Crossed Fates (OLD)

Chapter 25: Testing... 1, 2, 3

The next day...

At the Inn, main area...

Luke: "Good morning, everybody."

Liv: "Hyahaha! Good morning, Party Pooper!"

Tezuka: "Yeah, Party Pooper. Where did you and Luna go? We were the life of the party. We're famous now. Lots of people know about the Peeps."

Luke: "For being... party animals?"

Tyler: "Also for being an amazing DJ. People wanna hire me! I mean... I used to be a DJ on the side when I was younger, but hey! Rep is Rep! Any good reputation for us means a lot."

Luna: "Wait... do we even wanna be famous?"

Toby: "It'd be cool, I guess..."

Luke: "Hell yeah, Luna! The Peeps... Most legendary squad ever!"

Tezuka: "If only it was PoopButt McShittyTitty."

Tyler: "Oh well! So... what're we gonna do today?"

Luke: "I dunno. Hanako wanted us all to be available today."

Tyler: "Well, lucky for her, we're all tuckered out from the festival, and also available."

Liv: "Yep."

Tyler: "Hey, Luna. You seem different..."

Luna: "I do?"

Tyler: "Yeah. Hmm... Is it the ring on your finger? Or is it just the general vibe?"

Luna: "Oh! Well, urm... I-"

Luke: "She found her Resolve, and we're engaged."

Tyler: "Eh!? You two got engaged?! Why didn't you do it in front of everybody?!"

Luke: "The twins saw it, though. That's all that matters to me."

Toby: "Aw, man."

Liv: "Boo! You're no fun!"

Luna: "Oh well. I'm just happy they're both safe."

Tyler: "Wait wait wait... You're happy they're both safe..? And... What do you mean you found your resolve? What happened?!"

Luna: "The twins got kidnapped, and we found and killed the kidnapper."

Toby: "Seriously? Why didn't you come get us for help?!"

Luke: "Didn't wanna ruin your night. We did find them eventually. So, we didn't really need you guys."

Liv: "But wouldn't it have been easier with more-"

Hanako: "Hello, Peeps!"

She bursts open the door. The twins also burst through.

Luke: "Hey, kids!"

Faith: "Dad!"

Hope: "Dad, Dad!!!"

They all barge at Luke, hugging him.

Luke: "Hey hey hey, girls! You seem pretty happy."

They both nod their heads excitedly. Hanako claps her hands to get everyone's attention.

Hanako: "Right guys! Who's ready to experiment?"

Toby: "Experiment? What's happening?"

Hanako: "Come on, we're gonna power up the mech today."

Faith: "Yeah!"

Tezuka: "Ooh, dibs."

Tyler: "Dang it."

Liv: "Will you even be able to control it with no arms, Armless?!"

Tezuka: "I could use my feet."

Hope: "No fighting! We go to the mech now! And we all have fun with it!"

Luke: "Hm. Alright then Hope. Let's go."

Faith: "Yeah!!! Actually, no! You stay here! We'll bring the mech over!"

Tyler: "Wait... How will people in Lusni react to there being a mech in the street? That'd be very weird."

Hanako: "Oh, come on. It won't be as weird as... THAT."

Tyler: "Oh yeah... THAT..."

8 years ago...

At the pastry shop...

Hanako: "Yes! They finally have mint chocolate! I looooove  mint chocolate!"

Tyler: "Mint chocolate? Seriously?!"

Hanako: "Yeah!"

Tyler: "That's weird."

Hanako: "Nuh uh!"

Tyler: "Yeah huh."

Hanako: "Nuh uh! That... Thing over there is weird!"
 
She points at something. Tyler looks around to see what appears to be a man. He has tentacles coming from where his arms and legs would be. He turns around, and in mere seconds, approaches the two.

Zloogfetoo: "HELLO CHILDREN! I AM ZLOOGFETOO! I WILL TELL YOU FORTUNE FOR FREE!!!"

Tyler: "Eep! What the hell???"

Zloogfetoo: "YOUNG BOY! YOU WILL DIE!!!"

Tyler: "Huh, okay. I mean... that is a very safe fortune to make. Everybody dies eventually."

Zloogfetoo: "YOUNG GIRL! YOU WILL CONSUME THAT MINT CHOCOLATE! AND YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY MINT DOG CHOCOLATE! TOOTALOO!"

The thing disappears. Tyler and Hanako look at each other, then back at her chocolate. He's right.

Hanako: "Eugh! He was right! It IS mint dog chocolate... Why would they even make these things?!"

Tyler: "Maybe dogs like mint. I mean, there are half-breeds around, like the beastmen. They'd want that type of chocolate. Our chocolate is poisonous to them."

Hanako: "It IS poisonous to them, I forgot!"

Tyler: "...That was probably the weirdest thing I've ever experienced."

Hanako: "Same."

Back to the present...

Luke: "...A guy with tentacles? Like... an octopus?"

