Chapter 2 - Museum Mayhem
Author's note: Hey there, space cats! Matthew here, with the second chapter of "The Next Reporter"! I'll reply to your reviews now, because we gotta get the scoop on this chapter's events ASAP! :D
Gs33022, the aliens are not like the Vermicious Knids by any means. If you look up a video of the game (or better, play it) you'll see what they're like. Also, Spaceport 9, where the first chapter took place, is actually on Earth. They'll be in outer space during this chapter, though!
Pudding, I'm sorry. :P
JOHNHAMMOND1993, you should play it, because it's an amazing (and highly underrated) game! The robot they'll be facing at the end of this chapter is from the game, and to be honest, it's my favorite boss fight because of the music that plays during the battle. Yuna and Ulala will encounter it near the end of the chapter. Now, on with the story!
(Note: there is a reference to "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" in this chapter. It's very subtle, so read carefully!)
"This sure is a lot more exciting than just standing in front of a desk to report the news," I said to Ulala the following day. We had exited Spaceport 9 to breathe some fresh air. The sun's rays cast its warmth onto the ground, and people were zooming past us with jet packs and hoverboards.
Ulala chuckled. "My show isn't called Ulala's Swingin' Report Show for nothing. You've been doing a fantastic job so far, Yuna!"
"Thanks, Ulala," I said. "Then again, I am a model who hosts TV shows of my own, so this stuff comes pretty easily to me."
"I can tell," Ulala replied. "Besides, I—hello, Fuse?"
"Ulala! We have a crisis at the Space Museum!" Fuse's voice rang through Ulala's headset loudly enough for me to hear. "Meet me at the Launchpad. I'll be waiting for you two in the AstroBeat."
"Roger!" Ulala responded. "Let's go!" Together, we dashed into the lobby of Spaceport 9.
"Who is Fuse, by the way?" I asked while we ran through the corridors towards the main launchpad.
"He's the current CEO of Space Channel 5," Ulala said. "The former CEO was Chief Blank. Chief Blank brainwashed the Morolians, who are the aliens you've been fending off, and I managed to defeat him. Fuse then helped me defeat Purge and his Rhythm Rogues. A few years later, we gave him the honors of becoming the new CEO as a thank-you for everything he did to help me."
"So someone else must be behind the Morolian invasion, am I right?" I inquired.
"It's not an invasion, per se," Ulala replied, "because after Chief Blank was defeated, we treated the Morolians as normal citizens. But now that someone else seems to be using them to cause mayhem, we have to treat it as a problem that can easily be fixed. Ah, here we are!"
We had arrived at the Launchpad, which was big enough to fit even the largest spacecraft in existence. The white spacecraft in front of us, however, appeared to be about the size of an average private jet back in my time. It featured an oval-shaped body with a rounded windshield and three circular windows on each side, and the Space Channel 5 logo was situated just below each of the middle windows. There were two light-blue rearward-facing "wings" that jutted out the sides of the vehicle, and a rocket engine was positioned in the back. Last but not least, a small green satellite dish sat on top of the AstroBeat's roof.
"All right," Fuse's voice said over the AstroBeat's PA system once we were comfortably seated inside. "We're taking off right now." And with that, the rocket ignited, blasting the AstroBeat towards outer space.
Meanwhile, some of the Morolians gathered together for a board meeting, located in the headquarters of their own television channel, Moro-Channel 5. A large purple Morolian named Hoorg sat at the far end of a long table. Ten other Morolians were also in attendance, with five sitting at each side of the table.
"We failed," Hoorg lamented. "Something got in our way!"
"Uh, about that..." one of the others began to say, but Hoorg sharply cut him off.
"Don't give me your excuses!" he snapped, banging his right hand on the table three times. "Now, what's our next plan?"
A green Morolian stood up from his chair, holding up a sheet of paper.
"Ah, yes," he said, looking at the paper, "in addition to trying out less straightforward tactics, we prepared this dancing robot for our next battle. Have a look!" A screen at the far end of the room lit up, displaying an image of the mysterious robot.
"Whaaaaao!" everyone said in awe.
"Wow, this must be the Space Museum," I said in amazement when the AstroBeat approached our destination. From outside, the museum looked like an enormous white UFO orbiting high above Earth. "It's quite impressive!"
"It's one of the largest standalone buildings in outer space," Ulala said, "and apparently, it's the next location where the Morolians have become hostile once again. Now, let's boogie onto the scene!"
Once we made it inside the lobby, I couldn't help but gawk at my surroundings. Not only were there futuristic exhibits from Ulala's time, there were even exhibits from my parents' time, which included a scaled-down replica of a Saturn-V rocket from the 1960's, a lunar landing module, and a Mars rover. That was besides the point, however, since we were here as reporters, not tourists.
