Rays of light breathe through the thick clouds of dancing green leaves, tinting the light as its own, functioning as a filter composed of countless shifting plates. They dance in the morning breeze, any sight of the light's emitter completely obscured although the intense greenish cyan shade of light that's clearly not at peak brightness does attribute to the inference that sunrise is currently occurring, day having only just begun.
That growing radiance peers down to the base of the forest occupied by the towering trees supporting the ceiling, each spread out more with brown trunks wider than redwoods. Amongst those sparse beacons are many more trees, significantly smaller, the spread of the blue leaves bearing a conal shape similar to spruce. They aren't incredibly packed either, allowing space for light to reliably reach down to the green grass at the very floor, as well as the stream of running water glistening blue which arches through the landscape, the road that the black boat slowly drifts down. The back half of the boat sports a roofed cabin but the front half has an open deck where two figures can be seen standing by three benches forming a partial box, two of which are being occupied by another two figures sitting up, one in brown and the other white.
Blinking twice to ease herself awake, Kokei runs her hands through her hair to fix it the best she can without any proper equipment, not having taken hygiene enough into account for a multi-day mission. She still appears only half awake, though at least not yawning with such great intensity as Ekitai on the other bench, stretching his arms and jaw. After bellowing out into the closed sky, he faces the approaching golden figure that is Dana, her golden blank face staring back at him, her body the shape of a brute with broad shoulders and a solid stature.
Kokei notices Dana too, quickly waving to her with a groggy: "Oh good morning," before returning that hand to her hair to continue working through the mess she left it in. Dana glances at her and greets back, "Hey Kokei, I hope you rested well."
Ekitai aimlessly gazes around to the new biome he finds himself in, glancing at the tall trees whose bark is yellowish though a tone lighter than that of the swamp. He then faces the front control console to find Meditat at the helm, his left hand on the steering wheel as his other hand presses a few buttons. His hood rests over his head, connected to his cape which waves in the breeze as does Kokei's hair which she desperately tries to hold still, groaning between her teeth. Ekitai throws his arms on the railings of the boat before commenting, "Well I'm kind of glad we didn't blitz all the way to the finish line in an hour, that was probably the best three or some hours of sleep I've had!"
Kokei giggles before retorting, "Okay wait it was definitely a little more than that, or at least it felt a lot longer. That was actually one of the better nights I've had for some reason."
As Dana takes a seat on the bench behind Meditat, she faces Kokei before relating, "I know what you mean, vibrations and white noise or something, right Medit?"
Staring straight past the boat's nose to the river he drives down, Meditat is pulled out of his trance-like state to glance quickly to Dana with a perplexed, "What?"
An electric chuckle emits from Dana who waves off, "Never mind, keep doing what you're doing," which he does, turning his head forwards again. Her attention is then brought to the cabin's doorway as the boy steps outside, his cloak not yet, dressed still in his brown tunics and blue trousers though he quickly shudders from the breeze. He surveys the forest, shocked as he recognizes, "This is the area, I think we could probably get off more or less anywhere here, left side. We're already here, huh."
He turns to both Dana and Meditat before announcing, "I'll get the others up," and spins around before dashing back inside the cabin, leaving before either of them could respond.
Kokei's hands reach up near the top of her head after having toiled from the ends of her hair up towards the root, all while Ekitai, without a single hair on his head, relaxes against the bench and just admires the view. Focused on driving, Meditat cautiously steers the boat to the left and relays: "I'll be docking the boat now, we'll get off from the side." Dana turns her head to him to copy, "Alright," before turning back to Kokei, only now registering her struggle as she offers, "Uh, do you want help with that, Kokei?"
While Meditat flicks a few switches down –nearly just against the left edge of the stream–, Kokei pauses her hands which are nearly at the root, turning towards Dana before declining, "I'm fine now, basically done. Also uh…aren't you worried about ripping my hair out with those hands?"
Puzzled at first, Dana takes a second before glancing down to her own clawed hands, discerning the appearance of the situation to which she weakly mentions, "I mean…I was going to change that…of course."
There would've been little to benefit from such regardless as in only a few seconds, Kokei finishes fixing her hair, dropping her hands to the side just in time to face the doorway from where Alder strolls out, dressed in his green cloak, shielding his eyes with his hand as if even the filtered sunlight is blinding him. Not particularly able to face those he speaks to, he generally greets, "Morning everyone," as he approaches the bench Ekitai rests on, prompting him to drop his arms so as to not take up excess space. He slides to the corner of the bench as Maple exits the cabin next in her cloak too, distinctly more cheery as she waves her hand at Kokei and brightly greets, "Hey everyone!" Kokei brightens too and waves back with an equally cheery: "Hey Maple, good morning!" Behind her, Aspen walks out onto the deck in her cloak and glances around, waving to everyone and also addressing, "Looks like everyone's already up, I hope we didn't sleep in."
Meditat straightens the wheel –the boat practically grazing the edge — before grabbing the lever and gently pulls it towards him, causing the engine to begin calming as the boat itself starts to lose its speed, during which Dana shakes her head and assures, "Actually we're just arriving, so you're all fine!" Almost immediately, Pine's yelling voice blasts from inside the cabin: "Come on Hemlock, get up!!"
In response, the groggily irritated voice of Hemlock shouts back: "Oh come on, we can go in a couple hours."
Ekitai, Kokei, Maple, Aspen, Alder, and Dana all collectively and simultaneously face the cabin's doorway as Pine's voice feuds, "No we can't, come on we don't even have a lot left, just get up already!" Maple giggles before remarking, "Well…we're almost all fine," just as Meditat lets go of the lever and flicks a few switches, resulting in the engine's hum tapering to complete silence. While the boat does still advance, it only does sheerly by the current of the waters, therefore hardly moving given its weight. Meditat presses a few buttons before turning and strolling towards the side of the deck Ekitai and Alder sit at, standing closer to the nose. Maple and Kokei, seated side by side, watch him walk as Aspen and Dana, themselves side by side, stare at the cabin doorway, both pairs in anticipation.
Meditat extends his left hand, aiming down at the very edge of the deck, before releasing a constant fiery stream as he slowly raises his hand, guiding it towards the grass, leaving behind a plane connected to the edge of the boat and attaching to the ground along the water. That plane materializes into a ramp, long enough for two people to squeeze side by side, supported by a rim of a rubberized material that oddly suctions to the ground well enough for the boat to be completely halted in place.
Just as the ramp is completed, out from the door stumbles Hemlock, his cloak messily thrown over him as his back is being shoved by Pine, also having donned his cloak, groaning between teeth as he urges, "Move…forward…!" With one ultimate burst of strength, he thrusts Hemlock forth a few more steps, garnering the attention of everybody on deck to which he awkwardly waves his hand and observes, "Ah…you're all up aren't ya?"
Breathing heavily after pushing the brick wall, Pine works towards recovery as he faces Meditat and confirms, "We're all good to go, let's start moving before they get too far."
Tilting his head at first, Meditat pitches in puzzlement, "Shouldn't you all have a meal first…?"
Pine shrugs his shoulders and explains, "Eh, we don't really do that, and even then I'm still full from yesterday. Water could be nice to start the journey though, but we should get going."
Meditat nods his head and follows, "Right, here," before opening his right hand which fires a flame from each finger onto the right hands of each survivor, those flames growing into bottles which they instinctively grip. All of the survivors take a sip whereas Hemlock begins to chug desperately, leaving Meditat to face his allies whom he reminds, "The effects are wearing off from your-."
"Just give us the pill," Kokei snaps, urgently trying to pass through this reluctant necessity. Without elaborating further, Meditat nods and closes his hand into a fist which ignites on fire for a moment before dissipating as he approaches Ekitai first, who holds his hand out, letting Meditat simply slide a pill from his fist. He then walks towards Kokei who takes a deep breath before holding both hands out, allowing Meditat to do the same. Promptly he faces Dana, who shakes her head and declines, "I'll be fine actually, I don't really need it anyways."
