Recap: In yet another overly long chapter, Kid Muscle defeated Jaeger in a mindlessly stupid but mindlessly violent match to progress to the semi finals, Kiki went completely round the twist, and Six was disturbed to learn that Lord Flash has a secret and the McMadds are preparing to launch their third and final promotional book for the Ikeman (or is it the Jacqueline?!) Chojin Crown tournament.

Chapter 20 – Sisterly Love

"We are going out, and we are going to have fun!" Roxanne insisted, as she dragged a lip pencil along Kiki's lower lip.

"If you say so, Roxanne," Trixie replied, as she pulled a brush through Kiki's hair.

"Kiki needs some fun, I'm doing this for her!" Roxanne added.

"Sure you are," Trixie said with a sigh, dropping the brush onto the bedside table and pinning Kiki's hair up at the back of her head. "You're not doing this because you're still pissed about the IWF hanging up a small brown tent and claiming it was a set of your–"

"Nope!" Roxanne hurriedly interrupted Trixie, slapping at Kiki's face with a blusher brush. "I'm just worried about Kiki. Do you know she hasn't said a word since we left the hospital?"

"Maybe she's upset about Kid getting so badly hurt today," Trixie suggested.

"I don't think that's it," Roxanne sighed, shaking her head.

"Well then what do you think it is?"

"I think she's still upset over Mars."

"Mars?"

"Yeah. I know he died like three years ago now, but she's just never learned to let go. And she won't stop talking about him. I try to tell her that talking about it only makes it worse, but…"

Roxanne sighed again, sitting back on her feet to study Kiki's face. Kiki stared blankly back at Roxanne, almost as though she was looking right through her. However Roxanne failed to notice the hollow and vacant look on Kiki's face, as her attention was focussed on how well she had applied Kiki's make-up. She tapped an eye pencil against her chin thoughtfully, studying the area under Kiki's eyes where she had already drawn thick lines with the black crayon.

"Roxanne?" Trixie said softly.

"What do you think, Trixie?" Roxanne asked, pointing the pencil at Kiki's eyes. "More black, or should I soften it with that silver one you had?"

"Roxanne, do you think maybe we could just step outside for a minute?" Trixie said, standing up from the bed.

"I think more black," Roxanne said decisively. "She's got dark hair, she suits that whole "goth" look."

"Roxanne, this is really important–"

"I think maybe some over the eye as well…"

"Roxanne, I really have to talk to you–"

"Damnit! I hate it when these pencils break halfway through a… Damn! Oh to heck with it! She looks fine the way she is! I'm not wasting any more time on this crap, I need to get out of here after the horrid day I've just had!"

Roxanne threw the eye pencil at the wall of her hotel room, sitting back and crossing her arms in a huff.

"Roxanne, there's a lot more going on right now than just the little love triangle of Kid Muscle, you and Jaeger," Trixie said. "We have to talk. Now."

"God I wish my mom had come with us, you know that?" Roxanne said, looking down at the floor as she spoke. "I was all like "no, mom, don't bother, that asshole King Muscle will be there, and I know how much it bothers you to see him". What was I thinking? I really need my mom right now! How am I meant to get about without a car? I just wish Kiki would tell me what she's done with the car…"

"Roxanne–"

"I need a drink!"

Roxanne got to her feet, walking over the top of her bed then leaping to the floor at the other side. As she headed towards the door, she grabbed up her shoes and her handbag.

"Finish her off and bring her down with you," she called over her shoulder to Trixie as she pulled on her shoes.

Trixie's jaw fell open as she watched Roxanne exit the room. As the door slammed shut behind Roxanne, Trixie jumped in shock, unable to comprehend just how selfish Roxanne was being.

"Man, she is so blind sometimes!" Trixie muttered. "It's like she doesn't even think about anyone else but herself!"

Trixie sighed, shaking her head. She walked around to look at Kiki's face, studying her thoughtfully for a moment before gently sitting down on the edge of the bed facing her.

"Kiki?" she said softly, lifting up one of Kiki's hands and holding it in both of hers. "Kiki, are you alright?"

Kiki remained silent, the blank, unconscious expression still set firmly over her features.

