A/N: So, I have a little something special for all you Hey Arnold fan fiction readers and writers out there. This is the final section of chapter nine before we move on to the day of the dance! It's longer, so I hope you guys like that. The beginning of chapter ten should be posted by Tuesday. It's between Arnold, Gerald, and Helga makes a cameo as well. Thanks for reading and enjoy! (I do not own Hey Arnold! or its characters, but I did write this fan fiction.)

"Where's Phoebe?" Arnold Shortman asks his best friend, Gerald Johansson, as he readjusted the glove and bat that he is carrying on his back. Gerald and him were heading to Gerald Field for some baseball practice before the game between them and P.S. 120 next week. P.S. 120 was the only other high school in the Hillwood area, and they were P.S. 121's biggest competitors. The winners would advance forward, so it was one of the most important games of the season. Arnold was first baseman, and Gerald was in the outfield, so the two thought they would practice since they didn't have practice on Monday because of the homecoming dance.

"Oh, she's with Helga. They're shopping for the dance. The ladies got to look their best!" Gerald tosses the baseball in his hands over and over.

"Right…" Arnold sighs, remembering the conversation he had with Helga earlier this afternoon.

"Hey, man. Are you still bummed that you can't go to the dance? Have you told Lila yet?"

Arnold sighs even further once Gerald brings his other situation up. He had been able to go at least one hour without thinking about Helga and Lila.

"No, it's not that. And no, I haven't." Arnold waves back to Harold, who is working at his part time job with Mr. Green at Green's Meats. He stopped to wave when he saw two of his friends stroll in front of the street where the shop was located.

"You have to tell her, Arnold! The dance is tomorrow!" Gerald strikes his shoulder to try to shake him back into reality. He also waves to Harold as the two pass the places they've lived next to their whole lives.

"I never wanted to go with Lila in the first place." Arnold reminded him, as they started approaching Gerald Field.

"But you thought about it." Their feet finally met the familiar grass of their alley baseball field. "You still have to tell her."

The blonde football headed boy ignores his friend's observation. "I know. Do you want to bat or pitch?"

"I think I'll pitch first." Arnold smirks as he hands him the baseball glove and leaves the bat for himself.

"Batter up." Arnold swings the bat several times to stretch for a moment as he attempts to sort through his thoughts.

He watches Gerald walk to the pitcher mound as he pictures Helga in her homecoming dress.

'I wonder what kind of dress she'll buy. Definitely pink of course.' Arnold dreamed of what his princess would look like in her gown. He takes his bating stance as he patiently waits for Gerald's pitch.

"Arnold, my prince. Dance with me." Arnold suddenly heard the voice of the girl he had envisioned seconds before.

"Helga?" His chapped lips croaked her name. He turned his head from left to right. There was no one there among the makeshift baseball field but him. Where was Gerald? "What are you doing here? Where are you?"

"Right behind you, football head." The words of the woman chimed again as Arnold spun to witness what was behind him.

There was a woman before him, but it was not Helga.

It was a princess.

There was a woman dressed in a poofy, pink, princess dress, with the fabric curling out and draping to the grass below them. The glitter along the stitched pieces of silk shone against the falling sunshine, and led up to her chest. A pattern of the diamonds were lined against the top of the chest piece, and beamed brighter than the others before. The woman's breasts were about to burst out from the tightness of the top, causing Arnold to blush and frantically rush his gaze to the woman's face. Her milky skin was flourished with foundation, revealing flawless skin. But lastly, her baby blue eyes blinked as the black eyeliner framed the irises of the ocean that Arnold had seen before. If it wasn't for the matching pink, glittery mask covering her identity, he would have recognized who she was right away. Yet she didn't know that her eyes were a giveaway.

"Helga." He dropped his baseball bat while trying to keep from drooling from his motionless mouth.

"I prefer Princess Helga G. Pataki, Arnoldo. Or else Betsey and the Five Avengers will have to come out of retirement." Helga acknowledged with her pink lip-gloss, her smile displaying her whitened teeth.

"What are you doing here, Hel… I mean, Princess? I thought you were upset with me." Arnold took another step closer to the girl he was in love with.

Her laugh jingled his eardrums with the pleasant rhyme of her voice. "I've come for a dance. You said you wanted one more chance."

"You said I didn't deserve another chance." He struggled to snuggle his hands in his front jean pockets.

'Just play it cool, man.' His inner conscience controlled his thoughts.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. Even you and Helga." Helga twirled around in the dress as she giggled. "Man, I picked a winner."

"Yes, you did." Helga spun in circles as she admired the night sky before her. The stars seemed to twinkle and move along in rhythm with her as she hummed a melody.

"What do you mean Helga and I? Why should I give Helga another chance? She needs to give me one more chance!"

Helga rolled her eyes and smirked as she stood still. "There's more than meets the mask, hair boy. You might have to take hers off to get a better look." Trying to steady herself, she stepped forward, and ended up tripping into Arnold's arms.

"Wait. What? Are you implying that Helga wears a mask?" Arnold caught the falling female into his cradle.

