Tiger Lover 16: Hi folks... Wow, it's been a while huh? Sorry about that, complications. Hard to explain. I will admit I was a bit lazy writing some of this chapter, but honestly it was a... well, I'll save it for the next notes. All you need to know is we're back, and not counting any tragic accidents landing one of us in the hospital, we'll be updating quicker to finish the rest of this arc. This is a pretty long chapter I should warn you, but it's a fun one. Enjoy. Ok, your turn Watanuki.
Watanuki-Kun: First of all, that hospital accident happened due to a certain neighbor of mine and his stupid cat. Besides tragedies just keep bouncing into my life one at the time. I suppose this is why me and Charlie's Brown luck is horrendous. For all of you who thought we abandon we haven't. It was mostly because of my personal life that made us neglect this amazing story and man do I speak for both of us that this is the best chapter we have ever written. Why? Because it showed that even if we stopped for a long time since then and came back, only to finish this chapter in 2, 3 weeks shows that hard work is worth any penny. So, without further ado, welcome friends, to chapter two of It's Kingdom Hearts, Charlie Brown! Enjoy :D
Disclaimer: We do not own Peanuts, Sonic or any other series anc characters that is mention in this story. It was written for the readers enjoyment only and has no other purpose.
Chapter 2 Tomorrow's the big game, Charlie Brown!
"AUUGH!"
Charlie Brown awoke with a fright, clutching his heart and panting like he had just run a marathon. It was a long time before he had calmed down enough to realize where he was, in his bed, perfectly safe. With a heavy sigh, Charlie Brown collapsed back down onto his pillow, still panting out of fear.
Images replayed in his mind. Glass platforms, monsters made out of shadows, Snoopy talking, that horrible giant creature with it's cold, glowing yellow eyes... and then darkness. Endless darkness.
'Was it all just a dream?' Charlie Brown asked himself. It couldn't have been a dream, it all felt too real... but then, it couldn't have been real. None of the stuff that had just happened to him could actually be possible in real life. He could never in a million years fight back a pack of savage shadow demons with a magic staff, not to mention the fact that such things didn't even exist. He'd been taught very clearly that monsters weren't real growing up...
But good grief, did it feel real. He could still feel the pain of their attacks, still recall the sensation of fighting back. If that was a dream, it was the most realistic dream Charlie Brown had ever had.
For a while Charlie Brown just laid there, trying hard to hold on to every little detail he could of the dream before it all faded from his mind, as dreams quite often do. But to his surprise he forgot nothing, every second of the dream was fresh in his mind. He could recall every little instance, the exact words the unseen voices had said to him. The exact movements of those monsters.
Was it normal to have such a vivid dream? He didn't know. He didn't recall a lot of his dreams.
Charlie Brown's trail of thought was interrupted by a loud buzzing noise repeating over an over, which he soon recognized to be his alarm clock. Setting it to silent and checking the time, Charlie Brown remembered that he had school today.
Though he could not push the dream completely out of his mind, Charlie Brown decided to just ignore it for the time being and get ready for school. He walked over to his closet and pulled out his usual garments, a yellow shirt with a black zigzag pattern and black shorts, which he quickly changed into.
First things first, he would have to wake Sally up. If he didn't get her out of bed soon she'd most likely lie in all day, and being a responsible big brother Charlie Brown had to prevent that.
After exiting his bedroom and knocking the door to Sally's, Charlie Brown entered to find his sister exactly the way he'd imagined, sound asleep. Or at least, that's the impression she was trying to give off.
"Sally, wake up. You're going to be late to school." Charlie Brown told her. One of Sally's eyes half-opened to glance at him briefly before she closed it again, turning over in her bed to face away from her brother.
"Why should I wake up? What's the point with school? We don't need it. We can learn everything by ourselves. I'm even sure I can learn French by this afternoon" Sally said. Charlie Brown rolled his eyes.
'I've heard some pretty silly excuses from her, but this one-' Charlie Brown shook his head and said "First of all, you're already awake anyway. And the point is that school is a good thing, it teaches you good values and supplies you with knowledge that'll help you build a good future for yourself" Sally let out a couple of snoring sounds, causing Charlie Brown to sigh and add "And the law states that you have to go to school or have a home tutor, since mom and dad can't afford the latter it's either go to school or go to juvie"
Sally blinked a few times and grimaced at that thought, getting out of bed and moodily picking out clothes.
"Cheer up Sally, there are some positive things about going to school" Charlie Brown said optimistically.
"Like what?" Sally asked pointedly. Charlie Brown had to think for a moment.
"Well, consider that all of our friends go to school, so it's a good chance to socialize and meet other people. It's through our relationships with our classmates that we develop social bonds, so that we're never all by ourselves" Charlie Brown said, confident he had a good argument. And he had to smile when Sally actually looked like she agreed with him.
"You know what, you're right! If I don't go to school and make friend, I'll end up as lonely and miserable as you. And I can't let that happen! Thanks big brother" Sally said cheerfully, as she began almost enthusiastically getting ready for school. Charlie Brown just stood there staring blankly for a moment before his expression fell and he let out a sad sigh, walking out of the room.
Feeling upset about Sally's unintentionally harsh comment, and still reliving that dream over in his head, Charlie Brown walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Before he could have breakfast he'd have to make one for his pet beagle Snoopy, the creative pooch could get really grumpy if Charlie Brown didn't bring him his breakfast on time.
Grabbing a can of dogfood and a can opener, Charlie Brown filled up Snoopy's food bowl and headed for the back door.
Outside in the Brown's back garden, Snoopy was sneaking about the garden in a stealthy manner. He was wearing his World War I Flying Ace headgear, which consisted of a flying ace hat and a red scarf.
"Here's the World War I Flying Ace, making his way through enemy territory to return to base. My last battle with the Red Baron didn't go so smoothly, I was shot down and crash landed here in no man's land. Curse that Red Baron! Doesn't he know the price of those Sopwich Camel's comes out of my wages! And that's not even mentioning the scolding I'm going to get from my mechanic if we recover the debris, boy that man could use a vacation" Snoopy narrated in his mind, hiding behind random garden objects like a sprinkler and a discarded football, all of which would be too small for a dog of his size to hide behind, but he did a surprisingly good job at ducking down out of sight.
Poking his head out and looking around carefully every few seconds after he hid behind something, Snoopy gradually inched closer and closer to his doghouse, still narrating.
"I must be extra careful. If I'm spotted, the Germans will capture me and lock me away. They'll feed me on that disgusting foreign cuisine that no one in their right mind would want to eat, and they'll torture me with information about our military secrets. Ah, but I shall not tell them what I know. All they're likely to get out of me is my name, rank and serial number, and nothing more!" Snoopy declared. He shook his head and ducked back down under the lawnmower he was now using as cover "But I mustn't worry about that right now, I must remain vigilant, return to base before they can catch me. I-"
The door to the house opened with a loud creek, the sound of which made Snoopy jump ten feet in the air, yelp in fear and run behind his doghouse. Peeking out around the corner of the doghouse, Snoopy saw Charlie Brown approaching with his breakfast bowl in hand. That was what was happening in real life of course, but in Snoopy's mind he saw his owner instead as a German soldier.
