Chapter 24: Hazy Mornings

~Creamy~

Creamy took off his headset right after Othr died in the simulation. He was beside him now, sitting up with a dazed expression.

"You okay?" asked Creamy.

"No…" replied Othr, slowly. "I feel dizzy."

"You can stay at my place to rest, Appa will look after- Wait a minute, actually.”

Creamy had just remembered that he brought Appa into the simulation to help them sort out the raven problem.

“WAIT, WHERE'S APPA?" Creamy shook his head and immediately stood up, slamming the metal desk of the recovery room out of the way. He flickered his gaze around the room, looking everywhere frantically.

He first checked on the chairs and beneath them, and there were no signs of his parrot. 

He slammed the door leading out of the simulation room, only to see Appa perched on a metal railing.

"Phew!" Creamy let out a sigh of relief, feeling his heart settle into place again, and slumped back on the wall.

Appa then perched on his shoulder and chirped happily.

"I miss you too, Appa." Appa nodded at Creamy, who seemed to like whatever he said. "It's a shame that we lost, but at least we're not gonna die in the global games, right?"

Appa backed off a little, acting shocked.

"Sorry Appa. I won't say it again."

"Chirp, chirp!" said Appa. She perched on Creamy's head and hugged him. "Bye bye!"

"Aww," Creamy cried a little, despite all of his efforts of trying not to. He knows that whenever Appa tells him goodbye, she will head off to a warmer district for winter. "Bye, Appa! I'll miss you so much."

Appa jumped off Creamy's head, spread her wings, and flapped away to the window.

~Conhadda~

Conhadda left the Spectator Dome and Jay Blossom for ConCraft. He was lucky enough to board a ship early.

As soon as the ship docked in the Hive town, he ran on the way home at ConCraft. He headed inside his home to fetch boxes full of enveloped invitation letters.

He carried the boxes and went back outside, and loaded a wheelbarrow with the boxes. As he was about to pull the wheelbarrow across the path, he noticed Unikern and Brialgic, who were already eating a lot of food on the feast tables.

"Hey, you two! That's reserved for the event tomorrow!" warned Conhadda. "And don't think about eating all the sides for yourselves!"

"HE'S BACK, RETREAT!" Brialgic warned Unikern. They both made a run for their lives as Conhadda tried to chase them down.

They chased on the glade of the forest endlessly, until Conhadda felt tired, and collapsed on the ground.

"Both of you… better stop or you're not invited." Conhadda insisted. "There's gonna be more food tomorrow, you surely wouldn't want to not miss out, right?"

"Sorry, Con. Didn't see ya coming." Unikern apologized. "We were getting kinda hungry, and the food was already cold."

"You know what, fine." Conhadda handed over two boxes to Brialgic and Unikern. "As punishment, just send these to MailBot for delivery. Before you start, go look for your invitations in those boxes and take it."

"Really? Thanks, Conman!" said Brialgic, immediately opening up the boxes in search of his letter.

~Arianna~

Arianna, along with Pixel and Sterloin, ate breakfast on their beds in the Spectator Dome's sleeping quarters.

"The food's bussin'," Arianna commented. "I love how fluffy the pancakes are, look at them bounce!"

Arianna pressed on the stack of pancakes with a fork, flattening them slightly and having them bounce back to their original shape.

Pixel and Sterloin did the same, and they were just as amazed as Arianna. After finishing their bouncy pancakes, they continued watching the simulation.

A couple of screams were heard during the fight between Conhadda and Creamy's team. Arianna and her friends couldn't tell anymore who they were rooting for.

"Yeah, we should finish our food earlier,” suggested Pixel. “Let’s go back home and rest, it’s getting a little noisier here.”

“Absolutely,” replied Arianna. “What do you think Sterloin?”

“Sure, why not?” answered Sterloin. “Let’s go.”

