*Danyelle's POV*
My stomach was growling with hunger.
I ask "Could I get something to eat?"
Shinjiro spoke "Here. Maybe this’ll help."
Shinjiro gave me some meat, which I gladly ate.
Shima spoke "U-Um… Sorry… I did make some with Shinjiro-san, but those are his… The ones I made turned out like this."
Shima brought out messy burnt cookies.
Kanji asks “Huh, are those mud balls in the shape of pigs and weasels?"
Shima spoke "They’re bear-shaped and cow-shaped cocoa cookies!"
Teddie asks “This is what bears look like to you, Shimi-chan…?"
Heifa spoke "I feel mildly… insulted."
Shima asks “I’m sorry… they’re a bit off, aren’t they…?"
Kanji asks “A bit?"
Shima spoke "They didn’t turn out so well, so I asked Shinjiro-san to give you the ones he made."
Phew! Good call, Shima.
Seiko spoke "I think the thought alone is enough to make Rei happy."
I spoke "Maybe Pinkie can teach you how to bake."
Rei asks “Mm-hm! Can I have those two, Shimi?"
…Wait, what?
Shima spoke "Huh? But…"
Seiko spoke "Sorry, no. You really shouldn’t. I’m not kidding! It’s dangerous!"
Rei spoke "Thanks for the food!"
Rei took a bite of a cookie Shima made, making us half of us really concerned.
Kaze spoke "Ack, don’t do it! You’re taking your life in your hooves!"
Rei spoke "Hrm? That’s an interesting texture… It’s delicious, too!"
Shinjiro asks “Wha-!? how could those be…!?"
Hapu spoke "I… honestly didn’t see that coming."
Junpei asks “Who’s cooking do you think is more dangerous? Hers or Fuuka’s?"
Shinjiro spoke "That’s… That’s… Nnh… ……Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt…"
Junpei asks “Eh!? It’s that bad!?"
Shima spoke "Is it good? What a relief! Maybe it’s because I was keeping it warm in my pocket. They say curry tastes better if you let it sit, after all. *Brings out more* Would everyone else like some? Here you go!"
What Shima was offering to us were shapeless, melted blobs… A sweet and sour smell reached our noses, and instead of drooling, most of us broke out in a cold sweat… Doesn’t matter how I slice it, this is deadly…
Shima spoke "Here you go!"
Shima smiled cheerfully as she insisted me to try it. My life is in danger from just one bite…
Rei spoke "C’mon Zen, you should try it too! The texture and smell and taste are so unique!"
Zen spoke "…Alright. *Takes a bite before freezing with eyes wide open and dropping the cookies he held* ……!? Ngh… It was… an enemy…"
Junpei asks “H-Hey… Zen…?"
Zen was silent and as still as a statue.
Yukari asks “Whoa… Is he passed out on his hooves!?"
That seemed to be the case.
Rei spoke "Huh? Zen!? What’s-*Barfs while falling back* …Blurghf!"
Rei and Zen are out cold!
Shima asks “Y-Yikes! Are you two okay!?"
Later, we got rid of Shima’s cookies as Zen and Rei woke up.
Zen asks “Was I… unconscious?"
Rei spoke "I had a dream… I was being held down while sand was poured into my mouth…"
Kaze spoke "So, Mystery Food X is now a delayed-action hallucinogenic, too."
Seiko asks “How much more can it evolve…?"
Kori spoke "An intriguing technique… If put to proper use, it could be devastating in combat."
In more ways than one.
I immediately threw up my lunch.
Shima spoke "I’m so sorry, both of you… I didn’t think that would happen…"
Rei spoke "It cheered me up anyway! Cook for me again sometimes, Shimi!"
Shima spoke "Rei-chan…!"
Yukari spoke "Shima-chan and Rei-chan are both so nice. Even Shinjiro-senpai pitched in with the cookie-baking, no sweat. So Junpei, you better do something normal for once instead of putting on stupid glasses."
Junpei spoke "Tsk tsk, Yuka-tan. I have other tricks up my sleeve!"
Yukari asks “Other tricks…?"
Junpei spoke "Here, just watch. Attention, everyone. I’d like to borrow both your hands and front legs for a moment!"
Rei asks “…Both my front legs?"
Junpei spoke "*Raising both of his arms with Rei raising her front legs* Now, raise both those hands and front hooves high… And there we have it! We all give up as debased detectives! *Puts on Teddie’s glasses again* And now… The glasses-faced detective!"
Yukari spoke "Are you stupid or something? …No, seriously, are you stupid? Never mind, you’re obviously stupid."
Junpei spoke "I got it the first time!"
Shima snickers "Snrk… Heehee… Ahaha, ahahahaha! D-Detective…? That makes no sense…!"
