Chapter 12

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They both walked along the sidewalk all the way to the metro station. Goggles stopped and looked around. Rider eyed him curiously.
"Haha! I don't actually know where we're going!" Goggles laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"HUH??!? YOU HAD NO IDEA THIS WHOLE TIME??" Rider sounded surprised.
"Nope!" Goggles looked at him. "Where are we going?"

Rider thought for a moment. "You remember the big green tower in Inkopolis Plaza?"
"Oh yeah! The place where you disappeared!?" Goggles looked at him.
Rider blinked. "Disappeared??"
"Uh-huh! You just vanished! (Off the top of the tower!)" Goggles explained.
"I did..? You saw that?"
"I saw you, and then you were gone? Everything was black afterwards and I was alone again! (Was it a dream?)" Goggles rubbed his head.
'Alone huh? What is he talking about?' Rider thought.

"I could hear you, but that's ridiculous."
Goggles jumped. "REALLY!? (So it wasn't a dream!)"
"I don't understand, I thought you were dead.." Rider trailed off.
"I was?" Goggles thought for a minute.

"Hey Rider? I forget, why was I at the hospital?" Goggles had never gotten the full story.
Rider looked at him for a moment, then averted his eyes. "Well, Aloha was trying to kill you right? He, actually did. You were dead for some time."
Goggles blinked. "HUH? Is that why I was attached to all those machines?"
Rider nodded. "Yeah. Aloha got you pretty good. I thought I lost you."
Goggles tilted his head. "But I'm right here!"

"....Tsk." Rider wiped his eyes and started walking towards the train. "Let's not talk about it."
Goggles's eyes widened. He quickly took out and handed Rider the bear. "Here! This might help you feel better!"
Rider stared at the bear and took it in his arms, then setting it in one of the bags. He gave Goggles a hug instead. "At least you're not dead."
Goggles smiled, hugging him back. "I'm not going anywhere Rider!"
"Hmph, and I'll make sure of it, too. Now c'mon! We've got a train to Inkopolis Plaza!"


"Hey Stealth. How are you feeling?" Bamboo Hat asked, sitting next to his bed.
Stealth Goggles was finally gaining consciousness after a few hours, groaning. He felt his face for his goggles, feeling strange, but that's because they weren't there. They were on a table nearby.
"Rrrghhhh..... Bamboo Hat....?"

"Oh, you're awake! Yes, I'm here." Bamboo leaned forward, looking at Stealth.
Stealth felt pretty embarrassed for multiple reasons, hiding his face with his bandaged hand a bit. "H-hi, Bamboo Hat... Where's School Uniform....? What happened......?"
"School Uniform went home. I told her to, just incase this disease thing is real. (I don't want her to get it.)"
Stealth's eyes widened- it was strange being able to see them. "But, what about you?"
Bamboo Hat thought for a moment before looking away.

"I think I can handle it, if I don't already have it. I hope you didn't get hurt too much."
"Oh!! I-I'm okay! My head just hurts a bit, and I feel kind of woozy," Stealth laughed nervously. "Thank you for, uh, taking care of me."
"Sure, of course." Bamboo Hat smiled.

Stealth smiled back, suddenly trying to sit up straight in alarm before flopping back down. "OH!!! What happened to Goggles?! Is he okay?? (I didn't mean to hurt him!!)"
Bamboo's smile faded. "I don't know, he ran off. What even happened?"
Stealth seemed worried. "Rider was, acting weird. And then I got upset... I can't believe I hurt him like that."
"But your wrist? Did Goggles do that to you?"
"Huh?! No! Goggles was actually helping me!"
Bamboo Hat looked surprised.

"He helped me fix my wrist. I saved him, and in turn, he saved me!" Stealth smiled. 
"Wow! I had no idea." Bamboo Hat felt bad for suspecting Goggles. "He's ridiculous, but he's pretty nice."
Stealth nodded. "I'm going to try and keep the disease from making me mean. Because, if he's Rider's friend, he's my friend too! And Rider might be nicer to us, then....!" he smiled.
"Yeah!" Bamboo nodded.

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