Smash City - Rolling into Town

[Vize Viper]

Smash City, like any other, had various shops, establishments, etc. And one such shop belonged to, of all things, a female koopa. It was a salon, in fact.

Smash City Salon and Spa. An unimaginative name, to be sure, but that seemed to be made up for by the imitativeness of it's proprietor, Shelly Stiles. But, just like any city, Smash City has alleyways, much like the one that went behind the koopa's establishment...

And in that alleyway, in one of the few places that DIDN'T have some kind of garbage... was a girl, blonde, and wearing a red dress. She couldn't be more than ten, and was accompanied by what could best be described as a cross between a certain Blue Bomber's helmet, and a...

A bird?

Beat opened his eyes from where he was perched, on top of a dumpster, looking around in confusion for a very important reason.

WHAT WAS HE DOING IN AN ALLEY!? Last thing he remembered, he'd been with Roll while she was out shopping- ROLL! Where was she!? In a panic, the robotic bird fluttered around, making sharp "KWEE" noises, until he found the girl, lying a few feet away. Calming down immediately, Beat landed next to her, then moved towards her in little hops.

She looked like she'd shut down from a shock to her system. She'd probably wake up soon... It must have been from that bright light from before.

So, Beat just sat there, next to the girl, waiting for her to wake up.

[SHM 128 III]

The sun was begining to set over Smash City, the sky changing from a bright blue to a deep red as the sun sank behind the skyline. It was at this point that most of the shops would begin winding down; serving their last customers, cleaning up before leaving for the night, and other such things. Of course, at the same time, other places were just opening up, welcoming another exciting night full of partying and dancing. However, the salon in question was one of the former, not the latter, and at this moment, the back door had just swung open, allowing its owner into the back alley.



It had been another busy day for Shelly, as she dragged two huge garbage bags behind her into the alley. So many people comming in, wanting everything from 'just a trim' to a full-scale spa package... She couldn't help but feel that she was a bit understaffed at times... But it wasn't something worth complaining about. The job was challenging, but also so very rewarding. Tossing both heavy bags into a dumpster, Shelly paused to flex her aching joints.

"Wow... Who knew helping people relax was so much work..." the koopa girl muttered to herself, rubbing her shoulders, "I should think about getting a massage myself sometime..."

She remained there for a moment, still streching, and began aimlessly looking around the back alley...

... Until her eyes landed on an unconcious girl lying on the ground.

At first, Shelly could only let out a surprised gasp as she stared at the child, feet frozen in place. Eventually, she snapped out of her stupor and rushed to the girl's side, gently nudging her and not paying much attention to the odd-looking bird nearby.

"Oh my gosh... Are you okay, hun?" she asked as she carefully shook her, "Come on, wake up..."

[Vize Viper]

Of course, Beat wasn't going to let some... turtle... THING just run up and manhandle Roll, so he took to the air, fluttering in Shelly's face.

"KWEE! KWEE!"

It was actually Beat's near shrieks that woke the girl, who opened a set of bright green eyes, that almost seemed to (and actually DID) glow faintly in the shadows of the alley.

"Hn...? Where am I...?" Then, her eyes fell on Shelly. From what she could see, it looked like Shelley was just someone who was blonde, and for SOME reason, wearing a large turtle shell.

And Beat, that overprotective bird, was attacking her!

"... Beat! Stop it! Come here!"

Almost immediately, the robo bird stopped his "assault" and fluttered over to Roll, hovering in front of her.

"Kwee, kwee-kwee!" The bird chirped, trying to explain what was going on to the girl.

Roll just rolled her eyes as Beat chirped at her. "Whaddya mean she's a turtle monste-" Then, she actually got a good look at Shelly.

Rather than shriek in terror, she rather calmly asked. "Uhm... not to be RUDE but... what ARE you? And... This isn't Monsteropolis, is it?"

