[Cherry Heart] Race to the Top

[King K. Azo]

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A rather fancy looking paper was pinned to the quest board. The handwriting was very neat, and it detailed both the mission and an address to head to. Armed with this knowledge, the group headed off towards this address...

Quest: Race to the Top
 
Client: Joker and Felicia
 
Task: Retrieval of an herb.
 
Details: Our master's wife has fallen ill, and is coming closer to death every day, The doctors have done all they can, but it seems all that can help her is a rare herb that grows high on a mountain in the Tartai Mountains. We would go ourselves, but our master will not allow us, as he wants to help our mistress as much as possible. So we have contacted a few guilds in hopes that one of them will be able to bring it to us.
 
Location: Tartai Mountains

As they neared the address, the group of Cherry Heart Members would find a large gate, surrounded by a wall. Standing in front of the gate was a man dressed in butler attire, with his long silver hair tied up in a ponytail, and a maid, her pink hair also done up in a ponytail. The maid perked up as soon as she saw the group, nudging the man, who was fiddling with a dagger. He swiftly placed the silver dagger into his pocket and faced the group.

"Thank you for your prompt arrival," He said, elegantly bowing to the group. "Know that it warms our hearts that you would take this mission,"

"Y-yes, thank you very much!" The maid added, beginning to bow, but somehow tripping, landing on her face. "Ow...," The butler sighed in frustration before standing back up. 

"I am known as Joker, and I will be your guide to the mountain," He stated, acting as if the maid didn't just make a complete fool of herself and the staff in front of the group. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to the mountain. Luckily, it is only about a half an hour journey from here," With that, he walked off, headed to the mountain range that could be seen in the distance. "Feel free to ask any questions you may have, as long as they are not too personal,"

The maid picked herself off the group, dusting herself off. She would wait here for another group to show up, so she could lead them to the mountains. Hopefully, she wouldn't make a fool of herself this time.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

-BGM-

 

Kin was a lot happier that in this quest, they didn't have to rely on a carriage. Which meant no motion sickness! Not only this, but he had pretty much the same team he had on his first quest in Cherry Heart: Myth, and Eris. However, instead of Mary and Tobias...they had with them a newcomer: Liz. Regardless, due to him not knowing about this newcomer's abilities, Kin was already under the impression that he and the other two would be able to complete this mission...especially with how they worked during "Hunt the Beast".

 

"Looks like we're here!" Kin called out, obviously heading off and being the first one of the group as they walked towards the address. He had a lot more energy this go around...thank goodness there was no carriage or vehicle.

 

Soon they would all get to the address, being greeted by the ones who gave the quest: Joker and Felicia.

 

"Thank you for your prompt arrival. Know that it warms our hearts that you would take this mission."

 

Kin nodded and flashed a quick smile, only to see the maid falling flat on her face. He tried his best not to laugh, as he looked away, doing his best not to snicker. Regardless, he listened to the butler speak once more.

 

"I am known as Joker, and I will be your guide to the mountain. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to the mountain. Luckily, it is only about a half an hour journey from here. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, as long as they are not too personal."

 

"Well then...guess we start off with an obvious one then." Kin spoke out first. "About how many guilds did you contact to help out with this?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Eristhene Claudia Tiberis

 

With the mother and daughter pair regretfully being knocked out of action, a woman in a strange garb joined the team, seemingly being a new addition to the guild. Well, it was not really a team, but with how fate had Eris join up with both Kin and Myth once more, they more or less was a team now. Eris was of course quite determined to give her best this time. Her display on the previous quest was quite shameful for her as a proud Caethian soldier, and she could not afford to be belittled by her guildmates. The others were seemingly in a similar competitive mood too, which would prove as something that could be interesting, or a pain for her. Kin was looking to be a lot more cheerful than during the previous quest, perhaps since he was not bothered by motion sickness, while Myth was seemingly similarly eager.

 

As the group started walking towards the mountain range, Kin eagerly asked a question towards the butler that lead the group - Joker.

 

 

"Well then...guess we start off with an obvious one then. About how many guilds did you contact to help out with this?"

 

"Right, that is a big thing. We might have to compete with them, so knowing how much opposition do we have here would be important.

 

Also, aside from them, anything in this mountain that could pose enough threat for us to be careful?"

 

---

[Wind Rider]

The walk to the quest location was uneventful to say the least. Kin seemed to be cheerful the whole way to the mountain, something about motion sickness or something. The girl with guns in her wings had also joined on this quest, she seemed to be very acquainted with Kin and Myth, could this be the team Myth was talking about? Either way, it was just another guild member Liz had to keep an eye on. The girl looked towards Liz with a weird look of sorts, probably looking at Liz's gear, it wasn't new to her, her group works in secret so few people recognize her clothing. Liz just tipped her hat to the onlooker and continued to walk on.

 

When they got to the base of the mountain the clients were waiting for them. They introduced themselves as Joker and Felicia, though Felicia had a bit of a slip up in her introduction. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to the mountain. Luckily, it is only about a half an hour journey from here. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, as long as they are not too personal." At the sound of this, Kin and the new girl asked a few questions.

