ACT FIVE, PART TWO

A raspy frog cleared its throat. "Excuse me, General."

Hearing his title called, Galeforce made an about-face towards the entrance. "Ah, Frog. Good to see you and your team."

Charles, Dave and Rupert also turned around. But Dave froze at the sight of the trio dressed in rugged navy blue standing in the entryway.

Feeling Dave shifting in the bed, Rupert noted his fear and quickly assured him, "No, no, it's okay, Dave! They work for us." Rupert explained the missing piece to a puzzled Dave. "They're bounty hunters, and they go on special missions when we can't go."

"That's right. In fact, Eel here," Frog motioned to the shaded spectacled officer next to him, "helped Rupert take care of your wounds while you were passed out, Dave."

Eel stepped forward. "That I did. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"I'm o-okay; not in the best shape, though."

"But you're here and alive, and that's what's important."

"...Y-yeah, that's true. T-thank you for helping me," Dave smiled with great gratitude.

Eel gave a loose salute in acknowledgement.

Frog smiled at the exchange before he got down to the point. "Sorry to interrupt, but we found somethin' I think you oughta take a look at. We brought it outside the camp."

Interested, Galeforce raised his brows. "What is it? Did you find more Toppats?"

It became Turtle's turn to speak up now. "Yeah, sort of. It's not easy to explain. It's not bad, but it's not exactly the best news either.

"It's... Reginald. We found his body after the fire was put out."

All froze in shock, especially Dave. Did he hear right? "Reginald? He's gone? Y-you're sure?"

Turtle nodded.

"Well… this is quite the news you've brought us," Galeforce said after he snapped out of it, stroking his beard in thought.

"But that's not all. There's a lot more we found, but I think you'll just have to see for yourself, sir, to understand why we can't really explain it all."

"Hm. Well, alright then, lead the way." He stood up and directed Charles and Rupert. "Charlie, you come with me. Rupert, you stay here and keep Mr. Panpa company."

Rupert felt a little disappointed at not being able to go see what the team had found, but seeing Dave's relief at not being alone, the disappointment dissipated and his senses of responsibility and loyalty took over. "Yes sir."

Galeforce patted Dave on the shoulder and smiled warmly. "Feel better. We'll be back later." Then he left.

Charles trailed behind him, but not before giving Dave a fistbump, with the latter reciprocating. "Yeah, don't sweat it. You're in good hands, Dave," Charles cheerfully said. "See ya!" Then he left.

Then Dave and Rupert were left alone.

"I wonder what they'll find," Dave wondered out loud.

"Who knows? Maybe more Toppats. Or - " Rupert paused as his worst enemy came to mind. It burned his mind and heart to consider him into the equation, but given that no one found any sign of him among the wreckage back then, the possibilities of that now opened up.

"'Or...?'"

Rupert hesitated. Even if he firmly believed Henry was still responsible for this whole mess, he did not want to make Dave feel stupid; Dave earnestly believed Henry was gone. And yet there was something missing.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I still think Stickmin may have played a part here. Now I know you said you heard he was dead, and I believe you, Dave," He quickly held up a placating hand before Dave could say anything, "But he's crafty. He was able to escape two prisons and pull off a lot of other crazy stuff. I'm keepin' my mind open to the idea that he could have pulled off another crazy stunt that somehow made all of this happen before he was killed."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. But whatever happened, we'll find out. I just know he has his fingerprints written all over the place with what happened here. He's paid the price for it, just like the lot of them did," the soldier uttered darkly as his emotions intensified.

Dave tried not to let Rupert see him cringing. "Y-yeah, they did…"

The soldier tamed the fire burning inside again. "Sorry," he coughed out. "As you can tell, I'm not a fan of him. Not of any of them."

"Y-yeah. I got that." Dave was afraid that Rupert would, true to his character, blow a gasket so he opted to try directing his attention to something else. "Hey, I never got a chance to know, Rupert; how did you wind up in the military?"

That threw Rupert off. "Huh?"

"Remember? You said we would talk later once we were out of the Toppat base. Well, it's, it's later now. And I-I would like to know what made you enlist into the military," Dave reminded gently.

Rupert frowned as he recollected the events that seemed like a lifetime so long ago, but in reality, only transpired hours ago. "Oh… yeah. I guess I did say that, huh? You really want to know what I'm doin' here instead of West Mesa?"

At Dave's peppy head bopping, Rupert obliged. "Well, I felt like I could do a lot more here than I could back in that prison. After all that happened there, I guess I wanted to push myself to bigger heights." He frowned as what he just said hit him. He didn't see it before, but in the eight years that he worked there, he was so proud of himself. So sure and confident in his skills. And when Stickmin came along, those skills not only did nothing, they meant nothing compared to that snake's own.

