Toadstool World
Nega-SA, the Dolphin Pirates, sailed to Washopolis as soon as they were ready. The city was under attack by the Meta-Beasts' Dinosoids: the Primagen used his Past-Past Fruit to summon ancient sea monsters to ravage the shores of the island. Ikik manned the ship while the others surfed onto the island. Xedni grabbed her computer and downloaded a solid hologram of her own Washling. She changed its weapon to befit whichever situation; they couldn't shoot actual soap, but just lasers and digi-energy.
Eillac and Eiram received a report about the intruders, so the Squid Cousins raced out to confront them. The Dolphins jumped their way up a scaffolding area, hoping to make their selves noticeable in case Oemor were wandering out there. "HEEEEY! DARING NEW KIDS!"
They looked up at a higher scaffold, where Eillac raised both hands. "You looking for this human?! He's my prisoner!"
"What? I don't see anything." Anaigrom said.
"No, she's holding something!" Xedni pointed. "It's Oemor! He's smaller!"
"Aaaaahhh!" Oemor screamed with a playful smile. "Guys, help meeee!"
"Eillac!" Eiram exclaimed. "When did you find him?!"
"Just yesterday! I was waiting to surprise Grandpa, but now's a good time. So, you girls better surrender before I crush him!"
"Anaigrom, Heli-Arms!" Allebmoog stretched.
"You got it!" Anaigrom sprayed white wind designs over her arms. Allebmoog spun her arms like propellers and flew up, dodging Eiram's umbrella gun. Eillac pretended to shoot as well, but Allebmoog grabbed both their heads, whirled them up, and SLAMMED them against the scaffold. Oemor flipped off right atop her head. "Haha! You saved my life, Allebmoog!"
"Hold tight, little guy!" Allebmoog swung her way down to the ground, the teammates following. Asigan ran to Allebmoog and asked, "Oemor, is that really you?"
The tiny nerd turned as red as the Abmoog, who lowered to Asigan's level. Ever since shrinking, he had been hoping for his friends to look for him… because he knew that, somewhere in the world, there was a giant version of Asigan. He only ever fantasized about her finding him like this, and now her pretty blue eyes were actually looking at him. Her sweet, sky-blue hair, her refined and deep blue nails, her curvy hips and… soft chest… "Hey, Earth to Punio, you in there?" Anaigrom asked.
"Huh? Oh! Uh, s-sorry. I'm just… so glad to see you guys." Oemor pretended to cry and sniffle. "I had to shrink myself to escape from them. I was so scared and all alone… and when that girl captured me, I thought it was the end. Thank goodness you guys came!"
"Did you shrink yourself with psychic?" Anaigrom asked.
"No, I…I remembered the Field Day curse where, if we tell our friends' secrets, then…" He explained the rest.
"Wow, I nearly forgot about that!" Asigan said. "Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry we didn't come here sooner."
"I really missed you guys." He opened his arms, hoping Asigan would accept the gesture.
"Awwww, we missed you, too!" Asigan raised both hands. To Oemor's extreme delight, he walked across her thin, cute, girly fingers, and stood in her warm, welcoming palm. Then, as if to make him happier, she brought him to her cute little nose and nuzzled him.
"Hehehehehe!" Oemor squeezed the nose in his arms and legs, his two-inch frame pinned between the palm and the protuberance. "Asigan, you're nosing me!"
"Just happy to see you again, you brave little man!"
"What the hell am I looking at?" Anaigrom asked.
"Better not sneeze or he won't be lookin' so cute." Allebmoog remarked.
"There are the intruders!" To their right, a platoon of Washlights lined up with guns ready, led by Mauqs and Abatiuqs. "We found the escapee, too! Perfect!"
"And look how puny he is!" Mauqs smirked. "Boy, do we have plans for you, shorty!"
"Hey, Asigan?" Oemor spoke. "You can put me down now. I think I owe these jerks some payback."
"I don't think you're in the right shape." Xedni said.
"Relax, Xedni! I may be small, but I have a big imagination!"
Asigan giggled and set him down. The two-inch bookworm ran right up to the Washling platoon. Mauqs and Abatiuqs didn't even need to aim their weapons down; all they needed were their sneakers. But then the tiny dork raised a finger: the Washlings looked up and… an odd cloud was there! A purple cloud with faint rainbowy highlights. "Hug Muck, it's payback time!"
"GIVE ME HUCKS!" A monster of mud dropped from the cloud, grabbing the Washlings in his thick arms and squeezing the clean out of them. Mauqs and Abatiuqs evaded and soaped the creature, so Oemor summoned the next Dream Spirit, Bathtub Grandpa. He was an old man riding a bathtub like a horse, ramming the Washlings.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Asigan laughed. "A big imagination is right!"
"Just scoop him up and let's split!" Anaigrom said. "This soap is starting to ruin my perfume!"
"Wouldn't mind taking some for our own bath!"
As the Dolphin Pirates escaped back to their ship, Eillac smiled. She hoped the little guy could make it home safe.
Little Dads
The Little Dad crew, which included Airam and Revilo, rode the Nostra Castello out to Damp Damp Desert. (Music: "Slipsand Galaxy" from Mario Galaxy.) Though it was the middle of day, the gray clouds brought a dreary mood to the desert. The air was humid, but the sand was so cold and muggy, it wouldn't even feel nice to walk on. There were Smile Pirate ships sailing the sands, blasting mafia tanks. It made for quite a wild venture through the desert. There were certain sprouts that could be grown with Airam's poisonbending, and those sprouts would spring up sand dunes of peculiar shapes. "They're supposed to do that with water, but the mafia reworked them…"
Copernicus the Crow was also patrolling the desert, dropping giant droppings over the enemy pirates. By the time they found the Damp Damp Outpost, they saw a horde of rats fighting a cloud of crows. "LIHP! Let's go!" Revilo called. "We're at war with the mafia!"
"Yeah, I kind of guessed that! You hear that, my Mighty Mice?! This is the Dawn of the Revolution! Let's take down the Dark-Gray Wings and soar to victory!"
Lihp and the mice would rope the crows with strings, pull their selves up, and ride the avians to the sky. They would battle Copernicus in a dogfight, or in this case, a birdfight-mousefight… hybrid. Copernicus would shoot back droppings while the mice had small bazookas that shot hunks of cheese. The cheese would slow Copernicus down, and when Lihp flew over the pigeon-crow, he could drop down and start pounding on the consigliere. If more mice could make it with him, they could add on the damage, but Copernicus would shake them off and back to the desert.