Meditat nods and his fist ignites once again before he opens it, revealing nothing in his palm. Ekitai tosses the pill in his mouth without a second thought whereas Kokei stalls for a moment, but she squeezes her eyes shut and stuffs it in her mouth, exaggerating a single gulp to push it down her throat. Maple extends her right hand to place her bottle near Kokei's face before offering, "Do you…want this?" Kokei however opens her eyes and waves her hand to humbly decline, "Thanks but I'm fine."
After another sip of the bottle, Pine begins to march towards the ramp already created as he rallies, "Well come on now, let's start moving, we got to close the gap." One by one, each survivor and Bellator stand on their feet to follow him as he walks over the ramp, stepping from the boat's deck onto the grass floor of the forest once again. Behind him follows Aspen and Dana, then Maple and Kokei, as Meditat remains behind to allow everyone to board off first. He turns to Hemlock who could've been one of the first to depart since he was already standing, but instead just idles around, clearly wishing to not begin the journey.
Luckily Alder takes the responsibility of approaching Hemlock, wrapping his arm around the old man's shoulder and prompting: "Well, let's go on then, you don't want Pine angry do you?" Hemlock groans wearily but ultimately obliges, strolling to the ramp behind Alder as Ekitai takes one more glance around the boat, huffing before remarking, "Damn…I think I kind of miss this kind of outdated craft, little propellers just spinning around, a whole field of switches and buttons that nobody knows its purpose for. I didn't think you knew how to build these kinds of things."
He then turns back to the ramp to find all the survivors off, Meditat left waiting for him on the deck, explaining back: "Just knowing the most advanced solutions isn't always enough, and I found that there was much to learn from reviewing older systems. It was mostly out of a hobby, but there's a few times there's a tactical purpose, more or less luck."
Ekitai nods and ambles to the ramp, passing Meditat with a brief: "Yeah, guess so," before boarding off of the boat, joining the rest of the group on the grass. Lastly, Meditat spins around and marches down the ramp, approaching the rest of the group as suddenly the entire boat erupts into blue flames, catching the full group's attention who watches as it so quickly dissolves, the flames dispersing to leave nothing remaining, the ramp gone too.
Meditat marches through the squad, reaching Pine who turns forward and resumes his hike deeper into the woods, parting with the river. Behind them directly follows Ekitai, Hemlock, and Alder who walk ahead of the remaining group, able to spread out a bit wider given that even the smaller trees aren't too tight together. Maple and Aspen take another sip from their bottles as Kokei flips her head, throwing her pink hair behind herself, ready for the day.
Revitalized after a long, necessary rest, the group pace through the forest, walking past the yellow trunks now evenly lit by the present sunlight that brightens the whole forest as opposed to the group relying on scattershot beams with minimal coverage. Perhaps it's helped too that there's plenty of space between the trees that allows sight up to the looming green ceiling high above, which Ekitai glances at while continuing on, the greenish cyan light grazing one shoulder as the other is caught in the shadow of the blue leaves he's passing.
Without thick vegetation constantly catching their legs, traversal through this biome is lax compared to the tedious night before, little focus needed to follow the group as there's minimal conscious weaving done between trees or pushing through leaves. Those leaves are also needle thin, hardly capturing light even when it does reach them, as there's not dark spots beneath the trees but rather areas with scattered light.
While the group doesn't exactly move with significant haste, their postures lack that trudging slouch, the air of fatigue vanquished. They stride confidently, playfully, the backpacks no longer burdensome weights as none of them show struggle, no need to tug on the straps with their hands as their shoulders bear it just perfectly. Their hands stay at their side, Maple's swaying back and forth as she admires the unintrusive environment, Kokei at her side taking the same sights, breathing the morning air which carries with it a minty flavor, as in fact the shape of the trees somewhat reminds her of Christmas, a holiday fast approaching. She raises her head to the skies to remind herself of the lack of snow, though she acknowledges to herself that those weather conditions could've been a nightmare to battle through. Content with the current conditions as the end of their hike through the forest seems to be nearing, she returns her gaze ahead and continues on as Aspen takes another sip from the bottle, hers about half way finished same as Maple's.
Deeper into the hike, the majority of the survivors are no longer equipped with water bottles, their hands free to sway back and forth or fling around as they converse with one another. The only one still holding a bottle in fact is Maple, though by the transparent material it can be inspected that there's little remaining. After responding to Kokei with a bright smile as the two seem engaged in an absorbing discussion, Maple raises her bottle to her lips and chugs the remainder of the water as Kokei first steps to the side to path around another spruce tree beneath its blue leaves, after which she slides beside Maple and places one hand under her chin in reflection before answering inquisitively.
As she does, Maple clears the rest of the water, pouring the final droplets into her mouth before pulling the bottle off her. Kokei finishes her response as she drops her arm to which Maple shakes the bottle and seeks her guidance with uncertainty. Kokei nods in understanding and turns forward before calling with the waving of her arm to pull the attention of not only Alder and Ekitai but Pine and Meditat, the last of whom is prompted to subtly wave his hand which immediately leads to the bottle being set ablaze in Maple's hand. The ignition draws Maple's attention just to watch the bottle disperse into soft azure flames that dissipate above her hand, fizzling like cinders which are pulled away in the soft breeze that pushes against her cloak and hair.
No longer intensely reactive to those fiery bursts, familiar with its harmlessness for it lacks any damaging properties fire itself would bear, Maple just drops her arm to the side and flashes a smile at Meditat before glancing back at Kokei in order to respond, pulling Kokei's attention away from Meditat too to return to the conversation as Alder and Ekitai return to focus on Hemlock who's currently delivering his own spiel which prompts a chuckle from Ekitai as Alder shakes his head disapprovingly.
Whereas the majority of the party wasn't conscious upon entry of this blue spruce biome, they're awake during the exit as they approach a line where those trees reminiscent of the holidays blends with a different type of tree spread further apart due not only to their thicker trunks –which has a strikingly dark gray shade akin to an inkier acacia– but the extensively wider radius that their leaves reach, each one dawning a thick red bunch distinctly darker than that of the thin trees passed the other day, for these were closer to a scarlet shade, bunched up akin to a chestnut tree, their colors and shapes a sharp contrast.
Pine raises his head to examine the trees before firmly nodding, glancing then to Meditat to deliver his observations which Meditat turns to listen to, the rest of the survivors also observing the trees with fascination and a hint of excitement, as this specific species was one they had been waiting to cross. This anticipation is carried in Maple's expressions as she exclaims this wonder towards Kokei, simultaneously absorbing Dana's attention as Aspen smiles contently to this interaction.
It takes only an interval below a minute for them to pass the final blue spruce tree, which both Meditat and Kokei glance back to coincidentally before returning to their own discussions. Now into the red forest, the party continues through a space even more graciously spaced out, each tree demanding a great free area to keep their leaves from tangling into neighbors. Ekitai examines the leaves, as while the trees themselves are sparse, the leaves are so densely packed together that it's nearly impossible to gaze into any of the higher branches, for not even a glimpse of the trunk's peak can be caught with the naked eye. The only branches to be seen are the ones looming right above them as they pass each of these trees, Alder glancing up to examine them, the sole opening beneath the thick top, its own cloud.
Well beyond the entrance into this red forest, no blue trees can be seen when glancing backwards which Dana does, even with the slight advantage of being at a raised height as the surface the party treks on is at an incline, climbing up another hill. It's nowhere as steep for her to peek over the green ceiling which still looms well above her, but there's not a sliver of blue leaves left on the horizon. Her attention is brought forwards to continue the hike beside both Aspen and Maple, her head raised to gaze ahead to seek out the heads of the group.
