Tamama gritted his teeth – the two fangs that had begun to grow in place of his eyeteeth dug into his lips. Bearing through the waterfall of tears running down his cheeks as he cowered on the ground, Tamama whimpered like a child. "Gunsou-san... I don't... I don't wanna fight you, desu."

Dragon Keroro tilted his singular-horned head to one side. "Who said you have to?"

Black claws pressed against the ground, scaly, blue, spiky tail coiled around him, Tamama looked up. "Huh?"

Keroro went on, crawling on all fours closer to Tamama and leaving Kururu – the twitching in agony, Dragon Warrior-Keronian toast – behind. "You won't have to worry about fighting me. If you come to our side, you won't have to worry about anything ever again. The only thing occupying your mind will be to give in to your undying rage. You'll be more powerful than anyone. Kururu Souchou's right; you'd probably be the strongest of us all!"

Tamama shook his double-horned head, trying to block out Keroro's noxious words, his tears flying everywhere. "No!" he cried. "I-I can't... I can't allow myself to give in to my rage! If I do, I don't know if I'll even remember who I am, desu!"

Keroro sighed, shifting his glowing, red eyes to the side, extremely prominent in the darkness of the large room full of glass tubes. "So you won't join me, your leader, even when I ask it of you...? That's disappointing... I'd been hoping that we could do this together."

There was a throb in Tamama's heart that made him perk up at Keroro's words. "T-together, des-ka?"

Keroro nodded, his clawed hands coming off the concrete ground with a sharp sccrriiittchh to use in a shrug. "Yeah, that's what I was hoping. Without anyone else."

Tamama barely heard the next words as they passed through his lips. "Y-you mean even without Mois?"

Keroro swished his scaly green tail, focusing back on Tamama. "Without Mois? Of course without Angol Mois! She isn't part of the platoon. She isn't one of us."

Tamama's teary eyes flickered amber as he stared at Keroro. "Gunsou-san..."


Tamama Presents: Tamama's decision – de arimasu

Lifting his body – and his tail – off the ground, Tamama stood up, his eyes out of view.

"So...? What's your answer?" Keroro asked, standing still.

"I don't want to fight you," Tamama murmured under his breath.

"Then you'll –?"

"But I won't go back on what you said, either." Tamama glared at Dragon Keroro, black eyes slanted down with determination.

Dragon Keroro barred his teeth at Tamama, displaying his long, white fangs. "What?!"

"It was by your order that I'm here to begin with," said Tamama. "You ordered me to save everyone! To save the Keroro Platoon! I can't just forget that, desu. I won't go back on your order."

Dragon Keroro crouched low on all fours, his bright red eyes wide and fixated on Tamama. "Let's see how long you last, insolent fool! You can't have much longer until the concoction takes over anyway!"

Tamama, already all but a Dragon Warrior, – with his dragon claws, dragon scale armored forearms, spiky, feathered at the tip dragon tail, amber-colored dragon eyes, and now dragon horns and fangs, – his entire being pulsed with the craving to be completely immersed in rage. (Though where were his dragon wings? Everyone else had some!)

As much as Tamama longed to allow pure instinct to take over, he couldn't. Not after coming so far. I allowed myself to be overtaken when facing Giroro-san and Kururu-san, but no more. Tamama's willingness to be consumed by rage was part of the reason he'd transformed so fast, after all. Any more and he'd lose himself entirely.

There's still one more I have to beat, Tamama thought, pumping up for another fight, and I'm seeing this through to the end. His legs still hurt with all the glass embedded in him from Kururu's fight, and the ache from the slash in his right shoulder stung more than ever before, no longer intoxicated in the power his rage granted him. But as Keroro crouched low, preparing to strike him once again, Tamama pointed at him with one clawed finger and shouted, "I'll beat you without the use of my powers, Gunsou-san!"

Dragon Keroro barred his long, white fangs again, rushing at Tamama. "Just try it!"

Keroro aimed a kick at Tamama and, using the power of his wings, crushed Tamama into the wall under that force. Tamama inhaled deeply in hopes of Tamama Impacting Keroro while he was at such close range, – the exact same strategy he'd used against Dragon Dororo and Dragon Kururu, – but a voice from above spoke, distracting Tamama in time enough for Keroro to fly out of the way, congesting the destructive ball of rage in Tamama's mouth.

"Kuuukukuku. Succeed without your Dragon Warrior powers? I doubt that."