"Kiki?" Trixie whispered. "Come on, I think Roxanne will need us with her tonight. She's not holding up too well. It looks like our plan for her and Kid isn't going quite the way we thought it would."

Trixie laughed a little, in the hope of at least drawing a smile from Kiki; but still she remained expressionless.

"Come on, let's watch Dik Dik get drunk and cry about his wife again!" Trixie tried, standing up and tugging Kiki's hand with her.

Kiki's arm lifted limply under Trixie's grasp, but otherwise she remained still and sombre.

"Come on, Kiki!" Trixie pleaded, tugging at her arm. "You look so pretty! And who knows? Maybe your favourite man will be there tonight!"

Kiki turned towards Trixie, blinking up at her.

"You mean Double D?" Kiki monotonously asked her.

"No, silly!" Trixie said, leaning over Kiki and grinning at her. "I'm talking about Kevin Mask!"

"I hate Kevin Mask," Kiki grumbled, turning back to the wall.

"Well he doesn't hate you!"

"Oh, I think he does. Or at least, if he never did, he will now. I ran over his bike, he had to give up his bed for me, I walked in on him naked, I stole his clothes and I…"

Trixie slowly walked around, sitting down in front of Kiki again.

"Could you repeat that?" she asked. "Slowly, and with more details?"

Kiki met Trixie's eyes, a flicker of a smile passing over her lips.

"I had an accident in my sister's car," she explained. "I swerved off the road. I crashed through Kevin's motorbike, totally destroying it, and I crashed into a tree. The car is a total wreck, it's beyond repair."

"Is that where that cut on your head came from?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah, it is. And then I realised I didn't have my keys for the hotel, and I was locked out, so Kevin took me back to his hotel. There were no free rooms, so he let me stay in his room."

"In his room? You slept with Kevin Mask last night?"

"Not exactly with Kevin Mask. It was more like I slept in the bedroom and Kevin Maskless slept in the lounge."

"Kevin Maskless? The lounge? What sort of place was it?"

"It was some sort of weird, high class hotel, where every room had a bedroom, a bathroom and a lounge."

"And Kevin took off his mask?"

"He had to. He was hurt."

"Oh my God, you never said he was on the bike when you crashed into it!"

"He wasn't. He was in a fight with… Someone…"

"Oh."

"And he was hurt. He thought I was asleep, but I walked in on him without his mask on."

"And he was naked?"

"Not that time, no."

"But you have seen him naked?"

"No. But seeing him without the mask was worse than seeing him naked, in his opinion."

"So, is it true that he looks like Nick Hasler?"

"Nick Hasler! That is such a stupid little rumour, started by a stupid little magazine, by a group of stupid little girlies."

"So he doesn't look like Nick Hasler?"

Kiki smiled for the first time that evening, causing Trixie to break into a giant, open-mouthed grin that consumed most of her face.

"From the perfectly straight, thin nose, to the low browline, to the squared off blue eyes, to the high cheekbones, to the small chin, to the pouting lips, Kevin Mask does so totally look just like Nick Hasler."

"Oh my God!"

Trixie stood up on the bed, leaping up and down and squealing in delight for a bit before jumping up especially high, and landing in a sitting position with a thud.

"Pouting lips?" she giggled, grabbing Kiki's hands and shaking them in glee.

"Oh yeah!" Kiki confirmed. "His top lip slightly overhangs his bottom lip, y'know, just like… Well…"

"Nick Hasler!" the girls said together.

"No way!" Trixie sighed. "I bet he's a fantastic kisser with lips like that! Oh wow, Kiki! You are so lucky!"

"Heh…"

Trixie leaned closer to Kiki, her eyes wide with interest.

"There's more?" she gasped.

"Well, sort of…" Kiki began, rolling her eyes to the ceiling thoughtfully. "I was very cruel to him, and I did steal his bootlaces so that he couldn't follow me. I didn't know he had a spare pair of boots, of course. And I stole his favourite T-shirt, and his socks, and…"

Kiki hung her head, falling silent.

"Hey Kiki, cheer up!" Trixie said, taking Kiki's hands again. "I just know things are gonna get better for us. All of us. Even you. In fact, especially you."

