The $yndicate Chapter 2; Monkey Business

The Dark Messenger had just come from the Lawless Land, as instructed, and was heading toward the next destination, which was the Underground Village, Depthsroot. The $yndicate had been sent down there during their initial mobilization around the Veritas in order to help educate the Depthsroot Residents about the upper levels of the Veritas, such as the Dusk, Delta, and Dawn. For years, the Depthsroot Residents lived underneath the Dusk, even before the Dusk was a full-fledged city, like it is today. Though very few -- if any -- of the original people from the Depths Village live here, the people who make it out of the Lawless Land and into the Mainland start off here. Others are people who have either been cast out of the upper levels or have always resided underground.

Because of the efforts of the Creator's Earth Spirit, known as both the Monkey King and the Grand Panda once evolved, the Depthsroot Residents were saved from a hazardous threat from the Lost World that was taken up from it during the Veritas' contamination from the Insanity. As the Monkey King, the Earth Spirit of the Creator -- Earth God, Titane -- blessed one of the Depthsroot Residents with a bit of his power. This specific resident was a Tensei, and served as one of the Earth God's Chrysms. Chrysms are special pieces of the Veritas that bear special attributes to the Tensei, but they are also known as shards of the Crystal Fruit. Chrysms come together to form Prysms, which amplify the attributes of the Chrysms that come together and allow for transformation into something transcendent. Some Chrysms are living beings and others are actual crystal shards.

The Earth Chrysm that was blessed to the Depthsroot Resident awakened his inner Tensei heritage and, as a relative of the Earth God, assumed a more simian demeanor. Given the Monkey King's power, the Monkey King, Titane, transcended into the Grand Panda as he left his previous Spirit Animal form within Tsubake, the Tensei that was the Earth Chrysm. Tsubake then became the Great Ape, and eventually was stationed to be in the Harmonious Delta. However, his legacy was left behind through the $yndicate... This faction being made up mostly of monkeys.

These highly intelligent simians had come after the Great Ape departed in order to continue what he was originally sent down there to do by the Monkey King -- teach the Depthsroot Residents. The Depthsroot Residents recently discovered that they, like many of the people above ground, have powers. These monkeys from the $yndicate help the Depthsroot Residents learn about themselves and their powers better.

The Dark Messenger, who had previously warned of its coming through its other Dark Messengers, expected the $yndicate to be prepared for its coming. It was hovering before the Academy, the greatest establishment in the Underground Village, where most of the $yndicate instructed. At that point, the Grammar Simian -- the most prominent instructor there besides Hakase -- walked out front and greeted the Dark Messenger.

"Ah, so you've come," Grammar Simian, a monkey with a long, slender pipe wearing a graduation cap and a suit, said to the Dark Messenger, "Come in! Come in! The $yndicate has been anticipating this moment since we got the message. Please, right this way..."

A plentiful amount of Depthsroot Residents old and young filled the Academy, which looked like one's own standard college. With the education they got about both their powers and the Veritas, they were able to manage their lives in the Depthsroot normally as a functioning part of the system of the Mainland, without having to worry about all of the dangers about the Mainland. Once their powers were refined, they would journey into the others parts of the Veritas, but for now, the Depthsroot Residents made their way by simply going to school and working in the community.

The Dark Messenger looked at the Depthsroot Residents with its swirling dimension eyes, peering into things that only those of the Twelfth Restriction could understand. "Hmmm... Well, Grammar Simian, I hope you do understand that it's time for you to initiate the... 'Monkey Business'."

Grammar Simian stopped abruptly, smirking and adjusting his pipe. "Ah, my dear child! The 'Monkey Business' is already done! All of the monkeys of the $yndicate live and work down here with the Depthsroot Residents, as well! Any major business or profession has at least one of our own there, often times with the monkeys running the businesses!" Grammar Simian cleared his throat. "Though the Depthsroot may be small, it is still within the roots of the Crystal Tree, making it a natural habitat for our species. The environment is mostly natural, and our personal corporation, which the $yndicate knows as 'Monkey Business', is the largest corporation in all the Underground Village."

