Ta-dahhh! A whole new story! (don't worry, tho, I didn't forget about Corporal, I'll be uploading a new chapter for that soon :P)
This time, it's a collab with my sister BenignTuna. We started writing this over a year ago, and it's been an (almost) continuous effort since then. We've dedicated a lot of time and hard work to this fic (it's really long).
I have a few things for you to keep in mind before you start reading, and they're very important so don't skip it!
First, you may notice that Angol Mois is not present or mentioned at all in this fanfiction. That's because my sister and I (and our mom!) all hate Mois like poison and just couldn't bring ourselves to include her. If you've read my other story, you'll notice that she's missing from that one too. This is due to the same reason. If you don't like her either, then rejoice! You don't have to read anything relating to her! If you do like her, then I guess you can just pretend that she's visiting her dad or something.
Second, though it is in NO WAY the focus of our story, KeroTama is presented as being canon. This is because my sister and I ship it like FedEx and wanted it to be a part of it. If you do not personally ship it, don't worry! It's not a big part of it and there is little to no time spent on that alone and just a very small amount of actual fluff for it.
Third! We are using gijinkas to write this, due to personal preference.
(The cover for this fic was commissioned for me by Jinxitis on deviantart)
The theme of Keroro's favorite show, Captain Geroro, began playing on the television and he twisted in his seat to lean over the couch.
"Giroro!" he called. "If you don't get over here quick you're going to miss the new opening!" He turned back around and grinned excitedly at Tamama, who sat close to him on the couch with his hand resting on the sergeant's thigh. Dororo sat next to them, perched on an armrest.
Giroro, who had been sitting on the back porch cleaning a gun, tossed the cloth aside and crossed through the kitchen into the living room, holstering his weapon as he did so. Not entirely able to hide the eager look on his face, he took a seat opposite Keroro on the other couch and began watching the intro without a word.
Keroro nodded in approval and settled back into the couch. This was the beginning of the final season of Captain Geroro, and it was considered by him to be a monumental event in Pekoponian history that deserved attention and respect.
He briefly scanned the room to make sure his whole platoon was there and noticed that someone was missing. As usual, Kululu was not up in the house, but presumably down in the underground base.
"Agh!" exclaimed Keroro. "Where's Kululu? Doesn't he realize how important this moment is?" He turned his attention back to the screen, however, because the episode was starting. He grasped Tamama's hand.
"You know he doesn't really care that much about the show, though, Sarge," said Tamama, giving Keroro's fingers a squeeze.
"He cares!" Keroro insisted.
Kululu did not appear before the first break, but Keroro was so engrossed that he did not notice his absence again.
"This is a good episode, huh, Sarge?" asked Tamama while a commercial for toothpaste played.
Keroro was biting his shirt and it looked like he had a tear in his eye. "Yes," he squeaked.
Giroro stood to stretch, watching Keroro wipe his eyes on his damp shirtfront for a moment, and then he caught sight of Dororo out of the corner of his eye.
The lance corporal's head was inclined slightly; a small frown creased his forehead. Giroro had known him long enough to recognize the signs that Dororo's acute senses were picking up on something out of the ordinary.
Giroro glanced again at Keroro and Tamama, but they were too busy talking about the show to notice that something was wrong. He walked around the coffee table to Dororo and leaned down slightly so that they were eye to eye. "What is it?" he asked in an undertone.
Dororo quietly shushed him and closed his eyes, listening.
Suddenly he jumped up and faced the door to the hallway, his hand on his sword; almost simultaneously, Giroro pointed his gun in the same direction.
Keroro and Tamama stared at the pair of them, alarmed. The room was utterly quiet; everyone was holding his breath. Then, barely perceptible, a slow, dragging sound reached them from the hallway, and the intruder finally revealed itself.
It appeared in the doorway like a ghost: a hulking, pale creature with immense black eyes. It didn't look as though it saw the sun very often, and it had no visible mouth; only wide, staring eyes. It was standing very still.
They gazed at the thing with apprehension. The Keronians had encountered hundreds of aliens over the years, hailing from planets from all over the universe, but never had they met one that looked like this.
"... What the hell?" Giroro muttered to himself. From where he stood, he could see that the others disliked the creature as much as he did. Dororo was grasping his katana so tightly that his knuckles were as white as the figure, Keroro was standing rigidly with his mouth slightly ajar, and Tamama was squinting at the alien in confusion.
