Author's note: There are two corrections in the story: one concerning the Grrl Scouts and the other concerning a track on DDR. Otherwise, nothing else to note/
And now a word from the author...
Well, wasn't this a long wait?
After quite a bit of hesitation, we are now at the beginning of this saga's end...and quite honestly it's something I thought I'd never get around to.
I've been doing many things after I did the previous entry into the NNFH series, Wedding Day. As some people may or may not know, I've been branching out into other story ideas & continuing yet another little series of adventures from a favorite cartoon of mine, something called Inspector Gadget. And I've been hanging out with another group of maniacs from Gamefaqs. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Initially, it was going to be a huge, 30+ page opus to end the series, the kind where lots of revelations about the team's life were made. But as I thought about it, I decided that each part of the team & their friends needed their own story, something to do justice to them, resolve certain issues & answer a few questions as possible. And I wanted the Kairi character to have minimal appearance unless it was to serve a certain function (as you'll see in Monet's story soon.) Basically, it's gonna be more of a 'exploring one's life' mindset and not too much wacky comedy or over the top mindless destruction.
So, why the long delay?
September 2001, for starters.
After that sad month, I was kinda put off about writing much of anything. I wanted the stars to kinda address the issue as best as possible, but I didn't know how. I wanted to do a story where the Gen X crew, led by Kairi, tracks down Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan & after kicking all sorts of al Quieda ass, give bin Laden the lengthy, violent ass kicking he deserved. But quite honestly, that has been done to death. Literally. And I think there are only so many things you can do in a deathmatch scenario before it gets redundant. So, after quite a bit of thinking, I decided to go for a simple approach. Just Jubilee, Ryoga & Kairi observing people in Central Park & talking briefly about Osama before getting on with the days events. Nothing too flashy, but with a hint of soapbox style talking. And the whole story takes place in NYC. That's right, all of it, including places where I frequent. It's my way of showing my pride to the city I have become tied to in many ways.
You see, NY has a reputation. A big one. Let me take you back to my time in basic training at Ft. Benning, GA. When we initially came in, we were all asked where we came from. And the ones who said were from NYC...well, let's just say we caught a fair share of some hell on earth. We were thought of as the tough, ruthless guys in the platoon who wouldn't last too long. We proved over time that we were survivors to all of them--especially me. (I have quite a bit of stories from basic training that are quite interesting, mainly because I was initially thought of as 'the one who would quit in two weeks.') but we also proved that we were team players. One of us, from Jamaica, Queens, sung some of the best cadences in the platoon. And me? I never gave the drill sergeants any lip, I kept on pushing myself, I learned from everyone else, in short I hung in there. We all did. We disproved quite a bit of things people thought about New Yorkers. So basically we gained a hell of a lot of respect. So this story is my homage of sorts to Manhattan
Now, one other thing. There is another little storyline going on in the Gamefaqs message boards, in the Capcom Vs SNK section. This one is more concentrated on video game characters than comic book ones, but is just as silly. You'll notice that Yuffie will not make a appearance for the first three stories & there's a good reason for that...but I can't tell you yet. But it serves as a basis for separating the two series.
But there was a little problem. In the form of a very stupid message board server.
Now, I know quite a bit of people in Gamefaqs...Onirikimaru the very funny satire master, Shingo the silly sop who is to me as Al Snow is to Mick Foley, Fat Dave the creator of the Board Brawl Hard-core Match & all around cool English Dude, Dazz Hardy & of course, Palidor, the one female NONE of us dare piss off, lest we incur the wrath of her barb wire sakabatou. (But she doesn't possess the DUCT TAPE.) Now these are people I all respect for various reasons. One of them being for enjoying (& occasionally contributing) to the madness that is my storyline. And also for sticking up for me when New Edge Sonic decided to screw with me.
Let me explain. As you know, there are certain things that I have already established in the NNFH storyline. One of them in particular is the Hideo-Hope Clarice situation. I rarely introduce NNFH characters in the GameFaqs story line, but when I do, it's to make allusions to one of the character's past. As it is, a certain villain is poised to show up in there. I also encourage people to read the NNFH storyline, so they can understand the references. Now, this person, New Edge Sonic...I'm gonna be blunt, if there is anything nice I can say right now, it would take up about 5% of this page I'm typing. New Edge Sonic is hard to classify. His character is part hedgehog, part human.
No, that was not a misprint. Yes, that's how he describes himself.
