6 days later..

After the group had returned back to the base, they had a lot to reflect on.. and explain. Tensions were very high and so were questions and confusion. All they wanted were answers.. but they weren't going to be nice ones.

Snowball had been informed about Pen after he had recovered to a somewhat stable state, and Basketball had never seen him so upset. He clearly had tried to hide it when he first found out but he soon became extremely emotional, mostly in the form of anger but once that faded out it was just him and his tears. He was genuinely heartbroken, Basketball felt so guilty because in a way she blamed herself.. maybe if Snowball hadn't been controlled he could've done something. But Snowball refused to hear her say that, and with her now as his closest friend he felt more attached to her than ever.

It took him a while to get used to the fact Pen wasn't here anymore.

Golfball didn't only give them time to recover, but time to adjust to the new changes. She didn't want to tell them the full story until Needle was doing better, since she needed to be in a stable mindset to actually understand the situation. Luckily, with assistance of rust remover that Lightning helped find in the lab, Needle was cleared up. Though, that didn't change her memory. She was still very confused.

Match had done her best to restore or jog her memory in many different ways, and actually she remembered quite a few things.. all she needed was time. Her memory was foggy but.. she wasn't extremely confused anymore. She actually regained her main memories a lot sooner than Coiny had, debatably doing even better than him now. This kind of made him jealous that she could remember more in a smaller timeframe but, this was insignificant against his happiness.. she was in awe to hear about his amniesa, but it made so much more sense now that she looked back.

He reluctantly told her about Pin. Match was upset about Pin, too, because she was close to her, closer than half of them realised, but.. Match had mostly gotten over that a little while ago, so.. the news wasn't as hard hitting as it could've been. Regardless Match was still bummed out, she saw it coming but.. that didn't change a thing. Needle took it pretty hard too, not expecting her to have died. She.. wished had known sooner, or tried harder to help her.

They were informed about everything else..Donuts death, Fours betrayal, Coinys amniesa, Liys redemption, everything. Of course it was a lot to hear, but they all needed to hear it.. this only fuelled their hatred towards Two, and of course they wanted to help them get rid of the numeral once and for all.. this was it. This was what they had been waiting for.. here came the final push.

Unfortunately a lot of their weapons had been destroyed in the warehouse fire so.. when they fought Two a lot of them would be empty handed. That didn't discourage them though, as they still had Gelatin, Blackhole and Fireys abilities.

The mood was low for a few days ..and.. that was okay. It was understandable.. they had just lost Pen, Winner too even though they hardly knew them. Everyone commemorated Pen with words, which helped Blocky feel a little more relieved of stress, however now he was as protective as ever of Eraser. Guilt had been heavy on him, and he could tell it was the same with Eraser, but it got easier to handle over the days they were given to rest. Blocky just.. wished he had been there, and that was his biggest regret.

The days they had to rest allowed them to refresh their relationships. Match, Snowball and Lightning all had a small reunion, well.. mostly Lightning and Match. Though, he was still happy to see her and the feeling was mutual. She explained how Tape and Shampoo apparently brought her back to life by the cliff, which was almost unbelievable.

Liy had struggled to really greet any of the newcomers.. Tape wasn't really interested in talking with her, and Naily was scared of her; she could tell Naily purposely avoided her. Plus she could tell Needle and Match still had a grudge against her.. which she understood. She had made her efforts to talk to them over the days but they weren't as keen as she was, making it pretty awkward. Needle was surprised over how close Coiny was to her though, which made her rethink her opinions on Liy.

So after the 6 days they had to regain themselves and recover, as well as understand their situation, it was time. It was time to go over to Twos base and finally give them a peace of their minds. There was no plan here.. no complex stealth misson, they were simply going to have to fight them. Luckily Two and the others were extremely outnumbered and overpowered by the group, so with the energy that the group had gained over the days they were as determined as ever.

There was no backing down now.. this was the final task they had to do to ensure their freedom. They was so close.. and they had worked so hard, lost so many. They DESERVED this.

And so they were currently on their way, walking through the forest as a large group to go give Two and the gang a visit. Their combined determination created a sense of hope, they were set on creating justice for themselves and those who they had lost.

