Operation: FLOOF

This chapter is themed around mine and Sarstar's kitten mascots!

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Kids Next Door mission…

Operation:

F.L.O.O.F.

Finding

Lost

Objects

Outcomes

Fallout

Loading transmission…

"Sector V, we've gotten reports of a strange 'mountain' in Hillsboro, Ohio. Can you go and investigate it?"

When Perry assigned them this mission, Sector V hoped it wouldn't be anything serious and they could go back to enjoying their time off. The last thing they needed at the end of November was another big mission. "A strange mountain?! LET'S GO, MATEYS!" But it was the first thing Jason wanted, of course.

Closing in on Ohio's countryside, they could already make out the unusual mountain. It was very ovular and seemed to have a tall, tail-like structure and triangular ears. "Doesn't that thing look like a…" Ralph began.

Mali gasped, her big young eyes lighting up with innocent wonder. "GIANT KITTY!!"

It was a gargantuan cat that was half black and half white. It spanned for miles in length and was about a thousand feet tall. "A giant cat?!" Laruta gasped. "And it even looks alive!"

"Hey, doesn't it kind of look like those cats we saw during the race?" Isabelle asked.

"Oh yeah! Maybe this is where they came from." Jason said.

"Yeah, but… WHERE did it come from? Is it an alien or what?"

"Maybe it's tough." Christina fist-palmed. "Heh, looks like it would roast like a marshmallow!"

"!" The massive mountain of floof perked up, sensing a scary threat. It swiped a little paw at the tiny plane. "WHOOOOOOOAAAA!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE ABOUT TO DIE LIKE A FLY!" Shimmy screamed.

"We ain't dying!" Ralph yelled, firm on the steering wheel. "Just need to straighten this baby out and… change the trajectory!"

The team went crashing on the surface of the very mountain itself, but it was so soft that the plane bounced a great distance, continuing to spin and tumble as the kids wildly bounced around the inside. "WAAAAAH!" They flew out of the plane one at a time and plopped onto the soft, bouncy surface.

"Hahahahaha! WHEEEEEE!" Jason's excitement quickly elevated. "THIS IS AWESOME! I wanna bounce over the whole entire thing!"

"LOOK, guys!" Mali pointed. "Even MORE kitties!"

Dozens of mega floofs joyfully bounced around the prairie. Some seemed to have tumble-races, some were amassing smaller floofs into their fur, while others tried to bounce the highest of them all. "Bwoh!" One of the small ones bonked Laruta's back as she tumbled upside-down. The floof leapt and sat itself on her rump. "Heheh…whatever they are, they don't seem hostile."

"Then why did it blow us out of the sky?!" Christina asked.

"Maybe it thought we were hostile. You DID say you were gonna roast it."

"And I still will! AAAAGH!" The mega floofs piled her. "GET OFF ME!" She blasted them off.

"Ralph, just hurry and get the plane back!" Silica ordered, eyes glued to her game despite her bouncing. "I can't focus like this!"

"I'm glad you don't own any pets!"

"HEY!" Two floofs with blue halves stole her game and ran off. "GET BACK WITH THAT!" She slithered out of them like a ravenous serpent. (Play "Have Some Fun" from Zatch Bell!)

"Wait up, kitties! I wanna play!" Mali joyfully bounced after the mega cats. However, it was uncomfortable bouncing this fluffy surface in shoes, so she took them off, feeling much more flexible and relaxed as the fluff warmed her soles with each bounce.

"Mali, wait up!" Laruta chased the giant, smiling at her happiness. It was hard to stop a kindergartner when they got excited over something, especially when she was 14 feet tall. Mali adored animals like any child, but because she was so huge, she couldn't pet most of them. It must be truly delightful to meet cats on her scale.

"Gotchaaaaa!" Mali squeezed one of the floofs with both arms and legs. Both rolled around as if Mali wanted to press the floof around every inch of her large frame. "Hahahaha—OUCH!" But something tiny and hard pressed into the soft spot on the side of her elbow. She stopped, letting the floof roll away on her own. "Owie…" Mali sat up. She was so certain that the softness would keep going for miles that she never expected the smallest flaw in that plan. "Hm?" But even stranger was there was a strange girl beside her feet. Her pure white dress and flowered hair almost camouflaged her against the mountain's white expanse. Up close, Mali could make out her milky black eyes and peach face, hands, and feet.

The sectormates (sans Silica, still chasing the twin floofs) hurried to her side when they heard her yelp. "Mali, what happened? Did you get hurt?" Laruta asked.

"'ey, who's that chica?" Shimmy asked.

