Roses:

It was a dark and stormy night...in Budapest. Roses was getting out the snacks for her sleepover when the doorbell rang.

"A dark and stormy night and I live alone in a foreign country? I hope it's not a mass murderer." she thought to herself.

Arriving at the door, she put down the chips and grabbed her handy baseball bat.

Knock. Knock.

" Who's there?" she asked.

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupting co----"

"MOOOO!!!"

"Holli? Is that you?"

"Of course. Who else would understand the jokes about cows? I mean, after that adventure---hey! Can you open the door, it's raining out here."

"Oh, sorry." Roses opened the door to see not only Holli, but also Tails, Jaina, and her new best friend, Ann Chovi.

"Hey guys! I mean, girls! Thanks for coming to my party. Glad you could all make it."

"Time for makeovers!!!" Tails screamed and ran into the living room, with a giant suitcase full of hair care products and makeup.

"No!" Jaina yelled, following her, "We have to watch a romantic movie first! Sleepless in Seattle! Ever After! Terminator 2!"

Ann sighed. "You didn't have to ride all the way on my new spacecraft with them."

"Yeah, thanks for picking them up. I told you that you'd like them. You drove the new ship?" Roses handed her a bowl of potato chips.

"Yes. I figured it wasn't doing any good just sitting in my moon base."

"Sounds exciting."

"I guess. Until Tails got out the fingernail polish."

"Oh. Well...come on. Let's get the jello and the ice cream. And let me put down the baseball bat."

A little while later, the girls were enjoying and laughing at the battle scene in Braveheart when Holli got an idea. "Hey, you know, this jello gives me an idea to take over the world."

They all shared a look. "Oh..." said Tails. "But wait, won't the guys try to stop us?"

"You know that we can control them. Especially if we dress the right way." Roses answered.

"Right," said Holli, "As long as they never figure out how we do it, they will be helpless to avoid our power."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. "So.." Jaina said. "I guess I'll go be the spy and see what they're doing now."

"No, you don't have to go now. You can go tomorrow." Tails grinned. "We can find out very easily what they're doing. Ann has satellite video screen contact things."

"That are now covered in fingernail polish." Ann pointed out.

"Oh. Well...you didn't warn me that you were going to turn right at Brazil."

"Anyway," Roses said, stopping the argument, "Tails is right. We don't have to have the satellite video screens or send a spy. We have a phone. Besides, I don't actually want to see Roseidous and Tyrael."

Holli smiled evilly. "Prank phone calls. Perfect. It is a sleepover after all."



Holli:

"So, who first, Holli?" Roses asked smugly.

"Nothlit, of course! We haven't talked to him in a long while...and he is new to this evil type business...plus, he is at work." Holli grinned.

"Oh." they all replied.

"Ann, will you do the honors...after all, you smart people go together." Holli handed Ann the phone.

"Sure, gimme his number." Ann shrugged and Holli dialed.

"Day-um, Holli, have you got that memorized?" Jaina looked at her, confused.

"Um...My lawyers advise me not to comment." Holli looked down on the ground.

"Does Ty know?" Tails smiled before continuing with a song, "Holli has a crush!! Holli has a crush!"

"Shut up, that is not true! Ann, did you get him yet?" Holli rushed to cover Tails mouth.

"Its ringing...and ringing...and rin---Hello?" Ann motioned for the group to quiet down, "Hey, is Nothlit there?...ok, I'll wait..." an evil grin appeared across Ann's face, and she made her voice sound like that of one of Rosey's clones.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sexy."

"Uh, hey, who is this?"

"That's not important, what's more important is you."

Nothlit's voice cracked, "Oh, uh, thanks."

"Yeah, I was wondering what you were doing now?"

"Nothing much, just shelving books. I ordered a pizza, and Ty, Roseidous, and Josh are gonna come over later."

"Oh, that's great, what kind of pizza?"

"Extra cheese."

"Mmm, sounds delicious...like you."

"Like me?" Nothlit's voice cracked again.

"Yeah, I love how the flesh of young teen boys tastes raw."

"You...uh...I have to go."

Click.

"Ann, you are so Evil!" Roses screamed, throwing popcorn at her friend. Ann caught the snack and popped it in her mouth.

"Yeah, I know."

"So, what are they doing?" Holli asked.

"They are ALL going to Nothlit's house for pizza...extra cheese pizza."

"So they will all be in one place at the same time?" Tails smiled, "And we can attack at will?"

"Yep," answered Ann, "but first we need a plan."



Tyrael:

Nothlit hung up the phone.

"Well that was strange," he said. "Some weird person wanting to beat tea or eat me or something like that."

"Doesn't this feel a bit like a horror movie?" Tyrael asked. "I mean, we're a bunch of people, assembled in a bookstore for no particularly good reason, in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain, in a sleepy suburb of a large city. I mean, inexorably, the next step involves everyone getting drunk, and then a mysterious killer trying to A) seduce us B) kill us, or C) both. And it's normally C, except for that "Cherry Falls" movie, and that really didn't count as horror."

Everyone looked at Tyrael and laughed. Even several customers who hadn't been listening.

