Kryten: Thank you for the reviews! Sorry I didn't respond to your first one, I posted the chapter before I saw it.

Okay, to start with, my response is not to try to convince you to like him. You presented valid points to not like him and I'm glad that more and more people are not really liking him, for the right reasons.

The intention of the narrative was not to make him a martyr, nor to vilify anyone who was against him. Rather, the intention was to represent both Rodrigo and Arnold as best intentioned, but flawed human beings. Especially Arnold, who Rodrigo brought out the worst in him. Both Rodrigo and Arnold are polar opposites on how far they are willing to take to do the right thing. But at the same time, I was trying to portray Rodrigo to be this person that you cannot easily understand, not simply put him as a simple good or bad person. Arnold is a good person. Von Scheck is a bad person. Rodrigo, I'm leaving that up to people. I got this inspiration from Helga. Everyone hates to love Helga. We all know that she is selfish, rude, aggressive, obnoxious, etc. and yet, because of what she went through, as well as what she represents for girls, you can't help but love her. But with this guy, I wanted people to, at least not like him and make him that much harder to take side as a simple good or bad person, which only made things more frustrating. Given, your review, I think I succeeded, lol.

Rodrigo maybe judgmental and condescending and he does has very high standards that very few people meet, but he also judges himself by those standards and like any leader, he leads from the front. In my story, 'Arnold's legacy', despite twisting things in order to make the mitigators follow him without complaint, he still put himself in danger. He knew there were risks into going to the park on his own, and yet he still did it.

As for why or what Helga sees in him, an image of herself, which is why she likes him. Rodrigo encompasses the personalities of both Arnold and Helga. He can be kind, sweet, understanding and compassionate. But, he can also be manipulative, cunning, malicious and act like a moral crusader. But unlike Helga, he doesn't do this because he is selfish. He does this because it is a must and like Helga, he doesn't trust people to do what is right. Helga sees in him a person that would be not only more understanding, but also more willing to side with her than Arnold. Arnold may have also been understanding, but at least in my story, he often did not side her, for whatever the reason, which inevitably caused arguments and fights.

I know that by allowing Rodrigo to break things with Helga was very un-Helga like of me, but I figured the guy should at least have that. Plus, this not the same Helga as in the TV series. This is a Helga who is now more aware of people's feelings and unlike when she was younger, she is was trying to find a way not to hurt him. That and she likes him. The old Helga would have just dumped him without a care at the beginning of the summer instead of dragging him around like that she did, desperately trying to salvage her relationship.

I'm actually working on another series that goes into greater detail about Rodrigo's and Helga's personality and just what she sees in him. Once I'm done with this series, I will continue with the other on

But, I'm glad you are not completely hating him, lol.

Well, hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions!


Outside of the Head Security room...

"Let's go, quickly!" Nick softly said as he waved at the five guards to run towards the entrance to the security room, now all of them armed.

Angered by his recent failure, he will not take any more chances and was fully committed on getting inside that room. However, as angry and humiliated as he felt, he was still not willing to directly cause harm to those kids. He was just about to instruct the men on where exactly to shoot their weapons, when suddenly his cell phone rang.

"Ya, boss." Nick answered his phone.

"Nick, have you yet found out where the rest of those kids are hiding?" Von Scheck asked.

"Yes. They are hiding inside the security room." Nick responded. "They have barricaded themselves inside it. We are just about to break inside it."

"Are you armed?" Von Scheck asked.

"Yes, we are." Nick responded.

"Nick, you are to retake that room back and to put those kids out of their misery." Von Scheck instructed. "Kill them. Do not spare any of them. Do you understand?"

"I uh, what?" Nick asked, shocked at what Von Scheck was ordering him to do. "Boss, these are just kids. Do you know the seriousness of what you are asking me? You are looking at life in prison. There's no turning back if we do this."

"Just do it, Nick." Von Scheck calmly said to him. "Once they are dead, you are to stage the whole scene and make it look like those kids were armed and dangerous, hence making it look like you and your men were just defending yourselves. Leave some of the sidearms next to their bodies and make sure their fingerprints are on those weapons. Problem solved. Am I clear, Nick?"

"Crystal...boss." Nick very reluctantly responded as Von Scheck then hanged up.

Nick then quite nervously put his cell phone back inside his pocket and then looked at the five guards who were all standing and waiting for his instructions. With a worried and guilty look, he continued to stand there as he battled with his growing conscience. However, his facial expression soon changed and with a determined look, walked towards his men.

Inside the Head Security room...

As the teens heard footsteps approaching, Peapod Kid, Sid and Stinky hid to the side and braced themselves for another terrifying round. Rhonda meanwhile was with her iPhone and in a somewhat dramatic fashion, was busy recording her final message.

