Part 2: Yuki Falling from the Sky
Mowchan carried Sector Q into the deepest area of Alfeto Valley where the sun barely reached. "Let's see…aha! I still have the supplies I brought for the trip!" the giant beamed. "We can all share my sleeping bag."
"Ugh, do we have to…" Kansai cringed.
"We're not in a position to be picky." Pochi reasoned. "It's a miracle he even still has them at all. I guess it's because Mowchan was carrying it on him, like our clothes… so, whatever force took over this world changed our clothes into those uniforms, but our real gear was still on us."
"Yeah, even kept my cube full of baseballs." Kansai pulled one out, studying it for any altered differences. "'Guess we shoulda brought camping gear, too. I didn't think we'd end up crashin' on this planet."
"But what was that cool sword, Pochi?!" Tattsun fist-pumped. "Where'd you pull that out from?!"
"I don't know… but it might have something to do with that Core Crystal."
"That gem you picked up?" Chuko asked. "Aren't those supposed to contain those Xenoblade things?"
"Correct." Tattsun tipped up his glasses in a knowledgeable manner. "Which brings up an interesting topic: only Mirans are supposed to be able to awaken Blades, while it's impossible for outsiders. However, when our parents told us about their Miran adventures, Mom said she was able to awaken one. She claimed to be part-Miran."
"She had ancestry from here?" Kansai asked.
"Well, the reason is explained in the AINCRAD game, but explaining it would go a little too off topic. But because she is, that means Pochi and I are part-Miran, too."
"But aren't Blades supposed to be… living things? Not just swords?" Pochi asked.
"Uh, the base synonym for 'blade' IS sword, dude." Suna remarked.
"Well, that's what they're called! You know what I mean!"
"I wonder if there's any Blades that roll? You know, like my… roller-blades!"
"Alright, that's enough outta you." Kansai said. "The important thing is that sword saved our skins… so, I hope you can summon it again, Pochi."
"I…I don't know."
"That's not comforting." Chuko said.
"I just feel some kind of strange essence inside me. Not just the sword, but that flash I used to restore our memories. Whatever it is, I think I need it to restore everyone on this world."
"Okay, that's a tall order right there." Kansai replied. "I think we should just find a way off this world or contact GKND."
"But what about my friends and sister?" Mowchan asked. "Or the GKND who were with us?"
"If I learned how this power works, I could save them and everyone else." Pochi reasoned.
"And what if it don't work?" Kansai asked. "That girl turned those guys against us and your flashy thing didn't work on them! She's gonna have the whole planet after us!"
"Well, not the whole planet." Tattsun remembered. "It was only this continent that was flickering. Not the area outside. Maybe we should just find a way outside the continent? We'd still need a ship though."
"But I don't wanna leave our friends behind!" Mowchan cried, banging his heels on the earth.
"Hey, quit that!" Chuko yelled, unstable from the rumbling. "Someone might hear you!"
"Why don't we decide what to do in the morning?" Pochi suggested. "We need to sleep."
"Fine, fine." Kansai huffed. "But I ain't sleepin' with the tubby titan!"
"Suit yourself." Chuko shrugged, climbing onto Mowchan's belly. "I think he's super soft!"
"Moohoohoohoo!" Mowchan flushed from her light force. "I'll try not to roll around too much."
The giant unraveled his sleeping bag and fixed himself under it. The operatives except for Kansai climbed atop his belly and tucked partway under the bag. They fell fast asleep to his soft warmth, while Kansai would remain cold resting his head on a bush. The Sector Leader wasted the first hour of his night trying to find a comfortable, less-irritating position. It only irritated him more as his friends' snores filled the air, having conked out long before he could.
Kansai couldn't even tell if he had gotten to sleep at some point. He had no dreams in-between, merely blacked out and woke up in the same uncomfy position. His friends were still snoring, but it seemed daytime managed to arrive since the clouds were a visibly gray color. There was also a light flurry. "More snow, huh…?" But there was something unusual among the flurries: one had dark spots and was oddly shaped. Kansai stood and squinted eyes at the snowflake. "…Wait, is that a…" (Play "Yuki Floating Down" from World's End Club!)
It was human-shaped. A person was falling softly toward the ground, positioned horizontally as if lying on a bed. "A girl?!"
"Snort, huh-whuh…" Mowchan jutted awake, his motions starting the others.
"GUYS, WAKE UP! There's a girl!"
"Huh?" Pochi gasped. "You mean an enemy?"
"N-No, up there! Uh-oh!" She was seconds from hitting the ground. Kansai rushed beneath the impact point and held his arms open. The girl gently landed in his embrace, her whitish-blue aura fading. She had black, wide bowl-cut black hair with a cowlick hanging down her right. A white coat with a skirted bottom covered her torso, along with black gloves and matching pants with dark-gray boots. Finally, she had a single dark-blue wing with a white bottom edge on her right. "W-What the…" Chuko gasped, the kids quickly climbing down and running to see. "Did she fall from the cliff?"
"Kinda looked like she just… fell from the sky, or somethin'! So, whadda we do about her?"
"She's gonna be brainwashed like everyone else, right?" Chuko reasoned. "Maybe we should… leave her over there and go before she wakes up."
"We can't just do that!"
"Mmm…uuh…"
"She's waking up!"
