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Rak Wraithraiser is furious.
He came into the Tower to look for worthy prey to hunt in the Tower, and ended up with a strange Black Turtle and a sneaky Blue Turtle. The Blue Turtle’s pretty boring, but he’s strong, at least, and he helped protect his prey, so Rak tolerated his annoying behavior. But then his coveted prey vanished after their final test on the Second Floor. Everyone was sad, and Rak is too, but not because he thinks the Black Turtle is dead. He’s a hunter, and a hunter never loses track of his prey.
And after years of climbing with Pickles, and finally getting a glimpse of Black Turtle again, the Red Turtle tells him the truth about his prey, and Rak rushes to find the Blue Turtle. They can be together again! He can finally reclaim his rightful place as their leader!
Blue Turtle just hasn’t changed at all. He insists there’s no way to get the Black Turtle back, that they have to keep waiting. The Blue Turtle couldn’t be more wrong, and because nothing Rak’s saying will get through his thick shell, Rak defaults to his usual method of getting points across and punches the Blue Turtle. Hard.
The door flies clean off its hinges and clatters to the ground. The Blue Turtle slams into the wall. “Damn crocodile…”
"You snuck out that night to show me how stupid you are now?” He still remembers the day he woke up to find the Blue Turtle missing. Even if the Blue Turtle was never his main prey, he was prey nonetheless, and losing another prey on top of the Black Turtle was simply disgraceful. “Let's go now to get the Black Turtle back!! Why are you insisting we don't?!”
“It's not as easy as you think, idiot!!” Is the Blue Turtle implying that he, the great Rak Wraithraiser, is an idiot? How long has the he been hiding in his shell to be this dumb? The Blue Turtle continues yelling, but Rak is done with his nonsense and punches him again.
“DON'T BE COMPLICATED, YOU TURTLE!!”
“You!! Do you really want to die?!”
Rak has never once feared death. If he dies fighting strong prey, it’ll be worth it. “You're stubborn! I'll go right now to bring back the Black Turtle!!”
“I said it's impossible!! We can't do anything right now!!” The Blue Turtle exclaims furiously.
“YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING!!!” Rak snaps back. The Blue Turtle freezes, eyes wide—finally, he’s starting to peek back out of his shell. Rak takes advantage and keeps pushing. “What do you want to do now?!! You always think and miss everything. You haven't changed a bit since you left!!!”
For once, the Blue Turtle doesn’t have anything else to say. The fight drops out of his figure, hair overshadowing his eyes. His teeth are gritted. Finally, does he understand?
“…Not funny…”
“WHAT? FUNNY?!” The Blue Turtle still dares to make fun of him? “DO YOU THINK I'M EASY BECAUSE I'M SMALL?!!” He lunges for the Blue Turtle, but one of his teammates pulls him back. As he struggles against the grip, the Blue Turtle slowly stands up and walks away.
He argues with the Blue Turtle’s teammates for a few minutes, but they understand him better than the Blue Turtle does, so he doesn’t really have to try and get through their shells. These turtles must have lived their lives around more powerful hunters, so they know that you can’t always hide in your shell to survive. You had to look outside in order to observe your hunter, and figure out how you could become the hunter rather than the prey. The Blue Turtle could learn from these turtles.
The Blue Turtle’s teammate approaches him. It’s the same turtle that kept him from going after Khun, but Rak’s not that angry at him, it’s the Blue Turtle’s fault for being so stupid. He tells a little bit of the Blue Turtle’s story, and it does somewhat explain why the Blue Turtle loves hiding in his shell.
“And I heard it's you that he first met in the Tower,” the turtle says. “It was a joy that Khun will never forget. You guys…”
He did miss the Blue Turtle. When the Black Turtle disappeared, the Blue Turtle was his second-closest prey, and then he vanished too. When the news came that the Blue Turtle was dead, he refused to believe it. At that point, maybe the Black Turtle could be dead, it had been a long time. But the Blue Turtle was far too sneaky to die so suddenly. And now that he knew where they all were…he won’t let them get away again.
