"Alright, we're at the entrance, but I don't see anything." Peni said, feeling impatient.
"That makes sense, seeing as it isn't here." C-Ku said, as she walked behinds the staircase and crouched down.
"What are you doing?" Maruchi asked, as she walked closer to C-Ku with Peni and Kuream behind her.
"I'm opening this trap door, I have it under here." C-Ku said, as she unlocked the trap door.
"Oh, that makes sense." Maruchi said, feeling a little dumb for asking.
"Hmm..." C-Ku mumbled, as she sat still.
"What's the matter?" Maruchi asked, curious about what's on C-Ku's mind.
"You promise that we'll all be friends, right? This thing was gonna be super important... I don't really wanna give it away for nothing..." C-Ku said, feeling worried she's being lied to.
Maruci crouched down and grabbed C-Ku's hand, which made C-Ku gasp. "We need you, C-Ku, we won't leave here without you, or anywhere." Maruchi said, as she looked into C-Ku's eyes. "Here, maybe this will help you trust us." Maruchi continued, as she looked down at C-Ku's hands which she had in hers.
"Wh-What...?" C-Ku asked, feeling nervous but curious at the same time.
Maruchi wrapped her own pinky finger around C-Ku's. "It's called a pinky promise, it's the highest form of promise, as far as I know, which means that we can't break our promise." Maruchi said, as she looked back up at C-Ku, who's dumbfoundedly staring at their hands.
"...What's our promise?" C-Ku asked, still trying to figure out what's going on.
"Our promise is to be friends forever, no matter what happens!" Maruchi said, with a pretty smile, doing her best to earn C-Ku's trust.
C-Ku's face became extremely red. "I... I..." C-Ku mumbled, trying to form a sentence but instead failing to do so.
"Are you alright?" Maruchi asked, worried that she might have been too forward.
"I'm... um... fine..." C-Ku said, finding it hard to speak, but trying her best as to not keep Maruchi worried.
"Well then, I pinky promise that we'll always be friends!" Maruchi said, bringing back the pretty smile.
"Uhmm... Yeah! Me too!" C-Ku said, trying not to tear up.
Peni looked down at the two, and smiled slightly, finding the situation cute, and not wanting to interrupt them. "Peni." Kuream whispered, as she grew closer to Peni's ear. "I'm gonna go look for Tetsu and Kumetsu." Kuream continued whispering, trying to be quiet while C-Ku and Maruchi have their moment. Peni nodded and Kuream ran off to look for the two.
"Alright, we're in a hurry, right?" C-Ku asked, making sure that they shouldn't be wasting time.
"Yeah, we kinda are, we've got some people counting on us." Maruchi said, trying not to make C-Ku feel rushed.
"Then let's get this thing opened, kay?" C-Ku asked, with a smile. Maruchi nodded, and C-Ku turned back around to face the trap door.
"Boo!" Kumetsu shouted, as her head popped out from the still closed trap door.
"Ah!" C-Ku yelled, as she fell backwards onto Maruchi.
"Woah!" Maruchi shouted, as she caught C-Ku.
"Hahaha!" Kumetsu laughed. "I spooked ya!" Kumetsu said, with a smug face.
"We don't have time for games, Kumetsu." Peni said, as she watched Kumetsu fly from under the trap door, and land on her feet, then reversing her transparency.
"Booooooo! You're no fun..." Kumetsu said, as she puffed her ceeks.
"I don't care if I'm fun, I care about getting out of here." Peni said, as her face didn't change.
"Oh, my my! You're back to normalll!" Kumetsu said, with excitement, as she got close to Peni's face and looked around it.
"Could you... not do that..." Peni said, as she pushed Kumetsu back.
"Kehe! My bad." Kumetsu giggled.
"You must be a Ghost, like me, if you can do that." C-Ku said, as she looked up at Kumetsu.
"Yep! Me am a Ghost!" Kumetsu said, as she made a proud stance.
