A Troyson Fanfic

Berries and Blushes

I grab Troy's hand and lead him through the trees. Sure, Timber Village is nice, but the surface is...my home. Safer than any burrow. I know where to place my feet, what to touch and what to avoid, what is edible and what thinks you're edible. You can't get that underground.

"So...where are we going again?" Troy asks, tripping over roots. I slow down enough for him to copy my pace, "And why are we out on the surface?"

"We're grabbing medicinal berries for Lio, since Kipo's out looking for Emilia" I say, "Then I'm taking you someplace special."

"Ooo, where?" Troy asks, lifting a low-hanging vine for me to walk under. I smile in thanks, "Can't tell you, I'm afraid. Oh, look, there they are!" I point to a bush of brown leaves, pairs of them creating small spheres. I walk across the clearing to grab them, but before I can take a step Troy pulls me back.

"Wha-"

"Shhhh. Look!" Troy points to the opposite corner of the clearing, where a Mega Spider resides, sleeping. It's probably the size of the hall in Timber Village, with very large fangs. Its legs are curled underneath it, but I can take a rough guess at their size. Very big.

"What should we do?" Troy asks, gripping my arm. I ignore the speed of my heart- is it because of my proximity to Troy or the Spider?- and calculate the situation. The clearing is too big to find another way around, and Megas have impeccable hearing- we would immediately be heard, seen, felt or smelt out and eaten. We can't return empty handed, though.

"We look for other bushes," I say after a while, "It's the best option." Troy nods.

We turn to leave, but I haven't taken even one step before

Snap

Troy looks at me with dread, then down at the broken twig underneath his feet. We stay stone-still, hardly breathing, as we listen the the Mega Spider wake up.

"Don't. Move." I whisper.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW

"NEVER MIND RUN!"

We vault through the undergrowth, avoiding bee nests and death ivy. I can feel the Mega Spider's legs hammering against the ground as it chases us, a symphony of eight different drums. I hear the clack clack clacking of its pincers, striving for a new feast. We pant and stumble as our teenage legs betray us. We're no match for a Mega, certainly not one with six more legs than us. We have to fight it.

"Troy!" I shout, "Get in the tree!"

"What about you?" he asks, panicked.

"Don't worry about me, just get up there!"

Troy's eyes display fear but he does as I say. Swiftly scaling the knobbly willow, he crouches in the threshes and stares down at me.

"Don't die..." he says without a trace of laughter in his voice. I smile sadly at him,

"On the surface, I can't make that kind of promise." Then I turn the the bushes.

I know that in seconds, there'll be a Mega Spider bursting through those leaves, trying to eat me and my... friend. Wolf and Kipo are always the ones to do any damage, but now I guess it's down to me. At least Troy's safe.

Thu-thud

Thu-thud

Thu-thud

Then it's here. All eight legs, furry back, pincers dripping venom. It's now or never.

I jump and just manage to grasp its short hair. Swinging up, I straddle it and it goes berserk, trying to buck me off. I slide this way and that, but keep a strong grip on its rough leathery skin, staying upright. Pulling on the hair as hard as possible, I send it trying to attack me into the tree. Seemingly grasping a smart idea, it attempts to smash me against the tree trunk, but I leap off at the last second and it just throws itself backwards into the wood, before huddling into an unmoving heap on the floor.