Author's Note: After reading Nairobi-harper's short little Rugrats and Inside Out crossover she posted the other day, 'Tired,' I was inspired to do this little one-shot, I hope you enjoy it! And if you haven't checked out her latest story, I encourage you all, to go read it and leave a review!
Finding Reptar
Summary: Inspired by Nairobi-harper's story, 'Tired.' In that story, Tommy's emotions have flashbacks to that day, but what exactly happened on that day? Now hear about the adventure of finding Reptar, a new toy of Zack's, in real time!
Disclaimer: I do not own the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters. I own Zack along with any OC's you don't recognize.
It was a beautiful sunny spring day and spring break for the preschoolers. This meant they'd unfortunately have to spend the day with Angelica, since her parents had work, leaving her with her uncle Stu and aunt Didi. Of course, while the bulk of the toddlers were use to her presence, Zack, the newest member of the day, was looking forward to her presence least of all. However, his aunt didn't have to be at work quite so early that day, so on the way to Tommy's house, she took her nephew on a trip to the Toy Palace, where he got a new Reptar toy. It was a Reptar doll covered in cloth, and it was electronic too! When you squeezed Reptar's hand, he said five different phrases including, "I am Reptar! Hear me roar!" And his eyes lit up, giving them the appearance of a firey evil red, scaring any intruders, especially if they were to light up a dark room.
Zack smiled and giggled when he found the toy at the store and tested it out, and he had been extra good lately, so aunty Celeste decided to buy it for him. Little did he know just what type of adventure lay in store for him and his toy later on that day. After Celeste paid for the toy, they headed to Tommy and Dil's house, where Zack went every morning, and he was dropped off for the day.
"Now you be a good little boy for Stu and Didi today ok?" Celeste said, kissing the top of Zack's forehead as she set him gently down on the floor of the Pickles' entry hallway.
"No worries Celeste, we'll be fine. We thought with it being such a nice day today, we'd take the kids to the park." Didi said, taking Zack's diaper bag from Celeste.
"Sounds lovely! Well, see you later." Celeste said, as she waved and walked out of the front door.
Once she had piled back into her driverless car and headed out of sight to work, Didi scooped up Zack, who was carrying his new Reptar doll, and put him into the car where Stu, Angelica, and the rest of the gang, which consisted of Tommy, his brother Dil, Chuckie, his sister Kimi, and Phil and Lil were all patiently waiting. Well at first, Angelica wasn't so patient, but Stu reminded her that if she was good, she'd get to have a cookie for dessert after lunch, which got her to be quiet. Once Zack was strapped into his car seat, and Didi saw that the ice chest and everything they'd need for their barbecue and picnic were packed, she got Spike and Spiffi into the car, thinking it might be a good idea for the dogs to get a bit of fresh air as well, and soon, the gang was off to the park.
Once they were at the park, they found a spot to set up the grill and have their picnic, while Angelica went off to play on the swings with her doll Cynthia, and the rest of the toddlers, found a spot in the grass to play. For a little while, they wrestled in the grass with Spike and Spiffi, but a little while later, the dogs smelled Stu cooking on the grill, and were more interested in watching him cook, in hopes he'd drop a hamburger, so they went off to satisfy their hunger. Once the dogs were out of sight, this was a perfect time if any for Zack to show the rest of the gang his new toy.
"Hey Zack, how are you doing today?" Tommy asked, once the toddlers sat down in a circle in the grass and caught their breath from wrestling with the dogs.
"I'm great! And right before I came over, my aunty and I went to the toy store, and I now have the newest Reptar doll!" Zack exclaimed, holding up his new toy and demonstrating it for the other toddlers.
"Oooh!" They all said in unison, as their eyes lit up with fascination at the toy.
"Can we play with it?" Kimi asked.
"Sure Kimi, why don't we all take turns." Zack suggested.
"That's a great idea." Tommy added.
And so, they did just that. Zack's new Reptar toy was passed around the circle, as each toddler had a turn, getting to hear the five phrases and see his eyes light up. Even Dil was careful with the toy, now that he was one-years-old, and had learned to be much nicer to toys, not drooling on them, or sticking them in his mouth, or throwing them across the room anymore. However, while Dil had learned to treat toys with respect, there was one girl who obviously didn't know what the word, respect meant, and sadly, thanks to preschool being on spring break, she would soon be the bane of Reptar, as well as the toddler's existence.