Tree was walking with Blackhole, doing better mentally than he previously was a few days ago. He and Lightning hadn't spoken much since his semi-outburst - he knew Lightning was just nervous to talk to him. He wasn't sure when the time was right, flashing a look Blackholes way.

Blackhole could no longer transform into Pen, as this would.. just create a horrific sight to see. Blackhole had tried Liy in private but.. he had been shocked to find that she had a gunshot wound in her head. He hadn't mentioned this but he planned to ask her in the future, when the time was right. It didn't add up, because any injuries present on the ones he transformed into should have been accurate to their current state.. and Liy didn't have a gunshot wound.

So he was given permission from Coiny to become him, instead. This was good because Coiny was a durable object, and therefore it was safe to be him. One downside though is that since the eyepatch didn't come with the transformation, everyone was able to see the injury that Coiny purposely hid on his face. He.. was fine with it, though.

"Blackhole.. what do you think I should do about Lightning?" Tree suddenly brought up, keeping his voice down so those around him couldn't hear. He had to lean down to be able to get close enough for Blackhole to hear him, as Coiny was incredibly short.

"H..Huh? What .. do you mean?"

"Well.." Tree mused, running his hand through his leaves. ".. Do... you remember.. er, about a week ago? I ..got annoyed at him and you were there- we haven't spoken much since. I don't.. like being like this.. what should I do?" He needed advice, sounding hopeful. Blackhole looked to the ground.

"Uh.. do you want my.. like, honest opinion..?" He offered. Tree nodded twice, "Yes, I would."

"..I..I know why you were upset, and.. I was too. I don't think you were, uh, in the wrong. You were angry.. but.. maybe you should've..like, reassured him you weren't frustated at him ..uh, a little earlier? Maybe he still thinks that.. or, er.. is like, too afraid to say anything, I-I dunno." Blackhole shrugged, as if he had just taken a guess. Tree softened..

"Mm.. I.. hear you." He sighed heavily. "I'll.. go talk to him, then. Thank you." He went to go squeeze his hand, intertwining their fingers affectionately before walking ahead before Blackhole could protest, attempting to catch up with Lightning. Tree had noticed he had been spending some time with Match.. right now he was alone, though.

"Hey.. Lightning?" Tree brought up, trying to grab his attention as he was in the air. Lightning jumped at the sound of his voice, snapping his head around to see Tree, guessing it was him from the accent. His face changed to worry immediately. "O-Oh! Uh, Tree.. hi-" he blurted, struggling to compose himself.

".. L-Look, about the other day.." Tree went to reach for the bolts wrist, bringing him down so he wasn't so high in the air. Lightning didn't expect the contact, flinching and sending a small spark to Tree accidentally. It was barely noticeable so Tree wasn't bothered.

"I.. hope you know that.. I was just upset over him. I.. didn't mean to make it sound like I was annoyed at you. I.. know it came off that way, looking back." He bit at his lip, noticing how tense the other was, he could feel it in his arm. ".. And, I ...didn't mean to hurt you in the process. You mean a lot to me, you know that, don't you?"

"Mmghhgh..I'm sorry.." Lightning muttered, his voice barely making it to Tree. ".. I ..wanted to give you space. I didn't wanna.. like, overwhelm you or frustrate you like I did before.." he explained, sounding a little defeated. Trees gaze softened, his grip loosening.

"..Oh- what..? Lightning- nooo, I--I just needed some time alone to think about ..Pen. You didn't have to avoid me for days on end. Seriously, please do not apologise for anything, I didn't mean to give you mixed messages."

"I.. over think a.. a.. lot." Lightning admitted, Tree a little surprised as he began to explain himself. Lightning was avoiding eyecontact, his eyes ahead of him to focus on following the others. ".. A-And, uhhh.. I.. was over thinking a lot. I thought you didn't like me anymore.. and now I say it out loud it just sounds stupid." He huffed at himself. He felt pressure building in his chest..having to talk about this made him feel sad.

"Lightning.. I.. know you over think already." Tree assured softly. "I should've considered that. I promise you nothing had changed between us, you're still one of my best friends - tensions were really high and... I wasn't thinking about what I was saying, and.. didn't think about it for a while."

