Now, at long last, a new episode.

Dedicated in the memory of Ronald, father of an awesome co-author.

Blessings and comfort to your family.

d~b

~Episode 20~

Back to Bowling!

The Toonopolis Bowling Alley was one of many hot-spots in the city. With its rows of shining wooden lanes, tall scuffed-yet-polished pins, heavy bowling balls that seemed to promise perfect strikes, shelves full of disinfected bowling-shoes used by more than one person, and a long line of snack-bars and refreshments.

One thing the bowling alley was known for was its annual tournament, The King Pin. Many toons lined up to participate… but no one was able to win the tournament- namely because a few teams would cheat, ended up getting their fingers stuck and slid down the lanes thus ending up hospitalized, or were professionals- the competition meant for amateurs only…

The only 'professional amateurs' that could compete were Shawn K. and Uncle Ted, who were playing a match on Lane 20, as they did every Sunday. "So, you thinking about entering the tournament, Ted?" Shawn asked, watching as his friend/room-mate rolled his bowling ball down the lane, knocking over 7 pins and getting a split.

"It does sound like fun- but I believe bowling is more fun without any competition involved," Ted replied, then rolled his ball again… having it zig-zag down the lane and knock over one side of the split before ricocheting into the other! "What about you, Shawn?"

"Maybe… It's been a while since I joined a bowling tournament. I might just sit this one out,"

"Oh, that's a darn shame… because I was hoping for a challenge!" came a voice, and the duo looked over…

Seeing Shawn's old rival, D*** Dastardly.

…

Um, why is his name censored?

*whisper whisper*

Seriously? We said it in the last season!

*whisper whisper*

For reals?! Geez, you'd think with TV shows these days, the FCC would know what's okay and what shouldn't be allowed…

*whisper whisper*

Yes, yes, I'm getting back to the story… *sigh* Networks these days…

"Dastardly! Been a while… What brings you by?" Shawn asked, keeping a friendly tone to the villain. "I thought you were still doing time after your kidnap attempt in the Season 1 finale,"

"Believe it or not, they let me have parole for good behavior," Dastardly replied.

Shawn scoffed. "I do not believe it. …You broke out, didn't you?"

"It doesn't matter! …What matters is that I dropped by the city, and heard about the bowling tournament happening this weekend- and such an event reminded me of how we never got a proper finish in our LAST tournament,"

"Yeah, because you cheated and your team ditched you!"

Dastardly forced a grin. "Water under the bridge, now… I was thinking, perhaps we could have a rematch- gather up a good team and compete this weekend! What do you say?"

Shawn looked at Ted, who gave a shrug, then turned back to Dastardly and gave a nod. "Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll gather up a few friends and meet you here next Saturday,"

"See you then… unless you chicken out!" Dastardly chuckled, walking out.

Shawn turned to Ted. "How about it, Ted? Want to join my team?"

"Hmm… I don't know. Like I said, competition takes the fun out of sports…" Ted said, thoughtfully, then grinned. "…So count me in! Someone will have to remind the team to keep in good spirits,"

Shawn gave him a pat on the back. "And THAT'S what makes you a great team-mate! C'mon… I know the perfect guys to invite- ones who couldn't resist the offer!"

d~b

"No way! Nuh uh! No how! Not this time! The answer is N-O, no!" Shaggy refused, arms crossed and looking quite stern.

The person he was refusing at the moment was Flim-Flam (not the Cartoon All-Star, in case you guys got confused). "Oh c'mon, Shag! Let me borrow the van this weekend!" the teen was begging. "I need at least ONE sweet ride to impress the girls! Not a lot of girls go for pedestrians,"

Shaggy wouldn't budge. "No,"

"How about your jeep?"

"No."

"That one race-car you had in your Reluctant Werewolf movie?"

"No!"

Flim-Flam pondered. "…Think Fred will let me borrow the Mystery Machine?"

There came a ring from Shaggy's pocket, and the lanky young man answered his cell phone. "Yeah? …Sure, hold on." He held it out to Flim-Flam. "It's for you."

Flim-Flam took the phone. "Not on your life!" came Freddy's voice from the other line, before hanging up.

"I thought you already had a car?" Flip questioned.

"I did… until Van Ghoul sold it after I ran too many stop-lights," Flim-Flam answered, crossing his arms. "In my defense, he was the one telling me to get home before midnight!"

