Hi! So, yeah. I actually wrote something for my profile after updating the last chapter. Now it's not blank anymore. I doubt anyone cares, but I just thought that I should put it out there. So, I've been on Deviantart recently and I've been seeing more Freakazoid things. It's also good to see that so many people on this site still like Freakazoid. I wish that there was a third season.

akira45: I'm sooo sorry that I didn't get to you in the last chapter! Your review only popped up after I uploaded the chapter. I'm glad that you liked the chapter.

XBloodMageRikaX: Thank you for that. I'm very self-conscious about everything I do and unfortunately, writing is no different. That makes me very happy.

Nathalorial: I couldn't believe how long your review was. The play probably won't be in the main story, I may write a one-shot for it. I'll try to work in Onyx making an appearance in the drama club. I appreciate all of your insight. Our school doesn't have a drama club, so I don't know how a real one works.

Disclaimer: As usual, I only own the Ocs and the plot.

.:Line Break:.

"Hello. I'm here to sell you "Oops Insurance"."

My smile became strained as I started to sense bad vibes coming from the man before me. I could feel trouble coming on. "What is "Oops Insurance", sir?"

His elbow moved to the glass jar full of tips that sat on the counter. The next instant, it fell to the floor with a "CRASH", money and glass shards littering the floor. My smile fell and I narrowed my eyes at the smug man, not looking away once, even when the jar broke.

"Sir," I said in an icy tone, "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to leave."

"And I'm afraid that I can't do that. Not until I get my payment. I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if I'm not payed."

"Yeah, you'll destroy everything like the jackass you're proving to be." "I will not be intimidated by you or your thugs, sir. We will not pay."

"Your funeral." He motioned for his goons to attack.

I stepped back as they advanced with menacing expressions. I blindly reached out along the wall behind me until I gripped the handle of a broom. "It will have to do." "Sir, if you don't leave at once, I'm going to have to use force." I warned, pointing the tip of the broom at them.

The leader only laughed, "I'd like to see you try!"

The two thugs took another step before they were suddenly frozen in pain. Standing between the two idiots was Uncle Liam. His smile was thin, conveying his annoyance, as he pressed down on the pressure points on their wrists. His smile only grew in an almost sadistic way as they grunted in pain. The leader stared in shock, clearly confused as to how Uncle Liam got from the kitchen to the two goons so quickly. It was something I didn't understand either, but given the circumstances, I certainly wasn't complaining.

"I believe that my employee just asked you gentlemen to leave. Why don't you do that and we'll forget this whole mess." Uncle Liam proposed, an obvious threat in his polite words. He released their wrists and thrusted them towards their boss. They stumbled and fell to the floor by their boss's feet.

The man growled as his henchmen got back up. "You're going to pay for that!"

Uncle Liam and I shared an amused look. "Oh, but I believe that it's you who will be paying us. After all,that broken glass on the floor is dangerous."

The man shook with rage, hands still on his hips for some reason. "Get them!" he shouted.

Both men charged at us, but stopped suddenly when they came face to face with the end of a katana blade. Startled, Uncle Liam and I whirled around to see that the one wielding the dangerous object was none other then Uncle Tenpou.

"How on Earth am I supposed to get any work done with all this ruckus?"

Frowning, I eyed the sword warily. "You know, normal people who work for the government have guns. Why the hell do you have a sword? Better question, where the hell do you keep a sword in that disaster area you call a study?" I loved my Uncle Tenpou dearly, but seriously, a sword?

He glanced at me, smiling, "I like using swords more than guns. I usually hide it under my desk."

Briefly, I wondered if I wasn't the only one in my family who was going crazy. "Dare I ask why?"

"It's so I always have it on hand." Again, the way he answered with a cheerful smile made me question his sanity.

"So, you anticipate beating people up on a daily basis?" Uncle Liam asked, wearing an expression that told me he was probably thinking the same thing I was.

He let out a nervous chuckle, "Uh, not exactly. But it does come in handy at times like this."

The strange man who threatened us, having heard enough of our chatter, snarled at the appearance of my other uncle. "I'm not afraid of you clowns!. Get them!"

Uncle Tenpou laughed and glanced back at me, mirth dancing in his forest green eyes. "Let us take care of them, Charlotte. Why don't you go into the kitchen and call the police?"

I pouted, not liking the idea that I wouldn't get to do anything, but obeyed nonetheless. As I made the call, I could hear grunts and groans and the sounds of bodies being thrown. I couldn't have been on the phone for more than five minutes, but when I came back, all three thugs were knocked out and tied up. It made me curious and I started wishing that I had gotten a chance to see my uncles kicking butt.

