Blitz Ball (ab103 and Fox Storm only-Complete)

ab103 wrote:The man, Alfred, curled in on himself, covering his face and shutting his dark eyes as tightly as possible. He let the argument go on for a while before daring to peek through his fingers the moment there was a small bout of silence, then lowering his hands and hesitating before speaking. "Please, Madam, I didn't mean anything by it... I can tell how offended you are about this, especially since you've been so careful to avoid saying what it is I happened to spy on, even in this company. I mean, I know what I did, from context... There must be something I can do to make up for it... Anything at all?"

ab103 wrote:
Things had been very rocky recently with Alfred's relationships with everyone else at Star Command. Most of the rangers still hated him, or otherwise distrusted him. It didn't bother him too much that complete strangers didn't like him, but it still stung that members of his own family treated him like the black sheep of their lot, though he probably was. His cousin in particular still distrusted him with an awkward passion, but at least he had managed to win over Simone's friendship once more, though he was worried he was on the verge of losing it yet again.

Fox Storm wrote:
After Simone and Pixel stopped their bantering to take a break and look at Alfred, Simone ran a hand through her bangs, not caring if her carefully brushed bangs now hung over her brow. After breathing a sign to calm herself, she replied, "I just want to know why the heck you were spying on me like that!"

Pixel rolled her eyes at Simone's dramatic manner, "I'm tellin' ya, Simone, he DIDN'T spy on you like that! It was an accident!...just like when I got hurt that ONE time; that was an accident! Why can't ya let it go?!"

Simone crossed her arms and grunted with stubbornness. "HMPH!"

Pixel sighed and shook her head in a parental way as she sat down on her haunches. "This gal's more stubborn than Ty usually is!...sheesh...no wonder they'd be perfect for each other. Heh."


Pixel stopped suddenly. Perfect for each other?...Hmm....

"Hey, Alfred. What was up with that story with your wife? I know you mentioned something about her back on the Healer's ship, but you never really told us about her."

Simone raised an eyebrow. Alfred's wife?...That's right...he DID mention something about a wife, and he DID seem pretty truthful about it. But after what Alfred just pulled on Simone just now...she was starting to feel the waves of doubt cloud her judgment again. Was that all true?...or was it just a ploy to get on Simone's good side?

ab103 wrote:
Alfred visibly flinched at the mention of his wife, curling up once again. He sighed and forced himself to sit up, looking at Pixel, then Simone, and then his feet. "Well... I suppose there's no harm in telling you more... I met Releta when I was 12, back when I still lived on the planet New Ora over in Beta. After some time of her visits, she told me that she wouldn't be able to come back. I refused to give up on her, since Releta was the most wonderful person I had met up to that point considering how few friends I had and having family like Commander Nebula and Ty... So, I decided to leave with her to her planet... You can ask Ty about it. I disappeared when I was 12, so that made him 21 at the time, I think?"

ab103 wrote:
Alfred frowned then, taking on a thoughtful look. "Oh, now that I think about it, no one knows WHY I left nor where I went... Um... Do me a favor and keep this between us. I rather not have people knowing about any of this..." He sighed and then leaned back in his chair. "Especially keep this name to yourself: Terania. That's the planet that Releta is from, and that's the planet we went to. It's in Alpha, just another populated planet in what's called a wasteland that does not want others populated planets, except for it's three allies in the case of Terania, to know about it's existence..."

Fox Storm wrote:
Simone tilted her head, her frown not changing. "Ty knew about this?...well, he and Alfred are cousins, so it is to be expected."

Pixel stood up at attention as Alfred went on.

Pixel tilted her head. "...because it's so secretive and just wants to be left alone?"

Simone changed her stubborn frown into a puzzled one.

ab103 wrote:

"Well.... No..." Alfred smiled, sheepishly, and shrugged. "I think for them it's more of a 'haha, we have advance technology and special powers that other planets don't have, so let's keep it a secret to all but our allies just for kicks and see how long it takes the rest of the universe to catch up before revealing ourselves' kind of thing. Though, it was ZT who told me that explanation so it very well could be a lie... Darn robot always did like to joke around..." He frowned for a moment and then waved off the moment of sullenness.

ab103 wrote:
"Anyway. So. Releta agreed and we left New Ora for Terania... It was only once there that I found out that Releta was actually the princess of her planet... Princess Releta Solar Cosmic... Her father didn't really like that I was there, but I made his daughter happy, so he tolerated it... Releta and I were dating, and we stayed a couple for years... It was wonderful... Terania was one of the most marvelous planets I have ever been on, and I have so much loyalty to it... And Releta was one of the wonderful people I ever had the pleasure of knowing..."