His character is married to Lilith, the succubus from Darkstalkers with a debatable age. They had a kid named Jetta.
Note to potential writers: bestiality is NOT a good means of entertainment.
You know, when I had Kairi fall into a Jusenkyo spring, I had the presence of mind not to drive it in the ground.
The whole Jetta fiasco had started back in the 'Super Shoto Bros.' storyline that DForce did. He had a little side story where Andy was running away from Mai, who was 'in the mood' so to speak. I loved DForce's story, especially that part. A couple of us kinda elaborated on that side story with our own inane ramblings, especially me, out of pure fun (& because some of the material some of us came up with was pure comedy, especially the Mareep incident.) However, N.E.S. and his posts...if I had bothered to save that story & showed you some of his, colorful, commentary, you'd reach for the bottle of Jack Daniel's in a heartbeat. At least I showed some self control!
Unfortunately, that's not where the story ends. N.E.S. took that aspect of being just overall creepy & ran with it. After the 'Jetta' story, which somehow involved my character, there was another one set in Las Vegas...which involved me.
I don't mind being in a story, but for the love of God, please let it be a good TASTEFUL one. No wonder Fanfiction.Net discontinued celebrity stories. I guess now I know how Spears feels.
Anyway, fast forward a bit. We usually have two types of social topics in the Capcom Vs SNK social board: a board brawl & a beer topic. Something to fool around in when we're not doing our stories or discussing about game strategy. I had introduced Hideo in the 'Tournament Saga' storyline which is still going on now. For reasons unknown, N.E.S. gets the idea of trying to set up his character's kid, Jetta with my character's son. DESPITE THE FACT that I have already established what will happen with that character & DESPITE THE FACT that I have shown in the past that when people piss me off, I become a vindictive son of a bitch.
The final straws reared their ugly hentai heads one day. I logged on to Fat Dave's community on MSN & entered the chat room. Dave & Palidor greeted me & immediately asked if I had checked out Palidor's beer & social topic. I said 'No, what's wrong?'. Palidor just told me to look at the beer topic & said it involved New Edge Sonic. I did.
I was immediately upgraded from pissed, Wolverine version to fucking pissed off, Himura Kenshin version (battousai mode.)
Apparently, he had decided, on his own to introduce Mirai Jetta (Future Jetta) who was the girlfriend of Mirai Hideo, who appeared in Palidor's topic via a time loop.
Pop quiz: What's most likely to happen:
a) I am flattered by the idea & work off of it.
b) I get ticked off & give him fair warning.
c) The very idea that NESticles decided to screw around with established canon sends me in an bloodlust induced rage & makes me kick his ass in such a way that makes the bloodletting I unleashed on Tito98310 seem like child's play.
d) Four words: It's Go Time Bitch!!!
e) Any answer that is not A.
As you can see, I was not amused. AT ALL.
After dealing with that, you'd think he would know I am not someone to screw with. But lo & behold, he did it again!! The most recent incident is on the latest entries in the Tournament Saga storyline, 'Tournament Sage: Triple Threat'. On the second page. I had to personally tell everyone to, from now on, ignore the little perverted fuck & give partial control of the story to a select group of people'
Now I know what you're thinking, why the fuck am I ranting on like this? You see, my message is this: As much as the writers should respect the audience they are delivering the story to & entertain them as best as possible, the reader should also respect the writer who's writing his ass off & give them positive, non insulting critical feedback. Not only that, fanfic writers should respect each other & ABOVE ALL ELSE NEVER TRY TO SCREW AROUND WITH THE AUTHOR'S WORK. Simple as that. So if you're reading this N.E.S., it's not too late to apologize you bastard!!!
Enough of that talk, you are now about to read part one of the final chapter of the 'No Need For Hama!' series. Where do I go after this? We'll discuss that in the last story....
(And watch more Kevin Smith stuff, damnit! Clerks: The Animated Series is the bomb.)
Disclaimer: No. Generation X is copyright Marvel entertainment. (Spider Man kicks more ass than that whiny Anakin bastard!) All other characters are copyright of their respective companies (And let's see how many pop culture references you can spot.)
April 2001
All of Generation X gathered inside the main living room of the Fanfic Writer's Guild, awaiting the news that was to be given out that day. If there was an accurate way of describing that day, merry would not be the word to use. More akin to less than enthusiastic was a more fitting analysis.
"I don't get it, why did Marvel just fax the message over here? You'd think that some rep would come here & talk to us face to face." Jubilee growled, flopping down on the lime green bean bag chair.
