This is where we left off. This is part 2 of The Last Secret. I hope you like this chapter. This is probably long as well. I decided to not have an intro in this chapter due to the cliffhanger being sad and left to be "mysterious".

Previously on The Bad Guys

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"...Well, great catching up!" Hornet said smilingly.

"Yeah. See ya around..., buddy," Piranha lightly poked Hornet's shoulder as a way to playfully punch him.

Hornet was pacing around while Mira, Nickel, Rusty, Daxton, and Dusk kept their eyes on him while he was moving around, "So now, Piranha and I can barely make eye contact because of that stupid rumor. I mean, Piranha actually thinks I have a crush on him," he laughed hysterically.

"Hey, where's your partner in crime?" Wolf asked.

"Who?" Piranha questioned without understanding what Wolf was asking about.

"Hornet, Piranha. I was talking about Hornet," Wolf reminded.

Piranha groaned annoyingly, "Thanks to you, things are a bit weird between us right now."

"Do you have a crush on me?" Piranha asked. He wanted to make sure of that because he was expecting something from Hornet that Piranha didn't want to pressure him about.

"Uhhh..." Hornet wanted to speak the truth, but all he wanted was to avoid tension between him and Piranha as he answered. "No. I don't.

"Well, that talk went backfired," the guinea pig spoke loudly.

"It made me wonder what would they think when they realize you had been keeping that secret for a long long time," Marmalade mentioned, making Hornet turn to him with a glare, "What would they think that they were friends with a test subject? I don't think they want to stay friends with an odd test subject like you."

Hornet suddenly looked down, imagining what would his friends react to this.

Marmalade gasped dramatically as he mentioned this, "What Mr. Piranha would say too?"

"I have to leave, probably forever, and I couldn't go without telling you the truth," Hornet told Piranha.

"Goodbye! Goodbye, everyone!" Hornet cried as he flew back into his room, and closed the door.

"Hornet!" Piranha rushed to follow Hornet, "Hey! What do you mean—?" When he opened the door, Piranha noticed that Hornet was nowhere to be seen in his room. All of his stuff was there, but no Hornet.

"Hornet?"

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Piranha was in his room, staring out the window, watching the night sky. He wasn't exactly watching the beautiful view of the night. That's not what he was thinking. He was staring out the window to wait for Hornet to come back home.

"Hornet, where are you?" Piranhha whispered. He wanted Hornet back home so he could talk to him about his confession earlier.

Is it really true? Hornet had a crush on him? Did he have feelings for him before? Why would Hornet lied to him. Piranha did ask Hornet if he had a crush on him, and the insect said no. But, before he left, he did have a crush on him? Why didn't Hornet tell him when he asked him that question?

Guess Hornet was too ashamed to tell Piranha the truth. He was ashamed of talking about his feelings to his best friend. Piranha would understand that. But it wasn't entirely Hornet's fault because Piranha himself lied to him as well. He didn't confess right away that he had a crush on that insect too. He kept it all to himself because he wanted to make sure Hornet's feelings were the same as he had.

Oh, Piranha had been dreaming of Hornet for years. He really liked that bug. Despite that he is really small and very young in human years, Hornet is still the cutest and most handsome male adult hornet he knew, and Piranha admired his efforts and potential of being a Bad Guy. Hornet might not be the strongest and the most fragile member, but he was a good and loyal friend, and an intelligent one too. That was what Piranha admired about Hornet. Piranha just wished he would be smart like Hornet to tell him how he felt for him sooner.

But he was so stupid. Piranha was so speechless when Hornet confessed his feelings. He wanted to tell him the same, but he didn't know the words, and there! Hornet ran off, thinking that he didn't feel the same, and felt heartbroken. If only Piranha could go back in time to tell Hornet so he won't have to leave, feeling rejected. But he was gone.

The other Bad Guys were still investigating Hornet's room to look for clues why Hornet disappeared all of a sudden. He just hoped they'll find answers soon.

For now, Piranha had to stay in his room to wait for updates. He wouldn't forget the day he expressed his feeling for Hornet in a song while he was in his room after attending the convention a week ago.

*Flashback, one week before*

Piranha went back to the hideout after visiting the convention for insecure people with the topic of the day being sexuality.

After listening to the host, Piranha thought about his sexuality. All his life, he thought he liked girls, and girls liked him too because of his amazing voice and handsome looks. But when he found Hornet, he couldn't stop thinking about him. It made me question his sexuality.

He liked girls, but would he like boys like Hornet? It can be. Does this means he's.... Bisexual? Piranha thought of it, and maybe he was bisexual. The only guy Piranha liked was Hornet, and that would make him bi.

He couldn't help it. Hornet is the sweetest and most intelligent bug Pirnaha ever met, and he couldn't help but fall in love with him. He even thought his strength won't match his agility and intelligence. He was even a cute murder bug.

Piranha felt he was on cloud 9 again when he imagined him and Hornet together, holding hands and on a date, and... who knows? Married. He didn't believe it. He only had a crush on Hornet, and now he was thinking of marrying him? Wow, he is crazy for that bug.

Piranha sighed dreamingly. One day, it might be that day.

*End of Flashback*

After that flashback, Piranha just smiled and chuckled about himself being a daydreamer about Hornet.

But now, since Hornet left, how that dream would become real without him?

Just then, someone opened his bedroom door, and Wolf entered without knocking. He only wanted to check on his friend, "Hey, Piranha," Piranha was a little startled, but relieved it was just Wolf, "Are you okay?"

Piranha wanted to say yes, but he couldn't lie about how he was feeling right now, "No. No, I'm not, hermano."

"Thinking about Hornet?" Wolf guessed as he closed the door.

"Yeah," Piranha nodded.

Wolf then sat beside Piranha on his bed, "Well, I knew this would happen. He had the hots for you."

"No–! Well, other than that, I don't understand why he suddenly left like that," Piranha said sadly, "Do you think he was ashamed?"

"Well, it's not like Hornet to run away like that because he was ashamed about his feelings for you. Donn't worry, the guys are still figuring out what was going on," Wolf declared, but Piranha didn't feel any better. Just then, the canine had an idea. He took out a guitar, and said, "You know, I had a little song that could cheer you up."

He started to play some notes, and sang.

I fall to pieces
Each time I see you again

I fall to pieces
How can I be just your friend?
You want me to act like we've never kissed
You want me to forget
Pretend we've never met

Okay, now that song made Piranha feel even worse as he tried to cover his ears.

And I've tried and I've tried
But I haven't yet
You walk by and I fall to pieces

Piranha groaned as he tried to move away from Wolf, but the canine still followed him.

And I've tried and I've tried
But I haven't yet
You walk by and I fall to pieces

After the song, it made Piranha even sadder, "That's not gonna help me, Wolf."

"Well, I did my best. I'm not that much of a singer anyway," the leader admitted.

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Meanwhile, Snake and Shark were reading some notebooks and journals they found in Hornet's room, hoping to find answers, while Tarantula tried to hack into Hornet's helmet since it was locked with his password so no one would turn it on while he wasn't around.

It took only half an hour, but Tarantula successfully opened Hornet's helmet.

"Guys, I found it!" Tarantula declared loudly, which startled Snake and Shark slightly.

Wolf and Piranha burst out of the latter's room, and they rushed to the dining table where Tarantula was busy hacking for 30 minutes

"What is it, Webs?" Wolf asked.

"Luckily, Hornet left most of his stuff, including his helmet. His journals and diaries contained just his secrets about his past with his colony, so no clues why he suddenly left like that," Tarantula explained.

