T.U.F.F. Mission X - Chapter 34

T.U.F.F. Mission X – Chapter 34

Stupider than she thought…


The Little Chipmunk girl was still watching everything that has happened. She was frightened, but she also didn’t want Eric getting hurt. She didn’t know who he was, but she was aware that he tried to protect her, as well as attempt to stop Guilt from hurting any other innocents. She wanted to run out and stop Guilt from hurting him. She decided to be as brave as she could and started to run after them, hoping that she could do something to help the man that had saved her.

Guilt, on the other hand, was looking down at Eric. She took a step towards him, raising and aiming her arm at him. Before anything could happen, however… something landed on the ground behind her with great force! Guilt looked down at the ground, well aware of exactly what it was. She turned around and looked in the direction of what landed. Before her eyes stood Dudley! He had a backpack on his back, and he looked very sternly at Guilt. She, however, was looking at him with a smile of satisfaction. This was indeed the first time she smiled since she transformed.

“…Well, I hope I’m not too late,” said Dudley. He heard the Little Chipmunk Girl behind him, turning around to see her. “Hey, you!” he said with a smile. “It’s been a while since we last met. You’ve certainly gotten bigger!”

The young girl was surprised to see Dudley land from a black and red jet in the sky, but at the same time, she knew what to say to him. “You’re the dog that likes fun stuff!” she said happily.

“That’s right!”

“Mr. Fun Dog…” She put her hands together, frowning. “Please help that man down there. The mean lady you know has finally snapped, and she hurt him for trying to protect me.”

“He protected you, huh…?” He made a small smile. “Don’t worry, Little Chipmunk Girl. Just stay somewhere safe. I’ll take care of the ‘mean lady’.”

“Okay…” she said nervously. She realized that Dudley seemed a lot different from the last time she saw him. He was calm, and he seemed like he knew what he was doing for once.

“…Dudley,” said Guilt. Dudley then frowned, looking in her direction. He noticed behind her that Eric was really hurt. Despite everything that had happened, he felt bad for Eric. He figured that Kitty didn’t care for him anymore, since she was able to harm him with her power. “What do you think you’re doing here?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied.

“…Well, if you came here to stop me after I let you go… then you’re even stupider than I thought.” She narrowed her eyes, still smiling at him. “It’s stuff like that about you that I consider impressive. Your foolishness never ceases to amaze me.” She threw her hand out by her sides. “I mean, you actually came here to stop me, even though you know you can’t do anything against me.” She then frowned. “You just had to be the hero, didn’t you? I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point…”

Dudley just decided to smile in response to what she said. Down in the crater, Eric could hear that Dudley has confronted Guilt. He opened his eyes, seeing how confident Dudley looked. “Dudley…” he thought to himself. “What are you doing…? You don’t have a chance of stopping her…” He realized, however, that Dudley looked very confident. “…Even you aren’t this foolish. You must have a plan up your sleeve. Whatever it is… just try not to get killed…”

Guilt shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. “Come on, Dudley… Why the smile? Have you finally gone crazy from everything that has happened? Or…do you really believe that you can best me in a fight? Well, I’ll warn you; I won’t hold back-”

“Kitty,” said Dudley with a more serious expression. Surprised by his interruption, she then narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. “Let’s go somewhere else to settle this. I don’t want anyone getting hurt here for no reason.”

“A noble suggestion, but a futile one,” stated Guilt. “I have no reason to listen to you anymore, especially now that you’ve basically walked towards your own funeral.” She smiled and closed her eyes, swishing her hair to the side. “Don’t worry, though. I won’t hurt those that don’t have it coming to them… You will-”

Before she could finish what she was saying, Dudley suddenly grabbed her with his right arm! As she opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise, the backpack on his back opened up, revealing itself to be a jetpack!

“Sorry, but we will be going somewhere else!” he said with a grin. His jet pack lit up and they both flew forwards, away from the city. “Hi gee gee!!” he yelled with great enthusiasm.

“What…?!” said Guilt as they flew out of the city. The trip on the jetpack was very brief, as Dudley and Guilt were basically on the edge of Petropolis before they took off into the air. They eventually crashed into the grass. Dudley rolled onto the ground, while Guilt landed one knee. They were by a forest and some mountains, and the city was only a short distance away.

