Foosha: Hey guys sorry it's two days late. It's been hectic this week. :T But! Here it is~! More plot stuff in the next chapter. See if you guys can figure out who is who in this little mix up chapter! This one was also for fun. :P
Nicky: Foosha doesn't own Metal Gear Solid (or Snake if you even notice the reference), Wizard of Oz or any other random things she forgot.
Vash: I think this dream would be more accurate for you.
Nicky: Psh everyone has weird dreams, Vash. Just not always about that kind of stuff...
Vash: Right...
Foosha: Thank-you Chillybean, Yuti-Chan, DeeaE and Magpie of Shiny Quotes for the reviews! And the rest of you for the faves! I'll try to update as soon as I can but I can't count on Sunday exactly since I work all weekend. :T Anyways, enjoy!
Nicky: Annnnnnnnd go!
Nicky's POV
"Iiiiiiiiit's waffle time! !" I did a few unnecessary stretches as I waited in front of the toaster oven for my dear waffles to complete their toasting cycle. For once, I was up before the Akatsuki, that or they were running around the cabin somewhere up to their normal sneakiness. I wonder what they do anyway. Ninja dance party? Bahaha… that was stupid. Yeah it was. Shut up you….me…whatever.
"Ding!" I jumped back from the toaster oven in alarm, until I realized what happened.
"Wahh! Garrr…. Every stupid time that stupid sound scares me. Even when I expect it! What's up with that?"
"Boo." And as with the toast, I jumped a second time, slamming my back into the counter painfully.
"Oww…"
"Sorry kiddo, are you okay?" I peeked at the figure to see a blurry blue color in front of me. Now knowing it wasn't a crazy toast demon, I let my eyes open up all the way. The shark man just stood there with a confused expression. "Hellooo?"
"Ah! Sorry! I spaced out. I'm okay, I just hit my back." I relaxed a little and returned to preparing my waffle stack. He made no motion to speak, and I felt slightly awkward, so I decided to initiate the conversation. "So…. whatcha doin'? I thought everyone was asleep?" He chuckled deeply and I shivered. I think out of all the guys, he intimidates me the most, even though he seems pretty nice.
"Yeah, it's unusual for us to sleep in," so they did sleep in! Ha! "Those of us who sleep at least… But we were just about to go train. Didn't you say you wanted to watch?"
"Oh! Yeah definitely! Are you guys going out now? If so we'll have to leave Vash. She doesn't wake up until 12 at the earliest… and since we were up 'til like three this morning, she would not be happy even if I waited that long. So... let me finish my waffles and then I'll come outside." He just nodded and left, leaving me wondering why they were wearing their cloud dresses. Those robes seem kinda bulky to be moving around in… wonder if they're just more comfortable in them? Or maybe they are self-conscious? Aww… poor guys... But… I somehow doubt it's that… or is it? Now I've just confused myself. I shrugged it off and stuck a waffle in my mouth, too hungry to worry about syrup after being interrupted.
"Morning, un," Foofy called casually as he entered the kitchen, stealing one of my waffles and stuffing it in his mouth. I frowned and kicked him in the shin, receiving an annoyed look in return. "Do you think you're actually doing anything to me when you do that, yeah?"
"Well… it makes me feel better, yeah!" His eye twitched.
"Are you mocking me, hm?"
"Pfft no, hm. Why in the world would I do that, yeah?"
"Why you-"
"Shut up brat. Leave the child be, we need to train." I glared at Spirit's face as he stood in the hallway. I am not a child!
"Hey jerk face!" His eyes slid over to me. "Have a waffle and shut up!" Being impulsive, which I was doing a lot lately, I grabbed another waffle from my stack and threw it in the red head's direction. It fell lamely to the floor a few feet in front of him. God damnit. I stomped my feet a few times and whipped around so I wasn't looking at either of them, trying to hide the redness of my face.
"Oh I see. That was aimed at me, wasn't it?" Jerk. I can feel him smirking! Smirking! I thought he had no emotions that asshole! Grrrr… why do they frustrate me so?
