I'll admit, it's been while if not a really long time since I used some of the Bomberman Land cast other than Cheerful White, Cool Black, and/or Cute Pink. In fact, I also thought about doing this short fic for an online friend of mine on DeviantART known as Bomberdrawer. Of course, I needed some time to figure out how it'll work since I intended to include a Blue/Aqua (or Ao/Aqua, if you prefer) pairing in it. Anyway, here it is and I hope you enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Bomberman is owned by Hudson Soft in spite of its company being in Konami's hands as of March 2012; WarioWare Inc. belongs to Nintendo; and Wreck-It Ralph is a property of Disney. All other arcade games mentioned at my fan-made location in Bomberman Land, known as Arcade Mania, are properties of their respective owners. The only characters I do own myself in this fic, however, are Wario's fraternity brothers Billy and Sid, as well as 9-Volt's best friend and "Player 3" Phoebe.
-Kid Blue's comeback-
Every season on planet Bomber, or three months for each of the four, one of the most popular events is hosted in Bomberman Land known as the "Bomberman Battles." Many competitors go through the preliminary matches in 9 score rounds consisting of up to 8 people going at each other for 3 minutes per round. Rather than award trophies for each round won in a match, the Bombermen and women are rated by points on how well they did overall, even if the battle should end in a draw. Needless to say, whoever had the most points by the end of the nine rounds would be declared the winner, though the first half of the tournament will continue until 32 of the best competitors remain to qualify for the second half as finalists. Fortunately, however, those who did not make the top 32 winners would be rewarded a consolation prize of four free tokens per person to use with any arcade game available at Bomberman Land's Arcade Mania.
The top 32 finalists would then compete in 4-person battles also consisting of 9 score rounds at 3 minutes each in a different arenas with their own gimmick(s) for the rest of the Bomberman Battles, depending on the current season of a year. For example, if it's summer, the second half of the tourney would begin at an arena resembling a beach with coconuts falling out of palm trees occasionally; they will not explode unless a bomb blast touches any of them, therefore the competitors must exercise caution. Since the season cycle typically goes from spring to summer, to fall, and finally winter, the final round in the second half would take place in a Spring-themed arena during the summer. Though it isn't always necessary to finish first at the end of the match, the finalists must come in at least second place or higher to advance to the next round in the tournament.
At the end of the final round in the tourney, the first place winner gets a gold trophy along with a cash prize of 10,000 Bom; second place nets a silver trophy and 5,000 Bom; and third place gets a bronze trophy in addition to 2,500 Bom. But for those who have finished 4th or worse amongst the 32 finalists overall, they still get slightly-better consolation prizes for trying their best, like a free season pass to Bomberman Land, a ticket for a free bowling game with up to ten people at any given location on planet Bomber, or even a 100-Bom gift card for use at any store.
Cheerful White, Cool Black, Cute Pink, Kid Blue, Bookworm Green, and even Giant Gold were usually among the best of the best, not to mention Acrobat Aqua who would take some time off from her troupe duties at the Moon Circus in the Bom-Bom Kingdom to hang out with her friends, since the day they met at the park itself. While Kid Blue was known to be the joker of Team Gold and would often try for the best scores in the attractions available, he didn't always win at the Bomberman Battles tourney in Bomberman Land. In fact, he never won a single trophy in his life, though he did go home with consolation prizes. Oftentimes he would dream of winning at least one trophy, be it gold, silver, or bronze. One day, during the first round in the second half of the tournament, he came close to defeating one of the other three competitors, the "enchanting Mermaid Princess" known only as Mermaid Bomber, who would often beg her "papa" Mujoe to let her compete in the tournament to win some money for him, if not entirely for herself. Unsurprisingly, she came off as arrogant and spoiled, much to White, Black, and Pink's annoyance. At other times, Blue would lose to Mermaid before the preliminaries were over. Maybe it was dumb luck in his mind that he would be often pitted against her, or perhaps something else. But either way, whenever Mermaid defeated her opponents, she would often taunt them regardless of how well they fared against her in the free-for-all matches.
"Maybe next time, Kid Blue!" she taunted. "But probably never..."
"Yeah, yeah..." sighed Kid Blue.
"I bet you're too scared to face me, which is why you lose most of the time!"
"Hey, I'm not afraid!"
"Sure look scared of me, you do!"