He sighed and paused for a moment to pout. "She's the one to have me learn the Teranian language, so many other skills I know, the pantheon of Terania, and more... Those six years I spent there... Hmm."

Fox Storm wrote:
Pixel snorted in amusement. That sounded familiar to another person who came from a secretive planet...she looked over to smirk at Simone, who sent an irritated glare her way and looked to the side to hide her embarrassment.

Pixel's eyebrows creased in sympathy. "Well...at least you put some of those skills to good use, right?" She looked again at Simone knowingly.

Simone didn't acknowledge Pixel's question, but she did bring up a good point...

ab103 wrote:

Alfred smiled and nodded. "True... I made my advance work for my company based on what I learned on Terania... And the knowledge of the pantheon has helped me so much in life... But that's beside the point. You asked about my wife, didn't you?"

ab103 wrote:
He took a moment to figure out what to say and then continued on. "Well, as I said, Releta turned out to be the princess of her planet, but I didn't particularly care about that. I loved her regardless... Still do, as a matter of fact... And to the best of my knowledge she loved me back. I spent six years on Terania with her... We did so much during that time span... Then, when I was 18, I was forced off the planet for reasons I don't understand..." Alfred scowled for a moment. "The King and his adviser, ZTQ-3, the latter of which who was my best friend, suddenly decided that I shouldn't be on their planet anymore and made some convoluted plot to kick me off the planet, under the guise of me committing a capital crime and being banished..."

He sighed and then continued. "But, Releta decided that if I had to leave the planet, then she would leave too. She helped me leave and we went to Beta... We eloped, at 18, mind, so we were still young, and lived in Beta for about a year. During that time, I created my monocle and started work on creating my company... But then... Then we were contacted by Terania... They needed Releta to go back to the planet because her father was sick, but I wasn't allowed to go back STILL, so Releta had to leave me behind."

Alfred curled in, once more, holding his hands against his stomach to alleviate the sick feeling her had. "We both knew that if she ever went back to the planet, she'd be forced to stay there and I'd never see her again... But I couldn't stop her, now could I? So... So, she left and I was all alone... I never felt so horrible in my life... And... And I haven't even heard from her since... I'm sure I would be much different if she hadn't left... I probably wouldn't have become a jerk... And I probably wouldn't even have worked for Zurg, considering she would have kept me from being jealous of Buzz! Heck, I may even have talked to my own father sooner! But, that doesn't seem to be what Fate planned, so I just have to live with it..."

He stayed silent for a few seconds after that. "I miss her," he muttered, concluding what he had to say.

Fox Storm wrote:
Pixel nodded, eager to hear more about Alfred's wife. And, although she couldn't see it, she saw Simone slowly turn around and uncross her arms and fold them behind her back, wanting to know more about this "wife".

Throughout her time, Simone had grown accustomed to all the hardships she had faced with her sister and throughout her time on Mistimia and as a Space Ranger in general. She knew she had to put on a strong face when it came to dealing with dark situations, no matter whether it was with a horror-stricken family of Rhizomians or her own fellow Rangers. But even then, she had shown her more vulnerable side when she thought no one was looking, or when she could no longer carry the burdens anymore.

She thought she had made the mistake of showing this vulnerable side when she told Alfred and Pixel while Ty was out of commission back on Planet Z everything that had happened to her, back on Mistimia and Star Command, when he caught her doing a secret hobby that she would NEVER show anyone, aside from her sister. That had set the pattern of doubt weaving in Simone's mind again about Alfred and everything he had done; the construction of the energy vampire NOS-4-A2, building the security systems within Star Command that had accidentally shot Pixel, and all the little things in between.

Now she knew WHY he did what he did...but...what was she supposed to do?

