Woo! Got a new Word Document uploaded- with spell-check and everything! Time to celebrate… with a new episode! :D
d~b
*Episode 8*
Return of the Go-Cart!
(Or, Deja-Vu Danger)
It was a-
"AAAUUUGH! OH, LORD IN HEAVEN, WHY?!"
…never mind.
Pugsy walked into the living room, upon hearing Shaggy's shouting, seeing the lanky young man was startled, pale, and weeping openly. "Why me? Just… why?! WHY?!" the coward was sobbing.
"Uh… what's with the self-pity, Shag?" Pugsy asked. "Someone eat the last piece of pizza before you could?"
"No… worse! I just got a call from my old friend, Vincent Van Ghoul. He's going to a warlock convention and will be gone the whole week… and he's having Flim-Flam come stay with us until he gets back!"
Pugsy arched an eyebrow. "Why doesn't Flim-Flam go with him?"
Shaggy sighed. "Because the LAST time he went with, he accidentally mistook an evil witch for a girlfriend of Vincent's, and got the warlock placed under a spell… it's a long story."
"Okay, why can't he just stay home then? He's 15, he's old enough to handle himself,"
Shaggy gave Pugsy a deadpanned look. "You never met Flim-Flam, have you?"
Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Alright, I take it he's a handful. But you guys are good friends! There shouldn't be much trouble if he comes to stay for a week,"
Shaggy sighed. "That's not the problem… You see, Flim-Flam is turning 16 tomorrow, and is going to be taking his driver's exam Saturday!"
Pugsy's eyes widened a bit. "Flim-Flam's going to be on the road? Huh, boy, looks like I'll be playing the Pedestrian card for a while…"
"But that's not the worst part!"
"What's the worst part?"
Shaggy winced, then broke down once more. "I have to teach him to drive!"
d~b
Shaggy wasn't the only one who had a problem to face that week.
Flip Chan was walking home from school, passing an auto-garage.
*Clang!*
"Ow! Darn it!" came a curse, and he looked in, seeing Derek was working on what appeared to be a small car.
"Geez, Generic, don't you know how to handle tools?" said Phillip, a boy who was helping him.
"Shut up, Phil! Just hand me that piston!"
"Whoa, what are you building?" Flip asked, curiously.
"A go-cart, you dipstick! Now beat it!" Derek sneered.
At the mention of the word 'go-cart' Flip flinched a little, suddenly thinking back to a time in Season 1… but shook his head to repress such a memory. "Uh, neat. I built a go-cart once,"
"Really? You still got it?" Phillip asked.
"No… um, I decided to get rid of it,"
"Ha! Probably didn't make it right," Derek scoffed. "I doubt it was very fast,"
"Hey, nothing was wrong with it, and it was pretty fast!"
"Oh yeah? I doubt it! I doubt you ever built one!"
"Of course I did! And it could outrace your car any day!"
"Is that so? How about a bet then- Saturday, we race our go-carts. First one down the hill on Mulberry Lane is the winner, and the loser has to fork over 25 bucks!"
"You're on!"
"C'mon, Derek, you're going to need to finish the car if you want to win- don't expect me to do all the work!" Phillip scoffed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Derek sneered, then turned to Flip. "Saturday. Noon. Be there,"
"I will." Flip said with a scowl, then walked off down the block…
Freezing dead in his tracks when he thought about the bet he just made!
"What have I done?"
d~b
"Well, I'm off to pick up Flim-Flam," Shaggy said with a heavy sigh, ten minutes later. "Have the paramedics standing by."
"Sure thing, Shag." Pugsy replied, sarcastically. "Seriously, stop getting worked up about it. Just take him out to a dirt road, show him the basics, and testify his potension,"
"Yeah, but first I'll be testing my car's breaks, air-bag, and seat-belts."
"Ah, relax. It won't be so bad,"
Shaggy gave him a look. "Yeah? Like, why don't you come along and help?"
"Because I'm a busy guy," Pugsy picked up a newspaper, lying back on the couch and reading.
Shaggy rolled his eyes. "Sure you are. I'm outta here- see ya at the morgue," with that, he walked out.
