Nemo whistled a dry melody as she skipped along a path of dirt, she and the ball of fluff on her head bopped to the windy and nonexistence tune wafting out of her lips. It didn’t matter. She was enjoying herself and so was Rainbow Fluff. The Headless Maid looked to be in a great mood as well if she ignored the constant low grumble. Her neck danced to the scenery as if an ethereal head was taking in the sight.

Nemo was stuck in the mansion for several months, and although she got to meet interesting characters and make some new friends, having to stare at the same walls every day, even if they were lavishly golden, could get boring rather quickly. She believed that Demon’s Lady grumpy face did not help alleviate her predicament, but she could do little about that.

That was not to say there was nothing interesting or new, but Green Lady punted Nemo out of her room for wrecking some tea sets, and Violet Beast’s lair was home to someone who wanted to eat her face.

That was why Nemo treasured this opportunity. She got to get out of the mansion and go on a quest to bring home one of the Count’s house guest. Nothing could stand in her way!

Nemo stepped on air and she face-planted into the aftermath of a giant footprint.

“Look at you!” laughed the voice of Headless Maid while the body hopped down and helped Nemo up. Why can’t the voice be as kind as the body? Rainbow Fluff fidgeted in the but Nemo gave both of them a thumbs up.

“It seems like we are on the right track at least,” said the voice as her laughter died down. Nemo did wonder how they were able to lose the trail of a ginormous titan capable of rending landscapes and breaking ground. It was even more mysterious that the White Titan made no sound when it traverses the land outside.

“We would’ve caught up to him already if a certain someone did not mess things up,” the voice said sternly as Nemo rubbed her chin. It was a good observation. Someone was trying to delay them, to hinder their quest. “It was your ogling and running around everywhere.”

Oh right.

Regardless, it was simply a little detour. Now that they were back on track, everything should be fine! Besides, it would be a crime to hold back on her curiosity.

“Let’s just get this over with. I want to go back to bed.”

Nemo gave the voice a face and she heard someone clicking an invisible tongue.

The group continued forward. Nemo lead the charge. Her overalls were smacked with dirt and her face less so, but she kept her smile and tried to whistle a different tune. Rainbow Fluff floated in the air and followed to the side, consistently jolting to every sudden sound. The Headless Maid diligently watched their back and her voice complained whenever an opportunity arose. Nemo didn’t mind. It felt like a trip. There had to be chatter and noise, and she knew she herself couldn’t really start a conversation. It was nice to have a grumpy voice rant in the background.

“You cheeky little….” the voice continued and Nemo simply smiled and enjoyed the walk.

The sky was red and dark clouds swirled above. The bloody stratosphere fell into the abyss that peered down. The whirlwind was unmoved, still in its consumption, but it was nonetheless expanding. It grew, people knew, every time they blinked it grew. They knew it was bigger, they simply didn’t know by how much.

Nemo thought it was pretty neat. One day she would like to see what was inside the darkness. Although it would’ve been quite a boring reveal if it was simply a giant elephant or some other monster.

The woods to the side were leafless trees, bare branches that twisted and wrapped around each other. It invited Nemo. It wanted to give her a hug. She wanted to check it out. However, before she could even walk two steps, Rainbow Fluff pulled on her shirt and tugged her back. Nemo turned around quizzically and saw a ball of drained color furiously shaking it's head.

Nemo patted the fluff and assured it they would not enter the woods. Rainbow Fluff was clearly frightened and there were no signs of the White Titan there. Today was a team activity, being selfish was a no-no.

“I wish you were this cooperative earlier,” said a voice that Nemo ignored. “Listen here, you. The manor was built on a land twisted by forces you cannot possibly imagine. Within the authority of the Count, we are safe, but the further we wander and the longer we linger, the world is going to eat us alive! Do you understand? Stop screwing around!”

The world eating them? Stop making stuff up.

“I am about to really let you have it.”

Nemo turned around and made funny faces, taunting the voice. She had no body, what was the voice going to do, curse her to death? She continued and the body of the maid was desperately trying to calm something down.