Dragon Kururu had managed to swoop back up onto the ledge he'd been messing with wires before. All the wires from his dome-shaped headphones floating around him like tentacles at the ready, he smirked (and snickered) as he grabbed both ends of the base's mainframe network cable with his metal-armored forearms, and plugged them together. (This was probably how the door to the control room door had been opened and released Keroro.)

The Secret Base came alive with its mastermind now hooked in.

"Kuuukukukukuuu~!"

As Keroro continued to hunt down Tamama within the dark room of glass tubes, Dragon Kururu kept an eye out for any sign of Tamama's crazy rage breath, and was fast-acting to command an item or beast within the room to go after Tamama and hold him back with his new control of the base, or push Keroro out of the way of the rage beam. Even if it meant the destruction of the item or creature he sent, valuable testing ingredients, Kururu would not make the same mistake – of letting trusted assets and himself be blown up by Tamama – again.

Blow after blow after blow into the stone walls – and other items around the room – Keroro dealt, and blast after blast after blast Tamama shot at him with zero to show for it.

Each time Tamama shot a Tamama Impact at Keroro in vain hope, he had to be wary not to allow the rage to consume him – which was rather hard, since rage is what Tamama's impacts are made of. Although, using his Tamama Impact when he isn't necessarily angry was exactly what the Keron Army trained him for, and with each expulsion of rage from within his gut, the weight of his overall rage lessened.

Tamama had already been exhausted from his afore battles, and seeing Keroro swooping low to kick him into another glass tube, Tamama just stood there, holding his wounded shoulder.

He hit the tube sideways, his back receiving the brunt of the blow, but he couldn't even cry out in agony. The glass tube hadn't broken; it'd only cracked. The cold liquid inside dripped all over Tamama as he lay on his side, eyes nearly closed.

Just give in, a voice begged, watching Dragon Keroro as he skulked closer, tail dragging behind him. It isn't worth it. I don't want to be hurt anymore!

"No..." Tamama breathed. "I'll win... I'll win..."

Dragon Keroro and Kururu laughed in unison. Then Dragon Kururu and the voice in Tamama's head matched speed.

"Win? Even if you do win, what of it?" Kururu probed quizzically. "Things will still be the same. Nothing will have changed. Mois will always end up being better. Don't you want more to come of your efforts?"

Even if you win and get everyone back to normal, the voice persisted right after Kururu, Gunsou-san will never think of you as anything more than a close friend. Giroro-senpai was right; you'll always be second best. She'll always be better. It doesn't matter what you do.

"Why keep fighting?" Kururu asked. "You're only going to lose."

It's such a waste. Why push yourself when ultimately, either way, it's only you who'll get hurt? Why...?

"You'll end up getting yourself killed if you continue to be reckless. What are you trying to achieve? To what end...?"

What... end...? Tamama's own voice questioned.

Was it the end of getting affection from Keroro, his one true love?

The end of being a loyal subordinate to his commander?

No, neither of those, he realized. It's something much simpler.

Simpler? What could be more simple than that? he wondered.

Dragon Keroro had reached Tamama, who lay sideways on the ground, and stopped. "What should I do with him?"

"Leave him. He's due to transform in less than fifteen minutes," Kururu said, turning toward the wall to resume his duties as mastermind of the base. "All we have to do is wait. Kuuukuku~"

Dragon Keroro looked back down at Tamama with his glowing, bright red eyes. "Too bad. You came all this way, only to be crushed. Only to fail."

What end?! Tamama asked frantically, barely even hearing Dragon Keroro as he mocked him. What end do I force myself to go through all of this if it's not to get affection from Gunsou-san or be a good subordinate...?!

All throughout Tamama's life, he'd been ridiculed and underestimated by those around him – by his family, by his peers, by his commanders... but not by Keroro. Not by the only person he'd ever looked up to, the person he'd joined the Keron Army for...

Keroro had never treated him differently. He'd never even thought to treat him differently. Tamama could be himself around Keroro more than he could with anyone else. As much as Tamama feared what Keroro thought of him the most, Keroro's thoughts were all that mattered.

He was someone Tamama actually enjoyed the company of. And he felt sure Keroro enjoyed his company in return...

Even if it wasn't in the way Tamama longed for, Keroro did like Tamama.

And that... that was enough reason for him.

Why did Tamama force himself to go through the dragon platoon's pain if it wasn't to get affection from Keroro or be a good soldier...?

Simple:

It was because Keroro was Tamama's first and only real friend.

