Mushroom_king

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

[sorry!!! i finished the recent chapter a while ago but forgot to post it here. here we go.] "There it is," Arkcher said finally, "The edge of the city. The campground shouldn't be too far now." "Yeah," Cheesemaster said uncomfortably. The two continued walking, hoping none of the zombie gang had followed them. The cityscape of Longdon morphed into the bleak fields surrounding the city, which, while green, didn't have any flowers or animals. But there were plenty of trees. "We'll see a big sign when we get there," Arkcher said as they walked into a forest. "I think I see it up ahead," He replied. "After all, we shouldn't miss a big sign in the middle of the forest." "Alright!" Arkcher said excitedly, and began running ahead. "Come on!!" He shouted back to his friend. The two ran briskly towards the sign, which read "CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE" in enormous, faded letters. Up ahead was a log cabin with smoke rising from the chimney. "Looks nice enough," Cheesemaster said. "Maybe this won't be so bad." They walked into the cabin, and found a warm and cozy lobby with a wooden desk, and a young woman behind it. She looked human enough, not like any of the Longdon citizens. "Hello, boys!" She said, and the two figured she couldn't be much older than 18. "Hi," Arkcher said. "I booked a campground for two under Ahrroww?" The woman looked through a book. There was no computer at the desk, making Arkcher wonder how they had a website. Maybe there was an office elsewhere for that sort of thing. "Ahrroww, two. Okay." "Where will we be staying?" Cheesemaster said, eagerly wanting to put his pack away. "I reserved a large span of the forest for us to hike and camp in. There's a cabin nearby in case we need help, and a lake to swim and wash our clothes in." Cheesemaster beamed at the mention of hiking. "That sounds really great." The receptionist stood up. "I'll lead you to your camp area." "Alright," Arkcher said. The receptionist led the boys to the camp area, and then stopped. "Here we are. That's cabin 7 over there, where you'll go if you need help." She walked close to Arkcher, and he backed away from her. She frowned. "I'll see you later," She said disdainfully, and she walked into the woods. Arkcher threw his pack down, angrily. Cheesemaster gently put his down and the boys began pulling out the tents. "That girl was hitting on you," Cheesemaster said plainly. "Yeah, I know. That keeps happening to me." "Well," His friend said as he took out the tent, neatly folded in the pack. "I guess they all thing your wedding ring is just for show. You know, since you are a teenager and everything." Arkcher huffed and began setting up his tent as well. He was better at it than Cheesemaster was, mostly because he actually had had some experience since the last time he'd gone camping with scouts. "What do you want to do first, anyway?" Arkcher asked his friend. Cheesemaster thought for a moment, and said "I think we ought to gather some firewood first..." "No, stupid. AFTER we prepare our campsite, what actually fun thing do you want to do first?" "Oh, I guess...I guess we could take a hike." "Alright. I got a map while I was in that cabin, and I was able to mark our campsite on it. I think there's some pretty rocky woods and a lake nearby we can hike around. Seems as though there's a cave there, too." "I brought a torch with me, so that'll be fine." "A...torch?" Arkcher said, confused. Cheesemaster groaned, and dug through his pack, producing a flashlight. "A torch! See?" "Oh, a flashlight!" Cheesemaster rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, a flashfight. A flashlight. It's a torch." He emphasized his little-heard English accent on the last few words, and then shined it in Arkcher's face. The beam couldn't be seen in the daylight, but the shine of the bulb still got in Arkcher's eyes. "Gah! Stop it-" And before he could finish Cheesemaster, laughing, had turned it off and stowed it back up. "Do you need me to take that with me on the hike? How late will we be out?" "Take it with you just in case we're out after dark." "Alright." The boys set their tents up slightly next to each other, in a curve, as if two more tents would be making a circle around what would be a campfire. They unzipped and unbuttoned their packs to see what would need to stay out, and what could stay inside the packs. Inside of the packs, which were very large, were folded up backpacks that they would fill with necessities on their hikes. They took these out-Arkcher's blue, Cheesemaster's beige-and tried to decide what they needed to take on the future hike. Cheesemaster placed the flashlight in first. "I brought some snacks, plus cans of food for when we actually have to eat," Arkcher said. "I assume you did, too." Cheesemaster nodded, and they took out some sealed bags-Arkcher's was chips, and Cheesemaster's was uncooked ramen, covered with the powdered sauce, in a plastic sealed container. These snacks, plus two small cans of soup, went in the packs. Both of the boys had a knife, can opener, and other needed objects with them. They didn't want the backpacks to be too heavy, so they tried to pack light, and what they didn't need for the hike they put back in the larger packs, which went in the tents. Pots, pans, and other utensils were laid near the entrances for when they'd eat dinner. "Leave your jacket here," Cheesemaster said, taking his brown one off. "I should probably leave my hat here, too. Can't afford to lose it." "No, take it," Arkcher said as he unbuttoned and took off the silky grey jacket. "The hat'll shield you from the sun if you need to. Remember, it is the summer." Cheesemaster realized that this was true, so he kept the hat in his pack in case he wanted it. "Let's go," Arkcher said excitedly, as Cheesemaster ran to follow him, holding his pack rather than wearing it. The duo, led by the map-holding Arkcher, went into the woods, hoping no one would steal anything from their camp. It seemed as though there wasn't anyone in the woods TO try and steal things from their camp. "There's the lake," Arkcher said after walking for some time. The lake was large and expanded from just a few feet away from them all the way beyond the large rocky cliff at the edge of it, with pine trees on the other side. The water was a bright blue, though a little murky in some parts. Probably from mud, they thought. "There's the cliff we'll be hiking on," Arkcher said, pointing. "Come on. Let's find a way up there." The boys walked back into the woods, walking next to the rock pile, which got lower and lower as if it were a staircase. It didn't descend straight into the ground, but the point where the pile ended was just low enough for them to throw their bags on top of the rock pile and then heave themselves upwards onto the rocks. "Be careful," Cheesemaster said, sticking close to Arkcher. "We wouldn't want to fall off, especially if there's no lake below us." "We should be fine." "Well, I don't know-we're both wearing dress shoes." Arkcher laughed smugly. "Hmph. These shoes were issued to me by the Snow Log Boarding School. They'd last forever." He looked at Cheesemaster, his normally narrow eyes large and shining. "You have to understand-the area Winter Log was located in was pretty rocky and forested." "But isn't all of Canada like that?" Cheesemaster asked. Arkcher laughed. "Well, Montreal's a fairly big city, but outside of the city it's like that. I've never been outside of Quebec. I mean-" He cleared his throat-"I've never been anywhere else in Canada." His voice cracked a bit. "But my dad has." The two walked up the rock pile, keeping away from the edge. As they walked, they realized for the first time how very quiet the forest was. "Arkcher, shouldn't there be squirrels or birds or something in the trees? I don't think I even saw any fish in the lake." Arkcher thought for a bit as he walked. "I didn't notice, honestly." "I only just now did. I'm a bit concerned..." "Come on, the animals are probably just quiet. Let's keep going." Cheesemaster was still suspicious of the woods, and especially of the cliff-but he kept going, and, eventually, began to enjoy himself. The view from the rock pile really was spectacular. There were miles and miles of trees in every direction, with the faint brown of the cabin roofs and chimneys popping up every now and then. The trees were so tall they obscured the lake, and even most of the other mountainous areas. Cheesemaster expected the view to get better when they finally got to the top. The ground from the forest, at one point, began getting higher and hugged the sides of the rock, with bushes and trees decorating the edge. Cheesemaster began to feel that if he did fall, these trees would catch him-or he would catch them. The feeling subsided when the trees fell away from the cliff, when they were near the very top. As they walked, the boys either discussed the robots Arkcher was building, or didn't talk at all-partially to preserve energy, partially to try and find any sign of life in the woods. The sun began to set, and the boys knew they would have to get back soon...and yet they weren't at the top yet. "We might as well go back," Arkcher said,a bit sadly. "If we kept going, it would be all night to walk back, and I don't want to be traveling on a cliff tired and hungry." "Me neither," Cheesemaster said, nodding. A slight rustle was heard, and the boys looked and saw several birds fly out of a conifer. Cheesemaster grinned. "Well, there's some life." Arkcher stared at the bird, shrugged and they continued on his way. It had gotten dark now, and the boys were cautiously walking along the edge of the cliff, with only moonlight and the light of the flashlight to guide them. "Be careful," Arkcher said, and the two, stepping carefully over the rocks, shining their lights on the rocks to make sure nothing small could trip them and send them tumbling over the steep edge. There was a section of the rocks that, if you looked over the edge, would reveal several spiked, dangerous rocks. They were an odd sight from the lakes and trees of the forest. Neither of the boys knew the existence of these rocks. The duo were nowhere near the dropoff point, when very suddenly a strange noise was heard. Cheesemaster flung himself around, taking his flashlight off the ground, and Arkcher, not even noticing, took his light off the rocks and gently waved it around, looking for a source of the noise. The noise had sounded a bit like an owl, but it didn't at the same time. The sound, though frightening in its own right, was so sudden and came out from the depths of the silence to scare them, and Cheesemaster jumped back slightly, away from the safe edge of the rock pile. "What the h--l was that?" Arkcher said quietly, breathing unsteadily. Cheesemaster took another step back, and stepped on a small, pointed rock-and slipped. "Ark-!" He yelled before tumbling over the edge of the pile, headfirst. It was a long way down, and he just barely grabbed his hat. His glasses fell to the edge of his nose, and his life began to flash before his eyes. Right as he remembered something very awful, the same thing he had dreamed about at Planet Horatio so many months ago, a hand grabbed his ankle. The owl-or whatever it had been-sounded again. Cheesemaster breathed heavily, with some difficulty. His glasses had fallen at such a point that only half of his vision was bespectacled. The top half of his line of sight was blurry and a wave of blackness and vague dakr green shapes-the trees-and even more vague brown shapes-the rocks-were there. The bottom half was completely clear, albeit smudged from the day's hike, and he clearly saw the spiked rocks that had so almost been his fate. And he screamed. "Cheese!!" Arkcher shouted, leaning down some more over the rock pile. Cheesemaster screamed again, not wanting to get any closer to the spiked rocks. "Haul yourself up! I can't hold you forever!!" Cheesemaster clutched his hat and stuffed it in his backpack, which was in its proper place now. Arkcher threw a rope attached to his backpack, which Cheesemaster hastily grabbed, and hauled himself up as quickly as possible. He crawled to the edge of the rockpile, breathing, sweating, and Arkcher shined his light down. "Spiked rocks? That's odd for an area like this." Cheesemaster whimpered, and said in a frightened, hysterical voice, "Quit looking at it!!! I WANT OFF THIS D--N ROCKPILE!!" "Okay, okay," Arkcher said, in a calming voice. "Let's go. Do you want me to tie this rope to you, and to me?" Cheesemaster nodded. "Y-yeah..." "Hey, it'll be okay. It was an accident. We were way too careless. Let's go." After carefully tying themselves together, they continued walking until they finally got off the rockpile, and Cheesemaster breathed a sigh of relief. The experience was still fresh in his memory. He expected it to be like that for the rest of his life. "Alright," Arkcher said some time later, after walking in the woods in the pitch dark, the silent dark. "We're back at our camp. Everything is still here, thank God." "Okay," Cheesemaster said softly. "Finally. I want some sleep." "Alright. You don't want to eat?" "No. I'll have a big breakfast in the morning." "If you insist," Arkcher shrugged. "You go in your tent, I'm gonna get a fire going because I'm gonna eat." "A-Alright. Do you think I could sit with you and read?" Arkcher nodded. "You could use some sitting by a fire. It'll calm your nerves." "I hope so." As Cheesemaster took his coat and shoes off and got his book, Arkcher gathered as much brush and wood as possible for the fire, and when he was done, Cheesemaster helped him gather up died grass, but also to start the fire. Out of his pack, Arkcher retrieved some canned soup, two of them. "I know you said you'll have a big breakfast in the morning, but looking at what we brought, it's probably better for you to eat now." Cheesemaster nodded. "I feel a little better now, so I think I'll eat something. I guess we're having soup?" "Yeah. It's the quickest thing I can make." Cheesemaster started reading, and the two sat in silence for the longest time as Arkcher made the soup for them. The shadows from the fire flickered across the trees in the forest, and the boys realized that other than the fire, there was a state of perpetual darkness in the woods; they barely even saw the moon. Beyond the orange glow, there was nothing but black. And it was utterly silent, the cracks and pops of the fire making the only sounds to break the awful quiet. "Here you go," Arkcher suddenly said, and Cheesemaster jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. He looked up, and Arkcher was standing over him, holding a cup of drinkable chicken soup, hand reaching out. Cheesemaster quickly grabbed it, and Arkcher sat down next to him, taking a big gulp of the soup. "I thought I'd never eat soup again after I left boarding school," Arkcher said. "Literally every day in the fall and winter we had soup." "I guess so. It was really cold, after all." Arkcher took another drink. "Boarding school wasn't so bad, now that I think back on it." "You don't say." "The main problem was the people," Arkcher said, and he practically crushed the empty cup. "Like that a-----e Thomas von Foster." "That German kid, right? I think you told me about him and his friends once." "If he hated Canada so much, why the h--l did he go to that school? At least that English kid Charley was nice to me. And the Italian. I never remember his name because he was always just...there." "You'd think an Italian would stand out," Cheesemaster said softly. "I don't really know anything about them," Arkcher admitted. He drank the last remnants of soup and put the cup in a plastic bag. Cheesemaster took his first drink of the soup, and asked "If you're from Quebec, that means you can speak French, isn't that right?" "I think you asked me this already. And yes, I can speak French." He sat back down, and asked jokingly, "I'm sophisticated by default because of it." Cheesemaster forced himself to laugh. "I'll wait for you to finish before I go to sleep. I'm assuming you don't want to be left alone out here." "No, of course not," Cheesemaster said. "I'd hate that." So they were silent some more. The fire was starting to get low, and was reduced to barely an ember before that strange owl-like noise was heard again, this time very deathly close. "There it is again," Cheesemaster said quietly. The fire then went out. The crackle was gone, as was their one source of light. In the sky, they finally saw the full moon, glaring down on them like some awful eye, and they scooted closer to each other. "It's just an owl," Cheesemaster whispered to himself, assuredly. The noise sounded again. Louder. Closer. Arkcher slipped off the log, Cheesemaster following, and both fumbled around to try and find the flashlight. The owl hooted again. It sounded even closer, as if it were just on the edge of the clearing. "Where is that f-----g flashlight?!" Arkcher said loudly, and Cheesemaster knew he was scared-he rarely used such a strong curse. Cheesemaster fumbled around as well, despite scarcely being able to see. The noise sounded again, and whatever was making it was definitely in the clearing. And it wasn't an owl. Both the boys were young men of science, and knew that whatever was making the noise was much larger. "GOOD GOD, WHAT IS MAKING THAT NOISE?!" Arkcher screamed, and the boys huddled together, finding each other in the darkness. Arkcher didn't really like being hugged by other men, but in this case he made an exception. Arkcher had what he thought was the flashlight in his hand, but refused to turn it on. He was too scared by what he might see. "Let's just get into a tent," Cheesemaster suggested, his voice panicked. The "owl" was sounding every couple of seconds now. "Are you crazy? What if that thing wants us dead?" "We can't just run blindly in the woods." Arkcher gulped. "My tent is really spacious. Let's both go in there." He shook his head. "I don't like it, though." Cheesemaster fumbled about, looking for one of the tents. It didn't matter which. He could sense the thing getting closer to them, whatever it was. The two crawled into a tent, not knowing whose it was. It was pitch dark, but they at least felt safe. But neither of them knew how they would be sleeping after that fiasco. Cheesemaster had already thought he'd be getting a sleepless night after his near-death experience. Eventually, the noise faded away, and disappeared altogether. Whatever had made it was gone. The boys sat there for a long time before falling fast asleep, unable to even keep their eyes open.

A few weeks later, in late June, Cheesemaster was invited over to Arkcher's Mansion to help him with the robots he was building for his father. Whenever the boys got together to invent, it was a sort of 'no women' thing-Mushroom never interrupted her husband working, and now, with Dawn romantically involved with Cheesemaster, she wasn't allowed to spend time with them either. Not that this stopped Arkcher from endlessly asking Cheesemaster how he was with her. Arkcher sat on a bench, endlessly poring over his old drawings of the robots, while drawing out blueprints for them; Cheesemaster went through Arkcher's scrap metal and wires to see what would be needed. "So, Cheeseman...how did you manage to get with Dawn?" Cheesemaster adjusted a suspender that was beginning to fall down his shoulder. "Well, originally, I wrote a secret message in an H.P. Lovecraft book and loaned it to her, hoping she'd see it. Before she managed to get to that story, Jakob had stolen the book from her and thrown it into the fire." "####," Arkcher muttered under his breath. He shook his head, and said louder, "What a jerk." "Yeah. She came crying to me, and I ended up telling her what I'd written. I learned that she felt the same, so..." He looked at the ground. Arkcher smiled at him, looking away from his work for a moment. "I'm glad for you." "Thanks," Cheesemaster said. "Can you tell me exactly what you plan for these robots? They won't have AI like your last one did, will they?" Arkcher shook his head. "I don't think so. Probably not." "Alright." Cheesemaster walked over to the bench and sat down next to his friend. "Are you alright?" "Yeah....why?" "You just look like you've lost weight since I last saw you." "Maybe I did." "If you did, tell me how you did it." Arkcher laughed. "Well, I wouldn't know how. But Mushroom keeps telling me to eat more. She's worried I might be underweight or something." "Considering how tall you are..." "Yeah. Maybe I should go get some snacks for us. You wanna examine my blueprints so far? Take some notes? Improve them?" "I sure will," He said, taking Arkcher's seat as he exited the lab. Arkcher exited the lab and walked back up to the Mansion, and walked to the kitchen, not seeing Mushroom or any of the household servants on his way there. He walked into the kitchen and wondered what would make a good snack for the two of them as they worked. Bacon was too greasy, and neither of them really liked chips (and they belonged to PMM anyway, he would get angry). Finally, he found a box of cookies, and he was sure no one in the house would mind if he took those. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you up here," Came a voice, and Arkcher spun around, hands grasping the edge of the countertop, and Mushroom was in front of him. She must have come in from the garden, He mused, and she smiled at him. "Getting some snacks?" "Yeah, I am, anything wrong with that?" "Of course not," She said, and she lightly caressed his tiny waist. "I guess I shouldn't keep you." He nodded. "Alright. I'll get back to work. Tell my father, if you see him, to not go down to the lab." "Okay," She giggled. She stood on her toes and kissed him, and then let him go with the cookies. Back in the basement, Arkcher set the cookies down on the work table, next to Cheesemaster. "Did you notice anything that has to be changed? You're a little better with the actual physical mechanics than I am." "Not that I could see. The way you're designing it, it looks like there'll be plenty of room inside their bodies for the wires. I just have one question-these curves on their arms, those are claws, correct?" "Pincers. Yes." "Okay, okay." Arkcher sat down and ate a cookie. "You know, my dad was telling Solrai the other day about me when I was little." "Haha....anything embarrassing?" "Oh, no. Dad's not that type of person. Well...he did embarrass me unintentionally though." "What did he do?" Arkcher looked at the ground, blushing and grinning stupidly. "He showed her this old picture he has of me in a Boy Scout Uniform. I used to be a scout." Cheesemaster looked over. "You were a Boy Scout?" "Uh...yeah, why?" "I was, too." The boys stared at each other for some time, and then said in unison, "We should go camping." ------------------------------------------------ Cheesemaster went home right away to prepare, and he clearly remembered everything he knew about camping-it had been one of his favorite things to do, and yet he'd never gotten around to camping on Invision. He considered taking Edna with him, but he knew Arkcher would want it to be a "best friends outing" type of deal. Arkcher had pretty much everything he needed to go, since he did go camping often on Invision-he did live in the mountains, after all. In fact, a love of the outdoors (mixed, oddly enough, with a love of spending time in a basement laboratory building robots) was a small part of the reason he chose to live on the mountain. It wasn't as important as his other reasoning, which was that it was the closest to Montreal he could get, but it was still a reason. "You're going camping? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Mushroom said, as Arkcher meticulously packed, the enormous pack on their bed. "It was a spur of the moment thing," He breathed. "I discovered we were both Boy Scouts back home, and it kinda went from there." Arkcher put his hands on his hips and breathed. "Besides, Cheesemaster actually really likes hiking and stuff." "You wouldn't think so when you first meet him." "I know, but I know him better than anyone else." "I know one person who would know him better," She said. He leaned down to fold some clothes. "Are you talking about Dawn or Edna?" "Edna. They do live together." "I think Edna and I would be equal in a Knowledge of Cheesemaster-Related Things contest." "Where are you even going camping?" "I don't know." Mushroom folded her arms. "I'm assuming it's not here in the mountains." "Nope," He said. "I want to go somewhere new." "I don't think there's any campgrounds on Invision, are there?" "Could you check?" Mushroom nodded and ran off to the study, where the computer was. It was empty, which was odd, as Aloysious was usually there. She went on the computer, and searched for some campgrounds on the planet. She skipped through 'recommended camping sites on Invision', and things that weren't related at all to what she needed, until she found an ad, on the sixth page of her search. CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE Longdon, Invision The planet's premiere campground. Acres and acres of beautiful woods with a sparkling lake. She read the website for the camp, and decided that little synopsis was enough for a recommendation. She quickly printed out an address for Arkcher, and hurriedly went back to the bedroom to give it to him. "Camp Crystal Lake? I can't shake the feeling I've heard that name before, but if it's the only campground this planet's got to offer, I might as well go there." Arkcher packed up the rest of what he felt he needed, and the next morning flew out to the Port of Cheese to meet Cheesemaster. Arkcher knocked on the door of Cheesemaster's house, and Cheesemaster opened it, confused. "What are you doing here? Weren't we going to camp out by your house?" "I found a campsite near here," He said. "We have to take the train there, though." "Uhm, okay...just let me finish packing." He walked away, and Arkcher followed him in. "I've already got my stuff packed," He said. "I decided it was better to pack everything I needed rather than assume you brought the essentials." "What about Edna?" "I'm sending him to your house to stay," Cheesemaster said. "Did I not tell you that?" "Uh, no! You didn't tell me a five year old would be running around my mansion!" "See, this is what we get when we do spur of the moment things." "Oh well. I'm sure everyone there will take care of him. Edna is a good kid." "If you say so," Arkcher said. "Our train leaves in an hour." "Alright, alright. I already sent Edna on the boat to Hamsterdam to catch the plane to your house." "Then let's get going already!" "Okay, okay," The boys ran out the door, Cheesemaster locking the door on his way out, and lead the way to the train station. The boys boarded the train, which was on its way to Longdon (though Cheesemaster didn't realize that). Arkcher handed over the boarding passes they had just bought, and ran excitedly on the train, a backpack strapped to him and a suitcase in his hand. They sat down in a spacious train car, their things stored in the compartments overhead. After they were situated, they began talking. "Arkcher, where is this campground that you found?" "Oh? It's near Longdon." Cheesemaster gasped, and nearly began choking. "Longdon?! Are you kidding?!" "Er...no?" "Have you even been to Longdon? It's a dangerous place, and terrifying! And we'll be staying OVERNIGHT there, in the woods?" "Come on, we'll be fine. I'm pretty sure a campground would be protective of its campers." Cheesemaster sighed. "I hope you're right." -------------------------------------------- The train ride was long, but not as long as the Hindenburg train ride (of course, since Longdon had been a stop on that ride). The conductor announced over the train intercom that they had arrived in Longdon, and Arkcher excitedly got up, Cheesemaster gingerly following him. They were the only ones who got off the train. Arkcher stepped off into the (to him) unfamiliar town, Cheesemaster sticking close to him, looking everywhere in fear for Dead Deep, hoping he wouldn't see the zombie. "Alright, let's find this Camp Crystal Lake," Arkcher said proudly, getting out the paper with the address on it. He sighed against it. "What are you doing to that paper?" "Look, it's not like I developed a paper fetish suddenly. Mushroom wrote this for me, so it reminds me of her." "That's cute," Cheesemaster replied as they started walking, Arkcher looking at the paper. "I wish I had some kind of token that Dawn had given me." "Yeah, you're not likely to have one of those when you've been together for maybe four days. Now, we're looking for the Bates Motel. When we find that, we take a turn down Castle Rock Avenue, and on the edge of town, if we did it right, there'll be the Overlook Hotel, and just beyond that is the camp!" "Why would a town like this need hotels?" Cheesemaster murmured. "No one comes here for vacation. Except for Arkcher." They walked through the completely empty streets of Longdon, and Arkcher looked around, wondering. "Did something happen here? It's like a ghost town." "Well, it is," Cheesemaster said, "Just not in that way," He muttered. "The people are probably inside, having parties, or sleeping. They all come out at night." "Then why are you so worried? Come on. I think I see the Bates Motel up ahead." He looked over at his friend. "You look tense. I have some candy in my pack that I brought. Do you want some?" "No thanks, I had a large breakfast." The two walked up to the Motel, and without a thought, turned down the road next to it. "That must be the Hotel up on that enormous hill," Cheesemaster said. "Come on! Almost there!" "Yeah....I'm right behind you," Cheesemaster said, and they ran on ahead, which they learned quickly wasn't the best idea with large packs on. "Ugh, not such a good idea to run," Arkcher said, heaving. "Especially since neither of us are in shape." "We can't rest, though. That would be dangerous." Cheesemaster looked up, and nearly froze; on the sidewalks, several people with mangled bodies were already gathering. "Oh, no," Cheesemaster said quietly. "We have to get out of here." "Why?" Arkcher asked, and he looked at the people. "What are they doing? They're blocking the road." "Exactly," Cheesemaster muttered. "What do you mean? Are they a gang?" Arkcher had never had to deal with gangs before, and he didn't think Cheesemaster had either. "No. Worse. I recognize them-they're zombies." "Zombies? Really?" The gang of zombies got closer to Arkcher, and eyed him suspiciously. Arkcher eyed them menacingly, and dropped his pack and, out of a side pocket of the backpack, drew out his bow & arrow, strung it, and aimed towards them. Cheesemaster took out his katana, thinking that would be far more useful than Arkcher's bow & arrow. Some of the zombies who had snickered at Arkcher's choice of weapon backed off seeing Cheesemaster's. "All of you, back off my friend and let us through. Or you have my sword to answer to." Before they could respond, another zombie came out of the shadows-this time, a familiar face. Dead Deep. "Look at you guys. You're attempting to eat my friend." "D-Dan..." Cheesemaster said. Dead Deep's larger eye blinked, and he grinned that toothy grin. "Normally, I would take it upon myself to feast upon your friend there, Mr. Engineer. But elf flesh is disgusting. Far too soft. And he's all skin & bones anyhow." He ran his tongue over his cracked lips. "But I'll bet his brain is as large as yours is." Arkcher put his hand over his mouth and gagged. Cheesemaster picked his pack back up. "Dead, can you tell them to stop blocking the road? Arkcher and I are going camping." "At Crystal Lake?! You two sure have balls!" Dead yelled, as the other zombies whispered and laughed. "Well, Arkcher does," Cheesemaster said. "He suggested it, not knowing anything about Longdon." Dead Deep laughed. It was a maniac's laugh. "Haha! Well, good luck! Don't die or anything!!" And he led his gang away as he continued laughing, the unsettling sound echoing off the empty streets as the boys continued walking.

