a fantasy story, and wasn't bound by any kind of rules or laws, then humanity would have no hope of overcoming it. But thanks to what you've told us, a few things have become clear to Sumi and myself. The first thing we know...is that there's a limited area of effect. Second, it's thrown, which means the user can be petrified too. And third, it can be stopped by cutting off effected parts. Ha! So there are rules after all," The moonlight hit him while staring at Amaryllis confidently. "If it operates on rules, it's science, plain and simple. And in a battle of science, nobody's gonna beat us!"
Amaryllis gasped while being slightly confused. Like with Ishigami Village, she associated science as a sorcery, and not something that had existed in the past. "It's got nothing to do with sorcery or inheritance, that petrification weapon comes from somewhere. Nothing exists without reason or with limits," Sumi gave a small smirk next to her boyfriend, the moonlight illuminating the red tips in her hair. "Because there's always an explanation for things that are purely scientific, even if it's unreasonable. So whatever's going on in this island, we're gonna figure it out for ourselves to understand this petrification weapon. We'll just have to gather more information in the meantime, but we'll get the answers in due time the more we're here."
Gen gave the two a big grin. "You've got that right, you two. Well aid-say," He complimented the duo. Sumi then gave a small frown while thinking of the story again.
"Those poor people and all our friends that are still on the ship..." She murmured sadly and Senku glanced at her as she looked upset. She could state all they'd do to figure out the new developments, but it wouldn't change her empathy towards everyone who had been petrified, including their friends. He then gave her one of his trademark smirks.
"Don't worry, Sumi. We're gonna bring back every single one of them," He told her confidently and she blinked, glancing towards him. "It's like you always say, gotta test our limits, right?" She gasped from the reminder and then smiled a little.
"Hm," She got onto her feet, clenching a fist near her face with a big grin. "Yup, you're exactly right! As long as we're here, we'll save everyone together!" She turned to him with her hands on her hips, grateful that he indirectly cheered her up. Which, he still preferred, since being anything other than herself wasn't who she was.
"Hey Amaryllis," Kohaku spoke up to her, and she turned to the blonde. "You said the master's people are coming for you tomorrow, yeah?"
Amaryllis nodded in confirmation. "Every year, they make the rounds of each village and choose beautiful girls over 18 to wed him. It doesn't matter if the woman is already married or in a relationship, there's no denying them! I've made myself as cute as possible. I'm certain they'll choose me tomorrow."
"Shows some confidence to be talking about yourself like that," Gen remarked with a small awkward smile. "But I can't disagree, so I'll shut up..."
"I think I've earned that, I've been dolling myself up for years. Also, I can save everyone!" Amaryllis stated confidently to the five. "Once I infiltrate the inner palace, I'm gonna find a way to steal the weapon from them!" Sumi blinked and then smiled fondly at the woman; it reminded her of herself in a way, as she always fought to keep everyone safe when the time was needed for it. Their decision to follow her and ally themselves with her still held up.
Although while it was commendable, there were a few complications with this plan. "It certainly seems men are incapable of resisting your charms. But if it's the female warrior, Kirisame wielding it, do you think you can use the same kind of strategy?" Kohaku pointed out, since Amaryllis didn't seem to have any fighting skills whatsoever. So trying to steal it from a strong woman would prove difficult, and then it'd be a huge loss for them.
"This mission might be too much for one person," Gen's eyes widened as he realized the same thing. "You need a companion who can fight!"
"I know," Amaryllis frowned a little, unaware of the obvious solution. "But where am I gonna find a girl who can fight and is willing to come into the inner palace with me?"
As soon as she asked the question, everyone froze. Senku, Gen, Soyuz, and Sumi then looked towards the answer themselves with white eyes. All of them were utterly bewildered as Kohaku had frozen in her spot. She then scoffed with a big grin, crossing her arms. "Why didn't I think of that? So all I need to do is be chosen as one of the cutest girls in the selection process?" She asked confidently, though...it was gonna be a hard task to even pull off.
All of them continued to stare anxiously, as they couldn't wrap their heads around it. Gen was the most vocal though, as his eyes swirled around while letting out a sound of shock. He just couldn't see it himself...cute was the last word he'd use to describe Kohaku. And if Chrome were here right now, he'd probably laugh his butt off, and then get beat up as a result.
"I just need to be chosen as a cute one!" Kohaku grinned widely, Gen continuing to shout. The blonde grabbed his ear, tugging it as she grunted in annoyance. He grunted in pain as Senku stepped up with a chuckle.