Her eyes opened. They were wide with huge white pupils inside ice-blue irises. "Umm…who are you?"
Kansai flushed, taken aback by her straightforward, innocent question. "Uh…w-we're Sector Q. I'm the leader, Kansai Kuwata."
"Kansai… Kuwata?"
"Uh-huh!" He smiled, highlighting his snaggle tooth. "And not to toot my own horn, but I'm also a dang good baseball player! My favorite food is takoyaki. My least favorites are broccoli and green peppers."
"Uh, dude, you're totally oversharing!" Chuko stomped, flaring up. "And you! How long are you planning on getting carried around like a princess?! The prince didn't carry Snow White that long and SHE was POISONED!"
"Oh…um…please forgive me." Her eyes sank.
"Hey, don't listen to this blowhorn. You feelin' alright? Where'd ya fall from, anyhow?"
"I…I don't know."
"What were you doing before this?" Pochi asked.
"I don't…I don't remember anything."
"Nothin'?" Kansai asked. "Do ya have a name, at least?"
"No… I don't."
The friends could only blink, dumbfounded by this unusual child. "Whaddya mean you don't?"
"I just… don't."
"Ah well." Kansai set her on her feet. "Nothin' we can do then."
"You're just gonna leave it at that?!" Chuko shouted.
The girl looked around, wondering if she could recognize her surroundings. "…WAH! HE'S HUGE!"
Mowchan flinched from the sudden attention. "Ahhh…sorry. I hope I don't scare you."
"He looks… hyper super pippity-poppity SOFT!" She sprung right up into Mowchan's belly.
"Moohoohoohoo!" Mowchan gently hugged her to his belly. "Thanks. I'm proud of my softness."
"What's your name, Mr. Giant?"
"Mowchan. Mowchan Colins. My parents named me after Mali's mom, but I think it's also 'cause 'mow' means cow."
"She's not gonna know anything about those!" Chuko shouted. "Does this world even have cows?!"
"My name's Tattsun Flores. Pochi here is my big brother. I love Electro Rangers! And as luck would have it, I'm a lightningbender!" She stretched electric beams between his fingers.
"Wow!" Her eyes lit at the sight. "Sparkly!"
"I'm Suna Strongarm. Just a girl who likes to skate!" She put her shoes on and spun in demonstration.
"You've got whirly feet?! That looks so fun!"
"Boy, you really warm up quickly." Chuko remarked.
"And the loudmouth is Chuko." Kansai said. "She breathes fire 'cause she's actually a baby dragon."
"I AM NOT!" She puffed out fire in fury.
"Wow! Your breath is so toasty! I bet your food never goes cold!"
"Knock it off with the sweet talk! How do we know you're not an enemy?!"
"Huh?! Why would I be… an enemy?"
"Well, it's just… boy, how do we even explain this to an amnesiac?" Kansai wondered. "Even we ain't sure what's goin' on."
"Do you even know what world this is?" Pochi asked.
"What… world? I… don't know."
"We're on Mira. Specifically the Aionios continent. Ring any bells?"
"Mah…Mira…OH!"
"You remembered something?" Tattsun asked.
"I'm hungry!"
Their faces dropped. "Well, it is breakfast." Mowchan chirped. "Who's up for something yummy?"
"Here here!" Kansai grinned. "But ya know, we're gonna need a name to call ya, so how about a nickname?"
"A nickname? Jeepers, I've never had a nickname! Not that I would know…"
"Yeah. So, I'm thinking 'Yuki'!"
"Yuki?" Chuko questioned. "You wanna name her after the icebender from Sector IC?"
"No, she's Juki! …With a 'J.' I was thinkin' the Japanese word for snow, Yuki. Y'know, because she fell down like a snowflake."
"Yuki?!" Yuki chirped in awe. "That name sounds pippity-poppity wonderful!"
"Haha! Yuki it is!"
"YAY, YUKI!" Suna, Tattsun, and Mowchan cheered. Pochi simply smiled delightedly; she may have been suspicious, but he felt no ill intent from her.
Mowchan prepared a breakfast of Quadwing eggs from the nearby nests, fueling his teammates with protein and energy. While he was cooking, the others tried to brief Yuki on the strange situation, how everyone on this continent was brainwashed into a never-ending battle, and the strange girl who seemed to be the mastermind. "I think that sword came from the Core Crystal I opened," Pochi concluded, "but right now I'm not sure how to call on it again."
"Golly…" Yuki rubbed her head trying to wrap her head around it all. "That story sounds so crazy, I almost think you made it all up."
"You're the only one who's probably making things up!" Chuko argued. "We're only okay because of Pochi, but it doesn't make sense why you aren't brainwashed!"
"But I'm not! Honest I'm not!"
"Come on, Chuko, you gonna doubt a cute face like that?" Kansai said.
"I've seen flies who were cuter than her!"
"Mowchan, hurry up with that food!" Suna yelled. "So we can shut them up!"
"Here you go!" Mowchan used chopsticks to gently set the "tiny" eggs on plates to serve them. "Served sunny side up!"
"Thank you, Mr. Mowchan!" Yuki took her first bite. "MMMMMM! Hyper scrumdily-umptious! I've never tasted anything so yummy before!"
"Moohoohoo! I guess if you don't have a memory, this is practically the first food you've ever eaten!"
