ACT FIVE, PART ONE
The jungle, all its ecological parts, resumed its natural routine after the fires were extinguished. Animals ate and spoke and plants rustled and flourished in the breeze. But a foreign yet familiar animal roared through the air as it carried its smaller passengers on its back.
Leading the jeep back to its home, Galeforce drove speedily. In the back, two fighters-turned-medics worked hard as they could to save a life, for the life hung in the tender balance. Both of them sweated, their faces melting. But neither paid attention, especially Rupert.
Hovering like a mother hen, he never took his eagle eyes off of Dave. The motionless latter, partially bundled in a shock blanket to warm his body, lied down in the jeep's open trunk. Rupert alternated between cleaning Dave's forehead with a wet hand cloth in one hand and pressing down on his side wound with the other. He shared the medical responsibilities with Eel. The other medic tended to the poor soul's leg, cleaning it and bandaging up until he would be satisfied and sure in his work.
No one spoke on the way back, save for Galeforce occasionally sending orders through the car's receiver and Rupert and Eel exchanging requests for gauze or other medical materials. Sooner than soon, Galeforce skidded the car to a complete stop at their destination. Only then did Rupert break his vigil. Other soldiers ran towards the jeep.
Immediately Galeforce yelled, "Listen up! We have an injured man here; his name's Dave Panpa and he's in critical condition. Get him into the field hospital now!"
A female captain named Victoria barked, "Alright, you heard him! Let's get Dave inside!" And with her help, Rupert and Eel gently lifted the newly deemed patient off the jeep and into the waiting arms of two other officers. Rupert watched Dave as he was taken to and inside a nearby green medical barrack, with Victoria following everyone.
Sitting on a spare crate, Rupert awaited word on Dave's condition.
Around him, the world blurred: his comrades-in-arms returned from the Toppat launch base and Galeforce checked in with everyone to catch up on things on their turf. Occasionally a few of the military personnel would greet Rupert but he gave them one-worded replies, his mind too heavy with worry, questions, regrets and memories playing over and over to really focus on conversing. The thoughts forming in his mind made him sick enough to want to go to the doctor's house.
He was so wrapped up in his own head that he almost missed a shadow on the ground. Someone stood over him. He considered snapping at them if they thought of bugging him with conversation, and he came close to it when he looked up into the owner's face and he was surprised, completely forgetting his plan. "Charles?"
The pilot rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, Rupert. I don't mean to bug ya, but uh, I just had to come. I heard 'bout what happened and was wonderin' if you'd like some company? You look like you could use a friend."
Rupert really wanted to say no. He wanted to be alone. But instead, before he realized what he was saying - "Yeah, fine. You want somethin' to sit on?"
"Nah, I'm good. I've been sittin' in that helicopter for awhile. I feel better standin' up, and I can always sit on the ground if I need to. It's just dirt and grass, right?"
"Hmph, if you say so."
Charles placed his hands in his pockets and casually leaned against a wall behind him. Among the battle-ready military members, Charles looked out of place. But he was still on alert; his presence got the attention of some of the soldiers; whenever one of them would greet him or Rupert, Charles stepped up and spoke to them on Rupert's behalf.
During one moment free from a barrage of questions from the other uniformed folk, Rupert glanced at the building front that made up the entrance to the world of needles and uncertainties and wondered what was going on in there with Dave. He had been in that giant box for sometime. The man lost track of time, and no one had come out to bring the worrier up to date on Dave's fate.
Charles caught his worry. "I'm sure they're workin' hard to help him. These guys are the best at what they do."
Gripping his fists in frustration, Rupert snapped, "I know they are. But nobody's come out yet to tell me what's goin' on, and I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"Yeah. I get the waitin' is tough. I may not know the guy too well besides the fact you're friends with him, but I do know that they won't stop tryin' to save his life. If he was…uh, if they didn't think they could help him, they would have said somethin' by now. And from what I was told by the General, you and Eel did a good job on patchin' him up before you guys got here. I bet that's a big help to the medics inside that barrack now."
"…Well… I guess that's true. But it's-but that stupid Toppat shot 'im! Not to mention that when we found 'im, he was already in bad shape, a lot worse than we realized. Even if we did keep some of his wounds at bay, they still have to fix the worst of it.
