After a while, I'm updating again! Thanx for the reviews, guys!
Chapter 06: Meet Timber the Tiger
After the recent events, Van had to spend the rest of the night in the hospital, but he was going to be alright. It was actually good for him because he rested a lot, and got his energy back. (that means no more yawns in a while) Now it was 12 o'clock daytime and Van and Fiona were on their way to Rudolf's palace. It was quite a long walk. During the way, Van decided not to tell Moonbay and Irvine about what happened because they would feel guilty of not being there for Fiona and him. He was wearing his blue long-sleeve outfit, so his bandages and scars were not visible. Once they were in the palace gardens, they stopped curiously to look at what appeared to be a dust cloud kept running back and forth being chased by... an extremely cute little tiger. The cloud of dust was Irvine. (Weird, huh.)
"Argh! Somebody get this thing away from me!" Irvine yelled as he ran as fast as he could, with the kawaii little tiger hot on his heels. Fiona and Van didn't know if they should help him or just stay away.
"Rar rarh rer mew." Grumbled the little tiger. Fiona was starry-eyed at how cute the little thing was, while Van heaved a sigh. Then they heard another VERY familiar voice, apparently coming this way.
"Irvine, you coward, Timber's not gonna do anything to you!" yelled out the feisty transporter of the Wasteland as she caught up with the tiger. "He just wants to play, right Timber?" she said sweetly, turning to the tiger.
A purring feline was in a position of total submission at her feet, waiting for his master to rub his tummy. "Mew, rarh." Timber meowed.
Finally Moonbay noticed Van and Fiona laughing their heads off because Irvine looked funny running away from Timber. She walked over to them.
"Hi, guys! I want you to meet my new pet, Timber the tiger. Rudolf gave him to me as an advanced birthday present." Moonbay beamed, extending her hand to her tiger. Fiona bent down to pet him, and Timber was immediately upside down, with a giggling Fiona rubbing his tummy.
"When's your birthday, Moonbay?" Van asked, while Fiona kept socializing with Timber, who was now licking her hand.
"In two months. By the way, Van, when's your birthday?" Moonbay inquired. Van put his hand to his head, laughing sheepishly.
"Well... he he... you see... my birthday's the day after tomorrow." He said, waiting for the explosion that was sure to follow.
"WHAT?! YOU MEAN YOU'RE GONNA TURN 16 IN 2 DAYS AND YOU WEREN'T GONNA TELL US ANYTHING?!" Moonbay screamed, while Van, Fiona and Timber winced and covered their ears.
"Umm, well, not really. I was gonna tell you guys, so hopefully Irvine won't call me a kid anymore. Speaking of which, where IS Irvine?" Van asked as everyone turned to look around.
They started searching for him and guess where they found him; up a tree! Everybody started to laugh, and Irvine was fuming.
"I don't find it funny! That... that... THING tried to jump on me!" he countered, but Moonbay looked angrily at him.
"Quit yer whining, you big baby! I'll tie him up I fit makes you feel better." She snapped. Irvine came down after Moonbay tied Timber up to prevent him from jumping on Irvine. He was scared of Timber's razor sharp teeth and claws. (Gee, I wonder why...)
Moonbay then glared at Irvine. "Are you done making a fool of yourself?"
"Well Excuse Me, I'm only human. He looked hungry and I didn't feel like being lunch." He said coolly as he tried to regains his composure.
Moonbay changed the subject quickly. "So, guys, how' bout a dip in Rudolf's giant pool with slide, diving board and everything!" she exclaimed happily, receiving gleeful looks from everyone except Van.
"Yeah! Sounds great!" Irvine and Fiona exclaimed in unison.
"No thanks. I think I'll pass." Van said, starting to walk the other way.
Moonbay was taken aback by Van's weird attitude. He loved the water. Why wouldn't he want to get in? "Why?" she asked him.
"I just don't feel like getting in. That's all." He said, signaling to Fiona to not say anything.
Irvine looked at Van in his stare. "Van, are you feeling alright? You love the water! You're the best swimmer I know."