"This is Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, daughter of the proud and noble Lloyd family and one of Hillwood's most esteemed citizens." She began to speak to the recording with a brave, but increasingly somber tone in her voice. "This maybe my final video that I will be posting online. I suppose you are all wondering where I am and how I ended up here. Well, as everyone knows through my previous postings and online messages and videos, I have committed myself to combat a growing pestilence in our fair city, one that has not only been affecting residents of this city's historical neighbourhood, but our entire political institution. Future Tech Industries has never been the law abiding, neighbourhood friendly corporation that it had portrayed itself to be. Its current CEO, Alphonse Pierrer du Von Scheck, is nothing more than an immoral, psychopathic, corrupt businessman..."

Outside of the Head Security room...

"Alright men!" Nick exclaimed to the five guards as he approached them. "As you all know, the intruders have barricaded themselves inside that room and we to re-take it back. We don't really know how many there are or what their intentions are."

"What we do know is that they are..." But Nick then stopped himself when he approached the part he was supposed to inform the guards who these 'intruders were. "Ahem, these intruders are..." Again Nick tried to say it, but kept finding himself unable to.

Nick took a deep breath and tried again. "These people are very..." But one again, he found himself unable to say it.

The guards looked at him with confusing stares, wondering if he actually knew what they were up against.

Finally getting frustrated, Nick just faced them and blurted it

"What we do know is that these intruders are just kids," he finally said. "and unarmed. They pose no serious threat to our safety."

"But," Nick then continued, "they do pose a serious threat to this company and are most likely engaged in corporate espionage. Which is why we are going to approach this a bit carefully. We are going to give them the opportunity to surrender themselves to us. If they refuse to, we will break into that room by firing on the door, not at them. If it comes to that, I am instructing everyone of you to aim your weapons downwards, so that the bullets will hit the floor and not at them, or the security computer system. Is that clear?"

The guards all nodded in agreement.

Nick couldn't do what Von Scheck had ordered him to do. Several years ago, when Von Scheck ordered him to destroy the bridge that Arnold, Helga and Gerald were driving on, despite his reluctance, he did it with the assurance that there was enough time for the bus to stop before they reached it. He didn't know how far the bus was from the explosives, but he nevertheless took the risk and prayed that they were at a safe distance. The fact that Arnold, Gerald and Helga chose to floor it and drive across it was another thing all together. As far as Nick was concerned, him blowing up the bridge was meant to only stop them from getting to the neighbourhood. This time however, the situation was far different. Von Scheck was explicitly ordering him to not only kill those teenagers, but to also frame them, tarnishing their reputation as dangerous thugs. This Nick was not willing to do. He had no qualms about lying, exhorting, bribing or stealing in order to become rich and powerful, but killing people was where he drew the line.

Inside the Head Security room...

"...This man has caused innumerable damage to the lives of many people in this city through his illegal and unethical business and political dealings." Rhonda continued to record her speech. "And I, as well as my peers whose names will not be mentioned, for privacy reasons of course, have been attempting to...no, have found evidence to prove all of this and to ensure his man will be locked away, for good this time. Needless to say, my efforts to expose Von Scheck for who he really is has unfortunately put me, well, let's just say, into a corner from which I do not think will get out of...alive. But, I do not wish to be so pessimistic with all of you. This was an enterprise that I can say wholeheartedly that I am proud to have been a part of."

"So as to live up to my family name," Rhonda continued, while dramatically posing, "I plan on doing whatever it takes to expose the truth and save our historical district and the lives of those who live there, as any Lloyd would do."

Outside of the Head Security room...

"Alright, get into position then." Nick instructed them, to which they obeyed.

Two guards with shot guns stood by ready right a the front door, while the other three, along with Nick were on the side.

"OK you kids!" Nick called out to them. "The game is up. You are surrounded with no way to go. I am giving you this one chance to give up now and surrender yourself to us before any of you get hurt. If you refuse, I will instruct my men to fire at the door again and break inside. Either way, we will get inside. I'm going to give you to the count of 3! 1..."

Inside the Head Security room...

"To my parents," Rhonda continued to speak in her recording, whilst trying to remain brave and true. "Mother, Father, I love you both very much –"

*POW**POW**POW**POW*

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Rhonda then instantly dropped her phone to the ground and let out a terrifying scream as soon as the guards opened fire with shot guns, instantly creating a hail of flying bullets and debris throughout the room.

The other teens also let out their own terrifying screams and everyone ducked for cover as best as they were able to, grinding the teeth in utter fear and prayed that none of the bullets found their mark.