"And I didn't realize it until now, but… I was so complacent in my job."

"Wha— What do you mean? You were doing great when we were still there!"

But Rupert shook his head. "No, Dave." He paused. "I mean, yeah, I was doin' my job well, and I was one of the best. At least I thought I was. But I made such a big and obvious mistake. I didn't do what I was supposed to do when fresh fish like Stickmin come in. I got so used to doin' things the way I always did that I didn't bother to really put my skills to use; to push them and see if he was like any other prisoner there - brutal, tamable, predictable.

"But he wasn't like those prisoners, and that was where I slipped up. After workin' there for eight years, all of the criminals locked up all started to look and act and walk the same way, that I barely had time to register if he would be any different. And I think...and I think that's why I need to apologize to you, Dave."

Dave gaped at him like he grew a pair of fish gills. "What?! Why?"

"I failed. I didn't take the time to double check on you before, y'know. That incident."

Rupert lowered his head, the brim of his cap shielding his eyes from Dave's own. The concerned guard eyed him.

"It was my fault that the box got through to Stickmin and he escaped and you were fired. If I had been payin' attention to the warning signs, then this whole thing could have turned out differently."

"But… but if it had turned out differently, you wouldn't be here."

That innocent observation, while well-meaning, only served to make his guilt rise. "And you wouldn't be either. You would still be back there, and I could still be helpin' you. And HE would still be locked up like the animal he was." He grit his teeth as his primal anger bubbled up like magma.

"Rupert… "

But Rupert didn't listen this time. He stood up and began pacing the floor in a flurry of energy. "He did so much damage! if I had my way I would have locked him up permanently in the darkness where no one could help him and the keys would have been thrown away for good. He and the Toppats… they deserve one another!"

"No, Johnny!" Oh no, not another partner, not again! He immediately picked up the car radio to inform the other officers that - "Officer down! Repeat! Officer down!"

The helicopter whirred behind him -

He wanted to stop the car, but couldn't -

Stop that thief!

They got him - he was at the end of the line!

Hands up!

No, he went over with the gem!

How is he?

Not good.

Johnny...

NO.

NEVER AGAIN.

I QUIT HERE.

I RISE THERE.

NO MORE MISTAKES.

Dave didn't like the expression of utter loathing forming on Rupert's face. "But Rupert - "

Rupert's fury accelerated and he clenched his fists in hatred. "I hate them so much! They're all the same - they care only about themselves and they don't care who gets hurt! They don't care if you or Galeforce or Johnny - Who do they think they are?! I should have grabbed them with my own hands and -"

"RUPERT, STOP!" Dave reached out and grabbed one of Rupert's arms, yanking him to stop. "Please, stop, I'm begging you! I-I've seen s-so m-much hate ever since I got loc... since I've been with the Toppats. I can't take that kind of hate from anybody. It brought everyone misery and it brought down the clan. I can't take it from you. Please don't hate them, Rupert! P-please… don't," Dave pleaded, his eyes glossy with tears once more.

Rupert was about to argue back, but all the feral rage just deflated at seeing Dave's fear.

Dave was afraid. Afraid of seeing him become like those monsters. "But I… " He tried to back up his claim, but the inferno previously burning within was snuffed out at seeing Dave's tearful worries. And the worse about it all? Dave not only lived through dealing with the Toppats, but he also saw terrible Toppat things that Rupert himself could not have imagined.

What had he almost done?

If he added anything more to that, no matter what his intent was, he would never forgive himself for the consequences if it meant hurting Dave anymore than he already was.

And he didn't want to make another mistake like he did before.

He took an exceptionally deep deep breath and exhaled just as deep, the leftover embers in his system extinguished. "Okay Dave. For your sake... I won't hate them. I don't think I can forgive them for what they did but I will not hate them."

"Even Henry?"

"…I think that would be asking for too much."

Dave's voice ranged from loud to quiet as he pleaded, "I know it is! I know that." He wiped his tears again with his non-hurting arm and calmed down. "But I'm not askin' you to forgive him. I know that forgiving would be out of the question. But I'm asking you to not hate him because if you let your hatred fill you, it could kill you. I don't want to see you give into that hate. Henry did a lot of bad stuff, I-I know that, but he's not here, not anymore. He can't do anything to us now, and you said that he could have left something behind, well then deal with that! But him? That'd be like trying to chase a ghost, wouldn't it?

