Tales of the Parodyverse

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Al B. Harper
Thu Apr 13, 2006 at 07:54:51 am EDT
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Al B. Harper Chapter 13: Yuki
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I said below in a reply to Jason's story, that I felt some of Al B.'s comments were out of character, but perhaps it was just Yuki's point of view.

Here then, is Al B.'s point of view of the same scene.

Al B. Harper Chapter 13: Yuki



"Come with me, you big chicken." Liu Xi grabbed Al B Harper by his shirt and starting towing him toward the gym.

Al went along with the slim Chinese girl. She was shy, quiet, and it was nice to see her coming out of her shell at moments such as this when she thought she had to “take charge” of other people’s lives. Who was he to stand in her way?

“We’re going to fight?” he asked, knowing well enough that wasn’t what she had in mind.

"No, silly." Liu Xi laughed. "You have been avoiding Yuki since you gave her that metal flower, and she has been too busy to confront you. I'm tired of waiting patiently."

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Al B. thought, “and how do you know about the flower anyway?” But he kept his thoughts to himself as Liu Xi opened the door to the gym and shoved him in. She followed close behind. “Maybe she is going to fight me?” he thought somewhat humorously, only to realise she was just returning Knifey to ManMan, who looked like he’d had a tough session with Yuki.

Yuki approached Al B and stood directly in front of him. Even though she was smaller than he, he was intimidated nonetheless, not least because he knew just how powerful she really was, he did have a hand in building her body after all.

"Are you going to hurt me this time?" he asked her, only half joking.

"No." Yuki replied tersely, but calmer than he would have expected. "You were dishonest with me."

“Dishonest?” Al B. asked, although he knew he had been dishonest with her, about the true nature of what he was getting up to with Kinki, this has led to innuendo and speculation (most of which wasn’t true), but Jay had requested he keep the nature of his and Kinki’s activities in the mansion secret, even from Yuki. The last thing they needed right now was one of the current hangers on like Dr Moo or Gamona discovering that there was an item of great power hidden in the mansion. Things were bad enough with the families of various Legionnaires being targeted by the Parody Masters puppets and cronies.

Yuki frowned at that point. "Yes! Maybe I thought I was a little more than just a high-tech toy--" The words sounded angry, but the heartbreak behind them was clearly evident – Al B. actually felt a pang of guilt over it. "--that you'd get bored with a few days after Christmas and toss in the closet."

He stared at the floor, not quite knowing how to react to that, it wasn’t true of course, he should tell her that, but the words didn’t seem to come.

She continued. "But you know, I don't remember you ever saying you love me. So maybe...I have only myself to blame for getting too attached."

“Go on!” He said to himself, “Tell her how much you care about her!” But again the words failed to form. He mumbled something incoherent.

“This kind of thing,” Yuki continued, “it’s unpredictable. Al, I never expected to be so heartbroken when you brought home someone who's...so hot, I can understand why you--"

"She just sort of claimed me, Yuki," Al B told her – that much was true. "I...never chose her."

"So why is she still here?" Yuki asked almost a little too angrily. “Ordering everyone around, telling all and sundry you’re her lover!”

“I’ll be honest…we did have sex. But it was back on the Parody Master’s ship. There was kind of a gun to my head at the time…We certainly didn’t have sex in your bed Yuki. I’ve heard that’s what you think. Come on, I’m not that bad. How long have you known me? I was a little hurt you felt that way. As for why she is still here, where else is she going to go?”

Yuki gave him a strange look as if she hadn’t really heard what he said (indeed, it appeared she had heard only part of it, “probably just the part about having sex,” he thought).

She eventually gave him a slight smile. "Still get your heart broken by hard-luck cases, eh?"

Al B. put his arms on Yuki’s shoulders and forced her to hold his gaze. “You’re not a hard-luck case Yuki. I never thought of you as that, and I never will. If you think that, then I'm sorry. Sorry I failed you."

The purple-haired Legionnaire stood and hugged him. "Look, I don't hate you, okay?"

Al B. returned her hug.

"I talked to Lara. She doesn't look smart but she actually knows a lot about continuity of time." Yuki sighed deeply and tried to blink away the emotion in her eyes to speak logically. "Seems you have to knock up Kinki or your son Cody may just disappear one day without warning because he never was. Or something like that."

"Lara, like Lui-Xi, could really do without interfering in everyone’s lives so much,” he said. “Whatever her mysterious perceptiveness, we haven’t really even verified that Cody is Kinki’s son yet, and I’d rather trust hard science truth be told. Hallie is in no condition to run the test at the moment. So it’s still all a mystery.”

"I dunno, maybe you may have already conceived him." Yuki noted dismissively. "That's just my way of saying...I don't want to suffocate you, Al, and heaven knows while Kinki has the chest for it I sure don't. I think we're always going to be friends. I don't want to lose you entirely because of this."

"You’ll never lose me Yuki!” Al B. said.

"I'm saying if you love someone, set them free," Yuki replied sadly. "Go and have your...fun, or whatever," she continued. "I'll always be here."

"In the gym?"

Yuki couldn't help but laugh at that question, in spite of all the other conflicting emotions she had. She shook her head and whispered, "I missed hearing questions like that," she said. She kissed Al B Harper on the cheek and looked back at him as she headed out of the gym.

On the way out she couldn't help but think to herself that while she found it endearing and amusing, there's no way Kinki would put up with questions like that for long.

Al B. watched her go. “Well, that didn’t go like I’d hoped, but at least we’re talking again.” He too headed out of the gym.

After a time Lui-Xi came back slowly into the gym and looked around.

“That didn’t go like you hoped either, did it?” a voice asked. The young girl stiffened to know someone was watching her (her mind was elsewhere otherwise she would have picked it up, she felt sure). She turned to face Cody Harper staring at her.

“Nope, I don’t think either of them were listening to each other, I mean really listening. Dad’s too cut up over his ex-flames death to ever admit how much he feels for someone ever again, and Yuki is too proud to admit her true feelings as well. “Go and have your fun or whatever,” he quoted. “Like that’s what she really feels, deep down where it matters.” He patted his heart with his hand.

Liu-Xi just looked at the ground, unsure, she had returned to her shy self.

“It was nice of you to try though.” He offered.

She looked up at him. “Shouldn’t you be wanting him to get together with Kinki?”

Cody laughed. “That stuff your friend Lara said? Bad science-fiction! If Kinki is indeed my mother, she will be my mother, no matter what we do, or don’t do. You can’t change your fate.”

Liu-Xi wasn’t sure she agreed with him, but again she said nothing.

Cody walked over to her. “I’m sure my dad didn’t mean what he said about you either,” he said, and placed something in her hands.

She looked down at the I-pod.

“As a thank you, for caring. Give it a listen, genuine teen-angst! There’re some songs I’m sure even a girl like you will like,” Cody said as he walked towards the gym doors.

Despite herself, Liu-Xi couldn’t help but smile.


Al B. Harper


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