Chapter 10: Rumble In the Junkyard
BAM! Rubble littered the ground with each pile Tanlan struck with his club. Veins nearly popped out of his scalp, looking like a volcano about to erupt. No junkard car left untossed, no stone left unturned, no pile left standing until he found the dragon brat.
Tanlan and his men lost sight of Aizhen at first when she was heading toward the junkyard. The electric lock laid on the ground when they reached the entrance, and the gate was wide open. She must've decided to break open the door than jump the fence. That's alright. Hunting was much more fun when your prey was roaming in uncharted waters, and he would reel her in and grill her like the jellyfish she was, he thought.
They entered the junkyard, Tanlan ordered his men to split up to cover more ground. The more men scattered, the better to catch her. She wouldn't get away with insulting him and turning him down on a date! What woman wouldn't want to date a strong, brutish demon like him!? He was the most powerful demon in Megapolis, and that Starry-haired Dragon Girl dared to decline his offer?!
"When I get my claws on Star Brat, she's gonna wish she was back in the countryside with her horses!" growled Tanlan, kicking another pile of trash to the side.
"You sure she's from the countryside, boss?" asked Renzhe, following two inches alongside him, ducking each time a piece of trash got flung in his direction from Tanlan's onslaught. "From how she dresses, she looks like any ole city slicker."
"It isn't about the clothes, Renzhe. It was how she spoke. I mean, she thought a date was a DATE! A fruit! Who doesn't know what a 'date' is!"
"Well, they are similar in name because when ya ask someone if they want to date, but you ac-" Renzhe was lifted by his shirt collar and pulled close to Tanlan's eyes so that he could see the crust between his eyelashes.
"I don't need an explanation, Renzhe, right now I need to find that brat and tear her a new one!"
"A new what is the question!"
Tanlan and Renzhe stupidly blinked as a third voice entered the conversation. They turned their heads to a nearby junk pile, and Aizhen stood at the top of an old fridge, arms crossed. Her head hung high, and her cold gaze stared directly at them.
"If you wish to 'tear me a new one,' you'd be kind to show me. That is, if you can catch me first, you oversized lunkhead!" she yelled as she turned heel and slid down the hill.
Tanlan bit his lower lip, and he nearly drew blood to match the rage in his eyes. Steam rose from his scalp like a tea kettle spout about to whistle, and his inner kettle was about to whistle through his ears. He dropped Renzhe and charged through the trash pile, leaving a comical body-imprinted tunnel.
"When I catch you, I'll show you what this oversized lunkhead's gonna do to you, Country Girl!"
"Country girl? I'm more of a Celestial Girl, thank you very much!" she yelled back to him. As she ran, she kept looking for the signs Amber planted around to find one of the decoy dummies.
As she turned right at the pile of old laundry machines, a horned demon popped right out of the washer, tackling her toward the ground, and had her arms pinned.
"Don't worry, Boss, I got her, I got-"!
His victory was cut short when Aizhen swiftly kicked his groin. DING! His eyes bulged as the impact of the kick sent him rocketing toward the sky, screaming for dear life with his hands planted on his cracked jewels. Aizhen watched for a moment, walking toward a nearby heap of used mattresses, pulling one from the pile and tossing it onto the ground. Pushing it a few inches forward as she kept her eyes on the sky, the demon continued screaming on the way down. He crash lands onto the spring-loaded mattress, pouncing him back into the washer as tiny stars danced around his head.
"Pretty...pretty...stars..."
Aizhen closed the washer window, giving it a soft pat.
"Nice try, but it'll take more than that to get the drop on me. Ask Yin and Jin. They nearly tried to throw me off a stage," she said with a smug grin.
Her smug grin shrunk as her ear began to twitch, picking up the sound of fast-paced footsteps heading in her direction. Launching one of their buddies into the air and making a racket gave away her position. She serpentined past piles upon piles of junk, trying to remember where Amber planted the signs that'll lead her to the decoy dummies.
Finally, she came across a flag banner imprinted with a smug chibi spider pointing west with a speech bubble that read: "I'm over here suckas!" An unusual saying on a sign, but if it will help lure the enemy into a trap she'll have to take it as it is. Turning left, it didn't take her long to find one of the decoy dummies in the center of the clearing.