Junpei spoke "See? See? It was a hit!"
Dorai asks “…How’d that happen?
Yukari spoke "Uhh, well… I guess I’m glad it cheered up Shima-chan, haha…"
My stomach settled down.
But all of a sudden, a sharp pain shot up my back.
I whine "Ack... Not now...."
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* Um… Can you all hear me? I just picked up an FOE reading nearby. Be careful up ahead!"
Kori spoke "It seems we can’t fool around any longer. Alright, let’s get going."
Dang it… I can’t fight with my back thrown out.
Twilight spoke "Hold on guys, we can't keep moving with a cat in labor!"
Kori was definitely surprised at that.
Junpei asks "Wait-what?! You’re kiddin’, right?!"
Twilight spoke "Does it look like I'm kidding? Danyelle's in labor and we don't have a doctor on hoof to handle the delivery!"
Fluttershy spoke "I-I’ll try to help."
Twilight spoke "While Danyelle is vulnerable, we should form a defense circle around her."
Rarity spoke "Indeed."
I was curled up in pain.
Fluttershy gasps "W-We need to hurry!"
*Some time later*
I was holding a sky blue furred Abyssinian-alicorn female in my arms.
“Oh, I wish Ben was here to see this…” I smiled.
Twilight spoke "She looks like an Akoya to me with that fur coloring."
“An Akoya?” I asked Twilight.
Twilight spoke "Redux-verse Danyelle told me that she has a daughter named Akoya."
“Oh.” I noted.
Twilight turns to look at Kaze.
Twilight asks "Is it a good idea to travel with a newborn through a place like this?"
Kaze spoke "Don’t ask me! I’m still a high-schooler!"
I spoke "Can you two not argue right now? we have to find a way out."
Yukan suddenly gave me a bottle of some kind of liquid.
Yukan spoke "We can handle it from here, Danyelle-senpai."
Hapu spoke "Yeah, you and your baby drink this and you’ll both be right out of this labyrinth and back at the festival."
But given how fussy Akoya was being, she kicked the bottle out of my hand.
I spoke "Great stars above..."
Hapu spoke "*Brings out another bottle* Good thing we have more than one Goho-M."
I spoke "Akoya's fussy though since she doesn't like the smell of strange liquids."
Shinjiro spoke "Let me help with that."
Shinjiro borrowed the bottle and did something with it before giving it to us, and it smelled like milk.
But Akoya was as stubborn as I was.
Shinjiro spoke "Huh, she’s picky."
I spoke "Babies of any species are fussy... And don't get me started on kirin foals... They have fiery tempers..."
Shinjiro spoke "I know what you mean."
But then Akoya’s face softened.
I spoke "Oh good, she's calmed down."
Fluttershy asks "Oh, maybe Akoya noticed that he’s a good friend?"
I spoke "Babies have a harder time remembering though."
Fluttershy spoke "I think it’s more of an instinct."
I spoke "Kittens tend to be hissy if someone other than their parents hold them."
My right ear twitches before I flung a blade of lightning at a FOE, scaring it off.
I spoke "That was close!"
Kori: It seems those doll FOEs truly are scared of anything that produces light.
Shinjiro spoke "Here."
Shinjiro gave Akoya and me the bottle, and the little kitten was fussy this time.
The bottle was knocked out yet again.
I spoke "It's as though she knows that if I left you guys alone, you'd get attacked. And since there's a ball of Radiant magic on my tail, it's what's letting us all see."
Twilight spoke "Not only that, Danyelle's quite strong."
Yoso chuckles "Kid’s brave, I’ll give her that."
I spoke "I'm no normal Abyssinian-alicorn hybrid. I've got dragon somewhere in my ancestry. Plus I'm able to use fire, ice, lightning, earth, light and dark magic. Oh and a bit of Chaos magic."
Twilight asks "*Deadpan* Did you train with the female Draconequi?"
I spoke "Oh stars no, I picked up on the Chaos Blast thing from my OC-verse counterpart."
Twilight spoke "Oh."
I spoke "Yeah."
We kept moving, having conversations and beating shadows, Seiko, Yukan, Hapu and I even got a request from Kaze to help safe his stomach from Emerald, Shima, Karei and Fuuka's cooking. That means we'll have to join in. We soon reached the stairs as we went down again, reaching the fourth story. We read clues and kept moving before Koromaru and Tasuma growled.
Aigis spoke "Koromaru-san and Tasuma-chan are sensing danger. It seems they detect an FOE nearby."
We suddenly heard a young feminine giggle.
Yukari spoke "Wait... This voice..."
Sunao spoke "I-It's that doll ghost which blocks off doors..."
Rei whimpered in fear.