"Hello, cosmic kitties," Ulala said as she strutted across the area with her usual gait. "This is Ulala's Swingin' Report Show. Today, my apprentice, Yuna and I are reporting from the Space Museum, where the Morolians seem to be stirring up a dance crisis!"
Hmm, I thought, I'm a model, and so is Ulala by the looks of it. Maybe I could try strutting like her too. And so I did, swinging my arms with exaggerated movements while taking long steps. Ulala briefly turned her head to look at me, and she smiled upon witnessing my moves.
Soon, we entered a corridor with three elevator doors arranged side-by-side.
"We're in the Elevator Hall," Ulala announced.
"Sorry to spring this upon you," Fuse spoke into Ulala's headset, "but you've got some aliens up ahead! They're in the elevators!"
"Okay," Ulala replied, turning to look at me, then back at the elevators. "Ready, Yuna? Let's shoot!"
All the elevator doors slid open at the same time, revealing a Morolian standing inside each car.
"Up! Chu! Right! Chu! Left! Chu!" they called out.
"Up! Chu! Right! Chu! Left! Chu!" we repeated, and Ulala took them out with three blasts from her ray guns.
The doors closed, and then they reopened a few seconds later. This time, the middle elevator was occupied by a young boy who was dancing nonstop.
"Yuna! Use your Rescue Beam on the hostages!" Fuse ordered.
"Okay," I replied.
"Right! Chu! Left! Chu! Up! Chu!" the aliens commanded.
"Right! Chu! Left! Chu! Up! Chu!"
The first two shots got rid of the aliens, and the third shot freed the child from his trance.
"Thanks!" the child whooped with gratitude.
For the next wave, each elevator was occupied by three Morolians.
"Left, chu chu chu! Up, chu chu chu! Right, chu chu chu!"
We copied their moves, getting rid of all nine aliens in the process.
"Yuna, that ain't just good," Fuse spoke into my headset, "that is...perfect!"
My face lit up in response. "Thank you, Fuse!"
The elevator doors slid apart once again, with two Morolians in the left-side car, a man and a woman in the middle car, and one Morolian in the right-side car.
"Left, chu chu! Up, chu chu! Right, chu!"
Like before, we followed their lead, freeing the two hostages at the same time.
"Thank you!" the couple said, landing beside us a few seconds later. The child joined our group as well.
"We did it, Yuna!" Ulala praised, and like before, we all jumped up in victory before marching onward. A few seconds later, Ulala noticed a trio of Morolians hiding behind a wall. "Look out, Yuna, they'll jump out at you! Use your Chu Beam on them!" The aliens quickly appeared in front of me without so much as a warning.
"Chu! Chu! Chu!" they said, and I decided to strike a fancy dance pose.
"Here we go!" I said with a grin as I aimed my ray gun at the aliens. "CHU! CHU! CHU!" Once they were gone, I said, "Stay tuned, everyone!"
"Wonderful job, Yuna!" Ulala congratulated me. "Nice shooting. Onward to the Dining Hall!"
The next room we visited was the Dining Hall. Dozens of tables were arranged in neat rows, and at the far end of the room, there was a bar with several red stools lined up in front of it.
"We're in the Dining Hall," I announced. "It smells absolutely delicious in here!"
"Hey, don't get distracted," Ulala reminded me.
"Right," I replied while we strutted towards the bar. "There seems to be some suspicious activity going on behind the bar. I've got a funky feeling about this!"
Sure enough, as soon as we approached the bar, instead of a bartender, four Morolians appeared behind the counter.
"It's time to dance this out," Ulala said, all too eager to get the show started. "Let's boogie!"
"Up! Left, right, chu chu, chu!" the Morolians said.
"Up! Left, right, chu chu, chu!" Once again, we expertly mimicked their moves.
"Left, left, right...pose!"
"Left, left, right...pose!"
"You go, Yu!" Fuse cheered.
"Up, down, left, right, chu, up, chu!" They began dancing faster and faster.
"Up, down, left, right, chu, up, chu!"
"Up, down, down, up, chu chu, chu!"
"Up, down, down, up, chu chu, chu!"
Eventually, they disappeared, and Ulala gave me a high-five for my effort. Suddenly, she gasped in fright, pointing towards one of the larger tables. A baby boy was involuntarily crawling all over the table, screaming and crying at the top of his lungs, knowing that he could not break free of the Morolians' control on his own.
"Don't worry, we'll help you!" Ulala shouted as we hurried towards the table. Without warning, five Morolians sprang up from underneath.
"Left, right, left, right, up, up, pose!"
We copied their moves, and before long, the baby was freed from his trance.
"Thank you so much, ladies!" a nearby woman said, scooping up the baby in her arms before fleeing the area.
"Take Yuna to the Observation Deck right now!" Fuse commanded. "Watch out for the last few aliens when you leave!"
"Okay," Ulala said. Together, we made our way back to the doors, but not before three more aliens suddenly jumped out of hiding.