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“Gah!” the voice yelled and Nemo was taken aback. Maybe she pushed her luck a bit too far. She braced herself for the slew of beep words that didn’t come.

The world was silent. Then it exploded into shrieks. It came from the woods, but the trees didn’t cry. They laughed without making a sound, but she heard them speaking into her mind. Before she could comprehend what was going on, from within the tangled mass flew giant eyeballs.

They were bloodshot eyes twice the size of Nemo. The bulging bloody veins dripped red liquid and squirmed within a sickly yellow wrapped in pulsing skin. The iris was shattered, fracturing as the veins traveled through them. The pupil, could only be described as darkness.

Nemo froze, the sight shocked her for a moment. However, she snapped out of it and quickly turned to the Headless Maid who already had magical energy swirling in a bucket she produced out of thin air, which Rainbow Fluff instantly plopped in to hide.

“Run!”

The two bolted with Rainbow fluff in toll. The monster eyeballs began to give chase. They were fast. How did they even fly? Their mass boiled and tendrils began to shoot out from their back. The attacking shots cracked the ground and splattered, dissolving into a mist of steam and melted the ground.

What was that? Isn’t that really dangerous?

The assault of exploding corrosive missiles continued, but thanks to the magic of Headless Maid, the voice cautioning them of incoming attacks, and of course, Nemo’s superior agility, the three remained unscathed.

“Why are you so useless?” the voice screamed as the body picked her up. Nemo lied. She was pretty slow and required her companion to carry her. She was thankful she was rather light.

The three, or rather, only Headless Maid ran. The escape was going well, but as more and more eyeballs converged, their assault became much more difficult to defend against. One of the tendrils made it through the maid’s barrier and forced her to jump. The attack missed Nemo and her carrier, but it hit the bucket and Rainbow Fluff fell out.

The eyeballs converged on the helpless fluff. One was faster than the rest. Its pupil widened, the darkness within extended towards the entirety of the eye and revealed thousands of scattered teeth. It swallowed the fluff.

No!

Nemo screamed a soundless cry but before she was able to push herself away from the maid’s grip and go help her friend, the monster exploded and disintegrated others near the explosion. Within the smoke and ashes was a shivering Rainbow Fluff.

Nemo ran to the poor creature and wrapped her arms around it, calming it down. The terrified ball soon settled down and looked up. It was scared. Nemo patted its head and the teary eyes began to smile. That was when Nemo realized the out to their situation. Why doesn’t she just toss the exploding deadly weapon at the monsters?

Rainbow Fluff sensed her intention. It shook his head and attempted to pry free of Nemo’s grip. Nemo gave the fluff a resolute stare. They need it to step up. They were counting on it. If the fluff was scared it could simply close its eyes and trust Nemo. She gave it a thumbs up and the fluff puffed its body, They could do this.

Nemo pulled back her hand. She identified a group of monsters, still hesitant after witnessing what happened. She ran and aimed, throwing the fluff of destruction with all her might. The fluff soared. It then plopped on the ground. Oops. It seemed like Nemo was also quite weak.

“We’ll handle it,” the voice sighed and Headless Maid approached. Rainbow Fluff also turned towards Nemo with an exasperated expression. It then formed a picture of a young girl holding a ball and batting some monsters. Nemo smiled. They could count on her. “Hold onto Master Rainbow Fluff.”

Nemo held Rainbow Fluff in both hands. Time to dunk on some fools. Headless Maid grabbed her clothes and chucked her into the group of monsters. Nemo was not scared. She had a weapon in her hand.

Nemo slammed the fluff into the eyeball, the force splattered the monster and the shock wave exploded the others in the vicinity. She was flying, guiding the fluff towards their enemies. She flew like an arrow, taking down monsters like some ancient folklore hero shooting down the suns. It took a while, but after most of the monsters died, the remaining fled.

They did it.

When Nemo and the fluff returned to the ground, all three of them gave each other a high five. She felt bad for leaving the voice out, but what could she do?

“So, what now?” the voice asked and the three of them realized they still needed to find the White Titan.

Onward!