And now for part two!
d~b
Pilot
"New Home, New Friends, Old Trouble"
Part Two
"So you're going to a detective school, huh?" Pugsy asked Flip as they unpacked.
"Yeah, my school had some special SAT tests for students going into middle grade this year. I scored high enough to earn a scholarship to the detective school here, so it hardly cost anything." Flip explained.
"Must be pretty exclusive,"
"Basically. I heard the Hardy Boys attended it when they were my age!"
"Things sure have changed, huh?" Shaggy replied. "When I was your age, the gang and I didn't go to a school for sleuthing, we learned in the field."
"So did I, but I want to be a professional like my dad someday... He even gave me his old jacket and hat!" Flip pointed to his new attire.
"I wondered why that outfit looked familiar," Pugsy joked.
Flip walked over to the balcony, looking out at the backyard. "This is a pretty cool place. Is it alright if I look around?"
"Sure, but don't talk to strangers, and don't be gone too long." Shaggy replied.
Flip rolled his eyes. "Geez, Shag, I'm not a little kid. I'm 12 years old now!"
"The rules still apply until you're 18." Pugsy remarked. "Go ahead and explorify, kid. We'll be cleaning up in here,"
Flip walked out, walking down the hallway. He passed by a humanoid dog wearing a rimmed hat and blue suit, standing next to a legamorphic rabbity-thing. "I gotta hand it to the Geek, Max, she really knows how to relocate. Now we don't have to worry about any radioactive cockroach nests!" the dog was saying.
"Yeah, but now what are we going to use for shooting practice, Sam?" Max replied, then looked and grinned at Flip. "Hey, kid, you doing anything this afternoon?"
"Easy, Max, don't scare the kid- he's already a pre-teen, so it's too late for any life-scarring,"
"Aw, man..."
Flip quickly turned around and decided to head back to the room. "Maybe I'll look around later... AFTER the crazies are back in their rooms," he said to himself, looking back to make sure Max wasn't following him.
*BUMP!*
"Oof!" Flip collided with someone and fell back, landing on his rear. He looked up, seeing a figure carrying a stack of boxes that covered their face.
"Whoops! Sorry there, kid. Kind of hard to see where I'm going." the person replied.
Flip stood up, brushing himself off. "It's okay, I'm alright,"
"Oh, good. Hey, am I anywhere near Room 512?"
Flip nodded. "Yeah, it's actually right behind you."
"Whew! That's a relief, I thought I'd have to carry these boxes another 10 floors," he then sat the boxes down, rubbing his sore arms, and Flip got a good look at his face... which looked very familiar.
"Oh. My. Gosh..." Flip gasped, his eyes wide. "Shawn K.?"
"Oh, you recognized me... wait... Flip Chan, is that you?" The game-show host exclaimed, smiling.
"Is there a problem out here, Flip?" Pugsy asked, poking his head out the open door with Shaggy.
Shawn turned. "Shaggy!"
"Shawn!" Shaggy exclaimed, stepping out, and the two men gave each other one-armed hugs. "Like, long time no see!"
"You too, Shag... and who's your friend? He looks familiar,"
"I'm Pugsy, remember?" Pugsy replied.
"Pugsy! Wow... I didn't recognize you. You've really grown!"
Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot (God forbid it turns into a running-gag)."
"So, like, what brings you by, Shawn?" Shaggy asked.
"Well... I'm actually moving into an apartment, here in the city." Shawn K. explained. "I've decided to take a break from the celebrity lifestyle for a while and settle down... and it seems we're neighbors!" Shawn paused just then. "Um... is Flip alright?"
They looked at Flip, who still had a wide-eyed, smiley-face expression, and had been completely silent. Pugsy nudged him, and he shook his head. "Huh? What? Oh yeah, we're going to be neighbors! That's going to be cool." the pre-teen said quickly.
Shawn chuckled. "Well, I'd better finish moving in my stuff, before my room-mate locks me out,"
"You have a room-mate?" Shaggy asked.
