The clothes

As everyone walked toward the market, Randy suddenly threw an arm out across their path.
"Wait, you fools."


Everyone stopped. Chiyo rolled her eyes. "What now?"


Randy smirked. "Well… you're all going to need disguises."


Eleo tilted his head. "Disguises? Like ninja masks? Ooooh, do we get ninja masks!?"


Randy sighed. "No, idiot. Cloaks. So the Ascendants don't spot us the second we walk in."


They entered the canyon, the massive sprawl of the Market of Noya opening before them—stalls, lanterns, music, and voices weaving together in a storm of sound. Eleo and Timmy gasped in unison, their eyes sparkling.


"Wooooooow!" Eleo spun in a circle. "This place is HUGE! I wanna explore everything!"


Timmy clapped his hands. "Yes! Let's see it all!"


But Olorun stepped in front of them, folding his arms. "We can't. Because of them."


He pointed across the crowded bazaar. Several Ascendants in dark cloaks stalked through the market, their uniforms just barely hidden, eyes scanning every face.


Chiyo's expression hardened. "Damn. They're everywhere."


Randy jerked his head toward a shop. "In here, guys."


The sign above read: Pandes Cloths Store.


The squad shuffled inside, greeted by rows and rows of clothes. Bright silks and heavy desert cloaks hung from racks, glittering jewelry dangled from shelves, and mannequins posed dramatically in full robes.


Timmy gasped and hopped onto the counter. "Woooah! That's a LOT of clothes!"


Kawai squeaked excitedly, flapping its flippers. "Meep! Meep!"


Randy smirked. "Yep. And don't forget to grab a cloak. For the sun… and so the Ascendants don't see you."


Olorun scoffed, puffing his chest. "Ha! I'm not listening to the guy who literally tried to kill us. I'll be listening to my pure, strong leader."


He closed his eyes, crossing his arms and smiling smugly. "Eleo. Should I wear a cloak?"


But Eleo was already darting around the store, eyes glued to shiny objects. "Oh wow, what's this! What's that! Ooooh, buttons! So sparkly!"


Olorun's eye twitched. He sighed loudly. "…Never mind."


Meanwhile, Timmy rummaged through a pile of tiny robes. "Oh! Kawai, look! These are just our size!"


He tossed a pink robe across the room. It flopped over Kawai's head.


Kawai froze, then shrieked, flailing. "MEEP! MEEP MEEP!!"


Timmy blinked. "Uh-oh… you don't like pink?"


Kawai ripped the robe off, stomped on it furiously, and flung it into a rack. "MEEP! MEEP!!"


Timmy winced, pulling a robe over his own shoulders. "Sorry, Kawai… it's the only color left in your size…"


Kawai crossed its flippers, glaring.


Nearby, Chiyo lifted a crimson cloak with silver trim. Her eyes softened. "Whoa… this actually matches my original outfit."


Olorun yanked through a rack and groaned. "Ugh! Nothing here matches my coolness. Where's the royalty section? The god-tier clothes?"


Tony brushed lint from his sleeve. "That's World 2 for you. No fashion sense."


Kenji flipped a folded cloak over his arm. "It doesn't matter if it matches your… 'coolness.' All you need is practicality."


Olorun shot him the finger. "Screw you too, jerk."


Kenji didn't even look up. "Your finger's the only strong thing you've got."


Olorun's jaw dropped. "EXCUSE ME?! SAY THAT AGAIN!"


The two immediately squared off, racks shaking as Olorun shoved one aside.


Before it could explode, Eleo leapt up. "Guys! I found the ONE!" He held up a glittering blue cloak with sequins. "And now I shall change!"


He proudly strutted toward the fitting rooms.


But the second his hand touched the knob, a blur darted past.


"Sorry, Eleo!" Chiyo chirped, sliding into the changing room. "Ladies first!"


The door slammed.


Eleo froze. His jaw dropped. "HEY! THAT'S NOT FAIR! I WAS ALREADY HERE!"


He hammered on the door with both fists. "CHIIIYOOOO! Leader privileges! I CALL DIBS!"


