Computer Thief!

Chapter Two

Lars' Deceit

::UNPAUSE!::

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The next day, it was raining, so Twister wasn't able to go out and see his friends, especially Sam. Instead, he was using the family's new toy. He was currently online, surfing around.

"I wonder why they call it 'web surfing.'" He said to himself. "I mean, I don't see a web and I can't just jump into the screen with my surfboard." He lifted his hat, revealing several lumps from his initial attempts at surfing the Net. His board was against the wall. It was a miracle the monitor didn't have any cracks in it. He rubbed the lumps on his head before putting the hat back on.

After a while, he found himself at the official Tony Hawk site. He looked at tons of cool pics of the Hawk in action. He read great skate tips from the superstar himself and printed them out. Maybe he can use the tips to speed up his plan to get with Sam. He then moved the mouse towards the icon for the forums.

Just as he was about to click on the link…

"Maurice! Can you help me in the kitchen!?" Sandy's voice was heard.

"Sure, Mom!" Twister yelled back before getting up and leaving the room. He walked into the kitchen. "You rang?" Sandy turned away from the oven.

"Could you please set the table for lunch?"

"No prob." Twister replied. He walked over to the cupboard and grabbed four plates. He placed them at their designated places. He then followed suit with the cups, napkins and utensils.

"All done." He told his mother when he finished. "Anything else?"

"Nope. That's all I need. Lunch will be ready shortly." Sandy replied. Twister nodded before moving back to the office, anxious to get back to business. When he walked into the office, he gasped.

"Lars!?"

Indeed, his older brother was now occupying the computer! Lars turned towards Twister.

"You were using it?" He asked innocently.

"Yes!" Twister answered with a glare. Lars shrugged in response.

"Well, when I walked by, there wasn't anything open, so I just went on."

"Everything closed on me?" Twister asked with a gaping expression. Lars nodded gravely.

"Afraid so. Don't worry though. It probably wasn't a virus." He said. Twister sighed with relief. He didn't need to get in trouble with his parents for busting the computer after just one day. He blinked at his brother.

"But why did everything close?"

"You think I would know? It's probably a normal thing." Lars responded, waving a dismissive hand.

"Well, guess I'll go do something…" The smaller one said sadly. He really wanted to look at all those posts regarding the Hawk. He walked over, grabbed his surfboard and the print out from the site, and left to put them away. Lars looked after him with a mischievous grin before going back to surfing. He snickered at his half lie. Twister's windows did close, but it was him who did it, not the computer.

"He's so gullible sometimes. Tchahahahahahahahaha!!!!!"

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An hour has passed since the family sat down to lunch and Twister was able to get back on the computer. He looked at the forums at the Tony Hawk site. He was impressed by all the posts by one of the members, whose screen name was "Rocket Boy360."

"Man, I wonder who that guy is." He said to himself. He shrugged before leaving the site. He then went to a site dedicated to Shaun White, the famous snowboarder.

'Now there's an idea!' He thought as he looked at pictures of the teen in action. 'I could film Sam snowboarding at ZGZ!' He grinned as he got ready to print out some tips from the pro.

Before he could click the button to print…

"Maurice!" His father called. "Could you help me set up the clock on this VCR?!" Twister sighed as he got up.

"Coming Dad!" He said with heavy exasperation.

Sometimes he hated being the most electronic literate member of the household. Whenever there's a problem with the TV or something like that, do they call a repair man? Nooooo… They depend on little Maurice just because he happens to work with a video camera every single damn day! Thank goodness he's horrible with computers. Otherwise, he'd be in big trouble if theirs screws up.

'Speaking of computers, am I ever going to get this taken care of?' He sighed again. If this keeps up, he'll never be able to complete his plan to get with the Squid.

He went into his parents' bedroom, where he found Raoul trying to set up the clock on the VCR with very little success. Twister grabbed the remote and took care of everything in next to nothing flat. After getting a rather generous thank you (an advance on his allowance), he trudged back to the office. When he arrived, he did a double take when he laid eyes on a certain brunet.

"Lars! Again!?" The one in question faced him with a straight face.

"Nothing was open." He simply said.

