Author's Note: Well, I hope all of you'll be satisfied with this chapter.My other fic will be updated soon. And hey, they fixed the Firefox bug!

Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.

Chapter 7: The Aftermath

Complete silence what seemed to be forever.

She expected the worst, but it did not come. She hardly felt any pain at all. With her shaken arms, she rubbed her clothes, but nothing was damaged, she was not mortally wounded, and there were no drops of blood whatsoever, except the ones that was on her hands and her legs. She then finally had the courage to open her eyes and look directly at Curly. Indeed it was he who opened fire, with the gun barrel still smoking, but it was not her who was the target, but rather, the row of lockers behind her. Hyperventilating, she then gazed at Curly back, still confused by his action. "But… why? Did he miss me? Impossible… he's at point blank. Or Arnold really did manage to talk some sense into him?" Curly then dropped the gun, and then himself, kneeling and weeping on the floor. "I'm sorry Rhonda… I'm so… sorry-y-y…" he sobbed, clasping his hands over his face.

"FREEZE!!" a SWAT police barked, pointing his gun at him. Curly didn't seem to notice nor care the SWAT member's presence, and continued to weep. Carefully, the SWAT guy slowly walked over towards Rhonda, and kicked the gun away from Curly. He then went in front of Rhonda, shielding her away from Curly and relayed orders to his teammates to his location. Seconds later, a group of SWAT team, all twelve of them, surrounded Curly with each pointing their guns at him. "Please… just take me away…" Curly pleaded.

The scene was chaotic outside the school, with students and emergency personnel scurrying to help each other out. There were students who were injured while fleeing away from school, such as suffering from bruises from being hit, broken bones, and being trampled on. At an ambulance, there was Arnold, surrounded by his friends to say goodbye to him before they'll take him away to the hospital. Helga's wound was less bad and easier to manage, so she was treated on the spot, and now brandishing a sling.

"Don't worry guys, I'm gonna be fine… it's just a flesh wound." Arnold said weakly, trying to calm his friends down.

"My friend, I'm gonna visit you each and everyday until you're completely healed." Assured Gerald, and they did their best friend handshake.

"Thanks Gerald, you're a pal."

Suddenly, Helga jumped in and shoved Gerald out of the away. "Move it, short-hair boy! Please football head, just promise us you'll be back again on your two feet, okay?" she said with a heavy concern. Everybody turned their heads to her, puzzled at Helga's sudden softy personality. Helga looked at them back worrisome, as she tried to find a justifiable excuse, "WHAT? Just because I hate the little yutz that doesn't mean I'm cold and heartless!" she retorted back angrily.

"Helga… thanks for your concern. That's awfully nice of you…" Arnold said, trailing off weakly. She then smiled broadly and looked dreamily at him, as her eyes began to brim with tears. "Arnold, I love you. Please don't go away…"

"Okay kids, we have to go now." said the paramedic.

"Can I go with you guys?" Gerald asked.

"Eh, why not? He could use a company. Hop in."

The gang backed away from the vehicle to make room for the paramedic to close the door. Then the ambulance left, with everyone looking at it. Helga really wanted to go with them, but she had a reputation to keep. Maybe she might find some time later for herself and her beloved just together, without anyone in sight.

After the ambulance disappeared from their view, Nadine turned away back looking at the school building, with her eyes still red after the crying before. Rhonda still hadn't show up, but Nadine still hoped that Rhonda was okay. At the main entrance of the school, she saw something that what could finally answer her question, "Look! They're bringing someone out! It's… it's… Oh my God, it's Rhonda!" Nadine shouted, pointing at her best friend on the stretcher. The whole gang ran to her, with Nadine ahead of them.

"Oh my… Rhonda, please tell me you're okay! PLEASE!" Nadine shouted, crying again once more and tightly grasping Rhonda's arms. "No need to shout Nadine… I'm- I'm okay." She said with a weak smile. "I'm gonna make it."