Lightning didn't respond, a little relieved as Tree told him all those things. He still felt mildly upset about the whole thing, before letting out an impulsive yelp as he was pulled from the air, suddenly dragged down and forced into Trees arms. Tree wrapped his hands around him tight, holding him close to his chest.

"It won't happen again.. and, if it does.. just tell me I'm being too much, alright?" He murmured into the bolts ear. Lightning held his arms as they were around him, losing his tension and instead embracing him.

"Needle, how are you, like, holding up?" Match wondered with her hands behind her back, joining the tall object by her side. Needle perked up as Match began to start a conversation with her, managing a small shrug while looking to the side.

"Ohh.. I don't know? Better. It feels kinda strange going back to Twos base though.. it feels like I haven't been there in forever. I wonder how much it's changed." Needle thoughtfully pondered, tapping her face.

"Well, I've like, NEVER been there. I don't even know what it looks like. Is it tall?"

"I... think so. It was when I was there." Needle tried to remember, before hesitating. She frowned at Match, turning to her with a frustrated expression. "Hey, are you trying to get me to remember things again??"

"What?" Match forced a laugh, waving her hand to dismiss her as if that was absolutely ludicrous. "Uh, no, pfftt. Like, what even makes you say that?? Do you know how you sound right now? Like, oh my god." Match rambled to fill the air, Needle glaring.

"Don't play dumb with me!" She snapped in offense. Match huffed, putting a hand on her waist in defeat.

"Well, maybe. Buuuut like, I didn't expect you to catch me out so soon, sooo.." Match grinned at her playfully, earning a sassy eyeroll from Needle, who took it lightly. She smiled and shook her head.

"I already asked you to stop that, jeezzz.." she huffed with a smile, Match smiling back.

"It's...just nice to see you, like, back to normal. I.. genuinely thought I was gonna, like, lose you forever. You were.. pretty different, it seemed irreversible." Match went to hold her own arm and rub it. She could feel Needles gaze on her, and then her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm here now." Needle murmured gently, her soft voice and soothing.

"I'm.. so excited to finally like, BEAT Two, you know? I thought it would be pretty impossible from like.. our last situation. But things are looking good for us!" Match chimed with a eager expression, going to interlink her arm with Needles.

"I-I know, right? I can't wait to kick their sorry ass, and everyone ELSE in the base, duh." Liy laughed unexpectedly, cutting into their conversation. Needle and Match both turned to look at Liy, mostly confused.. they shared a look of judgement. Needle wasn't ready to be all buddy buddy with her yet, and same with Match. They had been aware of her previous attempts to be friends ..this wasn't the first time she had tried hard to join in.

Liy smiled and rolled her eyes as they didn't reply. "I mean, I've got a bone to pick with with Loser and Barfbag.. I wonder what they're doing? Well, probably not expecting US. To be honest, we haven't heard much from them.. well I suppose thats kind of normal for all of you.. maybe I'm just getting used to... aaand they're not listening." She muttered the last part as the pair ignored her and continued on with their conversation, frowning.

Maybe she was trying too hard. She awkwardly let them continue on with their conversation, edging away from the two. Maybe she should have started with Naily.. but she seemed scared of her, plus with Jr as her friend maybe that wasn't the best idea. Liy groaned quietly, before shrieking as someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"H-Hey! Coiny!" She blurted instinctively, turning around to glare at him. It wasn't Coiny, though, it was a much taller object.. Lollipop. Liy blinked, her words stuck in her throat in the moment. What did she want? She blinked, trying to force out any sound. "U-Uh.." her voice cracked. She didn't mean to come off scared but that was how she felt - intimidated.

"Wassup?" She uneasily grinned, internally scolding herself.

Lollipop didn't look too impressed with that, continuing to frown at her; but she put her hands behind her back, looking ahead. "Not much.." she supposed with a hum, "Though, I am looking forward to getting some justice for Book and Taco." She mused, wanting to finally let them rest peacefully. Liy nodded.

"Uh, yeah!" She agreed, half because she wanted Lollipops approval and half because she did actually care. She cleared her throat, looking ahead as well.. "Sooo.. what's up with you, then? Gaty and you fall out so you have no one else to talk to?" Liy joked in a light-hearted way.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Liy twitched and forced herself to hold her smile, wanting to slap herself. Why the hell didn't she ever think before she spoke?! She braced herself for Lollipops reply.

