Camping Trip

King Dutchman

"YOU WANT THIS, don't ya?!" Bill Cipher was leaning out the Dutchman's window, wagging a dead gargoyle at a crowd of lawless gangsters. "You want this mystical creature 'cause you ain't got NOTHIN'! You got NOTHIN' to whack around any mo'! Go on, GIT IT!" He tossed out the gargoyle and watched the rowdy ruffians tear it to shreds.

"Ahhh…" Bill sat back on his chair with a satisfied smile. "There's getting to be a bit much of them, though. We oughta open a zoo up. So, how's that sign-up sheet comin'?"

"It is finished!" A purple armored alien with long robotic fingers and a green glass eye gave Bill a paper. "Are you happy that I defiled this tree even further?!"

Bill skimmed the paper. "Okay, your name is Dark Oak, ruler of the Metarex… you were commissioned by 4Kids? Eeesh…" Bill winced at the knowledge. "Well, you're regarded as a childhood favorite, and you did well in the physical. Okay, you're in the Backup Army. Knock 'em dead, champ!"

After Dark Oak exited the office in aggravation, the white-clothed general of the Backup Army entered with a smile. "General Esdeath, why hello! Marvelous job what you did to the Seven Deadly Sins. I'm sure even Ganondorf was thankful."

"It was child's play. But I'm happy to be acknowledged for my work. I would like to make a request, Bill."

"Sure! Me and Lord English, we're like genies! Heck, Thanos, too. Comes with having unlimited power. What can we grant you today?"

"Someone with whom to have sex with."

That even caught Bill off guard. "Right, your show is definitely not for kids. Wellp, if you want a sex slave, I have 31 shrunken princes in soup cans. Some of them are parallel universe versions of each other."

"Perhaps I'll have a look, but I don't just want any man. Back in my homeworld, I met this boy named Tatsumi. There wasn't anyone like him." Esdeath smiled and hugged her chest, fantasizing. "So kind, so handsome, so modest, yet so brave… alas, fate placed us on opposing sides, and we just weren't meant to be. And once all this started happening, he seems to have gone into hiding. However, in this world of infinite worlds, why should you not be able to find someone new? I may as well use my new friends to help me find a date."

"Meh, I've heard worse uses of time." Bill shrugged, poofing a paper and notepad. "So, what's this Tatsumi boy like? This will help us narrow down who to kidnap."

Esdeath proceeded to narrow down Tatsumi's key points: a slender young man who's both brave and strong, kind of talks in a calm tone. "Alright, I think I got a good visual. Though I guess you wouldn't want Zeref, would you?"

The black mage in question was looming outside the office. His dark, depressing aura soaked him like damp water, and his stare peered at their souls. "No." stated Esdeath.

"Alright, then let's go Boy Hunting!" Bill loaded his Net Musket.

Planet Earth

In the thick groves of a pine forest, one would discover a lone silver train, but with no tracks to be seen for miles, it looked very out-of-place. It seemed to be a recent phenomenon, for several pairs of footprints led away from the train. One pair was larger than the others.

These five footprints belonged to the girls of Sector W7. All had large packs strapped to their backs (with April's being a briefcase) and they had walked almost six miles, following the lead of their Shandian Nimbi friend, Aisa, who was not wearing her hat. "Huuuuuum." Aeincha moaned with exhaust. "I feel like my legs are twigs when I'm hiking."

"You don't get to nag, you little hair-snoozer!" Chimney whined, for her tiny friend was actually laying comfily on her head. "We've been doing all the walking!"

"I know! But imagining how achy your feet must be is having a nasty effect on my own." Aeincha smiled innocently.

"I went camping once when I was three years old." Mocha smiled at a memory. "A bear thought I was one of its cubs, so it took me home. I was so small, you know!"

"Now you could probably capture a bear as IF it were a cub!" Apis joked. "Still, Aisa, we passed a few good places already, why couldn't we set up camp in one of them?"

"The higher we are up the mountain, the closer we are to the sky!" Aisa grinned with enthusiasm. "No doubt, we are crossing soil walked by the Native Shandians! I can feel the very breath of my ancestors!"

