//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 Bonus: Victim and Killer Free-Time Events // Story: Super Dangan RonPonya: Set Sail for Despair Isles // by Serenade-Stereo //------------------------------// Smile Gigs (1) "So, Techno, let me ask you something that I've been wondering for a while...how exactly do you become a 'SMSL Inventor'?" Smile asked. "How?" Techno raised an eyebrow. "I kind of just came up with an idea for a machine and then I constructed it the way it was in my head...it wasn't really anything special." "Wow, impressive." Smile grinned. "Not really, I don't find it anything to be so happy about. What about you though? How did you become a 'Super Middle School Level Comedian'?" "Oh, well you see...my family are actually pretty poor...we always have been. I started off with just trying to cheer them up with a few jokes here and there and eventually, my dad signed me up to perform in this small comedy club. I got paid a little bit which helped out the family and I did a lot of gigs there and my popularity grew. I eventually started to go on tour and that's when Hope's Peak saw me..." He smiled. "Well...you've been through a lot worse to get to where you are now..." "Meh, it wasn't so bad." Smile shrugged. "Sometimes you just got to appreciate the smaller things in life..." To think that Smile is so cheery and upbeat but been through that...he really is someone to look up to... *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Smile Gigs (2) "Hey, Smile? Can I ask you something?" "Huh?" He seemed surprised. "Sure...what is it?" "Being a comedian, you'd have a lot fans but you'd probably have hecklers at your shows, right?" "Yeah, it's a normal thing..." "So, how do you deal with them...?" "Oh. It's pretty simple. I can easily just use my comedic abilities against them...it's great fun and really shows them up. Nobody ever gets away with heckling at one of my shows." He said that with a mischievous smile. "But of course, the most important thing for me to remember is that everyone will have those people that won't like them. You can't focus on them, focus on pleasing your fans. That's my true goal in my shows..." "What about your family?" "Oh, yeah, that too obviously. But, don't you think it comes under the same thing? I'm making life easier for my family...that's my favourite part of what I do..." It's the same as before...he just wants to help his family get a better life...a better life...how can he handle that...? *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Smile Gigs (3) "Hmm..." Smile grumbled. "What to do...what to do...?" "Is something wrong...?" Techno raised an eyebrow. "Kind of...Techno. Very quick question but at the same very important...do you think it would be easier to base a comedy routine around politics or news?" "H-huh? What kind of a question is that?!" "Just answer!" He's being unusually forceful about this...what should I say...? "I think...news...?" "News, eh...?" Smile folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "Maybe...there's more material to work with...but it can he hard if there isn't anything in particular...or if there isn't any of those idiots in the background that want to get on TV...everybody's seem them, what they do can vary...but...dammit! Damn it all! I've never had this much trouble before!" "Just calm down!" Techno took a step back. "Why are you so stressed about this?" "W-what if I'm losing my edge? What if my creativity levels are dropping?! I'll never be able to do another tour if we get off this island!" "Seriously, Smile! You don't need to worry!" "Why not?! You've probably never been in this sort of situation!" "Not true...I've had a hard time thinking up new ideas...it's a natural thing to happen for every inventor. Same for comedians, storywriters, artists..." "Artist...?" Smile's eyes widened. "So what you're saying is...I should ask Paint for help?!" "Wha-? That's not the point I was-" "Thanks for the advice, Techno!" Without listening, Smile sped off. ...what just happened...? *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Smile Gigs (4) "Hey, Techno...? What'd your life like...? You know, the good life...?" "The good life...?" "Yeah, the one you live without worrying that you could thrown out of your home at any time...one were if you got seriously injured you could still afford surgery or whatever...y'know...the dream life..." "Smile..." Techno paused. "...you have it all wrong..." "Huh?" "It's not what you're imagining it as...just because my family isn't considered 'poor' doesn't mean we're living in a huge house near a beach with others to do our work for us..." "I...I know that...but, I just want to know what it would be like..." "It's kind of like