Ticiana Aura Zumac Garcia-Lopez looked at her reflection in the mirror on her bedroom wall, her pink dress fell to the floor. Ruffles coming down from the waist where the sequined bodice finished. Ebony hair cascading down her back in waves, one side pinned back with 2 single pink lillies. Ticiana just stared in shock.

“Mamá, I look ridículo” Ticiana moaned, turning to face her mother behind her. 

“Noncence. Jou look fantástico, now stop complaining and go down stairs to jour papá” Rosa, Ticiana’s mother replied. Turning to go downstairs before her. Taking a deep breath, Ticiana turned and started exiting her room. Suddenly, the ground shook followed by a loud bang. Ticiana kicked off her heels before holding her dress up and running down the stairs to her familia. 

“Ticiana, no!” Her mother screamed before a laser beam shot through the door and killed her in a single shot. 

“Mamá!” Ticiana shouted before running down to face whoever shot the laser beam. Robots. Marching everywhere, the metalic voice saying one thing over and over “Kill, kill, kill.” Ticianca ran back up the stairs grabbing her heels holding one out infront of her as a weapon and using the other one to cut her dress short so she was able to move freely. ‘Here goes nothing’ She thought before running down the stairs, the heels held high above her head ready to kill those hijos de puta. Before she could register what was happening a robot came at her and she stuck the heel right in it’s head before turning and running out into the street. 

Holding the remaining heel in her hand, she charged forward at the robots, plunging the heel in the middle of it’s chest before turning around. ‘Mierda. I haven’t got anymore weapons.’ After registering that thought, she turned and ran back through the house and out into the back garden where more robots were waiting for her. The ones who had followed her from the front of her house, grabbed her arms from behind, the others grabbed a peice of discarded rope off the floor and tied her hands together. They reached up and caught a branch from a tree in the garden while the other ones lifted her legs up and tied them together whith her hands. After a few minutes, Ticiana was strung up like a piñata on the tree.

“Hola tostadoras! Chica todavía en el árbol de aquí!” Ticiana bellowed to get their attention. It worked and the robots came towards her with the giant stick which was meant for the actual piñata and struck her across the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. 

“¿Es eso todo lo que tienes?” She growled ones she had her breath back. “Usted puede golpear más fuerte que eso!” They then hit her harder, hitting her everywhere they could, her arms, her legs. She felt like her whole body was on fire. Just as she was about to give up, she heard a voice and saw the blurry outline of a man running towards her.

“Oy, tin cans! Take this!” The mystery man shouted before lifting up his zapper and shooting all the robots down. Once they were all dead he ran towards her, the last thing Ticiana saw before she blacked out was the ocean blue eyes of her hero. 

Taz was sat on a rock, her feet dipped in the lake infront of her while she looked out at the fake sunset of the G.L.E.E base. Today, February 14th was the date she had lost everything at her quinceañera 10 years ago, when the robots attacked. Today was also, Valentines Day and unlike everyone else, Taz never celebrated it. She never had anyone too celebrate it with until a couple a months ago when she finally plucked up the courage to tell her best friend what she felt about him. Commander Up, her best friend, her hero ever since he saved her when those robots strung her up like a piñata and hit her with the giant stick. 

“Hey Taz” Came a voice from behind her whcih made her jump. She turned round to come face to face with Up. 

“Geesh, Up. Jou made me jump jou big idiota” Taz whacked his arm. 

“I wanted to surprise you” Up said, kicking his boots off and sitting down beside her. 

“Well, that definatly worked” Taz smirked, leaning her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. 

“Up. Do jou remember what day it is?” Taz asked, moving further into Up’s chest. 

“Yeah. it was the day I met you” 

“It was also the day I lost everything” Taz smiled weakly “But it was the day my new life started at the G.L.E.E acadamy with you as my coach since I was underage”

“I helped you with calculas” Up added in. 

“Sí. I lost a lot that day but I also gained a lot. I think it’s time I let it go” Taz decided, standing up on the rock and pulling her boots back on. Up smiled. She was right, they’d gained a lot that day. They got each other and the amazing life at the acadamy. Up grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap. 

“Taz…” Up started, looking into her chocolate brown eyes. “… I love you” Taz’s face lit up instantly and she locked their lips together. 

“Te amo demasiado” Was all she said before pulling his face to hers and twisting her hand into his hair. They were going to be okay, they had each other and that was all they needed.

“You big idiota, how do we get out of here?”

