(August 5, 2024)
The helicopter flight back to the town was short, but not very sweet. We were all mourning the loss of Specs while keeping our eyes on Kel and Amamiya, both still out cold. We had no way to restrain them, so if they woke up… it would be trouble. Also I wanted to take care of the wound on the side of Amamiya's chest, but BJ claimed he shot him with a nail gun, so the wound was cauterized. I was still worried even though he wasn't bleeding at all. Anyway, after we got back to the town, Bobble hat randomly gave me a giant hug.
"CALL ME IF YOU WANT STUFF BLOWN UP!" Bobble hat said… I mean, growled. She had a huge smile on her face though. Bobble hat is like a friendly serial killer. We got off then watched as the helicopter took off and headed back to the Inklings' region.
"We need to restrain these two in some way," BJ started. "They'll be waking up soon, I reckon."
"What about the empty house Lukas used to be in?" Yu suggested.
"We'll need to get another bed and more handcuffs, though." Suomi added. "Also, if we could at least put mattresses on the bed frames, that would be nice." We were able to procure another bed frame and I asked Mr. Farha to make another set of handcuffs. I also asked him to make a metal Star of David because I remembered the one I made for Negev's grave broke. Mr. Farha gave me a really… strange look after I asked for it. By the afternoon, we had Amamiya and Kel restrained. Right after we finished that, there was a knock on the door. I went over to open it, and it was Woods.
"Hey Klonoa, where the frick were you?" Woods said with a mix of anger and relief. "I was fricking worried about…" Woods trailed off as he looked behind me and saw Amamiya and Kel handcuffed to the beds. "WHAT THE FRICK IS GOING ON HERE?" Just in case you were wondering, Woods never actually said 'frick.'
"Frank, it's not what it looks like." BJ said calmly. "I know how this probably looks to a mind as dirty as yours, but…"
"What does it look like?" I asked. I realized that I kind of cut off BJ, so I felt bad. Just then, Kel started waking up.
"Ugn… what happened?" Kel slurred her words. "Ren… did we get the victory royale?" She looked over to Amamiya, who was still asleep. She then looked over to Suomi. Her face soured.
"Well, I'll leave you to it." Woods said as he took his leave. "I don't wanna be here when things get freaky."
"Frank, they're not gonna do anything like that." BJ said as he took off after Woods. Suomi stood at Kel's bedside.
"Kel… are you ok?" Suomi asked with a catch in her throat. Kel suddenly tried grabbing Suomi, but she couldn't move her arms at all because she was handcuffed to the bed frame. She started spazzing and gnashing her teeth when she realized she was handcuffed. Suomi backed away, covering her mouth. "What… did… Neptune… do to… her?" Suomi hugged me and sobbed into my shoulder. I stood there not knowing what to say. Suomi was so upset, and I could tell from the look on Yu's face that he was expecting Amamiya to be the exact same way. Suomi then ran out of the house crying.
"Suomi!" I called as I ran after her. She collapsed and continued sobbing.
"I can't see her like that…" Suomi sobbed.
"I know it's hard now, but we can change her back." I said, trying to sound confident. "There has to be a way. We just need to find it."
"I was… so excited to find her after I heard her cry for help." Suomi recalled. "Up to that point, I was positive she died… but…"
"You found her, but you didn't find what you were expecting?" I finished Suomi's sentence for her. Suomi looked back at me with big sad eyes and nodded slowly. We stood there in silence for a while. Neither of us knew what to say. "...I'm going back in… to help Yu as much as I can. Do you want to come with?" Suomi shook her head slowly.
"I… I can't do it right now." Suomi said with her head hung. She got up and slowly walked back to Dew's shop. I went back into the house where Yu was still standing there. Kel had stopped spazzing. She likely tuckered herself out.
"Is Suomi ok?" Yu asked me.
"She will be… hopefully." I answered. I looked at Kel, who was laying there scowling at me. I walked over to her. "Suomi is your best friend, why would you do any of this to her?"
