Rendezvous
I do not own Metal Slug. The franchise belongs to SNK Playmore. I only own the characters made for this story.
S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. Base, 9:23 AM
KNOCK KNOCK
Two familiar knocks came at the recently recruited Rock Maverick's door (after Metal Slug 6). He was lying on the bed on his back reading the Second Part of the Worlds Unite crossover by Archie featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. He's been waiting to get his hand on the missing issue that nowadays, is very, very rare to get.
"Come in." Rock said, keeping his eyes on his comic book.
The door opened and inside came Fio. Rock lowered the book from his eyelids which widened upon seeing Fio. She had the usual type of clothing on, but instead of a desert-sand color it was black. Her shirt was white with letters "SNK" written in a light blue color.
"What's... with the new color?" Rock asked, raising an eyebrow.
"In short, I have special place I need to go today." Fio said, winking at him.
Rock had an invisible question mark above his head. What was she talking about? He thought.
It took him a little while to decipher what she was talking about. Fio just stood there, awkwardly staring at Rock who she assumed was confused.
After a split minute, he knew what was happening.
"You got a date!? With who!?" Rock said jumping (dropping his comic book under the bed without him knowing at. all).
"Don't worry about it. I came here requesting your opinion on my appearance." Fio said, twiddling her thumbs.
"You're asking ME?" Rock said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'd say you look... pretty. But I feel like you should wear something else, like, I dunno... Boy, I'm not good at this... Uhhhhhhhhhhh, you know what, scrap everything after 'But I feel like,' you look perfect!"
It took Fio a long time to keep track at what he was trying to say, but when she did catch on, she smiled.
"Thanks Rock! Oh, and here."
She reached into her pocket and tossed Rock something. It was a piece of paper folded incredibly neat (that's Fio for you). He unwrapped it, and on the paper was her phone number. Not only that, but a message was written in cursive:
"Call me if need anything.~" A heart was next to her finishing sentence.
Rock looked up and saw that Fio was gone, causing the soldier to drop his jaw. He tossed the paper in his jacket pocket and ran out his room, closing the door behind. He ran through the hallway searching for Fio. He looked everywhere and I mean, EVERYWHERE. As he was running through the hallways, he looked behind him as he literally entered a female soldier's bathroom searching for Fio (some brain he has). Unbeknownst to him, he had ran into another female soldier. Unfortunately, it was someone he wished wasn't there.
"What are you running in the halls for moron!?" She screamed.
It was Eri. Rock knew he should've used a little more common sense. There was a rule about running in the halls and the consequences were exactly what Rock had witnessed by bumping into Eri. Even though his teachings with Fio and Eri were over, Eri was still a little harsh towards him. She was kind at least, but still harsh.
"I'm SOOO sorry Eri! I should've never... AH!" Rock's eyes shot wide. "Oh man! Eri, have you seen Fio?"
"Fio?" Eri asked, before sighing. "Oh, yeah, I've seen her. She just left on her date. What's it to you anyway?"
Rock was a little shook. Why was he so nervous? "Fio gave me her phone number in case I needed her."
"...Okay? That sounds like a good thing, Rock." Eri said her arms crossed.
"What if she might be in trouble during this date?!" Rock said wailing his arms.
Eri placed her fingers on her forehead, annoyed. "What makes you think such a thing?"
"In all the video games and comic books and regular books I played and read, whenever a girl gives a friend her phone number, it means for she might need help later on or means for EMERGENCIES ONLY!"
"I think it might be the latter Rock." Eri said sighing. For a man older than him by a year, he was acting like a 10 year old.
"Eri, I gotta go! I gotta tell Marco! And Tarma! And... And... WHOEVER ELSE MAY HELP!"
Rock ran again, not remembering the consequence of that action. Eri sighed again, rubbing her temple.
"What the hell is wrong with him... I better follow him and make sure I keep him on a short leash..." Eri said walking at a fast pace after Rock.
