The Beats Go On

Chapter 72: A Tear In The Fabric Of Time

💧Chapter 72: A Tear In The Fabric Of Time

"Guys!"

"Huh?!"

"Look over there!"

Ami pointed to the uncorrupted citizen, a teardrop, and everyone saw them. Without another word, they ran over. They could be in danger for all the group knew! Soon, the citizen could see the group running towards them. They looked around nervously for a few seconds before running away.

"What?! Why are they running away from us?!" Digo shouted.

"We're not corrupted!" El called out to the citizen.

"Wait El, quiet down! Other corrupted might hear you!" Coco hissed.

Cas turned around to see if there was something scary behind the group, but there wasn't. He scanned the area nearby to see if there was anything else that could be potentially dangerous. Nope, it was open ground with no weird lumps or trap-looking things.

"Maybe they want us to follow them?" Ina suggested.

"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything dangerous around here," Cas said. "That must be it!"

"Then let's keep going!" Ami shouted.

The group kept going after the citizen. They followed them through the town, twisting and turning through buildings and alleys. They could hear shouts of the corrupted from behind them, but they didn't have any time to fight them. The teardrop somehow managed to keep a distance between the group and themselves, almost like running was something they were used to. The group was determined though, because any help they could get would be a step closer to finishing off the corruption once and for all!

They could only hope now  that this teardrop wasn't secretly trying to kill them or anything. They all remembered Champion fairly well, and how he'd faked being corrupted for quite some time. As they looked ahead, they could see the citizen hop into a hill...and go right through it! It must have been a secret hideout! The group followed suit, and soon they found themselves in a small room. They also saw the citizen cowering beside several wooden crates and boxes. Ina carefully tried to approach them.

"Hey-"

"S-stay back! You're just corrupted shapes pretending to be non-corrupted, aren't you?! You'll never take me alive!!" the citizen squeaked.

Cizi - Teardrop - Teal

She's lived with the corrupted all her life. How she herself never got corrupted is a mystery.

"Listen, we're not here to corrupt you. We saw an uncorrupted shape and wanted to make sure you weren't attacked by the other corrupted," Ami explained calmly.

"Yes! We friend!" Ari added.

"Give me proof you're not corrupted!" Cizi cried, still scared.

"Uuuh. How do we do that?" El asked.

"I dunno, pull at our skin maybe? Champion was covering his skin with stuff so we need to prove we're not doing that too!" Cas suggested. "Just errr....don't make it too weird maybe?"

"You point make!" Ari chirped.

And so everyone came into view and started picking at themselves. Nothing super icky, they just poked themselves and grabbed sections of skin. Cizi slowly relaxed once she saw the group doing this, but she still had her suspicions.

"O-okay, so maybe you aren't too bad..." she muttered. "B-but if you try anything, I-!"

"Don't worry, we're here to stop the corruption. All we need to do is gather allies and bust into the HQ," Coco replied before she could finish.

Cizi paused for a moment. The group could tell she was still a little shaken up, so they gave her time. The room was quiet for a bit, the only sounds being sounds of corrupted creatures fighting each other outside. None of them were anywhere near the hill.

"I have two other friends, but we'll only be able to get you in. We can't take you any further than that..." Cizi mumbled.

"That's good enough for us! Any help is appreciated by now," Ami replied.

"Alright. th-then. I guess...the coast is clear?"

The group looked up as a pentagon and rhombus appeared from behind some of the materials.

Persim - Pentagon - Orange

A rowdy young shape who didn't let the corruption destroy their faith. They've teamed up with friends in hopes of one day taking down the corruption together, but...they're just kids.

Otro- Rhombus - Purple

A very smart shape, though their parents have been corrupted and quite possibly killed. Not one to talk more than necessary.

"Alright, where should we start?" El asked.

"Well...their lair is pretty large...and they have TONS of guards around the place," Persim explained. "So if you want to get in, you're gonna have to take out those guards first."

"Are there spy cameras? Security measures?" Ami inquired.

"Don't worry, I'll get to hacking into those for you," Otro replied calmly.

"Phew."

"So...how are we going to take out the guards if there are so many?" Digo asked.

"Easy!"

Persim took out a piece of stray paper and a pencil lying around and began writing. The others gathered around to see what was going on.

"We'll split into 5 groups. Each group can take on a different part of the HQ. Once we're inside, we can join back up," they explained.

Everyone had a look at the paper, trying to get a good look at it despite the lack of light in the room. The paper paired shapes together, and according to it the pairs were:

Digo and Ami

Coco and Ari

Cas and Cizi

Persim and Otro

Ina and El

"But...what about you guys?" Ina asked, concerned for the other shapes. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll keep a lookout for you. Never know if another corrupted will try and mess with your plans," Persim replied confidently.

"Ah, right!"

"What should we do if the corrupted get past you and attack us?" Cas asked.

"Well, you all can fight, right? You must have gone through a lot to get here..." Otro said.

The group exchanged glances, mostly because they remembered their loss to Sese and their near loss to Digo. If this island was full of strong corrupted creatures, then they'd have to be more careful.

"Y...yeah, we can," Coco replied, trying not to sound too worried.

"Great!"

Everyone stood up and smiled as they prepared to start the mission.

"It's time to take action!" Persim said proudly.