#time to finally clean my sad little room and get started on arc v month stuff and other works and-

[pinkprimrose05]

Finals are over.

Finals are over.

*blinks*

*tries to process*

*realization hits*

....I am fREE!

[fanfic-inator795]

WoY Oneshot: The Cool Guy(s)

Plot: A lot has changed in the past several months, and it’s pretty obvious that his ex-rival isn’t quite as ‘lame’ as he once thought. In fact, he may just be cool enough for another night out. (Well, that and, Awesome just needed someone to hang out with.)

((Part of the Awesome Arc. Finally got around to getting back into this, thanks to some encouragement from @paperbooart. Check out her WoY art, it’s really great! ^v^ Anyway, enjoy!))

“Ugh, come on! I know I packed it when I moved in! It’s gotta be here somewhere!” There was plenty of stuff he did still have, despite Peepers’ insistence that he ‘not move his whole limo into their ship’. His spare make-up case, about a dozen pairs of shoes, old tickets to various events, a feather boa that he had decided to keep just in case they went back into style, CD cases, hats, tees, belts, even a few protein bars! 

All of it got tossed over his shoulder and onto the bed as he continued digging through his suitcases, until - finally - he found what he was looking for. “THERE you are!” Grinning, he held up the pair of pink headphones victoriously. Of course he always had to bring a spare pair of headphones, since they usually had an annoying habit of breaking. And, with the Skullship having a ‘no loud music’ policy for everyone but Lord Hater, Awesome knew he couldn’t just hope that one pair would last the entire time he was there. He had to plan ahead.

“Can’t live without my tunes, after all.” Standing up, he carefully placed the back-up headphones on his dresser and tossing the old ones (ones that had just started only playing through one side. UGH, so annoying) into the trash. “Heh, that was a close one.” But now it was time to just lay down and chi- 

He stopped, and looked down at his almost completely covered bed. “...Oh. Right. Ugh...” Not so awesome... But hey, he could fix this problem too. So, with little concern for organizing, he began tossing the various items back into his closet, not really caring where they landed just as long as they were off his bed. If he was back at his limo, he would have just simply told Handy to put it all away for him.

But he wasn’t at home... But, he could deal with that. As long as it was worth it in the end, he could deal with it.

“Tc’ch, besides,” he started to tell himself, “What’s it matter if my clothes and stuff are buried if I hardly wear them.” He was stuck on the Skullship most of the time. Stuck in a uniform. And, while there were certainly worse things, it was still aggravating at times. “But it’ll be worth it.” He just had to keep telling himself that. “Once I get stronger... I just have to get stronger. Be a better fighter. Be truly Awesome again! And then-”

He felt his hand touch something, and glanced down at it just before he could toss it away. “Then...” He blinked, staring at the object. It wasn’t anything too cool, really. Just a pair of dark red, shutter-shade sunglasses. Seriously, those weren’t even in style anymore! Which was probably why they had been buried at the bottom of his fashion collection.

...However, it wasn’t any of that stuff that caught Awesome’s attention. No... Instead, it was the memory that came with the sunglasses. “...Heh.” The shark-man began to smile, just a little. “Maybe I should just give these to Hatey, then... They did work pretty well on him.” Honestly, he had nearly forgotten about that night. The night that, for the most part, had actually been pretty enjoyable.

Rather than complain or try to control the night like Awesome would assume he would try to do, Hater had just followed his lead. Going to all the clubs and parties that Awesome had wanted to go to and happily joining in on all the cool activities without a single glare or groan. Honestly, it was the first time the Emperor of Awesomeness had ever seen his rival actually enjoy himself and not just be an angry, annoyed, sad sack of bones.

 And really, it was nice. It had actually been fun! ...Well, up to the part where Awesome had started messing with Peepers and pretty much got electrocuted for it. Hard to forget that part.

Awesome sighed. And, after one last look, he put the sunglasses to the side and continued with his ‘cleaning’. “...That really does seem like forever ago...” So much had happened after that, and so much had changed since... Grop, he knew he had thrown or went to parties after that night but, had that been the last time he had a wild and crazy night out on the Galaxy before-

He froze. But just for a moment. Still, he made sure to take a deep breath afterwards. “...I guess that was the last time I had a night out. Huh.” Though, as he flopped down onto his now-empty bed, his mind reminded him of one other, more recent (and much less thrilling) night out. 

“...Just let the party end...” 

Scowling, Awesome clenched his fists. No... No way. He couldn’t let the party end. Not yet, anyway... Not yet...

And, in one fluid motion, the shark-man was back on his feet and heading down the hall.

()()()()()()()()()

“...Wait, what? You... You’re serious. You are serious, right?”