"Hi there." Mali greeted. "Do you live here? What's your name?"

The girl pointed at Mali's right arm. "What? …Oh!" The part of her elbow that was hurt had something lodged into it.

Laruta flew onto Mali's arm. "It's some kind of Japanese pot." Laruta picked it up. It was a black pot with orange star and circle designs streaking around it.

"Lemme see." Mali held a hand out. Though Laruta needed both hands to hold it, the pot weighed nothing in Mali's massive palm. Mali squinted her bulbous brown eyes at the pot. "Miss, is this yours? It's pretty!"

The pot's lid rattled. The girls were curious as it tilted up. …There was a tiny girl inside it. "EEK!" She ducked back in.

"AH!" Mali gasped. "Laruta, what was that?"

"It looked like a person! A little person!"

"Little person?" Shimmy asked, climbing up Mali's other arm.

"Uh…excuse me?" Mali asked. "Little person? I'm sorry I scared you. My name is Mali. I'm just a little girl."

"…" The lip tilted up again. The tiny girl climbed out of the pot, wearing the lid like a hat on her lavender hair. Her tiny feet met the gentle warmth of Mali's palm, clothed in a reddish-pink kimono with a pinstripe pattern, flowers, and a black obi. "Huh?! You're nothing like a little girl!" she yelled up in anger.

"Tehehehehe!" Mali's earpieces barely picked up her squeaky voice. "I mean that I'm only six years old. I know I'm big, but I'm still a kid like you."

"Don't call me a kid!" The child flushed. Not even a minute knowing her and she already felt belittled by this young giant.

"You're a Lilliputian, right?" Shimmy grinned. "My mom's a Lilliputian! So, we're sorta cousins!"

"Shimmy, you weren't even born under your Lilliputian mom." Laruta corrected. "Anyway, what are you both doing here?"

"None of your business." The little huffed. "Me and Kanna wanted to play with these fluffy cats… but they stole our treasures! They took Kanna's favorite mirror, but more importantly, they took my Miracle Mallet and Shining Needle! Waaaaah!" She stamped her feet and punched Mali's palm in powerless fury. "When I get 'em back, I'll cut and smash all the feathers outta these walking pillows!"

"They kinda took something of ours, too." Isabelle glanced over and saw the twin floofs trick Silica into a washing machine. "Well, not really."

"Maybe we can help you find them." Mali offered.

"You…You would? Hey, you could." She smirked. "A big girl like you could easily trample these tubs of fluff!"

"But I don't wanna hurt the kitties."

"Ugh, you baby. Whatever! You're my new steed! Take me to my stuff, that's an order!"

"You could ask more politely, young lady." Laruta scolded.

"What's your name?" asked Mali.

"That's Princess to you! Princess Shinmyoumaru Sukuna!" (from Touhou)

"You're a princess?!"

"That's right!" She stomped, smirking regally. "Feel free to kiss the ground I stand!"

"Hai!" Mali kissed her own hand. She then raised the tiny to her right ear for her to climb on it. "Let's go, Shinmy!"

"Don't address me so casually!"

"Hey, I'm a princess and even I ain't that full of myself." Christina shrugged.

"Wow, we have the same name!" Shimmy beamed. "I'm named after a princess!"

"That sheila ain't a princess." Jason said certainly. "But blimey, havin' two Shimmys is gonna be confusing."

"Come on, Jason, it's just off by one letter." Isabelle reasoned.

Mali stormed across the land of floof as Shinmy tied a single strand of Mali's very thick black hair around her hip. The white girl, Kanna (from Inuyasha) was approached by Trella. You're quiet… but I can see you pretty well. Who are you two actually?

"…" Kanna turned and followed Mali.

A pack of mega floofs rolled the same direction Mali was running. It looked so fun that Mali, "I wanna roly-poly, too!" Mali curled up and rolled as well.

"WAAAAAAH!" Shinmy screamed. "Hey! Steeds aren't supposed to roll!"

"Wheeeeeee!" When Mali felt the ground beneath her change, she let herself unravel into a sit. Curiously, Mali brushed her hands around the yarn-woven surface. "…WHOOOOOAAA!" (Play "Scamper Shores" from Bowser's Fury!)

It was a fortress-sized playground woven almost entirely of colored yarn! There were floofs climbing the towers, some riding and pawing yarnballs, and some racing to catch a makeshift Mousika around a racetrack. All the floofs were in a variety of outfits like Minish, fish, flower, leaf, pirate, nun, and many more. "Look at 'em, Shinmy! It's a kitty playground!"

"Incredible!" Laruta was in awe as she caught up to them. "Did they make all this their selves? Maybe they are an intelligent race."

