Track 24 - A Botched Setup

"W-well you guys did it all wrong!"

With a groggy head, Tabi awoke to the sound of chatter.

The first thing he noticed was that he was really comfortable. And warm too. He didn't really want to get up at first. Opening his eyes slowly he found he was laid down facing up. Directly above him was a wooden ceiling, a simple fan in the middle of it. He had the brief thought he passed away but could see his snout. No. He was still alive.

Slowly he arose, finding himself in a large bed, tucked in. The place was completely foreign to him. Looking around he was in some sort of wooden room, railing overlooking another room just below him. With the height he found himself at he guessed he had woken up in some open attic.

There was a window on the wall across from him. Glancing from the bed he could tell it was storming out. Rain drops hit the window at an alarming rate, the sound of the water hitting the roof becoming known to him.

Gathering his wits he felt sore all over, especially his back. Though he could feel no stab wounds it felt as if someone had jammed a lance into his back. His hunger-induced headache was gone replaced with a sore back.

Unsure of how long he'd been out, he decided the best course was to get up. The last thing he recalled was blacking out fighting Zardy. And someone had screamed.

He reached to check his phone to find it wasn't in his pant pocket. Right. Agoti had it. He noticed then that he wasn't wearing his usual clothes either. His hoodie and undershirt were gone, an oversized white t-shirt on instead. He noticed his pants had been swapped as well; he was now wearing grey sweatpants as opposed to his cut up jeans.

"What the?" He noticed that his stomach area had bandages around it. Poking at them he felt fine, no scars or anything. His pants were still on but his shoes were gone too. His hat was missing as well. He struggled to remember what had happened. Where was he? For that matter where was Agoti too?

Now Playing...

Artist: Manna/Mirage

Song: Instant Cloud Effect

This room was barren. Right to the bed were a wall of boxes that ended around the corner leading out of the room. Behind him was the railing overlooking the chatter and next to him was a nightstand with a photo of people he'd never seen before. There was no sign of his clothes or phone, and realizing it now his knife had been taken as well. He carefulness taking over he kept still and listened to the chatter.

There were a few people talking, he could make out Agoti talking to someone. He didn't sound angry or threatened. He heard S too, cackling maniacally from a phone speaker. It didn't sound like a tense scene.

He slowly got up, placing his hands on the bed frame. Seeing his bony arms made him cringe slightly. He didn't like looking at them, even if his real body was still there. They were clearly visible through the blue haze that indicated the shape of his arm.

Looking down, he sighed. Like the rest of his body the Family's magic had affected him. His feet had the appearance of bones but instead of feet they were paws, 3-toed, claws on the end of each coloured in the same ghastly white.

Agoti had seen them once, teasing him about being an anthro. Tabi hated it though he could do little to stop Agoti's jokes.

The bed squeaked loudly and Tabi froze. The sound quieted the voices below. He hoped he wasn't heard. Practically crawling off the bed he knelt on the ground, peering over the wooden railing.

Below was a typical cabin household, albeit appearing more like a ski lodge. He spotted Agoti sitting on a couch near a fireplace in the corner. He was just on his phone talking to someone. He seemed a little worried. Tabi knew the expression too well. He was speaking to Sol.

Behind Agoti and just below Tabi he saw...Zardy sitting at rounded table.

Anger starting to bubble again he considered jumping off and toppling Zardy but hoped there had to be a good reason.

Zardy didn't notice Tabi and was cleaning his hoe. He didn't speak much but occasionally glanced up at someone in front of him. S was nowhere to be seen but he heard the fake hedgehog giggling from somewhere below.

A number of animal mounts lined the wall alongside various paintings and charts. Seeing the wooden walls and large windows revealed where he was. This was the house he saw back when they entered the farm. He gathered he must have been taken there after blacking out. Since Zardy didn't appear to killing anyone he guessed a truce had been found or something equally peaceful. He looked around but saw none of Zardy's posse around.