"No. But you might not in a minute." Lollipop seethed, sounding offended. Liy awkwardly laughed, flashing a look to her for a moment. "Sorry! Sorry... ha." She sneered to try and brush it off, in disbelief that she had been so stupid.

"Well.. what about you?" Lollipop went to look down at her, her eyes lidded. "What do you want justice for, hm?"

Liy was a little surprised.. was Lollipop trying to be nice to her..? This felt strange, and hadn't really happened yet. Usually Liy had to be the one to make the effort, not the other way around. Why was she doing this? Liy really wanted to ask but felt like maybe now wasn't the right time.. maybe Lollipop felt bad? Or had.. changed her mind? But she had been so against Liy staying before.. maybe she was trying to get to know Liy more.

Liy swallowed, having been silent for a moment due to thought. "Huh? I mean.." oh, shit, she couldn't say anything about the clone stuff.. though she had mentioned it vaguely before without going into detail, and said that she couldn't because it would startle everyone. Yes.. she would just do that again. "Uh, personal.. stuff. " she supposed, shrugging.

"The thing you mentioned a few weeks ago?" Lollipop guessed.

Liy awkwardly chuckled, how the hell did she guess so quick?? She nodded slowly, looking at the knife in her hand. "Y-Yep! Uh, how did you guess?" She sarcastically asked, holding a forced smile.

Lollipop frowned.. she wasn't aware of what it was exactly yet, since she hadn't found any way to find out. She was curious though..because maybe there had been a reason for Liys actions afterall. Of course Lollipop didn't want to shift all the blame to whatever this reason maybe instead of Liy taking accountability for her actions.. but Liy WAS taking accountability for her actions.. and she refused to tell anyone what that secret had been.

"When are you going to tell everyone about that, anyways?" Lollipop wondered bluntly.

Liy uneasily laughed again, why was she so persistent? "Uh, I dunno.. maybe.. like, .. in a while? Nows probably not the best time."

"Why?"

Liy shrugged, biting at her lip in nervousness. "I'm.. not ready for you all to know." She admitted. "And you probably aren't, either. "

Lollipop didn't reply for a moment, her gaze drifting to the sky above. "..Very well, I understand. I don't want to push you or anything." She established. Liy nodded a few times.. why was she being so different? She was treating her like.. a friend, maybe just an acquaintance but it was better than before.

It felt.. nice for Liy. It finally felt like she was being forgiven for what she had done.. and was gaining trust. She smiled weakly at the thought.. that took a lot of pressure off her.. maybe Lollipop knew that. She could
Sense mild awkwardness from Lollipop though.. had she been nervous to speak to Liy?

She wasn't going to overthink it.. but it was such a nice feeling. Perhaps things would start getting better from here on out..

Basketball shuffled over to Snowball, able to see that he was in thought while he walked. He had been in thought for a prolonged amout of time, so she just.. wanted to check up on him. She had been trying to do so regularly ever since Pen died, knowing he was too stubborn to actually admit how he felt but even so she would be able to tell if he was down.

She made herself smile, greeting Snowball warmly. "H-Hey, Snowball.. how are you holding up now?" Basketball wondered, "You ready to beat Two?"

"You fucking bet I am." He snarled, crackling his knuckles as if to accentuate his point. He went to look at her for a moment, as if he was examining her.

"What?" She wondered, confused. "What is it?"

He looked off into another direction to avoid eyecontact, losing his tension. "I.. don't want to lose you, too.." he barely muttered, his voice low. She softened, moving closer to him. "Oh.. Snowball-"

"And, don't just say "it'll be fine," because I don't KNOW that for sure, okay??" He grumbled in annoyance, gritting his teeth while flashing her a look. "Come on, Basketball, even you know that you're vulnerable. If I lose you now.. " he couldn't finish his sentence, frowning. He felt embarrassed to tell her this, unable to tell if he was overreacting anymore. He just.. didn't want to go through what happened with Pen again, not so soon .. not her too.

