The Next Reporter Chapter 3: Race for the Scoop, a space channel 5 fanfic

Chapter 3 - Race for the Scoop

Author's note: Hey there, space cats! I'm back with the third chapter of "The Next Reporter". After this chapter, there's only one more to go! I hope you're excited. Now, let's get to your reviews!

Gs33022, I knew you'd find the CatGGE reference. As for your suggestion, that will not be included in this story, since I am staying more faithful to the game for the most part. Who knows, though, it might happen in another story! ;)

Morolina, don't worry, you'll be replaced by a bigger, better robot during the second half of this chapter! Now, on with the story!

"Oh, shoot, it seems that once again, they discovered the location of our channel's headquarters!" Hoorg banged his fist on the table during his next board meeting. The same ten Morolians who attended the previous meeting were back.

"Aaaah, about that..." one of the others began, but Hoorg sharply cut him off.

"Stop making your petty excuses!" Hoorg shouted. He swiveled around in his chair to face the screen at the far end of the room. "What are we gonna do about this?"

The same green Morolian as before stood up from his chair, holding a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Ye-yes...well, last time, we set up 'Meteorite-type Dancing missiles' outside the base," he said, "but we're changing our approach this time around. Instead, we'll be sending comets to attack the reporters. Best of all, we've got our strongest dancing robot located in the center of the base, and it's got even more moves than before!"

"That sounds fine," Hoorg said, turning around to face everyone.

"And here it is!" the green Morolian said dramatically as the screen illuminated, displaying an image of the mysterious robot.

"Whaaaaao!" the Morolians said in awe.

A dark silhouette of a bald man with glasses appeared just below the screen.

"Great work," the man said, chuckling slightly. "It's about time that Ulala and her new friend finally learn their lesson."

"Galaxy greetings, boys and girls!" Ulala cheerfully spoke into her trademark blue microphone. We were standing on top of the AstroBeat Jr., a hoverboard-style miniature version of the AstroBeat. "We just got word that the source of the Morolian crisis is located at Moro-Channel 5's headquarters in the Asteroid Belt. Yuna, don't let anyone beat us to the scoop! We've got to get this story first! Whatever happens, just use your ray guns to shoot at the comets!"

"I'll help you, Yuna," Fuse said through my headset as six comets zoomed towards us. "Left, chu chu! Up, chu chu, right, chu, chu!"

"Left, chu chu! Up, chu chu, right, chu, chu!" I said, blasting each comet into smithereens as they flew by.

"Up, chu! Right, chu! Left, chu, chu!"

"You're doing a fantastic job, Yuna!" Ulala praised as I destroyed the next four comets.

Suddenly, a rogue comet smashed into an asteroid, resulting in a massive explosion. To make matters worse, the fragments of both the comet and the asteroid were hurtling straight for us!

"Watch out, Yuna!" Ulala cried.

"Left, chu chu chu chu! Up, chu chu chu! Right, chu chu chu chu!" Fuse ordered.

"Left, chu chu chu chu! Up, chu chu chu! Right, chu chu chu chu!" And with that, I blasted the deadly projectiles into oblivion.

Suddenly, a cobalt-blue spacecraft that was the same size as the AstroBeat Jr. appeared in front of us.

Ulala gasped in surprise. "Pudding and Jenna!"

"You won't get past us," Jenna snarled. Five groupies wearing spacesuits with the Channel 42 logo flew up from below, crossing their arms as they stared at us from behind their helmets. "Left, chu chu! Up, chu! Right, chu, chu!"

"Left, chu chu! Up, chu! Right, chu, chu!" Ulala said, shooting at each of them. They instantly teleported away from us in defeat, but that didn't stop more from coming.

"Up, chu! Left, chu! Right, chu, chu!" Pudding said.

"Up, chu! Left, chu! Right, chu, chu!" I responded, defeating the remaining four Channel 42 groupies.

"Better than I thought," Pudding huffed, veering away from us.

"Look out, more comets are approaching!" Ulala said as we got closer and closer to the headquarters of Moro-Channel 5.

"Up, chu, chu!" Fuse commanded.

"Up, chu, chu!" I said, vaporizing each one. Suddenly, the rocks began streaming out of nowhere.

"Left, chu chu chu chu chu! Right, chu chu chu chu chu! Up, CHU!" Fuse yelled.

"Left, chu chu chu chu chu! Right, chu chu chu chu chu! Up, CHU!" Ulala exclaimed. Once the last few comets were gone, a wave of exhilaration washed over me. The entrance was dead ahead, and I could hardly contain my excitement.

"I can't believe it, Ulala!" I squealed happily. "We're the first reporters to arrive at the base!"

"And it was all thanks to you, Yuna!" Ulala joyfully replied, giving me a high-five.

Without warning, a certain blue spacecraft cut in front of us and zoomed into the entrance of Moro-Channel 5's headquarters.

"Watch our report on Channel 42!" Pudding said triumphantly, slyly waving at us as she and Jenna hurtled down the long tunnel. My heart sank lower and lower with each passing second.

Ulala sighed in disappointment. "We've been beaten by Pudding," she moaned. "Again."