"Yeah, Van. Why won't you get in? You can tell us, we're your friends. You can trust us." Moonbay said, but Van shook his head. "Okay, if you won't tell us, then your girlfriend will." (Van blushing: "She's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
"Fiona, tell us. Why Van won't get in?" Moonbay asked Fiona. The look the tall tanned girl gave the other meant she wasn't gonna take an "I don't know." for an answer.
"It's no use, Van. Show them."
Van sighed in defeat. "Alright."
He took off his shirt, exposing his chest. His torso was all wrapped up in bandages like a mummy's. On his arm was a deep-looking scar. Moonbay overreacted.
"Oh my gosh! Van, WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING? WHO DID THIS TO YOU? WHERE WAS FIONA? WHERE'S TIMBER?" she started to scream, the last sentence not quite fitting in with the rest.
"Uh, Moonbay? Why the heck you wanna know where's Timber? First of all, you don't need him for anything right now. Second of all, he's right there." Irvine pointed out, and Moonbay quickly put her hand to her head blushing.
"Oooops! I think I overreacted."
"Tell me about it." Van mumbled.
"Okay. Let me guess. It was Shadow. But how did he do this to you?" Irvine asked.
Fiona was the one to answer. "With the same sword he wanted to kill me with."
Moonbay looked wide-eyed at Fiona and pulled her away from the boys. She said that they needed to talk some girl stuff in private. Van had no idea what the heck they were gonna talk about, but Irvine thought he knew.
"Fiona, I can't believe everything Van's done for you. Please, I'm your best friend, you'll tell me if Van's your boyfriend, won't you?" Moonbay said seriously at Fiona, who was looking at her with big innocent eyes.
"Moonbay, Van's not my boyfriend. But he obviously cares for me, although only a little." she answered.
"Hmm. I think he's just being cute." Moonbay said as she looked over to the boy in question.
"Think so?"
"Uhuh. But still..."
Meanwhile, Irvine decided it was time to make his move. He was curious about something.
"Hey Van, come over here for a sec." He called out to Van, who was playing "Fetch" with Timber. Van came over, followed by the chibi tora.
"What?"
"Van, I'm your best friend. You would tell me if Fiona's your girlfriend, wouldn't you?" he said seriously to Van, who had big clueless eyes.
"Why? You have a crush on her or something?" he asked.
"Of course not. But, you should know, there aren't many girls like Fiona out there. Just in case." He said walking away.
"Hey, wait!" Van said, and Irvine stopped.
"Yeah?"
"What about Moonbay?"
"What about her?"
"Aren't you interested in her?"
"..."
"Well?"
"End of conversation." Irvine declared as he walked away, leaving a wondering Van behind.
At the same time they finished talking, Moonbay and Fiona stopped too. They changed into their bathing suits in Rudolf's state-of-the-art changing rooms with everything they needed. Then they went to the pool, and while everyone else got in, Van just stood next to it. He was thinking of what Irvine had said: "There aren't many girls like Fiona out there..." He shook his head. He WAS DEFINITLY NOT IN LOVE with Fiona. He didn't care how much Moonbay and Irvine teased. He was making this statement when he looked down. For a second, there was floor, then it disappeared.
"Wha-Aaaaaahhhhhaaaaaa!!!!!!!" Van yelled as he fell into the pool. He came to the surface squirting water out of his mouth. Moonbay and Irvine were laughing their heads off.
"Did you see the look on his face when Fiona pushed him in? Hahahaha!" Moonbay guffawed clutching her stomach. It was too funny.
Irvine was laughing so hard, his eyes got watery. "It was one in a million! Hahahaha!"
"Fiona..." Van said with gritted teeth, clutching his fist with his eyes closed.
"Sorry, Van, but I just couldn't help myself." Fiona laughed.
"Great. Now I don't have anything to wear. My last clothes are all ripped and bloody and now these clothes are soaking wet. This is definitely not my week." Van muttered, rolling his eyes. Nobody noticed when His Royal Shrimpiness was making his way to them.
"Hello, Van. What's all the laughing about?" Rudolf asked, since everyone but Van was laughing loudly.
Moonbay tried to answer. "Haha...Fiona pushed Van in the pool...ha hahahaha...should have seen his face!...Hahahahahaha!"
Van cried out exasperated. "Enough! It's not funny. What am I supposed to wear now?" he fumed.