The next morning, an unhappy Cheesemaster very unhappily made breakfast for himself and Edna. "Mr. Cheesemaster...? Are you alright?" Cheesemaster sighed. "Her...her lips. They...i felt them...just the lightest little caress of them...and then it was gone. Oh my goodness..." Edna looked at his friend. "I...I don't..." "I almost kissed her, Edna," Cheesemaster said. His glasses fell to the edge of his nose, but he didn't bother pushing them up. He sighed deeply. "I'm so worried she'll get in some awful trouble," He said quietly. "It'll be my fault if she does....I..." "Don't talk like that," Edna said. "It'll be fine. She'll probably visit you today." "Yeah, that is if Jakob hasn't locked her up in her own room and melted the key," Cheesemaster said. He finished cooking breakfast-bacon and pancakes-and sat down, with his plate mostly covered with bacon. "Perhaps your favorite food will cheer you up?" Edna said, looking at the plate. "Yeah," Cheesemaster sighed, and Edna looked down at his pancake. He took his fork, and stabbed it into a few spot on the pancake, and then showed it to Cheesemaster. Cheesemaster looked over at it, and saw that Edna had made a crude smiley face on the top of the pancake. He smiled a little bit, and sighed again. "Thanks, Edna," He said; he wondered if Edna could act any cuter. A huge breakfast later, the boys left the house to go get papers for the day. The ground had dried up completely from the rain yesterday, and the sun was out. It felt like summer finally. The boys walked down the street, Cheesemaster trying not to be sad, if only for the sake of his young friend, but he found it to be harder than he thought. His thoughts constantly returned to Dawn. "When we get back," He said, as they got their papers for the day, "Remind me and I'll call Arkcher for some consolation." "Okay," Edna replied simply. "I'm sure talking with him can ease your mind a bit." Cheesemaster nodded, and they were quiet the rest of the way home. The two got back to their house, and Edna offered to start selling while Cheesemaster talked. Of course, the older of the two declined-but Edna insisted, and Cheesemaster had no choice but to do so. He went inside, grabbed the phone, and threw himself onto his bed, dialing Arkcher's number. It rang for a few moments, when a voice picked up. "The Ahrroww Residence. This is Arkcher. If you're a telemarketer, please don't make me yell at you again." "It's just me," Cheesemaster replied. "Cheeseman?" "Yeah." There was a pause, and in the background, Cheesemaster could hear Arkcher saying "Whoah...yeah, Cheesemaster just called me...Cheeseman, what's up?" "I'm depressed and need some consolation." Arkcher said nothing for a moment. "Alright. What's wrong?" "I'm completely worried sick about Dawn. You know, I-" "Yeah, you really like her. Mushroom filled me in. I'm really sorry I wasn't there to talk to you." "No, it's fine." "Anyhow...what do you want me to do?" "I'm so scared of what Jakob Rabbitt might do. He's...I hate to admit it, but he's really very terrifying. I don't know what all he could do. All it would take is for James to leave somehow, and Jakob could do whatever he want. He could lock her up in her own room, or ship her back to Cullough-I don't even know." "You know Horatio wouldn't allow that. In fact, Horatio might be a lot better for you to be talking to right now." "Yeah, I know, but...you're my best friend, and I felt talking to you could really calm my nerves." "I'm not going to tell you about how everything will be alright." "I know you well enough to not expect that." "Rather, do you think I could tell you a little about my new project? I'd actually really love if you came down here and helped me." Cheesemaster smiled. A new project sounded wonderful. "Tell me!" "Well...my father's birthday is coming up. I can't show you over the phone, but if you come see me, the first thing I'll do it show you. I found a very old notebook of my father's-" "You went through your father's journal?" "Of course not. I wanted to, though. But as I was moving it-I was cleaning out his desk-a piece of folded up paper fell out. I wanted to put it back, but when I opened it up-" Arkcher paused. "-It was a picture I drew a really long time ago. It was a robot family." "Sounds cute," Cheesemaster said. "Yeah. I wanted to build those robots as gifts for dad." "I see," Cheesemaster said. "That sounds like it would be really nice." "Yeah-when did you think you wanted to help me with it? And by that, I mean 'can you come over right now or not'." "Not right now. I'm sorry." "...Fine. Look, just call me or stop by when you're able to, okay? Bye." Before he could say anything back, Cheesemaster had hung up. "Wonderful," He muttered, and went outside to do his job. As he worked-today the two decided to walk around the street corner and see if that got them more customers-his heart pounded, hoping to see Dawn. Edna was happier than usual, obviously playing up his childish nature to try and cheer up his friend. "Read all about it-" Edna started, and then hit Cheesemaster in the leg with a paper. "Mr. Cheesemaster won't stop being sad!" "I'm sorry," Cheesemaster said. "I'm really sorry, Edna." "It's okay," Edna said, cutely. "I think you'll be better soon enough." "I hope so," He said, trying to sound a bit more cheerful. So the boys went through the shift for a few hours, until the work break. "I don't know if it's a good idea to go by the Rabbitt Manor," Cheesemaster thought, as he sat on the loveseat reading. "But if I don't go there..." Edna walked over, his hands on his hips in a standard children's angry pose. "Hi, Edna," Cheesemaster said. "You should go over there," He said bluntly. "Maybe sneak in the back through the garden." "You know, I don't even care what happens. I'm going over there." Cheesemaster said, determined, as he stood up. "Want me to come with you?" Edna said. "Yes," Cheesemaster said, "I'll feel better if I'm not alone." ------------------------------------------------------ "And what were you wearing when I found you last night?!" Jakob asked sternly. "My clothes were soaked through," Dawn explained. "He saw you in wet clothes?!" Dawn sighed. She was tired of Jakob hounding on her. "He couldn't see anything. You know how thick my clothes are. You insisted that all my clothes be thick so no one can see through them, no matter how hot I get in the Summer." "Please, Dawn, you have that parasol wherever you go. Heat doesn't bother you that much. Now answer me, what were you wearing?" Dawn rubbed her hands together nervously. She said, under her breath, "His clothes." "His clothes?!" "Cheesemaster lent me some of his clothes, okay? Go ahead and yell at me. Did you really want me to sit in his house with wet clothes?" Jakob said nothing, but breathed heavily-though not in an angry way, more in a very tired way. "Are...you alright?" Dawn asked, hoping some kindness would get her out of the awful situation. "I'm exhausted," He said. He looked up and looked at Dawn, and looked angry. "Go on. Go see him. I don't care." Dawn stood up, and sighed. On her way out, she hugged Jakob. "Thank you, Jakob..." Jakob said nothing and didn't move as she did, and she slowly walked out, happy to go see him, surprised Jakob would let her, and yet still sad. She hated Jakob, and yet...she didn't know how to describe how she felt. ----------------------------------------------- Cheesemaster slowly walked up the steps of the Rabbitt Manor, afraid of what might happen to him. But, before he could even knock on the door, Dawn flung it open, and was about to leave when she ran into Cheesemaster's arms. "Cheesie? What are you doing..." "I was just about to ask you the same thing," He laughed. "I was over here to face my fear and..." He looked at Edna. "And to not be so sad. That is...I came to see you. I thought Jakob would never let you out of the house again, after what happened." Cheesemaster looked at her and saw she was still wearing his clothes from last night. "I'm sure Jakob was happy about seeing you in my clothes." "Yeah," Dawn said. "Can...can we go back to your house? I'd like my own clothes back...plus I'd like to spend a few hours with you..." She looked at the ground and put her hands behind her back. Cheesemaster's stomach fluttered at the way she looked. "That sounds fine," Cheesemaster said shyly. He also looked at the ground and put his hands behind his back, the two of them looking shyly at each other. Dawn, likewise, thought he was adorable. "C-come on," He said, shyly, and Dawn gently took his hand and they walked to his house. "Though I still have to work in a minute. Is that alright?" "It's perfectly okay," She said. "I can take a nap while you work, perhaps." The thought of Dawn sleeping in his bed caused his stomach & heart to flutter. "That sounds fine," He said. The two, plus Edna, walked back to the house, and as others walked back to Cheesemaster's house, people started to get home from work and Cheesemaster got back to work with Edna; he said temporary goodbyes to her, and she went inside to sleep for a while. Dawn first found the washer and dryer, and got her dress out; she went to Cheesemaster's bedroom and changed quickly into her dress, and neatly folded the dirty clothes on top of the washing machine. She walked into his bedroom, butterflies in her stomach, though she didn't understand why. She sat down on the bed and then laid down, and pulled the covers closer to her body, thinking over and over that he had slept on and under these covers...the fluttery feeing continued as she napped, and she fell asleep quickly. ------------------------------------------ "Dawn? Wake up!" Cheesemaster said, gently shaking her. She rolled over and looked up to see his face, and for a few moments thought he was on top of her. "Cheesie?! What are you-" She said, rising up and grabbing his shoulders-here she found he wasn't on the bed, let alone on top of her, and was standing by the bed. She fell off the bed and was caught by him, her face in his stomach. "Are you alright?" He said, giggling. She got back on her feet and blushed. "I'm sorry," She said, "I thought you were...I thought you were on the bed." "I can get on the bed if you want." He said plainly. Dawn blushed, and then laughed. "That's not something I could hear you saying!" "And why not?" Cheesemaster said jokingly. "It's not really a gentlemanly thing to say," She said. "At least, not from what I know." Cheesemaster smiled. "I guess not," He said. He then sighed, and the smile faded away from his face. "But...as hard as I try...I can't always be the good gentleman I strive to be." Dawn looked at him for a while, and he looked at the ground while fumbling the bottom of his shirt. "I think you do a good job," She said quietly. "You think so?" He asked. "You're not just saying?" "Of course not," She said. "Please don't say things like that. I'd never lie to anyone, especially not you." "Alright," He said softly. Dawn looked around. "Where's Edna?" "He wanted to watch some movies." He went and sat sown on the couch. "Though I think he just wanted us to be alone." Dawn giggled. "He's...I don't know. He's adorable. That's all I can think of...you really do a wonderful job of taking care of him." "I do?" Cheesemaster said, looking unsure. "I always thought I wasn't...especially because I don't really know how to raise children." Dawn sat down on the bed, and Cheesemaster followed suite. "But I'd assume that you'd just take after however your parents raised you. They are the ones who raised you, right?" She said, jokingly. "Well...y-yes...it's just, simply modeling my f-my parents isn't really enough for me to know." "I see," She said. The two were quiet for some time, both staring into space. Neither wanted to be the first to say something, and were too nervous to really know what to talk about. Cheesemaster thought perhaps some small talk would lead to something, so he turned to her and began to say something. Before he could say a word, Dawn had her hand on his chin, and her lips pressed against his as though she would never let go of him. He gave in and shut his eyes, his heart pounding harder than it ever had before, his head swimming with thoughts-all of them happy. She put her other hand on the other side of his face, and he grabbed her shoulders gently, getting up on his knees (without really realizing what he was doing), as she put her legs on the bed as well. Cheesemaster pulled away from her to breathe, and heavily at that. His hands were on her face, and he smiled at her as he breathed. "Do you know how incredible that was?" He whispered, and she smiled at him. "Do you know how incredible that was?" She repeated back to him. They kissed again, and Cheesemaster, though neither really knew or remembered how, ended up on top of her; she moaned a bit, not sexually, but thanks to the sudden weight falling onto her. He raised his head up, frowning. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, motioning to get off of her, but she stopped him. "I'm fine," She said. She smiled at him. He looked unsure, but he folded his arms on her collarbone and laid his head on his hands. He whispered, "I-I don't know if that's the truth. You're such a small girl-I-I mean that in the best way-" She giggled weakly. "Really. You're not too heavy-" She moaned again, and he rolled off of her, and looked away from her, his hands folded on his stomach. "If I'm too heavy, tell me." "Cheesie..." He looked back over at her. "I feel like I just hurt you." "You didn't...you didn't hurt me." He looked at her, and touched her face gently. "Even so, those moans you were making..." He looked around the room, and then back at her. "It...it sounded..." Dawn rolled him onto his back and threw herself onto him, and he gasped, but Dawn leaned down and lightly kissed his neck and cheek, and then full on the lips. She moved back up, and positioned herself so she had her head on his chest, but was able to put her hand on his chest as well. She moved up, her head resting on his collarbone or neck, and his head leaned on hers. "Ow," She said, and he shot open his eyes. "What?? What happened?" She reached up for his glasses and pulled something out. "My hair got caught on your glasses," She said quietly. "I'm sorry," He said. She smiled to show that it was okay, and they continued cuddling, not saying anything to each other, simply enjoying the company they had together; though, Cheesemaster's glasses constantly pressed against her head, slipped off, or fogged up, or caught onto more hair. She lifted her head and shoulders up, and reached for his glasses. He jerked his head slightly, and looked up at her suspiciously. "I-I'm sorry," She said. He smiled at her, and sighed. "No, it's fine. They're...they're getting in the way." His arms were immobile at the moment, so it was up to her to take them off. She reached for him, and he looked away, a sad and vulnerable expression coming over his face. He shut his eyes as they were pulled away, hair falling away as she lifted them off his face, and she set them on the nightstand. Dawn looked down again, and his expression eerily reminded her of the way Julia looked sometimes...and he opened his eyes. Her heart skipped a bit-he looked so very different without them. It was as if he'd become a completely different person. His mouth, slightly open, shut tightly and he moved so he was staring up at her, though she knew he wasn't really looking at her. "I..." "What's wrong?" He asked; despite looking so different, his voice had that same concern for her. "You just....you look really different without them." She put a hand on his cheek, and he slowly, awkwardly, moved a hand up to touch it. "I guess so," He said. "You're still cute," She said. "Even without them. Maybe even sexy." He blushed at hearing this. "Sexier without them?" He said, genuinely sad. "No, no, not at-I mean, it's equal. It's just..." She gulped. "There's a certain vulnerability to it...and that's cute...for some reason." "I certainly am vulnerable. I can barely see you. You're just a blur of purple and brown, you know..." She laughed, and threw her head back on his chest. His breathing got a little faster, and she laughed. "I love the way this feels...when you laugh or breathe heavily, the way your stomach feels against mine...if that made any sense, of course," She said, and sighed. "I love everything about you," She said quietly. "I love everything about you, too," he said, smiling. The two kissed again, and simply laid there for a while, just being with each other, and trying to not fall asleep.

Thanks, guys. Me and my mom are working on getting some new cats, hopefully kittens. She's reluctant since I'll be going to college in a few years, but hopefully I can persuade her to get more, if only for Snape's sake.

Still - 3 ------------------------------------------------------ After the incident with Still in the birdbath, Moving decided to keep a better eye on his brother. Luckily, the strange skill Still had given him allowed him to keep good track of Still, wherever he was. The twins napped together, and whenever it seemed Still was going to vanish, Moving gently prodded his brother, telling him not to wander off. It wasn't uncommon for Still to become a bit too involved with his dreams; often entering the dreams himself, and this frightened Moving, especially since he had no way of controlling his brother's actions, nor doing anything about them. Sometimes he would use the power Still gave him to see what kind of dream Still entered. But, sadly, there was no way he could interfere. When Still & Moving were about to go to preschool, they would often overhear their parents talking about school for the two of them. Mr. Killingsworth would say that Still seemed so bright, that he should go to a gifted children's school, or go to Kindergarten early, or something like that. However, Mrs. Killingsworth stated that if they did, Moving, who was smart but not as gifted as Still, would be left behind in a different school-and she refused to send the twins to different schools. So, Still & Moving Killingsworth attended the same preschool together, with their parents rapidly planning on what Elementary School they would send them to the next year. The two were to attend some Preschool, situated on the edge of the city. A fanciful Chinese restaurant, built to resemble a temple of some sort, was visible from the playground. The place had some long name, that not even Still could really remember. The building had some other use, too, but the twins never noticed-all they noticed was that the leftmost hallway led to preschool, and they sometimes saw a caregiver using machines in the lobby, or something like that, and they always said hello to them. The room where they had preschool was spacious, and was downstairs in the establishment. The twins, especially Moving, imagined the other rooms in the leftmost hallway to led to mysterious, magic places. So every day, Mrs. Killingsworth dropped the twins off at the preschool, where they played for a while, and then she would pick them up and bring them home. Sometimes it was Mr. Killingsworth who dropped or picked them off, but not very much. Still & Moving were a hit with the children, nearly all of which didn't know about twins, and were fascinated. The two were even the subject of a small learning spot (every day, the 'teacher' would gather the children around for a small lesson, organized game, or storytime), where the teacher told them about Still & Moving and what twins were. It was a simplified lesson, of course, and while Still & Moving made some friends due to it, Moving didn't care for the vast amounts of attention. "Children," The teacher had begun, "Still & Moving are twins." "They look just alike!" Said a small girl. "Yes," said the teacher. "Still & Moving were once one, but somehow, before they were born, they became two, and because of that, they look exactly alike." A chorus of 'Ooooh' came from the children, and Still and Moving, holding hands, stood right next to each other. Same green eyes. Same near-white blond hair. Same face shape, same height and weight-same everything. The major difference was that Still near-always had a faraway look in his eyes, and when he smiled, it was softly; Moving was a bit more expressive, and his eyes were often wide and sparkling with wonder. The twins were popular with the children, for they had enormous imaginations and were good for pretend games; a popular game, that Still came up with, was to take the picture books, and instead of reading them (if you could do that!) or asking the teacher what it said, to make up a story based on the pictures. One day Still played this game, and decided, with support from peers, that the story a friend had made was even better than the story in the book (for Still could read), and decided to tell it to the teacher on hand. "That isn't right," The teacher said. "Still, you know how to read. Read the book normally." "But I think the story is much better than this one," Still said. "These pictures are better than the words." "No, Still. That isn't the way reading works." "I know," Still said quietly, giving up. He sulked back over to his friends-Moving had never seen him quite so downtrodden. Later that day, Still & Moving were taken home. Still was upset about what the teacher had said. The story his friend had made really <i>was</i> better than the book, which Still found a bit stupid, really. He had to do something about it. The next day, Moving woke up to find that Still was clutching a hardbacked picture book in his hands, though he was still sleeping. He picked up the book, and flipped through it. The book looked exactly like the other picture book, but the words were of the story the little boy had made up. "Still?" Moving said, shaking his brother awake. "Yes?" Still said, blinking his eyes open. "Did you make this?" He asked, showing him the book. Still nodded. "It'll make a nice gift," Still explained. "You won't show it to teacher, will you?" Moving asked, as they got dressed. "Of course not," Still said. "Besides, she'll just think it's the original book." "But then how will he take it home?" "It has my name in it," He said. "It's a present for him, I'll explain." "Okay, okay." The Killingsworth twins got to preschool, said goodbye to their mother, and put away their coats and lunchbags in the cubby-holes. During their playtime, Still went over to the boy and handed him the book. "Look inside," Still said. The boy was mystefied, but did so anyway. Still explained. "It has the words you made up." The boy opened up the real book, and though he couldn't read yet, he could recognize letters, and noticed that the shapes were indeed very different. "What did..." "It's okay," Still said. The boy hugged him tightly. "When I can read," He said, "I'm gonna read this first." Still nodded. Moving grabbed Still's shirt and motioned towards a box of stamps, and the two began to play-with the boy joining in, and a few other children. And so Still & Moving made at least one true friend in preschool. And so every day in preschool was like this. The twins would be dropped off, put their shoes and backpacks away, play, sleep at naptime, have the teacher read a story, eat, play, and go home. Of course, to the children, it wasn't quite so simplistic, with each day full of adventures. "Why don't we make a book, Still?" Moving suggested one day, pointing to the unorganized bin of stamps, paper, fancy scissors, and stickers. "Okay," Still said. Still reached into the box for the paper, and began folding it like a book. "What should it be about?" Still asked. "Whatever's in the box," Moving replied. He dumped the stamps out-just dinosaurs. "Here's some dinos," Moving said. Still looked through the stickers. He gasped. "What is it?!" Moving said. Still showed them to his brother. "Space," Still said. The stickers had spaceships and astronauts on them, with the moon, some stars, and the American flag thrown in for good measure. "I know," Still said. He opened up the makeshift book and used a marker to draw a moon landscape, then stuck an astronaut sticker on the moon. Using the stamper, he stamped the image of a T-Rex in front of the astronaut. "A team of spacemen went to the moon and found dinosaurs," Still explained. "At first the spacemen are scared, but then they learn the dinosaurs are friendly and they all become friends and live happily ever after." Moving smiled, nodded, and the two began working on the story together, and soon, without any help from Still's powers, became drawn into the story they made up together. After they finished, Still went back to the beginning and started making up a story as they went along. "Once upon a time, there was an astronaut named Still Killingsworth, and his best friend Moving, and they went to the moon together on a very important mission. But, when they got there, they saw huge dinosaurs!" He turned the page. "Still & Moving stood in fear, until they saw the dinosaurs come towards them, and ran very quickly back to the spaceship! They hid inside the ship, thinking the dinosaurs were coming to eat them, when they saw the dinosaurs outside. Moving noticed that they were crying! The two went outside to check." He turned the pages. In the picture, they had used blue markers to make huge teardrops on the dinosaurs. " 'What's wrong, dinosaurs?' The two asked. The dinosaurs said 'We have no friends, because they always run away from us.' 'We're sorry we ran away,' Moving said. 'We'll be your friends, dinosaurs.' And so the astronauts and the dinosaurs became friends. The end." Moving clapped. "I really liked it," he said. The two continued to play with the stamps, until Mrs. Killingsworth came by and tapped them on the shoulder, signaling it was time to go home. Still grabbed the book they had made and the three headed home. ---------------------------------------------------------- After dinner, Still & Moving went to their room to prepare for bed. Both changed into their space-themed pajamas, brushed their teeth, and climbed into bed. Still grabbed the soft green alien, and Moving grabbed the soft astronaut plush. "Tonight is another episode of The Rolling Killingsworths," Mrs. Killingsworth said. "Still & Moving have breached the surface of Venus and are anxious to see what lies on the surface...maybe aliens...?" The twins giggled. These stories were one of the few times that Still and Moving, expression-wise, were indistinguishable. Their mother finished up the episode of the bedtime story-Still & Moving had entered the surface of Venus, where they found a mysterious, civilized alien race; some of the aliens were very angry about the two humans intruding on their planet, and the two have been driven into the Venusian wilderness... Moving begged his mother to continue, but she said no-wait until tomorrow! And she turned off the lights in the room, with stars on the ceiling glowing, and just as Moving was to fall asleep, Still gently grabbed his shoulder. "Hold my hand, Moving," Still whispered. "I'll let you come into my dream tonight." Moving was excited at this prospect, and quickly clutched his brother's hand. Still shut his eyes, as did Moving; the two drifted off to sleep, and soon the two dreamt. The dream consisted of the two in space, like many of their fantasies did; being little boys who so badly wanted to be astronauts. The twins floated in space, though with no spacesuits; being a dream, this did not concern them. But then it was different. They were no longer in space; they were in a classroom, with other children their age. It wasn't preschool; they didn't know it, but it was a Kindergarten (or perhaps 1st Grade) room. The two sat with two girls their age, one coloring, the other playing with a large plush doll. Still & Moving talked with the girls for hours, realizing that they all had common interests; the twins didn't realize that they were really dreaming, and the whole thing was very realistic. Still & Moving exchanged addresses with the girls, but just as they saw the papers with the addresses on them, they woke up. "Don't go..." Still said sadly, and rose out of bed, looking around. "Moving," He said quietly, and his brother looked up at him. "What?" Still looked around again. "Nothing." He got up and began to change into clothes for the day, as the two set off for another day of preschool.

My friend is planning on, after he gets his GED, to get back into sign-making, which he says is what he really loves to do. As for my boyfriend, our relationship is going really well, and there's not any sign of problems at all. I'm just paranoid. :|