"You're not wrong, Kohaku. You are the only one here who can help her out," He gave a small smirk.
"Actually, Sumi can help too. She was in the Grand Bout, after all," Soyuz realized and Senku's eyes widened, sweating a little. The thought of putting her through a beauty contest having a sense of how the men would react was...concerning, to say the least. Almost like when he refused to send her out at first to go speak to Tsukasa.
"Absolutely not!" He immediately denied to their confusion and Sumi gave a nervous smile.
"Mm, I think it's safe to say that Kohaku is stronger than me. And plus, it'll make Senku less mad if I don't go through with it..." She murmured knowingly towards him. Senku then pushed a pair of glasses with a big grin.
"Catching someone's attention really isn't that big of an ask. Like anything, we can tackle the challenge with science!" He declared as Sumi had glasses too, pushing them up to her face as she looked confident.
"If I could pull it off with Sen, Kohaku can do the same to get picked for the selection!" She remarked, earning a small grunt from Senku.
"Yeah, sure, believe that all you want," He remarked in a semi-blank tone.
Gen chuckled, the tip of his ear red from Kohaku. "Excellent point, my friends!" He commented and Amaryllis chuckled as well.
"You can leave the makeup to me!" She assured the group. Kohaku had a cat smile on her face while picking at her ear.
"Time for a makeover! We'll make a beauty out of Kohaku yet. After all, attraction is a science!" Gen explained and Amaryllis searched for something that Kohaku could wear from her hut.
"First things first, let's put you in a dress!" She exclaimed in excitement while walking down the latter, holding something covered in a tarp. The others were waiting for her down below. "I think your current outfit is cute as is honestly, but it will not get you chosen for the inner palace." She held it out to the blonde. Kohaku nodded in understanding, the same cat smile still over her face. She then grabbed the ends of her dress and pulled it right off, to the shock of both women.
Sumi turned around and covered her eyes. "Kohaku! Ugh..." She blushed in embarrassment.
"You're getting changed right here?!" Amaryllis screeched as her eyes were white, her hair standing up on end. No one on the island acted like Kohaku did, so seeing this kind of behavior was a first, to say the least. Soyuz had turned away as well from her, a dusty blush over his cheeks. Gen looked on blankly while Senku was completely unaffected.
"Hm? Oh, you're worried about these guys," Kohaku replied knowingly with a confident scoff. "Well, don't be, it certainly doesn't bother them—well, most of them, actually. Sumi's the only one who doesn't like it. Although I'm pretty sure with her skills in medicine, you'd think she'd be okay with that kinda stuff."
"Irony, thanks, I get it," Sumi retorted back to her, her back still facing the group. "I don't need you to remind Senku his girlfriend's being polite, please get changed already..."
"Ah," Senku dug his pinky into his ear a bit awkwardly. "Maybe we don't mind, but somebody else sure would, other than my prudent lover over here," He glanced down at Sumi, whose hair stood up on end while her lips were pressed together. She turned around to lightly slap him on the arm with a small glare. "Gotta stop being so brazen. We have to approach this as if we were prepping you for a modern beauty contest..." He rubbed his chin in thought.
"It'll take considerable practice to smooth out her rough edges, I'm afraid," Gen remarked as Kohaku tossed her dress away to put on the new one. Sumi sighed a bit, hands on her hips.
"Well, out of the two of us, Kohaku is more of a tomboy. So while I love her the way she is, personality could make or break her in this contest..." She closed her eyes; if she acted like this by tomorrow, there was no way she'd get chosen and then their mission would be a bust. So that might be something to work on as well...which she still couldn't see. That'd be asking her to be just like Ruri, when the two sisters couldn't be anymore different.
Kohaku hummed anxiously while looking at herself. "This is pretty comfortable, I admit...but it's not exactly easy to move around in," She was in a white dress now, sparkles around her as she blinked. She then did a flip. "Kicks will be especially difficult."
Sumi sighed heavily, a hand over her head while the other was on her hip. She closed her eyes knowingly. Of course she'd be like this...
"SEE, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN!" Gen screamed while pointing at her, his eyes bulging out. Amaryllis yelped in alarm at her behavior, lines over her forehead. Kohaku then put on her shield and sword...
"Alright."
"AGAIN, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!" Gen had the same expression as before while emphasizing the fact that the blonde couldn't act like this at all. Amaryllis looked on in disbelief, as she had never seen anyone act like this before without realizing what this selection process meant exactly...
