A/N: This one goes out to Miratete who inspired me with their own Blissed tales, including 'The Mayor's Mistake'. Hopefully this trek with being Blissed will be just as entertaining!
Chapter One – Hey Baby
"Quitin' ti-!"
"FELIX, WE GET IT!"
Felix couldn't help but let out a snicker as he heard Gene pout from beside him, the little mayor covered in leaves and ashes from his latest romp from the bonus stage.
"Now MAAAYOR…." The other man cooed playfully "What did we tell ya about lettin' your temper fly? It's not good for your health, ya know!"
Gene huffed, following Felix and the others down the stairs, "And getting thrown and blown up ISN'T!?"
"It doesn't look THAT bad!" chuckled Tony, the air-headed Nicelander always gleefully missing most of the anger in Gene's voice "I mean, it's not like you get blown THAT far, Genie! You ALWAYS land over by the trees!"
"ANTHONY." Gene growled but he turned, placing a hand ROUGHLY on the younger Nicelander's shoulder "If it looks that fun to you, why don't YOU try it for a day. HMM?"
A huge smile appeared on Tony's face, completely unaware of Gene's sarcasm "REALLY?!"
"Don't even think about it…" giggled Lucy, already removing the stiff coat she was required to wear on the job "But seriously, Gene, lighten up! The day is over an' now you can finally hug an' kiss MAAAAAAAAARY!"
Gene blushed, looking down at the ring on his finger. He was so happy to see it there and it reminded him that no matter what, no matter how many times he got thrown out the window, no matter how many times he was blown up, there was always someone there for him.
Someone he cherished and held close.
A dopey, love-struck grin began to form on the mayor's face as he strutted his way back to his apartment, no longer caring that he was a complete mess.
"So I guess you're takin' my advice, HUH?" snickered Lucy, shaking her head.
Finally arriving back home Gene knocked on the door, walking in with a devilish smile.
"Is the LAAAADY of the house in?"
Already readying herself for the night, Mary turned with a squeak as Gene came in but her shock quickly wore off and she let out a laugh before running over to her love.
"Oh NOOO! There is a grass covered man in the apartment! Let me grab a frying pan so I can bust your skull with it, INTRUDER!"
Gene caught Mary in his arms, giving the woman a long loving kiss "Hello darling."
"So, you managed to make it through another day I see…" the pink Nicelander giggled "Good! I wouldn't want to spend the night alone!"
"Ah, HAA! Of course not!" the mayor chortled, pulling a stick from his collar "But seeing as you've already thrown out the hat, is there something special you want to do tonight? You seem like you have something on your mind."
"Special?" Mary beamed, a playful look in her eyes "You want ME to plan something special?"
"Why of course!" Gene grinned, a little taken aback by how his fiancé had responded "Is there something you want to do?"
Mary thought for a second as she continued to rest within Gene's arms "Hmmm, well…we only have a few days before…THE EVENT."
The event?
The wedding.
Gene smiled brighter than he had ever had in his life, his heart flittering as he just imagined the wedding. He kissed Mary on the head, snickering again.
"Come on baby, I know there's something you want to do…."
"A PARTY!" the woman shouted like an over-excited child "I want to plan my OWN party before the wedding!"
Gene was a little stunned by the declaration but he quickly recovered, laughing richly "My dear, it seems that we are two minds that think alike! But do you think anyone will show up on such short notice! I mean, with the weekend coming up and all, people are bound to have other things planned and-!"
"Oh, I don't care!" Mary cried in jubilation, spinning Gene around "I'm just so HAPPY right now I have to do something! Call up everyone we know! Gather up all our best snacks and drinks! Put on your best party outfit! We have to do this now!"
"Goodness, calm down dear!" Gene said as he took the woman by her sides, pulling her close "Parties do take a bit of organization you know! We wouldn't want things to get carried away an-!"
Before Gene could even finish Mary leapt up and kissed him, the man quickly becoming lost as he melted in her hold. She pulled away, humored to see Gene looking about with a dopey grin on his face and lip stick smeared on his lips.
"So, everything will be set up in the next hour or so?" the woman asked sweetly.
Gene just swayed, still in a loving dream from the kiss "Huh? What for you say pie lady?"
As promised, Gene came through with his darling's party and even if the turnout was small, Mary couldn't have been happier. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they danced away in the penthouse of Niceland, Nicelander and other characters alike helping themselves to the wide array of drinks and goodies the couple had to offer.