“Ow!” complained Dudley as he threw the jetpack off of his back. “That could have gone better…!” He then stood up and looked at Guilt, who was still on her knee, absolutely shocked.

“How did he…? Impossible…!” she muttered, feeling her hand on her left arm. “How could he have…? There’s no way he could have done that to me…!”

Dudley stood before Guilt. “Now…let’s do this, Kitty!” he yelled with a grin. “I’m going to bring you back to the way you were!”

“Bring me back…to the way I was?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. I’ll make sure I get that spirit out of you. After you’re returned to normal, we can… I dunno… celebrate by having some chocolate cake with a few glasses of milk.” He smiled. “You still like milk, right?”

Guilt looked at him for a moment. She then grinned, laughing softly through her teeth. “I get it now…” she said. Dudley stopped smiling as she got up on her feet. “You think because you used to be my friend and partner, I won’t be able to harm you. You must be pretty desperate by now.”



She placed her hand on her chest. “I loved Eric, Dudley, and look what happened to him. What difference do you think you’ll make?”

“I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we, Kitty?”

“It’s Guilt now.”

“Guilt?” He folded him arms, grinning. “What, do you think you’re some sorta supervillain now? That’s kinda lame, Kitty.”

“I’m not a villain at all. You’re just being foolish.”

“Yeah, well, I think you’re being foolish!” he yelled in a mocking tone. “As for the new name? Yeah, I’m not calling you that. You’re Kitty to me, and that’s that.”

“Heh…! You know what? I won’t even use my powers on you right now. I want to see if you can match my skill.”

Dudley cracked his neck. “Bring it on then! Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Guilt dashed at Dudley with a grin. She threw a punch at him, but he managed to block it. She wasn’t using her powers, so he was able to do this. She threw a kick, but he managed to kick her leg away from his. Dudley twirled around her and tried to elbow her, but she also spun around him and elbowed him in the back. She was smiling with her sharp teeth, appearing to enjoy the fight. She threw a chop from her hand, while Dudley threw his own chopping hand to hit her hand away.

“Wait,” laughed Guilt. “I’m not finished yet!” She jumped at Dudley and threw her knee into him, in which he was able to block with his forearms. He was hit back a bit, and as he opened his eyes, he noticed that Guilt somehow disappeared from where she was. He then heard her behind him, so he quickly turned around and blocked her kick with his arm. “My…” said Guilt with satisfaction. “I didn’t realize how much you’ve improved, Dudley.” She put her leg back on the ground.

“Not really,” said Dudley casually. “I’m just doing some of the things you’ve taught me.”

“That makes sense… I did make you go through some pretty painful training sometimes.” She then laughed quietly.

Dudley raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just… I know I said I wanted to fight you normally, but I realize that you’re using some pretty outdated moves. I can already tell you couldn’t win against me.”

“Oh really? Then why don’t you stop messing around and take this more seriously.”

“Alright then… I’m going to test something out.” She narrowed her eyes. “I want to see how much pain you go through from some of my power… I bet I can fracture a few of your bones…” She threw her arm back, “from a single swing from my arm!” she yelled with a grin. She swung her hand at Dudley, but as she did so, something very unexpected happened; Dudley actually caught her hand with his own! She was extremely shocked from what transpired before her! The ground beneath Dudley cracked and rippled from the impact, but he didn’t move from where he was standing.

“Wh-what…?” she thought to herself. Dudley stared at her with a disappointed look as he gently held her hand in place. “How did he do that? He didn’t even try to block or dodge my attack. Instead he actually caught my hand with his own hand! I was using my power this time… He shouldn’t have been able to do that! This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Why do you look so surprised?” asked Dudley. Guilt made a small gasp. “Is it really that big of a deal that I caught your hand? Yeah, I stopped your attack. Big whoop.” He grinned. “Does that bother you, Kitty? That I was able to do something unexpected right before your eyes, and your instincts couldn’t stop it…?”