Up leaned against the door and ran his hands along the crack. He and Taz had only entered the closet to get an extra case of zapper chargers when the door slammed shut. They couldn’t get it to open. “I don’t know, Taz, but I’m sure that if we just put our heads together, we’ll think of something.”

Even though it was very dark, Up could have sworn that he could see Taz’s glare. “Up, give me your zapper.”

“Now what do you want to do with that?”

“Give it to me.”

Reluctantly, Up held out his weapon and felt Taz take it. Green lights flashed in front of him, and the room was temporarily lit. The lasers disappeared as soon as they were fired, and from what Up could gather, no damage had been done to the door.

“Feliz Navidad, why didn’t it work?!”

“These doors are built with a certain type of alloy that’s resistant to most lasers,” Up explained.

“And you’re just telling me this now?!”

“Taz, I know you’re frustrated, but I’m sure that Specs or MegaGirl will find us soon. Just relax.”

“I can’t relax, Up, because I’m trapped in a closet!”

Up chuckled. “You know, it’s been awhile since it’s just been the two of us.”

“Since we watched The Karate Kid.”

“Yeah.” Up felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter quickly. “Hey, Taz, there’s something that I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“What is it, Up?”

“Well, ever since Bug Planet, I’ve um, well, I’ve been meaning to tell you-”

Light filled the closet, and Up shut his eyes quickly. When he opened them, Tootsie MegaGirl was standing in front of him, grinning like he’d found a planet made of noodles.

“I’m so glad I found you, sir,” said Tootsie. “I had a question about the Holodeck, you see, and I need your help.”

“So you looked in the closet?” Taz asked, blinking as she stepped into the hall.

“I remembered you leaving to go here. I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?”

Up felt his cheeks flush. “No, nothing. We were just trapped in the closet.” He looked at Taz and was surprised at her expression. Did she look disappointed?

Tootsie smiled. “Good. Can you help me with the Holodeck then?”

“Of course, soldier. Taz, I’ll be right back.”

“Are you going to tell me what you wanted to tell me?”

Something about the way she asked him made him gain the courage he lacked before. “Yeah. I reckon I will.”

First off, this is inspired from this picture here.

Up knew that Taz’s pride caused her to take things a little too seriously. Sometimes, he found this little quirk of his best friend to be rather…endearing. However, mostly he found it exasperating, because he just didn’t understand it. He had just been made Commander, and he was taking a group of the recruits on an infiltration mission on one of the smaller robot bases. Taz had been assigned to his team with five other rangers, much to his relief, because he liked keeping a close eye on her, to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

It had started off as routine first, slip in undetected, try and find the smaller deposit of phason which could blow the base sky high when destroyed, and hopefully set back the metal monsters a good few weeks, to help the league think up a better plan. Unfortunately, one of the ensigns that Up hadn’t been too keen on, Everson, had accidentally set off a tripwire alarm, and before they knew it, they were running for their lives.

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Beautiful scenery, happy people, snow, and occasionally, music, created a perfect world, a world that no longer existed. Taz held the snowglobe in her hands and shook it, sending snowflakes to the bottom. The world inside the globe was pure. The world outside the globe was evil.

The area around Taz was scorched, a reminder that the robots had been there. From the looks of it, the robots had destroyed this area months ago. It must have been beautiful once. The sun probably warmed the sand, and this shop would have sold knick-knacks to tourists. Children probably laughed, and music might have played from the speakers. The waves crashed onto the rocks, and Taz could smell the sea air.

It wasn’t right. The beauty was being destroyed everywhere by heaps of metal, metal that could never taste the saltwater, feel the wind, smell the scents of the ocean. Robots would never know how precious life could be. They only burned it.

Taz looked at the snowglobe again. Its music was very haunting now. The shore scene portrayed in it became ugly, and the snowflakes were now ashes. Life wasn’t pretty. It was horrible, and nothing good could happen without it being ruined later on. She raised the snowglobe over head to smash it, but a warm hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Taz, what are you doing?” Up asked, taking the globe from her.

“I was going to destroy it, idiota,” said Taz, reaching for the globe. Up held it out of her reach.

“Taz, why would you want to do that?”

“Because it’s not real!” she shouted. “None of it is! The robots take everything good and burn it.”

Up wrapped his arm around her. “That’s not completely true.”

“What do you mean?” Taz looked up and met Up’s blue eyes.

“The robots haven’t burned you yet.”

Taz felt a smile form across her lips. “And I’ve still got you.”

Author: riseuplikeangels

I have to wonder if my mother would have cried, that first day at the Ranger Academy.  