Halfway through the battle, the crows would fly higher so they couldn't be recaptured. Airam had to help by gassing the Dune Sprouts and springing the mice up, allowing them to rope and tame the crows. Eventually, Lihp was able to attain a firm grip on Copernicus' head and steer the giant bird. He made Copernicus dive straight to a sprout, which Airam gassed. The sand sprung up as a fist and PUNCHED Copernicus, knocking him out!
Ollar arrived and used his Book-Book power to seal Copernicus in a large book. "You can't seriously believe we're going to carry all these mice aboard our castle?"
"Hey, what's wrong with some extra hands?" Lihp asked. "With this many recruits, the revolution's a sure thing! So, where're we going next?"
"To Ztardie Valley." Airam answered. "That's where Ydnew is supposed to be."
The remaining mafiosos fell to the Smile Pirates. That was when Ahsas, the pink-haired giant in a night sweater, arrived on her own ship. She mustered her powerful moonbending to project a moon in the clouds, spreading a blanket of "night" over the desert. The ships began to pour glimmering Dreamsand over the desert to put everyone to sleep.
Dolphin Pirates
The Dolphin Pirates returned to sea and threw a small snack party to celebrate Oemor's rescue. "So, that Washling that was holding you was actually your friend?" Allebmoog asked.
"Uh-huh!" Oemor nodded, nibbling a small cookie. "She was too afraid to get me help without getting caught. I'm no pushover with my Imaginaries, but even I wasn't about to fight through all those pirates without a plan. Luckily, you guys showed up, so we staged a nice rescue!"
"Well, I feel bad for hurting her now."
"Hehe, you looked like you really wanted to rescue me!"
"I mean, duh. We've only been worried sick about you for, like, weeks."
"I still think that was kind of reckless." Asigan stated. "We didn't know she was an ally, so Oemor could've been hurt."
"Yah, but she was, and he wasn't."
"Let's just be glad the gang's all back together." Ikik said, sitting her furry rump down as she chewed on some fries.
"Yeah, and be glad that Oemor's tiny tummy will make up for having two gluttons onboard." Anaigrom remarked.
"God, you can't go a minute without insulting us!"
"Haha, she's nicer than Revilo, don't you think?" Oemor smiled.
"True that…"
The thought of his old friends made Oemor frown. "Hey, how are they doing? Revilo and… the others."
"They're rescuing their own teammates. Honestly, I could still care less for them… especially after they did THIS to me."
Ikik was still furry like an ape, due to the drugs she was given. Luckily, her monkey mentality had worn off. Oemor walked up to the titaness astronaut with sympathy. "I'm really sorry, Ikik. I think I had it easy compared to you."
"Shyeah, no kidding. Your puniness is just cute magic that'll wear off, I dunno how long I'll be like this."
Oemor shirked back from her tone. "Um, but, it's not our friends' fault this happened. It was the navy, and the mafia. They-"
"And it was that STUPID heiress's fault!" Ikik POUNDED the table, her tremendous fist bouncing Oemor into the air. "For hiding in our sector! And it was our FORMER FRIENDS' fault for joining up with her, making US having to track them down!"
"I-I-I know, but…but they got the rebels to save you, right? They're still our-"
"Oh, shut up! Should've figured you're too spineless to be angry."
"Hey, don't yell at him!" Asigan's caring fingers enveloped Oemor and brought him away from the raging giant. "We were all victims in this and made to do degrading things. But right now, the whole DNK is caught up in this. If you want, we can just take you home right now."
"Hmph…I don't like the thought of Revilo making snide comments about my cowardice. And I'm too pissed at those apes, anyway, so I guess I'll stick around."
"Great!" Xedni smiled. "Honestly, I would've been sad if you left. You're my favorite bestie!"
"I thought that was me." Asigan frowned.
"You are, too!"
"Ha ha! But I'm glad, too, because after all this, I'm definitely pumped for this revolution! Besides, some of the rebels wound up getting captured for our sake. Since our sector is complete, I say we repay the favor and save them!"
"We're currently on a course to Weaston Island." Xedni said. "It's part of Sarexaland's territory and we heard that Oiraw is held captive there."
"He was one of the rebels that saved me." Asigan mentioned.
"Really?" Oemor asked. "Uh…what's he like?"
"He had this cute accent and a handsome mustache! He was short and tubby, but pretty sweet-looking!"
"Oh…he was, huh?"
"Tehehe!" Asigan giggled at his sadness. "I'm sure some other girl will be quite happy with him~"
"Oh…what other girl?"
"I wouldn't know, I'm just saying."
"Ugh, cut me a break." Anaigrom cringed at their flirting.
Weaston Island was surrounded by giant Easter Island heads. Their eyes glowed ominously and would fire lasers at any trespassers. The tiny bookworm felt even smaller before the massive statues, standing on the ship's railing. "Uh, so what's our plan?"
"We're gonna steer this ship around as a diversion while you and the swimmers get to the island dolphin style." Xedni answered.
"M-Me?!"
"Don't you have any Imaginaries that can swim?"
"Um, yes, but…"
"Okay, I'm ready!" Asigan marched up.
Oemor turned around, and his eyes and heart popped. Asigan was in her swimsuit. It was a soft lavender like her shirt, a one-piece that covered her nicely. Her upper back was uncovered, but the suit nicely highlighted her curvy areas. Her legs were a mix of thick, slim, sleek, flexible, and shiny. "If it looks too dangerous, you don't have to come, Oemor."
"Nnnnnn…" But if he didn't come, he wouldn't be able to see Asigan in action. He wouldn't be able to see her battle in all her swimsuited beauty… "N-no no, I'll come! I'm not here to be a burden!"
"Just be careful out there." Allebmoog said, tattooed with dolphin and wave designs. "Me and her are gonna separate, but you can stay near one of us."
"Okay, thanks!"
"I'm bringing the ship around!" Ikik announced. "You're good to go whenever!" (Music: "Goo Lagoon" from Spongebob BFBB.)
Oemor summoned the Olympic Frog to carry him across the sea. The trio dove off the other side of the boat and away from it before swimming past the island heads. They fought Loan Sharks and dodged Torpedo Dets before making it to the island. Moe-Mouths attacked them; smaller stone heads with big lips. They were particularly attracted to Asigan, but Oemor was ready to defend her with Olympic Frog. The tribal and tropical atmosphere of this island was pleasant, especially on a rare sunny day, but was hard to enjoy with the spiders and explosive Apooks. They found Oiraw naked except his underwear, being made to do a sexy dance in the center of a crowd of Moe-Lips. Oemor created a Thought Cloud and summoned "Cutie Darla," a tall blonde girl with a permament grin, red top, and white shorts.
