Chapter 262: Two for vegeance.
Sunshine was not expecting to see Nimo waiting in her living room when she returned from her trip. Her friend was watching Castiel’s favorite cartoons, drinking milk and laughing with a half eaten black hole doughnut in her hand.
"Not that I am unhappy to see you but I am not expecting company today." Sunshine said, slipping into the chair opposite her friend. "What brings you by?"
"I was bored and your husband said you were working at home." Nimo placed the doughnut on a plate. "I came to help because life is always fun when we are together. Also, I need to know if Dwayne is single."
Sunshine was about to relax but she sat upright immediately. "Dwayne!!" She gasped. "Who wants to know?"
"Give me coconut beans first." Nimo answered, gesturing for the fruit to be handed over. "We are all out of coconut bean fruits on the base. Ariel needs to step in and regulate how they are being distributed because they have become candy. Do you know that someone is making coconut bean coffee and selling it in the market?"
Sunshine raised her eyebrows.
"Not just coffee but milk tea." Nimo pointed at the disposable cup she had brought along with her. "It is genius and delicious."
Sunshine lowered her head and sighed. "When I introduced the fruit to you I never thought that you would become an addict. Thankfully, it is not a dangerous drug. If you need more, follow me. I will take you to the source."
Nimo gasped. "You mean...."
Sunshine nodded. "Veldek."
Nimo squealed and jumped on Sunshine who managed to catch her perfectly. She set Nimo back on her feet and shoved a pill in her mouth. "To make sure you breathe and don’t die in my space."
She took Nimo’s hand, and they both disappeared into the space.
Tank came to the living room with a handful of coconut beans that he had taken from White’s crib. When the robot saw that there was no one, he turned around and returned them where he had found them.
Meanwhile, Nimo was stuffing a bag with weapons as Sunshine explained the reason for their trip.
"We are not going to have fun, we are going hunting. I promised White’s mother that I would get revenge for her and I must make good on that promise."
"Uh-huh." Nimo replied.
"It is a mutant beast Neems, we cannot underestimate it." She said.
Nimo stood up." Let’s go."
Sunshine sighed. Her friend’s excitement was similar to that of a kid who was anticipating an exciting first day of school. "System, show us a door that leads straight to where the bear is." She ordered in her mind.
A door appeared before them. She turned the knob and stepped through. Nimo was amazed, and she followed tentatively.
She had the same look of amazement that Sunshine had when she first stepped on Veldek. "Ah!! Suni, the air is fresh and it is not cold...."
Sunshine nodded. "I know. Now let’s go and hunt that bear after which, I want to hear all about Dwayne’s admirer."
"Look no further for it is I." Nimo shared, turning her dragonoid on.
Sunshine opened her mouth and turned to her friend. "I have so many questions but now is not the time. We have to enter this cave to kill the bear and then go looking for Coconut beans."
Nimo fell in behind Sunshine, following her into the cave. It was a wide and hot inside. The heat was almost scalding and if they had not been wearing weather absorbent under suits, they would be sweating and uncomfortable.
It smelled of fruit--some fresh and some rotting. Mixed in with that smell was blood. The walls glistened with a sickly purple glow which was familiar to the color of White’s pupils.
"These are cute stones." Nimo whispered.
Her tiny voice echoed through the cave like she had screamed the words loudly.
"Oh-oh!" Sunshine gasped.
Then, a roar came from inside. It came from the dark depths, somewhere in the cave. The roar caused vibrations that they felt beneath their feet like the cave itself was breathing.
"Definitely not good." Nimo whispered.
Sunshine forged ahead and Nimo followed. They could hear the roars of the bear. It was not waiting for them to reach and it was coming to them. They met halfway.
Somehow, being close to the beast made Sunshine realize just how huge it was. Ten to twelve feet tall, covered in black fur that shimmered like the walls of the cave in the dark. It was all muscles, claws and anger. Its mouth split open, revealing rows of sharp big, jagged teeth.
"What the fuck?" Nimo shouted.
Sunshine swung her hammer.
No reactions. No delays. The impact sent a shockwave through the beast’s chest. It stumbled backwards, snarling but still standing. Nimo started firing the dragonoid as it came forward like a freight train with no brakes.
Sunshine darted, avoiding its claws. She swung her hammer downwards, slamming it into one the beasts feet. Nimo was aiming the flames at its face, hoping to blind it.
The bear roared again, swiping blindly through the air. Its claws tore through the cave wall and it gripped a rock, throwing it at Nimo. She dodged, but the dragonoid was struck and it fell to the ground. Her fingers felt pain from the impact of the rock.
Sunshine stabbed a sword into its flank. It roared again and turned around, swinging paws dangerously.
The cave echoed with screams, roars, flashes of light and hisses. The walls shook from all the vibrations caused by the bear and the hammer. The more Sunshine hit, the softer the bear’s bones became and the more pain it felt.
Nimo danced around it, distracting it with flames that started eating away at its fur. But to their amazement, even after twenty five minutes, the beast remained standing.
Suddenly it turned around, retreating deeper into the cave and they gave chase. Sunshine got a bright idea. She took an acid grenade from her space and threw it at the back of the bear. It stopped, howled, shaking its head and scratching at its skin.
The acid started exposing raw flesh and Nimo’s flames loved that more than the skin. As the bear shrieked and tried to dodge, Sunshine threw more acid grenades at it. She did not waste time and hammered away at its knee from behind.
A joint cracked and the bear fell.
She jumped up, leaping over most of its body before striking a blow to its head.
Still, the bear did not die.
"What is it going to take?" She screamed angrily, bringing the hammer down again.
The bear had the strength to dodge and turn on its back, laying down face up.
"Its adapting." Nimo shouting.
Sunshine had already figured this out. The bear was hiding the injured part of its skin, buying time for the wounds to cool. But she had no plan to give it any such time.
She was exhausted. Breathing hard. Covered in sweat and dirt. Both of them were.
Sunshine threw acid grenades on its head, and they exploded over its eyes and nose. It brought its paws up to cover theses parts before Nimo could burn them.
But that did not help as the acid grenades continued raining down like. As soon as the bear gave up on hiding its face, Sunshine brought the hammer down on the beast’s partially exposed skull with a roar that matched the anger of the flame coming from the dragonoid.
It cracked through the bone.
The cave shook.
The bear collapsed.
Sunshine stood over the head while Nimo stood at the feet. Both of them were panting. Her hammer was smoking and her clothes covered in blood and small chunks of meat.
"He is not White’s dad, right?" Nimo asked.