26 Phase 22: After Farm Wars 1
"That was fun!" Katrin marvelled, as they cleaned up the place.
"Where did you get that?" Edward asked Graybark, looking over his binoculars suspiciously.
"Eww." Colin said again, still washing mucus from his clothes.
Bubblesaur looked at him and gave him a big grin.
"Thanks, Colin." Kat told him. "You really saved me back there."
Colin grunted, trying his best to scrub out his vest. "Don't… mention it…"
"Yip." Shiro laughed.
Edward laughed also, and said, "Colin, come with me. You better put on some dry clothes for a while."
***
Ten minutes later, Colin came out of Farmer Edward's house wearing a t-shirt that was blue with a white stripe across the middle over dark brown jeans.
"You actually got his size?" Katrin marveled.
"Well…" Edward scratched his head. "I was actually trying to get your size, but then I saw it and I thought…"
"It looks good." Katrin said. "Now come help me with this."
They left his vest, t-shirt and blue jeans hanging on the fence as they went on cleaning up in relative peace and quiet.
The peace and quiet didn't last very long, though.
"Oh, my goodness! Colin's going around NAKED!" a girl's shrill voice screamed.
Colin groaned when he heard it. "That's Alicia."
It wasn't hard to figure out what happened. Jonah, Alicia and Larry had come this way and saw his clothes hanging out on the fence of Edward's Farm.
"Don't simply assume things!" Colin barked, coming around from the side. "My clothes just got wet, that's all!"
"Oh." Alicia said, both hands to her face and her face red. "Sorry."
Colin wondered how they'd fared when Hot Sands Village was flooded. He didn't remember seeing them around. Maybe they were gone by then.
"Good to see you're safe." Katrin said, greeting them, but Colin didn't think she was talking about the flood. Jonah, Alicia and Larry had joined Nakama World at the same time as Colin and Katrin. They, too, were being chased by the Green Men. So far, they managed to get away - those three were experts at getting away from grown-ups - but still, it was good to see them safe. "What brings you here?"
"We were just looking for a bit of extra cash." Jonah said.
"Any work?" Larry asked.
Colin eyed their badges and was astonished to see that all three of them had already gotten to Green Badge.
{At least 7 Comrades with at least 100 levels between them.}
But they were going around with just two or three Comrades each. They must have left most of their Comrades somewhere else, at their base or house or whatever it was they shared.
And Colin felt sure that they would share. Those three shared everything.
"Actually, yes." Farmer Edward said, coming up. "There's plenty to go around."
Edward and Katrin, Colin realized, had been busy playing (or 'training', as Satrox said) with him. They hadn't done their usual work around the farm.
"Sorry." Colin whispered to Katrin as Farmer Edward told the three what he wanted done. "Because of me, you're going to have to pay them to do your work."
"Don't worry." Katrin whispered back. "We were training too, remember? It was fun. But now, I think you should go find another Comrade or two."
"Huh?" Colin blinked.
"Just get one." Katrin said, frowning. "You're taking part in the Duos Tournament tonight, aren't you? You should do it in yellow-badge level before you advance to green."
"What about you?" Colin asked.
"I'm already Green." Katrin told him.
Colin's eyes widened as he took a second look at Katrin's badge. He hadn't noticed it before, but Katrin's badge was definitely Green.
And Edward's was Blue.
"Oh." Colin said, trailing off. He turned to look for his Comrade, and saw them eating and resting. "You fed them?"
"Of course." Katrin said.
Raiki seemed to have cheered up a little from playing with everyone. She actually finished a whole can of tuna on her own. Colin carried her and gave her a little hug for it.
"Yip." Shiro jumped on too, and nudged Raiki with his nose.
Raiki mewed.
"You're looking a lot better, Raiki." Colin said, feeling relieved. Then, he frowned at Shiro. "Weren't you just a little bigger just now?"