"Ew." Chimney said. "I don't see why we couldn't land the R.O.C.K.E.T.-T.R.A.I.N. up here. And better yet, we could sleep in it instead of these dumb tents. I don't like being this far from my baby!"

"We spend too much time in Water 7, Chimney. It's a pretty place, but we need to embrace nature more."

"You only doing this 'cause you wanna 'explore your cultural roots' or some crud. Why drag us along?!"

"I think it would be pretty healthy for us, Chimney!" Mocha said. "The Amazons do this sorta thing, too, like hunting animals. So, it's kinda like we're exploring our OWN roots!"

"Yeah, but if that were the case, I wouldn't have let you guys wear shoes." Aisa replied. "I just thought it would be more fun with friends!"

At the top of the hill, the girls arrived at a flat, open area exposed to the bright blue sky. "This looks like a good spot. Time to set up!"

Chimney plopped her giant pack on the ground, working with Apis to pull out the tent and set up. Gonbe climbed out of a pocket on the pack, wondering why he woke up. "Old-timey bologna." Chimney whined. "Oi, April-chan, what's in that briefcase you been carrying?"

"I asked Wendy to make this for me." April set the briefcase down several feet away from the others and clicked it open. A large white tent burst from it, the entranced labeled Studio Goldenweek.

"WHAAAAAT?! Aisa, why she get to have that?!"

"Because she needed the extra space to store her art, so I made the exception." Aisa said. "She can't live without the arts, can she? Alright, so who wants to explore the area with me?!"

"Nah-uh!" Chimney took out a bag of trail mix. "I explored enough and didn't even get to eat this stuff! It's camp site mix now. Nom, nom…" She munched the raisins and chocolate aggressively.

"I'd be happy to go with you, Aisa!" Mocha grinned.

"Me, too!" April said, holding a bag of canvases.

"I'll stay to make sure Chimney doesn't eat everything." Apis offered. "I know many a camper that nearly perished in the woods because of a hungry selfish friend."

"Are you forgetting the freaking giant we have ta buy extras for?" Chimney inquired.

"Whaddya think I packed in MY bag?" Mocha drew out a giant sirloin. "I'm set!"

"Hehe, okay, girls! Let's go!" announced Aisa.

Deeper in the forest, April set up a canvas and proceeded to paint the scene. Aisa was climbing the trunk of a very tall tree, and despite its rather smooth texture, her hands and feet stuck to it firmly. She climbed to the very top and clasped the branches with her feet as she looked across the forest. She took a deep breath, cupped her hands around her mouth, and hollered, "OLOLOLOLOLOLOLOOOOO!"

"What are you doing, Aisa?!" Mocha called with a humorous smile.

"Hopefully not what I think she is." April painted a picture of Aisa on top of a tree, checking a phone, and going 'Lol.'

Aisa hopped down and landed firmly on her feet. "I don't know if my people had a tribal cry, I just winged it! I managed to find this while I was up there." She held up a red berry that was bigger than her fingertips. "It's a Blood Berry. It's as red as blood, but it's not real blood." She grinned. "April, you mind painting this on me? You brought a small cup like I asked you to, right?"

"I did!" April took out a small cup and let Aisa squeeze the berry's juice into it. "How do you want it painted?"

"Like this:" Aisa told April to paint scratch marks on her cheeks, and thin, snaky lines on her arms to represent wind. "Thanks! I really feel the Shandian blood coursing through me now! I gotta make me a spear!" She quickly climbed up the same tree and set foot on a branch. She jumped multiple times in attempt to loosen it, applying strength from her Red-Foot Style so that the branch would snap off.

Aisa recovered easily from the fall and withdrew a knife from her satchel. She started carving the branch. "I've never seen you with this much energy, Aisa." Mocha said.

"That's probably an after-effect of the Blood Berry. My mom said our people used to paint it on their skin to energize their selves and boost their strength. But if you eat it, your blood will boil over and you might explode."

"Gulp!" Mocha clutched her neck, feeling her throat burn from the very idea.

"The wind designs represent my connection with the sky and the scratch marks mean I've been in battle. But I plan to earn more markings, so April, hold onto that cup."