"A bit weird how it goes from a furry grassland to a yarn fortress." Isabelle said.

"Not really. It's like how a normal grassland turns into a cement road or something. Yarn must be their version of that."

"Let's go, Shinmy!" Mali raced up the soft stairs to the fortress. "Let's pet them all!"

"I threw up on your ear!"

It was almost convenient that the fortress and floofs were proportioned to Mali's size; no doubt Shinmy lucked out in her choice of helper. Mali first had to navigate a road of bouncing yarn floofs, where most of them seemed to semi-home in on her. "WOWCH!" Mali was smooshed under one as the yarn's static glued her to it, unable to escape until it returned her to the beginning of the road. "Darn it…" Mali stood and brushed her purple, pink-clouded dress. "You okay, Shinmy? …Shinmy?"

"STEED! GET ME OFF THIS THING!" Mali heard a faint squeak and looked to the stopped yarnball. She approached and saw Shinmy's tiny frame struggling to escape its static grasp.

"Teeheehee! You're so tiny, it thinks you're dust!"

"I should have you beheaded for calling me that! Just get me off NOW!"

"Say 'pretty please, Mali.'"

"I'M GONNA CRAWL IN YOUR EAR AND STAB YOUR BRAIN!"

"No!" Mali pointed her index just an inch from the Inchling, her face firm and scolding. "If you want people to help you, you gotta be nice. Now you have to say 'please' 10 times and say it's rude to stab brains."

"Grrrrrr! Please please please please please please please please please please, Mali! It's rude to stab brains!"

"Hehehe!" Mali turned and put her hair against the yarn. "Grab my hair and I'll try to pull you out."

The tiny gripped a strand as Mali moved away, successfully pulling Shinmy free. She climbed back to Mali's ear as the giant tried the road again… but she got squashed by yarn two more times and had to save Shinmy each time. Mali finally got past Yarn Road and would have to jump her way up a stairway of giant cabinets. The floofs were pouncing the high, wide gaps with ease, but Mali had her own solution: Gas Rockets! "Ew, you're gross!" Shinmy yelled, thankful she wasn't down lower.

"But you threw up on my ear." The cabinets led to a picnic area full of bread-like cats called Pusheens.

"Ooooo, I'm starving!" Shinmy jumped down to ground level and tackled a croissant Pusheen. "Nnnnn…pleh!" She spat fur. "Wait, this isn't bread! They're just more of the dumb cats! Waaaaahhh!" The bread fluffs piled her.

"Hahahaha!" Mali lay her chin to the floor, trying to look close. "I guess the bread's eating you now!"

"Make them stop! Make them stop! I…it tickles…hahahahahaha!" Her face was aflush in joy. "Please, Mali! I can't take the tickles!"

Mali took a small breath and, "Pheeeeewww," blew the Pusheens off. "There, my friend." She lowered a pinky for her.

"Your breath stinks!" Shinmy climbed on. There was a line of floofs crawling through a tunnel, so Mali stayed crouched and crawled with them using a gap in the formation. The tunnel led to the top of a wide slide, the floofs twirling on their merry descent. "I bet I can get to the bottom before you!" Shinmy jumped down and landed the seat of her kimono on the smooth slide.

"Hey!" Mali sat and slid as well. "Not fair, Shinmy!"

"Heh heh heh heh!" Shinmy smirked back. "You'll never catch—MWAAAAH!" Mali's tremendous foot would've rammed her like an oversized truck if Shinmy hadn't dodged. Mali's weightier girth allowed her to descend the slide faster, gaining a swift lead in the race. Mali stopped at the bottom and remained sat on the edge. "Waaaaah!" Shinmy crashed into her rump. "Eeeeeewwww!"

"Huh?" Mali twisted her neck back. "Shinmy, are you okay?"

"THE RACE ISN'T OVER!" The tiny bolted up the slide. "Now we have to go back up!"

"Huh?!" Shocked by the sudden addition, Mali tried to chase her up the slide. Shinmy seemed to stay better balanced on her feet while Mali kept tripping, either on herself or the floofs, and had to press her finger pads and knees to the slide to slow herself. Shinmy had to make a wider berth around the giant floofs, not to mention tolerate the quaking of Mali's feet. "Aaaaahh!" Shinmy tumbled on her rump and slid, but Mali was there to catch her with her hand.

"I got you, Shinmy!"

"LOSER!" The tiny kept running.

"Why are you so mean?!" Mali hurried to catch up, relying on all fours to keep herself stabilized. They realized the slide actually forked in two routes, with the new route winding higher up the fortress.

