Not far along the path, X and the others came across Marino lying on her back unconscious in the center of a round chamber. "Who's that?" X asked carefully, gripping his buster.
"That's Marino," Spider joked, kneeling beside her. "Heh. I remember the last time I saw her laid out like this-"
"I've still got my daggers in hand," Marino suddenly said, eyes still closed. "Think about where you're kneeling before you move those hands."
Spider immediately leapt back. "Still as feisty as ever I see," he offered with a chuckle.
"Whoa..." Massimo murmured in awe as Marino got to her feet.
"So you're Marino the Thief Queen?" Octavia asked curiously. "What brought you here?"
"That's my line," Marino joked back as she brushed a hand through her hair, settling herself. "But I don't have time for that. Psyche's got Cinnamon, and unlike me I get the feeling he has no intention of bringing her back."
"Wait...you were planning to kidnap her and bring her back?" X asked in surprise.
"Came here to steal the Force Metal Generator...till I found out it was part of a Terran," Marino explained. "I don't deal in that sort of 'trafficking'. Course, she looked so excited about the idea of me 'stealing her', I decided to take her out on the town for a bit, give her a little adventure. If nothing else, she might have her Dad's cred card and could pay for a tune up."
X blinked several times as he processed all this. "I'm not sure where that places you on the legality/morality scale..."
"Chaotic Good," Octavia, Massimo, and Marino all spoke up at once. They then turned towards each other. "You game?" they asked simultaneously.
"And suddenly Octavia's thoughts of hooking her up with Axl don't seem so strange," Spider murmured in an amused tone.
"We'll talk about that later," Marino stated flatly. "We need to get through the Eternal Forest to catch up to Psyche and Cinnamon-"
"You'll want to keep going right!" Gaudile spoke up through the comm system. "That's the fastest way through."
Marino started to chuckle. "Let's go then."
With the Professor's instructions, the group was able to make it through the Eternal Forest with ease, fighting their way past only two groups of Mechanaloids. After that, they were out of the Eternal Forest and on the other side. "So where's Cinnamon?" Octavia asked curiously.
"Sensors indicate she's still in the Eternal Forest," Gaudile informed the group. "But she'll be out soon!"
"Then we should find a good spot to ambush," X decided. "Scans show an open spot up ahead. Should be room for all of us to spread out."
"Then let's go!" Spider proclaimed, racing forward.
Once the group was in position, they settled back to wait quietly. They didn't have long to wait. Dr. Psyche soon staggered in, looking much the worse for wear, with Cinnamon perkily walking along behind him completely unscathed. When he caught sight of the group, he leapt back in shock. "What? But you...and they..." He rounded angrily on Cinnamon. "I thought you said all lefts was the best way to get through the Eternal Forest!"
"Oh, it absolutely is!" Cinnamon confirmed happily. "Always take the lefts when you can."
"Then how did they get through before us?" Psyche demanded angrily.
"...oh, you wanted the fastest path," Cinnamon deduced, gently cupping her closed fist in open palm as though she just got it, her eyes lighting up happily. "You wanted two rights, then," she told Psyche as Marino giggled. "You should have said so."
"You...you...RRRRGH!" Lunging forward, Psyche swung one arm to backhand Cinnamon.
Before anyone could react, Cinnamon's hand swept up to catch the swinging arm before jerking back, pulling Psyche off balance. She followed this up with a knee to his groin, an elbow to his chin, and a kick to one ankle to stagger him. As she released his wrist, her hands flashed and the white nurse gloves she wore were replaced by cat paw gloves with razor sharp claws. Lunging in, she slashed Psyche several times across the chest before slamming her right hand in, jerking back with something glowing gripped in her claws as she kicked Psyche away into the center of the room.
"W...Where did Cinnamon learn to fight like that?" Gaudile gasped in shock. "That didn't look like the Tai Chi and Yoga I gave her to study from!"
"She probably got bored and looked up some krav maga," Marino observed with a wide grin.
Psyche staggered to his feet with a whimper. "You...you haven't beaten me yet. The power of...my evolved form...will destroy you all!" Lifting his hands high, he glared around at everyone. "Now face my wrath!" With that, he detached his head from his neck and tossed it into the air. His body fell back lifeless.
His head clunked to the ground. "...my wrath? Where is my wrath?" he demanded in confusion.
"So this is what 'battle body transformation circuitry' looks like," Octavia observed as she stared at the chunk of shaped, glowing Force Metal in Cinnamon's grip. "Where did you get the kitty paws?"
"They were a gift from my friend Cumin before she got too busy helping the Resistance to hang out with me anymore when I snuck out," Cinnamon explained. "They were part of a set she, Jasmine, and Saffron got me. I...didn't realize they were so powerful..."
Psyche let out a distressed sigh. "Yeah...she's her mother's daughter, alright..."
"Cinnamon!" Gaudile cried out worriedly as he rushed into the room. "Are you alright? I was so worried about you!"
"Daddy!" Cinnamon called out happily, kneeling down to embrace Gaudile. "I'm just fine! And look, I made new friends!"
Gaudile frowned, glancing around at the group. "While I'm grateful they sought to save you, I'm not sure-"
"Marino, do you think you can steal Daddy, too?" Cinnamon interrupted. "Maybe that'll convince him I'm ready for the outside world! Ever since I was born with this thing in my chest, I've had to sneak behind Daddy's back for everything!"
"Wait!" X interrupted. "Gaudile didn't create the Force Metal Generator?"
Gaudile rubbed the back of his head. "Well...technically the patents only say Sugar and I created it together, which is...accurate?"
And yet more evidence supporting Epsilon's claims, Octavia thought to herself.
"If you think it'll help kid, sure," Marino offered. "Sides, I'd rather keep an eye on you if you can fight that well. Say Tavi, any chance we'll find your son soon?"
"I hope so," Cinnamon murmured, her cheeks turning red. "I...I kinda need to ask him for my panties back. Psyche's attack destroyed my others..."
Octavia's eyes popped out of her head. "That was you?"
Cinnamon promptly covered her face in embarrassment.