"3..2..1.. pull!!" Firey yelled into the air and cried out in strain as he and Shampoo used all of their combined power to try and lift Stapy from the cliff, having struggled because of how heavy he was and how they were both disadvantaged because of their lack of one arm each. Stapy groaned as they were close to pulling him up onto the edge, looking down at the cliff fearfully as some of it crumbled and fell towards the rocks, holding onto the rope that the pair was lifting him with for his life.

They had climbed up the cliff this morning after finding it, and since that rope had been there for ages Firey had an idea. He and Shampoo were the first to go up the cliff and since Stapy couldn't climb very well they used the rope to hoist him up. They threw it down and Stapy grabbed it, and now they were almost done lifting him to the very top. Firey definitely wouldn't have wanted to be Stapy because he would have been terrified of the height, knowing he would have to trust the others with his life.

"D-Don't look down-" Shampoo advised Stapy in a struggle, but that was too late for that. Stapy tried to ignore the impending height and looked up at the two, not letting go for the life of him, struggling to hold up his own weight.

"We've almost got it!-" Firey shouted and squeezed his eyes shut, whining as he tugged the rope forward. Shampoo jerked foward too and the pair was able to yank Stapy forward onto the cliff, finally getting him over. Stapy let go and pulled himself away from the edge in relief by the grass, relived to feel safe. "Thank goodness! You did it!" He looked back at the two, who were panting.

"W-We did it-" Shampoo heaved, putting his hand on his knee. Firey huffed, calming down quicker than Shampoo. "Yeah. It's no big deal. Can't believe we're finally back up here! It's been so fucking long.." he exhaled, relived.

Shampoo and Stapy had had a lot of time to interact after they had been introduced to each other. Stapy and Shampoo were both equally unsure of each other but not openly. After Shampoo heard of the unfortunate news about Fries it.. stung, but he didn't know him very well so didn't feel as emotional as Firey did.

Firey also mentioned Coiny to Shampoo, which he hadn't done so before. He explained how he needed to help him and was gonna get support from Fries but.. now he couldn't. Shampoo was shocked Two would stoop to that level but.. also wasn't. He agreed though .. Coiny was salvagble so they needed to find some way to help him.. he wasn't like Leafy or Liy.

But they were safe now.. back at the main forest where they could head back to their base. Firey was quite happy to be in a trio again, and was looking forward to the other two getting along, he didn't see why they wouldn't apart from their trust issues. Firey looked over at Shampoo, who was still trying to catch his breath. "You good?"

"G-Give me a moment-" he huffed, breathless. He clearly wasn't much of an athlete.. but Firey didn't mind him being weak. He was the strong one in the group anyways, because it obviously wasn't Stapy. Though he was happy to have Stapy back.. he didn't realise how much of an impactful bond he had made with him until he was gone.

Though.. that was the case with Shampoo too. He was happy to have these friends around him.. it made him feel safe, and more secure. Stapy looked up at the sky, squinting and shielding his eyes from the sun, despite the freezing weather. "Hm, it's gonna be evening soon. Will we have enough time to get back to that base?" Stapy wondered out loud.

Firey pondered this, tapping his cheek in thought. "Huh.." he noticed when he talked he could see his breath in the air.. that was how cold it was. He couldn't risk them getting lost in the dark and having to sleep out in the open in this weather.. it would be better to try and find their shelter to have at least some shelter. "We'll probably have enough time if we hurry. You ready Shampoo?" Firey turned back to him.

"Y-Yeah." He wheezed "I-..I'm fine now." He stood straight after a moment. "Let's go, then.

Firey turned around, as did Shampoo and the pair began to walk. Stapy followed from behind, relieved to finally be in this part of the forest. Their journey was cut short though as an object suddenly stumbled out of the bushes: Donut. Firey screamed in shock as he didn't expect him to do that, backing up and hitting into Stapy. Stapy growled and pushed him away "The HELL is your?!-" he slowed down into silence as he saw Donut standing before them, shutting up and going tense.

What the hell was HE doing here? Was Two doing some..sort of hunt thing? Stapy remembered fairly well that Donut was always by Twos side.