Later on at night, he finds the Blue Turtle leaning on the balcony. “Blue Turtle.”
“What, Rak.” It’s a bit strange, hearing his own name from the Blue Turtle’s mouth. But the Blue Turtle’s voice is quiet, he no longer has the will to fight against him, and this is why he isn’t Rak’s top prey. “If you're here to make up or something, get lost.”
Of course, he’s no less annoying as usual. That terrapin bastard…
He walks up to the edge of the balcony, next to the Blue Turtle. It’s a bit hard to reach the top in his compressed form, but he manages to get his head on the railing. He waits a little longer, to see if the Blue Turtle has anything to say, but after a moment of silence, he speaks. “I was happy.” The Blue Turtle glances over at him, eyes still downcast, but there's a small spark of curiosity. “When I found out that Black Turtle was alive and when I heard I could meet you here again. I was happy that the three of us could go up the Tower together, again." And now the Blue Turtle is looking towards him, listening. Rak turns away from the view of the balcony. “But Turtle, you weren't. You just kept on worrying before being happy. What a timid, egotistic, fussy, mentally disordered Turtle you are.”
“Are you here to fight?” But it’s an instinctive retort, Rak knows the Blue Turtle won’t back it up.
"I just want to be happy together. With you and black turtle—” Rak starts heading back inside. He’s said enough for tonight.
But the Blue Turtle speaks before he reaches the door. “Don't be happy. Yet.” When Rak turns questioningly, he continues, “I won't be happy before I knock out FUG at the battle tomorrow and retrieve Bam with the winning prize. So you too—don't rejoice yet, crocodile.”
Rak whips around happily. “"Blue Turtle!! Now you're back to your old self!!” Looks like his talk worked. The Blue Turtle really does have a soft shell, after all.
“What are you talking about? I didn't hesitate at all from the start.” This time, Rak will let him get away with his lies. “Look forward to bringing Bam to our team at the tournament tomorrow. I'll be more cunning and more evil than FUG.”
“Hmph. I sure hope so,” Rak stomps back inside, but he’s glad. The Blue Turtle is finally out of his shell again.
Still, Rak hates waiting.
The Blue Turtle does generally make good plans, but that’s not Rak’s style. There’s only so much you can get from hiding and observing. The best way to know your opponent is to go out there and meet them.
Angola Turtle helps him sneak into the building, and he ends up getting caught not by the evil turtles, but by the Princess turtle from the second floor. They both stare in shock for a moment, but before he can convince her that he’s not Rak, someone else appears.
Rak sees a flash of gold eyes under his long hair, only for a second, but he recognizes them immediately. “You—!!”
“Jue Viole Grace!!” The Princess turtle lunges for the Black Turtle, only for him to dodge under her and bolt. Rak chases in hot pursuit. Why is the Black Turtle running away? Was that not the Black Turtle? Rak doesn’t make mistakes, but he has to check. His prey summons a large blue circle under his feet and flies off. When had he become so much stronger?
Angola Turtle is nearly able to catch him, but he evades again, and would have vanished if not for the sudden “REVOLUTION!!!” as Pickles bursts out from around the corner. The turtle, caught off guard, skids to a halt, and Rak is finally able to tackle him down, one claw grabbing the collar of the turtle’s shirt. The turtle is gasping for breath, his long hair falling aside to reveal wide, shocked golden eyes, and Rak knows he was correct.
"You were alive…” Everyone is silent around him, watching it all unfold. “You were...alive... You were...really alive...!!" Rak Wraithraiser never cries, and if anyone asks, he'll never admit it, but this time, his eyes fill with tears. "You were alive! That turtle was telling the truth!! That Black Turtle is alive!!” he repeats the words over and over. He was right to keep hoping. He grabs the Black Turtle and wraps his arms tightly around him. “"I won't let you go....I won't forgive...those who made you like this. I won't...forgive…”
The Black Turtle hugs back tightly, and Rak can feel a dampness in his shirt—the Black Turtle is crying too.