Chapter 3 ----------------------------------------------------- "Fergusk..." "What is it?" Fergusk snapped at Debuson. Debuson shrank back. "Nothing." Debuson, to Fergusk's orders, loaded the car into the plane, along with a beat-up old blue minivan that belonged to Debuson. After she'd shut the doors to the storage area, Xavier waited to make sure it was safe, and climbed out of the trunk. He was hungry-he unzipped his overstuffed backpack, and to his happy surprise, there was a big packed lunch in it. His mother often put these in his pack in case he wanted to leave home for a little while. In the pack was enough food for, if he rationed, about two or even three days. Along with some utensils, included in the pack was some bottled water, two soft drinks, a few packs of fruit juice, a can of soup, several sandwiches and cookies, a can of tuna, a few cups of instant ramen, and, Xavier's favorite food, chopped-up pineapples. He took out the water-bottle, and looked at the food, wondering what to eat. He wanted some ramen, but had no way of heating any water in a quick way; he decided that he'd just have a sandwich and a cookie, and eat a proper meal later on. At this thought, he shifted through his bag again, and found his wallet. He'd 'built' it by wrapping lots of duct tape together (after his old leather wallet got ruined). He looked inside, and there were only a few coins. It didn't matter anyway; he didn't have any American money. Xavier ate his sandwich and cookie, and then drank some water, and put everything back into his pack. How long to get from Melbourne to New York? He wondered, and as he tried to figure it out, he realized he didn't really know how far away the two places were. He wished he had a map in his pack, but since he'd never predicted ever leaving Melbourne, let alone leaving Australia, he hadn't done so and only had a map of his city's streets (for when he was able to drive). He zipped the backpack up, put it back on, and decided to see if there'd be some way to get into the main part of the plane, where the aliens were, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the same area of them, considering that Fergusk wanted him dead. Besides, if he did anything, such as beat them up, he wouldn't get to New York-he might crash-land into New Zealand, or the Midwest, or, worst of all, right into the ocean. So he decided it might be best if he stayed in the back until they got into New York. ----------------------------------------------- The flight from Melbourne to New York City was abnormally quiet as well as incredibly boring for all three passengers; Fergusk was too angry to really talk to Debuson, and Debuson was nervous about flying the plane. Eventually, depsite her nervousness, Debuson flew rather well into a rural area just outside New York City. Xavier was fast asleep in the back, and had gone back to sleep in the trunk of the car (with the top open of course) to keep him from rolling around too much, and was woken up with a start when the plane landed. "I sure slept a long time," He said, as he blinked a few times and sat up. He looked around, as if expecting to see something, and then gasped. "If we've landed...then that means we're in New York! And that would mean I'm in America-I wonder how different it is from Australia?" He wondered about this for a moment, until the plane rolled to a stop at wherever they had landed. "They'll be coming in here soon," He said quietly, and he laid back down and shut the trunk just enough that there was still a crack in case he needed to get out. Luckily, he was right about Fergusk & Debuson coming into the storage area to get the car; they were talking to each other about something. "But how will we do it, Fergusk?" Debuson asked sheepishly. "Kill them, I mean." They must be talking about that American girl, Xavier thought. And someone else. Her best friend, perhaps? The aliens climbed into the car once it was taken out of the plane storage, as Xavier lay in the trunk in horrible anticipation. He desperately wanted to bust out of the trunk and go see what was in store in the new country, but knew he had to stay inside the trunk or else they'd find him, and he was genuinely frightened of Fergusk, despite knowing he could beat her. The aliens drove into the city, where Xavier could hear many voices and cars and was unable to overhear the women talking-if they were. He could only imagine what it looked like outside, and he so desperately wanted to see, but continued to wait in the trunk. He was pleasantly surprised when the car came to a screeching halt in a relatively quieter area. He wondered where they were, and heard the women get out and slam their doors shut. They talked to each other, but Xavier wasn't able to hear them, and his body froze when he felt light on his face and the trunk opened. "Dear lord," Debuson said weakly. "He followed us all the way here." Fergusk looked as though she was about to burst a vein. Xavier was personally too stunned to move. "You goddamn little stowaway!" "That's right," He muttered, and grabbed his pack and leapt out of the car, but realized he had absolutely no idea where to go, and then realized he was getting his first look of a new country, and that was enough for him to nearly forget he was utterly lost, away from his parents, had no money, as well as numerous other bad things that had come out of his stowing away. "That's right, you have no idea where to go, do you?" Fergusk said, mocking him. Xavier froze. He really didn't, and the reality of the matter crashed onto him like a ton of bricks: He was 16 years old, lost in an unfamiliar country (though he luckily spoke the language), where he had none of the money, knew nobody, and didn't know where to go. His mother was miles and miles away, and she had no idea where her son was-not to mention that Fergusk wanted him dead for reasons he didn't really understand. "Debuson. Grab him, and make sure none of his little gadgets lets him escape. We can kill him along with that kid." "Yes, sir," Debuson said, beat. She forced Xavier's hands behind his back, and dragged him along into a house. Xavier knew he could reach into his pack and escape, but he wanted to meet this American girl so badly that he didn't, and decided it was better to fight them off when he got there. Fight them off, and call his mother, praying she would believe him. Fergusk bust the door down, and ran inside, yelling Vedvacious' name. "What's a Vedvacious?" Xavier whispered to Debuson. She seemed nice, or at least nicer than Fergusk. "Vedvacious is a teacher," Debuson explained. "Clara is the girl Fergusk keeps talking about." She sighed. "Ok," Xavier said, and then added "Thanks." Debuson said nothing, but sighed again. Debuson shoved Xavier inside, where Fergusk had already rounded up Vedvacious and Clara Abbey and forced them into a corner. When he came in, Clara eyed Xavier, wondering who he was. Debuson let go of Xavier and shut the door. Xavier ran over to where Clara was, mostly because he knew Fergusk would force him over there anyhow. Clara looked over at him, and Vedvacious stared through the corner of her eyes. "Fergusk, who is this?" Vedvacious demanded. "A little stowaway from our short time in Australia," She said, sickened. Clara looked over at him. Xavier returned the glance. "Seeing as we're about to die, I guess we should exchange names," Xavier said quietly. "Clara Abbey," "Xavier Flynn," He replied shakily. "This is my teacher Vedvacious," Clara explained. "This is her house..." "I see," Xavier said. Strung around Clara's waist was her laptop bag. Fergusk glared at both the laptop bag and Xavier's pack. "Why don't you two hand me your bags? Then you won't escape." Clara clutched her laptop bag's strap, and Xavoer grabbed her arm. "No," He said bluntly, and unzipped his backpack and took out a long rod, covered in duct tape, and while you couldn't see, the edge of it was electrified. "What is that?" Fergusk asked, backing away a bit. "That's exactly why I wanted you to hand me your bags." "The person prod," Xavier said. He ran towards Fergusk, who was too slow to react and ended up with the electrical prod rammed into her chest. "Get out!" Xavier yelled, whacking Fergusk with the rod, and poked her back until she was out. "Don't make me prod you to your car and prod you out of the state, too," Xavier threatened, and Debuson hid behind Fergusk. "Fine," Fergusk said. "We'll head for the capital, next." Before Xavier could say anything, the door had been slammed shut and he heard their car zoom away. He placed the person prod back into his pack and walked over to the two women. Vedvacious was laying on the couch and Clara sat on the floor. Xavier sat next to her, and smiled. "You must be the one they were talking about," He said quietly. Clara looked up at him. "I guess so." Xavier looked at her for a moment, and then said, "She was right, though: both of you have a strange vibe." Clara looked at him. "What do you mean? And how can you tell?" "I'm not sure, but I'm considered a genius back home, so I think my mind is a little sensitive." "I see," Clara said. Xavier looked at her, and then at Vedvacious. "But I don't know what that vibe is for." "Well, me and Ved both have...superpowers, I guess." Xavier blinked. "Say again?" "We both have powers. We're not sure where we got them. I guess yours must be your intelligence." Xavier stared, dumbfounded. "Well, what...what do you two do?" "I can travel through computers and summon Internet stuff to life. Vedvacious can travel time. She was originally living in Ancient Rome." Xavier stared for a long time at the teacher, who was asleep and looked weary. "So you came from Australia in Fergusk's car?" Clara asked, the two leaving Vedvacious alone to sleep as they walked into a backroom to talk. "That's right," He said. "It...it was a spur of the moment thing. I'd chased her out of my school, and I latched onto the trunk of the car, and I just climbed into it...I didn't realize she was loading into a plane and flying all the way out here..." He looked at the ground, sadly. "Do you miss your parents or something?" She asked. "Sort of. I'm more scared because I'm stuck in a country that I don't really know anything about. I don't know where to go or anything." Clara hugged him. "It's alright." "Not with that woman running around, it isn't; she's controlling some kids back at my school, too." The two thought for a moment, and Xavier suddenly got an idea. "If all three of us have that weird vibe...maybe I could build a sensor, or a computer, or something, that can detect other people with powers!" Clara smiled. "That sounds good....but why?" Xavier unzipped his backpack, and showed her some comic books he had stowed away. "It would be like a comic book. We'd have a team of super-teenagers, and we could fight Fergusk!" "But she seems really weak," Clara said. "I defeated her easily, and it looks like you did too." "If she's really an alien, then there may be a chance that she's still getting used to being a human. She may get stronger as she spends more time in that skin." Clara thought for a moment. "I guess so." "I'm not sure how I'll do it, but since you have Internet powers, perhaps you can help me!!" "Alright," Clara said quietly. "Vedvacious has a big library/study with books from different eras. Let's go in there to work." --------------------------------------------------- The two sat in the study for a little while, Clara's laptop open and Xavier's notebook opened, and they discussed how, exactly, they could build such a thing. They'd decided on a computer that could find other people with powers, by finding their 'vibration', and...well, they weren't sure what would happen from that point on. Would they go and find that person? Or contact them? "I wonder what countries they'll be from," Xavier said, as he sketched some plans out. "Well, I'm American and you're Australian; they might be everywhere and we don't know it." Xavier laid his head on his arm, which rested on the table, and he scribbled on the paper a little bit. "I wonder where....what if they can't speak any English?" "That's likely," She said, and sighed happily. "I can't wait. It'll be exciting meeting different people." She looked at a clock. "It's getting late. Do you want to get to bed?" "Not before I call my mother," He said, putting away his notebook and pencils. Clara nodded. "I understand," And she left to go to bed. Xavier walked into Vedvacious' living room, and found her house phone. He thought for a moment, and then dialed his mother's cell phone, hoping the long-distance call wouldn't hurt Vedvacious too much. The phone rang a couple times, and he finally heard his mother's familiar voice. "Hello? "Mum?" There was some silence, and then a startled "Xavier?" "It's me, mum..." "Xavier Matthew Flynn, where are you?" He gulped. "Mum, this will sound strange, but I..." He shakily explained the entire ?situation to her. Clara, who was in a guest bedroom, listened to him intently. He sounded as though he was going to cry any minute. "...You have to believe me. If you can, look up the number I'm calling from, and you'll see it's an American phone number." His mother sighed. "I see. To be honest I am not surprised." Xavier was hurt by that, but realized it really wasn't surprising. "Listen to me. You be careful. You get back to Melbourne as soon as you can. You realize that you're in that country illegally aren't you?" "I should be fine, mum. I promise." She sighed, and then she sniffed. Her voice sounded as though it was choking back tears. "Please stay safe..." "I will, alright? Goodbye, mother." She sniffed again. "Bye, Xavier." He hung up the receiver and trudged to a different guestroom, though not before telling Clara he would be staying up to work on the computer. "Are you sure? Won't you get tired?" He smiled. "It's daylight back home. I'll probably be nocturnal for a little while until I fully get used to it here. Stupid timezones," He said quietly. "Alright, then." "Gih'night, Clara." Xavier walked into the study with his backpack, and unzipped a pocket of his backpack that he had filled with spare parts in case he needed to make something on the go-a time such as now. He hoped he had enough parts in it, but then realized he'd probably only have just enough to add on to an existing computer. "Clara?" Clara rolled over on the bed. "Yea?" "Sorry I woke you up, but...I don't think I have enough spare parts with me to build an entire new computer, only to add onto an existing one. Could I do that to your laptop?" Xavier felt like a perfect idiot, asking someone he'd only just met if he could take apart their expensive hardware. "Will it involve taking the laptop apart?" "I think so," Xavier said. She thought for a moment. "Go ahead," she said sleepily. "Thank you," He said, and grabbed it out of her laptop bag and went back into the study. He set the laptop on the desk where he worked, and wondered how he was to go about this. He sighed, and realized he would never get it done if he thought too much about it, and decided to simply get to work on it. That was how he best invented things. Chapter 4 -------------------------------------------------------- Clara awoke the next morning, looked over, and saw the still-fully dressed Xavier sitting next to her in the bed, holding her laptop. She screamed, and nearly fell out of the bed before Xavier grabbed her and dragged her back up. "What are you doing in my bed?" "I'm not in it, I'm on the bed. Anyway, look at this." He held the laptop in front of him and opened it up, as Clara reached for her glasses off the nightstand. "How late did you work, Xavier?" "Oh no, I'm not done. I've been up all night. I wasn't tired one bit, but just in case, I grabbed a soda from your friend's kitchen. Hope you don't mind," He said, and he grabbed a near-empty bottle of Coca-Cola and threw it in a trash bin by the bed. "It's not as sweet-tasting as back home," He quipped, and then shook his head. "Anyway, look what I've got done so far." He turned the laptop around and showed her the program he'd been working all night on. On the screen was a large projection of the world, and a few settings on the bottom and side that only Xavier knew what were for. "I'm not entirely sure what to do next," He said. "I need to get myself a good map-I was only able to install a regular map. I need to get borders, as well as cities, written into the program. "Does it...work yet?" "Sorta. Every time I test it out I get a different reading." He leaned over, and, upside down, moved the laptop's mouse and clicked on a button. A dozen small blue dots popped up on the map, and he pointed to three in the New York area of the US. "See, that's us." "That's amazing!" Clara said, and looked around at the map. "But watch," He said, and clicked the button twice so the dots vanished, and then appeared again. Some where gone, and new ones where there. "The dot in India suddenly disappeared," He said. "And one popped up in an island nation near Australia," He said, pointing. "That's the Philipines," Clara said. "Look, there's suddenly one in China as well." "What I want to do is make this real-time. See, when I turn the map on, the dot locations are from that exact moment. Do you understand what I'm saying?" "Yeah." "Let's go eat breakfast, and I'll work some more on this if I can. Perhaps I can make it so we can figure out where Fergusk is, as well." The two left the room and walked into Vedvacious' kitchen, where the Roman was already up and cooking for them. "Good morning, Ved," Clara said, sitting down. Xavier sat next to her with the laptop. "Good morning," Vedvacious said. She looked at Xavier intently. "What's the laptop for, Xavier?" "See for yourself," He said, and showed to her what he'd shown to Clara. "I see," Vedvacious said cooly after he explained. "I just have to perfect it a little, I think," Xavier said. "The real question is what we'll do with those little dots," Vedvacious said. "Do we come to them? Have them come to us?" "I don't know. Clara can go through computers, so she might be able to get ahold of them that way." "Well, we'll have to think about it, and perhaps just see what works best." ------------------------------------------------------------ Clara decided that since there was no school, she ought to take Xavier into New York City-but only after he mentioned it. "This is New York, isn't it?" Clara nodded, wondering why he'd asked, "How far away is New York City?" Clara smiled at him and showed him to the window. "I live in Brooklyn. New York city is pretty much the town next door." "I thought Brooklyn was a part of the city?" "Not at all." "Could...could you take me into the city, if it isn't too much trouble?" Clara looked at him for a moment. "I could, but...what in the world would we do there?" "I just want to look. Maybe we could eat there, as well." Is this a date? Clara wondered, and shook the thought out of her mind. He'd only just met her, and he was just satisfying his own curiosity. "Alright. I've got some money with me, from my last birthday, probably just enough for a taxi into the city and to get us something cheap to eat. Maybe a hot dog." "What about pizza? You can't go to New York City and not eat that." "And why not?" Xavier strained for something to say. "Because!" He said, waving his arms about. "Well, there's plenty of that in the city. There's more Italians than you could shake a stick at." "And I wouldn't shake a stick at any Italian." The two were quiet for a moment. "I wish I could help you with paying. But not only do I not have any money, but if I did it would only be Australian money." "It's fine, really." The Australian said nothing for a moment, and then smirked and said "Fine, then!" Clara stood up, and shouted at Vedvacious that they were going into the City because Xavier wanted to. Vedvacious said she had some teacher stuff to attend to at the school, so she couldn't accompany them, and the two went on their way. "Are you sure you wanna bring your backpack with you?" Clara asked as they exited the house. Xavier adjusted the straps on the pack and nodded. "I don't go anywhere without it-I may need it," He said. "I mean, it's probably the one thing that helped me live when I stowed away in that alien's car." "And how so?" Clara asked, laughing, as they began walking. "It makes a good pillow," Xavier said indignantly. "All my gadgets are in here. My mom also put my coat and a lot of food in here for me just in case." Xavier looked at the ground for a moment and was about to say something, and Clara shushed him. "I know what you want to say, and we're not eating any of your emergency food in the city." "I wasn't going to say that," Xavier lied sarcastically. "Besides, who wants to eat a can of tuna in New York City?" "Ew, you like fish?" "A little. I live by the sea, you know, so there's a lot of fish and mum's glad that I like it. But I prefer Pineapples. I can't get them very much." "You can get a lot of them here," Clara quipped. "Well yeah, your country is near all those tropical islands and such where pineapples are, aren't you?" "You mean countries like Cuba and the places in South America like Brazil?" Xavier nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. There's a lot of South Americans living in the city as well, and like the Italians, a lot of them open restaurants. Maybe one has lots of pineapple food." Xavier nearly drooled at the thought of a restaurant with lots of pineapple things, but stopped himself. "No. I want a pizza or hot dog when we get there." "Pizza sounds good, you could get pineapple on that!" Xavier smiled and ran ahead of her. "That sounds incredible! I can't wait!" "And I know the perfect place, too!!" Xavier ran back to her, and was jumping excitedly. "This'll be great. I've seen pictures of New York City in a book before. Can we see the Empire State Building?" "Whyever would you want to see that?" "And why wouldn't you?" "I went there once as a kid. There were long lines, annoying tourists...it was awful." "But it's such a massive and impressive building." "I think the Sydney Opera House is much more impressive," Clara said, and Xavier stopped. "I've never seen the Sydney Opera House, Clara," He said sternly. "Because I'm not from Sydney. I'm from Melbourne." Clara apologized quietly. "It's alright. I've always wanted to see the Opera House, too." He said softly. When Clara and Xavier got out of the housing area of Brooklyn, and into the city part, Clara decided it was best if they caught a cab near the Brooklyn Bridge. That way, they would pay less. "Are you into architecture, Xavier?" Clara asked. "I like building things, so buildings are interesting to me." Clara stood by the road and tried to hail a cab, with two passing by before she caught one. The cab driver, an older man from somewhere in the Middle East reached back and opened up the door for them, and Xavier quickly went inside with fascination. "Can you take my friend and I into the city?" Clara asked, and the driver nodded. Clara climbed in. "Anywhere in particular?" the man asked, in a bright voice and an accent placing him from, as Clara thought, Egypt; Xavier thought India. Clara looked at Xavier, who thought for a moment and then said loudly, "Times Square?" Of course, Clara thought. The foreigners always love Times Square. Then again, I couldn't blame them. The driver nodded, and began to drive across the bridge. Clara looked out the window of the cab onto the water, and Xavier practically had his face pressed against the window. "Xavier, don't you live by the ocean?" Clara asked. "Why is the water so amazing to you?" "Not the water. The city," he said. "Look at those skyscrapers." Xavier looked out at the sitting, which slowly appeared out of some mist. He turned to Clara and clutched her arm desperately. "Along with Times Square and the Empire State Building...could we possibly see Central Park?" "Xavier, unless we spend all today and all tomorrow walking, we can't get to those places without a cab. And we don't have enough money for all those cabs. And you won't want to take the subway, either." "No, I don't," Xavier said. "If I did I wouldn't see anything." "I myself don't like taking the subway whenever I have to be in the city. It's a bit creepy, it's stressful, and gross, and everyone looks so sad on it. And there's lots of homeless people." "I've heard the metros in Europe are much nicer," Xavier said. "Though, they're probably still creepy and a little bit sad." The cab crossed over the bridge into New York City, and continued driving through, with Xavier looking fascinated the whole way. Eventually the cab reached Times Square, where, after Clara paid the cab driver and thanked him, Xavier nearly got run over as he looked around. "Xavier, get out of the road before you ogle," Clara whispered, and dragged him over to a small pavillion with chairs and tables, and a few stands selling food. Thousands of people spilled through, and up above them were dozens of bright, flashy posters and TV screens, which Xavier sat down and stared at. After some time, Clara tapped his shoulder and asked if he was alright. "I...Clara, I don't really want to go to the Empire State Building anymore. Can we just stay here?" "That's fine by me," She laughed. Xavier pointed. "Is that the ball that drops on New Year's Eve?" "Yea." "Wow," He said, and looked around some more. "Listen to that," Clara said. "I'm hearing more foreign languages than I am English." Xavier suddenly sat up. "Clara! That's it! I know how to get all those other teenagers here!!" "How?" "A convention of sorts. Here in Times Square. Lots of foreigners seem to like this place! We'd send them invitations saying that an unofficial and very secret convention is being held in Times Square, New York, on some day, just for people with superpowers. Most of them should show up!!" Clara looked at him, and smiled wide. "Perfect," She said. "When we get back, we have to tell Vedvacious. She's picking us up, by the way." "Thanks, genius ideas is what I do," Xavier said proudly. "How about a pizza?" "Sounds good. We can eat it on this pavillion if you want." "And why would I want to eat inside, when I could sit and look at this?" "It's even better at night, as you can imagine." "We should hold the convention at nighttime, then!" Clara nodded. "That sounds fine." The two got up, with Xavier leaving his secured (via a little gadget he'd built) backpack to guard their chairs, as Clara purchased two slices of pizza for them from a small pizza place nearby. "Did you bring your laptop?" Clara asked, as Xavier munched on a piece of pineapple-topped cheese pizza. They were sharing a no-ice Coke. Xavier nodded, and reached inside his backpack and grabbed it, as well as a small, odd-looking camera. "I'm going to take some pictures," Xavier said, moving around in his seat so he didn't miss a single poster or TV ad in Times Square. He hung the camera around his neck, and he opened up his laptop. The program was still open. "You should probably make a note of any dots that appear," Clara said. "Since some of them disappear." "Probably," Xavier said. "I'm going to look over the code now. Editing it so it's real-time shouldn't be the hardest thing ever. I could probably also include a tracking system to it takes note of all the dots that appear." He turned the program on, with the code in a separate window, and looked at all the dots that appeared, and showed it to Clara. "There's one in Canada," She said. "And another in Cuba." She looked over, and saw a jumble of dots across Europe, and a scattering of them across Asia. "The Chinese one is gone again," She said. "But I can see dots in Japan, South Korea, Russia, Great Britain...." "It seems most of them are in Europe," Xavier interrupted. "There's only one in South America. There, in Brazil." He pointed. Clara nodded. "This is strange-there's one at the top right corner of Africa, and one at the bottom left corner. You'd think there'd be more in Africa and China." "There's two in Italy. That's the only one, aside from America, that had more than one dot. And I don't think I count, since I'm Australian." Xavier said, motioning. "There's none in the Middle East," Clara sighed. "I don't know," Xavier said, as he edited the program a little bit. "What are you doing with it?" She asked him, and he looked over the edge of the laptop. "I'm entering in a code that will add cities and country borders," He explained. "After I do, I'll get to coding in the real-time feature, and then I'll list all the dots I can and send out the message about the convention. Both of them were excited about this. "It'll be great meeting other people," Clara said. "Other kids, our age, from around the world!" "Well Clara, the chance that they're all our age is pretty small," Xavier said. "It'd be interesting it even the majority of them were our age." "Even so," Clara said, "It'll be interesting." Xavier gulped down his pizza, much to Clara's amazement. "What is it?" He asked, as she stared at him. She shook her head. "Sorry, I've never seen anyone eat like that before." "I get that a lot," He said. "When's your teacher s'posed to pick us up?" Clara looked at her watch. "Soon enough," She said. "We'll tell her our idea, and then we can formulate it a little more." "I've still got to work on the programming a bit," He said. Clara stared at him. "Aren't you tired at all?" "No, why?" Clara stared at him. "Maybe that's your power-not requiring sleep for long periods of time." Xavier laughed. "Perhaps! I almost never need sleep." Xavier shivered as he finished talking. "Are you alright?" Clara asked. "Yeah," He said, clutching the sides of his shirt. "It's just that it's spring back home, and it's so cold here..." "Did you bring a coat?" Clara asked. "I think I shoved my lab coat into my backpack yesterday morning..." "We can check when we get back," She said. "If you don't have it, I'm sure we could get you another." The two discussed some more about the program, and eventually began discussing their homes as they waited for Vedvacious to pick them up. "I guess you wouldn't know, but how different is America from Australia?" Xavier asked her, intensely curious. "I think I should be asking you how different Australia is," She said, laughing. Xavier leaned his head on his hand, looking around at the lights again. "Well, I...It's not quite so crowded, yeah?" "I'll bet," Clara said. "Not so many people live in Australia." "I knew that," She said. "Because most of it is so hot?" He nodded. "That's right." He thought a little longer. "The way Americans talk is a little different." "Well, you have the accent, but the way you talk in general...it isn't that different. A lot of people here think Australians speak something almost completely different." "I don't use much slang," Xavier said. "Seems like you don't, either." "Not particularly," She said. "It just seems pointless to me." "But the way we talk aside-" Xavier said, "Not a whole lot is different." Clara leaned back in her chair. "I really love coming up here. Being in the city is like being in a different country. Especially because there's so many foreigners here." "Yeah," Xavier sighed. -------------------------------------------------- Later, Vedvacious had picked up the two teenagers, and when they got back to the house, Xavier continued working on his program. "Hey, Clara?" Xavier said, as the sun set outside. The girl walked into the room where the Australian was working. "What is it?" "Where are your parents?" Clara walked into the room, and sat on the bed. "Mine are divorced-" "Mine, too," Xavier interrupted. "My dad lives in a different state with my stepmom. I almost never see him." "What state?" Xavier asked. "Arizona," Clara said. "I see. That's awfully far." "I know. As for mom, she works in the city a lot. I'm usually staying the night at Vedvacious' house because I hate being home alone." "I see," Xavier whispered. "I'm sorry." "It's fine. I like staying the night here." "Me too," Xavier said. "Well, I'm almost done with this. Are you going to sleep?" "Yeah...do you think you'll have it up and running tomorrow?" "It's practically up and running now," Xavier said happily. "But tomorrow we can accurately spot where the others are, and we can work on the invitations to this Superpower Convention." "Sounds good," Clara said. "Good night, Xavier. You should really get some sleep, too-this'll be your second night up." "Alright, alright," Xavier laughed. "G'night." Chapter 4, pt. 2 ----------------------------------------------------- The next day, Clara woke up, looked to see if Xavier was sitting on her bed again, and didn't see him. "I wonder how much he got done last night?" she wondered, and climbed out of bed to go check on him. When she walked into the guest bedroom, Xavier was slumped next to the open laptop, sleeping, and she gently shook him. "Huh?" He said sleepily, slightly opening his eyes, closing them again, and then rolling his head. "I guess I fell asleep working, yeah?" "Looks like it," Clara said. "Do you need to go back to sleep?" "I don't know," He said sleepily. He tried lifting his head, but it fell back down again. "Yeah, I need to go back. But I finished the program..." He said, as his eyes kept falling. "Alright. You sleep there, I'll look at it. I won't mess it up, promise." "You do that.." Xavier mumbled, and went back to sleep. Clara carefully grabbed his laptop and went into the living room with it, and saw that Vedvacious was up making breakfast for the two of them. "Ved, Xavier says he finished his program. But I don't think I can work the thing by myself." "Can't he help you?" "He's asleep. He stayed up two nights in a row." Vedvacious nodded, and went back to making breakfast. Clara sat down on the couch and lightly touched the laptop's mouse, causing the black screen to light up. The program was already opened, and while it was improved from the day before, Clara couldn't really tell that well. She wondered if she would understand it a little better if she went inside the computer, but decided against it. "Maybe there's a guide," She murmured, and clicked around at some of the options. She searched around, and eventually found a 'help' tab, and clicked on it. What came up was a small guide, written by Xavier (she could tell just by the way it was written-she couldn't help but read it in his voice). It was in simple language, and she wished more help guides were like it. "Alright," She said, after skimming through it. "I think I can figure this out." She clicked a button, and instantly many small dots appeared on the screen. A few of the dots were moving around-those people must have been riding in a car, or train, or maybe even a boat or plane. The dot that was in India continued to flash, appearing and disappearing. The map itself was improved-like he had said, he'd included outlines so you could clearly see countries now, and if you scrolled over you could see the name of the country. If you clicked, you could see major cities. She began by scrolling over the dots in order to see where the others lived, starting with areas nearest to America. Canada, She thought, eying the blue dot that was roughly in the middle of the country. She scrolled and clicked on the map, discovering that the dot was in Saskatchewan. She didn't know anything about that province, only about Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec. She decided to see what city it was in. That can't be right, She said, clicking and scrolling. The dot doesn't live in any town. Are they living out in the woods? Or the country? Or what? That complicated matters a bit. If they didn't live in a town, then there were two possibilities: either they farmed, or they were just a Canadian version of country folk who only went into town to get supplies. Either way, they wouldn't get the invitation for the convention right away. Perhaps we could set the date for next month, Clara thought. Perhaps they'll have had to go into town by then. Clara put that worry away for later, and decided it would be best to discuss it with both Vedvacious and Xavier, and moved on to the next dot, which was near Florida. That's Cuba, She thought. Cubans don't like Americans, do they? It'll be hard to talk with whoever this person is... Clara continued down the list, and made a list of where all the dots where-and included her and Xavier: New York City, United States Melbourne, Australia Unknown location, Saskatchewan, Canada Havana, Cuba Berlin, Germany Moscow, Russia Coventry, England, the UK Seoul, South Korea Versailles, France Oslo, Norway Adra, Estonia Pori, Finland Siracusa, Italy Athens, Greece Tokyo, Japan Beijing, China Cairo, Egypt Reyjavik, Iceland Budapest, Hungary Rio de Janiero, Brazil New Delhi, India Amsterdam, The Netherlands Durban, South Africa Vilinius, Lithuania Batangas, The Philippines Jerusalem, Israel Sevastopol, Ukraine Dese, Ethiopia Udon Thani, Thailand Adana, Turkey Palikir, Micronesia "That's a lot of people," Clara said quietly. "But, I guess it is all the ones in the world, so..." Her train of thought didn't go anywhere from there. Clara ran her fingers through her hair. "I have to make posters in the proper languages for all these places," She said, and tried to think. She decided it was best to write the languages next to the countries, starting with what she knew, and then filling in the blanks with some research. "This'll be difficult," Clara said, a little sadly. She'd studied some Spanish and French for school, and felt that was good enough to make a flyer for their convention. But for the others....she didn't want to use an online translator, because she knew that would cause problems. Then an idea struck. "I'm sure at least one person from all of these countries lives in the city," She said. "Perhaps I can hire them to...no, then they would know about the convention." She slumped in her chair. "There goes the only idea I had." She sat and thought for a little while longer, and eventually realized she would have to have some help; she felt weak realizing this, but decided that perhaps Vedvacious knew a little something about other languages-something Clara didn't. Vedvacious was still in the house, doing a bit of reading in her library in order to learn more about possible countries that the others would be coming from. "Ved?" Clara said, peeking into the library. The Roman looked up slightly. "I need some help." Vedvacious shut her book and walked over to Clara. "What is it?" "I found out where all the other...heroes, I guess, are. But I have no idea how to make invitations for them to find. I thought of getting some foreigners in the city to translated for me, but then other people would know and we have to keep this a secret. I also don't know how to distribute the posters." "Clara, you're good with the Internet. Why not go to Google Earth, or whatever you want, and find where they are, and send a flyer to those houses?" "I didn't think of that," She said. "And why not just use some reliable translation online?" "Well, Ved, I was thinking, since you're from the Roman Empire, you might know something about other languages." "I can speak Italian," She said. "I know a bit of French & Spanish, as well." "Well, that's five posters done, then. I'll do the ones for England, and both of us have to make the Canada one." She would also have to make English for a Micronesian poster, but didn't know that. "Well, I'm sure there's some reliable translators online," Said Vedvacious. "Do you want me to help you?" "I think I can handle it. Why don't you get to work on the Italian, French, and Spanish posters?" "I will." "Alright. Thank you, Ved." Clara went back to her computer and began to look at the addresses of the locations, despite how she felt; that is, feeling as though she was snooping around in other people's lives, but knew she had to do this. Even as she worked she knew that somewhere in the world Fergusk & Debuson were taking over the minds of some students. As she worked, she wondered if they would have to fight those students, and realized that if she did, she may not be able to. She decided she would have to wait until she dealt with whatever the two aliens would send to her to fight. ------------------------------------------------- Hours later, Xavier finally awoke, rather late in the day, and stumbled into the room where Clara was working. "What're you doing?" Xavier slurs. "I need a coffee..." "Dude, it's 5 in the afternoon." "I need a coffee," He repeated, and Clara, sighing, got up and made him a mug of coffee. Xavier sat down in the chair next to the laptop, and stared sleepily at the screen. The program wasn't up, but rather, several browsers open to online translators and a text processor to write up posters. The same text, over and over, in various languages, were onscreen. "Here you go," Clara said, handing the mug to Xavier. The Australian gladly took it, took a few sips, and sighed. "That's better. What are you working on, anyway?" "Invitations," She said. "Also, we've run into a small problem. A lot of these people live in remoter locations than I expected." She wouldn't admit it, but since she was from New York, and Xavier was from Melbourne, she half-expected them all to live in big cities, or even the capitals. After some research, she learned that not only did the Canadian live in the middle of nowhere, but others-like the Turk, Estonian, and the Thai-lived in smaller towns. She continued. "And so we're gonna mail them to the houses." "I thought that was what we were doing in the first place," Xavier said. "We can't just fly to the countries and post flyers in public." At this, Clara just felt stupid. "Do you wanna help me?" Clara asked. "Ved is helping with French, Italian, and Spanish." "You go to New York City a lot," Xavier said. "Wouldn't you know a bit about other languages from your experiences?" Clara thought for a moment. "I've made friends with a few restaurant owners, and they sometimes speak in Italian or Portuguese or whatever, so I've learned a handful of words." "Back in Melbourne, I had a friend from Singapore who spoke Chinese. I picked up a little from him." "Writing, too?" Clara said. "No," Xavier said sadly. "But speaking. There's a Chinese person from Beijing, right? They probably read both Chinese and that romanized Chinese script." "Pinyin," Clara said. "Yeah, that. We can put it in both of those." The two discussed it a bit more. Altogether, Vedvacious could do Italian, French, and Spanish, and thanks to her Spanish knowledge she could possibly do Portuguese. Clara could do English, German thanks to school, and a few things on other posters thanks to experiences in the city. Xavier could do English and some Chinese. The two worked for a while, and later Vedvacious joined them to help, and all three stayed up for some time to make those invitations. Clara, though she didn't like it, found the addresses of every dot on the map, and the three helped her seal them in envelopes. Vedvacious had many stamps (she preferred sending letters to students rather than e-mails), so they put stamps on the invitations, and the next day sent them out to the world.