"Is there anything else?" Piranha inquired eagerly.

"Since Hornet's helmet was locked, I managed to hack into it, and I found he has journals in it too."

"I bet he won't mind us looking through it," Snake said.

When Tarantula managed to make a hologram screen out of the helmet to see the screen clearly and for everyone to see as well, she went to the file, and opened it. There were so many files that Hornet stored in his helmet. She skimmed through a lot of these documents, and most of them are journals... except for one.

"Hey, what's this?" Tarantula went back to the document that she found a second ago, and it was saved 4 years ago. It wasn't a journal, but a poem, "This journal is a poem."

"Hornet wrote poems? Huh, very creative," Shark commented.

Tarantula cleared her throat as she decided to read it aloud.

The journey upon departure was rough and harsh, despite the beauty of springtime marsh.
Attempts in finding help were frail, and hopes of meeting people lead into fail.
Suddenly, scientists caught me by surprise, ensnared in a trap of torture and lies.
A single life gem embedded in me, to test immortality theory.
While success it brought shimmered glimpse of hope, the trauma of experiments left for me to cope.
News of my "dismissal" struck a nerve, triggering an escape plan that came into swerve.
New hope had come to me, but the experience never leave me be.

When the lines and verses of the poem were put together like a puzzle, it became clear about one of Hornet's past about being a test subject in an animal lab, and a life gem that he kept around his metal thorax and under his shirt for years.

"Hornet has a life gem?!" Snake exclaimed.

"Hornet was a test subject?" Shark gasped.

"Hornet was an experiment?" Piranha added.

"How many secrets does Hornet have?! He never told us about this," Tarantula said.

"It looks like the life gem he talked about here was the one that kept him alive from his own life span. No wonder he hadn't died yet for more than 4 years," Wolf figured.

Tarantula was researching about Hornet's species on her laptop, and said, "According to here, the average lifespan of a Murder Hornet was 3-5 months. The life gem was effective after all."

"But why didn't he tell us about this? I mean, we're his friends. He almost told us everything except... this!" Piranha wondered.

Snake rolled his eyes, and began to despise Hornet again for this, "Because he's a liar, guys. And he didn't trust us to tell most of his secret, including the fact that he used to be an experiment, and had that... thing to keep him alive."

Here we go again. Wolf placed a hand on Snake's back to calm him down, "Come on, Snake. Hornet was very sensitive and insecure. Of course he wouldn't tell us because he wasn't comfortable talking about it. He was an experiment in a lab for who knows how long, and he was suffering to have immortality because of that gem," But Snake didn't say anything about it. He was still mad at Hornet for mistrusting them. Wolf then added to explain further, "But I think he used his temporary immortality because he wanted to spend most of his life with us when we found him. You even kept a lot of secrets from us because you didn't trust us to share your personal life with us, but then again, you still stick around."

Snake's anger faded as his eyebrows relaxed, making him realize that Hornet has good reasons why he kept a lot of secrets about his past. Everyone did, "I guess Hornet and I aren't so different after all," Wolf made a warm smile and nodded, gesturing to Snake that he was thinking right about Hornet. Snake understood that Hornet through a lot in his life, and now it happened again when his life was already better. It just got worse, and it made Snake worry for him, "We really have to find him."

"But how? He could be anywhere," Piranha answered.

Wolf tried to think where Hornet would be going. He then looked on his phone to see if Hornet would bein social media. But then, he saw something in the media that was a horrific surprise for him. He ran to the couch, grabbed a remote, and turned the TV on.

There, Tiffany Fluffit was on-screen, reporting the breaking news. "It's been 8 hours ever since former philanthropist Rupert Marmalade IV broke out from prison after a prison riot in which investigators labeled it as suspicious. Police have been trying to track him down, but he's nowhere to be found. It is left unclear what this guinea pig is doing or where he was going, but anyone who finds him must report immediately to the police."

This horrified Wolf. The guinea pig who used him and his friends, tricked him, made him betray his friend, and almost killed his best friend escaped from prison. This was so bad. If Marmalade escaped, then the first thing he would do was get revenge on the Bad Guys and Diane for framing him, throwing him in jail, destroying his plans, and ruining his reputation. He hoped Marmalade hadn't gone to Diane first. If not, then he would go to the Bad guys, but he and his friend never had seen Marmalade yet. They didn't know he escaped.... Unless... Wolf's eyes widened as he wished what he thought in his head wasn't true.

"I just don't get why he was so ashamed about all this, and he just ran away," Shark said worryingly.

As he heard his friends' theories about Hornet's disappearance, Wolf turned to them while holding a remote, and declared quietly, "I don't think it was shame that made him run away from us."

His friend stared at him confusingly.

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At her home, a compact buzzed and rang as Diane answered it while she was on the couch.

"Wolf," she answered.

"Diane, did you hear the news?" On the other line, Wolf called Diane through the compact communicator she gave him and the other Bad Guys as they kept their eyes on the TV where they watched the news about Marmalade.

It is revealed Diane was watching the news as well, aware of Marmalade's escape, "Yes. I can't believe Marmalade escaped so easily. Who would've helped him escape like that?"

"Nevermind who helped him escape because we have bigger problems!" Wolf exclaimed.

"What? Why? What's going on?" Diane asked curiously. What was so important that Marmalade's escape?

"Hornet's missing."

"What?"

"He left without telling where he was going," Wolf explained, "He was crying, telling he might leave forever, and then vanished."

"Are you sure he didn't just go somewhere important?" the governor inquired.

"He would come back hours ago if he had gone off somewhere," the leader of the Bad Guys answered in a worried tone as he watched the news, "Diane..., I think this has something to do with Marmalade."

"Why would Marmalade want Hornet?"

"I don't know, but we found one of his journals in his helmet that he was some kind of experiment before he met us."

"Experiment? You mean like a lab animal?"

"Yes, and he had some kind of life gem that would keep him alive from dying!" Shark said aloud as he squeezed himself at Wolf's side so Diane could see him through the compact.

"Life gem, huh? I never heard of it, but does it mean it gave Hornet immortality?" Diane guessed.

Tarantula cut in to answer that question, "For now, all we know is he survived his life span with it. He would've died 3-5 months after his birth, but he was already around 5 years old, I think."

"Make it 24 hornet years. He is an adult," Piranha corrected. He didn't want people to think he was a pedophile because of Hornet's human age.

"I get that about insects, but what I don't get is where he got the life gem, and what lab he was in those years ago," Diane clarified.

"We're not so sure, but it wouldn't be a coincidence that Hornet vanished when Marmalade escaped from prison," Snake said.

"Do you think... Marmalade has experimented with him before?" Diane was a bit scared of guessing that.

Wolf stared down as he would imagine that Marmalade might've experimented Hornet a long time ago before he met the group. The other Bad Guys thought the same with fear and worry.

Wolf felt like he was panting with worry as he yelled with his emotions filled with worry, "Diane, we really need to find Hornet! If Marmalade was behind his disappearance, who knows what that guinea pig did to him!"

"Don't worry, I'll suit up, but we don't know where they are now," the governor said.

"If Marmalade was responsible for Hornet's experimentation, they might be hiding in some kind of lab," Snake figured.

"But which lab could contain lab animals?" Shark asked.

Wolf tried to think what would a mad scientist would do an illegal experiment on animals... which just clicked to him, "I think I know where."

