XXXVII

The engines on the Track One were running while it hovered up in the sky with its rope ladder dangling and ready to support its passengers. The new away team, so far consisting of Trixie, Ziggy, Pixel and Stingy, were busy loading up their gear for a surprise attack on their enemies when Sportacus, Stephanie and Clyde arrived in the hangar. They were all wearing a modified version of their tracksuits that not only looked stylish but also insured their safety.

Instead of the white cotton that was normally overshadowed by their respective colors of pink, blue and green, they were now wearing a tight black fabric that left no inch of skin exposed and gloves to complete the set. Their signature chest emblems were given an upgrade as well. Sportacus' 10 was sharper and more 3-dimensional, Stephanie's 'S' was given a new razor-edged look and less curvy, and Clyde's trademark fist with the words 'Right On' were now etched in a grayscale.

"Like the new uniforms?" Pixel asked, anticipating their reactions.

"They're not bad." Sportacus nodded. "Good work, Pixel."

"Thanks."

"What's with the black fabric, though?" Stephanie tugged at her long sleeves.

"It's made out of a protective fiber that's bulletproof, fireproof and virtually indestructible. In short, you'll be increasingly mobile, flexible and generally safe from harm."

"Thanks."

"So are we all ready to leave or what?" Trixie impatiently asked as she started up the ladder. "I don't know about you guys but I can't wait to pound on some bad guy skull!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Pixel rolled his eyes as he followed. When he noticed Stingy close behind, he stopped. "Hey."

"What is it?" Stingy looked at him suspiciously.

"Whatever's going on between you two…" He started. "I'd patch things up before it's too late, you know? There's no telling what might happen to us on this trip."

"I'll be fine, Pixel."

"I'm just saying is all. I mean, what if--"

"Will you just go up the ladder!?"

Ziggy, wearing a ridiculously long blue and white cloak appeared in the hangar with his loyal followers close behind. Some were holding the ends of his robe, others carried books while they chanted and some even fanned him as they walked.

"That will be all, my children." Ziggy raised his hand and signaled them to stop. "I leave you now to help those who need my guidance the most. You are to follow Balthazar's lead until my return."

"Very good, sire!" Balthazar bowed before him. "All hail Zül!"

"HAIL!" They cheered.

"Oh, not this again…" Stephanie shook her head and walked over to Ziggy, grabbing him by the ear. "Let's go, Nelson."

"Ow!" He winced as he slowly proceeded towards the ladder. "Okay, okay, okay! I'll go! That's no way to treat a deity!"

"Move it!" Stephanie then turned to the king and queen. "We'll be back before you know it. Hopefully, Reiko is still trying to find a way to--"

"Worry not, Stephanie." Hal interrupted her. "All our men are positioned throughout the entire palace. We'll hold our own if we must."

"We'll be expecting your return." Ozymandias added. "You can be sure of that."

With a nod, Stephanie climbed up the ladder and met up with the rest of her team. Once everyone was settled in, the Track One took off at lightning speed. Their next stop was LazyTown.

---

The skies were dark and filled with misty purple clouds while the yellow moon pierced through the blackest corners of the old haunted castle in LazyTown.

In the underground dungeon, one of the captives remained chained to a wall as three men in simple street clothes approached him. They taunted him and laughed at his face. One of them even spat on him before taking a baseball bat and hitting him on the arm. The tall thin man felt the pain but he didn't open his mouth for anything. He remained standing and took the abuse.

"What's the matter?" One of the thugs asked. "Didn't that hurt? Huh?"

No response. Another hit. This time on his right shoulder. Still nothing.

"Ooh, a tough guy. I know what to do with tough guys."

"Vinnie, I don't think we should be doing this." One of them spoke up. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

"No, this guy's playing tough. I'm gonna show him he's not."

"Vinnie, c'mon…"

"Luca, get him out of here."

"I don't know, I think maybe Rico's right. Let's just leave him alone. Besides, the boss said he wants them alive."

"Yeah but the boss didn't say nothing about having some fun with 'em." He batted the man's calf. "Ain't that right, pretty boy?"

Robbie was in an agonizing state. He wanted so much to scream and collapse but he couldn't give them the pleasure. He took a deep breath and remained silent, hoping that his beloved wasn't taking the same kind of beating elsewhere.

---

"Where am I?"

"You're home. Down here in the lair."

"Lair?"

"Yes. You remember, don't you?"

"I… sort of."

"What do you remember?"

"I remember… dancing. A big stage in the center of town. A girl in pink and a man in blue."

"What else?"

"I remember… dancing."

"You already said that."

"I remember cake."

"Uh-huh."

"I remember… the Alamo?"

"No. Try again."

