Tiki ran outside the mall, medicine in one hand and axe in the other.

"Hey! Take this! Cure whatever you've got and move your asses, shorty might be in trouble!", she tossed the medicine to everyone, them not saying a word from their affliction. "Wait a minute...where's the music one?"

Tiki looked in the car a bit more, only to not find Terna standing beside everyone else from the food poisoning. She then looked beyond the car to find Terna rubbing her eyes as she shook some water off her face.

"What? How did you...recover?", Tiki said.

"Oh, hi Tiki! Umm...well, my natural healing abilities are close to Risa's. I'd have probably recovered earlier had I not spent so much energy fighting back at Corosta but...hey, what's up? You look hasty.", Terna approached Tiki.

"Long story short, shorty is in trouble. I'm off, look out for everyone here!", Tiki turned away.

"Nope! I see you gave them the medicine already, so they'll be fine! If Risa is in trouble, then I'm coming too since I'm able!"

"Whatever! I simply don't have time for this so let's go!"

The two of them left everyone behind in the car and swiftly darted towards the general direction Tiki had seen Ikarisa run towards. They ran and ran, but only open fields could be seen at a certain point, as their traces seemed to fade away more and more.

Terna stopped. "Wait, Tiki! We don't know exactly where we're heading right now...if the traces fade away and we are still moving, then that only means we will get more and more lost by the step!"

"Hmm.", Tiki nodded. "You're right on that one diva."

"Huh? No raging over talking against your actions?", Tiki wondered.

Tiki got irritated. "Oh, shut it, diva! It's not that everything pisses me off, but I know when to say I screwed up. You should know that too. Anyway, you are right, I acted way too quickly. The first rule of any operation is to stay calm and collected...now-", Tiki slammed her axe down and kneeled. "The traces started fading away at the grass back there and this is the last visible mark...", Tiki looked around.

"Can I help you find anything at all? I don't want you to do all the work...", Terna looked around.

"No. Sit back, shut up and let me do my job.", Tiki harshly answered back. "Tracks stop here...rough dirt area ahead. Move forwards.", Tiki got up and moved forward.

"It's a nice little opening in the middle of the field.", Terna looked around. "It's kind of pretty."

Tiki looked around, dropping her axe again. "Hmm. Yeah. Now what the hell is here, I dunno. No footprints on the dirt. Does Shorty know how to fly, by chance?"

"No...not that I'd know of."

"Maybe levitate?", Tiki looked at the ground.

"Nope, haven't seen her do that. Though, it would really surprise me that much.", Terna looked around as well.

"Alright, so that means. Ah...", Tiki laid down on her back and took on a T-pose.

"Um...Tiki?"

"What?"

"What are you doing?", Terna looked down at Tiki's face.

"Working? Now get out of there, you're blocking the sun."

"Oh, sorry. Is that supposed to be for work too?"

"No, I just don't want you in front of my face looking at me. It pisses me off."

Tiki turned both her arms upside down, maintaining her T-pose and twisted her wrists to lift only her hands up, perfectly aligned across each other. She then lowered all her fingers until only her index was raised in both her right and left hands. She then waited.

"Hmm...come on...", Tiki looked at the grass on her left and her right.

"What are we actually waiting for?", Terna looked around.

A fully filled water bottle passed by from the strong wind...

"Oh.", Terna picked up the bottle. "It's kind of...windy today."

"Yes. Yes, it is. And that's such an enormous pain in the ass."

"Oh, you want it less windy? I can try, but only for a little. I don't want to disturb the natural flow of the weather!", Terna happily said.

"You can control the wind?", Tiki said.

"Pretty much anything in a certain space around me is controllable. I've been practicing on this for awhile and found several quirks about it. I'd very much love to one day use this ability with an instrument of sorts too, I bet it'd be twice as fun."

"Alright, then diva. Make the air pipe down.", Tiki said as she kept her pose.

"You got it!"