Beyond Ekitai, Alder, and Hemlock who are intertwined in their own chattering conversations as Maple is to Kokei, both Meditat and Pine continue ahead, striding up the hill as a gentle breeze plays against Meditat's cape, warranting Pine to squint as he lacks the goggles that shield the man's eyes. He shields his eyes to cover against the gust whereas Meditat lacks that same struggle, facing ahead as he turns slightly right past a tree they just now walk ahead of. His gaze fixates still as his pace then oddly begins to slow down, allowing Pine to pass him unintentionally however the rest of the group slows down upon noticing the deliberate change of pace.
That pace is absolutely halted as Meditat raises his closed fist and, in a soft voice though one raised just enough for the group to all hear: "There's movement ahead, pause." Just as commanded, the whole party freezes in place, including Pine just as the breeze passes, allowing him to regain proper vision after just a couple blinks. His gaze immediately locks on the same as Meditat's, the same as the Bellators and survivors, who all find that far ahead of them, at the visible peak of the hill, are a few moving figures: humanoid. There's a group of them, five to be specific, details hard to discern from a distance except for the familiar green cloak on each of them, the whole group huddled together squatting or kneeling down beneath a tree, staring up at the other trees around them, completely unaware of the approaching party, not having heard Meditat's alert in the slightest.
Meditat slowly lowers his hand as he guides, "Everyone, get behind the trunks, remain hidden." As the survivors behind him slowly begin to creep towards the nearest tree to them, making sure to spread out as at most only two can squeeze behind one trunk while Meditat briefs: "I'll identify them to judge if we can make a steady, safe approach," the one survivor in front of him widens his eyes at first in utter disbelief, his jaw then dropping as astonishment, which shifts to delight with a smile, all culminating in him abruptly breaking into a sprint and cheerful shout: "DAD!!!!"
Immediately, the rest of the party freezes from the break in formation, baffled by the complete disregard of direction. They don't seem concerned though, in fact Maple smiles before beginning to advance forwards as Alder and Aspen seem to lighten up to the wholesome reunion, following too.
The group at the top of the hill also turn around in befuddlement to the callout, revealing themselves to be of various ages including a young girl with long brown hair and a young man in his early twenties with a light beard, dreadfully curious.
At first Meditat just stands in place from the bewildering choice, though he begins to follow in a steady amble as he prepares to simply follow this organic interaction, which is when Ekitai dashes to his side before frantically pointing to the trees ahead and warning, "They're hiding from the trees, ambush!"
Without even needing to ask for clarification from the abrupt change in tone, Meditat focuses back at the group on the top, finding one of them turning to face the source of the shout, that one being a man in his forties whose eyes widen in horror.
Immediately, Meditat extends his right hand forward which is set ablaze before releasing that flame forth straight at Pine, parting into two streams to pass him and wrap around, reconvening to harden into a solid crystallic wall which solidifies just before being struck by a laser bolt, which gets absorbed into the wall rather than striking the target right behind: Pine's head.
All at once the whole group falls to terror, Pine diving backwards, dropping on the ground as another three laser bolts strike the crystal wall, aimed directly at the boy but being stopped without a dent in the barrier, while behind him the rest of the survivors race for the closest trees upon the original request, using it for cover, leaving only the four Bellators standing in the open.
At the top of the hill, the group dressed in those cloaks react with similar fright, dropping low and crawling to the closest trunk, clinging to it in any attempt to keep safe out in the open. The older man is the last to retreat, horrified by the shooting as his jaw just hangs low, but his arm is grabbed by the younger man who pulls him towards the tree while, from the very trees surrounding them, flares flicker in the leaves instants before gunfire emerges.
Whereas the survivors on the slope cower for protection behind the trees, the Bellators remain exposed, and at the center Meditat's lenses flare as he raises his right arm, his forearm igniting which forms a circular silver shield attached to himself, one which promptly projects a wide blue energy barrier of the same shape which catches the few gunshots.
Rather than ordering for the search of self safety as he did for the survivors, Meditat then declares boldly: "ME AND DANA WILL RUSH TO DRAW FIRE, KOKEI AND EKITAI WORK YOUR WAY UP AND PICK OFF SHOOTERS," before both of his hips project blue cables to the trees ahead and reel him off his feet, leading Dana to squat and launch off the ground, expelling golden trails from her feet as two tentacles crawl from her back.
Left on the ground, Ekitai races for the trees ahead, leading Kokei as he tugs out his overcoat with his left hand to dig into his inner pocket with his right, pulling out his handgun right before reaching a trunk which he stops at for cover. Behind him follows Kokei, keeping behind the same tree as the seasoned gunslinger cautiously peers around to the top of the hill where the constant continuation of gunshots permeate, aimed at the two zipping warriors heading straight into fire.
Between the two cables pulling him forwards, the wire projecting from Meditat's right hip reels him stronger than the left which instead extends, shifting his body to the side in avoidance off a few gunshots before his left cable begins pulling on him, working with the right cable that unwinds, strafing while advancing straight ahead. Above him, Dana launches herself from tree to tree, each time gripping the bark with her two hands, feet, and tentacles which all expel her to the next tree, all six releasing their own bursts of energy, leaving zagged golden trails in the air. She moves animalistically, pouncing from tree to tree and yet with armaments so vastly beyond nature, boosting herself fast enough to evade rapid laser fire, feral yet mechanically precise.
Racing with similar speeds, she tags the same trees Meditat's hip wires do, and as he's able to simply dodge the gunfire, Meditat dismantles his shield in an open flame, able to use his hands to fire another pair of wires for a stronger zip forth to carry him to the peak of the hill where he rolls to face the five survivors hiding under the tree for just a brief instant, one he has prepared for with his right hand facing them, able to fire one flame straight at the ground in the center of their cluster before he passes ahead, garnering the constant fire.
That blue flame strikes the floor, prompting all five of the survivors to stumble away in bewilderment, watching that fire bounce perfectly upwards before materializing into a pole about six feet tall which, near the top, blossoms out into a metal dome resembling an umbrella, and upon solidification that umbrella projects an additional blue shield that forms a bubble around the five whose attention shifts to that protective barrier. The young girl curiously reaches for the bubble as a flare flickers in a distant tree ahead, prompting another woman in her thirties to hastily tackle the young girl just as a shot is fired at them, though it's caught by the umbrella shield much to the group's shock.
The older man faces the source of that flare, just as a bright yellow bolt is fired straight into it, emitting from the same slope that the two warriors had bolted from. Just a second after the bolt's impact, a figure suddenly drops from the red leaves, prompting the group's attention from the utter shock of the retaliation.
That retaliatory shot was fired from the smoking handgun Ekitai grips, and upon gauging his shot's success, he races up the hill alongside Kokei whose wide, alert eyes focus on the leaves with the awareness of the enemies' hiding tactic. The two dash up the hill, straight into the battle where Meditat zips around the trees, no longer in a straight path but now weaving between the shooting forest as Dana switches to an aerial movement technique, thrusting herself in various directions coupled with barrel rolls to keep a safe distance from the trees, both of them moving unpredictably enough that none of the shots hit them.
Unlike the two soaring Bellators though, the shooters don't seem to have the same agility, an exploit taken as Ekitai aims at one of the blinks before firing a red radiating bolt, leading to yet another body dropping from the tree, letting out a male scream as his entire body is completely bounded by a mass of branches that have strung him up like web, including binding an object not gripped in his hand nor attached to his body, but was seemingly just floating right above his forearm, a metal contraption with a long yet thin body somewhat resembling a sawed off sniper rifle lacking a stock. He's dressed in a sleek black uniform made of a fabric material whose texture resembles kevlar, further adorned with an embedded sleek belt lacking any visible pouches but has matte panels lined up. The suit covers all but his head, revealing him to be a man in his middle thirties, grunting in anger. There is some covering on his head though, specifically a pair of goggles attached to his eyes, wide as it in fact resembles spider eyes.