After they finished eating, Pixel stacked the plates on top of each other and gathered the silverware they used, which was then put on top of the dirty plates. He placed the dishes on top of a nightstand and left the Spectator Dome for the Main Island.

While waiting at the pier, they noticed that there weren’t that many people lined up. The ship arrived, fetching them and the others, ending up having not as many passengers as usual.

“You couldn’t have picked a better time, Pixel,” commented Arianna. “If we left after the simulation finishes, it would be really crowded in here.”

“Thanks,” replied Pixel. “Yeah, I figured that one out too.”

The ship started to set sail for the main island. During the trip, Pixel and his friends sat together at a table for three, resting their eyes from the strain they received from the simulation.

“I’m getting dizzy…” complained Arianna.

“Don’t worry, we’re near the main island now,” assured Pixel. “You can use that spitoon over there to relieve yourself.”

“No thanks, I’ll just rest.” Arianna declined.

“We’ll be stopping over at Spawn Dock in a while,” announced the ship captain. “Next stop: Sparrow Gaillardia. Stay safe everyone!”

The ship stopped, and Arianna, together with her friends and a few people, got out of the ship and down to the docks. She persisted with her headache and endured her way back home.

The stairs going up the Spawn Plaza didn’t really help with her dizziness, she felt as if the world was spinning around her and that she was stepping on nothing. On her last step, she leaned over, almost tripping on nothing.

“Woah-” gasped Arianna. “Phew, thank goodness it’s all over.”

She continued taking the path going home. She eventually saw the Lovely Velvet signage from afar and headed straight to it. 

Outside her shop, she spotted MailBot placing some sort of letter inside her mailbox. She rushed to it to retrieve the letter. Before opening it, she noticed the envelope’s seal had the insignia of the Marigold Order etched onto it.

There’s no way, this has to be it, right?

Much to her surprise, it was a letter declaring her acceptance within the ranks of the Marigold Order as a helper.

To: Arianna

You have been officially selected as one of the new helpers, Congratulations! You must accept your new duty and take part in keeping the district safe, as well as aiding its citizens. See you in three days from now for the Accolade.

Signed, Leader Splodger

“AHHHH!” Arianna screamed. “Pizzas was right! I got in!”

She hurriedly rushed back inside her shop, went upstairs, and threw herself on the bed, hitting the hay and getting a well-deserved rest.

~Cyan & Pizzas~

After the simulation finished, Pizzas, together with his teammate, Cyan, immediately left for the main island for Cyan to get back to his pizzeria.

“Man, I envy Con sometimes,” said Cyan. He took out his keys from his pocket and used them to open the pizzeria’s glass doors. “He’s got some people to look after his town. Wish I could do the same for my business.”

He flipped a sign hanging from a window, supposedly showing “CLOSED”, now showing “OPEN” from the outside.

“Yeah, I agree,” replied Pizzas. “You should really start hiring people.”

Pizzas wrote something on a notepad and placed it on the counter. It was his order.

“I’ll have the usual. Thanks!”

He sat on the table and waited for his food patiently.

“It is Wednesday, my dudes,” said Cyan.

He went behind the counter, grabbed a remote, pointed it to the shop’s television, and turned it on. It showed an announcement from Archiva themselves: the candidates of each district for this year’s global games.

“We got TV for today!”

As Cyan prepared the pizza dough, the Hive’s contenders were shown on-screen.

“Hey look, it’s them!” he said. “That’s Con and Enchanted right there! I’m so proud of these guys.”

“Me too,” Pizzas replied. “I hope they turn things around this year.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Cyan agreed. “They’ll surely play well this year. I must admit Con and Enchanted played pretty smart the entire game.”

Suddenly, the television showed static on its screen, just as the program was about to announce the candidates for the Lifeboat district. After the static cleared, it showed a rather obscure, shady advertisement for a shady shop run by a shady someone.

“GOOD MORNING, LIFEBOAT!” said the mysterious salesman from the ad.