The private tore his eyes from it for a few moments to look at Keroro and ask, "Sarge... what is that...?"
Keroro seemed to steel himself, and then jumped up and demanded in a challenging tone, "Who are you?", his finger pointed at the giant.
As he said this, two more of the creatures appeared behind the first one. Giroro noticed with great irritation that his arm holding the gun was trembling slightly.
The aliens stared relentlessly, making the Keronians' skins prickle, until finally the frontmost creature began to speak. Or maybe it didn't. It was hard to tell, because it almost sounded as though its voice was coming from inside their own heads.
"We are the Rurlough," it said slowly. The voice was deep and creaky. It sounded ancient, and as though it had not spoken in a very long time.
"Why are you here?" Keroro asked in the same demanding tone, a tight frown on his face. But before the thing had time to respond, Natsumi and Fuyuki Hinata came down the stairs in the hallway, chatting.
"I just honestly don't think that The Lochness Monster is involved in any cults, Fuyu- OH GOD WHAT'S THAT?!" Natsumi said, abruptly shouting the last words as she spotted the Rurlough.
The platoon could see that a fourth Rurlough had appeared and was standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at the Hinatas.
Turn back around, Natsumi, Giroro prayed, his heart pounding in his throat with horror. Please, just go back upstairs...
"Whoa...," Fuyuki said, sounding both awestruck and terrified. The Rurlough gazed back at him, and then took the first step up the staircase.
Panic flooded Giroro's mind. "If you take one more step towards them, I'll put a bullet through your goddamn skull!" he yelled fiercely.
The Rurlough on the stairs turned to face the corporal, and then, with its eyes still locked on him, slowly stepped back down to the floor.
"You bastards better get the hell out right now or you'll be sorry!" Tamama hissed vehemently at them, stepping forward.
"Where is Sergeant Major Kululu?" one of the Rurlough asked, ignoring Tamama.
"Kululu?" Keroro repeated, still frowning. "What do you want him for?"
"Where is Sergeant Major Kululu?" the same Rurlough asked again.
"You called?" a low voice asked. The platoon whipped around. Kululu had entered the house from the backyard and traipsed into the living room without their notice.
When the Rurlough spotted Kululu, a sharp clicking noise reminiscent of cracking one's knuckles resounded throughout the room as the white figures communicated with each other. The sound was dark and menacing. Keroro gave an involuntary shiver.
Kululu wandered over to one of the couches and leaned against it, gazing at the Rurlough through his glasses.
One of the beasts slowly approached Kululu. He leaned away slightly when it came near. The hulking figure slouched forward so that its face was even with Kululu's, and far too close for comfort.
After blankly staring at him for several seconds, the Rurlough spoke. "Are you Sergeant Major Kululu?" it asked in a monotone voice.
For a moment, Kululu was quiet. He seemed to be trying to decide how best to respond. He slowly took a little step back, so that he wasn't as close to the Rurlough and then said, "Yeah, that's me."
More bizarre clicking followed that. At length, the first Rurlough's guttural sounding voice whispered, "You will come with us now."
Kululu raised one of his eyebrows. The smug grin he always wore dropped slightly and he asked, "Why would I do that?" He took another half-step away.
This time one of the other Rurlough answered. "We have heard of your intelligence. We gathered information and found you. We require you. We offer an opportunity for you to use your mind to its full extent. You are being wasted here." At this the creature nearest Kululu turned and stared directly at Keroro.
A chill ran up Keroro's spine as the alien locked eyes with him, but anger made him bold. "You will not remove Sergeant Major Kululu from this base!" he said sternly. "You will leave this house and go back where you came from!"
The Rurlough that had been speaking came close to him and he shrank back slightly.
"Three revolutions of this planet have passed since it has been claimed by Keron," it said in a crackily voice. "And yet the planet remains under indigenous rule. This suggests that you admit failure. Your platoon is invalid." The last sentence was hardly more than a growl.
Kululu, who had merely been observing the exchange with an unreadable expression, remained silent, so Giroro spoke up. "What are you going to do if he doesn't go with you?" he asked. He briefly met Kululu's eyes. "What if he doesn't want to?"