 

"Well then...guess we start off with an obvious one then. About how many guilds did you contact to help out with this?" Kin had a good point, they needed to know what guilds they were going to beating to the top. "Right, that is a big thing. We might have to compete with them, so knowing how much opposition do we have here would be important. Also, aside from them, anything in this mountain that could pose enough threat for us to be careful?" Also another valid point, it wasn't just the other guilds they have to worry about.

 

"Well, *sniff,sniff* judging by the smells... there are a couple of Beasts hear and there... but nothing we can't handle."

[Mr. Hyde]

 

The journey to their destination was rather boring, but it was good being able to talk to Kin this time around instead of him always almost barfing in a vehicle of sorts.  One of the slightly lesser drawbacks of being a legendary dragon slayer.  

 

The team was back together...with a few exceptions.  Mary and Toby were still in recovery...it was a shame they couldn't wait and cheer them up with a new mission, but time was money.  Instead, they had one of their newest Cherry Heart recruits with them today...the girl who had suggested that once all of this was said and done, the three of them would have a bout to see who was strong.  Myth's fists tightened.  She would see how strong both he and Kin were on this quest.

 

Once they had finally made it to the rather large estate, they were greeted by what seemed to be servants of the property.  Joker and Felicia respectively.  

 

 "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to the mountain. Luckily, it is only about a half an hour journey from here.  Feel free to ask any questions you may have, as long as they are not too personal."

 

"About how many guilds did you contact to help out with this?" Kin asked away.  It was a good question..but one that Myth had pondered himself.  

 

"Right, that is a big thing. We might have to compete with them, so knowing how much opposition do we have here would be important.  Also, aside from them, anything in this mountain that could pose enough threat for us to be careful?"

 

"Well,  judging by the smells... there are a couple of Beasts hear and there... but nothing we can't handle." 

 

"It seems quite odd that they would accept more than one response to this quest...do they not want this herb as soon as humanly possible?  Why would they pose the risk of hampering another guild's progress through competition..."  Myth sighed.  It wasn't his place to question the actions of the request.  He would wait to further ask questions until they were actually shown opposition from another guild.  

[King K. Azo]

After telling the guild members they could ask questions, Joker took his dagger and began to spin it in his head. It wasn't to intimidate the group or anything (he highly doubted it would anyways), it was just how he took his mind off his Mistress's condition.

 

”About how many guilds did you contact to help out with this?" Kin asked. Joker shook his head. This one was going to be fun to answer. He kept quiet for now though, as the others had questions.

 

"Right, that is a big thing. We might have to compete with them, so knowing how much opposition do we have here would be important. Also, aside from them, anything in this mountain that could pose enough threat for us to be careful?” Eris added. Also a good question. And he had quite a few answers for that one to.

 

"Well, judging by the smells... there are a couple of Beasts here and there... but nothing we can't handle." Liz commented. She was right, and wrong at the same time. How very odd... She didn't seem like a Gyhanid or the likes, but her nose seemed to be on par with one.

 

"It seems quite odd that they would accept more than one response to this quest...do they not want this herb as soon as humanly possible? Why would they pose the risk of hampering another guild's progress through competition...?" Myth sighed. Joker nodded. It was a risk, but it was one they had to take, for a reason.

 

"To answer your questions... we contacted all of them,” He said simply, twirling his dagger. "The better question is 'How many actually answered'? And to that, the answer is three, although one has not shown up yet,” he pondered upon the next question. ”The mountains have things like bears, wolves... I think a yeti lives on the higher elevations... honestly though, they won't bother you if you don't bother them,” He decided to ignore Myth's question. He didn't like it when people questioned his ideas. In the distance, they would see the mountain getting closer and closer. However, in the opposite direction, they would hear the noises of someone approaching them.

 

Quickly coming in behind them was a band of five people, being chased down by Felicia. What on Earth was going on...? Joker shook his head. He should have asked Flora to help him out here... then again, that would leave Felicia watching the Mistress. Oh, why did life do this to him?

 

As the new group approached, it was easy to make out that there were four males and a female, the female looking around the age of 18, while the males seemed to be in the age ranges of sixteen to twenty-three. They seemed to wear matching white uniforms with the symbol of Basswood embellishing their chests.

 

"H-hey! Wait up guys!" Felicia called as she chased them. Joker sighed.

 

"And who do we have the delight of meeting?" Joker's voice dripped with sarcasm and frustration. "And why are they leading you instead of the other way around?”

 

“Hey, don't talk about us like we're not here!” The tallest man shouted, his blue hair waving in the wind. “As for who we are...," He suddenly started to lean to the right, extending one hand over his head as he kept the other close to his chest. “Brooke!”

 

“Giero!” A younger green haired man mirrored Brooke, their fingers touching as he did.

 

“Crystal!” the brown haired girl cheered, standing in front of Brooke and spreading her legs out, pointing one arm outwards and folding her other arm other her chest.

