Hi everyone! I'm PrimroseRaspberry, and this is my third story on this site. :)

Personally, the Backyardigans have me thinking a lot these days. I like them of course, but there are so many mysteries I try to solve in particular episodes. Most of those mysteries are a story for another time though. Today I'm here to share a little something regarding the episode with the most mystery within it.

"Monster Detectives" is one of my favourite Backyardigans episodes because I've always been intrigued when comedy and detective work are combined. But as crazy as it sounds, it's also an episode with so many scenes I never really understood. I got the soccer part and stuff, and I definitely understood why Uniqua let herself become a soccer monster. But something about why exactly Tyrone suddenly (I repeat; suddenly) decided to do it never really clicked with me, and how it ended with them staying soccer monsters when all they needed to do was just have fun so the loneliness would be no more…I don't know, I never exactly got it, which is kind of weird since Monster Detectives is one of my favourites.

So that's what inspired me to write an alternate ending to that episode. I hope you enjoy it even though it's different from the original ending.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Backyardigans; all credit goes to Janice Burgess and everyone else who brought the adventurous quintet out into the world. Also, the cover image I used is a screenshot I took while watching Monster Detectives.

"Miss Tasha! Miss Tasha!"

"What is it, Detective Austin?"

"We lost Detective Tyrone. He's been turned into a soccer monster!"

Miss Tasha leapt to her feet. "Oh for goodness' sake. He's the best detective in the agency! He knows not to play with the soccer monster."

"Well, he did," Detective Austin said reluctantly, "Now there's three monsters instead of just one. We'll need the whole agency if we're going to find all those soccer balls."

"Austin, we are the whole agency. There's not enough of us to face three monsters at once."

The Monster Detective Agency (or at least what was left of it) was gathered in the office of Miss Tasha, the head of the group. Detective Tyrone, the best member of the agency, had gone out an hour ago to help a young lady get her stolen soccer ball back from the soccer monster. He'd always preferred to solve cases alone, so Detective Austin had stayed at headquarters and supervised his partner through a hidden camera in Detective Tyrone's pencil. Everything had gone well until the young lady, Uniqua, decided to play with the soccer monster and turn into one herself. Detective Tyrone then ordered the first soccer monster to give the ball back to its owner (something Miss Tasha decided not to admit could have been done before Uniqua was turned into a soccer monster). Afterwards, Detective Tyrone did the last thing Detective Austin had expected: he suddenly decided to play soccer with the monsters and let himself become one too. The transformation caused the pencil to disappear, which made Detective Austin's screen go static. Terrified, Detective Austin had rushed to Miss Tasha's office to deliver the news.

Detective Austin had always been afraid of the soccer monster, but after what he'd seen and heard through Detective Tyrone's pencil camera, his fears were turning into…fascination. The soccer monster did have dangerous powers, but now Austin knew evil wasn't exactly the right word to describe him. Uniqua had figured that out during the search for her soccer ball—the soccer monster was more than just a sport-loving thief. That was why Uniqua had decided to let him cast his spell on her. Maybe it was the same case for Detective Tyrone, and he just hadn't wanted to admit it.

As his thoughts from before and after the failed soccer ball rescue played through his mind, Detective Austin had an idea. "Miss Tasha?"

"Yes, Detective Austin?"

Detective Austin cleared his throat. "I think I know what we need to do. As a matter of fact…I'm surprised we didn't think of it sooner."

Miss Tasha looked him in the eyes. "What's your plan?"

"Like you say sometimes, I think we should deal with the problem at its source."

Detective Austin explained the theories he'd gathered after the failed mission, and Miss Tasha was taken by surprise. "You think that instead of going to the soccer monster's castle to find the stolen soccer balls, we should go to his castle to find the soccer monster?"

"He just wanted a friend to play with," explained Detective Austin, "He was lonely until Uniqua started playing with him. It's okay to want friends, and it's okay to feel lonely. But you don't have to turn into a soccer monster because of it. Friends are friends because…they're a lot more than just soccer players." He couldn't help smiling compassionately as he finished his sentence.

Miss Tasha thought it over. "I don't think that's a good idea, Detective Austin. What if he tricks us into playing soccer and turns us into soccer monsters?"

"We have to just talk to him," said Detective Austin, "Trust me. We won't turn into soccer monsters."

With a sigh, Miss Tasha headed for the door. "Okay, okay. We'll try talking to the soccer monsters and see if it works."

Eventually Miss Tasha and Detective Austin arrived at the soccer monster's castle. They pushed open the door and entered a dusty hallway filled with portraits of famous soccer players. The soccer monsters, however, were nowhere to be seen.

