35 Phase 28: Rescuing Squirrels

"Huh?" Katrin blinked.

"It's that thing again!" Monkey boy shouted. "Let's get him!"

"It's a {girl} squirrel." Colin said, though he couldn't figure out why he said something like that at a time like this.

"Monyet!" Monkey boy called, and a four-armed monkey jumped forward.

"Mulley!" Donkey boy called, and a small, waist-high donkey about Rall's size stepped in front of him.

"Chittichi!" the pink squirrel shrieked.

Colin was staring at it when a shadow flew overhead. "Huh?"

Another shadow darted in from the left. A third one jumped up from the right.

And then, at last, the yellow beaver they had seen earlier charged forward to join the other four.

"I don't believe it." Katrin said.

One big pink squirrel with panda-like eyes. One green Flying Squirrel with pointy ears. One blue, yellow-eyed squirrel with two tails. One red beaver, and one yellow beaver.

All of them stood together in a straight line blocking Monkey boy and Donkey boy off from the fallen squirrel.

Katrin darted forward and touched the fallen squirrel.

"Chii…" the brown squirrel jumped up, then looked at her with frightened eyes.

"We're getting you out of here." Katrin said, carrying it away in her arms.

"Kill them!" Monkey boy shouted.

"Yeah!" Donkey boy yelled.

Katrin was looking at those two. "Are these them…?" she asked softly.

"Who? What?" Colin blinked.

"The two yellow-badges." Katrin pointed. "The ones who died."

Colin saw it. She was right. The two boys had yellow badges.

"But they only have one… Comrade… each…" Colin trailed off, his eyes widening.

Satrox was a yellow badge too. Like them, he only had one Comrade.

But his Comrade was above level 40.

"We'll get you this time!" Monkey-boy growled. "There's no black Lynxmouse to save you from us here!"

{Wait… black Lynxmouse…?}

Colin only knew of one Black Lynxmouse – Wraith, Satrox's Comrade.

The four-armed monkey charged forward. It moved so fast, all Colin saw was a blur.

"Uhoh." Colin managed before the attack sent both the red and the yellow beavers flying.

"Chiichi!" Pink Squirrel called, and the other squirrels leapt up to the treetops. She herself jumped and spread her arms. Like a cape, her arms had wing-like skin stretching down its body length.

Katrin saw that. "She's a Flying Squirrel too!"

They attacked the four-armed monkey and the squat donkey from above, blasting down with sonic bolts, fire bolts, and electric bolts of some sort.

The donkey looked up and sent a Sonic Wave up from its mouth.

Blue Squirrel dropped to the ground, unmoving, as Pink and Green split up to either side.

"We have to help them!" Katrin said, decisively.

"Help who?" Colin asked. "The Dreamers or the Squirrels?"

"The Squirrels!" Katrin said.

"But we came here to stop the squirrel and protect the humans, remember?"

"But it's not {right}!" Katrin said. "I'm helping the squirrels! You can help the humans if you want, and I'll fight you!"

"Don't be silly." Colin snorted. "I'm here to help you, remember? Whatever side you join, I'll join."

Katrin spared him a brief smile. "Thanks, Colin."

Colin nodded. "Shiro!"

"Yip!" Shiro barked, and turned to the other two. "YIP!"

Raiki stayed back but Shiro and Fireheart split up and charged towards the donkey from either side.

"Everyone, ATTACK!" Katrin yelled. "Use your best techniques!"

Velvet, Streak, Spray and White-tail obeyed.

Shiro and Fireheart closed in on Mulley. A Wing Gust and a Sonic Bolt battered Mulley on the head as he replied with another Sonic Wave.

Green Squirrel fell.

Velvet and Streak headed for Monyet. Pink Squirrel was pouncing on it from above, and Raiki was attacking with little threads of electricity.

"Forget the training, Raiki! H-Bolt that thing!" Colin ordered.

Raiki blasted Monyet in the tail and the monkey scrambled for cover. She sent another Hypersonic Bolt at it before Shiro barked, "Yip!"

And then she started forming a Sonic Barrage, an entire array of Sonic Bolts waiting to be launched one after the other non-stop.

"Monyet! Quit playing around! Crush them!" Monkey-boy screamed.

"Yeah!" Donkey boy said.

Monyet stopped dodging and attacked Shiro.

Shiro sped to one side, avoiding Monyet's strike. "Yip!" he called.

Raiki rained Sonic Bolts down on Monyet. Velvet and Streak whacked at him.

Fireheart suddenly found herself alone against Mulley and backed away, circling the stubborn donkey carefully.

Mulley didn't really care. He was trying his best to hit the Pink Squirrel with a Sonic Wave.

"Now I wish I brought Rall." Colin growled.

"Spray! White-tail! Attack Mulley!" Katrin called, diverting her two flying Comrades.

"Mulley! Shoot everything!" Donkey-face said.

And then a ring of sonic power burst out from the donkey, hitting out in all directions.

