First things first, it's time to respond to some reviews regarding "Sleepy Sensories"! (yay!)
-berzerkgod (love dat username, btw): I too agree that Dipper not having any form of PTSD after the events of Weirdmageddon would be pretty unrealistic and also, apologies for the over-explained dream scene that Dipper had, I tend to get wordy in some parts only cause I fear of leaving anything crucial out, but I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the fic and I humbly thank you for the honest review! :)
-Guest #1: Thank you so much for your sweet review, and you are correct, the world could also use more Wendip! 3
-Guest #2: Thanks! :) Personally, I would like to write something like that involving Dipper trying to get back to the Falls sometime down the line, but with the fact that I have other stories planned for future (shown on my profile), I may need some time before I can properly plan out what to write for that, but I will certainly keep your suggestion in mind! :)
Anyways, we got another OK K.O. story (earlier than expected, too!), but this one stars a character not classified as a main character (don't worry, K.O., Rad, and Enid will still appear in this story!). Today, b/c I wanted to write for a background character for a change, being everyone's favorite strawberry girl, Drupe!
Also two other things: A) This story takes place somewhere between Season One's "Back in Red Action" and Season Two's "Dendy's Power", and B) There will be some implied Rad X Drupe in this story, so sincerest apologies out to any Rad X Raymond or Rad X Enid shippers out there! Hope you enjoy! :D
OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun.)
FRAGARIA FIGHTER
CHAPTER ONE: DRUPE'S DILEMMA
The heroes that daily frequent Lakewood Plaza all come in various sizes, shapes, and species. There are heroes that look buff, skinny, fat, tall, short, robust, weak, or dumpy, and then, depending on how you look at them, they could also look handsome, beautiful, young, old, unsightly, menacing, cute, or even average-looking.
EIther way you look at it, each hero around Lakewood Plaza certainly look unique to one another and each one possess at least one special ability that makes them stand out. Whether it's Sparko's electricity powers, Rad's telekinesis, Nick Army's explosive personality, or Crinkly Wrinkly…just being Crinkly Wrinkly, they always have something special about them that usually help them out whenever and whatever the situation is.
For someone like Drupe, she has two special things going on for her; her beauty and her fashion blog.
Drupe considered herself as a high-profile girl. In spite of being born as an overly-ripened strawberry girl, she still thought of herself as a beautiful, high-sprung young lady, in which many others would also agree.
On regards to her fashion blog, ever since K.O. first helped her out by essentially spreading word about her blog to the masses, she quickly had more followers than she knew what to do with. Of course, she wouldn't say it out loud, but she certainly did appreciate what the young hero did for her. Nowadays, she would post pictures of herself wearing new, stylish, trendy outfits weekly on her blog and to the world, as well as posting other tidbits like fashion advice and healthy living tips.
It seemed like Drupe was moving on up in the world. That is, until one day, when things changed for better or for worse.
It was Saturday morning when Drupe arrived at Lakewood Plaza for the day. As usual, the plaza was swarming with various heroes either working, shopping, or just hanging out as it usually occurs. Although, despite the lovely summer weather outside, Drupe didn't feel sunny nor glamorous today.
Today, she just felt...off.
All she did was kept her head down and didn't even bother to look at or talk to anyone else, even if they greeted her first.
"Morning, Drupe!" greeted Punching Judy, who was exiting the Fitness Dojo.
"How's it goin', Drupe?" called out both Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon from the eFrame store.
Every time someone gave her a friendly greeting, Drupe still said nothing to no one, too deep in her own thoughts to even utter a "hello" back to the others. Normally, at this time, Drupe would be hanging out with her own clique of friends, usually loitering behind one of the stores and acting all cool and stuff, but today, she didn't seem to feel like doing any of that.
She was just passing around the old record store, thinking to herself, when she hear a familiar voice chime out to her.
"'Sup, Drupe?" Drupe finally snapped out her daze to see Red Action lazily leaning against a wall with a soft smirk. "How's it hangin'?"
Drupe waved back and managed to crack a small smile at her friend.
Her Level 4, time-travelling, arm cannon-toting, butt-kicking friend...
"Oh...hey, Red Action…" replied Drupe sadly. Red Action tilted her head in confusion.
"Something crossing your mind, chica? Ya seem a little down in the dumps today..." Red asked, a rarely-used concerned look on her face. Drupe's eyes widened in fear.
Red Action was preparing to place a comforting hand on Drupe's shoulder, but the strawberry girl in question backed away before Red can do anything.
"No! No, no, I-I'm fine! Really! I just...uh, need to do some errands today, so...uh, gonna be busy all day, you know!" she persisted nervously, praying internally that her futuristic friend would understand. After a few seconds passing, the return of Red's trademark smirk seemed to seal the deal.
"Well, alrighty then. If you say so…" replied Red Action with a soft shrug. Drupe sighed thankfully as was just gonna turn her heel to continue her walk when Red spoke up again.
