~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Search for the Mothula Queen ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Narrator: Ryo

     Immediately as I walked into the Lost Woods, I knew this wasn't an ordinary place. Thin white fog lined the ground, which seemed to hide anything that may be lurking below one's foot. The ground itself was sturdy enough to walk on, but it slightly gave in to my feet as I tread upon it. There was grass, for I saw the tips of patches peeking out of the fog. But something made me stop and look around. There was something I heard that made me feel uneasy. Or more correctly, what I didn't hear made me feel uneasy... I heard nothing. No birds, no frogs, no insects were around. Not even a mosquito to bite me. Something about this forest had made me give respect and my utmost attention. All the while I asked myself, Where is everything?
     I soon got my answer. I heard a little voice cry out, "Help me! Help! Help! It's gaining on me!" Who on earth could that have been? I turned around and found a purple light charging right at my head! It averted its direction downward and dove into my rear pack with a final, "Help!"
     Leaping out of the bushes came an odd-looking being. It was wooden in body, but very much alive in a soulful sense. It had a round head and a round body, the body being smaller than the head. It held orange, glowing eyes that burned in anger. Its mouth was like a stubby tube. The being had very thin, stick-like arms and legs. The feet and hands seemed too large for the limbs, but they were by no means rendering them useless. The hands held two fingers and a thumb each. The feet had two toes on them. The being also had an autumn leaf hat which had a wide brim an all sides, but moreso in the back, which even dragged along the ground. Leaves fountained upwards on the head as well like a crown. I've seen a similar being to this in my past, so I know what it was: a Deku Scrub.
     I drew my sword and pointed it at the creature. It saw my blade very clearly but didn't seem phased. It spat out a Dekunut at me from its tube mouth. With a swing of my sword, flat side out, I hit it back like a stick would a ball. It struck the wooden being and it turned around and ran away, squealing as if I had mortally injured it. I couldn't help but grin at the foe's sudden fleeing. I sheathed my sword and patted softly at my pouch.
     "Come on out, little fairy. It's gone," I cooed. "The Deku won't hurt you, now."
     Then out of my pack came a small purple light with red along the edges. It had four wings with shapes like a butterfly's yet as clear as crystal. Light particles dropped from the base of the light. This was a forest fairy! It trembled as I held up my hands under it. The poor thing was very frightened by the Deku that was chasing it.
     "Hey little guy," I greeted kindly. "It's okay, now. You don't need to be scared. What's your name?"
     "T-Tael," the fairy stuttered. "Th-thank you for making that Deku go away. He was being mean, chasing me around like that... I thought I was a goner with him shooting at me!"
     "You're alright now, Tael," I smiled. But my smile slightly faded as I realized something. "Where is your Kokiri partner?"
     "I don't have a Kokiri partner. I travel the woods with my sister, Tatl, and the Skullkid. But I'm lost! I can't find either one of them! Have you seen them, Mister? Either one?" Tael asked quickly in a mix of slight panic and hope. It was sad for me to say that I had seen neither. The little fairy's wings lowered in disappointment. He whimpered, "Skullkid... Tatl...where are you guys...?" I could hear him sniff, as if he would cry. My ears lowered as well, feeling pity for this fairy. Then, I got an idea.
     "Hey, I'm going to be searching the forest for something, myself. Maybe we could stick together and maybe we'll find what we're both looking for?" I offered.
     "You'd let me come along with you?" Tael asked in surprise.
     "That's my offer," I winked at him with a smile.
     "W-wow! Yeah! I'll go!" the little fairy agreed, flying in circles with joy. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at the happiness this little one was expressing. I told him we should be going. The Mothulas in the area could be spreading out. Right there, he stopped a minute and asked in fear, "M-Mothulas...?"
     "Yes," I nodded. "I'm here to rid forest of a spreading Mothula infestation problem. They've been attacking the kids, as well as the Hyrulean fruit pickers and I want to put an end to it."
     "But...! But...! Aren't Mothulas... toxic?" he gulped. It was obvious he wasn't used to the adventuring situations.
     "Which is why they must be stopped," I nodded again. However, I couldn't help but think this wasn't helping things any. I looked back and added, "But I don't think I can do it myself."
     "Why not? You're so big and strong! You could lop off a Mothula's head in a single swipe! ...Couldn't you?" Tael asked. I was pleased by his compliments.
