Chapter: 2

Word Count: 509

A/N: Sorry it's so short, but this chapter needed to happen in order for the rest of the story to be right.

Previously: Freddie screamed and lunged to hit the off button, landing with a thud on the edge of the bed with Sam, and missing the button by mere inches.

Carly watched, in shock and awe, too stunned to move for the off button, as a whirl of light flashed in the space between Freddie's project and herself. An array of neon colors flashed before the machine finally wore itself out, the ultimate result a cloud of smoke.

Coughing, Carly waited for Sam and Freddie to emerge from the smoke, expecting them every minute, second, millisecond.

After almost ten minutes of waiting, Carly began to get worried. What if the machine smoked them out too? She thought. What would I do then? How would I explain to Spencer? The police? They wouldn't believe me if I told them that Freddie's cloning device, his science project, did it, would they?

After another five minutes, Carly decided she had two choices. One was to get help: either Spencer or the police. The other was to go in and look for them. That was the most dangerous, yet most efficient way of looking for her best friends, she decided.

Although she knew that she would jump off a cliff after Sam and Freddie, and that they'd do the same for her, she chose to interrupt Spencer's latest art project with the news that her friends were there one minute, and absorbed into a cloud of smoke the next.

She ran down the stairs to find her older brother sculpting a sock from cake. Curiously, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Sculpting a sock out of cake," was Spencer's cheeky answer.

"Don't you sass me."

"Why not?"

Ignoring this, Carly inquired, "Why are you sculpting a sock out of cake?"

"It's Socko's birthday tomorrow!"

"Okay then. Well, Spencer. I need your help."

"What's up, little sis?"

"SAM AND FREDDIE ARE MISSING!"

"Alright, wait. Hold on here. What happened?"

"Well, Sam and her meatloaf, and she sat on Freddie's cloning project, and then Freddie landed on the side with her, and then it went all smoky and they haven't come out for like fifteen minutes now!"

"Okay. Show me where they are."

Carly led her clueless older brother into the iCarly studio, where her friends disappeared.

"They're in here."

Spencer pointed to the still-smoking device. "Over there?"

"Yep."

"Well then, good luck with that." He turned to leave for the door.

"Spencer," Carly spoke as she caught a firm grip on his arm, "I need you to help them."

"Fair enough."

Carly chewed on her fingernails while Spencer dramatically dove into the pit of smoke. A few minutes passed, and Carly was beginning to get worried. Suddenly, her older sibling called, "Carly, come in here! It's safe!"

Trusting Spencer's words, Carly dove into the smoke, only to be stunned again by the appearance of her friends' unconscious bodies.