Seymour's Bay had two wonderful communities. One normal and one magical. Of course the magical one was a secret. And the Belcher family so happened to be part of the magical community. The two communities coexisted peacefully. Probably because one was a secret.
Bob's Burgers served both magical and non-magical beings. Bob was proud of that. Still it didn't get him too much business. Just a satisfying amount.
It was a normal night for the Belchers.
Bob was sleeping on the couch while his kids played. He snored as Louise wrestled her brother, Gene, for a cookie. Linda was in the kitchen washing the dishes. Tina was sitting quietly on the floor and reading a book. The TV played a cartoon quietly.
" Mom! Louise is trying to steal my cookie! Mine! " Gene snapped his teeth together. His body suddenly began to change. His skin started to grow fur and his body shrinked. Gene's face elongated and a tail suddenly sprouted. A pile of clothes were on the floor and a raccoon was standing in the middle of the room. The raccoon chattered angrily at Louise and ran off.
Louise glared at Gene's retreating form. " Mom! Gene shifted inside the house! That means I can too! "
Linda stomped into the room. " Oh no you don't young lady! No shifting inside the house. We use our words like civilized werecreatures! GENE! Get back in here! You're in big trouble young man! " The women looked down and saw that her youngest daughter had already shifted.
Louise's clothes lay on the floor. A jackolope stood in Louise's place. Strangely Louise's favored pink bunny ears still lay on top of the jackolope's head.
Linda pointed accusingly at the jackolope. " You turn back to a human right now missy! No shifting in the house! Or I'll trample on all of you. " Louise ignored her mother and ran off to where Gene had run off too. Linda snorted in frustration. She looked at her husband. " Bob. Bob. BOB! "
Bob woke up with a start. He yawned and scratched his belly. " What? What's wrong? " His eyes were already drooping shut again.
Linda grabbed a newspaper off of a table and smacked Bob's arm with it. She snorted again and stomped a foot onto the floor. " Stop the early hibernation and help me control our children! "
Bob struggled his way out of the couch. " Alright, alright. Gene! Louise! Stop whatever your doing. "
He heard several bangs coming from Gene's room. He opened the door to see what was going on. For most people it would have been a strange sight.
A jackolope was trying to hold a raccoon down onto the ground. A cookie lay a few feet away from them. The raccoon was trying to squirm out of the jackolope's grasp while trying not to get poked by it's antlers.
" Gene, Louise. Stop. " Bob said his voice was deadpanned. His children ignored him and continued to fight. Bob sighed and snatched the cookie up. He popped it into his mouth and ate it with a satisfying crunch.
Louise and Gene stopped fighting immediately. They gaped at Bob before chattering angrily at him. Bob pinched the bridge of his. He held out his hands and said, " I know. But you guys weren't going to listen so I had to. Don't give me that look. You both are probably in trouble so go get your clothes and change back. Do it before your mom gets angry. " Bob whispered the last part.
Bob sat back down onto the couch. He watched the TV and tried not to look at his naked children in the room.
" He started it, " Louise grumbled as she put her clothes back on. " I just wanted a bite! "
Gene retorted back. " You wanted to eat all of it! Don't lie! " He pulled his pants on but didn't put his shirt back on. " I should eat you for insubordination! "
Linda gasped. " Gene don't you talk like that! You're not going to eat your sister. "
Louise sneered at Gene. " Oh like you could. Raccoons can't catch crap. Especially a jackolope. Why do you think raccoons live in dumps? "
" Louise! " Linda said.
Tina looked up from her book. " Why didn't you two just split the cookie? "
" Shut it Tina! "
" Ok. "
Gene bent down to pick up his shirt. He then glared at Louise. " Don't you dare insult my friends. So what that they live in the trash cans behind our house? They're better than a bunny! "
" Why you— " Louise wasn't able to finish her sentence when the doorbell rang. She quickly finished putting all of her clothes on. Gene followed and put his shirt back on.
Tina stood up and put her book on a table. " I'll get it. " A few moments later Tina returned with a box. " It's for you Mom. "
Linda clasped her hands together. " Ooh. It must be my new hairbrush. " She took the brush from Tina. Linda glanced behind her and looked at the digital clock resting on a table.
" Looks like it's bedtime kids. Come on let's go. " Linda said as she guided all of her children to their bedrooms.
The next day Tina was walking close to the shoreline. She was at the very edge of the wharf. Where no one could see her. She had her backpack on her shoulders. School had just ended for the day. Her shoes were wet from the water. She was waiting for something. Gene and Louise had headed home by themselves.
A splash sounded to the left of Tina. A familiar head erupted through the surface of the water. It was Jimmy Jr.
" Hey Tina. What're you doing here? I thought we were going to meet each other at nine o'clock. " Jimmy Jr. asked in his familiar lisp. He was wearing a yellow shirt and his jacket lay on top of a rock. The gills on his neck weren't covered by his shirt.
Tina stuttered, " Oh me? I was just hanging around here, minding my own business. What're you doing here? Ignore that question. You're a mermaid why wouldn't you be in the ocean. So do you want to hang out? "
Jimmy Jr. scratched his chin thoughtfully. " Well I was just practicing my underwater dance moves. But, uh, sure. " He dove back into the water, his tail rising out of the water for a moment. He appeared on the shoreline, his tail already changing into legs. Jimmy Jr. had his pants already in his hands.