     "Maybe, but they have a secret weakness like most monsters do. And some monsters are clever. Their weaknesses can be hidden or disguised. I need to know what it is the first time. And unless I make a lucky guess, that can be humanly impossible," I explained. "I'll need someone with better insight to tell me where to strike... It's my experience that the ring leader of trouble it too smart to let their weakness be shown so easily."
     "Where do you think we could find this person?" Tael inquired curiously.
     "If you would be willing to help me, then we've already found him."
     "Huh? ... Wait, you mean... me??"
     "I do. You are a forest fairy and can read the spirits of monsters for their weaknesses. It is a trait you all share. Tael... I ask you, would you please assist me?" I requested. "It will make both of our quests go faster, I believe."
     "Really? Are... you sure?" Tael asked me, a little uncertain still.
     "I am," I nodded with a smile. "We will find your sister. But first we need to find the Mothula Queen and make the hazardous creatures go away."
     "O-Okay," Tael agreed, gaining courage to say so. "I'll... I'll do it."
     "That's the spirit, Tael! Here, when you get tired or need protection, just go into my pack at my waist, okay?" I offered, opening the pouchel for him. He flew straight in without hesitation and began to settle down. Apparently he liked this idea already. I chuckled to myself as I found this cute. But my joy was soon snuffed as I suddenly heard a loud, yet distant, whine. What could that have been? The Mothula Queen? It sounded like one of those bugs but more fierce, that's for sure...
     "What was that...?" Tael asked timidly from inside the pouch.
     "I'm not entirely sure," I admitted, staring in the direction of where it came. "But I'm going to find out."
     My steps made very little sound in the lush grass that lined the forest floor. I searched around the designated pathway, but I could not find a direction that led to the origin of the strange call. Seemed that I would have to step out and explore, myself. I heard Tael's voice call to me, "Wait! Are you leaving the path...?" I answered, "I am. I can't get to the Mothula Queen from here." To my surprise he began to panic and said, "But! You'll get lost out there! You need to find away through so you won't be trapped forever!" I thought on this and remembered a crucial incident. I asked, "You know the forest better than I do, Tael. Will you help me and guide my path? I know the direction you came from when you ran into me wasn't part of the path."
     "Um... Okay," Tael agreed, still a little shaky. He fluttered out of my pack and began to fly ahead of me. I followed behind, telling him the direction I believed the noise to have come from. As we traveled, I knew something was up. More of that white powder lined the ground. It was kind of hard to see due to the fog, but the tips of the higher grasses were just covered in poison dust. Mothulas had been in the area. What I didn't realize at the time was that said Mothulas hadn't left yet... I could feel that I was being watched. I stopped once my ears caught the noise of rustling tree branches. I drew my sword quickly as I spun on my heel to face whatever was lurking behind me. As I had anticipated, two Mothulas were staring at me. They both shrieked at me and took to the skies, ready to take me as their prey. Tael, unfortunately, panicked and dove into my bag.
     "Tael! I need your assistance," I summoned.
     "Wha? But those Mothulas will get me!" he worried, trembling in my bag.
     "Tael, please! You'll be fine, I promise you," I pleaded, jumping to the side as one of the bugs came swooping down at me like some kind of rocket. Tael was still reluctant to come out but once he did, he flew towards one of the Mothulas from behind as not to be detected. It was then he made a sound like a bell.
     "Their middle eye...!" he called over, trying to keep calm from being so close to something so deadly. "It's all soft like it's not fully developed. And their toxic powder is flammable!"
     "That certainly explains the fire trails I kept making," I smiled. I prepared a fireball in my mouth by breathing in deeply. Tael dove back into my bag by now. As one of the two bugs came swooping for me again, I breathed out in a fast blow to launch the fire out. It hit the beast right in the middle eye. Flames began to consume it and it burned within one minute. The other, I couldn't find. But my ears picked up the sound of fluttering wings. Realizing the position of the foe, I flipped my sword to point downward from my hand and stabbed past my side, under my arm and into the eye of the approaching fiend behind me. Both Mothulas exploded in black smoke.
     "Wow! You did it, Ryo! Fwoosh! Stab! Boom! And it was all done! I'm glad I'm staying with you!" Tael cheered, spinning once in his joy. I held out my hands to him with a great smile, myself.
     "We did it, my friend. I had your help," I corrected joyfully to encourage Tael more as he flew to my hands. "You were quite brave out there just now. You faced your fears and went right up to that Mothula to help me get the information I needed. Well done!"