Miss Tasha frowned. "Where are the soccer monsters?"

"They must be in the gym," declared Detective Austin, remembering that was where the soccer monster kept his stash of soccer balls. Miss Tasha nodded, and they started wandering through the hallways in search of the gym. There certainly were a lot of hallways, Miss Tasha noticed. Too bad Detective Tyrone wasn't here to say that, as he often did.

They finally came across two huge doors. Squeaking noises could be heard from the other side, as though someone was running across a polished wooden floor. There was the familiar yell of "soccer," and then a loud kick was heard. "Goal! Roar!"

"That's the gym, alright," said Detective Austin. He heard Miss Tasha gulp, and he turned so he could tell her everything would be okay. Instantly she hid her nervous expression, not wanting him to know she was afraid.

Detective Austin pushed open the doors and stepped down the stairs, followed by Miss Tasha. "Soccer monsters?" he called.

The three soccer monsters paused their game. "Bleh?"

"We're here to talk to all of you," said Detective Austin, "You uh, um…" He sighed. "Where do I start?"

"I know why you're here," said the first soccer monster, "You want to play soccer!"

"Soccer!" shouted the other two monsters.

Miss Tasha stepped forward sternly. "Oh for goodness' sake. There are other things you can do, you know!"

"Nah," said the soccer monster who was actually Uniqua, "What could be better than soccer?"

"SOCCER!"

Detective Austin came onto the gym floor and looked each soccer monster in the eyes. "Listen. You don't have to be a monster to play soccer. I like soccer too, but do you really want to be under a spell that makes you want to play it every day?"

"I wouldn't," commented Miss Tasha, but Detective Austin ignored her rudeness.

"Blah?" said the soccer monster who was really Detective Tyrone in confusion, "What's wrong with playing soccer every day?"

"Well, it's okay to play soccer," explained Detective Austin, "But if you did it all the time, then you wouldn't get to do other fun things. Remember the rest of our adventures? Playing pirates, playing Tarzans, playing cowboys and cowgirls?"

The soccer monsters glanced at each other, mumbling. All three of them seemed a little unsure.

Detective Austin approached the first soccer monster. "Why did you really take all these soccer balls and turn into a soccer monster?"

"For SOCCER!" the soccer monster versions of Uniqua and Detective Tyrone yelled happily. The first soccer monster, however, didn't say anything and just looked a little sad. "Bleh?"

"I just wished I had someone to play soccer with," said the first soccer monster, "But no one wanted to play with me. I thought maybe taking all these soccer balls would make their owners come and get them." He smiled. "And then we could play soccer!"

"SOCCER!"

Miss Tasha came onto the gym floor, looking less frustrated and more friendly. "I know," she said calmly, "but if you wanted someone to play with so much, why didn't you just ask us to play with you?" Then she seemed to remember something. "Oh right…I was too busy playing with my dolls. But you could have asked Uniqua. She wanted to play soccer even before the spell too."

"Blah," said Uniqua, "that's right. I was ready to play soccer!"

"SOCCER!"

"See?" Detective Austin said. "You did all this so you would have friends to play with, but you had friends to play with all along. You didn't have to turn into a monster. None of you did. You can still have fun without being soccer monsters."

"Bleh?"

"Of course you can, guys," smiled Miss Tasha, "You won't be monsters anymore, but you'll always be friends."

The soccer monsters glanced at each other, and then back at the detectives. Suddenly, all three of them began bouncing around the gym like crazy, with dizzy faces. The soccer monsters were covered in green light, and when it cleared away, they were Pablo, Detective Tyrone, and Uniqua again. Detective Tyrone was wearing his hat, shirt, and vest again, and his notebook, badge, and pencil reappeared in his pocket.

"And the detective friends save the day," Pablo cheered dramatically, as though he were a sports announcer, "The crowd goes wild! Frie-ends! Frie-ends! Frie-ends!" Everyone else began to cheer with him. "Frie-ends! Frie-ends! Frie-ends! Frie-ends! Friends, yeah!"

Suddenly a gurgling sound startled the Backyardigans. "Was that another monster?" Uniqua asked.

"Nope," said Tyrone, "just my stomach. Playing soccer has made me hungry. Who wants to come to my house for celery and hummus?"

And you know the rest. I hope you liked my alternate ending, and the bonus roles I decided to give Austin and Tasha (I mean really; they get left out of way too many episodes). Feel free to write what you thought in the reviews, and if you want, you can also check out my other stories. See you around! ;)