[so this was kind of my pet project of sorts, I've already written several chapters and decided it was best to post them here.] Prologue ------------------------------------------------- In Ancient Rome, there was a woman named Vedvacious; a woman who was adventurous and intelligent. So it was unfortunate that she was born in the time she was, since she wasn't able to do much. So, it was a miracle to Vedvacious when she found out she had an interesting skill-the power of Time Travel. She didn't entirely remember how she had discovered her skill, nor why she was even able to use the power. But in the beginning, she used it to take small trips to the past or near-future. But eventually, Vedvacious became fed up with her life in her current time period, and eventually traveled to many different periods until settling down in the modern age. Vedvacious, eager to travel, left Europe and came to the United States, where she became a history teacher at a local high school, called Parkdale, a school in a town in New York. Vedvacious had settled comfortably into modern life, adapting modern language and ideals while remaining fairly Roman. She had treasures in her home and classroom, gathered from different ages in history. Vedvacious didn't think much of her time travel, and thought she was the only one with such a power, until she overheard a troubling conversation. ------------------------------------------------------- Far away, on a different planet, two alien beings-females-were discussing things. Their names are translated as Fergusk and Debuson, and both were teachers of a sort on that planet. They were not very good teachers, and both had been threatened with being fired if they didn't do something impressive-this risked not their teaching jobs so much, but their entire chance of any occupation. Fergusk was looking through a powerful telescope, and Debuson, her partner (of sorts), wondered what Fergusk might be up to. And she asked her exactly what she was up to. "Fergusk, what are you even doing?" Debuson asked, looking as Fergusk peered into the telescope. "I have a plan to get our reputations back," Fergusk said. "We'll take over a planet." Debuson blinked. "What? That's impossible. Or at least exceedingly difficult." "Not if we find a weak planet," Fergusk. "But not too weak. Not so weak that it's worth nothing." Debuson nodded in agreement. She was a lot older than Fergusk, and yet was terrified of her. "Debuson, grab a book and find me a planet that seems weak." Debuson gulped, as such a task sounded rather difficult. But she insisted. Debuson went and grabbed a few books on different planets off the shelves, and quickly flipped through them, showing possible candidates to Fergusk every so often, and each time Fergusk sternly told her that one would never work. Finally, Debuson, convinced nothing would work, showed her the last one she was able to find, desperate that it would work. "The Planet Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy." Debuson shut her eyes, expecting more yelling from Fergusk that she was doing a terrible job. Rather, Fergusk snatched the book away, nearly causing Debuson to fall over, and she scanned the book for information. "Debuson, you are a genius. This is perfect." "But what are you going to do?" Debuson asked, balancing herself again. "Here," Fergusk said, and pointed to a paragraph and some outdated photographs. "Teenagers. Humans on that planet go through the teenage years, which are the most turbulent of their entire lives. They go to school at this age-Debuson, we're teachers. We could go and easily manipulate the teenagers into doing our bidding." "How is that going to do anything?" "Simple. These teenagers, when they graduate from the 'High Schools', go into the adult world. Some of them continue schooling, but even so, are considered members of the adult world. Thus, they become the next generation to 'rule', if you get what I'm trying to say." Debuson thought for a moment, and then she understood. "I see. But it sounds difficult." "It will be! But that makes it all the better. And this is one of those planets with no contact with outside worlds. So they can't call on help!" "But it say here that sometimes their countries band together to stop an evil force." Fergusk laughed. "Are you kidding? I think they fight too much to even care what we do. Come on, Debuson. We need to leave NOW if we want to get anything done." --------------------------------------------------------- The two aliens packed weapons, disguises, and many books in preparation for their stay on planet Earth. The trip didn't take much time, and the two aliens landed, conveniently, in the same town where Vedvacious lived and taught, in a small park. It was in the early morning hours, dark, and no one but a few shady types and homeless people were there-and none of them took much notice to the ship, with its lights turned off, silently going to the ground of the park. The few people in the park passed it off as a hallucination of sorts if they actually noticed it. "Fergusk, this ship is going to cause a huge ruckus if anyone sees it when it gets light out," Debuson whispered to Fergusk. "You tell me that like I'm stupid or something," Fergusk snapped. "After we get off and take our things, the ship will fly back home. I have a communicator with home, and the other teachers know that we're here (but they don't know what we're doing, ha ha!). A few days from now, they'll be constructing us an automobile, and possibly a boat and airplane, to travel with." Debuson smiled, though she still looked scared. "You planned for everything, didn't you, Fergusk?" Fergusk smirked. "I sure did," She said. The two aliens gathered up their equipment, with Debuson carrying more than Fergusk, although Fergusk still helped-albeit with the lighter objects. "Hurry, Debuson-we need to find a place to stay." "Stay?!" Fergusk said, scared. "How will we do that?!" "I have some money," Fergusk said. She awkwardly moved some things from her left to right arm, and grabbed a bundle of American dollars, showing it to her partner. Debuson mouthed 'Oh' and didn't say much else. The two aliens had donned disguises, and when they stepped out of their ship, the vehicle, again silent and dark, flew away into the night. Debuson looked up at the ship as it vanished into the night sky. She was getting homesick already, but didn't dare tell Fergusk, who was determined with the entire plan. "Come on," Fergusk said, "We'll find a hotel for now." Fergusk & Debuson walked the streets of the American city, getting mysterious glares from the few people they passed by. Debuson was terrified of the strange place, but Fergusk kept going. She refused to even ask where a nearby hotel was, although Debuson desperately wanted to. Eventually, the alien came across a broken-down motel with a neon sign. Fergusk smirked, and went inside to get a room-a room for an unknown period of time. ------------------------------------------------------ The next day, Fergusk and Debuson, after setting up in their hotel room, decided the best choice next was to get some jobs at the nearest High School. "Come on, Debuson!" Fergusk shouted; when the two slept, their disguises were let off, as the disguises were technology-powered and needed some rest time. "We're job hunting today. Get up." Debuson did as she was told as quickly as possible, donned her human disguise, and the two left the hotel to go find a High School. As luck would have it, the aliens and Vedvacious took the same route to the High School, and the two aliens, deciding to ask around, asked Vedvacious first where a school was. Vedvacious found the two of them strange-not realizing they were aliens, of course-and told them that she herself was a teacher, and she was on her way to Parkdale High School. "Why do you two ask?" "We're both hoping to become teachers." Vedvacious nodded. "I see. Well, there aren't many openings right now for teachers themselves, but you might be able to become a faculty member anyway." Fergusk nodded, and smirked. "Alright. Thank you, Miss." Vedvacious was then lost in the crowd of people walking, although she stayed close. The two seemed strange. And, stupidly, Fergusk started to talk about their plan. "See, Debuson? I told you I'd prepared for everything. It's all going perfectly, and nothing can stop me-I mean us. Do you know where we are, Debuson? We're in the United States, which is incredibly powerful, and has lots of teenagers-lots of teenagers whose minds will be ready and waiting for us to control. If we have control of the teenagers in America, then getting control of every other teen in the world will be exceedingly simple." "If you say so, Fergusk," Debuson said sheepishly. "It's incredibly simple," Fergusk said, "And I planned for absolutely everything that could possibly happen. We'll have the planet in no time." Vedvacious listened to the whole ordeal, and was disturbed by it. What were those two talking about? It was New York, and many strange folks lived there, but she'd heard a great many strange things here, and that just about topped it because of how serious and strange it was. If they got jobs at the school, she would have to keep a very close eye on them. Who could she tell about it? She thought for a moment of all the teenagers she knew at the school, but one came to mind right away; and that was Clara Abbey. -------------------------------------------------------- Clara Abbey was 15 years old. She lived in New York City, in the United States. She was a bit of a recluse at the High School she attended, Parkdale, due to her strange ways. Clara spent more of her time online than she did anything else. True, it was the only place where she really felt she belonged, with friends from all over the world. At least there were people who understood her-just not anyone in her area code. However, she had, this school year, found someone-here World History teacher, Vedvacious. Vedvacious was eccentric, and her classroom was full of glittery text posters with interesting history quotes, as well as random little artifacts from history. Clara liked Vedvacious's classroom. Clara was really good friends with the teacher, as well, and told her basically everything. Clara told Vedvacious about bullies in real life, and how they hurt so much more than ones online, who didn't really hurt her at all. She told her funny stories about all her online friends, and about funny videos she saw. She told Vedvacious about her new favorite internet meme, or about her favorite critic or reviewer's newest video. But, everyone has that one secret they never tell anyone, too dark, or possibly just too strange, and no one would believe it. Clara had one, just as Vedvacious did. Clara, just like Vedvacious, had a power she had never told someone about. Clara couldn't time travel, but she could travel through a computer. Meaning, she could physically travel into the computer and physically through the Internet. Clara had discovered this ability a few years prior, when she was dealing with a particularly nasty fanboy online, one that was annoying her to no end. Like many Net Citizens, Clara wanted to punch the fanboy in the face over the Internet; unlike anyone else, though, when Clara punched her computer screen in rage, her fist had gone through the screen, her fist disappearing into the screen. The fanboy messaged her back, saying a fist had just come out of his screen and punched him. He was apparently terrified, because he never bothered Clara ever again. Clara had been terrified and yet thrilled when this happened. After it happened, she checked once more to see if she had dreamed or hallucinated; she hadn't. She had been ecstatic. Since then, Clara had made frequent trips into the Internet, and had recently discovered something more unsettling; this being that sometimes, when she went in-line (as she called it), she brought a little culture back with her, which manifested in the form of what she could only call spells. Clara felt she had the powers of her favorite 'Net Phenomena within her. She'd never gotten into a fight at school, or a fight period, so she'd been unable to fully test her theory. Online she fought every so often, and there, she had many of these 'spells', as did other users; in real life, he felt inklings of the spells. Clara had also learned she could enter in one computer and out through another, creating a mode of transport for her; but since she really had no place she could go via this method, she mostly kept it in her mind for reference. That morning, Clara walked to school, laptop in her bookbag. She wore her favorite shirt-her Three Wolf Moon shirt. Online, it was legendary, and tall tales were told of its mystical powers. Online it had all those skills; in real life, when Clara wore it, she felt a strange aura, but didn't pay much mind to it. Clara walked into the school, the hallways empty. This morning she intended to go to the History room and talk to Vedvacious about a History project. Clara had been surprised that Vedvacious let her use Wikipedia, much to Clara's joy. Clara walked down the hallways, until she reached Room 162-Vedvacious's room for World History as well as Latin, a class Clara didn't take, but from what she'd heard, Vedvacious taught it extraordinarily well. Clara opened the door, seeing the light inside the room, signaling that the teacher had arrived at school and was in their room, doing whatever teachers did before school. "Ved?" Clara asked, opening the door. Clara also had History first block, so she went over to her seat and set her bag and books down. Vedvacious looked up, and right away sprang up and ran over to Clara. "Clara, I need to talk to you about something," She said, and Clara looked worried. "It's not school related," Vedvacious assured her. Clara looked, and began to sweat. What could Vedvacious have to tell her that wasn't school related? "Sit down," Vedvacious said, and Clara did. "Ved, what's going on?" "This is going to sound completely insane," Vedvacious said, her tone and face quite serious. "Tell me," Clara said, and she felt a strange feeling rising from her stomach. "I...I think I met two aliens this morning." Clara stared. "I overheard them talking about...these weird plans. Plans to control the minds of teenagers. They were going to become teachers at this school, I think." Clara stared intently. "Clara...you seem to be taking this well." "I believe you, Ved." Vedvacious blinked. "You do?" Clara nodded. "I...I don't know what to do. If they were really aliens, and they were serious, than we have a huge problem on our hands. But...but I think...Clara, I have something else I need to tell you, a huge secret of mine. I've never told anyone." Clara gulped, trying to keep down the rising feeling in her stomach. She almost felt like throwing up. "Clara, I...I'm not from...from now, I guess." Clara stared. "I time traveled. Do you understand? I originally lived in Ancient Rome. I came to this time after searching for a good one to live in. I came to the United States to explore the new country." Clara stared. "I see," She said quietly. Vedvacious looked confused. "You're taking this whole I'm a Time Traveler thing mighty well," Vedvacious said. Clara nodded. "It's because I believe you. I believe you because I also have a big secret I've never told anyone: I can go inside computers and physically travel the Internet." Vedvacious said nothing. The way Clara said it, she felt the girl was mocking her. "I'll even prove it to you," Clara said, and for some reason Clara felt like crying. "No, Clara, it isn't necessary. I believe you-if only because we both have powers." "I always thought I was the only one," Clara said. "With powers, I mean." "Me too," Vedvacious said. "And we aren't too different, I bet. I used mine to escape from a time where I didn't have any rights. You use yours to escape from a place where you can't relate with anybody." Clara was shocked, and elated, and many other different feelings, all at the same time. Finally telling someone her secret was not something she thought she would ever do. "That's true," Clara sighed. Vedvacious nodded. "As for what I saw this morning...I don't know. We need to pay close attention to those two if they decide to teach here. If they really are aliens, and really are trying to take over the planet, then we need to stop them. I think you and I may be enough to stop them, but that depends on how powerful they really are." Clara nodded. "Alright. I'm going to go to the library now and maybe eat breakfast, if I have time." Vedvacious nodded as Clara left behind everything save for her laptop. "And Ved..." Clara said, as she left. "Yes, Clara?" Vedvacious said, as she looked at some papers, disinterested in them. "Do you think there are others? Like us?" Vedvacious looked up. "I have no doubt about it," She said. Clara nodded, and walked out of the classroom. ----------------------------------------------------- "Hello," Said Ms. Francis, a woman who worked in the office at Parkdale High. "How may I help you?" Fergusk & Debuson stood in front of the Attendance Counter, staring at the short, chubby woman who worked there. "We want jobs here," Fergusk said, as nicely as she could. Debuson smiled and nodded. Ms. Francis out her head on her hands. "Then you need to go into the office and talk to the secretary. This is the attendance office." Fergusk grimaced, but did so anyhow, roughly pushing open the neighboring door into the main office. "Excuse me," Fergusk said, getting the attention of the bored secretary. "Me and my friend want jobs here." The secretary stared. "Um, alright. You'll need an application for that. You'll have to wait, and talk with the principal." Fergusk scowled, and Debuson smiled fearfully. The women sat down in the blue chairs, and waited until the principal could see them. Chapter 1 The principal of Parkdale High didn't like the two women, but since there were openings available, let them have the jobs. Fergusk became an administator, and Debuson a teacher of US History just across the hall from Vedvacious's class. "That's them!" Vedvacious said to Clara after the first block World History ended. "One of them is teaching the US History class," She explained. "That one seems to have been the weaker of the two. I don't know her name." "We should try and find out what job the other one got," Clara said. Vedvacious nodded, and folded her arms, staring over at the U.S. History Class. "This is terrible, if the new teachers really are out to control student's minds," Clara said. "That teacher is going for the freshmen, looks like. Fresh high school minds." She looked at the Roman. "What should we do?" Vedvacious said nothing for a few moments. "I don't know. We should watch them for a few days. You try and watch them, but try and avoid them as much as you can. If they're serious about their plans...I'm curious how they'd control minds." -------------------------------------------------------- "Students," Said Debuson, "I am your new teacher. I know it must be strange getting a new teacher all of a sudden, in the middle of the year, but I assure you, I am looking forward to teaching you. Very, very much." She took a marker and wrote "MRS. DEBUSON" on the board. "Mrs?" Asked a student. "Are you married, Mrs. Debuson?" Debuson's eyes rose. "What? No." "Then you're MISS Debuson. Not Mrs." "Heh, sorry," Debuson said, fixing the mistake. "Sorry. I did not know." The students were bored out of their minds-some texted, some played with pencils, and others tried to sleep. Debuson began to sweat. She had no idea how to handle these students. Hopefully they weren't too rowdy. They seemed simple enough to take control of. But how would she do it? She had to discuss it with Fergusk. "Alright, students," She said. "Can anyone tell me what your old teacher was teaching when they were last here?" One freshman in the back raised their hand, their other hand supporting a sleepy head. "Second World War." Debuson sweated again. She didn't know anything about Earth history. "Uh..alright. Were there any movies or anything being watched? Or papers? Anything?" A different student rose their hand, and yawned, "We had a paper that was due today." The other students groaned at the student who reminded the new teacher of the homework, and Debuson knew, at the very least, that that child would never be able to let it down. "Alright. Please come put your worksheet on my desk while I read over the lesson plan for today..." A handful of the students got up and turned in papers, as Debuson pored over a lesson plan. Today's plan was to read Chapter 24 in the books, and do the paper for that section. Then, they would watch a video about America in the Second World War, and do video notes. Debuson groaned. "Alright class. We will be watching this video. You must take ten notes on it." The class sighed, but got out paper anyway, many borrowing from other people. Debuson fiddled with the DVD player, and eventually began to play the movie as the students took some notes on whatever they could. While they did, Debuson left the classroom to find Fergusk. The assistant was just outside Debuson's classroom, doing nothing in particular. "Fergusk," Debuson said through her teeth, "I need help." "What is it?" Fergusk snapped, and Debuson leaped back a bit, always scared of her superior. "I...I don't actually know how we're going to control minds." Vedvacious, who was outside her classroom, pricked up her ears at this, and pretended to go back in her classroom-however, there was a small alcove near her door that she hid in. Fergusk laughed, rather menacingly. "That video I gave you," She said, giggling. "I edited the footage. It'll have those teens in your class controlled before you know it." "Oh, so we'll do it in different ways. The mind controlling, I mean." "Of course, stupid," Fergusk said. "Now get back in there already," She said, opening the door and shoving Debuson back in. "Amateur." Vedvacious gasped as quietly as she could, and went back in her classroom. She needed to tell Clara this. After school-Clara had already moved to her next class. --------------------------------------------------- "Clara," Vedvacious said, as the girl came into the classroom. "I have news." Clara said nothing, and sat down. "I overheard Fergusk and Debuson talking today. I was too late-Fergusk tapped a History Video to control the minds of students in some way. They are serious about this, and I'm worried about those freshmen." Clara nodded. "So am I." Vedvacious folded her hands and laid her head on them. "What are we going to do...?" "We need to find out more," Clara said. "What are they going to do with the students once they control their minds?" "That's what we need to find out," Vedvacious answered, and stood up. "Both of them said they would be staying late today. Perhaps we could go visit them?" Vedvacious said, and both of them stood up, Clara's bookbag still slung over her shoulder. Both of the women walked across the hall, from Vedvacious's World History class to Debuson's US History class, and peeked inside. Inside, Fergusk & Debuson were talking to a roomful of the freshmen students from that morning. They all looked the same as they usually did-no cliche slack-jawed mouths or empty black eyes. The only difference was that they were all paying very good attention, when as we know, those kids from the morning class did not pay attention at all due to lack of caring. "Clara," Vedvacious whispered, "Now is a time to show me your powers. Get inside your laptop, and travel into the computer in that room. Don't come out-just do it so you can eavesdrop." "OK," Clara said, and took her laptop out of her bookbag. Vedvacious held it in her outstretched hands, and Clara, with some difficulty, crawled inside it. Clara looked around inside the computer; she was on her desktop right now, which had a witty demotivational poster on it. "Alright. Find other computer," She shouted, and a window popped open showing every computer in the school that was currently on. She browsed through them as quickly as she possibly could, until she found the one for Debuson's room. Luckily for her they were named by teacher and subject, rather than room number alone. Clara leaped up and clicked on the folder, climbing inside of it. Before she knew it, she was inside the school computer, away from her fun desktop and icons for games and into a bland, school-logo desktop and folders for grades and schoolwork. She was tempted to go and change her grade, until she remembered she didn't take US History. She leaped out, and stuck a single ear outside the computer to hear, and heard Fergusk talking. "...And, kids, since you're part of our plan now, you'll be helping us take over the world!" "Yea, Fergusk," The kids said, in messy unison. "In case you're wondering, which I doubt you are...we'll be injecting you with temporary powers. You will, as you may say, 'wreak havoc' on the city. Then, when you do a good job, we'll inject you with permanent powers, and we'll move on to other cities until this entire country is ravaged by teenagers. And then, young people will rule the world!" The teens let out a genuine cheer, and Fergusk laughed, with Debuson joining along nervously. Clara swiftly pulled her ear back in, and went back to her own laptop, and tumbled out of the screen. "What are they up to?" "They're injecting the freshmen with some kind of steroid that gives them powers, or something, and they'll cause havoc all over the city." Vedvacious gasped, which, unfortunately and unintentionally, caught the intention of Fergusk & Debuson. "Who's that?" Fergusk said, glancing over towards the door. Debuson bit her thumbnail, and the heads of the freshmen also turned towards the door. "Hold on. We'll take care of this," Fergusk said, and hit Debuson's shoulder. "You! Inject them, right now. We have eavesdroppers." Fergusk kicked the door open, and glared at Clara and Vedvacious. "I see," She said, "The World History teacher and her student are eavesdropping on me." Vedvacious shook her head, but Clara stood firmly. "Well, it's one or the other, we can silence you, or you can calmly go with us in our plans. We'll make it as painless as possible." Clara glared at Fergusk, and the alien lifted her head. "Clara Abbey, right?" Clara nodded. "Alright, Clara. Vedvacious, you're an adult, but since you know about us now, we'll have to get rid of you. A shame we can't use you for the plan." Fergusk reached for Clara's shirt collar, but the girl bounded back, and Fergusk, not even slightly fazed, walked back toward her. Clara had to think faster-what could she do to stop Fergusk? She racked her memory for an internet meme, or at least some manner of phenomenon, that she could use. She was a little scared to use powers in front of Fergusk, but knew she had to. Fergusk yelled at her partner to take care of the students while she dealt with Vedvacious and Clara, and slammed the classroom door shut. "Alright. The girl first." Clara glared at the alien as menacingly as she could, and before she knew it Fergusk lunged at her, and Clara, without knowing what to do, threw a punch at the alien in the stomach while yelling, without really realizing it, "Falcon Punch!!" Fergusk was flung back, hitting the classroom door. Her human disguise broke for a split second, but Vedvacious and Clara both knew what they saw, and wanted to erase it from their minds. "What power!" Fergusk said, getting back up. "But I don't think you could do it again." "And I bet you can't stop the rock," Clara said smugly. Fergusk raised an eyebrow but prepared to try and grab Clara again, when a large, round boulder suddenly appeared and started rolling. Vedvacious clutched Clara's arm and ran for her classroom, but Fergusk, panicking, ran down the hallway, screaming for Debuson, who, after the rock rolled away, opened the door and wondered what was happening. "What the...?" Debuson said quietly, examining her partner running away from the rock. She blinked, and wanted to go back inside, but knew Fergusk would chew her out if she did. So, she told the kids something, and walked outside to run after her partner. "Fergusk? Fergusk!!" Debuson shouted from behind the giant rock. Vedvacious looked at Clara sternly. "You've saved us, but that rock is going to destroy the hallway," She said, and Clara shook her head. "I don't think so. That rock is just computer code, I think." The two looked out of the alcove where Vedvacious's room was, and saw that the rock had ran into Fergusk, hurting her, but not greviously injuring or killing her. Debuson was jumping around, freaking out, hoping Fergusk wasn't dead ("Fergusk, I can't do this without you, mostly because I have no idea what to do!") Debuson stopped when Fergusk slowly stood up, moaning in pain. Vedvacious looked at Clara, and Clara, grinning, simply shrugged. Fergusk got up, with some difficulty, with Debuson helplessly trying to restrain her. "Little bitch," Fergusk said, stomping her way towards Clara. "I'll bet you couldn't do something like that again, huh?" Vedvacious clutched Clara's arm and they began running down the hallway, with Fergusk spinning around and screaming at Debuson to stop them. The woman promptly complied, running towards and weakly tackling Clara and Vedvacious. Debuson picked up Clara by the collar of her lucky t-shirt, and clenched Vedvacious's sweater in her other hand. Fergusk walked over to them, limping, and grabbed Clara, snapping at Debuson to keep a close hold on the woman. "Clara Abbey," Fergusk said, "I don't know how you did that, but what I want to know right now is: what are you?" Clara looked at Fergusk, and smirked. "Me? I..." She looked at the ground, and then, squarely punched Fergusk in the stomach. "I am a man," She yelled, her voice cracking. Fergusk recoiled, and Debuson, not sure what to do, went to her partner's aid, letting go of Vedvacious. Fergusk slapped Debuson weakly, screaming at her to go after the two of them; Debuson insisted that she wanted Fergusk to be alright. Fergusk groaned loudly, but by the time they'd finished arguing the two had already escaped. Luckily for the aliens, the brainwashed kids in the classroom didn't care either way. -------------------------------------------------- Clara and Vedvacious ran out to the teacher's European car, with Clara accidentally trying to climb into the driver's seat. The two climbed in, buckled up, and sat there for a moment, gathering their breath, before Vedvacious started driving out of the mostly-empty parking lot. It was getting late. "I feel sorry for the parents of those freshmen," Clara said after a short silence, once they were on the road. "I really hope we can do something about it..." "Well, the good thing is that you have a great talent and you can beat those two up. The best thing is that I know I'm not crazy. But the bad thing is that I know Fergusk is dangerous, and I think she'll stop at nothing to control you or destroy you." Clara sighed. "Where do you live, Clara?" Clara looked at her teacher. "Oh, my mom won't mind if I'm away for a while. I'm on the computer so much she'd applaud me if I was out of the house for a while." Vedvacious sighed, but agreed. "I guess I should get you something to eat. Fast food, I guess." "Ved, how will we get by at school tomorrow with Fergusk & Debuson?" "I don't know," The Roman said, intensely concentrating on the road. Ved took Clara to a burger restaurant, where the student had some fried chicken, fries, and a soda. She got on her laptop, checking her many websites she was a part of, and then the two left; Clara was, eventually, dropped off at her two-story house, the two of them wondering, and tossing and turning in their beds, over what they would do the next day about the aliens. Chapter 2 ------------------------------------------------------- Vedvacious picked Clara up the next day for school, and the teacher drove, the student staring out the window, in nervous silence. They pulled into the parking lot of the school, and Clara climbed out, carefully grabbing her backpack, and Vedvacious jumped out with her carryall bag. The two looked around, and then walked into the school. The hallways were not as quiet as they were yesterday-a few more kids were in the halls, and the sound of them talking and lockers being opened echoed across the walls. Clara and her teacher walked closer to the classroom, with Clara's legs getting shakier and more jellylike the closer she got to the alcove where Vedvacious's classroom was. When they did, they stopped, looked at each other, and then over at Fergusk & Debuson's classroom. They peeked in-the room was dark, and locked as well. Not even the computer was on. Clara looked back over at Vedvacious, and sighed. "Well, we'll have to wait. I'm sure Fergusk will be storming into your classroom later on." The two women walked into Vedvacious's classroom, but found the door already opened; Vedvacious's hear began to pound and she ran inside the room and turned on the lights. Luckily, everything was still there, including the various artifacts, Vedvacious ran over to the desk as Clara set her bag down, and desperately rushed through all the drawers to see if everything was still there-which they were. The only new thing was a small note on Vedvacious's desk-a small sticky note that said, in rushed script, VEDVACIOUS AND THAT KID WE HAVE DECIDED TO START SMALLER IN OUR PLAN HAVE FUN STOPPING US WHEN WE'RE IN AUSTRALIA. -FERGUSK & DEBUSON Vedvacious stared at the note, and then at Clara. "Australia? Really? How would we be able to find them there?" Vedvacious sunk in her chair. "It's hopeless, then. We can't fly there-it's too far." Clara sat down, and laid her head on her arms. "Do you think, maybe, there's a kid like me in Australia?" Vedvacious looked at Clara. "I hope to God there is," She said. ------------------------------------------------------- On the other side of the world, Xavier Flynn, a young man the same age as Clara, was dead asleep just as Clara had gotten to school. He'd stayed up fairly late, per usual, and practically expected himself to be late for school tomorrow. Fergusk & Debuson had arrived in Melbourne not too long before, and automatically the both of them, were already getting a few complaints for being loud. "Fergusk, what happened? Why's it so dark?" Fergusk turned around and nearly smacked her partner. "The time zones, and hemispheres, stupid. It's daytime over in America, while everyone's dead asleep here. Christ...I didn't take that into account..." "But Fergusk, we arrived in America at night, too. And why are we in Australia, anyway?" "Australia, Debuson, isn't that powerful on the world stage, but it seems everyone likes them. And they're like a weird, stupid combination of Americans and British people." Debuson paused. "From Great Britain, Debuson!!" "Oh," Said the alien, sulking. "Well, we need to find a place to stay, and tomorrow, find a school to work at. Hopefully no superkids attend it to stop us." "Yeah," Debuson said. "But how will we do it this time?" "#### if I know," Fergusk said. "I'll find something out." --------------------------------------------------- A day passed. Clara Abbey, back in the US, went through a day of school worried sick and feeling hopeless-and when she went to bed, on the other side of Earth, Xavier Flynn was waking up. He was fairly tall and thin, with mussed light brown hair and bony hands, covered in red spots. This was mostly due to Xavier's hobby, which was building and fixing things. Xavier climbed out of bed, and changed out of his pajamas into a soft, sturdy dress shirt, some equally sturdy shorts, and looked out at the weather. "Looks pretty warm," He said a bit sadly, and glanced over at his coat. It was a genuine lab coat, and he really loved it-he felt official in it, plus it was the only coat he'd had that didn't get torn up or so stained his mother made him throw it out. "Ah well," He said, "I guess there's nothing to do about that!" He picked up a rotting backpack, limply held together by safety pins, paperclips, and duct tape. He jokingly said once that he'd tried to weld it and it hadn't worked too well. He left his room, shut the door as tightly as possible, and walked his way through the living room where he'd left some shoes, and managed to find a pair of socks in his room when he went back. "Mum, are you almost ready?" He called into the house, wondering where his mother was. "If we leave right now, I'll be early! You know, instead of late?" His mother came out of a kitchen, staring at him. "If you're so willing to not eat breakfast, Xavier..." "It's alright, mum, now hurry up and get me to school." Ms. Flynn (for it was just her, Xavier, and two older siblings) walked out the door, followed by a practically bouncing Xavier into her car. "Wish I could drive it," He said, as he stared at the road. "Two more years, Xavier," His mum reminded him. Xavier arrived at school, early for once, after saying goodbye to his mother ("I'll see you later, yeah?") and walked into the school. It was an ok school, in Xavier's own opinion; there were a few students he liked talking to, but no one he'd consider a close friend. This was mostly because Xavier really shouldn't have been in this school-he was far too smart. He'd been considered a prodigy since he was younger, but his family wasn't able to get him into better schools. This, coupled with Xavier not being that studious and lazy when it didn't come to building things, he didn't know if that was for the best. Either way, he found school too easy. When school started, he walked into a History class, coincidentally enough, and found the class devoid of a teacher-the students lounged about, and Xavier looked about. "Where's the teacher?" He asked a student who sat near him, setting down his backpack. "No idea," they responded; "We heard that there's some new woman teaching us." This intrigued Xavier, and he sat down in his spot, waiting for the new teacher. Fergusk walked into the room, followed by Debuson, who looked beat. The latter sat down, and Fergusk hastily wrote her name on the board. "I'm your new teacher," She said in a just as hastily thrown together Australian accent. The class groaned audibly. "Fergusk, can you not talk like that? Only Xavier talks like that," Said a girl's voice. Xavier rolled his eyes. "Sorry, can't help the way I speak, can I?" Fergusk slammed her fist on the table, in front of Xavier. "Shut up!" She said, in her regular voice. She opened her mouth, but Xavier interrupted with "Oh, you're American!" "N-Yes," Fergusk said, correcting herself. "Sure." There were a few whispers from the students, as they'd only had Australian teachers before. "Fergusk," Xavier asked, "Why would you come to Melbourne just to teach here?" "Because I love children. Now all of you shut up so I can take role and get you your assignments." Xavier already didn't like the new teacher; he didn't know what, but aside from her mysteriousness, he just didn't seem to like her. Her aura, as you could call it, exuded something bad. "Excuse me, Fergusk." He said, standing up. She turned around, just as she was setting a video up. "What is it?" "May I be excused?" Fergusk turned around. "Why?" "I want a drink..." "Fine," She said. Xavier got up and walked out of the classroom. Of course, he wasn't really thirsty, he just wanted to leave the class-he didn't feel comfortable with that woman around, and it even felt a little dangerous. However, to avoid suspicion, he did walk over to the boy's lavatory, thinking for a moment why he felt so suspicious and, well, scared of Fergusk. He walked back over to the room and peeked in. The video had started, and everyone was staring at the screen. Their postures were stiff and their eyes were blank, and Xavier wondered what was going on. "I can't go back in," He said to himself. "But what to do...?" His heart froze when he heard the classroom door open, and Fergusk walked out. "I was wondering when you'd come back to class, Xavier." "Well I was just planning on not ever coming back. I can see you've done something to the others." "Well, at least you noticed that much. But how did you know that I would do it? After all, why else would you try to leave class?" "I didn't know, all I knew was there was something bad about you. What have you done to them?" "Nothing much, Xavier; they're just being controlled." Xavier stared at her for a moment, taking in what she'd said. "You're not from the States, are you? Tell me where you're from!" Fergusk smirked. "If you really must now, I'm not from America. I'm an alien." Xavier stared at her. "I don't believe you." "Of course you don't. But I can prove it for you." "I'd rather not see what you look like under your skin," Xavier said boldly. "So you believe me now?" Xavier said nothing for a moment. He wasn't a psychic of any kind, but his overpowered mind had always been especially sensitive. Not only had he sensed Fergusk's 'badness', but now he could tell she wasn't lying about being an alien-just by the vibe she put off. It wasn't something that resonated in his body like a psychic aura-it was something brain-related. He wasn't sure how he would put it. "Yes," He said. "I see," Fergusk said, and walked towards him. "Are you psychic, then?" Xavier shook his head. "No," He said quietly, moving away from her. "People say I'm a genius, though." "I see. That's fine, too...even better, in fact." Fergusk frowned, though. "But I swore...you had that vibe..." "What?" "The vibe. I felt it in that American girl." Xavier stood up straight. "What American girl?" Fergusk shook her head. "Never mind that. You had that weird vibe, so I have to destroy you." She said this as she began pulling some alien weapon out of her pocket. Xavier reached deep into his shorts pocket, and pulled out a small barrel, almost like one off a gun. A tiny trigger was on it. "What the #### is that?" Fergusk said, eying it. "I built it in class once because I was bored," He said. "Look!" He snapped the trigger and a small, neon-colored eraser cap sprung out and hit Fergusk directly underneath her eye, which she clutched with her hand. "What in the...? How the #### did you build that?" "I'm not entirely sure," Xavier said, and he aimed it at Fergusk and fired a few more times, with differently-colored erasers hitting her. "Stop that!!" She demanded, and charged towards Xavier, who shoved the gun back in his pocket and, waiting until just the right moment, put a finger to his shoes and kicked Fergusk in the stomach. Aside from the pain of, well, being kicked in the stomach, an electric shock went up through Fergusk, who was flung back in the hallway. Xavier wondered why no teachers had yet observed the commotion outside. "What in the...what was..." Fergusk coughed, barely able to speak. Xavier put his hands on his hips and lifted a foot to show her his shoes. "I outfitted these with circuits. They're my taser shoes," He said proudly. "Taser...? You son of a bitch," she muttered, struggling to get up. "Never mind. I have a group of teenagers not only here, but I have one in America...both of which will soon be helping me with my plans." "What are you talking about? You're controlling the minds of some American teenagers?" Fergusk nodded. "But I'm telling you too much. I want to control your mind, but...I think you're too smart to fall for my subliminal videos." Xavier stood across from her, and shook his head. She stood up, took out some sort of communication device, and barked at Debuson to meet her at their house, and Fergusk ran off towards the entrance of the school. Xavier rushed back into the room and grabbed his backpack, which was filled with nearly all his inventions, and gave chase to Fergusk. "Don't follow me, you brat! You're young, go back to school, or home!" Xavier flicked a different switch on his shoes, revealing some wheels, and sped up to catch Fergusk. "Mum won't care if I'm missing for a little while!" "And what about school? Are you just a class-skipping punk?" Xavier sped up, careful not to fall despite his backpack causing some balance problems. "Perhaps," Xavier shouted to her, and, struggling, continued to chase her. Fergusk eventually reached her car, driven by Debuson, and practically jumped in, with Xavier clutching onto the bumper. "That damn kid is still onto us," Fergusk said through gritted teeth. "Debuson, can't you do anything to get him off?" "I'm sorry, sir, but the car is not outfitted with any fancy weaponry." "Are you kidding? I thought this would be outfitted specially for every country!" "It is, sir. It was outfitted for desert travel for for treating animal bites. Not for war, sir..." Fergusk groaned, angry and distressed. "Gah! Just DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIM!" "Yes, sir," Sighed Debuson. On the bumper, the Australian was still holding firm, and his mind raced with thoughts of every invention in his pack that could help him both stay on better as well as get into the car, all of which he was unable to get due to the car going so quickly. Eventually someone will see me riding back here and pull her over, He assured himself as the car raced away, rocking him around. Debuson was, according to orders, swerving wildly to try and fling him off. With that, she'll definitely get pulled, He thought, clutching onto the car for dear life, and, with a shaking hand and a death grip with the other, reached into a backpack pocket for a contraption that he'd built to cut through car doors-he'd built it in case he ever got kidnapped and stuck in a trunk or something. However, the situation was now reversed-he was planning on sneaking into the trunk and, possibly, making them think he'd been flung off. Damn! He thought, shifting through his pocket. The steel-cutter isn't in here! But... He felt around, and found a rusted paperclip that he must have shoved into his shorts long ago and had since gone through hundreds of wash cycles. Lockpick! He said, and nearly cried in joy. I have to do this juuust right, He thought. But how can I make them think I was flung off...? The first thought was to fling an invention onto the road to create a loud noise, but not only did he not have anything big or heavy enough to imitate the sound of a boy hitting the road, but he wasn't willing even one bit to throw an invention onto the road if he couldn't get it back. But perhaps there's something in the trunk! he thought, and carefully moved down, dangerously close to the street. His heart raced as he tried to figure out how he would pick the lock without falling off the car. Perhaps I could strap myself to something on the car, He wondered. He always kept rope in his backpack, and he'd built grappling-hook suspenders once, though those were in his pack, and were buried fairly deep. Guess I'll do it one-handed, He decided. He took the paperclip in his shaky hand, and using his fingers, teeth, and the hard surface of the car, somehow bent it into a straight shape. He jammed the clip into the lock of the trunk, and, not really knowing how he would unlock it, turned the clip wildly. He nearly fell off with shock and had to quickly move his hands around to move the trunk, both to not fall, but also to not get the alien's attention. He climbed into the trunk, a hand still keeping it down, and he looked around in it. There were some helmets, suitcases, and a toolbox. He already had a toolbox in his pack, so he heaved it up and threw it on the road, and quickly shut the trunk down just enough that he wasn't completely shut in (using some suction cups, string, and other things) "What the #### was that?" Fergusk shouted, and Debuson slowed down considerably. "Was that him?" "I'm not sure, sir, but-" She looked into the rear view mirror, and out of the window to double check. "I don't see him on the back anymore." "Good," Said Fergusk, sighing. "I'm too good to deal with bratty kids like him and that Abbey girl. Speaking of, we should probably get back to New York and kill her and that teacher, too-I doubt our mind-controlled mass of teens would have done it for us." Xavier listened as intently as possible from the trunk, and it piqued his interest. New York? He thought for a moment about that. That's in America-it must be where this girl she mentioned is, He thought. He laid his head on his backpack, and smiled a little bit. I've never been out of Australia, He said, and he sighed. In fact, I've never been out of Melbourne. This'll be fun, He thought. "Let's get back home," Fergusk said. "Load the car into the plane, and we'll fly back as soon as possible."