In about 10 minutes, Aisa was finished carving. "That's a spear if I ever saw one." she said proudly, standing her wooden weapon up. "If ya need me, I'll be at the river!" She raced off.

"Just what were Aisa's people like? Because she really doesn't seem like other Nimbi."

"The Shandians are the Indians from pre-colonial days." April explained, painting a picture. "The humans forced them to retreat to the sky, but since most Shandians were flightless, it wasn't easy living."

"So, there's not many Shandians left?" Mocha frowned. "No wonder she feels so happy to be out here. She's keeping the memory of her people alive."

"I guess she is." April painted an image of Aisa standing on a defeated bear with long claws, holding the spear proudly. "But she does a good job at it."

King Dutchman

"LADIES and GENTLEMEN!" Bill announced as neon lights shone around the dining room. "It's time for the First Annual 'Date or Esdeath' Dating Show! Which lucky man will Esdeath choose as her groom-to-be, and which will join the princes in the soup cans?! Our contestants will be rated by a panel of judges." Spotlights shone on Davy Jones, Zeref, and Voldemort. "These three young men are so disdainful with love that they're perfectly non-biased. Now, why don't we introduce Esdeath to her first date? Hailing from the Realm of EVA, it's…"

A meek young man in a plain white shirt, black pants, and brown hair walked up to his date. "H-Hi. Miss Esdeath, right? My name is Shinji."

"Hm… he doesn't seem that impressive." Esdeath said.

"THINK AGAIN!" Bill bellowed, startling Shinji. "This brave young hero destroyed a powerful god with sheer willpower (and his giant robot thing)! He's slain dozens of titanic monsters, yet listen to that modesty!"

"Haha… I wouldn't call myself a hero." Shinji blushed.

"Alright, I think we're getting somewhere." Esdeath smiled. "Now, what should we do for our date?"

"Um… how about a walk on the beach?"

"Sounds perfect! Do they have beaches in your world? Perhaps I'll visit."

"U-Um… well…" Shinji gulped, as if afraid to tell her something.

…

The blood-red sea graced the dull white sands. A red sliver had cut across the moon. Giant bodies were suspended like crucifixes. Shinji was shivering on the ground in utter despair. Not a single soul was alive in this world. "…This place blows." Esdeath said.

ANK-AAANK! Bill pressed a buzzer, indicating a failure. "Wow, that date blew up like LCL! But let's hear what our judges think."

"What in God's name did you do to the ocean?!" Jones asked.

"I would kiss Harry Potter before I dated you." Voldemort remarked.

"There's not an ounce of love in that world…" Zeref sighed.

"Well, at least you tried, Shinji. Time for some inverse thermal expansion." Bill zapped the boy and shrank him into a can, kicking it away. "Our next contestant comes from the Realm of Creators! Come on up, Sōta Mizushino!"

Another brown-haired boy with amber eyes behind glasses walked up. "Eh?!" The boy panicked, as if recognizing her. "Altair?! You're behind this?!"

"Altair? Who's that?" asked Esdeath.

"Y-You're… Hehe, I guess I mistook you for someone else." Sōta blushed. "Anyway, do you like anime? I draw anime as a hobby."

"How fascinating. You feel like drawing me?"

"Eh… I guess." Sōta got out a digital sketchpad while Esdeath made a sexy pose. "So, given your large breasts, I'm guessing you're from a hentai."

"Excuse me?!" Esdeath frowned in disgust.

"I mean, all of you are obviously Creations. And you kind of seem like a fanservice character, so it makes sense you're popular enough to—AAAAHH!" Esdeath slashed her sword viciously, dividing his sketchpad, as well as his clothes.

"Aren't we all just figments of each other's imagination?" Bill asked. "Judges, whaddo you think?"

"What an idiot-ah." Jones remarked.

"As dense as Muggles come." Voldemort followed.

"I feel envy in his heart." Zeref said.

"Sorry, Sōta, no date for you." Bill concluded. "If you like Creations so much, go create yourself a girlfriend!" He trapped Sōta in a can and kicked away. "Our next date comes from a version of the Mobius Multiverse. This strapping young scientist is Chris Thorndyke!"