"I don't think the sword and shield pair well with a dress..." She murmured while Gen gritted his teeth. Soyuz nervously reached out to the weapons as Kohaku had a cat-like confused expression.
"They're not considered standard accessories..." This process meant that she couldn't show any signs that she was a fighter. If she did, it could potentially tip off the others immediately and then they'd know that there were intruders on the island.
"I guess changing your clothes did help," Kohaku still had that cat-smile as Gen pointed at her face. "But this is where the real attle-bay begins! Operation Science Makeup is a go!"
"Yeah, about that..." Senku looked at his tool belt, glancing over at Sumi's as well. "There isn't much more Sumi and I can do with just the tools we have on hand." They all stared at the duo, and a quick glance at them confirmed they didn't have anything to really increase Kohaku's chances. "If this is gonna happen...we need the lab."
"Sumi, you don't carry any makeup?" Amaryllis asked the black-haired scientist incredulously while blinking.
"Um...well, makeup isn't really my thing," Sumi scratched her cheek awkwardly, sweating a little. "So I don't really carry it around either. Even if it was a priority for me, I was too busy with science projects to really be doing much in terms of a beauty routine. So I just never really thought about investing time into it. At most, I'd wash my hair and that's it."
"But you don't need makeup. You look beautiful already," Soyuz blinked while staring at her.
She gave an awkward sound, looking away while still sweating. "Thanks, Soyuz..." She murmured quietly, but didn't feel happy about the compliment. Everyone stared at her since they knew that her and beauty never really earned a positive reaction...
"You never tell your lover that she's beautiful...?" Amaryllis murmured in disbelief at the couple.
"Senku's not really like that," Sumi gave a small smile. "He's definitely more of a 'tell you in private' sort of thing if he feels the need. And I don't really get enjoyment from hearing it from him anyway."
"I don't need to comment because she looks just fine," Senku remarked, hands on his hips. "What can I even say, anyway? It's already obvious that it wasn't looks that she weaseled her way into my life."
"Unfortunately for both of them, physical appearance isn't something they really delve into..." Gen gave a sheepish smile towards the two. "It wouldn't be like either of them, if we're being honest." Even when coming from Senku, Sumi had just never really liked getting complimented regarding her appearance thanks to the scar. She had a positive reaction but didn't really go further than that.
"Tell her she looks pretty right now!" Amaryllis pointed at Senku. "It's not hard!"
Sumi cleared her throat to change the subject before her boyfriend could even comment. "We should go check out the ship, shouldn't we?"
"Science is our ace in the hole," Senku explained as the six looked up ahead at the Perseus from the cliff. "Our only solid advantage. If we can recover the lab from the ship, we can put up a real fight on this island."
"That's the boat you guys arrived on?" Amaryllis asked in wonder from just the size alone. "I've never seen one that big before!"
"Yeah...it looks to me like the enemy's already hijacked it, though..." Kohaku informed while looking through the telescope.
Senku gave a small laugh. "Well, that's not too surprising. Anyone in their position would do the same thing as long as they weren't complete idiots..."
She then finally got a good look at the petrified crew on board. "Our friends..." She was about to charge in when the rope tied with Gen suddenly came back. She gritted her teeth while struggling against it, clenching a fist.
"I understand how you feel, but that doesn't mean charging in is gonna be the smart move!" He grunted while holding her back as much as he could.
Sumi gave a small look of exasperation while stepping up to them, moving her arm down to put the rope away. "Kohaku, we can't fight them off with the limited resources we have. We have to wait," She explained, the blonde turning around with a small growl.
"Why?"
"Think about it. Even if we did manage to reach the ship, we're obviously outnumbered!" Sumi gestured to herself and Kohaku. "You and I are the only fighters in the team and we can't take on all of those guards at once. And what if they petrify us on sight? Who's gonna revive everyone then? I know it's hard, but you have to be patient. There'll be another time for us to act for them petrifying all our friends."
Kohaku stared at her and silently, and slowly, calmed down. If their friends got hurt because she charged in, that would fall on her. And she couldn't risk their lives all because of her emotions.
A small boat was heading towards the ship, one of the occupants being Kirisame. However, there was a man in a red cape next to her. Senku stared at him using the telescope. "Is that giant-sized geezer the master you've been talking about?" He wondered while giving Amaryllis the item so she could have a look for herself.
"It's not. The master is much younger than him. This man's known as Minister Ibara," She explained to the group. "He consults with the master, and relays his orders to everyone on the island. He's more like our second leader."