Pugsy made himself comfortable. It was a quiet week so far- Zippy was helping out at an animal shelter, Shawn and Uncle Ted went bowling, Robotnik was down in the basement working on the water-heater (or, so he said- he seemed to be working on the water heater a lot, apparently), and Flip planned on hanging out with Holly that afternoon, meaning he had the apartment to himself.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," he said to himself.
*BAM!* The door flung open, and Flip ran in.
"PUGS! You gotta help me!" The pre-teen shouted.
"Uaah!" Pugsy yelped, jolting so much he rolled off the couch. "Flip! What the jumping ignorpotamses…?! What's the problem?"
Flip took in a deep breath. "I was walking home from school and I saw Derek and Phillip working on a car and I told them how I had built one before but Derek didn't believe me and told me I would suck at it but I told him he was wrong and that I could outrace him and we made a bet and now I really need your help because I don't have 25 dollars to fork over if I lose!" he then stopped, panting as he was out of breath.
Pugsy blinked. "Flip, how many times have I told you never make bets you can't hold up?"
"Since that time Shaggy beat you in a game of Black Jack, and you had to do all the cooking for a week. …But I totally forgot, because he kept saying I couldn't do it!"
Pugsy sighed. "Alright, alright… What exactly do you need help with, that's SO important it would drive you to make a bet?"
"I need help building a go-cart,"
Pugsy developed a stunned expression, his pupils shrunk, and he stared off into space.
"Um… Pugs? Did you hear me?"
Pugsy said nothing, still having a shocked expression…
(War-like flashbacks appeared in a faded-over fashion, of the last time the term 'go-cart' was brought up- all the times involving him getting run over, swerving around traffic, going over cliffs, and screaming bloody murder.)
"Pugsy!" Flip exclaimed, shaking him.
Pugsy blinked several times, snapping out of his reverie. "Huh?! What? …What did you say?" he stammered.
"I asked if you could help me build a go-cart, again."
"I was afraid of that…" Pugsy took in a deep breath. "Flip… do you remember the LAST time we built a go-cart?"
"Yeah, I noticed the flashbacks. …But this is different! Derek kept picking on me, and I want to put him in his place!"
"Flip, there's always a time in life when you have to call something off, and walk away in a mature and dignified manner."
Flip got on his hands and knees. "PLEEEAAASE help me! I'm too young to lose my dignity! Please please please please please ohh pleeeeaaaaase!"
Pugsy gave a deadpanned look towards the audience. "I take it back- this kid already butchered whatever dignity he had left." He walked out onto the balcony. "I'm sorry, Flip, but this is something you're going to have to do on your own,"
"Oh, c'mon! I promise it won't be like last time- I'll be the only one driving, all you have to do is help me build it, and this time we've got a few days to work on it…"
"The answer is still NO, Flip. Just tell Derek you don't have a go-cart, and that you'll just have to race him another time. Just stop letting his words bugify ya."
"Hey Chan!" came Derek's voice from down in the backyard. "Are you up for the race, or does your babysitter say it's too dangerous without your car-seat? HA HA HA!"
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?!" Flip shouted at him.
"Yeah- practicing driving my go-cart and winning!" Derek walked over to his go-cart- painted black with red flames on the side, and a skull-picture on the hood. "So long, Flop Chan!" he then sped off.
Flip looked up at Pugsy. "Get the tools- we're going to show that jerk how a REAL go-cart is made," Pugsy said at last.
"Yes!" Flip exclaimed, running inside to get the tools.
Pugsy let out a deep breath. "The things I go through to shut that jerk up…"
d~b
Meanwhile, Shaggy was driving in his red van, Flim-Flam in the front seat. He had changed in the past 3 years- his black hair was a little longer, he had built up a little muscle, and he now wore a yellow jacket over a white shirt, with torn jeans. "So Flip's living with ya, huh?" Flim-Flam asked Shaggy.
"Yeah, just while he goes to this Junior Detective School," Shaggy replied.
"Cool… of all the dumb luck, Vinny made me go to regular school,"
"By the way… why did you get suspended, again?"
