Indokani

Amends

When Purple regained consciousness, he realized he wasn't cold anymore. He felt warm instead, and it felt like he was on top of a bed. Where was he? As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was in a medical ward. Purple sighed. They must have found them while both were out. Guess it's over. He had failed. They could kiss the Massive and Cheesecake goodbye-

Grrraaa!

Purple wasn't prepared for a large, humid tongue assaulting his face, but he was undoubtedly thrilled as he recognized it. "Cheesecake!" He cried, pulling the indokuro's head closer in a hug. "Oh, boy! I'm happy to see you!" Cheesecake was making happy growls and crooned, wagging his tail like a puppy as he rubbed his head against his body.

"Guys, I think he finally awoke!" he recognized Blue's voice. Purple twitched his lekku as he heard Red's voice from the outside.

"Out of my way! Superior being coming through!" The door opened moments later, and Red rushed inside. "Pur!" Before Purple knew it, Red had pulled him into a tight embrace.

"R-Red... Can't breathe...!"

"Are you okay?!" Red started checking up on every part of his body, ignoring him completely. "Did those bastards hurt you?! Where are they?! I'm going to make them wish they had stayed in their stinking holes!"

"Irken, you know we can hear you, don't you?" Captain entered the infirmary, followed suit by Ilk and Blue. The former rushed forward and joined in Red's embrace, asking Purple if he was alright.

"Captain, I don't respond as I should because right now, I have no time to deal with your unwanted comments."

Purple coughed impatiently. "Would you mind explaining what happened? How did you guys find me?"

"You must thank Cheesecake and Fury for that," Blue explained. "They encountered each other out in the wilderness, and Fury led him back to where you were. They dragged you, Akkono, and her indokuro to the finish line, which happened to be the spot we had regrouped at." Purple sat up at the mention of the kryvtor.

"Akkono, is she okay?" he asked. "Please tell me she's not buried two meters in the ground!"

"Chill out, your Tallest. She's fine, she needs a long nap," Blue motioned to the bed on the opposite side. Purple sighed in relief as he saw Akkono on top of it with a few cables connected to her chest. "She hasn't woken yet, so we were kinda hoping you'd tell us what happened."

"Why do you even care about the kryvtor, Purple? The last thing I knew was that you hated her guts," Red gave his friend a quizzical look.

"Long story."

"Well, since you're going to stay here until you're one hundred percent okay, you'll have plenty of time to tell us what the hell happened out there." Before Purple could reply, the doors parted open again, and Dr. Scylla herself strode in.

"That won't be necessary, your Tallest," she said. "With all due respect, you're likely to omit details or outright lie to avoid talking about certain things."

"What are you doing here, doctor?" Captain inquired curiously.

"As the creator of indokuros and the indokani program, naturally, I must be present in the final phase of the examinations."

"What did you mean that it 'won't be necessary?'"

Scylla started typing something into her tablet. "During these types of tests, participants scatter individually throughout a considerable expense area, so it's hard to keep track of them to make sure they don't cheat." The device projected a holographic screen with the HybGen logo on the wall. "The easiest way to solve this is to use remote cameras hidden in plain sight."