 

“Momo!” The youngest boy called out, his short red hair flowing in the wind as he stood in front of Giero, mirroring Crystal's pose.

 

“And Apollo!” the final blonde haired man stated, getting on his knee and pointing his arms towards the ground. “And together, the eight of us (even though not all eight of us are here...) are the—“

 

"THE HOURLY PART TIMERS SQUAD!!" they all yelled in unison. It was quiet as the two servants watched the two, the wind blowing a tumbleweed past the scene. Joker then coughed.

 

"Shall we get going?" He turned and headed back to the mountain, which looked to be a good five minutes away. Dear God, what was his life turning into?

[Wind Rider]

So... including Cherry Heart, Joker and Felicia had called for three other guilds, this could get interesting. ”The mountains have things like bears, wolves... I think a yeti lives on the higher elevations... honestly though, they won't bother you if you don't bother them,” disappointing to say the least, Liz really wanted to see some action from the wildlife, though the blood from a rival guild sounds more enticing, especially since she has been using the synthetic crap her group made for most of her life.

 

A few minutes later, Felicia came running behind a new group of people with matching uniforms, "Heh, and I thought my group was the only one with matching clothes," Liz mumbled. The group introduced themselves in a rather... glamorous fashion. Liz could only look with absolute annoyance at the group before her, "This... this is our competition... I'd be lying if I said I was impressed... no way I... we, are losing to a group like you," Liz was kinda harsh in her remark to this group of newcomers, though it was probably just her competitive nature talking.

 

"Shall we get going?" Joker said with a cough. "Yeah lets," Liz said tightening her left glove. If this is all the newcomers guild had to offer, than Liz just had to show them a thing or two.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

“Brooke!”
“Giero!”
“Crystal!”
“Momo!”
“And Apollo! And together, the eight of us (even though not all eight of us aren't here...) are the—“
"THE HOURLY PART TIMERS SQUAD!!"

 

Kin watched this as he blinked a few times in the direction of this multicolored group, before doing something possibly no one else was doing: he began to laugh. Not a chuckle, nor a snicker...but this was a full on laugh. He gasped for air, laughing pretty harder than he should've...but this was too much!

 

"O-Okay...okay time out..." Kin said, putting his hands up before wiping a few tears out of his eyes. "What is this? What even is this? Multicolored uniforms? Weird poses? Are you guys sure this is a guild?" he said, laughing again with a smirk. "Looks to me like a group of cosplayers trying to audition for a movie."

 

A low blow, perhaps. But nevertheless, Kin had to say it...because this opportunity was just too good to pass up. He shook his head slightly, turning on his heel and returned to following Joker up the mountain. It was obvious that they were their "competition", but he wasn't worried in the slightest...they had Dragon Slayer magic on their side...plus Myth's Wind magic.

 

They had this in the bag.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Eristhene Claudia Tiberis

 

Were they really serious?

 

Eris was definitely not amused with the display before her. Such a sorry display of pride, all that they would achieve with that would be just shame at best. That was not how one should do their introductory segment. It was not a display tempered by discipline and love for something grander than them, it's born out of vanity. Although, despite how much she did not show her approval for the dynamic entry, at the very least Eris could appreciate their willingness to pose as a group. That would be something to genuinely be proud of.

 

"They...really are our rival in doing this?"

 

As stupid looking as they were, they might still pose a threat. Being a proud soldier of the Caethian army, she should deal with them before they pose an actual threat to the mission, but as much as her instinct told her to do so, it would just be really rude for her to do that right now, especially since they would not get the chance to properly prove themselves to her and her team just yet.

 

"Shall we get going?"

 

"Let's get this started. I'm starting to get an itch by just standing here doing nothing."

 

---

[Mr. Hyde]

 

“Brooke!”
“Giero!”
“Crystal!”
“Momo!”
“And Apollo! And together, the eight of us (even though not all eight of us aren't here...) are the—“
"THE HOURLY PART TIMERS SQUAD!!"

 

Their adversaries in this quest had appeared before them...and frankly, they didn't look all to threatening.  Their pose, however, must've taken quite a long time to memorize.  Myth clapped.  The performance was worth at least that much.  However, the rest of his team seemed to take it as a humorous showing.  

 

"This... this is our competition... I'd be lying if I said I was impressed... no way I... we, are losing to a group like you,"

 

"O-Okay...okay time out...What is this? What even is this? Multicolored uniforms? Weird poses? Are you guys sure this is a guild?  Looks to me like a group of cosplayers trying to audition for a movie."

 

"They...really are our rival in doing this?"

 

Myth shook his head from side to side.  He wagged a finger at his guild mates.

 

"The first mistake when meeting an adversary, is underestimating them.  They seem confident in their abilities...and showmanship.  Maybe they can one up us in both departments."  Myth nodded.  He stuck up for the little guy...as he always had.  Of course, he couldn't help but be a little hypocritical.  Even though he didn't wish to underestimate his opponents, they sure did look a tad bit goofy.  Myth followed Joker and Felicia, tagging along with his guild mates.  