"You look funny!" a little girl screamed.

Tyrael slumped.

Josh was fumbling around behind the counter.

"Hey guys!" he said excitedly. "They have explicit magazines!" A look of pure joy swept across his face. He opened to a page, and showed it to Rosey.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" he asked Nothlit. "You can see their belly buttons!"

2 hours later...

Tyrael mamba'd under the "new releases!" sign Josh and Rosey were holding. He was wearing his pants on his head. They were all suitably drunk.

"Guys...guys....you're trashing the store..." Nothlit interjected.

"Scwew yew!" Rosey yelled.

That was when the phone rang again.



Nothlit:

"Go away, we're closed," Nothlit said as he answered the phone.

"That's not very nice!" pouted Ann on the other end.

"Oh, are you the one who wanted to beat tea?"

"Um, no... You must have the wrong number." Ann looked around, confused. Little did she know Nothlit's Jedi mind tricks were already having an effect on her.

"Oh, so sorry," Nothlit apologized. "If you'll just come over here, I can grovel at your feet!"

"Um, okay!" Ann replied.

Nothlit quickly hung up the phone, turned, and grinned maliciously to his buddies.

Unfortunately, they were all passed out on the floor, copies of Memoirs of a Geisha piled about them.

Nothlit ran and got some water. After splashing enough all over the drunken idiots to wake them up, he explained what had happened.

"...so in a nutshell, Darth is Luke's father, and Ann and her evil cohorts are coming over here to involve us in their plot to conquer the world. They don't realize I've been playing Jedi mind tricks on them, and I know their whole scheme!"

Rosey fell over, hiccupping a lot. Tyrael was transfixed with the "Pat the Bunny" display. Josh had been eaten by the ugly Fyodor Dostoyevsky display. Or something.

Nothlit sighed...this was going to take some major planning, and he couldn't depend on these imbeciles at the moment. Hiding the fact that he was really eviler than even Ann and her cohorts was going to be tough, and he needed backup.

But who could possibly help?

That was when the phone rang again.



Roses:

"Well, that was strange." Ann said, hanging up the phone. "They just invited us over to the bookstore."

"Oh, I can't go." Roses said. "I vowed never again to see Roseidous and Tyrael."

"But you have to go." Jaina protested. "You're the only one who can even put up with Rosey for more than five minutes. And...you're the oldest."

"Oh, well, I guess that's true. Then let's go get in Ann's new spaceship."

"We should also discuss this plan before we leave." Tails suggested.

"Right. Okay, um...Holli?"

"What?"

"Your plan?" Ann asked.

"Oh, that. Well, we have to go use our powers and get the guys to come with us. We will then go to Ann's moon base where we will use their brains to develop a laser to melt the polar ice caps. While those are melting, we'll fill the oceans with jello!"

"Ohhh." everyone said, impressed with the idea.

They packed up their things, remembering to bring the popcorn and the baseball bat. Then they went outside, where Ann's spaceship was parked, and climbed aboard.

"This is nice." Roses said, looking around.

"Thanks, I did design it myself. You can sit in the recliner next to the window." Ann offered.

Ann started the ship and they began the journey to the bookstore.

~Meanwhile~

Ring. Ring.

"Fire drill!" Josh yelled.

Ring. Ring.

"Five more minutes." Rosey mumbled from the floor.

Ring. Ring

. "But I thought school was out for the summer." Tyrael complained.

Ring. Ring.

Nothlit sighed and picked up the receiver. "Who is this and how are you going to help me with my plan?"

"Um...this is Crayak. I was wondering if you had Remnants 1 in stock yet?"

"No, not yet. But you know, Crayak, we could use your help. Right now, it's 5 girls and 4 of us guys. You could make it an fair fight."

"I don't want to come down there and help if you don't have the book. You should call TAS-man and Cait-Dog. They helped last time....wait, what am I saying? Bad idea. I'll be there soon."

Click.



Katherine:

Katherine was loitering in the ship.

"Who are you?" Ann demanded.

"Heeeeey." She said. "I'm Katherine. I thought this thing was abandoned, so I was going to go to a bookstore and seduce some boys..."

"You were?" asked Jaina. "That's what we were going to do."

"Can I go with you? I know a bunch of seductress tricks. I can show you how to get the back of your shirt onto your shoulders. And I know a bunch of other thingies."

"I guess...."

"Oooooh, goodie!"



Holli:

"Oh, Katherine...you just gave me an idea." Holli smiled evilly, and whispered her idea to Roses, Tails, Ann and Jaina...who giggled manically.

"Eep!" Katherine paled, "What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing to you...it's to the guys. We are just gonna make a quick stop at the mall for supplies."

"Supplies? " Katherine cocked her head to the side, but then she caught the drift of what Holli was saying, "Oh, supplies!!'"

20 minutes later The 6 girls exited the mall with shopping bags in hand...only one of which actually had the "supplies" in it.

"Ok, so Katherine, here's the deal." Roses began, "You put on this semi-revealing nightgown and stand out in front of Nothlit's bookstore looking all innocent and lost."

