That night, after returning to the village of Pearlwood. Amelie hesitates to went out from the village as she walked back and forth. Making up her mind, she chosen to go to Mt. Hinnora, all by herself alone.
But Murphy notices Amelie try to went out from the village as he suddenly appeared out of the blue, and approaches her while retaining his distance.
"Hey." Murphy greets his friend at night.
Amelie turns around and found her friend, to her surprise.
"Murphy? What're you doing here this late...?" asked Amelie.
"I've should ask you that too. You're planning to go to Mt. Hinnora alone, yeah?" Murphy replied with an another question. She was really surprised of how he knew, but nevertheless decided to lie him.
"I'm not, I'm just... going to take a walk outside, that's all." replied Amelie.
"Really? I don't think you're just going to take a walk, judging on your face." said Murphy.
"What do you mean by that?" Amelie asked with suspicion.
"Come on, you know that well. You're trying to go to Mt. Hinnora to get the herbs on the mountaintop." Murphy tells Amelie.
"...Yeah, I can't just stand and do nothing. I've to do something to save the people." Amelie said with saddened face.
"Geez. You said as if you're a savior, you know that? That place's dangerous." said Murphy.
"I know I'm not a savior. But still, I want to help." Amelie tells her friend.
"I got you that idea... Can't say that I'm going object that." Murphy agrees with her.
"...?!"
Suddenly, Murphy feels a strange sensation before collapse onto his knees. To Amelie's worry, she approaches him, but instead he yells at her at the moment his friend tries to touch him.
"Don't touch me!"
"Hey! What's wrong with you?! I'm just going to help you stand up!" Amelie asked furiously after being yelled my her friend.
"No, it's nothing. My bad." Murphy apologizes.
"I'm going to call Julien! Wait here, Murphy!" Amelie told her friend before rushing to Julien's house at full speed.
As she was away, Murphy mumbles to himself as he is trying to stand up after collapsing.
"Man, Amelie. You're really getting on my nerves a little, you know that pal?" mumbled Murphy.
"Every time something comes up, what did you said as a first thing? 'Julien, Julien...'" Murphy speaks to himself with distraught.
At Amelie's side, she ran towards Julien's house with full speed and before entering the house with haste. Julien, who was cleaning the table in the living room, noticed her.
"What's up, Amelie? You look pale." said Julien.
"This is bad, Julien! Murphy is..."
Amelie relays what she saw Murphy before she rushes to his house.
"Really?! We've to go, and fast!"
Julien told Amelie as he rushes out from his house with her to meet Murphy. And when they met him...
"Oh, hey. What's up, Julien?"
Murphy greets his friend as if nothing was happened, to Amelie's surprise.
"Murphy?! But earlier I was..." surprised Amelie.
"Huh? What're you talking about? I'm fine, see?" said Murphy.
Julien and Amelie look at their friend who was doing fine. Amelie is quite surprised, in the other hand Julien seems to suspects Murphy a little.
"You must imagining things, Amelie." He said.
"...Well, I forgot to ask you." said Julien. "Why're you calling me out here for?"
"I called you because something happened to him. But looks like I..." explained Amelie.
"I know it, so you're telling me that you want to help your dad or something?" asked Julien.
"Well, yeah. I'm going to get the herbs from the top of Mt. Hinnora, but Murphy won't let me." answered Amelie.
"I told you that it's dangerous to go alone." Murphy tells his friend.
"He's right, you know. How about the three of us go there together?" Julien suggests an idea.
"If you say so, then okay." Amelie agrees with him.
"We should get going, then. Let's go, guys." said Murphy he will went off from the village.
"I'm worry about him, Julien. We should follow him and get the herbs on the mountain." Amelie tells Julien.
"Aren't you the one who insisted of getting the herbs?" Julien asked up.
"Well, I am. Let's go before he'll get out from our sight." Amelie told her friend before following Murphy from behind.
Julien suspects his friend a little, but not thought much of it before he will follow his friends to Oakenreach, the path to Mt. Hinnora that lies near the village.
