What's wrong with short chapters?
Pistal9189: There will be more on the notebook later. A dream? Read on and find out. :D :D :D
Darkeiko: Welcome to the party! As for how Helga got there, that's the mystery to be solved. And no, I didn't get the idea from Tenchi Munyo In Love.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Right, it's basically one of the few anchors she has left.
DhamarFlowers1.5: Je, soy un chico, y bienvenida a la fiesta. ¿Confundida? Eso es parte del misterio. Y sí, lo más fácil hubiera sido dejar que Phoebe resolviera todo (y quizá ella está haciendo eso con la OTRA Helga), pero eso sería demasiado fácil, así que le quité esa opción a Helga. Y ahora la acción va a acelerar.
DeepVoice'06: Don't worry, here's a longer chapter. Insane...or perhaps evidence of a parallel universe? Confusing? Perhaps, but that's all part of the mystery. And it's not like the original Arnold is going to read that journal...we hope...And right now we will see where she is going to wake up in.
Inudaughter Returns: Thanks!
JayDogg187: Trust me, the journal is going to be important later on. Glad you like the story, the mystery, and the suspense!
SomeOrdinaryNoob: And things are going to get even juicier. Welcome to the party!
At last, a long chapter! The action picks up again here.
1010 – MONSTER CHASE
A flash of light…
A blaring truck horn…
Suddenly turning to her left…
An ice cream truck inches away from her and getting closer at high speed…
Being shoved from behind…
Arnold screaming her name…
The screech of tires…
A horrendous blow on her left side, her head whiplashing and being bashed by the grille of the truck…
A rushing darkness…
A flash of light…
A blaring truck horn…
Suddenly turning to her left…
An ice cream truck inches away from her and getting closer at high speed…
Being shoved from behind…
Arnold screaming her name…
The screech of tires…
A horrendous blow on her left side, her head whiplashing and being bashed by the grille of the truck…
A rushing darkness…
A flash of light…
A blaring truck horn…
Suddenly turning to her left…
An ice cream truck inches away from her and getting closer at high speed…
Being shoved from behind…
Arnold screaming her name…
The screech of tires—
Helga woke up with a gasp.
Please let me be home, please let me be home, please let me be—
Examining her surroundings, she was still in Arnold's house in the dairy town east of Hillwood, "the boondocks", as she called it.
Drat.
And then the dream came back to her.
Wow, is that what happened to the Helga here? I'm surprised she wasn't in a coma for a whole year, crimeny—!
Wait.
Why did she dream about the other Helga's accident? Back in "her" world, Arnold pushed her away just in time, but here, apparently, he was one second too late, and Jolly Olly Man hit them both.
So why did I dream of something that never happened to me? Was that nightmare just a rehash of everything Stinky and Arnold and that creepy doctor told me?
Or…was that an actual memory of the other Helga?
And if it is, how did it end up in my brain? Or is the other Helga trying to communicate with me from "my" universe?
Will I go back once the twenty-four hours are up, like that man Torvald talked about?
Her internal questions were interrupted when the doorbell rang. She blinked and saw Arnold, fully dressed, walk into the living room and head for the front door, followed again by all those dogs and cats.
"Good morning, Helga. I'll get you some breakfast in a moment. Just got to see who's at the gate."
Normally, her heart would flutter at the sight of her beloved walking so close to her, but given that he had Ruth, and she "had" Stinky, there were no more flutters left inside her at all.
Her heart was irreversibly shattered.
"Whatever floats your boat," she murmured as he and the animals left the house. Even her insults and condescension had no more fire left in them.
There were simply too many questions, zero answers, and no one to help.
She was totally broken.
Helga sighed and pulled off the comforter. When she sat up, she saw that the notebook and pen had been picked up and placed on the lampstand, and the lamp had been turned off too—obviously done by either Miles or Stella.