Peregrine Falcons Base, 9:40 AM
In the living room, Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving were playing Double Dragon Neon, an old reboot to an old game (It was the year 2031 after all). Marco had apparently used his computer skills and hacked the game, making Billy Lee play in his stead while Tarma was forced to play as Jimmy Lee with a controller. Tarma was annoyed by the fact that Marco was basically cheating by forcefully inputting Billy Lee with an A.I. that was making Billy impossible to beat. Tarma was getting beaten left and right during the Giant Tank boss fight, upset that his "partner" wasn't paying much attention to his other partner.
They beaten the boss, but Tarma was still left annoyed.
"You know, what's the point of having these old games if you aren't going to play them?" Tarma asked.
"I'd play them, but why waste my gaming talents if I can get my character to do it for me." Marco smirked.
"Oh you are so talented major..." Tarma said sarcastically.
Out of the blue, Rock Maverick stood in front of the screen, wailing his arms in front of the two soldiers.
"Rock? What are you doing here?" Marco asked.
"Marco! Tarma! I've got big news! BIG!" Rock said, the veins in his eyes showing when he cried "Big."
"What is it?" Tarma asked, confused.
"It's Fio! S-She's-" Before Rock could finish, he was tackled by Eri Kasamoto, and put into a submission hold.
Marco and Tarma blankly stared at the two, confused. They looked at each other before looking at the two again.
"What did I tell you about being an idiot, Rock Maverick!?" Eri said, tempting to bend his arm farther than it could go. Rock continued to tap the ground with his hand. Tarma looked at Marco, smirking.
"That's why I don't try to mess with her like that."
"I think we knew that when she almost blew you to bits." Marco said, smirking back.
In due time, Marco stood up, getting Eri off of Rock.
"That's enough. Rock, what is it with Fio?" Marco said.
Rock dusted himself off, and twisted his arm around, hoping it wasn't broken. He was completely calm, surprisingly thanks to Eri.
"Alright. Fio, she's... On a date."
The room went silent for a good minute. During this time, Trevor Spacey and Nadia Cassel made their way into the room. They were soldiers who tagged with PF Squad and SPARROWS respectively shortly after the Invaders were defeated.
"What's with the awkward silence?" Trevor asked.
Marco was a little upset over what Rock was trying to tell him. It wasn't worth coming all the way here for that. But he kept a smile nonetheless.
"Fio's on a date. That... sounds nice." Marco said.
"N-no..." Rock said. "I think Fio might be in trouble..."
"And... What exactly makes you think that?" Tarma asked, fixing his shades into place.
"I dunno... It's just this feeling. And besides, Fio gave me her phone number."
"She gave you her phone number? That sounds like a good thing, Rock." Marco said.
"That's exactly what I said." Eri said smirking.
Rock frowned. It was hard trying to get them to understand. Truth be told, this story made little to no sense to them. Rock said sighed and started walking out the room.
"N-never mind. I was just over-reacting for absolutely nothing."
Rock left out immediately, quickly.
"It was nice to see you guys, but I should follow him." Eri said leaving.
Trevor and Nadia walked over to Marco and Tarma.
"So, who was the man with blonde, sharp hair? He looked kinda cute." Nadia said.
"That's Rock Maverick. He's a member of SPARROWS." Tarma explained. "I'm surprised you didn't see him around."
"From what I heard, Rock spent many of his days in his room reading that old crossover from 2015, Worlds Combine or something like that." Marco added.
Peregrine Falcons Base, 9:53 AM
Out in the hallways, a female soldier was hunting for a runaway mouse. She had her hatchet in her hand, twirling it around with her fingers, calling out the runner's name.
"Rock~ Come out to play-y! I promise you there's no harm, only PHYSICALLY."
Eri just happened to pass by the men's bathroom, where Rock was (supposedly) hiding. He was in the lock-stalls, typing in Fio's phone number in his phone and it rang.
"Pick up... Pick up..." Rock said over and over again.
The phone was ringing. So far, so good. Eventually a female voice was heard through the phone.
"Hello?"
"Fio? It's me Rock."