As Jimmy Jr. put the pants on, Tina tried not to let Jimmy Jr. notice her staring. Tina laughed nervously. " Alright let's go. "
Louise carried the cage with no problem. In the cage was the school pet, Princess Liddle Pidddles or what Louise liked to call him, Shinobu. Gene was ranting on about how rotted banana peels weren't as bad as many would think. They were both were trying to ignore Wayne.
The small and pudgy kid was following them. Always managing to find the Loiuse and Gene no matter how many times they tried to lose him.
" Oh, be careful how you hold the cage. " Wayne warned Louise for the tenth time. Louise simply gritted her teeth and wished she could impale Wayne with her antlers. Sure her mom might have a fit over it but Louise could only think of the benefits.
Louise turned the corner and saw Logan at the steps. Louise could remember the first time she met Logan. When she got into close proximity with the older blond boy she felt her heart race in something she rarely felt... Fear. Like her animal side knew something about Logan that she couldn't detect. Shinobu seemed to have the same sense of fear. The chinchilla tensed and then tried to hide.
Logan was doing various tricks on his skateboard. He was alone.
Wayne whispered loudly, " Oh no it's a teenager! Let's go! " Wayne turned and almost ran away. He stopped realizing he was about to abandon his beloved chinchilla.
" I'm not afraid of him. Come on you two. " Louise said to Gene and Wayne. She gripped the cage tighter and began walking.
Logan looked up from the ground. He saw the kids and rolled over to them. He had one foot on his skateboard. His mouth watered as he saw them come closer. He shook his head and sneered at Louise.
" Well looks who's here. How're you doing Four Ears? " Logan said mockingly. He smiled when he saw Wayne sweat.
" None of your business. We're just heading home. Well except this guy. " Louise glared at Wayne.
Gene said, " He's been following us like a creep! " He grinned. Logan began to circle around them.
" Yeah well— " Logan stopped. He sniffed the air. " Is there a chinchilla in there? " He leaned down and looked at the cage. Shinobu squeaked and ran around the cage, fruitlessly trying to escape Logan's gaze.
Louise brought the cage closer to her. " Uh, yeah. He's my class pet. How did you know? " She didn't like how Logan was looking at Shinobu. Logan's eyes followed Shinobu, the look in his eyes almost like a predator watching it's prey.
" Just a guess. " Logan mumbled absentmindedly. He began to lick his lips before catching himself. " Um, so yeah I have to go. " Logan rode out onto the street and headed to his home. He took out his phone and began to call his mom.
" Weird. " Louise said. She shrugged and began to head home again.
(An hour later)
Louise ended the phone call. She rolled her eyes. Wayne had just called and wanted to talk to Shinobu. Louise hung up on him. The doorbell rang and seconds later Wayne ran up the stairs.
" Out of cage! Out of cage! " Wayne screamed out.
" You're acting nuts Wayne. " Louise sighed. She was tired of this very annoying kid. They kept arguing until Tina pointed out that Shinobu was missing. As they searched for the chinchilla they realized that Shinobu had ran out the open door.
Louise ran out the door. The others followed. Louise's hyper sensitive ears picked up the sounded of tiny scrambling feet. To her right Louise saw Shinobu running down the street.
" Crap! " Louise yelled out. " We need to get him! He might get hit by a car. Or stepped on. Or— "
" Would you just shut up and focus on the problem. " Wayne said before running after the chinchilla. He wasn't that fast.
The kids managed to keep the chinchilla in their sight. That was until the chinchilla turned a corner. Shinobu somehow scrambled up on to the top of a few trash cans. He saw a window open and jumped through it.
Louise stopped running when she realized that Shinobu had jumped right into her arch enemy's, Logan's house.
" Oh great. Just our luck. " Louise grumbled out.
They all rushed to the house's front door and Tina rang the doorbell. Cynthia opened the door only a slightest bit and she looked pretty nervous.
" Uh, hello. What do you want? " Cynthia demanded not too kindly.
Louise cleared her throat. " Look our chinchilla ran into your house. We want it back. "
Cynthia surprisingly relaxed. " Oh thank goodness. Come in and get that thing before something bad happens. " She shuddered.
" Good. I'm coming Atlas! " Wayne said as he pushed pass Cynthia.
" Shh! " Cynthia hissed at Wayne.
Louise entered the house and looked around. She finally noticed something about the house. Claw marks were everywhere. On the furniture, the floor, and somehow on the ceiling. Bite marks were everywhere on the legs of the chairs.
Cynthia's husband, Tom, stood up from his crouched position under a table. He was looking for the chinchilla that had gotten into their house. He walked over to Cynthia. "I understand why you let the Belcher kids in here but that one. Seriously? " Tom pointed at Wayne. As they argued quietly the kids looked for the chinchilla.
Logan entered the room. He had a book in his arms. He opened his mouth to say something when he saw the kids searching the house.
Louise suddenly pointed under the couch. " There he is! Shinobu! " The chinchilla crawled out from under the couch.
Cynthia sighed, " Oh no. "
That was when everything went crazy.