Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Here's another chapter of this thing.
Giroro and Natsumi were still healing from their injuries, and Tamama knew the layout for Fuyuki's base the best so the choice was obvious of who would retrieve Kululu.
Tamama took a deep breath. It was time to be brave now, and strong. Giroro and Natsumi had fought hard to recover one of his former platoon members. Now was his turn.
Mr. Sergeant... I'll recover our platoon. We'll fight for you, Tamama reminded himself. He was frightened, though. It was morning at the moment, around seven AM, but that night would be the mark of the day October 31st. The day before the Harvest and when Angol Mois and Fuyuki started their killing spree.
If Tamama took too long or got captured, it was very likely he'd meet that demon Keroro face to face, the monster residing in Keroro's skin.
He couldn't see his beloved's corpse being reduced to something like that. He didn't want to see it.
"You sure you'll be okay? I can come with you," Giroro offered. He moaned as he tried to get up and putting a hand on an open wound on his side. Tamama shook his head.
"You can't come with me. You and Natchi need to heal. I... I know a secret passage in and out of Fukki's fortress. I should be able to find him pretty easily. And I can probably overpower him." Tamama shook his head, determination clouding his mind. He couldn't just let the bigger people do everything for him. He was the revolution leader and he had to start acting like such!
"Good luck, Tamama," Natsumi smiled. She trusted him. She knew he was strong enough to do this on his own.
He nodded and turned his back on them, hoping to let them get some sleep. They'd need it, because the Harvest was almost upon them.
He left.
The small bodies of Keronians made it much easier to sneak into Fuyuki's fortress. The secret passage Kululu had shown him was too tiny for someone of Fuyuki or Mois's stature to treck through, but he and Kululu could make it through fine.
He had forgotten about the locked door at the end of it, though. "I'll have to destroy it." He hoped the hole wouldn't draw too much attention to him by Mois and Fuyuki. "TAMAMA IMPACT!" He tried to make it as quiet as possible, but a large explosion sound was heard.
Luckily, Mois and Fuyuki didn't hear it over their arguing about what to do with Natsumi. They were too wrapped up in their own problems.
Tamama wiggled through his hole and started wandering around the hallways. He needed to find Kululu.
He made sure to avoid the room with Keroro in it. He couldn't face him.
He remained unaware that it was also the room that housed Dororo now, who was still alive.
Eventually, he came upon Kululu's lab, which still had Kululu's ginormous face plastered everywhere. Tamama sneaked between the teeth and tip-toed behind Kululu.
He got out some rope from a bag.
Kululu tapped on his keyboard, coding things and watching some cameras as people were herded to an area for the Harvest where Mois and Fuyuki would kill them. He seemed to be preoccupied with his work.
"Gotcha!" Tamama smiled, whirling the rope around the Keronian. Kululu tried to struggle free as Tamama spun him around to smile at him proudly and gloat.
"Tamama? Ku. This is the most dangerous place for you at the moment. Why are you here?" Kululu asked. He didn't pay much attention to the ropes around him. He wanted to figure out what Tamama wanted for him.
"I needed to get you," Tamama told him.
"Well, I didn't know you moved on from the Captain so quickly.~" Kululu put on a fake flirtatious voice. "Sorry, I'm not interested."
Tamama shook his head. "This is a kidnapping."
"Oh." Kululu yawned boredly. "I suppose that makes sense. I am a powerful ally when it comes to the Harvest. I do help all this technology run. Ku. Predictable."
Tamama hauled Kululu over his shoulder, ready to carry him off.
Did he just forget about Dororo? Kululu wondered. While Tamama was there, he seemed to be making no effort to rescue Dororo. Was he not aware Dororo was still alive?
Well, he wasn't going to correct Tamama. Dororo had come willingly, and he hoped that Dororo was the soul Keroro needed.
He tried to struggle free as Tamama ran through the halls back to the secret passage Kululu had showed him.
Well, way to make me regret showing him that, Kululu thought to himself, as Tamama carried him out of the passage.
At the revolution safe house, as Natsumi and Giroro healed, there was an explosion.
Giroro bolted, up trying to awkwardly help himself up. Natsumi, having taken much less of a beating than Giroro and healing faster than him, got up more easily as the walls shook.
"Mois?" she asked. The wall crumbled down, revealing NPG soldiers.
"No. Fuyuki's forces. Nishizawa guards. They work for Fuyuki. They must have found our location. Sometimes they bust revolution bases," Giroro cursed.
"What do we do?" Natsumi asked. This wasn't the main base, but it was likely that a lot of people would be taken. And she was in no fighting condition, although she knew she'd try.
Giroro shook, not wanting to run, but knowing it was the best option. "We have to run. We need to meet with Tamama after all, and make sure his mission was successful."