Mechanically, she pulled her shoes on, stood, and walked up to a wall mirror where she redid her pigtails and smoothed down her—or rather, Stinky's—plaid shirt. She was finished when Arnold came back with his visitors.
Lila and Ruth. AGAIN.
Both were carrying what appeared to be makeup cases.
Crimeny, those two are so nice here, I can't bring myself to insult them like I used to. What is happening to me?
"Good morning, Helga," Ruth smiled at her. "Sleep well?"
"Just peachy," she grumbled. "If you call having a nightmare repeating in your head over and over like a broken record 'sleeping well'."
"What? You too?" asked Arnold, suddenly stopping at the kitchen entrance.
The blonde girl did a double take at him. "Huh? What do you mean, 'you too'? You had a nightmare too?"
The boy's shoulders sagged slightly. "Yes. I've had them ever since the accident. They all vary, but it's basically the same theme. And believe me, it's getting so old that it's not even scary anymore, just…annoying."
She raised half her eyebrow again. "What…what did you dream?"
Arnold looked at her, then at his guests, and replied, "I'll…I'll tell you during breakfast. Mom and Dad already left for work, so I guess I'm in charge of you for now."
She didn't bother arguing with him about that.
Well, that's better than not having anyone, or having Bob or Miriam or Olga, in charge of me.
It was a simple breakfast of cereal, toast, and eggs. The television—a small set placed on the kitchen counter in front of them—was on, playing cartoons, reruns from Helga's point of view.
Arnold explained, "More than a nightmare, it's basically the last thing I remember before the truck hit us. Sometimes it starts right when you're crossing the street, sometimes it's on a different street, sometimes it's a train shaped like an ice cream truck, sometimes it's during the morning, or afternoon, or at night, or in a haunted amusement park, or I might be having a normal dream and suddenly the truck interrupts it by showing up and running everyone over. Dad said that it's part of a 'post-traumatic stress syndrome' and that it was normal and that eventually they would stop…" He looked sadly at his cereal. "But they haven't stopped."
Helga swallowed a spoonful of cereal. "Wow, Footb—Arnold, I think your dreams are bleeding onto mine. I had a similar dream too, getting hit by a truck, and it kept repeating over and over."
"That should be expected," said Ruth before her boyfriend could bewilderingly ask Helga for a confirmation. "If Arnold has post-traumatic stress syndrome because of that accident, it's reasonable that you should be having it too."
"But…is it normal for us to have the same dream?" asked her puzzled boyfriend.
"It was the same accident, so…I guess?" Even the sixth-grader seemed uncertain.
"Puh. I wonder if Jolly Olly Man has this same problem; he did hit two kids, you know. Though I do wonder why I got that nightmare, considering I appeared yesterday and not three months ago, so I shouldn't have that memory, unless 'your' Helga is trying to speak to me through dreams."
Lila blinked, did a double take, and swallowed some cereal. "Wait…wait, are you sure?"
Helga turned to her. "Am I sure of what?"
"Are you sure you appeared here yesterday? You don't think you could have…appeared right when 'our' Helga fell into a coma?"
The blonde girl stopped eating, thought, and replied, "Well…yes! I had to have appeared yesterday! If I had appeared three months ago, wouldn't I have already been sent back, after staying for one day, and everyone here would be none the wiser?"
"Why would you have been sent back after one day?" asked Arnold, even more baffled and blinking out of sync.
Helga rubbed her head. "Oh, right, you didn't hear Torvald's idea." She took a deep breath and explained, "Apparently, what happened to me happened to some guy in Japan during the fifties. But according to the legend, he disappeared one day after he showed up, along with everything he brought with him."
"Maybe you couldn't go back because you were in a coma?" pondered Lila.
Crimeny, she's worse than the Harold of "my" universe!
She gestured at her. "But that would mean 'your' Helga has been in 'my' world for three months! If what's happened to me hasn't made sense until now, that theory makes even less sense!"
