PREVIOUSLY…
Following the events of last episode, Eddie Russell meets up with his boss, the cool, unflappable Julian Maverick, at a bar called the Raw Onion. After telling Julian what was going on, the asparagus decides to continue with their original plan to take over Carrotblanca and therefore all of Veggie Tales; only this time, they're going to use some force to do so?
Friday morning, Bob and Madame Blueberry finally admit to one another their feelings, much to the delight of the staff. Scallion 1 came to Bob asking for resignation, and told him more about Eddie Russell. Bob told him and the other scallions to relax-and gave a pep talk to keep them on the film. However, Eddie overheard, and locked the scallions in Scallion 2's office. While heading to the electrical room to investigate a mysterious noise, the others ran into Julian. He revealed his and Eddie's true intent to the group: to take over Veggie Tales, starting with Carrotblanca, and destroy its reputation, putting Big Idea out of business and leaving Radical Animation free to remain on top. After he and Bob argue, Eddie shows up and reprograms their robot to attack the veggies. Madame Blueberry and Larry attempt to stop Julian, Mr. Lunt chases after Eddie, and Bob and the French Peas are left to defend themselves from the robot.
Can the Big Idea staff stop the two maniacal vegetables? Or will Big Idea fall under their reign of terror?
(In the Big Idea viewing room)
Mr. Lunt: They finally told each other their feelings, and then these psycho dudes had to mess up everything?! Man, I'm out of here!
Larry: Hey, relax. I think this is supposed to be the last time they're going to be here.
Mr. Lunt: I hope so. I don't want this to be drawn out like they do on the soaps. Speaking of which, isn't General Store supposed to be on?
Larry: Yeah. Pa's watching it in the break room.
Mr. Lunt: I'm going to watch that. Tell me what happens.
Iheartgod175 presents:
Hugs and Kisses: A Love Story
Created: January 25th, 2013
Published: January 28th, 2013
Rated: K+ (For the romantic stuff and drama.)
This Chapter: September 13th, 2013 (Happy Yom Kippur to all Jewish readers!)
Plot: A new episode parodying Casablanca is being filmed, and the producers have decided to throw in some romantic scenes. Bob, who is the head producer of this episode, isn't at all fazed by this...until he learns that said romantic scenes are going to feature him and Madame Blueberry, who are playing the main characters! Since he's never had any experience in the romantic field, he's a nervous wreck about the whole thing; Madame Blueberry, however, is delighted, being that she has quite the crush on the tomato. It's not long before romance happens behind the scenes...Bob/Madame Blueberry, with some Larry/Petunia and minor Archie/Lovey.
Author's Note: This is the last chapter with Eddie and Julian, guys, and then you'll never see them again...until the sequel that is. There are lots of suspenseful moments, including a part where Julian draws out a gun...you have been warned.
Disclaimer: As much as I love Veggie Tales, I never will own them. The series belongs to Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, the creators. If they decided to suddenly drop the company into my hands, then this story would be real. Other than that, don't count on it.
Chapter 12: The Incident, Part 2
"AAAAH!" Bob, Jean-Claude and Philippe screamed as the robot was about to bury them into the floor. Bob closed his eyes, silently praying that someone would intervene and save them.
All of a sudden, his prayers were answered. There was a loud battle cry, and the next thing Bob knew, he had been shoved into the wall. The robot's fist slammed into the floor, creating a crater sized hole.
"Bob, thank goodness you're okay! That robot nearly turned ya into ketchup!" Jimmy had pushed him and the French peas to safety.
"Don't remind me. How'd you get down here?" he asked.
"We came here to check on you when we heard all the noise!" Pa shouted. Jimmy and the others scattered as the robot plunged its fist into the wall where they had been standing. At that moment, Archie came around the other side, and gaped at what he was seeing.
"Bob, what's going on?" he asked.
"No time now, Archie! Right now, we've gotta figure out how to stop this thing!" Bob yelled. The robot turned around and started chasing them down the hall. Everyone crowded into the farthest wall, terrified of what the machine would do.
"I knew we shouldn't have left the batteries in there!" Pa yelled. At the mention of 'batteries', something in Archie's mind turned. He looked over to his right and saw a vending machine. His eyes brightened.