Uncle Liam was picking up the tips and sweeping up the broken glass when the police arrived. Uncle Tenpou sat at one of the booths, reading a book while I kept an eye on the criminals, making sure that the didn't wake policeman I had seen Freakazoid with, Sgt. Mike Cosgrove, walked through the door, the blue superhero trailing behind him.

At first, I smiled at the two, but when I saw the somber expression on Freakazoid's usually happy face, that changed.

"He must still be upset about Steff." I thought sadly. I knew on Saturday when he left my house that he wasn't completely okay yet. No one can recover that quickly unless they were heartless, which Freakazoid was the opposite of. Still, seeing him so down... My sadness turned to rage as the blond's smug face entered my mind. "She didn't deserve him! But... I guess even knowing that doesn't make the pain go away any faster, does it?"

"Thanks for catching these guys for us. They've been causing trouble for weeks now." Cosgrove said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Quickly, I put on a smile, "It was no problem Sgt. Cosgrove. Who are they, anyway?"

"It's just Cosgrove, and that man in the brown suit is "Arms" Akimbo. He's just a thug who likes to go around to small businesses like this and sell "Oops Insurance". If people refuse to pay, he and his goons break everything."

"Oh, lovely. The only insurance we need around her is "Idiot Insurance"." I remarked drily, glancing at the tied up bad guys.

Cosgrove chuckled, "Well, they won't be causing you any trouble in jail."

I nodded, smiling. I then looked over his shoulder at the solemn superhero and frowned.

"He's been like that ever since Steff dumped him. I haven't seen him crack a smile once." Cosgrove explained, noticing that my gaze had strayed.

"Poor guy was head over heels in love with her." I commented, "She didn't deserve him. He can do so much better."

"Yeah, seeing him like this is depressing."

"I wish that there was something I could do..."

Cosgrove stared at me intently, as though he was thinking. "Maybe there is." he finally said, "You're friends, right?"

"I consider him my friend." I admitted softly, "i don't know if he thinks of me as one."

"He does, trust me." he told me, causing me to smile, "I think that you should talk to him. He might listen to you and it might cheer him up a bit."

I didn't even need any time to think about Cosgrove's suggestion. "Uncle Liam, Uncle Tenpou, can I take off early?"

They both just smiled at me, as if they already knew what I was planning.

"Go ahead, dear. I'm sure you're shaken up about what happened." Uncle Liam answered. He knew I wasn't shaken up about the almost robbery, but he lied for the sake of not embarrassing me.

I grinned and muttered a quick "thanks" as I hopped over the counter. I walked to the exit at a fast pace, grabbing the wrist of a confused Freakazoid on the way out.

"Uh, Charlotte, what are you doing?" Freakazoid asked as I continued to drag him down the darkened streets. It was dark, but it wasn't really late at night. "Where are we going, Charlotte?"

"What? No "Char"?" I feigned hurt, "I thought that we were friends."

"We are?" he asked, sounding hopeful and confused. I rolled my eyes at him. "I mean, we are! But I just want to know where we're going and why?"

I stopped walking and grinned at him, receiving a look of surprise from him. "We, my good sir, are going to the mall of shopping to play games at the arcade of gaming." I told him in a silly voice, trying to make him smile.

He only blinked, "Why? And why are you talking like that?"

I groaned, my grin fading into a sad smile. "You're still upset about Steff."

It wasn't a question, but a fact, as we both knew it to be true. As if to further confirm my statement, Freakazoid flinched and grimaced.

"I can't help it." he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. "I loved her and I thought she loved me, too. I would have given anything, would have done anything for her. I...I trusted her with my heart. But she...she destroyed it without any trouble. She broke my heart and my trust. And now..." He paused, taking a shaky breath. One white gloved hand clutched his chest where his heart was, tears misting his eyes. "Now, there's this terrible pain in my chest. It's like..." He stopped, choking on his words, unable to continue.

I sighed, knowing exactly what he was feeling. "It's like your heart is being torn into millions of little pieces and the pain is practically unbearable. When you get betrayed like that, it feels like your whole world is crashing down around you and your life and everything you know feels like it's being swept out beneath your feet. When you finally get up and regain your balance, you feel lost, you don't know where to go. You just feel...alone. So unbearably alone and it seems like no one understands."

He again stared at me, stunned. "How? How do you know this?"

I shot him a humorless grin, "You think you're the only one who's ever gotten your heart broken in a traumatic way? 'Cause if you do, you're an idiot."

"Dexter told me about what happened with the jocks at school. Is that the reason you get so angry when people hit on you?"

I scoffed, "The reason I got so angry at them is because they were vulgar and they disrespected my friend. But... It's complicated."