Kori spoke "There's no time to panic. Seiko, Danyelle, Twilight, Yukan, Hapu, please handle this with caution."
Akihiko spoke "Tch, so it's the one that follows us around... What a pain."
Teddie spoke "Does it like me that much? I'm such a wicked bear..."
Kori spoke "Honestly... This is no time for jokes! I'll let you five handle this-Wait, I said that a moment ago. ...Anyway, let's go."
Yukari was silent as we went into a room before we heard that giggle again.
Karei spoke "*Communications* U-Uh-oh! The ghost doll's here!"
Akihiko spoke "It's come for us after all... I saw a light switch when we came it here. We'd better be off with the lights on. We're at too much of a disadvantage in the dark."
Shinjiro spoke "Let's keep moving. We don't have time to waste."
We moved forward and pressed the switch, turning some lights on as I was still using my flashtail.
But as we kept moving, we found out that the FOE was following us nonstop, but definitely wouldn't enter any sort of light. As we kept moving, we found clues on papers, had conversations and used another Darkness Key before encountering a room that neither Karei or Fuuka could search. We kept moving before the ground shook from underneath us before we all fell through. When I landed, holding Akoya safely in my arms, only Goliath, Twilight, Spottedleaf, Seiko, Yukan, Hapu, Rei and Zen were nearby.
Rei spoke "Hrrgh... That was unexpected..."
Zen asks "Rei, are you hurt?"
Rei asks "Mm... I'm okay. Where's everyone else?"
Zen spoke "It seems we were separated. Only the ten of us are here now."
Rei asks "Huh!? Wh-What should we do!?"
Junpei's voice calls out "Heeeeey! Can you hear us!?"
Rei asks "That's Jun-chan's voice! I heard it from behind that door! Jun-chan, are you in there?"
Junpei's voice spoke "Ooh! Is that you, Rei-chan!? Thank Faust! You gotta help us!"
Zen asks "Has someone been injured?"
Hudson's voice spoke "Do not worry yourself, lad, no injuries among any of us. But this door is holding us in real good."
Junpei's voice yelps "Yuka-tan's all scared and going, "Help me, Junpei!" She even started to-Ow! What was that punch for!?"
Yukari's voice asks "Can you hear me? The door's locked and we can't get out! Can you try opening it from your side?"
I tried, but it was locked. It won't be easy.
Passing Akoya to Twilight, I spoke "Everyone, move back! I'm gonna attempt a Chaos Blast!"
Yukan asks "Do you mean both sides?"
I spoke "Yeah! I don't want anyone to get hurt! Yukari! Get the others to move back!!!"
Spottedleaf was picking the lock with her claws fully out, getting the door unlocked.
I spoke "Or that works..."
But then the door locked itself.
Spottedleaf spoke "Okay... that's weird. *Notices something on the door* Hmm? Must be a failsafe."
Zen spoke "Hm...? There are devices beside the door. With red, blue and yellow lights on them..."
Rei spoke "Oh... it's a machine that opens the door when you use a key card in it."
Zen asks "A key card? Will that truly unlock it?"
Rei spoke "Mm-hm... The doctors have them."
Zen spoke "So this door won't open unless we have these key cards. There are three devices... We'll need three cards to open this door."
Hapu spoke "Then maybe we should find those key cards."
Zen spoke "That is our only option. The door is very sturdy. Destroying it would be close to impossible.
Rei spoke "So this'll open if we have the key cards? Then let's hurry and find them!"
We told Yukari and the others about the plan.
Yukari's voice spoke "B-But... will you guys be okay? It seems like our support folks can't reach us here either..."
Zen spoke "We'll look around first. Just stay where you are."
Hudson's voice spoke "Alright, lad. We will wait here for ya then, so best of luck."
Rei spoke "Leave it to us! We'll save you!"
Zen spoke "Well then, let's go."
We looked around before seeing a pair of panels on the floor to the left and right.
Rei asks "What are these stands? Are they big switches?"
Zen spoke "You should stay back, Rei."
Zen stepped onto one of the panels before a sound was heard.
Rei spoke "Oh, it made a sound! It went "click"!
Zen asks "But nothing is happening... Is the other stand also necessary?"
Goliath went onto the other panel as another click was heard before another door opened.
Rei spoke "Wow! It's like, Open sesame miso ramen!"
Ramen?! Where?!
Zen spoke "So these stands are the activation devices. Then..."
Zen stepped off his panel before the door closed.
Zen spoke "As I thought. The mechanism doesn't open unless both stands are weighted down at once."
That means one of us will have to head in there to find the key cards while both panels are weighed down, keeping the door open.
I spoke "We could decide with rock paper scissors."
