A/N: Special thanks to Solo and constantlearner for their reviews! Thank you so much for the thought and time put into them!

I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Reviews (esp. constructive ones!) really help.

Chapter Two: "That's Not How the Quote Ends!"

John's next coherent thought ran along the lines of "Did a mist blow over the lake, or did Nancy put something in the grog?"

Which was followed by "What the—what am I WEARING? And why am I lying down?"

He opened his eyes and saw a very different landscape than that of Wild Cat Island. He was in a clearing of what he supposed had to be woodlands, and the sun was high in the sky. Birds sang about him, and some small animal scurried away into the brush. A less pleasing discovery was that he was on his back in some kind of bristly bush.

Quickly, he got up and brushed himself off. Upon further investigation, he found that he had been lying in a gorse bush at the foot of an oak tree. A wide path lay to his right, and it was a dirt path, though well trodden. He was wearing a long, gray tunic, belted over yellow?! pants, with a heavy knife at his side, (very different than his previous shorts, folding knife and brown shirt) and his back was all over brush. A large bag sat near him, and a smaller bag was tied to the belt.

"Barbecued billygoats, where am I and where are the others?" a shrill voice examined from above.

"Nancy? Is that you?" John called, looking all around.

"John? Galoot! No, I'm the Professor. Up HERE!"

John looked up. Nancy was precariously balanced in the oak tree on a limb about twenty feet from the ground. She too was dressed in a long tunic over tight pants, but she had a bow and quiver instead of the knife, and her tunic was russet. And she was very angry.

"Well, come on down, Nancy, and we'll discuss what to do," he said.

Nancy gave him a look. "And just how, how, HOW am I supposed to get down in this rig?" she answered in a dangerously low tone.

"Did someone call for me?" a new voice cut in.

John turned around. "Dick! How did you get here?"

"I don't know. It is very interesting," he added, gazing around as he slowly walked towards John. "The bird calls are varied and strange. Are we still in England?"

"John! Catch!" Nancy threw down the bow and quiver. Dick looked up, quite unaware that the quiver was coming straight at his nose. John pushed him away and caught it right before the arrows tumbled out. The bow fell to the ground.

"It would be helpful if you gave me a little more notice, Nancy," he muttered, picking up the arrows. Ow! They're quite sharp...?

Dick, who was dressed just like John, but with a large leather satchel hanging by his side, bent down and picked up the bow. "Interesting," he noted. "It looks like it was handmade. Yew wood," he added, pulling at the string.

"Oi! Leave that alone, Professor!" Nancy jumped down from a lower branch and took her weapons back. Dick turned to look at a bird.

"So, where are we again?" she asked the two boys.

"We don't know, Nancy, any more than you do." John picked up the sack and shook it. It made a slight thumping sound.

"And what's all THIS?!" Nancy demanded, suddenly realizing that all three of them had different clothes on.

"We don't know," John answered, trying to untie the mouth of the sack. It's made of fabric, but this tie is leather. Why? And what sort of knot is this?

Dick still had his eyes on the bird, or was it birds now? Nancy couldn't tell. "John! Aren't you going to TALK to me?"

John's patience snapped. "Nancy, please! WE DON'T KNOW. Can you just take that?" he asked crossly as he struggled with the knot.

Nancy muttered something like "Shiver my timbers!" under her breath, but stopped talking. John finally got the sack open and was about to delve into it when Dick muttered, "Er, John...someone's coming on the road...a lot of people, I think...and I don't think this is pretend anymore..."

"What?!"

SA&D-SA&D-SA&D

Apparently, watching birds and observing things conscientiously as Dick did was helpful in other ways, for by the time the first man had stepped into the glen, Nancy had an arrow on the string, John had his knife out, and Dick, with the bags, was ready for a hasty retreat.

I really hope we don't have to use these, John thought. How real is this, anyway?

The man laughed and held out his hands. "Peace, my good youths. We have your sisters with us, and we mean you no harm." He stepped forward, and walked closer. Two other men followed him.

Nancy looked at John. "What?" she muttered.

"I think he thinks you are a boy. Better keep it that way," John whispered, sheathing his long knife. "Our sisters? Which ones?" he asked politely. "And may we ask who you are?"

"John! Dick! Nathan! We were so worried!" Titty's voice rang out, followed by her running up to them, Bridget in tow. She flung herself at Nancy and hugged her tight.

"This is Sherwood Forest, with Robin Hood and all. You're a boy now. We are your siblings—except Dick and Dot. Keep quiet; I'll try to explain later. Think Peter Duck!" she hissed, releasing her, and giving her a little shake.

Nancy's eyes went big. "Barbecued billygoats!" she grumbled. "Where have you been!" she added loudly.

