"Now we've got plenty of time. Who was the girl you were yappin' about?"
"Does it really matter to you that much? Whether I tell you or not it won't be long before you find out anyway…"
"Mama wants to know"
Wendy was in a difficult position. Knowing things between the twin sisters weren't the best lately (never were), she didn't want to cause tension. On the other hand, keeping things from Sam, especially in a time like this was something that didn't sit right with her and wanted to avoid.
"Don't tell me it's who I think it is…"
"I won't…"
Fortunately, Wendy was saved from her dilemma without much trouble.
Across the hallway, to the far end, a girl with messy blonde hair and ripped jeans appeared. She was panting, trying to catch her breath. She made a beeline when the opportunity presented itself and apparently was safe now. If one didn't know better, would definitely mistake her for Sam.
But those present all knew better.
"MELANIE!"
Everyone rushed to her side to congratulate her on a job well done but most importantly, drown her on hugs because they were so relieved to see she was ok; especially Wendy who took a while longer to break the hug and a tear escaped her "So glad you're ok…" Melanie smiled at that.
Everyone? Well, almost everyone.
Sam was still standing in her original place, expressionless as if she was thoroughly and carefully examining something. When the others noticed that, they parted and stood aside, giving the two some time and space. Both were staring right into the other's eyes, as if gazing upon the abyss. Rest of the party was scared of what could follow.
Finally, the silence was broken.
"You came all this way to help me?"
"Of course. I started the trip as soon as I heard you could be in trouble."
"That was… pretty nice of you."
"What are twin sisters for?"
Sam wasn't much of a hugger. But here, she made an exception. Everyone was touched by this heartfelt moment.
Everyone? Well, almost everyone. Glowing dark purple lights flashed from a corner above.
"I also see you learned how to dress properly. About time" grinned Sam.
"Don't get so excited Samantha; this was a one-time appearance" came back Melanie with a small chuckle of her own.
Sam shrugged, pulled a chicken nugget from one of her multiple… "stashes", devoured it in a blink and finally, she spoke. "Let's go find the others."
The growing party carefully ventured through the treacherous floor. Being street-smart, Sam added an extra layer of safety and protection. At some point, she suddenly stopped moving. "Gibward's over there! I'd recognize that weird, disturbing cry everywhere."
"It's surely him. That melodic voice is impossible to mismatch" confirmed Tasha, leaving the rest wondering *How?"
Truthfully, the rest of the gang extended their ears and stayed silent to listen.
"GIBB...Gib… GIBBBBBBBBBBB… Gibbeh!"
"We could use the same diversion to get in. We'll…"
Before Brad could finish, Sam made a move for the door.
"Sam we don't know who or what is in there! We should…"
But Sam wasn't listening to her prudent sister. Or at least, she pretended not to. Only thing she did was burst open the door with a kick, letting loose one of her warcries and storming inside, wielding and spinning her trusted butter-sock, ready to face whoever or whatever came her way. What she saw surprised her.
And disappointed her.
It was just Gibby, laying on the floor, legs tied on the chair with the 'special' shirt Nora had made for him teared to pieces. He hadn't managed to take it completely off but being like the Hulk who just reveted back to his human self with clothes ripped apart, he considered it a win.
After a few moments in which Sam snapped back, her butter-sock slowly and sadly coming to a halt, she along with the others helped Gibby back up and untied him.
"Are you alright Gibby?"
"Yeah, mostly. Thank you guys."
"Don't mention it. Wasn't there someone with you? To guard you or… do bad things to you?"
"Nora. She was the one who gave me this shirt that wouldn't come off. But I powered through" he boasted, causing everyone to roll their eyes. Or almost everyone. Tasha was delighted to reunite with him, once again sparkling a "How?!" as it seemed so unlikely that a girl like her would be so infatuated with him. His little brother also rushed to hug him and put on his cute performance once more.
Even if it was for a few precious moments, Gibby knew bliss.
"She said something about nobody standing in her way and laughed ominously. Then she left" he added.
"Hmm, that's suspicious" Wendy said.
"Could it be that she intentionally left him for us to find?" pondered Ashley.
"A trap" Marty joined.
"Not unlikely at all" jumped Brad.
"The sky is always browner from the macaroni side when the duck crosses the road."
"Reuben says we can worry about that later and still need to find the others. Also, he's very happy to see me again. Aw, me too bud" Gibby was back and took over the translations. He was more fluent in Reubenese and besides, Tasha was too caught up with him to function properly. He fist bumped with his unconventional friend.
"I agree with that" Melanie said, being as serious as ever. "The less time we spend, the better for all of us."
It was unanimous. They were already in danger by being there. Even though they could never guess what was in store for them.
The company exited the room, eager to carry on with their rescue mission. Sam stayed back, cause she wanted some privacy with Gibby.
"Hey, Gibward" She paused for a few seconds "Nice to see that you're okay."
"You too Sam. You too."
