Nest: Part Two

Iris, Momo, Zerina, Rus, Calla, and Zeke stood in a tight circle waiting for the signal watching the female. Alpha and Nala were still cat sized sitting near the wall of the tunnel. They knew what they would be doing. Alpha would take out the eggs; Nala would stay back with Calla to protect her, while Iris took out the female. Zerina, Rus, and Zeke would take the males while Momo would either help with decapitating or purifying. Their first female was red and just lounging there with six, twelve feet tall, random-colored males massaging her wrinkly body. The basket beside her looked to have at least twelve large eggs… larger than they usually seen. They didn’t need to speak; they just wanted to get it done. With nods and hand gestures they decided to keep quiet. The signal came and they were off. In a matter of minutes Calla and Momo were purifying while the others just stood there with furrowed brows while they worked on purifying the items. They had been doing a lot of practicing since Iris, Momo, and Nala joined their group but that was just too… even the level one camps didn’t go down that easily.

Momo and Calla shrugged, motioning to go to the other after finishing with the items. Iris took them to the next open area where a female was lounging? The only difference, the males were a foot taller and responded faster. This one was a little battle making them feel a bit better but still…

“I don’t want to say it but…” Rus started, scanning the area with his dark silver, oval eyes while rubbing brown-green blood from his brown, bald head.

Alpha’s large, black tail wacked him on the way by, “then don’t.” His large, white whiskers swished as his white cheeks moved to create a strange face that looked like a sneer because of his black mask and ears.

“Yea, but I agree,” Zeke sighed with all his honey colored, muscular body. His golden eyes were also actively watching while he tried to keep a frown from forming on his long face. His eyes found the right spot. His lovely Calla, now he couldn’t frown. He made his muscles dance to help the gore off from his body, while his hands grabbed his long, mahogany braid and began to push blood from it. Something they had all adopted to help them center. Removing the blood, when they could, before the next battle.

“You can do that again,” Calla whispered, diverting her light violet eyes with a bit of pink entering her light honey, diamond face. She looked away, taking her blond braid to check for blood. Nothing there to do, she sighed, tossing it back behind her.

This caused Momo to chuckle a bit. He understood, Iris was breathtaking in indigo, and the way that pleated skirt swirled around her lovely almond thighs. With a smile on his oval, deep honey face that reached his silver eyes he watched her for a moment. Then he fluttered his swallow-tail shaped, green butterfly wings with lines of red, and spots of silver, orange, and yellow to clean them while doing the same for his long, braided platinum hair. He pulled in his wings because he was a bit worried too. Not much gore had made it to him, so his orange shorts were still clean.

“I don’t like this,” Iris grumbled, fisting her almond hands so hard the faint ribbons of blue within her skin began to darken. She rubbed the gore with slight annoyance from her short, green hair with black highlights, so it didn’t run down her diamond face. Nothing worse than having M-M blood running down one’s face. She reminded herself, positive thoughts, look at Momo. “We are in a trap, and I have no idea what it is! There are twelve… no six… no fifteen… no seven heading this way. Wow do they eat fast,” she whispered, closing her blue-indigo Demon eyes. “That was not pleasant to watch…”

“I am sure it wasn’t,” Momo sighed as the group moved closer together. “I hear a staff? We have a Sharman coming… never good.”

“A what?” Alpha wondered, taking position next to Momo while Nala stayed next to Calla. The others could use Purification Flame too but not as well or fast. His black ears perked up as his white whiskers twitched enough to move the white hair in his cheeks.

“A M-M that can use magic proficiently,” Nala guessed, her long violet tail circling nervously. Her large white feet were ready to paw the ground if needed, while her green eyes looked to Iris. She nodded, motioning them to circle around Momo and Calla, which is what everyone was already doing, just slowly.

“I hope it is fire,” Zerina mumbled, tightening her grip on her new katana. Her deep blue eyes outlined in white, red, and silver glanced at Rus with a smile on her long, cinnamon face. “Probably not since I can do so much with fire.”

“It is fun to watch you dance with fire,” Rus commented softly, taking his place in the circle in-between her and Zeke who wasn’t saying much. He took a moment to admire Zerina’s short turquoise hair; it was such a lovely color and helped him center his emotions.

Walking slowly towards them were seven, fifteen feet tall, male M-Ms. The one in the center was accenting his wide staff while his dark red skin glistened in brown-green blood bringing attention to the eight necklaces he wore. Usually, the females were the ones that wore necklaces, but he seemed proud of them making sure they moved as he walked arrogantly. The three on both sides of him were random colors: red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and violet. He laughed, a truly unnerving sound that had them all wishing for music to cover it in. “Die! I am not in the mood to play!” he said. They watched as the six pulled out simple swords, dripping in green poison.

