GermBusters 1: The True Pilots

by Lukington17

Chapter 4 - A Cutie at Heart

The gang waited back in the stomach, having disembarked their helicopter gratefully. The stomach was calm, despite a few cookie mushes splashing in with tea. Some Micronauts were swimming around in the acids along the village's waterfront, and the Micronauts' police were patrolling nearby. Again, the klaxon sounded and a tannoy announced: "Warning, unscheduled large arrival incoming - life forms detected" A few beachgoers in the stomach's city ventured to the shores to see, but our heroes watched in anticipation as a familiar red-maned white pony came splashing into the juices over on the far side, about three times their size. Before she caused any more accidental destruction, they flew towards her and landed on her muzzle. Sera stared at them on her nose with her large red eyes in deep mascara. "Sera, don't move! We'll fix your size" Electric said clearly, and swiftly they had given her a bit of the potion. After a difficult process of trying to get everyone to the same size - about five times the size of their Micronaut friends - Sera looked around in protest, but the sudden size-change had caused a few arriving patrol boats to be swept aside, much to their complaints of 'hey!'. Sera looked around in a daze; and lifted up her bags of supplies that she'd brought. After an extensive explanation of the situation by Flushie, Sera unloaded her bags on a small boat the gang were using as a base for now. Construction tools, snacks, hygiene and health-related tools like toothpaste and vitamins were unpacked, including some paintball guns to use ice-cream pellets with! The gang commended Sera for her help. Turning to the cellular citizens, they asked where they could help most.

"I'd say the bridge is most important. Folks can't get from A to B unless that's fixed."

"Try help with the downtown financial district too. That's in a right state..."

"The bridge for sure, but also my house was crushed last week."

Taking it all in, they headed off to the bridge first. It was a large suspension bridge, a whole section in the middle missing, and so they all got to work helping out as best they could. Eminence held up the partition of the bridge as it was put in place by Electric and Divinity, and the Micronauts all looked adorable as they cheered and celebrated happily. Next they went to fix the buildings downtown, assisting with the foundations and heaving things into place. Then they rebuilt people's houses and parks. For the eight of them, it was like using building blocks - and Atrimy even got to help with rebuilding a derelict theme park in the belly! For a good 30 minutes the gang made full use of their size in order to help fix the things they'd done, and each time they did they were met by throngs of Micronauts eager to extend their thanks and shower them with tiny gifts - it was all very moving!

---

Captain Biley had been informed of their visitors' incredible help, and came out to meet them on the promenade. "Thank you, thank you! You've more than made up for yourselves, we are so sorry we were hostile towards you!"

Electric raised a hoof, "you don't have to apologise, Captain. We more than understand the need to be careful about who comes in here."

"Hopefully you guys can thrive again" Blaze said sweetly.

Biley nodded happily. "Come, now that we're back up and running here in Cutea's belly, we must give you a tour of our humble abode! There's so much more to how we run this place than meets the eye! I say, there's an idea - you must visit the eyes too! I'll introduce you to Guidalina, she's our lovely tour-guide here in the belly district. She'll take you around the body for a tour!" He escorted them to a building in the town alongside a shop appropriately selling bows and skirts.

Guidalina was a pretty lilac pegasus with a flowing pink mane, and she happily greeted the group and thanked them for their hard work. "You're all so sweet for helping, I can't wait to show you all around! It's been one of my lifelong dreams to meet one you actual outsiders, to show you how your bodies really work close-up!". The seven
smiled at each other feeling very proud, and they followed Guidalina into their first stop: the lungs. Leaving the stomach, they entered a small corridor which had gusts of air roaring through it at super speed. "Now the respiratory system is one of our most popular transit methods; it's just so far! We tend to harness a lot of our energy from the turbines in there. I suggest we all make a chain so no one gets lost. Hold on tight!" Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed Seraphines' arm next to her, who in turn grabbed Chris and the chain of them was formed. Guidalina jumped off the ledge into the tunnel and instantly they were all whisked and super strong speed down various passages and chutes, passing rotating blade fans and turbines, energy substations and such. Eventually they entered a grand open expanse, red-walled and with bronchi and their alveoli hanging from the ceiling. Guidalina explained some features and how Cutea's breathing was regulated depending on the public air demand, her emotions, exercising, and blood flow. On the subject of blood, she offered to show them a vein and see the heart. Only Electric showed interest, and so he set off solo after Guidalina showed him a shortcut into a vein. The others found a local cafe in the lung's base, where they sat and enjoyed a coffee. "Cuteamena herself isn't the biggest pro at handling coffee, so we tend to drink it in very, very small supplies here. Coffee isn't allowed in vast quantities in any one place." The others laughed, knowing all too well, and sipped their drinks happily.

