Melody of the Holoverse

Episode 15: Butterflies in the Jungle

Back into the junoesque valley, The Keeper leading the way as the rest of us followed. Behind every tree, behind every branch, a critter lent its gaze, curious.

"You know," Selen said, "this is typically the part where the killer leads the unsuspecting heroine to her untimely demise."

"Me? A killer? I believe you are sorely mistaken." Miss Filian struck a smug grin. "The only thing 'killer' about me are my devilish good looks. Isn't that right, Rea?"

If a doe could sigh, she would.

I, for one, didn't pay much attention to the tomfoolery, my imagination wandering as I dreamed up every possible scenario our challenger could throw at us.

A race with sky serpents.

A wrestling match with murderous tortoises.

Sunbathing, but mythical.

The list was endless; a fact my anxiety didn't much appreciate. With the way my stomach throbbed, you'd think it had a mind of its own.

But the finish line was clear.

No matter what we face, we have to win.

For Miss Yuko.

For Miss Nina.

Lost in my hurricane of thoughts, I didn't notice when our escort had brought us to a sizable circular clearing. Perfect for an arena.

"This oughta do it," Miss Filian said.

We stopped at the center, where she turned to face us.

Rea, meanwhile, went to take a seat on the edge.

"What do you girls think?" The Keeper asked. "This enough room?"

Selen stretched. "You could have us fight in a Pringles can for all I care; either way, I'm humbling your feline ass."

Pluto shared a similar sentiment.

"Whoa, whoa, slow your roll there, Miss Dragon," Miss Filian said. "Didn't I tell you? We're gonna have some fun with this. Anybody can have a basic brawl. What I want is a good time." She grinned. "Fix this boredom for me, will ya?"

I shivered.

The dragon cracked her knuckles. "As long as I get to smack you up, I don't care what we do."

"Good."

Miss Filian clapped her hands.

We waited.

Nothing.

"U-Um," I started, "is something supposed to—?"

THOOM!

Like a comet plummeting from the sky, a large steel container crashed cleanly into the ground beside The Keeper.

"What the hell?" Pluto bellowed.

Miss Filian folded her arms. "You guys like games? 'Cause I got a pretty good one right here. Played it with Kaichou all the time when she banned me from eating fruit snacks. Side note: Cavities are a price worth paying."

She reached into her pocket and fished out a trio of keys, which she then tossed to each one of us.

"Put those on."

Attached to them were thin wires, and we wore them like necklaces.

"You want the Blossom?" Miss Filian tapped on the metal box. "It's all yours; if you can get in here, that is." She gestured to the trio of keyholes embedded in the container's face. "Of course, I'm not gonna make it easy for you. Get anywhere near here and I'll crush your lights."