Rei spoke "……I-I… I’ll go. I promised I’d go save them…"
Zen spoke "No. It’s too dangerous for me to leave you alone."
Spottedleaf groans "For the love of... I'll go!"
I spoke "I can't go since Akoya's far too young to be left alone long."
Seiko spoke "I trust you girls."
Yukan spoke "Same here."
Hapu spoke "I know you two can do this."
Twilight spoke "…Okay, I’ll let you both go as well."
Rei spoke "M-Mmhm… Okay. Zen… I’m gonna go do this with Spotty."
Zen spoke "Rei… Very well."
Rei and Spottedleaf went into the room, and it was dark in there.
Zen: I can sense Rei’s presence even when she is somewhat far away. I’ll ascertain her and Spottedleaf’s position since I know they won’t split up."
I groan "And my idea gets ignored..."
Seiko spoke "Sorry, but we might’ve not had time for rock-paper-scissors."
I growl at Seiko.
*Spottedleaf's POV*
After using the same spell that Danyelle used, the tip of my tail had a ball of light on it thus providing Rei and I a way to see.
I spoke "Good thing I picked up that Lumen spell or we wouldn't be able to see."
The two of us moved forward before encountering an FOE, spooking Rei, but we didn't approach it, so it didn't attack us. I assured Rei that it was a takoyaki, so we'll have to avoid the takoyakis. We kept moving before finding a blue key card on the ground.
Rei spoke "Yay! We found the first one!"
Zen asks "Well done, Rei. Same for you, Spottedleaf. Do you both think you can find the other two?"
Rei spoke "Uh-huh. We'll try.
"Count on us." I added as we kept moving before noticing something at my feet and Rei's hooves. We found the yellow key card.
Rei spoke "Yes, yes! We found the second key card!"
Zen asks "Very good, you two. There's only one more to go. Can the two of you do this just a little longer?"
Rei spoke "M-Mmhm... We'll try."
"And don't worry. I'll protect Rei." I assured we kept moving and looking around before heading somewhere as Rei was getting more scared before...
Rei spoke "Aaaaah! Th-There's a scary doll!"
Zen asks "Is it an FOE!?"
When I looked at the doll, its eyes weren't glowing yellow, so it's not an FOE.
Rei spoke "Hrrgh... N-No... Th-There's an a-actual... scary doll on the ground..."
But then the two of us noticed something.
Rei spoke "Huh...? The doll is holding something..."
I looked closer and saw that the doll was holding a red key card as I grabbed it.
Rei spoke "We found the third key card! We can save everyone now!"
Zen spoke "Well done you two. Come back at once."
Rei spoke "Okay!"
"No need to tell us twice." I said as we soon returned to the others with all three key cards.
Rei spoke "*Sniffling* I'm so... glad... we made it... back... *Sniff!* Sniff!* Waaaaah..."
Zen spoke "*As I hugged Rei, comforting her* Welcome back, Rei. You must've been scared in there."
Rei spoke "I-I wasn't scared..."
Danyelle seemed to have calmed down too as she gave Rei one of the cookies Shinjiro made earlier.
Rei spoke "Ehehe... I got a reward.
Danyelle spoke "It's the least I can do since you really helped back there."
I couldn't help but agree.
Zen spoke "Rei... You're very strong."
Rei spoke "H-Honestly... I was so scared that my legs were shaking the whole time. But when I focused on saving everyone, I was able to move on, a little bit at a time!"
Zen spoke "Ah... That was brave of you."
Rei spoke "Hey, I bet everyone's waiting. Let's hurry and open that door!"
I spoke "Agreed."
We got to the door as I used the key cards, opening it.
Junpei spoke "Ooh, the door's open!"
Emerald whines "*Sobbing* I'm so...! We're out...! I thought we were gonna be stuck in there forever...!"
Shima spoke "*As Goryuu comforted Emerald* Wasn't it fun? It was like being in an extreme situation."
Shima's spook resistance is on another level...
Yukari spoke "That's not how I saw it..."
Junpei yelps "I could tell by the way you were bawling and saying stuff like, "I wanna go home!" *Slapped in the face by Yukari* Ow! Can you not slap me either!?"
Kori spoke "*Sigh* No sooner are we out of that mess then this immediately starts up again... But we owe you ten our thanks for saving us."
Zen spoke "Rei and Spottedleaf found the key cards. They went to look for them in the darkness."
Shima spoke "I see... Thank you both so much, Rei-chan and Spottedleaf-hime. You two have really done a lot for us."
Rei spoke "Heehee... I was okay because I had the others encouraging me."
True enough, Rei. True enough.
Aigis spoke "Then you ten are all champions!"
Rei spoke "Yay, I'm a champion!"