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At the Sunnyside Lab, where the Bad Guys freed the guinea pigs a year ago, there was an underground lab that lead directly to Professor Marmalade's lab. The lab was just an empty space with just a few lab equipment. Marmalade only had lab tools, notepads, and pencils while Hornet was laid down on a steel table, wrapped by belts under the bright light.

Hornet was still feeling stubborn as he lay there on the table as Marmalade wrote the results on his notepad, "I can't believe I let you talk to me into this."

"Every mastermind has his tricks," Marmalade chuckled as he activated a monitor beside him, and looked through the screen. Only a couple of seconds, Marmalade wrote more of the results on his notepad, "Interesting."

"What?" Hornet asked curiously, wanting to know what the guinea pig saw.

"Your life gem wasn't exactly a powerful one. This 22nd life gem can only outlive the original life spans of a species, but it never beat deadly wounds and poison," Marmalade explained.

Hornet then wanted to guess what it meant, "So, does this mean...?"

"That is why you're still living. Your life gem made you live longer than your original life span, but it can never protect you from other kinds of death, so you were very careful with your life these past few years. If you ever get shot, even straight to the life gem, you'll end up dead," Professor Marmalade answered.

It explained a lot. The life gem kept Hornet from dying from his life span. He survived 4 years than his regular life span, and outlived his colony. Marmalade then unbuckled every belt that Hornet got wrapped into.

"Great! You finally got the result. Can I go now and be with my friends?" Hornet pleaded impatiently.

Marmalade started to chuckle, much to Hornet's confusion, "Oh, silly 22. You won't see your friends again."

"Wait? What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you'll never see your friends again. I can't let you go."

This made Hornet realized he was being tricked, "We had a deal, Marmalade! You promise you won't hurt my friends if I go with you!"

"I did keep my promise, 22. I won't hurt them. But I do need that life gem of yours," Marmalade pointed the life gem on Hornet's chest with a pen.

Hornet covered his life gem with his arms, "My life gem?!" he looked down on his life gem as he looked back at Marmalade with terrifying looks on her face, "But... but I need it."

"Sorry, but I need it more. That is what we do here in this laboratory. Once we need a subject for an experiment, we throw them away after that," the guinea pig laughed while looking at the results.

"How could you be so heartless?!" This angered Hornet. All of this was for nothing. He flew from the table, and charged at Marmalade to attack him, but he was held back by a mechanical hand that popped up from the floor, and held him tightly. Hornet tried to break free, but he was held tightly.

Marmalade turned back to Hornet, and said, "The world doesn't need another Bad Guy like you, Mr. Hornet! I was doing the world a favor. Once I have that life gem, I'll replace you with a better future."

"You can't get rid of me! You can't!" Hornet yelled as he kept squirming.

Marmalade took out a pair of tweezers, and pointed it at Hornet's life gem under his shirt, "I've had it with you! Now, hold still! I have to get the thing that belongs to me."

The tweezers were getting closer to the life gem as Hornet was horrified that he was going to die once the tweezers removed the life gem from his cyborg body.

"No, no!" Hornet begged with tears in his eyes. All lost hop, until...

The doors suddenly exploded open, much to Marmalade and Hornet's surprise. When the smoke faded, it was the Bad Guys, in their body suits, and Diane, in her Crimson Paw outfit.

"Stop it right there, Marmalade!" Diane demanded.

"Oh, look at this 22, your friends are here to save you," Marmalade smirked sinisterly as he controlled the mechanical hand to make Hornet look at his friends.

"LET HIM GO!" The Bad Guys growled in anger at Marmalade.

"Guys?" Hornet was surprised that his friends came to save him, despite that they just found out about him as a test subject to Marmalade.

"Well, I would, but I can't. I need him just to get my experiment," Marmalade pointed the tweezers at Hornet.

Seeing how terrified Hornet was, Piranha's anger grew as he was about to charge at Marmalade, "DON'T... YOU... DARE...!"

Shark grabbed the back of Piranha's shirt to hold him, "Piranha, no!"

"You want him?" sneered Marmalade. "Come and get him!"

He grabbed the remote and pushed a couple of buttons. The whole place began to rumble and it spread out through the long room. Everybody looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. But before they knew it, dozens of traps were activated all over the room, slowly poking out of the walls.

And they looked like they weren't created in less than a month.

A couple of laser guns popped out from the walls, pointing at the Bad Guys and Diane. Blades appeared through the floors without warning, not even needing gaps in the floor to travel through. Mechanical hands with large claws poked out from the ceiling, snapping right at them.

All these functions seemed to be able to seamlessly move through the room without any complications.

"Split up!" yelled Wolf.

The Bad Guys and Diane immediately went into separate paths as the mechanical hands tried reaching in to grab them. The blades rushed towards them, but they were quick on their feet. A fury of projectiles from the laser guns blasted at them. It was like stepping into a battlefield.

And not even any of them were able to get through. It was nearly impossible due to the many blades and mechanical hands coming close. As the others struggled to find a clear path to get through, Piranha and Diane made a daring jump across the blades, but they found themselves ducking when the laser guns pointed at them.

Marmalade chuckled, enjoying the chaos happening.

Eventually, Shark decided to try to find a way forward. He immediately came near one of the mechanical arms and when it reached out, he grabbed it with his bare hands.

Tarantula was on him, so she was frightened to see the claws up this close.

"Whoa! Sharky!" she exclaimed. "You're trying to get captured?!"

"No!" grunted Shark, clenching his teeth as he tried to pull back. "Just thought of sending the captors a little bit of...THIS!"

On cue, he ripped the mechanical arm off the wall and threw it right at a few blades close by. It just flew right into the middle of three incoming blades, causing them to accidentally get mixed together. As the three blades struggled to steer away from each other, this allowed the rest of the Bad Guys to move forwards.

Another mechanical hand came in and Shark quickly grabbed it, pulling it out. He tossed it right at another one, only for it to catch it and tear it apart. But it just gave him enough time to run.

Diane and Piranha were still trying to find a way to advance due to the numerous laser guns pointed at them. Not to mention the several blades rushing through in front of them as a barrier. With the others caught up, they find the two already using prepared guns to fend off the mechanical hands trying to grab them.

Wolf suddenly got an idea, eying one of the laser guns poking out from the wall. He turned to Snake and the two of them nodded. Wolf grabbed Snake and like a lasso, spun him around and threw him right at the leg of the laser gun. With Snake wrapped around, Wolf attempted to pull.

It didn't budge at first.

Only until Shark casually came in and pulled Wolf backward. Eventually, his strength led Snake and the laser gun to come crashing into the two.

KAWONK!

As the three Bad Guys scrambled on the floor, the now-orphaned laser gun rolled across the floor...and continued functioning, shooting randomly at the wall. It even shot one of the mechanical hands, turning it into a pathetic pile of ash.

Marmalade was actually surprised by this. "That's new! I should note this down."

"Watch your muscle, big tuna!" yelled Snake.

"You're welcome!" said Shark.

But Wolf didn't bother joining, grabbing the orphaned laser gun. With a yell, he spun it around recklessly, letting it shoot around at any traps in their way. It shot off several mechanical hands, laser guns, and blades. Even Diane and Piranha had to duck when the projectiles nearly hit them.

"Hey!" yelled Diane. "Watch where you're pointing that at!"

"At least we got a free entry now!" said Piranha.

True to his word, the blades weren't there anymore. There were still leftover mechanical hands and laser guns in front of them, but it wasn't that many.

