Susie is astonished beyond belief as she's suddenly being tractor-beamed by a UFO.
And this feeling only gets more intense when she looks up at the UFO and sees it having a certain symbol. It has the Haltmann Works Company logo on it. This is one of the company's UFOs.
... How? How in the stars is this happening? Susie is highly bewildered as the tractor-beam slowly but surely sucks her in.
It also makes her suspicious, though.
She doesn't understand how this is happening, but she's quick to know that something is wrong. Really, really wrong.
The Haltmann Works Company wasn't supposed to have fully functioning tractor-beams yet! Susie has been working on installing tractor-beams into the company's UFOs, but she wasn't finished yet. There was still a lot of work to be done on that matter. And progress was only being made on it during her strict oversight.
But someone, somehow, was clearly working on it without her oversight. And they dared to tractor-beam her. To tractor-beam the president of this very company.
... Who's doing this? Did a Haltmann Works Company employee suddenly have the audacity to go rogue and sabotage Susie? Or is there an especially bad actor that somehow managed to quietly usurp the company away from her, without her seeing it coming?
Either way, she'll adamantly make sure that whoever is responsible for this pays the price for what they've just done. She won't stand for this. Whoever is doing this is very much playing with fire, because Susie will get back at them tenfold. She'll absolutely destroy them!
... But then she becomes completely and utterly dumbstruck when she sees the perpetrator after entering inside the UFO.
Susie instinctively lets out a big scream as she meets eyes with this person.
It's... it's...
... It's Max Profitt Haltmann?!
HOW?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!
He's sitting on the same levitating chair that he often used while he was the company's president, and is wearing the same exact attire as he did at the time of his death. The immediately recognizable purple hair and moustache is also there.
It is literally him. And he's completely blank in expression.
Susie has so many questions right now. How is her father alive again?!
He was dead. He's been dead for several years. How did he get brought back to life? Dead people don't come back to life! Or at least, they're not supposed to. Morpho Knight was confirmed to not bring people back from the dead. But did it now just suddenly decide to revive someone for the very first time, and it revived Max Profitt Haltmann of all people?
And the questions don't end with how this man came back. How in the stars was he capable of doing all of this so quickly? How did he, the former president, suddenly get back into working for the company without Susie's knowing? How did he know to finish work on this UFO's tractor-beam?
But as these questions pop up in her head, Haltmann begins to speak.
"Hello there, my daughter Susanna." He says. It's accompanied with an impassive tone in his voice that is entirely devoid of emotion, and his blank expression doesn't change at all.
This sends shivers down Susie's spine. Her blood becomes icy cold.
... He actually recognizes her as his daughter. This is not the senile, Star Dream-obsessed man that she returned to after escaping Another Dimension. This is her actual father through and through.
That alone was enough to frighten Susie, but it doesn't even stop there. It's made all the more nerve-wracking by the lack of happiness in his voice. Despite saying hello, he doesn't sound even remotely glad or relieved to see her, despite finally remembering who she is.
This is straight up ominous. Susie is deeply unnerved by what this is likely about, considering he tractor-beamed her unprompted. Whatever it is, it's not good.
After her initial frightened reaction, she then begins to talk. She also quivers while doing so, though.
"D-d-dad?" She says unsteadily. She would've addressed him as either Max or Mr. Haltmann, but she knows that his memories are back. She might as well refer to him accordingly. "Y-you're alive?! W-what's going on? What is all of this about? How did you come back to life? How did you remember me again, and why are you doing this? Please explain!"
Haltmann motions a hand, extending his palm to make Susie settle down as he then makes his response.
"The grim reaper had the generosity to bring me back." He says, still impassive in tone.
... Wow. So Morpho Knight did bring him back.
But why? That makes no sense! Susie is baffled. Why was her father the first person that Morpho Knight brought back to life, and why would it just randomly do it out of the blue? And without even giving her any sort of notice ahead of time for her to know that Haltmann is back before seeing him once again?
She's not given the chance to ask these questions, though. Haltmann continues to talk.
"As for what this is about..." He says, as he then rapidly changes demeanor. No longer unemotional, he's now filled with anger in both his expression and the tone of his voice. He clenches his fists. "I believe it should be obvious! You know exactly what you did, Susanna Patrya Haltmann! You had one job, which was to save me from Star Dream, but you failed at it spectacularly! Instead of saving me, you killed me! You killed your own father! You're a murderer!"
He raises his voice in those last couple of sentences, outright yelling at the end.
Susie immediately acts out of instinct over him calling her murderer. She became frantic during Haltmann's angry words, but the last part especially elicits a huge reaction out of her.
"I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL YOU!" She screams.
She had the feeling that he'd bring this up. After all, why else would he not be happy to see her despite having his memories back? Several times, she did think about how he'd be mad at her for causing his death. How he'd probably hate her for it.
... It's now confirmed. He does hate her for killing him, even though it was an accident.
And to make matters worse, Haltmann is completely unyielding to Susie's scream. No change to his highly furious expression at all. It doesn't seem to matter to him that it was unintentional that she killed him. He's angry about it regardless.
Susie grows desperate. With her emotions now going wild, far wilder than usual, she pleads for him to understand.
"Please, dad!" She begs. Her desperation causes her to talk quickly. Her eyes begin to form tears. "Please! I never intended to kill you! It was just an accident! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was actually trying to save you! I didn't anticipate that stealing Star Dream's helmet from you would fry your mind and kill you! That wasn't what I wanted to happen! I just wanted you to look my way! I just wanted to give you a wake-up call! To remember me! And now it looks like you do! Please don't hate me, dad! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry for killing you! I'm so sorry!"
... He still doesn't budge. Not even remotely. Her desperate pleading does absolutely nothing to sway him. He does not look even the least bit satiated. He's still very much mad with anger, not any less than he was before Susie's pleading.
It's clear that he resents her to enormous amounts, and he doesn't forgive her at all.
Susie begins to feel despair as she sees Haltmann look so unforgiving. The tears in her eyes become much greater and more severe, as she becomes more and more distressed by his unbreakable expression.
As she's stricken with grief over this, Haltmann hovers to her more closely, still on his levitating chair. His anger doesn't lose any steam as he talks again. In fact, he actually becomes even angrier.
"What a horrible joke!" He yells in another burst of anger. His face turns red, as he's downright enraged at this point. He also pounds on the sides of his chair with his fists several times. "How dare you try and play the fool with me, Susanna! I know it wasn't an accident! You killed me in cold-blood! You are one-hundred percent a murderer! And I don't care that you're sorry about it. Saying sorry doesn't fix anything. I was still suffering so much in the afterlife, because of you! I'm so ashamed to have ever had you as my daughter. You're nothing but a traitor! And now you have the gall to act pathetic about it? And to try and pretend like you didn't kill me in cold-blood when you so clearly did? You are the worst daughter ever!"
At this point, Susie just starts to cry. She sits down on the floor as she feels completely helpless.
The way that he died was brutal, yes, but she genuinely did not mean to kill him. She loses all strength to argue, though. She knows that he'll just keep vehemently refusing to relent if she tries to argue any further, and so she just gives up and cries.
