As the girls were on the spaceship still maneuvering the mass void. They were all equally bored and just wish they were on Neo already. Mikki took over the controls and piloted the massive machine pass dozens of passing asteroids and carefully avoided any sort of space pirates that could've been a major issue. The girls were even recovering from their last bout with Fafir's cronies. Now it was all smooth sailing from this point on. "Mmm..this is soooo boring. Pega how long before we even get to Neo's atmosphere and hit the ozone layer? I'm starting to cramp up and I already read all the books we bought twice over." Ivanka moped and whine. "Babe honestly I do not know, we're all in the dark and just cruising along, why don't ya just take a nap and I'll wake ya when we are drawing near." The ice dragon girl said.
Pega reluctantly went to her bedroom quarters and just listened to some music and gently drifted off to sleep. The other girls were watching TV and Mikki listed off some coordinates to the space ships internal harddrive. A hour passed or so it seemed, Mikki herself was just getting tired of seeing the same ol' same ol' space. The spaceship did pass by some large stars and Azou talked with her parents on her phone. Besides that nothing really has changed. "Sigh..who knew space travel would be this boring. No wonder humans don't last long out here with there little rockets. They have all the fun meanwhile we Neotics just tend to mindlessly float aloof. Let's tell some spooky urban legnds..I have a good one for all of ya's" Ivanka said as she wiped her tail.
"Oh please their isn't any scary thing I haven't heard of that was utter nonsense and false. What could you have that'll scare the pants off us? Hmm Ivanka. Corotani said. Strange thing was everyone forgot she was even on board. She startled the crew and smiled once she got the reaction she was going for. "I know I know. I am here but it's all over for ya girls now. Miks put this giant baby into auto-pilot and come join us. I wanna hear what the snow dragon has to say." The blonde girl said. Mikki did so after she read the manual and everyone besides a sleeping Pega was all gather in a small circle.
"Oooh Gala wanna hear it. What scary story is ya gonna tell us Ivanka?" Gala asked. Ivanka rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She sinisterly smiled and began her tale. "Oh I don't have much work to do for this story. For you see the story I am thinking of revolves around an place that most Neotics have heard of. In fact it's been there for centuries and every Neotic that's ever lived or even heard of can vouch for. I'm talking the Blue Forest." She said trying to scare her crewmates.
"Isn't that the place were not even deities dare go unless something bad happens to them?" Azou pointed out. Ivanka confirmed this and placed a finger over her mouth. She dimmed the lights and sat back down to begin her horrid tale. "Now this my dear friends is the tale. The tale of what happens to those who ever get lost in the dreaded Blue Forest. Let's begin. Ahem..About five to ten years ago,there was a young girl with long blue hair and orange eyes.
She wore a simple light green dress and some black sandals, her people considered her odd and that she was. The girl was of course picked on and made people scared of her,but they had no idea the horror they would unleash to themselves. One night this girl,I'll call her Ol' Bluehair was caught in the act of a summoning ritual of sorts. She claimed she was able to bring her neighbor's dead cat back to life. To this day no one knows if she was lying or told the truth. Anyways. Ol' Bluehair was shunned and ridiculed for her odd behavior and strange acts she would perform. Now you may be wondering what were the acts she performed?" Ivanka finished hoping she caught her friend's interest and curiousity.
"Well? What did she even do huh?" Gala said. "Yeah tell us." Mikki added. Ivanka smiled and continued. "The girl would take little neenwaws or groundhogs as its said the earthling tongue,anyways she'd take them and possess them with some otherworldly magic and purposely cause mischief only to satisfied her own boredom. It went on for several weeks according to some descendants of the people she lived with. It went on for so long the people of her humble town grew tired and orchestrated an horrible deed. They figured they grab some rope, the girl's favorite treat and a lie so dang good it had to have some truth to it. Sadly her fellow town dwellers tricked her into taking a alternate route to what is now known as the Blue Forest.
The girl innocently strolled down the pathway that a stray baby ulmus led her too. Lo and behold the poor creature nearly bites it when a bear trap was set. It was activated and this startled the young girl. She was scared and ran as fast as she could to the other side, but it was already too late. A truck came rushing pass her the first time then it vanished into thin air. Just like..poof." Ivanka said making sound effects.
The girls including Pega were starting to get into it and wanted to know more. "What next babe? What next? Does she make it? Does she tell her parents?!" Pega asked. That's the thing my dear. "There was never any know record of parents like at all for this girl. In fact and speaking of, Ol' Bluehair was said to be a physical anomaly even more abnormal than..uh..uh Azou here. Notice how Skyra and Zuma birthed her? Well in Ol' Bluehair's case she just simply spawned into existence one day already in the body of a eight year old child. Or legend so says." Ivanka says rubbing her chin. Just then Mikki disputed her point and debunked to her what sounded like sheer myth. "That is physically impossible. Everything minus the Great Creator himself has a beginning. Even the Primordials of Neo and the Beyonders. We're talking beings so mysterious and alluring not even Nea knows every minuscule detail. That's simply outlandish if anything but continue. I'd love to see how this dreadful tale ends." Mikki scoff as she crossed her legs.
