Author's note
Hi friends. Been a while again. I'll be short this time.
Like I said, setbacks happen and keep happening. This time was mostly work-related (and about to get even harder for the next couple of months) and a bit health-related but I'm ok.
Hope this will make it worth your while (and waiting); not so much for the size of the content as its quality.
Happy reading and until next time :)
"You should have seen the look on your face. 'Oh no, Carly!' Frozen in time, with that terrified expression. It was pretty entertaining to say the least. And you thought I couldn't outsmart you! Hmph, the nerve" a boastful Nevel mocked Freddie, who was tied up, along with Carly.
"And this made it all the more easier getting to the big prize" he continued, turning towards her.
"That's what you get for dumping me, twerp!" added Valerie, the anger evident in her voice and face. "And I haven't even started yet."
"You're calling me that even though you're just 1 year older than me" retorted Freddie.
"Shush!"
"And why do you keep repeating that I dumped you? You weren't even interested in going out with me, you just wanted to take down iCarly so that you would have the best webshow."
"Maybe I wasn't; at first…"
"What?!" as Carly and Freddie exclaimed at the same time, Valerie slightly and momentarily turned away. The vengeful facade gave way to a girl who was sorrowful, hurt. But in a blink, she turned back, every trace of truth gone from her expression and voice tone.
"But that's not the point." she let out, coldly.
"And what is the point?" came from a defiant Carly.
"That you'll rue the day! All days that my partners and I suffered embarrassment because of you!"
"Those must be a lot of days." jokingly said Freddie. "Yeah." nodded Carly.
"SIIILENCE!" a recording of 3 voices that could belong to judges was heard.
"Where did you get that? Carly wondered.
"You'll be surprised how full of surprises I am, my dear. Samantha doesn't get to be the only one with a cool remote" answered Nevel before making another attempt at an evil laugh. Valerie rolled her eyes.
"Copycat" Carly said in frustration. "And where is Spencer, Sam and Gibby?" she demanded to know.
"As we speak, my acquaintances are taking very good care of them in different places of this fine building we prepared just for you. We had to separate you for safety measures. Especially Samantha, since everyone here wants to have his time with her. We had to draw numbers to take turns" Nevel grinned in the last 2 sentences. "And with your bodyguard being… occupied, I have all the time in the world to make you rue, heheheheh".
Carly and Freddie exchanged glances. They were both obviously worried and anxious about what there was in store for them but looking at each other helped them to gain courage.
"Hey, Gibby. You like taking your shirt off, don't you?" Nora was alone with him, his legs and torso tied with special metallic cuffs that were part of the chair but she had just released his arms moments ago.
"Maybe I grew out of that. And maybe I do but so what? What's it to you? And where are my friends?" he said, clearly frustrated.
"Tsk tsk, too many questions. For the moment, if you'd still like to take your shirt off by all means, be my guest. That's why I set your arms free, silly" Nora replied, winking.
"Is that so? Well, don't mind if I do!" he let out eagerly without giving it much thought.
"GIB-" he started but then paused. "GIB-; haha, gimme a sec"
"Take all the time in the world dear" a seemingly innocent smile formed on Nora.
"GIB- .. GIB-.. GIBBBBBBBBBBBbbbbb" But tried as he may he couldn't finish his catchphrase that he proudly shouted every time his shirt came off.
Because he couldn't take his shirt off.
"What's the matter dear? Can't take this shirt off that was designed especially not to come off?"
"You must not be very right in the head. And that's coming from me."
How's that as a 'thank-you gift' for ruining my happy time with Carly, Sam, Freddie and Spencer?"
"You mean saving them from your clutches after you kidnapped them."
"Shoush!"
"Don't shoush me…"
"But this time, you won't stand in my way. You or anyone else!"
Gibby wondered what Nora could possibly mean with that. The iCarly gang was already being held hostages with seemingly no way to help each other.
Unless…
"Ahahahahaaaah!"
In another room on a different floor, Spencer appeared to have gotten the short end of the stick.
"I can't.. can't turn my face!"
"You tasted cake frosting from my rear while I was stuck on the wall, helpless because of you. Guess what time it is? Payback time!"
"While I spray you with various things that are not water. And Nora told us how much you love being spinned around."
"You wouldn't d… ooooooh!"
Chuck flipped the switch before Spencer could finish his sentence. "Oops! Just did" he said, mockingly and went to pick up his custom water-spraying gun. True to his word, he began dousing Spencer; with things that were not water. Meanwhile, Chip was throwing cakes, pies and various candy with a special launcher machine and taste it from wherever it landed on him. In between, he was setting the wheel Spencer was tied up on (in addition with some sort of glue on his cheek) to maximum speed, abruptly stopping it and then repeating.
"Ahh, revenge tastes so sweet."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."
"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Sam wasn't the screamer kind. She was a tough one to crack, even in the harshest circumstances.