“What!” Calla screamed out, appearing before the yellow M-M that was ready to attack. Her lance was in her hands instantly, but the drastic change had her fighting for her life. She heard Zeke yell out but then he was silent. That scared her more than the creature before her. She had trained with Londa and Anna, who were relentless. She could do this. As her stance changed, she was teleported again. Her body slammed against the wall as the Sharman laughed. Blinking her light violet eyes, she noticed that Momo was beside her, his wing sliced but it was healing like her broken ribs. That wasn’t right? His wings were inside his body when this started! She looked to see Zeke, Rus, and Zerina were all fighting. Their blood mixing with the brown-green blood from the M-Ms yet nobody had got a decent hit in. Zerina was about to when she and Zeke changed places, both getting sliced arms.

Calla continued looking around to find Alpha was no longer large and in Iris’ lap as her wing healed. Also, not right since she was an Elemental now and didn’t have her wings out either. Why was Alpha small? “Oh, please be safe,” she mumbled before putting up a barrier to keep her, Momo, Iris, Alpha, and poor Nala safe long enough to heal. She felt the attack of a teleport spell but the barrier held up. “Ideas… thoughts?” she whispered.

“Why the bloody hell do I have my wings out. Never seen them able to do that before,” Momo moaned. “They are almost healed enough to bring in. I saw them teleport you… then Zeke was thrown into this wall, a horrible sound… then my wings were sliced after magic forced them out. As my eyes cleared, they hit Iris hard enough that her wings came out… that shouldn’t be possible.”

“The Sharman is very high level but with only one spell,” Iris said softly, gently petting Alpha who was healing. Nala was in between them as her wings healed. “I am not a Sprite anymore but an Elemental. There is no way he should have been able to trigger that spell.”

“Frequencies,” Nala suggested softly, her violet head resting on Iris’s lap with her green eyes closed. “We have stopped teleporting before by interrupting frequencies, but I can’t get a reading if we get sliced open every time.”

“I am on it!” Momo yelled, the others not sure what he was talking about until they noticed that each of the fighters had taken down one of the M-Ms. Momo’s Purifying Flame was precise and true as the M-Ms started to break down into white ash.

“No!” the Sharman yelled. He teleported Zeke, Rus, and Zerina into the wall, but their landing was soft thanks to Alpha, but they pretended it hurt just so they could catch their breath. Their bodies sliced in more places than any knew. “Come now!” it yelled. Sixteen appeared before him obediently while the other three faced him. “Eat! The strongest four survive! Come!” the nineteen began a free for all to prove their strength as the Sharman stepped back to eat the three that had come after his second command. Now he was sixteen feet tall with four arms and a large head.

“I don’t like this one bit,” Rus moaned, his shaky hand cleaning off his long, brown face.

“No way the barrier will survive,” Calla sighed, standing up, brushing dirt off from her short, pleated, light violet skirt. “We have until there are four of them left… ideas?”

“Keep moving?” Zeke shrugged, glad his shoulders moved. “If he can’t lock on, he can’t move us but then again we might loose and arm or worse so forget that idea.”

“Yea, that would suck,” Zerina sighed. “It is true though. Teleportation is the one spell you don’t mess around with. Does it have range… never mind he is bigger now so…”

“Frequencies,” Alpha and Nala said together. Alpha nodded to Nala to continue. “We are moving back… out of range hopefully. We will cycle through frequencies until we find the one that interrupts then it. Then we will move back in to provide support.”

“That is the only idea that sound reasonable,” Calla whispered, keeping her eye adverted from the monstrous scene before them. “Keep your weapons in your vault. That way they can't teleport them away,” she reminded.

“I am running,” Zeke decided, “right at them. Alpha and Nala, please hurry up.”

“Okay,” Rus sighed, standing to go with his crazy friend.

“I am waiting back here just for fun,” Zerina smiled watching the two, brave, muscular, practically naked, crazy males run towards the horror show.

“My wings are locked inside,” Momo mumbled. “Let’s hope they stay there. You guys have a way of bringing us so many things we have never seen after decades of fighting M-Ms.”

“Positive note,” Iris started, rolling her shoulders. “We are done after we take on these four… sixteen feet tall, two headed, four armed M-Ms. All the others are busy.”

“Now you die!” the Sharman yelled as Rus and Zeke ran towards the M-M on the far right. They never made it, appearing before two others. Zeke was able to parry one attack but the other sliced through his leg. He felt the magic of the skin spell move the attack, so he didn’t lose his leg. Yet the pain… but still he attacked. Rus was caught with one massive hand around his neck while the other three began to pound him. Zerina was teleported before the one they were heading towards. He reached for her neck but instead met a sharp knife that sliced off the hand. If feel to the ground and Momo instantly purified it. Iris was the other that was placed before the fourth, his blade slid into her. He pulled it out as if she was done. Her eyes were fierce as was her fighting. The M-M didn’t expect that since she had been so easy the first time.

