Chapter Eight– Bust-a-Move
"Deeeemiiiiiiiii….."
A sweet voice. A gentle voice.
It's just what someone wants to hear.
"Mmmm, how nice…" a certain vampire cooed to himself as he rolled over on the couch "You're voice is like that of an ANGEL!"
*SMACK!*
"UUURGH! WHAT?!"
So stunned by the slap was one Demitri Maximoff that he tumbled from the couch and landed hard on the floor. His senses coming back to him, he looked up and saw the familiar form of two succubi standing in front of him, the taller figure looking more angry than the smaller one.
Morrigan.
Of course.
"Oh, so it's YOU…."the vampire grumbled, rubbing his sore cheek "Would you PLEASE inform me of what reason you had to SMACK me like that?" the man huffed concededly.
"Oh, STUFF it ya flying rat!" the older succubus growled as she reached down and took Demitri by the ear, pulling him off the ground "Do ya KNOW how long we've been lookin' for your butt! Ya had the entire game in a panic since ya ran off!"
"OW! MORI! OOWW!"
"AND DON'T CALL ME MORI!"
Not sure whether to be concerned or entertained, Lilith just followed the two back into the halls of their game "Gosh, makes me wonder if we're the only ones going through any drama today."
"Heh, ya have NO idea how heated things are gonna get, Sissy!" Morrigan sneered, pulling Demitri closer to her "Isn't that right, DEMI?"
"Y-You say that as if you expect me to fear you!"
"YA SHOULD!"
Had the three known what was happening right outside their game, perhaps they would have stepped in to do something to stop it but preoccupied with their own business, the monsters remained unaware of the madness that was only growing inside the packed station.
"DONALD, COME BACK!"
"NEVAAAAAAAAAAAR!" shouted the Turbo Pie hyped Nicelander, plowing through the crowds with Meg still hanging over his shoulders "I'M NOT STOPPIN' TIL EVER SHARK IN THIS HAAAR ARCADE IS DEFEATED!"
"It's not like we have that many games with sharks in 'em, Donnie-Boy! STOP!" panted Deanna, getting rather tired from chasing after her neighbor but as she could see, RUNNING was the only way she could keep up with the man.
Well, running or hopping on a jet to catch him. The man had SEVEN Turbo Pies running through his system now and he wasn't stopping anytime soon.
"W-wait!" panted Lucy "I-I need to rest…."
"I should think so…" growled Deanna "I'm getting sick of chasin' after shark-boy like this! There has to be another way to get his attention or SOMETHIN'!"
"Well, we could try takin' some of those stupid ships he makes and breakin' 'em in front of him! THAT would get his attention!"
"Hey, I'm WORRIED about Donnie. Not DESPERATE enough to risk him breaking my neck over-"
"Wait….where's TONY?!" asked Lucy.
"Tony? Oh, I think I overheard him saying he was gonna skip out on us and head back to one of those games he mentioned. Soccer Star? Hi-Speed Futbol? I can't remember."
"And Nolan?! Roy?! What about those two?!"
"I saw Nolan heading over to Mario Tennis and Roy…." Deanna stopped, trying to come up with the best way to inform Lucy about their absent neighbor "I think he ran someplace where he could cry."
"Great, just GREAT!" Lucy said in an exasperated voice "We need those guys to help us an' whadda they do?! THEY SKIP OUT ON US!
"Hey, given the circumstances, I should have left too…."
"Deanna! Don't bring tears to my he-!"
"AURGH! DON! NO!"
The two Nicelanders gasped and ducked around the corner as they heard the familiar sound of Ralph calling towards the wayward sailor.
"Aw man! Pretty soon the entire arcade will be gunnin' for us…." whispered Lucy.
"As if they didn't have enough reasons to do so?"
"Are ya implyin' that this entire fiasco is MY FAULT, Dee-Dee?!"