"Ya know, it seems like parties here are getting' better since Mary an' Gene hooked up!" chuckled Ralph as he munched on a large slice of cake.
"Aw, I've seen better!" pouted Vanellope "I mean, they won't even lemme DRINK here! What kinda service is that?!"
"The RESPONSIBLE kind, young lady…" Felix said, crossing his arms "Ya may be president of your game but you're still NINE YEARS OLD! An' I don't care if the drink is candy themed. NO. ya CAN NOT hav'a drink."
"But FEEEEEELIX! It's not FAAAIR!" the girl whined, trying her best to appear cuter than normal "Why can't I have anythin' here! I can handle-!"
Ralph then placed an ENORMOUS plate of éclairs on Vanellope's lap, the girl's eyes growing huge as she looked upon the delectable delights.
"OOOOH, chocolate cream!" she said before digging into the pasties, a look of pure bliss on her face.
"Nice work, big guy…." Calhoun chuckled.
"Hey, gotta let her have a lil fun." the man winked.
As the hours continued, it became apparent to those who hadn't sampled too many drinks that perhaps there were some who had over-indulged in their enjoyment. Of course, with Gene in charge of drinks it would be a miracle if ANYONE left the party still able to see straight for as the party went on, the man only made up MORE and MORE drinks.
And being the person he was, he was always happy to sample a glass or two (or three or four) of his own creations.
"Geeeeeeene…." Mary giggled with a drunken smile "Slow down chubby, before ya pass out!"
Gene continued to dance along with Mary but he did so while downing TWO glasses of a spicy caramel cocktail, CHUCKING the glasses on the wall after he was done!
"Slow down? HA! I ain't slowin' down for NOTHIN' baby!" the man said, grabbing onto Mary and SHOVING her into his chest "Le's DANCE!"
"WOOO! GO GENE!" cheered Tony all before the man fell on his face, rolling over towards Lucy before going out like a blown light bulb.
"Hey GEEEENE…." the girl cried from across the room "I think Tony DIED. What should I do?"
"Unngh! I'm not dead…."
From afar, Ralph and Vanellope were watching everything unfold as if it were some form of entertainment.
"Wow. I knew ya said that Gene REALLY like ta put 'em back, but I never thought it was like THIS!"
"This? Ha, this is when he's HAPPY. Ya wanna see something crazy, ya should check him out when he's PIS-!"
"RALPH!" called Felix, surprised at the wrecker's choice of words.
"C'mon Felix, babe!" Calhoun snickered as she smushed her hands in her husband's face "Live a lil an' enjoy tha party! We dun hafta work tomorrow!"
Felix sighed as he lowered his wife's hand from his face "My dear, I do believe you have had one too many drinks. Don't you think it's time for us to leave?"
"But babeeeee…." The marine pouted, sipping the straw innocently "I t'ought ya were enjoyin' tha party!"
"Tammy, you're drunk. Ya need ta go ta bed!"
"No I DUUUUUUN!" whined the marine as Felix dragged her towards the door "I-I just need ta wait till tha al-key-hall fades! Then I'll be-!"
SLAM.
With a loud bang, the penthouse doors shut but other than Ralph and Vanellope, no one else seemed to notice, the others dancing about happily.
"So, how long do ya wanna bet something stupid is gonna happen?" smiled Vanellope.
"I give it about three minutes!"
"Demitri, UGHR!" cried a voice from a far.
"I give it about three SECONDS…."
Not too far away from the dance floor, a trio of characters milled about trying their best to enjoy the party, TRYING being the phrase since ONE of the members was so inebriated that the other two couldn't make heads of tails of what he was talking about.
"I'm tellin' ya Mori!" the man said, a drunken smile on his face "Ya ain't lived till ya tried one of these AB Positive Bloody Maries!"
The woman rolled her eyes, the wings atop her head folding in annoyance "Seriously, this is why I don't like hanging out with out at places like this…an' don't call me MORI…"
Demitri frowned not unlike a child who had been caught saying a bad word "But I think it's cute!"
"Look, do I really need ta drag ya home now? From the looks of things, it seems like I do!"
"Sissy, calm down…" whispered Lilith, feeling all the more nervous with the way things were unfolding "These people were nice enough to invite us here. I'd hate to think what would happen if we were to leave with a bad impression…"
Morrigan took Demitri by his collar, dragging him towards the door "If there is ANYONE who's gonna leave a bad impression, it's this fool here!"
"But Moriiiiiiiii! I was just startin' ta have fun with tha little fat baby people!"
