The Power of Music and Other Things, Chapter 6
The story wasn't supposed to go on this long! Ai-ya! Anyway, this will be the one to wrap it up... Mostly. I might have to do an epilogue... Oh, did I ever mention that I got the Princess's hair color wrong? Her hair's gray, and I thought it was green. No word on what her name is, though. I just took Aresia from this message board I found once, apparently it's the name of the princess from some Gundam series, I dunno...
Shute had deserted the crazed villagers and anonymous monsters with Camille and escaped to a quiet part of the forest. There he rested, taking comfort on the broken stump of a petrified tree. Camille licked him tenderly while Shute gazed at the stars.
"These people are crazy," Shute sighed.
#I know.# Camille stopped licking Shute for a second so she could talk better. #All humans are crazy. Except you.#
Shute sighed; he knew Camille didn't mean what she said by the tone of her... Um, growl, but it was nice that she was trying to cheer him up. "All those people make me out as some sort of hero, and I didn't do squat!" Shute sighed again. "Intentionally, anyway... I feel so lonely."
#You miss your litter?#
"Litter?" Shute pondered for a moment. "Oh, my family! Yeah, I miss them a bunch. I miss Nana and Mom and Dad..." He cast his eyes towards the ground. "And Zero and Baku... And Captain..."
He sighed and turned onto his back, stretching and listening to the cicadas screech about him. "When I first met Captain, we would just spend hours lying on our backs looking at the clouds." He concentrated on one red star in particular, having to look at it out of the corner of his eye (because if he looked directly at it, it would somehow disappear). "I wonder what he's doing now..."
He clasped his hands and closed his eyes in prayer. "Heavenly father, I ask this of you; let me know if Captain's okay..."
&&&
"It's nighttime, Captain. Go to bed." Zero succeeded in making Captain look at him, at least, but nothing else. He had been leaning on the side rail of the ship for hours, his eyes never wandering from the sky. He just felt so... cold...
"Captain..." Zero placed his feet on the ground beside Captain and wrapped him in one of his wings. "I'm sorry about what happened with Shute. I never dreamed that any of this would happen..."
Captain stopped looking at the stars and instead looked into Zero's eyes. It was amazing; not unlike Zero, his eyes were shaped in an odd, hexagonal shape that made them look always alert, yet childishly naïve and innocent. Zero couldn't bare to face him; he pushed his face into his palm and shook it back and forth. "I thought it would be good for him. Staying here in Lacroa, learning to control his magic; I thought...
Zero sighed. "I don't know what to think anymore. Prince John has gotten so... so maniacal, I don't even trust him anymore. But I can't disobey my king!" The winged one finally took his face away from his hand, his eyes slightly red from lack of sleep. "You two must hate me now."
"We don't hate you."
Zero startled; he didn't expect to hear Captain talk. "You don't?"
"No." Captain stated everything matter-of-factly, as if it was something Zero should have already known. "Bakunetsumaru and I were mad at you, of course, but you are still our friend. That does not change. We are just worried, about Shute and you both."
Zero needed to hear that more than he thought he did; he pulled Captain into a hug. "Thank you for listening."
"I am used to it. Everyone always come to me to talk." Captain pushed himself out of Zero's hug and held his arms (he was freezing). "Shute and I used to talk for ages about the most trivial things. Shute almost had me believing once that butterflies were once called flutter-byes, but they became butterflies because of a misprint in a newspaper.."
Zero giggled; that sounded like something Shute would say!
"I hope he's all right." Captain got a sudden chill and shook intensely, causing Zero to pull back his wing.
"Are you all right, Captain?"
Captain nodded. "I'm just cold."
Zero flapped his wings once, and he was airborne. "I'll leave you out here; come to bed soon."
Too late, for Captain was already lost again in the stars. He was shivering, and he knew exactly why he was cold; Shute was always beside him, hugging him and standing close to him, keeping him warm. But, ever since he had gone, Captain just felt like little pieces of him were breaking apart from the inside, like he was being eaten up from the inside.
&&&
(As sure as Captain knew he was alone, he took a deep breathe.)
Captain: Can... Anybody... find me...
(Somewhere out in the Lacroan forest, the same song was floating through Shute's head.)
Shute: Somebody toooooo love....
(Captain shook his head; Shute used to sing to help himself cope, why couldn't he? He tried his best to put his soul into the song (he succeeded wonderfully.)
Captain:
Each morning I get up, I die a little.
Can barely stand on my
feet!
(Shute: Take a look at yourself in the mirror) Captain: Take
a look in the mirror and cry.
(Captain: And cry, yeah yeah) Shute:
Lord, what you're doing to me.
(Shute pounded the rock (tree,
whatever) beneath him in anger, not at God but at himself.)
Shute: I
have spent all my years in believing you,
But I just can't get no
relief, Lord!
(Shute: Somebody, somebody) Captain: Somebody,
ooh somebody,
(Somehow,
without realizing it, from different corners of the kingdom, Captain
and Shute had achieved a perfect harmony.)
Shute and Captain: Can
anybody find meee...
Captain:
Somebody to love?
Captain: I work hard (Shute: He works hard)
Captain: -every day of my life,
Captain: I work till I ache my
bones.
At the end (Shute: At the end of the day)
I take home
my hard earned pay all on my own!
(The young boy could feel tears running down his face, but since the only other person there was Camille, he let them fall.)
Shute: I
get down on my knees
And I start to pray,
Till the tears run
down from my eyes, Lord!
(Me: How
fitting.)
Shute: Somebody-
Captain:
Ooh somebody!
Captain and Shute: Can anybody find me-
Shute:
Somebody to loooooove?
(Shute: He works hard) Captain:
Everyday (Shute: Everyday)
Captain: I
try and I try and I try!
Shute: But everybody wants to put me
down!
Captain: They say Im goin crazy!
Shute: They say I got
a lot of water in my brain!
Captain: Aw they ain't got no common
sense
Captain and Shute: He's got nobody left to believe in
Shute
and Captain: Oo ooo oooo OOH!
(Captain and Shute both paused for breathe, knowing that there was a guitar solo in this part of the song. Both were tense with energy; Freddy Mercury was intense, and it was not easy to do music like this! Unknowingly, they had somehow joined a type of bond that went beyond physical reach; they, without knowing or acknowledging it, knew exactly what each other was doing.)