Oh man, she's 18 now? I remember thinking she was a lot younger, maybe my age, when I first joined. I miss her...

So, I have two bits of bad news. The first is that one of my best friends dropped out of school this year to help support his family, and because he couldn't stand, in his words, 'being in a school with 3,000 a******* every day'. I haven't seen him since early September, and he's so busy getting his GED that while I can text him sometimes, we can't hang out anymore. If you couldn't tell, he comes from a really poor family, and his two older siblings refuse to help their single mom support the family, the sister basically being a freeloader who doesn't even have her own driver's license. Secondly, my cat Libby, who has been my friend since I was very little, died a few weeks ago very suddenly of a heart attack. And maybe three weeks before that, my brother's cat Thomas who had been HIS friend since he was maybe five (and he's 20 now), had to be put to sleep because she was dying slowly and painfully. Both of us have lost our lifelong best friends very suddenly and sadly. The remaining cat, Snape, has been crying more often since Libby passed; the two of them used to cuddle together and wash each other's heads; now, his only friends are the three dogs and my mom and I. Not to mention that on my part I've been going through some emotional trouble of my own. Fear for the future, fear of losing my friends/boyfriends, paranoid, etc. So yeah. stuff. :| Guess I'm just looking for support, as well as updating you guys on what's happening to me.

The three sat down at the table in the kitchen, and Cheesemaster handed a napkin, sandwich, bowl of soup, and a glass to all of them-tea for Dawn and Cheesemaster, and some water for Edna. Outside, the rain poured even harder down, and the droplets splattered upon a small window in the kitchen. As he ate, Cheesemaster stared out that window, watching the rain, and Dawn, after finishing her food, looked over at him and touched his shoulder. "Are you alright?" He said nothing for a moment, and continued to stare out the window, Dawn moved her chair closer to him, and was about to ask again, when he suddenly said something. "My father told me that it was a night just like this that he told my mother he loved her," Dawn and Edna looked at each other, and then at Cheesemaster. This was unusual for him. He sat up and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking like that." "No, go on," Dawn said. "I don't hear you talk about your parents often...or ever, to be honest." "Well, that's about all I know," He said, and thought for a moment. "My...my father took her home after some fancy party and told her. He was about to run out in embarrassment when my mother stopped him and told him she felt the same." Dawn sighed, and Edna looked at him in wonder. "That's a cute story," Edna said. "I guess so," He said. Dawn looked at him, and then said "Wait, didn't your glasses belong to them both?" Cheesemaster put a hand up to his glasses, as if about to take them off. "Yeah," He said. "My mother gave them to my father." "That's cute, too," Dawn said quietly. "I'm tired," Edna said, stretching. "I'm going to bed, ok?" "Alright, Edna. Good night." "Good night, Edna," Dawn said, and Edna pushed himself off the chair, put away his dishes, and then went into the bedroom. He carefully shut the door behind him. "We're alone now," Dawn whispered, and Cheesemaster nodded, and said, barely containing excitement, "I know!" The two got up, and Cheesemaster grabbed her arm and led her over to the couch. "Cheesie?" "It's alright. Let's sit on the couch," Cheesemaster sat on the couch, and Dawn sat down next to him, as close as possible to him. As soon as she did, she put her arms around him, and he put his arms around her. "I'm so glad this is happening," Dawn whispered, placing a hand on his head and fingering through his curly hair. "I am, too," He whispered back. Dawn leaned forward, so much that Cheesemaster fell onto the couch, and she was on top of him; she lifted herself up and looked down at him, with one hand on his shoulder and the other clutching his shirt. "I'm sorry," She said. "This is..." He sat up as best as he could, situating her on his lap. "I don't think that was..." "I was fine," He said quickly, and then blushed. "I-I don't mean anything by that-" "You were?" She asked, laying an arm on his shoulder, and the other near his ears. "I wasn't too heavy?" "Not at all," He murmured. "Not at all too heavy." "But it feels weird," She said. "Laying...Laying on top of you." "I think it'd be worse if I laid on top of you," He said quietly. "Besides, I wouldn't do that to you." "Why?" She said, and then blushed. "I don't mean anything by that, I'm just asking." He looked away from her, and frowned. "You're rather light, but I....I'm a lot heavier." "You're probably not as heavy as you say." "Do you think you'd know better than I would?" She said nothing. He smiled, and put one arm around her waist and one on her head, and leaned in closely to her. "Let's not argue, alright?" "Alright," She said. Dawn closed her eyes and moved closer, but before she met his face he'd moved away. "Is something wrong?" She asked. "Or are you just shy?" "I'm not shy," He said defensively. "I...I'm not used to this." "I see," She said quietly. She moved even closer to him, so their legs were touching, and slowly put her head on his shoulder. "Cheesie, I'm scared," She whispered, putting her arms on his shoulders. "Why's that?" He said, worried. "If Jakob finds out about this," She said, and held him tighter. "I...I don't even want to think about it." "Then don't," He said quietly. "I don't want to see you afraid." Dawn sighed. "Dawn, I still don't understand how you find me attractive," He muttered. Dawn looked up at him, gently touched his face, and looked into his eyes. Cheesemaster's heart pounded, and his thoughts raced. What are you doing? Is...is she going to kiss me? "I think everything about you is cute," She said. "But I think what I like most about you is your mind...you're so smart, and interesting...and such a gentleman..." He put his hand over hers, the one that was on his face. "Oh, come on," He said, blushing. "You're only saying that." "Why would I only say that?" She said defensively. "Do you think I would tell just anyone that?" Her hand fell away from her face, and both their hands clasped together and fell down, landing on the couch, as Dawn leaned closer to him. "I meant every word I just said, and anything I say about you, I mean entirely!" She leaned closer to him, as he leaned away from her, and her head eventually fell onto his stomach. Cheesemaster sighed deeply, but didn't move. "I'm sorry," He said quietly. "I shouldn't say something like that." "Your stomach is so comfortable," She said, and put a hand on his waist. "You think so?" He said, and he blushed softly. "I guess....I guess that makes sense." She snuggled her face in his stomach, and put her arms around his waist. "You're so squishy..." "That's a kind way of saying I'm fat," He said disdainfully. She stopped moving her head, and sighed, feeling relaxed. "Does that bother you?" She asked. "I...I didn't mean to insult you..." "I'm not insulted," He said, though he sounded quite insulted. "But I am wondering why you find me so attractive, still...I mean...girls don't like chubby guys..." "I don't see why not," She said. "You're so much better to hug." "Oh, come on. There's nothing good about it." "I think so! I...I think it makes you so much cuter..." "Cuter? How can that be cute?" "You just are," She said, and she looked at him-his glasses and suspenders slipping, the confused look on his face, and the pink tint in his cheeks... Dawn leaned up, her hands on his legs to boost herself up, and when she had, she put her hands on his face and moved in very closely to him. Oh My God she is He thought, and his heart felt as though it would pound right out of his chest. Realizing what was happening, he leaned in closer and shut his eyes, and felt the caress of her mouth on his own... At the worst, absolute worst possible moment, a loud and heavy knock came at the door. Dawn moved away from him, and both suddenly felt very afraid; despite this, Cheesemaster was desperate to get that kiss that had been nabbed away at the last possible moment. Dammit, He though bitterly. "Jakob," Dawn whispered. "I recognize his own knock." Cheesemaster got up, despite his entire body feeling more like jelly than cheese. "Cheesie...?" "Dawn, I can't let you stay the night here...I...I'm so sorry..." "I understand," She said. "Please come see me tomorrow." The knock was heard again, and Cheesemaster looked towards the door; shakily, he went over and opened it. As Dawn had said, the figure of Jakob Rabbitt was there; He loomed over him, and stared down at him. "Is Dawn here?" He asked, menacingly. "She is," Cheesemaster said, very sadly. "She ran here a while ago-she was deeply upset and needed some consolation. She's fine now." "She ought to be," Jakob snapped. "She missed dinner because she was too busy here. What a deep shame-forgoing time with her own family in order to spend the night at a newsie's house. If you can call it that." "I'm sorry. I doubt it matters, but she ate here." Jakob sneered at him, but changed the subject. "So newsie, I assume she came running into your arms about how I burned your precious book?" His heart skipped at 'running into your arms'. Did he know? "That's right," Cheesemaster said. Jakob laughed. "I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me at the time that you wouldn't have enough money to replace it." "I have plenty of money to replace it," Cheesemaster replied. "I'm not as poor as you think I am." "Of course, of course," Jakob said, sounding very snarky as he did. "I guess I don't give you enough credit, do I? Of course. After all, you can spend money on boats to the mainland and such. But how do I know that doesn't break the bank with you?" By this point, Cheesemaster had had enough of it. "If you came here to get Dawn, take her and leave! I'm sick of listening to you!!!" He regretted saying it almost the instant it left his mouth-it sounded as though he wanted to get rid of Dawn. Of course that wasn't the case; he only wanted to get rid of Jakob. "Of course," Jakob said smugly. "Of course, I'll take my leave now." Cheesemaster only just then realized that perhaps Jakob had purposely enraged him so he could get Dawn. He felt particularly foolish for this, and regretted it even more than he already did. "I'm so sorry, Dawn," He said as he went over to her. "It's fine," She said, smiling sadly. "I would have to leave soon anyway." Cheesemaster was about to grab her hands, but then realized that Jakob might notice, and put them behind his back instead, and opted to simply give her a quick hug-even this elicited a negative response from the prosecutor. "Dawn, hurry up," He said, nearly through gritted teeth. "Goodbye," Cheesemaster said, sadly, and silently mouthed 'I love you' to her as she left. The door slammed shut as Jakob practically dragged Dawn to a carriage, and scolded her the entire ride to the Rabbitt Manor. "Your sisters thought you had run away," He said sternly. "I think you would know better than to make Julia so worried. It's not that good for her health, after all, and of course you know how your younger sister gets when she's upset." "I wouldn't have run out if you hadn't burned that book," Dawn said. "Don't pin this on me, young lady," Jakob argued. "You could have just dealt with it." "Dealt with you destroying my friend's property?" "Dawn, I had to," He said, sounding unusually sincere. "Things like that will poison your mind. I already deal with Julia's possession, Sterling's summoning, and all of us had to go through your transformation into a bloodsucker." "I am not a bloodsucker!!" Dawn snapped. Jakob folded his arms and legs and sat back. "You're a vampire, and all vampires are bloodsuckers in my eyes. But no matter. Your transformation into one caused your entire family to become worried sick!! And do you remember why that happened? Because you were so curious about someone...and because of things you'd heard about. Do you think I want to see more awful things happening to you?" "Nothing bad is going to happen to me! And I didn't become this way because of any curiosity of mine!" "Don't get that kind of tone with me, Dawn! I just want you raised like a proper member of the Rabbitt family." "What do you want me to do, Jakob? Stay locked up in my room every hour of the day and marry a cousin or something?" Jakob sighed deeply. "You're not understanding me, Dawn. I'm tired of explaining this to you." "I am, too," She said. The two were silent for the rest of the carriage ride, refusing to look at each other. When they reached the Manor, Jakob practically pulled the girl out from the carriage and, again, dragged her back inside. When the two got inside, Dawn was about to run upstairs, when Jakob sternly told her, "I'll be making sure you don't see him tomorrow." Dawn spun around, her heart thumping. "What?!" "I don't want you seeing him anymore." Dawn ran back down the stairs, right up to Jakob, breathing hard. She wasn't that worried, she told herself, but Jakob had a lot of power and could keep her from seeing Cheesemaster. "You can't do that to me," She said, shaking her head. "You...you can't do that to me!!" "I most certainly can, Dawn. Your sister and I are your surrogate parents, and since she is unable to properly make decisions concerning you-" He nearly smirked at this- "It is up to me." "I'll never view you as my father," She said, sternly, her shoulders arching up as her fists balled up. "I won't even see you as a father figure." Jakob did smirk this time. "You may not like it, but it is true. And I don't want you seeing him." "You can't keep me from seeing him!" She shouted, standing defiantly. "Not in any way can you!!" "We'll see about that," Jakob said. He put his top coat and hat on the rack by the huge double doors, and was himself about to head to bed, when he stopped. "Why are you intent on seeing that newsie again?" Dawn's heart thumped. "He's good company," Dawn said. "I already told you. He's my friend. I could even call him my best." "Hmph," He said. "You've done awfully with your choice of 'best friend'. And with your voice of friends in general," He said, and sighed. "I can only hope when you get married..." Dawn shook her head as he talked about it. "Why do you hate him so much, Jakob? He never did a thing to you besides beat you in those sword duels." Jakob swung around. "How can you not understand? Even back home you knew how much the dam newsboys irritated me! There was one just by our house, constantly yelling headlines...and this one...Dawn, how can you bother spending time with a chee-" "Jakob! I love him!" Jakob stared dumbfounded at her. The angry expression melted away from his face, his eyes growing wide, and his mouth slowly dropping. After but a few moments of this rarity, his face twisted into an expression of unfathomable anger; he was completely livid, and everything that came out of his mouth was a scream. "The newsie? You're in love with that heathen? You cannot be serious!! YOU CANNOT BE...YOU...THAT...the goddamn newsie!" Most of what he was screaming became unintelligible. "What is going on down here?" Shouted James, who came downstairs with Julia-both had been woken up. Richard and Sterling hid behind the two adults, terrified. Jakob glared at Julia. "Your sister," He shouted, "Your awful sister is in love with the newsie." Julia stared at him. "You mean the one with the glasses?" "The exact same," Jakob said. "She loves him. She's was at his house while we ate as a family, doing God knows what-" "What are you implying, Jakob?" Dawn shouted. "Please, no more shouting," James said, running down the stairs to Jakob. "Of course she loves him, Jakob, I'm shocked you never noticed before." "It's disgusting," He said. "It's a shame to her own family name." "I am not shaming my name," She said. She backed away and folded her arms, and she felt like crying-but refused to. "Jakob, you are overreacting." "Overreacting? You think I want to see the closest thing I have to a daughter falling for a person like him? He has no money to support her, prefers his books to contact with other people-" "He makes plenty of money," Dawn said. "He gets by very well for someone who lives on his own with a five-year-old to take care of. And he has plenty of friends! You make it seem like he only spends time reading and doing nothing else!" "-Atrocious eating habits. I guess the two of you are perfectly matched for that, hah!" "What does that have to do with anything, and why does it matter?" Dawn shouted. "Dawn, this family has raised you as a good Christian...even after your transformation. That boy, he's a heathen-" "He is not a heathen," She said. "Not a heathen? He doesn't even believe in God," Jakob shouted. "He has better morals than you!!!" Dawn screamed, clutching at her hair. Jakob gasped, and the others, save James, were taken aback as well. "Don't you talk to me like that," Jakob said, very quietly and dangerously. "I'm sorry if you don't approve," Dawn said softly. "I love him. And he loves me back." Jakob stared at her, that surprised look back on his face. How dare he, he thought, but decided not to say it. "I'm exhausted," Jakob said. "We'll discuss this in the morning, young lady." And thus, after an unhappy night, the Rabbitt Family finally went to bed.

UPDATE: Everything is going awesomely with Parker & I.

