"The Boner just keeps getting bigger and bigger!" said Kahli with intimidation and fear as she watched the Bonereaper take form under the swirling, twirling bone tornado that loomed over her and the restauranteers. She was wondering if this was going to be too much to take on.

"Yea, it's a pretty big Boner, but it's still growing," said Gehaffrey matter-of-factly. "However, you don't need to worry, Kahli. You've got all of us to help take on this enormous Boner. You won't have to handle the Boner alone, that much is certain - I'll be sure to beat it as hard as I can."

"Me too, Kahli," said Brahd, who was still lying on the ground, "I mean, I may still be lying on the cobblestones here, which actually feel great for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean I can't use my [skills] to help you get rid of this Boner."

Kahli was glad to have their help, but she couldn't help but feel a little bit of disdain - specifically, disdain for Sahdi, who was once again just kind of standing around. She clearly had no intention of helping Kahli handle the big Boner.

"Sahdi. Can I ask you something?" Kahli said. Her eyes were thin slits of rage.

"What?" Sahdi replied aloofly. She tussled her shiny, black hair, some of which caught on the living wood on her face for a second. "Is my hair messed up or something?"

"It is now, because you keep messing with it, stupid," said Kahli.

"Wow. That was uncalled for," said Sahdi with a scoff.

"Look, Sahdi, I just don't think you've been much help here is all. Everyone else, well, except Philh I guess because he ran away, but almost everyone else has been doing their best here to win this fight, and now we've got this huge Boner growing right in front of us, I mean the Boner is getting bigger and bigger with every passing moment, and you don't seem like you even care."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to take on the Boner with us, Sahdi, or aren't you?" Kahli asked. Froufrou squelched for emphasis.

"Of course," said Sahdi.

"Of course what?" Kahli grimaced. She could feel the plaster on her face cracking. It had been doing that a lot lately - she'd have to be more mindful in the future, or she'd mess up the living wood as it hardened onto her countenance. "Of course you will, or of course you won't?"

"Of course!" said Sahdi with a flustered expression. "Yes, the Boner, it is huge, of course!"

Kahli covered her face in her hands and screamed. Then, she looked to Brahd and Gehaffrey. "She's not going to help us handle the Boner."

"Oh, it'll be fine," said Gehaffrey with a smile. "We did so great on the teamwork earlier, I'm sure the three of us can tag team this Boner, Kahli. It'll be okay."

And with that, the boney tornado had finally stopped its spin, as all the bones in its path had been assimilated into a towering creature, a massive, formidable foe. A Bonereaper.

"Oh, yea, I've seen Boners bigger than this, don't worry," said Gehaff. "I'll do my best to take on as much of it myself as I can. Sit back and watch, Kahli!"

Before anyone could say anything to the contrary, Gehaffrey let loose a traditional Gifflenbergian war cry, thumped his claws on his chest a few times, and sprinted towards the Bonereaper with all the speed and confidence of a drunken apex predator. The Bonereaper, its jaws wider than a bus and fists as big a two story buildings, simply watched as Gehaffrey approached. Clearly, Gehaffrey was employing the use of a [skill], but his opponent seemed completely nonplussed, to say the least. Gehaffrey was but two paces from the behemoth when and enormous fist slammed right down on him like a hammer, flattening him into the ground.

[Gehaffrey is unconscious]

The Bonereaper lifted its fist up, first away from the ground, and then into the air. It unhinged its huge jaw and let lose a roaring bellow that shook the ground and almost brought Kahli to her knees. But she wasn't about to get on her knees for this big Boner.

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"Don't worry, Kahli, I can take this Boner!" Brahdley shouted confidently from the ground. He summoned up his lasso [skill] - apparently his only [skill], Kahli thought to herself with disappointment - and wrapped it around one of the Bonereaper's tree trunk legs.

The Bonereaper let loose another deafening roar as it raised up its leg with such force that Brahdley's lasso [skill] immediately disappated. Then, it lifted its foot right overhead of Brahdley, and stomped on him over and over again.

"This Boner's pounding is doing - ouch - wonders for my back!" Brahdley said weakly.

The Bonereaper slammed its foot down on Brahdley one final time.

[Brahdley is unconscious]

At least none of them were dead, Kahli figured. Maybe if the beast did the same to her, she wouldn't die, either - though Kahli wasn't exactly wanting to find out either way. She wanted to win this fight. She wasn't a loser. But first, before taking matters into her own hands, she wanted to test something.