“Yeah Hatey!” Awesome grinned, “I mean, I’ve got a day off coming up and you- tc’ch, well, you can pretty much take whenever off since you’re in charge so, why not go out? You know, for old times sake? Come on Hatey, I remember how much fun you had LAST time~”

The skeletal lord scowled, a slight green blush crossing his cheeks. Okay, yeah, Hater had to admit... That night HAD been pretty fun. Jumping through hoops, carving their faces into moons, partying with cool and really pretty ladies, even playing pranks on people! Needless to say, it had all been pretty amazing. However, the way their night ended had been anything but... Hater’s glare deepened. “This isn’t just something you’re doing to get back at Peepers or something, is it?”

“No way, man! Peeps and I are co-” He paused, thinking about it. “...MOSTLY cool with each other. I don’t really have any beef with him at the moment. Heck, if you’re sure he won’t slow us down, he could even come with us!”

“Come with you to do what, exactly?” a familiar, nasally voice asked. Both of them looked towards the door where Peepers now stood, the usual stack of papers and plans in the commander’s arms. 

“Just have an awesome night out,” Awesome explained, crossing his own arms as his smile widened, “You know, go to clubs or parties, meet cool people, do cool, sweet and/or crazy stuff, that sort of thing.”

Peepers’ look flattened. It took all his willpower not to roll his eye. Instead he just replied with, “I see...”

“And like I said, you could come with us. You know, just to show there’s no real bad blood between us, bro. Just, you know, don’t act like a chaperone.”

“Hmm...” Keeping an eye on them would probably be a good idea. However, dealing with all the loud music and obnoxious laughter would NOT be worth it. “Ugh, thanks for the offer but I think I’ll pass... Just promise me that it’ll actually be a NIGHT out and be back at the ship by around midnight.”

“Suit yourself, dude,” Awesome shrugged, “And yeah, heh, we’ll try not to stay out too late.”

That time, Peepers did roll his eye. “Just make sure you try as hard as you can, Private.”

“Yeah yeah. So-” He turned his attention back to Hater, “Are we doin’ this, Hatey?”

“Well...” Hater furrowed his boney brow in thought. The idea was pretty tempting, and Awesome had become less of a jerk... “Alright alright, fine. I’m in, but-!”

“YES!” Awesome yelled, grinning as he threw up a ‘rock on!’ gesture, “Great! I’ll see you back here on Friday, say at six or so?” A bit earlier than when he usually started but, hey, if he had to get home around midnight, he’d have to get a head start if he was going to make their night as great as it could be. “Trust me, dude, this is gonna be AWESOME!” With that, the shark left Hater’s room practically in a run (or maybe even a dance, just by how excited he was) already planning what they would do on their big night.

And this night WOULD be awesome, he would make sure of it!

The rest of the week seemed to go by at a space slug’s pace, but Friday eventually did come. Once he finished with his training and chores for the day, the shark-man went straight to his room. Handy had already wired over a couple hundred bucks to his account (much less than what he usually worked with, but he could deal with it), so all Awesome had to do now was just get dressed!

After about half an hour, he decided on a neon purple v-neck top with dark blue pants and his favorite pair of white heeled boots. He also grabbed a tiger striped blue and green down vest, just in case wherever they went was a bit chilly. A quick sweep of pink lipstick and some purple eye-shadow, and he was ready to meet his ride/bro for the evening!

Unsurprisingly, Hater had decided to wear his usual cloak. But hey, Awesome wasn’t going to judge. After all, he wanted to stay on the skeleton’s good side. “So dude, as it turns out, there’s a club over Stratusoose 4 that’s having it’s grand re-opening tonight, so you know it’s going to be rockin’! We’ve definitely got to hit that place up!”

“I, I guess, but-” Hater started to say, but Awesome wasn’t even looking at him anymore, instead choosing to look at his phone. 

“And, after doin’ a bit of snoopin’ around, I’ve found some great places we can go if we wanna get a bite to eat! Really top notch eats, trendy AND tasty!”

“But Awesome-!”

“Oh, and after the club, we can totally head over to Stratusoose’s moon! There’s supposed to be all these great bars and a water park and-!”

“AWESOME!” 

The former emperor flinched, and finally looked up from his phone. “...What, dude?” He asked.

Hater crossed his arms. “Just because last time was fun and cool doesn’t mean it’s going to be EXACTLY like last time!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m going to pick some of the things we do, since you picked everything last time!” He then added with a mumble, “And when I DID start suggesting things, that’s when you were ready to go.”

Tc’ch, can’t help it if those ideas were lame and not worth staying out for. He didn’t dare say it outloud, but Awesome certainly thought it. Comic book stores? Pizza eating contests? Night riding?! SO lame! ...But, what choice did Awesome have? He was sure he didn’t have any fans that would see him and want to join him, and he definitely didn’t want to go out alone... “Ughhhh, fine. You can choose some of the things we do,” he agreed reluctantly, “Heck, I’ll even let you choose the first thing we do, alright?”

“Hmph, good.” Satisfied, Hater slammed his bedroom door shut, and the two of them headed towards the ‘face’ of the ship.