Oddly entranced by the fallen shooter, Ekitai suddenly stands still with nervous eyes, completely negligent to the gunfire emitting from the tree ahead at the hill's edge, currently aimed up at Meditat and Dana who weave through the forest, caught in a tangle of many other shooters, unable to easily focus on any individual, narrowly dodging the constant barrage coming from practically all directions.
Having been following the frozen man, Kokei shows bewilderment to the abrupt pause especially in a heated situation where they've been squarely relied upon. She stares at Ekitai, then glances at the man who had fallen from the trees, before raising her gaze up to those other trees where gunfire is still discharged from, including the one straight ahead of her at the edge of the hill.
She clenches her teeth, uncertain of what had captivated her friend but aware of the predicament, leaving her to roll her arms which begin to spark pink as do her eyes, her pupils brightening white. She throws her arms back which generate arcs with greater length and brightness, culminating in her throwing her arms forward before releasing a concentrated stream of pink lighting straight into the scarlet bunch above, infesting the entire tree top in one sweeping grab. She then jerks her arms backwards, pulling back the entire electric swarm, and with it two men dressed in the same black uniforms, their bodies frozen still, unable to move to point the hollow tips of their rifles.
Kokei pivots her body around, and with one heavy step in the other direction, she thrusts her arms in the direction down the hill, thrashing her swarm along with the two captive hunters, propelling them far down the slope.
She releases the swarm after the forceful throw has sent the two distant enough, freeing her to then turn to Ekitai and tug his sleeve, shouting: "THEY NEED US, COME ON!"
At last, Ekitai blinks and shakes his head, returning to his senses to notice the following takedown before facing Kokei. He gulps and nods before hastily apologizing, "Right, sorry I, yeah let's do that," before he returns his stare ahead, then launching into another sprint, leading Kokei once more. As he charges up the hill, he fires a green bolt at another hidden source of fire.
At the focus of all the gunfire sprawling from the very forest they had roamed for days, Dana and Meditat elegantly stride through the air, Meditat mixing cables to swing around trees coupled with evasive dashes, whereas Dana moves like a compact fighter jet, barrel rolling between tight turns to weave between the trees. While the siege of bright orange fire floods their way, keeping them from countering safely especially with physical obstructions, a few gunshots fire from the ground below them, aimed up at those trees, dropping bodies some of them encased in what appears to be amber, while other trees are zapped by a storm of pink lighting that pulls all hidden hunters down, slamming them straight into the ground before that swarm throws them down the hill, binding their bodies, leaving nothing movable but their mouths to grunt and roar in defeat.
Both Meditat and Dana have mapped out the perimeter of the ambush, weaving between the trees that the hunters stalk within, focused on maintaining attention as to prevent it being shifted onto the two other allies who are not nearly as agile, and therefore would be in grave danger if targeted. Exposing themselves to danger for this plan, Meditat and Dana continue to dance between radiating bolts made of both heat energy and energized chemicals, the first set aimed at them and the second aimed at the ones aiming at them. In the crossfire, they move with intentional chaos both to protect themselves but simultaneously constantly avert the shooters' aim, all while having to trust that this unpredictability won't result in them being mistakenly struck by their own allies. They move independently to maximize coverage, though constantly cross paths, soaring right past each other but managing to meticulously avoid the other. In fact, as Meditat loops around after reaching the edge of the hazardous area, he couples striding swings with quick zips, leading him to intersect paths with Dana who is soaring straight for him. Just before collision, two wires fire from Meditat's back to pull him backwards, aided with a thrust as his forward cables loosen, pivoting him to the right to face the left as Dana throws her arms forward, using her hands to repel herself to her right which she rolls towards, her feet still propelling her forward but by curling her stomach she moves in an arch, swinging just around Meditat. For just a moment the two exchange glances between orange laser fire raining down on them from above as a swarm of pink lightning reaches into a tree.
At the very next instant, the two pass each other, separating back on their own paths, successfully diverting attention away as another hunter is yanked down from the tree before being shot by a lavender bolt, which on impact results in the hunter immediately collapsing on the ground face first. He struggles to try pulling himself back up yet is unable to as though his own weight has grown far too great to push against, leading to him again collapse, lying on the grass in defeat.
Another bolt, this one colored teal, fires off into another distant tree, emitting from the very top of the hill that Ekitai ultimately climbs, his arm extended, his handgun raised up as he moves with meticulous calculation, keeping his upper body steady. Kokei follows at his side, her forearms constantly charged with tight swarms of pink lightning, primed to be released at a moment's notice, her pupils remaining bright. Her attention does waver to find the umbrella shield protecting the five other survivors underneath, who just stare at her in utter bewilderment, too fearful of moving especially in the middle of an active battlefield.
Gazing at those fearful expressions, Kokei frowns from the reminder of the lives she and the Bellators have taken the responsibility of protecting, lives that could be cost from even a seemingly minor drift in absolute concentration. Catching her own state, she nods to them before turning to Ekitai who fires a violet bolt at a distant tree that rapid gunfire is emitting from, leading to another body being dropped though strung up by strings that keeps them attached to the branches, suspending them midair in tight bonds. They notice that in their gradual advancement up the hill, they've managed to gradually chip away at the ambush, as gunfire is only emitting from trees further ahead rather than any of the ones near the edge, indicating that the attack is being properly extinguished away. Their job has not quite finished though, as they turn to the remainder of the ambush and charge at it, leaving the survivors staring at them in awe, the older man struck in astonishment from the fact that people dressed so casually were so valiantly racing into danger.
Blades of grass are crushed by the soles of the two racing warriors who run down the red forest, straight in the direction where orange gunfire blazes from the tree tops, firing towards the blue and gold comets that zoom and roar, zipping so fast that figures couldn't be perceivable at their heads. On their approach down the flat plane, Kokei opens her hands before raising them up to then discharge her swarm straight into one of those fiery trees, fanning out to cover the entire tree, electrifying the leaves as the arcs wrap around with sparks flaring off. She then slams her arms downwards, throwing the entire swarm down from the tree, passing out of the leaves to reveal the entire electric field, a bright pink web that has caught another two hunters whose bodies are completely suspended, unable to move as they're smashed straight into the ground.
Running right past them without a second thought, Ekitai and Kokei continue down as the gunslinger rapidly fires two dark blue shots into separate trees concealing gunmen, which results in both of those trees suddenly imploding or rather all of the leaves are ripped straight off their branches and attracted into a dense bunch along with twigs and even branches that are snapped straight off, causing the bunch to fall straight down without any proper support to the trunk.
Approaching those leaf balls, or rather boulders, Kokei charges up her arms before firing another stream into one tree ahead as Ekitai simultaneously pulls the trigger with his finger whilst swiping the interface beneath the hammer with his thumb, rapidly switching his ammunition as the bolts that fire out of his barrel discharge in various colors, one of them a cyan bolt that, on impact through the tree, drops another body though one whose body is strangely forced into a standing position where his arms are extended out in the shape of a T against his will, causing him to land straight on his feet with a pained groan though is still unable to move himself, helpless to the following gray bolt Ekitai quickfires which covers the hunter's body in a case of gray stone, seemingly turning him to an ancient statue, all while Kokei pulls another pair of hunters from the trees, but rather than merely slamming them down, she throws her arms to the left which swings the entire electric field along with that pair into a different tree upon which she then slams her arms down, forcing four hunters to plummet out of the leaves at once.