"Sahdi? Any thoughts? Are you going to come in and help at all or are you just going to stand there?"

"Yes!" Sahdi said as she fixed her hair for the millionth time.

"Yes? Yes what?" Kahli turned her back to the Bonereaper and walked up to Sahdi. "Are you serious right now? Yes what, Sahdi? Answer my question!"

"Yes! That's my answer!" Sahdi said with a huff.

Kahli said nothing. She just looked at Sahdi with a pained expression, shook her head and her fist at her for a second, and then turned back around to face the Bonereaper.

But it was gone.

"What? Where'd the Boner go?" Kahli was confused. It had been huge! How had it just... disappeared? "It's... Gone?" She looked to Sahdi for an explanation, but all she did was shrug.

Froufrou let loose an exceedingly stinky squelch.

"Ew!" Sahdi frowned under the living wood on her face. It made her look like almost like an angry owl or something, though Kahli decided to keep that observation to herself.

Kahli looked around for the Bonereaper some more, finally noticing its gargantuan form hobbling over towards the abandoned pornography store that Gehaffrey had been knocked into in the earlier fight.

"Huh. So the Boner's going to look at porn?" Kahli said with a frown. "Well, either to look at it, or to demolish it. Maybe both. Who would've thought?"

Sahdi shrugged and fixed her hair again. Froufrou squelched.

Kahli walked back over to look at Unit 5a23. She could she him, still with that same static expression he'd had when he dropped straight out of the air. She was growing increasingly concerned for him. Was he dead? She didn't really know how automatons worked, but what was clear, was that the gears in his chest where stuck, frozen in time. If only she could get them moving again, maybe he'd regain consciousness.

A loud whistle blared through the air and arrested all of Kahli's senses. She watched as a loud flash of light shot up in a poof inthe air, and then another, and another, in a small ring. Then, there was the sound of unmuffled motors zooming and the harsh smell of burnt rubber.

Five zooming pods on wheels shot through the streets in a zigzagging fashion, each with a red or purple light trailing it and glitter sparkling around its effervescent edges. One pod popped open, and a strong, acrobatic person in a sparkling, blue unitard cartwheeled out of it and up towards Kahli and Sahdi. The living wood on their face was tight, and nearly spotless. It almost looked completely still, as opposed to the more natural and animated look that folks' faces usually took on with age.

"Greetings!" said an extremely perky voice. "I am Agent 42 of the Forceful Intrepid Safety Team, also known as F.I.S.T."

Kahli and Sahdi looked at the agent, and then at each other, and then back at the agent. They shrugged.

"We've been deployed here to deal with the anomaly." Agent 42 pointed to the beam of light emanating from the ground. "Do not worry, you are safe with us!"

Kahli had no idea how to respond other than to watch as several of the pods zoomed up to the beam of light. Figured popped out of each pod, they too were in unitards. Each one started sending beams of light out of their hands towards the perforation. They must've been light elementals.

"Oh," said Kahli. "You're calling the perforation an anomaly?"

Agent 42 shuddered for a second, then regained their composure. "I cannot confirm or deny what it is that the anomaly is or isn't, nor can I confirm the nature of the anomaly. All I can say is that I and my team are working tirelessly to resolve it as soon as possible."

Kahli squinted at Agent 42. Something felt... Off.

"Along with that, we've also assembled a quick dispatch team to take care of that huge Boner over there by the old porn shop," said the agent. "You'll soon notice that the beast will be calmed, subdued, and ultimately it will shrink down into its regular form, or should I say forms. And then, when it is safe, we will transport it back to the spiri - I mean, back from whence it came."

Kahli squinted again at Agent 42. What was the point of all this? Sure, it was nice to be rescued... If that's what this really was.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to offer you two a safe ride in my transport pod," replied Agent 42. "I won't take you far, just to the closest F.I.S.T. facility for a quick debrief before dropping you off at home, safely away from this anomaly and from all the dreadful stuff happening out and around downtown today. Surely, you two ladies would like that, wouldn't you?"

Kahli looked at Sahdi, who looked back at her. Sure, the idea of riding in a vehicle with Sadhi was enough to inspire reage and frustration in Kahli. But she was feeling something else at this time. She wasn't sure if she trusted Agent 42. And she also wasn't sure whether the ride was optional, or if it was required.