Captain:
Somebody! (Shute: Somebody, could somebody-)
Shute and Captain:
Can anybody find me
Captain:
Somebody to love?
Captain: Can anybody find me someone to
love?
Got no feel, I got no rhythm;
I just keep losing my
beat.
Shute: I'm alright, I'm alright
I aint gonna face no
defeat.
Captain: I just gotta get out (And they both started
singing: ) of this prison cell!
Captain and Shute: Someday I'm
gonna be free, Lord!
(The word
"Lord" carried on far into the land, echoing far and wide and
silencing the whole kingdom. Captain took a break to breathe once
again.)
Shute: Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to
love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
(By
now Captain was ready.)
Captain
and Shute: Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find
me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Shute: Somebody
(Captain: Somebody), Shute: Somebody (Captain: Somebody)
(Shute:
Find me) Captain: Somebody
Both: Somebody find me someone to
love.
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
(From here,
the song got a little of rhythm, and the two Neotopian males simply
went with their hearts.)
Captain:
Find me somebody, somebody, somebody to love.
Shute: Find me
find me find me find me find me
Ooh somebody to love!
(Captain
felt like his insides were about to snap; the emotions were too
much!)
Captain: Anybody, anyway
(Shute was
feeling the same way on the other side of Lacroa; he was in
self-induced pain, he knew it, and he hated the fact.)
Captain:
Anybody find me-
Shute: Somebody to-
Captain and Shute: LOOOOOVEE!!!!!!
&&&
Captain could stand it no longer; he collapsed onto the rail, water streaming from his eyes. For the first time in his life, he was crying. And not just a mild set of tears, no, he was full of sobbing and choking for breath, unable to see out of his own eyes.
&&&
Shute bunched himself into a ball while Camille cradled him to her belly. He, too, could feel Captain's pain and was wailing into a tuft of warg fur.
"Find me, find me, find me..."
&&&
The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the air smelled like stale Froot Loops, and Baku couldn't have been more miserable. He couldn't sleep last night; Captain's singing (although good) was loud enough to wake the dead, not to mention keep him up all night. He stumbled along the side of the ship, leaning on the guardrail for support and not really watching for anybody in his way-
"GAH!" The next thing he knew was he was facedown on the floor and wide awake. "Nani ka? What happened?!"
He propped himself after he heard a loud groan; he saw out of the corner of his eyes had he had actually tripped over Captain, who had fallen asleep crying last night. His eyes bugged out in his typical fashion. "WHAT THE-?! CAPTAIN?!"
Captain, who had also not gotten a good night's sleep (for obvious reasons), groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and subsequently fell right back down. "Reporting for duty, sir..."
"Captain, what are you doing out here?" Baku jumped up and pushed Captain upright with his shoulder. "How could you fall asleep outside, you're not a-"
And that's when he noticed something was wrong with Captain; the way his eyes were tinted pink, and the fact that he was breathing in short, staggering breathes. He recoiled slightly and held his Neotopian friend at arms length.
"Woah... Captain, have you been crying?" Baku jumped again as Captain nodded. "Woah! I didn't know you could cry!"
"Out of the way!"
Baku was once again struck to the ground by a mysterious force, this one flying past him and knocking him down instead of him doing otherwise. It took until Baku hit the deck to realize it was none other than Prince John, who had perched himself on the rail and was surveying the area.
"Pardon you," he spat, pushing himself back onto his feet. He glared at the next person who passed him, Zero, in pure anger.
"Uh..." Zero smiled weakly. "Heh heh heh. Sorry about that..."
Zero fluttered away, taking little comfort in the fact that he knew that Baku wasn't mad at him specifically, he was just mad. He joined his king on the rail, joining the search into the trees below. "What's wrong, sire?"
"They've been here..." he hissed, his voice gurgling in an evil, detached way. "Look, at the trees, they're making sure we don't see the ground."
The spirit trees, living beings in there own right, were slowly weaving and thatching their branches together to hide the ground from the king. Possibly because of signs of a campout.
"Wow." Zero jumped to notice that Baku and Captain were on his opposite side, watching the trees move underneath the royal floating ship.
"Fascinating," said Captain.
"The spirit trees are compassionate, but they're stupid." John flared his royal robe behind him as he flew back into the hold of the ship. "Their plan is obvious; the boy has gone north, to the Dragon Cave! Plot a course!"
"TO WHERE?!" Baku screamed in his head. The last string of his plan had just fallen apart; Prince John KNEW where the cave was!
"Be quiet, Baknanana!" Prince John tightened his scepter-ly grip. "Thought they'd keep something like that a secret from me, the little twats, they've got another thing coming."
Zero gulped in fear and slowly floated backwards into Captain's shoulder. John, right at that moment, looked positively... scary. His eyes wild, his hair disheveled, and his mouth split into an evil grin... Creeeee-pyyyyy....
&&&
"Bite him."
Shute awoke with a stinging pain in his arm. He screamed and woke to find a small rabbit clinging to his arm by its teeth. He roared in anger and threw it to the ground below him. Or rather, to the bird below him...
He was sitting on top of one of Lacroa's ostrich-like phoenixes, its sleek feathers making him slip left and right on its slim back. Aresia rode across from him, watching him with a motherly concern. He shook his head and held the place in his arm where that STUPID rabbit had bitten him. Around him were all sorts of other "rideable" monsters; other phoenixes, horses, Camille, mules, all with Sterling and Mercury looming overhead.
"What happened, Aresia?" Shute asked, holding his arm where the rabbit bit him.
"There was no other way to wake you, honey." Aresia clasped her hands together. "Camille said you had a bit of a cry last night, honey."
"Don't call me hone-" Shute was suddenly shaken awake by his shock. "Wait, how did you know that?!"
"I'm a channeler. I only had to touch someone who could understand her and I could hear her clear as a bell." Aresia reached over and touched Shute's arm. "I know you're a little tired, honey, but don't worry. Sterling's all rested up, and we can go on to the dragon's cave, and everything will be fine."
Shute closed his eyes and sighed; things were really getting too complicated to be called "fine". A tree branch rubbed against his head as he walked past, and the way the leaves and branches cradled him, it was almost as if it was his mother's hand, stroking his forehead in a worried sort of way...
Shute nodded in defeat. "Hai."
"Forest ends here!"