The Sharman made the mistake of bringing Calla before him. That one teleport was stronger since she was behind a barrier, and all that Nala needed since she was linked with Calla. Calla blinked her light violet eyes and smiled, which threw off the M-M. With lightning-fast reflexes her lance caught his necklaces, when his hand reached to save them, she took his arm instead. She stood still as Alpha brought her back to stand next to Momo. Nala’s sword took the large head of the Sharman, equaling the battle.

Alpha and Nala moved closer in their larger sizes to give aid to the fighters as Calla and Momo struggled to purify the Sharman and the pieces the others kept cutting off. The battle lasted longer than any of them would have guessed but finally Alpha and Nala’s swords freed the heads of the one Zerina was fighting. Although she was struggling for each breath, she took the opportunity to take the head from Zeke’s while he moved to get the other head. Zeke then moved to help tip the battle that Iris was waging while Zerina helped Rus. Bloody, struggling for every breath they stepped back so the Purification Flame could burn. They didn’t make it too far away before Alpha and Nala were there to move them back. Sitting behind Momo and Calla they continued to breathe heavily.

“Not fun,” Zeke murmured, closing his golden eyes rubbing his long face. “But the protection spells work. I would have lost my leg, arm, and my gut if not for them. For being so big, their swords were so small…”

“Yea, like daggers,” Zerina agreed looking at Rus and the slowly healing bruises all over his body, especially around his brown neck. “You okay?”

“I think I would rather daggers, than being a punching bag,” Rus whispered. “But yea, the spell worked nicely to repair my bones quickly, so they didn’t puncture anything important. It also let me have just enough air I didn't pass out, so yea?”

“Just have to purify what is around us then head to the center…” Alpha stated. The others nodded watching the fading M-Ms turn to white ash, nobody in a hurry to move.

Trenton, Fern, Belle, Peter, Alex, Beta, and Jackie

Trenton, Fern, Belle, Peter, and Alex stood in a tight group waiting for the signal, watching the female with confusion in their eyes. Beta and Jackie were large and watching with the team. Alex shrugged, he had never seen a female waiting. They were usually the active ones of the camp, giving orders, taking males, creating eggs, making tents… but this one was just sitting getting her feet massaged by two males while four others guarded her. When the signal went off, they finished easily. Beta crushed the eggs, Jackie’s sword took the head of the female, while Peter began to purify. Fern, Trenton, and Alex rushed the males taking them with little effort. Belle stood beside Peter purifying. Trenton made a motion to keep quiet. With a few nods they began to clean up the items while waiting for the M-Ms to finish burning.

Once everything was white ash they continued to the other open area where the second female was waiting. The only difference was her height, no longer ten feet but sixteen feet tall. She had eaten three of the six males near her. The team had yet to speak, just used motions. Even with her added height the battle was over sooner than anyone could have predicted. Fern and Peter were handling the purification while the others cleaned up the open area like before. “Don’t want to say anything but… go us?” Fern commented with confusion all over her soft fawn, oval face. Her vivid blue eyes searched the area again but found nothing out of the ordinary. Nervously she fluttered her pink, butterfly shaped wings with lines of white, and spots of blue, orange, and yellow causing her long, violet braided to sway. There was little blood or poison on her but…

“Yea,” Trenton mumbled, exchanging glances with her trying not to focus on her lovely, yellow bra and short, pleated skirt. He hoped that his long, golden pecan face stayed neutral because she loved to make him blush, tried so hard every day because she loved the change in his coloring. With his deep green Demon eyes he searched but nothing was too close yet. He was glad that the ceilings were high enough to keep his normal height of eight feet, but he was worried. “I haven’t heard anything from our other teams so…”

“Just jinx it already,” Alex grumbled. He always felt so short standing next to Trenton or Mara, but he wasn’t for a human, five-eight. Rubbing his cognac, square face while looking around trying to keep the confusion from his steel grey eyes, “we know something is coming. I hate not knowing what. Nothing so far has been normal or close to it.” He paused to shake out his short, auburn hair. “I have seen a lot… wait, I hear something…”

“Yea, a group eating another group,” Belle sighed. Her long, light beige, Elven ears twitched as if showing the sounds were disgusting. Her sharp, oval face didn’t change much because of all the Elven training. Nor were her delicate, yet strong hands shaking when she moved some of the brown-green blood from her long, braided, platinum hair. “Such lovely creatures. The souls in that female were old… like thirty years old. It boggles my mind on just how horrible this is. Yet at the same time I don’t understand how they could show up twenty-five years ago and have souls older than that.” Her deep blue eyes landed on Peter for a moment to help ease her tension.