"You can't look all proud about yourself while you talk like a toddler..." Maruchi said, with a sigh.
"What were you doing down there?" C-Ku asked, curious of Kumetsu's reason.
"I was exploring, looking for the Flame Flame Thingy." Kumetsu said, as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "But all that was down there was some pretty flower." Kumetsu continued, as she began tapping her foot.
"Flame Flame Thingy? Flower?" Maruchi asked, feeling unsure of what Kumetsu's talking about.
"She means the Flame of Forever." Peni said, hoping to relieve Maruchi of her confusion. "Would that flower that Kumetsu found happen to be it, C-Ku?" Peni asked, as her gaze left from Maruchi and met C-Ku.
"Yes, that's it." C-Ku said, nodding her head.
"Alright, hand it here, Kumetsu." Peni said, as she turned and reached out to Kumetsu.
"Hm? Hand what where?" Kumetsu asked, looking confused.
"The flower." Peni said, trying to make it simple for her.
"Oh, I didn't take it, I was looking for the Flame Flame Thingy, not that out of place flower." Kumetsu said, looking confused still.
Peni let out a sigh as she put her hand back to her side. "Alright then..." Peni said, feeling a bit disappointed. "C-Ku, take me there." Peni said, in a demanding tone.
"Kay!" C-Ku said, as she opened the trap door, and began to crawl inside.
"You two, stay here." Peni said, as she crouched under the staircase.
"Okay." Maruchi said, as she stood up.
"So, what is this place?" Peni asked, as her and C-Ku walked down the stone brick stairs that spiraled underground.
"It's a place someone built a really really long time ago, specifically to keep the Flame of Forever down here." C-Ku explained, as they continued.
"Oh, is it special?" Peni asked, wanting to know more about it.
"Yes, if used in the right circumstances, it can allow you to live forever." C-Ku said, as they reached the end of the stairs.
"Oh, seriously?" Peni asked, finding it hard to believe.
"Yeah. Though it's useless to us, since we're female peppers and all." C-Ku said, as they began walking down a hallway.
"That's true." Peni said, looking around to see cobwebs and cracked brick everywhere.
"So, what do you guys need it for exactly?" C-Ku asked, trying not to cause silence.
"Well, King Samuel, he wants it. Though he didn't say for what." Peni said, as she thought to herself, trying to take a guess on his reason.
"Hmm... I wonder why he'd need it..." C-Ku said, as she began to think as well.
"Maybe he wants to rule forever?" Peni said, as she looked towards C-Ku, wondering about her thoughts on it.
"No, can't be it, he's not gonna die from old age, he's a Skeleton." C-Ku said, shaking her head.
"What? You mean that isn't a mask to hide his face?" Peni asked, feeling surprised and confused.
"Yeah, I used to know him before he was King." C-Ku said, as they reached the end of the hallway.
"Oh, are we here?" Peni asked, as she looked at the single door that stood in the wall.
"Yep!" C-Ku said, as she rushed to the door and opened it. The door opened to reveal a stand at the end of a room, on it sat a flower pot with a flower that was red in the middle and its petals were orange with yellow tips.
"I'm surprised it's just out in the open, with no traps or anything." Peni said, as she entered the room.
"Oh, there were traps, but I disarmed them years ago." C-Ku said, as she walked closer to the flower with Peni.
"Why'd you do that?" Peni asked, as she turned around to look at C-Ku. 'Isn't she supposed to protect it...?' Peni thought, feeling confused.
"Well, I didn't want anyone getting hurt, those things were pretty dangerous, kay?" C-Ku asked, hoping Peni understands.
"But, that's kinda the p-" Peni said, as she stopped herself. "Um... Nevermind." Peni continued, deciding not to worry about it.
"Okay!" C-Ku said, disregarding what Peni said before in an instant.
"Well, should I just pick it up?" Peni asked, making sure there's no left over traps.
"Yeah, go for it, kay?" C-Ku asked, with a smile.
