FG: Hey, we're back!

Dia: You make it sound like we came back from a commercial.

FG: Eh, whatever. Chapter 9 is in da house!

Clank: In da house? I don't see a house…

Robin: Why's there a midget robot on the ground?

FG: That's Clank, from Ratchet and Clank. He's the disclaimer guest. Now, I won't waste your time like I did for the other guests. You can skip to the disclaimer.

Clank: Thank you, Fairy Godmoose.

FG: No problem, but call me FG.

Clank: FG does not own anyone in 'A Dream Worth Keeping', except for the following people: Emma, Dia, Jake, Robin, Bernie, Coeur/Hart, Miaow, Eclipse, Taylor, Lyze, Silke, Kinzoku, and Alissa.

Emma: Is Mom going to be in the story anytime soon?

FG: Nope! But she'll probably be in at least the second-to-last chapter.

Emma: Okay…

FG: Here's Chapter-

Ratchet: Hey, Clank!

FG: Greeeaaaaat…the wombat's here.

Ratchet: What're you doing, man? You're always telling me to stick to finding Qwark, but here you are, being interviewed by a little kid!

FG: (growls) Who're you calling little? (puts on the Glove of Doom)

Ratchet: You're going to attack me because I called you little?

FG: That, and I blame you for keeping me stuck on the Gemlik Base in your game. (shoots small, mindless robots at Ratchet) Oh, yeah, here's Chapter 9. EAT ROBOT, YA WOMBAT!

… … … … … … … … …

"No more oatmeal, Mommy…" The next day, Emma, Robin, Bernie, and Kairi were lying in a lodge room. Dia was sitting on the couch, watching Shaman King. Robin was twitching and shoving the air. "I'm full…"

Emma sat up, yawning. "Morning, guys. Hmm?" She leaned to the side to look at Robin, and chuckled.

"Can I have waffles instead…?" Robin mumbled.

"Pancakes are better…" Kairi disagreed, also getting up groggily.

"Nah, waffles!" Dia turned around.

Bernie rubbed her eyes and glanced at the two fourteen-year-olds. "Muffins are the best…"

"Muffins," Emma echoed. Kairi gave a tired nod. Dia shrugged.

"MUFFIN!" Robin shot up, then rolled off the bed. The other four snorted. "Huh? What?" Robin glared at them, regaining her tough-girl attitude. "What're ya lookin' at?"

Coeur gave a meowing laugh. "Myew, myew, myew," she told Bernie.

Bernie picked her best friend up. "Yeah, it IS too bad the guys couldn't see this…"

Louder snickers came from the room's corner. They stopped as soon as they had started. Robin glared at the corner, then hit the air. "OW!" Several people yelled at once.

Eclipse and the male members of Juu Senshi fizzed into view. As they did, the thin, purple headband that Eclipse always wore was glowing, but as the boys became more visible, the glow was duller. Dia leapt up. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Don't worry, we've only-"

"SICKOS!" all the girls except for Bernie screeched.

Bernie looked the most uncomfortable, but being herself, mildly stated, "If that was a joke, it wasn't funny."

Eclipse sighed. "I know, I shouldn't have done that…but…" He jabbed his pointer finger at Sora. "…it was his idea!"

Sora's eyes widened. "Liar! You and Riku wanted to see Emma!"

Riku started stammering defensively, "N-no I didn't! Y-y-you wanted to see Kairi!"

"Gawrsh, we're sorry," Goofy apologized. "We-"

Robin pointed at Goofy. "So it was YER idea!"

"You fellers don't really believe that, do you?" he asked the girls.

Emma shrugged, followed by the other four. "Myew," Coeur decided.

"Goofy's real stupid." Robin put her finger down. "Now that I think about it, there's no way this could be his idea."

Goofy nodded happily. "Yeah, I'm…hey!"

Jake giggled, then straightened his face when Robin glared at him. "It couldn't be Quinn Jr…he's too babyish. He wouldn't wanna peek at us. And Duck's got a thing for that other duck, right? He doesn't strike me as the cheatin' type, so that takes 'im out too."

Dia nodded, then jabbed the last three in turn. "So that leaves the fifteen-year-olds."

"Why can't it be me? I'm not a baby!" Jake protested.

Bernie pet Jake's head. "You're out, Jake, and that's a good thing. You're obviously innocent, but don't make Robin and Dia suspect you."

Robin kneeled to get a better look at Jake. "Or maybe…he's pretendin' ta be babyish! Maybe it's really his idea!"

Dia shoved Robin. "Shut up, Fuudo! There's no way my sweet, little brother could be behind this sick joke!" She crossed her arms. "Okay…Takahashi?" Sora turned around from talking to the other two. "Ono?" Riku also turned around. "Kurosato?" Eclipse nervously faced Dia. "I'm letting the three of you go. There's no way to figure out which one of you it was, because you each like a girl in this room. You're all going free, okay? But I deem you all sickos."