One of the creatures slowly walked up to Giroro. When it was less than a foot away from him it stopped and said, "He would be foolish to refuse." It leaned in even closer. "The sergeant major will come with us."
"But Sergeant Major Kululu won't let you take him," said Dororo uncertainly.
Kululu didn't look at him. He shrugged. "Ku ku ku! Who knows? Maybe this would be a better gig for me." He turned his gaze downward and stuck his hands in his coat pockets. His face was paler than usual. Dororo looked shocked.
Giroro suddenly decided that the Rurlough in front of him was too close, and he pushed it away from him. The thing's skin was cold and a little clammy. It continued to stare at him but did not react.
"But you can't leave!" Keroro said, his voice rising.
After a few moments, Kululu chuckled softly and looked up at the Rurlough.
"Alright, I'll come with you."
The Rurlough clicked weirdly again, now sounding vaguely excited.
"You're going to just leave?" Giroro asked in disbelief.
"Why, corporal, you wouldn't actually miss me, would you?" said Kululu sarcastically as he joined the Rurlough.
"You son of a bitch!" Giroro said incredulously. Kululu turned around and looked at him, with a smile that looked more like a grimace. "What, so after all we've been through with you, you're going to go off with these idiots?" He gestured to the Rurlough.
Kululu kept his back to Giroro when he replied, "Yeah. 'Bye!" He lifted his hand in farewell.
The Rurlough formed a tight, threatening group around him; one of them grabbed onto Kululu's upper arm. He recoiled as it touched him, but said nothing as it guided him out the door with the rest of the Rurlough.
A few tense seconds ticked by, and then Giroro impulsively darted after them into the hallway. They were gone. He looked up at the Hinatas, who still stood frozen on the stairs.
"They disappeared," Natsumi told Giroro in a trembling but clear voice. He nodded distractedly. It didn't really matter to him how they had left.
He returned to the living room. His companions were where he had left them, looking dumbfounded. The abandoned television program was still on in the background.
"He's gone?" asked Keroro.
"Yes," Giroro replied shortly. Tamama and Dororo continued staring at the doorway in disbelief. They couldn't even speak.
Keroro absently reached for Tamama, looking depressed. Tamama let Keroro's hand close around his own and gazed sympathetically up into the face he loved so much.
Giroro re-holstered his gun, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Half of him wanted to rage, but the other half felt relieved that he didn't have to deal with Kululu's idiosyncrasies anymore.
Then Keroro, still holding Tamama's hand, looked up and said with determination, "We have to go get him! We'll bring him back! Right, Giroro?" He turned to his friend.
The corporal looked at Keroro with something that might have been pity. "Keroro," he began. "You know we have no right to do that. He made his own choice. There's no point in getting him. We can get along without him just fine."
"But...!"
"At least we don't have to deal with any of his bullshit any more," Giroro added.
"Corporal!" Keroro exclaimed.
"If he wants to go, then we've got to let him."
Keroro looked down at his boyfriend and said, "Tamama, you're with me, right?"
"Of course, Sarge!" the private answered immediately.
Keroro turned back to Giroro triumphantly.
"Keroro, listen to me," insisted Giroro, "It'd be a waste of time to go get him. Just let it go, we don't really need him around anyway." He adjusted his belt and looked downward.
Suddenly they heard Fuyuki ask, "So what are we gonna do, Sarge?" The platoon were surprised to see Fuyuki and Natsumi in the doorway, where they must have been listening to the conversation quietly.
Keroro turned to them and shook his head. "I guess... we won't do anything," he responded.
Fuyuki exchanged a glance with his sister, possibly hoping that she would use her commanding personality to make the sergeant change his mind.
Natsumi looked back at Fuyuki. She wasn't sure how to feel. She didn't particularly like Kululu, because he was creepy and a little odd, but she did feel as though he was part of the family, just like all the others. And it definitely would be strange not to have him around anymore.
She sat down on the couch and said, "I agree with Giroro. If Kululu doesn't want to stay with us any more, we shouldn't try and force him."
Giroro gave an appreciative grunt, but Keroro glared at Natsumi, feeling betrayed. Dororo, standing a little bit behind them, was as silent and pale as a shadow.
After a few minutes, Natsumi rose to go take a bath, wanting to remove herself from the heavy atmosphere of the room.
As she passed by Fuyuki she was careful not to look at him, not wanting to see the disappointment in his face.