Watching her father be so vitriolic to her face, with him now remembering her as his daughter, is just far too much for her to take. She came to terms with his death a long time ago after she made friends, but in no way did she ever expect him to suddenly come back and be so aggressively unforgiving. Despite having largely moved on from him, she still cared about him to some extent, and so all of this still causes her to fall into despair.
She feels defeated, especially when it seems like he's going to punish her incredibly hard. Because why else would he tractor-beam her into this UFO? He clearly has something planned for her. As she cries, she can just anticipate him going to penalize her big time, and she'll be too anguished to properly fight back.
"You're an absolute embarrassment." Haltmann continues to reprimand her, as he floats circles around her with his levitating chair. He's practically ridiculing her at this point. "Did you honestly think that becoming a pathetic crying mess would make me change my mind? It does not. You can't run from the fact that you're a murderer, Susanna. I loved you so much when you were just a child, and then you killed me. What kind of traitorous, insidious daughter kills her own father?"
Susie keeps crying, absolutely distraught. She's unsure what she could possibly do as a response. All she can do now is hope that the punishment won't be too terrible and that she can somehow get out of this okay in the end.
Haltmann floats up high in the air with his levitating chair. He then pulls out a device from his pocket. The device has a large button on it.
"It's imperative that I make you pay the price for what you've done, you rotten young woman!" He says, as he then presses the button on the device.
It results in a group of Haltworkers entering the scene, as roughly a dozen of them show up. As Susie gets back up from sitting, she freaks out as she sees them coming. They surround her on all sides, and it makes her more and more frightened as she looks at them.
She can hardly even fathom this.
"What is this?!" She yells, panicking. She becomes more and more scared seeing all these Haltworkers surround her. "Did you just take the presidency away from me?!"
"Yes!" Haltmann confirms. After he puts the buttoned device back in his pocket, he claps several times. "The Haltmann Works Company is rightfully mine once again! It sickened me to see that you took it over after killing me. Of course, it wasn't enough to kill me in cold-blood, you also had the nerve to steal my job! To see that my company was taken over by my awful, back-stabbing daughter... I won't stand for that! I'll make sure that you get your comeuppance for both killing me and taking over my company!"
So that's how this is all happening. He took back the presidency of the Haltmann Works Company. The Haltworkers don't respond to Susie anymore, as they now respond to her revived father again.
And as he took back the company, he then immediately finished work on this UFO's tractor-beam and used it to hunt her down and punish her.
It also explains why his levitating chair is back alongside with him. It went away after he died. Susie also had a levitating chair during her presidency, but it was designed and modeled very differently from Haltmann's. He clearly went back and recreated his just now.
He also took offense to fact that she took over the company after his death? As if she was doing it to spite him in any way? That's not why she did it. She was doing it to atone for both her and his crimes that involved planetary mechanizations, as she shifted it into an entity that would consensually help planets instead of stripping them of their resources like what happened before. She didn't take over the company to rub it in his face.
She doesn't try to argue with him about this, though. She wants to, but she knows that he'll just refuse to listen. He's stubborn beyond belief. He hasn't relented to her once since this started, and so it'd be useless to try to bring up that she did not revive the company just to stick it to him.
Susie continues to be super frightened as she looks at the Haltworkers surrounding her. She can already tell that this punishment is going to be catastrophic.
"My workers..." Haltmann begins to make the order to the Haltworkers. "... Pull out your blasters!"
They do as commanded. All of the Haltworkers present at the scene pull out their laser guns. It happens in the span of three seconds.
... The message is abundantly clear. Susie screams in terror, as it startles her to watch them pull out their guns. She quivers immensely.
No. No no no. This can't be happening. There's no way he's actually deciding to do this.
"Are you seriously going to have them kill me?!" She yells out after the initial scream. Shivers run down her spine perpetually as she's terrified of what's going to happen.
And her fear grows when Haltmann, quite literally, shakes his head yes.
... Her punishment is death. He's going to orchestrate her death by commanding the Haltworkers to kill her with their laser guns.
But before he can tell them to start opening fire, Susie desperately protests. The tears in her eyes have never faded. In fact, they've now just become more severe. She cries as she protests.
"NO!" She screams, as she begs for her life. "DAD! PLEASE DON'T! Are you really going to kill off your own daughter like this?! You can't be doing this, dad! Please don't! Please don't kill me, dad! Please! Please! PLEASE!"
But to her dismay, he looks entirely unrelenting to her pleads. He shows no mercy.
"It's what need to happens after what you've done!" Haltmann says. "You killed me, and so now I'm going to kill you! You brought this upon yourself! Get ready to meet your fate, Susanna Patrya Haltmann!"
Susie continues to beg for her life, though. She really doesn't want to die. Especially not in the hands of her own ungracious father.
It shouldn't happen. It just shouldn't.
"NO! Dad, please don't! I already told you that it was an accident!" She says in sheer desperation. Tears stream down her face. "I HAVE FRIENDS!I have people who care about me! Dad, I beg of you, please don't do this! You have to listen to me!"
She can't die already. All of her friends would be so upset if she dies. They'd mourn her.
Her two besties would be especially devastated. Susie's two closest friends love her and are very protective of her. If they were here right now, they'd immediately try to rescue her.
... Speaking of which, wasn't she having a sleepover with them? What happened to them? Haltmann didn't bother tractor-beaming them alongside her. She wishes that happened, so they'd save her life.
But they're not here, and thus she's doomed. And she can't even imagine how they're going to grapple with her death.
Is her father seriously still going to kill her, even knowing she has friends that care about her?
Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes. He still shows no signs of budging whatsoever, judging by the look on his face. In fact, he even scoffs.
"I don't care about what your stupid friends think." He says. "I'll deal with them next after I'm finished with you!"
There's not even a single bit of hesitancy in his voice as he says these daring words. He's pulling absolutely no punches.
Susie is flabbergasted by the audacity. He really wants her dead. He's so, so bitter about his death that he's determined to subject her to the same fate that she accidentally subjected him to. He doesn't care that she's sorry, and he doesn't care that her friends would be upset about her dying. He even just said he'd go after them next!
The sheer gall of this man also begins to make her angry. She can't believe his unbelievably ruthless attitude.
Honestly? Maybe it would've actually been better if he stayed dead!
"You know what?" She continues to protest, with now some added anger to it. There are still tears in her eyes. "You're absolutely VILE! Are you well and truly deadset on murdering your own daughter in cold-blood? Even knowing that I have friends that care about me? And you couldn't care less about how they'll take it? What is wrong with you? Why can't you understand that it was never my intention to have gotten you killed? And that I'm sorry? Are you legitimately so stubborn as to disregard that? How abhorrent. How disgusting. You're an awful dad! How can you be so vile and cruel? You're the worst father ever! I can't believe tha-"
"SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUPPPPPPP!" Haltmann rudely interjects with a big scream. It appears that she's caused him to have another burst of immense anger, as his face turns red again. He pounds on the sides of his chair with his fists again. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut UP! JUST SHUT UP! I don't want to hear that garbage! Just shut it! You don't get to call me vile or cruel, considering that you are also vile and cruel for killing me! I am merely just giving you a taste of the medicine you gave me! And I already told you, saying sorry doesn't fix a single thing! I still suffered so much in the afterlife! You're unforgivable for killing me! I'LL EXTERMINATE YOU IN JUSTIFIED REVENGE FOR KILLING ME, AND I DON'T CARE HOW ANYONE ELSE REACTS TO IT!"
