"So the point of this game is to guess what the word is by just a drawing?" Stumpy clarified.

"Quack!" Quack Quack confirmed enthusiastically. There were a number of supplies laid out in front of the duck—a stack of plain white paper for drawing, a group of pencils, and a bucket with small, folded sheets of paper in it—the words that the one who was "it" would have to try to convey their meaning through drawing.

Olaf, sitting to Stumpy's right, smiled confidently, pressing his wings together. "I am the assured victor of this frivolity. My illustrations appear as if from a pen of gold."

"That's going to be tough if you get a word like 'silver'!" Stumpy cackled. Eugly, who was on the other side of Stumpy, laughed a bit at the joke. Even Quack Quack cracked a bit of a smirk.

"You shall see which of us is gifted with the true artist's touch," Olaf countered declaratorily. "Commence with the sketching, waterfowl, and let our work attest to which of us is the true master!"

"Quack," Quack Quack responded, reaching his hand into the bucket and searching around for a bit before removing a piece of paper, opening it, and reading the word contained therein.

After taking a moment or two to ponder how to visualize it, he got to work, leaning over the paper with a look of fierce concentration, pencil flying across the page.

"Ooh! I know! It's a panini!" Stumpy instantly shrieked out.

Quack Quack shook his head.

"A bomber jet!" Olaf tried.

Quack Quack shook his head again.

"An acorn! A joystick! A hotrod motorcycle!" Stumpy guessed wildly.

Quack Quack didn't even acknowledge his error with a gesture, choosing instead to continue drawing.

Eugly made a speculative noise, motioning with her hands to further convey her own guess.

"Aw, come on!" Stumpy complained. "It's not fair that she gets to play this game when you're the judge, Quack Quack! She could be totally wrong but we'd never know it and you'll just tell her she won because she's your girlfriend!"

But, despite Stumpy's prediction, Quack Quack simply looked at Eugly and shook his head again. Eugly's shoulders sagged in slight disappointment.

"See?" Olaf said smugly. "Your skills with a pencil are quite meager, otherwise we all would have guessed it by now!"

"Ooh! I know what it is!"

Just as suddenly and abruptly as she had announced her presence, Kaeloo leapt in front of Quack Quack, pointing at his sketch excitedly. "It's a visual representation of the abstract quality of courage! Drawn most creatively as teacups, I might add."

Quack Quack beamed. "Quack!" he exclaimed, not so much affirming her answer as it was joy at seeing his old friend.

"Teacups? Hmph. I would have used airplanes," Mr. Cat chided, strolling into view as well.

Stumpy squealed with glee. "Kaeloo and Mr. Cat are back!" He and Quack Quack enveloped Kaeloo into a huge hug.

"It's so good to see you again, buddies!" Kaeloo said happily, hugging them back. "And this looks like a fun game you're playing!"

"It is! Although I think you just won." Letting go of Kaeloo, Stumpy turned to Mr. Cat with outstretched arms, Quack Quack quickly doing the same.

Mr. Cat took a step back defensively. "Don't even think about hugging me."

"Ah, it is indeed a pleasure to welcome back the feline and amphibian couple," Olaf said sincerely. "How have your travels been through the worlds I shall soon conquer?"

"Not worlds, Olaf, just New Cross City," Kaeloo said. "But it's been going well! A few hiccups here and there, of course, but what can you do, that's life you know…" She glanced over at Eugly, who was giving a friendly wave of greeting. "Hello, Eugly! Where's your sister?"

"Pretty said she'd meet up with us in a short while," Stumpy said. "She had to go meet up with her boyfriend first."

"Boyfriend?!" Kaeloo and Mr. Cat both blurted out in disbelief simultaneously.

Since everything seemed to run perfectly on cue in Smileyland, it was at that moment that Pretty ambled into view, arm in arm with a stocky, brown bear. She stopped for just a second with slight surprise at seeing who all was there. "Oh goodness, it's Mr. Cat, and Kaeloo! What a surprise!"