Cutie Darla danced for the Moe-Lips, diverting their attention while Allebmoog went to punch Oiraw out of his trance. (Allebmoog was sad that she wasn't attractive enough for their attention.) Oiraw thanked the crew and escaped with them via a secret path that cut through a small canyon. However, they were spotted on that path: spotted by a Kinx. It was a small sphinx, its eyes popping hearts at the sight of Asigan. It came charging at them, so Oemor quickly summoned Skater Hood, a swift fox with skate shoes! Asigan and Oiraw rode his back, Allebmoog gripped his sides to hang on, and Oemor rode the fox's snout. They bolted through the canyon with the Kinx hot on their tail, dodging Moe-Lips and Bullet Llibs on the way.
The road eventually led to the shore. They jumped off the cliff and landed on a ledge just underneath, watching the Kinx overshoot the ledge and fall into the sea. "He doesn't look like a good swimmer!" Asigan laughed. "Ah, there's the ship! Oiraw, can you swim?"
"I wish I was in better gear, but I can!"
They made it back to the Dolphin Dragon and began to flee from a small fleet of Tulip's ships. "If you have any phones or something, I'd like to send a call to my brother." Oiraw requested.
"Sure!" Xedni nodded. "As soon as we lose these guys."
"Uh-oh! There's a tidal wave coming!" Ikik pointed.
They looked with panic at the huge wave. "The wind isn't strong enough to make a wave like that!" Oiraw said.
"I'll try to cut through it." Asigan narrowed her eyes determinedly. "Huh? Th-there's someone up there!"
"HEY, SHIP DUDES!" yelled Aullik Kcydloz, hanging 10 above the wave. "Watch out! I'm comin' through!"
"AULLIK?!" Anaigrom screamed. "IS THAT YOU?!"
"Whuh?" Aullik lifted the bangs covering his eyes. "YO! Anaigrom! I've been looking everywhere for—yooooouu!"
"AAAAAHH!" Aullik tumbled off his board, the wave shrinking as it splashed just over the deck of the Dolphin. The crewmates fell over, and Aullik lay flat on his back.
"Ah, dude…" The surfer sat up dizzily.
"Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmmmmm!" Oemor was squirming desperately under the seat of his trunks, with only his legs visible as they flailed frantically.
"AULLIK!" Anaigrom tackled the boy, knocking him right back down. "You came all this way just to find me?!"
"Shyah, dude! The DNK told me you were on, like, this island, but there was a lot of islands, man, so I kinda got lost. Then I started getting chased by these dudes before I found you guys."
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you!!" Anaigrom squeezed her boyfriend to the deck. "Things were way too girly on this boat, we need a big strong man to balance us out!"
"Ana, quit embarrassing yourself." Asigan sighed. She remembered Aullik from Field Day and wasn't quite happy to have the dimwitted dude onboard.
"What? You got your own boy to nuzzle, now I got mine."
"Now isn't the time to…AH!! WHERE'S OEMOR?!" Asigan looked around the deck in panic. "No, what if he got washed off, we have to find him!!"
"Oh, I dunno, man." Aullik pulled himself up, looking around. "I don't see anyone here besides… my hair."
"!" Allebmoog perked up. "Uhhh…I think I found Oemor."
"Huh, where?!" Asigan gasped.
"Aullik, there's something on your butt."
"Hm?" The boy reached back and felt something wedged to his trunks. He picked it off and held it to his uncovered eyes. Oemor's tiny head was drenched in a glob of water. "Oh, it's a little dude… Hey, you seen Oemor anywhere, dude?"
"OH, GOD!" Asigan immediately bent the water off him.
"Huff…huff…huff…" Oemor weakly sat up, vision blurry.
"Whoa, man, you look beat. Need some water?" Aullik wiggled his other fingers above him, boulder-sized droplets pounding Oemor's head.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Asigan gently, but brashly took him back.
"Well, I think I got water in my ears." Aullik beat the side of his head.
"Gah!" Ikik winced when the ship took a hit. "Well, thanks to you, the mafia caught up! Oiraw, keep that breeze going."
"Wait!" Xedni gasped. "You said someone was chasing you, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Hey, there they are now!"
They fearfully looked up, half-expecting another fleet. "AAAAAH?!" What they didn't expect was a giant, five-headed elephant! The divine beast stomped through the ocean, its trunks blasting jets of water. They just missed the Dolphin and took down the ships behind. "QUICK, STEER US AWAY!" Allebmoog yelled.
"What is that thing?!" Asigan cried.
"Oh!" Oiraw ran to the keel, awed by the great elephant. "ADMIRAL UUB! IT'S YOU!"
"Hm?!" The elephant's eyes fell to the Mustachio in surprise.
"Uub?!" Allebmoog gasped. "One of the navy's top powerhouses?! They're our enemies, aren't they?!"
"Admiral Uub… the revolution will succeed! The Goddaughter… she's on our side! She wants to help us restore Toadstool! Will you still bring about the Great Shower?"
". . ." A head nodded. The head on their farthest right splashed the sea with its trunk and washed the crewmates away. The navy ships at Uub's back tried to target them, but the elephant bellowed, "Leave them! Focus on the fleet ahead of us! But know this, Daring New Kids… do not dare attack the moon base! Because if you say 'Y'… you will die!"
"The… moon base?" Xedni questioned.
"I heard there's a navy base on Toadstool's moon." Allebmoog replied. "…Was he trying to say there's something important there?"
"Mr. Oiraw, you sounded like you knew him."
"Of course I do! Admiral Uub has supported the revolution for years! The navy prevents him from making many direct moves against the mafia, but he always sneaks us supplies when he can. He claims to have a secret means of purifying Toadstool… but so long as the mafia remains active, he can't use it."
"Then maybe he is on our side."
"Based on what we were told," Asigan began, "the navy officers are being controlled against their will. I don't think any of them are bad… or at least some of them. Even Miss Einna was supportive of us."
"We oughta check in and see how the other group is doing." Xedni suggested. "But first we'll call Oiraw's brother."