Shampoo felt intimidated but said nothing, glancing back at the other two to read their expressions. Donut watched their fearful reactions, figuring that would happen regardless. "Uh..hi. Uh- Please don't be scared.. I'm not here to hurt you." He tried to explain, one of his hands outstretched to the group so they wouldn't attempt to run off.

"Are we doing this again?" Stapy muttered to Firey. "You know where we've heard this before.."

Firey didn't even pay attention to what Donut said. "D-Dude!! He.. he literally came out of NOWHERE!! Did ANYONE else see that?!" He yelled back at Stapy. Stapy growled and shoved him "Get yourself TOGETHER!" He shouted back, Firey stumbling in surprise.

"Uh." Shampoo looked around, kind of uneasy. "Hello.. um. I have reason to believe you're..on Twos side, since you're from their base. What.. do you want from us exactly?" Shampoo made sure to keep a distance.. but Donut didn't seem threatening. "This is.. weird for us."

Firey and Stapy stopped fighting, and Firey walked up to him wearily, slow. "Dude.. what do you want? And how did you find us? And..wait- why the hell are you even here? The base is far away." Firey shot a bunch of questions at him, Donut hardly remembering any of them.

Donut frowned, but didn't complain. "You can trust me." He waited a moment to ponder what he was going to say.. should he really say it? It would be fine.. he could do this. " I'm..I'm with Fries. I know about him - and I know you do too.." He wondered if that would make them believe him.

"Hm." Shampoo was skeptical, but admittedly surprised hearing this. Firey and Stapy were more shocked than Shampoo was, Firey squinting. "Huh.. really? Like.. you knoww.." he waved his hand in a motion, trying to get Donut to expand on what he knew.

"That... he's pretending to be on Twos side.." Donut stepped foward" And has done countless things like.. save your life for example." Donut revealed. He put his hands behind his back.. this was really making him nervous. He had built up the courage to talk to Stapy and Firey since Fries told him they were trustworthy, but didn't expect Shampoo to be there. Donut didn't even think any more debuters were alive after the deaths of all of the others he knew of.. like Anchor and Scissors.

"Why is he boasting about that?" Firey huffed unhappily, but still seemed like he took Donuts word. "Huh.. I guess you're not lying then." He concluded.

"What????" Stapy blurted, grabbing Firey arm and tugging it. "Are you crazy!? He's literally the closest one to Two IN that place!! Minus Coiny, who we KNOW has amnesia anyways!!" He whispered the part about Coiny angrily, not wanting Donut to hear. Donut couldn't.

Firey considered this, peeking back at Donut. Well, Stapy was in the base to begin with, if he knew anything then it was alright to trust his judgement. Shampoo looked at Donut wearily, knowing the other two were making this awkward. "Not so fast.. you could be lying to us still. Tell me.. why are you here?" Shampoo interrogated.

"Huh?" Donut looked at him. He was obviously skeptical.. Donut understood that. He would be skeptical too if he was in any of their positions. "I er, got some, uh.. bad news. It's..mostly for Firey. Fries told me I could find him and Stapy in the forest.." Donut explained.

Fries told him that? Firey wondered what the bad news was.. but all this Fries talk was making him kind of upset. "Hm.. okay.. go on then. " Firey muttered and waited, shaking Stapy off his arm.

"You're making a mistake." Stapy hissed in frustration, but Firey ignored him. Donut moved his hands from behind his back, looking to the ground. "..Look.. uh..I'll get straight to the point. Coiny, has ..amnesia. Forced amnesia from Two.." Donut admitted slowly, looking back over at Firey after a moment or two to see his expression. He felt tense, because even thought he finally told him he still felt a huge pressure on his shoulders.

Firey squinted, Stapy and Shampoo both waiting for him to reply. Hm.. so Donut knew that already. Firey scoffed and looked off. "Hmr. I know. I found out a little while ago." It pained him to say it..he put a hand on his waist, looking back at Donut. "So you know about that, too?"

Donut was relieved to find out he already knew about that, that saved him from a lot of confrontation stuff. "Yeah.. I do. I-I wanted to tell you about it but if you already know then well, you'll he happy to hear that.. he's come to terms with it and is getting better.." Donut went to weakly smile.