"Didn't your dad said earlier that the mountain is too dangerous for us to go, Amelie?" Murphy notices of what Jonathan told them before.
"Oh please, I do remember. But you need to know that I can't tolerate to see more people suffer by that mysterious disease anymore!" said Amelie.
"That's Amelie for us... Hearing that you're going to that mountain alone is quite outragerous, I really admire your recklessness." Julien jokingly speaks.
"You're quite sarcastic right there..." said Amelie.
"He's not, hehe." Murphy said while giggling.
"*sigh* We should be careful of the things around, especially at night, guys." Amelie warns her friends.
"Understood. You too, Amelie." said Julien.
"Oakenreach shouldn't be that far now, let's hurry up and get the herbs at the mountain behind the village."
Murphy tells his friends before running towards the destination village along the road. Upon seeing their friend leading them, Julien and Amelie then ran after him to go to Oakenreach.
At the moment they reached at Oakenreach, they found the same crystal statues around the village. If the crystal statues were just really being the real crystals carved by artisans, then it could be the real masterpieces of their lives.
"Whenever I saw these crystal statues, I can do nothing but felt sympathy for them." Amelie said with saddened voice.
"I know how you feel, but we can't stay and mourn here. We should go get those herbs, they might do a trick." said Julien. "We don't have much time, let's get going."
Julien then walks forward on the village's road to went at Mt. Hinnora, though the crystal statues that shown various expressions from happy to agony made him shudder slightly.
"It'd really crazy if these statues start moving on its own." Murphy said as he follows Julien from behind.
"Don't say that, Murphy! That creeps me out..." said Amelie.
"Just kidding, they can't move by its own. Let's go, Amelie." Murphy tells his friend.
"Don't play that kind of jokes again, you hear me Murphy?" Amelie said furiously.
"I got it, keep your cool, alright?" said Murphy.
Julien and his friends then travels past the village's roads, across the bridge and towards the back of the village amidst of the crystal statues found around the residences. If they are really being a living statues, the normal people wandered here could be shocked.
After passing through and reach at the back of the village, Julien and friends found the trail that leads to Mt. Hinnora.
"Looks like this path led us to Mt. Hinnora for sure." said Amelie.
"Certainly." Julien agrees with Amelie.
"Let's go, guys." Murphy told his friends before leading his group to the mountain.
"I hope that the herbs might be in use for us, Julien." Amelie speaks before following Murphy from behind.
"I think so." said Julien as he follows his friends up to the mountain trail.
The three walks up to the mountain trail between Oakenreach and Mt. Hinnora to go to the area of the mountain behind the village, in order to collect the herbs on the top to cure the afflicted victims.
At the base of the mountain, Julien and his friends look up at the mountaintop that barely seen at their perspective.
"Well, we're here." said Murphy.
"It looks strangely clear... I got a strange vibe from this place." Julien commented.
"We can't waste anymore time. Let's hurry, guys." Amelie tell her friends before advancing, but she suddenly stops her foot at the second step, as if she sensed something.
"What's wrong?" asked Murphy.
"Don't you guys see what was over there?!" Amelie asked her friends as she points at the shadows of something.
Julien and Murphy take a look where Amelie points precisely.
"I didn't see anything there, it's too dark." said Murphy.
"I see something over there. Looks like a bug... or something like that?" Julien said as he looks at the shadows.
The shadows seem to notice the three before charging towards them with full speed!
"It's coming, guys!" Amelie said before readying her staff.
"Locustworms? What's it doing here?" Murphy is surprised to see a creature on Mt. Hinnora.
"Forgot to tell one thing, this place's swarmed with Locustworms. They're going to lay their eggs on us if we get too close to them" said Julien.
*clang*
"Yeah, thanks for 'for your info' thingy in a time like this, pal." Murphy said as he defending himself from the big insects' attack with his sword.
"Take this!" Julien swings his sword to the Locustworm that Murphy defending against, with the swing strikes through its thorax, killing it instantly.
"Nice one! Let's take down one more!" said Murphy as he stops defending and rushes toward another Locustworm.