"Guys, I have an idea!" he said. "We can fire soda cans at the robot and it'll short circuit the batteries!"
The others looked at Archie in surprise. "Are you sure that's gonna work?" Jimmy asked.
"I'm positive it will. Quick, you two go and buy as many sodas as you can! We won't have much time!" Archie's order turned into a scream as he and the others ran off to the other side to escape the wrath of the rampaging robot. Jimmy and Jerry went over to the soda machine, and pulled out their wallets. Jimmy pulled out a dollar and inserted it into the slot. To his shock, the machine wouldn't take it.
"Oh come on! It's not that wrinkly!" he grumbled. Even after smoothing the bill out at the edges, the dollar wouldn't go in.
"HURRY!" Pa yelled, and then there was another crash as the robot destroyed another room. Jerry turned to Jimmy, anxious.
"Let me try, Jimmy!" Jerry whipped out a dollar and put it in the machine. The slot took it at first, but then it spit it right back out. The greenback slowly fluttered to the floor.
"This vending machine was always a hassle. I'm gonna try the-"
"There's no time for that, Jimmy! We're going to smash the door open!" Before Jimmy could say anything, Jerry grabbed the stool behind him and slammed it into the glass screen protecting the soda. A shower of glass rained on both gourds and onto the floor, but Jerry didn't care. He tossed the stool aside and started yanking sodas out of the machine.
"Jimmy, take these and give them to Archie and others!" Jerry said.
Jimmy just stared at him, completely shocked. "Holy cow, Jerry," he said.
"Jimmy, COME ON!" Bob yelled at them. He and the others were coming back from down the hall, the robot still behind them. "We can't run forever!"
That got Jimmy to focus. He grabbed several cans of Orange Delight and Dr. Veggie and threw them at Bob and the others. With their new ammunition in tow, everyone turned to face the robot, which started running towards them with its arms flying everywhere. Its wild movements damaged the ceiling and the walls.
"Everyone, take aim and FIRE!" Bob yelled. After a moment of taking aim, the seven of them threw their soda cans at the robot. They all burst on contact, sending streams of soda spraying over the veggies. The robot began to slow down, and then started to jerk about wildly as it short-circuited. Tendrils of blue electricity climbed over the robot's body, and then it stopped altogether.
"HOORAY!" Everyone cheered, but then they saw that the robot started to lean forward. They all jumped back as the robot crashed to the floor with a thud.
Pa sighed. "Boy, am I glad that's over. I don't think I want to run around that much again!" he said.
"I don't think I want to film that action scene if the robot's gonna do that," Jimmy said.
"Well, now that we've got that under control, we need to go and find Eddie and Julian," Bob said. "They could be anywhere in this building."
"Mr. Lunt went after Eddie, and Madame Blue and Larry are chasing after Julian," Jean-Claude said.
"I need to go find those two. I want to make sure they're okay," Bob said.
"I know you're worried about Madame Blue, Bob, but like you said, they can be anywhere," Pa said. "We don't even know where to look." Everyone fell silent as they tried to think of where they could be.
Suddenly, Philippe said, "Wait a minute. I think Mr. Lunt and Eddie went towards the lobby, and Madame Blue and Julian went to the second floor."
"I agree, Philippe. They were heading in that direction. Possibly to the emergency stairs," Pa said.
"Come on! There's no time to waste! Madame Blue and the others could be in trouble!" Bob said. Before he could take off running, there was a loud bang that came from upstairs. At once, Bob remembered the scallions locked in the office up there. He had gotten so caught up in the drama with Julian that he'd forgot about them.
"Jimmy, Jerry, you go upstairs and get the scallions out. Pa, Archie, you go find Mr. Lunt. Jean-Claude, Philippe, you call the police," Bob ordered.
"What about you, Bob?" Archie asked.
"I'm going to find Madame Blue and Larry. I just have this feeling that if I don't make it in time, something bad is gonna happen up there," Bob answered. Without waiting for the asparagus to reply, he ran towards the emergency stairs.
"Come on, everyone! We've got some mad vegetables to stop!" Archie said. The six then split up into their respective groups and took off.
