Rei, Eri, and Keo arrived at the entrance to the Starlight Tropics, specifically the tourist area. The sky was a glowing blue, decorated by many stars. "First things first, let's find Avi, we can't have her wandering off without us," Keo said, checking his surroundings. No natural light was on the surface, so it wasn't easy to see. "Let's split up, this tourist area can't be too large, find Avi, and let's return to the entrance to regroup, ok?" Keo continued. "Alright, let's go," Rei said. The group split up in hopes of finding Avi.

  There were a few tourists on the beach, relaxing in the moonlight. "Hey, have you seen a girl run by? She has long brown hair and a dumb expression," Rei asked one of the tourists. "No, I haven't, but this place is pretty small, so you shouldn't have trouble finding her, " the tourist said. "Ok, thanks for the info," Rei responded. ("The tourist was right about this area being small. I can see Eri and Keo searching over there. If that's the case, then I should be able to see Avi...") Rei thought to himself. Rei spotted Avi in the distance, who was relaxing by the water. Rei ran over to her.

  Avi picked her head up and looked at Rei. "Aren't the stars beautiful? It makes me feel at peace..." Rei looked up at the sky and sat down next to Avi. "They are quite nice. It takes your mind off what's happening... Even the storm is dim in this lighting, almost as if it's not there," Rei said. Avi looked at Rei with a saddened expression. "We will get rid of it. I'm sure of it," Avi said. Rei smiled. "I know we will, it's only a matter of time. Also, Avi, I l-like your swimsuit, it's gorgeous on you." Rei said to Avi, noting her change of clothes. Avi blushed. "T-thank you... I was meaning to wear it here, I needed a use for it anyway... But! I should get changed; I left my main clothes near the entrance. I'll go grab them. This outfit is no fit for adventuring!" Avi smiled. She walked away gleefully, not looking back at Rei. "Damn it..." Rei said under his breath. ("Did I really just try that...?") Rei continued in his head.

  Rei met the group at the entrance to the tropics. Avi was hiding behind a rock, changing her clothes, while Keo and Eri were planning their next destination. "I found Avi, you two. It wasn't that hard. She was by the water..." Rei said to the other two. Yeah, we know. She just came back here telling us how relaxed she was," Keo said. That's great..." Rei responded angrily. "So while we were looking for Avi, I asked around for some info, and several people told me that the tourist area has been shrinking over time; more rapidly in recent months. This is due to, like I said, monster attacks." Keo said. He pulled a scroll from his pouch and looked at a map of the area. "You can see here this is where we are, and here would be the tourist cutoff point. Past that is just open sand, bordering the water. There should be some cave openings on the cliffside as well." Keo continued.

  "But where is the artifact?" Eri asked. Avi stepped out from behind the rocks in her usual attire. "Let's just get out there and search!" Avi said, smiling. "That's a... plan you've got there," Rei told Avi. "It is!" Avi smiled. "We shouldn't rush into things. Remember what I said about the monster attacks? We don't know where they are coming from. Although they could have something to do with the artifact, so let's maybe try to locate some monsters." Keo said, heading towards the tourist cutoff point. Rei ensured his sword was secured and followed, and Avi and Eri followed behind Rei.

  "Here we are, the tourist cutoff point. Theres really not much stopping anyone from walking past here sooo, lets go!" Rei said to the group, walking past the line. "Rei, you are aware that monsters could attack at any moment, right?" Eri said to Rei. "What is this, a comedy? A monster isn't just going to pop out of nowhere- AHHHHHHHH!!!!" Rei yelled as a large monster tackled him. "Rei!" Avi yelled, running over to him and readying her blade. She slashed the enemy, and the beast stood back. "Stay... away... from my friend...!" Avi grunted. The monster walked away and did not fight back. The spikes on its backside had rainbow tips. "Well, as I said, let's follow this guy, it might lead us to something important," Keo said. "But what if it attacks us?" Eri asked. Avi proposed an idea. "I got brought these woolly boots..." Avi said. "Why...?" Rei responded.