"I.. I know you're worried, Snowball. I'm worried about you, too! I ...I mean, you're going to actually be.. out there fighting!" She exclaimed, looking to the ground. "You ... almost died the other day.. I-It felt awful."

"But I can protect myself! And .. you can't do that as well as you think you can, no offense." He uttered lowly, tapping his fingers against his arm while he had them crossed. "I.. just want you to have this.. to have the freedom you.. deserve.."

She softened, complimented by how sweet he was acting.. it was a rare occurance but.. it was kind of sad considering he was doing it out of fear for her life. "You do, too.." she added on.

"You don't understand." He seethed, pushing his glasses up his face angrily with his middle finger. "Who do you think has done some of the most work out of EVERYONE? You." He claimed firmly, glaring to the ground while thinking about this. "You.. have worked so hard for it. I'd be dead without.. you, Basketball! You've saved my ass countless of times. "

" ..Snowball-"

"I.. guess I just wanna say.. thank you, or .. something." He muttered weakly, his voice filled with anxiousness and reluctance. She could hear it, even if he tried to hide it. ".. You've done.. so much for me.. so.. just let me do something for you."

She sighed weakly.. "..Snowball..." she pondered how to respond.. well, she really appreciated his words, and it probably took a lot for him to say them. He had been in a dark place recently so.. she just wanted to help him. "..Thank you for saying that, g-genuinely .. that was very kind of you to do."

"Yeah, whatever. No need to point out the obvious. " he spat, hostile. She weakly smiled, going to lean into him. His snow surface felt cold against her cheek. "I'll be okay. For you.. " she glanced across the group, her eyes drifting off over to Lightning.

"..Mmh.. hey.." she sounded curious. ".. Maybe you could.. try and apologise to Lightning.." she suggested sensitively.

"What?!" He blurted, parting from her in offense. He lowered his voice, bothered she would suggest that. "What? For that stupid slip up months ago?? I already semi-apologised before Liy came and blew us and the lab up." He retorted bluntly, shrugging.

"Yeah..uh, that's my point." Basketball awkwardly added on, Snowball returning a groan. "Seriously???"

"I-I think you should, Snowball. He.. kinda deserves one."

Snowball frowned..he knew she was right. It.. was probably what Pen would have wanted, too. He could tell Pen had pulled away ever since the situation with Lightning came out.. so.. maybe Snowball did owe some kind of apology. "What a fucking pain." He moaned, grumbling under his breath before walking over to Lightning and Tree. Basketball relaxed, sighing gently.

"Jr! Can you STOP running around like an out of control barbarian!? You will end up HURTING someone!!" Golfball nagged loudly, frustrated as she continuously found herself almost bumping into him while he ran around her. Jr scoffed, keeping an eye on Naily while he moved side to side.

"Not right now! We're playing tag!" He yelled at her, as if this was a reasonable excuse. Golfball remembered when they were doing that just before the forest fire.. Blocky had been doing so much better then... so much more full of life. However she was.. relieved to see him more well off compared to how he was a few days ago.

Eraser didn't.. seem better, though. It was strange, because even Snowball had shown signs of improvement. Eraser on the other hand was the complete opposite, he hadn't shown anything like that. This concerned her.. because it felt like out of everyone, he was the least ready to fight Two right now

She wished Blocky would try to talk to him.. but she wasn't sure if Blocky could see it, which was understandable. He was dealing with his own grief, he hadn't much space for Erasers feelings too. She pondered this, chewing the inside of her mouth.

Eraser thought that he could've gotten better by now.. Blocky had, but something just didn't..work. He didn't..want to get better, he didn't WANT to forget.

All he could see when he closed his eyes was Pens dead, mutilated body.

And.. he didn't know if that image would ever go away. He couldn't sleep, but forced himself to put up with it since.. as soon as they were done fighting Two, it.. would be over, and he could grieve for as long as he wanted. He was just.. so tired, and didn't have anyone to talk to about it, not really.

"Eraser, you know this path better than I do. Where is the direction of the base exactly?" Golfball prompted, trying to encourage him to speak since she could see something was wrong. He perked up, not having listened to anything she said.

"What..?"