The only thing she knew TO do was sit down and sigh, once again, running a hand through her bangs.

ab103 wrote:

Alfred shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Well, that's all I can think to tell you... I don't tend to talk about Releta very often, so I don't really have an actual speech or anything planned for this kind of thing. If there's any particulars you'd like to know, I'll be willing to provide... I owe it to you, at the very least, as an apology to you, Simone for what I did just recently..."

If it were anyone else asking about Releta, Alfred would typically refuse to answer or give as vague a response as possible. But, Pixel had been the one to ask, and he was doing this for Simone, both of which were people he actually liked and didn't want to make upset. It helped that since he did consider them friends, he actually felt comfortable sharing information on what he considered a bad memory, a marred hidden feature of his past that he typically kept under wraps strictly for appearances. Besides that, he actually felt he could trust those two not to spread around what he was telling them, meaning the knowledge of Terania, its royals, and its allies (should the latter of the three come up) would not be exposed to the wrong people.

Fox Storm wrote:
Pixel watched Simone, wondering how she'd answer to Alfred's statement.

Simone herself was wondering what to do, her chin planted on her fist. She still felt so much irritation at what Alfred did, but...she knew she couldn't stay mad at him. She already gave Ty advice to tell Alfred that he saved Alfred's life life before he...was hit. And she couldn't go back on her own advice, not like how Star Command did when the Healer-

Wait. The Healer.

This epiphany made Simone rise her chin from her fist and let this newfound epiphany sink in. She remembered the Healer's words about Alfred...

"I wouldn't cast him out if I were you. After all, he COULD make a great ally in a time of crisis, with his knowledge on technology AND that he does have a relationship with Nebula, which I am SURE will have Nebula racked with guilt if he casts him out. Besides..."

"I COULD mention Cosmic to the Galactic Alliance and have him confess all that's happened here...but IF you want to remain pure and true to everything you stand up for, then LET him stay. He HAS tried many, many times to redeem himself, in your eyes and everyone else's. Pixel was hurt because it was an accident, not because he WANTED it to happen. He was upset at seeing her in pain as much as anyone else was here on this space station. A TRUE villain wouldn't feel sorrow and regret at his actions the same way Alfred has...or Ty, for that matter, after the Wirewolf incidents. So, please....give Alfred another chance...for YOUR sake, and mine."

Those words echoed back to Simone again and again, as if to remind her what the Healer had warned Star Command not to do...and she almost did it.

She took a deep yet shaky breath and pinched the bridge of her nose to gain control.

Pixel noticed this and came forward a bit, concerned. "You okay?"

ab103 wrote:

"Chyst..." Alfred muttered, frowning in concern. "I didn't do something wrong again, did I..?" He bit his bottom lip, examining Simone, trying to figure out what he was to do. "Do you need something? Water perhaps? I wouldn't know, madam. You're the doctor here, not me."

ab103 wrote:
Perhaps that was an attempt at a joke, regardless at however much it fell flat, rolled on the ground, and died. He didn't know what else to do at the moment, though. Simone had always been a difficult person to work with, given her personal opinions and attitude towards things. Both of those attributes happened to make her such a perfect match for Ty, Alfred couldn't help but noting despite the inappropriate time to be considering that. Though, he had to admit, that was a tangent he wouldn't mind going down, since he would certainly appreciate the moment the two got together. They had been skating around the topic ever since that time some months ago when Ty first called Simone up for help with his "problems". ...Perhaps there was something he could do to push the two towards admitting their feelings sooner.

But, that was to happen later. Reality needed his major focus, and he needed to make sure Simone was okay first.

Fox Storm wrote:
Pixel slightly tilted her head and grunted with confusion at Alfred's lame attempt at a joke...she didn't get it.

"..."

After another sigh, Simone finally spoke. She looked at Alfred straight in the eye and calmly spoke,"You are absolutely not making this up, correct? This is the absolute truth?" She wasn't as irritated at him, but she wanted to hear one more time the truth out of Alfred's mouth and if she could see it within his eyes.

ab103 wrote:

Alfred frowned yet again, though this time it was out of annoyance. "Madam, you do not understand how insulting that question is... I would NEVER lie about Releta. I loved her more than anyone or anything and the only way it would be a lie would be if I fooled myself into believing a hallucination lasting over a seven-year gap in my life. And, I doubt that's very likely... I understand that I sometimes lie or otherwise hide the truth to get my way, but everything I told you about Releta is true or otherwise I sincerely believe it to be true."