Agoti was just staring up in the air as he spoke. Figuring the scene was safe Tabi got ready to go.

He felt naked without his regular clothing, knife or phone. He hoped there would've been a good reason as to why it had been taken. Slightly embarrassed by his appearance he tried to repeat your words from the operation. Of course they meant nothing in these circumstances as he repeated them. He felt vulnerable without his 'trademarked' clothes.

Shaking his head he got up and going around the box wall found the stairs and came downstairs.

Zardy was the first to notice Tabi enter, his eyes furrowing at him. It looked as if he was about to say something but turned his focus back to cleaning his weapon. Tabi could see his side stitched up, just where he had slashed the scarecrow.

Zardy was seated just underneath the half-floor Tabi had awoken on. This part of the house was open, the kitchen, dining room and living room all the same room, highly decorated with various artefacts, a taxidermied cow, and some stuffies strewn about the place.

And despite the size he noticed a hallway nearby with more rooms. It was a very spatial house.

Getting off the staircase he surveyed the scene. His phone was propped up on the kitchen table near Zardy and lit-up signalling S' presence. Zardy was still cleaning the hoe, wiping it down with some cloth. Across the table from him he saw what he thought was an anthro bunny girl. She looked very young, had to just be a teenager.

She had a sewing set in front of her, working on some dark-coloured garment. She hadn't noticed Tabi, focused on sewing and talking to S. She didn't appear the least bit scared, something Tabi picking up immediately.

His first impression was that she was Zardy's daughter or something. She looked a bit spooked seeing Tabi, quickly looking away flustered.

Unfamiliar with both of them he walked up to Agoti, snapping him out of conversation with his father.

"Sorry, Dad, gotta go. I'll call you later. You-know-who woke up." He said and hung up.

"Hey buddy, welcome back to the land of the living." He said, grinning.

Trying not to sound too grumpy, Tabi asked. "What happened? How long have I been out?" He coughed, his throat feeling rusty.

"Well you got shot in the back with a lightning bolt and blacked out. It's been about two hours."

"A lightning bolt?"

"Yeah. Here. Let me introduce you." Agoti got up and led him to the table where Zardy and the girl were.

"Where are my clothes? And knife? And what's with these bandages?" Tabi whispered to Agoti.

"Well, Pompom's working on your hoodie right now and your pants should be coming out of the wash soon. Your knife is in the sink last I checked." Agoti said.

"She was pretty adamant she scarred you with the blast."

"I-"

"Yeah, don't worry. I already told her it was pointless. Anyways she insisted we bandage where she shot you."

"W-what?"

Agoti just smiled and continued. "Alright, this here is Zardy, prince of the corn fields, proprietor of his maze. We're already introduced. He's not such a bad guy once you get to know him."

"..." Zardy just glared at Tabi and continued his work. He had a grimace on, still bitter about the whole confrontation. He had nothing to say to the 'goat-man'. His hat was missing too, instead revealing a simple burlap head.

"Ah, you're back? I had a bet you'd be out for longer. I could've taken that shot easily." S jokingly said. Tabi's phone was on the table on a stand. Though at an angle, Tabi could see S waving to him.

"Hey! That's not funny!" The girl said.

Now Playing...

Artist: Manna/Mirage

Song: Practicing Tonglin in the Time of War

"And this is Pomona, she lives on this farm." Agoti said motioning to the girl. It was now that Tabi understood what Agoti meant. She was in the middle of putting some kind of patch on his hoodie. "You can call her Pompom."

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She got up and bowed to Tabi. "I'm sorry about that mister. It's just, well you got in the way and, I, uh, kinda hit you."

Tabi wasn't sure what she was. She definitely wasn't human, though she was pretty close. While she had a rounded, human-like head, stranding from where her ears, or hair would have been were 2 large apple slices. He thought them to be ears but he wasn't sure. From afar he would have thought she was a rabbit anthro. But she had no fur, let alone any other features that made her anthro-like. Her skin was the colour of light cinnamon.

