Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Here you go. Have a chapter.
I got a paper cut on my pinkie finger and I realized it wasn't fun to write with that about half way through.
"He... He ate him..." Angol Mois whimpered quietly to Fuyuki as Keroro picked his teeth with a toothpick. He was still trying to out get Dororo's mask fabric.
"I suppose he wasn't the one I was looking for." Keroro frowned. "I don't feel any better. His soul wasn't sustaining enough."
"You don't want them back as a platoon... you want to eat them." Fuyuki realized, quietly.
"Problem?" Keroro asked, glaring. Fuyuki shook his head.
"I'll bring them all to you. Don't worry, Sarge. If it's for you... I'll do anything," Fuyuki promised. Keroro grinned.
"That's my friend." He talked to Fuyuki as if he was a pet. Fuyuki nodded. Mois still was shaking a bit.
"Well, I'm going to go kill some children. You have some nice people gathered up for me, right?" Keroro asked.
Fuyuki nodded. He was hoping Keroro would spend some time with him, but he was obviously still thirsty for blood.
Keroro grinned and gracefully left out the door. "I'll be back soon. This year's Harvest will continue." He disappeared, ready to make people scream.
Fuyuki turned to his partner. "What's wrong? Violence has never bothered you before."
"He... He wants to eat his platoon!" Mois reminded Fuyuki. "He thinks one of them will satisfy his hunger."
"So?" Fuyuki didn't see the big deal. Natsumi was alive again, and she had seemed mad at Giroro for killing Saburo. He was expandable now, so the only one of the platoon Fuyuki might have cared for had no real purpose for his life now.
"Kululu... Kululu's in the platoon!" Mois reminded him. "What if Uncle eats Kululu?"
"Kululu left us, remember?" Fuyuki said. "And the Sarge barely has seen Kululu during the Harvest. I doubt he wants to eat him. He's probably disgusting. We'll feed him Giroro and Tamama, and that should satisfy his urges."
Mois didn't look like she believed him, but finally she sighed. "All right. You think Tamama or Giroro might be what he's looking for?"
"Might," he responded. "And once he's back to normal, you'll have nothing to worry about."
Mois nodded quickly. "Let's retrieve them, then. We need to reunite the platoon."
"I agree completely."
"So... will you talk to Fuyuki for us?" Natsumi had lost track of time in the underground city. They all had. She remained unaware that the Harvest had started.
Momoka shook her head. "I... I can't... I won't," she insisted. Natsumi looked disappointed. But there was no way to force the girl. There was definitely a layer of fear coating seeing Fuyuki again.
"Then I'll talk to him for you. I'll negotiate with him and beat some sense into him," Natsumi declared.
"And how do you hope to do that? Are you just going to march into his fortress and demand a meeting?" Kululu asked.
"No. I'm going to use you as bait." Natsumi grinned. "I'll lure Fuyuki and Mois out, and then I'll talk to my brother."
"I'll keep that woman occupied while you talk to Fukki!" Tamama happily volunteered.
"Nice plan, Natsumi," Giroro complimented, looking at his warrior princess with deep admiration. Natsumi didn't pay him much notice, still mad about the Saburo killing thing.
"Ku, they aren't going to come," Kululu told her, "I already told you, to them I'm expandable. They won't save me. Also... Ku, ku, ku. They're a little busy at this moment." Kululu was the only one with an internal clock.
"No harm in trying... Are you sure you don't want to come with, Momoka?" Natsumi asked. She hoped the girl would have a change of heart.
Momoka shook her head. "I... I'm not ready. He... He might hate me for leaving... He might have changed too much. He's so obsessed with this Harvest..." Momoka couldn't get out of the past.
Natsumi frowned. So as of now she'd have to deal with things on her own.
"You won't stop us though, right?" she asked.
"Of course not! I hope that Fuyuki can be reasoned with, just like you hope," she insisted.
Natsumi gave her a hug. "Let's hope this works."
It was much easier getting out of the underground city than in. With Momoka's help and access, it was a quick journey away and the four of them eventually hiked into an open valley.
"I keep telling you, this isn't going to work!" Kululu insisted, "They won't come if I'm in danger. They don't even know where I am. Ku, ku, ku."
"You have to find better employers," Giroro sighed. He pressed his gun against Kululu's head.
"I'll phone the revolution to broadcast Kululu in distress," Tamama volunteered. "They should easily be able to find our location from there."
"Last chance, Kululu. Do you want to join us?" Giroro asked.
"No." Kululu stuck to where his loyalties were.
"Tch. Suit yourself." Giroro told him. Tamama got a camera ready that Momoka had lent him for broascasting.
Giroro hit Kululu over the head with a gun. "Fuyuki Hinata. Angol Mois. We have your servant. Come retrieve him and surrender or he'll die," he spoke awkwardly into the camera.
"Fuyuki. Come face me," Natsumi directed.