"Oh, yeah! I should introduce you," he opened the door to his apartment. "Hey, Ted! Come out here, there's some friends I'd like you to meet!"
"Alright, coming on out!" replied a voice, and out stepped a man in his late 40's, with blonde-brown curly hair, and wearing a yellow shirt dotted with red hearts. He smiled when he saw Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. "Well, hi there!"
"Guys, this is Ted Sven. Ted, these are my friends,Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. They came on a game-show of mine, and bowled with me a few times. Shaggy also used to be an announcer on 'The Price is Right' with me."
"Nice to meet you," Pugsy said as they shook Ted's hand.
"Hey, nice to meet you guys, too! I can tell we're going to be swell neighbors!" Uncle Ted said, suddenly trapping Shaggy in a head-lock and giving him a noogie, then let him go.
"Like... swell..." Shaggy replied, rubbing his head.
"Well, see you around! I've got to finish organizing my Socks In A Can collection," With that, Uncle Ted walked inside.
Shawn smiled, shrugging. "You'll get used to the noogies. It's his way of saying 'hello'." he explained.
"How did you guys meet?" Flip asked.
"Well, he's actually Howard Generic's brother-in-law. The family moved out here some weeks ago, and Uncle Ted- as everyone calls him- rented an apartment and was looking for a room-mate," Shawn then took out an 8x10 glossy of him and Ted at a bowling alley. "We were on the same bowling team for 8 years, too."
"Like, cool! Looking forward to being your neighbor," Shaggy said.
"Which will take a while until we finish unpacking," Pugsy added.
"Alright, see you guys around!" Shawn said, then carried his boxes into his apartment.
"See you!" Flip answered, as the guys walked back to their apartment.
"Like, I can't believe it," Shaggy whispered.
"That we're living across the hall from a celebrity friend?" Pugsy asked.
"No... that Flip didn't have one of his fan-boy freak-outs like he used to!"
"Well, the kid's grown up. He's probably maturated enough to see Shawn as a regular person, and not some big-time star,"
They closed the door behind them...
"I'M LIVING IN THE SAME BUILDING AS SHAWN K!" Flip exclaimed, then passed out with a grin on his face.
Pugsy sighed. "Spoke too soon," he walked over and picked Flip up by the back of his shirt. "You've REALLY got to outgrow this, kid."
"Oh, like you've never done the same thing..." Flip scoffed.
"Just get unpacking!"
"Yeah, guys, these groceries aren't going to put away themselves!" Shaggy replied.
Pugsy arched an eyebrow. "We didn't buy groceries..."
"What do you think I packed?" Shaggy opened up his suitcase, where a few bags of groceries popped up.
Pugsy shook his head. "Still got that gluttonic eating habit, I see."
"...And you're still making up words for your own vocabulary, I see." Shaggy turned towards the cupboards in the kitchen, which was connected to the living room where Pugsy and Flip were organizing a few things. Shaggy reached behind him, grabbing some potato chips someone was handing him. "Lets see, these can go here..." he was handed some bread next. "This up there..." he was handed a case of soda next. "This goes in the fridge..."
The camera zooms out, showing a kid with black hair, red jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a white cap handing him things out of the bag, casually. Shaggy had yet to notice her, until she handed him a watermelon.
"Like thanks,"
"No problem," The kid replied.
Shaggy turned, setting the watermelon on the counter... then froze and turned around, but the kid was gone! "Gah! What the...? Who the...?!" he stammered.
"What is it?" Flip asked.
"There was a kid standing there a minute ago!"
Pugsy arched an eyebrow, then pointed at Flip. "Yes... and now he's standing here," he remarked.
"No, a different kid! He had black hair, and was wearing a white cap, and- and-"
"Ah, I think you pulled a brain-muscle while moving," Pugsy replied, picking up a large box. "How would a kid get in here?"
"Hello!" The same kid exclaimed, popping out of the box Pugsy was holding!