“I noticed that too and have no idea either. Maybe they can pull them from the lifestream if they are not deep enough,” Peter said looking around, his dark pink eyes connecting with hers. A brief smile crossed his diamond, ivory face as his white, rabbit ears waved. She looked so pretty in the pink bra and short, pleated skirt. With a twitch of his rabbit tail, he realigned himself. Everyone was done but circling together for whatever was coming towards them. “I didn’t expect so many older souls, glad they are free… I hope they get to be reborn in a place that doesn’t have M-Ms.”

“I hear a staff…” Fern grumbled, “we have fought a few with staffs, but their magic isn’t that much higher… don’t know… the way it echoes is creepy.”

A dark violet, male M-M sauntered towards them, not in any hurry. Nor were his six guards or followers? They were all thirteen feet tall. The male with the elegant staff wore six necklaces, a strange sight. Now they were all on edge wondering what was coming their way. “Entertain me,” it said motioning the six towards them while sitting on a chair that just appeared. Energy radiated from his staff as if he was casting a spell.

Peter’s dark pink eyes showed confusion as the mana around receded. “I don’t know what he is doing… I can’t figure it out. There is nothing in the air nor in the ground…”

“Was that your blade, Beta?” Fern wondered trying to figure out what to do next. She pulled in her wings instinctively because she was unnerved causing her long, violet braid to sway. “You don’t usually miss.”

“It was,” Beta stated with a slight growl, pawing the grown with his large, grey feet in annoyance. “I hit my target, but the sword just went through.”

“Beta and Jackie, keep looking,” Belle stated simply, rolling her shoulders with a nod. “Until we get one down, I am fighting.”

“As am I,” Peter stated. “This is too unusual.”

“Understood,” Jackie mumbled with precision. Her blue ears with green tips were moving around listening to everything, while her indigo eyes focused forward. Her long, blue tail circled behind her standing next to Beta in her large form.

“It is unnerving how relaxed they are. We haven’t ever seen them relaxed,” Trenton commented trying to get a reading on the magic they were using with his deep green Demon eyes, but it wasn’t anything he understood.

“Nope, never have,” Alex confirmed. “Even when setting a trap… plus they aren’t talking.” Alex was the first to engage, using air steps that Jackie had created, he jumped around the orange M-M. It only took a few swats at him, but he was able to parry them. He was in position and jumped to take the head. Landing on the ground he rolled away to see what had happened. Nothing. It still stood twirling its sword. He looked around to see that Belle, Trenton, Peter, and Fern were doing the same thing. Beta’s sword hadn’t hit either as Jackie was still trying to figure out what the trap was. He moved back to try again.

This time the one watching laughed. “Yes, that is it! Now, a little more blood. I love the confusion in their faces. Not dark enough to feed us… give me more!”

Now the six attacked, Trenton dodged only to have the thin sword of the yellow M-M he was fighting slice open his leg. “What! He wasn’t aiming for my leg…” His deep green Demon eyes looked around noticing everyone was dodging and parrying yet it wasn’t working… like his eyes weren’t seeing what was truly happening. “Jackie, are you sure there is nothing affecting our eyes or reaction?”

“You have the Demon eyes,” Jacke growled, showing her annoyance. She was using enough energy in her large form that her blue short hair was waving with her long tail. “I apologize,” she said in her normal crisp voice. “I can’t figure it out.”

“Neither could he,” Fern grumbled, “I could tell from his voice. No matter how I fight they get me. Even small… it is vexing that I have more of my own blood and their gross poison running off my body then theirs.” She dodged another attack only to have the blade of the M-M encounter her violet braid. Lightning pushed the sword back causing the white, male M-M to growl and drop the sword. Then it was in his hand again without bending down to get it. “More than vexing!”

Peter jumped over the blue one he was working on only to land and have his shoulder sliced open. He let out a growl of frustration. “His sword was above my head! I am only five-five how could it be up their then down here so fast.”

“I am not entertained,” the one watching sighed. “Pull back,” he instructed. “Go out into the tunnel while I watch them try to breath. So much jumping around while bleeding. They are truly fun toys! When you come back in you better be ready to really entertain me!”

With obedience the six left, while the team regrouped together a bit farther into the open area of the tunnel. They knew what was happening just from the sounds. “I have no ideas… it is all wrong. Why am I bleeding?” Alex mumbled, getting his breathing under control. His cognac skin covered in his own blood with the green poison but little brown-green blood. “The poison is supposed to lock the blood in, and the spell pushes the poison out while healing the wound. There shouldn't be so much blood on me. This doesn’t make sense. I know that playing with us gives them a bit of negative energy to eat but we are not oozing despair just confusion. How are they moving slow, while the blades are hitting fast? I have never seen this and that is irritating.”