Inside, Chiyo laughed. "Too slow, bunny boy! You snooze, you lose!"


"I WASN'T SNOOZING!" Eleo howled. "I WAS AMAZED! THAT'S DIFFERENT!"


The rest of the squad just stared.


Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've been in here five minutes and it's already chaos."


Randy rubbed his temple. "Yeah… definitely a circus."


Kenji, Olorun, and Tony were browsing through racks when suddenly—


"Welcome, honored customers."


They all froze.


The voice had come from behind the counter. Slowly, three pairs of eyes turned.


The shop worker wasn't human at all—he was a tall bird, feathers glossy black, beak sharp, wearing a little red vest and a bowtie that looked two sizes too small.


Kenji blinked. "...That's a bird."


Tony muttered, "That's not just a bird. That's a bird in customer service."


Olorun squinted. "Uh… hey, birdy. I have a question."


The bird tilted its head. "And what be your question, sir?"


Olorun crossed his arms, deadly serious. "Why do you guys have… trash clothes?"


Tony nearly choked. He immediately lunged forward and threw an arm around Olorun's shoulders, laughing nervously. "Ahaha! What my friend means to say is, uh… do you have any fancier clothes for us? Something with style, class, dignity, you know… not trash."


The bird worker blinked, unimpressed, and shuffled over to the rack. "We have… hm. Perhaps this will do."


He plucked a robe off a hanger and held it out with a dramatic flourish.


Olorun snatched it, inspecting it with narrowed eyes. The fabric was thin, stiff, and the stitching looked like it would unravel in one tug. But the thing that caught his attention most was the little green logo stamped on the corner—a single leaf.


His eyes widened. He grabbed Tony's sleeve and yanked him close. "Tony. Look. Look at this."


Tony leaned over. "What is it?"


Olorun whispered, "This shop is a phony."


Tony tilted his skull. "...Because it has a leaf?"


"Yes!" Olorun hissed. "That logo? It's fake! This is a Pande's knockoff brand!"


The bird worker's head swiveled around. "Is there… a problem, sir?"


Olorun froze, then plastered on the fakest smile he could muster. "Oh, nooo problem here. Uh… but our blue-haired idiot wants to talk to you!"


Kenji, standing three feet away, nearly dropped the cloak he was holding. "Huh? Wait, what?"


The bird worker straightened proudly. "Ahh! Blue hair. Perfect. I shall explain to you all the clothes in this fine establishment."


Kenji's eye twitched. "Wait—what? Why me? I didn't ask for this—"


Meanwhile, Olorun leaned close to Tony, lowering his voice. "Okay, so here's the deal. Pande's are a cheap knockoff of Mandy's. And those Pande's? They spawned another knockoff. And that knockoff spawned another knockoff. It just keeps going. Infinite knockoffs. Like a cursed bloodline of bad fashion."


Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well… I mean, maybe they still have something nice hidden around here. Even knockoffs can look decent if you squint hard enough."


Olorun shook his head dramatically. "No, no, no. I really don't like them. And here's the worst part: if you call them out…" He leaned in even closer. "They get really mad."


Tony raised a brow. "How mad are we talking?"


Olorun spread his arms wide. "Let me tell you. Back when I was at Kiniki Island—you know, the one with the beaches, parties, and more beaches—"


Tony sighed. "Yes, Olorun. I remember. Beaches. Parties. More beaches."


Olorun nodded firmly. "Good. So I saw a guy once, right? He called a Pande's worker a knockoff. Just said it plain. And you know what happened?"


Tony tilted his skull. "...What?"


Olorun's eyes gleamed. "The worker STABBED the guy. In the eye."


Kenji's head whipped around mid-lecture, cloak still in his hands. "Wait—WHAT?!"


Tony slapped his own forehead. "Oh wow. Well, at least he had one eye left."


Olorun smacked him across the shoulder. "Tony!"


Tony chuckled nervously. "Right, right. Bad joke. My bad."


