Hop To It - Advance 12

[Heyu]

The machine that Tails made for creating the artificial emeralds could only be described as a device. It wasn’t whimsical enough to be a doohickey or small enough to be a gadget. It could potentially be a gizmo, or a contraption, but it was definitely a device of some sort due to its faintly sinister vibes.

Yeah, I had no idea what I was looking at with that thing. The original was a box the size of two microwaves stacked atop each other, clearly all function and no form. The version Humi was making right now was worrying to me, mostly because apparently she just had a tiny shower stall stored away somewhere? Where was she that she found that thing thrown out? How did she get it out here? I know there was no way it fit in her pockets--well, maybe recently it would have, I was pretty sure she was getting stronger over time, but I never saw her grab it anywhere--nevermind. Humi confounded me sometimes.

I definitely didn’t understand what she was doing, so I hung back with… Cream. She was typing on a small cell phone while her Chao friend lazily flew circles around her head.

Something about her was achingly familiar, which weirded me out since I was 100% certain I’d never met her before.

Cream looked around the space, and I didn’t blame her. It was actually my first time in the shed too, since Humi had immediately claimed it as her lab and I thought it should stay her private space, us sharing a bedroom still and all. It was, as expected, bigger on the inside, though not as big as she wanted since she didn’t have her Emerald to work with. Apparently it was most of the reason why she was nearly out of chaos drives.

Some sort of boat hull hung from the ceiling, and it wasn’t the Y-Naught or the boat she made for the Omochao, so I had no clue what it was. The assembly rig was mounted on one wall, looking different and more tentacle-ly than I remembered. And naturally more than one pile of loose parts that needed sorting through. She’d really made the space all her own.

There was a single window, which looked… normal. I’m not sure why I expected otherwise. Come to think of it, the inside of the shed was expanded--how did that work? Where did the extra material for the walls come from? I’d been assuming up to now that Humi’s pocket spaces connected to some extradimensional space… I guess it still could, but--agh, thinking about that gave me a headache. At any rate, the light outside was looking gray. I wondered if it was going to rain.

“Do you often do things like this, Mr. Fiver?” Cream asked suddenly. “It seems so exciting.”

I coughed. “Well, depends on what you mean with ‘like this.’ Building machines? Yes, Humi does that constantly. Experimenting on ourselves? …No, we don’t usually do that.” I hesitated. “Cream, does your mother know you’re here?”

She showed me her phone. “Yes! I told her I was coming to Mystic Station, and now I told her that I found another girl to play with.”

I leaned in to see the screen. What it actually said was, ‘Watching a science experiment. Met some nice people. One of them is a rabbit like us!’

I snorted. “I see. Has she answered you yet?”

“I don’t think so,” she admitted. “Mama is talking with someone to try and rescue all the Chao from the closed down Garden at the hotel.”

“They closed that down? Man, I need to get the paper out here.” I shook my head. “Do you have a shelter to send them to, or something?”

Cream shook her head, sending her ears flapping and accidentally slapping Cheese the Chao in the face. “Oh, no sir! Mama wants to open her own Chao Garden.”

I nodded slowly. That also sounded familiar. “Good on her. I like Chao. I visited the Garden in Central City a while ago, it was nice and relaxing.”

“That’s the one where she works! Or worked. I don’t know if she quit yet.”

I found myself staring at the tips of Cream’s ears, where the soft yellow turned to orange. Most Mobians were solid in color, very few had patterns, but I could swear I’d seen this one before. “Maybe she’ll open her Garden up here. Apparently it’s free real estate.”

“What does that mean?” Cream asked, confused.

“Don’t worry about it. Your mother will know.” That was when it clicked. “Wait a minute. Cream, is your mother’s name Vanilla?”

The little bunny beamed. “Yes! Do you know her, Mr. Fiver?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but a loud clang from the Device distracted me. “It should be done now!” Humi called, wiping her hands with a rag.

Iota stepped out from behind it, screwing a panel into place. “I will state again for the record that I think this is a bad idea.”

“Your opinion is noted,” I said. “But I think we’re committed to it now.”

Iota grumbled and walked over to the door to watch, while I stepped up to the Device.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

If I was being honest, enough time had passed that the buzz from my inspiration moment had faded somewhat. I wasn’t as sure about this working as I was previously. There was a chance, I realized, that this would hurt.

But Humi had already put in the work to make this thing happen, and I could handle a little pain if it meant both of us getting what we needed. “I’m ready.”