     "But... I ran away, too!" Tael debated.
     "Well, after you got what we wanted, there was no need to stick around, was there?"
     At this, we both laughed a little, knowing that was true. We couldn't see any more Mothulas nearby, so Tael decided he'd stay by my shoulder. We could continue on, but not for long. Between a very thick patch of trees was a wooden gate with chains and a lock over it. The chains were bolted to the trees the gate was snug between. One would only have to just glance at it to know it was locked.
     "That's odd... putting a gate in the middle of the forest like that..." I mused. "I wonder what they're trying to keep in? ...Or out?"
     "And it's locked," Tael pointed out, flying to it. "Do you have a key? Sometimes monsters will drop stuff like that."
     I searched my pouches and bags, but nothing of any key-like configuration could be found. Except a fishing hook, actually, but I wouldn't want to ruin my best hook by jamming it into a keyhole. I've made that mistake before. I shrugged to Tael, coming up with nothing. I suggested that perhaps I could burn it down, but then we both realized that it might set part of the forest on fire too. That would be bad. Plus, it wouldn't do anything to the chains. Tael began to suggest other things, staring at the gate.
     "Maybe we missed the key. But, then we'll have to backtrack for a while... and I don't want to get lost. Um... We could probably make a key. Oh, but we wouldn't know if it'd fit, huh? Maybe we could pick the lock. Think you could do that, Ryo? ... Ryo?"
     What he didn't realize was I was backing up while he was talking. I gave out a battle cry as I charged forward for the door, not stopping until impact had been made. I turned myself so my shoulder hit first and my weight and speed smashed the door and tore the chains right out of the trees they were attached to! It hurt a little, but I didn't let it look like it did. I figured I'd get a bruise on my shoulder later, though. Tael was thrilled at least.
     "Wow, Ryo! You just broke that door down altogether! Wow! Are you okay, though? That looked like a bad hit..." he exclaimed, both excited and a little worried.
     "I'm alright, Tael, don't worry. I do that sort of thing all the time," I chuckled. "Come on, I see a new pathway."
     As we began to walk, it seemed like there wasn't anything harmful around. So, I asked my friend, "Tael, if it's not out of my boundaries to ask, how was it that you and your sister got separated?"
     "Oh, that..." Tael answered with a saddened tone. "Well, it all started when the Skullkid was going back to the Lost Woods from Termina, another land kinda far from here. We'd been there for a few years but thought it'd be nice to revisit Hyrule. We were just going a way we hadn't gone before when we suddenly came across this gigantic Deku Baba! It hissed and roared at us and even snapped at us, trying to eat us! The Skullkid held both me and Tatl, trying to protect us as he began to run away, but he got grabbed by the Baba, pulling away us fairies too. The Baba threw us into the air and then tried to eat us! We were trapped inside its mouth. After the Skullkid shot at the mouth walls with his blowgun, it spat us out... but... He lost grip on me, and I didn't fly out as far as he and Tatl did. I tried to go after them, but I couldn't find them. I've been looking for over a week, now! Then I ran into you after that Deku started chasing me..."
     When he stopped, we came upon a very big hollow log that was laying down like a tunnel. Curious a I was, I wanted to see what was on the other side so Tael and I both entered into it. Mind you, I had to bend down a little, fir it seemed to be made for smaller people. But we continued our chatting as we walks its path. I asked him, "A giant Baba...? I didn't think they could get big enough to fire a child a great distance just by spitting them out..."
     "You haven't been in Hyrule long, have you, Ryo?" Tael asked me. "They get pretty big here. But this one was just massive! I've never seen one so big in... like, ever!"
     A bit disturbed by the thought of an enormous version of one of these Baba monsters, I didn't really notice that there was something going on behind me once we reached the end of the log tunnel. Five small plants sprouted spontaniously. The thing that got my attention was when they suddenly sprang up with a near explosion-like sound! I nearly fell forward with their abrupt growth. When I turned around, I saw five tentacle-like plants wiggling about with thorns on their hides. Apparently I was trapped now. With what, I didn't know yet.
     "Oh no! Not a trap! This is awful! How're we going to get out?" Tael panicked. "I'll bet we're with a terrible monster right now... What'll we do? What'll we do?"
     "We'll calm down, for starters," I stated seriously. "I'll handle the beast when it shows itself. But, I believe I'll need your assistance again."