"…and THIS is why we don't let you hang out with him anymore," Pugsy whispered to Flip. He looked at Flim-Flam. "And why are you trying to impress girls anyway, Flim? I thought you already had a thing with Dotty,"

"Nah, she's busy with her college courses and isn't ready for a relationship- plus, her parents won't let her date until she's 18."

"…maybe we should set that standard for you- only when you're 25, and not go overboard in your attempts to flatter women," Shaggy commented.

Flim-Flam rolled his eyes, walking out onto the balcony. "You say that like I'm some sort of playboy. I have specifications! The girls I'm into have to be smart, fun, not ugly, and- know how to do a 360 on a stuntboard after leaping off the roof!"

Everyone followed the teen's gaze, as Zippy did just that, swerving through the air, busting through clouds, before collapsing the board, doing a flip, jumping off Pugsy's shoulders and landing on the railing balancing on one-hand. …All the while having a bearded-dragon lizard clinging to her head. "See, Pocca? That's how you do it." She told the lizard.

"Meep!" Pocca replied, before scurrying off her head and back to the safety of her tank.

"Like, do you ALWAYS have to make an extreme entrance, or are you just trying to appeal to the rebels in our ratings?" Shaggy questioned.

"Not gonna lie, I was just trying to teach an old lizard new tricks. I was going to wait until after shooting, buuut decided to save time- is he okay?" Zippy replied, before pointing at Flim-Flam…

…whose eyes had gone wide, jaw slack, and heart pounding in his chest. "Please be single…" he whispered to himself.

"Ummm… okay, can we get back to the storyline before things get weird?" Flip asked, awkwardly.

"Too late," Pugsy muttered.

*Knock knock knock*

"Ah, that must be the plot," Shaggy said, walking over and opening the door. "Like, hey Shawn! Hi Ted- ack!"

"Hiya, Shag!" Ted exclaimed, capturing Shaggy in a headlock and giving him a noogie; he grabbed Flip next, doing the same. "And Flip-" he grabbed Pugs next, repeating the gesture. "Pugs-" Zippy came next. "Zippy, and…" he paused at Flim-Flam. "Um… have we met?"

"Flim-Flam's the name- please don't touch my head!" Flim-Flam replied, covering his head with his yellow hoodie.

"What's up, guys?" Pugsy asked, smoothing his hair down and putting his fedora back on.

"We were wondering if you guys would like to enter a bowling tournament this weekend," Shawn told them. "If you don't have anything going on, I mean."

"Sure!/Why not?/Sounds good/I'm in!" Shaggy, Pugsy, Flip, and Flim-Flam all answered.

"Eh, better count me out, Shawn. I tend to be horrible at any sport that isn't wrestling, boxing, hitting something with a baseball bat, or skeet-shooting." Zippy replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Oh c'mon, Zippy! Bowling is a ton of fun! We could sure use you on the team!" Ted replied.

"I dunno…"

"…They have smoothies at the snack-bar."

"Okay, I'm in! …but, let me see if Vincent will come too, in case we need a replacement,"

"You honestly think you're that bad at bowling?" Flip asked, stunned that Zippy was downgrading herself.

"Are you kidding? The replacement will be in case I injure someone!" With that, Zippy walked out.

"Are you sure we should let her come? She does sound like she doesn't want to…" Flip asked Shawn.

"She's just being humble," Shawn replied. "She's better than she thinks!"

"Yeah, she's a real sportsman- or, girl!" Ted added.

"She's also insane," Pugsy commented.

"She's going to injure someone…" Shaggy groaned.

"She's a dream~!" Flim-Flam said with hearts in his eyes.

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Next scene, please!" he called.

d~b

~Next Scene, Awaaaaaay!~

Dastardly, in the meantime, was rounding up his own team…

…of the meanest, rottenest, cruelest, black-hearted brutes ever to be featured in this story!

"Hey! You forgot 'vicious'!" Derek shouted at the narrator, as he was seated next to Brattina in a malt-shop, where Katrina, Robotnik, Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder were meeting up with Dastardly.

"So, D***, why have you called us here?" Robotnik asked… then paused. "Erm, did they just bleep out your na-?"

