“Wh…what’s goin’ on?”, Kidd asked drowsily, slowly opening her eyes. She was greeted with the sight of Eve’s face hovering closely over her. She knew something was amiss, but her mind was too foggy to remember anything at the moment.
“Geez, took you long enough.”, Eve said and laughed merrily, standing upright. Despite laughing, her face was one of great relief and Kidd instantly felt bad for worrying her.
“Eve…what…”, Kidd started, feeling the need of an explanation. She finally looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar room. It didn’t look too modern, everything seemed rather simple and was made out of wood, and it reminded her a little of Serge’s home, who she didn’t really want to think of right know.
Eve saw the confused expression on Kidd’s face and smiled.
“You passed out shortly after we defeated that giant sea serpent. It took about three hours after that to reach the mainland. As for your raft…”, Eve chuckled, even though she hadn’t found it all that funny at that time, “most of the logs had fallen off on the way, so we basically made it by clinging onto one.”
Her legs still hurt like hell from all the swimming, since she had had to use her arms to hold onto both the log and Kidd. If the mainland hadn’t been so close already, Eve wondered if they would have survived this.
“Sorry for causing so much trouble, Eve.” Even though Kidd was grinning ear to ear at hearing about her ‘indestructible’ raft, her apology was genuine and she was truly grateful that Eve had been there to save her.
“Trouble indeed, but that wasn’t even the worst part. After we reached the shore, I had to drag you all the way to Arni, and boy, you’re heavy. Surprisingly, when we entered the village, some blue-haired nice-guy came rushing towards me and showed me the way to this inn here. He seemed really concerned. I guess he knows you.”, she explained.
“So we are finally in Arni…and that guy must be Serge…”, Kidd said, disliking the fact that she should probably meet him to say thanks. “So…how long was I out?”
“Oh, you don’t wanna know.”, Eve answered and giggled.
“That long huh?”, Kidd asked and rubbed her head. “So tell me, whaddaya still doin’ here? Didn’t ya have somewhere ta be, too?”
Eve looked at her, slightly offended. “Well excuse me for being a loyal hostage. I was worried.”, she said and both started to laugh. “Maybe it would’ve been better if I had let you drown.”
“No, no. Thanks a lot, I really owe ya somethin’.” Kidd said and smiled mysteriously, already having something in mind. Glancing across the room, she found a Rainbow Shell lying on the desk to her right.
Eve noticed Kidd’s curious look on the shell right away. “That’s the shell you wanted me to get. Seems like the serpent left it. Looks nice, though I don’t think it’ll be useful. Do you want to keep it?”, Eve asked, taking the shell into her hands.
Kidd just stared at her in utter disbelief, her eyes twitching slightly. “Ya serious! That’s a Rainbow Shell! Girl, you’re so lucky ta have it!”, she all but shouted, then started to laugh brightly.
Eve looked at her warily, surprised by the sudden outburst. “So…what’s a Rainbow Shell?”, she asked hesitantly, unsure of how to react to Kidd’s behaviour.
Eve’s question just made Kidd laugh even harder now. Eve waited patiently for Kidd to calm down, regarding the shell in her hands. Could something like that really be of any value?
“Well, let’s just go. I don’t have much time ta waste.”, Kidd said and leapt out of the bed, heading for the door.
“Hey, wait! Won’t you tell me what’s up with this shell?”
Kidd turned around, smiling at her. “Geez, I can’t believe that Viper doesn’t teach ya guys anythin’. Come on, I’ll show ya.”, she said, motioning for her to follow her outside.
After they had paid the owner of the inn, they went outside. With a frown Kidd realized that it had to be past noon already. Which meant that she had been unconscious for almost a whole day.
Kidd directly headed for the blacksmith, but turned to Eve just before entering the shop. “Just wait a moment here. I’ll be right back.”, Kidd said and smirked, snatching the Rainbow Shell swiftly out of Eve’s hands. Eve looked surprised for a moment, but then shrugged, leaning against the wall.
With a satisfied smile, Kidd entered the shop.
Finally. She was finally here. Harle leaned against the humid and cold wall of the cave, breathing heavily. Coming all this way had exhausted her, but it was okay now. She was here. Now, everything there was to do was to wait. All her suffering would end here. She would die in peace, in this quiet, lonely cave.