Terna let out a beautiful and relaxing voice, humming and changing to the rhythm of the wind. Suddenly, as she became to relax her rhythm and voice in synch with the wind, its tenacity slowed down and came to a halt.

"Perfect.", Tiki looked to her left and then right index. "Alright, that's all I needed. Thanks."

Terna stopped chanting. "Alright, so, what happened?"

Tiki walked to the left. "The wind was shaking the grass too much. I wanted to take measurements since I saw the area around this grassy field. And, as it turns out, my suspicion is correct."

Tiki stopped in front of a new path of footprints layered on the grass.

"Woa! Nice!", Terna excitedly said. "But...how?"

"Hmph. The grass on my left was shorter than on the right by a significant amount. Despite looking at it from the top and realizing it's missing the top end by being cut, I wanted to make sure. And as for the area behind there, I was suspicious from the start of it...combining the grass evidence and that, I'd say a battle took place that started there and moved to the left. Lots of dust was kicked up during it and covered the tracks before they ended up back in the grass again. And as you can see, more footprints start from here but are all over the place, meaning it was probably a chase fight. Let's move.", Tiki ran forward.

"Your detective work is honestly...weirdly good.", Terna stood in amazement.

"It's not detective work, it's just that I've come down to doing several assassination missions. Tracking down a target is, obviously, one of the many prerequisites."

"Oh...never mind then.", Terna nervously smiled. "Oah!", she tripped down.

Tiki stopped, "Urgh, what now?! Can't you keep up with me?!"

"My foot suddenly sunk down- eh?", Terna looked back to see a small muddy pull with footprints on it. "Should've been more careful..."

"Wait a minute...", Tiki turned back.

"U-Um! Tiki! What are you-!", Terna got stopped by Tiki.

"Shut it diva.", Tiki began smelling Terna's muddy foot.

"This is um..."

"Shut it and let me do my work. This is...wait.", Tiki put her finger in the puddle and brought it close to her nose, "The ground, it's not water-soiled mud. This distinct and powerful aroma- there's absolutely no mistaking it. It's the exact same blood that'd come out of powerful Obsulyte users. And the way it smells as well...", Tiki's eyes widened. "Shit- that means shorty is after the exact same thing that everyone got scared off during the world war. One of my people- the one's they called 'demons'!. Terna, run. Now!"

Tiki frantically began to run in the direction of the footprints, Terna following behind.

"Wait, Tiki! Even if it's a demon then-"

"I'm not giving my people mercy if they are pieces of shit. For all I know, this surviving demon could be a mass murderer. And the way the blood smells means only one thing. Seasoned combat tactics. The reason they're running is not that they feel weak, it's to drive the target into an area that can provide tactical leverage to secure the kill! Shorty is in immense danger!", Tiki kept running.

"Alright, here goes!", Terna sparked a tune.

Tiki's and Terna's speeds suddenly increased exponentially as they both blasted through the woods. It was as if down to a molecular scale, every small particle that would provide resistance to their forward momentum disappeared, only the friction on the floor allowing them to get a constant boost of speed over and over again, it stacking up very quickly to almost make it look like they flew above the ground.

"What is this?!", Tiki struggled to control her speed.

Terna giggled, "Like I said! Everything around me! This only gets me more and more excited as to what I'll be able to do in the future! But for now, let's go!"

Terna took the lead as they run and bounced all around the woods before reaching the end of the trail. They then both came to a halt, had the enchanting effect been over, and were presented with a sight unexpected to what they had hoped they would find.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"This is where the pathing ends...what is that even? Looks quite old..."

Tiki approached a shattered, rusty metal gate, walking right by it.

"There's a welcome sign here. Broken and shattered to bits, can't make anything out of it.", Tiki studied the sign.