Bevis's call pulled Shute out of his stupor; the tree line stopped at an exact point, and from there it was a clear shot across a dead stretch of land into the foothills of the mountains of Lacroa. Inside one of the mountains was a large hole, almost looking as if it were punched into the ground by the fist of a giant. A terrible stench hung in the air; a sulphurous smell mixed with bad meat and ashes. Dragon stink. Camille jumped back from the front of the line to Shute's side, despite the fact that a REALLY pregnant woman sat on her back.
#I'll protect you, puppy,# she growled.
"Camille, there's no dragon in that cave," Shute whispered back. "It only smells like it."
"Besides, no drag'ns ain't ev'r attacked 'umans b'fore," said the pregnant peasant. "The King'd take off the'r 'eads."
Shute smiled at the pregnant woman. "You understand?"
The woman blushed. "No, but ma baby does. I channel."
Shute giggled while sharing a blush. That was the last thing he expected. "Okay." He straightened up and kicked the phoenix's side, urging it onward (half of his family lived in Southern Neotopia, so he'd practiced this by riding pigs). "Let's go! Into the cave!"
"Onward!" The Princess yelled. "Your queen commands you!"
As the villagers hollered and charged forward, Shute was hit with a sudden relief. He had forgotten, Aresia was 13 now! She was the official Queen of Lacroa (or, at least, she was until her dad got back (which he probably never would, the way the kids talked about him). Just thinking about it made him miss the triplets; he kicked the phoenix and began weaving through the crowd of peasants, checking out every animal he saw.
"Coa! Doha?" he shouted as his agile phoenix wove in and out of traffic. "Where are you? Noah!"
Shute heard Camille bark from behind him. #The little dragon!#
"Mercury!" Shute doubled back and joined the tiring Mercury at her side. The little dragonet walked by her daddy's flank, little wings folded like a proper little royal pet. The triplets waved from their high perch (Shute was about eye-level with their feet, for Mercury was mostly legs), the giant knight Hagard riding behind them on a black centaur.
"Hi, Shute!" they squeaked in greeting. Coa leaned over slightly in Shute's direction. "So what're you gonna do in the dragon's cave?"
"I dunno..." Shute rubbed his head. "Probably take a nap. You?"
"EAT!" The triplets rubbed their bellies with the precision of synchronized swimmers. "Yum yum, belly fillers!"
Shute giggled again; he liked giggling, it felt good to laugh. He looked about for Camille, and saw she was a little ways away, still housing the very pregnant peasant. "Hey, Camille, can you take another passenger?!"
Camille barked back. #Sorry, my limit is two!#
And with that, Shute and the other couple of people who could understand where up in hysterics. Finally, things were going right! He finally felt peaceful and at ease; nobody was going to mess anything up now. He opened his eyes and looked back to Camille; she was underneath the shadow of a storm cloud, poor thing. Oh well, guess it would be good to...
Shute then noticed that the storm cloud had solid, definite edges. It blocked out the sun, leaving a glowing rim around the black shape of...
A SHIP!
"PRINCE JOHN!"
The peasant's heads shot upwards as a volley of arrows rang down from the royal clipper ship. There was a panicked, collective scream as each individual mount ran from the raining arrows, the unluckiest few just narrowly missing getting clipped in the back (this is a G rated fic, for crying out loud! Nobody's gonna get shot!).
Sterling gave out one of his trumpet sounding roars, lifted Mercury in his mouth (picking up the triplets in the process) and raced towards the Dragon Cave. Shute doubled back; he HAD to get to Camille!
&&&
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Bakunetsumaru screamed. "You're gonna kill them!"
"That's the point!" John flung his hand forward. "FIRE!"
The king's unthinking bowmen fired another volley, but this time took no effort to aim; arrows smacked into each other in midair and fell to the dead ground, completely harmless. The few that did manage to escape the original shooting moved too slowly to even graze the graceful centaurs and swift phoenixes, while Sterling's scales reflected everything done to him.
"Zero!" Prince John uncouthly grabbed the back of Zero's cape and threw him out of the ship. "Go find the Princess!"
Captain stepped forward, his emotional fatigue replaced by righteous anger. "You can't do that!"
"He has wings, knucklehead!" Prince John raced to the other side of the ship, commanding more archers to fire ("And AIM this time, varlets!").
Captain grabbed Baku's arm. "Come on, we have to find Shute before Prince John does!"
"Ryoukai!" Baku immediately leapt out of the ship, followed swiftly by Captain.
&&&
"Princess!" Zero dodged a centaur that stampeded blindly past him, carrying a few small children on her back. "Princess, where are you?!"
"Shute, what are you doing?"
"Shute?" Zero followed the Princess's voice; Shute was magically lifting the pregnant peasant onto his phoenix and throwing himself onto Camille's back.
"HEY, JOHNNY BOY!" he auburn one waved his hands while focusing his magic into his fingers, making an odd, ethereal blue flag of energy wave above him. "LEAVE THEM ALONE! IT'S ME YOU'RE AFTER!"
What was this kid doing? Zero screamed at the top of his lungs, "SHUTE, NO!"
A blue bolt of energy shot into the ground beneath Camille; she ran forward, carrying Shute with her. As he ran past, Shute pulled Aresia off of her phoenix and carried her with him towards the dragon cave.
"Shute, put me down!" Aresia commanded.
"Can't!" he quipped. "You're a channeler, and I need the magic!"
Princess- oh, wait, I mean "Queen"Aresia gasped. "For what?!"
"For this!" Shute held his hand over the ground below him.
BOOM! A huge cone of rock exploded from the ground and punched straight through the middle of the flying ship! It drifted to the ground and collapsed upon itself, dozens upon dozens leaping from the wreckage!
Aresia gasped again, her face going white. "Shute, what did you do?"
And yet, Shute didn't see what he was looking for. "Where's Captain?"
"Camille, run!"
Camille, just as she had been taught, took the orders of Queen Aresia. #Running!#
John fell to the ground, hovering just above the dust and gaining just enough momentum to fly after the two children.
And, naturally, Zero was appalled. "Sir, what are you DOING!?" He raced after his king, his wings having to work extra hard to keep him up from so close to the ground.
Shute looked behind him; he could barely see Prince John chasing him past Aresia's wild hair. "Oh, crud, he's still after us!"
"What now?" Aresia moaned.
