(July 28, 2024)
It was after midnight when we finally arrived at Noire's castle. I watched her like a hawk the entire ride back, and she was completely compliant. Noire seemed genuine, but I still have my finger on the trigger, just in case. She instructed us to be very quiet before we went inside. It was very dark and honestly kind of scary. We had to sneak through the hallways since all the guards living in Noire's home, albeit against her will, were asleep. Eventually we got to Noire's bedroom, where there weren't supposed to be any guards or lieutenants, but there was one guy sitting in front of her dresser… and smelling her underwear. Noire walked into her room, but she had us stand outside.
"Ooohhh, I'm going to be punished now…" I heard the lieutenant say, sounding kind of happy. Noire stood there with her arms crossed.
"Yes you are… I'm about to shove something inside of you." Noire said in a slightly scary tone. She turned to us. "Do any of you have a knife?" She whispered. Yu handed her his knife, and she went back into her room.
"Oh… oh no! I wanted you to put a dil-" The lieutenant couldn't finish his sentence before Noire stabbed him. I heard the lieutenant's muffled death rattles get quieter until there was nothing but silence and the slight sound of blood dripping on the floor.
"Ok, come in." Noire whispered.
"Does this kind of thing happen often?" Suomi whispered as Noire handed Yu his knife.
"It does… They do this kind of thing to Uni all the time as well." Noire whispered. "Oh, speaking of her, stay right here." Noire left the room, and came back with her little sister, Uni. She looked very tired, which made sense since I'm assuming she was asleep. "Uni… this is Klonoa, Yu Narukami and Suomi." Noire sounded very excited when she presented us to her little sister. Uni looked at me and rubbed her eyes.
"Um… hi…" Uni said, sounding confused. She then whispered to her sister. "Why are they here?"
"They're going to help us get rid of all the guards and lieutenants around here." Noire whispered back. Uni looked at us with the same hope in her eyes as Noire had.
"So… where do you want us to start?" Yu asked.
"Well, that's up to you." Noire said matter-of-factly. "I'd say start with whatever's been the most difficult thing… which would be…?"
"Well… whenever we think we have a foothold somewhere, bombers fly over and wipe everything out." I reported. "We've been working with a small resistance group to take as many anti-air guns as we could… but now they're turning their sights on the only foothold we have."
"Well, I can tell you this;" Noire started. "I know about the attack on your town. It was carried out by the lieutenants formerly under Blanc's control trying to counterattack, but it was without permission. I was made aware of it, but I didn't have any say in the matter. From what I heard, you were able to fend them off and deal a massive blow to the remaining troops in her region." Noire then walked over to her desk and got a pen and paper. Yu, Suomi and I all gathered around her. "I'm not sure how many AA guns you have taken, but it sounds like Blanc's region is pretty clear. This region doesn't have very many AA guns, but there are a good amount of air bases here. If you could own the airspace, that would go a long way."
"So we need to take the air bases here before we can take territory in Blanc's region?" Suomi asked.
"I don't think you need to worry about taking Blanc's region…" Noire started, "But bombers from Verde's region will still be able to wipe out any territory you take." Noire then wrote down some map coordinates on the sheet of paper and circled one set of coordinates. She wrote more coordinates on the bottom half of the paper.
"This is the location of one of the fighter bases, and below them are all the AA guns we have here." Noire informed us. "If you three take the base and capture the fighters there, you'll be able to fight the bombers. There's nothing a bomber fears more than a squadron of fighters."
"But… I don't know how to fly a plane." I chimed in.
"You'll have to learn then." Noire said while trying not to sound rude. "This is the only way to gain the upper hand."
"Wait… didn't you meet a guy in the bar we went to with Jason?" Yu asked me.
"Oh yeah… he was trying to find his plane called the…" I trailed off. "What was it called again?"
"Devastator." Suomi reminded me. Yu looked at Suomi with a shocked look. "What? I do my best remembering after I've had a few. It keeps my mind sharp."