Anaigrom tailored a purple business suit for Oiraw to wear. After an hour more of sailing, they saw a yacht headed their direction, designed like a piano with saxophone engines. It was the ship of Igiulaw. Oiraw jumped over, happy to reunite with his bro. They parted ways with the crew and wished luck.
Little Dads
The Little Dad Mafia rode out to Ztardie Valley in the north. The Castello steered well over the snowy landscape, but it would have to fall back when they got to the Nerh Outpost. (Music: "White Acropolis" from Sonic 2006.) The outpost consisted of military blockades and structures, with huge cannons to fend off invaders, and was primarily run by Dya-Namites. Airam, Revilo, and Lihp's rats fought their way through the base. Large chasms separated parts of the outpost, so they had to use cannons to shoot over. (Fahr Outpost used to be the worst level in Thousand-Year Door, so it's only natural its Negative should be more fun.)
They climbed a hill up to a nice log cabin, assumed to be the boss's hut. When they broke in, they found the shaman consigliere, Nolrem, reading a book beside the fireplace. "Ah, Lady Airam. Good evening to you." greeted the gray-cloaked timebender, his long mustache like twin white waterfalls. "Could I treat you to some coffee?"
Airam shot the book out of his hands, falling in the embers. "Don't play polite with me, Gramps. I know you have some clue where Ydnew and her mom are and you're gonna tell me."
"Ah, you really mustn't shoot in here. You'll wake the children." He thumbed to a crib. There was a brown-haired baby and a blue-haired one sleeping peacefully with binkies. "!" They were horrified to realize they were Einna and Ydnew. "Yes, these youths were quite rambunctious, running about the valley. I was lucky enough to catch them by the time the spacebender broke free of her chi cuffs. I tried a new formula on them with a dose of my own Time Chi. Regressed their growth quite nicely, I say."
Revilo blasted a dark laser at him while Lihp's rats swarmed to seize the infants, but Nolrem Rewound them both with his bending. "Now now, children. I'd say you're due for a nap as well. Those pacifiers they're suckling are fixed with a sweet sleeping powder, so I'll kindly fix you up." Nolrem Stopped the group in place, then fished out some binkies from his drawer.
But just as he walked to stick them in Revilo and Lihp, a binky was suddenly stuck into his mouth. This was followed by a tiny-fisted punch to Nolrem's head, slightly blocking his chi. The group unfroze as Airam blasted him against the wall with Neon Vision. "Bloo blah blah." Einna landed cleanly on the floor, speaking coolly in her baby talk. "Bah, buh buh, blah buh. (Resisting sleep drugs is basic assassin training.)"
The rats seized Ydnew and Revilo grabbed Einna as they bolted from the cabin. There were already more tanks rolling up the hill, but with Einna's help, they cut down the tanks without much trouble. However, the Ztar Children from the local village swarmed in to attack them. Revilo's bending was a natural match against them. Further across the outpost, they were ambushed by Nolrem's granddaughters, Eelrem and Eelvulrem. Eelrem struck Lihp's rats with dark beams that decreased their luck, and her sister used psychic beams that made Airam forget some of her skills.
Einna slashed both sisters with small Tempest Kicks. They kept running through the outpost, but panicked when some kind of gray nuke flew their direction. It was a Chrono Bomb, exploding into a wide radius as they slowed down. Einna used her Shave technique to shove the group out of the field, then escaped herself. Her chi-block punch wasn't enough to completely stop Nolrem's strong timebending, the elder launching more Chrono Nukes as he chased them on his own tank. The kids were forced to cross a narrow route that Nolrem littered with Chrono Bombs.
Einna jumped away from them. She babbled and made gestures implying that she would hold him off. She pointed at Ydnew, trying to say that her safety was all that mattered for now. Airam gave Revilo the boys a serious nod, and they sighed in regret. Rushing through the chrono fields certainly took a while, but Einna managed to hold back Nolrem with Rokushiki techniques. Inevitably, the timebender and his granddaughters captured the super-baby once more, but the operatives were able to escape on the Castello.
Ydnew eventually woke up in Revilo's arms. She cringed in humility at her infantile form, but tried to thank them for saving her. After learning her mom elected to fall behind, Ydnew merely narrowed her big eyes down. Unfortunately, putting chi-blocks against Ydnew didn't disable her ailment. "He did imply his Time Chi was used with a drug." Airam said. "She might not be able to change back so easily."
"You know your drugs." Revilo said. "Think you can make a cure?"
"Yeah. If we can get her back to fighting strength, we can go back and teach Grandpa a lesson."
"You have a duty to fulfill to us first." Ollar said. "We must rescue Sutsugua. Which means possibly confronting your parents."
"We also got a call from them friends of yours." Eiwets mentioned. "Their rescues are goin' good. They also told us somethin' about a moon base."
Dolphin Pirates
Anaigrom gave Aullik his long-awaited haircut. During that first night, she purposely acted flirty with him to make Asigan cringe. Aullik tried to explain his family circumstances and how he helped "the V dudes and W gals" escape from the navy. "Well, it's great to have extra help." Asigan admitted, retaining her resentment.
Aullik used his wavebending to make the ship move faster during the day, but he took a while to register their navigation directions. This led to several near-misses with sea mines. They made their next destination the Gnok Sea. They heard that Yknam Gnok, the orangutan who rescued Ikik, was somewhere on the Spring Heights. (Music: "Heating up Mafia Town" from Hat in Time.)
The rainy mountains would be perfect for the waterbenders… except the Gnoks had already installed radiator towers to heat up the weather and dry up the island. No doubt, Yeknod anticipated them showing up and was prepared to impede Asigan's bending. She could still bend water from her bottles, and Oemor used the Imaginary Friend, Bestie Bee to fly around and sting enemies. Aullik came, being given his own bottles, and Ikik was also determined to save Yknam. They had to jump over burning coals and fight animals that were drugged to catch fire and attack them.
The crewmates destroyed radiator generators they came across. While Asigan's bending was weaker in this heat, she was still a capable fighter. "Ah, man! I'm all outta water." Aullik moaned, trying to drink the last few drops from his bottles. "Hey, Asi, can I have some of yours?"
"That water was meant for attacking, not drinking!"
"Seriously? But I'm so thirsty."
"I'll give you just one, but you need to fight with it, not drink!"
Aullik tried to do so… but his use of the small amount of water was very sloppy. It wound up drying on the ground before he could regain proper control. "What on earth was THAT?!"
"Don't you have more water, man? It's, like, so tiny."
"Look at me! It's not hard to fight with even this much water!"
