Chapter 4
159.
A thrilling adventure always happens whenever Kita is present. Hana is used to it now, but the rest of their team needs to deal with it whether they like it or not. Trapped inside a half dome of ice in the mountains, miles away from the village, team Kita is stuck in a deadly situation. If they dig their way out, there's a possibility that the snow might fall inside the dome and bury them alive. On the flip side, waiting for the snow to thaw down puts them on a timer, suffocation will be their enemy if it took a lot of time.
Having a wild imagination plus her impulsiveness, Kita started to explain her plan of getting out. "Here's what we are gonna do, Hana will push the snow upwards so it won't bury us here. While she's pushing the snow, I'll immediately freeze the surroundings, which will create a hole for us to climb up. Once we reach the top, I'll create an ice bridge for us to cross through!"
"So to sum it up… Your plan is to walk on ice? Nyu do know that ice is slippery, one misstep will lead to snow diving with no return." Hana responded.
"Plus it will be painful for Byakko to walk on ice," Maiko added.
"Misstep? Walk? We ain't doing any of that. When we are at the surface, everyone will hop on the sled, I guess Linx can just hold on to the rope as she snowboards, and then we'll ride it down as I freeze the path! We will slide through the ice thanks to the downhill momentum, it will be a fun ride!" Kita said.
"And with that, I rest my case," Hana responded.
"Does she always come up with ideas like that?" Linx questioned.
Maiko chuckled as she answered, "Believe me, that's just the tip of the iceberg."
"When it comes to wild imagination, no one can top off Kita," Celeste added.
"LET'S GET THIS ADVENTURE GOING!" Kita energetically said.
In the end, they all agreed to the plan and let Kita lead. They couldn't think of any alternatives, or at least modifications to make it safer, meaning Kita will get what she wants as usual. The idea is to create a hole through the snow, which is big enough for Byakko to pull the sled up. Byakko also needs to endure climbing the ice tunnel with his bare feet. He will only follow once everyone finally makes it to the top. In further discussion, the team decided to leave some of their equipment so they could create enough space for Byakko in the sled.
And now, it's time for the execution, Hana and Kita stand close to each other as they create the ice tunnel while the rest of them follow from behind. Pushing the snow upward, Kita's plan is working out perfectly, they are trying to make the tunnel not too steep so it will be easier for them to climb and push through. Thanks to their slow and steady strategy, team Kita finally reached the top. They all hop on the sled while Linx prepares her snowboard.
"Alright, looks like everyone is in their position. Are nyu all ready?" Kita asked.
"I'm way more nervous now compared to the avalanche earlier," Hana said.
"Can we just slide through the snow without freezing it?" Celeste responded.
"That will be problematic considering the depth of the snow, we will be in trouble once we lose momentum. Plus our combined weight on the sled could be too heavy, we might sink if Kita didn't freeze the path." Maiko answered.
"On my signal, one, two, three, LEAAAN!" Kita instructed as they all leaned forward, pushing the sled off the edge. By putting everyone's weight on the front, the team started to slide down as Kita freezes their path. Exhilarating, thrilling, and definitely expeditious, team Kita is in haste towards the village.
"WOOOOHH!" Kita shouted.
"I DON'T LIKE SLEDS ANYMORE!" Celeste screamed.
"This is so much fun!" Linx said as she tail from the sled.
In due time, the team is back to Crystalline Forest. The momentum from the ice sledding made the group fly to the snow as soon as they reached the forest. The trees mostly block the snowfall, that's why the snow depth is not as deep compared to the mountains. Plus the avalanche usually ends up on the plains, which will melt down later. Luckily, the snow depth in Crystalline Forest is deep enough to catch the group and safely crash down. Everyone reacted differently to the wild ride as they walked toward their destination.
As the daylight dimmed out, team Kita finally reached the village. When the chief asked about how are they, everyone responded, "Food…" It was confusing for Iberx at first but seeing how tired the group looked helped him realize that they were starving. They all proceeded to the chief's place, where they enjoyed their dinner and called it a day. It has been a fruitful adventure, and it is something that they'll never forget.