Tamama shut off the camera. "Hopefully he'll be here soon. The signal should reach everyone in about an hour or so."
Natsumi nodded. Now they just needed to play the waiting game.
Kululu just laughed. They were in for a treat when - if someone did come, which was unlikely - Keroro might accompany them.
It didn't take an hour. It took only ten minutes for Angol Mois to fly down on her spear, with Fuyuki holding onto her waist.
"So they're all in one place. This is perfect." Fuyuki smiled.
Natsumi grinned as she saw her brother. "Fuyuki!"
Fuyuki looked at her with a pained expression. "Sis..." He looked across the field. "I want to talk to you... to catch up with you, but it'll have to wait. I have another thing to attend to, after all, and you aren't the only one I find important."
Natsumi looked saddened at Fuyuki's words.
"They're all here," he looked behind him and spoke. To Natsumi's surprise, Keroro himself hovered down to the ground, flying, but with no wings. He had just flown, or hovered. His eyes were red and his teeth were sharp and he didn't look like the idiot she remembered him as.
Tamama shivered for a moment. "Mr... Sergeant..." He hadn't wanted to come across him in the Harvest.
"So the Harvest has begun." Giroro murmured.
"Yep! And your broadcast lured me to all of you." Keroro breathed in a deep sigh. "Giroro... Tamama... and Kululu. The three remaining members from my disbanded platoon. And for an added treat, there's even stupid Natsumi!"
"Stupid frog..." Natsumi put her hands to her waist to grab a weapon, but soon realized she had none. Like a flash of light, Keroro was upon her, right in front of her face.
"I think you are the stupid one. When I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to just call you stupid... Instead of the pain I could be dealing you..." he hissed into her ear.
Natsumi wanted to laugh his threats off like always, but something about him seemed competent. Like his threats were real.
The ways his eyes glowed red made even her frightened. Blood coated his green hands and she knew he was a killer.
This wasn't the stupid frog. This was something entirely different.
She tried not to show that her legs were shaking. She tried to be strong. To shove him off.
"Sarge! You can do what you want to Giroro and Tamama," Fuyuki ordered. "We'll retrieve Kululu."
"A-okay. Giroro and Tamama look... delectable." Keroro licked his lips, but Natsumi also held his interest. "Let me have a warm-up first."
He sprung forward like a wild piranha toward Natsumi. Natsumi tried to shove him away with her superior strength, but he felt like solid steel, cold and lifeless. He just kept coming closer, his teeth extended.
"NATSUMI!" Giroro jumped forward and Keroro bit down tightly on Giroro's arm. Blood spurted out of the puncture wound.
Natsumi backed away, her legs still shaking. Keroro's teeth were firmly planted in Giroro's arm. Keroro had tried to bite her, and by the way he was tugging it looked as if he wanted to cannibalize Giroro.
"It's okay," Tamama tried to sooth her as she backed away on the ground. "When... I first saw how he changed, I was scared too. You don't have to pretend to be strong. Giroro and I have more experience with what we've heard he's like... It's hard to view someone close to you as the enemy. So... guard Kululu for now, okay?"
Natsumi wanted to be the strong one. She wanted to be the soldier that she knew she was. But all she could do was weakly nod. "O-okay..." Keroro's demonic voice still danced in her mind. Every time she blinked as if it was a flashing life Keroro's corpse shown in her mind.
Was this part of the demonic magic Fuyuki had used? He couldn't be that ignorant that Keroro was a monster, right?
She limply turned to where a tied up Kululu was supposed to be. She needed to at least do something right. But he was gone.
"I'm so glad I got to you." Angol Mois was carrying him off of the field. "Keep away from Giroro and Tamama, okay? They're just going to drag you down. And Uncle wants to eat them, so it's best you stay away from them," she advised, untying him.
Kululu shrugged. "It wasn't like I wanted to hang with their crowd anyway."
"So you were kidnapped?" Mois asked, and Kululu nodded.
Meanwhile, Keroro still tried to chow down on Giroro's arm. Giroro pulled out a gun and shot at his dead friend's head.
A hole went through, but it repelled Keroro for a moment. Quickly, like goo, the hole filled up.
"Nice try, Giroro. But firing at your captain is illegal," he laughed, grabbing Giroro's arms and pinning them behind him. Giroro tried to struggle free.
"TAMAMA IMPACT!" Tamama yelled, letting a beam fire at Keroro. Keroro was momentarily hit away, and when he looked up, his attention had turned from Giroro to Tamama.
"So, you want to be killed first? I have no complaints," he laughed. He slowly walked forward, extending a hand. Tamama and Giroro both shot at him, but nothing would stop his slow march forward with his hand extended.
"Don't you dare touch him." Giroro ran forward at Keroro, and with a flick of Keroro's finger, Giroro was flung across the ground, tearing apart some of the grass in his long fall.