An 18-year-old man in a cream-colored turtleneck, ginger hair, and sweet blue eyes approached. "So, you're this Esdeath lady I've been told about." Chris spoke in a handsome voice. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I already have a girlfriend."

"So, what?" Esdeath hugged and pressed her chest to his, Chris blushing. "In this lawless world, we can have all the girlfriends we want, can't we?"

"'Long as it's okay with the Big Man." Bill said. Right on cue, they heard thumping, seeing Lord English walk by the doorway. He was posed like a gorilla as he looked in, and gave thumbs-up. Then he walked away.

"Sigh, I don't have a choice, do I?" Chris sighed. "If you must know, I'm a scientist. My greatest accomplishment was…!" The man's body began to swell in and out. "Uh-oh! Uuuaaaaahh!" Within seconds, he shrank into his clothes. His 12-year-old head poked out of his oversized turtleneck.

"Y-You're a child?!" Esdeath gasped.

"Sorry… I travel through dimensions a lot, and it had this negative side-effect. Sometimes, not all my body parts grow or shrink with me. …Ehhh…" He blushed, already feeling an example.

AAAAANK! "Yeesh, even Shinji couldn't beat that." Bill remarked. "Judges?"

"I remember coming across a universe that you and I existed in." Jones commented. "And I feel the need to eat your soul-ah."

"You lost me at 'scientist.'" Voldemort said.

"This boy possesses passionate love." Zeref said. "And it burns strongly for animals. …Very strong."

"Okay, not the worst judgment." Bill shrugged. "Don't worry, we'll set your proportions straight." And Chris was shrunk into the soup can.

"Hi, Miss Esdeath." A boy in a brown sweater and messy brown hair greeted modestly. "I'm Makoto Naegi. They call me the Ultimate Lucky Student back home."

"Well, you're a very lucky man indeed." She smiled slyly. "Scoring a girl like me."

"I wouldn't call it lucky to live in an apocalyptic world of despair."

"Oh, pish-posh. I, for one, LOVE the despair boys~"

"You think he knows anything about despair?" another voice hissed from the doorway. Makoto gasped, twisting slowly in utmost fear: a young man with scowling green eyes appeared. He looked as if he had never known a day of hope. "Imagine waking up one morning, barely inches from the jaw of a Titan." Eren Yeager rasped, his rage ever growing. "The smell of the blood of all those you love, digesting in its bowels. And I'm not talking about the pink blood your piece of shit universe has… I mean real blood. Real… despair…"

"Um, actually," Makoto tried to scoot away, "I think I'd better go-"

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE, NAEGI!" Eren lunged at him, sword drawn. "YOU'RE GOING TO FACE REAL DESPAIR!"

"AAAAAAHHH!" Makoto ran all around the room, resulting in Eren slicing the dining table to pieces. Eren sliced Bill's hat in half, Jones' tentacles in half, Voldemort's cloak, exposing his nudity, and Zeref's head, which flipped and fell on the table, his expression unchanging.

"Now, there's a boy I can relate to." Jones said.

"His hatred is inspiring." Voldemort smiled.

"He sickens me." Zeref scoffed.

"Grrrr! Just forget it!" Esdeath shouted. "None of these men feel right for me! In all these infinite universes, there is only one Tatsumi. I was a fool to think I could replace-"

"HEY, get back in there!" Bill yelled when a sky-blue-haired boy zipped out of the holding room. The boy—Nagisa Shiota—swiftly dodged the beams from Bill's wand and threw a knife at Esdeath. She gasped, almost suspecting she would be cut—the rubber knife bounced against her neck—CLAP! Nagisa clapped behind her, startling the general to where she was stunned in place. "Dammit, catch that prisoner!" Bill raced after him.

Esdeath's heart was beating rapidly, not from fear, but with… a different emotion. She blushed, putting a hand to her cheek. "That boy… was so… bold. Perhaps I spoke too soon…"

"Heeeeeeelp!" Makoto was still running from Eren's wrath.