Danyelle spoke "Now, let's get out of here. And Junpei, you're an idiot."
Junpei spoke "Hey!"
Karei asks "*Communications* Hellooooo? Can everyone hear me?"
Junpei asks "Ooh, Karette! Does this mean our support’s back?"
Karei spoke "*Communications* Thank goodness, we’re finally through! Geez, you scared us. Our voices suddenly stopped reaching you guys!"
Ken asks "…Isn’t that a paranormal phenomenon?"
Phantom spoke "Don’t look at me."
Emerald spoke "Aaaaack! Stop, I don’t wanna hear it!"
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* D-Don’t worry! The trap seems to have been safely lifted, so you can proceed now!"
Rei spoke "Now that everything’s okay, I’m starting to get hungry! Once we’re out of here, I’m gonna get candied apples, cotton candy, crepes, and chocolate bananas with everyone!"
Kori spoke "*Smile* Of course. I’ll buy as much as you want, as a token of my thanks."
Rei spoke "Smoked ham shanks!? Ooh, I’d love that too!"
We kept moving, reading clues on paper and the ground, dodging FOEs while we solved puzzles to unlock doors as we had conversations before reaching the stairs. We went down them, heading down to the last story, only to find ourselves in a hallway that looked like it was to surgery.
Yukari spoke "Oh geez… This place is super creepy…"
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* Everyone! I’m sensing a powerful presence further inside!"
Shinjiro spoke "So the guardian of this place has shown up. I wonder what it’ll be this time…"
Akihiko spoke "It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we win."
Teddie spoke "I wanna see some nurses!"
Yukari asks "Geez… Isn’t anyone here taking this seriously…?"
Rei spoke "I-Is it going to be a ghost…? I hope it’s not a ghost… But it probably will be…"
Zen spoke "Calm down, Rei. Ghosts don’t exist. They’re not real except for our conceptions of them."
Rei spoke "O-Okay…"
Kaze asks "Hey, Emerald. Are you hanging in there okay?
Emerald was trembling as Goryuu tried to comfort her.
Kiko asks "Emerald? Didn’t you hear Kaze?-"
Emerald spoke "*Turning around* ‘Bye guys, I’m out of here."
Danyelle asks "…Really Emerald?"
Emerald asks "*Turns back to us* …No?"
Kaze spoke "Yeah, no."
We walked forward before stopping at the door.
Danyelle asks "Okay, is everyone ready?"
Twilight spoke "Wow Em, you're as big a scaredy Skitty as the Absol-Mewtwo hybrid over in the Redux-verse is."
Danyelle spoke "Twilight, SIT GIRL!"
A loud thud vibrated throughout the place since Twilight was down on the ground.
Kori spoke "Enough fooling around. We must fight the guardian if we want to get closer to leaving this realm."
Danyelle spoke "Right and because of that noise.... I have a gut feeling we'll get swarmed soon..."
Yukan spoke "Huh. Then we better be quick."
The orbs of light on both Danyelle's tail and my tail suddenly go out, shrouding us all in darkness.
Danyelle spoke "Oh stars no..."
I was snarling since I couldn't see anything.
But then lights came on as the door opened, revealing multiple doors opening before we got through, when we saw a scary sight. A humanoid doctor and two humanoid nurses were doing an operation on a shadow, and a painful one at that.
Emerald spoke "*Crouching in fear* Eek..."
Kori slowly walked backwards before falling over Emerald onto her back, getting the three's attention as they turned towards us.
The Calm Nurse asks "Ohhhh...? What are you doing here, little children?"
Kori spoke "S-Stay awaaaaaaaay!"
The Kind Doctor spoke "*Crushes shadow's head as the Nurses jumped, ready for battle* It's time to begin your operation!"
The Nurses got into position as the Doctor walked up to us, ready to fight us.
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* I th-think, he's the g-guardian of this labyrinth!"
Brooklyn spoke "Something tells me these medicals do more harm than good here."
Danyelle had turned herself and Akoya invisible since she and her daughter couldn't fight.
I snarl "Quit being a coward Danyelle!"
Twilight spoke "She’s protecting, not hiding, and it’s a smart move."
We attacked the Kind Doctor before the Calm Nurse healed him while the Caring Nurse somehow weakened our speed, agility and accuracy.
Kaze spoke "Jiraiya!"
Kaze summoned his persona, raising our speed, agility and accuracy back to normal before the Calm Nurse sprayed liquid at us, giving us paralysis that could stop our attacks when we least expect it as the Caring Nurse increased the Kind Doctor’s defense.
Karei spoke "*Communication* Careful! That Doctor just got tougher!"
Rainbow Dash spoke "That blue one is making the Doctor better while making us worse!"