"You don't need to know that!" Kel yelled. I stood there shaking my head. I didn't know what to do, likely because I was feeling very tired and burned out.
"Yu...?" I heard all of a sudden. Amamiya had woken up. Yu walked over to him and stood there. He was about to say something, but then… "Rescuing you from that prison… was the worst mistake of my life."
"I don't blame you." Yu said with regret in his voice. This seemed to surprise Amamiya.
"Is this the guy you told me about, Ren?" Kel asked.
"Yeah, this is him." Amamiya confirmed. He then stared me down. "And who are you?" Yu laid his hand on my shoulder.
"This is Klonoa, my best friend." Yu said assuredly. "I rescued him for selfish reasons… but he helped me become the guy I was before all of this madness; someone who could see straight, and most importantly, who was a friend and who was a foe."
"You didn't rescue him!" Amamiya yelled. "You stopped him from being Neptune's soldier!" Yu let go of my shoulder and kicked Amamiya's bed frame. He then walked over to Amamiya and started unbuttoning his shirt!
"Yu… What are you doing?" I asked hysterically. Yu unbuttoned the top two buttons on Amamiya's shirt and pointed at a scar on his left shoulder.
"You see that?" Yu asked under his breath. "That bullet hole? That was given to you by the side you've been brainwashed to fight for!" Yu then unbuttoned the top two buttons on his own shirt as well, and pointed to an almost identical scar. "Same weapon… fired by the same person… a person working for the same side you think you're on…" Yu pointed at Amamiya's scar. "We were on the same side… the side trying to stop the ones doing things like this to everyone!"
"We never fought together!" Amamiya yelled. "I rescued you and you let me go to what you thought would be my death. My life was hell for a while, but they set me free from this so-called 'side' of yours!"
"I'M SORRY!" Yu yelled. There was complete silence for a few moments. Yu wiped his slightly damp eyes. "I'm sorry… I wasn't myself. I was blinded by rage… I took my failure to keep my little sister safe out on everyone. I used everyone I met as stepping stones. I kept an eye open for you ever since… on the off chance you were still alive… to say I'm sorry for how I behaved… how I treated you…" Amamiya stared at Yu for a while, not saying anything.
"You still…" Amamiya stopped himself. He was at an apparent loss for words. "You're on the wrong side."
"I know I'm on the side I belong to." Yu stated. "We've all seen the cruelty Chris-Chan condones around the nation… and so did you. Klonoa here was held in Akechi's captivity and tortured the entire time. Remember what you had to escape from at the beginning? What you saved me from?"
"Akechi… where is he?" Amamiya asked.
"Dead." Yu announced. "We killed him and freed everyone in his region." Amamiya looked emotionally deflated.
"Akechi…" Ren muttered to himself. He then turned his head away from us. "I'm done talking."
"No, we're going to get all of this sorted out." Yu demanded. I tapped Yu's shoulder.
"Brother, let's give them some time." I whispered. "We're starting to get to them, we just need to let their hearts open up." Yu nodded, and we left the house and locked it behind us. We walked back to Dew's shop ready to get some shut eye, since we were up all night. Yu suddenly stopped, looked down and sighed sharply.
"You really think we can help those two see straight again?" Yu asked me.
"Honestly, I don't want to say 'yes,' because I don't want to lie…" I started unconfidently. "But I do think there is a good chance." Yu stood there for a few seconds, then he kept walking towards the shop with me.
"Hi, boys!" Dew greeted us cheerfully.
"Hi Dew." I said less enthusiastically. I was tired.
"Good afternoon, Dew." Yu said, sounding slightly uplifted. As I was headed to the stairs, I saw Rom on the couch in Dew's living room. She just meekly waved at me, so I waved back. At least Rom seemed to be warming up to me slightly more. I know Dew's been taking great care of her and her younger sister. Yu and I went downstairs, and I saw Suomi curled up in a ball on her mattress. I walked over and laid my hand on her shoulder gently. "Suomi?"