Kaeloo grinned through her slight discomfort, although a bit relieved to find that Pretty didn't seem to be angry or upset at their presence. "Hello, Pretty! Is this your boyfriend? We just heard—"

"Oh yes, he's my boyfriend alright!" Pretty giggled and gazed besottedly at the bear, who returned the look right back at her.

"Oh great," Stumpy muttered to Kaeloo. "Now you've gone and started it…"

If this was meant to convey Stumpy's worry that Pretty wouldn't direct her attention towards anything else, however, he was proven wrong when after a few seconds, Pretty turned back to face the group. "This is Barry. He was one of my most devoted followers on Fakebook—he still is, in fact! When he wanted to meet me and shower all of his praises on me in person, well I of course couldn't say no." She grinned again.

Barry also smiled, lifting a large paw in greeting. "Yo."

"Barry, this is Mr. Cat and Kaeloo. They used to live here. Pity poor Mr. Cat," Pretty said with a laugh, winking up towards Barry, "he could have had me but let me slip away!"

"That is literally the last thing about me that anyone needs to pity," Mr. Cat intoned dryly.

"Ah, Mr. Cat," Pretty said, stepping towards him with true concern in her eyes, "please don't take it so hard. After you left, I realized that the only person who could ever be fit to be with me was one who recognized me for the amazing person that I am, and quite frankly that person was never going to be you. And then I met Barry and he's ten times the person and devoted follower that you'll ever be." She clutched a dramatic fist against her chest. "Have courage and take heart, Mr. Cat, upon the crushing realization of everything you missed out on. I'm sure your heartbreak must be immense."

"Not in the slightest," Mr. Cat muttered without hesitation.

"We're not here to talk about heartbreak," Kaeloo interrupted, although inwardly she was somewhat glad to hear this from Pretty—while she knew it wasn't really her fault, she did feel a little guilty for how Pretty must have felt at "losing" Mr. Cat like she had. However, it appeared as though not only did she hold no ill will towards the two of them, but seemed to have not been crushed too badly by her loss and had gotten over Mr. Cat relatively quickly. Kaeloo was relieved to learn this—mostly because she knew how bad heartbreak felt and didn't want to have been the reason, at least indirectly, that Pretty went through it. Although the true test of her feelings was going to come with what Kaeloo was about to do next.

She reached into her messenger bag and pulled out five small envelopes. "We're here to invite you all to our wedding!"

"Ooh! Cool!" Stumpy exclaimed, taking his invitation eagerly. "I've never been to a real wedding before!"

"I expect only the finest refreshments and décor," Olaf remarked.

"Ooh, don't worry about that! I've been working hard on the plans lately. It's all going to be amazing when everything comes together!" Kaeloo handed an invitation to Pretty, and gave Barry a quick glance. "Barry, you're invited too, of course!"

"Yo," Barry said with a satisfied nod.

"So you're finally tying the knot, huh?" Stumpy said as Kaeloo handed the last two invitations to Eugly and Quack Quack. "There'd better be a bachelor party!" He smirked at Mr. Cat deviously.

Mr. Cat simply crossed his arms across his chest smugly. "What makes you think I'm a bachelor? Kaeloo and I are already married."

"That's right!" Kaeloo exclaimed. "But it was just a quick legal ceremony with none of the pomp and pizzazz that a good wedding needs! Plus," she added quickly, "Mr. Cat pointed out that our marriage may only be legal in New Cross City and nowhere else. We want to be married here in Smileyland, too!"

"Marriages conducted elsewhere aren't valid in Smileyland?" Olaf said, his eyes growing wide with worry. "Do you mean to say that Olga and I have been living a lie this entire time?"

"I don't know," Kaeloo admitted, still with a good amount of cheer. "You might be, you might not be. But you can always throw a wedding for yourself and Olga here anyway! I can help you! I've gotten to be very good at wedding planning!"

"Yeah, just don't give her any more ideas," Mr. Cat remarked dryly, although his words were accompanied with a smile.

"Quack," Quack Quack interrupted solemnly, holding out the pencil to Kaeloo.