“So Hatey, you’ve got personal transport for us, right? You know, like a hot rod or van or-”

“Not the van,” Hater said suddenly, “That’s just a me and Peepers thing.”

“...Uhhh, okaaay...”

“But, we do have mini skulls that can go just as fast as the main skullship.” “Eh. Works for me, bro.” The style of the ride didn’t really matter, just as long as they could easily take it around the Galaxy. 

Speaking of which... “So Hatey,” Awesome said, glancing back over at him, “Where are you planning on taking us first?”

“Hmm...” He thought for a couple minutes. It wasn’t until they reached the mini Skullship port that Hater finally replied. “I think I have an idea.”

()()()()()()()()()()  

“...Seriously, dude?” Awesome stared at the sign with a flat, VERY unimpressed look. “We’ve only got, what, five hours until Peeps starts textin’ and telling us to get back to the Skull, and this is what you want to do with part of our time?”

Hater looked back at him, equal parts confused and offended. “What’s wrong with going to the movies?!”

“Dude, you have, like, two movie theaters in your ship! You could watch movies anytime!” He then added with a scoff and a mumble, “Besides, we’re supposed to have a night out, not a night sitting on our butts in a dinky theater.”

“Yeah well, THIS theater has a movie that I’ve been waiting to see for forever!” the skeletal lord retorted, pointing at a nearby poster of a pretty intimidating demon guy who was shooting electricity out of his fists and riding a skateboard that made electric tracks wherever it went. In other words, it wasn’t too hard to figure out why Hater wanted to see this movie in particular... “And you said that I could pick the first thing we could do, and this is what I pick!”

Awesome groaned, dramatically slouching back. For a moment, he wondered if just being alone would just be better. But, eventually, he gave a reluctant “Fine, whatevs,” and followed Hater inside the theater. At least the movie was only about two hours along, so even if he was bored out of his mind, it wouldn’t be for too long. And then it would be back to what they were supposed to be doing - what normal, cool people did on their night out.

With that problem taken care of, the two of them bought their tickets. And, once he had his in hand, Hater made a beeline for the concessions. “One extra large, super buttery popcorn, and two cherry slushies too! Hey-” He looked over his shoulder, “You want anything?”

Awesome shrugged. “I dunno, does this place have shrimp cocktails or jello shots?”

“Uhhh, there’s cherry and blue slushies. Pop too, I guess, but...” 

“...” The shark man gave another sigh. “...Give me the blue slushie.”

Eventually, the pair of villains (well, former villains, really) made their way to their seats, with Hater insisting on sitting in the middle of the row for the best view. Thankfully, the theater itself wasn’t too full - and therefore not too noisy - and after a few minutes, the curtains lifted and the film began. 

“Mm, so-” Awesome whispered, once he took the last sip of his slushie, “What’s this movie even abo-?”

“SHHH!” Hater shushed him, “It just looked cool and it took forever to get released and I just want to finally see it, so SHH!”

“Ugh...” Rolling his eyes, Awesome slouched in his seat, putting his feet on the back of the chair in front of him. “Yep, deeeefinitely starting to regret this...”

The movie began typically enough. Some dude with a bad attitude made a deal with a devil, and now he had to hunt demons and bad guys for a living. Still, in exchange he got lightning powers so, not that bad of a deal. But, even so-

“Pfft, dude, did you see that?” Awesome snickered, “You could practically see the string dragging his skateboard along! What, could they not afford an actual electric skateboard? So weak!”

“And did you see his lightning?!” Hater replied, pointing up at the screen, “Look at that! It’s so fake! It doesn’t even look like it’s touching his hands!”

“Tc’ch yeah! And- OH MY GROP LOOK AT THAT GUY! Dude, who looked at that costume and thought ‘Yeah, okay, a bad guy would TOTES wear that’!”

“And he’s not even the main bad guy! Just some dumb grunt! Come on, Bolt Boarder! Zap him already!”

“Um, excuse me, guys?” Awesome blinked. Glancing over to the side, he could see a teenage theater worker now standing in the aisle. “Sirs, I’ve been getting complaints about some rowdy movie goers and-”

Hater sat up a bit straighter and leaned forward, allowing him to send the worker a quick glare. The teenager gulped. “A-And, uh, if you two could just, just tone it down a bit i-it would be greatly appreciated!” he quickly told them before running off. 

The skeletal lord huffed, turning his attention back to the screen and grabbing another handful of popcorn. Though, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Awesome staring at him. “...What?”

“Nothin’. Just, kinda thought you were doin’ the whole ‘good guy’ thing now, so-”

“Hey, if I was still a total bad guy, I would have just zapped him,” Hater argued, “And besides, just because I’m a good-er guy now doesn’t mean I still can’t get annoyed at peoOH YEAH! GET HIM, BOLT! WOO!”

Awesome snapped his head back to the screen, just in time to see the badly dressed villain explode in a huge, sparking explosion. “Ohoho, NICE!” he grinned.