"Chu! Chu! Chu!" they said.
"All right, here we go," Ulala proclaimed, whipping out her ray guns. "CHU! CHU! CHU! Stay tuned."
"Woo-hoo-hoo!" Fuse said cheerfully. "That was faaaaantastic!"
"We're on the Observation Deck," Ulala announced. The Observation Deck was an enormous room located at the very top of the museum. A huge glass dome provided a stunning view of Earth, as well as the stars that twinkled amongst the black void of space. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Pudding and Jenna as they fled the Observation Deck. "Hey!"
"They're retreating!" Fuse angrily shouted. "You two must follow them!"
"Hey, is that some kind of robot over there?" a nearby teenager asked, pointing towards a large object at the other side of the Observation Deck. It was a pink robot with a wide, oval-shaped body, two purple legs, and five tentacle-like arms. Two yellow antennae protruded from the top of its body. To top it all off, the robot had a wide mouth with prominent golden lips.
"Change of plans, Fuse!" Ulala cried. "There's another robot in the museum!"
"What...exactly is that?" I wondered, taking a good look at the pink monstrosity in front of us. "Is that a marshmallow?"
"That's Morolina, the Dirty Dancebot," Ulala replied. I couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing its name.
"Oh my gosh, that's hilarious!" I replied, doing my very best to suppress any further giggles.
"My poor grandchildren!" an elderly woman screamed in horror, catching us off guard. "It's got my grandkids!" Sure enough, three small children were helplessly struggling to break free from Morolina's grasp. They couldn't have been any older than five years. "Help them, please!"
"Looks like some children got nabbed!" Ulala said into her headset. "Yuna, I'm leaving this one to you, so you can prove your skills. You can do it! I know you can!"
"Don't worry!" I grinned, determined to take this robot down. "I'll show that creep what it's made of! Let's dance!"
"Right!" Morolina began, extending its rightmost arm. While holding the three children in front of my face, it said, "Chu! Chu! Chu!"
"Right!" I shouted, following its lead. "Chu! Chu! Chu!"
"Left!" Morolina whipped out its leftmost arm this time. "Chu! Chu! Chu!"
"Left! Chu! Chu! Chu!"
"Up, down! Chu, chu, chu!"
"You're doing good, Yuna!" Ulala rooted for me as I copied Morolina's moves.
"Left, right! Chu, chu, chu!"
After I repeated this set of moves, the robot began to explode.
"Well, that was easy!" I said, wiping the sweat off my brow. Suddenly, I noticed that my feet were no longer touching the ground! Worse, Morolina emerged from the explosions without a single scratch or dent on its body.
"HELP US, YUNA!" the children screamed, still trapped in Morolina's terrifying clutches.
"Oh, no, it looks like the explosion busted the gravity generator!" Fuse cried. "Use your Rescue Beam to save the children, Yuna! Don't let your guard down, whatever you do!"
"Well, looks like I'll have to continue this battle in zero-G's!" I said with a grin, whipping out my ray guns. "Let's shoot!"
Morolina quickly grabbed a random child with one of its tentacles. "Right, chu!" The robot spun around quickly, causing the child trapped within to scream in fright.
"Right, chu!" I said. With a single shot, I saved the child from the robot's grasp, and he quickly ran away from the scene. Morolina promptly whipped out another tentacle and grabbed a Morolian this time.
"Left, chu!" Morolina spun around in the same fashion as before.
"Left, chu!" I used my blaster to get rid of the alien.
The robot began snatching children and Morolians at the same time, and it was spinning around with every single move. I was quickly beginning to grow tired after all of this.
"Come on, Yuna," Ulala encouraged. "You're doing just fine! Look at all the children you saved!" I looked back where Ulala was standing, and sure enough, there were at least thirty children standing in a group behind her, cheering me on as well.
"Thank you so much, kids," I said to them. "And thank you, UlalAAAAHHHHH!" I felt something wet and slimy curling around my chest, and I was being pulled in towards the robot. It had caught me with its tongue! "Get your clutches off of me!"
"Yuna!" the children hollered in fright.
"It's so slimy," I groaned in disgust. "Incredibly slimy!"
"Up, chu!" Morolina said. I managed to wriggle my left arm free, and I aimed my blaster at the robot.
"Up, chu!" I yelled, firing the Chu Beam at Morolina's body. The robot's tongue still kept a firm grip on me, and before long, I had to fire the beam at least five times per second to continue the fight. After what felt like an eternity, the robot finally let go of me, and I safely landed on the ground.
"Ulala and Yuna reporting from the Space Museum, over and out," Ulala said, turning to face the camera. "Spaaaaace Channel 5!"
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have a feeling that Morolina being called the Dirty Dancebot was a reference to the movie, "Dirty Dancing". Also, did you catch the CatGGE reference? Feel free to review, and stay tuned for more! :)