The screen then flashed some sort of logo saying “HYP’$ HYP3 D3AL$” with a rainbow going over the top, complete with a shiny sound effect as it did.

“ARE YOU TIRED OF BEING A LIL GUY YOUR ENTIRE LIFE? ARE YOU FEELING SAD AND LONELY? WELL, LOOK NO FURTHER! AT HYP’S HYPE DEALS!”

The screen then showed a man in business attire lying in a fetal position while crying.

“A hijacked signal?” asked Cyan.

“Not surprised,” answered Pizzas. “That’s just Hyp, some shady scammer known for hijacking TV signals,”

Hyp’s voice could be heard through the television again.

“HOT EBIRLS ARE NOW IN YOUR LOCAL AREA! CALL 0389-928-EBIRLS TO INQUIRE NOW!!!”

The screen then showed and flashed crude, pixelated paintings of what were supposed to be rather pretty women.

Cyan sighed and placed the pizza inside the oven that he just lit up.

Pizzas continued explaining, “Lifeboat was also having a civil war as of now, maybe they used that as an opportunity to ‘advertise’.”

“Oh, that sounds bad,” replied Cyan. “I wonder who their contestants are though, and how they’d be like in the global.”

~Blaze~

Blaze stood on the docks of Jay Blossom, waiting for a majestic ship to dock and fetch people heading for the main island like himself.

“Huh?”

He saw someone trying to skip the line to get to him, making a fuss from behind.

“Blaze!”

Ryuga ran straight for Blaze and hugged him tightly. Blaze, in return, gave him an embrace.

“Ryuga!” exclaimed Blaze. “Come on now, we don’t want to be late for the trip today. The next ship will board in 30 minutes or more, imagine if you didn’t manage to catch up.”

“Sorry, Blaze.” Ryuga apologized.

“It’s okay,” Blaze assured Ryuga. “Next time never be late again, okay? You’ll miss out on a lot of important things!”

“Got it,” Ryuga replied. “By the way, I wanna tell you something.”

“What is it?” asked Blaze. He seemed warmer today. He’s friendlier and more cheerful around me than his older self. He thought.

“Thank you for saving me,” said Ryuga. “And I’m sorry for being mad at you all these years. I understood why you chose to do that, and how big bro Ray and Lumos ended up after all that.”

“It’s okay, Ryuga, I’m sorry for not being able to be there on time. I know that this is also my fault somehow.”

“Not really,” said Ryuga. “We should definitely move on from this, it’s been a long time since it happened, I’m sure Ray’s in a better place now.”

“Yeah…” Blaze was met with awkward silence, and his eyes drifted away– perhaps a little too far back into the past, where everything was all good, with Ray and his friends, all together at the beach.

“I tried to rig the simulation with Brialgic earlier,” Ryuga resumed. “I really wanted you to win it, but I also realized what happens in the Global. Thankfully, Cyclo went inside the control room too, and we got caught!”

“Haha, silly Ry,” commented Blaze. “Anyways, we need to get going, the ship’s here.”

~*~

Later that evening

Night fell on ConCraft, the lanterns on the side of the pathways and the ConFire illuminated the town with a warm glow.

Brialgic and Unikern, acting as the town’s guards, were outside the town, near the secret entrance. They were tasked to check for people who were invited and to keep out the outsiders from the victory celebration.

The celebration’s attendees sat around the campfire, singing songs and telling campfire tales to each other.

The townspeople either waited patiently inside their homes or went out of their way to help organize the feast.

The feast tables were almost full of food from those who were willing to share. They decided to add more food to Conhadda’s preparations, which were already depleted by Brialgic and Unikern by then.

Emberz, together with Avery, prepared a new batch of biscuits, together with huge sacks of marshmallows and bars of chocolate. They placed them on a small table near the ConFire, preparing the food for s’mores during the feast.

Potato brought a steamy platter of freshly baked potatoes, complemented with a cheesy dip.

Stick then placed a huge bowl full of leafy greens, together with the condiments and the dressing. He brought a salad for everyone at the feast.