"I gave that phone number almost an hour ago. I guess you couldn't stand not being around me!~"
"Uh-huh. That's right! (OF COURSE THAT'S THE REASON!) Um, where are you right now?"
"Why?"
"Your answer will come if I get mine."
"I'm at the Cafe store I told you about a day ago, why?"
"Oh! I was going to ask you if you could get me a Pizza, but I'll just order in... Ha! Ha!"
"...Um, okay. Anything else Rock?"
"Actually yes! How's your date going?"
"It's going great! His name is Shade and he's a specialist in creating a cure for the Omega Virus that's so tough to get rid of! He's really handsome too!~"
"I bet he is... Um, that's all Fio, gotta go, bye!"
Rock hung up the phone before he could hear Fio return her goodbye. Her held onto his phone, squeezing it tight.
"The Omega Virus...! Oh man, how could Fio be so blind!?" Rock left out the bathroom stall and washed his hands. There was a soldier who listened in on everything.
"Jealous much?"
Rock finished washing his hands and left out the room with three words:
"No where near."
Peregrine Falcons Base, 10:00 AM
In the PF Squad Hallways, Rock was pondering over why Fio would date such a guy.
"The Omega Virus...! There's no way this bozo could fix this virus! It's currently impossible! Marco still researching about this particular virus, at least on the electronic side of it! There's no doubt in my mind, Shade is the one who MADE the virus! He must be using this opportunity to hurt her since none of us soldiers seen this guy's face! We need to stop him before Fio gets into serious trouble!"
Rock ran back into the living room and found no one but Nadia and Trevor watching Television.
"Um, Nadia and Trevor was it? I need to ask you guys a favor."
"What type of favor?" Trevor asked.
"Remember how I was talking about Fio and her date?" Rock asked.
Nadia and Trevor looked at each other and said in unison: "Yeah."
"Good, I don't have to explain this again. Listen, I was just on the phone with Fio and she told me that she's dating a guy named Shade and that he fixes the Omega Virus that has been roaming around lately."
"The Omega Virus?" Nadia asked. "I don't recall hearing anything about someone getting rid of the virus."
"Exactly. After some pondering, I came to a sudden conclusion: Shade is the wanted man who CREATED the Omega Virus!"
"How can you be so sure?" Trevor asked, but still focused on the topic.
"I remember something back then. The man is not-so-cleverly named Shade. The nickname the Regular Army gave him was NIGHTSHADE! YOU SEE THE PICTURE HERE!?"
Nadia and Trevor jumped. Rock was right. There was no possible way this was a coincidence.
"Oh no! Fio's in trouble!" Nadia said.
"We gotta get Shade! This is our chance!" Trevor said jumping from the couch.
"Alright! If we leave now, we can catch Fio before she leaves her current spot!" Rock said gripping his Handgun.
Rock, Trevor and Nadia left the PF Squad Base and out to South Town.
South Town, Cafe Shop, 10:19 AM
Fio and Shade was sitting together outside the Cafe shop sipping on coffee and eating a donut.
Fio was laughing at what Shade was saying (won't go into too much detail of what this jerk was saying, so out of laziness, use your imagination) and he just simply smiled.
Rock, Trevor and Nadia peeked their heads out from the bushes with determined looks on their faces.
"Alright, you two understand the plan?" Rock whispered.
The two nodded.
"Quick repeat. I'll walk in and cleverly talk my way into exposing Shade's identity even if it's the slightest hints of them all. When I give the signal, you guys come in and Nadia, you know what to do."
"I understand completely." Nadia said, nodding her head.
"Alright. Mission Start!" Rock said, sneaking his way out of the bushes and enter the Cafe area like he was just crossing the street.
"Oh, Fio! I totally forgot you were here!" Rock said grinning wide.
Fio got a little embarrassed by Rock's appearance during her special day.
"Oh, hi Rock...!" Fio said nervously waving to her student... er, friend. (Forgot Fio? Rock's a full-on soldier, not your student anymore)
Shade suspiciously stared at Rock as he pulled up a chair and intentionally sat between the two.
