Finale
"So, you're not upset?" said Benny as he was being lead down the halls of the shooter by his Sargent, the woman smiling.
"Of course not!" chuckled Calhoun, putting her hand on the young NPC's shoulder "I just wish ya would have come ta me earlier about all'a this! I could have helped ya, Benny!"
"I see that now." The young man said, a bit of shame ringing clear in his voice "It's just….I didn't know if you would view me the same if I told you I was so worried about sticking to my job. I know it's not as important as yours but-!"
"No, no. Benny stop."
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Benny, you're an NPC. But that doesn't mean for a moment that your job is NOT important in this game! I count on ya as I do EVERYONE in this game an' I can not tell ya how proud I am that such a kid like yourself wakes up every day ready ta kick some Cybug butt!"
The young marine began to smile, his confidence rising with such words.
"Gee…th-thanks. Sorry to get all mushy on you Sarge but…."
"Yes?"
"I…I feel better now." The young man smiled "I'm proud to serve under your leadership."
Calhoun smiled warmly but she turned the marine around and shoved him into the corridor "Daaaah, take tha mush an' use it ta choke some Cybugs! Them things are WAITIN' for ya!"
Returning firmly to his feet, Benny looked back with a powerful smile "Shall I get the BIG guns for this fight?"
Calhoun waved a hand "Take your pick an' enjoy!"
And the boy was off, blood pumping and his trigger finger just WAITING to blast some bugs in the face. Once she saw that her partner was taken care of, Calhoun readied herself to return to Niceland for another evening.
"Hmm, wonder how Felix is doin' tonight." She smiled, already thinking about snuggling her husband in her arms "I think he an' tha others should be takin' it easy tonight."
As Calhoun made her way through the station, a familiar figure caught her eye.
Demitri?
"Hey, ya ol' bugger!" the woman called. The vampire didn't even flinch, Morrigan and Lilith on either side of him.
"Yeeees?"
"Gonna warn ya." The space Marine said, pointing right at the man "Don't try Blissin' people like ya have. Not everyone is gonna be as lax about it as WE were."
The man chortled, extending a hand towards Calhoun "But young lady! There are certain things I can not help but do! It would be like telling you NOT to run around the arcade with a giant pistol in hand!"
"I do NOT run around with-!" the woman stopped herself, seeing the all-too-hated grin the man was giving her "Haha, just don't cause any trouble tonight. We have ENOUGH people being punished for things."
"Really?" asked Lilith "Don't mean to be nosy but what happened?"
The marine gave the little demon a playful grin "Oooh, ya REALLY wanna know?"
"How many pies have they done so far?" Ralph smiled, both he and Felix sitting in the atrium as they watched a few characters going in and out of the community kitchen.
"I'd say they're up to about six hundred now." Said Felix "About one thousand more ta go an' they should be done?"
"Wasn't it about….NINE THOUSAND?" the Wrecker laughed "Shall I asks your HONEY-GLOW for tha correct number?"
"C'mon man, this is embarrasin' enough!" shouted the character, the SAME character who had accosted Calhoun and Mary in the station the previous night "Why should we be stuck doing NPC work?! This is stupid?"
"Stupid?"
All eyes went to the door as a tall figure approached, hands on her hips and a look that said she was none too happy about the comment she had just heard.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I did I not warn ya fellas 'bout talkin' in such a manner?" said Calhoun "After all, I'd think doin' somethin' like THIS is gettin' off easy. I mean, there are worse punishments ya could have gotten for handlin' characters in such tha manner as ya did with MEEEEE."
Calhoun leaned in closer, pulling out one of her loaded guns.
"MUCH worse."
"Okay, okay! I get it!" cried the character, signaling to their troupes to bake faster "J-Just let us get this work done!"
"Are they givin' ya any trouble?" asked the woman coyly as she sat next to her husband "I could hand ya off a gun if they are?"
"Tammy, they're fine." The repairman smiled, smooching his wife on the cheek "I just hafta ask."
"Yes?"
"Why in tha arcade are ya makin' 'em bake PIES of all things? I mean, ya did make up a list of punishments people caught bullyin' would get but this? Why tha change of heart?"
Calhoun was about to answer when she caught a glance of two figures walking down the hall, one dressed in blue. The other in pink.
"Gene, I told you. Don't worry about me so much." Said Mary, trying to get the fussing Gene off of her.
"Sorry, but I just can't!" the man said, taking Mary's hands into his own and holding them warmly "It seems like everywhere we turn, another catastrophe erupts!"
"Honey, what happened in the station? It wasn't as bad as you think, I promise!"
"But-!"
Mary put her hands on Gene's head, their words fading as she lead the man away, Calhoun watching them disappear within the halls of the apartment. She couldn't help but smile, remembering the way the Nicelanders had helped her get comfortable in her new, albeit temporary skin but most of all how Mary had helped her adjust to the work flow that the Nicelander had done day in and day out, for thirty years.
It may have looked simple from the outside but from her own experiences, the marine had worked first hand alongside the group. The tasks were not so simple, were not so cut-and-paste but through it all, the little group managed to enjoy themselves and as she felt more open towards them, Calhoun had begun to feel the same.
It might not have been shooting or kicking various aliens in the face but Calhoun began to see why the Nicelanders enjoyed their work, enjoy their home, enjoyed their friendship with each other.
And she also began to see why it hurt them when someone tried to remind them they were JUST NPCs.
It was an odd thing to go through, to see life in the arcade through the eyes of an NPC, especially one so small and round. The entire experience opened up her eyes to just how they worked but also their own problems that were still happening in the arcade, thing she could not believe were still happening under her own nose.
"Babe?"
Felix looked up at his wife "Yeah?"
"I have my REASONS as ta why I think pie-bakin' would do guys like this a world of good." She smiled "Ya might think it's silly but there are reasons."
Wrecker and repairman exchanged looks, not quite clear on what the Marine had meant but from the smile on her face Calhoun was getting some satisfaction in knowing something was being done. Maybe cleaning up Litwak's wasn't going to be as easy as she first thought but if she could do something, anything to help, she wanted to do it.
"Hey Felix?"
"Yes, Tammy?"
"Do ya think Mary n' Gene would mind if I brought some more of my boys ta tha NPC meetin'?"
