"If"
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. What just happened? Only a moment ago the five of us had been enjoying the fresh air and awesome view together, relishing our newfound freedom by the Golden Gate Bridge - we'd helped fix it up after our fight with the snail in Paris. It was one of those days where you thought nothing could go wrong, where everything was too perfect for something bad to actually happen.
"Link?" Dr. Cockroach's voice pulled me out of my withering state, back to where there were military men all over the place, helicopters piercing the fading sky and where Insecto was still standing next to us on top of the hill.
To anyone else who hadn't been there when...when it happened, my best buddy looked happy and normal as he did any other day. But we knew that it could change at any moment and there wasn't anything I could do about it. When I looked at Dr. Cockroach, his expression told me already that there wasn't anything he could do, either.
"I'm sorry," he simply said, his eyes downcast, not wanting to meet mine.
Insectosauraus gave a low rumble and I looked up at him...never wanting him to leave my sight.
"But they don't know anything!" I suddenly shouted in a fury. "He saved our lives and this is how we're repaying him?!" Dr. Cockroach was silent. But what he finally said next didn't help.
"Link. Insectosauraus was wounded by that creature who attacked us. The venom made it absolutely mad. When he got bit, right when he got bit, the venom was instantly transported into his body. in a matter of time, Insectosauraus will become gravely ill, putting other lives in danger. Is that what you want for him?"
Of course not. But I didn't want the other option, either. A knot was tied in my throat when General Monger suddenly approached us.
"Gentlemen," he said. His gaze turned up to Insecto. "I have heard of the unfortunate event that happened on this hill earlier today. We must take immediate precautions for the safety of this city and its inhabitants."
I wanted to punch him. Take him down to the ground, anything that would keep Insecto safe.
Dr. Cockroach nodded.
How could he? How could he treat this like it was nothing?!
"We will be taking Insectosauraus back to the facility."
I don't really remember what happened after Monger said that. When I "woke up", there was a bruise on my forehead so I must have exploded or something...we were still on the hill, surprisingly all alone. Even the helicopters had left.
But Dr. Cockroach was there like he was before and now Bob and Ginormica were, too. Someone was missing.
"...They took him, didn't they?" I whispered, rocking back and forth on the spot where I must have fallen. All of them nodded, grimly breaking the news. Ginormica was crying and even Bob seemed to be depressed for once in his life.
"W-when you attacked Monger," Dr. Cockroach explained, "Insectosauraus got scared and...he tried to protect you. They thought..."
He didn't need to explain anymore. I'd never be able to live with myself now, knowing I was the cause for my best friend's death. If I'd been able to control myself, he would still be alive, if only for a little while more...enough to say goodbye. If that thing hadn't bit him, the military wouldn't have come. If it hadn't bit him at all, the five of us would still be sitting together on top of this hill, enjoying what life had to offer.
If
If
If
IF...
it was the one word that would haunt me for the rest of my life.