Pulse's Chibi Adventure!
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: April 2005
Posted Chapter 01: December 23, 2005
Disclaimer: If I owned Twin Signal, do you think the OVA would've stopped at three episodes? Nope.
Author's Note: Ha! Yet another fic I don't need to be starting! But I am anyway… anywho, if you like this, I've got other stories under a ton of other catagories. Whew! Too many over-productive plot-bunnies… But anywho, here's a story dedicated to Pulse! Everyone's favorite near-sighted narcissistic narcoleptic robot!
Chapter One: In Which Tragedy Strikes
The day began with the smell of burnt toast. Pulse rolled his eyes and snuggled deeper into his favorite sofa. Burning toast meant Erala was cooking, which in turn meant that Signal and Nobuhiko would be louder and more obnoxious than usual.
Pulse's eyes shot open, and he glared at the cushion as realization hit. If Erala was cooking, and not Chris, then that meant that today was Nobuhiko's birthday. Pulse smirked momentarily as he savored the memory. When Erala had found out, she had instantly offered to cook all of Nobuhiko's food for the entire day. Nobu's face was torn between delight (an entire day of Erala!) and disgust (an entire day of Erala's cooking!). Signal had been jealous of course, and Chris had instantly offered to cook the big dinner and cake later tonight. Apparently, no one else was looking forward to an entire day of Erala's cooking either.
Pulse felt his hair starting to crackle, and he shut his eyes quickly before his lasers turned the cushion into dust. This was his favorite sofa, after all. It was the most cushy one in the entire Otoi household, and was usually unattended by pesky big-haired robots since Signal rarely frequented the library. Pulse snorted. He wasn't even sure Signal could read, come to think of it. He tried to think if he had ever seen Signal reading anything…
And yawned into the cushion. Too much thought, not enough sleep, he decided. He readjusted the blades attached to his arms and snuggled deeper into the sofa. But sleep, however, had already been chased away by his reflections, and he sighed. Crankily, he sat up on the sofa and stretched. Maybe he could go challenge Signal to a fight while Nobuhiko was distracted by Erala… that would waste energy, and then he could nap again. Good plan, he reasoned, getting to his feet.
Then Pulse frowned. It was Nobuhiko's birthday – the first Pulse had been present for – and that theoretically meant that all of his robot friends would be here to celebrate. All of them, together. And that meant… Chibi would be here, at the same time as Signal. Pulse cursed to himself. Every time he tried to duel Signal, that damned little midget interfered. It seemed to be the only thing that could drive Signal away, for one minute he'd be about to sink in the winning blow, and then Nobuhiko and that midget would throw in a smoke bomb and chase off Signal. Then he'd run around and ask Pulse continuously for chocolate.
Pulse rolled his eyes. He'd even tried bribing the little midget to discover the whereabouts of Signal, to no avail. All that happened was Chris trying to kill him, since it was her – very expensive, it turned out – chocolate he had used for the bribe. The midget seemed to enjoy it, however.
Oh well, Pulse reasoned. It was still early, and perhaps Chibi would not have appeared yet. He could wallop Signal before breakfast and be back in time to take his mid-morning nap. Still a good plan. Pulse left the study to go find his aqua-haired nemesis.
Figuring wherever there was an Erala, there would be a Signal too, he walked downstairs to the kitchen. He smirked as the sound of Signal's groveling filled his ears. As usual, Pulse was so smart it nearly took his own breath away.
"No no no! Let me wash those dishes for you, Erala! You may not think it looking at me, but I love doing housework!"
Pulse snorted. He leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen, watching as Signal scrubbed a plate so hard it cracked, trying to impress the completely oblivious Erala. Pulse smirked at the pair's cluelessness; it made them perfect for each other.
Signal turned as Pulse chuckled again, his eyes narrowing at being caught up to his elbows in dishwater by his older brother. "Can I help you, big brother?" he asked in false cheer, eyeing Erala.
Pulse grinned. "Fight me, Signal!" he replied. Erala frowned.
"You're brothers! You're not supposed to fight, you're supposed to help each other," she berated them. Signal winced while Pulse tried mightily to refrain from rolling his eyes.
"We're not fighting! We're… um…" Signal replied hesitantly.
Pulse almost shook his head. "It's training," he informed Erala. "Signal, in all his inferiority," he smirked at his brother's glare, "will never improve his combat skills if does not spar against a worthy opponent. And as I seem to be the only worthy opponent in the area…" he trailed off, even adding a small sheepish grin. He loved being evil.
Erala nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if you put it like that," she stated, turning towards the frowning Signal, who quickly smiled and nodded his own head. "Please, be careful," she finished, before sniffing the air. "Oh no! the eggs!" she cried, turning back to the stove.
Pulse would have felt bad about distracting her from her cooking, but there was a fight to be had. Besides, if she hadn't burned the eggs, he reasoned, she just would've destroyed them some other way.
Crooking a finger at Signal, he beckoned him towards the doorway. With any luck, he could make it outside and thrash Signal before the midget arrived. The pair made it as far as the front hallway before an anxious Chris barreled down the stairs. Pulse cursed under his breath.
"Signal! Have you seen Nobuhiko?" she asked. Dr. Otoi came to the top of the stairs.
