S1-21
Two Pilots under a mistletoe
6:29 PM
12/25/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Recreational center
Music
Super Mario Galaxy - The Honeyhive
It was Christmas on the Frontier, and everyone had already exchanged presents and had their party, now everyone was just talking.
"So, Anthony's been a really big help, and one of the best, if not THE best, designers in the IMC. He made two new Titans!" Michael exclaimed.
"Wow, he must have been holding out during his Galactic Federation days." Samus was amazed.
"Yeah, he's even surprised me."
While Michael and Samus were talking, a Pilot with the new enhanced Cloak hung something above their heads. A small plant-like object with green plastic leaves and little plastic white berries. A mistletoe. "Hey, you two lovebirds." The Pilot called.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Michael and Samus turned their attention to Ethan, who simply pointed up.
The two Pilots looked to see what he was pointing at. Samus's face turned a shade of red while Michael still wore a confused expression. "You wanted to show us one of the Christmas decorations? Well, I didn't see that there, so I guess that helps in knowing where it all is when cleaning up after the party."
"You, uh... You don't know?" Ethan wondered.
"Know what? Am I missing something here?" Michael was clueless.
Ethan decided to explain it. "The mistletoe is associated with Christmas as a decoration, under which lovers are expected to kiss."
"What's going on over he- Oh." Rick noticed the mistletoe above Michael and Samus.
"Ethan, what 'lovers' are you referring to?" Michael was, again, left in the dark about it, not knowing the real answer.
Rick sang it out. "Michael and Samus, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
At that moment, Michael knew it.
Music
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption - Dark Samus in the Heart of Phaaze
A bright glow shined from Michael's right eye, with a blue aura coming out like a flame. He looked at Rick, his voice now completely different, like multiple other voices were saying what he said in perfect unison. "STOP!"
"WHOA! What in the-?!" Rick was suddenly terrified now!
"I don't know what your problem is, but YOU SHOULDN'T MEDDLE IN AFFAIRS THAT ARE NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! DON'T GO STICKING YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG!"
"Holy crap...!"
Music
Titanfall - OST 03
Just then, the glow went down, and Michael's voice turned back to normal.
"What in the Frontier was that?!" Ethan asked frantically.
"Don't do that again." Michael said angrily.
"You're not the least bit concerned your eye started glowing and your voice went all freaky?!"
"I'm wondering about that, but I just don't like getting agitated, OK?"
Samus then spoke up. "Michael, let's just get this over with."
"Yeah, the party's not that fun anymore."
"Not that."
Michael turned to look at her in confusion. "What do you mea- AH!" Before Michael knew what happened, Samus had pulled him into a kiss, which caused his entire mind to just stop.
Music
Super Mario Galaxy - Gateway Galaxy
When she broke the kiss, Michael was still standing there, with the most shocked expression ever on his face. Michael suddenly collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Samus was caught off-guard by the event. "OK. Didn't expect that."
"I don't even think Michael expected that." Ethan added.
8:52 PM
12/25/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Michael's quarters
Music
Titanfall - OST 02
Michael woke up in his private quarters, believing the experience to be a dream. "Oh jeez... What happened? Did I receive a concussion during a mission and have a dream while in a coma?" There was nobody around to answer his question, which was directed at nobody to begin with.
Just then, there was a faint creaking of a door. Michael's door. On the other side was Spyglass. "Michael. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm OK. What happened? Did something hit my head and knock me out?"
"Negative. You fell unconscious as a reaction to Samus Aran kissing you under the mistletoe."
"Wait. You mean that WASN'T a dream?"
"No."
Michael had that shocked expression on his face again... followed by the Pilot passing out again.
9:37 PM
12/25/2283
Michael woke up again, and saw a note on his bedside desk.
"Please stop passing out when someone mentions what happened at the party." ~Samus Aran
"I'll try." As he put the note back on the desk, Michael felt something new. "Wait... I feel strange. Hmm... Faster heartbeat... Warm cheeks... What's going on?"
In his head, Vanessa's voice was heard. "[Somebody's in love.]"
"...what?" Michael asked confusedly.
Jeeves joined in. "[Michael, let me tell you something. A human's concept of love requires four aspects: admiration, attraction, devotion, and respect. Considering what you're feeling for Samus right now, I'd say you're entirely in love with her. 100%.]"
"What do I, uh... What do I do?"
Then there was Sid. "[Ask her out on a date.]"
"I don't know..."
