Author's Note: Just the other day, I watched several episodes of Rugrats on the season 4 DVD with my nephew, since that's the season the Mother's Day episode is on, but besides that episode, we watched another one of my favorite episodes, Dust Bunnies, and recalling how I mentioned in one of the stories where I feature Rosie, she had a similar experience with dust bunnies that Tommy had, I thought, why not redo that episode, featuring nothing but OC's! Once you read the story, it will be pretty obvious to figure out which OC equals which original rugrat in the original Rugrats episode, provided, you've seen that episode of the show. Now, on with how the story played out in the New England part of the United States, or better yet, Bean Town, or Boston!
Dust Bunnies, the OC Version!
Summary: While Shannon and Terry Hall are doing some overdue spring cleaning, they mention that the dust bunnies have taken over the house, but when Rosie is taken away to the Kingdom of Dust by the Dust Bunny Queen, can Hazel save her before it's too late? A rendition of the classic Rugrats episode from season 4, hope you enjoy! Rosie is owned by Nairobi-harper, while Hazel is owned by AsToldByHazelNut.
Disclaimer: Even though no original Rugrats characters appear in this story, better cover myself to be safe. As usual, I do not own the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters. In this particular story though, I own Reggie, while Rosie and her family are owned by Nairobi-harper, and Hazel is owned by AsToldByHazelNut.
This story takes place roughly one year prior to Rosie meeting Tommy, and having him come for a visit at Patriots Day Weekend. Cooencidentally, off in California, unknown to Rosie, Tommy was too having a similar experience with dust bunnies, hince, the original Rugrats episode. On this particular day in Boston though, Shannon Hall had taken her youngest daughter Rosie, along with her friend, Hazel Laveen out for a day of fun.
"Wasn't that a fun day girls? We played at the park, then stopped off for a snack at Mike's Pastries, and now that we're home, it's time for your nap!" Said Shannon, as she opened the door to their apartment, to find Terry had moved all of the furniture out into the middle of the room, scattered all about.
"Why can't that husband of mine wait to do the spring cleaning on a day I'm planning to stay home?" Shannon asked herself in an annoyed tone, as she made her way through the scattered about furniture in the living room, and found the playpen, where she set Rosie and Hazel down, just as Terry walked into the room.
"Oh good, you're home! I could use some help here." Said Terry, as he came over next to Shannon at the playpen, and kissed the top of Rosie's head.
"Honey, did you have to do this today?" Shannon asked.
"Yes, I had the day off from the realter's office, Mary's off at school, and you were out with the little ones, so figured I'd get started on the spring cleaning we're so behind on." Replied Terry.
"Come on dear, I had a very long week of interior decorating, and I just want to relax!" Griped Shannon.
"But Shannon, if we put this off any longer, the dust bunnies will take over our apartment!" Said Terry, as he put an arm around Shannon's shoulder, and led her out of the room.
"Dust bunnies, what are dust bunnies Rosie?" Hazel asked, turning to her pink haired friend in the playpen.
"You're so silly Hazel, you know what bunnies are, they're those furry aminals that eat carrots and stuff, and bring us a basket of yummy candy at Easter." Said Rosie.
"Well then if that's so, why are your mommy and daddy so concerned about them?" Hazel asked.
Reggie, who was staying for the day at the Hall's, overheard Rosie and Hazel's conversation from out in the kitchen, so entered the living room, where he skipped up to the playpen, to join in the conversation and explain to the two female toddlers, what dust bunnies were.
"Dust bunnies, little baby ladies, are no ordinary bunnies." Said Reggie.
"What do you mean Reggie?" Rosie asked.
"Dust bunnies are huge, horrible monsters. They sleep beneath the carpet all winter long, and trust me, here in Boston, winter lasts forever, giving the dust bunnies plenty of time to hide er nate." Explained Reggie.
It was true. In Boston, winter is known to last up to six months, from Thanksgiving, all the way up to April Fools Day, which to young children and toddlers, feels like a lifetime.
"Uh, what does hide er nate mean again?" Rosie asked.
"You babies are so stupid, hide er nate means the dust bunnies hide all winter, and then, when spring time comes and the growed ups move the furniture, they come out of the carpet, very hungry from their long winter's rest, in search of their most favoritest snack in the world, tender loving babies!" Explained Reggie.