Other than a couple quick scenes with Bolt Boarder moping around or talking to his one dimensional love interest, the rest of the movie followed the formula of introducing an over-the-top bad guy, having an action-filled fight scene with effects ranging from alright to downright laughable, and explosions. And honestly, that was just what Hater and Awesome wanted. 

“Alright, alright,” Awesome chuckled as the credits began to roll, “That was actually pretty fun.” He stretched slightly before standing up from his seat and heading down the aisle, with Hater right behind him. 

“Hmph, told’ya it’d be great,” Hater smirked, “...Well, obviously not GREAT but, you know what I mean!”

“Heh, yeah bro. I know.” The shark-man still couldn’t help but snicker to himself as he thought about all the terrible scenes, though admittedly some of the action (the bits that didn’t need CGI) was pretty well done and pretty cool to watch. In between these thoughts, Awesome’s legs seemed to move automatically. Entering the lobby of the theater only gave them more room to move, allowing him to walk and practically dance circles around Hater.

“...Okay, what are you doing?” the skeletal lord finally asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. 

“Sorry bro, can’t help it,” Awesome shrugged, still strolling and twirling along, “Unless I’m in a hot tub chillaxin’, I’m not used to just sitting and watching for so long.”

“Then fine,” Hater crossed his arms, “It’s your turn anyway. Find something for us to do that involves moving and just stop circling me already!”

Reaching the theater’s outer doors, Awesome glanced back and grinned. “Can do, Hatester~!” He then led them outside, looking all along the city streets for familiar details and keeping an ear open for dubstep and electronica.

After walking about a block, he found what he was looking for. It was a medium sized building, two floors. Definitely enough room for at least a bar and a pretty decent dance floor. There was no line or bouncer outside, so it wasn’t too exclusive. But eh, it still seemed pretty cool. Besides, beggars couldn’t be choosey. “Of course you’d want to go to a club next,” he heard Hater mumble behind him as they went inside, though at least he didn’t seem too annoyed by it.

The club actually had a pretty nice rainbow-like aesthetic to it, with the bar area being yellow while the lounge and sitting areas were red or orange. The dance floor had emerald green tiles on it, and near the upper half of the club - which featured a karaoke machine - were blue and purple lights. The disco ball and the multi-colored swivel lights on the dance floor just tied everything together. 

Awesome smiled, his body relaxing as if he had just stepped into warm waters. Maybe it wasn’t as wild and crazy as the clubs he usually went to, but it was still a club. It was still a type of place that he was used to, a place where he could cut loose and enjoy himself. A place that felt like home. 

With light steps and a bit of a shimmy thanks to the music pumping all around him, he strolled over to the bar. “Think you could rustle us up some snacks, brah?” he asked the bartender, flashing his teeth in a grin, “Maybe some fries and your best margarita?”

The green skinned, multi-legged man behind the counter gave him a bit of a look, but before he could ask any questions, Hater added, “And just a Thunderblazz for me. Uh, thanks.” At the sight of the infamous skeletal lord, the bartender’s expression instantly changed. But it wasn’t like before with the theater worker, the man certainly didn’t look scared of Hater. ...In fact, it sorta looked like the opposite, like he seemed happy to see him. Honored, even! Admiring Hater like he was some sort of he-

...Oh. Right. He was a hero. 

“Of course, Lord Hater, sir!” the bartender chimed, with two of his hands giving the skeleton a thumbs up, “And it’ll be on the house, of course!” “Really? Cool, thanks.” “Yes, and thank YOU!”

“Heh.” Even if the music in the background wasn’t his cup of tea and the club was a bit too colorful for his tastes, Hater still managed to give the man a smile and a small nod as he sat down. Awesome on the other hand just focused on holding back a sigh. 

The fries would be a bit of a wait, but their drinks came quickly so neither one of them really minded. “You know, Hatey, there are other drinks out there that aren’t Thunderblazz,” Awesome lightly teased, “That aren’t even soda!”

“Hmph, then you can drink those,” Hater told him before chugging about a third of his pop.

Awesome shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I’m tellin’ ya, bro. You’re missing out.” Though, despite this claim, Awesome only took a couple small sips of his own drink. Not really to enjoy it, but just enough to bite back any nerves he might have had...

He glanced over at the dance floor, already feeling like it was calling his name - especially since there were only a few people on it. The shark-man smirked. Heh, perfect time to get a crowd and show off. Maybe bust out an old routine, or try to see if the owner would let him plug in his MP3 player. Oh yeah, if anyone here thought this place was rockin’ now, they hadn’t seen nothing ye-!

“Oh wow...” he heard a waitress say as she walked behind them. On instinct, Awesome turned to look at her, but the woman was already walking back towards the lounge area. Oh wow... Tc’ch, what had that been about? Had she been referring to him? Maybe she had been a fan? Though, her tone didn’t exactly sound fanatic, or even amazed... At most, it just seemed like she had been surprised to see him. 