Humi cackled and pulled a stool over; for some reason she’d mounted the lever up higher than she could reach. “Step into the chamber, test subject!”

I smirked despite myself. “Yessss, marthter…”

“No no, you’re the test subject,” Humi corrected. “Iota is the grotesque assistant--”

“I think not,” Iota objected. “I am only here to make sure you don’t maim yourselves. I want no part in this.”

“Man, when did you get so paranoid?” Humi asked sourly.

Cream raised her hand. “Can I be the gross-test assistant?”

Humi pointed at her. “Sure. Here.” She handed Cream a small diamond from some cheap jewelry set or other and gestured toward a smaller machine that was hooked up to the booth I was standing in. “Put this in there and be sure to close the door securely.”

“Yes! Uh, Doctor Humi!” Cream saluted, mirrored by Cheese, and ran to follow the order.

Cute kid. I chuckled. “Tell me when, so I can brace for it, alright?”

“Sure, sure. Assistant, is the receptacle ready to receive?!”

Cream held the smaller chamber over her head, and the gem inside plinked as it was shaken about. “Yes!”

Humi yelped. “Put it down, what are you doing?!” Cream did, pouting, and Humi sighed. “Alright, on three.” She grabbed the giant switch and lowered the shades back over her eyes. “One…”

I held my breath, standing as straight as I could.

“Two…”

I closed my eyes.

“Three!”

She threw the level down, and the entire Device hummed loudly as everything inside got started. Panels inside the booth started glowing, and I suddenly felt a lurch somewhere in the vicinity of my stomach.

“It’s working!” I couldn’t see Humi from my current position, just Iota, but she sounded excited. “Readings at expected levels! Continuing… Assistant! How’s the gem look?”

“Well--”

“Don’t! Open it. It’s got a window, just look inside. Is it glowing in there?”

“Oh. Yes! It’s a pretty yellow!”

Humi laughed. “I knew it would be yellow. Heyu loves that color.”

I opened my mouth to say something along the lines of ‘Actually, my favorite color is--’ but I couldn’t get any sound out. I felt out of breath, like I’d just run a marathon. “Hhhhh…”

“Did you say something, Heyu?”

“Hhh.” Keep going, I can take it.

I felt my ears drooping. I looked at my arm, and all my fur was standing on end. The side of the booth hit my other arm, and I realized I was drifting.

Oh. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

I looked up to make eye contact with Iota, who straightened. “Humi, maybe you should--”

“Wait,” she said, cutting him off. “The readings just went weird. They’re stuttering. Why would they be…?”

“Um,” Cream raised her voice. “Does anyone else hear a high-pitched whine?”

I did. My arms felt like lead weights, but I raised my hand up anyway. The rings on my fingers were vibrating intensely. How did I not notice before looking at it? I should be feeling that. 

I probably should have taken them off, but I was so used to wearing them I forgot they were even there.

Rumbling.

“Error! Humi, the machine is shaking! Turn it off!”

“I’m trying! The lever won’t budge! Heyu, get out of there!”

I couldn’t move. It was getting hard to think.

“Miss Humi, the little box is glowing really brightly now. It looks more orange?”

“Don’t open it! Iota, get him out!”

My fur itched. My teeth itched. My hands felt numb.

Iota appeared in front of me. I vaguely noticed a line of electricity arc off me and into him, and his left arm fell limp. “Ah. Heyu, come here, I got you--”

His good arm touched me.

I think things exploded, but suddenly it wasn’t my problem anymore.

My head hurt…

---------------------------------------

[Vanilla]

The meeting was arranged with more speed and ease than she expected, and Vanilla found herself in a small lounge with an attractive young human woman who introduced herself as Maddie Gildenhall.

Maddie poured her a cup of tea, which Vanilla accepted gratefully. “So, you’re here about the shutting down of the Chao Garden?”

“Indeed.” She stirred her cup and took a sip. “To say I was furious when I found out that those poor babies were going to be released into the wild is an understatement. Chao raised in captivity almost always have difficulty adjusting to taking care of themselves, and they’re so trusting and docile that dealing with predators… doesn’t end well.”

“Chao, chao…”

Vanilla chuckled, rubbing Chocola under the chin. “With rare exceptions, of course.”

“I wasn’t aware Chao had natural predators,” Ms. Gildenhall noted.

“Not natural ones, no,” Vanilla agreed. “Chao in general have a hard time recognizing when someone or something is a threat, and often won’t try to run until it’s too late. Not to mention that they have a poor grasp of the concept of having a territory.” She sighed. “Chao aren’t quite animals, they’re too intelligent for that. They’re on the same level as a small child, usually, and they do about as well in the wild as a small child would, too.”