"Oh dear, the enemy is on to me. He's coming this way, he'll spot me before long! I can't let myself be captured. I'll wait until he's almost caught up to me, then ambush him. Yes, that's just what I'll do" Snoopy began planning out his assault.
Charlie Brown innocently approached the doghouse, calling "Snoopy, breakfast is ready" Snoopy jumped out from behind his dog house with a fierce yell and pushed the bowl of food straight up into Charlie Brown's face.
"You'll never take me alive!" Snoopy declared before running off to fantasize some more. Charlie Brown was left behind with a face covered in dogfood.
Charlie Brown wiped the mess off his face and let it fall back into the bowl, placing it down by the doghouse and going back inside.
"Why do I even bother?" Charlie Brown said to himself.
After having breakfast and preparing their lunches, Charlie Brown and Sally left for school. Standing by the bus stop a few minutes later, Charlie Brown's thought returned to the weird dream he'd had. He kept trying to ignore it, telling himself that no matter what it was just a dream and it didn't mean anything. But he couldn't. This was not a normal dream he'd experienced, and the thought of it just wouldn't go away.
"What's the matter big brother?" Sally asked, noticing the conflicted expression on Charlie Brown's face. Charlie Brown hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Oh, it's... nothing, Sally. I was just thinking about this dream I had last night" Charlie Brown replied. When she looked at him imploringly Charlie Brown decided to share with her the details of his dream, everything from the pedestals with the weapons to his epic battle with the giant shadow creature. By the time he was done Sally was frowning thoughtfully.
"So basically you dreamt that a bodiless voice was talking to you, and you went about casting spells and beating the heck out of monsters made of shadows?" Sally summarized.
"Yeah. Do you think it means anything?" Charlie Brown asked.
"Of course. It means you're subconsciously trying to picture yourself as a hero because you know you're a loser and could never actually do anything like that in real life, so you're trying to look good in your dreams. I guess it didn't work out so well, considering you lost at the end of it" Sally said, turning to look down the street for the bus. Charlie Brown sighed in exasperation. He'd have to remember to talk to Linus about it later, he'd have some better advice about it.
The bus arrived shortly after and Charlie Brown and Sally hopped on. Charlie Brown noticed Linus sitting on a seat near the back of the bus, as he was preparing to sit down next to him Sally pushed passed and sat by Linus herself, nuzzling up to him.
"Good morning, sweet baboo" Sally greeted Linus affectionately. Linus just blushed in embarrassment and looked angry.
"I'm NOT your sweet baboo!" Linus screamed, trying to shove her off the seat. After failing a few times to get Sally to leave him alone Linus resigned to his fate and clutched his baby blue security blanket to the side of his face. Charlie Brown rolled his eyes at the scene and sat down by himself.
A short bus ride later, the kids arrived at School. While most of the kids filed into the building, Charlie Brown waited by the side of the building. Linus, having just managed to shake Sally off, walked up to greet Charlie Brown.
"Good morning Charlie Brown"
"Good morning Linus" Charlie Brown replied.
"So, you all set for baseball practice this afternoon?" Linus asked. Charlie Brown looked at him funny.
"Baseball?" Charlie Brown said. Linus rose an eyebrow.
"Yes, baseball. Tomorrow's the first game of the season, remember?" Linus sounded worried. Charlie Brown's eyes widened and he facepalmed.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. Yes, I'm ready for that, I just hope everyone else is" Charlie Brown said. Linus nodded absentmindedly, looking at Charlie Brown with much concern.
"Is something wrong Charlie Brown? You've been talking about tomorrows game for weeks now, and you've had us practicing like crazy every day. How you forget?" Linus asked.
"I'm kind of surprised myself. I guess it's because I keep thinking of this weird dream I had last night" Charlie Brown replied thoughtfully. Linus looked curious.
"What sort of dream?"
"Well-"
"Oh, Charlie Brown!"
"Oh no" Charlie Brown sighed. He knew that voice, and he knew what that phrase meant when it was spoken it that voice. Turning around, Charlie Brown saw Linus's sister, the black haired, blue dressed Lucy Van Pelt approaching, carrying a football. It was all Charlie Brown could do to suppress a groan.
"Guess what Charlie Brown, grandma visited us last night and brought gifts. Linus and Rerun's were pretty lame, but look what she got me, a new football. If I hold it down, how would you like to be the first person to kick it?" Lucy asked him in a sickeningly sweet tone, kneeling down and holding the ball against the floor for him to kick it. Charlie Brown rolled his eyes for a moment then glared at Lucy.
"You must think I'm real stupid" Charlie Brown said sternly, earning a surprised look from Lucy.
"Why Charlie Brown, what do you mean?" Lucy asked, pretending to sound taken aback. Linus groaned.
"Oh cut it out Lucy, the whole world knows you're tricks. As soon as Charlie Brown gets ready to kick the ball, you'll pull it away, and then he'll fly through the air and land on his back and hurt himself" Linus explained.
"I know I've fallen for it lots of times, but I'm not stupid enough to fall for it again. No thanks" Charlie Brown added. Lucy looked sad.
"I promise I won't do it again" Lucy said kindly, earning a pointed HA from Charlie Brown "I mean it, this here's a present from my grandmother. Her specific instructions when she gave it to me were to have fun and play fair with it, and that includes letting other people kick it. You don't think I'd go against my grandmother's wishes, do you?"
Charlie Brown looked thoughtful for a moment, which earned some annoyance from Linus.
"Don't fall for it Charlie Brown, she's just trying to trick you?" Linus tried to warn him, but Charlie Brown didn't seem to hear him.
"You know, she had a point. Lucy can be mean, but it would be a pretty mean thing to go back on a promise to your grandmother. You wouldn't do that to me Lucy, would you?" Charlie Brown asked her, Lucy shook her head.
"Of course not" She said nicely.
"Charlie Brown..." Linus said nervously. Charlie Brown scratched his head, then took a few steps back and made a run for the football.
"This time I'll kick that football clear to the moon!" Charlie Brown declared, reaching his target and aiming a kick... only to go flying as Lucy pulled the football away. With a loud "AUUGH!" Charlie Brown flew through the air for a brief moment and landed on his back with a loud thud. Linus winced at the display, while Lucy merely got up, walked over to where Charlie Brown had landed and looked down at him.
"Funny thing, I just remembered that I left the football grandma gave me in my room, this one's my old football. And I'm not bound to any promises with this one. Oh well, better luck next time Charlie Brown" Lucy said plainly, walking away and entering the school building. Linus watched her leave and then looked at his best friend with concern. Charlie Brown closed his eyes and sighed.
"Why am I so gullible?" Charlie Brown asked himself. For a few minutes after he just lied down with his eyes closed, moping over his stupidity. When he finally got over himself and opened his eyes he saw a girl's face looking down at him. Startled, Charlie Brown jumped back, banging his head against the ground in the process. Rubbing his now sore head, Charlie Brown looked at the person standing over him. Brown hair, fairly large nose, green shirt, blue shorts. Yep, that would be Peppermint Patty.
"Hiya Chuck" Peppermint Patty greeted, looking over him with uncertainty "So, what're you doing on the floor?"
"Lucy pulled her football gag on him" Linus told her from the sidelines. Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes and looked back down at Charlie Brown.
"Again?" She asked.
"Again" Charlie Brown repeated with a sigh. Peppermint Patty sighed too.