"But why else would you have a memory of something that didn't happen to you?" asked the boy. "You have all those memories of things that we don't remember and couldn't have happened here; maybe that memory is a sign that you arrived at the moment of the accident?"
Helga scoffed and shook her head, "But why would I have appeared here three months ago? I mean…from what I remember, I was just…um…" She blushed again. "…lying in bed—no, on a couch, yes, wide awake on a couch, I closed my eyes, still awake, and when I opened them, I was suddenly at the hospital! I never felt any blow or any pain! And if I did appear here three months ago, that would mean that the ice cream truck—"
The blonde girl froze.
"Wait, I think—"
"Helga, you're on TV!" blurted Ruth.
Her blood pooled at her feet as she turned and once again saw her likeness on the television screen—her disguised likeness, too.
Arnold raised the volume with the remote control, and they heard Olga's voice, "…last seen boarding a bus heading east. It's likely my sister went to visit old friends in a dairy town, so if you see her, please call the number you see on the screen. Do not restrain or antagonise her. Despite her protests, she needs immediate medical attention, and she might be in need of an ambulance, too, so I beg all civil authorities and law enforcement agents to please use your kid gloves with her. If anything, she's very likely a danger to herself. Again, if you see her, please call the number on your screen."
What was worse was that the images shown were those of the bus depot in Hillwood, ignoring Stinky and the non-bullies, and instead focusing on Helga and her new outfit.
"Crimeny! Olga got the jump on me, but how?" She felt herself starting to hyperventilate, but Lila's and Ruth's reassuring hands on her shoulders fended off her meltdown.
Suddenly, Helga turned to Arnold and demanded, "I need your phone. NOW!"
Arnold and the girls jumped at her outburst, and he was so shocked by it that he could only shakily point at the green phone that was hanging on the wall next to the door of the kitchen.
Helga jumped out of her chair, almost knocking it over, ran to the phone, pulled out from her pocket the list of numbers Sheena had given her, and searched for one. Once she found it, she nodded, keyed it as quickly as her fingers could move, and waited as Arnold lowered the volume on the set.
"Stinky? Yes, it's Helga…Wow, you saw that too…? Yes, she's one step ahead of us. Don't ask me how she did that." She rubbed her head again. "In 'my' world she was a complete ditz who couldn't tell when her boyfriends were cheating on her or using her to climb the corporate ladder."
The others stood back at that.
"I've got an idea on how to return. It's a longshot, but it's better than nothing. Does the Safehouse still exist here…? Okay, perfect. And since we know Jolly Olly Man exists here too, I want you to do me a favour—wait, better yet, do 'your' Helga a favour, and get his route schedule…I don't know! Get help from the others! They were perfectly willing to help me yesterday! Get help from the rest of the gang if you need to! Remember, this is for your girlfriend, okay…? Okay, I'll see you in about an hour or two. You know where, and be ready to stay there a while with me, because I have quite a few questions for you."
Helga almost slammed the handset down but remembered she was in Arnold's house.
"What was that all about?" asked the boy. "Helga, wasn't that your sister on TV? Why don't you want to go back to her? Isn't she with your parents?"
She smiled evilly and pointed at him, "Don't worry your perfect little football-shaped head, Arnoldo." Ruth almost balked upon hearing that insult. "I'm going back to Hillwood, and yes, I'll be dealing with my family in my own time and in my own way. And no, I don't need medical attention or an ambulance," she cut him off before he could ask. "I feel perfectly fine, now that I've got a few decent meals in my stomach. I honestly feel like I can take on 'this' universe, or Olga, for that matter. As for her, she's doing everything wrong; that's why I wore a wig when I came to this town, okay? If she gets a hold of me, chances are that I'll never return to 'my' world!"
She paused to catch her breath and reassess her situation.