"I think it has something to do with the lack of spinal cord fortitude." Monet quipped, crossing her arms. "In simple terms, most likely this 'rep' would leave this place in an ambulance truck."
"Still," Angelo said, "I would like to know what those slimy corporate weasels are up to."
"Please, Angelo, don't use the word 'weasel' around me." Paige groaned.
"Second that." Jubilee agreed.
:Here comes Kairi now.: Jono said. The door creaked open & Kairi entered, holding a file folder. On his face were a pair of brown military issue glasses. He never wore them outside of his home, so they all knew that it was a steaming pile of bad news coming their way.
"This does not bolster confidence." Monet remarked.
"Please tell me it's not what we think it is." Paige said.
"I wish. Listen, I'll get right to the point." Kairi stated. "We just got a package delivered to s by express mail & received a fax from Marvel's head wigs. The box contained copies of Gen X #75...the final issue. I think you should look at it."
Several copies made their way to the team members & for a few minutes, as they read, nary a sound could be heard, save for the flipping of pages, confused grunts & occasional profanity uttered from Angelo's lips. As they finished reading & looked at each other, Angelo summed up everything in one word.
"Shit."
"That's one of the many words the other writers used just now." Kairi replied. "Joe Quesada wasn't available since he's busy with Kevin Smith, but he did send his apologies."
"They should have asked Kevin to pull a guest stint." Paige said. "He did great work with Daredevil & Green Arrow."
:Kevin who?:
"He directed Clerks, Mallrats & Dogma." Angelo answered. "He also did this film I saw with a girl awhile back, called Chasing Amy or something."
:Oh, that guy. Didn't he have his own comic in Oni Press?:
"As far as I know, Jono & Emma get to be in New X-Men & Uncanny X-men. Well, I gotta admit, I do like the new costumes. But it's been weird lately. You should have seen Magneto's face when he was cut from the regular X-men line & regulated to Ultimate. He's become a free agent now."
"Well, at least Blink is back again." Jubilee sighed. "But what about the rest of us?"
"Guy, I don't know about you, but I'm getting as far away from Marvel as I can. This gringo's just gonna chill out in Shibuya for awhile & get his band back together."
:I'll be going to Xavier's in the fall anyway. So might as well take it easy: Jono said.
"This is so bizarre." Paige said. "Well, I guess things could have been worse. I'll go talk to Kiyone & see what she thinks."
"C'mon, don't get too discouraged." Kairi said. "We all knew it was gonna happen. But...you know, we really should make the best of what time you have left. Besides, I've been toying with some ideas for DC & anime material, so maybe getting away from Marvel is a good thing."
The door to the room opened & Harley Quinn, sans makeup, peeked her head in. "Yo, Taylor! I got a few questions about this 'bounty hunter' story we got."
"Harley Quinn?" Angelo asked.
"Paul Dini called in a favor."
No Need For Farewells (or, The End)
Part One: Jubilee's Decision (or, New York Rocks!)
by Kairi Taylor (who is not as overworked as he seems anymore.)
October, 2001...
Jubilee, Ryoga & Kairi watched as the people in Central Park passed by from their park bench. A distance away from their location, over the trees stood the American Museum of Natural History, draped with a huge American flag at the gates. The three took note of all that unfolded before them as this continued their discussion. "It still amazes me. I've never seen so much determination & pride in people's eyes before." she said.
"You were expecting something else from us?" Kairi smiled. "We grieve & survive just like everyone else. We're too stubborn for our own good sometimes."
"It feels good to see such determination to live their lives." Ryoga stated. "A vicious, self centered monster such as Osama can never take away the true value of life, no matter what those tainted beliefs he spews out say."
"Honestly though, I feel pity for those people of Afghanistan." Kairi replied. "Not just because of their wars or what those Grade A Taliban jerks have done, but what will happen now because of him."
"I just hope people won't use any of this to be ignorant jackasses." Jubilee said. "But look at Pat Robertson & Jerry Falwell."
"Eh, screw the bigots." Kairi snorted in annoyance. "They spend 99% of their free time complaining & 0% doing anything useful."
Ryoga laughed & said "Good thing you all also kept your sense of humor."
"Dude, they pissed us off." Kairi said. "And we work better when we are pissed off anyway. But let's just forget about that sub-human! I gotta go see my son now."
"Ah, so you're getting ready for his first Halloween party?" Jubilee asked.
