When I got home, I explained to Kyabe what had happened at school.
"Wow! You took one of them on and won? That's amazing!" she exclaimed, bouncing around.
"I didn't do it alone. Yuri and Suno helped. They deserve all the credit," I said modestly, not used to being praised by someone or something other than my family.
"You did something though! Not very many people can call out one plant warrior, let alone two at the same time! You must really care about nature!"
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, Mosho got away so it's not like we defeated him for good."
"That's true, but you at least drove him away for the time being. Maybe they'll stop attacking after seeing how strong you are!"
"In your dreams! Mosho vowed revenge, remember?"
"Oh. That's right. Darn! I was hoping you ended this in one fell swoop. Though, I guess my king would still be corrupt if they turned tail and ran… Oh well! The fight continues!"
I just shook my head. How carefree can she be? Her entire planet is on the verge of destruction and here she is, staying positive and having fun.
"I have to do homework so don't bother me, ok?" I told the happy cabbage.
"Ok! I'll just be over here, watching Water Princess Mercury. It's so cool! Mercury is so awesome! Actually, she's like you in a lot of ways."
"Yeah, right. Please, don't distract me, ok? I have enough to deal with as it is."
"You're no fun!" Kyabe pouted.
Thankfully, Kyabe left me alone so I could finish my homework. I'm also happy to report that nothing strange happened either. Maybe I'll get a little break before they attack me again. I would ask Kyabe who they are, but it doesn't seem like she knows exactly either. All we know is a weird scientist, Mosho, and her king are involved in all this. Hopefully, that's all there is. I really don't want to deal with another psycho.
The next day was pretty normal. That was a huge relief. Though as I was walking home, I came across a little boy. He was sitting on the ground, crying.
"What's wrong? Did you lose your mom?" I asked the little curly-haired boy.
He stopped crying, but tears were still in his eyes.
"Yes. I don't know where she went. We were walking in the park and then…" he trailed off and started crying again.
"Don't cry! I'll tell you what. Why don't I take you down to the police station so they can help you find your mom. Sound good?"
"But… some scary monster took Mommy away! How will the policemen find her?"
A chill went down my spine, but I didn't show it. I kept smiling so I wouldn't worry the little boy.
"A monster? You must have been seeing things. Monsters don't exist," I said, still faking a smile.
"It was real! A big cloud showed up and bang! The monster fell from the sky and grabbed Mommy!" he said adamantly.
"Ok. What did the monster look like?"
"Um… it was really big and black. The grass around it died too."
I just about fell to my knees. The boy was talking about a Hedoro! Why would they attack a poor little boy? What does he have to do with anything?
"Here," I said as I bent down so I could carry him piggyback. "Why don't I take you to my house? Maybe I can help save your mommy?"
"Yay! You're gonna help me?! Hooray!" he cheered as he climbed up me and got on my back.
As we walked home, I asked, "What's your name?"
"Oh! It's Shimogoe, but you can call me Shimo!" he beamed.
"Ok, Shimo. My name is Hana."
When we got home, I took Shimo to a table and gave him a coloring book and some crayons.
"Stay here. I need to do something real quick," I instructed.
"Ok!" Shimo said as he started to color a picture of a dog.
I went upstairs and into my room. Kyabe was watching TV.
"Hey. I need to talk to you about something," I said.
"Can it wait until a commercial?"
"No. It has to do with them," I said, emphasizing the word.
That got Kyabe's attention almost immediately.
"What happened? Were you attacked again? Are you ok?" Kyabe asked frantically while looking at me.
"I'm fine, but I ran into a little boy today. He told me that a monster kidnapped his mom. That monster was a Hedoro."
"What?! Why would they kidnap a boy's mom? It makes no sense."
"I don't know. The Shimo's downstairs coloring. I'll try to get some more information out of him, but I don't want to press too hard. He seemed traumatized."
"Ok. I'll try to think of reasons why they would kidnap a random civilian."
I left the room and went back downstairs.
"Lookie! I colored the puppy blue!" Shimo exclaimed once he saw me.
"That's really good! Can I ask you about something while you color?"
"Sure! I'm gonna color a kitty cat next!"
"Can you tell me about your mom?"
Shimo stopped coloring.
"I need to know what she looks like so I can find her," I explained.
"Ok. She has blonde curly hair like mine, but it's a lot longer. Um… she's pretty. I like her a lot."
"Can you tell me anything else? What did she like to do?"
Shimo paused before answering.
"She liked to play with me," was all he said.
"Ok. Can you describe what happened to her in more detail?"
"No! It's too scary! I don't wanna!" Shimo cried, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I need to know as much as I can so I can help you."
Shimo stared at me, strangely calm. He looked almost menacing. What the heck is going on?
"Uh… Shimo? Are you ok?" I asked tentatively.