In front of them laid an old, run-down building that looked like it was missing a third of it's whole. Bits and chunks were missing off it as sunlight pierced its roof, nature already moving in to recollect it to the ground. Vines on the walls and flowers everywhere, it was a rather unique sight that the both of them had never been exposed to. Contrary to modern buildings, it appeared as if that building took on a softer architecture, sacrificing some harder materials for wood instead, being utmost inviting to onlookers who wished to use it's roof as a temporary shelter. With parts of it unfortunately burned out, it made it abundantly clear that neither fire or time has been kind to it, as black spots on the wooden parts of the structure was where most of the destruction laid before expanding to the rest of it.

"Hmm. Nothing around here. Stay alert, however. Ambush tactics are nothing new to me, and given the circumstances, there's a very high chance that whatever the hell Shorty was chasing after is now hiding in there. Let's dig deeper.", Tiki moved forward, speaking every one of her words with a hint of anxiety behind them, almost as if she was reliving a horrifying scenario.

"Ok, got it! Though, it is a rather peaceful area. Would be a shame to ruin it with a battle-", Terna was interrupted.

"It's either the building or us, diva. Guess what my pick is."

As Tiki moved forward to open the front door, it gave in to her touch, falling flat backwards.

"Tiki! Come on!"

"Oh, shut up, I didn't do it on purpose!"

Terna sighed, "Whatever...let's just go find Risa.", a rare expression of disappointment washed over her face.

They entered the building only to find precisely what they did on the outside. Broken walls, an overgrown plantation and small rays of sunshine protruding from the halls on the ceiling. The space inside seemed most alluring, styling itself in an old, beautiful -but now ruined by time- décor. It posed some clay vases here and there at the entrance before a now mushy and darkened red carpet moved forward to another door underneath a pair of stairs. On their left and their right were also two long corridors with several doors, the right one being cut off by a collapsed section of the roof. The second floor boasted the same red carpet as the entrance, it however only had a few rooms being accessible, since the halls above were also both destroyed on the left and the right, blocking the rest of them off.

"Where do you say we go next?", Terna said.

"Forwards. There's a fresh bloodstain here, who's shape definitely indicates that the direction of the one suffering the wound is from there. Now, Risa could be locked away in one of the rooms here, but if I were to take a page out of our book from all that we've gathered here...the assailant will d look to eliminate other threats to secure the hostage. I can see that it ends up on the outside again so it might have another building area in the back. Most of the building here is destroyed anyway, and taking a fight in my enemy's home turf is a no-go. Let's move quickly."

"Ok, you're the boss."

Tiki and Terna moved forward in the long hallway leading to the back. Traversing it, they saw all sorts of paintings, flowers and lights in a much better condition than what they had found before. Paintings of people, places and a few folklores were set up on the walls, as the lights dimly lit them from the lack of electricity, treated flowers decorating their presence.

"These look so...interesting?", Terna looked at the paintings.

"They look odder than other things, that's for sure. Way too well maintained compared to the other things in this sinking hellhole. I treat this as a massive red flag...it could mean whatever or whoever Shorty was chasing could be treating this as a base or a home. Whatever it may be, we are certainly in the wolf's den. Keep going but count every step. It can get shitty real quick.", Tiki moved on.

Coming out the other end, the two flinched for a moment from the rays of light before looking forward at a sight gaze worthy in of its own. A long stretch of grassy fields, with countless flowers and rocks covered the land, seemingly glowing from the reflecting sunlight. The lush and dense forest trees also started to become ever so more sparse, as they slowly faded away, leaving aside only the open wide blanket of flowers. Almost as if a rainbow was grounded on earth, the blooming fluorescence of the valley greeted them with a wide assortment of all kinds of colors. The wind had only helped the flowers blossom further, as they were dancing back and forth to its flow, flying petals filling both land and sky, trying to reach faraway lands.

Terna was left in awe. "This is...so beautiful. Like that tree on the hill from back home...", her empathetic heart paused as she looked at the fields.

Tiki took a deep breath, "Never expected something so liberating to come out of this place."

The two stood there in amazement as they tried to fully take in the wondrous sight before Tiki forced herself to snap out of it.