"Oh… it's my turn, is it?" Kaeloo blinked once and then beamed excitedly. "Ooh, what fun! Just tell me how to play!"

"Quack."

"That sounds simple!"

"I still don't understand him," Pretty complained. "Can someone translate for Barry and me?"

"Kaeloo's going to pick something to draw from that box, and whoever guesses what she's drawing wins!" Stumpy explained.

"Oh." Pretty grinned, affectionately linking arms with Barry again. "Barry's great at this game. He'll win for sure."

"Yo." Barry smiled confidently.

Kaeloo bit her tongue thoughtfully, examining the slip of paper she'd pulled out of the box for a minute or two. "Okay, I think I've got it!" She began to carefully sketch on a blank sheet of paper, stepping aside every so often so that her friends could see.

No one was hazarding any guesses.

"It's either a Rorschach test," Pretty finally remarked sardonically, "or you need glasses."

"Yo," agreed Barry.

"Laughable," Olaf scoffed.

"So wait, if none of us can guess what it is, does that mean Kaeloo wins?" Stumpy asked, scratching his head.

"Really, you guys!" Kaeloo cried, a bit disheartened, "it should be plain to see that it's a—well, I'm not telling, you're supposed to guess. But it should be obvious!"

"It's a library," Mr. Cat said abruptly.

Everyone turned to stare dumbly at him as Kaeloo clapped her hands gleefully. "Yes, Mr. Cat! That's correct!"

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Pretty asked Mr. Cat.

"I've been around her for long enough; I've become somewhat of an expert as to how her mind works," Mr. Cat responded simply with a smug smile, stepping up towards the box. "I believe it's my turn now, babe." He held a paw out to Kaeloo expectantly.

Kaeloo handed him the pencil, still grinning. "Here you go! I can't wait to see what you come up with!"

"Oh, neither can I," Mr. Cat said with a low purr as Kaeloo moved back over to where everyone else was standing. He reached into the container, quickly pulled out a slip of paper, and after a brief glance at it, he tossed it aside and got to work on his drawing.

"Ooh! It's a tower!" Stumpy cried out.

"A rocket ship!" Kaeloo guessed.

"A heat-seeking missile!" Olaf ventured.

"Close," Mr. Cat smirked.

"Maybe it's a…" Pretty suddenly clamped down on her hand and snorted incredulously, her already pink face growing even more pink.

"Yo," Barry laughed, his sides shaking.

In fact, everyone was fighting down immature, perverted giggles at Mr. Cat's incredibly phallic drawing—everyone, that is, except Kaeloo. "Mr. Cat!" she hissed, growing red with equal parts embarrassment and anger, "you can't just draw… genitalia like that!"

"There we go!" Mr. Cat said triumphantly, pointing at Kaeloo. "I'll accept that answer, although what I was really looking for was 'Pastor Pete and his congregation'."

"Pastor Pete!" Stumpy howled out with laughter, falling against an equally amused Quack Quack.

Their raucous laughter that Pretty, Eugly, Olaf, and Barry all shared as well was not something Kaeloo was about to partake in, however.

"MR. CAT!"

She erupted into Bad Kaeloo, glaring at her husband disapprovingly.

"THIS NOT TIME FOR MAKING DIRTY JOKES!"

"It's always time for making dirty jokes," Mr. Cat countered with a smirk.

"ACT MATURE!" With a lightning fast motion, Bad Kaeloo backhanded Mr. Cat, sending him flying out of sight. Perhaps it was the abruptness of this move that caused her to instantly transform back, sighing with disappointment at herself and pressing her palm into her forehead.

"Oh dear… I hit him that way, didn't I?" She pointed to her left.

Everyone save Barry was still chuckling, but Quack Quack managed to answer her question with a brief nod.

"Alright… I'll be right back." She took off running. "You can keep playing the game without us!" she called as she scrambled away from them.

"Yo…" Barry started in confusion, raising an eyebrow at what he'd just witnessed.

"Oh, she does that when she gets mad," Pretty explained lightly. "I would say that's just another reason to pity poor Mr. Cat, but no, the moron is with her willingly! But if he's so stupid that he missed out on me, then that's the price he pays! And you and I both win." She giggled and leaned into him again.