Sighing, he rested his cheek in one hand and stared at the wall. "That would be horrible to discover... That I had imagined the whole thing and loved someone who was never actually there... So, I think it's better if we both agree that this IS the absolute truth, if only for the sake of keeping me from going crazy from the thought that I might be crazy..."

Fox Storm wrote:
Simone snorted as she watched him staring at the wall."Would you believe the truth if I told you that hearing that statement out of your mouth is something I now take to be the truth? I understand if that question was a bit insulting to your character, but I had to be absolutely certain for myself. The hobby I do is something that not many people consider to be...true. I've been met with criticism, so I know what it's like to be questioned like the way I did just now...and I do regret it...but..."

She timidly placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "One thing I will never regret is giving someone one more chance to redeem themselves...and I'll give you that chance...if you want to take it."

ab103 wrote:

Alfred sighed, but nodded. "Yes, fair enough reasoning. I understand what you're trying to say. And, please, with how often I mess up the first time, I would very much appreciate another chance..."

He smiled a little, sheepish, and a little embarrassed. "Though, if it's any consolation to you, I don't find what you were doing to be very strange or in need of skepticism. I know better than to doubt others beliefs, especially since my own consist of things that other people think I'm insane for... Like my gremlin proofing in all of my inventions. No one believes me that gremlins exist, but I know the little pests exist, and I hate it whenever people question my need to add the proofing to my designs."

ab103 wrote:
He pouted, crossing his arms at the travesty of gremlins and being doubted but then smiled again and looked at Simone. "So... What do you say? Fair's fair, we're okay with each other, and I'll try not to mess up this chance you're so graciously giving me?"

Fox Storm wrote:
Simone raised an eyebrow at that, but her amused grin made up for her confused glance.

"That sounds like a deal to me." The now-calm Simone reached over and gently embraced Alfred. Pixel panted with happiness and actually went up to the two of them and starting licking their faces, surprising them!

ab103 wrote:

"Argh, what?!" Alfred pulled away from the hug and the licking. He frantically wiped at his face, whimpering and otherwise acting hilarious to anyone watching a grown man panic over being licked by a canine. "Ew, ew, ew! Pixel, why?!"

But, regardless of his surprise and grossed out attitude, Alfred was happy that everything had been settled between him and Simone. Now, he only needed to get Ty to trust him again and perhaps then he could stop worrying about being hated by the people he only wanted to consider friends.

Fox Storm wrote:
Simone let out a small squeak at Ty's pet Dustchaser licking her on the cheek! She pried Pixel off of her and Alfred, while Pixel just continued to pant excitedly. Through her pants, she said,"Sorry, Alfred, but I can't help it! I'm just happy things are startin' to be like they were before!...y'know, without the drama in between with you two and Ty!" She let out a small snicker.

Meanwhile...outside the door....

A certain Ranger was standing outside, eavesdropping, and feeling his heart turn inside out. Ty Parsec let out a small sigh, taking great care not to let the others hear him, after overhearing everything that had happened in there. He wasn't completely sure what had happened to begin with, but he was sure of one thing; he felt something start to change in him...maybe Alfred wasn't so much of a bad guy after all...maybe...maybe he didn't mean all those things that he did....

ab103 wrote:

It was over the next few days that Alfred started to notice a change in how things were handled. It started when Ty suddenly chose to sit at Alfred's table in the cafeteria. Of course, Ty sat on the opposite corner, as far away from him as possible, and Alfred noticed that all the other tables were full, so he didn't think much of it then.

The next day, while Alfred was working in the science bay, Ty happened to show up. He needed help with a malfunction in his communicator and actually asked HIM for assistance, lingering off to the side while Alfred worked on locating and fixing the problem. However, Alfred was the only one available to fix the communicator, since the LGMs were busy with other tasks at the moment, so once again, Alfred thought of it as only something Ty did out of convenience. It wasn't like Ty spoke to him during this moment besides the bare minimum of "this is broken, please fix it."