"Okay." Peni said, as she picked up the potted flower.
"Jeez, I can't find them anywhere..." Kuream said, as she appeared from a dark hallway.
"You haven't been looking for that long..." Maruchi said, as her and Kumetsu sat on the staircase waiting for Peni.
"You're right... but I'm tired..." Kuream said, as she sat next to Maruchi.
"Fine, then I'll look for Tetsu." Maruchi said, as she stood up.
"Not only Tetsu. Did you forget about Kumetsu?" Kuream asked, making sure no one is left behind.
"Oh, right, you weren't here for that." Maruchi said, as she turned around towards Kuream.
"Here for what?" Kuream asked, feeling confused.
"Kumetsu appeared out of the trap door, it was literally right after you left." Maruchu said, explaining everything to Kuream. "She, apparently, found the Flame of Forever, so Peni and C-Ku went to get it." Maruchi continued.
"Oh, then where is Kumetsu now?" Kuream asked, not realizing Kumetsu is right beside her.
"Um..." Maruchi mumbled. 'Is she messing with me?' Maruchi thought, feeling confused. 'Kumetsu's been there the whole time... She seriously never noticed?' Maruchi continued thinking, feeling like Kuream is being a little dumb. "Hey... Kuream?" Maruchi asked, trying to get Kuream's full attention.
"Yeah...?" Kuream asked, confused about what Maruchi wants.
"Have you tried looking to your right?" Maruchi asked, hoping Kuream realizes that Kumetsu has been sitting there, bobbing her head the whole time.
"Huh?" Kuream said, as she turned her head to look towards her right.
"Hello!" Kumetsu said, as she met eyes with Kuream.
"Oh! Hi! You've been there whole time?" Kuream asked, feeling confused and stupid.
"Yeah... she has. How haven't you noticed?" Maruchi asked, hoping to get a good excuse from Kuream.
"Look! I'm still pretty shaken up over here, I wasn't expecting to be turned into a plush doll against my will!" Kuream said, trying to defend herself. "It's been a crazy day..." Kuream continued, looking tired.
"I see. Fine then. It doesn't really matter, I guess." Maruchi said, shaking her head and shrugging. "Alright, I'm gonna go find Tetsu now." Maruchi continued, as she walked up the stairs.
"Tetsu!" Maruchi shouted, trying to get Tetsu's attention. "We aren't doing hide and seek anymore, you can come out!" Maruchi continued, shouting more to Tetsu. Maruchi paused for a moment, listening for any movement or response. 'Damn... Where the hell is she?' Maruchi thought, wondering if something happened to Tetsu. 'What's behind this door? This is the one that C-Ku came out of, right?' Maruchi thought, as she reached out for the door knob and twisted it, pulling open the door. As Maruchi looked inside the room, she saw a room that looked a lot less destroyed and rotted than the rest of the building, as if it's been taken care of by someone. "I guess this was C-Ku's room." Maruchi said, as she entered the room. It had a pretty pink carpet over the entire floor, a working light hung from the ceiling. There was a dresser with plushies that looked like people on top, which was next to a bed with black sheets and blankets and a purple pillow. "I'm hoping those plushies... aren't what I think they are..." Maruchi thought, thinking the plushies may be people that C-Ku had turned into plushies. 'Wait, there's a lump under the blanket...' Maruchi thought, as she noticed the odd lump in C-Ku's bed. Maruchi walked over to the bed, and lifted to covers to reveal a sleeping Tetsu. 'Well... I found her.' Maruchi thought, feeling unsurprised. "Hey, Tetsu, get up." Maruchi said, shaking Tetsu slightly. As Maruchi shook her, Maruchi noticed a small spider crawl through Tetsu's hair. "Ew!" Maruchi said, as she grabbed the spider by one of its legs and held it. "At least clean yourself... This is disgusting..." Maruchi said, as she was about to kill the spider, but Tetsu's hand suddenly grabbed Maruchi's wrist. "H-Hey, that hurts!" Maruchi said, as she dropped the spider, causing it to fall on the bed.