Rock looked at Shade, looking ever-so-slightly angry. He was hiding his feelings towards this guy. He struggled to get a smile in as he held out his hand to Shade, attempting to shake hands.
"Hello, my name is Rock Maverick."
"Shade, it's a pleasure." He said shaking his hand without hesitation.
Rock wanted to get this done and over with.
"Boy, it is a wonderful day out here! I only wish days like this could last forever! Peace forever I say! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Rock awkwardly laughed. Fio covered her face. "You never said that Rock... Marco and Tarma came up with the Peace Forever phrase...!" She said to herself.
"But alas, we have such violent and humorous wars with that damn General Morden! And Aliens! Don't forget those spaghetti and meatball sacks of flesh! UGH! And then there's this new virus roaming around the area, infecting people! Why can't we just have peace?" Rock said, covering his face with his hand, secretly staring at Shade.
Shade's eyes widened upon hearing the word 'virus'. Although Rock said the signal would be given at the hint, he wanted to play this out a little longer and make sure he's right about his assumption with the guy.
"Shade, you seemed to have heard this virus. Don't lie to me, I hear you have created a CURE! HMMMMMMMM."
"Rock, stop it!" Fio whispered. It was bad enough, having Rock here. She would have never told Rock her location if she knew he was going to do this cliche thing.
"Fio, grown-ups speaking." Rock said not keeping his eyes of Shade.
"EXCUSE ME!? I AM OLDER THAN YOU IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN!" She loudly whispered if that makes any sense.
"They call it the Omega Virus, right Shade?" Rock continued, ignoring Fio's threatening whispers.
"Um, yes. I've created a cure for the Omega Virus. But I have not publicly announced it to the public yet." Shade stupidly said.
"And why is that? Don't you think our good people deserve to know that their worries will be over with the cure you have in the palm of your hand?" Rock said with an eyebrow raised.
"It's just that I'm still working out the kinks with this cure. It is very complex. This free-roaming virus WAS created in a lab in Brazil and it's surprisingly mixed with computer data and DNA. It's a deadly virus indeed. I just have to ensure that the cure fully fixes the damage caused." Shade said with detail.
Rock was pissed off and he had the right to be pissed. "So... You haven't fully perfected the cure." He simply asked.
Shade's eyes angrily glared at Rock. "That's right."
Rock smirked and said: "Then this conversation is over."
CLAP! CLAP!
It happened so fast... Nadia and Trevor had pounced at Shade from the bushes with their weapons in hand, a handgun for each but Trevor had a knife and Nadia had a taser hidden.
"Shade or shall we say NIGHTSHADE. You are exposed. Give up or you can expect any further consequences you'll already have!" Trevor said.
Shade, now known as Nightshade, laughed villainously.
"Oh, how perceptive you are Rock Maverick! I can see the resemblance to you and your father with that perception!" Nightshade glared at Rock with insanity.
Rock's eyes widened.
"My father? How do you know my father!?" Rock asked.
"He was my first victim of my Omega Virus. It took his life away quicker than I could have anticipated. Unfortunately, lives after his weren't taken away as quickly. A pity since I only had three kills in my attempt."
"You... BASTARD! All of those innocents! Murdered by someone as pathetic as you!"
Fio was shocked to find out that the man she was dating was the wanted mastermind behind the Omega Virus.
"I... I can't believe this...!" Fio was going to be scarred for a while.
"So you admit the murders you committed. You aren't very bright for a mastermind. Now just turn yourself in!" Nadia said taking safety off her gun.
"Oh please! You and what army?" Nightshade asked laughing.
"The Regular Army, that's what!"
Nightshade's eyes widened as helicopters in the sky shown up and soldiers fell from the copter with guns in hand. Five of the best soldiers, Ralf Jones, Clark Still, Eri Kasamoto, Tarma Roving and Marco Rossi were there, guns pointed at Nightshade.
"M-MARCO ROSSI!?" Nightshade yelled in shock.
"Don't mistake me for some famous driver either." He said smirking.
"So, Nightshade," Tarma said with his arms crossed. "What's your next move?"