"Meanwhile," Tails continued, "We will sneak in through the back and tie up the guys. Ann? Are we almost there?"

"Yep, just need to parallel park this baby." Ann said, referring to her ship.

"Katherine, you understand what to do?" Holli said as she collected the ropes and chains from a storage container.

"Yep, I'll see you guys in a few." Katherine smiled as she stepped down the steps of the ship and walked towards the entrance of Nothlit's store.

Meanwhile, the other five girls dressed in black Charlie's Angels type clothes and headed towards the alley. On Roses' signal, the girls would rush the store and tie up their guy counterparts.

Tails peeked in the door and saw the boys goggling over Katherine, "My God, they are pathetic...and is that beer I smell?"

"Probably...they all look drunk." Holli mentioned.

"Holli, they ALWAYS look drunk...look who we are talking about." Roses pointed to the boys.

The five girls watched on, when a 5th boy walked into the store. "Hey Noth...who are you?" it was Chris...and he had just discovered Katherine's existence in the store. Smiling, he put his arm around her. "So, you must be real tired...after all you've been running through my mind all day."

Katherine gave Chris a look, and Roses had had enough of this stupidity. "Alright everyone, CHARGE!!"

The girls ran into the store with their various weapons, tying and chaining the boys to shelves, desks, chairs-- whatever they could find. It didn't take very long-- after all the only sober boys were Nothlit and Chris-- we'll leave it at that.

"Hey Ty." Holli waved to Ty, who tried to wave back-- but his hands were duct taped to the chair. Holli took this as a signal she should sit on Ty's lap-- he smiled in response.

Meanwhile, Tails and Josh were busy being all lovey-dovey. Roses on the other hand had tied up Roseidous and....



Crayak:

Crayak had just walked into the store, and with his amazing 4-D instincts, he noticed he was one of the very few sober males in the room. He ignored Roseidous getting his butt kicked and went over to the nearest bookshelf.

It had Remnants #1.

"NOTHLIT YOU LITTLE LIAR!!" Crayak yelled, "YOU SAID YOU DIDN"T HAVE REM 1."

"Sorry about that man," Nothlit said from under a pile of books, "Now can you help me here?"

"Certainly," Crayak said.

He lifted the pile of books and accidentally threw it onto Holli's bag of new "supplies." It crushed the stuff inside into eensy weensy pieces.

Holli glared a Crayak.

"This means war, you know."



Katherine:

Katherine sidled up to Crayak, the back hem of the nightgown on her shoulders, with a beer can in hand. She'd done the shirt trick with the nightgown, and found the beer.

"Hey sexy." She said in her lowest, silkiest, most subtle voice.

Crayak stared. Katherine couldn't tell whether he was seduced or thought this was the stupidest thing he'd seen in his life.

"Here...have a sip." Katherine forced half the can down his throat, then pinched his mouth shut. Beer spilled out of Crayak's nose.

"Aw, here, let me wipe it up." She dragged him over to Chris, and proceeded to wipe Crayak's face on Chris' shirt.

"Have some more." She poured the other half down, Crayak spluttered, and fell on the floor, eyes shut. Now Katherine couldn't tell if he was unconscious or dead.



Tyrael:

Tyrael felt a jolt surge through his body. He hurled Holli off his lap, stood up, and surveyed the room.

He walked up to Katherine first. "Young lady! You can't be older than 11! Wearing revealing nightgowns and pouring alcoholic beverages down the throats of unsuspecting 4-dimensional being! Shame on you! You're lucky I don't call your mother!"

He turned to Nothlit, who was busy hiding behind the counter.

"Young man, what kind of establishment are you running here?!"

"See, I wa-"

"I asked you a question!"

"But yo-"

"Do you want me to call the police?! This is supposed to be a bookstore! Not a sex, booze, and rock and roll convention!"

"Technically, there's no rock an-"

Roseidous cranked up the Limp Bizkit.

"Are you uptalking me?!"

"N-no, ma'am, sir, person..."

Tyrael turned to everyone else. "I want all you girls out of here! NOW! Trying to seduce these poor innocent boys, honestly."

The girls ran out the door, already thinking of another plan.

"What happened to him?" Josh whispered to Crayak. He then noticed that Crayak was either dead or unconscious.

"What happened to him?" Josh whispered to Nothlit.

"If I didn't know better, I would say he was possessed by the Spirit of a Mom."

Everyone gasped.

Roseidous gasped a few seconds late. You know, the whole delayed reaction thing.



Tails:

"What are we gonna do *now*?" Roses complained, looking around at the group gathered back at her place "Ty getting possessed totally ruined our plans!"

"Like, totally!" Tails shouted, grinning.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at her, unblinking.

"And you told *us* not to write you as a dip?!" Holli asked.

"Uhm.. Yeah.. Well... Who wants to make brownies?"

"As long as there the special kind, I'm in" muttered Ann, shrugging at another round of stares.

"No one is going to have brownies, special or.."

"What about fud-"

"...Otherwise." Roses said, cutting off Tails as she began to protest.

Katherine perked up. "Hey, what if we use the jello in a different way?"