"That's my mother's niece's third half brother's son! He's apart of my family!" Tetsu shouted, looking angry, as the spider crawled back into her hair.
"Wh-What? It's... just a spider..." Maruchi said, feeling confused.
"I just told you, he's my family! Don't hurt him!" Tetsu said, as she let go of Maruchi's wrist.
"Okay, fine, I won't hurt it." Maruchi said, finding it pointless to try to kill it. "How is a spider part of your family? That doesn't make sense to me." Maruchi asked, trying to understand Tetsu's care for the spider.
"I'm half spider, dumby." Tetsu said, as she got out of the bed.
"Oh, I guess that explains the gray skin... and long arm hairs..." Maruchi said, thinking about it more. "Wait? How would a Human and a spider..." Maruchi said, feeling even more confused.
"Well, maybe Arachne would be a better word?" Tetsu asked, hoping that'd clear things up.
"Actually, I don't know what that is, and I don't care. Come on, let's go to the entrance." Maruchi said, as she began to walk to the door of the room.
"Okay!" Tetsu said, as she ran to catch up with Maruchi.
"Alright, I found her." Maruchi said, as her and Tetsu walked down the stairs, coming from behind Kuream and Kumetsu.
"Ssshhh!" Kumetsu said, as she put her index finger to her mouth. "Kuream's asleeeep." Kumetsu whispered.
Maruchi and Tetsu walked to the bottom of the stairs and turned around to see Kuream asleep in Kumetsu's lap. "Wow, she must have really been tired." Maruchi said, looking at Kuream.
"Yeah, I'll let her rest... for noooowwww..." Kumetsu said, as she moved her hand through Kuream's hair, as if she was petting her.
"Are we waiting for Peni?" Tetsu asked, as she sat next to Kuream and Kumetsu.
"Yeah, once her and C-Ku get back from under this house, then we can finally get out of here." Maruchi said, as she sat on the opposite side of Kumetsu and Kuream than Tetsu. "Not that we've been here all that long." Maruchi continued, realizing that they weren't even here for an hour.
The trap door under the staircase flung open, though it didn't wake Kuream. "We're back! Kay?" C-Ku yelled, as she jumped out of the trap door's opening. Peni climbed out behind her.
"Oh, hey. Did you get it?" Maruchi asked, as she stood up and walked over to them.
"Yeah, it's with the Phantom." Peni said, ensuring it's safety.
"Okay, so we can leave now?" Maruchi asked, feeling relieved since she already knew the answer was a yes.
"Yeah, we're able to save Tenshi, that was all we came for. But we even made a friend along the way, so we're definitely ready to leave." Peni said, as she looked at C-Ku with a small smile.
"Kay! Let's go!" C-Ku shouted, as she skipped to the front door.
"Kureeeeam!" Kumetsu said, shaking Kuream to try and wake her up.
"Mmm..." Kuream mumbled, as she opened her tired eyes. "What...?" Kuream asked, slowly.
"We're going back to the castle." Maruchi said, as she walked away. Kuream sat up off of Kumetsu's lap, and Kuream, Kumetsu, and Tetsu stood from the stairs and caught up with Peni, C-Ku, and Maruchi.
"There's no Zombies anymore, right?" Kuream asked, as she rubber her eyes.
"There's probably a few around here still." Peni said, keeping her guard up.
"They better stay away... I don't think I can again..." Kuream said, sounding exhausted.
"I'll just carry you." Maruchi said, as she stayed behind everyone.
"You're still low on blood, you haven't had any time to recover, and you probably won't get any." Peni said, saying that it's a bad idea for her to do more than she needs to.
"I've gotten this far, I'll be fine." Maruchi said, trying to get Peni to not worry about her.
"Adrenaline will only get you so far." Peni said, trying to get Maruchi to listen.