At this point, his words petrify Susie. She's overwhelmed by his sheer brutality and mercilessness. He knows he's being insanely cruel and abhorrent, but he literally uses the accidental stunt of her killing him to try to justify it. It is beyond unfathomable that he's bold enough to do this.
This is so much for her, that it causes her to feel helpless yet again. Nothing she says will make him relent even slightly. She begins to weep, unsure what else to do at this point.
But she doesn't get to weep for long, considering what happens next.
"Point your blasters at her, my workers!" Haltmann commands the Haltworkers. They do so immediately after he gives the order.
This startles Susie yet again. Right before this moment, they didn't actually have their laser guns pointed at her, but they do now. And there's nothing she can say or do to stop what's coming.
She's so doomed.
Still, though, she suddenly starts protesting again, even knowing it'd continue to fail. She really, really doesn't want to die.
"No!" She cries. "No! No no! No no no no! No no no no no no no no no no no no no! No no NO! NO! NO! NOOOOO!"
But as usual, her protesting doesn't sway him in the slightest. He continues to be completely and utterly unyielding. He's committed to this, and there's no chance of stopping him.
... It's over, Susanna Patrya Haltmann.
She becomes petrified again, and gulps multiple times. She doesn't want to die, but her ruthless and hateful father is deadset on orchestrating her death.
She knows this is the end for her. She's a goner.
Her friends are going to miss her.
Haltmann finally makes the order. He commands the Haltworkers to do it.
"My workers..." he says. "... Open fire!"
The Haltworkers begin to pull the triggers.
Susie instinctively lets out a panicked scream.
...
Susie abruptly awakes. Eyes wide open, she sits up and lets out a heavy gasp.
It's then followed by her taking a moment to catch her breath.
Oh, stars. It was all just a dream. None of it actually happened.
Still, she vividly remembers it all. It was so terrifying that it makes her uncomfortable and anxious. She whimpers several times.
She's not alone, though. There are other people present here, and all the noise she's just made was loud enough to wake them up.
"What in the stars?!" One voice says.
"Juh?" Another voice says.
... Yes, that's right. Susie isn't actually in her bedroom right now. She's still in the headquarters of the Haltmann Works Company, which is her home, but she's currently in the sleepover-designated building. It's very close to where she usually sleeps at, but it's in a different building.
It's the weekend. She doesn't work on the weekends, and so she invited two other people to hang out and spend the night with her.
These individuals are Taranza, the Floralian spider wizard, and Francisca, the icy blue Mage Sister. They are Susie's two closest friends. They're her two favorite people. For this occasion, she managed to invite the both of them to hang out with her at the same time.
All three are in the same room right now. They were sleeping together, with the room having three beds present, one for each of them to sleep on.
They're all awake now. And Susie is still whimpering.
"Susie!" Taranza says, sounding astonished. He then begins to sound worried during his following words. "Is that you? W-what's going on? Are you okay?"
"Is everything okay, Ms. Susie?" Francisca asks, also sounding worried. "What's wrong?"
Susie lets out one more whimper, and then becomes momentarily silent.
She's not exactly the biggest fan of opening up. For most people, she'd rather just keep her troubles to herself. However, she's with the two people that she's opened up to the most.
They're not the only ones she's ever opened up to, as she's also done some opening up to her other friends, including Kirby. But not nearly to the extent that she's done it with these two. They're her most beloved buddies. The ones she'll confide to the most.
Taranza and Francisca are both listening ears for Susie. It's also vice versa, as she acts as a listening ear for them as well, but the point still stands. When she feels the need to come to somebody about something that's bothering her, it's usually one of these two that she goes to. She has very strong bonds with the both of them, and she's grown comfortable enough to willfully and consistently show vulnerability to them. They know a lot of her secrets that nobody else knows.
She'll tell them about what just happened that caused her to abruptly awake and feel distress.
"... Hey, guys. I'm sorry for waking you up." Susie begins. She talks more softly than usual, and anxiously clasps her hands together. "But I just went through a nightmare. A really bad nightmare. It was terrifying."
As she says those words, her two friends gasp heavily. They get frightened by it.
"Oh my stars!" Taranza shouts, sounding anxious. "Don't apologize, Susie! It's only natural that people get woken up by bad nightmares. You know full well I have done that many times before!"
... That's very true. Taranza has had many nightmares. There have been instances where he came to Susie after he had a nightmare, looking distressed and had tears in his eyes, to which she comforted him and helped him through it.
Some of his nightmares involved Queen Sectonia in some way, and Susie also remembers just a couple of weeks ago when Taranza came to her and was crying about this nightmare he had of Kracko striking his home with lightning, setting in on fire and him struggling to escape. She was hugging him to help comfort him during that, assuring him that he was safe.
"I concur with Mr. Taranza, there's no need to japologa for that." Francisca says. "My sisters and I have had nightmares, too. It is not fun when it happens! People go through that, and it's really unfortunate."
"You also said that this nightmare you just went through was really bad and terrifying..." Taranza says. "Would you like to talk about it with us to help get it off your chest?"
Susie rasps a couple of times, attempting to preparing herself. The nightmare is still firmly in her mind, continuing to make her frightened on the inside.
She's considering to explain the nightmare in full detail. She wouldn't if anyone else were here, but she trusts her two besties a lot. And truthfully, she could really use their support right now.
"Yes. I'll talk about it with you guys." She says after rasping.
Before she begins, though, Taranza floats over to the side and turns on the light. The room was very dark, as it's still night time, but now the three of them can see each other perfectly with the light on. Francisca also puts on her beret, as she had it off when she was sleeping.
Francisca and Taranza then leave their beds and float over to Susie. They sit on her bed, sitting right in front of her. She's also still sitting up on her bed, with her hands still nervously clasped together.
Susie begins disclosing her horrible dream to them.
She talks about how it started with her being tractor-beamed into a UFO controlled by her dad, and mentions that Morpho Knight brought her dad back to life. She talks about how her dad greeted her and even showed that his memories were back by referring to her as "my daughter Susanna", but also mentions that there was no emotion behind his voice during that. She then begins to talk about how he suddenly erupted in anger over the fact that she caused his death.
She talks about how her dad snapped at her, calling her a murderer and a traitor. She mentions that she profusely apologized for killing him as she didn't mean to, but he didn't budge even one bit and refused to forgive her, because he "suffered so much in the afterlife". She then brings up about how this caused her to break down crying, and that he just continued to be extremely vitriolic to her.
And then she talks about how her dad proceeded to punish her, with his punishment for her being death, and that his method of going on about this was by summoning Haltworkers and ordering them to kill her with their blasters. She mentions that this also revealed that her dad reclaimed his title as the Haltmann Works Company's president, as he took it away from her.