I yowl "KAZEGAMI!!!"
A neigh rings clear as the speed of my allies and I got boosted 20-fold as a fiery phoenix perched on my right wing.
I shoot a fire arrow at the doctor, inflicting a divine burn that couldn't be healed.
The Kind Doctor spoke "Now then… This might hurt juuuuust a bit, but it’ll be alright…"
The Calm Nurse healed the doctor, but not much due to the burn.
Fuuka spoke "*Communication* You took out some of the doctor’s health! But be careful, you guys have paralysis!"
Shima spoke "This battle has just begun!"
Pinkie spoke "Huh, so the red nurse heals the doctor while giving us status effects."
I spoke "You forget Fuuka, I have lightning affinity so all electric attacks have no effect on me!"
I charge up a Lightning Neko Roar and fire it at the red nurse, killing her instantly.
Karei spoke "*Communications* Nice! Just one Nurse left, then the Doctor’s all ours!"
Sleuth spoke "Now there’s only the blue nurse left before going after the Doctor."
I spoke "I'm glad to have immunity to electric attacks... and now... LIGHTNING NEKO ROAR!!!"
The blue nurse dies on impact.
I spoke "Two down, one left!"
But then the Kind Doctor clanked his weapon together before some of us fell asleep.
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* W-Watch out! Some of the others fell asleep!"
Emerald sleepspoke "M-Meat... *Snore!*"
I roar loud, jolting the others back awake.
I put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones to drown out sound based attacks.
I laugh "IT'S OVER DOC!"
I launch myself at high shock-speed, clamping my fangs into the guy's neck.
Danyelle covered Akoya's eyes while using a wing to block Emerald's sight.
I rip the doctor's neck out, killing him.
But it looked like the Doctor was more stubborn than I thought.
Kind Doctor spoke "No... No... No... Wh-Wh-What's wrong? Her condition is getting worse! Emergency surgery is called for! Don't worry... we'll save you..."
Karei spoke "*Communications* The Doctor's on his last legs!"
Goliath spoke "This battle is reaching its end."
"Uh-oh... Watch out!" I yelled as we defended ourselves before the Kind Doctor used Drastic Measures, attacking us greatly as we dodged.
Fuuka spoke "*Communications* The enemy's weak to wind!"
Leafstar suddenly pops up before launching a wind blade at the doctor.
Leafstar spoke "Good thing my affinity is wind!"
It looked like that finished the Kind Doctor off for good this time as he dropped his weapon.
The Kind Doctor spoke "Operation... has failed... miserably..."
The Kind Doctor then died before melting into shadows with the Calm and Caring Nurses as the chains on a treasure chest fell apart.
Shima spoke "That must be what the guardian was protecting..."
Zen was about to move forward before he noticed Rei tugging on his cape.
Rei asks "...Do we have to?"
Zen said nothing as he kept moving forward, freeing his cape before opening the chest and brings something out of it. That something was a lock of mane.
Yukan, Hapu and Seiko ask "Mane...?"
Yukari spoke "Yikes, that's kinda..."
"Why is a lock of mane here?" I asked.
Junpei asks "Very fitting for a haunted house, huh...?"
Leafstar spoke "...Unnerving to say the least..."
Zen spoke "It’s beautiful."
Emerald spoke "Y-Yeah… You’re right. Looks like it’s about the same length as Shima’s."
Shima spoke "Mm… Mane, fur and feathers tends to get tangled and damaged when you grow it out long, but this mane is really pretty. Whoever this mane belonged to must’ve been proud of it. It looks like they took very good care of it…"
Rei asks "Proud…?"
But then we heard the bell tolling again.
Applejack spoke "It’s that bell again…"
The chimes were certainly echoing before they stopped.
Shima asks "Will another of the locks on the door in the Velvet Room come off…?"
Rei spoke "…Wh-Who’s that? Someone’s coming… They’re… calling for me…"
Akihiko spoke "Calling? I don’t hear anything."
The rest of us weren’t hearing that either.
Akihiko asks "You’re not just letting this place get to you?"
Rei spoke "Who is it? No, I don’t wanna go…"
Aigis spoke "Rei-san, please calm down. There is no one here."
Rei spoke "No, can we please go? Let me out of here…! I don’t wanna be here anymore… I’ll be a good filly… I’ve had it with this hospital and school stuff…! I wanna go home where everyone is…! I want to go back together…!"
Danyelle spoke "It’ll be okay, Rei."
Twilight spoke "Danyelle’s right about that. All of us will go back together."
Zen spoke "But you’re the one who made this school, Rei…"
Rei asks "…Me?
Junpei asks "Huh?
Zen asks "I’ve remembered a little more… You wished for this school… and created it… Are you… truly trapped here?"