Shute turned his eyes to the mountains. "We go up! Come on, Camille!" He kicked her hard in the flanks (she barely felt it, no worries) and charged her towards the mountains, not far from the mouth of the abandoned dragon cave. Camille narrowly avoided another beam of magic energy.
"Uncle John's gone mad!" cried Aresia.
"Gone? Been mad, hiime!" Shute pushed Aresia behind him as Camille began bounding up the rocky slopes of the foothills.
But John was gaining on him, and fast! He had to think of something that would stop him! Um, uh... Let's see, what would Captain do- um, okay, freeze and withdraw- wait, Captain never said free-
FREEZE HIM! Shute pointed his finger to Prince John and concentrated on the color white; ice flew out of his fingertip and began smacking John in the head. Shute laughed. IT WAS WORKING-
"Ow! It hurts, stop it!"
Aresia wrenched her arms out of Shute's palm and rubbed her breastbone. Shute pulled Camille to a stop. "What are you talking about?!"
"You used too much magic!" Aresia shook her head and winced in pain. "It hurt!"
Shute slapped his forehead. "YOU PANSY! Our lives are at stake here!"
"You got that right!"
Aresia and Shute jumped in shock. Prince John was aiming a weird, white energy ball at them. "I'll finish you now! MAGIC LEECH!"
He chucked the ball at Shute and Aresia, the ultimate anti-magical attack that would drain them both of their collective powers, rendering them helpless and basically dead on the spot! In was 4 feet away from them when Captain jumped in the way, extended his shield, and stopped the blast!
The young boy's face split into a joyous grin. "Captain!"
"But- but- but, magic leech!" John stuttered in shock. "That should have drained you of every last ounce of your magic powers!"
"I don't have magic," Captain growled. "Now, you hurt one more hair on Shute's head" He swiveled his body around and pointed his gun at John's heart. "And yours goes rolling off of your shoulders!"
"GO CAPTAIN!" Shute bounced off of Camille and flung himself onto Captain's back. "My hero!"
And of course, Captain blushed, which isn't good for your concentration. John looked on with an "o......kay" sort of look before shaking his head. "If only you were as obedient as you are cute. Oh well."
AND HE FIRED AGAIN!
Shute and Captain braced themselves for the worst. The auburn-headed boy could feel his stomach tightening, every inch of him feeling as if it were on fire-
KABOOM!
His eyelids flew open to a marvelous sight; magic energy was shooting out of Captain's hand, through his beam saber, and into Prince John! The wave of glowing blue was the width of a tree trunk, and its light outshone everything around it!
But wait, Captain didn't have magic...
As the energy faded off, Shute could finally see his best friend in normal light; he was shining blue with hints of gold, with the fire of his Soul Drive burning in his eyes.
"Channelers don't have magic..." the thought hit him like a wave at the beach.
Captain practically read Shute's mind at this point; he braced himself, shield forward, while holding Shute in an arm lock behind him. "Get him."
"HAI!" Shute fired a magic bolt of energy out of his fist; the energy went through Captain's body and out his shield, knocking John off the face of the mountain!
Camille barked in amazement and fear like dogs often do while Aresia shook in her royal skin. Shute smiled meekly at the both of them.
"You guys better head to the dragon cave."
Captain stepped backwards, putting himself between the cliff and Shute. He finished Shute's statement with, "This battle isn't over."
&&&
"Everybody lay low!" Aresia leapt off of Camille's back and trotted into the depths of the foul-smelling cave, falling into a flock of peasants. "Uncle John's outside, and he knows we're here!"
"Then wha'is layin' go gonna do?!" yelled an angry peasant man.
"I don't know! Just- everyone be quiet! Your queen commands you!"
The triplets, once again forgotten in the huge crowd of people, shuddered and cast their eyes to the little sliver of light that was the cave's entrance.
"Whadda ya think's goin' on up there?" whimpered Noah.
Coa shook his head. "I don't know..."
&&&
Zero watched from afar as the little blue twig that was John fell from the side of the mountain, overshadowed by a huge blast of power from Captain and Shute.
"HA ha!" he boldly laughed, waving his sword in contempt. "Served him right!"
"Ha HA!" laughed a bold voice below him. "Served him right!"
"What the deuce?" Zero looked down to see Baku doing that weird little spinny-eye thing he did to taunt people. "Oh, it's him."
As he looked back upwards, a big thing of blue rushed towards his eyes- IT WAS GONNA RAM HIM!
"YAH!" Zero panicked and swung his shield out in front of him, preparing for the worst. Yet before Prince John could impale Zero right out of the air, a flaming X shot from the ground into his stomach, sending him to the skies.
Zero stopped flinching just in time to pluck Baku out of the sky, holding the Musha Gundam in his arms like a baby.
Baku smirked smarmily. "My hero."
"Don't start with me, Bakunetsumaru," Zero purred while returning the smirk.
Baku turned his head over Zero's shoulder, and his eyes jumped out of his head. "HE'S COMING BACK!"
Zero swiveled to see John making another pass at them... But he was far away enough... He held on tightly to Baku.
"Zero et Bakunetsumaru doivent partir de cet endroit et retourner à la terre au-dessous de moi!"
They disappeared from the air within seconds and reappeared on the ground, Baku having latched himself to Zero's shoulder in the process, whimpering like a puppy in a lightening storm.
"Yume desu..." cried Baku.
Zero dropped him back onto the ground with a THUD and an "OW!".
"You baby."
Zero refocused his eyes on John; he was zooming back to Lacroa's mountains. "He's going to attack Shute and Captain again!"
Zero pointed his sword at the still shaken Bakunetsumaru. "We can't let that jerk lay one hand on them, come on!"
Zero began to fly away before he noticed Baku wasn't following him. He turned around and looked into Baku's eyes; triumph, pride, relief...
"You've been waiting for me to say that, haven't you?" he mumbled, relaxing his muscles.
"Since this whole thing began, nakama," said Baku, nodding once in that weird way that he did when he talked.
An explosion rocketed them back into focus; time to pound John the Jerk into dirt!
&&&
"You little rat!" John waved his hand and sent a volley of flaming arrows right at Shute and Captain. Shute concentrated as hard as he could, and Captain responded by firing bolts of ice that intercepted each and every arrow, automatically disintegrating every one. John growled and screamed out, "Fine, then! We'll fight ice with ICE!"
John sent a wave of ice out of his scepter. Shute stretched out his hand- wait, fire wasn't coming out! Captain pulled him out of the way before the ice hit them both, so instead the rock behind them was turned to ice.