All the girls looked confused until Kath motioned them into a huddle. Tails was stuck on the outside, not knowing exactly *how* to huddle.

"Now, look.. We take the jello and..."

"Geeze.. I might as well just go join the guys.." Tails huffed and pouted, then set off towards the bookstore, fervently hoping Ty was over his "Spirit of the Mom" thing.



Katherine:

Katherine finished explaining

"...and the rest of the jello we use to fuel Ann's ship."

Holli thought for a moment.

"Sounds good."

Ann paused.

"Which flavor would we use for the ship?"

"Lime."

"Okay."

Jaina and Roses agreed. Now it was just Tails.

Katherine looked around.

"Where's Tails?" Ann said it before Katherine did.

"I don't know...." Katherine wondered if Tails had said where she was going.

Then she hit herself.

"Duh!"

"What?" said Roses, though she had been wondering and saw what was coming.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that she was possessed by the spirit of a Ditzy Lost Child."

Nobody had been drinking, so they all gasped at once.

"So..." Roses began.

"...Tails..." blurted Jaina.

"...Is..." Katherine continued.

"...Visiting..." Ann groaned.

"...Tyrael." finished Holli.

"We have to find her!" said Roses. "Tyrael will make her have a heart to heart with him! She'll tell everything!"

Everyone gasped again.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Ann.



Crayak:

Tails walked into the bookstore and asked Tyrael a very simple question.

"How do you 'huddle'?"

Crayak suddenly woke up.

"WE NEED JELLO!" he yelled out.

"Jello? Where? Jello. I like Jello." muttered Rosey-boy.

Then Crayak knocked him on the head and Rosey fell to the floor, either unconscious or dead. No one noticed.

"Why do we need Jello?" asked Nothlit.

"Look, the girls are gonna attack us with Jello or something. We need to make sure they don't get any Jello."

"Don't worry," Nothlit said. "The only Jello in the whole mall is in the fridge in the back room."

"What kind?" Crayak asked.

"Lime," Nothlit said.

"Good, very good," Crayak said.

"I want my bunny." Rosey-boy muttered, still unconscious or dead.

Tails decided to go back to the girls because Roseidous was really scaring her.



Katherine:

Tails walked in just as the other girls were getting ready to rescue her.

"Tails!" They all said at once.

"Did you tell them anything?" asked Katherine.

"Did you find out what they're plotting?" asked Ann.

"Is Tyrael still possessed?" Roses.

"Are you still possessed?" Jaina.

"Have they gotten more guys on their side?" Holli.

Problem was, they all said it at once. Tails wondered what 'Diare tyraeat ey'rething sidessed' meant.

"What?"

One by one they repeated the questions. Tails was still confused.

"It's possession. We have to go to the weird people's exorcist." observed Holli.

"What? We're broke!" exclaimed Jaina.

"No we aren't. The jello can be used as money." Katherine pointed out.

"I have an exorcising room anyway." Roses spoke up.

She lead all of them into a room full of treadmills, punching bags that looked a lot like the boys, weird contraptions for exercise that Roses had constructed, and torture devices made for the boys by Roses.

"Roses." said Katherine. "This isn't an exorcising room. It's an exercising room."

"That can be changed." Roses pressed a button next to the light switch, and just like in the movies, the exercising equipment flipped over, and exorcising equipment appeared. No one could tell what anything actually was, but that's how they knew it was exorcising equipment. Roses flipped through a manual.

"Let's see...Ditzy Lost Child...here! And we do this, and that, and...I think I have it!"

"What?" Katherine asked.

"We put her through twelve years of torture only giving her breaks occasionally."

"Is there a shorter way?"

"Yes...but school is the easiest."

"We need it done sooner." pointed out Holli.

"Okay..."



Holli:

Roses paled, "Are you sure you want to do it the harder way?"

Everyone yelled "Yes!"

v "Fine," Roses sat Tails down in a small chair, tied her up before walking over to a small cupboard, and opened a drawer. She pulled out a video case and walked over to a small TV. Everyone looked on, confused. Once there, Roses slipped the video cassette into the VCR and Pressed play....and the first episode of ANI-TV began to play...

"Hi, My name is Jake...." the show began, but was blocked out by the high pitched screaming of Tails.

"No!! Stop it!! I am ok!! Please!!!!"

"I think that's enough Roses...." Jaina looked on in horror.

"Me too" Roses covered her ears while hitting the eject button with her elbow. "So, Now what?"

"Well, the guys seem to be plotting against us-- they have their own stash of jello in their refrigerator." Tails began, eyeing the video, "Ann? Do you think you could hook up the VCR so it would send that episode, via satellite, to Nothlit's store, thus turning on every computer and playing ANI-TV for all the boys...causing them to rush out of the store into a cleverly created trap set up in the front door??"

"Oh! Tails, you're back and eviler then ever!" Holli ran to hug her friend, "And I know that there just happens to be a few nets stored in the ship."

"Hmm, I like that idea Tails. Holli, you, Jaina, Katherine, and me are in charge of setting up the nets. Ann, you and Tails are in charge of hooking up the satellite and all that technical stuff. Then at 0 800 hours, we press play."