The phone may have fallen from her hands, but the it still continued with its recordings and although it was not recording Rhonda herself, the phone was able to record the devastating nature of the shootings as broken pieces of wood and plastic ricocheted throughout, as well as recording the screams of terrified teenagers.

Eventually the shooting stopped, allowing the teens some respite. But as soon as they emerged from their hiding spot, they saw that the door and the barricade that was stacked up, were still there, but almost destroyed. Worse, they then saw the guards trying to burst through and with the barricade being almost ripped apart, they had little trouble moving the door.

"The door! They must not get through!" Peapod Kid then frantically yelled and ran towards it, pushed the broken barricade against the door in order to prevent them from getting in. Stinky and Sid, after regaining their composure, got up and ran towards the barricade and also began to push it. With their added weight, they were successfully able to close the door again. However this time, the guards would not let up and continued to push from their end, almost causing the three males teens to almost fall onto their back.

"Keep pushing!" Peapod Kid yelled as his peers. Having quickly to regain their balance, they ran back to the barricade and pushed back.

Rhonda meanwhile went to find her phone, pushing through the broken pieces of furniture and chairs. She finally found it, picked up her phone and continued her video.

"As I was saying," She continued, looking at bit agitated on being interrupted, "Mother, Father, I love you both very much. I want to thank you for being there and for raising me to be a proper lady. I could not have asked for better parents. I am also asking you both to please not be angry with me or anyone else. I wasn't influenced in any way to do this. This was all my decision and I take full responsibility for it."

"To Nadine," Rhonda continued, "my best friend. You were always much more than that. I have always thought of you as the sister I never had. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for forgiving me and for never giving up on me; on us. I know we have drifted somewhat apart over the years, but you were right. That only proves that despite the distance and how different we are, we still managed to remain close. I thank you for wanting to still be my best friend and wish you all the best in your life. I love you."

"Uh Rhonda? A little help here?!" Sid grunted to her as he continued to push the barricade against the door.

Rhonda however ignored Sid's plight and continued with her video recording.

"To Rodrigo," She then said, "if by some miracle I manage to get out of here alive, I'm going to kill you!" She then angrily yelled at her phone. "I mean what were you thinking?! Allowing me to volunteer for this mission when you knew very well that I wasn't cut out for it?! I mean yes, I did volunteer to get involved in this and yes you did warn me about the dangers, but you should have put more of an effort to deter me from actually going through with it!"

Rhonda then stepped back a bit and slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm herself down. "But," She then continued with a calming tone, "I have to admit, it was through your own example, as well Arnold's, that...inspired me to volunteer in the first place. I never would have done something like this on my own, other than for my own selfish reasons. That's why I would like thank you and Arnold for not just helping me with my own personal challenges, but also in wanting to become a better person, in allowing me to look beyond the mere superficial gestures of life and see people deep down. Especially you, Arnold. Your compassion, love to help others and patience is an inspiration to the world. I just hope that I did my part well enough to have saved the neighbourhood. Thank you. You are both truly wonderful people." She continued with a pleasant smile.

"I do want to state," Rhonda continued, "that I am in no way pinpointing Rodrigo Castile or Arnold Shortman for what happened to me. That is why I am making this explicit statement that under no circumstances are charges to be laid out against them for what happened to me. Mother, Father, I am talking to you both. Those two gentlemen are heroes. If there is anyone you should put the blame for my demise, it should be Von Scheck!"

"Rhonda! Stop playing with your phone and help us out here!" Peapod Kid yelled as he tried to desperately push the barricade into the door.

"Push! We're almost there!" They heard one of the guards yell.

With the guards now trying to burst through, they were able to slowly push the barricades aside and thus, allow the door to swing open. Slowly by surely, they were on the verge of busting through.

"I'm coming!" Rhonda snapped back, but then turned around to face the video and calming down, "Anyways, that's all I wanted to say. I would like to thank all of my fans for their love and support and I wish everyone the best in their endeavors. Adieu."

Once she was done, she stopped her recording and uploaded her video onto her social media accounts for her fans to listen and hear her final words.

"RHONDA!" Stinky, Sid and Peapod Kid screamed for her as they continued to be slowly pushed back.

Despite the noise, high intensity and high level of stress and fear that everyone was experiencing, Rhonda remained virtually calm throughout and once the video finished uploading, she calmly, if not stoically got up, put her phone away and after taking one deep breath,

"AAARRGGGGHHHHH!" Let out a ferocious war cry as she then ran towards the barricades and using all of her strength, pushed them and the door back.

The full weight of her push was what finally tipped the balance back in the teens favor as the door began to slowly close. With all four teens continuing to push, the three guards, despite their best efforts were slowly pushed back and eventually, after a heavy tug of war, the door closed once again.