Guilt stared at him, wide eyed, and then closed her eyes slowly. She opened them and looked at Dudley, laughing softly. Dudley then frowned in response, but he still looked determined. “Very funny, Dudley…” she said. She swiped her hand out of his grip and jumped back a few feet. “You think my instincts can’t stop anything you do…?” She quickly scowled. “Don’t act like you’ve ensured your victory. Catching my hand like that was nothing more than a fluke. There’s no way you would be able to do that again, but just to be sure…” She clenched her fist as it started to emit dark energy. “I know what I’ll do. I crush you with this!”

Guilt raised her hand over her head and created a large ball of black and blue energy. “No more fooling around!” she shouted. “I will throw this massive amount of my dark energy at you! Then we will see if you survive or not!” She threw the ball of dark energy at Dudley, but he just stood there as it engulfed around him. The energy then exploded, destroying some of the area that he was standing on. All that was left was rubble and dust. Guilt observed intensely at the dust, trying to see what has become of her opponent. She then saw him, but how she expected. It turned out that Dudley was completely fine! There was not a single scratch on him. Even his clothes were completely intact. Guilt took a step back, gasping. “No… No way…!” she said to herself with a sense of fear.

Dudley laughed. “What was that? Are you sure you’re aiming properly? I didn’t even move!”

“You…you should be dead!”

“Like I said… you probably aren’t aiming properly. You most likely would if you didn’t have all of that hair over your eye!”

“My hair…?”

“Yep. Remember when I said that that was a good look for you? Well, I lied! It looks pretty dumb on you, in all honesty. That hair over the eye look is totally not you, Kitty!” He pointed at her, still grinning. “And what’s with that dress?! It looks so dark and depressing! You can’t really fight if you’re wearing a dress. Also, if you’re trying to impress anyone with it, then you’re really failing hardcore! What happened to the positive, more lighthearted Kitty that I know?”

“You… You…!” Guilt was beginning to feel very frustrated. “You know what? Fine then!” she shouted. “I’ll get rid of the ‘dumb hair’!” She grabbed the end of her hair over her eye and cut it at the top with a swipe over her eye. Her right eye was now visible. “And I don’t need this dress neither!” She clipped off her cape and shoulder armor, throwing them to the ground, and then tore the part of her dress that covered her legs off. She now looked like she was wearing some sort of black, sporty outfit that revealed her legs. Her feet were shown to be covered by dark red socks-like clothes that went past her knees, very much like her gloves.

“Um…” said Dudley, blinking in response to her sudden change of attire.

“There!” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “I’ve changed my hair, and there’s no more dress! Are you happy now?”

Dudley scratched behind his ear. “Is that a serious question? You still look goofy as heck! What on earth are you wearing now?”

“You said you wanted me to change my look! Quit confusing me with your messed up logic!”

“I can’t take you seriously in that now! You look like you’re getting ready to start dancing or something!”

“Oh yeah? Well…” She pointed at him. “You shouldn’t have a hood on a short sleeve shirt!”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s my style, and I know all about style!” Dudley then noticed something very important. “Hey, wait a minute…!” he thought to himself. He noticed that there was something different looking about Guilt. “Her eyes… They don’t look creepy anymore!” Guilt’s pupils were no longer slit and were now round, like normal pupils, and the shine came back into her eyes. “She still has that black marking around her eye, but her eyes look normal. She’s actually starting to look like Kitty again!”



He smiled happily. “Try one more shot at me, Kitty!” he hollered to her.

She looked at him, puzzled. “You can’t be serious…! You want me to attack you?”

Dudley threw his thumb towards himself. “I DARE you to shoot a blast at me! You don’t have any hair in your face, so you've got no excuse to miss me this time!”

“…Whatever then! I'll make sure I blast that stupid head of yours!” She created another blast of dark energy from her hand, but this one was smaller. She then threw it at Dudley. “Take this!”

Dudley laughed. “Watch this!” He threw his head back and then swung it at the blast, head-butting it! “BAM!!!” he shouted. The energy exploded around his head, but it didn’t have any effect on him.

Guilt stared at him in wonder. “This…this doesn’t make any sense…” she muttered.

Dudley fixed his hair a little. “You still haven’t figured it out, Kitty. You can’t hurt me because…” He smiled sadly. “Well… you care too much about me.”