Rei spoke "…I don’t know. I don’t know, Zen…"
Aigis spoke "Rei-san…"
Sounds like we got amnesiacs here.
Sunao spoke "…Zen-kun, I recall you saying that Rei-san’s belongings are hidden in the depths of the labyrinths. If, as you claim, Rei-san created this school… Then the labyrinths we’ve traversed, and the large Shadows within them, are connected to her. Extrapolating even further, it’s possible that Rei-san created all of these things."
“Rei created all this?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.
Kori spoke "This “someone” we wondered about at the start… Perhaps there is no “third party” but Rei and Zen."
Shinjiro asks "…So, what? Rei created this place, made guardians to protect stuff, but now she’s lost her memories and wants out?"
Junpei spoke "That raises more questions than answers…"
Akihiko spoke "This isn’t the last labyrinth yet. We’re still missing pieces of the puzzle."
Shinjiro spoke "Yeah… The next one should be the last. The rest of the blanks should get filled in there…"
Sunao spoke "Yes… I agree. ……Let’s return to the Velvet Room…"
We soon left the whole labyrinth as we went to the Velvet Room. We saw the rusty lock shaking before it and the rusty chains were blasted off the doors, with the lock disappearing and one lock remaining.
Sunao spoke "As we thought, another lock is gone. Only one remains. The next labyrinth will be the last…
Danyelle kept Akoya close to her.
Fuuka spoke "The last one is on the third floor… It seems to be at the Ineighba Pride Exhibit.”
Kori spoke "Alright. I want all of you rested and prepared. Let’s disband for now…"
Danyelle spoke "I'm gonna head back to Ponyville."
Right after Danyelle teleported back to Ponyville, Vince pops up.
Vincent spoke "Hey guys."
“Wow. Did not see that coming.” I admitted.
Vince asks "What was that Spots?"
“Anyway, we’re gonna be here for a while.” I noted as we all went outside before everyone went their separate ways after hearing Kori’s words. We definitely need to be ready and rested. But then I noticed Fuuka calling out to Yukari as Dorai with Yoso and came up next to me to check it out too.
Fuuka spoke "Yukari-chan, do you want some takoyaki? Karei-chan and I bought some."
Yukari spoke "Ooh, count me in!"
Karei spoke "I was chatting with Fuuka-chan earlier. We were really hitting it off."
Yukari asks "Well, you two are by yourselves most of the time. So, what were you chatting about?"
Karei spoke "The secrets of showbiz."
Yukari spoke "Wow, that’s dark!"
Fuuka spoke "Karei-chan knows so much! She told me things like the shenanigans that pop idols are up to… You know!"
Yukari asks "Just make sure you don’t slack off support duties, okay?"
Fuuka spoke "Yes, Ma’am."
Yukari spoke "You seem to be getting along well, though. I was a little worried, since you can be shy around strangers."
Fuuka spoke "Um, well, you know how my abilities are unique, right? I’m different from you guys… I can’t fight Shadows. I know I’m the only one who can do this, but… sometimes I just feel… lonely and inferior."
Yukari spoke "Fuuka… I didn’t know that."
Yoso felt guilty about not knowing that.
Fuuka spoke "That’s why I’m really happy I met Karei-chan, who’s in the same boat."
Karei spoke "We’ve been laughing about all the cliched backup situations we get into!"
Yukari spoke "I see… I’m a bit jealous of you."
Fuuka asks "You? Jealous…?"
Yukari spoke "Mm… Our abilities may be a little different, but there’s not actually much difference between us. …There’s times I catch myself thinking, “Maybe it doesn’t really have to be me here.” I mean, only sometimes. But… ……When I get left behind because I’m not doing so hot, or when I get to tired and have to sub out… Someone takes my place, and it’s a short step from there to, “anyone with these abilities could do this.”
Fuuka spoke "Yukari-chan…"
Dorai seemed sad about Yukari feeling like that.
Yukari spoke "S-Sorry! I guess I’m a little tired."
Karei spoke "…Why do you think that? You’re all friends. The idea of some of you being unnecessary or replaceable doesn’t apply."
Yukari spoke "That………"
Karei asks "What is it?"
Yukari spoke "It’s… nothing."
Karei spoke "Nope. You have to say it. If you don’t say anything, we won’t understand… We can’t understand.
Yukari spoke "……We’re… not really friends. We were just gathered for a purpose… There are a few of us who get along on a personal level, like my brother and I, but that’s it.
Karei spoke "But you trust them, right? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be able to know they’ve got your back.
Yukari was quiet.