"O magical power, forms into the bullet... Magical Shot!!" Amelie casts her spell before firing a bullet of pure magic to the enemy, damaging its carapace and weaken its defense.
"Good choice..." Julien commented as he saw Amelie uses a spell against Locustworm.
"Eat this, you fool insect!" Murphy raises his sword over his head and slashes the thorax of the insect, decapitating the enemy in an instant. But not when all of the insects they encountered lay their eggs on Julien and Murphy while they unnoticed of them.
"Ugh, they laid eggs on you guys already. Brush them off." Amelie tells Julien and Murphy to brush off the insect eggs when noticed them on her friends.
"Oh, right. Seems like they laid their eggs when we get too close to them." said Julien as he using his hands to brush off Locustworm's eggs stuck on him.
"*sigh* What a troublesome insects, really." Murphy speaks up before he brushes off the insect's eggs.
"It wouldn't be such a problem if they didn't hatch so fast! This is why I hate bugs so much." Amelie commented before stomping the insect's eggs with her foot.
"I can't deny that I'd think different from you." Murphy agreed.
"Let's be aware of the Locustworms on the mountain, we don't know if they're going to attack from somewhere." Julien warns his friend before continue to walk up onto the mountaintop.
Amelie and Murphy look around the mountain's base for a little while before advancing to the top of Mt. Hinnora, following Julien from behind.
As the three traversing on the mountain's trail leading to the top, they encountered more Locustworms that swarming around the mountain. But the monsters are not the problem for them as they defeat all of the Locustworms along the way while advancing upward to the top of the mountain.
Until they reached at the midpoint of the mountain, as Julien and his friends trying to get to the top, Murphy suddenly collapses on the ground again.
"Are you okay?" said Julien. He then went closer to his friend to check up on him, but...
"Don't touch me!" Murphy yells at Julien, causing him to back off.
"What's wrong?!" Julien asked with surprise.
"No, it's nothing. Don't worry about me." Murphy told his friends to not worry about him. But at that moment, Julien finally knows that there really is something wrong with his friend.
"Wait, you didn't catch the...!"
Murphy reluctantly keeps shut of what he got for a while, and decided to reveal to his friends.
"I must have caught it when I touched that carrier pigeon."
To Julien and Amelie's shock, they found out that their friend is now afflicted with the disease.
"Oh no..." Amelie can only speak in shock, not knowing what to do after facing such a bad scenario.
"We'll get you back home, Murphy." said Julien.
"No, I'm fine. I haven't turned into crystal yet, guys." Murphy rejects his friend and tell them in the manner of not to worry of him. However, his friends do not seem to agree with him.
"But..." Amelie hesitates to sent him back home. She then tries to anything to help him, but still it is the same as Julien.
"I said I'm fine!" Murphy yells at her, backing her away.
"My bad. But I'm fine, really." said Murphy before he gets up.
"Those herbs will able to cure me, right? Let's go get 'em guys!" Murphy inspires his friend with determination before advancing to the top of the mountain.
"I hope he'd be fine... but I think my hunch was wrong." said Amelie.
"Hmm, we can hope that the herbs might cure him and the others." Julien tells his friend. "But we can't stay still at here, let's go Amelie."
He told his friend to went up to the mountain, Amelie nods before following her friend from behind to the mountaintop.
After the three has reached at the mountaintop, they found several patches of white flowers glowing under the moonlight shine from the night sky. That must be...
"There they are." said Julien as he and his friends found the herbs they are looking for.
"That's the flowers we need. Let's collect them."
Amelie told her friends to collect the flowers. But before they could even split up to gather the herbs, the mysterious light beamed down from somewhere on the sky and then the tall figures as well as the small figures appear in the light as the light dissipates away.
"Huh, I thought there wasn't supposed to be anyone here..." The man with light green hair said with suspicion upon seeing Julien and the others.
"I'm sure that there weren't any lifeforms here when I scanned the area, Captain..." The bipedal cat with light yellow coat and blue hair told his captain.