"Totally. Washu & I got some costumes made for us to wear. Washu is going to dress up as Haruka from 'FLCL' & Hideo wants to go as Yu-Gi-Oh."
"And you?"
"I figured I'd as Kyo from 'King of Fighters' this year."
"I got something to take care of." Ryoga said. "But I'll
meet up with you guys later. I think I'll dress up as Spike Spiegal this year."
"You do have the hair for it." Jubilee observed. "Well, I'll see you guys later. I'm heading to Times Square."
"Ok. Later then."
Jubilee walked the streets near West 40th Street, deep in thought as the people all around her went about their daily routine. With Generation X officially disbanded, Jubilee's recent options were hard to choose from . The Hollywood excursion was a complete bust & she was more the wiser, thanks to Angelo's insight. She had received an offer to work for a new organization called the X-Corps, which was based out of Europe. Sean had also received an invite. Then there was the option of staying at Xavier's academy & train to once again become an X-man. Jubilee also received an invitation from Kiyone to join the GP force with Paige. But as she remembered her conversation with Logan a while ago, she reflected on his advice about these types of decisions & how they are not made in a day.
"Jubilee?"
Jubilee turned to look into the diner where the voice had come from. At the entrance stood Monet & Akane, both carrying back packs. "Oh, hey!" Jubilee smiled. "What are you two doing here?"
"We just stopped by for a quick lunch on our excursion to Chinatown," Monet said "but what brings you to Times Square, without the company of Ryoga?"
"Deep meaningful thoughts." Jubilee answered. "You know, the usual teen crisis mumbo jumbo that they can never get right on those teen dramas."
"Oh, that." Monet sighed, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, it's nothing to lose sleep over."
"Easy for you to say, you're loaded."
Sensing that yet another one of the duo's arguments was about to commence, Akane interjected herself quickly. "Why not come with us to Chinatown? We're just going to pick up a few items. I'll even show you Dance Dance Revolution."
"Ok...but what the hell's a Dance Revolution?"
"Here's the store he told us about." Monet said as the three girls turned down the corner of Mott St. & arrived at AnimeMax, a small shop with several souvenirs, cards, plants & all other assorted imports at the front. "This is where Taylor & Angelo have been getting their anime fansub tapes lately."
"I think they have both spent at least $75 on tapes alone." Jubilee said.
"And how much of Angelo's do you suppose is hentai?" Akane wondered.
"Do we even need to ask?"
Entering the store, they found a plethora of different items of all shapes & sizes to purchase, from giant Hello Kitty dolls to T-shirts to slippers & Sanrio gum. At the glass display they saw a young Spanish woman in a black leather jacket, dyed blond hair with beads talking to the clerk, a young Chinese man with glasses.
"So, you'll give me the Rurouni Kenshin set, tapes 1-17 & have it delivered to my apartment?"
"Yeah, we can do deliveries easily."
"Cool. I'll take these, plus I'll take the Gundam movie 'Char's Counterattack, this King of Fighters resin statue & this bokken. I think $380 bucks will cover all of this nicely."
"Daphne?"
Daphne looked up & beamed. "Oh Jubes! So freakin' good to see you! I haven't seen you since Mahfood's big ass party last year!"
"Yeah, what a wild one that was! What are you doing here?"
"I decided to get outta Freak City for a while. Gwen went off for this graffiti comp they got going down in L.A. & Rita is just being her extra weird self now that she's gone steady with her girlfriend."
"Ah I see."
"Hey, where's your writer buddy at? I wanna give 'im some ideas for CWJ2."
"Kairi's getting his son ready for Halloween. Akane said. "Oh yeah, I forgot that he had a kid." Daphne said, smacking her head. "So, how's he holding up? After that big fight last year, he looked like he fought with half of the Foot Clan."
"Oh yes, his duel with Simon." Monet recalled. "He recovered faster than we expected & has become stronger than he was before. He still insists that fight was a breeze though."
"Men." Daphne sighed.
"I like this." Jubilee said, examining the Hello Kitty back pack. "Hey, remember the Hello Kitty TV show?"
"Do you mean the one they had back in the 80's? Hell yeah!" Daphne said. "They did a fairy tale every week! That's when Saturday mornings on CBS was WORTH watching!"
"Seriously! Instead of Muppet Babies or Garfield, now all kids got are those damn morning news shows!"
"As if kids didn't have enough to worry about now! And those Engel shows! Don't get me started!