A river in the forest

"Oi, where are all the stupid fish hiding?" Chimney complained as she traipsed through a river with Aein on her head. "The whole point of water is to give us fish to eat! Does Aisa expect me to live off s'mores the whole time?"

"They certainly fill my tummy up!" Aein happily rubbed her belly. "Maybe you should join me again, Chimney?"

"Hnn? Hey, I just got an idea!" Chimney grabbed Aeincha and dangled her above the river. "Oiiii, fishiiiees! Yummy, delicious food!"

"WAAAAH! Chimney, you're so cruel, sacrificing me to eat fish—aren't you part-mermaid, this is cannibalism, you're twisted! !"

"Aha, there's one!" Chimney saw a fish coming up—it was instantly stabbed with a wooden spear.

"Thought you could escape me, huh?!" exclaimed Aisa, raising the stabbed fish. "Sorry, but it's the fire for you!" She tossed it toward a pile of stabbed fish. "Beautiful! April, it's time for my next mark!"

"Your people earn a mark for making a pile of fish?" asked April.

"I don't know, but I certainly am!"

"Hmhm, okay!" With that, April dipped her brush in the Blood Berry juice and painted fish designs on the backs of Aisa's hands.

"Ha HAAAA! Boy, stabbing all those fish made me hungry. What'll I have to eat… Oh?"

Gonbe was sniffing the fish pile with the hopeful intent of devouring some. "GYOOOOOM!" Aisa's spear missed him by an inch.

"Hee hee hee! Sorry, Gonbe! …But I never realized how tasty you look." Her eyes glimmered with hunger, complimented by a wide grin of big teeth. She licked her teeth. "Get in my belly!"

"GYOOOO…!" The bunny hopped for dear life, but Aisa caught up dangerously fast, not changing her terrifying expression. April was painting a four-legged Aisa chasing a rabbit.

The Shandian was quickly tackled by Chimney, hugging Aisa firmly. "'EY, Rule #01 of Sector W7, Aisa-chan: NO EATING MY NEKO!"

"Okay, sorry Chimney!" Aisa said joyfully. "I was just playing around."

"If you were hungry, why don't you eat the fish you just killed?" Aeincha asked.

"I didn't quite think of that. Wellp, I guess we're burning a fish mount!"

Aisa got two sticks, rubbed them together, and set the fish on fire. When they were cooked enough, Chimney used Fishman Karate to throw water from the river and douse the fire. Mocha ate most of the fish, grabbing handfuls like small roasted nuggets. "What are you guys doing?" Apis asked, coming to join them. "I saw smoke from the camp. Sniff sniff—ew, is that fish?!"

"You know, why didn't I think of that?" Chimney said. "Use Apis's powers to call the fish over!"

"That's it!" Aisa beamed. "Apis, can you use your telepathy to summon a bunch of birds?"

"Why?"

"Because it's time for target practice!" Aisa drew her bow. "My next mark will be of marksmanship!"

"You wanna shoot down innocent birds just for a 'mark'? Why don't you just… shoot the tops of trees or something?"

"Uuuuugh." Aisa huffed, finding non-moving targets to be boring. "Well, what do I need YOU for? I can easily spot birds with my Mantra!" She closed her eyes, pulled her bow, and relied on her sixth sense. She sensed a bird returning to its nest with a worm in beak – 30 feet upriver and 10 meters up—she shot the arrow and shot it down. "Ooo, a squirrel." She shot across the river, hitting the innocent critter as it fell out of its hole. A group of squirrels scampered out in a panic—Aisa expertly shot arrows and hit them dead on.

"Some over there!" Aisa shot two squirrels going across branches. "Hi, birdies!" She shot three birds flying overhead. "Look, ants!" She stuck arrows in the ground several feet upriver; the girls never would've noticed the bugs from this distance. "BEES!" She shot straight up and punctured a beehive. Buzzing sounds filled the air, for the bees knew who was at fault.

"AAAAH!" Apis screamed. Bees, go away! Bees, go away! Bees, go away!

"You wreck our hive and yer tellin' US to leave?! Bitch, we're gonna ruin your prom night!"