“Yes,” Belle said calmly, standing straight trying to focus on breathing. “We must keep our minds calm, but I agree, there isn’t enough negativity in the air from us to make them stronger. But we have yet to land a single attack... let alone take a head and we don’t miss that much.”

“Look, now they are sixteen feet tall with two heads and six arms,” Fern sighed, using a quick spell to clean their blood off. “The skin spell is working. What poison getting in... is pushed out and our wounds are healing. Some of the swords aren’t covered in green poison is my only guess but still… I guess we keep going until one of us figures something out.”

“Watch out!” Beta warned, erecting air walls but not in time. They were all flattened against the wall of the tunnel. Bruised but not broken they slid down to the ground. Fire lances were now heading towards them as Jackie countered them with ice while the others moved away from the wall. “Good thing you used a wall,” Beta noticed. “They didn’t hit where they should have. I have an idea…” before he could finish land spikes erupted from under his large paws and he had seconds to try and dodge but was unsuccessful. A broke hind leg with a rib sticking out of his body caused Jackie to scream. “Frequencies,” he moaned.

“Peter,” Jackie started crisply trying to get her emotions in check. “You must dodge while the two of us attack. If Beta is right… being in the battle is the only way to figure this out.”

“Frequencies?” Trenton mumbled, dispelling the land spike under him while trying to get a hit in with his lance. There were too many arms… or were there? With a frown he stabbed again. It wasn’t an arm or sword that stopped him but something else...magic?

“Fern, fight with your eyes closed,” Belle stated, going with what her intuition told her. “Your mana sese is equal to mine. I want to try something, Peter be ready.”

“Sure,” Peter mumbled as his body healed. “I don’t even know what I am watching… the spells are in certain places then activate in others. Nobody seems to be able to hit but they are getting hit…” He watched the tall Trenton slam into the wall again, thankfully Beta had time to cushion it with air. Then Jackie was flying above him, but not with her own wings. Her growl of annoyance echoed as her large paws seemed to burrow into the air as if it was ground. She stopped in mid-air and stood there for a moment before trying to get closer again. Her sword missed but now Belle and Fern were close, and she didn’t want to hit either of them, so she withdrew.

Peter continued to watch Trenton and Alex get thrown around, while Fern and Belle were starting to make… progress? They were parrying, attacking, and dodging successfully but both were breathing hard and covered in wounds. Then it happened, he was about to yell but Belle sliced through the middle of the blue M-M she was working on, and its two heads fell to the ground, yet it didn’t look like it had two heads when she was fighting it. He had so many questions but reacted quickly, his Purifying Flame true. Fern followed a few moments later. Beta brought them back behind him so they could breathe.

“No! That is not entertainment!” the watcher yelled, focused on the females. He had not been watching Trenton, who was slowly moving towards him wrapped in shadows. The M-M stood, stomping his foot like a child but before he could say anything more his head was on the ground. “Good luck with the other four!” he yelled right before the flames engulfed him.

“What can I do?” Alex asked breathlessly, his body healing from over a dozen deep wounds after being slammed against the wall again.

“Oh! I got it,” Jackie yelled. “I can’t disrupt the spell for long, but the little bursts should help.” With that she used her magic on the remaining four. What they saw in that short disruption was four, three feet tall M-Ms with two heads and four arms. Then the magic wrapped back around them making them look massive again with a single head and only two muscular arms. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

“I still don’t get it,” Fern mumbled. “It isn’t like the… false arm didn’t pound on me or the false sword didn't slice me. Thanks Trenton… Trenton!” Trenton was against the wall with five land spikes though his body. A gift the main M-M had left. She dispelled them rushing to his aid only to be sliced along the way. The skin spell was healing him… he waved so she went after the annoyance before her. She looked over to see Belle had rejoined the battle and Alex had been able to find the hidden heads of the one he was taking on. Breathing hard, with his leg bleeding he swore as another came at him. Beta’s sword didn’t miss this time and soon Jackie was helping Peter purify. Sitting on the ground in a circle, leaning on one another, the group panted while their bodies finished healing. Their bodies covered in their own blood, mixed with green poison and brown-green blood that was being pushed off into the ground to be purified.

“I don’t feel anything,” Trenton announced softly. “I think we are done.”

“In so many ways,” Fern panted, leaning against him.

“I feel like a newbie,” Alex sighed, closing his steel grey eyes. “I can’t even tell you how many bones I broke or how many times I was sliced or jabbed with a sword. Without this spell, even this version we would have been so done.”

