Claudio McAwesome had been feeling worse and worse since the depredation. When they had made it to tracks that were twelve minutes old, she sat down abruptly, unable to keep going.
"Are you okay?" asked Oapsuf.
"No," she responded. "I feel like something is building up inside me, and has been for quite some time. And now it's almost ready to burst."
"Well," said Oapsuf, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!"
Having said this, he lifted Claudio McAwesome and carried her onward as they tracked Teddy and Turtle. They soon caught up on lost distance, and then they proceeded to gain on their enemies. When they caught up, RoboRabbit went straight for Teddy and slammed him into the ground. At the same time, Oapsuf, who had already placed Claudio McAwesome on the ground, rushed at Turtle and drop-kicked him hard enough to leave a crack in his shell. In the midst of all this, Hilarious Hyena burst out laughing, which greatly confused her enemies. As RoboRabbit and Oapsuf continued to wrestle with Teddy and Turtle, respectively, and Hilarious Hyena continued laughing, they were all ablivious to Claudio McAwesome, who stood up as the fray continued.
"Stop!" she shouted audaciously. "I've discovered what is inside me, and it will explode very soon. It is enlightenment. It is knowledge. Somt of it has already come, and I know that there is no point in you fighting. RoboRabbit, you are the main character of this story. You are the one whom everyone looks up to. Fighting without reason ill becomes you.
"And Oapsuf, I am the only one here who knows it, but you are a prince. Why should a prince fight on a whim? Why are you fighting?"
"Well," said Teddy. "RoboRabbit, uh... he kind of, uh..."
"He what?! Attacked you without reason? Well now you destroyed his planet without reason! Now your even. And I have a feeling that something very powerful is going to attack us. We must prepare."
"I guess you're right," replied Teddy. "I'll help you against any common enemies, RoboRabbit, but I am neutral towards you."
"As am I to you," said RoboRabbit.
"Teddy, I know what we're gonna do today!"
"Whatcha doin'?" asked Hilarioud Hyena, who had wandered off when Claduio McAwesome started yelling.
"Oh, hi, Hilarious Hyena," said RoboRabbit. "We were just about to go fight a common enemy."
"Cool, can I come with you?"
"You sure can," said Roboabbit. "Hey, where's Turtle?"
"He was here a few minutes ago," said Teddy.
"Oh well, we'll just go on without him."
So they traveled back to Jhoqi's treehouse, but before they got there Turtle appeared and stopped them.
"You can't go any farther," he said. Then he slammed the ground on either side of him, somehow causing a row of green to sprout. It quickly grew and soon there was an impenetrable wall of vines directly behind Turtle. RoboRabbit shot a hole in the wall, and the vines grew back quicker than the eye could see.
"Why not?" asked Teddy. "Why can't we go on?"
"I am just the messenger," replied Turtle.
"Then why are you stopping us?" asked RoboRabbit.
"Because I was ordered to."
"By whom?" asked Teddy. "Who would tell you to do such a thing?"
"Someone you know," he replied. "But I will say no more. You are not permitted to pass."
"And you think you can stop us?" Oapsuf rheorically questioned. As he said this he charged at Turtle and punched him in the gut, breaking his own wrist.
"Find your friend who is on this side of the vine wall. He will guide you from here."
Up until now, they had been oblivious to the fact that someone else had lef Jhoqi's treehouse and made it past the line where the vine wall now stood. Thus, they were very surprised to hear Turtle's words and find a set of webbed tracks leading into the distance. And by now you may be able to tell that this story will confuse you before it is clarified.
"The Vine Master is targeting you," said Platypus, whom they had tracked and soon found. "I told Turtle to set up that wall for your own protection. Jhoqi and Upooq are under the influence of the Vine Master, although Jhoqi may be able to break free soon enough. As longg as you are on this side of the wall, you are mostly safe. RoboRabbit, the Vine Master is targeting you and Oapsuf, so I suggest you keep your allies on this side of the wall.
"But I warn you both now that there will be times when you have to cross the line of the wall. I will give you one hope, these blueprints." Platypus pulled out two copies of blueprints and handed them to Oapsuf and RoboRabbit.
"You must spend much of this story building these shields. They will protect you mostly from the Vine Master and allow you to leave this galaxy, which will be difficult as long as the Vine Master can stop you. I have given these blueprints to Jhoqi and Upooq, but it will take them much longer to build them. Now, are there any questions?"
"You bet there are," answered RoboRabbit. "How could the Vine Master have survived the depredation that recently occurred."
"The Vine Master," replied Platypus, "anticipated the depredation and followed you into Jhoqi's treehouse."
"And what," asked Oapsuf, "are we to do while we finish our shields?"
"You will be in a constant struggle. You will be always fighting the Vine Master until your shields are completed. And when they are done, you will want to escape as quickly as possible."
"So we have to create shields while simultaneously fighting the Vine Master," observed RoboRabbit. "Nothing more impossible than I've done before."
"Confidence is believing in yourself against any odds. It is more powerful than all of your weapons combined, and you will need it to reach the end of this story"