"GAH!" Pugsy screamed, dropping the box which tipped over, the kid rolling out and landing on one knee.
"Ta-da! Welcome to Paradise!" the kid chuckled. "Get it? 'Paradise'? Because that's the name of... the... ah, forget it."
"Who are you?" Flip asked.
"Ah, of course! Forgot the intro. My name is Zee Isaiah Pugnacious- or ZIP for short- Zippy for a nickname. ...And for the record, I'm not a 'kid', I'm actually 21. Nor am I a 'he', I happen to be female. ...Any questions?"
"Yeah. How the heck did you get in here?" Pugsy asked.
"The balcony door was open,"
"But... how'd you get in through there?! We're over 200 feet high!" Shaggy questioned.
"What, you think I'd waste my perfectly-trained ninja-skills in Suburbia?" Zippy did some karate-poses as she said this.
"Why didn't you just, oh I don't know... knock on the door like a normal person?!" Pugsy demanded.
"Because, my simple-minded neighbor, as you couldn't tell, I'm not normal. Plus, I like to make an entrance..." she turned and grinned dreamily at Shaggy. "Especially when meeting someone tall, thin, and hansom."
Shaggy cautiously took a step back, then moved Flip in front of him.
"So you're 21? Gosh, you look to be my age!" Flip said to her.
"Yeah, well, when you're short, everyone makes that mistake." Zippy replied with a shrug.
Shaggy turned to Pugsy. "We never made it with you," he commented.
"Shut up," Pugsy snapped.
"By the way, what shall I call you three?" Zippy asked.
"I'm Flip, this is Shaggy, and that's Pugsy." Flip replied.
"Pugsy, huh? ...Looks like I'll have to change my surname again," Zippy then headed to the balcony, stepping out. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have a killer hamster I must tame. Adios!" She then dived off the balcony- zipping back up into the air on a hang-glider!
The guys only looked out, confused. "...I think she's cool." Flip commented.
"I think she's crazy." Shaggy replied.
"I think... I'm going to install a good security system," Pugsy finished, and they got back to work before anything else weird happened.
d~b
Meanwhile, in the basement of the building, Robotnik stood before his henchmen as they worked on a machine, hidden underneath a giant, white sheet. "Hurry up with that machine, boys! We need to have it up on the roof by tonight!" he barked.
"Um... why didn't we just build it on the roof, first?" Horace asked.
Robotnik rolled his eyes. "Because people would notice it being built, get suspicious, call in authorities, and ruin the plan before it would even get plugged in!"
"Oh. ...But, um, how are we going to get it on the roof without it being seen?"
"We just tell everyone it's a new TV antenna."
"Why can't we just tell them that AND build it on the roof?"
"BECAUSE THEY'D SEE THE BLUE-PRINTS AND FIND OUT WE LIED! NOW SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK!"
"Alright, alright! Sheesh!"
"Boss, I still don't get it." Scratch spoke up. "If we tell everyone it's a TV antenna, how will we threaten them with it? I doubt everyone would be terrified of a chunk of medal that brings in cable-access,"
"...Unless it's all educational," Jasper pointed out.
"They'll be threatened when we fry half the city with it!" Robotnik snapped.
"Ah... okay. I get it," Scratch replied.
"There's one thing I want to know," Grounder piped up.
"What?!" Robotnik snarled, growing very impatient with his henchmen's idiocy.
"...how are we going to fry the city with a TV antenna?"
Robotnik slapped his forehead. "It's NOT an actual TV antenna, it's a LASER- oh, forget it. I'm going out for some fresh air!" With that, the mad genius stormed out of the basement, before his migraine could kick in.
The henchmen continued their work. "...You think it'll bring in the anime channel?" Scratch asked.
d~b
Robotnik stepped into the backyard, breathing in deep... then began to hack and cough. "Ack! Confound this fresh air! I was hoping those animated 'enviromental' flicks would have annoyed people to the point of smogging up the skies!" he muttered to himself, walking across the yard. "Oh, no matter... the world will be mine by tomorrow, so I'll fix that little problem.