Dark Messenger: "Oh, so that means that you have a team ready?"

Grammar Simian: "More like, an organization."

The Grammar Simian brought the Dark Messenger into a staff area and sat down, crossing his legs and propping up his pipe with his fingers, then adjusted his monocle. "What service do you require, Dark Messenger?"

Dark Messenger: "We are activating the system from the bottom up. The Lawless Land has already been dealt with, and now, it is time for the Depthsroot."

"Ah, very good," the Grammar Simian said, "Well then, let's just get down to some good old Monkey Business, shall we?" He stood up. "First, I will sound the alarms in the Monkey Clocks using the Grandfather Clock, who is grandfather of all Monkey Clocks. This will get the attention of every other monkey in the village and they will all congregate around the Grandfather Clock, where we can proceed." Grammar Simian walked over to a button on a desk and pressed it.

There was a loud sound like that of a gong, then eventually the rising wave of what sounded like alarm clocks going off. The entire village was filled with the sound of ringing for a while before it went silent... Just before the wild sound of screeches was heard and a large movement of monkeys gathered from all over the village to a skyscraper-like clock with a large, domineering gorilla's upper torso protruding from the top; gray, shaggy fur all over. It loomed over the entire village, and each monkey seemed to honor it when they saw it.

The noise of the Monkey Clocks ringing brought the entire Underground Village to attention. Once the monkeys that lived alongside them gathered to the strange giant grandfather clock tower, the Depthsroot Residents curiously followed them to see what was going on. The entire village was surrounding the Grandfather Clock, awaiting what it and the monkeys foretold.

When everyone was in one place and all focused on the Grandfather Clock, Grammar Simian and the Dark Messenger emerged from a Dimension Gate at the top of the clock tower primate. Grammar Simian cleared his throat. "Now that I have your attention, I am most pleased to introduce the $yndicate's very own special operative... The Dark Messenger!"

Once introduced, the Dark Messenger hovered before the Grammar Simian as he took some steps back. The Dark Messenger said, "Greetings, Depthsroot Residents. The Creator requests your cooperation at this time as the $yndicate becomes a more active part of your lives and lifestyles. Though our coming and the coming of our Master is ominous, it is beneficial to the entire Veritas that we have the system made of the $yndicate in working order."

"That said," the Grammar Simian interjected, "You monkeys that have maintained the job market here in the Depthsroot will have to start working on economic development. The Villagers here know very little about what that means both within and outside of the Veritas, and in order for that to change, we of the $yndicate must show them the way."

The monkeys in the crowd began to chatter.

"Ahhh, settle down!" the Grammar Simian insisted, "I'm not finished." He cleared his throat, then took his monocle and wiped it a bit with a kerchief. "This economy is isolated to the Underground Village, for the most part. Now, I know that a lot of Depthsroot Residents do not quite fully know the scale of the Veritas, as they've never seen the light of day beyond this Underground Village, but it is a part of the overall system that makes up the Veritas as a whole. You see, the Depthsroot is as much a place to live as it is a refugee station. Many Otherworlders that have been abandoned or lost and are not prepared for the full spectrum of the Veritas are allowed to live here. One of those Otherworlders comes specifically from the Lost World, as it was DNA that was picked up and brought here before the move."

Grammar Simian paused, placing his monocle back on his eye.