“I didn’t know that.” Maddie hummed, frowning. “I’ve never really thought about Chao much before. Aren’t there wild Chao?”

“There are Chao sanctuaries,” Vanilla stressed. “Spaces more like a nature reserve than the play space of the Chao Gardens.” She shook her head. “I’ve worked with Chao for years now, and I’ve always wanted to open a Garden of my own. When I saw that the local one was shutting down, I couldn’t let them just be cast aside. It isn’t fair to them.”

“I understand. Truth be told, I never liked the Chao Garden at the hotel. It always felt too artificial the times I was there.” Maddie fished out a sheaf of papers and frowned slightly at what she read on them. “You might find this interesting, a businessman named Clutch the Opossum has already made an offer to buy the Chao from the Sodor. He wants to start a racing business with them. I hear he’s made similar offers elsewhere.”

Vanilla’s eyes narrowed. “What do the Chao think of him?”

Maddie hid a smile behind her hand. “I can’t say. He hasn’t actually come to Station Square, just sent an offer to the hotel owner.”

Vanilla quietly fumed for a moment. “...I don’t have much money, but I could make a counter offer.”

“For your own Chao Garden prospects?” Maddie asked.

“Yes. I was hoping to simply take them off his hands, since he was releasing them anyway, but…” She bit her lip. “How much was this ‘Clutch’ offering?”

Maddie told her.

Vanilla’s eyes widened. “Oh. Oh my.” Matching that would be most of her savings gone in an instant.

“Mm.” Maddie nodded. “It’s a crying shame, too. The Chao Garden… I can’t say it was popular, but only because it was mostly limited to patrons of the Hotel Sodor. There’s been petitions to make it open to the general public for years, that all go ignored because the owner is a bit of an elitist.” She winked. “Word on the street is that someone’s organizing a protest outside the building over him shutting it down. If someone else were to take advantage of this to open their own Chao Garden locally, free for all to visit, they’d likely make good business. Good enough that they could quickly pay off a loan to purchase the Chao, if they took one.”

Vanilla shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know… who would give me a loan for that on such short notice?”

Maddie grinned. “And as it happens,” she went on as if Vanilla hadn’t spoken, “It just so happens that there’s a new community forming out in the Mystic Ruins, with lots of free real estate and a natural environment that the Chao would probably appreciate better than the cold tile the hotel gave them.”

Vanilla stared. “You would do that for me?”

“Could be~,” she sing-songed.

“...I heard of Mystic Ruins earlier,” Vanilla mused. “Can you tell me about it?”

“Gladly. It started with the incident a few months ago…”

-------------------------------------------

[Humi]

Thunder rumbled, and Humi groaned as she woke up. “Ugh… what happened?”

It was dark in the lab; all the lights were out. Humi crawled across the floor, able to tell where she was by the dim light coming from the window. Was it late already? How long was she out. “Heyu? Iota? Cream?” She made it to the light switch and flipped it.

Nothing happened.

“Great.” Well, that wasn’t a big deal. She had a flashlight in her pocket somewhere… somewhere… There it was. She turned it on and swept it over the lab. “Oh, jeez, what a mess…”

The spotlight landed on the machine they’d been using, and Humi hissed through her teeth. It was a wreck. It looked like it had… actually, no, Humi knew what explosion damage looked like, this looked more like something had torn it apart, but what could have done…

“Owie…” Humi turned the flashlight in the voice’s direction, and saw Cream pushing a metal panel off of her. Her dress was a little torn but she looked mostly okay. “Cheese?”

“Chao!” Turning the light, they saw the Chao pulling himself out of a cupboard, rubbing his head. The cupboard had a sizable hole in it.

Humi shook her head. This damage was going to be a headache to fix. “Are you guys okay?”

“I’m fine, Miss Humi,” Cream said. She rubbed her tail and rolled over, standing up to reveal the emerald receptacle. The window port was glowing ominously.

“Well, at least that works,” Humi grumbled. “It takes some time to cool once it’s done, so don’t touch it.”

“Okay.”

Humi passed Cream another flashlight, and as an afterthought another one to Cheese. Old instincts flared up. “Something went wrong, Heyu is gone, and I don’t see Iota. Stay close and don’t touch anything. There’s probably sharp metal bits around so watch where you step.”

“That’s okay, I won’t touch the floor,” Cream promised.