She had two large eyes, a rounded nose and a large smile. She must have been a teenager and stood about Kapi's height. She wore a bright red t-shirt which matched her apple hair, gold belt and a long tan cream skirt with orange ballet shoes with orange and yellow straps. She had the 'rural' look down, fitting just as much on this farm as Zardy did.

"It's, uh, okay. What are you doing to my hoodie?" Tabi asked dryly.

"Well, I'm fixing it!" She was beaming now.

Over the years he his hoodie had grown tattered and scratched. He never kept other clothes for space reasons. It had accumulated a few holes on it too. Looking at her work he saw she sewn a few patches on them, covering the holes. They were red plaid patches. It clearly did not fit with his navy blue hoodie but it was too late. He just sighed. The damage was done. She took it off the machine and held it up. She had even sewn some brown patches into the elbows, where the thread had really come loose.

"Do you like it?"

Not wanting to disappoint her he just nodded.

"Thanks! I'm gonna work on your pants when they come out of the wash."

Tabi looked to Agoti. There was still a lot unanswered.

"I'll fill ya in. Take a seat."

"I'll tell him!" Pompom interrupted. "I heard you guys fighting Zardy and I tried to save you! I didn't know he was in the maze-"

Zardy slammed the wooden end of the hoe on the table. "Tell the truth, Pomona." He said authoritatively.

Her ears fell slightly as she pouted. "Sorry...."

Agoti explained first. "Well, Pompom here is better known as Applejack1. See, she broke the code and has been messaging S here."

"You're Applejack?" Tabi said surprised.

"Y-yes."

She looked to Zardy, the scarecrow awaiting her to 'tell the truth'. "Do I have to tell again? I already explained it once."

"I'll explain then." Agoti started. "She had some elaborate plan to have Zardy fight us, then she'd save us, 'knocking' Zardy out. Though it clearly didn't work."

"That's right." Zardy said. "I was supposed to hold back, just frighten you a little. But you." Zardy glared at Tabi. "Just had to go overboard." Tabi didn't say anything, not feeling like restarting the fight.

"W-well you guys did it all wrong! It was supposed to Sonic who got scared! Plus, plus! Y-you set the field on fire, a-and you didn't grab the axe. You guys weren't playing along right!" Pompom started to pout.

"What? We were attacked. How were we supposed to..wait why did you even-what was even the purpose of the plan?! Why'd you have him attack us? I thought you were wanted to join." Tabi asked, bewildered.

"W-well, I heard what Sonic said and I thought you guys wouldn't take me." She said quietly.

"Well, no we won't. How old even are you? You're far too young for this."

"I'm 14." Her previous happy expression has faded. She was in the hot seat now.

Tabi looked at Agoti who just shrugged. He'd already been through this conversation.

"Where are your parents? It's not you is it?" Tabi asked then looked at Zardy.

"I'm not her father. I'm just the guardian of this land." Zardy said, still bitter at Tabi. "She just asked me for a favour." He shrugged, all responsibility having been taken off his shoulders. "Don't feel bad. I would've attacked you anyways. I have a right to defend my land." Zardy spat. Tabi wasn't going to take the bait, ignoring Zardy instead.

"Mom and Dad are outside fixing up the field, and getting the animals to safety. They were out for the day." Pomona just looked downcast. That explains why it had to be today, Tabi thought. The parents had no clue of this.

"I want to speak with them. Do you even know why we're even recruiting?"

"S said it was for a really cool cause."

Tabi was starting to get angry, realizing that coming out really was just a waste of time. If he didn't like the country so much he would have been furious. Instead he just exhaled in annoyance.

He wondered if anyone had ever heard of the family this far out in the country.

"Look. Thanks for solving the riddle and coming out there but we can't have you on the team. You're barely of age and what we're doing is far too dangerous." Tabi said, trying to sound as professional as he could.

"Aw, no fair! I'm perfect for the job! S said so after all. S said I could join too!"