"0 800? Um, in plain English?" Katherine asked Roses

"8 o clock, PM" Roses sighed, "so, let's get going!!"



Jaina:

While Ann and Tails got to work on the computers, Holli, Roses, Jaina, and Katherine snuck over to the front of the bookstore. Luckily, the guys were distracted by Crayak beating up Nothlit and Rosey-boy's general oddness, so no one was paying attention to them as they set up their trap .

"I think this could actually work," Holli whispered.

"Of course it will work, it's my plan," Roses said modestly.

"I thought it was Tail's pl--" Jaina started to say, but was cut off by Katherine.

"Shh, let her have her ego."

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound. A split second later, Holli exclaimed, "Ow! Stupid net!"

"Did you trip in the net?" asked Katherine.

There was a long pause.

"Maybe ..."

"Come on," Roses said, "enough tripping. It's almost eight o'clock!"

Jaina flipped on the really-cool-gadget-thing that let them talk to Ann and Tails. "You girls ready?"

"We're all set here," Tails said. "All we need it confirmation that the boys are all there."

Holli peeked in the window and giggled. No one was quite sure what she was giggling about, but she said, "Yup, they're all there!"

"Pressing PLAY!" Ann said.



Katherine:

"Rosey-boy's not watching...." Katherine said in a panicked voice.

"I don't think he's gonna start anytime soon...he just keeps muttering stuff about bunnies," said Ann.

"Bunnies? That gives me an idea...." Katherine said thoughtfully. "Can any of you play the bass drum? Warm up, if you can." She left.

5 minutes later, she was back with a fluffy, pink bunny suit, a bass drum, some paper, tape and magic markers.

"Can any of you draw the Energizer logo on the paper, and tape it to the drum?"



Tyrael:

"Hey Nothlit, where'd you get these glasses? They're really cool!" Tyrael exclaimed, walking around like a blind man. Actually, he WAS effectively blind - the glasses distorted everything around him.

"Hey! Weren't you possessed by a Mom?"

"Ummm, maybe?"

Suddenly, Tyrael heard the TVs in the store come on, and screams from his compadres.

"Hi, my name is Jake..." he heard, playing in the background. As though sent through a crappy satellite. Maybe one that was bought on a budget allowance.

He knew this was the girls' doing. The others were likely incapacitated; it was up to him to destroy the TVs.

Unfortunately, he ran into the "Windows XP 2002 Beta for Dummies!" stand, and fell to the ground in a heap. In a laws-of-physics-defying stroke of luck, one of the books flew into the air and knocked the TV off of it's stand. It fell to the ground and blew up, causing all the rest of the TVs to blow up.

"Hmmm, that doesn't really make any sense..." Josh commented.

"Shuttup!" the rest of them hissed.

"Hey, is that a bass drum?"



Josh:

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Josh looked up to see the drum that someone had mentioned. It was large and being rolled around by someone in a messily put on bunny suit. He couldn't make out the face.

"It keeps going and going and going and going and going and going and going..." Rosey started to mutter as he went up trying to hug the girl in the bunny costume.

"STOP!" The person in the bunny costume commanded. Rosey obeyed and waited for the next order.

The bunny-cloaked girl handed him a small TV and whispered something in his ear. Roseidous took the TV and placed it on the bookshelf holding the rumpled Remnants books where everyone could see. The bunny tossed him a small black object, which Rosey attached to the antenna . Rosey stared happily as the bunny rolled and banged her drum out of the room.

Rosey was about to turn and switch on the TV, which would inadvertently make everyone go insane with episodes of Animorphs, but a hospital glove full of Jell-O hit his head and popped, splattering everywhere.

Rosey stuck his finger in his hair for a taste still reminiscing about the bunny while everyone turned toward the area where the balloon was thrown. There stood...



Crayak:

Pen. There stood pen.

Or, he used to be a pen. He was a pencil nothlit.

Their long lost friend from Clyattville.

Everyone gasped. Well, except for Ann, Nothlit, and Josh. They didn't get it. It was just a pencil.

Katherine gasped. "How did they get the pencil in the balloon?" she thought.

"Rosey-boy!! Listen to me!!! That is not bunny!!" Pen yelled.

"Yes he is!!! Bunny is not dead!!! NO NO NO!!!!!" cried Roseidous.

"Bunny is dead Rosey. Deal with it," said Pen impatiently.

Suddenly a mysterious hole opened up in the floor and Rosey and Pen fell in.

The group knew they were in for another adventure.

"Fine," Holli said, "We can go save Pen, but I couldn't care less about that Rosey-freak."



Katherine:

All of the adventurers decided to get supplies and meet back at the spot where Pen and Rosey fell through the ground. The guys started looking for supplies right where they were, at Nothlit's bookstore, and the girls headed to the mall and Roses' house in Budapest. There, they talked about what they would do.

"This is for Pen." Roses vowed.

"For Pen," agreed Jaina.

"For Pen," Holli.

"For Pen," said Ann.

