Putz12 Plus One

FORTY | TEAMWORK

And so he was wrong for once, seeing the familiar sillhouettes as he got closer. Without a doubt further in his mind there they were, four octos, hands interlocking and forming a chain. Despite the rain, the threat, the gaping hole overhead and the risk that it could all be over in a flash, they stood tall and fearless, unabashed, and as he got closer -- smiling.

"Guys... it's... you. You didn't..." He smiled grandiosely once he saw another octoling, a golden-tentacled girl with the half-severed hair walk up beside them. But he was speechless, and soon the five figures separated, and he turned to see why:

A giant mechanical claw slowly toppled down. Putz was taken by the shadow and sure his death was imminent. Yet instead, he saw a strangle, opaque bubble-like object protect him, sending the limb reeling backward. And then, he smirked. "Bubbler?! Seriously?!" His voice had echoed in that familiar way from all those years ago. "Guys, this special is retired, how'd you?!"

"Geeeet over heeeereee!" Free's voice had shrieked painfully through the atmosphere. It was hard to run in the damn thing, but he got the hang of it in the short time. He was grateful they were alright.

Gotta find Iza. His mind chanted. The ball stumbled and bounced until it broke apart in flying particles in the air. He made his way to the familiar face in the distance, standing atop a broken slab of concrete. He grabbed onto the open-palmed offerings against the grey. Up they lifted him and he clung onto their shoulders as they helped him stand straight.

"You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you. I love you octards." He sniffled, bowing his head down.

"We love you, too." Derek said with gaiety. A force pushed them back as the now-giant monster got up slowly. "But we've got bigger things on our to-do list than a reunion right now..."

"I thought that you guys sucked."

"Excuse me?" Asked Free, who was helping Pheobe balance herself during the quakes.

"...but you came back for me. You all came back."

It was as hard to ignore the tears in his eyes as it was for him to ignore the relentless intrusions in his skull. Iza, Iza, Iza. He could see Octofro with "Iza" on the slab in the distance, who appeared to be hiding behind a stable piece of debris shoved into the ground a short distance away. She winked and gave him a thumbs up.

"Where's Iza?" His voice was grave. The team looked confused.

"She's right there." Derek pointed. "If we fail," He reached in his pocket and grabbed a tentatek. With this, Free smiled and so did Pheobe. They reached for their pockets and grabbed their weapons. "We'll need them." He finished.

"We need them!" Putz screamed as the giant limb came toppling down. The rest scattered, and soon they were alone across the great plane of destruction.

"If I fall, you fall with me! It's not FAIR!" He thumped another limb onto a nearby bus that had been emptied and destroyed long ago. The ground violently trembled.

"Hey, you big bully!" Pheobe yelled, the gusts making her flailing ponytail look cinematic despite the chaos. "You deserve this! For years my family and hundreds of others have died or suppressed their identity to serve you!" She chucked a burst bomb, resulting in nothing but a glittery, pasty slap on his right eyelid.

"Hey!" Derek yelled from yet another direction. "Gold looks good on you!"

"Gold?" Muttered a squinting Putz, taking shelter in between two fallen walls of a nearby building. "Where in the shell did they get gold ink?"

The monster groaned a frightening, loud howl. All he could do was try to observe what was happening from the small opening he was hiding in between. It reminded him of his holoscreen, the device he used during matches to observe the map overhead. Just like then, they, too, were but tiny blips in a grand land, where the threat outweighed each and every one of them. This was no rainmaker match, though, and time was running out. They'd soon be but gum on the bottom of the world's punk blacks if they didn't come up with a solid game plan.