No sooner had the Reptar toy been handed back to its owner, when Angelica walked up behind the toddlers, a look of jealousy on her face. While she wasn't as big of a fan of Reptar as the rest of them, any new toy excited her, especially since last week, after acting up in Miss Weemer's preschool class, her mommy and daddy said she wouldn't be getting anymore toys for a month. So naturally, she just had to play with the newest toy she could get her hands on, and this, was it.
"Nice toy." Angelica said teasingly.
Zack turned around to see that Angelica had walked up behind him, and was eyeing his toy. Not wishing to have Angelica spoil his fun, the one-year-old blond clutched on tight to his toy and stared straight into the eyes of his four-year-old enemy.
"Sorry Angelica, but you can't play with Reptar." Zack said.
"And why not?" Angelica asked.
"Because I don't trust you." Zack said.
"Come on Zachary, I'm sure Angelica will be careful with your toy, she is in preschool and olderer now. At one time, Dil wasn't so nice to our toys, but he's gotted olderer and learndid too!" Kimi said.
Zack quickly turned his attention to Kimi and explained.
"Look Kimi, I understand where you may be coming from, but this Reptar toy is brand new, and something inside of me is telling me to not let Angelica play with it." Zack said.
Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Dil all nodded their heads in agreement. Angelica on the other hand, just scowled, as she took her Cynthia doll out of her pocket and started talking to her.
"So Cynthia, when do you think Zack will come to his senses and give me a turn with his new toy?" Angelica asked her doll.
Zack turned back towards Angelica, looking less than amused.
"When Cynthia answers you out loud." Zack replied, his arms crossed looking at the ground, not bothering to make eye contact with the evil four-year-old blond, as he continued to clutch on to Reptar with all of his might, like it were some life support pendent.
"Fine! Have it your way then." Angelica grumbled, as she stomped off in defeat, her free hand not holding Cynthia balled in a fist of rage.
Once she was out of sight, all of the toddlers breathed a sigh of relief, as they decided to play a game of racing Reptar through the grass of the park, each taking turns to see who could run the furthest with Reptar. In the end, Kimi won, with Tommy coming in second, then Zack, then Lil, then Phil, then Dil, with Chuckie coming in last, but he didn't mind, as their finish line was a huge oak tree, and he'd rather bump into one of his friends standing at the end of the race track, than into the hard trunk of the tree, possibly risking his glasses getting broken. Soon afterwards, it was time for lunch, and Zack didn't want to get his Reptar toy all dirty. Figuring it would be safe by the oak tree, he set it down on the ground, and rushed off to the large white picnic blanket that Stu and Didi had laid out on the ground for them to eat their lunch on. However, unknown to any of the toddlers, there had been somebody spying on them from the opposite side of that oak tree, a little four-year-old girl with blond hair pulled back into pigtails who'd do anything to get her hands on a new toy.
"If Zack won't share his new toy with me because he's just a dumb baby just like the rest of them, then I'll just get that toy myself." Angelica thought to herself, as she rushed over to the picnic blanket to eat her lunch.
Stu had barbecued up an aray of hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs for everybody to have for lunch, while Didi brought along some salads, chips, and pickles for everyone to have with their meal. Once everybody was served, they all sat back, enjoying this beautiful spring day, while eating their lunches. To everyone's surprise, even Angelica ate every last bite on her plate, which consisted of a cheeseburger and some potato chips. In fact, she was the first one to finish, as Zack was still nibbling on his hotdog, and the rest of the toddlers were still picking at the food on their plates, not in a rush to finish their meal, as playing Racing Reptar really worked up an appetite.
"Hey Angelica, I see you finished your cheeseburger and chips, would you like one of your aunt Didi's delicious chocolate-chip cookies for dessert? She baked them especially for you." Stu said.
"No thanks uncle Stu, I'm kind of full. Maybe later." Angelica said, standing up from her spot on the picnic blanket, taking everybody, especially the toddlers by surprise.
They were not only shocked to see that she had finished what she was suppose to be eating for lunch, but seeing her turn down dessert really left them suspicious. However, they were enjoying their lunch so much, that they sort of let the thought go, hoping it was nothing. However, in the back of Zack's mind, something didn't seem quite right, and he was only hoping his gut feeling was wrong.
"Can I go play on the monkey bars aunt Didi?" Angelica asked.
"Sure sweetie just be careful." Didi said, as Angelica ran off towards the monkey bars, which were past the big oak tree where the toddlers were previously playing.