Ibara gave a gleeful smile while stepping onto the ship. "Yes, yes, it's far more impressive up close. Excellent job indeed, Kirisame!" She bowed her head in front of him. "Such a fantastic ship! And in perfect condition to boot. The master will be extremely pleased when he hears about this, I assure you."
"But Ibara, I must say," Kirisame spoke up while sounding hesitant. "All of the equipment we've discovered on board is well-beyond our understanding. I fear it's a kind of sorcery used by those who escaped the island. We should destroy it as soon as-"
"I'm sorry, Kirisame, I must've misheard you," He narrowed his eyes down at her. "I could've sworn you were giving your opinion, when you know the master decides these things."
"No," She corrected herself while closing her eyes. "That was not my intent." She just wanted to make it clear that this equipment was potentially dangerous. But she'd leave it up to Ibara to speak with the master and explain it.
"Hmm," Ibara examined the petrified Chrome in front of him. "I like their little outfits. Let's fashion them into something that the girls in the inner palace could wear. Oh wait, these poses will make stripping them difficult, but that's nothing a little smashing won't fix," He flicked his fingers...and Chrome landed on the ground, his head and arm both breaking off.
Once Kohaku saw this, she immediately ran off, snapping off the rope that was binding her to Gen. He yelped as he fell back, Sumi rushing in to catch him from behind.
"Kohaku, no!" She called out in a whisper.
"Don't worry!" The blonde called out to her friends while jumping along the rocks. "I won't do anything to ruin our mission!" Sumi bit her lip in concern at her, releasing Gen and rushing off.
"Come on, we'll follow her in case she does anything rash!" She called out and they ran down after her. It wasn't that she didn't believe Kohaku, but she had a feeling that she might get seen by the others from the ship. Especially if Kirisame was the one who petrified the crew if she noticed the ship, then she might notice a woman who she wasn't familiar with at all.
Kohaku slid to a stop, ripping off the rope that was still tied to her wrist. She peeked behind a big rock to get a closer look for herself. It's possible someone on the ship avoided being petrified and is in hiding. In which case, I just need to get within shouting distance.
And just as Sumi feared, Kirisame landed on a rock right above Kohaku seconds later. "What are you doing down there?" She was in shadow, the moon right behind her body. "You shouldn't be here! Tell me, which village are you from?"
Kohaku gasped from the sudden voice, turning around and crouching seconds after. I didn't notice her at all!
Kirisame noticed Kohaku's fast reaction, something that did pique her interest a bit. Especially since she was the only female warrior so far from the island. Even when she had seen other women from the other villages, none of them didn't seem to have any fighting capabilities...
This girl immediately assumed a combat stance. Kirisame then fell forward, flipping many times as Kohaku let out a gasp. The woman then extended her leg, the blonde bending down to duck. Kirisame hit a rock with her stone heel, and it broke into pieces once she did. Kohaku glanced back in shock as she had never seen anything like it, not even from Sumi. Kirisame then raised her leg, Kohaku jumping up to attack. However, thanks to the rope bindings from her dress, she lost her footing. She yelped as she hit the ground, falling with a gasp. Her opponent immediately kicked her hard in the face, causing her to hit the rock wall hard. She grunted in pain, shaking as she could barely move now. She looked towards Kirisame, gritting her teeth.
She's strong...I'll bet this is the one she was telling us about: Kirisame.
The others had caught up to them, running down the rocks as quickly as they could. "This is ad-bay!" Gen screeched as they saw Kirisame spinning around rapidly. Kohaku was blocking her spinning kicks as much as she could, but fighting with the dress wasn't going to help in any way. If she continued striking back, her movements would be very limited. And that was something Kirisame already could tell for herself.
Sumibit her lip nervously while watching them, sweat running down her cheek. If I charge in, Kirisame will get suspicious of two girls who can fight! And then we'll be done for! She was trying to figure out what to do; attack or form another strategy before Kohaku could get killed.
Kohaku gritted her teeth while taking all of the hits, backing away and holding up her arms. It's too much to deal with bare-handed. If I'm gonna fight back...it has to be now! "I NEED THE LAB!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, shocking everyone. Kirisame gasped as she froze in place form the foreign word. Even Ibara glanced back in the ship, very confused. "It's absolutely essential right now! I gotta have the lab, please!" She pleaded quickly, though Kirisame still didn't understand what exactly she was hearing from Kohaku.