"Who're you?! What do you want?!" Julien asks the four who were appeared out from nowhere.
"Have you come here to take the herbs away from us?" Amelie asks after Julien.
"Where'd you guys come from?!" Murphy asks after Amelie.
"Um, how am I going to tell you three about this properly..." said the bipedal cat. "You see, my name's Hester. We're here to..."
"Allow me." The woman with sky blue hair steps in at the place of Hester to do the work.
"My name's Mabel Davidson, and before you say anything, I want to let you know that we're not your enemies." said the woman.
"Really?" asked Amelie.
"Well, I'll say that they sure aren't our friends at all! Not these strangers!" Murphy said up.
"We're here just to collect the herbs off of this mountain, that's all." Julien told their current motives to Mabel and her crew. She thinks for a while before telling something.
"I should tell you that these herbs won't stop anyone from turning into crystal." said Mabel.
Upon Julien and his group heard what Mabel told them, they came in silence at the utmost shock.
"Wha..." Amelie shocked of what she heard.
"How... Who're you guys?" Julien asked with surprise.
"More interested to listening to us now?" replied Mabel.
"All right. Tell us anything you want to." Julien accepts the interest to listen to Mabel and her group.
"Let's cut to the chase then. I'm sure that you won't believe us at first, but we're came from far away place to save all of you." said Mabel.
"Well, one question. Why didn't you come sooner, then?" asked Julien.
"There's a restriction that we can't make direct contact with civilizations in the early stages of development." said the man who come with Mabel. "It's a part of Underdeveloped Planet Conservation Treaty."
What the man told Julien and the others perplexed them, more or less. But nevertheless he decided to ask them.
"What do you mean by 'early stages of development?'"
"As Captain Victor said, we came here from beyond the sky, from another planet to be precise. We're making something of a special exception to the rule, you see." explained Mabel.
"What are you talking about?" Murphy suspects.
"Beyond the sky? Another planet?" Julien wondered.
"Are you perhaps gods?" asked Amelie.
"No, we're not gods. We're people, just like you." answered Mabel.
"Hmm..." Amelie looks at Mabel and Victor with suspicion.
"Ketis, a force opposing our own, broke Underdeveloped Planet Conservation Treaty recently and engaged in direct interference with this planet." said the another bipedal cat who came along with Mabel's crew. "As if that weren't bad enough, they also fired a biological weapon at you, releasing the contagion that is spread across this whole area."
Julien and his friends quite surprised of what the cat told them.
"So we're turning into crystal, and it's because of those Ketis guys?" asked Julien.
"Correct. That's why we were sent at here." replied Hester.
"What the hell..." Murphy shocked of the ones who caused the tragedy on their home.
"I can't believe this..." Amelie said with shock.
"The reason we've been sent here because we're here to examine the disease and try to find a treatment for it in any way possible." explained Mabel.
"So as you see, we've come here to help you. Probably in ways you'd never imagined before." said Victor.
Julien, Amelie and Murphy think for a little while before they will came up with a question along with their hesitation.
"I still can't believe any of this, but can you really help us with a cure?" asked Amelie.
"I can't really believe any of it either, but if you guys're able to save our friend here..." said Julien as he turned to look at Murphy.
"If you come with us and help us in creating a vaccine, we should be able to cure him." answered Mabel, to Julien's perplexity.
"Huh? Vac...cine?"
"You can say that it's a kind of miracle medicine." said Hester.
"Well then. There's something you ought to know before we go any further." Victor speaks with serious tone. "If you folks decide to come along with us, you might not be able to see this planet ever again."
What Victor told Julien and his friends cause their suspicion to rise up in their minds.
"Why not?" asked Julien.
"That's what the rules in the treaty say. If you interact with us too much, I'm afraid that we can't let you return back to your original life." claimed Victor. "It's an another part of Underdeveloped Planet Conservation Treaty, to be exact."
"Now, if you'd like, we could go our separate ways and you could pretend that this is some kind of a fever dream." said Victor. "There's still the time for the reconsideration of yours."