"Yip." Shiro laughed, and wagged his shorter tail. He seemed to be the same size as Raiki all over again.
Colin started getting suspicious, but he let it pass for now. There were more important things to worry about.
Katrin nudged him. "You've still got time before the Duos Tournament. What do you plan to do?"
"Uh…" Colin trailed off. "I'm not sure. I think Satrox had something in mind."
"Well, you better go ask him then." Katrin pointed. "Here he comes now."
***
"How was the training?" Satrox asked, as soon as he arrived.
"Edward won." Colin said glumly.
"He should. He's a Blue Badge." Satrox said, as if that explained everything. "Tell me what happened."
So Colin told him as Katrin went back to clean up and Edward directed Jonah, Alicia and Larry on their work.
"How about their techniques?" Satrox asked. "Have they improved?"
Colin checked.
(Author's note: Another very technical section. The below is an abbreviated version; the full version can be found in Glossary 2)
There were improvements to what was used in Farm Wars – more than Satrox expected, but not as much as Colin hoped for.
Colin took the chance to ask Satrox about Shiro's new trait, 'Empathy'.
Satrox drew a deep breath. "Empathy means Shiro feels what other creatures feel. Have you any idea how much of an advantage that gives him when he's dealing with strange Wilds and Comrades?"
"Not really." Colin admitted.
Satrox shook his head. "Michi really took a lot of effort with this one. Let me put it this way, Colin – the Comrades you give to Shiro to command would be more willing to follow his orders than normal Command types."
"That's… good." Colin said.
"That's too good." Satrox grunted. "Are you willing to try an experiment?"
"What kind of experiment?" Colin frowned.
"After Taming a Wild, try getting Shiro to command it… in battle."
"Get a Tame to fight?!" Colin stared. "Is that possible?!"
"Usually, no." Satrox said. "But Shiro just might be able to pull it off."
"And he's now 'Protective'."
"Well, he is an Empath." Satrox said. "And you mentioned how he saved Raiki. Is it any wonder that he's 'Protective'?
"Well… is it good?" Colin asked.
"He'll be more prone to defensive tactics, which would be safer for your Comrades, but it could make your battles longer." Satrox said. "I just hope he's smart enough to be aggressive when it's needed."
"He's usually aggressive." Colin said. "He's just getting more concerned about the others."
Satrox pointed out the strengths of each of Colin's Comrades and Colin decided which technique types to focus each Comrade on. In most cases, it was simply their best attacks, until they checked on Raiki.
"Her traits changed too…" Colin stared. "She's become Protective, just like Shiro. And she's gone from being Listless to Sorrowful."
"Well… I'd say she's getting better." Satrox agreed. "Slowly, but better."
"She's about as old as Shiro, right?" Satrox frowned, inspecting Raiki. "She's five levels behind."
"That's because she's been too sad to fight." Colin said. "But she took part in the Training, just now, so I think she'll catch up sometime."
"Catch up…" Satrox mused. "I'm not sure she ever will, Colin, not if Shiro keeps growing at the rate he has been."
"Well, I don't really think it matters. The important thing is that she gets well."
For Raiki, Satrox advised Colin to train up her electric attacks as well as her sonic ones.
"Raiki's still my best long-range fighter." Colin sighed.
**Note: Here, Glossary 2 Ends**
"She's one of the best I've ever seen." Satrox agreed. "Take care of her well and she'll be a legend."
"Yip." Shiro told Raiki encouragingly.
"Shiro too." Satrox added thoughtfully.
Colin wondered if he should ask Satrox a very important question. Yes… the time has come.
"Satrox…" Colin paused. "Why do people say that Michi's Breedings don't do well, or that she's caused trouble I might have to clean up?"
Satrox sighed. He looked up and the sky and closed his eyes for a moment.
"Soon." Satrox said at last. "I'll tell you soon. But not now. Not tonight. I don't want you to lose focus. Ask me again after we rescue May."
