At dusk, Barley's Bar was bustling with activity as brawlers from far and wide tread through its bronze-clad doors. The bar had recently been refurbished so that now its wood columns were polished in a glossy sheen and the tables were reordered in a symmetrical fashion. Barley grimaced beside his vast shelves of liquor and juices, running his hands along the side of the counter as he reluctantly poured Shelly another beer.
Unlike the other patrons, Shelly and Colt had been in the bar since last night. What Barley could most vividly remember was the sight of Colt lugging her inside, slinging her arm across his shoulder. At that time, Shelly's figure had been littered in gashes and bruises, her yellow scarf nearly torn to shreds and pistol brandished over her shoulder.
Barley couldn't remember what persuaded the two customers to stay all night, as Shelly was in no condition to drink. He could only recall what Colt had told him after he set Shelly down near the counter.
He'd whispered, "I wanted to teach her how to play Bounty, but I didn't know that we'd get creamed by Piper and her crew . . . And to make matters worse, Shelly's smitten!"
Colt's claims proved to be fairly true. Since they arrived, Shelly had passed out from exhaustion several times after blubbering admirably about a beautiful silhouette of golden blonde. The fact that Shelly believed her heart to be "pierced by a glowing bullet" only furthered Colt's narrative. Given no more context than that, Barley resigned to patiently waiting for them to leave as he scrubbed at the new chalices he'd ordered for the bar.
With little regard to herself, Shelly leaned back onto her stool and downed another beer. When she closed her eyes, though for but a second, everything that had happened the night before came rushing back to her in lucid detail.
She saw Piper plodding along the rough terrain of Canal Grande, gunbrella held over her shoulder as Colonel Ruffs and Nani stood at her side. She remembered charging her super after fighting Nani, and using her gadget to quickly pivot in Piper's direction, loading her pistol and aiming it thoughtlessly at her chest.
And, most remarkably, she remembered gawking as Piper sailed above her, blowing her a kiss before she masterfully dropped four grenades at Shelly's feet and blew her to bits.
Shelly's face went red.
She slammed her now empty beer down onto its coaster, rocking the table in her wake. Her slate-purple hair was somewhat undone and her eyes looked as if they held large black bags underneath.
"I have a problem," she proclaimed adamantly. Her voice was so thunderous that Colt, who sat beside her, slightly inched away, laughing nervously.
He eyed her warily before scratching idly at his neck. "What's up?" A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, illuminated by the flickering reflection of Barley's plaque.
Shelly cupped her hands and stared at the counter for a moment. When she gazed up at Colt, he could see that her eyes were brimming with tears. "I think I met the love of my life," Shelly shed a tear. "But I can't talk to her. She's terrifying!"
Colt tapped his chin. After some thought, he turned around, leaning his elbow on the bar's counter. His eyes flashed confidently in the waning light of the bar. "Relationship advice, you say?" Colt patted her on the shoulder, "No worries. You asked the right guy. The best thing to do is find her and ask her how she's doing. Hey, you can even give her a present, too! Try to be as charming as possible. And-" Colt's voice became as low as a whisper. "Maybe, just maybe, you can invite her to brawl with us again."
Shelly grinned at the thought of seeing Piper again, envisioning her wispy blonde hair shining in the light of the sun. However, her grin quickly shifted to a grimace as the sound of Piper's gunbrella shots reverberated in her brain. She flinched, "But what if she kills me?"
"Nonsense," Colt smiled, "She won't kill you if she's on our team." He flicked a finger between him and Shelly.
Shelly set her hands on the table as she squinted at Colt, deep in thought. At last, she nodded. "I'll give it a try," she agreed.
Colt brightened. He opened his mouth, about to reply, though his train of thought was cut off by the loud clamoring of people from further inside the bar. Shelly turned around to see Barley coming round, passing by a multitude of tables. He clasped a wooden tray hemmed in silver over his head, gathering all of the empty drinks. As Barley neared their table, Colt could sense an anger in his gaze.
Barley pushed his tray to the side of the counter and dug into his pocket, bringing out a sleek piece of paper and a pen. He promptly handed it to Colt, who's eyes bulged as they trailed across the writings.
"Here's the check," Barley huffed. "You've been served." He said this without his usual grace, his eyes narrowing. Colt nudged Shelly, showing her the check for the grand total of 36 beers they had shared. It was hastily scribbled in large black letters that smelled of alcohol.
Colt and Shelly slowly turned to one another. Shelly's lip wobbled. The two of them had become practically broke after yesterday's adventures, losing quite a lot of trophies.
"Ahaha . . . Haha . . ." Colt burst into a fit of nervous laughter as Barley's gaze only darkened. "Ah, Barley, my friend, my old pal-"
"Don't-" Shelly held a hand over Colt's mouth, cutting him off. "I got this," She flashed him a quick, toothy smile before she shoved her hands into her pockets, fishing for anything of value she could find. After a couple of seconds, she thrust out her hands, presenting to Barley a Mr. Bat keychain, two nickels, several dirtied bandages, and a half-eaten ice-cream cone from Lou's.
"Like what you see?" Shelly smirked, "I'm sure you'll be satisfied taking these as payment." She sent Colt and thumbs-up, who happily returned it.
"Genius!" He whispered.
"You give me too much credit," Shelly feigned flattery.
Barley's eye turned red, not as satisfied as they would think. Steam bubbled from his cylindrical head, and with a sharp movement of his hand, he flipped their stools over. Shelly stumbled forward, close enough to eye the avid wrinkles beneath Barley's eye. Colt nearly flipped over, gripping the table for balance.