"And... he risked his life to save mine..." Rupert quietly trailed off. "I should be in there savin' his." He tipped his hat down, hiding his eyes away.
Charles' brow furrowed in concern. He fiddled with his headphones, lost in how to comfort Rupert. Everything came to mind and all of them failed, save one idea.
"Hey. I dunno if this'll work, but you want me to go in there for ya? Find out how he's doin'?"
Rupert paused. "You would do that?"
"Without a doubt! Or try to get the General to find out what's goin' on if I can't go in. I've never seen you this upset, Rupert. I can tell that you're really worried 'bout him."
Rupert scoffed at Captain Obvious' statement. "'Course I'm worried 'bout him. He went through who knows what with those Toppats and a lot more before that. And it's all because of Stickmin."
Rupert's venomous response prompted Charles to tilt his head. "Huh? What's he got to do with this?"
"More than you know." Rupert glanced sideways from underneath his hat. "I never told you this about Stickmin before, but you know that I worked as a police officer at the West Mesa Penitentiary?"
"Yeah, you told me that, back when we first met. So?"
"Think, Charles. Stickmin escaped because of that dumb cake and whatever was inside it. But how do you think the cake got to him in the first place?"
"I dunno. I'm not sure why you're askin' me when you were the one workin' there and-wait." Charles eyed the hospital area, then eyed Rupert with wide eyes. "Dave?"
"Dave," Rupert confirmed grimly. "He didn't know what was inside the cake, or if it was a real cake at all. He didn't check it, and I—I failed to check in with him first before we brought that package to Stickmin. And Dave… " Rupert lowered his eyes. "Dave was fired. I tried to stand up for him, but our boss wouldn't have it. It was Dave's first day and he couldn't catch a break! And that piece of slime crook got away because of that mistake. Our mistakes.
He blew a heavy sigh. "You once asked me why I enlisted. Well, that's why. That's why I left the police force. I wanted to make up for my mistake and do more in a bigger place than I would have if I stayed at that penitentiary. And now that I know that Dave was kidnapped and imprisoned by those Toprats, I feel responsible for him. I need to do something to make sure I don't make any more serious mistakes. Especially when Dave's own life depends on it..." Rupert choked on the last sentence.
Charles watched sadly as Rupert grasped his arms and hunched over like a lonely gargoyle. This tore up Rupert a lot more than he could see, on professional and emotional levels. Now he really did need to do what he could to help Rupert release himself from his self-imposed burdens.
In fact, Charles stood straight up and stretched his limbs to stir them to action. But before he left, he aimed to bring cheer.
"I wanna ask; after Dave was, uh - I mean left the police, where did he go work?"
Rupert peeked up again. "He works at the National Museum of History and Culture, as a night guard." "Or at least he did before those Toppat freaks destroyed him," Rupert's mind darkly pointed out, but he forced his mind to be silent.
"Yeah? Where's that?"
"Arizona. It's in the same area where he and I worked as partners, outside of the city. Why are you askin'?"
Charles ignored Rupert's suspicious frown. "Well, asides from what little I know 'bout him, I'd like to know more. Heck, I wanna meet him."
"You do?"
"Sure! If I'm gonna get any info outta there, I'll need to know more about the guy anyway to answer any questions they have 'bout him so anything you can tell me can be helpful." Charles smiled encouragingly.
"..."
"And even if I don't get in there, or if the General can't go in, then I'll at least get a peek of how he's doin', and then you'll know what's goin' on at least. And besides, any friend of yours is a friend of mine! I wanna help you. I don't want ya feelin' like you're alone in this, Rupert. I know you said you wanna make up for your mistakes, but that doesn't mean you have to fix 'em all by yourself. Everyone makes 'em and that's why we need each other; to help carry and correct 'em. You've got me and the General on your side. And Victoria too. We'll all help however we can. Dave's gonna be okay. I believe he will, even if I won't know for sure when I take one step into that place. So whaddaya say? Will you let me - let the rest of us - help ya?"
"... " This was most unexpected. Probably one of the truest things that Charles ever said. Annoyingly cliche, but true.
And Rupert couldn't hold back a tiny smile from forming thanks to Charles' earnest persistence and optimism. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and conceded, "Okay, Charles. You win. I'll tell you what I know. And thanks. Thanks for bein' a friend."
Charles threw Rupert a thumb's up. "Hey, no problem! That's what I'm here for."