And, as his eyes followed the waitress while she worked, Awesome quickly noticed that she wasn’t the only one there surprised to see him...

He could spot people stealing glances, raising eyebrows, and some even rolling their eyes. No one dared to say any of their comments out loud, but Awesome could see them whispering. ...Maybe they weren’t talking about him. But then, what else could they be talking about? 

The infamous party shark who had been captured, quit being a villain, and hadn’t even gotten on social media since his disaster of a comeback party was now suddenly just at this random club? No wonder they were surprised to see him. Heck, he wouldn’t have even been surprised if there were some people who thought he simply OD’d after the party or something like that. “Hmph.” What a way to go... 

Seeing as he was looking at them now, most people quickly looked away, focusing on their drinks or decor and trying to look as innocent as possible. Conversations put on hold, but interests not forgotten. Part of him told him to just ignore the ‘haters’, but these guys weren’t exactly haters. Nah, they were just curious critics. A galaxy that had witnessed the hard fall of one of its biggest stars in terms of both villainy and coolness, and that wasn’t something people just forgot about overnight, unfortunately... He could easily imagine what they were (or would be) saying. 

“Whoa... Isn’t that Emperor Awesome?” “I guess so. Not much of an emperor now though.” “I thought he died.” “I thought he ran away.” “I heard he went crazy.” “Why would he come here?” “Yeah. Not like anyone cares about him now.” “Maybe he’s trying to win back some fans?” “Ha, good luck with that.” “After everything he’s went through? He’s better off retiring.” “Might as well. He’s hardly the emperor of anything now.” “Heh, no doubt about that.”

“So Awesome, how long did you want to stay here? Cause I think I saw a-”

Awesome set down his drink, hard enough make a loud *clunk* on the counter while still not making the glass break, thankfully. Hater blinked. “...Uhh, Awesome? Are you-?”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Huh? But, I thought you wanted to- And, hey! We haven’t even gotten our fries yet!” Hater argued. But Awesome just ignored him. He got out a handful of credits, not even bothering to count them before putting them down by his drink. With that, he stood up and walked straight out of the club. He knew they’d be whispering again. More rumors, more of his reputation ruined. But what did it matter?

...What did it matter?

“Hey! HEY! Awesome!”

“What, Hater?” Awesome asked, stopping for just a moment as he stuffed his hands in his vest pockets.

“Hmph, well for one thing, thanks for waiting up!” Hater glared, but Awesome could only offer a shrug and a mumbled apology. Perhaps that was what made the skeleton’s gaze soften, just a little. “...You okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Awesome replied, despite his tone saying otherwise, “Come on, man. We’ve only got a couple hours left. Go ahead and pick the next stop.” Hater still didn’t look too sure, but it was obvious that the shark-man wasn’t in the mood to talk. So, Hater took the lead once again.

By this point, they were in the center of Stratusoose 4′s entertainment district, so they didn’t have to walk nearly as far before Hater found something that caught his interest. It was a three story building, with bright letters on the front of it that read “WOWSER’S”. From the windows, they could see several game machines and big wheels filled with numbers, as well a few game tables where rounds of blackjack or air hockey were being played. 

A casino/arcade, huh? Well, Awesome could believe the arcade part at least, and he made no arguments as Hater took them inside. Neither of them made a move towards any of the gambling related games. Awesome didn’t really have the money to spare on them , and Hater- Well, save for a few victories, Hater just had bad luck in general. So instead, the skeleton went straight to the nearest fighting game while Awesome simply hung back and observed. 

"Heh, I can ALWAYS beat these things," Hater insisted as he selected what looked to be the strongest character in the game's roster (a monster with fire powers and a giant sword).

"Oh, really?" Awesome asked flatly.

But Hater barely noticed the shark's tone, his fingers already on the buttons and at the ready as the game loaded. "Yeah! So just stand back and get ready to be blown away!" In a flash, the screen revealed a colosseum-like background with Hater's character on the right and his opponent, a dark haired knight, on the left. And, as soon as the game's countdown reached one, Hater began to mash the machine's buttons as hard as he could.

"Go go go! Yeah! Get 'im! Fireball! Haha, yeah! That-! Wait! Seriously?! Oh yeah well-! GRAH! Stop using your shield, you stupid knight! Come ooooon! Come- NonoNOOOO!" From behind him, Awesome simply raised an eyebrow. So, exactly when was he supposed to be blown away again?

After about five rounds of the fighting game (with three of those rounds being losses for him), Hater decided that it was time to move onto other games. After all, the arcade had plenty of them. Racing games, throwing games like skee-ball, claw machines, shooters, even some VR games! ...And yet none of them seemed to interest Awesome whatsoever, nor did the shark bother to make any comments.

He just followed Hater around like a shadow, and it was getting to the point where even Hater couldn't ignore it. "...I thought you said you didn't like to just 'sit and watch'?" he finally questioned after making his way through about a dozen different arcade classics.