Meanwhile, Marmalade was already chewing on a chocolate bar, but he looked unamused.

"Hmm, this looks a bit too easy," he said. "How about we go to medium now?!"

He pressed a couple more buttons on the remote and multiple holes popped open in the walls behind him. To everyone's utter shock, several guinea pigs rolled out. Except that they didn't look like the flesh and bone guinea pigs they faced before; these ones could be mistaken to be small cyborg hedgehogs judging by the blueish metallic shells and red eyes!

"Say hello again to my little friends!" shouted Marmalade. "Minions! Do my bidding!"

The robotic guinea pigs were already rushing toward them. They didn't have the same formation as how Marmalade controlled the real ones, but these ones were no less deadly. Everyone found themselves overwhelmed by the mass size of the robotic guinea pigs, backed up by Marmalade laughing his head off.

Piranha tried rushing forward, but he suddenly got thrown into the forming ocean of the robotic guinea pigs. A couple of them immediately grabbed his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground.

Diane tried to fight her way through, resorting to using different kick techniques. But one seemed to place another whenever she managed to break any. Eventually, too many reinforcements grabbed onto her and pulled her down.

Snake tried to grab one robotic guinea pig and swing it around at the army in front of him like a whip. However, there were too many of them. Not too narrow enough for him to slither right through them. He eventually found himself being pulled away, dragged further away from Marmalade and Hornet.

The mechanical hands and laser guns added to the mayhem, making it look incredibly difficult to get past through without slipping upwards.

Meanwhile, Wolf ended up taking cover behind a pile of ruined laser guns and mechanical hands. Fortunately, the robotic guinea pigs seemed to ignore him and focused on dashing straight ahead. Tarantula clung to his shoulder, looking around rapidly for anyone still fighting.

"Is there a way through?" asked Tarantula.

"It's impossible to even jump over them!" said Wolf. "The only way I see is that we need to shut down the traps!"

Tarantula squinted her eyes, trying to see from Marmalade's side. He still got quite a lot of lab equipment...and a couple of tables decked with different computers. She noticed how the wires seemed to not only reach up to the ceiling but to the nearby security cameras. It led her to a theory that might be possible.

"I need to reach right to those computers!" she said.

"What?!" said Wolf, incredulous.

"That can be the only way to get close to shutting down the traps! I don't know how strong Marmalade's security system is this time, so I need a more direct source to access those traps!"

Shark suddenly landed right next to them, thrown away from one of the mechanical hands.

Wolf grunted. "Looks like we have no other choice. Shark! Toss her right over to Marmalade's side!"

"What?!" said Shark, equally surprised. "Wouldn't he catch you?!"

"I'll be fine," reassured Tarantula, hopping onto him. "I'm small enough that he won't see me coming. And as long as you don't get me in a bad spot, of course."

Shark hesitated, trying to look for where Tarantula could land safely. Before he could decide, he immediately saw a group of robotic guinea pigs...looking like they were carrying up one of the orphaned mechanical hands.

"Okay! Okay!" he yelled, quickly throwing Tarantula. "YOUR TURN!"

And that was before he was IMMEDIATELY hit by the mechanical hand thrown at him.

Tarantula nearly didn't have time to plan as she went soaring across the room. As she looked for a way to a safe landing spot, she ended up clinging onto the finger of one of the mechanical hands. Sensing her, it started to swing her around. She yelped, trying to hold onto it as if her life depended on it.

She noted that the way it was waving around wasn't exactly human. It was still robotic. It was just swinging around like a literal swing. She looked back at where Marmalade was. The guinea pig had an unhinged look as he cackled at the chaotic display in front of him.

It gave her an idea.

She waited until the right timing of when to let go. When the mechanical hand swung towards Marmalade's direction, she let go and went soaring again. She got close enough, hopping over the robotic guinea pigs before gluing herself onto the wall. Without a second thought, she crawled quickly to the nearest computer table and immediately started typing.

Marmalade was such in a terribly good mood that he didn't expect a laser projectile to suddenly be shot back at him. He ducked, but his hair didn't survive. He didn't notice the hole in his hairdo as he turned his attention to Snake.

And the bruised Snake got his tail on one of the laser guns poking out from the wall.

Naturally, Marmalade let out an irritated growl. "Still up to your old tricks, eh?"

"You're one to talk!" hissed Snake. "Now, you really make things personal, didn't you?"

"You want to talk personal? You joined me last time and what did I get in return?! None of you are going to take this from me! I created this! I made all of this to happen in plan as a true bad guy!"

"And you're proud of it?!" shouted Snake, pressing a button on the laser gun to emit a warning glow. "And where is that going to lead you now?! You kidnapped one of my friends, operating whatever dangerous experiments you're on and practically committing more frauds than ever thought! What makes you think this time the police are going to believe you this time now when you're on the run?!"

"Well, if that's the case," said Marmalade, suddenly calmly. "I might as well just...drag you all as my apprentices in my creation. After all, it's much better to have everyone share the same blame when...they are connected with my test rat. I'll admit, I sometimes wonder if we could have built an empire together but guess that 'tingle' got in the way."

Snake narrowed his eyes. "Coming from you who 'encouraged us' to get it."

"I didn't force you to have a conscience."

"Got it!" yelled Tarantula, pushing the 'enter' button.

One by one, the traps were deactivated. The laser guns and the mechanical hands lowered downwards. The robotic guinea pigs suddenly slowed down before tipping over, the red glow in their eyes lost.

During this, the Bad Guys and Diane were caught in the mechanical hands, but once they were shut down, they dropped downwards, allowing them to hit the ground. As everyone slowly got up from the wreckage, they were all relieved that the nightmare was really over.

Tarantula sighed, wiping her forehead. It was a lot of work getting this done, but it was worth it...

...until she saw Marmalade smirking at her.

A new window opened on the computer Tarantula hacked into.

The traps were reactivating.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" said Tarantula, typing into the computer. "It... it didn't work?"

But it proved to be fruitless. All she did was shut down for a couple of seconds.

As the Bad Guys and Diane were taking more steps closer and closer to Marmalade, the remaining mechanical hands and laser guns were turning back to life, targeting them. The robotic guinea pig army barely got up, but there were remaining traps that refused to let them take another step closer.

Marmalade rubbed a hand over his facing, uttering a quiet psychotic laugh.

"Ah, Bad Guys," he said with a creepy grin. "I would have been really mad by this if it weren't for the fact that I eventually found a way to not let any of you come close to my treasure. So predictable now. And let's see if you'll save your little friend in time! Looks like I. Win!" Marmalade laughed hysterically as giant mechanical hands grabbed each of the Bad Guys and Diane, and one captured Tarantula from the computer before sending her to the rest of her captured friends, "I know your moves, Ms. Tarantula. You are an incredible hacker, but you can't fool me that easily."

The Bad Guys and Diane were struggling to break free. Hornet managed to squeeze himself free as he flew towards his captured friends. He couldn't bare seeing them struggling to break free from the mechanical arms.

"Let them go," he demanded Marmalade when he turned to him.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me you've forgotten all about your boyfriend," Marmalade controlled the remote to show a capture of Piranha behind him.

"Piranha!" Hornet cried.

"Isn't it ironic? All that time I had plans for all of you Bad Guys starting with Mr. Wolf, I barely even noticed you," Marmalade stared sharply at Hornet, who gritted his teeth in anger, "As it turns out, I was chasing after the wrong Bad Guy!" when Marmalade turned the knob on the remote, it caused all the mechanical hands to squeeze all the Bad Guys and Diane. Their bones were heard cracking, and they tried to hold their screams as they tried to stay strong for Hornet.

