*pop* *pop*
The two girls snapped into existence as suddenly as their world went dark. Bibi had to brush her hair out of the way. She was floating around in a dark void with no sense of up or down. With a lot of shuffling, she was able to twist around and face Tara.
The mystic maiden frantically kicked the air as she tried to stand on the non-existent ground. She laughed when she saw Bibi's bangs levitating above her head. Though their gay interaction was abruptly silenced by the bottomless void. The duo searched the darkness around them for a sign of light. After a minute of shifting in place, Bibi asked, "Where are we?"
As quickly as the question was asked it was abruptly answered. A bright green flash erupted above them. Its verde aura washed over the duo and splattered the space around them. The blinding beam forced Tara and Bibi's eyes shut. When they could finally open them, they swooned at the world they saw.
Below them was a beautiful expanse of glowing green grass with luminescent bugs jumping from blade to blade. The trees were like mighty redwoods standing stories above the ground. And the leaves were a complimentary shade of baby blue. Though the trunks weren't the usual shades of brown or burgundy. They instead shimmered a dark forest green with white sparkles falling off the digital chips.
Tara saw off in the distance the silhouette of a glorious mountain range. And just a bit to the right of their current position was a dark green pond.
Tara noticed how she couldn't feel the floor below them and signaled for Bibi to look down. They saw themselves a skyscraper's height above the ground. Bibi was in fact floating upside down with her face aimed at the mesmerizing floor. She looked to Tara who returned a parting wave as the two began their dramatic descent.
Bibi and Tara screamed at the top of their lungs as the ground rushed towards them. The two tried their best to think up a plan but their mortal terror was fogging their thoughts. Thankfully Tara remembered the pond she saw before and guided her movements towards Bibi. Through inane mumbles she pointed to the body of water.
Bibi grabbed her and shifted their weight towards the large pool of liquid. They hit the water with the grace of a pebble and a matching plop to boot. The ripples from their swan dive flowed across the silent surface.
For a moment the world went quiet. A few of the blue bugs made their way towards the pond's shoreline but quickly ran away when Bibi burst into view. She lopped Tara alongside her who quickly crawled to the glowing grass fields. Bibi also lugged her body beside her whilst gasping for air.
Bibi noticed a severe lack of weight from the surplus of water that soaked into their clothes. Tara was also perplexed though not by the lack of weight. But by a lack of water to cause such discomfort. She felt up and down her torso and was further stunned by the new fabrics she felt.
Tara wandered back to the water to inspect her duds. Shocked to see her clothing had gone through a drastic alteration. She first noticed how her pink headwrap was replaced by dark-blue drapes. She was still only showing her left eye but now her neck was fully smothered by the giant collar of a strange indigo jacket. The green gemstone that sat in her previous turban had been swapped out with a pink jewel. This one lacked an eye unlike the previous.
The giant blue jacket that had replaced her pink crop top also had removed the shawl that rested across her shoulders. Though it was still cut off at her waist to reveal her slim, ebony stomach. From the waist down she still had on baggy pants. But instead of the burnt orange leggings she wore like a gypsy, she was now wearing a set of thick, blue jeans. Equipped with gray kneepads held down by thin leather straps.
And her belt loops were interlocked with matching straps that dangled to her knees. She again found herself enamored by her jacket and the strange gray platting that lined her sleeves. She couldn't even feel the weight of the giant circlets that had found themselves attached to her wrists.
She vacantly hopped up and down to get a better feel for her new set and noticed an extra spring in her steps. A sneak at her feet showed a brand-new pair of high-top sneakers. A pristine white base ran along the soles and blended with the pink laces along the tops.
"Are you wearing a cape?"
Bibi strolled up to the lakefront. She grabbed a navy-blue cloth that hung from Tara's jacket collar. It had a series of gray chevrons running down its length. Though Tara was equally stunned by Bibi's appearance. Bibi noticed her perplexed disposition and asked, "What?"
Tara guided her to the reflective pool and marveled alongside the batter. Bibi reached around her back and pulled on a red bit of linen, "Is this a hoodie?" Her dark biker's jacket had been swapped with an electric-purple hoodie. The rosy-red hood on the back dangled just below her rib cage.
Bibi examined her legs and scoffed, "Are these compression shorts?" She pulled the polyester wishing she had her usual black jeans. The blue pinstripe on the side pointed to a blue-and-red pair of closed-toe sandals. "Ugh!"
She then felt a black beanie on her head and quickly snapped it off, chucking it into the pond with an angry grunt. Two chest-long pigtails fell against her breasts. She gauged their weight and scoffed at their lack of mass. "What happened to my do?!" She whined a little as she searched the empty top of her head. "I look like that little girl."
When she felt another beanie on her head, she tossed it into the center of the pond. Tara drew her attention to the conglomeration of pixels that appeared above Bibi's head. Her black beanie had again appeared with a digital poof. "Great..."
Bibi absently grasped at her waist looking for her metallic choice of weaponry. "Mr. Bat?" her tone grew desperate. "Mr. BAT?!" Tara tapped her shoulder. Floating up to the shoreline was a giant scythe of a handle. It looked like a flat-purple hook sword that ironically had its hooks removed. Bibi retrieved the strange purple hilt and whimpered, "What happened to you?"
She inspected the new keychain which had replaced her 8-Ball medallion. Now she was graced with a small purple handheld gaming console. She pressed the big green button on the left-hand side and activated a small green light along the hilt.