"... For any of you that still have not looked up the history of the Veritas, please go to the Central Library. The DNA of the species from that planet that we picked up is of the 'Prometheans', some of whom are alive among the Depthsroot Residents to this day." The Depthsroot Residents had encountered and subdued the Prometheans before when they were freshly introduced to the Veritas, and now the beings lived in harmony with them. "In terms of where we go from here... Well, the Depthsroot needs to upgrade its standard of living. It is certainly safe here, but in terms of development, well... It's been slow. So we're going to start harvesting the natural resources found only within the Crystal Tree above us and within the underground tunnels. When we get the precious minerals, we'll be able to exchange with the upper levels of the Veritas and make the Depthsroot more well-known and profitable. Please, everyone, prepare for this venture by proceeding to your local establishments and seeking out one of the monkeys that works for the $yndicate. Ah, that is to say... You are dismissed. Monkeys, return to your stations and Depthsroot Residents, follow the $yndicate."

Grammar Simian and the Dark Messenger exited through the Dimension Gate and went back to the Academy to wait as the monkeys of the $yndicate returned to their businesses throughout the Depthsroot.

The Depthsroot Residents allowed the $yndicate to take their leave, following the many monkeys to their establishments. They didn't often venture into the underground tunnels if at all, since the tunnels had lots of monsters and were extremely dark. They led to the surface, but the paths were treacherous. Lots of people didn't feel confident enough to traverse them without some sort of support, like the initial people who left had. Granted, many of them were Otherworlders that came from the Otherworlds as refugees, but because they already had powers or had better control over their powers, they were able to leave freely. That wasn't the same for the novice Depthsroot Residents that had still not become completely confident in their abilities.

Of the Depthsroot Residents, the Prometheans, originally from the Lost World, worked with the others to create tall buildings, since the Prometheans were able to take the form of titans for periods of time. They had other abilities that revolved around their biological hydrogen fusion engines, however the use of them made the Prometheans drain their own cells of energy necessary to keep their natural bodily functions operational, so they spent most of their time in their normal humanoid forms and rarely ever grew to their titanic forms, unless for repairing the village.

Nevertheless, the united Depthsroot Residents took courage in the new decision brought on by the $yndicate and went to the monkeys for help in getting ready for the harvest.

When the monkeys went back to work, they accepted their Depthsroot Resident clients as they came in order to get them ready. They were shifted around the village in an orderly fashion, each of them getting situated for the task at hand. One of the first steps before the Depthsroot Residents were ready for their mining adventures was to first get them some life insurance. Granted, they might not have understood how life insurance worked, as they'd never had such a thing before, but the monkeys would explain it to them as they came.

"Hi," a rather formal looking monkey in a business suit holding a briefcase greeted, "I am Lawyer Simian. I am very confident in my skills." He collected the first group of Depthsroot Residents and sat them down. Just the same, another Lawyer Simian stepped out for the next group and introduced himself; "Hi, I am Lawyer Simian. I am very confident in my skills." He collected the next group and sat them down, and, like clockwork, the next Lawyer Simian was greeting the next group.

"I will explain to you about how this life insurance works," the Lawyer Simian with the first group said. "If something should happen to you or a loved one that is under the policy, your insurance agency will pay those involved in the contract after the events have transpired." He placed a stack of documents on the table and spread them out. "This will guarantee that should something happen during the excavation that your beloveds will be provided for. All you need to do is sign and I will take care of the rest. Then you can be on your way to the training grounds."

The people did as instructed and filled out their life insurance policies, giving them to their Lawyer Simian when they were finished. With their lives protected, they would be able to go through some deadly training that might put their contracts to use sooner than they anticipated. The Depthsroot Residents traveled to the training grounds that the Lawyer Simian spoke of and waited for the next part of their preparation.

The training ground that the Lawyer Simian spoke of was actually a large shady warehouse somewhere down the way. Standing there to receive the people was the Monkey Pirate, which was a monkey wearing a pirate captain's hat, had some sort of bird(?) creature on its shoulder, an eyepatch, a hook for a hand, and a peg leg. There wasn't just one Monkey Pirate, either -- there were a lot, ready to take on the loads of people that would be coming.