Viro, who just came out of his shack, pulled a wheelbarrow full of jars and barrels of liquor to the table. He decided to bring his famed wine to the celebration.

Cowman was on the ConFire, grilling what seemed to be a beef barbeque and hamburger patties. Carefully, he slathered the sauce on the meat and flipped them over after a certain smoky, savory smell was emitted. When he got done grilling, he put the skewers on a plate, forming a pyramid, and prepared the burgers with two buns, lettuce, and condiments. He then brought his food on top of the feast tables, beside others’ creations.

TGT, coming from the direction of the town square, had a tray of his signature rotisserie chicken in hand. He also placed it on the feast table along with the main dishes, next to Cowman’s.

Cyan arrived at the feast later than everyone else. He rode atop his brown horse while carrying ten boxes of pizza. He was led to the feast area and placed the boxes on the tables. Each of the boxes gave off a unique, tasty smell, which distinguished the kind of flavor the pizza inside had.

Scissors, who emerged from the bushes, snuck in a handful of cooked fish on top of the feast tables. As Brialgic returned to the feast’s venue, he spotted Scissors in the act of trying to replace the food with his. He charged in Scissors’ direction, lunged at him, and tackled him down from behind, pinning him to the ground.

“Do not resist arrest, felon!” ordered Brialgic.

“Ow, you’re squeezing me!” yelled Scissors. “Come on, is my fish really that bad?” 

“Yeah, they are,” answered Brialgic. He then let go of Scissors, freeing him. “Don’t do this again next feast, you’re only wasting fish. Unless you decide to improve your cooking skills… You can have me taste test your improved dishes, just so you know. Hehe.”

“Fine…” Scissors sighed. “Sorry, Bri.”

Unikern heard the commotion and arrived at the scene. He confiscated all the fish and put them inside a wheelbarrow, which he then pushed and led away from the tables.

Conhadda noticed everyone was ready, all done preparing the food, and excited to participate in the celebration feast. He went up to the top of the Great Fallen Tree and called on everyone to gather.

“Let all members of ConCraft gather beneath the Great Fallen Tree for a town meeting!”

Everyone from the town went to their respective spots. The outsider guests were led to their reserved areas by some of the more recognized townspeople.

“The simulation has ended recently, and me, along with Enchanted, were the declared winners,”

Everyone clapped and cheered for Conhadda, although they didn't really seem enthusiastic at all, and showed a concerned look.

“I would like to thank you all who were, will become, or are already a part of my journey to winning the simulation, all the way to the global games. Without you guys, I won’t be where I am right now. I know, being a candidate for the global may spell doom for me and my partner, and I know some of you guys are genuinely concerned for what’s to come. I’m sure me and Enchanted already know this. I am hoping to turn things around this year. We will be sure to do our best in the global, despite the odds,”

Conhadda paused, and everyone applauded.

“As of now, Enchanted, as well as Omega, who was supposed to be in charge of the soup, is undergoing extensive care because of the side effects. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine tomorrow or so,” he assured.

“Before we start the feast, I would like everyone to say goodbye to our beloved member, Creamy. He will be leaving the town, as he lost a bet against me during the simulation. Don’t worry about this, it’s nothing personal. We’ll surely miss you, Creamy!”

Everyone waved goodbye at Creamy, with some of the townspeople hugging and patting him on the back.

“Thank you guys,” said Creamy. “I’ll miss everyone too.”

“Thank you for being a part of the town, Creamy. The global games are fast approaching, and we must do our best to train ourselves for it. But for now, let us all celebrate our victory. Let us now feast together, and have some fun while it lasts. Thank you all, once again, for celebrating together with me.”

Everyone cheered for Conhadda. The celebrants made their way to the feast and ate a lot of food together. After the feast, they all drank, gathered near the ConFire, and had some s’mores together. All to celebrate the victory of the district’s selected candidates.