The blade whirred to life with a glowing lime and turquoise pattern. Speckles of shimmering white cubes ran along the blade. It was sharp as a knife and hummed with intense heat. She swayed her hands back and forth to inspect the weapon's feather-like feel.
Bibi saw a large field of grass sitting at about chest height. With a swift slash, she cut open a clearing around her. The digital plants vanished into the air around them. Bibi gazed at the blade and saw a small smiling face looking back at her. She chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Bat. I like the new look. Though," she took a second to inspect her hoodie, "I wish I wasn't so bright." Bibi looked at Tara's darker hues with envy, "Why can't I look as cool as you?" Bibi noticed how her bright green gem had been replaced. "Well... at least that eye isn't looking at me anymore."
On cue, a pink hologram appeared in front of her gem. The eye it projected stared into Bibi's soul. "Fan-freaking-tastic..." Bibi ignored the ever-prevalent chills running down her back and observed their surroundings.
She was astounded by the calm breeze that was blowing over them. The digital environment was filled not only with miniature blue bugs but also floating white whispers. There was an array of tiny numbers floating up from the ground below them.
Tara walked ahead of Bibi and she noticed how her footsteps left a white trail behind her. She felt the trees and could feel the electricity coursing through them. Bibi again returned to the water and took a sip. She involuntarily spat it out when it popped in her mouth like sparkling water.
Tara was currently gazing into the sky. There were no clouds and the color that roofed their new world was a deep shade of purple. She observed how an aroura of green-and-yellow wisps danced among the stars above.
As Tara gazed into nothing Bibi was greeted by a small creature. It looked like a tiny rabbit though instead of a rustic-gray coat it glowed a strong shade of pink. And instead of a sweet little cottontail, she saw a pair of cat-like appendages. And the interactions didn't stop there. From one of the trees came a flock of blue canaries the size of eagles. Bibi could see the yellow antlers of a deep blue buck on the forest edge. Though she hoped it wouldn't approach as it had the razor-sharp teeth of the extinct saber-tooth tiger. They were surrounded by an array of warped digital wildlife.
Bibi stood beside the neo-ninja. "Where the f-?"
"BIBI!"
"Gah!?" Bibi cupped her ear. Rico's voice was shrill and sharp, "Rico?"
A large portion of static showered her eardrums, "Bibi? Can you hear me?"
Tara mumbled for Bibi's attention. She quickly threw up a hand to show she was talking to Rico. "Yeah. A bit of static but I hear ya."
"They are alive!" Bibi could hear faint cheers in the background.
"Wait... you weren't sure we would live?"
"A possible miscalculation on my part," Rico quickly commented. "How was the transmission?"
"Well besides falling from the sky and landing in a glowing green pond. Fine."
"Green?"
Bibi examined their environment, "Yeah you didn't mention that 8-Bit's insides are like another world."
"Yes. 8-Bit's internal dimension is a drastic contrast to the standard robot's hardware. Tara will help you with traversing his dimension."
As Rico gave the advice Tara was playing with something in the grass. Bibi approached and found her rubbing the fuzzy neck of the aforementioned rabbit. With her closer proximity, she noticed that it had catlike eyes to match its rear. "Right... Speaking of Tara. Where is Sandy? I need the translator."
Inside the control room Rico stared through the glass box. The Virus refused to take his eyes off of Rico and the rest of his captors. In the back of the control room, Bull was currently tying some loose restraints around the arms of the trespassing tikes. Don and Milly whimpered at the confinements, but Togo was more frustrated than sad.
Rico spoke into the microphone, "The Virus is on sentry mode. He refuses to let us in."
"Then just knock him out and send Bull and Sandy inside!" Bibi shouted. Her violent outburst scared away the feline-lagomorph that Tara was playing with.
Rico hissed at the reasonable demand, "That is the other issue." Inside the tiny holding block was a sparking heap of mechanical mesh. "The Virus is even smarter than we thought. He destroyed the coin-cobbler."
Bibi gasped, "That means..."
"You are currently on your own."
That crushing reality settled into the air. Bibi relayed the news to Tara and she too fell somber. They quietly basked in the strangely serene environment. But Bibi was interrupted by Rico's robotic ramblings. "I understand you need time to process this but there is no time to waste. You must destroy The Virus."
"Right... Right." Bibi tossed her new sword in the air. "Well with the new toys we got I'm sure it won't be too hard."
"Toys?"
"Yeah. When we fell all our clothes got swapped with some weird new fashion. I've got a sword and Tara-" the ninja created a set of digital cards between her hands. They glowed with a pink hue and all showed aces. "Can make sick digital card tricks-" she scoffed- "how's that fair?"
Rico wanted to join in their cheerful attitude but he was more concerned with their potential situation. He opted out of harshing their mellow mood any further and instead chose to inspire them. "Remember you two are the toughest women we know. All you have to do now is find The Virus."
Bibi rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Again, Rico. How do we find The Virus?" Tara pointed above them. "What?" Bibi looked up trying to see what Tara saw. She admitted the light show was stunning but it hardly seemed like the time to go stargazing.
Tara then pointed further ahead and showed how the beams snaked along the skyline. She also pointed out how they didn't go further behind the girls. It was like a large pool of green-and-yellow water was flowing down a winding river in the sky. Bibi radioed in, "I think Tara just found the trail."
"See. You will be fine. Good luck. Bibi!" Before shutting down the communications Rico made one final statement. "And remember, just listen to Tara and you'll be there within the hour."
Bibi turned to Tara. "Mmmhhmm mm hhmhhh!" Tara mumbled with a squinted eye smile.
Bibi groaned at the unfortunate lack of Sandy around them.