Their pace was steady and resolute as they had almost reached the end of the penultimate floor. This time, there was no need for intuition, sixth sense, telepathy or any of that.
Spencer's piercing cries of agony were much more than loud enough.
"Sam, no!" Melanie urged her twin as she was ready to repeat her previous venture, taking hold of her arm. "We were lucky before. I don't think we'll find a second one unattended. We need to think this through!"
"But Spencer's in there!"
"I know. Everyone here wants to save him as much as you do."
Sam begged to differ in her mind but didn't share with the rest.
"But if we're not careful, it can be dangerous not only for us but for him too. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"No, of course not."
Sam turned her head down and then away from Melanie and finally back towards her, always as if looking into the infinity, the distress evident in her face.
"Okay, we do it your way" she finally said, shooking off her sister's hand but gently. "But if it fails, I do it my way."
"Deal. But that won't be necessary because the probability of failure is around… 0%"
"We'll see about that."
"We will indeed."
"You've got a plan already Melanie?" Wendy asked.
"As a matter of fact…" Melanie paused and turned, her gaze meeting Tasha's "I do".
Afterwards, she smiled. Tasha smiled too after a few seconds, but the others were not sure if it was because she understood the plan or she just was a very nice and bubbly person in general.
Spencer was spinning and getting sprayed for what seemed like an eternity. The breaks were few and far between. When one of the two Chumbes' siblings stopped, the other picked up the pace. Plenty of times they even did it together, having their own twisted way of family quality time with a wicked smile on their faces, the child innocence gone. Spencer was beginning to feel despair.
Knock, knock
"Are we expecting someone?" asked Chuck.
"Don't think so. And if it was one of the others, they'd use their cardkey or the intercom" Chip replied.
"Let's check the cameras."
"Nothing. They're jammed."
"Nobody's picking up on the intercom either. Those geeks are never there when you want them to."
Knock, knock, knock
"Pretty persistent, whoever that is."
"Go see who it is then."
"Me? Why me? You go!*
"'Cause, it's my turn with this goober and the door doesn't have a peephole. And I said it first" Chip finished with a smug look on his face.
Chuck reluctantly marched towards the door after making his best impression of an angry Yosemite Sam, spray gun in hand.
"Who's there?" he demanded to know.
"Could you please help me? I think I got lost." a voice responded, the sound velvet and feminine.
"I ain't falling for that. You better…g..ga… gulp"
Chuck suddenly was at a loss of words as he opened the door. Chip soon joined his brother, both their jaws almost touching the floor.
Tasha didn't need a lot of effort to get attention from boys. She was a very beautiful and attractive girl, even when dressed casually. Her tall figure, the characteristics of her face, her measurements; all in all, she was like a supermodel, a work of art come alive.
"I came here to visit my uncle & auntie; I got this address but it's like a maze here. Could you help me find their apartment please?"
"But nobody liv… I mean, who wouldn't help a lady in need?
"Allow me, ma'am. My older brother here would probably cause more trouble than help."
"And my younger brother here is so short, youd have to crouch like Quasimode to see him!"
Tasha marveled at their bicker; the plan was coming along perfectly.
"Awww, you're both so kind!" she feigned with an Oscar-worthy performance "Why don't we all go? That way we could spend more time together!" she said with a wink.
The Chumbers brothers almost got suspicious for a fraction of the moment, however, Tasha was too charming to resist and they were sure Spencer, who was hidden from view before the door opened, couldn't release himself and escape.
"Sounds good to me!"
"Let's go!"
Normally, Tasha would offer her elbows so the boys would pass their arms over the upper part but, due to the immense height gap, they settled for holding hands. As they left the room, Tasha once again winked; not to her small entourage, who weren't able to see it anyways, but rather on her left, seemingly to nobody.
It was the signal. The rest of the gang stormed inside the room left unlocked by its former occupants in their entrancement.
"Ahh, boys can be so predictable at times" Ashley said "No offense guys!"
"None taken!" they replied.
Sam saw Melanie's wide smile because of her plan's success and told her to "Stop rubbing it in my face!" but that only made it wider.
The search for Spencer lasted a bit due to them not wanting to shout in fear of being discovered. Eventually, they discovered him and managed to easily set him free.
"Is that really you guys? Oh… Thank you… Thank you so much!"
Spencer was exhausted, dizzy from the spinning and wet from the spraying. He could barely stand on his feet. Marty, Sam and Brad helped him up.
Ashley, Wendy and Melanie provided him with some fresh water and clean clothes from the emergency backpacks. The team had really thought through everything.
Almost everything.
"Get some rest Spence. We need to look for the others." Sam said
"I-I'm ok. Just… give me… a few seconds to… catch my breath." he panted heavily.
"Master Shay, right now you're in no position to…" Marty tried to reason with him.
"My baby sister's in the clutches of those creeps and possibly in danger and you're telling meto stay put because Im tired?! No sir!"
"I don't think there's convincing him. I'd probably act the same way" Gibby said.
