Chapter 48 – Return of a Threat

Arle's POV

I somehow had a bad feeling when Akuma had asked Amitie, Raffina, and even myself for a quick talk. Not that I find Akuma a little scary (okay, maybe a little), but I had a feeling on what the talk was about. Which left a kind of sickness in my stomach.

Or maybe it was the pasta from that weird restaurant Ally took us earlier…

We eventually reached inside Akuma's office and Akuma shut the door behind him. The bad feeling from before was now even worse. I started sweating so much, it felt like I ate a really hot pepper or something.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about, Akuma?" Amitie asked.

"Well…you may not like this…but it's about the Puyo Hats, KUMA!"

"Th-The Puyo Hats?!" Amitie and Raffina shouted.

"More specifically, the Red Puyo Hat, KUMA!"

"Aw, geez! I thought we were done with that damn thing!" Raffina said.

"Raffi…I'm scared." Amitie said. Raffina then held her as tight as she could.

While I was…really confused.

"Wait, what are the Puyo Hats? And why is Amitie scared of the red one?"

"Oh, right. We never told you." Raffina said. "Akuma, you mind if I explain real quick?"

"Go ahead, KUMA!"

"Explain what?"

"Well…before you and the whole Dimensional Mirror incident, Ami and I dealt with another one: The Red Puyo Hat. It was a strange beanie that we found in Oshare's shop one day. And once Ami put it on, it didn't come off. Not long after that, the hat did some strange powers. Copying her emotions and stuff like that. And later we found out that there were four others that also had strange powers. And so, we decided that finding the other four would get the red one off of Ami's head. But then days later…it did something scary."

"Scary?" I asked.

"It reminded Ami of a past she never wants to remember. Even replicating the injuries she got from it. And when she tried to take it off, the hat electrocuted her…in an attempt to kill her."

"K-Kill Amitie?!"

Amitie was in mid tears as Raffina told me this story. And she held her tighter than before and kissed her on the forehead while petting her hair.

I feel really bad for Amitie. What she went through is a lot worse than me coming out of a weird mirror.

"Luckily, Yu and Rei, who had the Purple Puyo Hat, were able to rescue her. And with the help of Tarutaru, who had the Blue Puyo Hat, I was able to find Amitie and bring her home."

"W-Wow. Th-That's some story." I said, still in disbelief.

"Yeah, but it wasn't all bad though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Raffina started to blush. "later that night, Ami and I confessed our love for each other. And we've been together ever since."

"I see. Well, at least it had a happy ending."

"Yes. But I fear that this one won't, KUMA!"

"What do you mean, Akuma?" Raffina asked him.

"Well, you see…the Red Puyo Hat…it escaped."

"E…

"E…"

"E-ESCAPED?!" Both girls shouted. Then Amitie collapsed in fear.

"Ami! Stay with me! It's going to be okay!" Amitie got back up after a few seconds and was held up by Raffina.

"How did that thing escaped?" I asked.

"It was a fight. A big one. I tried to keep it inside its case, but it was too strong for me. And it eventually broke free, KUMA! Where it went, I cannot tell you. But before it fled…it talked, KUMA!"

"I-It talked?!" Raffina asked. "Wh-What did it say?"

"I could not make most of its speech, but I did hear it repeat one word…"Revenge"."

"R…Revenge?" Amitie collapsed in fear again.

"AMI!" Raffina shouted.

"I-I'm okay, R-Raffi. J-Just a bit…s-scared."

"A bit" is an overstatement...

"Aw, geez! What am I going to do?! No doubt about it, that hat is gonna try to kill me again!"

"Like hell, it will! I'll burn that damn piece of fabric to a crisp before it could lay a hand on MY Ami!"

"*sniff* Raffi…" Amitie then hugged Raffina tight while being held in her arms.

"Is there any way for us to stop this Red Puyo Hat?" I asked.

"Actually, that's where you come in, Arle, KUMA!"

"Huh? Me? How?"

"The Puyo Hats come in five different colors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Purple. In order to stop the red one, we need to use the power of the other four, KUMA!"

"I see…but there's only two."

"Peruvis has the Yellow Puyo Hat. Now that we're friends again...hopefully, us explaining to her what's happening will make her give it to us, or at least keep it safe until then." Raffina said.

"Okay. What about the green one?"

"The Green Puyo Hat is a special case. It actually came from your world, Arle, KUMA!"

"Huh? From my world? But I don't remember me bringing it or seeing the others with it."

"That's what's special about it, KUMA! The person who did bring it is someone you haven't found yet, KUMA!"

"Do you know who that could be, Arle?" Amitie asked.

Well…thanks to Draco, I do know one person that could possibly have it.

"Well…the only person I can think of is my friend, Witch. And knowing her, she was probably using it for something weird."

"Something weird?"

"Don't ask." I said with a sweatdrop.

"Okay, then…we'll just have to find her and explain what's happening." Raffina said.

"I don't really know much about these Puyo Hats, but I'll help as much as I can."

"Thanks, Arle! You and Raffi are lifesavers!" Amitie cheered.

Lifesaver, huh? Never been called that before. Even after all the stuff Satan has done over the years.

"You're welcome, Amitie. Just helping out a friend."

"Good luck, you three, KUMA! I'll keep studying these hats for more information, MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"

"Thanks again, Akuma!" Raffina said as we left the office to meet up with everyone else. So now, we have to find Witch and hope that she has this Green Puyo Hat thing so we can save Amitie from being murdered by a hat.

Geez, and I thought my world had problems…

Author's Note: Part 4 of the upload binge and the last rewrite for a while. I've reached the point that I've wanted and next will be a brand-new chapter. And this set of new chapters were planned for a good long while, too.

Thanks for reading. Later.