[SHM 128 III]

Shelly was quite surprised to have a weird bird suddenly flapping in her face. She almost tumbled over onto her backside (not a particularly good thing for koopas, of course), but was thankfully saved by Roll calling the "attack bird" off. Of course, she was now surprised by how quickly the girl went from being unconcious to being... well... mostly aware of her suroundings. She didn't get much time to think things through, however, before she realized this girl was questioning her.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to incur the wrath of your bird. You were lying here unconcious and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She stood up straight so Roll could get a better look at her. While Shelly thought it was a little odd that the girl didn't know what she was (koopas were pretty well known in This World... more for bad reasons than good, unfortunately), she figured that it was only polite to explain.

"My name's Shelly. I'm what they call a koopa... But don't worry, I'm one of the good ones. As for... What did you call it? 'Monsteropolis'? I've... Never heard of that place before, actually. This is Smash City. I came out the back of my salon and just found you here."

She offered her hand to help Roll up.

"Can you stand? My salon's a bit cozier than this alleyway, especially once the sun sets."

[Vize Viper]

"A koopa? ... I've heard of a 'kappa', but you're not one of those." The girl accepted Shelly's hand up, although... she was certainly heavier than her size would suggest.

"It's nice to meet you, Shelly. And... Salon?" Roll's eyes perked up a little, until she frowned slightly, as she realized what time it was. (thanks to an internal clock)

"But you're probably closed, huh? Ah well, still nicer than this... dirty alley. Ick."

Beat, meanwhile, perched on top of the dumpster, watching Shelly like a hawk, which was actually a rather amusing image.

"Kwee."

[SHM 128 III]

The koopa was not expecting Roll to be so... heavy. However, she showed no outward sign of surprise, save for a quiet grunt as she helped the girl up.

"Yeah... Smash City Salon & Spa," Shelly explained, "I'm the owner, not to mention one of more popular stylists. In fact..."

She pointed towards the second story of the building, where the lights inside began to shine through the windows as the darkness of night began to fall.

"... My appartment is right on the second floor. Convenient, huh?"

Shelly made her way back to the door and opened it, looking back at Roll with a knowing smile.

"Of course... My home and my work being so close to each other means I don't have to 'close' quite yet... Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

[Vize Viper]

The girl's eyes lit up as she smiled. She may have been a robot (even if Shelly didn't know that), but she was still a girl.

"Thank you so much! C'mon, Beat!" The girl becckoned to the robotic bird, who fluttered over to her, and hovered next to her.

"Now be nice, Beat. She's being nice enough to let us in."

"Kwee, kwee!" Beat chirped, and actually seemed to smile a little sheepishly at the koopa. Apparently that was his form of an apology.

[SHM 128 III]

Shelly led Roll (and Beat) into the salon and shut the door. She had just closed the salon before taking the trash out back, so everything was still set up. The lights and overhead radio were still on, sissors, clippers, and combs were still out on the tables... The only thing really missing were the other stylists.

"The spa is over on that side of the building," Shelly explained, pointing towards the left wall, "but kids aren't allowed in there. It'd be... You know... A little awkward..."

Eventually, they reached Shelly's station, which appeared to have even more tools of the trade lying about than usual. There were also lots of pictures taped along the sides of the mirror, most of them appearing to be before-and-after shots.

"Here we go," Shelly announced, motioning to the chair, "just make yourself comfortable. I'll go upstairs and see if I have anything for us to eat. I was planing on going out to dinner tonight, but... Plans obviously have changed."

And with that, Shelly walked off, leaving Roll to her own devices for a minute.

[Vize Viper]

The girl looked around, and, at Shelly's kid comment looked about to speak up, but she stopped herself, deciding it would be too much trouble to explain.

Instead, she just smiled, and nodded to the koopa. She hadn't been planning on a spa treatment anyway, and the fact she was going to get food for them was really considerate of her.

"Thanks, Shelly." Once Shelly had gone upstairs, Roll started looking around, most of her interest falling on the before and after pictures.Some of those hairstyles looked really nice, but Roll could live with her classic ponytail. She'd hate to impose even more...