Shinmy was the first to reach the top. "HAHA! I did it! I made it!" She spun around at Mali's eclipsing face, pointing haughtily. "You lost because you're fat!"

"You don't gotta hurt my feelings."

"Puh-lease! Giants don't have feelings. All they do is pick their noses trying to dig up their brains. And then they eat 'em!"

"I never ate my brain!"

"Wah wah!" Shinmy jumped back to Mali's ear. "Quit wasting time racing and look for my stuff!"

They reached what seemed to be an outdoor laundry mat. A bunch of dirty floofs were moping around the area. Mali picked them all up and stuffed them in the washer. She needed to apply soap, so she looked on a shelf and saw a blue cat. "It smells like soap! Maybe I put him in!" She flew up and grabbed the Purrex, stuffing him in the laundry. She set the cycle on, and in a minute, the floofs were clean and wet. She then stuck them all in the drier and sent them on a warm whirl. A top hatch opened as the floofs drifted to the air, now as floofy as giant dandelions. Mali jumped and climbed her way up the Dandefloofs, but their fur would shed by the time Mali could jump to a ledge.

They reached an ice-skating rink where floofs merrily slid around. There was a pair of kitty slippers fit for Mali's feet, allowing her to ski just as swiftly. "Mali, look! That blue cat has Kanna's mirror!" There was a large Purrex skiing with the mirror hanging from his teeth. "Catch it!"

"Hai!" Mali used Gas Rocket to chase the bluef faster, but it would change direction at tight angles and trick her into going too far. "Wait, Blue Kitty! Let me have the mirror, pretty please?"

Purrex glanced back, his expression shy and worried as he shook 'no.' "Mali, I got an idea!" Shinmy tucked herself in her pot. "Get close and slide me to it!" Mali held the pot in her fingers and skied close enough to Purrex. She then bent down, put the pot on the ground, and slid it with a good push, using their combined momentum to catch up to Purrex. Shinmy shot out and grabbed his belly, clambering up to his ear to bite it. Purrex flinched and tried to scratch her off, emitting a small frost field to chill her. Still, it slowed him enough for Mali to catch up and grab-hug him, falling to a sit and spinning while sliding!

"Hehehehe! Mr. Kitty, I'll get her off if you give me the mirror."

The kitty grumbled and spat the mirror out. Mali scooped it up and put it in her fanny-pack. "Brrrr, you're cold, Shinmy." Mali welcomed her friend back on her hand. "Warm up in here." She cupped her other hand over her to warm Shinmy with their body heat.

"Mmmmmrrr…" Though she welcomed the warmth, it disgraced her to rely on a giant's help like this. Mali would then have to ski toward an edge of the rink and use the momentum to Gas Jump to a high, far platform, which would become a curved ice strip she would cross and jump to the next. This was followed by a more snaky route with wide curves before a jump to the next part of the fortress. It wasn't icy anymore, so Mali slipped the floofers off. They reached the racetrack where a stampede of floofs chased the mechanical Mousika in laps.

"Aha! Look at that twinkle!" Shinmy pointed across the opposite side of the track. "That's my Shining Needle Sword! No other thing shines like that!"

"Wow! But I guess we gotta cross this track to get to it."

"Then I hope you got more gas down there!"

"Hold on!" Mali took a soda out of her pack and squirted it down her throat. "Okay!" Mali ran the track, and each time the herd of floofs came, she Gas Jumped and hovered over them. She kept this up in repetition until they could exit the other side. Mali raised Shinmy to jump her way up small platforms and scaffolds to reach the one with her Shining Needle. "AT LAST, IT'S MINE!" She dropped, landing directly on Mali's upturned nasal bridge. "The Shining Needle returns to its rightful owner!"

"It looks like a normal sewing needle. We gots big ones at home."

"I bet it's not SHINY! And it's more than sharp enough to pop your eyes like bubbles!"

"EEEK!" Mali shut them tight. "Please don't pop my eyes!"

They continued up some stairs and reached the base of a great, cat-topped tower made of cat-scratch material. Mali clenched her fingers and toes as tight as she could to clamber up. "MEWMEWMEWMEWMEW!" A cluster of floofs swarmed up the tower like a mass of monochrome smoke.

"AAAAH! Climb faster, fatty!"

"I'm not fat, I'm big-boned! Come on, gas, do your stuff!" She relied on Gas Rockets to gain altitude faster, but it seemed the gas also compelled a portion of floofs to scatter and fall. "Ah! That works!" She could gain height and keep them at bay at the same time! However, the other floofs could still get higher around the other side, climbing around to block Mali, so she would have to burp upwards to banish them. The ones who got close would nibble-tickle Mali until all her grabbing points would release. Shinmy would quickly climb up to her fingers or slide down to Mali's toes to slice those floofs with her Shining Needle.

