On the newly unlocked map of "the Doinaka Beach", a large group of NPC came into being. A bald and fat man waited for Keroro platoon with a faint smile.
Since Tamama was missing, the rest of Keroro platoon couldn't be light-hearted any more. The game they'd thought to be a joke became a survival game all of a sudden. Everyone of them was in deep thought.
They were startled at the sight of a huge crowd on the Doinaka Beach. If not for the blankness in their eyes, they would believe they were back at home.
They landed the plane after the landing gear had deployed, and went to the place where Lord Purple Dragon was. It's too easy to find.
The most popular and familiar site on the Doinaka Beach, the place for Doinaka beach Swimsuit Manzai Contest.
"Will we have a match of telling jokes? Then I'm quite sure about who will lose..." Keroro muttered.
They were stopped by the entrance. A bald and fat man with Hawaiian shirt guarded the gate. He looked down at Keroro platoon and said. "Stop here. What do you have to see Lord Purple Dragon?"
Giroro rolled his eyes. "What do you want? We have no money."
"When did I say money? If anyone of you take part in the Doinaka beach Swimsuit Manzai Contest, you are all allowed to enter."
"Kero..." Keroro thought to himself. They are no longer powerful aliens who can go their way freely. Without dark energy and hyper-space links, they have trouble getting swimsuits, let alone pekoponian suit. How?
"Oji-sama?" Mois called sweetly. "Let Mois join the contest. You could say, everyone has a duty?"
The fat man looked Mois up and down. Since Mois was in her true form and couldn't use dark energy, her antigravity hat and cloak were missing. What was left could pass as a swimsuit.
"OK, I can let you in. But if you want to participate, you have to hand out your crystal. Give me the pink crystal, little girl."
Mois didn't think much and took out the crystal. But Kururu couldn't keep silent, grasped her wrist to stop her. "How can we trust you?" He glared dagger at the guard.
The guard sneered. "For I can block you in this Game forever. Is it enough?"
Kururu clenched his teeth in rage, the blue veins on his forehead protruded out. But even if he's the smartest one here, he didn't have a plan to counter.
"Ku... Right, this game is weird. Everything is weird!"
They entered the site. As was expected, the guard was Lord Purple Dragon himself, and was also the judge. Mois won easily. Her opponents were all stupid NPCs having trouble speaking.
Soon it's the time for prize. Lord Purple Dragon applauded symbolically, and told Keroro platoon about the next level.
"You can find Lord Teal Bat in Kissho Academy, north district. The keronians can go away now, as for you..." Lord Purple Dragon licked his lips. "You have to stay here as the winner."
Kururu would have slapped him in the face if not for his injured leg. The dark aura around him was enough to drive away everyone else.
"I won't stay!" Mois announced firmly. "Mois will never abandon Oji-sama!" She went back to Keroro platoon's side.
"You may well do so." Lord Purple Dragon smiled and showed them the pink crystal. "But this crystal will be mine."
"I don't mind. Let's go, Oji-sama~" Mois didn't change her mind.
Ten minutes later, on the plane flying from the Doinaka Beach to Inner Tokyo.
"Why do they set the locations so randomly. If not for this automatic piloted plane, how much time will we waste on the way!" Keroro leaned on the back of the seat. "Isn't it, Mois-dono?"
No one answered.
"Mois-dono? Mois-dono?"
Inside the control cabin, Kururu cast a glance at the radar. An infrared signal has just disappeared.
"Disappear after losing the crystal? What a cliche..." He said as if he didn't care, but the keystrokes were much louder.
It's easy to find Lord Teal Bat, too. Who else would draw all the curtains in an empty classroom in the daytime?
In that chemical laboratory, Lord Teal Bat looked at the four keronian. He was in a black robe, and his hair seemed to have never been washed.
"Come here. This is the gamerule: all of you need to answer a question. If your answers are the same or half and half, you are all eliminated. If one of you give a different answer, he can choose two others to save. And the left one will be eliminated."
"Kukuku, what question?"
"Friendship or faith, which one is more important? You can discuss first."
Dororo felt the Dejavu of this question. He recalled the old times- friendship lost to money award, the unknown truth of retirement, the betrayal and fight between gun and knife, their attitude shift facing the lava... His choice was "friendship" then, and now it is the same.
But the others will choose friendship, too, won't they? Then everyone will be eliminated. So they should decide who to choose faith.
Kururu spoke out. "You three, come over here. I have something to tell you." His voice was no longer twisted. Instead, he just sounded tired.
"It's clear now. One down at each level, whose life is in an uncertain state. We have to regain the initiative. Maybe the lost ones are not dead yet. Maybe they are at somewhere else. Maybe we can find them if staying at level 3... In short, There must be at least one capable person among those leaving and those staying, so we have measures to deal with either situation."
Keroro held his head high. "In that case, I volunteer to stay. I-"
"-Then we are all doomed." Kururu interrupted Keroro's narcissism. "Leave me behind."
The others were astonished. They didn't know what got into Kururu's head today.
Kururu raised three fingers. "First, I've got an injured leg and no stamina. Second, I have to confirm something. Third-" He looked around, continued with self-mockery. "Owing to my poor popularity, I would have be left behind either way."
They were speechless, because he was more or less telling the truth.
Kururu can't care less about that. Annoying others to no end was always his code, except for now... "Before you leave, let me tell you all my analysis and hypothesis, in case you are too dumb to get to the last level by yourselves. First, this game aims at reducing our number. I don't know what they get from it, but you must try to prevent this outcome. There is also this crystal that has the intensity of absolute rigid body. Break it if possible."
"Time is up. Get ready for the Game." Lord Teal Bat said.
Kururu kept down his voice. "One last hint, when truth is false, lies are true."
Lord Teal Bat let them answer the questions one by one. Kururu said "friendship" uncharacteristically. Keroro and Giroro followed.
They didn't leave a choice... Dororo thought, simply said "faith", and chose Keroro and Giroro to take according to their plan.
"The next level locates in the countryside. This way is more convenient." Lord Teal Bat waved one hand, and a portal appeared before them. The sight on the other side of the portal was familiar.
"This is the home of admiral-dono!" Keroro exclaimed. It was truly Akina's home, but empty.
Kururu bid farewell to everyone. They felt ashamed of themselves for how they see Kururu at ordinary times. The portal closed behind them.
Lord Teal Bat observed Kururu with curiosity, and asked after a long silence. "Why did you lose at this level?"
Kururu ignored him and checked the chemicals in this laboratory. "Who told you I lost? To win is to lose and to lose is to win. Don't play dumb." He began to mix some powder.
Lord Teal Bat glanced at the chemicals Kururu used. "It's useless. What do you expect to find in a high school laboratory? You can compound nothing."
"Do you think I'd take nothing here?" He added a pinch of some powder should be labelled "DANGEROUS" in flashing boldface letters into the mixture. Perhaps he stored it in his earphones.
"Let's wait for the experimental result. Even if I fail, it would only mean the other way is correct." Kururu showed his characteristic laughter.
Mushroom cloud rose in Inner Tokyo.
In the ruins, Lord Teal Bat picked up the yellow crystal. It was in perfect state. He shocked his head, and commented to himself. "Too young too simple, sometimes naive." He put away the crystal. "Was I describing myself, or that winner in the last round?"
Yes the question is from episode 284. You should have a look. And I might write abour Round 1 where Kururu won at last, or I might not.