"Ah, the staff there doesn't appreciate a few magic tricks-"
Shaggy gave him a look. "What did you break?"
Flim-Flam sighed. "The coffee-pot in the teacher's lounge… followed by the whole lounge. I swear, those flowers were supposed to squirt water, not burst into flames!"
Shaggy shook his head. "Like, better save the tricks for after-school, Flim-Flam. …and don't try to teach Flip any of them!"
"Alright, alright, I won't! …Speaking of 'teaching', can I try driving now?"
Shaggy groaned. "Wait until we get to the apartment…"
"Fine… sheesh, why is everyone so uptight about teaching me to drive?"
d~b
Back at the apartment, Pugsy and Flip were in the parking-lot of the apartment, in a garage. They had hauled in some scrap from the junkyard to use for their go-cart. So far, they had the frame of it constructed. "We still need a few more parts. Go down to the basement- Robotnik might have some scrap material leftover from all those gadgets he stores down there," Pugsy told Flip.
"On it!" Flip said, running down to the basement of the apartment.
In said basement, Robotnik was constructing a new machine- a rocket-missile that he planned to launch over the city. "Once this machine is finished, the world will be at our mercy!" Robotnik cackled.
Flip came down just then. "Hey, guys- WHOA! What's that?"
"Gah! Um… it's, uh… a new statue we're going to place on the top of the building. We're, um, trying to add more décor to the apartment building. What are you doing down here?!"
"Just wondering if you had any scrap material I could borrow. Pugs and I are building a go-cart,"
"Bah! Juvenile construction! Fine, grab what you need, but keep out of my way!" Robotnik turned his back on Flip.
Flip looked around, seeing a bunch of material on a workbench… seeing what appeared to be a glowing piston. "Hey, can I use this?"
Robotnik didn't look. "Sure, fine, just hurry up and leave!"
"Thanks!" Flip grabbed it, plus a few more materials, and left, leaving behind a regular piston.
Robotnik grabbed it, hardly looking at it as he handed it to Jasper. "Now, for the final piece- the nuclear-piston, guaranteed to not only give our rocket extra speed, but a launch that will literately blow everyone away!"
*click*Jasper installed it…
*BOOM!*
…Need I explain what happened next.
Jasper blinked, burned to a crisp. Robotnik wavered a bit, charred and dazed, the tip of his left mustache baring a tiny flame. "*cough* …well… back to square one…" he wheezed, then passed out.
d~b
Later that day, Pugs and Flip decided to take a break from their work until tomorrow afternoon, as Shaggy returned home with Flim-Flam. "So, what's it like living here?" Flim-Flam asked Flip, as he unpacked his things in the spare room.
"Pretty cool, but sometimes weird stuff happens," Flip replied. "Like this one time, everyone ended up switching bodies for a whole day,"
Flim-Flam laughed. "Good thing I'm used to weird things like that! Good thing there's never a dull moment, huh?"
Flip shrugged. "Sometimes it's good. …Not as good as turning 16 though. When are you going to start driving?"
Flim-Flam rolled his eyes. "Whenever Shaggy gets off the phone with his insurance agent. You think Pugs could teach me?"
"Not on your life, kid." Pugsy commented, passing by.
"He's, uh, already busy helping me out." Flip said. "We're building a go-cart,"
Flim-Flam's eyes widened. "Again?! After what happened last time?!"
"Yeah, but this time we- hey, wait a minute! You weren't around last time, how did you find out?!"
"I read Shaggy's journal- it took up 5 pages, describing how horrifying it was and how many times his life flashed before his eyes… the total was 10, by the way."
"I wonder how many times it'll be, when he's teaching you to drive,"
Flim-Flam scoffed. "Geez, why does everyone assume I'm a bad driver?! Just wait until I ace my exam, then you'll see…" with that, he walked out. "Hey, Shaggy, can we start now?"
"Like, hold on, Flim-Flam, I'm still writing out my will!" Shaggy replied.
"Oh, knock it off. Just show me what to do, and I'll do fine! We'll have to do it sooner or later, before I take my exam."
