Romancing the Ambergris
Epilogue:
Around midnight, inside a dark underground chamber…
"I'm sorry master. We have failed you." Rodger Pink-Eye exclaimed as he and Sally Slime-Girl kneeled in front of their master, the hooded leader of the Society of Drossology (well, Sally would kneel if she had knees).
"That's a disappointment." The hooded figure sighed from the elevated stone chair he was seated in. "Tell me, to what do you owe this failure."
Rodger's swollen, red eye glared at Sally who fidgeted under his gaze. His attention returned to his mysterious leader. "LabRat had two other Grossologists tailing him which we failed to notice. I had no sacrifice my van to get us out of there."
"I see…" The hooded master said, looping his fingers together.
Sally suddenly felt the need to speak up. "Do-don't worry sir. We'll find the entrance to the Gaglab some other way. I assure you."
That made the hooded figure chuckle, a chuckle that built up into a deafening, maniacal laughter. "My dear girl, I already know where the Gaglab is."
Sally blinked. "You-you do?"
"Yes, in fact I vaguer I know more about that place than the Grossologists themselves do."
"Then what was the point of our mission then?" Rodger asked bewildered and slightly annoyed.
"It was a test to measure your abilities. Sufficing to say, it left a lot to be desired. " Their master replied. He clutched his chin in contemplation. "I think what you need is a suitable mentor and I also think I know the perfect candidate." His teeth bared in a sinister grin. "Now run along children. Daddy got some scheming to do." He said, shooing them away with his hand.
Roger and Sally rose up and walked out of the chamber. A large block for a door shut close behind them as they entered a more well-lit corridor. Sally didn't dare to speak until she was sure they were out of earshot of that demon boss of theirs. "Rodger?"
"Yeah." The freckled teenager replied, slightly peeved.
"Thank you for not mentioning my fumble with that watch-thing. Everyone knows what the price of failure is around here."
It took a moment for Rodger to respond. When he did, his mood was much more cheerful. "No problem. After all, partners should look after each other. How about we order some pizza and watch WebFlick?"
"Sounds like a plan." Sally happily replied.
The next day at Ringworm High…
It was Monday, the day after Valentine's Day and for once Greg Bronzy was actually relieved to be back to the monotony of school life after his tumultuous holiday.
He reached his locker and started twisting the padlock to the right number combination. However, the moment he opened his locker he was literally buried under an avalanche of Valentine's Cards. Once he popped his head out of the huge pile of love letters he heard the sound of girls giggling as Molly, Sanjita and Kayla was standing only a few feet away. "Awe, come on! Valentine's over already.
In another school corridor, Andy and Paige were doing googly eyes with each other while Ty stood nearby with a disgruntle look on his face. "So, are you two an item now or what?" He asked with his right eyebrow raised and his arms crossed over his pecs.
Andy and Paige both turned to face him. "Not quite." Paige was the first to speak. "We're in a sort of testing phase right now. We'll be dating once a week to see if were um, meant for each other."
"During which we will not be dating anyone else." Andy added.
"Oh, that reminds me," The rich blonde exclaimed and pulled a sheet of paper and handed it to her pseudo-boyfriend, "here is a contract with stipulations about dating me."
Andy's eyes darted from the contract in his hands to the girl of his dreams. "Stipulations."
Paige nodded before picking her pink duffle bag off the floor. "You can read it as you walk me to cheerleader practise." She started heading towards the gymnasium and Andy followed her, eyes glued to the contract he was he'd been given.
Ty reluctantly decided to follow them. His relationship with Paige was one of one-sided animosity and complete indifference. Unless he stood directly in front of her Paige usually forgot he even existed and Ty hated her for picking on his sister and pulling his best friends heartstrings. As such, he was a bit antsy about this new relationship Andy had developed with the snobby millionaire's daughter.
Andy's eyes dilated when he read a certain line in the contract. "You-you want me to go on a diet?"
"Yeah, I think it will be good for your health and your self-esteem, not to mention my image." Paige replied.
"I-I don't know." Andy grimaced. "I mean, I really like snacks."
Paige sighed. "Do you like making out with me?"
"Yes."
"Then losing a few pounds shouldn't be a problem." The blonde chirped.
Andy sneered. "If I agree to sign this… than you have to agree to some of my demands to."
Paige stopped in her tracks and turned to face her admirer. "What can you possible ask of me?"
The overweight young man raised his chin and folded his hands over his abdomen. "I want you to stop um," he paused for a moment to find the right words, "taunting my friends."
Ty was surprised and a bit impressed with how his friend stood up to his bossy not-really-girlfriend.
"Even Abby?" Paige asked.
"Yes." Andy nodded.
"But insulting Abby is like 85% of my entire character. I can't change something that big about myself just like that." Paige lamented.
Andy huffed thru his nostrils. "Well, I guess Abby is a strong girl who can take it but if she gets genuinely upset I want you to stop."