"And I'll remember it forever!"
"D'aww, you're too sweet." Mowchan swooned. "Most operatives who eat my cooking just say it isn't as good as Mazu's."
"It's still great, Mowchan." Pochi smiled. "To be honest, it might be the only nice thing we get today."
"Hey, don't talk like that!" Kansai shouted. "We're gonna find us a way outta here, just watch!"
"About that, actually…" Tattsun began. "We were forced to crash here because of a tractor beam, right? I'm starting to doubt a ship is a viable option. Even if we make it to the edge of the continent, the mastermind might've designed it so no one can leave."
"Oh, yeah… Well, that really blows!"
"But the source of the phenomena might be somewhere in the continent as well." Pochi reasoned. "I guess our best option now is to try and look for it. And hopefully learn how to restore anyone else…" He stared at his palm in wonder.
The valley trail eventually led Sector Q to the sprawling Millick Meadows. A great river ran through the grassland as Flamii and Crustips frolicked in its gentle flow. The kids were awestruck as a giant red gorilla came thundering out of a cave up the river, imposing but otherwise pacifistic. Many other creatures from Brogs, Bunnits, Blants, or Illumi Fliers roamed the field.
"There are so many animals!" Yuki beamed. "They aren't enemies, too, are they?"
"Well, not in the same vain as the Kevesi or Agnians, but they're still pretty dangerous." Pochi answered. "Of course, we will need food, and combat experience never hurts. Though it does make me wonder why the mastermind doesn't brainwash them the same way… unless they can't."
"Nothing wrong with that." Chuko smiled in light relief. "And if we have to hunt, I'd rather hunt the smaller, weaker animals."
"That's gonna be too small for us, Chuko." Kansai said. "We need bigger game."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Hey, what's that over there?" Yuki pointed, already running to the subject of interest. It appeared to be a Keves buggy, except the wheels and control pad were detached from the cart.
"Man, it's all broken up." Tattsun said. "I guess it's all walking from here."
"Nah, we can ride on Mowchan." Kansai replied.
"Don't keep making Mowchan do all the legwork!" Chuko shouted. "Besides, I get all sick when he rolls around."
"I hope there aren't any messes in my knapsack." Mowchan said.
"Why don't we fix the car?" Yuki asked. "I'd hate to leave the poor thing like this."
"If we had the necessary parts, we could…huh?" A light formed around Pochi's right arm: a thin metallic gauntlet appeared. "What?!"
"Whoa!" Kansai jumped. "Man, you're makin' all kinds o' things appear outta thin air!"
"Wow!" Yuki chirped. "Are you magic, Mr. Pochi?!"
"I'm starting to think so…" There was a Japanese symbol shining in the purple hole on the back of the glove. "It even looks like the sword. 'Rebuild'?"
"But gloves should come in pairs, right?" Yuki asked. "Just like mine!" She showed off her black gloves.
"About that," Tattsun began, "aren't you hot in that? It's pretty warm out here."
"I feel just cozy!"
"Hmmm…" It was odd that this 'Rebuild' came up when he brought up the idea of fixing this buggy. Could this help? Pochi felt a power course through him, so he tried to focus on it. He pictured the fixed buggy he was using earlier and aimed his palm at the broken one. A purple energy field brimmed around it: the tires, cart, and control fixed themselves back into a working buggy.
"WHOA!" The friends chorused. "POCHI IS MAGIC!"
"Although it also seemed like this advanced psychicbending technique I once saw in a comic." Tattsun said.
"I'm not sure what it was." Pochi said, climbing in the driver's seat. "But at least we have a ride."
"I'll just stick to my skates." Suna declared. "At least Mowchan doesn't have to carry our weight."
"And I can keep my knapsack clean!"
The friends embarked on a relaxing drive down the meadow. Mowchan rolled over and crushed two Crustips, feeling the appetite for crustacean later, while Tattsun electrified three Flamii in the river. "Hey, Mowchan! Rip off one of them crab claws." Kansai requested.
"Huh? Okay." Mowchan used his giant strength to easily rip off a Crustip's claw.
"Nice! Now can ya shove that claw onto my bat?" Kansai stretched his bat at the giant.
"What are you thinking?!" Chuko questioned.
"I wanna try and give myself an upgrade!"
"I don't this'll work, Kansai." Mowchan fruitlessly tried to stick the claw over the bat. "There's still a piece of the arm on it, you'd have to hollow out a hole or something."
"You never asked for a modified bat back home, Kansai." Pochi said.
"Yeah, well I had a flash of inspiration. I wanna fuse a claw to my bat!"
"Good luck with that. …What now?" Pochi's glove hole was shining blue this time. A new symbol appeared. "Fuse?"
"Did you just get another new power?" Tattsun asked.
"Fuse?!" Kansai exclaimed, sticking his bat against the claw again. "Do it, Pochi! Fuse me an upgrade!"
"Uhhh…" Pochi aimed the gauntlet at the two items and mustered power he never knew he had. A blue chi connected the bat and claw, fusing the latter onto the bat's end.
"YO!" Kansai swung his Crustip Bat around, Chuko ducking. "Now THAT'S an upgrade!"
"Yeah, if you're trying out for Little League Crabball!" Chuko retorted.
