Out of This World Gaming [~ read description]

Chapter 24: Regrouping

"So, you mean to tell me that you heard everything?" Clover pressed. "Y-yeah.. I did.." a little girl's voice weakly said, but it was slightly stronger now that she was in a tub of warm water and neck-high in soap bubbles. If she was any other child, she'd waste no time in engaging in horseplay, but she had a look of worry on her face. 

"You're scared of Satara, aren't ya?" "Why.. why wouldn't I be?" "You know, Iris, I think you're brave." 

The youth looked up at Clover, who was genuinely smiling, but the former wasn't buying it. "You're.. lying." she weakly said. "No, Iris, I truly mean it. Any other kid would just run away from someone scary like her, but you stayed no matter what." 

"I can't believe she took it." Iris lamented. Either Clover was going mad, or Iris was speaking with more energy. "Other than that, how're you feeling?" "A little better, but I only have the energy to talk." 

Well, it was a step in the right direction, and it was enough to put a smile of Clover's mug, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Without P-Fear, I feel empty inside. It was painful at first, but now I want it back more than anything." Iris lamented. "Yeah, but if we take on Satara's challenge, she'll probably install the remnants of it into Ziazan earlier than she said. She just seems like the kind of consoleoid to play dirty tricks." Clover explained as she dispensed conditioner from a bottle and entangled the substance into the consoleoid's soft, long locks. 

"Then let's play our own dirty trick." she looked up at her human friend. It's not very surprising for a kid to come up with such an idea, but it was such a crazy suggestion that it just had to work. "I think it's a great idea!" a male's voice resonated throughout the small room. Bubbles formed in the surface of the bathwater and a fish's head came up from the end where Iris's feet were. 

She screeched and threw him out of the tub in a fit of embarrassment. "I gotcha Zucc!" Clover reassured as she outstretched her hands, but his body kept slipping out of her grip and he was practically being juggled until he finally jumped into the toilet bowl that was just recently cleaned. Zucchini emerged from the water and was busy catching his breath. 

"Okay, where the hell did you come from?" Clover demanded. "I wanna hear more about your idea." the catfish spoke, ignoring his hostess's demands. "Well, I was hoping that we'd get back at Satara first in case she's playing a trick." Iris suggested whilst lowering her head further into the bubbles out of embarrassment. 

"How would we do that exactly?" Zerrin stood in the doorway. Her body was leaning forward, but kept stabilized by both palms pressed against both sides of the door frame while she had a look of curiosity scribbled in her expression. "I think we just do something she'd never expect." Clover suggested. 

"What could we possibly do, though?" another female's voice spoke up as its owner pushed Zerrin to the side as she entered. "Satara can expect Zerrin to make a new weapon, she can expect Iris to remain in her current state, she can expect you and your brother to remain relatively powerless humans, and she can expect my illusions. She knows every trick in our book from past confrontations." Larkspur analyzed her options. "Wait, Larks, your illusions might be the answer. Quick, make me feel pain." Zerrin suggested impulsively. "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." teased the older consoleoid. 

"No! Just make me feel some sort of pain, like a pinch on the arm or something." she clarified. Larkspur gazed at one of Zerrin's arms as she held up a shaky hand and snapped her fingers. Almost immediately, Zerrin felt like a nerve was being pinched and she held onto it and screeched. "Sorry! I just don't remember that I'm stronger than I think." Larkspur pleaded. 

"Do you think you could help Iris?" Clover vaguely asked. 

Larkspur gazed at Iris with concerning eyes; how could she possibly help her? A sudden idea struck her, but it was a long shot. If she could make someone feel pain, that would mean she'd also have the ability to manipulate one's senses as to make them feel healthier than they really are, right? Then again, it was a long shot since she never truly tried it on anyone before, but it was worth trying, right?