He started mumbling under his breath. I couldn't make out any words, but it didn't sound like any language I had heard before. Except one. A chill went down my spine. It couldn't be. I got up quickly and started to go upstairs when Shimo said something.
"Stop where you are. If you make one move, I'll kill you," he said in an emotionless voice.
I didn't know what to do. I stood there, frozen.
"Are you scared? You should be. After all, I don't show mercy," Shimo said with an evil gleam in his eye.
"Don't do this, Shimo! You're not like this!" I pleaded desperately.
He just laughed and said, "How pathetic! I love it when my prey gets desperate!"
I tried to inch away, but he noticed the movement.
"I would do that if I were you. I know! I'll make sure you can't move away."
The ground started to rumble beneath me. Thick vines broke through the floor and wrapped around my arms and legs. I tried to break free, but the vines were too strong.
"Let's have a little fun. I'm always up for a little torture. How about you?" Shimo cackled as he drew near.
"Don't do this, Shimo! You don't want to do this!" I cried, still trying to break free.
"Really? You think I don't like torture? That's where you're wrong, Hana!" he shouted as he brandished a whip made from a thick vine.
The whip lashed out and bit my shoulder. I screamed in pain. I felt warm blood dripping from the wound.
Shimo laughed and said, "Yes! Keep screaming! I love it when my victims scream! You know what I love more than that?"
I shook my head frantically, fearing the answer.
"I love it when they die!" Shimo whispered into my ear.
He was about to whip me again when we heard a crash coming from the stairs.
"What was that?" Shimo asked angrily.
"Hana! I'll save you!" Kyabe shouted as she ran over to me with the Pocket.
"Get out of here, Kyabe! I can't throw a seed with my arms bound like this!" I screamed, not wanting to see her die.
"I have a plan. Trust me on this."
Kyabe charged into Shimo, who was thrown backward from the force. He crashed into the table. Kyabe started to mumble in her alien tongue. As she did so, her leaves became pointed. She leaped up and severed one of the vines binding my arm. Then, she put a red seed into my freed hand.
"Throw it up! Hurry!"
I threw the seed up and hoped for the best. Like before, a girl appeared. This girl had spiky red hair and a nice tan.
"What do you want?" she asked snottily.
"Um… can you take care of Shimo over there?" I asked meekly, afraid of ticking her off.
"You want me to beat up a kid? Are you seriously that weak? Tch. Fine. Whatever."
Shimo started to get back up, his eyes full of rage.
"DIE!" he shouted as he charged at us.
"Sorry, not gonna happen, kiddo. Why don't you go back to your mommy like a good little boy?"
This seemed to anger Shimo even more.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU WORTHLESS PUNK?"
"Is someone gonna cry? Oh. Poor baby!" the girl mocked.
Shimo howled with rage as he jumped to attack the girl.
"Look out!" I shouted, seriously doubting Kyabe's choice.
The girl just smirked and waited until Shimo was almost on top of her before bursting into flames. Shimo could do nothing but fall into the fire with a shocked look on his face.
"Over here, ya big baby!" the girl shouted from across the room.
How did she get there?
"RARRRRR! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT, ***** (female dog)!" Shimo howled as he ran for her.
"Hey now! Don't get your diaper in a wad. Nobody likes a crying baby."
The girl aimed a flaming bow and arrow at the enraged Shimo. As he leaped at her, she let the arrow fly. It hit him point-blank in the chest. Shimo fell to the ground, unmoving.
"Did- did you kill him?" I asked nervously.
"No," the girl said darkly as she stared at the body.
Shimo started to move once the arrow disappeared. The girl cocked another arrow, but he surrounded himself with vines.
"I WILL BE BACK AND NEXT TIME, ALL OF YOU ARE DEAD!" he screeched as he escaped with the vines acting as his shield.
As soon as he left the house, the vines that were holding me disappeared. So did the damage to the house and the furniture.
"Thanks. Uh… what was your name again?" I asked as I walked over to the girl, who still had her bow and arrow out.
"The name��s Mari. For the record, I did not do that for you. I did it for myself so don't go praising me like I'm some sort of hero, alright?" she said, looking down and blushing.
"O-ok. Um… you can go now if you want."
The girl looked absolutely flustered.
"O-oh yeah. I'm going now. Quit looking at me like that, stupid!" Mari exclaimed as she turned back into a seed.
I shook my head and sighed. What is up with these aliens? They're so weird.
. . .
"Sire! It seems Shimogoe was defeated!" Kagaku shouted frantically into the darkness.
"That weakling! It's time to send him out," the light replied angrily.
"H-him, sire? Are you sure?"
"Yes. After all, we know where she lives now, don't we? It'll be a nice surprise."
The light laughed maniacally. Kagaku just stood there, looking scared.