yours actually...'cause just like you, things like surgery, we wouldn't have that kind of money at that time..." "I see...so it's kind of like just having slightly better conditions...? My house has got a lot of cracks in the walls so it's really cold...but, we make it work even when there's only three of us now..." "Three of you 'now'?" "Yeah...me, my mom and my dad...I used to have a older sister but she died a few years ago..." "What happened...?" Techno pressed. "...c-could...could we not talk about that...?" Smile's eyes saddened. "I just...have always had a hard time trying to deal with her death..." "It's fine...but if you ever need to talk about it, you can come to me..." "Thanks, Techno..." *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Smile Gigs (5) A few minutes had passed. The two hadn't made eye contact, let alone conversation. What is going on...? Why is Smile so unusually quiet...? As if on command, Smile stood up. "Techno...is it alright if we go to my cottage...?" He asked awkwardly. "There's something that I want to talk to you about in private..." "Sure...no problem..." Techno stood up as Smile led the way to his cottage. It looked like never needed to unlock it, not like that would ever be an important detail. He closed the door behind and stood at the door in silence for a small amount of time. "So" Techno started. "What was it that you wanted to talk about...?" "I...I think...I think I want to tell you more about what happened to my sister..." "What?" Techno asked him surprised. "Y-you know you don't have to do that..." "I know, but...I want to..." He looked up. "It was five years ago...she was a really upbeat and cheerful person...a little on the crazy side but all around really good to me...and she...she had been killed...the police could never find the remains of her body and the guilty person was already dead by the time they found out...so, after that, I didn't really do much of anything...I only did anything when I saw how miserable my parents were about it...I may have took it the worse...but I wanted to be strong. I forced myself to be stronger than I really am for their sake...and that's when I started telling some jokes..." Techno stood there in silence for a few seconds. "You...you've been through a lot, haven't you...?" "Yeah...but I don't really care...I feel like now that I'm here and got to meet you...and everyone else...I can finally just go back to being the real me...all because of you Techno..." "Me? But I didn't do anything." "You brought me out of my shell, my fake persona. You became...my friend...and for that. I'll be forever grateful..." He gave a sincere smile. Smile...there's so much for you to be sad about. You always try to be strong for others...be proud because I promise you that we'll make it out of here together...no matter what... *Ding!* Flower of Hope, Complete! Item Got! Smile's Underwear: Smile's favourite multi-coloured boxers. Apparently the colours remind him of his sister's bubbly attitude and eccentric personality. Boom Box (1) "Uuuuurrrrrrrgggggg!" Boom let out a long drawn-out groan. "Dude, you gotta realise that this situation is, like...totally whack, right?" "Of course it is...we're being forced to kill each other. It's natural for anyone to think that this place is messed up." "Plus the worst part...where's the music venue at?!" "M-music venue? That's what you're so annoyed about...?" "Yo, if I don't get to my main hub, Imma start to freak the hell out! Y'know what I mean?" "Uh...." Techno scratched his head. "C-C'mon, T-Star, don't fail me now! My main hub! You know what I mean, right?" His main hub...? I wonder...is he referring to a... "You mean you wanna get back on the turntables?" Techno guessed. "Yep, that's it! Man, I miss my turntables so much..." "There might something close enough down at the supermarket...honestly, with most of the stuff it sells, I'd be surprised if it didn't have something close to a turntable." "Yeah, you're right...thanks for the suggestion! Later, T-Star!" Boom waved as he ran off. *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Boom Box (2) "Nrrrr....." Boom let out another annoyed grumble. "I'm gonna go insane..." "Couldn't find anything like a turntable...?" Techno guessed. "Yeah...it totally suck, dude..." He sighed. "What am I gonna do...? I need my music..." "Speaking of music...why dubstep?" Boom raised an eyebrow. "Out of all genres...why did you want to be a star in dubstep? I don't really think it's all that great..." "Yeah...it's true that you don't have to put much thought into dubstep as much as written typical pop songs or whatever...and it's not something I would listen to if I wanted to relax..." "So why dubstep...?" "I think it's because