Music
Assassin's Creed 2 - Salvation of Forli
There was another knock at the door, and a former bounty hunter stepped inside. "Michael, you OK?"
"Yeah, I-I-I'm OK." Michael stammered.
"Something on your mind?"
"I've got this new feeling that Vanessa, Jeeves, and Sid say is 'love'. They said I should ask you out on something called a 'date', but I don't understand what they're getting at."
"Well... where do you think would be a good place to eat?"
"Hmm... There's Freddy's Angel Buffet. My childhood friends live there."
Samus nodded. "OK. We'll head out tomorrow."
8:14 AM
12/26/2283
Planet Korj - Angel City
District 1: Residential
Music
Super Mario Galaxy - Ice Mountain
A nice trip to Angel City was always welcome, and it was amazing. The two Pilots were warm despite the cold snowy air. Michael wore a regular snow coat with a pair of grey gloves, one to keep his regular hand warm and the other to hide his Spectre arm so nobody got suspicious or worried about what happened. Samus wore... an alarmingly excessive amount of coats and other winter attire. Michael felt like he would burn up if he wore that much.
They eventually arrived at Freddy's Angel Buffet, and with good timing too as the place had just opened for business. Michael knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer.
The door was opened, and a familiar blue bunny animatronic was standing just inside the building. "Michael, good to see you again!"
"It's good to see ya, buddy."
"Who's this?"
"Samus, this is Toy Bonnie. He's the guitarist of the trio, my childhood friends. Toy Bonnie, this is Samus Aran, I... asked her out."
"Ooh! You've got yourself a date?"
"I'm new to this, so I'm kinda going into this blind."
"C'mon in. I'll show you to your table."
Planet Korj - Angel City
Freddy's Angel Buffet
Music
Chibi-Robo Plug Into Adventure - Broad Daylight
Toy Bonnie lead Michael and Samus to a table in the dining area. "Here's a couple of menus for you two. Let me know when you've decided on what you'd like."
"You know the usual." Michael stated.
"Yes, but I'll wait on your girlfriend."
"I'm... still not used to that."
"I understand. These things take time. Can I start either of you off with a drink?"
"I'll have a large water, ice cold."
"Alright, a large water with ice. And for Samus?"
"Same." Samus put plainly.
"OK, two large waters with ice. I'll be right back with those drinks momentarily."
"Thanks, man."
Toy Bonnie walked away, leaving Michael and Samus alone to chat.
"So, your childhood friends?" Samus wondered.
"Yeah, met 'em on my 9th birthday. Helped 'em out, they were about to be scrapped, Spyglass took 'em in, an IMC construction team built this place, now my childhood friends live here. Turns out, there was some irregularity in their programming that resulted in something of an actual mind. IMC techs managed to turn this little bug into an omni-adaptational AI personality algorithm. Essentially, their sentience was a glitch, and the IMC turned it into a core programming function."
Samus nodded in understanding. "So, that was Toy Bonnie? Just one of the three?"
"Yeah. The other two should be here." Michael answered. "And I once heard that a fourth one of them was found in a junkyard on Earth. Apparently, it was a 'Toy Foxy', also referred to as 'the mangle'. Kids have had a lot of fun pulling that one apart and putting it back together every day. Programming's all wonky too. A little surprising it's taking the techs this long to fix him."
As if on cue, the other animatronics arrived.
"Michael, you're back!"
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Hey, guys!"
"Who's this?" Toy Freddy asked.
"Guys, meet Samus Aran. I asked her out and suggested this place."
"Ooh, a date. Little guy's growing up." Toy Chica cooed, pinching Michael's cheek.
"Growing up..." Michael sighed. "...and becoming more mechanical..."
"What do you mean?" Toy Freddy questioned.
Music
Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End - The Heart of Davy Jones
Michael rolled up the left leg of his pants, revealing his second Spectre prosthetic.
"Not another one..."
"Oh dear..."
Toy Bonnie arrived, carrying two large glasses of water with ice. He saw the leg as he placed the drinks on the table. "Oh god, what did they do to you?"
"I lost my leg in a Militia attack on the Demeter construction site, they were trying to keep us from rebuilding the Demeter facility. My leg was completely obliterated as I unknowingly stepped on a live Frag Grenade, and it exploded under my foot."
"And your arm? You never told me what happened to it." Samus was right.
