NINE DAYS LATER
"One W...two Ws...three Ws...four Ws...five Ws...six Ws..."
Tara stared at the remains of her peanut butter and toasted banana sandwich, trying to ignore Kat's insistent prattle behind her.
"Seven Ws...Eight Ws...Nine Ws,"she continued, moving the colored candy pieces from one dish to the table top and into Tristan's food. "Ten Ws...what comes after ten?"
"Do you know why the blonde got fired from the M and M factory, Kat?"Natasha asked without looking up from trying to glue her guitar back together. She placed her hands together in a clap.
Kat shook her head. "No...why?!"
"She threw out all the Ws."
"I don't get it. What comes after ten?"Kat questioned, not comprehending the words or the bad way in which they were spoken.
What have I done to deserve this? It this what I get for smarting off to Logan and cutting up his magazines? Tara wondered over these things while she finished her sandwich.
"Who wants to hear a story?"Angel asked, coming into the room with a large stack of printed papers.
John didn't move from typing on his lap top. "Another room, shelia."
"Yes, Johnny." She batted her eyelashes a moment then exited. "Special once in a lifetime chance to hear the original novel of a soon to be famous writer....JOHN ALLERDYCE."
John barely blinked.
Tara, Kat, and Natasha joined her in the living room where Kellie and Derek were coloring while Corey shrank into his corner. Russ was staring at Ashley with a love struck expression; her attention was outside the window, watching for something. Tristan leaned against one wall, oddly silent.
Tristan hadn't spoken much since flirting with Natasha, getting threatened by Logan, and playing way too many strip games with one Angel Blade-Lebeau.
"Everyone gather around and you will hear a tale. A tale of love. Doomed love with horrible consequences for a fire eater and his beautiful gypsy lover. The author is none other than our own, ST. JOHN ALLERDYCE!!!"
"Pyro writes love stories?" Ashley stared at her blankly then shook her head and returned to her window, watching.
Angel cleared her throat. "Sek(pronounced:sex) and the Fire Eater. Chapter Seven. 'Diago didn't know what made him do it but he kissed her. It wasn't a kiss between friends as he'd intended but a raw, passionate kiss between lovers. Sek wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, returning the kiss. Diago's hands stroked down her body, cupping her backside but she gave no protest. "Sek, I want you,"he told her in the instant he took his mouth from hers to trail hot kisses down her throat. His lips brushed her long dark black hair, causing a tingling sensation deep in her belly. Sek moaned but only dug her nails into his back in response..."
"ANGEL ELIZABETH BLADE-LEBEAU!"
"PYRO!"
John glared at her upon entering the room. "Shut up, Kat. Why are you reading my novel aloud, you-you-you demon child!"
"Never knew you thought so much, Pyro,"Ashley commented, off handedly. "Sek and Diago? I'm curious now...a fire eater and his gypsy lover?"
Russ smiled at her. "That could be us, my Ashley. The fork balancer and his electric lover..."
She shuddered. "Bad mental image. I need a drink..." She shuddered once then walked out of the door; Russ followed like a lost puppy.
"Why are you reading my novel aloud, Angel?"Pyro demanded again.
Kat held up an M and M, dark blue. "The Ws are gone!"
Derek and Kellie looked up then screamed in unison. "Ahhhhhhhh!"
Angel shrugged, batting her eyelashes. "It was right out in the open, Johnny. Remy say y'don' wait for opp'rtunity to knock; y'drag it in, screamin' and fightin'."
"That is no reas----" His sentence was cut off by Richard's arrival.
His face was drained of all color and sweat poured from his body. He shuddered and twitched every few steps, glancing fearfully behind him. Another shudder shook him.
"Why won't you play with Mr. Oreox." David Summers entered the room, cradling something large and furry against his chest and glaring at Richard. 'Mr. Oreox' made a strange sound then latched onto his young master's shirt.
John snatched his novel/manuscript/script from her hands then stormed out of the room. "STAY OUT OF MY ROOM, TOO, SHELIA AND COMPANY!"
His door slammed a few moments later.
Richard hid behind Angel. "Keep him away."
"What's the big deal?" Angel pulled away and approached David, kneeling beside him. "David, honey, what do you have?"