Lila, Ruth, and Arnold had more or less believed her to be from another universe, but none of them knew that here she was now a ward of the state, homeless, and her closest relative was hell-bent on taking her under her wing and very likely dismissing her trans-universal theories, or worse, Olga might think she had lost her mind and would thus commit her to the nearest psychiatric hospital. She had to "defuse" Arnold because if he was still the do-gooder she remembered, he would certainly be the first in line to turn her in to Olga.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Lila in shock. "Helga, she's your family, and she's ever-so desperate to find you!"
"Is she?" She whirled toward Arnie's girlfriend, scaring her slightly. "Olga never bothered to visit me these past three months! While she was off teaching Eskimo children or chasing losers, I—or the 'other' Helga—was in the hospital, all alone, and the only one who visited was Stinky!"
"But what about your parents?" insisted Arnold. "Why aren't they on TV asking for help while they look for you? And why didn't they visit you at the hospital?"
She pointed at him again. "My parents…" She had to make this sound plausible for him. "…are allergic to some hospital disinfectants—and believe it or not, they're germophobes, too. But don't worry, they know where I am, and they are preparing my room in our new house. For some reason, Olga thinks that she can just appear out of nowhere and micromanage my life because it makes her feel like she's morally superior over everyone. That's why I need to go back to Hillwood without Olga knowing, because if Olga gets to me first, she's going to make us go through a complete and totally unnecessary ordeal of pointless medical visits and useless legal paperwork—she's probably going to sue Jolly Olly Man and his company too, I bet—not to mention that if I mention to her the possibility that I am from another universe, she's going to shut me in a padded cell next to Curly's, and right now I just want to go home—" Her voice almost cracked here. "And I at least want to prepare my parents and get everything ready for when 'your' Helga reappears, and Olga is going to ruin everything if she gets her way. Do I make myself clear?"
Arnold looked at her in the eye and blinked out of sync.
"So you're not running away from home?"
She also looked at him in the eye. I don't have a home to run away from, Bucko. "No, I'm not."
"You really are going back to Hillwood?"
"That's where this whole mess began. That's where I have to go back." And test my theory.
"You just…need to sneak back?"
"I wouldn't need to sneak if Olga wasn't involved."
He blinked out of sync.
And he blinked again.
"My parents are not going to give me an earful for letting you leave this house, I hope?"
"If they say anything, just tell them I got up bright and early, went back to my parents in Hillwood, and you saw the TV alert long after I left." She sighed, and pleaded, "Arnold, I need your help to get back home. Please help me get back home."
He looked at her and blinked out of sync again.
"What is it that you need," he finally asked, though with some slight trepidation.
Helga smiled, ecstatic that he had complied. Always the do-gooder, Football Head. I'm glad you decided to do good to me instead of Olga. "Well, first, I need a new outfit, but I don't think you have any pants my size."
"No, but I have something ever-so better!"
Everyone turned and looked at Lila as she clapped happily at her own idea.
"Can you get an outfit in five minutes or less?" asked Ruth, also deciding to help their friend.
"I ever-so can! Be right back, Helga!" With that, Lila dashed out of the house, not giving time for the dogs and cats to come around and run outside again.
After the screen door bounced closed, Ruth turned to Helga. "I guess we can alter our plans just slightly, Helga. We were going to give you a makeover—you know, just a morning with us girls together—but I think I know how to pull another fast one on your sister."
"Does that have anything to do with all that makeup you brought?" asked the blonde girl.
"Oh yes. But like I said, there's been a change in plans. Now, as soon as Lila gets back with your clothes, I'll be going to my house to get you one last item to fool your sister," she pointed at her.
"What are you going to get?"
Ruth and Lila stood back at their finished work.
Helga was now donning a full-length blue denim dress and a solid long-sleeved light-blue shirt. Her blonde locks were hidden under a women's long black wig—courtesy of Ruth—and her blue eyes were hidden under brown contact lenses—also courtesy of the sixth-grader. Her pale-white skin—lower legs, hands, forearms, neck, and face—was hidden under a hefty dose of light-brown makeup, and her eyebrow was cut in half thanks to said makeup.