With the decoy in place, she needed a place to hide. Scanning the area, her eyes landed on an old taxi car with an open back window. Perfect! She gave a head start and swan dived right onto the leather cushions, dust bursting up into the air. The specks began to tickle the inside of her nostrils and throat, causing her to cough. However, she quickly cupped her mouth and ducked onto the floor when her ears twitched.
Rearing her head up slightly, she spotted some of Tanlan's men turn a corner across the way and caught sight of her decoy duplicate.
"There she is!"
"Corner her from all sides!"
The goons cornered "Aizhen" from every side. There was no escape; they surrounded her as they charged and leaped right into the air.
"Dog Pile-valanche!"
They dog-piled right down onto 'Aizhen', but little did the demons know that they were going to be in for a rude awakening. The moment their bodies crashed down onto the decoys, an alarm rang throughout her body, and her chest opened to reveal a bomb with a giant sticky note planted on the sign with a doodle of Amber pulling her eyelid down and tongue stuck out.
The ringing kept going faster and faster until-KABOOM! Neon green glitter slime exploded in their faces! Screaming in agony, they tried to wipe the sticky substance off to no prevail. Aizhen watched from a distance, baffled that the decoy dummy had a hidden mechanism that demobilized half of Tanlan's men.
"I don't remember that during the building process..."
"That's because I made some quick modifications while you were tubing on my laptop."
Hearing a tap behind her, she turned to find Amber upside down, staring back at her. Surprised to see Amber here, she crawled over and opened the door, nearly falling out. However, she was caught by one of Amber's appendages and placed on the top of the car.
"Amber!? Why...Why are you here?! More importantly, how did you find me?"
"It wasn't hard to pinpoint your spot when you launched one of Tanlan's goons into the stratosphere and found him still dazed in that washing machine. I'd figured you were heading this way, so I took cover in an old fridge," She said, her face turning to disgust, "I had to hold my breath when I had to nestle against a rotten durian fruit and nearly puked my guts out."
"Not literally, right?... More importantly, you shouldn't be here. You're just going to get hurt."
"Oh, okay? So you do wanna die at Tanlan's hands than having a stranger, which you only just met, ensure that you don't die at his claws, let alone be ripped into pieces?" she asked Aizhen, raising a curious eyebrow as she spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"No-that's not what I...." she sputtered, trying to grasp what Amber was asking her.
Amber looked over her shoulder. Tanlan's men were still wiping slime off their eyes, but more ran toward the commotion. Without a moment's hesitation, she wrapped her appendage around Aizhen's waist and, hoisted her up in the air and began to scurry away from the scene.
"Ahhh~! Amber! What are you doing!?"
"Getting you to the bridge before those bozos catch on!"
"But won't you get exposed if they see you scurry dashing with me in your grasp!? You'll become a target!"
"Not the first time I've had a target on my back, and it definitely won't be the last. You, on the other hand, if those nimrods figure out you're a Celestial, they'll definitely wanna make a stew out of you! Is that what you want?!"
"Of course not, but that doesn't mean having you getting targeted with me!" she said, struggling to break free from the mechanical leg's grip, "Now unhand me and get out of here! I don't want you endangering yourself because of me!"
"I didn't want to endanger myself either, but LUMIE made a compelling argument that I shouldn't let a Celestial die on my watch, let alone get eaten by that maniac!"
Lumie peeked out from Amber's hoodie, waving a leg at Aizhen. She returned the wave to the little bot. Amber kept scurrying across hill upon hill of rubbish and rubble until they came across an old warehouse, a slumbering crane laid on the sidelines by the Incinerator. Dropping Aizhen onto her feet, she descended to the ground as her appendages vanished underneath her hoodie.
"Okay, we're halfway there. The exit should be a little ways behind the warehouse. Once there, head toward the bridge and look for a neon sign with a Pig holding a bowl of noodles. Once you turn right-can't miss it."
"You shouldn't have come after me. I told you I didn't want to put anyone else in danger.", Aizhen growled, gripping her fists as she looked at Amber.
"Yet here I am. If it wasn't for me, you'd be under a hill of smelly demon meat, suffocating to your death before Tanlan turned ya into a Celestial Kabob," snarked Amber, marching over with arms crossed.
"I had the situation under control when they jumped the fake me, but I didn't expect shimmery goo to explode from its chest!", she barked with fists at her sides.
"It was effective, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but that's not the point. I wanted to take em' out, not the dummy."