The bird worker leaned over Kenji, glaring now. "...Is there something funny about our prestigious brand?"
Olorun immediately raised his hands in defense. "No, no, of course not! We think your brand is the coolest! Right, Tony?"
He jabbed Tony hard in the ribs with his elbow.
Tony flinched. "Ow—uh, yes, yes! I love your brand. So cool, so unique, so amazing. I love it more than my parents. That's how much love I have for Pande's."
The bird worker's chest puffed up proudly. "My, my, you flatter me. You see, our brand started fifty years ago. And as we grew into a mighty company, knockoffs began to appear. Mandy's, for example—man oh man, do I hate them. Always trying to copy us, the greatest brand in all worlds!"
As he continued ranting, Olorun glanced desperately at Kenji, silently mouthing, Please help us.
Kenji slowly turned, met his gaze, and deliberately lifted one finger.
The middle one.
Olorun's jaw clenched. He shot back the screw you glare.
Before he could snap, the closet door creaked open.
Chiyo strutted out with a huge smirk, both hands in the air like she was stepping onto a stage. "Well? What do you guys think?"
Her outfit left the squad in stunned silence: a black bra outlined with gold and red that exposed just enough cleavage, a jeweled black-gold thong, a single stocking on her left arm, crimson earrings glinting in the light, chains with purple crystals dangling from her ears, and a golden bracelet wrapped around her head like a crown.
Olorun blinked once. Then said flatly, "Eh. It's alright. Four out of ten."
Chiyo froze. "...Four. Out of TEN?!"
Olorun didn't flinch. "I said what I said."
Chiyo's fists cracked as she flexed her arms. "Why I—"
Before she could pounce, Randy lobbed a cloak at her. "Put that on. Helps with the sun and with the Ascendants."
She caught it, snarling. "Tch. Lucky."
Eleo immediately shoved past, diving into the closet and slamming the door shut. "MY TURN!"
Meanwhile, Timmy tugged Kawai over to Randy. "So, what do you think of our outfits?"
Timmy was wearing dark green loose-fitting galabeya-style robes, while Kawai had the same in yellow.
Randy grinned. "Well, well. Look at this. The two little people have tiny taste."
Timmy puffed his cheeks. "Hey! We may be small, but we're still useful!"
Kawai crossed their flippers and nodded firmly. "Meep, meep, meep!"
Randy chuckled. "Right, right. And dragons can talk, too."
Just then the door banged open.
"Ta-daaa!" Eleo spun out, striking a heroic pose. He was clad in long-sleeved orange desert robes, desert boots, and had wrapped his cloak into a turban. It sagged to one side, a little too big for him.
"How do I look?"
Randy gave a small smile. "You look nice, Eleo."
Chiyo softened. "Wow… I love it too."
Olorun and Tony both raised thumbs up.
Kenji tilted his head. "The orange fits you. Because you like carrots."
Chiyo nodded. "Ohhh, yeah, that does make sense."
Eleo beamed. "Carrots forever!"
Olorun rubbed his hands together. "Okay, okay, enough. Tony, let's find some clothes."
The bird worker cleared his throat. "Right, right—my mistake. Please, continue browsing." He flapped back behind the counter.
Kenji drifted over to the hats and plucked a crisp black coolie hat with sakura embroidery. He set it on his head and smirked. "Hey, Olorun. What do you have to say about me now?"
Olorun turned slowly. He was now wearing a bright watermelon-themed shirt. "And how do you feel about this, Kenji?"
They locked eyes.
Then burst out laughing.
Kenji shook his head. "Okay, okay, you got me there."
Olorun smirked. "Yeah, I saw you pick that hat up. I knew you were about to make some dumb racist joke."
Kenji smirked back. "Yeh, yeh. Whatever."
A few minutes later Kenji emerged from the fitting room in a long-sleeved light blue coat patterned with sakura flowers, his cloak wrapped into a neat turban like Eleo's.
Olorun followed, sporting a maroon jacket with a hood.
Tony strutted out last, dressed in a sleek black jacket speckled with golden polka dots.