"It's a bust guys, RUN FOR IT!!" The girls bolted, but when Aisa bravely tried to shoot some down, Mocha grabbed her friend and carried her off.

After the bees were appeased…

April painted her next picture, depicting Aisa standing on an armed castle tower and blasting invaders with machineguns. Afterwards, she painted Blood Berry juice in the form of arrows on the backs of Aisa's feet. "Well, despite complications, your marksmanship was truly on point."

"Why the HELL didn't they sting April?!" Chimney shouted, she and the others scratching their swollen spots.

"Bees detect fear through guilt. I showed no fear, and therefore proved I was guiltless. Plus, I painted a red spot on that tree to draw them away from me." She pointed to said spot.

"Chimney, can I stay in here for the rest of the trip?" Aeincha was safely tucked inside her friend's zipper.

"Say, this is actually the perfect chance to earn my NEXT mark!" Aisa said ecstatically. "My Mark of Extraction!" She drew her knife. "You first, Mocha. Your stings are smaller."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Mocha yelped. "You're going to cut me?!"

"I'm going to cut a small gap in your flesh, suck out the poisoned blood, and spit it on the ground."

"Your people did this?"

"No, but I saw it in a movie, so it could work!"

"OKAY, AISA." Apis grabbed her arms before she could act. "I think you should cut down on the tribal rituals if you're thinking of cutting us."

"You know, if my people were still around to do this, we wouldn't need to waste money on doctors."

"Yah, but we also wouldn't have trains." Chimney stated. "Speaking of, can we go back to our nice, cozy train and SCREW the idea of camping ever again?"

"Fine, if you guys don't want a good old natural healing, then I'M going to try for my Mark of Strength, given only to the strongest in the tribe! And since you girls are the only 'tribe' I have, then I must defeat MOCHA!"

"Hee hee!" Mocha blushed awkwardly. "I'm flattered, Aisa, but I was hoping to get away from training on this trip."

"TOO BAD! We battle NOW!" Aisa leapt and KICKED Mocha in the eye, landing a stronger blow thanks to Red-Foot Style. With Mocha briefly stunned by the attack, Aisa wrapped her arms and legs around the giant's neck, applying all her strength to choke her.

"Aisa… stop!" Her grip was surprisingly tight. Mocha gently tried to pry Aisa off, not wishing to hurt her, but the gesture seemed meaningless. "It hurts… nnh!…"

But suddenly, Aisa was kicked off. "MOCHA AIN'T the strongest, baka!" The Shandian recovered to see her assaulter. "I AM!"

Aisa got up on her feet. "So be it, Chimney! You first!" She rushed up and kicked Chimney with the speed of a cannonball, but the quarter-mermaid quickly recovered to dodge any following attacks. Aisa endured Chimney's punches and countered with her own, before kicking Chimney's leg to knock her off-balance, grab her friend's neck, and throw her against the ground. "You had this coming a long time!" Aisa mercilessly began strangling her.

"ENOUGH, AISA!" Mocha clasped her in both hands.

"GRAAAH! Let me go, Mocha, I'll get you after I finish with Chimney!"

"A little shrink therapy never hurts anybody." April painted pink around Aisa's head, hypnotizing the Nimbi into thinking she's small and weak.

"Stop it! Let me goooo! I'm a Shandian warrior, you can't treat me like a-"

Chimney socked her in the eye and knocked her out cold. "That's enough outta you."

Mocha gently set Aisa on the ground. "I think something's wrong with her. Maybe we should go home and… get her help."

"Should we go to Haruka?" asked Aeincha, who had been entrusted to Apis before the scuffle.

"I was thinking someone else."

Water 7; Aisa's house

Aisa groggily awoke to the face of her Shandian mother. Isa was finishing scrubbing off the markings on her arms. "M…Mom." Now fully awake, Aisa studied her arms and legs. "My markings! Mom, why?!"

"Your friends brought you to me after they said you'd been acting crazy. Aisa, don't you remember what I told you about Blood Berries?"

"Yeah, they make you energized if you paint it on your skin. But I didn't eat it, Mom, promise!"