"The...lab?" She murmured, Senku and Sumi gasping in realization. Amaryllis gasped a bit too, though the word was lost on her as well. Soyuz opened his mouth as he then realized why.
Oh...right. The natives on the island would never have heard such a word before. It's effectively a secret message to the people of the Kingdom of Science!
Gen narrowed his eyes with a dark look on his face. He chuckled as he could use this to trick Kirisame so she wouldn't question it further. If she tried to interrogate them, it'd be game over. "Now, now..." He spoke up, getting Senku's attention. The mentalist then put his hands over the green-haired scientist's shoulders. "What are you waiting for? Go to her, the Lab, old buddy old pal!"
"Huh?" Senku glanced at him in confusion, having no idea what Gen was talking about. The mentalist just had a big grin on his face, sparkles flying around him.
"Wait, what?" Sumi blinked at the two, confused as well.
"My, you're just so shy!" Gen pushed Senku towards Kirisame and Kohaku before either of them could question it.
"Gen, what are you doing?!" The black-haired scientist called out in alarm, demanding an answer but didn't get one.
Is he pretending the lab is Senku's name? Soyuz stared at them nervously and then gave a sweat drop with a closed smile. Sumi's not going to like this at all...
"Orry-say, orry-say," Gen wrapped his arms around Kohaku and Senku, both of them staring at him with wide eyes. "She is just so possessive of her boyfriend. Whenever another woman gets anywhere near the Lab here, she's sent into a fit of rage and jealousy just like the one you witnessed first-hand." Senku glanced away blankly after hearing this.
Kirisame then looked up in thought, imagining Kohaku teary-eyed with a slight blush. "Where's the Lab? I need my Lab right now!" Considering her reaction earlier, that made sense to Kirisame. Meanwhile, Sumi was not happy with this at all.
"Boyfriend?!" Sumi gritted her teeth in anger, twitching as Amaryllis and Soyuz held her back and she struggled against them. "You better have a good explanation for this, Gen!" The mentalist shook in fear hearing this as Senku stared at her. Thankfully, Kirisame wasn't either paying attention to Sumi or just didn't really register her reaction.
"Y-Yup, that's right, what he said!" Kohaku agreed while seeming eager. Senku just looked bored with this ruse. "The Lab and I are in a romantic relationship!" She cringed at that last part as Sumi was still struggling against Soyuz and Amaryllis.
"Why'd you have to go and come up with that?" Amaryllis murmured nervously at Gen.
"Uh-huh," Senku muttered and Kohaku grunted, reaching out to grab his cheeks. She then pulled the wide-eyed scientist over to her, to kiss him! Kirisame, Amaryllis, and Soyuz were shocked beyond belief while Gen had a weary look on his face. Because he already knew they weren't actually kissing.
"Ahh!" Sumi was completely frozen on the spot, her whole body white looking at them and dropping her shoulders. Kohaku was puckering up her lips, yes, but both her and Senku looked really awkward as she was kissing his cheek. He was groaning as she had a blank look on her face, but to Kirisame, Senku's back was turned to her.
"Well...if that's all this is, then go home!" Kirisame yelled while turning away, red in the face in embarrassment. "And never have your secret lovers' meetings here again!" She then ran off, Kohaku looking at her leaving. Sumi couldn't even say anything as her eyebrow twitched, her whole body still pale. Amaryllis and Soyuz looked at her sympathetically, the former softly patting her on the back.
Senku let out a chuckle, a big kiss mark on his cheek. "As fun as it is to trick our enemies, this farce was pointless if no survivors are on that ship," He smirked a little after getting over what just happened.
"Yeah...I'm well aware," Kohaku muttered while pulling away from him. She then let out a small gasp while turning around to Sumi. Her eyes were swirling around looking at them, still trying to process what she witnessed. "Uh! Sumi! I'm so sorry, I just went with it...blame Gen, actually!" Kohaku accused the mentalist, who flinched in alarm.
"Hey, I'm a mentalist, not a heartbreaker of our two lovebird scientists!" Gen recoiled back a bit, not wanting Scary Sumi to show herself and potentially kill him. "I didn't ask or tell you guys to do that, you chose to, Kohaku!" He reminded her and she looked away awkwardly. True, but she wouldn't have done it if he wasn't the one who came up with the façade in the first place...
"She didn't actually do it, she was kissing my cheek," Senku rolled his eyes, but that didn't seem to assure her. If anything, it just made her even paler, because it looked like what Kirisame must've assumed. "And even then, it wasn't like I enjoyed it or anything. But to Sumi, it must've looked that way. Wait, are you actually bothered by that?" He blinked at her and she flinched in alarm.
