Chapter Text
They continue to hear the sounds of hustles and bustle and soon reach the source of the noises. When they arrive, they are shocked.
Ace panics, " Oh no! The puppets are hauling off the crates full of park visitors..!"
"There's so many of them…" Kalim says, stunned.
"That's terrible…" Sereia says, stunned.
"Everyone's totally immobilized…" Ortho says, "Oh, but it looks like one of them can still talk!"
Soon, they see the puppet placing the visitors in boxes.
The puppet says, "BrINg ThEM bElOWdEcKS. tHe BOaT's COmInG SoOn. KEeP tHeM MoViNG. lIvELy ThERe NoW! We HAvEn'T GoT aLL nIgHT."
One visitor cries out, "Let me out of here!"
And the puppet shouts, "QuIEt. YoU WaStED yOuR WhOlE DaY aNd HAd YoUR fUn. NoW PaY fOR iT!"
The visitor begins sobbing, "I wanna go hoooome…"
Everyone saddens to hear it.
"That visitor was crying…" Kalim says.
"Yeah. I feel awful for them…" Ortho says.
"Now do you get it?" Ace responds, "Ernesto is a serious villain. Sympathizing and trying to talk things out won't help! If we want to get back to school, then we've only got one option: make him listen the hard way. Otherwise, our schoolmates and the other visitors will all be stuck as puppets forever!"
"But... But even so, fighting Ernesto without knowing a single thing about him just doesn't sit right with me," Kalim says.
"What? It doesn't 'sit right'?" Ace says, "Dude... Stop acting like a spoiled child. All you've brought to the table so far are pie-in-the-sky ideas that aren't remotely doable in the real world. Do you realize how irresponsible the things you're saying are?"
But Kalim argues, "I refuse to believe it's impossible to reach an understanding with Ernesto. Someone can be open to reason, but if you only treat them with suspicion from the outset, you're closing the door on that chance. So let's not get belligerent. I wanna try having a heart-to-heart talk with him-preferably somewhere nice and cozy."
Ace sighs and says, "Okay, let's say you hypothetically get your way and we go with Operation Productive Dinner Chat. Who's gonna make the food? And with what ingredients? None of us is a good cook at the best of times."
And Ortho says, "This plan has many other potential issues as well, but Ace's questions are valid. Operation Productive Dinner Chat will need to clear several hurdles before we can enact it."
"Sure, but... let's give it a try, at least. I'll do my part with the preparations," Kalim says.
"Your 'part'?" Ace questions, "What makes you assume you're getting help from us on this?"
"Huh? You guys aren't gonna help me?!" Kalim asks, shocked.
"There, see? This is what I'm talking about!" Ace says, "What do you call it when you float an idea you can't achieve on your own and just ASSUME others will chip in? Irresponsible, that's what!"
"Aww, really? But don't you think it'd go smoother with you guys helping than it would if I did it all by myself?" Kalim says, "Besides, doing things as a group is more fun than doing them alone! Don't you agree, Ace?"
"Not in the least!" Ace argues.
Ace and Kalim's conversation devolves into a fruitless argument.
Ortho groans, "Argh... This is getting us nowhere."
Before Ortho can say anything, Sereia explodes, "STOP IT RIGHT NOW, FIGHTING IS NOT GOING TO HELP US! And… And…YOU'RE WRONG, ACE! ERNES AND GIN ARE REALLY GOOD PEOPLE! NO! MY BROTHERS CAN'T BE ALL BAD! IT JUST CAN'T BE TRUE!"
"Brothers?" Ace and Kalim respond, confused and shocked.
Trinket looks confused.
"Briar, what are you talking about?" Ortho questions.
And yet, Sereia's shouting ends up catching the puppet's attention, "WhO WaS tHAt?!"
Sereia panics, "Oh no…I… I'm sorry guys!" and is in tears.
"You don't have to apologize, but... Shouldn't we be trying to get away?" Kalim says.
"We finally agree on something!" Ace says, picking up Sereia, "The puppets are heading right for us. Run!"
And with no choice, the gang retreated from the scene.