And again, here I come, with ARStudios latest production! A note, I don't own any of the Metal Slug characters. They are owned by SNK Playmore.

And General Blackout is my character.

Chapter 1: Blackout says *gulp*

It was Valentine's Day. A day when guys should be worried that they won't get a girl to spend the day with. When guys rush into shops and buy anything that could attract girls to them. A day when they stiffen up, say gulp, and knock on the doors of their girlfriend's house, and the girl comes to the door. When girl's say yes and the guy celebrates, or when she says no, and the guy suffers a mental breakdown.

And this was sort of the condition in the Octagon.

Trevor was looking at himself in a mirror, brushing his hands through his hair, which is a part of his victory pose (I like it). "What a good lookin' guy," he said to himself. Marco and Tarma were meanwhile discussing about whom they'd go out with.

"Goddamn it Marco!" Tarma screamed.

Actually, they were playing multiplayer on Age of Mythology The Titans in the PF lounge, where there were at least 5 computers for work purposes.

"Hah! You're Titan's gonna get smocked!" Marco laughed evilly. Marco had used a cheat code that had allowed him to use a super-bear named Lazer Bear, a bear who stood on his back legs, wore a cape that showed Canada's flag, and had two monkeys by his side. Tarma's Titan was trying to beat the super-bear, but the superhero regenerated at such a ridiculously fast speed, it's health wasn't going anywhere below 1200 HP. The three dog-headed Titan, on the other hand, had only a mere 356 HP left of his whopping 7000 HP. Finally, the Titan was defeated, let out a growl, and fell on its back.

"ARGH! Marco you cheater!" Tarma screamed, and got off of his chair, and stomped over to Marco. Marco simply smiled. "Impressed?" Marco smirked. "You cheated!," Tarma said, tearing his hair, "I know that superhero bear was a cheat code! You knew you were gonna lose when I unleashed my Titan, and you didn't have yours yet. And my Titan totally totaled your army! Cheater!" Tarma had already lost 67 rounds, and 45 rematches, to Marco, who was just too good at the game. Marco simply said, "Hey Tarma, maybe you should see what Lazer Bear is doing." He pointed to the screen. Tarma saw to his horror that the super-bear had not only destroyed all of Tarma's army that was defending his city, but it was already killing the villagers.

Tarma then leapt at Marco and tried to strangle him. The super-bear shot out it's laser's mercilessly at the helpless villagers (Tarma should've stuck with Atlanteans, they're villagers last longer).

Tarma and Marco brawled on while Trevor simply ignored them. There was then a knock at door. He sighed. "Not again…"

Already 15 girls had come to the PF Quarters and had asked Trevor to be their boyfriend, but he simply said no, and all of them had been sent to the hospital wing, since they all suffered mental breakdowns. I mean like, some of them had even put on strong smelling perfumes and lipstick to attract him. Who did Trevor want to go out with if he denied them all?

He opened the door and said, "Sorry, but I don't wanna go on a date with you." He then opened his eyes, and realized he had just said that to General Blackout. The General stared at him, his lips pursed.The thought that a lowly Sergeant said something like that to a General of high stance would clearly anger any General.

But instead of shouting at Trevor, he said, "I need your help."

Trevor gaped. He actually pinched himself to see if whether he was dreaming, but yelped and saw he was in clear reality. "You… need MY help?" he asked.

"Yes…"

So the General walked into the room, and heard noises coming from the door that led to the lounge. He then heard what sounded like screaming and the noise of chairs getting smashed. "Don't worry, Tarma and Marco are just fighting," Trevor said smoothly to Blackout. "Fighting? On what?" Blackout demanded. Clearly he didn't know what his soldiers were always up to. "Marco cheated in Age of Mythology The Titans," Trevor said it like it was a normal thing, "so Tarma's trying to teach him a lesson. Don't worry. They've done it 5 times, and they've only suffered bruises and nose bleeds. They'll live."

That is of course, until gunshots were heard.

"Or maybe not…" Trevor said.

3 minutes later

"WHAT?! Wha-wha-wha- what?!" Trevor gasped. Was he having hearing problems? Did the General actually ask how to get a girlfriend?! "But General, you're FIFTY ONE! How could you possibly think of getting a girl?! Besides, you once said you always wanted to be a bachelor!" "Because.." Blackout tried to explain, "I… should I tell you a secret?"

