* You brought up the topic of scamming people. Lizzie seemed happy.

"You know, it can be hard work, doing it alone!" She fired more club shaped bullets at the duo. "That's why I have my brother and friend with me! The more there are, the harder it is to refuse our services!"

"So-! Um‐!" Soleil stammered, smacking away the attacks with their yo-yo. Finally, it stopped for a second. "I heard you just love sea critters! Mind telling me what kinds you like?!"

"Oh I just love axolotls!" Lizzie cupped her hands close to her face, dropping her attacks. "But dolphins are just the cutest!"

* (Seems like she enjoyed talking about that...)

So we just gotta keep appeasing them. One topic left, hope it counts.

Weaving around the rain of orb attacks, wincing as one or two pierced my side, I used the hail mary. "​​​​​​Well, I heard she loved sparkly things! Isn't that right?!"

"Oh, yes! Ocean glass is a personal preference of mine!"

* (Seems like she enjoyed talking about that...)

"Well well! Looks like we have a winner!" The blonde swept a hand over to the two. "Kids! Congrats on winning our competition! As reward, we'll tell you the code!"

"Whew! Ya know? JG came by earlier!" The blonde fanned himself, gazing dreamily. "What a guy, that one is!"

"Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"A man can have standards-! Anyway! The first symbol is a Heart!"

The ravenette girl sharpened her axe, a blade not unlike Tango's. "All the symbols were different, from what I recall."

Finally, Lizzie offered the last hint. "And! None of the symbols were Clubs! What a disgrace!"

"It was nice meeting you kids!" The blonde waved us goodbye. I tried being as friendly back, ignoring the fact we were just jumped and technically held there against our will.

The soft scent of something sweet was our first clue, and soon enough, brightly colored stands stuck out among the red of the forest, alongside another one of those doors.

Okay... good. That means we can warp back pretty far if we need to.

I quietly counted the D$ we had amassed since Sausage's Shop. Nearly 900 D$, pretty good.

Now, let's see what this bake sale has to offer.

-

After buying maybe too many Choco Diamonds and Hearts Donuts (as well as the... thing we got from Joel), we decided on checking out what was to the north of the bake sale first.

The large, heavyset stuffed rabbit hammered away at something. His lopped ears twitched, perking up. "Oho? Customers? Well!" He set down his hammer. "I am Sir Edmundo, but everyone calls me Eddie! I'm the smith around this forest. I can fix anything. Weapons, armor... even yourself! Well? What'll it be?"

I took the broken cake out of my inventory. Still mostly intact, but it was clearly crumbling apart by the second. "I was wondering if you could somehow fix this?"

"Huh-?" Edmundo took the cake from me, studying it. "This cake is seething with energy! I shall pour my Heart into fixing it!"

He took the hammer off his table, and swung down on the cake, making whatever was left of the frosting splatter everywhere. "Oh- that's..."

"Hu-Hah! It is fixed!!" The cake gained mass, doubling in size from what it used to be. I nearly dropped it, and quickly shoved it back in my inventory. At least it'd be safe there.

"We should deliver it back to that chef guy!" Soleil remembered, snapping their fingers together. "As a treat!"

Sure, why not? "We have time to kill."

One cake delivery mission later, and we had a new cake! (We conveniently ignored the chef literally sobbing at our feet, that was so weird-).

"Ohhhhhh nooOOOO...!" My voice rose in pitch as I tilted my head back. Not more of these ring around things!! No more! I'm DONE with them.

Unfortunately for my sanity, we had to get through these cursed‐ dancer- THINGS-! to keep progressing.

Just as I was almost to leave and say screw all these things, a blink of red caught my attention. A red chest. Huh, I stuffed a Choco Diamond in my mouth, prepared to nab yet another item.

Well, I did run into another chest. Not the same one, it couldn't have been. I opened the lid.

There, sitting alone, was a single tiny mint.

"Oh! That's a Revive Mint!" Soleil clarified. "They can heal a downed party member all the way back up to full HP!"

"So really important then, gotcha..." I slipped the mint into my inventory, my hopes about eating it then and there dashed.

Now, how could I get to the other chest?

I scanned the way we came, blocking out the annoying dancers. Something about that one spot close to us just felt... off.