"Over here, I think!" Gaty exclaimed, pointing with her foot. "We're going in the right direction anyways, so, it's cool. We don't need to change paths." She filled in, answering instead. Golfball frowned.

"Oh, thanks.." she uttered, bland. She didn't want to bring it up with Blocky, but .. she did care about the mental wellbeing of her friends, so felt conflincted. Snowball had Basketball, and Blocky had her and a few others, Eraser wasn't as close .. only to Blocky, and he probably didn't want to..talk about it with him since Blocky was struggling too. She pitied them both, exhaling.

"Blocky, do you know if-"

She yelped as Naily suddenly collided with her, growling at the metal object with gritted teeth. Naily uneasily giggled and stepped back. "S-Sorry! I didn't see you there, my bad!" She excused.

"Tag!" Jr shouted and smacked her on the head, laughing as he ran around the group again. Golfball squeezed her eyes shut.

"I said no more TAG!!!" She boomed, marching out of frustration. "You are starting to IRRITATE me. Can you PLEASE just walk NORMALLY?!"

"But its soooo fucking boringggggg!! The base is so far away and all the conversations are drab as fuckkk. Anyone wanna play like, eye spy?" Jr offered, kicking a rock while sulking over the fact that he had to stop messing around.

"Ooh!!" Naily looked around. "I spy-"

"EYE SPY IS BANNED." Golfball thundered hastily, cutting her off before she could continue. Jr huffed, crossing his arms. "You're so boring! No wonder you're in love with math!"

"Hey! I am NOT in love with math! I simply ENJOY it." She insisted irritably, taking it too literally. Coiny grinned, looking over to Firey with a playful smirk. "Was she always like this?"

"You bet." Firey tiredly confirmed, rubbing his eyes with his fist. "Just worse."

"Oh right, you're not in love with math, you're in love with Tennisballlllll~." Jr taunted, before laughing and jumping up onto Nailys head. "Tb and Gb sitting in a tree!" Jr yelled, Naily continuing. "K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"This is SERIOUS!! Pack it in IMMEDIATELY!!" She screamed at them, flashing a sharp and threatening glare in their direction, blushing mildly. She turned around, able to hear their childish giggles from behind her. Tennisball kept his head down, his face burning up.

"Alright guys, like, settle down. We have to be quiet in case Twos group are around.." Match reminded, trying to get the two to stop being so energetic. Luckily it worked, as they started a conversation between them without much reluctance. Golfball was annoyed that they listened to Match and not her, but didn't want to provoke the two anymore.

"Who cares? We overpower them and their stupid group anyways." Firey sneered confidently, grinning proudly with a hand on his hip. His overconfidence spoke for itself, Coiny raising an eyebrow at him.

"Please don't jinx it." He murmured, but sounded genuine. Coiny had lost his sword at the warehouse so he felt weak without it, causing him to feel even weaker headed for Two. He was incredibly worried about it, knowing that Two wouldn't have reacted well to him and Liy escaping.. he wondered if Liy had ever thought about that.

"I.. don't actually think we have much to worry about." Gelatin agreed, surprising a few with his solid opinion. Tree was unsure of his claims, his hand clinging onto Blackholes as the two walked together. "You don't...?"

"Well, no.." Gelatin tapped his cheek to ponder. "Without Basketball and Tennisball, healing became impossible awhile ago so.. that's when injuries were becoming more significant.." he untangled his thoughts in his mind. "And ..uh, Loser is glass, weak too. I know he has a gun but.. I can deal with that. Barfbag is pretty weak without a weapon.. and.. to be honest? That only leaves Bell, Yellowface, Balloony, Leafy and Puffball. We're over DOUBLE their numbers."

"He's..right, you know.. " Coiny agreed after some thought, looking up with eagerness. "Then all we gotta deal with ... is, uh, Two themselves. That's the part I'm most worried about.." he trailed off, clearing his throat. Firey could tell he was on edge, wrapping an arm around him and holding his shoulder.

"Well, yes, all of that is true, but it's much easier said than done. They must be somewhat powerful if they have survived this long." Shampoo added on, thinking logically about this. "I-I know they've been able to hide behind the building and Two the whole time but.. they've done other things to prove their strengths.." Shampoo warned. Tape huffed.