"Welcome, maties!" the first Monkey Pirate shouted, "Arrrre you prepared to get to work? Ye arrrre about to learn how to be pirates!" One could wonder how pirates would be anywhere near eligible to teach anyone about how to do anything underground, as they were nautical in their lifestyles, but they did share many similarities in methods on how to acquire wealth. "First what ye want to do is collect the booty. The booty is usually veeeery shiny! When the treasure is yours, ye put it in a chest and bring it to the bank." The Monkey Pirate shrugged. "That's about it. Er, matey."

Didn't seem like it was worth the time, but hey, these were monkeys. Doing... Business!

"Arrrg, well that about sums up what you need to do. So now you just need to go to the stock vault and get yer tools." The Monkey Pirate yawned and stretched, then proceeded back into the warehouse as the other Monkey Pirates did the same thing to the Depthsroot Residents.

All seemed like it was going well with the Depthsroot Residents... Until they began to question the structure of their society.

On the way to the stock chamber in the district within the Inner Village, the Depthsroot Residents got to talking. "Um, so, I don't want to be that guy, but... Is anyone else concerned about our society being managed by an assortment of monkeys? I mean, I'm not trying to be discriminatory, but... It does seem a little strange."

Some of the Depthsroot Residents agreed with this one particular person, as the monkeys were off-putting, even though they'd been around for a while before the Dark Messenger appeared. Hell, even the Earth God that saved them was a monkey. "Well, I understand where you are coming from, but these monkeys have been teaching us about ourselves... So it isn't right to be upset with them."

"Sure, but are these monkeys actually doing a good job?" the Depthsroot Resident asked.

Everyone had a bit to reflect on as they headed to the next destination.

The people eventually came to the part of the Inner City that harbored all of the storage. Generally called the 'Stock' district, it was heavily guarded... By monkeys. One monkey in particular, a very muscular and strong monkey, towered over the other smaller monkeys. Many of them were Policemonkeys, but the muscular monkey stood out among them; he was no officer of the law.

"Good evening," the muscular monkey said, "If you can even tell what time it is down here. I am Munks, the muscular monkey. I handle all of the heavy-lifting." Munks flexed all of his muscles in a discomforting manner, then straightened up and said, "I am in charge of the Stock. I will provide you with the items you will need for the harvest, and equip you with your inventory. So step right up to receive your materials."

Munks began handing out items to the Depthsroot Residents, and though nearly everything was a weapon, not everything was meant for mining. There were plenty of pickaxes about, but there were many people who were given things like baseball bats, steel pipes, and straight up handguns.

When they were done, Munks snorted and bid them off. "Good, you're ready," he said. "Now go into the underground tunnels with what you've got and harvest those jewels." Munks nodded his head, crossing his arms as a line of Policemonkeys linked together like 'Monkeys-In-A-Barrel', beside Munks.

Armed, the Depthsroot Residents looked at each other with a questionable expression. They were unsure if these tools would be... Optimal in their goals. Nevertheless, they went off to the underground tunnels. Along the way, there was muttering among the people that were questioning these monkeys. "I don't even know how they expect us to work with these..."

So the people made it to the underground tunnels with their utilities and... Sadly, they didn't have any lights. The tunnels were not lit up like the village, so it was troublesome when it came to the darkness. The people came out and gathered near the entrances of the underground tunnels, grumbling unhappily.

"Yeah, you're not gonna get any work done like that," said a monkey in a construction uniform and a hardhat. "Did you listen to what the training video said?" He sighed audibly, sticking an uncharacteristic pitchfork into the ground, shaking his head. "Fine, I'll help ya. What you guys want to do is activate the natural luminescence of the minerals in the ground in order to navigate the pitch black tunnels. It's simple. Just touch one with your bare flesh and it will illuminate all of the gems in the network." He chuckled a bit, shaking his head fondly. "Yeah... Oh, and you'll want to start off in the deepest parts first, so that you won't lose your light when you're going in and then cannot see the way out because you've harvested the jewels." The Construction Monkey took off his hardhat and placed it on his chest, shedding a tear. "We've lost... Many a monkey that way... They just... Were silly, silly monkeys..." Pressing his fingers to his eyes, the Construction Monkey repressed the thoughts as much as possible.