"Trust me, the dummy decoys did the work for you. Be real: In the state that you're in and your inexperience, do you think strength alone, you'd stood a chance against four, let alone six, of his goons?" Amber asked, staring daggers at the celestial girl.
Aizhen thought for a moment: Would I've stood a chance? I was able to take out one of his men with no problem, but six at the same time?
She was silent momentarily, letting the words seep in like a flower absorbing fresh rainwater into its roots. Would she be capable of fighting off six demons simultaneously in her state?
"You may have strength but lack the skills to combat Tanlan's gang. Even with those videos you watched. With your strength. It ain't gonna cut it, and for what? Risking your life for some misfits?"
Misfits? Was Amber referring to her friends? Amber walked up beside her, not making eye contact.
"What do these so-called friends of yours mean to you that you'd sacrifice yourself for them? Why give up this new life of yours to save their hide? Do you think by sacrificing yourself, Tanlan's gonna back off? No...He will go after them tomorrow while you'll be nothing but bones. Your sacrifice would be for naught.."
"...Maybe, but it ain't for naught."
Amber's eyes grew, and she heard the sharp tone in her voice as Aizhen turned her head, eyes and brows furrowed in a serious gaze.
"No sacrifice is for naught; even when the universe is falling apart, you must do what you can to keep it together for the souls across the realms depending on you to hold tight with every fiber of your being. As the cracks form, you only focus on keeping everyone alive."
"Even at the cost of your own life?"
"If that is what it takes to preserve life itself.", answered Aizhen.
"....You are a complete idiot."
Aizhen's eyes shot wide at Amber's response; she turned her head only to be met by her blazing gaze.
"You're saying that your life is just a speck compared to the vastness of the universe? That you'd rather forfeit your new life so others may live? Stop for a moment and ask yourself, 'Did my sacrifice mean anything? Did it make a big impact on those I saved? Would I be remembered or just forgotten in the end?'"
Aizhen never thought about it like that before. Would her sacrifice mean anything to her friends to delay the inevitable for a short time? Would they remember her noble act, or would it be a foolish attempt that failed?
"I...I...I don't know...I don't know, okay?" Aizhen sputtered, cupping her palm against her scalp, "I don't know if it'll make a difference. I just...I just...I don't want to lose anyone else. I've already lost my companions, and I don't know if they got reincarnated like I did! What if I'm the only one?! What if I'm the only one who returned when the sky fixed itself? What if I'm destined to be alone in this strange world without them!?"
Tears rolled down her face as she felt the intense heat emit from her cheeks. Her mane began to spike as did her breathing; Aizhen tried taking deep breaths to calm herself, but how could you when the floodgates of your heart came storming out?
"What if I'm the only one left....The only Celestial Beast because I didn't fulfill my role? What if this is punishment? Why would Fate be cruel after all I've done to keep everything together while I was slowly cracking? Why...why.....?" she wrapped her arms around herself, clenching her fangs as muffled cries escaped past her lips.
Amber's firey gaze diminished into a soft yet empathic stare, watching a once powerful beast now reduced to a puddle of tears and sorrow. This poor girl has gone through so much trauma: Losing her companions, cracking under the pressure-literally and metaphorically-to keep the universe sewn together when it was coming undone, and being reborn as a demi-human in a strange, futuristic world uncertain of what to do or knowing if her friends fell in the same boat like her.
She must have kept this locked up for as long as possible before the lid on Pandora's box began to crack open. Not even her friends could see how much she fought back her existential turmoil underneath her calm demeanor. Amber reached out her hand, wanting to plant it on her shoulder in hopes of comforting her, but recoiled as she pondered how one comforted another being. Spider Demons weren't one to support, let alone comfort humans or fellow demons? They kept their feelings to themselves most of the time.
When she recoiled her arm, Lumie scurried down, leaped onto Aizhen's shoulder, and crawled up onto her mane. She began to massage her scalp, hoping it would help calm her down. At first, nothing happened, but slowly, the spikes began to soften when Aizhen felt the rough yet gentle strokes Lumie was giving to her head. Her pupils reverted to normal while her fangs shrank, opening her jaw ajar to release her tense breath. Amber watched in awe; the same technique Lumie had used on her affected Aizhen.