DING!
Someone heard THAT line!
Even in his drunken state, Gene was able to catch the comments of the muscular Vampire, turning around and marching up to him!
Well, Gene THOUGHT he was marching. For all everyone could see, he was actually STAGGER towards the large man.
"H-hey HEY! We are NOT BABY PEOPLE! We are full grown *HIC!* adults!" the mayor frowned, crossing his arms as he swayed a bit.
Demitri let out a laugh "Phhft! Is it MY fault that your de'ingers made ya all so cute an' bouncy?"
"Heeeey, didn't someone call Deanna bouncy?" laughed a drunken Meg "I don't understand why…"
"MEGAN."
Gene snorted as he looked up at the man, pointing towards him but nearly falling over as well "Haaaah! I was plugged in WAAAAY before ya were even DRAWN out on paper mah booooy! So th-think before ya call someone a BABY!"
"Gene, stop!" Mary called as she ran up to him "Stop yellin' at people an' getting drunk because you're mad!"
The woman stopped, realizing what she just said.
"Wait, rearrange that…"
Gene leaned HEAVILY against his fiancé, all thoughts and memories of what had taken place previously forgotten "Can I rearrange your bra?"
"Sorry guys…." Morrigan sighed, pulling Demitri by the ear "He's usually much more behaved than this!"
"I'm not misbehavin'!" the vampire roared in annoyance "It's not MY fault I can't tell the difference between a Nicelander an' a BABY! I CAN MAKE BETTER PEOPLE IN MY-!"
SLAM!
Another group of guest gone.
"Dear? Don't cha think we should close up for the night?" asked Mary "I-it's so late now!"
Gene took a hold of Mary tightly, nuzzling her "Babe, I will stay up til my brain fries in mah SKULL for ya!" and with another drunken laugh, Gene tried to pull himself on the dance floor, missing it completely and falling on his side.
"Geeeeene?"
The mayor was laughing uncontrollably now, his little legs kicking in the air "A-ah ha! AH HA! Everything is so WONDERFUL down here!"
Ralph rubbed the back of his neck as he watched Gene continued to kick and flail on the floor, the man only standing up once he had grabbed a hold of a nearby chair. Even he knew it was getting late and he felt horrible for letting Vanellope stay up for so long but what could he do? After all, with everyone so out of it who knew what could happen if he left.
Vanellope let out a tired yawn, the wrecker looking down at her.
"Seems ta me Tammy isn't the only one who needs ta go to bed…" the wrecker said softly.
"But Raaalph, I'm not sleepy…." The girl replied, her eyelids feeling heavier by the second.
Ralph shook his head as he picked the girl up, her head resting on his shoulder "Nope! You ain't gettin' outta this one PREEEZ!"
With one final look, Ralph headed out the door, leaving everyone else in the party alone. Still a bit nervous Ralph looked over towards Felix's apartment, the door closed.
"If somethin' happens….I'm sure he'll get to it!" the man reassured himself, continuing his way towards Sugar Rush.
Back at the party, things were slowly starting to calm down, the Nicelanders all having succumbed to their enormous drinking binge.
"H-Hey, Nory?" asked Nel, the woman lying on her back on the floor.
"Hmm?"
"Have I ever told ya I think those sweaters of yours are actually hot?"
"I-I wear 'em for ya, baaaaabe…." The drunken red-head said, petting one of the decorative flower pots instead of Nel's head.
Nel managed to roll on her stomach, her huge afro dropping in her face. She then crawled over to her neighbors, FORCING her way through the bottom of his sweater only to pop up through the opening at the neck.
"Oh my GAAAAAWD, this feel so WAAAARM an' FUUUUUZY!" she smiled, nestling into the man's sweater.
Yeah, she was PLASTERED.
Gene and Mary continued to sway on the dance floor, Gene on the verge of simply falling over backwards at any moment.
"Dear?" the woman slurred "Ya wanna know somet'in?"
"HANH?"
"This was da BESTEST-EST party we have EVER had!" the woman said, throwing herself atop Gene.
"NYAAAAAAAGH!"
WHOMPH.
Gene landed with a little bounce as Mary rested atop him, nuzzling her nose right in his face.
"Mmmm, you smell like Gene Mayor Blueberries!"
Helpless and unable to move, Gene found that he could go nowhere in Mary's hold but after thinking it over for a while, was there really a reason why he would want to? Still grinning like an idiot, Gene rested his hands on Mary's back.
"I love you person I can't wait to maaaaarrrSNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRK!"
