Just as Bombom was about to voice his profound objections to the sheer, unmitigated weirdness of his new squad, Ryo's LilyPad began to ring. The CEO answered, his expression shifting from amusement to mild disappointment. "Oh? I see. Yes, of course. The cassava must be saluted. Understood." He ended the call with a sigh. "Zilka will not be coming," he announced. "Too bad. It seems she's busy saluting the cassava around the world."

A wave of immense, profound relief washed over Kenjiro. He had no idea what "saluting the cassava" even meant, but it sounded like a level of bizarre he was not prepared to deal with. "Thanks," he smirked. "I wouldn't dare to know what power she has. Anyway, let's go already."

He stormed out of the office and into the main hall, a reluctant general assembling his army of misfits. DragonSlayer was the first to arrive, his usual arrogant swagger slightly tempered by a newfound, and deeply confusing, respect for his rival. "Hey Bombom," he began, his voice a low grumble.

Bombom shot him a glare so cold it could have frozen Kaito's fireballs, then turned his face the other way with a sharp, dismissive, "Hey."

A sleek, chrome-plated android glided silently to a halt beside them. "Hi, I'm TGP," it said, its voice a pleasant, professional monotone. "A militar a.i. programmed to assist you today in this quest. Any questions about my a.i will be dismissed. Please proceed to give me a rating at the final of the quest." The robot's optical sensor flashed red, and its voice dropped, becoming a distorted, menacing growl. "BuT If YoU GiVe Me 0 StArS, i WiLl KiLl YoU."

Kenjiro gulped, a cold sweat trickling down his back. The ground began to tremble with a series of rhythmic, heavy thuds. Case, the streamer, lumbered into the hall, his massive belly preceding him like the prow of a ship. He was already live, his phone held aloft, his voice a booming, hype-fueled monologue.

"What's up, chat! It's your boy, Case, and today we are going on a quest with the most powerful hero around, the one and only Bombom! WOAH! Thanks to MrBigButt for the 50 subs! W in the chat for MrBigButt!" A ripple of giggles went through the other adventurers in the hall, their behavior shifting as they recognized the famous, and famously gluttonous, streamer.

And then, with a loud, disorienting ZUUUUUUHP, the final, and most annoying, piece of the puzzle appeared. "Hi, I'm Nomu," the Super Jean declared, striking a heroic pose. "Hey Bombom, let's fight."

Bombom just sighed, the fight draining out of him before it had even begun. "We are not fighting," he said, his voice flat with a weary resignation. "We are going to the harpy nest, near HozyHoo, to investigate the rocket situation. So let's go. Any questions?" He scanned the bizarre collection of individuals before him. "I hope not, 'cause I'm not answering them. Go ask the TPG or something."

"It's actually TGP," the robot corrected him, its voice back to its pleasant, professional monotone. "Not TPG. But I get your lack of common sense."

Kenjiro's fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. A familiar, hot rage began to bubble in his chest. He took a deep, shuddering breath, his muscular shadow whispering sweet, violent nothings in the back of his mind. He managed, just barely, to regain his thoughts and stop himself from punching the ridiculously expensive-looking android into scrap metal.

The party of misfits piled into the guild's largest armored car, the atmosphere immediately thick with a potent cocktail of arrogance, dysfunction, and the faint, greasy smell of the half-eaten chicken leg Case had brought with him.

"Shouldn't we get a plane or a helicopter?" DragonSlayer grumbled, his long legs cramped in the confined space. "You're rich, Bombom. This would be way faster."

Bombom shot him a venomous glare. "That's why I'm rich," he snapped. "I'm not spending money away on pointless luxuries."

"As if you couldn't get the same value back if you had spent it on a plane," DragonSlayer scoffed. "One picture of your butt and you're rich again."

"I'm the leader here," Bombom declared, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "So shut up."

"Actually," TGP chimed in, its optical sensor swiveling between the two arguing Lilies, "we don't have a designated leader. I have a leader, however. I must follow a complex protocol of engagement to make sure everything goes according to the plan, which is comprised of 742 distinct sub-routines, the first of which is..."