"I'll just get more water from the sea, man. I'll be right back." With that, the surfer made his way down the mountain.
"Unbelievable!" Asigan yelled.
"Forget him." Ikik stated. "We'll be finished long before he makes it back."
Eventually, they found Yknam Gnok trapped in a cage along a cliff ledge. Heaters surrounded him, designed to dry the monkey up. He tried to stay calm and reserve his strength, but panicked seeing the kids arrive. "HEY! YOU SHOULDN'T COME HERE!"
"But we need to save you!"
"NO! The Gnoks knew you would try to! They have a cannon ready on a nearby island, they're going to blast us any minute!"
They received a call from Xedni. "Hey, guys! There's some kind of missile headed toward the mountain!"
In the distance from their cliff, a King Llib was flying straight for them. "I know!" Ikik said. "Which side of the island are we on?!"
"The southeast!" Yknam answered.
Ikik called, "Aullik, are you still by the sea?!"
"Uh, yeah, dude. I'm trying to bend the salt out-"
"Aullik, surf around to the southeast side of the island! Can you make a giant water gush to take down the missile?!"
"Uh, okay… which way is it?"
"Southeast! Just look in the sky for a missile!"
"Dammit, he's not gonna make it!" Asigan yelled.
"BUT I CAN!" Anaigrom declared. She hopped into the spring cannon and let herself be LAUNCHED into the sky. She used a Gas Rocket to get higher and got close to the missile's trajectory. She took a quick swig of Flurp and enforced her chi over the King Llib. She managed to redirect it slightly upright and just past the ledge. She plunged back to the ship, but was caught by Allebmoog. The missile exploded in the sea. "Figured it would be laced with poison. That's all these guys know!"
"And their own animals are still up here!" Asigan said. "These Gnoks are insane!"
They destroyed the heaters and freed Yknam, carrying him down the mountain. Another King Llib was incoming, so they took a leap of faith down the cliff. Oemor mustered his psychic to lift the giants just before landing, but the act caused a strain on his tiny brain. Asigan grabbed and carried him the rest of the way. They made it back to the ship and hurriedly yelled for Aullik to come back around. He made it as another missile was coming, ushering Aullik to wave them away. The boy accidentally waved them TOWARD the missile—they sailed just another it, and the shockwave it caused helped the ship sail further, violently rocking them. As they fled across the sea, Gnok pirate ships moved out to pursue.
"God, that was way more dangerous than it should've been!" Asigan huffed. "You'd have been better off staying on the ship!" she told Aullik.
"But like, you asked me to come."
"BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WOULD WATERBEND!"
"I thought there would've been more water."
"UUUUGH! Just keep those waves moving and get us away from those crooks!"
…
By some miracle, they were able to escape the Gnoks and sail into a secret cave run by Revolutionary Kremlings. Yknam thanked them for their bravery and was led away by the Kremlings to get hydration. The crewmates retired to their cabin, the ship floating peaceably in the lantern-lit cavern.
If there was one thing nice about being small, it was sleeping in a fluffy, cozy sock. Anaigrom knitted such a sock for Oemor to sleep, the cotton warming away his troubles. "Mmmm…nnn…" That was until he started to feel chilly down to his toes. He could no longer feel cotton around him, but something more thick and kind of damp. "Er…" His tired, specless eyes opened. A pair of dopey blue eyes and a white mop head hung over him. "AAAAH!"
"What's up, little dude?"
"YOU! Why'd you wake me up?!"
"I couldn't sleep, man."
"Then you should've come in and used a sleep bag instead of laying on the deck!"
"Yah, but I'm kinda bummed out. Was thinkin' of talking to Ana, but… you're the only dude on this boat. Heh, my sister always tells me I have a puny brain, and your brain must be pretty puny, so… we're like brothers."
"What do you want?!"
"Hm…" Aullik looked up at the cavern ceiling, reflecting the ripples. He sat with Oemor held by his chest. "This war's been, like… pretty intense, man."
"I'll tell you what was intense, that last mission!"
"I know, right? I mean, why does Asi gotta be such a nag?"
"What?!"
"Like, just between you and me, dude… but I don't think she respects us very well. She's all like, 'Oooo, I'm such a good waterbender, I don't need drinks.'"
"I may not be a waterbender, but I've seen plenty of them fight with bottles. Maybe she just expected you could."
"Dude, I need waves, man. You can't surf on a drink."
"That's not the only way to waterbend! Haven't you trained in different styles?"
"Come on, don't ya get me, man? She thinks we're stupid."
"What do you mean 'we'?!"
"I mean, she's always laughin' at you when you eat and stuff, and bullying you with her fingers."
"What's wrong with making her laugh?!"
"She's picking on you 'cause you're all puny and stuff."
"Asigan is a nice girl who cares about her friends! Maybe she's yelling because you didn't help at all on that mission!"
"But like, she didn't give me much water."
"You shouldn't have needed it! Real waterbenders know how to adapt to change!"
"What's your deal, man?"
"My deal is that I don't like hearing you insult Asigan like that! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed!" Oemor leapt off the hand and stomped back to the cabin.
Aullik stood and followed, easing catching up to the smaller boy. "But like, you gotta see where I'm coming from, right? Asigan needs to learn to respect peoples' differences. Like, some people just aren't-"
Oemor stopped and faced up, "Or maybe some people need to be able to learn instead of acting like giant blockheads! And stop following me, I don't wanna get squished by your big, dumb feet!" And he continued on his march.
"The heck's your problem with me? I think you're just a dick. …A little dick, hehe." He smiled dumbly.
"GRRRRRR!" Oemor ran faster to escape his stupid aura.
Once inside the cabin, he noticed Ikik looking over the sock's table in panic. She glanced down and saw, "Oemor! I was getting a drink when I saw you gone."
"Oh, I'm fine. Stupid Aullik woke me up to talk about junk."
"Sigh, he's a problem one, isn't he?" Ikik bent down to pick him up. "Um…about the other day… I didn't mean to get mad at you."
"Hehe…it's alright." He probably shouldn't comment that she smelled like monkey.
She set him beside his sock. "So… if this all works out, are you gonna stay with this sector? Or you think you'll go back to -MG?"
"Uh…not sure."
"Me neither." She smiled awkwardly. "Better to wait and see what happens first. Well… good night."
"You, too."
When morning rose, the Dolphin Pirates sailed out of the cove. They received a call from the Little Dads… or more specifically, Nega-MG. "Good, Ikik, you're there." Revilo greeted.