"For Pen," said Tails.

"To keep an eye on the boys," Katherine said.

The other girls looked at her.

"Think about it!" she protested. "Pen told Rosey that the Bunny from Clyattville was dead! We almost managed to get them, and Pen ruined it!"

"Of course." Roses muttered. "I knew we needed another brunette."

"I think we should also recruit some more help." said Ann. "But who?"

"Fitey?" asked Tails. "She did help me out a while ago. But I haven't seen her since."

"Kelly?" asked Holli.

"Dahjo?" Katherine contributed.

"Yoda." said Jaina.

"They've all disappeared after that Albuquerque thing." Tails pointed out.

"OK, how about we look for them? Tell the boys it's a search party." said Roses.

"Wait!" everyone looked at Tails. "We need more supplies, more sugar."



Roses:

"WAIT!!!!" Roses yelled.

"What?" several of the other girls said, looking at her.

"I can't go. What am I thinking?"

Holli sighed. "Why not?"

"Because I cannot go into yet another parallel dimension searching for Roseidous, of all people. I must stay in Budapest."

"Well, okay then, if you have to." Ann said sadly.

"Yeah, we'll miss you on this adventure." Katherine said.

"Well, girls, it's not so bad. I mean, just think of it this way. I may make a dramatic reappearance to rescue you all. Wouldn't that be fun? Then I could take all the credit for it. Perfect solution. So go and have fun without me."

***

Two weeks later...

Roses sat at her computer, bored, because no one was online. They were all in another universe, supposedly still searching for Pen. Not Roseidous. She vaguely wondered how things were going, but decided she didn't really want to know.

She checked her email, as usual. "Junk, Junk, don't want to talk to him, junk, more junk, letter from Holli, junk....wait. Holli? They're back? Already?"

She stared at the title which read: "We are in lots of trouble, please come help us"

Roses debated with herself.

"Do I really want to click on this?"

"No, you don't."

"But, they need my help."

"They'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but you'll regret it if you click on that."

"Well, I have to help them."

"You'll be sorry."

She clicked on it and read: Dear Roses, we are no longer stuck in the other dimension. We have Pen/cil back. We also have Roseidous. Sorry. However, when we got back to this dimension, we found ourselves on a deserted island. Or so we thought. We are in the custody of the natives. They think that Roseidous is their long, lost king. We've used all the metal we can find to build this computer. Hopefully, it will work. Please come rescue us before we go insane. Hurry up. From, Holli, Ann, Katherine, Jaina, Tails, Nothlit, Tyrael, Josh, Chris, Crayak, and Pen.

Roses sighed. Then debated with herself again.

"Do I have to go rescue them?"

"Of course you do."

"I really don't."

"But they're stuck with Roseidous as king."

"That's true, but I can't rescue them all alone. They're the people I would take on a rescue mission."

"Well, who else can help?"

"No, not them."

"They're the only ones available."

"They'll drive me crazy."

"They're your only choice."

***

Twenty minutes later...

"Is TAS there?......Oh, he's outside with Cait?......Sure, I'll hang on, thanks TAS's mommy......."

"Hello?"

"TAS-man?"

"Who are you and how did you get this number?"

"This is Roses, you gave it to me."

"Oh, hi!!!!....Cait-dog! Say hi to Roses!!!!......He says hi!!!"

"Um, hi."

"So, whatcha' want?"

"Actually, as much as I regret this, I need your help on a rescue mission. Can you meet me at the airport in an hour?"

"OOOOHHHH!!!!! A mission!!!! Cait-Dog, get the rope, the backpacks with the non-perishable food items, and the comic books!"

"Is all that necessary?"

"Of course! I'll get my mommy to drive us to the airport, see you there!!! Bye!!!!....Cait-Dog, say bye!.....He says bye!!!!"

"Yes, um, bye TAS-man."

Roses sighed, packed her sunscreen, bug spray, and travel clothes, and drove to the airport.

***

"What do you mean?!" Roses yelled over the noise of the engines.

She sat in the co-pilot seat of the tiny airplane. TAS and Cait sat in the back, talking excitedly about rescue plans. Or maybe they were arguing over whose comic book was which. Roses wasn't sure. She was sure, however, that she didn't exactly trust the pilot. He'd agreed to fly them to the small island in the middle of the ocean for a very reasonable price. His motives were questionable. Maybe he just really needed the money. Or maybe he was expecting more than the amount agreed upon. He didn't speak English very well, so she couldn't tell.

The pilot held up one hand. Then he made two fingers from his other hand walk across it and jump off. Roses leaned back in her chair and looked out the window at the ocean far below.

"That's what I thought you meant."

***

"No, Holli, you were supposed to bring me strawberries, not grapes."

Holli glared at the boy sitting on the throne. He was wearing a crown made out of some kind of plant, and two girls of the native tribe fanned him with large leaves while he ate. But Holli didn't say a word. It was forbidden to yell at the king, and she'd learned a lesson from Pen/cil about breaking the rules. He was a few centimeters shorter.

"Shall I go back and get your strawberries, King Roseidous?"