"Pffft! Hahahaha! She'd be a terrible ninja, yeah!" That was all I could take before I had to retort with something.
"Don't you guys have ninja things to do? Now go away! Leave me and my waffles alone." I heard some snickering and footsteps before the sound of a door in the distance slamming shut. A sigh escaped my lips before nibbling on a corner of a waffle. "Stupid stupidheads. When will the embarrassment end for me? Argh…"
In the Forested Area Nearby…
Once I had finished cleaning up the mess of waffles, and eating the rest, I changed into some jeans and a gray shirt and had Toon Link on it, grabbing a coat on the way out just in case it was cold. And thank goodness I did for as soon as I opened the door I was met with a rush of cold wind.
"Gah! It's summer not fall! Sheesh!" The sky was relatively clear that day despite the cold chill, though. And as I walked around, I forgot how much I had missed this atmosphere. "Aww… I wanna live in the mountains again. I love this place too much! I know! I'll get my Biology degree and move up here and buy some Husky's! And kittens! And I'll have hot chocolate every day and ski and sled and doodle and study wolves or deer or something!" Caught up in the thoughts of my fantasy I didn't notice I walked into a clearing until something narrowly missed my nose, surprising me enough to make me fall on my backside. "WAHHH WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Idiot girl, be more aware of your surroundings." I slowly turned my head to the right to see the Akatsuki staring at me, Pein standing ahead of the rest, his arms folded tightly. Slow the feel the reality of what just happened, I just blinked at him obliviously.
"Oh I was looking for you guys."
"We were aware of that, but you could have just died had you been walking faster. We can't sense you because you have no chakra. Remember that." I swallowed and looked up towards the tree I had walked by to see a very sharp looking, diamond-shaped knife thing stuck in it.
"Uh… y-yeah okay. Um… where do you want me to sit then?"
"Probably behind us, stupid bitch." Ugh I forgot about Marshmallow.
"Marshmallow, no one likes you, so shut up," I replied in irritation, tired of dealing with the teasing and just plain rudeness of some. Nonetheless, I did as he so nicely suggested and stood up, walking over to the area behind them and taking a seat on a random stump. "All right, commence!" I instructed, hoping to get back into my normal mood. Some shrugged and they all went back to training. Even Marshy didn't talk back. They spread out among the trees, splitting into their usual pairs, and began to spar. Wow they are like crazy quick. Oh my gosh! I'm suddenly reminded of the episode of Dragon Ball Z where Goku and them enter a regular human tournament and kick ass! Idea! I should have one of them enter a tournament so they can win money to pay me back! I mean, if they just gave me stolen money…. Police can track that, can't they? And it would be awesome to see them knock those over-confident fighters down a notch. Bwahaha…
At first I was completely overwhelmed, but after a few minutes I was able to pick up on some of the individual moves them performed. They each had their own styles that reflected their personalities quite well. All very unique. I wonder what my style would be…
"Okay. Let's work on some simple jutsus that won't cause too much attention. Girl." I looked towards Pein, who I assumed was referring to me. "You said you want to learn some techniques, correct? Let's see what you can do. Konan, make sure everyone else stays on task." Konan nodded and walked to where I had been sitting while I stood next to Pein, completely terrified of what exactly I'd have to do. I didn't think ninja stuff would look so hard, but it does. I'll die!
"Uh… maybe it would be easier for you to not teach me anything. I think I'd be a bad student." He put a hand up to silence me.
"You wanted to try it, so you will. Be thankful that I'm using my time to teach you this."
"Ugh fine. You know, you remind me of my tennis coach, except… more metal-y." He ignored my comment and walked towards me, handing me a knife thing.
"Throw this at that tree. Try to aim near the branch in the middle." I gave him a look of disbelief.
"Seriously? You're just going to give me a knife and say "go for it"? I can barely throw a ball much less something that could potentially harm someone!" He gave me a flat look and I sighed. "Fine. Just don't get mad if I hurt someone." I exhaled loudly, trying to calm my nerves. Ugh I always work myself up for things that don't matter. Stop that brain! Stop that! Okay ready…. aim… go!