At Von Scheck's office...

Arnold, Rodrigo, Helga and Gerald remained quiet after their conversation with Von Scheck and anxiously waited for his arrival. They had done all they could to prepare and protect themselves. All that was now needed was the grueling task of waiting until battle was joined.

At first, everything was quiet, which only served to increase their anxiousness as the sound merely pierced through their ears and body. However just then, certain sounds was heard coming from the other side of the door. Rodrigo gestured to everyone to see if anyone else heard it, to which everyone else nodded.

Everyone moved away to the side, away from the door and braced themselves for anything. They continued to listen to the footstep noise as it got louder and louder, signaling that Von Scheck or someone else, preferably someone, was getting closer. However, as soon as noise was first heard, it suddenly stopped and everything went quiet again. Everyone refrained from moved and just continued to listen. However, after waiting for some time, it soon dawned on them that something was up. The teens then looked at each other with confusing stares as they continued to only hear silence from the other side. Nevertheless, no one attempted not move, or even to get close to the door. All they could do was be still was just wait. Then,

*POW**POW**POW**POW**POW**POW**POW*

A hail of bullets right through the door, startling the teens and causing them to immediately duck to the ground and protect themselves from the flying and broken debris from the furniture and door.

"Holy ****!" Gerald screamed in terror and tried to cover his face and head with his arms and hands. "And I thought the ghetto was bad! This is white collar crime at its worst!"

Von Scheck made no attempt to let up and with an evil, sadistic grin, just continued to indiscriminately fire right at the door, hoping to land a hit. The bullets flied all over, even hitting the window inside the office, smashing it into a million pieces and causing a huge breeze to get inside.

*POW**POW**POW***click*click**click**click*

Eventually, Von Scheck spent all of his ammo and waited for the dust to settle and to see if the teens made any kind of noise that indicated they were still alive. Instead, apart from the wind blowing inside from the broken window, he heard nothing, not even grunts. Von Scheck still made no attempt to move and just waited, with the slight thought circulating around his mind that perhaps, he had finally did it; he had finally ridden himself of those kids.

Not wanting to get ahead of himself, he wanted to have proof and he started to approach the door, or whatever was left of it, and get inside. Even as he walked, there was still no sound coming from his office. Upon getting reaching the door, he started to slowly open the door, causing a cracking noise. He was half way into full opening it when suddenly,

*Cracking**bang*

The door suddenly closed, pushing Von Scheck back outside. Realizing that even with all of those bullets flying, those kids were still somehow alive, he furiously began to growl and then charged at the door and with all of his might tried to open it. Except this time, it was stuck. The door and the barricade, whatever was left of it, refused to budge. Growing even more angrier, he pushed against the door again in order to open it.

Arnold, Gerald, Rodrigo and Helga not only survived their baptism of fire, but managed to come out of it unscathed, save for a few small cuts.

"Man, this guy is stronger than I thought." Gerald grunted as he tried to push the barricade.

"Just keep pushing!" Helga grunted.

"Oh, I have you kids to thank for that." Von Scheck said to him with an evil grin as he then made another pushing attempt against the door. "This is the result of being locked up for seven years; an everyday intense workout, not to mentioned the occasional brawl that would erupt from time to time with other inmates. I am very happy that I will now be able to put all of these muscles to good use, when I rip all four of you apart with my own two hands!" He angrily shouted as he then attempted to reach inside from a big hole that was created and tried to reach one of the teens.

"Look out!" Arnold shouted when he saw Von Scheck's hand reaching inside.

In the nick of time, Both Rodrigo and Helga managed to move away from his grasp, while still adding pressure against barricade and door. All four teens then dodged every attempt Von Scheck made to grab them.

"Helga, watch out!" Gerald suddenly exclaimed as he saw Von Scheck making another attempt to grab one of them through the large hole.

Almost instinctively, Gerald grabbed onto Helga's waist and instantly pulled her away from the door, away from Von Scheck's grasp just as he tried to reach for her. Gerald pulled her so hard that he quickly lost his balance.

"Off!" Both exclaimed as Gerald fell on his back while Helga fell right on top of him.

Helga then turned around in order to get up, but instead locked eyes with Gerald and for a moment, completely forgot what just happened. Helga looked straight into Gerald's mocha-like eyes and instantly became immersed with its strong, bright color. Gerald meanwhile quickly came to, but became lost in Helga's ocean-like eyes, finding them to mesmerizingly deep, mysterious, but beautiful. Never had Helga seen such dark, yet majestic-

"Ya, this is so not happening." Helga then suddenly said as she moved away from him and got up.

