Timmy woke up the next morning with a start,strangely enough,no one had bothered getting up yet.He gently got out of bed and quietly tip-toed downstairs.Making his way to the kitchen,he caught the aroma of his mom making....pancakes!

"Smells...."Timmy said to himself thoughtfully,faintly sniffing the air,"Bluberry-ish.Hmm,I like cherry better,but that'll do!"

"Morning Timmy!"Grandma Cloe greeted him with a cheery smile,mixing the batter with some recently added blueberrys.

"Uh,hi Grandma."Timmy repiled automatically,a little tooken back.

"Hope you don't mind.You're mother wasn't up yet and I really couldn't sleep."She went on saying,disregarding her grandson's surprised reaction to her presence as being a little shocked his grandmother was cooking instead of his mom.

Maybe mom did something that grandma didn't like last night,Timmy thought to himself in wonderment,casting a slightly circumspectional look at her,But why would she want to do something like try to take mom's place?Man,it's amazing what a 10-year-old boy going through a differcult maturing growth spurt can think about!

Just then,the doorbell sounded and Timmy saw his Grandma motioning to awnser it why she finished stirring the blueberry-infested batter.Sighing,Timmy hopped down from his seat and trotted absentmindley up to the front door to see who it was.

"Hey Timmy!"AJ. and Chester's grinning faces caught him off guard,they were both stand only a few feet from his face and were hiding something behind thier backs.

"Uh...hey guys.You know it's only 7:00 in the morning."Timmy welcomed them with a friendly smile and allowed them to come in by standing to one side.

"Timmy,check out this new video game,dude!"Chester was first to tell him,sticking some brightly coloured red and black box out under his nose for him to see,"It's Crash Nebula vs. The Evil Intergalatic Time Warpers:5."

"Yeah!It's got all these cool new graphics and brand-spaking new features that you won't find anywhere else!"AJ. added with an enormous grin towards Timmy,nudging Chester to continue.

"Oh...and all new levels up to 100 and a new plot on each one."Chester put in last coolly,smiling smugley back at AJ.

"Great....why?"Timmy had been so aborsbed with his other problems and dilemas lately,that he had hardly had the time to care about much else.Not that he wasn't happy to see his best friends that he hadn't seen in days,but he didn't really fell like doing what he would normally spend all his time doing.

"Why?!"The two gasped in unison and then looked at each other,then back at him,repeating stunned,"Why?!!"

"Sorry guys,I've been real busy lately and...well,I haven't had time to really think about Video games or anything."Timmy tried his best to explain things clearly to them,although it made it even more differcult as they stared at him in bewilderment.

"Not....have....time?!"Chester nearly self-exploded,He looked towards Chester baffled and only gaped at Timmy.

"Uh,Yeah.Basically!"Timmy told them calmly,but inching to the doorway,"Why don't you guys come by later when it's not just past the crack of dawn."

"Right,sure..."Chester said in a trance-like state,wandering dazedly outside.

AJ. waited until Chester had managed to stumble his way to the maibox waiting for him.Before AJ. turned to Timmy and asked him directly if something was up.

"What'd you mean?"Timmy inquired insouciantly,as if he didn't know.

"I mean,you haven't called or come to see either of us in the last three days,so we finally come to you and now you're just shoving us out of the way like it's nothing at all!"AJ. snapped angerily,not being able to keep a very firm hold on his temper.

"Oh,come on!We went to the arcade only 5 days ago and then we spent the rest of the evening playing mindless video games in my room as well.Don't take it personally,but I'm starting to think it's all a BIG waste of time!"Timmy retorted a little more rigidly,starting to get in his face.

"You know what!?The only time wasted was coming here to spend time with you!"AJ. shouted this time and started marching towards Chester who was were a very mortifed frown at the time.

"Uh...FINE!"Timmy shouted back at him,"Who needs you guys to have fun anyways?!Not me!Thats for sure."

"We can always play the game at your house!"Chester tried cheering his friend up,"Besides,you're rich!It's better that way."

AJ.didn't say anything,but shook his head while he walked ahead with Chester in toll.But Chester stopped to look once more at Timmy's house,sighed on both his/Timmy's/AJ.'s account,then started to trail behind AJ. over to his house.

"What's a matter,kiddo?"Roberto asked him with a chuckle,when Timmy came dragging his wearily into his room.

"Nothing,"Timmy mumbled in a vague,capricious tone.

"Doesn't sound like nothing."He chuckled again and concentrated on today's morning paper.

"No way it could be bad!Not when it's only,uh...7:07 in the morning!"Cosmo chirped up,pilling himself a banna he had recently poofed up to snack on.

"See."Timmy told the six pairs of doubtful eyes watching him as he sat down at his computer to check his E-mail in peace.

"Yeah,si!He agrees with me!"Cosmo countered no one in particular nonchalantly.

"Hey,what's this?"Timmy asked out loud perplexed,his eyes scanning the first and only of his E-mails,he started to read it aloud as all four fairys gathered around curiously to read it as well.....

I know what you have and I want it!Since I've tried every way I can think of to get Cos-uh-get what I want back.I've finally decided to let some mindless numbskull do my bidding for me.You will be visited by my newest minon quite shortly.Enjoy the rest of you're morning,because belive me,it'll be the last one you'll be able to enjoy! hah!hah!hah! And more....HAHHAH!

Yourstruely,

Person-who-isn't-Mama-Cosma-for-if-it-were-I'd-found-a-better-way-to-get-my-precious-little-Cosmo-Lolo-by-now.

P.S.You can count on a very well-skilled yet still terribley unsuccessful flunky.A bit of a phsyco nutt,but then again,what do I care!See you relentless imbociles on the flip side of things!

They all just glared at the E-mail and then up at Cosmo,who was busily trying to make The Statue Of Liberty with some simple string intwid within his fingers and then just stared at each other.

Meanwhile...

A cackling of the most menacing kind sparked up the morning sky,as Crocker reappeared in the bushes with the box.

"Let's just see what happens now!"

Getting good,eh?Hope you've liked the story so far and thanks for sticking with me!Through and through!If you have any questions or comments,post them in you're review and I will try and awnser them next chapter.Well,thanks for reading!

Lavenderpaw