Sig’s Secret Chapter 9 - Please, Come Back!

As I kept running on down the path of these ruins, the only things on my mind were the ever-smiling Lemres and Witch's potion to be used on specifically on Sig. I am so sorry for causing such a huge stir! I was ready to shout the first thing on my mind, but the door to the last room was already open before me, which is not what I expected at all. The first thing that popped right in front of my sights was Lemres, on his knees and back turned. And further back, there was Sig. Uhm...it IS Sig, right?

The last room was nothing but stone walls, and they're covered with carvings of those letter markings I can't read. And right at the dead center was some kind of big stone chest. It's even got the same design. From what I seeing...Lemres is in the room in front of the chest, with someone that has Sig's spitting image, but with both eyes red and darker hair...no wait, that has to be Sig standing there.

"S-Sig?" I called out, which caught Lemres' attention.
"Amitie!? Why are you here!?"
"Um, you see, Sig's uh...dangerous calamity thing...Witch's potion...a-and it's all my fault!" I spouted nothing but nonsense to him, but he seems to get the main gist of what I meant.
"I see, I didn't know about that..." Lemres said, but sounded bothered as he stood up.
"Hey, Lemres! Is that guy Sig? Is it really him?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Y-You haven't used Witch's "Power Overload Neutralizer" on him yet? But we've gotta revert him back!"
"..." Lemres shook his head, and then he pointed at Sig's feet.
"Uh..." I gulped. That was a broken potion bottle that rolled on over.
"I tried using it. But as I suspect, the potion couldn't turn him back, and now he's pursuing even greater power."
"Are you kidding me!?"
"After throwing the potion on him, I challenged him to a battle of Puyo...and he went a bit overboard with power. Now's he's quite relentless...Ahaha, this is bad news..."

Ahaha, the way he put it, he's definitely not at all happy about this. And, the usual light-hearted and smiling Lemres let out a defeated sigh, complete with a shoulder drop.

"I, I uh, I actually have one more of that potion..." I tightly grasped the important potion bottle I have. And then...
"Fu fufu...Fuhahahahahaha..." Sig let out a laugh. "No matter how many times it's used, it'll lead the same end...No one can stop me."

That is definitely Sig's voice. But his usual absent-sounding self was long gone, and sounded more forceful and cruel.
"Sig...?"
"Sig? Fufufu, sad to say, but that person is no longer with us...Fufu...haa ha ha ha!"
"G-Get real! That's no way true at all! Calamities are still dangers, and Sig is still Sig!"
"Easy now, Amitie." Lemres stopped me from nearly breaking into tears. "Sig isn't gone.  He's faintly hanging onto himself."
"I see, that's good!"

It was just a short amount of relief though, because Lemres shook his head.
"However, at this rate his sense of self will be gone."

......what?

"Gone, you say...So the Sig I know so well will be lost forever?" I asked, left agape. And he nodded. "No way..."

I'm so lost right now. The Sig we're talking about right now isn't the Sig I know. And if we can't turn him back, will he be like this forever? This can't be right...this can't be true...

"I was right thinking the potion wouldn't do much. He might be able to revert to what he was before if his power was drawn out long enough." Lemres discussed, looking at the potion held tightly in my hand. But still...
"Will that even work though?" I asked, trembling.
"I'm quite sure...however, it requires Sig's cooperation."
"What do you mean by that..."
"On his own, Sig is resisting it all with only his heart. I sense that he isn't giving in to the rampaging power, having a desire to return..."
"I-Is that what he's thinking right now?" I cried out.
"I wonder." Lemres sighed. "Sig is always going at his pace, and he's a little out there too...but deep down, his heart is strong."
"I-It'll be all right!" I shouted, trying to shake off all the worries that's building up. "It'll be alright, it's gonna be alright! Sig adores everyone's company, he's worked hard on the cafe things, and he did a great job at whipping the fresh cream! Erm, uhm... I believe in him!"

I rambled on and on, and Lemres, while blue in the face, still managed to chuckle and nod.
"Um, Amitie...with your sentiment, you may be able to fulfill this one last request."
"Huh..."
"Okay...with your support, call out to Sig. Reach out to his heart...then use the potion!"

One last request? But then, what'll happen if I screw it all up? I'm scared to ask. My heart's racing, head's spinning, and I can barely breathe. Still though, I turned to Sig and gave him the pointer finger.

"SIIIIIIIIG! You won't give into the calamity and want to turn back, don't you!? Give it all you got for me, okay!"
"Fu...Fufufufu...Haa ha ha ha!" Sig laughed manically up to the ceiling. "What was that? You, resorting to persuasion!? Did you really think I'd listen to that?"
"S-Shut up, you!" My face boiled red with embarrassment and frustration. "Even if you're not going to listen, you WILL listen to a challenge! Okay Sig...Sig lookalike, I mean. I challenge you to a game of Puyo!" I shouted out in desperation. But Sig shook his head.
"Hmph, what an idiot...Me, comply to...hm?" Sig stopped himself to notice the Red Puyo Hat I'm wearing. "Hm...Fascinating. Okay then...I accept!"

I wonder what that was all about? Is something up with my Red Puyo Hat? That's not iportant right now though.

"Let's get going. With the power of Puyo..."
"We battle!"

I didn't challenge him just to try and defeat him in battle. Puyo matches will make him remember everyone in Primp Town. Right? C'mon, he was in one with everyone working on the cafe. He had fun, didn't he?

"Sig! You've gotta remember everyone!" I cried out, stacking the Puyo and looking straight at him. "I saw everything! You laughed, you even felt bashful! You had fun, didn't you!?"
"Hah..." But Sig looked like he didn't know.