"Damn, you're such a mood killer, huh?" He jokingly taunted him, causing Shampoo to kick his ankle in offense. "Tape! Shut it!!"

"Aw, it's so cool to see you make friends, Shampoo." Firey grinned, moving his hand from Coiny and instead to on his waist again. Stapy sneered and tried to stop a laugh escaping, a little behind with the rest of them due to being one of the slowest. Shampoo was behind with him, though, as thanks to his burned leg he needed to be on crutches.

"Tape was my friend ALREADY! When did you guys become so harsh? Jeez.." Shampoo complained, sounding hurt. Tape rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, cheer up, dude!"

"You never told me Tape was so fun." Firey pointed out and eyed him up, frustrating Shampoo more. He knew not to take it personally though. "Yes, well, I never told you lots of things."

"H-Hey!!! What's that supposed to mean?! Don't go all cryptic now!!" Firey pleaded, going to cling onto Shampoos arm. Coiny raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is this guy.." he whispered to himself, referring to Firey.

Anchor laughed weakly, enjoying the banter between the group. "How long have you even known Shampoo, anyways, Firey?" He wondered, shifting the conversation away from Two.

Firey let go of Shampoo, mainly because he was getting pushed away and he didn't want to burn him. "Uhh.. since Stapy almost died."

"What a nice thing to say." Stapy sarcastically retorted.

"Uh- I-I don't know when that is..haha.." Anchor forced a smile, unsure if Firey was joking. Coiny rolled his eyes, "Firey, how LONG ago, not when."

Firey blew a raspberry at him, before turning on his foot. "Ummm.. when Stapy died.. when Stapy died.." he repeated to himself in thought, looking up. Stapy almost choked on his words.

"Um, I never DIED?!"

Firey ignored him. "About, like, over a month? Probably? Hard to count the days."

"I-I'd agree.." Shampoo nodded, for once on the same page as his idiotic friend. "It.. was just after Stapy got pushed down the cliff."

"Can everyone PLEASE stop bringing that up?!" Stapy cried, not wanting to be reminded. Liy had slowed herself down to join them while they were talking, her hand behind her back.

"Oh, yeaahhh. Sorry ..uhh.. about that.. uh, I was kind of a crazy son of a bitch, huh?" She forced a laugh, gazing across at Stapy with a genuine look of regret. "I... have no idea why I did that. You.. didn't deserve that."

"It's fine, it all worked out." He muttered passively. "I just want everyone to let it go."

"Fine! Fine! I'm letting it go, see?" Firey held up his hands in defense, Stapy unamused by his stupid behaviour.

Shampoo felt uncomfortable immediately by the presence of Liy, not wanting to be in a conversation with her. He just wanted her to go away.. he didn't want to be forced to spend time with her, he would get used to her in his own time. She could tell he was off by his sudden silence, but she knew why.

She remembered what she had done.. she hadn't thought that would have been relevant anymore when she first got to the lab, having forgot she even done it. He seemed upset about it still, and that just made her feel more guilty over the whole thing.. she wished she hadn't been so stupid before to blindly hurt others without a care.

"So you've known these guys for a while, huh?" Tape turned back over to the pair, analysing them with his eyes. "Huh.. weird. You two aren't really the type of friend Shampoo usually makes."

"Wh-What?? But you are literally
so similar to us???" Stapy immediately responded, unsure if Tape said it ironically.

"You think? Damn, I got some thinking to do " he muttered the last part to himself. Shampoo stayed awkwardly quiet, nothing on his mind, just listening to them talk around him. Firey remembered the situation when he noticed Shampoo was uncomfortable.. that was right, he still hadn't gotten over what Liy did.

He parted from being side by side with Coiny, going to walk with Shampoo instead. He offered a hand on his shoulder, but said nothing.. he let the gesture speak for itself, knowing Shampoo didn't want to tell everyone about the recovery centre. Firey wasn't even sure if Liy knew about that.. he wondered how awful she would feel.

Shampoo felt comforted, but said nothing either.

"We're gonna fucking KILL you, TWO!!!" Snowball roared out, punching a tree as he walked past it, causing leaves to flutter to the ground.

The group walked through and stepped over them, the base just up ahead

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