If she was alive to see me, that is.

Of course, she might have just been ashamed; I was recommended for the top-of-the-line military school because of the various antics I had gotten up to in the foster homes I was shunted between. It was a win-win; I would spend every day with my face encrusted in mud, trying to do about fifty more push-ups than any human should be capable of, and the foster system wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore. Bribes were handed over, scholarships were given, and here I stand.

In uniform, at the gates of the Academy in question. With everything I own shoved in a small duffel bag, currently hanging in my left hand, in danger of slipping through my fingers to the dull, dusty ground below my boots.

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Up sat down on one of the comfortable armchairs in one of the main lounges in the G.L.E.E base, a glass of water in hand. He exhaled slowly, running his fingers through his rapidly greying hair. This was a rare chance for him to just relax, before he was called out for another mission. There were some others in the room, just a few ensigns, his old friend Hupes, and another Commanding officer.

“Morning, Up.” Hupes greeted, sitting opposite him, next to the other Commander. “How are you?”

“As well as could be expected,” Up sighed, dragging his hands down his face. “Taz ‘n I are just waitin’ t’be reassigned.”

“Lieutenant Taz?” The commander questioned, and Up glanced at him for a moment before he nodded. “Oh I’ve heard about her, a bit of a wildfire, I heard.”

Up chuckled slightly and nodded, because it was true.

“From what I’ve seen of her, she seems like she could be a handful. What do you like about her exactly?”

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Up was in trouble, he knew it from the moment the battle had started. They were hopelessly outnumbered from the start, and no matter how many robots the rangers took down, more seemed to pour in from everywhere. It was taking all the combined effort of every Starship Ranger stationed in Miami to just keep them held back. Up’s mind began to wander briefly as he reloaded his zapper, and he wondered what Taz was doing. Nothing too drastic he h-

The shock hit him like a ton of bricks when he realised that Taz wouldn’t be fighting. Taz wasn’t here. In fact there was a plaque in the memorial centre which had her name on it, stating the date of death to be two months ago. The reports of her death had never sunk in, because her body had never been found. Up had just refused to believe it, and that hope that she was out there somewhere was reinforced a week after her ‘death’, when he had found that little note on his pillow, Taz’s dog tags on top of them. The note was in her handwriting, unmistakeably. It stated that she was safe, but injured, and couldn’t return to the base until she was fully healed. 

So he had never accepted her death, never allowed himself to believe that she was gone. But being in a battle without her, it made him feel uneasy. This hadn’t happened in ten years at least. He was so used to watching out for Taz, making sure she didn’t do anything stupid, that he was at a loss of what to do. 

Up cursed and snapped out of his thoughts as a laser canon narrowly missed him. He pushed back his fears and fired rapidly at the robots, trying to keep his mind off of Taz, trying to keep his mind from imagining her cold, dead- No! He had to stop thinking like that. 

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You can find the rest here.

Chapter Nine

“Commander Up, as you know you sustained severe injuries. You should have died however somehow you survived. When you arrived back here there was only one way to save you. We had to replace the entire right side you your body. Commander Up, you’re half robot. “

Up was in shock, how could this have happened to him. He brought his hand up to his face. It was wet with tears. He vaguely remembered this feeling of crying. He hadn’t cried in so long and now here he was sobbing like a baby. The he thought of her. She could help him.

“Where’s Taz?” he sniffed.

“She’s gone.” The doctor replied. This was when Up really lost it. He lay there sobbing for everything he had lost, the right side of his body, his dignity, Taz.

~

Taz finally stopped running and collapsed in the hallway. She sat there ashamed of herself, willing the tears to go back in. She couldn’t believe that she was sitting in the hallway crying. Taz and Up were the toughest rangers in the G.L.E.E. yet here they were crying over each other.

Taz thought back to how Up had looked in the hospital bed, so helpless. It scared her to see him like that. He looked so vulnerable. He was her rock, the person she could always count on. Seeing him so weak really terrified her. She wanted her old Up back. She wanted to go back to visit him but she didn’t think that she could handle seeing him like this. That was when she did the second thing that she would regret for the rest of her life. She left.

~

Taz sat huffily in the Space ship as it flew further and further away from the base. Putting more and more distance between her and Up every second. Taz was angry at Up for crying but mostly she was angry at how weak she was. Too weak to see Up. Too weak to stay with her best friend.

