Mao Mao's Sisters

Dawning Justice

Mao Mao threw his arms about, trying to establish a center of gravity. When he and the king entered the room, the sudden sense of weightlessness accompanied with their feet leaving the ground, threw them into a minor disarray.

With no gravity, there was no official up or down. The fact as it registered in their heads, caused their vision to spin.

Mao Mao reached for the painting, wrapping his hand around the frame, swung himself over, planting his feet of oil covered canvas. He used the painting as a form of floor, to trick his mind back into reorienting itself. The texture beneath his feet was slick, and the oils smudged with each step he took.

"Gracious," exclaimed Snugglemane. The king grabbed the painting, pulling himself up next to Mao Mao. "What manner of chaos is this?"

Mao Mao looked around the room, a considerable number of palace guards floated around aimlessly. Ashaki and Tanya were cooped up in a plastic air bubble, they appeared to have caught their second wind. Violet stood in the corner of the room, her eyes trained on the two in the bubble. Finally, Minori's kept trying to make leaps across the room, only to be bumped by a floating guard and sent flying in a different direction; had she been of sound mind though, she probably could've flown across the room with ease.

"A plan with a lot of moving parts," Mao Mao answered. He and Snugglemane brought the painting as instructed, but Ashaki only told them to stay on standby from there. On the opposite side of the room, Mao Mao saw the Moon Moth, getting ready to turn in for the day. He could have probably slain it from where he stood had he used Lunar Lash. But two factors disabled the possibility: Ashaki had informed them that any intense light would cause the moth to react, and second, the Lunar Lash was a wide spread move, using it would catch a few innocent guards in the crossfire.

"A little to literal for my taste," Snugglemane murmured.

Ashaki gave Tanya a quick nod, and the bubble disappeared in a puff of smoke. Like it was as natural as breathing, Ashaki glided between the spiraling guards with the grace of a swan.

Tanya jumped along the guards, using them as a series of steppingstones to make her way to Mao Mao and Snugglemane. With a final leap, she aimed just above Mao Mao, extending her hand.

Mao Mao, in turn, reached out. They clasped each other's forearm, Mao Mao pulled her down onto the painting with the king and himself. "So what's the play?" Mao Mao asked.

"Ashaki wants us to keep the two stooges off of her," Tanya jerked a thumb over towards Minori and Violet, the latter now turned to focus on them. Or more accurately, on the hat hanging off of Tanya's neck. "And when she gives the signal, we need to be ready to initiate the final phase." Tanya looked over to Snugglemane. "That means you as well."

Snugglemane rolled his eyes. All these people suddenly coming into his palace, and telling him what to do was getting on his nerves. He was the king for goodness sake! "I know what I need to do," he replied.

Tanya looked back at Mao Mao. "I need to keep this hat away from Violet," Tanya pulled at the string around her neck. "So I'll deal with Minori, you take Violet."

Mao Mao shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He only got the best of Minori cause she got distracted, Violet wasn't as easy of a customer. But their goal wasn't to beat them, it was to keep them away from Ashaki while she dealt with the moth. Mao Mao nodded.

Tanya quickly spun on her heel, and leaped off the painting, the sudden force pushed her side of the painting down, taking the foothold out from beneath Mao Mao, leaving him suspended in midair. "Gah," Mao Mao exclaimed.

Snugglemane, whose side of the painting tilted, reached out and grabbed the suspended hero, pulling him onto the oily surface again.

"Thanks."