"I feel like tryin' this baby out! That frog over there looks good!" Kansai spotted a huge purple toad up on a short cliff. He excitedly followed the trail up there and began stabbing his bat into the back of it. The toad hopped about-face, spitting purple globs as Kansai evaded and sliced it in the neck.
"Actually, it's called a Brog!" Mowchan flipped through a book. "I brought an Encyclopedia of Miran Animals!"
"HEY!" The Brog seized Kansai in its tongue and swallowed him up.
"MR. KANSAI!" Yuki screamed.
"Hey, cough him up!" Suna zoomed toward the Brog and stabbed her skates into its gut, the force sickening it enough to spit Kansai out. Chuko and Tattsun struck the Brog at once to char it with their elements, but the Brog withstood as it backflipped and squashed them beneath its girth. Mowchan rolled up and punched the Brog off, scooping his flattened friends up.
"Guys, I think this might be a Unique Monster!" Mowchan said. "They're the strongest animals in a given habitat! Hold on, there's a section for them…" He flipped through his book. "This one is Indiscreet Gombaba!"
"I'm 'bout to Gombaba all over this guy!" Kansai ran to stab it again, but was smacked away by the Brog's long earlobes.
"Can we just get away from this thing?!" Chuko shouted.
"Ditto!" Suna grabbed Kansai and skated from the pursuing amphibian. It managed to spit more of its saliva at their backs before they were out of its range.
"Huff, huff…'guess a Crab Bat ain't all it's cracked up to be." Kansai stared at his weapon disappointedly.
"THAT'S all you have to say?!" Chuko screamed, clearly soiled from being squished by the toad.
"Eh, frogs are no good tastin' anyway. I'm gonna swat some of those big bugs!" He ran to an Illumi Flier nest and swat them out of the air with satisfaction.
"Their nectar might make a good flavor!" Mowchan beamed.
"Haha! Mr. Kansai's so brave!" Yuki cheered.
"Well, you have bad taste!" Chuko yelled.
The flowing pristine river compelled the friends to remove their footwear and go skipping in it, livening their spirits with its refreshing, chilling feel. Kansai also found it fun and worthwhile to stab fish with his Crustip Bat and toss them into Mowchan's basket. "Tehehehehe!" Yuki giggled. "The water's so ticklish! I hope the fishies don't bite me!"
"Man, what's with her?" Chuko whispered to Pochi. "She has no memory and we just told her we're stranded on a world where people are out to kill us, but here she is without a care."
"I kind of like it." Pochi smiled.
"Seriously?! You can't tell me you're buying into her shtick!"
"I don't think she's faking anything. Besides, we're kind of enjoying ourselves despite the situation, aren't we?"
"If you call fighting a giant frog enjoyment."
"Our parents always talked about Mira." Pochi stopped and turned, gazing up the layers of rivers and waterfalls at their backs. "Said it was the best planet they ever visited. I feel like we don't get a chance to go out much outside of missions. Then we end up too tired to even try to. But it's really beautiful…"
"Yeah, but we're still on a mission." Chuko replied. "A bigger mission than we bargained for."
"Yeah, but I'm glad we got a chance to come here."
"Hey, there's a guide post!" Tattsun ran to the river's shore and up to the wooden post. "Uh…I can't read Miran."
"It says Eagus Wilderness is that way." Yuki pointed left. "And Alfeto Valley is that way."
"Yeah, but that's where we came from. …You can read that?!"
"I can?!"
"So, you are from this world." Pochi deduced. "Hmm…"
"Uh, I'm not sure we can go that way." Suna pointed in the Eagus direction worriedly. A horde of Agnian troops and Levnises marched up the passage.
"HEY! There they are!" yelled a young Agnian with tentacled hair under his helmet. "The monsters!"
"Shoot them!" The soldiers opened fire on the operatives.
"Crud!" Tattsun tried to draw the plasma in with his bending and strike it back while Kansai deflected the lasers with his bat. "Where else do we go?!"
"Up there!" Kansai pointed up a hill that led to a cliff above the river. The operatives dashed up as the Agnians pursued them across the shallow river.
"Hah, bad idea!" Tattsun electrified the water as he did with the Flamii, frying the soldiers in turn. "You should've wore your rubber tights! WHOA!" An Agnian girl, a head taller than himself, flew over the crowd and kicked Tattsun with great force. "AAAAH!" She kept flying, pushing Tattsun along as though she were falling, and scraping his body partway up the hill. Kansai bashed her off with his bat, the girl's helmet flying away.
"AGH! Darn monsters!"
"We ain't monste—wait…" The operatives gaped, recognizing her dirty-blonde hair with purple highlights, black and white face, and violet eyes with light-green accents.
"JENNU!" Pochi exclaimed.
"How do you know my name?!" Jennu took flight with her gravitybending.
"Don't listen to them!" A tan-skinned Agnian threw out small walking mechs that would explode into brownish ink.
"EWIE!" Yuki cringed. "I've been painted!"
"Wash it off!" Chuko shouted, throwing fireballs at them. "But you're Nyoro, aren't you?"
The tentacled Agnian stomped the ground with his boots and ejected chunks of earth that he would kick at Mowchan, who bounced them back with his big belly. "And you're Aniki!" Pochi exclaimed. "Are Marty or the others here?"