"Wait, why are you low on blood?" Kuream asked, realizing she has no idea what they're talking about. "I remember you were very tired when we ran to that old house." Kuream continued.
"Yeah, I was very tired." Maruchi said, confirming Kuream's memory.
"Maruchi decided to cut her own arm off." Peni said, with no tone difference than anything she's said before.
"What the hell? Why would you do that?" Kuream asked, feeling extremely concerned.
"I didn't have any reason to live, alright. I just... wanted to go away, and I still kinda do." Maruchi said, giving very little detail.
"But, your arm is still attached..." C-Ku said, pointing out that she has two arms.
"I sewed it back on." Peni said, explaining why Maruchi has two arms.
"You can't just sew a new arm on!" Kuream said, not understanding the logic behind it.
"I'm already a bunch of different corpses stiched together, my existence is entirely wrong." Maruchi said, giving another reason she hates herself.
Peni stopped walking, and turned around.
"Uh oh..." Kumetsu said, excited to watch what Peni's gonna say.
"I want you to tell that to Tenshi. Let's see what she'd say." Peni said, as she turned around and continued walking. Everyone just looked at each other, and the quietly caught up with Peni.
"I guess it can't be that cazy... I am a Zombie after all, and one with self consciousness..." Kuream said, trying to make Maruchi feel like her existence isn't the only one that doesn't make sense.
"Yeah, I've heard that Zombies are usually mindless and hungry." Maruchi said, with a small smile, feeling thankful that Kuream cares.
"Yes, they very much are..." Kuream said, with a long sigh.
"How'd you even end up in that situation?" Tetsu asked, curious about Kuream's past.
"Oh, jeez, that's a really long story, I'll talk about that some other time..." Kuream said, letting out another long sigh.
"Hey, it seems like all the Zombies are gone." Peni said, as they approached the castle.
"Alright, let's just get inside." Maruchi said, as they made their way to the entrance.
Peni opened the big castle doors, she expected to see Tenshi there, or at least all of Peni's belongings, but nothing was there, as if nothing had ever been there. "They must have taken her to a guest room." Maruchi said, after walking inside behind Peni.
"You all stay here, I'm gonna go talk to King Samuel." Peni said, feeling excited to see Tenshi, but not expressing any excitement on her face or in her voice.
"Alright." Maruchi said, as they all watched Peni walk into a hallway.
"Woah!" C-Ku said, as she looked around.
"Do you like this place?" Maruchi asked, as she walked up to C-Ku.
"Yeah! I've never seen any place so beautiful!" C-Ku said, sounding extremely happy.
Peni opened the throne room's doors. "King Samuel, we've returned, and we have the Flame of Forever." Peni said, walking up to the throne that King Samuel sat on.
"Hmm... Very good!" King Samuel said, as he jumped out of his throne.
"Where's Tenshi?" Peni asked, ready to see Tenshi.
"Present the Flame first." King Samuel said, as he sat back into his throne.
"Phantom." Peni said, as a dark portal appeared, with a shadow-black arm that reach out, giving the Flame of Forever to Peni. "Thank you." Peni said, as the Phantom returned to its dimension. Peni walked closer to King Samuel's throne, and handed him the Flame of Forever.
"Haha! Good job!" King Samuel shouted. "Now I'm one step closer to his level..." King Samuel whispered, after he turned away from Peni. Though, Peni heard him, she didn't seem to care.
"Alright, I gave you what you asked for, now where's Tenshi?" Peni asked, feeling impatient.
"You certainly did. I'll show you to your dear friend. Follow me, little lady." King Samuel said, as he got off his throne and did a playful bow, before he left the room, with Peni close behind him.
"Here she is!" King Samuel said, as he flung open a wooden door. Peni peeked her head into the room, and saw a bed in the center, in front of the door, and on the bed layed Tenshi, looking at Peni and King Samuel.
"Peni?" Tenshi asked, feeling happy to see her.