"You have a problem…" Yu muttered.
"The devastator?" Noire asked. "I've been hearing too much about that plane. Apparently the air crews at the fighter air base have been studying it and trying to mass produce it."
"We've got all we need…" I said as I folded up the paper and put it inside my suit jacket pocket. "We'll get started tomorrow. Thank you so much for helping, Noire."
"You three have no idea how much this means to me." Noire said thankfully. She then opened her window and threw a rope out. "You three can repel out of my window, but stay away from any lit up windows. I doubt anyone will be awake at this hour, but you never know." Yu wrapped the rope around his wrist then slowly started sliding down, then Suomi did the same. I got onto the rope after she did. "By the way, I put my personal radio frequency on that paper."
"Good luck, Noire." I said. "Stay safe." Noire and Uni waved goodbye, and I started sliding down. As I was sliding down, I heard Uni ask Noire 'Can I help them fight? I think I can be of help.' Then I heard Noire flatly say 'no.' Once I got onto the ground, the three of us made our way back to the car and headed back to town. I never thought we would get this much information from Noire, willingly nonetheless. I also never imagined that she would want out of Chris-Chan's insanity. She's on the inside, and she sees it.
(August 3, 2024)-
When we showed the guys the intel we got the morning after we got back from Noire's, they could barely contain their excitement. Woods lamented that they had been spending most of their days searching for AA guns, but now they didn't have to do the freaking boring part anymore. Woods didn't actually say freaking. We spent the next week taking all the AA guns and liberating a lot of labor camps. Because we had all the locations, the amount of AA guns we took in a single day increased by an amazing amount! I'll admit, I warned everyone to be careful about taking the first few locations because I thought it could have ended up being a trap. I'm still not letting my guard down, but it looks like Noire was being genuine about wanting to help us out. Once all the AA guns in Noire's region were taken care of, I contacted Nathan Zachary using Mr. Farha's radio, with permission of course, and arranged a meeting spot with him. We met him at the same bar where we met him, then we headed to the experimental air field where, according to Noire, Nathan's devastator would be. The plan was to get into the airbase, help Nathan get his plane back, and then Yu, Suomi and I would sneak out. Our first priority is to get a plane.
"Hey, I can't thank you three enough." Nathan whispered to me as the four of us approached the airfield. "Klonoa, Yu and… I'm sorry, what was your name again?"
"KP-31 Suomi." Suomi answered. "Call me Suomi, though. It's quicker."
"Can I call you KP?" Nathan asked.
"Erm… sure?" Suomi answered, not sounding entirely on board with that.
"I'm about to get my plane back…" Nathan said to himself in a giddy way. "I'll be back in the skies."
"So this plane of yours, does it have any guns on it?" Yu asked Nathan.
"Six machine guns and magnetic rockets." Nathan said. "I'll be able to bust up anything giving you three troubles from the skies anytime you want. Consider that repayment for helping me get my plane back."
"Right, let's get going then." I said. The four of us made our way through the marshy area, around the rotting trees and occasionally over some broken wire fences. They looked like they had been broken for years.
"Whoa whoa!" Yu suddenly exclaimed. Suomi, Nathan and I all got down, expecting bullets to start flying. "There's a guard on the perch facing the marsh. He has a scoped rifle."
"Well take him out then." Nathan said in a 'duh' sort of voice.
"I do that, and the entire base might know something's wrong." Yu said.
"He's right, if the guards find one of their guys dead we'll have high-strung patrols running around." I said. "We need to get close before we engage so we can scope the area out, especially considering Yu is the only one of us who can take out targets from a far."
"We'll get there." Suomi said reassuringly. "We just have to be quiet and smart." We moved towards the airbase when we could. Occasionally the guard would become very inattentive. He probably hasn't seen much action at the airbase, which was why he wasn't taking guard duty very seriously. It didn't take too long for us to make it over to the wall and sneak into the airbase. There were buildings all over with planes in them.