 

It was strange...Joker had answered all of their questions besides his.  It didn't quite sit right with him.  It was as if there was something that the help wasn't telling them.  It made Joker seem all the more suspicious...his defenses were at an all time high.  

[King K. Azo]

"This... this is our competition... I'd be lying if I said I was impressed... no way I... we, are losing to a group like you," Liz's words didn't effect the group at all, although for some reason they didn't stop doing their poses.
 
"O-Okay...okay time out..." Kin was laughing hard. "What is this? What even is this? Multicolored uniforms? Weird poses? Are you guys sure this is a guild?" he said, laughing again with a smirk. "Looks to me like a group of cosplayers trying to audition for a movie."  The group looked at themselves. 
 
"Being in a movie would be kinda cool," Momo interjected quietly. Not everyone could afford to live on guild commission, after all, and while he loved his part time job... who wouldn't want to be in the movies?
 
"They...really are our rival in doing this?" Eris added, somehow being heard over Kin's laughter. Joker coughed a bit, but before he could say anything, Myth actually defended the group.
 
"The first mistake when meeting an adversary, is underestimating them.  They seem confident in their abilities...and showmanship.  Maybe they can one up us in both departments." Whether Myth actually meant it or not was unknown to the group, but they took it as a compliment and fell out of formation, going to follow the two hired help, staying behind Cherry Heart.

"Alright," Felicia turned and walked backwards to talk to the groups. "On the very top of the mountain is a snowy hill, and on the very--- WAAAAH!" Felicia managed to fall backwards, but Joker reached out, grabbing her hand and pulled her up, all without looking. "Top of the hill is a rock formation," Felicia continued like nothing happened. "At the very top of that is the herb you're looking for," 
 
"And as for the young lady's question," Joker motioned to Eris. "No, Basswood is not your only rivals. The other guild had came about half an hour ago and have started the ascent up the mountain already," 
 
"What?!" Apollo yelled. "Why didn't you tell us in the first place?! Hourly Part Timers Squad! Fast Travel formation!" He commanded as he took a leap and landed on Momo's shoulders. "Hi ho Momo, away!" Momo squatted, and bent his arms in a 90 degree angle. A red aura began to glow around his feet as he hovered a few inches off the ground and took off, starting off slow, but soon picking up speed and headed to the mountain, smashing through trees and rocks like a mighty train.

Giero jumped into the air, a green aura glowing on his back that took the form of a propeller. It spun rapidly, allowing him to fly. He reached out, Crystal grabbing his hand, and the two flew off towards the mountains at a decent speed. Brooke simply created a water wave and surfed on top of it, the surf allow him to go at high speeds towards the mountain.
 
"Stop, don't, come back," Joker watched them leave, his obvious passion to stop them failing to reach them. "That's too bad... anyways!" He turned to Cherry Heart. "You need to know there are two ways up the mountains. There's a tunnel system that... you really can't miss, as we're going to lead you to it," He explained.

"It's a lot safer and warmer," Felicia interrupted. "And if you follow the obvious path, you shouldn't get lost!"

"However, it does take longer to get to the top," Joker added. "Alternately, you could scale the mountain, but that has the obvious dangers that mountain climbing comes with, plus the added danger of this being the tallest mountain in the range, but it is faster," They stopped in front of a large cave entrance, being a giant thirty feet tall, with a easy to see green light traveling down the ceiling and further into the cave.

"You guys could also split up. After all, two different ways give you double the chances, right?" Felicia finished. 

"We will be down here if you retrieve the herb," Joker and Felicia stepped off to the side, to allow the group decide what to do and begin.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

"No, Basswood is not your only rivals. The other guild had came about half an hour ago and have started the ascent up the mountain already."

 

Kin disregarded everything else that was said, even the reaction by the Hourly Sentai...or whatever they were called when Joker said this. "What?!" he exclaimed, before already seeing the Basswood team heading up the mountain already.

 

"Why the hell did you wait until now to tell us that!?" Kin shouted at Joker, bring his hand up to his face some. Jeez...

 

"That's too bad... anyways! You need to know there are two ways up the mountains. There's a tunnel system that... you really can't miss, as we're going to lead you to it. However, it does take longer to get to the top. Alternately, you could scale the mountain, but that has the obvious dangers that mountain climbing comes with, plus the added danger of this being the tallest mountain in the range, but it is faster."

 

Kin heard the two options, but had a plan already in mind. "Screw the tunnel! I'm runnin' up the mountain and takin' care of those guys!" he said, moving up the mountain somewhat, before turning around some. "Myth! Back me up! The two of us together can reach the top of this thing no problem!"

[Wind Rider]

"No, Basswood is not your only rivals. The other guild had came about half an hour ago and have started the ascent up the mountain already." Now this should've been said earlier. "What!!!" Liz said as she saw the color coordinated group charge up the mountain with Kin right behind them. "Screw the tunnel! I'm runnin' up the mountain and takin' care of those guys! Myth! Back me up! The two of us together can reach the top of this thing no problem!" Oh no way Liz is getting left behind, she quickly reached into a pocket in her coat and pull out a pouch, she took a pellet-like object out of the pouch, she was about to put it in her mouth before remembering her mentor's words, "Use these, only when it's absolutely necessary Elizabeth, and don't even think about consuming more than one at a time".