"We intercepted Militia signals 5 days before the construction site attack, and found out there were more pieces of IMC technology left online that could be used. We arrived before they did, so we could recover the technology ourselves. One of the pieces was an IMC Titan Datacore that was still online. I engaged a Militia Pilot in direct combat, then his Titan dropped down as I was flipped onto the ground, and it crushed my arm against the ground in an instant. I woke up in the IMC HQ medical center, finding out that I was given a prosthetic: my Spectre arm."
Toy Freddy grew more concerned. "So, what about now? Is Dane still helping you when you need it?"
"He's dead..."
"What?!"
"Dead?!"
"Oh no..."
Michael took out a small device; an audio device normally attached to the helmets of Grunts and Pilots alike. He set it to play back the recorded audio of Dane's death.
"Jeeves... transfer authorization to new Pilot..."
"What?! No, no no no no no no no! Dane, don't do this!"
"Link... Cha- ~cough, cough~ Charlie-Zulu... Nine-Two-Four-Seven... Michael... take my Titan... finish the mission... Take care of each other... Eagle-Eye 9-1... this is Captain Dane C Smithsonian... I'm afraid I can no longer lead you... I am appointing Michael W Johnson as Captain of this squadron..."
"No! Don't!"
"Michael... I know you can do it... ~cough, cough, wheeze~ I believe in you... And Jeeves? I hereby authorize activation of... ~cough, cough~... of program Omni-10... I trust you... Good luck... my friend..."
Jeeves's voice was heard, but the emotion within it was... preprogrammed. "[You will be missed, old friend. Activating program Omni-10.]"
Michael ended the audio playback.
Samus put a hand on his shoulder, feeling sympathy for the loss of his friend. "Michael, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"He was my friend... and I let him die..."
"It wasn't your fault." Toy Bonnie put a hand on the Pilot's other shoulder to comfort him.
Music
Super Mario Galaxy - Gateway Galaxy
"He's right, Michael, and you know it." Samus added.
"But I... could've done better..."
"Michael, stop beating yourself up for what you didn't do."
"Alright..."
"Also, what's program Omni-10?" Samus asked.
Music
Super Mario Sunshine - Casino Delfino
"If you must know, program Omni-10 is an AI program designed by Dane Smithsonian to restructure the processes of a Titan AI to match the neural patterns of the linked Pilot, to the point where the Titan thinks and talks like the Pilot it's linked to. It has to gather data through the neural link by constantly scanning and mapping the neural responses." Michael explained.
"Wow... He made that?"
"Yeah. Anyway, Jeeves created copies of the program and transmitted them to all Titans, allowing them all to gather neural data to think and talk like their own Pilots. Even Arc-Rod has the program and is becoming a little more like you, Samus."
"More like me?"
"Pretty much. Now, what were we doing again?"
Toy Bonnie was the one to answer. "I believe you two were on a date. Now then, what would you like to eat?"
"Two pizza slices with mushrooms, bacon, and banana peppers, stuffed crust, and pepper jack cheese."
"OK. And for Samus?"
"Same."
"Alright, I'll be back with the pizzas."
8:52 AM
12/26/2283
With the pizza served and eaten, Michael and Samus began their discussion on the concept of a romantic relationship between them.
"So, let me get this straight... This new relationship would cause our futures to be intertwined with each other?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I'm surprised you don't know this stuff."
"Well, you're the first to ever tell me about it. Not only that, but I never asked about it. I didn't know what to even ask about since I never even heard about it."
"That's strange."
"Everything alright here?" Toy Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, all good. Check, please."
"For you, Michael, it's free. And since you're here with your date, I guess that spreads to her as well."
"Um... OK?" Michael and Samus left, but not before Michael left some Credits on the table as a tip.
9:27 AM
12/26/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Hangar bay 1
Music
Titanfall - OST 02
The two Pilots returned to the IMC HQ, and Michael knew and understood the whole 'romantic relationship' stuff.
"That went interestingly well, even though you had to relive the moment you lost one of your closest friends... Look. I'm really sorry. But I'm sure Dane would've wanted you to keep going, so make him proud to have recruited you to Eagle-Eye 9-1."
"I'll try. And Samus? Thank you."
"Happy to help."
Well, that went places I didn't think I'd even be doing here.
I was going along with the time in the story and this all occurred where you see it now.
I got the whole 'multiple other voices in perfect unison' thing from Avatar the Last Airbender, meaning I based it after how Aang's voice changes when he's in the Avatar State.
Samus Aran's Power Suit will be recovered in the next chapter.
See you next time.