Without hesitation, Nightshade accepted defeat. "...I surrender."
Nightshade had been hand-cuffed, locked up by Tarma. Nightshade was making his way towards the military van that was heading to a place JUST for him, until he looked at Rock who was speaking with Marco, Fio, Nadia and Trevor.
"Maverick!" Nightshade yelled out.
Rock looked at him, his face not being completely angry. He still had a semi-angry look because of this event.
"I have to know. How did you figure it out?"
Rock folded his arms, looking at Nightshade until he perked up with someone behind him spoke up.
"That's a good question," Marco said. "How DID you find out?"
"You aren't the brightest mastermind, Nightshade." Rock began. "It all started when I went crazy over the fact that Fio had a date. I knew something didn't feel right-"
"Or, it could've been that fact that you were jealous." Eri said with a smirk.
"I had nothing to be jealous about but I did have something to be suspicious. Eri, you told me that Fio NEVER went on a date and she told you that she'd never go on a date with someone she knew OUTSIDE the base."
Eri's eyes widened. She totally forgotten that. "Fio, you DID say that!"
"I suppose you'd make an exception for a criminal, right Fio?" Marco said with a sly look.
Fio covered her face with her cap, feeling embarrassed towards Marco and co.
"When I remembered that fact, I was nervous to tell you guys that thing Fio told Eri. I know I was trying to tell my story so we could keep an eye of Fio, but I couldn't seem to get out that crucial piece of evidence. Later on, I called Fio to talk my way into finding out who she was dating. Although, she made it too easy by telling me who she was dating without having me ask. I knew immediately that she was in trouble when she mentioned this man had a cure for the Omega Virus."
"That's when he found me and Nadia. He told us very crucial points about how no one has came close to curing the Omega Virus and that he named himself Shade because none of us have seen his face, and therefore thought he could get away with it." Trevor added. "Rock had found out that he was Nightshade, the creator of the Omega Virus."
"He told us the plan to expose Shade for the criminal he was. Rock wanted to make sure we had back up, so on our way getting to Fio, Rock had got me to tell you guys about Nightshade and his location since he believed you'd all listen to me better than you'd listen to Rock because of his previous story not making much sense." Nadia ended.
"And that's how all this started." Marco said with his arms folded. "Good work you three. You've done great today. And let's be glad Fio isn't dating a criminal!"
"Marco...!" Fio said blushing red.
"I wouldn't have guessed that man's son would rat me out so quickly. I've underestimated his family name." Nightshade said.
"Okay, that's enough out of you. Let's go. You are going to give us the cure or you are going to make it and we don't want any funny business either!" Tarma said, pushing Nightshade towards the van.
"You may have stopped me soldiers, but another virus is coming right around the corner and he will take care of you Regular Army scum." Nightshade said to himself.
Eri sighed with her hands on her hips. She felt pretty embarrassed... On the inside at least.
"To think, I completely thought you was just insane Rock. I owe you an apology."
"It's alright Eri. I don't blame you one bit. I'd think I was crazy too." Rock said.
"Well, lesson learned..." Fio said, nervously smiling.
"Yeah, maybe you should date you-know-who?" Eri whispered pointing at a certain Italian-American.
"E-Eri..!" Fio said nervously.
"He isn't a person you know outside the base now is he? And besides we know that you only dated Shade because..."
Eri was pushing it too far with Fio. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
Eri snickered at her completely mortified friend. Marco didn't understand what the conversation had turned into, but he knew it had to do with him, but he decided to stir up a new conversation.
"You know, there was a prize reward for those who caught Nightshade and I think you deserve it Rock." Marco said giving a thumbs up.
"Not really Marco." Rock said rubbing the back of his head.
"What do you mean?" Marco asked.
"It wasn't just me. Nadia and Trevor helped me too. I wouldn't have done this without their help and cooperation. They deserve the money too."
Marco thought about it. Nadia and Trevor DID help him. He even mentioned, "Good job you three". Short-term memory loss perhaps?
"Very well then. We'll split the reward between you three. How does that sound?" Marco said smiling.