"I hear that." Gerald agreed as he also got up.

"Guys, a little help here." Rodrigo grunted as he and Arnold tried to desperately keep the door closed.

Gerald ran back to help out, but Helga went over to grab part of the coating rack that was lying on the floor and with it, hit Von Scheck a few times with it. However, it did little. Realizing this, she then used the pointy end of the broken rack and stabbed him in the arm.

"Arrghh!" Von Scheck cried out in pain as he finally took out his hand from the hole, even stopping in his attempt to push the door open in order to inspect his arm.

When it became clear that the Von Scheck was no longer putting his weight against the door, Arnold took a cautious peek through the hole to see what was going on.

"He's coming back!" Arnold then suddenly shouted as he and everyone else then added their weight again against the door.

"GGRRRR AAARRGGHHHH!" Von Scheck let out a furious roar as he charged against the door, putting so much pressure into it that the mere force traveled from him through the door and onto the teens, temporarily pushing them off, but they soon regained their composure and went back to pushing the door again, just in time.

"Phoebe!" Gerald then frantically yelled through his earpiece. "Where are those reinforcements?! Von Scheck's gone psycho and we need help!"

"Finally, you admit you need help." Helga remarked.

"They are...Gerald!" Phoebe responded with some static.

"What?" Gerald asked. "They are what?"

"I said...coming...read me, Gerald?!" Phoebe again tried to say something, but the static kept on interrupting their communication.

"I can't hear you. There's static!" Gerald shouted, but this time there was no response. "I can't get to them!" He then told everyone in the room.

"Curly, can you hear me?" Rodrigo then tried to communicate to them. "Where are those reinforcements?!"

*static*

"Dang it! I got nothing on my end!" Rodrigo told them. "Can we not communicate with anyone?"

"GRR!" Von Scheck then suddenly launched himself against the door, pushing the door and the four teens back a bit, but then used their combined strength to push the door to close again.

"Rhonda, come in." Rodrigo then spoke through his earpiece. "Can you hear me? Please answer me!"

"What is it?!" Rhonda retorted while grunting. "I'm a little busy right now!"

"Have you been having problems with your earpiece?" Rodrigo asked.

"Not...really." Rhonda responded while grunting.

"What's going on down there?" Rodrigo asked. "Why is there so much noise?"

"The guards came back!" Rhonda replied as she continued to grunt while pushing against the barricades and door. "We have been trying to keep them at bay, but we cant hold them out for much longer. We'll need to fall back soon! Did you ask Curly or Phoebe if they are done yet?"

"No, we can't get through to them!" Rodrigo frantically exclaimed. "Our communication is down. That's why I asked you if yours is working."

"Ugh, great!" Rhonda frustratingly exclaimed. "Well, the fact that you are talking to me means that it is working." She remarked.

While Rodrigo spoke with Rhonda, Helga was starting to lose her patience with this tug and pull session. Wanting to end this, or at least give them a break, she looked around to see what she can use to neutralize Von Scheck, or better yet, put him out of commission all together.

Come on, come on! What's in this stupid office that I can use? She thought to herself.

"Ah ha!" She exclaimed when she saw something.

"Be right back!" She said to everyone as she left her spot to pick something up from the floor.

She went back to pick up the other half of the coating rack that had broken off, this one having the legs, picked it up, moved backed a bit and aimed through the big hole where she could see Von Scheck's head.

"Move it, football head!" She yelled at him as she then charged right towards the hole.

Arnold looked back and when he saw her charging with that rack, he instantly ducked down, revealing Von Scheck whose angry, sadistic facial expression dissipated when he saw her charging at him.

*Bang*

"OW!" Von Scheck yelled out in pain when the rack hit him right in the head/face, causing him to almost lose his balance as he went backwards.

The force was so strong that he stumbled right against the wall. As soon as he hit the wall, he stumbled right onto the floor. Due to the pain and that fact that he wasn't able to yet get inside, he angrily growled at them and gave them a deadly glare, but then suddenly,

*Clang*

"OW!" Von Scheck yelled out in pain as the fire extinguisher that was against the wall behind him fell down on top of his head. He accidentally loosened it from the handle when he fell down.

Von Scheck groaned in pain while on the floor and then finally laid there as he became unconscious, giving the teens a much needed respite.

"Whoa." Gerald said with astonishment. "Good hit."

"Thanks." Helga said while breathing heavily.

"Hello? Rodrigo? Are you still there?" Rhonda called out to him through his earpiece.

"Yeah...still here." Rodrigo, looking equally amazed at Helga. "We're okay."

"Good. Now is helping coming or not?!" Rhonda frantically yelled.