"Mr. Oreox. He's a mole,"David said, stressing each syllable. His hand clutched on the thing's head, petting gently. "Daddy said I could keep him long as he'd let me. Ashley yelled at me and Mr. Oreox..."
"A mole...Richard, are you afraid of the mole?"
"Maybe."
"I am an almost licencised therapist. Have a seat on the couch, Richard."
Richard hesitated then sank onto the couch, holding a beer that he'd removed from his cooler. It was resting under the table, away from anyone's view.
Angel settled into a chair then motioned to David. "Come here, you, we're going to discuss this like normal, rational people."
David ran over and climbed onto her lap, holding 'Mr. Oreox.'
He hesitated a moment then took a breathe. "It all began when I became a mutant..."
THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER
"I see. Are you feeling anymore confident about your ability to handle the mole situation, Richard?" Angel patted his hand in a reassuring way. Her hand stayed there for a few moments, stopping him from movie.
Richard nodded then took another drink from his open, half-drunk bottle of bear. "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready,"he chanted in a high-pitched voice. "What's it's name again?"
"Mr. Oreox!"David announced, holding up the squirming, hissing ball of furr. Something oddly resembling one of Scott's visors was strapped to the animal's head. Furr stuck up in all directions and his hand held onto the thing around it's badly distended belly.
"Now all you have to do is reach our your hand and touch it, Richard. The animal won't bite you...David, if you would hold our your 'friend'."
The little boy smiled, pleasantly, then held out his pet toward the much older.
"Mr. Oreox is pleased to meet you."
Richard started to reach toward the animal but jerked his hand back when it snapped.
Angel blinks, staring down at the ball of furr. "Wait a minute...since when do moles snap at people?"
Silence.
David spoke up finally, his voice a conspirital whispher. "Mr. Oreox is special, Aunt Angel. He's uh...bio-kineticiatly-ngineered. Missre. Hank made 'im...he's special."
"Honey, could I borrow Mr. Oreox for a moment?"she asked, sweetly with a small smile to him.
His arms tightened around the creature. "No, mines."
"David..."
"Mines!"
"David!"
"MINES!"
Mr. Oreox hissed. Lasers blasts like Scott's shot from his eyes.
Richard ran from the room. Angel hesitated a moment then ran from the room, dumping David onto the floor. Yelling voices and a door slamming followed minutes later.
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER
"Is it still out there?"
Tara Toynbee pulled the door open a little then pressed her eyes to it, staring out. Something brown and furry skittered by. She yelped and slammed the door shut, sliding down against the wall beside it.
"It's still there but David isn't..."
Richard huddled further into his dark corner of John's room, pulling his cooler closer.
Everyone home at the moment was gathered in his room, hiding. Derek, Kellie, and Kat were under the bed, laying on their stomaches while they searched for The Missing Ws. Corey was huddled in a corner, talking to himself, very quietly. Angel had begun flipping through John's manuscript/novel again while Tristan and Richard huddled under the desk behind her.
"Is the evil gone yet?"Richard questioned, sticking his head out to look around.
Tara responded,"Sorry, but no Richard. It's pacing the hall, shooting laser beams. The ceiling's starting to resemble Russ' room...except red instead of yellow."
He whimphered and hid back under the desk.
"Who wants to hear another chapter of Johnny's novel?"Angel questioned, leafing through the pages for a few moments then sitting on top the desk, indiant style. She balanced the large stack of papers against one knee.
"Me, me, me!" The three 'mousekeeters' scrambled from under the bed and gathered at her feet, staring up. Tara shrugged, noncommitting. Richard crept slightly out but caught one of Angel's feet, clutching it.
"You won't leave?"
"Nope. Won't leave, Richard..."
Tristan climbed out from under the desk but made a point to sit on the chair directly beside her.
Angel ignored his prescence, flipping through the pages.
"When are Ashley, Russ, PYRO!, and Scott coming home? Scott promised to sing with me...we're going to sing When a Man Loves a Woman!"
"Eventually?"
Scattered moans of 'no' came from the others.
[ Kat: I can't understand why no one likes my singing. It's beautiful....everyone thinks so! I'm a good singer, right? Right? WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!!?! *she caught the room on fire*]
[Richard: *gulped down more beer* This place isn't normal. I don't even know where Hank went! That...*twitch* mole *twitch*...has been patrolling for hours. I can't take the pressure anymore! *something thunked outside the door, causing him to scream* LEAVE ME ALONE!]