     "A-again?" he stammered, afraid I would say that, apparently. Before I could confirm, I heard a rustling in the bushes. This was it, I figured. Time to get to work. What I saw shouldn't have surprised me. Although I admit it did, at least a little. That Deku Scrub I scared off earlier had come back and I could tell it was angry, especially at me. It screeched loudly, throwing punches into the air insanely before holding up its fists at me in a challenging manner. Something in my mind told me right then, this Scrub wasn't going to flee so easily like it did earlier. It began bouncing around with its fists up in a battle ready stance, then suddenly, it kicked my leg! I grunted an "ow" as I glared at it. It laughed at me. I said to it, "That's not fun-OW!" as it spat a Deku Nut on my face, bruising my nose. After having my hand over my face for a while, I growled at the mocking Deku and showed it what I could throw from my mouth. I blasted it with a fireball and the Deku shrieked as it was set ablaze, running around on fire and soon dropping and rolling to get the fire out. The one expression on its face after told me it was very VERY angry, along with the redness of rage in its wooden complexion. It bounced back and began spinning with its leaves and fists outward. like a top, it rushed at me. I jumped to the side, letting it dash by. It hit a tree and bounced off, very wobbly. As I began to move sideways while keeping my view on it, I slipped a little over a soft soil patch. I got an idea. I grabbed a Bombflower Seed and planted it before the Deku had a chance to recover. Once it did, it began rushing at me again. I held up my sword like a shield, and it smashed its fists against it several times before I shoved it away. The Bombflower grew up on the spot now and the Deku came rushing back like the dizzy top it was. I rolled to the side and it struck the bombflower, detonating it and sending itself flying into the air! It fell to the ground in the center, completely dazed. I rushed over and struck it with my sword sideways and sent it flying into a thick tree. It got up in a daze after a minute of laying on the ground. The Deku only made once glance at me when it suddenly began squealing loud in an enraged jumping tantrum. It dove backwards and into the bushes. Now I couldn't find it.
     "Tael... I need you to find the Deku and fly over it so I know where to look," I requested. "It'd make this part much easier."
     "But! What if he tries to hurt me again?" Tael asked in fear. "He's already upset!"
     "Sometimes we have to take risks in order to accomplish what he must," I replied. Tael looked at me for a minute, as if to think on what I just told him. Then suddenly, he darted off to hover over a set of bushes. He called to me, "Here, Ryo! Look over here!" It was only a second later the Deku popped up in that spot and began firing nuts at me in a stream! I held up my sword to block them and they began to crash into my blade. This wasn't going to get me anywhere, I knew, so I rolled to the side. As the stream moved, there was now a weak link in it that I could hit and send back. Once swipe of my sword and the nut went sailing back to its shooter. But I quickly had to block again for the remaining stream. Something I didn't figure happened, though. The returning nut smashed against one of the oncoming nuts, canceling them both out. I wasn't happy, so I sent over my own projectile, a fire ball. That consumed the nuts it hit then crashed into the Deku with an explosion, and the sound of its own holler in pain. The Deku Scrub lept out of the bushes and started to roll around in order to put out the fire. I couldn't help but chuckle as this strange Scrub was getting its payment for evil deeds. The Scrub jumped back to his feet and squealed loudly before spinning again with his fists and slicing leaves. I kept having to side-jump and hold out my sword to block and push away the blows.
     "The Bombflower, Ryo! Remember the Bombflower!" Tael called from above.
     "Right," I nodded, moving towards it by walking backwards. The Psycho Scrub suddenly rocketed towards me and I rolled to the side, letting it smash into the bomb, which exploded upon impact. The Scrub flew into the air and landed, dazed, in the center of the arena-like clearing. I ran over and struck it, sending it flying into another tree. It slammed face first, but something odd happened. I noticed a cloud of black powder falling from it after the second impact. The Scrub looked dizzy, but once it regained its sense, it didn't seem so angry anymore. It shook its head and saw me with my sword drawn. It shrieked loudly in fright, then ran away scared! Tael and I looked at each other, rather confused. What just happened? At least the battle was over. It was then a bright light began to shine through the forest; a blinding light which made me squint to keep focused. The light died down and there was a treasure chest in the middle of the arena. That was odd, but good. Tael urged me to open it and I admit, I was rather curious, myself. I lifted the treasure box's lid and inside was a slingshot! I was half smiling, yet half frowning for the find. A slingshot would be useful, surely, but I've been known to break things like this due to my own strength... by pulling on it too hard I mean. But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose. I accepted this little gift. What would I shoot with it, though? I began wondering this until my Bombflower seed bag slipped from my belt. I began picking up the seeds and putting them back in the bag after a little grumble of discontentment with the mess, but that's when it hit me. This stuff could be my ammo! My thoughts were interrupted when Tael began to talk to me again.