Paige sighed. "Fine. If I see that ginger vixen cry I cut her some slack." She then grumbled some curses under her breath that none could make out.
"As for Jasmine, Naomi and Chester, you can't taunt them at all anymore. I mean it. It's non-negotiable." Andy stated firmly.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut while I'm around them."
"And when we're hanging out together I want you to at least pretend to be polite to them and remember, I am the reason you're dad's company now has enough ambergris to produce your perfume for the rest of your life."
Paige grit her teeth before groaning out a reluctant; "Fine." Then she resumed walking towards the gym.
"I'll get that in print so we can sign our contracts at the same time, okay?" Andy called out to her before turning to his best friend. "Let me guess, you're gonna tell me that these stipulations are overly demanding and unreasonable."
"No, I actually think they're rather reasonable." Ty replied.
Andy blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah, all relationships are founded on compromises. Here's some I got with Naomi; I'm not allowed to talk about the feeding habit of ambush bugs."
"Sad, it's such an interesting conversation topic." The brunette commented.
"Also, I'm not allowed to make out with her for four hours if I've eaten chocolate due to her allergy. Of course, since I want to make out with her as often as possible I've just given up chocolate altogether."
"You've given up chocolate for her?" Andy gasped. "Man, you really are a romantic."
"Hey, are you coming?" Paige hollered to them (but really just Andy) from the other end of the corridor.
"Sorry, honey bun." Andy retorted and chased after her. Ty rolled his eyes before leisurely tailing after his best friend.
"Alright girls, today we start training on the new-what the heck."
The moment Paige barged thru the doors of the gymnasium she was hit with a rather disturbing sight (well, disturbing to her at least). For the most part, the cheerleading squad was what it usually was except for one little detail…
Vicky wasn't in her outfit. Not only that but she was wearing a blue shirt with a dolphin illustration on it.
Paige walked up to the lone dissenter, knuckles positioned at her hip. "Vicky, why are you not yet in uniform?"
"Well, why aren't you in uniform?" Surprisingly, Vicky retorted with a question of her own, although nervously so.
Paige's eyes squinted for a moment. "I'm not in uniform cause I'm running a little late cause Tammy forgot to remind me of the time."
Nobody saw it but Tammy rolled her eyes at Paige off-handed accusation.
"So, what's your excuse?" The cheerleader captain hissed at her typically submissive friend.
"Well…" Vicky lowered her head as she nervously fiddled her fingers. She then took a deep breath and gathered the bravery to stare the more dominant blonde in the eyes. "I talked with Andy yesterday and some of the things he said made me realize that I should probably quit the cheerleading squad."
"WHAT!" Paige's outburst was so explosive it made her appear like a furious fire demon.
"I-I think I only joined cause you were in it but now I feel like I should leave and find something else to do, something I actually like doing." Vicky continued explaining.
Andy's and Ty's jaws hit the ground as they would never expect one of Paige's friends to tell her off like this.
"I hope we can still be friends, thou." Vicky said meekly.
"Friends don't bail on each other!" Paige snapped at her. "If you quit here where I actually need you, what makes you think we can hang out anywhere else?"
"Then-then maybe its best if we stop being friend all together." Vicky stated, defiantly glaring right into her former team captain's eyes.
"Fine with me." Paige hissed as she leaned in closer to the diadem wearing girl, still managing to strike some fear into her. "Your bailing-eer, quitting, um…" Paige's confusion soon turned into even more frustration and she groaned out loud. "Urgh, what's it called when someone quits their job?"
"Resignation." Andy carefully answered.
Paige turned her attention back to Vicky. "Your resignation is accepted. Now, LEAVE!" She shouted as she pointed at the exit.
Vicky started moving towards the doors, her head hung low and eyes teary. She expected this would happen and yet she couldn't help but feel distraught.
"Wait!" Tammy cried out, earning the attention of everyone in the room, even Vicky stopped in her tracks. "If Vicky's resins,"
"Resigns." Andy corrected.
"then I'll resins too!" Tammy declared and threw her pom poms to the floor. While the other cheerleaders gasped Vicky peaked up with a smile.
Andy didn't know what flabbergast him more, the fact that Tammy was also standing up to Paige or that she got the word wrong twice.
"What!?" Paige gasped.
Tammy walked up to her former leader. "Paige, while I do enjoy shopping and talking fashion with you, I mean you clearly knows what looks good on me but truth is you're a b**ch. You make me and Vicky do all your dirty work and you never even thank us for it. On top of that, you constantly humiliate and insult us if we ever do anything that you don't want us to do."
"That's because your interests suck!" Paige snapped back at her. "But fine, go! See if I care! Like you two can make it without me! You're just a pair of background characters anyway!"
"FINE!" Tammy shouted at Paige before walking past her. She then stopped in her tracks and gave the cheerleader captain an over-the-shoulder-glare. "By the way, it's been decades since the backwards cap was popular and you're not bringing it back."