[alright, probably the longest chapter to date...] The boys walked outside, and Cheesemaster hugged the book to his chest, horribly excited, sighing and giggling and jumping around. "Mr. Cheesemaster, you're usually much more reserved than this," Edna quipped. Cheesemaster stopped and looked at the sky, sighing deeply. "Edna, I've never felt so ecstatic in my life. It's wonderful." Edna laughed. "I guess I don't understand, huh?" "You're five-of course not." He sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Come on! Walking is too slow!!" He said, and broke into a sprint. "Wh-Wait up!" Edna panicked, running hastily to try and catch up with his friend. Cheesemaster, once he was on the Rabbitt Manor premises, started to get out of breath, but refused to rest until he was at the front door, and knocked as hard as he could. Jakob Rabbitt was the one to answer the door. The prosecutor looked down on him, and heaved. "Yes, newsie...what is it this time?" Cheesemaster leaned down, catching his breath. "Just a moment," He just barely said. Jakob folded his arms. "Out of breath? I didn't think the walk from your house to here was that tough. Then again, maybe not for someone more in shape." Cheesemaster, at first, felt anger welling up, but suppressed it knowing it wouldn't help him see Dawn. "Please don't start, Jakob-I just need to see Dawn." "You saw her earlier." "But I-" "Quit bothering her," Jakob said sternly, and slammed the door shut. Cheesemaster stood there, and felt like crying. "Don't bother her?..." he said quietly, his hands quivering. He was about to burst into tears when he heard her voice saying "I'm in the garden," and looked to see her at the yard's gate. His heart skipped a beat, and he ran over to the gate, and sighed deeply. "Sorry about Jakob. He's bothered by my seeing you so many times today." "I'm sure," Cheesemaster said. "Here," He said, and handed her the book he had clutched so firmly. "Oh? What is it?" She asked, looking at it. "Another book of Lovecraft stories?" "That's right," He said. "I know you really liked the Cthulhu Mythos book I lent you. These-" He looked away from the book, and into her face- "These are some of his other stories." "I can't wait to read them," She said happily. "Just remember that some of them-" "They're racist, I know," She said. "I don't mind. It's quite funny actually, because it seems so old-fashioned." He moved a bit closer to the gate, so he was almost directly in front of her. "I...I guess I'd better get going," He said, sadly, but Dawn reached her arm out and grabbed his shoulder, causing his heart so skip. "No, please! James permitted me to eat in the courtyard tonight. Jakob threw a huge fit about it, so I probably won't be able to ever do it again. Why..." She gulped, and Cheesemaster felt warmth welling up in his chest and throat. "Join you? Is that what you're asking?" Cheesemaster suddenly blurted. He turned a deep red. She nodded, and smiled warmly. "That's right," She said, and was about to open the gate when the back door opened. It was James. "I'm sorry, Dawn, but you'll have to come in. Jakob's so upset about you eating on your own." He stepped out a little more, and smiled. "Hello, Cheesemaster." "Hello, James," He said, smiling, though his face was full of sadness. "Oh..." Dawn said, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Cheesie. Maybe another time!" She took the book, and clutching it to her chest, walked inside, deeply upset. Cheesemaster sighed deeply, and walked away from the mansion, also deeply upset. The boys walked home, Cheesemaster trudging along. "Don't feel so sad," Edna said, trying to cheer him up. "I mean, you'll see her tomorrow! And just think-if she reads a lot, maybe she'll know you love her by tomorrow morning!" "That's what I keep thinking about," He said. "I'm so scared of when she finds out...what will she think?" "It'll be alright," Edna said. "I know it." "If you say so," Sighed Cheesemaster, as the two went inside their house. -------------------------------------------------- Back at Rabbitt Manor, after dinner, Dawn settled into one of the living rooms to read her book, clueless as to the secret message inside. An enormous fire in the fireplace, which had a large portrait of some distant Rabbitt grandparent over it. "Good night, Dawn," James said as he walked past her, and went upstairs. "Good night, James," She said without looking up from her book. James stopped as he was walking, and went back down, standing over the chair she sat in. "That's the book he gave you, isn't it?" "He's letting me borrow it," She sighed, and pushed the open book to her chest, sighing happily and deeply. James laughed. "Alright. Don't stay up too late reading." "I won't. Thank you." James walked upstairs to go to bed, leaving her alone. Cheesemaster had been unsure of where to put the message-he decided on the beginning of the third story in the book, The White Ship-it was the only Lovecraft story he felt comfortable putting a love letter on. Dawn managed, the one night, to read through the entire first story, which she enjoyed; she read a little bit of the second, and then decided she was too tired to carry on, and went to sleep with the book under her pillow. ------------------------------------------------- The next day Dawn woke up, and the first thing she did was grab the book from under the pillow, and toted it downstairs to breakfast so she could get some reading done after the family ate. As she did, she saw out the windows that it was cloudy-the weather looked like it was going to start raining very soon. She sighed. That was good her her, since the sun wouldn't hurt her, but if there was rain she might not be able to see Cheesemaster. Cheesemaster! she thought-he'll have to work in the rain today! I guess I should see him She thought. He'll probably want some company if it rains during his shift. Does he even work when it rains? Dawn sat down for breakfast and ate, her family fairly quiet; Jakob was curiously missing. Dawn thought him a hypocrite for missing breakfast when he made such a fit over her missing dinner the night before. When they dispersed, she tucked her book in her dress pocket, and went out to see Cheesemaster before her reading time, and took an umbrella with her just in case it began to rain. When she got to his house, he was just coming back from having gotten papers that day- so he does work on rainy days -and smiled wide when he saw her coming and ran towards her. "Good morning, Dawn!!" He said loudly and happily. "Good morning, Cheese." He breathed fast and heavily as he looked into her eyes, and tiptoed a bit closer to her. "How...how are you?" He asked, and began to blush. His heart raced at possibilities-had she already found his message? "How are you liking that book?" "It's great. I just began the second story last night. I expect I'll begin reading the third and fourth today." His heart jumped in his chest at the mention of the third story. "Oh," He said, relieved and yet even more anxious. "Well, I think you'll really like those ones." "Are you really working today? It looks as though it'll rain!" "If it does, I still have to sell." "But a wet newspaper is worthless," She said quietly. "I know, but I'll have to take the chance," He said quietly. "Alright," Dawn said, just as quietly. The two stared at each other for a bit, and then Dawn, awkwardly, said goodbye and walked off. As she did, Cheesemaster sighed, watching her walk away. "She's really wonderful," He said softly, and sighed. "You should really stop sighing. I don't think that's very good for you." "I'm sorry, Edna....I just can't help it...." Edna giggled. "Well, come on-let's sell as many of these as we can before it rains!" Cheesemaster nodded, and the two began to shout the day's headlines, as more grey clouds rolled in. -------------------------------------------------------- Back at Rabbitt Manor, Dawn had settled into the living room to read, and barely noticed when rain began to pound onto the windows of the mansion, completely caught up in the horror story she read. She neared the end of the second story, when Jakob Rabbitt came slinking in. Of course, Dawn didn't hear him. "What are you reading?" He muttered, standing over her, causing her to yelp in surprise. "Jakob, I didn't even..." "I asked, what are you reading?" Dawn gulped. "An anthology of horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft, an American writer." She omitted the fact that Cheesemaster had lent the book to her. She looked at the book. "I wonder if back home these stories happened alongside..." Jakob snatched the book out of her hands and flipped through the pages, reading bits and pieces and skimming through paragraphs. "Who did you say wrote this again?" He asked, shutting it. "H.P. Lovecraft, an American writer from Maine." "Then it's a piece of garbage," Jakob said, and chucked the book into the fireplace. Dawn gasped and ran over, staring in vain at the black, crumpling pages of the book. "If it's an American than it's no good," Jakob muttered. Dawn began to cry, and stood up, pounding on Jakob's chest and clutching at his shirt and vest. "That...that wasn't mine, Jakob!" She said, and the words came tumbling out. "Cheesemaster lent me that book last night, Jakob!! I...I was supposed to return it to him! It wasn't my book! And even if it was, you can't just throw it in the fire like that!" "Shut up, Dawn. If it was so important, by another one for your sweet little newsie." Dawn began to sob into her hands, and Jakob groaned. "Why do you spend so much time with him, Dawn?" Jakob yelled at her. "He's my friend," Dawn whispered. "Your friend? Why would you choose him as your friend, Dawn?" "What's so terrible about him, Jakob?! What's so bad about him?" "I'm so sorry, Dawn, but as your caretaker I don't particularly want you spending your time with a chubby, penniless newsie who can barely see and seems to spend more time reading worthless books than he does making a living and seems to have no regard for what your family wants! Dawn, he's...he's a cheese, dammit!!" "I don't care, Jakob!" Dawn shouted, and sniffed. "He's the best friend I've ever had...I...." "Don't you shout at me-" Dawn sniffed again, and bolted out the door of the Rabbitt Manor. ----------------------------------------------- Dawn ran through the field around her house, and into the town, sobbing every step of the way, until she saw the dim figure of Cheesemaster standing on the corner by his house, holding an umbrella. Edna must have been inside. She stopped to catch her breath, and then ran again. She tackled him, and flung her arms around him, nearly causing him to drop the umbrella. "Dawn?! What's wrong?" He said, his heart thumping faster and faster. Her head is on my chest her arms are around me what's going on "He burnt it," Dawn sobbed. "The book you gave me, Jakob threw it in the fire, I'm so, so sorry!!" "He..." Cheesemaster gasped. "Dawn...how far did you get?!" "Why are you worried about that?" "Please, just tell me!" Cheesemaster took the handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and wiped away at Dawn's eyes, and lent it to her to use for a bit. "I...I was just about to finish the second story..." Cheesemaster groaned. "Oh...no, no, no, no, no!! NO!" "What is it?" And soon, the words just fell out: "That means you never got the message! I wrote you a message in the third story that I wanted you to see!! It-" He stopped himself before he said more. Dawn squeezed him tighter. "What did it say?" Cheesemaster sighed, and looked away from her. "It...well..." He dropped the umbrella to the ground, and wrapped his arms around her as well. "It was a message. I..." He took his arms off of her, and sighed, and then looked at her again. "Come on, you can tell me," Dawn said, moving closer to him. He sighed once more, and then, with no warning, threw his arms around her. "I love you, Dawn; that's what it said." Dawn looked up at him, and his face was sad, almost hurt. He fell away from her arms and turned around. "I...I'm sorry, Dawn. I just needed to tell you. You probably think I'm an idiot for saying it. I...I understand if you don't..." "Cheesie," She said, grabbing his arm. "I don't think you're an idiot for saying so. Come here." He turned around, and walked back over to her, wondering what she wanted. He'd almost expected her to slap him after he told her. "Tell me again what you told me in the message," She said. He blushed slightly, and said, quietly, "I love you." She smiled wide, and threw herself onto his chest. "You do?!" She said excitedly. He looked at her, confused, but nodded. "He loves me," She whispered. She buried her face into his shirt, and hugged him tightly. "You love me!!" "What of it?" "Are you really asking me that?" She said, looking up at him. "I love you!" Cheesemaster gasped, and before he knew it his glasses fogged up and he turned a faint red. "Y-you do?" he thought for a moment, and then grinned. "Of course! It make sense!!" He threw his arms around her once again, and held her as tightly as he could. "I can't believe this," He whispered. "Neither can I," She replied, and the two stood very quietly as the rain fell around them. "I've been dreaming of this moment for months," He whispered, and then backed away from her. "What's wrong?" She asked, worried. "I'm wondering...why?" "Why what?" "Why do you like me? I mean-" He sighed, and grabbed his arm, looking at the ground. "I'm a chubby, awkward newsboy who makes barely anything at my job, wears glasses, I stutter, and my skin-" He folded his arms, almost in shame. "I don't understand why..." Dawn looked at him, and closed her eyes, before throwing herself into his arms. "What are you talking about?" She said, nearly angry. "All those things make you cute." "Cheese-skin isn't..." He stopped for a moment. "You think I'm cute?" Cheesemaster often said he found himself attractive, but was genuinely surprised when other people (especially a girl) said he was cute. He found himself speechless, until the rain started pouring down harder. "Come on, let's go inside the house. You can't walk back home in the rain." "Alright, but what if Jakob comes looking for me?" "It'll be alright. I promise." Dawn looked at him, and nodded. She clutched his arm and the two went inside. ---------------------------------------------------------- "Mr. Cheesemaster? Are you coming inside already?" Edna shouted. He was lying on the carpet with a coloring book and a few broken crayons and stuffed toys next to him. "Nobody was going to come by in the light rain, and it's pouring now. Besides, I needed to get Dawn inside." Edna sat up, looking towards the doorway. Cheesemaster left the soaking umbrella in a holder by the doorway (where Edna's umbrella and their rainboots were left as well). Dawn was still clutched to his arm. "I see," Edna said quietly, and put his toys into a basket by the TV. "So I guess we're eating early?" "Perhaps," Cheesemaster said, sitting down on the couch with Dawn. "Do you two want some towels?" Edna asked. "Yes, but I'll go get-" "No, I'll go get 'em," Edna said, and he ran into the bathroom to get some. "He did that so we could have alone time," whispered Cheesemaster. Dawn let go of his arm and put her arms around his neck, and sighed. He sighed with her, and put his arms around her waist. "Here are the towels!" Edna said, walking back in, and the two quickly took their arms off each other, with Dawn laying her head on Cheesemaster's shoulder. Edna took the two towels and handed them to the couple, both of which stood up and dried their clothes as best as possible. Dawn sighed as she vainly dried off her dress. Cheesemaster seemed as if he was about to say something, but blushed and said nothing. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking at him. "Nothing." "No, what was it?" "Well, I was going to suggest that we could dry your clothes for you," He said, and he blushed harder. "But that's not really a very proper thing to say, now is it?" "You could lend me some of your clothes," She suggested. He gasped, and, if it was possible, blushed even more. "I'd rather not." "And why not?" She said, secretly thrilled at the prospect of wearing his clothes. "I'm...I'm a bit strange about letting others wear my clothes. I'm afraid of how they'd fit on other people." Dawn laughed, and threw her arms around his waist. "I wouldn't mind if they don't fit me..." "But Dawn, they'd look huge on you. They'd feel huge on you. That'd be embarrassing." "Please, Cheesie...." She buried her head into his chest, and he wondered if she could hear his rapid heartbeat. He put his arms around her neck, and rubbed his face in her hair. "Fine, then," He said, sounding sad but sounding happy at the same time. "I'll get some food started. Do you think you can find some clothes on your own?" "I should manage," She said. Dawn glanced at the sign on his room and went inside, while Cheesemaster went to prepare food for them. The rain was still going strong outside. Dawn shut the door to Cheesemaster's room, and before she went to get clothes, she leaped onto his bed and rolled around excitedly. The bed was so comfortable, and it was a bed big enough for two. She rose up, and went over to the closet. That must have been where his shirts and pants all were. Inside the closet there were no shirts, nor pants, only jackets; his brown and grey jackets and roundabouts, along with his black trench coats for the winter, and some vests she had never seen him wear. "What's this?" She said, fingering through the various coats until she found one that didn't feel like cotton, tweed, or any other material he usually sported. This jacket felt smooth. She tugged on it, and pulled it out. Among the scholarly-looking grey, brown, and black coats, here was a black leather jacket. She examined it for a moment, and not only did it smell like leather, but the tag inside the coat said it was real leather. "Cheesie wears leather?" She whispered, and she laughed, imagining why he'd ever want a leather jacket. "Perhaps I'll ask him about it." She put the leather jacket away and shut the closet door, moving over to his dresser, where she guessed she kept most of his clothes. She started with the middle drawer, where she found several white shirts, all long-sleeved; if he got too hot he would just unbutton and roll up the sleeves. Outside, Cheesemaster had already started up baking some bread and toasting things to make sandwiches, and a pot on to make soup. He walked by his room, wondering what Dawn was doing, on his way to the study to get something. As she looked into his shirt drawer, she said "My, they all look the same!!", just audible enough for him to hear. He stopped, looked toward his room, and nearly burst in saying "No, they don't! Each is different in its own way!!" He didn't, and went into his study, where nearly every book was kept, so he could look up the soup recipe he was using, since he'd forgotten some parts of it. Dawn looked through the shirts, all carefully folded, and decided that she'd just use one on the very top. She carefully took it out, and went to place it on the bed, when she stopped. This was his shirt; he'd worn it. For some reason, this was extremely exciting to her, and she hugged it before putting it on the bed. She pushed the drawer in and then opened the bottom one, which contained pants. One one side were the regular pants, and then his shorts; unlike the shirts, each of these looked different in some way. She looked through these, and settled on a pair of long brown pants. She was about to change, when she realized that Cheesemaster himself needed some suspenders to keep them up, and if she wore them, when they were too big for her, she'd really need some. She looked back over at the dresser, where there were a few small drawers above the big ones. She went over, and decided that he must store all his suspenders in one of the drawers. She opened up the first, and found socks and gloves; all his socks were either knee-llength or went just above the ankles, and were either white or brown. His gloves were also leather, she figured out, and were black or brown. She didn't need either of these, so she closed it and opened the next drawer, which had his undergarments in it, and she closed it quickly. She opened the next, and as she expected, there were about three pairs of suspenders, all brown-two were button-on, and one was clip-on. Along with the suspenders there was the black scarf he wore in the winter, and some handkerchiefs, each of which had various designs. One showed the Japanese countryside on it, and each had that strange thing sewn into the fabric-ニール. She took out the clip-on suspenders and tosses them onto the bed, and then looked at a rack standing next to the dresser-which had another black scarf, his favorite brown coat, and his newsboy caps. She walked over, and slipped out of her soaked, black dress, and carefully placed it on the bed, hoping it wouldn't get the bed too wet, and she put on his shirt and pants, and hastily attached the suspenders. She adjusted them to fit her better, and then walked out, with her dress in hand. Edna was walking by, and offered to take her dress and get it dry. Dawn handed it to him, despite the dress being bigger than him. Dawn walked into the living room, as Cheesemaster was in the kitchen putting down the soup and sandwiches he had made, and Edna was putting away the dress to dry, and Dawn was getting used to the clothes she was wearing. Cheesemaster walked out of the kitchen to tell the other two that it was time to eat, and ran into Dawn instead. "I'm so sorry," He said quickly, his arms on her waist, and he looked her up and down as she tucked in the shirt. "How does it look?" Dawn said quietly. "You were right...your clothes are a bit big on me." "It looks fine!" Cheesemaster blurted. "You look..." The two looked at each other for a while, not saying a word, until Cheesemaster gulped and said quietly "You look cute, even." Dawn sighed and looked away. "As cute as my dress?" He turned her head back to him, and leaned down towards her face. "They both look fine to me, but the dress is better for you." She sighed and threw her arms around him, and put her face into his chest, sighing happily. Edna stood behind them, and coughed, Dawn lifted her head, and the two of them looked at the boy, who tried to look innocent. "Mr. Cheesemaster, you just finished dinner, but it looks like you already forgot," He said. "Edna," Cheesemaster said sternly. "That doesn't sound like something you'd say!" "I'm sorry, Mr. Cheesemaster. Do you still want me to eat with you two?" "Of course I do!" Cheesemaster said, moving away from Dawn to stand over Edna and talk to him. "Come on then. Dawn can sit next to me, since Edna always sits across from me!" "That sounds great," Dawn said excitedly, and all three of them went into the kitchen and sat down with the soup and sandwiches.

[[i'm on a roll now.]] Jakob's story Continuing directly from where we left off, Cheesemaster & Edna had gone back into town to sell papers, promising Dawn that when they had sold as many as possible that morning, they would come back to see her for a little while and tell her all about their trip. When they got back down to town, many people were already walking by and getting papers from them-with every paper sold, and every passing minute, both got more excited to see Dawn, especially Cheesemaster. Eventually, it did come-the number of people coming by died down, and they'd sold a good chunk though not all of the papers. Cheesemaster put away the excess in the house, and spun around with Edna in his hands, shouting "We're going to Dawn's, Edna!!" And the two quickly ran towards the house. Cheesemaster, heart pounding, knocked on the door. "Coming!!" Yelled an excited voice, and the door opened to reveal Dawn, who smiled wide and grabbed Cheesemaster's arm and dragged him inside. "Did you have a good trip?" She asked him excitedly as they walked, still clutching his arm. "It was wonderful," he said, and started to describe it, but Dawn hushed him. "Wait until we sit down! Then we can-" And, as usual, the towering figure of Jakob Rabbitt stood in front of them. He was in his summer clothes-forgoing his topcoat, hat, gloves, and cloak, and was wearing charcoal pants, white shirt, and a dark brown vest. "H-Hi, Jakob," Dawn said. Jakob looked at them, his arms folded, and then unfolded them. "Don't clutch his arm like that," He said sternly, and Dawn slowly let go of Cheesemaster. "Where have you been, newsie?" He asked, his voice cold. "On...I was on vacation." "Really? Sounds good enough, but how could a newsie afford a vacation? Don't tell me you broke the bank just to take it. It'd be awful if you had to live in a poorhouse because you wanted to take a trip." "As a matter of fact, that's not the situation-I had a lot of leftover money so I decided to take a break. I'm still getting along quite well." "I'm sure you are," Jakob said, sarcastically. He turned to Dawn. "And where are you taking him?" "I... was going to take both of them up to my room so they could tell me about their trip." Jakob looked at Edna, which caused the orphan to shrink back in fear. "So you'll be alone in your room with him?" "And Edna." Jakob heaved. "I'd rather not allow that, but if I deny it I'll have my brother to answer to." He shoved Cheesemaster out of the way and walked away. "Hold on-" Cheesemaster said, and Jakob turned his head. "Jakob-is James older than you?" Jakob turned around fully, and Cheesemaster noticed he was getting visibly upset. "Yes," He said, sternly and gruffly, and then stomped away. When he was gone, Cheesemaster picked up Edna, and looked at Dawn. "What...why was he so upset?" Dawn shrugged. "I'm not sure...I can't remember how old either of them are. Let's go," She said, and gently grabbed his arm and lead them all the way back to her room. ---------------------------------------------------- Dawn led the boys up to her room and let them in to the vast, purple-themed room, which hadn't changed very much-there were a few more posters of gothic anime characters and some heavy metal bands, which contrasted with the otherwise elegant room, which had been kept very tidy. Cheesemaster noticed a couch had been added on the opposite end of the room from the bed. "I asked James to put a couch in here for when you come over," She explained. Cheesemaster paused, and asked, "What about when...you know, when Mushroom or one of your other friends come over?" Dawn folded her hands and looked at him, with a tiny smile. "Well, they don't really visit me as much as you do." "Oh. I-I see," He said, and he turned pink. Dawn laughed, and sat down on the couch, and motioned for the boys to sit with her. "Tell me all about your trip," She said, he hands folded. Edna wriggled onto Cheesemaster's lap, as the two of them detailed the first couple details of the trip, eventually reaching the events from when Edna got lost. Cheesemaster didn't tear up when he told the story now, but his voice still cracked up a bit, and his voice got sadder. "Are you alright?" Dawn asked, sounded extremely concerned. He looked up, into her eyes. "Yeah," he said, and he gulped. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just keep remembering how I felt. I..." "Don't remember," Dawn said, and she hugged him. "It's alright now, after all!" "I know, I know." Cheesemaster continued his account of what happened on the trip, up until their leaving the day before. "Next time, we'll bring you!!" Edna shouted at the end. Dawn giggled. "That's what Mr. Cheesemaster said," Edna said. "Right?" Cheesemaster smiled at his friend. "I said that on the plane ride home," He said. "And hopefully, I can. Maybe bring Arkcher, too!" Dawn sighed, and just stared at him for a while, and he stared back, wondering why. Edna looked up at both of them, and tugged at their clothes. "What are you two doing?" "Oh," Cheesemaster said, looking down at Edna. "I...I was wondering why Dawn was staring at me." "Sorry," She said. "I was just..." She shook her head. "I don't remember. But now-" She leaned over, and reached a hand towards his face-Cheesemaster leaned back a bit, but she simply pushed his glasses back up. "Sorry," She said, and he blushed. "Thanks," He said, and they slipped again. Dawn laughed, and adjusted them for him again. "I'm sorry. Th-They don't do that, not normally," He said, and he took them off and cleaned the bridge,thinking there must be oil on it, and was about to put them back on, when Dawn stopped him. "What is it?" He asked. She looked at him, and Edna did too, leaning back from his lap. "Sorry," She said. "You look strange without them." "You do!" Edna said. He turned to Dawn. "But I see him a lot without them." "Why's that?" Dawn asked the boy. "Because we sleep in the same room, and in the morning, he always wakes up, stretches in bed, tries to check the time, and then remembers his glasses." "Is that true?" Dawn asked, and Cheesemaster was blushing. "Edna, that only happened once...maybe twice..." "You thought you'd gone blind!!" Edna said, laughing. "That's not funny, Edna, I was scared because I thought my sight had gotten even worse!" "How bad is it?" Dawn asked, and she slipped his glasses off his face and put them on, and looked around. She turned back to the boys. "How do I look?" She asked. "I don't know," Cheesemaster said plainly. "You look kind of cute," Edna said. Dawn looked at Cheesemaster, and quickly gave them back to him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken them," She said. "It's alright," he said. "What time is it?" "Just around 4." Cheesemaster leapt up, putting Edna on the ground. "Goodness-we need to get going!!" Dawn leapt up as well, and as he walked quickly down the hallway, she apologized profusely. "I'm sorry. I kept you late, and now you won't sell as much..." "It's alright, really!!" He said, as they reached the front door. He was about to leave when he turned around and walked back in, up to Dawn. "Cheese...?" "Sorry. I almost forgot," He said, and he hugged her, and then left. Dawn stood at the door for a while, her hands clasped, and her face sad although no one could see it. "Dawn? Are you alright?" Said a voice, James', behind her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just miss him already." ------------------------------------- After running down the Rabbitt Manor property, Cheesemaster began to walk more slowly, until they reached the house, where Cheesemaster sighed. The two walked inside, and ate a snack before getting back out to work. "Are you alright, Mr. Cheesemaster?" Edna asked, seeing his friend looking down. "I'm alright, Edna. I just-" He stopped himself, and swallowed. "I wish we could have spent more time at the Manor." "Mr. Cheesemaster...?" He sighed, and walked over to the fridge, where the drawing of him and Mushroom_king embracing was still up. He took it off, causing Edna to gasp, but all he did was turn it over and re-attach it. "Mr. Cheesemaster?" Edna asked. "Are you alright?" Cheesemaster walked over to the couch, in front of the seldom-used TV, and he laid down. Edna, concerned, ran over and stood next to his friend, who climbed up onto the couch onto his friend's chest. "Mr. Cheesemaster..." The older of the boys suddenly sat up and wrapped his arms around Edna, squeezing him tightly. "Nothing's wrong, Edna. In fact, I feel on top of the world!" "Really? But you looked so sad!" "I'm not sad at all, I'm a little down because we had to leave the Rabbitt Manor, like I said-" He was speaking increasingly faster. "-I just wish we could have stayed a lot longer!" "Mr. Cheesemaster, you're acting so strange." "Strange? I thought you of all people would notice first." Edna blinked. "What's that?" Cheesemaster sighed heavily, and leaned back into the couch cushions, looking at Edna. "I've fallen in love with Dawn," He said quietly. He sighed again, and closed his eyes. "I think I did a while ago...but I've only just now realized. And it's wonderful, I've never felt so incredible in my whole life-" he said, his voice rising and getting faster as he spoke. He looked away from Edna. "But that means-that means I have to tell her..." He turned back to Edna, looking terrified and anxious. "How can I do that? I'm so terribly....I'll stutter if I tried..." "You could ask Arkcher," Edna suggested. "Or his dad!" "That sounds good...but, we've wasted time! Work! Then I'll call Arkcher!!" The two went outside, Cheesemaster tripping over himself, and anxiously sold more papers, desperate to see Dawn again, desperate to tell her but too shy to do it. "There's a lot of people today," Cheesemaster said to Edna later on, sitting on the stoop to rest a little bit. Edna poked Cheesemaster, prompting a "What is it?" response-to which Edna pointed. Dawn was walked down the street, and running towards them. Cheesemaster bolted up, much to Edna's amusement, and stood on the edge of the sidewalk, his heart racing as she neared them. "Hi, Cheesie, Edna," She said, her hands clasped and bouncing on her toes. "H-Hi, Dawn," Cheesemaster said, looking down into her face. "Hello," She said quietly. "Normally I buy a paper, but you already gave me one earlier..." "W-Well, I wouldn't want you wasting any money-" Cheesemaster stammered, and Dawn shook her head. "No, I think it's best if I buy another. I could use it as wrapping paper!" Cheesemaster blushed harder. "You...you would? You really don't need to-" "I want to," Dawn said quietly, moving closer to him and nudging a paper away from his paperbag, and putting some money in his shirt pocket. "Th-Th-Thanks," He said, and Dawn smiled. "It's nothing!" Dawn said happily, and she walked away, looking back and waving several times as he had done earlier. Cheesemaster stood there, staring into space, and then looked at Edna out of he corner of his eye. "Her head was on my chest," He said quietly. "Do you think she heard my heartbeat...?" He wondered aloud. Edna looked up at him, and tugged on his sleeve. "What is it, Edna?" "I...I just remembered something..." Edna said, near-whispering and sounding afraid. "What is it??" "Not only do you have to tell Dawn, but you'll have to tell Cheese Woman!" As if right on que, the boys heard a loud "Cheesie-kun!!" From behind them, and Cheesemaster was practically tackled by the girl, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Cheesie...you're finally back!! It felt like forever!! Did you have a good time?? Please bring me next time!!" Cheesemaster squeezed himself out of her dearthgrip, and his heart felt as though it was about to pound directly out of his chest, and he looked at Edna with a look as though he were afraid for his life. He sighed. "Hello, Cheese Woman." "Awww, why do you sound so glum? Did you miss me, too? And all your friends? Why didn't you call me at all?? You know I have a phone!!" "I'm sorry, Cheese Woman. It must have slipped my mind. I was really busy exploring and catching up to some old friends, you know-I didn't always have time to call home!" Cheese Woman sighed. "Alright, then. Well, I can see you're really busy-I'll see you later!!" And she gave him another spine-crushing hug, and then leaped away. Cheesemaster stood there, and then began to have a near-meltdown. "Edna, what am I going to do?! Cheese Woman will be crushed if I told her, and what if she got REALLY upset, and tried to blackmail Dawn, or hurt me?" "I don't think she'd be able to," Edna said, shrugging. "But I think she would be very sad..." "I know, and she's my friend, even though, I hate to say it, she can be rather annoying sometimes. I wouldn't want her to be upset." He got up, and stretched, sighing deeply. "I'll call Arkcher now-let's go." The boys went inside, where Edna sat down on the couch, resting, and Cheesemaster went over to the phone installed in the wall, dialing Arkcher's number-which he had long had memorized. After ringing, it picked up: "Hello?" "Arkcher?" "Oh, Cheesemaster...No, it's Mushroom. Is something wrong?" "Sort of. I needed some advice." "Did you run into engineering problems again?" "No, nothing of the sort...I...look, I'll tell you so long as you don't tell." "Like When in Rome, I promise you I'll keep it." Cheesemaster sighed. "I'm in love with Dawn." There was no word from Mushroom for a moment. "...Really?" "Yes. I...I needed to know two things. One, what would be the best way to tell her, and second, how to tell Cheese Woman." Mushroom_king thought for a few moments. "Well, me and Dawn are very good friends-I could tell you for her." "Thank you for the offer, but I'd rather tell her myself." He heard her do a strange sighing laugh on the other line. "That's good. As for telling her..." "How did you tell Arkcher?" He said quickly. Another silence. "I...well...when I'd decided to tell him, I was so shy about telling him in words, I learned a little acoustic guitar and played a song for him. He was really touched, even though he didn't know the song." Cheesemaster sighed. "I'm not a musical type." Mushroom thought for a little bit. "I've got it! I'm a music type, so of course I told him with a song. You're a reading type-why don't you lend her a book with a little note inside? It'd be really cute it if was a romance novel." Cheesemaster smiled, and he suddenly felt very warm in his chest. "That sounds fantastic-plus, she's been meaning to borrow a book from me, although it's not a romance." "Alright. I'll talk to you later, and tell Arkcher you said hello. And Cheeseman?" "Yes?" Mushroom paused. "Good luck. I know Dawn well and I think you two would be really wonderful together." The warmth in his chest got stronger, and he sighed. "I think so, too. Thank you so much, Mushroom-you've been a wonderful help." "Alright. Now I'm in the mood for Air Supply. See you." He hung up the phone, stood there for a moment, and then grabbed a book off the shelf. "What are you doing, Mr. Cheesemaster?" Edna asked, watching something on TV. "Dawn's been meaning to borrow more of my books-she really enjoyed the Lovecraft book I lent her a few months back, and she says she wants to read more of his books." "So you're lending her a Lovecraft book to tell her you love her?" Edna said, and he laughed. "That's very fitting!" "But only the name," Cheesemaster said, and he sat at the kitchen table with a pen, writing a message inside the book. "Come on, Edna," Cheesemaster said. "I'm going to drop this off." Edna jumped up off the couch, shut the TV off, and joined Cheesemaster to go deliver the book.