"Well, listen, if ya do have the time later, me and Gregg are gonna be hanging out that new training arena downtown later at 5:00. We'll be there if ya wanna join us for a little sparring session?" she invited kindly. Drupe turned her head and flashed her a shy, tilted smile.
"Maybe, sure, I suppose…" she replied unsurely before walking away, still deep in her thoughts.
'What good would I do in a fight compared to Red?'
A little while later, Drupe's travels led her towards Mr. Gar's Bodega, where through the window, she saw someone bulky and bright blue standing up on a ladder. Feeling quite bored, she figured that at least saying 'hi' to a friend might help cheer herself up.
Radicles was having a tiresome morning indeed. Earlier this morning, he was just merrily working in his own domain, stacking boxes in the stock room, until Mr. Gar burst in and straight up ordered him to replace the bulbs in the overhead light fixtures in the main store, while K.O. and Enid did own his own job in their place, so here he was, doing a task that he felt was well beneath him.
Right now, he had just hastily fixed in a new light bulb (sloppy enough for the bulb to be loose enough to fall out, but Rad was too tired to care) and was now balancing himself on a small step-ladder trying to close down a plastic cover on the fixture as best as he can without breaking it.
"Stupid boss tellin' me to this stupid job!" he complained, "Enid and K.O. can't stack boxes as perfectly and quickly as I could, so why am I even-"
*BING-BONG!*
Rad ceased his griping long enough to catch his eye towards the female fruit creature stepping into the air-conditioned and surprisingly-empty bodega. Regardless, he managed to perk up a bit and gave her a cool nod and smile.
"Oh, hey, Drupe! What's shakin'?" greeted Rad warmly. Drupe gulped awkwardly.
"N-Nothing...nothing at all…" she stammered. Rad seemed puzzled by the cool teen's rather nervous reply, but still decided to conversate with Drupe, all while still trying to close the light cover.
"Usual group of friends doing okay?" asked Rad. Drupe shrugged, her head now looking down at her feet.
"Uh, yep. Yep, all doing okay...heh-heh-heh…" answered Drupe awkwardly, "H-How're your friends doing?"
"Eh, alright I guess...K.O. and Enid are in the back room taking inventory so I'm stuck out front for the day…" shrugged Rad. Drupe looked up at Rad and tilted her head.
"All by yourself?" she queried confusedly.
"Meh, it's not so bad…" shrugged Rad, just as he finally closed down the light fixture's cover (improperly, of course…)
"Besides, it's a nice change of pace from being in the stock room every day." chuckled Rad good-naturedly, as if to make it seem like his downgrade of a job was not big deal. Drupe joined in the laughter as well, albeit more stilted and awkward than Rad's.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh...yeaahh…" Drupe trailed off, before looking back down at her feet.
Rad looked at Drupe with confused and worried eyes. He stepped down from the ladder and carefully slid next to her.
"Seriously, Drupe, is everything okay with ya? Ya seem more...unhinged than usual…"
Drupe looked away from Rad with an embarrassed look on her face. Her already-red cheeks blushed and her fingers trembled slightly. Thinking as if he was being too imposing, Rad grew a bit nervous.
"Oh, geez, s-sorry, I didn't mean to come off strong, I-" stammered the blue alien, but Drupe cut him off gently.
"No-no-no, Rad, you're fine, really! It's just that...well…"
Drupe gulped softly and exhaled softly. While she knew Rad wanted to genuinely help her out, but she still felt nervous about explaining her condition to a hero with a power level greatly higher than hers. Still, she decided to just swallow her pride and confide to her friend.
"Lately, I have been feeling off, because of something involving me…?" she murmured softly, but still loud enough to grab Rad's full attention. Treading carefully, Rad looked at Drupe with confused and sad eyes.
"W-What do you mean, Drupe? What happened?" he asked worriedly.
"Well, it's just that...well, look at this!"
Drupe reached into her pocket and pulled out her Pow Card, showing it clearly in front of Rad's face. The alien looked at the card in question, only showing a portrait of the strawberry girl next to him and a small caption on the bottom.
DRUPE - HERO LEVEL: 0
Rad raised a confused eyebrow. "So, what's the problem again?" he asked carefully.
Drupe gave out a sigh, mostly out of sadness rather than annoyance. "The problem is that this plaza is crawling with great heroes with higher power levels than mine! I mean, look what everyone's levels are compared to mine: Co-Bruh is Level 3, Nick Army and Joff are both Level 4, Enid's Level 3, even Crinkly flippin' Wrinkly is Level 8! Like, everyone here has something special about them that I don't!"
She buried her head in her hands and groaned feebly. Rad looked at her in sympathy and patted her back carefully.
"C'mon, Drupe, don't act like this...you are just as special and heroic as everybody else in the plaza." he reassured as best as he can.