Before Angelica got too far, she quickly turned back, relieved that all of the toddlers had their backs turned, and didn't see where she was heading. Of course, she figured they were too dumb to even remember what lay between them and the monkey bars, so Angelica used this little sneaky attempt, to claim her prize. She quietly approached Zack's Reptar doll on the ground, and picked it up. Once she had the doll, a wicket thought crossed her mind.
"You know what Cynthia? I'm gonna make Zack sorry he didn't share his Reptar toy with me." Angelica cackled quietly to her doll who was in her jumper pocket, so as to not be spotted by the other babies.
Then, she quickly looked around and saw a small man-made pond. The perfect spot to throw that Reptar toy, where it would get wet and ruined to the point that it wouldn't be able to be played with anymore, not to mention, it might possibly sink, making it impossible to find. She quickly looked around, thankful the area was deserted, then, once she saw no kids or adults were in sight, she grabbed Reptar by its tail, hirled it in the air, twirling it around like a baton, and then, she threw it as hard as she could. However, she missed judged her throw, and rather than it landing in the pond, her aim was off, causing it to land at the top of a wooden play structure in the opposite direction, complete with tires, slides, and bridges to walk across.
"Uh oh." Angelica thought to herself, realizing that if she didn't hide fast, she'd get caught, sooner or later.
Not wishing to get caught, she grabbed Cynthia out of her pocket and ran to the opposite side of the playground to a sandbox clear out of view of their picnicking spot.
Back at the picnic, the toddlers had all finished their lunch, so decided to go play with Zack's Reptar toy some more. When they returned to the oak tree though, they were met by an unpleasant surprise.
"Hey! Where did my Reptar doll go? I'm pretty sure this is where I lefted it." Zack said, looking around the big oak tree.
"Uh oh, it's gone!" Chuckie cried.
"But where could it have gone?" Dil asked.
"I don't know." Tommy replied.
"I think I know, somebody took him." Zack concluded.
"Yeah and I think I know who tooked him too." Phil added.
"Nah, Angelica wouldn't have taked him, she's too nice." Kimi said.
"I don't know, she seemed to really want to play with that toy." Lil commented.
"Well in that case, we're gonna have to find Angelica and get her to give Reptar back." Zack said.
Chuckie stared at Zack.
"Uh, Zack, I think we're better off finding Reptar ourselves. I mean, one time, she threw Tommy's ball into the nextest yard and she didn't help us get that back, and then, when she broked his favoritest lamp and made us play trial, she kept twisting our stories trying to get us to look like we broked the lamp, until in the end, she had nowhere to turn but admit she broked that lamp herself." Chuckie explained.
Zack just rolled his eyes at Chuckie's story.
"Good thing I didn't know Angelica back then, I would have made her get our ball back, and as for the lamp thing, how mean! If I had been the judge of that trial, I would have sentenced her to life in time out, tied up in a corner with rope, and no more cookies." Zack said.
"No worries Zack we'll help you find him." Kimi said with a smile.
"Yeah! Chuckie had a great idea." Tommy said.
"Uh, hold on a sec, what great idea was that?" Chuckie asked.
"Finding Reptar! We'll split up and search the whole playground until we find him." Tommy explained.
"Oh me and my big mouth." Chuckie muttered, knowing there'd be no easy way out of this one.
So that's exactly what they did. Dil however, was starting to get tired, being the youngest one of the gang, so since he didn't have a partner to search with, he just crawled back off to the picnic blanket where they once had lunch and took a nap, while Phil and Lil went off in one direction, Zack and Kimi in another, and Tommy and Chuckie in another.
Meanwhile, Angelica was having a blast in the sandbox with a few older kids she had run into at the park, completely forgetting about the evil crime she had committed, hoping she'd get away with it.
Phil and Lil went off towards a deserted area of the playground, that was mostly miles of endless stretches of grass, where people would play Football or Soccer. However, on the way there, they saw a huge mud puddle.
"Hey Phillip, you think Reptar could be hiding in the mud?" Lil asked.
"Good idea Lillian!" Phil replied, as the twins jumped into their most favoritest thing in the whole wide world, a huge, slimy mud puddle.
Of course, this only caused them to completely forget about why they were in the mud puddle in the first place, indulged by their favorite play thing, while Zack and Kimi were in another area of the park, crawling through some bushes.
Not finding Reptar, and feeling lost, Zack slumped down to the ground, a sad expression on his face. Noticing how disappointed he looked, Kimi attempted to cheer her friend up by crawling over to him, and tickling him under the arm.
"Hehaha! Stop that Kimi, that tickles." Zack said between his fits of laughter, as Kimi continued to tickle his arm pit.