"I don't know why you keep falling for that Chuck, you should know by now. Then again, I don't know why Lucy keeps doing it to you, you'd think if she were a real friend she'd cut you a break once in a while" Peppermint Patty said. She bent down and grabbed Charlie Brown's hand, hoisting him up onto his feet. Charlie Brown needed a moment to steady himself afterwards.
"Thank you" Charlie Brown sighed in gratitude. He noticed another girl standing besides Peppermint Patty, she had brown hair and was wearing an orange shirt and shorts as well as glasses that completely obscured her eyes. That would be Patty's best friend, Marcie.
"Are you ok Charles?" Marcie inquired.
Charlie Brown rubbed his back before responding "I think I pulled something in my back, but that always happens when Lucy tricks me"
"Are you sure you shouldn't go see the school nurse Charles?"
"Ah, he'll be fine Marcie. Like Chuck says, he's used to it" Peppermint Patty said casually. She did however take a moment to think about it before saying "Though maybe you should take it easy for a while Chuck. Wouldn't want to injure yourself right before our team annihilates you at baseball tomorrow"
Charlie Brown looked at her curiously for a moment before it came back to him. Peppermint Patty was the manager of her own baseball team which rivalled Charlie Brown's. The only major difference being that Charlie Brown's team had never won a game, and Peppermint Patty's were the state champions... that didn't work to undermine his determination though.
"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself Patty, we just might surprise you" Was Charlie Brown's attempt at a bold statement. His efforts earned him a mere shrug from Peppermint Patty.
"Whatever you say Chuck" Peppermint Patty said in a tone bordering sarcasm.
Before either of them could pursue the subject any further the school bell rang to signal first classes.
"I suggest we hurry along before we're late" Linus spoke up. The others nodded and followed him inside.
Their first lesson was English literature. The class had been studying Greek Mythology the last few weeks, today's lesson would be focused on the Greek Gods. Peppermint Patty and Marcie took their seats near the teachers desk while Charlie Brown and Linus sat in the middle row, Charlie Brown being sat right between Linus and Lucy, while another of his friends sat in the seat behind him. The blond haired piano prodigy, Schroeder.
"Hello Charlie Brown, hello Linus" Schroeder greeted when he saw them, and they greeted him back "So, Charlie Brown, what time is baseball practice today?"
"Straight after school, as long as everyone shows up on time" Charlie Brown informed him.
"I see. Is it alright if I leave early, I have the fortune of performing in a piano recital next Monday and I'm trying to get in at least thirty hours of practice before then" Schroeder explained. Charlie Brown gaped at him for a moment before shaking off the shock.
"Um, ok then, I guess that would be ok" Charlie Brown replied, feeling a mix of respect for Schroeder's dedication to music, and worry over how this might affect his performance in tomorrow's game.
"Thanks very much for understanding" Schroeder said appreciatively, pulling out his text books from his desk. Charlie Brown and Linus did the same thing.
The lesson began shortly after. If you could call it a lesson. Charlie Brown's teacher never gave very interesting lessons, apart from occasionally asking questions and scolding kids for not listening, the teacher mostly just droned on and on, in such a dull and monotonous voice that when you were only half paying attention, which usually only took five minutes into the lesson for everyone but Linus and Marcie, the teacher sounded like a muted trombone.
So naturally, it wasn't very long before most of the class stopped paying attention to whatever she was saying. Charlie Brown began doodling the shadow creatures from his dream on his notebook, Lucy leaned back in her desk and began trying to flirt with Schroeder, who furiously resisted her advances, Linus and Marcie were the only ones that weren't falling half asleep.
Speaking of falling asleep, no one was a greater victim of that than Peppermint Patty. Within literal seconds of listening to her teacher talk, the tomboy was beginning to nod off. It wasn't entirely her own fault to be fair, in preparation for the first game of the baseball season she had been putting herself and her team through a rigorous training regime for the past few weeks, and while it was improving her performance at sports it was leaving her regularly exhausted and unable to focus her mind on schoolwork. Well, actually for her that didn't sound too unusual, she never paid much attention at school, but even less so today.
"I just want to sleep," she complained as she closed her eyes, resting her head on the table.
However, her attention was suddenly caught as the teacher mentioned Eros, the god of love.
The god of love. Oh, Patty was a sore loser when it came to love. She never did succeed at telling Chuck her true feelings for him. The way he always knew what to say to make her feel better. The way his determination was never wavered no matter what. All those qualities made her heart pound each time she saw him.
Unfortunately, no matter how many times she tried to drop hints or decided to flirt with him like any other girl would, he never seemed to notice her as a girl. In fact, Chuck notice her only as a good friend. A friend he can count on and share a healthy, friendly rivalry.
It wasn't she didn't enjoy competing against him. It was just annoying how he just didn't get how she was feeling about him. No matter how hard she tried his heart belonged to that little red haired girl he was always swooning over. What was so good about her anyway? Sure, she was pretty, but Chuck had never even talked to her! How could he obsess over a girl he'd never met while ignoring her?
"Hey, Marcie" She whispered "Do you think if I prayed to this Eros guy, he might help me out with my love life. Do you think Chu-uh-I mean, a boy I like will notice me if I asked Eros to do me a favour?"
Marcie stopped writing down notes and rose an eyebrow at her best friend. She knew exactly who Peppermint Patty was referring to, and though she too had feelings for Charles she respected and supported Patty's feelings. However, she couldn't agree with that method.
"I'm not so sure about it, sir" Marcie answered plainly "You shouldn't trust a Greek God to handle these sorts of delicate situations" "Why not? He's the god of love," Patty asked. "If there's someone who can help me with my situation it's that flying kid. I mean. all he's got to do is point an arrow and Chu-um, any boy I like would fall madly in love with me!" Just thinking about it made her face redden with excitement.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sir," The intellectual child advised her daydreaming friend. "Did you know that Eros's mother, Aphrodite, goddesses of love, prevented her son from falling in love with a mortal? Not only that, but she made that poor girl go through unspeakable tasks just to prove she wasn't worthy of her son and-"
"Marcie, you're not helping," Patty rudely interrupted "You know something, Marcie? You take all the fun outta things" she bickered and turned her head away. Marcie looked on and shrugged, returning to her notes.
Meanwhile in the previous grade, Sally's class was having their biweekly report day. The class, Sally remembered, had been asked to write their reports on famous people they admired. So far all the students with A at the start of their surname (Half the class for some weird reason) had given their reports and most of the B's, so it would be Sally's turn next. Now while Sally was normally not very attentive at school, nor did she particularly enjoy anything involving learning, today she was feeling pretty confident in herself.
The teacher called Sally to the front of the room. Sally hopped up with a smile.
"Today I'll finally get an A. After all that work I put my brother through doing research for me, teacher has to give me credit!" She thought to herself, fantasizing over her parents reactions to an A-graded report.
Sally took her report card out of her pocked and walked up to the board next to the teacher. She inhaled deeply one last time before she started her presentation.