"I feel like I'm stuck in a Kevin Smith movie, sans cursing." Monet remarked."
"I didn't even know American TV had Hello Kitty."
The girls, now joined by Daphne, walked into the entrance to Chinatown Fair, which was a block away from the store. The arcade was packed with all sorts of classic & modern arcade games, from Pac-Man & Galaga up to King of Fighters 2001 & Virtua Fighter 4. The people inside were from all over NYC & mainly high school students, but an occasional adult or college student could be seen.
"Ah, there it is." Akane pointed. At the end of the area in a corner was a huge machine. It had two huge speakers on the sides & flashing neon lights all around it. Attached to it was a huge pad with 4 arrows on each side pointing up, down, left & right. "I see no one's playing it know. We're in luck."
"What the heck is this anyway?" Jubilee asked.
"You mean you've never heard of DDR?" Daphne asked in disbelief.
"I spend most of my time schooling Angelo & Jono in Street Fighter III." Jubilee explained."
"I here that."
"It's rather simple," Monet replied, "in theory at least. All you have to do is step on the arrows on screen correctly in tune with the arrows on the pad."
"Ok, now say that again, but in Common-Speech." Jubilee said in annoyance.
"To put it bluntly, dance." Monet said. "Just watch me." Monet then handed the attendant 2 singles & received 8 tokens.
"Don't tell me you're gonna try the double pad mode." Daphne said.
"Believe me, she's more than capable." Akane said.
"And just to show you how serious I am...I'm going to choose Maniac level." Monet replied in a superior tone.
"Oh damn."
"Let's see...this song will do nicely for a warm up." Monet selected a track entitled "Paranoia" & stood at the center of the pads as Daphne said "I gotta see this!"
"I take it this won't be a walk in the park." Jubilee observed. "I would have agreed with you before." Akane replied. "But Monet's real good at this & with the rate the game goes on Maniac, especially with that song..."
From that point on, no words were needed. For as soon as the song began, Monet's ability spoke for itself. The next 2 to 3 minutes of playtime produced some of the smoothest movements & footwork combined with original dance moves. Monet moved as fluid as a stream of water, her efforts mostly combined in, at her best, a 500 step combo. When the song ended, Monet lightly sighed & Jubilee stood wide eyed as she stared at Monet's on screen evaluation. "Hmm...AA. Not what I expected, but it will suffice."
"Holy crap." Jubilee uttered.
"Don't get too cocky." Daphne said. "That as great & all, but...let's see you do a REAL tough one."
"Very well, I choose...wait, on second thought, Akane, why don't you pick one?" Monet asked.
"Me? Ok." Akane stepped up & pressed a few buttons, looking through the vast list of songs. A sly grin crept onto her face as she eyed a song in particular. "I'll choose...'Lupin III '77 Remix'. And let's see if you can do it on low visibility mode."
"Ah, an enhanced PK." Monet quipped.
"She means Player Killer." Daphne explained to Jubilee. "It's a song that goes really fast & has a lot of steps to move around to," Daphne frowned as she continued, "& with those arrows showing up only 3 seconds before she has to stomp on the correct pad, there ain't no way she can last the whole song."
Three Minutes Later...
Daphne & Jubilee stood, mouths agape, as Monet finished the last 15 steps of the song. Monet quietly drank from her water bottle as the small crowd that had gathered around the machine started in disbelief. Akane sweatdropped as she asked Jubilee "What grade did she get?"
"Um....AAA." she answered.
"Darn, I was hoping for a higher grade."
Elsewhere, Ryoga had made his way to Midtown Comics, 2 blocks south of Times Square. As he climbed the stairs to the second floor,where the store was located, he came across Jono & Tenchi, who were standing in front of the video section. The videos were all various shows, movies & cartoons of huge variety, mainly comic book related. Jono picked up one in particular. :Now what have we here? The Turkish version of Superman?: Jono said.
"Please, don't pick that one up." Tenchi warned. "Dr. McCoy warned me about it."
:And judging by the description,: Jono observed :he had good reason to.:
"There's even worse ones like that." Tenchi pointed out "like the Star Wars rip-off. It actually uses old music from Raiders of the Lost Ark & old stock footage from the film."
:You know, I always wondered why Turkey was always portrayed in ill favor when it came to American movies. I guess that's their revenge. Oh, Hey Ryoga.:
"Hey. What are you guys doing here?"