The moment he reached the end of the hall, Julian knew that he was cornered. He'd kept running back and forth into various dead ends, nearly getting caught by Madame Blue and Larry. It occurred to him then that he didn't really know the building's layout, and they did. Plus, the blueberry seemed to have unlimited energy. Whenever he thought he'd lost her, she'd come right around the corner and the chase started all over again. Maybe if he weren't so frazzled, he could concentrate.
"Aha! I've got you!" Madame Blue's voice brought the asparagus to his senses. She was standing at the other end of the hall, glaring at him. "Surrender, Julian! You're finished!"
Julian blinked, and then he laughed. Madame Blueberry's fierce glare turned into a puzzled expression. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"On the contrary, Madame, you're the one who's finished!" Julian said. He jumped off of the wall and pulled out two guns from his jacket pocket. One was a bubblegum pistol. The other was a gun. Madame Blueberry stared at the asparagus in shock.
"I should've finished you off when I had the chance, blueberry. Now, you're going to pay for what you did yesterday," Julian said. At that moment, Larry came from the other side. When he saw Julian, his mouth dropped open in shock.
"Drop the guns!" he yelled, and started running down the hall towards the asparagus. Julian used the gun on his right to fire a mass of sticky pink bubblegum at Larry. The cucumber had no time to slow down, and the gum hit him and stuck him to the floor. He twisted and turned, but he couldn't move.
"Larry!" Madame Blue yelled. At once there was the ka-clink of a bullet being loaded. She turned around, horrified, to see Julian dispose of his bubblegum pistol and point his handgun at her. His eyes were darker than thunderclouds.
"Pity that everything comes to violence. But in this case, it's justified." An evil smile crossed his lips, making Madame Blue all the more horrified.
"And this is because I called the police on Eddie?"
"No- this is because you ruined my plans!" Julian roared.
"Your plan endangered our own employees!" she said.
"Employees are expendable! That stupid gourd can die, for all I care," Julian said. Madame Blue flinched at the asparagus' nasty tone. "But none of that matters. I'm going to destroy this company, as well as anyone who gets in my way. And now…" He paused as he loaded another bullet into his gun. "I do believe these bullets have your names on them."
"You can't do this!" Larry said, struggling to get out of the gum.
"Oh, but I can. And I will," he said, pointing the gun once again at Madame Blue.
Madame Blue screamed, "Someone, HELP!"
"No one can save you now, blueberry." Julian's grin was devoid of every emotion possible. "Now, prepare to DIE!"
"Don't you touch her!" someone yelled. Julian had no time to turn around as Bob flew in out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet went into the lights overhead, smashing through the light bulb and darkening that section of the room. An obvious struggle was taking place on the other side as the two veggies were wrestling each other.
"Madame Blue, can you see what's going on?" Larry asked. The blueberry came over to the cucumber's side, and started to pick away at the gum with her makeup tools.
"I'm not sure. I didn't see who it was, since I had closed my eyes," Madame Blueberry said. "But…it sounded like Bob!" After finally tearing away the last bit of gum, Larry got up only to see Julian fly across the hallway and into the other side, where the copier machine was. He slammed into the machine with a loud crash, and slumped to the floor in pain.
Both Madame Blue and Larry were shocked when Bob came from the other side of the hall. His face revealed his barely concealed fury. When Julian opened his eyes, he recoiled at the sight of the angry tomato, who stared down at him with narrowed eyes.
"Let me make something very clear to you, Julian: don't you ever threaten my girlfriend or any of my friends like that again," Bob said angrily. "If you do, I will make sure you regret it."
Julian was shaking in fear. One look at the tomato's face let him know that Bob meant what he said. Very slowly, he nodded, and the tomato stepped back, satisfied that he'd made his point. He snatched the gun away from Julian and walked away, leaving the asparagus cowering by the wall.
When he reached other side of the hall, he was treated to the sight of his two friends staring at him in shock. Madame Blue's mouth was formed into a small 'O' in surprise, and Larry's jaw was level with the floor.
"Wow, Bob. Just…wow," Larry said. "I didn't know you could hold your own in a fight."
"Normally, I don't get into fights with people, but he nearly killed you and Madame Blueberry. Like I said before, I'm not going to lose the people I care about," he said.