"Some people wear a mask all the time, Arnold, and not just at dances." Helga all of sudden snapped her fingers and a princess crown settled upon her bundles of blonde curls. "Helga may not be the only one." She raised her hands to adjust the sparkling crown upon her curls, and waited for Arnold to permit her to proceed. He nodded, and she slowly stroked her fingers along the smooth skin of his face. Shivering, he unconsciously leaned into her touch.

"I'm so confused. Everyone is wearing a mask to the dance. The theme is Masquerade Madness."

"Exactly." The vision in pink finally released her prince and pushed from his hands. She placed herself within arms distance from Arnold. "I think you know what to do." She winked, and snapped her fingers again.

The green grass below them started to shake, and cracks separated the two figures from each other.

"An earthquake?!" Arnold shouted, trying to stable himself from the creating cracks. "HELGA!"

"See you at the dance, football head." The glitter from her princess gown flew off to shield the Royal Highness from sight, and formed a cloud of glitter around her.

"Oh." Helga remembered. "Good luck." He could hear her criminal chuckling as she stole one last glance at her favorite victim.

In a second, the cloud rose to take her away, and now Arnold was alone to face the emerging earthquake.

"Wait! Helga! Help!" The cracks grew bigger and wider, with Arnold wobbling and fighting to keep his balance.

One last crack caused our football headed hero to fall into the throat of the enormous earthquake.

The cracks eventually swallowed up the entire Gerald Field along with Arnold.

"Helga!" He called as his body was eaten by the earthquake's mouth.

"Ah!" Arnold gasped, breathing in the air around him. His chest rose up and down, and he lifted his hand to search for his beating heart. The rapid pumps of his blood vessels began to slow, as he realized that he was awake and had returned to reality.

"Arnold! Are you okay?" Gerald found Arnold's forehead. He was speed sweating, obviously in distress.

"Ah, Gerald!" Arnold hid his view by covering his eyes with his hands. "Don't do that! You scared me!" The sun strained to seek his irises.

"Man, you're scaring me! You were just standing there, drifting off like you usually do. So I threw the baseball at you, hoping that it would wake you up, but I accidently hit you in the head. Then, before I knew it, you passed out! I almost called an ambulance, dude!"

"You threw a baseball at me?" Arnold sneered, forcing his face out of Gerald's fingers. "You just could have called my name or something!"

"Yeah… Sorry about that." Gerald rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Arnold began rubbing his head. "Ouch. I do feel like something hit me on the head."

"Can you remember anything? You remember who I am, right?"

Arnold glared at his friend, who was still hovering over him. "Yes, Gerald. I remember who you are. You're the asshole of a best friend who hit me with a baseball."

"Oh, right." He blushed. "Guess you didn't lose your memory." Standing up, he brushed off his jeans after kneeling in the grass next to Arnold.

"Need a hand?" Gerald held out his hand for his practical brother to reach.

Arnold automatically accepted the advance, as his teammate helped him up to the ground below them.

"Man, I think you need some water. You're sweating." Gerald wiped his palm on his number thirty-three jersey that he was wearing. "Come with me. We'll go to Slausen's down the street."

"Good idea." Arnold started to shake off the grass on his number nine jersey that matched the one of his best friend's. "And Gerald?"

Gerald turned to find the frame of his eyes. "Yeah, buddy?"

"Thanks."

"One more chance…" Gerald spoke the similar speech that Helga G. Pataki said in his nightmare in her voice. That wasn't Gerald talking! It was Helga using Gerald to communicate to him! Before he could react, Helga herself peeked behind Gerald's shoulders, still in her costume, to wink at him.

"What did you just say?!" Arnold panicked, and rushed to rub his eyes. His expression copied that of a deer before it was about to be hit by a car. It threatened to take over his face as he tried to retake in his surroundings.

"I said whatever you say, man." Gerald raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I know you're there, Helga!" Arnold pushed his best friend aside to look behind his shadow. There was nothing there.

"Uh, Arnold? Helga's at the mall with the Phoebe, remember?" Gerald attempted to resurrect Arnold's memory, even though that seemed impossible at this point considering that he was seeing images of people in his life.

"I knew that." Arnold sarcastically stated, and readjusted his blue cap. "Let's go."

"You do remember that we are going to Slausen's, right?"

"I know." The football head stomped off the baseball field back onto the sidewalk to start his way to their favorite ice cream parlor. "Then we're going to the mall."

"Arnold!" Gerald hustled and hurried to catch up to his best friend, who was almost frothing in frustration. "You can't go and talk to Helga! She's mad at you!"

"Not to talk to Helga." He seethed through the suction of his lips. "I'm going to that dance."

Gerald stopped in his path to replay Arnold's words in his mind. When it finally processed, Gerald couldn't hold back his grin. "Now that's more like it, man! Let's go get you ready for that dance!"

He swung his arm around Arnold's shoulder as he smiled. "Helga won't be able to resist."

Arnold sighed as he started to breathe in attempts to calm down. "It's the only chance I got."