"What was that for?!" Shelly fumed. She stood at the ready in spite of her ragged state, pulling her pistol from its holster.
"Have mercy!" Screeched Colt, cowering in fear.
Barley brandished his bottle of liquor, scattering them across the floor near the entrance and letting them spill in an attempt to deter their escape. The tavern smelled of iron and alcohol as the liquor steamed about the wooden floorboards, and the other patrons looked about the store in confusion.
"You can't take a sharpshooter and a fighter at the same time." Shelly began, her dark gaze bearing into his. She ignored Colt's whimpering from behind. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let us out."
Barley frowned, though he slowly backed away, lowering the bottles of liquor he was holding. Seeing as they were safe, Shelly grabbed onto Colt's arm and dashed out of the bar, Colt flailing behind her. Once they made it to a safe spot outside the bar, the two of them collapsed onto the ground, panting.
Shelly looked to her side, seeing Colt latching onto her arm, covered in dirt, alcohol, and grime. His expression was a mixture of fear and relief.
"Wow, I thought that that was really the end," Colt chuckled. "Thanks for the save, Shell."
"No worries. Consider this as . . ." Shelly looked to the sky for a moment, "A thank you for taking me to the bar after that brutal game."
Colt smiled, though he still showed signs of nervousness. He looked left and right, searching for Barley, before he responded. "It's no problem. We're friends, after all."
"Welp, I'm gonna go . . ." Shelly trailed off, "Uh . . . Get that present you were talking about. For Piper." Her heart still fluttered at the mention of Piper's name, and Colt could tell.
"Of course," Colt patted Shelly on the back, making her jump. "Good luck!"
The two shared a fist bump, and then parted ways.
As Shelly continued down the street, brushing dust off of her shoulder, she thought about dirty she'd been, to stay in Barley's bar for the night. At least she still had her Mr. Bat keychain. Shelly brushed her hands across her disheveled hair and sighed to herself. It had been quite a long day, and she still had to pay Barley back along with Colt. How would they gather enough money in such little time?
At that instant, Shelly fell right into Piper's large, lavish pale blue dress. It was so soft that it took her a moment to remember that it wasn't a pillow, and pulled her face out of it.
"Oh, my stars -" Piper stumbled back. She raised her hands, which were shielded in pink cutout gloves, over her mouth and let out a low gasp. "Darling, are you alright?"
"Yeah, uh." Shelly made her way to her feet and locked eyes with Piper. She stared down into Piper's sapphire eyes, her slightly flushed cheeks and perfectly coiffed blonde hair that looked almost angelic in the light. Was this really the person who'd killed her and Colt countless times the day before?
Shelly's blush deepened, and she slapped herself. Piper blinked, watching in a profound interest.
"Wait," Piper brightened, and her smile made Shelly's heart skip a beat. "Goodness! Aren't you that girl I faced in bounty yesterday? The tall one with the pistol?" Piper's eyes widened as they trailed to the pistol that Shelly held vulnerably at her side. Before she could reply, Piper examined the bruises and bright red gashes scattered across Shelly's body. She explained, "Oh, my - our team must have destroyed you yesterday. I'm so sorry!" She cupped her hands over Shelly's. She didn't look very sorry, but she looked like she was trying to be. Shelly could notice Piper's eyes fixated on the ground, crinkled. It looked as if she were happily re-imagining all the pain she had brought upon Shelly and Colt.
"You're beautiful," Shelly uttered so suddenly, and then at once she covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn't imagine how red she was at that moment.
Piper framed her face with her hands. She was delighted. "Awww, thank you sweetie." Shelly was surprised by such a pleasant response. She decided to push further.
"Would you like to brawl with Colt and I later today? We lost quite a lot of trophies earlier." Said Shelly, flustered as ever.
Piper tapped her chin, lost in thought for an instant. "Hmm," She said coyly, "I don't know if I have time to brawl with the likes of you. That loss of yours, well - don't take much offense to this, darling - but it was humiliating." Piper scoffed, "In fact, I doubt I've ever seen someone lose that bad. Maybe next time, dear." She reached up and gave Shelly a single pat on the cheek before starting away. "For the record, it was nice talking to you!" She waved, strands of her hair dancing in the morning breeze.
Shelly adored Piper, but she couldn't take such an insult. Without much thought, she ran after Piper and grabbed her by the shoulders, swiveling her around. "Would you like to put that to the test?" She was so close to Piper that their foreheads almost touched. Shelly almost immediately regretted doing so, and she felt as if creatures were tickling her stomach.
"What?" Piper murmured, nearly clueless. She smelled like cupcakes.
"Let's have a rematch, tomorrow at 7pm. Colt and I will get Spike and face off against you, Nani, and Colonel Ruffs in bounty again. Same map, same star powers and gadgets. We'll see who's laughing in the end." Shelly crossed her arms, her tone firm.
Piper reeled away, taken aback. Her mouth went ajar, and she pushed Shelly away. "And why should I accept?"
"If you win, you'll never hear from me again." Shelly grinned, "But if I win, I'll take you out to eat." Shelly reached out her hand to Piper's, before tentatively adding. "On a date."
Piper raised an eyebrow. "Humph." She took Shelly's hand in hers and firmly shook it. There was an edge in her gaze.
The deal was on.
NOTE: This was really fun to write! I've already completed it, though it's pretty long, so I've decided to split it up in two parts. The second part will be published in a few days. As always, thank you for reading!