Chapter Seven- Shark Punch
A certain vampire staggered back into his game, his body feeling as if he had gone through several final move attacks.
"Urgh, I need SLEEP!" he growled, ignoring the fact that he had already spent several hours passed out on the lawn of Niceland. Either way, Demitiri wasn't going ANYWHERE. The loud sounds of clashing bells, banging metal and screaming fighters did a number on his pounding head, the poor monster feeling as if he were being pushed and pulled with every sound.
And then he saw it.
A couch.
Right there near the entrance of the game.
Sasquatch had bought the thing years ago but everyone thought that the ugly floral print piece of furniture matched nothing else in the game and so, it was placed right at the front, as if they expected guest to just come in and sit on the thing.
Sit.
Or SLEEP.
It was if the heavens had opened around Demitiri as he spotted the thing.
"Softness, warmth….SLEEEEEEEP"
He floated near the couch and without saying another word, curled up on it….and fell asleep.
Felix was running out of breath from looking around the arcade for the others but even after an hour, he still came up empty handed.
"Urgh, this is IMPOSSIBLE!" the man shouted in frustration as he threw his cap tp the ground "How in tha ARCADE can I lose Nicelanders?!"
Ah, ah, ah. They didn't look like Nicelanders anymore.
For all Felix knew, the group could have easily blended in with everyone else now. He stopped, his brain ticking away.
"Okay, okay. I need ta stop thinkin' like a Nicelander…." The man said to himself "I need ta start thinkin like….like…."
DING.
"I need ta start thinkin' like a bunch of people who busted outta a place an' have enough energy to tear up any game they go to!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Felix jumped at the sound of a loud scream but he recognized it instantly.
Who in the arcade could miss DON'S scream?
"Donnie?!" the repair man said, his attention going to Man-Eater, several other characters filing around the game. Felix had to PUSH himself through in order to get to the game but once he got in….
"WOO! LOOK AT HIM GO!" shouted one character.
"HEY! THIS ISN'T IN THE RULES!" said another.
"Oh GODS, I'm glad the poor shark can regenerate….." whimpered another.
Felix's eyes bulged out as he got a glimpse at what everyone was looking at and that was….
"O-oh mah LAND!"
The form of a Turbo-Powered Don, shirtless, beating the living chum out of the giant shark boss with NOTHING but his bare hands and an OAR!
"YA GONNA BE WISHING YA COULD SHOOT THOSE TEETH!" roared Don, gripping the shark around what would be its neck and thrashing with it.
"Lucy! This has gone TOO far!" shouted Meg, the poor woman looking off from the side.
"But he's so HAPPY!" Lucy grinned "I've never seen Don so energetic in his LIFE!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DRUGGED HIM!"
"Aw, don't be so down. Turbo pies are NOT drugs!" Lucy scolded Meg "They're just power-ups with a bit of a KICK to 'em!"
"YO-HO-HO! KISS MY BUTT!"
"I am so glad I brought a camera…." Deanna snickered evilly, taking evidence of the ENTIRE fight.
"NICELANDER DONALD! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"
The group of Nicelanders squeaked as they looked back, spotting Felix in the crowd.
"Oh, NO!" gasped Lucy, ducking down to the ground "HE'S here!"
"Don't fret Lil Lulu!" laughed Deanna, picking the smaller woman up "I got this covered!"
"Ya do?"
"Hey Don!"
Don turned towards the others, a crazed look in his eyes as he HELD the whimpering shark by the tail in his TEETH.
"MPPPHPH?!"
"Someone wants ta take away your fun!" Deanna said, pointing towards Felix who still hadn't spotted the others from being over-swamped in the crowd.
"Don! I can-!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" roared the Nicelander without warning as he JUMPED in front of Felix "LITTLE BLUE REPAIRMAN NO TAKE AWAY DON'S FUN!"
Felix stopped right in his tracks as he looked up at Don; yeah, Don was the BIGGEST of the Nicelanders now and from the looks of things, he could have SNAPPED Felix in half in between his ARMS if he wanted to.
And Don DID look like he wanted to!
Felix backed away, his face paling but a smile still on his face "N-now Donnie, I'm just gonna take ya home an-!"
The repairman stopped once he realized that Don DID in fact look more INSANE than normal. He arched a brow, pointing towards the man.
"Have ya been eatin' Turbo Pies again?!"
"SMALL PINK HAIRED GIRL GIVE ME SEVEN OF 'EM!"
Felix trembled; things had gone from bad to WORSE "I was afraid of that…."
Had Felix been paying attention to what was happening before him, the repairman would have been able to jump out of the way just as Don made a dive for him but in that split second, he was too late! Felix gave a chocked cry as Don's hands grabbed him around the sides, nearly crushing him in the process!
"GWARK! Why does everyone else gain strength when they eat those stupid pies?! I NEVER DO!"
"SHUT UP!" growled the maddened sailor as he drew his arms back and TOSSED Felix into an awaiting net, the man getting tangle up horribly as Don stood and roared not unlike a rather famous city-destroying monster.
"GIMME ONE HUNDRED BAJILLION POINTS, BUTT-HASH!"