"YIP!" Shiro yelped, and scrambled up a tree. Everyone ran for cover.

Fireheart was the first to be hit. The blast knocked her over a rock before she could get to safety.

White-tail didn't reach cover in time. The blast knocked her out of the air and into a tree. She bounced off, landed on a branch and didn't move from there.

Raiki crouched behind a rock and was safe from the burst.

Streak didn't make it, but Velvet managed to avoid most of it because Streak was in the way. She crouched low, eyes shut tight, then blinked when she didn't get hit. She turned, saw Streak hit instead of her and pawed at him concernedly.

Monyet dug a hole in the ground and dove into it.

Pink Squirrel found cover in the hollow of a tree.

Monkey boy, Donkey boy, Colin and Katrin all found cover behind rocks or trees.

"NOW!" Monkey boy shouted. "Attack them with all you've got!"

"Yeah!" Donkey boy shouted. "Attack!"

Katrin hissed. "We're in trouble."

She was right. Shiro and Raiki were still fighting, Velvet and Spray were still active, and the Pink Squirrel was popping her head out of the hollow, but on a whole, they were seriously losing this fight.

Why did they bring so few Comrades…?

{Because we expected to put down a crazy Squirrel, not fight two Level 40+ Comrades!}

Colin was suddenly very glad that he hadn't had to fight these two in yesterday's Tournament.

"Yip! Yip!" Shiro called.

Raiki suddenly switched targets to attack Mulley. Shiro charged straight for Monyet.

Katrin was talking into her watch, fast and low. "…yes, a monkey-mask! Look, just send backup! I don't have time to argue!"

Mulley scored another hit. Spray went crashing into the treetops, then tumbled to the ground in a faint.

Monyet was chasing Velvet around now, and Shiro was chasing Monyet. Raiki suddenly found her Sonic Barrage countered by Mulley's Sonic Barrage, and the two of them just sat there throwing sonic bolts that crashed into each others' and exploded in the air between them.

"Shiro! Forget the monkey, take out the donkey!" Colin shouted.

Shiro spun and dashed straight for Mulley.

"Mulley! Shoot the wolfcat!" donkey-boy shouted.

Mulley turned, but Raiki's Sonic Barrage almost knocked him off his feet. He turned back to Raiki in time for Shiro to charge in with a powerful whack of the tail.

"HAW!!" Mulley shouted.

Shiro leapt high and fired a H-bolt into Mulley's back.

"HEE-HAW!" Mulley turned back to Shiro and countered with a H-bolt of his own, but Shiro dodged it.

Raiki's Sonic Barrage slammed full into Mulley's face.

"Velvet!" Katrin cried out, but it was too late. Monyet had caught up and clobbered the beaver over the head.

The Pink Squirrel, meanwhile was still shooting at Monyet with Sonic Bolts, but the monkey just dodged and charged for her.

"We're not going to win this…." Katrin said, frustratedly. "Colin! Cover me!"

"What?" Colin blinked.

Katrin didn't wait for a reply. She dashed out and started touching squirrels left and right. Then, she tapped the beavers too.

"You're Taming them all?!" Colin stared.

"I have no choice!" Katrin hissed.

"HEY!" Monkey-boy shouted. "What are you doing?!"

Monyet threw Pink Squirrel into a rock, and the pink command-type stopped moving too.

"That's the last one!" Katrin said, darting forward.

"Monyet! Stop her!" Monkey-boy said.

The monkey turned towards Katrin.

"Raiki!" Colin shouted. "Barrage Monyet!"

Raiki turned her Sonic Barrage on Monyet, forcing the monkey to dodge.

Shiro, meanwhile, went on dodging Mulley's shots.

Katrin charged ahead, heedless of the sonic bolts flying past her.

"Monyet!" Monkey-boy said. "Ignore the kitten! Stop the girl!"

"Kat!" Colin gasped, as she finally reached the Pink Squirrel and reached out to it desperately.

Katrin and Monyet reached the Pink Squirrel at roughly the same time.

Monyet swung his tail down, hard.

Katrin disappeared. It happened in a flash. Katrin vanished, and all her fallen Comrades, and the entire squad of the Pink Squirrel disappeared with her.

"Kat!" Colin shouted.

{What the…?!}

{Did Katrin just… DIE?!}

Colin turned to where Monkey boy and Donkey boy were hiding.

"Monyet! Attack the boy!" Monkey boy shouted.

Monyet spun, and Colin had a moment to see what the monkey's tail looked like before everything turned white.

***

The whiteness lasted for two seconds.

When it faded, he was standing in Sunshine Town Square with Katrin, their Comrades, and the Squirrel Squad.

"What was that…?" Colin blinked. "Did I just… die?"

"Well…" Katrin winced. "I think so."

Colin's head felt light, as if it wasn't attached to his neck properly. His stomach felt tight, but slowly turning.

"I don't feel too good." Colin said.