I lined up the knife with the tree as well as I could, before pulling back and hurling the object towards its destination. There was a "thunk" and the sound of rustling. I glanced around and realized that somehow I had managed to throw the knife completely diagonal to the original stop point.
"Uh… how does that happen?" Pein massaged his temples from beside me, looking somewhat agitated.
"Maybe this is a lost cause after all."
Meanwhile in Dreamland… (not the Kirby kind btw)
"Vash! Come quick!" I looked over to Nicky who called me from a strange doorway where a window usually is. Shrugging off the off feeling I immediately followed her through a dark hallway that soon erupted into a bright light. I winced slightly until the light faded. It revealed a small room in a cottage, and everything was colored in a sepia tone for some reason. Nicky was nowhere in sight.
"Nicky? Hello? Where did you go?"
"I'm right here! Woof!" Confused I look down to where I heard the voice to see a small dog with Nicky's head…. Wait what the fuck? And for some reason, I felt like laughing really hard, so I did. She just frowned, wagging her tail angrily. "Vash! Auntie Chi has been looking for you, woof woof! You slept in too long!"
"Slept in? I was just walking down a hall…" I looked down to see I was lying in a bed with strange sleepwear on. "Oh… okay I'll be right there. I guess I was dreaming." Standing up I wandered over to a dresser and retrieved my dress, and some sandals. I braided my hair into two pigtails, blue ribbons attached to each side, and once satisfied, I followed Nicky outside to see Auntie Chi watering some flowers. As if reading my mind she stood up, patting off her skirt and apron. She glanced at me as I approached, her dark hair in a bun and the lines on her face revealing her old age. At least I thought she was old.
"There you are Vash," she said in her monotone, and strangely manly, voice. "Miss Saso is coming by today."
"Ughhh…. Not her."
"Just be on your best behavior, and keep Nicky close." Nicky growled in response. Suddenly we heard the sound of a bicycle as it approached, carrying none other than Miss Saso herself. She stopped in front of us and glared angrily, going on about how Auntie Chi had made her wait for something, and then I tuned her out, until I heard her scream.
"Get this mongrel off of me!" Nicky had managed the latch herself onto Miss Saso's arm. I easily pulled her off, holding her close. Maybe I should have been watching her more closely. Miss Saso was fuming, squawking about more nonsense I didn't want to hear, until she pried Nicky out of my hands, stuffing her in a picnic basket and riding off with Nicky in tow.
"Where is she taking Nicky? You can't let her do that, Auntie Chi!" Auntie Chi just shrugged.
"I'm sorry Vash." Frustrated I ran straight back into the house and collapsed onto my bed.
"What am I going to do now?"
"Bark bark, I'm right here!" I blinked and turned around to see Nicky standing by the door panting. "I escaped! But Vash! We need to get to the shelter! There's a tornado com-" A loud crashing sound echoed from outside and unable to think of what to do, I grabbed Nicky and we huddled together near the bed, hoping that we wouldn't die. Suddenly there was a sharp blow to my head, and my vision faded to black.
Nicky's POV
"I GOT IT YEEEEEEEEEE! DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU! I HIT THE TREE AND IT ACTUALLY STAYED! Even though it wasn't in the right spot, that's still AWESOME!"
"I think… we should take a break." Plop.
"Aw… it fell… damnit."
In Dreamland
"Hey wake up! Woof!" I cracked my eyes open, seeing Nicky sitting near me looking frazzled. "Look outside!" I sat up and adjusted my glasses, gazing out a window near me to see a crazy amount of wind blowing, with cows and all sorts of random objects flying about.
"What the hell is happening?" The ground suddenly jolted violently beneath us as we came to a crash landing. I coughed and waved a hand to rid the air near me of dust and debris. Before I could begin to wonder where Nicky was, she magically appeared beside the front door, barking frantically and spinning in circles.
"Here here!" Completely disregarding the strange event that occurred with little worry, I stood up and brushed myself off before following Nicky out the front door and into a land of color.
"Whoa. Where are we?"
"Oh that's easy, Vash. You're in Wonder- er… The Land of… uh…?" I jumped, startled and blinked at the blue-haired woman dawned in pink standing beside me. She twirled her wand in her hand absent-mindedly.