Roseidous considered this. "No, I'm feeling gracious today. I'll eat the grapes. You may go."

Holli smiled a not-very-nice smile, turned around, and calmly walked out of the grass hut. Then she screamed and stormed down the path through the jungle to the girls' hut.

Ann, Tails, Katherine, and Jaina were sitting around on Ann's bed discussing possible escape routes when Holli flung the door open. They looked up.

"I swear I will make him pay when Roses comes to rescue us!"

"You mean 'if' Roses comes to rescue us." Tails pointed out. "She said she didn't want to be involved."

"She'll come." Ann said. "She wouldn't leave me with you people."

"Hey!" the other girls complained.

"Well, sorry. Nothing personal. I never expected to end up here when Roses said 'I'm inviting some old friends to a party, you should meet them, it will be fun!' I thought the evil aliens in that other dimension who wanted to eat my brains were bad, but I'd rather have them back than have Roseidous as the king."

"At least we escaped from them." Katherine agreed. "With all the natives guarding every inch of the island, we're lucky we even got that computer built."

"True." Holli joined the girls on the bed. "But if she doesn't come soon, I'm sending another email."

***

"Roses…it's…not…working!" Cait said, between jumps.

"Just…keep…trying!"

"Yes, just keep trying, I think you'll eventually get it." TAS offered helpfully.

Both Cait and Roses glared at him. "Shut…up!"

TAS sighed and surveyed the land. From his position, it was a good view. Roses and Cait had landed easily on the beach, but the wind steered him off course. His parachute was stuck in a tree, and Cait and Roses were pulling on the ropes, trying to get him down. From what he could tell, they were in a jungle. Nothing but trees and plants. And there was a really cool looking bug. And a snake in the tree next to his. And some birds flying off over there. And some smoke. And a lizard. Lizards were fun. And…wait. Smoke?

"Hey! Guys, I think I see someth---AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" he screamed as the parachute finally ripped and he crashed to the ground.

Roses yanked him to his feet and then reached down to help Cait.

"I knew I could get down! Thanks for breaking my fall, Cait-Dog! Lucky you were there."

"Yes, lucky." Cait brushed the dirt off his clothes. "And do you have to call me Cait-Dog?"

"Of course! It is your superhero name! And we are here to save the day and perform an amazing rescue!"

Cait handed Roses her backpack and picked up his own. "Actually, we're here to get caught."

"Yes, like I said, we're going to rescue everyone and then---WHAT?! That's…that's…that's just wrong!!! It goes against the code of being a superhero! We can't get caught! TAS-man will never surrender!!"

"It's the plan." Roses said patiently. "If we get caught, you two can find out what everyone else knows, and I can get to Roseidous."

"Kind of like spying?"

"Yes."

"OOOOOHH! Cait-Dog, we get to be spies!!! Isn't that great?!"

"I suppose so." Cait looked at the setting sun. "We should get going."

Roses consulted her compass. "I think we should head west."

"No!!!" TAS snatched the compass away.

"No? Do you have a map to the nearest village?"

"No, I saw smoke when I was stuck in the tr-I mean, when I was surveying the land. It's that way." He pointed to the right and looked at the compass. "South."

Roses sighed and turned the compass around. "You mean north. Let's go. And remember, be very quiet. We don't want to get caught too soon."

TAS ran off into the jungle, breaking twigs under his feet as he went. "Silent mode! I'm really good at that, aren't I, Cait-Dog?"

"Yes, you're exactly what we need." Cait and Roses looked at each other and followed him.

***

"Right." Nothlit continued. "And we can grab another tree branch when Tyrael creates a distraction."

"Yes, it's a good plan and all that." Pen/cil said. "But what about the girls?"

"They might just have to miss the boat." Josh grinned. "But I don't understand why Crayak can't take us off the island."

Crayak sighed. "How many times must we go through this? Even if I could levitate everyone, it's not like we know where to go. Besides, the natives might see us and shoot us down or something. We'll have to build our own raft and sneak away without the girls.

Tyrael looked at him. "Do you know what they'd do us if we escaped without them? I'd rather stay here. And exactly what do we mean by 'when Tyrael creates a distraction?'"

"Um…well…" everyone else stared at him.

"What?"

"Isn't it your turn to get the coconut milk for Rosey's bath?" Crayak asked.

"Yes, why?"

"We want you to throw a coconut at Roseidous. Distract people. Make them go see what's happening. We'll sneak out and get some tree branches for a raft." Nothlit explained the plan.

"WHAT?! He'll kill me!"

"He's supposed to be your friend. He shouldn't kill you. I mean, unless--"

Their conversation was interrupted when the door opened. TAS and Cait were thrown in by two guards and the door slammed shut.

TAS jumped to his feet. "Thanks for breaking my fall again Cait-Dog."

Cait sighed and brushed the dirt out of his hair. "Any time, TAS."

They noticed that the room was already occupied. Josh and Nothlit stared at them hopefully. Tyrael, Crayak, and Pen/cil stared at them with horrified expressions.

"No!" Crayak said. "Not you!"

Tyrael hid under his pillow. "Why did it have to be you?"