By the following morning, everyone on the team is aware of what they should do. As much as Linx wanted to bond more with the team, they still had duties to attend to. It will take a long time before they can meet again, that's why the team bid their farewells for now and promised to meet again someday. Kita, Hana, Maiko, and Celeste went back to the UniPaws while Linx stayed in the village.
The warmth of the light once again touches their skin and it's been a while since the team felt it. Staying in Blizshore made them appreciate the weather in the UniPaws even more. Eve, Rin, Aoi, and Lisa spotted the team and immediately welcomed them.
"So how was it?" Eve asked the group.
"One word, freezing!" Kita answered.
"Freezing?" Rin, Aoi, and Lisa confusedly replied.
"That's ironically both oversimplified and well-described," Maiko commented.
"But it is accurate," Hana replied.
"I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DIE!" Celeste added.
"That's what nyu always said tho," Eve responded.
"To be fair, that's always true when Kita is around," Rin kiddingly said as they all laughed.
Team Kita went to the camp where they changed their clothes, and ate breakfast while exchanging stories. As of now, Eve said that team FeLinE hasn't returned yet. Team Kita decided to meet up with them first, before heading to Kemitopia. It will be a long conversation with Queen Grace and it's better if everyone is present when that happens.
160.
It took some time before the camp was fully packed up, it was indeed faster when Raven was the one in charge, though team Blizshore still got things done. The afternoon came and the team headed to the island where team Hachtile is. It wasn't that far from theirs, it will only take a whole night, thus the voyage started.
It's been a silent night, the ocean is serene and the waves are calm. In a fast-paced series of adventures, times like this are truly valuable for the group. After a whole night of peaceful sailing, the team reached the island as the day rises, and it looks like something was waiting for them. Upon arriving at the place, they can hear the other team from miles away. Curious about the noise, team Kita approached team FeLinE.
"OY! WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE?" Kita shouted as they ran towards team FeLinE.
"Oh, it's them. I missed that noise." Yuna said.
"FeLinE didn't," FeLinE:1000X responded.
"RAVEN AND DARLI ACQUIRED THEIR TALENT!" Lulu replied to Kita.
"WHAT?" Everyone in team Kita reacted in shock.
"Look, I am truly a dragon now! WAAAH!" Darli excitedly said as flames goes out of her mouth. Fire breathing is the talent that Darli unlocked.
"THAT IS SO COOL!" Kita commented.
"Her bond with the dragons must have given her that talent," Maiko commented.
"Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!" Darli and Lulu celebrated.
"How about Raven, what's her talent?" Hana curiously asked.
"Honestly, we don't know yet. She just fused with the Runecrystal, and that's it." Yuna answered.
"We've been trying to test different scenarios to see if her talent is reaction-based. None is successful so far." Rubi added.
"How did nyu discover that nyu can make ice at my unit back then?" Raven asked Kita.
"After fusing with my Runecrystal, the water on the glass froze. That's when I had the idea that freezing is my talent, and then of course I spent those missing days practicing." Kita answered.
"So it naturally just came out," Mae commented.
"Maybe Raven's talent is already happening, we just can't see it!" Mittsy added.
"Or, it could be a passive one, not flashy, that's why we don't notice it," Coco said.
"Oh, that's a good guess," Aoi responded.
"Let's find out Raven's talent first before heading back to Kemitopia, Queen Grace is busy anyway," Kita suggested.
"Busy? Why?" Yuna questioned.
"Days ago, the Queen assisted the missing Kemis back to Kemitopia. For sure Kemitopia is in shambles right now." Rin answered.
"I'm glad to hear that, though the aftermath is indeed problematic. Maybe it's best to let Queen Grace deal with the situation first." Yuna replied.
"It was only Queen Grace and the scholars who came back to the UniPaws early. Kita and the rest explored Blizshore, it took them 4 days," Lisa added.
"Wait, what? 4 days? WE ALMOST BEAT THEM!" Lulu intervened.
"Beat who?" Hana curiously responded.
"Your team... We challenged ourselves to get the Mystical Runekey faster than your team, and it turns out, Kita won again." Raven explained.
"HA HA! Nyu can't beat me! Even if I don't know there's a challenge!" Kita boasted.
