"Ladies and gentlemen, the final round of the Sunshine Town Solo Tournament!"
The announcer stood in the center of the arena, where spotlights made a perfect 'X' of his shadows. Dressed in a black and white suit, holding a staff in his right hand, he looked like a dictionary example of the word 'official'.
He raised his left hand. "The defending champion, Chief Breeder Larissa, has held the title against challengers over the past five monthly Tournaments, defeating even our very own Chief Gym Trainer Dylan last quarter!"
Cheers and claps rose as Larissa, wearing her red uniform as always, stepped forward into a spotlight beside a huge blue beetle. A Stag Beetle, Colin remembered.
The announcer raised his right hand. "But the challenger of this quarter's Solo Tournament comes from the north, where her Comrades' strengths were forged in battles over hot sands and harsh winds. She has defeated everyone who stood in her way tonight, and now she stands at the apex of the Tournament. Ladies and gentlemen, the lady Scarlet!"
More cheering and clapping sounded as Scarlet walked out with what looked like a walking mass of red creeper vines.
"Enough talking. What are we waiting for?" The announcer turned abruptly. "Let the battle… BEGIN!"
Larissa moved first. "Quartz! Diamond Dust!"
Scarlet responded. "Nettles! Dodge and close in!"
Nettles swung aside, and Quartz's stream of Diamond Dust slammed into the ground where she had stood. Colin and Satrox, sitting in the audience, could feel the whole place shaking at the impact.
"Wow. I'm kinda glad we arrived too late to join." Colin said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't last a minute against either of those two."
"You won't have to." Satrox told him. "Those two are fighting for the Champion title. If you joined, you'd be fighting for the 'Top Yellow Badge' title."
"And you?" Colin asked, looking at him sideways. "What would you have been competing for?"
"Since I gave my brother almost all my Comrades?" Satrox shrugged. "I'm back down to yellow badge. I would have been competing with you."
"Seize Closure!" Scarlet called out to her Comrade.
"Avoid it!" Larissa shouted, but her stag beetle barely managed one step before Nettles wrapped herself all around Quartz.
Larissa growled. "Iron Aura!"
Blue light glowed from her Stag Beetle, shoving Nettles back, but Nettles hung on.
"Poison Ivy!" Scarlet ordered.
Nettles smeared purple liquid from her leaves. Quartz struggled to break free, but even as they watched, the beetle's struggles grew weaker.
"Full Tilt Charge!" Larissa called again.
Quartz lowered its head and tried to run forward, but only managed two halting steps.
"Iron Maiden!" Scarlet instructed.
Huge thorns sprouted out all over Nettles, and the vines that made up her body suddenly closed in with crushing strength. Quartz's blue aura wavered, then disappeared altogether.
"Enough!" Larissa barked. "I forfeit!"
"Larissa forfeits!" the announcer shouted. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Lady Scarlet, our new Solo Tournament Champion!"
The audience roared with applause.
Colin sighed. "You know, after she destroyed Hot Sands Village like that, I sort of wanted to see her lose."
"Aren't you more interested in finding May? You were seriously worried that Scarlet kidnapped her." Satrox told him softly.
"That too." Colin agreed. "We should follow her."
"Not tonight." Satrox shook his head. "She'll be busy here for hours. Tonight, we let your Comrades rest.
"Tomorrow, we begin Operation: Rescue May."
***
For want of a place to talk and to drop off some things Katrin asked for, Colin brought Satrox to Edward's Farm.
"Colin! You look terrible!" Katrin gasped as they arrived.
She was right, he figured. Just looking down at himself was enough. His brown vest and striped shorts were slightly damp, very badly rumpled, covered with loose sand, mud and splinters. Even the white t-shirt he wore inside his vest was covered with sand.
"I was almost drowned when Hot Sands Village was destroyed, remember?" Colin said shortly. "And we took the Desert Road back."
"Did you join the Tournament?" Katrin asked.
Colin looked at her, observed her wide green eyes and rich black hair, and her serious expression. "We didn't make it back in time. We only watched the last match."
"Pity." Katrin said. "I bet Shiro would have done brilliantly."
"He's too tired." Colin told her.
"Who's this?" Katrin asked next, nodding to Satrox.
"This?" Colin barked a laugh. "This is Satrox."
"{You're} Satrox?" Katrin blinked. She noted everything blue about him; blue hair, blue eyes, blue t-shirt, blue jeans, blue shoes… everything. "You don't look anything like your brother, Henry."