"Have you checked the kitchen?" Dr. Otoi asked sleepily, apparently having the same thoughts as Pulse. Pulse smirked. Geniuses really did think alike…
"No, actually, I haven't seen him," Signal replied, frowning. It must have finally dawned on him that Nobuhiko would never have left Signal and Erala together unchaperoned… or unannoyed, however one thought of it. Pulse's smirk turned to a frown. Come to think of it, why hadn't he thought of that sooner?
Of course, as in all melodramatic moments, the phone rang. Dr. Otoi answered it, accidentally hitting the speaker button in his sleep-induced clumsiness. A maniacal laugh blared into the room, and a slight feeling of dread settled in Pulse's gut. He knew that laugh…
Apparently, so did Dr. Otoi. "You! Umanokoji!" he cried, puzzled. "Why are you calling me?"
"I have something of yours, Otoi," Umanokoji Hoshimaro answered, for indeed, it was him.
"Nobuhiko!" Dr. Otoi replied, his hand smacking the table on which the telephone rested. Umanokoji laughed.
"Yes!"
"Why are you doing this!" Chris yelled at the phone.
"Because I'm out of prison, and I still hate you," came the succinct reply. Pulse shook his head. "Anyway, I want the MIRA data. Bring it to me, and you may have the boy unharmed. If you refuse…" he trailed off suggestively.
Signal was outraged. "I will stop you, Hoshimaro!"
Umanokoji laughed. "Oh, and one more thing…" there was a shuffling noise on the other end of the phone, and then a series of rapid sneezes came blaring out of the phone's speakers.
Pulse was confused for a moment, before he saw smoke from the corner of his eye. Bemusedly, he watched as Signal and Chibi struggled back and forth in the smoke, neither one gaining the upper hand. Finally, Umanokoji laughed evilly and hung up the phone, and Pulse turned to see the horrified expressions on the faces of Dr. Otoi and Chris.
A staggering noise alerted him, and he turned to see that the object of their attention was a dazed little Chibi. Yes, he supposed that Chibi was fairly horrifying… The little robot clutched his head, muttered "Ouchies!" and fell over.
Pulse fought the large grin that threatened to break out, and was pleased when he only smirked. A little. Barely noticeable at all. However, Chris did indeed recognize it for what it was.
"Pulse!" she threatened as Erala came into the hallway. Pulse frowned. He looked at Dr. Otoi, then Chris, then the worry on Erala's face, and then his gaze settled on Chibi. Apart from the little robot, who had managed to get to his feet and wobble over towards Erala, everyone was looking at him expectantly. This was not good.
"No. Absolutely not." Pulse quickly made his thoughts known on the subject.
"Pulse," Dr. Otoi started resignedly. "You're the only person who can go rescue Nobuhiko."
"What about Signal?" Pulse asked, righteously annoyed. Dr. Otoi rolled his eyes.
"As you can see, Signal…" Dr. Otoi began until Chris's coughing interrupted him. She beckoned him to the corner, where Pulse could only make out snatches of their whispered argument.
"But Chris!"
"No! You can't tell him…"
"But…"
"…never any peace… always fighting…"
Dr. Otoi straightened with a frown. "All right," he told her resignedly. "Pulse," he began, and the little knot of dread flared to life once again, "take Chibi and go find Hoshimaro."
Pulse became even more indignant. "And just why would I want to take the runt with me? And where is that coward Signal!"
"Um…" Everyone sweatdropped. However, Dr. Otoi, being the genius he was, quickly came up with an answer.
"Signal ran on ahead, but he'll need your help since you are so superior to him." Pulse nodded, ignoring Chris's rolling of eyes. This he understood. "And you must take Chibi, because he is the only robot who can track down Signal."
Pulse snorted, eyeing the small robot with misgiving. "And what about the MIRA data?"
Dr. Otoi sighed. "Umanokoji is a fool. It was never restored after his last attack."
Pulse signed. "Fine, I'll go and rescue Nobuhiko. And when I do, I'll prove my vast superiority to Signal!" He turned towards the door. "C'mon, Chibi," he snarled.
Chibi hopped after him. "Chocolate!"
"Why'd you throw all that dust in my face?" Nobuhiko asked snuffily. Hoshimaro grinned.
"Because now Signal has transformed, and Dr. Otoi will be forced to give in to my demands! MIRA will be mine!" he cheered, his pawns both cheering belatedly as well.
"Uncle Umanokoji! Mommy said keep it down!" A young girl popped into the room. Everyone sweatdropped.
"Um… hello, Anzu," Hoshimaro greeted the small girl. She looked at Nobuhiko curiously.
"Who's that?" she asked, her head tilting to the side.
"He's our hostage," the taller of the henchmen replied. His brother elbowed him quickly.
"Hostage?" Anzu repeated, looking at Nobu. "Wanna play!" she asked.
"Um…"
"Sure, Anzu, just don't go outside, all right?" Hoshimaro told the small girl. She grinned.
"Kay!" she cried, grabbing Nobuhiko's arm. "C'mon!"
Nobuhiko followed the girl out of the room.
Hoshimaro shook his head, glared at his henchmen, then turned to his computer and began playing minesweeper.
"Um, boss?" the taller henchman began hesitantly.
Hoshimaro grunted to show he was listening.
"Should we kidnap the woman again?" he finished. His brother and Hoshimaro answered at the same time.
"NO!"
End Notes: Needless to say, this is wholly based on the premise that Pulse has no idea that Chibi and Signal are one in the same. I'm sure he learns at some point in the manga, but as for now he's still clueless.