Kitty shook her head, taking a few steps back. “N-no… No, you’re wrong…! That… After everything that has happened, that can’t be possible…!”

“You can’t hurt me with your powers…because you couldn’t possibly see yourself putting me through serious pain… Whether you’re aware of it or not, the Kitty I know deep down is the reason why I’m still alive.” He pointed at her. “You’re holding back your power. That’s why you can’t hurt me. It’s because deep down, you won’t hurt me!”

Kitty looked at him in shock. “You actually believe that…? That sounds ridiculous…”

“Oh, I know that that’s the case! Here, let me show you something…” He took out a photo from his pocket. Kitty recognized it as the same one that he lost on her.

“Where…did you get that?”

“Ollie found it. This was the image I lost on the plane that time. Quite a far cry from the fake Eric one you lied to me about. What was up with that anyways?”

“That’s the picture that was lost…” Kitty looked at him with a sad expression. “I…I just wanted to get back at you for making the teams that time. I didn’t mean anything…personal by it…”

Dudley pointed at the photo. “See how happy we are here? Does that look like a pair who couldn’t be friends? Does this friendly, happy birthday girl look like she should be destroying a bunch of criminals, as well as hating the silly looking dog that’s next to her?” Kitty stared at him, looking very ashamed. “I don’t think so, Kitty, and the more I look at you… the more I can see my friend coming back.” He outstretched his arms in a warm manner. “So let me ask you: Do you really hate me?”

Kitty looked at him for a moment. She looked like she wanted to say something to him, but she was interrupted. “Don’t listen to him!” hissed a voice in her head. Immediately upon hearing the voice, Kitty gritted her teeth, feeling intense pain in her head. “He’s just trying to trick you into thinking that he’s your friend! You know he’s trying to get you to pick up his slack again.”

Kitty closed her eyes, holding on to her head with both of her hands. “No…! S-stop…!” she said in a panic.

“His only desire is to be better than you!” continued the voice in her head. “He envies you! Who cares if you can’t use these powers? You’re strong enough to beat him without them! You can still kill him with your bare hands…!”

Dudley became worried about what was happening to her. “H-hey!” he shouted. “Are you…?”

Kitty opened her eyes. Her pupils were slit once more, and she was scowling at him. “Everything you’re saying…is a LIE!!!” she screamed at Dudley. “You never listen to me! I always have to be punished for your mistakes! It’s not fair!” She ran at him, throwing a strong punch into the side of his face! “I HATE YOU!!!” As he fell onto the ground, Kitty jumped on top of him, grabbing his throat with her hands! “You’re nothing to me! You’re…y-youre noth…ing!” At first her grip was tight, but her hands started to shake and loosen beyond her apparent control.

“Really? I’m having a hard time believing that!” said Dudley. "Oh, and sorry about this!” He threw her off of him with a push from his legs. She roughly fell onto her back, but she quickly got back up and threw her elbow into his stomach as he was getting up. “Oof!” shouted Dudley in pain. She grabbed him from behind, trying to throw him down. He glared at her from the corner of his eye. “Alright, that’s it!” He broke out of her grip and got directly behind her, grabbing both of her arms with his, locking them behind her. Before she could do anything, Dudley unexpectedly bit onto the back of her head, growling!

“AHH!!!” screamed Kitty as her ears and tail stood up. She couldn’t help but blush from his awkward attack. She then responded by stomping on his foot!

“OW!!!” he shouted as she got away from his grip. They both charged towards one another, kicking each other at the same time, which threw them back a few feet!

“You bit me!” she shouted, feeling embarrassed.

“Not like you never bit me on the ear during our old scraps!” He threw his arms to the side. “Y’know what? I’m gonna tell you something! Something super important!”

“Tell me something?” She shook her head in a fast manner. “Tell me what?!”

“I give up!”

“Give up…?” She looked at him, feeling very puzzled. “What…what do you mean you give up?”

“You heard me! I’m giving up this fight. You win! Horary for victory and all of that stuff, right?”

“I win?! Y-you can’t just quit! This isn’t finished yet!”

“Hold on now!” he said, throwing his palms out in front of him. “I never said anything about this being over. Y’know why?” He pointed at her, grinning. “Cause I’m gonna let you decide how this ends!”