"He shall be the first to die. Let's see if he's the thing I've been craving." His hand touched Tamama's face, then went lower to his neck.
Tamama opened his mouth, but no noise of a Tamama Impact happened as Keroro clutched around his neck, desperately squeezing.
Natsumi got up, ready to charge, but Fuyuki just shook his head at her. She didn't know why she listened to her brother. Perhaps it was a feeling of hopelessness. Perhaps she had given up when she saw Tamama's eyes begin to roll back.
Maybe she knew there was no stopping Keroro.
It was when Tamama's last breaths of air were escaping that one voice broke Keroro's concentration and caused him to drop Tamama.
But it wasn't Momoka's voice. She had given up.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The loud scream was indescribable, familiar and nostalgic. It caused Keroro to immediately drop Tamama and back away confused.
Natsumi, Giroro, Mois, and even Fuyuki looked around awkwardly, knowing exactly whose voice it was, but not believing it for a second. It had to be one of them. It couldn't be him.
Keroro just reached up to his face, confused.
"Why... Why did I just scream?" he asked. "Why... Why did I hurt the Private?"
Tamama was gagging and coughing on the ground, rubbing his neck.
Keroro reached toward him again, but not his neck. Instead he pat him on the head. "Don't... Don't be frightened," he whispered.
Tamama looked up confused.
And Keroro promptly collapsed, as dead as the first day he died.
"UNCLE!" Mois ran forward and grabbed Keroro.
"What's wrong? He should have been sustained for a week!" Fuyuki reminded her.
"He needs more souls. More blood. We have to get him back to the fortress immediately," she told him, cradling his small and precious body.
Fuyuki glared at Tamama and Giroro. "Consider yourselves lucky. When he's back to full strength, I'll get you."
With that warning, Fuyuki, Mois, Kululu, and Keroro's dead body, went back to their fortress.
And Natsumi was no closer to convincing her brother out of his stupid plan.
"At least we lived." Giroro rubbed his arm. They had many losses, but no victories except their lives.
As Angol Mois and Fuyuki desperately tried to refuel Keroro, Kululu thought about what he had seen.
"The right soul might have been present. The real persona of the Sarge might have come out because of that." Fuyuki tried to reason why Keroro had fallen. He wanted to know why Keroro had stopped killing someone.
"Tamama might be the soul we're looking for. But if he won't kill him, I'll do it for him. Anything to bring Uncle back," Mois told him.
I was actually thinking it might be you, Mois. I never considered it, but even if you aren't the right fit, your soul might be large enough to fuel him for a bit. And there's no loss getting rid of you now that you've become greedy for land. After all, with you out of the way, I'll get to rule with Natsumi and have Sarge all to myself, Fuyuki thought. He kept these thoughts to himself, though.
Kululu was thinking a very different thing. He didn't think the right soul was present and that was why Keroro had acted strangely.
No... what he was now worried about was that Keroro's lingering feelings, his true persona had gotten in the way. But those feelings never seemed to come up for anyone else.
They had only shown up when Tamama was in danger.
He's Mois's boyfriend though. Why would Tamama be so special to him? Kululu wondered. A part of him already knew, though. He knew Keroro hadn't been, well... completely displeased with having to go to war and get away from Mois. What if, all along, Keroro might have had some feelings for Tamama, and his relationship with Mois had prevented him from pursuing them?
But... if that was the case, was Keroro planning to break up with Mois after the war? He had given Tamama a letter with only the words "I'm sorry" to Mois. Was that what he was referring to?
Had he misinterpreted their close relationship... Keroro desperately wanting to propose to Mois... when in actuality Keroro was just really gay and didn't know how to come out to her?
This is bad, Kululu realized. His whole plan had been to bring Keroro back to make Mois happy. But if that was the case, it was likely that after Keroro was alive. In that case the first thing he'd do would be to break up with Mois, like he had planned to do after the war.
And the poor girl had no idea. She had done all this for her boyfriend, who probably didn't even love her.
It would break her heart if he broke up with her and cast her aside after all that time. And what Kululu wanted most in the world was her happiness, not her heartbreak.
If Keroro likes Tamama I can absolutely not let Keroro be resurrected. Not if he's not going to make Mois happy, Kululu realized.
He slipped away from Fuyuki and Mois as they both looked after Keroro and tended his wounds. He needed to contact someone.
"Hey, Tamama? Yeah, I managed to pick up your stupid revolution number when you broadcasted where I was," Kululu told him over the phone. "I... I wanted to say, I won't tell what the number is... I've become unsure of where my loyalties lie. So... right now I suppose you could say I'm on the fence. I'll be playing for both sides from now on. Whatever suits me best."
After delivering the message, he signed off.
He needed to stop Keroro from coming back now. After that... he'd have to find a new plan.
Originally Keroro was supposed to randomly start hitting on Tamama in my outline. But I knew no pick-up lines that were appropriate for the context so I changed it.
Sorry.
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