NOVEL FROG Chapter 112: The Rehash
Waiting for Indie to make her report to base, the guards left their post to retreat with the rest of the civilians while Groovy and Bones took over their place. They kept an eye on the destroyed gate to observe the movement outside, but they found nothing but a dark, empty field on the other side of the moat. It seemed like Crisis also couldn’t find anything to do besides stare at Indie and keep waiting for a response, though they all had their own silent ways of idling.
Nitro kept admiring the destruction at the bridge, smiling proudly at the fruits of his plan. Kiwy couldn’t help but stare into the night sky, counting the bright stars slowly fading into view. Tricky sat on the pile of rubble, looking down at the ground with a certain calculating look, as if she were elaborating more ideas for inventions like usual, except more somber in the way her eyes displayed uneasiness. Candy noticed her behavior and kept an eye on her, but she was drawn to Frost, who sat next to her to rest on the ground but continued staring directly at Indie. But when he sat down, he also discarded the black jacket he was wearing, placing his blades next to his feet to stretch his muscles and uncovering some obvious and alarming injuries while doing so.
–Oh gods, what happened?– Candy asked in shock right after noticing the various glass shards sticking out of Frost’s back. Most of them came off with the jacket, but a few lodged through his bloody and ripped shirt, only cutting him more as he tried to move. In response, he only glanced back for a brief moment to check his wounds, but he turned back again with zero concern to let out an exhausted sigh before opening his mouth.
–Nothing, I was thrown out of a window…– Frost replied indifferently but laboriously as his worry carried strain that Candy couldn’t ignore despite trying to downplay the gravity. He was almost too quiet for her to hear without leaning in, but after a moment or standing still, she began running to the barracks, where she returned with her medical kit shortly after. Frost watched her dismissively as she came back to aid his wounds, and even though he tried to refuse her help, she kneeled behind him, and he begrudgingly raised his arms to let Candy remove his shirt, or at least lift it enough to be able to treat his cuts.
–Thank goodness it’s nothing serious, but how did it happen?– Candy asked in a mix of relief and curiosity, though her worry wasn’t leaving any time soon as Frost kept quiet. She began cleaning the blood, but he was distracted listening to Indie’s conversation after hearing that she was addressing Snake. He couldn’t make out what they said, so he paid close attention to Indie’s body language, only being able to pick up on her growing anxiety. But before he could come to any conclusion, Candy caught him off guard when she peeked over his shoulder to reiterate her question.
–You don’t want to know…– Frost replied with a tired voice, prompting Candy to quiet down and continue treating him in silence, now patching up the cuts right above the thin but long scars across his lower back. He flinched a couple of times as she brushed her hands around the scar, but he went back to his stoic, cold self once she was done treating him. He remained silent, only showing some sort of gratitude in the form of a nod, and since Candy didn’t know what to say, she just put his shirt back on and tried to check on her other teammates’ health.
Candy looked around to treat anyone else, but it looked like all the wounded guards and civilians were receiving medical attention back in the city, so she stayed near her squad. Despite almost being blown to pieces, Nitro’s body was more or less intact, or at least there weren’t any visible injuries after he took off his wet shirt. His arms and face were stained with ash and dirt, but after uncovering his smooth, lanky, and unharmed torso, Candy looked away as soon as possible. When she turned to the other side, she saw her sister and noticed that she was cowering in the rubble and losing her composure. It sparked an urgent concern that drove Candy to run and sit beside her to comfort her, but she hesitated once she heard her mumbling to herself.
–H-how? Why didn’t it work?? This isn’t possible… How did th-...– Tricky asked over and over again, subjecting herself to the same doubts that tormented her mind, even taking a toll on her physically by the looks of things. Hearing and seeing her sister in such a disturbed state, Candy stopped her from rambling by grabbing her arm and drawing her attention to her face with a gentle motion.
–Hey, what’s wrong?– Candy asked in her usual soothing, compassionate tone, but more confused, even frightened of what she could hear. Her eyes were estranged from seeing Tricky in this manner, especially now that she wasn’t being rational and had given in to the stress.
While it was concerning, Candy seemed slightly encouraged by it, at least to be able to talk to her sister, even though she wasn’t capable of actually expressing her worries. Just from seeing her face, Tricky immediately composed herself. She stopped panicking and recollected her thoughts, only to then pick up her glasses and put them on with one hand while grabbing a device from her backpack with the other. Candy just watched in silence, trying to figure out what she was going to tell her, but even when she identified the device as a portable control panel, she couldn’t figure out what she was seeing.
–You see this? Almost all of my defense devices were disconnected somehow. All of my turrets were destroyed, my sensors don’t work… I don’t get how this is possible, it’s like they knew exactly where they were, but they would have to know how to disarm them… I should have reinforced them or something… I don’t know, it's just… It doesn’t make sense…– Tricky explained with a mix of disappointment and disbelief that kept bothering her, but her frustration turned into guilt as she got more emotional and lost hope. Candy didn’t understand much of it and leaned closer to stare at the screen.
She noticed all the dots that represent every device Tricky had planted around the castle were turned off. The only one that lit up was the gate at the end of the hallway in the right wing, which was the only one that proved useful during the breach. Candy tried to say something after the light reminded her of something, but she opted to hug Tricky instead of saying anything. But despite feeling better, Tricky remained overwhelmed by the confusion and lack of answers, something that Frost noticed when he glanced at them, and while he wasn’t very interested in joining the conversation, he knew the exact cause of her distress.