Taz stormed out of her room and through the hallways to the cafeteria. She saw the other five members of her team. Fate had seen that she would constantly be reminded of Up as two of his team from the last mission, Michael and Stella, were assigned to this mission.

Taz walked over to where the food was. She could hear the rangers talking. Today’s topic was Up’s injury. It seemed as though this was the topic of the day every day. Taz grabbed and apple and bit into it angrily as she stormed back out of the cafeteria.  She continued walking and soon found herself outside the gym. She stepped inside. She was instantly reminded of all the times that she had worked out in the gym with Up. She was reminded of how she and Up would challenge each other constantly, to see who could run the fastest, who could lift the most weight. She remembered the way that Up had helped her train back at the academy, the way he helped her become the hop of her class. She remembered that Up used to sit there and lift weights. She remembered the way that he would take his shirt off mid workout when he got too hot. She remembered the way that the sweat would glide down Up’s naked torso as he lifted the weights. She remembered the way that her eyes would follow one bead of sweat as it travelled down his sculpted chest before disappearing down his pants…

Taz shook her head and tried to banish the images from her mind. She couldn’t stay in the gym, it reminded her too much of Up. She turned and stormed back to her room.

~

Up sat in his room. It seemed like he was permanently crying these days. It was a week since he had woken up and each day was just as hard as the last. Every day he would ask the doctors for Taz and every day they would tell him that she wasn’t there.

“Time for your exercises.” said Doctor Isabelle as she walked into Up’s room.

Up sighed as the doctor helped him stand up. Every day Up had to do exercises to help him get used to his new robotic side. The current goal was five consecutive steps. The doctor let go of him and he began to step away from the bed. One step. Two steps. Three steps. He tried to move his right leg to take a fourth step but his leg wouldn’t move. He fell to the ground and made no move to stand up. He sat on the floor, tears streaming down his face. He couldn’t believe what he had turned into. Here he was half robot and crying. As they say; oh how the mighty have fallen. Doctor Isabelle came and sat down next to Up. She put her arm around him gently and let him cry on her shoulder. Up vaguely registered a voice in his head telling him to get back up. It was Taz. He ignored the voice. She wasn’t here now. She had left him.  

finally felt like writing again for the first time in ages. I really need to keep this up so I can finish this story out. It’s been ages.

A Tup pregnancy fanfiction. :) I suppose it is AU because I never considered his famous injury when I thought of the plot but oh well. Rated PG-13 for cursing and a teeny bit of smuttiness. ;) She had to get pregnant somehow right? BTW: The POV will be switching depending on the part. Even numbers are Up, odd numbers are Taz. I own nothing. If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting around writing fanfiction. :P

Too Tough To Love: Part 7

     Machine guns fired rapidly overhead, explosions went off in the distance. It all sounded so far away…

     “Taz! Open your eyes, please!”

     “Up, we have to get her out of here!”

     “Not till she opens her damn eyes!”

    ….

    “Guys, careful! Be gentle with her. Here, up on the bed.”

    ….

    *beep…beep…beep*

    “I’m sorry, Commander. We’ll know more in a few days. Please, go home and get some rest.”

    ….

    “Hey Taz. I don’t know if you can hear me. I miss you, darling…..”

    ….

     “Bug brought by some redvines. Those used to be your favorite back on earth. You need to wake up soon, so we can share them.”

    ….

    “You’ve gotta wake up soon. I love you…..”

     ….

     Everything was so fuzzy and far away. I lifted my hand to wipe the sleep from my eyes but to my surprise, there was an iv stuck to it. Oy dios mio! What is that pain?!

    At the foot of the infirmary bed, Up stirred slightly. He’d pulled a chair up to the bed and fallen asleep in it. His hair was an absolute mess and his beard was starting to grow out. From the looks of it, he’d been there a week. Does that mean I’ve been here a week?

    Finally, he lifted his head and his eyes grew 10 times normal size when he saw my eyes open.

     “Oh thank dead god you’re up! Oh I’ve been so worried, so scared!” He wrapped me tightly in his arms.

     “Ew Up! When was the last time you showered?!” I tried my best to yell at him but it came out as a raspy whisper.

     “Shh, not now, I have go get the nurse and tell the guys!” he hurried out of the room, leaving me confused.

     I shook my head, trying to dull the pounding. The last thing I remember was the wedding. After that it’s just hazy voices and sounds. What on earth had happened?

     “Glad to hear you’re finally awake, Lieutenant. You gave us quite a scare there.” A sickingly cheery young doctor bounced in. “You’ve been unconscious for nearly 2 weeks now.”

