(July 17, 2024)
It's been six days, still no signs of Suomi. Most of the guys have been finding and taking anti aircraft guns from Neptune while BJ, Dani, Dedede, Yu and I search for her. I was able to stand up without hurling the day after I got hurt from the tank explosion, and I was able to start fighting the day after that. It hasn't been easy, but I don't think 'easy' is why I came to this dimension. We've been splitting up in order to cover more ground. Yesterday I ended up finding an anti aircraft gun by chance. I was able to take it, but that wasn't what I set out to accomplish that day. The more days Suomi is gone, the more emotionally fragile I've been getting. The sun started setting, but I kept searching even after dark. It finally got to a point where there wouldn't be any point in searching. I got back to the cellar and just sat in the corner, praying Suomi was ok.
"Estará bien, Klonoa." Dani said to me as he softly patted my shoulder. "Suomi is a tough chica, she'll be just fine."
"Thank you Dani." I said, feeling a tiny bit better. "I've been fighting alongside Suomi long enough to know that she's as tough as nails."
"I wish there was a way we could get into that danged command building." Yu said. "That place is probably packed with information we can use, including Suomi's whereabouts."
"We can't break in there." I said, remembering what had happened. "I've lost Suomi, I can't lose you too, Yu."
"Well, just because we can't break in doesn't mean we won't get anything out of that building." BJ said. I was immediately interested.
"What did you have in mind?" I curiously asked.
"Set up an ambush down the road from the building. We oughta find someone who knows Neptune's secrets." BJ suggested. He then took out a pencil and started sketching on the wooden table. Dani, Yu and I gathered around. Dedede sat on his mattress eating potato chips. "I've seen that building enough times to know the layout of the road. The building is just off a long and thin road, we can set up ambushes on either side tomorrow."
"What about their seemingly-automated security systems?" Yu inquired.
"We'll need to be somewhat far from the compound itself to avoid the security thing-a-ma-jigs." BJ informed us. "Now what is going to bite us is the fact that we'll have to split up to cover both directions of the road when we already have a small team."
"Can't we ask the others to help us out?" Yu asked. Suddenly, a thought hit me.
"Do you guys know anyone with a working radio?" I asked.
"Someone in town might have one." Dani said. "Why, do you have other amigos who can help us out?" Yu instantly caught on to what my idea was. He gave me a confident nod.
"I think you mean… 'amigas.'" Yu said confidently. "We'll need a radio to contact them."
"Ven conmigo, we'll find a radio in town you can use." Dani said as he led me and Yu up the stairs.
"Awww great, they's goin' to find a giant group o' Blueys!" Dedede pouted. "Y'all have all the help you gonna get, I want to find more o' them AA tanks!" I looked behind me as I was heading up the stairs. BJ walked over to Dedede, clutching his hatchet, which immediately indicated to Dedede that he had to help. Dedede shut up right after that.
"Hey hey hey, how goes the search for Suomi?" Dew asked us right when we went upstairs.
"We have no leads yet, but we may have an idea on how to get one." Dani informed Dew. "Would you happen to know anyone who has a radio, tipaza?"
"I think I've heard the local blacksmith has one." Dew pondered. "I'll take you there, just follow me." As we left her store, she turned the 'open' sign around so it said 'closed.' She led us over to a very tall nice looking house. "This is the place." Dew knocked on the door.
"This place looks familiar to- wait, this is the house I used to snipe from when we took this town!" Yu recalled. A little boy opened the door a little bit and carefully looked at us from behind the door.
"Can we help you, miss?" The little boy said nervously.
"Dew, I know them well, let me handle this?" Yu asked politely. Dew stepped aside and Yu walked closer to the door.
"I remember you, mister. You made the bad guys leave us alone." The little boy said happily to Yu.
"I'll make sure they stay away." Yu told the little boy. "I came to talk to your Dad, is he around?"
"Ba-ba? Ba-ba, the tall man is at the door!" The little boy called for his dad so loudly we could hear it from outside the house. The man recognized Yu right away.
"You… you were the one who saved the town sir!" The man said gratefully. "Thank you so very much, sir! What brings you to my house this evening?"
"We were wondering if you had a radio we could use?" Yu asked the man.
"Ah, yes I do sir!" The man said. "I will show you the room where the radio is, come on in everyone." The man led us to his basement where his radio was. He had a somewhat spacious basement with blocks of metal stacked as high as the ceiling. Sitting in one of the corners was a radio covered in dust.