A loner entered the hurried jungle. He witnessed the creatures rushing to and fro to save the life of a fallen fellow.
They saw the intruder and though they preferred for him to leave their hideout to let them work without distraction, they showed honor and compassion for him by answering if but a few of his questions, and a bout of gratitude for the valuable information he gave them in return for their patient.
The reward he received, he took back with him to the outside world where one waited for him to return.
Now?
His sense of hearing registered first among his senses upon reawakening out of consciousness. His ears detected a symphony of mixed sounds - the voices of humanity, the rolling of wheels, the beeping of monitors and the relaxed conversations of wildlife. The symphony's volume was more than perfect for his ears - the headache that was once present in his head had long gone. But he still experienced some kind of pain present in his body. Scrunching his eyes, he groaned and placed a hand on his brow to placate the pain. He immediately froze when he felt something dry touch his fingers. He patted the dry substance again. And then he dared to open his second sense - sight.
When he opened his eyes, blobby splotches clashed together in a muddy blur of colors. The splotches slowly crystallized into coherent shapes - clothing, faces, eyes. Lights from up above glowed like Christmas tree lights, illuminating what would have been a dark green room.
The lights touching his eyes, he squinted and his third sense, touch, came to life. His torn uniform was gone and replaced with a looser garment which hung lightly from his shoulders. He was lying on something steady to support his body. Something soft and somewhat puffy held up his head and neck, and blankets covered his form up to his chest. It was all so foreign to him and yet he welcomed the comforting sensations.
His side itched, but he paid it no mind.
Scent made its way into his nose. Air. Fresh clean air tickled his sense of smell. Following after air flowed scents of earth and wood. But strangely after that, rust and fuel mixed themselves in with the earthy aromas. He did not know why this was so. His final sense, taste, was not bothered by any of this. Ready to do its job, yes, but nothing at the moment seemed appetizing for him to taste.
But he hungered for knowledge to his question: "Where am I?"
Still squinting, he tried to call upon his memory for guidance. But he failed to remember anything. Aiming to remedy this, he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He gazed around the large room. He noted the attached IV machine to his arm, and everything else he spotted in the room was all-new to him and could not jog his memories into alertness.
His side itched again, only it stung hard like a bee sting. It drove him crazy enough to figure out why. He lifted up his shirt and looked down. He discovered an alarming sight - gauze tape covered his side, with a small pint of blood bleeding through. He patted the wound and as he did, an important memory returned in a flash.
And everything became deadly quiet, save for the sounds of a man pushing another out of the way of a bullet and howling in pain.
He immediately went wild with panic and tried to find the one he tried to save. "R-Rupert?! Rupert where are you?!"
"Hey hey hey, it's okay!" Someone held onto his shoulder. Out of nowhere appeared a green uniformed woman, standing by his bedside with an open hand in a calming gesture.
Uh? Who was she? "Y-You're not a-a Toppat...?"
The woman shook her head. "No. I'm with the military, like your friend Rupert."
"Rupert? Is he alright? Where is he?" Not hurt, he hoped.
"Relax, Dave - he's fine. You saved him and General Galeforce." She smiled reassuringly. "And you're safe too. My name's Victoria Grit. The other medics and I took care of you while you were unconscious. We were afraid we would permanently lose you but thankfully, you proved us wrong and you're still here."
Dave gushed out a sigh of pure relief. "Oh, whew. I'm glad they're okay. And th-thank you for saving me, Victoria."
"I'll pass your thanks to the other medics. But I need to advise you to take it easy on your leg."
What? "M-my leg?" Dave lifted up his blankets to take a peek at his leg. He discovered layers of fresh gauze and medical aid wrapped around the limb. He gingerly patted it.
Victoria explained, "Don't worry, it's not fatal. But your leg was severely injured and you lost a lot of blood. Your leg will recover, only if you don't put too much weight on it while it's healing. I suggest giving it at least four or six weeks for it to get better. In the meantime, take it nice and slow. Okay?"
"Oh." That was all? Well, at least it was better than losing his leg to the chopping block. "Oh-okay. I'll do that."
"Very good. Now that you're awake, you got visitors." Victoria called out to the building gateway. "You can come in now!"
Dave perked up. Was it - it was!