Ivanka sneered her nose at her and continued. "Anywho where was I? Hmm. Oh! Yes the girl hid in the bushes and ran for any remote type of safety in such a large place. The Blue Forest according to even people I have spoken with..talks to you. It lures you in with your innermost abandoned and current desires,heck maybe even a love one can be used against the victim.
This poor girl did escape and hid from that truck for a few days. It's just since she left the pathway. The entire forest became pitch black. The leaves rustle, the branches made these loud wet snaps and WAM!! The girl was smacked into air at such velocity. She couldn't even breathe. All she could do was be shocked at how much blood she was losing from her side. Once she landed her body made a terrible thud. Miraculously though she slowly got up to her knees only to be well...meet her end. The very truck that chased her for those pass few days killed her. It flattened her and to this very day no one ever knew her name nor why she was hated so much. It's just that she died at the hands of those people most people say at least the townsfolk were responsible." Ivanka said ending her story.
The other girls clapped in unison and thanked Ivanka for the story. They all laughed and wondered if the Blue Forest is even a place or is it in itself a haox to scare foreigners and trouble makers. "How did you even hear about this Ivanka? Who told ya?" Azou asked. "A friend of mine who went into the very forest itself never to return. I'm dead serious she never made it back only a journal and what she saw in there. Most of her entries were all smudged and besmirched according to the Neotic Council, but detectives were stumped as well.
The conclusion they came up with. Don't go there under and I mean under ANY circumstances. Not even if a love one is in there. Without a doubt you'll end up like Ol' Bluehair..DEAD!! D.E.A.D!!" She said scaring most of the girls except Gala. In her mind since she was pretty much indestructible,maybe just maybe if the time came to it she could decipher what was false and what was true. Who knows anything could happen. Our grey skin beauty squeezed her tiny puffy fingers together and giggled at the sheer thought of her future endeavor. Her aunt Azou noticed it and began tickling her. "Aww your soo cute hehehe.I think Gala loved your story Ivanka? Oh! we just past Jupiter? It's so big and round!!" Azou pointed out brushing Gala's hair. "You really do remind me so much of Luna. long beautiful silky black hair and these pudgy cheeks of your oooh. I can't wait to pamper my baby sister when I see her."
Azou announce. As time went on the girl's spaceship did seem to get closer and closer to Neo. Only now less than five hundred lightyears away from the egg-shaped world itself that most of our heroines called home.
"So has anyone ever made a plan on how we're gonna get our girl? Or is that just me. Fafir is getting stronger and who knows WHAT he'll do to five beautiful women such as us." Mikki said concerned about her own safety and her friends. Pega sat in the main pilot chair and had Gala bring in a large piece of paper to brainstorm any plans. The process did not turn out as well.
"Hmm we could just crash right into the Red Palace building and search for her? I just don't want anything bad to happen to her. Who am I kidding she may have some sort of mental trauma at this point so its important we be sensitive to whatever her needs be. And by the way there is SIX beautiful ladies on this ship Pega. Me Yunago, You as Pega,Ivanka, Gala, Azou,Corotani and Yunago well sorry seven. Anyways doesn't matter we have to make sure Luna is safe and from that point we book it and zoom on outta Neo's atmosphere. " Said the fox girl who just finshed brushing her fluffy tail.
The other girls silently agree and began to brainstorm to alleviate the boredom,they figured since they were drawing nearer to Neo it'd be best to have some plan prepared. Moreover on Neo itself Runi and her new kobold companion Minikio were getting a lift from an small rotund man driving a moped. The girl's sat on the back and held on for dear life.
Once they finally made it to Dalidstad it looked moderately different then Runi remembered,of course crime was still very much alive but it only happened at random. Minikio didn't like the smell or sounds of the somewhat-barren city,she balled up her fists and hugged Runi from behind who was searching for the Brigands of Dalidstad.
"Hey. It'll be fine just keeps your wits about you okay? We're already walking passed these dingy and stinky tenements and abandoned apartment buildings. Ugh it smells so bad here. I think I'm gonna vomit." The rainbow-haired girl said as she felt sick to her tummy. She tried covering her mouth but vomited on the side of the abandoned building. Once she was done. Minikio offered her a few breath mints and a facemask to keep her buddy from losing her lunch again.
"I really hope no one lives there. This place is so lonely and run downed it's hard to imagine the Neotic deities did this,but Neo-Kind themselves did this. Phooey to the ancient residents that used to live here. Hmm I do get a feeling this entire place is a lot more than it seems what about you Runi? Uh..um Runi?" The kobold girl said looking for her friend. She didn't wanna give herself away so she transformed back into her human state and ran all across the sandy roads of Dalidstad searching for Runi who mysteriously disappeared.
"Runi!! RUNI!! RUNIIIIIIII!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!???" The kobold girl shouted she ran in abandoned factories, stores and even houses. Still no sign that was until she saw Runi standing in front of a sewer cover. This one was bigger than all the others and lifted a few inches from the ground. Maybe this is were the Brigands were. "Whoa s..so this is the Brigand base entrance huh? Well only Ember as their leader would know. Hmm maybe there is a crowbar nearby. Mini see if you can find one. I'll use this giant boulder okay?" Runi said sending the nervous kobold to her possible doomed.
