Adventures of Team Mythic: Stuck in the Sticks
"You're sure there's a ghost out here?" Rusty the Coyote asked, following Kitt the Kitsune through the jungles of the Mystic Ruins.
"I am sure there is something out here. Big the Cat is not one to lie, and he was certain that something was prowling this corner of the jungle." Kitt said, then pulled a talisman from her sleeve. It burned up, the flames pointing her further onward. "And my divination seems to concur. I do not sense spiritual activity, but that does not mean there is no ghost."
Rusty had chosen to tag along on Kitt's offer on a whim, especially since neither of her caretakers could come along this time due to other obligations. He wasn't usually didn't join her on ghost hunts, but this wasn't far and she needed extra muscle for safety.
Since he didn't really have much to do while walking, he was mostly just sightseeing on the way. Rusty thought he spotted something creeping through the brush out of the corner of his eye, but by the time he turned to look it was gone.
Rusty reached for his blaster, but decided against it. Gunning down an innocent jungle creature because of his nerves would make him feel bad. "Remind me, what did Big say?"
"'There's some kind of monster creeping around the northern jungle'." Kitt recited, though realized something. She pulled her phone out, then frowned. "No reception. We are not close to the Final Egg, so GPS systems should be working, but..."
"Not if somebody else is jamming the signal." Rusty said. "Ain't that illegal?"
"I believe so." Kitt said. "Well, I did tell Fafnir and Gale where I was going, so even if we are captured it's unlikely we will have much to worry about."
With that said, Kitt decided to continue onward with Rusty following, and both of them immediately fell into a pitfall trap. After a distressingly long fall, the two ended up dangling in the middle of a cave, trapped in a net.
"Really had to tempt fate, didja?" Rusty said. His Shellcracker prosthetic arm tried to cut through the net, but it didn't take. The netting had too much give and the claw was made for scrapping metal. He stopped himself before he could try to blast it, setting the net on fire wouldn't be pleasant. "Kitt, you got a knife in your tail I could borrow?"
"My arms are stuck." Kitt said, arms dangling through gaps in the net. "Do not squirm too much, it seems like this net is tightening around us."
"Great. How long 'till rescue?" Rusty asked.
"I told them to give us until sundown. So about... four hours." Kitt said.
Before Rusty could comment on that, he heard movement. Someone was approaching. "You! Here to turn me into a robot!" The someone in question said, pointing at Rusty's mechanical arm. "You musta got lazy doing the rest of you, so instead you're procrastinating by turning other people all the way!"
The person in question was a jungle badger, orange fur and blue eyes. She looked scruffy, didn't do much to take care of her fur despite bathing... at least often enough to not smell.
"I beg yer pardon?" Rusty said, deeply confused.
"She thinks your mechanical arm is part of a long-term project to eschew the flesh in favor of the machine." Kitt said. "Trapping Badger, could you please release me, at least? I do not have so much as a dental filling within my body."
"Dental fillings! They use those to spy on you!" The badger said. "How can I know you aren't here to steal my soul?"
"Unfortunately, being a spirit exorcist does mean I am capable of cursing you," Kitt said.
"Then I won't let either of you free!" The badger declared.
"At least lie!" Rusty exclaimed. He had a knife in his toolbelt, but he couldn't get at it with how they were tangled up in the net. "Kitt, this girl's gonna... I dunno, cook us in a stew or somethin'!"
"With our sizes, it would likely take at least six hours to cook us." Kitt said.
"We'd also be literally cooked!" Rusty pointed out.
"Why would I cook you in a stew?" The badger pointed out. "I was just gonna build one of those swing-y catapults to launch you guys outta the jungle."
Rusty and Kitt both flatly stared at her. "Yer gonna build a trebuchet to get rid of us." Rusty said. "Superior siege engine, sure, but that's a lot of work."
"Then I'll..." The badger trailed off, frowning. "What can I do? Can't let you go, you'll try to steal all the calcium in my bones, but I also don't wanna do anything drastic. You might turn into ghosts and haunt my furniture."
"I would do far worse than merely haunt furniture." Kitt said.
"Not helpin'!" Rusty harshly whispered.
Before the badger could come up with some other solution, they all heard heavy footsteps approach. Everyone, including the badger, fell silent. Another intruder, a powerful one, a destructive force of nature.
Big the Cat stepped into view, carrying a bag on his shoulder. "Hey, Sticks. Kitt n' Rusty are my friends, please cut them down." Big said.
The badger, Sticks, threw a boomerang that swiftly freed Rusty and Kitt. "You're friends with Big?" Kitt asked, standing up.
"Of course! Nobody gets it quite like he does. Even if he's a bit off in the head, talking to a frog." Sticks said.
"Wait, then... this badger ain't the monster we were lookin' for." Rusty said, looking around the cave. It was actually a surprisingly nice little abode, despite its location. "Uh... Sticks, is there something prowling around the jungle? Besides you, me, and Big?"
"All the time! What, you think I live in a cave for fun? No, gotta hide from all the creepers who want to steal my brain." Sticks said.
"Somethin' that could scare Big?" Rusty asked, choosing to ignore anything weird Sticks said.
"Ooooooh, you mean that monster! Follow me, I know where it's hiding!" Sticks said, then ran off. Rusty and Kitt followed her, making it back outside.
It was starting to rain now, which wasn't good to see. Kitt pulled a couple umbrellas from her tails, handing one to Rusty. After a couple minutes of walking, they caught up to Sticks.
And saw a huge metal dragon. The paint was peeling and the machine had clearly seen better days, but it was undeniably... "Eggman's work." Rusty said, cautiously approaching it. "Kitt,"
"I was not in town when the Giant Talking Egg set his sights on Station Square." Kitt said. "I could not tell you what this karakuri did during that crisis."
"This thing got dumped here when Eggman launched his big ship." Sticks said. "I think he forgot to tie it down."
Rusty snickered at the idea. "Big, does this thing look like the monster you saw?" He asked.
"Think so. But it was movin', I swear." Big said.
Rusty popped open a panel, inspecting the machine. "Well, this thing went unmaintained for like... five years. The transmitter's busted, spitting out garbage noise all over the place." Rusty said, talking while he worked on decommissioning it.
After a few tense minutes, he popped out the power core and the machine was officially offline. "What're you gonna do with this?" Sticks questioned, pointing a boomerang at Rusty.
"Scrap it for parts, make somethin' somebody can actually use. You and Big got first claim, but if neither of you want it..." Rusty trailed off, looking to Kitt. She just nodded, pulling out her phone to text Fafnir and Gale about the job.
"Why would I want this hunk of junk?" Sticks asked. "And I don't want anything you make out of it! You're gonna use it to spy on me, and then sneak into my house to turn me into a crab! That's what all evolution eventually leads to, don't you know?"
Rusty opened his mouth, but Sticks vanished into the underbrush before he could actually say anything. "Well, Big, you're the only one left who might want it. Dunno what you'd use it for, but the jungle's your home first." Rusty ended up saying.
Big shrugged. "Have it, friend. Do you wanna go fishing?"
"Another day." Rusty said, looking up at the dragon. It was such an odd machine, and he could only wonder why Eggman never bothered picking it up. Was it that unimportant, despite being a pretty powerful piece of hardware? Did he just forget about it?
A mystery that'd probably never get solved.
