Lum-chan:
By Parias on Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 06:50: Alright, I guess it's time to finish this up..
(RP ON) There was a massive crowd around the front of the school. The entire town of Tomobiki was there, to attend Terra's memorial. Hudson had recieved word that the attack was a success, and was currently preparing everything for the group's arrival. Cygni had sent word that Invader was coming as well, along with some "unexpected friends".
Out in space, a massive blue and white hole opened up in space and a 6 kilometer long brown and grey vessel slowly emerged. Various other holes and flashes appeared as the rest of the fleet emerged.
On the UNO, Sergei looked up at Hayes. He hadn't moved an inch from his chair after the planet had been destroyed, and he was just sitting in the same position, in the dark, looking down, with his hat over his face. Sergei cleared his throat.
"Sir, we've reached Earth."
A small nod was seen on Hayes' face. "Signal the fleet and take us down."
"Aye."
Cygni stood up. "This would be a good time to introduce Captain Ryan once the memorial finishes, so I'll go head over and invite him down."
Sergei nodded, and Cygni walked out the door. She stopped at the airlock, where Beavis and Butthead were standing, as they had been throughout the whole battle, just chuckling to themselves. They turned around and noticed Cygni, and their eyes bugged out.
"Woa! Hey Butthead look, it's another hot chick!"
They began rushing towards her, arms outstretched. Cygni put a small smile on her face, raised her hands, and let loose a small bolt of lightning their way, sending them crashing against the bulkhead and landing in a heap admist a bunch of cargo containers. Cygni boarded her mecha and took off, towards the Colossus.
"Uhh, this sucks."
"Heh, yea Butthead. What kind of world is it where we can't have any hot chicks? They're like, all around us and we can't get them! It's like, some stupid puzzle, or something. Heh heh."
"Beavis, I have the key to the puzzle."
"Woa, cool!"
"...It's in my pants. Huh huh, huh huh."
"Heh yea.. it's in my pants too. Heh heh."
Cygni landed smoothly on the flight deck of the Colossus and was greeted by Captain Ryan.
"Glad to see you guys made it in one piece..."
"We managed to hold her together. What can I do for you Cygni?"
"A dear friend of ours, who goes by the name of Terra, was lost to us a short time ago.. we're holding a memorial for her below. I'd be honored if you joined us, and it would be a good time to introduce you to the public so they know what's going on..."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It might create some mass hysteria."
"Trust me, the people of this particular town are used to this phenomena. And I'm really not sure how long you guys are going to be here, but it will be awhile at least."
Ryan nodded. "Alright. It may be awhile before I can come down though, I'm still needed up here to direct the repairs. How about I make my entrance in an hour?"
"Maybe a bit later, I was planning on introducing you AFTER the memorial.. I'll send you a message when it's time."
"Sounds good. Untill then."
"Right."
She climbed back into her mecha and took off, following the rest of the fleet into the atmosphere.
Hudson stood at the massive stage that had been set up in front of the school, looking nervous. Ryouko cradled his shoulder.
"You're worrrying too much. It will be fine."
Hudson nodded. "I know... I just can't get the feeling out of my head that something will go wrong.."
They looked up as a ship landed nearby, in the school grounds, with the words UNO painted on it's hull. Fifteen other ships landed around the area, ending with a small transport from Invader's cruiser.
Hudson walked over to the airlock of the UNO and waited as it opened. Two boys poked their heads out, chuckling. They looked down at Hudson.
"What a dork." said one of them. Hudson furrowed his brow. "What.. did you say?" he slowly stammered out.
The two were kicked out the airlock and onto the schoolgrounds a small distance away by a grinning Sergei. "Don't mind them, they're just a couple of stupid kids we rescued." Sergei walked down and shook hands with Hudson, followed by Hayes who did the same. Ryouko walked up and nodded at the two.
"Good to see you back in one piece."
They nodded.
"Where's Cygni?" Hudson asked.
"She's coming, just had to prepare a couple of things..ah, there she is now."
Behind them, a mecha landed on blaring thrusters, shutting down with a whine. The front panel opened up and Cygni hopped out, and walked over to the group.
Hudson turned to her and put on a stern expression. "I'm sorry.."
Cygni shook her head. "Save it, there wasn't anything you, or anybody else could have done."
Lum and Ataru walked over from another direction and said hello. Sergei flashed them a smile. "Nice flying back there.. almost as good as me!"
Lum nodded. "Thanks."
Ataru eyed the area warily. "So what's going on?" he asked. Cygni turned to him.
"Don't you know? Terra is dead. I thought I told you!"
Ataru reeled back in shock, then put his head down, his face clouding over in darkness.
"And I never even got to do it with her.." he mumbled. Lum bared her fangs and gave him a glare. "Darling!!!"