The robot kept talking, its voice a relentless, droning monologue of military jargon and algorithmic procedures. Kenjiro's eyes began to glaze over. He fought it for a moment, his pride refusing to let him be bored into submission by a clanker. But the robot's voice was a perfect, monotonous lullaby. His head began to nod, and soon, he was fast asleep, his head slumping onto DragonSlayer's shoulder. The warrior, after a brief, panicked moment of flustered indecision, also succumbed to the overwhelming wave of boredom, his own head slumping to rest against Bombom's.

"...and that concludes the introductory briefing of Protocol Alpha-7," TGP finished, its optical sensor swiveling to look at its sleeping, and now cuddling, party members. "It's rude to sleep when someone is talking. If I had a heart, I would be heartbroken right now." A single, pixelated tear emoji appeared on its face monitor. Case, who had been completely engrossed in the robot's speech, just nodded in solemn agreement, taking another large, thoughtful bite of his chicken.

They finally arrived at the base of the Whispering Mountains. The sudden lurch of the car as it stopped jostled Bombom awake. He sat up, a thin line of drool connecting his cheek to DragonSlayer's shoulder. "Alright," he announced, his voice a groggy mumble as he wiped his face. "We are backtracking and going up that mountain."

DragonSlayer awoke with a snort, his face a furious, embarrassed blush as he realized the compromising position they had been in. "Oh no, not this again," he grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "That's why a heli would have been perfect."

"S-shut up," Bombom stammered, his own face flushing. "This is training. Now get your lazy ass moving." A wicked smirk spread across his face as he hopped out of the car.

They began the long, arduous climb, the steep, rocky path a grueling test of endurance. After about an hour, Nomu, who hadn't even broken a sweat, paused. "You know," he said, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "I could just teleport us to the top."

"No easy paths," Bombom declared, his voice a little breathless as he scrambled up another steep incline. "We are walking."

Case, who was bringing up the rear, collapsed onto a large, flat rock, his massive frame heaving with exhaustion. "Alright, chat," he panted into his phone. "I think… I think this is it for your boy. I will take a rest right here. I can't… move… anymore." He paused, his eyes widening as a donation alert filled his screen. "W-WHAAAAT?! CASEBIGBUTT DONATED 100 GIFTED SUBS! EVERYONE, W IN THE CHAT! W FOR THE BIGGEST BUTT ON THE PLATFORM!" The sudden influx of hype seemed to revitalize him, but not enough to actually start walking again.

Bombom just sighed. "Alright, Nomu," he said, his own legs aching. "You can teleport him to the top. And wait for us there." Nomu nodded and, with a final, triumphant ZUUUUUUUUUUHP, he and the streamer vanished.

It took them another two hours, but Bombom, DragonSlayer, and TGP finally reached the windswept summit. They found Nomu in the middle of a heroic, and completely fabricated, story, his arms spread wide as he recounted his past battles to a captivated Case.

"...and then I grabbed him by the leg and threw him into the sun," Nomu was saying. "He was strong, I'll give him that, but I was stronger. I defeated him easily."

Bombom cleared his throat, a loud, pointed sound. "Yeah," he said, a sarcastic smirk on his face. "As if you could do that."

Nomu jumped, a panicked, guilty look on his face. "U-uh, Bombom!" he stammered. "I was just… joking around! Hahaha!"

Before he could dig himself into a deeper hole, a series of sharp, melodic calls echoed from the sky. The harpies. They descended from their cloud city, their magnificent wings beating against the thin mountain air. The Harpy Queen landed gracefully before them, her expression a mixture of surprise and genuine, regal pleasure.

"Oh, it's Bombom," she said, her voice the sound of a thousand rustling feathers. "What brings you back to our domain, little Lily?"

Bombom stepped forward, his expression serious, his earlier annoyance forgotten. "We want answers," he declared, his voice ringing with a new, unwavering authority. "Tell us everything you know about the rockets that hit the sky. You told us last time they were trying to break some invisible wall. What wall?" Bombom gently scratching his chin

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.