Rosie and Hazel gasp as Reggie continued his story, and everyone started to imagine what would happen.
"They listen for your footsteps with their long, sticky ears. Then, once they spot you, they reach out, grab you up in a cloud of dust, and drag you back to their kingdom, where they soak you in juices till you're soft enough to mush down. And then, they eat you up like you were an ice cream cone, and you'll never see your mommies or daddies again! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Said Reggie, as Rosie and Hazel imagined being drug off into a whole by a huge, gray dust bunny.
"Don't take me! Let go!" Cried Hazel, as a cloud of dust encircled her, and the dust bunny dragged her away.
Returning to the real world of Rosie's playpen…
"It's too late Hazel, the dust bunnies have already escaped, and it won't be long, before they find you and Rosie! And I happen to know that girls named Rosie and Hazel, and especially baby girls with buttery blond hair and pink hair, is what the dust bunny queen, craves the most!" Said Reggie.
The girls gasp again.
"See these? Dust bunny tracks." Said Reggie, pointing to some indentations in the carpet, that were made by the furniture sitting in one spot for way too long.
"Goodness Reggie, the dust bunnies are huge!" Exclaimed Hazel, glancing at the indentations, known as the dust bunny tracks.
"They're not just huge Hazel, they're giant!" Said Reggie.
Then, Rosie got an idea!
"Wait a second Reggie. If the dust bunnies live in the carpet, then we'd be safe in a place where the floor is hard, like the kitchen, right?" Rosie asked.
"Oh yes, the kitchen would be safer, but unfortunately, it's all the way on the other side of the apartment. Too bad, guess you're gonna have to be a snack for the dust bunnies after all. Oh well, see ya around ladies, or, guess I won't, since you're about to get eaten, Ha ha ha!" Scoffed Reggie, as he skipped away from the playpen.
In another part of the apartment, out in the little entry hall that led in by the front door, Shannon was helping Terry move a bookcase out from the wall.
"I don't see why we can't just, clean around the furniture. I mean what could be under here that's worth anything?" Shannon asked, as she sweeped away a pile of dust to pick up a book that had fallen behind the bookcase.
"Oh wow look at this! The weekly guide to Interior Decorating! I wondered what happened to this?" Said Shannon, as she scooped the dust into a dust pan, and sat down in a nearby chair to read her book.
Back in the living room…
"What are we gonna do Rosie?" Hazel asked.
"Well I know what we're not gonna do, we're not gonna become a snack for a hungry dust bunny, we're gonna get to that kitchen! Are you with me Hazel?" Rosie asked.
"But you heard Reggie, the dust bunnies live under the carpet!" Hazel said in a panic.
"Then we won't touch the carpet, we'll go on top of the furniture!" Said Rosie, as she reached up to the top of the playpen, where a chair was sitting near by, grabbed on to the edge of the chair, and pulled herself up, out of the playpen on to the chair. Then, she turned around, grabbed Hazel's hands, and pulled her out, as the playpen toppled over, and Hazel and Rosie went flying across the room, landing on a coffee table.
Standing on the coffee table, the two toddlers looked around, where an easy chair, couch, some end tables, and an ironing board made a perfect path from what they could see, to get to the kitchen. They crossed the furniture, and Hazel almost fell off the arm of the easy chair, but Rosie caught her before she fell to her death. Then, they got to the ironing board, which had some snowboots sitting on top. Rosie reached out, grabbed the snow boots, turned them on their side, making a bridge between the arm of the chair and the ironing board.
"Look at that Hazel, piece of cake, now come on!" Said Rosie, as she and Hazel made their way across the ironing board, only to find there was still a stretch of carpet between them and the kitchen.
Glancing around, they saw a shadow the furniture was making on the wall, spooking the toddlers.
"Uh oh, it's…" Said Hazel.
"Dust bunnies!" Rosie and Hazel both screamed simultaneously in panic.
"We're trapped." Said Rosie.
Shannon continued to read her book, until she heard her husband calling for her.
"Shannon! Shannon!" Terry cried, interrupting Shannon from her reading.
"Oh, right, I'm on it! I'm on to cleaning." Said Shannon, dropping her book on the chair, picking up the broom she was using, and getting back to work.