     "Hey Ryo, the thorny roots are gone! We can go forward!" he said.
     "Do you see what I see on the floor, there?" I asked, pointing at the grass. The fog wasn't as heavy in this area.
     "White stuff...?"
     "Mothula powder. I feel we're getting close," I grinned.
     "Oh... Oh, I see... Um... Can I, um...?"
     "Yes, you may hide in my pack for now, if you wish," I nodded, understanding the little fairy's uncertainty. Tael was more than happy to dive in. I admit I was a bit tense myself, I wasn't really scared of going through the new tunnels. Sure, Mothulas had to be around, but I'd recently gotten some experience. So no big deal. At least, so I thought. When I kept walking through, I noticed that the powder got deeper. This was slowing me down, unfortunately. Wanting to get out of here quickly, I spat fire to it and it began to vaporize. I followed the burning trail to where there was a room-like clearing full of Mothulas. They all seemed to be asleep as well, despite the fire that just happened there. I was quiet as I stepped lightly out of the log tunnel. They were all easy to get right now. But I knew that once I killed one, the others would wake up. I had to plan this carefully. Then I thought to myself, I wouldn't have to get just one... after all, they're all constantly dropping powder...
     "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Tael asked me worriedly.
     "I think so," I chuckled softly. I spat a fireball at the powder, which easily was consumed. The fire trailed even up the streams from the Mothulas' wings! Just then, KABOOM! I saw the Mothulas explode when the flames reached their backs! One by one, they all began falling in little crispy heaps. Watching the evil bugs fall so easily with such a loud exit, I couldn't help but laugh. And I laughed a lot, for these were like Mothula fireworks! I had never seen anything so amusing for such a long time. This even beat the events in Dodongo's Cavern! They were soon all gone and the way was clear. I was still laughing a bit while I moved on, even wiping my right eye a little. Tael and I both shared our amusement as we passed through. My chuckling turned to silence as my ears picked up on a sound. I walked curiously past the end of the new tunnel. Here, I saw powder falling, but I couldn't tell from where. Not to the left, and not to the right. Then it dawned on me. I looked up, and right in my face was a horrible sight. The menacing glare of a gigantic insect, its three eyes staring into my innermost core and paired with its sharp pinchers at the sides plus feathery antenna, all made a chill run up my spine. I hated giant bugs. It suddenly screamed at me, vibrating its body as if to become enraged. I ducked and rolled once forward, but I turned myself so I was sideways and landed on my feet, now facing the bug. It snapped its jaws where my head was, so it was fortunate I moved! Here, I could see the giant Mothula's majestic body. Mind you, a moth is generally all wings, but the body wasn't light either. The abdomen itself looked pretty weighty, which led me to think this was the one I was looking for - The Mothula Queen.
     The queen lifted herself off the tree and began to fly with her great eye-spotted wings. Her six legs dangled down, limp. I called, "Tael! I need some assistance!" However, my reply wasn't what I had expected... or wanted.
     "But...! Ryo, she's HUGE! She'll eat me!" The queen then dove down and rocketed at me, trying to grab me with her nasty jaws. I rolled sideways and let her pass, a trail of powder following.
     "Tael..." I repeated. "Please..."
