The trio of idiots stood in an enormous backyard of some random person's home. However, this wasn't your typical backyard; it was more like a miniature jungle instead. Exotic trees had grown everywhere; some had bioluminescent, blue leaves while others were clear as plastic. Moreover, every flora that grew here were all alien to planet Earth.
"You're in quite the predicament, miss," Arlo stroked his chin as he circled a large plant.
The plant was nearly two times the size of an average human. It had four red petals with a large head in the middle. The head had the shape of an egg with a huge mouth on top. It had yellow skin with green polka-dots all over as well.
Strangely enough, there was a woman halfway through its mouth with her legs flailing wildly. She was stuck upside down with her white skirt flipped over, and her stripe panties were revealed for the whole world to see. The girl was helpless as the carnivorous plant slowly devoured her.
"How the hell did ya get yourself swallowed up, missy?" Rocky asked. He was genuinely confused by the whole situation.
"It's Lola!" The woman yelled through the plant. "Can you please get me out of here! My butt is getting itchy, and I can't scatch it!"
Goomy cackled with laughter, "She's as sharp as a marble."
"Quit laughing at me!"
Arlo sighed, "Alright, let's see what I can do."
Arlo grabbed ahold of Lola's legs, but he couldn't avert his eyes away from her exposed panties and wanted to take a closer look at them. Slowly but surely, Arlo leaned his head closer as his chest heaved from excitement.
"I can tell that you're staring at them, by the way," Lola angrily said. She suddenly kicked Arlo across the face.
"Ow!" Arlo rubbed his face, "You dare to accuse me of such atrocious acts!"
"Quit lying, pervert!"
"Blah, whatever. Just help me pull her out, guys,"
Rocky and Goomy got behind Arlo, and the three of them began pulling Lola out. Veins protruded from their foreheads as their feet slowly sunk into the dirt. The carnivorous plant wouldn't let Lola go. It was like trying to move an immovable object.
"Come on, ya weaklings! Pull harder!" Rocky shouted.
"Eeek~!" Lola squealed. "Not too rough, guys!"
"Stop making it sound weird!" Goomy yelled through his teeth.
After an intense tug-o-war, the plant finally let go of her. Everyone screamed as they fell to the ground. They moaned in pain while rubbing their aching body.
"Ew... gross!" Lola wiped the slime from her body. "Now I'll need an extra long shower."
Lola's hair was as orange as the sunset sky, and her eyes were like beautiful sapphires. On her back were four crystal clear wings that rapidly fluttered. They looked nearly identical to a dragonfly's wings. Lola resembled a child due to her short stature, and she was almost half the size of Rocky. Lola was from the race of Fairies which were rumored to have incredible magic power. Besides magic, fairies were also skilled in herbalism, and they can concoct incredible tonics. In European folklore, they were thought to be spirits or elementals.
"You're a fairy?!" Arlo asked in shock.
Lola had her hands on her waist, "The one and only!"
"Ugh, fairies," Goomy said in disgust. "I heard they spread all sorts of diseases."
"No, we don't, you ugly goblin!" Lola gnashed her teeth. She wanted to bash Goomy's head in for insulting her kind.
Rocky raised an eyebrow, "Don't fairies or whatever have cool magic powers or somethin'? Shouldn't ya easily escape by yourself?"
"I do but that's no ordinary plant; it's known as Astrebore. It was able to absorb my mana, and I couldn't fight back without magic." Lola shuddered as she continued to remove the slime from her body.
"Welp!" Arlo stretched his back. "I guess we're done here. That'll be 200 bucks for wasting our time."
"What!" Lola's eyes widened. "I thought Hunters were supposed to be heroes who save people!
"Some people gotta make a living here," Arlo shrugged his shoulders.
"You greedy conman, you should be-" Lola stopped speaking when the earth suddenly rumbled beneath her foot. She nearly lost her footing as she tried to maintain her balance.
"An earthquake?!" Goomy yelled.
The trees shook around them, and the ground began to crack. Everyone slowly backed away from the Astrebore on high alert. Suddenly, a myriad of green vines burst from the ground near the Astrebore and wriggled in the air like snakes.
"What the heck is that!" Arlo screamed.
Lola's legs shook as she struggled to talk, "I-I forgot to mention that... it can...do...that."
Everyone facepalmed at Lola's forgetfulness. There was no way she couldn't have forgotten something as dangerous as this.
Rocky tightened his fists and grinned, "Looks like we're going to have vegan for lunch!"
As if the Astrebore had understood Rocky, the vines immediately rushed towards him and wrapped around his body.
"Uh oh," Rocky muttered.
It lifted Rocky up and continually smashed him into the ground like a ragdoll. The vines spun Rocky around like a tornado and threw him away like trash.
"AH!" Rocky screamed like a banshee as he crashed into the trees.
"Holy crap!" Arlo ran towards Rocky and helped him on his feet. "You alright, man?"
"Pfft, this is nothin'," Rocky smirked. However, he suddenly held his stomach and vomited.
"Hey, masters..." Goomy pointed at the Astrebore. "What's it doing!?"
The vines began to intertwine and merge with each other, forming muscular arms. The arms slammed onto the ground, and Astrebore started lifting itself. The ground ruptured beneath it, and the rest of Astrebore's body revealed itself.
"Vegan, you say?" Astrebore roared. "I actually prefer meat. Your meat that is! Now tremble before I, Astrebore!"
Rocky picked his nose, "Eh, that sounds kinda weird, man. Besides, I ain't really into the whole squiggly vine foreplay."
Lola gasped and pulled out a notebook from her chest, "This is the first time I saw one talk! I have to record this!"
"Silence!" Astrebore expanded its large mouth. In an instant, a storm of seeds sprayed directly at them.
"Take cover!" Arlo yelled, and he immediately hid behind a tree.
Everyone ducked for cover as the bullet seeds pierced into the ground and trees nearby. Rocky pulled out his magic pistol and fired back at Astrebore. As long as the mana core inside the pistol remained intact, Rocky didn't have to worry about ammunition. However, if he exceeded the mana output of the mana core, it could potentially break.
Mana cores worked by absorbing the surrounding air and transforming it into mana. It's the main power source for technomancy such as magical weaponry, transportation, and robotics. Mana cores are all found deep within the earth. Furthermore, mana cores have varying lifespans that depended on their quality and production process. Their lifespans ranged from months to several decades.
The mana bullets from Rocky's pistol pierced through Astrebore's body, but the vines instantly regenerated back to normal as if nothing happened.
"Your puny weapons do not work on me, filthy human!" Astrebore laughed at his meager attempt to kill him.
"Rapid Fire!" Arlo waved his staff as red runic symbols appeared before him. In mere seconds, fireballs the size of a fist streaked towards Astrebore. However, Astrebore reacted in time and created a shield, made from vines, to protect himself.
"Wow, scrawny human, that nearly killed me," Astrebore said with sarcasm. He continued to fire a myriad of seeds from his mouth.
"Hey, I'm not that scrawny!" Arlo refuted.
"Hey Lola, how do we suppose to kill this guy?" Goomy asked.
"If I remember correctly, the Astrebore's life source should be at the base of his neck. He should be dead instantly with a good enough cut."
Rocky's eyes brightened as a light bulb flashed above his head, "I got the ultimate gameplan!"