"Why did you have to give him all those pies?! WHY!?" cried Meg.
"He wasn't going to leave us alone if I didn't!" answered Lucy, still not seeing the encroaching danger to her actions slowly approaching.
"That's it! As….INTERESTING as this was, I don't think we can handle this anymore!" Meg huffed in anger as she popped from her hiding space, both Lucy and Deanna trying to reach for her.
"Megan! AUGHR!"
Meg scampered as fast as she could on her legs, surprised that her newly formed body actually allowed her to, for the lack of better terms, MOVE LIKE A PROPER HUMAN.
"Heh, so THIS is what it feels like to have a decent running speed…"
Don was quickly making his way through the crowd, not content in beating up sharks, the other characters trying with all their might to subdue the man but when one has ingested SEVEN Turbo-Pies, it's going to take a LOT to bring them down!
"DON! DOOOOOOOON!"
The man stopped in his tracks as he turned back and looked at Meg, his eyes filled with both insanity and confusion. Meg meeped, starting to rethink her sudden plan to try to stop Don on HER OWN but there she was, looking chub-muscle madness right in the eyes!
"D-Donald…." The woman began, a bit of courage growing in her voice "You have GOT to stop! This is not like you!"
Don blinked off, twitching every second or so "HUHN?"
"You're much more POLITE and a GENTLEMAN than this!" the woman scolded, not even aware that she was talking down to Don HERSELF in front of such a large crowd. Meg was often much too shy around people she didn't know but this time she KNEW she had to take charge. She marched right up to Don, looking as cross as ever and not caring a lick that the man was almost more than half a foot taller than her. He had already done too much damage to the game and she wasn't going to stand for it any longer!
"Listen to me MISTER! If you don't stop doing this than….than-!" the woman growled, her fist balling up in anger and her face turning red "I'M NEVER GOING TO MAKE YOU THAT LEMON AND MINT TEA YOU LOVE, EVER AGAIN!"
Silence!
Everyone looked at the Blissed woman, her eyes still shooting daggers at Don.
"Tea? Is she serious?" Lucy moaned, slapping her forehead "She really thinks TEA is going to bring this man down?"
Don looked stunned for a moment….but then the Turbo Pie kicked in again but this time with a rather interesting action. He threw down the character that he was holding and ran up to Meg, grinning like a completely fool as he stooped down to her height.
"Daaaaw! Meg, you so SWEET!"
Meg was nearly FLOORED by the man's words, "WHAT?"
Don RUSHED up and took Meg off her feet, nearly CRUSHING her in a huge hug "Come with MEEEE Tea Lady an' we SHALL DEFEAT EVERY SHARK IN THIS ARCADE!"
"Uuuurgh! Can't….BREATH!"
Before Meg could say anything else, Don planted the most ENORMOUS, the most PASSIONATE, the most BLOW YOUR HEELS OFF kiss on Meg's lips that had ever been witness in the arcade, everyone just standing in awe at what they were witnessing!
And Meg's heels DID indeed pop off, hitting some hapless spectator in the face.
"Urgh! My eyes!"
"Programmers…." Deanna said, taking off her glasses to make sure she wasn't hallucinating "Did…did that really happen?!"
Don pulled away, Meg lost in a dream in his arms "Let us go, DEAR!"
Meg could care less to where she was going now; as long as she was in Don's arms, he could have taken her ANYWHERE! She smiled dreamily, her body hanging limp and her head still floating upon cloud nine.
"Ah bah….HUH?"
Without saying another word, Don THREW the dreamy Meg over his shoulder and PLOWED through the crowd like some sort of tank, characters crying out in pain as they were flung everywhere! Still tangled in the net, Felix could do nothing but watch helplessly as the two Nicelanders escaped his sights.
"Donald! Megan! WAIT! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Lucy and Deanna stepped from the crowd, their minds blank and looks of shock n their faces.
They just couldn't believe what had transpired before them.
Don, after all these years of RUNNING from Meg in fear, had actually KISSED her.
True, it was under the effects of a Turbo Pie but either way the two women could not believe what had just happened.
"I….I think this might be getting out of my control…" Lucy said, an unsettled smile on her face.
"YOU THINK?!" shouted Deanna, knowing that with each passing second things were starting to unravel around them.
"I can fix this! I CAN FIX THIS!" the poor young Nicelander stammered as she scuttled about "I can get everything back under control! I just have to find the others and get them back!"
"Then stop flapping your gums and come on! Who knows what damage Don could do at this point!" shouted Deanna as she took Lucy by the hand and began to drag her from the game. Deanna was in such a hurry that she didn't even notice Felix hanging in the net near the entrance of the game.
But Felix did.
"LADIES! COME BACK! I CAN'T-! REACH-!"
*RIIIIIIIIIP!*
Felix felt and heard the sound of tearing material around him and with a terrible THUD, he came crashing to the ground, the net having finally given way around him. The poor man lay on the ground for a moment or two, trying his best to regain his sense.
"Urgh, and here I was hoping for a PEACEFUL night!"
"Has anyone else seen them?" panted Mary, growing exhausted from running around so much.