Tabi looked at the phone, glaring at S incredulously.

"Ehn, I think it's fine if she joins. I don't see the issue. She knows her magic. She reminds me of myself in my younger days." He said, acquiring an accent to sound professional.

Agoti had been listening. He had been almost pulled into the conversation hours ago. He refused, stating that Tabi was in charge. He was much better at saying no than him.

"She's literally a child!"

"Hey I'm practically a teenager! I can make my own decisions."

"What's the problem?" S said again. He genuinely didn't see the issue. Right, Tabi sighed. S barely had a moral compass at all. Of course he wouldn't see the problem. He looked to Agoti, hoping he shared his opinion.

"I mean..."

"Not you too..." Tabi said.

"Well what is this group’s goal then? If it's so dangerous why don't you just tell us what it is?" Zardy asked.

Tabi paused, unsure of how to answer the question. He looked at Agoti with a look of "should we?" Agoti nodded.

"Ugh, fine. But you all promise you won't tell a soul about this. Have you ever heard of the Dearest Family?"

Pompom shook her head. Zardy looked as if he was about to say something but stopped. It did break his concentration. "Pretend I don't." He said after a few seconds.

"Well, hold on. What do you know?" Tabi asked. He considered Zardy demonic, and if he was, his relation to the Family was suspect.

"I know they're a family. My people are aware of them. And we avoid them for good reason." He winced, not wanting to say that.

"Okay..." Tabi gave a condensed version of the events that had happened. He laid into the detail of the crimes they've committed in an attempt to scare Pompom. She seemed a bit taken back as he recounted what happened. He even added references to what they had done to you, himself and Agoti. They weren't some 'bullies on the schoolyard', as Tabi put it. Zardy had little reaction to what was being said, listening attentively.

"That's why you can't join. It's too dangerous." Tabi concluded proudly. He waited anxiously for Pompom to agree.

"That's so cool!" She shouted, eyes glowing. "I want in. We have to stop them! Be like a superhero team, they're gonna be all 'oh no' and we're gonna hit them with so much magic!" Pompom said in excitement.

He had mis-read her. She wasn't taken back. She was getting more and more interested.

"Yes. I would help too but my vines are useless in such concrete areas." Zardy added, offering a look of interest to Tabi.

Tabi glared at Agoti, hoping he would back him up.

"I think Tabi's right. You might be too young for this. At least, what do your parents think?" He said.

"Oh, I've told them about the crew and riddle already. They were excited. So can I join?"

Tabi furrowed his brow. It was clear there was no arguing with her.

"I want to hear what your parents say first." Tabi said, hoping they would see reason.

"Okay! They should be here any minute." She said happily and got back to sewing.

Figuring Zardy was the closest thing to an authority figure, Tabi asked him about Pompom joining.

"She's a smarter girl than you think." He said, not glancing up. "I wouldn't count her out just yet." Tabi just grumbled, not wanting to speak anymore to Zardy.

Half an hour later Pompom's parents did arrive, albeit soaked from the rain. They only served to confuse Tabi more as neither of them looked like Pompom. Her mother was a witch, all black frayed dress and hat like a stereotypical witch would. She carried with her a broomstick that appeared as if she rode on. She was the spitting image of a witch and introduced herself as Amelia Carrot.

Pompom's father was a farmer, overalls, plaid shirt and an overall grand man. He had a large moustache, thick beard and thick eyelashes. He was the spitting image of a farmer. He said a damp hullo and called himself Ronan Carrot.

Pompom gleefully introduced Agoti and Tabi to them, introducing them as friends. She mentioned S too though didn't explain that he wasn't 'real'.

Tabi tried to be professional and explained the already weird situation. The Dad excused himself citing that he was a simple man and this was beyond his grasp. He noted that if Pompom wanted to do it and she knew the consequences he would support her every step of the way. He left stating to ask his wife instead. He departed to his room, ready for a nap.