"You're not getting in my head!" Aniki lunged at Pochi with fists balled. Though Pochi dodged back, the impact generated an earthquake that toppled Pochi. Mowchan seized Aniki in both hands and raised him off the ground, but Aniki became a small octopus and slipped out, making Mowchan's hands inky. Upon landing, Aniki stomped a jagged rock up into Mowchan's behind, the giant crying and wriggling in pain. Suna paid him back by throwing a whirling kick into his own rear.
"Maybe I can save them the same way!" Pochi said.
"I think we should make some ground first, there's too many coming!" Suna suggested.
"Keep goin'!" Kansai ordered. "They'll be able to chase us better than the other soldiers, so we could separate them!"
The upcoming cliff was short enough for Mowchan to throw his teammates atop and afterwards pull himself up. "Where do you think you're going?!" Jennu used gravity to lift two Avises onto the cliff, the ball-bottomed mechs charging and swiping lances at the ops.
"Hey, I just got an idea for another upgrade!" Kansai said, leaping to bash an Avis' head. The robot grew mildly dazed, allowing Tattsun and Chuko to burn it with another combo.
"So did I!" Suna spin-sliced the other Avis in its ball. "Mowchan, smash that thing, but preserve the ball! Same with you guys!"
"Oh, I get it!" Mowchan bowled the robot over and tried to jump against its body, but the robot swat him off and recovered, sparking from damage. He and Suna worked together to fight and destroy its body, while Kansai and the benders had destroyed the other.
"Now, Pochi, can you stick those things' balls on my shoes?" Suna asked.
"Are you… sure you'll be able to balance like that?"
"Don't knock it 'til you try it!" Pochi shrugged and used Fuse to attach the Avis Orbs to Suna's soles. "Whoa-whoa-WHOA!" She wobbled to stabilize herself, but soon got a handle on her new skates. "Hehe! They ain't good for skate parks, but I can-" Suna was suddenly kicked down by Jennu's Falling Kick, bobbing downward until the orbs rolled her upright. "Oh, you wanna GO, sister?!" Suna threw a heavy-loaded kick at the Zathurian-Agnian, Jennu hitting the cliff.
"Go easy on her, she's brainwashed, too!" Pochi said.
"Hey, you were saying their names earlier like you knew them." Yuki mentioned.
"Yeah, they're GKND operatives who came to the planet with us. And if I could get it right," Pochi tried to muster force in his hand, aiming it at Jennu, "I could… fix her, too!"
Nyoro had used an ink gun to shoot a trail up the cliff and turn into a squid to swim up it, while Aniki launched himself up with a Rockapult. "You'll have to figure out later! Pochi, Fuse me one of these lances and let's split!"
"Priorities, much?!" Chuko retorted.
Pochi Fused an Avis Lance to Kansai's bat—unfortunately, it destroyed the Crustip Claw. "So I can only get one Fuse at a time? That blows!" The kids hurried uphill, fought through the Grebels and Ropls that emerged from the ground. The animals would turn their aggression on the Agnians, who would be left to finish them off. Sector Q made it to a small lake populated by Blants (walking plant beasts with purple flower heads). The lake was deep enough to swim in, but the bottom was close and visible.
"Nyoro and Aniki can't swim." Pochi said. "We can get away from them and figure out-?!" The air turned a shade of red as pixels sparked. The lake became completely filled with Blants, barring any chance of swimming through unscathed.
"It's too much work to control the creatures of this world…" I appeared in the space above, "but I can duplicate them if need be."
"Who's she?!" Yuki pointed.
"We think she's the mastermind!" Pochi answered. "AGH!" Jennu fell from several meters high and crushed him.
"Thought that would be enough to take me down?!"
"Get off him!" Yuki pushed Jennu into the Blants, one of the plants grabbing her in its piranha-like vine, but the Zathurian kicked free and "fell" skyward. "Mr. Pochi, are you okay?!" Yuki grabbed his right hand and pulled him up.
"Barely…? Yuki! Your hand!"
"Huh?!" Yuki's left hand was donned in a gauntlet of its own. "Am I magic, too?!"
"Chuko, put that breath to use and start scorchin' those plants!" Kansai ordered, batting away Aniki's boulders and jabbing the lance at him, only for Aniki to evade by sinking into a puddle of his own ink.
"I can't make enough fire to burn that many!"
"CHUKO, LOOK OUT!" Pochi screamed.
"HUH?!" She realized one of Nyoro's walking bombs had just gotten beneath her.
"CHUKO!" Kansai dashed, hoping to hit the bomb away.
"NOOO!" Pochi's gauntlet arm flew to them in desperation, the blue light of its Fuse command shining.
…
"Whuh?!" Kansai and Chuko were afloat in a pixelated space. Both were standing on each other's shoes, inverted as they turned and studied the visions around them.
"Hey, Dad, I graduated training!" Kansai proclaimed in one.
"Great, they can get you outta my hair." His father replied snarkily.
"H-Hey, what're these TVs?!"
"All you do is eat chips all day!" Chuko's mother scolded as she kicked the 9-year-old out of the house. "Go out and get some exercise!"
"These are… our memories?!"
"Alright, whoever's the wise guy that recorded me, fess up and accept your pounding!" Kansai ordered. "Especially those ones in the tub!"
"K-Kansai!" Chuko flailed her arms. "I think I move when you move!"
"No, I'm movin' 'cause of you!"