"*sigh* Alright, lets go…"
"Finally! …And take off the football helmet, Shag,"
Flip shook his head. "His journal is going to be pretty interesting after this…" he said to himself.
d~b
Shaggy and Flim-Flam were on a dirt road on the outskirts of the city, the teenager in the driver's seat, ready to begin his lesson.
"Alright, that's your brake there, on the left, and the right pedal is the acceleration," Shaggy told him.
"What about the third pedal?" Flim-Flam asked.
Shaggy scratched his head. "Um… I don't know, maybe the emergency brake or something. Alright, what's the first thing you do?"
"You're the teacher, you tell me!"
Shaggy gave him a deadpanned look.
Flim-Flam looked. "Kidding. Start the car-" he turned the key in the ignition-
*Scrreeeeech!*
Both of them cringed, their hair sticking out. "Eh heh… I forgot, it's already started."
"Like, right…" Shaggy sighed. "Shift it into gear,"
Flim-Flam grabbed the clutch, trying to pull it. "It's stuck!"
Shaggy sighed. "You have to push down on the brake,"
"Oh, right." Flim-Flam pushed down on the right pedal-
*VROOOOOM!*
The car shot forward! "AAAUUGH!" both of them screamed.
*Crash!*
They ended up swerving into the ravine. Shaggy was clutching the dash-board, and Flim-Flam had a tight grip on the wheel. "Wrong… pedal…" Shaggy stammered.
*POOF!* went the air-bags.
d~b
The Next Afternoon…
Derek was cruising down the street in his go-cart, pulling up to Holly and Brattina. "Hello, Holly. Want to take a ride?" he asked.
"Sorry, I was taught never to accept rides from strangers," Holly scoffed.
"But you know me!"
"That doesn't mean you're not strange," With that, Holly walked off.
Brattina smiled dreamily. "I'll take a ride, Derek," She said, coyly.
"Geez, what's her problem?" Derek asked himself, not even noticing Brattina, then drove off.
Brattina sighed. "He's SUCH a dreamboat!"
As Derek rode by the apartments, he noticed Flip heading to the garage, carrying a toolbox. "What's Chan up to?" Derek wondered, parking his go-cart and walking over, peeking around the corner.
Flip and Pugsy were working on a go-cart, the pre-teen tightening a few gaskets while the stocky young man oiled the axel. "Alright, Flip, that should do it," Pugsy said. "Just needs a paint-job, and it'll be ready for Saturday."
"Great! Thanks again, Pugs- can I take it out for a test-drive?" Flip asked.
"Maybe tomorrow. Let's take a break for the day, first."
Derek ducked behind a trash-bin, as the two walked out. "So he just now built the go-cart, huh?" the bully said, then noticed they left the tool-kit behind. "I think that twerp needs a lesson on running his mouth, heh heh heh…"
d~b
Shaggy and Flim-Flam, meanwhile, were back on the dirt-road for a new lesson. This time, Flim-Flam let him wear the football helmet. "Okay… now you're SURE you know which pedal is the brake, right?" Shaggy asked.
"Yep… tattooed in my memory after yesterday," Flim-Flam answered.
"Alright… lets get started then. Shift it into drive,"
Flim-Flam did so.
"Now, carefully tap the acceleration with your foot, gently."
Flim-Flam did so, making the car move at 3 miles an hour. "Can I go a little faster?"
"One step at a time! Okay… see the speed limit? Push down on the pedal until you get it up to that speed, then I'll show you how to put it in cruise-control,"
"Got it," Flim-Flam pushed on the pedal, the car now moving at 45 mph, the speed limit on the road.
"Alright, now for cruise control, just push that button there…"
"This one?" Flim-Flam hit a button… and the wind-shield wipers activated.
"No, the other one, right there by the horn,"
"Okay," Flim-Flam found the button and hit it.
"Good, now hit your cruise-control button."
Flim-Flam did so.
"Good, now when you're on highways, you just activate cruise control to set a speed… um…" Shaggy looked, seeing they were passing a telephone pole very, very, very slowly. "Uh, Flim-Flam… you have to make sure you're up to the speed limit when you set it,"
"Whoops, okay let me get back up to speed- WHOA!"