Colin thought about that. "All right. So, what do we do to rescue May?"
"You join the Duos Tournament." Satrox said simply. "Win it, if you can. We'll stay around to see the Overall Finals, which Scarlet would probably win. Then, we follow her back to her hideout."
Colin waited.
"After that…" Satrox rubbed his head. "If she goes out, we try to sneak in. If she doesn't go out, then we call in Larissa and she'll distract Scarlet. Either way, we sneak in and get May out."
"The Tournament." Colin thought about it. "Satrox, I don't think I'm ready."
"You've got one more hour." Satrox said. "You still have time to train a bit and get a new Comrade."
"A new Comrade…" Colin trailed off.
"Colin, do you intend to Travel far?"
"Everywhere." Colin replied.
"And do you intend to bring a lot of Comrades with you all over the place?" Satrox went on, inspecting Colin's five.
Colin glanced at Satrox, who was going around with just one and scratched his head. "I'm not as experienced as you are. I sort of need them, just in case."
"Then you're going to need a cargo carrier. Something large enough to ride would be good too." Satrox frowned. "As well as that bird I mentioned earlier. Or a swimmer."
"Why don't I just stick to Rall and Warc?" Colin wondered.
"You can… for now." Satrox sighed. "But there are limits to how strong they can possibly grow. Meek's probably reached her limits, and Warc's not much better. Besides, you need seven to reach Green."
Colin scratched his head, remembering Wilds he'd seen before. "I want a Watergull, or a Fisherbird. And a Softle. And a Zapper Eel."
"The Softle's good for water transport." Satrox agreed. "Go underwater and those Green Men wouldn't even know you were around. But the rest…? Why a Zapper Eel? And a Watergull…? A Fisherbird?"
"To catch fish." Colin explained. "To feed Shiro and Raiki."
Satrox shook his head. "I wouldn't be too worried about food when it comes to choosing Comrades. You can always do missions or trade for Clira."
"Oh." Colin frowned. "Why didn't you let me catch another Cactopus for myself? Or a Desert Lynxmouse?"
"Because Cactopi are picky enough as it is. Even that little one barely accepted your touch. Getting more than one Tame to follow you increases the danger of them feeling less important and leaving you." Satrox explained.
"What about a Desert Lynxmouse? I could go back to the Desert Road… I could even try a Metal Beetle…"
"A Metal Beetle wouldn't let you Tame him." Satrox snorted. "Though the Desert Lynxmouse isn't too bad. But the desert's too far. If I were you, I'd try to catch Wilds from the forests nearby."
Colin stared, remembering his first night in Nakama World. He'd gone to the South Sunshine Forest and seen a battle between giant ants and various Wild Cats, Raiki and Shiro siding with the cats.
Someone mentioned that going there with Comrades below level 15 was a bad idea… who was it…?
Whoever it was, if that advice was accurate, then Colin's Comrades were more than strong enough to do that already. Shiro was currently at level 20.
Satrox saw his face. "What is it?"
"I've been in that forest before." Colin said. "It would be nice to go back with Comrades above level 15."
"You've been there with Comrades below level 15?" Satrox stared. "Whatever were you doing there?"
Colin explained to him the events of the first night, Satrox heard about the White Lioness rescue and paused. "You mentioned a black Griffin there too, right? A black creature that was a mix of eagle and lion?"
"Yeah." Colin said.
"That must have been Ginny. M-2. The white lionness was probably M-1." Satrox said. "Michi's earlier experiments."
"Then…" Colin paused. "It wasn't Raiki's mom?"
"What?" Satrox looked completely blank.
"That white lioness. I thought maybe… since Raiki was a kitten and all…"
"No, no. Raiki is a Stormcat cub. Her mom's probably as blue as she is. They're both feline types, but they're different sorts of felines, and I wouldn't even think of mating them."
"Mating? You mean like what you did with the Lynxmice?" Colin asked.