"W-What's going on?! What's happening to us?!"
"I dunno, but my tongue is…"
Sector Q, the Agnians, and even I were stricken speechless: Kansai and Chuko had become a humanoid construct with yellow skin, white tiger stripes, and Chuko's red hair loops. Its thigh area was portly and it wielded a large baseball bat. "IS ON FIRE!" The fusion spat several flaming baseballs into the air, which would fall as it batted them into the hordes of Blants. The illusory plants would burn and break into pixels.
"What is this chi?!" I exclaimed. "Why does it… feel like mine?!"
"The monsters fused!" Nyoro and Aniki stepped backward in fright. "And it looks uglier!"
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING UGLY?!" Chuko's voice took precedence as it smashed the two beneath its bat.
"Chuko, Kansai!" Pochi yelled. "Is that you?!"
"Of course it is, who else…what?!" The fusion stared at itself in shock. "What the what?! Wait, are we… WHAT HAPPENED TO US?!"
"I think… I used my Fuse command on you by mistake! You two turned into some kind of… thing!"
"Incredible!" Tattsun beamed. "It's like when the Electro Rangers' Zords combine into a Megazord!"
"This is nothing like that! I don't wanna be part of Kansai/Chuko's yucky body! Take us apart!"
"No, we can use this! Knock those three out!"
"We already knocked out two of…?" However, they saw Aniki and Nyoro reform from their own ink, retreating from the ops as Aniki kicked boulders. Jennu repeatedly "fell" and kicked the fusion from an array of angles, the two frustratingly tried to swat her with their bat.
"Aniki, get me close!" Nyoro requested. "I'll cut it down to size while it's distracted!"
"But the Weenifier barely works on the stronger creatures!"
"It's the only chance we've got! Uh-oh!" Mowchan rolled up and tried to grab the two, but they leapt into squid and octo forms.
Aniki landed on Mowchan's arm and shot ink in his face. "Ew, it got in my mouth!" Mowchan cried, shaking him off. "Look, we don't wanna hurt you guys! I'll serve you one of my leftovers! Huh?" Mowchan felt a sensation surround him, like losing hundreds of pounds at once. "Hey… is everything getting bigger?"
"Mowchan, behind you!" Suna rolled to kick Nyoro, the latter shooting a yellow ray from a brown controller at Mowchan's behind. Nyoro ceased and squid-ducked the kick, emerging in attempt to shrink Suna's left Avis Orb. "YOU JERK!" Suna kicked her away with the other orb, but wound up balancing and flailing on one foot. "You Weenified my ball!"
"That fusion was doomed to fail in the first place." Chuko-Kansai said.
"Watch out, Suna!" Tattsun jumped to strike a bolt at one of Aniki's rocks.
"Watch out yourself!" Suna lost balance as her ball rotated her into the spectacled boy.
"OUCH!"
"Now I got you!" Aniki stomped and sent a line of earth spikes at them.
"STOP!" Pochi and Yuki both shot their gauntlet arms forward, the Fusion shining once more.
Aniki's boulder crumbled against the fusion's helmet. Beneath it were huge, slanted glasses. Its body was black with a blue bolt-like symbol on the chest, Tattsun's gold belt, and electrified roller-blades on its shoes. In a flash of lightning, they were behind Aniki, then to his left, leaving streaks of lightning at every turn. When the streaks surrounded the confused boy, a blinding field of electricity fried him. "That's what I call fried calamari!"
"ANIKI!" Nyoro ran to his aid. "Stay still! Isurd can treat you! Jennu, we have to get back to the colony!"
"J-Just leave me! Save yourselves!"
"Not for a minute!" Jennu landed beside them and uplifted them in her gravity field.
"SURPRISE!" Mowchan threw a large satchel over them just as they flew up. "I think you three just need a time out!"
"This has to end now!" Pochi declared. "We have to restore them! And I think I need your help for that, Yuki."
"Mine?!"
"We have the same glove! We have to try and focus our power!"
"But I…I didn't even know I had any power!"
"Neither did I… but right now, we're the only ones who can save this world. If we don't learn now, it'll only get harder from here!"
"Okay…" Yuki locked hands with Pochi. Though it was unusual, she felt a force coursing through her. She felt a similar force from Pochi, all interlinking at the center of their palms. "OHH!" Another Japanese symbol formed on their gloves: Restore!
"Mowchan, let them out!" Pochi ordered. The giant hastened to shake the already-squirming Agnians out of his satchel, Pochi and Yuki running close. The trio were enveloped in a bright flash from their gloves.
"Ah…agh…" Jennu rubbed the burning feeling from her eye. "Hn…huh?!" She studied herself in shock. Her white arms were again clothed in the elbow-length black sleeves of her shirt, a purple flower pendant hanging over its white torso area. Purple socks were tucked into black and white Oxford shoes and under light-pastel ankle-grazer pants. "I'm…I'm back?!"
"What were we doing?!" Nyoro's long, mouse-brown, inky hair was allowed to hang free over her black, sleeveless turtleneck and tan mini-skirt. Her legs were clad in black knee-high peep toe boots. "Why were we… Aniki!" She helped her charred brother to his feet.
"Ow! That monster freakin' fried me!"
Tattsun and Suna defused. "We're sorry." Tattsun said. "We tried to hold back. …We're back to normal?!"
