Both the Heartaches and Crisis had to wait for their respective moments to come, with the former walking for hundreds of meters, taking longer as they had to traverse some of the rocky areas of the mountains, and the latter having to find their way through the crowded castle once they were there. Once Crisis joined the party, they noticed that pretty much all of the guests were already waiting. It seemed like Candy had called everyone way too early, which started to affect the people as they were all gathered in the throne room, with limited space to move and barely anything to do in the meantime.
Despite the throne room being decorated similarly to the welcome party for the Heartaches, it appeared that it wasn’t going to be where the celebration would take place. The guests couldn’t see where they were supposed to go, but they did see Candy constantly running back and forth through the multiple floors of the castle. She didn’t allow anyone that she didn’t assign to go upstairs, ordering the guards to wrangle all the guests to keep them in one space while she kept working. So, while they waited, the rest of the squad took turns changing into their outfits at the princess’ office.
One by one, they all came out wearing elegant clothes, much similar to the ones the other guests wore, with some even as flashy as Priscilla’s dresses. Tricky and Indie both wore short dresses, although they couldn’t be more different. Tricky had a blue mini dress with open shoulders, something that seemed to catch Nitro’s eye, even if she distanced herself every time he came around. On the other hand, Indie had to wear one of the bigger dresses due to her height, but she still looked as fancy as the others in her red bandage dress. She also didn’t wear any high heels like Tricky, but mainly because it seemed like she wasn’t comfortable walking in them, and she was already having to deal with her fit being too tight.
But those who did appear comfortable in their fancy outfits were the rest of the team. Kiwy seemed happy with her white mini dress, which was a bit skimpy for her mostly flat body. Nitro wore his usual outfit, except with a long-sleeved shirt, slick, brown, and even pointier shoes, and a black tie for some reason. Frost rocked a simple and monotone outfit, which stood out a lot despite its dark colors. He wore similar shiny black shoes and one of his dark shirts, but he left some of the buttons open to expose the lower part of his neck and chest, and as always, he covered himself with a long, black jacket, which he deliberately left open despite carrying his blades like he did everywhere.
Both Nitro and Frost’s outfits were barely formal, and it didn’t help that they didn’t adopt a gentlemanly demeanor, but they were technically matching the style of the other guests despite looking a bit strange. They didn’t seem to mind, and in fact, they seemed proud of their outfits. And unlike the girls, they had more freedom in their movements as the girls made sure to put on all sorts of accessories that Candy provided. Indie tried to be discreet with her appearance, but the bright color of her dress already drew lots of attention, especially from men, so she was reluctant to add anything extra and settled with only earrings. Kiwy was the opposite, as she gladly put on everything to make her hair as cluttered as possible, and since she already wore long laced black gloves, the bracelets and rings she put on matched her naturally.
But Tricky in particular wore everything her sister gave her, even if she also wasn’t comfortable like Indie. Besides her glasses, she also wore a necklace, earrings, bracelets, and a few other fancy adornments for her dress. But she couldn’t complain, even though she tried, as she was the last one to get dressed. She finished right as Candy came down the stairs next to the office, wearing a long, pink, off-the-shoulder, floral dress, flower earrings, and lace bracelets to match her bright and flowery look that left the squad speechless. To set an example, she had spent the most time changing, so she was the most primped, almost as much as the princess herself. But with everyone gathered at the base of the stairs, she didn’t waste time showing off or letting them praise her as she was already focused on one thing.
–Alright, are you all ready?– Candy asked with an anxious expression, not even taking time to appreciate all the praising looks that her teammates were giving her, although she didn’t really notice them as she was still trying to fix the roses that she had attached to her hair and braids.
–I thought we were celebrating the princess’ birthday…– Frost said teasingly, but even his compliment was mostly ignored by Candy out of embarrassment as she peeked around the corner to check on the guests at the end of the hallway in the throne room while still fixing her hair.
–We need to look fancy, okay? She asked specifically for us to look as good as we could…– Candy replied, slightly annoyed and dismissive of Frost’s joke, who just cracked up at her response and kept giving her a taunting stare with slight temptation.
–Speaking of which, what is this? You two need to take this seriously…– Candy added with mild disbelief after noticing Nitro’s tilted tie and general appearance. He was stunned in place as she approached him to briefly fix it for him, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Frost, and not in a good way as she judged his look as well. But the more she looked at him, he couldn’t figure out why she was criticizing him and just shrugged.
–What? I look good…– Frost asked with a cocky grin but was met with a few suspicious looks from Tricky and Indie, to which he only scoffed before fixing his hair a little.
–You do, but the princess asked me to bring her a gentleman to keep her company today, not a pimp…– Candy responded in a slightly flirtatious manner, hiding her fondness for his outfit with a witty look that was somewhat demanding in order to force him to button his shirt. He begrudgingly complied, but he remained carefree as Candy was now pleased, even if she was still stressed.