The two of us ringed around, and, after a second of hesitancy, I stepped into the darkness beyond the path. A new path lit up, cloaked in shadow. Huh, hidden path. Cool.

Second broken key fragment obtained, and I was glad I could leave the perpetual spinning behind.

-

"Oh boo hoo!" The child with a very ​​​familiar voice wept. "Oh woe is me...! If only a Hero could help me!"

Neither of us fell for it. "Joel... we know that's you."

"I'm not Joel!" 'Joel' had on the fakest looking mustache ever. It was also on top​ of his nose, not under it. "I'm just a sweet little boy!"

"Why does a 'sweet little boy' have a mustache." Soleil flatly pointed out.

"As a disguise." The boy giggled.

Might as well play into it, see where this goes. "... so what kind of... ehem- 'help' do you need?"

"So, I have the EVIL plan I need to make..."

"Why does a 'sweet boy' need an evil plan...?"

"To impress his awesome friend Tango with it, obviously!"

"Well, if it's for friendship..."​​ Soleil smiled brightly at the kid. "Well then! We'll happily assist with anything you need! What shall we do?"

"It's ALL on this conveniently placed blueprint!" The blueprint fell from... somewhere, landing between them. "Just fill it with the most EVIL things you can imagine!"

I saw my options, I knew what I had to do.

A devious smile formed, and I chose the colors for my masterpiece.

'Your machine sucks ass. Is that OK?' Yes, very ok.

The boy pushed me aside, admiring the masterpiece. "Wow! It's hideous! You two sure you're not evil?"

Soleil was struggling to keep it together. Good lord, it was awful. "No, I just suppose we have a knack for... uhhhh, art."

Tango exploded out of the bushes, laughing triumphantly. "HAHAHA!!! We tricked you!! NEVER do something someone else can do for you!"

He took the blueprint from Joel, his grin falling into a confused grimace. "... It's just a duck...?" He looked at us, appalled. "Guys... geez, you're evil plan sucks ass."

Joel gave Tango puppy eyes. "Am I at fault in any way?"

"Nah, you're good." Tango assured him.

"Woo! The bad boys get off scot-free once more! Thrash you later, idiots!!"

-

"I hate birds..." I hissed out, winded from running from that thing. "Here, heal up." I pushed a Choco Diamond into Soleil's hands. 10 HP wasn't a lot left, even scarier compared to the Prinxe's already abysmal 70 HP at max.

I let the young Prinxe lead the way for now, exhausted from the short sprint.

"Hey Soleil?" They cast a nervous glance at me. "I wonder how close we are to t-"

Something shifted, and an inescapable sense of... dread and anxiety washed over me. My world darkened, and then came back.

Soleil wasn't there, intensifying the uneasiness. "soleil...?" I called, my voice tiny. All around me was blackness, not like the dark ocean I saw when I first arrived here.

This darkness was... all consuming. It felt ̶f̶a̶m̶i̶l̶i̶a̶r̶ ̶wrong. Just... bad.

All I could see... was a tree. A tree that wouldn't have been out of place in the Scarlet Forest.

The bad feeling was coming from the tree. I took a step back, arms pinwheeling when I realized there wasn't anywhere for me to go.

The tree was... calling for me? A few seconds passed... I could hear something.

̶"̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶.̶.̶"̶

̶"̶a̶ ̶g̶i̶f̶t̶,̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.̶.̶.̶"̶ ̶

̶"̶l̶e̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.̶.̶.̶"̶ ̶

I was in front of the tree, listening to it's whispers.

̶"̶b̶e̶h̶i̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶b̶e̶h̶i̶n̶d̶.̶.̶.̶"̶ ̶

* (Well, there is a man here.)

* (He offered you something.)

* (You received an Egg.)

* ...

* (Well, there is not a man here.)

* It is a tree.

I felt something grab and pull me out. I finally opened my eyes (when had I closed them?) and stared at Soleil, who's searing white eyes stared through me.

"You- you just... dissappeared..." their voice trembled. "I was so worried."

I took a minute, composing myself back into the confident hero I built myself up as. "Everything's fine, I just... got... turned around...?"

Soleil looked skeptical, but didn't press.