“Having bones outside of your body isn’t fun,” Beta sighed, shrinking to his normal size to sit in Alex’s lap. “That was all… Vexing as Fern loves to say.”

“I did not like that spell,” Belle announced once her ribs had healed and she could breathe. It caused the others to smile but it would be a few minutes until any would think about purifying the items or getting up.

Finishing up

“I hear everyone,” Ryan murmured, her silver-dark grey, tiger ears perking up. “Not only that… I do believe everything has been purified.”

“Oh, so it is shower time!” Anna smiled, leaning against Robbie. “I feel Londra who is moving a bit slowly. Then again, I don’t know if I can get up.”

“I can’t wait for a warm shower,” Londra sighed coming into the opening, leaning against Alden. They were holding each other up while she was carrying Delta. Mara and Helen were walking the same way while Helen carried Trinity with Julius following.

“The others done?” Momo asked as his team entered the opening. They too were leaning against each other when they could.

“Yea,” Londra replied with a forced smile. “I don’t want to add any negative, but they have been done for twenty minutes and keep doing the sound off. I put the box in my vault.”

“Agree with that,” Fern grumbled. “We get stuck with this and they have normal battles?”

“I would think so,” Mara sighed, rolling her shoulders again as Helen moved towards Alex. “I didn’t see anything unordinary in our dash through the floors. Here… yea I knew it was going to be difficult, but that seems like a tame word for what we just endured.”

“Shower time,” Julius smiled. Then looked at the face his sister was making, “no?”

“You on that side us ladies on this side,” Anna responded with a smile. The females understood, nodding and moving closer to her.

“Dearest Theda,” Julius began, “could you make a wall since the ladies are a bit timid suddenly. I am not moving to the other side. Oh, then we can put the recorder that Triad gave us on top while we discuss how much fun we had!”

“I didn’t know your skull got crushed,” Alden commented with a slight ear wiggle.

“Fine, it is like this,” Ryan started since Anna was turning pink. “We are washing not just purifying. I stink, they stink, we all stink. I want clean underwear not just purified and want to wash parts because when we get back all I want is a bed.”

This caused Rus to smile, “Noted and accepted. Washing sounds nice. I did have the shit beaten out of me, in more ways than one.”

“Keep those damn dark silver eyes that way,” Zerina smiled. “Theda the wall please.”

“That means we are stuck on this side… whatever,” Alpha grumbled looking at Rus. “You will wash me. If it is not right, you will start again.”

“Me!?” Rus responded quickly, causing the others to laugh as the wall went up. The device was placed on top as the group started.

“The skin spell is great,” Sasha started after her yellow, green, and red hair was unbraided. “I was sliced fifty-two times and all I have are achy muscles.”

“Wait, you counted?” Ryan asked quickly then noticed that Sasha’s evergreen eyes were closed as she nodded. “You counted.”

“That was an interesting way to start,” Iris smiled, combing out her short, green hair with black highlights with mostly steady almond hands containing hints of blue. “Who wants to go first.”

“Why don’t you start?” Calla motioned, shaking her long, golden hair under the warm water closing her light violet eyes and rubbing her long, light honey face. “We had so much fun!”

“No, we did not,” Zeke grumbled from the other side of the wall. He had finished unbraiding his long, mahogany hair and now had a frown on his long face while his golden eyes were closed tight. The warm water over his aching, muscular body felt nice.

“The tunnel wall is so unforgiving, all those sharp rocks,” Momo added, taking the focus off from Calla who was ironically enough chuckling on the other side of the wall. His long, platinum hair was now loose behind pointed ears, and he was comparing the length to Zeke who stopped frowning to sigh. His plan worked.

“You can say that again,” Helen and Mara said in unison, both enjoying the warm water washing off their bodies and the lilac soap that appeared.

“Teleportation, the Sharman could use level twelve teleportation,” Iris grumbled loudly with her blue-indigo Demon eyes closed. “Never would I imagine a M-M doing that. Demons can’t use level twelve teleportation that well. This felt like a battle, even if we aren’t supposed to think that way. Purification couldn’t happen soon enough.”

“We got to see Calla’s bad ass side,” Nala purred as Calla washed her with a smile. “They brought her before them thinking she was just a mage. I made sure the link between us was stronger and thus we finally found the right frequency to interrupt the teleportation.”

“It was the worse battle ever, just ask Iris,” Alpha added from the other side. “They hit hard enough her Sprite spell activated, and her wings came out. It did the same to Momo.”

“That was a hard hit,” Fenten mumbled, a frown forming on his accented, oval, caramel face as he exchanged looks with Momo. He was washing Beta but paused, “that is amazing and terrifying.”