     My jaw dropped. “2 weeks?! What the hell happened?!”

     Her expression turned somber. “Invaders from the planet Messaline launched an attack right at the end of your wedding. You were bashed in the back of the head by an enemy soldier.”

     “Bastard.” I mumbled.

     “Exactly! Who sneaks up on a pregnant woman and hits her?!”

     “THE BABY! I completely forgot!” I looked down happy to see the small bump still there, if anything it had probably become more prominent. “Is the baby okay?”

     “Yes ma’am, your babies are just fine.” She replied with a delighted grin of a schoolgirl.

     “Baby. I’m having 1 baby.” I said carefully but sternly.

     “We had to do a lot of tests and scans while you were out and revealed you’re having twins! How exciting! Your husband doesn’t know yet. I was supposed to wait and tell you together, but I just couldn’t contain it!” She giggled as she walked back out.

     Twins. 2 BABIES?! No wonder I’m showing so much so soon. I thought it was just because I’m skinny. What on earth are we gonna do? Everybody will know soon. What if our marriage is considered a fraud?

     “HEEY look who’s finally up!” Bug, February, and Mega-girl came in, Up following behind.

     “I will do a body scan to ensure the imbecile doctors have not missed anything.” Mega-girl droned. I rolled my eyes but complied.

     “Where’s everybody else?” I asked as Mega-girl continued with her scan.

     “Tootsie and Krayonder were both injured in the battle. They’re okay, nothing serious, just some broken bones. Specs is with Krayonder.” Up replied almost absentmindedly, watching Mega-girl very closely to make sure nothing turned up.

     “Yet they try to say they aren’t together.” Bug cut in with a chuckle. “So how’s our favorite Lieutenant doing?”

     “Tired but ready to get out of this bed!”

     “I detect no abnormalities in the human Lieutenant’s injuries. 2 pregnancy abnormalities are detected.” Mega-girl’s automated voice said after finally completing the scan.

     This got Up’s attention. “Abnormalities?! What abnormalities?!”

     “2 fetuses are detected.”

     “Oh my effin god! Are the fetuses gonna hurt the baby?!” February screeched.

     Per usual, we just all turned and stared for a moment before moving on.

     “Taz, are we having twins?” Up said in a very composed way that suggested something else entirely.

     “Um…well…yes…the doctor just told me.” I mumbled quietly, suddenly finding my lap highly interesting.

     “Aaaaand that would be our cue to see how Tootsie and Krayonder are holding up! C’mon guys, let’s go.” Bug grabbed the arms of February and Mega-girl and marched them out as quickly as possible.

     ”Twins….this is just such a shock. A terrific one though, absolutely fantastic!” Up crawled up in the bed to snuggle with me.

     “Yeah…fantastic.” I whispered, suddenly very tired again. I moved closer to Up and feel back asleep…

It was a peaceful evening in Miami, at the Starship Ranger base. Taz was currently tending to her ward, a six year old boy named Danny. She was looking after him with the help of her team after finding him in an alleyway after meeting him and his family a week before. She felt a sense of duty towards the child, seeing that his mother and brother were now dead, and his father in jail, so she was doing her best to make life as normal as possible for him.

“Hey, Taz?” Danny asked, glancing up at the woman he had learned to love like a sister. He had found an old Spanish storybook on her bookshelf, and though he couldn’t understand a word of the text, he was entranced by the beautiful art work. He held it in his lap, flipping through it carefully, and waited for Taz to reply.

“Si?” Taz asked, sitting down on the bed next to him, raising an eyebrow slightly when she saw the book. “Do jou even understand any of dat?” She asked the six year old, who simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Taz shook her head, fighting a smile off of her face, and ruffled Danny’s hair. She had been wary about looking after the kid, but he had grown on her a lot more, despite his fondness for Krayonder. She’d just have to stop letting Krayonder babysit. It was a bad idea from the start. 

“Will you read me a story?” Danny asked, and Taz wrinkled her nose slightly, taking the book from him. 

“Sure,” She said slowly, and then paused when Danny interrupted her.

“Read a story from there, but put you, Up and the others as the characters,” he said quickly, grinning at her, and Taz rolled her eyes.

“Fine, fine.” She sighed, and flipped the book open to a certain page. She smiled slightly, recognizing the story and deciding that it was perfect for what Danny wanted. “Once upon a time, in a land of magic, dragons, knights and royalty, a story takes place. Dis is no ordinary story, however. It tells de tale of a princess, who desperately wanted to be a knight.”

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