"I need you on my bowling team," Dastardly interrupted quickly, then cleared his throat. "By that, I mean I am looking to enter the Bowling Tournament this Saturday- and since the rules state that I am required to have team-mates, and the rest of my henchmen are on vacation, I decided to see if any of you would like to participate. The prize is a large solid-gold trophy,,"

"Pfft! A bowling tournament? That's it?" Katrina scoffed, crossing her arms. "Call me when you've got some REAL nefarious schemes,"

"Yeah, no way am I going to use other people's shoes just to throw a ball around," Brattina sneered, texting.

"I've got evil plans to get to! I can't waste my time with sports!" Robotnik snapped.

"We could join-!" Horace began to speak up- until Robotnik slapped him and the other lackeys upside the head. "…on second thought, maybe not."

"Yeah, dude. What's the big deal about some dumb bowling tournament?" Derek questioned, slurping a soda.

"But… I insist! No one else will join- I mean, no one else is available!" Dastardly stammered, trying to keep his cool. "And I can't let that blasted Shawn K. win by default again!"

"Shawn K?!" Everyone else repeated.

"That all-star pest that's living in my apartment building?!" Robotnik asked for clarification.

"That pretty-boy celebrity who keeps helping Holly out?!" Katrina demanded, seething.

"My uncle's room-mate?" Derek guessed, arching an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?! I'll compete on your team, if it means getting some sort of vengeance on that nuisance!" Robotnik snarled, clenching his fists, then turned to his lackeys. "And I expect to do whatever it takes to win- and you louses better make sure we do!"

"Woo-hoo! We're going bowling!" Grounder exclaimed, not paying attention to his boss's threatening tone. He then looked at the rotors he had for feet. "…you think they've got shoes in my size?"

"I'm in, too! That jerk is going to pay for his 'goody-two-shoes' acts!" Katrina sneered.

"I'm out. Shawn K. is too cool! …See you idiots later," Derek scoffed, walking off.

"…Winners get free coupons for the Cake 'n' Bacon," Dastardly threw in.

Derek came back. "Ah, he's not THAT cool."

"If Derek is in, so am I!" Brattina exclaimed, linking arms with Derek- who quickly pulled out and put Jasper in his place. Brattina let go with a startled "Eep! Gross!"

Dastardly rubbed his palms together. "Perfect! Come this following weekend, Shawn K. will rue the day he humiliated I, D*** Dastardly- Would you stop it with the censoring?! I'll have you know it's a common na-"

d~b

~One week after Dastardly stopped venting later…~

The teams met up in the parking lot of the bowling alley that afternoon. Shawn's team was wearing purple and yellow team shirts, while Dastardly's team wore black-and-red team shirts (save for Katrina and Brattina, whose uniforms were pink-and-purple). Pugsy and Dastardly took one look at each other and mentally groaned.

"I'm competing against THIS/THESE clown(s) again?!" Pugsy and Dastardly both sneered.

"Hmph. I would've thought a Cartoon All-Star would be choosing someone with more athletic skills, not a bunch of nut-jobs," Katrina scoffed.

"And I thought they shipped you back to the 'Prehistoric' display at the Smithsonian," Zippy retorted.

"Alright, gals, save it for the lanes." Shawn spoke up. "Let's try to keep the insults- and violence—to a minimum,"

"No promises," Derek scoffed, shoving Flim-Flam aside as he stormed towards the building.

Flim-Flam glared. "If I hadn't promised Vincent I wouldn't get into another brawl, I'd pound that kid…" he muttered.

"…You didn't promise me anything," Vincent (aka the Black Alchemist/college student) responded in confusion.

"He means Van Ghoul," Flip told him.

"Let's go in before things get any more confusing…" Brattina griped, walking ahead.

Everyone entered the Bowling Alley, signing their teams up for the competition. "Wow, you guys are the only teams who signed up today!" the employee at the counter commented.

"I'm sure there would be more, if our budget allowed us more cameo stars," Shaggy stated, then turned to Shawn. "But SOMEONE had to get a new cappuccino machine for his dressing room!"

"Shag, we already broke the fourth wall in the last episode, let's not make the gag redundant," Shawn replied.

The teams walked over to their two lanes. Vincent sat down in the back to act as a stand-in. "Going to sit back and 'cheer your team on', college-boy?" Jasper scoffed.

"Nope. Just going to swap out if things get too messy- middle-school drop-out," Vincent retorted, sipping a soda.