What took what seemed forever now ended. Finally he could enter! And upon entering, there was Dave, awake and in a hospital bed. "Dave!" Rupert rushed over to Dave's bed. "Oi, man, you're awake!" Even though he looked terrible, but Rupert shot that distracting thought down fast.
Dave's smile widened and he held onto Rupert's arm to attempt somewhat of a hug."Yeah, I-I am! And you're okay too! It's good to see you!"
Rupert grinned. For one solitary and wonderful moment, it felt just like old times when the two worked together back at the prison. He patted Dave on the back. "Heh, it's good to see you too!"
A boyish voice said, "And the General's glad to see you're okay too. Right, sir?"
A much older gentleman replied, "Absolutely."
Dave recognized only Galeforce's voice, but Rupert immediately knew both voices. Turning around, he acknowledged Charles and Galeforce's presences as they neared Dave, Rupert and Victoria.
Galeforce greeted cordially, " Welcome to our jungle military base, Mr. Panpa. Victoria - grand job. You and everyone else worked wonders in saving his life."
"Thank you, sir."
Behind the General's back, Charles reached over to nudge Rupert in the arm. "See! What did I tell ya? I told ya these guys are the best," he sung triumphantly like a child bragging about winning a game.
"Yeah, yeah, you were right, Charles. Don't have to rub it in," Rupert grumbled, crossing his arms. He tried to keep a straight face but his mouth betrayed him; one of his mouth's corners stretched up.
Galeforce and Victoria exchanged amused smiles as they shook their heads at the boys' banter.
Her job done, Victoria offered, "I'll go tell the other medics Dave's okay and check up on things outside. I'll be back later to check on you, Dave. Sir," She nodded at the general and then she left.
Charles found spare chairs for the men to sit by Dave's bedside. After they did, he introduced himself. "Whelp, you know General Galeforce and Rupert, but you don't know me! I'm Charles Calvin, and it's nice to meet you, Dave. Rupert's told me a bit about ya. Said that you two worked together before," Charles said, lifting a hand for Dave to shake.
Dave shook Charles' hand. "T-that's right, we did. I guess you must work with the military too."
"I sure do! I'm a helicopter pilot," Charles jabbed his chest with a thumb and winked at him confidently.
Dave asked, "Really? Then - hey wait! Was that you leading those planes to put out the fires?"
"Huh-uh! I found 'em while I was explorin' the jungle and tryin' to locate any runaway Toppats. Uh, turns out that there's an emergency response station a little ways north of here. Had kinda big CCC sign on the side of their station. I never saw 'em before, but yeah, I told 'em I needed help and sent the planes my way."
Dave admired Charles' heroics. "Whoa…"
Galeforce frowned thoughtfully. "Yes, and they did their jobs well. But that reminds me, I didn't see them after the fires were extinguished. Do you know what happened to them, Charlie?"
The pilot crossed his arms as he thought back to the mysterious helpers. "Well, I tried to, uh, thank 'em, but they left before I could say anything. All they said was that they did their job and had to go back to their station." Charles shrugged. "Maybe they had another emergency to deal with? Anyway, they left and then that's when I came back to the base, told you what happened and then went to find Rupert."
"Hm. Well, as much as I would like to thank them in person for saving us, I can understand why they left. At least they came through for us when we needed a miracle."
Rupert said, "That wasn't the only miracle that happened. Dave." When he got Dave's attention he asked, "It's a miracle that you made it out of that airship crash, but did you know what made it crash?"
Dave paused. "I don't know." He brought a hand up to his bandaged head. What… did happen? "All I remember is that I was -"
Back in that cold cage.
He shuddered.
"Dave?"
"S-Sorry. I-I'm trying to rem-remember, but. All I can…"
Back in that cold, lifeless cage. His body shook again and he hugged and rubbed his arms. "It's so c-cold. T-that was…I can't go back there. I-I c-can't stop shaking…!"
Sensing the need to help Dave, Galeforce grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over Dave's shoulders. The new weight on his shoulders weighed not with burden, but with comfort as he stopped shaking and held the blanket close to him. "Thank you," he said gratefully to the mam. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply to regain control.
Galeforce waited until Dave was ready to speak again. "What do you mean you 'can't go back there'?"