But give the proper incentive and even the toughest ones cave.
"What's the matter, Samantha? Don't tell me that you're hungry. For that, you can just come here and feast to your heart's desire. It's that simple. So why aren't you coming?" a taunting voice echoed.
Before her starving eyes laid a table full of royal delicacies, more than enough to satisfy the needs of a city like Seattle for a week; bacon, ham, buckets of fried chicken, beef, steaks, ribs, all kinds of known and unknown meat and all accompanied by the proper appetizers and desserts.
It was Sam's idea of Heaven.
But she could only watch as Kyoko & Yuki made sure to eat as slowly as they could and relish the experience from a position she could clearly see everything. Her bindings and locks were much stronger than what they used for the rest of the iCarly band, additionally reinforced with titanium. Given Sam's previous feats, this was deemed necessary.
"You'll pay for this! For everything! I'll make sure of it" Sam bellowed.
"Ohhh, such empty threats, we're so scared, hahaha" they mockingly said in unison. "In the meantime, why don't you try relaxing with some calm sounds?"
With the press of a button via remote control, a single word repeated countless times. A word Sam hated with a passion.
"Panties! Panties! Panties! Panties! Panties! Panties! Panties!"
For a small fraction of a moment, it was as if Sam could sense the presence of someone she knew all too well: someone very close to her.
But the loudspeakers and other similar devices in the room that kept repeating this dreadful word made it all too easy to numb that feeling. Sam wanted to plug her ears shut with her hands, alas, she was unable to.
"Make it stop! When I get outta here…Gaaaaaah"
Her tormentors merely smirked.
"If I ever get outta here…" she whispered that part to herself so that they wouldn't know of the desperation that slowly but steadily penned up inside her.
"Sam's close!*
"How did you…"
"I can feel it."
Special connections work both ways. Melanie could sense that her twin sister was close; very close.
After navigating the dark and mysterious building, avoiding and eliminating some obscure, dangerous traps along the way, the Rescue Rangers had reached the first out of the last five floors.
"This way!" Melanie's voice was full of confidence and without a shadow of a doubt. Nobody even thought to question her.
"She's really our trump card."
"In more ways than one." Wendy and Brad discussed.
"It's been a while since we last found a trap." Ashley was thoughtful.
"We probably got them all. And it would be a risk if they put any here, in the last section." said Marty, calm and collected.
"That would make sense." Ashley paused then looked upwards."Unless…"
Everyone looked at her direction. Soon afterwards, faces froze with mouths hanging open.
"Cameras!"
"Time to bring the persemen sauce to the lotus beach."
Almost everyone felt their brain stop functioning briefly. But thankfully, Tasha was there.
"Reuben says we should move along the walls to avoid the cameras."
"That sounds like a pretty good idea. We can avoid most of them this way and we'll neutralize those which would spot us" suggested Wendy. Rest of the party agreed.
As they carefully tread through the winding maze cob-webbed with a network of cameras, they finally reached a few steps away from a suspiciously looking door.
"This is the one. Sam's here!" said Melanie trying to hide her nervousness.
Everyone of the anti-iCarly alliance was… 'tending' to the member they were assigned to so nobody was at the security room to monitor the cameras. But the rooms each one was held had a large viewing screen of their immediate surroundings.
And that's where our unlikely team of Rescuers counted on.
"Go hide. I'll signal you when it's time."
"Ok. Good luck Melanie. Be careful."
As they found their hiding spots close by, Melanie intentionally stood directly in front of the camera at the top of the door, taking a menacing, smug look. She didn't have to wait long.
The gaze of the two hosts from Japan fell at the screen simultaneously. The sight caused them shock and horror.
"She's there?! She can't be there! She's tied up here! Why is she there?!"
"No way she could've passed Jocelyn alone if it's not her. Go get her!"
"Why me?"
"Because I said it. And someone has to stay and watch…" she pointed with her head "this one."
"It's impossible to release herself. And our chances will be much better if we both go."
"Okay, okay. But we better make this quick."
Melanie was cleverly dressed much more casually, akin to Sam; t-shirt, ripped pants, simple white snickers. Even her hair was unkempt. It was an 180 degrees turn from her usual style, which was full of class and finesse but she had to be convincing if the plan was to succeed.
"What are ya slacking geeks yappin' about? If you want a piece of moma, come get me!"
Emulating Sam's "vocabulary", tone and demeanor was something she found a lot harder. But Melanie never backed down from a challenge. Especially for her sister.
"And you call yourselves 'web show hosts'. My sock puppet would get more viewers than you."
That last taunt did it for Kyoko & Yuki. The two sprung from the door, determined to catch her. But she had already disappeared.
"Where did she go?"
"How should I know?
"Yeah, you're right, my bad. For you to know stuff is too much to ask."