  "They are very soft, and can silence our footsteps, even more than the sand already does. Plus, if we step on a shell, it's less likely to crack..." Avi said, walking back to the entrance of the beach. "I'll be right back!" She said. "She actually has a plan..." Rei said. "Yes, she does," Keo responded to Rei. Eri looked at the vast expanse ahead of them. "The cliffside looks like it goes on forever... and... that monster is walking very slowly." She said. "It's probably better that way, we know Avi will take a while to get back...!" Keo was startled by Avi, who appeared angrily in front of his face. She dropped four pairs of boots on the ground and put one on her feet. "Put them on! We can't let that guy get away!" Avi said. The other three put on the boots. "Avi, these are really tight..." Rei said. "No... they are really loose..." Keo said. "Quit it, you two," Eri said. Avi showed the three that the boots could be tightened. "Thanks, Avi," Rei said.

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  The three began following the monster. As they approached it, they noticed something peculiar about it. "Is it just me, or does it seem kind of stiff? Like it's not even conscious...?" Rei said. "You're thinking too much, it's not important, let's keep following..." Keo responded. The group followed the monster for some time. The ocean waves seemed to become more intense the further the group went away from the tourist area. The cliffside had some small openings, with some crab-like creatures crawling out of some of them. Nothing large enough for a human or a monster to fit in, though. The group kept sneaking behind the monster. It eventually turned left towards the cliffside and walked into a large opening. "Let's go!" Avi said. The three ran over to the opening and entered the cavern. "It's dark in here..." Eri said. Strangely, after she said that, many torches lit up. A large row of monsters could be seen lined up in the cavern. "Great... It was a trap..." Avi said. "Wait, just a moment, look!" Rei said. The monster walked into an empty space and froze in position. The monsters had spiked backs, metal claws, and a single horn on their head. Their metal bodies were a metallic white.

  "They seem to be... recharging?" Eri said. "Strange," Keo responded. "Guess we'll have to sneak past, let's go!" Avi said, inching forward. The four began sneaking past the dormant beasts. "Stay quiet, Avi..." Rei said. "I will..." Avi responded dully. The room was not that large, but before the group reached the end, Avi tripped and fell on one of the monsters. "Owie!!! What are you made of... metal!?" Avi whined. "Avi, why?" Keo said to Avi. Avi looked behind her to see thousands of metal monsters staring at her with beaming red eyes. "Oh," Avi said. Rei ran for the entrance. "We need to get out of here!" Before he could reach the entrance, a laser shot above the opening and collapsed the wall, covering the entrance with rubble. "Not again!!" Avi yelled.

  The monsters were locked onto her. Rei deflected one of the lasers. "Keo, Eri, you two try to find another way out of here! Avi and I will distract them!" Rei coordinated a plan. Eri and Keo ran off, looking for another exit. "Alright, let's see what these things are made of...!" Rei attempted to stab one of the enemies, but the enemy's metal shell deflected his blade. Avi was in the same conundrum.

  Meanwhile, Keo and Eri found what seemed to be a locked exit. "Seems like one of these monsters has their key, we need to go back and fight," Keo said to Eri. "Alright, let's go," Eri responded, reading her staff. Rei managed to deflect his laser back to the monster. It melted through the metal shell, revealing something surprising. "Robots, they're robots? No wonder they are so strong! Everyone, deflect the lasers, that seems to damage them!" Rei coordinated once again, after noting that they were facing autonomous foes. Rei and Avi continued deflecting the lasers, slowly but surely destroying the robots from the outside in. Eventually, they were all turned into piles of scrap. Strangely, the scrap started levitating with a rainbow glow and reconnected into a larger, singular robot. "Great, looks like someone, or something, has the artifact, and is commanding an army of robots. These must be the "monsters" that were terrorizing the beachgoers..." Rei said. Before he could get a response, Eri yelled.

  The larger robot had a more mech-like form, with arms, legs, and a head that seemed like a small, artificially controlled cockpit. It was also metallic white. "Watch out!!" Eri shot a large cyber blast at the towering robot, and it fell to its knees and shot out a circle of red lasers. Rei and Avi deflected them while Keo shot at the cockpit. The robot was destroyed, and Eri shot at the scraps, ensuring it couldn't rebuild itself. The rainbow glow disappeared from the room, and a key fell from the cracked cockpit. "Bingo!" Eri said. "Well, now that we know what we face, we have some leverage. Artifact-controlled robots. It seems their attacks and Eri's attacks hurt them. We need to make sure to attack the scraps after they are destroyed to disperse the energy from them... Let's get going... we have an artifact to find." Rei said. He unlocked the door, and the group entered the next room.