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking," Kiki sighed, lifting her head to look at her friend. "Roxanne will work things out with Kid somehow, and we would all have to be blind not to notice that you and Terry are back together…"

"What?" Trixie echoed, laughing nervously as her face started to turn pink.

"I'm happy for you," Kiki said weakly. "Both you and Roxanne. Really."

Trixie pulled Kiki into a hug, pushing Kiki's head down onto her shoulder.

"Not every story has to have a sad ending, you know," Trixie whispered to Kiki.

"I know," Kiki sighed. "It just seems like all my stories have sad endings. Like someone else is getting my happy endings."

"Oh, Kiki!" Trixie tightened her hold on her friend, sighing quietly to herself.

Trixie looked up at the roof, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Kiki seemed so fragile and so depressed, Trixie was undecided if she should reveal to Kiki what she had learned the night before.

But the more thought she gave the matter, the more it seemed to make sense to just stay quiet, at least until the following morning.

Terry, Wally, Dik Dik and Checkmate sat back and cheered as Roxanne slammed another empty beer bottle onto the table they were sat around. Very little of the table surface was still visible beneath the rows of empty brown glass bottles, but Roxanne was still smiling confidently as her challenger, who was still finishing his drink.

"What's the matter?" she teased him as he eventually slammed down another empty bottle next to hers. "Can't you keep up with me? I don't think I could love a man who can't keep up with me!"

Jaeger swayed slightly in his seat, raising one finger as though he had a counter argument for Roxanne's accusation; but before he could voice his thoughts, Jaeger fell forwards, his head smacking down onto the table, sending the beer bottles around him flying.

The others stood up and applauded Roxanne, who sat back, crossing her arms and scowling at Jaeger. As she watched Jaeger lie in an unconscious heap on the table, Roxanne failed to notice what was happening around her. Terry suddenly stopped cheering, grabbing Wally's arm and pointing at the doorway of the hotel bar. Wally in turn fell silent, grabbing at Dik Dik, who ceased his applause and grabbed Checkmate's arm.

"Hey, guys!" Meat called over to them.

"Oh God!" Roxanne groaned, swivelling round on her stool to face the doorway. "Not that moronic, middle-aged midget–"

Roxanne instantly fell silent when she saw that Meat was not alone. Hobbling in after him bearing a multitude of bandages and two crutches was Kid Muscle.

"Kid…" Roxanne said breathlessly, getting to her feet.

"Wokthanne?" Kid said, attempting to move more quickly towards her.

"Kid!"

Roxanne hurried towards Kid, skidding a halt a short distance from him, her smile fading.

"You jerk!" she cursed him. "You absolute jerk!"

"Whuh?" he echoed.

"You've done nothing but break me heart, you big jerk!" Roxanne ranted, fighting back tears. "You jerk! You big jerk! You great big jerk! You great big jerky jerk!"

"I'm thowwy, Wokthanne," Kid mumbled.

"What?" Roxanne snapped.

"He said he's sorry, Roxanne," Meat translated. "He's havin' some trouble talkin', his face was cut and it's still badly swollen–"

"I know what he said!" Roxanne yelled at Meat. "I just can't believe he actually expects me to forgive him, just like that!"

"Whoa, Roxanne, calm down!" Trixie said as she walked into the hotel bar lounge with Kiki at her side. "Come on, let's sit down and talk this over! Kiki, get us a drink, will you?"

Kiki nodded her head, heading off towards the bar.

"Come on, let's all sit down and talk." Trixie insisted, curling an arm around Roxanne's shoulders and guiding her towards the table the others were sat around.

As they reached the table, Trixie halted, frowning at Jaeger.

"Hey, what happened to him?" she asked, looking up at Terry.

"Oh, he done tried to outdrink Roxanne," Terry explained.

"Dumbass!" Trixie laughed, sitting Roxanne back onto her stool.

Kiki joined them again, handing Trixie and Roxanne a drink each.

"I think you've probably had enough," Trixie said, snatching Roxanne's drink from her.

"Look at him!" Roxanne yelled suddenly, flinging a hand out over the table at Jaeger. "How pathetic is that?"

Trixie nodded her head between gulps of her drink, using sign language to indicate to Kiki to buy two more of the same beverage. Kiki obediently nodded her head and returned to the bar.