"Soon, my invention will be complete... and with Sonic nowhere within miles, a hidden lair in the most unexpected location, and my sky-rocketing genius, my plan will not fail!" he continued as he stood in front of the building. "And no one will be able to stop me after tonight! No one, I say! NO-"
"HEADS UP!" came Flip's voice... along with a descending whistle.
"Eh?" Robotnik paused, seeing a shadow covering him...
*CRASH!*
...and was soon flattened by an air-conditioner. "...owie..."
Moments later, Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip immediately rushed out the door. "There it is!" Shaggy exclaimed, and they ran over and picked up the air-conditioner.
"Wuh-oh..." Flip gasped, seeing the flattened Robotnik. "We're sorry, sir. We were just installing an air-conditioner, but it slipped... are you ok-"
"YOU BLITHERING DUNDERHEADS!" Robotnik shouted, popping back into his regular, hefty shape and screaming in their faces. "YOU NEARLY KILLED ME!"
"...I'm sorry we didn't," Pugsy said to the audience, then turned to Robotnik. "Calm down, sir. It was just an accident! It won't happen again."
"You'd better hope not! If any of you three pull something like this again, you'll be living on the curb!" Robotnik then stormed back inside.
"Man, what a grouch," Shaggy scoffed.
"Next time we should drop the bathtub on him," Pugsy commented, and they headed back inside.
"FLIP!" came a shout just then, making them pause in the doorway... and suddenly Flip was caught in a hug by a girl with brown hair, wearing a blue headband, sweater, and dark-blue jeans. "It's been so long!"
"H-Huh?" Flip stammered, confused.
The girl pulled away. "Don't you remember me? Holly? ...Holly Trueblood?"
"Holly? ...HOLLY!" Flip smiled. "Oh my gosh... I almost didn't recognize you! What are you doing here?"
"I live in 'Trueblood Plaza', next door. My Aunt Katrina inherited it last summer- it belonged to my grandpa,"
"Oh, still stuck living with her, huh?"
Holly shook her head. "Not really. She... she disowned me last month."
"What?! That's awful!" Pugsy replied.
"Why would she do that?!" Shaggy demanded.
"Well, after making the payments on the building, she believed she couldn't afford to take care of two girls... by that, I mean she wouldn't have enough money for her weekly shopping-sprees. Actually, the complex could only be owned by members of the Trueblood family- Katrina figured disowning me would increase her chances of keeping the place, but it didn't. Luckily, the will stated I could live in the apartment until I'm 18, under a legal guardian... and someone living there took me in."
"Oh, good. Who?" Shaggy asked.
"Melody. She's friends with my best friend Dotty's sister Pepper, makes good money playing gigs with her band at the cafe down the street, and has experience taking care of kids," Holly turned to Flip. "What about you, Flip? Are you living here?"
"Oh yeah. I'm living with Shaggy and Pugsy while I go to a detective school!" Flip explained.
"Awesome! So we'll get to see each other every day!"
"Heh, yeah, it's going to be great."
"Well, I have to get back and help Melody with dinner. See you later!" she took off, waving to Flip.
Flip chuckled, smiling dreamily as he watched Holly leave.
Pugsy, jokingly, let out a flirtatious growl, nudging him while bouncing his eyebrows.
Flip swatted him with his hat. "Oh, shut up!" he sneered, then went inside.
Pugsy and Shaggy chuckled. "Kid's been here for twenty minutes and already he's taking after me," Pugsy remarked.
"God help us," Shaggy joked, earning a glare.
d~b
Later, once they got their apartment set up, the guys began to lounge around the apartment. Pugsy was watching television, Shaggy was making himself a 3-foot hero-sandwich, and Flip was reading a comic-book. There was a knock at the door just then, as Shawn K. stepped in. "Hey, you guys feel like playing some baseball out back?" he asked. "I'm playing on a team this weekend, and thought I could get some practice in."