"I don't want to be a sicko…" Eclipse complained quietly.

Robin flicked his head with her thumb and index finger. "Yer the one who set up the invisible field, so yer the best bet. Be thankful Quinn's freein' ya."

Emma and Kairi flinched. "Who do you think it was?" Emma whispered hoarsely.

Kairi shrugged. "I think it was Eclipse, but we'll probably never know."

"Yeah…" Emma glanced back at Kairi, then raised an eyebrow. "Mary-Sue!" she squealed, then scooted off.

Bernie prodded the TV. "Guys, it's July 3rd!" she called. "We've been on the road and fighting so much, we haven't had time to register that in our internal calendar!"

"Um…what?" Jake scratched his head.

"We forgot tomorrow was the 4th of July," she explained.

Riku shrugged. "So?"

"Oh, yeah, you guys aren't American…you aren't even real." Dia returned to her perch on the couch arm. "Tomorrow's the 4th of July. Us Americans call it Independence Day. It's when America stopped being controlled by Britain. Every year, people watch fireworks on beaches. Or buy them illegally and get swore at by the neighbors," she added.

Sora seemed to grasp this concept the most. "So…tomorrow's a big real-world holiday?"

"Only in the U.S.," Emma clarified.

Kairi clasped her hands together. "And we get to celebrate it?" Emma, Dia, Jake, Robin, and Bernie nodded. "YAY!" she squeaked.

"We'd better get dressed. Grandpa Man-Lady'll prob'ly come any minute." Robin opened a drawer underneath the TV. "Seems 'bout time fer 'im ta give us our next destination. Crazy ol' man forgot ta tell us when he toldjya 'bout the new keychain, Sora?"

Sora nodded. "Let's go back to the room, guys."

"And don't come back in until we say it's okay!" Dia yelled. "No more taking peeks." The boys raised their hands defensively and left.

"Heh." Jake was grinning happily. "Thanks for not telling them, guys."

FLASHBACK

"I wanna go to the next state now!" Jake was sitting on his lodge bed, sticking his lower lip out.

Riku yawned and sighed. "Not until the girls wake up."

"Then let's go wake them up!"

Sora shook his head fiercely. "No, they might already be up, and…" His face got red. "…getting dressed."

Jake stood up. "Or they could be sleeping! Let's wake them up!"

Eclipse rubbed his eyes. "It's not like we can open their door. It's probably locked. And I'm not banging and screaming at 6:48 AM."

"Myeh." Jake poked Eclipse headband. "Is that like a cartoon headband?"

"What?"

"In cartoons, some magicians have headbands or stuff like that to restrain their powers."

Eclipse shrugged. "Restrain and channel."

"Well, if you need to restrain something, then can you do more than teleport, read minds, and move stuff with your mind?" Jake started poking both sides of his head on the word 'mind'.

"Yeah," Eclipse replied proudly. His smile started to fade away. "I don't like where this is going…"

Jake stuck his face in the Nekoshu's. "Can you become invisible?"

Eclipse sighed. "Yes…" Jake grinned.

… … …

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Jake, and Eclipse appeared in the girls' room. "Cool, we're invisible!" Jake looked down at his hands. At least, where he thought they were. Next, he looked at the beds. Emma was sleeping in the window-side bed. Kairi was a bit to the left, and Bernie was in a sleeping bag placed in the middle, with Coeur next to her head. Robin was in another sleeping bag, in front of Emma's bed. Dia was sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the TV.

Riku sighed happily. "They're sleeping. Good. "I thought they were…y'know."

"You wish." Sora playfully jabbed him with his elbow.

"So, let's wake them up!" Jake whispered. His voice grew louder. "Hey-" Robin's snores drowned him out. Jake smirked. "Or, we could watch them for a while…" Jake sat down and watched Robin. "Hey, you guys know about Dream Possession?" The others shrugged. "It's what Dia and I call…well, you'll see."

Donald tapped his foot on the carpet. "You'd better not get us in trouble," he warned.

Jake lightly poked Robin's forehead. "Hey, Robin, do you like oatmeal?" he whispered.

"No, no oatmeal…"

"All we have for breakfast is oatmeal."

"I dun like oatmeal…"

"We have oatmeal coming out of the wazoo, so you'll need to get rid of some by eating it."

Robin shook her head. "No, no wazoo-oatmeal…"

Goofy barely stifled a laugh. Jake cleared his throat, then tried to imitate a woman. "Now, Robin, I am your mother, and I demand that you eat this oatmeal!"

"No, Mommy, no oatmeal…"

"Would you rather help me shave my legs?"

"No hair…no oatmeal…"

"Choose, young lady!"

"No…"

"Eat it!" Jake snatched a pencil off the desk, then jabbed it into Robin's mouth. "You have to eat ten spoonfuls of it!"