Angel cleared her throat. "Sek and The Fire Eater. Chapter Thirteen. 'Sek lay, listening to and feeling Diago's breathe on her bare back. She wasn't sure when it had happened but suddenly she realized-she was in love with Diago Rigel. It happened suddenly after only two weeks. Sek could see a future for them together and that scared her. She knew she would never be anything except the daughter of a filthy gypsy; Diago didn't see her as anything more then a lover. He never would. Tears gathered at her eyes but she forced herself to move away from his strong, warm body and begin to get dressed. Her fingers ran through her dark, almost black hair while she continued trying to make the tears leave her eyes. Her eyes stared at Diago's sleeping form. Sek couldn't take it anymore and.....' Kat, why are you crying?"
All eyes went to Kat who was sobbing, loudly.
"I MISS BOBBY!"she sobbed even louder, beginning to cry all over again. "HE'S NEVER BEEN WITHOUT ME FOR MORE THAN THIRTEEN HOURS!"
Tara's sigh drew everyone's attention. "Okay, that's seriously enough,"she growled, picking up the nearby telephone and dialing a number. She glowered at them all but tilted her head from side to side as if she were listening to music, moving her lips as if counting. "Scott? Come home...we have a problem. Your demon son's pet mole, a special mole made by our buddy Hank, has taken over the house.....on your way now? Great. Bring Ash, Russ, and John before Angel makes us suffer through anymore of his novel."
She slammed the phone down then held her hands up, palms out.
"Problem solved."
"You interrupted my reading deabut for this?" Angel's voice was over dramatic.
"Yes, Angel." Tara's voice was quiet as if speaking to a small child.
She shrugged. "Okay. Where was I..."
"Sek was leaving Diago,"Kellie cried in an anguished voice then broke down into tears with Kat.
Derek inched away from his sister.
"Yes..here it is. 'Sek couldn't take it anymore and.....'
A/N: Next Chapter-A RESCUE MISSION....by DRUNKS? Commando Mr. Oreox the Mole has taken a hostage-the one, the only DAVID SUMMERS!
"One W...two Ws...three Ws...four Ws...five Ws...six Ws..."
Tara stared at the remains of her peanut butter and toasted banana sandwich, trying to ignore Kat's insistent prattle behind her.
"Seven Ws...Eight Ws...Nine Ws,"she continued, moving the colored candy pieces from one dish to the table top and into Tristan's food. "Ten Ws...what comes after ten?"
"Do you know why the blonde got fired from the M and M factory, Kat?"Natasha asked without looking up from trying to glue her guitar back together. She placed her hands together in a clap.
Kat shook her head. "No...why?!"
"She threw out all the Ws."
"I don't get it. What comes after ten?"Kat questioned, not comprehending the words or the bad way in which they were spoken.
What have I done to deserve this? It this what I get for smarting off to Logan and cutting up his magazines? Tara wondered over these things while she finished her sandwich.
"Who wants to hear a story?"Angel asked, coming into the room with a large stack of printed papers.
John didn't move from typing on his lap top. "Another room, shelia."
"Yes, Johnny." She batted her eyelashes a moment then exited. "Special once in a lifetime chance to hear the original novel of a soon to be famous writer....JOHN ALLERDYCE."
John barely blinked.
Tara, Kat, and Natasha joined her in the living room where Kellie and Derek were coloring while Corey shrank into his corner. Russ was staring at Ashley with a love struck expression; her attention was outside the window, watching for something. Tristan leaned against one wall, oddly silent.
Tristan hadn't spoken much since flirting with Natasha, getting threatened by Logan, and playing way too many strip games with one Angel Blade-Lebeau.
"Everyone gather around and you will hear a tale. A tale of love. Doomed love with horrible consequences for a fire eater and his beautiful gypsy lover. The author is none other than our own, ST. JOHN ALLERDYCE!!!"
"Pyro writes love stories?" Ashley stared at her blankly then shook her head and returned to her window, watching.