Natsumi shook her head. She wouldn't let these people just die! Giroro grabbed her arm. "It's not the main base, just a safe house. And this isn't Mois they're facing. They might have a chance to win," he told her. "We however, do not."
Natsumi frowned.
"I don't want to lose you. Not again," Giroro whispered.
She glared at him. "You lost one of my friends, though. You killed Saburo."
"We can talk about that later! Just run with me!" he bellowed.
Natsumi took one last look at the soldiers. Someone in the revolution gave her a thumbs-up. They were trained to deal with this.
She nodded and ran out with Giroro.
Tamama tried to approach the safe house with Kululu tied up, but before he even got within a mile of it, he heard a familiar whisper.
"Psst," Natsumi's voice told him. She had a large cloak on to hide her face and was sitting at a cafe table. Giroro was also in a disguise. Tamama was not. He was just out in the open with a captive. Nobody really cared. He hadn't come across any soldiers yet.
Tamama bounded up.
"The safe house was attacked. Where do we take him?" Natsumi asked.
"Ku! Your safe house was attacked? Lame!" Kululu laughed. Giroro slapped some duct tape on Kululu's mouth. They didn't want him giving up their location, even if he was a generally good captive. He knew that struggling wasn't doing much so he just kind of went along with the whole thing.
"I... I don't know... I don't want to take him to the main base. If he escapes, he'll clue everyone in on where it is." Tamama didn't want people's lives to be at stake because of his bad choices.
"Hmmm..." Giroro rubbed his chin. "I... I have an idea. But I don't even know if it's real."
"It won't really help if it's not real, now will it, Giroro?" Natsumi asked, rolling her eyes.
"No. I think it is. It's just... very secretive. I heard Saburo whispering about it when we fought," Giroro explained. "It was a safe place for refugees who escaped the Harvest that he had been taking them to - a holy land, he called it. He told me if I lived and escaped that I should head there... The underground city."
Kululu's eyes glinted. "I never heard Saburo speak about that." His words were muffled by duct tape though so nobody heard him.
"Saburo was in my revolution. I heard about the holy city," Tamama admitted, "but I've never found it. It's a myth. When Saburo was delivering refugees to it, he said he found the gates. But he was denied access and left them there. I don't think it's real."
"The gates?" Giroro asked. "Of an underground city?"
"It's not real!" Kululu tried to shake his head. He had heard some rumors about it from people, but his technology hadn't been able to find it. And although Angol Mois hadn't tried to destroy the entire planet in the last twelve years, making an underground city a lot safer than it would have been previously, he still couldn't find it. So it couldn't have been real.
"Where... did Saburo say he found the gates?" Natsumi asked. She had to trust in Saburo's last words. She also wanted to ask Giroro about why he had killed Saburo and what kind of situation they had been in that Saburo seemed pretty willing to forgive him for, but she knew when was the wrong time and place, unlike he did.
"He said they were found in the middle of a mountain, like an old mining tunnel. After traveling for about three miles and past some underground streams, he found it. A giant iron gate with the word 'safety' written on it in latin," Tamama explained. "I never trekked out to see it. I didn't want to see the refugees who probably starved after he left them there."
"Let's try it," Natsumi suggested. "Let's... put our trust in Saburo."
"Yeah. It's the least I can do for him, after all." Giroro felt remorseful. Kululu nodded, although he didn't believe it was real, either. He wanted to see what Saburo wouldn't tell him about.
Natsumi picked up Kululu to carry him.
It was a long journey, but cars and transportation made it a lot shorter. They got there about nine PM.
After their hike in the mine shaft, they finally found the iron doors Saburo had spoken of. No bodies littered the way.
"Huh... so it was real," Tamama whispered.
"How do we get in?" Giroro asked. He tried shooting at the doors, but they were strong. Natsumi tried punching, but hurt her hand.
"Why... Why don't we try asking?" Tamama asked. Maybe they'd recognize him as the revolution leader. They seemed to like refugees. "Stand back, Natsumi. It might not like you, since you're Fukki's sister."
Natsumi stood back.
"Hey! Hey doors. This is the first time I've talked to some doors, but hello! I'm Private Tamama... Or, well, that's the title I used to be called. I'm the leader of the revolution, dedicated against the Harvest and against that woman and Fukki's evil rule!" Tamama told the doors.
He waited.
"Maybe they want you to keep talking," Giroro suggested. "Maybe they don't trust your reasons for starting the revolution. You are a Keronian like him." Giroro pointed to Kululu, who was notorious for being Angol Mois's right-hand man.
"I... started the revolution admittedly because I hated someone," Tamama confessed. "But once I realized they were using the corpse of the man I love in vain... turning him into a monster... I decided to fight against them in earnest. Fukki used to be my friend... my best friend's fiance. But he turned evil, too. I want to stop him from his evil plans. I need to... for Momocchi's sake." Tamama talked sadly, trying to make his reasons sound pure.