Hanako: "I don't even know It was so weird."

Liv: "That ain't the weirdest thing I've seen! Let me tell you something!"

Hanako: "Right... Me and the Twins'll be right back."

Luke: "Safe travels."

Hanako: "Yeah. You too."

Tyler chuckles. Hanako tilts her head in confusion from his chuckling.

Tyler: "We're not going anywhere, though."

Hanako realises what she said, and facepalms. She quickly leaves out of embarrassment. Tyler laughs even harder.

Tyler: "Oh, man! What a clutz!"

Liv: "Back to my story! So... once upon a time..!"

1 hour later...

The Peeps, alongside Hanako and the twins, are currently outside on a field just barely outside Lusni. The twins brought around their rocky mech. It's pretty big. Much bigger than they remember.

Hope: "Okay, Guys! The mech is finally outside, so you can see it better!"

Faith: "Yay! You can finally see the mech in all it's glory!!!"

The mech, standing next to Faith and Hope, is about 3 times their size. It's quite clunky, but that is to be expected from a mech made from rocks. The left hand seems to be a huge metal drill. The right hand looks similar to a claw, which seems to try and resemble a hand.

Tezuka: "Ooh. Let me in."

She jumps in enthusiastically. She sits there for a couple of minutes, sitting around.

Tyler: "So... How did you get it here?"

Hanako: "I carried it."

Luna: "Seriously?"

Hanako: "Nope! You have to pour some of your mana into the core. Once you do that, you can control the mech as if you were controlling your elements!"

Tezuka: "Hmm..."

She pours some of her mana into the Mech, and suddenly it springs to life.

Tezuka: "Oh, sweet. It can move."

Luna: "Woah!"

Luke: "Dude, sick!"

Tezuka: "I wonder what this can do! Let's do this."

She wriggles in her seat a bit, and the mech's arms start to spin around rapidly in a 360-degree motion, with both arms enveloped in fire. The speed is surprisingly fast.

Luna: "Holy shit."

Luke: "Wow. You kids are geniuses for making this."

Tezuka: "What else can I do, huh? Lemme at em!"

She begins to move the mech. The mech moves surprisingly fast for it's size and weight.

Faith: "Hmm... Maybe Auntie Fire can make the mech go fast!"

Hope: "Ooh, maybe!"

Tezuka: "Make it go fast, huh? That's... pretty cool, I guess."

She gets off of the mech.

Tezuka: "Eenie... meenie... miney... You."

She headbutts Luna.

Luna: "Ow! Hey!"

Tezuka: "Your turn, Luna."

Luna: "Eh? Oh. You could have just tapped me on the back-"

Tezuka stares deep into Luna's soul. Luna stops speaking immediately, and goes into the mech.

Luna: "All right... pour some mana in..."

She pours some mana into the Mech.

Luna: "All right! Let me try and figure something out..."

The Mech's core begins to light up, and suddenly a huge beam of thunder shoots out, and it mows through trees, and leaves marks on the ground. The mech leaves a trail underneath from the heavy recoil.

Tezuka: "Aww. Lame. Mine was so much lamer."

Tyler: "Well... I'm sure eventually this mech'll have it's own uses. Who knows? Maybe you making it go fast as shit will be useful. That beam looked hard to control."

Tezuka: "True."

Luna: "Haha! Awesome!"

She hops off the mech.

Luna: "Alright... Liv! Have the honours of going next!"

Liv: "HYAHAHAHAHA! HERE I GO!"

Liv hops into the mech. She pours some mana inside.

Liv: "GO!!!"

A huge splash of water comes out of the mech's left hand. The drill on the hand spins, and the spinning causes more water to trickle out, which eventually becomes a full wave, which is then pushed very quickly into the direction of the trees Luna had destroyed. The rubble from the trees are pushed away very easily.

Liv: "AWESOME!!! YARGHH!!! I'M A REAL PIRATE!!!"

Luke: "Hey, me next, rat! Me next!"

Liv: "NO! I'M GONNA KEEP THIS THING, AND I'LL-"

Hope: "No! Bad rat! You don't get to keep the mech! Give Daddy his turn now!"

Liv: "WHAT?! NOO!!! BUT IT'S SO AWESOME!!!"

Faith: "We know. You only get to use it when it's your turn, though!"

Liv: "Ugh..."

She hops off the mech unwillingly.

Luke: "Sweeeeeeeet! My turn!"

He hops onto the mech, and pours some mana into it.

Luke: "Alright... Let's... ROCK!"

The mech's right hand forms a shield from light, and it shines brightly.

Luke: "Oh, sweet!"

Luke throws the shield from the mech, and it works like a boomerang. It slices through some more trees.

Tyler: "Hey! Sick!"

Luke: "Hah! I know, right? Toby, you can have a go."

He gets off the mech.

Toby: "Well, here goes..."

Toby climbs onto the mech, and pours some mana into it.

Toby: "Let's see..."