"Hello, I'm Sally Brown, and today I'd like to talk about Shirley Temple. Shirley is a child actress, singer and a dancer. She was born on April 28, 1928. Temple began her film career in 1932 at the age of three. In, 1934 she made her first appearance on the big screen in a film designed especially for her called Bright Eyes. She earned the name of a child star and her name became a legend. And while I deeply admire her for being perhaps the first child actress in movies, if I were to be frank, I think that her acting lacked a bit of sentiment in her performances. Therefor I'd like to demonstrated my acting skills to ensure that anybody can be an actor,"
Sally tucked away her report and started to read from a script she had written. Closing her eyes and putting her arm to her forehead in a misguided attempt to look dramatic, she read "Oh, what is that lustrous sheen my eyes beseech me. It's Romeo who's in the north and-"
Before she could continue with her "show" her teacher stopped her and asked why she choose Shirley Temple.
"Why? Because the assignment was on famous people we admire!" Sally explained, annoyed at being interrupted. She looked confused as her teacher began telling her something "You're saying that wasn't the assignment? The report was supposed to be on famous politicians we admire? Shirley Temple is a politician! She's served as the United States' Chief of Protocol!" Sally yelled, frowning. Her expression changed to confusion as the teacher contradicted her "You're saying she doesn't qualify because she's dead, and the report has to be on living politicians? That's not fair! Shirley only passed away about two week ago, bless her soul"
The teacher informed Sally that her report still wouldn't count, which got Sally into a fuss.
"Well if you didn't want me to do a report on Shirley Temple, then why didn't you say so BEFORE I gave it? Why didn't you tell me before I embarrassed myself in front of everyone!" Sally screamed at the teacher. "I demand another attemp! It's not fair that everyone knew and I wasn't properly informed. You talk about politicians, but you don't act very polite teacher"
Sally was sent back to her seat. She would have to go to detention during Lunch time today and for the rest of the week, though she would at least be given another attempt at her report. She sighed.
"Well, I still thought I gave a good report, even if it wasn't right" Sally smiled to herself in silent satisfaction.
The days lessons passed by surprisingly quickly, and before anyone knew it was already a half hour until the end of school. Hardly listening to his teacher droning on any more, Charlie Brown's mind became transfixed on thoughts of baseball. He was just planning out some new strategies when Linus poked him on the shoulder. Charlie Brown looked at him imploringly and Linus pointed at something. Charlie Brown's eyes followed where Linus was pointing, and Charlie Brown groaned.
Snoopy had somehow snuck into class and had taken up the empty seat next to Lucy. He was wearing sunglasses, and Charlie Brown realized he was acting out another one of his fantasy alter egos, college student Joe Cool.
Lucy, who had been scribbling something in his notebook, looked up and noticed Snoopy sitting next to her. Snoopy grinned at her and made a kissing motion. Lucy frowned at him.
"What do you think you're doing here? Didn't you read the sign at the front of the school, no dogs allowed" Lucy whispered. Snoopy didn't seem to be playing close attention. In his mind he thought she was flirting with him.
"Oh ho, this pretty lass is obviously enticed by the handsome, athletic college student Joe Cool. I think I'll give her a quick kiss" "Joe Cool" Thought to himself, then proceeding to smooch Lucy's cheek. She did not take it well.
"AAAUUUGH! Dog lips! I've been kissed by dog lips! Quick, someone pass me the iodine!" Lucy shouted out, attracting the amused attentions of everyone in the room, except strangely the teacher. Joe Cool frowned at her.
"This girl is clearly playing hard to get. Joe Cool likes a challenge, but not a fussy one. I'll look for a girl who's a little more enticed by my coolness" Snoopy commented, getting up on the desk and scouting around the room for a pretty lady. Eventually he found someone he liked and snuck under the desk to stand next to her. He leaned against her desk, looking over his sunglasses at her.
"So, you come here often?" Joe Cool quipped. Charlie Brown watched for a little while as Snoopy began shamelessly flirting. With a worried look he got up and walked over to Snoopy.
"So, did you know I drive a cool car. Joe Cool has the coolest car. What do you say we go for a little romantic drive after school?" Snoopy inquired, winking at the girl. Charlie Brown patted his shoulder to get his attention.
"Snoopy, that's the teacher you're flirting with" Charlie Brown told him urgently. Snoopy looked up in surprise at this revelation and gave the girl a good look over, quickly realizing his owner was right. He put on a nervous grin.
"Uh... say, you're kinda foxy for an older chick. Still wanna go for that ride?"
A moment later, "Joe Cool" Went flying out the window, landing nose first on the sidewalk, glasses falling askew. Snoopy got up and stared blankly into space for a moment.
"Joe Cool thinks that was very uncool"
When the bell finally rang to signal the end of school, Charlie Brown exited the building alongside Linus, Peppermint Patty and Marcie.
"So Chuck, you guys up to anything? Marcie and I were just going to head over to the library to do some reading. I can't read half the books there, but they've got some great comics. Wanna come along?" Peppermint Patty asked.
"Sounds good, but we couldn't go today. Our team's supposed to meet up for baseball practice right now" Charlie Brown explained. Peppermint Patty nodded in understanding.
"Ah, good thinking. You guys need all the practice you can get, and even then you're still not going to beat us. Oh well, maybe some other time" Peppermint Patty said with a casual shrug.
"I'm surprised you're not going off to practice, you're usually so determined to do good at sports" Charlie Brown said curiously.
"It's because she's been running us all ragged every day for the past six weeks practicing, we all voted to have today off so we wouldn't collapse from exhaustion during the game" Marcie explained, clutching her forehead and panting over the mere memory of the intense training Peppermint Patty had put her through.
"Oh. Ok, that makes sense" Charlie Brown decided "So... see you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow Charles" Marcie said with a friendly wave.
"Yeah, tomorrow Chuck. Don't worry too much when you lose" Peppermint Patty called as she and Marcie walked off. Charlie Brown and Linus watched them go and waved after them before heading in the direction of the baseball field.
"She seems very confident in herself" Linus said nervously.
"Well yes, she's Peppermint Patty. But it doesn't matter what she says, we're going to win this time Linus, I know it" Charlie Brown said determinedly.
"That's what you said last time before the big game Charlie Brown" Linus brought up "And the time before that. And the time before that. And the time before that. And the time before that. And three times the time before that. And-"
"I get the point!" Charlie Brown yelled so loudly it sent Linus flipping back a bit. After shaking off the impact, Linus got up and continued following Charlie Brown.
A few moments later, Charlie Brown and Linus arrived at the Baseball field, and were slowly followed by the rest of the team, which included Sally, Snoopy, Lucy, Schroeder, Lucy and Linus's younger brother Rerun, who looked very much identical to Linus but smaller and with slightly different hair, plus the fact he wore overalls, a boy covered from head to toe in dirt and dust, a friend of Charlie Brown's everyone called Pig-Pen. And of course there was Woodstock, a small yellow bird of undetermined species who was Snoopy's best friend. Charlie Brown felt embarrassed having a bird the size of a tennis ball on the team, but no one else would fill his spot, so they were stuck with him.
With all the team members sitting down on the grass in front of the pitchers mound, Charlie Brown stood on top of said mound to address them.
"Ok team, as I'm sure you all know, tomorrow is our first match of the new season. Now this is a pretty big deal. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that our track record these last few years... hasn't been quite so good" Charlie Brown began awkwardly.
"We make bottom of the lists every year, and hardly anyone bothers showing up to most of our games" Lucy loudly interjected.
"Yes, thank you Lucy for pointing that out" Charlie Brown said with an eye roll "My point is, this year we should be looking to turn that around. I've got a strategy that's sure to... yes, Rerun?" Charlie Brown asked, noticing Rerun had his hand raised.