Back in the living room, Rosie and Hazel stood on the ironing board, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Come on Hazel, let's make a run for it." Said Rosie.
"But what about those dust bunnies?" Hazel asked.
"I think it might be sleeping. If we tip toe real quietly, it shouldn't wake up. It's either that, or we wait here, and risk being eaten." Said Rosie.
"Ok, if you say so." Said Hazel with a sigh, as they held hands, jumped off the ironing board, and started to tip toe towards the entrance of the kitchen.
In a nearby corner, Reggie was watching the whole thing.
"So, they think they can escape, do they? Well, we'll just see about that." Reggie chuckled to himself, as he stuck his foot out from his hiding place, tripping Rosie, who fell into a pile of dust.
"Oh no! The dust bunnies got me! Help me Hazel!" Rosie cried.
Hazel, sccared for her life, ran away into the kitchen. Rosie coughed, only to see Reggie standing before her.
Looking down, she noticed she was only covered in dust.
"Wait a minute Reggie, this isn't a dust bunny, it's just dust." Said Rosie.
"Of course it's just dust bubble gum head, there's no such thing as dust bunnies. You babies are so gullable, and will believe anything you hear." Said Reggie.
Just then, Shannon and Terry walk into the living room. Upon seeing them, Reggie sneaks off into the kitchen, so as to not be spotted by the grown ups.
"Oh my goodness Rosie, are you ok?" Terry asked, picking up his daughter, where he spots a huge pile of dust on the carpet.
"Where in the world did this pile of dust come from?" Terry asked.
"Oh dear, I must have missed that pile of dust while I was cleaning." Shannon replied.
"Well don't miss it again please. I'm gonna go give Rosie a bath, and oh yes, there are some boxes in the kitchen that need to be taken out to the storage facility." Said Terry, as he took his daughter upstairs to give her a bath.
Shannon eyed the pile of dust and sweeped it out of the way, to find an old Bop It Extreme Two game on the floor.
"Wow! My old Bop It Extreme Two game! I wonder if it still works, and if it does, if I can break my old record of 450?" Said Shannon to herself, as she pulled the pull it piece to start up the electronic game.
"Box Bop One-on-one!" Said the game as Shannon pulled the Pull It piece.
"Box Bop, Solo!" Said the game, as she gave the pull it piece another pull.
She sat down on the couch, and bopped the
Bop It Extreme on her leg, starting the game up.
In another part of the living room, Reggie returns, scooping the pile of dust into a bucket.
"One baby lady down, one baby lady to go." Said Reggie, as he went into the kitchen, where he found Hazel in a corner, looking disappointed.
"What's wrong Hazel?" Reggie asked.
"Oh, it's Rosie, the dust bunnies gotted her and it's all my falt! Poor Rosie, I let my bestest friend down, when she needed me most! I never thought I'd say this, but, you've gots to help me!" Hazel cried.
At that moment, Shannon, who had sadly, lost on her Bop It Extreme Two game, walked through the kitchen out to the storage facility with some boxes.
"Excuse me kids, need to take these boxes down to the storage facility." Said Shannon, as she carried the boxes through the door at the other end of the kitchen, that led to the storage area.
"Well, if you hurry, you might be able to save Rosie, but to do it, you're gonna have to go to the Kingdom of Dust, and fight the dust bunny queen herself." Said Reggie.
Just then, Shannon walked back inside the kitchen, sending clouds of dust into the room from the storage area.
"Yuck! That storage area is so, so, disgusting!" Said Shannon, as she walked through the kitchen and went back into the living room, to try again at her Bop It Extreme Two game.
"So how do I get to the kingdom of Dust? Where is it Reggie?" Hazel asked.
Reggie pointed to the door to the storage facility, and he and Hazel went into the room. Once inside, the room transformed into the kingdom of dust, where Hazel crawled through a long tunnel. Scooting past Hazel, Reggie, with a bucket full of dust, went to the other end of the tunnel.
"Ok Hazel, get ready for your big, dust bunny surprise!" Said Reggie, as he threw the bucket of dust in Hazel's direction, covering her.
"Don't worry Rosie, I'm coming to save you." Cried Hazel, as she crawled on to a skateboard, which skitted across the storage room floor, causing Hazel to run into a bunch of boxes.