"PERFECT!" Nadia and Trevor yelled in absolute joy.
"How much do we get anyway?" Rock asked.
"Originally, the reward was $90,000, but since we split the cash, you each get $30,000."
"Why do I have the feeling that it was purposely $90,000 and NOT $100,000?" Trevor asked.
"Do you want it to be $100,000? We'd have trouble splitting that." Marco smiled.
"No! No! No! Trevor was just being an idiot! Right Trevor?" Nadia asked in a threatening tone.
"I wasn't being an idiot. I was just-"
"We'll take $30,000 each, thank you!" Nadia said grinning (while covering Trevor's mouth to prevent him from making any mistakes with this)
SPARROWS Base, 11:43 PM
Back in his room, he laid on his back on the bed staring at the comic book he thought he lost. He panicked looking for that book since it was VERY rare. He had no jacket on but all he had on was a white T-Shirt and military shorts along with white and black socks.
"Oh man, Sonic and Mega Man!? EVIL!? Man, Sigma has some twisted thoughts! Oh man, I just gotta read the third part immediately!"
He was about to get up but...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Three knocks came at the door this time today.
"Come in?" Rock said confused. Why is someone knocking? Everyone was having a party outside since Nightshade was stopped and he had created a legitimate cure that healed everyone that was infected (Even a few soldiers in S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. and one soldier in PF Squad was infected but cured in minutes).
It was a female who came in, but not the same one from this morning. It was Nadia Cassel instead. She had two milkshakes in her hand.
"Hi."
"Oh, Nadia. Hello."
Nadia sat next to Rock. She smiled at him.
"I wanted to say, thank you, for sharing the prize money with me and Trevor. It was really nice of you to do that."
"It was no problem. At all. After all, you two helped me out and stopped a madman from killing possibly millions of innocents." Rock said.
"Yeah, but it was you who figured it all out. We wouldn't have stopped him so soon if it wasn't for your perceptive skills." Nadia said. "So in response to your generosity, I decided to give you this."
Nadia handed over the shake in her left hand. "It's strawberry." she said smiling.
"Thanks!" Rock said sipping through the straw. It was tasty.~
As he sipped through his drink, he thought about what had happened between Fio and Shade. Fio met Shade a month after the Invasion of the Invaders. He approached her after she saved him from being captured from Rebel Soldiers. Shade and Fio spent some time together talking about things only they would've understood. Today was the day Shade would've probably KILLED Fio and after he had retrieved enough information from her.
As revenge for this, Fio had kicked Nightshade in his sensitive spot so hard, it might had bursted. He heard that she even hit that spot with her Tonfa.
"Say," Nadia said, interrupting Rock's thoughts. He looked at her, wondering what she was going to say. "How come you aren't out there. Partying with the rest of us?"
"Oh, that. Well, I just wanted to just read my comics and..." Rock said nervously.
"Nevermind that comic reading! Come on!" Nadia grabbed his hand, nearly dropping his drink.
"N-Nadia, wait!" Rock said embarrassed.
"Don't chicken out now! It'll be fun, I promise!" Nadia said with a grin.
"Nadia! You don't seem to be looking clearly!" Rock said. "I'm not wearing the best clothing..."
"O-oh...!" Nadia said blushing. "You get ready then. I'll wait outside."
25 Hours Later... Just Kidding!
2 Minutes Later
Rock left his room with his usual clothing. Nadia noticed him and smiled.
"Great, now come on! We got something special waiting for you!" Nadia said dragging him through the hallways.
He was dragged into the S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S' living room. To his surprise, Marco, Tarma, Trevor, Fio and Eri were there all sitting on couches.
"Ah, so you got him to come out." Tarma said, still wearing his shades even though it's nighttime (But it still makes him look awesome).
"What's, uh, going on?" Rock said nervously. Nadia had placed both of her hands on his shoulders.
"We're just playing a little game and thought maybe you'd join." Nadia said.
"What type of game?" Rock asked nervously... again.
