Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Balto takes Jessica and Eartha down to the Segin Squad's base, where he reveals that his dad wants him to collect the Starmobiles to be altered into real cars... but not before he removes the obsidian dome and defeats the Wicked Grin Diamant does he claim the first one...
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Back in Mesagoza, Pico, Rosita and Dina were waiting at the south gate to regroup with the rest of the team, when they spotted Camilla walking up to the three of them by herself. "Hi, everybody," she said. "Sorry it's just me right now, but Balto took the others and left while I was getting the drop on one of the Diamants."
"Well," Pico replied, "at least now you know how I felt back in Cortondo."
"Alright, alright," Dina said, "spare us the sob story!"
Just then, Camilla's bunny ears perked up. "Ah, speak of Giratina, here he comes now." And just as she predicted, along came the husky with Jessica and Eartha in tow.
"Hey, guys!" Balto said as he caught up to the rest of the group. "Sorry we took so long to get here, but I can explain-"
"No need, Camilla already told us," Rosita said. "Anyway, you got the goods?"
"I know I got mine," Pico said as he showed the Prime Grass Tera Jewel in his hand.
"Right!" Camilla said as she and Balto took out the Prime Flying and Dark Tera Jewels, respectively. "Got them right here."
However, only Pico's jewel began trailing sparkles towards the dark band the group was near, and floated over a certain spot on it, restoring the Grass-type logo in a flash of light!
"Huh," Jessica observed. "So the Prime Tera Jewels can restore the type logos on other spots as well. Neat."
"But let's see if we can pass through the blockade without being sapped of our spirit," Eartha said as she stepped forward. "I volunteer as tribute!" And so the fennec fox gingerly placed a footpaw on the restored spot... and nothing happened. "Looks like we can cross."
"Good, because there's still more glitter coming from the jewels," Camilla said as the jewels in her paw and Balto's began trailing sparkles through the opened path. "To the Battle Court!"
The group walked up the steps to the central plaza, where the trails led to three different spots on the circle. One by one, the Prime Tera Jewels hovered over where the trails ended, and in flashes of light, the Grass, Flying and Dark-type logos were restored, finalized by a thumbs-up from each bearer.
"Okay, five logos down, thirteen to go," Balto said as he took out his Rotom Phone and tapped away on a calculator app he downloaded. "We're already 28% done!"
"Approximately," Camilla said. "But now it's time to plan out our next move. Fortunately, I found three more domes outside of the east gate, so we won't have to split up this time." She displayed the map on her Rotom Phone and explained. "First, Balto gets the dome over the Schedar Squad's base, Pico gets the dome over Levincia, and I'll take the dome over the Lurking Steel Titan's den here, at East Area 3."
"Hey, that's right near my hometown of Zapapico," Pico pointed out, "and where Dina sought refuge, if my memory serves proper."
"Hooray, we could've been neighbors!" Dina cheered.
"But we'll have to rest up before we do any of that," Camilla piped up. "I vote that we do so in Artazon so we can get a jumpstart on the plan. Any objections?"
"None from me, thanks," Dina said. "I hear they have a pool there, and I can take advantage of the water to refresh my gill-buds."
"Seconded," Rosita added.
"Thirded," Jessica said.
"Fourthed," Eartha tacked on.
"I'm also on board for Artazon," Pico said. "And not just to milk the gratitude for removing the emerald dome."
"Balto?" Camilla asked the husky. "Your opinion?"
"I'm in," Balto conceded.
"Then it's unanimous," the bunny said. "Artazon it is!" And so the seven set out for their destination.
"You know what would make this even better, though?" Balto asked along the way. "If Ko was also there. He's a nice person."
"I'm sure he's searching for his own treasure by now," Pico said, "but you're right. He's not too bad."
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Little did Pico know how right he was, because Ko was back in his dorm with a box of something on his counter. "Phew," the bear panted as he reached into his mini-fridge for a cold bottle of Fresh Water. "Putting together jars of jam sure is thirsty work, but at least I've reached a stopping point so I can rest until tomorrow. And the upside of doing this by myself is that I won't have anyone to bash in my carcass for having emotions... not to mention the sense of accomplishment." After taking a few swigs, he polished off the bottle, crushed it to compact it and tossed it into the waste basket by the counter. "And now, to turn in and start fresh in the morning..."
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To be continued.