–I’mma just say, I think it’s time for us to relax a little. I’m willing to stick to the plan, but I’m not sure if I’ll be much of a gentleman after a couple of drinks…– Frost joked smugly but turned towards his teammates instead of Candy to not provoke her further. He did still pester her by getting the rest of the squad to laugh and agree, except Indie, but they all quickly shut up as Candy started running back upstairs.
–Alright, whatever. Just wait down there, I’ll call the princess to tell her the party is ready…– Candy replied evasively as she headed to the second floor for the hundredth time, but she was stopped for a brief moment when Tricky called her over.
–Wait, you are going to tell her to come to her birthday party? Wasn’t it supposed to be a surprise?– Tricky asked in confusion, which spread to the rest of the squad as they waited for a response from a nervous Candy, who only stuttered for a bit as she froze while thinking of an answer.
–Y-yes… N-no… I don’t know at this point! She asked me to tell her when we were ready. Nothing makes sense at this point!– Candy stammered before crumbling under the stress and erupting. She proceeded to go upstairs after yelling at her team, which seemed to shock them for a moment, but then they had a hard time containing their laughter as they walked back to the throne room.
–I’m glad I’ll never have to plan a birthday party…– Nitro quipped with a mocking gesture towards the stairs after Candy left. And although the squad seemed to agree, no one laughed, he only got one chuckle out of Frost before he focused on trying to blend in with the other guests.
–It’s not like anyone would go to yours anyway…– Tricky replied disdainfully, catching Nitro off guard, but he didn’t get any time to react or respond as she disappeared in the crowd. He was left with an insulted expression but quickly moved on to approach some fancy elven girls next to the entrance of the castle. With the rest of the squad also finding something to keep themselves entertained while Priscilla made her way to the party, they all waited for a good time, almost as much as the other team took to reach their destination.
Traveling through the mountain range, the Heartaches and company exhausted most of their energies once they reached the point where some mountains split into many paths. The surface was much more uneven in this area, and it was even harder to go back as they had just climbed down a couple of tall rocks, so climbing back up with their heavy gear would be too taxing on their already tired bodies. They couldn’t climb the steep mountain in front of them either, so they started considering which path to take. The right one seemed like it led to more empty rock fields, except narrower and more enclosed, but the left one appeared to connect to an open valley that looked plain and was easier to travel.
–Please tell me we don’t have to go back…– Ace sighed as he looked back at the rocky wall behind them. Despite carrying so little, the rookies were already exhausted from walking, and even some of the Heartaches seemed fatigued and unable to keep going as well. But as they stopped for a moment to make the decision, Agnus concentrated on remembering the path to the factory, catching Panda’s attention.
–So, do you remember where to go, or should we climb to get a better view?– Panda asked curiously but politely to not disrupt Agnus’ train of thought, which didn’t seem to bother her, but it did raise anxiety in the rest as they considered the idea until she had a realization.
–No, it’s this way, I’m sure…– Agnus replied firmly as she began walking towards the right path, which was a narrow corridor with some uneven rocks as a floor that they would have to go through in a line. The team wasn’t too thrilled to follow her, but as they traveled through this short corridor, they reached an opening, which they later realized was a small cliff that faced a huge quarry, surrounded by small hills but so wide and deep that they couldn’t see what was on the bottom without approaching the edge of the cliff. There, they noticed clouds of smoke coming from the middle of the quarry, and it didn’t take long to identify their target.
In front of them was the factory that they had been looking for. It indeed looked like an industrial building for refined materials, and it appeared to be almost as big as the castle back in the city as it covered most of the bottom layer of the quarry. The building wasn’t too tall; it was the pit that was quite deep, creating a huge bowl surrounding it with different spots for mining that had seemingly been left unfinished. The factory had a few towers and tall pipes where the smoke was coming from, but the main and tallest structure in the middle of the building was a conveyor transfer tower that caught their attention.
At first glance, Panda seemed familiar with the building as it seemed similar to the one at the antipunk cave that Crisis explored, except much larger and not as dark since this one was on a fully open area, completely exposed to the sun despite the mountains completely surrounding the dry, rocky basin. But both the rookies and Heartaches were quite unfamiliar with such a facility, so they could only look at their superiors in the hope of getting answers from them after they got a good look at the factory.
–Oh man, that looks huge. What do they fabricate there?– Chappy asked curiously but was met with complete silence from the Heartaches as they remained distraught by the sight of the factory.
–We don’t know, but it has stopped production. We may be too late…– Agnus replied with a concerning expression that induced anxiety in the rookies. They were mostly confused, as the factory seemed completely intact, although a little empty since they couldn’t see anyone around the quarry or the few paths connecting to it from some of the mountains around.
But as they looked at it more, they started to notice that the smoke clouds coming from the building were not carried by the pipes; they were emerging from right behind, as well as the sides and entrance. The factory didn’t seem to have many entry points, but the small windows on some sections and openings on the roof of the central area showed what looked to be fire. The sight stunned them, just as it did the Heartaches, although they were already making their way down the cliff with Agnus in front.