Paige growled thru gritting teeth and clenched her fists as she saw her former best friends disappear thru the gym's exit.
"I wonder if the tall one will realize she went out in uniform and will need to come back for her clothes." Ty commented.
Paige was frozen in place. Her teeth were gritting so hard they were scraping of the enamel, her nostrils were flaring like an angry bull and her fists were clenched so hard that her finely pedicured nails dented her palms. The remaining cheerleaders were shaking in fear, not daring to say or do anything in case it would set off their captain.
Fortunately for them, Andy was the one to approach her, hesitantly thou. "Paige, honey bee, are you okay?"
Paige snapped her head in his direction, her honey-brown eyes starring daggers into him. "What. Did. You. Say. To Vicky?"
Andy was shaking like a leaf. Not even the mutated hagfishes made him this scared. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I s-s-s-said t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-that she sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shouldn't b-b-b-be ashamed of her-her in-interest in-in-in ma-ma—ma-marine life and t-t-that if-if you-you were a t-t-t-t-true friend t-t-than you wo-wouldn't sh-sh-sh-sh-shame her."
"YOU DID IT!" Paige shouted and poked her index finger in his face. "You turned my friends against me."
"I-I didn't mean to." Andy tried to explain but his dream girl turned nightmare wouldn't listen.
"Oh you can forget about dating and the contracts! You will never so much as pinch my butt again!" Paige turned from her shocked ex-boyfriend to address the other cheerleaders. "Cheerleading practise is cancelled for today!" The entire cheerleading squad flinched but remained frozen in fear. Their furious captain then stomped past her distraught former semi-boyfriend and out of the gym.
"Paige wait!" Andy called out and tried to run after her when he was suddenly hit by a projectile that shattered against his head. "Oof." Andy found himself on the floor, covered in some sort of black goo that smelled so bad it emitted a green mist. He gagged as he tried to stand up with his arms stretched out so the black slag could rinse of him.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeew! The remaining cheerleaders squealed in unison before stampeding out of gym.
Ty was pinching his nose hard while his best friend just stood there with a mortified look on his face. "Where did that come from?"
The moment Ty asked that, they heard a boisterous, mocking laughter coming from above. They looked up and saw Sloppy Joe peaking his head in thru a window above the terraces.
"Got yah, yah party pooper!" The grime covered criminal taunted. "I might not have gotten my hands on the ambergris so it won't last as long but I didn't want to waste a good stink bomb."
"Are you done yet?" Insectiva hissed.
The villainous couple were riding atop the same mutant wasp from yesterday. Right now, the wasp hovered just outside the school window with Sloppy Joe atop its thorax and Insectiva atop its abdomen.
"Eh, yes. Revenge complete. Thanks for letting me do this." Sloppy Joe said, trying his best to sound humble.
"Good, than we can return to the lair. You still need to massage my feet and prepare my bath." The insane entomologist exclaimed.
Sloppy Joe sighed as their mutant steed carried them away.
New Author's Note:
So that's it. My rewrite of this story is complete. I know that no one asked for this rewrite, it was something I did for my own sake. It's kind of disheartening to look at your own work and see that your older material is better than your newer ones. I have pretty simple standards for my own writing; I do the best I can and if there is a mistake or two along the way so be it. However, when I read something of mine and realize that I indeed can do better I feel somewhat ashamed of myself. So I felt I needed to do this.
Now I have an important question to ask you, my dear readers; should I keep the original Romancing the Ambergris available on this site or should I take it down? Keep in mind that the original is no longer canon and that all future Season 3 stories will follow-up on this new one.
Next I will rewrite More Legs, More Trouble and unlike Romancing the Ambergris where I just added and subtracted a few details, More Legs, More Trouble will be a complete overhaul of the original story. So while it's still a re-tread of an old story it's still something new.
Old Author's Note:
The ending of this story changed a lot from its initial conception. Originally, the plan was for Andy to realize what a massive b**ch Paige was by the end of the ambergris quest and as a result, Tammy & Vicky would come to the same realization. Then much later Paige would lose all her popularity at which point Andy would take pity on her and strike up a friendship with her which later blossomed into romance. I decided to scrap that plan (mainly to condense the story) for something similar but different. Obviously I can't tell you about it here since that would be a spoiler but let's just say that if Naomi & Ty is the lovey-dovey couple and Abby & Chester is the will they/won't they couple then Paige & Andy will be the on-again/off-again couple that keeps coming back to each other. Of course I aim to make Season 3 about more than just shipping so the relationships will still only take up a small amount of the actual writing going forward.
In the upcoming episodes I will give more character development to the Grossologists, introduce new villains, explore old villains, introduce more lore into the series and reveal more of the Society of Drossology's schemes.
Please, leave a review for this chapter. It does need to be long and does not need to be positive, it just have to be your honest opinion.
Farewell for now, my fellow Grossologists!