MEANWHILE, AT MOCHI MOCHI UTOPIA...
A sleeping girl is lying on her messy bed. Her room was filled with drawings, illustrations, and renders. Her hands are full of pencils, and a list of her finished commissions is listed on a whiteboard.
...Her name is Dango.
An alarm clock wakes her up: It's 9:30 AM.
"Uh~ huh???"
The sun is up and shining.
"SHIT! I'M LATE!"
She goes through her wardrobe swiftly to change clothes and comes out of it just a few seconds later.
The girl runs away from her home and intimidatingly looks at her neighbor's pet doge.
"You didn't wake me up again, did you? I hope to God you're adopted."
The doge cutely tilts its head in confusion.
TWO HOURS INTO THE TRIP...
A sleeping Iggy rubs his face on the surface of the table, and Pickle, who has turned into an adult teenager, makes his way back to the cabin after a short walk.
"We close, Director?"
The Director looks at her watch, then, at the window. "We should arrive shortly...~"
She looks at Pickle with confused eyes. "My, my! Little Follower here's a grown-up man!"
"Hotman? Fire Nation?" Iggy says, sleeptalking. He looks at Pickle with groggy eyes.
"...Swag."
Something is not quite right...
"Wait, PICKLE!?" He looks at Pickle in shock.
"Hah! I'm taller than you now!" Pickle eagerly says.
"Cool!" Iggy responds with stars in his eyes.
...
Then, he changes topics. "Are we there yet?"
"We're just waiting for the train to stop by." The Director answers.
"You know, Director, you don't really need to reward us..." Iggy explains. "It's not like we did anything~"
"But I saw some really happy angels out there. It would be a good assumption to say that your mission was a success~ not that I tasked you with a mission or anything." She says. "So lie to your heart's content. All I have to know is the fact that they treated you two like a hero."
The train stops and the doors of the train open.
"So welcome yourselves to Mochi Mochi Utopia."
There's reality to the saying that there's beauty in pink. The blooming cherry blossoms are everywhere inside the train station, but if anything, the place looks more like a food court than it is a part of the transportation sector.
Iggy and Pickle step out of the train in admiration of their surroundings.
"Enjoy your time here, my little kids." The Director says, giving the two of them some cash allowance.
"I'll reserve a special hotel room for the both of you." She adds, walking away from the gate.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Iggy and Pickle confusedly look at The Director fading away.
"Welp! It's time for us to go!" The train conductor sneakily eases his head on the train door.
"Where?" Iggy and Pickle ask at the same time.
"The Industry! We still need to bring these 100 men~"
"99." Pickle interrupts.
"99! 99 men back home." The train conductor completes. "Well then, see ya!"
The conductor closes the train door and the train suddenly starts moving along with it.
"So... Food trip?" Iggy asks.
"Duh! LET'S GO!" A very excited Pickle says as he carries Iggy with his two hands in the air, with a few people here and there suspiciously comprehending what just happened.
And so, they went into the highways filled with blooming cherry blossom trees. There are a few food stalls for them to explore, but as Iggy accepts his position as the 'kidnapped' child, he can't help but notice a stall from a distance, serving dango.
From behind her stall, Dango looks at Pickle who's dragging Iggy everywhere.
She gestures a camera with her two hands, looking at the two of them.
"Click."
Suddenly, Iggy disappears from Pickle's grasp. "Iggy??? Iggy???"
He's somehow sitting in front of Dango's stall, checking the menu, whistling, and tapping on the counter.
Pickle finds him waiting and runs towards Iggy. "There you are!"
Dango looks at Pickle with suspicion. She blushes a bit and touches Iggy's hand.
"Psst, so you wanna call child protection services or something?" Dango asks Iggy.
"Uh~ no thanks." He replies back, pulling his hand away.
"Iggy! Iggy! I saw a carousel there! Let's ride it together!" Pickle enthusiastically tells him.