"Hmm, there might be something in the palace you can wear..." Rudolf thought out loud, putting his hand to his chin.
Half an hour later...
"Hey, not bad!" Van commented while he admired himself in the mirror. He was now wearing the Republican uniform he wears on the first episode of GF, the one with the red sleeves that brings out the nice muscles in his arms.
"Wow, Van! You look so cool in that long-sleeved republican uniform. It brings out the nice muscles in your arms." Moonbay commented excitedly.
"Hey Rudolf! I've been your guard for a year now and you never gave me such a cool uniform." Irvine "pouted" at the kid.
"That's because it's a republican uniform. It's not right for an imperial guard to wear republican clothes." Rudolf explained.
Fiona was curious. "But then, where did you get this uniform?"
"The president gave it to me as a gift, but I don't quite fit in it. It's hehe...a bit big, you know?" Rudolf went on with his explaining. A bit big? No kidding!
"Well, Van looks great in it!" Moonbay and Fiona said in unison, making Van blush.
"Of course I look great in this uniform! I'm a republican, after all." Van boasted proudly.
"So, Van, where are you gonna stay tonight?" Rudolf asked.
"Mind if we stay at the palace?"
"Of course not! My palace is your palace."
"Hey!"
"Yours too, Irvine."
"Crowned prince BRAT of the empire." Irvine mumbled.
"Hey Rudolf, you mind if we go sight-seeing?" Van asked.
"Of course not."
"Well, see ya later!" he called out as he started running out the door. But he met with a big furry stripped mass. "Ouch! Timber! Watch it!"
"Rorry." Timber seemed to say.
"Say what?" Van asked sweatdropping.
Moonbay was quick to translate. "He said Sorry."
"Apology accepted! Come, Timber!" Van recovered from his trip, with a happy tiger hot on his heels.
"Purr, mew, rarh!" Timber roared happily.
"Good boy!"
***********************
At least Van survived the last attack, but how more can he take? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
SO, how did you guys like this chapter? I was on a roll today, writing chapters for two of my fics in one afternoon. R & R, please! ^_^x
Chapter 07: Time to get some R&R!
(Here, R & R as in Rest and relaxation, not read and review)
Chapter 06: Meet Timber the Tiger
After the recent events, Van had to spend the rest of the night in the hospital, but he was going to be alright. It was actually good for him because he rested a lot, and got his energy back. (that means no more yawns in a while) Now it was 12 o'clock daytime and Van and Fiona were on their way to Rudolf's palace. It was quite a long walk. During the way, Van decided not to tell Moonbay and Irvine about what happened because they would feel guilty of not being there for Fiona and him. He was wearing his blue long-sleeve outfit, so his bandages and scars were not visible. Once they were in the palace gardens, they stopped curiously to look at what appeared to be a dust cloud kept running back and forth being chased by... an extremely cute little tiger. The cloud of dust was Irvine. (Weird, huh.)
"Argh! Somebody get this thing away from me!" Irvine yelled as he ran as fast as he could, with the kawaii little tiger hot on his heels. Fiona and Van didn't know if they should help him or just stay away.
"Rar rarh rer mew." Grumbled the little tiger. Fiona was starry-eyed at how cute the little thing was, while Van heaved a sigh. Then they heard another VERY familiar voice, apparently coming this way.
"Irvine, you coward, Timber's not gonna do anything to you!" yelled out the feisty transporter of the Wasteland as she caught up with the tiger. "He just wants to play, right Timber?" she said sweetly, turning to the tiger.
A purring feline was in a position of total submission at her feet, waiting for his master to rub his tummy. "Mew, rarh." Timber meowed.
Finally Moonbay noticed Van and Fiona laughing their heads off because Irvine looked funny running away from Timber. She walked over to them.
"Hi, guys! I want you to meet my new pet, Timber the tiger. Rudolf gave him to me as an advanced birthday present." Moonbay beamed, extending her hand to her tiger. Fiona bent down to pet him, and Timber was immediately upside down, with a giggling Fiona rubbing his tummy.
"When's your birthday, Moonbay?" Van asked, while Fiona kept socializing with Timber, who was now licking her hand.
"In two months. By the way, Van, when's your birthday?" Moonbay inquired. Van put his hand to his head, laughing sheepishly.