With slow, weak steps, she made her way to the back of the cave. Everything was pitch black, and she had to walk along the wall to reach the back. On her way, she almost stumbled into a pedestal, which reached up to her waist. She stopped in front of it, running her hand across its surface.
The Chrono Cross had been made here. The means to save the world. It was gone now. It didn’t matter though, for the world was not at risk. At least not yet. It was certainly possible that the dragons might try to overthrow the humans again, but it wasn’t her concern. Because the dragons would come after her first.
And why should she care about what happens to the world after that? After all, the most important thing wasn’t even there anymore, and therefore, everything she had ever cared about.
Harle let go off the pedestal and sat down with her back to the wall of the cave. She hugged her knees and hung her head. A soft sigh escaped her mouth.
Maybe she should just kill herself and be done with it. It would spare her the waiting. But no, suicide would mean she was running away. That wouldn’t do. Because she would never run away again in her entire life. And even if the dragons were to torture her for days, she would endure it. For she knew what awaited her afterward…
She would be able to see Kidd again.
It had already been over half an hour and Eve had long lost the fight against boredom. She was tapping her foot on the ground in annoyance, trying to keep herself from going inside the shop.
“Just wait a moment.”, she mimicked Kidd, trying to think of something to occupy herself with, for as long as this “moment” would last.
After what seemed to her like another half an hour, Kidd finally came out of the shop, grinning widely. She held a long and elegant sword in her right hand. It took Eve’s breath away. The blade was shining in every colour and the hilt of the sword was richly decorated, with streaks of gold embedded into it. Her former sword, which she had, admittedly without much regret, lost to the ocean, would look like a piece of junk compared to this.
“Is…this?”, Eve stuttered, casting a look towards Kidd’s dagger, remembering that its blade looked the same.
“Yeah, it’s the same as my dagger now. Ya know, if ya crush a Rainbow Shell and mix the powder with steel, it becomes much stronger. Or so the blacksmith said, I didn’t really get it.”, Kidd explained and smiled sheepishly. “Anyway, this thing’s almost indestructible now, so don’t hesitate ta chop a few trees down with it.”
Eve laughed at the notion and took the Spectral Sword from Kidd’s offering hands, regarding it in wonder. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass on that.” She smirked at Kidd.
So this was it. They would be parting now, probably never seeing each other again. She tried to suppress the sadness she was feeling, but to no avail. She didn’t know Kidd for long, but she already thought of her as a friend. Maybe even the best friend she ever had.
She ran her fingers along the blade and the hilt of her new sword. The Rainbow Shell aside, this sword must have been terribly expensive. But she didn’t mention it, knowing that Kidd would just shrug it off. Nevertheless, she would treasure this sword, as a reminder for her friend, forever.
“Thank you so much.”, Eve said and hugged Kidd tightly. Kidd was surprised at first, but returned the hug.
“Aw, it’s nothin’. I owed ya a sword, and the Rainbow Shell was yers anyway.”, Kidd whispered gently, rubbing Eve’s back before letting go of her.
“No, thanks for everything you did for me.”, she said after shaking her head. To Kidd’s surprise, the smile on Eve’s lips seemed forced, something Kidd hadn’t seen on Eve before.
“All I did was drag ya inta a lotta trouble. But I guess it was kinda fun.”, Kidd said, reaching out her hand. Eve took it and squeezed it gently.
“I have to leave now. I’m glad to have met you. Maybe I…shouldn’t be saying this, but I hope we’ll meet again…someday.”, Eve’s voice was shaking, and Kidd knew that she was trying hard not to cry.
“Sure we will. Ya know, if ya ever get sick of that stupid Viper, ya can always join us.”, Kidd said and smirked, despite already knowing Eve’s answer.
“Thanks, I will keep that in mind. Goodbye, Kidd. And good luck with whatever you will be doing.” Eve gave her one last smile and then turned around, walking away from her.
“And look out for nasty pirates. Wouldn’t want somethin’ happenin’ ta ya, mate.”, Kidd called after her, laughing brightly.
“You know…with this sword, I’m gonna kick their arses so hard they’ll kiss the moons.” Eve answered and laughed too. However, she didn’t turn around to meet Kidd’s eyes, she was too afraid that she’d start crying.
Kidd looked surprised for a moment, but then chuckled.