"How did you manage to get a radio, Señior?" Dani asked the man.
"I let a small team of American CIA operatives use my basement as a base back in 1978, back during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in the Cold war." The man explained. "Those five men were later captured by the Soviets, but they were eventually rescued, all except for one who starved to death in the enemy prison. They ended up leaving their radio behind, but I haven't touched it in years. I'm not even sure if it works."
"Let me take a look at it." Dani requested. "I was in the Yaran military for a few years so I know how to fix radios." The man let Dani sit at the desk with the radio and Dani tried turning the radio on but it didn't work. Dani then cracked his knuckles and began repairing the radio.
"By the way, sir…" The man started. "I never got your name. Nor did I get the names of any of your friends."
"I'm Yu Narukami, sir." Yu said. "This is Dew Coltyn, she runs the flower shop just down the street, the man fixing the radio is Dani Rojas, and this is Klonoa, the one who's spearheading the fight to take back this region."
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." The man said. "My name is Haddad Farha, I'm the town's blacksmith. If you ever need anything at all, you just let me know and I'll make it a priority."
"Thank you, Mr. Farha." I said gratefully.
"Lo hice! The radio is fixed!" Dani said triumphantly. He then stood up. "Radio is yours, Klonoa." I sat down at the radio and adjusted the dials.
"Hello? Does anyone read me?" I said into the radio. "This is Klonoa, is anyone getting this message?" There was static for a few seconds.
"Shikikan? Shikikan is that you?!" I could tell that was MP5. Her excited voice is extremely recognizable. "EVERYONE! IT'S THE SHIKIKAN!" I could hear a stampede of girls running into the room over the radio.
"Hi, hon!" Springfield said with overflowing joy. "How's it going in Neptune's region? I hope you're staying safe!"
"Hi Shikikan!" UMP9 yelled. "Have you made Neptune beg for mercy yet?" As much as I wanted to catch up with everyone, there was something very important on hand.
"Everyone listen up, this is very important." I started. Everyone stayed silent to hear what I had to say. "Suomi was captured because of a mission going wrong. The only way to get info on her whereabouts is to ambush Lieutenants down the road from a very secure base of theirs."
"Which units do you need?" Spas-12 asked over the radio. That's a question I wish I had the answer to. I looked at Yu and Dani, who also started pondering that question with me. We stood there pondering for longer than was comfortable. Well, Yu and Dani stood. I was sitting at the table with the radio on it.
"U-um… Shikikan?" TMP asked. "Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here." I acknowledged. "We don't need the ambushes to be that big, so I'd say if seven or eight of you want to come, that would be great. Just make sure you send a sniper over as well."
"We can do that." MP5 said. "Anything for you, Shikikan."
"Big bro?" Nanako asked over the radio. Yu instantly started to tear up.
"I'm here." Yu said, trying his hardest to keep himself together. "How are you doing?" I turned to Dew and Dani, and they looked slightly confused.
"Yu's little sister." I whispered.
"I'm having fun over here… I just wish you were here, big bro. I miss you." Nanako said, her voice starting to break as well.
"I'll come back over there and visit you as soon as I can." Yu promised Nanako. "We just have to rescue one of our friends first." "Ok, just please don't get hurt, big bro…" Nanako pleaded. I noticed Dani and Dew also starting to tear up as well.
"Don't worry niñita, we'll keep your older brother safe." Dani said into the radio while slightly sobbing.
"We will too, Nanako. You don't need to worry about your big bro." AK-12 reassured Nanako.
"We'll send dolls over." G11 said. "When and where do you want to meet them?"
"Could we meet tomorrow morning, five miles South of Osmund's bar?" I asked.
"Sounds good, I can't wait to see you again, Shikikan!" MP5 said gleefully. I turned the radio off and thanked Mr. Farha for letting us use his radio.
"They seem really nice, how do you know them?" Dew asked me.
"They helped us take Akechi's region." I said proudly. "Each and every one of them can fight super well. We'll get Suomi back in no time. Then… we can help the other guys and work towards taking Neptune's airspace."