Annoyed, Tabi tried to reason with Amelia instead. She listened much more attentively, and had even heard of the family themselves. She agreed that they needed to be taken out, her apparently having some minor scuffle with them in the past.

When Tabi had finished his speech she spoke.

"My, Pomona you've certainly gotten yourself involved in some heavy things."

"Can I do it mom? Please? Please?" She begged.

"And what if you get hurt?"

"I've mastered teleport and I have the emergency charm too!"

"Hmmm. I don't know...~Are you sure you're ready for something like this?"

"Of course! These people need my help."

"Hmmm..."

Tabi couldn't believe himself. "We're literally robbing some of the most powerful people in the city. This isn't some school trip." He said.

"Have you finished your level 5 spells dear?"

"Almost! I've mastered mis-remembrance."

"Well, finish up that and I'll allow it. But you'll need to come home every night. And get your homework done in time. No falling behind."

"Aw, thanks mom! I won't let you down." Pompom hugged her mom.

"C-can I-Hold on. Let me just ask the leader." Tabi said, stammering. He still didn't feel okay with this. He grabbed his phone and flicked S off it. He dialled your number.

You were currently at Displo's trying to deal with Huggy. While Huggy was relatively calm on the drive there, at Displo's he was incomprehensible.

Displo had requested an IRIS physician to come do a checkup on the monster. Upon seeing a man in a lab coat, Huggy freaked out. You weren't sure if it was trauma or something but it took a bit to calm him down. After the physician came re-dressed in civvies he had calmed down.

"What's up?" You ask. "How's it going with your recruitment?" You were currently cleaning up the messed up meeting room, no thanks to Huggy.

"I need your help (Y/N)...." Tabi tried his best to summarize everything including his ever-increasing anxiety at Pomona and the increasing possibility she'd join.

When Tabi first mentioned a child, you figured it to be a joke but, nay, he was serious. When he explained the whole "Zardy setup" you noted that as a good quality, that she could plan something like that was a positive. You picked up that he was trying to undersell her, which you didn't blame. She was only 12 after all. You ask him to put on her mother and speak.

After a brief conversation about potential issues, risks and locations you thanked her. She had answers to everything from an emergency spell Pomona could cast to escape as well as that 'mis-remembrance' spell. That Pomona had a spell to erase short-term memories was good and an asset. You told Amelia that she'd have to sign some forms but that you'd be okay with it. She had all the right answers too.

You would've been more apprehensive if Amelia wasn't a complete professional but she understood everything, even offering her magic services if the time comes. She was an expert. You didn't want to completely abandon Tabi either, instead asking them to do a meet-and-great with the remaining members (Kapi and Displo, namely).

As you and her mother spoke Agoti leaned over to ask Zardy a question. "What exactly is Pompom anyways?"

"She's an apple pie that got hit with magic years ago."

"Oh, huh." He was just as confused.

"That should be all then. Do you think you and Pomona could come to the hideout tonight? Just so we can get our bearings and figure out how exactly this will work."

"Certainly!"

You concluded the call that with a 'thanks, see you soon'. For now it was up to you, Kapi and Displo to fix up the hideout. Huggy had toppled quite a few things in his panic.

She handed the phone back to Tabi.

"Well mom? Is it okay? Can I help?"

"You can dear. But I'll need to accompany you tonight. It's the leader's rules."

Tabi wasn't sure what to make of it. You had approved, though with the caveat of Amelia's presence. He figured you had a good reason for allowing it. Receiving a text from you about the 'interview-meetup' calmed him slightly too. Better to have everyone agree first.

"I won't let you down. I promise!" Pompom said excitedly.

With the storm still raging outside and Tabi's pants still in the wash, Amelia encouraged them to stay a little longer for a late lunch and that they'd all leave later.

For now he just took a seat at the table, wondering when Pompom would be finished decking out his hoodie.

Pompom has joined the party!

Pompom's Card [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F474uAxXAAAAB0f?format=jpg&name=large]

The next chapter will be called A Girl and Her Stuffy.