The return of Kitri and Tina certainly made things feel more back to normal, but something else went wrong soon enough.
The following night, Sundown approached Kitri during combat training. "Sorry, Kitri," he began, "but, I'm going to have to call it a night."
"Ow!" Whoa!" Misty groaned as she had narrowly dodged a sneak attack from Jenny, only to get side-slammed by Tina.
"Gotcha!" Tina exulted.
"Uff. You sure did." Misty panted. "Hey, how did you - I didn't know you had gotten so good at this!"
Back on the sideline, "Okay, I think that's probably enough for us all tonight anyway." Kitri said to Sundown. "Are you feeling okay? You look all in."
"I didn't know I had gotten so out of shape. I mean, we haven't exactly been keeping this stuff up as much as we should have while you were gone, but I didn't know it would be so hard getting back into it."
"That's okay, since nothing has even been said about it lately, it's not like you need to be prepared tomorrow."
"I know, and between you and me and Toby, I'm really getting sick of all this waiting and not hearing anything about where we're at, or if there is even going to be a mission. He and I talked about it before you came back. he was only saying what I've been thinking for months. I don't know about the others, but this waiting in limbo is driving at least the both of us out of our minds."
"I know. It's bugging me too. But, it's still better to keep on, just in case." said Kitri. "But for now, let's all stop for tonight." She turned to the other furbies who were still squirrelling about the entire basement. "ATTENTION!" She bellowed, drawing out the word until the others had ceased their activity and were all standing at attention and looking at her.
"We're calling it a day, folks, since this is our first session in ages."
Sounds of excited relief came from nearly all present, and Kitri grinned. "You don't have to be so happy about it!" Some giggles from a few of them prompted Kitri to add, "Now go on, get outa here!"
There was a disorderly mini-stampede up the steps and back into the main part of the house.
"Don't think I didn't see you getting into the action there, Palestina," Kitri said as she approached Tina, who grinned broadly.
"If I keep at it, I can join in the - "
"That's out of the question. I won't have you risking danger. There's enough of us involved."
"But Kitri, I really am getting good enough to be included." Tina protested.
"That's not the point. The answer is no, Tina, no!" Kitri said sternly.
"We'll see about that." Tina retorted.
"No, we won't. Understand?"
"No, I don't. If Jessica thinks I'm ready for the job, I'm joining in."
"Don't drag Jessica into this, Tina, I said no! End of conversation!"
"Oh, stop it you two, you're not going to get anywhere tonight and it doesn't matter right this minute anyway." said Sybil.
"But you're letting Peekaboo join in. You think I'm ready, right, Sybil?"
"Knock it off, Tina!" Kitri raised her voice.
"tina," said Sybil, "Peekaboo and I aren't actually fighting. We're both just extra pairs of eyes. We still have to know how to duck and cover, but that's it."
"I could help you with that." Tina appealed.
"Yes, you could, but - "
"No!" Kitri was out of patience. "N O - no!"
"Okay, I'm not getting involved with this argument. I'm asking you two to give it a rest." Sybil said quickly, and retreated.
When Jessica came home from work that evening, she couldn't understand what was up with Kitri, who seemed a little off. Kitri's unenthused response when Jessica asked her how it felt being back at combat training, baffled her.
When dinner was ready, everyone showed up, except for...
"Where's Sundown?" Kitri's uncharacteristically subdued behaviour caused Jessica to become especially vigilant for other indicators that something might be wrong.
All the other furbies looked around.
"Hey, you're right, he's not here." Polly said, "Sundown!" She called.
There was no answer.
Jessica called out his name next, and also got no response. She stood up with a worried frown. "Who last saw him where?"
"He was in training, wasn't he?" Brittany asked.
"Yes, he was. But maybe he's just decided to take a nap. He told me he was feeling terribly out of shape, and he looked exhausted." said Kitri.
"You're not seeming quite yourself either tonight," said Jessica, looking at her. "Maybe you overdid it."
Kitri couldn't hide the relief on her face. For a moment, she was sure Jessica was going to start grilling her on what the problem was. "Yeah, that's it. I shouldn't have pushed so hard."
"It wasn't so bad," said Toby.
"Not for you, who have you been beating up in my absence?" Kitri teased.
"Me, who else?" replied Dmitri with an impish grin.
"And me." said Buck.
"Hah! Only when you ask for it." toby retorted playfully.
"I'll be back." Jessica said, and abruptly left to look for Sundown.
She looked in her room, and couldn't find Sundown anywhere. He was not resting on any shelf, in the closet, or in her bed.