"Oh, this is boring!" She snapped at him unexpectedly. "When are you gonna cut the crap and let me out of here!?"

"What!?"

Robbie's jaw dropped at the sight of his creation walking off the platform of the machine he built and over to his coveted orange chair. Once there, she sat back with the remote in hand and started flipping channels.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" He griped. "That's my chair!"

"Well I'm sitting on it! Make with the cake, will you? I'm starving over here!"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" He hurried into the kitchen and brought out a slice of periwinkle cake for her to enjoy. "Here you go, I was just--hey, wait a minute!"

He swiped the cake away from her before she could stick her fork in it.

"Hey!"

"You're supposed to be obeying my every command!"

"Nuts to that! If you wanted me to obey, you would have turned me into a robot instead of a normal human being!"

"I wouldn't exactly say normal…"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing!" Robbie tried to cover up his tracks, hiding the truth about her infertility. "I mean you're perfectly normal! You've got the body and spirit of a twenty-five year-old! Guts and all, even!"

"Really?" Innocently enough, she picked up a knife from the plate and aimed it at her wrist. "Cool! Let me see!"

"NO!" He swiped the knife away just in time. "Unfortunately your mind needs a little more work."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well you were a toy, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. So I guess in a way my mind is like a child's. Because children like to play with toys. Huh. With that kind of logic, you can't go wrong!"

"Never mind." Robbie rolled his eyes. "If you were able to come to that conclusion then I'd suggest you were either suicidal or incredibly eccentric and optimistic."

"Hey, do you want to see me make bubbles with my spit?"

"No." He grumbled. "Well come along, then."

"Where are we going?" She got up from the chair and followed him into the hall. "Are we going to try and ruin the kids' fun?"

"Not today, no. Right now I have to make sure you're settled in before we can do anything else. Let's start with getting you a new wardrobe."

"That's real nice of you. Thanks, boss!"

"Boss?" He stopped outside a door.

"…Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "Come along, Rottenella."

"Is that really gonna be my name?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I don't know. I just thought it would be something else."

"That's what I called you the first time and that's what I intend on calling you now."

"Well, all right. I think I would have preferred 'Violet' or something but whatever. That's why you're the boss!"

---

From that moment she knew they had made a connection. Even if it took him an entire year to figure it out. She remembered that day so well and cherished it in her thoughts and in her heart whenever things around her seemed bad. Right now things were a little edgy.

She stood in the middle of a lounge that had been built inside the old haunted castle some time ago before her rebirth.

There was a time when the entire building was turned into a museum but when taking care of its crumbling foundations and old structure became to much of chore to keep up with, Mayor Meanswell decided it best to leave it abandoned as it should have been from the start. The lounge was where the young dancer remembered spending time in, reading about all the historical landmarks that surrounded the small town.

Now she was back, standing around with her hands bound together with an elastic bungee cord and wearing an ivory and lilac brocade dress at the request of her captor. He walked in the room wearing a black and gold military outfit and holding a sangria cocktail in his hand. He sat down on the lounge chair next to the portrait of LazyTown sketched on the wall and winked at the raven-haired beauty who stood before him.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." He said before taking a drink.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"The same thing I did to her all those years ago."

"…You wouldn't."

"Of course I would." He took another drink, this time licking his lips afterwards in the sleaziest of ways. "She wore that same exact dress, you know. When I had her on the floor, her smooth and silky legs opened and--"

"Shut up."

"Come over here." He took another drink and patted his lap. "I promise I'll be gentle this time."

"No." She shook her head in disgust. "I'm not like Desirée, Tombstone. I'm different."

"Really? You look like her. You talk like her. Hell, you even smell like her." He sniffed the air for a moment and inhaled in an almost arousing way. "Sweet lavender."

"You're disgusting."

"Face it. You're just a copy."

"I'm not."

"Then why are you taking her name along with all the other features I just described?"

"I…"

"That's what I thought."

---

Inside another part of the dungeon, Bob was being stretched and electrocuted by two swarms of electrical eels swimming in opposite directions. The chubby pink rabbit winced at the pain and cried out a few times but he managed to keep his wit to throw off his captors.

"Speak up, little rabbit!" One of them shouted. "I know you can talk!"

"Yeah, say something!" Another one egged him on. "C'mon! Anything!"

"All right!" Bob said out of breath. "You've got one of the ugliest mugs I've ever seen! If I was as ugly as you, I'd shave my ass and walk backwards!"

"Ha Ha!"

"Hey, that ain't funny!"

The stranger stuck a prod inside the tank and caused the eels to pull even harder and send another shockwave through Bob's fuzzy pink body.

"Now that's funny!" He laughed. "Don't you think so, bunny boy?"

"Not… not as funny… as looking at youse two idiots."