"No one has!" said Gene, wiping his brow "I've checked Bubble Bobble, Need 4 Speed! No one has seen the other Nicelanders!"
"Okay, this is bull-donkey" Mary said in pure untapped frustration, stamping her foot on the ground. Gene let out a gasp, still not used to seeing the woman he cherish saying such terrible words!
"MARY!"
"No, this IS BULL-DONKEY! There are only so many games in this arcade! There is NO way that they could have just disappeared off the face of the Earth! There is something we're not looking into!"
Gene walked over to a bench and sat down, trying to brush his hair from his eyes "Urgh, face it dear. With Lucy leading the charge, those guys could be in FLORIDA for all we kn-!"
"MOTHER BLUBBERS MONKEY FAAAAAAAAARTS!"
Gene and Mary both jumped as they heard the sound of someone screaming at the top of their lungs but as they turned, their eyes were met with a familiar sight.
"Don!" Gene said, a little bit of hope in his voice.
Mary on the other hand, didn't seem as pleased as her fiancé.
"Wait, DON?"
There was a great explosion as characters jumped out of the way, Don LEAPING into the air like some majestic super hero, Meg still lying limp and dreamy in his arms.
"SAIL AWAAAAAAAAAY!" the man screamed.
Meg just blinked, her eyes showing forth just how out of it she was at the moment as Don continued to cradle her in his arms "What you say sailor man?"
It wasn't surprising to say that Mary and Gene were stopped right in their tracks at the sight, not sure whether to just follow Don or to return home and reevaluate EVERYTHING they knew about their neighbors.
But for the sake of the arcade, they knew they had to press on.
"The only good thing about what I just saw…." Gene mumbled "At least I know Don was only doing that while under the effects of a Turbo Pie. That is the ONLY god-damn thing keeping me from screaming!"
"You get on MY case for saying BULL-DONKEY but you get to swear all you want?!"
"We don't have time for this Mary! Let's GO!"
"Felix! FELIX!" shouted Calhoun as she busted through the doors of Niceland, seeing and hearing nothing around her. The marine BOLTED up the stairs, running right into the penthouse to find the massive mess….
And her husband's cap on the ground.
"URGH! FELIX!" the woman growled as she snatched the item up, her face turning red "At this point, I should have had my boys guard this stupid game!"
*BAM!*
Calhoun flinched as she turned towards the other apartments, running right towards Nel's door and KICKING it open, guns out and armed!
"ALRIGHT! WHO'S IN HERE!?"
"OH PROGRAMMERS!"
The familiar holler from Norwood was just enough to make Calhoun take her fingers off the trigger for a moment, her eyes going right for the couple who were THANKFULLY obscured by the back of the couch.
"Oh, thank the PROGRAMMERS you two are here!" Calhoun said with a smile and a sigh, completely oblivious to the horrified looks on the faces of both Nicelanders "No one has tried to do anythin' to ya, have they?!"
Nel and Norwood could only exchange looks, both still holding tight onto each other. Nel shook her head, her fluffy afro hitting Norwood in the face.
"Nooooo….."
"Good!" blustered Calhoun, looking around the apartment "From the looks of things, I was certain someone had tried to attack both of ya! I commend ya two for keeping your ground an' fendin' off whoever was in here!"
"RIGHT." Norwood said, ducking down a bit "There was an INTRUDER. That's it."
"Be as of that, have ANY of you two seen Felix? His hat is here but-!"
"I THINK HE SAID HE WAS GOIN' OUT TA FIND THE OTHERS!" Nel interrupted, her hands pointing towards the door "MAYBE YA SHOULD GO FIND HIM! HE SAID HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT YA!"
"At this rate, I'm more worried about HIM!" the marine growled, clenching her fist "But since we are in the middle of a crisis, I should assist him!"
Calhoun prepared to leave, taking a hold of the doorknob "Oh, an' if anyone else comes back here, make sure to tell me alright?"
"Yeah! Because tha LAST thing we need is someone else BUSTIN' in here!" the red-headed Nicelander said with a hint of aggravation in his voice.
"NORY."
Perhaps for her sake, Calhoun had already run towards the stairs as Norwood made his little 'comment', her mind much too focused on locating her husband and the rest of the wayward Nicelanders.
She took a look at her watch; it was nearing nine.
With the workday slowly approaching, Calhoun knew she had a tough mission on her hands, especially considering how slippery the Nicelanders had proven themselves to be. And to think that months ago, the woman had considered the small people to be nothing more than Weebles with legs, the only thoughts on their minds being pie and living out their daily lives in happiness and other silly things.
If she had known that they were THIS conniving, she would have kept EXTRA precautions around them!
The woman hadn't gone three yards from the entrance when she stopped in her tracks, her mind instantly going back to Nel and Norwood back in the apartments but this time she wasn't thinking about their safety.
She wasn't thinking about their well-being.
Instead…..
"Wait….were those two-?"
The woman could feel her cheeks flaring red, nearly dropping her gun on the ground in the process.
"O-okay…." She mumbled, slapping herself mentally "Note to self. ALWAYS KNOCK FIRST!"