"You're joking!" Twister ran up to the computer. Sure enough, the site he was looking at wasn't displayed. Instead, a site featuring some grunge band graced the screen. He turned to Lars. "But I wasn't even gone five minutes!" Lars shrugged.

"What can I tell you?" He simply asked before turning back to the screen. Twister gaped.

"But, but… Ugh!" He slapped his head and dragged his feet out of the room. Lars struggled to keep from laughing at the cameraman's plight. When he heard the door to his little brother's room close, he let it all out in one mighty roar of laughter.

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"Finally! I can actually get something done for a change." Twister said happily as he clicked away.

It was the next day. It was raining again, so the boy wasn't able to see the lovely blond or his other two friends. He wasn't too bummed though. His parents were out for the day, so he didn't have to worry about any distractions whatsoever. Lars was sleeping, so even if he did have to get up for something and the computer closed out his programs, he'd be able to get right back on.

He currently had his video camera connected to the computer. He was in the computer's art program, messing around with a scene from one of his old videos of Otto. In it, the leader of the group was soaring above the half pipe at Mad Town on his skateboard.

"Let's see now…" He mumbled, holding his chin in thought.

He was trying to figure out how the perfect way to edit the shot so that he'll be ready to do the same thing for Sam. Maybe he should try a bird's eye view? Or maybe a view from underneath? Perhaps a sideways view? Decisions, decisions. Twister tapped his fingers as he tried to think of the best way to capture his Squid. He blinked.

"My Squid?" He whispered to himself. He grinned while shaking his head. "After I get through this whole thing, maybe, but not any earlier." He went back into his thinking mode. It was then that he noticed the toolbar at the top of the window. His eyes sparkled with inspiration.

"That's it. Why worry about the view? I can just work on the special effects instead!"

The grin returned as he dragged the cursor to one of the menus. He clicked the name, which was "Image." A few choices dropped down. He looked over the options before highlighting the word "landscapes." More choices appeared in another menu. He gave a perplexed look at the new options. After a minute or two of thinking, he shrugged.

"Guess I'll just try each one til I find one I like." And so, he clicked the first choice, which was labeled as "Ocean."

In a few seconds, the entire picture changed to an underwater setting. The buildings in the background were transformed into sunken ships, giant treasure chests, and submarines. The clouds in the sky were changed into flowers. The flock of seagulls that was flying was changed into a school of fish. The half pipe wound up looking like it was made of coral. But the weirdest part was Otto. He was transformed into a mermaid—err…—merman. His entire lower body was changed into a fish's tail and he wasn't wearing a shirt. The skateboard he was riding turned into a purple seahorse.

"Hmmmm… Nah! That won't do at all." Twister clicked Undo, which made the whole shot return to normal. He opened the landscapes menu again and clicked the next option, which was only labeled as "Creepy."

The screen changed to a scary scene. The sky became dark. The full moon was seen in the background. Bats were flying instead of seagulls. The buildings looked completely wrecked. The windows were either shattered or boarded up. There were also tombstones present. The half pipe looked like it was made of bones. Finally, Otto was turned into a zombie. His skin was rotting and you could see his bones in some areas. Half of his face was replaced by his skull. His clothes were transformed into rags. Twister turned away to vomit before hitting Undo.

"Well, that's a no-brainer." He groaned, wiping his mouth. "Sammy would kill me if I used that one." He clicked on the next option, which was "Medieval."

All of the buildings in the background were removed and a castle was put in place. A dragon was flying in the background. The half pipe looked normal. Otto, on the other hand… The redhead was transformed into a king! Instead of his helmet, he was wearing a gold crown. His normal outfit was replaced by a regal robe and a purple cape. Twister didn't even hesitate to hit Undo.

"There is NO way I'm gonna use that one!" He announced to the room. "God forbid Ottoman took a look at that. We'd never hear the end of it." He sighed before checking out the next option, which was simply called "Sega."