They soon landed on the flat ground, with Captain still holding Shute by the arm. "What's wrong?" Captain had to speak loud for Shute to hear him; Shute was pulling his hair in anger.
"I forgot! I can't make fire, I can only control it, like that guy on X-Men!" Shute whimpered in fear.
"Oh no..."
Captain pulled Shute into his chest as John slowly flew into view, holding his scepter before him. The king's hair flew about his head in wild curls, his thick robe flapping about him through the force of his magic. His entire body glowed with an unearthly magic force, a deep red instead of a normal blue. With one swift flick, John changed his scepter into a spear and held it above his head, gearing up to throw it through Shute's stomach.
"And then there was one..." Prince John chuckled and pushed back his wild hair, succeeding only in pushing back a few bangles of blonde locks which bounced right back into his face. "I have always wanted to say that..."
Captain pushed Shute behind him and spread his arms, the small boy cowering behind his back. John laughed at Captain's pathetic attempt to protect his best friend. "This spear is pure magic; it will go right through the both of you like a knife through butter."
Captain gulped and stepped backwards, his Soul Drive lighting up his chest. "Soul Drive, activate..."
"You can't do anything to me!" John gurgled, pointing the spear at the both of them. "With my brother gone, I am invincible!"
John changed the spear back into a scepter. "You will know what it's like to feel like a helpless little baby when I'm through with you, you little rats!" The manic man's eyes turned blue as the air around the two Neotopians turned cold. "Ils meurent de la glace!"
A solid wave of ice flew towards Captain and Shute. They latched onto each other and held on, hoping that, even if they did die, it wouldn't hurt-
"Un mur de flamme protège des ennemis de Zero!"
&&&
The entire cave flashed in a purple light for two seconds, leaving the peasants in panic. Noah, Coa, and Doha screamed and dug themselves into Camille's fur.
"Wha's goin' on ou' the'e?" Bevis shouted, talking to himself but talking LOUDLY out of fear.
"I be' tha' little red-headed boy's been toasted by that scurvy Prince John!" yelled a peasant woman.
The thought of Shute being fried and left for dead left Aresia cold; she stood up and announced to the congregation. "Subjects, your queen has had enough! We are marching out there, we are going to fight, and we are going to DEFEAT! MY! UNCLE! JOHN!"
A great roar of approval rose up from the crowd, and they raced out of the dragon cave in droves, the Queen Aresia leading them from Sterling's great head.
&&&
As the magic smoke slowly cleared away, Shute and Captain were able to stop coughing and see who it was that saved them...
The dancing wall of flame accentuated every inch of his armor, and his red cape glowed in an unearthly orange way. But, strangest of all, their were two waving masses of magical energy pooled about his shoulder blades, shaped in the form of a heart and reaching from the savior's neck to his feet. It couldn't have been...
Shute and Captain both gasped. "Zero?"
Zero chuckled and spread his magical wings, showing off their immense size and grandeur (they stretched about 9 feet on either side of him and were wider up and down than his body was tall!). Individual "feathers", five of them on each wing, undulated like water as the wind tossed them about, the central mass of the wing being a beautiful mix of blues, purples, greens, and reds. And the best was not that Shute could see them, but that he could see Through them, like it wasn't even there! He could clearly make out Zero's back on the other side!
(This is SOOO a good fan art shot if any of you readers can draw his scene. To better understand what Zero's wings look like, see this link: http:www.hadanite-marasek.de/weblog/2003-04-07.png and think of them looking a little more like wings and less like tentacles.)
"Yeah, Zero!" Bakunetsumaru skidded in front of Captain and crossed his swords while Zero waved down the firewall.
"But how?" Captain asked in wonder.
Zero chuckled again. "You didn't think I could only do wind spells, did you?" Zero's eyes suddenly gained a fierce appearance as he lunged his sword towards Prince John. "You vile fiend! How dare you use an attack like that on a helpless child!"
"He's not helpless, you ninny!" John swung his scepter dangerously close to Zero's face, fluttering just above his head. "Now shut up and get on my side!"
"Never!"
&&&
"Where is everyone?"
"Not here, obviously."
A few merry giggles leeched out of the dragon cave.
"Alright then, let's go find them. Wherever they are."
"Portez-nous à l'endroit des citoyens de Lacroa."
Poof!
&&&
"Now Zero, calm down..." John seemed to cow under Zero's outburst and began sinking back to ground level. "You don't know what you're saying-"
"I BLOODY WELL KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING!"
Baku's eyes bugged out of his head in shock. Shute covered his ears and shouted "DUDE!" while Captain startled and stepped back.
"I can NOT believe it took me this long to see it!" Zero flipped his sword about in his hand and began jabbing John in the chest with the hilt. "You are a worthless, insane, power hungry, rude, obnoxious, greedy, selfish, most abusive tomnoddy that I have ever had the displeasure of working under! How could anyone leave you in charge of a kingdom like Lacroa is beyond me!"
"Yatta!" Shute cheered. "Zero no shiite!"
Zero flipped his sword back to its correct position and held it beneath the hollow of John's neck. "I have had enough of being blindly obedient to the likes of you! I'll have you know that if I had not been so wonderfully trained under your brother, the REAL king" (John flinched at the mere implication of King Davis) "You would have been tossed out of a window with violet rose petals halfway up your nose!"
Baku couldn't help but let loose a triumphant squeak of a laugh.
Zero peered over his shoulder at Shute. "I should've known better than to trust Shute with the likes of you, but-"
BOOM!
The next thing he knew, Zero's hands were tied behind his back, his sword and shield lying helplessly on the ground. On either side of him were Baku and Captain, and behind him was a suffocating Shute, the four of them bound by a magic rope spell.
"You should've known better than you turn your eyes off of the enemy!" John gloated, laughing evilly while Zero blushed with shame.
"Nice goin', Zero," Baku growled.
"You tried, and that's what matters..." squeaked a little voice from behind Zero. It was obvious that he was being squished to death among the three Gundams from the hoarseness of his voice; indeed, even Zero was having trouble breathing. "I'm sorry, Zero..."
"Don't speak, Shute, you're wasting air." Zero gulped as John raised his scepter once again.
"And, once again, there was then-" John startled. "Wait, no, let me think a minute..."
"This man is crazy," stated Captain.