"Well... he he... you see... my birthday's the day after tomorrow." He said, waiting for the explosion that was sure to follow.
"WHAT?! YOU MEAN YOU'RE GONNA TURN 16 IN 2 DAYS AND YOU WEREN'T GONNA TELL US ANYTHING?!" Moonbay screamed, while Van, Fiona and Timber winced and covered their ears.
"Umm, well, not really. I was gonna tell you guys, so hopefully Irvine won't call me a kid anymore. Speaking of which, where IS Irvine?" Van asked as everyone turned to look around.
They started searching for him and guess where they found him; up a tree! Everybody started to laugh, and Irvine was fuming.
"I don't find it funny! That... that... THING tried to jump on me!" he countered, but Moonbay looked angrily at him.
"Quit yer whining, you big baby! I'll tie him up I fit makes you feel better." She snapped. Irvine came down after Moonbay tied Timber up to prevent him from jumping on Irvine. He was scared of Timber's razor sharp teeth and claws. (Gee, I wonder why...)
Moonbay then glared at Irvine. "Are you done making a fool of yourself?"
"Well Excuse Me, I'm only human. He looked hungry and I didn't feel like being lunch." He said coolly as he tried to regains his composure.
Moonbay changed the subject quickly. "So, guys, how' bout a dip in Rudolf's giant pool with slide, diving board and everything!" she exclaimed happily, receiving gleeful looks from everyone except Van.
"Yeah! Sounds great!" Irvine and Fiona exclaimed in unison.
"No thanks. I think I'll pass." Van said, starting to walk the other way.
Moonbay was taken aback by Van's weird attitude. He loved the water. Why wouldn't he want to get in? "Why?" she asked him.
"I just don't feel like getting in. That's all." He said, signaling to Fiona to not say anything.
Irvine looked at Van in his stare. "Van, are you feeling alright? You love the water! You're the best swimmer I know."
"Yeah, Van. Why won't you get in? You can tell us, we're your friends. You can trust us." Moonbay said, but Van shook his head. "Okay, if you won't tell us, then your girlfriend will." (Van blushing: "She's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
"Fiona, tell us. Why Van won't get in?" Moonbay asked Fiona. The look the tall tanned girl gave the other meant she wasn't gonna take an "I don't know." for an answer.
"It's no use, Van. Show them."
Van sighed in defeat. "Alright."
He took off his shirt, exposing his chest. His torso was all wrapped up in bandages like a mummy's. On his arm was a deep-looking scar. Moonbay overreacted.
"Oh my gosh! Van, WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING? WHO DID THIS TO YOU? WHERE WAS FIONA? WHERE'S TIMBER?" she started to scream, the last sentence not quite fitting in with the rest.
"Uh, Moonbay? Why the heck you wanna know where's Timber? First of all, you don't need him for anything right now. Second of all, he's right there." Irvine pointed out, and Moonbay quickly put her hand to her head blushing.
"Oooops! I think I overreacted."
"Tell me about it." Van mumbled.
"Okay. Let me guess. It was Shadow. But how did he do this to you?" Irvine asked.
Fiona was the one to answer. "With the same sword he wanted to kill me with."
Moonbay looked wide-eyed at Fiona and pulled her away from the boys. She said that they needed to talk some girl stuff in private. Van had no idea what the heck they were gonna talk about, but Irvine thought he knew.
"Fiona, I can't believe everything Van's done for you. Please, I'm your best friend, you'll tell me if Van's your boyfriend, won't you?" Moonbay said seriously at Fiona, who was looking at her with big innocent eyes.
"Moonbay, Van's not my boyfriend. But he obviously cares for me, although only a little." she answered.
"Hmm. I think he's just being cute." Moonbay said as she looked over to the boy in question.
"Think so?"
"Uhuh. But still..."
Meanwhile, Irvine decided it was time to make his move. He was curious about something.
"Hey Van, come over here for a sec." He called out to Van, who was playing "Fetch" with Timber. Van came over, followed by the chibi tora.
"What?"
"Van, I'm your best friend. You would tell me if Fiona's your girlfriend, wouldn't you?" he said seriously to Van, who had big clueless eyes.
"Why? You have a crush on her or something?" he asked.