A deer ran in front of them. "Look out! Hit the brakes!"
Flim-Flam did so, but also jerked the wheel. The deer stood there, blandly watching as the car did the slowest swerve into the ditch, taking up to 45 seconds just to get to the edge of it. It then mildly crossed the road.
"Okay, another lesson: when stopping for deer… Don't. Swerve. The wheel." Shaggy said blandly.
*POOF!* went the airbag again.
d~b
The Next Afternoon…
Flip entered the garage, eager to test out his new go-cart. He opened up the door…
Gasping when he saw that the wheels had been unscrewed, the seat torn, and the steering wheel replaced with a tiny inner-tube (which immediately deflated). Someone had sabotaged his cart!
"What the…?! Who did this?!" Flip stammered… as if he needed to ask.
"Hey, Chan, I came to check out this go-cart you were telling me ab-" came Derek's voice as the bully walked over, stopping and feigning shock. "Whoa! What's that hunk of junk?!"
Flip turned angrily towards him. "You did this, didn't you?!"
"Pfft, don't blame this on me! It's not MY fault you were lying through your teeth about having an 'awesome' go-cart. If you still want to race that heap against MY hot-rod Saturday, you'd better patch it up… unless you want to give me 25 bucks now and spare the humiliation,"
"Forget it! The race is still on, and once I beat you, your car will look worse than a pile of scrap metal!"
"Ooh, I'm shaking," Derek walked off. "Let me know when you get a good comeback!"
Flip clenched his fists, then turned to his go-cart. He grabbed the tools still lying about, and got to work fixing it, grumbling to himself.
Shawn K. entered just then. "Having trouble, Flip?" he asked.
Flip sighed. "You don't know the half of it… Pugs and I built this go-cart, and someone- or should I say, DEREK- ruined it!"
Shawn knelt down. "Probably couldn't handle the competition. Don't let his action bother you- it actually made him look like a coward."
"Yeah, but we worked all day on it yesterday!"
"There's no problem in working on it again, maybe making it better and double-checking for any kinks. There's no rush, is there?"
"Well, we're racing Saturday at noon…"
"So there's still time." Shawn picked up a wrench. "Now, lets see what we can do,"
d~b
Two Days Later...
Shaggy walked into the apartment early that afternoon… the car's steering wheel stuck around his neck. Flim-Flam followed in, looking a bit anxious. "So… um…" the teenager began, but Shaggy raised his hand and silenced him.
"Don't. Say. A word." The lanky young man said, sharply.
"Oh come on, Shag! I swear, that flamingo came out of nowhere! And I said I'd pay for the damages-"
"How?! You don't even have a job! …And don't think pulling a few cons will help!"
"I said I'm sorry! Just give me another chance, please?! My exam is tomorrow!"
"Flim-Flam, the way you drive, there's NO WAY you'd be allowed on the road! For the past few days my car's ended up in the ditch enough times that it has its own parking space there, I still have an air-bag imprint on my face, and my car's in the shop for the umpteenth time! I doubt even the Freelance Police would be crazy enough to let you drive!"
Flim-Flam gave a hurt look. "I still tried…"
"Well, not hard enough," Shaggy took out a Driver's Manual, and handed it to Flim-Flam. "I want you to study for your exam. I've already taught you enough- you're just going to have to apply it!" With that, he walked out of the room.
Flim-Flam blinked. "…What if I bought you an extra-large, triple-surpreme pizza?"
Shaggy gave him a look.
"…Extra cheese, and a large drink on the side."
"Fine… but we're going to have to try something else since my car is still totaled," He then walked over to the television, pulled out a gaming system, and held up Grand Theft Auto.
d~b
Saturday
It was 11:30 as Flip, Pugsy, and Shawn wheeled out the fixed/complete go-cart. It was dark-blue with a yellow lightning bolt on the side, and a large "FP" symbol on the hood. "Ready for a quick test-drive?" Shawn asked him.
"You bet! I can't wait to cream Derek!" Flip replied, determined.
"Slow down there, tiger. First you've got to check the speed on it," Pugsy said.