"Wait... Coiny is NOT on Twos side now?" Stapy repeated what he heard. Firey blinked, wanting to make sure he heard that right. "Wait- seriously? H-He has like.. realised he's got amnesia? I-I thought he was lost forever.." Firey seemed a lot happier, and prone to trusting Donut. "Oh, wow! I.. uh, that's great! Like- amazing!" He was overjoyed hearing this.

"So.. we can trust you?" Firey asked again. Donut nodded briefly to confirm. "Yeah.. I'm on your side.." He crossed his arms. "Trust me.. I hate Two as much as you do." He grumbled lowly.

Shampoo couldn't be happy, though. He looked at Firey with sorrow.. did he forget? Shampoo leaned in slowly, putting his hand on his shoulder, "Firey.. Fries is dead, remember? Does he know..?" He whispered softly to him, looking back at Donut wearily.

Firey froze up. Shit. DID Donut know? Shampoo backed off slowly and observed Donut.. if Donut didn't know then it.. would probably be best if Firey told him. Firey had a feeling he could trust him since he said that he was with Fries.. and knew about Coiny. He seemed willing to tell the others information that Two wouldn't want them knowing. Plus he hadn't attacked them and that was a big green flag.

"Speaking of Fries... have any of you just so, uh, happened to see him or anything? Uh... something.. happened ..a-and since then I haven't been able to find him." Donut stuttered hopefully, looking off to the side. "It's fine if not but.. I was getting worried." He trailed off, keeping his arms crossed.

Stapys gaze wondered to the side. He didn't trust Donut fully yet because he knew what he saw back in the base but.. he seemed like he genuinely cared for Fries. Firey looked back at Shampoo and Stapy, who both seemed like they were relying on Firey to tell Donut the bad news. God dammit.

"Uh? Look. Uhm.. okay. So.." Firey scratched his head awkwardly. "I.. I don't really know what way to say this. I..feel bad either way." Donut was confused as Firey got closer, watching the other object carefully.

".Uh.. I'm really sorry but.." Firey looked down, Donut not liking where this was going. "Why?" Donut whispered.

"Mgh.. Fries is ..dead."

The silence that followed those words stung more, Firey couldn't even see Donuts face because he didn't want to see how hurt he would be. Based on his silence he.. didn't think that Donut knew that information. This was new to him.. Firey felt bad that Donut was only finding out about it now... because Fries must've been dead for a while if.. the shovel had been at the warehouse when STAPY got there.. which was ages ago.

"I..I see." Donut was trying to take it in, but was clearly struggling with the information. Who could blame him. He put a hand on his head, letting it sink in, his words were slow. "I.. I understand. It.... it would happen eventually. " he took a silent deep breath. "I.. I've.. prepared myself for this.." he reassured.. but it felt like he was talking to himself.

He didn't expect to be the one receiving hurtful information today. He was lost in thought, not knowing what else to say. Fries was.. dead. He.. had been gone a while, but.. to hear that he was never coming back or he would ever see him again.. it.. hurt. It hurt more than he realised it would. Fries did so much to help others.. and he didn't get the justice he deserved.

Those words just kept reverberating in his head.

Fries was dead.

How.. did he even die?

He was ..gone. That was the last time Donut would ever talk to him. He tried to stop himself getting emotional.

Fries.. was dead.

He realised he had been silent for a while so spoke up. "I..I need to.. uh, th-think about this. Thanks for telling me and.. trusting me. I'll..s-see you sometime soon-" Donut informed them in a slow rush and dismissed himself from the scene. Firey watched with guilt "A-Again.. sorry.." he apologised, but Donut walked off half way through it.

Stapy and Shampoo stood and watched as Donut walked off to the forest without another word or anything else to say to the group. Once he was far enough and out of view of the group, he teleported himself back to the base.

---

Meanwhile, Gelatin was chilling out in Donuts room since he was busy and Gelatin wanted to just make sure nobody was gonna snoop around while he wasn't there. Also, just in case Two came Gelatin could stall or lie. He was currently sat on Donuts bed, having ripped an empty page out of his diary to draw on it out of boredom. Donut had been gone for a little bit, and being alone was uneventful.