After a moment, Lumie crawled halfway toward her forehead, looked directly into Aizhen's eyes with her optic blinking curiously at her, and beeped a few times as if asking: "Are you feeling any better?"
"Lumie? Was that...Was you on top of my head just now? Stroking your legs against my scalp?"
Lumie gave her a gentle nod. Aizhen returned the nod with a small, sincere smile, plucking her from her head and giving her a heartfelt hug. "Thank you, my metallic friend."
Amber couldn't help but let a small smile crack through her lips. "She developed that calming technique on her own. Whenever I felt anxious or upset, she'd crawl onto my scalp and massage it to help calm me down. She must have learned it from one of those magazines I read at the library, but it's super effective."
Aizhen handed Lumie to Amber. "I'm sorry you had to see that...I don't know what came over me just now..."
"You got nothing to apologize for. It's normal to let your feelings out once in a while; otherwise, you'll explode like a bomb-metaphorically speaking. Aizhen, I may not know your whole story, but you shouldn't take your new life for granted. If it weren't for Monkey Boy and his pals fixing the Pillar, you wouldn't be here now. It's a blessing than a curse...You have a new body, weird and awesome pals, and are experiencing incredible things you couldn't do in your previous life, all the while avoiding a boarish demon who's out to end you. Fate didn't thrust this upon you. Fate isn't the one writing your story. You are. Only you can write where your new story takes you. And who knows where this new tale will take you, but you won't find out if you call it quits here. What would your friends say if you ended up as stew? Or your Celestial Pals, who may be looking for you somewhere in this world at this moment? Are you gonna let your story end by giving up or keep writing to see where it takes you?"
She let the words loop around her brain, striking down each sentence until a handful of phrases remained: A blessing than a curse, a new life, weird and awesome pals, experiences she couldn't have in her previous life.
The most important was that Fate didn't force her into this position. Fate didn't expect his outcome to happen. Could Fate have predicted that MK would find a way to fix the pillar without sacrificing himself? Could Fate have foreseen Aizhen's reincarnation into this strange world, let alone awaken in a run-down theater having to deal with two annoying but comical brothers? Did Fate bring Camille and Scorpion Queen to her aid when she fell ill? Did Fate led her into a scuffle with a heavily built demon? And did Fate lead her toward the junkyard where she found solace with a spider demon? No...It was her. It had always been her. When she woke up in this strange world, she had to learn to walk on her own two feet like a fawn learning to walk for the first time. She formed unlikely connections with strangers she'd only met in a day. She spent a day getting pampered, dancing, arcading, and drinking cheese tea with her acquainted friends. Venturing through a dangerous market to get to Pigsys to try legendary noodles and seek the aid of a dragon warrior and the infamous Monkie Kid to help track down her friends, risking her life to steer a brutish demon from harming her friends while bidding farewell. Today's events wouldn't have been possible had she not taken the first steps to look upon the new Aizhen she saw in the mirror. It was her. She's the one writing the story, not Fate, but her. Amber was right.
"You're right...This is my story...I'm the one holding the pen, not Fate, but meFate may not remember yet how things came to be this way, but having it end right here won't give me the answers if I just gave up. I have to see this through no matter where this new life takes me.", Aizhen proclaimed a glimmer of hope sparked in her eyes like a tiny star shining through the night sky and a smile to outshine the moon.
Amber smiled confidently at her, "And right now, the only thing that's trying to keep ya from those answers is that brute who's looking to make a hot pot outta ya."
"Wouldn't he try to make a hot pot out of you too if he learns I had an accomplice?" asked Aizhen, tilting her head, "You did scoop me up and scurried on those metallic legs of yours."
Amber's face flustered at her remark, and she quickly turned around, plopping Lumie on her shoulder, "Guess ya got the point there, and if one of his goons saw which way I was heading, they'll all be rushing over to our spot in a few minutes. Doesn't give us much time to come up with a plan."
Aizhen turned to their surroundings, taking in the warehouse behind them to the crane that napped in the distance. Crane...Crane...Ding! A lantern lit up in her brain!
She snapped her fingers, "Don't underestimate the limitation of time, Amber. Even under pressure, one must improvise to devise the best action plan."
Amber and Lumie had question marks pop up above their heads, trying to decipher Aizhen's words. Recognizing the confusion on their faces, Aizhen rolled her eyes softly. She'd have to simplify it.