"Why is there a bird on the team?" The youngest Van Pelt sibling pondered. Woodstock glared at him as though he'd said something offensive.
"Because no one else wanted the position" Charlie Brown replied with an eye roll "Now, as I was saying, I've got a strategy that's sure to play to each of our strengths."
"We have strengths?" Pig-Pen said, genuinely surprised.
"Yes, we do" Charlie Brown sighed "For example, Linus and Snoopy are our best hitters, so I'm sending them both up to bat first, hopefully we'll get a momentum going. Snoopy, Woodstock and Lucy will be our outfielders, Schroeder will take his usual position as catcher and... yes, Lucy" Charlie Brown sighed as he noticed her hand up.
"Question. What's so different about this strategy than any of our previous ones?" Lucy asked. Charlie Brown thought about it for a minute and blushed.
"Well, I-I, um... I was getting to that?" Charlie Brown replied awkwardly.
"And why's Lucy still on this team anyway, she's the worst player in the world" Pig-pen supplied, earning him a terrifying glare from Lucy.
"At least I don't smell like a trash can!" She retorted, angering Pig-Pen.
"Hey, I may be dirty but I know I don't smell!" Pig-pen declared defiantly.
"Well, you still need a bath, you filthy kid!" Lucy yelled.
"I take lots of baths, it's not my fault dirt is attracted to me! And even if I could help it I wouldn't, I'm proud of my filth!" Pig-pen said.
"Proud? Ha! Let me tell you something, you-"
"Ok, break it up. Break it up!" Charlie Brown yelled, but Lucy and Pig-pen just kept arguing, mostly because the former just wouldn't let up. Charlie Brown groaned and raised his voice "Guys, break it-"
"I've got a question too. Why am I even on this team?" Sally spoke up "I don't even like baseball, or any sports for that matter. Why should I play for a team focused on something I don't like?"
"I thought you were doing this for me" Charlie Brown sighed. Sally shrugged.
"I am, but I still don't see what's the point. You never want to play any of the games I like, why should I play baseball?" Sally asked. Charlie Brown was about to reply when Schroeder interrupted.
"You know Charlie Brown, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't really think we have a chance here. We all have an abominably low batting average, our outfielders can't catch a thing, and we're going up against the best team in the state. If we were going up against another team that was really bad at the game like us, then maybe we would have a chance, but Peppermint Patty's team? We could practice until we're all blue in the face, and we still wouldn't come anywhere near as good as her. She'd beat us all on her own. Add to the fact that half of us can't get along" Schroeder gestured to the still arguing Lucy and Pigpen, the latter looking exasperated and just wanting to cut it short, but Lucy wouldn't stop yelling at him "Some of us aren't very focused" Schroeder continued, gesturing this time to Sally, who was now trying to cuddle up to an agitated Linus "And two of our teammates are animals" He gestured to Snoopy and Woodstock, who gave him a 'What's your point?' look as Schroeder concluded his speech with "I'm afraid we really just don't have much of a team. And with only one more afternoon to practice, it would take a miracle for us to get any better in time for the game. If you ask me, we might as well drop out now, save us the humiliation of losing. I'm sorry Charlie Brown, but that's just the way it is"
For the longest moment Charlie Brown just stood there in silent, blank faced shock. After Lucy and Pig-pen's argument finally subsided all eyes turned to look at the manager. Eventually Charlie Brown let out a low sigh and put his face in his palm.
Everyone looked on in worry as Charlie Brown just stood there miserably. He thought about what Schroeder said, and hard as he try Charlie Brown just couldn't argue with it.
'What am I going to do? Schroder's right, we are a lousy bunch. But I just can't stop trying, I can't let everyone give up. If we don't try, we're never going to get any better. We could win, I know we could, but only if everyone really put their heart into it. I've seen them all do great before whenever it looked like we were close to victory. But how can I make them believe?' Charlie Brown thought miserably to himself. For a second, images from his dream last night appeared in his head. He remembered fighting back the shadow monsters, the thrill he felt when he came close to defeating the big shadow. Now if only he could apply that sort of courage to motivate his teammates...
A sudden spark of life jolted through Charlie Brown. He didn't know what it was, but suddenly he felt confident. He felt determined, he felt the need to succeed. And an unbridled desire to share that feeling with his friends.
The others noticed the unprecedented change in Charlie Brown's stance, and they all watched on in curiosity as he began talking to them in a much more self-assured tone.
"Ok, look, everyone. I know things have been rough, I know we've screwed up a lot. No one knows that feeling better than me. But if you're all going to think like this, then of course we're going to lose! We are screw ups, but so were a lot of people. Do you remember the War of the Roses? We learned about it in history last year, the war between the Lancaster's and the York's? At first the York's defeated the Lancaster's and ruled England for nearly a decade unopposed, but then Henry Tudor, a distant Lancaster claimant that a lot of people forgot about, set sail from France and defeated Richard the third at Bosworth. Despite looking like they were finished, in the end the Lancaster's won out, and the House of Tudor took the crown. I know a lot of you are probably wondering where I'm going with this, so here's my point: no matter how hard something seems, no matter how many times you fail, if you just keep going with all your heart and never give up, you'll win out in the end"
Charlie Brown walked between each member of his team as he gave this speech. After glancing at everyone in turn he stopped to stand on his pitchers mound and address them all at once.
"That's why I've gone out of my way to keep this team together all these years. Despite what anyone thinks of our performance, I believe we can win. I believe in every last one of you, I know you can do it. I've seen you all do great things, and I don't care if we're bottom of the league, I'm proud to call each and every one of you my teammates. I admit, the odds aren't in our favour, but so what! I'm not going to call it quits just because things look bleak! Tomorrow I'm going to give it everything I've got to win that game! And I just know that you'll all do me proud"
A stunned silence befell the peanuts gang. Everyone looked shocked by what Charlie Brown had said, and also more than a bit honored. None of them had known just how much Charlie Brown believed in them, and having him declare it like that... well, it was kind of heart-warming.
"Charlie Brown, I... I don't know what to say" Linus said. They were sentiments shared by everyone present.
"Don't say anything Linus. None of you say anything. Just give me everything you've got and practice hard" Charlie Brown told him. His words earned him a round of applause and a lot of respectful salutes from his friends as everybody got ready for training. Charlie Brown felt mighty proud of himself, and mighty honored by the applause. He hadn't really expected that reaction, but he was happy with it. He felt really good right now.
Alas, it wouldn't last.
The first thing Charlie Brown wanted to work on was everyone's batting. Snoopy and Linus were, um, relatively good hitters (When Snoopy wasn't dreaming and Linus wasn't tripping on his blanket, that is), but everyone else's batting averages left something to be desired. With Schroeder fulfilling his usual role as catcher, everyone else besides him and Charlie Brown formed a line to bat. Sally went up first. Charlie Brown pitched the ball, and Sally swung the bat to hit it... three seconds after it had been caught by Schroeder. Charlie Brown gave his sister an odd look.
"Sally, you're supposed to swing the bat before it reaches you!" Charlie Brown called.
"I can't help it, this stupid bat is heavy!" Sally complained.
"Heavy? Sally, they're lighter than a chair, and you can lift those up pretty fine" Charlie Brown pointed out.