"He's pathetic," Roxanne whispered to Trixie. "He's all nicey-nicey and boring! Ane he has absolutely no sense of humour whatsoever! He is no fun! He is so boring!"

Trixie nodded again as she started on her second drink. At Roxanne's other side, Meat and Terry were helping Kid sit down onto the stool there. Roxanne turned her head towards them, running her eyes over Kid.

"Do you know, that's the first time Kid Muscle has ever stood up for me!" she said firmly.

"What about all those times he ran away and you made him go back and fight?" Dik Dik challenged her. "He was fighting for you then!"

"Only because I asked him to! And he wasn't fighting for me those times, he was fighting for the Muscle League!"

Kiki handed Trixie two more glasses, and Trixie smiled her thanks. Kiki hesitated by the edge of the group of bodies before walking over to the next table and sitting down to watch them all from a safe distance.

"I don't need him!" Roxanne said defiantly, standing abruptly. "I don't need Kid Muscle!"

Roxanne turned to scowl at Jaeger, who was starting to snore.

"And I sure don't need that dork, either!" she shouted, jabbing a finger in Jaeger's direction.

Roxanne marched off towards the bar, causing Trixie to stand up behind her. Polishing off her third drink and grabbing up her fourth, Trixie hurried after Roxanne, grabbing her before she reached the bar.

"I think you've already had more than enough, Roxanne!" Trixie advised.

Roxanne turned to face Trixie, studying her solemnly for a moment. Trixie paused, frowning at her friend, before starting on her fourth drink.

"Trixie, you are my best friend," Roxanne said, dropping a hand onto Trixie shoulder with a slap.

"Thank you," Trixie replied, forcing a quick smile. "Likewise."

Trixie continued drinking, but Roxanne was still studying Trixie with sudden interest.

"So loyal," she said dreamily. "So strong, so honest, so true… You've always been there for me. And you would fight to the death for me!"

Trixie finished her drink, placing her glass onto the bar top.

"Of course I would!" she assured Roxanne.

Trixie made to order more drinks, but Roxanne suddenly grabbed her into a fierce hug, gripping her fingernails into the flesh of Trixie's back.

"Whoa!" Trixie laughed nervously. "Okay, okay! I love you too, Roxanne!"

Roxanne then grabbed Trixie by the shoulders, pushing her arms out straight to hold Trixie back. Roxanne studied her for a moment, slowly running her eyes over every part of her best friend.

"Do you know what Trixie?" she said softly, stepping closer to Trixie.

"What's that, Roxanne?" Trixie asked her innocently.

"I love you," Roxanne said, moving in closer to Trixie.

"That's sweet, Rox!" Trixie joked, grabbing Roxanne by the waist and leaning back as Roxanne started to lean towards her.

"I always have done, Trixie!" Roxanne continued. "Who needs these men? We can do it on our own! All girls together!"

"Yes!" Wally, Terry, Dik Dik and Checkmate chorused, punching their fists into the air.

"No!" Kid wailed.

"I think you've had just a bit too much to drink, Roxanne!" Trixie said nervously, ducking away from Roxanne and running past her.

She hurried over to Kiki, grabbing her by the shoulder to get her attention.

"Kiki, can you go on ahead and open Roxanne's room for me?" she said. "We need to get her to bed!"

Kiki nodded, pushing herself up and trudging off in the direction of Roxanne's room. Roxanne began to sing tunelessly to herself, dancing around in a circle. She grabbed Trixie's wrists, pulling her around with her.

"Uh, Terry?" Trixie called over to the Texan. "A little help, please?"

Terry smiled, jogging over to her side.

"Come on now, Roxanne, let's get you to bed," Terry said, pulling Roxanne from Trixie.

"Hey, watch what you'we doing wiv my Wokthanne!" Kid shouted at Terry.

"I promise I'll be gentle, Kid!" Terry called to him as he hoisted Roxanne into the air.

Roxanne began kicking and screaming in complaint, but Terry held her firmly, following Trixie out of the bar.

"How much has she had, anyway?" Trixie asked Terry as they scaled the stairs to Roxanne's room.

"Too much is all I can say!" Terry replied.

"I'll say!" Trixie replied.