The three thinks for a while before they came up with their answers in mind.
"Well, I'm going with these guys. All I've got waiting for me here is life as a crystal statue." Murphy chooses to go with Mabel and her crew, to Amelie's shock and surprise.
"You can't do that, Murphy! You really want me to choose between losing you forever or losing my father and everyone else forever?" Amelie asked Murphy. "Don't make me do that, please!"
"Amelie, we should go with Murphy. Sorry to break this to you, but there's nothing we can do if we choose to stay here." Julien convinces his friend. "I understand you well that it's hard leaving everyone you know in Pearlwood, but we've got a bigger job ahead of us. We're going to save everybody!"
Julien and his friends decided to agree in tagging along with Mabel and her crew.
"Well, it's settled then. Might as well get going. If you don't mind, close your eyes for a moment, please." Mabel tells Julien and his friends.
Julien and Murphy then shut their eyes as she said, only Amelie who was perplexed why they need to do that in surprise.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, the beam of light enshrouds everyone on the top of Mt. Hinnora, and then...
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh..."
The light beams everyone up to somewhere in the sky before dissipating away.
After then, all of them appear in the mysterious room inside a certain place. Julien and his friends are in utmost shock and surprise after they found themselves inside some place unknown to them.
"What was that?!" Amelie surprised as she looked around.
"Where are we?!" Julien also surprised as same as his friends.
"This is our spaceship." said Victor.
"Y-you really are gods." Amelie said with surprise.
"We're not gods. We've just advanced a little sooner than you, that's all. You can have all of this for yourselves someday too." stated Mabel.
"..." Julien can only stay in the silence of utmost surprise and perplexion.
"Well, let's get him over to sick bay." said Victor as he leads the others towards the door of the room.
The door then opens by itself before the crew comes out from the room, and then the door closes by itself.
"The floor, it's moving!" Julien said as he saw the floor moving by its own.
"And the door back there opened by its own!" Amelie said as she noticed the door operated by itself.
"That's so incredible, I've never seen anything like this before." said Julien.
"Captain Victor, everyone, please follow me." The another bipedal cat with white coat and light pink hair told Victor, before all of them follows her.
"Right. I didn't ask your names and introduce myself yet, did I? My name's Victor S. Barhydt, the captain of Pioneer-7." Victor asked before introduces himself.
"Oh, yes! I almost forgot that, I'm Cleocatra. How forgetful of me." said the white cat.
"My name's Julien D. Rachel." Julien introduces himself.
"I'm Amelie Merrill." Amelie introduces herself next up.
"Murphy Crowford..." Murphy introduces himself, though his state was worse than back when he was at his home. Cleocatra notices the symptom he suffered, she then reports he captain.
"Captain, his condition's deteriorating." said Cleocatra.
"Understood, Cleo. We should better hurry." Victor then led his crew and Julien's group to the spaceship's sick bay with haste located at the opposite side of the room they went out.
At the sick bay, Murphy was sent into the recuperation device for the examination of the disease by the doctors of the spaceship.
"What's this?" Julien asked when he found a device in the room.
"Hm, I guess this must be surprising for you, but this is how we treat sick people." replied Mabel.
"Please see what you can do for him if don't you mind, doctor." Hester tells the Pioneer-7's doctors.
"Roger." The doctors receive the request from the young cat before start the operation.
"Well, I think there's no point in having you hang around here. How would you like a tour around our ship?" Victor asks Julien and Amelie.
"I'm interested in that, actually." replied Julien.
"Captain, isn't that going to be a violation to Conservation Treaty?" Mabel asks with her rejection.
"Well, it's quite too late for that now, isn't it? I'll be waiting at the bridge, so show them around the ship with Hester, okay? Come with me, Cleo." Victor commands Mabel and Hester before telling Cleocatra to go with him.
"Understood, Captain." Cleocatra receives the orders before went out from the sick bay with Victor, leaving Mabel and Hester with Julien and Amelie.
"Oh, brother." Mabel said with annoyance.