Titty was hugging a stunned Dick. "Don't say ANYTHING," she muttered to him. "I know it's not scientific! Please, trust me."

She threw a look at Nancy. "YOU were the ones to get lost," she scolded loudly. The men guffawed.

John had a strangely subdued Bridget in his arms when Titty barreled into him. "John, this is Sherwood. We are with Robin Hood now. Nancy is Nathan, because she's dressed like a boy. Dick and Dot are our cousins. Please let me do the talking," she tumbled out.

"Thank Heaven and the saints! Thank you, good Robin, for re-uniting us!" she said at normal tone, releasing John and smiling on the first man.

"Eigh, lass, twasn't only him!" laughed the biggest man of the three. Titty blushed and fiddled with her—long red dress? Dick could hardly believe his eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're Robin Hood and, well, some of the Merry Men?" Nancy burst out.

"My faith, this lad is boldest of the three!" the largest man—Little John?-commented. "I am Little John, Robin's right hand man. And you are Nathan?"

"I am, sir." John looked at her. Please don't say anything that will give us away!

Dick took off his spectacles and rubbed them with his fingers, trying to clean them up without a pocket handkerchief. This drew the attention of the smallest man. "Lad, what are those? They look uncanny to me."

Dick blinked nearsightedly around, clearly trying to find the source of the voice. Titty swooped in to the rescue. "They are a contrivance, sir, to improve the sight. My cousin Dick has had certain troubles with his eyes—" Nancy choked, but turned away to pull Bridget's pigtail—"and my father, who was an inventor, designed these for him. They are called spectacles."

John blinked. He didn't know that Titty could lie so quickly and effectively. It was...unsettling, to say the least.

"So, Mis—good Robin Hood, Little John, and...?" he asked, trying his best to recall how people talked in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

"Tom. Tom o' the Mill. And you are?" the short one responded.

"John," John answered, and then, in a burst of inspiration "John, the inventor's son. This is Dick—he was my father's apprentice. And Nathan..." he paused, unsure of what was safe to say.

"You don't want to know what I'm generally called," Nancy said with a scowl that was only partially faked.

Titty looked at her in horror (Nancy, stop!) but Little John and Tom laughed again. "Rascal? Varmint? Imp?" they asked cheerfully.

"Somewhat along those lines," Nancy answered with a grin. John shook his head. This could get us into a lot of trouble...

Titty frowned. "I thought we were striving to get away from that?" she murmured, but loudly enough for Robin to hear.

'Nathan' just grinned at her. Titty threw her hands up and took Bridget back from John.

Robin, in the meantime, was looking about alertly. "Mistress Titty, did you see anyone else on the road? Or did you lads see anyone?" he asked.

"No, we did not, did we, Bridget?" Titty answered, smiling at her sister.

"No sir!" answered Bridget loudly. Tom chuckled at her.

John looked at Nancy and Dick, who was still messing with his glasses. "Neither did we," he answered, figuring no-one else would answer.

Robin frowned. "Little John, would you take our visitors off the road?" he asked. "I fear we are about to have some company."

Nancy's eyes sparkled. Titty moved closer to John. Bridget put her thumb in her mouth and buried her head in Titty's shoulder. Dick pushed his spectacles onto his face and picked up the bags.

"Robin, are you sure about this?" Little John asked.

"Yes, now quickly!"

Little John shrugged and took Titty's hand.

"Follow me, lads!" he said sternly, leading Titty and Bridget into the brush by the side of the road.

Nancy plucked one of the two bags from Dick's hands and headed after Little John. Dick stared at her uncomprehendingly. John, who was about to follow, saw Dick and shook him.

"Hurry up!" he muttered. Dick looked around and slowly pushed his way into the brush. John fidgeted, trying to let Dick get in before him. A muffled oath came from Little John and Bridget began to fuss. Titty was saying something that John couldn't quite hear, but he got the impression that she wasn't pleased. Robin Hood and Tom had disappeared. To top it all off, his ears caught the sound of heavy feet coming down the road. Great, great.

Nancy's voice hissed out of the brush "We can't get any further ! You'll have to find someplace else, John!"

"What?!" John hissed back, his temper completely gone. "Everyone else is gone! What do you expect ME to do?"

"Climb a tree!" Nancy answered.

"Be silent!" Little John warned them.

John pinched the bridge of his nose and looked about him. There weren't many options. To his right was the brush and trees, to his left, an open field, and before and behind him was the road.

Where did Robin and Tom go?

Just then, a group of armed men rounded the corner. "Hey lad! Seen anyone about?" one called to him.

A/N: What did you think? Please tell me!