"Shinmy, you don't gotta hurt them!"

"Yes I do! And you better not Gas Rocket while I'm down here!" Their teamwork allowed Mali to make it to the hole at the top of the tower. They were inside a nice room with a tiny, cozy cat bed, luscious cat food, a sparkly litterbox, and many fun toys to nibble. The only resident here appeared to be a very small floof holding a hammer under her paws.

"There it is! My Miracle Mallet! This'll be easy, I'll slice you to pieces!" Shinmy jumped down.

"NO!" Mali clapped her in her palms. "You can't hurt the poor kitty!"

"You can't tell me what to do! This kitty stole what's mine, so I'm entitled to stab her!"

"No! If you want something, you ask nicely. Excuse me, Miss Kitty, may we please have that hammer?"

The Mewstere shook her head. "Why're you wasting our time, Mali?! You're a giant, you can squish her flat!"

"Squishing people is wrong. It's okay to fight bad people who are hurting people, but you can't squish or hurt innocent kitties. Maybe if you do it, too, the nice kitty will give your hammer back."

"Hmph…" Shinmy sported a kind smile. "You know, Mali, you're really mature for a girl your age. Maybe you're actually right."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Could you let me down? I'll ask the kitty very nicely."

"Nyu! Nyu! Nyu!" Mewstere shook more worriedly and tried to back up, pulling the hammer.

"Okay, Shinmy." Mali let the tiny on the floor.

Mewstere held the hammer down again as Shinmy calmly approached with a welcome smile. "…" Her smile became a smirk as Shinmy KICKED Mewstere like a soccerball, her attack sudden and swift. "SHINMY!" (Play "Moebius Cutscene" from Xenoblade 3!)

"Stupid cat." Shinmy snatched the hammer in her left hand. It was yellow with a unique tree design painted. "You should know better, taking what isn't yours."

"BAD!" Mali stomped, bouncing the tiny. "Apologize to the poor kitty right-" Shinmy zipped over and sliced a gash across the right side of her left foot. "OOOOOOWWWW!" Mali toppled backward and clutched the wound.

"How dare you stomp your foot at me. I think it's time you learned your place. Miracle Mallet!" She bonked her own head. "Make me grow, grow, GROOOOOW!"

To Mali's awestruck horror, Shinmy enlarged to a height superior to the giant's by a few feet. "Inchihihihihi! Much better! Now that we're seeing eye to eye… I'll show you how to squish a cat!" She turned and stomped toward Mewstere, the kitty turned to run. Mali mustered the strength to get up and grab the Lilliputian.

"Why?! Why do you hate the kitties so much?!"

"At first, we were just asked to catch some for an experiment, but after making things complicated for us, I'm owed a little payback. Same goes for YOU!" Shinmy pushed Mali off and swung her mallet with terrific force, blowing Mali through the wall.

"WAAAAAAH!" The giant plummeted toward a kitty playground, where the other operatives were playing. The sound of Mali's screaming drew their attention up in terror.

"MALI?!" Laruta screamed. Jason ran underneath her impact point and jumped, catching and supporting her girth with his strong hands. Jason landed and set the titan down. "Mali, your foot! Hold still!" Laruta applied disinfectant to the gash and used lots of tape to bandage it. "What happened?!"

"UP THERE!" Christina pointed.

Shinmy landed with a quake, smirking at the punier operatives. "Hello, Sector V. You might've seen me when I was L – The Little, but I'm happy to see you now as L – The Large. Now, I believe you owe me something else." Shinmy aggressively tore Mali's fanny-pack away and poured out its soda cans, crayons, and other belongings. "M, I believe this is yours." She scooped the mirror in her fingers and tossed it to Kanna.

"M?" Isabelle questioned.

"I am M – The Mirror." She held it at her chest with her arms around its top and bottom. "Tell me what you see."

"I see myself, duh." Ralph leaned close. "That's what mirrors are supposed to—DOOOO!" He was slurped into the mirror like a vacuum.

"RALPH!"

"Hey!" The boy banged on the inside. "Where am I?! Is this Wonderland?!"

"GIVE THAT BACK OR ELSE!" Silica chased the twin floofs from behind Kanna. Kanna spun and held the mirror out, the twins staring perplexedly. They were slurped in as well. "What?!" Silica halted, stepping backward in worry. A beam seemed to travel from her to the mirror, which Kanna then "reflected" toward a mega floof. The floof morphed and assumed Silica's image, mimicking the cat's whimper, except Silica's visage made it uglier. The Siliclone faced her counterpart and pounced to attack.