"Time Limit, under pressure, improvise while creating a plan the enemy won't see coming. PLUS...., she pointed toward the crane with a serious glare, "Metal claw beast's aid."
Amber and Lumie looked toward the crane in the distance. An exclamation point lit up on Lumie's optic as Amber's eyes grew like saucers.
"You're gonna use the crane to attack Tanlan!? Do you even KNOW how it works!?" yelled Amber as she wondered why Aizhen would use a machine she knew nothing about how it operated.
"Not me-you. You seem more savvy with those machines than I am, so I want you to awaken them so they can aid us in our fight against Tanlan. While you awaken it, Tanlan and his men's eyes will only focus on me. I'll say that you deserted me to save your abdomen."
"Save my hide, you mean, but I get the jist....But are you sure you want to trust someone like me? A Spider Demon of all people?" she raised a skeptical but concerned eyebrow at Aizhen.
"I don't care if you're a spider demon, Amber. That doesn't matter to me. Just like you didn't care, I was a Celestial Being. You see me like everyone else-a person, and that's what I am now. A person. Okay, Demi-person, but right now..." she extended her hand toward Amber as she softened her gaze, "I need to know if I can count on you to help me with this crazy plan. I don't know if it'll work or not, but...I hope it will..."
Amber stared at her hand. Aizhen didn't care if she saw a spider demon. Was she that naive to place her newfound life into the hands of a stranger, let alone her, of all people? What a foolish girl Aizhen was to put her faith in someone like her. She felt her cheek poked by Lumie, turning to face her robotic companion as she bleated a short, soft melody of boops and, without translating, gave her an assuring nod. She looked back at Aizhen's hand and slowly began to expand her hand. Her arm trembled with hesitation and uncertainty but quickly grasped Aizhen's palm and shook it firmly.
"With me behind the panel, it will.", assured Amber with a confident smile as she pointed a thumb to herself, "You got the Tech Webber extraordinaire in your court! Tanlan and his goons won't know what hit em'!"
"Still don't know what that is, but it sounds like an important title.", exclaimed Aizhen.
"One of many titles I've given myself." Amber reached into her pocket and produced a flare gun. Giving it a twirl, she raised her hand to the sky, "Okay, Aizhen-you're gonna hate me in just a minute because if we want this to work, it's gotta be convincing."
"Convincing? What do you mean-"
Amber fired the flare gun with a loud boom, sending a blazing orb streaking across the sky before it disappeared on its descent. Aizhen covered her ears when Amber fired the weapon, and once it was safe to uncover them, she saw Amber running behind the warehouse.
"Amber, what the heck!?" Aizhen shouted, watching her spider friend disappear from view, but her fading voice echoed through the air.
"Sorry, Aizhen, but you should know better than to trust a spider demon~!"
Did she just get abandoned by her new friend, or was this part of the 'convincing plan' she spouted earlier? No matter how it looked, Aizhen felt a sliver of betrayal, like a knife slowly thrusting into her body.
At that moment, Aizhen felt a small tremor, and roaring engines flooded her eardrums. A pair of motorcycles leaped off two nearby junk hills and sped toward Aizhen. She dodged the vehicles in the nick of time, and as she backed up, a set of beefy arms locked around her waist from behind. Upon turning her head, her eyes locked onto Feng's malicious gaze.
"Ha-ha! Gotcha, Country Girl!"
"I remember you, you're...Renzhe's 'bro, but not bro-bro' from earlier. Feng, was it?"
He tilted his head like a confused kitten. "Yeah...That's me. How do you know it?"
"Your friend said it once back in the market, and you were the one threatening to turn one of my pals into a pretzel after what I did to your friend and his stall.", answered Aizhen.
"Still keeping my word on the pretzel bit, but you should worry more about yourself than your friends", sneering at Aizhen just as a vicious roar rang through the air.
Storming onto the scene, Tanlan stomped toward the clearing, clutched in his meaty fist was one of the decoy dummies. He tossed it into the air, parts scattered onto the ground, and its toaster head tumble-weeded toward Feng and Aizhen, leaving a trail of magenta liquid behind. Tanlan must have figured out the decoy Aizhens were fakes, and judging from the paint coating his stern face, he wasn't too happy.
"You're a clever little minx, ain't ya? Thought you can use decoys to give me and my boys the runaround?" he marched, the ground underneath his feet left cracks in the dirt. If he stomped his feet any heavier, he'd create tiny craters.