"Is something wrong?" Edna repeated. Cheesemaster looked down at his friend, and sighed. "I don't know. I think I'm homesick." "That's alright. We are going home tomorrow," Edna said. Cheesemaster sighed. "Well, I can't wait." "What are you two talking about back here?" Jesusfreak said, and she started walking backwards. "Nothing," Cheesemaster said. "I've gotten a little homesick, is all." "Are you not having fun?" Jesusfreak asked, seeming concerned. "No, no, it's been a lot of fun. I just miss home." Jesusfreak put her arms behind her head, and turned back around to continue walking. Eventually the group reached the temple, thanks to Taynio leading the way, as well as both him and the twins using alchemy to find it. The temple loomed high above them, and Cheesemaster's homesickness faded away a bit, excited on the things to be discovered inside. At the same time, however, he was reminded constantly of the day before. He shook his head, in an attempt to shake it from his memory. "Let's go," Taynio whispered, in that same excited voice he had used the day before when they'd entered the jungle. Cheesemaster took Edna's hand firmly and ran after Taynio and the others, who all stood outside the entrance of the temple. It looked like it had come out of a movie-it was a tall, stone structure with no doorway, but rather an enormous entryway that showed the hallways inside. The outside of it was rather plain, and without much more notice, Taynio and his students went on inside. Cheesemaster stayed behind, still lagging, just to see if there wasn't anything interesting on the outside of the structure. Even if there wasn't, it was still fascinating, and he picked up Edna and carried him inside. "Come on," Jesusfreak called out, from inside the temple; her voice echoed off the sides, despite not being that far in. "We won't get much done if you're lagging behind us." "Sorry," Cheesemaster said quietly, even though she couldn't hear him, and walked quickly towards the rest of the group. Taynio and the Anon twins were looking around the front hallway, as Jesusfreak waited for the other two. When he caught up, Taynio thought it best to explore the first two rooms-the one Edna had been in yesterday, and the one directly across from it. "Here's the one I was in," Edna said, just as they caught up to Taynio. "I know," He said; "I'd rather we got this room over with so we wouldn't have to deal with it later. I know you're probably already getting some bad feeling about seeing it again." Cheesemaster looked at Edna from the corner of his eyes. "I'm not really," Edna said, and Cheesemaster looked away. It was clear that this was getting to him instead. "Alright. Then let's go." The group walked into the large room, which was mostly bare, much to their disappointment; there was not even any doorways or staircases that might lead to more interesting rooms. The Anon twins sighed in unison. "Well, I guess this room is a waste," Brian muttered, and Blaze nodded. Taynio walked forward, looking around to see if anything of value was in there. "I don't think so," Taynio finally said, "I think every room here is meaningful in some way. This room can't just exist for no reason-I'd like to find out why it's empty." The others hadn't noticed when Cheesemaster & Edna went into the room across the hall, and all jumped when they noticed him gone, and again when they heard his voice yelling from the other room. "I don't think there's much in here, either," He shouted, and Taynio turned around and slowly walked towards the other room, but not before reminding the three students to look over the room while he went into the other one. Brian sighed at this prospect, but Blaze seemed fine with it-being an Earth Alchemist, he liked being in the giant stone building. Jesusfreak didn't seem to like or dislike it, seeming more indifferent on it. In the other room, Taynio walked in and saw Cheesemaster, holding Edna's hand, looking around. "I don't understand," Taynio murmured. "Why are there two empty rooms here at the front?" Cheesemaster thought for a moment. "I'd hazard a guess that it's either symbolic, or that there was something in these rooms, that was removed later on." Taynio sighed. "It'd be sad if the latter was the case," He said. "But I'd want to find out why it was removed, if that's true, which would be even harder to figure out...either way, I can study these rooms later on. Let's keep going." The party regrouped and walked farther along the hallway, where it appeared there were some stairs leading up. "How big was this place on the outside?" Blaze asked, and Taynio tried to remember; before he could answer, Jesusfreak had already pointed out that there was also a staircase going down. "So there is," Taynio said, looking down into it. "There must be some sort of light down there, because it's not pitch dark." He turned back to the group, and they noticed that his regular, unmoving facial expression was back now-gone was the sparkle of excitement from when they sought out the temple. They knew he was feeling a powerful aura in the building, just as Edna had yesterday. It wasn't quite as overpowering to Edna's senses today, though-and he wondered why. "We should head upstairs first. I'd guess that there's not much upstairs, but downstairs there are more passages." The others thought that sounded fine, and they all walked upstairs, led by Taynio, who looked around as he walked. The upstairs ended with a large room, filled with windows. Like the downstairs, it was deserted, with not even any interesting patterns on the walls to make it interesting. They all split up and looked around the room, even trying to see if there were any hidden panels or devices, but turned up nothing. "What a waste," Blaze loudly complained. Jesusfreak nodded in agreement, and Taynio heaved considerably. "I'm sorry," Was all he said, as he went back downstairs, and down again, into the darker yet still well-lit sublevel of the temple. Instead of a room, the downstairs area led to a narrow hallway with some rubble on the floor, and while there were holders for torches, there were no torches-or at least none lit-and Taynio wondered several times how the hallway stayed lit. They kept going down the hallway, and it would twist and turn occasionally, but was fairly straightforward with no forked paths. They eventually found an underground chamber, which was as bright as the upstairs rooms, but, like the others, completely deserted. "I don't understand," Taynio muttered. "Why is this entire temple completely deserted with no objects and nothing inscribed on the walls?" He sighed, and sat on the floor, looking put-down, and sounding it too. Edna walked over to Taynio, put a hand on his shoulder, and tried comforting him. "It's ok, Mr. Taynio. At least we learned there isn't anything in here-besides, I'm sure a really up and down search could make you find something." Taynio looked at Edna. "I suppose so," He said, his voice back to monotone. "Let's get out of here." The group walked back through the basement level, back across the foyer of the first floor, and outside, where they all basked in the real light again-until they were interrupted by a voice in front of them. "Taynio? What were you and your students doing in my temple?" Taynio opened his eyes, and the others, crowding behind him, looked ahead at the source of the voice. A person the same height as Taynio, but not human-rather, they work a brown, monk-like robe, had a orange-furred Fox head and limbs, and nine fox tails. "What...what is that?" Jesusfreak whispered, and Cheesemaster stepped forward a bit. "Kitsune," Cheesemaster said. "A nine-tailed fox. But what's one doing here?" "Lexx," Taynio said, running forward. "What do you mean this is your temple?" The others didn't move when Taynio went over to the nine-tailed fox. "It's my temple," Lexx said. "I found it. I thought it was really weird and I liked it." Taynio stared for a moment at Lexx, and then hit him. Lexx recoiled a bit, and then looked at Taynio oddly. "What....what was that for, Taynio?" Taynio said nothing. Lexx looked behind him at the students & Cheesemaster and Edna. "Look, there seems to be some of your students. Looks like you all had an adventure in my temple." "We thought this temple was built by native Invisionists and were hoping some information or artifacts were in it. What did you do?" Taynio asked, now calmed down. "I didn't do anything," Lexx stated. "It was empty when I found it. That's why I thought it was weird. I'm sure your students loved it." Taynio turned and looked at them, and then stood aside so they could see Lexx. "Students, this is-" He sighed heavily, and looked fairly angry. "-My good friend and colleague, Lexxscrapham." "How do you do," The twins said. "Hi," Jesusfreak said, bored-sounding. Edna bowed, and Cheesemaster smiled. "Hello. Are you an alchemist, too?" Taynio turned to Lexx. "Lexx and I were friends before we came to Invision. He-" He looked at the Kitsune. "We took care of each other." "I practice alchemy and PSI," Lexx said, ignoring Taynio. "I see," Cheesemaster said. "You must be very good at it if you have nine tails." "You're a psychic, too?" Edna asked. Lexx nodded. "What possessed you to come here, Lexx?" Taynio asked. "You ask me that as thought you aren't glad to see me." "You've been gone for half a year." "Yes, and you disappeared off the face of both Invision and our home planet several times." Taynio sighed. "I felt a lot of psychic stuff in the temple. Did you put it there?" Edna asked, ignoring their arguing. "It was like that when I found it," Lexx said. "I found that I'd absorbed some of it when I left. Did that happen to you?" "Why, I don't know," Edna said. Lexx turned to the twins and Jesusfreak. "I remember you three, sort of. I see you're still raising Blaze & Brian." "I have to, Lexx," Taynio said defensively. "I know, I know." "Lexx, why don't you live at the university?" Jesusfreak asked. "I don't like crowded places," He answered quickly. "Too many people overload my senses and slow me down. It's why I enjoy Taynio more than other areas of the planet, and why I chose it as my place to live. The moon is nice, too." "What about Outside The Wall?" Brian asked. "I don't think very many people live there," Blaze responded. "The Phoenixonian Army lives there," Taynio said. "That's enough to have kept both of us away." "Speaking of," Lexx said. "I wanted to show you something." Taynio looked at his friend oddly, and then at his young friends, and they all decided it wasn't too bad of an idea to see what Lexx wanted to show them. Taynio smiled. "What is it, Lexx?" Lexx walked ahead, with Taynio running to walk next to him, and the teenagers lagging behind a bit, seeing the two adults talk to each other constantly as Lexx lead them along. The kitsune stopped, and looked around. "I think it's near here." "Lexx, what is it?" Jesusfreak asked impatiently. "Well, this place used to exist in the Mushroom Isles down on the planet, but the Phoenixonian Army destroyed it. I called Mega Wolf and Horatio up to help me restore it." "No. You can't mean...really?..." Taynio said, folding his arms. Lexx stepped a bit outside, into a leafy grove, and the others followed. In the enormous clearing where Lexx had stepped there were no trees whatsoever, and instead some large pools of steaming hot water and a few buildings. A large sign read "SANITY SPRINGS". Taynio looked at the sign, dumbfounded, but Jesusfreak leaped forward. "I remember! I remember when this existed in the Mushroom Islands!" "I don't," Cheesemaster said dejectedly. "Neither do we," The twins moped. Out of one of the buildings stepped a human girl, with Asian features and long dark brown hair. She turned and looked at the group. "Lexxscrapham? You brought some friends, I see...that's rare..." The girl ran forward, jumped, and in mid-jump disappeared and re-emerged as the winged white Mega Wolf. "Goodness," Taynio said after watching it. "I haven't seen you in the longest time," The wolf said to Cheesemaster, who knelt down and began scratching Mega Wolf's head. "Who's your little friend?" "Edna," He said plainly. "I adopted him, and he's like a little brother to me." He turned to Edna. "This is Mega Wolf, my friend." "But she was a girl a moment ago," Edna whispered. Blaze & Brian had also walked over and started petting the Wolf. "She does that," Brian said. "Come on-no other wolf will ever let you pet them," Blaze said. "Can't I go into the hot spring?" Edna asked. "Of course not," Mega Wolf said. "Unless you're a sanity. The spring is for sanities of the people who live on the ground to relax where The Grim Hamster Lord can't find them." Blaze whispered to Brian, "Why's he call himself the Grim HAMSTER Lord, Brian?" "I haven't the slightest idea," Brian responded. "He's a phoenix, not a hamster." "But somehow The Grim Phoenix Lord doesn't sound as good. I'm not sure why." "Sanities of people on the ground? Then I wonder..." Cheesemaster said, and he got back up, and walked around the Springs, looking at the various sanities relaxing, until he found the one. "Of course," He said, looking into the spring, and poked the person sitting in it. "Hmm?" Said a voice, and they turned around-it was PMM, and with him was Gamechamp, Arkcher's female sanity. "Hey, you're not allowed over there," Lexx shouted, and Cheesemaster ran over, careful not to fall into the springs. "Might as well," He muttered. "My glasses got fogged up." "Actually, none of you are supposed to be here in the first place," Mega Wolf said. "Except Lexx & I because we work here, but even so." "Alright, then," Taynio said. "We're should head back anyway. Cheesemaster, you need to get home, don't you?" He nodded, and picked up Edna. --------------------------------------------- "Are you sure you don't want to come stay at the University tonight?" Taynio asked Lexx as they were leaving the forest. "I'm sure," The kitsune said. "Being alone in the woods helps me think well." Taynio smiled. "Of course. That's what you were always best at." Lexx sighed, and Taynio sighed as well. "I'm still wondering why you hit me, though," Lexx said. "Have you calmed down now?" Taynio said nothing, and after realizing he wouldn't get an answer, Lexx left Taynio alone. ---------------------------------------------- Taynio and the group walked to the airport to say goodbye to Cheesemaster and Edna after they'd gathered up their things from the University and ate dinner. "I wish you wouldn't leave so soon," The twins lamented. "Keep in touch with us somehow, or visit us again really soon?" "Alright," Cheesemaster said. "And maybe work on not letting me tell you two apart." He said goodbye to Jesusfreak, and then Taynio finally, and he gave all of them a hug, as did Edna, and headed home on the plane. "Did you have fun, Edna?" Cheesemaster asked his friend. "I did-but did you?" "I had a lot of fun. I think we ought to visit them again-and perhaps bring Dawn next time." Edna laughed. "Why's that? Did you miss her that much?" "Well, she's practically my other best friend. Of course I did-I talk to her every day." Edna giggled. "Of course." --------------------------------------------- The plan landed in Hamsterdam early the next morning, and the boys landed in the Port of Cheese just around 6-when Cheesemaster would normally be getting the papers for the day. "Looks like we arrived at the perfect time," Cheesemaster said as he and Edna walked off the boat and stretched. "Come on! Let's go home!" He shouted to Edna, and the two ran down to the house. "My heart's pounding," Edna said as they opened up the door and went inside, and Cheesemaster fell onto the loveseat in front of the fireplace, and then got up to make some breakfast. "Hurry up!" Edna said, laughing, and Cheesemaster laughed, too, asking his friend if they should bother going and selling papers today. "Papers, or sleep?" He asked after explaining it, and said it over and over again until the two were sitting on the kitchen floor laughing uncontrollably, with some waffles and bacon cooking. The two calmed down, and with huge smiles on their faces sat down to eat breakfast. "I say we sell papers today, and we deliver one right to Rabbitt Manor so we can see Dawn!" "And Rick and Sterling, maybe?" "Maybe!" "And it'll make Jakob mad!" Edna said, faux-waringly. The two started laughing again. "Alright. Are you done? Let's go!!" Cheesemaster said, picking up Edna by the arms and swinging him. Edna laughed even harder now, and when they got outside Cheesemaster tossed him into the air and caught him. "That was fun! Do it more often!!" Edna shouted, and Cheesemaster smiled. "OK, but not now. Let's go!" Cheesemaster let Edna down, and the two held hands as they went to get papers, with Cheesemaster giving some to Edna to help sell-now a regular occurence. The boys sold a few on their way to Rabbitt Manor, with talking and laughing (especially about high points of their trip) all the way. Cheesemaster jumped up to the step of Rabbitt Manor, and knocked. "Now my heart's pounding," He said under his breath. "Who is it?" Said someone's voice, and the door opened to reveal Dawn. "It's the paperboy, do you have .50H$?" "Cheesie!!" Dawn shouted, and practically leapt towards him and hugged him as hard as they could. Cheesemaster was unfazed and hugged her back. She stepped back, and smiled. "You're back..." "I know," He said, and handed her a paper. "It's for you." Dawn took it and folded it under her arm. "Thank you," She said, standing on her toes. "Do you want to come in?" Cheesemaster sighed, sadly this time. "I'd love to-so, so much. But we just got these papers and need to go sell them. Or else they'll be worthless." Dawn looked genuinely hurt, and stood back on her feet. "But we'll come see you right after we're done," He said excitedly. She looked up and smiled at him. "That sounds wonderful," She said. He nodded. "Come along, Edna-let's go sell these as quickly as we can!" The boys ran down the steps, with Cheesemaster looking back and waving as much as possible. Dawn stood on the steps until he was no longer visible, and went back inside, melancholy.

CC Edna, as you can imagine, had wandered in to the Taynian temple; he was crumpled up on the floor in a room not too far from the entrance. He'd been crying for what seemed like hours, waiting to see if anyone would find him; he'd brought a few fruits with him when he'd left the spot where he was picking fruits, but had since exhausted his supply, and he was hungry again. Edna wasn't tired, really; he was crumpled on the floor from not only sadness and hopelessness, but the temple was brimming with power-mostly alchemic power, but it was too strong for a five-year-old to handle, much less one with sensitive psychic powers. He kept telling himself how stupid he was; he wasn't supposed to wander off, and yet he had, and now he was paying the price for it. He wondered if he would be stuck in the temple forever, and it was a horribly depressing thought, never seeing Cheesemaster or Dawn or Sterling or Rick ever again. The thought made him start crying uncontrollably again. Meanwhile, at the entrance of the temple, Cheesemaster and the Anon brothers were walking when Cheesemaster told them to stop. "Do you hear that?" He said, and all three were completely silent. They listened carefully, and heard some distant crying. "There's crying again," The twins said to each other. "It might be Edna," Cheesemaster said excitedly, and he yelled the boy's name. "Edna? Are you there?" He shouted, and his voice echoed down the passage. The crying stopped for a moment, and the boys heard a sniffle. Cheesemaster turned around, and clutched the twin's arms and practically dragged them by the arm along the corridor. "Edna!! EDNA!!!" he shouted, his voice practically screaming. He stopped to catch his breath, and was about to collapse until he heard, near-distant, "M-M...Mr. Cheesemaster?" "Edna...Oh my goodness-Edna-" He let go of the twin's arms, as they ran after him. Cheesemaster and Edna yelled each other's names, as Cheesemaster followed the boy's voice down the echoing corridor. "Edna, Edna, Edna" Before he could turn into a slowly-appearing entryway, Edna stumbled forward, and looked at his older friend. "Edna..." Cheesemaster said, and he fell to his knees, clutched the boy in his arms, and began to sob into Edna's hat and hair. He tried to say something, anything, to show how worried he had been, and how Edna should never run off again, but they weren't needed; the crying was enough. The twins caught up with Cheesemaster, but kept a distance from the reunion. The two looked at each other, heaving sighs of relief. Cheesemaster lifted his face out of Edna's scalp, his glasses smeared with tears. He choked back more of them, and wiped as many away as he could with his sleeve, and sighed. "Don't you ever run away again," He said quietly. Edna started to cry, too, and buried his face into his friend's chest, pleading "Sorry" as much as he could until his words melted back into blubbering and sobbing. "Come on," Cheesemaster whispered. "Let's get out of here." Edna's crying got slower and he eventually went into a state of odd quietness as Cheesemaster carried him out of the temple, hugging him tightly, and the twins led them out silently. "We have to find a way out of here, first off-" Blaze said, hoping to break the silence, when they exited the temple and reached the woods. To their surprise, Taynio was standing just outside the temple, arms folded, and staring at them with an expression that could have been any number of emotions. "Taynio," The twins said, and Cheesemaster said nothing. His throat felt the strange way it does when you have cried a lot-sort of gluey, for lack of better terms. He felt it was better to just not speak-he was too worried about crying again, anyhow. "Blaze. Brian." he said quickly, and his face became soft, though visibly angry. "What are you doing here?" "Edna was in there," Brian explained, with both twins shaking their heads, and using the same hand motions to convey body language. "We just felt he was in there. I used some alchemy to try and find him. First it led us to Cheesemaster, then to this temple, so we thought Edna would-" Taynio walked over to the twins, now angrier looking. "Neither of you understand," He started, his voice also angry. "You didn't wait for me to find any of you. You could have gotten killed or lost." "But we haven't seen anything dangerous yet. Not even remotely dangerous," Blaze said. "Even so," Taynio said, "None of us know the full extent of the forest. None of you had any clue what might be in that temple, either." "But Taynio," Cheesemaster said, wanting to speak now, "This temple could give us a lot of information. We don't know all that much about Native Invisionists. This temple might be good for learning about them." Taynio stopped, and his face lightened up. He sighed deeply, and thought for a moment. "Tomorrow," Taynio said. "The daytime might be safe to be in the jungle, but I am not so sure about the nighttime. Come now," The twins agreed to this, and Cheesemaster, clutching Edna closer, walked back to the university with them, picking up Cheesemaster's bookbag before leaving. ---------------------------------------------- Edna & Cheesemaster were taken to the dining hall, not long before dinner was to start. The fruits they'd collected were put into storage until they left, in a special marked box. Edna ate voraciously, and drank even moreso; Cheesemaster told him frequently to remember his table manners, and tried to be a good example himself-though it was difficult since he'd been lost and hadn't eaten in some time. Taynio was very quiet-moreso than he was usually. He seemed to still be angry from earlier. "Mr. Taynio," Edna said, after swallowing some sliced up fruits. "Are you still mad?" Taynio looked over at Edna. "A little," He said. "But tomorrow, I promise we can go to that temple. We'll have to go through the forest again, though, and I don't really know how to get through. Unless Blaze can use that technique he used today to find things, that is." Blaze leaned back in his chair, his twin looking at him. "I don't know. I might be able to." "Alright, then. You can all think it over. I'll be gathering up supplies. Get some rest." The others said nothing, gathering the dishes up and putting them in the various large sinks in the cafeteria. The twins said goodnight to Cheesemaster and Edna, who trudged up to their room. Cheesemaster fell onto the bed, Edna on his stomach. Cheesemaster continued to clutch Edna, who in turn clutched at his white shirt. "Edna..." He whispered, and Edna looked up. "I know already," Edna murmured. "I'm so sorry." Cheesemaster hugged him even tighter. "Edna, you can't run away from me like that," He said, sobs in his voice. He choked back more tears. "You can't just wander off like that. I was worried sick." Edna looked up. "I know. I realized when I got lost that I shouldn't have done it. I'm so sorry!! I'll never do it again!!" The boy clutched Cheesemaster's neck, burying his face into his friend's chest. Cheesemaster lifted his head a bit, and placed his hands around Edna's head. "It's alright now," He said. "You're back. You're not hurt." He squeezed Edna, and whispered, "That's enough for me. Now let's go to bed." --------------------------------------------------- The next morning, Cheesemaster & Edna woke up, Edna still cradled in Cheesemaster's arms and his head resting on Cheesemaster's chest. Neither had taken off their hats or anything, and Cheesemaster's glasses were filthy from being pressed against pillows, blankets, and Edna's clothes. "Edna? Edna, wake up," He said sleepily. He moved his glasses up and rubbed his eyes, as Edna blinked his eyes awake and looked around. "Huh?" "We're supposed to explore that temple today, and we still need to get ready. Come on," He said, and Edna slid off of his friend, blinking his eyes some more and rubbing them as Cheesemaster got up to get ready for the day. Edna stretched and yawned, and rummaged through his bag for some more clothes, eventually picking out some short pants, a lightweight coat, and some ankle socks. While Cheesemaster showered, he changed clothes and combed his hair; he thought the shorts looked cute with the coat, hat, and his suspenders hanging down by his legs, and spun around before putting his hat on. Cheesemaster walked out of the bathroom, his hair wet, fully dressed. He sat down on the bed and started cleaning his glasses, when Edna ran over to him and asked if his outfit looked cute. "Hold on a minute," He said. He looked at his glasses, wiped something away, and then put them on, and looked at Edna. "You look very cute today," He said, smiling. "But why the coat?" "it was really musty and kind of cold in the temple," Edna explained. "You said once that the deeper you go, the cooler it gets." Cheesemaster smiled at his friend. "That's true," He said, and rubbed Edna's head. "You're rather smart." Edna giggled. "Of course, I learn from you." Cheesemaster sighed. "Well, I guess I ought to get a coat, too." Cheesemaster looked at Edna again. "We match today-I'm wearing shorts, too." Cheesemaster opened his suitcase, looking for his coat, and found his blue sweater and brown jacket. "Mr. Cheesemaster, you might be too hot with the sweater and coat. Why don't you just wear the coat?" Cheesemaster buttoned up just one button on his coat and turned around to look at Edna. "I like this sweater." Edna stared at him. "You seem really attached to it. What's so great about it?" Cheesemaster sat on the bed and stared wistfully into space, and finally looked back at Edna, his expression, although he was smiling, seeming distant. "It belonged to my father," He said, and without another word, took Edna's hand and led him out of their room. -------------------------------------------------------- In the hallway, the two were silent; whenever Edna looked up at Cheesemaster, he had that distant look in his face, and sometimes he would walk a little slower, his head tilted at an angle, his face suddenly in an expression of thinking, or perhaps, wondering. "Mr. Cheesemaster...." Edna said a couple times, but Cheesemaster never responded. "Mr. Cheesemaster, that sweater was your dad's?" Cheesemaster looked down and nodded, but said nothing. Edna was quiet for a moment, and then said, "That's the only thing I've heard you say about your father, aside from him being a biologist." Edna paused, and then said, "You didn't outright say it, but he was nearsighted, too." Cheesemaster stopped, and looked down at Edna. "Yea. He was." Cheesemaster looked away, and sighed. "Why won't you tell me more about him?" Edna asked as they continued walking, though no longer hand in hand. Cheesemaster folded his arms and looked at the ground. He looked hurt, almost, and looked away. He couldn't think of a good reason. "Please tell me about him. Just his name?" Cheesemaster turned around. "Especially not his name." "Why not? That's so silly." Cheesemaster sighed. "I'm sorry, Edna." "Do you hate him or something?" Edna said, and then quickly added, "No, you wouldn't wear his glasses and sweater so much if you did." Cheesemaster sighed. "Please, Edna." Edna groaned, and the two were silent for some time, when Edna looked up, smiled, and asked, "How did your father look in the sweater?" Cheesemaster stopped and looked at Edna. "I don't know. He never wore it when I lived with him. But-" He sighed, and he smiled. "My mother had pictures of him from before-" He stopped, and began to sweat. "Before I was born. He wore the sweater then." Edna blinked as the two opened the door to the cafeteria. "Why didn't he ever wear it when you were born?" Cheesemaster smiled, and turned a little pink. "It didn't fit him anymore," He said, turning the doorknob, and he said no more as he walked in. Edna gave up, knowing he would not get any more information out of him right now, and the two walked over to a table. "We're early," Edna said, noticing that neither Taynio nor the Anon Twins were around yet. The boys sat down, Edna next to Cheesemaster, and waited. "You're sure we're supposed to meet here?" Edna asked, and Cheesemaster nodded. "I distinctly remember," He said quietly, and Edna continued looking at him. He sighed, and looked forwards. "What's wrong?" Cheesemaster asked. "I wanna know more about your father, that's all." Cheesemaster heaved, and leaned his head on one of his hands. "This is why I shouldn't bring the subject up. Then everyone asks." "But why? Why don't you ever talk about him?" Edna asked, his voice louder. "Edna, I want to tell you everything about him, but I simply can't. Maybe someday you can." He sighed again. "At least tell me a little bit? I'm like your little brother. You tell me everything, except for stuff about your father." Cheesemaster groaned, and buried his face in his hands. "Please, Edna." Edna sighed heavily and angrily. and folded his arms on the table, his chin resting on top. There was some silence, and Cheesemaster said, "I'm sorry, Edna. I really do want to tell you." "Alright," Edna said, and sighed. Just then, the cafeteria doors opened, and in walked Taynio, followed by the Anon brothers, and the girl Jesusfreak from a few days earlier. The twins had large backpacks with them, and Taynio had a satchel. The four of them walked over to the table where Edna and Cheesemaster were, and sat down. "Today is your last day here, isn't it?" Brian asked when they say down. Cheesemaster thought for a moment, and then nodded. "That's right. Tomorrow morning we go home." "Alright, then," Blaze said, "Then we have to make today really fun." "Mr. Cheesemaster, I thought we were staying longer." Edna said, and Cheesemaster looked at him, and said, "I'm worried about Dawn." Edna shrugged and turned back around to the others. "I don't have anything to do today," Jesufreak said, "So I thought I'd come along. Plus, this could count as a sort of project-" She looked at Taynio. "-Couldn't it?" Taynio sighed, and smiled at her. "Fine, then." The twins giggled, and looked at each other. "Good for us, too," They said. The two looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Edna whispered, and Cheesemaster shrugged. Jesusfreak rolled her eyes. "Twins..." Blaze & Brian suddenly stopped and looked back forward, coughing in unison. "Anyhow," Taynio said, looking at them with some discontent, "Today, we'll be leaving to explore the new-found temple in the forest. Jesusfreak, Blaze, and Brian, you will be required to write a report about it, and I'll offer a handful of extra credit projects as well." He looked over at his guests. "Cheesemaster and Edna, because you aren't attending, you will simply be exploring for your own enjoyment and educational benefit." "Taynio," Cheesemaster said, "Edna's going to Kindergarten this fall. Would there be any way to...well, make this count in some way for him?" Taynio thought for a moment. "I'm not connected to any schools in your town, but Edna could make a report and see what that does." Cheesemaster nodded. "Alright." "Anyhow, we'll be leaving very soon-after a light breakfast." Taynio got up and prepared food for the others himself. While he did, Cheesemaster made small talk with the Anon brothers as well as Jesusfreak, a friend he didn't talk to much. "I heard all about what happened yesterday from Taynio," The girl said. "It sounds horrible." "He was sobbing like you wouldn't believe," Blaze said. "We saw the reunion at the temple," Brian continued. They both shook their heads and concluded, "It was a horrible sight." Jesusfreak adjusted her glasses and pink headband, and stared at Cheesemaster. "True?" Cheesemaster sighed, and held his head in his hands. "It was awful. I don't...I don't want to think about how I felt. It was horrible." He stopped himself before he started crying again, though it had already put a damper on his mood. Edna sighed, but Cheesemaster lifted his head, and rubbed Edna's head. "I can't wait, honestly-" Jesusfreak quipped. "There's never been any native Invisionists on Taynio, as far as we know, so it'll be interesting to see this temple..." She continued to talk about how excited she was, telling them all kinds of odd facts about Taynio, and other regions of Invision where natives had been found. The Anon twins looked at each other as they talked and shrugged, while Cheesemaster listened with rapt attention. Taynio returned with a tray of plates for them, each with a light, fruity breakfast on it. Taynio ate his slowly and patiently while Edna ate voraciously-he really loved all the Taynian fruits, and told Cheesemaster several times how happy he was that they were bringing some home. When everyone was done, Taynio gathered up the plates (with Edna helping), and put them away to be cleaned or reused; afterwards, the group packed up their things in preparation for the trip. Eventually the group left, just before swarms of students flooded into the cafeteria for breakfast, and walked across the emptying courtyard and onto the road, when Cheesemaster stopped them. "Do you think I could call Dawn?" He asked the group, and after some consideration, they didn't see why not. Cheesemaster thanked them, and borrowed one of the twin's cell phones and dialed her again. He'd already memorized her phone number. "I hope it's not too early," He said quietly, and he walked away from the group to talk privately. The phone eventually picked up, and he heard Dawn's voice, causing his heart to skip a bit. "Hello?" she said, and he couldn't help but smile as he said, "Dawn? Are you awake?" "Yea," Dawn said, "I just woke up, but I feel fine. I haven't even dressed yet-I'm still in my pajamas, and I'm so glad you can't see me right now, because I look like a mess." Cheesemaster remembered how she looked when she'd been resting, after the fiasco in Hamsterdam. She'd looked pretty, despite her lack of makeup and her messy hair. "I doubt that. How are you today? Are you alright there? Me and Edna are coming back home tomorrow." "Yea, I'm fine. Jakob's still...weird, I guess. He's been quiet, and he's been staying in his bed, and he's been looking over some cases from Cullough, hoping to go back sometime soon. His best environment is when he's taking on cases," She said, and then, half-jokingly, "Or harassing you." Cheesemaster laughed, though a little sadly. "Unfortunately, that's true. Though I must admit it is good that he is so good at his occupation." Dawn sighed. "That's true. And James, too. Jakob is thinking of taking James with him next time he goes back to Cullough-he wants his brother to start working again." "I'm sure," Cheesemaster said. "But as long as James doesn't leave you in the care of Jakob." "Yea," Dawn said, and Cheesemaster could faintly hear her getting up and going over to her vanity. "But how has your trip been?" Dawn asked, moving away from that subject. Cheesemaster relayed the events of yesterday to her, telling her, his voice getting sadder as he did, but he didn't even feel like crying this time. "That's terrible," was all Dawn said, after listening intently to the story. "But at least you found him." "I know," Cheesemaster said, sighing in relief. "I was so happy when I found him..." "But what are you doing today?" She asked him, to get off that subject as well. "We're going in a group, back to that temple, to do some studying. Taynio didn't seem to know the place existed." "That's interesting," Dawn said, sighing. "Is something wrong?" Cheesemaster asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Dawn said nothing for a moment, and then said, "It's nothing. Really." "Are you sure?" Cheesemaster said, helpfully. Dawn sighed heavily and deeply. "I miss you, that's all." Cheesemaster said nothing for a moment. He gulped. "Well, I...I miss you, too." He breathed for a moment, and then started saying more, his voice getting faster: "I miss my house, I miss my job, but most of all, I miss you, I-" He stopped himself, and breathed heavily for a few moments, and swallowed again. "I'm sorry." "It's alright. I miss you, too. I miss seeing you every day in front of your house. I really love buying your paper every day. And Jakob says your yelling is irritating, I think it's great." "You think so? It hurts my throat sometimes." Dawn laughed. "Well, I..." From behind him, Cheesemaster could hear Jesufreak shouting him. "Hey, hurry it up? We still need to leave!" "I'm sorry, Dawn. I need to go, unfortunately. I'll see you tomorrow." He sighed, and folded his free arm. He heard Dawn sigh as well. "Alright," She said, and she sounded horribly sad. "I..." She was about to say something, but before she could, one of the Anon twins had come over, and snatched the phone away from him. "Look, I know you wanted to talk to your girlfriend..." Cheesemaster gulped. "She...she's not my girlfriend." The twin yelled at him a little bit and dragged him back over to the group, and they all left for the temple. Cheesemaster lagged behind Edna, who observed his friend looking wistfully at the scenery as they walked to the temple. "Mr. Cheesemaster, is something wrong?" Cheesemaster looked down at his friend. "I don't know."