“I’ll better not get in her way, then.”, she said to herself and smiled. She waited until Eve left the village and got out of sight, then turned around. For her, it was time to go as well. But before that, there was something to do first.
“We’ve reached Guldove, captain. As instructed, we dropped anchor about two miles away from the town. We’ll send one rowing boat with three people to stock up on food and cannon balls, since there are only few left.”, a sailor reported to the captain.
“No, send two rowin’ boats. I want four men ta look for Kidd or Harle throughout Guldove. This is the last stop before Porre, and we’d better find ‘em now. Tell ‘em they have time till tomorrow noon, then we’ll be leavin’ for Porre. We can’t afford ta stay this close to a town for too long.”, the captain said, failing to hide the desperation in his voice. The sailor however, didn’t seem to notice it.
“I’ll tell them right away.” The sailor bowed and turned to leave.
Once he had left, a deep sigh escaped the captain’s lips. With a worried look, he glanced over the maps in front of him once more.
“What have I done?”, he mumbled to himself, hoping desperately that things wouldn’t be as bad as he feared they’d be.
Right outside the door, Jack waited for the sailor, stopping him in his tracks.
“What did he tell you? I want to go to Guldove as well.”, he asked, hoping to get a positive response from the sailor.
The sailor smiled at him sympathetically. He knew Jack wanted to go to Guldove badly, to find clues as to where Harle could be. Her sudden ‘escape’ weighed still heavily on him. However, it had been decided that the most muscular ones would be send to Guldove, since carrying cannon balls was hardly something for the likes of Jack. Of course he was quite angry about that, since nobody seemed to care about Harle’s whereabouts.
“I may have some nice news for you.”, the sailor started, smiling mysteriously, “The captain told me to send one more rowing boat with four people out, to look for Kidd and Harle. That’s what you wanted to hear, right?”
Jack nodded fiercely, thanking the captain inwardly.
“You have time until tomorrow noon. You decide on who you’ll be taking with you, I have hardly time for that. See ya.” With that, the sailor was off, leaving Jack with a satisfied smile on his face.
Kidd stood in front of his door, contemplating about what to say to him, without sounding utterly stupid. She had made such a fool of herself the last time they had met, and she could do well without doing it again. But still, the right words didn’t seem to come to her mind. How should she start? Coming to the point right away and risk being rude, or starting with a little small talk at the risk of wasting time? She just didn’t know and the thought of this seeming like a preparation for a love confession made her mad.
“Hi Kidd, how are you?”, a voice asked just as Kidd was about to knock, causing her to spin around with a gasp.
“Oi…Serge, there you are! I’ve been lookin’ for ya throughout the whole village! Good ta see ya again!”, she exclaimed, more cheerfully than intended. It was actually a lie, she had come right to his house, but she hadn’t been able to think of anything better to say.
“I was over at the bar. So, how are you feeling? I hope everything is alright, you looked really terrible yesterday.”
“Gee thanks.”, Kidd said and smiled.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”, Serge said and chuckled. “But what happened? Are you in trouble? Did something bad happen?”, he asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
“No, nothin’ like that.”, Kidd answered quickly and laughed, in a way that actually screamed ‘yes’.
“I was really surprised to see you, though. Haven’t seen you in quite a while. It’s kind of odd. Lately, it’s as if Arni has become really popular.”, Serge said and laughed cheerily, “So many familiar faces. Glenn and the other Devas came here just the other day, to investigate, they said. They couldn’t tell me what they were investigating, though. Oh, and you wouldn’t believe it, yesterday, I saw Harle. But now that I think of it, maybe it was just my imagination. What would she want here, anyway.” Serge scratched the back of his head in thought.
“Harle was here! Really?”, Kidd shouted in surprise, startling Serge.
“Y…yes. I think so.”, he answered hesitantly, unsure how to take Kidd’s reaction.
“Where did she go? Where!”, Kidd shouted even louder now, “Tell me, Serge!”
Kidd had a hard time keeping herself from shaking Serge’s shoulder. What he had said was so…unexpected. It put her heart at ease, but at the same time, she felt so incredibly impatient to finally get to know where she was. Harle…it had been such a long time…
“Calm down, calm down. Are you looking for her? Did she do anything? If so, then maybe I should accompany you. It’ll be easier to catch her with two people.”
