Chapter VII: The Notebook

10:45 PM

It's nighttime, more than an hour before midnight. Wehner is fast asleep and snoring loudly. The only sounds that accompany the total darkness of the basement are occasional cars passing by and wrinkling noises from the duo beds. Krantz, however, isn't asleep. His eyes are wide open and he doesn't even feel any large bits of tiredness.

"What did I just see?" He thought to himself. The contents and drawings he found in the notebook just kept him awake, and he is eager to see more. It just fascinated him. Something about the art style is different from what he saw on the moon. But still, it still horrifies him, but that's what makes it interesting from Krantz's perspective. He might have seen the drawings, but he hadn't seen the words that were written next to them. He only had a minor glimpse of one of the names of a boy from Mei's former high school.

"Terry," said Krantz. "It's probably a boy she met or saw a while ago." Maybe I should check more. " And that's what he did. Curiousity got him again. He slowly and silently got off of his bed and slid his hand under the mattress to grab the notebook. He proceeds to tip-toe away behind some boxes with the notebook and a lamp on both of his hands, and he stays behind several boxes that conveniently have output next to him.

"Alright, let's do this..."

He slowly began opening the notebox, using the dimmed lights of the lamp to help him. Yet again, he's horrified by what he saw, but, surprising, not as much as before. He began looking further and further, finding more and more drawings of her crushes from school and her own art. Krantz thought to himself, "Is this really it?" Before he closed, something caught his eye. He looked to see a drawing of Mei and her friends and family. Under the drawing it says: M. Lee 2003.

"Huh, this girl has something that I don't." He whispered to himself. He investigates the notebook, finding drawings and photos of herself in her red panda form, enjoying life in her fantasies, such as running on the beach, asking her crush out, etc. She soon stumbles upon a collection of photos she took with her friends, all the way dating back to July 2002. "Why?" he whispered. "Why are they enjoying life while being ruled under an iron fist?" He began to question the lies the Reich had been telling him. But his fanatical side kicks in to prevent him from answering those questions. He thought to himself, "It's all just happiness. "Behind those faces, they are living in pain."

He reached near the end of the notebook. It is blank. No drawings, no pictures, nothing. "Is this really the end?" questioned Krantz. He turns to another page, still nothing. And again and again, until suddenly, he found some writing on the final page. It was written with glitter on it. It reads: TO ANYONE READING THIS, INCLUDING ME. DON'T LET MOMMY SEE THIS

"Seems reasonable." He said to himself. He closes the notebook, thinking about all the things he has seen: boys, photos, family, everything. Those images are currently stuck in his head. It might have been "disturbing" to him, but something was off about it. Something that makes him want to see more. But how and why was it here? Did he really need to see all of this? But that last part, a note, made him think about a decision to make. "Should I give it back to the redhead? It might sound weird, but at the same time, her crazy mother should not see what she makes."

Those thoughts continued to pressure him to return her notebook. Until, "Argh fine!" He loudly whispered. He stood up, turned off the lamp, and slowly made his way out of the basement, making slow and slightly loud cranking noises from the stairs he was stepping on. "How are they loud all of a sudden."

He reached the exit, stared at the doorknob and saw his own barely noticeable dark reflection. "A Reich soldier's face in a room like this." He said to himself, thinking about his decision. He looked straight at the wooden door and placed his hand on the doorknob, opening the door entirely. What he saw was almost complete darkness. No crazy mother, no quiet dad, nothing, just absolute darkness and the buzzing noises coming from the refrigerator.

However, something caught his attention in the hallways. A cracked door with a blue light luminating out of it. Krantz commented on the lights, "Could this be a call from Baldr?" He believed the lights were in the redhead's room, so he slowly began tip-toeing his way to the room, soon standing in front of the door with the notebook on his chest. But before he entered, he decided to peep into her room. Strangely, no one was there. Interested, he decided to investigate. He opened the door wide, silently, and entered the room. noticing a slightly opened window next to her bed.

The lights, however, are coming from the bright moon outside, luminating the room. Immediately, Krantz figured out the whole thing and got an answer as to why she was rushing a few hours ago. She was leaving her home to do something. "She might have gone somewhere..." he silently commented. He suspected that she had gone out to hang out with her friends since he knew that Abby and "Mei-Mei" were friends and had mentioned secretly going somewhere once their parents were asleep.

Her mother may not have known about their plans, but for Krantz, he knew that this was going to happen. It just so happened that the notebook and his thoughts about their job made him forget their little conversation easily. He decided to not touch the window and leave it be. He walked around for a little while, inspecting interesting objects such as "adorable" animal plushes, one being a red panda that someone she knew at school made for her. Another object is her extensive collection of medals and trophies she received for her academic achievements. He commented on the shining medals, "Impressive... she has more medals than I have."

He continues inspecting other objects in the room until, approaching next to her desk, something catches his eye. An IMac with some bright girly stickers on it. But it wasn't the stickers he was looking at; it was a logo on the IMac. "Could that be what it is?" He was immediately shocked and excited by his inspection. It was the same logo he had seen on the iPhone. "Oh...Mein...Gott!" He whispered loudly.

His excitement caused him to drop the notebook he was holding on to his chest and get closer to the computer.

"No way," he whispered, "it really is the symbol on the iPhone." He believed the IMac was more powerful than the IPhone just based on size. He knew what to do next. He was going to steal it. Once he got it, he was going to wake up Wehner and leave Toronto to head back to Mayer on foot. He placed his hands on the PC itself and attempted to take it. As he struggled to move the heavy machinery, he suddenly stopped and stared at a red portrait that was on the desk. It read, in yellow font, "Happy New Year 2002."