"I don't believe this…" said Arnold, aghast at the sight.
"Now you're a Hispanic girl, and your name is Francesca," declared Ruth.
Helga did a double take at her but didn't argue. "Somehow that name fits me, I think…" she pondered.
"And you'll ever-so need this, too." Lila handed her a small black purse.
"Wow, you two thought of everything," she said, taking it and placing the notebook and pen inside. She also folded up the clothes she borrowed from Stinky, and as she placed them in the purse as well, she asked. "Say, are there any security cameras at the bus station?"
"I think there are," replied the boy, still unsure of the whole plan. "How are you going to sneak out?"
She smirked at him, "I'll figure something out, Foot—Arnold. You just stay here and go play with your cousin. Now, you two," she turned to the girls. "Let's go."
The girls headed for the door, but the boy suddenly said, "Helga, wait."
The girls stopped.
Arnold walked back to his room and returned one minute later.
"You're going to need this," he declared and handed his non-girlfriend several bills.
Helga stared at the money he had just given her and asked with wide eyes, "You…you really are trusting me with this, aren't you?"
The boy looked at his girlfriend, then at his non-girlfriend, and explained, "Yes. I don't know why, but I feel that I have to trust you, no matter how wild and unbelievable your story is. It's so unbelievable that there's no way you could have made it up on your own. And…and when you told us your story last night, about what we did and what happened to us in 'your' universe, I…I felt as if I had forgotten something or even lost something—something very important—but I still can't put my finger on what that something is. And…I have the feeling that if you go back, everything will be okay again, in 'our' world, and in 'yours'."
She looked at him for a moment and whispered, almost whimpering, "Th-thanks, Arnold. Not even 'this' universe could beat the do-gooder out of you. Now, ladies," she turned to the others as she stuffed the money in her pocket. "Let's go."
Ruth and Lila nodded and left the house, again almost trampled by the dogs and cats who seemed to know when the front door was going to be opened. However, Helga stopped once she realised she was alone with Arnold.
The disguised girl looked at the blonde boy.
Oh, how my heart longs to embrace you and never let go, to kiss you and have our tongues mingle again, to just dismiss everything and tear—
She shook her head, blushing.
"Helga?"
With a sigh, she stepped up to him, gave him a light hug, and kissed his forehead.
The boy was rather surprised at even this light display of affection from her. "Huh? Helga, what—?"
She released the hug and hushed him with a finger on his delicious lips, "Arnold, whatever happens to me, be happy with Ruth, okay? I know you two love each other as much as 'this' world's Helga and Stinky love each other. Never let each other go, and even if in the future you two don't stay together, at least cherish the memories of the very special times you had together, especially those at the swimming hole." She smirked and winked at him on that last phrase.
Arnold stood back at that.
And he blushed like never before.
"How…how did…how did you know—?"
The girl smiled, knowing that even in "this" universe he got just as much flustered as he did in "hers".
"You did similar things where I come from, 'Football Head'."
He froze and paled at the sound of that nickname.
"Where…Helga…where did you hear that…that…name?"
She removed his cap and tussled his hair, much to his embarrassment, and replied, "Where I come from, I invented that name, Arnoldo."
She put his cap back, looked at him sadly, and finished with a sigh, "Good-bye, Arnold."
She turned and left the house.
She knew she would never see him in "this" universe again.
And somehow, a still-stunned Arnold Phillip Shortman knew that as well.
"Good-bye…Helga…"
After a brisk walk to the bus depot, the girls did an abrupt turn and approached the building from behind, right after Lila caught sight of the security camera near the entrance. The trio walked toward the back wall, and then went around the left wall, stopping at the front corner, right under the security camera, out of its range.
A bus was parked in front of the building; its engine was off, and a few passengers were inside, apparently waiting for the driver to finish checking in at the station.