Murmurs could be heard from the kitchen as the other furbies were trying to figure out exactly where Sundown was last seen.
Jessica rushed around, searching. Sundown was not in the bathroom, or anywhere in the front room.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Jessica returned to the kitchen, looking stressed.
"How about the basement?" asked Duckling.
Jessica shrugged. "Why would he decide to take a nap down there when there's more comfy places up here?"
"I don't know. But no one actually remembers seeing him up here after our training today.
Kitri looked downcast. "If he gets sick, that'll be my fault. I should've taken things much easier."
Jessica looked at Kitri's unusually sad expression and drooping tail. "Don't kick yourself over this, I know this is a bit like the time Toby disappeared and was discovered to be sick, but no one has noticed anything off with Sundown before he complained of being tired tonight... Right?"
The furbies had to agree.
"Thanks for the suggestion, Duck, I'll see if he's downstairs." With that, Jessica left.
Soon, Jessica could be heard talking in the basement.
"She's found him! Jenny said happily."
"Let's go find out if he's okay!" Jet suggested.
"No, she'll come and tell us. If he just wants to rest, he's not gonna want us all buzzing around fussing over him." said Buck.
Sundown didn't know how long he had been out of commission,. The last thing he remembered was talking to Kitri, and the next, he was aware of Jessica holding and trying to revive him.
"Sundown, what are you still doing down here?" she was saying.
His eyes flickered open, and shut again. He tried again to open them. "Jess - " he began. "I'm - too - tired - to - " His speech was laboured, halting, and he couldn't even finish what he was trying to say. His eyes closed again, and no matter how Jessica tried to revive him, Sundown could say no more.
"Oh, dear," Jessica said quietly, "Let's just hope it is what I think it is, my friend."
With that, she took Sundown and went back up to tell the other furbies about him.
"So, he crashed down there, eh?" said Dmitri, grinning at Sundown, who didn't stir.
"Yes. He is dormant." replied Jessica.
"What!? How!?" Kitri was confounded.
"It's happened before, though not in a very long time. I don't know why or how. But he went dormant once before and suddenly one day I was able to wake him and he was fine. That's what I think is going on now."
"But can't you just wake any of us up when we're dormant? Like what you and Sundown did with me?" asked Jenny.
"Most of the time, yes. But not in this case."
"Then how do you know he is dormant and not - not - you know..." Floyd asked with a shudder.
Jessica frowned. "I don't know for sure, Floyd. But I'm hoping."
"So if we give him until tomorrow he'll just wake up on his own or will you still have to wake him up?" asked Peekaboo, concerned.
"Not tomorrow. It'll take months for him to rest and recharge. That was how it was the first time it happened."
Some of the furbies shuddered visibly.
That day ended with everyone feeling ill at ease. It was troubling seeing Sundown as still as death, and not knowing if he was dead or just dormant as Jessica supposed.
Kitri was especially bothered by this, and opted to spend the night on the living room couch instead of with everyone else in Jessica's room.
Sybil stayed awake longer than the others, and when she was sure Jessica was asleep, she carefully made her way down from her resting place, and out of the room.
She knew where Kitri was, and the lack of a snore told her that Kitri was still awake, too.
Kitri had been tossing and turning, and had her face buried in a cushion when Sybil hopped on the couch, startling her. She jerked, then sat up to look around.
"It isn't good to be all alone when you're feeling down," Sybil said quietly.
"It's even worse than just down, I feel on the verge of sick."
Sybil frowned with concern. "Should I get Jessica?"
"No!" Kitri said almost too quickly, then took a deep breath. "Please, don't disturb her. I'm just really upset. I keep telling myself not to fret about Sundown, that itwasn't my fault. But I can't make myself believe that."
"It wasn't. No one blames you, and certainly Jessica doesn't. Our minds do strange things when something bad happens that's out of our control. I went through this when Peekaboo went dormant, and this was just before you came back. So I think I understand how you feel."
"Thanks, Sybil," Kitri said, giving her a fleeting appreciative smile.
"But what's unnerving about Sundown is that Jessica says she can't do for him what she did for Peekaboo, we just have to wait it out. That just bothers me. He'll be lying there for months, we'll be carrying on doing whatever, and he'll be missing out."
"That's just it." Kitri took a deep breath, but let it out again.
Sybil nodded. Kitri had to be fearing the worst. Everyone had to be.
The next morning, Kitri and Sybil awoke on the couch when Jessica came out of her room, apparently the first one up.
It was Sybil who greeted her and followed her into the kitchen.