"We're just picking up a few comics for ourselves." Tenchi explained. "We found the Gen-X movie here too."
:I'm still bummed Fox didn't give 'em enough money to feature me in it.: Jono said.
"You're a living psionic furnace Jono. They'd blow 75% of the budget on special effects."
:Good point.:
"And the actress that plays Jubilee doesn't really look like her." Tenchi continued. "But Angelo was real smug about his guy."
"Where is Angelo anyway?" Ryoga asked.
:Where else?: Jono rolled his eyes & pointed upstairs.
"Hentai section." Ryoga sighed.
"And my dad's up there with him." Tenchi said. "What brings you here?"
"I was thinking a few things over in my head. You know, about Jubilee & stuff."
:Oh.: Jono said. :I see...:
Tenchi straightened his collar. "Well, don't ask me for any advice on that. I have enough female issues."
"Most people would probably envy you, Tenchi." Ryoga said.
"Nah, I doubt it. With half the damage that the house has already endured, it's a miracle I'm still alive. I'm gonna go & see if I can find any back issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Ryoga & Jono thumbed through the various issues of Usagi Yojimbo as they talked. :So, basically, you want to go steady, right?:
"Uh yeah...but you know how I am with girls & everything."
:Mate, you gotta relax. I know you're shy & all, but you & Jubilee have been doing so well together!:
"I guess..."
:Ever since you got over Akane & broke up with Akari, you've seemed so much happier with Jubes. You two have gotten along so much better than I ever did with Paige.:
"Yeah, I know, but I don't want to end up like you two did."
:I know, I know. But it was kind of my fault. I mean I was real cold to her after she returned to the academy, but that was my fault. I still had some resentment issues with my own family & I thought that somehow, after that Thanksgiving fiasco...:
"Her family would convince her to dump you?"
:Yeah, that. So I overreacted. And I've been regretting it ever since. I think maybe that's why she dated Tristian. As her way of doing to me what I did to her.:
"I think she realizes her mistake too." Ryoga said. "At least you two are talking again."
:Yeah, that's a plus. But you & Jubes? You are really hitting it off. When we started dating, Paige & I had talked a whole lot. Especially about...intimacy issues.:
"Oh. That." Ryoga blushed. "We've...already covered that territory."
:Oh, well then...wait, YOU WHAT?!!!"
Normally, for anyone else, this would be a large shout. But since Jono can only communicate telepathically with other people, all the other people in the store thought they were hearing a loud English voice in their heads & frantically tried to feign complete sanity.
:Ooops. When was this?:
"A few months ago. At the big party Kairi had."
:And how did...:
"Jubilee seduced me & dragged me into Kairi's room."
:Oh. I pity Kairi. Everyone's using his room for their trysts except him.:
"...so after we took down the BrotherHood of The Cracker AGAIN, the government stepped in. We had to make a plea bargain for our freedom. So now, instead of the usual business we had, we're now the official sellers of medicinal marijuana in Freak City." Daphne finished her tale & devoured what was left of the teriyaki chicken. The girls were now eating at Aijisen Restaurant, located next to the arcade.
"Fascinating story." Monet said. "But are you sure that the Nykee CEO is really dead?"
"Yeah, I'm positive now. Gwen's dad explained to us that since he was a full fledged demon at that point, only a really holy weapon can kill a demon. Good thing my ex-boyfriend had a priest in his family to bless the weapons for us."
"And the government? How did you manage to make a deal with them anyway?"
"That Brotherhood had it's claws in the senate. The CIA likes to keep their image clean now & we had a few needs of our own, not to mention the little prison thing hanging over our heads. So we talked and now I have my own comics store. The Grrl Scout's Clubhouse!."
"I would have picked something flasy, like Daph's Secret Stash." Jubilee said.
"Nah, some guy in Leonardo, NJ named Brodie beat me to it."
"Well, I need to use the restroom. Excuse me." Monet rose from her seat.
"I gotta go too." Akane said. The two left & headed downstairs, leaving Jubilee & Daphne to talk. "So, how's the thing with Ryoga going?"
"Cool. I think he's ready to ask me to be his steady girl."
"Sweet! So, uh, did you two..."
"Yes. We did."
"Well, he is a hunk, in his shy dorky way."
"Yeah, that's why I love him."
"Who initialized it?"
"I did."
"You go girl!"
"Yeah, but now I gotta make this big decision. I've got so many offers to choose from." Jubilee sighed.