"Yeah. If you know what you're doing, breeding is the best way to get really powerful Comrades. Some breeders might consider mating a Stormcat with a Pristine Lioness for a mix of good traits, but not me."
"Why not?" Colin wondered.
"They're not the same kind. A Stormcat with a Windcat or a Raincat perhaps, or even a Sandcat, but the Lioness lines are too different. It just wouldn't do for them to be mates." Satrox gave him a sideways look. "It's a different story for you and Katrin, though."
Colin's face went as red as it could go. "WHA…?!"
Satrox just laughed.
***
{Teenagers…} Colin shook his head as he headed south with his Comrades. Satrox was a few years older than himself, and it showed, for both good and bad reasons.
His face still felt too warm.
"Yip?" Shiro asked him worriedly.
"I'll be fine." Colin said, just a bit too quickly.
Shiro gave him a sideways look.
"Really." Colin said more firmly, and marched into the forest.
Satrox chuckled again. "Why don't you show me the site of that battle you were talking about? The place where you fought those Megants."
Colin brought him there, leading him to the spot where the white lionness had been pinned under the tree.
Satrox inspected the torn trees around, the rock that Edward, Colin and Katrin had taken shelter behind, and the ground where the cats and ants had fought.
Satrox pointed in the direction the ants came from. "The Ants' Nest is that way. You know, this isn't far from the Forester's Hut."
"The what?" Colin blinked.
"The Forester's Hut. His name's Vincent, but he's almost never at home. Travelers sometimes take shelter there to rest a while." Satrox pointed towards the south. "There's a trail, a sort of dirt path that leads there from the main road."
"Okay. So what do we do now?" Colin questioned.
"Well, if you're looking for Comrades, there's three main types to find here." Satrox said. "Cats, Ants and Plants. Because your Command-type is a Wolfcat, I'd go for the cats – they'll get along better. The transport-type and the flying type can wait until we've got time to look for them."
"Okay… so we're looking for cats. What kind of cats?"
"This area normally has Panthers. Pink Panthers, Red Panthers, Green Panthers, and the rare Gray Panther." Satrox said. "Maybe even a Lionhead."
"So how do we look for them?" Colin questioned.
Satrox shrugged. "Just ask Meek and Shiro to sniff around and see if they come across any fresh trails. Maybe Warc can find something from the air."
Colin did just that. Satrox's own Lynxmouse, he noticed, didn't join in the effort.
Meek found one almost immediately. "Mik! Mik, mik!"
"Yip?" Shiro questioned.
"Mik, mik!"
Shiro dashed over and sniffed. They started following the trail. "Yip!" he called to Warc.
Map image url:
https://imgur.com/yVd1SHW
"Wuark!" Warc replied, and swooped overhead, checking the area in front of them. She spun around in seconds and swooped back. "Wark! Wuark, wark!"
"Yip!" Shiro's tail wagged as he turned to Colin. "Yip, yip!"
"Get him." Colin permitted.
Shiro paused.
"It's a 'her'?" Colin blinked.
Shiro nodded.
"Get her, then." Colin corrected.
"Yip." Shiro told Rall.
"Rawrl." Rall replied, and dashed forward to join them.
Colin and Satrox followed them from a short distance.
"You know," Satrox said, scratching his head. "Even for a command type, Shiro's showing more initiative than anything else I've seen so far."
"Independent trait, remember?" Colin pointed out.
Roars, barks, and explosions were starting up ahead of them. Shiro and the others had begun the battle.
It was a Red Panther, much like the one Colin had seen when Shiro and Raiki defended Crystallin. This one, however, was smaller – half of Rall's size. Colin could carry it in both arms, if he really tried.
"Perfect. A young one." Satrox nodded in approval, then had to duck as a fireball winged overhead.
Raiki sniffed, shifted in Colin's hands, but didn't join in.
Colin studied the Red Panther even as it fought with Shiro and the others. "Warc! Stop using Wing Gust! Switch to bubbles!"