"I really hope so, Rhonda, I really hope so… Don't you realize I was so worried about you!?" she said, calmer after been assured by Rhonda. Rhonda smiled and chuckled back at her, and her eyes begin to brim with tears. "Where's Arnold?" she said worriedly.

"Football head got shot in the shoulder, unfortunately. But don't worry, the meds are taking him to the hospital now." Helga quickly replied, with a rather worrisome tone.

"Oh, Lord… is he hurt? And why you have that sling around your arm? Are you okay?"

"Well duh, Princess. What, you think he could dodge bullets?" she said, trying hard to conceal her real feelings about Arnold. "And about this sling, I was inside, just don't ask why."

"You were inside? What were you trying to do? Save me?"

"Hah! You wish," She snorted, and paused for a moment, "But hey, stay tough, alright? You're gonna be fine."

Rhonda chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I will be. Hey, wait a minute… you're worried about me? Oh my God, I can't even believe you're actually talking to me, Pataki." She released a weak smile.

"Shit, even I can't believe I said that either." Helga said back, with a soft snicker. "I'm glad that you're alive, Princess." Nadine also smiled, to the fact that the two bitter rivals were actually relieved for each other.

"Hey, where's Curly?" Harold said in the midst of the chaos.

"We got him!" shouted a SWAT member from the school's front door. There he was, that psychopath Curly, handcuffed, beaten and defeated. He lowered his head down to conceal his face from the nosy eyes of the press' camera. As he walked down the painful steps to the police car, he noticed his friends some yards away from him and gazed at them with his pitiful face in hoping for some sympathy. But all of them glared back at him in extreme detest. Sid even flipped the bird at him while Nadine cursed him with profanities. Of all people - Rhonda, whom he tried to kill earlier, was the only person who sympathies him, judging from the looks of her face.

---

"Although we have sufficient evidences to support the allegation, but due to the absentee of key victims and witnesses, I hereby put Thaddeus Gammelthorpe—"

"That's CURLY to you, you incompetent twit!"

The dark skinned, middle-aged judge snapped back, "One more outburst from you and we WILL make changes to the—" he stopped abruptly, sighing. "Why do I even bother…"

Again, with a sigh, the judge continued, "Mr. Thaddeus 'CURLY' Gammelthrope into a mental facility for…"

The courtroom erupted with murmurs and whispers of disbelief and agreement.

"…he is accused of attempting to murder plaintiffs Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, Helga Geraldine Pataki and Arnold—"

Somebody in the courtroom sneezed, making the last name to be unheard.

"However…" but the room ignored the remark. "HOWEVER…" the judge tried again, with a louder, hardened tone. The courtroom gradually went silent again.

"…because of his status as a minor, therefore the court will impose a more lenient status on him, furthermore considering the fact that he was just recently diagnosed with mental instability and insanity. Juvenile Hall is ruled out due to his insanity status. And after the victims have recovered from their wound and illness and they all have been approved fit by the hospital, they will assist the Court to have Mr. Gammelthrope be trial under the Juvenile Ruling under State Law."

"I now hereby sentence you Mr. Gammelthrope to all of the aforementioned ruling. A new trial in which the victims are to be testified will begin soon after they are discharged from the hospital or in five weeks time from now. The court is dismissed." And the judge pounded the gavel twice, thus finalizing the verdict.

"Huzzah! Woo-hoo! I'm not going to fry on the chair! Thank God this is not Texas!" Curly lifted his hands up into the air and shouting loudly, puzzling some of the people inside the courtroom. Curly's mother began to cry as his father tried to console her up. Some of the people inside couldn't help but to feel sorry for the deranged teen, while others agreed that he got what he deserves. But there were others who were not agreeing with it at all, namely the Lloyds with their attorneys.

"Judge, I beg of you, will you please reconsider? For God's sake man, that insane maniacal kid tried to kill my daughter!!"

"Then you'll just have to wait for another five weeks, Mr. Lloyd. As of now, there's nothing you can do. If I were you, I'd consult my lawyers for—."

