Meanwhile, Rona was perched atop a tree, legs swinging freely, humming to herself while admiring the lush horizon.
"LalalaNanana~" she sang, completely at peace, waiting for her so-called new friend.
Thud!
"Hm?" She perked up as a cluster of trees collapsed in the distance.
Her eyes narrowed. "Oh?! What's that?" She stood, leaning forward and squinting. But the rising dust cloud blocked her view.
"Hmph, I can't see anything."
Yet something was coming—fast.
Very fast.
A blurred shape tore through the forest below, leaving a wake of broken trees and flying debris.
"Lil! Isaac! I think our new friend is here!" she called out with a cheerful wave.
"Friend?!" A chill shot down my spine.
"Don't tell me our 'friend' is behind the earthquakes!" Isaac shouted.
"I'm an introvert! I don't need new friends!" I yelled. "All I want is a 'me' time!"
"Rona, stop waving! You'll get us all killed!" Isaac snapped.
But Rona didn't listen. She kept waving enthusiastically.
Bang!
Another tree collapsed just meters away, and the tremors ceased.
"Oui?" My arms gave out. I dropped from the tree and landed flat on my butt. Normally I'd scream bloody murder, but right now? I couldn't feel a thing. My body froze from the sheer pressure of whatever was behind us.
Isaac and I slowly turned our gaze to the fallen tree. Every fiber in my body told me don't look back. We exchanged glances, our thoughts unanimous:
We're screwed.
Above us, Rona's voice rang clear.
"Hello, friend! May I know your name? My name is Rona. The other two are Llyne and Isaac! We've been waiting for you!"
"..."
No reply.
Our 'friend' just stood there. Silent. Watching.
I motioned for Isaac to look up and tell me what our 'friend' looked like.
He ignored me.
That shorty.
Tsk. Coward.
Fine. I'll do it myself.
Breathe in. Breathe out. I repeated it until I found a sliver of courage.
"If Rona can look, so can I..."
I turned.
And instantly regretted it.
"Huh? What is that?"
A worm. A pink worm. Enormous. At first, all I saw was its round, fleshy body wriggling in place.
"...Wait...Don't tell me..."
I tilted my head upward—slowly—until I saw it.
Silence.
Mind blank.
A cold, towering, monstrous pink worm. At least fifty stories tall. One hundred fifty meters wide. Massive, ominous white teeth protruded from its yawning mouth.
Teeth made to crush bone and swallow entire buildings whole.
My lips trembled. "M-My Ma always told me to make friends with everyone… but I'm pretty sure she'd make an exception for this one…"
The worm stared at us.
Drool slid from its open jaws, acidic and bubbling.
Bloop.
Sizzle.
The ground where the saliva touched hissed violently, disintegrating into a blackened crater.
I stepped closer, peered into the hole. "Oui... I can't see the bottom."
Then it clicked.
That mouth—
"I-Isaac. That entrance we went through at the start of the dungeon… it looked exactly like that."
Isaac blinked, then paled.
"We went into him," he said, voice cracking. "We entered through his mouth."
"Luckily, he doesn't have super-fast digestion!" I laughed—badly.
Isaac wasn't amused.
I looked away. "It was just a joke."
He shook his head, glancing back at our massive 'friend'. "I've lived in the jungle my whole life. I've seen big worms—maybe the size of a finger. That—that is the size of a skyscraper. One of its teeth is bigger than our house."
I turned back to the worm, just as Rona kept chatting away.
I sighed. "How are we supposed to tell Rona that this 'friend' of hers has zero pure intentions? It'll crush her."
"Don't worry," Isaac said, stepping beside me. "I'll do it."
I smacked his head. "You'll make it worse, foul-mouth oaf."
GUUOOOO...
A deep, guttural noise echoed.
"Huh?"
GUUUWOOOHHHH!!
We dropped and covered our ears. It wasn't just loud—it shook the soul.
The worm writhed, screeched, almost... sorrowfully?
Isaac stood up again. "Is it… weeping? Worms can weep?"
Step. Step. Step.
Rona strolled toward us. "Looney and Monica Jr. seem awfully angry. I wonder why?"
Isaac grabbed Rona and glared.
"Looney and Monica Jr.? What kind of name is that? No. Wait. What did you tell it, you imbecile?"
Rona puffed up with pride. "I told them about what happened in the 1st game until now."
Isaac's face went white. "Even how we burnt down… Monica?"
"Yup. Everything. I told our friend it was intentional since his mom tried to eat us." Rona tilted her head. "Also said I wanted to eat his dad. Tiny body, but might've satisfied my hunger back then."
Isaac launched toward her. "WHY YOU LITTLE—!"
"Uh-oh!" Rona darted away, laughing.
Once the ringing in my ears stopped, I looked up. My eyes narrowed.
Then I saw it.
Above the worm's head, something shimmered—
A crimson health bar.
A boss health bar.
"Huh? It can't be… Why is there an HP bar all of a sudden? It wasn't there before!"
I rushed toward Isaac and Rona and smacked Isaac on the head. "What's gotten into you?!"
"Me?! It should be her! She told that thing we burnt his mother and tried to eat his father!"
"WHAT?!! Looney and Mona Jr. were a couple?! And they had a child?!" I shook Rona. "Why did you tell that monstrous worm everything?!"
Isaac placed a hand on my shoulder. "Wait. There might be a solution."
Hope sparked. I stopped shaking Rona. She dropped and puked.
"What solution, smarty-pants? Spill it."
"I don't know. I'm just trying to be optimistic."
I clenched my fist, eye twitching. "Your optimism is USELESS! That worm is going to EAT US!"
Suddenly, everything froze.
Even the worm.
Time… stopped.
"…Now what?" I whispered.
A bright blue screen shimmered to life.
[Now that you have met your friend, I would recommend bonding with him.]
"WAAAHH!!" We all screamed.
I grabbed the blue screen and shook it. "Oh! My heart nearly stopped. Don't spook us like that, Mr. James."
The screen flickered again—and this time, Mr. James appeared.
Waving. Smiling.
"Mr. James!" Rona pouted. "You said we were going to be friends!"
Mr. James smiled brighter.
[I didn't lie. You were friends… Until someone ran their mouth a little too much.]
"Honesty is the best policy," Rona said proudly.
Isaac deadpanned. "Honesty also kills."
He loomed toward Rona. "Mercilessly."
Rona backed behind me. "I can't lie! Lying is bad. Rona is good!"
"You can not tell things like we burnt his mother or tried to eat his father!"
"Okay okay! I'll try!" she squeaked.
"What's the use? We're already dead," Isaac muttered.
I sighed and looked toward the blue screen. "More importantly, Mr. James, what do you mean by bond? How do we bond with something that wants to kill us?"
[Here's a tip: If you want to bond, let him eat you. Easy, right? So, good luck, little bunnies.]
"EAT US?!" I screamed.