However, Dango can't seem to resist calling. "Yeah, I'm calling emergency services... I'll be right back~"
"NO!" Iggy and Pickle say at the same time.
She freezes into place. "Then who are you guys supposed to be if you're not in an abusive relationship?"
"Woah, woah! Your mouth and your assumptions, young lady." Pickle seriously reprimands Dango.
"Okay, we don't need to fight~ calm down!" Iggy says, keeping their mouths shut. "You see, miss, we're actually... siblings."
"...With his slant eyes and your dark skin?" She banters out.
Iggy's composure falls to the ground. "She's unhinged, let's kick her butt."
"Right back at you, Iggy." Pickle says.
Sharp teeth from both of them.
"Oh, Is it something I said...?" She teases the two of them.
Iggy and Pickle Jump on Dango, much to her amusement as she takes a paper and pencil with her and runs.
She begins sketching things on the paper. "You guys look pretty damn strong, you know, like that werewolf from Daybreak?"
"Is that a compliment, or an offensive argument?" Pickle replies.
"Depends if you see the actress as a drug addict or not!" She sketches out.
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Iggy and Pickle scream.
"Iggy! Do you have any water bottles? Let's summon a swiftness pot!" Pickle asks Iggy.
Iggy browses his bag and looks for a water bottle. Having found one, he raises it in the air. "Got it!"
Pickle exhales blue smoke, which Iggy touches with his bottle...
The bottle pixelates and turns cyan.
Dango keeps on running as she sketches and turns back at Iggy and Pickle. "You slowtards should really hitch the gym~ aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!~" She screams in shock.
Iggy and Pickle are fast as fuck.
"SINCE WHEN DID YOU GET SO FASTTTTT~" Dango shouts, going into a forest. She looks towards her; in front of her are a few sturdy vines.
"Bingo." She says, clinging to a vine.
"I GOTCHA~!" Iggy and Pickle slide on the ground, desperate to kick Dango off the ground...
But she lifts herself and starts swinging off the trees.
Out to the distance she goes.
"I'll see your asses, sensitive motherfuckers!" Dango says, disappearing into the forest.
Err, she stops on one of the trees, hiding and peeking her head as she continues sketching from afar.
"You know we can see you draw something, right?" Pickle tells Dango from the distance.
"Let me finish, creepy college kid." Dango replies. She folds her sketch into a paper airplane.
"Watch your mouth! It can hurt a lot of people~" Iggy qualms, the paper airplane landing right at his mouth.
He takes the paper airplane out and unfolds it. "What is this~"
PICTURE THIS: Eldritch Horror Iggy.
Iggy's heart explodes and he falls to the ground face flat.
"Iggy!" Pickle calls, rolling Iggy face-up.
"So what do you think? Am I ready for The Industry?" Dango asks them.
"NOT WITH THAT UNHINGED MOUTH OF YOURS!" Pickle grumpily screeches.
"Says the mean-spirited cosmic blob..." A fainted Iggy counters.
Dango replies with an impudent smile. "I'll take that as a yes."
AT THE DANGO STALL...
"...Now where did that stupid illustrator run to?" An old lady tells herself...
She calls out Dango's name. "DANGO!!!"
An annoyed stall owner looks at the old lady with impatience. "Sheesh, you don't have to scream that annoyingly, loudmouth~"
She slaps the stall owner... And explodes.
"Only the most toxic loudmouths can live around here..." The old lady says, dusting her ashes away.
"DANGO~!"
It was a scream so loud, it made the birds fly out of the forest.
Dango listens to the noise attentively.
"Oh shoot, Nana's calling..."
She swings back to the edge of the forest where Iggy and Pickle are stationed.
"Well, I had fun playing with you guys!" She says, swiping the sketch off Iggy's hands.
"This sketch is priced at $4.95, by the way." Dango kisses Iggy on the forehead.
"Jaa!" She waves, running away into the distance.
They just stand there, utterly confused.
...Iggy and Pickle have no words to say.