But Hornet is the weakest one in the room. He couldn't bare seeing his friends suffering because of him as pleaded to the guinea pig, "Please, Marmalade! Let them go! Don't hurt my friends!"

"I'm still waiting for your decision, 22," Marmalade said.

Hornet knew what he was talking about as he looked down on his life gem under her shirt. He had to make a very difficult decision of choosing which is more important to him– his life or his friends?

"Surrender the life gem, and I'll leave your friends in peace," Marmalade waited impatiently.

Hornet was thinking about what he would do.

"Don't do it, Hornet!" Shark shouted.

"We aren't worth it," Tarantula whimpered.

"Your life is too important," Wolf choked.

Disgusted by this cheesy moment, Marmalade increased a little more pressure on the mechanical hands, squeezing the Bad Guys and Diane as they could barely breathe.

Hornet ran out of time. He had to save his friend, but he would die if he saved them. Remembering the times he had with his friends when he first joined the Bad Guys, it made Hornet realize that his life wasn't worth his friends. They are his life. Without him, he's nothing. He knew exactly what to do.

Piranha saw that brave look on Hornet's face as he whimpered, "Hornet?"

Hornet exhaled, and told Marmalade, "I will give you my life gem... in exchange for my friends."

The Bad Guys and Diane gasped in horror at Hornet's decision.

"As you wish," Marmalade controlled Piranha's mechanical hand to regroup him with the other Bad Guys and Diane.

"Hornet, don't!" Tarantula screamed.

"You'll get killed.," Snake added worriedly.

"You guys are more important than my own life. I want you to live, and I already live my best life, thanks to you guys. Now, it's my turn to return the favor," Hornet smiled proudly at them, making the Bad Guys develop tears in their eyes.

Marmalade didn't want to waste time on this "friendship moment" as he controlled another mechanical hand to grab Hornet.

"Hornet!" The Bad Guys shouted as they tried to break free to save him, but it was no use.

Hornet was paralyzed in fear as he was sent in front of Marmalade. The guinea pig then reached toward Hornet with a deranged grin as the bug struggles in vain to escape, "Now, 22, you've been alive long enough," Marmalade used the tweezers to life Hornet's shirt to expose his life gem, and used another pair of tweezers to pinch on the life gem, "It's time to give back what was rightfully mine," He began tugging at Hornet's life gem, causing him to tear up in pain.

"NNOOOOOOOOO!" The Bad Guys cried loudly for their friend as they watched on in morbid horror.

Hornet slowly yanked Hornet's life gem away from his metallic thorax, causing him to black out.

Everything was dark. There was nothing. A loud ringing in the ear was heard, along with a deep heartbeat-like thudding. The Bad Guys were also be heard, crying out distantly for Hornet

"Hornet."

"Hornet, please."

"Hornet, wake up."

"Look at us! Please."

"Hornet, please, wake up."

Finally, Hornet opened his eyes, revealing that Piranha held him as he, the other Bad Guys, and Diane looked worriedly at him. His vision was being presented from his perspective

"Hornet?

"...What?" Hornet's hand was shivering as he pulled his shirt up, revealing that his life gem was now gone, leaving a hole in the metallic vest of his thorax., "No. Where? Where- Where's my...?"

The Bad Guys and Diane looked forward for Hornet to turn around to see the life gem had lost its glow, and was held by the tweezers that Marmalade used.

"Finally. After four years, I finally found my experiment!" Marmalade chuckled evilly.

Piranha then looked down to see a weak Hornet. The bug wanted to crawl to get his gem, but he was too weak to move or fly. Piranha watched Hornet clutching on his shirt at the spot where his life gem was supposed to be as his body gave up on him, causing Hornet to just laid down like a tired dying bug.

Seeing that Hornet was suffering and about to die anytime soon, Piranha shut his eyes with tears flowing down his face. His growl grew from soft to louder. Seeing his best friend suffering triggered his anger enough.

"Give it back to him."

The Bad Guys and Diane could hear Piranha's growl as they looked down at him.

"Piranha?" Snake called.

But Piranha's growl became aggressive and wilf. The Bad Guys and Diane knew what would happen next as they backed away. Even Marmalade heard the fish's growl as he wondered what was happening.

Piranha put the dying Hornet down, for his safety, and let out the wild and loudest roar he could ever make, "GIVE IT BACK TO HIM!"

Piranha charged at Marmalade at the speed of light as he reached for the guinea pig, and punched him, making the latter drop the tweezers, as so was the life gem as it bounce all over the floor

"The life gem!" Diane yelled, spotting the bouncing life gem.

Marmalade groaned as he was about to crawl, and reached the remote to activate the traps again.

Seeing the traps had been activated, it was a race to get the life gem for Hornet while he was still breathing, and try to survive just to get it.

"Webs, take care of Hornet," Wolf ordered Tarantula.

Tarantula was already eight steps ahead of him as she wrapped her arms around Hornet, "Go!"

Wolf nodded as he, the other Bad Guys, and Diane ran into the field of traps to get the gem while Tarantula stayed behind to take care of Hornet, and to keep him awake.

.Wolf and the others ran into the field of mechanical hands trying to grab the gem.

"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Marmalade, mashing buttons on the remote.

In addition to the mechanical hands trying to snatch the bouncing life gem on the ground and the laser guns waving around, a couple of tiles opened up to reveal holes. A desperate measure for Marmalade to ensure nobody has the life gem. But still, all parties were trying to grab it, dangerously coming close to the traps.

Diane was the first to immediately grab the life gem but halted in her tracks as a laser gun fired at her. She flipped backward, avoiding all the laser projectiles. However, one hit her hip and it ended up causing her to fall, unintentionally letting the life gem roll out from her palm.

Wolf managed to catch it, but he quickly changed direction when several mechanical hands tried catching him. They nearly got close, but this time, he was able to run out of the way until their limit's reach. Unfortunately, a couple of laser guns were firing at his feet, making him jump around.

He found Shark and Snake on the other side.

"Take the gem!" yelled Wolf, throwing the life gem forwards.

He threw it as hard as he could and Shark jumped upwards to grab it...only for one of the mechanical hands to push him aside and took the life gem instead.

"No!" cried Shark, quickly getting up.

But he couldn't get close to it as several floor tiles opened up to reveal a large drop...with fire below. Shark stopped, but his eyes were still on the life gem. Snake just jumped over his head and wrapped his body around the mechanical hand. He tried pulling the life gem out from its palm, but the hand relented.

"Oh no, you don't!" he yelled, trying to pull. "Don't think you won yet!"

From the other side, Tarantula made sure to stay away from the danger. She held onto Hornet tightly, but the little insect was shivering. She briefly placed her hand over his forehead and it was warm...only slowly dropping to become...

"Webs..." whimpered Hornet. "I'm...I'm...so...c-cold!"

"No, Hornet!" pleaded Tarantula, shaking him. "You have to stay awake. Everything will be alright-!"

All of a sudden, a couple of laser guns targeted them as a result of Marmalade's loss of sane control over the traps. They started firing at them, leading Tarantula to quickly run away. A loud buzzing filled their ears and the blades suddenly came back to life, rushing through the floors.

Marmalade really lost his mind at this point.

Tarantula tried to run, trying to find a clear path through the paths alongside the rain of laser projectiles. However, one of the blades nearly came between her and Hornet, causing her to accidentally throw him upwards...

