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Sylanwood, Barcemanca: The Street, Time: 10:00 PM
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The team continued searching the street, feeling like they were walking in circles due to the dark fog and night.
"I feel like we've been here before..." Mianne stated, swearing she had seen that trash bin at least five times already. Either that or she was having a dream where it led to James holding her in his arms.
"I guess Mianne's right." James, however, was yawning, showing signs of exhaustion. "Are you sure that old man wasn't a ghost, Mr. Bada?" James asked, finding it too fishy that they only encountered a singular person.
Bada was persistent on this matter. "I am sure. Maybe we could find more people to ask about the mission." He wanted to at least know what caused the disappearances.
Stray animals were running around and hiding from the team. James was about to chase after a stray cat, but Mianne stopped him before he could go anywhere.
James and Bada stopped in front of an abandoned office building. It felt like it had been left to rot for decades.
"Well then, both James and I are gonna go inside the building to find any survivors. Are you sure you would be able to stand post here, Mianne?" Bada stated James was jumping up and down sluggishly.
"Of course, I don't want any disgusting bugs to crawl on me at this point." Mianne's expression showed disgust. Although she loved adventuring, she despised bugs.
"Stay safe, Mianne!" James yelled out as both of them entered the office building, leaving Mianne alone.
Mianne spotted a mirror, realizing what kind of mess her pink hair was in. Her thick and slim pink hair was now a mess, from how much she traversed throughout this town.
"Oh jeez, bad hair day, huh?" Mianne grimaced at herself, deciding to take her brown cap off, revealing Dyssorath sleeping on her head.
"Wakey wakey, Dyssorath!" She nudged the pinecone dragon, who started to yawn a little before flying up with a sleepy expression.
"Can you hold this for me?" Mianne asked, holding her cap out to him. Dyssorath nodded sluggishly as it nipped down on the brim of the cap.
"I shouldn't have bought that shampoo. I knew something was fishy when a blacksmith company made one of these."
Mianne muttered to herself as she ranted on about her hair, trying to fix it. She sat on a nearby wooden crate to get a better look at herself.
Dyssorath then saw something in the neighboring window. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or his sleepiness was affecting him.
A giant pale, white, skin blob with eight heads, each having a familiar skull structure and jet-black eyes; one of them was singing while the others grinned with wicked intentions. It slowly approached them.
Dyssorath panicked, trying to look around to fend off this monster or even get his own master away from it. Dyssorath decided to nudge Mianne, attempting to warn her of the obvious danger.
"Hm? What is it, Dys?" Mianne stated, turning to the pinecone dragon with a curious expression.
Dyssorath frantically gestured toward the direction of the monster. Mianne looked in the direction he was pointing but saw nothing there.
"There's nothing there, Dys..." Mianne stated, confused by the whole situation.
"Are you sure you didn't see a stray cat just now, Dys?" Mianne teased while Dyssorath circled in a panic, trying to find a solution.
Mianne was mid-rant about the perils of using discount hair products when Dys suddenly began screeching and flapping around her head in agitation.
"Whoa, easy there!" Mianne yelped, ducking the pinecone dragon's flailing wings. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Dys chittered anxiously, gesturing with his snout towards the empty street behind them. Mianne squinted into the darkness but saw nothing amiss.
"Um, I don't see anything there buddy," she said, confused by his erratic behavior.
But Dys kept circling her in a protective hover, eyes fixed on some invisible point nearby as he screeched a warning. Every scaly hair on his body was standing on end.
"Is it another cat?" Mianne guessed, still perplexed. But clearly, something had the little dragon spooked. She tensed, magic swirling instinctively around her bracelet.
Dys' screeching reached a crescendo as he suddenly reared back, inhaling sharply. Mianne's eyes widened, recognizing the precursor to his fiery breath.
"Dys wait, don't-" she started, but too late. The agitated dragonling unleashed a jet of flames at the space behind them.
The street was momentarily illuminated in the blaze but revealed only cracked pavement and abandoned buildings. Yet Dys still glared fiercely ahead, posture defensive.
Mianne reached out a cautious hand to soothe him. "It's okay Dys, nothing there..." But unease stirred in her gut too now. What had her companions just seen?
Mianne was still trying to calm the agitated Dys when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned with relief to see Bada and James returning from scouring the abandoned office building.
"Any luck finding clues?" she asked hopefully. But their grim expressions answered before they could vocalize it.
"Nothing but dust and broken furniture," James said with a frustrated sigh, armor clanking as he sheathed his sword. "This whole place is a ghost town..."
He trailed off, noticing the fresh scorch marks marring the street and buildings around them. "Uh, everything okay here while we were gone?"
Mianne gave a helpless shrug. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Dys just suddenly freaked out at...nothing, it seems? Started breathing fire everywhere."
She gestured at the agitated dragon who was still bristling, slowly starting to settle in her arms now.
Bada frowned, studying the seemingly sourceless destruction. "Concerning that something could provoke such a reaction without leaving visible traces..."
He turned back to Mianne. "You sensed nothing yourself beforehand?"
Mianne shook her head apologetically. "No weird sounds or smells either. It's got me unnerved though." She shivered, glancing around warily.
Bada activated his helmet's spectral analyzers but found no abnormal energy readings.
James was tired at this point, "Man, it's like this creepy town is haunted or something," he muttered, a nervous edge entering his usual bravado.
Bada's expression remained grim. Whatever had alarmed the sensitive Dys, some sinister force lurked here beyond their perception. And the night was far from over...
Suddenly, they heard rustling in a nearby alleyway. It was banging very loudly, and everyone was on guard.
"James, what's that?" Mianne whispered as she leaped into his arms accidentally, feeling scared.
"I don't know, but I am terrified as well." James held onto her.
Bada decided to investigate, with his gauntlets ready to punch anything that came out of that comically large green dumpster.
The banging on the dumpster got louder as Bada charged up his gauntlet, ready to launch an atomic punch at any second.
"GAARGH!"
The dumpster opened to reveal someone human.
A blonde woman in a collared white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, suspenders, and gray slacks. She also wore a loosely-done black tie and a black bracelet. Her jacket was tied to her waist, and she seemed to be covered in dirt and dust from her search in the dumpster.
"Dammit, no part I could use. Guess I'll have to rely on the old one in storage..." The woman stated, rubbing the dust off her before looking up to see Bada.
"Moronica?!" Bada was surprised at her appearance in this deserted, haunted, and cursed town.
"Oh, hey Bada! You got some spare for me to use?" Morenica stated, with James and Mianne looking on, confused at this entire mission.
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