The buildings in the background looked normal, but that was about it. Immense loop-de-loops and huge rails were seen in the area behind Mad Town. A group of chao replaced the seagulls. Rings also floated in the air. Just about everything else looked normal, aside from Otto. Twister had to hold his mouth to avoid bugging out at the sight of his best bro! Otto was turned into a hedgehog. He was red and was wearing no clothes, save for his shoes and safety gear. Unlike the rest of his body, a circle of his chest was bare, revealing tanned skin.

::PAUSE!::

Izzy and the audience gave me a cold glare.

"What!?" I asked irritably.

"You can't go ONE fic without making a Sonic reference, could you?!" Izzy demanded. I grinned.

"Nope!"

"Ugh!" He slapped his forehead.

::UNPAUSE!::

Twister quickly hit Undo before letting loose his stored up laughter.

"Oh man!" He breathed when he calmed down. "I gotta remember to use that one when April Fools Day rolls around!" He chuckled a bit before hitting the next option, which was called "Desert."

The entire landscape turned into one huge desert. Even the ocean disappeared. The buildings were now pyramids. The seagulls were now vultures. The half pipe was now made of stone and adorned with hieroglyphics. Otto now looked like a pharaoh. He was wearing a golden headdress instead of his helmet. He had the other things that were customary for an Ancient Egyptian king to wear.

(A/N: Sorry. Ran out of terms to use.)

"Ya know, this one's not too bad." Twister said, nodding. He put that one on his possibilities list.

He was about to start looking at the next option when the phone rang. Not wanting to risk Lars waking up, he bolted out of the office, taking care to creep by the door to the brunet's room, and went into the kitchen, where the phone was located.

"Hello?" He answered when he picked it up.

"Hey Twist!" Twister grinned and blushed at the sound of his favorite person in the entire world.

"Sammy…" He sighed lovingly. He quickly shook his head. "I mean, hey Squid! What's up?"

"I was just calling to say that I…" Sam stopped mid-sentence.

"Yeah…?" Twister pressed. He heard Sam gulp and stutter a bit on the other end.

"That I…" He repeated before giving a dejected sigh. "Wanted to know if your next movie is ready." Twister couldn't help but notice a bit of despair in his friend's voice.

"You alright, Squid?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh! Oh yeah! I'm fine!" Sam replied nervously. Twister was still a little worried about the other boy, but dismissed it.

"Oh… Anyway, I'm kinda working on it right now. It should be done by Wednesday."

"Alright. Well, don't let me keep you from your work. See ya tomorrow, if this rain ever lets up."

"Yeah. Talk to ya later." Twister said before hanging up. He gave a longing sigh. "I wonder what was he trying to say." He shrugged before walking back to the office. When he got there, he found a not-so-pleasant surprise.

"What the hell!?"

Three guesses why he screamed.

"Nothing—"

"I know! I know! Nothing was open when you got here. I got it!" Twister huffed before walking towards the computer, which, if you didn't already guess, was being occupied by Lars. He unplugged his camera and turned to leave.

"By the way, what was with that picture of Rocket Dork?" Lars asked. The smaller boy turned to him nervously. He didn't need anybody finding out about his project.

"Nothing. Just editing a little." He quickly answered before bolting out the door. Lars blinked before turning back to the screen.

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'Man! What's the deal?' Twister thought as he paced around his room. 'Does this computer not like me or something?' He paced around a bit more before he blinked.

'Wait a minute. Lars saw that picture of Ottoman? He was standing right in front of the computer and just let everything close!?' He roared inwardly. 'Why is the computer doing this to me?!' He paced around again before snapping his fingers.

'That's it! I'm getting to the bottom of this!' He walked over to his bed and picked up his phone. Without giving it a second thought, he dialed the number to Sam's house. The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" Twister gulped when he heard the voice on the other end. He took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Hey Sam, could I ask you something?"

"Uhhh… Sure. What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering. Do computers normally close out the stuff you have open if you leave them alone for a long time?"

"Uhhh… Not really, unless it's been infected with a virus." Sam answered. "Why'd you ask?" Twister stammered. He couldn't let his crush know the truth. He quickly thought up a lie.

"Oh, I was just curious, that's all." He answered. "Thanks a lot."

"No prob." Sam replied. The two friends exchanged good byes before hanging up. Twister put a hand to his chin.