Robin whimpered. "No more oatmeal, Mommy…I'm full…"

END FLASHBACK

"No problem, Jake." Sora patted Jake on the back. "Of course, now the girls think we're-"

While Sora finished his sentence through gritted teeth, Eclipse covered up Jake's ears, who patiently watched the Keyblade Master curse inaudibly. (A/N: Gotta love Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…)

Riku glared. "Are you done now?" Sora nodded. Eclipse let go of Jake's head. "Come on, Sora, there's a nine-year-old in our presence!"

Sora shrugged. "Okay, sorry. We'd better get dressed too."

Jake tugged at Riku's giant pants. "Do you think the girls are ready yet?"

"Are you kidding? Girls take forever to get ready. The really girly ones, anyway…"

Eclipse laughed. "They all play video games. They're not girly."

"Well, Bernie looks kinda girly…"

"Oh, please! YOU wear more pink than Bernie!"

Riku glanced down at his pink bunny slippers. "Listen, I never liked you. Until you said that, I was about to let that slip."

Sora whispered, "And until he took your girl…" Next thing he knew, the Soul Eater was an inch away from his nose.

"Let's just get dressed," Donald groaned.

… … …

Emma sifted through her drawer. "What do you guys think, the Invader Zim shirt or the Disney World one?"

"Do ya realize that ya wore both of 'em in the last three days?" Robin poked her head out of the bathroom. "The lodge dun have a washin' machine."

"Uh…" Emma sniffed the Disney World shirt, then the Invader Zim one. She made a gagging noise. "Disney World it is, then."

Kairi covered her eyes. " Guys, can you close the blinds some more? The sun's blinding me…"

"That's not the sun," Dia told her in a horrified voice.

The girls stared at the familiar, white light in the middle of the room. "Good morning, Juu Senshi." Haiiro floated out of it. "It is nice to-"

Haiiro was interrupted with a blow to the head, falling to the floor. "WE'RE GETTING DRESSED!" Emma, Dia, Robin, and Kairi whirled around. Bernie's face was unusually red. Her gloved hands were balled into fists, one of which was near where Haiiro's head was. "WHAT'S WITH YOU GUYS AND PEEKING AT US?"

"Please, Bernie!" Haiiro shut his eyes as he got up. "I did not mean to-"

"SICKO!" Bernie directed her foot at Haiiro and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. He promptly made a high-pitched squealing noise. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" she roared.

The other girls were gaping blankly at her like fish. "You just…just…" Emma stuttered.

"That was disturbingly un-Bernie…" Kairi noted.

"It's like watching Love Hina," Dia murmured.

"Whadda ya know? Loony can actually kick butt!" Robin looked impressed, for once. "I mean…y'know." She made some pointing gestures at the sprawled Haiiro.

"How do we keep him there until we're done getting dressed?" Emma asked. Bernie just smirked at the replica.

… … …

Five minutes later, Haiiro was facing a window, tied to a chair and blindfolded. Someone had stuck a crudely made dunce cap on his head. "Nice work, ladies." Dia recapped a marker.

"This is fun!" Kairi squealed.

Bernie put her chin in her hand. "Are you sure this is all necessary? I mean, it really wasn't his fault…"

Robin stared at Bernie as she adjusted the rope. "Loony, this was yer idea!" She resumed tightening Haiiro to the chair, mumbling something about severe mood swings.

Bernie nodded faintly. "Oh, yeah…well, we can get dressed now, can't we?"

Looking thoroughly freaked out, the other girls nodded and returned to the dresser. "I said I was sorry…" Haiiro whimpered.

… … …

Another five minutes later, Coeur climbed on top of Haiiro's head, knocking off the dunce hat. "Myew." She gripped the bandanna covering Haiiro's eyes with her teeth, then dragged it away.

Haiiro stood up shakily. "Are you done tying me up?"

"Yes," Bernie replied, looking apologetic. "I…do that, sometimes…it's a…minor personality…thing."

"MINOR?" Robin exploded. "YA KICKED 'IM IN THE CROTCH!" There was a knock at the door. Robin turned around. "Come in!"

The boys trailed in silently. "We could hear you," Jake announced. The girls shrugged it off, so he turned to Haiiro. "So, where are we going next?"

Haiiro adjusted his collar and returned to his prim, important self. "The Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. I have reports that indicate Rei no Aku is heading there."

"That place is awesome!" Jake gushed. "They have an animatronic show!"

Dia groaned. "Not that…I almost climbed that plaster tree house and ripped the circuits out of that fur trader…"

"I bet they'll have a neat 4th of July show," Emma said hopefully. "That'll be pretty cool."

Sora grinned. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

… … … … … … … … …

Clank: I am against harming animatronic devices. They are robots, just like me.

Dia: (grunts)

FG: Well, that was Chapter 9. (shoots another robot at Ratchet)

Ratchet: SHE'S CRAZY, I TELL YOU!

FG: (knocks Ratchet out again) Clank's the guest, not you. (hugs Clank) FG out, yo.