Angel cleared her throat. "Sek(pronounced:sex) and the Fire Eater. Chapter Seven. 'Diago didn't know what made him do it but he kissed her. It wasn't a kiss between friends as he'd intended but a raw, passionate kiss between lovers. Sek wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, returning the kiss. Diago's hands stroked down her body, cupping her backside but she gave no protest. "Sek, I want you,"he told her in the instant he took his mouth from hers to trail hot kisses down her throat. His lips brushed her long dark black hair, causing a tingling sensation deep in her belly. Sek moaned but only dug her nails into his back in response..."
"ANGEL ELIZABETH BLADE-LEBEAU!"
"PYRO!"
John glared at her upon entering the room. "Shut up, Kat. Why are you reading my novel aloud, you-you-you demon child!"
"Never knew you thought so much, Pyro,"Ashley commented, off handedly. "Sek and Diago? I'm curious now...a fire eater and his gypsy lover?"
Russ smiled at her. "That could be us, my Ashley. The fork balancer and his electric lover..."
She shuddered. "Bad mental image. I need a drink..." She shuddered once then walked out of the door; Russ followed like a lost puppy.
"Why are you reading my novel aloud, Angel?"Pyro demanded again.
Kat held up an M and M, dark blue. "The Ws are gone!"
Derek and Kellie looked up then screamed in unison. "Ahhhhhhhh!"
Angel shrugged, batting her eyelashes. "It was right out in the open, Johnny. Remy say y'don' wait for opp'rtunity to knock; y'drag it in, screamin' and fightin'."
"That is no reas----" His sentence was cut off by Richard's arrival.
His face was drained of all color and sweat poured from his body. He shuddered and twitched every few steps, glancing fearfully behind him. Another shudder shook him.
"Why won't you play with Mr. Oreox." David Summers entered the room, cradling something large and furry against his chest and glaring at Richard. 'Mr. Oreox' made a strange sound then latched onto his young master's shirt.
John snatched his novel/manuscript/script from her hands then stormed out of the room. "STAY OUT OF MY ROOM, TOO, SHELIA AND COMPANY!"
His door slammed a few moments later.
Richard hid behind Angel. "Keep him away."
"What's the big deal?" Angel pulled away and approached David, kneeling beside him. "David, honey, what do you have?"
"Mr. Oreox. He's a mole,"David said, stressing each syllable. His hand clutched on the thing's head, petting gently. "Daddy said I could keep him long as he'd let me. Ashley yelled at me and Mr. Oreox..."
"A mole...Richard, are you afraid of the mole?"
"Maybe."
"I am an almost licencised therapist. Have a seat on the couch, Richard."
Richard hesitated then sank onto the couch, holding a beer that he'd removed from his cooler. It was resting under the table, away from anyone's view.
Angel settled into a chair then motioned to David. "Come here, you, we're going to discuss this like normal, rational people."
David ran over and climbed onto her lap, holding 'Mr. Oreox.'
He hesitated a moment then took a breathe. "It all began when I became a mutant..."
THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER
"I see. Are you feeling anymore confident about your ability to handle the mole situation, Richard?" Angel patted his hand in a reassuring way. Her hand stayed there for a few moments, stopping him from movie.
Richard nodded then took another drink from his open, half-drunk bottle of bear. "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready,"he chanted in a high-pitched voice. "What's it's name again?"
"Mr. Oreox!"David announced, holding up the squirming, hissing ball of furr. Something oddly resembling one of Scott's visors was strapped to the animal's head. Furr stuck up in all directions and his hand held onto the thing around it's badly distended belly.
"Now all you have to do is reach our your hand and touch it, Richard. The animal won't bite you...David, if you would hold our your 'friend'."
The little boy smiled, pleasantly, then held out his pet toward the much older.
"Mr. Oreox is pleased to meet you."
Richard started to reach toward the animal but jerked his hand back when it snapped.
Angel blinks, staring down at the ball of furr. "Wait a minute...since when do moles snap at people?"
Silence.
David spoke up finally, his voice a conspirital whispher. "Mr. Oreox is special, Aunt Angel. He's uh...bio-kineticiatly-ngineered. Missre. Hank made 'im...he's special."
"Honey, could I borrow Mr. Oreox for a moment?"she asked, sweetly with a small smile to him.
His arms tightened around the creature. "No, mines."
"David..."
"Mines!"
"David!"
"MINES!"
Mr. Oreox hissed. Lasers blasts like Scott's shot from his eyes.