it's so upbeat and just all around perfect for parties..." He smiled. "I mean, you don't want a party to be borin'...dubstep always has a great beat to it so it can get everyone in room on their feet and dancin'! That's why I chose dubstep. I wanted to see people enjoyin' my music!" "That's...actually pretty cool..." "Did you expect anything less that the 'Super Middle School Level DJ'?" "Well...I suppose not..." *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Boom Box (3) "Hmmmmm....." "What is it this time...?" Boom didn't respond. "Boom...? Boom...BOOM!!!" "Huh?" He snapped back. "Oh, sorry T-Star...I was just thinking..." "Thinking about what?" "Thinking 'bout the positive thing 'bout this island...the girls~" He grinned. "C'mon, admit it. You got a thing for one of them, dont'cha? I can tell...you wanna say who it is, or will I...?" "Wha-?! How would you know that-" "So you DO like someone!" Dammit! He tricked me! "C'mon who is it? Is it Bud? It would sense cause of her title." "W-why do you care...?" "Hmm? Is there a reason not to...?" He asked. "I mean, c'mon, you'd be crazy not to like any of them. They're so diverse that there's something for anyone. From crazy Laser to kind-hearted Bud...wait...don't try and tell me you're going for Cl-" "Shut up..." Techno cut him off. "Not a chance." "Alright, alright. I get it...say, do you think Rip is single...?" Techno's heart stopped for a second. "I like the athletic types and since she's a surfer chick, that just makes her awesome!" "No." Techno said. "I think she mentioned something about having a boyfriend." "Oh...must of missed that...I don't really pick up details but I doubt it'll ever effect anything I do..." ...that's a weird way to end a conversation... *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Boom Box (4) "Alright, picking up from last time!" Boom flashed a goofy grin. "C'mon, just tell me!" "No!" Techno yelled, annoyed. "What about you?!" "Me...?" Boom went quiet. "Um...aside from Rip who apparently has someone...I'm not really sure. I mean, Bud is nice and all but...I'm just not feeling it with her...?" "Not feeling it...?" "Come on, you must know what I mean, right...?" Something he feels around Rip but not around Bud...? "Do you mean butterflies...?" That's such a weird way to say it. "Yeah that weird feeling that you get...the only one I've gotten it with has been Rip...and there was this other girl but I probably shouldn't talk about her..." "Why's that? Did something happen...?" "N-no...it's nothing....look, I made plans for later so I'm gonna head, talk to you later though!" *Ding!* Hope Shard Acquired! Boom Box (5) "Hmm......" And we're back to the grumbling... "Alright then!" Boom seemed suddenly serious. "W-what?" "I'm gonna tell ya' 'bout the other girl I mentioned last time. But...we should go somewhere a little more private...let's head to my cottage..." They always want to go to the cottage... Boom grabbed Techno's wrist and for no reason whatsoever, hauled him over to his cottage. "Geez, try not to bruise my wrist..." Techno complained. "Meh, when will a bruised wrist ever need to be mentioned?" Boom shrugged. "Anyway, I guess this is the point I tell you about her..." "I guess..." Techno waited as Boom took a deep breath. "It was around April of last year...this girl in my class, Asteroid Comet, had been my friend for a while you see...I really liked her and I wanted to tell her. So that day, I went up to her at the end of the day and confessed...she, uh...turned me down...but the worst part was that instead of keepin' it between us...she thought she would just tell everyone in the class 'bout it...I was a laughing stalk of the class...I never talked to any of the girls in my class since then...but, she is the one that got me into music." "How so?" "Well, I listened to music to try and cheer me up, then I wanted to write my own songs. I had the music but I just couldn't get any lyrics down...so, I took the easy way out and became the DJ you see before you..." "Wow, who would have guessed." "Sometimes one bad thing has gotta happen before a good thing can come your way...that's what I learned..." Whilst Boom may not be the most interesting person I've ever met...the fact that he was able to tell me about that time shows how close we became over time... "Thanks again, T-Star...or...would you rather have me call you Techno?" "Either way, I don't really care...I've grown attached to that nickname." Techno smiled. "Awesome! T-Star it is then!" *Ding!* Flower of Hope, Complete! Item Got! Boom's Underwear: Boom's favourite boxer-briefs. The luminous blue colour allegedly wasn't very appealing at first but he just found himself wearing them often than anything else that he owned.