Suddenly, he snapped back to a chipper attitude.

"But if you get lost," he said, "Then the Monkey Corpses undead in the tunnels will help you!" The monkey smiled wide and gave a huge thumbs up, chuckling again. "Hahaha! Okay you ruffians! Have at it!" The Construction Monkey plucked his pitchfork out of the ground and started to whistle as he walked away.

Granted, the Construction Monkey did seem to know what he was talking about, so that brought assurance in the otherwise doubtful Depthsroot Residents. However, it was unsettling to them to know that some monkeys that were apparently more together than they were happened to be unsuccessful in the harvesting of these jewels. Though, from what they could tell, these monkeys, beyond being intelligent, had no other special powers or attributes to them that made them capable of defending themselves.

The Depthsroot Residents, however, most certainly did.

However, something troubled the most skeptical of the group. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, "Why the hell are there Monkey Corpses in the tunnels?! How are you even capable of reanimating a monkey corpse if they're lost in the tunnels and you all have no powers? Is... Is there something...?"

Unfortunately, as he was ranting about how unbelievable it was that there were Monkey Corpses, the Construction Monkey had already gone. By the time he realized, the group was already going into the tunnels and touching the walls, which glowed as they traveled down the path. "... Wait for me, guys!" the young skeptic shouted to them, running behind the group.

It didn't take very long for the Planet Veritas to awaken from slumber when the gems within it were touched. Sometimes monsters touched the crystals, but not very often because of the radiant light and essences that came from each one. The creatures down below were highly sensitive to radiation, and they often times traveled underground by sensing wavelengths. However, with so many natural resources activating underground at a time, the Planet herself was starting to feel the wavelengths throughout the earth coursing through the Crystal Tree's crystalline roots.

The lights and other wavelengths that these gems emanated disturbed the natural ecosystem of the underground life that flourished throughout the underground tunnels, which, in turn, brought some creatures to the source of the disturbances. It was a colony of 'Ants', which was an insect species native to the Veritas. These ants were not like earth ants, however -- they were the size of regular people, and in fact, had humanoid features and likeness in many ways. Able to shift between a completely human and completely insectoid form, -- as many Beastkin of every species were able to -- the Ants dominated the underground in complete darkness.

They were drones; male worker ants. They had humanoid faces, but ant appendages, such as antennae and single-digit claws that functioned as segmented legs. They had humanoid hands, however.

The ants snapped their overly large mandibles that were upon their faces and glared at the intruders with a vicious conviction in their compoundeyes, which glimmered in the radiant light of the stones.

"Whup! Looks like you're in trouble!" said someone within the caves, "Let me help you out with a little knowledge!" There on the ground beside one of the rocks was a monkey corpse torn half apart, looking rather pitiful, actually. "You see, these are one of the native underground creatures that live in the Veritas -- the Ants! They have especially powerful jaws that they use to pick apart flesh!" The Monkey Corpse climbed to the top of the rock to prop up its head, its skinless lower jaw chattering about as it spoke. "One of the things we monkeys ran into down here were... Natural inhabitants! That's why people like me didn't come back alive! HahaHA! Isn't that cute?!" Monkey Corpse waggled his bare-bone finger and said, "Don't let the monsters find their way back to the village, m'kaaaay?"

With the appearance of the Ants, the Depthsroot Residents were terrified. They'd never seen insects so large before, nor had they been aware of the fact that they had human features on them. They didn't know what to make of the scenario.

The skeptic, however, was more hung up on another matter, though.

"Back it up," he said authoritatively, "Look at me. Tell me. HOW are you even TALKING right now?! You are a regular MONKEY that has been ripped to shreds. You shouldn't be able to live through that. What is your secret to immortality?"