"Yo," Barry agreed with a nod and a smile.

…

"Mr. Cat?" Kaeloo called out tentatively, the rolling hills of Smileyland giving no clues as to his whereabouts. "Mr. Cat? I'm sorry for losing my temper…" Seemed almost a moot point to make by now, of course, since she was well aware that she would always be the one more distressed by her actions than he was, especially when it came to her bad side, but she felt she had to say it anyway, just to ease her conscience. "Mr. Cat, where are you?"

She halted at what she came across with her next step—it was the field where so many of the different portal doors were, sticking out of the ground randomly and all over the place, as if they were burgeoning mushrooms. Mr. Cat was pressed against one of them, looking up at the handle. He didn't look to be in too much pain. "I don't recognize this door," he remarked.

"Are you alright?" Kaeloo asked him, kneeling in front of him to help him to his feet. "I'm sorry for hitting—"

"I know." Mr. Cat gave her a quick, forgiving kiss on the side of her mouth. "And there's no need to be."

"I still am," Kaeloo protested.

Brushing off his shoulders, Mr. Cat said nothing more, but was still giving Kaeloo a fond smile. He turned to look at the field of doors.

Kaeloo regarded them, too. This field used to always excite her and terrify her simultaneously. So many opportunities just spread before her in such a way… yet so many unknowns, too. Her natural curiosity as to what was behind all of them was not enough to overcome her fears.

She still felt a bit afraid looking them over now, to be honest, although it felt paltry compared to its previous degree. And there was something else, too… that feeling of redirecting her fear, just like she was learning to do with her anger, refocusing it into something else.

Adrenaline.

Excitement.

Mr. Cat turned to face her. "Kaeloo? Want to do something reckless?"

Kaeloo hesitated, although she couldn't stop the pleased smile slowly making its way across her face. "Like what?"

"Well—not too reckless. Do you work tomorrow?"

"No."

"Perfect." He grasped her hands in his. "Run away with me. Let's just jump through one of these doors and see what we can find. I want to explore the universe with you. Just for a day. Then we can get back to New Cross City where we belong."

"Do we belong there?" Kaeloo wondered. "We could belong… anywhere." She smiled again and touched her forehead to his. "I belong with you, that's all that matters to me."

"So when I'm there, you belong there too," Mr. Cat explained, squeezing her hands lightly. "And if I go through a random door…"

"I would follow," Kaeloo answered quickly. "Except… not right this instant? We still have a game to finish playing with our friends, after all."

"Oh, I think I already won that one," Mr. Cat chuckled.

"You forfeited by drawing an inappropriately phallic design."

"You know you liked it, babe."

"Mr. Cat… I'm warning you…" Despite the familiar surge of power rippling through her, Kaeloo found that she was still smiling. How he'd managed to make her at peace with her unwanted ability, she'd probably never quite know for sure… but she was still so glad he'd managed to do so.

"Okay, okay, fine," Mr. Cat laughed. "We can go back there and finish playing that game. Then I'm going to whisk you away through a door of my choosing, whether they want to keep playing with us or not." He growled lustfully at her. "The games I have in mind are only for two."

"Mmm, I like the sound of that," Kaeloo said with a smirk.

"That picture guessing game? I'm not guessing again," Mr. Cat declared as the two of them began to walk back to where the others were. "I don't want to have to draw again. That first word I got was terrible."

"I can't believe something like 'penis' was even one of the options," Kaeloo said.

"It wasn't." Mr. Cat grinned deviously. "It was 'breakfast'. But I thought I'd liven it up a bit… I wasn't about to let myself get stuck with a fucking shitty word like that."

"MR. CAT!" Kaeloo shrieked, transforming once more, although the smile never left her lips as she did.

"Admit it, you liked my artistic liberties!" Mr. Cat said with a gleeful cackle, breaking into a mad sprint.

His wife barreled after him, laughing elatedly as well.

And behind them, with their promise lingering in the air, the doors waited.

THE END