 

"You know what? Screw it! I'm not getting shown up by those freaks!" Liz quickly ate the pellet and it's effects took hold almost immediately. Her muscles buffed up a bit, she grew a bit taller, and fangs grew where her normal teeth were, Beast Pellets are one heck of a boost. With this temporary boost lasting only thirty minutes, she couldn't waste any time. Liz quickly sprinted after Kin, easily out running him. "Not one for working with others, but you can bet I'm not letting them and this other group beat us!!!" Liz said to Kin in a bit a growly voice.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"No, Basswood is not your only rivals. The other guild had came about half an hour ago and have started the ascent up the mountain already," 

 

The statement almost made Myth's eyes pop out of their sockets.  So they were the second guild to get here?!  

 

"Why the hell did you wait until now to tell us that!?" 

 

"You brain dead sack of..." Myth took a deep breath, and held it in.  In his head, he counted down from 10.  When he got there, he let out the breath with a long sigh.  "You should've told us sooner...if this is a race of sorts, it's bad form to give another team a head start.  Especially one this insanely long!"  Myth paid no mind to Jokers ramblings...the different paths they'd be able to take.  Instead, his eyes rested upon the peak of the mountain.  It was nothing he hadn't scaled before...but now it was just a matter of getting ahead of the other guild.  

 

"Screw the tunnel! I'm runnin' up the mountain and takin' care of those guys!  Myth! Back me up! The two of us together can reach the top of this thing no problem!"

 

"Mountain climbing isn't a joke you know!  You must be careful!"  Myth started his ascent behind Kin, trying his best to jump onto large jutted rock formations in the side of the mountain.  Using wind magic to help him fly through the air, scaling this mountain would be a piece of cake.  

 

"Not one for working with others, but you can bet I'm not letting them and this other group beat us!!!" 

 

Liz was already ahead of the two.  She had put on a good display, but Myth would see how long that vigor of hers would last her.  

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

 

"No, Basswood is not your only rivals. The other guild had came about half an hour ago and have started the ascent up the mountain already."

 

"Haha, what a funny joke, Joker."

 

That sentence rubs her off worse than it should. Eris was not the type to be annoyed that easily, but having that vital of an information held back from her was something that she really disliked. In a campaign or a mission, having something that important not being informed to the soldiers could lead to big disasters, and well, had it be any other situation, it would warrant for a crime punishable by death on the spot back in Caeth. It took Eris a bit to realize that she was not having her guns on her wings, and remembered that she had stored her precious guns away in her room since the title of the quest was "Race to the Top". Revealing her magic while she's near her rivals this early would be disastrous, so she did not try to threaten Joker with her feather guns, and instead, watched how the other members of her group reacted to this.

 

"Screw the tunnel! I'm runnin' up the mountain and takin' care of those guys!"

"You know what? Screw it! I'm not getting shown up by those freaks!"

 

"Mountain climbing isn't a joke you know!  You must be careful!"

 

The three was clearly pretty annoyed with Joker's revelation, and acted accordingly. Liz, the eager hunter-looking girl, went ahead first and ate something (that made her look a bit more beastly. Was those drugs?) and sprinted forward as fast as she could, even outrunning Kin. She was one of those overcompetitive types, so it'd be natural for her to do that. Kin meanwhile, asked his close partner Myth to execute a plan, since together is better than alone. Myth complied, and used his wind magic to float through the obstacles. They did seem like quite the good couple...but...did everyone forget that they're supposed to be a team of four?

 

"...You know what? Screw it. They're not my squadmates anyway."

 

It had been a while since Eris was fully attempting to fly, but the loss of weight from her wings proved to be a massive help for her, as her wings now were capable of lifting her off the ground with more ease. The grand, jet-black wings flapped and creating a small storm as she rose above the vegetation. The mountain was quite a distance away, and she was still not that used to fly for long periods after...what? A century or so? She would be capable of maintaining a good speed without much obstacles at least for the time being, and she's still really skilled on navigating mountains - it's one of those instinctual skills that wouldn't fade easily with time.

 

"...Hmm, were they from the joke of a squad earlier? Could be a problem..."

 

Of course, she noticed another flyer not too far away from her. That person was carrying someone else while they're flying with a green rotor-like object on their back. With them being on her visibility range, Eris rushed forward to gain a good spot to aim at them, and used her magic to turn two of her feathers into muskets. She locked on them, calculating the wind speed and direction along the way, and done that, opened fire. Whether it managed to hit or not, it'd serve as a warning to not cross her path. The sky belongs to the elves of Caeth, and no matter how long had passed, that fact would never change!

 

Keeping two pair of muskets on the ready for potential backlashes and counterattacks, Eris jetted through the two and continued her way above the vegetation, aiming to the top before the others could reach it.