"The Land of Uh?"
"Yeah… oh! Look! You fell on her!" I looked to where she was pointing underneath the house to see two legs sticking out with sparkly high-heeled shoes. Suddenly the legs disintegrated, leaving only the slippers.
"Uh… whoops. Who was she? And who are you?"
"Oh how silly of me, I am the Good Witch Konda. Or… Glinan. And that was The Evil Witch of the East; Deidia. But you killed her, so I suppose you should take her magical shoes." I glanced at the shoes the Good Witch now held in her sparkly grasp.
"Uh… I don't wear high heels." Blinking for only a moment, the shoes disappeared from her hands and reappeared onto my feet, shiny and uncomfortable as ever. She smiled softly.
"See? They look nice on you. Now that the witch is dead, the Zetkins are now free!" I frowned.
"Zetkins?" Suddenly there was a roar of cheers that echoed throughout the colorful, and smaller than usual, city. This was accompanied by a mass of stampeding plant people that erupted from little homes, surrounding me and Nicky in seconds. They looked like small clones of one another. Half black and half white, with green hair and a strange plant-like appendage that made them oddly charming in a way. "Hi…?"
"You did it! You killed her!" Chirped one while the rest applauded and proceeded to break out into several different strange songs that seemed completely off key, but cute nonetheless. "Well all right then."
No sooner had the celebration started that it was stopped completely when a whirl of ominous smoke appeared before the crowd. The Zetkins immediately scattered while Nicky, the Good Witch and I just stood our ground. When the smoke cleared, a ghastly looking (not to mention manly), white haired woman was revealed. Her pinkish/purplish eyes narrowed dangerously at me. She was terrifying.
"Well well what the fuck do we have here?"
"Hidana, the Evil Witch of the West. What are you doing here?" The white haired witch huffed and walked to the dead witch's body, only to whip around and glare at us.
"Where are the slippers? Those are mine!" Konda shrugged and nonchalantly gestured to my feet.
"You mean those slippers? They belong to Vash now." Hidana fumed and gnashed her teeth viciously.
"Well I outta kill that bitch then-"
"Your powers don't work in Zetkin Land, don't you remember? I suggest you leave." The evil witch scowled, and then smiled at me creepily.
"I'll fucking get you, bitch… and your weird-ass dog too!" She cackled and left in the same smoke. It was silent for a moment, before I realized something. I turned to Konda.
"So… how do I get out of this place?" She placed a hand to her cheek in thought.
"You need to seek the mysterious Wizard of Uh. He resides in Sapphire City. Now go! Follow that gold-plated road and you will reach him in no time!" I turned towards the glowing road after waving goodbye to the good witch and Zetkins, and started on my journey with Nicky trotting at my side.
"These guys must be extremely rich."
Nicky's POV
"I… *pant* can't…. *cough* go on!" Weakly I reached towards the hem of Pein's robe only to have him back up a few feet.
"Pathetic girl, you merely ran a mile yet you are this out of breath. Itachi, try sparing with her. I'm done and I don't want her bothering me anymore." And with that he swiftly turned around and disappeared, leaving me sprawled on the ground, chest in pain with every breath. I groaned loudly, allowing my face to smush against the dirt. "Mmf mmmm mll."
With Vashy-Vash
We walked for a while until we came across a field that was filled with crows. A lone scarecrow stood in the field. Curious, I motioned Nicky to follow me to inspect it. Once close enough, I realized it was quite an odd looking thing. He was donned in a round orange mask with one eyehole, and the rest of him was covered in the traditional scarecrow-ish outfit. Nicky approached him cautiously, sniffing occasionally when the thing suddenly moved. She yipped and jumped back, while I was just frozen. Scarecrows were creepy. Eck.
"Oh! Hellooo! Tobi is a scarecrow! A scarecrow without a brain! Who is braided girly?"
"Oh. I'm Vash. How are you alive if you don't have a brain?" The boy (man?) just giggled excitedly and bounded up to me.