"But you're so cute when you laugh." Kimi complimented.
"Oh yeah?" Zack said, as he reached in and started tickling Kimi beneath her arm pits.
This caused her to start laughing, and soon, the two of them were laughing and rolling around in the bushes, having a grand old time, nearly forgetting about their hunt for Reptar. However, there were two toddlers who hadn't forgotten about the search, and the two that would soon be about to save the day.
Tommy and Chuckie had walked past the monkey bars, the swings, and the garbage cans, but no sign of Reptar in any of those places. Tommy had even knocked the garbage cans over just to be sure, and nothing but a bunch of paper dishes, napkins, and old candy wrappers. Then, they approached the little pond.
"Tommy, I hope Angelica didn't throw Reptar into that pond, if she did, he'll be ruined forever." Chuckie cried in panic.
"There's only one way to find out." Tommy said, as he started to splash in the water, hoping to find Zack's toy.
Too nervous to jump into the pond, even though it was fairly shallow, Chuckie stayed on the grass and looked around, when he spotted something very odd at the top of the wooden play structure just a few feet away from the pond.
"Tommy! Over there!" Chuckie exclaimed.
"What is it Chuckie?" Tommy asked, stopping his search in the water and turning his attention towards Chuckie.
"Tommy, I think Reptar might be on top of that toy over there." Chuckie commented, pointing over to the wooden play structure.
Tommy looked in the direction of where Chuckie was pointing, and realized he was right.
"Come on!" Tommy shouted, as he got out of the pond and the two best friends ran over to the play structure.
When they finally got there, they climbed up the ladder, sure they'd reach the Reptar toy. Unfortunately, even once they were to the top of the play structure that was allowed for kids to play on, they saw that Reptar had landed on a piece that wasn't zoned for play time, rather, it was one of the polls holding up a piece of the curvy tunnel slide. Also by this time, Angelica had gotten bored with playing in the sandbox, and was up on the play structure as well. No sooner were they on the play structure, when Chuckie felt something grab his leg.
AAAHHH!" Chuckie screamed.
Angelica came out from her hiding place and cackled evily.
"Oooh! I got Finster good!" Angelica screamed in victory.
"That's not funny Angelica you leave us alone." Tommy protested.
"And while you're at it, you can get Zack's Reptar toy down from where you threw it." Chuckie added.
"You dumb babies think I threw it up there?" Angelica asked in disbelief.
"We know you threw it up there Angelica, now get it back." Chuckie added.
Angelica looked from Tommy and Chuckie to where she threw the Reptar toy and then back to Tommy and Chuckie again.
"Nope, sorry, you're on your own." Angelica said, as she turned and went down the slide before either toddler could utter a response.
"Come on Chuckie, it's up to us to get Reptar back." Tommy said, as he inched his way closer to the poll where Reptar was on top of.
However, he tried to reach up to the top with no luck, as the poll was twice his height, if not more so.
"We can't get it Tommy it's too high." Chuckie said.
"Maybe not. I bet if I stand on your shoulders, I can reach it. Come on Chuckie, give me a boost." Tommy said, as Chuckie walked up where Tommy was, and he climbed on to his shoulders.
Just as he was about to reach the toy, he knocked it with his fingertips, making it nearly impossible to reach.
"Uh oh." Tommy said.
"What happened?" Chuckie asked, just as he started to tremble, causing the two toddlers to fall backwards on to the play structure.
"Well I guess that's it. Reptar's a goner." Chuckie said with disappointment.
"We've gots one more chance. Only this time, I'll need you to stand on top of me." Tommy said.
"Me! Why me?" Chuckie asked.
"Cuz you're biggerer and tallerer, and I bet if we get it just at the right spot, we can rescue Reptar. Are you with me Chuckie?" Tommy asked.
Chuckie looked around in panic. He didn't really appreciated Tommy standing on his shoulders, but at least that time, he got to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground of the play structure. This time, it would be him nearly suspended into mid air, leaving him nearly terrified.
"I can't do it I'm too scared." Chuckie cried.
"Come on Chuckie, Zack's our bestest friend. He's counting on us to get his favoritest toy back." Tommy encouraged.
Chuckie took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
"Ok, but only cuz Zack's our friend." Chuckie said hesitantly.
"That a boy Chuckeroo." Tommy said, as he got into position next to the poll, and helped Chuckie climb on top of him.