Ataru held his hands over his head as lightning crackled through Lum's hands. "I was kidding, I was kidding!" he yelled, and nearly had a heart attack when Lum ran over to him, he expected to get shocked to death, but no lightning came.
"Oh darling you're so sensitive..."
Invader walked over from his ship and gently shook Hudson's hand. "It's an honor to meet you face to face." he said. Hudson smiled. "Believe me, the honor is mine."
Invader turned to Cygni. Her eyes wandered up, and she found her stomach in her throat. Invader was at least three times the size of her, and could probably smash her into the ground if he felt like it. She put on a neutral expression. She knew what was coming.
"Word has it you were the one trying to kill my daughter..." he said calmly.
Cygni nodded slowly. "Yea, but I stopped when I realized I was being double crossed."
"I can always respect a girl with a conscience" he replied, extending his massive hand. Cygni shook it vigirously. He then turned to the group of Lum's elite guards, who had gathered behind him. He gave Bakuto a glare.
"How could you possibly let someone get so close to her, and have her at gunpoint?"
Bakuto cringed. "I.. uhh.. that is..." he stammered out. #31 cut him off.
"He was too busy spending time at the bar with me sir, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have convinced him to come. I accept full responsibility."
She bowed down, and nudged Bakuto. "That's three drinks you owe me." she muttered under her breath.
Invader nodded. "Your record speaks very highly of you, so I'll let it go just this once. But don't let it happen again, Clae."
#31 gasped, then recovered. "I told you never to mention my name in public!" she hissed.
"It's time you dropped all this secrecy, there's no need for it. I told you that a month ago."
"But.."
"No buts."
She growled and rose to her feet. "Yes.. SIR.."
She nudged Bakuto again. "Forget three drinks, that's twenty."
Bakuto laughed. "Sure.. 'Clae'.. hah, what a dumb name..."
Clae withdrew her sword and levelled it at Bakuto's head."That's it, I've had enough of you and your wisecracks! Die!!"
Bakuto laughed. "Only if you can catch me!!" He turned into a hawk and took off, flying low over the buildings dotting Tomobiki. Clae lept up and followed, yelling.
Outside of the schoolgrounds, a good distance away, Radicus climbed on top of a building and pulled a large sniper rifle from his briefcase. He assembled the various pieces together, then looked through the scope and aimed at the stage. He was going to take as many people with him before he got killed. He was sick of loosing.
The group arranged themselves in various chairs on top of the stage, with Hudson standing at the head, looking at all the people. He tuned the microphone for better reception, and waited for the rest of the people to be seated.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Invader's officers brought in his own large chair to sit in, finding him something adequate would prove to be a daunting task. He looked around at the group. Hayes was sitting by himself at the far end of the stage, with a dark look on his face. Cygni was sitting next to Sergei, with them chatting with each other. Ataru and Lum were exchanging glances at each other and looking over the massive crowd. Invader was simply sitting back in his chair, looking pre-occupied. Ryouko was sitting near him, smiling, and the various officers from the other vessels were sitting there as well. He eyed the area carefully. The two insulting kids were nowhere to be seen. He hoped they weren't getting into trouble.
He drank from a large glass of water and cleared his throat. The chattering crowd silenced. All eyes were on him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for joining us on this day. We are here to celebrate the memories and passing of Terra, who touched all of our hearts."
He paused, searching for something else to say.
"She came here first as an enemy, with nothing more than mass destruction on her mind. Indeed, Lum nearly died from her, and Invader was critically injured."
He raised his voice. "It was because of her that hundreds, possibly thousands died! Cities were levelled, pain caused, new soldiers were recruited to die shortly after! All because of Terra and her rebellion!"
Cygni, Hayes, and Sergei both looked up and began staring at Hudson at exactly the same time. "Hudson!" Cygni hissed under her breath.
Undaunted, he pressed on.
"So why am I bringing this up now? Why must we be reminded of these terrible acts?"
Cygni furrowed her brow in deep thought. This all seemed very familiar. Was Hudson a fan of Robotech as well?
"I remind you of all this, because we must learn to forgive our enemies!"
It took Cygni nearly all she could to keep from bursting out laughing. That had done it, she knew that he was a fan. And the funny thing was, it all fit so perfectly with what was going on. She coughed and tried to put a stern expression back on her face, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
Hudson stopped a moment to let it go over. The crowd seemed stunned a moment. Some of them were nearly ready to rush the stage in a rage, while others were simply glaring at him for saying such things. But his last words had caused them to reconsider.
"After a time, we learned that Terra was being used by Doctor Ginkobot. After she learned this as well, she never hesitated to come around to our side. She had been fighting for what she believed in, which is the important thing."
"After we brought her around, she changed her beliefs. Instead of thinking that the Oni kingdom was wrong and messed up, she knew she had been used, and made a promise to hunt Ginkobot down some day and exact revenge. How ironic it is that she ended up being killed by one of his cronies."