"I don't think run around is the best choice of words; I'd say give you and your men the 'slip.'"
"Well, your little slip didn't quite cut it." he raised his foot up and smashed down on the toaster head, the sound of scrunching metal squeaking under his shoe, "You would've gotten a clean getaway if it wasn't for that little flare we saw."
"Were you trying to signal your pals to come to help ya, or were you dumb enough to give away your location?" asked Feng.
What was Aizhen going to say? That her friend fired a flare gun to give away her location or lie to cover the truth? Amber fired the flare as part of the plan of convincing while she went to operate the 'Metallic Beast'. What was she going to say?
"Well, EYE SOR-HEN?" questioned Feng, tightening his grip around her waist.
His beefy arms began to squeeze her abdomen. It felt like a blanket of stones pressing against her ribs, she fought against his grip to break herself free, but it was no use. Trying to kick at his limbs or his 'jewels' was futile when he lifted her halfway off the ground. This demon isn't one to skip leg day, in this case, limb day.
"I...I...I..I accidentally flung a fireball up into the air when I was trying to make a small campfire to rest my weary body....Nothing more.." she managed to squeeze the words through her mouth, feeling the arm binds tighten deeper into her flesh, and she began to cough softly.
Tanlan raised his hand to Feng; he gave him a nod and released Aizhen from his grasp, causing her to flop onto the ground. Hands on her chest she let out the last remaining cough and took a deep breath to give her lungs fresh air. While she was catching her breath, an ominous shadow towered over her; Tanlan reached down and clamped his claw around her body and brought her up to his eyes.
"A campfire, you say? That looked more like a flare than a fireball. I should know because one of my men got firepower after those weird lights hit random folks," he pointed toward a horned demon juggling a couple of fireballs, opening his mouth as they piled in and spat them into a nearby bucket. His friends applauded his performance.
"He must've been honing his newfound power well to pull off an impressive stunt."
"It's gonna be more impressive when we get a little campfire of our own going in awhile when we settle down for some dinner," he reared his nose close to her and gave her a nice whiff, "I'm sure you and your little accomplice will make a ravishing meal, Country Girl."
Aizhen leaned back to keep his nostrils away from her, "What makes you think I have an accomplice?"
"Don't play dumb. Two of my men saw a weird-looking fella with freakishly long limbs pulling ya from a junk car, carrying ya off while they were wiping the glitter slime off their faces."
Rats. She had a feeling this was going to happen. One of his men had spotted Amber, but thankfully, the glitter slime meant he hadn't gotten a good look at her. Biting her lower lip, she turned away, trying to think of a way to dismiss Amber as just a stranger who had picked a fight for trespassing on her turf. Would Tanlan and his men buy that story? He wasn't as foolish as he seemed; in fact, he was surprisingly sharp for a robust demon. She wondered if she would have to tell him about Amber or keep it to herself. Either way, she would be in trouble soon if Amber didn't hurry up and initiate the next phase of the plan.
"So where is your little accomplice now, hmmm?", He narrowed his eyebrows at Aizhen, cracking a sickening sneer.
Aizhen took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and spoke softly but loud enough for Tanlan to hear. "She ditched me. She helped me build the decoys and provided me with a filling cup of noodles before she fired the flare to give my location away. She's long gone by now. I trusted her, but it goes to show that sometimes it is a gamble to put your faith in people you just met."
Tanlan's sneer grew into a wide grin as he guffawed so loud that a nearby junk hill came crumbling down, two of his men nearly buried in the process. He slapped a palm against his face, trying to suppress his laughter; once he calmed himself and wiped a tear from his eye, he cupped Aizhen's head between two fingertips, forcing her to look directly into his crimson eyes.
"It must hurt when the people you thought were your friends up and abandon you- especially those you just met. Either you are naive or stupid to put your faith in folks. Let this be a lesson, EYE SoRHEN. Demons, like your buddies, only care about themselves. When they befriend ya, it's just so they can get something from ya. Once they acquire it, they up and abandon you. Your buddy must've gotten something outta saving your hide, and now that she has it-she left ya to dry. I wouldn't be surprised if your other buddies were the same. Just pretending to be your friend until they get what they want, then throw you out like yesterday's shoes."