"Sure! Sounds good to me," Shaggy replied, and the guys followed him out, seeing Uncle Ted was joining as well.
"Ah, I love re-living the nostalgic days of playing catch," Uncle Ted said. "Lets just hope I don't relive too much, and break any windows!"
The guys all laughed, heading downstairs and to the backyard.
Unaware that, on the roof, Robotnik was standing there, watching as his four henchmen carried a giant laser-gun through the door, pushing it through as if it were rubber, and collapsing once they set it down. "No, no, no! Turn it to the west!" Robotnik ordered. His henchmen did so, and he rubbed his chin. "A little more to the left... keep going... there!"
Horace, Jasper, Scratch and Grounder sighed with relief, and once again collapsed.
The evil scientist then turned towards the view of the city. "Now, all we have to do is fire up this machine and melt Toonopolis! ...lets see, should I start with Central Park, or Maple Street? Or the freeway?"
While no one was looking, a tall figure with brown hair, wearing a purple mask, wide-rimmed hat, a long, torn coat, wearing a high-tech utility belt, climbed onto the roof, then unplugged the machine, before slipping back into the shadows.
"I've got it! I'll start with that corner where that annoying mime does his stupid acts!" Robotnik then got behind the controls of the laser-beam. "Ready... ai- oh heck with it FIRE!" he pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
"What the...?!" he pulled the trigger, hit buttons, flicked switches, but nothing seemed to be working. "What's wrong with this thing?! What did you simpletons do?!"
"It wasn't us, boss!" Scratch replied.
"Yeah, we just carried it up and plugged it in!" Grounder added.
Robotnik looked over every detail, until he noticed the unplugged plug wasn't plugged. "Oh DID you?!" he sneered, then slapped his two robotic henchmen across their faces so hard, their heads spun. "IDIOTS! You have to pay attention to every single detail, otherwise NOTHING will work!"
While he was chewing out his henchmen, the same masked figure snuck over to the machine... and spilled a cup of coffee on the controls, before sneaking away.
"Now, no more screw-ups!" Robotnik sat back down at his machine. "This time, failure isn't an-" he pushed a button... and suddenly it blew a fuse, smoke billowing in his face. "*cough* option! *hack!* Gah! Darn it, you morons! I told you, if you're going to take coffee breaks, take them AWAY from the hazard-zone!"
"But we haven't had coffee since this morning!" Horace retorted.
"Oi, you don't think someone's out to sabotage our plans, do ya?" Jasper asked.
"Oh, please! As I keep repeating, there is NO ONE who can ruin our schemes!" Robotnik scoffed. "Now FIX THE MACHINE!"
d~b
In the backyard, the guys were having a good time playing baseball, chatting as they did. "You know, I have a nephew about your age, Flip. He'll be coming by next weekend!" Uncle Ted said, pitching the ball to Flip at second base, who tossed it to Shawn at the pitcher's mound.
"Oh, cool. Flip can have someone to hang out with," Shaggy replied, playing the umpire.
"When he's not making goo-goo eyes with Holly, you mean." Pugsy joked, coming up to bat.
"...And how many girls have YOU'VE dated?" Flip sneered.
"And imaginary ones don't count!" Shaggy joked. Pugsy raised the baseball bat, and the coward yelped and ducked behind his glove.
"C'mon, lets just stick to the game and keep the teasing to a minimum," Shawn coaxed, ready to pitch the ball.
"Hey, wasn't another one of your friends coming, Shawn?" Uncle Ted asked. "We need someone to cover third-base,"
"And cover it I shall!" Zippy exclaimed, running across the yard.
"Oh... crud," Pugsy muttered, while Shaggy gulped.
"You know Shawn K.?" Flip asked Zippy.
"Heck yes! I once worked as a body-guard for him for five years... until I was forced to retire early for being too brutal with his fan-girls," Zippy replied, then pounded her mitt. "Now, lets play some ball! Strike 'im out, Shawn."