"No offense, Captain, but 'duh'," grunted Shute.
"Shute, no talking!" Bakunetsumaru hissed.
"And then there was one... Again..." John's eyes once again turned blue. "Oh whatever, you're dead, goodbye."
"While bonny good King Davis leads the great crusade he's on-" came the song from the distance.
"What the deuce?" John turned around to see a flood of people and two song dragons slowly moving towards him, singing the refrain from "Appox on the Phony King of Lacroa". As they finished the first verse, the grand army stopped full force a full 39 feet from Prince John's nose exactly, proceeding to simply stand there...
And do nothing...
But stand there.
Zero blushed once again, this time from embarrassment. "Guys, I want you to know that Lacroa was never this crazy when I lived here."
"Craziness just seems to follow us, doesn't it?" Baku asked.
"That's a comforting thought," Captain stated.
"By the order of the Queen of Lacroa!" Aresia shouted, "I order you to let Shute and the other Gundams loose!"
"'Ere 'ere!" yelled the peasants.
John smirked with an arrogant laugh accompanying it. "You think that a bunch of peasants and two dragons-"
"BARK!"
John sighed. "And a middle-aged warg."
"(growl)."
"Can defeat an all-powerful supreme king?"
"We can try!" Aresia flung her arm forward; a signal! "FIRE!"
Chunks of ice, fire bolts, jets of water, gemstones, bits of the ground, magical bolts, all powered by the force of the wind, whipped towards Prince John with all the force the peasants together could muster.
Of course, they're peasants, so (no offense) their attack moved about as fast as an inexperienced punch. John hovered in the air awhile, waved his scepter, and flung all the little chunks of nothing back at the peasants. The non-prepared peasants cringed in pain as they were pelted with golf-ball sized pellets of everything they had made, Sterling and Mercury making the most noise with everything bouncing off of their scales and making a high-school-band-room type racket.
"This is ridiculous." John turned back to the Gundams and Shute. "Hold, please."
He pointed his palm to them and clenched his fist; suddenly, the magical rope binding them started getting tighter!
"Oh no!" Captain gasped.
"Help!" Shute cried.
&&&
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CASTLE?!"
"Lessee, Sterling's missing, your kids are missing, John's missing-"
"Well, let's go look for them!"
"Portez-nous à l'endroit des citoyens de Lacroa."
&&&
Prince John began flying towards Aresia, his eyes glowing as fire began pouring out of his scepter. "No one becomes anything higher than me while I'm in charge!"
Aresia jumped as her uncle pulled back his hand, gearing up to cook her like a pig. "STERLING!"
"Eeeaaa!"
Mercury had jumped up and grabbed John around the middle in her mouth and had pulled him to the ground! As he tried to fly away, Mercury stomped on him over and over with her tiny, yet scaly and heavy feet. He grunted out between tramplings, "You-" STOMP! "You-" STOMP! "stupi-" STOMP! "dragon!"
Mercury lifted into the air and flew into the dirt, aided oblivious by Prince John's favorite levitation spell. She squealed in pain and began squealing like a piglet while John laughed.
"Ha ha ha ha ha-" STOMP!
Sterling roared into John's ear while smacking him with his claws, the peasants swarming in and smacking John at close range while he was helpless.
Meanwhile, the Gundam Force was leaning on their last breathes, Captain (not "needing" air to survive) trying valiantly to break the bonds that were constricting him and his friends. He grunted while Zero, Baku, and Shute were struggling to breathe, Shute's pale face going red with lack of air.
"Shute, I wanna say I'm sorry." Zero tried hard to breathe without pushing into Shute's back, which would rob the little boy of the air he needed to survive. "I should've sent you home, I'm so sorry..."
"Shh..." A few meager pants. "No talking..."
And suddenly, the space behind Zero went soft and limp. Zero's chest ran cold. "Shute? Shute, wake up-"
And suddenly, Baku's shoulders slumped back, accompanied by a soft moan. Zero's eyes constricted in fear. "Bakunetsumaru-"
And then he couldn't breathe back in, robbing him of his voice. He grasped Captain's hand and squeezed it, and (thank God) Captain knew what Zero was trying to "say".
Captain switched off his air intake valve and screamed, at the top of his voice, "HELP!"
&&&
A strong voice came from the distance. "Help!:"
"What the deuce?"
&&&
"Shute!" Aresia scrambled down Sterling's back and scrambled onto Camille's rushing past the peasant crowd and to the Gundams, jumping off prematurely and tugging at the magic rope. It wouldn't budge. Camille also clamped her teeth around the rope and pulled with all her might, whimpering all the while.
"Oh, Zero, hang on! I'll think of something!" Aresia shuddered at Zero's breathe rattled and the mighty Gundam passed out. The princess stammered in shock and ran away.
"Aresia, come back!" Captain yanked on the rope again, getting nothing. "Baka hiime!"
Aresia didn't get far, however, before she was staring down the center of John's scepter. "And now you die!"
Aresia cringed and covered her eyes-
And nothing happened.
When she opened them, the first thing she saw was the army of peasants all bowing on one knee, with her triplet brothers running out of the fray, yelling something unintelligible. She looked upward to see John being held in a spell-binder, his scepter knocked to the ground. As a well muscled hand picked it up, she followed the arm until-
She was looking into the face of her savior.
"DADDY!"
She flung herself into her father's huge and shirtless chest, hugging him with all the strength her little arms could muster. Davis was a kind-looking man with a huge beard of green hair. He stood at least 6'11", with a nice, squared-off face and a strong chin. He pushed his daughter backwards, ruffling his red ermine cape as his thick arms bulged. "Aresia, what's going on here?"
"Um, excuse me, sir?"
Davis turned around to see Captain weakly waving at him. But it wasn't Captain who caught King Davis's attention. "ZERO!"
Davis began walking towards Zero, the magical bonds immediately disappearing with a blink of Davis's eyes. "Zero, what happened to you?"
As the rope fell away, Zero, Baku, and Shute all slumped to the ground, half-dead. Davis lifted Zero by his shoulders with the effortless ease of lifting a piece of paper. "Zero, what the blazes happened to you? Poor thing!" Davis slung Zero under his arm and flew into the air, hovering before the sobbing soul that was his brother, John. "John, what did you do to my Winged Knight?!"