 

---

[King K. Azo]

Giero was in a panic as he flew up the mountain, towing Crystal along. They were thirty minutes behind?! That was not good, not good at all! Well, the others took to the tunnels, so if he and Crystal kept this pace up, they could get to the top and stop others from getting there until the entire squad arrived. As he flew, the hourly part timer did notice that while the base of the mountain was rocky, with a few trees here and there, about halfway up the mountain was very snowy, the snow turning the mountain white. 

"I wish I brought a coat or something...," He mumbled. The winds were starting to pick up, and he had to focus on the flying, lest he got blown by the winds.

"Giero! Watch out!" Crystal suddenly shouted, startling the flying mage, who stopped to hover in the air on instinct. Two shots zipped in front of him the second he did... if he kept moving, he would have been shot. "Cherry Heart is attacking us!" Looking over, the part timer saw one of the women now sporting majestic black wings jetting towards them. Gods, she was so fast! There was no way he could keep up with that, not with the extra weight he was carrying! 

"We can't afford a fight!" Giero stated as he swooped before the vegetation to dodge the speeding Eris. "The winds make it hard enough for me to only fly, and while I'm carrying you, there's no way I could keep up!"

"We can't give up now!" Crystal replied. "I know you can do it, bro!" Giero simply nodded. He couldn't call himself a member of the Hourly Part Timer Squad if he gave up this easily!

"Alright, let's do this," Giero's magic rotor began to spin rapidly and the mage took off, trying to close the distance between him and Eris. Crystal smiled as the wind blew by her face.

"Bro, go on without me!" She stated. Giero looked at her with a look that asked if she was insane. "You can go faster without me! So I'm going to stop burdening you!" She then let go, falling to the ground. However, before she could hit the ground, she reached out and grabbed a tree branch, stopping her descent. Giero shook his head. That girl was crazy! Still... now with the added weight gone, he took off as fast as he could, slowly closing the gap between the two aerial mages...

 

---

 

Further up the mountain

 

The winds were blowing hard, snow falling and covering the ground. Two cloaked figures were hiking up the mountain in silence, undeterred by the weather. Soon though, they found a cave, and sat inside of it to rest, sighing as they did. The sat quietly for about a minute before one stood up.

"Well, isn't this a lovely hike? We're seeing beautiful sights, getting plenty of exercise, and we also got to... 'take care of' that pesky guild that was tailing us. Good times, wouldn't you agree my friend?" The other remained quiet, simply waiting. "Pooh, you're no fun, Velocity," The standing cloaked man then took out a small telescope and went to the entrance, looking through it and peering down the mountain. "My, my... it seems we have two fliers... and people foolish enough to climb the mountain," He turned to Velocity. "So what should we do?" Velocity stood up slowly and walked further into the cave.
 

"Bring it down on top of them," Was all he said before vanishing in the darkness. 

"Very harsh," With a chuckle, the cloaked man stood at the entrance of the cave, before taking in a deep breath, and unleashing an ear piercing scream that could be heard from the very bottom of the mountain. The ground began to rumble as the snow broke free, flowing down the mountain while gathering more snow, along with rocks and ice. Soon, the collapsing snow was uprooting trees and rumbling down the mountain.

An avalanche had formed. 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

"Mountain climbing isn't a joke you know! You must be careful!"

 

"Oh whatever Myth! It's only a problem if someone does something to cause an avalanche or something!" Kin rolled his eyes.

 

"Not one for working with others, but you can bet I'm not letting them and this other group beat us!!!"

 

Kin could only blink for a moment. He wasn't expecting the new girl to be joining in with this as well...NOR the fact that she was actually getting up the mountain faster than he was. He shook his head, thinking that the team originally might've split up with him and Myth running up the mountain and Liz and Eris going through the tunnel...eh, he figured he probably should've said that before. Regardless, it was done anyway.

 

 

The three of the Cherry Heart members continued to trek up the mountain, with Eris following from the sky. They were going to make it up the mountain, beat the other guilds and get this herb...a smirk formed on Kin's face when these thoughts entered his mind.

 

However, things took a turn for the worse...

 

Kin stopped as he felt the mountain rumbling slightly. His eyes widened when he saw a huge white mass coming directly at them. It...was an avalanche. Kin cursed himself for saying what he did earlier...hoping no one would comment on that now. However...now he definitely had a plan, as his hand reached into his gold pouch, starting to eat a few gold coins.

 

-BGM-

 

"Alright...got a plan...and it's PRETTY out there." Kin forced out, swallowing what he had chewed. "We're gonna blow through that avalanche...and we're gonna make a path for us! Just follow my lead!" He wiped his mouth, smirking as he took a stance. This was either really stupid...or really genius...only one way he could find out.

 

GOLD DRAGON'S....ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!

 

Kin inhaled air, before releasing it out as a golden tornado towards the avalanche heading towards them. He knew Myth would know what he was planning...but he wasn't sure if Liz would know, or be able to. He could only hope.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

 

"...A grumble? This can't be..."