"Klonoa…" Suomi started in a broken voice. "I… can't see… Kel… like that."
"She needs you now, Suomi." I said, trying to comfort her. "You know her well enough to get to the bottom of whatever's going on." Suomi looked up at me with tears streaming out of her eyes.
"I don't recognize Kel at all." Suomi said in a shuddery voice. "Kel would never have done something like that to me before she was taken away. I wish I could… make her into the Kel I've known for a long time."
"That's what Yu and I are trying to do; make those two the people they were when you and Yu knew them respectively." I said. "Until we help them remember, they aren't going anywhere." Suomi looked straight ahead in deep thought. I sat on my mattress, but then I immediately passed out.
(August 6, 2024)—-
I woke up feeling completely out of it… I was really tired after pulling an all nighter. It took me a few seconds to realize I'd fallen asleep. I then realized Suomi wasn't on her bed when I woke up, and neither was Yu. I also realized all the guys were asleep. It was apparently super early in the morning. 3:30ish would be my guess. I got up slowly and quietly, made my way upstairs and left Dew's shop. All the houses in the small town were completely dark, except for the house where we were keeping Amamiya and Kel. I softly knocked on the door and opened it slowly. Kel and Amamiya were sleeping, and Yu and Suomi were sitting on the floor against the wall. I walked in and stood next to Yu.
"I wronged Amamiya so much…" Yu said quietly and deeply. He apparently saw me out of the corner of his eye. "Amamiya saved me back when I wasn't worth saving… Now I need to do the same for him. I need to help him see the truth again."
"Kel's in there somewhere…" Suomi whispered. "I was so put off by her trying to attack me… but she's my best friend… I can't give up on her." I leaned against the wall and slid down until my bottom hit the floor. Yu and Suomi still looked crestfallen, but they also had hope that was bright enough to shine through the thick dark clouds.
"You don't need to stay if you don't want to, brother." Yu said.
"I know this is hard for you both, so I want to be right here for you both." I affirmed. They both looked at me with deep appreciation. "After all, we're a family now." The three of us sat there in silence. The sun began peeking over the horizon after a while, lighting the house up ever so slightly with an orangish hue, followed by a zen humming sound. Kel suddenly snapped awake.
"I'm up…!" Kel yelled as she darted her head around, looking a little bit traumatized. Suomi got off the floor and walked over to her best friend's bedside. "Oh… I'm still in this house…" Kel said with a mix of relief and disappointment.
"Kel…?" Suomi started. Kel laid there staring at the ceiling. They were both completely silent for a few moments.
"You… you never came to rescue me… you gave up on me." Kel said with a catch beginning in her throat.
"I…" Suomi started, but Kel cut her off.
"Neptune saved me from constant labor!" Kel asserted. "After they took me away from the hospital, it was… 4:00 am everyday… making bullets right next to a suicide net! I had no way out! I was trapped in every sense of the word… trapped in that dingy room, trapped in my mind… trapped in my hell… YOU WERE MY ONLY HOPE, SUE!"
"Kel please, I'm trying to-" Suomi was cut off again.
"I waited… and waited and WAITED for you to come save me!" Kel yelled as tears flew out of her eyes. "I needed you, my best friend, to come through for me… AND YOU… WEREN'T… THERE!"
"I WAS SENT TO A LABOR CAMP RIGHT AFTER YOU WERE!" Suomi shouted louder than I've ever heard her yell. Kel's rage filled face slowly morphed into a concerned one. Suomi hung her head down and sighed deeply. "Right after they hauled you away… they took me too. Klonoa and Yu rescued me… they gave me a second chance." Suomi carefully held Kel's right hand. "I'm here to do the same for you. I've tried to find you for so long, and now I see you need a second chance."
"But… Neptune gave me a second chance…" Kel whispered. "Neptune… she became… what I needed you to be. You weren't there."
