Hey, everybody. Here's a Valentine's Day one-shot that introduces a new pairing to my series (and was hinted in an earlier story), and sort of hints a few other new pairings, too. Here we go.
Valentine's Day at Kids Next Door Moonbase. It was the holiday where most couples spent all day together, secret admirers slipped each other cards, and regular friends passed cards to each other, too. Frankly, it wasn't one of the most revered holidays in the Kids Next Door, but Supreme Leader Numbuh 3621 felt like throwing a party up there, anyway, for holiday spirit, and also relieving a little boredom.
Heart-shaped balloons and usual party designs, colored red and pink, decorated the base, and there were tables of refreshments. Several groups of "friends", most of which were a boy and a girl who likely liked each other, met up and exchanged cards or other minor gifts. Emily Garley gave Mike Strongarm a mechanical beating heart, while he gave Emily a card that read, You make my heart pedal. Rupert Dickson got a mouse chew toy for Berry Bean and Lilac Farley to play with, and was currently playing Fetch with the two werecats. Dillon and Leanne were walking side-by-side, not knowing that their shadows were exchanging cards and flowers behind them. Vweeb gave Arianna a card, but it was too tiny for her to read, so Vweeb had to read it for her, embarrassingly. Cheren handed Panini a chocolate bunny, Nebula a card that opened a black hole when opened, and Lin Beifong some rock candy. He then left to give Miyuki Crystal something.
Larry MayHence was also going around and delivering flowers and cards to operatives from secret admirers. He gave his cousin, Aranea Fulbright, a card that said, My heart is wrapped around in your strings. She raised an eyebrow at who this could be from. Afterwards, Makava received a card. It read, You dissected my heart and stole my mind. It sounded a little weird to her, but she had an idea who it might be from. Zach Murphy then received a card, which read, I need no mouth to speak, for my heart says all. Anthony also received a card, but was told to give it to his little sister. Anthony glanced and saw it was from Timothy Gilligan.
The only one who didn't seem to be enjoying the occasion was Sunni Chariton. The psychicbending Filipino was over by the corner, leaned against the wall as her eyes were closed, and she meditated to herself, 'cause psychics need to meditate. Sunni was usually pretty down this holiday, since she didn't really have any close friends. The only time someone actually 'liked' her was when she and her sister travelled back in time to save their grandparents, and Mr. Gilligan fell in love with her. Of course, she couldn't date him, because that would screw up the timeline in all sorts of ways (though it wasn't as bad as when their father made out with his own future daughter).
"You're sure quiet." Sunni's eyes opened as she looked up and turned at who it was that spoke to her.
"Oh. Hey, Harry."
"Why aren't you partying with everyone else?" he asked in a calm, quiet fashion.
"I've never been so into Valentine's Day. Too many mushy feelings going around."
"Hehe. Yeah, I've never been too into the whole thing either. Still, don't you at least wanna hang out with your friends? It must be lonely over here. Where's your sister, anyway?"
"Hanging out with Jerome or something, I dunno. It's just so weird, you know… everybody's got someone to hang out with. I think even Mewtwo took interest in a Gardevoir he met."
Harry glanced around the Moonbase, watching as Fybi gave Anthony a pink apple that turned him into a peach, watched as Danny Jackson and Haylee Gilligan exchanged technical ideas, Mason and Sheila crossing arms and drinking Purple Flurp, and saw Eric sweating, shaking, and blushing as he tried to hand a giggling Melody a card. "No kidding. It's amazing how many kids get into it."
"But why don't I get anyone to hang out with? I mean, almost every boy has a girl that likes them, and almost every girl has a boy that likes them. And even if they're not dating, they're hanging out as friends. The only person I ever hang out with is my sister. I…I know it sounds weird to care about that stuff, but… sigh, somehow I don't feel valued as much."
"Well, I can understand that. But to be honest, you're better off not gettin' involved with those kinds of relationships. We shouldn't have to worry about all that romance stuff until we're smelly, ugly teens. Still, I guess that's why a lot of these couples prefer to be called 'friends' at the moment."
"I guess you're right. But I'd still like someone else to be close to. I just feel so lonely most of the time."
"Well, your mom probably felt lonely for a long time, too, when it was just her and Mewtwo. Still, you shouldn't feel upset. There's probably a hundred boys in the KND who think you're pretty. You got the looks, I'll give you that."
Sunni lightly smiled and blushed. "You think so, huh?"
"Well, yeah. That temper of yours is kinda cool, too. But that's just me."
Sunni looked away, still blushing.
"Oh. And I got this for you." Harry said, handing Sunni a card before turning to walk away.
"From you?"
Harry stopped and smirked, glancing behind him. "Heh. I told you I'm not into this stuff. If anything, the compliments were the card. Some cat came up to me randomly and wanted me to pass it. Later." With that, he walked away.
Sunni curiously opened the card. On the center of the double-folded card was a large, red, bolded "R". She noticed four strands of some whitish-light-brown fur and picked it up, staring at it closely. Sunni only shrugged before walking off to find her sister.
Somewhere else
In the darkness of some room far away, a shadowed man, who looked to be wearing an orange suit, sat upon his throne and petted his large, panther-sized cat while watching this event on a large computer screen. "It was small, but my invitation has been sent. If this girl's psychic powers are as powerful as my master claimed, I may finally be able to take revenge on that traitorous creation of mine. Hehehehehehehehehe…"
"Mrooooww…"
And there shows a cameo of a new villain. So yeah, if you noticed by that hint of Hoagie falling in love with Sunni in Operation: ERASED, that was hinting Sunni/Harry. …Wait… but if Sunni went back in time to stop herself and her sister from going on that journey in the first place, then she SHOULDN'T remember Hoagie falling in love with her, and Rainier with her sister!
"PARADOX PARADOX PARADOX! !" Two random robots yelled before exploding.
Erm, okay then… Anyhoo, if you haven't yet heard, I'm rewriting Operation: GALACSIA and including actual stages. It's a lot better than what it was before, but it's not complete yet, but when it is, I'll make an announcement on the wiki that it's complete. Also, half a month left until Operation: MASKED begins, so stay tuned for that. For now, try and guess the pairings that were referenced in the notes (though I think only one person actually will try). Later.