The Beats Go On

Chapter 78: Patch Up, Match Up

🏛Chapter 78: Patch Up, Match Up

The group didn't close the portal.

They'd instead barricaded it with random items they found strewn about the place.

After all, they needed to locate Sese to close it fully, and they still couldn't find where he went. That slippery snake had set off to locate the treeangle piece (as the group had heard him mutter) and the group was gonna find him in an area of equal playing grounds. They could wish for things they needed, and they'd have them....probably. Except they'd wished they could find Sese and nothing had happened. Did they need an item of sorts??

Clie was all too willing to give them a lift to try and find Sese from above, so they accepted and took to the skies. Cas wished for a pirate telescope to look for Sese, while Coco and Digo opted for binoculars. They had to be careful not to add too much more weight though, because then Clie wouldn't be able to fly too high. Ari was already heavy enough. They would've had him roam the ground, but there could be more random traps and puzzles strewn about the place and the group wasn't taking risks.

The group remembered that Sese had gone in a pretty linear path, but thanks to the mess they'd gone through, they didn't exactly remember where they were relative to the portal they came out of. They should've made a trail or something, but they didn't. As Clie soared over the dreamlands (though at a moderate pace thanks to the weight on them), the group could see more wacky animals and creations going by. Sheep packs attacking herds of wolves, loudly flying owls and quiet pigeons, and more. They also noticed a bit of the landscape changing as they went, with some of the dreamy clouds starting to get pillars and platforms sprouting out of them.

"Clie...do you remember anything about this place?" El asked.

"Nope! I've never been so far out before! In my home, there are sentient vehicles that all usually remain in one place and don't venture out! But I decided to rebel against their wishes and now I'm here, hehe..." Clie replied.

"Oh....well, is it nice?" Ina asked.

"It feels that way at first, but then it gets boring, only being allowed to live in set boundaries," Clie sighed. "I'm honestly more glad I escaped out here...though it kind of seems like I did it at a bad time, with you all in your little...situation here, heh..."

"Yeah, with us trying to find Sese and all for what they've done....and I thought the corruption was gone long ago. Never thought I'd be here with you all, being the only people to take action against it," Coco muttered.

"Me too!" Cas chirped, before starting to explain the adventure they'd had since the beginning.

Coco drowned it out and kept looking around, though even binoculars made no difference. Maybe this place had some kind of "piratey" area, something Sese would surround himself with when bored. Or maybe there was a giant sea he sailed in, unless this whole dimension was what he considered his "sea". It was all too confusing, and Coco didn't want to waste more time than he had to here. He just wanted this over with so he could go back home and lay down on his bed.

These pillars certainly were interesting, though. Thing was, there were hardly any creatures around this area, unlike the other parts of the dimension that made them as common as your average everyday wildlife. Could that be a possible hint or clue that they were getting closer? Quieter areas were always rather suspicious. As Cas finished up his story, Coco raised a finger to his mouth to "shhh" the group so he could hear better.

He then listened for anything that sounded like talking, because if this place was mostly empty, he'd have the advantage at finding Sese amongst the rubble. It was quiet for a bit, with the only nearby noise being the sound of Clie's helicopter blades whirring quietly. Then, as Coco leaned in a little, he heard something similar to hissing...snakes. Could that be Sese?! Coco quietly pointed in the direction he heard it, not wanting to make a loud noise at the risk of Sese hearing him...if he was there at all.

Clie nodded and started heading in the direction Coco pointed, while the others remained quiet to see what would happen. The hissing still remained relatively quiet though, so they simply kept moving in hopes of something happening. Looking around, they could see some pillars were getting taller, but there were no large clouds or large chunks of ceilings that could be the source of an ambush. Everyone was still alert though, because the last thing they needed was Sese ambushing them and winning their fight AGAIN. Binoculars and telescopes were used again for looking for said pirate, but there was still no luck.

However, Coco DID notice something different this time, and that was the source of the hissing. There were small triangular snakes slithering around the broken pillars within the area...so this place had to be it. They were all corrupted too, and why would Sese leave anything uncorrupted at this point? He worked to spread corruption, so perhaps these were minions of his...but none of them had attacked the group yet. Would they ambush the group later during a fight? The group hoped not, and could only prepare for such a thing since they didn't want to initiate a fight and possibly alert Sese to their presence.

Clie was now nearing a large temple with pillars surrounding it that were similar to the broken ones the group had encountered before. Nearby were some lava falls, and there was some sort of bright light shining from within.

"Guys! Down there!" Ami whispered as they pointed with their fingers.

The group followed their trail and saw that indeed, Sese was there...

And his boat Racu was watching nearby as well.