He took another sip out of his glass. Thing seemed to be going well.
In the distance, Radicus narrowed the crosshairs on Hudson's head. He had to be absolutely sure he hit, as he wouldn't get another chance.
Beavis and Butthead were hanging out at the back of the crowd, eating the junk food and glancing around at the women. Beavis grabbed a coffee mug and filled it to the brim with coffee, then drank it all down at once. He repeated this three times, then slung the back of his shirt over his head and began waving the coffee mug in the air, proudly proclaiming "I am the great cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole! Heh heh."
He began moving through the crowd towards the stage.
Hudson was preparing for his next line of speech, when suddenly a strange kid with the back of his shirt over his head climbed up and ran in front of him, demanding "TP" for his "bunghole." Before Hudson could reply, the coffee mug the kid was holding exploded in front of Hudson's face, sending the kid reeling and falling behind the stage into a pile of garbage.
Hudson kneeled down and picked up a spent sniper round, lying on the ground. He yelled out the first thing that came to his head. "SNIPER!!!"
Cygni instantly stood up, grabbed her Desert Eagle, and flew out towards the only direction the bullet could have come from, considering the isolated area the memorial was taking place in. She flicked on the laser sight, and after a moment, came across Radicus, fumbling for another round. She landed and kicked the gun away.
"So, we meet at last you slimy bastard."
She slipped a clip into her gun and shoved it in his face, then slowly shook her head and pulled the gun back.
"No.. death is too good of a sentence for you. I've got a better idea."
She grabbed him by the arms. "What are you doing? NO! NO!!!" He began panicking and flailing about, while Cygni put a determined look on her face and began flying him back to the stage. She landed, roughly forced Radicus down to his knees, and took the microphone from Hudson.
"This is Radicus Zeus. He's in charge of a massive underground agency attempting to bring the Oni empire down, has massive forces all over the place, is one slimy shithead, and killed Terra."
The crowd gasped. Cygni grabbed Radicus by the neck and lifted him off the ground, gagging.
"I'd pop a cap in his sorry head right now, but I'm going to leave this to you people."
She tossed him into the crowd, who swarmed around him. "NO! PLEASE!! NO!!!" He began screaming.
Hudson put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you found him." he said.
She nodded. "I'll let them decide what to do with him." She returned to her seat.
Hudson sighed. The crowd was already grabbing large and deadly objects and beginning to attack Radicus with them, and there wouldn't be much hope of getting their attention again untill he was nothing more than a bloody smear on the grass. He took a large gulp from his drink, put his arm around Ryouko, and said "Come, lets go have some lunch, I'm hungry." Ryouko nodded, and they headed back to the mansion.
Cygni sighed as well. She may as well wait to introduce Captain Ryan and the Colossus. She stood up and grabbed Sergei by the arm, dragging him to his feet.
"C'mon, I'm starving, lets go get something to eat."
The duo walked off towards town. Hayes nodded and smiled.
"It's about time he settled down with someone."
He turned and began walking towards his favorite thinking spot, the bridge of the Under New Ownership. It was beginning to get cool out anyways.
Ataru watched in a panick as the stormtroopers, aside from Megane, picked themselves out of the crowd and began wandering down the street after Cygni and Sergei. His last diversion for Lum was gone, his hopes of chasing other women gone. He would be stuck with her forever.
"Come on darling, lets go home!" She leaned over and nibbled on his ear playfully. He shuddered and laughed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all...
Megane stood admist the insane crowd with a stern expression, watching as Lum tugged on Ataru's arm, grabbed him under the arms, and flew him home. He sighed and turned towards the street and began walking. Things were going to get difficult now.
END (RP OFF) Ok so maybe that was kind of a sudden ending, but I wanted to get this out of the way >) I'd like to extend thanks to Jocko for doing such a damn good job with Hudson, for Bladeofkintaro and his Bakuto character, and to everyone who read this for putting up with my strange and whacky ideas (and my copyright infringement.. *grin*).
Oh and don't worry about the Colossus, I'll let that leak over into the next story, remember how Ginkobot found the secret to time and inter-dimensional travel? I might have the crew of the Colossus pull off an attack and steal the technology so they can get home or something.. *shrugs*
I'll get rid of em one way or another. And yes, I'm gonna keep Beavis and Butthead around for a bit longer too *grin*
Lum-chan:
By Jocko on Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 07:27: Pretty good, Parias...although I probably would've had Hudson take out his pistol and neatly put a cap in Radicus's brain. Or hell, I may've gone the "stop the killing" route and Hudson spares him. Just punches him in the face and sends him down town with the boys.
But I love the bit where Cornholio saves Hudson! Genius!
Lum-chan:
By Parias on Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 07:52: *grin* Thanks, I did the best I could think up at the time.