Two cables from his hips, another two from his shoulders, along with two more from his hands, Meditat weaves with incredible speed and precision between the trees hiding gunmen still firing at him, the speed of his evasions having remained consistent from the initiation of battle. He does however take notice that, while there are definitely orange laser shots aimed his way from the thick forest, what was once an intoxicatingly dense horde of gunfire requiring full concentration to weave has since dwindled significantly, leaving a barrage that's scarce enough that he doesn't necessarily need to focus so crucially on dodges. The fire emits from various directions, but it no longer seems that every single tree in the area is housing a hunter, resulting in wider gaps between shots to keep wary of. The area he loops through has shrunk vastly too given that he's kept it necessary to remain close to any active shooters as well as he can, meaning that while he moves at the same speed, he crosses less distance.
He flings himself forward, detaching all six cables before spinning his body in the complete opposite direction before projecting two cables from each hand to slingshot himself the other way, redirecting his momentum back into the concentrated zone just as, far ahead of him, Dana executes a tight loop in the air before thrusting herself towards the center too, both of them zooming towards each other, drawing the fire in, shrieking among the distant hum growing far above.
In just a few seconds, the two intersect again just as Meditat projects another cable from his right hand while both hips independently fire their own, concurrent to Dana rolling on her back and thrusting downwards to slide just below her ally who tracks her through his parallelogram lenses; the two cross over as orange gunfire rains from above simultaneous to the vibrant green and yellow bolts firing from below, angled at a divergence from the collective tornado of pink electric arcs crawling through the air.
While none of those orange shots strike neither Meditat nor Dana, those green and yellow bolts reach into the trees as does that electric storm, leading to the trees shot dropping bodies the same as the one stuck in the electric storm drawn down, eliminating another set of hunters in one swift moment.
After the pass, orange fire does continue to rain towards Meditat, though it's regressed to a scarcity that no longer requires undivided attention, no longer the chaotic blizzard to push through. It only takes a couple seconds for Meditat to once again reach the edge where he fires a cable from his hand onto one of the tree trunks, causing his body to orbit around said trunk, the translucent blue energy material wrapping around the bark though long enough to maintain an appropriate distance all the way for him to make a full loop to release the wire, launching himself back into the zone, facing the shrinking storm where more hunters are dropped from trees, some encased in blue slime and others trapped in pink electricity. Far ahead, Dana has also made a tight turn, similarly observing the swift dropping of threats, enough that there's seemingly only a few shooters remaining, the ambush nearly handled, likely to be completed in just another loop. Both Meditat and Dana exchange glances in the air, though while in that moment Dana has her conscious focus set on her friend, a tentacle emerges from her back and wraps around her shoulder as outer plates on the tentacle expand to form a shield which activates a reinforcing energy barrier just as it's struck by a sudden orange bolt from high above, one with such force that, even blocked, Dana's body staggers down.
That sense of nearing victory is instantly replaced with bewildered dread, as immediately Meditat traces that bolt's path above any of the red trees around them, leading his gaze further up to find that high in the sky among the colossal branches supporting the green ceiling, there hovers a single black semi-truck pod, facing opposite from the battlefield to reveal the back of the truck open, forming the opening that the one hunter kneels in front of, aiming down at the forest, a bearded man.
That thunderous gunshot repels both Ekitai and Kokei to stagger back in fear due to its significantly greater volume, both of their faces flashing in horror. Kokei's focus first jumps to Dana who nearly crashes into a trunk though brakes swiftly, though Ekitai tugs Kokei back towards the nearest tree right before a shot is fired straight at the ground in front of her feet, nearly having claimed her had it not been for the gunslinger's quick act. Kokei stumbles backwards as Ekitai drags her up against the tree's trunk to hide beneath the bush, recognizing that it'd be far too unsafe now to even step into the open. As Kokei's teeth jitters from the terrifying experience, Ekitai clenches his own teeth and faces up towards where the truck was, a worrisome thought coming to mind from the vague familiarity of that model.
Strafing away from that second shot to avoid another stagger though watching in concern as Kokei is nearly taken, just narrowly dodging the shot by the help of Ekitai, Dana returns to action with the acknowledgement that movement is a necessity more than ever, thrusting herself forth once more as her tentacle deactivates then closes up its shield before retracting into her back. She turns her gaze up to the looming truck before facing forward to Meditat who zips towards her, and just as they again lock contact, she watches Meditat nod his head and then nudge it towards the truck, a silent transmission that Dana receives with a nod. Immediately upon that response, they both face the skies as Meditat fires two cables from his raised hands up to the branches as Dana reorients her body upright before rocketing straight upwards, launching herself well above the red trees, straight into the open despite it being the most dangerous area given the complete lack of cover to take from the sniper.
Regardless, she faces up at that sniper in the truck, rolling on her right side in avoidance of another shot just narrowly grazing her golden body, prompting her not to escape but accelerate towards the vehicle. She aims both of her hands towards the pod as each arm transforms into those sleek cones that open up a grid of barrels concurrently as her shoulders extrude to mount cannons similarly opening grates, resembling a missile launcher. All four cannons aimed at the truck, every single aperture simultaneously brightens before unleashing a bombardment from one source, all targeted at the truck with such intensity that just staring at her is blinding.
In fact, the next gunshot fired wildly misses her, as while none of the bolts themselves penetrate the truck's hull but rather just bounce off, the sniper is forced to dive backwards in evasion of the barrage, retracting his presence which momentarily pauses the current pressure, though she persists her constant firing.
That firing is simply suppressive though, as beside her soars Meditat, having slingshotted himself up and is continuously boosting himself, leaving behind a comet's trail. Just as he passes her, Meditat pulls his right arm back as if preparing for a punch, though he instead unleashes a thick fiery stream straight into the forest below, as if trying to burn through the woodlands. Upon impact the fire doesn't burn though, but instead it grows out an enormous silver contraption, a mechanical arm wider than the chestnut trunks, one that synchronizes with Meditat's as he throws a punch with that arm up in the air towards the truck still far above him, which guides the mechanical arm as it extends rapidly, being built upon as those flames harden to material. In seconds the arm grows right past him like a titan's, soaring towards the truck itself.
As Meditat stares straight at the truck, his cape waving wildly in the air same as his hood, guiding the titanic arm, that arm's head sprouts into an enormous clawed hand, one that synchronizes with his as he balls his hand –cutting the flame off– timed perfectly for the mechanical hand to close its hand to grab onto the truck itself, the fingers large enough to coil around it, carrying it as if it were a toy.
His grip secure, Meditat throws his arm back down like before, this time guiding the mechanical arm to pull the truck down from the air with enough force that it completely overwhelms the truck's own engine. He spins the same as Dana –who reverts both of her conal cannons as well as her shoulder extrusions– to watch the truck get carried all the way from the skies to the ground, which both of them follow as they both propel themselves back down in pursuit, assuming diving stances side by side, trails golden and blue. They accelerate towards the surface while watching the truck be dragged down into the red trees, pulled through the bushes with a heavy boom as an explosion of dust rises from the trees from the sheer force of the drag.
Following next, both Meditat and Dana synchronously flip in the air right before dropping between the trees as Dana's feet expel a thrust to brake herself which Meditat does too coupled with a flurry of cables to similarly suspend his fall. They land on the ground at the same time to find the semi truck ahead of them, planted into the ground, its entire body gripped by the massive mechanical hand bent down, smashed to the floor. Meditat relinquishes his cables to allow himself free mobility as Dana steadily marches towards the truck just as the front doors on the sides dematerialize from which two young men slide out of the truck, dressed in the same uniforms, though not carrying those longer rifles. Instead they storm out and march towards Meditat and Dana to whom they aim their hands to reveal weapons sized more as handguns attached to their hands, each aimed directly at the heads of their target. The man on the left side, aiming at Meditat, is however suddenly caught by an electric pink swarm released from behind the target, which completely suspends the driver's movement, only able to grit his teeth before the swarm thrashes itself into one of the nearby trunks, slamming him as well with enough force to knock him down before that swarm dissipates.