"About time we put these rodents to good use." Shinmy said. "AGH!" A horde of angry floofs piled her. "Shrink me!" She shrunk back to her tiny size, regaining hold of the Shining Needle as she sliced the floofs into pieces. Mali was in tears as their pained faces drifted and faded in the breeze.

"STOP, Shinmy!" Mali slammed her hand over her. "Why are you being so—AAAH!" Her palm was sliced. Shinmy enlarged herself again and bashed Mali's head with the mallet. Christina blasted a large emerald fireball, but Shinmy enlarged her own lid-hat and used it as a shield. She quickly clamped it over Christina and violently slid it around the yarn ground before sliding it away.

"OI, LET RALPH GO!" Jason punched a Light Sphere at Kanna, but she spun to deflect it back at him. "OOF!" It socked him upside the nose. Kanna reflected his image at another floof, transforming it with Jason's pained expression as it attacked him. When she saw Christina dazed after Shinmy's attack, she seized that chance to reflect her at a floof, leaving it to fight Christina.

"HAVE A TASTE OF ROCKET-CHAN!" Shimmy tried to ram the white-haired girl, but her train stopped violently against the mirror and repelled it back. "DWAH!"

"My Mirror of Life is on par with the Mirror Shield. It can't be breached."

"Didn't you Kids Next Door come here to destroy this dangerous mountain cat?" Shinmy asked. "Allow me to spare you the trouble. I'll destroy everything on it!" She slammed her hammer around with tremendous force and generated shockwaves that knocked everyone off-balance, tearing up the yarn ground in the process.

"You can't do that!" The little Mewstere fell from the tower, flipping as it poofed. It transformed into a human-shaped girl with white and purple garb, monochrome hair that glittered pink, gold feathers, and pink angelic wings.

"Wah! That kitty was a kid!" Mali gaped.

"And she's a… Nimbi?" Isabelle wondered. "Wait, didn't we see you at that party?"

"I'm Astere, and I'm a Phoenios spirit agent. I was only here to make sure Mount Mama Floof didn't cause anyone damage and that she would leave safely. But these two showed up and tried to hurt her! We were barely able to get their weapons away!"

"Th-Then… this is all my fault." Mali wept. "You tricked me, Shinmy…"

"Uh, DUH! That's the thing about you giants, your heads're too big for your brains. If you let me, I'll squish it DOWN A LITTLE!" She raised the mallet and slammed down, but Mali shot both hands up to stop it.

"You… tricked… ME!" She used a Gas Rocket to launch up, bending Shinmy's hammer all the way back as the giant tiny stumbled. Mali shifted her body for a Ground Pound, flattening Shinmy, followed by a direct Gas Bomb. Mali propelled herself off from the blast, turning toward her. "You're a bad girl! Someone's gotta teach you to be good!"

Shinmy threw her helmet through the gas and bashed Mali's head as it bounced back. "Geez, you really are dumb. You're too young to understand that being good doesn't mean good things happen to you."

"But you're young, too! I don't know why you're such a meanie, but as your friend, I gotta stop you!"

"Like I would ever be friends with a big baby! ALL of you will know your place!"

"We have to stop them!" Astere said. "If they hurt Mama Floof any more, lots of people will be sad!"

"Is that the only reason?" Jason, Chris, and Silica chorused.

"Er, and we need to get your friend and my brothers back!"

"And my game." Silica noted.

"I won't let you hurt another kitty!" Mali balled her fist determinedly. (Play "Inchling of the Shining Needle" from Touhou!)

Shinmyoumaru charged Mali with a spin attack, hammer out-stretched. Mali fled the cyclone and bent her spilled sodas back to her possession, drinking three. She sloshed the soda in her mouth before spewing it on the floor, trapping Shinmy's twirling toes in the stickiness as she slowed and cringed. Mali rocketed forth and punched Shinmy in the gut, causing her acids to gurgle uncomfortably. She wrapped arms under Shinmy's and flipped to bash her helmeted head against the ground. Shinmy pushed Mali off and lunged to slam her hammer: Mali raised her right hand, the hammer smashing it against her skull, but used her left to bend a soda can up Shinmy's nose. She burst the soda out, a fizzing sensation coursing up her nostrils. Mali tackled the bigger girl and angrily slapped her several rounds across the cheeks.