"Is the captain always being like this, Mabel?" asked Hester.
"No. Anyway, we're going to guide you around Pioneer-7. You don't mind to go with us?" Mabel asked Julien and Amelie.
"We don't mind, really. We're going to tell you that earlier, but Victor cleared that up for us so..." Amelie said and pauses as she thinks of something before continuing.
"I see. It can't be helped then, I didn't really agree with the captain but we DID violate the treaty's rules." said Mabel.
"No point in whining now Ms. Mabel, let's take them on a tour, shall we?" Hester asks his fellow officer.
She nods to answer his question before went to the sick bay's entrance door with Hester, leading Julien and Amelie to the exterior of the spaceship. The both then lead the two to the elevator room of the ship.
"See that circle on the floor? That's the elevator pad." said Mabel.
"Elevator pad? What's that?" asked Julien.
"That's what we used to travel between floors. You might want to check the other floors than the third floor that we're currently here." replied Hester.
"How about the first floor, Amelie?" Julien asks his friend.
"Let's check it out!" replied Amelie.
"Press the lowest button on the panel to go to that floor. It's over there." Mabel tells Julien.
Julien then presses the button on the visual panel which labeled as "1st Floor", and the elevator descends down to the following floor.
After the elevator had been descended to the first floor, Julien and Amelie notices the great door that seems to reinforced so well.
"What's this door?" asked Amelie.
"That's the exit of the Pioneer-7." answered Mabel.
"The door looks pretty strong." commented Julien as he inspecting it.
"It needs to be, Julien. Beyond that door lies an ocean of stars, a world with no air." replied Hester. Julien and Amelie became very surprised to heard of what is beyond the door, they are completely speechless judged by their expressions.
"That's what space looks like. None of us would survive a second the moment we stepped outside this door." said Hester.
"Let's go take a look at the second floor." Amelie tells everyone before they gathered at the elevator pad. Julien then presses the button on the panel labeled as "2nd Floor", the elevator ascends up to the floor the user chosen.
At the second floor, Mabel and Hester lead Julien and Amelie to the room similar to that of the living area.
"What's this room?" asked Amelie.
"This is a break room, it acts as our rest area when we needed to." replied Hester.
"I see..." Amelie answered shortly.
After the exploration, Julien and others then went to assemble at the elevator pad.
"I think we might tour enough now. Let's go meet Victor, where is he by the way?" said Julien.
"He's at the bridge on the fourth floor." replied Mabel.
Hearing that Victor is on the fourth floor, Julien presses the button on the panel that leads to the fourth floor. With that, the elevator ascends to the floor the user wishes to enter.
At the bridge of the spaceship, they were met with Victor.
"You're here. Have you had a good look around?" asked Victor.
"Yes. I'm quite surprised, and I still can't believe it even now." Amelie answered with lightened voice.
"I see. Well, that goes for the same with Hess and Cleo during their first day too. There's no need to be surprise that much." said Victor.
"Don't say things like that, Captain. You're embarrassing me." Cleocatra objects her captain.
"It's normal for most people who came to experience something they've seen for the first time, I'd say. So Mabel and Hester, can you take Julien and Amelie to the sick bay? I'll meet you at there." Victor requests Mabel and Hester.
"Understood." Mabel answered his request as Hester nods.
"What about me, Captain?" Cleocatra asked up.
"Can you escort them to the sick bay with the other two, Cleo? I still have some orders to give to the officers, so I won't able to escort them with you for a while." said Victor.
"Understood!" Cleocatra accepts with joy. "Julien and Amelie, please follow me and the others to the sick bay. The doctor wants to see us now."
"Alright, we're going. Where is the sick bay?" Julien asked up.
"It's at the third floor. Between the bridge and the break room." answered Cleocatra.
"Got it. I hope the doctor might find a way to make a cure." said Amelie.
"I hope so, let's go everyone."
Julien tells the others before they went to the elevator room of the spaceship. In that room, Julien presses the button that leads to the third floor, and the elevator descends to the following floor after receiving a command from the visual panel.