(July 18, 2024)—-
We drove over to the meeting spot at sunrise the next day. MP5, 9A-91, M9, PPK, AK-12, MDR, Super Shorty and Lee Enfield were standing there, and they all started happily waving when we got close. I'd missed all the girls, so we all ended up in a group hug before heading over to the town, where Dedede, BJ and Dani were waiting for us. On the way back to the town, we passed Osmund's bar. Passing that bar reminded me of what I did during that whole ordeal. No matter how angry I may get, I can't ever do something like that again. Else I will become exactly what I'm trying to expel from this dimension. We made it back to the town at about two in the afternoon. Dani, BJ and Dedede were waiting for us outside of Dew's shop.
"Well well well, if it ain't the other blueys." Dedede said as he strutted up to the girls.
"I think what he meant to say is; 'Welcome to the town, my name is Dedede.'" BJ said as he eyed Dedede.
"'Dee dee dee? That sounds like my flip-phone." MDR said slightly mockingly.
"I DON'T BE SOUNDIN' LIKE NO FLIPPY-PHONE… AND MAH NAME IS KING DEDEDE!" Dedede yelled at MDR. BJ took his hatchet out and twirled it in between his fingers as a show of authority over Dedede. Dedede stood down reluctantly.
"Everyone, we need to set up ambushes on the roads as soon as possible." I ordered. "The sooner we take a Lieutenant prisoner, the sooner we can get leads on where Suomi is."
"So what is the plan, Chimaco?" Dani asked me.
"We'll need to split into two teams," I started. "Each team will set up an ambush on each end of the road a reasonable distance away from the command building itself and wait for a convoy to pass through. I'm hoping the convoy will be escorting one of Neptune's Lieutenants in or out of the command building. Be sure to take the Lieutenant alive. I have questions and he'll most likely have answers."
"We may need to leave shortly after either side ambushes a convoy." AK-12 chimed in. "The Lieutenant we corner will probably call for backup, in which case we'll need to get away from the X as soon as we can, especially if this building is as dangerous as I suspect it to be."
"What do you know, you be keepin' your eyes closed all the time!" Dedede mocked AK-12. "You can't see nothin,' y'all won't even see this coming!" Dedede then lunged at AK-12 with his fist ready, but she caught his fist in midair, used Dedede's momentum against him and twisted his arm behind his back, all while her eyes were closed!
"You're not supposed to hit girls, 'King' Dedede." AK-12 said calmly. Dedede was screaming in pain.
"Y'ALL STAHP TWISTIN' MAH ARM AND SUCH! IT HURTS!" Dedede yelled. With this, AK-12 let go of Dedede's arm. Dedede fell to the ground while massaging his arm. AK-12 crouched down and got to eye level with Dedede.
"Lucky for you, I'm in a pretty good mood today." Warned AK-12. "If you try something like that again on a day when I'm not in a good mood, I'll hold your arm behind your back until it dislocates… da?" Dedede was so intimidated, he just nodded at AK-12, and didn't say a word.
"I hate to break this up, but we should get to the ambush site soon, just like Klonoa said." Yu said. Everyone fell in line. "How should we split our forces up, brother?" I then started drawing a map of the road and the terrain surrounding both sides in the sand.
"Alright, something we found out about the road we're setting up at is one side is covered in lush foliage, and the other side is nearly barren." I said as I added more detail to the map I drew in the sand. "Yu, I want you to take the barren side and use the distance to your advantage. You'll need the extra sniper on that side, so take Lee Enfield, as well as Dedede, MDR, AK-12, MP5 and PPK with you and have them help you stop a vehicle. 9A, M9, BJ, Dani and Super Shorty, you all come with me, we'll cover the overgrown end."
"We'll get it done, Brother." Yu said enthusiastically. He then turned to his team, Dedede in particular. "I'm just hoping that, for the sake of this mission, we can set aside our differences and work together."
"You don't need to worry about that, Narukami-kun." AK-12 said. "I'm sure the penguin understands what will happen to him if he decides to step out of line…" As she said this, she cracked her knuckles. Dedede then started looking around nervously. Dani then pulled a car key out of his pocket.
"Vamos, I'll drive." Dani said as he walked over to a truck. As we were walking, BJ stopped me.
"Aren't they a little too young to be fighting?" BJ whispered to me. "As much as I like seeing you kids stepping up nowadays, these girls seem way too young to be fighting and killing."
"They actually aren't humans, they're T-dolls." I said. "They were made to fight."
"Still… I just don't want to see any of them get hurt." BJ said as he watched the girls boost each other into the back of the truck.
"That's the goal here; no one getting hurt." I whispered back.