"Yeah well, I'm not really the gamer type, dude." Awesome replied as he casually leaned on a pinball machine.

"Hmm... Oh yeah? So, you don't want to play ANY game here?" Hater started to smirk a bit. "Not even... that one?"

He pointed across the room, and Awesome followed his direction - and immediately groaned when he saw the machine he was point at. Standing near a wall, with a huge plastic platform in front of it. "Ugh, DEFINITELY not. FYI Hater, DDR is for people who don't know how to dance, not for people who are great at dancing."

Hater humphed, crossing his arms. "So, if you DID actually play it, are you saying that you'd get a hundred percent score or whatever just cause you're 'so great' at dancing?"

"Uh, yeah bro, I would," Awesome insisted, taking a step forward.

But Hater's smirk just grew. "Then prove it."

"...Fine." Sticking his nose up slightly, Awesome coolly strolled over to the dance machine. "...Oh, and hey, don't think I don't know what you're doing," he added as he selected his song and difficulty (expert level, naturally), "Trying to get me to join in on the fun or whatever by challenging me to play one of these games? Heh, way to take a page out of the furball's playbook, Hatey."

Hater shot him a glare. "Just shut up and dance. And don't complain when you get less than a perfect score!"

"Tc'ch, not gonna happen, brah." It was at that moment that the game began, with the the electronic, Zetuon music now playing as various directional arrows began flying upwards at what looked like lightspeed. But Awesome didn't even flinch! He just jumped right in, his feet as light as an orbubble as he tapped each space beneath him. He was in perfect sync with the game, even bobbing his head along with the beat of the song. At least the game had good taste in music.

"Not bad, I GUESS," he heard Hater say after about a minute. Awesome grinned slightly.

"This is nothing!" He shouted back, "Watch what a real dancer can do on one of these things!" Raising his arms, Awesome began using them, throwing them up or waving them slightly to make it look more like an actual dance rather than simply jumping around on light-up tiles. He even a added a couple high-jumps and spins, and did all this while still keeping an eye on the screen.

The song was nearing its end, there were just a couple dozen steps to go. But Awesome didn't let himself lose focus, not even for a second. Back, forth, left, left, right, back, back- jump, hip thrust, slide to the next step, do a twirl! He was completely in the zone! And honestly, he couldn't have been happier. The final note played, and after hitting the last step, Awesome fell into a split and threw his arms up in a victory pose while Hater clapped and cheered.

...Wait, that wasn't Hater. And that definitely wasn't just one person.

Quickly getting back onto his feet, he looked out at a crowd of about a dozen or so people. Though thankfully he wasn't stunned for too long. He just gave them a quick wave and a charming smile before hopping down from the platform.

"Guess you can still attract crowds, huh?" Hater asked, trying not to look TOO impressed, or too happy for the shark for that matter.

"Yep. Guess so," Awesome nodded. He took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead before looking back up at the dance machine. "Oh uh, say, dude? Could you tell me what it says on that DDR screen? That one right up there? In big bold letters?"

"..." Hater sighed, his scowl deepening. "It says 'perfect'."

"Oh yeah~ What can I say? I-" Awesome stopped, grimacing. He put a hand on his stomach as he felt it contort and growl. "...Can work up an appetite, apparently."

"Ugh, then let's go find something to eat already before we starve to death!" Hater told him, already making his way back towards the front of the casino with Awesome soon following his lead, still clearly pleased with his 'performance'.

If all else failed, at least he would always have his dancing...

()()()()()()()()()

Balancing himself to keep from spilling his dish, Awesome went into a squatting position, leaning up slightly against the parking lot’s chain-link fence. Without further ado, he picked up his food and took a bite. “Mm... Not bad, Hatey. Not bad.” 

“Ha! Told you food trucks were good!” “Yeah yeah, heh.” Change or no change, the skeletal lord would probably always be smug about being right. But whatever, that wouldn’t stop Awesome from enjoying his meal. Quickly, he took another, much bigger bite of his calzone, humming happily at the mix of anchovies and cheese. 

Beside him sitting cross-legged, Hater was nearly finished with his meat lover’s calzone, and already eyeing the food truck and wondering if it would be worth it to buy another one. “You know, if we hadn’t left that rainbow club place before we got our fries, we wouldn’t be as hungry,” he complained.

“...Yeah man, I know,” Awesome admitted. He broke the remainder of his calzone in half and tossed one of the halves into his mouth. 

“So then... Why did you want to leave?” Hater asked, his annoyed tone now replaced with a more curious one, “What, was it not cool enough for you?”

“Nah, it was pretty cool... It’s just- Look, I wasn’t- Ugh.” Awesome huffed. “Dude, it’s complicated, alright?”

“Oh yeah? How complicated?”

“...” The shark-man sighed. “Okay, okay... This is the first time I’ve really gone out since my epic fail of a comeback party, you know? So... Now when people see me, that’s the first thing the think about. First thing they talk about...”