"Hey! I'll have you know I made it to sixth grade, so there!" he turned to Horace. "Hmph, typical- kids make it to college, and they think they're better than the common criminal,"

"I blame the media," Horace commented.

"Hey! Save the chit-chat for later! We've got a tournament to win!" Dastardly called as he and Shawn stepped up first. The villain turned back to Robotnik, whispering, "Psst! You 'adjusted' our equipment, right?"

"Yes, guaranteed strikes no matter where the ball rolls!" Robotnik answered, holding up one of their team's bowling balls- showing a tiny blinking light in the middle between the holes.

"Perfect!"

Vincent arched an eyebrow, observing the conversation. Eyes darting back and forth real quick, he whipped out his Sonic Screwdriver, quickly zapping at the balls, before tucking it back in his pocket and sipping his soda casually.

Dastardly turned to Shawn, giving a friendly, fake smile. "Go ahead and go first, Shawn. It's probably the best thing you'll do in this competition,"

"Har har." Shawn rolled his ball, getting 9 pins down.

As he went to roll again, Katrina let out a loud, scratchy, fake "COUGH!", throwing his aim off and landing him a gutter-ball! The celebrity gave her a glare, and she feigned an apologetic grin. "Sorry, must be coming down with something!"

"Allow me to show you how it's done!" Dastardly told Shawn, giving Robotnik a wink, then rolled his ball down the lane…

With a *screech!* it made a sharp turn right into the gutter!

Dastardly's jaw went slack, and he gave Robotnik a glare. "You dolt! What was that?!" he hissed.

"Calm down- I probably haven't turned it on yet," Robotnik whispered, secretly pushing a button on a remote. "Go again!"

Dastardly grumbled, grabbing his ball and rolling it down the lane, only knocking over 8 pins. "I guess we've both had a rocky start- I'm sure we'll improve as the competition goes on," Shawn assured him, trying his best to keep a kind demeanor (and when it comes to rivals, you could say it would take a lot of restraint to do so). He then turned to Ted, who was stepping up next. "Good luck, Ted!"

"Thanks, Shawn!" Ted replied, stepping up to the lane alongside Robotnik. "Good luck to you too, Robotnik,"

"Bah! I don't need luck!" Robotnik sneered, checking to make sure his bowling ball mechanism was working right, before rolling it down the lane, knocking down only two pins. When his ball came back, he arched an eyebrow. "Hmm… perhaps what I need is an upgrade…" he turned a dial on the remote to increase the power (at the same time, Vincent was using his screwdriver to mess with the remote), then rolled the ball again…

Which rolled into Ted's lane and knocked over his pins, earning him a strike! "Gee, thanks Robotnik, but I could've done that myself!" Ted said in a flattered tone.

"Oh shut up you idiot!" Robotnik then stormed over and sat down at the table, working on his remote, his back to his opponents.

"Great- the one mad scientist I get for my team to help us cheat, and his invention turns out to be a dud!" Dastardly muttered, as Brattina stepped up to go against Zippy. He watched, as Brattina rolled her ball, but got a gutter ball each time. He face-palmed. "And the rest of my team are completely inathletic!"

"Hey, watch it, Dork Dastardly!" Derek sneered.

"Well, unless Shawn's team is incompetent, we don't stand a chance!"

Zippy stepped up, aiming her bowling ball, then rolling it straight towards the pins…

With a *screech!* it made a sharp turn right into the gutter! "Dang it… okay, okay, ZIP, it was just the first throw; your second one will be better!"she told herself, throwing the ball-

*CRASH!*

…accidentally flinging it through the air and smashing the sign above the pins. Pugsy face-palmed.

"Um… I'll pay for that." Zippy bluntly stated, then inched away from the lane.

"…I guess we stand a chance after all," Horace stated.

d~b

Shaggy and Jasper went up next. Robotnik continually messed with his remote, while Vincent continually flashed his Sonic Screwdriver, both making sure their teams would win.

Shaggy, thankfully, had perfected his bowling skills since last time, ending up with a split and a gutter ball; Jasper ended up getting 7 pins down, and knocking over 2 more leaving a spare. "Ha! And here I was thinking I'd be competing against a pinhead- and I was right!" he boasted.

"Hey, 'pinhead', bragging ain't gonna help your score!" Pugsy sneered as he went up against Katrina.