The front passenger turns his head in utter bewilderment to the supernatural retaliation, horrified for just a moment, one long enough for Dana to swiftly extrude a short cannon from her shoulder, just with one barrel to fire a golden bolt at the passenger's head, dropping his body instantly.
Dana then turns around to find both Kokei and Ekitai running towards them, panting exhaustedly. Meditat however turns his focus to the truck just as another man crawls out of the pod, from the back specifically. The man charges straight at Meditat, the sniper who was firing down at them earlier –who at closer proximity seems to be in his forties–, and aims his long hovering sniper rifle, though it's not quick enough for Meditat to aim his own right hand and fire a quick fire burst followed by a cable, the fire burst manifesting into a silver arrow adorned with a gleaming purple tip that strikes the sniper rifle first straight into the barrel, causing the whole weapon to spark before abruptly dropping to the ground powerless, allowing that cable to grab the man's chest for Meditat to then yank the man towards him for a single punch to the face, knocking him into the ground.
While both Kokei and Ekitai appear shaken as they approach their allies, Kokei finds a sense of relief in the conclusion of the ambush whereas Ekitai still seems disturbed though he stows his handgun in his coat's inner pocket. They reach the rest of the group, stopping beside Dana whose quick shoulder cannon sinks back into her body as Meditat glares straight at the man who had wielded the sniper. He then reports, "He's unarmed and harmless, I've studied this equipment prior. Kokei, Ekitai, are the rest of the shooters dealt with?"
The defeated sniper immediately perks his head up as Ekitai averts his gaze from Meditat, leaving Kokei to nod and confirm, "We did, there shouldn't be anyone left here."
Meditat nods to Kokei and then faces Dana, subtly waving his hand down before requesting, "Can you two rendezvous the survivors here? The group we've been with and the other, I'm certain that they're the other half we've been searching for. I've disposed of their shield so they should be free to move."
Dana nods to Meditat before facing Kokei and briefing, "I'll get the others down the hill since they're further, can you get the new group please?"
Kokei nods her head and accepts, "Got it, I'll bring them here, I'll try to quell them if they're uncertain."
Meditat glances at Kokei and advises, "Don't rush them, give them a moment to readjust, comfort them if needed."
"Thanks, I'll do that," accepts Kokei after which Dana notes, "I'll drop you off with them," as a tentacle emerges from her back to coil around Kokei. Kokei turns to Dana who then launches off the ground into flight, carrying her above the trees, off to the survivors for the retrieval, leaving just Meditat and Ekitai with the wrecked truck and defeated soldiers.
Designations out, Meditat returns his concentration back to the hunter by his feet. He chuffs in discontent before ordering, "State your objective and all allies in the area, now."
His face planted on the ground, the hunter just lies still, his face by the black boots of Meditat who towers over him menacingly, especially given the rather cold demand. Those lenses glare at him, gleaming greater than before, beaming him with an intensity representative of his mood. A gentle breeze pushes his cape, letting it wave for just a moment as Ekitai stands beside him, his teeth gritting. Ekitai glances over to the truck past the two, and out of curiosity he begins to roam to its other side, ambling with both hands at his side, that same disturbance prevailing in his face as Meditat repeats aggressively, "State your objective and all allies in the area. You're lucky I'm offering you this passive treatment first, though I may skip a few steps and begin physically injuring you if you don't answer at this instant," to which the man on the ground chuffs, his face to the grass.
Steadily, Ekitai circles around the black semi-truck pod, and as he wraps around the front corner of the vehicle, he finds that embedded on the long side of the pod is a scarlet red insignia resembling a spider, its long legs stretching to the edges of the side, an insignia he's all too familiar with.
The man freezes still, his jaw dropping as that disturbance falls to dread, his yellow eyes locked straight on that spider. Entranced, Ekitai simply stands in place as the interrogated man finally coughs up, "Well about the allies, I'm pretty sure one of mine is right here, but I'm just as surprised."
Tilting his head, Meditat seems initially puzzled, interrogating further: "Answer clearly, I'm in no mood for ambiguous responses."
The man on the ground doesn't answer the question, but rather Ekitai who discovers: "They're here too…the Syndicate…they came all the way here…."
Meditat raises his head, his lenses dimming to a passive glow indicative of his calmer demeanor, though before he can seek clarification, the defeated hunter smirks before abruptly grabbing Meditat's ankle and yanking at it, causing Meditat to stumble as the man shouts: "Now, Ekitai!!!"
Ekitai grimly turns around to face both Meditat and the man, who locks eye contact with him as Meditat struggles for control, but manages to ultimately yank his leg back out of the man's grasp, freeing himself to take a few steps back, quickly stabilizing to then aim his hand on the man, fire a wire on the hunter's back and jerk it back to roll the hunter on his back before then shooting two flames onto the man's wrists which crawl around his whole hands before manifesting into mittens that emit a hum before dropping onto the ground, attracted to the floor therefore bounding the man in position. The hunter struggles to raise his hands but can't, acknowledging his binding to which he glances at Ekitai in sadistic anticipation given that creepy smile, though that smile shifts quickly to perplexed upon finding Ekitai just standing in place with his hands to the side, passive.
Glaring back at the hunter, Meditat chuffs before remarking, "I prefer not to use physical torture as a method of interrogation, but perhaps it'd be most effective on you."
He however shifts his attention up at Ekitai to ask in a tone nowhere as aggressive though noticeably wary, "He knew your name, do you have any idea what he was trying to do?"
Frowning in a deep misery, Ekitai lets out a soft sigh before assuming, "I…think he was trying to set me up to take you down. I'm pretty sure that's the exact same thing he's done before."
He then turns his gaze to fixate specifically on the hunter before mentioning, "It's sort of Yoddo's signature tactic."
From perplexed to growing bewilderment, the hunter named Yoddo tries to push up again, staring straight at Ekitai before demanding, "Hey, what are you doing, come on let's double cross him and get out of here, you have a whole story to tell me!"
Ekitai lets out another sigh before ambling towards the two, specifically walking up to Meditat's side, though even Meditat takes a minor step back and faces Ekitai, clearly showing some apprehension towards him. Ekitai just stares at Yoddo with a frown before admitting, "Yoddo's…part of the Syndicate, I've been with them for a while, actually that Earth 3 president who we had that whole dealing with is part of the Syndicate too, I figured you read up on what happened back there. I don't know what you know about the Syndicate, but…," before he takes in and releases a deep, heavy breath.
He shakes his head before now being the one to interrogate, "Yoddo, since when were there plans to go after the Rim?? They never mentioned that!"
Meditat shakes his head before facing Ekitai and hesitantly seeking, "Mentioned what? Who mentioned what?"
Yoddo is first to answer Ekitai's questions with his own, "Wait, okay now you're confusing me, I can't tell if you're doubling down on this cover or not. I mean to be fair I'm not sure who told you about those plans, I didn't actually know about it until this morning, but hey I guess it makes more sense than gunning for Earth 50 or something like that first."
Meditat stares at Yoddo, then Ekitai before more heavily demanding, "Earth 50? Ekitai, what is he referring to, what are these plans?! I need answers from either one of you."
Yoddo smirks before sneering, "Oh please, you won't get anything out of-," interrupted by Ekitai who squeezes his eyes shut before admitting: "I met with the Syndicate recently for chemical resupplies, they've always been my supplier for it, but Yoddo told me they weren't doing dealings anymore. That's where I learned that the Syndicate was planning on using their own equipment to start raiding wherever they could, using all the shit going on as their perfect window to make themselves a bigger power. I know they were planning on hitting Earth 3, I don't know if it's just part of it or the capital or the whole world, it hardly made sense to me." His whole face then clenches, gritting his teeth.