–It’s not your fault, the omens knew everything from the start. The birthday party, the secret exits, probably even that failed assassination attempt on the princess… If anything, I blame her for not realizing it sooner. They must have been hiding in that castle for at least a month, and we didn’t notice…– Frost replied, both reassuring to Tricky but spiteful towards the enemy, even the princess. He managed to clear some of Tricky’s doubts, which she looked thankful for, but his claim also sparked more uncertainty in Candy and Nitro. They both were thinking of something but didn’t have the courage to say it, or at least Candy, since it only took little consideration for Nitro to speak his mind.
–Well, I say she deserves that for being such a bitc-...– Nitro added teasingly, getting a chuckle out of Tricky, but only because he was interrupted by the very same princess they were talking about. Priscilla had been escorted by some guards down the main road and made her way down to the entrance without Crisis noticing. But just as she reached the fountain, she fixated on the broken gate ahead, and without being able to contain herself, she lost her cool as soon as she saw the mess the squad had left.
–WHAT IN THE SACRED PROMISE HAPPENED HERE??!!– Priscilla yelled loudly, startling all of Crisis, including Indie, who had to step further away to continue her call and get away from the argument about to break out. The princess approached the pile of rubble while everyone stared anxiously, clinching their teeth as she got closer to the edge, where she looked out to see that the bridge connecting the city to the land was now gone. And while her anger turned extreme in an instant, she couldn’t find anyone to blame or lash out until Nitro opened his mouth.
–Umm, so we kind of had a fight here and-...– Nitro tried to explain doubtfully, but by the time he realized he shouldn’t have directed a word to the enraged princess, she was already coming at him aggressively with the clear intention of giving him a stern scolding.
–WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THE EXPLOSIVES?? DON’T YOU LISTEN??– Priscilla asked in fury, now turning hostile as she tried to jump at Nitro, who only stood fearfully in silence. The guards had to intervene to stop her from harming him, but she continued yelling at him, and even if he tried to argue, it appeared that the princess was already convinced he was the only reason her bridge and gate were ruined.
–All those bombs damaged his hearing…– Frost replied with a sarcastic smirk, but not even he could draw the princess’ attention away from Nitro as she kept spouting hate and cursing unintelligibly. And while Nitro tried to take Frost’s comment as an opportunity to shift the blame to him, he couldn’t do much to stop the princess’ wrath and just began running away. But it was when Candy stepped in to defuse the situation that Priscilla was able to contain herself for a moment to listen to her friend.
–I’m sorry, we had to blow the bridge up, or else the whole city would have been invaded. There was a large army of omens waiting on the other side, but Nitro took the brave decision to use all of his explosives to scare off our attackers, so we should be thanking him…– Candy affirmed with a kind and supportive voice, managing to calm down Priscilla and ease her anger a little. She smiled gratefully at Candy and the rest of the team, especially Frost, who tried not to crack up while Nitro composed himself and tried to step back in to apologize. But as the princess convinced herself to forgive him and readopted her carefree attitude, Nitro got a bit cocky after Candy commended him.
–Yes, I’m sorry for breaking your rule, but technically it was outside the city, so…– Nitro stated in a facetiously apologetic manner, even turning smug as he tried to brag about his accomplishment. Priscilla turned to face him again, making his teammates tense up and watch eagerly as he tested the limits of the princess’ kindness and naivety. But surprisingly, his playful comment received a relatively positive response for once since Priscilla didn’t bother to think too hard about his argument.
–I guess that’s true…– Priscilla muttered with a gullible pout, prompting Nitro to share a rather nervous laugh with her. But as he took her response as a friendly sign to continue goofing around, he began grinning with more confidence, which the rest of Crisis wasn’t too thrilled to see.
–I had to do what needed to be done, ya know? It was an awesome plan, though. I thought of every little detail. I filled that float we used in the carnival since it was ugly anyway, and I filled it with every explosive I could find. You would have loved to see it! It was like a tank, but instead of firing, it bl-...– Nitro boasted with increasing enthusiasm and smugness, managing to keep the princess intrigued by the anecdote. But even when he had the gall to insult her, it was only until he revealed what he did with the float that she changed her mind completely. It took her a second to realize, but once she did, she went back to full rage instantly, which Nitro couldn’t see coming.
–YOU BLEW UP MY FLOAT??– Priscilla exclaimed in shock before staring at Nitro with deep hatred and resentment. She turned red as her head fumed, trying to come up with ways to insult him, all while his teammates watched in amusement, cracking up in anticipation. But with Nitro becoming speechless and freezing in place, Candy stepped in once again to protect him.
Nitro appeared ready to be chastised again, but Candy stopped Priscilla’s curses by shutting her up with her hand and holding her back, though it looked like she was trying to hug her instead of restraining her. The princess resisted and started to throw a tantrum, and since Candy could barely hold her in place, she asked for help, which only the guards provided as the squad watched in laughter. Nitro ran away as the princess continued trying to reach for him, and despite finding it hilarious, he held his laughter to avoid provoking Priscilla further. However, their fun stopped once Indie hung up on the radio and calmly returned to the group with an emotionless expression.
–What happened? What do we do now?– Tricky asked anxiously, sharing the sentiment of eagerness and apprehension to know with the rest of the squad, even the princess, as they all listened closely. Indie kept quiet for a while, drawing them all closer until she had their full attention. Before they could start worrying about the worse outcomes, she thought hard of some answer to calm their nerves, but right as she was about to speak, in the middle of opening her mouth, the radio buzzed again. This time, it was someone else calling.