"This is your 'team'?" Abby asked Satrox flatly.
"What's wrong?" Satrox asked.
"One Purple Badge, a Blue, and a Yellow." Abby poked him. "I thought you'd bring three Reds at least."
Colin glanced around. Other than Colin himself, Satrox brought Henry and Rita.
"Henry's my brother." Satrox shrugged. "And he was talking to Rita. Besides, I'd like to keep an eye on those who had been targeted by the Green Men."
"I see." Abby frowned. "Well, you said you'd go with one of the other Seven Champions. The only ones not already fighting somewhere are Kishin and Zoe, and Kishin didn't give me a reply. Zoe's waiting for you at the Forest Outpost, halfway between Forest Village and Riverside."
{The Forest…} Colin thought of it and wished he could go in again. But he had to avoid risks. {If any of my Comrades die even once, I'm leaving him or her out of any other battles the rest of the night… just in case. Well, except for Junrei.}
Colin stood at the Forward Command Coordinators' Tent with four cubs and a hatchling and had to wonder if he should just skip the war and stick with fighting easy Wilds on the roadsides for now.
{But Satrox isn't letting me out of his sight, and pulling one of the Seven Champions away from the war is just too selfish.}
Colin darted a glance at his Comrades. Shiro sorted them into two squads; Sonia and Junrei were on the ground, while Shiro and Raiki were on Kirin's back.
{Kirin and Raiki were a good pair for long-range fire support from the air. Shiro flying with them means he's joining the support squad. I guess he wants to save his stamina; it's going to be a long night.}
{Sonia's a command-type direct front-line fighter. She and Junrei are both wolves with Pack Instinct traits. It only makes sense to put Junrei with her. They'll be on the ground.}
"Everyone ready?" Satrox turned to Colin and Colin realized that he had finished his conversation with Abby.
"Set." Rita replied.
Colin and Henry nodded.
"Then let's go."
***
Colin had half-expected to fly to the Desert Outpost, but Rita bringing along all her Comrades made it impossible. She had an army now, mainly a mix of bugs and plants ranging from Arachnids to Venuspots. There were only three exceptions; a Helibook, a Flatgator, and a Zebra Seal, just like the ones Colin saw at Red Valley Comrade Home earlier today. Those, he guessed, had been given to her by the Green Men as an apology.
Henry, however, brought only Razorwing, the Razorhawk that the Green Men had given to him as a gift in apology.
"You're not bringing the rest?" Colin stared.
"No need. I can Warp them in any time." Henry said.
"It's a Purple Badge power." Satrox explained.
Colin stared. "So that's how people just call Comrades and have them appear out of nowhere!"
"Exactly."
Colin tapped Satrox on the shoulder and whispered. "Hey… shouldn't Rita focus on a theme?"
"She should." Satrox agreed.
"But she's got a mix of bugs and plants, not to mention the book, gator and seal."
"I've already told her about themes. She seems to think it doesn't matter. Apparently those three odd ones out are so strong, they're worth keeping around." Satrox snorted. "She'll find out the hard way tonight."
They made their way around Sunshine Town, cutting across the ruins of what used to be another farm opposite Edward's. Colin saw fierce battles raging around the wreckage of the Comrade Home and gulped. "Are those…?"
"The Comrade Home was bombed." Satrox said. "A lot of Tames were killed multiple times. Larissa managed to get half of them to safety, but the rest went Frenzied. That's why we're having so much trouble. The Green Men did what they could to cause the most damage possible just before they left. It's the same for all the towns except Granath. Bovis was the worst."
"Why?"
"Bovis was the center of our dairy industry." Satrox said. "It was surrounded by animal farms specializing in cow-type Comrades. Most of our milk and cheese and such came from there. It's where the monthly Baking Contests are held."
Colin frowned. "Why was it hit harder?"
"Cow-types, Colin." Satrox said. "Entire herds of cattle went Frenzied around the town. The cattle ranches are gone. Have you seen the price of butter lately?"
From above, Satrox's Snowy Owl hooted a warning. Satrox glanced up, then glanced north. "Something's coming. I think a Frenzied got past our barricades."
They all saw it soon enough. Colin gulped. "That's…"
"A Rhinotle." Satrox growled.
Colin sort of recognized it. He'd seen it in the Comrade Home the first night he set foot on Nakama World. The difference was, this time, the thing was twenty feet tall and charging around with an aura of fire.
"A Rhinotle using fire? Since when?" Henry blurted.
"It's a Frenzied! Who knows what it can use?" Satrox climbed onto Noble. "Colin! Get on!"
They took to the air as their Comrades faced the oncoming threat. Henry was summoning five Comrades while Rita turned her entire army to throw everything they had at it.
"Dynast!" Satrox called to his Albatross. "Pick Rita up!"