While that was going on, the Depthsroot Residents readied their weapons... And their powers. It was good that they'd each been blessed by the Earth God after the first one that was blessed went away. Yep. Real fortunate.

Anyway, a majority of them had earth-based powers because that's what the Earth God ruled over, so several earth-attributed powers sprang into action. If it wasn't sharp metal spires that suddenly protruded from all around the tunnel walls, ground, and ceiling to pierce the ants, it was boulders or rifts in the ground that would crush the ants or drop them into pits, respectively.

The metal spires pierced the ants where they stood and the boulders crushed the remains before the pits opened up and dropped the ant corpses within.

However, the foolish Depthsroot Residents did not realize that using their earth powers within an underground tunnel was just as dangerous as it was foolish. The ground began to shake and the tunnel started to collapse with haste, starting from the back. Soon, the entire tunnel would cave in with the Depthsroot Residents in it or not.

There would be no re-entry into the tunnel after it was sealed off by the earth... Unless it was dug into again and made new.

Sadly, before he got to answer, Monkey Corpse was crushed by a falling rock.

In the village, the sound of the collapsing tunnel could be heard all throughout, perking the interest of the $yndicate. A team of Construction Monkeys were brought to the site to see what became of the Depthsroot Residents.

Though the skeptic did not get the secrets of the monkeys' supposed immortality from the Monkey Corpse, the Depthsroot Residents were crafty, since they were generally made up of rogues and worked by survivalist methods. Some of them had the power to create metallic shields to protect them from the collapsing cave and others had the power to create metallic drills to break through the rocks that fell. With their powers combined, they were able to free themselves from the underground tunnels and arrive before the Construction Monkeys that were sent to salvage them.

"We're okay!" the Depthsroot Residents assured, "No harm done! Except to maybe some Ants, but... Yeah, no, for the most part, everyone else is good."

Skeptic: "Everyone except Monkey Corpse..."

They bowed their heads collectively, a tear falling from the skeptic's eye.

But the Depthsroot Residents weren't out of the doghouse yet.

The earth continued to rumble, now beyond just the underground tunnels and into the Underground Village territory, shaking the majority of the roots of the Crystal Tree where the Depthsroot resided. It subsided momentarily, but the sound of frantic crawling could be heard coming from within the newly carved out tunnel.

More Ants.

The colony was clearly disturbed from all of the commotion and with the deaths to their brethren, the Ants were on a warpath. Gnashing their mandibles about ferociously, the Ants poured out of the tunnel and into the open land that the Depthsroot was out in. The Ants could and would quickly cover a great distance, since their proportions were different in larger bodies. Considering the size of a typical Earth ant to their speed, their legs carry them fast and far. Applying that to the larger Ants of the Veritas, they rather swiftly overran the village, terrorizing all of the Depthsroot Residents in the streets.

The monkeys ran.

Though the team was happy that the Depthsroot Residents were safe, now due to the infestation, everyone was in danger. So of course, Grammar Simian was contacted about the matter.

Grammar Simian: "... Myes... Quite..."

After being briefed, Grammar Simian, sipping his tea, said, "It's time for some Serious Monkey Business, now." He pressed a button again and exited the Academy with the Dark Messenger. Suddenly a loud gong resounded in the air again, which came from the Grandfather Clock. After that, the Monkey Clocks -- which were the upper torsos of monkeys with alarm clocks for legs -- rang loudly all across the Depthsroot, calling everyone to arms with their resonant ring. Policemonkeys buzzed throughout the streets, Firemonkeys right alongside them during the state of emergency. Sirens blared all around, and the monkeys fell from the top of the cavern harboring the village.

Every monkey was out there on the front lines, fighting for the lives of themselves and the Depthsroot Residents.

Of course, the monkeys weren't the only line of defense that the $yndicate prepared down in the Underground Village... In fact, their greatest weapon against insect threats lived right in the midst of the village, minding its own business...