Yoddo's smirk becomes an irritated grimace before he bellows, "Hey Ekitai, I don't know what game you're playing, but just drop him now, telling him more is going to bite us all back."
"I'M NOT GOING TO DROP HIM!" suddenly shouts Ekitai, opening his eyes to release such intensity that even Meditat takes a step back in surprise.
Throwing his hands around, Ekitai exclaims painfully, "I'm not playing some game, this isn't a cover, he's my ally, I'm not going to stab him in the back for you."
As Meditat just silently stares at Ekitai, Yoddo's eyebrow raises before he belligerently queries, "Huh?? What are you even saying, are you being serious? Well I didn't think you'd be in a crew with someone like him who's always been an opposition, but I guess you do crews your own way, whatever, but right now this does matter, what kind of thinking even is that? If you're not stabbing him in the back for me, you're stabbing my back for him!"
Wincing in the discomfort of this brewing ultimatum, Ekitai turns his head away and takes a few steps to distance away which Meditat watches, surveying both him and Yoddo, not intervening just yet but remaining a present figure, a present opposition.
As Ekitai places his hands over his head to calm himself, Yoddo takes the opportunity to further grill: "Is that what you want? The Immortal Gunslinger, the Legend of the Syndicate, you're not just a member of the syndicate, bitch you were there at the start! Before all of us! There's nobody more part of the Syndicate than you! So stop fucking with me, because you're giving mixed signals."
Spinning back around, Ekitai throws his hands off his head to shout in rebellion, "I'm not fucking with you, here's the straight answer: I'm not betraying him! I know what I am to them, but I'm not betraying him, so stop asking, please just stop asking."
At the peak of that burning aggression within Yoddo's eyes, it then tapers on its own as he instead just frowns before questioning in a softer, simply stern voice, "Then give me a straight answer here because trust me, there's no playing both sides in this case, I get most times you want to fly free and be in whatever clubs you want, and hey we all respect that about you, hell maybe it's the best thing about you. But this is the one time that you can't just choose all, so give it to me straight: Are you betraying us?"
A gentle breeze dances across the forest, rustling the red leaves, Meditat's cape, Yoddo's beard, and Ekitai's overcoat. Ekitai just frowns with a low head, falling silent in an extended pause, turning his head subtly away from both of the sides. Meditat remains standing on the other side of Yoddo, glaring brighter back at him for a moment before shifting that dimmer gaze back to Ekitai's back, just watching him stand in silence, troubled.
Both of the man's bony fists clench below the oversized cuff of his coat's sleeve which is gently pushed by the breeze, revealing the black jumpsuit sleeve underneath.
Both of the man's wrinkled eyes shut, his face similarly wrinkled, the top of his head fully bald, his cheeks sunken in, almost grotesque.
His back to both sides, Ekitai ultimately relaxes his body, opening his hands, before then turning around to face Yoddo on the ground, his yellow eyes open once more. He stares straight at Yoddo before answering in a voice as calm as could be, serene, absolute: "Yes I am."
To that final decision, Yoddo's mellowed expression doesn't roar with rage, but rather he expels a light chuff before letting himself fall back to the ground, no longer attempting to struggle against his bindings. He turns his head to the side, no words to answer back with, nothing but that silent acceptance.
Waiting for an answer, Ekitai just stares at Yoddo as Meditat stares at him, but that silence doesn't seem to be simply a pause but rather a conclusion, one that Ekitai had closed himself. He doesn't emit a radiance of bold, charismatic valor, but rather he himself dwells in a mellow mood. His answer was spoken with true sincerity and confidence, there was no hesitation or wavering in his voice, his declaration was one unquestionable, yet there's no sense of victory in his decision, there's no fanfare.
He raises his head and turns to face Meditat who just stares back at him, the mask concealing any expression, his posture similarly a simple stand, relaxed enough that he doesn't suspect the sudden need for combat though alert in an environment he can't perfectly define as safe. That provides little of a response, unhelped by the lack of verbal confirmation, for it seems Meditat perhaps isn't even sure how to respond.
Both of them just stare at each other for a few moments until hearing a surge of footsteps behind them along with a mix of huffing, prompting them to turn around to find Dana marching towards them, leading the five survivors they've grown accustomed to: Pine, Maple, Aspen, Alder, and Hemlock. The survivors observe the bodies strung over the forest, whether just laying limp on the ground or encased in a multitude of bizarre confinements. When their gazes naturally drift forwards, it locks from not only the sight of the two other protectors who they're to regroup with, but judging by their astounded expressions they seem further infatuated by the huge truck pod held by the even larger mechanical hand, functioning like a crane.
Closer to the two as she leads the group, Dana shouts in curiosity, "Did Kokei arrive yet?"
Both Meditat and Ekitai glance at each other before facing Dana, Meditat being the one to answer: "Not yet, if you'd like I can search for them, I'd hope there aren't any remaining dangers."
"WAIT, COMING!!" exclaims a voice even louder from behind Dana's group, prompting Meditat, Ekitai, Dana, and the survivors to turn around to find that behind them approaches Kokei, leading the other set of five survivors in the same general attire, green cloaks over tunics. Among the survivors is a young girl, a young man, a woman in her thirties beside another slightly younger, and an older man.
Despite having just arrived at the meeting point, Pine's eyes widens in astonishment, lit up the same as his smile before he cries, "Dad!" He launches into a sprint back the way he came, taking the notice of the rest of the group.
That action also takes the attention of the old man, whose eyes light up the same before exclaiming, "PINE!" He too breaks into a run, perhaps not nearly as fast as the young boy, but regardless the two reach each other and leap into a tight embrace.
Holding his son tightly, the father shuts his eyes and confesses, "I was so worried about you, I'm so happy you're safe, I'm so happy."
Holding his father tightly too, the son shuts his eyes and confesses back, "I was scared for you too, I'm…I'm just glad you're okay…and I'm happy to see you again."
They remain embraced as Kokei passes them, smiling gently to that warming interaction, continuing on to lead the rest of the survivors back to the full group, ultimately reunited.
At last the two halves meld to one as the four survivors with Dana amble towards the other four to greet one another, exchanging hugs of their own in relief of the other's safety. Despite an arduous journey, the reunion has finally been accomplished, leaving the four Bellators to watch over the uplifting results of the long adventure through forests and monstrous nests.
Both Meditat and Ekitai also watch the survivors reconnect in peace, though that's when Yoddo ominously chuckles, spinning their attention back to him in curiosity. They both glare at the man, and Ekitai then demands nervously, "What is it??"
Laying on the ground, his cheek against the grass, staring off at the trees beside him, Yoddo smirks before realizing, "I didn't realize until just now that this was all you were really here for, just saving a small group of random villagers. Everything you just did, everything you just sacrificed, you did it only over those few people, even though we weren't really doing anything other than some pre-operation scouting."
While not initially interested in just the chuckle, the reveal has drawn Dana's attention, leading her to turn around and approach Meditat's side. As she does, Meditat takes another step closer to Yoddo before demanding, "What operation are you scouting for? Answer, now."
Chuckling again, Yoddo remarks laxly: "Ekitai, you don't think we all went out of our way to just raid some villages, maybe steal their bread and order around a dozen people right? I mean, especially when there's a whole city not far from here basically hoarding as many people as they can fit in that box, come on."
Dread takes Ekitai's face, the revelation striking him immediately, a horrible revelation leaving him stunned. Among the crowd of survivors, a group double who they were escorting before, Kokei overhears the menacing monologue, diverting her attention from the group to then approach the rest of her team, strolling to Ekitai's side as Meditat pursues to interrogate harder, "Where are your allies right now? If you don't answer me, I can just as easily crack your network open, don't believe you hold any power here."