–Alright, we have to go now!– Panda exclaimed in realization, startling EchoForce but safely leading them down a steep and rocky path at the side of the cliff, following Agnus closely behind to rush towards the factory. They were slow when making their way down to the quarry, but once there, they had a harder time getting to the factory in the center as it was even deeper below than what they saw on the cliff. But despite the troublesome terrain, they were determined to reach the factory and save and help out as much as possible, sticking close to the other team to unite their forces in the offensive.
And while that was taking place, the guests at the castle had to wait an incredibly long time for their princess to show up. The entire crowd gathered in the throne room, creating an insufferable environment that was forcing people to fight for air. People started sweating, losing their breath, and complaining to Candy, but she just ordered them to shut up and wait patiently. Even her teammates started to rebel against her as they were being pushed to the back of the room while she comfortably waited in a small circle behind the front door, being the only one who wasn’t shoved or pushed around by the frenzied crowd.
But once the princess finally arrived in the afternoon, it made things worse. Candy had the guards turn off the lights in the entire castle, creating complete darkness, which only unsettled the guests further. They tried to remain composed, but they were about to burst from anxiety as they watched the sunlight slowly creep in from the front door. As soon as they saw the princess, they all went wild, mostly trying to get some air but unable to move to the front as everyone started rushing towards her. She was very proud of her appearance, as she was wearing her usual gown but now wearing a pink tiara instead of a silver one, though she was surprised to see that the initial reactions of her favorite reactions weren’t praise and hugs.
As she opened the door, not even Groovy and Bones, who were the ones escorting her, could get Priscilla away from the massive horde of delirious people at the front. She was mortified for a moment, as half of the guests were so focused on leaving that they didn’t even realize they were trampling each other. The others at the back tried to jump over the people to reach the front and get close to their princess by any means. But with the guests leaving the back of the throne room to greet their princess aggressively, Crisis was left behind to watch the chaos unfold. And despite Candy being in the middle of it, they couldn’t help but laugh at the situation in their safe position.
Technically, the princess was surprised and the guests were following Candy’s instructions, but she was instantly concerned by the outcome of her plan when she saw the princess get swarmed by all the guests in an instant. She couldn’t even see what was going on shortly after she was pushed aside, saving herself from being surrounded but not being able to stay close to the princess. She could only listen to the loud clamor of the crowd to get an idea of what was going on, but the occasional scream made her shudder in fear and begin to panic.
But before she could ask for help and step in, her worries ended up being pointless as the guests eventually backed away once some managed to leave the castle, allowing them and the princess to breathe when the lights turned back on. But even after being suffocated by the crowd for a good minute or so, Priscilla seemed to be happier than ever, smiling from ear to ear as her fans hugged her and showered her with praise.
Seeing most of the guests share their appreciation for the princess definitely caught Candy and her teammates off guard since they all appeared ready to kill her not too long ago. But while Crisis seemingly wouldn’t mind finding the dead body of the princess lying beneath the crowd, Candy was greatly relieved to not have caused the death of the princess, and once she felt safe to approach, she made her way to the flock of fans, impeding Priscilla from taking a single step.
–Oh my goodness! Thank you all so much! I did not see this coming at all!– Priscilla exclaimed, overjoyed but almost too enthusiastic, at least for Crisis, although the other guests clearly didn’t mind since they continued cheering for her, as well as getting a bit too handsy with their hugs. But after greeting seemingly half of the guests just at the entrance, Candy was finally able to clear some space for her friend to walk, although Priscilla didn’t seem to recognize her at first.
–Hey, happy birthday, Prix! Hope you liked the surprise!– Candy cheered with a joyous smile as she approached Priscilla, but she was still tense when doing so. Luckily, the princess seemed ecstatic with such a positive reception to her arrival, and since it was all thanks to Candy, she didn’t hesitate to show her appreciation with a big, strong hug.
–Thank you so much, I love it!– Priscilla replied in delight, making Candy more anxious with her hug as she didn’t let go and kept squeezing her for a few seconds. She almost couldn’t breathe but just laughed nervously without saying anything until Priscilla let go, only to instantly switch up her attitude.
–This looks amazing, but did you decorate the party room like I asked you?– Priscilla added with a hint of skepticisme, giving Candy an eager but urging stare, prompting her to respond immediately to not test her patience.
–Yes, of course… Let me show you…– Candy replied nervously but maintained her composure to not worry the princess for a single moment. She grabbed her hand to lead her to the party room upstairs, and with the guards clearing the way of the hallway, all of the guests followed behind, with Crisis at the very back but quickly catching up.
They all headed to the staircase at the right wing of the castle to start the party properly, leaving the throne room alone for once, where some guards stayed to keep watch and finally breathe despite the air still being humid and dense from all the people’s sweat and bodily odors that stained the atmosphere. But now that they were all going to the second floor, they were crowded once again as they had to take turns using the stairs. However, only Priscilla and Candy went first to give the princess a chance to get a good look at the room and all the decorations Candy had worked so hard to set up.