Shinmy shrunk and zipped away from Mali's sight. In a second, she was being cut all around as parts of her dress fell to shreds. Mali surrounded herself with a gas cloud to make Shinmy retreat. She held her breath and was about to run in again—"HAHA!" but Shimmy dove to grab her. "I used to play chase with my mini mom! I'm good at thi—OW!" Shinmy bit her finger and stabbed Shimmy's hand, followed by hammering two of her teeth out. Shimmy placed a small remote train down and had it chase the speedy Lilliputian. Shinmy was surprised that it kept up with her so well, but a quick rest in her pot would protect her. She would spin her shield around and blow the train off track—except Shimmy would shoot a net and tangle the pot up. Shinmy could easily crack it open and cut the net, but Mali seized the chance to nuke her with a giant Gas Bomb.

Shinmy retreated into her pot again, Mali diving to grab it, but the pot suddenly blew up to huge size and blew Mali back. A tiny hatch opened at the top as Shinmy unleashed a storm of energy spheres from her hammer, which would all rain around the battleground. The operatives either evaded them or stopped the spheres with their own powers, which Mali needed to do to protect her large frame.

Kanna, meanwhile, threw Mirror Plates around the air to deflect more of the spheres at the operatives. Astere used a similar technique to refract the spheres away with her own conjured crystals, though Kanna was fast in deflecting them with her own mirror. "I wonder if she can deflect THIS?!" Laruta shot a snot wad at Kanna, blotting her mirror. "Hah! I guess not!"

"My game better not be messy when we pull it out!" Silica Unveiled behind Kanna and gnashed Inky, her blotted mirror unable to hold back the shadow. Kanna quickly leapt away and spat a saliva stream over the mirror, then wiping it with her dress.

"Is her spit made of glass-cleaner?!" Laruta wondered. "Just what is she?"

I can almost see her like she's a spirit! Trella signed.

"She's a spirit using a special Gigai that lets her use her Zanpakutō." Astere explained. "That's what that mirror is." Kanna reflected their images onto more floofs, transforming as they attacked. Though the clones mimicked their strength and moves, they couldn't replicate powers, so the kids dealt with them decently quick.

"Don't worry, Mali, I'll bust that sprout out!" Jason spun two huge Light Fists and swung them to bust the pot open. However, while the others were fighting the clones, Kanna ran to throw Mirror Plates around Shinmy's pot, causing Jason's fists to explode out in different directions. "YOU DRONGO!"

When Trella sensed Kanna about to reflect Jason's image again, she sent a Weenie Monkey to stand between them, causing the weak Rainbow Monkey to be copied instead. The spots with the mirrors would briefly open so Shinmy could shoot more energy spheres out, and Kanna would throw more plates around the air for them to deflect the spheres more and strike the kids. "Here's something else that might work!" Astere opened a subspace that dropped dark-purple crystals. "Those have Dark Chi, throw them at the mirrors!"

"I get it!" Isabelle exclaimed, tying one to an arrow. "Since mirrors rely on light, maybe they're weak to darkness!" She fired at one of Shinmy's mirrors, shattering it as the Dark Chi exploded. "It's working!" Isabelle shot them at the mirrors on the lid.

"You know what else is bad for mirrors?!" Christina burned some of the surrounding yarn and had her flames direct the surrounding ash over Shinmy's pot. "Dust and soot! Jason, let's slam her from all sides!"

"AYE!" Both top fighters spun their fists and SMASHED the giant pot with a burst of light and fire! Tiny Shinmy zipped out of the dust and rubble and slashed Jason and Chris's feet. The Uno lit on fire in case she tried to come again while Jason flashed brightly to daze Shinmy. "BUUURP!" Mali then belched a Gas Bomb to sicken Shinmy further, but the tiny regained herself and ran up Mali's body.

"Time to stab your brain like I said I would!" Shinmy made it inside of Mali's ear.

"EEK! GET OUTTA ME!" Mali took a big inhale through her nose and sucked the snot all the way up her sinuses. Though the sensation made her sick, she bent her own snot to where she felt Shinmy and seized the tiny.

"EEEEEWW! Get it off me, get it off me!"

"I'm sure glad we practiced that trick now!" Laruta said.

Mali molded the snot around Shinmy and returned it through her nose like a booger. "GROW, GROW, GROW!" Shinmy enlarged to break free of the gross trap, but Mali quickly punched her in the jaw. Thankfully, Mali noticed Shinmy's sword never grows with her.

Isabelle strummed her harp and made Music Notes orbit around Kanna, while Tressa summoned dancing Rainbow Monkeys that sang they're anthem. These were meant to confuse Kanna while either notes or Astere's Starbursts flew at her, but the spirit managed to deflect them. Unfortunately, a Dark Chi arrow was among them, piercing the mirror and knocking Kanna backward. Silica then snuck up and expanded a Shadow Shockwave to violently gnash Inky at her. The combo of attacks caused Ralph and the twin floofs to fly out of the mirror.