"Kel… Neptune didn't give you a second chance." Suomi pointed out. "You think Neptune saved you, but in reality, she twisted and turned you into something else. She turned you into… not you." Suomi slowly looked back at me, and her stern face lit up. A sparkle appeared in her eyes. "After I got hauled away to a labor camp, one thing led to another and I was able to escape with a group. A day after we escaped, we got caught by guards, and everyone in my group got put down… individually… right in front of me." Kel looked deep into Suomi's eyes, tears were beginning to well up. "That on top of losing you and K2 and Gentiane… it made me feel like an empty shell, and then Klonoa saved me. Klonoa and Yu gave me a second chance, but I used that second chance to keep fighting the cruel people who took you away from me in the first place." Kel's face turned bright red as tears poured out of her eyes and her face tensed up and she began breathing shallowly and rapidly. "Kel… if you'll let me… I want to give you the second chance you think you have now… but this time… it will be real." Kel's face tensed up even more as she began cracking a bittersweet smile.
"Sue…" Kel started calmly, but suddenly she was unable to control her release of emotions. "I'M SO SORRY I SHOT AT YOU SUE! OF COURSE I'LL LET YOU GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE! I WANT IT SO BAD! I NEED IT!" Suomi hugged her best friend to comfort her as much as she could.
"I'm here for you now, Kel." Suomi whispered as she cried. "I may have not been there when you needed me the most, but I'm here now."
"...Neptune changed our views of reality…" Amamiya admitted. Amamiya had apparently been awake the entire time Suomi was talking to Kel. He had been hiding that fact by making the light glint off his glasses so as to hide the fact that his eyes were open. Yu walked over to Amamiya.
"Amamiya… the me that you rescued from the prison at the beginning of all this is the me that I'm disgusted by." Yu said with a voice full of guilt. "I regret treating you the way I did. In reality… I owe you my life."
"I always know which side is fighting for justice…" Amamiya started. "But this time… I really don't know what's real anymore. I don't know what 'justice' in this world means."
"Fight against the people that tried to take your free will away and turn you into a weapon." Yu said with creedence.
"So I should fight for the side that thinks my life isn't worth anything?" Amamiya asked with lots of doubt in his voice.
"Your life means something, Amamiya." Yu affirmed. "I was wrong at the beginning of all of this. I saw everyone around me as tools I could use to get my sister back." Amamiya laid there, staring straight forward in deep thought.
"What about the girl we rescued?" Amamiya asked Yu. Yu just stood there. He then slowly walked out of the house.
"Where's he going?" Amamiya asked me.
"I think he's going to bring Dew over." I told Amamiya. "She's alive… and she forgave Yu. He's different now… I saw him change."
"Did he find his sister?" Amamiya asked me.
"Yeah, we helped him find her." I reported. "He actually started changing before he found her, but the switch completely flipped after he found her."
"What if she gets captured again?" Amamiya asked me. "Will he become the monster he was back then?"
"I don't think he will." I said. To be honest though, I'd never thought of that… but even if Yu became what he was before, I'd still fight alongside him. I love my brother enough to stick with him, even at his worst. A few seconds later, Yu walked into the house with Dew.
"Amamiya, she's alive." Yu said with a faint smile on his face. Dew looked at Amamiya in shock.
"Ren?" Dew asked in quiet shock. "Are you ok?"
"I'm ok… my sense of justice is not." Amamiya cryptically said. Dew looked at Suomi in confusion.
"Neptune messed with their views of reality." Suomi said in an attempt to catch Dew up.
"Ren, remember what you were fighting for in the beginning?" Dew asked. "You gave Yu and I our freedom back… and you willingly sacrificed yourself to help us get to the garage so we could escape."
"But… what if Neptune's ideas are correct?" Amamiya asked. "What if I was doing wrong by you both by rescuing you both?"
"Ren… after I escaped the prison, I picked a direction and kept driving just to get away from everything." Dew reminisced. "When I got to this side of CWCistan, I was captured again and I was sent to a labor camp. I was sent from labor site to labor site, being abused and starved the entire time. Finally one day, I was being sent to another labor site, then the prisoner trucks were ambushed by a group of guys. Those guys freed me when I was less than a week away from dropping dead."