“Everyone else got to be sliced up but I was a punching bag,” Rus commented, scrubbing Alpha precisely so he didn’t have to do it again. “Didn’t know that you could break every rib at the same time. I know that you all added to the spell to help with the pain but wow. Oh, two actually popped out of my skin, that was lovely to see. Oh, and my shoulder popped out so my arm was limp for a moment. Then a strange show occurred popping it back in. Didn't hurt any less going back in.”

“Didn’t need to hear that,” Alden projected, turning to look at Rus who still had a bit of pain in his dark silver, oval eyes.

“I noticed that,” Zeke nodded, while washing his hair. “I lost track of how many times I was stuck, but positive, never went near anything important and I didn’t lose any appendages.”

“Ours was strange,” Belle started in her calm, crisp way. “We were trying to decapitate mirages. They were only three feet tall with multiple heads and arms but looked sixteen with one head. Our weapons went through the muscular arms which were a projection with just enough resistance one didn’t question it. Yet they could attack with the fake arms. It was vexing, to use Fern’s favorite word.” This caused everyone to laugh, like she knew they would. Her ears wiggled in happiness through her long, wet platinum hair.

“Only you could describe our battle like that!” Alex laughed from the other side of the wall.

“Frequencies again,” Jackie explained while Fern began to wash her. “Fern and Belle showed us all how to fight without seeing. It was educational, yet poor Trenton stepped on a trap and worried Fern.”

“There was no other way to take his head,” Trenton defended, from the other side of the wall trying to control the emotion in his voice. “The land spikes didn’t hit anything important even if they hurt so much. Can’t imagine what the real amount of pain felt like, don’t want to either. I did get to watch my beautiful Fairy in all her glory, with and without her wings.”

Fenten chuckled while scrubbing Beta. “Meaning she was angry and grumbly.”

“Hey!” Fern responded then smiled, “yea, it is true.”

“Just as beautiful as Belle,” Peter added softly, but everyone still heard it. “I started out fighting then had to watch. We had to figure it out sooner or later then somebody had to purify. There wasn’t any safe place so I focus on Belle, so my flames were pure.”

“I hate waiting,” Marrow and Julius agreed in unison.

“Flair level twelve,” Anna stated, glad her hands stopped throbbing so she could wash. “Best part was being held by Robbie. It took us both to keep the holy fire from cooking us.”

“It did cook your hands and arms though,” Ryan pointed out, drying her outfit with the others. Who would ever think they wouldn’t care if they were naked next to each other. So many different female shapes but this comradery… it wasn’t like this in Green Cleanse. No, this was better. She would always treasure those memories but the new ones she was making… it was worth the ten years of darkness and loneliness.

“It was nice,” Robbie smiled, which had the other guys chuckling since he didn’t respond much to Anna’s flirting. “Not the cooking part but holding Anna while practically naked.”

“She is pink!” Iris announced through laughter. “Such a lovely color for a red head!”

Fenten smiled but finished up the story, “the M-Ms could somehow pass through the flair spell and we were fighting in this small circle. So many slices. Then Ryan and I had to jump out when the Charman paused. We had to do this twice.”

“That leaves us,” Delta started with a purr. He was clean, dry, and happily waiting to be reunited with Londra, though Alden did a good job with his bath. Then his tail curled as he thought about his words. “We were attacked by the wall. The M-Ms sliced their own bodies up and covered rocks with their blood, sending them at us. So fast and horrible. I can’t even tell that my ribs were broken four times after Alden’s wash job. That is why Londra purrs when he braids her hair. His fingers are just so enjoyable.”

“Delta!” Londra responded as her face turned red.

“Look you two are twins in more ways now,” Sasha laughed since Anna’s blush wasn’t gone yet and Londra’s was fresh. The two moved over to squeeze her in a hug. This caused more laughter. Even if it was half felt because they just needed to laugh now.

Julius smiled, “they moved me to a corner after the first squishing. The large M-Ms came through the wall with the rocks… all torn up. It was a battle of who would heal first and thanks to the skin spell it was us. Anyway, the rocks missed me the second time so I could get the heads. That is how dedicated Londra is. Her bones were rebuilding, and she still could purify them.”

“It was amazing, so was Trinity,” Helen nodded. “It was a strange battle, one that was draining in so many different ways. We are clean and redressed, how about you guys?”

“I am taking down the wall,” Theda purred. Julius moved to catch the recording ball, storing it in his vault. Then caught Theda who batted him with his fluffy yellow tail.

Londra looked around before taking out the communication box, “Floor six, cleared and purified.”

“Wow,” Captain Vitus from Horns mumbled, “oh, sorry. Floor one, cleared and purified.”

“Floor Two, cleared and purified,” Platoon 2 Templar Captain Rison stated with annoyance.

“Floor Three, cleared and purified,” Platoon 3 Templar Captain Elizabeth added blandly.