"So what exactly does this plane of yours look like, Nathan?" I asked.
"It's very unique looking, trust me, you'll know when you see it." Nathan said. We moved around the airbase, taking guards out whenever we could. I suddenly heard engines roaring.
"That doesn't sound good…" Suomi said with a wince. There were a few planes taking off from the massive road in the middle of the airbase.
"Where do you think they're going?" I asked.
"If we find the devastator, I can chase after them." Nathan said confidently. As we kept moving, I noticed a plane in one of the buildings. It didn't look like any of the other planes, mostly because while all the other planes were gray and occasionally blue, this one was orange.
"Is that it?" I asked Nathan while pointing at the plane.
"No… but I think you three can use that to get out of here instead of sneaking out." Nathan said. "It can seat two in the cockpit and one of you can man the turret on the back of the plane." Nathan then started scanning the other plane buildings from where we were hiding. "Wait… that's it! Right there in the fourth hangar! That's my devastator!" I looked at it, and it was a very funny looking plane with two sets of wings right on top of each other. It had red wings and a black body.
"There are also a few AA guns at the end of the landing strip!" Yu pointed out. "We'll take those and draw attention away from the hangars while you go get your plane!"
"Right! Good luck, Nathan." I said.
"I'll cover your three from the air once I'm up there!" Nathan promised. "Just take out those AA guns so I can get air under my wings." With that, Yu, Suomi and I all headed over to the AA guns at the edge of the airbase. All of the guards were leaving the plane buildings to come at us, which was exactly what I wanted. There weren't many guards in the base so we didn't get too overwhelmed. There was a point where we had to take cover in one of the buildings.
"Hey, check it out!" Suomi said happily, holding a bottle of alcohol.
"Suomi, no drinking on a mission!" Yu barked.
"Is that how little you think of me?" Suomi asked Yu. "Besides, this is Russian vodka, I wouldn't be caught dead with this garbage. I had something else in mind. Suomi put the bottle in her bandoleer, along with the sleeve of a t-shirt she found laying on one of the beds. Yu, Suomi and I left the building to hold the line, but then we saw the devastator rolling onto the giant plane road.
"They're trying to steal one of our planes!" One of the guards yelled. Some guards got onto the AA gun!
"I'm going to flank them!" Suomi informed me.
"Be careful over there." I warned Suomi. She slinked off behind the plane buildings while Yu and I kept firing on the guards. Yu was able to snipe a crew on one of the AA guns, but then he got shot in the leg! He fell to the ground. I kept firing on the guards, but they started moving towards me! I got behind cover and started tending to Yu as much as I could! I had to keep my brother from bleeding out! Guards were coming fast. I fired back at them when I could, but I wasn't very effective because I couldn't be out of cover for too long. Suddenly, the last AA gun was set ablaze! I knew it was Suomi right away. She loves making fire bottes.
"Klonoa! Stay down!" Suomi yelled as she ran towards me and Yu, mowing guards down in the process. Nathan's plane took off, circled around then started shooting guards on the ground. "We have to get to that plane!" Suomi yelled. "You hold onto Yu, I'll keep you both covered!" I got Yu up, put his arm around me then started making my way over to that one plane building while Suomi kept the guards at bay. Nathan really helped though. His machine guns were keeping the guards' numbers down. It was tough, but we made it over to the plane Nathan told us to use. Suomi helped me get Yu into the rear seat. "Klonoa, I'll get into the turret. Can you fly this thing?" Suddenly, bullets started whizzing by me and Suomi, but the guard who was standing in the entrance of the plane building we were in suddenly got shot. I looked to see Yu aiming his M14.
"It'll take more than a bullet to the leg to stop me from being a good sniper." Yu wisecracked.
"I've never flown before, but I'm hoping I can figure it out…" I said nervously, continuing the conversation Suomi and I were having. I climbed into the front pilot's seat and Suomi got into the turret on the back. I turned the radio on and adjusted it to the frequency Nathan gave me. "Nathan, we're in the orange plane now… how do I take off?"