Flip hit the acceleration-
The nuclear piston inside began to pump rapidly-
*SHOOM!*
The cart shot off, leaving a neon-blue streak behind, the launch so massive it blew Pugsy and Shawn into the wall! "Holy… smokes!" Shawn gasped.
"WHOOOOOAAAAAAAA!" Flip was screaming, hands clutching the wheel for dear life as he shot down the road, swerving to avoid traffic.
He shot by Katrina Stonehart and Robotnik, blowing by so fast they swapped outfits! (Robotnik let out a shriek and covered himself).
A cop measuring the speed of passing by cars sat by a corner. When Flip shot by, the readings went up so high, the meter blew! "What the…?!" he gasped, then turned on his siren to go after the go-cart, shooting down the street.
On Mulberry Lane, Derek waited at the top of the hill in his go-cart, looking at his watch, seeing it was noon. "Chan probably chickened out." The bully scoffed. "Doesn't surprise me, that cart of his is a pile of-"
"SOMEBODY STOP THIS THING!" Flip shouted as his go-cart shot by!
"What the…?! HEY! NO CHEATING!" Derek revved up his vehicle and shot after him. "That's MY job!"
Flip tried hitting the brakes, but the cart didn't stop! Derek managed to catch up to him, ramming his cart into Flip's, both of them neck-in-neck. The go-cart was suddenly starting to slow down… but only because, due to all the thrusts and ramming, a few gears were loose and it was falling apart! "Oh no!" Flip cried, trying to control it…
No good. The cart fell to pieces and Derek gained the lead, reaching the bottom of the hill first. By the time Flip got to the bottom, all that was left was the steering wheel, tires, and seat. "Ha! I won!" Derek gloated. "Cough up the twenty-five bucks, nerd!"
Flip sighed, handing over the cash.
"Ha! I knew I'd win! I've got the fastest go-cart in the city!"
"So it was YOU driving around town like a maniac!" The cop shouted, storming up and taking the money from Derek. "Give me that! This will pay off your fee for your reckless driving!"
"But- but- but-"
"No 'buts'! You're lucky you're just a kid, otherwise I'd see you in court! Consider this a warning! And next time you go driving around in that thing, read the road signs!" With that, the officer stormed off.
Derek gawked while Flip blinked. The bully sneered at him. "Well… I've still got an awesome go-cart, and it's all in one piece!"
*CRASH!*
Flim-Flam, driving in a 'Student Driver' van, had backed up and crashed into the go-cart, smashing it to pieces! "Oh, crud, sorry! I didn't see that!" he gasped.
"That's minus six points," the teacher said, scribbling on a clipboard. "Lets see if your parallel parking will make up for it,"
Derek gawked, unable to speak as he stared at his wrecked go-cart. "Well, good race Derek. See ya around," Flip said, then quickly ran off before the bully could take out his anger on him.
d~b
Later that afternoon, Flip told Shaggy and Pugsy all that had happened. "I feel sort of bad for letting Derek take the blame…" he said.
"Hey, the creep deserved it- plus, technically, it was YOUR money that paid the fine, and you lost the go-cart… I think you've been punished enough," Pugsy replied.
"I'm just glad Derek got what was coming to him, too." Shaggy said with a chuckle. "But, like, I wonder how Flim-Flam did on his exam?"
"Here he comes now," Flip said, as Flim-Flam walked over. "So did you ace your test?"
Flim-Flam let out a heavy sigh. "No, I didn't ace it…" he replied… then held up a driver's license! "But I still managed to get a passing score!"
"Zoinks! …I mean, that's great, Flim-Flam," Shaggy replied. "Now you just need a car,"
"That's the best part! Vinny said that at the wizard's convention, he won a new car- and said I could have it since he doesn't drive!"
Shaggy paled.
"Well, I'm going to go inside now and play more Grand Theft. You want to come, Flip?"
"Sure! I can show you a few cheat-codes," Flip replied.
Shaggy and Pugsy sat there in stunned silence. "…I'm staying off the streets until that license expires," Pugsy said.
"Ditto." Shaggy agreed.
d~b
A/N: Ditto ditto.