"Yeah?! Let's see how well YOU do!"

Pugsy gave a sharp look, then rolled his ball- getting a strike! He crossed his arms, giving Jasper a smirk, and the lackey only grumbled and trudged back to the table.

Katrina was having trouble holding up her ball, ending up dropping it, and it slowly rolled down the lane. "Oh, great. Not THIS gag again," Dastardly groaned.

"We may have to cut to commercial break at this rate," Flim-Flam muttered.

The ball slowly rolled up to the pins, tapping the first one…

And they all tipped over at once. Katrina and Brattina whooped, the black-hearted woman pointing at Shawn's team. "You boys think you're bringing the heat, but I'm the hot one here tonight!" Katrina exclaimed.

"…that's not what her mirror says," Derek whispered to the lackeys, making them chuckle. Katrina turned and gave them a dark look, and they all sat up straight, whistling innocently.

Horace stepped up against Flip next. "What do you think? Should I veer to the left, or try to go down the middle?" Horace asked.

"Never go down directly in the middle," Flip said, then demonstrated. "If you want a straight shot, use those dots on the floor for aim- aim to the left or right carefully enough, and the ball will veer towards the middle…" he threw his ball, knocking over five pins. "…and your chances will be greater." He repeated this, knocking over 3 more pins.

Horace nodded, following his advice, knocking over 9 pins. He took aim, trying to carefully line his ball up right to knock over the final pin, practicing his throw. "Easy… line it up with the dots…"

"JUST THROW, YOU MORON!" Robotnik bellowed, a bit impatient.

"Augh!" Horace accidentally threw his ball overhead…

*BONK!*

…knocking out the guy at the concession stands.

"Um… c-can I get a do-over?" Horace asked, weakly.

Dastardly face-palmed, planning to look for a more competent team next time.

d~b

Flim-Flam went up against Derek next. The bully only knocked over 2 pins altogether, going into a fit and storming down the lane to kick over the rest, Horace and Jasper having to hold him back. "Rigged! This game is rigged, I tell ya!" Derek snarled.

"Sheesh, what a drama-king," Flim-Flam scoffed, rolling his ball… but getting gutter-balls every time. "No way! That was a perfect roll! This lane is rigged!"

"Huh boy…" Puggsy groaned, rubbing his face.

"Alright, whose next?" Shawn asked.

"Scratch! Grounder! One of you get up there!" Robotnik ordered.

"I get to go next!" Grounder exclaimed, until Scratch yanked him back.

"No way! I'm next!" Scratch sneered, but Grounder pulled him back next!

"I called it first!"

"I was assembled first!"

"You were not!"

"Were too!"

"I'll fight you for it!"

"You're on!"

And thus the two robots got into a dust-cloud scrap… and by the end, turned out as a pile of scrap. "Ugh… boss? We may have to sit this round out,"

Robotnik slapped his forehead, seething. "I-It's alright, Robotnik. It evens things out anyway," Shawn said, as he and Dastardly stepped up next- the All-Star easily got a strike (without even looking!). "Vincent is only serving as our back-up,"

"Back-up for what?" Dastardly asked, as his first throw ended up knocking over four pins. "In case another brawl breaks out?" he rolled again, getting only 1 pin down, then walked off seething.

Zippy stepped up with Brattina. Zippy went first, rolling and getting a gutter."Go Zippy!" Flim-Flam exclaimed, then turned to Vincent. "Is she seeing anyone?"

"Yeah. Me." Vincent scoffed, earning a disapproving look from Flim-Flam.

Zippy went again, but the ball slipped out of her grasp-

*THUNK!*

…knocking out Flim-Flam! "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" she gasped, running over and helping him up.

"What a woman…!" Flim-Flam slurred, before going unconscious.

"…There's one reason," Shawn answered Dastardly.

"…yeah, but should we have him replace Zippy or Flim-Flam?" Shaggy questioned, scratching his head.

"Which one is still conscious?" Shawn asked, firmly.

"Which one is less dangerous?" Pugsy deadpanned.

Shawn opened his mouth to reply… then paused, rubbing his chin.

d~b

The rest of the tournament was basically like that, both teams neck-in-neck! …and the damage costs increasing.