“Floor Four, cleared and purified,” Purgatory Captain Rozile verified.

“Floor Five, cleared and purified,” Blackest Knight Captain Richard finished.

“Great, ready to do the burst. Remember, barrier makers lessen your barriers so the purification can seep into the ground around us. It is a fifteen count, then we purify the saved item. Ready?” Londra asked. The box blinked at her. “Begin, one, two…, fifteen. Take a moment, then purify the item.”

Londra looked around at the exhausted yet triumphant faces as she purified the item. She looked down at the box to see all the lights were lit again. “Okay, now the barrier makers will finish unweaving their spells around the outside then work on the floor spells. Once the spells are taken down the earth will start to reform… like when the trees pop up. Only this time the levels will fill in with dirt. Make sure you are ready to teleport, then do so. Don’t wait, if your barriers are gone and your party has a clear shot, get out of here. Everything is purified; we did a great job. See you on the top.” With that she looked at Robbie, who simply smiled.

His green eyes glowed a bit as he moved everyone in closer for Mara and Ryan to teleport out. “The outer barrier is gone, that was easy. Now the floor is as well.” A second after he said that the tunnel before them started to collapse and fill in. “That is a little creepy.”

“Totally, and not a nice part either,” Iris mumbled. “We going?”

“There are parts of the other parties still inside,” Mara sighed, closing her eyes to focus.

“We need to leave,” Rus commented, watching the dirt fill in around them.

“I got the ones on the top, they can just walk off… silly,” Belle sighed teleporting to the group of terrified Kaijins. She could see why, since they were trapped in a small space in between some thick trees. Yet, it was better than being underground.

“I will get the stragglers from Rison’s team,” Iris offered before leaving. There were six just standing there watching the ground above them fall down. Iris gathered them and left.

“I will get the four from Elizabeth’s team,” Trenton stated. “I will speak nicely to calm them.”

“Not too nice, that voice is mine,” Fern smiled as he disappeared.

“There are twelve left from Purgatory,” Mara stated. “Am I going?”

“Yes,” Anna and Londra said together smiling at each other. Londra continued, “you are to say that we are already out, because we will be. Alden, get the twelve from Darkest Knight please.” He nodded. Londa and Anna waited to feel that Mara and Alden were safe before moving the team to the path near where the nest was. Mara and Alden appeared a few moments later with everyone else.

The teams were collected by worried party members as Twilight Star stood waiting to make sure there was no negative energy anywhere near the healing land. Archduke Dristen came up behind them to congratulate but could tell they were all deep in thought. It was rare to see them all with their hair down. He had no idea that Zeke’s was that long or pretty? He would never say that out loud. Londra turned to him with a weak smile. “It is done and we need sleep. Not sure we can handle lunch, I hope it isn’t being fixed yet.”

“No, we were waiting to see what time would be best for everyone,” Archduke Dristen said rocking on his heals. “I have a feeling your level was beyond anything you have done yet?”

“Correct,” Anna smiled weakly. “I got to have my hands almost completely burned off by a level twelve Flair Spell. Watching the skin melt off is just so… Great right! Guess what, it hurts really bad when burnt skin heals, then again it was just ooze.”

“What?” he mumbled just staring at her. The words were so serious, but she said it as if it was nothing. “Are you all okay?”

“No,” Julius sighed with his whole muscular body. “At least we are clean? I had it the easiest and I will still say no. Are there skiffs for us or are we walking? Because sleeping right here on this path will work for me. The grass looks healthy again.”

Alden patted him on the bare, light tan shoulder in consolation while Peter added, “it sucks to watch the others and wait for that exact moment. I agree, sleep soon.”

“The skiff is there,” Archduke Dristen pointed. “Right where we left it… oh, you want me to drive. Got it. Do you need to say anything to the others?”

Londra turned towards the other Parties who were watching them for some reason she didn’t understand. “It is purified and sealed. This nest will never be used again as long as any camp above is purified quickly. Congratulations. I know we planned our meeting for after lunch, but I need to move it to after dinner. There is no way I can eat anytime soon. Having your bones regrown repeatedly will do that. I will say this. Level ten and nine of the hive will be so difficult that only one team will be responsible for them. The rest of you need to figure out which two floors you will be purifying. This took us over an hour and if you think we were dallying down there I have some not nice words for you.” With that she turned back to Archduke Dristen, handed him the recording they did while washing, then headed towards the skiff.

He looked down at the simple ball and tossed it to Elizabeth with a shrug before heading to drive the skiff back to their makeshift camp. Most were asleep instantly. He parked the skiff in front of their tents wondering what to do next when Anna and Londra popped up in the strangest way. They started shaking the others who mumbled and crawled out of the skiff to their tents in a dazed state.