"Where's Roses?" Pen/cil demanded.

***

A coconut flew by, millimeters from Roseidous' head. He leaped off his throne and turned around.

"Roses!"

The guards advanced towards her, she didn't back away. In fact, she ignored their spears.

"No, don't tie her up. I want to talk to her. Wait outside." Roseidous waved the guards and the girls fanning him away and gestured for Roses to sit down.

She walked around in front of the throne, but didn't sit. "What are you doing?"

"Doing? Whatever I want! I'm the King! And it's nice to have you come visit us. I thought you never wanted to see me ever again. However, I'm sure we can find stuff for you to do. How are you at cooking?"

"Shut up. I am not staying and neither are you."

"I'm not?"

"No. We are going home."

"What do I want at home? I have everything I need here." Roseidous sat back down. "Want some grapes?"

"I know something you don't have here."

He narrowed his eyes. "And what would that be?"

"You don't have pens to throw at Holli."

"I have Pen/cil. He will do."

"You don't have Bunny. He's buried back in Clyattville."

Roseidous actually appeared to consider this. "Okay, that's true, but he's dead anyway."

"Um…you don't have your hair care products?"

"You'd be amazed at some of the plants around here."

Roses sighed. "Fine, I give up. You have it all. You have your gold and your servants and your beautiful women. You have us here to cater to your every need. You don't seem to be missing much. But you don't have people who are your friends; we're now your minions. And you don't have your freedom."

"Yes I do! I'm the King!"

"Yes. And you're stuck as king for the rest of your life. All these people around you all the time. You can't get rid of the responsibility you have to them. Just think about that. I suppose I'll tell the guards to take me to the girls' hut-I mean, jail cell?"

He stood up. "Yes. You tell them that. And tomorrow, you can start gathering food like the rest of them!"

She regarded him calmly, and then left the room. Roseidous took off his crown and stared at it.

***

"So, we'll just have to leave the guys here." Ann finished, when the girls heard voices outside.

"I am perfectly capable of going inside by myself. I'm not running away. Now put me down!"

"That's Roses!" Holli yelled and ran to the door, opening it for Roses.

"Hey, girls." Roses handed the guard his rope. "Go tie up something useful."

Holli pulled her inside and slammed the door in the guard's face. "You came to save us!"

"I knew you wouldn't leave me with them!" Ann said happily, causing the others to complain again.

"Yes, yes. I called TAS and Cait, and now we're here."

"Wait…." Jaina paled. "You brought them? That means you got captured, too?!"

"We did, but don't worry. It's all taken care of." Roses said mysteriously. "Now, which bed is mine?"

***

Roses was still awake when the cabin door opened. In the moonlight, she could just make out the figure.

"Took you long enough."

"Hey, I had to get away from the guards. They're tricky you know."

"I'm sure. So are we ready?"

"Yes, I got everything."

"Shut up, I'm sleeping!" Ann grumbled and turned over.

Roses giggled. "Girls, get up! We're getting off of this island!"

One by one, they all sat up and noticed the extra person in the room. Holli went so far as to get up and hit him.

"Rosey, I am going to kill you! You are so going to pay for making us all be your slaves. Tails? Get some rope!"

"Hang on, Holli." Roses stopped her. "Let's get off the island, and then you can kill him."

Katherine grabbed Pen and they all snuck over to the guys' hut. Waking them up was uneventful. Well, not really. Holli and Tails put a bug on Tyrael, who shrieked. The girls had to quickly hide as the guards came in to see what was going on. Nothlit insisted on finding every part of the computer to take home. They had to throw Josh far enough in the air to wake up Crayak, who was, of course, floating. And after Roseidous returned TAS and Cait's backpacks, TAS refused to leave until he and Cait changed into their superhero costumes.

Eventually, they all arrived at the shoreline. Cait pulled an inflatable raft out of his backpack and Roses got the air pump out of hers.

"Wait," Jaina said. "How many bags of stuff did you guys bring?"

"Just three, why?" Cait asked.

"If you only brought three, and you each have one, whose stuff am I holding?"

"Yeah, and whose is this?" Ann held up another bag. "It's heavy, too."

"We all have one." Crayak complained.

Roses turned to Roseidous, who shrugged. "Didn't want to leave behind the treasure."

Everyone holding one of the extra bags threw it at Roseidous.

"Okay, fine. If you don't want to help carry it, you can't share it." Roseidous dragged all of the bags to the raft.

They all followed him and climbed in. TAS got the collapsible paddles out of his backpack and distributed them to each person.

"Do I have to?" Roseidous asked.

"Shut up and row!" Roses ordered.

"Okay, but when we get back, I'm going to use my treasure and by a fortress. Then I'm making supermodel clones to wait on me."

"Yes, Rosey, whatever you say." Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Well, when I get home, I'm thinking about starting my own business. I'll be a Pizza Delivery Boy by day and a superhero by night! What do you think Cait-Dog? Are you in? I'm sure my Mommy will let us set up a store in her house. Oh, and then…." TAS kept talking, but everyone tuned him out and kept paddling towards home.

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