...and Hornet was sent flying above one of the opened tiles with smoldering fire below.

"Gotcha!" yelled Piranha, grabbing him.

"P-Piranha?" coughed Hornet, covering his mouth.

"It's going to be OK," said Piranha, carrying Hornet to safety. "I swear, you'll be OK."

Marking his words, Snark successfully pulled the life gem out from the mechanical hand's grip and tossed it forward. This time, Piranha managed to catch it without any interference.

"No! It's mine!" Marmalade shouted as he dropped the remote, and foolishly rushed after his gem, but Diane stomped her foot in front of him, making the guinea pig halt on that spot. He was trapped. He couldn't get to his gem soon.

Now it was Piranha's chance. Hornet is slowly dying. Without a second, Piranha embedded the life gem into Hornet's metallic vest where it was supposed to be placed. But when the life gem was planted into the vest, it didn't glow back. It was still dim. Why wasn't it glowing? Maybe it took a few seconds to work again?

"Hornet?" Piranha was still waiting for the effect of the life gem to work, but Hornet looked like he was still dying. Piranha shook the little insect just a little, trying to wake him up, "No. No! Why isn't it working?!"

Diane lifted Marmalade at the back of his shirt collar, and growled at him, "What did you do, Marmalade?"

"Oh, did I ever tell you that life gem won't work anymore once it was removed from the subject?" Marmalade laughed.

The Bad Guys gasped in horror as they chased for Hornet's removed life gem for nothing. This also meant that Hornet would continue dying. They all rushed to Piranha, who was still holding Hornet sadly. They all wanted to be with Hornet. He needed them.

"If the life gem became useless once removed, why do you need it?" The fox demanded an answer from the guinea pig.

"I'm going to make another one, Crimson Paw. I only needed its result so I can make a newer and better version of the previous one. That's what I do with my failed experiments," Marmalade laughed maniacally.

The guinea pig's evil laugh made Wolf and Snake's blood boil with anger. That guinea pig has no heart at all. In the public's view, he was a very nice guinea pig, but deep inside, he was a cruel heartless pig. The two Bad Guys showed their feral side, with Snake's teeth sharpened, and Wolf's jaw clenched.

The two turned around to kill the pig themselves, but Shark held them back to prevent Wolf and Snake from doing anything worse.

"Why you little–!" Wolf growled, wanting to rip Marmalade into shreds.

"Let me at 'em! Let me eat him!" Snake hissed, trying to free himself from Shark's grip just to eat the guinea pig.

"Wolf! Snake! There's nothing we can do about that now!" Tarantula said, reminding that Hornet was still dying.

Wolf and Snake's feral mode just died down when they couldn't stop thinking about Hornet. They had to be there for him in his final moments. The two returned to be closer to Hornet as he was still feeling weak in Piranha's hands.

"Hornet," Wolf was about to sob.

"Oh, Hornet, we are so sorry we couldn't save you," Shark began to sniff.

"It's okay, guys... I know you tried..." Hornet smiled weakly. He was just happy that his friends came to rescue him, and tried to save his life. That was all that really mattered.

Watching the Bad Guys mourning for their dying friend, Diane could see how Hornet meant so much for the team, and they were losing him, all thanks to this heartless guinea pig. Diane lifted Marmalade up to her ice-glaring face, and said to him softly but in a threatening tone, "I think I know how to deal with you."

Marmalade was a little confused about what the governor is going to do with him.

Outside the closed Sunnyside laboratory, there was something going on in the underground lab as Marmalade's voice was heard...

"Hey, what are you–"

The next thing Marmalade do was he was wrapped around by ropes, and Diane threw him outside the Sunnyside Lab.

The guinea pig was now outside with ropes around him, until a spotlight pointed at him.

"There he is! Professor Marmalade!" A voice shouted.

It turned out it was the police department. They were searching for Marmalade all over Los Angeles, and they finally found him.

Chief Luggins walked towards the guinea pig, and took out handcuffs that if for small-sized criminals like Marmalade.

"Well, Professor, how would you like to go on a luxury at S.U.C.M.?" She smirked with pride.

Marmalade rolled his eyes, knowing he'll be arrested again, "Oh, come now."

Back at the underground lab, Diane returned from above to report to the Bad guys, who were still mourning for Hornet, who was still alive.

"Hurry, guys, the cops are busy taking Marmalade in. We have to get out of there," Dianbe warned, but the Bad Guys didn't move. They were still mourning for the dying Hornet, "Guys, come on, we have to go," Still no response. Diane then approached Wolf to convince him, Wolf, it's time to go..."

"NO!" Wolf shouted at the governor, much to her shock.

Diane was startled by Wolf raising his voice at her. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to convince the Bad Guys to leave while mourning for their friend, who might have a little time left to live.

Hornet coughed as he told his friends, "It's okay, guys. We all did our part..., I did mine. My time here is over."

"Don't say, that, Hornet! We have to find a way! We'll make you live! We have to!" Wolf cried. He never cried like this before. He started to have tears in his eyes.

"No need, Wolf. I'm already happy with my life, all thanks to you guys. If it weren't for you, I would die alone," Hornet said, still making a weak smile, "At least I've got to spend my last time with my best friends."

"Hornet, no! Don't leave us like this!" Tarantula pleaded.

"We need you, little buddy!" Shark begged.

Hornet looked up at Shark, and told him, "Shark, you're one of the kindest people I know. Don't let others make you think otherwise. You might be a scary shark, but you are a very nice one with a big heart. Don't be like those other bloodthirsty sharks. Just be yourself."

Shark started to tear up as he nodded at Hornet, promising to keep that promise.

Hornet then turned to Tarantula, "Webs, you're so awesome. You're as smart as me. I didn't regret dating you. It made me know you even better, and now you became my close friend."

Tarantula wept as she tried to hold her tears, but it was no use, "Oh, Hornet. You're the only little guy I could be my best friend. I was the only tiny Bad Guy before I met you. But when you were around, I never felt so alone anymore," she hugged Hornet tightly.

Hornet then turned to his leader, "Wolf, you're the best leader I could ever follow. So much better than my queen. Even if you make some mistakes before, I kept following you till the very end. You're the leader that I could ever expect. You didn't just make the team, you treated every one of us equally, even if my job was a little boring."

Wolf was so touched by Hornet's words. The former might've triggered the latter's past, but Wolf never intended to hurt Hornet like that. He's his best friend too, "Of course, I do. I'm the leader. It's my duty to have everyone do their part in every heist and every mission, including you," he placed a finger on Hornet's chest gently.

Then, Hornet turned to the Bad Guy whom he couldn't get along with at first, "Snake, I know we don't see eye-to-eye, but... You gave me a lot of chances to be part of this team, and gave yourself to understand me more. You may not think of yourself as a good guy, but, to me, you already are."

Snake tried not to cry. He even muttered himself not to cry. But he couldn't hold back the tears, "Dang it! You got me all sappy, Hornet!" the reptile cried. He and Hornet might not be on good terms at first, but Snake grew up to like him, and all of those 4 years of disliking him was a waste! "I may not like you at first, but I always saw full potential in you, and it was worth trusting you when you came into our lives."

Hornet smiled at Snake. He was happy that they got along well for these past few months.