Kid Blue threw up his hands in frustration, walking away in defeat afterwards. Apparently, Mermaid Bomber was used to being pitted against some of the other best Bombermen and women in the tournament - let alone Cheerful White, Cool Black, and Cute Pink - though it didn't make her any less spoiled. Perhaps she thought that since Kid Blue's the youngest member of Team Gold, it was a good enough excuse for her to defeat and taunt him. As for himself, he simply walked to the arcade center with his pals to play some games. White and Pink went for Contra and Super Contra as recommended by some friends they knew from planet Earth who would sometimes come to visit, whether through teleportation or a ride in a space vehicle. Black and Gold, on the other hand, felt like competing against each other in Soul Calibur III: Arcade Edition, whereas Blue tried his hand at Sugar Rush with Bookworm Green to cheer himself up, albeit not feeling 100% concentrated on the race in progress. While it was released here in English like at Diamond Arcade World and Litwak's Arcade on planet Earth, this cabinet had an exclusive addition of Minty Sakura, the Japanese version of Minty Zaki, among the cast of playable racers. As for Acrobat Aqua, she had just finished a session of Dance Dance Revolution X2 when she noticed Blue looking sad. Even White and Pink became concerned, not bothering to continue after running out of lives in either of the arcade Contra titles.
"What's wrong, Blue?" asked Aqua.
"Nothing...I'm just fine, I guess."
"You don't sound fine to me. Whenever something worries White and Pink, I want to help."
At this, Kid Blue sighed in defeat. "Oh, what's the use? I can't stop picturing every computer opponent I see in multiplayer games like Sugar Rush as Mermaid Bomber taunting me! I'm usually able to hold my ground in any part of the Bomberman Battles tourney, but whenever I'm pitted against Mermaid Bomber, I somehow yet always lose to her every single time. Maybe it's her looks that distract me, or the fact that she's arrogant and spoiled in which she goes after me first! I just wanna win at least once in my life, I don't care what trophy I get. As long as I defeat her for once, I'll be happy again. I mean, I know it's wrong to just let a girl win on purpose, but..."
Acrobat Aqua thought for a moment. "Hmm...I think I have an idea on how we can work this out. I've read in an article that Bomberman Land also has a tag-team tournament in which the rules are the same as with the free-for-all Bomberman Battles event. But the thing is, it won't be for the next three months since the tournament just ended."
"I didn't know that, but I'm not sure if I can face the competition again."
"C'mon, Blue, I know you can do it!" assured Cheerful White. "You just gotta believe in yourself like I did. Cool Black always told me that, even when we're eternal rivals."
Cute Pink added, "White and I will enter the tag-team tourney as well. Besides, you know we can't stand Mermaid Bomber."
"Yeah, but I'm scared of losing to her!" complained Kid Blue. "Maybe it's because whenever any of us, let alone White, beats you at an attraction, you'd have a fit...no offense."
Pink scoffed. "You think I have a temper problem just because pretty girls don't like losing? I already got over it long ago, especially when White and I saved the Bom-Bom Kingdom. Then again, he had to free me from an evil spell at the last minute beforehand, but still, I'm nothing like her. The point is, it doesn't matter if she's like super-duper beautiful on the outside when she's a spoiled brat on the inside. It's her problem if she reacts to her loss like that, not yours."
"Yeah," said White. "I mean, look at our two Earth friends 9-Volt and Phoebe. Princess of Video Game Dream or not, she's never arrogant, cocky, or spoiled at all because she and 9-Volt know it's wrong to behave like that towards people, let alone their friends in general. Sure, she comes off as better than him at some of the multiplayer games they know and love, much less our namesake franchise or some fighting games they've played before like Super Smash Bros. or Street Fighter, or Soul Calibur...sorry, I usually try not to ramble on and on, but we're only trying to make our point. Still, at least Phoebe's kind enough to give some helpful hints, and not just because she's 9-Volt's guardian angel."
Acrobat Aqua nodded in agreement. "White's right, the important thing is that your friends will always be there to help you the best they can, no matter what. I'll help."
Kid Blue felt touched by the girl's words. "You...you wanna join me in a team for the next tournament?"
"Mm-hmm. All you need is some good training, and a few tricks to learn from me. They'll be very useful, I promise. But first, you gotta get over your fear of competing with stuck-up girls like Mermaid Bomber."
The next day, Kid Blue went to the Bom-Bom Kingdom alongside Bookworm Green and Giant Gold, though he willingly allowed them to check out the attractions for old time's sake while he went inside the currently-vacant Moon Circus tent with Acrobat Aqua, the latter intent on using the center as a practice stage. On top of that, they'll both be using practice bombs which perfectly resemble the normal fire bombs for their training sessions, only they burst in harmless smoke rather than give out a fiery bomb blast (much less cover someone in soot). They began with a simple one-on-one exercise despite Kid Blue messing up a few times, for he was still trying to get over his fear of stuck-up women.