"He follows dad's looks. I follow mom's." Satrox explained. "How have you heard of me?"
"Colin called me earlier and told me what happened with the Village, and Henry and everything." Katrin said. "You two look tired. You should rest."
"It's been a long trip." Satrox agreed.
"Here." Colin handed Katrin a pouch. "The Sweetlily Seedlings you asked for."
"Thanks, Colin." Katrin smiled. "Did you happen to meet a Cactopus?"
"A few." Colin nodded. "We brought one back for you."
He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small, thornless cactus in a humanoid shape. "Cacto. Wake up."
The little cactus straightened into a short stalk and two little arms. Colin nudged it, making it stand on its feet.
The baby Cactopus didn't like it. It put out its thorns, needle thin and tiny but sharp as they could possibly be. Colin was ready for it though, and had pulled his finger back to safety in time.
"I didn't know they started out so small." Katrin leaned close. "Hello, little fella. How are you?"
The Cactopus seemed to like her. It pulled back its thorns and made a polite bow.
"I'm glad it likes you, at least." Colin said. "Just as well that you're the one bonding it, not me."
The Cactopus seemed to agree with what Colin said. It went over and sat down on Katrin's hand.
"Well, Cacto, I hope you like farm work." Katrin said, smiling at it.
"What does Cactus have to do with farm work, anyway?" Colin asked, frowning.
"Cactopi have a huge ability to store water." Satrox told him. "And besides, I think they make great scarecrows."
A scarecrow that shot thorns at any birds that tried to eat the crops. Colin understood immediately.
Katrin also put a pouch in Colin's hands.
"What's this?" Colin blinked.
"Payment. For the seeds and the Cactopus." Katrin said. "Plus delivery."
200 Clira. Colin whistled. "Kat, this really isn't…"
"You need it." Katrin cut him off. "I'm going to keep asking you for more and more things, and you may have to buy some of it."
"Uh…" Colin trailed off. "All right."
She was right. He did need the money. He'd thrown away most of his items to escape drowning when Hot Sands Village was flooded.
Not to mention that he owed Rita 1000cr. It wasn't really his fault that he was mistaken for a customer, but he did receive the benefits of the service.
In any case, he needed to earn more money. "Do we still have Lynxmice to catch in the barns?"
Katrin laughed. "We do, Colin, but I don't think Larissa's going to buy any for now. They have too many already."
"Larissa…" Colin trailed off. "Kat, did you know she was the Sunshine Town Solo Tournament Champion?"
"She was?" Katrin blinked.
"Was." Satrox emphasized. "Lady Scarlet just beat her in a formal match."
"Scarlet…" Katrin's eyes widened. "Isn't she the one who destroyed Hot Sands and kidnapped May?"
"That's her." Satrox agreed. "We're going to try and track her tomorrow, see if we can get May back."
"How?" Katrin asked.
"She's already taken the Sunshine Solo Champion title." Satrox mused. "I think she'll stay around to grab a few more titles in this area. The Duos Tournament tomorrow, for example, or the Squad Tournament the night after. Riverside's running another Solo Tournament next week."
"So we just wait for her tomorrow and follow her back to wherever she keeps May…" Colin began.
Satrox shook his head. "I might have tried that with my army of Comrades, but that's not a good idea now. Think, Colin. As we are now, both of us together won't be able to take on Scarlet. She'd kill us both."
"Couldn't we sneak in and get May out before she knows we're on to her?" Colin asked.
"We could… if she doesn't leave her Comrades to guard May." Satrox sighed. "Colin, Nettles isn't the strongest Comrade she has."
"I know." Colin winced. "I saw Infernos too."
"Then you know how strong her Comrades are." Satrox said. "Just one of them would be too much for all the Comrades on this Farm to handle. We need to prepare."
"And how long would we take to prepare?" Colin asked.
"If all goes well, two nights." Satrox answered.
Colin stared. "Can we really grow that strong so quickly?!"
Satrox sighed. "Colin, you weren't thinking we'd do this all on our own, were you?"
Colin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We can call in some help." Satrox answered.
Colin snapped his fingers. "Henry has your army! He can bring them…"
Satrox shook his head. "Colin, I gave bonded Comrades to Henry. They're all feeling bad right now. Think of Raiki."
Colin stopped cold. Raiki had been given to him last night. Until now, she was still too upset to fight properly. "How long would they take to recover?"