Realizing that she and Larry could have died were it not for him, Madame Blueberry began to cry. Larry was confused, but Bob went over to Madame Blue's side and gave her a hug. Tears were starting to form in his eyes as well, as he had nearly lost the one person who he cared about.
"Thank goodness you came in time, Bob! Thank goodness!" she sobbed. Bob sniffled a little, and kissed her on her forehead.
"It's a good thing I trust my instincts. I had a feeling that if I didn't come up here to find you, something terrible could have happened to you and Larry. I guess I was right," he said.
Larry was about to say something, but then he noticed Julian crawling to where Bob had dropped the gun. The asparagus snatched the gun up and aimed directly at Bob.
"Bob, LOOK OUT!" Larry yelled, and shoved both Bob and Madame Blue out of the way just as the bullet hit the wall where they were standing. It ricocheted off of the wall and hit the window, leaving a hole in it. The three of them stared at Julian in shock.
"If that was your best shot, Julian, you're in big trouble." This time, Larry was the one getting upset. After helping Madame Blue and Bob up, he stood in between them, looking ready to handle the asparagus himself.
Julian blinked, and then grinned. "That wasn't my best shot…and it certainly isn't my last!" The asparagus charged forward, knocking down Larry and Bob. He snatched Madame Blueberry and took off running, dragging her with him.
"Let me GO!" she yelled, and struggled to wrestle free from his grasp.
"Forget it. You're still getting what's coming to you, blueberry," the asparagus growled. Madame Blue screamed for help as the mad vegetable tore down the emergency stairs.
Larry gasped. "Bob, he's got Madame Blue!"
The tomato looked as if he'd been slapped. "WHAT?!" he yelled.
"They went down the emergency stairs!" he said. Bob jumped up, urgent.
"Come on! We've got to stop him before it's too late!" he yelled, and soon he and Larry took off.
Eddie Russell made a frantic swerve and made his way down the hall, gasping for air as he ran. Not long after he'd made it, Mr. Lunt came around the corner. He saw Eddie and yelled, "Get back here!" Eddie merely responded by taking off, and the gourd chased him down. The door to the emergency stairs flung open and Pa and Archie spilled out of the door. They crashed into Mr. Lunt, who had passed by them and didn't see them.
"Oy! Didn't you see us?"
"Of course not! I'm trying to stop Eddie from escaping!" Mr. Lunt said. "He's heading towards the lobby!"
"Come on!" Pa urged, and all three got up and started running down the hallway. They saw Eddie turn a corner, and picked up their pace.
"Don't let him get away!" Archie yelled.
"Trust me, I won't!" Mr. Lunt shouted back. He seemed to be the most determined to catch Eddie. When they reached the end of the hallway, they saw Eddie standing near the camera room, catching his breath.
"We've got you now, Eddie! Surrender or else!" Pa said. Eddie looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Alright, alright! I surrender…suckers!" Eddie smashed open the controls to the camera room before anyone could stop him, and jumped backwards as a laser bolt shot out of the room. Soon, multiple lasers started flying out of the room, leaving burn marks in the walls. The three had to duck to avoid getting hit by the lasers.
"He somehow got that camera to shoot lasers again!" Archie said.
"Brilliant deduction, asparagus. See if you can get past this, stupid gourd!" Eddie laughed, and took off down the hall at the speed of an Olympic medalist, leaving the hallway looking like a laser show.
Mr. Lunt looked ready to chase after him, but Pa held him back. "You can't go in there! You could get seriously hurt by those lasers!" he said.
"But that psycho is getting away! He could get outside and seriously hurt someone!" Mr. Lunt pleaded.
"You could get seriously hurt!" Archie shot back.
"I'm more worried about everyone else more than myself, Archie!" Mr. Lunt said.
"Alright, guys, focus! We need to find another way to the lobby!" Pa said. After a few seconds, he said, "We can take the back way! There's a roundabout way to get the lobby!" He had to duck as another stray laser nearly hit him. It hit the floor behind him, leaving a black mark on the floor.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get outta here!" Mr. Lunt said, and the three turned around and ran back the way they came, avoiding lasers along the way.