"Blue, I know you can put aside your fear for good. I've been there, it's not easy, though it was a different kind of fear...but you can't give up. Like I said, we're gonna work it out together, and as Pink would put it, you'll soon be able to pop Mermaid Bomber's ego like a balloon before you know it! Okay, let's try it again, but this time don't hold back."
"Here goes nothing...!" As Kid Blue tried the exercise again and dodging some kicked bombs, he managed to stun Aqua with a thrown bomb to the head. Because they're using practice bombs, it felt as if a soft, bouncy ball landed on her head.
"Good throw, Blue," acknowledged Aqua. "Alrighty, one more try, but this time, pretend you're facing that spoiled brat at the moment!" As instructed, Blue showed the best of his training skills to catch her in the non-lethal explosion once more, leading her to smile at him in return. "Good job, Blue! Don't worry, I'm okay."
"Yippee! Thanks for helping me, Aqua!"
"Don't get cocky, though, this is only the beginning of our training. Next, we're gonna try some of my neat tricks based on the performances I do in the actual circus, but they involve ball-balancing...erm, bomb-balancing." She paused briefly to get out two beach balls, each with a lit fuse. "These bombs I use in my performances don't explode, as the fuses are just for show."
Kid Blue nodded nonchalantly. "That's good. So how do I do this trick?"
"It's all about balance, but it can be hard to do at first. You gotta keep yourself steady so you don't fall off."
Throughout the next three months the blue duo continued their training until they were ready, at the very least between Aqua's circus performances in the Moon Zone, all the while staying positive rather than mope about how Mermaid Bomber claims to be better than everyone else at the Bomberman Battles. To Aqua's delight, Blue got the hang of balancing a bomb beneath his feet and on his head, no longer feeling afraid of facing Mermaid again or her temper tantrums whenever she loses.
"I think I feel ready to take on the opposing teams alongside you now, Aqua!"
"Now that's the face our friends and I want you to have." She hugged Blue warmly. "If we do face Mermaid Bomber early on before the second half of the tournament, remember what I told you about not being afraid of putting up with her attitude."
"I sure will! White wasn't kidding when he mentioned why he couldn't stand her."
It was that time again, only now the "Land" cast participated in the tag-team event instead of the traditional free-for-all matches. To Blue and Aqua's surprise, however, Machbom and Racer Green are said to be the current champions this year, going by the team name Speed Demons. Word on the street was that Cheerful White and Cool Black only defeated them three times over the past few years, but that didn't stop the speed-themed duo from making a comeback. Either way, Blue didn't care if he and Aqua end up defeated by them as long as they're able to give Mermaid Bomber her comeuppance for picking on him everytime he lost to her. In the meantime, White and his pals invited some of their Earth friends to come visit Bomberman Land, let alone watch them compete in the tournament. Only Wario, Mona, and Jimmy Thang were able to make it since 9-Volt and Phoebe have to attend school in Diamond City during weekdays, but it didn't stop the President of WarioWare Inc. from inviting his two fraternity brothers, Billy and Sid, to tag along. Of course, Mona had to keep her boyfriend in line due to his occasional rivalry with White, which didn't come as much a surprise to everybody else. Just then, Mermaid Bomber showed up to taunt Kid Blue.
"Well well, looks like Kid Wimpy brought along his girlfriend to protect him because he's vewy afwaid of fighting wittle o' me by himself!" She made kissing sounds, albeit mockingly.
"Hey, back off!" retorted Blue. "We're just friends, that's all!"
"And secondly, you leave him alone," Aqua warned, standing beside her friend as she patted his back soothingly.
Mermaid held her arms in a stern expression with a huff. "Pah! You're just jealous that I'm too much for either of you to handle! My one loss to White was a fluke and you know it!"
"Boy, somebody's really asking for a pie to the face," muttered Giant Gold.
"I second that, Gold," Bookworm Green agreed quietly.
Unfortunately for them, their words did not go unheard to Mermaid Bomber. "Still your tongues, peasants! My partner and I will see to it that you're defeated before the first half is over."
"Indeed we will!" agreed Flame Bomber, as he stepped up next to her.
Cool Black gasped in surprise. "Wait a minute, who invited him to be Mermaid's partner? They're just gonna cause trouble!"
"Hee hee, if it's trouble you want, it's trouble you and your silly pals are gonna get! But lucky for you, we're saving it for the actual battle so we can see you begging on your knees when you lose." Flame walked off with his fellow Bomber Shitennou.
Black, on the other hand, whispered to his friends. "Blue, Aqua, if by any chance you do face them first along with two other teams in the preliminaries, take 'em down for us."