"He got in the way, Davy!" John sniffled. "I was tryin' to be a good king, I swear, but he and that boy came and messed it all up!" John snorted in a noseful of tears before being able to talk normally. "I was being a good king, I swear it, Davy!"
"I bet..." Davis sighed and slapped his forehead. "Where's Camille? CAMILLE!"
Camille yapped happily and rolled over at Davis's feet, panting and begging #Pet me! Pet me, please, papa!#
Davis gave Camille one little pat on the belly before snapping his fingers. "Take him home to the castle, Camille."
"But Davy, I don't like Camille!"
"Too bad!" Davis patted Camille's head. "You go on, good girl." He pointed to Baku, Shute, and the panicking Captain. "Sorcerers, could you please get them to the castle?"
A tall man in a long, hooded robe appeared before Captain, holding a long staff above the Gundam's head. "Portez ces personnes au château."
And that was all Captain knew...
&&&
Zero didn't know much about what happened when he woke up; he knew that he was dizzy, he knew that he could barely see, and he knew that his arms and legs felt so heavy he couldn't move. Even his wings would barely twitch at his command, the long extensions of himself lying limp over his body. He groaned and tried to find a recognizable face, only finding a big mass of green over his forehead. A flash of white appeared on the green face; smiling teeth, Zero guessed.
"Zero," hummed the soothing voice of King Davis. "How are you?"
"Sire..." Zero managed to whimper out a word before his throat collapsed on him, a coughing fit seizing him. The mighty King Davis leaned over Zero and hugged him, patting his head and instantly making the coughing go away. "I guessed you dead..."
"I'm fine, Zero." Davis placed his hand behind Zero's back and (with the help of a little magic) pushed him to his feet. "It's me who should be worried about you. You were half dead when I brought you here, you know."
"Where's here?" Zero moaned, holding his head as his eyes came back into focus. He began to recognize his surroundings; gray stone, covered in tartans and drapes, but the ceiling was comfortably low.
"The Recovery Room. I brought you here with your friends; you've been asleep for two days."
"Two days!" Zero was scared awake, jumping to his feet and flying 19 feet into the air before he heard King Davis's laughter. Grr.... He should have known....
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" King Davis let loose another heartily bellow of laughter. "But- but it was the only way to wake you! You've only been out for an hour!"
The King had a strange sense of humor, Zero admitted to himself, and came to rest again on his concrete pedestal of a recovery bed once again. The King gave Zero a soft pat on the back. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Zero! You've grown so much; you look like a blue version of your father!"
The Winged Knight blushed; it was true. "Yes, sire..."
"Your wings are in terrible shape, though." King Davis picked up one of Zero's wings (he could do that, you know, he's magic) and held it up to a lit crystal on the ceiling. The individual strings on magic which made up his wings were a tangled mess, with bundles of maana spread unevenly through the wing, one of them as big as Zero's hand. "When was the last time you brushed them out properly? Come on, I take better care of my beard that this!"
Zero blushed even redder. "I'm sorry, sire..."
"Come on, don't call me 'sire', Zero!" King Davis grappled Zero around the shoulders. "Remember when you were training as a page under me? How old were you?"
Zero couldn't stop blushing; he'd forgotten how... Touchy-feely the king was. "I was about five..."
"You were five years old, weren't you?" Davis smiled brightly. "You used to call me 'Mr. King Daby Man' because you couldn't say the letter 'v'!" Davis laughed heartily. "Oh, you were cuter than a monkey, you were!"Zero mumbled to himself, "I'm sure that's a compliment somewhere, sir..."
"Oh come on, Zero, you're acting like a teenager!" Davis snuggled him even closer, close enough to the point were Zero caught one of the wings on the side of his head in Davis beard. He struggled to untangle himself as Davis ranted on. "You and me used to talk like this all the time, remember? You and me were best friends, you know. You should remember, you were there!"
Friends!
"Where's Bakunetsumaru?" Zero stood up straight and looked about; there were signs that there were people there in the past, but the room was empty! "Where's Captain? Where's Shute?"
"Oh, them!" Davis pointed out the door. "They said they were leaving, so I let Sly lead them to the Dimension Room."
"WHAT?!" Zero began to bolt out the door, but was stopped once again by King Davis's voice.
"Zero, wait! Where are you going?" Davis finally stood up on his own feet and held his arms up in confusion. "Aren't you staying here in Lacroa with us?"
Zero, Davis joked later on, finally remembered something he was trying to get him to. He had said that he was staying in Lacroa... But his friends were leaving... But they... And he...
"I... I did say that, sire..." Zero turned around. "But I..."
"If something needs to be said, Zero," said the king, sounding and looking remarkably serious. "Say it to them."
It was odd; 12 years, they had been separated (Zero had switch masters when he was 13), and King Davis could still read his mind. Zero humbly bowed. "If you so wish it."
Zero flew out of the Recovery Room, his knotted wings carrying him just a few feet above the floor. "I just hope I'm not too late..."
&&&
"Bye guys..." Shute hugged each of the triplets as they struggled not to cry, him included. "I promise to visit again."
Coa reached up and kissed Shute on the cheek; the typical Lacroan goodbye. "We'll miss you."
"I don't wan' you to go!" Noah cried, latching himself onto Shute's leg. "Can't you stay here?"
"Don't start that again, kids." Baku touched Shute's shoulder. "Come on."
"Wait!" Aresia ran into Shute's arms and squeezed him tightly. "I'm sorry, Shute, what could have been did not become what it would!"
Shute had no idea what she had said, he just knew she was upset about it. He gave her a soft hug back. "Hey... It's not like I hate you, huh Aresia?" He patted her tightly bunned head. "Maybe someday."
Shute retreated back into the arms of Captain, who gave him a quick nuzzle with his uncovered face before slamming his face plate back over his mouth. Baku signaled the five sorcerers. "We're ready to go."
Camille whimpered as Shute waved one big final goodbye to every-
"WAIT!"
Zero burst through the door to the sorcerer's chambers, stopping just outside of the magic circle to catch his breath. Shute called out to him and jumped forward to meet him, but he was stopped by Baku.
"What are you doing here?" Baku could feel a pinch of anger somewhere inside his chest.
"I-" Zero began to shiver, looking Baku straight in the eyes. He lower his head and sunk down onto one knee. "I have come to beg your forgiveness."
Baku's eyes rammed out of his head. "WHAT?!"