Dave opened his eyes, but not fully. He stared at his sheets, with no emotion shown in his eyes. But his quiet voice explained it all, "I-I was in a cell. In a cell onb-board the airship. I had been there for… " He shook again but he kept going. "I-I don't know how long, but they t-threw m-me in there a-after I…I..."
Rupert gently prodded,"You what, Dave?"
"I found out that. T-the mayor, Gene Fredrickson. He wasn't a mayor after all."
"Who?"
Rupert quickly filled Charles in. "Former mayor of the city where Dave and I used to work. Turned out he was a Toppat who faked bein' a mayor to get his hands on the Tunisian Diamond, but somebody beat him to the punch, and he fled the scene." And Rupert had a pretty good idea who that someone might be, but he wasn't going to share his suspicions just yet.
"Y-yeah, that's right. After the diamond was stolen, I found him talking with Toppats and I overheard their plan. I was about to tell the other guards but then the Toppats spotted me and I was t-taken onboard their airship. I've been there ever since."
Rupert frowned. So that was how Dave ended up on that blasted airship and those Toprats in the first place. "What happened after you were captured?"
"I'm not sure, I…" He shrank as a memory came to his mind and he rubbed a hand behind his neck. "I remember now. I'm-I'm embarrassed to say this but I guess I passed out. I don't remember anything except blacking out after they got m-me. But when I woke up, I met him - Reginald Copperbottom. He told me that I knew too much and that I had to b-be punished b-because of what I did. And that's when they stuck me into that room.
"Back in that cold, lifeless, empty cage."
Dave wrapped the blanket tighter and he looked away from everyone as he tried to be brave and not shiver to pieces.
But the other men were not fooled. They all exchanged concerned glances. Something must have happened to him in that cell, but what? And to the airship and the Toppats too?
Galeforce aimed for the second question first. "Dave?"
Dave peeked up.
"What was that you were saying about the airship crash, as Rupert asked earlier?"
"Oh. Um…" Dave rubbed the blanket edges in his hands. "I really don't remember. Honest! I honestly don't know; I was just sitting i-in—my place and then I heard yelling and alarms outside. I went to the window at my door and saw Toppats runnin' and tripping over each other. I tried to find out what was goin' on but everyone just kept going and nobody stopped to tell me. But then something w-weird happened. The ship felt like it was tipping over and falling. And-and so fast too. I blacked out and then I woke up outside on the ground and, and, I saw the airship like. Well, gone. Just g-gone and on fire and-and smashed up. I also saw b-bodies on the ground.
"So many Toppats. Wiped out, like their home... "
A silence fell upon the men. They remembered the way the once mighty clan had fallen with the airship, their Atlantis, all destroyed through some unexplained phenomena. And the small amount of survivors? Probably the last of their kind.
A subdued Charles agreed, "Yeah. It's so weird. We could see the smoke from the airship from here after we heard the crash. It was like hearin' a sonic boom, only louder. I never saw so many Toppats gathered together like dead birds."
Galeforce shook his head. "Neither have I. I just wish I understood what caused all that destruction."
The men fell silent again, save one.
"I may know, sir." Rupert looked extremely sour; it was the perfect time to bring up his suspicions. "But it's not a what. It's a who. And that who can only be one man.
"Stickmin," The soldier hissed.
The general's eyes narrowed. "Rupert," he warned.
Rupert argued, "Come on, it's the best explanation possible! Somehow he has to be involved with this. He betrayed us first and then became one of them, even becomin' the leader of the whole stinkin' clan!"
Charles interjected, "Wait! That can't be right; I looked for him but I didn't see him anywhere back there. And besides, why would he betray the clan when he led them in the first place?"
Rupert huffed and gaped bewilderedly at Charles. "Are you serious? They're a clan of thieves, Charles. Thieves that are anythin' but honorable and would lie, cheat, steal and even kill from even each other like scavengers! They tried to steal the Tunisian Diamond; wanna bet it was him who stole that thing?! Why wouldn't Stickmin betray them?"
Galeforce stood up and countered heatedly, "We don't have any proof that he was involved at all! We will not make false accusations unless we can find something that proves he was there on the airship, Price! And if Charlie said he wasn't there, then he wasn't there!"
Rupert also stood up and roared, "But he's still a crook, ain't he? Once a criminal, always a criminal and he should have been dealt instead of bein' recruited for takin' down the Toppats! If we did, none of this would have happened!"