 

The mountain was snowy, just like the mountains she used to call home. Being born and lived her life for the sake of protecting the mountain range, there was one sound that Eris was very aware, and afraid of. The grumbling noise became stronger and stronger, and in her worry, she decided to lower her altitude as she tried to locate her teammates and to get a better look at the looming threat, ignoring the fact that the targets she was trying to eliminate earlier survived without a scratch and had continued thier way. As she stood on a tree branch, her mouth was agape as her gaze was locked to a scene on the distance. Her fear was proven to be right.

 

"...At this time? How the-"

 

There was no time to just reacting to it however. With the speed and the size of the avalanche, Eris would be lucky if the tree she was standing on would even still stood tall after it passed. She regrettably flew upwards leaving it, moments before tonnes of the rushing snow demolished the tree and everything else along the way, covering everything in white. She frantically flew around afterwards, trying to figure out where her teammates were. As much as they were not a constant supporters of teamwork, and as much as she decided to ditch them earlier, in the face of such looming natural disaster, she couldn't help but to worry about them. After all, she had lost quite the amount of brothers in arm due to similar incidents. Without being able to find them as time continued to flow, Eris started to panic - her wing flaps became more and more frantic. Had her teammates perish-

 

GOLD DRAGON'S....ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!

 

A breakthrough. It was like the sound of an angel. Hearing the familiar voice of Kin activating his roar reinvigorated Eris' hope, and using the voice as a guide, she rushed to the location of the source. Perhaps the combined force of the three could help them survive, but if not...hopefully she was strong enough to carry them to safety if she could reach the place on time..

 

---

[Wind Rider]

Liz could only look back at Kin and Myth with a smirk. "Come on, I thought you too were the "strongest" in the..." Suddenly, a rumbling sound started to take place. " What the... I thought for second I heard a... scream?!?" Just as Liz said that she looked to see the cause of the rumbling, an avalanche. This wasn't good at all... with her, Kin, Myth, and the other guild members on the mountain, this could become a terrible scene.

 

"Alright...got a plan...and it's PRETTY out there." Kin said. "We're gonna blow through that avalanche...and we're gonna make a path for us! Just follow my lead!" Liz immediately snapped out of her competitive state and got to beside Kin, with only a few minutes on her beast pellet she had to make it count. "Alright, let's see your plan," Liz hoped Kin knew what he was doing.

 

GOLD DRAGON'S....ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!

 

A golden tornado formed as Kin yelled this, a shockwave attack of sorts? Well, Liz knew exactly what to do then, if this Beast Roar works, than Liz will have spent the whole of her beast pellet, ah well, she had a whole pack of them. Liz took a deep breath and then let loose a devastatingly powerful Beast Roar, if Myth came in to help, this plan might just work.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"Oh whatever Myth! It's only a problem if someone does something to cause an avalanche or something!"

 

"Just keep your voice down and maybe it won't happen!  I know it's hard for a dragonslayer to keep their trap shut though, so we might be in some trouble!"  Myth could only laugh.  Although the threat of an avalanche was very serious, the likelihood that one would occur at this moment would be very small.  At least it would be if they all kept quiet as they reached the top.  But then he could hear it...the crashing of thousands of tons of frozen water.  It was like some bad joke....almost ironic even.  They'd be buried under the snow if they weren't careful.  At least Eris was safe in the sky.  

 

He'd have to use that...it had been so long since he had used his crash magic...hopefully he wouldn't blow up the whole mountain, along with the herb.  His fists started to glow, and his muscles tightened to the extreme.  As he reared his fist back, he heard Kin through the avalanche's rumble.  

 

"Alright...got a plan...and it's PRETTY out there.  We're gonna blow through that avalanche...and we're gonna make a path for us! Just follow my lead!"  That's right...he didn't have to rely on his crash magic since he had a strong team with him.  He was happy that they were here.  

 

GOLD DRAGON'S....ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!

 

"Now that's a familiar sound!"  Myth smiled, and his fist stopped glowing.  Another sound mixed in with the roar, and it turned out to be Liz's magic.  It was strangely almost like a deep animal's roar.  He still didn't know her specialty, but if this magic was going to help him, there was no need in understanding it at the moment.  Kin put his fists together, and a wind funnel started to swirl around them both.  As Myth thrusted his arms forward, a large funnel of wind magic joined the two roars that were sent towards the oncoming avalanche.  

[King K. Azo]

Giero had nearly closed the gap between him and Eris, the green haired mage reaching out to grab her ankle. With that, he could throw her to the side and gain the advantage! However... the mountain began to rumble, and the snow began to crash down. Well, at least his brothers were inside of the mountain and he could fly... That would...

 

Oh no...

"CRYSTAL!!!" Giero screamed as he took off, trying to stay ahead of the cold force of death rumbling towards his sister. He could hear it toppling over trees, crushing rocks, and even someone screaming,

 

"GOLD DRAGON'S... ROOOOOOOOOAR!!" He wasn't sure where it came from, nor did it matter. From his bird eye's view, he could see Crystal wandering through some trees. He dove down, tackling her to ground, hoping to use his body as a shield...