Richard ran from the room. Angel hesitated a moment then ran from the room, dumping David onto the floor. Yelling voices and a door slamming followed minutes later.
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER
"Is it still out there?"
Tara Toynbee pulled the door open a little then pressed her eyes to it, staring out. Something brown and furry skittered by. She yelped and slammed the door shut, sliding down against the wall beside it.
"It's still there but David isn't..."
Richard huddled further into his dark corner of John's room, pulling his cooler closer.
Everyone home at the moment was gathered in his room, hiding. Derek, Kellie, and Kat were under the bed, laying on their stomaches while they searched for The Missing Ws. Corey was huddled in a corner, talking to himself, very quietly. Angel had begun flipping through John's manuscript/novel again while Tristan and Richard huddled under the desk behind her.
"Is the evil gone yet?"Richard questioned, sticking his head out to look around.
Tara responded,"Sorry, but no Richard. It's pacing the hall, shooting laser beams. The ceiling's starting to resemble Russ' room...except red instead of yellow."
He whimphered and hid back under the desk.
"Who wants to hear another chapter of Johnny's novel?"Angel questioned, leafing through the pages for a few moments then sitting on top the desk, indiant style. She balanced the large stack of papers against one knee.
"Me, me, me!" The three 'mousekeeters' scrambled from under the bed and gathered at her feet, staring up. Tara shrugged, noncommitting. Richard crept slightly out but caught one of Angel's feet, clutching it.
"You won't leave?"
"Nope. Won't leave, Richard..."
Tristan climbed out from under the desk but made a point to sit on the chair directly beside her.
Angel ignored his prescence, flipping through the pages.
"When are Ashley, Russ, PYRO!, and Scott coming home? Scott promised to sing with me...we're going to sing When a Man Loves a Woman!"
"Eventually?"
Scattered moans of 'no' came from the others.
[ Kat: I can't understand why no one likes my singing. It's beautiful....everyone thinks so! I'm a good singer, right? Right? WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!!?! *she caught the room on fire*]
[Richard: *gulped down more beer* This place isn't normal. I don't even know where Hank went! That...*twitch* mole *twitch*...has been patrolling for hours. I can't take the pressure anymore! *something thunked outside the door, causing him to scream* LEAVE ME ALONE!]
Angel cleared her throat. "Sek and The Fire Eater. Chapter Thirteen. 'Sek lay, listening to and feeling Diago's breathe on her bare back. She wasn't sure when it had happened but suddenly she realized-she was in love with Diago Rigel. It happened suddenly after only two weeks. Sek could see a future for them together and that scared her. She knew she would never be anything except the daughter of a filthy gypsy; Diago didn't see her as anything more then a lover. He never would. Tears gathered at her eyes but she forced herself to move away from his strong, warm body and begin to get dressed. Her fingers ran through her dark, almost black hair while she continued trying to make the tears leave her eyes. Her eyes stared at Diago's sleeping form. Sek couldn't take it anymore and.....' Kat, why are you crying?"
All eyes went to Kat who was sobbing, loudly.
"I MISS BOBBY!"she sobbed even louder, beginning to cry all over again. "HE'S NEVER BEEN WITHOUT ME FOR MORE THAN THIRTEEN HOURS!"
Tara's sigh drew everyone's attention. "Okay, that's seriously enough,"she growled, picking up the nearby telephone and dialing a number. She glowered at them all but tilted her head from side to side as if she were listening to music, moving her lips as if counting. "Scott? Come home...we have a problem. Your demon son's pet mole, a special mole made by our buddy Hank, has taken over the house.....on your way now? Great. Bring Ash, Russ, and John before Angel makes us suffer through anymore of his novel."
She slammed the phone down then held her hands up, palms out.
"Problem solved."
"You interrupted my reading deabut for this?" Angel's voice was over dramatic.
"Yes, Angel." Tara's voice was quiet as if speaking to a small child.
She shrugged. "Okay. Where was I..."
"Sek was leaving Diago,"Kellie cried in an anguished voice then broke down into tears with Kat.
Derek inched away from his sister.
"Yes..here it is. 'Sek couldn't take it anymore and.....'
A/N: Next Chapter-A RESCUE MISSION....by DRUNKS? Commando Mr. Oreox the Mole has taken a hostage-the one, the only DAVID SUMMERS!