"WHAT?! I won't have this! This is injustice! I want him to get prosecuted right now! I want that bastard kid—"

"HEY! Don't you DARE call my son that!" Mr. Gammelthorpe shouted infuriately at Buckley Lloyd, as he stomped his way angrily over to him.

"He DESERVES to be called that since the father couldn't even raise his own damned son right!" Buckley retorted back.

"Gentlemen, please…" the judge tried to calm them down, but failed.

"If it wasn't for YOUR arrogant, self-centered, stuck-up daughter, which I believe that she got her traits from you, my son wouldn't turn out to be like this, asshole!"

Both of them couldn't control their fury and anger any longer, and rather than trying to settle it down like civilized people, they settled the fuming dialogue with breaking a fist fight in the middle of the courtroom instead. Their respective wives, the bailiffs, and their legal aids tried to quell down the scuffle, desperately trying to pull them away from each other.

"You won't hear the last of me, Lloyd!" Mr. Gammelthorpe shouted angrily at him, while trying to break free from the people who were dragging him away from Buckley.

"Likewise!" Buckley retorted back. The other party did the same too, dragging Buckley away from him.

Curly watched the whole scene as he was being escorted out by the bailiffs. He let a scoff out and said to himself, "Pssh, stupid people and their stupid rules. The world would be a whole lot better if I were the ruler of the world."

---

"Uh-huh… yes… certainly. See you later, Gerald." Phoebe then hung up her cellphone. "You were saying, Helga?" Phoebe had called Gerald to inform him that they are going to the hospital to visit Arnold. Although this had been Phoebe's third visit, it was the first for Helga.

"Remember Pheebs, NOT. A WORD." Helga warned.

"Quieting." She chimed back.

"By the way, why the hell do we have to take the bus? I mean, I'm feeling like an idiot hauling these flowers around. Can we just take a cab or ask your mom to drive us there?"

"Well, for one thing, the bus fare is much cheaper than a taxi's, and taxi drivers in this city usually swindle their passengers by taking the longest route possible. Besides, mother is busy with that new real estate client, so that nulls her out. If you're complaining that much, why do you still insist on carrying it? And must my reiterate that your arm is not completely healed yet?"

"It's still better than getting yourself humiliated by bringing these flowers inside the bus. And what are you talking about Pheebs, my arms are completely fine."

She sighed, caved in on Helga rather irrelevant excuse, "Sure Helga, whatever you say." Phoebe said and Helga rolled her eyes. After a few minutes, a bus arrived at the stop, and they boarded in. To their surprise, Nadine was inside, looking rather tense. They then took a seat behind her.

"Good afternoon, Nadine." Phoebe greeted. "What a coincidence that we should met here."

"How ya doin'?" Helga made to the point swiftly.

"I'm okay, I guess. Say, what's with the flowers and chocolates?" She asked, out of curiosity. Phoebe was holding a box of chocolates in her hands.

"It's a gift to a peer of ours, a 'Get Well Soon' gift if you will."

"You guys are going to the hospital?"

"No Nadine," Helga suddenly interjected, "we're going to La-la Land to give out pretty flowers and delicious chocolates to all good little boys and girls." She said sarcastically. "DUH, of course we're going to the hospital. We're going to visit Ar… uh, friend of ours."

"Really…?" Nadine said teasingly with a wide smirk, "I wonder who might that be?"

"Uh… well…"

"I think you get the idea, Nadine." Phoebe winked at her.

"Right," she replied with a smile. "By the way, be sure to visit Rhonda, okay? That's where I'm going."

All right, that's how it's done. You know, I wouldn't kill a character because I'm such a softy, and besides, it's not very Hey Arnold like. Found an error? Disatisfied? Leave a review, preferably a contructive one or a complaint even. I appreciate both. By the way, have you guys watch The Incredibles yet? If you haven't I suggest you to switch your computer off right now and go to the nearest cinema and watch it!