He nodded, not pressing the subject.

"Anyway, that's not what I brought you out here for. Listen to me, Freakazoid. I know it's hard and I know it's painful, but you need to move on. As upsetting as it may be, she didn't appreciate you or deserve you. I know that right now you're thinking that there is no one better than Steff, but there is. I promise. You need to pick yourself up and move on so you can be happy again."

He was silent for a moment absorbing my words. "Did you ever find someone else?"

"I've had a few crushes, but I've never acted on them." I said, starting to walk again.

"Like Dexter?"

I froze, knowing Freakazoid was right. I never wanted to acknowledge it, though. It would only cause us both pain. "Promise this stays between us? That you won't tell Dexter or anyone else?"

He nodded.

"I do have a...crush on Dexter."

Freakazoid placed a firm hand on my shoulder, looking me directly in the eyes. "You should tell him."

I moved my shoulder so his hand fell, avoiding his gaze. "I can't."

"Why?"

"...There are unspoken rules about crushes and falling in love. You never ever go out with your best friend. It's just a recipe for disaster. I also have a lot of issues and Dexter shouldn't have to put up with that. I...I don't want to lose him."

"But you don't know for sure what would happen." he argued.

"The thing about crushes, Freakazoid, is that they always hurt."

Freakazoid gazed at me silently, pity in his eyes.

I clenched my own eyes shut, not wanting to see the same expression of pity that I had seen so many other times in my life. I especially didn't want to see that look coming from him. For some reason, it made my heartache.

"Charlotte, are you afraid? Afraid of being happy?"

"I'm not afraid of being happy, Freakazoid. I just know that my life won't work out like that."

"Why are you telling him this?!" I heard, "Stop! Why are you telling him these things? These secrets, these feelings that you haven't even told your own beloved brother about!"

I clutched my head as the voices grew louder. "Please, not again! Not here, not now!" My pleas fell upon deaf ears as the voices only continued.

"If you tell him anymore, he'll turn on you! He'll betray you and leave you! Just like before! You're a monster and he's a hero! If he knew everything about you, he'd be disgusted! You're crazy and a monster, he could never stand to look at you, even as a friend! Monster! Mad woman!"

All of a sudden, a pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist and the voices were silenced. I looked up to see Freakazoid's concerned face. He moved a gloved hand and swiped his thumb under my eyes. I stared at him questioningly until he showed me his glove. It was damp. I touched the area under my eyes and realized that I had been crying.

"Tears?" I muttered, "I haven't cried in years." I paused a moment, feeling my eyes change color, "Have I made a rhyme?"

"Charlotte?"

I shook my head, clearing my mind of the strange haze that had settled over it. "I'm fine." I squeaked out.

"I'm sorry if I made you remember something painful."

"No, it's fine." I told him, "I'm fine."

For some reason, I wasn't in a hurry to leave Freakazoid's embrace. I leaned my head on his chest, feeling content as I listened to the steady strong beat of his heart. I don't know why I felt so comfortable with him holding me, I hadn't felt that way about anyone else in a long time. I could feel my cheeks heat up as my stomach did flip-flops and my own heart sped up. I wonder why I felt this security, this safety in his arms. What was it that I was feeling?

Finally, I pulled away from Freakazoid, a smile on my face. "Thank you." I said sincerely, "I'm sorry that that happened. The reason I took you out was to cheer you up, not make you help me feel better."

He regarded me for a moment, not saying anything for awhile. "We're...friends, right?"

I tilted my head, confused, "Uh, yeah."

A small smile graced his lips as he took my hand in his. "Then I don't mind. Friends help each other when they need it, so it's no trouble. I promise Charlotte, both Dexter and I will always be there for you."

I was certain that his smile was infectious because soon I found myself returning it. "And I'll always be here for you and Dexter." I then pointed ahead of us dramatically, "And now, on with our quest! To the mall!"

And for the first time since Steff broke up with him, Freakazoid laughed.

.:Line Break:.

Once at the mall, Freakazoid had been quick to drag me to the arcade's virtual reality video game, only to be disappointed when a repair man told him that it was out of order.

"Sorry, but whoever played last got such a high score that the machine heated up and malfunctioned." he told them.

"Do you know who?" I had asked, surprised that a simple high score could cause a machine to over heat.

The man typed a few things into the computer before he said, "The score board says that it was someone who called themselves "Onyx". Sorry again you two."

Despite the incident, the two of us were determined to have a good time. Freakazoid dragged me around the arcade by the wrist, babbling on about each game.

"He's finally back to his old self." I thought, allowing myself to smile.

