They looked throughout the woods, but to no avail. 'Where is that bear? Surely we should have found him by now…' Ash whispered.
Stampy's eyes widened suddenly. 'The town! Netty, Tomahawk and the others don't know!'
'But why would he go to town otherwise? If it was HitTheTarget, wouldn't he be after Stampy?' Squid pointed out. 'I mean, going after Stampy's sister and hurting her to hurt him is something I wouldn't put past him, but he likes to be a bit more direct with his plans.'
'Good idea. I never thought of that.' The six gasped and turned to see a black bear with crimson eyes glaring at them. His fangs glinted as he pulled a smarl (a half snarl, half smile).
'L-Lee?' Sqaishey whispered in shock.
'The weakling bear is nothing now! Lee was weak, useless! I am HitTheTarget! I thought you were aware! The bear is dead!'
Rosie gasped. 'No!' A tear ran down her beak and plopped quietly onto the ground. Stampy hissed wildly and the fur on his neck stood on end. Claws slipped silently out of his paws. Squid collapsed, the hope that Ash had given him gone. Salem's grip on her sword tightened as she glared back at HTT. Sqaishey just quietly turned and buried her head in her chest feathers, screaming in silent rage. But for some reason, Ash didn't react. At least not on the outside.
I… I was meant to… I had to… Have I… Failed? I don't care… I just want my friends back… We need Lee… Stampy was wrong about me… Very wrong, I guess. I have failed. But I won't stay a failure.
HitTheTarget drew a sword made of shadows and ruby. It was almost beautiful. But it was beauty that would end them if they stood by and grieved. They had to get up on their feet. Ash realized this. Squid told him what had really happened in that private conversation. He remembered one part of this conversation, a part that Sqaishey had said. Part of a part…
'Defend yourself…'