Ted kept getting strike after strike, while Robotnik finally snapped and broke his remote, as it wasn't working anyway. Vincent, filling in for an unconscious Flim-Flam, went up against Derek, only managing to knock down 3 pins while he managed to knock down 5. "Looks like your back-up is a screw-up!" Derek called.

Ted patted Vincent on the shoulder, when the student began to seethe. "Ah, don't listen to him, Vince. It's your first time bowling in a while, and so far you're not too bad!" he assured his team-mate, then whispered. "Plus, that's the best score he's had, after his gutter-ball streak,"

Zippy went up again (and it was no surprise everyone- including the production staff- put on helmets) "This time for sure!" she said to herself.

"Here's a tip, ZIP," Ted told her. "Release the ball when your arm is swinging right by your stomach,"

"Speaking of stomachs, anyone want some snacks?" Shaggy asked.

"Eh, sure. It's been a while since we've ate. Why don't you grab us all a little-" Pugsy began to say… though within a blink of an eye, Shaggy had ran up to the snack bar and returned with a 5-foot stack of junkfood! Pugsy gave a deadpanned look. "…how much of that belongs to us?"

"Hold on to your hot-dogs- Zippy's about to throw!" Flip exclaimed- and everyone ducked under the table.

Zippy did as Ted advised and rolled her ball… and this time it stayed in her lane! Everyone watched as it rolled dead-center towards the pins-!

*POW!*

…then spontaneously combusted.

"Ah, C'MON!" Zippy griped.

Dastardly's team chuckled. "See? I told you swapping a ball with an explosive was a brilliant idea!" the villain chuckled.

"I guess you suck so bad, the ball just decided to quit!" Brattina remarked to Zippy.

Vincent glared, then took out his sonic-screwdriver once more and zapped her ball, then sat back patiently.

Brattina threw it-

*BOOM!*

…and it exploded in her face, covering her in soot! "EEEEK! My shirt!" she wailed.

The villains gawked. "…Robotnik, ah… you DID only switch their balls, right?" Dastardly whispered.

"Of course!" Robotnik huffed, offended. He then looked at his ball in uncertainty. "But, um, just in case…" he then took out the detonator and broke it.

Pugsy looked at his team-mates. "Shouldn't we call them out for cheating now?" he asked.

"…Considering none of their tactics are working, I doubt there's a need- she's up again!" Shaggy exclaimed, as Zippy stepped up with a new ball.

Ted tapped Zippy on the shoulder, then pointed at the floor, where there were dots that bowlers could line their feet up with. "If you line your feet up like this and stay loose, it won't go in the gutter- or hit the director in the forehead again," he said, lightly joking on that last part.

"IT WASN'T FUNNY!" Director, Flanigan, called from off-set.

"O-kay…" Zippy replied, doing as Ted instructed, watching as her ball went down the lane and knocked over 8 pins! "YES! WHOO! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Calm down, crazy. You only knocked down 8 pins!" Brattina scoffed- having also gotten a new ball, as well as changed into a clean shirt.

"Compared to 2 smashed windshields, 3 broken windows, 4 unconscious employees, the director, and a crater, it's a step-up!" Zippy replied, happy about her progress.

"Well, I can do soooo much better!" Brattina then rolled her ball-

Watching as it ricocheted off the pins (still standing) and knocked out Pugsy! "Uhhh… I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested…!" he slurred before falling unconscious.

Brattina gasped, looking at her hands. "Oh, NO! Zippy's contagious! MOTHER!" she shrieked, running off.

Shaggy turned to the guy at the concession stands. "Like, any chance you guys sell ice-packs?" he asked.

d~b

A montage of our bowling teams soon took place. Everyone rolled their balls down the lanes, knocking over pins, some getting splits, others gutter-balls, some strikes, and others spares.

Shawn and Dastardly began to up their competition, trying to out-bowl the other. The villain managed to up his game a bit, managing to get a strike, while Shawn ended up only getting a spare. The villain laughed in triumph much to his opponent's annoyance, though Uncle Ted patted him on the shoulder and handed him a smoothie as a way of saying 'It's no big deal'.

Zippy's game was getting better, yet so was Brattina's, both girls- though far from getting strikes- trying to do their best. Zippy only knocked over one pin, while Brattina ended up with a split, the teenage brat boasting in her face- Flim-Flam (now conscious) flung a mustard-coated hot-dog at her, having it stick to her hair and making her run off shrieking in disgust.