"Huh?" Colin blinked.
"You'll see." Satrox said grimly.
The Rhinotle turned and charged towards Rita. All her bugs, all her plants, and all their attacks vanished once they came into contact with that aura of fire. Rita herself was letting out a yelp before Dynast snatched her up and away.
"My Comrades!" Rita gasped as Dynast brought her up beside Satrox and Colin.
Rita's entire army was gone. Not even her Flatgator or her Zebra Seal survived.
But from above, the sound of propellers sounded. Colin glanced up to see the Helibook still hovering around Rita.
"Oh. That's right. I put him on guard mode." Rita said.
"That's your only survivor. Better be careful with him." Satrox advised.
Colin glanced down. "Sonia…? Junrei?"
"Yip." Shiro said, sitting next to Raiki on Kirin's back. He nodded towards one side.
Sonia and Junrei were hunkered down in the bushes, watching the Rhinotle, but making absolutely no move to attack it directly.
{Good. Attacking it directly is suicide.} "Shiro!"
"Yip!" Shiro answered. He turned to Kirin. "Yiyip!"
Kirin flew downward, Shiro and Raiki on her back. Colin saw Raiki already forming a Sonic Barrage. Shiro sent a Hypersonic Bolt smashing into the Rhinotle's aura.
Meanwhile, the Rhinotle was chasing Henry around a tree. Henry was calling more and more Lynxmice to attack the thing, but things weren't going very well.
"Wraith." Satrox called his black Lynxmouse. "Charge up your Grave Beam. Jasper! Ruby!"
Satrox's new Comrades, the two Crimson Condors from Red Valley Comrade Home, appeared before him.
"Get Henry out of there. Bring him here." Satrox said.
"You're not going to ask them to attack the Rhinotle?" Colin asked.
"They're strong with fire attacks. What's the point of using those against a fire aura?"
"I see." Colin frowned.
Satrox turned to the Snowy Owl above. "Frost! Ice Javelin on the Rhinotle! Keep attacking until it falls."
"Hoo hoo." Frost swooped down to join the battle.
Shiro and Raiki were doing great. Their sonic attacks went right past the fire aura as if it wasn't there. Kirin was hitting the Rhinotle with thin streams of electric power, three at the same time.
The Rhinotle turned and sent out a wave of sand towards them. Colin gasped. {Oh scrap!}
But Raiki was quicker. She countered the sand wave with a sonic wave and the two crashed together. Loose sand dropped to the ground harmlessly, half-burying one of Henry's Lynxmice.
"MWEEK!" the lynxmouse protested.
Jasper and Ruby pulled Henry to the sky, hovering beside Dynast and Rita as Satrox took Noble down lower, about as high as Kirin. "Wraith! Fire the Graviton Beam!"
What appeared was like a line of distortion, or a ripple of shadow. Light itself seemed to get drawn into that beam as it lanced out from Wraith and hit the Rhinotle.
{The Fire Aura isn't going to stop THAT. Sound and gravity passes right through fire.}
But the Rhinotle had more than just the aura for protection. It had thick skin too. It was also stamping on the ground and each stamp resulted in waves of sand moving out at shocking speeds. Attacks of some sort, Colin guessed. Henry's Lynxmice were doing their best to avoid them, but they kept getting hit.
"One Grave Beam isn't enough…" Satrox muttered. "It's great against stone or metal, but skin can stretch. Wraith! Charge up another! Aim at the head! Hit the bone!"
The Rhinotle charged at the Lynxmice, ignoring the air attacks for now. Its first charge wiped out half of them at once. They scattered, but it hunted them down one by one, trampling them underfoot.
"Withdraw!" Henry called from above. "Get back!"
They were still dodging and blasting at it when a lady with beige hair arrived. "Satrox!" she called.
"Sandy! Is this one of your targets?" he asked.
"Yes! Sorry!" Sandy replied. She touched her badge. "Lithon!"
Out from nowhere a huge golem appeared, like a broad wrestler made of solid rock, taller than the Rhinotle. Sandy commanded it. "Provoke the Rhinotle!"
"That's it." Satrox said. "She'll take it from there. Everyone, we're moving on to Desert Outpost."
Shiro barked at Kirin, and she swooped down to pick up Sonia and Junrei.
{Good thing they're all cubs…} Colin realized. {Kirin can carry all four of them on her back.}
"What about my Lynxmice?" Henry asked. "There are two survivors!"
"Frost!" Satrox called to his Snowy Owl. "Can you get them? Don't eat them!"
Frost laughed. "Hoo hoo!"
Rita sighed. "There goes most of our Comrades."
"We managed to stop the Rhinotle long enough for Sandy to arrive. That's pretty good in itself." Satrox said.