"Which makes us want to beat nyu even more, maybe someday," Yuna replied.
In the end, the two teams decided to stay on the island a bit more to help Raven. FeLinE also agrees to the plan because they could use Raven's talent in their next adventure, but of course, depending on the result. This time, the teams worked together as one, preparing all the necessary steps for their experiment.
Eve, Rubi, and Celeste take charge, it's their field of expertise after all. Others will serve as assistants while the rest will be test subjects for a potential passive buff. With the finalized setup, the experimentation began.
"Based on the previous failed trials, Raven's ability is not related to any elements or summoning. Coco's hypothesis is most likely the answer. Let's start by throwing different objects which will serve as targets for Raven." Eve instructed.
The group started to throw random objects, starting with a small one. Raven stands near the object and aims her hands at the target, trying to test if there's something that will affect the object. At first, the results aren't evident, but as they continue the experimentation, the data gathered is starting to get more valuable.
As it turns out, the effect was much more noticeable if the object was heavier. Every object that was thrown went down faster compared to when Raven was not using her talent. The initial assumption was Raven could alter the object's weight, but it doesn't seem like it because the Catgirls can still lift the object with or without Raven's help. It must be something related but also different from their first assumption.
"Weird, how come it falls down faster without changing its weight," Rubi questioned.
"Maybe that's her talent, making things fall faster!" Mittsy guessed.
"That's kinda… Unique?" Mae confusedly reacted.
Thanks to Mittsy's wild guess, Kita realized something, "Wait… That's it! It is not about falling faster, Raven can make things faster! Literally!" She suddenly said.
"That makes more sense," Hana commented.
"That would be an efficient talent," FeLinE:1000X responded.
"Then let's try it out, Kita and I will race from here to that point. We all know Kita is the fastest runner here, but if I beat Kita with Raven's boost, that would give us the answer. Plus we can also assess how fast can Raven boost a Kemi's speed." Yuna suggested.
"That's a good idea, we can do 2 sets; the first one will be a normal run, and the other race will be with Raven's boost." Eve agreed.
"Let's do it!" Kita energetically said.
Kita and Yuna prepared on the starting line, and when Lulu shouted, "Go!" The race began. The result in the first race is pretty much what they expected, certainly, no one can beat Kita in a sprinting race. But when the second race was conducted, the competition wasn't even close. Raven managed to double Yuna's speed, beating Kita in the blink of an eye.
"That was so cool!" Darli said.
"It's like I gave haste to my target," Raven mentioned.
"Target haste… Quite a good name for an ability." Aoi commented.
"It is also straightforward, easy to understand," Lisa added.
"Then it's settled, I finally have a talent name! TARGET HASTE!" Raven shouted with extreme joy. The rest joined the celebration as they finally found the answer.
161.
More members of the group are unlocking their talents and because of that, Kita immediately thinks of something Darli will surely never forget for the rest of her life. Darli flies around in haste while breathing fire, combining the talents of Yuna, Raven, and Darli lets the Dragonkin live up to her title. Truly, Kita is a genius when it comes to creativity. The first talent combination was Ice Cage, and now the Dragonkin, only Kita knows what further combination they can create using their talents.
Eventually, their fun time comes to an end. The experiment was successful and it's time for them to get back on track. Everyone helped in packing up the camp, which allowed the group to have enough time to enjoy their brunch on the ships. Raven tried to hasten the ship's speed but it was too large for her to influence its momentum. As of now, there is only an optimal size of the target for Raven to use her talent, not too small, nor large. It will take a lot of practice before she can wield its full potential.
The distance between the Kemitopia and the island that they've been through is quite far. While cruising through the ocean, everyone is curious about what's happening in Kemitopia. A few moments later, Mittsy and Mae received a message on their wristwatches.
"Aaaa… Anoooo… Guys," Mae nervously called everyone's attention after reading the message.
"THE KEMITOPIA IS IN CHAOS!" Mittsy intervened.
"WHAT?" They all responded.
"Well, our friends are updating us, they said that the citizens are protesting. Half of them are blaming the Runes, wanting all of them gone from the country, while the others defend it." Mae explained.