"You're wrong! My friends wouldn't abandon me!..If anything, I was the one who abandoned them...But I did it so I could keep them' safe...It's the least I can do for all they've done for me today and I won't forget their kindness. All I hope is that they don't forget me."
"Well, pretty soon I know I won't forget what you taste like once we make a nice stew outta ya. Speaking of which, maybe a quick little taste wouldn't hurt before we get the fire going," he opened his mouth wide as his massive tongue slithered out toward Aizhen's face.
Aizhen struggled to break free, rearing her head back and praying to the gods that his disgusting tongue wouldn't besmirch her face. Just as the tip neared her cheek, a loud beep echoed from her jacket, and a metallic blur leaped out of the collar latching itself to his face! He bit down on his tongue and cried out in a monstrous roar as his grip around Aizhen loosened, and she fell straight to the ground. She watched on while Tanlan tried to pull the creature from his face, but it scurried up his head and nestled between his horns.
"Get off of me, you pesky little bugger!" he swatted his hand down onto his scalp to swat the creature, but the metallic critter leaped off his head, causing Tanlan to smack his scalp. "Ow!"
The metallic critter landed on Aizhen's chest, and her eyes bulged in surprise. It was Lumie! But how did she not notice she was on her? She recalled giving Amber back Lumie after the head massage but after the flare gun...Did Amber leave Lumie behind to look out for her as part of the plan!?
"Lumie! You came back!", she clutched the spider-bot in her arms and hopped to her feet, giving the little bot a big hug, "Thanks for the save. Another second and I'd have been licked like an ice cream cone. I owe you my life, little spider-bot."
A tiny blush coated over Lumie's optic, rubbing the back of its neck in modesty. Aizhen gave the little bot a tiny smile, but their tender moment was cut short when Tanlan stormed toward them.
"You had a trick up your sleeve, didn't you?! Well, that little toy of yours is about to be a million pieces when I get my claws on it!" he reached forward, about to snatch Aizhen in his clutches.
Just before his claws could grasp around Aizhen, a circular tube fell right over him, then another, until he was completely trapped in a tower of tires! Aizhen jumped back as the big oaf fell before her feet like a timbered tree. His men stared in confusion until one pointed toward the sky only to be smacked by a truck tire!
Tires flew across the sky and began to shower on the unsuspecting goons! They ran about like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to avoid the onslaught, but even if they avoided being hit-tires bounced and knocked right into them. Renzhe tripped, trying to prevent a tire, nearly falling on his head, only to fall head first into a fallen tire. Aizhen serpentined to avoid the tire shower when a shadow towered over her, and before she could look up, a pair of metallic claws clamped around her, trapping her in its grasp. It lifted her high into the air as she held on for dear life with one arm while the other grasped Lumie. The metallic claw retracted back toward the machine, and Amber moved the joystick backward at the control panel to retract the claw.
"Amber?" asked a disbelief Aizhen.
"As I said earlier, Star Girl, you should never trust a spider demon-they always leave ya guessing.", she said confidently, giving her a cocky grin.
"So, having me get captured, nearly crushed, and eaten was all part of the plan to distract Tanlan so you can...Wait, did you throw those giant rubber circles earlier?"
"Tires, and yes. I thought about throwing a car at Tanlan, but then he'd tear it in half. Tires are more efficient and effective for Strong, sturdy, and entrapment weaponry. I'm impressed I was able to land four tubes on that big lug."
"So him getting trapped in those tires was part of the plan?", asked Aizhen.
Amber stared at her with blank beady eyes, "...It's more like I improvised because, to be honest, I didn't think in the positioning and degree of the toss that I'd land four in a row...Guess the times when I helped Syntax sort through machine parts and making a game out of it paid off in a way."
"I could've gotten entrapped or struck by those tires! You commanded your Metallic Crane Beast to toss em' around willy-nilly!" an enraged Aizhen glared daggers at the snickering spider demon.
"Would've been funny if a tire DID entrap ya; you'd be rolling to Pigsys'," letting out a heartfelt chuckle to her demi-human friend.
"Wouldn't be funny from where I'm standing..."
Amber reared the crane closer until releasing Aizhen from the claw's grasp was safe. She landed on the platform and rushed toward Amber, wrapping one arm around her, "Thanks for coming back for me...I thought...You abandoned me when you said..."