"With his skills, he was the perfect person for the job!"
"He's responsible for ruining so many lives including - !"
"Uh, can I say something…?"
The general and the soldier stopped, turning to the source of that small and hesitant question.
Dave flinched. "S-sorry. I s-shouldn't be i-interrupting but -"
Galeforce sighed and calmed down. He sat back down. "No, no. Go ahead, Dave. What's on your mind?"
"Well, I heard somethin' about Henry before the airship crashed. I don't know if this is any help but -
"I heard he was killed while trying to escape from some prison complex in Canada. And that R-Reginald took over his old job again because of that."
Back in that cold, lifeless, empty, tiny cage.
Writhing in agony from pain.
Deep pain in his joints and muscles.
His clothes gradually reduced to scraps.
His body scrawny and dying for food and drink.
His mind fragile.
His soul slowly breaking.
His five senses losing all traces of reality.
A beep at the door.
He cringed in his corner and prepared for another round.
But it never came.
He slowly gazed out of the corners of his eyes to see who it was.
Oh no...
It was him - the old leader of the clan.
His past and present judge and jury. Probably future executioner.
And he regarded the prisoner in an eerie silence.
What was he going to do?
What were they going to do? This bomb was a heavy one to absorb.
Galeforce recovered his voice first. "Killed? Henry was killed? Are you sure?"
Dave closed his eyes. "Y-yeah. I overheard a few of the Toppats talking about it. I-I guess he went m-missing because...he was captured like me. But he was tossed into the prison complex, like I said. I even heard the Toppats call the place the Wall."
Charles blinked. "The Wall? Not that prison complex where the warden takes in the most dangerous criminals, even for small crimes? Not that Wall?"
Dave shrugged slowly. "Guess so. I never heard of it 'til that moment."
Rupert, having long sat down after he heard Dave deliver this big announcement, remained quiet.
Galeforce asked, "Do you know how he was killed?"
"I heard R-Reginald make a big announcement over the speakers. H-he brought the airship to the Wall to-to rescue Henry but I guess it didn't work because then he told everyone about how…"
"Henry is no longer here. He was shot down in his attempts to escape."
"That means he can't help you."
"And your punishments will resume!"
Back in that cold, lifeless, empty, tiny, metal cage.
Dave gulped loudly as the black nightmare was back.
The kicking.
"Dave?"
The punching.
"Dave?!"
The tossing around and almost breaking his back against the walls.
"Dave!"
The monster there. That ferocious red-eyed monster glowering at him like a hungry lion.
"Be glad I'm in a generous mood today. Else I would be lookin' for an excuse to kill you."
No. No! PLEASE NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! DON'T HURT ME AGAIN!
It hurts to breathe - his wounds freshly opened - his limbs surely broken - the darkness was there, waiting for him - he didn't want to die -
"DAVE, WAKE UP!"
When Dave opened his eyes, he discovered everyone staring at him with wide and worried eyes. Rupert's eyes the widest and worried of all. So worried that he leapt from his chair and was now grasping Dave's shoulders to hold him in place. Dave released a breath he didn't realize was quick and wavering. His face was drenched in tears. His muscles were tense and shivering.
Rupert uttered out of concern, "Dave? Are you alright?"
Charles said, "Yeah… you okay? You kinda shut down there on us."
Galeforce asked, "Yes. And you were crying out in pain. Is there something you need to get off your chest?"
….
"…I…" Dave was going to be sick.
He threw a hand to his mouth and more tears poured out of his eyes. He tried to be strong, but his cracked strength could no longer hold.
It shattered.
He fell into Rupert's shoulder, burying his face and sobbing loudly.
All the men were shocked at this behavior and grew more worried about what happened to Dave to cause this severe reaction especially Rupert.
In the short time Rupert knew Dave, he never saw him be this way before. He was known for being so upbeat and eager, even when he pretended to be alright, but this was unlike Dave. Nonetheless, he shook the shock off and gently wrapped his arms around Dave's shoulders. "It's okay, Dave. Let it out. Let it out. It's okay. It's okay," Rupert comforted as Dave sobbed and clung tightly onto his shirt.
Charles reached over to place a comforting hand on Dave's back and held it in place while Rupert continuously talked to Dave.
Galeforce watched sorrowfully.