Tiki began to move again "Right, let's keep going. Though we shouldn't be that far from the shorty anymore."

"It's all so, so fantastic, like a fairy tale...", Terna kept standing still and taking the sight in.

"Oi! Diva? Everything alright? We have to keep moving.", Tiki waved her hand in front of Terna's face, "Come on, what's up with you already?"

Terna snapped out, "O-Oh, uh...nothing. Just that- this sight reminded me of something...from back home. Doubt that the place I once knew is not burned down by now..."

"Look, we can come back and look at this any time. But let's set our priorities straight first, alright?", Tiki said.

Terna nodded, "Right. Let's head to the middle of the hill there, maybe we will get a better line of sight. Plus, if fighting were to occur, it'd be at an even playing field, since it's just flat ground."

"Huh, not bad diva, an actual good call. That's also a great place for my backup plan to take effect, if they just resort to stall tactics"

The two calmly and carefully made their way across to the middle of the field, trying as much as possible to avoid bringing harm to the flowers. They reached a point in the inner field before Terna softly sat down on a rock, trying to look out for Ikarisa.

"All this running and dashing, yet Risa is nowhere to be found...", Terna exhaled, "But now we don't even have a lead.", she tried to open the water bottle she hang onto. "Hmm? Why won't it-"

"You're seriously struggling to open that?", Tiki scoffed.

"I'm trying to but- hnn!", Terna tried to pry it open.

"Oh for the love of- ", Tiki sighed. "Gimme this.", she grabbed the bottle from Terna's hands, "I seriously can't babysit a diva right now. Here!"

Tiki tried to open the water bottle with sheer strength.

"What the-", Tiki struggled, "What is this shit?!", she madly tried to open the bottle.

"Um...Tiki? It's ok you know, I can just hold it until we find another source-", Terna got interrupted.

"No-shut up! Why is this thing not opening? Is it challenging me?!"

"Tiki it's a bottle of water made of plastic, how could it-", Terna got weirded out by Tiki's escalating anger over an inanimate object.

"Shut up! I can do this!"

Terna whispered, "Out of everything she could've possibly been mesmerizing on after she went on and on about Risa, this is what tipped her over the edge?", she lowered her face.

Tiki made several, powerful attempts to open the water bottle but to no avail. With sheer strength to move boulders like a piece of paper and a failing result on a simple task, she rapidly began being more and more irritated by the second.

"Are you serious right now?!"

"Tiki we can just-", Terna got interrupted.

Tiki smashed the bottle to the ground, it bounces back up in the air, "Haa- Screw you, asshole!", Tiki grabbed her axe.

Tiki began to rapidly strike the bottle with her giant axe, it not giving in for a second, as she desperately began a powerful combo to try and make it take any damage, all for naught as she failed to make even a single dent at it's plastic structure throughout all her blows.

"I'll show you exactly-", Tiki launched an aerial flurry at the bottle, "What the meaning behind strength-", she slammed the bottle downwards, crushing the ground beneath, "Truly is!"

Tiki landed in front of the bottle, putting both of her hands on the axe and pulling it behind her shoulder, preparing for a powerful swing. The bottle itself up until that point retained its flawless gloss, as not even the dirt could hinder its reflective radiance from the sun's rays.

"Wait, Tiki!", Terna tried to stop Tiki.

"Witness the full power of a warrior they fear as a 'demon'!", Tiki swung her axe forward, "You backwater [REDACTED] bitch!"

A loud metallic clank was heard loud and clear amidst the horizon from the mighty axe, as Tiki's swing connected with the flawless, menacing-looking plastic bottle of water. Instead of making a dent at its surface, the bottle was instead launched at enormous speeds forward, crushing into the right side of the collapsing building and, much like a bullet, went straight through it, tearing the side wall to bits before making the ground tremble.

"Tiki! Oh my god!", Terna angrily said.

"What?! That thing was pissing me off! That's what anything that pisses me off gets!"

"Look at what you did!", Terna pointed at the now half-destroyed building.