"MIRACLE MALLET!" Shinmy threw her prized weapon high in the sky. "SQUISH THIS ENTIRE FORTRESS!" While she shrunk to Lilliputian size, the mallet grew big enough to eclipse the fortress. It slammed against Mewstere Tower, pressing it partway deeper like a giant nail. The fortress rumbled as other towers fell, and Mount Mama Floof's cries ripped the sky for miles. "MEEEEEEEEWWWW!"

"Stop it, Shinmy!" Mali cried. "You're hurting her!"

"You brats are about to be hurt a lot more!"

"Not if I can help it!" Christina rocketed skyward and rammed the hammer, slowing its next impact at the cost of sending her falling. Jason punched rounds of twin Light Fists to hold the hammer back as well, but it was able to hammer the tower down further. "MEEEEEEEWWWWW!"

"One more smash should do it!" Shinmy smirked. "…Huh?!"

All the remaining floofs in the fortress amassed into a giant, fluffy face atop the tower. Their fuzziness withstood the hammer and bounced it back! "Grrrr! Come on, Miracle Mallet, smash harder!"

"I'll help you, kitties!" Mali guzzled the last of her soda and launched with a powerful Gas Rocket. She pushed the floofs with all her force and sent the hammer flying off into the distance. Its order nullified, the hammer shrunk down to normal.

"NOOOOO!"

"SHINMY!" Mali fell straight in the tiny's direction. "WE'LL SEE HOW YOU LIKE GETTING SQUISHED!"

"OH, YEAH?!" Shinmy raised her sword straight up, ready to stab straight up Mali's leg. However, the twin floofs melded around her sword to soften it. "Huh?!" Mali's heels were seconds from landing. "AAAAHH-" (End song.)

But Mali belched down to slow her fall, dazing Shinmy with the stench. She landed and pinched the Lilliputian in her fingers, raising her to her strict eyes. "But it's not nice to squish little kids."

"Grrrrrr!" Shinmy squirmed in Mali's firm digits. "KANNA! Now would be a great time to help! Kanna, where are you?!"

I don't see her around. Looks like she bailed. Trella signed.

"I guess she realized she was outnumbered." Astere said. "But there's a chance she'll try to come back and save Shinmy. I'll alert the Spirit KND about her."

"Then we'll make sure Shinmy gets a long time out." Laruta said firmly. "Mali, give her a dose of this." She threw a Sleep Pill into the giant's mouth. Mali crunched it and blew its soft white gas over Shinmy.

"Nnnnn…if you think this is over, you got another thing coming…" Shinmy's squirming waned as her eyelids grew heavy.

"I don't know what's the matter with you, Shinmy, but… I still wanna be your friend. I hope you'll learn to be nice after you wake up."

"Nnnn…mmmmm…" She fell asleep, limbs hanging limp as she dropped her sword. Smiling, Mali went to pick up her fanny-pack. She discarded Shinmy inside and zipped it shut.

"Phew. That's one disaster averted." Astere said as she scooped the twins in her arms. "I think it's time we get Mama Floof back to the Spirit World."

"Man, I wanted to fight her." Christina sighed. "OUCH!" She was floof-piled.

"But it looks they want to reward us first."

Sector V looked, awed by the buffet the floofs brought before them. There was Floofschetta (floofiflower on purple bread), Spacetatoe and Floofiflower Soup, Honey Baked Orbital Fish, Kittentia-in-a-Blanket, Stuffed Pumpkintia, Kittenkoli Salad, Pantia Kittencakes, and monochrome milkshakes. "Oi, that looks ripper yummy!" Jason exclaimed. "Let's dig in, mates!"

"Alright, I'll spare them for now." Christina shrugged.

"YAHOOOOO!" Ralph and Shimmy dove headfirst into the buffet. The kids all partook in the meal, their bellies fuzzy with floofy delight!

"So, uh…where's my game?" Silica asked. The twins shrugged. "Ralph, you better have my game under your shirt!"

"I-I don't!"

"You aren't telling me it got left in that stupid mirror?!"

"Silica, we all know you have other consoles and your data is saved on the cloud." Laruta said.

"Ugh…"

Mali took some pieces of the food and stored it in plastic boxes. "Save some for Shinmy." She lightly patted her fanny-pack. Even though she was a bad girl, Mali truly hoped they could be friends. For now, she just needed a nice nappy, then Mali would treat her to a happy meal.