He hummed and stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on what he was doodling, lying on his stomach with his legs crossed in the air. Just some random things.. things that he liked doing.. well, before the war started. He flinched as someone knocked on the door though, sitting up and looking over to the door as he put his pen down.

It wasn't Donut.. so it had to be someone else. He stared at it for a moment before they knocked again, louder and faster. They seemed to be impatient. Gelatin frowned "Cominggg!" He called loudly, grumbling to himself before rolling off the bed to get the door.

"Donut isn't here, you'll have to come back later." He told whoever it was with a long sigh, holding onto the handle before swinging the door open and tiredly looking at who was behind it. He was surprised to see Coiny, clearing his throat and letting go of the handle. "Oh! Uh. Hi. Yeah, uhh, Donut ain't here yo. Did you need him?"

Coiny looked distressed, he was unsure whether he wanted to tell Gelatin about this, since he had wanted to talk to Donut.
He trusted Gelatin but was still struggling to get used to fitting in again, and hadn't had a casual conversation with just him yet - so was struck silent in his path. He seemed reluctant and slowly retracted his hand - it was obvious he was considering leaving.. but Gelatin noticed how unstable he seemed.

"I-it's cool though. You uh.. can still come in." Gelatin offered, opening the door and stepping aside. Coiny looked like he was out of breath, but then Gelatin realised he was just breathing heavily..and looked teary eyed..what was up with him? "Actually...uh, you know what? Just come in-" he grabbed Coinys wrist and tugged him into the room, shutting the door after. He didn't feel safe with everyone potentially being able to see their interaction from outside the room.

"Wassup?" He gave a look of concern, noticing how scared and upset he seemed. He hadn't really handled Coiny on his own since that was more Donuts thing so.. this was a little awkward for him. Coiny shook his head, looking around as he seemed to be in disbelief. "I-i..I-I went to ..to see P-Pin. But she's..I-I-.." he trailed off at the thought, feeling sick to say it as he went to move over to the bed and sit on it, unable to keep standing.

Gelatin was confused.. "Wait wait ..wait.. what? As in.. Pin down in the basement? Is.. she.." Gelatin didn't want to say it.. but from how Coiny was reacting it was like she.. was dead. No.. she.. she couldn't be. How ..could she have died? She wasn't in a critical condition.. was that really what Coiny was going to say?

"I..I.. I don't know ..I..I..don't know what to do. I'm .. I'm really stressing out-" he stood again and grabbed his head and paced as he didn't know what to do with himself, Gelatin watching him panic. Shit.. how could this have happened? Gelatin put a hand on his head.. did Two know? Was this an attack? Or an accident? "Holy.. crap. I-..I don't know whatta say.." he let it set in. "..Why... do you think that-?"

Coiny shook his head, putting his hands over his face. "I-I went to go see her and she's.. she was..there was a gun and ..and-" his voice cracked through his struggle, Gelatin biting his lip and weakly trailing over.. what was he supposed to say to him? He went to put his hand on Coinys shoulder. "..How.. and..why.." he whispered to himself.

It didn't seem real. How could she be gone, just like that.. "Why.. did you go to see her?" Gelatin was so confused.. who would have done that to her? Did she do it to herself? He didn't even know what Coiny wanted Donut to do about it.. he must've just came here because he was distressed and.. needed comfort. Gelatin was bad at that.

Coiny sniffled, rubbing his eyes as he took his hands from his face. "I-I wanted to tell her about my amnesia. Sh..she died thinking I was an awful person.. I never.. got the chance to make it right-" he suddenly broke down, Gelatin biting his lip and looking around awkwardly as Coiny began to get really emotional and sob.

What would he do it this were Donut? Well.. it was much easier because he knew Donut better. He went to embrace Coiny, hugging him as that was the only thing he could think of. "She.. didn't hate you.."

"I-I treated her horribly.. she's meant to be my best friend-" Coiny sobbed out, pausing between words. Gelatin looked off to the side.. he felt guilty. This was unexpected.. and even more unexpected for Coiny. He was just getting set back into his life.. talking to Pin was going to be a big step for him.