She talks about about how frightened and scared she was about death being her punishment, and that she profusely begged for her life and pleaded him to not order the Haltworkers to shoot her, but her dad was completely unyielding to her pleads. She mentions that she grew desperate enough to even mention her friends to him, and that they'd all miss her if he killed her. But she then talks about how he spat in her face and told her that he didn't care what her friends thought, and that he even went as far as to claim that he'd go after them next after he was done with her.
Then she talks about how it disgusted her to hear him say that, and that she took a moment to snap at him as she called him out for being so cruel, vile and hateful. She talks about how he then interjected before she could finish talking, as he suddenly flew into a hot rage and repeatedly screamed at her to shut up, stopping her in her tracks, and that he made the vehement exclamation that he'll exterminate her in "justified revenge" for causing his death.
She talks about how he went forward in ordering the Haltworkers to point their laser guns at her, with her still desperately begging for her life. And she mentions that when he ordered them to shoot, she then screamed in panic. She says that was the end of the nightmare, which wraps up the revelation.
During her explanation of the nightmare, Susie grows increasingly sad and upset in her expression and tone of voice. It was already distressing to have the nightmare in her mind, and then explaining it in words just brought that to another level. Her big blue eyes start forming tears when she gets to the part of the nightmare where she mentions her friends and how her dad completely disregarded them while he was setting up the Haltworkers to kill her. After she's done revealing, she then slightly lowers her head and places her hands on the bed.
Taranza and Francisca are both absolutely horrified by all of this. The details of this dream are utterly astonishing to them. They can barely even fathom it. They let out several gasps in horror during the revelation. Taranza gapes his mouth wide open in massive shock at one point, and Francisca covers her mouth area with her hands in sheer astonishment.
They feel terrible and heartbroken, especially as they watch Susie be so sad and teary-eyed after she's done disclosing the nightmare.
A couple of moments after the revelation is done, they make their responses.
"... That was all so horrifying to hear! I... I actually think that's more horrifying than any of the nightmares I've had in a long time!" Taranza says, shocked tone in his voice. His tone then becomes sympathetic as he leans a bit closer and lightly gives Susie several pats on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry that happened, Susie. I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe your dad was being so awful. It was especially heartbreaking that nobody was around to save you from him. You absolutely did not deserve to have gone through that."
He thinks it was more horrifying than any of his recent nightmares? Wow. That's saying a lot.
"It was terrible of your father to have done all of that. That he spat in your face during your japology, still wanted to kill you, and didn't care what anyone else would've thought was all just so despicable. I can't believe he had the nerve to treat you so badly!" Francisca says with a tone that's mad about how Haltmann acted in that nightmare. Her tone then becomes more gentle as she places her right hand on top of Susie's. "You deserved so much better than that, Ms. Susie. You really did. I'm so sorry that you experienced such a terrible dream."
Susie then slightly raises her head back up, looking at her two friends. The tears in her eyes are now more severe, though. She's about to weep. Francisca lets go of her hand.
"... It was so terrifying." Susie says softly. She then sniffs in sadness a couple of times. "I was so, so scared when it was happening. I was so scared when he was going to kill me. I really didn't want to die..."
Taranza then pulls Susie in a hug. He hugs her with all six of his hands, trying to comfort her.
He reassures her, with his tone being soft and comforting as he begins to speak.
"Hey, it's okay. Everything's okay, Susie. You're still here." He says softly while hugging her. "Anyone would be terrified by a dream like that. That really was incredibly scary! But thankfully, it was nothing more than just a dream. It's okay! You are safe. Your dad is still gone, and so you're safe from him trying to kill you. I'm sorry that nightmare happened, but I promise that it'll be okay. I'm here for you. Francisca is here for you, too. We're both here for you. We love you. And we promise that you're safe."
While he talks, Susie can feel the warmth and coziness of his embrace. As distressed as she still is, it's genuinely comforting and alleviating. After he finishes talking, she returns the hug, leaning more into his embrace.
She starts to weep softly. The comfort that she feels from this hug, as well as the sense of the relief that she gets from it, makes her even more emotional than she already was.
"... T-thank you..." Susie says emotionally, as she weeps. "Thank you. Taranza, you're so wonderful."
As she continues to weep lightly, her hug with Taranza goes on for a bit more. She feels very comforted in his embrace.
Susie has always loved Taranza's hugs. He's soft, fuzzy, and has six hands. He gives very comforting hugs, especially for someone like her that went a long time without any physical affection.
Truthfully, she's somewhat softened up as a person over time thanks to all the hugs he's given her ever since they became friends. She feels very comfy in his hugs. A comfy and fuzzy feeling that she's come to cherish after having been deprived of it for so long.
As the hug between Susie and Taranza still goes on, Francisca comes a bit closer to them.
"Like he said, we're here for you." She says with a comforting tone, lightly stroking Susie's hands a few times. "We've got your back, Ms. Susie. We'll help you get through this, okay?"
"You're really cared about and appreciated." Taranza says gently while still having Susie in his embrace.
Susie is still weeping, but she's relieved by their support.
... She's really grateful to have these two as such close friends.
After a decently long hug, Taranza pulls away. Then it becomes Francisca's turn to pull Susie in a hug. Susie quickly returns the hug.
Francisca is pretty cold to touch, but Susie doesn't mind at all. She loves the winter, and she has no problem with being around the cold or being touched by it. Honestly, she actually feels quite comfy in Francisca's embrace, even with her hugs being different from Taranza's in terms of touch.
Despite how different in touch their embraces are, she's comforted in them either way.
In general, Susie is not a particularly touchy person. She'd rather avoid physical contact with most people. But there are exceptions. Some of her other friends are also allowed to give her hugs on occasion, and she has strong enough bonds with her two best friends that she lets them be very affectionate with her. And she's grown to adore getting hugs from the both of them.
"That nightmare truly sucked. You didn't deserve to go through that." Francisca says, as she comforts Susie in her embrace. "But jamankfully, you don't need to worry about any of that happening in reality. You're still here with us. It'll be okay."
Susie starts feeling a little bit happier. She's still in tears, and is still reeling from the nightmare, but their comfort is helping. She feels so cared about during these hugs and comforting words.
"T-thank you, Francisca." She says, voice still very emotional. "Just like with Taranza, I'm also thankful to have you here."
This becomes another pretty long hug. They both believed that Susie needed these long hugs after the nightmare she just went through, and so they're giving it to her.
Eventually, Francisca pulls away. She and Taranza then become so generous as to help wipe the remaining tears off of Susie's face as her weeping slowly comes to an end. They also continue with the comforting words, as well as giving her several pats on the back and shoulders, to keep showing how supportive they are as they help her start feeling better.
Shortly after Susie calms down and is no longer in tears, she talks again.
"Thank you guys so much. I can say that I'm starting to feel a little bit better now." She says, voice calm. She clasps her hands together. "That was scary, though. I've had bad dreams before, of course, but they're usually not that terrible and I'm able to get over them easily. This one, however, legitimately terrified me. I'm still kind of freaked out by it. But I really appreciate the both of you for being here for me and helping me through it."