Deanna gave the younger Nicelander a sarcastic grin, patting her on the head "And if I do? What do you have to say about it?"
Lucy prepared to say something towards her neighbor but the sudden ERUPTION of screams and breaking objects stopped her mid-retort.
"Gah! What's Don up to NOW?!"
The two Nicelanders peeked from the corner, seeing Don clutching onto the side of one of the game signs, hitting Ralph upside the head with a palm tree!
And the kicker?
MEG WAS STILL IN HIS ARMS.
"BACK! BACK SMELLY RED MAN!" Don cried, looking more crazed than ever as he beat Ralph continuously on the side of the head with the tree "YOU SHALL NOT CONQUER MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"
Meg began to come to a bit in Don's arms but her mind was still lost in the warm feelings of the kiss that Don had given her. Ralph could have been ON FIRE in front of her and she still would have smiled.
"Hmm? What was that about hitting people?" she said in a heartfelt voice, clueless as to what was happening only a few feet away from her.
Ralph was trying his best NOT to hurt Don but with each swing he felt that promise was slowly fading away as it was now being replaced by the strong urge to RIP Don from the wall and TOSS him back into their game.
"DONALD! OW! QUIT THIS!" Ralph shouted, trying to reach for the tree and Don but missing each time. The Nicelander mad some sort of inhuman snarling sound, sounding more like a rabid weasel than a man at this point.
"MONSTER! THE ARCADE HAS A MONSTER IN IT!"
"Does he mean ME?" asked a giant one-eyed wolf demon, his three headed eagle co-worker just shrugging. Perhaps to their luck, Don's anger was not focused on them but rather Ralph, the wrecker still trying to find a way to get both Don and Meg off the sign before anyone was hurt, at least any more than they already were. From Don't point of view, Ralph took on the form of a massive red monster, his fist transformed into huge spiked wrecking balls, a sharp horn affixed in the middle of his head.
There was no way in the code-void that Don was letting ANYTHING like that get near him, pie or no pie.
"DON'T MAKE ME SLICE YA UP FOR CHUM! I WILL! I WIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL!"
Another smack hit Ralph dead in the nose, the man tripping and landing atop Dig-Dug who was unfortunate enough to be standing next to the huge wrecker at the moment.
"Gaaaaah! C'mon! I'm not some sort of punchin' bag!"
*STING!*
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Ralph jumped what had to be ten feet in the air as he felt the painful prick of the digger's air-pump STABBING him in the side. Dig-Dug flinched as he managed to pick himself off the ground and rubbed his sore back.
"Yeah! Next time, I'm goin' inta ACTION ya MOOK!" the tiny man cried as Ralph finally landed a good 20 feet away. It took a moment or two for Ralph to come to, thanks in part to the continuous screaming that Don was giving off.
"Please, programmers! I JUST WANT THIS NIGHT TA END!"
*BOOM!*
"MOTHER FLUBBERS GABBY TUB-BUTT KNOCKERS!"
Ralph was near to weeping by now, his energy near to zero but Don was still going strong, the man running off towards another game.
What game?
MORTAL KOMBAT.
Oh dear.
The real trouble was about to begin.
"U-Ung…I need a fix!" the wrecker moaned, every inch of his body aching "Felix! WHERE ARE YA?!"
The huge man picked himself up and began to stagger back to Fix-it-Felix Jr. but in his want and desire to return home, he unknowingly passed by two other Nicelanders, the pair looking all over the place for any sign of their friends.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure that Lucy would be easy to spot now!" Mary said in frustration.
Gene wiped his brow as he leaned against a wall "Remember what I said about having location chips grafted to the back of everyone's necks just in case something like this would happen? Starting to see that I was right. HUH?!"
Mary ignored her fiancé's words, instead turning her sights on the crowd "Gene, we can't give up now! Ya know we have work later this morning!"