Above the sign, it is a family picture of the redhead before her panda phase in life, in a red dress, bowing down to her mother with her father that he barely knew in the background. That immediately caught Krantz's attention and gave him an unknown feeling in the picture. It was different to all the pictures she has displayed in her room or her notebook. Everything about it made him think about it. "Was she always like what she is now?" he wondered.

The picture reminds him of something that he never had in his life: a proper childhood with his biological parents. Instead, he had his middle-aged aunt take care of him. She wasn't the worst guardian for Krantz, but it hit him in the brain. That image kept making him question life on earth. He made a grunting noise and said, "Argh, why, I just can't do it." and pulled his hands away from the PC. He didn't have the power to take the PC. It just felt wrong for him at that moment. He wasn't here for the PC, he was here for the thing he is currently looking at lying on the floor, the notebook.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself down and picked it up from the floor. He grabbed himself a pen and a sticky note that was on the desk and proceeded to write down a note in the only way he knew how, in cursive. It reads:

Hey, if you're the girl that is named "Mei-Mei," I found this in the basement. I don't know how it got there, but I decided to return it because the content isn't meant for everybody, like your weird mother (sorry if I called her weird) and yes, I looked at the things you drew and the photos you took. (Continues on another sticky note)

So anyways, as I was saying, I did look at the things that it had, but do not worry, I won't tell anyone. That's all the things I have to say.

Sincerely, H. Krantz

Hei-=-==+=+=-/- (He scribbled away, "Heil Kortzfleisch!" to hide the Lunur Reich's existence.)

End of note

He placed the sticky notes on the notebook and left it under the blankets on her bed. He soon left the room silently and returned back to the basement, where Wehner was still asleep. Krantz lies down on his bed and proceeds to stare at the ceiling, thinking about everything that just happened today. Where did he end up from being with his squad to suddenly being saved by a girl who can transform into a large beast and then suddenly here? Then he thought about the notebook, the interesting content it had, and the things he had learnt from the redhead. Or her possible real name, "Mei-Mei."

He mumbled about his thoughts, "Mei-Mei huh. What a girl to be with." He closes his eyes, soon falling asleep quickly. It's currently around 11:20, somewhere in March 2008.

Meanwhile,

A conference is held at the Reichs High Command headquarters to finalize battle plans for the impending invasion of Earth. The one who's leading the conference is none other than the Moon leader himself, who is only known by his last name, Moon Leader Kortzfleisch. Several high-ranking commanders from every branch of the Reich's military are also present at the conference. This includes the Army and the Space Force. However, not all were present at the meeting. Several seats are left empty at the end of the long oval table. All of them belong to Mayer's personal army and his loyalists.

Strangely, they all left with the same excuse to the other side of the moon, "Special Military Excersie." However, everybody doesn't mind that they are not present. In a grumpy old voice, the leader speaks to the commanders while using his personal metal stick that signifies his position in the Reich to point on a board that shows the map of the world with battle plans drawn on it.

"Gut gut. All in favor of the meteorblitzkreig doctrine? "

Everyone silently raised their hand, signaling that they all agreed with the final plans. Kortzfleisch smiled at himself and his commanders. Seeing that they finally agreed to a battle plan after decades of planning it out, he ordered all of them to begin preparations for the invasion. They all stood up and gave their salutes to the leader. He sat down on his seat once they left and grabbed himself a Hershey chocolate bar from his pocket and proceeded to eat one.

He gave a sasifing "Mhmm," to himself for the delicious taste of luxury earthling food on the moon. Until, all of a sudden, a man in glasses entered the almost empty room with paper documents in his left hand. He yelled to the leader in a hurry, "My leader!" He looked at the man who entered the room, annoyed that he came to ruin his time enjoying the chocolate bar. He yelled back at him in a grumpy mood with chocolate in his mouth. "What do you want now!? Can't you see that I am trying to enjoy myself?"

The man approached him, desperately wanting him to get his attention. " But sir! It's important. It's related to Mr. Mayer. " Kortzfleisch immediately stopped chewing his chocolate and paid his full attention to the man. "Wait, he's back already? If so, get the crew of the Gotterdammerung to prepare the war machine! " He yells in excitement.

"My leader," the unknown man says to the leader. "It's the opposite."

"What do you mean it is the opposite?" He said this in an angry and disappointed tone. "My leader, It's unjust news. One of our spies in Mayer's expedition transmitted a signal saying that Mayer, in his words, called you a degenerate and has plans to overthrow you. " The leader swallowed his chocolate in his mouth, took off his cap, and looked at the man, furious. "Overthrow me?" He responded to the man. The man continues to talk to the leader. "My leader, we also learn that he isn't there to just get the iPhone, he is also here for another mission. He's here to search for the "Rote Bestie.

"

"Rote Bestie... He really believes in stupid fantasies. It's all of those books and information he had been gathering from the earth. "A fucking traitor, I shall say." He said this in a proceeds to begin swiping several papers that are next to him into the air while yelling, "Oh, I'll put an end to this. That fucker will learn his lessons to not mess with me! " He soon recovers from his put his cap on again and stood up, looking at the man next to him. "Prepare a small expedition to meet up with him. Bring in some of the most professional and trained soldiers that the Reich can offer. And keep this silent, so it won't cause some disagreement in the Reich's council, alright. "Good." The man saluted him and said,

"You got it, my leader." He leaves the room afterwards, leaving him alone again with a mess of crumbled papers on the floor. He grinned and mumbled about the invasion. "Only 14 days left. Only 14 days..."

End of Chapter VII