Drupe scoffed bitterly and looked away in a huff. "Easy for you to say, Rad. Your power level is 3!" she stated unhappily.
Rad cringed sightly at her sharp tone, but was still willing to help cheer up his friend.
"Drupe, I'm sorry to ask, but what prompted all this grief? You're not usually the one to act self-conscious…" said Rad in a concerned tone.
Drupe's bitterness turned to sadness again. She sighed softly and slumped her shoulders, her eyes still pointed away from Rad.
"A week ago, I found out from Enid that Red Action used to be part of this time-travelling group of fighters back in her era. 'Hue Troop', I think that's what they're called? Anyways, it just...well...ugh, it's just makes me feel inferior, y'know?"
Rad's eyebrows raised in alarm and bafflement. "Inferior…?" he repeated in disbelief.
"Well, yeah! I mean, look at us! Red Action's a brave and capable Level 4 hero with power blasters, agility, and great strength. I'm a Level 0 with a dumb, little fashion blog, how do I even compete with something like that!?"
However, before Drupe could continue her moping and self-deprecation, she felt a beefy, but supportive hand gently grab her shoulder. She lifted her head to look up at Rad, who was now sporting a rather serious look on his face.
"Drupe, just because you are a Level 0 doesn't mean you aren't capable destined for great things! Heroes like Mr. Gar or Chip Damage train for years to get where they are today, through practicing and honing their skills to make something of themselves…" said Rad importantly.
Drupe gazed at Rad in surprise. Usually, Rad isn't one to be so forward or ultra-supportive. Rad, however, wasn't finished with his words.
"I mean, take a look at K.O.! Sure, the kid's at a 0.1 level right now, but he still works hard every day to prove himself that he will be a great hero, and wouldn't you know, he's getting better and stronger each day! All you need is a little pick-me-up and a bit of self-confidence!"
Drupe's lips pursed unsurely. "I'm not sure about that, Rad...I mean, as far as I know, I don't even have any powers!" she confided.
Rad scratched in chin in thought, and after ten seconds of pondering, his antennas perked up in brilliance.
"Well, if it will help, I can help ya to see if ya do have any powers…" he offered kindly. Drupe finally looked back at Rad with surprised eyes.
"Really?" she asked, her tone sounding more shocked and hopeful than earlier, "You're really gonna help me out with this?"
Rad smiled back and softly shrugged. "Well, why not? We are friends after all, right?"
"Well, yeah…" answered Drupe honestly.
Usually whenever Red Action or Gregg were unavailable to hang out, she would sometimes hang out with her own small group of friends to hang with, usually being Real Magic Skeleton, Brandon, and on some occasions, Rad. Ever since the whole "plaza prom" event happened, Drupe seemed to see Rad in a whole new light, proving that he was a pretty cool guy after all.
Rad's jovial voice broke her out of her thoughts again. "So, ya ready to do this?"
Drupe jolted up from her spot and gave Rad a weird look.
"Wait, right now? Don't you still have to work?" she asked.
Rad waved off her uncertainty smugly. "Eh, no worries. I was goin' on break anyways, since I already finished my job!" He chortled, pointing towards the askew, creaking light fixture above him.
Drupe blinked in mild confusion, but felt best just to shrug it off. "Sooo, how do I find out my true powers then?" she asked.
Rad replied with a soft smirk and lifted up an index finger. Then, he used his telekinetic powers to lift up some old wooden planks sitting in the corner of the store up into the air without breaking a sweat.
"Quite simple, Drupe! We'll be doin' some training to see what powers you may possess!" Drupe gulped in fear.
"Tr-Training? Y-You mean like fighting!?" she asked worriedly.
"Well, not actual fighting, of course. Just 'pretend fighting', just to see if we can find out what you are capable of!" replied Rad, as he quickly clocked out for break. Drupe shrugged and soon followed him towards the door.
"...I sure do hope this works out…" murmured the fruit fashionista with a sigh. Rad flashed her a good-natured smile.
"You'll do fine, Drupe, trust me! Training is as easy as fixing a lightbulb! Ha-ha-ha-ha..."
Rad's hearty laughter carried out through the store as he and Drupe exited the bodega with their supplies in-hand, self-assured that his mentoring skills would work out Drupe in some way...
*CRASSSHH!* *CLUNK!*
...though judging by the smashed lightbulb and dented light cover on the floor, it would seem that Rad may be a little in over his head, as usual...
TO BE CONTINUED…
Thanks for reading, guys, gals, and pals! Next chapter will feature Drupe's training session with Rad! Also, this will sound like a really dumb question, but does one know how to add a new character tag in the category list above? I know this site has a guide to do as such, but I feel like it's not clear enough to me.
Anyways, next chapter will be up either Wednesday or Thursday, so stay tuned! :D
~Thunderbyrd