"Is this your first time flying?" Nathan asked over the radio. "Don't worry, it's not that difficult. First things first, drive your plane to the beginning of the airstrip, but keep it slow for now. Get the engine running, then move the throttle forward just a little bit." I was able to get the engine started, and I pushed the throttle forward a little bit, just like Nathan said. The plane started rolling like a car! "Steer using the pedals."
"Not the steering wheel?" I asked kind of frantically.
"That's for when you're in the air." Nathan told me. I waited until the plane was on the giant road, then I pushed the right pedal and sure enough, the plane turned!
"Alright, I can see you." Nathan said as he flew over me. "You're in the take off position. Now slowly push the throttle forward all the way." I nervously pushed the throttle forward all the way, and the plane started picking up speed! It started going VERY fast! I was terrified! "Alright, grab the steering wheel and gently start pulling it towards you." I did as I was told, then I looked to my side, and I could see that we were off the ground!
"I… I'm doing it! I'm flying!" I yelled excitedly.
"Good takeoff, kid!" Nathan said. Now that you're in the air, you just need to worry about your airspeed; don't let it get too low, the direction you're headed; use the 'steering wheel' to control where you're flying; up, down, right and left, and the horizon; make sure there aren't any enemy planes. Now find the landing gear lever, flip it up, and follow me." Nathan's plane zoomed past me, then slowed down enough for me to catch up. I flipped the lever labeled 'landing gear' up and I followed his plane until we found the three planes that took off earlier. "They don't know we're here, this shouldn't be too difficult for you. Take them out quickly before they can turn around and start firing on you." Nathan flew up to one of the planes, and I split off and went behind one of the other planes. I lined up the plane in the little green-dot sight on the dashboard then I fired the machine guns. I was able to hit the wings a few times, but those bullets don't always go exactly where you want them to go. The plane obviously noticed me then, so it started turning towards me, but the plane wasn't able to turn fast enough. I stayed behind it, firing at it periodically. Eventually I was able to shoot one of the wings off, and the plane spiraled out of control and plummeted towards the ground.
"Klonoa, the other plane is turning towards us!" Yu warned me. I tried turning the plane around so I didn't have my back towards it, but I couldn't turn fast enough! A few bullets whizzed right by the cockpit and a few hit our plane! I heard guns going off from behind me, and then I noticed the plane behind me was being hit! I had forgotten about the guns on the back of the plane. Suomi hit the enemy plane's engine and the plane caught fire. It tried flying away from us, but Nathan was able to intercept it and take the plane down.
"Great job, kid!" Nathan complimented me. "Are you able to keep that plane flying straight?"
"It's shaking a little bit, but overall I think it's ok." I reported. "How are you doing back there, Yu?"
"I got the wound wrapped up." Yu said. "It hurts like heck, but I won't bleed out."
"Sounds like we can go cause some more trouble." Nathan gleefully said. "Follow me, and I'll show you what those magnetic rockets can do!" I'll admit, I was pretty uneasy about this whole thing. It was fun to fly and all, but if that plane got shot up enough, I knew the three of us would plummet down to the ground and die in a fiery explosion. All I could do up there was follow Nathan's lead, so I turned towards his plane and followed him.
"Where exactly are we going?" Yu asked over the radio.
"There's an outpost I know of… we're going to go bust it up from the air." Nathan said. "Just follow me, we'll make a dive at it and blow it up." We followed Nathan's plane for a while after we gained altitude, then suddenly he started flying straight to the ground! "Follow me and get those rockets armed." I switched the rockets from safe to fire nervously. I pointed the plane's nose down and started going so extremely fast. I could barely breathe! I felt like I was being squished everywhere! Nathan's plane launched a rocket then pulled up! "Alright, get ready to launch, make sure to pull up right after you launch. I can't have you crashing on me." I got my finger on the button to launch. I tried my best to keep the plane straight, but it was shaking everywhere. I could barely keep the green dot over the undestroyed part of the outpost! I ended up cowering out and pulling up before I could launch a rocket. After I safely pulled out of the drop… I wanted to give it another try.
