Pira pushes the throttle (well… the red button), accepting the Matoroids’ challenge to a game of Space Chicken!
The ship moves forward, faster and faster! The grabbers speed up, their greedy tentacles insisting that bowling pins aren’t supposed to hit back. Casanova pulls a 360 to shake them. Thundra fires! But the Matoroids are too quick—their movements too irregular! They latch on to Pinky—
—who rights herself as Pira steadies the ship straight at the asteroid!
Kurumi fires at the colossal rock, expecting to blow it to bits! Instead, her laser passes through as if the asteroid were made of green cheese! Gobs of tomato sauce and squiggly tentacles disperse through space! The dancing Matoroid continues to jog backwards on the asteroid until one of its tripod limbs steps into the hole from Kurumi’s laser. It’s stuck—rotating toward Pinky’s nosecone—which pierces through the plant-based machine!
As the ship rams into the huge rock (or chunk of stale cheese?), the Matoroid cling-ons EXPLODE!
Bright orange cracks form in the windows of the ship, even as the engineering team does all they can do with a song and a beat. Pinky’s viewing screen glitches, blacks out, displays zig-zags and snow… then slowly pinkens.
And sings along with Luna to Princess Diamond’s beat:
IN THE MOONLIT SNOW
I DANCE AND PLAY
WITH CRYSTAL WINGS
I FLIT AWAY
BZZT
THE STARS ABOV-BOVE
THEY SOFTLY GLEEEEEEEAM
IN WINTER’S HUSHHHHH
i WEAVE WEAVE WEAVE A DREAM
TO BEEEEEEEEEEE
WITH ALL OF YOU
AS WE SOAR FAR ABOVE
THE BI-IG BLUE
WHERE SKIES ARE STARRY
WITH THE FAIREST WEATHER
AND OUR FRIENDSHIP KEEPS
OUR SHIP TOGETHER
Suddenly, the cracks start to fade and mosaically blur. Pinky’s screen hums with a healthy pink glow. And there is no sign of the enemy…