"We'll let you know soon." Rodrigo replied.

Despite neutralizing Von Scheck, they had little time to celebrate. Gerald then immediately went close to the broken window and tried to get through Phoebe again.

"Babe, can you hear me?" Gerald spoke through his earpiece. "Phoebe, if you can hear me, please answer."

"I can hear you, Gerald." Phoebe finally responded, much to Gerald's relief.

"Is everyone okay?" Phoebe worryingly asked.

"Yeah, everyone's fine, babe." Gerald said.

"Thank goodness!" She exclaimed, feeling relieved. "What happened to Von Scheck?" She asked.

"Helga neutralized him for the time being." Gerald replied. "But he might wake up soon. What were you saying about those reinforcements? Please tell me they are coming."

"They are!" Phoebe exclaimed, finally confirming. "Help is on the way! Just please hold on a little bit longer!"

"Thanks, babe." Gerald said as he then turned to face everyone else. "Help is on the way, guys!" He happily said. "They're coming!"

That news lifted a huge weight off of everyone's shoulders. After bearing the heavy prospect that they wouldn't get out of there unscathed, it finally gave everyone some real hope.

"Rhonda, come in." Rodrigo said with a smile on his face. "Help is on the way!"

"That's great!" Rhonda happily said while still holding the guards off. "Now tell them to get here faster!" She yelled at them.

"How far away are they, babe?" Gerald asked.

"Not far." Phoebe responded.

"Roddy, come in." Curly then spoke to Rodrigo.

"Yeah, I'm here." Rodrigo replied.

"Good news! We're done!" Curly happily exclaimed.

"Did you guys managed to get what we needed?" Rodrigo asked.

"Oh yes, you betcha!" Curly excitedly exclaimed. "And boy is there a lot of stuff here. We have more than enough to expose Von Scheck and put him away for good this time several times over. You guys can get out of there now."

"Thanks Curly, but it's a little late for us." Rodrigo said. "We're stuck inside Von Scheck's office until help arrives."

"What about Rhonda?" Curly asked.

"She should still be able to get-"

"Guys, Von Scheck is waking up!" Arnold then softly warned everyone, as he started to hear grunts and groans.

"Curly, we'll try to hold our ground for as long as we can, but we need help right now! In the meantime, get a hold of Rhonda and tell her and everyone there to get out of there!" Rodrigo instructed him as he headed back to the door.

"You got it, Roddy." Curly complied.

Back at the Head Security room...

"Keep pushing!" Nick instructed the guards as they continued to push hard against the door.

One of the other guards tried to shoot at the window, but because it was bulletproof glass, it didn't shatter.

"How long must we continue to resist?" Sid said as he continued to push against the door. "I'm getting tired."

"Yeah, me too." Stinky agreed. "This really bites. I don't think we can hold them off any longer."

"Just...keep...pushing." Rhonda grunted as she also kept up the pressure.

"Rhonda, come in." Curly then called her through her earpiece. "Come in my cherie."

"You'd better have some good news for us, Curly!" Rhonda retorted.

"I do; you guys can leave now. We have what we need." Curly happily responded.

"You do?" Rhonda asked, surprised.

"Yes. We have enough evidence to put Von Scheck in prison for life several time over. Just make sure you retrieve the USB virus device before you leave."

"Thanks Curly." Rhonda said with a smile. "Everyone, our job is done here. We can go now."

"Great." Peapod Kid said. "But, how do we get out of here?"

"Through the ventilation system." Rhonda responded.

"But, we can't all leave at the same time." Sid said. "If we do, the guards will burst right through and get everyone."

"We'll need to leave one by one." Rhonda suggested "We just need something to hold them off long enough for the last person to get out."

Back at Von Scheck's office...

As soon as they heard noises from outside the door, Arnold, Helga, Rodrigo and Gerald scrambled back to their positions and watched in horror as Von Scheck slowly came to.

"Oh man," Gerald worryingly said, "if help doesn't come now, we're as good as dead."

Arnold said nothing and just frowned at that thought. What Gerald said was true; they need to stall Von Scheck from getting inside the office in order for help to arrive.

But how? Arnold thought as he looked around to see what else he can use.

He then looked in front of him and saw what he needed.

The fire extinguisher! He exclaimed in thought.

But, it was a risky venture. The fire extinguisher was right next to Von Scheck and he was slowly regaining consciousnesses. With no time to spare, Arnold then suddenly climbed up the barricade and went through hole on the door. Luckily, it was big enough for him to go through.

"Arnold!" Helga softly exclaimed in shock when she saw what he was doing. "What are you doing?!"

"Arnold, come back here!" Rodrigo also softly exclaimed.