‘Catch her.’ This was so wrong, Kidd thought grimly. But Serge seemed terribly honest while saying this. Kidd tried fiercely to resist the urge to knock him out right on the spot, telling herself over and over again that Serge couldn’t know of them. That he couldn’t know Harle as she was now. It was only natural for him to assume she would be up to something. Only natural.
“No…no. Listen, Serge. She didn’t do anythin’, really. She has changed a lot, ya know. As did I. A lot of things…happened. So please, just tell me where she went. This is…she is very important to me. I really need to find her.” Kidd thought that she could as well tell the truth directly, it would be the fastest way out of this anyway.
Serge was speechless. Never had he heard Kidd speaking so gently and patiently, so full of emotion. It had to be right, then. Kidd had changed so much, he hardly recognized her anymore. The Kidd he knew was fearless and loud, fierce and hopelessly rude. Which didn’t mean he liked her more or less the way she was now. It was just that she had become a stranger.
“I’m sorry, Kidd. I…I didn’t know…”, Serge stuttered, feeling himself blushing. However, Kidd just smiled at him in understanding.
“Anyway…Harle, if it really had been Harle…she went north-east from here.”, he said as he pointed to the north-east exit of the village.
“North-east…the Hydra Marshes? There’s nothing there, I don’t think she would go there.” Kidd’s heart sank. Maybe it hadn’t been Harle after all. Harle would try to get back to the Radical Dreamers, or maybe look for her. But the Hydra Marshes…
“Maybe she went…there instead of the Hydra Marshes. But again, there’s not much there either.”, Serge said thoughtfully, trying hard to recall any places where Harle could have gone to.
“There? Whaddaya mean?”, Kidd asked curiously.
“The Divine Dragon Falls…”, Serge mumbled, “it’s the only other place in that direction aside from the Hydra Marshes. Maybe she went there.”
Divine Dragon Falls. The irony. Kidd wondered if Harle really went there, but it would make a lot more sense than her going off to the Hydra Marshes.
“Thanks a lot, Serge! I’ll go there right away.”, Kidd said and stormed off, only to be halted by Serge.
“Wait a minute. Are you sure you want to go alone? You seem to be in trouble after all.”, Serge asked, a worried look on his face.
“No, thanks, really. Once I find her, everythin’ will be alright again. No need ta worry. Besides…”, Kidd smirked and pointed to Leena, who had been watching them from a corner a few metres away the whole time, “I wouldn’t want ta get into trouble with yer scary girlfriend.”
Serge blushed at that comment, but had to smile nonetheless. He was glad that Kidd didn’t seem to mind it anymore. He had been kind of worried after he had seen Kidd the last time, but it looked like everything turned out pretty well. He would have hated it if Kidd had held a grudge against him forever.
“Alright then. Take care of yourself and stop by every now and then.” He patted her gently on her shoulder.
“I will, thanks. See ya.” Kidd said and smiled. She shot one last glance at Leena and then dashed towards the exit of the village.
Eve looked around rather frustrated. She had already made it through Fossil Valley and it wouldn’t be long until she reached Viper Mansion, but…she didn’t exactly know what she was going to do there.
Well, explaining what had happened and what she had been doing these last few days would be a good start, but she had absolutely no idea how to do that.
It wasn’t like she could go and say something like: “Sorry sir, I let the captive escape and became friends with her. And I think that what you are doing is wrong.”
Eve sighed. Well if that wasn’t going to get her killed on the spot she didn’t know what.
But honestly, she wondered what was up with Viper. Kidd and Harle had just stolen something, but going so far as to capture them at all costs, even if it meant they would die, was just wrong.
Now that she thought about it, she had never asked Kidd exactly what they had stolen and she hadn’t seemed to have it in her possession at the time either. In fact, she was the one who seemed to know the least of all these things.
Maybe it had been just a set up? Maybe Viper had just told them that they had stolen something in order to give his soldiers a good reason to capture them. But in that case, wouldn’t Kidd have wondered why they were after her? She seemed to have a good idea as to why they wanted to catch her.
But then there was this whole dragon thing. Kidd didn’t seem to know anything about it, but Viper told them of the effect this would have on Harle.
Was it possible that Viper knew them personally? Knew their weaknesses? But if so, wouldn’t there have been some other way to get the stolen things back?