"You getting smart with me, rabbit?" He raised the prod again. "The boss said we weren't supposed to kill ya but I'm liable to make an exception for you!"

"Yeah? Bring it, ya pansy!"

The prod went in and another electrical shock went through the bunny's small frame. This time, however, the electrocution went a little longer than expected and now the pink fur was starting to turn black in some parts.

"Laugh it up, rabbit!"

"Hey, take it easy. He's just a stupid fat rabbit."

"Yeah but that stupid fat rabbit wants to get rough."

"That…" Bob gasped for air. "…That's how… that's how your mom likes it."

"All right, that's it!"

"Bring it, sissy boy!"

---

In another room, Dramatik stood near a brick well totally unharmed but understandably shaken up. The sand and rocks at his feet started to move and as they climbed over one another, they transformed into a being made entirely out of gravel.

"Magik, please don't do that!" Dramatik cried. "Show yourself!"

The creature ignored his plea and stepped forward, raising his massive boulder fist and preparing to strike the thespian down.

"Magik! As your older brother, I command you to stop this at once!"

The creature stopped and disintegrated into dust and sand again as the young woman appeared behind her brother.

"Hello, dear brother."

"Magik! What am I doing here? Why have you brought us to this hellhole!? We've done nothing wrong!"

"Nothing wrong?" She smirked. "You and your friends have sided with the enemy."

"Have you the brain worms!? Reiko is the enemy!"

"Reiko is our savior." Another voice said as the ground slightly shook.

From below the cracks of the floor, Havik stood up and greeted his little brother with a tight handshake and a menacing smile.

"The only reason we spared your life so far is because we want to give you one last chance."

"Last chance for what?"

"For joining us, of course." Diabolik mysteriously appeared from behind. "You said you wanted us to be a family again, didn't you? Well then? Here's your chance."

"How dare you!?" Dramatik took offense. "How could you make me choose between my morals and principles and my own family!?"

"Dramatik, open your eyes. None of those mean anything when you're with Reiko! Under his reign, we can do whatever we want and get away with it!"

"Something's not right…" The actor turned away from his siblings. "You're not yourselves. You once used your unique abilities like a gift and not as a curse. Why have you suddenly decided to--"

Dramatik was silenced as Diabolik grabbed hold of his neck and brought his face close. "Our gifts are for us to use as we wish. You of all people can't tell us how to use them."

"But Reiko can?"

Before the ninja could answer, they heard a distant rumbling coming from outside the castle. He dropped his youngest brother and ran out of the room with his other two siblings close behind.

---

"Do you hear that?" Desirée smiled. "My friends are here to save us."

"Perhaps. But I'm still going to have my fun with you."

"I won't let you."

"Maybe not. But I don't mind taking it by force. The way I see it, you can either give in to me and let me ravish that luscious body of yours…"

"Or?"

"Or you can live up to your namesake and die by my hands."

"It's not going to happen either way, I can assure you."

"Oh no?"

"No. Because I can beat you down and leave you soaking in your own blood."

Tombstone slowly got up from his chair and approached the slender young beauty. He gave her a once-over and pulled her close to him, chuckling to himself.

"I don't think so." He shook his head and sat back down. "I know you well enough to tell when you're bluffing."

"So you say…"

"Since you came to Aðalsteinn, you were always hiding behind your precious fiancé or that big blue oaf and his pink cheerleader sidekick. Nobody's ever seen you in combat. Hell, you haven't even tried to throw a single punch!"

"Well…" Desirée nervously pulled at her bungee cord with no results. "…Umm…"

"You can't even break through a simple bungee cord." He grinned. "I know my women. And you? You're harmless."

"That's exactly what I wanted you to think."

"Hmm?"

In the blink of an eye, Desirée swung her arms out and snapped the cord in half then leapt across the room with one leg shot out. She kicked Tombstone across the face and forced him out of his chair, where he struggled to crawl away. But the girl in the lilac dress refused as she grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against the hard floor.

"Still think I'm harmless!?"

---

Inside the castle, near the entrance, Dramatik's siblings, Luca, Rico, Vinnie and the other two mobsters stood in front of the door and looked around to find the source of the rumbling.

"What's going on?" Vinnie asked as he loaded a round into his gun. "Khan back or what?"

"No…" Havik shook his head. "He would have appeared by the portal by now."

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash and noticed the door was being pounded on from the outside. Like the idiots they were, Bob's captives stepped forward with their weapons drawn and placed their hands all over the wooden surface of the old door.

"Nope." One of them shook his head. "Nothing."

Then the door exploded, sending large pieces of wood flying towards the enemy. Magik stopped the wood shrapnel in midair and levitated it across the room, shaping it into a ball. But before she could launch it outside, another explosion from the ground caused to her to break her concentration. As a result, the wooden ball fell on top of Magik's head and knocked her out cold.