We were back at the bake sale, and despite the near anxiety attack I almost had, I had the nerve to groan in annoyance. Now we had to deal with those ballerinas, again!

-

I pulled the lever attached to the tree, glaring at the sweeper as it did a round once more.

The tree blocking the path melted away, letting us pass by.

Oh thank goodness, a save point!

Tango and Joel relaxed on recliners, a duo of Rudinns fanning them.

"Hey...! Lightners! This kid's with you, right??" The one fanning Tango panted, wincing at the near constant agony in his arms. "He- He's forcing us to do this! Can you make him stop...?!"

Tango stuck a finger up. "Nah! They're actually my enemies, we split up cause I was too EVIL for them!"

The poor thing sputtered, and solemnly continued.

[FILE SAVED - Forest, Before Maze]

Great, a maze.

Joel sat up. "By the way! Beware the forest maze!"

Tango laughed. "You'll get completely lost without someone who knows the way through!"

"Yeah! I know the forest like the back of my head!"

"Do- do you mean 'hand'?" Soleil blanked.

"No."

Okay then...

I stopped in my tracks. Somehow, even after I took my eyes off him for a second, Joel somehow ended up in front of us, running towards the right path.

I tugged at Soleil's cowl. "Hey, he said he knows the way. Let's follow him."

After going right twice in a row, the three of us ended up at a dead-end.

Joel made a squeaky toy sound. "So! Which way are we going next??"

"We... were following you...?"

Joel stopped smiling, about embarrassed??? "Oh, I actually have no clue where I'm going!"

Okay, change of plans, go the opposite of wherever he goes. Gotcha.

Left, right, left, right. Oh, that's Tango!

The Blazeling grinned. "Hey losers!" The smile dropped. "Wait a sec, where's Joel??"

"Uhhhhhhhh, he wasn't going the right way, so we-"

"You guys left him to wander BY HIMSELF!?!" Tango shouted, shoving past us. "JOEL! JOEL WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"TANGO??? I'M SO LOST AND CONFUSED!!!"

"Apologies, Tango... we didn't mean to make you worry about him..." Soleil hung their head.

Tango squawked in surprise, and stomped his foot. "Hey! I'm not-! I just-! He's-! B-Bad guys gotta stick together, ALRIGHT!?"

He shoved us aside, taking off.

"Seems he doesn't know where's he's going, either..."

Middle, right, left, middle and we were out. I saved, thankful it was over. I hate mazes.

A shadow loomed over us, avian in shape. "Oh geez..."

"D-Diamond...! Isn't that the machine we made!?" Soleil braced themselves. "Okay...! This'll be tough, but we can do this!"

The shadow lifted, and the cyan duck masterpiece I designed revealed itself. I burst out laughing, wiping away tears.

Soleil couldn't keep the giggles away. "Oh...! That's- aheh- that's pretty bad...!"

The dynamic duo waltzed up. "You think THAT'S bad!?" Joel cackled. "Just wait and see what happens when it starts...!"

A blast of heat erupted, rushing searing heat at us. I blinked away the growing spots.

MY MASTERPIECE!!! IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A SCORCH ON THE GROUND!!!

"Yeah, the design sucked so bad we had to blow it up." I held it together long enough to hear Tango's words.

"Oh, I see. So... now what's your plan??"

The duo posed together, Tango speaking first. "Well, we decided we didn't NEED a plan, just a rule."

"Anyone that gets in our way..."

Tango summoned his axe. "Gets crushed into dust."

Soleil tried to stop the inevitable. "Wait! Tango, you need us to get home! Doesn't, uh, crushing us seem a little... counterproductive...?"

"Nah, see, that's where you're wrong. Ya see, I know I can't get back without you twerps. But being - heh -" Tango did air quotations. "'Good Guy' REALLY isn't my style. So! I came up with a deal!"

Tango swung his axe down, burying it into the magenta grass. "If you can beat me, I'll go back to being a good guy. But if you lose..." He sharply jabbed at us. "YOU TWO will have to be bad guys with us! And do whatever we say!!"

He extended a hand to us. "So? Whaddya say...?"

A second passed and he grew impatient. "Ya know what? Don't both answering, we're fighting!"