“Then make them talk about something else,” Hater told him, “That shouldn’t be too hard. I mean, you did a pretty good job of doing it back at the arcade.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Awesome’s face at that. “Heh, yeah, I guess... But, one sweet performance on a DDR machine isn’t gonna fix my rep, bro. And like, I know it’s not gonna happen overnight, but...” He groaned again, moving his head back in frustration and fatigue. Opening up at the murky sky above, he stared at the few stars that dared to be bright enough to be seen in spite of the bright city lights.

“...Come on, Awesome,” Hater insisted, “What’s going on?” Awesome didn’t answer. “Ugh... If you’re worried about being called a loser or whatever because of what happened, then stop. Because it’s not going to happen. ...Remember all those months ago? When you first asked us to train you?”

“...Yeah,” Awesome eventually replied, though he still kept his head pointed up.

“Yeah, me too... And you said you wanted to get some power back, to stop feeling weak. Well, you’re doing that! You actually know how to fight now! You’re stronger, and Peepers even told me that you’re starting to run lava bot simulations without freaking out! So, yeah, if you’re think that you’re still the same fish-man that you were after that party, then knock it off. Cause you’re not, alright?”

“...Heh.” Awesome’s smile grew a bit. “Heck of a pep talk you give there, Hatey.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled back, though even he couldn’t help but smirk a bit, “So yeah... I mean, it’ll probably take forever but, people will forget about all that other stuff, you know?” It had happened before, Hater knew that first hand. So why couldn’t it happen to Awesome? “And then you can just, you know, show them how you are now! Stronger, better, and... Well, I GUESS still kinda cool and awesome.”

The shark-man chuckled. “...Thanks, man. And yeah, I know that things have changed. ...I know that I’ve changed. But... I dunno. Maybe that’s part of the problem...”

“...What do you mean?” Hater asked, confused yet concerned. 

“I mean that... that it’s not just my rep that’s changed, or my fans, or even the whole Galaxy. It feels like my whole life is changing... And there’s nothin’ I can do to stop it. Sure I can try to get back in the game, be able to fight people for planets, maybe even manage to win people back, but...” 

Hater scowled. “Awesome, just spit it out already! What are you talking about?!”

Silence fell between them. Awesome felt the last of his dish getting cold in his hand. He dropped it on his paper plate and crossed his arms, holding himself close. 

“...’Let the party end. You’re never as cool as you think you are. Eventually people will leave. You can’t force them to stay, and you can’t keep it going on your own forever, otherwise you’ll just be stuck in the spotlight all alone. So just let the party end’... That’s what my dad told me that morning before I got back to the Skullship.”

“...” Hater could only stare at him. “Awesome... I, I don’t-”

Awesome choked back a laugh. “This has been my life for so long. For, like, forever! It’s the life I’ve wanted ever since I was crowned Emperor! Yeah, sure, maybe it wasn’t the greatest. Maybe I wasn’t the greatest, but it was still what I wanted! But now... Heh, now everything’s just so different and so flarped up. No matter what I do it’ll never be the same, and I don’t know which new parts are good and which are bad! ...I don’t know if I can keep living the life I wanted before, or if I even should. But... But if I shouldn’t, or can’t, then... then what the hell AM I supposed to do?!”

“...I...” That was all Hater could really say. Part of him suddenly wished Wander was there with them, if only because the nomad would surely know what to say to something like this. Even Sylvia would probably be better at this than he was.

“...So, yeah,” Awesome said after a moment, “Long story short, that’s what’s wrong... And it’s sorta what I’ve been hoping to forget about and why I was so desperate to have a night out. Tc’ch, guess that turned out well, huh?”

“Right...” Hater’s horns folded down. “...No offense but, that was sort of a jerky thing for your dad to say.”

Awesome’s expression didn’t change. “But he’s right, isn’t he?”

“...Not really.” Setting his plate down, Hater stretched his legs out, and looked up at the skies as well. “Sure, you shouldn’t party all the time but, there’s nothing really wrong with still partying some of the time, you know?”

The shark-man rolled his eyes. “Hater, that’s not-”

“I’m still me.” Awesome stopped, looking at him. “Yeah, I’m a ‘good guy’ or whatever now, but I definitely haven’t been Wanderized,” Hater told him, his voice quiet, yet still as confident as ever, “I’m still me. Still do what I want and try to get what I want, I just do it in a better way. That, and I try not to hurt people who don’t really deserve it. Which is waaay harder than you’d think, especially when people are annoying or huge jerks. But... It’s also usually worth it, I guess. I feel a lot happier now, but I don’t feel like my life is totally different. I’m just being me while doing different things. So... maybe that’s what you need to do too?”

“...Huh.” Awesome thought about it. And then, he smiled. Just a little. “You know what, Hater? You’re a pretty cool guy.”

Hater’s eyes widened slightly. “...You’re being serious, right? You, you’re not just saying that?”