He promises not to let go, but he has to flee in the end anyways. He would love to murder all those evil turtles, but the Princess Turtle grabs him, and along with Angola Turtle, they all teleport away. “Hey, crocodile.” She glares at him after they land. “Tell me everything that you're hiding.”
The final battle starts the next day, and Rak doesn’t have to wait long before he’s summoned from the waiting room. As annoying as the Blue Turtle is, he does know how to make plans that work. They pass the first part of the test easily. The Blue Turtle announces his plan, and Rak’s honestly not completely sure about the entire “summoning” concept, but he knows that they will get Black Turtle back in the end, and that’s all that matters.
The battles are a bit tougher than before, but it isn’t until they fight the Monster Turtle that things are going wrong. The Monster Turtle flees at an insane speed, leaving them to chase after him.
They make it right before he kills the Curry Turtle. And after a brief battle, the Curry Turtle is finally able to summon the Black Turtle. Rak grabs him away from the Monster Turtle.
They fight for a few seconds before more turtles burst into the store. Rak doesn’t understand anything they’re talking about, but he knows it should at least buy them time.
Then the store explodes, and somehow, the Blue Turtle must have done something that summoned the Black Turtle, because when the smoke and dust clear, the Black Turtle is standing in front of them. “Mr. Rak. Please hurry and take Mr. Wangnan to the safe area.”
“Got it.” Rak adjusts the Curry Turtle in his grip, but he shoots the Black Turtle a glare. “You're not going to run away this time, are you?”
The Black Turtle smiles, and although it’s not completely carefree like it used to be, it’s a happy smile nonetheless. “I won’t. See you later.”
That’s all the assurance Rak needs to leap off with the Curry Turtle. As soon as the turtle is safe and under care, he returns to the destroyed building just in time to witness a bunch of gray turtles attacking his prey. At this point, the entire game is in chaos, but the Black Turtle is fighting against the gray turtles, and he’ll always take the Black Turtle’s side.
When the fight finally settles, he rushes to the Black Turtle and hugs him tight. The Black Turtle hugs back, and it’s not the same hug as before, the hug done under secrecy in the dead of the night, it was a hug from a turtle he had been missing for years, done in front of everyone. This is his prey.
It’s not the end yet though, apparently the Red Turtle was caught and now the Black Turtle’s going to save her. The Blue Turtle says they’re coming with him, and Rak doesn’t say anything, but he’s proud. The Blue Turtle has always looked outside his shell more with the Black Turtle around. Another reason why the Black Turtle was so precious.
One more long battle later, and they’re finally done. They escape to a different place, away from the chaos. The Black Turtle talks to his friends, both old and new, but eventually he returns to him and the Blue Turtle. “It’s good to see you both again.”
“Hmph. You made us wait long enough, turtle,” Rak scoffs, but he’s not angry, and both of them know that. The Blue Turtle simply smiles, and Rak takes notice of the soft gaze he has on the Black Turtle. Interesting.
“We should sleep now,” the Black Turtle says, but Rak still eyes him warily. “You’ll be here when we wake up?” At those words, the Blue Turtle looks up at the Black Turtle too.
“Of course,” the Black Turtle smiles, and this time, it’s the same smile that won them both over on the Second Floor, the smile that almost seemed to make him glow.
“Then I won’t let go,” Rak declares, snatching his hand and holding it tightly. Their “bed” is just three blankets on the floor anyways, they’ll be sleeping next to each other. He flops backwards, and the Black Turtle follows suit. The Blue Turtle stares for a moment longer, and Rak reads his gaze immediately. “Stop worrying so much, Blue Turtle, if you want to grab his hand, take it.”
“W-I didn’t say anything about that!”
“Khun?” The Black Turtle offers him his other hand, and Rak smirks at the Blue Turtle’s internal panic. After a second, the Blue Turtle takes the Black Turtle’s hand as well, and they fall asleep side by side.
Rak won’t let his prey out of his sight again.