Eve’s head was spinning with dozens of questions she didn’t know the answer for. She should really ask Viper about this whole affair, but at the same time be careful about what to say to him. She needed him to trust her, otherwise she wouldn’t get the information she so badly needed to know.
She didn’t mean to betray him…at least not yet. She would make up her mind after discovering the truth.
With steady steps, she continued her way towards Viper Mansion.
Kidd stood right in front of the waterfall, panting heavily. She had run all the way here without a break, her wish to see Harle again driving her onward.
But now that she was here, she was almost frightened. Anxious to see Harle again. She couldn’t quite describe her feelings, but somehow, she was afraid that the Harle she was about to see was different from before. She must have been through so much, regardless if the story about the dragon was true or not.
Her hands were shaking unwillingly as she washed her face with the cool water to calm down. She shouldn’t be so nervous. She should be glad to be able to see her again.
Cautiously, Kidd entered the cave of the Divine Dragon Falls. It was dark and Kidd waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. After a while, she still wasn’t able to see anything, so she picked up a wooden stick, which had been lying on the ground, and lit it with her Fireball element.
Now with better sight, she walked deeper into the cave. Everywhere around her, she could hear dripping noises and as she touched the wall, she found it completely wet. It was no wonder though, with the cave so close to a waterfall.
The noises were a bit unsettling and Kidd almost wished she had taken Serge with her. After all, he had been here before, while Kidd hadn’t. She had no idea about what to expect here. Wild animals, cave monsters or even…dragons?
Kidd was sure there was a reason as to why the cave was named like this, although she didn’t want to think of such things right now. She just wanted to find Harle and get out of this cave. At least she hoped that she would find Harle here.
Deeper inside the cave, there were various inscriptions on the walls, but she couldn’t quite make out what they meant, they were too old to be fully deciphered.
As she continued walking while regarding the inscriptions, she stumbled into a pedestal and accidentally dropped her torch. She cursed under her breath and rubbed her knee.
However, just as she bent down to pick it up again, she stared into a pair of crimson eyes just a few metres in front of her.
Kidd froze in shock and needed a few moments to calm down and refrain from shouting. As she did, she took her torch and stood upright, slowly and warily walking closer to the person in front of her.
“I…is that you…Harle?”, Kidd asked softly, her lips trembling. She hoped so much that it would be Harle, but at the same time feared that it would be someone, or something else.
When no answer came forth, Kidd took another few steps until she could see her whole face in the light of the torch. There was no doubt about it. It was Harle.
“Harle, what-“, Kidd started, but stopped as she met Harle’s eyes. She was staring at her, her eyes a mix of shock and sadness. Harle didn’t move nor opened her mouth to answer. She just stared at Kidd, her eyes seeming so distant as if she was looking past Kidd.
Eventually, Kidd knelt down in front of her, bringing up her hand to Harle’s face. However, just as she touched her cheek, Harle began to scream and pushed Kidd away with all her power.
While Kidd was still too surprised to do anything, Harle quickly stood up and walked backwards to put a distance between herself and Kidd. Her eyes were wide with horror, and her whole body was shaking with fear.
“Harle, what’s wrong?”, Kidd shouted, both scared and surprised of Harle’s behaviour. She stood up again, walking towards Harle with her hand extended to her. However, her hand trembled with the fear of being so harshly rejected again.
Harle kept on screaming, shaking her head violently, while trying to keep the distance between them.
“Non, non! Go away!”, Harle shouted, looking to the ground all the time. She didn’t dare to look into Kidd’s eyes. She was too afraid to look into them.
“No! What’s wrong, Harle? Let’s go together, c’mon!”, Kidd shouted, her voice shaking. She couldn’t believe what was happening and more importantly, she didn’t know what to do. Just what was going on?
“Forgive moi…I killed you…”, Harle whispered as streams of tears ran down her cheeks.
Kidd stopped abruptly and her extended arm fell limply to her side. She wasn’t shocked, or scared…just surprised. Killed? What was Harle talking about?
Kidd was just about to ask her what she meant, when the realization hit her. She lifted her torch a bit in order to get a better view of Harle’s face.
She wondered why she hadn’t seen it at first. Her empty eyes, which seemed so worn out and weak, devoid of the spark they used to contain.