Shakily, Tamama sat up from the puddle of liquid from the cracked glass tube.

"Still trying to win?" Kururu gibed from above. "Kuku. Knock him out, Taichou-dono."

Without mercy, Keroro raised a clawed hand.

Tamama stared at it in terror.

"HELLMAGEDDON ONE/ONE-HUNDRED!"

KABOOM!

Tamama couldn't believe what he was seeing. Angol Mois had just Armageddoned Dragon Keroro and Dragon Kururu sky high without hesitation. "M-Mois, des-ka?!" he squawked out in shock.

In her pink and purple puffy Angol getup, she spun around on one foot, – bottle tab-like dark purple cape twirling around her, – speaking in an urgent tone. "Tamama-san! I'll hold these two here so they won't follow you. Go on ahead and complete the mission Ouji-sama gave to you! To save the Keroro Platoon!"

In spite of all his injuries, Tamama jumped onto his feet immediately and yelled angrily, "I know! You don't have to tell me that, desu!" He was about to run out the sliding door of the dark room when he realized he didn't know where to go. "Kururu-senpai! Which way is it back to the lab, des-ka?!"

Dragon Kururu – glasses cracked and flapping as far from Angol Mois as possible – scoffed. "Tch. Like I'd tell you!"

Mois ran toward him, screaming, "HELLMAGEDDON, ONE/FIFTY!"

Kururu held up his hands, – as if told to by a police officer, – yelling at the top of his lungs, "OKAY, OKAY! YOU'LL FIND THE LABYRINTH OF HALLWAYS IN THE SOUTH-EASTERNMOST PART OF THE BASE! THE LAB ROOM WHERE YOU PLACE THE KERO BALL ON THE PEDESTAL IS THE THIRD DOOR ON THE RIGHT AFTER YOU TURN RIGHT TWICE AND HEAD DOWN FIVE HALLWAYS –!"

Mois grabbed Kururu by one of the wings and nodded at Tamama as he zoomed out the door. Unthinkable that I needed her help, Tamama blistered, not having returned Angol Mois's "okay" nod – as he was thoroughly enraged by it.

But again, Tamama reminded himself that the task at hand was more important, and now he only had so much time left to complete it...


Five minutes left, Tamama estimated as he neared the entrance to the labyrinth of halls. Only five minutes before I transform completely into a Dragon Warrior, driven by nothing but my own rage...

"Oh!" Tamama found the Kero Ball exactly where he'd dropped it as he'd exited the halls: amongst the rubble left by his battle with Dragon Giroro – who was nowhere to be found.

He banished all anxiety related to Giroro's whereabouts to the back of his mind.

He made his way down the labyrinth of halls by Kururu's directions, – right twice, down five hallways to the third door on the right, – when suddenly his pulsing being – filled to the brim with rage – caused him to stop and drop the Kero Ball, leaning against the wall for support. One clawed hand clutched his chest, the other making scratch marks in the shiny, black tiles on the wall.

"Not yet..." Tamama fangs bit his lip. It bled. "Not yet...!" he gasped, but his knees wobbled underneath him, and he slid to the ground.

A blast came out of nowhere, blowing Tamama and the Kero Ball backward the full length of one hallway. Tamama, his mind and body screaming in annoyance from the attack, fought through the desire to blow a Tamama Impact back in the direction of the blast in fear of being consumed.

"My, my. I would have thought you'd be smart enough not to come back," grumbled Dragon Giroro, rocket launcher resting on one shoulder. "Or that that scratch on your shoulder would have killed you by now."

Another appeared behind Giroro. "Yes, it's impressive you've been able to hold out this long," said Dragon Dororo, unsheathing the katana on his back from its scabbard.

"You –!" Tamama spat, doing everything he could to get himself off the ground, still mentally battling the rage scorching in his chest and stomach. "I thought I took care of you already...!"

Dragon Giroro chuckled as Dragon Dororo explained, "No, the battle's just begun.

"Get ready for round two."


Man, I actually had to click on Angol Mois's Wikipedia page for the first time to check to make sure her race was named "Angol" – I know it's obvious but I had a brain fart, okay? – and it nearly killed me. (Sorry; I really dislike Angol Mois.)

That was the hardest part about writing this chapter.

Yeah, I wrote this on my vacation since everyone is asleep in the hotel room right now and I don't have anything else to do... Onto the next (and last) chapter~!

Wait a minute... l-last chapter?! O_O

(intense sobbing) It's been fun, everyone...