"Oh silly girly, Tobi is a scarecrow! But Tobi wants a brain. Can you help Tobi?"
"Well… I'm going to see a wizard who's supposed to help me back home… I guess he could probably help you with your… problem." He clapped excitedly and proceeded to pick Nicky up, much to her dismay, and follow behind me as I started back on the trail.
"Tobi wants to sing a song! Tobi's going to see a wizard! The good wizard that will give Tobi a brain! Tobi is getting a brain from the good wizarrrrrrrd!"
"TOBI SHUT UP!"
"OKAY~!"
Nicky's POV
"You aren't watching me. Try again." I blew some hair out of my face and pulling at my shorts in anxiety.
"That's because you're making me nervous. You scare me."
"Hn…"
"Sigh. Fiiiiiiine." For the past two hours I had been working with Itachi on basic blocking, and I was doing better than when I started… but not by much. I almost cried a few times when he knocked me over, but I held it in and kept going! I never do that! And I'll have awesome bruises tomorrow! Yeah!
WHAM! Annnnnd down I went. That's what I get for paying attention, owie.
"Now I can see why Pein was so frustrated…"
"Shut up."
Vash Time!
Over the course of our walk, brainless scarecrow, Nicky and I had come across two other "unfortunate" individuals; a scaredy-lion and a heartless metal shark man. Now we were all headed to Sapphire City.
"I'm scared. I'd feel better if you let me hold your money," the lion/man hinted to me. He looked and acted like a normal lion, except for the stitching patterns etched all over his fur, his ability to talk, and his strange obsession with money.
"Let's keep going so I can get my heart, and brainless boy can get a bit smarter," replied the metal man with a chuckle. I sighed loudly.
"How do I end up in these situations? I just want to go home with my human-faced dog." Nicky barked in agreement, after finally wiggling free from scarecrow's grasp.
"Hey! It's there! It's there! Look!" Scarecrow screamed wildly. Everyone looked towards where he pointed to see a brightly lit blue city. Thank god. I ran ahead of the group, eager to finally leave this crazy place.
"That must be it! Finally, let's go!"
When we arrived inside the main building, we were met by an ominous floating kitten head. Nicky growled angrily at the… thing.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" It boomed loudly, shaking the building and nearly knocking me over.
"We heard you could grant some wishes. So… could you do that?" The others nodded in agreement beside me, looking hopeful. The cat head scoffed.
"PERHAPS IF YOU BRING ME THE EVIL WITCH'S BROOMSTICK I WILL GRANT YOU THESE WISHES." I groaned.
"Ugh fine. We'll be right back."
Nicky's POV
At around three o'clock I decided to stop kidding myself. I would never be a ninja. The thought depressed me greatly. At least I actually got exercise today though… and I have evidence to prove it! That or someone just beat me up. I decided to soak in the Jacuzzi for a while and then try to wake up Vash. It's already three. That's plenty of time for her to sleep in. Twelve hours-ish worth!
"Hey move the fuck over blonde bitch. We're all getting in." I turned my head to see the Akatsuki, besides Pein, Itachi and Konan, standing by the sliding door in random swim trunks. Ugh… just what I need.
"Can't you guys like…run to someone else's Jacuzzi? It'll be pretty cramped if you all try to sit in here." Not to mention extremely uncomfortable for me. Foofy laughed in that obnoxious voice of his. For some reason it just started really bugging me lately.
"Hell no, hm. You'll just have to deal with it, yeah." He roughly pushed me to one side of the hot tub and got in while the rest just followed his example, except for the pushing me part. Asshole. Thank goodness I decided to wear clothes over my swimsuit again, or I'd die of embarrassment. Never in my life would I ever have imagined myself in a situation such as this one. It's almost unbelievable…except that it happened. Having these strange people with us I mean, but I guess being in a hot tub with a bunch of guys is also something I never expected. I'm surprised I'm so calm right now actually. Blech. But…
"This still sucks. You guys better not pee in the water or anything, or I'll stick something fun in your next meal."