She remembers the nightmare she had a couple of years ago where Star Dream somehow came back and threatened the universe again. During it, she was frightened and quickly went to Kirby, telling him about it and that it needs to be stopped again. She was relieved when she found out it was just a dream. Thatwas a pretty sucky dream, but it doesn't even remotely hold a candle to the one she just went through, which was just so much more terrifying and harrowing.
What even brought it on? Susie did previously have the feeling a few times that her father, even if his memories were back, would hate her for causing his death, despite the fact that it was an accident. There were times where she thought about how he'd probably consider her to be a traitorous daughter, and that he'd disown her.
But the nightmare took it to the extreme. During it, he was so incredibly mad about his death that he attempted to orchestrate her death in revenge, and pulled absolutely no punches about it whatsoever.
... Could it have happened because of the amount of guilt Susie has had over her father's death? Perhaps, although the timing of it is bizarre. She's felt terrible about it, but now it's been several years since he died. She's come to terms with his death, and she was just having a great time with Francisca and Taranza before they went to bed.
The concept of Haltmann wanting Susie dead is still a very disturbing thought, though. Which could actually make it relieving that he's gone.
"Hey, it's okay. A nightmare like that can give you the chills even after it's over. You know how I am when I get bad nightmares!" Taranza says, as he then briefly plays with his hands. "I always freak out when I get one. I still remember the one I had where Sectonia came back and I was so happy to see her again, but then she suddenly went into flames and I was crying while it was happening! Even when I woke up from that nightmare, it took me a bit of time to realize it didn't actually happen. It was still distressing, though."
His voice grows emotional during those last few sentences. Susie leans forward and pats him on the shoulder a few times.
"... I remember when you told me about that one, Taranza." She says. "That one was really bad!"
It happened over a year ago. One morning, Susie received a phone call from Taranza, and she could hear the crying in his voice as he talked about how he saw Sectonia came back and then was suddenly set ablaze and died again. Susie was stunned. She couldn't believe it. She asked Taranza if it was just a bad dream, and it took him a moment to realize that it indeed was.
He was still upset for a bit afterwards, though. Susie was able to infer that when he hung up, and then she quickly flew over to his home in Floralia's Royal Road to comfort him.
Taranza has had a handful of nightmares involving Sectonia. The one he just brought up was one of the scarier ones.
Francisca was spooked to hear about the nightmare that Taranza just brought up. Like Susie, she also comes over and gives him a couple of shoulder pats.
"Oh my void, Mr. Taranza, that one sounds terrible! I'm sorry that nightmare happened." Francisca says, as she then rasps a couple of times. "Anyway, if neither of you mind, I'd like to mention that eight or nine months ago, Ms. Flamberge had a nightmare that is actually a bit similar to the one that Ms. Susie just had. It was about Hyness turning evil again. He silently showed up at her room, and then made a speedy rant to her face. When Ms. Flamberge realized that he was somehow corrupted by the Jamba Heart again, she was angry and yelled at him. Then, he summoned the unconscious bodies of both me and Ms. Zan around his arms."
... That left Susie absolutely shocked. Francisca wasn't joking when she said that this nightmare that Flamberge had was similar to hers! Having your father suddenly come to you, snap at you, and then attack you were what was similar. The circumstances are quite different, but Susie was immediately able to notice the similarities.
Taranza is also shocked, gaping his mouth wide open, but neither he nor Susie interject as Francisca continues talking about what happened in Flamberge's nightmare.
"Ms. Flamberge was livid and in tears to see Hyness do that to me and Ms. Zan again." She says. "She screamed at him, vowing to save us from him, and attacked. She repeatedly struck him with her sword. But he overpowered her in battle, and used our bodies against her, which scared her because she did not want to hurt us! She fled and went to her space shuttle. She went to Popstar to ask for Kirby's help. But right as she was about to open Kirby's door, the nightmare was over, because that's when she woke up from it."
Susie and Taranza are both horrified. That's a vicious nightmare! They particularly gasp at the part where Hyness literally attempted to hurt Flamberge by using her sisters' bodies. That was especially horrific.
At least she was able to escape, unlike Susie who was surrounded by the Haltworkers in her nightmare, but Flamberge must've been so distressed as she was fleeing in hers, worrying intensely about her sisters.
"When she woke up, she came and woke me up as well." Francisca continues, as she then talks about what happened after the nightmare. "There were tears in her eyes as she was telling me about this nightmare. It frightened me. It broke my heart to know she had such an awful dream. I hugged her and told her that everything was going to be okay, as thank Void that it was nothing more than just a dream. I held her until she calmed down. When we told Ms. Zan and Hyness about it, it also frightened them. It made them vun sad! Hyness was mortified, as although he promised he'll never do what he did in that nightmare, he also said it made him feel really ashamed."
After she finishes, Susie and Taranza then respond, still horrified by this revelation.
"... That was a really scary dream!" Susie says. "I'm freaked out to hear that Flamberge had a nightmare that was similar to mine, having your dad become so ill-intentioned to you and all. I'm sorry she went through that, Francisca!"
"It's terrifying that Hyness basically went back to do that same kind of bad stuff again in that nightmare!" Taranza says. "Poor Flamberge! I'm so sorry she had that nightmare. Francisca, if it's okay for you to do this, can you tell her that it made us sad to hear that?"
Francisca takes a moment to make a brief praying gesture with her hands, and then makes her response after that.
"I can do that! I'm certain she would appreciate that. Jamanke, guys." She says. She then moves over and gives Susie a few pats on the back. "And like I said, it's somewhat alike the nightmare that you had, Ms. Susie. When you were talking about yours, it reminded me of her nightmare, and so that's why I brought it up. And I actually think that yours was even scarier, because you said that your dad remembered you, and yet he was still being so terrible and trapped you with the robot workers! Once again, you really didn't deserve that."
And so this isn't the first time that Francisca comforted someone after a nightmare. She was comforting her own sister after one.
"Thank you, and yeah that makes sense. Again, I'm sorry she went through that." Susie says.
Susie is also well aware that things are still pretty complicated for the Jamba family. Francisca has told her all about it.
Even though the Jamba family was rescued by Kirby and the star allies, they've still been having some problems. There's legitimate baggage over what Hyness did to the Mage Sisters. He hurt them really bad. It's great that he's now free from the Jamba Heart's influence, but what he did is not something that can easily be shrugged off.
Zan Partizanne forgives him without much trouble, as she's especially devoted to him, but Francisca and Flamberge have some hang-ups. Early on after they were saved, they were actually sort of uncomfortable around Hyness because of what he did to them. And even though they've warmed up to him a bit, their love for him has somewhat faded. They still care about him, but their opinions of him are overall more complicated than they were before. Their relationship with him just simply isn't the same as it once was. At least he's genuinely sorry for what he did, but he also understands their baggage over him.
This is one of the things that Susie and Francisca have bonded over. They both have baggage over being hurt by their dads, and it's affected how much love they have for them. Susie was really hurt by Haltmann not recognizing her as his daughter, among many other things. She still cares about him, but she's also resentful of what he was like at the end, making her have complicated feelings about him. Even if he survived and somehow regained his memories, she feels like she'd still have hang-ups with him.