—-
"Alright Brother, we're in position." Yu said over the radio after we got to the ambush site. Everyone had their mags topped off and were ready to fight. 9A-91, M9 and I helped Dani climb a tree so he could have a good vantage point, while BJ and Super Shorty were hiding in the tall grass further up the road. Our idea was to box in a truck leaving the command building. We were a small team, so he had to use strategy to our advantage.
"Alright, good." I replied. "Good luck Brother."
"You too Klonoa." Yu said.
"I'm happy to get to fight with you again, Shikikan!" M9 said excitedly as she and I got behind trees in the woods.
"Same here." I said. "I've missed all of you. I'm sorry I haven't really reached out much, it's been pretty busy since I got here."
"I understand…" M9 said. "So of everyone here… who did you miss most?" 9A apparently overheard us from across the road.
"The Shikikan probably didn't miss the doll who pads her chest." 9A said.
"SPARKLING! M9! DOES! NOT! PAD! HER! CHEST!" M9 yelled. I had to shush her. I hated to be strict, but someone from the command building could have heard us. It was that loud.
"I missed all of you, M9." I said calmly. "That includes you." I then reached over and patted M9's head, which thrilled her.
"UWAAAAA~" Went M9.
"There's a vehicle coming from behind." Dani warned us. "Everyone hunker down." I watched as a gray run-down car passed by. I thought it was a civilian since I didn't think any of Neptune's lieutenants would even be caught dead in an old rusty car, but the car ended up turning into the security station.
"Odd… do you think he's trying to attack the base?" I asked.
"Maybe it's a car bomb." 9A suggested.
"I'll let you know what happens, just keep your heads down for now." Dani said whilst looking through the scope on his rifle. I was expecting to hear an explosion so I was trying to formulate a plan in my head just in case something like that happened. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case because I couldn't come up with a plan that would result in all of us making it back. Everytime a gust of wind blew, my heart started racing. Any sound I heard made me think something was going on at the command building for a split second. "The car's coming back. It's headed our way." Dani reported.
"How many people are in the car?" I asked Dani.
"Only one… It's a girl… she doesn't look like a soldier. I don't think she's armed either." Dani said calmly. "What should we do, Klonoa?"
"Let's stop her car, but don't shoot at her." I ordered. "I want to see what she was doing there."
"We'll keep our guns on her when she gets out, just in case she tries anything funny." 9A said. The car was slowly heading our way, so I stepped out of the grass to stop the car. The car stopped and a decently short girl came out of the car and stared cowering. She had cat ears and chin length green hair, and was wearing a light blue shirt and a pink skirt. She also had… very large boobs.
"Ooohhh nooo!" The girl whined. "I'm desuuu kotagataaaa! Please don't hurrrttt meeee." I held my right hand up to try and de-escalate the situation.
"It's ok, I don't want to hurt you." I reassured the girl. I laid my AK on the ground. "I just want to know what you were doing in that building."
"I do work for doadassuuuu…" The girl said in her kind of annoying voice. "I need yennn… so I can have a houssssse. It gets very samuiiiii at niiiight."
"'Doadassu'?" I asked out loud.
"Door dash." M9 said as she walked out from behind one of the trees. "I'm Sparkling M9, and I'm super popular! And this is our Shikikan, Klonoa! He's a very sparkling Shikikan!" I think that was a compliment, even though it didn't really make sense. "Who might you be?"
"I'm Raku-Chaaaannnnn… kawaii desuuuuuu…" Raku-Chan dragged her words out. There was something about her name that rubbed me the wrong way, though.
"Are you by any chance related to Chris-Chan?" I asked. M9 immediately held Raku-Chan at gunpoint after I said that.
"AAAAAHHHHHH! Yamete Kudasaiii!" Raku-Chan pleaded. "I'm simply a doadassuuuu employeeeeeee. I bring wingstooooop fooooood to anyone who aaaaaasks."
"Wingstop? Like chicken wings? Do you serve spicy ones?" M9 asked anticipatingly.
"We have to get back into hiding, we need to get this done as soon as possible." I muttered to M9. I then spoke to Raku-Chan in a normal voice. "I'm sorry for stopping you, you can be back on your way now." Raku-Chan reached into her… chest… and pulled our two business cards.
"If you ever waaaaant any yūshokuuuu, you can callll meeeeee and I'll bring it to youuuu." Raku-Chan said, attempting to advertise doadassu. Raku-Chan then got back in her crappy rusty car and drove off. M9 and I went back behind the trees and waited for a lieutenant's caravan to come by. We sat there waiting for what felt like forever.