After Defeating the Witch and Flying Rin Monkeys and Francesca Soldiers…
"It probably wasn't necessary to kill all the monkeys and soldiers… they willingly gave us the broom and were thanking us for killing the witch. By the way, good thinking bringing that random cup of water, Scarecrow. Apparently that's all it took to melt her away. Thank goodness you're a brainless idiot who trips easily." I looked back to said idiot and he just continued skipping along. A growl erupted from the lion.
"They burned the money trying burn that stupid scarecrow… they had to die." The metal man also nodded in agreement.
"Yeah I enjoy killing. That's probably why I need a heart." I gave him a flat look and he just shrugged.
"Well," I continued, "Let's get this over with then before you murder us all."
"Bark! Bark! I'll tear that cat apart!" Suddenly Nicky dashed in front of the group and ran into the wizard's building. We were quick to catch up, and immediately observed Nicky jump at the kitten head and go right through it, landing on the other side. I blinked, confused.
"Uh… it's fake then?" The others nodded slowly. Nicky started to sniff the air and ran towards a medium-sized box in the corner of the room. She barked at it, nudging it with her head. "What's this?" I lifted the box up to find a guy with brunette slicked back hair, and army-type suit and a bandana around his head. He looked at me with a blank face.
"You never saw me!" He screeched and snatched the box from me, skipping away from where we stood and out the door. Nicky huffed.
"Whoops. I meant to go over here, woof." She trotted over to a curtain and pulled it back, revealing a red/orange haired male with a metal face. Like it was seriously metal. Weird. He was huddled in front of some sort of voice projection contraption and looked bewildered to see us. I decided to confront the strange man.
"Are you the wizard? I just want to get out of the crazy place. And that guy needs a brain, that one needs a heart, and that one needs… bravery? I think." The wizard cleared his throat.
"You see, I foresaw you coming here. And you already possess the things you thought you lacked. Except for you, pigtails. You still aren't home. I was actually born in your town, and I'd be willing to take you home."
"Oh well… awesome. Let's go then. This place is kinda creepy. Actually you're pretty creepy, too." He frowned but ignored my comment and led me outside.
"You three can keep watch over the place while I'm gone. Except for the scarecrow. Keep him outside." The other two gave a thumbs up and grabbed Scarecrow by his arms, flinging him out a random window.
"WEEEEEEE!"
I followed the wizard to town square where random people I met on this strange journey waved at me. The wizard directed me to a hot air balloon as he stepped inside. I followed after along with Nicky. The wizard turned to me with a serious look.
"We're going to take off now, but first I need to ask you… what happened to your clothes?"
"What?" I looked down at myself to see I was in a t-shirt and only underwear. Suddenly the evil witch Hidana was standing next to the balloon laughing at me, along with the lion, the good witch and a human version of Nicky. I glared at Nicky and she just laughed. What a strange déjà vu moment.
"Sorry Vash, that was just funny. Now make me some cookies and we can go home!" I glanced around.
"I can't, there's no oven! Are you listening?"
"Vash! Make me cookies! VAASSHHHH!"
Nicky's POV
I had finally decided it was time to wake up Vash, but it wasn't working. So I started talking to her about random stuff and then started shaking her while repeating her name.
"… that's hard to say after a while-" Suddenly she bolted up in bed, barely missing hitting my head.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT WOMAN I DON'T HAVE AN OVEN!" I remained frozen with my arms outstretched while I stared at her. She was panting and looked confused when she realized where she was. "Oh… hey Nicky." And… I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT KIND OF DREAMS ARE YOU HAVING? HAHAHAHA! You slept all day only to be dreaming about not having an oven? Pfft hahaha." She sighed and laughed lightly.
"Yeah I don't really know what that dream was about. All I remember was… you were a dog… and MaskBoy got thrown out a window…" I gave her a pat on the head and she swatted my hands away.
"Well come on. Let's go do something fun before we have to leave tomorrow. The guys are in the hot tub still so we have the house to ourselves! And I really want some cookies for some reason. She chuckled and stood up, grabbing her glasses from the night stand.
"Sounds good to me."
Foosha: I hope you guys like it. I'm kinda lacking sleep right now so... I really have no idea. =_= lol