"No!" She immediately denied to them, backing away a little. "No, I'm just gonna...take a few hours to think about what the hell just happened in front of me. All I'm saying right now is...never take me by surprise like this ever again please, the both of you," She gave a large sweat drop at the back of her head. Senku and Kohaku both blinked at her, as they couldn't tell if she was just saying that or she really did mean it.
"If it helps, it didn't look like either of them liked it..." Amaryllis gave a sheepish smile at the black-haired scientist.
"No, but I appreciate it..." Sumi mumbled quietly as they all glanced towards the ship. Thankfully they had the lab retrieval to worry about right now. It was gonna be a good distraction away from the scenario she had witnessed minutes prior.
"I'm sure there's someone...somewhere," Kohaku murmured hopefully that someone had heard the message and was now debating a plan. And in one of the barrels just happened to be that someone.
A bird flew past the sun while Kirisame silently stepped up to the cliff. She stared down at the Perseus nearby. Ryusui flinched from her presence, quickly deducing her as one of the natives from the island. "Who the hell are you?!" He demanded from the woman. Something about her just didn't come off as friendly, especially since she was partly in shadow. She took out her petrification weapon in silence, spinning it above her head. She then tossed it up into the air, as it soared to be right above the ship.
Chrome, Kaseki, and Taiju looked up to the sky in confusion. Almost everyone else stopped what they were doing as well as they looked up. 'She threw something without answering. It's clearly an attack, or am I wrong?' The captain's eyes widened as he was assessing the situation at hand. 'But what did she throw? My time's up when that thing hits me. I only have a few seconds...' He then eyed the weapon itself; he couldn't see it clearly from where he was, but he was looking at everything else about it for more information. 'What's the attached rope for? To recover whatever's being thrown? Or to gauge the distance?' He then noticed Kirisame's position itself. 'She's making sure to stay far away...which means...'
Ukyo placed an arrow in his bow, as he and Ryusui were coming to the same exact conclusion. 'It's some kind of grenade!' Both of them thought in unison while Ukyo fired his arrow. It was powerful enough to hit the weapon and make it fly to the side. However, it did nothing to prevent the green light to approach their direction. It started to overtake the ship, Ryusui looking up with a deep frown.
'No time to escape with that big a range. This is it for me...so what's my final move? Is there anyone I can save?' He looked around rapidly and saw Suika. For some reason, she hadn't looked up at all, and was still cleaning. She was probably just wanting to prove herself that she didn't really notice what was going on. She heard footsteps heading her way, glancing back in confusion. Before she could say anything, Ryusui kicked her and she went spinning off the ship. She had tucked her limbs into her helmet for a safe landing.
"Ha ha! Live on, Suika!" He called out after her. "Find Senku's crew and tell them! They have to know we were att..." He got cut off as he was then petrified by the light.
Ginro surfaced from the water, looking up at the ship and the petrification beam heading his way. "What-what-what?! What the heck is that green light?!" He then went back into the water, swimming as fast as he could while spinning his arms around rapidly. 'It's passing through everything! The ship, the water!' He spun around as he wasn't able to swim fast enough. He then braced himself to be petrified. 'I'm done for!' He waited while whimpering to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. However, just like with Amaryllis when she was 13, the light stopped right in front of him. He looked up in confusion to see it right above his body, and wasn't moving any further. 'Did the light...stop? I'm okay! Just barely.'
He then recalled somehow that Ukyo had hit the device with his arrow. 'Right. Ukyo grazed it with an arrow. Him knocking it off course is probably what saved me!' He then surfaced and swam straight for the ship. The light and Kirisame herself were both now gone. He climbed up to the ship, peeking over the edge. He gasped in horror to see the entire crew petrified. 'They're petrified...' He then slid onto the dock. 'How...? I-is it everyone?' He examined the boat as he saw some statues had fallen already, causing limbs to break off. His wet footsteps touched the wood underneath, and he came to a stop...
To see Kinro right next to him, petrified as well. His eyes were shaking looking at his only brother...All of the memories with him came flooding back: joining up with the Kingdom of Science, getting refused ramen, refusing to give up the golden spear... 'Kinro...?' Then he remembered sparring with his older brother. 'Hey...Kinro!' Next it was getting berated for eating the power-up drink for the Grand Bout, spinning the generator, and his loss against Magma in the Grand Bout. Then Kinro had protected him from the fight with Hyoga, and they had made batteries together. And the final memory was of Kinro being proud that Ginro had actually swam to their ship when he didn't want to go in the first place.