But Arnold ignored their plight and quickly went towards Von Scheck and grabbed the fire extinguisher. However, just as he reached for it, he saw Von Scheck giving him this murderous glare. Realizing that he was almost coming to, Arnold quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and headed back.

Despite the pain and that he hadn't yet completely regained his composure, Von Scheck saw Arnold and launched himself at Arnold, just as was running back to the door.

"Gotcha!" Von Scheck happily cried out when he managed to grab his foot.

"Arnold!" Helga screamed in horror.

Arnold tried to shake him off, but it was no use. Von Scheck held on firmly to him, not wanting to let him escape...not this time.

"Arnold shake him loose and get back inside!" Gerald frantically yelled at him.

As much as his friends wanted to help, Von Scheck was too far away from the door for them to do anything, unless one of them crawled through the door and tried to help out, but that would risk in Von Scheck apprehending them too. All they could now was just watch helplessly and in horror as Von Scheck slowly grabbed Arnold's leg and began to pull him closer to him.

"I got you now, you pestering, slithering, stupid, football head!" Von Scheck said to him as he let a sadistic smile come to his face, knowing that he was so close to finally getting his revenge.

Arnold tried to desperately make his way back to the door, but it was becoming clear that Von Scheck was preventing him from moving even an inch. Then, to everyone's horror, Von Scheck pulled him again and grabbed his waist.

"Oh no!" Arnold exclaimed, now feeling a great sense of fear permeating throughout his body.

"For crying out loud football head, use the fire extinguisher, will you!" Helga cried out to him.

"Oh right." Arnold said as he then turned it around and with it,

*Clang*

"OW!" Hit Von Scheck with it right in the head again, forcing him to let him go.

Using that opportunity, Arnold quickly crawled back through the hole and into the office, to his and everyone else's relief.

"Arnold, have you gone nuts?!" Gerald angrily yelled at him. "What were you thinking?!"

"We need to stall him from trying to get inside." Arnold explained as he panted. "That's why I got this; figured it might come in handy."

Meanwhile, Von Scheck remained on the floor and groaned in pain. He wasn't fully knocked out again, but he also wasn't completely conscience, which gave the teens more time.

Rodrigo then went to the broken window and looked at the horizon, hoping to see something.

"Nothing yet." He said to them, which only caused everyone's worry and anxiety to increase substantially.

"Where are they?!" Helga frustratingly exclaimed. "We can't keep doing this all day!"

"Maybe we should make a break for it." Rodrigo suggested. "We don't really need to be here anymore and we have the fire extinguisher that we can use to knock Von Scheck out again."

"I'm with Rodrigo on this one." Gerald quickly agreed. "We can't just sit around and wait. We need to at least try to get out of here on our own."

Helga and Arnold also quickly agreed to that idea. Grabbing the fire extinguisher again, they started making their way towards the door. However, to their shock, they saw Von Scheck getting up.

"You...are not...going...anywhere!" The CEO angrily declared with an angry snarl. He was soo furious and still dizzy with pain that he was actually drooling, and with his savage eyes, looked like a wild animal, ready to completely rip apart its prey.

The furious glare that he was giving the teens was enough to deter them from even trying to leave the office. Instead, they prepared themselves for another round with him.

"Well, there goes that idea." Helga remarked as she rolled her eyes.

After trying to regain his composure for a few minutes, Von Scheck then attempted to get inside by bursting through the broken door, this time, staying away from the hole for fear that he might get knocked out again or sprayed by the fire extinguisher. The four teens in response blocked him by pushing against the door.

"Ready for round three, Arnold? Hehehehe, hahahahahaha!" Von Scheck said to him with a maniacal laughter.

"Man, this guy totally lost it!" Helga grunted.

"As I promised you all, you're not going to escape from here, alive, hehehehehahahahaha!" Von Scheck said to them while still maniacally laughing. "And I am a man of my word."

Back at the security head office room...

"Give me a second, guys. I'll be right back." Rhonda said as she took off and went to look for something.

Soon, she made it back, with tape and glue.

"What are those for?" Sid asked as he continued to push against the door.

"I'm going to tape and glue the barricade and door together against the wall." Rhonda explained as she started taping everything. "I'm hoping this will buy us enough time to get out of here."

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"Don't let up, guys!" Arnold grunted as he tried to push against the door with all of his might.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Helga remarked back.

Back at the security head office room...

"Hold the door steady and don't let anything move." Rhonda instructed them as she starting putting tape and glue between the door and the wall.

"That's...easier said than done, Ms. Rhonda." Stinky grunted as he tried with all of his strength to keep the door closed.