"I know, I KNOW! Just give me a moment so I can get myself together!" the mayor yelled, rubbing his head. He was clearly not in the mood to continue hunting for everyone, the only thing on his mind being that of getting into bed and sleeping the rest of the night away.
Or drinking. Drinking was a wonderful option as well.
Mary could hear Don screaming over by a far off game but she was still wary on what to do to confront him. She was all too aware of what Turbo-Pies could do to a person and even in her present state she would be no match for someone how was nearly half a foot taller than her with enough strength to break a semi-truck with his bare hands.
"I wonder if I found Ralph, maybe HE could help us get Don down!"
"Urgh! My head!" called a voice, one much too far away for Mary to hear.
Without thinking twice, Mary took off towards Don, throwing all her caution and worry to the wind. Gene reached out for the woman, more concerned for her wellbeing than his own.
"Dear?! What are you doing?!"
"What do you THINK I'm doing, Gene?" the woman called as she looked back "I'm taking care of this madness before we turn this entire place upside down!"
"Mary! WAIT!"
Mary was off on her own quest to even listen to Gene, her focus on that of stopping her neighbor from tearing up the station even more than it already had been.
"Okay. Midnight Bliss and Turbo-Pies! Two things that Nicelanders shall NEVER come into contact with AGAIN!" Mary thought to herself as she continued to run, not noticing that as she ran past several games she was starting to garner some attention herself.
"Hey, ya see that?" asked a character.
"Ya mean the lil curvy cutie in pink?" winked his companion "Mmm, sure did!"
Mary stopped in her tracks once she saw how HUGE the crowd was getting. Pushing through was going to take some effort but it also meant she was going to lose some time.
"Darn it…if I could find another way, maybe-!"
"Heeeey bay-BEE!"
The woman in pink jolted for a second as she turned, seeing two unfamiliar characters walking up to her, each one giving her rather playful and flirty looks. From their muscular designs, Mary figured they were from one of the new sports games that had been put into the arcade recently. Either way, they were looking towards Mary as if they had never laid eyes upon a woman in their lives.
And that thought sent a shiver down the Nicelander's spine.
Oh, if only she were back in her original form. She knew that she wouldn't have been given a second glance by the pair if she were back to normal but there she was, standing before the two men and her chances of getting to Don quickly slipping from her grasp.
"Uh….may I help you, young men?"
"Aw, she's so PROPER!" said the first one, chuckling as he ran his fingers through his hair "Its nice to see ladies like that!"
"I know!" said the second "And her looks are even more fancy than her speech!"
What in the world?
Mary didn't have to be told what was about to happen; she knew when she was being flirted with and despite how young and chiseled the young athletes looked, she was in no mood to be chatty with them.
"Ooookay, boys. Nice comments but I don't have time for-!"
"Wait, wait! Hang on babe, maybe it would be better for a nice dame like yourself ta get inside." The first one said, waggling his eyebrows towards Mary "Ya know, so a pretty lil thing like yourself won't get hurt."
"I am FULLY capable of taking care of myself, I'll have you know!" the Nicelander in pink said angrily, crossing her arms against her chest "Or do I need to SHOW you to get my point across?"
"Oh, she's a HOT one!" the second one laughed "Makes me wonder why she doesn't wear RED 'stead of PINK!"
Mary placed her head in her palms at the comment; there was no way she could escape this with grace with the way those two were going about. Maybe it would be best to just leave which for her wouldn't have been a problem as every second she spent around the two only became more and more uncomfortable.
"Alright. This is a waste of my time. I need to-!"
Just as Mary turned, she felt a strong grip latch onto her arm followed by a yank backwards. The woman squealed, turning her view to one of the men who was now holding her as if he were ready to fly off with her somewhere for her 'protection'.
"Like I said, hold on honey!" the first man smiled "It ain't safe out here for ya tonight! Ya better come with us before things REALLY start to heat up!"
"EXCUSE ME!" Mary snapped, yanking her arm away "Did I give you permission to put your hands on me?!"