Thus the tag-team tourney began with four opposing teams facing each other for each battle, all of whom were showing their best to qualify for the second half until only 16 teams remain. Even Kid Blue and Acrobat Aqua fought well, though they never got to fight Mermaid Bomber and Flame Bomber until near the end of the preliminaries. But as soon as they did, Mermaid felt more than delighted to deal with Blue herself, deliberately leaving Flame to fend for himself against two other teams whilst not caring if he ended up defeated.
"What's it gonna be, kiddo?" Mermaid asked rudely. "Lose to me badly, or face my wrath?"
"Uh-oh..." Kid Blue was briefly torn apart between standing up to the spoiled brat and giving in to her demands, but Acrobat Aqua quickly stepped in front of him to give a little pep talk.
"Don't listen to her, Blue! She's afraid of us!"
"I am NOT scared of you spoiled brats! Now taste the power of my Splash Water Bomb!" Focusing on her power, Mermaid hurled the bomb that released a big water wave upon exploding, washing everyone away including Flame Bomber.
"AAAAAAAHH! I'm telling Mujoe on you for this!"
"Tch, like that's ever gonna happen! Besides, he'll believe a word I say as always. So, Blue, are you convinced?"
"We're...not...licked yet!" he grunted.
"Perhaps you'd like a bonk to the head so you can't run away from my next Splash Water Bomb? I'll be happy to give it to you as your goodbye present!"
Proud as ever, she stood idly while kicking, punching and throwing her normal bombs around in hopes of striking her opponents, but Kid Blue was ready for it this time. Recalling from his training sessions with Acrobat Aqua in the Bom-Bom Kingdom at the Moon Circus, he caught the thrown bomb by heading it like a soccer ball and balanced it atop his head, while hopping on to the other bomb that was kicked towards him. Following Aqua's lead, he kept his feet balanced on the lit bomb in addition to the one on his head.
"You're doing great, Blue!" cheered Aqua. "Remember, it's all about balance!"
"Right! And we'll take her together!"
Mermaid Bomber gasped in surprise and thought, That's impossible! Nobody can balance like that while the fuses are still lit! Grr, those brats are supposed to be afraid!
After making sure all the soft blocks were already destroyed, Blue and Aqua kept Mermaid's bombs balanced beneath their feet and on their heads, intent on "ball-walking" their way towards her. She tried to get away far enough to ready her next Splash Water Bomb, but they hurled her own normal bombs from their heads right on top of hers, stunning her momentarily. Finally, they jumped off the other bombs and kicked them right at her, eventually covering her in soot as she got blown up. Since this was only the first of 9 score rounds in the match, Blue and Aqua - calling themselves the Balancing Buddies - repeated their performance until they finished first with Mermaid and Flame behind them. In the end, the Enchanting Mermaid Princess of the Bomber Shitennou got her comeuppance for bullying Kid Blue.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"Our beautiful victory, kaput!"
With that said, the two bad Bombers ran off in shame as Acrobat Aqua giggled. "Maybe next time, Mermaid."
Kid Blue beamed with excitement as he hugged his partner tightly. "We did it, Aqua! We defeated Mermaid Bomber together...though I couldn't have done it without your help. I just know Giant Gold, Bookworm Green, and all our friends are proud of us!"
"Yep, and it doesn't matter at this point if we don't come in first place with a gold trophy."
Later at the end of the week, Machbom and Racer Green of the Speed Demons won first place with Kid Blue and Acrobat Aqua of the Balancing Buddies in second, and Cheerful White and Cute Pink of Cute 'n Cheery finishing third. Pondering this fact, Blue and Aqua realized how great they turned out to be in the Bomberman Battles as a team, not to mention having fun like their pals did. On top of that, they were happy to have become the best of friends as they put their hands around each other's shoulders affectionately, smiling happily for the crowd whilst holding their silver trophy up high.
"Ehh, I coulda done better myself, but ah, what the heck?" commented Wario.
"I'm glad to see Kid Blue made a comeback with Acrobat Aqua on his team," said Mona.
Billy gave a peace sign in agreement. "Not to mention they freakin' kicked Mermaid Bomber's sorry butt!"
Sid added, "I know, right? That's what she gets for being mean to everyone she's ever faced."
THE END
(Ending Credits)
Kid Blue - GREY DELISLE
Acrobat Aqua - RACHEL LILLIS
Mermaid Bomber - JENNIFER HALE
Flame Bomber - MATT HILL
Cheerful White - TARA STRONG
Cool Black - VERONICA TAYLOR
Cute Pink - JANICE KAWAYE
Bookworm Green - SAMUEL VINCENT
Giant Gold - TONY SAMPSON
Wario - CHARLES MARTINET
Mona - LESLIE SWAN
Billy - SAM RIEGEL
Sid - FRANK FRANKSON
[End Credits]
That's all for this short fic, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it.