Upstairs, Kiki was waiting for them inside Roxanne's room. Terry carried Roxanne to her bed, where he lay her down. She was beginning to tire, and looked relieved to be in her bed. She wrapped herself into her covers, and turned her back on her friends.

"Let's leave her," Trixie whispered to the others.

Kiki walked out of the room ahead of her friends, waiting until she heard the door of Roxanne's room close before turning back towards them. Kiki paused, at first not sure how to react to what she saw. Trixie was standing with her back pressed against Roxanne's door, and Terry was standing over her, one hand resting on the door frame, the other cupping Trixie's chin upwards as he pressed his lips against hers.

Kiki sighed, turning her back on them. She started towards her own room, when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, did you guys get Roxanne's bag?" she asked, walking back over towards Trixie and Terry.

Kiki watched the two kiss for a moment before shaking her head and muttering to herself under her breath as she marched off down the stairs again.

As Kiki entered the bar again, Checkmate walked out of the bar, carrying Jaeger. Wally was following after him, leaving only two figures in the bar. Kiki spotted Roxanne's bag, hurrying over to retrieve it.

"Kiki!"

Kiki straightened, turning to the remaining two men.

"Kiki, have you got a minute?" Dik Dik called to her.

Kiki nodded vaguely, her eyes shifting to the man sitting with Dik Dik. Were her eyes deceiving her? Surely that could not be who it looked like. Why would he be there? How had he gotten there?

"Goodnight, Kevin," Dik Dik bid the other figure, standing up from his seat.

Kevin Mask watched Dik Dik silently as he hurried over to Kiki.

"Could we just go for a walk?" Dik Dik asked, indicating the front entrance of the hotel.

"What, outside?" Kiki asked, eying Dik Dik in disbelief.

"It won't take long, I promise," Dik Dik assured her.

"Alright…"

Dik Dik indicated that Kiki should lead the way, and so she walked on, her eyes immediately drawn upwards as she stepped outside. The night sky overhead was perfectly clear and she could see all the stars and even some of the planets.

"Kiki, what I have to tell you concerns Mars."

Kiki paused, her eyes locking onto the glistening red dot low in the sky.

"Kiki, do you remember Kid's match against Mars?" Dik Dik continued.

"Of course I do," Kiki softly replied, keeping her eyes locked on Mars.

"And you remember that afterwards Mars was hospitalised?" Dik Dik asked.

"Yes."

"And you visited him."

"Yes."

"And he told you he had to leave. And he asked you to go with him."

"Yes."

"I was there."

Kiki's eyes dropped from the sky, and she frowned, her eyes darting around.

"I was standing outside his room, I heard everything you said to each other," Dik Dik explained.

"Oh," Kiki said, her eyes wandering back up to Mars.

"And Kiki, you know I had feelings for you then," Dik Dik added. "And I was so… Jealous and so wrong. I didn't want to lose you, so I… I stole Trixie's phone."

"You did what?"

Kiki spun around, fixing her eyes onto Dik Dik.

"I'm sorry Kiki, I was confused, I was in love, you know how that feels, and I just didn't want to lose you, least of all to that monster!" Dik Dik hurriedly said. "I was at the diner, and I saw you going back to meet Mars, and I just couldn't stand by and let it happen! So I pretended to bump into Trixie, and I grabbed her cell phone off her. I called the number she had saved as yours to make sure it was your number and then I sent you a message to say I was stranded and hurt, but not so hurt that I needed an ambulance, I didn't want you to make a hoax call or anything like that, I just–"

"It was you?"

"Yes, it was me."

"You created a diversion to stop me from getting to Mars on time?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Can you ever forgive me?"

"What's to forgive?"

Dik Dik faltered, searching for something to say.

"You did it because you care about me, and it's not like it made any difference to the outcome of my future with Mars anyway, is it?" Kiki continued. "He still left without me. Trixie said he was gone before you even made that phone call, so even if you hadn't bothered, I still would have lost him. And like I already said, I was going to say goodbye to him that day, not to go with him."

"You're not mad at me?" Dik Dik confirmed.

"No. If Mars had been waiting for me and you had stopped me reaching him on time then I would be mad, but that didn't happen. And I would have regretted not wanting to go with him if he had waited, but he didn't even have the decency to wait for me, so…"

Kiki met Dik Dik's eyes, shrugging her shoulders. She smiled at him, stepping towards him and touching a hand to his elbow.