The friends stayed like that until sometime later when Dave's sobs slowly ceased and he mostly sniffled.
Rupert sensed that his friend released most of his pain and anguish and carefully pulled back from him. "How are you feelin'? Do you need anythin'?"
Dave's response was almost a whisper. "I'm… I don't know if I'm better, but I feel…I'm s-sorry I f-freaked out like -"
"Don't apologize!"
Dave jumped at Rupert's outburst; even Rupert himself and the other men were surprised at his loud tone.
The soldier sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell, but don't be sorry for breakin' down like that. I don't know what happened, but I can tell that you went through somethin' on that stupid airship. I don't blame you for how you reacted."
Galeforce assured, "None of us blame you. But whatever happened there, you're safe here. You can tell us, Dave. In fact, if you're comfortable telling us, I would like to hear your testimony about your time on the airship."
"B-But what about Henry and what happened to the airship?"
Galeforce waved it off. "They can wait. Your well-being is more crucial."
Charles grinned a little. "For sure! We'll help you with whatever you need to help ya feel better. We're the military, after all! And any friend's of Rupert's is a friend of mine!"
"…."
Feeling someone pat him on the shoulder, Dave turned to see Rupert addressing him.
Rupert swore, "Those Toppats won't be bothering you anymore." Inspiration hit him. "You're gonna be okay…. I believe you will. And if the Toppats try again, they'll have to go through us first. I promise. Will you let us help you?"
"…" This was most unexpected. It was probably one of the most welcoming sights that Dave ever experienced. After so much hardship and isolation, it felt so alien.
But he couldn't hold back a shy smile from forming at their unshakable dedication, promises of aid, and warm friendship, "T-thanks, Rupert. Th-thank you all s-so much." He gave a watery smile to the heroes standing before him.
Rupert smirked good-naturedly. "Oi. No problem. That's what we're here for."
Charles gave Rupert a knowing smile.
Galeforce, the head of the heroic pack, smiled in pride at the boys' promise to help their friend heal and keep him safe from outside wolves.
A/N: Dave is free from the Toppats, but only on the outside. Inside? That'll need more chipping away.
I thought the last chapter was tough to write. No way - THIS was much harder, if because there was a lot involved here. In fact the original draft of this chapter involved more than what's written here that I had to split up this act into two parts. But I'm thankful that this first half is done. And then after this is the second half to this part.
But there was no way I was going to let the anniversary of Escaping the Prison get away from me, not without a new chapter to commemorate the occasion! Happy anniversary to the game!
References:
-Callbacks are loose from The Henry Stickmin Collection!
1) "'Think, Charles. Stickmin escaped because of that dumb cake and whatever was inside it. But how do you think the cake got to him in the first place?….He didn't know what was inside the cake, or if it was a real cake at all. He didn't check it, and I—I failed to check in with him first before we brought that package to Stickmin. And Dave… ' Rupert lowered his eyes. 'Dave was fired.' Escaping the Prison incident. Rupert doesn't like talking about it.
2) 'I found out that. T-the mayor… Gene Fredrickson. He wasn't a mayor after all...'Rupert quickly filled Charles in. 'Former mayor of the city where Dave and I used to work. Turned out he was a Toppat who faked being a mayor to get his hands on the Tunisian Diamond, but somebody beat him to the punch, and he fled the scene.' This ties into the lore of Stealing the Diamond, and was confirmed by both Completing the Mission and somewhat elaborated by the creator, PuffballsUnited, himself.
3) "Rupert also stood up and roared, 'But he's still a crook, ain't he? Once a criminal, always a criminal and he should have been dealt instead of bein' recruited for takin' down the Toppats! If we did, none of this would have happened!' See Infiltrating the Airship about this one.
4) "'Y-yeah. I overheard a few of the Toppats talking about it. I-I guess he went m-missing because...he was captured like me. But he was tossed into the prison complex, like I said. I heard the Toppats call the place the Wall.' I wonder what would have happened if Dave was featured in Fleeing the Complex?
Oh and a bonus reference to some itty-bitty and mysterious group of chaos controllers that bear the initials of CCC.
I won't reveal when the second half of this act won't be posted as I'll be - and have been - swamped with real life things these past few months, but I'm counting on finishing this up hopefully by the time the anniversary of ITA arrives. No promises though.
Enjoy! :)