"Yeah, but I don't go swinging around chairs, do I? Swinging this bat is hard" Sally insisted. Charlie Brown rolled his eyes.
"Just swing it a bit quicker this time" Charlie Brown instructed his sister. Schroeder threw the ball back to Charlie Brown, who missed and had to run after the ball to get it back. He pitched the second ball, but this time Sally swung it too soon, and missed again. Charlie Brown sighed before preparing the third throw. This time Sally missed because she was too slow again.
Charlie Brown groaned and shook his head. If this had been a real game Sally would have been out by now. But no matter. Yeah, it wasn't a problem, Charlie Brown told himself. He would just keep pitching to her until Sally made a hit. Couldn't take too long, right?
Wrong.
Charlie Brown pitched the ball to Sally twenty more times, but each time she missed spectacularly. Either she would swing the bat too soon, or she would wait until right after the catcher caught it. Either way, her failures took up a lot of time, and the rest of the team were starting to get bored and agitated. Just when Charlie Brown was starting to consider sending Sally to the bench, he pitched a ball and Sally swung at just the right time, landing a hit. The ball only went about half a foot from the impact, but it was still enough to get Sally really excited.
"Ha ha, yes! Did everybody see that!? I hit it! I'm the greatest player ever!" Sally boasted loudly. No one bothered to correct her, they were all just glad she'd made a hit.
As Sally went to the back of the line, Rerun went up to bat. Charlie Brown pitched the first ball, Rerun swung and missed his first attempt. The youngest Van Pelt sibling looked discouraged, even more so when he missed the second pitch.
"Try gritting your teeth Rerun, I hear that helps!" Charlie Brown called to him. Rerun followed his orders, gritting his teeth in such a manner that all of his teeth were visible. He actually looked kind of silly doing it. But hey, it yielded results. The third time he swung the bat, he actually hit the ball, and it went right out of the field.
"Nicely done Rerun" Charlie Brown complimented his youngest player. Rerun skipped happily back into the line, the rest of the team giving him a high five as he passed. Charlie Brown went to recover the ball, and when he got back he found Lucy up to bat.
Charlie Brown held up a sigh. Considering Lucy's track record, she could take as much time as Sally to score a hit. But Charlie Brown couldn't deny Lucy her turn, she needed the practice more than anyone.
"Ready Lucy?!" Charlie Brown called. Lucy gripped the bat tightly and put on a fierce scowl.
"Ready!" Lucy called back. Charlie Brown pitched the ball. An instant miss. Charlie Brown sighed, Schroeder tossed the ball back and they tried again. Lucy gripped the bat tighter and took another swing. She missed the second ball too. Gripping the bat as tight as she could, Lucy watched closely as Charlie Brown prepared to pitch to her for the third time. She swung hard, and while it missed and interesting things happened. Her grip on the bat became so hard that the top half of the bat actually tore off mid-swing and went flying, hitting Charlie Brown in the dead center of the head.
The rest of the team looked on at this scene in horror as Charlie Brown landed on his back with a thud. Linus, Pig-Pen and Lucy ran over to check on their fallen manager.
"Is he alright?" Lucy asked. Linus kneeled down and looked his friend over.
After checking Charlie Brown's pulse Linus deemed "He'll live, but he's unconscious"
"We can't continue practice without him, how do we wake him up?" Pig-Pen wondered.
"Anyone got any smelling salts?" Linus asked.
"We could always use Pig-Pen's shoe" Lucy suggested. Charlie Brown suddenly shot up.
"I'm awake!" He declared. Then straight after he fell down, clutching his head dizzily.
"Ugh, what happened?" Charlie Brown asked weakly.
"Lucy struck you in the face with the top half of a bat" Linus explained. Charlie Brown looked wearily at Lucy, who shrugged nonchalantly.
"It was an accident" Said Lucy, who never admitted being to blame for anything. Charlie Brown sighed.
"Do we have any spare bats?" Charlie Brown asked after seeing the broken remains of the bat Lucy had unintentionally hit him with.
"A few" Linus responded. Charlie Brown nodded.
"Ok then, let's move on. But Lucy, go to the bench, please..."
After about fifteen minutes everyone had had at least one go at batting, and Charlie Brown decided to send Snoopy and Woodstock out into the field to play as outfielders while Pig-pen, Lucy and Sally stood at first, second and third base, leaving fourth base empty while everyone else was batting.
While Woodstock eagerly awaited his chance to catch a ball, Snoopy was having a hard time staying awake by now. His many imaginary adventures throughout the day were starting to take their toll on him and the beagle was feeling very tired. When Charlie Brown pitched the next ball and Linus sent it flying his way, Snoopy finally gave in and nodded off, allowing the ball to land behind him and roll away. Charlie Brown saw this and groaned.
"Snoopy, wake up!" Charlie Brown yelled. Snoopy blinked a few times and yawned. Looking around he saw the ball lying a few feet behind him. He picked it up and threw it lazily in Charlie Brown's direction, the ball just barely getting anywhere near the pitchers mound. Charlie Brown sighed and got down to pick it up.
"Concentrate Snoopy and stay awake. We're never going to win if you keep taking naps" Charlie Brown told his dog sternly. Snoopy responded with a tired nod and another yawn. Charlie Brown sighed again.
Charlie Brown got back on the pitchers mound and pitched another ball. Once again it went flying in the direction of Snoopy and Woodstock. As the ball started to descend Snoopy yawned and fell asleep again. Luckily the ball wasn't heading for him, it was falling closer to Woodstock. The little bird positioned himself to where it looked like the ball would land and held up the baseball glove that was nearly three times his own size. But rather than being caught in the glove, the ball landed directly on top of Woodstock, squashing him flat. Charlie Brown watched on in exasperation.
"I'm the only manager in the world who has to deal with these sorts of things" Charlie Brown said to himself.
With Woodstock on the bench due to injury, Lucy took his position as outfielder, which was usually her position anyway. Rerun meanwhile was the next up to bat. Charlie Brown pitched the ball, Rerun swung the bat but missed on the first attempt. With a slight frown, Rerun prepared himself again as Schroeder tossed the baseball back to Charlie Brown and he prepared for the second pitch. Rerun gripped the bat and watched carefully as Charlie Brown tossed him a fast ball. There was a resonating thud as the ball made contact with the bat. Rerun jumped for joy as the ball flew over into the field.
Charlie Brown watched the trajectory of the ball and called out "It's coming your way Lucy, get ready!"
Lucy stood around with her head held back, looking right at the ball as it fell. The ball landed directly in front of her, just missing her outstretched hand. Charlie Brown looked on for a minute before letting out a frustrated "Auugh!" and storming over to Lucy.
"Lucy, that ball was flying right at you. I told you to get ready, why didn't you?!" Charlie Brown asked. Lucy stared blankly at him for a moment before giving him her reply.
"You didn't say please"
Charlie Brown looked at her and facepalmed, moping as he returned to the baseball mound. It was at that point that Schroeder suddenly walked up to him, having abandoned his catchers uniform while Charlie Brown was talking to Lucy.
Looking him over with some confusion Charlie Brown asked "Why are you out of uniform?"
"Don't you remember Charlie Brown, this morning in class you told me I could leave early for piano practice" Schroeder told him. Charlie Brown blinked as he remembered.