The day after that, while Alfred was doing paperwork for his company, the cursed plight he dealt with more often than he wanted, Ty came into the room and sat down across the table from him. Alfred looked up briefly, but neither of them said anything, so Alfred shrugged and continued with his work. About an hour in, Ty was called on duty and left, leaving Alfred to wonder why his cousin was there in the first place.

It was little things like this that kept happening, slowly leading to Ty sitting closer to him in the cafeteria, or asking him for more detailed help, or actually SPEAKING to him, however briefly, until Alfred came to the conclusion of what was going on...

Ty had forgiven him. However, he was too stubborn to actually TELL him that he had forgiven him.

Alfred was annoyed with that revelation, but he wasn't about to forsake that forgiveness. He appreciated wholeheartedly that Ty was warming up to him again and let it happen at his cousin's desired pace. Of course, the moment Ty actually broke a smile at something Alfred said, Alfred dropped everything he was doing and actually hugged his cousin, not caring who saw.

And, like that, they were friends, even if Alfred still had a tendency to annoy Ty occasionally, and even if Ty still had a tendency to question what Alfred was doing every now and then. But, this was a better relationship they had than ever before.

He was happy with that, for once.

Fox Storm wrote:
Simone and Pixel noticed this behavior as well, but didn't do anything to comment or stop it, mainly because they knew that IF they did do anything, they would have screwed things over for Ty and Alfred, so they just let Ty slowly but surely warm up to Alfred at his own pace.

Ty himself was sometimes surprised by his own actions towards his cousin, but he knew that he HAD to give Alfred a second chance. After the way he nearly lost his life in saving him from Zurg, Ty knew that he couldn't be a jerk as to completely shut Alfred out. Hearing Alfred about his past, the one even Ty forgot about, was enough to make Ty rethink some things. And so, during this time, he decided to slowly warm up to Alfred by sitting with him at the cafeteria, asking him for help on his communicator, and just making small talk. What Ty got back, to his surprise, was a hug. Not a small one, but a genuine warm hug. That was enough to make Ty smile more often...even when Alfred would tease him on various occasions.

One such example was about to occur in the mailroom.

Ty, Simone, Pixel and Alfred had all come there to receive their daily mail for the day. After sorting through various boring bills, Ty saw an envelope that was neither white nor boring like the bills. It was gold and had a special sort of emblem on it. He raised an eyebrow at it before opening it up.

ab103 wrote:

Alfred noticed the flash of gold in Ty's hand and immediately walked up behind him, easily looking over his shoulder at the envelope. "Ooh, what's that, cousin dearest? It looks fancier than the typical letters you get... How odd, hmm?"

ab103 wrote:
He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ty was not the only one in the mailroom with such a letter. In fact, there seemed to be one in Simone's stack of mail as well, though she had not reached that envelope just yet. There was also one in... Mira's? When did SHE get in the mailroom?

Fox Storm wrote:
Ty raised a brow, but replied,"I would say so..." He started to open it.

Pixel saw Mira come into the room, and greeted her, "Oh, hi, Mira!" The others hadn't seen Mira come in until Pixel noticed her.

Mira greeted Pixel with a smile as she sorted through her mail. "Hi there, Pixel."
She saw the others and greeted them all with a smile...but the last smile she gave to Alfred was sort of a tight one. She reached the gold envelope and opened it. What she pulled out was a very clean and snow white invitation, with fancy print on it. "Oh, oh, okay then..."

Pixel tilted her head. "What is it?"

"I've got an invitation to the-"

"Blitz Ball." Mira and Pixel looked over to see Simone opening the envelope and getting the same invitation as Mira did.

"Hey, I'm invited too!"

Ty's reaction reflected what everyone else who was invited felt.

ab103 wrote:

"Really?" Alfred asked, snatching the invitation away from Ty for a moment. He skimmed over it and then handed it back, rolling his eyes. "I can't believe you were invited to THE Blitz Ball. I can understand Mira being invited, seeing how she's a princess and everything, but you and Simone? Last I checked, you two have NO social standing and who could you possibly know with a large enough influence to have you two invited?"

He crossed his arms and sighed. "Honestly. THE Blitz Ball. I can't believe it."