Kansai and Chuko defused and plopped on the ground. "My body!" Chuko hugged herself. "Oh, I missed being one person!"
"Ugh…" Pochi and Yuki dropped to their knees. "I think we're out of power…"
"Can someone explain what the heck is going on here?!" Aniki demanded.
"It goes like this!" Mowchan chirped. "First, we took a shower together, Joran and Mwamba sprinkled my tummy, and-"
"RYUUUUUUU…RYUUUUUUUU!"
A nightmarish screech ruptured the air. The sun was blocked by a cloud of dark steel. It was by no means a natural creature… and yet it was unusual even for a robot. Its body was birdlike with sharp, red-feathered wings that could slice through any substance, and shimmering sharp talons hanging over a red scythe-like tail. The neck was long with a four-sided, polygonal beak, and wavy horns over its red eyes. "RYUUUUUUUU!" As it soared from Captocorn Peak, several of its cliffs and natural branches were cleanly sliced by the beast's blades.
"So, you're the cause of it." I glared down at Yuki. "Undoing our hard work… I need to dispose of you for good. We fashioned this Aion Titan based on this world's natural Titans, as well as Hyrule's Divine Beasts. You'll all be-"
"Sage."
"?!" I winced at the word.
"Sage…" Yuki's soft, snowy eyes gazed at her longingly. "Is that… your name? You look… familiar…"
"Perilwing!" I yelled up at the construct. "Destroy them!"
The Aion Titan slashed its tail, sending a sharp red boomerang at the operatives. Mowchan grabbed his friends into his knapsack, screaming as he rolled across the shallow lake and barely dodged the blade's chopping blow. Unfortunately, he came to stop at a cliff's edge, overlooking a deeper lake full of massive jellyfish-like monsters (Amoneys) with ball-ended tendrils. Most notably, there was a huge whirlpool in the center of the lake, though the jellyfish stayed floating in place despite the current.
"That looks like it could lead to an underground cavern!" Nyoro said. "We should try to hide down there!"
"Are you crazy?!" Aniki questioned. "We can't even swim! And what if this fatty can't even fit?!"
"I was gonna say that myself…" Mowchan whimpered, hurt by the statement.
"Luckily, I know a great weight loss program!" Nyoro aimed the Weenifier and focused its beam over Mowchan. The giant slowly shrank to their level.
"WHOA!" Mowchan patted his flabby torso. "I feel so… light!"
"Not for long!" Nyoro shoved him off the cliff. "EVERYBODY JUMP!" She grabbed onto Pochi while Jennu took Aniki, all diving into the lake and trusting the maelstrom to guide them. The Perilwing shot its feathers into the lake, stabbing the Amoneys, but missing the operatives as they were flushed into the cavern.
"No…" Sage narrowed her digital iris.
"'No'?! Oh, no!" A clownish voice called her back into the Cyber Chamber. "That's the worst word you could hear! The first sure sign of failure!" She turned to glare at a lean man with a purple suit, a white face with green hair, and a painted red smile. "There there, kiddo." The clown patted Sage's hair. "Tell Uncle J what's bothering you?"
"Leave. You were assigned a post."
"Working with so many meat puppets dries the throat. Just came for a glass of water." J turned and seemed to draw a glass out of thin air, taking a drink. "Besides, we're all here to make sure the project goes well… so, if there's a kink in the system, I ought to be the first to know, hoo ho ho!"
"The KND from outside broke free of my program. They've retreated underground; my Iris can't track them beneath the earth, yet."
"And that's why you hire professionals! No one's good at getting underneath like me, baby!"
"They can't hide forever. The first soldier who spots them will alert the nearest Aion. But to ensure they don't increase their numbers, I want you to watch over the other outsiders."
"So be it, Eyeball. But those behemoths better save some of the fun for me."
Serrato Spring
Dannagh Desert was an almost uninhabitable expanse of dangerous predators and pools of pale quicksand, all alongside a great trench that overlooked the Cent-Omnia region. But at the farthest end of this gloomy desert, there was beauty.
Within a cavern exposed to a small view of the sky, a pure pond shimmered an ethereal blue. The ground and walls around it were barren except for a few exotic plants, and glowing bugs that could be mistaken for fairies fluttered over its gentle ripples. …But the bugs fled as the water began bubbling. "HUUUUUU!" Sector Q and the GKND gasped for breath.
"I don't think I'll ever swim so far again!" Mowchan panted.
"At least we had, huff, air pockets in there…" Nyoro panted.
"I'm so soggyyyy…" Yuki moaned.
"At least we… all pulled through." Kansai said. "Where'd we end up, anyhow?"
"Nowhere there's enemies, that's all that matters." Pochi said. "Huff…I say we camp here for a while."
"Good idea…" Chuko climbed onto shore and squeezed the water from her loops.
The kids took a careful peek outside the cave, confirming they were in a desert of white sand and alien plants. Mowchan grabbed the ingredients they had gathered from his knapsack, which Nyoro resized to be safe for cooking. "Boy, you guys look so different like this." Mowchan said, his smile bubbly as ever. "I wish Laruta were here. She'd be so proud of me!"
"I think Laruta would be more proud of organic weight loss than using shrink rays." Chuko reasoned.
"So, that thingy can make anything super-duper small?!" Yuki asked with wonder.