Once he was on top of Tommy, all he thought about was reaching for that Reptar toy. He was tall enough and his arm was long enough to reach out to where Reptar's tail was dangling. Chuckie grabbed Reptar's tail and pulled him down just as Tommy started to lose his balance. However, when Tommy lost his balance, he fell forward, causing Chuckie and Reptar to take a trip down the curvy tunnel slide. Tommy soon tumbled down the slide after them, and the two toddlers and Reptar doll landed in the woodchips at the bottom.
"You did great Chuckie!" Tommy said as they walked back towards the picnic spot, hoping to run into their other friends along the way.
"Thanks, but next time, please don't make me stand on your shoulders." Chuckie said, as they got back to the picnic blanket just in time for Dil to wake up.
"Tommy! Chuckie!" Dil cried.
"Did you have a nice nap Dilly?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah!" Dil replied, as he grabbed at the Reptar toy in Chuckie's hand, squeezing its hand, making Reptar say one of his phrases.
Upon hearing this, Phil and Lil rushed out of the mud, while Zack and Kimi rushed out from the bushes where they were playing towards where the Reptar was, relieved to see that Tommy and Chuckie had found it.
"Tommy! Chuckie! You rescued Reptar! Thank you!" Zack cried, as he gave Tommy and Chuckie a hug.
"You're welcome Zack." Tommy said, as Chuckie handed Reptar to Zack.
Just then, Angelica returned, disappointed that Zack got his toy back.
"Well Cynthia, so much for ruining Zack's favoritest toy." Angelica said to herself, not realizing at first that she spoke loud enough to her doll for Zack to hear.
Angered, Zack marched up to Angelica, but not without giving Reptar to Tommy first.
"Make sure nobody takes him again." Zack whispered in Tommy's ear before storming off to have a few choice words with the female blond.
""Angelica Charlotte Pickles, what you did today was very mean. Taking my toy like that. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Now apologize right now!" Zack demanded, glaring at Angelica.
"Nobody, but nobody, calls me by my full name. It's Angelica C Pickles to you sir, and oh yeah, taking your toy was all Cynthia's idea." Angelica lied.
"Tell me the truth, Cynthia didn't come up with that idea and you know it." Zack said.
"Ok ok, so Cynthia didn't come up with that idea, but I still don't gots to apologize." Angelica snapped.
"Apologize for what?" Didi asked, now standing behind Angelica with a basket of cookies in her hand.
Angelica turned around to face her aunt, putting on an innocent smile.
"Uh, nothing aunt Didi. I was just, playing a game." Angelica lied.
Of course, now that Chuckie, Kimi, Phil and Lil were older and able to say a few words, with Chuckie being able to say the most where speaking to the adults were concerned, he decided that Angelica shouldn't get away with nearly wrecking one of his best friends favorite toys, so he spoke up at this point.
"Angelica took Zack's new Reptar toy and threw it on top of the toy play structure on the playground!" Chuckie blerted out.
"Angelica! Is this true?" Didi asked.
"Uh… Uh… Y'y'y'y'yes Aunt Didi, it is." Angelica muttered.
"Well, looks like somebody won't be getting any dessert after all." Didi said, giving everybody chocolate-chip cookies except Angelica.
Heartbroken and disappointed, the four-year-old blond sat down on a corner of the picnic blanket, as tears silently trickled down her cheeks. She felt it was a bit unfair, as she did finish her lunch earlier, but didn't blame her aunt for punishing her for throwing Zack's toy on the playground and playing with it without permission. After the toddlers were finished with their snack, and Stu and Didi were packing everything up to go home, Zack crawled over towards a very disappointed Angelica.
"Well Angelica, I hope you learned your lesson." Zack said.
Angelica just stuck her tongue out at him, not uttering a single word.
Soon, it was time for everybody to head back to the Pickles house, where their parents and Zack's aunt would be arriving shortly to pick everyone up. The toddlers were all exhausted, in particular, Tommy and Chuckie, but where Tommy and Chuckie were concerned, they didn't mind feeling tired, as they had saved the day, and were proud of themselves for rescuing Reptar, and cheering up one of their bestest friends. In fact, Tommy was so happy about it, that memories of that day's adventure continued to play in his head later on that night, as he drifted off to sleep, hince, the events of Nairobi-harper's original story.
The End
Author's Note: Well, I'm not sure if this was the type of story that Nairobi-harper had in mind, if she was ever going to release the story of the events in real time at a later date, but I hope you all enjoyed what I came up with, and there'll be more stories, coming soon! And again, thank you Nairobi-harper for inspiring me!