After the three end their talk about the nightmare that Francisca brought up, Susie prepares to say something.
"I know I've said this to you guys before, but I think it's worth saying again." She begins, as she looks at both Taranza and Francisca. They become curious.
In her upcoming words, she then puts on her gleeful face expression, with happy squinting in her eyes. Her voice becomes more and more emotional as she speaks, and she gestures with her hands.
"You're my two favorite people! And yes, I much prefer you guys over my dad. Sorry to him, but he doesn't hold a candle to either of you." Susie continues. "You're both just so wonderful! You two have just been so kind to me, you've been treating me so well, and you've been so supportive of me, and it means everything to me. You guys do such a good job at making me happy. I'm so grateful to have you two around. Thank you both so, so much for being such amazing friends. I love you guys."
She's being sincere when she says that they're her two favorite people. She well and truly does love them a lot more than her dad.
Truthfully, she doesn't actually have a whole lot of love for her dad at this point. There is some love that she still has for him, but it's nowhere near as much as before, and pretty much all of that remaining love is just for the dad she knew and cherished back when she was a child.
Susie cannot say that she has any serious love for the Max Profitt Haltmann that she came back to when she left Another Dimension. Their relationship was very lackluster. He was generous to her to an extent, but that was only because she was doing a good job as his secretary. He was overall emotionally detached from her, and instead was extremely devoted to Star Dream, the very thing that took her away from him. She didn't understand why he kept that machine around. She wanted to know the truth about what he did during her absence, and so she plotted to seize Star Dream to wake him up and make him explain what happened.
But alas, she accidentally killed him instead. Initially after his death, she mourned him, as she was upset about how she was never able to reconnect with him. Once she started making friends, however, she then eventually moved on from Haltmann's death. Her relationships with her friends have simply been far more gratifying than the relationship she had with him. She let go of some of her attachment to him, especially considering that she still has so much uncertainty about him, including what he'd think of her if he could see her now. She doesn't let things like that get to her too much.
Susie likes most of her friends more than her father. Not just Taranza and Francisca, but also Kirby, Magolor, Marx, Flamberge and Zan Partizanne. Like with her two besties, her relationships with these other friends are also a lot better than her relationship with her father.
Francisca and Taranza both smile as Susie tells them for the second time that they're two favorite people and how grateful she is to have them. It makes them very glad to hear it again. After she's done talking, Taranza then makes a response.
"Awww..." He says, with a lot of emotion in his voice. He sounds very touched by what Susie said. "... I'm glad to hear that we're good at making you happy, Susie. You could really use it after what you had been through. And like I said back when you stated it before, I think it's okay if you don't love your dad as much as us. You know me, though, as I still love Sectonia so much, but I believe that everyone's entitled to their own opinions. If anything, it means so much to hear you say that you like me that much."
Susie then comes closer to him and holds both of his middle hands. She continues to smile.
"Of course, Taranza." She says. "You've just been so sweet to me ever since we met. You've constantly been there for me. And you've just done so much for me over the years. I appreciate you so much for that. I cherish all the fun times we've had together. You're an absolute delight, and thank you so much for everything."
Taranza played a huge part in helping Susie heal from the death of her father. He helped more than anyone else has in that regard, and that's what led to her becoming so attached to him. She loves him for all the solace he's given her, ever since they first connected over their grief.
In her initial grief phase, Susie was not doing well. Even when she and Kirby became friends, she was still doing poorly. Things got better when Kirby helped her make new friends, though, especially as Taranza was one of those friends he helped her make.
Taranza has helped Susie out with so much. He's given her so many comfy hugs, he's complimented her a lot, he's helped her become a happier person over time, he's helped her have more appreciation for nature, and he's helped her become less closed off than she was before. She's still somewhat reserved, but she's grown to be a tad more sociable thanks to him. He's also just been so kind, sweet and approachable for her in general. Susie wholeheartedly appreciates him for it and really enjoys his company.
She also helps him heal to return the favor for helping her. Taranza still has so much love for Sectonia. Susie is his best alive friend, but Sectonia will always be his all-time favorite person. He's still far more emotionally attached to her than Susie is to her dad. Susie understands why, as it's because Taranza literally grew up with Sectonia. And he knows what led to her descent into madness, as he was there to see her become corrupted by a dimensional mirror that he gave her. He regrets it so much. Susie comforts him, as she knows what it's like to accidentally doom a loved one.
Alongside their solace moments, Susie and Taranza also have a lot of fun together, including collaborating on tomfoolery. She often leads during tomfoolery with him smugly acting as a lackey. They've made a lot of fun bonding activities. It makes her all the more fond of him. She thinks he's just a really fun, awesome, cool guy. She holds him dearly.
Taranza smiles as Susie holds his middle hands and expresses her appreciation to him. She then lets go of his middle hands, and turns her attention over to Francisca, coming closer to her.
"Thank you so much as well, Francisca!" Susie says, still smiling. She clasps her hands together. "You've also just been so sweet to me! I love hanging out with you, too! I have a lot of fun when I'm with you. You've been such a great friend, and I'm also very glad to have you around!"
Francisca lets out a few giggles as she gives Susie a few pats on the back. She then responds.
"You're welcome, Ms. Susie!" She says. "I'm also happy to be friends with such an adorable lady like you! It's been vun fun with you. And I look forward to more of it in the future."
Their friendship started sometime after the Jamba family was saved. At one point, Francisca came up to Susie and avidly complimented her, which caused Susie to melt, and from there they've just been getting on really well. Their bond continued to grow stronger by virtue of their respective trauma about their dads, as well as discovering that they have many overlapping interests, including ice cream and kawaii things.
Much like Taranza, Francisca has also just been so supportive and kind to Susie. She compliments her a lot, and treats her with utmost kindness and respect.
Susie is aware that Francisca is not viewed as sweet by many people. She's known for having a knack for brutality, as she has a collection of people that she's turned into ice and keeps as decoration. But she also does genuinely have a sweet side, and Susie is one of the fortunate people that she treats with her sweet side. Susie well and truly views her as sweet because of it.
And she's not deterred by how violent Francisca can be, considering she's also had her fair share of formidable deeds, with hers involving robotics. If anything, Susie actually thinks it's very fun to watch Francisca kick butt with her big axe! Stars forbid women do anything. She's even willing to join her as they enjoy kicking butt together, and Francisca has had the additional courtesy to enchant Susie's weapons with ice and water elements during those moments.
They've had a lot of fun together, often letting out their cutesy giggles amongst each other. Susie is highly fond of Francisca. She also has plenty of like for Flamberge and Zan Partizanne, as she's friends with them as well, but Francisca is the firmly the Mage Sister that she's the most closely bonded with. And truthfully, the other two applaud Susie for having become such close friends with their beloved sister.
Because of the bonds that Susie has with both Taranza and Francisca, as well as all the support they've given her, they've earned their places as her two favorite people. Her father was so much more underwhelming by comparison.