"Don't make the mistake of throwing your life away like that when there's no need to, Rupert. Please. Focus on doing more here than what you could back at the prison. You have a lot more resources and space to do what you think is best, and I know it's not like you to want to waste time. If you waste time hating Henry, he'll win and you'll lose."

"…"

Rupert sighed again. "Okay. you're right; it wouldn't get anything done and I don't want to see that guy win again. So I'll try not to hate him. I don't know if I'll be able to fully do that, but I will try. That much I can promise and do. "

At that, Dave released Rupert's arm, satisfied with Rupert's decree.

Now having regaining self-control, Rupert resumed sitting at the foot of Dave's bed. "Well… I guess that sums up why I'm here: I enlisted to make up for the mistakes I've made."

Dave nodded. So that's how Rupert wound up working for the military. Quite a shift, and one that he seemed to excel at too. Shifting the conversation into something more manageable, he asked,"So, uh, what's it like, being a military officer? Besides what you told me just now?"

"Well, that depends. You really want to know about it?"

"Yeah! Except, could you maybe leave out any gruesome parts?" Dave grinned sheepishly.

Rupert laughed a little. "Sure. Well…"

After that, the mood lightened up considerably. Rupert shared details regarding the dangerous missions he embarked on while keeping to his word and leaving out the more ugly moments. Which was a good thing, as some of those moments centered around Toppats, to which Rupert decided to wisely leave out to keep his own emotions towards them under control and for Dave's own sake. In between the serious stories, Rupert told moments of hilarity, especially when it came to certain characters in the unit.

"Wow. Those Bukowski twins sound like a handful to deal with," Dave marveled.

"'A handful? Try fistful! With their crazy antics, sometimes I wonder how those two even got enlisted in the first place," Rupert chortled. "I think they're more suited to run a joke shop than to run through drills."

"They'd make a lot of money that way."

"Probably!"

The conversation ran its course with a pair of laughs, and soon they fell into a comfortable silence.

Dave carefully readjusted himself in his bed as he grew more at ease now than when he first woke up. He lifted the arm with the IV and placed it tenderly onto his lap. It was an annoying weight to lift.

"You need anythin'?"

Dave shook his head. "No, but I wish my arm would feel better soon. I hate having this thing in my arm. I feel the urge to scratch at it!"

Rupert smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I know it's not fun, but don't do that. It's helping you get better faster, as long as you take it easy. Victoria's orders."

"I plan to - I-I don't think I want to get on her bad side."

"I wouldn't worry 'bout her - as long as you do what she asks you, you're in the clear. Not like the twins."

Dave grinned in slight mischief. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. She always send 'em packin', and they don't usually go after her because of that. No questions asked," Rupert chuckled. Then he sobered up as a question came to him. "Speakin' of which, it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Hm? What's that?"

"Well, I know since you've been…away from your job and everything, but what are you going to do when we get back home? Will you see your family?"

"Back home? What do you mean? Sure, I'll see them, but I'll go back to work first and… oh. I think I see what you're asking." What he was really asking, Dave realized. And he feared all of the what-ifs his mind brought to life, with a minority of them leaning into the positive while the majority… less so.

Dave curled into himself. "I don't know. I think I want to go back to my job in the museum, but I don't think that'll happen. Not since I've been gone for so long. But you know something? It's probably for the best," He finished with a sardonic laugh.

A wary Rupert asked, "Dave…?"

Dave averted his eyes. "I know I shouldn't be talking like that, but isn't it true? I didn't do so hot at the prison, so what would have made the museum any different? There were no criminals or cakes there; just a bunch of knickknacks collecting dust. It should have been easy for me to do my job, but o-once again, I proved m-myself to be useless at my job. I couldn't even find a way to g-get out of the cell on the airship. And here I am now, a frazzled mess."

Back in that cold, lifeless, empty, tiny, metal cage.

Rupert didn't like where Dave was taking this self-blame. "Dave…"

Dave shivered, and he didn't know where he suddenly got the courage to speak about it, but he admitted, "They-they hurt me, Rupert. Those Toppats b-b-beat me up so much while I was there, and I was so d-defenseless against them. I should have done something!"

Back in that cold, lifeless, empty, tiny, metal cage.

"I could have used m-my own skills to fight my way out of the Toppats' gr-grasp, but I was so useless, just like I was back at the prison!" Dave's own anger burned that his face burned red. "I'm so sorry, Rupert. I'm so sorry for the mess I got us into with that stupid package and for making you worry when I was shot and -"

Back in that cold, lifeless, empty, tiny, metal cage - an iron grip broke through that cage.