"Tenshi!" Peni exclaimed, as she ran into the room to get closer to Tenshi.
"You're back." Tenshi said, with a relieved smile.
"Yeah. How're you feeling?" Peni asked, hoping Tenshi's doing better.
"Look, my wing's all healed, and I don't have any scratches anymore either." Tenshi said, as she showed Peni her wing and arms.
"Oh, I didn't expect the treatment to be done so fast." Peni said, feeling surprised but not showing it in her voice.
"Well, when you're someone like me, this is child's play!" King Samuel shouted, making his voice slightly deeper.
"I see, you're more powerful than I thought." Peni said, acknowledging King Samuel's power.
"Well, now that everything's okay, let's finish our mission!" Tenshi said, feeling excited to continue adventuring with her friends.
"Oh, no, no!" King Samuel said, as he shook his head. "You're not at one hundred percent yet!" King Samuel continued.
"What do you mean?" Peni asked, feeling worried.
"I've treated her wounds, but it'll take a night's rest for everything to take full effect." King Samuel said, as he walked over to Tenshi and checked where her wounds were.
"But you said she's healed." Peni said, not understanding what King Samuel means.
"I never said that." King Samuel said, as he walked up to Peni. "If you wish to take her, then go ahead, but her wounds will reappear." King Samuel continued, as he crouched down to Peni's level.
"Fine, I guess we don't have a choice." Peni said, realizing the importance of Tenshi staying a night.
"Great! I've already prepared rooms for everyone!" King Samuel said, as he turned around to leave Tenshi's room.
"Wait, we ran into another female pepper, she joined us." Peni said, letting King Samuel know there's one more.
"I know." King Samuel said, as he left the room.
'How did he know?' Peni thought, wondering who exactly King Samuel is. "You get some sleep, Tenshi, we can talk more tomorrow." Peni said, as she left the room.
"Follow me, we'll gather the others, and bring all of you to the guest rooms I've prepared." King Samuel said, as he did the playful bow once again.
"Alright." Peni said, as she followed King Samuel.
"Peni, we gotta get up!" Tenshi said, trying to shake Peni awake.
"What...?" Peni asked, opening her eyes snd barely feeling awake.
"The King, he wants to see us." Tenshi said, as she waited for Peni's response.
"Huh?" Peni asked, still in a tired daze.
"Welcome!" King Samuel shouted, as the group appeared through his throne room door.
"Ooooh..." C-Ku quietly muttered, as they walked into the room.
"What do you want?" Maruchi asked, feeling annoyed to be waken up so early.
King Samuel walked to the large window behind his throne. "The moon never leaves, though that does not mean you must sleep forever." King Samuel said, as he looked up at the moon.
"Is that supposed to mean something...? Kuream asked, feeling confused.
"It means..." King Samuel said, with a pause, as he walked closer to the girls. "That you've had enough resting time, you must continue your mission!" King Samuel shouted, not letting the group waste anymore time.
"I see..." Peni said, as she took a moment to think. Tenshi took Peni's hand and smiled, trying to ease Peni's stress, Peni smiled back. "I think you're right, we shouldn't waste any more time." Peni said, as she still felt exhausted.
"Great!" King Samuel said, as he began walking closer to the group.
"Hey, who exactly was that one female pepper that was here, the one in the plaid-green skirt and black shirt?" Maruchi asked, feeling suspicious of King Samuel.
King Samuel sighed. "You can't just not ask, huh?" King Samuel said, as he stopped walking. "That girl is merely a client of mine." King Samuel said, hoping they'd leave it at that.
"A client? What kind of client?" Maruchi asked, taking the questions deeper.
"I run a graveyard business, y'know?" King Samuel said, as he noticed that most of their faces said they didn't understand what that meant.
"What the hell is a graveyard business?" Maruchi asked, not understanding.
"That's easy!" Kumetsu said, as she jumped in front of Maruchi. "A graveyard businesssss... Is basically the Halloween black market!" Kumetsu said, with an excited tone and face.