There. That worked better. The Red Panther was using fire, after all, so water attacks should do more damage than wind. Colin turned to Satrox. "Any advice?"
Satrox shook his head. "You seem to be doing fine right now. I think it's almost over."
***
He was right. Three dodged fireballs, two sonic bolts from Shiro and another stream of bubbles from Warc later, Rall finished the fight with a powerful swipe of the claw and then the Red Panther was lying down, panting hard, but no longer moving.
Raiki sniffed again and settled down.
Colin hesitated a moment, but Satrox motioned him on. He went over and inspected the Panther.
The Panther inspected Colin too. "Riao!"
She wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. Even defeated, she looked like she was about to pounce. Talk about a 'spirited' creature… this cat didn't just have fire techniques, she had a heart of fire too.
"Fireheart." Colin whispered. "Would you come with us?"
Fireheart stared at him and said nothing.
Colin stretched out his hand and touched her paw.
She did not move.
Colin shook her paw. "Welcome to the team."
"Riao." Fireheart got up and shook paws formally.
***
Colin turned to Satrox. "Is she enough?"
Satrox was looking at him with some amusement. "You know, it's not just Shiro. You're kinda queer yourself, Colin."
"Huh?" Colin blinked.
"I've never seen anyone Tame a Wild the way you just did." Satrox shook his head. "Until now, I didn't even think about whether or not politeness would do any good."
"She's going to be my Comrade, right? We should try to get along." Colin protested.
Satrox sighed. "Most people don't think that way. When we look at Comrades, we think 'pets', or 'servants' or 'soldiers'. But you…"
Colin waited, but Satrox said no more.
"Now what?" he asked Satrox next.
"Scan her." Satrox suggested. "See if she's worth bonding."
Colin frowned. "She is."
"That's very kind of you, Colin, but you don't really know for sure. Scan her."
Colin glanced at Fireheart. Fireheart gave him an amused look. "Fine." Colin let out a breath and scanned her.
Tame
Abilities:
HP: 0/99
MP: 22/48
Str: 39
Sta: 30
Spd: 33
Int: 12
Wis: 18
Wit: 18
Total: 150
Traits:
Feline Finesse
Spirited
Independent
Fire Essence
"Well…" Satrox scratched his head. "If Rall's like a shield, this cat's like a sword. Front-line physical attacker. Just don't expect her fireballs to do much damage. The fire essence would help protect her against fire attacks though. Scarlet almost always uses fire-types… this cat might come in handy there one day…"
"So?" Colin asked him tightly. "Is she 'worth' bonding?"
"Too young for my taste, but she's got good points." Satrox observed. "She's a few notches above average, in any case."
"We should go, then." Colin said. "I don't want Fireheart to think she was less important by Taming another Wild while she's not yet bonded."
"What about the experiment?" Satrox asked.
"Next time." Colin said.
They headed out.
***
Larissa wasn't around when Colin and Satrox reached the Comrade Home.
"She said she had something to prepare and disappeared." Nami answered. "But if you're wanting to register a new Comrade, there's no problems. Come with me."
Broad-shouldered, blue-haired, and twinkly eyed, Nami was the only other Breeder in the Sunshine Town Comrade Home that Colin knew besides Larissa and Michi.
Nami was the first person who told Colin that Michi's Breedings don't normally do well. After everything he'd been through with Shiro and Raiki, however, Colin was certain that Nami was wrong. Those two were the best ever.
"Yip." Shiro had been resting his head on Raiki's as he often did these days. He raised it now, though, and grinned at Colin as if he knew what Colin was thinking.
Colin cuddled them both a little tighter for a while as they made their way to the Registration Room.
Fireheart watched it all and said nothing.
"Ready?" Colin asked her as they stood before the Registration Plate.
"Riao." Fireheart agreed.
They stepped on it and bonded as Traveler and Comrade.
