Kratogenesis

Ask Me Why (XIX)

Nine hours later, Pie was inside her room, unable to stop thinking about Remote's death and to shake off the trauma that had invaded her mind. "This can't go on. I have failed my team's core mission." She opened the window and jumped out, landing smoothly on the ground. She then ran away to the woods, hoping that the place would clear her mind. She could feel the dew stroking her bare feet as she ran towards the woods. Once the grass gave way to the dusty dry ground of the forest, she slowed down and watched out for the fallen branches on the ground. Some time later, she spotted a stump on which she could sit; as soon as she sat on it, she let out a sigh of relief, as her feet could now rest. She grounded herself in an effort to cleanse her soul of the negative feelings that had occupied her mind, listening to the sounds of nature. It didn't take very long for her to reach a state of absolute tranquility, where nothing and no one could bother her anymore.

By the time everyone woke up, Pillow noticed that everyone was there, except for two people: Remote, who was dead, and Pie. She understood why Remote wasn't there, but Pie? Pillow rushed to the lobby. "Guys! Pie's missing!"

Everyone else went to Pie's bedroom. "What happened to her?" Bottle was thinking of some possible circumstances under which her teammate disappeared.

"Well, if she died, we would have heard an explosion of some sorts." Liy scratched her head.

"The window was open when I checked." Pillow remembered. "I suspect she's gone to the woods."

"Why would she go there?" Tree was confused.

"Remember how she behaved yesterday after watching Remote explode?" Pillow looked at him. "She was shocked. Horrified, even!" Pillow gesticulated to make herself understood. "She's expressed multiple times that her ideal activity is meditating surrounded by nature."

"Oh?" Tree recalled hearing that. "We should go to the woods. We might find her here."

Death P.A.C.T. got out of their team house and walked towards the woods.

"You know, I can't blame Pie for wanting some peace every once in a while." Tree commented. "This battle can be stressing at times."

After walking for a while, Liy turned around and noticed a familiar profile sitting on a log. "A-ha! There she is!" She walked towards the profile. "Pie!" Pie did not respond, as she had long reached nirvana. Was she hibernating, perhaps? "Psst! Pie!" Liy got closer and stroked her head. "Why are you here?"

Pie grumbled in annoyance before getting back to reality. "What is it?"

"Oh! There you are!" Pillow smiled. "We were just wondering why you were here."

"I had to clear my mind."

"From what?"

"From all the negativity I had to go through yesterday. I'm still not sure we deserve to be called Death P.A.C.T. anymore."

"Pie, even if we failed to prevent death yesterday, our mission is still strong." Tree said, in an attempt to infuse confidence in her.

Pie looked at him and got off the stump. "How are we gonna get Remote back?"

"Simple: we ask Four!" Liy grinned.

And indeed, once they got back to the Plains, Liy asked Four if they could recover Remote. After a drum roll, Remote was back.

Pie got her confidence back as she watched Remote get recovered. "Okay, guys, this time, we need to prevent deaths as if this were our last day of our life!"

"There won't be any need to worry about that for today!" Four smiled and patted Pie. "Because today's contest is to answer some questions!" Four called everyone to the plains, but then they felt a noticeable lack of people. "Hm... Where are the others?"