"Hey, hey! It's gonna be alright! Cool it!" the man said, clueless as to why Mary was trying to get away from him and only moving closer, putting his finger under her chin "There's no need ta get so heated here, sugar-thighs!"
Mary's glare turned ice-cold, "Did you really say 'sugar-thighs' to me?"
"I'm just doin' what any GENTLEMAN would-!"
*WHAM!*
Mary let out a startled yell as she watched the man who had grabbed her FALL to the floor like a tree, his body rolling once as he landed flat on his face.
"WHOA! Ya okay man?!"
Mary looked over, trying to get a good view of whoever threw the punch.
"G-GENE?!"
"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA OF PUTTIN' YOUR HANDS ON MY FIANCE?!" roared the mayor, his entire face red and his hands still clenched together. Mary was flabbergasted but not because she had witnessed Gene hitting someone.
Gene hit people all the time; it wasn't THAT uncommon!
What WAS uncommon was to see his blow actually KNOCK SOMEONE OUT!
"Honey….you didn't kill him did you?"
Gene was still huffing mad but hearing Mary's voice instantly snapped him from his rage induced stupor. He took one look at the down body but then looked at his own fist.
He really HAD knocked someone out and to his surprise, it took a lot less effort than he could have imagined.
"H-huh, guess there IS an advantage to being anatomically correct!"
"YO! WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!"
Gene had only a second before he himself fell victim to a powerful sock to the eye, the man flying back and landing right at the feet of a horrified Mary.
"GENE!"
Gene moaned in pain as he opened his eye, seeing THREE of his beloved Mary before him. He smiled painfully, reaching up for the woman.
"W-would ya imagine that it even HURTS less ta be hit now?"
"THINK YA CAN JUST HIT MY PAL LIKE THAT, FATTY!?"
The second athlete.
He was READY for a fight!
"W-wait! There is no need for this!" Mary stammered as she tried to pull Gene off the ground "We already have our hands full so another fight will only-!"
"Aw, SHUT YER TRAP Pinkie!" the second man said, giving the Nicelander a rather rude shove as he made his way over towards Gene.
Pinkie?
PINKIE?!
If there was ONE thing Mary HATED to be called!
The first athlete managed to pick himself up and joined his cohort who had now lifted Gene off the ground, the Nicelander gritting his teeth in pain as his collar was held tightly around his neck.
"Ya know, we usually like to keep things nice an' peaceful here near our game…." the second athlete hissed angrily "But did ya really THINK we'd let a lil butter-ball like YA knock us out? DID YA?!"
Gene opened his good eye, returning the nasty glare the two were giving him "O-oh? And you call accosting ladies PEACEFUL?"
"Oh, we have a comedian here!" the second athlete grimaced, placing his hand roughly on Gene's shoulder "First ya thought your PUNCH was funny an' not that retort! HA! I'll give ya some credit, ya have GUTS tryin' ta one-up us…"
The looks on the men's faces darkened, both looking as if they were ready to pull Gene apart right then and there!
"But there is a reason why its never a good idea to ONE-UP US!"
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
The man turned but as he did so, his face once again met with a high-speed flying fist, his other cheek receiving the brunt of the punch now!
"N-not again!"
"Hey, what-?!"
*WHAP!*
The first man felt a hard SLAP resonate on the back of his head causing him to let go of Gene as he dropped to the floor! The mayor was stunned but his eyes went over to his beloved Mary, seeing the woman standing over everyone with a HORRID look of anger on her face, her left shoe clenched tightly in her hands.
Oh yeah, she meant BUSINESS.
"Hey, the hell was that for ya crazy bi-!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
And just when the fight with Don looked as if it couldn't be topped, another fight had just begun.
Mary jumped atop her attacker, grabbing onto the man and beating him with her shoe.
"DON'T YOU DARE PUT A HAND ON MY GENE, YA HERE!"