Back upstairs, Rosie was now clean, and dressed in some clean clothes, while the bathroom was covered in dust.
"There you go my sweet little rose bud, all clean. Now just stay put for a minute while daddy straightens up in here a bit." Said Terry, as he got to work cleaning up the bathroom.
Once he wasn't looking, Rosie left the bathroom and went downstairs to look for Hazel.
"Hazel! Where are you?" Rosie called, as she toppled off the last step at the bottom of the stairs.
Overhearing some noises coming from the storage facility, Rosie went in that direction.
Back in the kingdom of dust, Hazel spots what looks like two long bunny ears, which in reality, were a pair of blue jean pant legs sticking out of the box.
"Aha! There you are dust bunny queen, now, you give me back my friend right now! And don't think you're gonna get one lick of my blond buttery hair, cuz I'm not gonna let you!" Said Hazel with a determined look on her face, as she grabbed at the pant legs, and started fighting with the clothes in the box.
Just then, Rosie comes into the storage facility, where she spots Hazel fighting the clothes.
"Here Hazel let me help you." Said Rosie, as she joined in the fight.
"Hey! You're messing up my plan!" Said Reggie, annoyed.
Back upstairs, Terry finished cleaning the bathroom.
"Ok Rosie we're all done. Now why don't we…" Terry started to say, when he turned to notice his daughter was nowhere in sight.
He headed downstairs where he found his wife sitting on the couch, playing the Bop It Extreme Game.
"Spin it!" Said the game, as Shannon spun it.
"Tweak it." Said the game, as she twisted it instead of doing tweak it.
"Ow!" Said the game, as she lost.
"Darn!" Shannon cried, as Terry walked into the room.
"Shannon, have you seen the kids?" Terry asked.
Just then, they heard Hazel screaming from within the storage facility.
"AAAHHH! Come on honey, quick!" Said Terry, as he and Shannon headed for the storage facility.
Back in the kingdom of dust…
"I've got you by the ears you dust bunny queen, now give her up! Rosie's my bestest friend!" Hazel cried, as she pulled the blue jeans out of the box, toppling over backwards, as she bumped into a stage, which fell over, knocking into a plank where a bucket of dust was sitting, sending it flying into the air, causing the bucket to land upside down on Reggie's head, covering him in clouds of dust.
Reggie coughs just as Terry and Shannon enter the storage facility.
"Reggie! What did you do?" Terry asked.
"It wasn't me, it was the dust bunny's fault." Replied Reggie.
Hazel glances at her friend Rosie, thankful she saved her.
"Rosie! You're ok! Can you forgive me I ran away and let the dust bunny queen get you." Hazel started to say before Rosie interrupted her.
"But Hazel…" Rosie started to say, before Hazel continued.
"But now I founded you and you're all right." Hazel continued.
"But Hazel…" Rosie said again, before Hazel carried on.
"And the dust bunny queen says I won! Does that make me a heroin?" Hazel asked.
Exasperated, Rosie sighs and responds.
"Yeah Hazel, you're a heroin, and you're my bestest friend!" Rosie replied with a smile, hugging Hazel.
Glancing over, Terry notices that Rosie and Hazel are also covered in dust.
"Oh goodness Rosie, looks like you need another bath, and so do you Hazel." Said Terry, as he scooped up his daughter and her friend.
"Can you take care of the girls this time please? Terry asked, handing the two girl toddlers over to his wife.
"I sure can. Come on girls." Said Shannon, as she carried Rosie and Hazel back into the house and upstairs to the bathroom, to give them their bath.
"Wait a minute Terry, if the toddlers are using the bathtub, then how am I going to take my bath?" Reggie asked.
Upstairs, Rosie and Hazel were having fun playing in the tub, splashing water on to one another, while Shannon cleaned them up. While they were taking their bath upstairs, Reggie was out in the backyard, sitting in a waiding pool, as Terry scrubbed him down with a garden hose and a sponge.
"Stupid lady babies." Reggie muttered to himself, as Terry continued to scrub him clean.
The End
Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed that, and, to anybody who's interested, I challenge you, to redo one of your favorite Rugrats episodes, using nothing but OC's, and, feel free to use any of my OC's like Zack, Reggie, and any other OC's I've come up with in your story if you'd like.