"LEAPSIE!!!" cried the Grammar Simian, "LeapSIE!!! Wakey-wakey, my friend! We have an infestation."

A few short moments later, a rather large -- but still relatively small -- frog with large, bulbous, google eyes bounced in front of the Grammar Simian and gazed at him with a blank, empty smile.

Grammar Simian: "Ah, yes, Leapsie, The Google-Eyed Frog. One of the $yndicate's finest. The threat level is severe. Please, clear out as many Ants as possible, if you would be so kind."

Grammar Simian bowed to Leapsie courteously, to which Leapsie responded with a despondent empty stare. After that, the frog hopped off comically and cutely into the heart of the village. Now, the Ants were larger than Leapsie, as they were the size of standard humans and Leapsie was just a larger-than-average frog, who was barely even the size of an infant. However, when Leapsie opened its mouth... Its long, sticky tongue lashed out and withdrew an ant into its mouth, which came down with a crunch, ant legs poking out at the lips.

The Grammar Simian was most pleased.

"Holy shit!" The Depthsroot Residents were up to their knees in ants, and given the size of them, they were formidable opponents. However, the Depthsroot Residents had powers that the ants did not. The monkeys were doing well in holding the ants at bay, but the Depthsroot Residents would be the ones to finish them off. Metal of all kinds, from blades to bludgeons, were generated in the hands of the Residents and, with their warrior spirits, they took to the fray with weapons in hand.

The Depthsroot Residents that were Prometheans would begin to grow in size after radiating a strange glow. They took the forms of giants that towered over even the largest buildings in the village. It was easy to crush ants from that size, and with the combined effort of all of the Depthsroot Residents with the $yndicate, taking down the ants should have served no problem.

Stomped, crushed, and fought out, the Ants made a tactical retreat back into the tunnels to preserve their people, which seemed to be the overall goal. Ants were intelligent as it was, so when they understood that they were outmatched and also better suited to be fighting within the earth, they returned to it.

The Planet was still awake now, but it had calmed after the initial disruption. Even so, the lights from the gems had gone out after being covered in earth once again. The Depthsroot Residents would have to light their path all over again... Though this time, no Ants should have been bothering them... At least, none within the immediate vicinity. Hopefully, the tunnels were clear now. But one could never know...

When the ants cleared out, the monkeys came back in. The Lawyer Simians each came out to greet their clients. "See, aren't you glad you got life insurance? You almost immediately ended up getting killed along with everyone else in the village!" Aloof, the Lawyer Simian flashed his award-winning smile and said, "Very confident in my skills."

Just then Monkeycop, the chief of the Policemonkeys, came onto the scene in his signature shades and sheriff badge, dressed in all blue. "Good work, guys. We saved some good monkeys out there. Couldn't have done it better myself." With a reassuring nod, Monkeycop got into one of the police cars and said dramatically, "Let's roll." The Policemonkeys took off, sirens blaring.

Meanwhile, Grammar Simian seemed to have yet another lesson plan in store. He clapped his hands lightly. "Okay everyone, gather around. Something important that must be noted." The monkeys rounded up the Depthsroot Residents and brought them to Grammar Simian, who cleared his throat. "Mm, yes, so. I suppose that after that little incidents that it's best to warn you about the wildlife of the Veritas. Various creatures roam the wilderness of the Veritas in their own natural habitats and civilizations that can sometimes be a threat to other civilizations if they should cross paths, especially unnaturally. That in mind, most of the creatures that live underground are insects, which are especially vicious. Now, we may have taught you at the Academy how to utilize your powers that were blessed to you by the Earth God, but we never explained about the dangerous creatures lurking outside of the village. Now that you've had firsthand experience, I must bid you to be more careful about the natural life of other creatures. As you collect the gems from the tunnels, be sure not to disrupt the balance of life anymore. Can you do that for me?"