Kitty took a few steps back, feeling very surprised. “You’re going to let me decide?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. I’m not as stupid as you think. I know that spirit was making you attack me just before, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to end my life. That’s why I’m gonna let you decide how this ends, and me giving up is part of that.”

“You’re insane!” she cried. “You’re giving your life up just like that?”

He smiled. “I know you’ll make the right decision, but before anything, I have one more thing I need to do.” He singled his finger for her to walk towards him. “Come here for a sec, Kitty.” She was so surprised and confused by his actions that she didn’t know what to do. Instead, she took a step back. Dudley sighed. “Alright then… Stay where you are, okay?” All of a sudden, he dashed at her! This shocked Kitty. She thought he was going to hurt her. She couldn’t help but freeze up as he ran at her. However, he didn’t attack her at all. He did the complete opposite by gently wrapping his arms around her, giving her a warm, welcoming hug! She looked down at him.

“I just wanted one more nice, cuddly hug…!” he said affectionately as he held her tightly. At first Kitty’s arms stuck out, but she slowly lowered them to her sides. He looked up at her with a glum smile. “Kitty… you can end me right now if you really want to. I won’t do anything to stop you, but hear me out for a sec. Before you…‘changed’, you told me that I’m a great person, and that I shouldn’t let anyone tell me otherwise. I thought that the entire time since I encountered you in the city. You’re the one who said that to me, and the bad side of you was the one I decided to ignore, because I know that’s not the real you. The real you worried about me being alright. The real you loved to spend time with me! The real you…” He took out something from his pocket. “Made this bracelet that represents our friendship!”

Kitty looked down at her bracelet that rested in his hand. “You kept it with you…? All of this time…?” she asked softly.

“Well, duh! It’s really important to us. It isn’t mine to keep, though.” He gently put the bracelet on her wrist while still holding onto her. “There! Back where it belongs!” She looked at the bracelet on her wrist with a sad expression. “You also told me something else, you know.”

“…What did I tell you, Dudley?” she asked hesitantly.

“On our first night on Riptide Island, you told me something very important when I was feeling down, so now I’ll tell you something similar: you being you…is what makes you so great! We’ve known each other for years, and we’ve both been through a lot. Honestly, I feel that there should be more people like you in the world, since you’re such a great person. Sure, everyone has their ups and downs, but that’s what makes people so awesome. You accepted me for who I am when others would have shut me away. You always know how to take care of me, and I admit, I do put you through some trouble, and I really apologize for that…” Kitty didn’t take her eyes off of him. “You’re a great friend and a great person in general, Kitty, and if you and that spirit can’t realize that, then you don’t fully understand what a friend actually is… but I know you do, so everything is good from what I can tell.” Kitty’s eyes began to water slightly. “Now, I don’t want you thinking like this anymore; spirit or no spirit… okay?” He tightened his grip around her, closing his eyes. “Please Kitty… Come back with us… T.U.F.F. wouldn’t be the same without you, partner…!”

Kitty looked down at him with her eyelids lowered. It was hard to make out what she was thinking. After a moment of no response from her, Dudley opened his eyes and looked down, feeling sad. He started to wonder if she listened to him or not. It was then something happened: As Dudley was about to let go of her, she gently wrapped her arms around him, getting closer to him. This briefly surprised him. He looked up at her, realizing that her eyes were once again back to normal, and the black markings and white streaks were fading away.

“Kitty…” he said quietly. “Is that really you…?”

The white streaks from her hair were now completely gone, as were the black markings on her face. She looked at him with teary eyes, forming an affectionate smile. “Yes, Dudley…” she replied softly. “It’s really me. Thank you…for not losing faith in me…”

Dudley smiled happily in response. “…And thank you for still believing in me…!”



They both smiled at each other, happy to be truly reunited. Kitty was back to normal, and Dudley got his friend back. Things worked out even better for Kitty, however, as she not only had the spirit removed from her body, but she herself has gotten her best friend back as well. They both hugged each other even more closely, closing their eyes happily and resting their heads onto each other. The broken bond that they had for some time has once again become inseparable.