"This has been an old issue in Kemitopia. It ended when UniKemis was established, but it looks like the issue resurfaced when the missing Kemis made it back, especially the fact that only 3 of them survived." Lisa mentioned.
"Then we must get back to Kemitopia quickly," Kita suggested.
"On it!" Lulu replied. She immediately went to the edge of the ship to call Thirdy and Centy. The Giant Beasts responded quickly, and the ships were delivered to Kemitopia in just 2 hours. It was still at a safe pace but fast enough to reach their destination unscathed.
Upon their arrival, the dock is clear and unoccupied, there are no Kemis in sight. This made the group even more worried about the situation. If the streets are empty, it only means one thing; the citizens are gathered in front of the Royal Palace. Eventually, the group set foot near the place. The noise is deafening and there's a clear division of sides—the left side protests about the Runes while the right side defends them. The chaos prevents the group from entering the palace.
"There are Kemis everywhere, they are blocking the way," Aoi said.
"This is irritating," Coco commented.
"I'LL BURN EVERYONE IN OUR WAY!" Darli shouted.
"Chill, we don't want their anger to be shifted on us," Raven responded.
"Can't we just fly above them?" Lulu suggested.
"With this setup, pulling a public stunt might backfire later on," Rin argued.
"Let's just head to the mountains and then sneak from there," Yuna said.
Trying to sneak through the commotion, the group moved to the mountains. Good thing their talents made it convenient, they can now fly towards the mountains in haste. As long as they stay close to the ground, no one can spot them. Later on, they reached the same spot where they previously flew down, but this time, they slowly went straight to the back side of the palace. In this way, the Royal Guards can identify them, and also won't catch the public's attention. Their plan succeeded, allowing the group to finally meet up with Queen Grace.
"I'm glad nyu guys made it. The other members of the UniKemis are inside the meeting room, let's start the 2nd meeting of the UniKemis." Queen Grace said.
To respect the essence of the alliance, only the members participated in the meeting this time. Eve and Maiko followed Queen Grace toward the room. The rest stayed in a separate room in the meantime, creating a plan for their next journey will keep them occupied for now.
"Imagine if we stayed in Seashore Tribe… Nyu are probably the next Tribe Leader, meaning, nyu are the one in Strigi's place, dealing with this mess. That would be a huge headache." Kita told Hana.
"Well, UniKemis probably might not even exist in the first place if we never left the Seashore Tribe," Hana replied.
"Enough of the idle talk, it's time to formulate our next move." FeLinE:1000X intervened.
"Haaaaiii." The rest responded.
"Oh, by the way, here's the Mystical Runekey," Kita said as she handed over the artifact. FeLinE then stored it in her Relic.
"Sooo what's next?" Raven curiously asked.
"The next realm is Euchambersia and it is probably the most dangerous place to go to," FeLinE:1000X answered.
"I thought the Underworld holds that title?" Yuna questioned.
"Both realms are dangerous but in different ways; the Underworld is the most chaotic, while Euchambersia has a hazardous nature. That is the realm where Venomous-type Kemis and Beast Mimis exist, the place itself is also filled with poisonous plants. The Kemis living there have immunity to the toxins, but that will be a problem for the visitors. The air is still breathable, and other resources are fine, but the plants and Beasts there will be problematic." FeLinE:1000X explained.
"Plants? I can just burn them out!" Darli said.
"Burning the plants isn't advisable. When a plant dies in Euchambersia, it releases spores with toxins into the air, which will kill us and eventually will be the vessel of the new plants. They only reproduce when killed, so it's best to just avoid the plants completely." FeLinE:1000X responded.
"That will be easy, it's not like they are mobile or something," Kita mentioned.
"They do, veins there crawl fast," FeLinE:1000X answered.
"They do?" Everyone reacted in shock.
"FeLinE has been thinking about the proper way of dealing with the situation. FeLinE has a proposal regarding who will venture into Euchambersia." FeLinE:1000X said.
"Here we go again," Hana commented.
"I hope she picks me," Kita added.
"I would even be surprised if she did," Yuna kiddingly responded.
"IT'S TIME FOR A NEW LINEUP!" Lulu said.
End of Chapter 4