The 5 sorcerers gasped and murmured to each other in Lacroan (French). Knights were never to lower there heads to the ground in such a way! What was going on?!
"I have betrayed our friendship and lead us all into near certain death." Zero closed his eyes. "I realize what I have done. I hope it in your heart that you may forgive me, though I know you will not accept me back...." He gave one last, hopeless sigh. "I deserve such."
Captain clung to Shute with loose fingers while the young one sniffled. He could feel his Soul Drive whirring in his chest; not as fast as it did with Shute, but enough for him to notice it. Baku himself, even, was feeling remorseful... But he dare not show it.
As the Musha Gundam turned away, Shute ran past him and into the kneeling knights arms, clinging to his shoulders and crying in a stifled, quiet sort of way. Zero stroked his back and kissed his forehead. "Je suis désolé..." (I'm sorry....)
"Shute, we have to go!" Baku roared.
"NO!" Shute dug his fingers into the cracks in Zero's armor. "I'm not leaving without him!"
"Huh?"
"But, Shute, the whole thing, with John, and the song dragons, and your family-" Aresia stuttered before Shute interrupted.
"Zero is my family! He's my friend, and I'm not gonna abandon him here!" Shute clung to Zero even tighter, even though the strong knight was trying to push him away.
"Shute, please..." Zero couldn't bare to look at the boy; he turned his eyes away as he spoke. "I don't deserve your mercy-"
"Duh, you don't deserve it!" Shute grabbed either side of Zero's head (I've got Zero's head, Zer- GRR! Charon! (smack) don't get distracted!) and forced him to look him in the eyes. "It wouldn't be mercy if you deserved it!" Shute mumbled under his breathe, "That was, like, a Mark Twain quote, but anyway-"
Shute laser-focused into Zero's eyes, not looking away and, at the same time, not able to be looked away from. Zero could see them both clouding up like he was about to cry, but his voice remained remarkably solid. "Zero, you made one mistake. One mistake, and I'm not sure it was even really a mistake, listening to Prince John, 'cause that's what you're trained to do, but it's just one mistake! Even though that mistake led to one thing and that lead to another thing and that lead to the Princess thinking' I was gonna marry her-" ("WHAT?!" yelled Captain.) "-it was still just ONE MISTAKE. And you know what happens when friends make one mistake? They forgive each other, they make up, and they go back to being friends. And we're never gonna get to do that if you stay or I stay or they go-" (He pointed to Captain and Baku.) "-or whatever, so I'm not leaving unless you're leaving, so there!"
And on "there", Shute launched himself back into Zero's chest and began sniffling into his shoulder, the bewildered crowd looking on.
"Woah..." Sorcerers Pierre turned to Sorcerer Maurice. "Deep."
Captain nodded strongly. "I agree."
Baku was once again surprised. "You're what?!"
Captain stepped out of the Magic Circle and joined Shute and Zero, pulling the Winged Knight to his feet. "Shute is right. We're friends, and friends forgive each other no matter what they do."
"But- but he- and then-"
But then Baku was lost in a pair of blue eyes, pleading and waiting for him to finally...
"Give up..." Baku raised his arms to the ceiling. "I give up, are you happy now?"
He walked forward and, grabbing one of Zero's shoulders, playfully shook him. "I forgive you."
"If we leave Lacroa, we leave together." Zero looked to all three of his friends. "Are you ready to go?"
"Hai!"
"Affirmative."
"Eh, whatever, my brain hurts now."
And FINALLY, after 3 chapters of emotional walls, the Gundam Force was finally reunited.
&&&
"Only 3 more years of living without your magic powers left, Johnny." King Davis waved to ex-Prince John, who was busy trying to feed a very fussy Mercury. "You'll be done for the day after you finish feeding Mercury... And clean out Camille's pen."
John sobbed miserably as he slammed his fist into a wall which just happened to be a part of the Spirit Tree. Unfortunately, he hit the crystal that had been inbedded in his wrist to prevent him from using magic, and that combined with the powers of the spirit tree-
SCHOLLOOPM!
&&&
Talgeese cracked his knuckles for the 49th time that day, bored out of his wits. "So, how long we been out here?"
"Couple of months," replied an equally bored Deathscythe. "Either that, or an hour."
"Figures."
Talgeese yawned again as the Sacred Griffin flew past in a panic, being chased by Fenn the Feather Dragon. Life was so DULL in the spaces between dimensions... It was insane
Suddenly, a portal opened up in the sky, and out of it flew Prince John!
"Look! Lacroa!" Talgeese shouted. "It's on the other side of the portal!"
Deathscythe squealed in ecstasy. "Hurry and get through it before someone else-"
And just like that, Fenn flew through the portal, roaring a roar that sounded suspiciously like "Zzeeeeeeeeeeerrrrroooooooooooo!"
"Does..."
"Aw, panty hose." Talgeese crossed his arms in anger as Prince John began floating in the empty void that was the space between dimensions. He found it odd that he was on no identifiable ground... All he did was float...
Talgeese extended his hand. "Talgeese, Knight of the Tempest, how ya doin'?"
FINALLY! DONE! DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE! NOTE TIME, AND THEN WE'RE FINISHED!
Man, I was I had planned this out better. There was supposed to be this cool subplot about how Davis went to search for Fenn, and how the sorcerers were beach bums, and how Prince John was really SHORT and that's why he floated all the time, but I couldn't fit it all in! But at least one good thing came out of it: This became less of a Shute story and more of a Zero fic, which I am proud of, 'cause personally I was beginning to feel a little pigeon-held, you know? Maybe next fic will be about Baku and his sisters... Either that or Captain. I'll have to see.
"Somebody to Love" by Queen. Beautiful song, EXTREMELY hard to put down on paper! You'll have to listen to it yourself, it's great, but it's complex.
Once again, the Japanese word bank grows. "Zero no Shiite" "Zero's my hero!", "Nakama" "comrad in arms", "Ryoukai" "Roger!", and that's all I remember.
The Lacroan people originally cast spells in Latin, but Alta Vista's Babelfish doesn't have a Latin-English translation option. It does have French, though...
A pox on the phony king of Lacroa!
Middle aged warg... He he he, proud of that one.
Hey, Cybertoy00! Sly's in here! I think... The chapter's too long, I hope I didn't delete him...
I know that actual knight actually started page-hood in their teens, but Zero's a Gundam, whatcha gonna do?
Done!