Helga noticed a black pick-up truck parked beside the bus, with a sign painted on the driver's door that read "Hillwood Hardware". The bus was between it and the building.
"How are you going to dodge the camera and give your sister the slip?" asked Ruth.
The disguised girl looked inside the window and saw a particular object. "You two just stay here, and don't let the camera see you, otherwise you both will give me away as 'the friends from this town I wanted to see'. Wait until the bus leaves, and then…just walk back the way we came, and go home. And…and…"
Helga hugged both girls, so glad that they were neither her rivals in love, much less her enemies.
"Thank you both for everything. Whatever happens to me, I'll never forget you. Lila, be good to Arnie. Ruth—" She took a deep breath, and looked at her in the eye. "Be good to Arnold. Because if I somehow manage to hear in 'my' universe that you did wrong to him, I don't know how, or where, but rest assured that somehow I'll reach out between our universes and you will get acquainted with Ol' Betsy and the Five Avengers, is that clear?"
Ruth looked at her.
"Who are Old Betsy and the Five Avengers?"
Helga almost facepalmed, but she didn't want to ruin her makeup. "Ugh, never mind. Just…be good to each other, okay?"
"I will…and Helga, you'll need a bit more of this." Both she and Lila gave her a few more bills.
"Wow…thanks…" she said, quite surprised, stuffing the money in her pocket again.
Finally, with a nod, Helga straightened up, walked around the corner, and entered the bus station, making sure to keep her back toward the camera. She went up to the ticket window and asked the teller, a Caucasian man who was in his seventies, "That bus is headed for Milwaukee?"
"Yup. Leaves in five minutes."
"Perfect. I'll take a one-way ticket." She handed him the right amount of money.
The teller looked at her for a moment and asked, "You travelling alone, kid?"
Suddenly realising her gaffe, Helga quickly cleared her throat and pitched her voice lower, almost matching that of Stella. "Yes, yoo haff a problem with dat, señor? As eef I had enough problems being a meedget…"
The man blinked, and quickly apologised at the upset "Hispanic midget", "Oh, no, señorita, no, no problem. Here you go…" He handed her the ticket with a smile.
"Gracias."
Helga turned but didn't walk out of the station. Instead, she headed toward the object that caught her eye when she was outside: a payphone.
Making sure that she kept her back to the camera, she picked up the headset, inserted a quarter, and dialled Olga's number.
Not surprisingly, her sister picked up on the first ring. "Hello?"
With a perfect imitation of Miles' voice, Helga asked, "Hello. You're looking for your sister, a blonde girl?"
"YES! Have you seen her?"
"Yes. I just saw her board Bus Number 203. The bus already left and it's headed east on the Ninety-Four, not sure where it will stop, though."
"Oh, thank you, sir, thank you! May I have your name?"
Helga thought for a moment and said, "Craig. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have my own bus to catch. I hope you and your sister's reunion is full of love. So long." And she hung up, lest Olga rope her in to a pointless conversation.
Crimeny, is EVERYONE in "this" universe a complete pushover?
She then finally exited the building, still looking away from the camera, and walked toward the bus, thankful that its door was on the side opposite the camera.
The image that the security camera picked up was that of a Hispanic girl climbing up the stairs of the bus, squeezing her way down the aisle, and then sitting on a seat on the right of the aisle, away from the camera, and that seat was covered by the curtain on the window opposite of it. About a minute later, the driver of the black pick-up truck walked out of the building, got in his vehicle, pulled away, and headed west.
Five minutes later, the bus driver, a middle-aged African-American, also walked out of the building, climbed on his bus, and turned on the engine. The bus roared to life, did a U-turn, and pulled away from the station, headed east.
Ruth and Lila sighed with relief, and sadness too, because for some reason, they had the feeling that they would not be seeing Helga again, or at least, not "that" Helga.
One hour later, Olga sped down the highway in her car, trying to catch up with Bus #203 down Highway Ninety-Four.