"I'm going back to try it again." I said somewhat confidently.
"Klonoa, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to." Yu said, trying to talk me out of it. "You don't have anything to prove."
"You're right, I don't have anything to prove… I have something to practice." I said as I pushed the plane's nose back down towards the outpost sitting there on the ground. I held my breath as the plane began intensely shaking again. I kept a tight grip on the stick and kept it from shaking in every direction it wanted to go. I kept the plane straight until I got close enough to the outpost so I could see the part that wasn't damaged by Nathan's missile. I moved the green dot over the undamaged part, then I pressed the launch button. I watched the rocket sail towards its target and watched it blow up. I pulled the stick back all the way and just barely missed the explosion. I flew back up to where Nathan was circling.
"You've really got a fighting spirit in you, Klonoa." Nathan complimented me. "Now you've got wings to go along with it."
"Flying is really fun!" I commented. "I understand why you like it so much."
"Oh man, it feels amazing to be back in the air." Nathan expressed. "I couldn't have gotten back up here without the help of you three. Now, lead the way towards where you want to land, and I'll teach you how." I then realized something… it had been a long time since I visited the girls. I did tell them I'd try and visit as much as I could. I headed in the direction of the estate and I flew low enough so I could see the landmarks so I would know where I was going. Eventually we got to the Inkling's desert, so I figured that was the time to ask Nathan how to land.
"We're coming up on your destination, Nathan." I said. "How do I land?"
"Landing is not that difficult, it gets easier the more you do it." Nathan said. "Simply start slowing down before you get there and start gradually lowering your flaps."
"How do I lower the flaps?" I asked. "Also what are flaps?"
"There should be a yellow lever to your left, do you see it?" Nathan asked me. I saw the yellow handle with 'flaps' labeled on it. I felt stupid. I moved the lever and the ends of the wings folded down on their own! The plane slowed down by a noticeable amount, and it was getting kind of hard to keep the nose up. I started getting kind of scared I did something wrong!
"Nathan! The plane's going down!" I reported very calmly. Just kidding, I was actually freaking out!
"That's what you want, it makes the plane easier to land." Nathan reassured me. "Now let the nose drop a little bit, but not too much. You don't want a lot of airspeed when you're trying to land." I started thinking straight again as I kept the plane under control. I was still very scared and I felt like I was about to vomit. "It's alright, I'll coach you here, just keep your head screwed on straight."
"My head's going to come unscrewed?" I asked in shock.
"It's just a figure of speech, Brother." Yu said reassuringly. "You'll be fine." The plane kept descending and going slower. The big long road where I intended to land was now clearly visible. I did my best to keep the plane straight.
"Alright, now lower the landing gear." Nathan instructed me. "The same lever you flipped before, just flip it down." After I pulled the lever, I was worried the landing gear didn't go down! I couldn't see below the plane, so I wasn't sure they worked!
"Nathan?! Did my landing gear go down?!" I frantically asked.
"Yes they did." Nathan reassured me. "Don't worry, kid, you're still flying fine. Now just keep the plane level as you descend." I kept a tight grip on the stick, so tight my fingers started cramping! My two best friends were on this plane with me, and their lives were in my hands! I had to get the landing right. I knew if I messed it up, my two best friends would be in twisted burning metal coffins. While I was blinded by my own panic, the plane descended to the point where the landing gear was less than a hundred feet off the ground. Once I knew I was too deep in the hole to climb back out, I made sure the plane was level and the nose was straight forward. Then the entire plane shook suddenly. The wheels had hit the ground and the plane was slowing down. The more the plane slowed down, the more my panic became outshined by accomplishment. Finally, the plane came to a stop! I had safely landed the plane!