Humi blinked. “What does that--ack!” A water drop fell on her head, and she pointed the flashlight straight up. Another drop fell on her nose from the great big hole in the ceiling. “...Uh.” And on top of everything else it was starting to rain. Great.

“What could have caused that?” Cream asked.

“Chao?”

“I… maybe it did explode just a little,” Humi muttered to herself. “If the booth’s walls contained most of it, it might have propelled Heyu straight up… That must have hurt.” She winced. The hole wasn’t quite directly above where the booth had been, but it was close enough. “We need to find him, he might be injured. That’s the first thing.” She turned to the door and gasped. Iota was sprawled in front of the door, offline. “Oh no!” She scampered over and opened up his chest hatch.

“Is Mister Iota okay?” Cream asked worriedly.

Humi pulled out his battery. The fake emerald, usually a shining cloudy gray like her favorite Emerald, was dull and lifeless. She could still feel something from it, but it wasn’t doing anything. It wasn’t outputting any energy, and Iota’s system couldn’t work with it like this.

Humi cursed.

“That’s a bad word!” Cream said, scandalized.

“This is a bad situation,” Humi shot back. “I don’t know what’s happening with this thing. I don’t know what’s happening.” She stopped and took a deep breath. Something was setting her off, and she didn’t know what. Her fur felt like it was standing on end. “...Iota’s a robot, he’ll be fine if I have to take a while before fixing… whatever this is.” She took a step back. “Now, how am I going to get him out of the way of the door?”

Iota weighed nearly a ton, and Humi wasn’t close to strong enough to get him out of the way… she could probably build something that could do it with what she had in the lab and her pockets, but that would take a little time… She looked up at the hole in the ceiling. It would probably be faster to build a way up to the hole. A ladder wasn’t complicated--

Humi whirled around at the sound of shifting metal, and found Cream dusting her hands off and Iota several feet to the side. “There. Have a good sleep, Mister Robot.”

Humi blinked. “...Uh. Okay. Good job.”

Cream smiled. “I’m strong!”

She sure was. Humi opened the door and they stepped out. “Can your Chao fly up and look around? Maybe Heyu landed nearby.”

“Cheese?”

The little guy saluted and flew off with a cry of “Chao chao!”

It was dark outside. She needed a watch or something, because it didn’t feel like it should be this dark… sprinkling a bit, too. “C’mon, Cream,” she said, heading back to the house. “If it’s going to rain, I should get us something to wear.”

“But what about Mister Heyu?”

“He’s tough,” Humi said, a little uncertainly. “But he’d want to make sure we don’t get sick.”

“Well… if you say so, Miss Humi.”

Humi patted her on the back, and then froze. She was ten and Cream was--“How old are you, anyway?”

Cream puffed up proudly. “I’m five and three quarters years old!”

Oh Gaia. I have to be the responsible one now. I don’t think I like that. She needed to find Heyu fast. Thunder boomed again, and Humi herded Cream into the house.

With all that thunder, it wasn’t a good idea to use an umbrella, so Humi took some old canvas fabric she had and whipped up a couple of ponchos. It would have been better with some plastic sheets, but she didn’t have any big enough for that. As long as they found Heyu and got back inside before the rain really got going, it would do the job.

Cream giggled as she put the poncho on, liking the way it swished. “Can I keep this, Miss Humi?”

“Sure, I’m glad you like it. Now put your hood up, we need to go outside again.” She pulled Cream’s hood over her head, then did the same with her own.

Cream pulled it back down again immediately. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, but I need my ears free. Just in case.”

Humi paused in the door. “Oh, right. You’re a rabbit, so I guess you’ve got the super hearing thing Heyu has, too, right?”

Cream frowned. “What does that have to do with--Oh, Cheese!”

They turned to see the little Chao, looking damp, flying down to them. He babbled for a bit and pointed back towards the jungle.

“Did you find something, Cheese?” Cream asked.

The Chao nodded, waving them to follow.

The critter was faster than he looked, and Humi had to run to keep up with them. It was a little aggravating that Cream hardly seemed to be trying while Humi was getting out of breath, and she resolved to go running more often. After all, Tails could keep pace with Sonic, so why couldn’t she?

Humi shook her head, trying to focus. They approached a large bush a little ways into the treeline, and Cheese started flying circles above it. “Did he land in that bush? At least it was a soft landing.”

“Chao, ch-chao!”

Cream translated. “Cheese says he doesn’t know if it’s Heyu, but someone is definitely in that bush.”

Frowning, Humi stepped up to it.

The bush shivered in the wind.