"Oh, right. So, you're going now then?"
"Yep. See you at the game tomorrow Charlie Brown. Hope you get everyone here in shape before then" Schroeder said as he walked away, leaving Charlie Brown semi dejected. He supposed it wouldn't be too much of a problem with Schroeder leaving, he was a pretty good catcher and hardly needed practice with that aspect of baseball. But if they were going up against Peppermint Patty's team everyone needed to work on their batting, and he wasn't sure Schroeder was up to speed on that. Plus, his leaving left them without a good catcher. Would that be a problem? He hoped not.
Snapping out of it, Charlie Brown turned to see the next person up to bat. Woodstock. The little guy seemed to have recovered fast and was now standing in place to bat. Seeing the baseball bat in front of him, Woodstock grabbed hold of the handle and began tugging with all his strength. Naturally, his best efforts to lift the bat resulted in nothing but a lot of struggling. Charlie Brown could hardly watch the display, it was just so sad and pathetic.
'What baseball team has a three inch bird as a member anyway. My team' Charlie Brown thought bitterly. He looked back at Woodstock, and noticed that the bird had actually managed to get the bat off the ground, but was now swinging around wildly with it, unable to control the bat. Eventually it came to a stop, and Woodstock panted heavily. After catching his breath again, Woodstock held the bat tightly and tweeted at Charlie Brown, apparently telling him to pitch. Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow. He didn't think it was such a good idea, but he went ahead anyway. As Charlie Brown tossed the ball, Woodstock channeled all his strength, and through some miracle actually hit the ball. It only went rolling a few feet, but that was still something.
Woodstock jumped up and cheered for his success, dropping the bat and running towards first base. Rerun, taking over as the new catcher, picked up the ball and threw it at the first baseman, Pig-Pen, who caught it just before Woodstock reached the base. Blinking up at the ball in Pig-Pen's hand, Woodstock looked at the floor and sighed, walking back to the bench. Charlie Brown sighed with him. This practise session could be going better.
Things didn't pick up very well. Charlie Brown called everyone else up to bat. Lucy was the worst by far, but Pig-Pen and Sally were both pretty bad at hitting the ball as well. And Snoopy... well, he just kept falling asleep. Charlie Brown put Snoopy on the bench and had Pig-Pen replace him as an outfielder.
And that's where everything sort of came to a boil. After Linus came up to bat and actually managed to make a few hits, Lucy and Woodstock failed to catch any of them. After five tries, during which Woodstock was squashed twice but still trudged on, Pig-pen decided to make a catch. It took a lot of running and a jump, but he managed to catch it... and then when he landed a huge cloud of dust blew up that covered the field.
There was a lot of coughing and spluttering as everyone ran outside of the giant dust cloud, which had obscured the entire baseball field. Charlie Brown counted his teammates and noted that everyone was there, with a sigh of relief. This was not shared by his teammates, who all looked back at the dust cloud and groaned at Pig-Pen.
"Nice going Pig-Pen, now we've got no field to practice in" Sally complained. Pig-pen looked nervously at his shoes.
"I'm sorry, these things happen" Pig-pen said meekly.
Charlie Brown looked over the damage and asked "How long do you think it'll be until this dust settles?"
Pig-pen gave the cloud a good look over and hummed thoughtfully.
"Judging by the size of the cloud... I'd say forty-five minutes"
"Forty-five minutes!" Everyone gasped unanimously.
"We can't wait that long! I'm supposed to be home by seven!" Rerun said fretfully. Everyone looked at Charlie Brown to make their decision for them. The team managed took one last long look at the dust cloud and heaved a heavy sigh of defeat.
"I guess we're just going to have to call it a day" He said sadly. There was a round of muttering before everyone just decided to get over it and bid each other farewell. As everyone else went home, Charlie Brown and Linus were the only ones to stay behind. Charlie Brown stood sadly in place for ten whole minutes without saying anything. Then he sighed and walked off, followed by his best friend.
A short while later, Charlie Brown and Linus arrived by a brick wall. This was the usual meeting place among Charlie Brown's friends, and no one used it more than Charlie Brown and Linus.
With a heavy sigh, Charlie Brown rested his head against the wall as Linus stood besides him, holding up his security blanket and trying to sound comforting.
"Well, look on the bright side Charlie Brown, that still went a lot better than our typical practice sessions" Linus said positively. Charlie Brown raised his head slightly before plopping it down again.
"I suppose" Charlie Brown mumbled. Linus fiddled with his blanket as he tried to think of something else to say.
"And that was still an inspiring speech you gave us" Linus seemed to get a good reaction from that one.
"It was pretty good, wasn't it?" Charlie Brown replied with a half-smile. He stood there silently for a moment pondering it over "I meant every word of it you know, in spite of everything I really think we can pull off a victory. I just wish everyone else would believe that, then maybe things would go smoothly"
"It's hard to feel confident after a long career of failure. But hey, you never know, luck might just shine on us tomorrow" Linus said with a shrug. Charlie Brown thought about it for a moment and nodded. A long moment of calm silence followed until Linus asked "So, where'd that speech come from anyway? I can't remember the last time I heard you sounding so sure of yourself"
Charlie Brown suddenly remembered his dream, and how he had been meaning to tell Linus about it all day. Well, now was as good a chance as ever.
"You remember what I told you about that dream I had earlier?" Charlie Brown asked. Linus thought hard for a moment and eventually nodded in confirmation, prompting Charlie Brown to continue "Well..."
And thus Charlie Brown explained his dream to Linus in great details. From his falling through nothingness up to the big showdown with the giant shadow where his weapon had mysteriously vanished right as he was about to win out, Charlie Brown told Linus everything. The blanket carrier looked at Charlie Brown with an intrigued expression all the way through.
"Well, that sounds like some dream you had Charlie Brown" Linus said. Charlie Brown shook his head.
"I'm not so sure it was a dream Linus, that's the thing. Everything about it seemed so real. Bizarre, but real. I could actually feel the pain, the sensation of drowning, the ray of light shining on me, I even felt exhausted after climbing all those stairs. Those aren't the sorts of things you feel when dreaming. And even if it was a dream, it's not like any dream I've ever had. My mind was completely on baseball when I went to bed, so where could all that possibly have come from?" Charlie Brown asked imploringly. He was counting on Linus to give him an answer. He was counting on his wise and smart best friend to know exactly what it all meant, and to give him some fool-proof advice that would make it all feel better.
But no. Linus seemed just as stumped about the meaning of it all as Charlie Brown, if not more so. For a minute at least, then he came up with something.
"Well, I can't really answer all of that Charlie Brown. I don't know what it means. But I do have one suggestion: Deep down, you're very worried about tomorrow, and a lot of other things. Dreams come from our thoughts, and considering all the failure and grief you've had to endure in your short life, there's bound to be a pretty negative build up in the subconscious part of your mind. My best guess was that the shadows in your dream were a representation of all of your fears and insecurities. And you actually managing to fight them off for a time was connected to your eternal hope and desire to achieve success, and as in real life, just when it looked like you were going to achieve that, it all went wrong and you nearly died. My guess, Charlie Brown, is that your dream represented all of the harsh tribulations of your life" Linus explained.
"But how does that explain the meteor shower, the voices talking to me, you, Sally and Schroeder asking me questions and Snoopy actually talking!? And everything else that happened?" Charlie Brown asked desperately. Linus shrugged meekly.