He only could pray that the others would find them...

 

---

 

The avalanche kept fighting against the onslaught the mages, trying to overwhelm their group effort. The minutes felt like hours, with the destructive force of snow slowly inching its way towards them. The mighty force keept pushing... and then finally stopped, the snow losing the mass needed to be dangerous. Still... there was an issue.

The rubble left behind stopped any notion of heading forwards. There was two clear paths though... the team would have to try to figure out which was faster... or split up.

[Wind Rider]

It seemed like the avalanche wasn't going to end, even with all of the three guild members powers it looked like the avalanche would over take them. Thankfully, the group were successful in avoiding the avalanche with brute force no less. And not a moment too soon, as Liz shrunk back to her previous look, with an exhausted look on her face.

 

"That... takes care... of that... just give me a minute..." Liz had to catch her breath for a second, putting so much strain on her body, especially under the influence of a beast pellet, took a lot out of her. "Now... we need to figure out a way to proceed..." Liz looked around the rubble of the aftermath of the avalanche, it seemed like they had to split if they wanted to get to the top quick enough.

 

"Ok, as far as I can see... we need to split our power we we're to make it up this mountain quick enough. Myth right? You head up and try to help uhhh... don't know her name, but the girl with wings, go help her out. Kin, you and I will continue on together, we may just have chance..." Liz took a look at her pocket where the beast pellets were, could she risk straining her body some more? She had to talk it out with her guildmates first. "You think I could go with another "adrenaline rush" or should I continue as is until later?"

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"Well would you look at that?"  It was a miracle...the three of them were able to stop such a force of nature such as that of an avalanche.  Myth flexed his bicep, and patted it with the other hand.  All the while he had a contagious smile smeared on his face.  However, with all the rubble of the mountain blocking their advance...it seemed that Cherry Heart was put even further behind in their endeavors.  

 

"That... takes care... of that... just give me a minute..." 

 

Myth laughed.  

 

"Go ahead!  You've earned it."  The girl was able to keep up with a myth and a dragon slayer.  It was indeed very admirable.  

 

"Ok, as far as I can see... we need to split our power we we're to make it up this mountain quick enough. Myth right? You head up and try to help uhhh... don't know her name, but the girl with wings, go help her out. Kin, you and I will continue on together, we may just have chance..."

 

Myth nodded his head.  So she wasn't just all brawn.  Myth looked to Eris, who seemed to be rather cozy looking in the sky.  Myth gave her a thumbs up and a smile.  Sadly, the dynamic duo of gold and wind would be split up just this once.  A magic circle appeared below Myth, and a funnel of wind shot him to the same level as Eris.  It wasn't so much flying as it was using a windy elevator.  

 

"Hey, glitterboy!  Make sure to stay in one piece, all right?"  He flashed his friend a thumbs up as well.  He then turned his head to Eris.  "Shall we?"  He said as he started to ascend the mountain.  

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

Kin huffed slightly, before standing upright, running his hand through his hair. "Well...that was a thing." he chuckled lightly, shaking his head. Looking at the debris in front of them from the avalanche was really putting a damper on things. "Alright...whoever started that, is gonna be given the beating of a lifetime!"

 

"Ok, as far as I can see... we need to split our power we we're to make it up this mountain quick enough. Myth right? You head up and try to help uhhh... don't know her name, but the girl with wings, go help her out. Kin, you and I will continue on together, we may just have chance..."

 

Wait what? Kin's ears listened to Liz's plan and he was about to say something, when he watched Myth already floating up to Eris.

 

"Hey, glitterboy!  Make sure to stay in one piece, all right?"

 

"Glitterboy?!" Kin exclaimed, grumbling as he shook a fist to Myth. "Why don't you say that to my face and see what happens?! Damnit windbag, get down here!!" he said, watching the two of them ascend up the mountain. "That's it...Imma kick his ass after this mission is done." Kin looked over at Liz before shrugging and moving past her. "C'mon...let's get going before the two of them beat us to the top!"

[Wind Rider]

It looked like Kin was the only one who didn't have a firm grasp on Liz's plan as he sounded as if he didn't like the pair ups. He also sounded like he wasn't going to be beaten to the top by Myth, but when he turned back to Liz he just shrugged it off. "C'mon...let's get going before the two of them beat us to the top!" Liz wondered who Kin was referring to from this remark, but it didn't matter, she wasn't about to let anyone show her up, though her question did go unanswered. " I'll take that as a no to the "adrenaline rush"... hmmm... ah well, I'm still not getting left behind.

 

Liz had to be careful, even though she strained herself with that last beast pellet, she couldn't afford to put her body through even more stress, though even without a beast pellet, she could still easily keep up with Kin. "Don't judge a book by it's cover, I can still keep up with you," Liz said climbing after Kin, "Just wait until this quest is done... then I'll show you what I can do in a 2 on 1 situation." Liz hadn't forgotten the CQC practice she suggested to Myth and Kin when the quest was done with, she would show them the power of a true hunter.