Then her eyes fell on one particular station that, while it had been tidied up, appeared to have been only partially cleaned up.

And the next thing she knew, she was organizing the bottles of conditioner and shampoo not only by size, but by the type of hair they were for.

It was such a curse being a neat freak sometimes.

Beat, meanwhile, was perched on the back of one of the vacant chairs, his eyes only half open. He was a very tired robo-bird.

[SHM 128 III]

Shelly came back down carrying a tray with a box of crackers, a thermos filled with Koopa Tea, and a couple of hastily prepared sandwiches. She was looking for something a bit more substantial, but this was all she could find. Yeah, she had to go shopping again soon...

The koopa stopped when she saw Roll cleaning up one of the stations. Letting out a little chuckle, she walked over to the girl and held the tray out towards her.

"Hey, hun, you don't have to clean everything up," Shelly explained, smiling, "that's my job. Here, sit down and have something to eat."

She set the tray down on the now-impecably-clean station (Shelly was actually quite impressed... This girl was very neat for someone she found in a back alley...), picked up a sandwich, poured a cup of tea for herself, and sat down at the station next to her own, waiting for Roll to join her.

[Vize Viper]

Roll actually JUMPED when Shelly spokee to her, and glanced at the tray, before realizing what she'd been doing.

"Oh... yeah..." A nervous giggle escaped the girl as she sat down within arms reach of the tray, pouring herself some tea as well.

"It's..." My programming. "An old habit. I've never bothered to try breaking it, though... Sorry if it bothered you." Taking a sandwich, she took a bite to hide her slight embarrassment.

She couldn't BELIEVE she'd just started tidying up someone's store for them. Had she been housekeeping so long it was just automatic now?

Absentmindedly, the girl offered her sandwich to Beat for a moment-

-giving the bird enough time to snag a bite or two before she pulled it back, taking another bite of her own. Considering Beat and her were both robots, sharing food that way wasn't really an issue.

[SHM 128 III]

Shelly took a bite out of her own sandwich and spun side-to-side in her chair a little, watching as Roll and Beat shared their meal. For a while, she simply remained quiet, the silence only broken by the overhead music and a small tv near the front of the salon (it was a news story about some crazy going-ons that went down at the grocery store... Shelly was rather glad she had decided to go the next day). Eventually, the koopa decided to speak up.

"So... Forgive me if I'm being rude, but... How'd you end up in that back alley, anyway?"

[Vize Viper]

The girl blinked at the sudden question after that silent stretch, her mind turning to her memory...

And drawing a blank.

"Uhm... I'm not sure, but the last thing I remember, I was walking down the sidewalk with Beat, to do some shopping, when there was suddenly this flash of light and... well, the next thing I saw was Beat attacking you."

Beat, upon hearing his name, perked up, then settled down again when he realized Roll wasn't talking to him, letting out a quiet "kwee" as he fluttered over to another unoccupied chair, landing in the seat itself...

And shutting down. His body letting out a soft electronic whine as various systems went into standby.

[SHM 128 III]

Well, that wasn't a whole lot to go on. As far as Shelly knew, Roll could've simply gotten mugged (what kind of heartless jerk would mug a kid, anyway?). But then again, this girl didn't even know where she was... She hadn't even heard of Smash City! Still, what mattered now was that this girl was completely lost. The least she could do was help her out.

But first things first... She promised she'd help this girl get cleaned up. Finishing her sandwich and her tea, Shelly got up and went over to where the capes were hanging. Picking up one of the capes, she turned back to Roll and smiled.

"Mind if I wash your hair, hun? Lying in that alley didn't exactly do wonders for it."

[Vize Viper]

Roll just smiled back, shifting in the chair to be more comfortable. "If it isn't too much trouble, I'd hate to be a bother, though."

Although honestly, she could FEEL her hair was dirty, and it was driving her NUTS. She liked to be as clean as she wanted her surroundings, so the idea that she had garbage... GUNK in her hair almost made her feel sick.