"Zippy, be nice..." Shawn coaxed.
"Ah, you might want to back up a few blocks, ZIP, I'm going for a record," Pugsy bragged.
"Heh, yeah- for loser of the year," Zippy remarked.
Shawn shook his head, then pitched the ball, and Pugsy hit it with a might *crack!* and it soared through the air. "Whoa, look at it fly!" Flip exclaimed.
"Watch where it lands- that's my only baseball!" Uncle Ted said.
d~b
Back on the roof, Robotnik and his henchmen had finished wrapping up every detail of the machine. "Alright... is it plugged in?" he asked.
"Yep," Horace replied.
"No coffee-spills?"
"Nope," Grounder replied.
"No... rabid ferrets hiding in the gears?"
"None..." said a bruised-and-scuffed-up Scratch.
"Alright, now for the umpteenth time... NO ONE shall stop me!" Robotnik declared, and fired up the laser-beam.
*CLANG!*
Unfortunately, a baseball flew through the air and struck the beam, making it twist and shoot the glass on a window, ricochette off a metal door, off some glass bottles...
*ZAP!*
...and back at the machine itself, frying it into ashes... as well as Robotnik. The henchmen hurried over, helping their boss back on his feet. He stood there, then began to fume, bending over and clutching the baseball. "Grrrrr... WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" he demanded, then looked over the roof.
...seeing the guys standing there. "Uh-oh... it's Grouchy McCrabapple," Shaggy gulped.
"YOU IDIOTS! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!" Robotnik shot down the stairs and zipped right out in front of Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. "You've just destroyed something I've been working on for MONTHS now! You are hereby dismissed from the apartment!"
"Whoa, dude... you can't just kick them out. It was an accident!" Zippy sneered.
"Yeah... plus the Landlord Handbook states that you can't really kick them out unless the INTENTIONALLY destroyed your property, caused damage to their apartment, violated some sort of health code, are three months behind in rent... or felons." Shawn K. said, holding up a handbook. "...unless you AREN'T the landlord, and we have to call in the authorities?"
"OF COURSE I AM! I just-! They-! It-! ARRGGH!" Robotnik seethed. "Fine! ...But I'm warning you... one more slip-up, and you're outta here!"
"Goody," Pugsy sneered. "Can we have the baseball back, now?"
Robotnik chucked the ball on the ground, then stormed inside.
"You know... despite we have a total goon to deal with, I think I'm going to like living here." Flip said.
"And we'll see to it you stay," Zippy said, standing close to Shaggy. "No one can split you from us THAT easily,"
Shaggy only whimpered.
Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder came running down just then. "Hey, have you've seen our boss?" Grounder asked.
"Fat guy, red mustache, bad temper?" Pugsy asked.
"Yeah,"
"He went inside,"
"Who are you guys?" Uncle Ted asked.
"We're, uh... the apartment's handymen!" Jasper replied, quickly. "We do maintanence work around the building,"
"Gee, I feel comfortable," Pugsy remarked.
"Want to join us for a baseball game?" Shawn asked.
"Sure!" All the henchmen exclaimed. They all covered the remaining positions as the camera zoomed out, showing the mysterious masked figure watching from above, smiling.
d~b
Inside, Robotnik sat at his desk, looking over a list of residents... highlighting Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip's names in red. "Those three will surely get in the way of my plans! I'll see to it they won't be staying here for long... soon, 'Paradise Towers' will become their personal-"
*CRASH!*
*THONK!*
A baseball crashed through the window and hit Robotnik upside the head, knocking him out!
"FOUL!" called Shaggy's voice.
d~b
A/N: Yep, it's a new season... with a new twist! Basically each episode will feature Robotnik having some scheme, whether it's trying to find a reason to kick the guys out, or take over the world...
Also, Shawn K. is now a regular character, as well as Uncle Ted, Holly and the new OC, Zippy! Hope you guys enjoy their appearances!
Yep, going to be one heck of a year for the guys XD
Please review, and hope to see you in the next episode!