Satrox shook his head. "I've seen recoveries as quick as one night and as long as one month."
{One month?!} Colin shook his head. "We can't count on Henry, then. But surely you have friends?"
Satrox smiled. "We could ask Michi; she's the nearest of my friends. But I have a better idea."
"What?" Colin asked.
"We call in the knights."
***
Satrox made a call. It was picked up in moments.
"This is the Justice Knights Hotline. We right wrongs and fight evil in the name of righteousness and…"
"Abby, this is Satrox." Satrox cut in.
"Troxy!" Abby laughed. "It's been a while! Are you looking for work?"
"Quite the opposite. I'm a yellow badge now, and I've got a kidnapping to report."
"Yellow badge? You gave away all your Comrades again?! Troxy, you {promised} you wouldn't do that any more!"
"I didn't!" Satrox protested. "I kept one!"
"One?!" Abby sighed. "Oh well. That's an improvement, at least. What's this about a kidnapping?"
"It's Lady Scarlet. She's grabbed May."
"The Scarlet Scandal?!" Abby coughed. "Troxy, we got a dozen reports saying she destroyed Hot Sands!"
"That, and kidnapped May." Satrox replied. "We know where she is."
Abby fell silent for a moment. Then, she said, "Troxy, we're reading your signal from Sunshine Town area."
"Scarlet just won the Sunshine Town Solo Tournament." Satrox explained. "I'll give you one guess as to what she's going to do next."
"Knowing her, she's going to try for the Duos and Squad Championships too." Abby agreed. "Wanna nab her?"
"Of course." Satrox answered. "Anyone good in the area?"
"I'm afraid not." Abby sighed. "Troxy, we've been really busy these days. The Gardener just surfaced on the Eternal Winter Continent, and we had rumors of the Drama Queen lurking around the Uber Marshes. The chaos over the Lamico Continent just blew up four nights ago and the Scopic Pirates have been getting more aggressive around Port Frichi. The only knights we have around your area are Greens."
"Greens?!" Satrox groaned. "Abby, they're barely more than snatchthief-catchers! They can't handle the likes of Scarlet!"
"I know. But with your guidance, perhaps…"
"Guidance from a yellow badge. Right. That'll work." Satrox said sarcastically.
"Foxtrot and Maggie are at Lynn Airport. They know who you are…"
"Foxtrot wouldn't know Scarlet if she waved a banner in his face and Maggie would be eaten for supper." Satrox stated. "I'd rather rely on Colin than either of them."
"Who's Colin?" Abby wanted to know.
"Someone I met in Hot Sands. Friend of Michi's. He's bonded M-5." Satrox explained. "Came all the way to Hot Sands to tell me that my brother was taken."
"Ah. The Green Men Incident." Abby drew a deep breath. "Have you any idea who those Green Men were?"
"No, and I haven't found anyone who knows. Henry still hasn't been able to remember a thing." Satrox replied.
Colin winced. He'd been asking around too.
"But this Colin… He's Traveling with one of Michi's Breedings?!" Abby was astonished. "And it listens to him?"
"That's a long story." Satrox answered. "But M-5 seems to be a Command-type. Maybe that makes a difference."
"Well, wonders never cease." Abby sighed. "Maybe he can help us clean up Michi's earlier messes."
"Maybe." Satrox said. "He's still yellow-badge, though, so I can't recruit him into the Knights just yet."
"Let me know when he reaches Green. I want to see him and that M-5 for myself." Abby said. "Are you sure you don't want Foxtrot and Maggie around for backup, just in case?"
"I'm sure." Satrox said firmly. "The knights need to maintain some presence at the airport. Take care, Abby."
"And you, Troxy." Abby replied, and cut the connection.
***
Nobody said anything for about half a minute.
Colin took that time to consider what he'd just heard.
These Justice Knights sounded like police. They chased bad guys like Scarlet. Satrox seemed to either be a member, or an old friend of those knights. They knew Michi too.
However, they were too busy to be of much help, and Satrox preferred to do this alone with Colin.
"If you need help…" Katrin began.
"We do." Satrox said. "But not you. You're not ready."
"Ready for what?" Colin asked.
Satrox shook his head. "Never mind. Get some rest for tonight, Colin, and remember what I told you on the way here. I'm going to ask Larissa to join us."
"Larissa…" Colin trailed off. "Good idea. Take care, Satrox."
"You too." Satrox said, and left the Farm.