Amber sighed, looking away from meeting Aizhen's gaze, "Like I said...You can't trust a spider demon. Never know what they say is the truth or a lie..."
"So you lied as part of the plan while you awoke the Metallic Beast?", questioned Aizhen.
She turned her attention back to Aizhen, "Had to make it flashy than saying, 'Hey! I found the Dragon Halfling! She's over here!'", Amber lowered her voice, trying to sound like one of his men, before returning her usual tone, "That's not how I roll."
Aizhen released Amber, she brushed herself off as Lumie leaped onto her arm and crawled up onto her shoulder.
"Speaking of Pigsys', we're close to the exit. Just pass the old billboards and Speedy Panda swag, then cross the bridge and make a few turns! Home free with that legendary noodle bowl waiting for you at the finish line."
"OUR legendary noodle bowl waiting for us at the finish line.", said Aizhen with a soft smile, "When we get to Pigsys', I'll treat you to a bowl of those legendary noodles. It's the least I can do for saving my life."
Amber's gaze softened like steamed rice. Nobody has ever offered to treat her to a meal, let alone a bowl of noodles. Was this some kind of trick? Then again, she was talking to a Celestial Being. The real question was whether she had the cash to back that promise. She cupped her hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow in Aizhen's direction, putting on a teasing grin. "Really? And does a Celestial like yourself have any cash to pay for a bowl of Pigsys 'legendary noodles'?"
Aizhen gritted her teeth and quickly sucked in the air. Shoot! She forgot that she didn't have any cash on her! How was she supposed to repay the kindness without the funds to back it up?
Rubbing the back of her neck, she responded with a sheepish smile, "I'll have to ask Camille to spot me until I can get the funds."
"Alright then. It's on her tab, but you're buying me double portions next time you get some yuan."
"What?! Double! You mean to tell me you can get twice the amount than a regular bowl!?" she raised her voice, eyes sparkling like fireworks, imagining a giant bowl of noodles the size of a roast chicken.
Aizhen was gun-ho on trying those noodles, Amber thought taking a step back from the estatic demi-human. Just then, she saw a tire flying straight at them and without hesitating, grasped her arm and leaped off the crane just as the projectile hit the control panel! Amber and Aizhen tumbled across the ground, coated in dirt as they got to their feet.
Due to the tire's impact, the control panel began to go haywire. The crane's claw began to spin like a merry-go-round on the fritz. The machine shook like crazy while the claw struck piles of trash all over the place. Amber and Aizhen serpentined to avoid the debris, but even fancy footwork wasn't fast to avoid the unpredictable. A golden brick charged straight at Aizhen, striking her comically on the head as tiny Lumie scurried around her head.
"Tiny Lumies...Prancing about my head....", she spouted swaying backwards, but was caught by Amber's spider legs.
"I got'cha, Star Girl!", cried Amber utilizing her spider legs as a shield to block the oncoming trash projectiles raining down upon them.
As she steadied Aizhen, a giant shadow suddenly loomed over them. When Amber looked up, her eyes widened in shock as a jungle gym dome barreled toward them! She tried to dodge out of the way but ended up smacking her face against one of the metal bars, causing both her and Aizhen to stumble back. They were trapped!
"Who in their right mind would throw away a jungle gym dome!? And where the heck did that Gold Brick come from!?", she questioned glancing over at the murder weapon that bonked her friend in the head.
"Nobody knows the origin of the golden brick's creation or its purpose...It is an enigma wrapped in a mystery...", answered Aizhen rubbing her head, "But it sure packs a punch."
"And you two are going to be punched tenderly before we make mince meat stew out of the two of you!", a gruff familiar voiced shouted.
They turned around and to their horror found Tanlan free from his tire bind as he burst the air right out of it with his sharp claws. His men tailing behind him sporting hungry, drooling grins eyeing the imprisoned girls.
"Oh great...Just when I think things COULDN'T get worse...It just did...", mumbled Amber out loud slapping her forehead.
"Wait a minute...Did he say he'd make mince meat stew out of us? Does he mean that literally like when he said he'd have us for dinner earlier and then attempted to lick me?", a skeptical Aizhen asked Amber, but when she saw the corner of her lip began to twitch.
"Oh, he seriously meant that and from how things stand now, we're going to be the double portion noodle bowl of the evening. Minus the noodles...", answered Amber letting out a nervous chuckle.