The doors opened. A white room was the only thing behind them.
"Huh..." Natsumi looked confused. What was this white room for? And who was the person listening to Tamama's pleas to the door?
They all entered the room and the doors closed behind them. Suddenly the white room started moving. It was an elevator.
"Why is the Executioner's right-hand man with you?" a robotic voice asked over a speaker.
"He's a captive. See the ropes?" Natsumi pointed.
"What are the red keronian and the Ruler's sister's allegiance?" the robotic voice asked.
Natsumi looked a bit shocked. How did they know she was Fuyuki's sister?
"Natchi wants to stop her brother, too. She's good. She's been helping me," Tamama defended. "Giroro is from my old platoon. He was a captive of the coliseum, but we rescued him. He wants to stop Keroro from being resurrected as well! He's also good!"
The elevator stopped moving, and some doors on the opposite end opened. Everybody except Kululu's mouths opened in shock as they saw the large underground city in front of them.
An entire population was living there, refugees living happily and healthily despite the lack of sunlight. An artificial sun was above them, the streets were littered with hover cars all over the place. Little robots monitored crime and a giant castle towered over the city in the distance.
"Welcome to the holy land. You are not permitted to talk about what you have seen here if you leave. You need to be granted permission to get out by the empress. Your house has already been set up for your stay. A map has been issued to each of you," the robotic voice told them.
A map was dropped in their hands.
"This... This is amazing." Giroro looked at the land. This was the holy land? It seemed like a utopia! Could there really not be a catch?
"When you are done with your captive, tell your robot maid what you plan on doing with him. It will bring news to the empress," the robot commanded. "Do not release him."
Tamama nodded. "I won't! Don't worry, we'll question Kululu good!"
"Good luck, Tamama." The robot voice switched off on that note.
And the four of them were left to go to their house and explore this new utopia.
"I never knew a land like this existed." Giroro polished his gun as Natsumi tied Kululu down to a chair, ready to question him.
"I guess... Saburo didn't pass whatever test the doors had in mind for him." Natsumi looked sad. "Maybe he was too much of a free spirit?"
"Or they just didn't like him," Giroro mumbled. Natsumi glared at him.
Tamama stared at Kululu, and tore off the duct tape. "We're ready to question you."
"Question me about what? You kidnapped me so I couldn't keep up the technology that Fuyuki and Mois need to run their empire, right? Joke's on you, I've taught Mois enough that just upkeep should be fine for her to keep up! Ku, ku, ku," Kululu laughed.
"That's not why we captured you." Giroro admitted. Kululu looked over at Giroro. Admittedly, it was nice to know that at least one of his platoon mates had gotten free of Fuyuki's control. It was very unlikely that Giroro was the soul Keroro needed, after all, so that made him useless in Kululu's books. Useless, and not particularly deserving of such a mean fate.
That... and even though Giroro had killed Saburo, it hadn't been his choice. Fuyuki had forced him. He couldn't blame it on Giroro. Giroro was just following his own goals, same as Kululu. He couldn't blame Giroro for being evil because of that.
Personally, he didn't think Giroro had deserved to be a slave in the coliseum for so long. He was the only former platoon mate Kululu talked to a regular basis, which was kind of nice to have a slight vent-buddy to... although he didn't want to admit that to Giroro.
"Why did you capture me then? Was it to lure Mois out into a trap?" Kululu asked, faking interest. "Joke's on you about that again! She cares absolutely nothing for me. She wouldn't come to save me." Kululu said the words coldly. The facts didn't even hurt him.
"It's not that!" Natsumi told him. "We wanted to talk to you. To free you from Mois and my brother's control. You don't have to work for them now. You're free," she said. She didn't really believe he was a double-agent. Likely, he was working for them for power, but she had to stick to Tamama and Giroro's beliefs. They knew him better than she did, after all.
"Ku, Ku, ku! That's a laugh!" Kululu started laughing uncontrollably. "You think they forced me into working for them?" Kululu asked. "No way! I did it all of my own will!"
Natsumi frowned. She knew that was the case, but she wondered if Giroro and Tamama believed her now.
"We know there's something up with you, Kululu," Giroro called him out. "You're much nicer than them. You'd help me in the coliseum, give me food and even talk to me about the old days. You're not as completely evil as them. Why do you want to work for them?"
"You were nice to me, too. You showed me a passage so I wouldn't be caught by that woman. You don't want to hurt us. You want us to live. So you're not as loyal to them as you pretend," Tamama reminded him.
"I can be loyal and still have my own goals," Kululu defended. "And Tamama knows well enough what those goals are. I want Keroro to come back to life."
Giroro seemed shocked at this. He looked over at Natsumi. "Was... there something I missed between Kululu and Keroro?" he whispered.