"GAH! LADY!"
"OH, NOW ITS LADY! NO MORE SUGAR THIGHS, HUH?!"
"W-wait!" cried the second man "Okay, we get it! Just-!"
*WHAM!*
One more punch to the jaw!
"Urgh, is there a TARGET on my face or somethin'?!"
"YEAH! LEMME GET IT OFF FOR YA!" shouted Gene as he jumped the man, joining Mary in her fight.
As if things were not exciting enough as it was in the station, now Gene and Mary had somehow managed to get themselves into smack-down.
"IF YOU EVER TRY TOUCHING HER LIKE THAT AGAIN!"
"DON'T YOU DARE PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!"
And as if they were linked in both mind and fighting spirit, these words came from both their mouths at the same time.
"IF YOU EVEN LAND ONE HAND ON MY FIANCE, I'M GONNA USE YOUR BACKSIDE IN A PIE AND BURY THE REST OF YOU IN THE BACKYARD!"
By now, a large group of onlookers had begun form around the four, several cheers and whistles coming through.
"Wow! Forget about the fight happenin' in MK! This is AWESOME! Why don't we have more outdoor matches like this more often?" cheered a character.
Ralph staggered into the apartments, looking every which way for Felix or ANYONE to help him.
"Guuys? GUYS!" the man called "Oh PLEASE tell me someone is here!"
The wrecker needed bandages, he needed stiches, he needed ANYTHING to patch him up before he headed back into the melee that was now forming in the station. He leaned on the wall of the apartments, trying to make his way towards Felix's place.
"I think I would get there faster if I just fell on the floor and ROLLED!" the man groaned.
Ralph managed to make his way over to Felix's place but as he dreaded, no one was home.
"Figures…" the huge man growled "I don't know WHY I thought he'd be back by now!"
The penthouse?
No go. It too like the rest of the apartments was empty.
"When will this night end? WHEN?!" the man cried in anguish, knocking his head on the wall so hard that it actually put a dent in it.
"Gah! NOT AGAIN!"
Ralph looked up, surprised to hear the voice of someone in the apartments.
"H-Hello?"
The man looked over towards the left, noticing that one of the apartment doors looked as if it had been kicked in by someone.
Should he venture to see what was lurking behind the door?
Or was this going to be yet another terrible choice that would later come back to bite him?
Ralph bit his lip, hesitating on what to do but remembering what was going on at the moment the wrecker couldn't back away now. Perhaps there was someone in the apartment ready to help him!
Perhaps-!
"HELLO RALPH."
Perhaps there were two Nicelanders sitting on the couch, glaring up at him as if they just EXPECT him to come in at the moment.
Ralph twitched as he looked down at Nel and Norwood, the two giving the man such a cold glare he was sure the apartment was several degrees COLDER than the rest of the building. He peered around for a split second but quickly deduced that he had come in at the wrong time.
Maybe SEVERAL people had come in at the wrong time!
"Er….ya guys okay?" the big man asked nervously, trying to clear the air.
Norwood said nothing, the look on his face all too telling for Ralph.
"YEAH. We're FINE." Nel said harshly, her eyes still on Ralph.
"Ummm, next time I should knock?" Ralph chuckled nervously.
"That would be a WISE thing to consider!" Norwood finally said, his voice just filled with sarcasm.
"R-right…." the other man mumbled, blushing brightly "J-Just make sure….ya guys stay here? Please?"
Nel arched a brow "Oh, you don't have to worry about US."
There was an awkward moment of silence between the three, Ralph still lost on what to tell the two and how to apologize for walking in on them.
"Um, next time. I'll knock."
"PLEASE DO."
Without saying another word, Ralph slowly made his way out of the apartment, shutting the broken door behind him. Alone with Norwood once more, Nel let out a sigh, shaking her head.
"Perhaps we should NAIL the door shut."
"Knowin' everyone, they'll bust through somehow!"