Her features, carving a steady look of fear and sadness onto her face, instead of the beautiful and content look Kidd was so used to see all the time. And also, her face was much paler than before, almost the way it had been when Harle was still wearing her make-up all the time.
The way Harle looked frightened her deeply. It wasn’t a joke, or a misunderstanding. Harle was serious about what she had said. And the way she looked was the result of living with it for days.
Kidd tried her best not to cry. She couldn’t believe it. Was she really the reason for this? Could someone really fall apart like that just because of her? Just because she loved her?
If it was really her fault, then what would have happened if she met her a few days later? Would she even be alive then? How could someone become like that just because of her!
A lone tear escaped her eye as she tried to walk closer to Harle. As expected, Harle was moving away also.
“Harle, I’m here. I’m here Harle, so don’t walk away. You didn’t kill me, I’m here.” Kidd choked out. She could hardly bear looking at Harle like this.
“Non, go away! Leave moi alone!”, Harle shouted, covering her ears.
It was no use. She couldn’t talk to Harle like that, she wouldn’t listen. She was already too far away for mere words.
With a few quick steps Kidd reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling the smaller girl into a tight embrace. She closed her eyes, enduring all the screaming and crying this had caused.
The screaming stopped after a few minutes, but her attempts to free herself from Kidd’s hold lasted much longer. Kidd quietly endured it, knowing that she couldn’t do anything until Harle calmed down.
“Calm down, Harle. I don’t wanna hurt ya or somethin’, I just want ya ta look at me.”, Kidd whispered softly.
After a while, Harle slowly raised her head and looked into Kidd’s eyes. Her mouth opened to form a “Forgive moi” but no sound came out.
With her best efforts, Kidd managed a smile and kissed Harle’s forehead.
“There’s nothin’ ta forgive. I’m not dead, don’t ya see?”, Kidd whispered, looking at Harle expectantly.
Feeling that Harle wouldn’t try to get away from her anymore, she released her and took her right hand into hers.
“Don’t ya feel it?”, she said softly as she placed Harle’s hand over her heart, which was beating wildly with hope. “I’m right here with ya, Harle. Ya don’t have ta be so scared.”
Kidd stroked reassuringly over Harle’s hair, patiently waiting for a reaction from the other girl.
Harle’s hand was still where Kidd had placed it, but when it started trembling, Kidd allowed herself to hope. Soon, Harle’s features softened and a small smile appeared on her lips, accompanied by a few tears trickling down her cheeks.
“K…Kidd?”, she asked hesitantly, afraid that she might break the spell by saying her name.
Kidd’s eyes lit up visibly and she nodded eagerly.
“Come here, silly.”, she said and embraced Harle happily.
“Zey…zey said if moi runz away…zey would kill you…and moi…moi…”, Harle desperately tried to explain but her sobbing prevented her from finishing.
“It’s alright now, Harle.”, Kidd said, smiling at her.
“Moi waz so scared…ze dragon…zey had ze Black Dragon. Moi didn’t know what to do…”
So it was true? Were the dragons really back? It was impossible, but nothing other than the dragons would be able to scare Harle like that.
“…together, we’ll make it. I’m sure. Even if the dragons are back, I’ll protect ya, Harle. Trust me.”
Kidd couldn’t believe it just yet, but if she was honest with herself, she was just scared that it might be true. She didn’t fear the dragons all that much, but the thought of them coming back over and over again frightened her. She didn’t know how long Harle would be able to endure this steady threat of the dragons.
“Non, you have to run away, rapidement!” Harle’s cry shook her out of her thoughts and she looked at Harle in bewilderment.
“Zey juzt want moi…zere iz no point in fighting zem. Save yourself, Kidd…zey will soon come here pour moi…”
“No! I won’t leave ya alone. Even if they come all at once, there’s no way I’ll leave ya here. Come with me, if we leave now, they won’t get us.”
“Non, non…zey will always find moi…”, Harle cried, pushing Kidd away from her, towards the exit of the cave.
“That’s not true! We can make it, come with me, Harle.” Kidd urged her and pulled at her arm.
However, Harle just dropped down on her knees, her mouth and eyes wide open.
“What is it, Harle?”, Kidd asked worriedly.
It was those steps again, Harle could hear them clearly. They were slowly making their way towards the entrance of the cave.
“It’z too late…”, Harle whispered as she looked at something behind Kidd.
“He iz here already.”