Rupert finally put a stop to this self-defeat. He firmly gripped Dave's shoulder like iron to steady him. "Dave, look at me. Please."

It took some effort, but Dave did lift his wet eyes to meet Rupert's.

Clenching his other hand into a fist, the soldier fought his inner fire to keep it at bay when he heard about Dave's time in that airship prison. So those loser Toprats beat this poor guy up whlie he was there? No wonder Dave had bad memories. So why did they do that?! Just because he was a guard who was only doing his job?! He wished now more than ever that he could find a way to get those guys here and beat them to oblivion himself.

But Dave didn't need Rupert to lose his temper again. He needed a boost.

"Okay. So you didn't check the box." And neither did Rupert, but he shoved that nasty thought of his hypocrisy down. "And maybe you got in over your head when you ran into those Toppats at the museum. And yeah, you were a newbie with a lot to learn. But you are NOT useless, and do you know why?" The soldier kept on speaking without giving the guard a chance to answer. "Because you cared about doin' your job enough to give it your all. There are others out there who don't put in as much effort into their job like you. "They didn't care - they cared only about the perks. But you? You were in for the long haul, through the good, the bad, and a lot more.

"That shows you're loyal and hardworking, and you're adaptable too. And honestly, I think that's a reason why I enjoyed working with you during your first day there."

Dave's eyes popped wide open. He never heard this before. "R-really?"

"Yes, really! Like I said, I've been workin' there for so long that I fell into a familiar rhythm with how things - and people - work. It kind of got boring sometimes, and not to mention irritating because a lot of the other officers didn't bother to do their jobs. And some of them were outright stupid."

Dave pouted in disapproval. "Rupert!"

"See, that's what I'm talkin' about! You care enough about tryin' to tell me to play nice even when I don't want to. Even when I didn't agree with what you said or did, even if I thought it was unnecessary. But It's little things like that that I've come to appreciate, and I'm thankful to you for that. So you see, you're not useless as you think. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have gained a good partner. And a good friend."

"…."

"Please think about what I said if you don't believe me now. But I meant every word of it. If I didn't think that, you know I would have said so."

"Yeah. I... I'll try to believe that. But it's hard, with everything going wrong. I didn't want any of this to happen."

"I know. Things goin' wrong seems to be a pattern we can't get away from. But we're here now; still tryin' to figure out where to go from here on out. That has to count for something, doesn't it? We'll get through it though. We're tough."

Dave smiled wanly. "I don't think I'm at the same level of toughness you are."

Rupert quirked a brow. "Your escaping the airship after it collided with the rocket says otherwise. And you did it with a busted leg too! You're strong enough. If you weren't, you wouldn't have made it through police training before coming to West Mesa." He earned an unsure shrug from Dave. The officer withheld a sigh and said, "I stand by what I said, Dave. I was grateful and proud to have you as my partner, and I still am, even if we're not workin' at the same job anymore.

"And as for your current job, I'll vouch for you if you want to go back there. And this time, I won't be takin' no for an answer until they listen."

Dave huffed a small laugh at that. "Knowing you, I think they would have to say yes."

"Yes they would. I don't care what those Toppats or anyone else says about you; they don't know you like I do. And I know this: you're a good man, Dave. Don't you ever forget that."

Dave stilled himself, letting his friend's words absorb into his soul and mind. He knew that he didn't always measure up to Rupert's standards, but hearing him express his opinion on what he truthfully thought of Dave? Wow.

He was NOT going to choke up again. "Thank you, Rupert. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

Rupert nodded. "And I think with your testimony and with our capture of these Toppats, they'll have to take my word for it before they can even say anything. Besides, didn't you tell me once that most of the staff there is pretty chill?"

"More or less. Except Kurt. I think he hates me," Dave moaned.

"Oh forget him. Sounds like he hates just about everybody from what you told me about him. But if he gives you trouble, just send 'im my way. I'll straighten him out."

"Of course you would," Dave said with a half-smile at Rupert's own gnarly smirk. He could see it now; Rupert's experience in the military would give him an edge over Kurt, who probably would have been sent all the way home with his tail in between his legs.

Home…

At remembering Rupert's other question, Dave brought his legs close to him and he tenderly hugged his knees. The thought of seeing his family...

"Hey, about what you asked, about my family? I don't know about them. I just-I don't know if I'm ready to greet them yet. I've been locked up for so long and away from everything, and now that I'm free I... I think I want to at least get used to being in the world again. Although I love them and I do want to see them, I can't handle so much all at once when I'm trying to understand it all again first. They tend to be very, um, reactive. Not a bad thing, and I know they'll be happy to see me, but I can't bear so much emotion when I'm such an emotional wreck as is." Dave chuckled to try and make a joke out of it, but it didn't come off as particularly cheerful.