     To make matters worse, the queen doubled back to try again. I slid aside, and struck a wing with my sword as she passed. But I knew this wouldn't hurt her much. As she passed, the powder trail swept by and I began to cough for it was a very irritating thing to have around. But it also caused me to sneeze, catching the powder trail on fire and the fire traveled up the trail and towards the Mothula Queen! When I stopped coughing, I found an amusing sight of the queen desperately trying to fly away from a fireball that followed her every move! She swooped passed me at least three times, the fireball doing the same, each time it was closer to the source. Eventually, it caught up to her and hitting the mother-load of dust, an explosion erupted on her back, making her shriek and collapse onto the floor! I saw my chance to strike her, but I wasn't sure where. This isn't time to waste. When all of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice say, "Her... her eye! Hit her center eye!" Tael had already snuck out of my bag earlier without me noticing and was hovering over the stunned queen! I smiled and obliged by swinging my sword onto her third eye. She screamed loudly and shook her head fiercely in agony, soon pulling away. She hissed, then shook herself to make a cloud of her toxic powder. Unfortunately, I couldn't escape this. Coughing as I was, I was left vulnerable to her next attack. She jumped forth and grabbed my waist with her pinchers and began to fly up with me. Apparently, she hadn't taken into account how heavy I am, for it seemed she was having trouble keeping her grip on me once we were airborne. She didn't go anywhere with me, though. She just went up. Higher and higher she rose to the sky, but she eventually lost her grip on me - that, or she purposefully let go - and let me fall a distance to the ground below! I tried to grab a tree branch to stop my fall, but the limb I managed to grab just broke with my weight and momentum against it. I wound up smashing against the forest floor on my back. While I was down, the Mothula Queen dove for me again, but I shot out another fireball to blast her with. She swung off course and instead slammed her face in a tree, stunned. I thought to myself, Beasts in Hyrule can sure take a lot of punishment before they really get hurt. I got up, but with a terribly sore back, I thought I'd let myself recover a bit, so I stood at a distance. I instead used my new Slingshot to fire the Bombflower seeds over the body and onto the eye. However, I admit I was a little rusty on my skills, so it took a few shots before I hit her eye. I managed to get two strikes before she lifted up again. Embarrassingly, only two out of my six. She flew up and screeched bitterly before rising up and into a large tree. Coming from outside the clearing, three Mothulas flew in, angered. I grinned to myself ask I asked Tael, "These things are just like the others, right?"
     "Right," he bounced in a nodding way.
     "Good," I concluded, pulling back the Slingshot again, having gotten used to it by now. I reloaded and when the first Mothula came diving at me, I fired at its center eye. See, the one thing about using Bombflower seeds as ammo is that they explode upon impact, so these weren't bullets. These were explosive bullets. The strike made the foe go down instantly. I repeated this for the other two. This action made the Mothula Queen come back down and enter the fight once again. She suddenly flapped her wings harder than ever, making an intoxicating wind! I covered my mouth due to its irritating blasts, but I could not hold myself for long. I sneezed harshly, another fireball catching the winds ablaze. The fire crawled back to the queen and a new eruption sounded off as the powder source was once again struck. The Mothula Queen collapsed to the floor, where I slashed at her eye to injure her further. She soon revived and shook herself to make a new cloud of dust. But unlike last time where she grabbed me, this time she took off for the forest and turned left.
     "Tael! I need you to watch for the queen!" I stated. Tael didn't say anything in response, but after a little while, he obeyed and began to look for her. He stopped in one place, then flew away. I readied my Slingshot for shooting, but the queen came at me with such a speed I didn't expect, I was grabbed by her pinchers, then thrown aside! She kept flying her route, then turned left again. I got to my feet and saw Tael moving around in searching. He paused a moment while I got to the center again. Tael flew away and the Mothula Queen came speeding to me again. I fired a shot, but it hit her mouth, not her eye. I dove for the ground as she passed over me, scattering toxins everywhere. I didn't see where she went after that. Relying on Tael more, now, I saw the new place she'd appear. But I was fed up with my slingshot and drew my sword instead. When she came roaring to me, I stood my ground and held out my sword, the Mothula Queen impaling herself on the sword's blade. And it was driven in deep. She froze in place for a minute or so, shrieking soon after. She yanked the sword out of my hand and wobbled around, screeching terribly, then going completely limp. Her color drained from her form and her body segments all darkened to black. They exploded separately in black smoke, her head, abdomen, thorax, and all the leg joints. The queen and her offspring were finally no more, just my sword where the head used to be.
     "You...! You did it, Ryo! You DID it! Ha HA ha ha! You did it! You did it!" Tael bounced around in rejoicing.
     "We did it," I smiled in correction once again. I began to walk to my sword when suddenly I coughed in a rather bad spell. "Ugh... This powder is making me sick..."
     "But this forest is full of ingredients for medicines! Maybe we can get help?" Tael urged. I would've answered, but a new sound came to my ears. Sounded like a girl's call for help. I knew this was a call that shouldn't be ignored. After sheathing my blade, I found a pathway made by several tree branches up above, so I climbed the closest tree and out on a limb, literally. I went in search of the voice's owner... Who could be out here in such dangerous time and place?