Welcome to Monmouth

Tim and his friends explored the town together. They strolled through the linear streets, noticing people dressed in warm clothes. "Nobody seems to know who we are. I expected worse than just bad weather." Claimed Kou. He kept his hands pocketed.

"Well, maybe these people don't have much knowledge of what's going on in the outside world. I don't even know how these people live in such a harsh environment." Yumiko replied. They were walking on top of a stone floor with snow all around.

"Yeah, definitely. I can't think but notice that there are barely any trees in the city. I guess these people venture far to find fuel for the furnaces." Ayuka claimed and looked about. "I don't think any of these people know about WPDA, so maybe we should ask around where there are more people, someplace and somewhere that an individual knows." They agreed with Ralphie's suggestion and came across a board.

Ayuka noticed a sign in the distance. "Looks like they call this town Monmouth. Kind of a strange name."

Yumiko looked at the posters, and others did the same. Yumiko pulled the poster from the board, and everybody circled her. "We might have a problem." She told, and everyone looked over her shoulders. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. I guess some people share news in the city." Ayuka added, but Tim's eyes sparkled with excitement.

He was overreacting. "That is so awesome! My bounty raised from $100,000 to $300,000!" he shouted, but Ayuka made him shut up. "Hey, settle down. Don't drag everyone's attention. You know that these are wanted posters. They'd be scared if they learned that we're these people."

Yumiko flipped to the next poster. "Wow, look." The next one was Yumiko. "How the hell?!" she nearly lost her cool. "I didn't expect that," claimed Ayuka, "You had a bounty of $0, and looked at you now, $255,000." Added Ayuka and giggled. "Yeah, but then there's you." Ayuka's eyes bulged out after noticing her number. "$225,000?! What happened? I haven't done anything major to gain such a high bounty!"

Ayuka snatched the poster, trembling from worries. "I mean, we all have our bounties. Ralphie has $200,000, and Kou's raised up to $165,000." Kou didn't like Yumiko's explanation and became unamused. Tim became confused. "How does Kou have the lowest bounty? He was the one who defeated Niklas." Yumiko placed the posters back on the board. "It's mostly 'cause you were spotted in multiple locations; Golden Wasakona, Harventona Park, and Craftsman Island. You participated in all of the most dangerous fights, and even if you didn't defeat Niklas on your own, the destruction you've caused must've been enough to let the world government know about you."

He exchanged views with Yumiko. "And because we each participated in several fights beforehand, our bounties increased. Let's not forget that you're the captain of the ship and because of it, you're considered the most dangerous among us." Yumiko explained, noticing that Tim felt befuddled. "So they think that I'm cool. It works out either way."

Yumiko sighed in disappointment, and everyone pressed their palms on their foreheads. "You're seen as a threat, not cool. If they capture you, you'll most likely rot in jail, even if you meant good for other people. It all started because you defeated Sea Noble Byron, and he was somewhat of a co-worker for the world government. Because you've defeated them, they now see you as a problem and will dispose of you the moment they come in touch with you." Explained Ayuka, but Tim didn't care.

"I'm still cool..." They surrendered and looked at the biggest structure that resembled a castle. "Anyway, I don't know what else to do than try to visit that palace. I'm sure there are people in there that could help us out." Ayuka explained.

They were about to take a visit but were halted by someone's voice. "Flare! Where are you Flare? Flareee!" it was a feminine voice, and she came running from the street's corner. They looked at her and noticed that she stopped in front of them. "Um, excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but have you by chance seen Flare?"

Tim and his friends were puzzled. "Oh, right, I forgot you don't know her. Sorry, my bad. Flare is a fire fox, and she ran away last evening. I've been searching for her this whole day. Have you seen her by any chance?"

The girl seemed young, sort of the same age as Tim, and unlike other people, she wore the most inappropriate clothes for cold weather.

She was dressed in a scarlet outfit with big short sleeves at the ends. Her cleavage could be seen through the gap between her clothes and the crimson costume. Long, fingerless black gloves with golden armor plates that resembled gauntlets wrapped her arms. A scarlet rope that hung from the side was knotted around her hip. It had a triangular, metal, golden attachment with a ruby crystal in the middle that hung from the other side. She exposed her thighs by wearing long stockings with golden motifs that reached her knees.

Her red threads had a flower pattern, tied around her black hair in two ponytails that extended out from either side and ended below her chest. Her skin appeared smooth to the eye, and she had orange eyes.

They looked at her in bewilderment, but Ayuka acted. "Um, no, sorry. I didn't even expect there to be a fire fox around here." The girl looked at them with a friendly face, but she was confused. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry to stop you." She prepared to leave, but Ralphie came dancing in front, surrounded by a vortex of hearts. "Oh, what a beauty! I can't help but get swallowed in by your beautiful orange eyes, and those well-taken care of hair are gorgeous!" Ralphie knelt in front of her, befuddling the girl. "Um... thank you?" she called, but Ayuka instantly grabbed the top of Ralphie's head and slammed it into the snow beneath their feet.

She looked at the girl with a kind smile. "I'm sorry about that. Please, go ahead, we won't block your path, and I hope you find your friend." Ayuka chuckled, and at that moment, Tim acted.

He leaned his fingers on his chin and thought. "We can help you look for her if you'd like." The girl smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you, it's fine. I don't want to bother you with unnecessary stuff. Maybe we'll meet again!" she dashed past them with a smile, looked at them, and waved. "Bye!" they watched her sprint into the distance.

"Um... Are we going to ignore the fact that that girl practically wore nothing? I don't understand people at all. First is Ayuka, and now that stranger." Kou claimed, cocking his head to the side. "Hey, remember how I told you that there aren't crazier girls out there than Ayuka and Yumiko?" Tim asked, letting Kou nod. "I changed my mind. That girl is crazy too."

Ayuka quickly lifted her chin in frustration. "Do you think I'm deaf or what?! I'm two feet away from you!" Ayuka called, but Tim smiled innocently and scratched the back of his hair. "Look, finding someone that could help us out should be our priority. Let's go check out the palace. There's no possible way to know without asking them first." Ayuka explained, keeping a solemn expression. "I guess... Fine, let's go." Tim stated, and others were confused.

"I'm surprised. You haven't run off somewhere yet. How come you're deciding to stick with us out of a sudden?" Kou wondered, amazed to see him next to them. "Oh, you're right, I didn't!" he laughed. "But I'm thinking about it. There are so many things to explore that I'm tempted to-" He couldn't finish the sentence, as others interrupted him in a simultaneous moment. "Don't you dare!" they shouted, sandwiching him in between.

"All right, all right! I won't! Stop holding my body!"

To be continued...