His weary eyes just focused on the short blades of grass directly in front of him, Yoddo lets out a soft sigh before admitting: "Well I don't know where they are right now exactly, but what I can say is that in the evening, a lot of them are going to be all over that city, practically a whole army. It's kind of sad though, I was hoping that after this quick scouting work we could actually join them, get into a real fight, a real battle. After a lifetime of hearing the sort of fun the Syndicate got into, I thought I'd finally be able to live some of it, but oh well, scouting duty, you know how it is."
All four of the Bellators just stand in frozen horror, Kokei and Ekitai visibly dreadful, Meditat and Dana also entranced in the graveness of this reveal as they turn to each other.
Behind them, the survivors continue to find comfort in one another's presences, Pine and his father reuniting with the other half they were separated from, bonding after an uneasy separation, completely unaware of the news just announced.
Standing in front of the wrecked pod, Meditat turns around to face the total group of survivors, watching their blissful rejoice, their long fought victory at last.
He takes a deep breath, reluctant to cut through their needed triumph, but without any better choice he approaches them before boldly declaring, "We'll escort all of you to the city now, assuming that we are not missing anybody."
Most of the survivors turn their attention to Meditat, at least Pine and his father who glance at each other before his father confirms, "We have everybody here, we'll be happy to be in your care. I can lead you the way, it shouldn't take more than a day on foot to reach the city from here."
Meditat however shakes his head before announcing, "I'll be glad to take your directions, but we'll be driving for the remainder of the trip, I'll build us a bus to hold everyone."
Pine immediately steps forth to assert, "Wait no we can't do that, remember? We could attract more attention that way."
Staring straight at him, Meditat sighs before grimly contending, "Trust me, there's no greater attention we'll need to concern over now. Our greatest priority is reaching the city as quickly as possible, we will protect you all in any event of danger."
Shaking his head in disagreement to this returning argument, Pine begins to debate: "But we can't risk-," though he silences himself as his expression shifts from heated to oddly empathetic, or at least suddenly sharing a sense of dread. He frowns at that sense, lowering his head before admitting: "Well…if you are confident that this is the best action, we'll be in your care."
Meditat nods his head and thanks, "Thank you," before extending both hands forward and firing one thin flaming stream from each of his fingers, aiming at the ground beneath each of the ten survivor's feet. The flame then widens into a circular plate that materializes into a silver pad, one that gently raises about a foot off the ground. The survivors of the second half are initially startled by the platform, as the father nearly jumps off though Pine grabs his arm and faces him with a reassuring gaze, helping to ease him.
Meditat raises his head to the sky same as his hands before projecting cables from it which he uses to propel himself upwards, boosted straight to launch himself right over the red treetops in an instant. He steadily boosts himself for a few moments for balance, and following him are the ten other survivors who are lifted up above the trees by the circular platforms, letting them gaze over the red forest in awe. They're joined too by Dana who also launches off from the ground, two tentacles from her back which coil around Ekitai and Kokei, holding them too. She steadies herself beside Meditat with a steady propulsion, watching Meditat aim both hands ahead and fire a concentrated flame from each, which soar about twenty feet ahead before expanding out in all other directions, the two blocks merging together and continuing to expand into a rectangular box with rounded corners, one the size of a bus. In fact, that box materializes into a bus made with a sky blue metal hull which can hover independently with a gentle hum even after Meditat cuts off the fire stream. The pod's bus is completely solid at first although a door vaporizes by where a bus door would, exposing an interior with a front driver's seat.
Meditat is first to fire a cable straight at that seat and pull himself in, landing at said seat to sit down and face the open door, watching as each of the floating platforms begin to drive towards the bus, steadily forming a single file line, the first in line being the one carrying Pine. The platform stops right up against the interior of the bus, allowing him to effortlessly and safely step inside, after which the platform carrying him dissolves into an open flame, allowing the next platform to crawl up to the door, this one holding Pine's father. At the head of the line, Pine has to begin moving, which he does as he strolls deeper inside the bus which has a silver interior, though oddly enough there are window screens along both walls as well as over the ceiling despite there being no transparent materials on the exterior. The aisle he's faced with runs between the two columns of leather black seats, each one long enough for two people to comfortably sit. Knowing that his father would be aiding in navigation, Pine slides onto one of the seats closest to the front, scooting to the edge right beside the window where he turns to face the red forest, gazing over to where they had come from, staring down the hill now from above.
His attention is brought ahead though when his father walks down the aisle and finds him, smiling softly before sliding next to him, taking the aisle seat. The two exchange relieved smiles as the young girl boards the bus behind Aspen, who moves further down the aisle to take seats, followed by Alder, and then Maple, moving steadily into the bus as the platforms carry them right up to the interior floor. Meditat monitors their arrival, inspecting the platforms to ensure safe transit, nodding to the young man and older woman who board next, followed by Hemlock who just stares star struck at the luxurious interior.
The survivors steadily fill up the bus's seats, as the vehicle was built just large enough to house everybody, best balancing capacity and agility especially as they're still within the forest, beneath the green ceiling, between the colossal trunks.
Eventually, the last survivor boards the bus, allowing the final platform to be dissolved. Meditat continues to monitor the open door though, as next Kokei is carried inside by the golden tentacle, which places her on her feet before unwrapping and retracting into Dana. Kokei walks inside and takes the seat opposite from Pine's, sticking close to the front of the bus. Ekitai is next lifted inside before the tentacle can uncoil, leaving him to stroll inside the bus and take the seat beside Kokei. At last, Dana gently hovers inside, planting her golden feet down on the silver floor, and walks down the aisle to find the seat behind Ekitai and Kokei unused, allowing her to slide in.
All passengers accounted for, Meditat glances back down the bus before facing the door which materializes shut, enclosing the pod. He then faces forward at the windshield screen which is lit up with widgets for the dashboard, the speedometer and gyroscope elements along the edges. Meditat readjusts himself on his seat before the bus then begins to hum slightly louder as it starts to drive forwards, again startling all the survivors, as while they don't feel any movement in their bodies, they face the windows to find the world moving past them. The rest of the Bellators seated as passengers watch the survivors experience this wonder, warranting a soft smile from Kokei, though that smile weakens slightly upon the reminder of why they're choosing such a hasty approach. She turns to Ekitai, finding him even more uneasy, staring off into nothing, spaced out. She frowns and places her hand on his shoulder in any attempt to comfort him before she then turns to face the window, listening to the pod's engine begin to growl more aggressively as the world moves faster past them, the field of red zooming faster and faster. Ahead of them, Meditat focuses on the air road, smoothly turning the pod to weave between the massive pillars. He's steady with the acceleration given the environmental hazards, though he leans forward upon realizing that he could discern the edge of the forest, as there's a clear point ahead where no other trees stand.
From the outside, the engine of the pod is significantly louder, unmuffled as the blue bus maneuvers between the trees, still so miniscule in the grander forest, even as it begins to ascend closer to the green ceiling, passing the edge of the red forest.
That approaching green ceiling can be observed from the pod's ceiling which Dana observes, though her attention then shifts to the windshield, as do many of the other survivors in intrigue, their eyes widening upon the emerging sight, some of them smiling in fascination of what lays ahead.
At the head, Meditat drives the bus towards that edge, getting closer and closer, approaching faster as the bus accelerates. It weaves between the huge trees, the same that surrounded them when they first dropped into the forest, the same that's been surrounding them ever since. That is until at last, through the windshield, the blue bus drives straight past the final trees, the green ceiling flown past to reveal the bright blue sky where the distant cyan supersun beams down, unhidden but for the sparse white clouds. Out in the open space, the bus swiftly accelerates into a roar as it races over the open plains, parting ways with the gargantuan forest which it can finally ascend above, climbing over the green ceiling that had stood dominant for so long, free to soar in any direction of which it chooses: forwards.