Ginro shed tears for his brother, squeezing his eyes shut while his whole face was wet with his crying. Before he could continue to grieve, he heard footsteps coming his way. He gasped while looking around, as there was nowhere to go. If he jumped off of the ship to go into the water, he'd be seen for sure. And then they'd petrify him. 'Aah! Someone's coming! Where can I hide?' He then recalled Ryusui using a barrel to hide Suika to prevent her being seen from anyone else until later. He gasped while turning around to the barrels nearby.
"I NEED THE LAB!" Kohaku screamed from the island, her voice echoing towards the Perseus. Ginro was still hiding in the barrels as he blinked from hearing the message. He had a slightly shocked look on his face.
"Did that come from the shore? It sounded like Kohaku yelling, I need the lab.'
He gasped as he peeked from the barrel, and he could faintly see Kohaku standing on the cliff. He lifted up the barrel in relief, waving to her. "Hey, Kohaku!" He whispered; he knew that with her eyesight, she'd see him soon. "I bet Senku, Gen, Sumi, and Soyuz are with her. I'm over here, look!"
She gasped as she caught sight of him. "I can see someone on the ship!" She revealed to the others. "It could be a Kingdom of Science survivor!" Senku ran up to her, holding up the telescope to his eyes with a grin.
"Who is it?" Gen, Sumi, and Kohaku all gasped in anticipation. And then they noticed exactly who it was. Ginro had a sleazy look on his face, thinking that they'd be able to get him out of this and he wouldn't have to do anything he disagreed with...but on their side, they were definitely not pleased to see that he was the survivor.
"Of course it's Ginro..." Gen, Kohaku, Sumi, and Senku groaned in unison. The four had covered their eyes in despair. Soyuz just had an uneasy look on his face—he didn't even know Ginro that well, and even he knew that this wasn't looking good for them...
Amaryllis popped up nearby, baffled by their reactions as she had white eyes. "Um, what? Is something wrong with this Ginro person?" She wondered, as she didn't know the context.
"I don't know if I'd say that," Gen explained nervously, pressing his fingers together. "It's not that something's wrong, he does get the job done when it counts, but...it's not ideal. There were better draws to help get the lab back." He thought of Magma and Taiju as trading cards, who were both ranked SR. "Maybe some brawn? If this were a gacha game, Ryusui, Francois, or Ukyo would've been SSR pulls, but uh..."
Ginro...was a GGR pull, especially considering how he could be cowardly at times. "Instead, we wound up with Ginro..." Sumi, Senku, Kohaku, and Gen all groaned in unison again. Amaryllis gave a nervous laugh after hearing this, lines over her face.
"You know, I honestly should've expected this, given that our luck in the Kingdom of Science can be absolutely garbage," Sumi muttered while dragging her hand down her face. "Not that Ginro isn't someone we want, but...why? Why did it have to be the one person who can be a total scumbag sometimes?" Not to mention he could be lazy or just not take risks if he was too frightened by them, only going through with them if pushed by someone else...
"Well...Ginro's stepped up before, like Gen said!" Kohaku gave an optimistic look towards Sumi and Senku. She looked back at the blond closely. "In fact, take another look. I think he's trying to convey some important information to us!"
Senku looked back using the telescope, seeing Ginro mouth something to the group. "Can...you...help...me?" Once the green-haired scientist said this, the others groaned, covering their eyes in dismay. Sumi fell to the ground in shock. Senku was twitching his eyebrows, trying to keep it together. "No...we cannot help you, dumbass. You're the one who's supposed to be helping us!"
"Important information, huh?" Sumi got onto her feet, rubbing a temple. "Ugh...this is gonna be a fun time...this is why he has to realize that we need him to step up like he has before..."
Ibara glanced back towards the barrels. Ginro flinched in alarm as he could hear the footsteps approaching. He gasped while looking around and then squeezed his eyes shut. He placed himself back into the barrel to hide. The guards and Ibara approached as he covered his mouth with his hands. His eyes were wide as his body was shaking in fear. If they heard him...
"Hey, you," Ibara spoke up after a few seconds. "Tell me something, warrior. Has someone touched this barrel to your knowledge?"
"I don't believe so!" The man answered confidently to the minister.
"Okay, then how did it move from its earlier spot?" The old man pointed out, the guard gasping as he turned to the barrels in surprise. He wasn't even able to tell, and yet Ibara noticed it almost immediately.