Electric, meanwhile, was whooshing through the vein among the blood cells of his partner. He eventually reached the heart, pumping away as it sat there, and he looked at it in awe for a while, overcome with immense affection.
"Watch it, buddy" a Micronaut grunted as he shoved past the stallion with a bunch of other pedestrians. Electric apologised, shook himself a bit and flew onto the heart, hugging it. He then took a selfie and sent it to Cutea captioning it 'I found the quickest way to your heart'. He then went to rejoin his friends after noticing a nerve with a direction sign to the lung atriums.

Cuteamena was sitting with Sunshine and Quinty, laughing about Sunshine having spilt tea on her slice of fresh sponge cake, when suddenly she felt a pang in her chest and clutched it silently. The shock subsided and she was instead filled with sudden intense affection and amorous feelings for her Electric. She noticed her phone and saw the message. "Awww," she said aloud, attracting the attention of her companions. She blushed, "hehe, nothing. More cake please..."

---

The group had noticed Cutea's lungs increase their speed suddenly, and Guidaline had explained that it must have been something Cutea had seen or read to engage her emotions making her pant slightly. They were finishing up their coffees when a loud rumble from above revealed Electric falling from one of the alveoli. "Aaaah!" Everypony ducked and dived out the way as he fell and landed on the table, knocking the coffee dregs onto the floor. "Ooops", Guidaline muttered, watching as the coffee was absorbed by the lung membrane like a sponge.

Once everyone had got back up to their feet, Chris said, "Well thank you bro for that extravagant entry as always...say Guidalina, Captain Biley suggested we should visit the eyes?"

"Oh yes, good idea! Follow me", she replied, showing them to an exposed nerve and using a special pass to get past the security guard Micronauts stationed there. Their uniforms were chic to Flushie, reminding her of ones she'd seen in Manehatten. As they entered the nerve, they shot upward so fast, surrounded by electricity, and eventually reaching the eyes. They emerged from a busy highway that was the Optic Nerve, and witnessed a bustling neighbourhood.
Like two immense screens the ovular shapes soared high into the air above them, dominating this area and refracting colourful dark-blue shades all over it from Cuteamena's irises. These huge spheres occasionally twitched, and at one point the whole place was engulfed in darkness as the massive eyelids blinked.

"It's...beautiful," Eminence exclaimed, lost in the whimsical colourful sights around them.

"It truly is" Atrimy agreed.

"Huh, so I thought that there'd be a place where we can look through her eyes?" Blaze pondered.

Electric scoffed, "I guess not everything is like the movies, Blaze..."

Guidalina's own eyes glistened. "Oh but there is. Follow me~" The gang followed curiously as they walked down a path which led them to an observation platform, a giant screen placed in-front of it. The screen, named 'CuteaVision', was being watched by several civilians and officials, eager to see what their beloved host was up to. The screen showed the picnic lawn, and Sunshine and Quinty, talking as if straight to the viewer on the screen, and whenever Cutea spoke the crowd would cheer encouragingly. The gang watched as a piece of sponge cake disappeared under them towards the mouth, and then another blink, followed by a glance to her phone and the picture of Electric. A few gasps broke out among the crowd, and Electric shrunk embarrassed.

"You silly stallion," Seraphine said, booping him.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Chris teased.

Guidalina rounded up the group and suggested they head back to the stomach, because she'd been informed of a beach-party taking place. "We were wondering if we could see the brain, since we're here?" a few asked, but Blaze assured them there was time for that after a little party downtown. So with eager anticipation they headed from the eyes to the throat via the nervous system, and back down towards Cutea's belly.