"Whoa! This is so freaky!" I exclaimed once we entered the tunnel that led into Moro-Channel 5's headquarters. The lights on the tunnel's circular walls alternated between yellow and pink in a potentially seizure-inducing pattern. It also didn't help that there were thick poles that crisscrossed the diameter of the tunnel vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, and we had to swerve over, under, and around them like a missile out of control.

Suddenly, two dark-blue Morolians appeared on tiny hoverboards, flying backwards so that they were facing us.

"All right, let's dance," Ulala said with determination as the AstroBeat Jr. automatically dove underneath one of the horizontal poles.

"Up, right, left, down, chu, chu, chu!" the Morolians said.

"Up, right, left, down, chu, chu, chu!" we responded, copying their moves as usual.

"Right, down, right, up, chu, chu, chu!"

"Right, down, right, up, chu, chu, chu!" we repeated.

"Ulala! Yuna!" two distressed voices echoed throughout the hallway. We had caught up with Pudding and Jenna, but the Morolians suddenly zapped them, causing the two women to begin dancing out of style, uncontrollably. "Help us, please!"

"With me, Yuna," Ulala said, smiling at me as she struck a pose.

"Up, right, right down down, chu, chu, chu!" the Morolians began.

"Up, right, right down down, chu, chu, chu!" we mimicked their commands, and before long, Pudding's and Jenna's bodies were now free of their control.

"Thanks, anyway," Pudding told Ulala, with lots of unneeded emphasis on the anyway.

"Blast that Pudding," I muttered as she and Jenna turned around and began to fly back the way they came.

Soon, we came to a stop inside a hallway with several small holes in the ceiling, floor, and walls.

"What is this?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Tiny robots will appear from those holes," Fuse answered. "Just shoot them in the order they appear!"

"Left, chu, up, chu, right, chu, chu!" Four green robots poked their little heads through the holes; one from the left, one from the ceiling, and two from the right, one behind the other.

"Left, chu, up, chu, right, chu, chu!" The robots retracted back into their holes with two blasts from Ulala's ray guns.

"Right, chu, left, chu, down, chu, chu!"

"Right, chu, left, chu, down, chu, chu!" I said while happily shooting the robots, enjoying this futuristic version of Whack-A-Mole.

"Left, chu, up chu!" A robot appeared from the left, and then a second one quickly stuck its head out of the ceiling.

"Left, chu, up chu!" Ulala made quick work of them.

"Left, chu chu, up, chu chu, down, chu, chu!"

This time, I decided to finish it off. "Left, chu chu, up, chu chu, down, chu, chu!" I shouted, blasting them back to where they came from.

"All right, we're going to the head office!" Ulala said into her microphone as the AstroBeat Jr. resumed its forward progress. "Stay tuned, everyone!"

"We're at the head office of Moro-Channel 5," I reported as we flew into an enormous chamber. There wasn't much to look at except for an enormous widescreen TV that must have been at least twenty feet in width. "That TV sure is enormous!"

"Yuna, watch out," Ulala warned. "I fought this robot before. Its name is Morolian Monroe."

Once again, I burst into peals of laughter. "Like Marilyn Monroe?" I asked in between giggles.

"Precisely," Ulala responded. "The robot is in the monitor, so you must aim sharp!" Our eyes narrowed with determination, and we aimed our blasters straight at the TV. A green, one-eyed robot that looked like a smiling, frog-shaped alien suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Left, chu chu, right, chu chu, up, chu chu chu!" the robot said as small, glowing robot heads appeared on the edge of the screen.

"Just shoot the glowing heads," Fuse told me.

"Left, chu chu, right, chu chu, up, chu chu chu!" I repeated, shooting the heads that now bordered the TV.

"Right, chu chu, left, chu chu, down, chu chu chu!" was what the robot said next, and the glowing heads appeared in order. Once again, I easily took them out.

"Right chu up chu! Left chu down chu!"

This time, Ulala took over. "Right chu up chu! Left chu down chu!"

"Up chu right chu left chu down chu...chu!"

"Up chu right chu left chu down chu...chu!" Ulala repeated, and I couldn't help but gawk as her lightning-fast reflexes obliterated the remaining robot heads.

Suddenly, the green robot inside the TV appeared to grow in size, getting larger and larger with each second.

"W-what's happening?" I asked, worried about what could possibly happen next. "Is the robot getting bigger?"

My question was answered as the robot began to push on the screen from inside, causing it to bulge. It wasn't getting bigger; it was getting closer.

"This again," Ulala muttered as the robot literally burst out of the screen and landed on the floor right in front of us. A red robot with a rather prominent frown on its face was attached to the smiling green one with some sort of red-and-green chain.

"Up, left, left, up, up, chu chu!" the green robot said as it moved in the corresponding directions, extending the chain between it and the red robot with each move.

"Move the red robot up the chain," Ulala told me.

"Up, left, left, up, up, chu chu!" I commanded, and the red robot followed my orders, eventually meeting up with the green robot, and then both robots teleported back down to the ground.

"Up, right, up, right, up, chu chu!" the green robot said as it extended the chain in the directions it voiced.