Scallion 2 slumped to the floor, exhausted. He had slammed his body into the door repeatedly, but he was doing more damage to himself than he was to the door. Bob had said he was coming back with something to break them out, but apparently he was busy with other things. Behind him, the other two scallions were sitting in the chairs, anxious.
Scallion 3 groaned. "Ugh, where IS Bob?" he growled. He got up and started pacing the floor.
"I'm not sure. But if Eddie's here, he's probably dealing with him," Scallion 1 replied.
All three nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard a gunshot below. The bullet flew through the floor, and stuck into the ceiling above them. Scallion 1 turned to Scallion 2, shocked.
"What was that all about?" he asked. Before the taller scallion could answer, someone knocked on the door. They turned around to see who was there.
"Hey, it's Jimmy and Jerry! Bob sent us up here to get you out of there!" Jimmy yelled.
"Oh, thank goodness. We were getting worried," Scallion 1 said.
"Now uh…how are we going to get them out of there, Jerry?" Jimmy asked.
If Scallion 1 had hands, he would have facepalmed. "Can't you just get something to wrench the metal off?" he asked.
"Nope. We don't have a crowbar or anything here. Something about 'no weapons on grounds'," Jimmy replied.
"Wait a second, Jimmy. We can use this to break them out," Jerry said. Then there was the sound of wood scraping on the carpet.
"Jerry, I don't think that's such a-"
"Guys, get away from the door!" Jerry yelled. He slammed something repeatedly into the door, and with every hit, the doors started to slowly open.
"Uh, Jerry?" Jimmy asked, but Jerry merely tossed the chair he was holding at the door. The door gave way, but the chair flew through the air. The scallions ducked as the chair sailed overhead and crashed through the window. A few seconds later, there was a huge crash and the sound of car sirens filled the air.
All four veggies turned to stare at Jerry, who looked just as shocked as they felt. "Oops," he said.
"I hope it wasn't Bob's car that he hit. Anyway, we've got to get downstairs and see if the police arrived yet!" Jimmy said. At once, a chorus of police sirens filled the air. Jerry went over to the window to see what was going on.
"I don't think we need to," Jerry said. "Look outside!"
The others crowded around him to see a swarm of police cars flying down the road. Their lights could be seen from a mile away. Before long, they swerved into the parking lot, zigzagging their way through the mass of cars.
"Well, I guess one of the staff members called the police," Scallion 1 said. "But I wonder who?"
"Who cares? I'm just glad that Eddie's gonna be out of here soon enough," Scallion 3 said. But before he and teh scallions could leave, Jerry gasped. He turned to the gourd, who was shaking.
"Jerry! What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think you need to see this," Jerry said. Scallion 3 came over to the window, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A tall asparagus rush out of the front doors, dragging Madame Blue with him. She screamed in protest, trying to get away from him, but to no avail. He was standing in front of the car that Jerry had smashed with the chair. Apparently, it was his. A few seconds later, Eddie came running out. They said some words, and then took off for the parking lot. Pa, Archie and Mr. Lunt came out not long after they did, and soon, everyone was chasing after the two veggies.
"There's some asparagus who's got Madame Blueberry! And he and Eddie are running towards the other side of the parking lot!" Scallion 3 said.
"Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go get 'em!" Jimmy said, and all of them rushed out of the office.
Eddie ran to the outskirts of the parking lot, where his car was parked at. Remembering that he was far ahead of the other veggie, he made a mad dash to his car, hoping he could get away before the police showed up.
All of a sudden, there was a war cry of sorts, and Eddie turned to his right to see Mr. Lunt fly at him. The zucchini had no time to react as he was tackled to the ground. Soon, he and the gourd were wrestling each other on the concrete, each trying to throw the other off.
Pa and Archie came running around the corner. When Eddie saw them, he picked up Mr. Lunt and threw him at Archie. The gourd slammed straight into the asparagus, knocking him down like a bowling pin. Pa and Mr. Nezzer, who had just joined the chase, glared at the zucchini.
"You do that again, and you're gonna be real sorry!" Mr. Nezzer said.
Eddie looked ready to take off again. "Stay back! I'm warning you!" he said. For the first time ever, he looked afraid.