'Hmmm… There's no way the computer could have a virus. We just got it not even two days ago.' He thought. 'So how could I find out what's causing this whole thing?' He looked around the room before settling on his camera. His eyes lit up.

'Perfect!'

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A couple of hours have passed and Twister was browsing through sites. It was now night and the rain seemed to have cleared up, so he might actually get to go out tomorrow. His parents have long since returned. Sitting by the keyboard was his ever-faithful camera. He was currently looking through a site that had some surfing legends displayed. Twister put a hand to his chin.

'Ya know, that ocean background wasn't so bad looking.' He thought. 'I wonder how Sam would look like as a mermaid.' He started visualizing his crush with half a fish's body when…

"Maurice! Phone call!" Sandy was heard.

"Coming!" He yelled, disappointed that he fantasy got cut short. Twister stood up and was about to leave when he stopped and went back to the computer. He grabbed his camera.

"Time to see if the windows really do close out on me." He grinned as he looked around the office. He noticed the nearby table. There was a blue jacket lying on top of it.

"Perfect." He pressed the record button on the camera and placed it under the jacket. He made sure the lens was facing the computer.

"Heh, heh, heh… Make me proud." He left the room to take the call. He went into the kitchen.

"Hello?" He asked as he picked up the receiver.

"Hey Twist!" He heard his best bro's voice.

"Hey Ottoman! What's up?"

"I just wanted to remind you to bring your camera tomorrow. We're heading to ZGZ." Twister grinned at the plan. He might even be able to get some great shots of Sam.

"No prob. Are we snowboarding or shredding?"

"How about both?" Twister gave a shrug despite the fact Otto couldn't see him.

"Sure. I'm down for that."

"Cool. We'll take off from the Shack in the morning."

"Alright. See ya tomorrow then."

"Later." Otto replied. They both hung up. Twister went into the refrigerator and grabbed a can of soda. After downing the carbonated beverage, he walked back to the office. He groaned slightly at the sight of Lars, who was surfing away.

"Oy…" He slapped his head.

"The screen was blank." Lars said without facing him.

"Yeah, yeah." Twister said with a yawn.

Residing himself to the fact that he wouldn't be getting anything done for the rest of the night, he decided to retire for the evening. He couldn't grab his camera; otherwise Lars would've caught him. So, he decided to leave the tape running all night. If the batteries ran out, he could just switch them. He's got a ton of them, anyway.

The next day…

::Brrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnng!!!!!::

Twister slammed his hand on the alarm clock as he groaned. He had set the clock to go off at six AM so that he could grab his camera from the office and watch the recording. He slowly got up and stumbled through the dark house before entering the office. He snatched his camera from under the jacket. As he probably guessed, the batteries ran out. He shrugged before making his way back to his room.

After getting his clothes on, he took out the tape and put it in his VCR. He then proceeded to rewind it before going into the kitchen to grab breakfast. He got a bowl and poured some Cap'n Crunch into it. He poured some milk in the bowl, grabbed a spoon, and walked back into his room. By now, the tape stopped and was ready to be watched. He sat down in front of the TV.

"Now let's see if it really is the computer's fault." He said through the yellow sugar squares in his mouth. He pressed the play button. The video started with a close-up of his shirt. The camera was then moved under the jacket.

"Heh, heh, heh… Make me proud." Twister heard himself laugh evilly.

For the next three minutes, everything was clear. All that was seen was the surfing site he had displayed on the computer. Meanwhile, he ate the entire bowl of cereal and proceeded to slurp the milk. When he was halfway through the bowl, he noticed Lars entering the room. The boy in the striped hat gave a hum.

"Gone again, I see." The brunet said, snickering as he sat down. "Oh well. Losers weepers."Twister's eyes widened as he saw his older brother type an address and make the computer leave the site he was on! He promptly spit out the milk.

"The hell!?!" He hissed as he stood straight up. It was still too early to make a lot of noise. "That's why my windows have always been closing! Lars always takes the computer from me!" He shook his fists.

"Just wait until he wakes up!" He shouted.

"Maurice! Keep it down!" Sandy's voice echoed.

"Oops…"