…The wind wasn’t blowing right now. Humi peeled a branch back.

A pair of scared purple eyes looked out at her. Humi yelped and fell backwards, and the other guy yelped louder and jumped out of the bush, landing on all fours and scrambling to run away, kicking some mud up.

“Hey!” Cream, to the surprise of Humi and definitely to the surprise of the creeper, tackled him to the ground before he could get going.

“Cream?!” Humi pulled her off of him. “Why’d you do that?!”

“He tried to run!”

“And? We’re looking for Heyu, we don’t have time for this!”

“But,” Cream scowled at him. “Why would he run if he didn’t do something bad?”

Humi sighed. “He ran because he got caught, but that doesn’t mean he did anything wrong. I used to do that all the time.” She glared at the intruder. “You didn’t, did you?”

“I didn’t! I promise!” he said, getting to his feet. He looked like he was going to bolt again, but Cheese landed on his head with an angry expression and he held still.

“What were you doing hiding in the bushes then?” Cream accused.

“...” He shifted awkwardly. “...”

“What?”

“I was just… hanging around,” he murmured.

He stared at the ground, not trying to make eye contact with either of them, hands behind his back. Humi looked at him; really looked at him. He looked like some kind of fox, with blue fur, and shorter than either her or Cream… but he didn’t look or sound like a toddler, so he was probably a really short species like Humi herself. One with really big ears. And the way he acted was achingly familiar.

Humi’s eyes softened. “Listen, it’s fine, okay?”

“It is?” Cream asked.

He looked up, staring through his fringe. “I’m sorry.”

“I said it’s fine.” Humi shook her head. “How long have you been out here?”

“...A while.”

“Did you see Heyu anywhere?” Humi pointed back to the shed; from where they were you could clearly see the hole in the roof. “He’s a tall brown hare, wearing yellow--”

“I know him. I mean, I know of him,” the fox muttered. He followed her pointing finger and frowned, puzzled. Wait, was that him coming out of that hole?”

“You saw that happen?”

“Yeah, it was just a half an hour ago.” He looked up as a raindrop hit his head. “Man, the clouds got thick fast.”

Humi grabbed his arm, and he flinched. She’d feel bad about that later, but first: “Did you see where he landed?”

The fox just pointed, and they looked to see a large tree snapped in half and a trough of dirt behind it. There wasn’t anyone at the end of that trail.

“What? You’re telling me he got up after that and didn’t come to check on us?” That didn’t sound like something Heyu would do.

“Well, that’s part of why I didn’t realize it was him,” the fox admitted. “I knew he was tall, but I didn’t think he was--”

Something crashed in the jungle.

The fox swallowed. “--big.”

Humi shone her flashlight in the sound’s direction. She flicked it up and down, and stopped on something yellow. Heyu’s vest was flapping in the breeze that was picking up, snagged on a low-hanging branch.

Humi’s mouth felt dry. “...Heyu?”

Cream and Cheese added their own lights to the search, and Cream let out a tiny eep when a pair of eyes glinted in the darkness before vanishing. “Did you see that?”

“Sshhh!” Humi hissed.

Something was very, very wrong.

The fox grabbed Humi’s arm, and this time she flinched. “What?”

“Look up,” he said quietly.

Humi did, pointing her light towards the canopy.

A mass of shaggy brown fur and wild eyes stared down at her. It roared. 

They screamed.

The monster flinched and snarled at the sound, leaping down from the branches at them.

“Move!” Cream grabbed both of them and ran, dragging them behind her, and giving Humi a good view of the monster cratering the ground when it landed, and then making the crater bigger when it jumped again, vanishing into the treetops. She pulled them back to the clearing where the house was, and they made it halfway there when the thing landed in front of them in the road, growling.

Cream yelped and punched it in the nose, seemingly on reflex. Unfortunately, this was the hand that was still holding on to the fox, so what she actually ended up doing was using the poor boy to slap the monster with. He bounced off the monster’s fur, and the monster itself only got angrier, stomping its foot in agitation.

On the third stomp, the ground cracked, and all of them froze to look down.

A pit opened up beneath them, and they fell.

--------------------------------------

[Vanilla]

Maddie was incredibly cooperative, and had to adjourn to make the necessary arrangements, so Vanilla was left with plenty of time to kill. She ended up browsing a few shops, maybe getting a snack for Chocola, and seeing if there were any local oddities that Central didn’t have. Cream would still be exploring, but Vanilla wasn’t that worried. Her little girl could take care of herself, and would turn up when she got tired.

