Ep. 11: Hop's Troublesome Trio, Part 3

[Clair de Lune begins.]

Kyle

To the side of the Boostball field, in the pit where one of the team’s players and coaches sat, a young woman elegantly yet casually sat with her hands placed on crossed legs. She was so composed that the only way you could even tell she was breathing was by the way the large ball of pink hair emerging from her head gracefully flowed up and down, like a cloud on a calm day. Her lips elegantly kissed the air, blowing perfectly spherical bubbles of gum, which - when coupled with the colorful lights of Neulettia - cast a rainbow across her perfectly smooth skin.

This was no girl. This was a statue come to life. This was…

Kyle (as Mari)

Galatea.

Hallie (as Ness)

Mari! Mari! Marigold!

Kyle (as Mari)

Huh!?

[Silly carnival music begins.]

Kyle

From across the field, Mari Scotch’s cloudy, lovestruck vision shot back into clear focus, as she sat up straight, dropping the pile of binders on her lap to the ground in a clatter.

Hallie (as Ness)

You finally hear me? Good. ‘Cause I can’t believe I had to use your full name - EUCH! - never make me do that again.

Kyle (as Mari)

O-of course, Mr. Coach Ness, Sir.

Kyle

With considerable strain, Mari peeled her eyes away from her and turned towards a small robot with lightbulb eyes, tube arms, and as much determination as could fit in a small square body no larger than a few feet. This was Ness, Aggie’s boostball coach since way back when she was smaller than him.

Ness was perched with both hands on a chair, using it both as support and - if necessary - an impromptu projectile towards the other team’s coach. He leaned over Mari, getting so close that she could feel the heat emanating off of his glinting eyebulbs.

Hallie (as Ness)

So is it legal?

Kyle (as Mari)

Uh-

Hallie (as Ness)

It’s legal? IT’S LEGAL!

Kyle

Before Mari could even take a breath, Ness turned towards the opposing team’s coach, which was the torso of a skeleton resting atop a wooden box. The skeleton did not reply.

[Music fades into silence, followed by a pop.]

After a moment of waiting in silence, Galatea popped the gum bubble she had spent the past few minutes working on, sauntered over to the skeleton, and dropped a coin into a slot in the wooden box. The skeleton rattled to “life” and dropped its skull forward, revealing that the top half had been cut off. In the inky void where the inside of the skull should be, a few words eventually made their way to the surface, like the text rising to the top of a magic 8 ball.

FORTUNE UNCLEAR: ASK AGAIN LATER.

Coach Ness threw the chair he was perched on at the ground.

Hallie (as Ness)

DAMN he’s good. So have you figured out how to make it legal yet?

Kyle (as Mari)

I still, uh… I’m working on it!

[Silly whimsical music begins.]

Kyle

Mari took in a big gulp and turned towards the boostball field, hoping that it at least could give her some context while Coach Ness continued to argue with the opposing team’s Magic 8 Skull. And what she saw was…

[Dice roll SFX]

Not the ugliest sight she had seen, but not the best, either. A solid 10 on a 20-sided dice.

Aggie was racing across the field, carried not by her jetpack, but by a swarm of bees. Most of her opponents - and teammates - had fled the swarm in fear, but one opponent remained, his gaudy glistening smile only widened by the sores the stinging bees were giving him.

Kyle (as Mari)

Okay! Okay! Um, um - oh!

Kyle

Mari finally noticed the pile of binders, books, and paper at her feet, and she tried cleaning them up. 

[Dice roll SFX]

Unfortunately, with a four, the bees had gotten there first, and Mari was so flustered, she didn’t even notice she was shooing the insects away until they started stringing her hands.

Kyle (as Mari)

Ow!

Kyle

With a tiny yelp, Mari pulled back her hand. It was already swelling to twice its size from the stings. There was no way she would be able to look up the actual boostball rules now. Mari had to [gulp]. She had to wing it.

[Music fades.]

Kyle (as Mari)

Uh… uh… uh…

Kyle

Or she could just die. That’s a valid option too - h-honestly, a preferable option to -

[Cute chittering SFX]

[Silly whimsical music returns.]

Kyle

Mari heard small sounds of reassurance from the animal on her shoulder, a round, racoon-like creature with multicolored quills running along its fur and tail and just the tiniest little hands. Mari pressed her hand and head against the animal, taking a few calming breaths with it.

Kyle (as Mari)

T-t-thanks, Gubbins. You don’t happen to know if using a cypher full of bees is legal in boostball, do you?

[Confident chittering SFX]

Kyle

Gubbins made a few excited squeaks before dropping a piece of paper he had retrieved from the pile. Mari excitedly took it, scanning this blessed scroll for the answer she needed. And the text said:

Solving love is like solving murder

An investigation into romance by Inspector Cecilos

Nevermind, nevermind! The scrap of paper was useless. Mari crumbled it in her hand, which she then placed against her reddened blushing face. Her wits were the only thing that were going to save her sister’s boostball game.

Kyle (as Q-BO) 

[Bloop.] Well, this is quite a pickle. It looks like, thanks to your responses, Aggie chose to take a cypher (a one-time magical item) full of bees and use it to win the boostball game. Unfortunately, the opposing team argued that that’s not a legal maneuver. My question for you today is: how will Mari convince the opposing team that it was okay for Aggie to use bees during the game?