Ikik glared. "Need something, Revilo?"
"Yeah. Remember that tidbit you sent us, about the moon base? Were you planning to go up there yourselves or what?"
"I dunno, we don't even know what's up there."
"Well, you are the astronaut. We also just saved Ydnew, so maybe the two of you could check it out. …I mean, she's not exactly in shape, and…" He raised Baby Ydnew to the screen.
"YDNEW?!"
"Boo. Buh ba ba buh."
Revilo recapped what happened to her. "Oh, dear…"
"But she can still use spacebending, and it should be stronger in space. You'd be a big help, too."
"Bah!" Ydnew thumbed up.
"…" Ikik bowed her head in thought. She looked to Oemor, who gave a look that said, 'Maybe you should give them a chance.' "Ugh…fine. But I don't even have a rocket for one thing, I'm barely good at driving this ship, and also… I only wanna take Ydnew and Lihp with me, I don't feel like hanging out with YOU TWO, yet."
"Negative." Airam took the front. "I'm going to take part in this mission, but I'll be separating from you guys."
"Why?"
"Because…"
Hearing the details of Airam's plan filled them with worry. "That's… quite a bold gamble." Asigan said. "But it sure would be good if it works."
"Maybe we could try to distract the pirates so they don't go for backup." Xedni suggested. "Some of them are already busy with other enemies, so maybe…"
"Sigh…you better owe me for this." Ikik said.
"It's a promise." Airam nodded. "One of the Little Dads, Ollar wants to take part in this, too. We also heard the Revolutionaries have a rocket handy."
The Dolphins met up with the Little Dads as Ikik jumped ships. Seeing Baby Ydnew up close was actually kind of adorable, and she couldn't resist when the infant asked to hug her belly. Afterwards, they sailed and drove out to a field under Revolutionary jurisdiction. There was a rocket perfect for Ikik's expertise. They launched off to the moon and were met with resistance from the Y-Naut ships. Ikik made evasive maneuvers and located the Y-Naut Fortress, protected by an Oxygen Bubble. (Music: "X-Naut Fortress" from TTYD.)
The others dropped to the surface while Airam took the rocket's controls, distracting the naval ships. The base's speakers played a catchy beep-bop song with annoying lyrics: "Y-NAUTS, Y-NAUTS, Y-NAUTS RULE! DON'T ASK WHY, OR YOU'RE GONNA DIE!"
"Just like the admiral said." Ikik said as they fought their way into the base. "What happens if-"
"Silence." Ollar stated. "It is best we control our words."
"Yeah." Lihp replied. "Let's figure—AAAAHH!" A flash of light swallowed him, and Lihp turned into a, "Y-Naut, Y-Naut!"
The teammates were horrified. "So, that's it." Ollar glared. "Do not use that letter at all."
The ruler of this base was Vice Admiral Dump. Dump ate the Y-Y Fruit: it was a Nen-type that could turn people into Y-Nauts just by using that letter out loud. Dump could only cast this spell over buildings that he owned, and his victims would change back if they left the building. This annoying music was probably designed to compel them to say it. It was safe to assume the spell wouldn't work on real Y-Nauts.
Ydnew rode a baby strap on Ikik's back, using spacebending attacks along with Ikik's Space Sumo. Security slingshots would emerge to shoot them, the Y-Nauts used yo-yos, they had to platform over giant yolks—come up with other Y-based puzzles while you're at it. They reached an audience chamber with a concert stage: Vice-Admiral Dump was on it, with Rear-Admiral Sudorg in front. Several soldiers had weapons trained on the intruders. "WHY have YOU invaded YONDER, YOU brats?!"
"We have word that thou has something we want." Ollar remarked.
"Wait!" Ikik said. "What if one of our friends was turned into a…a-a-a thing?! (Man, this is hard.)"
"Indeed. How might one disable this power, Vice-Admiral? It would be too troublesome to escort each last soldier out of here."
"If you wish to break my spell, you must battle me in song! We must sing an improv song, and neither of us must use the letter 'Y'!"
"What a weird Devil Fruit power." Ikik said.
"I accept thine challenge." Ollar agreed.
While Sudorg and the soldiers fought the girls, Ollar joined Dump on the stage. Dump began to rock an electric guitar and sing a lively song. "Come aboard the Twilight Train!"
"No! My mama's in pain!" Ollar sang, making up a verse that rhymed.
"Oh? Then I'll beat thou with a rake!"
"Not if I hit thou in the lake!"
"What kind of fricking song is this?!" Ikik shouted.
"(Just focus, Ikik! Beat these poopheads down!)"
"I will be the ONE who gets the winning GUN!"
"Not unless mah mama spanks its rusted bum!"
"That actually didn't count?!" Ikik questioned. "AAAAAAHH!" She turned into a Y-Naut.
"(Dammit, keep your comments to yourself—oops. …It didn't work? I guess it can't tell through my baby talk.)" Ydnew babbled.
"And I'll knock thou straight to Wonder Land, to get eaten to the MICE!" Dump sang.
"But first I'll drop to Under Land, to chow with Master WISEMAN!"
"Fing fang foom, wing wise woom, I don't care if he's a mushroom!"
"Pitiful pinhead, if thou were not a wimphead, thou'd know simple geometricalness."
"I'm gonna take a piss at the mathematicalness, 'cause thy art on mine kill list!"
"Please, just get off mine girlfriend, Lizz."
"I'll do thine Lizzy right in the-?!" The Y-Nauts flashed and changed back to normal. "WHAT?! Isn't Lizzy spelled with an 'ie'?!"
"I was thinking of a specific person." Ollar smirked. "Now, let's do this proper-like." He swarmed Dump with his books and sealed the weakened Y-Naut inside one.
Ydnew happily regrouped with Ikik and Lihp amongst the Y's. Most of the other victims were Toadstoolians, but a certain black-robed priestess was unmistakable. "SIPA?!"
"Watch out!" Sipa cast a stunning spell, the girls dodging. "The navy's controlling me! There's a chip in my-"
"We know all that!" Ikik warped her fists to pummel Sipa from multiple directions. "Don't worry, we'll get you to DNKG."
Ydnew knocked Sipa's dragon wand away with a Starburst, and the rats pinned her down enough for Ollar to catch her in a book. The group called Airam… and it seemed things were going as the Goddaughter predicted.