"Just sit by me Rock, I saved this seat just for you." Eri said. It was between her and Fio.
Rock gulped and sat were he was designated.
"So, what's this 'game'?" Rock asked.
"Let's just say, you might enjoy it." Fio said.
Marco and Tarma brought out at least 25, no, 50, no no, even worse, 100 bottles of beer! Rock's eyes widened. He never had a sip of beer in his life. He was more of a soda type of guy.
"Beer!? NO! NO! NO!" Rock cried. "I never had a sip of beer and I want it to stay that way!"
Fio chuckled. "Relax, it's not that bad... I mean, it's bad but not THAT bad. It just depends on who's drinking it."
"Why are you drinking beer anyway Fio? And Nadia too!" Rock asked.
"I'm from France. I already started drinking before I came to the U.S." Nadia said. "But, I only had ONE beer back in France."
"I don't drink beer unless I'm compelled." Fio said.
"And you are compelled?" Rock asked.
"Of course! This is a game after all!" Fio said grinning. "The winner gets a new flatscreen!"
"Are you kidding!? A FLATSCREEN!? You can get that anywhere!" Rock angrily replied.
"But this flatscreen just came out on this day. This flatscreen has everything you'd want: Internet, Netflix, Video Games without the console, you name it." Marco said.
Rock's eyes widened at the sentence "Video Games without the console". He wouldn't have to buy a PlayStation X8 or a Wii ZX!
"What do I have to do?" Rock quickly said.
"We knew you'd cooperate. The rules are very simple. One who drinks the most without passing out wins." Tarma said.
"That sounds rather dangerous..." Rock said.
"We're aware of that, but we've got one of the best medical attention in America! And we don't pay a cent for recovery!" Eri said.
The drinks were in the circle where all of the soldiers sat. Marco grabbed the beer labeled "Playmore."
"Bottoms up!" Marco said before drinking his first bottle of beer.
Everyone started drinking, except for Rock of course.
"Come on, I promise you it won't be so bad." Fio said with certainty.
Rock gulped and took a sip of the bottle. The moment he tasted that beer, his mind was filled with so many things he loved: Video Game Characters.
"So, how does it taste?" Eri said, smirking with the top of her nose red. He was simply speechless.
"He's going to be speechless for a while." Tarma said.
"If he's not okay, then I'll have to do something nice for him." Fio said with concern.
"Well, considering that he's drinking more, I'd say he'll be okay for now." Eri said.
Fio, after finishing her first bottle, hugged Rock tightly. "Stay with us now!~" she said teasingly.
Rock's eyes looked (a little) normal, as he shifted his hands in holding onto Fio's arms. He smiled in a odd but funny way.
"Fiolina... You're skin... It's... soooooooooooo soft... I'm so happy..." Rock looked sloppy. Fio flushed in red upon hearing these words come from him along with his tone and the way he's speaking towards her. It's as if he was... well, on drugs. This was only mere beer!
"Uh-oh! Looks like someone's in trouble!" Tarma teasingly said.
"I don't think he should have any more..." Fio said with concern. She was afraid of the outcome of this would've been for him. This WAS the first beer in his life.
"Don't worry Fio. This is just a game. I'll personally make sure he doesn't do anything stupid (That is, if I can even contain myself during this game...!)." Eri said.
Fio nodded her head and gulped down her second bottle before burping rather rudely, causing everyone to laugh (excluding Rock because of his current state), ignoring that fact that Fio was the most polite of them all. Fio just laughed with them and went for a third bottle.
S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. BASE, 2:30 AM
"Well, let's face it..." Eri started, hiccuping and wobbling her head a little bit. "Between Marco and Tarma, Tarma won this..."
"Woo-Hoo..." Tarma said throwing his hands in the air before falling down on the ground, face-flat. Poor drunken fool probably broke his shades.
Fio woke up after passing out over drinking a little too much. Her glasses were missing. That was something she noticed immediately. Her vision didn't seem to be a problem at the moment fortunately.
"Tarma won huh... What happened after I passed out...?" Fio asked.