Trevor leaned closer, "Go ahead."

"I… once had a girlfriend when I was 18," Blackout explained, "she was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen. We would go everywhere. I even thought we would get married. That is of course, until this happened," and he pointed towards the big bald spot on the middle of his head, "I don't know why it happened. She was so disgusted that, she actually dumped me, and left me. Just like that." A teardrop rolled down the General's eye.

Trevor couldn't believe it. This General, with a bald spot on his head and who would often be a complete jerk, had a girlfriend? He could only imagine the pain of something like that.

"I was, well, shocked. That bald spot ruined everything. My heart was broken. But I didn't start taking medication for depression. No. I enlisted in the US Army, and the next thing you know, I'm a Sergeant getting sent into Vietnam, and then into the Regular Army. I wanted to forget that it all happened. I decided to myself to remain a bachelor, so that I would never feel such a horrible pain again. But every Valentine's Day, I see all those kids running around with their hands linked, and I… feel so lonely…"

"Right," Trevor said, "That's a real heartbreaker. But don't worry. I know just what to do. I know the right girls for the job."

SPARROWS lounge

"Wow," Fio said, "that's so sad. But you came to the right people." She said and slapped Blackout on the back.

"Oh girls!" She exclaimed, and Eri and Nadia came to the scene. "Let's give the General something we call a 'makeover.'"

"Whohoo!" Nadia said, while Eri mumbled, "Fine."

"What the-" Blackout said, as the agents grabbed the chair he was sitting on, and took him to the lounge. Over there, they placed him in front of a mirror, and started applying lots of makeup on his face. Powder flew, and Blackout sneezed. Some makeup over there, over here, under the nose, no we don't need fake moustaches, and-

After that, Sakura, slowly and shyly-

HEY! Who are you?!

Huh? I'm the narrator.

No I am.

This a Naruto fanfiction dude!

No, it's a Metal Slug one.

Really?

Yeah. Check the category.

Oh, uh…Whoops! Silly me. Bye!

Uh…okay, bye….. That was weird… Oh right! Blackout coughed as more powder flew. "Done!" Fio said excitedly. "If I found out that you three did any funny business with my face," Blackout spat, "I'll-"

And he looked into the mirror.

The mirror showed he was no longer looking like a 50 year old Mr. Grumpy with a bald spot in the middle of his head and aged features, but instead, he looked like a guy in his mid-30's, and his face could've been mistaken for Brad Pitt's. And he had a wig on his head, that would've made Tom Cruise jealous.

"Is this me?" Blackout said, running a hand on his face, "It's…wow."

"I know!" Fio said, admiring the work. Blackout stood up, and said, "Thanks girls," and gave a salute. The three saluted back, and Nadia asked, "Trevor was waiting outside, right?" "Yes," Blackout said. "Would you mind calling him in?" Nadia said. Trevor was called in. "All right General, now I'll teach you how to find a girlfriend," Fio said, and led the General out of the room. "I'll see how Marco and Tarma are doing," Eri said, and she walked out of the room too.

"Uh Nadia," Trevor said, "I just want to ask that… uh…" Trevor said, when without warning, Nadia pushed him and he fell on the floor. "What the?" Trevor retaliated. "I bet you're wondering that was for?" she asked, "Well, yesterday I had made a beautiful cake, and it was a masterpiece. I took it to our quarters and I was hoping I'd eat it all up. My own hard work. When YOU," and she pointed insultingly at Trevor, "YOU came out of nowhere. And you bumped into me. And that cake splatted all over me. You think I forgot that? Now," and she pulled out a board marker and her tazer, "Vengeance shall be mine!"

"Oh come on Nadia! It was an accident! No, no, noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Poor Trevor got his butt whooped.

General's office

"Are you sure this will work?" Blackout asked. "Sure," Fio replied and explained, "all we need to do is post a picture of you, and your gorgeous face. After that, we send it to this website," Fio showed it on her expensive laptop, "you type where you want people to meet you, and whoever wants to see you can meet you at the specified location!"

"Sounds simple enough," the General shrugged. "I hope this works…"

Will General Blackout get a date? Or will he be left standing on the street corner in the cold dark under the streetlight? You never know until you read it!

Chapter 2 coming! Thanks for reading!