The Swimming Swede was assaulting the rocket. It destroyed its engines as Davy Jarg himself burst into the rocket. "Davy Jarg the Mecha Mind." Airam twisted in her seat. "Don't you have better things to do?"
"Jar har! Letting my crewmen have all the fun isn't fun at all. Besides, with all the action taking place on the planets, all I can do is ambush you fleshy fools as you fly between planets. And who better than the Goddaughter HERSELF?!"
Jarg willed the rocket to compress and entrap Airam. "You'll rule the Mushroom Mafia," he extended a claw, "as my puppet! Shall we invite your friends to jo-"
A bombshell penetrated the rocket. Jarg growled and phased through the metal, escaping before it combusted into nuclear gas. "MUSHU SHU SHU SHU!" Don Shrew arrived on her black and purple flagship. "Jargy, dear, if you're going to play with a neighbor's children, you ought to play nice."
"You blew up your own daughter, you wench!"
"Mushushu! Airam wouldn't die to that… will you?"
Airam blew herself out of the chunk of metal she was trapped in. Shrew's crewmen caught her with a net, pulling her onto the deck. "Pitiful girl. What would you have done if Mum wasn't around?"
"I woulda managed."
"NOT ANYMORE, you won't!" Shrew pulled a gun and shot her in the stomach. "I'm taking those Noble Gases and grounding you, young lady!"
She lunged to grab Airam, but Davy Jarg sent metal jags to push the Godmother away. The Swede blasted the Shroom with lasers, but the mafia flagship fired chemicals to make the metal ship rust. Jarg tried to grab Airam in metal ropes, only for her mother to catch him in toxic waste tentacles and throw him elsewhere. She grabbed Airam and tried to inject her fingernails, but Jarg bent the metal rope to choke the Godmother.
Her friends stole a Y-Naut ship and flew above the battle at a safe distance. Airam saw them in her weakened state and proceeded to burn off the net. She placed a book on its front and sat on the spine. "What do you think you're doing, young lady?" Shrew asked.
"Mom, can't we just discuss this like civilized people?"
"Our chance to be civilized was during the parley, girl-ah!" Jarg remarked.
"Just thought I'd ask. 'Guess I'll fly now." And with that, Airam LAUNCHED skyward! She put on an air helmet and flew straight up to her friends, using a wire to tug the book up with her. As it flapped open and closed, Shrew could make out her elder daughter, Esiuol, and her dimwitted expression.
"You'll not escape ME!" Jarg quickly summoned a jetpack and rocketed after her.
"Yeah, I've heard that a million times." As they neared the ship, Ydnew mustered her baby-size spacebending and stretched a portal to catch Airam, closing it afterward. Ikik stomped the gas, but Jarg was just able to catch it in his telekinetic grip. Don Shrew sent her own ships to shoot them down, Ikik desperately wrestling the controls. She felt the "weak points" in Jarg's grip and shook away from him, escaping just as the Toadstool ships let fire.
"Okay, it's one thing to predict Jarg would show up," Ikik said, "but how could you guess your mom would fly up here?!"
"Because I texted her. Still know her phone number, duh." Airam raised her phone, which read, Check it, Mom, I'm attackin' the navy base.
"Even if she's desperate to get you back, she must've known it was a trick."
"Or maybe she predicted Jarg to show up, too. Like my sister and I, the Emperors are magnets to each other. They're the primary targets in this war, so they'll take whatever opportunity they have to trash one of them. Let's see how the others are doing…"
Toadstool Manor
With Don Shrew away, the other Little Dads began to swarm the mansion. Eiwets was frantically bouncing against the soldatos in his tiny ball form and Eiggam waited for several guards to jump her before using the Blast Fruit. Atteirneh naturally took part in the raid, confronting Awful Oiram himself. Oiram unloaded a minigun, but Atteir held up a giant Venus and blasted Bullet Seeds. She then stretched a thick vine to grab and crush the minigun, but Oiram whipped out a saw gun to slice her Venus and the trunk vine. "Dammit, Igiul, why'd you have to go-a flirting with the tall lady?!" he yelled through a phone.
…
"I'm-a not flirting, stupido, I'm fighting this stupid centopiede!" Igiul's Chop-Chop power was ineffective on Tachyon, but even when Tachyon broke him into particles, Igiul was able to control his own pieces and repair himself. Igiul struck the Cragmite with Haki-imbued blades, with two extra ones in Igiul's heels. Tachyon would smother Igiul in the very matter of the room before going to recover his wife.
…
Atteir countered Oiram's sawblades with Razor Leaves, used giant mushrooms to bounce his mortars right back, and used water balloon bulbs to douse his flamethrower. Oiram shot electric balls around the ground, making them form an electric field, but Atteir stretched up on a vine and sprung herself out of the field.
In the basement, their new recruit, Amat stretched her mochi arms to punch the guards unconscious. "ARF ARF!" The Underchomp that once belonged to Toadsless charged at her, but Amat stretched herself high and leapt over it. She grabbed the Chomps' chain in her thick arms and whirled it directly into Sutsugua's cell door. After smashing it down, she tugged the beast away and ran inside. "Sutsugua! I'm here to save you!!"
"Amat?!" Sutsugua perked up as the obese Contemporan glomped him in a hug. "Wow, you… put on a few pounds."
"Your family fed me a magic fruit to help my condition! Don't worry, I'll have us out in a jiffy!"
"Make sure we spare time for my friend there!"
Atteir's mushroom shields were pierced by Oiram's Missile Drills, some grazing her before she swat them away. She forced vines down his throat and nostrils and willed flowers to grow, but Oiram poured a potion over the vines to make them decay. He whipped out a shock rod and electrified Atteir, the woman sinking to her knees. But Eiggam glomped Oiram from behind and Blasted him away, the woman falling from the aftershock. Atteir smiled, seeing Amat dragging Sutsugua's weakened frame, along with that of Reswob, Jr.. "Our business is concluded, Mr. Oiram." Atteir smirked, stretching herself up.
"Like HELL I'm-a let you get aw-"
Atteir willed the spores she planted to grow into sticky mushrooms, binding Oiram to the wall. She slammed a bramble directly at his crotch before escaping with her family.
Dolphin Pirates
"Heads up, team!" Xedni alerted. "We have a nice fleet heading our way."
They were squid ships owned by the Washlings… and the flagship resembled a long eel with Captain Mollusk's figurehead. The consigliere himself must be here. The ops were about to take evasive maneuvers… until they saw what ammo it was firing. "?!?" They were Washlings bubbling with boiling suds! "AAAAAHH!" a girl one screamed, the pain unbearable. They crashed on the deck of the Dolphin, running to grab Xedni in a hug. Xedni screamed from the heat, but Asigan pulled them off with Water Whips.