Karei spoke "…There was a time that I lost sight of myself. After I entered showbiz, this “Karette” character was pushed on me. I lost track of which one “I” was. I hated “Karette,” but at the same time, I thought the “real” me wasn’t worth anything… But then I met my senpai, and they saved me. They said I never changed. That all parts of me, even Karette, make up who I am. That no one else in the world could be me. Worth isn’t a thing you earn because of what you can do. My senpai took me in just the way I am, plain old me. That’s why I fight for my senpai. They made me stronger, so I want to protect them now.
Yukari spoke "hat might be true for you and your friends, but…
Karei asks "Junpei-san said you’re fighting for world peace… I think that’s a really amazing thing. But can you do it? If you don’t even trust your companions? If you can’t even say what’s on your mind?"
Yukari spoke "That’s…"
Karei asks "Geez, fire back at me! I was being mean there… I can just tell from watching. You’re all on tiptoes and tiphoof around each other, trying not to butt heads. It’s easier to ignore a problem than to rock a boat, after all… Am I right?"
Yukari was silent.
Karei spoke "Sorry, but let me say something else about me again… I brushed off things so I wouldn’t get hurt. I thought that was the only adult way to handle it. But the fact is, the stuff I thought I was brushing off? It was really all building up inside me. So sometimes I’d explode and take it out on others, or say selfish things. I hated myself for doing that…"
Yukari spoke "…That’s a lot like me."
Karei spoke "It’s scary to come out and say what you think, right? But they’re your companions. They’re at your side. Sure, there are compatibility issues and personality differences, and everyone won’t all love each other… But at the very least, they’ll understand. You trust your lives to these beings when you fight. There’s nothing you can’t resolve by talking it out. All you need right now is the courage."
Yukari spoke "Coming to an understanding, though… Heh, it’s my senpai who don’t want that."
That really tugged Dorai’s heartstrings as he started leaking tears.
Fuuka spoke "*Tearfully* Yukari-chan…"
Yukari spoke "Wha-Fuuka!? Why’re you crying!? S-Sorry… it’s my fault for saying all that stuff…"
Fuuka spoke "*Tearfully* That’s not it… I didn’t understand you at all, Yukari-chan… I didn’t know you were so troubled…"
Yukari spoke "Nah, it wasn’t like that. I… I thought it just couldn’t be helped, so I tried to ignore it."
Fuuka spoke "*Tearfully* Yukari-chan, I’m so sorry…"
Karei asks "See? You do want to be understood, right?"
Yukari asks "…Geez, can you turn off that teen idol smile already?"
Karei asks "…So, Spottedleaf! Didn’t think I hadn’t noticed you, Dorai and Yoso back there, did you?"
Whoa! She spotted me!
Vince spoke "You don't know me and my siblings that well either."
Yukari asks "H-Huh!? H-How long have you four been standing there!? I mean... did you hear all of that!?"
Dorai approached Yukari with Yoso approaching Fuuka.
Dorai spoke "We were listening and... I'm really sorry you felt that way, Yukari."
Yukari spoke "Wha...!? Um... It's not like I don't trust you or any of the others, okay!? I mean, I think you, Yukan and Hapu are reliable and you always help me out, so I want to understand you more too, and..."
Dorai spoke "*Gentle smile* Thanks.
Yukari asks "Hey, what're you making me say!? *Blushing* Geez! Keep that a secret from everyone, okay!?"
Dorai spoke "*Hugs Yukari while blushing a bit* Sure thing."
Yukari spoke "*Blushing even more* H-Hey! Cut it out!"
Dorai spoke "Listen, I want to understand you more too..."
Yukari got silent at that when without thinking, she suddenly kissed Dorai on the lips, surprising him before he kissed back.
Yoso spoke "Hey um... Fuuka-chan? I heard about how being supporter made you feel, and I'm really sorry you felt like that."
Fuuka spoke "*Blush* N-No, really. It's okay, and to be honest... I wanna understand others more after what happened."
Yoso spoke "*Blush* Yeah, same here. Especially you."
Fuuka spoke "*Blushing more* H-Huh? What do you-"
Yoso suddenly kissed Fuuka on the lips as she was surprised before the dagonian's eyes closed with her kissing him back. Then Yukari realized what she was doing and disconnected.
Yukari spoke "Oh come on!"
Yukari ran off while blushing in embarrassment as Dorai followed her.
Karei asks "Hey, Spottedleaf-hime? Vince-Ōji? Do you think I was out of line, saying those things to Yukari-chan?"
"Nope." I answered.
Vince spoke "I don't think so."
Karei spoke "Okay then... My friends are all pretty awkward too. That's why I couldn't leave Yukari-chan alone..."
Fuuka and Yoso disconnected as the dagonian giggled.
Fuuka spoke "It's hard to believe you're younger than me, Rise-chan."
To be Continued...