"Then, that must be what you want the items for?" Maruchi asked, trying to puzzle King Samuel's intentions together.
"Oh, no. Those are for something completely different... Something called a rematch." King Samuel said, looking at his fist.
"The why shouldn't we add her to this group? I think we shouldn't pass up any opportunity." Maruchi said, giving her feelings on the matter.
"That girl is a hand full, you'd be better off staying away from her. She wouldn't consider helping you, even if you showed her every cent in every universe." King Samuel explained, trying to make them lose all hope of the girl joining them.
"I think we should trust King Samuel on this, Maruchi." Peni said, joining the conversation.
"Really? Are you sure?" Maruchi asked, making one hundred percent positive that Peni thinks this is the better option.
"Yes, now let's move on from this." Peni said, with no facial expression change, and no tone change either.
"Okay!" King Samuel shouted. "Now, to the point of summoning you girls..." King Samuel said, doing a purposeful dramatic pause.
"Yeahhh...?" Kuream asked, feeling confused.
"I have you all a portal to your next destination!" King Samuel said, with excitement.
"Okay, place the portal." Peni said, wanting to leave.
"It wasn't easy to figure out where you all needed t-" King Samuel said, as he was cut off.
"Okay, we get it, just put it down so we can leave." Maruchi said, feeling impatient.
"But... I'm trying to prepa-" King Samuel said, as he got cut off again.
"Place it! Place it! I can't wait anymore!" C-Ku said, as she jumped with excitement.
"I'm excited too! Hurryyy!" Tetsu said, as she joined C-Ku in her childish act.
"Fine, no preparation for you." King Samuel said, as he placed a portal that looked extremely bright. "Go on." King Samuel said, as he waited for them to leave.
"Come on, everyone." Peni said, as she walked through the portal.
Immediately, Peni fell to the ground. "Woah." Peni said, as met the dusty floor. Peni got up and saw the portal was a bit higher than the ground. Peni decided to look around and understand where she is before the others arrive, while not straying far from the portal. 'This place is pretty dusty... And there's random boxes scattered here and there.' Peni thought, before she noticed something that was strange. "A doll?" Peni asked, as she picked up the small doll off of a box. 'The doll isn't dusty, as if it hasn't been here that long.' Peni thought, as she felt suspicious about the doll. Suddenly, a thump was heard behind Peni.
"Ooowww..." Tenshi said, as she stood up.
Peni put the doll down and made her way to Tenshi. "Are you alright?" Peni asked, concerns for Tenshi.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Tenshi said, with a smile. Suddenly, another thump came. "Ah!" Kuream yelled, feeling scared that there was no ground when she tried to walk through the portal. "Why is it floating?" Kuream asked, feeling annoyed.
"I don't know." Peni said, shrugging her shoulders. Then another person came through the portal, though there was no thump. "Oh, it's floating..." Kumetsu said, as she was floating in the air, right before hitting the ground. Then a gasp came out as someone else fell from the portal, they fell through Kumetsu, and hit the ground. "Oh, hello, Tetsu!" Kumetsu said with a big grin.
"Hehe... Why did the floor move?" Tetsu asked, wanting to know why she fell.
"Dunno, but you better move before someone falls on you." Kumetsu said, as she touched the ground with her feet and walked away.
"Right!" Tetsu said, as she got up and rushed over to Peni and Tenshi. C-Ku's head appeared through the portal, she saw everyone and flew down to them with a big smile. And, lastly, Maruchi came out of the portal, her face was surprised when there was no ground, but she caught herself and landed on her feet.
"Wow! Nice landing, Maruchi!" Tenshi said, feeling impressed.
"Thank you." Maruchi said, as she didn't expect a compliment.
"Sooooo, where are we?" Kumetsu said, as she floated around to see what this place is.