Last but not least Bad Guy Hornet wanted to say goodbye was Piranha. His crush and best friends. He didn't even start to say anything to him, but Piranha was already crying with a lot of tears shedding from his eyes, "Piranha. I'm so sorry that we only had a little time, and I–"

"You don't have to say it, Hornet," Piranha cut him off as he didn't want to hear from him. It was too painful for losing his best friend in his hands like this "We may have a little time, but I want to make the most of it by telling you how I feel. I wish we have more time!"

"No matter what happens, Piranha, I'll always be your best friend," Hornet told him, making Piranha feel sadder all over again. Hornet then told to all of his friends, "And no matter what, you guys, you're always be my family, and I wanted to thank you... for everything," Using the last of his strength, he lifted his hand up to them, "You're all in this together?"

The Bad Guys didn't know what to say. They weren't ready to lose Hornet this way. But they couldn't leave him hanging as they put their hands/tail/legs together. The Bad Guys will never end together.

At that moment, Hornet dropped his hand, his eyes slowly closed, and his body became lifeless.

The Bad Guys noticed that Hornet no longer move nor had his eyes open, not even speaking.

"Hornet?" Piranha tried to shake the little bug, but he wasn't waking up.

"Hornet!" Shark exclaimed while Piranha tried to shake him awake.

Tarantula examined Hornet's body as a lot of tears shed on her face, "He's... he's gone."

That was it. Hornet is gone. He's dead.

The Bad Guys couldn't help but cry. They cried so hard. A lot of tears came out of their eyes. They weren't ashamed, they just wanted to let out their grief for the loss of their dear friend.

For Webs, it took a while until she let her body tremble in emotion, crying out for her friend.

For Snake, he could only bow his head down as tears slowly poured down from his eyes.

Shark had his hands over his mouth, his body trembling at each sob he choked out.

Piranha, leaning his head close to Hornet, whimpered, nearly feeling the urge to scream loudly. To think that it would come at this time, he wasn't prepared to feel like he came too late to complete the now-empty space he wanted to fill in. He quietly begged for Hornet to wake up, for it to be a dream.

Piranha didn't retaliate when Wolf gently patted him. Looking up, he could see the tears rolling from Wolf's face. Wolf nearly looked blank, nearly broken, but the tears explained it. Eventually, a bitter scowl crossed over Wolf's muzzle, looking like he gave up. He never thought that he would lose another friend part of the Bad Guys.

As they were crying, still pouring their hearts out, each of their single tears had a colorful glowing aura. Wolf's tear has a yellow aura as it rolled down on his cheek, and dropped on Hornet's lifeless life gem. Snake's tear appeared to have a green aura as he wiped that tear from his face, dropping all the way to Hornet's life gem. Shark's tear was bright red as it rolled the way at the end of his snout, and it dropped on Hornet's life gem too. Tarantula couldn't stop crying when one of her tears was orange, and since she was beside Hornet's lifeless body, the tear fell on his life gem. Lastly, Piranha had the hottest tears the most and it came from guilt and the feeling in his heart as one of the tears is blue, and it fell all the way down to Hornet's life gem.

After that last drop of tear, the life gem suddenly glowed. The Bad Guys' grief moment was interrupted when they noticed a bright turquoise glow from Hornet's life gem began to shine. Diane noticed this too as she was shocked in awe.

After a few seconds of glowing, the cracked life gem lost its full brightness, but it stayed glowing by its dim light like it was before. Like it was never off.

The life gem returning its glow showed its effects when the dead insect began to open his eyes, and breathed the air that he didn't inhale in his death. This led to the Bad Guys seeing him opening his eyes and moving his body, and hearing him gasping for air.

"Gu-Guys?" That was the first thing Hornet did when he came back to life. He was checking on his crying friends if they were still with him or if this was heaven to him.

"Hornet?" Wolf responded, hearing Hornet's voice.

"Are you...?" Piranha wanted to check if this was just in his imagination or a dream.

The other Bad Guys couldn't believe this was happening. It might be just their imagination or a dream that Hornet was alive in front of them.

Hornet wanted to check if he was alive or in heaven. But when he moved his muscles, saw his life gem glowing, and saw all his best friends together in front of him, it wasn't heaven, this is real. Hornet is alive. He remembered himself dying, but came back to life. Hornet looked up to his friends with a warm smile, and nodded, "I think so."

"He's alive!" The Bad Guys were overjoyed that their little insect friend is alive. They couldn't help but group and hugged together. They knew Hornet was too small for them to hug him all together, so they just hugged together, like a real team. Hornet was happy, not because he was alive, it's because he was reunited with his friends once again. It was a good feeling that his friends were around him again. Diane watched this heartwarming scene of the Bad Guys. She smiled with tears of joy that Hornet is alive, and the Bad Guys are happy once again. She was wrong, their friendship is more important than taking the path to goodness.

The Bad Guys broke the hug, and looked down at Hornet, just to check if he was really alive.

"But... how?" Snake asked, wanting to know how it'll be possible, for a dead insect to come back to life.

Hornet tried to"I'm not sure."

"I think I know how," Diane cut in as the Bad Guys turned to her to listen to her, You guys are all crying for Hornet so badly because you guys love him so much. It's the magic of love and friendship that revived him."

The Bad Guys stared confusingly and silently at Diane about her explanation of Hornet's revival.

"That's... the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Hornet admitted.

"And the stupidest," Snake added.

"Yeah. that can't it..." Wolf said before turning to his friends, "Right?"

The other bad Guys murmured and shrugged.

Whether or not the tears of friendship received Hornet, it didn't matter. Hornet was alive, and that was all that mattered.

Diane chuckled, and told the six Bad Guys, "Alright, guys, let's go."

Wolf nodded in agreement as he looked back Hornet, who was feeling well after being dead for a couple of minutes, and being alive again.

The Bad Guys returned to their hideout, Diane went back home, and they all watched MArmalade getting arrested again. The cops even investigated the Sunnyside Lab if they would see any clues why Marmalade was captured outside the lab. The cops couldn't find the underground lab, and the whole facility was empty. The Bad Guys and Diane hid the lab so no one would discover it or use it by the other scientists so everything would be safe, and the origin of Hornet's life gem would remain a secret.

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Hornet was in his bedroom, alone sitting on his bed. He couldn't get over what happened this evening. He was captured, experimented on again, and almost died right in front of his friends. He experienced death completely. It wasn't easy to accept it, but he tried to. But, the magical thing that happened tonight was he was revived. He didn't want to believe Diane about his friends' tears of friendship had revived him. He didn't want to. But when came back alive, the first thing he saw was his friends crying for him. They had many tears in their eyes and faces. They were crying when he was dead. Could it be...? It might be possible that it was their friendship that revived him. Even though Marmalade went back to jail, and he was now home with his friends, Hornet was still traumatized about what happened today. The last thing that Hornet would face was how he confessed to Piranha about his feelings for him before he left with Marmalade. After what happened today, Hornet wasn't sure if that topic is off or still on.

Just then, the door opened, and Piranha came it.

"Hey, Hornet."

"Hey, Piranha.," Hornet greeted with a small smile.

"Can I come in?" Piranha asked. Hornet didn't mind Piranha around as he let him in with just a little nod. Piranha closed the door, and sat beside Hornet, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Hornet sighed before turning to Piranha, "Are you... okay?"

"Yeah... just a little." Piranha answered, but he couldn't stop thinking about what happened before all this craziness, about how Hornet just confessed to him. Piranha couldn't let this slide, "Hornet, listen, about tonight..."