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"This is fruitless, Arnold!" Von Scheck yelled at him. "Sooner or later, you are going to tire out and allow me to get in. So, why don't you just stop this charade and just accept your fate?"

"Go...to...hell, Von Scheck!" Arnold then yelled back, much to everyone's surprise.

Did I really just say that? Arnold thought to himself, surprising himself.

Back at the security head office room...

Rhonda worked tirelessly as she taped and glued the barricade and door as fast as she could. She continuously went around left and right, tying everything, safe for Stinky, Sid and Peapod Kid.

"Are you done yet?" Sid grunted.

"Almost." She said. "Just hold on just a little bit longer."

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"So tell me Arnold, how would you like to die today?" Von Scheck taunted him with an evil smile. "Did you want me to bash that football head of yours against the wall, or would you prefer a quick and painless death and have me just throw you out the window?!"

"Man, he really did lose his marvels." Gerald remarked. "What did you two do to him?" He asked as he looked at Arnold and Helga

"Nothing!" Both Arnold and Helga exclaimed back.

Back at the security head office room...

"Okay, I'm done." Rhonda declared. "I hope this will hold them."

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"Where's our help?!" Gerald frantically yelled. "It's either..."

Back at the security head office room...

"Now or..." Rhonda said.

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"Never!" Gerald yelled.

Back at the security head office room...

"Okay. Who's going first?" Rhonda asked.

"You guys go first." Sid grunted. "I'll hold them off."

"Nah uh, Sid." Stinky then said. "You were already brave enough once. Let someone else do this."

"Okay, I'll stay behind." Peapod Kid then said. "Rhonda, you can leave first."

"Okay, I'll go first, then Sid, then Stinky and then finally you, Peapod Kid." Rhonda suggested to which everyone else just nodded as they continued to hold onto the door.

Rhonda then made her way to the security's main computer, took out the USB chip and then went to the ventilation system and started climbing up.

"What?!" Nick exclaimed in shock when he saw Rhonda climbing. "They are trying to escape. Get in there!"

"Okay, I"m up!" Rhonda called out to them. "Sid, you're next!"

Sid immediately let go and quickly made his way to the ventilation system, quickly climbing up.

"Stinky, you're up next!" Sid called out.

Stinky then let go and made his way to the ventilation system, leaving Peapod Kid alone to hold the guards off. The southern teen climbed up and safely got inside.

"Peapod Kid!" Stinky called out.

Peapod Kid took a deep breath and hoping that the tape and glue would hold, then quickly ran towards the ventilation system. To his relief, the door did not burst open.

"Grrrrr. NNOOO!" Nick angrily yelled in utter frustration as he saw the teens, one by one, climb up the ventilation system.

With that, Peapod Kid quickly go up on the computer, jumped, grabbed onto the ventilation entrance and with the help of Stinky, mad his way safely inside.

Back at Von Scheck's office...

"GGRR!" "GGRR!" "GGR!" Von Scheck grunted and growled as he slammed against the door with all of his body weight.

Arnold, Gerald, Helga and Rodrigo continued to push back with their own body weight, but as time went be, they grew increasingly tired while Von Scheck only seemed to be getting stronger, as every push felt more and more pressured being exerted. They were already exhausted, having spent much of their energy going up and running around almost the entire building, not to mention trying to coordinate with the other teams. It was just physically and mentally exhausting. It was by some miracle that they still managed to gather whatever strength they had left to continue to hold Von Scheck at bay. Now, having almost reached the end of their ropes, they knew they couldn't do this forever and unless help arrived now, they were as good as dead. None of them knew what Von Scheck would do to them, especially Arnold if he made his way inside, other than knowing that whatever plan he had in store for them, it was going to to be utterly painful.

*static* "Arnold..." *static* Someone then suddenly spoke through Arnold's earpiece.

"Who is this?" Arnold asked when he heard the voice call his name.

"It's Nadine!" She replied.

"Nadine?" Arnold exclaimed in surprise. "Where are you?"

"We're here!" She replied.

"Where? Are you already inside the building?" He asked.

"No. Are you still inside Von Scheck's office?" She asked.

"Yes, we are." Arnold replied.

"Look out the window." She said.

"Gerald," Arnold then addressed his best friend, "Nadine said she is here and asked us to look out the window. Go and see if you can see her."

"Oh, finally!" Gerald exclaimed. "What about Von Scheck?"

"We can hold them off for a while." Arnold said. "Go!"

Gerald complied and quickly made his way to the broken window. When he reached it, he immediately saw something at the distance, just across the horizon, but he couldn't make out what it was. Taking his binoculars out, he looked through them to get a better view of what was approaching them. Upon getting into view, he recognized what it was and smiled...