"It's alright, it's all past us now, anyway," she assured him.

"Yes…" Dik Dik slowly replied, avoiding her eyes.

"I mean, it's not like you created that distraction then went behind my back and told Mars I wasn't coming because I totally hated him, or anything really nasty like that," Kiki added, squeezing Dik Dik's elbow.

Dik Dik sharply met her eyes, looking slightly alarmed for a moment.

"That would have been a truly awful thing to do, wouldn't it?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Kiki agreed. "There's no way I could have forgiven you for doing something like that! Especially since Mars is now dead and there's no way for me to explain what really happened to him."

"Right, yeah… But you know that I would never do anything so despicable, right?"

"Of course!"

Kiki smiled warmly at Dik Dik, before stepping up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Dik Dik lightly returned her hug, gulping audibly. Kiki stepped back from him, smiling up at him one last time.

"Good night, Dik Dik," she said. "I'll see you at tomorrow's match, yeah?"

"Yeah…"

Dik Dik watched Kiki walk back into the hotel, letting out a long sigh as the door closed behind her. He turned back to the car park, crying out in shock as he found himself suddenly overshadowed by a tall, darkly clothed Chojin.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

Dik Dik stared up at the man standing over him, his mouth moving in the shape of words despite the fact that no noise came from his throat.

"You know I hate Mars even more than you do, Bambi, but even Mars deserved better than that!" Kevin Mask continued.

"I-I-I…" Dik Dik stammered helplessly. "I-I… Hey, wait a minute! I did tell her the truth!"

"What, you really did create a diversion for her that day at the hospital?" Kevin asked.

"Yes."

"Funny, because a little bird – or perhaps we should say a rather large bird – told me that you created a diversion for Mars, too."

Dik Dik baulked, eying Kevin fearfully.

"What was it that you said again?" Kevin said, tapping a finger at the section of his mask that covered his forehead. "Ah yes, I believe it was something like "Mars, Kiki has sent me to tell you that she hates you for lying to her the way you did. I have asked her to marry me, and she has agreed. If you ever come near her again, you will be risking your life, and you will only upset her further. Just leave her alone now, she's happy. She has a real man now". Does that sound about right?"

Dik Dik continued to stare silently at Kevin, too shocked to answer him.

"Not that trifling little things like pathetic love triangles interest me in the slightest," Kevin continued. "But I do believe a man should be honest, a Chojin warrior especially so. If you truly did care, you would have told her the truth – the whole truth."

Dik Dik slowly lowered his eyes to the ground, his ears drooping at the sides of his head.

"Of course, not that I really care in the slightest," Kevin said. "I hate Mars, and that Kiki girl is about the most infuriating little minx one could have the misfortune to know, but…"

Kevin fixed his eyes onto Dik Dik, who slowly looked up at him again.

"I suppose it is a lucky thing you were gullible enough to turn around at the Ha! Made You Look contest," Kevin said quietly. "Otherwise you would have been the one to play a starring role in this crazy plan of the McMadds. Of course, I'm sure you didn't deliberately turn around to avoid what you knew by then lay ahead of you if you made it into the tournament…"

"I did no such thing!" Dik Dik declared, standing tall. "You caught me off guard by exploiting my one well-known weakness! I wasn't afraid of anything! I wanted to win the Chojin Crown just as much as the next man!"

"Indeed. Well, enjoy the match tomorrow, won't you?"

"Enjoy the match? Are you not going?"

"Oh of course I shall be there. I wouldn't miss this for the world. I have a front row seat. I just know tomorrow's match is going to deliver the sort of entertainment one cannot even buy these days. Good night, Bambi."

Dik Dik sighed, watching Kevin walk off down the car park.

"Entertainment," he mumbled to himself as he dragged his feet back towards the hotel entrance. "Some entertainment…"

Next Chapter: Terry has something to ask Trixie, Roxanne has something to tell Kid, Meat is heart-broken, and Kiki loses the last remaining shred of her sanity when she sees Six's face for the first time. Chapter 21 – Mystery Warrior Red Number Six Is….