He let out a faint laugh as he continued to stack the Puyo high. Whoah, look at that speed! ...at least I think it's fast. Wha? How is he even stacking them? It's all a complicated jumble, and I don't see how that'll even chain well. Well then~, I guess that means he's not that much stronger~?  That's a bit of a relief.

"Careful now, Amitie!" Lemres chimed in. "He might've used complex chain on me. A great big chain is coming for sure!"
"Say whaaaat!? Are you for real!?"

I looked at Sig's total mess of a Puyo pile again, and it's actually looking more like a chain that Lemres would even build. I can't even tell how he build it! He's seriously on another level, and I'm at a loss of words. But I still can't lose here!

"Hey Sig, come on...if you don't come back to the cafe business, wouldn't that make Raffine angry? And wouldn't Klug complain all about it too? You're cool with that!? The Special Menu isn't even completed yet either. You even considered using your specialty whipped cream for it!" I continued shouting out whatever popped into mind. Please, oh please, I beg of you...let me reach to him! "Come back to us! Me, everyone else, the people you adore, we absolutely positively want you to be back together with us, Sig!"

Sig's hand with the Puyo stack froze. Did he hear me out? I think he did.

"Shut up..." Sig didn't just look at me, he outright gave me a cold stony glare. And right before his eyes, the big complex chain fell apart right at the last moment. "Shut up...shut up, just shut up! Shut your shouting up, whatever's in my head, shut your stupid voice up...GRAAAGH...!"
"A voice? In your head? T-That must be Sig! Heeey! Answer me, Sig!" I flailed my arms around. But it just made him angrier.
"Don't make me! I'll end you with this chain!"
"Whaaat...!?"

Sig's chain started to pop away. As for my counter-chain...it was more or less loaded up. But...

*bloop, bloop, bloop...plopplopplopplop...!*

Sig's chain threw me down the spiral of panic. Uhm, how many chains is that anyway? There's no way I could out-chain him now.

"Oh no...don't do it!!" Lemres cried out.
"Fuhahahahaha...haa ha ha ha!! Hydrange...a!?" Sig was about to lay down the finishing spell and end it all! But yet, he didn't expect to see the massive amout of Nuisance Puyo coming at him.
"Ah, ehm, andthenandthenandthen...C-Cyclowhirl!" I also had a counter-chain all popped-up and ready to cast. It wasn't enough, though. Oh phooey, this is it...I'm toast! Or so I thought.
"Amitie!" Sig bursted out, but it sounded different. I don't know exactly why it's different, but it totally is. It has to be the true Sig's voice! I panicked and looked straight at him, then at the right time, I rushed straight at him.

"Eh!? Wha- whoah whoaaaaah!!"

I gave him the full-body tackle, causing the both of us to hit the ground and tumble around. And then...

*cr~~~ash!*

I somehow sprung up from where I was, and then the mass Nuisance Puyo rained down. To put it another way, Sig ended up saving me...this was, how did this...

"Urgh...A-Amitie...Amitie. You alright?"

I got up to his face. His eyes were still red. This has to be the Sig I know! It's now or never! I gotta believe. I gotta get the potion bottle out and ready, and dump it on him right now.

"SIIIIIIG! Come back to us!" I shouted, turning the bottle over and on his head. Please, oh please, work your magic!!

*sploosh...*

"...it's cold." Sig slowly woke up.
"S-Sig! You alright? Did the potion work this time? Hey, hey!" I jumped at him, taking my hand to rub the potion stuff that's still on him like a cream. There's no way it won't work if I rub it in like this! He still has a bit of a frowny face.
"Amitie...I'm alright." That voice sounded like his usual absent-minded tone...
"Sig..."

And 'Boom!' came my overflow of emotions. I'm really, incredibly, relieved beyond words, and I'm so exhausted.

"What a relief...what a huuuuge relief..."

My face was burning up, and attempt to look at Sig is starting to get a bit hazy and weird. But I can still tell that his eyes is one eye blue, one eye red. He really is back!

"You okay Amitie?" Sig smiled.
"Sorry, Sig. Sorry. It's all my fault that my clumsiness you got into this mess. Are you hurt? Are you scared? I'm really sorry..."
"It's alright, Amitie." I didn't move my head at all because this mess was my fault, but he patted it with his red left hand and shook his head. "It's no prob, and thank you."
"Huh?"
"I didn't really notice my red left arm. I didn't notice how red it was. It's a bit more red now, huh? ...I think it is, but I kinda get it now."
"Say what now?"
"You alright Amite? And everyone else too?"
"Sig..."
"I think...I want to be with everyone."
"...!"

He wants to be with everyone? Oh Sig! You may be spacey, wander at your own pace, but now you're understand your own thoughts, Sig! Me and everyone else want to say we want to be together!

"Could you tell me why it's red...Amitie?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Of course!" I was so happy, super happy, I considered pulling him into a big hug. Though...
"Hold on." Sig stopped me as he went into a yawn. "Uhm. I'm actually pretty tired."
"R-Really now...you okay?"
"Nope."
"...huh?"

The moment he said that, he sat down right where he is and stopped moving, even if his eyes were wide open.

"Sig? Heeey, Siiig..." I wave my hand in front of him for a reaction, but I got nothing.
"Ahaha, guess he's so tired he ended up dropping off to sleep, huh." Lemres said, not realizing he was behind us the entire time.
"S-Siiiiiiig!?"

He could've tried a bit harder to not fall asleep on us though! How am I even gonna get him back home anyway!?

Well, sleeping with his eyes open is his special skill after all. He hasn't changed his pace at all. Couldn't help but laugh it off while shaking him by the shoulders. Seeing him like this, I can't help but feel at ease. It warms my heart, like it's melting a chill away.