"Ah, that time in the girls life. I faced that kind of decision too. Well, the therapist my mom hired for me wasn't too much of a help though, as you've seen my little mean streak." Daphne chuckled. "So, what's your choices?"
"Well, I could join with the Galaxy Police like Paige did. I heard she's got potential be a great detective."
"Space travel sounds cool." Daphne said. "Plus you get your own spaceship."
"I know. Then there's the X-men."
"You've been wanting to go back for a long time."
"Yeah, but things aren't as exciting as they are anymore. You should have seen some of the stuff those guys were doing while I was visiting them once."
"What else have you got to choose from?"
"Something called the X-Corps."
"I'd say no to that one. Maybe it's me, but I've noticed that all those other X teams seem to have the worst of luck. Remember Excalibur, X-Force, Mutant X?"
"Yeah, I see what you mean. I heard X-Force is getting a name change too."
Daphne drank from her Asashi beer can & said "You know, I've always considered you to be smarter than you look J. So, if you want my honest opinion, here it is. Just listen to that heart of yours. I mean having adventures is fun, but all of it catches up to you. Maybe nonstop danger isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Yeah, I guess you could be right. It is cool, but do you know how boring it is to be caught in a weird deathtrap & have some super villain spout off some nonsense again for the 700th time?"
"I make it a habit to keep all superheroics to a minimum."
Ryoga entered the front door of Book Off, a Japanese bookstore & saw Jubilee in the CD section. "Hey, how are you doing?" Ryoga said.
"Ah, just looking for the TM Revolution CD Nabiki wants. Um, Ryoga, there's something I wanna tell you before I..."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But you can..."
"No, I want to hear you first."
"Oh, uh, Ok." Ryoga nervously shifted his feet as he said "We've known each other for quite awhile, three years now. And I was gonna ask you to go steady..."
"Oh. But?"
"Well, I decided to do something that I'd never thought I would do..." Ryoga's gaze shifted to the outside window, where out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daphne, Jono & Kairi crouching behind a large van. Sighing heavily, he gulped & got down on one knee. Pulling a small velvet box from his pocket, he opened it & inside was a golden ring. "Jubilee. I..I..love you very much. Will you please marry me?"
Jubilee's eyes were wide, her face red. She shivered in excitement as she gazed into her suitors eyes. With little hesitation, she pulled Ryoga up by his arm & fully kissed him on the mouth. For two minutes, the crowd in the store started & applauded. The two broke off the kiss & Ryoga said, in shock "Wow, I guess that's a yes."
"Shut up & kiss me you fool."
"Wow, I can't believe your plan worked!" Kairi said as he continued to film the events in the store. "Good work, you two."
:Daphne deserves more of the credit. She got Monet & Akane in on the whole deal.:
"Yeah, it was a bit of a long shot though. Ryoga was asking all sorts of questions about married couples because he was so afraid to talk to Emma. And Jubilee kept on dropping hints about marriage."
:What do you suppose Jubilee was gonna say?:
"She's decided to go to the college in Salem." Kairi replied. "She called me on the cell phone & asked me a few questions about how she should break it to everyone."
"Well, another happy story in this city has begun!" Daphne said. "Let's go someplace & celebrate!!"
"Bleecker St, then?" Kairi suggested.
:Eh, why not.:
"You know Kairi, you've really been getting into jazz lately."
"Cowboy Bebop has something to do with that. Remember that episode, 'Pierrot Le Fou', where Spike was taking on that crazed killer?"
"Tell me about it, it was so much like a Batman episode..."
:Not again...:
See You, Space Cowboy...
Kairi: One down, four more to go. Or is it five?
Monet: Our next episode features something unique. I have one of my fondest wishes fulfilled.
Kairi: And I die...sorta.
Monet: What he means is he visits the land of the dead to help me.
Kairi: Well, technically, I'm not fully dead.
Monet: And I have a very interesting day with a guest star.
Kairi:You folks have no idea how weird the other side can get. I meet all sorts of people
Death: Including me!
Kairi: Who says Death isn't pretty?
Death: Are you flirting with me?
Kairi: If Ukyo caught wind of that, I might as well be dead.
Monet: Wait, what about Yuffie?
Kairi: Later.
Death: So, we hope to see you in the next episode of 'No Need For Farewells!'
Monet: It's called 'Monet's Wish.'
Kairi: So, how is that Tim Hunter guy?
Death: Just fine. Chris Bachalo sends his regards.