The mech's left hand changes forms from a drill into a minigun.

Tezuka: "Aw, man... What..? Lame. Once. More. He gets a minigun? I just get to spin around really quickly? Aw, man."

Liv: "Quit yer complaining! We can all utilise these in different ways! Ain't that right, Cat!?"

Toby: "Hell yeah! Watch me tear down this forest!"

The mech's minigun starts spinning rapidly, and tons of wind bullets come flying out, mowing down the rest of the trees that were around them. After precisely 6 seconds of shooting, the minigun overheats.

Faith: "Woah!!! Awesome! Big gun!"

Toby hops off the mech, and sighs happily.

Toby: "Alright, you want a go, Tyler? You're the last one to get a turn."

Tyler: "Pass."

Hanako: "Whaaaaat? You serious?"

Tyler: "Meh, I don't think I'll ever have to use it."

Hope: "Uncle Rock! Please use it!"

Faith: "Yeah! Please?"

Tyler: "Maybe some other day. Why don't you let Mom have a turn?"

Hanako: "Well, I already kinda did have a turn. I can jump and cause shockwaves around me. It was fun."

Tyler: "Nice."

Faith: "Awh... I was excited to see how the mech was gonna react to your element, Uncle Rock!"

Tyler: "Did you try it, Faith?"

Faith: "Yeah. Me and Hope don't get anything cool. We just get the mech as it is."

Tyler: "Then I'd probably be the same."

Luke: "True. Oh well! I think we should all have some fun with this mech!"

Liv: "HYAHAHAHAHA! IF TYLER DOESN'T WANT IT, GIVE IT TO MEE!!!"

She tries to hop into the mech, but the mech suddenly just whacks her away.

Faith: "Haha! It rejected you! ...Why did it do that..?"

She looks over to Tyler, who quickly closes his palm.

Faith: "Uncle Rock?"

Tyler: "Yes?"

Faith: "Did you..?"

Tyler: "I might've."

Faith: "Hehe, you're funny."

Tyler: "Why, thank you."

Hope: "Anyways... Let's play! We're all here! I wanna play!"

Tezuka: "Tag, you're it."

Luna: "Huh? You didn't even tag anybody."

Tezuka: "Oh yeah."

She swings her head forward, and with extreme force, she headbutts Luna again. She makes a run for it. Luna falls onto the floor, and she holds on to her head.

Luna: "Ow.... Fuck... God... God damn it..."

Everyone shares a chuckle.

Later, that evening...

Luke and Luna are carrying the twins on their back. Faith and Hope are quite sleepy.

Luke: "Hey, it's nice to be able to see these two in the dark, huh?"

Luna: "Yeah... I don't want to lose them ever again."

Luke: "You're a good mother."

Luna: "You really think so?"

Luke: "I don't think so. I know so."

Luna: "Oh, Luke..."

She waves her hand at him, all flustered.

Luke: "Hey, I mean it."

Luna: "I... I can't believe you chose to marry me. You have no idea how much I love you-"

???: "Hey, sorry to cut your chit-chat short, you two."

Someone suddenly drops from the sky, and they land perfectly on their feet. Their stance, their clothing... The Shadow Prince, Matthew.

Matthew: "Hmm, since when did you two have kids?"

Luna: "I-I-"

Luke: "Oh, we adopted them. They were homeless, it was the least I could do."

Matthew: "Huh. Okay then. Anyways, good that I saw you when I did."

Luke: "Oh yeah?"

Matthew: "I need to let you know something. You all need to train immediately. I found... Wait, were either of you with me during the whole lab thing?"

Luke: "Uhm, no. But we know a little bit, unfortunately I forgot."

Luna: "Hehe... Same."

Matthew: "Well... Fuck. Okay. Ask the Earthbender about the the two test subjects who escaped. He'll fill you in. There's gonna be a plethora of Voidlings coming to Lusni, soon. Spoilers, they ain't friendly."

Luna: "Wait... a plethora? Voidlings? Oh geez, how many?"

Matthew: "Millions, probably."

They both shake their head in disbelief.

Matthew: "You all have a week to prepare. I'll come for you guys then. Oh, and to make it easier for myself... I might bring some of you along. Only 3."

Luke: "Yeesh... A week?!"

Matthew: "Yep. Sorry it's such short notice, but I only just found out, so if you get pissy, don't blame me. Anyways, I'm off. I got shit to do."

Luna: "Wait, wait! This is-"

The Shadow Prince jumps up into the air, and simply floats away.

Luke: "A week... To prepare? Shit."

Luna: "Well... We'll just have to get training tomorrow."

Luke: "I'll ask Hanako to help us. Tyler's back in good condition, so we'll get some good mentoring from him too."

Luna: "Yeah. Hopefully."

They look at each other, a little shaken. They continue walking to Hanako's house to drop off the twins. They're anxious they have 1 week to prepare for 1 million Voidlings. How will they tell the others?