"I'm not a psychiatrist Charlie Brown, that's Lucy's department. I'm just giving you an educated guess, I really couldn't tell you any more than that" Linus said earnestly. Charlie Brown stared blankly at him for a moment and sighed, folding his arms and looking down in a somewhat disappointed manner.
"I guess that all sounds right, but... but for some reason I don't believe you. I don't know why, but something inside me is telling me there was a greater meaning to that dream, that it's a sign. I just wish I knew what of"
"I'll tell you" Came a voice from behind, and Charlie Brown and Linus turned around to see Lucy standing behind them with a superior look "It's a sign that Charlie Brown is an eternal loser, and even in his dreams he can't turn that around. Lovely speech you gave earlier Charlie Brown, but let's face it, you're never going to change. You'll always be wishy washy"
To that, Charlie Brown could do nothing more than sigh and walk away. Linus gave his sister a stern look and followed his friend off. Charlie Brown thought to himself some more. Was that it then? Was it just his mind telling him he was never going to win? No, Charlie Brown didn't believe that either. So what if he was a loser, he hadn't been so wishy washy in his dream, and he wasn't going to be wishy washy at the big game tomorrow. He'd walk up to the pitchers mound and strike all of Peppermint Patty's team out, he'd prove to everyone that he could be a hero!
As Charlie Brown and Linus wandered off, Lucy was left on her own at the wall. Despite common belief she did care about Charlie Brown, in spite of everything she said about him he was a true friend to him. So despite her wonderful ability to act like she enjoyed being a jerk, she actually felt a bit guilty about being so harsh on him just now. But that was at the back of her mind right now, replaced by a different thought relating to everything she had overheard Charlie Brown say while she was eavesdropping.
"I just don't get it. How could Charlie Brown have had the exact same dream as me?"
Far, far away from the town of Pinetree Corners, there was a blue planet called Mobius. A world inhabited by many races of anthropomorphic animals outnumbering it's human population. Our next scene takes place here, in a pleasant little valley called Green Hill Zone. The land took it's name from it's luscious green fields and hills. An interesting feature of Green Hill Zone was that it's hills sported checkered patterns, for which it was quite famous.
Green Hill Zone was also famous for another reason. It was here that the worlds greatest hero resided. Though normally a drifter, Sonic the Hedgehog was known to have a house here, and several of his friends tended to live in Green Hill Zone as well, when they weren't out saving the world that is.
One of these friends included a pink hedgehog girl. Wearing her trademark red dress with white trimmings, red boots and white gloves, the green eyed Amy Rose was a cute and pleasant individual. Though she possessed a wicked temper and was dangerous when provoked, there was no denying that Amy was still a very kind and friendly young woman most of the time.
Now Amy you see was not just a normal friend, she was devotedly in love with him. Though Sonic was shy and resistant to her advances, it was hard to argue that he did not also harbour a soft spot for the girl. That said, Sonic had for years gone to great lengths to spurn her request for a date. The one time he had reluctantly agreed to it he never showed up, supposedly because he had been sucked into a book about Arthurian Legends. She hadn't believed him, and his failed attempts to calm her down afterwards resulted in... well, they don't like to talk about it.
Their relationship had been a bit unsteady for a while afterwards, before it returned to the routine of Amy practically stalking Sonic and Sonic constantly running away from her. Today however, things might turn out differently.
After months and months and months of begging and sweet talking and threatening Sonic with her enormous Piko Piko hammer, Amy had finally convinced him to go on another date with her. Well... sort of. It was just a walk around Green Hill Zone. Maybe a run around together. She'd recommended it because it sounded like the sort of thing Sonic couldn't refuse. And good God, it worked!
Right now Amy was blissfully skipping down the path to Sonic's house. On her way she noticed a big, fat purple cat wandering around looking for something. Amy recognized this as her friend Big the Cat, and no doubt he was looking for his pet frog Froggy. Big was always losing Froggy, sometimes he'd spend all day searching for his buddy. Amy would have liked to help him, and normally she would have, but she knew if she went over and offered her help she'd be at the frog hunt all day, and she wasn't about to miss her one chance for a date with the love of her life. So she made sure not to be spotted by Big as she passed by, making a mental note to keep an eye out for Froggy later.
A few minutes later Amy found herself on the path leading directly to Sonic's house. Humming a happy tune, Amy skipped up to the front door, closed her eyes and tapped hard on the door. Waiting around for a few second, Amy opened her eyes, expecting to see Sonic standing in the doorway ready for their date. Instead she was greeted by the site of the unopened door.
"Huh?" Amy was visibly confused for a moment. Knocking a little harder this time, Amy called "Oh Soooonic, it's Amy here! Time for our date! Sonic?!"
After a whole minute of waiting Amy started to get nervous. She knocked again, this time really, REALLY loudly, so hard that she actually caused the door to break off from one of it's hinges. Looking awkwardly at her handiwork, Amy glanced into the house to find it empty. Her eyes widened in surprise before her face fell.
"Oh come on, don't tell me he forgot again?" Amy sighed. She turned her gaze downwards in sadness, noticing for the first time an envelope pinned to the door. Raising an eyebrow, Amy unpinned the envelope and realized her name was written on the front. Opening it up, Amy found a letter written in Sonic's handwriting. Initially expecting it to be an excuse for why Sonic wasn't here for her date, a read through the letter quickly proved her wrong.
Amy blinked a few times. Not quite understanding it on the first read through, Amy read the letter again to better understand it. Still not quite sure if she could believe it, Amy read the letter again, and again, and then a fifth time. It was only on the sixth read through that the meaning set in. Shock filled her face, and then letter fell from her hand. Looking up towards the sky in worry, Amy snatched the letter back up from the ground in worry and ran off the way she had come from. She thought about where she had seen Big, she would have to find him. She had to find him, and Tails, and Knuckles, and Shadow, and Rouge, and, and, and everyone! This is an emergency!
Tiger Lover 16: Ok, and that's a rap. For now. Phew. Now, as I was saying earlier, this chapter was a tough one to write. Considering I didn't hear back from Watanuki-Kun here after Christmas, so we didn't really get much writing done until the start of this month. The main point of this chapter was to introduce all the characters that'll be involved from the Peanuts series. Some of them will be main characters, others will just be minor ones, but they'll all play a role somewhere down the road. I honestly think the characterisation here was a mixed bag, I'm kind of worried we didn't get Peppermint Patty quite right. We'll show a bit more of her tomboyish side next chapter. Most of this chapter I'm happy with though, but the baseball scenes... oh man, were those a pain. This chapter would have been published much sooner if they didn't cause me so much trouble to write, and I still feel that they're rushed and incomplete... oh well, hopefully next chapter will turn out better. It's a fun read I think, hopefully you all enjoyed it.
Watanuki-Kun: Tiger, let's agree we never do after the next chapter school scenes and baseball scenes ever again. Now you must be wondering when is the next chapter will be? Well first, let us rest a little while and then we'll be back even better then before. I do like how this chapter showed Charlie Brown finally steps out from that miserable behavior of his he believes that this is his life and he cannot escape it. I love that speak he gave, and Tiger, What is the War of Roses again? Nevermind I'll goggle it later :p So We'll see you all next time and until then, be safe and don't give up!