And out like a light he went.
Mary looked down at her slumbering fiancé, a little grin appearing on her face. She then took hold of his cheek, pinching it playfully.
"He's like a little drunk ANGEL!" and after maneuvering herself to get more comfortable atop him, Mary fell asleep as well.
Everything was quiet now. The other guest had all but vacated the apartment and the Nicelanders had all drifted off in various places in the penthouse.
For a first timer, Mary had indeed planned a successful party.
But even as they slept the fun wasn't about to end.
In the still of the night, a shadowy figure staggered their way through the tunnel of the games, half trying and half failing in its attempts to look stealthy.
"I know what ta do…." It said to itself "I KNOW what…TA DO!"
Hands rose in the air, a bright aura surrounding them.
One move to the left, another to the right.
Whoops! Almost fell over that time!
One step, two step! AND-!
*POOF!*
A light shot towards the penthouse, bathing it in a strange glow and a puff of smoke. The figure grinned as it staggered back towards the entrance.
"Th-there! Now it shouldn't be too hard to-!"
Urgh, the hangover was starting to kick in!
"Blurgh, must….fight off….encroaching…..sleepy time…."
And after curling up behind a bush, the unknown assailant fell asleep.
There is something about the morning in Litwak's that always puts a shine in the characters that live in the arcade. The bright rays of sunlight were so beautiful, they were so peaceful….
They were burning brightly into Mary's face.
"NUUAARGH! NATURAL LIGHT!" the woman moaned, shielding her eyes as she remained scrunched upon the body of her fiancé. The woman rolled from Gene, landing rather hard on her face as she felt the wave of nausea hitting her. She was starting to regret her little idea for a 'party' if only because she had never really partied this hard in her life.
Oh, there was the occasional shindig here and there where she would get a little tipsy, but now?
"I think I'm gonna vomit…."
The woman FORCED herself off the ground, her body feeling heavy and shaky. She wiggled her left foot, feeling that it was free from the fancy pumps she usually wore. Another moan escaped her throat as she clutched the ground.
"Why is it always the left shoe? WHY?!"
A few other moans began to echo throughout the pent house, Mary recognizing them as her fellow Nicelanders. Even though she did feel a bit sorry for them, part of her was happy to know what she wasn't the only one in the apartment feeling ill.
"Mmmn, I just want a bath then a naaaaap….." the woman said grumpily as she finally began to stand. Not surprisingly she began to stagger a bit, her mind and body still reeling from everything she took in from the other night. She took a step forward but found herself unable to find any sort of groundings on the floor. Mary squeaked, flailing her arms about as she finally managed to regain her balance.
"W-what is this?!" she asked herself "It feels like I'm walking on STILTS!"
Mary cautiously made her way towards the door, her hands reaching out and scrabbling for the knob.
"Gene….GEEEEENE!"
No reply.
"Oh, get up ya big blueberry!"
"SNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRK!"
The woman growled as she turned, seeing the familiar leather shoes of her fiancé from behind the couch, out like a light as usual.
Great, this was JUST what Mary needed to deal with now. The mayor was hard enough to wake up when he WASN'T drunk but now it would be impossible!
"C'moooon! I'm achy and tired and I just want to sleep on something that ISN'T the floor!" the woman whined as she staggered back over to the mayor but as she rounded the couch she halted in her tracks. She looked down at the figure, her eyes widening in shock and her mouth dropping.
"W-w-WHAT?!"
Gene turned over on his side, still asleep but slowly coming to.
"Ungh, but mamaaaa! Norwood was the one who took my cookie!"
Mary continued to look down at the figure below her.
This man…WASN'T GENE!
She hobbled backwards in shock, only to trip on the carpeting and land on her butt with a little shout, her mind racing to what was happening!
"G-Gene?!"
Gene continued to mumble in his sleep, seemingly unable to hear the cries of his petrified fiancé.
Mary began to look over, realizing that EVERYONE she saw in the penthouse looked like strangers to her! On the left was someone who had taken the spot of Deanna and on the right, someone who had taken Meg's place! She looked all over, her mind beginning to flood with panic!
And then….
She looked at herself.
Something was off! VERY off!
Her usual squashed and outlandish Nicelander frame had DRASTICALLY changed! No longer did she sport incredibly tiny and nearly immovable legs but rather, longer yet still soft and curved limbs. Her eyes began to move further upwards, looking at her arms which were also longer, more refined and more detailed and at the ends sat delicate, lady-like fingers, her engagement ring still resting on her hand. She put her hands on her hips, then on her stomach, then on her-!