"Of course not. But, you should know, there aren't many girls like Fiona out there. Just in case." He said walking away.
"Hey, wait!" Van said, and Irvine stopped.
"Yeah?"
"What about Moonbay?"
"What about her?"
"Aren't you interested in her?"
"..."
"Well?"
"End of conversation." Irvine declared as he walked away, leaving a wondering Van behind.
At the same time they finished talking, Moonbay and Fiona stopped too. They changed into their bathing suits in Rudolf's state-of-the-art changing rooms with everything they needed. Then they went to the pool, and while everyone else got in, Van just stood next to it. He was thinking of what Irvine had said: "There aren't many girls like Fiona out there..." He shook his head. He WAS DEFINITLY NOT IN LOVE with Fiona. He didn't care how much Moonbay and Irvine teased. He was making this statement when he looked down. For a second, there was floor, then it disappeared.
"Wha-Aaaaaahhhhhaaaaaa!!!!!!!" Van yelled as he fell into the pool. He came to the surface squirting water out of his mouth. Moonbay and Irvine were laughing their heads off.
"Did you see the look on his face when Fiona pushed him in? Hahahaha!" Moonbay guffawed clutching her stomach. It was too funny.
Irvine was laughing so hard, his eyes got watery. "It was one in a million! Hahahaha!"
"Fiona..." Van said with gritted teeth, clutching his fist with his eyes closed.
"Sorry, Van, but I just couldn't help myself." Fiona laughed.
"Great. Now I don't have anything to wear. My last clothes are all ripped and bloody and now these clothes are soaking wet. This is definitely not my week." Van muttered, rolling his eyes. Nobody noticed when His Royal Shrimpiness was making his way to them.
"Hello, Van. What's all the laughing about?" Rudolf asked, since everyone but Van was laughing loudly.
Moonbay tried to answer. "Haha...Fiona pushed Van in the pool...ha hahahaha...should have seen his face!...Hahahahahaha!"
Van cried out exasperated. "Enough! It's not funny. What am I supposed to wear now?" he fumed.
"Hmm, there might be something in the palace you can wear..." Rudolf thought out loud, putting his hand to his chin.
Half an hour later...
"Hey, not bad!" Van commented while he admired himself in the mirror. He was now wearing the Republican uniform he wears on the first episode of GF, the one with the red sleeves that brings out the nice muscles in his arms.
"Wow, Van! You look so cool in that long-sleeved republican uniform. It brings out the nice muscles in your arms." Moonbay commented excitedly.
"Hey Rudolf! I've been your guard for a year now and you never gave me such a cool uniform." Irvine "pouted" at the kid.
"That's because it's a republican uniform. It's not right for an imperial guard to wear republican clothes." Rudolf explained.
Fiona was curious. "But then, where did you get this uniform?"
"The president gave it to me as a gift, but I don't quite fit in it. It's hehe...a bit big, you know?" Rudolf went on with his explaining. A bit big? No kidding!
"Well, Van looks great in it!" Moonbay and Fiona said in unison, making Van blush.
"Of course I look great in this uniform! I'm a republican, after all." Van boasted proudly.
"So, Van, where are you gonna stay tonight?" Rudolf asked.
"Mind if we stay at the palace?"
"Of course not! My palace is your palace."
"Hey!"
"Yours too, Irvine."
"Crowned prince BRAT of the empire." Irvine mumbled.
"Hey Rudolf, you mind if we go sight-seeing?" Van asked.
"Of course not."
"Well, see ya later!" he called out as he started running out the door. But he met with a big furry stripped mass. "Ouch! Timber! Watch it!"
"Rorry." Timber seemed to say.
"Say what?" Van asked sweatdropping.
Moonbay was quick to translate. "He said Sorry."
"Apology accepted! Come, Timber!" Van recovered from his trip, with a happy tiger hot on his heels.
"Purr, mew, rarh!" Timber roared happily.
"Good boy!"
***********************
At least Van survived the last attack, but how more can he take? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
SO, how did you guys like this chapter? I was on a roll today, writing chapters for two of my fics in one afternoon. R & R, please! ^_^x
Chapter 07: Time to get some R&R!
(Here, R & R as in Rest and relaxation, not read and review)