The two exchanged small chat for a while as Jessica got breakfast ready. Then Sybil scurried out of the kitchen to get Kitri. "Aren't you coming for breakfast?"
Kitri shook her head.
Jessica overheard Sybil and Kitri speaking in muted tones in the living room, and she soon joined them. "What happened with Sundown has really thrown you, badly," she said, joining the girls on the couch. "I wish I could reassure you better, and that it wouldn't be such a long wait until he wakes up again. But I'm pretty sure he will."
"That's what's so hard. It's bad enough we're on hold about our mission, but maybe that's just as well, now that Sundown couldn't join if it was going ahead tomorrow." said Kitri dejectedly.
Jessica looked at her with concern. "Are you okay, Kitri?"
Kitri nodded, then quickly hopped off the couch and scurried into the kitchen to get a drink of water.
Jessica shook her head, unconvinced.
Time marched on by, with no more news about the mission, and no change in Sundown's condition. Jessica did tell the other furbies not to bother trying to wake him, because they would n't be able to. That was how it had been with him the first time he had gone dormant.
But since the furbies all seemed rather disturbed with Sundown sitting lifelessly on a shelf, Jessica finally put him in one of her dresser drawers when she was alone in her room. It was the bottom drawer, the same one toby took shelter in when he had been so sick with the furby flu. The association would insure Jessica would remember where Sundown was when she wanted to wake him again, also, if by any chance he should awaken on his own, one of the larger furbies could open the door and let him out if Jessica was unavailable to do so at the time.
Kitri didn't push as hard in combat training any more, and she and Tina were always at each others throats about the subject. Tina was certainly as skilled as any other furby at maneuvering, she was essentially grown up. Her voice hadn't changed, and neither had her appearance. So Kitri still didn't think she was ready to participate in the pasta take-down mission. No one worked harder in training than Tina, much to Kitri's distress.
One night, Jessica was relaxing after dinner, surfing the net, with Toby at his usual place on her shoulder.
They watched several videos of special snowflake social justice warriors losing their minds and blowing gaskets over stupid things. Jessica's reactions consisted of eye-brow raising and head shaking with disbelief. Toby was far less subtle, laughing so hard that he nearly rolled off Jessica's shoulder a couple of times.
"Hey Toby!" Jet came bounding in. "Aren't we doing training tonight? Kitri's taking the night off."
"Oh, how could I forget?" Toby jumped down from Jessica's shoulder to join Jet, and soon, the two disappeared downstairs with the others.
Soon, a lone furby came back up the stairs and joined Jessica on the chair.
"Hey Tina,"
"Toby said I should go keep you company."
Jessica nodded. "I appreciate that."
"I'm able to join them, though." said Tina.
"I know you want to." said Jessica. "Have you actually seen Slender Man, and all the creeps everyone is training to fight?"
"No." I only know they're supposed to be scary, that they frighten little kids. But I'm not so little any more."
"Tina, I think it's time for you to learn about these scumbags. I've seen you fly around here, you're as quick and agile as the other furbies from what I can tell, but you have been sheltered from knowing how ugly these creeps really are. Come, take your place on my shoulder, and we'll have a look at what Toby and Kitri and everyone is going to be up against."
So, Jessica looked up pictures of Slender Man, Jeff The Killer, and a few others, to which Tina showed no fear. She only came close to distress at the sight of Jeff, thinking he had been in some kind of horrible accident. When Jessica revealed he had done it to himself, Tina's eyes went wide. "Why would anyone do that to himself?"
"Because he's a sick twisted creep." Jessica responded.
"Gross." said Tina.
"And you know if he can do that to himself, he loves to hurt anyone else." said Jessica.
"And that's why he needs to be stopped."
"Exactly, Tina. But it won't be easy. Catching him would be the first problem, after that comes disarming him, and he's just one of the creeps."
"So this could be happening over a long period of time, not just done in one go." Tina speculated.
"Yes." said Jessica. "Something else you might as well know, we once had a friend of Slender Man's and possibly Jeff's living here until Toby took him out. Remember the black furby who called itself Jenny but wasn't very nice?"
"Yeah. What happened there?"
"His name was actually Mark." Jessica filled Tina in on the whole story. Then she summarized the sorts of things creepy pasta characters liked doing to their victims.
Tina listened calmly, but showed signs of disgust at the mention of anything cruel.
Finally, she said, "They don't frighten me. They make me angry."
"It sounds like you are ready to join the others."
"But Kitri doesn't think so."
"She's very protective of you., sort of like Sundown and Toby are with me. Neither of them want me on the mission either."
