Once More With Smurfing

The Faction War was over, and the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood had done well.  The BBB fielded three strong factions, winning silver in two divisions, and bronze in the third.  To do so, they drew upon the strength of the Smurf Legion, Brigade, and Battalion.  They drew as well on the strength of their long-time allies, the Defenders of Bunny.  That was not enough, not for the Faction Wars.  Exiles Challenge, Heroes I and II, Trident Corps, Abominable Snowmen,  Island of Misfit Toys, and the Red Comet all passed from rivals into allies, and through the long and sometimes ugly battles, into something more.  But it was over.

Jo Ellen Gushwa and Sheila Retherford sat in the Smurf control booth, the former a longtime Smurf, the latter, dressed in Smurf blue for the last time, as her gear was packed and prepped for gating back to her own Clan compound.  The two women sipped their coffee and watched the tech crews of the assembled Clans restoring the mechs to their pre-Faction war paint schemes, readying the control boxes to switch to independent IFF in the morning, the sign that the Faction War was done, and they were once again rivals.  Sheila sighed, and Jo Ellen reached across to give her a hug.

"I know hun.  I feel it too.  Sad when it ends"

Meanwhile, in Drake Novum's (Scientist, pilot, possible clone, somewhat reformed insane genius) quarters, a Teddy Bear was going off.  Drake slept with a gift from his sweety Stephanie Robbins, a stuffed Teddy Bear (with bunny ears and odd LED nose)  that came with some optional extras.  The fine sensor detection networds constantly scanned the EM spectrum for signs of certain unique resonance patterns that was present in the Evil Santa derived cloning technologies that made Drakes old Clone Army possible.  Having been jumped, stunned, and duck-taped in his closet the last raid, he was paranoid and didn't trust himselves anymore.  When the Teddy Alarm sounded, Drake rolled from bed, drawing from the back of the Teddy Bunny his 9mm Regrettable Incident [TM] neural disruptor (Don't get ambushed, have a Regrettable Incident!) and looked for attacking clones.  When he saw no immediate threats, he looked at the blinking LED code on his Bunny Bear, and interpreted the data.

"Frack me.  I am going on report for this, I just know it"

Drake burst into the command room waving his sensors

"CLONE ATTACK, CLONES ARE COMING, THOUSANDS TENS OF THOUSANDS, ITS NOT MY FAULT.  ALARM, WAKE UP, HIT ALARM THINGIES, FLASHY LIGHTS, WAKE UP.  HEEEELLLLLLP!!"

Sheila looked alarmed, but Jo-Ellen reached over to the alarm panel and selected from the available options.  Uncasing button number six, she glanced at Sheila and smiled.  Sheila nodded agreement, and Jo-Ellen pushed the button marked "Drake Did it again, 2 week stoppage of Rum and internet porn.  Probable clone attack"

Sheila laughed, "You have a button for that?"

Colin was standing with John Wesley. Looking over their mechs.  Tomorrow they would march out in different colors, possibly to face each other across the field as enemies, rather than taking field together as brothers.  Women would use words at times like these, but men didn't bother.  John just shook his head, and Colin grunted.  Message delivered.

The alarm began to sound an odd three tone note, and heads began to appear in doorways, faces lit with .......hope.

A Smurf looked at a Snowman across the way and whispered "War"
A Bunny looked at a Red Comet across the way and whispered "War"
An Exile looked at a Trident across the hall and whispered "War"

Harley Gushwa looked at John Mainer as they stepped out, already dressed in their Clan colors.  With a grin they exchanged a high five and chest bump.  It wasn't over yet.  Pounding each other on the back they shouted "Once more with Smurfing!"

It was Skywise, leading a charge of Retherfords, Mainers, McDaniels and Pain.  They were laughing.
"Once more with Smurfing----Get your SMURF ON!!"

They hit the change room in a laughing untidy bundle.  John Wesley was  zipping up a Heroes jumpsuit, while Colin was zipping up a Red Comet.  Charles Newburn was putting on an Abominable Snowman coolant vest while Haven McDaniel pulled on a Defenders of Bunny.    Harley and John looked at their pilots all defiantly donning each others uniform and looked at themselves in their proper uniforms.  Harley grinned, pointing at John Mainer

"You, sir, are out of uniform"

With a grin Harley pulled grabbed a Trident Corps coolant vest, while Mainer tried not to get his beard caught in the zipper on the unfamiliar Heroes I suit.

Tomorrow they would go back to their own clans, to their own divisions.  Tonight, for one more time, they stood together.

Silverhawk's voice came over the PA, as his mech marched towards the gate
"La la, lalalala, la-lalala-la"  soon the channel was filled with everyone singing the feared and fubar war song of the Smurf.  Once more with Smurfing.

Clan War rages, worlds burn, but we are together one last time.  Once more with Smurfing.

Submitted by John T Mainer #28840