Hours passed by quickly. Hours that were spent laughing, smiling, and having fun, just as I had intended. Just as we were leaving, a game caught my eye. I grabbed Freakazoid's arm to stop him, never tearing my eyes away from the game.

"What is it?" he asked before he saw what it was that had captivated me. "Dance Dance Revolution? I never thought that you'd like a game like that, Char."

I gave him a coy smile, "Freakazoid, there are a great many things that you don't know about me. Though I'm sure you'll learn in time." I laughed at the baffled expression on his face. No doubt he was trying to decipher my cryptic message. "You know how to play, don't you?"

"You just hit the arrows, right?"

"Yup. And you're going to play it with me."

"But I've never played before!" he protested as I dragged him up to the platform.

"That doesn't matter. The whole point of a game is to have fun."

He stood on his dance platform as I stood on mine. With the unsure look on his face I vaguely wondered if Freakazoid had ever danced before. "Hey," I began, drawing his eyes to my face, "Have fun. Just relax and let go."

A grin slowly made it's way on his face and he nodded, looking like the old, idiotic, lovable Freakazoid.

I started the game, setting it on normal (Freakazoid refused both beginner and easy mode), then chose the song Butterfly.

I had gotten really into the game, hitting the arrows with ease, the word "perfect" popping up after they disappeared. Freakazoid kept up pretty well considering the fact that he had never played before. I could feel myself grinning as I performed fancy, yet admittedly unnecessary moves, singing the song along with the machine and losing myself in the music.

The song ended and we both anxiously awaited our results, grins splitting our faces as we glanced at each other, slightly out of breath. A "AAA" popped up on my screen while an "A" came up on Freakazoid's. I jumped up, letting out a whoop of joy as the machine announced, "New high score", causing the hero to laugh at my uncharacteristic behavior.

The sound of clapping was heard behind us. We turned to discover that we had attracted a crowd. We turned to each other, surprised at first. Then we burst out laughing. With my cafe uniform and Freakazoid being who he was, it was a wonder how we didn't draw a crowd earlier. We made such an odd pair.

.:Line Break:.

After inputting my initials into the game, we left the mall. Freakazoid had walked me home. Even as the mall was long gone, the grins remained on our faces.

"Well, I'd say that tonight was a success, wouldn't you?" I asked as we arrived at my house.

"Indeed, m'lady." he replied, doing his best to look serious and dignified. "Tonight was most satisfactory. I propose that we do this again at a later date."

A fit of giggles over took me once he finished speaking. "You are too much!"

He laughed with me until it finally subsided. "You know," he began while I wiped a tear from my eye, "I meant it. I did have fun tonight and I do want to do it again sometime."

I stared at him a moment, mildly surprised by his sudden seriousness. I closed my eyes and thought, smiling. "Well, it can't be during the week, because I have club meetings."

His head drooped, sadness crawling onto his face. "Oh."

"But," I continued, "I'm free on Saturday until I'm needed at the cafe." I paused, "Did I just make a rhyme?"

"You did." he confirmed, "So, on Saturday you'll be singing at the cafe again?"

I shook my head, clearing my mind. "Yes, I'll perform every Saturday night at the cafe. I trust that I'll see you there?"

"For a little while. I'm kinda busy at night, but I've got nothing planned during the day. So I'm all yours."

My stomach did a flip-flop as the statement repeated itself in my mind. I shook my head again, ignoring the strange feeling and trying to hide the blush that was rapidly spreading across my face. "Get a grip, Charlotte! Whatever this feeling is, just ignore it! You used to be the second in command of the Jade Dragons for crying out loud!" I sighed to myself, running my hand through my hair. "God, when did I become such a girl?!"

Hiding the frustration of my inner monologue with a smile, I turned back to Freakazoid. "Why don't we go to the amusement park? We'll meet there at nine."

"Sounds good! I'll see you there, then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there."

I waved good-bye to him as I watched him leave. Then I entered my home, going to bed immediately.

.:Line Break:.

As I slept, pictures flashed before my eyes, a strange story unfolding in my dream. A young woman, named Alice, fell down a rabbit hole and ended up in a mysterious and strange world. A wonderland of sorts. It had talking animals and flowers. Everything that should have been weird felt normal to me. The dream ended when Alice returned home and set out to realize her father's dream of expanding her father's trading company.

When I woke up to my alarm the next morning, I knew that I had found our play.

.:Line Break:.

And I am done! My back hurts so much from hunching over my laptop. Originally, Charlotte and Freakazoid had played the virtual video game, but after reading Nathalorial's fanfic where they played the game, my scene just seemed to pale in comparison. So instead, I put in an Easter egg. I hope you like this chapter. Review please!