"Really?" Tina gave a surprised grin. "Even though they know you're not a baby."
"Exactly. You can be grown up and still have others concerned and not wanting you getting into situations they think might be too dangerous. Sundown and Toby know about the other people Jeff and Slendy have killed, and they don't want me ending up like them." Jessica picked Tina up off her shoulder and held her. "Kitri is so protective because she loves you"
"I love her too."
Neither Jessica nor Tina were aware that Kitri overheard them from the hall. She had come out of Jessica's room to listen quietly for a while, and retreated again, feeling overcome.
Kitri returned to Jessica's room, started up the carousel and jumped on. But not even the happy music or motion could help her..
After some time, she saw another reflection in the mirror, lit up by the spinning carousel.
It was Jessica.
"Kitri," she said as she approached to turn the carousel off. "Come here a moment."
Kitri let Jessica pick her up, and waited for her to speak again. Her tail twitched anxiously.
"Remember the day Peekaboo lost her fear of Dmitri?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Dmitri told me later how it happened, and we have Tina to thank for it." Jessica retold Dmitri's story of how Peekaboo had to save him from Tina. "She got the two of them to become friends through that game. I know you're upset because she is wanting to join in the mission, and you might still even be upset about Sundown, who isn't there to give either of you any guidance."
Kitri convulsed, trying to suppress a sudden urge to sob.
Jessica held her close, rocking gently, saying tenderly, "You and Toby are so similar, you don't want Tina participating in the mission, and Toby doesn't want me to. So gentle, and fierce, and fearful.""
Kitri remained silent but for a sniffle that gave herself away.
Jessica stroked her.
Kitri quickly tried to regain her composure and keep the subject from herself. "You're right about Toby," she said shakily, "I've never seen anyone so fierce as him annihilating Mark."
"Yes, but he's got some big fears, too. and I think you probably do, deep down. The difference is he would be the first to admit it."
"What fears does he have? Other than that Jeff might live another day to kill someone else?"
"He's afraid of losing me, to sickness or some other form of early death."
"That makes sense considering his frightful reactions when you read out that Jeff letter about a year ago."
"Yes. But how about you, Kitri? Are you worried that Tina might get hurt or killed if she was part of the mission - or are you afraid she's growing up too fast and might not need you as much?"
Kitri shot Jessica a defiant glance but couldn't stop a tear from falling.
"She will always love and need you, Kitri, and I think she has pretty much grown up by now. The interesting thing about Tina, Brittany and Peekaboo is that no matter how old they get, they will always look and sound like furblings and furby babies. That's all part of the differences between you toys and someone like me. And I've never known you to show any hesitation, to hang back no matter what. What harm can it do just letting her be included in the training? Whether she gets to be part of the mission or decides not to later on, at least she's learning and growing closer with the entire group. Kitri, you are incredibly tenacious and brave. Let her be as well, encourage her to be. It's your way. Let her try, let her make mistakes, get up and try again, just like with anyone else. She loves you and wants to make you proud of her."
Kitri gazed tearfully up at Jessica, "And Sundown, too, she might have to take his place if he doesn't wake up in time."
"And if he could see how well she's doing, I'm sure he'd agree with what I'm saying 100%." Jessica smiled. "We'll have to give him a bit more time, but I'm sure he will come too, one of these days." She stroked Kitri down one side and smiled reassuringly at her. "Wanna get a drink or snack?""
"No, thanks."
Jessica frowned with concern, and keeping hold of Kitri, she moved to sit on the bed. "Then let's just sit and chill out here for a while." she suggested.
"Good idea." Kitri agreed.
They sat silently for a while, Jessica's calm finally putting Kitri at ease.
Eventually, Kitri's eyes closed, and she began to snore.
Jessica smiled down at her and continued to hold her for a little longer, until she was sure tucking her in wouldn't awaken her.
When Toby dismissed everyone else from combat training, all the furbies flooded into the kitchen for drinks.
Jessica came out of her room to offer them snacks.
"Where's Kitri?" Tina asked, looking worried.
"She's over-tired, I think, so she's already asleep, hopefully for the night.
"And she didn't even have to get worked into exhaustion by him." Dmitri glanced at Toby, who, for once, had no smart-Aleck response.
Without saying a word to anyone, Toby scurried out of the kitchen and down the hall to Jessica's room.
"Hey, I was just ribbing you, mate!" Dmitri called after him.
Later, everyone returned to Jessica's room to retire, and there, they found Kitri sound asleep in her usual resting place where Jessica had placed her. Next to her, Toby was out like a light.
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