"They'll stay back once they know who I have with me." Julian's voice entered the fray. Everyone present turned around, horrified to see the asparagus with Madame Blue. "Unless you want her to live, you'll surrender."
"Don't listen to him, guys! It's a trap!" Madame Blue yelled. She yelped in pain as Julian tightened his grip on her. One glare from the asparagus was all she needed to keep her mouth shut.
"LET HER GO!" Bob flew onto the scene, Larry right behind him. He pushed past the others until he came face to face with Julian. The look on his face was dangerous. "Or you're going to be in serious trouble!"
Julian laughed. "And risk the life of your girlfriend? I doubt it. Just name me as the head producer of Veggie Tales, and I'll let her go," he said.
Bob blanched. "Forget it, Julian. I'm not going give my position to a heartless scoundrel like you!"
"Fine. Eddie, toss me that gun," Julian said. The zucchini reached into the window of his car and pulled out a revolver, and tossed the weapon at the asparagus. Pa and Mr. Lunt tried to catch it, but Eddie knocked them down to the ground.
Julian caught the gun effortlessly, and pointed it to Madame Blue's head. "You so much as take one step towards me," he said as Bob took a step towards him, "and she's gone. I know you don't want that to happen. So, do we have a deal?"
Bob froze in place, eyes wide. All sorts of decisions ran through his mind. He would never allow Julian to get the position of head producer, but if he didn't give it up, he could lose Madame Blueberry. His friends shouted their opinions at him, making it all the harder for him to think.
Swallowing heavily, he turned to the asparagus, tears forming in his eyes. "I…"
"Don't do anything, Bob! He's playing on your emotions!" Madame Blue shouted.
"You must really want me to kill you," Julian said. "I'll give you one last chance: shut up or else."
"No! Don't shoot her!" Bob felt tears roll down his face, but at the moment he didn't care. "I'll do anything you want; just don't kill her!"
"Anything, hm?" A cruel smile graced Julian's lips. "Including giving up your job?"
Bob felt everyone's eyes on him. To his left, he saw Mr. Lunt vehemently shaking his head. He swallowed again and said, "Fine…I'll give you the position."
Everyone gasped, and Mr. Lunt and Larry looked at him like he was crazy.
"Are you out of your mind?! Julian's going to-" Larry started, but Eddie cut him off.
"So you'll willingly sacrifice your job for a bunch of dweebs like these?" Eddie scoffed. "What a wuss."
Mr. Nezzer whirled on the zucchini. "He cares about people, unlike you and Julian, Eddie!" he said.
"I'd like to get back to the point, if you don't mind," Julian said. He rudely shoved Madame Blue towards Bob. "Take her back. I don't need her, since I've gotten what I came for." He gave Bob a cold glare. "I've kept my end of the deal. Now, you keep yours."
"Bob, are you really going through with this?!" Mr. Lunt shrieked. "This guy's going to ruin everything!"
"Funny you should say that, gourd, because that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Julian's eyes gleamed with evil. "Now, I can legally send this company fifty feet under!"
"You won't be doing anything to this studio! GET 'EM, GUYS!" Everyone, including Julian and Eddie, turned to see Jimmy, Jerry and the Scallions standing there-along with about twenty cops. At the gourd's command, the officers rushed towards them.
Eddie and Julian took off running, but the cops caught up to them. They forced the two vegetables onto the ground with guns drawn. Despite their best efforts, Julian and Eddie were no match for twenty armed policemen. They were cuffed, wrestled to a standing position, and hauled off to a police truck that had just arrived. Julian started yelling at Bob.
"You may have won for now, tomato, but you haven't heard the last of Julian Maverick or Eddie Russell!" he yelled. "We will come back and we will have our revenge!"
The rest of Julian's rant was unheard, because the police shut the door on them. At the sight of the car rolling away, the staff of Big Idea erupted into cheers and applause.
"And they're out of here! Woo-hoo!" Scallion 1 cheered. His friends stared at him in shock. "What? Aren't you glad they're gone?"
"I'm just surprised that you can cheer, after all that just happened," Scallion 2 replied. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Jerry went over to join their friends.