"Let's see... Trevor and Nadia kissed and refused to play anymore after that. I puked after drinking like my 22nd bottle..." Eri explained, rubbing her forehead.
"That explains why it smells in here." Fio said with a sweatdrop. Fio looked over and saw Trevor and Nadia sleeping while hugging each other. "And they might be arguing and yelling once they wake up." She looked over at Marco, who was just lying on the couch, with his mouth wide open.
"Rock, however..." Eri continued.
Fio looked over at Rock who was laid back with Fio's glasses on. He didn't look like he was sleeping peacefully. His hair was more wild than it already was, looking like he was on you-know-what (and if you don't, then don't worry about it, think of a Mad Scientist! Okay? Good!). The T-shirt that was previously plain white wasn't completely white anymore as beer spots and stains were on his good shirt. Fortunately, not a single drop got on his jacket.
"What happened to him?" Fio asked.
"Out of all of us, Rock was affected by beer the most. He was drunk after taking two bottles."
"I... remember that part." Fio said.
"But what you don't know is that he tried to kiss me and you... Well, you first, but you passed out before he could. He tried kissing me and... out of stupidity, I allowed him to and that's actually another reason why I puked... He eventually knocked himself out grabbing a beer bottle which is why he passed out. I did catch him hugging you and... groping you."
Fio flushed with red. "He DID that!?"
"Well, he was drunk remember? I did pull him away from you, so you're welcome." Eri said, hiccuping again.
"I knew I should've stopped him when I had the chance..." Fio said.
"I'm surprised you aren't mad. He GROPED your breasts and body while you were sleeping." Eri said raising an eyebrow.
"But beer is what made him do that. I can't be mad because he got drunk. And besides, we pretty much forced him into doing this game." Fio said. She realized that her bra was not clipped together. She suspected Rock had something to do with that. She sighed.
"So, who got close to Tarma?" Fio asked clipping her bra together and taking back her glasses.
"Marco got 2nd place, I got 3rd place, Trevor was 4th, you with 5th, Nadia was 6th, and Rock was DEAD last. He only had like five or seven bottles." Eri explained.
"Well, we better clean up here..." Fio said, stretching about.
Fio dragged Rock's feet while Eri got his hands and took him to his room. Although not awake, he was speaking in his sleep.
"Fio... Do you think I'll get a large cheese Pizza today? I'd be veerry greatful and I'd do anything for my pizzzzzzza..."
Fio smiled at her little friend. "Of course I'll get you your pizza. It'll be the largest pizza in the world..."
Dropping off their "package" on the bed, they laid their backs against the wall, rubbing their foreheads.
"I think Marco might be dead, Fio." Eri said in (false) concern.
"Shut up Eri... Just shut up." Fio said sighing.
UPDATE! Removed some bits of the story and added some more bits to the story. Consider this a... uh... Director's Cut? N-No, that's not it. Whatever, let's just call it a update. Okay? Okay!
Author's Notes:
Idea to expand on my little story here. I'll be working on Metal Slug fanfics for a little while. Mega Man ZX FF won't be cancelled! Not in the slightest! Break time is all it is.
So, with this story Fio has a date. I got this idea from the Days of Memories 2 Game where Fio is featured as an energetic girl who's in the same class as the protagonist. Never played it only read it on the Metal Slug wikia and SNK Wikia.
This story, in case it isn't obvious, takes place after Metal Slug 6 but before Metal Slug 4. That's why Nadia and Trevor are introduced.
Nightshade is my character and SPOILER ALERT, is apart of the Amadeus Syndicate. The Omega Virus' details will be revealed later on and involves Amadeus and Nightshade.
And just for the heck of it let's do the age list of each character in these stories:
Marco Rossi - 25
Tarma Roving - 25
Fiolina Germi - 22
Eri Kasamoto - 20
Trevor Spacey - 20
Nadia Cassel - 18
Ralf Jones - 39
Clark Still - 34
Leona Heidern - 18
Rock Maverick - 21
Nightshade - 24 or 25
Lock containing the next secret file is in process. Please be patient. ~