{ACT}

•Tango

• Check ❤️• Anything • [Soleil] Sing

* You tried convincing Tango not to fight.

"Tango!!" I did my best 'angry' voice. "Let's talk about this!"

"Yeah right!" Tango swung at me. I parried his axe, swapping to my shield mid-step.

Okay... maybe with Joel will work?

* You tried convincing Joel not to fight.

* Joel started to become convinced!

Okay! Progress! That's good!

The two of us danced around the spade projectiles, one slamming square into Soleil's side.

"Heal prayer on yourself, I'll be fine!" I instructed them. A moment of hesitancy later, and they nodded.

"Hey! I love your hair kid!" I shouted. "The green looks great on you!"

* Joel became even more convinced!

Tango threw his axe like a boomerang, scowling. "Hey! I know what you're doing! It won't work!"

Our turn. "If you be our friend, I'll..." I tried to think of what in the world this kid could like. He's young, little kids like worms, right? "I'll give you a huge picnic basket of worms!"

"Oooh! Worms!'

* Joel became almost fully convinced!

The duo flew back on their bike, the rain of axes flew at us.

Tango exploded towards me, swinging his axe in a wide arc. The blade bit into my shield, cracking the wood.

"C'mon!" I yelled as I backed away from the Blazeling. "I just want to get along with you two-!!"

Tango clamped his hands over Joel's ears. "Nope! He can't hear you!"

"Diamond-!" Soleil gasped, out of breath. "We need to do something about Tango first!"

"Okay... okay! I-" I racked my brain. What could we do?!

Wait... I remember! The Ponmen! When Soleil would sing a lullaby, Tango would fall asleep, too! That's it!

"Here's the plan," I pulled Soleil in close, much to the duo's confusion. "I distract Tango, and you sing. The same lullaby you used against the Ponmen...! After he passes out, you can convince Joel!"

Soleil blinked, then nodded.

"C'mon Tango! I know you just want some friends! What's two more?!" I made sure to act as confident as possible.

Tango growled, slashing at me. "You don't know me...!"

The soft notes reached him, and he stopped, his eyes drooping. "No...!"

He dropped his axe, and I caught him before he fell face first. "Now!" I gave the signal.

"In summery!" Soleil began. "We both really, really like you two, and... I think we all could be great friends!"

"Uh oh." Joel got off his bike. Tango blinked awake, moving towards him. "What's wrong, dude?"

"I accidentally started liking the enemies...!" Joel complained. "Now seeing them just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Bad atmosphere for battle."

Tango despawned his axe, letting it vanish into his inventory. "Well, if you don't want to fight, there's no point." He addressed us. "Battle's over, twerps!"

He gave us a weird look. Well, more accurately, gave me a weird look. "Well, you didn't BEAT us, because you, uh... kinda cheated by, uh, ganging up on Joel, with, uh..."

"Kindness!"

"But..." Tango slowly walked over to us. "If I have to, I guess I'll go back to your side. But!" He glared at me. "DON'T expect me to do anything but fight!"

Soleil grinned, relieved. "We're happy you're back, Tango."

Something flickered in his eyes. Sadness? Distrust? Something. "Yeah, well. Let's get this over with."

He glanced at Joel, who sat downtrodden. "Um... Tango?" The little spade asked. "Does this mean we aren't a team anymore...?"

Tango took a step back, his thin fur spiking. "H-HUH...?! Umm, I mean, uhh..." He ran up to him, holding him close. "Of course we're still a team! You can, um..."

Tango looked at me, at Soleil, at Joel. "- be a part of the Joel Fan Club!"

Joel bounced in place, ecstatic. "Wow!! Me?! In the Joel Fan Club!?!"

His bouncing tapered off, halting altogether. "Wait... if I hang out with the good guys, then..." there was a slight tremble to him, before he switched tracks. "Can we still have monogrammed track jackets?"

"Yeah! Soleil will make them!" Tango immediately offered. Soleil perked up, confused.

"Huh??" Then, they smiled. "Okay, sure!"

Joel pumped a fist in the air. "Yesssss, Joel has joined the party!"

[FILE SAVED - Forest, Thrashing Room]

Three becomes four, welcome to the team!