-Tourette's guy voice- UPDATE! Alright, so Trekkie broke up with Canada-she was actually OK with it, wanting to break up with him as well. So we're basically dating now, although nobody knows yet except us.

F'YEAH IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY i got a bunch of cool stuff, including another set of MST3K movies! yaaaaaay!

Oh yay, more problems! Alright, so Canada's boyfriend, Trekkie, recently confessed to me that he's crushing on me. Which works out, because I like him, too. I plan on breaking up with my boyfriend soon, and he wants to break up with Canada soon. However, both of us have the same problem-which is that if Trekkie breaks up with Canada, and later dates me (we're planning on having some padding time before we start dating, to avoid more hurt feelings), she will, more than likely, go legit yandere on both of us. What I'm trying to say is that she would slaughter both of us, probably. So yeah, pretty confused what to do right now...

The next morning, Cheesemaster and Edna woke up, around the time Taynio told them that breakfast would be served. The two showered and dressed quickly, and ran down into the cafeteria where the University students were already preparing for their day. Many of them sat with breakfasts slowly eaten, and books or papers busily being worked on. Cheesemaster looked around, and suddenly gasped happily. "What is it?" Edna quipped, looking up. Cheesemaster's eyes sparkled. "They have bacon," He said gleefully. "Come on!" He said, clutching Edna's hand and running, and found himself just short of bumping into the Anon brothers. "I see you're up," said one (Blaze). "And you seem excited," quipped Brian. "I am," Cheesemaster said, and he laughed heartily. "Is there still bacon?" "Of course there is," The twins said in unison. "Capital," Cheesemaster said. "What else, besides that? After all, as much as I'd like to, I can't live on bacon alone." "Regular type stuff," Blaze said. "Pancakes. Eggs. Stuff." "Cereal?" Edna asked. The twins nodded. "Alright, that's good enough for me, then." The two got their food, and after eating it, the twins told them that Taynio wanted to see them; the two led them to where Taynio was, which was in a classroom by himself. "Taynio has plans for you two," The twins said, and Blaze self-responded with "We'll spoil it for you-he wants to take Edna's suggestion and go into the Jungle's Edge." "That's where it's safe," Explained Brian. "Really?!" Edna said, excitedly. "How awesome! Thank you!" "Don't thank us," Blaze and Brian said. "Thank him when you see him." "I sure will," Edna said, and bounding and jumped through the halls, only stopping because he didn't know where to go and needed the twins to show him. "I'm so excited, Edna said, looking up at Cheesemaster. The older of the two looked down at him and smiled. "I am, too," Cheesemaster said, and lifted Edna up into the air, spinning around a bit. Edna laughed a bit, and Cheesemaster stopped, dizzy, laughing himself. The twin stopped and looked back at the two of them, who had stopped walking and were laughing uncontrollably, over practically nothing. "What're you two doing?" Brian asked, seeming concerned. Blaze looked curious. "I'm so sorry," Cheesemaster said between giggles. Blaze looked and Brian, confused. "What is Edna to you?" Brian asked. Cheesemaster sighed happily and heavily, and picked up Edna. "Because...I mean, to us, he seems like your...your son." Brian quipped. Cheesemaster walked to them. "Edna is my friend." Blaze and Brian folded their arms, looked at each other, and shrugged. They kept walking, with a single "Well, whatever." Cheesemaster grinned at his young friends, and Edna wrapped his short, skinny arms around Cheesemaster's neck. "This building is so complicated," Edna shouted to the twins. "How do you know where Taynio is?" "We just know," The twins said proudly, "After all, we live here." Edna sighed. "Here we are!" The twins proclaimed loudly, standing on either side of the door, creating near-perfect symmetry. Brian tried the doorknob, found it unlocked, and went inside. The twins went in first, followed by a cautious Cheesemaster and Edna. Taynio was sitting in an empty classroom, reading to himself out of his Bible. The same crumpled dollar was sitting next to his book. He didn't raise his head from the pages when he heard the door creak open, nor when the four's footsteps came across the paneled floor. The twins placed a hand on either side of Taynio's shoulders, which made him stop reading, but his head didn't move until Brian quietly said, "Our guests are up," And Taynio, lifting his head and staring off into space, didn't need more explanation. Taynio placed the dollar inside his Bible, and got up quickly and silently as ever. "I see. Well, I assume Blaze & Brian already told you my plans for the day?" Edna nodded excitedly. "Uh-Huh, they told us. I'm so excited! I can barely stand it." Taynio smiled shyly. "That's good. I was hoping you would like it." "I'm looking forward to it, as well-" Cheesemaster said, and then frowned. "But I should call home first, if I can. I wanted to check on Dawn and Cheese Woman." Taynio nodded. "I see. Well, we have some phones in the University, as well as in the town. I'll be coming with you today, of course, to make sure you stay safe-as well as out of trouble. I wanted to have the twins escort you, but I have nothing else planned for the day-and they can be irresponsible." The twins looked at each other, and shrugged. "This way," Taynio said, placing his Bible deep in his shirt pocket. The twins followed Taynio as he walked out, and Cheesemaster, looking at Edna, followed them close behind. Once again, the group moved down the lengthy hallways of the University, which Taynio and the Anon Brothers didn't mind so much, as they all lived there, but Cheesemaster wasn't particularly used to it, and Edna, being young, couldn't walk much without getting tired. But, eventually, they reached the front of the University, where few students walked, as classes were going to start soon; Taynio led the group down into the town, where a few people said hello to the two foreigners. The town didn't get many visitors from the planet below, at least not ones who spent much time in the town. "There's a few phones over there," Taynio said, pointing them out, "You don't have to pay for them." "Thank you," Cheesemaster said, and Edna trailed behind him as he went to call home. Cheesemaster first dialed his home phone, to see if Cheese Woman was at his house; it rang for a few moments, with no answer. "I'll try her house, then," He murmured, and after a few rings, he left a message for her. "Her cell phone," He said again, getting a little desperate. What if something bad had happened? Luckily, after more tones than usual, Cheese Woman picked up. "Hello?" Cheese Woman said. "Hello?" Cheesemaster responded. There was a silence. "Who is this?" Cheese Woman asked. "It's me-Cheesemaster," He said, and was about to say something, but was interrupted by the girl before he could. "Cheesie!! I'm so glad you called!! I miss you already!! I've been selling your papers since you left yesterday. The money is in your kitchen, OK? I've also been cleaning your house." Cheesemaster looked at the ground as she gushed, blushing. "That's so wonderful. You be sure to keep a little bit of money for yourself, alright?" Cheese Woman sighed. "Cheesie, I don't like having to disguise myself as you," She said, straying away from the subject of money. Cheesemaster paused. "Why not?" He said, sounding a little offended, though he wasn't sure why. "I have to curl my hair for the disguise.-I'm not very used to it." "I don't really get how it would be different." "And I have to wear fake glasses...I don't know how you deal with that. They always slide off my face. I'd tell you to get lenses or something, but you look so wonderful with them on. And you look so cute when they slide down your nose." "If you say so," Cheesemaster said, uncomfortably. "By the way-I wanted to get in touch with Dawn. Does the Rabbitt Manor have a phone?" "I don't think so," Cheese Woman said, after some thinking. "I could check, but you must be calling from a pay phone, right?" "Without the 'pay', yes. Well, tell her to call me as soon as she can. I don't have a cell phone, so you won't be able to call me unless there's another phone nearby. Taynio doesn't have one, either. Although-" Cheesemaster looked over at the Anon Brothers, who were talking to each other while Taynio read. "Edna, do you think you could talk to her while I ask the twins something?" "Sure thing!" "Thank you. I'll be right back." Edna barely picked up the receiver, but he managed to hold it up to the side of his face and said "Hello, Ms. Cheese Woman! This is Edna!" "Edna!! Nice to talk to you!! Are you having fun?" Cheese Woman was at first disappointed that she wasn't able to talk to Cheesemaster, but she loved Edna a lot (not as much as Cheesemaster, however) and enjoyed talking to children in general. "Today, we're going to a rainforest! We're gonna pick fruit! Maybe I'll bring you back some." "That'd be wonderful," Cheese Woman said. "Tell Sterling & Rick I said hello if you see them, ok?" "OK." "Thank you," Edna said, as politely as he could. "Here, Mr. Cheesemaster is back." Edna handed the receiver back up to his friend, and an exchange of Thanks was done. "The Anon twins have phones of their own. They agreed that you can call me on one of their phones later, if you can get a hold of Dawn." Cheesemaster told Cheese Woman the numbers, which she wrote down after stopping him to grab some paper and a pencil. "Did you get them?" He asked, and she answered positively. "Alright. Well, I really need to get going. Give everyone my regards, especially Dawn and, if you see them, Arkcher and Mushroom. Goodbye." A lot sadly, Cheese Woman said Goodbye, and they hung up. Cheesemaster picked up Edna and carried him back over to the other three. "'Bout time," Blaze muttered. "Shut up, Brian. You'd take a long time if you were talking to your girlfriend, too." Cheesemaster frowned. "She's not my girlfriend. I don't even have one, and I never have. She is in love with me, though-horribly infautuated with me. But that can be told later. Let's go already." The brothers shrugged, and Taynio put his Bible in his pocket again and the group began to walk, led by an unusually excited Taynio, to the rainforest's edge. "Here it is-" Taynio said, and, a seldom seen sight, a wide smile was on his face. "Nothing can make me happier than this forest. As dangerous as it is, it's absolutely beautiful, and one of the few reasons anyone visits us. Even so, its danger keeps people away. It's...It's a gem of the Island." Cheesemaster put Edna on his shoulders and looked on in awe when he saw the Taynio Rainforest. It was the edge of the forest, so here it was nothing but a very lush green, bright browns of the tree trunks, and blackness promising adventures within it. Taynio ran forward, and stood on top of a tree's gigantic root. "Cheesemaster, I think it's best you either hold your friend at all times, or hold his hand, or something like that-don't let him out of your sight. And Anon Twins, don't separate from each other either-I want us to be as safe as possible." The twins shouted a hearty "Yes, Taynio," In unison, and Cheesemaster and Edna quietly agreed to the guidelines as well. "Let's go, then," Taynio whispered, and motioned for the others to follow. Cheesemaster looked at Edna, both of them excited, as they followed the twins and Taynio. Taynio led the group some ways into the forest, though not very far, until they reached a small grove of trees, bushes, and vines growing around the trees. "This is where all the Taynian fruits grow," Blaze explained. "We can pick them whenever we want to," Brian continued. Cheesemaster let Edna down to the ground. "You two can pick as many as you want, and take a few home with you, if you want to." Taynio explained. Edna gasped, and looked up at Cheesemaster, tugging on his pant leg. "Come on! Come on!!" Edna said, trying to pull his friend along. "Alright, alright," Cheesemaster said, giggling, and Taynio stood there, smiling. "The twins and I are going to leave you two alone, alright? We need to pick food ourselves, as well as do some training." "But we won't be too far away," The twins said. "So you can give us a holler. if you need us." And with that, Taynio and the Anon brothers disappeared into the forest. Cheesemaster looked down at Edna. "Alright, Edna," He said, kneeling down, "Don't wander off. I want you to stay with me at all times, alright?" Edna nodded, with a "Yea, Yea" that showed how he wasn't listening all that well. "Do you have your newspaper bag?" Cheesemaster nodded. "Did you want to put the fruit in it?" Edna nodded. "Alright," Cheesemaster said, opening up the paper-bag and holding it for Edna. "I'll let you pick as much as you want, or as much as this bag can fit," Cheesemaster said. Edna had no problem with this. Edna first went towards a vine wrapping a round a very thick, near-black tree trunk. The fruits were purplish, and vaguely capsule-shaped. Edna reached for some of them, and plucked one off the vine. The fruit was smooth in his hands, but it skin was not very shiny. He bit a little bit of it off and ate it. "How is it?" Cheesmaster asked him, sitting on the ground. "A little sour," Edna said. "You try." Cheesemaster took the fruit and ate a little. "You're right-rather sour. No?" "No," Edna said. He looked around again, looking for other things to pick, and when he found one he liked, he would put it in the bag, where Cheesemaster typically took a bite to see if he liked it. "I really like these ones!" Edna said at one point, grabbing some rectangular, grey-to-red-to-beige gradient fruits. "They're nice and sweet. And they feel like candy." Cheesemaster tried one of them, and they tasted very sweet just as Edna had said; he ended up eating an entire fruit. Luckily, they were rather large. "You know, since these are fruits, they have seeds, which means we can grow them when we get back!!" Edna realized, and he gasped excitedly at the thought. Cheesemaster nodded, and picked up the bag to test the weight. "Don't let the bag get too heavy, Edna," Cheesemaster warned. At that point, Cheesemaster heard a faint noise coming from his pocket. A song with some muffled lyrics about an evil twin was playing, and Cheesemaster picked it up and answered. He'd practically forgotten he'd had it. "Hello?" He said, and heard "Hello...?" on the end-Dawn's voice. Cheesemaster smiled, and his heart leapt when he heard her voice. "Dawn!! Goodness-I was so worried about you. I tried calling you earlier." "I know. Cheese Woman told me," Dawn said. Cheesemaster paused, as Edna put another fruit in the bag-a yellow and orange perfect sphere with black leaves. "Dawn...are you...are you alright?" "I guess so," Dawn said, a bit sadly. Cheesemaster sighed. "Dawn, tell me what's wrong." "Jakob didn't have his medicine," Dawn said, and Cheesemaster sensed a hint of sadness, and fear, in her voice. "The night you left." Cheesemaster stared into space, and for a few moments, time seemed to stop. The fact he knew nearly nothing about the sitation added to his fear-what was the gravity of Jakob's condition? "Dawn...what happened? He didn't-He didn't hurt you, did he? Or anyone else?" Dawn said nothing for a moment, and then said "He didn't. We're all ok. But we...we were all horribly scared. He hasn't been like this in so long. It's the first time in over four years he hasn't had the medicine." Cheesemaster listened intently to her as she spoke, paying little to no attention to Edna, who just kept bringing fruits to the paper-bag. "It's all over now, though...and Jakob, he's been acting really well since then. He's been nice, really nice for once-I don't know if he realizes what he did-" "Dawn, what the #### did he even do?!" Cheesemaster yelled. Edna, who had been gathering some fruits (whose skins looked like rock), looked at him, and then got back to gathering things. Dawn paused again. "I...It's not important, alright?!" She said, suddenly getting angry. Cheesemaster stopped. Again, time seemed to stand still, and then she started talking again. "Are you going to enroll Edna in elementary school?" She asked. Cheesemaster paused for a moment, getting ahold of himself. "Yea," Cheesemaster said. "They're building a school in town, aren't they?" "Uh-huh. Julia wants to send Sterling and Rick there, but Jakob doesn't want them going to public school." Cheesemaster wasn't surprised by this. "That sounds like him," He said. "Well, Dawn, I....I really don't want to let you go, but me and Edna are busy. Picking fruit. We'll bring you some." "Alright. Thank you, Cheesie." "Good-bye, Dawn." "Good-bye, Cheesemaster. I..." There was a silence between the two of them. "I miss you," Dawn said quickly. She hung up before he could say anything. Cheesemaster looked at the phone for a bit, as if expecting something, and then slowly slipped it back in his pocket. "Edna-" He started, looking into the paper-bag. It suddenly came to him that Edna hadn't put a fruit in the bag for some time. "Edna, are you resting?" He said, looking around, and tried to lift the bag. It was extraordinarily heavy, but he heaved it up anyhow, his shoulder shooting with pain when he did. Papers were heavy, but he wasn't really used to a bag filled to the brim (and more) with fruits. He looked around again, calling his friend's name. "Edna?" He shouted, looking around. "Edna?" No answer. Cheesemaster gulped. "Taynio!!!" He shouted, and after he said it, he heard a rustle of leaves, and the man appeared in between some trees. "What's wrong?" "Have you seen Edna? He...he disappeared, I think." Taynio's eyes widened. "He..." There was a silence, and then he looked behind him. "Blaze!!! Brian!!! Come here!!" The twins ran towards him and asked, unanimously, "What's the matter?" "Edna seems to have vanished. He can't have gone far. I need both of you to look for him. Now!" "You got it," Both of them said, with both the twins going off in opposite directions to look for the boy, calling his name. "How could you have lost him?!" Taynio snapped, his voice rising for the first time. "I-" Taynio closed his eyes, his hand to his face. "How could this...I-Dammit-You took your eyes off of him for one moment, didn't you?" "No!! I wouldn't ever do that!" "What happened, then?" Taynio asked, a little calmly, but still urgent. "Dawn called me. I talked to her for a few minutes. When she hung up, he was gone. I don't know when he disappeared." "You...you zoned out?" Taynio said. Cheesemaster looked around nervously. "Never mind. We need to look. You ought to lead-I think you have a much better chance of finding him." Cheesemaster nodded. "I'll need to leave my bag here, though," he said. "That's fine. Just hurry," Taynio said, and Cheesemaster, to his own relief, took the bag off of him and carefully set it by a tree, and went running off into the woods. Taynio, watching him, clutched the cross around his neck, and, silently, began to pray. --------------------------------------------------- "Edna!!! Edna!!! Where are you, where are you...?" Cheesemaster yelled Edna's name desperately into the thick jungle, scared and, perhaps, lost himself; it felt like when Edna was lost in the forest near Hindenburg, but now even worse now-this place was much stranger, and if Taynio was right, far more dangerous. Cheesemaster hadn't found anything that seemed particularly dangerous, although perhaps the danger came from getting lost. Dammit, why can I be psychic as well? Then I could communicate with him and at least know where he is- "EDNA!!!!" Screamed Cheesemaster, and he continued running, barely stopping to catch his breath. "Edna!!! Edna!!! Where-are-you-?" He breathed, and he stopped, collapsing on the forest floor. He'd never run quite so much in his life, and combined with constant yelling, and his own poor physical shape, he was horridly tired. Cheesemaster laid down on the ground, facedown, breathing heavy, slow breaths. "Ed...na....Ed...na...Edna. Edna..." He drew in a heavy breath, and rolled over, looking up at the canopy of trees, which were dizzying. His chest heaved up and down, still breathing heavily. His cap fell off of his head, falling onto the ground, and he shut his eyes. "Edna...Edna...where are you?" He whispered, desperately, under his breath. He got up, and sat in the middle of the woods, and drew his knees close to his body, and for the first time in some time, he was ready, truly scared. "Edna..." he whispered, "Where are you?" He wondered how much luck the Anons were having; whether they had exhausted themselves, too, or found Edna. Cheesemaster looked around him, wondering desperately where Edna was, what Taynio was doing, had the twins had any luck-his head was swimming with a thousand thoughts, all relating to where Edna was. The truth was, the Anon twins were not having any luck either; both of them had separated, but eventually ended up looking together. The two had a hard time being apart. "This entire forest looks the same," Brian said, and sighed. He put his hand against the bark of a tree. Blaze went to an adjacent tree and put his hand on it. "Do...do you think we'll find him?" Brian folded his arms. "I hope so. If only for the sake of Cheesemaster." "I don't believe him when he says he considers Edna his friend," Blaze said. "Even if he doesn't realize it. I swear the two are like a father & son." Brian shrugged. "I...I saw them more as brothers. In fact, if I hadn't known the two of them previously, I would have sworn that both were orphaned brothers and Cheesemaster, as the older, had to take care of his five-year-old brother in the absence of parents." Blaze sighed. "Come on. Let's keep looking." Brian paused. "Do you think..." Blaze stopped. "Brian, the one thing we don't share is thoughts." "Blaze, you study Earth Alchemy; why don't you use that to see if you can find him?" Blaze folded his arms and stared at his brother. "How do you suppose I'd do that?" Brian shrugged. "I...I don't know, Blaze..." Blaze kneeled to the ground. "It's worth a try. Can you find me a st-" "Stick," Brian finished, and threw one to his brother, who caught it before he even knew it was being thrown. "Thoughts," Blaze muttered. "I think we do share some of them," He said to himself as he drew an alchemy circle in the dirt. "I don't know how this will work," Blaze said doubtfully. "Do you need any help?" Brian said helpfully. Brian shook his head. "I knew it," Brian sighed. Blaze put his hands to the circle, and shut his eyes, thinking of Edna. "I don't know how, but help me find the little boy-Edna," He muttered to no one. Blaze focused as he put his hands in the circle. He couldn't see, but he felt his power going through the circle, and his own alchemic powers surging into the ground. After a few moments of this, Blaze was knocked back, signaling the ritual was done. Only an experienced alchemist could complete the ritual without some sort of recoil; both the twins were getting much better, but still fell to the ground after it was done. "I hope that does something," Blaze muttered as he stood back up. Brian walked over and put his hand on his twin's back, and Blaze paused. "Here," He said, ecstatic, as a small line of dirt piles appeared coming from the alchemy circle. "I think it's working," Brian said slowly, as the line went in between the twins. Blaze stared at it, and then, without having to tell each other, knew they had to follow it. The line of dirt piles kept running and running, and Blaze was filled with the strange feeling he always had when he did alchemy. The twins walked through the forest, following the line, when it suddenly stopped. "Blaze?" Brian asked, looking at his brother. Blaze shook his head slowly. "I don't know," He said quietly, and then, knowing what he had to do, began shouting Edna's name again. "No-shhhh!" Brian said, a hand over his brother's mouth. The two listened intently, and heard a faint crying. "That has to be Edna," Blaze whispered. The twins walked around, as the crying got louder; curious, and definite of the sound's direction, began to run, until they shortly reached a clearing. Laying in the clearing, was not Edna. It was Cheesemaster. Surrounding him was a pile of glowing dirt piles, like the one that had lead the twins; they looked at each other, and Brian sighed heavily. Blaze shrugged and murmured "Sorry." "...Cheesemaster? Are you...alright?" Cheesemaster sat up, and took off his glasses to wipe his eyes with his handkerchief. "You're crying," Blaze said. "I sure am," Cheesemaster sobbed. "I can't find Edna. I'm so worried..." Blaze sighed. "We haven't had any luck either," He said; it pained him to tell it to Cheesemaster when he was already broken up over it. "Oh, Goodness...What if something terrible happened to him?!" Cheesemaster said, walking over to them and beginning to cry again. "What if he got really hurt? What if he's dead?!" "Don't talk like that," The twins said. "He's not going to die." Blaze sighed again. "I tried using alchemy to find him, by name. But the path it made led to you." Cheesemaster wiped his eyes again. "I wouldn't know why that is," He said, "But perhaps we should look for Edna together?" "Sounds good," Brian said. The three all agreed, and decided to go deeper into the forest. -------------------------------------------------- "Edna!!!" "Edna!!!" "Where are you?" The three yelled for the boy, with Cheesemaster yelling the most and loudest for him, his eyes watering multiple times throughout it. No matter how tired he was, nor how much he strained his voice, he didn't stop. "Brian..." Blaze said, and Brian looked at him. "I think he's...he's gone sorta delirious, don't you think?" "Sorta, maybe, I don't know," Brian said, not sure. "Cheese-" Cheesemaster turned around, breathing heavily. "Where could he be? Dammit, where could he have run off to...?" Blaze and Brian exchanged glances. "If it helps, I could try my alchemy again," Blaze offered. Cheesemaster smiled weakly. "That'd be wonderful," He said, breathing slowly and heavily. "Please...please, try as hard as you can." Blaze and Brian exchanged glances, but Blaze knew it was best to try again anyhow. "I should...probably be more specific this time who I'm looking for," he said, laughing, as he drew the alchemy circle in the dirt, and re-did the ritual he'd done just a few hours earlier. Once again, after the recoil (which Blaze avoided a little better as he saw it coming this time), the alchemy circle glowed, and once again, the line of dirt piles appeared from out of it. "Blaze, how are you doing that?" "It's alchemy," He said, "....sort of." Cheesemaster stared at it, very curious about it; when it got out of their sight, they began to follow it. Cheesemaster was increasingly anxious as he followed the dirt line, and increasingly nervous as well. He was already becoming a nervous wreck just from not knowing where Edna was or if he was safe or not, and the dirt line seemed to be going slower and slower the more anxious he got. He felt like screaming, but he barely had any words left. "Go faster, go faster, dammit, dammit-" He muttered madly to himself. The twins exchanged glances again. "Calm down," Brian said, calmly himself. "I'm sorry," Cheesemaster breathed. The three were silent for some time, as they kept following the line, until it suddenly stopped. Cheesemaster stared at it, sweating, and after a very long silence, he spun around and looked at the twins. "What now?" He said, his eyes wide, sweat dripping off him from anxiousness. The twins stared up. "Look at that," They said, and Cheesemaster looked. Behind them, or rather, in front of them, was a small temple. It was simply-carved, from stone probably gathered from around the jungle-many pieces of the temple didn't match others. Cheesemaster gulped. "I hope he didn't go in there," He said quietly. "But he's such a curious kid...he probably did..." "Then the only thing to do is to go in and look for him," Brian said. The other two reluctantly agreed, and went inside the cavern/temple.

So you two are basically saying I should stay with someone I'm not happy with.

Never mind it all. I already talked to The Colonel about it. He says while he likes me as a friend, he doesn't return my feelings. So, life goes back to normal now.

Waiting was what I planned to do. My main issue is that I want a boyfriend who will actually talk to me, and Nick doesn't talk much. When I text him, it's mainly just us saying "I love you, i miss you" and when I try and start a real conversation he doesn't say anything. So for now I'll wait, and see if this lasts.

OK, having some problems. I'd like some advice on this as soon as possible. See, I still like my current boyfriend, Nick, sorta...but I've recently found myself falling for another friend of mine (let's call him The Colonel). I'm not sure if I should tell him, and I've been making it obvious how I feel, in the best way I can (lots of hugs, basically). But I'm so worried about what to do. I don't want to hurt Nick.