{Besides, now there's so few of us, we can FLY to the outpost instead of walking all the way.} Colin thought privately, but didn't say it out loud. Especially not in front of Rita.
"Yep." Satrox said to himself. "I'm definitely sticking to flying Comrades."
***
Zoe turned out to be a mysterious older girl who wore a dark green cloak with the hood up all the time. "Satrox of the Ancient Ways. How are the Comrades I gave you?"
"They're doing great." Satrox said. "Thank you."
"They're still not much compared to what you gave me, but I'm glad they're of help. I see you've found new Comrades. Crimson Condors?"
"I'm focusing on feathered flight." Satrox explained. "How's the situation here?"
"Not bad." Zoe said. "I'm able to sit around organizing my squads while waiting for you. How bad do you think it is?"
"Sounds like you don't really need us here at all." Satrox mused. "How is that possible? Everywhere else, J-Knights are in panic mode."
"It's the Forest Princess." Zoe explained. "She came east with me. We kicked the Green Men out of Riverside before they could do more than damage the Comrade Home. She's been here ever since. Riverside is almost cleaned out."
"The Forest Princess…?" Colin mused. "She sounds like someone incredibly powerful."
"She is." Satrox said. "Sounds to me like we came to the right place. This has to be the easiest battle zone of all."
"No doubt. We've already taken down the tougher Frenzieds." Zoe said. "But I'll stick with you guys. Abby told me about the risk you're running."
"Hey, if I'm such a danger…" Colin began.
"Stop that." Zoe told him. "You're stuck with your Comrades. Nobody else has ever been able to win the loyalty of Michi's breedings. It's your task alone to find the other three. And don't even think of Transferring your Comrades away. Canine Loyalty is not something to be trifled with. Shiro's going to desert any Dreamer you transfer him to, and then we'll have a problem that {nobody} can solve."
"What does this have to do with…"
"Get used to it." Zoe cut in. "The danger. The risk. Get used to it and learn how to deal with it."
"But if I…"
"No." Zoe cut in. "They are meant to Travel. They are bred for battle. To limit them to mere playing is cruel. They deserve the fullness of the experiences they were born for."
{Zoe,} Colin thought to himself, {seems to know what I'm about to say even before I say it. It's almost scary.}
"Hey, Zoe…" Rita began.
"Forget it. I like my hood." Zoe said, and turned away.
Rita gulped.
{Okay, it IS scary.}
"What about Foxtrot?" Satrox asked Zoe. "I'm supposed to meet him here too."
"Foxtrot's having a bit of a negotiation." Zoe said, nodding over to a tall round tent. "He saw a Kitsune for sale."
"What's a Kitsune?" Henry asked.
"A two-tailed Fox." Rita said. "You know, the…"
Colin tuned out Rita's long explanation on two-tailed foxes and went over with Satrox to see how Foxtrot was doing. Satrox sounded surprised when he spoke to Zoe. "Someone's actually selling Comrades here?"
"Aoi, actually. She's selling off the Tames from Riverside Comrade Home."
{Great. I should have waited to get here before buying another Comrade. Too late, now.} Colin heaved a heartfelt sigh. {I shouldn't have been so quick to buy.}
By the time they entered that big round tent, Aoi had Foxtrot sweating. They seemed to have concluded their deal.
"Hey, Colin." Aoi smiled, recognizing him. "Sorry we can't offer you any missions today. As you can see, the Comrade Home is under repair."
Colin had been taking missions around Sunshine and Riverside towns lately. Many of them included bringing something to or from Riverside Comrade Home.
"It's okay, Aoi. I'm just checking on Foxtrot here." Colin told her.
"Who are your friends?" Aoi asked.
"This is Satrox." Colin introduced them. "And Zoe."
Aoi's eyes went wide. "S-Satrox and Z-Z-Zoe?!"
"Nice to meet you." Satrox shook her hand.
"Likewise." Zoe added.
"Uh… haha… very, very nice to meet you both…" Aoi said shakily. "What can I do for you?"
"Like he said. We're just checking to see what's taking Foxtrot so long." Satrox mentioned.
"Jig's up, Troxy-man. Gimme another eight-counts, and we can waltz on out." Foxtrot said, making a pose with one hand on his waist, tipping his hat downwards with the other, nearly knocking his sunglasses off.
"Tell me again… {why} are we bringing him?" Zoe asked softly.
"Something about showing him what a battle's really like." Satrox said. "We can't have him babysitting the Airport forever. Maintaining a presence is all very well, but what's he going to do if something really does happen?"
"Call for help and run for cover." Zoe figured.
Colin very carefully refused to look at the Comrades for sale in that big tent. {I can't spend any more. I need to save the last of my money for Comrade food.}
At least he spent on something useful like Junrei. It would have been worse to spend on something completely useless.
"Let's go." Satrox said.