"Hey! Need I remind you I had better grades in…"
Suddenly, a head with golden hair popped out sideways, from the wall to the end of the hallway.
"I'm over here slouches!" she said provocatively once again and she vanished as quickly as she became visible. Kyoko & Yuki chased after 'Sam'.
As she passed through some intersections in the Daedalus-like building, she did some bizarre motions and gestures with her hands in the air. Her pursuers took it as mockery and became furious. But some prying eyes, hidden from sight, realized it as the signal they've been waiting.
"Peekaboo!" happily shouted Guppy as the Rescue Rangers came out of the many hideouts the place offered and made haste towards the room they had left Melanie.
"We shouldn't have left her alone…What if they…" Wendy was visibly worried.
"Hey hey, it was mostly her idea, remember?" Marty and the others comforted her. "And she can take care of herself."
"Yeah, but…"
"That's also an extra reason to hurry. Every second we waste is a huge blow to her."
"Right... Let's go." Wendy said as she pushed back tears. "Please be ok Melanie" she whispered to herself while turning her head upwards to the ceiling, as if pleading someone.
"Where did… when did you… how?"
Sam couldn't remember the last time she was shocked like that. But seeing so many of her friends having come to rescue her, it was surely a pleasant surprise.
"We'll gladly tell you everything on the way back when we get outta here." Wendy took the initiative.
"Weird; not seeing any locks or keyholes here. Not even switches around." Brad pondered.
"Yeah, tough luck with that. This thing is magnetically locked and requires voice command to open. They were talking about it but I didn't hear the password cause I was passed out." Sam broke the news.
"Hmm, I could make something to hack the system and retrieve the password but it would take time…" he continued.
"Which is a luxury we don't have…" added Ashley.
"Hope Mel… I mean, she is ok, we should already have gotten Sam out by now."
"Wait, what? You brought another one with you? Who is it?"
"You'll find out soon enough (I hope). Now, let's get you out of here!" Wendy quickly changed subject.
Brad & Ashley began working on the hacking device right away while the rest tried to guess the password. "Open Sesame", "Skadoosh" and "Badda-bing badda-boom" were heard among others.
In all the commotion, happy little Guppy approached Sam, gave her one of his seemingly never-ending flowers and spoke his catchphrase.
"Happy birthday!"
click
And just like that, Sam was free.
"You little… come 'ere!" Sam squeezed Guppy in a hug; soon, everyone joined for a big group hug, cheering for the petite rescuer along the way.
"Good to have you back Sam" said Wendy.
"True dat" Everyone rolled his eyes at that good ol' Sam character display but she hadn't finished yet; "Thanks guys".
"You're welcome. Now, let's go find the others and…"
"... teach these creeps a thing or two; my way."
"...leave this place as soon as possible."
"But my idea is better."
"Sam."
"Yeah yeah, revenge is bad blah blah makes you just as bad as them blah blah blah. You are no fun..."
A little prideful smirk formed on Wendy and a giggle on the rest. "Well, glad we got that settled. Shall we get a move on?"
"Gimme a sec" Sam said and immediately vanished and reappeared in front of that table. After quite a handful of dishes disappeared into her mouth, she grabbed a bucket of fried chicken for the road. "Okay, I'm ready now."
Once again, everyone took a moment to marvel at Sam; soon afterwards, they were on their way.
Melanie was hiding behind a wall, her heart beating like crazy from the running, her breath nigh-impossible to catch. She was exhausted. Her pursuers had almost caught up with her.
"This is very suspicious. It's not like Sam Puckett to run."
"Probably she finally understood she stands no chance against me… and you of course." Yuki said after Kyoko slightly glared. "But could it also be… a diversion?"
"Wait; did you hear something? From over there?" Kyoko pointed towards Melanie's direction. Her heart raced. "Maybe it's time for some answers."
As they were only a few spaces afar, suddenly a blinding light came from above. They dropped to their knees, covering their eyes. Melanie didn't know what was that but she knew this was her chance to lose them.
"What in the wax on wax off was that."
"I have no idea. But I have a bad feeling. Let's head back."
Female intuition compelled Yuki and they stormed off.
When Kyoko & Yuki arrived, they really felt the meaning of shock and awe. Where Sam once was detained, they saw an empty chair, opened bindings, a void. But there was more than that.
Someone was waiting for them.
"Nora!? Everything's under control."
"No need to tell…"
"Me? Don't need to worry about me. Your secret's safe with me."
A sigh of relief escaped the two. So little did they know. But they were about to find out.
"Besides, I have much, much, BIGGER plans!"
Kyoko & Yuki saw something strange on Nora's left arm they didn't notice before. They couldn't tell exactly what it was because she was standing in a dark area. It looked like… a plastic, yellow scepter-like toy?
"What are you t-…"
An eerie purple glow pierced the darkness like a small flash. It was coming from Nora's eyes.
A wicked laugh ensued. And everything went blank.