"I want spicy wings." M9 whispered to me.
"We can eat once we capture a lieutenant." I said seriously. "I am kind of hungry, though."
"Spicy chicken wings and a dr. pepper sounds awesome right now." 9A said, who was apparently able to hear us.
"Vehicles coming onto the road! I count three of them!" Dani warned us. M9, 9A and I all stopped talking about wings and got our heads down. I couldn't see the truck very well since it was so far away. "The truck turned the other way, it's headed to Yu's team!" Dani said. "Should we leave our spots and help him out?"
"Yu's team can handle it." I reassured Dani. "There's a chance that's not a lieutenant, so we should stay here in case another vehicle heads our way." So that was where we sat. I heard a gunfight break out from Yu's side of the road. I wasn't afraid for Yu's safety, I knew he could handle his own life, as well as the lives he was in charge of.
"Is that a… TANK?" 9A yelled. Sure enough, my worst fears were confirmed. I saw a tank turn from the command building parking lot towards Yu's side of the road! I didn't think he would be able to defend against a tank!
"Oh no!" I said to myself. I then radioed my half of the team. "Everyone, we need to stop that tank! BJ, Super Shorty, we're going for the truck, we'll pick you both up!"
"Roger that, Shikikan, we'll wait for you!" Super Shorty replied. 9A got the truck and brought it over to M9, Dani and I.
"Dani, ride shotgun!" I yelled. "M9, ride in the back with me!" Dani got into the front seat while M9 and I got in the back of the truck. 9A sped the truck over to where BJ and Super Shorty were hiding. "Get in you two!" BJ had to help Super Shorty into the truck, since she's a super shorty. Don't tell her I said that. Anyway, we sped towards the tank, which had its gun pointed in the opposite direction. If that gun went off, it could injure, or God forbid kill one of our allies!
"What are we going to do against a tank?" Super Shorty asked me. "We don't have any explosive weapons!"
"Our only choice is to take it!" I yelled. "9A, get us close to that tank!" The truck sped forward. As we got closer, the gunner on top of the tank noticed we were coming so he turned his turret towards us and started firing! A barrage of bullets flew at us, barely missing us. 9A sped up and got right next to the tank, and Dani took a perfect shot and killed the gunner. "Now's our chance! Let's jump on that tank and take it!" I yelled. BJ, M9, Super Shorty and I all jumped on the back of the tank. Super Shorty opened the hatch and took out two of the crew inside. Suddenly, the driver of the tank came out of a hatch on the front of the tank and quickly shot Super Shorty! "NO!" I yelled as I pointed my AK at the driver and mag-dumped him. Super Shorty collapsed the tank turret, holding her stomach and breathing heavily.
"Shorty?!" M9 yelled anxiously. "Is she going to be ok, Shikikan?" BJ covered his face in grief.
"N…no… not a kid… it can't be… her…" BJ said while barely keeping his composure.
"There has to be a first aid kit or something in the tank…" I pondered outloud. M9 and BJ scoured the tank for a first aid kit, and luckily they found one very quickly. I helped her lay down flat and I lifted her shirt just enough so I could apply bandages to her wound. She had gotten shot on the left side of her belly, just like what happened to me. I knew with proper care, she would survive. As I was applying bandages, I happened to look into her eyes, and they were filled with fear. Her face was drained of all color. She leaned her head up to try and see her wound, but BJ lightly put his hand on her forehead and kept her head on the floor.
"Best you don't see your wound." BJ advised.
"S…Shikikan? Am I… I going to… d…die?" Super Shorty asked me.
"No. You're not going to die." I reassured Super Shorty. "You'll be ok, just hang in there… we'll have 9A and Dani come back over here to get you out. I then radioed 9A and had her bring the truck back over, and I had M9 get on the machine gun to keep the tank covered. BJ and I helped Super Shorty into the bed of 9A and Dani's truck. Dani got in the bed of the truck and applied pressure on her wound to keep her from bleeding.
"She'll be ok, Klonoa." Dani reassured me. "I've taken care of so many of my own wounds, I know what I'm doing." I lightly patted Super Shorty's head, since now I know T-dolls like that a ton. Super Shorty looked as happy as she possibly could.
"Stay safe, Shikikan." 9A said. "Don't worry about her, she'll be just fine." I stepped out of the truck and closed the door. I watched the truck drive back towards the town… only hoping Super Shorty could hang in there.