"We'll get this sorted later. Right now we must hurry" Sam followed. The others agreed.
"I'm very pleased that you're safe Mister Shay."
"Call me Spencer Marty. Call me Spencer." he replied, smiling and offered his hand. Marty gladly accepted and the two had a warm handshake (which evolved further into some weird greeting ritual that only these two appeared to know).
Sam once again waited for the others to leave the room to have some private time with Spencer.
"Yo, Spence. I may not show it a lot but… God, I'm so glad you're ok!" she said as she rushed and squeezed him in a tight hug.
"I know Sam, I know" Spencer was briefly taken aback by her charge at him. He hugged her tightly too. A lone tear managed to escape Samantha's wide shut eyes.
"D'awwwww" everyone else's voice reverbated as they sneaked a little peek.
"Not a word for any of this outside or I'll…"
"We know Sam; we know" they said, not frightened but merry.
As the others left, Sam once again paused and thought to herself "Hold on, Carls, Fredward. I'm coming!" Spencer and Gibby also shared that thought in his mind.
Chuck and Chip were returning to their assigned room, carefree and relaxed. Tasha's charm effects were still more than lingering. They parted ways after some time had passed, long enough for the others to spring Spencer out and vanish. She kindly thanked them for their help in trying to find her "uncle" and "auntie" and said there has to be some error in the address she was given.
"Haha, look, she gave me her phone number!" Chuck triumphantly waved a small piece of paper.
"Haha HA, would you look at that? Me too!" Chip returned the favor.
"Yours says 12345!"
"And yours 678910!"
The mockery between each other didn't last long as they realized they've been tricked.
"Aww, noodles!"
"She was pretty though..."
"Yeah; and tall..."
Their daydreaming was cut abruptly as they entered the room. The sight of loose bindings and a void where Spencer was supposed to be not only broke the two of their trance but also sent a chill down their spine.
"Uh oh. This is bad."
"Don't panic. We can fix this. So long as…"
That wasn't the only surprise waiting for them however.
"... nobody else finds out…"
A familiar figure was also there. Watching, waiting. Planning.
"Well well, what do we have here?"
"Nora! Haha, what a pleasant surprise."
"Have a seat, make yourself at home."
Home. She pondered at that word for a moment.
"You boys are so nice. You surely know how to treat a girl. Perhaps too well."
Gulp
"Ah, this? Don't worry, it's just a game we're playing" Chip said as he elbow-pinched his brother.
"Y-yeah. We let him think he got away and then we reel him in again" Chuck followed. "So no need to tell the others and worry them…"
"Oh, rest easy boys. I'm not here to snitch on you two. Your secret's safe with me."
The Chumbers siblings breathed a sigh of relief.
"Besides, I have much, MUCH bigger plans, he-heheheh."
Maybe too soon. Something about her voice tone seemed off. It seemed dark. Ominous. Not long afterwards, they didn't like what their eyes were showing them either.
That eerie, purple glow once again came forth from Nora's eyes as well as a small, sinister laughter from her lips and tongue. Kyoko & Yuki then appeared from behind her. Their heads were slightly bent down and when they raised them, the same glow flickered in their eyes, albeit weaker.
"Umm, guys? What's going on here?" Chuck asked but his words were falling on deaf ears, literally and metaphorically. The two of them could say one word and one word only.
"Nega! Nega!"
Chuck and Chip felt terror and dread taking ahold of them. They slowly started making steps backwards. They'd reach for the door and make a run for it. They'd be safe, away from this madness.
"Why don't you join us, boys?" Nora once again revealed her yellow scepter toy-like contraption.
"Don't look back, just run!" Chip urged his brother. They were a few steps from the door.
"Negativity is so much better! See for yourselves" she finished and she pressed the handle.
Darkness erupted from it.
"AAAAAAAaaaaaah!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"That was Carly's scream! Have heard it a bazillion times, I'd recognize it everywhere. What are these creeps doing to her?! I'M COMING BABY SISTER!" a freaked out Spencer yelled and ran off as fast as he could towards the sound's direction. The others followed him suite after shouting at him to wait and be careful.
Like with the others, they had figured out and applied the most dreadful and horrifying way to torture Carly.
Her makeup was done bad in every way possible and it was like she had the worst bad hair day of her life.
And she was forced to stare at all of it on a mirror. She was taking few and far between breaks to recharge and then the screaming continued.
As for Freddie, he maybe wasn't screaming: but that didn't mean he wasn't feeling terrible. Not when he kept being reminded that he supposedly wasn't a 'creative' member of the team and the audience preferred a literal bag for garbage with a drawn face on it called Baggles.
And hearing Carly's screams of agony, his heart racing, thinking every worst case scenario she could be in certainly didn't help things.
That's when they both had unexpected visits. Life is unpredictable as they say.
"Nevel/Valerie?!" Carly and Freddie said respectively "What are you doing here this time?"
Okay, maybe the visits themselves weren't so unexpected. But what they heard next definitely was.
"Freeing you."