"It'll pass… we better rest for an hour or something." Katrin said. She didn't look too well either.

Colin glanced at the Squirrel Squad, who had come with them. "What about those guys?"

"They're safe here." Katrin said. "That's why I touched them. I wanted them to come with me when I died, so that those boys couldn't torture them. I think they understood that."

"You're probably right." Colin said, eyeing the Squirrel Squad who didn't look too well themselves. They seemed to be holding a conference. "But I guess you finished your mission."

"My mission?" Katrin blinked.

"You found the Squirrel that was attacking people." Colin said. "And you Tamed it. I'd say that finishes your mission quite well."

"But the squirrel wasn't at fault! It's a good squirrel! It's those two boys who are bad!" Katrin said. "I'm going to launch a report! We'll get them for sure!"

"And what are you going to do with the Squirrel Squad?" Colin asked. "Throw them away after Taming them?"

"No…" Katrin shook her head. "If they're willing, I'll bond them and they can help out at the farm and with my Justice Knight work."

Pink Squirrel stepped forward, and sniffed Katrin cautiously.

Katrin looked at her in the eye and said, "Well, what do you think? Want to join me? It's better than having those two chase you all the time."

Pink Squirrel turned to her friends. They didn't say anything.

"Yip." Shiro said.

"Chiti. Chitichi." Pink replied.

"Yip, yip."

"Chichit."

Shiro wagged his tail.

"I think they like you." Colin said, and then sat down when his head started spinning.

Katrin held out her hand. Pink Squirrel shook paws with her. Katrin smiled. "I think you're right."

Then, she too sat down and held her head.

"Ugh." Katrin groaned. "I hate dying."

"Me too." Colin agreed. "This feeling… it's bad."

"The feeling is bad." Katrin nodded. "The losses too."

"Losses?" Colin glanced at her.

"Check your items. See if you've lost anything."

Colin groaned. "Maybe later. I don't want to move yet."

Katrin tilted to one side and landed with her head on his shoulder.

"Kat?" Colin turned to her.

Katrin was trying to push herself up, but she couldn't seem to get a firm grip on the ground.

"You look really dizzy." Colin added.

"You think?" Kat growled. She tilted forward, made a grab and almost fell forward on her face. Colin barely managed to catch her in time.

And then the dizziness hit him too, and he felt the whole world start to tilt to one side. He leaned forward, holding his head tightly and shut his eyes. "Ugh. This is bad."

"Tell me about it." Katrin grit her teeth. "It's going to last about an hour, I think."

Colin groaned again when he heard that.

It took five minutes before the dizziness faded. Katrin got to her feet.

"You're moving already?"

"Yeah."

Their walk to the Comrade Home lasted almost an hour going as slowly as they did and taking time to rest every few minutes. Everybody felt sick, and except for Shiro and Raiki, all their Comrades looked upset.

Colin figured they had good reason to be upset. They just got their tails whipped by kids wearing monkey and donkey masks.

"Oh my…" Larissa shook her head when she saw them all. "You two should lie down somewhere quiet for an hour before trying to travel. Most people take a break at the Lakeside, or go home until they feel better."

"Oh." Colin said.

But obviously, it was too late now. The sickness in his stomach and the dizziness in his head were already starting to fade away.

"I didn't want to see those boys come and make fun of us." Katrin said. "They might find us in Town and decide to laugh or something."

"What happened?" Larissa asked.

They told her, as she ran the registration processes for Katrin to officially Bond the Squirrel Squad as new Comrades. The little brown squirrel that had been tortured earlier, it seemed, had joined the squad on the spot.

"So," Larissa said, "What do you plan to do? Hunt them down?"

"No point." Katrin said. "We'd just be killed again. I need to train my Comrades until we're strong enough first."

Six new Comrades in a single day… Katrin was going to be busy for a while.

"You'll be going to the Gym, then?" Larissa assumed.

"No… I'll be training with Edward. We have our own methods." Katrin told her.

Colin grinned. Satrox had explained the side effects of using the Gym (Comrades won't grow as smart), and devised a training method for them, a three-step game they called Farm Wars. Edward had been talking about it earlier.

"This time, we're going to win for sure." Colin realized. He and Katrin, teamed up, had almost beaten Edward last time. With the Squirrel Squad, Fireheart and Bubba on their side now, there was no doubt in Colin's mind that they'd win.

Katrin lowered her head. "Colin… can I ask you a favor?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"Let me duel Edward." Katrin said softly. "I know Farm Wars was meant to include all three of us, but tonight, I want to see how well I can manage with my new Comrades."

"Oh." Colin said. "Well… okay… I was planning to ask people about the Journey's End Goal, anyway. I'll just start asking around this place and head north from here."

"Thanks, Colin." Katrin said.

He watched them go, with only Shiro, Raiki and Fireheart by his side.

"You know, Shiro…" Colin mentioned. "Rescuing Squirrels can be dangerous. Katrin and I actually died for it."

"Yip." Shiro agreed.