"Oh, you still remember that, huh?" Hornet was right. Piranha still remembered his confession. The little insect didn't want to hear his rejection so he said to his best friend, "Look, I thought I don't have time left with you, so I just told you how I feel, and I couldn't go without telling you or I'll regret it."

"Hornet..." Piranha wanted to say something, but Hornet continued.

"Let's just forget that, okay? I lied to you, and I deserve you to reject me," Hornet pleaded as he stuffed his face with his hands.

"Hornet, I'm..." Piranha didn't know what to say. He knew Hornet was hurt about his confession because of his fear of rejection, but Piranha himself wasn't upset about it. Not because he was happy that Hornet had a crush on him, but also because he was honest with him, like a real friend would do, "I'm glad you told me."

Hornet's face was removed from his hands as he was shocked about Piranha's response, "What?"

"I mean, you're my best friend. We don't keep secrets from each other anymore, even if one of us had a crush on each other," Piranha confessed when he offered his hand for Hornet to be on.

Hornet chuckled as he put himself on Piranha's hand, "Well, since you know that I have a crush on you..., how do you feel about that?" He asked, though it was a stupid question. He was ashamed to say it, but he wanted to know, "I mean, how do you feel about me?"

Piranha looked away from Hornet, hiding his blush as he couldn't find the words of how he felt about the confession, "Well, I..."

"Piranha, you're my best friend. You can tell me, I respect that," Hornet reassured him.

"Well, Hornet, you see...," Piranha took a deep breath. He waited for Hornet's confession for years. It would be his chance to finally tell Hornet how he felt for him, but he was still nervous, "I... l-like... you..., too."

Now Hornet was surprised, for real, "What?"

"I like you too, Hornet. I mean, I also had a crush on you too," Piranha blushed.

Hornet was also blushing but happy as well, "Really?"

"That was when we took care of you... when you came into our lives." Piranha sighed. He finally got that out of his chest, even to Hornet. Hornet didn't say anything as he was still blushing. Piranha then asked curiously, "Since when did you have feelings for me."

"I think I like you since... since last year. I thought it was just a funny feeling. Then, we accidentally got into this online dating, and, I think that's the rest," Hornet replied, but Piranha didn't say a word about it. "But what are we gonna do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm a hornet, and you're a piranha. How would we make this work if you and I are...?"

"I... I don't know," Piranha looked down sadly, "This is why I kept my feelings for you for a while because I don't know how we'll make it work."

Seeing how stressed Piranha was, Hornet flew towards Piranha's face to keep eye contact with him, "Piranha, I really liked you a lot. I just want to make this work. I'm just afraid you won't accept me because I'm not that kind of species for you or my size. I tried to imagine if this works, but..."

"I feel the same, Hornet, and... I'm scared that we might not work things out," Piranha caressed Hornet gently in his hand, "But I want us to make it work if we try."

"What should we do if you want to be sure?" Hornet asked with sparkles in his eyes.

All of a sudden, the two were staring at each other's worried eyes for a moment as they were hypnotized. Both Piranha and Hornet drew closer to each other before Piranha slowly puckered his lip to reach for Hornet's and to fit into his. Their lips finally touched, and that didn't snap them out of it. Both Piranha and Hornet stayed in that kiss without moving at all. It was a light gentle kiss. First time has to be gentle, just to get into the feeling of kissing someone. But this is new for both Piranha and Hornet. Kissing someone who was different in size and species is a new feeling, and so different. It might be different, but it felt good for them. They tried just to stay still, and get into that feeling. This was their first kiss after all.

After a few minutes, the two pulled away for a moment, just very slowly as if they didn't want to stop. But when their lips were apart, Piranha and Hornet opened their eyes, just to see each other, and started to blush.

"Wow, that was..." Hornet didn't know what to say about the experience.

"It was... amazing," Piranha admitted.

The two of them looked away and grinned sheepishly, feeling awkward describing that experience. But deep down, after that kiss, the two felt bigger than having a crush on each other.

"So... Do you want to... do it again?" Piranha asked nervously.

Hornet looked back at him, and said, "Um... only if you want to."

At this part, the two kissed again, still light and gentle, but this time, it was more passionate than their first. Hornet just spread his left arm to caress Piranha's cheek, and Piranha gently placed his right hand at Hornet's back, pushing him slowly and carefully a little closer. The two enjoyed kissing as they didn't want it to end...

But all of a sudden, Wolf, Snake, Shark, and Tarantula popped up from the door behind them as Shark shouted, "WHAT'S UUUPPP?!"

This made Piranha and Hornet break away from the kiss quickly, hoping their friends didn't see that. The two then looked back at them while covering their lips with their hands.

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Tarantula asked.

"Nothing!" Piranha and Hornet answered in unison.

But the Tarantula knew something was going on, but she just let this one slide for now, "Okay, I don't wanna know."

"We've been looking for you two if you guys still wanna have movie night tonight since... well, the whole thing happened," Wolf suggested, "But we still have time. The night is still young. You wanna join us,"

"Uh, sure," Hornet answered nervously.

"Si. We can!" Piranha grinned sheepishly.

Though Snake and Tarantula were suspicious, Wolf and Shark turned around outside, and headed to their TV to watch a movie.

While they were distracted, Piranha and Hornet just were quiet for a moment, especially after experiencing the whole kissing thing.

"So, what do you think?" Hornet asked quietly, "Would this make us a couple?"

"I... don't know," Piranha answered unsurely.

But even though they hadn't decided if they want to be a coupe, Piranha and Hornet smiled at each other before heading out of the room to join their friends to watch a movie.

Hornet (narrating): People who are drawn together don't have the protection of the laws of gravity to keep them apart. The consequences don't matter when we're drawn to one another. But there are always consequences. Eventually, the moon sets and the sun rises, and whatever happened in the magic of that moonlight has to face the hard truth... of the light of day.

People who are drawn together don't have the protection of the laws of gravity to keep them apart. All the time The consequences don't matter when we're drawn to one another. All that matters is the power of that touch. Skin to skin. We get by Trying to figure out our lives Like a fade-out But there are always consequences. Eventually, the moon sets and the sun rises, and whatever happened in the magic of that moonlight has to face the hard truth of the light of day.

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Credits:

Sam Rockwell - Mr. Wolf

Marc Maron - Mr. Snake

Craig Robinson - Mr. Shark

Anthony Ramos - Mr. Piranha

Awkwafina - Ms. Tarantula

Rhenzy Feliz - Mr. Hornet

Zazie Beetz - Diane Foxington/The Crimson Paw

Richard Ayoade - Professor Marmalade

Alex Borstein - Chief Misty Luggins

Lilly Singh - Tiffany Fluffit

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Author
Rally9933

Co-Author
MasterClass60
TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3

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YES! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

Wolf singing "I Fall To Pieces" was a reference to Trolls Wolf Tour where Hickory sang this song. This is also a nod that Mr. Wolf's voice actor, Sam Rockwell, also voiced Hickory.

Hornet's Poem was a reference to Ducktales (2017): Shadow Wars. The poem was similar to Lena when Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby found it.

When Marmalade pulled Hornet's life gem from his vest while his friends helplessly watched, it was referenced to Steven Universe: Change Your Mind.

The concept of the Bad Guys' tears that revived Hornet was similar to the concept of a South Korean Television series, 49 days, and its Philippine adaptation, Pure Love, where the Bad Guys' tears were symbols of their different kind of love and friendship for Hornet, reviving him in the process.

Special thanks to  and TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3 for helping me with this chapter.

This isn't the end yet. There are two more chapters to go. See you soon!