"I… I did it…" I pieced words together in disbelief.
"Great landing, kid." Nathan complimented me. "When you're ready to fly back, let me know and I'll coach you in the sky as well as give you some cover in case we run into trouble on the way back to your home."
"Thank you, Nathan." I said as I watched Nathan's plane turn back towards Neptune's region and fly out of my sight. I took the seat belt off and climbed out of the cockpit, then I went to help Yu out of the rear cockpit. He looked just a little pale. "Are you doing ok, Yu?" I asked.
"Yeah… I'm fine." Yu answered, sounding just a little out of it. "Let's get Suomi out of the turret in the back." I helped Yu up, and we went around the plane to help Suomi out of the back.
"Suomi?" I called as I opened the turret cover. Vomit leaked out once the door was open, and Suomi was sitting there, looking even more pale than Yu.
"I… I think I… got… airsick…" Suomi said as she tried getting out of the turret.
"SHIKIKAN!" I heard M1 yell as she ran over to me. "This is quite a surprise! It's amazing to see you again!"
"M1! I'm sorry it has been so long…" I said feeling slightly awkward. M1 just chuckled a bit.
"We all know you've been busy, there's no need to apologize." M1 said. "Come, let's get you three inside. KP-31, you look like you've seen better days."
"I'm just… not used to… flying…" Suomi said in a sickly voice.
"I'm sorry to butt in, but we need to get Yu's leg taken care of." I said. "He got shot while we were stealing this plane."
"No problem, we can get that taken care of right away." M1 said calmingly. M1 brought Yu and Suomi inside, but I needed some help getting the plane out of the middle of the road and getting the back cleaned up. MP-40, AK-12 and Skorpion came out to help me. To be honest, I just told them I needed help getting the plane out of the road. I didn't want to make them scrub up vomit. Once the plane was moved, the four of us went back into the house, but then I was able to sneak out with some paper towels and bleach, and I got the back cleaned up. After all that was finished, I went back inside and I was able to catch up with everyone. I spent the rest of the day mingling around the estate and making sure I talked to everyone who was there. I didn't see Soppo anywhere around the estate, even though everyone I talked to told me she was at the estate. I started getting worried, so I started checking all the rooms later that evening. I went into the master bedroom, and there she was, just sitting there on the bed. That was pretty unusual.
"Soppo?" I asked. "Is everything ok?" She just slowly looked up at me.
"Catman… I'm sad." Soppo said as she got off the bed and started making her way out the door.
"Wait… do you want to tell me why you're sad?" I asked.
"NO!" Soppo shouted angrily as she ran out the door. I stood there in disbelief, feeling like I had just taken a sword to the stomach. Was she mad at me? After that, I no longer felt like doing anything. I sat on the bed, alone in the dark. After a while, Bren and A-545 brought Yu into the room I was in, with Nanako following them.
"Join the vodka club, it will help with the pain." 545 said to Yu.
"Oy mate, now that's not such a wise idea." Bren scolded 545. She then addressed Yu. "Just take it easy and if the pain gets to be too much, let me know and I'll get you some ibuprofen, NOT vodka."
"You're such a lightweight." 545 said as she took a giant bottle out of her satchel and started chugging it. I watched 545 stand there and chug for a few moments while Yu and Bren looked at her with disapproving faces. Nanako stood there looking confused.
"D… does that really help with pain?" I asked. "Does it include emotional pain?"
"Klonoa, no!" Yu exclaimed. 545 gave him a death glare as she walked over to me with the bottle extended towards me.
"Welcome to the vodka club, Shikikan." 545 said as she handed me the bottle. "Water is temporary, but vodka is eternal." I took a drink, but that was the strongest stuff I had ever tasted. My entire upper body started burning and it felt like my throat was rejecting the drink and I wasn't able to swallow. I sat there with my eyes tearing up and my mouth hanging open, the stuff I drank was just dribbling out of my mouth. "You need to swallow it in order to get the desired effect, Shikikan."