"...Why are you telling me this?" Amamiya asked.
"Justice in this world is winning freedom for those around you all you can." Dew said. "I'm happy now, because of what others have done to keep me safe from the CWC establishment, and in turn, I do what I can for those around me as well. I'm keeping the guys who rescued me safe, as well as Klonoa, Yu and Suomi. I'll keep you and your friend safe as well."
"I… I don't trust myself to come back from this…" Amamiya admitted. Yu unlocked Amamiya's handcuffs.
"I trust you." Yu said as he held his hand out to Amamiya. He grabbed it, and Yu helped him sit up. Yu wasn't even reaching for his gun. Yu then tossed the key to Suomi, who unlocked Kel's handcuffs.
"Thank you, Sue… that was starting to hurt my wrists." Kel admitted. She got up slowly and walked over to me. "So… you're Klonoa?"
"Klonoa's actually our new Shikikan." Suomi informed Kel. Kel then bowed to me.
"Nice to meet you, Shikikan." Kel said respectfully.
"You don't need to call me that, Kel." I said. "Just call me 'Klonoa.'" Kel exhaled.
"Ok… Klonoa." Kel said, sounding slightly hesitant. "By the way… only Sue can call me 'Kel,' so please call me 'RFB.'"
"Klonoa… you can call me Ren." Ren said confidently. Ren actually reminded me of someone from my past, and so did RFB… I wasn't quite sure why.
"Well, the guys should be starting their morning PT," Dew started. "You all can join us for breakfast if you'd like. It will give you two a chance to meet everyone."
"We'll do it." Ren said with the same conviction as if he had said he was going to single-handedly save the universe. We all went back to Dew's shop and helped her prepare breakfast for everyone. Once all the gentlemen came back from PT, we all sat down and had a wonderful breakfast full of introductions, laughs and eggs. After we finished breakfast, the guys told me about a plan they had to take an airfield that was still under the control of the last bastion of Blanc's men. This would officially make the region we were currently in no longer belong to Blanc, and it would give us a bigger base closer to the front lines and away from all the civilians that were in danger as long as there was a militant force in the town. Ren and RFB were all too happy to help us out. I trusted them for the most part, their mental breakthroughs seemed genuine, but I'd still keep my eye on them. We were all heading over to the trucks to head over to the airfield, but Yu was lagging behind.
"Yu, what's going on?" I asked after everyone was out of earshot. Yu just looked straight ahead and smiled.
"Amamiya's alive…" Yu said calmly and happily. "It feels like… my past no longer has a hold on me."
"Try not to forget it, though." I pointed out. "Don't forget everything you regret, so you can take care to not repeat them." Yu looked at me and smiled even bigger.
"Wise words, brother." Yu complimented me.
"HEY!" Soldier barked at us. "DOUBLE TIME IT, MAGGOTS!"
"Don't call Klonoa a maggot!" I heard Suomi scold soldier. Yu and I headed over to the trucks, but then a thought hit me.
"There's something I have to do." I called out. "It'll just be a moment."
"ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO DO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE DURING PERSONAL TIME!" Soldier yelled.
"Seriously comrade, you're getting on my nerves." Suomi said intimidatingly to Soldier.
"You live on my nerves, Bluey!" Dedede said out of the blue… no pun intended.
"My nerves aren't something you want to live on, tompelli." Suomi warned Dedede.
"EHH, SHADDUP BLUEY, YOU CAN'T KEEP CALLIN' ME THAT STUPID 'TOPELY' WORD O' YOURS!" I didn't hear the rest because I was headed to Mr. Farha's house to use his radio, if he would let me… which he did. If we were going to take the airfield, I knew it would be nice to have an eye in the sky, and I knew just the man to call.
This would be another hard battle where numbers would not be on our side, so after I called Nathan, I sat there thinking of other ways to approach this mission.