“Heh, yeah man. I’m being totes serious.” Taking a deep breath, Awesome let himself actually sit on the ground, dirt and dust stains be darned. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re still sort of a dork - no offense. But... Your powers, all the stuff you’ve done, the guy you’ve become... I’ve gotta respect it. Heck, I’m actually sort of jealous-”

“Okay, now I know you’re lying!” Hater accused, raising an eyebrow, “You? Jealous of ME?” Sure, it’s something he’s always wanted, but-

“Believe it, bro,” Awesome nodded, “You’ve got a lot for people to truly be jealous of. A lot to be proud of. And, like, you did just take the time to try and cheer me up so, yeah. You’re pretty cool.”

“...Hmph. Yeah well, I still think you’re pretty cool too,” Hater mumbled.

The two smiled at each other. “Thanks, dude...” “Yeah. Whatever.”

Before continuing their night out, Hater did end up getting one more calzone, eating it as they walked down the city streets and passing by numerous stores and stops. 

Awesome hummed, glancing over at a small make-up kiosk. “...Say, Hatey, you ever think about changing up your look a bit?”

“Hm, why? What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothin’! But there’s also nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy to catch a special girl or guy’s attention~”

Hater blinked. “Eye candy? But what do the Watchdogs ha-”

“Like, I could totally see you with some gold eyeshadow, bro,” Awesome grinned, “Gold goes great with green, so it’d match your eyes perfectly, helping them stand out even more! It’d also go with red, plus your horns, so it’s pretty much the perfect color for you. Though, I guess silver could work pretty well too.”

“Huh. I guess...” Though by this point, the skeletal lord wasn’t even looking at the kiosk.

“You could probably do some pretty cool stuff with eyeliner too. Add a bit of color, or even just some accents. Make your eyes sharper, you know?” His grin widened. “And you know, if you’re gonna get a new look for your face, you might as well go all out and get a new look for your bod too! So, what do you say we spend our last hour or so shopping around? Get us some new digs, see what works and-”

“Orrrrr we could do THIS instead!” Hater yelled, practically shoving a flyer he had found right in Awesome’s snout. Not having much of a choice, the former emperor quickly read it: Howard’s Hoverkartz trackz! Half price admission Tues. and Thurs.!

Awesome made a face. Hover go-karts? Really? But they could fly and race ACTUAL ships. And even if they couldn’t, he was certain the track would just be some dinky little thing with karts that barely went over twenty miles per hour. Ugh, it would be so weak! So lame! So-!

He looked back up at Hater, who was smiling as if he had just found the coolest and most fun thing ever. And soon enough, Awesome found himself mirroring that smile. “Heh. Sounds good to me.”

()()()()()()()()()()

It was a widely (yet reluctantly) accepted rule that everyone on the ship should be up by 7 am. Of course, there were still the stragglers and the ‘Five More Minutes’ers, but Peepers was more than happy to give them a personal wake-up call.

“Come on, come on! You all know the drill,” he told them firmly, ignoring the muttered comments and yawns of his troops. Once everyone was out of their little oven-beds and the Commander was satisfied, he then started to make his way towards his lord’s bedroom. 

Of course Hater was totally excused from the 7AM rule, but Peepers still wanted to check up on him. And besides, there was still one private who needed to wake up...

According to the security camera footage, the two former enemies had been about an hour late getting in, though they had seemed to be in good spirits. Happy, rowdy and a bit loud, but not drunk at least. “And thank grop for that,” Peepers mumbled as he reached the door. 

The commander knocked, but (as to be expected) there wasn’t an answer. Feeling a bit cautious now, Peepers slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

Awesome’s MP3 was sitting on Hater’s bedside table, quietly playing some pop song. There weren’t any Thunderblazz bottles or beer cans on the floor (another good sign) but there was Awesome, lying practically facedown in a pile of pillows and blankets while Hater (as well as Captain Tim who slept on Hater’s chest) took up the bed. 

Peepers rolled his eye slightly. “Sir? Awesome? ...Hey, Private Awesome? Lord Hater?” 

Both of them groaned slightly, sinking further into their respective beds before relaxing once again. Of course. Whatever they had done last night must have been exhausting in some regards. But, also satisfying... A truly fun night out, just like Awesome had promised. 

“...You get half an hour,” Peepers quietly told the sleeping shark-man, his gaze softening a bit, “At most. And this is the last time you’re going to be allowed to sleep in on a work day, so enjoy it while it lasts.” And with that, the commander quietly shut the door, allowing the two new friends to just get a few more minutes of peaceful slumber. 

THE END

((Heh, hope this was worth the wait! Also, it’s not part of the Awesome Arc, but Hater’s speech did end up relating to what he learned in another fic I wrote - “Better” - which is basically focused on Hater’s redemption and how he tries to work inside his new ‘hero status’ after saving the galaxy. So yeah, check it out if you’re interested, and thanks again for reading! ^v^))