"It moved?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact," Ibara had his eyes closed, a small smile on his face. "By a distance about the width of my pinky. It's not where I saw it last," He pointed down specifically at the barrel Ginro was hiding inside. He shook in fear, knowing that the man was talking about him. He had no idea how Ibara could tell, but he was in deep trouble now. "These old eyes of mine don't lie..." He bent down to the barrel, humming in thought while trying to peek inside. He couldn't see anything, but Ginro's eyes widened further. He was gonna get caught for sure...! Ibara had a dark look in his eyes, the blond whimpering in terror as he felt he was being stared at right in the eyes. The man then reached out towards the barrel. "Let's have a look..."
Ginro braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut while his whole body was shaking. Before he could be revealed, however, a crash came from inside of the greenhouse. The guards all turned to look behind them, and this got Ibara's attention as well.
"What was that noise?!" He bellowed while Ginro was still shaking.
"I think it came from the room made of clear ice!" One of the guards exclaimed, and the blond looked up as he could hear the guards moving away from him. He then peeked through one of the cracks. Clear ice? Do they mean glass? Oh, the greenhouse where we're growing food! Who's in there?
The guards led Ibara and Kirisame into the greenhouse. The former ducked his head to avoid hitting the top of the doorway with his hat. They were all perplexed to find that no one was actually inside. Instead, they were looking at a herd of goats eating the hay that was lying underneath them. One of them let out a baa, Ibara bending down to one.
"What in the world are these things?" The guard nearby wondered as they examined the animals.
"Based on the noise they make, maybe there those beasts called goats from the 100 Tales," Kirisame murmured in thought; long ago, one of the former priestesses had stayed on the island. And with her knowledge, it was passed down in the island as well.
"So, I was pretty close to the sound," One of the guards spoke up. "And I don't know what it was, but my best guess would be that something big fell over. It was pretty damn loud, you know?" He explained; since the goats were too small in size to make the noise themselves in his eyes.
"Maybe it was one of these things," The other guard suggested. "Could be stronger than they look."
"Magnificent, a brand new species!" Ibara admired the goats, specifically their fur and horns. "The master will be very pleased, I'm sure of it!" He then smirked a little towards the garden on the second floor. "And look at these vegetables! There are so many unusual kinds. We've got lots to look forward too, eh?"
Amongst one of the fruits in the shelves, there was one particular watermelon that wasn't actually a watermelon. But rather, she was disguising herself as one as she usually did to hide...and she looked super nervous being in close proximity of the enemy right about now.
Ginro looked towards the greenhouse in relief, unaware of who was there. I'm saved! Though, I don't know how or why.
Kohaku glanced to Senku and Sumi. "Someone made a noise in the greenhouse to get their attention," She whispered, the former chuckling. Sumi gave a small knowing smile.
"And based on all their movements so far, it's one of our best people," He started to explain. "Remember the motorboat we took from the Perseus to the island?" Senku drove the motorboat towards the shore. "If the enemy were to find that now, we'd be screwed." Kohaku pulled up Senku behind her as he panted tiredly. Sumi giggled to herself at his low stamina. "They'd know that some of us made it into their territory. But she blended it in with the environment to keep it ten billion percent hidden away." He looked towards the motorboat being obscured from sight thanks to the flora around it. "No one's gonna find it there for quite a while."
The group left the greenhouse. "Our inside woman's been biding her time. And she's a master of blending in with nature," Senku finished as the little fake watermelon popped up their head. It then pushed off the shelf, revealing herself to be Suika jumping out of hiding.
"Here's my chance to make myself useful like I wanted!" The little girl cheered happily. "I just gotta team up with Ginro, and we can do it!" Unlike Ginro, Suika was another SSR pull from the gatcha, thanks to both her surveillance and stealth skills. "We'll get the lab back together!" She cheered happily and Sumi stood up with a small hopeful smile.
"And now the rest of us just have to wait for...well, an unlikely team up but still an effective one. They've got this!" She clenched a fist in front of her.
Angel: To those who have not watched this episode, Senku's voice actor couldn't record for this episode. His voice actor and Suika's voice actress were both in Australia, so they couldn't make it to the recording session. They got Chrome's voice actor for Senku and someone else for Suika's few lines. If you're wondering, it didn't bother me, because I understand why. Apparently this episode got re-dubbed with the original voice actors, but I haven't been able to actually find it, so I don't know if it was ever released or the website I use just didn't seem to bother uploading it.