Natsumi looked just as shocked as Giroro. "Why?" she asked.
Kululu just grinned and laughed, not revealing why.
It was almost the time to start the mass murder. And Angol Mois couldn't find Kululu at all.
Sure, he didn't partake in the killing. But she wanted a kiss or something or to speak with him and make up before she went. But she couldn't find him anywhere.
Nowhere in their fortress could she find him. It was like he had disappeared. Fighting with Fuyuki had taken up so much of her time, that she had just sort of fallen asleep afterward to conserve her strength for the oncoming Harvest.
Now she couldn't find Kululu anywhere. After talking to him about his betrayal, had he gotten mad?
No. Kululu wasn't the type to leave. Maybe something had happened to him. Maybe he had gotten injured or something and was at some sort of hospital? Or... what if someone had kidnapped him?
Worry clouded her mind. No! she realized, squeezing her arms. She couldn't afford to be worried about Kululu. To care... That would just kill him faster.
Images of Koyuki's brains splattered all over the wall clouded her mind. She couldn't let that be Kululu. He could never be her friend again. She had to think of him just as her loyal servant.
But... She was still worried and lonely. Where was he?
"Have you seen Kululu, Fuyuki?" Mois asked. Fuyuki was putting on some rubber gloves and boots for the Harvest. He'd have to put the people in body bags, after all. Mois could harvest their blood later, but he preferred for her to do the actual killing.
Sure, by now he could actually kill on his own, but he still preferred Mois doing it.
"Is he missing?" Fuyuki asked. Mois nodded. Fuyuki thought for a moment and smiled.
"I suppose it was only a matter of time before he double-crossed us," he thought.
"What?" Mois asked.
"Well, I mean, Giroro did just escape. And he was always fond of him. We've never been in a platoon, but the bond between platoon mates is quite strong. I mean, even after the Sarge's death, the Sarge is asking for his platoon mates!" he said. "So... maybe Kululu saw Giroro escape and decided it was best to leave with him."
Mois tried not to look sad. She knew Kululu talked to Giroro a lot. They had even maybe become friends in the years that had passed. Since she couldn't be Kululu's friend, and Saburo was dead, he needed friends...
But had he really ditched her for him? She tried not to look sad, but eventually just turned her head away from Fuyuki so he couldn't see her expression.
"Are you ready for the Harvest, my dear?" Fuyuki asked.
"The Harvest is tomorrow," Mois reminded. "This is just the day of preparation. He'll come back tomorrow." She needed to focus on Keroro now. Not Kululu.
Fuyuki nodded, but let her take his hand anyway. The two walked out of their fortress, ready to kill.
Blood splattered almost everywhere as the people's screams greeted both their ears. Mois used her spear like a bat, knocking off heads and Fuyuki collected them like he was a tricker-treater collecting candy.
Fuyuki and she laughed and looked at each other as they continued their Harvest, and the world was cloaked in darkness as people died all around them.
It was a hard job, but the two dictators did it well.
Once they had enough blood to initialize the summoning and resurrection, they came back to their fortress. The guards would bring more people, and Keroro himself, of course, would want to partake in the killing.
Mois was a little distant as they cloaked Keroro's room in blood, as if all the walls were decorated in organs. Fuyuki had become accustomed to the smell, so he no longer batted an eyelash.
Mois remained a bit distant, though. Usually she did this with glee, acting out her job like a puppet and being overly happy. Now she was just a puppet.
Fuyuki knew it had to do with Kululu's disappearance. He tried to comfort her. "You know... when this is all over, you'll finally be happy. You'll be with the Sarge, and you two will be able to run off together. You can live in peace and retire from all this killing and get what you deserve. Your boyfriend will be yours again," Fuyuki smiled.
"Retire? But what about the world?" she asked.
"I'll rule it with Natsumi, of course," Fuyuki said simply. After Keroro came back, there was no more need of Mois. She had served her purpose as a Natsumi doll quite well, and she had already proven to him that she was a terrible Momoka doll.
"Wait, what?!" Mois stopped working. "Rule it with Natsumi? Half of this world is rightfully mine!" she complained. "Natsumi has no right to my share! I'll be ruling this world even when Uncle's back, just like you!"
Fuyuki sneered at her. "Natsumi is much stronger than you. She'll be the one at my side. We'll see who really gets your side of this world when he's back... Count yourself lucky that I'm even giving you him."
Mois's eyes danced with anger. "She will not have my chunk of the world. Uncle and this planet will be mine."
The two rulers glared at each other. They knew they needed each other now, for Keroro. But he was the only thing aligning them.
If he wasn't, they would have likely killed each other, right then and there. But under Keroro's watchful, dead eyes, they only glared.
They knew when he was fully back, there would be problems, though.
Please review!