Of course, her other friends also deserve credit. Shout-out to Magolor in particular, as he is Susie's third closest friend, and there was one point not too long after they became friends where he expressed interest in seeing her do cool stuff with technology again, which was actually the very thing that inspired her to rebuild the Haltmann Works Company into a better entity than what it was before. Susie does give credit to her other friends. But the point still stands that the spider sorcerer and the icy axe-wielding general are her two absolute best buddies.
She has big soft spots for the both of them. They're her ride or die.
The three continue hanging out inside the Haltmann Works Company sleepover building's bedroom some more, as they're all still wide awake after they were woken up. They chit-chat and take it easy. Susie receives gentle pats on the back, shoulders and hands from the other two as they continue to comfort her after her nightmare.
Then at one point, something particularly intimate happens. Susie gets hugged by both Francisca and Taranza at the same time.
She's between their embraces, and it is incredibly comforting. She feels both Taranza's fuzziness and Francisca's chilliness, both comfy in their own ways. It all makes her really cozy.
This isn't the first time she's been hugged by both of them at once, but it's just so sweet and delightful every time it happens. It gets her every single time.
"Awww, you guys..." Susie says while being hugged by them. She speaks softly, as she gets really emotional in this double hug.
She feels so cared about as they're hugging her. There were so many years in her life where she didn't feel cared about at all. She was touch-starved for so long. And so to now to have this sort of thing happen to her makes her really feel things.
Her father was only ever affectionate with her back when she was little, before that machine took her away from him. When she came back, he wasn't affectionate with her at all. When she tried to hug him first thing after she came back, he simply shoved her off of him. That really hurt her. After having gone through that, it means everything to her to have these two give her so many hugs, including ones where she's hugged by both at the same time.
Eventually, they both pull away, and the three of them hang out inside the room some more.
It's pretty common for these three to hang out together. Susie often makes time for her two best friends. She frequently finds moments to hang out with either one of them. Even when she works, it's common for one of these two to visit her in her office, to which she's always glad to allow. And because she often spends time with them individually, that also opens up chances for her to hang out with the both of them at the same time. When all three of them hang out, it's always a nice and pleasant experience, as they're all having a great time.
Taranza and Francisca are also friends with each other, although they're not notably close. Taranza has a closer friendship with Zan Partizanne than he does with Francisca. But despite not being super close, he and Francisca are still indeed friends as they get along quite well. They mostly connect over their fondness of Susie. They're more than glad to meet up alongside her, as they both want to make her happy, and her presence makes them happy as well.
There's a particular friend group going on. It consists of Susie, Taranza, Magolor, Marx and all three of the Mage Sisters. In a general sense, these people are in close contact with each other. There are a lot of a combinations within them that hang out. Susie with her two besties is one of the more consistent of those combinations.
Susie enjoys every single occasion she hangs out with either one of her best friends, and so to be hanging out with both of them at the same time is especially joyous for her.
The three continue lightheartedly hanging out in the room. Some time passes. Eventually, as they can see from the window, they notice that the sky is starting to become ever so slightly brighter.
"I lost track of time! I didn't realize it'd already start getting light..." Taranza says with a surprised tone.
Susie, admittedly, also lost track of time. She pulls out her phone to check.
"Oh wow, it's already almost 7:30 in the morning." She says. "It's 7:24 AM right now, to be precise."
It's the time of the year where it doesn't start getting bright until later in the morning. The time of the year where it's still very dark at 6 AM. It's currently the month of October.
Susie feels like she and the other two have been up for more than an hour. Probably even an hour and a half. Which would mean that they must've woken up some time between 5 to 6 AM, closer to 6. It was still pitch-black outside when they woke up, since it was dark enough in the room to warrant turning the light on.
She wants to say that she and they went to bed at around midnight? Or even a little before. That's earlier than they usually go to sleep, but they had a long day beforehand as they did a lot of things together.
If it weren't for her nightmare, they most likely would've slept a bit more than they did, although Susie has never really been a heavy sleeper.
"Are either of you still tired?" Susie asks. "I think I'm just going to stay up. I don't say that out of fear of getting another nightmare, though. I'm just not really feeling to go back to bed. What about you guys?"
"I'm a little tired, I'd say." Taranza responds. "Although I don't think I'll go back to bed. I'm more so just wanting to lay down for a bit. I'm not quite ready to get up and go outside yet."
Francisca more or less gives the same response, as she's also wanting to lay down.
And with that, the three make an agreement to just lay down together for a little while until the sky becomes brighter. Deciding that they no longer need the light in the room, Francisca floats over to turn it off. She also takes her beret off and puts it on one of the desks, and then floats back over to Susie and Taranza.
They all lay in the same bed together as opposed to being in their three differing beds, all of them having their eyes open since they don't intend to actually go back to sleep. They put the bed's blanket over their bodies. They continue chit-chatting, albeit more quietly than they were when they were sitting up with the light on.
At one point during this, they talk about a particular topic, started by Taranza.
"I'd like to ask you something, Susie." He says. "So I know that Morpho Knight won't bring anyone back, which I think is unfortunate because I love the idea of Sectonia coming back. But my question to you is: Hypothetically-speaking, what would you do if Morpho Knight brought back the best possible version of you dad? By that, I mean if he were to remember you and love you again. How would you deal with him if that were to happen?"
Susie takes a deep breath before responding. She's actually thought about that idea before, but she still takes a bit to prepare herself first.
"... I believe I'd reconnect with him to an extent, but I also just don't really know how it'd play out." She says. "Because here's the thing: I still don't know what he was doing before I came back from that dimension. I don't know why he kept that machine around, and how it got to the point of what we was like when I returned. I'd apologize to him for getting him killed, but then I'd want him to answer about what he did in my absence. If he were to just love me again without explanation, it would feel insincere. I'd want complete transparency from him and explain what he was doing while I was gone. If he were to be completely transparent about it and apologize back, then I could warm up. We could perhaps re-bond at that point. I could regain some love for him."
She then clasps her hands together as she adds on to her response.
"But if I'm being entirely honest, I'd still love you guys more than him. Even in the best possible scenario of him coming back." Susie continues. "Even if he and I were to be able to work things out, I don't believe it's even possible that he could ever top you guys at this point. I've simply just had so much better experiences with you both. Even in the hypothetical scenario where my dad came back and we were able to make amends, I feel like I'd still have some hang-ups. He really hurt me back then. I'd still never be able to forget what happened between me and him. I would ultimately be glad to see him again in that hypothetical, and I would be willing to hug him, but even at his best I just don't think I'd be able to regain all the love that I previously had for him. It just wouldn't feel the same after what he was like at one point. I'd still have you guys continue being my two favorite people."
After she finishes talking, Francisca gives her a few pats on the shoulders, signaling she's ready to respond.
"I think that's perfectly fine, Ms. Susie!" Francisca says. "Nothing wrong with that at all. Like Mr. Taranza said earlier, you're entitled to whatever opinion you want to have. You do you. And as you know, having hang-ups with one's dad is something I also experience. So I understand how you'd feel that way about such a scenario. And regardless of how your dad may treat you in the hypothetical of the grim reaper bringing him back, you still have us no matter what. We love you. We'd have your back jif you were to feel like you couldn't work things out with him. But it's okay, as obviously he can't ever come back, so you don't need to worry about anything bad happening with you and him."