The group gathered at the counter. Randy leaned on the wood. "Alright, how much for the clothes?"
The bird tapped his beak, then pulled out a device labeled Pande—a long metallic stick with a glowing scanner on top.
Eleo's eyes widened. "Oooooh! What's that?"
Timmy leapt onto Tony's head. "That's a scanner for store owners! It reads the price of everything in your hands."
The bird beeped the scanner over their piles of clothes. "Hmm… the cost is seven hundred coins."
Everyone turned their heads slowly toward Tony.
Tony leaned in with a wide grin. "Listen, friend. We've got three sandworm bones. Each one worth a thousand. If you let us sell them, we promise we'll pay."
The bird tilted his head. "Mmm. You could be lying…"
Chiyo leaned across the counter, batting her lashes. "Oh please, birdy. If you do… I'll make it up to you. You know what I mean." She winked.
The bird froze. His feathers fluffed. "...Oh. Well. Uh… in that case… I guess I can let you go get the money."
Chiyo winked again. "Thank you, birdy. I'll make sure to visit."
They walked out of the shop.
Olorun stretched his arms overhead. "So… are we actually gonna pay him, or were we just lying?"
The squad all said in unison, "Lying."
Kawai squeaked proudly. "Meep!"
Olorun smirked. "Good. Because we should buy some items and stuff… and a mirror. So I can—I mean, so we can all look at ourselves."
Kenji groaned. "No point buying a mirror. We should just leave Noya."
Timmy piped up. "But what about the Sandy Bandys?"
Randy cocked his head. "Sandy… Bandys?"
Kenji exhaled. "To be honest, what problem will it cause us if they get the First King's armor?"
Tony raised a finger. "Mmm. Mass destruction."
Chiyo crossed her arms. "Lots of death."
Eleo grinned. "Carrots."
Timmy blinked. "Yeah… carrots—wait. What?"
Eleo suddenly froze, nose twitching. His eyes sparkled. "I smell… sweet, delicious carrots!"
Randy shook his head. "Anyway… the First King's armor is actually strong. So strong that he fought toe-to-toe with… well. I don't wanna say his name."
Timmy nodded solemnly. "Right. Don't say the dragon's name."
Chiyo frowned. "Wait. What dragon?"
Randy leaned in. "All you need to know is the armor is incredibly powerful. That's why the First King probably hid it away."
Olorun groaned. "Man, but we don't even have a location for the uh… Sandy… uh… Bandys or whatever."
Randy snapped his fingers. "Amenhotep. One of their members is performing a show there. If we beat his ass, we could get info."
Tony tilted his skull. "Y'know, that's actually smart. But how far is that place?"
Timmy dug through his backpack and pulled out the map. "Amenhotep is about ten miles from here."
Chiyo winced. "Wow. I don't really feel like walking barefoot."
Kenji turned. "Why the hell don't you have shoes on?"
Chiyo cleared her throat. "Well, I wanted to feel the nice sand… but knowing we have to walk that far? Not worth it."
Tony clapped his bony hands. "Alright. Eleo, what do you think we should do?"
Silence.
"...Eleo?"
The group looked around. Eleo was already gone—hopping across the market stalls like a rabbit on sugar. "YAHOOOOOOO!"
Olorun's eyes bulged. "Eleo, wait, you fool!" He sprinted after him.
Kenji groaned, rubbing his temples. "Good grief…" and ran after them.
Chiyo sighed, tossing up a peace sign. "There he goes again. Welp, I'm gonna explore around. See ya." She strolled off into the crowd.
Tony looked down at Timmy and Kawai. "Well, you two ready to sell some bones?"
Timmy clapped happily. "Yes!"
Kawai squeaked, "Meep!"
Tony turned to Randy. "What about you?"
Randy waved them off. "I'm heading to the bar for a couple of drinks. I'll wait for you guys to explain what the hell we're even doing."
Tony gave him a mock salute. "Alright, good luck. Don't try to pick us off."
Timmy and Kawai waved as Tony led them away.
Randy smiled, waving lazily back. Then muttered under his breath, "Man, oh man… Randy, you really outdid yourself this time."