In fact, hearing that spill out of Dave's mouth like poison brought Rupert's brow to crease in concern. He patted the side of Dave's shoulder. "Oi. I get it - you've been through a lot and need to take it one step at a time. That's fine. You don't have to see them right away if you're not up for it. You'll know when the time is right. And when you are ready to see them, let me know. I'll come with you to help explain things."

"I appreciate that, thanks." His voice was softer than normal.

"And I want to do more. Is there anything else you'll need help with?"

"...Y-yeah. I don't know if I'll still have my apartment in place or if my bank will help out with all of my finances. The Toppats took my wallet and phone away, so I'll have to rebuild all of, well my life. It'll probably take years with my luck."

The soldier's determination roared inside. "Not if you have me on your side. I can ask Galeforce to get soldiers to find your wallet and phone at the crash site. Maybe it's a long shot, but if we don't try, we won't know. And besides, we'll have to raid what's left from the crash anyway. A lot of those items the Toppats possessed were stolen and we need to bring them back to their owners. And as for your apartment, we'll figure that out too. I'm sure we can get the landlord to listen, and if it doesn't work out, we'll still find you a place.

"But in the meantime, do you wanna stay with me?"

The relief in Dave's eyes further tug one of Rupert's heartstrings. "R-Really? You would let me stay with you?"

Rupert smiled a small but reassuring smile. "Yeah! You need a place to stay, right? And you can stay until you get onto your feet again or, heck, you can be there for as long as you need. I don't care."

"If you're sure. I don't want to impose…"

Rupert batted the air casually. "No way would you be imposing. I'm the one offering it to you. Although," he frowned as a thought came to him, "If I'm called back for another mission when we get back, or when I'm called for service at all, you… might be by yourself at my place for some time. I don't know how comfortable you are with that, after what you've been through. But it is something that I need you to keep in mind if you want to crash at my place," Rupert cautioned, a little scared to see how Dave would react.

"But you don't have to decide yet. We won't be leavin' this jungle until we get this whole business with the Toppats sorted out, so don't feel pressured to make a choice this second. You can think about it and then when we do get back, you can give me your decision. "

He was not too surprised that Dave looked like an abandoned puppy, but he was surprised when Dave solidly accepted this fact after mulling it over. "I understand. And I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright." Rupert was about to ask another question when Dave moved, but not with words. He rested his head onto his knees.

Feeling exhaustion quickly creep into his bones like an earthworm, Dave shut his eyes, but he didn't fall into slumber.

"Do you need to sleep?"

The guard shrugged. "I want to, but not yet. Just a lot to think about. I'm not sure if I'm ready to face any of it."

"I get it. But we'll face it together. You don't have to go through this alone, and I'm not planning on letting you do that. Remember, baby steps. It wouldn't be good to go through it all at once." He patted Dave's shoulder again, marking his word.

Dave nodded, his weary head resting on his knees. "Okay."

Feeling a little overwhelmed himself, Rupert stood up from the bed and stretched his limbs. His mouth dried up, in need of fresh water to bring it back to life.

Dave opened his eyes when he felt the bed shift in weight now that Rupert stood up from it.

"I'm going to get water. I'll get you some too, if you'd like?"

"That'd be nice."

"Alright. I'll be right back." He left the bed only some few feet when he heard Dave call his name from the bed.

Dave smiled. "I know you might get tired of me saying this, but thank you. For everything - listening and helping. Just everything you've done. You're a good friend."

Rupert returned the smile. "I don't mind being thanked a million times. And I don't mind saying, 'you're welcome' a million times either."

A/N: And I don't mind being reminded a million times either. No, seriously, this chapter was another large beast to write, if because it's mostly dialogue-based and focused on characters than action or plot. This is posted in honor of Completing the Mission's anniversary this past Wednesday (Happy anniversary CTM!). The epilogue will follow hopefully by the time the anniversary of Breaking the Bank rolls around, but I will not be making any concrete predictions anymore, lest I be wrong and real life takes me away again lol.

References:
-The Henry Stickmin Collection loves letting their references out, don't they?
1) 'You remember Kev and Pete?' I do; they were in Escaping the Prison.
2) 'More or less. Except Kurt. I think he hates me.' I agree with Rupert on this one; Kurt hates everyone equally in Stealing the Diamond.

Enjoy! :)