"Up, right, up, right, up, chu chu!" I responded, the red robot following my instructions in order to meet up with the green robot once again.

"Up, left, up, right, up, chu, chu!"

"Chu up chu up up left up chu!"

After repeating this rapid-fire set of commands, I fell to my knees, gasping for air.

Ulala looked down at me in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said quietly, almost to the point of whispering. "They're just coming at me so fast that I can hardly keep up."

"LOOK OUT!" Ulala screamed. The green robot disconnected its chain from the red robot, and it began to spin rapidly, causing the chain to whip around at dangerous speeds.

"Chu!" the green robot said, and I quickly stood back up, aiming my ray guns at the mechanical menace.

"CHU!" I shouted, firing the beam at the green robot. The chain disconnected from the robot, flew through the air, and crashed into a wall. "I did it!"

"I don't think it's over just yet," Ulala cautioned as the two robots jumped straight towards each other. They grabbed onto each other's hands and spun around and around like a washing machine before splitting up. Both robots were now separated and flying around each other in midair. "Oh, this can't be good."

"Left, chu, right, chu, up, chu, chu!" TV monitors displaying images of Morolians flew out of the red robot's mouth in the order it commanded.

"Left, chu, right, chu, up, chu, chu!" I said, shooting at each screen with expert precision.

"Right, chu, left, chu, up, chu, chu!"

The robots continued to hover in midair, and I watched the red robot as it opened its mouth, ready to expel more TV screens. A chill ran down my spine once I noticed that its single eye was alternating its gaze between me and Ulala, and two TV screens appeared. It was going to shoot them directly towards us!

"Watch out, Yuna!" Ulala shouted, pulling me down to the ground just as the TV screens shot out of its mouth like missiles. They missed our heads by just two inches, vaporizing as soon as they hit the floor.

"Here I come, Channel 5!" a male voice shouted from the tunnel behind them. Seconds later, a tall man with spiky, dirty-blond hair and hazel eyes flew into the room on a black hoverboard. He wore a black suit with zigzagging white stripes running down the sleeves and legs. White boots and gloves covered his feet and hands, and a pair of silver glasses were perched on top of his forehead. He was accompanied by five people wearing prison uniforms with black-and-white stripes.

"Jaguar!" Ulala cried with happiness, scrambling back onto her feet. "Thanks for coming to help!"

"It's now or never," Jaguar told Ulala as he aimed his blasters at the robots. "Take this!"

This time, the robots decided to change tactics. The red robot began spitting out TV screens with human faces on them.

"Left, chu, chu!"

"Left, chu, chu!" I shot the TV screens with my Rescue Beam.

"Right, chu, chu!"

"Up, chu, chu!" This time, one screen displayed a human face and the other displayed a Morolian.

"Up, chu, chu!" I said, rapidly switching from the Rescue Beam to the Chu Beam as I vaporized the second TV screen.

The patterns became more complex, and as I shot both beams at a mess of screens displaying Morolians and humans, only now did I notice that I was receiving extra help. Unbeknownst to me, Jaguar was shooting directly at the robots!

"Thank you, Jaguar!" I said, a wave of relief flooding my body as the two robots finally began to explode. We watched as their lifeless bodies hit the floor, arcing and sparking as their now-exposed circuitry shorted out.

"Fantastic!" Fuse congratulated. "You got the scoop! Well done, Ulala! Oh, and Yuna, too!"

"We did it!" I cheered. "This is Yuna and Ulala, reporting live from the headquarters of—"

"The TV's acting up!" Ulala exclaimed, pointing at the massive screen in front of us. There were colorful flashing lights and strange, ever-changing images on the screen, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound that seemed to have an effect on the Morolians. "It's the brainwashing signal, Yuna! Shoot at the TV!"

"Help!" I yelled as the Morolians formed a circle around me. I tried to back away, only to be confronted by more of the colorful aliens from behind. As they closed in on me, the screens on their faces were flashing in the same way as the TV. I wasn't sure what they could possibly be uttering with the strange sounds they used to vocalize, but if I had to take a guess, they were likely saying, "Make them dance! Make the people dance!"

"Shoot at the TV now!" Ulala commanded. Without any further hesitation, I whipped out my ray guns and aimed them straight for the middle of the screen.

"CHU!" I shouted. The screen instantly went black, and I could hear the electricity crackling around inside the monitor as its circuits shorted out. The Morolians began jumping up and down for joy, crying in happiness once they realized that everything was back to normal for them.

"We saved the Morolians once again," Ulala said, beaming with pride. "And I couldn't have done it without you, Yuna."

"I'm so honored that you chose me as your assistant," I replied. "Thank you."

"The door to the head office is just behind the TV," Ulala told us. "Yuna, Jaguar, Morolians...let's get to the bottom of this story!"

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The reason I mentioned the "seizure-inducing pattern" while the reporters were navigating the tunnel was because there is an actual seizure warning at that point in the game. There's also another seizure warning when the group leaves the base as it explodes. Unfortunately, that scene won't be included, since the final chapter of this story takes place inside Moro-Channel 5's headquarters instead of Space Channel 5's. Please feel free to review, and as always, stay tuned for the next chapter, where this story's epic finale will take place! :)