Taranza nods, and states that he's in agreement with what Francisca said.
A smiley expression on Susie's face as she's touched by just how supportive they are of her.
"Thank you guys..." She says joyously.
Stuff like this only strengthens her stance on these two being her favorite people. She knows for an absolute fact that she can trust them.
Taranza and Francisca are both also very protective of Susie. Many times, they've stood up for her when she got harshly criticized or judged by someone. They'd go after someone that was being malicious to her. Francisca would likely even go as far as to encase someone in ice if they were to hurt Susie.
... Not that Susie needs to be protected. She's not a damsel by any means. She's always been more than capable and willing to protect herself. It actually embarrassed her to be protected at first. But she's grown to be touched by it, especially as she understands that they do it purely because they just really care about her. It's such a sweet gesture. It comes to feel really nice to have this sort of back-up and support.
And truthfully, vice versa also exists. She's protective of them, too, also standing up for them for when they get criticized or judged, and she'd attack someone if they hurt one of them. If you were to insult either of her besties to her face, she'd shoot you on the spot.
It did cross Susie's mind earlier in the morning that if Francisca and Taranza were present in the horrible nightmare she just had about her father, they would've protected her from him. They would've saved her. And a while back, there was one time where she thought about them supporting her in the hypothetical of her father coming back and being mean to her out of resentment for being killed.
Even though Morpho Knight will never bring anyone back to life, there were a few times where Taranza brought up the hypothetical scenario of Sectonia coming back and how he'd love it if it happened, and that led Susie to have the thought in her head many times about the hypothetical scenario of Max Profitt Haltmann being brought back. She doesn't really know what he'd be like if he were to be alive again, but she did think of a few different scenarios that might seem plausible.
One scenario is that he comes back and still doesn't recognize her as his daughter. Basically like what he was like at the time of his death. That wouldn't be a happy scenario, really. If he came back like that, he'd absolutely be angry with her for getting him killed and would hold it against her. And even if they managed to talk it through and he were to stop being mad about it, it still wouldn't be that great, as there'd still be the issue of him having his memories gone.
At least Star Dream is gone, though, and so she could try to convince him and show proof that he's her dad, but he'd probably just be really stubborn, and even if he eventually starts remembering, it'd probably take a very long time and it'd overall just be a complicated, insufferable process. Susie lost all faith in that version of him sometime after he died.
But what if he were to have his memories back upon revival? Susie imagined two different scenarios, depending on how he were to handle the fact that she caused his death.
If he were to hold it against her and hate her because of it, that would actually sting a lot. Especially if he were to refuse to forgive her. She wouldn't really be all that sad if he hated her if his memories were still gone, because that version of him sucks anyways, but it'd hit different if he actually remembered her as his daughter while hating her. It'd make her feel really sad and ashamed. She'd apologize profusely.
... That's why she broke down crying when he was being so unforgiving and vitriolic to her in the nightmare. Even though she's moved on his death, she still has some fondness over the dad that she had back when she was little, and so the idea of him hating her with his memories back would hit hard for her. She never meant to kill him, and that's the version of him she wanted back!
Earlier in the morning, she was able to quietly admit to herself that they way he acted in that nightmare was probably very unrealistic. It was really extreme. Maybe he wouldn't have actually gone that far. Maybe a more realistic version of the scenario where he hates her with his memories back is that he just disowns her and goes off to do his own thing away from her. That'd still really sting, though. In that case, she'd sadly accept it, although she'd at least still have her friends to be there for her.
If he were to actually forgive her and love her again if he came back with his memories returned? That'd be the only scenario where a hypothetical Haltmann revival could actually have a chance of being good. The only scenario where Susie would be happy to have him back. But like she said in her response to Taranza's question, she'd still want her dad to be completely honest with her about what happened during her absence in that scenario. She wouldn't want him to lie about it or pretend that nothing happened. She'd want to know the truth about what he did that led to him forgetting about her when she returned to him. If he were to tell the truth, then they could reconnect.
Although it'd still feel a little awkward. Even though Susie would be glad to have him back in that scenario, she just doesn't feel like her relationship with him could ever be the same again even in that scenario, because of everything that happened. At best, it'd probably just be similar to Francisca's relationship with Hyness, where the baggage of what happened before has permanently affected their relationship.
And besides, Susie is happy with the bonds she's made. She's happy with having her two besties be her all-time favorite people. She's not particularly keen on changing that.
She's not bothered by the fact that Morpho Knight will never bring anyone back to life. She's come to terms with the fact that her father is never coming back, and she's able to get by without him. It is what it is.
Susie's friends are the best thing to ever happen to her, especially her two best friends. They're the reason she's able to be as happy as she is now, after having such a traumatic life beforehand. She wouldn't have been able to get to where she is now without them. And because of that, she generally has more fondness and appreciation for them than she does for Max Profitt Haltmann.
She's content with how things are now.
The three keep laying in the same bed together with their eyes open for a little while, quietly chit-chatting while doing so.
This continues up until it hits 9 AM. The sky is now plenty bright as they can infer by looking at the window. At this point, they get up and prepare themselves for the day.
It's still the weekend, as it's Sunday morning. Susie doesn't go back to work until tomorrow. The three plan to continue hanging out in the Haltmann Works Company's headquarters for most of today, and then Francisca and Taranza will return back to their respective homes when the day is over.
That's not for at least another twelve hours, though. They'll be doing things together up until then.
"How are you feeling, Susie?" Taranza asks, before the three leave the sleepover building. "Is the nightmare still bothering you at all? "
Susie clasps her hands in preparation for her response.
"... A little bit, but overall I'm alright now." She says. "That nightmare was really bad, so yeah I'll admit I'm still a little freaked out that it happened, but your guys' comfort did a lot. I know that I'm safe. And I look forward to spending today with you!"
The other two smile, glad to hear that they largely succeeded in comforting her, and they nod at her last sentence.
"I look forward to today as well!" Francisca says, putting on her beret. "I'm sure it will be vun fun!"
"Could we interest you with more hugs?" Taranza asks.
Susie says yes. Of course she'd take more hugs from these two. These two are allowed to hug her as much as they want, pretty much.
And so they do. Taranza hugs her first, and then Francisca hugs her. Susie becomes glee as she's being hugged by them.
"You're both just so sweet..." Susie says after their hugs with her finish up. "I know it's going to be great! I'm grateful to have you two around for today!"
They then leave the sleepover building, go outside, and start their day.
Susie decides that she wants to go to the headquarters' ice cream shop, as she's in the mood for ice cream. The other two join her on that. Francisca also loves ice cream, and although Taranza may be less of an ice cream lover than the other two, he'll still gladly join them.
And so that's the first thing they do. After that, they then move on to do other fun things.
Susie is thrilled spend this day with her two favorite people. It's eventually able to get the nightmare she just had off her mind.
These two know how to make her happy. They know how to help her have a good time.
She's really fortunate to have them.