"It sure can!" Nyoro answered proudly. "Marty taught me how to do it, but I did the handiwork. No one knows weight loss like Kateenians. The shrinkage lasts about 12 hours for normal people, but shorter for giant targets like Mowchan. It's a good measure for staying hidden, at least."
"Great, but what's our move from here?" Aniki asked. "If Pochi has the power to save us, he can save the Miran operatives and destroy… whatever that thing was, right?"
"The second part… may be a tall order." Pochi said. "I need to try and train with this a bit more. I ran out of energy too quickly there. But Yuki…" he turned to the coated girl, "you seem to be a part of this power. Not only that, you knew that girl's name. Sage, right?"
"I…I don't know how I know that name." She bowed her head in confusion. "It just feels like…brrrrrrr!" She hugged herself and shivered. "I'm cold!"
"Yeah, for a desert, it sure looks freakin' cloudy!" Kansai said, facing up the sky hole. "Chuko, make us a fireplace."
"There's no wood, stupid! And these plants won't hold up. Just stand by Mowchan's grill!"
"Then we'll end up smellin' like his food. Just use your firebending, ya whiner!"
"Hmph!" Chuko wanted to protest, but she couldn't deny she was damp and cold as well. She held two flames in her hands and made them decently large. "Fine, but you stand in the back of the line!"
"Ahhhh! So toasty!" Yuki basked in the warmth of the fire. "But only my face can feel it. I guess I should take this off." She unzipped her coat.
"You're wearing something under that, aren't… you?"
Yuki had a tight black garb under her coat, which transitioned to her glove and pants. The blue and white "wing" on her right was still attached… but more importantly, there was a shining white and blue, diamond shape on her chest. "YUKI! What's that?!" Pochi asked.
"Hm? You mean… this?" She grabbed the cuff of her suit and pulled it down enough to expose the crystal. It had a snowflake design in its mystical center.
"The Core Crystal! That's the crystal that restored our memories and gave me these powers! Yuki… I think you're my Blade."
"B-Blade?! You mean I'm a sword?!"
"No, a Xenoblade. On this planet, people can open Core Crystals and acquire fighting companions. Though, you never showed up as soon as I opened the crystal. I thought it was instantaneous."
"But I don't know anything about fighting! Or how to use blades!"
"Yeah, but you're the source of this power. And you're somehow connected to whatever's happening to this planet. You need to help me save it."
"I…I am?"
"I heard when Blades are awakened," Tattsun began, "they have no memory of their past lives. But they do remember basic and common knowledge, their purpose, the world they live in, not to mention their name. But Yuki didn't have most of those."
"Hey, I think she's getting a headache." Jennu said. "Be quiet for a second."
Yuki walked to the spring. The pure water reflected her image, her Core Crystal hidden against its mystic blue glow. "I thought I was just… a normal girl. How did I become a Blade? Why… was I… made…"
"Hmm…" Pochi and the others shared her sentiment. Logically, they couldn't imagine how it would feel to wake up with amnesia and suddenly be told they were meant to save a world. Even if they knew a handful of games and shows where this happened. They had only just met Yuki. Why would she feel compelled to-
"Oh well." She spun around in a spritely manner. "I guess I'll try it out."
"?!" Their sentimental eyes shot wide in bewilderment.
"I don't know why I have to… but I sure don't know what else to do. I just hope I can spend more time with my new friends!"
"Hahahahaha!" Kansai was joyed by her enthusiasm. "In that case, welcome to Sector Q, Yuki-chan!" He jumped over and put an arm around her. "I say you're a lifelong friend already!"
"Really?!"
"No, not already!" Chuko argued. "Can't you TRY to have a longer existential crisis?!"
"Existential what?"
"Yuki, we didn't mean to throw you into this." Pochi said. "But we'll try to make this as nice for you as we can. So, let's go save a world!" He raised a fist at her.
"Hyper super pippity-poppity YES!" Yuki knuckled him.
"Uuuuugh!" Chuko moaned.
"We're doomed." Aniki sighed.
"Oh, don't be like that." Nyoro said. "She's a little like Vanilla, isn't she?"
"Not even close!"
"Oh, that reminds me!" Jennu gasped. "Yesterday, we got into battle with Colony 30 near here. Valdi was there, but we didn't see the others. And, Mowchan… wasn't your sister named Pai?"
"Yes?!"
"She was there, too!"
"You found Pai?! Guys, let's hurry to Colony 30!"
"Not until we eat and rest!" Nyoro said. "We have a whole world after us, so we need to handle this patiently and strategically."
"I'm down with that." Kansai said, walking to take a sit by Chuko. "Still… I dunno how I feel about this Fuse business."
"Me either…" Chuko shuddered, thinking Kansai saw her most embarrassing moments… just as she saw his. "I wanna get this mission over with fast."
Colony 30
"Commander Valdi!" A spectacled Machina with brown hair rushed up to a light-haired Machina with a large, artificial arm. "A consul is visiting from the castle! Let's make sure everything's shipshape!"
"I'll leave you to it, Yuzet. Maybe they're here to ask about this strange intruder."
A girl was trapped in a cage with an electric field. She wore a white dress with matching, open-toed platform shoes, and tentacled hair with shades of light-pink, dark-pink, and orangey-yellow. Her body sparked like a hologram.