"Good question. This place is quite dusty though." Peni said, as she began to look around again. Peni's eyes went around the room, and over the boxes, just as before, but she felt like something was different. '...The doll, it isn't there. Did one of them touch it?' Peni thought, trying to find an explanation. "Did any of you move that doll?" Peni asked, making sure it was one of them.
"Doll?" Maruchi asked, wondering what Peni means. The portal closed with a strange noise, as everyone looked towards it, then looking back and continuing.
"Yes, before anyone came through, I saw a little doll sitting here, now it's gone. I'm wondering if any of you moved it, so raise your hand if you did." Peni said, explaining the situation. Peni and Maruchi looked at everyone, they saw no hand in the air.
Maruchi's face became intense. "That means..." Maruchi said, as she looked over towards Peni.
"We aren't alone here." Peni said, finishing Maruchi's sentence.
"Everyone, there could be an enemy, prepare yourselves!" Maruchi shouted, feeling worried.
"Why's it such a big deallll?" Kumetsu asked, not understanding the fuss.
"This is a completely different world than Halloween! We're lucky there's air here! We don't know what creatures are here!" Maruchi said, as vampire moths and butterflies fly to her, landing on her clothes and hair.
"Sounds fun!" Kumetsu said, flying around aimlessly.
"Ugh! You don't understand the danger!" Maruchi shouted, getting frustrated.
"Just leave her to do whatever." Peni said, trying to get Maruchi to focus.
"You're right..." Maruchi said, calming herself down. The others are all moving around, causing noise.
"Wait, I heard a sound." Peni said, asking everyone to be silent. 'Something didn't sound like the rest, I heard shoes, I heard bare feet, but another... more plastic-like sound...' Peni thought, as she thinks she realized what's going on.
"Ugh!" Tetsu said, as she hit the ground with a thump.
"Tetsu?" Tenshi asked, sounding worried.
"Something pulled me by my hair, and made me fall..." Tetsu said, as she looked up at Tenshi. Then, as everyone had just become silent, the sound of tapping plastic could be heard again. "I hear something... strange..." Maruchi said, trying to figure out where the sound is. And something small juped out from behind a box, it held the beginning of a rope that continued far behind the small creature. As Peni saw the tiny thing, she knew it was the same doll as before. Tetsu noticed the doll was trying to tie her down, so she quickly tried to get up, but froze in surprise as she saw two more tiny dolls with ropes appear in front of her, all three trying to tie her down. Successfully, the dolls rushed away, scattering like insects.
"Oh no! Tetsu!" C-Ku yelled, feeling worried sbout her friend.
"I'll be okay, just worry about yourself!" Tetsu shouted, as she struggled to free herself from the tight holding of the three ropes.
"Oh..." C-Ku said, feeling a little surprised, but soon she understood. "Kay!" C-Ku continued, feeling confident in herself.
"Alright, there's at least three of them, stay focused." Peni said, explaining things that she'd hope is obvious.
"I hear one!" Tenshi yelled, telling everyone to be on their guard.
'Should I bring out the Phantom? Is it that serious?' Peni asked herself, feeling unsure about the situation. Peni felt a sharp pain on her leg, she quickly looked down and saw one of the dolls had stabbed its plastic boot into her leg. Peni tried shaking it off, but it stabbed the next boot into her leg, as if it was trying to walk up her leg. Peni went to hit the doll, but missed as it jumped and used its pretty pink nails to climb up her body, leaving bloody scratches on her and her clothes. Maruchi grabbed the doll as fast as she could, the doll scratched at Maruchi's hand, but Maruchi didn't budge.
"What the hell are you?!" Maruchi yelled, trying to get answers out of it. The doll made a screech, as it flailed about.
"Release my doll, would you?" A soft female voice quietly said, from far behind everyone.
"Who's there?" Peni asked, as she turned around.
She saw a girl standing in front of a window, she was a similar size to them. Dust flew through the air around her in the soft sunlight, her blue bangs went down to her chest, and her pretty, light blue eyes glew through those bangs.