Oemor recognized the sizzling form of Mauqs. He summoned Chef Pancake, a chubby pancake monster in chef's attire, to wrestle with Mauqs, his body turning a crispy brown. "He killed my sister!" Mauqs yelled. "Because we let you escape, he killed Abatiuqs! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The horrific sight still flashed in his mind: Captain Mollusk grabbing Abatiuqs' head and squashing it like a balloon. Her suds splurted over her brother's face, Mauqs at a loss for breath. "And then that stupid Eillac had to go and confess! She was harboring you all along, that fucking traitor! Because of that, he made us take these DRUGS!"
"YOU!! DNK OPERATIVES!" Mollusk bellowed, raising a battered Eillac's body by the head. "This shrimp of a granddaughter helped you, right?! Aren't you gonna return the FAVOR?!"
"STOP IT!" Eillac cried. "STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!"
"What kind of drugs did he give you?!" Asigan asked, trying to douse them to no avail.
"Sizzle Suds! Our bubble pores are boiling! It hurts!"
"That horrible…!" Asigan dove into the sea.
"Hey, where you going?!" Anaigrom yelled.
Asigan swam bravely to the Rusty Eel, Captain Mollusk looking curiously at the incoming figure. "EYAH!" She launched out with a Water Drill and RAMMED Mollusk directly, shoving the muscular Washling into the ocean. She then levitated above the water with a cyclone. Mollusk's head emerged from the surface, glaring in his eel form. "How could you treat your own crewmen as weapons?! How could you be so cruel?!"
"These Washlings are pincushions, that's why! Same with most of these useless soldatos! How many hundreds of chowder have you roasted already? How many useless crewmen did you plow through? If they're going to be fodder, we might as well use them as such."
"I won't stand for that! These guys may be my enemies, but no one deserves that kind of treatment!"
"Do something about it, sweetfish!" (Music: "Pufftoss Battle" from DK64!)
Asigan engaged Mollusk in the ocean. Her nimble, dolphin-like speed was a contrast against the strong, hefty conger. She bent the currents around her to thrust against the eel, but had a difficult time damaging his thickness. Asigan then considered going for the tail, seeming like his weak point. Asigan swam lower underwater; there was a reef nearby. Asigan began to conjure ice rings with chains linked to the reef, catching Mollusk and slowing him down. She could swim behind and deal Water Slice attacks to the tail. Naturally, he stopped falling for this trick, but Asigan would steam and bubble the water to confuse him, allowing her to sneak attacks on the tail.
Mollusk decided to attach a spikeball to his tail, and Asigan already knew it had poison. Luckily, the ball slowed him down even more, her dolphin flexes dodging his Eel Thrusts. Mollusk began to spin around and attempt to whack her with the ball, but Asigan bent the currents so that his own spiked tail would bent right into him. "OOG! Mroo hoo hoo hoo! I think this drug suits me quite well!" Asigan gasped (not really) as Mollusk's suds started boiling. He started belching bubbles at Asigan, some of them singing her skin. She tried chilling the water to mitigate the heat, but still took lighter damage. Mollusk then rammed Asigan against the reef, pressing her stomach as air pumped out of her lungs.
Desperate to escape, Asigan kicked on Dolphin Fury, shooting out of his grasp and up to the surface to replenish herself. The water shone a brighter blue around her, forming the shapes of a dolphin's tail, backfin, and snout. Asigan swam faster and returned underwater. With the flips of her "tail," she bent stronger currents to whack Mollusk without touching his heated form. She swiftly zipped around him, conjured quick icicles, and darted them into his flesh. His suds mitigated the damage by melting the ice, though his Sizzle Suds made the light wounds hurt more.
Asigan began to swim circles around the eel, bending the currents so the bubbles would stay around his body. She pressed the bubbles closer, preventing more from even leaving his body, the pirate grumbling in pain. His tail flicked a lever inside the spikeball, causing the spikes to shoot out. One of them pricked Asigan: her own insides began to heat up. Since she couldn't produce bubbles, warts began to swell on her. Her anger grew, the water around her boiled, and she swam faster. Asigan began to ram Mollusk from below, swim away, and ram again from multiple angles. Over and over and over until she splashed him right out of the surface. And even then, she swam in the air with a flying current, pushing Mollusk even higher. Flying several meters into the air, Asigan then wrapped him up in that floating stream and spun him toward the ocean. They picked up speed from the fall, and Asigan even bent apart the water they fell through. Captain Mollusk crashed headfirst against the reef, knocking the pirate out cold.
Asigan passed out from exhaust. Anaigrom swam underwater to grab and pull her back to the ship. During the battle, Aullik had gone surfing to push the enemy ships into each other, but since the crewmen were Loan Sharks and other water-types, they swam to attack the ship directly, with Aullik struggling to wave them away. However, Eillac was able to convince her cousin and the Washlings to rebel, with Xedni promising the DNK could treat their conditions. They helped fight off the other pirates, and by the time Asigan was brought back, DNK backup had arrived from the Merman Division.
The merkids would swim down and arrest Captain Mollusk, while the Dolphin Pirates set a flight back to H.Q.. "Aullik, I think there's water in her lungs!" Oemor said. "You have to bend it out!"
"Uh…but… where is it?"
"IN HER LUNGS! Her neck, chest, I don't know, just… focus chi in those areas and-"
"Forget it, I called one of the merkids over!" Xedni yelled. A mermaid arrived just in time to bend water out of Asigan, the girl coughing.
"Asigan! Are you okay?!" Oemor ran to his crush's head.
"Don't touch me!" she gasped. "I'm really hot… you could get burned…huff…"
"I can't believe… you beat… Captain Mollusk…" Mauqs panted, weakened on the deck. "You beat him… just for us?"
"Our leader's just too damn nice!" Anaigrom grinned. "You guys seriously owe her!"
"Actually… I think we owe them first." Oemor reasoned. "I'm really sorry… about your sister. I knew that captain was mean, but I didn't think he would be so cruel to you guys."
"That's exactly why I couldn't let him find Oemor." Eillac said. "Such an innocent boy didn't deserve all this abuse…"
"Th…th…thank you."
The friends returned to H.Q. in relative safety. But Aullik retired to the cabin, his head hung in guilt.