Jasper and Horace both did their best against Shaggy and Flip, though the two heroes managed to get better scores than them.

Scratch and Grounder managed to re-assemble themselves and went up against Vincent- Scratch using Grounder's head as a bowling-ball and getting a strike. However, they were called out by a referee, who pointed to a sign that read 'No Using Disembodied Heads', getting them disqualified (The Headless horseman, who was about to throw his head down the lane, trudged off bitterly).

Robotnik, while he wasn't bowling, kept trying to cheat his way to the top… but with Vincent tampering with his gadgets, they either ended up exploding, malfunctioning, or flying through the air and smashing the wall. (By this point, the employees were looking through the 'Help Wanted' ads in the paper).

Before long, they were down to the final round, Dastardly and Shawn prepared to break a tie that (unbelievably) came between the teams. Dastardly rolled his ball, getting 8 pins down, then 1 spare. "Beat that if you can!" he said to Shawn.

"I'll sure try," Shawn scoffed with a smirk, stepping up to the lane.

Katrina smirked, then spilled her drink, having an ice-cube slip into Shawn's path, making the celebrity slip and fall on his back! "Whoops!" she said, innocently.

*Crunch!* The bowling ball Shawn had held ended up falling onto his hand, crushing it! "Agh! Dang it!" he cried, holding up his injured hand.

Katrina turned to her team-mates. "That's how you do it, boys." She said, smugly.

"Shawn! Are you alright, man?!" Shaggy gasped as he and the others ran over.

"Yeah… but I can't bowl- if I try to even hold a ball, I could break my hand!" Shawn said, rubbing his hand. "Someone will have to step in for me."

"I'll do it!" Ted said with a shrug. "It's about time we gave Vince-meyster a break anyhow,"

"Ha! You?! Don't make me laugh! You'd need a perfect strike to beat us!" Katrina scoffed. "You're lucky you even got one!"

"Yeah, what makes you think you could beat me?" Dastardly scoffed.

Ted ignored them, picking up a bowling ball and rolling it down the lane, getting a perfect strike!

All the antagonist's jaws dropped.

"To answer your question… I don't think about beating anybody. I just like to bowl, so I focus on that." Ted answered, as a large bowling trophy was given to his team. "Like I said before, competition takes the fun out of things,"

Dastardly then hit the floor, throwing a major fit. "No, no, no! I was supposed to win this time! Arrrgghhh!" he shouted.

"…Well, this was a waste of a weekend," Derek scoffed, moving on.

"I'm going to the mall," Brattina muttered, walking out next.

"Next time, we come by ourselves." Horace whispered to the other lackeys.

"Yeah, no kidding." Grounder agreed.

"Ah, I've got evil plans- I mean, 'manager' things to get to, I don't care about some stupid game!" Robotnik sneered.

"I think I broke a nail…" Katrina groused, looking at her fingernails.

"Come back here, you louses! You owe me a victory!" Dastardly shouted, following them out, passing by their opponents. "Just you wait, Shawn K! Next time I shall dominate!"

"Good game, guys!" Shawn replied, waving to the antagonists with a bandaged hand.

"So, who gets to take home the trophy?" Flip asked as they walked out.

"Dibs!" Flim-Flam exclaimed, until Shaggy elbowed him.

"I think Ted should. He was the only one keeping a cool head, made the least remarks, and gave some good tips." Shawn replied. "What do you think?"

"Sounds fair to me/Sure!/Groovy/Didn't need a trophy anyway," Flip, Zippy, Shaggy, and Pugsy agreed.

"Aw, gee guys! Thanks! …You know, this is probably the only bowling trophy I've ever taken home that wasn't made of spray-painted plastic!" Ted said, teary eyed, as they handed him the trophy. "But really, I'm glad we made a good team!"

"I'm glad the building stayed standing!" Shawn joked.

*CRASH!*

…the building spontaneously collapsing, perhaps due to the damages sustained from the competition.

"Um… I can pay for that," Shawn put bluntly, before everyone took off in a sprint.

d~b

A/N: Special thanks to the Toonopolis Bowling Alley for letting us use its establishment… and accepting our apology check for the damages XD

Mr. Cartoon, I hope you enjoyed this the most. Thank you again for your inspiration and ideas :)