"You guys lead the police here?" Pa asked them. He couldn't believe that Jimmy and Jerry, of all people, had managed to put an end to the vegetables' reign of terror on the studio.
"Uh, yeah. We saw the whole thing from the window. Jerry was the one who threw the chair out the window and it hit Julian's car," Jimmy said. "We ran outside, rounded up twenty cops and followed where we last saw you."
"Thank goodness for that. I think Julian would have killed Madame Blue if you hadn't shown up," Archie said. "I'm relieved that nobody got hurt."
"So am I," Larry said. The next thing he knew he heard shouting. He turned to see Mr. Lunt and Bob arguing.
"I can't believe you, Bob! You nearly gave up your position and the future of the whole company to that psycho!" Mr. Lunt was saying.
"If I didn't, you or one of our friends-who happens to be my girlfriend-could have died, Mr. Lunt! I'd sacrifice my job before I sacrifice her or any of you!" Bob yelled. This got the gourd to shut up real fast, as he didn't have a comeback for that.
"I can make another company to replace the old one. I can get a new job to replace the old one. But I can never find another person to replace Madame Blueberry, or you, Mr. Lunt, because there's nobody else like her or you!" Bob said. "If something happened to her, I don't think I'd fall in love with someone else. And if something happened to you guys, I'd never forgive myself. You all are like family to me. And that is something I treasure above everything."
"You…you really mean that, Bob?" Madame Blue asked softly.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't give you up for anything," he said. He pulled her into a hug, and then behind him he heard an entourage of sniffles. He turned to see Mr. Lunt, Pa, Larry and Archie all teary eyed.
"Aw, great! Now you've got me acting all sappy!" Mr. Lunt said, wiping his tears with a hankie. At this everyone laughed. Soon, a police officer came up to them, holding a pen and a sheet of paper.
"Excuse me, I need to ask you guys some questions pertaining to Eddie and Julian," the police said.
It would be several hours before they were able to take a break. After they'd all explained what happened to the police, the news reporters showed up and assaulted them with a barrage of questions. They had to repeat the story they'd told earlier, and while the other reporters lingered around, the staff went inside to see just how bad the damage was.
Mr. Lunt whistled at the damage done to the walls on the first floor. "Geez, this is going to take weeks to repair! What are we supposed to do in that time?"
"Well, I'd say we'll have to get everything in here cleaned up, and then afterwards we'll have to start filming," Bob said. "But with all the damage to repair, that's going to take a while."
"The best thing we can do is get some of the mess cleaned up now," Pa said. "Then when the big guys arrive, they won't have a whole lot of stuff to do."
"I agree. Let's start by cleaning up that robot," Bob said. The other veggies started to head towards the electrical room, but Madame Blueberry stopped Bob before he could leave. When he turned around, he was nearly buried in her hug. She then started sobbing, and he held her close to comfort her.
"T-That...that was the scariest thing I've ever been through," she said. "You saved my life, Bob. Twice in fact. I don't know how I can repay you."
Bob's tone was gentle. "You don't need to repay me," he said. "I'm just happy you're alive. If something had happened to you, I would never forgive myself."
"Don't say that, Bob. If it weren't for you, Julian could have killed me...or one of my friends." She shuddered at the thought.
"Don't worry. He's not going to try anything like that anymore," he said. He gently kissed her on her forehead. "And if he comes back, I'll be right here to protect you."
"I-I don't know if I can get through this on my own, Bob. I mean, I nearly got killed!"
"We'll all get through this together. And if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me," he said.
Madame Blue smiled, and sniffled some more. "T-Thank you, Bob. Thank you for everything."
She could hear the smile in his voice. "You're welcome, Madame Blue."
Behind them, Mr. Lunt watched as they consoled each other. Already, he could see that what Bob had said was true; that he'd do anything to protect Madame Blueberry. At once, he felt remorseful for snapping at Bob earlier.
"Well, Bob and Madame Blue are together, just as you wanted." Pa came over to the gourd's side then, snapping him out of his train of thought. "Aren't you happy for 'em?"
"Of course I'm happy for them. When Larry took that picture of them cuddling together, I saved it as my screensaver! The thing is, I'm kinda jealous of them," he said.
"How come?"