"Magik!" Havik cried. "Who is doing this!?"

"Hi there." Stephanie appeared, holding the Silverfox and the four power gems. "Remember us?"

"The Pink One."

"Yoo-hoo!" A voice called.

"What?"

Using his head, Clyde launched himself into Havik's stomach and knocked the wind out of him. The boy in green and black then pulled out a golf club from his arsenal and placed a tee at his opponent's feet.

"Fore!"

With a heavy swing, Clyde managed to send Havik flying into the air, where he crashed into the wall and fell unconscious next to his sister.

"Yes!" Clyde kissed his club. "I'll never call golf a dull game again!"

"Stop him!" Diabolik sent for the three cronies.

"Hands up, kid!" Luca raised his gun. "Don't make me shoot!"

"No! Shoot him! Shoot him! That's the whole point!"

"Oh. Sorry, D."

But before any one of the three morons could react, Trixie, Pixel and Ziggy arrived on the scene and attacked them from behind in a synchronized fashion. One punch to the spine, two in the ribs, a kick to their calves and for a finale, they brought their heads together to put them down for the night.

"Idiots!" Diabolik unleashed his sword. "I'll finish you off myself!"

"Not so fast!" Sportacus jumped in and kicked the ninja in the chest. "You'll have to get through me first!"

"With pleasure…"

"Go! Find the others!"

As they complied, Diabolik swung his blade at Sportacus but missed and got a swift boot in the face. He dropped his weapon in the process and in doing so, Sportacus managed to pick it up and pin his opponent to the brick wall.

"Hey!" Diabolik squirmed. "Let me go!"

"You'll be safe there." He simply said before taking off to meet the others.

---

Stephanie broke down every door of the dungeon by releasing a stream of energy from the Silverfox. Amazed at its power, she smiled and nodded approvingly at her friends.

"Yup. I love this weapon." She grinned. "Spread out."

Stingy and Pixel entered the first room and found Dramatik cowering behind the well. They laughed for a moment then offered their hands for support.

"You okay?" Pixel asked as he Stingy helped the actor up. "You look a little frightened."

"With good reason, I can assure you!" He snapped. "What took you so long!?"

"Hey, we had a job to do back in Coast City!"

"Yeah, you're lucky they didn't hurt you!" Stingy pointed his finger.

"They only kept me alive because I'm their sibling. They offered me a place at their side."

"You didn't say yes, did you?"

"Of course not! I'm an actor! I'm incapable of actual physical harm!"

"Let's go." Pixel chuckled.

---

In the other room, Stephanie stumbled upon the two tanks and the prod resting on the table. She noticed something strange floating at the bottom of one of the tanks and stuck the sword in to see if she could fish it out. Once she felt the weight on the blade, she slowly pulled it out and was immediately taken aback to see her fuzzy pink friend soaked to the bone and displaying several burn marks on his fur.

"Bob…" She gently lowered him on the table as he tried to catch his breath. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Hey kid…" He managed to crack a smile. "Geez, it's good to see yer pretty face again."

"Bob, what happened? What did they do to you?"

"Khan wanted to see… how the Cave of Despair works… he wanted… to know its secrets…" He paused for another breath of air. "But I told those chumps to drop dead… funny, huh?"

"Oh, Bob." She pet his soft little head as she tried to fight back the tears. "Please…"

"See ya later, kid."

As the rabbit closed his eyes, he drew his final breath and rested at last. He then began to emit a strange blue glow before he finally faded away into nothingness.

---

Tombstone managed to roll away and stand up on his feet, dazed and ready to fight back. Desirée deflected his punch and aimed for his belt, where she slipped it out with ease and lashed at him repeatedly on the face.

"You scrawny little--" Tombstone growled before getting whipped across the mouth with his own belt. "You'll pay for--"

"Oh, shut up!"

She quickly wrapped the belt around his neck and flipped over behind him, pulling with all her might. His face turned red as he struggled for air but Desirée was in no mood to let go right away.

"This is for the girl you murdered. For the old woman whose life you ruined."

"You…" His face was now purple and puffy as he gurgled and passed out.

She dropped his battered body to the floor and tossed the belt aside as a tearful Stephanie walked in. They were surprised to see each other doing considerably well.

"Steph?"

"Desirée?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just taking care of business."

"He's not dead, is he?"

"No. But lord knows I ought to finish him off right here and now." She then noticed the red in Stephanie's eyes. "Are you crying?"

"…Bob." She choked.

"What?"

"They killed Bob."

"No…"

"We better find Robbie."

"Oh my God! Robbie!"