Hi, everyone, MarcellusMiro66 here! This is a Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero story which (strangely enough) doesn't actually focus on the title character. Instead, it centers on two supporting characters from other dimensions. Like all great stories, this one is essentially a love story...with a healthy dose of stylized violence, strong language, and sexy situations sprinkled in for good measure.
The two central characters are listed below:
• Blaze (voiced by Sean Astin): A charismatic and sought-after Flight School cadet who once shared mutual feelings with Sashi Kobayashi. Blaze then begins to develop a unlikely friendship/relationship for/with Deputy Amber Briggs.
• Amber Briggs (voiced by Olivia Holt): A clever-thinking rustler turned deputy who happens to be the daughter of Sheriff Scaley Briggs. Amber used to harbor a one-sided crush on Penn Zero, but then strikes up a fancy for Blaze.
By the way, I would like to apologize beforehand for the seemingly rushed nature of the first chapter for those who see it as such.
Enjoy! If you can...
(7:00 PM)
Year 0, Month 1, Day 1
Moving on from a former loved one can be rather difficult for the partner of that loved one...especially when that loved one was a precious crush...who had moved on to your rival. Of course, with this crush being exactly that, his and her relationship never came to be. It was just a fling and nothing less.
He wished it was...something more.
When Blaze first saw the hints of Penn and Sashi withholding the potential to be a couple, he first shrugged it off but knew that he had to face the proverbial lights sooner or later. The relationship status of the two teenagers had not yet been confirmed in spite of their chemistry. His reaction to the news was...mixed, to say the least. 50% wanted to congratulate them both regardless, the other 50% wanted to blatantly deny this was true. True or not, it was clear from the get-go that the two high school teenagers loved, tolerated, and cared for each other. Even so, he loved her and she loved him...even if it was ever-so brief. As in the words of a wise poet: "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
Hence, the reason why he was in the bar at this moment.
Normally, Blaze was never a heavy drinker, let alone a drinker in general. As such, this could be considered a rare exception for him. It was a tequila shot in this case, his first to be exact. Because of this, he preferred to go alone instead of with his teammates, whom he assumed would never hear the end of this...whatever "this" was. Dragons were no stranger to romance and quote "lovey-dovey" relationships, but saw it as nothing short of a dalliance that proved difficult to recover from. For most people (dragons included), love was considered the best thing in the world and also the worst thing. By taking all the good feelings and bad vibrations it sent through the blood of many a civilian in the multiverse into consideration, it was rather easy to see why.
Plus, that song in the background did him absolutely no favors whatsoever.
Oh, not this song... Honestly, it could've been anything from "Spiderwebs" to "Virtual Insanity". But no, it just had to be this song...
"I take it you don't like this song, either?"
Blaze turned to find a girl sitting beside him. She was eyeing her shot glass quite carefully and quite meticulously; a sip was seemingly not made as of now. Of course, what shocked him was not the fact that this particular girl in the bar with him presumably understood what he was going through, but the fact that this particular girl in the bar with him...was a human girl. The particular human girl had auburn hair, green eyes (he guessed), and a cowboy's uniform – complete with jacket, hat, and boots. Like him, a frown of contempt was plastered on her tired and weary face.
"And I take it you don't like the question I asked and expect you to answer, either?"
Blaze caught himself and almost didn't recover from the cowgirl's questions. "Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! Of course not! I was just..."
"Debating on whether or not to drink your drink?"
"... Yeah."
"Same here." In that moment, the cowgirl decided to drink before Blaze realized something.
"Wait, aren't you a teenager?"
"Aren't you a teenager?"
"... Huh. Touché."
With that, the two teenagers chugged down their first drink together and slammed their shot glass down in one swift motion. They repeated this action for the next shot. And the next shot. And the next... And the next... And the next until it was their 12th shot going on 13th.
"I'm gonna guess..." The cowgirl rubbed her chin inquisitively, "You're attempting to get over the loss of a loved one."
Blaze turned to face the cowgirl with a surprised look, "Uh, yeah...something like that. Only...she's not dead."
"That's not what I meant. You loved a girl, but she didn't love you back."
"Again, something like that. She did love me, but...she moved on."
"Hmm. Well, maybe, so should you. Believe me...I have."
"Oh, really. When did that happen?"
"Just now, actually." Her 14th shot going on 15th. "You know, it's the nice, quiet, and gentlemanly types that attract the most girls. Especially the one I took a fancy to. Red hair, blue eyes, brown waistcoat – "
"They're cyan."
. . .
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's a shade of blue, ma'am. His eyes are cyan."
"Huh. Wait, do you know a fella by any chance with the name of – "
"Penn? Penn Zero? Yep. He's the reason why I'm here now."
For a moment there, the cowgirl nearly fell off her seat when she heard the rather poor choice of words chosen by the dragon. A usual case of misinterpretation, something Blaze realized real quickly and waved his hands around in innocence.
"Oh, no! That's not what I meant! What I meant was...Penn, he...somewhat stole my girl from me."
"... Please elaborate."