"I've never had a steady relationship, even though I've gone out with a lot of girls. Either most of them only like me for my fame, or I annoyed a lot of them," Mr. Lunt said.
"So, what about Ellen?"
"Are you kidding? She can't stand me. And…I don't like her, to be honest," Mr. Lunt said.
"That wasn't how you were acting around her before," Pa said. "You were falling all over yourself trying to impress her!"
"Ever since we had that disagreement, she hasn't been that willing to talk to me," Mr. Lunt said. "And I'm not willing to talk to her, either." He then left before the grape could say anything else, but Pa swore that there had been a sense of longing in his friend's voice, like he wanted to see her again. And yet he was telling him that he had no intention on doing so.
"Why can't he recognize his own feelings?" Pa sighed.
"I think I know why," Mr. Nezzer said suddenly. Pa jumped at the sight of the zucchini. "Sorry, Pa. But I think I know why he's so hesitant on making a move on Ellen."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"After we filmed the 'Good Egg of Gooseville' episode, Ellen was going to ask Mr. Lunt out. When she went to find him, she found him talking to another female gourd, who was apparently his ex-girlfriend. He was about to tell her to leave, but then she told him that she wanted to be his girlfriend again. Ellen didn't stay around for the whole thing, because Mr. Lunt told the ex that he wasn't interested. She then ran into him and brought her. Mr. Lunt tried to explain what happened, but she said that she didn't want to go out with a 'playboy'. Then she left," he said.
"So, their relationship was ruined over one big misunderstanding?!" Pa said. "She oughta listen to him!"
"It doesn't help that he has a reputation for having a lot of past girlfriends," Mr. Nezzer said. "Ellen thought that he didn't really love her, and seeing him with his ex-girlfriend kind of affirmed her suspicions."
"But if he explained everything to her, that would change the entire outcome!" Pa said.
"I don't think it's that easy, Pa. Ellen's a bit stubborn, like Mr. Lunt, so that could be a problem," he said. "And like he said earlier, she's still mad at him for that. I don't think they'll be talking to each other for a while."
"Well, that's all about to change right now," Pa said. He left without saying another word, leaving a confused Mr. Nezzer to chase after him.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" he asked.
Pa smirked. "It's about time the matchmaker found his match, don't you think?"
Mr. Nezzer groaned. "Oh no..."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Next time on Hugs and Kisses:
Bob: It's been a week since Eddie and Julian showed up to Big Idea and shook everything up. Now that they're gone, we're getting the building back in order, and we're supposed to start filming in a couple of days.
Andrew: That's great, little bro! I'm glad I can tell Mom that nothing happened to her little Bobbypoos.
Bob (exasperated): I wish she didn't call me that…
Petunia: So, how do you feel now that this is all over, Madame Blue?
Madame Blue: I feel a lot of different things, Petunia. I'm relieved that they're gone, but at the same time, terrified that Julian might come after us again. However, I'm happy, because no one got seriously hurt.
Petunia: That, and you and Bob are official now.
Madame Blue (blushing): And I'm happy for that, too.
(Later, we see Pa on the phone calling someone.)
Mr. Nezzer: Are you sure she's gonna talk to him? I highly doubt it after what Mr. Lunt said.
Pa: Hold on a minute, I think she's picking up.
Ellen: Hello? Is that you, Mr. Grape?
Pa: Gee, Ellen, you can just call me Pa. Everyone else does. Anyway, are you in town?
Ellen (confused): Yes. Why?
Stay tuned for Chapter 13: The Aftermath
And that is the end to all of the drama with Eddie and Julian. Now that that's done with, we can get back to the light-hearted chapters that we had before. And since Bob/Madame Blue is pretty much wrapped up, one more couple comes into play: Mr. Lunt/Ellen. Instead of going the same route that everyone else is going, in which they're already together, I decided to have these two not get along because of a past incident. They'll become a couple eventually, but that'll be in the sequel to this story, Very Veggie Romance.
Speaking of that story, do you guys want me to write up the preview for the story after next chapter? I've got who's going to be appearing in it, and I know the plot, but I'm debating on when to post it. I'll work on it on Saturday night, since Yom Kippur is tonight and goes into tomorrow.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
-God Bless, iheartgod175