Tiki paused for a moment and calmed down, in the process realizing what she had done.

Tiki exhaled. "Hah...I damaged it that far back?", she looked at the building.

"Yes! You have to control yourself more!", Terna yelled.

Tiki whispered as she fully realized what happened, "Hmm. So that's where the danger factor comes in. The amplification is significant, even with me putting minimum effort. These suits are no joke at all...wonder if I can get more out of this and expand on it. Hmm..."

"What was that?"

"Hmph. Nothing. What's done is done. It's an old shitty building anyway, destroyed by me or time it's the same. Now let's finally find the shorty."

A few more minutes beneath the hot sun passed, the heat eventually getting to them as every passing minute of an already critical situation made it seem like finding their friend was but impossible. But despite the harshness of the situation, they both kept pushing until the heat got to their bones.

Terna crashed on the rock, "Haah! It's frustrating...", she dropped her hands down.

Tiki scouted the area, "I don't really see anything. There's no way it's a cold trail. And in all honesty, I thought singers were supposed to be persistent in their line of work."

"Hey, of course I am! Just needed a short break, but I'm still very much in it to win it!"

"Hope you are, because every minute is critical...but damn, what a nuisance this block is.", Tiki got irritated.

Terna tried to close her hand, feeling something at the tip of her fingers.

"Hmm? What?", Terna dropped from the rock.

"What is it diva?", Tiki looked at Terna.

"I felt something...let me see."

Terna crouched and began shaking the dust off the side of the rock, revealing some sort of text from beneath...

"There's something written on this, it has quite the strange feel to it.", Terna moved in closer.

"Really? What is it?", Tiki moved in closer.

"It's...uh. I can't really make it out well. Wait, I think that I can scrub -ah there we go! There was dirt inside the gaps here, it's actually carved letters.", Terna fully cleaned the letters, "It writes: 'In Loving Memory of Seiyu. Taken Too Early'. she paused immediately. "Wait...what? This is..."

"A grave?", Tiki took a minute to turn around and gaze at the flowery field being fill with rocks of all shapes and sizes, before coming to a realization, "So this entire place is some sort of...graveyard?", Tiki looked around again.

"This would explain the stones around here. But 'Taken Too Early'? That usually refers to...children...", Terna got up and moved to another gravestone.

Terna shook off the dust from the carved letters on several stones around her. "Taken Too Early", "Taken Too Early", "Taken Too Early". The phrase all but kept repeating itself again and again, engraved onto every single stone she laid hands upon. After the first dozen, she stopped trying to expand her trying further, she too having the same, but even more grim realization that Tiki had mere moments before. At that specific moment, it was as if the entire serenity of the valley changed from mere nostalgia inducing, to a much more complex and dark feeling.

"This isn't just a cemetery. It's a children's cemetery...", Terna turned a grim look on her face.

"Hmm. Then what did that building...", Tiki paused and widened her eyes. "Hmph!"

Tiki swung her axe right in front of Terna's face, barely missing her in the process, the sound of clashing steel sending Terna into a daze.

"W-What happened...", Terna took a step behind Tiki

"Close call...", Tiki calmly said. "One sneaky bitch for sure. Now...", she reset her stance. "Where is Shorty?"

The girl with the massive scythe, appearing behind her stood against her, wavering her silver hair behind and preparing to engage.

"Why would strangers care?", the girl said.

"Well then...guess I'll have to tell you then.", Tiki turned around and lifted her axe. "But don't think I'll go easy for being like me...demon."

Terna snapped out of her daze. "Tiki...let's be careful. She looks...more dangerous than I thought.

"Oh, that I know and she doesn't just look like it. Who said that derail me from wiping the floor with her ass?", Tiki took an offensive stance.

The girl looked at Tiki with confusion, fixing her stance as well.

"I do not know who you may be or what you are talking about. But intruders must be eliminated."

They fiercely looked each other in the eyes, preparing for the coming fight...