"I-I've been trying for so long to figure out what to say to her.. why.. is she dead?" He weakly wailed, swallowing. "Why now?.. Wh-Why .. why did this happen.." he trailed off into tears again, Gelatin thinking about what he said.

It WAS very convenient timing.. wasn't it? Right before Coiny could talk to her.. she died. That.. couldn't be by chance, could it? "..Tell me, uh, what were you doing before you went to talk to her..?"

Coiny sniffled, trying to speak. "I..I was r-reciting what I would say in my room." He shakily whimpered "I.. didn't know what to say to her.. so was preparing myself." he whispered, his voice trembling as he parted from the other object. Gelatin squinted, thinking about that.

He just.. wanted to check something. "Come with me a sec.. " Gelatin went to grab his wrist and lead him out of Donuts room, looking down with an expression of thought but confusion.

Coiny wiped his eyes and sniffled as he was lead out of the room by Gelatin, letting him lead him. He felt awful.. how could this happen? Now he'll NEVER have the chance to make amends with her. He.. had the opportunity for so long and he wasted all that time. He closed his eyes and squeezed them as he tried to force his thoughts away, the image of her dead body engraved into his mind.

He wanted to forget.. he wanted this to be over.. why did this just get more difficult every day? He couldn't have one good thing happen to him... he would never be able to get the chance to talk to her again. She was.. gone forever.. he had been so close to finally making things right m.

Gelatin marched through the corridors with Coiny, passing Tree who didn't say a word to either of them. Gelatin couldn't tell if he was looking at him because Tree was much taller than the both of them and it felt awkward to look up. He didn't care though, he wad determined to find out if.. his theory was correct. If.. it was.. that would change so much.

It just seemed too convenient. It had to be planned.. something must've happened. Coinys room was very close to Donuts because they were on the same floor, so it took no time to get there.

Coiny was confused, wiping his eyes as he felt distraught and was struggling to keep himself together. "..Wh..why are we here?" He stammered weakly, his voice low and hoarse.

"I.. wanna check something out." Gelatin lead him into the room, keeping a keen eye as he looked around slowly and suspiciously to look for anything that didn't quite seem right.

Coiny nodded, too tired to argue with him. He walked in after him and slumped over to his bed and buried himself into it, closing his eyes. Everything hurt so much.. he couldn't believe she was gone. He didn't even get a chance to.. say anything to her. She died without knowing the truth about him.

Gelatin made sure the door was shut before patrolling around the room. He slipped over to Coinys pillow and inspected it. "Hm." He looked around the rest of the room... this place looked trashed.. Coiny must've done something to wreck this place at some point, there was sword marks in the walls.

He said nothing about it though, watching as Coiny reached for his sword and clutched it to himself, feeling his eye patch. Gelatin traced the bed with his hand as he looked at the ceiling, making sure to check every spot.

His hand trailed over the last of the bed and he let go of it, letting his hand fall to his side. He slowly paced over to Coinys desk, leaning close to it and frowning.

Not much.. or so he thought. Upon further inspection, something dark and shiny that was sort of tucked away on the desk caught his eye. He looked over immediately, confused as he reached for it and grabbed what it was in his hand, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger.

He peered inside it with his eye.

This.. was a camera.

Whoever killed Pin.. must've PLANNED for this... they saw Coiny was on the verge of talking to her and wanted to make sure he didn't get the chance to.

Why..? Why didn't they WANT him to?

Was it Two? But.. surely they'd make more of an effort if they knew Coiny knew he had amnesia..they wouldn't let him just roam around.

Coiny weakly stood from the bed and made his way over as Gelatin was looking at aomething, sniffling as he peered over Gelatins shoulder.. "..Wh..whats that?" He questioned with a croaky voice, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

Gelatin grit his teeth. He knew something had been up with Barfbag. He couldn't prove this was her.. but he felt like she definitely knew more than she let on.. and this had her name all over it. He felt a wave of anger overcome him at the thought of her sabotaging Coiny like this, crushing the camera in his hand.

"Someone was watching you.." he slowly informed with a growl, looking back to him in guilt, but also frustration on Coinys behalf.

Barfbag flinched as she watched Gelatin crush the camera in his hand from the other side of the screen, her monitor turning into static.

---