"Well, you see...Penn is a human like you and so is the girl I loved. However, they're also part-time heroes who help inhabitants from other dimensions. By doing so, their appearances change into that of the inhabitants. So, the day his team entered my dimension...was the day my feelings towards love changed. She loved me...and I loved her."
. . .
"But she loved him more."
"Yeah."
"Sashi, was it? I figured. She and Penn had that special something that proved that they were meant for each other." The cowgirl understood how and why the dragon was hurting so. "Your love for her was strong, but not strong enough...for lack of a better explanation. Sorry."
"No, you're okay. I guess dragons and romance don't exactly go hand-in-hand."
"Or, in this case, claw-in-claw." The cowgirl lightly chuckled at her lame attempt to crack a joke before devolving into fits of giggles. Unexpectedly, Blaze couldn't help but laugh in amusement at her wisecrack and joined in with her. Soon enough, their laughter attracted the attention of the establishment's patrons, confusing some and concerning others. They eventually slowed and lowered their guffawing to a minimum, sighing and letting the silence settle in.
. . .
"Wait, are you flirting with me?"
"Ha. What kind of a question is that? You already know the answer, hotshot."
... I do? Holy spitfire, I do...
"Oh. I didn't mean what I said to be teasing, miss. I was just being...mannerly."
"You're doing it again...sir."
"D'oh! Do you...want me to stop?"
"Nope. In fact...you can keep going. If you want to..."
. . .
Well, this escalated quickly.
"Okay then."
By this time, the alcohol was working its inebriated magic on them, leaving them breathless. It was now five minutes to nine o'clock, reminding them how fast time flied when having fun. It seemed it was perhaps too much fun, as evidenced by the total count of their shots (I'm not saying anything, though; I lost count). Not knowing what to do, though, they were instead letting the drinks get to them as an all-too familiar song played in the background.
Seriously?
("The Power of Love" – Huey Lewis and the News)
Yes, seriously.
Blaze and the cowgirl sighed in agitation as the song began playing again. One moment, they were both sitting down. The next? They were both standing up...and ready to dance.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm ready to dance...even though I don't know how to."
"... Neither do I."
"Hmm. I guess we're both ready, then."
And so for the duration of the song, every second was spent dancing their hearts like their lives depended on it...even if they looked like complete idiots in the process. They couldn't care less, though. They were two normal people having a good time like two normal people should...if one was a rustling cowgirl and the other was a dragon cadet. As per the course of a random dance sequence in an otherwise muted story, their impromptu rock boogie again attracted the attention of many a patron in the establishment. All of them (the engaged in the dancing included) were wondering if this was a bizarre dream that left little to the imagination. Alas, it wasn't, and when the song and their dance finished, their reactions were mixed. Everyone was undoubtedly confused, but they wanted to cheer for the "couple". When they did, the teenagers realized what they were doing and fled the establishment, but not before thanking the patrons for their perceived kindness in spite of their bewilderment.
"This was your idea, by the way."
"Duly noted."
. . .
"So...I guess I'll see you again sometime soon?"
"I...don't know. Maybe we will...when we get the time..."
"Oh, right. I'll see you, uh..."
"Amber. Amber Briggs."
"Alright. I'll see you again, Amber."
"Me too, uh..."
"Blaze. Just Blaze."
"Alright. I'll see you again, Just Blaze."
"What?"
"Again, a joke."
"Ugh, I fell for it again."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"Huh." With that, Blaze bid Amber goodbye and began his walk back home. His wings were tired out after that random dance sequence. Speaking of which, his thoughts trailed back to the song. Now that I think of it...it's not such a bad song. It just played at a rather inconvenient time. A time where I was...moving on from love, so to speak. Yeah, you were moving on from love...for 30 seconds or less. That was too quick, in my opinion. Besides, you barely know anything about this Amber, other than she's a cowgirl who's not from here. Where is she from, anyway? And how did she get here? You better keep that in mind when you see her again.
I hope I see her again...sooner or later.
More sooner than later.
"Man... Parting is such sweet sorrow."
"Yes, indeed."
Blaze stopped dead in his tracks and turned to find Amber wearing a smug grin.
"What are you doing here?"
"You forgot your glasses, so I thought I should return them to you."
"Oh. Thanks."
"No problem. So...parting is such sweet sorrow, huh?"
Blaze didn't respond right away; in fact, he didn't bother responding at all. He was too distracted by Amber's blazing gaze. Oh, that was a cheap pun.
"I'll see you around, Shakespeare."
As he watched Amber turn tail and leave the scene, Blaze chuckled to himself before doing the same thing.
Yes, it is indeed, Amber... Yes, it is indeed...
A/N: I'm not proud of this first chapter. Hopefully, the other chapters will improve over time. In fact, I may consider rewriting or improving this one. But for those who are interested, I will continue on with this story and may add a timeline for these events in question.
Honestly, while everybody sees Penashi as the popular couple, I like to experiment with other background couples (or "crack ships", if you will). For example, in addition to Amber x Blaze, this story may also include Matilda (Penn's crush) x Alex (the class president).
So, until next time...