While she gently glided from off the ground; our dear kobold girl searched in alleyways,dumpsters and even old abandoned stores none seemed to even have one single crowbar. Just as she was about to give up an sign was strangely pointing to the only crowbar in all of Dalidstad, it happened to be unguarded and ready for the taking. So Minikio took it and flew at full speed back to Runi who couldn't get the manhole cover to even budge. Just then the two girls placed the flat end of the crowbar under the heavy manhole cover and after three tries the pair put all their weight into one final lift and voila!! The cover was lifted.
"Whew! Let's hope we get what we're after here. Come on before we get caught Mini." Runi said as she helped her friend inside. Runi followed after as she saw that you had to slide down an long hollow tunnel to even get somewhere. Runi removed the crowbar and followed Minikio who was already ahead of her. The two girls went through various turns in the tunnel. Bit by bit this was not good for Runi's motion sickness.
Once they finally landed Minikio and Runi were amazed at how large and clean the place even was. "Wow..so this is the Brigands of Dalidstad base huh? Hehe I could get used to this but no time we gotta get business handle. Come on Mini!" Runi ordered. The pair didn't have to search for long as they ran into the mute blue haired wonder herself Kay. She was busy finishing printing posters to rally up an entire army to fight on Luna's behalf. Once she saw Runi and Minikio she waved her hands frantically signing for her sister to save the day. "Uh..uh is she mute? Hmm..uh Minikio how do you talk to a mute person?" Runi whispered not realizing Kay could understand everything she just said. Besides that point Kay's sister Winlow appear and removed her bandana that covered her eyes she just got back from sword practice with the second-in-command, once Winlow saw the two girls she held up her sword to both of there necks.
"Whomever you two are. LEAVE!! This is private property and your trespassing, now make haste or I'll be more than happy to show you my fruits of my training." Winlow said intimidating both of the girls. Kay placed a hand on Winlow's arm and made a few signs in sign language that suggested the two girls were harmless. Thankful for Kay saving the day,the two girl's signed in relief. Winlow called for the second-in-command at that point. The two girls were escorted to a meeting room and told to wait there.
The pair did so and were both nervous of the outcome. Instead of fearing a brutal assault from monsters like Runi thought, her and Minikio met a woman with crimson long red hair. She wore a dark blue jacket with hanging belt straps on it. Her pants were skin tight,she wore black fingerless gloves with two well fitted black boots and a green crop top worn underneath the jacket. This was Clandestine. Ever since Ember chose to leave her fellow Brigands to help Luna, the more mature woman had to get things back into tip top shape. She did a amazing job so far but recognize she still had a long way to go. "Hmm you two ain't Luna nor Gala? I see somehow you both manage to get pass our trained dogs and the chains on the entrance way." Clandestine said polishing her handguns and swords. Nervous both Runi and Minikio were afraid to say anything but Runi swallowed her fear and began to speak.
"Uh..uh miss..W..we mean no trouble at all to you or your little wonderful crew,b..but um I'm sure you heard of Fafir and all this chaos he's cause w..we need your help well actually a ton of people need your help." Runi blurted out sounding weak and making Clandestine laugh. "I am well aware of that RAPIST!! But if my friends and family were to even fight him,we'd die or be imprisoned..what good is it to fight death when you know it's inevitable?" The woman said angrily. Runi had to convince her somehow,otherwise her trip to Dalidstad was for nothing than it hit her.
"Well that's the thing we don't just give up even knowing death is inevitable, we fight and live every single day..Lady they're hundreds no possibly five hundred people in Fafir's Red Palace alone and I heard from the grapevine an new prison building is being constructed to house more!! To enslave more innocent souls. We have to save them!!" Runi shouted.
Clandestine lost all hope and only maintained her own training for one person and that was Luna. "They obviously did something wrong and they very well deserved it,next your gonna tell me they manage to kidnap Luna!" Clandestine fired back. Runi said nothing instead with tears falling from her eyes Clandestine didn't wanna believe it,but Runi was telling the truth. "No,b..but how? When she was here..s..she was so strong and yet...F...FAFIR!!! OF FUCKING COURSE!! Okay fine rainbow girl, you and your girlfriend over there are temporarily Brigands. Get suited up and await orders we attack in five days time to save our Aether." The woman ordered.
"Runi is my name and this girl is Minikio also..she's not my girlfriend, I'm straight. Now this is so awesome,lets get going hehe. " Runi laughed. Sensing this from afar Fafir was beginning to know every single individual's plan,doesn't mean the big man would stop it he'd only allow it and destroy their expectations. So far he meditated for three days training his body and mind. As for Luna and Saruna,the two were placed in their own separate room. Fafir figured if they were gonna be rescued might as well keep those two close to one another. The Beast God awaited that day and figured soon he'd be allowed to be unleashed.