"Let's get this done quickly." I said after regaining focus on the mission at hand. BJ, M9 got into the tank's giant turret.
"Reckon you can drive this thing, Klonoa?" BJ asked me.
"I think I can figure it out, I'm a fast learner." I answered as I crawled into the hatch in the front of the tank.
"Alright, let's do this." BJ said determinedly over the tank's built in radio. "I'll load rounds in the main chamber for you."
"Sounds good, thank you BJ." I said as I fiddled with the tank controls. The tank had pedals like a car, but it had some sort of horizontal stick instead of the normal steering wheel I was used to… and expected. I pressed the button on the stick down and the tank moved forward. I drove the tank towards Yu's side of the road, hoping he wouldn't mistake me for one of them. Fortunately for us, trucks full of enemies were driving up to us, and for the moment, they thought this tank was still on their side. The guards on the truck started opening fire on Yu's team! I watched the turret direction indicator as it turned to the side. I looked out the small window and saw one of the trucks get absolutely demolished. I looked out the window on the other side and saw the enemies on the other truck get mowed down as well. It seemed M9 got on the MG on the top of the tank. I saw Yu and Lee Enfield run over to us once the honor guards were cleared. I finagled myself out of the hatch and waved Yu down.
"Yu, my brother! We got a tank now!" I declared as I proudly patted the tank.
"You came just in time, Brother!" Yu said, smiling cheek to cheek.
"Alright, let's open the present Santa brought for us!" MDR said as she and MP5 walked up to the fanciest car in the stopped convoy with their guns raised. MDR shot a few rounds through the rear passenger side window after failing to open the door. A hand shot out of the window and grabbed MDR's gun, but MP5 hit the arm with the butt of her gun, which caused whoever grabbed MDR to let go of her. Yu, Lee Enfield and PPK all ran over to the truck to help out. M9 aimed the tank's MG at the truck, just in case someone tried something. They all got the door open and threw someone on the ground. Yu stepped back in shock.
"LUKAS?" Yu yelled in a perfect blend of shock and anger. Lukas looked up at Yu and smiled.
"Well well well, it's been a long time… hasn't it, Yu Narukami?" Lukas said in a mocking tone. "Now before you kill me, do remember that I could have had Devil kill you back in that small demolished town you and your sister were hiding in. If I were you… I'd be grateful." Yu put his foot on Lukas's chest and forced him down.
"Every single part of me wants to kill you…" Yu growled. I ran up to Yu and gripped his shoulder.
"Calm down, Brother." I whispered. "We need him alive. The information he could have is going to make all of this worth it." Yu relaxed his tensed-up muscles slightly, and did a long exhale.
"Looks like I'll be sparing your life as well." Yu said calmly. He then hit Lukas on his forehead with the butt of his rifle, which knocked Lukas out immediately.
"You seem to have some history with this man… What did he do to you?" Lee Enfield asked Narukami.
"He and his friend Devil captured me and my little Sister at the beginning of all of this." Yu recalled. "Once we have everything we need from this freak, I'm gonna kill him." MDR and Lee Enfield picked Lukas up and put him in the truck. M9, BJ and I got back into the tank, then we all headed back to the town. As I was driving, I sat there hoping Yu would be able to keep it together as we were interrogating Lukas. Lukas was our best chance to get some clues that would help us find and rescue Suomi. I don't want her to be in Chris-Chan's hands for too long.
—-
Right when we got back to the town, I got out of the tank, super eager to see how Super Shorty was holding up. I ran over to Dew's shop, and I saw the truck Dani and 9A used to take Super Shorty back to town. The truck's bed was covered in blood. I ran inside to see Dani, 9A and Dew standing around the couch. The three of them turned towards me… and the looks on their faces said it all. My legs went limp and I fell to the floor in complete and utter despair. I started crawling over to the couch, but Dew and Dani came over to help me. Super Shorty was ice cold when I laid my hand on her forehead. I couldn't say anything. M9 and BJ walked up to the couch and stood next to me. None of us said a word. I had lied to her. When she asked me if she was going to die… I told her she wasn't going to. I also felt selfish. She died so I could find Suomi. I got up, walked out of Dew's shop, and outside of the town. I fell backwards against the wall and slowly slid down until my rear hit the sand. I sat there in silence, trying to think about how I could live with myself. I should have left the girls out of this. I can't go back and undo this. Super Shorty's gone… forever… because of me.