"Why don't you make him feel better by actually talking to him, you numpty?" Bren said to 545.
"Ok fine." 545 relented. "Shikikan, the weather's beautiful, there are many beautiful trees… the sun is shining." 545's delivery was kind of monotone.
"A-545… get out." Bren said sternly. 545 left without another word. I felt kind of bad.
"So… what's going on?" Yu asked me. "I thought you'd be happy about being back here."
"Soppo's mad at me and I don't know why." I admitted. "I thought she'd be happy to see me, but she's not."
"Well, she's been a little bit… difficult lately." Bren admitted. "I was hoping you being back here would make it better."
"Maybe she feels lonely." Nanako suggested. It was at that moment when I remembered one of the drawings she made back at the hospital. M4A1 and I were walking through a field of flowers and we were each holding onto one of Soppo's arms and swinging her. Now neither of us were there for her. Tears started dripping down my face.
"I… I have to make this right." I sobbed as I left the room. I walked down the hallway looking for Soppo, and eventually I found her sitting underneath a table and facing the wall. "Soppo?" I whispered as I got down on my knees. She tried covering her face with her hands.
"Why did you leave me, Catman?" Soppo asked me while she was lightly sobbing. "You said you would come back and visit as much as you can… but you were gone for a long time."
"I know…" I admitted with a lump in my throat. "I wish I could have visited more often, but things were happening over there… I couldn't just leave." I said. I slowly reached my hands under the table to pick her up. When my hands were just inches away, she started crying audibly. I picked her up and held her close.
"I wanted to go with you." Soppo told me. "Why didn't you want me there with you?"
"Soppo, I love you." I said. "... that's why I wanted you to stay here, where it is safe. I have to fight, but I don't want you getting caught in between anything. If anything happened to you, I'd…" I couldn't finish what I was saying. The lump in my throat grew too big.
"But you still left." Soppo said. The lump in my throat popped and I started sobbing.
"I didn't want to…" I admitted. "I want to stay here with you where it's safe… where I can be completely happy… and not have to worry about my friends…" I wanted to say 'and not have to lose any of my friends,' but I thought that might have been a bit too graphic. I stopped myself from saying that at the last moment, though. "I didn't want to have to leave you." I said. "I love you, Soppo."
"I love you, Catman." Soppo said as a tear rolled down her cheek. I started heading back to the bedroom as I held Soppo, I was exhausted. I ran into HK416 on the way back.
"Konbanwa, Cat-man-do." HK said.
"Konbawwa, HK." I said, butchering the return of the greeting. "You aren't going to call me some weird made-up name?"
"Not this time." HK said. "I heard about how you're surpassing Neptune's forces in her region, so I figured the least I can do is call you by your name."
"Ummm… my name is Klonoa." I corrected her.
"'Because he's surpassing Neptune's forces?'" UMP-9 repeated from around the corner. She then walked over to us. "Forgive me for eavesdropping, but it sounds to me like you missed him." HK started blushing.
"Shut up you overused twist-tie!" HK yelled at 9. I then heard a knock from the inside of the door we were standing next to.
"Shaddup, HK! I'm trying to maintain my uniform!" STG-44 said from inside the room. STG and HK started bickering, so I ended up having to break them up. After all that, I went back into the bedroom.
"I see you got everything worked out?" Yu asked me. I nodded proudly. Since I can fly a plane now, getting to and from the estate from this point on will be super easy, so I can uphold my promise to Soppo that I made before. Hopefully I can learn to fly well enough to repel a paratrooper attack on the town, because if Neptune knows I can fly, that might become a more common occurrence. I'll try not to think about that too much while I'm here, though. I'll spend a day here, and then I'll head back to the town in Neptune's region. Soppo had fallen asleep in my arms, so I carefully climbed into bed and I slowly placed her right next to me. She immediately snuggled up right next to me… just like the ol' days.