"Hey, Mrs. …Aisa's Mom?" Apis hesitated, embarrassed she didn't know Aisa's last name. "Are those things that we mentioned really Shandian activities? Shooting birds and stabbing fish for fun, I mean?"

"I don't know where Aisa got those ideas because I never said we killed animals for fun."

"You don't remember ANYTHING our people used to do, Mom!" Aisa shouted. "Excuse me for making stuff up!"

"Sigh, it's true." Isa smiled, humored by the fact. "There's too few of us Shandians left. We've long since lost sight of our tribal customs. And because of that, I think we've lost our immunity to Blood Berries' effects. I'm sorry this had to happen to you, sweetheart."

"But Mom, I was trying to get in touch with our roots."

"I know you were, sweetie, and I'm glad you have such an interest in our culture. However, maybe instead of Blood Berry, use something else to draw your tribal marks. Like a sharpie!" Isa got a convenient sharpie from her pocket and drew the scratch marks on Aisa's face.

"Ugh! But it's not the same!"

"Neither is using the Blood Berry itself. Aisa, I didn't want to tell you this, but in truth, when our people earned a mark… they cut it into their bodies with a knife."

"HUH?!?"

"JOKING!" Isa grinned. "But if that were actually true, would you still be as into our culture as you are now?"

"Are you saying we did cut ourselves?"

"I'm saying that you don't have to follow your roots to the point of destroying yourself. Don't feel like it's your job to keep our culture alive and just live in the present."

"That's exactly what I been telling her!" Chimney stated. "That's why I told her we should camp in the train and not the freaking forest where all the stupid bees are!"

"Heh heh heh…" Aisa giggled. She observed the bee stings still present on her friends' bodies. "I guess I did go a bit crazy, didn't I? I didn't mean for it to go that far, guys. I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Well, as long as we're all still alive in the end, we forgive you!" Aeincha replied.

"Hehe! Anyway, I would still like to go camping, but if you guys don't want to, I understand."

"GOOD, 'cause we DON'T!"

"Chimneeey!" Aein glared scoldingly.

"Ooooooohhhh fine. Nothing goes on on this island, anyway."

"Why don't I join you this time?" Isa offered. "Children should always be accompanied by a grown-up in the wilderness, no matter how strong you think you are."

"She might have a point there." Mocha said, feeling an itch on her neck. The giant had been watching outside the window throughout the interaction.

Pine forest

Night had fallen by the time the girls returned to their camp. Aisa's friends agreed to take part in the tribal customs, so Isa wove brown skirts and tops for each of them while April painted makeup. "YOIIII, look-a-meeee, look-a-meeee, I'm a smelly forest girllll!" Chimney danced to the sound of a flute Isa was playing, and she had a train drawing around her waist. Gonbe mimicked her motions, going 'Gyooo, gyooo, gyoooo…' "I got no shoes, I got no house, just dirt and dance and straws!"

"Miss Isa, could you teach me the ways of Shandian cosmetology?" Aeincha kindly asked. A scissor blade was painted down each of her arms. "How did your people cut hair without scissors?"

"Now, how would I know that?" Isa laughed. "You've been my barber ever since me and Aisa moved!"

"I know, it was just wishful thinking." Aein frowned jokingly.

"You know what I realized?" Aisa said to Apis, sitting with her on a log as they roasted marshmallows. "Just about anything with you guys is more fun than any ritual my tribe could've had."

"That's because we ARE your tribe, Aisa! You should've known that." Apis grinned; she had Crosses painted on her cheeks.

"Well, each of us are different, so it kinda threw me off! But deep down, I'm sure I knew!" Aisa laughed. "Like Mocha said, we're family!"

"Ha ha!" Mocha gave a light chuckle. "…You know, if we're going to make a New Universe after all this is over, I wonder if we'd be allowed to bring the Shandians back."

"If we could, then I don't see why we shouldn't." Aisa said. "But I still plan to stick with you guys 'til the end."

"Sounds like an idea worth making." April finished her next canvas, depicting the friends dancing around a fire in their tribal getup under a crescent moon. The moon itself was another creation of hers shining in the painted sky.