Chest.
NOPE! This wasn't normal at ALL!
She then placed her hands on her cheeks; she could still feel the chubbiness of her face but something was still so unfamiliar about it!
It was almost as if-!
She had been REPLACED?!
"GENE!" Mary called sharply, crawling on her hands and knees as she violently shook the man on the floor.
"BLURGH!? NYAAAGH! I'M UP! I'M UP!" the man shouted in worry as she leapt to his feet and looked around "I swear to programmers I'll pay for anything I broke and-!"
"GENE! STOP!" the woman cried out, grabbing onto the man's leg "WHAT'S HAPPENED TO US!?"
Still groggy from his binge, Gene hadn't fully grasped what was going on or the look of fear on his fiancé's face "What do you mean what's happened to-?"
"H-honey! LOOK! LOOK AT ALL OF US! LOOK AT YOURSELF!"
"MYSELF?"
Gene slowly turned, looking at himself in one of the mirrored panels on the penthouse walls. For a second, he could only make out what seemed to be another character but after realizing that said character was FOLLOWING every movement he was making….
"W-What the HECK?!"
The mayor reached out with a shaking hand and touched the surface of the glass, seeing that he was indeed the man on the other side! But this wasn't Gene he was looking at! It couldn't have been!
But….
Two chubby cheeks.
One round rosy nose.
One mustache.
But the man was taller, more detailed, more human like!
He wasn't tiny or egg-shaped or….
Or a Nicelander!
WHO WAS HE?!
Gene turned back towards Mary, finally getting a better view of the woman as she sat before him, dread written all over her face. He eyed the woman up and down, taking in every inch and ever change that had happened. He still couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe that the woman before him was his beloved Mary!
But the more he looked, the more it began to sink in there was no hiding from the truth. Despite whatever had happened, the figure was indeed his fiancé!
And if that were true….
Gene returned his focus towards the mirrored surface, the realization of the situation crashing onto him like a three-ton weight.
"M-M-me?!"
Mary managed to pull herself off the floor, walking over towards the man and placing a cautious hand on his shoulder.
"A-are you o-?"
The mayor felt as if his soul were leaving his body but despite the panic, a small chuckle escaped his throat.
And then it only grew louder!
Mary backed away fear, unnerved by the cackling sound Gene was making "H-honey?!"
Gene's laugh only began to increase, the madness in his voice growing just before all the color in his face began to fade and with one final choking gasp….
WHOMP!
Down he went, falling to the ground like a lead weight!
"GAH! GENE!"
"Urgh, my HEAD!" moaned Don as he finally rolled off the couch and onto the floor but in doing so, his much longer legs hit Tony in the face.
"AURGH! I'M BEIN' AMBUSHED!" the younger Nicelander shouted, looking around in panic and waking up Lucy in the process. Lucy let out a terrified scream as she did not recognize her neighbor and in her haste, quickly reached for a pillow and SLAMMED the man in the face with it!
"BURGLARS! THERE ARE BURGLARS IN THE APARTMENT!"
"Ow, OW! I'm not robbin' the place! OW! I LIVE HERE!"
One after another, the Nicelanders began to wake up to panic and terror but not because something TERRIBLE was happening to their home. There was no threat of being unplugged nor someone trying to infect them with a virus.
But rather, they had all waken up from drunken benders to find that they no longer knew who anyone was and considering what was going on, who could blame them!
Niceland was no longer occupied by Nicelanders…..
It was instead occupied by what appeared to be much more modern, much more DETAILED characters.
But while the change might have been EXTERIOR, nothing had changed on the INTERIOR and like clockwork, the Nicelanders did what they did best in grave situations such as this.
They all screamed.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
There is no sound in the world quite like that of a terrified Nicelander and it didn't take that long for the sounds to reach there other residents of Niceland.
"Okay, what's goin' on NOW?!" shouted Felix, busting through the door and holding his hammer out like some sort of weapon, Calhoun and Ralph behind him for backup.
Felix then got a glimpse of what was REALLY happening, staring in disbelief at the image of all his neighbors running around and screaming at the top of their lungs.
Wait, THOSE weren't the Nicelanders!
"WH-WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!?"
Mary was struggling with all her might to drag Gene off the ground, a difficult task considering he was MUCH heavier now than ever. She turned towards Felix, both eying each other in shock.
"Felix?! Honey!" the woman gasped "Its US!"
