AN: We're nearing the end. See it? Over there? With the thing? That's the end.

AN squared: Thank you very much for the kind reviews!

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Sportacus was flipping past the big apple tree when he heard a whispered "Psst!" He paused, and the sound repeated itself. "Psst! Sportakook! Up here!"

Perplexed, Sportacus looked up into the apple tree, and saw Robbie Rotten clinging, sloth-like, to one of its branches. Sportacus grinned, amused despite himself. "Hello, Robbie!" he said.

"Shh!" Robbie hissed, putting both index fingers to his lips to emphasise the point. There was a pregnant pause as he realised that he was only holding onto the branch with his legs, then he fell to the ground in an undignified purple heap.

Sportacus reached down and grabbed him, pulling him to his feet. Robbie dusted himself off, then went to hide behind the trunk of the tree. He motioned for Sportacus to follow him.

"You've been making bad plans again, Robbie," Sportacus said as he slid behind the tree with the haunted-looking villain. "Stephanie is still looking for you, you know."

Robbie put his hands to his head, a pained expression on his face. "She's making me do more exercise than I've ever done before, just running from her! She's a freak of nature! Make her go away!"

Sportacus surveyed him for a moment, then shrugged. "I can't," he said simply.

"But you have to!" Robbie was on his knees now, hanging off Sportacus' sleeve. "The flower was supposed to make her do whatever I said, but she didn't take enough pollen and now she'll kill me with her insipid kindness!" He spat the last word out and made a face of disgust before going back to his begging. "Pleeeeease?"

The crystal began to flash again, and they could both hear Stephanie in the distance, singing a familiar tune. "There's always a way..."

Sportacus smiled faintly. She was probably thinking of applying the principle to Robbie's dancing. Then he sighed. Perhaps there was a way to fix this problem after all. Stephanie certainly wouldn't quit, if she were in her right mind. He should try to figure something out.

"You keep running. Or climbing," Sportacus said to Robbie. "I will do...something."

With a jump and a flip, Sportacus was off. He had gone barely a block when he heard Robbie's renewed shrieks, and Stephanie innocent laughter.

The flower itself was easy enough to find. Stephanie had left it on her windowsill in the bright sunlight. Sportacus looked at it with a pensive expression.

"It is a very small thing to have caused such trouble," he said, folding his arms to think. "I would leave Robbie to suffer, but I do not think that Stephanie would appreciate my doing that if the flower ever wore off."

Something important tickled the back of his mind. What had Robbie said? "She did not take enough of the pollen," he said to himself. He leaned close to the flower to take a sniff, but stopped himself with a little laugh. The flower twitched in his hand, and just as he moved his face away from it, it let loose a little spurt of purple pollen.

Sportacus held the flower at arm's length in case it tried to infect him again. So this was how it brought in its victims. "Clever," he mused, a smile on his lips. "I wonder if..."

Trailing off, Sportacus seemed to think for a few more moments before tucking the flower into one of his pockets. His smile widened, and he nodded in satisfaction at his own plan. "This should work perfectly!"

Another jump and flip, and he was on his way back to save Stephanie...and Robbie.

"Get away from me!"

"Come on, it's fun!"

"Sportacus!"

With a mighty leap, Sportacus landed between Stephanie and Robbie, who was cowering behind the apple tree while Stephanie tried to flush him out. Robbie flung himself onto Sportacus, grabbing his legs to make sure that his savior couldn't leave.

"Hi, Sportacus!" Stephanie said cheerfully. She leaned to one side to beam at Robbie. "I think I've almost got him now, thanks."

Sportacus nodded and withdrew the flower from his pocket. "I'm sure you do, Stephanie. But would you please hold this first?" He held it out for her.

Stephanie obediently took the flower from him. She smiled as she put it up to her nose to sniff its perfume. Sportacus watched with interest as the flower released a puff of pollen. The girl breathed it in deeply.

"Ah--" Stephanie drew the flower away from her nose and scrunched her eyes closed. "Ah--"

"Now you've done it, Sportacrud," Robbie hissed at the hero. "I'll expire from her eternal excitement. Be sure they put, 'Beautiful Genius' on my tombstone."

"Ah-choo!" Stephanie squeaked. She dropped the flower on the ground and rubbed at her eyes with her hands. Several sniffles followed.

"Feeling better, Stephanie?" Sportacus asked, ignoring the persistent tugging on his pant leg.

Stephanie shook her head to clear it, and then smiled shyly up at Sportacus. "Well, kind off," she admitted, but then blushed. "Um...could you just tell me how I got here?"

"She's cured?" Robbie sprung to his feet, back to his old self. "She's cured!" he crowed. "I can go back home and get rid of all that pink that she threw around!"

"She isn't cured yet," Sportacus said, reaching out to grab Robbie's collar. Robbie made a strangled sound and was dragged back before he could make good his escape.

"If I'm right, Stephanie has now received enough of your mind-control pollen to do whatever you say," Sportacus continued. Robbie's eyes lit up, but only briefly, as Sportacus twisted his collar a little harder. "And you will now order her to never do as you say, unless she wants to."

"But that'll cancel every--erk!" Robbie's feet were now dangling off the ground, with Sportacus giving him a steady look as he held him high. Robbie smiled weakly. "Right, of course. Er, Stephanie?"

Stephanie was plucking on Sportacus' other sleeve, muttering something about how maybe he should put Robbie down before they got into trouble. She blinked and looked up at Robbie when he said her name. "Yes?"

"Tell Sportacus to--gah!" Sportacus shook him a bit to remind him of their deal, and Robbie swung back and forth.

"Toga," Stephanie said to Sportacus. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Toga?"

"Robbie?" Sportacus prompted him.

"Oh fine," Robbie groaned. "Stephanie, you never do what I tell you, unless you want to. Now put me down!"

Sportacus obliged, allowing Robbie's feet to touch the ground again. Robbie straightened his vest, radiating indignance at them both. He gave Sportacus a surreptitious glance, then shouted, "Leave Lazytown forever!" atStephanie before he could be stopped.

Stephanieregarded him with disdain. "Er, no."

Robbie jumped up and down in frustration. "Drat, drat, drat!" he shouted. "I'll get you both later!" And with that, he stormed back to his billboard.

Sportacus and Stephanie watched him go. Her hand was still on his arm, and when Stephanie finally looked back up at her hero, Sportacus was already smiling down at her.

"Now, are you going to explain to me what happened," Stephanie asked, "Or am I going to have to chase Robbie back down?"

Sportacus laughed and put his hand over hers. "I think that it would best be discussed over some sports candy," he said, and began to lead her toward the soccer field. "Let's go find the others."