Vanilla was inspecting a bag of chips the brown Chao had handed her. “Chocola, dear, I’m not sure you can handle…” She squinted. “Ghost Pepper Hellfire-flavored cheese fries, what even are these?”

“Chao…”

“Pick something milder,” she said firmly.

The Chao pouted, but took the bag back and flew off to find a different snack.

“Honestly, you and your bad foods…” She shook her head. Most of the time Chocola wasn’t nearly as adventurous as their twin Cheese, but in matters of food he was willing to try absolutely anything, especially if it was bad for him.

smack

Vanilla’s ears twitched.

“Shelldon!”

“What, what’d I do?”

Curious, she walked around to the next aisle and saw an alligator and a… mollusk shopping. A canister of salt was on the floor and the snail-like man was rubbing his hand.

“That’s not sugar, that’s salt!” the gator exclaimed.

“...And?”

“Isn’t that bad for you?”

“Everything’s bad for you if you eat too much of it, but if you drink water the salt won’t be too--”

“No, I mean,” the gator hesitated. “Won’t it, like. Really hurt you if it gets on your skin?”

Shelldon looked unimpressed. “Fry.” He reached into the Gator’s apron pocket and pulled out a tiny packet of salt, ripped it open, and poured it into his mouth. “I am not an animal, I’m a Mobian. Honey and Waxer aren’t going to die if they sting someone, and I’m not going to fizz if I touch salt.”

Fry looked embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Shelldon shrugged and turned back to the shelves. He picked up a jug of something orange. “...Do you think the rabbit might like carrot juice?”

Vanilla huffed, and both of them turned to her.

“...Because I see him snacking on carrots a lot,” Shelldon clarified.

She rolled her eyes, laughing quietly. “Don’t mind me, I just couldn’t help but overhear.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled out to see two new messages from Cream. Her brows raised on finding out that she got on a train by herself, and she looked up at the two. “Pardon me, but you two are locals?”

“More or less,” Fry confirmed.

“Can you tell me about the Mystic Ruins?” Honestly, what were the odds Cream would end up going there after Ms. Gildenhall mentioned them?

“Oh, yeah!” The gator grinned. “That’s where we live!”

“More or less,” Shelldon agreed, eyes on the shelf and reaching for some kind of spicy mustard. Fry slapped his hand away.

“Is it safe out there?” Vanilla asked.

“Oh, sure, sure.” Fry waved her concerns away. “I’ve been out there a few weeks now and I haven’t seen anything dangerous. Shelldon, you were out there for a month or two camping, you see any big animals or something?”

“Hm? Oh. No, not really. I saw tracks for some, but far as I could tell they stay away from people.”

“My daughter’s apparently decided to go on a day trip out there without me,” Vanilla said, partly to herself as she read the next message. “Watching a science experiment?”

“Sounds like she ran into Humi,” Fry grinned. “And her pops won’t be far behind. You’ve got nothing to worry about, they’re good people. Heyu will keep an eye on her.”

Thunder rumbled, and they all looked towards the front of the store to see a storm brewing.

Vanilla paused. “...Heyu? Is that what you said?”

“Huh?” Shelldon looked up, holding a bag of sugar. “Who? Me?”

----------------------------------------

[Humi]

The fall wasn’t all that long in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to hurt. Humi rolled with the landing and looked up at the hole.

The monster hopped down, and Humi grabbed the others and pressed them all against the wall.

“Ow, what are you--”

Humi covered the fox’s mouth, turning off her flashlight and dropping Cheese and Cream’s lights into her pocket.

The monster looked around, its long ears twitching this way and that. It crouched on all fours, leaning in way too close to them, before pulling away and jumping back out of the hole.

Cream opened her mouth, and Humi’s other hand covered it. Turning the light back on so they could see, she took her first hand off the fox to point at Cream’s ears, then at the hole. Cream’s eyes widened and she nodded in understanding.

A minute passed, and the Cream whispered, “I think it’s gone.”

Humi practically collapsed, letting her face fall into her hands. “Oh Gaia,” she muttered, “What did I do…?”

“What just happened?” the fox asked, thankfully keeping his voice down.

“He has incredible hearing, but his night vision stinks,” Humi said, tiredly. “It’s dark enough in here that as long as we kept quiet, he couldn’t notice us.”

“What was that thing?” Cream asked, voice trembling a little. “It was scary… Do you think it got Mister Heyu?”

“I think it--” The fox stopped himself and looked at Humi.

She sighed. “I think… that was Heyu.”